God’s Mission to Us: pt 1 - 230401

SPEAKER A Hello, I'm Kylie Fisher. Welcome to let God speak. SPEAKER B One. SPEAKER A John. Three. One says, behold what manner of love the Father hath given unto us. It is by beholding, by admiring the character of God that we become like him. Stay with us as we learn of God's mission so that we can copy it in our lives. On our panel today, we have Kaysie Vokurka and Steven Groom. Welcome, Kaysie and Steve. SPEAKER C Hello, Chloe. SPEAKER A Let's bow our heads for a moment of prayer before we begin. Dear Lord, we're so grateful for your many blessings to us. We really have such a beautiful lesson topic that we're studying today, beginning a new series, dear Lord, and we have a wonderful topic for today. So pray, dear Lord, that you will please be with us. Please send us your Holy Spirit so that we can understand these important truths and how they relate to our lives. In Jesus name I pray. Amen. So this week we actually are beginning a new series and today we're looking at the story of God's mission. We're looking at the story of God's efforts to reach us. I would like to begin this topic by reading one of my favorite verses, jeremiah, chapter 31 and verse three. This verse says, the Lord has appeared of old to me, saying yes, I have loved you in an everlasting love. Therefore with loving kindness I have drawn you. So Kaysie, let's start with you. What does this verse tell us about the nature and extent of God's call to us? SPEAKER D It's very interesting, this verse, and to start this lesson with this verse, because I can find three key things from this that are very meaningful. Firstly is the fact that it says God has loved us, but that's because he is love. So God is love, therefore he loves us. And also it mentions that he loves us with an everlasting love. God is the only one who is truly love and truly everlasting. And so he's the only one who can give us this kind of love towards us. And then the next bit, he's drawn us with this lovingkindness. And that just highlights how much he wants us to be close to Him and how much that his love is like an invitation to us. It's something that we would naturally want to come near to. SPEAKER A Yeah. And he wants to draw us to Him. And so he's desiring to be in that relationship. There's many facets to love, but I think that longing after relationship is really at the heart of it all. So Steve, moving over to you. And when we look at all the things that God does, the things that he has made, those really show us what God is like and they show us his character. So looking back at the creation story, right back in the beginning of the Bible, genesis, chapter one and two, what sort of relationships do we see in that original and perfect creation. SPEAKER C Okay, to start off, let's go to Genesis chapter one and verse 27. And God's ideal is seen in his creation of mankind. It says God created man, mankind in his own image and that's repeated in the image of God. He created Him male and female. God created them. So God creates mankind in separate beings, female and male, and they have a need for communion and fellowship with one another. And then as we go to the next chapter, Genesis two, verse three, it says God blessed the 7th day and sanctified it. And that means made it holy in that he had rested from all his work, which God created them and part of that Sabbath. And if we go to Leviticus 23, verse three, it says it is a holy convention. And so this is the time when God meets with his creation for special communion that focuses on their developing their relationship with Him. SPEAKER A Yeah. So it's an opportunity for us to spend a whole day just focused on. SPEAKER C God and that was what creation was for. It was about his desire for us all to commune with. SPEAKER A Yeah. Yeah. So that's really beautiful. So God really designed Adam and Eve for this beautiful communion with Him. But Kaysie, did they have any choice in it or were they just sort of forced into this relationship? SPEAKER D Yeah, it's very interesting because naturally by creation they were born into harmony with God. But God didn't leave them to stay in that place. He gave them a choice. And we can see this example in Genesis chapter two. In Genesis chapter two and verse 29, it describes a bit about the garden. And towards the end of that verse it says that there was a tree of life in the midst of the garden and a tree of the knowledge of good and evil. So he's got two key trees there. And later in this chapter in verses 16 and 17, god says that there's one tree which you shouldn't eat from. And so here he gives this choice. And this was just really a test for their loyalty. Would they obey God or not in this one thing? And this was going to be the testing point as to whether they would choose to stay in harmony with God or whether they would choose a different path. SPEAKER A Yeah, and we know from Genesis chapter three that very sadly, rather than staying in that loving relationship with God, instead they formed an alliance with a serpent that appeared to them that had done nothing for them. And that we know from Revelation twelve, verse nine, that this was the devil and Satan, who was an angel that was created by God, was perfect. We don't have time to go into it in detail, but in Isaiah Ezekiel we see know he fell, he deceived a third of the So. And then Adam and Eve, they chose to sin. So Steve, what was God's response when they really rejected his love. SPEAKER C That's very good. It's very important to see that. And so summarizing so far before sin, God, Adam and Eve enjoyed open communion with God in the garden. But after sin, and I like to turn to chapter three, verse eight and nine, and it says and they that is Adam and Eve heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day. Now, before they enjoyed open communion, they saw Him, but