TODAY, AS WE PREPARE TO LOOK TO THE WORD OF GOD, I WANT YOU TO THINK ABOUT THAT WORD GRACE. AS I THINK ABOUT THE FACT THAT WE ARE ENTERING THIS NEW YEAR, MY FIRST THOUGHTS ARE THAT, THERE'S A LOT THAT WILL COME THIS YEAR THAT WE DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT. WE TRY TO ANTICIPATE THINGS THAT WILL COME IN THE NEXT 12 MONTHS. WE TRY TO PREPARE OURSELVES, BUT THE TRUTH OF THE MATTER IS, WE JUST DON'T REALLY KNOW. WE KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON TODAY. WELL ACTUALLY, WE ONLY KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON FOR THE MOMENT. WE DON'T KNOW EVEN WHAT THIS DAY WILL BRING. IT MAY BRING ABOUT WITH IT, SOME CHANGES, THAT ARE UNWELCOME CHANGES. MAYBE, HOPEFULLY, IT WILL BRING SOME WELCOME CHANGES. BUT WHAT WE KNOW IS THIS, THAT AS WE ENTER A NEW YEAR, THERE'S A LOT OF MYSTERY SURROUNDING THE YEAR THAT WE JUST CANNOT UNRAVEL. WE JUST DON'T KNOW WHAT'S IN STORE FOR US. BUT WE DO KNOW THIS. THAT THE GRACE OF GOD CHANGES THE LANDSCAPE, THE PICTURE, OUR LIVES. THE GRACE OF GOD WILL BRING ABOUT SOME CHANGES THAT WILL HELP US. THE GRACE OF GOD WILL BRING ABOUT SOME THINGS THAT WILL, WELL, IT MAY BE PERCEIVED AS NOT HELPING US, BUT IF WE'LL LET GOD WORK IT OUT, IN THE END, IT WILL BE A HELP TO US. GOD DOESN'T DO A BAD WORK IN THE LIVES OF HIS CHILDREN. GOD DOESN'T JUST DESTROY, THE ENEMY, THE DEVIL, HE DESTROYS, EVERYTHING HE DOES HAS A NEGATIVE CONTEXT TO IT. EVERYTHING HE DOES TAKES AWAY FROM OUR LIFE AND NEVER ADDS. WELL, AGAIN I HAVE TO CORRECT MYSELF, THE ONLY THING IT DOES ADD IS MORE MISERY, MORE BURDENS, MORE CARE, MORE STRIFE, MORE TROUBLES, MORE TRIALS. DOES THAT SOUND LIKE ANYTHING THAT YOU'RE LOOKING FOR TODAY, I DON'T THINK IT IS. BUT THE GRACE OF GOD, OH, WHAT THE GRACE OF GOD WILL DO FOR US. AND TODAY, I WANT US TO THINK ABOUT THAT GRACE AS WE LOOK TO THE WORD OF GOD. I'VE CHOSEN A PASSAGE OF SCRIPTURE THAT MIGHT SEEM TO BE A LITTLE BIT STRANGE FOR A NEW YEAR'S DAY SERMON. TODAY, OUT OF THIS, IT MAY TAKE ME A WEEK OR TWO TO WORK THROUGH THE WHOLE MESSAGE, BUT OUT OF THIS TODAY, I WANT TO ENCOURAGE YOU WITH SOME THINGS, THAT I TRUST WILL HELP YOU, AS YOU FACE THE UNCERTAINTIES OF THIS COMING YEAR. I WANT TO ASK YOU THE QUESTION TODAY, WHERE ARE YOU? NOW THAT MIGHT SEEM LIKE A STRANGE QUESTION TO ASK. BUT TODAY, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE UNDERSTAND, WHERE WE ARE. IT'S GOOD TO KNOW WHERE YOU'VE BEEN. IT'S BETTER TO KNOW WHERE YOU ARE AND IT'S EVEN BETTER TO KNOW WHERE YOU'RE HEADED TODAY. THERE IS THE ABILITY TO KNOW THAT WE'RE HEADED IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION. THERE IS THE POSSIBILITY OF KNOWING THAT IN THE COURSE THAT YOU'RE FOLLOWING THERE IS GOOD THINGS AWAITING YOU. BUT IT'S ALSO GOOD TO KNOW