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Listen to the episode here: https://gospelofeverything.com/podcast/the-dreams-of-god-for-the-human-race
Welcome to the Gospel of Everything podcast where we consider everything in the light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I am your host, Jon Davis.
On this show, we do not obsess over the end of the world; but rather we are looking to see the glory of God show up in every area of our lives. We are not waiting to go down in glorious defeat.
We are expecting to win.
Greetings, friends. Welcome to the Gospel of Everything Podcast.
I am Jon Davis, your host, and here we consider anything and everything in the light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
You are here today because you are a Victorious Kingdom Ambassador. You are not looking for and focused on obsessively the end of the world, but rather you are looking to see the Kingdom of God come more and more into the world right now.
You are not looking to change the world in a humanist way according to humanist standards, but rather by embracing the word of God and a Christian view of the world.
You are not looking to be saved by another political government scheme, but you're looking to be saved by Christ; and you're expecting the life of Christ to flow out of you into every area of your life, and then for us together to flow out of our lives into every area of life and society.
That's who you are.
That's who I am.
Those are the kind of people that are here right now.
I want to talk to you today about some small light tasks, such as the meaning of life, the purpose of the universe, and what is your life for. Things like that.
The title of this episode, at least in my notes, is The Dreams of God for humanity. We're going to be talking today about God's purpose for humanity and this planet and how that affects you and your purpose.
Do you wonder what your purpose is?
Do you wonder why you exist?
The answer to that question lies within a context of the greater purposes of God, for humanity, and for the Earth. It is a lonely, sad journey to try and figure out what your individual purpose is, when you don't start with the knowledge that is already readily available to you.
In order to know what your individual purpose is, you first have to understand what God's purpose is for everybody and for everything.
Imagine for a moment, that you get a job, maybe when you were in high school, working in a fast food restaurant. You would not wander around the restaurant aimlessly, wondering, "why am I here? What is my purpose?"
Why would you not wonder? Because you already know a certain degree of your purpose. Because the restaurant has a general purpose and that purpose is to make money for the owners by providing good food and good service for the customers.
So you know that your individual purpose there at that restaurant or any job - this would apply to any job - fits within the grand purpose that is shared by everyone.
But imagine if you had to figure out your purpose at a job and you didn't even know what product or service your employer provided to the world.
That would be very hard now, wouldn't it?
So let's talk for a while about what is God's dream and purpose for the human species and this planet that we live on. What are we here for? Why do we exist? Because if you can get a hold of that, you will be closer to understanding what your specific and precise role is. But a significant percentage of what you need to do with your life has already been revealed because it's the same for everyone.
So we're going to start by talking about those things that are the same purpose for all human beings. So I want to start by talking about a passage of Scripture that impacted me greatly as a young man, and it impacts me greatly today.
I still remember the preacher that I heard share this teaching and it made me think and it basically changed my life. But he talks about the book of John, chapter 17, verse three, where it says, "this is eternal life." I'm saying this kind of from memory. I should have written it down, but "this is eternal life to know God and Jesus Christ whom he sent." So the word there for life is the word zoe.
Now I am not a Greek expert, but I can look up things in a concordance, and I can study and read what wise people have said; and the word for life there is not the word "BIOS" - if I'm even saying that correctly - which has its root, which is the root word for things like biology, has to do with biological life, that is not the word in this passage.
The word zoe or zoe is more related to vitality or being alive.
BibleStudyTools.com defines "zoe" as the state of one who is possessed of vitality or is animate.
I like to say it like this. The life I talked about here is like life juice, life, energy, vitality, aliveness.
So we have right here this passage in your Bible that says, "this is eternal life to know God and Jesus Christ whom You have sent."
Oh, here it is.
I did write down the exact words.
"And this is eternal life that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent."
So right now, at this very moment, people are wandering around on this planet trying to understand what is the meaning of life, what will give them hope, life, meaning, purpose; but we know the secret - those of us who have committed our lives to following Christ and believing in Christ - we know the answer to that question.
