It’s possible to take in a lot about God and still feel like your faith isn’t moving much beyond you. We can go to church, finish the reading plan, take notes, and know the language of faith well, while still wondering what all of it is supposed to lead to.
That was at the heart of Pastor Mike O’Connell’s message from Matthew 28. Before Jesus left His disciples, He gave them a clear assignment: go and make disciples. Gathering mattered, but gathering was never meant to be the destination. What God does in us is meant to move through us.
Pastor Mike put it simply: “We are saved so that we can be sent.”
The Dead Sea gives us a picture of what can happen when everything flows in and nothing flows out. Water enters, but there is no outlet. In the same way, our faith was never meant to stop with us. God grows us, teaches us, and changes us so that what He has done in our lives can reach someone else.
Reach the Lost
For many of us, the hardest part of sharing our faith isn’t knowing that we should. It’s knowing how to begin. We don’t want to make a relationship awkward, say the wrong thing, or get asked a question we don’t know how to answer.
But reaching people doesn’t have to begin with a big conversation. It can begin with one person. Think about someone God has already placed in your life. Pray for them consistently, look for practical ways to serve them, and pay attention to what they’re walking through. Then, when an opportunity opens, be willing to share what Jesus has done in your life.
You don’t have to force the conversation or have every answer ready. Sometimes living sent simply means staying close enough to people to recognize when the door opens and being willing to walk through it.
Disciple the Found
Jesus didn’t only tell His followers to reach people. He told them to make disciples.
Discipleship can sound complicated, but Scripture gives us a much more relational picture. In Acts, believers learned together, prayed together, shared meals, and became part of one another’s everyday lives. Their faith grew because they kept showing up for God and for each other.
Pastor Mike described discipleship as something that happens through proximity. We grow when we’re close enough to other people for our lives to actually be seen. That means faith isn’t only shaped by what happens in an Encounter. It grows in Groups, on teams, around tables, and in ordinary conversations with people who encourage us, challenge us, and help us keep following Jesus.
And discipleship doesn’t require having everything figured out before you can help someone else. You can share what God is teaching you while you’re still learning it yourself.
Multiply the Mission
Living sent also includes what we do with what God has placed in our hands.
Generosity gives us the opportunity to participate in things we may never be able to accomplish on our own. When we give, we help create space for ministry, invest in the next generation, reach people in our city, and carry the Gospel farther than our own lives could reach.
Scripture teaches that generosity isn’t meant to come from pressure. It comes from a willing heart. There are moments when generosity may require sacrifice or cause us to rethink something we had planned for ourselves, but that’s part of learning to trust God with more than our words.
What we release can help move the mission forward.
We Need the Holy Spirit to Live Sent
None of this is something we can sustain through willpower alone. Peter learned that firsthand. Before Jesus went to the cross, he was convinced he would stay faithful no matter what happened, but fear took over and he denied even knowing Jesus. Later, after being filled with the Holy Spirit, that same Peter stood in front of thousands of people and boldly shared the Gospel.
The difference wasn’t that Peter suddenly became more disciplined. He had been empowered by the Holy Spirit. The same is true for us. Reaching people, discipling others, and living generously isn’t about trying harder to become impressive Christians. It starts by staying close to God, allowing His Spirit to work through us, and responding to what He puts in front of us.
Maybe that starts with praying for one person by name, taking a step toward biblical community, or asking God what He wants you to release. Reach the lost. Disciple the found. Multiply the mission. We are not just saved. We are sent.
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