God Sent Me Here - Part 2

i'm thankful to know jesus thankful to be in the house of the lord with all of you tonight thankful that the lord provided us such an amazing day of weather right so much different than last wednesday which i guess makes it true what they say about the weather in st louis just stick around for a second it might change but we are we're thankful for what god has blessed us with today the beautiful weather that that we have enjoyed and i got to sit down on my back deck this afternoon and put the finishing touches on this so if there's something about a bird or a squirrel just ignore that it's just just what i saw there in the yard i wanted to bring to you a couple of weeks ago when i taught on a wednesday i taught on four words god sent me here and so tonight is basically going to be part two because i feel like i didn't get to fully complete the here portion of that and so if you weren't there i'm going to go through just a little bit of a recap so that you're not completely lost and i think i think we'll catch you up to speed pretty good but god sent me here part two and let me start my stopwatch so that i don't keep you all till sunday we talked about god sent me here and the premise being with god nothing happens by accident but everything happens on purpose god has a purpose in everything it's true of circumstances and scenarios and events and it's also true of people god doesn't make mistakes you are not a mistake you are not a mishap you are not a coincidence you are not an accident you were created on purpose you exist for a purpose your life is not an accident your life is on purpose and your life is essential and what we believe about our purpose influences what we do or choose not to do it it influences how we view and value others what we believe about our purpose it impacts how we think about the adversity and the opposition in our lives how we may view our suffering and so i posed the question that week what would it be like to believe the statement god sent me here how would i live differently in this present moment if i believed and lived that statement god sent me here and so we broke it down that week and we went through each of the words and i'm just going to do that briefly and then we'll stop and we'll plant ourselves on here and finish that but god my creator sent me here my designer sent me here the one who designed me for a purpose sent me here god 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 doesn't make mistakes sent me here nothing on accident and everything on purpose so god sent in john chapter 20 verse 21 so jesus said to them again peace to you as the father has sent me i also send you and he was talking to his disciples he was talking to the believers and we in this room are disciples and we are believers in jesus and so we can take his words as if they were said to us personally jesus speaking as the father has sent me i also send you each of us are sent everybody in the room is sent for a purpose you have been sent to this moment you have been sent to this era of time you have been sent to the family that you are in you have been sent everything on purpose nothing by accident you know and there's a certain level of ownership that happens by viewing life with a sent mentality it gives me a purpose and it helps me recognize that i have a responsibility if i have been sent to the grocery store for shredded cheese i have been sent for a purpose if i come home with cookie dough ice cream not only have i ruined keto i have not brought back what is needed for the taco salad so being sent there's there's a sense of purpose and there's a there's a certain level of ownership that happens when we live with a sent mentality god made my life with a purpose he made your life with a purpose and so he has put our lives on a mission should you choose to accept that mission i was going to say you don't really have a choice but you do have a choice to live your mission or his he's my designer he's my creator he's the one who has sent me on a mission i want to be on his mission and his mission is so big it's it's his story that he's telling is so much bigger than my story and my my details the details of my life and i i want to be on his mission and this this year we are on the mission for others and so we have been sent to see others and to serve others and to help others to minister to others to witness to others to care for others he has created us to fulfill a function and he's given each of us a responsibility we all share in the responsibility of the body of christ each one of us and so ascent mentality brings purpose it really brings purpose even to adversity that we face if i'm in the middle of adversity or brokenness or betrayal or setbacks and mistakes when i am in those situations when that is my here i still am sent i still have a purpose god still has a purpose he wants to fulfill through my life whether things are great and exactly how i would want them or whether they are not so great and not how i would want them i can still view life through a sent mentality and so being sent causes me to consider this question what is god's perspective of this that he has sent me into or that he has sent me to do what is his desire for this situation ascent mentality asks what is his perspective of this person of this event what is his perspective of this opportunity and what is his perspective of this tragedy and the same for his desire what is his desire for this person this event this opportunity and this tragedy god does have a purpose in everything that comes into our lives there is a purpose and god has sent us on a mission to fulfill that purpose and so

