SENT: Ordinary People, Extraordinary Mission

Lord Jesus, I just want to thank you again that you still call people like us.

Lord, people who are broken, who are ordinary, who are unqualified people,

and you still send us out, Lord, in your name, and I thank you for that.

Lord, I pray today that you'd give us courage to answer the call.

Trust, Lord, to walk in your power and clarity, God, to live on mission.

Lord, today, I guess we could just simply say, here we are, Lord.

Send us. In Jesus' mighty name we pray.

Amen. Our God is so good. Have you ever felt unqualified?

Maybe you were asked to lead something, to speak up, or to take on a task that

felt way bigger than you.

Maybe your first instinct was actually, me?

Surely you got the wrong person, right? Well, you're not alone because that's

exactly, I want y'all to get that today.

That's exactly how most of Jesus's first disciples probably felt when he called them.

But Jesus didn't call the religious elite or the socially powerful.

You know who he called? He called fishermen.

He called tax collectors, zealots, normal people like you and me.

And what did he do with them?

You know what he did? He sent them out to change the world.

That's the heartbeat of this mini-series we're going to do for the next four

Sundays, just simply called Scent.

How many of you know you've been sent as a child of God today? Amen?

And I was telling someone, we're going to finish this mini-series.

We took a break from the Gospel of Luke on Sunday morning for just a bit,

and we're going to resume the Gospel of Luke probably in December here.

But as we think about being sent, Jesus didn't just call us to follow him.

He called us to go for him, to move, y'all, from comfort to calling,

from spectators to sent ones.

You do realize what it means to be sent, right?

Yes, to go. And over the next four weeks, like I said, we're going to discover

what it really means to live on that mission, to be commissioned by Christ,

empowered by his Holy Spirit,

and compelled, y'all, by his love.

And today, we're going to begin where it all starts.

You are called and commissioned, if you know Jesus.

You are called and commissioned. God's plan to change the world runs straight through you.

And as we see in this opening slide, the question is, will you step into the mission?

Will you step into the mission?

Matthew chapter 10, verses 1

Matthew 10:1–8

through 8 is where we'll be to start with today. Matthew 10, 1 through 8.

Jesus called his 12 disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out impure

spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.

These are the names of the twelve apostles.

First, Simon, who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew, James,

son of Zebedee, and his brother John, Philip and Bartholomew,

Thomas and Matthew, the tax collector, James, son of Alphaeus,

and Thaddeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions.

Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans.

Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel.

As you go, proclaim this message. The kingdom of heaven has come near.

Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons.

Freely you have received, freely give.

That brings us to point number one today. Jesus calls the unqualified.

He calls the unqualified. If you look again at verses 1 through 4 of Matthew

10, before Jesus ever sends the disciples out, he calls them.

Matthew actually tells us, look at it again, Jesus called his 12 disciples to

him and gave them authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.

These are the names of the 12 apostles.

I love, y'all, that Matthew includes their names because each name carries a story, doesn't it?

These weren't religious elites, like I said earlier, political power players

or theological scholars, by the way.

These, again, were ordinary people with messy backgrounds.

Think about Peter. Peter, bold and compassionate, but impulsive to a fault, right? Right.

Matthew, tax collector, considered a traitor to his own people.

Simon the Zealot, essentially a political radical, dreaming of actually overthrowing Rome.

Then you have Thomas, the one who would later doubt Jesus's resurrection.

And then Judas. Well, we know how his story ends, right?

Not so good. But these were real people. I want you all to see that today.

Real people like us, full of flaws and failures.

And yet, don't miss this, Jesus called them anyway.

He even called one that he knew would betray him. He called him.

Why? Because that brings us to our first point today here.

Jesus doesn't call the qualified. He qualifies the called. Don't miss that.

Jesus doesn't call the qualified. He qualifies the called.

Paul actually says it this way in 1 Corinthians 1, 26 through 29. Listen to what he says.

He says, brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called.

Not many of you were wise by human standards, he says. Not many were influential.

Not many were of noble birth.

But God, listen to this, but God chose the foolish things of the world to shame

the wise so that no one may boast before him.

That's exactly, church, what Jesus was doing here In Matthew chapter 10,

Matthew 10 · chapter mention

as we see here on this slide, he wasn't recruiting resumes.

He was calling hearts.

They didn't have it all together. We don't either. Later in Acts chapter 4,

Acts 4:13

verse 13, when Peter and John stood before the religious leaders,

you know what Luke writes?

