God Sent Me Here

we're going to look to the word of the lord and one of the lines of that song also said everyone needs compassion a love that's never failing everyone needs forgiveness i'm glad that that everyone that god died to save includes me because i am one of the every ones that needed forgiveness i am one of the every ones that needed compassion and so i'm thankful for the sacrifice of his cross that he died on calvary but i am not the only one that needs compassion or forgiveness there are others that need forgiveness and need they need to hear about a god who forgives a a god who has compassion upon them and so i'm thankful that our pastor has just kind of pointed us towards others because that's what god is about he is about others and and we have been about others and we are continuing with that being our focus here in 2022 i want to talk tonight um this is this is the title and we're going to work through this title word by word every word of my title is a point in my sermon you're hoping for the shortest sentence that there ever was i saw it on your face i saw it four words god sent me here god sent me here how many of you believe that god does not make mistakes yeah i'm glad that you believe that because that's the premise that's the foundation stone of of knowing and believing and living like god sent me here because god doesn't make mistakes there is no error in our god with god nothing happens by accident if we believed that something happened by accident something took god by surprise that would then remove the fact that he is omniscient or all-powerful we couldn't believe both at the same time but we believe that he is omniscient he is all-knowing that he is omnipotent that he is all-powerful and he is everywhere present as well and so with god nothing happens by accident and everything happens on purpose it's true of circumstances and scenarios and events but it's true of people as well there are no mistakes no one here is an accident everyone here is on purpose now i know what we mean when we say they were an accident i know what we mean but the reality is there are no accidents we've already said it god doesn't make accidents he has purpose for everything that he does and for everything that he allows or disallows nothing happens by accident god doesn't make mistakes there are no oops in the room i want you to say this repeat it after i say it god created me on purpose yeah i like somebody over here put the emphasis on me i like that was that you sister keel she's looking around like i don't know it's a good thing i'm glad you did it god created me on purpose whether you've been told by your parents he or she was a little bit of an accident there are no accidents with god god created me on purpose we are not random we do not exist on a whim we are not here by chance and i don't just mean we as in humanity in general but i mean you in particular you are not happenstance you are not coincidental you are here on purpose by the design of an all-knowing and an all-powerful creator and designer you are here you were created on purpose you exist for a purpose your life is essential we've heard a lot in the last two years haven't we about essential the essential workers or non-essential workers it's like i mean i am essential not everybody can do what i do probably everybody can do what i do but they can't do it the way that i do it they can't do it with the personality and the flair for the dramatic that i have because i am created on purpose and i have been sent to where i am for a purpose and by design and so you as well are essential you are essential you are needed you are you are not just one in a crowd at apc you're essential you are needed you have purpose and you have value what we believe about our purpose influences what we do or what we choose not to do it what we believe about purpose influences how we view and how we value others what we believe about our purpose it impacts how we think about the adversity and the opposition in our lives or how we view our suffering all is impacted and influenced by what we believe about our purpose so i ask you what would it be like to believe the statement god sent me here what would that be like for you to believe that god sent me here how would you live differently few believed god sent me here so let's take each word god he is the one doing the sending so what do we know about god well we know that he's our creator right first thing we learned in scripture in the beginning god created he he made all of the things he designed all of the things he is the purpose giver to all of the things that he created and so what am i saying when i say god sent me here i'm saying my creator sent me here my designer sent me here the one who designed me for a purpose sent me here the one to whom i belong sent me here psalm 24 and verse 1 says this the earth is the lord's and the fullness thereof the world and they that dwell therein just in case we might put this on everybody else or put this on just the general earth the general world no the world and they that dwell therein are you dwelling in this world you're the lords that scripture says so you are not primarily and only your parents you are the lords you are not a product of a circumstance of a coincidence you are the product of the lord his purpose his design because the earth is the lord's and they that dwell therein and so the one to whom i belong sent me here jeremiah 29 11 in the new living translation says for i know the plans i have for you he's my creator he's my designer he's my purpose giver he's the one sending me amber who sent you the one that has plans for me and not just any plans but plans for good and not for disaster to give me a future and a hope that's the god that sent me here that's the one that that we're talking about tonight so what else do we believe about god well we certainly believe a lot of things but the other thing that i want to point out is that he is sovereign and he's in control and so if i pop that descriptor into this sentence the one who is sovereign and sees the end from the beginning and all the things in between he sent me here the one who is in control who knows what is needed and when it's needed and how it's needed he sent me here my situation is not in control god is in control sin is not in control god is in control covet is not in control god is in control the governments of this land are not in control god is in control and we can trust him and we can surrender and submit to his plan because he's the one who sent us here the