god sent me can you say those three words with me god sent me now believe them when you say them again god sent me not just everybody else but the mission and the purpose of god is personal god sent me whether i feel qualified and capable or not he has sent me god sent me even though i'm broken even though i am prone to mistakes even though i have faults and weaknesses even though my life and my family isn't perfect god sent me if you can only do or if you only do what you can do you don't need god so if there's something in your life if there's some situation if there's some scenario or some opportunity that god has put before you and you only do what you can do you'll only take a risk that you know you can handle if you only take on a ministry that you know you can handle or you only talk to somebody that you know you can handle you know you could explain this part of the scriptures to if you only do what you can do then you don't need god and so when we step out in faith we say god sent me i don't go in my own power i don't go with amber's power i go with the power of the holy ghost the one who resides on the inside of me he's the one that empowers me and equips me to do what he wants me and he has sent me to do we're not sent just in our own power and on our own volition and with our own education or abilities we are sent with the spirit of god and so even though i'm broken i have been sent by god because it's his power that will work through us and so sometimes we disqualify ourselves based on our imperfections and based on family circumstances and and other things and we relegate purpose and value to other talents and other roles and other abilities and personalities but i'm here reminding us no we are all made in the image of god we all have a purpose we all have a responsibility we all have value and he sent me to do the work that he designed me to do not the work he designed you to do and he sent the work he sent you to do the work he designed you for he didn't send me to do the work he designed you for he didn't send you the work that he designed for me i mentioned this that that night but god's purpose for me preceded his design of me so if he purposed me to do something if he sent me on a mission if he sent me to do something particular in my family or on my job or in my school or in my neighborhood then his purpose for me preceded his design of me meaning he put in me everything that i need he put in me the gifts and the talents he put in me the the characteristics and the personality that he needed me to have that he needed you to have and so a lot of times we get to looking at others and when we say well they're this and so they're going to be so great you know god's going to use them mightily and yeah you know i would really wish they could come to my work and witness to this guy because he really needs somebody god didn't send them to do that work god sent you god placed you right where you are and so we have to come to grips with this god sent me and not disqualify ourselves because we don't quite measure up to what we see others accomplishing or what we see others doing brother sladen said that sunday we don't live to please others and we don't live where we shouldn't live comparing ourselves to others either god doesn't compare me to sister barbara rossen and god doesn't compare me to to sister drury god god looks at me and he says okay amber i know what i put in you i'm going to compare you to you and what you should be in my eyes because i know what i created you for god doesn't compare us among us and he he tells us in his word that it's not wise to do that to look around and disqualify ourselves say it again god sent me god sent me and god sent me here and i want to ask us tonight do we view the here and now as god's will for us presently do we view the here and the now as god's will for us presently do we view here as a place or scenario situation to which god has sent us do we view here as a place where god's purpose can be fulfilled or do we view here as a punishment do we view here as an aggravation and agitation in my life do we view here as a drudgery a rut that we just can't get out of i want to i got a lot of questions do we recognize that we are presently living in god's yes though it may not be what we would have chosen it may be our no i would have said no to this here this sickness or this scenario or this financial trouble or this emotional issue i would have said no to that but we're living in god's yes because here's one of my core beliefs the circumstances the scenarios the situations and the context of our lives are either caused by god or they are allowed by him and so when i believe that that means i am living in god's yes whatever is happening around me or to me or through me is happening because god caused it or because god allows it so i am living in god's yes even if it's my no god that's not exactly what i had in mind i really would prefer this but i'm living in god's yes this causes me to be able to rest and have peace because he knows where i am god sent me here i am living in his yes what he has either caused or what he has permitted to happen i am living under the covering and in the peace of that and so god sent me here there's a physical aspect of this and then there's a figurative aspect of this that you have no doubt already picked up on god sent me here to earth he didn't send me to mars oh wait men are from mars women are from visas he didn't send me to venus he didn't send me to pluto because he knew it wasn't going to be a planet for very long god sent me here he he sent me to earth zoom in a little bit god sent me to saint louis or wherever you may be tuning in from tonight online welcome and thank you for joining us but god sent me here st louis god sent me to my neighborhood to my community zoom in a little more god sent me to apc god sent me to my connect group god sent me to my family god sent me to my job god sent me here and so whether the here is a physical place like some of those or whether the here is kind of a figurative space whether it's a situation or an issue whether it's in the midst of a particular family unit it doesn't have to be necessarily where your feet are but you understand what i'm saying when i say god sent me here this context this situation this where i am and i want to just remind us tonight with this lesson that he's got you on assignment right where you are wherever you are wherever here is for you god's got you on an assignment there he's made some appointments for you in your here are you going to meet those appointments it became one of my prayers during covid when we weren't really getting out of our house so i don't know why this