Summary: This message talks about the importance of being real & transparent before God...

Genesis 3:1-7

You may be seated in the presence of the Lord. This text bothers me, and it bothers me for a few reasons on today. In this particular text we find Adam & Eve in the Garden of Eden, and Eve has just been tricked by that Old wise serpent the devil, and has ate of the fruit of the forbidden tree. She has then coaxed Adam into eating of it and now, now they are both realizing that they’re naked. Verse seven in the text says, "And immediately thier eyes were opened and they realized that they were naked, so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves." The King James Version says that, "They were naked and ashamed." And that’s what’s getting to me. Then not to mention later on in the text God is walking through the garden of Eden and Adam & Eve hear him and so they hide from him because they were ashamed. And that’s what I want to talk about. I want to talk for a little bit of time from the subject of, "Naked and Ashamed." Turn to your nieghbor & say "Nieghbor, i’m naked, and ashamed." Yeah turn on the other side of you & tell them "Naked and Ashamed!". Can I talk for just a little while??

My Brothers and my Sisters, if I could keep it real with you for just a few minutes on today, I am convinced today beyond a shadow of a doubt that God wants us to be naked before him. He wants us to be naked. And before I go any further I need to make it clear that when I say the word "naked", many of you are probably thinking about that word in a very physical, sexual conotation. But I need you to take your mind off of the physical and the sexual sense, and put it in the spiritual sense. And so I figured maybe I oughta tell you what it means Biblically to be naked before we go any further. Can I go ahead and drop some things on you? The first thing that nakedness means is, "To be open or discovered". Yes, when you’re naked you’re open for discovery and everything about you is exposed. God wants us to be open with him, to be honest. To be sincere. To be real. To be candid, raw, and transparent before him. We shouldn’t have to hide anything when it comes to God. We should be able to tell him anything, because he already knows all about it. Can I get a witness up in here? We shouldn’t feel wrong about coming to God and being uptight and angry. We should feel free to express ourselves to him. God is a big boy and he can sure nuff handle it amen!! Amen. And so we need to learn how to be open, and honest, and real with God. It makes no sense to hold stuff in with God and not let it out because he already knows!! Christians be trippin’ me out sometimes, talking all that yen-yang about how they’re not gonna talk to God because they’re mad at him and all that stuff. Man, that’s crazy!!! Or we say stuff like, "I’m just gonna hold my breath until God makes a move!" Don’t you know that God can hold his breath a whole lot longer than you!!! But he wants you to be open before him. He doesn’t want you to try to hide anything! But not only that, not only that, nakedness also means, "To be unarmed and defenseless" or it basically means to, "Have your gaurds down." God doesn’t want us to come to him on the defensive end all the time, armed and manned up, trying to keep our gaurd up so that we feel like we can’t let loose and be real around him. You come to him all jakked up, afraid of what to say and how to say it, thinking that you’ll be saying the wrong thing. Come to him afraid to speak your mind, to be real and candid with him about what’s on your mind and what you’re going through. God doesn’t want you to come to him scared & uptight, afraid of him. Yes, the Bible says to fear God, but that’s in a reverence sense, not to the point of where you’re so scared that you’re afraid to talk to him. He wants you to feel comfortable with talking to him and expressing yourself to him, and you can’t be comfortable with somebody and express yourself to them as long as your gaurds are up!!!!! Ohhh, I wish I had somebody to help me up in here!!!!!!! Somebody oughta just shout "Let your gaurds down, let your gaurds down, I said let, let, let, let, let, let your gaurds down!!!" Ohhhhhh, I feel God in here!!!!

I’m going to get it together, i’m going to get it together. But not only does "Naked" mean to be open & discovered, and to Be unarmed & defenseless, but it also means in the Hebrew transliteration, "To be poured or spread out." the Hebrew word is Hithpael. God wants us to pour everything that we have out to him. To be spread out before him like an open book. To lay prostrate before him and to give to him all that we have. God doesn’t want us to hold anything back. Nothing. No matter what it is he can handle it!!! God is sick and tired of us giving him bits & pieces of our lives, holding some things in, and letting some things out. He’s sick and tired of us trying to act like we’ve got it all together, when in fact we don’t!!! My brothers and my sisters, can I drop something on you?? GOD IS TRYING TO GET YOU TO BE REAL!!!!!!!!! HEY, HEY!!!!!!! HEY!!!!! HEYYYYYY!!!!!!!! I dare somebody just shout "Real!" Somebody oughta shout "Halellujiah!!!!!!!"

