In Genesis chapter 4, we read of the
first murder, where Cain slew his brother Abel,
and God told Cain, The voice of thy
brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground.
And now art thou cursed from the earth,
which hath opened her mouth to receive thy
brother's blood from thy hand.
When thou tellest the ground, it shall not
henceforth yield unto thee her strength.
A fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be
in the earth.
And as to tell of my message day,
friends, fugitive on the run, because ever since
fallen man was kicked out of paradise because
of sin, man has been a fugitive on
the run from a holy God.
Years ago I was standing on the range
of a golf course hitting practice balls, and
standing next to me was a big man
who cussed a lot.
In fact, every time he hit a golf
ball, he took God's name in vain.
Obscenities were flying out of this man's mouth
every time he opened it.
Finally, I turned to him.
Can I ask you a question, I asked.
Sure, he said.
I looked up at him and said, How
is your relationship with God?
He smiled a big grin and replied, Fine,
I have a great relationship with God.
I leave him alone, and he leaves me
alone.
That's what the big boy said.
Men are fugitives from God because they stand
under his condemnation awaiting the sentencing of the
law.
Those who don't believe in God feel no
need of him.
Those who have other gods, like success and
wealth, fail to recognize the one true God.
Bill Gates and Warren Buffett are two of
the richest men in the world, and they
don't believe in God because money is their
God.
The God of the Bible is an almighty
God, omnipotent and omnipresent, and all-powerful and
all-sufficient.
God is righteous, God is holy, and God
is true.
But men make excuses to try and outrun
God.
They say God doesn't exist, or religion is
just a sham, or at the most a
crutch.
But you can't escape God, friends.
In Amos 9-2, we read, Though they
dig into hell, thence shall mine hand take
them.
Though they climb up to heaven, thence will
I bring them down.
We see that man can't outrun God because
he's got a long reach.
Whether man tries to slither down to hell
or climb up to heaven, God will take
him and bring him down.
In Amos 9-8, we read, Behold the
eyes of the Lord God are upon the
sinful kingdom.
Man can't outrun God because God has excellent
eyesight.
There is nowhere to hide where he can't
find you.
Man is a fugitive on the run from
God, and he thinks he can sin all
he wants to and get away with it.
But we read in Amos 9-9, For
lo, I will command, and I will sift
the house of Israel among all nations, like
as corn is sifted in a sieve, yet
shall not the least grain fall upon the
earth.
What this means, friends, is that God will
sift out every evil thing because he keeps
detailed records on every one of us.
Not one deed will pass by his judgment.
For although man thinks now that he's getting
away with sin, a day is fast approaching
where he'll be held accountable and judged for
his sin, because you can't outrun God and
get by.
When Nietzsche died, he found out that God
wasn't dead.
When Helen Reddy died, she found out that
God wasn't a woman.
When Voltaire and Stephen Hawkins died, they found
out that God existed after all, as they
met him as their judge.
Man is but a fugitive on the run
from a holy God, and the chase will
end one day, one of two ways.
Man will either surrender to a sovereign savior
and cry out, I can't resist him any
longer, or man will run as far as
he can away from God until death lays
hold of him, and then they will meet
God as their judge.
But either way, you can't outrun God and
get by.