hit me during covet but it did and i just began to pray lord whatever appointments you have set for me today i want to make i want to keep all of those appointments because there may be an appointment with somebody who just is about at their wits end is at the end of their rope and god wants me to come in contact with them and he wants me to give him a smile or he wants me to shake their hand not in covid but he wants me to wave at them and smile at them and be warm and friendly to them and maybe perhaps change the course of their day so god i want to meet every appointment that you have set for me today because i believe that god sent me here i don't believe that i'm a mistake i don't believe that i am just here arbitrarily or on accident by happenstance i believe that i am here on purpose and i'm here on god's purpose and so he's got you on assignment right where you are whether whether it's somewhere we're glad to be or somewhere we're mad or sad to be god has a purpose and if we don't like the here a lot of times we will rationalize our attempts to escape the here we'll try to flee the situation and this is true of suffering we're in that and nobody likes suffering if you do please come forward and we will have prayer for you nobody particularly loves suffering but when we live that god sent me here we we can understand that god has a purpose in this and if i will seek him if i won't seek to escape or be rescued from the problem if i will just seek to grow closer to the lord even in the midst of the problem i will begin to understand why god sent me here and so whether it's somewhere we're glad to be or mad or sad to be god has a purpose but yet we try to rationalize our attempts to escape but here's the reality places serve a purpose and the purpose of your place is to reveal god and to reveal you the suffering that we go through it reveals a lot of things about us numerous things many things about us things that we go through things are where we're able to see a glimpse into our heart or see where we struggle or see where we may be weak or where we maybe lack faith it shows us something about us and god does that not to condemn us but to save us from that and to help us to help us to be transformed when we're going through something in our lives and there's a sticking point and there's something that we come up against and we don't really like it and we see ourselves for who we truly are that is an opportunity to be transformed into the image of god we can say okay that needs to change because that's just the old me that's the flesh i need to be transformed into the image of god and so our here our places have a purpose they reveal god in a new and in a fresh way and they reveal us with that call that draw to be more like him when we dislike the here we can help ourselves by focusing on the god sent me part i'm gonna be okay he knows where i am and he's got a purpose if i don't like the present circumstance or the present situation viewing myself as i have been sent to this maybe there's something i've been sent to learn or something i've been sent to glean or there's something i've been sent to give to someone else in this particular situation of my life if he sent me here then he knows where i am he knows where you are you're not lost tonight buried under an ocean of emotion you're not lost tonight buried underneath a cloud of heaviness and darkness to the point that god can't see you no god sent you he knows exactly where you are and he is with you exactly where you are so if he sent me he knows where i am this is illustrated in the first book of the bible in the first couple of chapters with adam and eve god came walking in the garden of eden in the cool of the day to spend time with adam and eve he put them there he knew where to find them it was a big world y'all okay it was a big earth there was only two people on the earth animals fish in the sea flowers and trees and of all the places on earth god knew exactly where they were because he put them there he sent them there i know this from genesis chapter 2 verse 8 the lord god planted a garden eastward in eden and there he put the man whom he had formed in genesis 2 and verse 15 it goes on basically says the same thing again then the lord god took the man and put him in the garden of eden to tend and to keep it so god planted the place the garden of eden god god planted the here then god put adam and eve in the place but watch this god gave adam and eve purpose in the place god sent them but he didn't just send them to just veg out have a great time in the garden of eden eat all that you want just not from those that one tree but just i mean just live it up become a couch potato rock potato whatever just become just what it just do whatever no god sent them there with purpose and and 2 15 tells us to tend the garden and to keep it to dress it and to keep it and so it begs the question for us as we look at our here then what is my purpose here god planted the place he he put adam and eve in the place but he also gave adam and eva's eve the purpose in the place and so what is my purpose in my here well to answer this question we're going to look at the one who sent us here in his first act creation we see him restraining chaos and creating order we see him bringing light to darkness we see him doing a lot of other things we're going to focus on those two things right there he restrained chaos and created order and he brought light to darkness and we like adam and eve are made in god's image and we know this from genesis 1 27-28 so god created man in his own image in the image of god he created him male and female he created them then god blessed them and god said to them here comes the purpose part be fruitful and multiply he's putting them on a mission fill the earth and subdue it have dominion over the fish of the sea the birds of the air every living thing that moves on the earth he created them he put them in a particular place and he gave them a purpose they were made in the image of god we in this room are made in the image of that creator the one who creates and shapes and the one who brings light to darkness so by default by divine order i should say i am also called and equipped and sent to create and shape i'm made in his image and that's what he does and to bring light to darkness i'm made in his image and that's what he does so i have been sent here and what

