Sent Ones: Be the Preview of God's Kingdom

Sep 06, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: The Kingdom’s Nearness in a Rain-Soaked Moment

The rain pounding the roof wasn’t just weather—it was an invitation. Jesus didn’t say the kingdom was “coming soon” like a movie trailer, but that it “has come near,” close enough to touch. Like rain reviving parched land, the kingdom isn’t a distant theory but a reality breaking into ordinary moments. It demands repentance, not as guilt but as a pivot toward life. To repent is to turn toward the downpour of grace already falling. [45:48]

“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 4:17, ESV)

Reflection: Where has your life felt dry or distant from God’s presence? What practical step could you take today to turn toward His nearness?

Day 2: Worship Beyond Mountains and Buildings

Jesus told the woman at the well that true worship isn’t tied to locations or rituals but to spirit and truth. Worship becomes a preview of the kingdom when it’s less about where we stand and more about how we live. It’s not confined to Sunday gatherings but spills into grocery lines, traffic jams, and quiet kitchens. The Father seeks worshippers who carry His presence into the unremarkable corners of life. [47:41]

“A time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.” (John 4:23, ESV)

Reflection: What mundane moment this week could become an act of worship if you invited God’s presence into it?

Day 3: Praying Heaven into Your Daily Bread

The Lord’s Prayer isn’t a wishlist for the future but a blueprint for now. “Your kingdom come” isn’t about escape—it’s about infusing earthly realities with heaven’s priorities. Daily bread, forgiveness, and deliverance from evil are glimpses of the kingdom’s texture. Every “give us today” is a chance to live as if God’s reign is already reshaping ordinary needs into holy opportunities. [48:52]

“Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:10, ESV)

Reflection: Where do you most struggle to see God’s kingdom breaking into your daily routine? How could you partner with Him there today?

Day 4: Fruit That Makes the World Say ‘We Gotta See That’

The fruit of the Spirit isn’t a self-improvement project but the evidence of a kingdom preview. Patience in rush-hour traffic, kindness to a rude coworker, or self-control with a critical tongue make people lean in and say, “Tell me more.” These fruits aren’t natural—they’re supernatural advertisements for a better story. [01:05]

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” (Galatians 5:22–23, ESV)

Reflection: Which fruit feels most out of reach in your current season? How might cultivating it this week point others to Christ?

Day 5: Carrying the Bell’s Ring into Dark Barracks

Yondel’s shaved head and Marine uniform won’t hide his true identity. Like a bell ringing in a silent room, followers of Jesus carry His name into places where light is scarce. The kingdom advances not through platforms but through ordinary people who refuse to compartmentalize their faith. Wherever your feet go today, you’re sent to echo heaven’s rhythm. [01:15]

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.” (Matthew 5:14, ESV)

Reflection: What “barracks” in your life—a workplace, family dynamic, or inner struggle—needs the unapologetic light of Christ today?

Sermon Summary

The sound of rain becomes a picture of life breaking into a dry place, and the ringing bells become a call to more than knowing answers about God. The call is to bless, eat with, listen to, and learn from those around them because disciples of Jesus are sent into the mission of God. The kingdom of heaven calls believers to become a preview, the kind of life that makes people look at God’s coming kingdom and say, “We gotta see that.”

Matthew presents Jesus stepping into ministry with the announcement, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” Jesus brings the kingdom close enough to experience, not merely close enough to talk about. John 4 presses the same truth through Jesus’ words to the woman at the well: “A time is coming and has now come.” The kingdom is here, and it is yet to come.

Jesus’ life gives the opening scene of the whole story. Jesus opens blind eyes, not only as a physical miracle, but as a sign that people blind to God’s kingdom can truly see. Jesus forgives those crucifying him, dies completely, and rises again, showing that death and chaos do not get the final word. The enemy’s story aims at emptiness, destruction, and death, but the genre of God’s kingdom is redemption, resurrection, and all things being made right.

Matthew 28 places that kingdom story in the hands of Christ’s followers. Christ possesses all authority, sends disciples into every nation, and promises his presence to the end of the age. The church is not invited merely to watch the movie. The church is invited into the unfolding story, carrying Christ’s way into the places where darkness still tries to write a different ending.

Forgiveness stands at the center of that preview. Forgiveness does not mean evil gets away with evil, since accountability, boundaries, and even prison may be necessary. Forgiveness refuses to make someone’s worst act the end of their story. The kingdom hopes for redemption because a person made whole in Christ would no longer keep doing the harm that once defined them.