THAT IF YOU'RE HEADED IN THE WRONG DIRECTION, THAT THERE ISN'T ANY GOOD WAITING YOU, IT'S ONLY BAD. SO TODAY, IT'S IMPORTANT THAT YOU KNOW WHERE YOU ARE. BECAUSE KNOWING WHERE YOU ARE WILL HELP YOU TO KNOW WHERE YOU'RE HEADED. WELL, WE'LL WORK IT OUT AS WE GO ALONG IN THIS MESSAGE TODAY. IN THE BOOK OF GENESIS, I WANT TO READ GENESIS CHAPTER 3, BEGINNING WITH VERSE 8. IN THIS 3RD CHAPTER OF GENESIS, WE HAVE THE STORY OF THE FALL OF MAN. THIS WAS NOT A ONE TIME EVENT. THE STORY THAT WE'RE ABOUT TO READ, OR AT LEAST A PORTION OF IT, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT HAPPENS DAILY AND QUITE OFTEN IN PEOPLE'S LIVES. WELL, I'M GOING TO PICK THE STORY UP AT VERSE 8, IN GENESIS, CHAPTER 3. IT SAYS HERE THAT THEY, "HEARD THE VOICE OF THE LORD GOD, WALKING IN THE GARDEN IN THE COOL OF THE DAY. AND ADAM AND HIS WIFE HID THEMSELVES FROM THE PRESENCE OF THE LORD GOD AMONGST THE TREES OF THE GARDEN. AND THE LORD CALLED UNTO ADAM AND SAID UNTO HIM, WHERE ART THOU? AND HE SAID, I HEARD THY VOICE IN THE GARDEN AND I WAS AFRAID, BECAUSE I WAS NAKED AND I HID MYSELF. THE LORD IS ASKING ADAM A QUESTION, THAT OF COURSE, THE LORD ALREADY KNEW THE ANSWER TO. I DON'T THINK THAT THERE WAS ANY PLACE IN THAT GARDEN THAT ADAM AND EVE COULD HIDE THEMSELVES, BUT WHAT GOD KNEW EXACTLY WHERE THEY WERE HIDING. IT WASN'T THAT HE HAD LOST TRACK OF THEM, IT WAS THAT HE WANTED ADAM TO UNDERSTAND WHAT WAS GOING ON IN ADAM'S LIFE. I THINK GOD WANTS THE SAME THING FOR YOU AND I TODAY. IF THERE IS SOMETHING IN OUR LIFE THAT CAN BE CHANGED WE NEED TO RECOGNIZE WHAT THAT SOMETHING IS, SO THAT IT CAN BE CHANGED. IF WE'RE BRINGING HARDSHIPS UPON OURSELVES, IT SEEMS REASONABLE TO ME, THAT IF WE WOULD SIMPLY CHANGE BEHAVIOR, IF WE WOULD SIMPLY CHANGE SOME THINGS THAT WE'RE DOING OR NOT DOING. THEN WE COULD ALLEVIATE AND REMOVE SOME OF THOSE HARDSHIPS. WE COULD MAKE LIFE MUCH EASIER FOR OURSELVES. WHEN WE LOOK AT THE STORY OF ADAM AND EVE, JUST A QUICK REFRESHER OF WHAT'S GOING ON HERE. THEY HAVE BEEN TO THE TREE IN THE MIDST OF THE GARDEN THAT GOD HAD SAID, NOT TO EAT THE FRUIT OF. AS THEY STOOD THERE AND THEY LOOKED UPON THAT TREE, IT BEGAN WITH EVE, BUT I DON'T PUT THE BLAME ON EVE'S LIFE. EVE MUST HAVE BEEN STANDING SOMEWHERE IN THE VICINITY OF THAT TREE, LOOKING AT IT, PERHAPS THINKING ABOUT IT, WONDERING WHY GOD HAD SAID, NOT TO EAT OF THE TREE, AND THAT SERPENT, THE DEVIL CAME ALONG AND BEGAN TO TALK TO HER. THAT'S WHAT THE DEVIL WILL DO TO US. SOME FOLK SAY THERE IS NO DEVIL. WELL, IF THERE'S NO DEVIL, THERE'S NO EVIL, IF THERE'S NO EVIL, THERE'S NO BAD, IF THERE'S NO BAD, THERE'S NO HARDSHIP, THERE'S NO BURDENS, THERE'S NO SICKNESS, THERE'S NO STRIFE OF COURSE WE KNOW, WE HAVE ALL OF THOSE THINGS. IF I LOOK AT THOSE THINGS THEN I HAVE TO