Redemption & God’s Desire for Humanity
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Transition from Andre to you:
Introduce:
Name
Global Pastoral
On second year going for four.
As Andre talked about Sin and the Fall which we all have to deal with in our daily lives, what are we given so that we may succeed?
The answer is Redemption. As well as understanding God’s desire for us.
Connecting with Andre’s points, I would like to start in Genesis 3:21
And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.
Even after they sinned, God still comforted them. This is how we will being approaching the concepts that I will be sharing with you today.
Redemption & God’s Desire for Humanity:
Redemption & God’s Desire for Humanity:
We are going to talk about Redemption and how that effects us, how we can understand it, and how we can apply it to our lives. As well as God’s desire for us, why is that important? Why does it matter to us?
- Firstly, let us start with Redemption, why do we need it and what exactly is it…
Redemption:
Redemption:
Why Do We Need Redemption?
Why Do We Need Redemption?
We need redemption because we are with sin. We need redemption because we live in a broken, sinful world that praises grungy, sickly behaviour. As stated in Romans 3:23-24
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,
Everyone here was once a sinner, we have all fallen short of the glory of God but He has given us the choice to choose Him and live on this Earth with the hope to be with Him in eternity or to continue living in “our truth” with our fleeting life here on Earth, rejecting God’s gift. Make no mistake; God does not send us to Hell, rather we do that ourselves.
So what is God’s Desire for Humanity?
God’s Desire for Humanity:
To preface this, God does not want you to go to Hell, He loves you and He cares for you. As it says in John 3:16
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
We are going to continue on the understanding of Redemption and pair it with God’s desire for Humanity.
To get started, we need to go back to the start of the story. All the way back to Genesis when God made Man, In Genesis 1:26
Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
God gave Man dominion over the animals of the world. He gave us stewardship of the Earth. He gives us stewardship in our life today.
What is Stewardship?
What is Stewardship?
Stewardship is the charge that someone is put in. For example; a general has command over his soldiers. A manager is in charge of his or her employees. A farmer is a stewards of his crops and takes care of his animals. A Shepherd watches over his flock.
According to Google, a steward is someone who has “the careful and responsible management of something entrusted” to them.
For those who do not know, I grew up on a farm and worked and continue to work for and with my father. I feed and water the chickens, check over every inch of their pen, making sure everything is secure and that they are feeling happy.
I watch over the cows, making sure they have enough grass and their watering hole is full. I have fields of grain to look after, making sure they are properly sprayed so that I get the best yield of crop.
I could go on and I am summerizing extensively but the point is God has given me the privilege of being a farmer, He has given me the privilege of being a steward of the land.
Again in Genesis, it states that God took Adam and placed him in the garden to watch over it in Genesis 2:15
The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.
There are many more ways we can be good stewards;
We can be a steward of our money. How do we treat our savings? Do we save or do we spend? How are we with taxes? Do we tithe? All very important things to understand about money.
We can also be a steward of our time. I am sure that we have all told ourselves and our close ones that we just do not have enough time. Not enough time to hang out, visit, even go to church.
Let me ask you this; “How do you use your time?”
Is your day full of meetings, family obligations, assignments…?
How much time do you spend scrolling on your phone?
How much time do you spend reading your Bible?
I mean no conviction, just know that time is the currency of life.
Being a steward does not only regard tilling the soil, it means to nurture, to watch over, to care for… to love…
Stewardship is not just about land, it is about love.
Life is short, life is priceless. Jesus gives us an option for a good life. The good life. Yes, we are going to struggle. Yes, we are going to be broken. We are going to be at the brink of collapse but we have hope. We have hope in Christ. That He is the doorway into resurrection life.
He is the Redeemer, He is our Redeemer. But what does that mean. I talked about why we need it, but what exactly is it?
What is Redemption?
What is Redemption?
The word “redemption” means to release through payment. So Jesus paid the price that we may live. 1 Corinthians 15:21 explains that,
For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead.