The fruit of the Spirit gives the preview its texture: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Reconciliation requires patience and peace. Justice requires love and goodness. Beauty requires gentleness and kindness. Wholeness requires faithfulness and self-control. The sent ones carry the name of Christ into dark places, where a light actually makes a difference, so that the world might catch a glimpse of the story God is writing.

Key Takeaways

1. Become a preview of the kingdom The kingdom of God is not only a future destination. Christ brings its reality near, and disciples are called to make that reality visible in ordinary life. A Christian life should create holy curiosity, causing people to want to see what God’s coming world is like. [49:55]
2. Forgiveness refuses the final word Forgiveness does not erase consequences or deny the seriousness of evil. Forgiveness releases the desire for another person’s destruction and leaves room for redemption. Christ’s prayer from the cross reveals a kingdom that can name sin truthfully without surrendering hope. [62:42]
3. The Spirit makes kingdom life possible Love and patience become difficult precisely when people are unlovely and circumstances are hard. The fruit of the Spirit is not a personality upgrade or a list of virtues earned by effort. The Spirit forms the kind of life through which reconciliation, justice, beauty, and wholeness can become visible. [67:32]
4. Light belongs in dark places A flashlight does very little in a well-lit room, but darkness reveals its purpose. Christ sends his people into difficult places not because darkness is harmless, but because his light is needed there. Faithfulness means carrying Christ’s name with character wherever God sends a person.

## [74:31]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[37:34] - Rain, Bells, and the Call
[39:20] - Blessed, Sent, and Missional
[41:15] - Becoming a Kingdom Preview
[44:09] - The Kingdom Has Come Near
[47:15] - A Time Coming and Now Come
[49:09] - Sent With Christ’s Authority
[50:17] - Jesus Opens the Kingdom Story
[53:11] - Cross, Forgiveness, and Resurrection
[57:20] - Invited Into God’s Story
[60:27] - Forgiveness and Redemption
[65:00] - The Fruit of the Spirit
[68:54] - The Church Carries the Preview
[70:22] - Sending Yondel as a Light
[78:54] - The Call to Be Sent

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Matthew 28:18-20
And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” [49:33]

Matthew 4:17
From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” [45:16]

John 4:23
But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. [47:15]

Galatians 5:22-23
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. [01:05:32]

Observation questions

In Matthew 28:18-20, what does Jesus say about his authority before he tells his disciples to go? What does he promise them at the end?
Jesus announces that the kingdom of heaven is near in Matthew 4:17. How is “near” described as more than simply knowing facts about a future kingdom? [46:21]
What two sides of the kingdom are held together in John 4:23: a time that is still coming and a time that has already come? [47:41]
Which fruit of the Spirit are connected with reconciliation, justice, beauty, and wholeness? [01:08:13]

Interpretation questions

Jesus has all authority and promises to be with his people as they go. How do those two truths change the way believers can understand being sent into ordinary places and difficult places? [49:49]
If the kingdom is already present but is still coming in fullness, what might it mean for a believer’s life to be a “preview” rather than the finished kingdom itself? [50:10]
Jesus forgave those who crucified him, yet forgiveness does not remove the need for accountability, boundaries, or consequences. What does it look like to hold both forgiveness and wise protection of others together? [01:02:12]
Galatians describes the fruit as the fruit “of the Spirit.” Why is that important when love, patience, gentleness, and self-control feel especially hard toward difficult people? [01:07:49]

Application questions

Think about the places you will be this week—home, work, school, online, or in your neighborhood. Where might God be inviting you to bless someone, share a meal, listen well, or learn from them? [01:09:59]
When people learn that you follow Jesus, what kind of picture of God’s kingdom might they receive from your words, reactions, and relationships? Is there one area where that picture needs to become more hopeful or more honest? [01:09:26]
Is there a relationship where hurt has made forgiveness feel impossible? What would it look like to stop wishing for that person’s destruction while still keeping needed boundaries and taking harm seriously? [01:02:42]
Which fruit of the Spirit is most needed in a current pressure point in your life: patience, peace, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, or self-control? What is one specific response that could look different this week? [01:06:42]
Jesus’ resurrection declares that death, sin, and chaos do not write the final ending. Where do you feel tempted to believe that a situation is hopeless? How could hope in God’s redemption shape your next step? [54:03]
A light makes the greatest difference in a dark place. What difficult setting or relationship has God already placed you in, and how could you carry Christ’s name there with both courage and character? [01:15:15]
Jesus sends his people, but he also promises, “I am with you always.” What would it look like to rely on his presence—not just your own strength—as you live as a preview of his kingdom this week? [49:33]

Sermon Clips

66s

#ForgivenessAndAccountability

“Forgiveness doesn't mean you just get off the hook. You just get away with whatever it is. Forgiveness is a spiritual thing. There are gonna be some things that happen in this world where people probably need to go to prison. They probably need to be held accountable. They probably need to have some separation. But the truth about forgiveness is that we don't want that to be the end of the story for them. What we're hoping for the end of the story is that they too will find hope in Christ. That they too will be redeemed. That they too will be made whole. And if that person was made whole, they wouldn't be doing what they did to you to hurt you in the first place.”