UNDERSTAND, THERE IS SOMETHING BEHIND THOSE THINGS, THAT ENCOURAGES THOSE THINGS, THAT INCITES THOSE THINGS, THAT THING IS THE DEVIL THAT'S WHAT HAPPENED THIS DAY, EVE IS LOOKING UPON THE TREE THAT SHE KNOWS IS FORBIDDEN TO EAT. AND YET THE DEVIL TALKS TO HER AND JUST AS THE DEVIL DOES, HE CONVINCES HER THAT GOD IS LYING TO HER AND ADAM. HE CONVINCES HER IT'S GOING TO BE ALRIGHT, THE ONLY REASON THAT GOD DOESN'T WANT YOU TO EAT OF THIS TREE, IS BECAUSE IF YOU EAT OF IT, IS BECAUSE YOU'LL BE JUST LIKE GOD AND GOD DOESN'T WANT YOU TO BE JUST LIKE HIM. NOW WE KNOW FROM WHAT GOD SAID, HE SAID, "LET US MAKE MAN IN OUR OWN IMAGE." NOW, MANKIND HAD ALREADY BEEN MADE LIKE GOD IN SO MANY WAYS. YOU THINK ABOUT IT, WE HAD A FREE WILL, WE HAD A MORAL CONSCIENCE. THERE WERE MANY THINGS ABOUT US THAT WERE A LOT LIKE GOD. WE, AT THAT POINT IN TIME, BEFORE THE FALL OF MAN, WERE ETERNAL. THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN NO SICKNESS, NO DEATH, NO PERISHING. IT WASN'T UNTIL SIN ENTERED THAT ALL OF THOSE THINGS CAME TO MANKIND. EVE TOOK TO THE FRUIT OF THE TREE, THEN ADAM TOOK OF THE FRUIT OF THE TREE. AND AS WAS THE HABIT OF GOD, GOD WOULD COME IN THE COOL OF THE DAY TO WALK IN THE GARDEN WITH HIS CREATION. I CAN JUST SEEM THEM NOW, GOD AND ADAM STROLLING DOWN THROUGH THE FOREST PERHAPS, HAVING CONVERSATION, SHARING TIME WITH EACH OTHER. AND GOD COMES BACK ON THIS PARTICULAR DAY AND THERE'S NO ADAM TO BE FOUND. IN MY IMAGINATION, I SEE GOD COMING INTO THE GARDEN AND ADAM RUNNING TO GET TO WHERE THE LORD HAS JUST APPEARED. TO GET TO WHERE GOD IS SO HE CAN SPEND TIME WITH GOD. BUT ON THIS PARTICULAR DAY, THERE'S NO ADAM RUNNING THROUGH THE TREES. THERE'S NO ADAM RUNNING THROUGH THE FIELD. THERE'S NO ADAM TO BE FOUND ANYWHERE. SO GOD CALLS OUT, "ADAM WHERE ART THOU?" I MIGHT JUST PAUSE HERE FOR A MOMENT TO SAY, I CAN HEAR GOD SAYING THAT TO MANY OF US TODAY. WHERE ARE YOU? NOW ADAM WAS HIDING, WHY WAS HE HIDING, THAT'S AN IMPORTANT QUESTION. WHY WAS ADAM HIDING? BECAUSE ADAM'S HEART AND LIFE WERE FILLED WITH SHAME AND GUILT. SIN HAD SEPARATED HIM FROM THE CREATOR. THERE WOULD BE NO MORE WALKS IN THE GARDEN. THERE WOULD BE NO MORE TIME OF SWEET FELLOWSHIP. THERE WOULD NOT BE ANY FRIENDLY CONVERSATION. BECAUSE ADAM HAD TRANSGRESSED THE ONE LAW THAT GOD HAD TOLD ADAM HE COULD NOT STEP ACROSS. ADAM TOOK OF THE TREE AND IN DOING THAT, HE SEVERED THAT RELATIONSHIP THAT HE AND GOD HAD ENJOYED. NOW I WANT TO TELL YOU, BECAUSE I'M RUNNING OUT OF TIME TODAY AND YOU MIGHT NOT GET BACK TO HEAR THIS MESSAGE, I WANT TO TELL YOU THIS, GOD'S GREATEST DESIRE FOR MANKIND IS TO HAVE A RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM. WHAT WAS DESTROYED IN THE GARDEN OF EDEN, HAS BEEN RESTORED ON TOP OF CALVARY'S MOUNTAIN. WHEN YOU GO TO THE STORY