God's Pursuit Of Man

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• ·   Gen :1-3  God created heaven and earth – note The Spirit brooded over the waters – caring / salvation. God is good…..all the time…..that’s the way God is - the model for all parents dealing with their children.

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•  even before man’s existence God cared for and planned to take care of mankind to begin pursuit

•  Dictionary.com definition of “pursuit”

1. The act or an instance of chasing or pursuing.

2.  The act of striving: the pursuit of higher education.

3.  An activity, such as a vocation or hobby, engaged in regularly.

•  out of desire for fellowship and deep caring - established first a place for man and gave him everything he needed – you only pursue what you care about.

examples -

Adam / Eve – Disobedience in Garden

·         Gen 3:9  “where are you?” – among God’s first dealing’s/man – He had relationship (Gen 3:21) – walked in cool of day

·         When Adam disobeyed, God started relentless pursuit of mankind

                  

Dictionary.com

re·lent·less–adjective   - that does not relent; unyieldingly severe, strict, or harsh; unrelenting:   —Synonyms 

 rigid, unbending, obdurate, adamant, unyielding.

unrelenting, unyielding pursuit 

•  God without giving up – does not care about emotion – unyielding – does not give up

·         Adam said “we are hiding because we are naked” – at that point (they didn’t realize it) they were spiritually naked – without God – vulnerable.

·           Gen. 3:21 - God took care of them – made clothes for them from animal skins – already taking care of them. Begins pursuit – even though fallen state.

·         Gen. 22:7-8  Abraham knew God would provide either through his son or His Son – Abraham did not know specifically about Jesus, but knew God would reward obedience and provide one way or other.

·         Gen. 22:10-13 – Abraham / Isaac – God provided sacrifice (His compassion – He found one man faithful) – Was God bound to sac. Jesus since Abe willing to sac. Isaac? (would God be outdone – “no man is greater than his master”)

·         Took care of Noah (preserve Noah and family – as well as pursuing and preserving mankind) 

·         God takes care of man, throughout  history, in ALL dealings with mankind regardless of degree of  Love. God is Love – 1 John 4:8 – everything He does - whether it seems like it or not, is done out of love. – IT HIS NATURE!

·         rescued nation from Egypt

·         provided means for escape – Pharaoh – Red Sea

·         gave them manna, quail, water

·         Duet 30:19 told them what was good for them and then told them what to choose/do

(life-death - choose life)….not  only physical but spiritual

·         even though trip took longer than it should have God took care of them and got them there

·         Through tough love – a cycle of God punishing and man coming back and the falling away again - etc. etc. He (God) pursued (pursues) man relentlessly because of unquenchable desire to have relationship with him.

·         God made final sacrifice for us – taking care of and providing sacrifice in His Son (Him) for us – we can not be good enough or take care of ourselves.

·         How to accept His help – Rom 10:9…Eph 2:-9

·         His pursuit so relentless He made it about Him – not us

·         He knew and we proved time and time again He would have to do redemptive work for us.

·         One final plea for us – Rev 3:20 (door of heart and knock) (pursue/knock example)

·         Rev 22:13 – Alpha & Omega – 1^st and last to say about our lives –

·          Eph 1:4 foundations of earth 1^st thing to say

·         John 3:17-18 – last thing (JUDGED ALREADY)

·         God does not know time – past, present and future are all the same. So “where are you”

has same relevance today to us as it did to Adam

·         He always pursues us – it’s His Nature / up to us to answer call (at the door of our hearts) –

·         Heb 11:6-7 - When we respond the circle of pursuit begins

He rewards us with his presence

·         throughout the Bible God seems less interested in proving existence but more interested in showing what He is like.

Our Purpose / His Purpose For Us

• Prayer

. . . —Luke 18:31, 34    and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be accomplished.’ . . . But they understood none of these things . . . —Luke 18:31, 34

1.     God called Jesus to (in human terms) absolute disaster – triumph in His eyes.

a)        disciple saw events unfold and take place, didn’t understand at     time.

b)        Jesus (God) called Paul to same

c)            God’s purpose is never same as man’s purpose

d)            God’s purpose is to be a Father to all of His Creation (us)

Give us benefit of His Wisdom –

1 Cor. 3:19

For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness.

