Don't Go; Be Sent
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Missions Central Church
Missions Central Church
PRAYER
God in His Word on numerous occasions points to the fact that He is a missionary God. He reveals to us many times over that He is a God of mission(s).
2 Sing to the Lord, bless his name; proclaim his salvation from day to day.
3 Declare his glory among the nations, his wondrous works among all peoples.
Psalm
God in His Word on numerous occasions points to the fact that He is a missionary God. He reveals to us many times over that He is a God of mission(s).
God in His Word on numerous occasions points to the fact that He is a missionary God. He reveals to us many times over that He is a God of mission(s).
8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord asking: Who should I send? Who will go for us? I said: Here I am. Send me.
The very truth of God being a missionary God necessitates another truth we find from Genesis through to Revelation. Think about it a missions organization cannot be without having missionaries they send out could it? Now they could be local, national or international, but in order to be missionaries who accomplish the mission of the organization, they have to be sent.
God in His Word on numerous occasions points to the fact that God is a missionary God. He reveals to us many times over that He is a God of mission(s).
Think about it a missions organization cannot be without having missionaries they send out could it? Now they could be local, national or international, but in order to be missionaries who accomplish the mission of the organization, they have to be sent. The truth about our missionary God then is He is a sending God.
Mission is the divine activity of sending intermediaries, whether supernatural or human, to speak or do God’s will so that his purposes for judgment or redemption are furthered. The biblical concept is expressed by the use of verbs meaning “to send,” normally with God as the expressed subject. The Hebrew verb is s̆ālaḥ and the Greek is apostellō. These terms emphasize the authoritative, commissioning relationship involved.
Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology Basic Definition
Mission is the divine activity of sending intermediaries, whether supernatural or human, to speak or do God’s will so that his purposes for judgment or redemption are furthered. The biblical concept is expressed by the use of verbs meaning “to send,” normally with God as the expressed subject. The Hebrew verb is s̆ālaḥ and the Greek is apostellō. These terms emphasize the authoritative, commissioning relationship involved. The Scriptures also employ the cognates apostolos (“apostle,” the one sent) and apostolē (“apostleship,” the function of being sent), referring to the one sent and his function.
The biblical concept of “mission” comprehends the authority of the one who sends; the obedience of the one sent; a task to be accomplished; the power to accomplish the task; and a purpose within the moral framework of God’s covenantal working of judgment or redemption.
The biblical concept of “mission” comprehends the authority of the one who sends; the obedience of the one sent; a task to be accomplished; the power to accomplish the task; and a purpose within the moral framework of God’s covenantal working of judgment or redemption.[1]
[1] Larkin, W. J., Jr. (1996). Mission. In Evangelical dictionary of biblical theology (electronic ed., pp. 534–535). Grand Rapids: Baker Book House.
The truth about our missionary God then is He is a sending God.
Last week I showed you where Heaven’s throne room is Missions Central for the Trinity from where He sends the Jewish people, His people to the nations.
Last week I showed you where Heaven’s throne room is Missions Central for the Trinity:
8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord asking: Who should I send? Who will go for us? I said: Here I am. Send me.
Last week I showed you one of the many places where God’s Word gives God’s Mission for His people when they go to the nations.
2 Sing to the Lord, bless his name; proclaim his salvation from day to day.
3 Declare his glory among the nations, his wondrous works among all peoples.
God sent His son Jesus to complete what His people could not.
2 Sing to the Lord, bless his name; proclaim his salvation from day to day.
3 Declare his glory among the nations, his wondrous works among all peoples.
17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
John
Don’t misunderstand this truth. God’s sending was not a result of their failure but a complete fulfillment of His mission, established in eternity before the foundation of the universe and all creation.
Jesus’ time on Earth was intentionally short in that He revealed the nature of God to the world, became the substitution for us in the atonement of sin on the cross, secured the victory over death through the resurrection, and now has gone back to the throne room on behalf of all who believe.
