"THE HAUNTING VOICE OF GOD"
Mark McCool

TEXT:  GENESIS 3:8

I.  INTRODUCTION	

	It was said of the Roman Empire under the Caesar that the whole world was only one great prison for Caesar.  For if man offended the emperor it was impossible for him to escape.
	
	Even if he crossed the Alps, Caesar would find him.  If he sought to hide in the Indies, even there, the monarchs knew the power and reach of Roman arms.  Therefore, was no shelter for a man who had incurred the wrath of imperial vengeance!!

	And yet, perhaps, a fugitive from Rome might have prolonged his miserable life by hiding in the dens and caves of the earth.  But there is one thought in this present hour that all men must consider, and that is:  There is no hiding place from God!

	II.  BODY	

	Psalm 139:7 - "Whither shall I go from thy Spirit? Or whither shall I flee from thy presence?  If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there:  If I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.	

	v.9-10 -  "If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me."

	Some people seem to think that this was written when David was a fugitive - running and hiding from the presence of God.  But actually this is not so.  David was praising God for His ever present and continual watchfulness and care for him.

	It was perhaps with this very Psalm in mind that the Apostle Paul was moved upon to say:	"For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."  (Romans 8:38,39)

	And though much was lost when Adam and Eve sinned, we can't deny that we only have to look around us at the condition of fallen man to realize just how far man has plunged himself into degradation and ruin.

	Adam and Eve had once walked confidently and childlike, without fear and shame.  But now a vast spiritual chasm now divided the creature and the Creator.  All the intimacy that was enjoyed was gone!  Man had become an exile... spiritually aloof... and so very far from God!	But still, as far as he had plunged on his downward path of ruin toward total depravity, there was one valuable thing that they had not lost...  it was the voice of the Eternal God!

	Yes, they had lost a great deal... but there it was... still in the cool of the day (some have translated it to say the 'breeze'.)  And here it is, that visitation of God's Spirit, that came as a haunting voice that echoed through the gently blowing breeze, until it crescendoed into an unbearable ringing in their ears!  Yes, it came... as a presence that filled His sacred garden... but it also came as a voice that haunted their lives!

	Possibly they thought, and even hoped,  "Maybe God won't come by today;  maybe He'll leave us alone."  And too often many have hoped that God would just stay away!  They want God to just leave them alone!  Not wanting their sins to be exposed!  But friend, God will always be there!  He will never leave you alone!  For that haunting voice of God will always come breaking through the defenses of man's hiding places and find him out in the end!

	As far as man had departed from his place in such Divine intimacy and friendship, man was not beyond the reach of that Divine Voice...  that haunting voice of God!

	Even though his soul had sinned;  even though he had transgressed God's Law, and yielded himself to the subtle ways of Satan, his ears were not deafened to that Heavenly Tone that called to him!

	Oh what a tragedy to depart!  What a catastrophic blow to what was once a close communion with God!  What a cost!  What a sorrow to be separated!

	But just suppose if God had not spoken?  What if they had succeeded in finding a place where they could not have heard the voice of God?  What if they had just kept going on, beyond the gate of Paradise?  Out into some region beyond where God's Voice could not have reached them?

	What if God had not even called?  Suppose He would not have come and had never found them?  What if He had just stayed in the vast expanse of the Heavenlies where He abode and not even have bothered?	But the Author of the Ages wanted it this way, because He knew that one day there would be others that would find themselves at odds with God!

	This text is meant to show us a truth about life...  about your life... and my life.  It tells us that even after we fall from our first estate;  when we no longer feel comfortable in His presence; when we feel like it would be better to run or just to let God pass on by;  that there is hope in hearing that Haunting voice of God!!

	Because God doesn't want to be a passing event in your life!  He wants to save what He loves!

	You might ask, "Why doesn't He just leave me alone?!"  I don't know.... but He just won't do it!

	He never ceases to be an encompassing presence!!  He fills the universe, and the far reaches of galaxies and worlds unknown to us are touched by the very Word of His Power!	When you think that the moon is just over a 100 -thousand miles away from the earth.  And Pluto, the farthest planet in our solar system is nearly 10 billion miles away.

	And going out farther, 50 billion miles from the earth is what scientist call Interstellar Space and it reaches distances impossible to imagine.

	It is in that realm we find the Proxima Centauri, the nearest star to our galaxy, which is 25 trillion miles away.  Just to reach that star by space travel, you would have to travel at the speed of light, and even then, it would take an entire lifetime to get there!

	Then beyond that we find what is called Intergalactic Space,  which is the space between the galaxies.  And beyond that point there is no end.

	Can you imagine a place where no human telescope can reach to discover the contents of its black scope?  A place where no man will ever go;  and distances so great that human mathematical equations cannot measure it? 

	And yet still!  That Awesome and Powerful Voice that spoke it all into existence will be there!!  Even there my friend, you'll find that Haunting Voice of God!

	You'll still hear the sound of His Majestic Voice that calls you.... permeating through all the filtering mulk and chaos!

	You may have lost your fellowship.  You may have lost your relationship.  You may have lost your right to converse with the God of Heaven... but you haven't lost the saving sound of the Haunting Voice of God!

	Every path you take... every turn in the road... everywhere you go, His Voice still calls out to you!  Whether you want Him to or not... it's still there... that Haunting Voice of God!
	
	They heard His voice and they hid themselves.  Even after hiding themselves, they heard it again.	

	We may ask, "Why did they hide?  Was it because of what God had done to them?"  No... it was because of what they had done to themselves!

	God didn't turn Adam out of Paradise until Adam turned God out of his life!	I feel that I'm talking to somebody that's about to let the blessings of God become a curse to you!!

	Adam and Eve concealed themselves in the same garden where God had placed them.  And the garden of the Lord concealed God from them!

	There are some blessings that God has so graciously allowed us to enjoy... but when those blessings are distorted and tampered with, they become sinful... they become a curse to us!

	There are people today that try to hide within the church, and use it to stay concealed.  But soon, that spirit of deception causes that covering to be what conceals you from God.  And your only hope is that you can still hear the Haunting Voice of God that's calling you right now.

III. CLOSE