THE PRINCIPLE OF BEING SENT
A. A. Bellamy1
Genesis 37: 12–17; 1 Samuel 17: 17, 18, 28–30; Mark 11: 1–8
I wanted to say a word, dear brethren, as to the principle of being sent and how it enters into Christianity. “The Father has sent the Son as Saviour of the world”, 1 John 4: 14. Being sent involved not only the obedience of the Christ but it involved the purpose in the mind of the Father who sent Him. It is a great thing for us to be under authority, as was the centurion, who discerned that the Lord was under authority. The centurion said he had men under him and said, “I say to this one. Go, and he goes; and to another, Come, and he comes; and to my bondman. Do this, and he does it”, Luke 7: 8. It is the great thought of availability and obedience, but it does not extend to the purpose side of things. When we come to Christianity we have to do with God as having purposed us for blessing.
So the sending has in mind not only that man should be served and relieved of what lay upon him but that God might be known to him as revealed. The Father sent the Son; how often the Lord refers to that, to Himself as having been sent by the Father. Now this great principle enters into Christianity. It is seen in its glory in Christ, the sent One; “Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent”; the Father’s sent One. But then it is seen in lesser measure, but according to the same principle, in the apostles. They were the sent ones; He chose them. It says, “He appointed twelve that they might be with him, and that he might send them”, Mark 3: 14. That is how Christianity was inaugurated, on this great principle of persons being sent. It was not exactly new. You go back a little and you see it in the presence and the ministry of John the baptist. It was the ministry of one who had been sent, sent from God; it says, “There was a man sent from God”, John 1: 6. Would that there were more, beloved brethren. What grace would mark the service of one such sent from God; what grace, and what authority! The idea in being sent is that the authority of the sender is behind the service rendered by the sent one, authority and grace.
Well, I wanted to say just a simple word as to this principle as it is pointed to in these passages, beginning with Joseph. Earlier in this chapter the position is seen to be difficult; the position with the brethren was difficult. There was lack of friendliness. It was not as John says, “Greet the friends by name”, 3 John 14. They could not greet Joseph with friendliness, but he went to them. He was sent by the father. This is very significant. In some way the character of the father would come into expression in the service rendered by the son. That is a very great matter. Paul approaches the difficult situation in Corinth in spiritual fatherly feelings. Then he sent Timothy, his true child in the faith, and as Timothy came into Corinth there would be some expression of fatherhood too, as sent by Paul. Paul says, “If ye should have ten thousand instructors in Christ”—a good supply—“yet not many fathers ... For this reason I have sent to you Timotheus, who is my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, who shall put you in mind of my ways as they are in Christ” (1 Corinthians 4: 15–17)—not bringing a lot of information but just Paul’s ways as they were in Christ. Think of what an influence that must have had, dear brethren.
I think that is how Joseph went at this time. “See after the welfare of thy brethren”. Paul writes to the Philippians and he speaks of sending Timothy too. How would Timothy be there? “For I have no one”, he says, “like-minded who will care with genuine feeling how ye get on”, Philippians 2: 20. We commonly say to one another, How are you? Well, dear brethren, how are we? How are we getting on? That is it! Timothy would come into close quarters with the brethren at Philippi—Lydia, the gaoler—and he would just say that, How are you getting on? That would be the character of the presence of Timothy at Philippi. That is how Joseph, I think, came amongst his brethren, seeking their welfare.
The father also spoke of “the welfare of the flock”. That is a little wider. There is only one flock. The men of God who have gone before us served the church. Particularly Mr. Raven gives you that impression, that he had before him the church of God in its entirety. We need to be preserved in that outlook, beloved brethren, as to the flock. Feed the flock of God. What have we that does not belong to the flock? It is their portion; it belongs to every believer.
