Ultimate Sending Agency
Colin Stoodley , QLD church planter , digs into what it means to follow Jesus ’ example of being a delegate , messenger or one sent by God .
The New Testament uses a word ‘ apostolos ’ to describe the people of God who are sent .
It ’ s a word that describes someone who is a ‘ delegate ’ or ‘ messenger ’ or ‘ one who has been sent ’. This word is used 79 times in the whole of the New Testament and the vast majority of them , 28 in fact , are found in Acts .
This is the hint that Acts will give us a picture of what individuals and communities of faith look like when they live like delegates , messengers or ones sent by God . Not long after the commission from Jesus ( Matthew 28 ) and the Holy Spirit is poured out ( Acts 2 ), the living as delegates , messengers or sent ones begins . It ’ s not a story of triumph and mastery , nor endless effectiveness . It is a story of engagement and obedience sustained through all manner of difficulty , opposition and physical struggle and empowered by the ongoing work of the
Holy Spirit in and among the people of God . And what ’ s even more incredible is that this was how every disciple of Jesus lived … not just the Apostles , everyone !
So this is why I use the term to describe the Church as ‘ God ’ s Missionary ’ We , as a whole and as individuals , are commissioned by God to be His delegates , messengers and ones who are sent out to the world that He loves . Our job is to share the message with people who don ’ t already know of the peace , love and forgiveness that is found in Christ .
Consider these stories of Jesus for a moment .
Think about Him in John 4 when He found Himself the delegate of His Father to the woman who had come from her village to draw water ; think about Him in Luke 19 when He got into a conversation with a tax-collector and as the delegate of His Father brought salvation to that man ’ s house ; what about when He blessed the children in Luke 18 as the delegate of His Father !?
See what I mean ?
In John 8 , as the delegate of His Father , Jesus forgives sins in a seemingly impossible context . In Luke 8 , as the Father ’ s sent one , He brings true freedom to a man so oppressed by evil spirits that he lives in a cemetery .
And in Luke 7 , as God ’ s sent one , He ministered to an outcast and sinner , bringing wholeness and life to her .
In all these ways we see our Lord live as the delegate , messenger and sent one of God . When those who followed Him , followed His example , they too lived out their work as the delegate , messenger and sent one of the Father . This is for all of us !
And then Jesus prayed for us .
“ My prayer is not for them alone . I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message , that all of them may be one , Father , just as you are in me and I am in you . May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me .” John 17:20-21
We are His missionaries ! We are His delegates , messengers and sent ones in the earth . That , for His glory , many may hear and be invited to life in Jesus and also discover that they too are called to be His delegates , messengers and sent ones .
These are the hallmarks of a truly apostolic movement . resonate · issue 34 · page 5