He says, they were astonished and took note that these men had been with Jesus.

What a testimony. Did you catch that? It wasn't their education,

their background, or their skill set even that amazed the people. What was it?

It was their connection, as we say on the slide. It was their connection to

Christ. They had been with Jesus.

And here's where it hits home, doesn't it? Maybe you've disqualified yourself.

Maybe you think your story is too messy or your skills are too small.

Maybe you've convinced yourself, God can't use you.

But I want y'all to listen today. If you've been with Jesus,

you're exactly the kind of person that he loves to send. You are sent.

Because God's mission has never, church, depended on your ability.

As we saw last week, we talked about being available.

It depends on your availability.

And that leads us to number two today.

Jesus equips the willing. How many of you are willing today?

He equips the willing. Matthew 10, 1, as we read earlier, tells us that Jesus

actually gave them authority.

That's huge, church. He didn't just send his disciples out with good intentions

or a motivational pep talk, did he?

You know what he did? Look at this bullet point here. It says he gave them spiritual

authority and power to do the work he called them to do.

You're not in it alone. That's the good news. He still does that today, Eastwood.

Ephesians 2, 10 actually reminds us that we are God's handiwork created in Christ

Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

That means when God calls you to something, he's already prepared the way ahead of you.

You're not stepping into unknown territory alone.

You're stepping into work. God has been preparing since before you were born.

Does that not blow your mind?

He's the one who gives you the power

and authority. And if that feels intimidating, it should. That's good.

Following Jesus often does lead us into places where we feel underqualified,

unprepared, and outmatched even at times.

But that's exactly, don't miss this, that's exactly where he wants us.

Because that's where we learn to what? To depend upon him.

I love this verse. In fact, I remember a Bible school song came from this one,

2 Peter 1, 3, I believe, says it this way. His divine power has given us everything

we need for a godly life through our knowledge of Him who called us.

Did you get that? Let me read it one more time. 2 Peter 1.3,

his divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our

knowledge of him who called us.

Amen. This has always been the story of the church.

God uses ordinary, willing people to accomplish extraordinary things.

You know, Augustine once said, God does not choose people because they are worthy,

but by choosing them, he makes them worthy.

That's the pattern that we see again and again in scripture.

God equips the willing, as we see here, not the qualified.

So maybe God's been nudging you towards something lately.

Maybe starting a ministry that you see a need for here at Eastwood Baptist Church.

It could be forgiving somebody. It could be stepping into leadership.

It could be sharing your faith and opportunities that God gives you to reach

out, like at Coastal Alabama Community College tonight.

He's inviting you, though, to lean on His strength, His Spirit,

and His power that's working through us.

Remember, God's power has given us everything we need to live a godly life, right?

Hallelujah for that. Are you willing? Are you able?

If so, he'll equip you and he'll give you divine purpose and power to fulfill the call.

You don't have to lean on your own strength.

In fact, the best times are when we are shaking like a leaf.

That's when God can use us. Number three, Jesus sins with purpose.

He sins us with purpose. You know, I love how intentional Jesus is here.

Look at what he says again in Matthew 10, verses 7 and 8.

Matthew 10:7

He says this, as you go, proclaim this message. In other words,

preach or speak this message, herald it.

The kingdom of heaven has come near.

Heal the sick. Freely you have received, freely give.

So did you hear the clarity in that? This wasn't random, church.

Jesus didn't send his disciples out just to be nice people.

He didn't say, go vibe with the culture or go blend in, did he?

No, what did he do? Look here on the screen. He gave them a mission.

That's why we have a whole team at church here called Made for Mission, because that is true.

And then, as you see on the slide, a specific God-shaped assignment to do what?

To proclaim, to heal, to restore, and to serve.

And then, John 20, verse 21, after his resurrection, Jesus says something stunning.

John 20:21

Listen to this. This is going to blow your mind. As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.

Are you sent ones today, Eastwood? Are you ready? Are you willing?

Are you able in his strength? Yes, you are, right?

That blows my mind. That means the same love that sent Jesus into the world. You're with me, right?

The same love that sent Jesus into the world is now sending us into the world.

Do you get it? That blows my mind because the mission isn't optional.

Paul, it's built, you get this, as we see in this next bullet point,

it is built into our identity as followers of Jesus.

Our identity as followers of Jesus. Paul actually picks this up,

by the way, in Romans 10 verses 14 and 15.

Romans 10:14

He writes this, listen, how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard?

