Read Romans 10:14-18
I once spoke to a pastor who prided himself on the fact that his congregation was going to be a sending church. When I asked what he meant by this I simply got a reiteration that his church was going to be a sending church. Even after repeated attempts to procure an explanation, the explanation never came.
Unfortunately many churches have lost the game plan and exist for reasons or for missions that God simply hasn’t given us! Every church should be a sending church. I will say it again! Every church should be a sending church.
Praying for the lost is really only half the picture. We need to pray for the lost and we need to send someone to them to preach the gospel to them. Can you see the chain of events happening in today’s verses? We have been told that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. But they can’t call on Jesus if they haven’t heard of Him. They can’t hear of Him if no one preaches to them and no one can preach to them unless they are sent to them.
So clearly every church needs to be a sending church. Every church needs to send its people out with the express command to preach the good news to the lost. Now for some that may mean full time missionary service like it did for Paul. Some will be called to enter into service overseas or even here in Australia in a missionary capacity. For others it means being sent to our families or our work places or our schools to preach the Good news! Each and every time the Sonday service ends consider yourself to be sent out into the world to
In Paul’s day sending an sms or giving someone a dvd to watch, or a Two Ways to Live booklet or the Creation to Completion cards was not an option. Messengers would be sent on foot from town to town. After running long distances the messenger’s feet would be dirty and stinky. But we read in verse 15, quoting Isaiah 52:7, that even the feet of the messenger, the dirty stinking feet of that messenger, are beautiful because they are bringing such good news.
When you go to work or school tomorrow or when you meet with friends and family, you too can be the bearer of good news. You can share with people the good news of Jesus Christ who came into the world to save sinners. You can be the messenger that God uses to change people’s eternity.
But we need to realise that we are simply messengers. It’s God’s job to change hearts and to open minds to the Gospel. Our job is to take the message to them but it’s always a good idea to ask God to prepare these people to hear the message and that He’ll allow you to preach it clearly as you should.
Prayer:
Having read today’s passage and notes jot down various prayer points in each:
Adoration:
Confession:
Thanks:
Supplication:
¨ Pray that your church would have a fervent passion to reach the lost. Pray that each person would be actively evangelising people in their world.
¨ Pray that the Kingdom of God would grow as your church evangelises.
¨ Pray that every person in your congregation would see themselves as a missionary in their own respective worlds. Pray for many conversions.
If God is responsible for changing hearts then prayer is a vital part of sharing the good news with others.
1. How can you know if God is calling you to be a full time missionary in the church sense of the word?
2. Who could you share the good news with today or tomorrow?
3. Why does God want us to be going into the world to share the good news?
Intro: God wants each of us to be messengers who take the good news into the world. Sometimes that will be hard to do. At other times it’ll be easier.
Discuss a time that you shared the good news and share how things worked out.
Read Colossians 4:3-6
What does God want us to do? Describe each element mentioned in vv3-6.
What problems could arise when you seek to do this?
How do you overcome these problems?
Pray together that you would have many opportunities tomorrow to share the good news.
Intro: God wants each of us to be messengers who take the good news into the world. Sometimes that will be hard to do. At other times it’ll be easier.
Discuss a time that you shared the good news and share how things worked out.
Read Colossians 4:3-6
What does God want us to do? Describe each element mentioned in vv3-6.
What problems could arise when you seek to do this?
How do you overcome these problems?
Pray together that you would have many opportunities tomorrow to share the good news.
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