Week #1 – We are Sent
ME
Have
you ever sent someone a gift and them not receive it?
·
Christmas card/letter
·
Amazon package
Or
how about this? You’ve crafted and written a super important email… maybe
something at work OR something that you needed to tell someone that was
important… and what happens?
·
They read it and don’t respond
·
Oh yea, I saw that, but I forgot to read it
·
OR the ultimate… it never arrived because it
ended up in their SPAM folder
Isn’t
that the worst?!!?!?
SENT things have a purpose, don’t they? Why?
1.
We SENT it because we had a purpose for it to
accomplish
2.
We SENT it to a specific destination, so that a
specific person(s) would get it
3.
We SENT it because we wanted a reaction on the
other end, right?!
Definition
of SENT – cause to go or be taken to a particular destination… or this
one: arrange for someone to GO TO and STAY THERE for a particular purpose
TODAY,
we are going to begin to discuss this idea that “WE ARE SENT” …for a reason, to
a specific place, and those who receive us are supposed to get something.
PRAYER
DILEMMA:
For
many of us, we have probably never considered that God has a purpose to where
we live…
·
Maybe many of us don’t even like where we live…
·
Grass is greener in Chicago or St Louis
·
maybe we are even thinking “man, I’d love to
live in… Tex, Cali, NY, FL…
·
Maybe we even complain about the government,
taxes, future of our state
Maybe
we have trouble believing we are SENT to our cities (Bloom, Norm, El Paso,
Clinton, McLean County) because we don’t LOVE our city?
Sean
Bolz says in a book “You cannot prophesy to a person you don’t love.”
I
want to submit to us today this idea:
You must LOVE your city before you go on
mission to your city.
BIBLE
In
both the gospel of Matthew and in Luke, there are a few times where Jesus’
followers were SENT out to accomplish something for the Kingdom. Sometimes
Jesus was sending out multiple people (like the 500 at the ascension), but the
very first time Jesus tried this was with 12 boys.
Unlikely
characters whom Jesus chose to begin His Kingdom Mission. They were the first
ones who were SENT:
10 Jesus
called his twelve disciples together and gave them authority to cast out evil
spirits and to heal every kind of disease and illness. 2 Here
are the names of the twelve apostles:
·
first, Simon (also called Peter),then Andrew (Peter’s brother),James
(son of Zebedee),John (James’s brother), fishermen
·
3 Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, two of these
known for doubting Jesus
·
Matthew (the tax collector), Hated by his people
·
James (son of Alphaeus),Thaddaeus,
·
4 Simon (the zealot), Used to lead rebellions
·
Judas Iscariot (who later betrayed him).
Interesting
group isn’t it?
Unqualified…
broken… unskilled… ½ unlearned… young men who couldn’t cut it in their Jewish
system, so they had to go do something else… like dad’s fishing business.
Hardly the cream of the crop.
But
Jesus had a purpose… He had a mission… He needed someone to SEND!
He
had a message that needed to go out… so first 12, then 72, then 120, then 500…
then…
Why?
·
The
message of the Kingdom Meant something to Jesus.
·
He knew its power to change a person
·
He knew its power to change a city
·
He knew its power to change our world.
After
Jesus chooses these 12 ragamuffins, He sends them out:
5 Jesus
SENT out the twelve apostles with these instructions: “Don’t
go to the Gentiles or the Samaritans, 6 but only to
the people of Israel—God’s lost sheep.
Does
that sound a little weird? Just go to your people… don’t go to the Gentiles or
the ½ Jews… just to your people… why would Jesus do that?
·
Doesn’t Jesus love everyone? OF COURSE,
Jesus does!
·
But, at this point, Jesus knows that these 12
guys don’t love the whole world yet J …they didn’t yet have the Spirit to give them
this ability
He
only sends them to those that THEY LOVE because:
You must LOVE your city before you go on
mission to your city.
And
isn’t that true of us?! When we have good news, we always share it with those
we love first… a good report card, a promotion, a bonus/salary increase, a new
baby… who do we tell? We tell spouse, family, best friends, small group…
And
if the news is good enough, we tell everyone! I love you + share this news
w/me!!!
Friends,
when our firstborn Ezekiel Wesley Waters was born almost 14 years ago Corrie
SENT me to the waiting room with the Good News!
1.
She was excited about the news… it meant
something to her
2.
She wanted me to go FIRST to that room where
moms/dads/friends were waiting… it had a specific destination
3.
She wanted it to bring JOY to those who heard
it…
Everything sent has purpose
·
It means something to the one who sends it
·
It has a specific destination
·
It is supposed to bring joy to the one who receives
it
If
I didn’t first LOVE those family and friends… what could I have done?
·
Stayed back with Corrie and Zeke who I love
·
Maybe told them when I felt like it
·
Not invited them to the celebration of Zeke’s
life
·
Not smiled and showed enthusiasm
·
Not invited them back to the room to experience
it all
Next
week, we are going to dive into this more fully… but the disciples were SENT
with a power and a powerful message. Vs. 1 told us that Jesus gave them His
Authority. Vs 7-8 tells us that they were sent with His message…
7 Go
and announce to them that the Kingdom of Heaven is near. 8 Heal the sick, raise the
dead, cure those with leprosy, and cast out demons. Give as freely as you have
received!
· “Sent
Series Action Steps”
·
GO – your sent
·
TELL – everything that you’ve been waiting for
has arrived
·
SHOW – everything that you’ve been waiting for
is at hand
My
love and my good news are amazing… I have SENT you to your people.
In
the same manner, WE have been SENT to our city.
So,
why don’t we always GO, TELL, SHOW?
·
Probably
because we aren’t in love yet J
Have
you ever noticed that when you’re in love… you can’t wait to tell them
everything… you talk for hours… you text/call/facetime even if you are not in
proximity to them?
YOU
Friends…
We don't just live in our
cities… We are SENT to our cities.
·
God has actually placed us in our world for the
proclamation and the demonstration of His Kingdom.
·
Over the next 6 weeks, we will show our church
exactly how He intends to do that through us.
·
Possible ILL: drawn to “fox lake”
Jesus
has commissioned all of us to fulfill His mission on this earth. Not only has
he SENT us, but He’s given us the power to accomplish His mission.
Matthew
28:18 Jesus came and told
his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. 19
Therefore, go and make (making) disciples of all the nations, baptizing
them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 20 Teach (teaching)
these new disciples to
obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you
always, even to the end of the age.”
You’re
SENT
·
Sent to make disciples
·
Sent to immerse people in me
·
Sent to teach my stuff
·
Sent to Announce and Demonstrate the Kingdom of
God (next week/Matthew 10)
Everything sent has purpose
·
It means something to the one who sends it
o
The message means something to Jesus
o
YOU as the messenger mean something to Jesus
·
It has a specific destination
o
You were placed in BloNo for a reason
o
No one has the influence that YOU do
o
No one knows who you do (Together 3,131
{Friday} + Facebook friends – only 750 in common with Corrie… my wife! – 2,382
different!!!)
o
No one has the potential to love the people you
do!
·
It is supposed to bring joy to the one who
receives it
o
Your very presence in your sphere should bring
JOY
o
“ should bring LOVE to the unlovely
o
“ should bring HOPE to the hopeless
o
“ should bring POWER to the broken
·
You are SENT… you have a purpose
LAND
THE PLAN…
Story
of searching for a town to LOVE…
Prayer
over the congregation for the Father’s Heart for your city.
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