Dictionary of Bible Themes 7948 mission
Specific actions that bear witness to the good news of what God has done for his people. Israel, Jesus Christ and the church all in their different ways bear witness to the saving acts of God in history. Christian mission is empowered by the Holy Spirit.
John Newton describes it this way: “Christ has taken our nature into heaven, to represent us; and has left us on earth, with his nature, to represent him.” [1]
[1] Ritzema, E. (Ed.). (2012). 300 Quotations for Preachers. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[1] Ritzema, E. (Ed.). (2012). 300 Quotations for Preachers. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
Last week I showed you where Heaven’s throne room is Missions Central for the Trinity:
8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord asking: Who should I send? Who will go for us? I said: Here I am. Send me.
The incarnation, the coming of God the Son as Jesus the man, was God himself going on mission trip for 33 years. The missionary left from from where He was sent, heaven, lived on mission by making disciples, by dying and rising again; then going back to heaven, he left behind the mission with those who followed Him. The Sent One is also the Sending One.
We see that he began to prepare His followers for this mission even before the time of the cross.
Stand in Honor of the Author of His Word as we Read His Word.
1 After this, the Lord appointed seventy-two others, and he sent them ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself was about to go.
2 He told them, “The harvest is abundant, but the workers are few. Therefore, pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest.
3 Now go; I’m sending you out like lambs among wolves.
4 Don’t carry a money-bag, traveling bag, or sandals; don’t greet anyone along the road.
5 Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this household.’
6 If a person of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you.
7 Remain in the same house, eating and drinking what they offer, for the worker is worthy of his wages. Don’t move from house to house.
8 When you enter any town, and they welcome you, eat the things set before you.
9 Heal the sick who are there, and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near you.’
1 After this, the Lord appointed seventy-two others, and he sent them ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself was about to go.
2 He told them, “The harvest is abundant, but the workers are few. Therefore, pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest.
3 Now go; I’m sending you out like lambs among wolves.
4 Don’t carry a money-bag, traveling bag, or sandals; don’t greet anyone along the road.
5 Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this household.’
6 If a person of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you.
7 Remain in the same house, eating and drinking what they offer, for the worker is worthy of his wages. Don’t move from house to house.
8 When you enter any town, and they welcome you, eat the things set before you.
9 Heal the sick who are there, and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near you.’
10 When you enter any town, and they don’t welcome you, go out into its streets and say,
11 ‘We are wiping off even the dust of your town that clings to our feet as a witness against you. Know this for certain: The kingdom of God has come near.’
12 I tell you, on that day it will be more tolerable for Sodom than for that town.
13 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes.
14 But it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you.
15 And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? No, you will go down to Hades.
16 Whoever listens to you listens to me. Whoever rejects you rejects me. And whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me.”
17 The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.”
18 He said to them, “I watched Satan fall from heaven like lightning.
19 Look, I have given you the authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy; nothing at all will harm you.
20 However, don’t rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”
After the resurrection, where Mary Magdalene is the first to witness Him alive, Jesus then appears to the Disciples. Some commentators believe it was just the 10, due to Thomas’ absence and Judas’ suicide. Other commentators believe it was the chosen 10 plus the close followers including the women. We find this in John’s gospel, his version of the Great Commission.
Luke 10:1
After the resurrection, where Mary Magdalene is the first to witness Him alive, Jesus then appears to the Disciples. Some commentators believe it was just the 10, due to Thomas’ absence and Judas’ suicide. Other commentators believe it was the chosen 10 plus the close followers including the women. We find this in John’s gospel, his version of the Great Commission.
19 When it was evening of that first day of the week, the disciples were gathered together with the doors locked because they feared the Jews. Jesus came, stood among them, and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
20 Having said this, he showed them his hands and his side. So the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.
21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you. As the Father has sent me, I also send you.”
22 After saying this, he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.
23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”
John 20:19-
PLEASE BE SEATED
Notice here the parallel John draws between the Sending of the Son by the Father and now the sending of His followers by the Son.
