LOOKING FOR LOVE?
GOD WANTS TO BE WITH YOU! God originally created us to live eternally with him. But a gap has been created between us and Him. What caused that gap, and how can we be reunited with him?
Although a huge gap was created that caused a separation between us and God, God, in his great love and mercy, did not give up on us. He refused to be separated from us. Therefore, he devised a plan to reunite us with him. In this series of lessons, we will look at God’s plan (his mission) to bridge the gap between us and him.
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Let Us Inviting God’s Presence:
God Almighty, thank you for loving us and devising a plan (your mission) to bridge the gap and reunite us with you. Help us love you back and desire nothing more than to use the bridge you have devised so that we may be eternally with you. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
A mission is an important purpose, assignment, job, plan, or task for a person or group of people. God loves us so much that He has devised a plan. His mission and plan are to save us. Some might think that His mission begins with Abraham’s call to leave his father’s people, take his household, and go to a place he had never heard of or seen. Or perhaps others may think that His mission originated with the Exodus when God delivered the Israelites from Egyptian slavery. Read about Abraham’s call in Genesis 12:1-4 and the Israelites’ freedom from slavery in Exodus 12:31-42.
Still, others may assume that His mission began when Jesus, His son, visited this earth.
You can read about Jesus’ birth and visit to this earth in Mathew 1:1-25. Or perhaps still others might say that His mission began with Paul, who initially treated Christians cruelly but, after an encounter with God, went from being a persecutor of Christians to becoming a preacher in the Christian church and a follower of the Lord, Jesus Christ.
Read about Paul’s experience in Acts 13:4–14:26.
Surprisingly, God’s mission began with God himself. It began when he brought the universe into existence and created us humans.
Genesis 1:26, 27 tells us:
26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. (Genesis 1:26-27)
This was the beginning of God’s mission. This was the beginning of His plan.
So, the mission, God’s mission, began at creation.
As a matter of fact, God is our creator. He is our Father; He loves us. Therefore, in the Bible, we find that God, like a loving parent, reaches out to us and desires nothing more than to have us near him.
This we see in his relationship with Adam and Eve, our fore-parents. Even after they disobey God and cause sin to enter our once-perfect world, He continues his mission of love, his plan to be with us.
After sin, He continued his mission of love. However, add to it He must now reestablish His relationship with us humans. Sin caused a separation between us and Him; thus, He must now bridge that gap.
Therefore, God’s plan now includes saving us from sin and death. The good news is that Revelations 21 and 22 tell us that, in the end, God’s mission (his plan) will be fully accomplished.
It is OK to go to the end of the book and read about what happens to God’s plan for us in the end. Read Revelations 21 and 22.
Knowing the end of the story is a great motivating factor for us to be willing to carry out the mission God has for us. What is his mission for us? It is to share with others the Good News about God’s mission to reunite us humans with him.
But before He can reunite us with Him, He must destroy sin and those who persist in living a life of sin. So, our job is to warn everyone about what will happen to them if they insist on living a life of sin.
For sin is what separates us from God, yet God wants to be reunited with us. Revelation 14:6, 7 proclaims a warning for us humans. It says:
6 Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth—to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people—
7 saying with a loud voice, “Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.” (Revelation 14:6-7)
Therefore, to become a part of God’s mission, we must have a relationship with him. We must also understand the work God wants to do in our lives. (Split) But first, we must know who this God is who wants to save us and be in a loving relationship with us.
To learn about this God of love, Read Genesis 3:9–15 and continue to the next segment of this video. Segment 2: The God Who Reaches Out to Us
God’s Mission, My Mission (Lesson 1)
‘God’s Mission to Us: Part 1
Segment 2: The God Who Reaches Out to Us
God created us humans in His image and His likeness. In the beginning, He gave us a perfect and beautiful world to live in. Everything in it was perfect. In a perfect world, what then was God’s plan for us? It was God’s plan, His mission for us to live in a perfect relationship centered on his love for us, our love for Him, and our love for one another.
But to keep our love for him and our love for each other real, in his infinite love and wisdom, he knew that we needed free will, freedom of choice.
