I'M THANKFUL TODAY THAT GOD IS INTERESTED IN OUR LIVES. I'M THANKFUL TODAY THAT GOD HAS A LOVE FOR US THAT JUST CANNOT BE MEASURED. AND IT'S THAT LOVE TODAY THAT IS MAKING THE DIFFERENCE FOR US DAY IN AND DAY OUT. WE DON'T KNOW WHAT TODAY HOLDS AND WE'VE SAID THAT MANY, MANY TIMES. TODAY, WE MAY START OUT GOOD, SOMETHING MAY HAPPEN AND WE FIND OURSELVES IN A DEEP VALLEY BEFORE THE DAY IS THROUGH. MAYBE TODAY, YOU'RE IN A DEEP VALLEY, BUT BEFORE THIS DAY IS OUT, YOU'LL BE ON THE MOUNTAINTOP. YOU SEE, YOU COULD LOOK AT IT EITHER WAY. I CAN TELL YOU THIS, REGARDLESS OF WHICH WAY YOU'RE GOING, WHETHER YOU'RE CLIMBING UP THE MOUNTAIN OR YOU'RE CLIMBING DOWN THE MOUNTAIN, GOD WON'T FORSAKE YOU IN THE MIDST OF YOUR JOURNEY. AS WE STARTED BY SAYING LAST WEEK, WITH 2010 NOW UPON US, LOOKING AHEAD TO THE MONTHS THAT ARE BEFORE US, WE HAVE A LOT OF QUESTIONS, WE HAVE A LOT OF UNCERTAINTIES. BUT, I DO KNOW THIS AND IT'S THE ONE THING THAT I AM SURE OF. THAT REGARDLESS OF WHAT THIS YEAR HOLDS AND WHAT IT BRINGS, IT'S GOING TO BE THE LORD THAT MAKES THE DIFFERENCE. AND IF HE SHOULD TARRY TO THE CLOSE OF THIS YEAR, IT'S BECAUSE HE'S BEEN STANDING BY US, THAT WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO MAKE IT. I WANT TO TURN BACK TO THE BOOK OF GENESIS TODAY, TO SHARE WITH YOU AGAIN, THE PASSAGE OF SCRIPTURE THAT I READ IN LAST WEEK'S SERVICE. AND I WANT TO PREACH THE CONCLUSION OF THIS MESSAGE. IN GENESIS CHAPTER 3, I WANT TO BEGIN READING VERSE 8. I HOPE YOU'LL READ THE WHOLE 3RD CHAPTER OF THE BOOK OF GENESIS. BECAUSE THERE'S SO MUCH HAPPENING THERE, THAT WILL HELP US AS WE UNDERSTAND HOW OUR ENEMY WORKS ON US AND AGAINST US AND HOW GOD WANTS TO HELP US. BUT RIGHT HERE IN GENESIS CHAPTER 3, THE FALL OF MAN HAS JUST TAKEN PLACE, GOD HAS RETURNED TO THE GARDEN TO SPEND SOME TIME WITH ADAM. AND WE'RE GOING TO PICK IT UP RIGHT IN THE BEGINNING OF THIS EVENT. IN GENESIS 3, VERSE 8, IT SAYS, "AND 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. AMONGST THE TREES OF THE GARDEN. AND THE LORD GOD 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." NOW LAST WEEK WE SHARED WITH YOU THIS QUESTION THAT GOD IS ASKING OF ADAM. IT'S A SERIOUS QUESTION. IT'S A QUESTION THAT IS BEING ASKED OF YOU AND I TODAY. AND IT'S IMPORTANT TO US, THAT WE CAN ANSWER THE QUESTION THAT GOD IS ASKING US. I QUICKLY REMIND YOU THAT GOD ALWAYS KNOWS WHERE YOU ARE. AND WHEN WE LISTEN TO THIS QUESTION BEING ASKED OF ADAM, GOD KNEW EXACTLY WHERE ADAM WAS, HE COULD HAVE WALKED OVER BEHIND THE TREE THAT ADAM WAS HIDING BEHIND, TAPPED HIM ON THE SHOULDER, HE KNEW RIGHT WHERE HE WAS. GOD NEVER LOSES TRACK OF US. GOD ALWAYS KNOWS WHAT'S GOING ON IN OUR LIVES. HE IS AWARE OF EVERY EVENT THAT IS TAKING PLACE. HE'S NOT ONLY AWARE OF THE THINGS THAT ARE HAPPENING TO US, BUT HE'S ALSO AWARE OF THE THINGS THAT ARE HAPPENING WITHIN