God’s Mission to Us: Part 1 betrays divine awareness of the gulf that had

been created between Him and humans. The

Memory Text: “Then the Lord God called Adam and said question was also His invitation for His lost
to him, ‘Where are you?”(Gen. 3:9, NKJV). children to return to a relationship of love and
trust with Him.
Introduction: When you think about mission, we
often think that we do mission and it’s our mission, but the  God’s primal question, “Where are you?”, also
mission is God’s. When we participate in mission, we is addressed to each of us today. The Bible says,
participate in God, in His mission. You can never understand “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of
God’s mission unless you understand the God of the mission. God” (Rom. 3:23, NKJV). Instead of trying to
run away from God because of the guilt of our
Mission finds its origin and purpose only in God, sins, as Adam and Eve unsuccessfully did, we
because the God of the Bible is a missionary God. This need to objectively examine where we are in
mission began with God Himself, when He brought the terms of our relationship with Him and confess
universe into existence and later created humanity in His to Him whatever sin we have committed.
image and in His desire to be in relationship with humans.
God’s pre-Fall relationship with Adam and Eve was Monday: The God Who Longs to Be With Us
characterized by daily fellowship in the Garden of Eden. The  In the Old Testament stories, we see God and His
Fall did not put an end to God’s mission—it shifted His saving plan at work: God continues to try to save
mission to a new dimension. After the Fall, God’s mission humans.
became rooted in His initiative to redeem fallen humanity. 1. The people of Babel decided to gather in one
Before we understand the mission of God, it is important to place to build a city and a tower and God
better understand the God of mission because mission is an intervened, confusing their language with
attribute (mission is rooted in His nature and character) of the goal to scatter them around the world;
God. 2. Later, God chooses Abram to serve Him and
to be a channel of His blessings to the whole
Sunday: The God Who Reaches Out to Us world. God’s promises to Abraham and his
 Recall the story when God created us in His image and descendants were many, but one emerges
likeness in a perfect world and He gave us a freedom to above all and that promise is: “I will be
choose until the Fall, where God asks Adam and Eve, [your] God.” “I will be with you.” “I am
“Where are you?” with you”
 God could have asks the fallen humanity with these 3. In every step of Joseph’s experience—even
questions: “What have you done?” Or “Why have you in the most difficult moments of his life—
disobeyed Me?” Instead His first words were, “Where the Bible affirms that “the Lord was with”
are you?” him.
 Implications of the question “Where are you?” 4. Hundreds of years later, God sends Moses to
1. “Where are you?” is not a theological question. Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. God promises
It is a missiological one. This question reveals Moses, “I will be with you” (Exod. 3:12).
that, despite their wrong choice, God has not 5. The building of the sanctuary confirmed to
forsaken Adam and Eve. Moses God’s longing to dwell among the
2. The question—“Where are you?”—the first one children of Israel.
the Bible attributes to God, speaks more of a  Time after time, Yahweh confirmed His deep desire
condition than a location. The question was not to be with His people.
intended to find out where exactly Adam and  In the New Heaven and Earth, God will be in the
Eve were hiding. Adam’s absence at his usual midst of His people again, where suffering and death
meeting place with God was clear evidence that will be no more.
something was wrong. The question “Where are  Have you personally experience God’s presence in
you?” was about relationship: “Where are you your life?
relationally?” God’s question was primarily
intended to make Adam and Eve think about Tuesday: The God Who Became One With Us
their relationship with God.
 In the New Testament, God’s desire to be with
3. “Where are you?” was the earnest cry of a
humanity takes a new dimension. Through Christ’s
missionary God whose anguished inquiry
 incarnation, what was only a promise in the Garden better understand God and His work in your life. Also, the
of Eden (Gen. 3:15) becomes a reality. tasks will help you to be more involved in God’s work.
 Immanuel means “God with us.” In the desert, God 1. Pray every day of the coming week for God to open
lived among His people in the Sanctuary. Now God your heart to be part of His mission.
lived with them in the Person of Jesus. With the 2. Is there someone you see every day at work or in
birth of Jesus, God presented in concrete ways His your neighbourhood, co-worker, shopkeeper, bus
continuous desire to be with us in nature and driver, janitor, etc. whose name you don’t know?
mission. Learn this person’s name. Begin to pray for this
 Christ on the cross was the ultimate manifestation of person each day.
God as a God of mission. The substitutionary death
of Christ was God’s ultimate way of seeking to
Application: Who is the God of the mission? He is the God
reconcile alienated humanity to Himself. Christ’s
who: 1) reaches out to us; 2) longs to be with us; 3) who
ministry and sacrifice are mission par excellence!
became one with us; 4) who continues to be with us; and 4)
who will come back for us. The mission belongs to God.
Wednesday: The God Who Continues to Be With Us
Therefore, He will equip and empower people for the task.
 Jesus’ life and ministry were God’s ultimate
revelation. In about three years God was able to The God of the Bible is a missionary God. In the same
reveal more about who He was and what His manner, we must not only pray, think, share, and discuss, but
mission was all about than in all He had done we must go beyond this and actually do something for and
through any other method in previous generations. with those around us. We must make a difference in our
 In Jesus, God showed humans how much He loved communities and in the place where we are. We want the
them and wanted to save them. Jesus Himself work to be finished, and we want Jesus to return. Quit
revealed His mission: “The Son of Man came to find talking and start doing something!
lost people and save them” (Luke 19:10, ERV)
 Jesus’ death was only part of His plan to bring us
back to God, and not the end of His work. Through
His resurrection, Jesus conquered death and received
“all authority . . . in heaven and on earth’ ” (Matt.
28:18). Because Jesus controls everything, He
commanded His followers to make new followers
for Him everywhere on earth. Then Jesus added this
powerful promise: “I am with you always, even to
the end of the age” (Matt. 28:20).

Thursday: The God Who Will Come Back for Us

 During His earthly ministry, one of Christ’s most
precious promises, the blessed hope, reflects once
again the Creator’s desire to be with us for eternity.
Jesus affirmed, “I will come back and take you to
be with me that you also may be where I am” (John
14:3)
 In Revelation, John tells us that the God of mission
will finally fulfill His desire to be with His children
eternally: “And I heard a loud voice from heaven
saying, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men,
and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His
people. God Himself will be with them and be their
God” (Rev. 21:3)

Weekly Challenges: This quarter, we will invite you to do

some special tasks. These tasks will give you the chance to