Sent

Pic of Riverside symbol) https://images.app.goo.gl/uEvWNPDuGVNhVNVg8

The South African missiologist David Bosch wrote, “Mission is more and different from recruitment to our brand of religion; it is the alerting of people to the universal reign of God through Christ.”

Mission is both the announcement and the demonstration of the reign of God through Christ.

Recap the missional habits:

Bless: Words of affirmation, acts of kindness, gifts. - They get blessed we become generous.

Eat: Having meals with others. - We build deeper relationships and we become more hospitable.

Listen: To listen to the Holy Spirit and become Spirit-led.

Learn: Learning Christ to become more Christlike.

S in B.E.L.L.S. is sent.

The final habit is to begin identifying yourself as a missionary - a sent one.

The word mission stems from the Latin word missio, which means to send or to be ejected or pushed out. The word was almost exclusively used to describe a person who travels overseas attempting to spread Christianity. More recently, we have adopted the term to describe all Christians who attempt to glorify God in their daily lives. If our mission is to alert others to the universal reign of God through Christ, then all believers should see themselves as missionaries.

Living on mission for God and seeing yourself as a missionary in all parts of our life. Our life should and could be like a movie trailer.

What is one of the best movie trailers you have ever seen? - Independence Day (Whitehouse is blown up)

What are movie trailers designed to do? - Make you want to go see it.

Have you noticed at the movies after watching the trailer what happens in the movie theater? People start discussing if they will go see the movie or not. - We all do that right?

Horror movie trailer I always yell out “Oh heck no” or NOPE! Then a horror movie came out called nope. Perfect.

Our lives should be like a movie trailer to a blockbuster summer movie. By the way we live out B.E.L.L.S. missional habits we will have people that don’t know God yet become intrigued to know more.

Our lives will make them curious.

Let’s talk more about being send ppl.

John 17:18 NLT

18 Just as you sent me into the world, I am sending them into the world.

Sent - Into the Mess.

Sent for what? The Ministry of Reconciliation

Reconciliation means to make things right. In divorce proceeding you will here the term irreconcilable differences. They can’t agree to different situation and things in the marriage and on those ground are filing for divorce.

Sin came into the world and put a relationship wedge between us and God. God’s plan was to send His son Jesus down to earth to pay for all mankind's sin. The Gospels teach us that if we will put our faith and trust in Jesus and what he did on the cross for us we can then be made right “be reconciled” with God again.

And since we believe and have experienced Christ forgiveness ourselves, we are sent to take this “Good News” to the world.

2 Corinthians 5:14–15 NLT

14 Either way, Christ’s love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life. 15 He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them.

Christ love controls us. So that those who receive his new life

will not longer live for themselves. - Sent ppl don’t live for themselves.

2 Corinthians 5:18–19 NLT

18 And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. 19 For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation.

This a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ.

And He has given us this task - to reconcile ppl to God.

And he gave us the wonderful message of reconciliation.

2 Corinthians 5:20–21 NLT

20 So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” 21 For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.

We are Christ’s ambassadors. - US ambassadors speak on behalf of the president and US.

God is making his appeal through us. - He has sent you to be his spoke person!

We speak for Christ when we plead - “Come back to God!”

Famous sent ones. - Paul Revere in his famous mid-night ride screaming out as he rode “The British are coming”! Alerting of the British coming to attack.

We are sent to alert people to the universal reign of God through Christ and to “come back to God”!

To whom and to where have you been sent?

Matthew 28:18–20 NIV

18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Vs. 19: Go and make disciples.

Go to whom? To whom are you being sent? All nations. All ppl. Kids song -

Jesus loves the little children All the children of the world Red and yellow, black and white They are precious in His sight Jesus loves the little children of the world

Go where? Where are you being sent?

Ah everywhere you go. Wherever God has placed you. You should be alerting them to God’s Kingdom.

Am being I sent to the mall? Do you go to the mall? Yes then yes. And my dear shop-a-holics don’t use this as a excuse to buy more stuff. Honey, Jesus sent me to the mall for the third times this week.

On vacation? Do you go on vacation? Yes then yes. You should be alerting ppl to God’s Kingdom.

In the men’s locker room at school or the gym? Men only answer please. Yes.

In traffic when you are late getting to where you are going? Should you be alerting ppl to God’s Kingdom there and then? No! This is not the time or place to be alerting others to love and forgiveness of God. Ah Jesus really? Ah man incorporating these the two LL’s in BELLS Listening to and Learning Jesus is going to make me late.

Bless them? Let them merge in when they have not waited their turn and drove on the shoulder and cut other ppl off? Wait you want me to waive and give them the finger (thumbs up).

Church tell me of some places you go during the week.

When you go there you should be finding ways to alert ppl to God’s Kingdom.

If you see a sticker on the back of a car window that reads 26.2 what are they letting you know?

That they have completed a Marathon. I don’t have or will I ever have one on my truck. Now our car maybe but not because of me.

End with Marathon story: The idea for the modern marathon was inspired by the legend of an ancient Greek messenger who raced from the site of Marathon to Athens, a distance of about 40 kilometers, or nearly 25 miles, with the news of an important Greek victory over an invading army of Persians in 490 B.C. To commemorate his dramatic run, the distance of the 1896 Olympic marathon was set at 25 miles. The 1908 Olympic Games were set in London and the course was extended, allegedly to accommodate the British royal family. As the story goes, Queen Alexandra requested that the race start on the lawn of Windsor Castle (so the littlest royals could watch from the window of their nursery, according to some accounts) and finish in front of the royal box at the Olympic stadium—a distance that happened to be 26.2 miles. The random boost in mileage ending up sticking, and in 1921 the length for a marathon was formally standardized at 26.2 miles.

What made this Marathon story legend legendary? After running 25 miles from Marathon to Athens the messenger made his announcement, he collapsed from exhaustion and died.

Galatians 6:9 NIV

9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

Don’t grow weary, don’t give up! Don’t grow weary, don’t give up! Don’t grow weary, don’t give up!

Just as Jesus was sent we are sent. To deliver this message to the world around us. There is a God who loves them right where they are at. And wants a relationship with them.