Thus, he gave us both the gift of love and free will. He gave us the freedom to choose to love Him and others. He gave us the freedom to choose between good and evil. (Split)
Our choice to choose good was a choice to love Him and love others.
Thus, God clearly instructed Adam and Eve about the danger and deadly consequence of disobeying his instructions and the value of loving Him and Adam and Eve loving one another. Genesis 2:16-17 says:
16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat;
17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” (Genesis 2:16-17)
Nevertheless, Satan deceived Eve into thinking that nothing bad would happen when she ate fruit from the forbidden tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Of course, in Genesis 3:5, we learn of Satan’s lie to Eve. He told her the fruit would make her wise; it would make her: “Be like God, knowing good and evil.”
As many of us know, the sad and awful story is that Eve chose to eat the forbidden fruit. Worse yet, she gave the fruit to her husband, Adam. Likewise, Adam made the same poor choice that his wife, Eve, made. He ate the forbidden fruit. Thus, sin ruined God’s perfect earth. Consequently, God’s perfect creation became stained (tainted) by sin. (Split)
Adam and Eve’s sin (their choice to disobey God and eat the forbidden fruit) changed God’s plan and purpose for this entire planet.
You see, Before God created the earth, He put a plan in place to save humanity just in case they chose to sin and disobey Him. Now, God had to put His plan into action. Genesis 3:9–15 tells us what happened.
9 Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?”
10 So he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.”
11 And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?”
12 Then the man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.”
13 And the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
14 So the Lord God said to the serpent: “Because you have done this, You are cursed more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly you shall go, And you shall eat dust All the days of your life.
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.” (Genesis 2:16-17)
Now let me ask, what were God’s first words to Adam after they sinned, and why are these words relevant today?
First of all, God knew where Adam and Eve were when he asked them where they were. But like our parents who ask us when we were little where are you or what are you doing, God asked them where they were for a good reason.
Dominated by fear, Adam and Eve needed to see what was taking place. They needed to understand the seriousness of what they had done. They needed to recognize the terrible consequences of their sin.
Furthermore, God also wanted to end Satan’s control over them and us humans. Satan needed to be defeated. So, God shared with Adam and Eve His plan to redeem humanity. His mission to save us is spelled out in Genesis 3:14, 15.
In 2 Corinthians 5:19, we find the promise of God “reconciling the world to Himself.” This promise is our only hope.
Do you see why God went looking for Adam and Eve before He judged them and gave them His promise of reconciliation?
In other words, God came looking for fallen humanity. Although the situation seemed hopeless from the perspective of Adam and Eve, God’s question to Adam, “‘Where are you?’ ” in Genesis 3:9, addresses two important points. (1) our fallen, sinful nature, (2) God’s loving, missionary nature to seek us out to redeem us.
In other words, God is the One who goes looking for lost sinners. He is the one who searches for us. He does this because He loves us, he wants to save us, and he wants to have a close relationship with us.
God’s effort to seek out and redeem humanity did not end with Adam and Eve; it extends to every generation. To see just how far-reaching his mission for redeeming is, continue to segment 3 in this video: The God Who Longs to Be With Us
God’s Mission, My Mission (Lesson 1)
‘God’s Mission to Us: Part 1
Segment 3 The God Who Longs to Be with Us
Genesis 17:7, Genesis 26:3, and Genesis 28:15 show us that God’s mission to save humanity did not end with Adam and Eve. Notice what these texts say: (Split)
Genesis 17:7
7 And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you. (Genesis 17:7)
Genesis 26:3
3 Dwell in this land, and I will be with you and bless you; for to you and your descendants I give all these lands, and I will perform the oath which I swore to Abraham your father. (Genesis 26:3)
Genesis 28:15
15 Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land, for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you.” (Genesis 28:15)
God lovingly and consistently seeks to keep his covenant (His agreement) with us.
Throughout the Old Testament, we see Him working to fulfill His purposes (his mission to humanity).
For instance, After the Flood, we see in Genesis 11:1–9 that the people from the city of Babel decided to live in one place.