OF THE CRUCIFIXION AND YOU SEE THE EVENTS THAT UNFOLD THERE, I WANT TO STAND HERE TO TELL YOU TODAY THAT GOD WAS PUTTING HIS PLAN OF RESTORATION IN PLACE SO WHAT SIN TOOK AWAY IN THE GARDEN OF EDEN, CALVARY COULD RESTORE TO MANKIND AND WE COULD ONCE AGAIN HAVE THAT RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD. AND THIS IS WHY, BECAUSE GOD UNDERSTANDS THE NATURE OF THIS WORLD THAT WE'RE LIVING IN. HE UNDERSTANDS THE WORK OF OUR ENEMY. AND HE KNOWS THAT THE ENEMY WILL DO ALL THAT HE CAN DO, TO BRING HARDSHIP AND TOIL TO OUR LIFE. IF HE CAN BURDEN US DOWN, HE CAN GET US TO COLLAPSE UNDER THE WEIGHT. AND IF HE CAN BRING US TO THAT POINT, HE CAN KEEP US FROM THAT RELATIONSHIP THAT GOD WANTS TO HAVE WITH US. SO, AS WE APPROACH THIS COMING YEAR, I'M STANDING HERE TODAY TO TELL YOU, THE MOST IMPORTANT THING THAT YOU COULD POSSESS, OF ALL THE THINGS THAT YOU COULD POSSESS IS A RELATIONSHIP WITH THE LORD. FOR IT'S THAT RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD THAT WILL CARRY YOU THROUGH EVERY STRUGGLE OF 2010. WILL CARRY THE BURDEN THAT WILL COME UPON YOU IN 2010. IT WILL LEAD YOU THROUGH THE WILDERNESS THAT WE ARE GOING TO CALL 2010. WE MAY NOT KNOW WHAT TOMORROW HOLDS. WE MAY NOT KNOW WHAT THE REST OF TODAY HOLDS. BUT THIS IS SO TRUE MY FRIEND, WE KNOW WHO HOLDS THE DAY. AND IF THERE'S ANYTHING THAT I COULD PRAY THAT GOD WOULD DO FOR YOU TODAY, IT WOULD BE THAT GOD WOULD SIMPLY STAND BY YOU AND SHED HIS GRACE AND HIS MERCY UPON YOU, TO HELP YOU FOR THIS COMING YEAR. WE DON'T KNOW WHAT WILL HAPPEN BY THE END OF THIS YEAR, WE DON'T EVEN KNOW IF GOD WILL TARRY TO THE END OF THIS YEAR. BUT IF HE DOES, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO SURVIVE IT. WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO OVERCOME A LOT OF THINGS. AND TODAY, IT'S THE GRACE OF GOD THAT CHANGES MEN'S LIVES. IT'S THE MERCY OF GOD THAT REWRITES OUR LIFE. IT'S THE GRACE OF GOD, THE UNMERITED FAVOR OF GOD, THAT BRINGS THE PRESENCE OF GOD TO WHERE WE ARE, TO HELP US WITH WHAT WE'RE FACING AND WHAT WE'RE GOING THROUGH. THIS YEAR WE'RE GOING TO BE PREACHING A LOT OF MESSAGES TO ENCOURAGE FOLK AS THEY CONTINUE IN THIS JOURNEY WHILE WE'RE WAITING FOR THE TRUMP OF HEAVEN TO SOUND. I WANT TO CLOSE IN A WORD OF PRAYER AND ASK GOD TO HELP YOU TODAY. HEAVENLY FATHER, I ASK YOU RIGHT NOW, YOU, THE ONLY ONE WHO KNOWS WHAT THIS COMING YEAR HOLDS FOR EACH ONE OF OUR LIVES. I ASK YOU TODAY LORD, THAT YOU WOULD JUST CAUSE THAT GAP BETWEEN YOU AND YOUR CREATION TO BE REMOVED. AND DRAW EACH ONE CLOSE TO YOU, THAT EACH ONE OF US TODAY MAY FEEL THE WARMTH OF YOUR PRESENCE. BE ENCOURAGED AND STRENGTHENED IN THAT PRESENCE. SO THAT WE CAN MAKE IT THROUGH THE TRIALS OF THIS COMING YEAR. WE ASK YOU TO DO THESE THINGS TODAY IN JESUS NAME, AMEN.