Identity: Missionaries

by Element Christian Church
We are taking three weeks to look at the identities that we receive from God, and how that affects true Gospel Community.

THE CHURCH IS SENT BY THE HOLY SPIRIT TO BE MISSIONARIES

We are sent by the Spirit to restore all things to God through Jesus Christ.
God sent Jesus to Earth to take on human form and live within the culture. He worked, ate and interacted among the people; living in such a way that those around Him could see and experience what God was truly like. Jesus came so that all people, places, and things could be restored to a right relationship with God. In the same way, we believe we are missionaries sent by God’s Spirit into our culture to restore all things to God through Jesus. We live this out through community. (John 1:14; 20:21; Colossians 1:19)

We submit to the sending and leading of the Spirit.
After Jesus said to His disciples, “As the Father sent me I am sending you”, He breathed on them the Holy Spirit. Then, when He commissioned His disciples to be His witnesses, He told them to wait for power from  on high (Acts 1:8). He was referring to the Holy Spirit that the Father and Son would send (John 14:16; 16:7). Just as Jesus was sent by the Father, empowered and led by the Spirit, now we are sent as His missionaries by the same power and leading of the Spirit (Matt. 3:16-4:1). 

We are sent and empowered by the Spirit to share and show Jesus to others.
As missionaries we are sent to share the truth about God’s love for the world through the sending of His Son. The Spirit has been given to us so that we can know what is true of Jesus (Jn. 14:26; 16:12-15), live fruitful lives as evidence of the gospel’s power to change (Gal. 5:16-24), be empowered to share it boldly (Acts 4:23-31), and trust that He is the one who convicts the heart and gives new life (Jn. 3:4-8). All fruitful missionary work is a result of being people who are born of, filled with, and led by the Spirit. 

We submit to the Spirit as our Sender and Leader and are empowered to show and share Jesus to others.

Who is the Spirit sending you and your community to be a witness to?

Used with Permission by Soma Communities