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Sent by the King
Luke 4:1-13
Kingdom Life -Bethel Church, August 6, 2017
intro
- God declares our identity, based on what Jesus has done
- we need to live out our identity in Jesus
All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age. – Jesus, in Matthew 28:18-20 ESV
the pattern
- at creation, God delegated authority to the man and woman
- God told them to multiply and fill the earth… sending
- after the flood, God repeats this sending
- the goal: earth to be filled with God’s family, God’s citizens
- still not completed!
…when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!" Galatians 4:4-6 ESV
- Jesus was sent by the Father
- the Spirit is also sent… into our hearts!
Luke 4:1-13
- led by the Spirit into a time of discomfort (prep)
- led by the Spirit to a place where he would be tempted…
- faced with a choice to believe what God had declared
- how did Jesus fight against Satan’s temptations?
…he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." Luke 4:16-19 ESV
- proclaiming the good news includes making it a reality
- Jesus did this, his work was Spirit enabled and Spirit directed
Jesus – living sent
- age 12, in the temple, Father’s house/affairs/business
Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work. John 4:34 ESV
I have much to say about you and much to condemn, but I won't. For I say only what I have heard from the One who sent Me, and He is completely truthful." John 8:26 NLT
We must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the One who sent us. The night is coming, and then no one can work. John 9:4 NLT
Jesus shouted to the crowds, "If you trust Me, you are trusting not only Me, but also God who sent Me. For when you see Me, you are seeing the One who sent Me. I have come as a light to shine in this dark world, so that all who put their trust in Me will no longer remain in the dark. I will not judge those who hear Me but don't obey Me, for I have come to save the world and not to judge it. But all who reject Me and My message will be judged on the day of judgment by the truth I have spoken. I don't speak on My own authority. The Father who sent Me has commanded Me what to say and how to say it. And I know His commands lead to eternal life; so I say whatever the Father tells Me to say." John 12:44-50 NLT
- Jesus was constantly aware that he was sent by the Father
- Jesus was totally focused on living out that sending
As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you. – Jesus, in John 20:21 ESV
- Matthew 28:18-20… sent to make disciples, baptize & teach
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be My witnesses, telling people about Me everywhere – in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." – Jesus, Acts 1:8 NLT
This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! 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. 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. So we are Christ's ambassadors; God is making His appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, "Come back to God!" 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. 2 Corinthians 5:17-21 NLT
Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. 2 Timothy 2:3-4 ESV
…if you're serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides. Don't shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ – that's where the action is. See things from his perspective. Your old life is dead. Your new life, which is your real life – even though invisible to spectators – is with Christ in God. He is your life. When Christ (your real life, remember) shows up again on this earth, you'll show up, too – the real you, the glorious you. Meanwhile, be content with obscurity, like Christ. And that means killing off everything connected with that way of death: sexual promiscuity, impurity, lust, doing whatever you feel like whenever you feel like it, and grabbing whatever attracts your fancy. That's a life shaped by things and feelings instead of by God. Colossians 3:1-5 The Message
What does this mean for us?
Who is God?
He is our Father, our Servant-King, our Sender
What has he done?
He loves as his children,
He sent the Son to serve us
He sent the Spirit to direct & enable us to live our new identity
Who are we?
we are a family of servants sent to the world around us!
If we believe this, what do we do?
we love each other as family
we serve one another and those around us
we live as ambassadors, sent by God
this week
start planning strategically
ask God for direction (see James 1:5-8 & Hebrews 11:6)
plan with fellow sent ones (see 2 Timothy 2:22)
ACT! or keep going!(see John 13:17)