US. TODAY, I'M THANKFUL THAT GOD KNOWS EVERY DETAIL OF OUR LIFE. AND GOD KNOWS EXACTLY WHAT WE'RE FACING. THAT'S NOTHING TO BE AFRAID OF, THAT'S NOTHING TO THREATEN US. THAT OUGHT TO ENCOURAGE US. BECAUSE IF GOD KNOWS WHERE WE ARE, HE KNOWS WHAT WE NEED. AND THAT'S WHAT I WANT YOU TO HEAR OUT OF THIS MESSAGE TODAY. THAT GOD KNOWS WHAT YOU NEED. GOD HAS YOUR INTEREST AT HEART. GOD WANTS THE VERY BEST FOR YOU. GOD WANTS TO BLESS YOU. AND THE GREATEST BLESSING THAT GOD CAN SHOW TOWARDS US AND GIVE TO US, IS THE BLESSING OF RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM. THAT'S WHAT I WANT SOMEBODY TO HEAR TODAY. THAT GOD WANTS TO KNOW YOU AS YOUR FRIEND. NOT JUST KNOW YOU AS ONE AMONGST 6 BILLION WALKING THIS PLANET TODAY. GOD WANTS TO KNOW YOU AS FRIEND. AND WHEN WE LOOK AT GOD AND ALL THAT THIS BOOK TELLS US ABOUT GOD, THEN WE CAN COME AWAY WITH THE KNOWLEDGE, THAT, THAT'S WHAT GOD WANTS FOR US. HE WANTS TO BE OUR FRIEND. WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT THE LORD? WELL, DESPITE OUR SINS, HE IS FOR US. NOW SINFUL LIVING SEPARATES US AMONGST OUR BROTHERS AND OUR SISTERS. IT EVEN DIVIDES FAMILY. BUT WHEN WE SIN, AND GOD IS AWARE OF OUR SIN, HE'S STILL STANDING ON OUR SIDE. THERE'S NOTHING, THE BIBLE TELLS US, IN FACT, PAUL THE APOSTLE WROTE IT TO THE ROMANS, HE SAID, "THERE'S NOTHING THAT CAN SEPARATE US FROM THE LOVE OF GOD." REGARDLESS OF WHAT WE DO AND REGARDLESS OF HOW DEEP IN SIN WE'VE GONE, GOD STILL LOVES US. HE LOVES YOU TODAY. HE KNOWS WHAT YOU'VE DONE, IT GRIEVES HIM, BUT HE'S NOT SHOCKED, HE'S NOT SURPRISED. HE KNOWS HOW THE NATURE OF SIN WORKS. AND HE KNOWS HOW THAT WHEN THE ENEMY COMES AND BEGINS TO WHISPER TO US, EVEN THOSE THAT ARE THE MOST STEADFAST TODAY, IF THEY'LL LISTEN TO THE ENEMY LONG ENOUGH, THEY'LL WEAKEN. AND THEY'LL DO THINGS THAT THEY THOUGHT THEY WOULD NEVER DO. THERE'S A SONG THAT WE SOMETIMES HERE AT SOULS HARBOR, WE HEAR IT BEING SUNG. IT SAYS, "SIN WILL TAKE YOU FARTHER THEN YOU EVER WANTED TO GO." HE'LL TAKE YOU DOWN FURTHER THAN YOU EVER WANTED TO DESCEND. IT'LL CAUSE YOU TO BE DESTROYED IN A GREATER FASHION AND MANNER THEN YOU THOUGHT IT COULD EVER DESTROY YOU. THAT'S THE NATURE OF SIN. GOD, WHO WANTS TO BE OUR FRIEND, WANTS TO DEVELOP A RELATIONSHIP OF TRUST. SO THAT WHEN THE ENEMY COMES, WE'LL NOT LEAN ON THE LIES OF OUR ENEMY, AND THINK THAT WHAT HE'S PROMISING US, WILL BE BETTER FOR US. BUT WE'LL LEAN UPON THE LORD AND REALIZE, THAT WHAT HE'S TELLING US, IS ALWAYS BEST FOR US. HAVE YOU EVER NOTICED HOW THE ENEMY WILL PROMISE YOU THE SUN, THE MOON AND STARS. BUT HE NEVER SEEMS TO GIVE IT TO YOU. HE NEVER SEEMS TO GIVE YOU THE GOOD THINGS HE'S PROMISED. OH, HE MAY GIVE YOU SOME FAME, HE GIVE YOU SOME FORTUNE, BUT IT'S FLEETING, IT DOESN'T LAST FOREVER. WE'VE SEEN SO MANY PEOPLE SEEM TO RISE TO A QUICK PINNACLE AND THEN DISAPPEAR ALL