is my purpose while i'm here my purpose is to create and shape and it is to bring light to darkness amber what in the world do you mean by create in shape i am not very good with plato well luckily for you i'm not talking about plato unless you're good at plato and then i would like to be astounded at your prowess with plato but to create and to shape god did this when he created order out of chaos and our purpose is similar but how do i how do i restrain chaos and create order how do i do that in my here whether my hair is a job my family a health issue a relationship my connect group if the here is chaotic that's why you're there to bring shape to it you may you may say well amber you don't understand my job is chaotic my family they're it's chaotic my marriage is chaotic my neighborhood it's it's chaotic this world is chaotic if there's chaos that's why you were sent there to create and to shape to restrain that chaos and to shape something that god wants to produce in that scenario so what can i do to create a healthy environment what actions can i take or words can i speak that would would cause peace to take shape in this here god restrained chaos by creating order so we're not to be creating chaos we are restraining chaos so what do i mean by that well let's just take the scenario maybe the here is your job and the workplace has been tense there are co-workers that got laid off or they they quit during covet and they haven't returned so things are hectic and they're stressful because there's more work than workers or on the job a big project is looming and person a hasn't done their part yet so the rest of the team can't be productive and meet the deadline and in those moments in those chaotic moments and others like them in situations what we choose to do will either create chaos or it will restrain chaos some examples are there on the screen creating chaos being rude or disgruntled being harsh with others being hurried and so not really giving and preferring others in the line at aldi letting people in front of you just being too hurried to do that or to spend time with one of your children that you know is struggling creating chaos is being harsh and being hurried being cold and disconnected just having your eyes down all the time and you know i'm not going to speak to anybody here at the gas station i'm just going to put my gas go inside and pay for it get my soda and leave cold and disconnected or being agitated creating chaos is being agitated with people all the time but restraining chaos in the interactions in the relationships in the in the ebb and flow of our lives restraining chaos is when when i can act and respond with gratitude when i can be kind to someone else that in a situation that really it seems like everything within me was wants to be harsh with them to really just straighten them out kindness restrains chaos patience restrains chaos warmth and hospitality restrains chaos and having a peaceful spirit restrains chaos you could say it like this what would jesus do i can i can guarantee you he's going to be on the light side of the board he's going to be on the restraining chaos side he's he's not going to be on that left side creating chaos and i want to follow him and i i want to be like him and so as much as it grates against my flesh i want to restrain chaos by having a grateful heart and being kind and tenderhearted and forgiving one another even as god has forgiven me and i i want to restrain as much chaos as i can in my family i want to restrain as much chaos as i can on the job or in my neighborhood in my relationships i want to restrain as much chaos as i can and so i have to ask myself this question is this action that i'm about to do going to create chaos or restrain it is this conversation that i am in that i'm about to have is it going to create chaos or is it going to restrain chaos this plan that i have or this relationship that i'm in am i creating chaos in it or am i restraining chaos my purpose here is to create and shape and each of us have that purpose each of us have the equipping to do that it's through the spirit of christ because the spirit of amber wants to be rude and disgruntled okay but the spirit of christ wants to be grateful my fleshly spirit wants to be harsh and hurried and agitated and cold and disconnected but the spirit of christ wants to be kind and patient and warm and hospitable and peaceful and so my purpose here is to create and to shape and to bring light to darkness and while i do mean um the light of the gospel of jesus christ to the darkness of sin in humanity yes that is part of this too but just simply being a light to a co-worker maybe it's maybe it's just in a conversation maybe it's just as simple as a smile is going to turn the light on for them because situations in their life is dark and it's dreary and it's heavy and my interaction with them can just flip a light switch say you know what let's just shed some light let's just just share the light of jesus be the light be the salt right so my purpose here is to create and to shape and it's to bring light to darkness so when you are in doubt about your purpose or you're questioning what action to take ask yourself another question how could i create and shape right now or in what way could i bring light to darkness in what way could i create and shape in what way could i bring light to darkness really the point of this this lesson the heart and the core of it is really to help us connect god's purpose for our life to every place and situation that we show up in whatever scenario you get into whatever place that we find ourselves figuratively or physically god has sent us and we have the ability to create and shape the right atmosphere we have the ability to create and shape chaos or restrain it and so whether that place is where you are right now 901 barracks view in a pew how are you creating and shaping right here right now are you helping to create and you are are you helping