And how can they hear without someone preaching to them or heralding it, right?

Speaking it to them, proclaiming it. How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news.

Beautiful feet. Now, if I took off my shoe and my sock this morning,

y'all would all get excited. I know.

I don't think that if you looked up here, Aaron would probably not say,

Brother Judd, man, those feet look great, beautiful.

But when we're talking about feet that go to share the gospel in that spiritual

sense and the importance of the mission, they are beautiful feet. You know what I mean?

Have you got those beautiful feet that God's talking about in his word?

That's what scripture calls the ones who actually go, the ones who carry the

hope of Jesus into dark places.

You do realize go right

go you know what that means right go you actually go you don't think about it

you don't pray about it you actually obey and you go you carry the hope of jesus

into dark places but here's where this gets really personal today you ready,

your life is not a waiting room for heaven.

You're not just biding your time until eternity arrives. And I think that sometimes

the attitude that we sometimes get in our world today, man, we think we prayed

the prayer and all that, and we're like, man, I'm saved.

Hallelujah. I'm going to heaven.

And then we just do whatever we want. And we think that, hey,

we're saved and we're going to our eternal reward.

But your life is not a waiting room for heaven.

You're not just biding your time until eternity arrives. God, get this, church.

God has strategically placed you, every one of you, in your neighborhood,

your workplace even, your school, your friend group that you have.

You have been strategically placed as his kids.

There are people already in your path this week who need to experience the grace,

the healing, and the truth of Jesus through you.

You don't need a pulpit to preach the gospel.

Sometimes proclaiming the kingdom of God, y'all, actually looks like praying

with a coworker who's overwhelmed.

Sometimes it looks like forgiving somebody who don't, they don't deserve it.

Sometimes it's sitting with a friend in their pain and offering hope when they

have no hope. that's what it means to be sent.

As we see in this next slide, a quote from St. Augustine, without God, we cannot.

Without us, God will not.

In other words, God chooses to partner with his people to accomplish his purposes, amen?

You are part of his plan in Babinet, Alabama, at Eastwood Baptist Church, you are sent ones.

You are in his hands and you are his hands and feet, by the way,

his voice and presence in places he's put you in.

So let me ask you today, think about this for a moment.

Where has God already placed you to be a witness?

Who in your path this week needs to see God's kingdom, not just hear about it.

They need to see it. What conversations, what interruptions,

what opportunities, church, might God use in you to bring his love close to somebody?

You see, friends, the risen Christ didn't gather his disciples in that locked

room simply just to comfort them, did he? You know what he did in that room?

He commissioned them. You got it.

He commissioned them. His words still echo to us today, Eastwood,

as the Father has sent me, I am sending you.

That means that, y'all, as we see on this closing slide, that following Jesus

isn't just about believing something.

It's about becoming someone, somebody who carries his peace,

offers his forgiveness, and lives out his hope wherever we go.

And y'all, this world needs hope, amen?

This world needs hope, a true hope. You're sent, think about it today,

into your home, start with, right?

It begins in your house, in my house, right?

And by the way, you look around our world today and many, all,

just about you can think of, I say, but many for sure of the world's problems

today starts in the home.

It starts with godly parents in a home. You think about it, all of it,

sex trafficking, all of it, every issue you come up with, it all starts in the home.

But you're called into your homes, your workplaces, your schools, your neighborhoods.

And again, I want y'all to see this. It's not by accident.

It's on purpose. You're where you are on purpose. Did you know that?

God has strategically placed us, it says in his word, the times that we live

in even, the very address you have on your mailbox, God has placed you there.

This week, y'all, take time to ask yourself, where is God sending me today?

Where is he sending me today?

Maybe it's reaching out, like I said earlier, to a coworker who's struggling.

Maybe it's extending forgiveness to somebody who hurts you.

Maybe it's simply offering peace in the middle of chaos.

Here's the good news. Again, you're not sent alone.

Just as the Father equipped the Son we see in God's word, Jesus equips us with who?

The Holy Ghost, amen? The Holy Spirit.

And that's why next week we're going to learn this truth that when God sends, he also empowers us.

In Luke 10, we're going to see how Christ not only sends his followers,

but he gives them his authority and the Spirit's power, church,

to do what he's called them to do.

So think about this today. As you step into this week, remember you are sent

with a message of peace, with a message of forgiveness, and with a message of hope.

And you carry, I carry the very presence of Christ with you wherever you go.