Someone has said, “The whole business of the church is to preach the whole Gospel to the whole world.” This task is the responsibility of the whole church. Every man and women that has accepted Christ as Saviour and Lord should be active in the work of winning others to Christ. Winning people to Christ is missions. [1]
If heaven is Missions Central for the Trinity and the Church is a representation of heaven on Earth then it is only natural that we His church would want to be a Missions Central Church. When Christians and thus the local church are not living on Mission for God then we are living contrary to our God intended nature are we not?
Someone has said, “The whole business of the church is to preach the whole Gospel to the whole world.” This task is the responsibility of the whole church. Every man that has accepted Christ as Saviour and Lord should be active in the work of winning others to Christ. Winning people to Christ is missions. [1]
[1] Bolick, J. H. (1987). Sermon Outlines from the Word (p. 40). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House.
Missions Central Churches remember one important truth: they don’t just go, they seek to be sent by God.
Missions Central Churches remember one important truth:
Don’t Go; Be Sent
Don’t Go; Be Sent
This truth should be as much your prayer and my prayer as anything else this truth is.
On Sunday nights this month the sermon topic has been prayer.
We saw how the prayer life of the first church provides a pattern from which our church can learn, both in terms of the importance of prayer, and also matters of prayer. The content of the prayers by 1st Century Christians was learned from the Disciples who of course learned from Jesus.
The prayers they prayed found in several verses of Acts echo this title. Our prayers as Christ followers should be the same.
Look back with me in and notice for what, in regards to God’s mission tells you His follower to pray.
Pray the Lord of the Harvest Sends You
Pray the Lord of the Harvest Sends You
There has never been a problem with a lack of having a harvest. Jesus told us the harvest is plentiful and ripe for picking.
The has never been a problem with having a lack of the harvest.
The problem has always been in getting the harvesters to leave the farm house.
The problem has never been with the harvest. The problem has always been in finding harvesters to leave the farm house.
Christians tend to answer this problem in 2 ways.
Christians tend to answer this problem in 2 ways.
Wrongly Ignoring it
Incorrectly tackling it.
They tackle it head on, jumping in feet first, trying to do as much as they can, as fast as they can for as long as they can, hoping to make up for the lack of harvesters.
Jesus tells us the solution to the problem is prayer.
He also tells us the answer to the prayer for God to send harvesters in what we read from . The Father sent Him and He is sending us. Just as Jesus was defined by the mission of the Father, so YOU are to be defined by the mission of the Son.
Jesus’ mission did not cease after the ascension. It is meant to be carried on through each of YOU claiming to be His followers. In , Jesus makes it abundantly clear that following Him is a daily denial of self and picking up of His mission, represented in the cross.
Ignoring the problem of no harvesters is not an option. Jesus is looking for followers who are living on mission not fans who watch those living on mission.
In - the verb is changed in the second part of this sentence, to a different Greek verb, both meaning send, but the second verb emphasizes that you are being sent by another of higher rank, Jesus, to perform a specific task. This brings to mind a verse often overlooked in the Great Commission and possibly the reason many ignore it. They don’t like what it says.
18 Jesus came near and said to them, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth.
Your prayer is not meant to be IF He can send you or IF He wants to send you rather your prayer must be, “God where do you want to send me cause I am ready to be sent.”
The prayer is not if He wants to send you but where He wants to send you.
Holman New Testament Commentary: Luke III. Conclusion: Which Way?
Luke wants us to hear his call to follow Jesus in mission, winning victories over Satan, but also to follow him in daily life, taking opportunity to show love to others and to show love for God by listening and obeying his Word.
Many tackle the problem of no harvesters by hiring others, PASTORS AND STAFF, to do what God calls them to do, or they allow other MEMBERS to volunteer. Many get so busy trying themselves to do enough to make up for those who don’t go. Many think they can go without praying. This leads to failure because it lacks the power God promised to give YOU while you go.
