Matthew 13: 33; Matthew 28: 19-20
You are God's "Plan A" for taking His message to the world and doing His work in the world. When Jesus departed this earth for the last time, He had established His church in the hands of Peter and the apostles. We carry on that tradition today. Jesus had no other plans but to trust the people of His church to continue spreading the Gospel and following his commandments.
In this blog series on my book and video series, "Live Like You're Loved", we come to the steps to take for living like you're sent. First we need to realize that we are sent in two ways: Personally and commonly.
Today I'm not going to talk about your personal call for being sent in the world and how to discern it; you'll have to go to the book and video series for that enlightening discussion! Instead, I want to discuss being commonly sent.
All Christians have the responsibility to follow the Bible's guidance in how to live our lives righteously, love and care for others, and spread the Gospel. In Matthew 13, Jesus compares this work on behalf of the kingdom of heaven to the action of yeast in making bread:
The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough.
We are sent to be the yeast of the world, working from within, being embedded in the world. We are not supposed to retreat from the world, but to continue to do our work. Yeast is silent and sneaky; you don't immediately see or hear its results. But in time, the rising of the dough is assured because of the yeast. That's God's "Plan A" for how our Christian message spreads.
Scripture provides many instructions to commonly send us into the world. Perhaps the most famous is Jesus' Great Commission in Matthew 28:
"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, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
Jesus' commandments, Paul's writings, the moral instruction of the Old Testament - these all give us clues as to how we are to behave when we are commonly sent. These are the expectations of every Christian.
As I noted in my last devotional blog regarding how you are sent by God, God's love and forgiveness lead somewhere. They lead through you to the rest of the world. Just as the apostles were sent to different regions to spread the Good News, you are also sent to your own corner of the world. You are needed today, right where you are. Take the instruction of scripture and apply it when the chance comes today - and it surely will.
Is your Sunday School class or small group looking for content as you plan out 2023? Please consider "Live Like You're Loved" and other Cecil Taylor Ministries products found at https://www.ceciltaylorministries.com/lessons . Whether you're interested in a video study or a book study, we have options. You can also access a Leader's Guide that makes it easy for any willing member of your group to lead the discussion effectively.