now they only heard God walking around in the garden. And Adam and Eve, his wife, hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden. And the Lord God called unto Adam and said unto him, where are you? So the change is not in God. God comes to have communion with Adam and Eve, but the change is in them. Because of sin, they want to hide from the voice. And so that continues today. Basically, mankind in general, except for a minority, are still hiding from God. God's special day of communing with people, every Sabbath is still there, but people are rejecting and hiding from Him. SPEAKER A Yeah. And today, sadly, many people might not even know about the Sabbath and about the fact that God is looking for them. God actually came looking for not because he didn't know where they were, but God is the one who initiates searching for us even when we fall away from Him. So that's really beautiful thing to me, it reminds me of Luke, chapter 15, the lost sheep, the lost coin, even the prodigal son, the Father sees a prodigal son from a long way away. He was looking for him, his heart was longing for him. And so that really shows that the heart of God, that he goes seeking after us. But then Kaysie God, I think, went even further than that. And you have a beautiful promise that God made at this time to Adam and Eve. SPEAKER D Yeah, definitely. A little bit later in that same chapter in Genesis three, it says in verse 15, and I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your seed and her seed. He shall bruise your head and you shall bruise his heel. And this was an amazing promise because this was given at a time where Adam and Eve, they had just sinned, they had just chosen disobedience from God, but they had no idea of the extent of the consequences that this choice was going to bring. And even when they had no idea, god knew what it would bring. And he gave the solution at that time and he promised them he was going to give a solution even though the solution was going to cost Him so much. But he was able to attend to their need. And we see a little bit later that in the Bible, in Isaiah, it talks about God was going to send Christ and his name was going to be called Emmanuel. And when we have a look over at Matthew, matthew, chapter one and verse 23, it says, behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which is translated God with us. So God's solution is actually an opportunity where God is wanting to come close to us again and be with us again when we had chosen a path that was being going a distance from yeah, yeah. SPEAKER A So there's that constant longing actually after relationship, isn't it? So God sought for Adam and know he initiated or re initiated, I guess, that relationship. He also provided the remedy, as you've said there. Kaysie so Steve, as people began to multiply, adam and Eve had children, grandchildren and so on, as people began to multiply on the earth, how did people respond to God's great sacrifice? SPEAKER C I believe that's. SPEAKER A okay, yeah, well, it's interesting because. SPEAKER D When we read in Genesis, genesis, chapter six, if we just go there, it says that the earth was corrupt before the Lord and the earth was filled with violence. So a majority, vast majority disregarded God and disregarded following him. But earlier in verse eight of that same verse, it says, Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. And then in verse nine it says, Noah walked with God. So there was a small family line that still were drawn to God and follow God faithfully in the earth. SPEAKER C It's interesting that the majority who reject God still follow religion, but most religion is based on a way of forgetting God and not having communion with Him, as some theologians have noticed. SPEAKER A Yeah, well, it can be really easy to become caught up in the forms of religion without having really that heart longing and that deep relationship that is really the center of true move. Steve, we will give this question to so let's move on. So God renewed his promise that he'd originally given to Adam and Eve. He renewed it to Noah and it then passed on to someone else. So, Steve, can you tell us a bit? SPEAKER C Yes, he passed it on to Abraham and we read this story in Genesis chapter 22. And God promises him because of his faithfulness to God. He responded to him by coming out of Earl, the Chaldees's home where there was a lot of apostasy and idolatry there. And God says to him in verse 18 of chapter 22, in your seed that word seed means descendants. So in your descendants shall all the nations of the earth be blessed because you have obeyed my voice in coming out of the world. So the promises is passed to Abraham and includes his descendants. And through Abraham seed came Israel, Jacob and his twelve sons. How will they bless the earth? Well, these offspring had the truth of the Gospel, which is a blessing of eternal life to those who accept him. And ultimately from his sea comes the actual Messiah. And if we go to Galatians, chapter three, verse 16, galatians, chapter three and verse 16, paul picks up on this and he says, now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He said not to seeds as of many, but of one seed, singular. And so ultimately this prophecy is about the Messiah coming from the seed of Abraham and to your seed who is Christ. SPEAKER A Yeah, that's really wonderful. And also I love it. In Genesis 22, verse 18, in you will all nations of the earth be blessed. So Christ was not only for coming for the Jewish people, but he was to come to save all, but sort of sticking with Abraham and those earlier people, sort of back before the time of Christ, these were promises about Christ that was to come. So Kaysie, moving on to you. How do we see these promises and God's promise of the covenant being fulfilled to other of Abraham's descendants