As we approach the end of summer and prepare to enter the rhythm of a new season, sometimes we need to reset the patterns of life that have grown out of a summer of fun and sun. And even if we haven’t been experiencing rest and relaxation, we still need to periodically refocus on the mission God has called us to. So this week we will look at what it means, as followers of Christ, to reset our mission.
Read John 17.13–26.
Just as the Father sent Jesus with a very specific purpose—to make Him known—He also sends us with a specific purpose. Regardless of where or when, He has placed us exactly where He wants us to be in order to accomplish His perfect plan. He hasn’t placed us in our jobs, homes, and neighborhoods by accident. There are no un-sent Christians. Too often, we think of those who are sent as the ones who get on planes and go to another part of the world to minister on His behalf. And it is true that many are called to this type of sending. Praise God! But this passage in John makes it clear that all of His disciples are sent.
Question: Who is God sending you to as His sent missionary right here in your home community?
So what does it mean to be sent? Let’s take a look at a few things we are sent to do.
Read John 13.34–35.
1. We are sent to love.
We are sent into our workplaces, neighborhoods, and even our families to demonstrate God’s love and care for people. This obviously means that we shouldn’t be mean, arrogant, or self-focused. But it goes beyond the expected niceties of our society. The most meaningful expressions of God’s love to those around us are also the most unexpected. Don’t just ask someone how they are doing, but actually listen and care about them. Find ways to bless them and meet their needs.
Question: How are you, or could you be, showing the love of Christ to someone in your everyday walk of life?
Read Matthew 9.35–38; 10.7–8.
2. We are sent to heal and to share.
In Chapter 9, we see that Jesus both shared what it meant to live life in the kingdom of God and healed sickness and diseases. This is what He was sent to do. But we also see in Chapter 10 that the disciples were sent out to do these same things. They were sent to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. In Luke 10, Jesus sends out a larger group of seventy-two disciples with the same mission. As disciples of Christ, this is our mission as well. We are sent to proclaim the good news of God’s kingdom and to bring healing to the broken and hurting.
What does it look like to bring healing? It means looking around us for brokenness, right here in the places we’re sent to. This might be physical brokenness. God is still in the business of healing physical sickness and disease. He does not change, and neither does His mission. But it could also be that we are sent to heal emotional or relational brokenness. It is our mission to look with open eyes to see the brokenness and to be used by Him to bring healing.
Likewise, we can bring healing to spiritual brokenness through sharing. We might be afraid that we won’t know what or how to share. But it is really quite simple. We just need to be real about our lives with Jesus. If we go to church, we should be willing to tell others about it. Or if God’s been working in a particular area of our life, we could take a risk and share a bit of what He’s doing. Or perhaps when someone shares with us about a difficult time they are experiencing, we can let them know how important Jesus’ presence was for us in a time of difficulty. This simple expression of vulnerability may help them open up to the potential healing He can bring to their own pain. Remember, not only were we sent to heal and share, we were also sent to love.
Question: How is God working in your life that you could share with someone and help draw them to Him? How about broken places in your past that the Holy Spirit could use to bring wholeness to someone else?
Read Acts 13.1–3.
3. We are sent to send.
The early church was gathered together worshiping God and God told them to set apart Paul and Barnabas for the work He had for them. And then they sent them out to do His work. We are called to reach those who aren’t yet reached by the good news of Jesus throughout the world. Each time one person is sent somewhere to share the Gospel of Christ, several others remain behind to support, encourage, and cover them in prayer. Just like the early church, we are sent to mobilize others for missions and to make Him known!
Question: Who are you coming alongside to help set apart and send into missions work? If you are unable to identify someone specific, make a commitment to find someone.
Read John 20.19–22.
It might seem scary to think about being sent to love, heal, share, and send. But we are not called to do it on our own. When Jesus sent the disciples into their ministry, He gave them the Holy Spirit. He knew they couldn’t do it on their own, and neither can we. So He sent the Holy Spirit to us to empower us to accomplish all that He sends us to do.
If we want to know what it feels like to experience the power of the Holy Spirit working through us, then we need to take a risk and step out in faith to live the life Jesus called us to—a life of love, healing, sharing, and sending. We need to live sent!
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