The Father Has Sent Me

As a child when we heard a sibling cry out, “Dad told me to come and get you!” We automatically wondered if we were in trouble. I was also afraid when I heard people ask “Does your father know you are here?” Jesus never had that problem. His father was God! He was the only begotten Son of the Father (John 3:16).

In John 20, He reminds His disciples that He was sent by God, the Father, as the eternal Son to redeem the lost world. After explaining His mission He gives the disciples the commission (Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 16:15-16, Luke 24:47–49). Now it’s their turn to do the will of the Father. In a way, Jesus is symbolically passing the torch (Acts 1:8-9). He is sending His followers as an extension of His mission to redeem the lost world. They cannot save the world, but they can point people to the Savior of the world.

If you have read the book of Acts you know that the followers of Jesus are sent under divine authority to reach lost people with the gospel of Christ. Why did they do it? Because the love of Christ had impacted them! The plan of Jesus was to give them the confidence for soul-winning and it worked. All of the disciples, with the exception of John, died for their faith in martyrdom.

Part of Jesus’ plan for the church is to involve every Christian in the work. Total participation of the membership is required to reach every person with the gospel. We all collectively have to work together for world-wide evangelism to be carried out. Christians need to witness to those who are lost are in spiritual darkness and do not see their need (II Corinthians 4:3-4). They are lost are in spiritual deadness and have no power to change, apart from the work of God and the work of the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 2:1).

Going back to John 20, the Bible tells us that God uses three things to reach people for Himself: (1) The work of the spirit, (2) The word of salvation, and (3) The witness of the saved. It is the privilege and responsibility of every believer to bear the good news of God’s forgiveness through Christ to every lost person. We need to be committed to global evangelism, but start in our own backyard.

When given an opportunity to speak about His mission, Jesus revealed that He came ‘‘to seek and to save that which was lost’’ (Luke 19:10). If our hearts beat like the heart of Jesus, we will seek and save others. We will reach the lost with the gospel of salvation. We will open the word to the masses. We will minister to and encourage those who are hurting. We need to be the hands and feet of Jesus.

The Father sent Jesus into the world. The Father also wants to send you into the world. Are you ready to be on a mission for God? Have a great week!

You are loved.

Ray Reynolds, PhD

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