and what's kind of like the focus of the promise? SPEAKER D Yeah, very good question. It's so interesting because this theme is coming up all the time of how God wants to be with us. And when we look at a couple of key descendants of Abraham, we can find one in Genesis 39. This one's about Joseph. And Genesis 39, verse two, it says the Lord was with Joseph. He was a successful man, so God's presence with him. And then a few chapters over in actually Exodus chapter three, verse twelve, again, this is talking to Moses. This time it says, so he said, that is God, I will certainly be with you. And then he said he'll give him a sign. But just this theme of how God wants to be with his people. He wants that relationship reconnected, and everything that he's doing to try and save us is about restoring us into that harmony and communion with yeah. SPEAKER A Yeah, Steve. And I think, Steve, that you had a really great verse about how God wanted to be with yeah. Could you share that? SPEAKER C So when Israel came out of Egypt, one of the first things that God asked what's his name? Moses, to do was to build a sanctuary. And we read that in in Exodus chapter 25 and verse eight. And God commands them, he says, and let them Israel, make me God, a sanctuary. And this is the reason why, so that I, God, can dwell among them. So God's desire we see here is to restore that relationship somehow. There's something about the sanctuary or the temple services that was to bring God closer to his people. And we see that when they built this sanctuary, which was an elaborate form there, and on the inner tabernacle was the most holy place, the most sacred place of the tabernacle. And they had the Ark of God's covenant. And in the ark was the Ten Commandments. Above the Ark actually was the literal presence of God called the Shekinah glory. So that used to come down at certain times and rest between the cherubim above the Ark of the Covenant, which was God's throne. And this also represented God's plan for individuals as well, because both Jesus called his body a temple, and Paul said that, don't you know in one corinthians that your body is the temple of God, which you have? So the most holy place in a person is their heart of which the Holy Spirit can dwell. And this is the ultimate hope for God, for us, that dwells with us through the Holy Spirit. SPEAKER A Yeah. So the know that's a huge topic of its own that we don't have time to cover in detail today. But it was a very symbolic system and you've brought out to us one of the key symbols in that, that God actually wants to dwell in us and he wants to dwell in our heart and have that very close relationship with us. So I think, Kaysie, let's move on to you because yeah, Israel entered into a covenant with God, but once again, they really were not faithful. And in God's dealings with Israel, we just see a tremendous example of his mercy. So how did God respond to that? Did he go back on his promises despite the unfaithfulness of Israel? SPEAKER D Well, no, he didn't go back on his promises. God is faithful despite man's unfaithfulness, and it's because he wants to give everyone a choice. Those of us who have grown up in a sinful world, if we didn't have what Christ gave us, we'd have no choice. And so we find in Galatians four, verse four, it says, but when the fullness of the time had come, god sent forth his son born of a woman, born under the law to redeem those who were under the law that we might receive the adoption as sons. And further to that, if we have a quick look over at Luke one, verse 32, it says, he will be great and he will be called the Son of the Highest, and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David. And so this is the promise of Christ that God sent Christ. He was born as a human, but he was God in a human form, and he came with a mission to redeem us, and eventually he will be, as it says, on the throne. So he will be the ruler in the end, but he has worked in a very humbling but powerful way to redeem us and to bring us back to that relationship with God. SPEAKER A Yeah. So Steve, could you share with us just briefly from perhaps John, chapter one and verse 14, just a little bit more about developing a little bit more what Kaysie said about how Jesus was God in human flesh? Yeah. Would you be able to share that. SPEAKER C Verse with okay, yes. So John, chapter one, verse one, it says that the Word was God. In the beginning, the word was with God. The word was God. And then verse 14, it says, and the Word was made flesh. And this is a mystery and dwelt amongst us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the Father, the only begotten of the Father. And then we go to verse 18, says no man has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him. So this is the best way that God was able to actually dwell with us, was veiling his glory. Because no man can see God and live in his literal glory as God, so God veiled his glory, became a man, and that man is revealed in Jesus Christ. We're able to view his attributes of his life as given in the Gospels. SPEAKER A Yeah, that's wonderful. And also there's a wonderful text, I believe it's in Hosea that says that the glory of the second temple that was built after the captivity would be greater than that of the former. So in the first temple, as Steve was explaining to us, there was the beautiful Shekinah glory, which was absolutely it was so bright that people could not even go into the temple without really being slain. Those who went in there, apart from the high priest on the Day of Atonement, could not even go in there. And yet Christ in human form had a glory that even exceeded that because we could see his character. So Kaysie, let's move over to you and let's talk about what depths God was willing to go to and Christ was willing to go to to fulfill his mission. SPEAKER