“And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day,” Genesis 3:8
a. God reveals Himself to man
b. He makes His presence known more specifically
i. The sound of God in the garden of Eden is not physical
ii. God can make the sound when He is not there physically
c. His presence can be felt spiritually
3. God communicates with man
a. He speaks to man possibly audibly
“And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” Genesis 2:16,17
b. But He does not need to speak audibly
c. He can speak inaudibly to man
i. To the mind
ii. To the heart
d. This is how we can relate with God
e. He reveals how we may relate to Him
THE CONSEQUENCES OF SIN TO OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE PRESENCE OF GOD
1. Sin causes the loss of the presence of God
a. Sin changes our understanding of the presence of God
i. Adam and Eve were tempted by the serpent and disobeyed God (Genesis 3)
ii. But sinned caused man to see the presence of God differently
b. There is the withdrawal of the presence of God
2. Hiding from the presence of God
“And Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.” Genesis 3:9
a. But sin had caused the relationship to be broken
b. Presence of God no longer there
i. No longer felt
ii. No longer relating
THE CHALLENGE TO DEEPEN OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE PRESENCE OF GOD
1. Fact about God
a. He is everywhere
b. A divine attribute that is a fact
2. Faith in God
a. From fact, we need to move on to faith
b. There comes greater understanding through faith
3. Follow God in obedience
a. Through faith, we enter into a relationship with God
b. Based on obedience to Him
4. Fulness of the presence of God
a. There is no fulness when the relationship is broken
b. There is a possibility of experiencing the fulness of the presence of God