Thus, they decided to build a city and a tower that would reach the heavens. (Split)
However, God in love intervened. He confused the language of the builders. Because they had difficulty communicating, they could not continue their work of building the tower. So they, therefore, went their different ways and were scattered around the world. (Split)
Read about this incident in Genesis 11:1-9
1 Now the whole earth had one language and one speech.
2 And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they dwelt there.
3 Then they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They had brick for stone, and they had asphalt for mortar.
4 And they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.”
5 But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built.
6 And the Lord said, “Indeed the people are one and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them.
7 Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.”
8 So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they ceased building the city.
9 Therefore its name is called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth; and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth. (Genesis 11:1–9)
Then, in Genesis 12:1–3, we see God choosing Abram (who later became Abraham) to serve Him and become a channel of His blessing to the entire world.
God’s promises to bless Abraham and his descendants. Abraham’s descendants were many, but one was to be responsible for bridging the gap between God and humanity.
You see, everyone on the face of the earth would be blessed because of Abraham’s descendants, and all humanity would have the opportunity and choice to return to God through Abraham’s seed.
Genesis 12:1-3
1 Now the Lord had said to Abram: “Get out of your country, From your family And from your father’s house, To a land that I will show you.
2 I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing.
3 I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you, And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” (Genesis 12:1-3)
Our loving God promises Abraham and his future generations many things. God promises in Genesis 17:7-8
7 And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you.
8 Also I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.” (Genesis 17:7-8) (Split)
in Genesis 26:3, He promises
3 Dwell in this land, and I will be with you and bless you; for to you and your descendants I give all these lands, and I will perform the oath which I swore to Abraham your father. (Genesis 26:3) (Split)
and Genesis 28:15, He promises
15 Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you.” (Genesis 28:15)
As history goes on, Joseph, a descendant of Abraham, ends up in Egypt. God uses Joseph to save His people during a time of famine. The Bible tells us in Genesis 39:2, 21, 23 that the Lord was with Joseph during the most difficult times in his life.
2 The Lord was with Joseph, and he was a successful man, and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian.
21 But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him mercy, and He gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison.
23 The keeper of the prison did not look into anything that was under Joseph’s authority, because the Lord was with him; and whatever he did, the Lord made it prosper. (Genesis 39:2, 21, 23)
Generations later, God sent Moses to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. In Exodus 3:12, God promises Moses, “I will certainly be with you.”
Trusting in God’s promise to help him and be with him, Moses led the Hebrew people, the Israelites, and the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob out of Egyptian slavery to freedom.
Time after time, Yahweh (God) demonstrated His deep love and longing to be with His people. For example, notice what it says in Exodus 29:43, 45.
43 And there I will meet with the children of Israel, and the tabernacle shall be sanctified by My glory.
45 I will dwell among the children of Israel and will be their God. (Exodus 29:43, 45) (Split)
It is for the primary purpose of being with his people, the Israelites, that is, the Hebrews, the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, that God had them build Him a sanctuary.
Another reason for God having the Israelites in the Old Testament build a temple or sanctuary was that God planned to show the Israelites the most important part of His plan to save them.
Through the sacrificial offerings, God would reveal his love and plan to save them through the sacrifice of his only Son, Jesus Christ.
It is said that: “The sacrificial offerings, and the priesthood of the Jewish system, were instituted to represent the death and mediatorial work of Christ. All those ceremonies had no meaning, and no virtue, only as they related to Christ.”—Ellen G. White, Advent Review and Herald of the Sabbath, December 17, 1872.
You have seen how God has led in the lives of his people since His loving act of Creation. As one of his children, I am certain that if you reflect back, you will discover God’s leading in your life.
WE HAVE BEEN LOOKING FOR LOVE IN ALL THE WRONG PLACES. GOD LOVES YOU AND WANTS TO BE WITH YOU! The creator God loves us so much. He wants so badly to redeem us and be with us that He came to this sin-infested world to save us. Find out more about His love for you and his mission to this earth in my next video: Segment 4: The God Who Became One with Us
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