sovereign one sent me here the one who doesn't make mistakes sent me here again god doesn't make mistakes nothing is on accident and everything is on purpose so god sent me here and god sent me here in john chapter 20 verse 21 jesus said to them again peace to you as the father has sent me i also send you everybody say he sent me jesus said i have been sent i know what it means to be sent and now i need to send you he was talking to his disciples and i'm a disciple i'm a follower of jesus christ i'm one who is endeavoring to look and be and sound like jesus christ so he has sent me as well there's a certain level of ownership by viewing life with this scent mentality it gives me a purpose and it helps me to recognize that i have a responsibility god made my life we established that in the first point god is my creator but god made my life with a purpose god has put my life on a mission he's created me to fulfill a function and he has given me a responsibility god sent me here we see

joseph in the old testament live life with a sent mentality joseph in the old testament if you recall was one of several brothers and was not so well liked by said brothers was sold into slavery well he was put in a pit first then he was sold into slavery into egypt worked in the potiphar's house ended up getting accused of something there and got put into prison got forgotten about by the guy who was supposed to put in a good word for him so he spent extra time in the prison and finally he was then elevated in the land of egypt elevated very very high i believe second in command don't quote me on that but i believe he was he was pretty high up there in egypt and none of that really happened technically because of something that he did it happened to him i guess if you will he didn't have much control over the pit the prison potipher's house or eventually being a president in egypt he didn't have much choice but when his brothers came looking for a handout looking there was a famine in the land and he of course said god had told him in a dream and so he began to store grain there in egypt and they had stored enough to be able to supply food to those that were around them countries that were around them and so the countries that were around them included where he had come from and so his brothers came looking for grain looking for the food and and they came to egypt where joseph was and joseph recognized them and when all was said and done they come back to him and they're terrified because they realize this is joseph we put him in a pit we left him for dead and now we need him to give us food they were in a very very bad spot chapter 45 of genesis verses 4 through 8 joseph said to his brothers please come near to me so they came near and he said i am joseph your brother whom you sold into egypt but now do not therefore be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here for god sent me before you to preserve life for these two years the famine has been in the land and there are still five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvesting and god sent me before you to preserve a posterity for you in the earth and to save your lives by your great deliverance so now it was not you who sent me here but god and he has made me a father to pharaoh and lord of all his house and a ruler throughout all the land of egypt three times joseph tells his brothers you didn't send me here god sent me here there was purpose in the pit there was purpose in the prison there was purpose in potiphar's house and now there's purpose in pharaoh's house house as well nothing was coincidental nothing was by accident everything was on purpose god sent me here but joseph weren't you betrayed by your brothers and joseph didn't you go through some hard times and joseph weren't you forgotten about and kind of put on the back burner weren't you left for dead by those who are supposed to love you yes but god sent me here the way that he viewed his suffering the way that he viewed his circumstance was through a sent mentality i have been sent here god has a larger purpose than what i am currently going through and that's an important it's an important thing for us as christians us as believers us as disciples to get a hold of him and grasp a hold of that

i am not the main character of my story god is the main character of my story if i put myself at the center if i make myself the main character of my story i'm going to try to avoid all of the heartache all of the disillusionment i'm going to try to avoid all of the anger and all of the frustration and all of the grief and all of the loss but when i realized that god is the main character of my story then i can say be it unto me according to your word god let your purpose be done for you have sent me here a sent mentality sees purpose in what has happened or what is currently happening ascent mentality has god at the center and not ourselves a sent mentality recognizes that god is in control not luck not fate not coincidence life didn't just happen to me and i didn't just happen to live god sent me here i am here on purpose i am here for a purpose a sentimentality acknowledges that god's purpose is much larger than just me he's telling a much bigger story than just my life i'm simply part of the story that god is writing he's the main character the plot is his mission and his purpose and so ascent mentality brings purpose even to adversity ascent mentality brings purpose to our brokenness and to the betrayals of life and to the setbacks of our lives and to the mistakes that we make in life understanding acknowledging and living as if it were true that god sent me here brings purpose to all of the negative things that may happen in my life what does it mean then to be sent well first of all it means you're not going for yourself you're going for the one who sent you anybody ever been sent to the grocery store brian has been sent to the grocery store any uh any instacart people in here you've sent someone else to the grocery store for you hey man thank god for instacart uber eats and all that we can send somebody and there's a certain thing that they're supposed to do because that's the second thing that it means to be sent there's a mission there's an action to be taken there's a function to fulfill so first of all you're not going for yourself you are going on behalf and because of the one who sent you i think of of our ambassadors u.s ambassadors they are in the country that they are in not for themselves they're they're not there as tourists and they're they're not there