Well now that we’ve defined nakedness i’m sure that some of you are now asking, "How do I become naked and unashamed before God?" Well, i’m so glad you asked, yes, i’m glad you asked because I asked the Holy Ghost the same question, and he dropped some things on me and I feel obliged to drop them on you since i’m already out there before we get to the text. Somebody oughta say, "Teach Kevin" The first way to become naked before God is to get real. Somebody oughta say "Get real!" You need to get real with God. Stop fakin’ the funk! Stop frontin’ & Stuntin’! Stop trying to be something that you’re not before God!!! Too many of us come before God acting like we’ve got it all together & that we’re holier than thou!!! We come before God like we’re alllllll that & a big old bag of chips, when in reality we are nothing without him & we really DON’T HAVE IT ALLLLLL TOGETHER!!!!!!! You know you really don’t want to come to God like, "Oh holy, most reverent, wise eternal God" alll the time, so BE REAL!!!!!!! Come to him like, "Hey God, what’s up? Yeah, i’m chillin’!!!!" If that’s how you feel than come to him like that!!!!! But we need to get real with God!!!!!!!! Adam & Eve got real with God & told him what was really up, and God respected them for it!!!! Go to God & say, "I’m weak!!!! I’m nothing without you!!!!! I’m frail, fragile, and beat!!!!!" I CAN’T DO IT WITHOUT YOU!!!!!!!!! That’s all God wants is for you to get honest!!!!!

But not only that, you’ve gotta also get transparent! Let the real you shine through!!!!!! When you become transparent, you don’t have a problem admitting your flaws, weaknesses, and shortcomings!!!! You don’t have a problem letting God know the God’s honest truth. You don’t have a problem with telling God how you feel about something because you have become transparent!!!!!! God knows the TRUTH!!!!! So you might as well tell him!!!!!!! Get gut-level honest!!!! Get but-ball naked before God, just let it all hang out!!!!!! That’s what God is looking for on today.... Some people that will get real & BE HONEST!!!!!!! Ohhhhh I feel the spirit of God about to move up in this place!!!!!! I wanna help somebody right now, ha, I need you to understand, ha, that God just wants you to be real with him, ha, he’s looking for some REAL folk, ha, some folk who don’t mind getting honest, ha, and I dare ya today, ha, before you get up outta here, ha, keep it real with God, ha, get gut-level honest with him, ha, and he’ll keep it real, ha, with you, ha, that’s what I like about God, ha, is he ALWAYS, ha, keeps it real, ha, and is transparent, ha, can I get a witness, ha, well now, ha, i’m going back to my seat, ha, but there’s one more thing, ha, I need to teach ya, ha, and then i’m going to the text, ha, not only, ha, do ya need to get real, ha, not only, ha, do you need to get transparent, ha, but you need, ha, to get unashamed, ha, you see that’s what I like about God, ha, you can come to him, ha, unashamed, ha, and tell him, ha, anything, can I get a witness!!!! ha, I can come to God, ha, and say God, ha, I did it!!! I messed up!!!!!! I ain’t got it alllll together, ha, i’m a mess, ha, I screwed up, ha, now could you please, ha, help me!!!!!!!! I’m naked ha, I need help!!!!!! ha, and the only help I can get, ha, is from the Lord!!!! I said from the Lord!!!!!!! He will clothe you, ha, he will fix it, ha, he’ll make it better, ha, Oooooohhhhh, oooooooohhhhh, ooooohhhhhhhh, shout YES!!!!!!! SHOUT YES!!!!!!! HA, SHOUT YESSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I FEEL LIKE GOING CRAZY!!!!!! IFEEL LIKE COMING UP OUTTA MY CLOTHES!!!!!!!!AND GETTING NAKED!!!!!! BEFORE GOD!!!!!!! I FEEL LIKE PREACHING!!!!!!! SOMEBODY OUGHTA SHOUT "KEEP IT REAL KEV!!!!!!!!!!"

Look at the text, ha, i’m going back to my seat, ha, we’ve got this old, wise serpent the devil, ha, and this woman called Eve, ha, and they’re now having, ha, a meeting at the tree, ha, of forbidden fruit, ha, and the serpent says, ha, "Did God really say what he said?", ha, he was questioning the authenticity of what God said, ha,and the woman says, ha, "Yeah, God did say that!! We can eat of any tree, ha, but not this one, ha, for if we eat of this tree ha, we shall surely die!!!!! ha, i’m going back to my seat, ha, but look at what the enemy says, ha, you shall not surely die, ha, he lies to her and says, ha, you’re eyes will be opened, ha, and you shall be, ha, like God, ha" I need to stop right there and tell you ha, the devil is a liar, ha, and I think we need to do like Jesus did, ha, and put him, ha, UNDER OUR FEET!!!!! ha, can I get a witness? Ha, well now, ha, the woman makes up her mind, ha, to eat of the fruit, ha, and gives some to her husband, ha, and the Bible says, ha, that immediately, ha, their eyes were opened, ha, and they realized, ha, that they were naked, ha, and they made coverings for themselves, ha, That’s the problem, ha, with some of us on today, ha, we’re trying to cover up, ha, alllllllll of our "stuff" ha, before God, ha, because we don’t want God, ha, to see it, ha, but we seem to forget, ha, that God ALREADY KNOWS!!!! ha, stop covering stuff up before God, ha, get naked, ha, get real, ha, get honest, ha, shout yes, ha, shout yes, ha, SHOUT YEEEEEEESSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I’ve gotta get outta here, ha, i’m about to get happy, ha, all by myself, ha, at the end, ha, of chapter 2, ha, it says they were naked, ha, and unashamed, ha, but now, ha, they realize thier nakedness, ha, and they were ashamed, ha, I asked the Holy Ghost, ha, is that it??? Is that all, ha, he said "Naw Kevin, ha, keep on reading, ha, and so I kept on reading ha, and the word says, ha, that later on, ha, in the cool of the day, ha, the Lord was walking in the Garden, ha, and they heard him, ha, and they hid themselves, ha, too many of us, ha, are trying to hide, ha, from God, ha, but how many people know, ha, you can’t hide, ha, from God!!!!!!!! Wherever you go, ha, there he is, ha, come here David, ha "If I make my bed in hell, ha, thou art with me, ha, if I make my bed in Heaven, ha, thou art with me, ha, If I fly away, ha, to the uttermost parts, ha, there you are!!!!!!!!" YOU CAN’T ESCAPE, HA, YOU CAN’T ESCAPE!!!!!!!! SHOUT YES!!!!!!! SHOUT YES!!!!!!! SHOUT YESSSSSSS!!!!!!!!