- this is not the literal giving of the Holy Spirit because that would contradict Luke’s account in Acts which happens 50 days later. Jesus did this to symbolize the creation of the New covenant community with its privilege, its purpose and its power to accomplish its mission.
Our prayer to be sent ensures us of our power to accomplish the mission with which we are sent.
The Holman Commentary tells us to apply the passage in in this way:
Holman New Testament Commentary: Luke Applications
Find where God is at work and join him in his mission.
• Depend on God to meet your needs rather than let worldly cares distract you from his mission.
Find where God is at work and join him in his mission. (Blackaby)
Depend on God to meet your needs rather than let worldly cares distract you from his mission.
Depend on God to meet your needs rather than let worldly cares distract you from his mission.
That only happens by praying to be sent and for the power to go when your sent.
In Jesus says to tell those we are sent to that “the Kingdom of God has come near to you.” This verse along with our idea of praying for mission involvement brings to my mind the pattern of prayer found over in:
2 So He said to them, “When you pray, say: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.
Luke 11:2
As you are praying to be sent, and as you go living on Mission for God, pray for these other aims of God’s mission.
Pray God Establishes His Kingdom Through You
Pray God Establishes His Kingdom Through You
As you are praying, ask God that people will see your honor and reverence for Him as the Holy One he is. Pray for a manifestation on Monday - Saturday of what you experience on Sunday.
Pray that people will recognize God as King and respond in repentance to the good news of His salvation you share with them.
Holman New Testament Commentary: Luke IV. Life Application: Where Have You Been since 1958
The mission volunteers wearily rounded another curve in the dusty Kenyan road. There they met another Kenyan man and his family. One more time they shared the simple gospel message. They never expected his reaction. “Where have you been? In 1958 God showed me a vision of missionaries coming to tell me about Jesus. I went out here to the corner of my field and dedicated a place to Jesus. See the stone I set up? We will build a church here. Why did you not come sooner? I have been praying all these years for you to come. But thank God you have come. I do want to accept Jesus as my Savior. So does my family. Tell us how.”
Pray that God Build His Church Through You
Pray that God Build His Church Through You
In Jesus says that He will Build His Church, and the gates of Hell cannot withstand His church.
We can apply that text by praying for God to send us out on mission to the next town, the next state, the next country for the purpose of planting churches who will storm the gates of hell with the gospel and prevail in doing so.
Planting churches is not a novel idea, that is not a Calvinism idea, that is a Christian idea. Read through Acts and find the truth of that idea.
In Acts, God’s people living on Mission prayed for God to build His church through them.
When they were praying during worship God called the church to send out some members to plant another church. They did not go until after receiving a prayerful commission.
2 As they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”
3 Then after they had fasted, prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them off.
Pray to God that you and I will Build His church from this place. He did it once before, and He can do it once again. (Our History).
Conclusion: “The church’s mission requires both the individuals and groups who, authorized by God to communicate His message, go out from the community to others near or far, and also the community that manifests God’s presence in its midst by its life together and its relationships to others.”[1]
[1] Bock, D. L., Cardoza, F., Cohick, L. H., Evans, C. A., Goheen, M. W., James, F. A., III, … Moo, D. J. (2016). NT176 The Gospel Message in the Early Church. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
If heaven is Missions Central for the Trinity, and the Church is a representation of heaven on Earth; then it is only natural that we His church would want to be a Missions Central Church.
When Christians and thus the local church are not living on Mission for God then we are living contrary to our God intended nature are we not?
God has called all Christians to do His work (). All are called, but few answer this call. Following Christ means that YOU live like He lived. YOU Talk like He talked. YOU Pray like He prayed. Jesus prayed that His fulfillment of His mission would bring glory to God the Father. He prayed the Father’s will be done, not His own. Then He became obedient. YOU and I must do the same.
Are you willing to follow the Lord all the way?
It begins with your commitment to pray for missions involvement, your involvement. God will show you when, where and how.
Jesus tells us the solution to the problem is prayer. He also tells us the answer to that prayer in what we read from . The Father sent Him and He is sending us.