They may claim it at any time. Any and every believer, whoever and wherever he may be, may claim his inheritance at any time—but not on his own terms, on divine terms. So, “Let every one who names the name of the Lord withdraw from iniquity”, 2 Timothy 2: 19. Those are the terms. We know it well enough but let us be observant of the terms on which we may claim possession of what belongs to us. Let us have regard to it. Mr. Darby faced the possibility of the testimony being taken away from some and given to others. God can do that. He has done it! Look at the history of Israel; He put His testimony there. The time came when it was transferred, Israel proving to be unfaithful. The leaders said, “May it never be!” (Luke 20: 16)—but it was. Those are solemn considerations bearing on the need of faithfulness on the part of us all.
Well, this man Joseph is seeking something, seeking his brethren. How are your brethren getting on where you are? You might ask me that question, How are they getting on? Someone says, What are you doing here? What are you seeking? I am seeking my brethren.
Do we seek our brethren? I am not speaking for the moment of going to or reaching out to those who have lost their way, but those who are near. The Lord came and He preached to those that were far off and to those that were near. There are those who are near. They were his brethren and he sought them and it says this, man found Joseph wandering in the country.
Then it says Joseph went after his brethren and found them at Dothan. He will go after them again too. Oh what a history it was, was it not, seeking after his brethren. What searching of heart entered into it. Things in their history had to come up, you see. They were guilty and they said so—“We are indeed guilty concerning our brother, whose anguish of soul we saw when he besought us, and we did not hearken”, Genesis 42: 21.
These are the exercises connected with going after your brethren. And what feelings entered into, it; Joseph was among the weepers. There are many weepers in Scripture, not publicly, but behind the scenes in the presence of God. Joseph went into his own chamber and wept.
Well, there is no need to say more about it, dear brethren, but I just draw attention to the principle of being sent and how we may be in our localities and in any service we may seek to render, and whether it is at all in the power of the sense of being sent.
Now we come to David, sent by the father again. He was quite a young man. Jesse said to David his son, “Take, I pray, for thy brethren, this ephah of parched corn and these ten loaves, and carry them quickly”. Notice that word, “quickly” (or ‘run’). We are suffering from undue delay in certain matters. What marks grace is haste. The father “ran, and fell upon his neck, and covered him with kisses”, Luke 15: 20.
It is the rapidity with which grace acts there, and here. David ran towards the ranks to meet the Philistine, it says. But he was to carry certain things to his brethren. These things, Paul says, “entrust to faithful men”—that is the true succession—“such as shall be competent to instruct others also”, 2 Timothy 2: 2. That is true succession, the spiritual succession. Think of having a part, as being sent, in such a matter as that.
Then the captain of the thousand comes in for special notice—“ten cheeses to the captain of the thousand”. There are special responsibilities on the battlefield. This is the battlefield and David represents a good soldier of Jesus Christ, that is what he is. Again it reminds us of Paul and Timothy. Timothy’s character was one of timidity; he had to be enjoined to stir up the gift that was in him. He would be retiring. How much do we understand the sphere of conflict for the truth and what it calls for, dear brethren, what it is to be sent into it? It is not contentiousness but “contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints”, Jude 3. He came amongst them and he is challenged by the eldest brother. That is the thing we may have to face. Then David answers in this meek and lowly way; he says, “Was it not laid upon me?”
We referred in the reading to “demand”, the sense of obligation; “Was it not laid upon me?” How has the truth reached us? There was one man who said, “for a necessity is laid upon me” (1 Corinthians 9: 16), and that is how the truth has reached us, dear brethren. He was not deflected; who suffered like him, next to Christ? How much do we value the truth—especially the truth of the mystery? and when you think of the cost at which it came to us it makes you value it more. It makes you determined not to barter it, to give it up, to turn away. “Was it not laid upon me?”, David says. Oh for more of that spirit! Things are laid upon us, entrusted to us. The sense of obligation is brought upon us by grace so that we prove faithful.