just simply to live in another country and enjoy another country those are byproducts of their job i'm sure but they are sent there by the secretary of state ergo the president of the united states they are sent as ambassadors they're not there for themselves they're there for a higher power a higher authority in the same way i'm not on this earth for myself god sent me here i i don't have gifts and talents for myself i have them for his purpose for his service i have them for him he has sent me and so as mentioned there's a mission there's an action to be taken a function to fulfill we've been dispatched to act on behalf of god everybody say i have been sent i'm not talking to just a select few of you i'm not just talking to ones in a certain age demographic every single one of us absolutely everybody in the room has been sent by god you have a purpose you've been dispatched to act on the behalf of god and thirdly what it means to be sent there's other things but the third thing that i'll mention is that there is authority given when you are sent the authority of the president the authority of the constitution of the united states goes with our u.s ambassadors to the country in fact if you go to a consulate if you go to the i can't think of the other word for where they live if you go to where they do business that is considered u.s soil because the power of the u.s goes so the power goes with the one who is sent and god said jesus said as i have been sent so sinned i you and what is the power that we have it is the spirit of god is when we've been filled with the gift of the holy ghost that is the power the empowerment to do what god has sent us to do it's not you've heard me say this before it's not our ticket punch to heaven the spirit do we need it to go to heaven yes we need it to go to heaven there i slammed the pulpit about it but it is also to empower us here on the mission that god has sent us on on this earth he gives gifts and abilities through his spirit they operate in the body of christ in the church and again i'm not just talking to a certain demographic tonight absolutely everybody has been called and equipped for his purpose and so being sent causes me to consider these questions what is god's perspective of this whatever is in front of you right now if it's if it's a struggle if it's a problem if it's an emotional issue if it's a family issue if it's a financial issue or if it's an opportunity that has come your way what is god's perspective of this being sent asks these questions what is his desire for this situation if i am sent and i am if you are sent and you are we should consider what is god's perspective of this that is in front of me

what is his desire what is his perspective of this person of this event of my life of this opportunity or of this tragedy what is his perspective and what is his desire for this person for this event circumstance for this opportunity and for this tragedy what is his perspective and what is his desire those are the questions that one that is sent should ask of the one who sent them lord what is your perspective of this what is your desire in this what do you want to do in this what would you have me do in this god sent me here god sent me here not just everybody else god sent me his mission and his purpose is personal everybody say it god sent me say it again focus on me god sent me whether i feel qualified incapable or not he has sent me god sent me even though i'm broken even though i'm prone to mistakes god sent me though i have faults and weaknesses god sent me even though my life and my family isn't perfect we disqualify ourselves based on these and other things we relegate purpose and value to other talents other roles or other responsibilities other abilities and other personalities we we we say oh they have purpose and they have value but what i do and what i am and what i want is not a value there is no purpose because we in our weakness we look at ourselves and we disqualify ourselves based on that weakness but no i will remind you that we are all made in the image of god we all have purpose we all have a responsibility we all have value from the youngest to the oldest we all have value god sent me knowing full well what talents gifts and abilities i have and i don't have god sent me he sent me to do the work he designed me to do he sent me to do the work that he designed me to do not the work he designed you to do but the work he designed me to do he sent you to do the work that he designed you for he didn't send you to do the work of the other person across the room that seems to be a little more talented seems to have a little bit better you know be better at connecting with people or not have quite so many issues in their lives or their family seems like they've got it all together now god god sent you he meant for you to be on his team he he designed you perfectly for the work that he wants to do through you this next line was in one of the devotions that we did in 2020 when we were doing the church-wide devotions god's purpose for me preceded his design of me god's purpose for me preceded was before his design of me so he didn't make me get me all fashioned up ready to come to rebecca jean barnhill willaford and steven thomas williford he didn't get me all set up all my dna all in the right spot and then be like oh yeah what what's my purpose for her i need her to do this no his purpose for me he had it already in mind i need amber to do this and this and this and i need i need her to go here and i need her to care for this one i need her to speak to this one in walmart and i need her to do this and this and this and this all of the things that god has planned and appointed every appointment that he's made for me that was before he designed me so he had in mind what he needed me to do what he was going to expect out of my life when he made me so he put all of that in me he put he designed me with everything that i would need to succeed everything that i would need now that's not to say i don't i can't hone some skills and learn some things i certainly have a long way to go i need to do all of those things and we all need to do all of those things but what i am the core of what i am telling you here is that god's purpose for you preceded his design of you what god wants from your life you are capable to give him it's not for the person across the row it's not for the person on the platform it's not for the person that's the most charismatic it's not for the person that looks the best it seems that they have it all together it's for absolutely every one of us god has a purpose for you don't disregard yourself or don't disqualify yourself and don't allow the enemy to whisper in your voice that you're disqualified because of a past that haunts you or because of a present that isn't quite what you would want it to be no there's mercy everyone needs compassion everyone needs mercy and forgiveness and we come to him humbly and he uses us because god sent me here there's nothing on accident everything is on purpose god designed me with the gifts and the talents and the abilities that i would need to fulfill his prescribed purpose for my life and god sent me here what do i mean by here well everything that i can mean by here god sent me here to this pulpit with this microphone tonight because somebody needs to hear this

