The Whole Point of Existence

Theologians break up history into 4 parts: Creation, Fall, Rebellion, and Redemption.

Creation
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. -Genesis 1:1
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God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. -Genesis 1:31
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The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. And the LORD God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die." -Genesis 2:15-17
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Fall
Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?"
The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.'"
"You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman. "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."
When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.
-Genesis 3:1-7
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So the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.
-Genesis 3:23-24
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Rebellion
The fool says in his heart, "There is no God."
They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good.
The LORD looks down from heaven on the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God.
All have turned aside, they have together become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one. -Psalm 14: 1-3

Redemption
"The time has come," he said. "The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!" -Mark 1:15
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"No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven--the Son of Man. Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who beieves in him may have eternal life.
"For God so loved the worlk that he have his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him." -John 3: 13-17
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Praise be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accorance with his pleasure and will--to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment--to bring all things in heaven and on earth togeter under one head, even Christ. -Ephesians 1:1-10
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He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. -Colossians 1:15-20
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Dear children, keep yourselves from idols. -1 John 5:21

REMARKS

• Creation: Love requires a choice. God took a HUGE risk in putting freedom into the hands of mankind.
• Fall: When mankind bought the lie and disobeyed their loving God, sin entered the world. Murder, famine, disease, rape, violence, gluttony, and pain overcame the world because of our choices--why then do we blame God for these things?
• Rebellion: We live in a world that is constantly spitting in the face of its loving Creator.
• Redemption: "to buy back." Jesus came "to buy back" people from sin, death, and ultimately, our own selves. God knew that he was sending Jesus BEFORE the creation of the world. Jesus, therefore, is the entire POINT of history, existence, etc. He was not plan B when the world screwed up, but has been plan A all along. Because we were created for him, that means that we are uniquely created with a purpose. Because we were created for him, chasing after ANYTHING ELSE but Jesus is pointless--like chasing after the wind.

The heart of those following Jesus is to show the world the LOVE that God has for them and the huge problem we are in because of sin. JESUS LOVES YOU and he wants you to know that he came, all along, to save you.

Amen.