TOGETHER. THAT'S HOW FAME AND FORTUNE WORK WHEN THE DEVIL GIVES IT TO YOU. THERE ARE SOME THINGS THAT ARE MUCH GREATER THAN THAT TODAY. IT WOULD BE BETTER TO BE A BEGGAR, BUT KNOW GOD, THEN IT WOULD BE TO HAVE ALL THE WEALTH OF THE WORLD AND NOT KNOW GOD. AND THE REASON IS, IS BECAUSE EVEN THE RICH AND THE FAMOUS ARE GOING TO CONTEND WITH THINGS, THAT THEIR WEALTH AND THEIR FAME CANNOT ACCOMPLISH FOR THEM. BUT WE HAVE A FRIEND TODAY, WHOSE NAME IS JESUS. WHO WANTS TO SEE US PROSPER. WHO WANTS TO BLESS US IN MANY, MANY WAYS. WHO DOES WORK ALL THINGS FOR OUR GOOD. AND EVEN AS WE LOOK AHEAD TO THE YEAR TO COME, WITH ALL OF ITS UNCERTAINTIES AND WITH ALL THE UNANSWERABLE QUESTIONS THAT WE MIGHT HAVE, THERE'S ONE THING WE CAN RELY ON AND WE CAN COUNT ON IT TO THE BITTER END. AND THAT IS THAT GOD WILL STAND WITH US, BECAUSE HE IS A FRIEND THAT STICKETH CLOSER THAN A BROTHER. HE WILL NOT ONLY STAND BY US, BUT HE WILL PROTECT US, HE WILL KEEP US, HE WILL NOURISH US, HE WILL PROVIDE FOR US, HE WILL MEET OUR NEEDS, SO THAT WE MIGHT COME THROUGH OUR TIMES OF TRIAL AND TESTING. ABRAHAM FOUND GOD TO BE SUCH A FRIEND. IN FACT, IT'S SAID OF ABRAHAM AND I DON'T THINK IT'S SAID OF ANY OTHER MAN IN THE ENTIRE WORD OF GOD. BUT OF ABRAHAM IT'S SAID, THAT HE WAS A FRIEND OF GOD. SO CLOSELY KNIT WAS THEIR RELATIONSHIP. YET, ABRAHAM WAS A FLAWED INDIVIDUAL. HE WAS IMPERFECT, HE MADE SOME AWFUL MISTAKES. MISTAKES THAT MANKIND IS EVEN PAYING FOR TODAY. THERE WERE TIMES, THAT THOUGH ABRAHAM WAS A GREAT FRIEND OF GOD, AND ABRAHAM SEEMED TO HAVE THESE WONDERFUL EXPERIENCES WITH THE LORD, THERE WERE SOME TIMES WHEN ABRAHAM LEANED ON HIS OWN UNDERSTANDING. AND IN HIS OWN UNDERSTANDING, HE GOT HIMSELF IN TROUBLE. BUT IT WAS THE FACT THAT ABRAHAM CAME TO UNDERSTAND "WHERE HE WAS," THAT HELPED HIM TO RESTORE HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD. YOU SEE, WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO TELL YOU TODAY IS THIS, WHATEVER YOU HAVE TO DO, TO RESTORE YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH THE LORD, IT'S WELL WORTH DOING. IF YOUR RELATIONSHIP HAS BEEN HINDERED, DAMAGED OR SEVERED, WHATEVER YOU CAN DO TODAY TO HELP YOU TO RESTORE THAT RELATIONSHIP WITH THE LORD, IT'S GOING TO BE WORTH WHATEVER YOU HAVE TO DO. BECAUSE IN THE END, IT'S THAT RELATIONSHIP WITH THE LORD THAT'S GOING TO MAKE THE DIFFERENCE. YOU JUST CANNOT MAKE IT IN THIS LIFE TODAY, WITHOUT THE HELP OF THE LORD. YOU MAY LIVE TO BE OF ADVANCED AGE, BUT YOU'RE GOING TO NEED THE LORD. BECAUSE THERE'S SOMETHING THAT NOT EVEN ADVANCED AGE CAN OVERCOME. AND THAT IS, ETERNITY. ETERNITY IS IN THE FUTURE OF EVERYONE OF US TODAY. SO IT WOULD BE BETTER FOR US TO STAND WITH THE LORD NOW, SO THAT GOD CAN STAND WITH US THEN, THEN IT WOULD BE, TO NOT HAVE THE LORD STAND WITH US NOW. AND FIND OURSELVES STANDING ALONE BEFORE GOD ON