i believe god sent me here with this his message god sent me here to earth not an accident not a cosmic blip on the radar god sent me here on purpose i was born for a purpose i'm on earth because he sent me here i'm in saint louis because god sent me here you're in st louis because god sent you here well my my job transferred me here amber god sent you here well i'm here because my family they moved here back in the late 80s and blah blah blah nope god sent you here there's purpose for you here if we are always looking somewhere else for purpose we are going to waste our time everybody else's time and god's time because he's got purpose for me here and whatever the park he preached and now there is purpose for me here god sent me here to your neighborhood is you're here our field right god sent me here we've got to know it we've got to believe it we've got to live that way god sent me here wasn't just because rent was you know lower here or because the mortgage payments were lower here i got a great deal my my realtor put in a good word for me no god sent me here i don't know how all he did it he may have done it by giving me the lowest rates possible he may have done it by realtor putting in a good word but i've got to realize god sent me here i've got a purpose here i've got a mission here wherever here is god sent me here to to apc here is you're here apc you were sent here well it's you know the first one that came up on the google search for apostolic you know which is nope god sent you here well amber your dad was the pastor so you're gonna have to go here god sent me here god sent you to your family god sent you to your job god sent me here whatever here looks like for you and here's what i know if i'm still here i still have purpose if i'm still breathing in and breathing out i still have purpose because god doesn't make mistakes things don't happen on accident so if you're still breathing god's still working through you if you're still breathing god's got something he wants to do through your life he's got somebody he's gonna send to you that you can minister to that you can care for that you can speak a word into their life and be an encouragement here may look like i don't know maybe here applies to our circumstances are our situations god sent me here not a question mark after that it's either a period or an exclamation point no god sent me here here is uncomfortable here is seemingly impossible here is frustrating at times here is confusing at times but god sent me here meaning if i am here whatever descriptor you might put on here your situation and your circumstance you still have purpose god has a purpose for you in that place i invite you to stand tonight god sent me here so knowing that i've been sent calls me to consider this question how can i be salt and light here your job if that's your here your family if that's you're here how can i be salt and light here our purpose comes from and is dictated by the one who sent us god is the one who sent us and he is the one who said his words recorded in luke 19 10 for i am come to seek and to save those who are lost i have a purpose and my purpose includes others so god sent me here for others if i don't believe all four of those parts god the sent the me and the here i'm going to get off course i'm going to miss my appointment that he set for me i'm i'm going to miss the mission i'm going to miss the purpose but if i can remember those four words god sent me here and he sent me here for others i will remember lord what is your perspective of this what is your perspective and then how can i fulfill your purpose how can i be salt and light here

i want us to pray and as we pray we close this sermon this lesson whatever you would call it but i want us to pray this prayer in your own words in your own vernacular but god help me to see hear from your perspective want me to see me from your perspective help me to see being sent from your perspective can we pray these words in jesus name lord i thank you for your purpose thank you lord that you are our divine creator you are the divine designer that none of us are here by accident no no one of us no one of us is here by accident but you have created and designed us with purpose and i pray that you would help us to walk in that purpose i pray that you would help me to get your perspective of my sentence that you would help me to get your perspective of myself of my calling of my talents and abilities and your appointments for my life help me to get your perspective and then help me to get your perspective of my here wherever that is and whatever that pertains to lord give me wisdom and give me insight to know how to fulfill your purpose lord you have sent me and i want to be on your mission lord i redirect and recalibrate myself to your mission to be sent by you i'm not going to be sent by my emotions i'm not going to be sent by my attitude i'm not going to be sent by anything fleshly i'm going to be sent by you i'm going to allow you to lead and for you to direct my life and so i pray that you would give me your perspective help me to see your purpose in all things lord help us send us to others and send others to us as we go into our week the rest of our week lord in the name of jesus in the name of jesus thank you lord thank you jesus amen amen he is sending us to others and he's sending them to us and so i just encourage you greet everybody with the attitude god sent me here what did he send me here for it's like a little game you know you go into walmart huh why am i here i'm here for dr pepper zero but why am i really here lord you know there's just you just play a little game with it it's not a game but there's there's a purpose there's a larger purpose than what we think