Sent Ones
The great American writer Mark Twain once famously stated,"the two most important days in your life are the day you were born and the day you find out why." So true! At Renovate Church, we believe that every single person has been uniquely created by God and has a unique purpose that they are called to fulfill. In other words, there are unique things, unique places, unique people, and unique assignments that each person has. There are things YOU are called to accomplish.
We see this principle of divine purpose powerfully demonstrated throughout the scriptures.We see it in the life of Jesus in John 13:3 where it says, "Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God." In essence, Jesus knew where he had come from, where he was going, and what he had been called to do. Jesus lived a powerful, purposeful, and effective live because he knew he was a Sent One. This word "sent" is actually used over 60 times in the book of John alone, 28 times in the book of Acts, and over 800 times in the entire Bible. God is indeed a sending God.
Furthermore, we see this principle profoundly illustrated in the Old Testament story of a young man named Josiah who discovered that God had a purpose and a destiny for him and wanted to use him as a sent one. In I Kings 13 we see a man of God from Judah come and declare that in the future there would be a young man born named Josiah who would bring great reform to the nation and turn people's hearts back to God:
By the word of the Lord a man of God came from Judah to Bethel, as Jeroboam was standing by the altar to make an offering. By the word of the Lord he cried out against the altar: “Altar, altar! This is what the Lord says: ‘A son named Josiah will be born to the house of David. On you he will sacrifice the priests of the high places who make offerings here, and human bones will be burned on you.’”
What is amazing is this event took place around 928-903 BC, roughly 300 years before Josiah was even born. Can you imagine this? That there is a God who knows us and knows all the days He has created for us when yet there were none of them like Psalm 139:16 declares.
Well the story continues in II Kings 22 and a young man named Josiah is born and ascends to the throne. Scripture says that one day some workers discover the Book of Law in the temple and read it to him. As he encounters the character and calling of God through God's word he begins to understand for the first time that he too was born for a bigger purpose. It goes on to say that no one turned to the Lord with all their heart and strength before him or after him like Josiah. Josiah discovered the profound WHY for his life.
What about you and I? We too are called to live as SENT ONES. How do I know this? Because Jesus specifically said it in John 20:21, "Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” Sending you to do what? The same things he did.
We are called to represent God to the world. We are called to communicate God's heart and message to those around us. We are called to be the hands and feet of Jesus to a hurting world. We are called to partner with God to see His will and purposes done in the world. And the crazy thing is that God almost always works through people. But as we saw with Josiah we have to AGREE and be AVAILABLE for God to work through us. God's revelation always requires a response on our part. Will we, like Josiah, respond in our hour and generation as sent ones? For in the end, something will be written about us as well.
Excited to continue this series with you next week.