The meaning of life is to know God and Jesus Christ.
We were born and we were designed and we were created for the purpose of knowing God, and this is what gives us life. This is what we are looking for when we are talking about eternal life, not just eternal biological existence, but being alive with God forever knowing Him. You were born to know God.
Another passage in the Bible that talks about what are you for. What am I for? What are we for?
In Genesis chapter One, verse 27 - "So God created humankind in His image, in the image of God He created them. Male and female He created them.
So we human beings are the image of God.
We could probably do a lot of thinking of what exactly does that mean? I suspect that those characteristics which we have in common with God or what is referred to here, because if you study who God is in the Bible, there are things about God that we are automatically. He's a person. We're a person. For example.
There are things about God that we can never be. All knowing. All present. We will never be those things.
We will never be the originator of the universe. We will never be God.
And then there are things about God that we can become, they're potentials.
Love, good character, benevolence, faithfulness, truth, mercy, compassion. These are things that God is that we can become like Him, things of His character.
But I suspect that the image of God is those things about us - are/is/are - those things about us that are legitimately like God, as opposed to those things where we're trying to be like God, where we can never be like God.
So you who were born and who exist to know God forever were also born to reflect His image, which I think another way to say that is to glorify Him, to be like a mini example of His Glory in the universe.
I think this has already been implied, but in Deuteronomy chapter six, verse five, it talks about how we are supposed to love the Lord, our God, with all our heart, with all our soul and with all our might.
When Jesus was asked by people, "what is the greatest commandment?" He answered by quoting this passage, "Love the Lord, your God with all your heart, soul, and might." That's in Matthew 22 and Mark twelve.
You were created for the purpose of loving God. So you were born to know God.
You were born to reflect His image and be a glorifier of Him. You were born to love God.
Now another one that you will find in the Bible is that you were born to love other people. You exist to love other people, not just gooey feelings, but practically.
God said at the very beginning, God made one man right. So there's Adam standing there in the garden.
He's been looking at all the animals, couldn't find a mate for himself. I would imagine, having no sin, he was pretty smart, and he would have understood the male and female animals that he was seeing and noticed that there was no female counterpart for him. So God knocked him out and took his rib and made a woman. Right?
You remember that? This is all in Genesis 2:18, "it is not good for the man to be alone."
Now, I don't know about you, but I have often heard that joked about humorously to refer to, like, a single man living in his apartment with dirty laundry all over the place and eating microwave food instead of good food. And we kind of laugh and say, "Ha ha ha. It's not good for a man to be alone." He needs a wife, right?
Well, maybe it includes that, but I believe there's a greater thing that going on here in Genesis. Something bigger, Something broader.
When God brought Eve to Adam, He brought the potential for the entire human race. And Adam says, this is the "mother of all the living." He recognized this right away.
So not only is Adam no longer alone, he has a partner with him to do the things that God has called him to do, the man and the woman together, husband and wife; but now they can have children, and their children can have children, and their children can have children.
And eventually, and we know this has actually happened in reality - now you have communities of people related to one another. So it's not good for human beings to be alone. We were not created... even... You may think "all I need is God."
"All I need is God, and I'll be all right."
That isn't strictly true, because you were designed by God to need other people and to give to other people. So without a doubt, God's Grace can cover us when we fail one another and we feel alone. But neither you nor I were designed to be alone. God said, "it is not good for man to be alone."
We were designed to be together.
So we were talking about loving God glorifying God, reflecting His Image. Right? And we're also called to love one another, to live in community.
Genesis 1:28 says, be fruitful and multiply.
Pretty clear meaning. And the human race proceeded to do exactly that. To be fruitful and to multiply.
In Leviticus 19:18, Jesus says, to love your neighbor as yourself. Well Jesus says it in Matthew 22 and in Mark Twelve, but he is quoting himself from Leviticus 19:18 to the second greatest Commandments, "love your neighbor as yourself."