to create an atmosphere of worship where someone who has had just a terrible day can come in and the light can be flipped on in their spirit are you creating an atmosphere of prayer where we can pray with one another when we dismiss here in a moment are you going to create in shape are you going to add to chaos are you going to restrain chaos it gets just kind of naturally chaotic around here when service lets out done it people are going people trying to get to you know their cars and everything but in a conversation with a brother or sister i encourage you your sent restrain chaos or create it you do have the choice but god has sent us he wants us to restrain that chaos so whether that place is where you are physically right now or where you physically were at 11 30 this morning anybody remember where you were at 11 30 this morning yeah some of us you were sent there how did you create in shape in that moment where you'll be at two tomorrow or where you'll be at noon on saturday how will you create in shape in that moment recognizing god sent me here i pray that god just just puts that in the back your mind he doesn't let it leave you god sent me here i have a purpose in this moment i have a purpose in this situation whether that situation is a conversation again your connect group or maybe an account on the job a scenario at the workplace but as a born-again believer we are on assignment in every scenario that we find ourselves in as spirit-filled believers we are now on god's team and we've been called into his service and each of us have been called to serve so the question becomes another question how can i serve the lord here how can i serve him here i listen to a podcast by pete's gazero and i'm winding up here and he he did a little bit of this create and shape so if you listen to him you'll hear a little bit of that creating shape he took it in a different way i just really liked it and liked how it applied to this so i slapped it onto this but he he had something to say about full-time ministry and i felt like it applied particularly when we understand that you know as a spirit-filled believer i have been sent i am on god's mission i am to serve him and and ministry is service and so every believer is in full-time ministry not just those that are employed here at the church or would have a job or be a missionary somewhere those aren't the only ones that are in full-time ministry every single one of us are in full-time ministry and so he he did this little segment he said i'm in full-time ministry and i landscape yards it's what i do for my job i'm in full-time ministry and i drive an uber i'm in full-time ministry and i teach students i'm in full-time ministry and i work in a doctor's office i'm in full-time ministry and i sell insurance i'm in full-time ministry and i build houses and i sell cars or i work in health care i'm in full-time ministry and i create tools and dies i i'm in full-time ministry and i work at trade or i work retail i'm in full-time ministry and i install windows brother chris and he does a great job but the idea that my job my earthly job is not just arbitrary to what god is doing in and through my life but that it is connected that it is all connected that whatever scenario i find myself in in whatever place that i am whether it's my job or my family god has purpose and i am a full-time minister in that situation and so every believer is in full-time ministry and god sent me here

esther illustrates this so beautifully at first she seemed to look at her situation and at her here and say i didn't choose this i was just simply selected my here is a pagan king's palace among unbelievers among those who wish me and my family harm i'm a nobody i don't have influence here and i could be rejected and even killed here but more decay i reminded her in esther chapter 4 and verse 14. if you remain completely silent at this time relief and deliverance will arise for the jews from another place but you and your father's house will perish yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom whether you have been sent here for such a time as this esther chose to fulfill her god-given purpose she chose to create and shape she chose to bring light to darkness she chose full-time ministry there in the scenario that she was in in a contrary and opposing environment she decided i'm a full-time minister and i'm the queen but one doesn't negate the other and one shouldn't overshadow the other but in my job in the scenario that i'm in in this family situation god sent me here and i have a purpose and i am here to create in shape i am here to minister and serve others in this place

i wonder if we could pray together and just ask the lord for him to help us see hear from his perspective well god what do you see for my life what do you see is the purpose for where i am why i am in this scenario in this situation can we lift our hands and pray to him right now lord i thank you that you have created each and every one of us with a divine purpose you have created each and every one of us with a plan god you did not accidentally make us you did not accidentally breathe life into us but there is purpose for us and you have designed us for purpose and so i pray that you would help us in whatever scenario we are in whether it's our family currently or whether it's our job where we are struggling to find purpose i pray that you would help us lord to see here from your perspective and that we would then begin to know how to create and to shape or to bring light to darkness and how we can serve you in full-time ministry and we can serve others in full-time ministry on our jobs and in our homes and in our neighborhoods lord i pray that you would help us to be the church that you have intended and designed us to be in jesus name in jesus name in jesus name amen amen i'm thankful to know that i have a purpose that i am not an accident and that i have been sent and it it keeps me centered centered it keeps me centered in life and in my thoughts to know i've been sent here it gives purpose to the things that i i'm going through that i deal with that i struggle with and so i hope that the lesson will do the same for you