D Yeah, very, very amazing thing to look into. In Matthew chapter 26, verse 38 and 39, it says then he said to them, my soul is exceeding sorrowful even to death. Stay here and watch with me. And he went a little farther and fell on his face and prayed, saying, o my Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will. And then if we look a little bit over at chapter 27 and verse 46, we see another little detail here where Jesus says jesus cried out with a loud voice saying, eli ela lama sabakthani. And that is my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? And so these two verses, we just get a little glimpse that he experienced a suffering that was he felt it like he was going to die. And it was so terrible that he wished that he could escape it. But the only way to save us was to go through with that. And this suffering was his suffering for our sins, which sin naturally separates us from God. So Christ actually felt that separation, that severing of it felt like severing of a relationship with God the Father. And he had been with god through all eternity had never been separated. Any of us who've had, like, a broken relationship, we know how painful that can be. This was God eternally one with this person then separated. We cannot even comprehend how much of a suffering and a cost this would have been for God and for Christ to go through this for us. SPEAKER A Yeah. And like, as we were sort of that first verse that we started with, god has loved us with an everlasting love, but the love between the members of the Godhead even sort of, in a sense, exceeds that. So, yeah, it's just incredible. It's beyond us to understand all of these things. Like God dwelling in human flesh, they're all mysteries that we can't fully understand, but God has revealed them to us. It's just so amazing. Okay, so Jesus experienced that terrible pain on the cross of Calvary. Even his physical pain was hardly felt because of that crushing pain on his heart, that severing of relationship with His Father. But he went through it. He triumphed, he rose again, and then he ascended to heaven. So what was his parting promise to his disciples? SPEAKER D Yeah. His parting promise is found in Matthew 28, verse 18 to 20. And if I just highlight, especially in verse 20 that he says, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you, and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. And so he is again just wanting to be with us, wanting to restore that connection, and he's wanting us to be able to share the good news of that with those around us. Hence why he gives a commission there to go and make disciples. But the purpose is to bring people back into our relationship with yeah, yeah. SPEAKER A And it's really as we unite with God in his work that know how we experience his presence with us. Yes. So, Steve, you were sort of talking a little bit earlier on about the Shekinah glory and that that represents that God is wanting to dwell in us. Could you tell us a little bit more about that? How does Jesus because he said, I'm with you always and yet he's in heaven. SPEAKER C How is that possible? Yes, well, John brings this out in John, chapter 14. If we go to verse 16, when when Jesus ascended back to heaven, he says, I will pray the Father and he shall give you another comforter so that he may abide with you forever. And verse 17, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive because it does not see Him, neither know Him. So this special gift is given to believers who accept Jesus as Lord and Savior because of what they've done for Him. And then Jesus as our heavenly High Priest, will give us the Holy Spirit of Truth to be with us forever. And it says here in verse 17, but you know Him, for he dwells with you and shall be in you. And then verse 18, I will not leave you comfortless, I will come to you. So this is ultimate fulfillment of God being with us, that he sends the third person of the Godhead, the Holy Spirit, to be within us, to lead us and to guide us into all truth. If I could go into another. SPEAKER A So, yeah, that's really interesting. So we've kind of a little bit hinted at that there's kind of like three persons in the Godhead, and it's through the Holy Spirit that Christ actually dwells with us now, but we know that he is dwelling with us now. He's dwelling with us in our hearts. But Kaysie, is that all that there is, or is there something a little bit more to look forward to? And we could probably just about finish on this. SPEAKER D Yeah, so it's very interesting. In John, chapter 14, verse one to three, it says, let not your heart be troubled you believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself. That where I am, there you may be also. And again, that same theme, christ has promised he's going to come back for us. He wants to take us home to heaven because he ultimately wants that relationship fully restored so that we are back in his presence. SPEAKER A Yeah, so we will go to heaven. But then God also promises that he will create a new earth. You can read about that in Revelation 21 and 22. And he will dwell with us there through all eternity. So that's all we've got time for today. Thank you both so much for being on our panel. The Son of God gave all life and love and suffering for our redemption. Now he calls us to partner with Him. Will you accept his invitation today? We are glad you're with us on. Let God speak. You can watch this program again or catch up on our website, Threeabnostralia.org Au. Email us if you wish on [email protected] au. We hope you will join us again next time. God bless you. SPEAKER B You have been listening to Let God Speak, a production of Three ABN Australia Television. To catch up on past programs, please visit 3abnustralia.org au. Call us in Australia on 024-973-3456 or email [email protected] au. We'd love to hear from.