Now ponder just for a moment what love means in the Biblical sense. In a modern, humanistic, man centered sense, it means they have kind of gooey feelings for all mankind.
This is coming from a different world view than a Christian worldview. That idea. Love in the Bible is practical. The whole Bible goes on to describe love, and it means things like don't steal from your neighbor, don't steal your neighbor's wife, don't kill your neighbor. Don't harm your neighbor in any way. Don't lie about your neighbor, right?
Love has to do with the whole well being of your neighbor.
Remember when Jesus was asked, "who is my neighbor?" and he told the story of the Good Samaritan?
So it wasn't having a Gooey feeling of mushy love for everyone that he was looking for. It was the man who helped the wounded attacked Samaritan, who helped the wounded, attacked man. And that happened to be a Samaritan that did the helping, someone that the listeners would have been appalled to hear was the good guy of the story, but he helped him practically.
He loved him in a very practical way.
So, you were born to love your neighbor not only with feelings of love, but with practical love that takes care of them, watches out for their interests and make their lives better. You were not born to be an individual. You were not born to look out only for you. You were born to look out not only for your own interests - you can look out for your own interest, but also for the interests of others.
So we as human beings, are... we're here... one of the ways we glorify God and love God and reflect His image is by loving one another. John 13:35 says, by this, everyone will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another.
So so far we've talked about knowing God, reflecting His image, glorifying Him, loving God, loving each other in practical ways and just a general love for one another.
So have you noticed a theme here of glory and relationship? Glorifying God and relationship with God and each other?
Now there's some more purpose openly given for all mankind, right in the Bible. So you already have more than some people go through their whole life having. You know, you were born to know God love God and love your neighbor.
But you know what else you were born for? In Genesis chapter One, verse 28, it says that God blessed them, the man and the woman, and God said to them, "be fruitful and multiply and fill the Earth and subdue it and have Dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the Earth."
There's one part in Genesis where it just mentions in passing that there was not yet a man to work the ground. So when God made the Earth, it was his purpose from the beginning to put humankind there to work the Earth, to make something out of it. When God makes a painting, it's a painting that keeps painting itself. When God makes art, it's living art that keeps getting more and more beautiful.
So God, there's a repeated theme throughout Genesis where God says over and over again, and "He saw that it was good." "And He saw that it was good," and He saw that it was good."
But He put man there to work the ground to be fruitful and multiply. Make lots of people. God wants lots of people! Don't buy into the lie of our era that too many people are problem. God wants lots of people. But he also wants us to subdue the Earth, to have Dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves upon the Earth. So we are put here to rule and govern this place and to subdue the Earth.
And with the reference to working the Earth to even till the Earth, some person say it's like God put us here, starting with Adam and Eve and said, "See this beautiful place I've given you? Now go make something out of it." So human beings are to work. One of your purposes for existence is to work.
Now you may find that distressing because you've been looking forward to retirement or vacation. But the whole thing of slaving in order to survive? That's a result of the fall. We get to that in Genesis chapter three. But before there was the fall, before there were thorns and thistles and suffering, before any evil had come into the world, Adam and Eve were to work.
They were to work with their hands, their minds, their voice, their creativity. It's like they're little creators.
Not like God who can create out of nothing. But they can take the Earth that God has given them, the garden that God has given them, and they can work with their hands, use their creativity and make things better and better, which is also a very practical way to love one another.
"Hello, Eve. I made you this nice bed to sleep on. And you know how it's really moist in the morning? I made this shelter to keep the moisture of you." I don't know. I'm just making up examples there, but it's a part of being human. It's a part of your destiny to work, to make life better for yourself and others, and to make the world more beautiful.
We are God's Art. You and I, we're artwork that keeps making more artwork. We're painted images of God that keep painting like God paints and painting more and more, and we're subduing the Earth.
