What does it mean to be sent out by Jesus?

We've been going through a series called 3-2-1, where we're learning to pray for three people at 2pm every day for one purpose: that God would be at work in their lives. We pray for a spiritual wanderer (someone who doesn't yet follow Jesus), a spiritual companion (someone who already trusts Jesus), and a spiritual leader (someone who leads others in faith).

But as we close out this series, we need to ask a bigger question: What if God isn't just asking you to pray for these people? What if he's growing something in you through these prayers? What if, as you pray for God to send workers into the harvest, you're becoming the answer to your own prayer?

Jesus sends ordinary people

In Luke chapter 10, Jesus does something surprising. We usually think of Jesus having 12 disciples—the famous ones we know by name like Peter, James, and John. But in this passage, Jesus sends out 72 people to go ahead of him into the towns he's about to visit.

Of those 72 we don't confidently know any of their names. Not a single one. These weren't the superstars. They weren't the well-educated or the ones with impressive resumes. They were just ordinary people who said yes when Jesus called them.

Although their names are lost to us God still knows every single one of their names. If Jesus is inviting you into his mission and sending you out, he knows your name, whether anyone else in the world does. He cares about you and he cares what he's sending you into.

The mission starts with prayer

When Jesus sends these 72 people out, he doesn't immediately give them a to-do list. Instead, he says something that might surprise you: "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore, pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest" (Luke 10:2).

Wait—pray first? Before you jump into action? Before you tackle the problem?

Yes. Even when you know what God is calling you to do, start by praying for more partners. Pray that God would raise up more leaders to work alongside and journey together with you.

And here's something important: don't mistake the harvest for the enemy. When you look around at people who need Jesus—maybe coworkers who gossip, classmates who cheat, neighbors who seem so different from you—it's easy to think, "They're the problem." But Jesus says they're not the enemy, they're the harvest. They're the people Jesus wants to reach. The real enemy wants you to write them off and cut them down instead of praying for them to be brought in.

Going out dependent on God

Jesus gives these 72 some strange instructions: "Carry no money bag, no knapsack, no sandals, and greet no one on the road" (Luke 10:4). In other words, "Go out there completely dependent on me. Don't take your wallet. Don't pack extra shoes. Just go."

Why? Because Jesus wants us to remember whose mission this really is. We don't go out on our own power or with our own resources. We go depending on God for every step. When Jesus says, "Go and make disciples," he also promises, "I am with you always" (Matthew 28:20). He's not sending us out alone.

We must choose God-dependence in both easy times and hard times. Every open door isn't necessarily from the Holy Spirit—the enemy can open doors too. So we stay focused on what God has actually called us to do, and we trust him to provide what we need along the way.

What really matters

When the 72 come back, they're excited: "Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!" (Luke 10:17). They've seen some crazy spiritual stuff happen.

But Jesus redirects them: "Do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven" (Luke 10:20).

In other words, the greatest miracle isn't that God uses you to do cool things. The greatest miracle in all creation is that God forgives sinners. The greatest miracle is that your name is written in the book of life.

Think about it: Angels investigate our salvation because it's something they were never offered. When some angels sinned, God didn't give them any second chances. But all humans have sinned, and God still offers to save us. That's astonishing. That's the real miracle.

Most of the time, we're comfortable thinking, "Yeah, I understand why God would save me. I wasn't really that bad." But Jesus is never judging how good we are on the outside. He is looking at our sick, twisted, self-serving hearts that left to themselves want nothing to do with God. And he said, "I'm going to give that person the opportunity to trade their sin and death for my righteousness, so they can have life abundantly."

Temporary ministry gains pale in comparison to eternal security in Christ.

Where do you fit?

As followers of Jesus grow in spiritual maturity, we move through different stages—from spiritual infants to children to young adults to parents. The goal isn't just to raise spiritual kids. The goal is to raise spiritual adults who can then help others grow.

Jesus uses leaders to help companions work together to find lost wanderers. And here's the beautiful part: the wanderers today become the found tomorrow. Someone who's spiritually mature helps someone who's still growing, so that together they can reach someone who's still lost. That's how the body of Christ works.

This is actually why we created a book about the 3-2-1 prayer practice—you can download it for free or grab a copy on Amazon. There's a section starting on page 24 that might be the most important part: as you pray for lost people, you learn to love lost people. As you pray for spiritual companions, you learn to love them. As you pray for church leaders, you learn to respect the battle they're in.

And as God grows these affections in you, he might be preparing you to step in and be the answer to your prayers.

Is Jesus sending you?

Maybe as you've been praying for that lost friend, God is going to give you an opportunity to share the good news with them. Maybe as you've been praying for a struggling believer, you realize they need support—and you could be that support. Maybe as you pray for leaders, you recognize some weaknesses in the church, and you realize you have gifts that could help.

The mission matters. It matters for the people we're sent to. Whether or not we speak up matters for the future of our communities. How we respond to God today shapes our habit of response.

Here's what we're working toward together at Neighborhood Church: Over the next 10 years, we want to plow the ground by training up leaders, sow the seed by starting new churches, and reap the harvest by praying that a thousand people would trust Jesus for the first time. (You can learn more about the Grove initiative here.) But none of that happens unless ordinary people like us say yes when Jesus sends us.

God's plan for saving the world is the church. Not a perfect church. Not a church full of people who have it all together. Just regular people who love each other the way Jesus said to love each other, and who are willing to be sent.

So we're asking you: Is Jesus sending you?

Maybe he's growing in you a love for the lost, and he wants you to share your story with them. Maybe he's showing you someone who needs encouragement, and he wants you to walk with them. Maybe he's revealing gifts in you that could help lead others.

We don't have a program that can turn out widgets with all the right answers. Spiritual growth doesn't happen over a weekend. But God does the work as we plant and water and sow the seed. He's the one who gives the growth.

The only question is: Will you let him send you?

Want to go deeper? Download the free 3-2-1 prayer guide at this link to start praying for three people at 2pm every day, and watch how God might be preparing you to be part of his mission.