Jesus is the sacrifice that took sin to the grave. He took your sin you have committed, that you are committing, and the sin that you will commit.
And hear me now, church, He did not stay dead, He did not stay in that grave, rather, He rose again.
He beat death, and He made it so that we will also live again.
The Lexham Bible Dictionary defines redemption as “the release of people, animals, or property from bondage through the payment of a price.”
It is also important to note the key detail of Jesus being the sacrifice for our redemption, in 1 John 4:9
In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.
I know you may know this, but hear me on this:
Jesus is God in the flesh, He was “made manifest among us.” Is this not exciting? Does this not bring you great joy in your hearts? That we are given the opportunity, the privilege, the heart of God. Redemption is the vehicle towards forgiveness. It is closely linked with Repentance which is something to talk about for another time.
However, it is key to understand the severity of redemption in its entirety. Let us read John 3:16
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
You may be thinking, I can recite this from heart. Good! But do you know it?
Let us break this down word by word to truly understand the matter.
“For God so loved the world…” meaning us! Not merely the physical world, rather us as people, humans, mankind. It may help you to understand when you say it like “For God so loved me,”
“That He gave his only Son…” His only Son as a sacrifice, a brutal death, He was mocked, beaten, spit on, flogged, and then, only then, they nailed Him to a cross.
A little over 2000 years ago. The God of the Universe stepped down into our world, however, He did not rain down hellfire and brimstone, though we deserve it, rather He was born in a manger, humble and kind. Though He kept His Godhood. Jesus is fully God and fully Man. Why should we be so different. We are called to reflect Christ and as much as we want to rain down on the sinners saying, “You will burn for eternity in Hell if you do not accept Jesus!”
It is true, it is. However that will not always bring people to Christ. We must accept people as they are and bring them into the church with love and teach them the truth with love. Not encouraging “their truth” but showing them the truth. That is the difference.
“That whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life”
Perish not just referring to the physical sense. For on this Earth we will eventually die physically, and with our trust in God and our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, we will not die spiritually. So therefore, whoever believes in Christ should not go to Hell but have eternal life in paradise.
This truth is easily extrapolated from one verse. John 3:16, it is not a wonder you all have it etched in your brains. And for those who do not, that is okay. Life is about learning, once we stop learning, we stop living.
What is God’s Desire for Us?
What is God’s Desire for Us?
God desires us to be good stewards, not just of the land, but of love. We are to love one another as said in John 13:34
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.
So we are to be stewards of each other as stated in 1 Thessalonians 5:11
Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.
God’s desire for us is in part our love for God and love for each other as referring to the greatest commandment.
Stewardship is a gift, it is given to us, the ability to serve our brothers and sisters, as it says in the format of a prayer in 1 Peter 4:10-11
As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Our servanthood pleases and praises God and our Lord Jesus.
Last Thoughts
At the end of the day, we are made in the Image of God, we are made with purpose and for purpose.
If you are worried that you do not feel you have purpose. God understands, God hears your cry, God loves you and He is the one who gives you purpose.
God loves us so much that He sent His only Son - His only Son - to die a horrible death on a cross and rise again so that we may not perish but have eternal life with Him.
In regards to redemption, it means to release through payment. That Jesus paid the price so we may live. The Lexham Bible Dictionary defines redemption as “the release of people, animals, or property from bondage through the payment of a price.”
We are released from the bondage, we now have the choice not to sin. Because of the price Jesus paid. We are given the choice.
God’s desire for us is to love Him and our Lord Jesus, as well as love our brothers and sisters. His desire is also for us to be good stewards of the land, of each other, of the gifts we have been given.
Ladies and Gentlemen, if you fell asleep through this day, know this, take this, understand this.
God redeems us, God loves us, God desires us.
Let us pray.
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting!”
Then all the people said, “Amen!” and praised the Lord.