Now in Mark we have two sent. They are not spoken of as apostles, but they are sent by the Lord. It is not exactly the battlefield. It is a question here of liberation—liberation! One would desire more than anything to be able to liberate the brethren, to set them free. It is the great thought in the divine mind; “Let my son go, that he may serve me”, Exodus 4: 23. Let him go, that is what we have here, “Loose it”—“Loose it and lead it here”. Why? “The Lord has need of it”. There is a great need for this kind of service, but you need to be sent for it.
We need to be sent. I do not think there is much power except in those who are sent. Again, what they do is challenged. “What are ye doing?” And they said what the Lord had said. And what had the Lord said? “The Lord has need of it”. What an elevated approach, where what should be released is bound—“The Lord has need of it”. Oh that we might have a sense of that more deeply; what the Lord needs.
He needs everyone; He certainly needs the young people. That is how we usually use this scripture as to the colt. But it is more, than that! No child of man ever sat upon this colt.
There was something there which had not been accomplished by human agency at all. That is so wonderful about a believer, a person who has been born again; there is that quality about him. It is mysterious, “thus is every one that is born of the Spirit”, John 3: 8. And I am perfectly certain, dear brethren, that there is something of that character in every locality where the saints are walking in the truth of the assembly. “Upon which no child of man has ever sat”—it is the work of God that has not been brought about by human agency. How precious it is! Well might the Lord say to us, “The Lord has need of it”. It is a question of the divine need. “Let my son go, that he may serve me”, Exodus 4: 23. It was the divine need. Moses had to enter into what that meant, sufferingly too.
Well, they loosed the colt and set it free. They are the liberators now, under divine authority. It is not ‘Loose him and let him come here’, but “Lead it here”. All liberation and recovery is to Christ. You see that in the prophets. Jehovah says, “If thou wilt return ... return unto me”, Jeremiah 4: 1. What an appeal there is in that! as if Jehovah would say, I have felt your absence; you have not been available for so long. “If thou wilt return ... return unto me”.
Well, they loosed the colt. It would involve not only the sense of liberty in our souls but what it is to be set free in service Godward, like that bird in Leviticus, “let ... loose into the open field” (Leviticus 14: 7), free to soar upwards. Mr. Taylor said in one address, We are going into heaven; are you coming? There is no doubt about it; we are going into heaven, dear brethren, but are you coming? Are you free? That bird was let loose into the open field. It is not only the power of resurrection; Paul says, “to know him, and the power of his resurrection” (Philippians 3: 10); it is the power not only to rise, but to ascend, and I say again, we are going into heaven. What a time! what a need there is for liberating the brethren, setting them free. “Loose it and lead it here”—Where do you think he would go? It is like John 11, and he goes to John 12. That is where he goes. Lazarus was one of those that sat at table with Him. It is the sphere of privilege; out of death and risen with Christ. Oh, Christianity is a wonderful thing when you touch it in its vitality. It is not a philosophy or code of teaching—it is that our “life is hid with the Christ in God”, Colossians 3: 3. And it is to be known now. There He has “commanded the blessing, life for evermore”, Psalm 133: 3. Where is that? Brethren dwelling together in unity. Well, you say, there is nothing to disturb the unity in this place; nor should there be in any place.
These are serious matters, beloved brethren. We do not need to delay in them. There is a need to do as David did; he ran. He took time by the forelock; he redeemed opportunities; and thus the situation will be protected and preserved, but this all hinges on persons being sent. It is a very great matter, yet a very simple matter. We all have a local setting. The Lord has put us where we are; we have not chosen it, and we have not chosen each other. The whole thing is under divine control and direction. The concern is that we might be there in the full intelligence of what is proper to it, and be in some sense those who have the consciousness of being sent, every day not acting in a free-lance or independent way, but as sent. “The Father has sent the Son as Saviour of the world”, 1 John 4: 14. May He bless the word, for His name’s sake.
Address at Vancouver
14 February 1981