I’ve been pretty good at keeping up with email for most of my digital life, but lately my “Draft” box is filling up. That means I’ve started an email to you but I got distracted before I was able to complete it. If you’re waiting on an email from me, SORRY! These messages are SAVED, but NOT SENT.

Incidentally, I believe this describes many of us Christians in today’s Western church. We have been SAVED by God and put ourselves into the DRAFT box of church membership, but we’ve not seen the opportunities or necessity to be SENT by God into the world to used BY Him and FOR Him. Many Christians today are SAVED, but NOT SENT.

SENT is a key word in the Story of God. By nature God is a SENDER:

• He SENT Abraham away from Ur to find a promised land
• He SENT Joseph to Egypt to save his family from famine
• He SENT Moses to Egypt to rescue the Hebrews from slavery
• He SENT Judges to Israel to fend off enemies before the days of the Kings.
• He SENT Prophets to call the people to repentance and lead the people during the exile.

AND THE CLIMACTIC MOMENT:

• He SENT Jesus to die for the sins of the world and defeat sin and death through the resurrection.
  • Luke 4:18, “He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind…”
  • John 17:3, “this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have SENT.”
  • 1 John 4:9, “In this is the love of God was made manifest among us, that God SENT his only Son into the world, so that we might live through Him.”

And He’s continued SENDING:

• He SENT the Holy Spirit to empower the church for ministry and multiplication.
• He SENT the Apostles to start a Gospel movement around the known world. Apostle actually means “sent one”

And continue through 1,000’s of years of Church History and you’ll find yourself in a long list of people that God desires to be SENT into this world for His Glory.

We are SAVED TO BE SENT into the world for His glory.

• John 17:18, “As you SENT me into the world, so I have SENT them into the world.”
• John 20:21, “As the Father has SENT me, even so I am SENDING you.”
• Romans 10:14-15,  “How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard?t And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are SENT?”

So God sees the needs of the world and His response – HE SENT YOU AND I. We are God’s response.

So are you living SENT? or are you content with SITTING and watching others? Is your church a SENDING church or a SITTING church?

This weekend Bridge Church finished up a series of messages called Core (get the series and their Intro Videos here). It’s all about SENT Living and this week’s message we’ll talk about some practical ways to Live Sent.

What are some ways that you’ve know people to Live Sent? How have you lived sent in your world? What are the implications of being SENT by God on our daily lives?

A great book on Sent Living is entitled Live Sent by my good friend Jason Dukes. Check out info and some of my big take away’s from the book here.