Friday: Further Thought – God’s Mission to Us: Part 1
Daily Lesson for Friday 6th of October 2023
“The plan for our redemption was not an afterthought, a plan formulated after the fall of Adam. It was a revelation of ‘the mystery which hath been kept in silence through times eternal.’ Romans 16:25, R. V. . . . It was an unfolding of the principles that from eternal ages have been the foundation of God’s throne. From the beginning, God and Christ knew of the apostasy of Satan, and of the fall of man through the deceptive power of the apostate. God did not ordain that sin should exist, but He foresaw its existence, and made provision to meet the terrible emergency.
Image © Stan Myers from GoodSalt.com
So great was His love for the world, that He covenanted to give His only-begotten Son, ‘that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.’ John 3:16.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 22.
“Christ did not tell His disciples that their work would be easy. . . . But they would not be left to fight alone. He assured them that He would be with them; and that if they would go forth in faith, they should move under the shield of Omnipotence. . . . So long as they obeyed His word, and worked in connection with Him, they could not fail. Go to all nations, He bade them. Go to the farthest part of the habitable globe and be assured that My presence will be with you even there. Labor in faith and confidence; for the time will never come when I will forsake you. I will be with you always, helping you to perform your duty, guiding, comforting, sanctifying, sustaining you, giving you success in speaking words that shall draw the attention of others to heaven.”—Ellen G. White, The Acts of the Apostles, p. 29.
Discussion Questions
- Think about what it means that God’s first words to fallen humanity were not “What have you done?” Or “Why have you disobeyed Me?” Instead the first words were, “Where are you?” What comfort should this truth give us regarding God’s intention for us and our loved ones?
- Think about what it means that God Himself, in the person of Jesus, came to this world in order to save us. Christ on the cross was the ultimate manifestation of God as a God of mission. What does this tell us about His character?
- The mission belongs to God. Therefore, He will equip and empower people for the task. In light of this reality, when you look at the challenges of worldwide evangelization, how can you deal with feelings and attitudes of inadequacy or fear?
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I think that if we have studied this week's lesson the message is quite clear that God wants to save us. Most Sabbath School Net readers would resonate with that idea because we are Christians and most of us have lived with that idea for a long time. But in our secular world the idea that "Jesus Saves" has little meaning.
For many years on the old highway between Sydney and Newcastle, there was a big sign "Jesus Saves" on the left-hand side just as you reached the village of Doyalson. At Avondale College (now University) we all knew about the sign and if we had visitors who were coming from Sydney and did not know the area, our instructions were always, "Travel north on the Pacific Highway until you see the "Jesus Saves" sign and then turn left at the next intersection." Many a sermon has been preached on that theme.
Now-a-days the old highway has been replaced with a flash motorway without signage and the best instructions we can give for most people is to put "Avondale University" into the GPS and follow its instructions.
There are a couple of points that I would like to draw out of this illustration.
Turning left at the "Jesus Saved" sign on the highway presumes that the traveller wants to reach Avondale College. If they had another destination then the sign is meaningless. God has put the sign out that "Jesus Saves" and our task is to make the destination meaningful.
And that leads to the second point that I want to make. Whether we think it is a good idea or not, the highway has changed and the old road sign is no longer there, and we need to develop new ways of communicating directions to our fellow travellers.
“Where are you?”
What am I hiding from? From myself? What do I do with my happiness when choosing the world instead of eternity? What do I do when I choose my methods instead of forgiving myself? Why wouldn't goodness lead me? Instead, I laugh at true wisdom? Where am I?
I want to be at the bleeding feet of Jesus on the cross! There, my ego vanishes. There, my spirit is broken. There, my violence is shut down forever! There, at the most decadent "hole" Someone could be, the glory of true Love recreates the Universe! Every atom starts a new trajectory, orbit, and energy pattern there. Everything was conveyed at the cross, and the spectacle is silenced forever! Time freezes as eternity is punched into a piece of wood! Nothing can stop the new history after this. Nothing is the same after God's most disturbing way of proving His Love!
In short, God's mission is to save. He is the first missionary.
God created. And when His creation was stained, He reached out to save it. His longing to be with His creation made Him take a step of dressing up with humanity so as to dwell with them and show them His way and continues with them. And most of all, when we are ready, He will come take us to be with Him forever. All this is out of His grace. He does everything. Or is there any other portion that is remaining for us to perform that He hasn't.
I see the monster that is preventing me from doing God's mission is forgetfulness. If only I didn't forget that He is always with me, I would continue even when disappointed.
"From the beginning, God and Christ knew of the apostasy of Satan, and of the fall of man through the deceptive power of the apostate. God did not ordain that sin should exist, but He foresaw its existence, and made provision to meet the terrible emergency."
Of course, I knew about this comment. But today it brings healing properties for me. I've been going through a difficult trial lately, and I've been burdened with fear. I always say God has my back, and hearing about the greatness of God's Love once again has lifted me out of my fears. Bless the Lord. Bless His Son. Bless His Holy Name.