Sent

[0:00] A Pastor's Reflections, Sent, Genesis 37, 13. And Israel said unto Joseph, Do not thy brethren feed the flock in Shechem? Come, and I will send thee unto them. And he said to him, Here am I. Isaiah 6, 8. Also I heard the voice of the Lord saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I. Send me. 1 John 4, 14. And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. To be sent is a high calling and a noble quest. Being sent requires three things. A sender, a sent one, and a willingness to go.

[0:52] As followers of Christ, we have willingly entered into a relationship with the ultimate sender. God does not send his people on minor errands of no consequence, but on eternity-altering tasks.

[1:08] For Joseph, his father was sending him to do what he or others had probably done many times before, to check on Jacob's sons and Jacob's flocks. What is so special about being sent to do that?

[1:22] Couldn't anybody do that task? Wasn't Joseph made for so much more? Yes, he was. But the only way to get to the much more was to first do the one more thing that he was sent to do. Matthew 25, 23.

[1:39] His Lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant. Thou hast been faithful over a few things. I will make thee ruler over many things. Enter thou into the joy of the Lord.

[1:52] Being sent originates with the sender. He is the one who determines the reason for the sending and the value of that sending. For Joseph, his decision to obey his father put in motion events that would not only be life-altering for his entire family, but eternity-altering for the entire family of God. You and I today are living under the eternal effects that came from that seemingly insignificant decision by Joseph to be sent. Joseph's decision allowed God to use him to preserve the seed of Abraham that would one day himself be sent into the world on a mission of eternal importance.

[2:39] Do not focus on where you have been sent. Instead, focus on the sender. He has promised to not only send you, but also to go with you into all places you have been sent. While your sending may seem insignificant or unimportant to you, it may be eternity-altering to the ones you are sent to.

[3:05] John 17, 18 As you have sent me into the world, even so, have I also sent them into the world. Father, what a priceless privilege to be sent into the same work that you have sent your one and only may we each be willing to have hearts quick to respond to the call of the sender. And may we never forget the eternity-altering effect that a sent one had upon our lives. Amen.