Think for a moment. What is your mobile phone? What is your computer? What is your car? What is your pots and pans? What are your pots and pans in the kitchen?
These are all subdued Earth!
They're various things taken from the ground and rearranged by experimentation, knowledge, creativity of human beings. And we've made more and more and more out of the world. I believe this is very pleasing to the Father.
So God wants you to work, take Dominion, take rulership, increase wealth.
What? I think I talked about that in another podcast. But that's what this is. If Eve and Adam are working together and making things that make their life better than they have kids who grew up and they begin to do things to make their lives better. We know that in one case, one of them was carrying for animals and one of them was growing food, right?
Although they were dealing with the consequences of the fall by that point, but they were starting to specialize and everyone was doing something to make each other's lives better and stronger, and after the fall to survive in the Earth.
So in addition to being made for relationship, fellowship, love, glorifying God and all those things, you were made to work, take Dominion, rulership, increase the wealth of everyone, making the planet better and to create beauty and to create quality and to create excellence.
Remember again that I shared how God has a repeated theme in the book of Genesis of "and God saw that it was good and God saw that it was good and God saw that it was good."
So like God, we are to create beauty, create quality, make streams in the desert, make things better, serve one another through work, increase wealth, prosperity, health, improvement.
This is something that you were born for. And it appears it predates the need to survive.
As far as we know, they had everything they needed in the garden to survive given to them. Right? It wasn't until after the fall that the ground produced thorns and thistles and out of the sweat of their brow they worked and ate.
So there is something about work and Dominion and increase and betterment and excellence, beauty and quality that isn't just about surviving. It goes beyond that.
So a part of becoming a redeemed human being is, yeah, you have to take care of survival, but don't live your life for survival. Live your life to make yourself better, your life better, your family's life better and make the world better.
Now, where is this all going?
Where is it all headed?
Now I want to read to you one of my favorite passages...
Well, first of all, Paul makes a reference to a mystery in Ephesians Five about how marriage is like a mystery of Christ and the Church. So one of our purposes as human beings is together to be the bride of Christ.
That's why you and I exist. We are... God has a vision... When God put Adam and Eve in the garden, when he made the Earth, he made the stars, he made the animals, he made everything. And he put Adam and Eve in the garden.
He had a vision. He had a dream. The dream of God for humanity. That's what we're talking about today. And one of those, the dream is a bride, a bride of people that love Him, reflect Him, glorify Him, know Him and they also know love and serve one another.
So these things aren't all unfortunate tasks. This is what you are for. This is the meaning of life. This is why you exist. To know God, to love God, to glorify God, to know and love your neighbor in practical ways, to make the world better, to create beauty, to create excellence, to create quality.
And together, all of us human beings are growing into the bride of Christ.
Well, it's meant to include all human beings, but that's a whole other story. Some people have cut themselves out, haven't they?
So I want to read to you a passage from Revelation, chapter seven versus nine through 17.
"After this, I looked and there was a great multitude that no one could count from every nation, from all tribes and Peoples and languages. Standing before the throne and before the lamb, robed in white with palm branches in their hands, they cried out in a loud voice, saying, 'Salvation belongs to our God, who is seated on the throne and to the lamb.'"
"And all the Angels stood around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. And they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, singing, 'Amen, blessing and glory and and Thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever Amen.' Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, 'who are these robed in white? And where have they come from?' I said to him, 'sir, you are the one that knows.'"
"Then he said to me, 'These are they who have come out of the great ordeal. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. For this reason, they are before the throne of God and worshiped him day and night within his temple. And the one who is seated on the throne will shelter them. They will hunger no more and thirst no more.'"
"'The sun will not strike them, nor any scourging heat, for the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and He will guide them to Springs of water of life, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.'"
This is where this is all going.
Now I would submit to you that this is talking about all believers here. This is talking about all believers and the great tribulation is this life.