Well now, ha, i’m going back to my seat ha, i’m almost done, ha, but then the Lord has a conversation with them ,ha, they fess up, ha, they get real, ha, and God curses, ha, the serpent, ha, the man, ha, and the woman, ha, he throws them out, ha, of the garden ha, of Eden, ha, but he doesn’t ever leave, ha, thier presence, ha, I need you to understand, ha, that when you get naked ha, before God, ha, thier may be some consequences, ha, and some reprecussions, ha, but suck it up, ha, put your pride behind you, ha, and grit your teeth ha, and bear it, ha, because in the end, ha, you’ll be better off, ha, I said better off, ha, I said better off, ha, somebody oughta shout ha, BETTER OFFFF!!!!!!!!!!! I’ve got one more thing, ha, that I need to tell you, ha, i’m closing the book, ha, but look down around, ha, verse number 21, ha, it says "The Lord God made garmets for them, ha, and clothed them" Ha, I feel the Holy Ghost, all up in this place ha, But can I tell you a secret? ha, that’s what I like about God, ha, is that when you come to him, ha, naked, ha, you don’t have to be ashamed, ha, because you can be rest assured ha, he won’t put your bussiness out there, ha, he won’t belittle you, ha, he won’t gossip on you, ha, he won’t backstab you, ha, he won’t make you feel bad, ha, but by the time he’s done with you, ha, he’ll clothe you, ha, he’ll make you whole, ha, he’ll make you better, ha, then you were before, ha, he’ll encourage you, ha, he’ll uplift you, ha, He’ll build you up, ha, and won’t tear you down, ha, I’m going back to my seat, ha, BUT I THANK GODDDDDDD!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ha, THAT HE IS ABLE HA, TO KEEP ME, HA, TO CLOTHE ME, HA, TO BUILD ME UP HA, IN MY NAKEDNESS!!!!!!!!!! I DARE SOMEBODY, HA, GET NAKED BEFORE GOD!!!!!!!!!! GET NAKED!!!!!!! GET NAKED!!!!!!!!! HA, STRIP OFF, HA, EVERY INHIBITION, EVERY FEAR, HA, EVERY DOUBT, HA, GET TRANSPARENT, HA, GET HONEST, HA, GET BUT BALL NAKED, HA, GET GUT LEVEL REAL WITH GOD, HA, AND HE’LL GET GUT LEVEL REAL WITH YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! KEEP IT REAL!!!!!!!! HA, KEEP IT REAL!!!!!!!!! HA, KEEP IT REAL!!!!!!!!!!!!! HAQ, SHOUT YES!!!!!!!!! SHOUT YES!!!!!!!!! SHOUT YES!!!!!!!!! SHOUT YES!!!!!!!!!! SHOUT YES!!!!!!!! SSSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUTTTTTTTTTT YYYYYYYYYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE...............

I’m done....... I’m done....... WHOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!! Ha, ha, ha! We’ve got to learn how to get naked before God. To get real... To get honest... To get transparent. Many of us, are wondering why we haven’t reached the next level in life? It’s because we can’t get real with God. We can’t be honest. And that’s really alll God wants. Is for us to serve him and love him wholeheartedly & to keep it real with him. I challenge you to go home today and get in a quiet space, and really get naked before the Lord. Let him know everything. Just lay it all out. Get gut-level honest. And then see how good you feel when you get up. Well, what do I want you to walk away with today? I guess the whole thing is, God knows everything, and so we shouldn’t feel ashamed in coming to him... just...like...we...are. It’s okay to just be real with God. And I want you to walk away knowing that if you get naked with God. He’ll clothe you with righteousness in the proccess. I said he’ll clothe you. Alright, well i’m going to leave it alone. There may be someone here...