JUDGMENT DAY. YOU SEE AS A FRIEND, GOD WILL DO FOR YOU, JUST WHAT HE DID FOR ABRAHAM. THOUGH ABRAHAM FAILED, GOD RESTORED THAT RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN HIM AND ABRAHAM. HE DIDN'T LET SIN BE THE DIVISIVE THING THAT CAUSED A PERMANENT SEPARATION. AND THAT'S ENCOURAGING BECAUSE SOMETIMES WHEN WE FAIL, THAT'S WHAT THE ENEMY WOULD LIKE TO CONVINCE US IS GOING TO PLACE. THAT BECAUSE OF OUR FAILURE AND BECAUSE OF OUR SIN, THERE'S NO HOPE OF A RESTORED RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD. THE ENEMY WOULD TELL US THAT GOD IS SO ANGRY WITH US, THAT HE WON'T HEAR US WHEN WE PRAY, HE WON'T COME TO US WHEN WE'RE IN NEED. HE'LL JUST LEAVE US TO OUR OWN DEVICES, HE DOESN'T CARE ANYMORE. BUT THE TRUTH OF THE MATTER IS, NOTHING CAN SEPARATE US FROM THE LOVE OF GOD. IF GOD LOVES US, THEN YOU CAN BE ASSURED, HE CARES ABOUT US. PETER SAID IT, IT'S TRUE TODAY, THAT WE CAST ALL OF OUR CARES TODAY UPON THE LORD, BECAUSE THE LORD CARETH FOR US. AND TODAY, IN 2010, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO LEARN HOW TO CAST OUR CARES UPON THE LORD. BECAUSE JUST AS 2009 AND PREVIOUS YEARS HAVE SHOWN US, THERE ARE SOME CARRIES WE JUST CANNOT CARRY ALONE. SO AS I ASK YOU THIS QUESTION TODAY IN CLOSING, WHERE ARE YOU? I'M ASKING YOU, WHERE ARE YOU IN YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH THE LORD? CAN YOU SAY TODAY, THAT YOUR RELATIONSHIP IS INTACT, THAT IT'S WHERE IT OUGHT TO BE. THAT EVERYTHING IS RIGHT BETWEEN YOU AND GOD. OR TODAY, IS THERE SOME QUESTION ABOUT YOUR RELATIONSHIP? IN JUST A MOMENT, FRANK RANDALL SR. IS COMING TO SING A SONG THAT SAYS, "THAT SOUNDS LIKE HOME TO ME." AS HE SINGS THIS SONG, WE'LL BE THINKING ABOUT ALL THE THINGS THAT HEAVEN PROVIDES FOR US. NO PAIN, NO SORROW, NO HARDSHIPS, NO TOIL, NO TROUBLE, NO BURDENS TO BEAR. ALL WILL BE RIGHT AND ALL WILL BE WELL. MOST OF ALL, THAT'S WHERE THE LORD WILL BE AND WE WILL DWELL WITH HIM FOREVER AND EVER. BUT TODAY, IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHERE YOU ARE, YOU HAVE NO ASSURANCE OF THAT TODAY. YOU COULD BE LOST IF YOU DON'T DISCOVER WHERE YOU ARE TODAY, SO THAT YOU COULD BE FOUND AND GET ON THE RIGHT TRACK THAT WILL LEAD YOU INTO THE THRONE ROOM OF GOD, WHERE GOD CAN REALLY AND TRULY BE YOUR DEAREST FRIEND. HE WANTS TO STAND WITH YOU TODAY. HE WANTS TO BE THERE TO HELP YOU. BUT YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE TO LET HIM IN, SO THAT YOU CAN ENTER INTO THIS WONDERFUL FRIENDSHIP THAT YOU CAN HAVE WITH JESUS. I'M CLOSING IN A WORD OF PRAYER TODAY TO ASK GOD TO HELP YOU WITH THAT. PRECIOUS LORD, HELP EACH ONE TODAY UNDER THE SOUND OF MY VOICE, TO DISCOVER WHERE THEY ARE. REVEAL TO THEM WHERE THEY ARE AT IN THEIR RELATIONSHIP WITH YOU. AND THEN HELP THEM TO DRAW NIGH TO YOU, THAT YOU MIGHT DRAW NIGH TO THEM. IN JESUS' NAME I ASK IT, AMEN.