            James 3:17

But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, [and] easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.

2.     God’s call comes to our lives as well

a)            don’t confuse call with end purpose

b)            purpose is never understood (at time – Jacob)

c)            call requires obedience

d)            obedience requires faith  - God has given all “measure of faith” – Rom 12:3  For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think [of himself] more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.

e)            All faith given equally – “more highly” / like God saying “you’re no better”

f)             faith requires relationship with Him – renew you mind / Rom 12:1&2

3.     no one hears, or recognizes unless that person has a prior relationship with Him

a)    Oswald Chamber put it this way –“ The call of God is like the call of the sea— no one hears it except the person who has the nature of the sea in him.”

1.     We MUST know Him as our Lord and savior

2.     We must have know Him I – have relationship renew your mind – Rom 12:1-2

3.     our purpose and God’s purpose must be one in same

4.     we must let God be God –  Word says to “lean not to our own understanding”

5.     Prov. 1-4 particularly address

6.    Let God and His Word guide every phase of our lives

God’s Word is very practical (every chapter, James in particular) and should be the determining standard for every question we have or compare every answer the world gives us.

When we know and rely on Him for Wisdom and we let him truly be our dad, only then will His Word be the standard that we compare everything to with confidence.  Look at spiritual Father the same way we look at our earthly father 

God the Father intended to be the template for fatherly behavior on earth (the way He treats His kids to be way we treat ours)

So You Call Yourself A Christian

Not sure how many times I have heard this but it really drives me crazy when it comes from a believer.  As if the practicing “Christian” is perfect like the one he follows.

I expect non-believers to have this attitude - but not from followers of Christ. As long as we are in the flesh and have un-glorified bodies we will fight the flesh (James 4:4, and      2 Corinthians 10:4).  We should know that.

           What happened to extending the Grace that has been extended us to others? What gives the saved in Christ the right to be judgmental of anyone? Especially our brother in Christ. Our place is to help physically if we can and to pray – not to judge people. As Thomas A Kempis puts it in his treaties Imitation Of Christ

Look well unto thyself, and beware that thou judge not the doings of others. In judging others a man laboureth in vain; he often erreth, and easily falleth into sin; but in judging and examining himself he always laboureth to good purpose. According as a matter toucheth our fancy, so oftentimes do we judge of it; for easily do we fail of true judgment because of our own personal feeling. If God were always the sole object of our desire, we should the less easily be troubled by the erring judgment of our fancy.

Instead of looking at ourselves first,we take the attitude that the expectation is perfection instead of the forgiveness and the Grace that has been extended to us. We get as judgmental as the not born again - and we complain about the audacity of them judging us so unfairly.

            You see, non-believers, for the most part, don't hang with believers, they don’t understand the concept of forgiveness, the absoluteness of God’s love or Law, Grace, the non-degrees of sin, loving the person but hating the sin – etc.. Those are all foreign - almost ridiculous concepts for the non-believer.

 God is a perfect God of absolute right and wrong, who hates sin but LOVES the sinner (all people – Romans 3:23). WE ARE SUPPOSED TO UNDERSTAND THIS and cut everyone slack. Instead, we go even further and get ticked at everyone including our alleged co-worker In Christ or better yet the new Christian striving to be co-workers.

 As a believer in Christ your foremost calling is to take Him to the world (Mark 16:15).

 Ephesians 3:6 that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, and fellow members of the body,
and fellow partakers of his promise in Christ Jesus through the Good News ...

The Word makes the point that the Gentiles of Paul’s day were just as much a member of the body of Christ as the Jew. If that obstacle could be cleared then, we can surely treat our fellow believer as the asset that he truly is.

With the empowerment of The Holy Spirit along with help of or brothers and sisters in The Lord we can take the Gospel to the world.