These are those that have come through this life. And now here we are at the end of all things worshipping God. So I don't believe that literally means we're going to be kind of standing there in a worship service for all eternity. I don't know exactly what we'll be doing, but I do see that it's in God's nature to create us to work and create and do beauty. So I don't know what adventures there will be in all eternity.
But this is going somewhere. You have a purpose. To love God, to know God, to glorify God, to reflect His image, to know and love one another, to love each other in practical ways, to work with your hands and your mind and your feet and all your creativity, to make the world better in practical ways and in beautiful ways and ultimately to build and be and grow into the bride of Christ together. All of us as one, all of us, all of us who follow Jesus Christ.
That's kind of a vision there, isn't it? Now step back and think about what we talked about at the beginning of what is your purpose?
If you've been wondering and wondering, what is your purpose in life?
Well, you just got about 90% of it right there. Now, of course, depending on how old you are or whatever, you're going to have to figure out what is your way of being creative and using your hands and your mind to produce something that makes the world better.
It serves your neighbors and your fellow human beings.
We can each have unique things there.
But the general principle, that is what we're supposed to be doing... you already know, you already have it revealed in the Scriptures.
For most of us, being fruitful and multiplying is going to mean getting married and having children and raising them up in the fear and knowledge of the Lord and teaching them all of the good things of God. For the vast majority of us, that's what it means.
But even if you're one of the rare exceptions, no condemnation for you, that you may have a special calling that's different than that. One of those rare people that's called to celibacy... Even if that's you the general purpose still is there to be fruitful and multiply and take Dominion. So relationship and Dominion, worship and glory and work and creativity and beauty and excellence. This is why you exist.
How does that change your life?
How does that affect your life?
Let's kind of summarize some of this.
The glorious summary.
You were born to be loved by God and be known by God. You were born to love God and know God. You were born to know love and be in community, fellowship and relationship with other human beings.
You were born to be fruitful and multiply - for most of us that will include marriage and children. But it applies to your life even if you don't get married and have children.
You were born to work with your hands and your mind and your words and all of your strength to create beauty, excellence and quality for the glory of God and the betterment of your fellow man.
You were born to love and be loved, to enjoy God and others forever and to be a mini creator like your Father and a ruler on the Earth like your Father in heaven.
Some concluding Thoughts...
How does this compare to what the world says is the destiny of humans in this planet?
Have you noticed that the world seems to think that humans are problem?
They may be correctly discerning that humans are broken and humans are fallen, but humans are a blessing.
You are a blessing and this world is ours.
We are. It is here for us. It is here for us to steward. It is not here for us to worship.
What are the implications? ... Pause and think about other ways of things that you've heard in the world.
I'm always a little concerned whenever I'm teaching anywhere that these ideas sound so high and out there that maybe you can't make application.
But I want you to think through what are the implications and how do these things that I'm saying differ from what the world is presenting to you is what matters and what is important and what your purpose is.
Think about it. What are the implications on your individual calling in light of all this? Are the implications?
Well, you know that your individual calling is in this context of all of this that I'm talking about, right? It's in a context. You don't have to go out there and just find your own individual calling, as a lonely, helpless, hopeless person that doesn't know anything.
You already know that loving God, loving your neighbor, being fruitful and multiplying, getting married, having kids, glorifying God and doing something with your life that improves the world for everyone is what you're supposed to do.
So you can try. And I don't know if it even matters which way you choose to do that. But if you're doing that, if you're working towards that, you are fulfilling your purpose.
So you, my fellow Victorious Kingdom Ambassador, exist to love and be loved and you exist to be beautiful and create beauty. Think on that in the week ahead.
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In the meantime, Victorious Kingdom Ambassador, thank you again and talk to you next episode.
God bless.
Thank you, friend, for taking your valuable time to listen to the Gospel of Everything podcast today.
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Be blessed.
Listen to the episode here: https://gospelofeverything.com/podcast/the-dreams-of-god-for-the-human-race