42s

#WeAreThePreview

“It will look like a lot of other things, and here's why it matters to you and to me. Because we've been sent by the author of creation and life itself, the author of this whole story. And it isn't just that he has given us a preview, he has made us the preview. So we have to tell the story with our lives, and the bells are ringing. And when the bells ring, somebody's gotta answer the call.”

64s

#BeTheSentOnes

“And now to you, church. The prayer is for you. Will you be the sent ones? Will you become the preview that God's kingdom may come and his will may be done in you and through you. Wherever you step, your feet. And that includes right now in this moment. It includes when you go to lunch this afternoon. It includes when you see that person. Would you bring the kingdom of heaven to earth and be the preview?”

58s

#LiveTheKingdomNow

“Imagine if every person followed the way of the Lord. If every person was exactly who they were supposed to be when they were created. And this is why, church, we've gotta be careful, you and me, because we're supposed to be the preview. There's a responsibility on our shoulders. We are called to be the preview. The kingdom of heaven on earth for people to see, to let the story come alive in us right here and right now, that the world may know about God and who he is and what he's truly all about.”

61s

#FruitOfTheSpiritInAction

“The fruit of the spirit is really the essence of what is needed to pull this whole thing off to give people a preview of the kingdom of heaven, and everything else stems from this. And the truth is the preview is gonna look like a lot of things, but these things are going to be at the center of the it's gonna look like reconciliation. And if you're going to reconcile, how can that happen? Well, it can't happen if you're not patient and committed to finding peace. It might look like justice where everything is made right, but that can't happen if you don't love and you aren't good. It might look like beauty, and that can't happen without some gentleness and some kindness. It it might look like wholeness, and that can't happen without faithfulness and self control.”

38s

#LiveOnMission

“All of this has been about the the idea of mission. This whole thing, it's been about becoming missional, not just having the right answer for a Sunday school class or coming to church and being like, I know about God. But to have God speak to you and say, this is what I want you to do and then you obey. You go do it. You participate in the mission of God. That's what it's all been about.”

40s

#JoinTheStory

“But see, that's not the genre of the kingdom of heaven. The actors are different than the story that the enemy wants to tell. We've seen some parts of this story when God sent Jesus to earth. That's the opening scene. Jesus gave us the words and the actions that we might catch the idea of the movie, of the story. Then here's the crazy part. He invites us to participate in it.”

50s

#PreviewTheKingdom

“Church, what do people think about you when you say you go to church? What do people say to you or think about you when you say you're the part of you're the you're a part of the church? What do people think about you when you say I'm a believer in God. Because what people think about the church and what people think about believers in God is up to us. We have to preview the coming kingdom of heaven because it has to come alive in our very lives. So let's bless, let's eat, let's listen, let's learn because we are sent.”

36s

#CalledToDisciple

“I believe that when we hear the sound of the bells ringing, there's a calling on our lives that we, you and I, here at Guidestone Church, we're called to be something and to do something. It's not just to have an idea about something, to be able to answer some questions about a thing. It's to enter into a life and become a disciple of Jesus.”

79s

#ForgiveWithoutIgnoringJustice

“See, Jesus kept the kingdom of heaven in mind. Maybe you don't like this part of Jesus. I mean, Jesus talks about the kingdom of heaven, and we've got we've got hurt. And how can we forgive that person? I mean, they're still acting the way that they've always acted. How can we how can we possibly be expected to forgive that person? I I wonder sometimes if we get the idea of the kingdom of heaven, But what would it look like for you to be the kingdom of heaven on earth as it is in heaven? And by the way, can we just can we just admit that forgiveness doesn't mean that people get off the hook?”

72s

#BeALightInDarkness

“I I don't know what the use of a light is in a very well lit place. Do you? Like, during the daytime when the sun is out, you get your flashlight out. I mean, it doesn't do much. But when you're in the heat of some tough things, when you're in a dark place, a light can make all the difference. And so I think about God sending Yondel into the barracks, in front of a sergeant, around some other guys that have accepted this call to be a marine for any number of reasons. But Yondel is supposed to be a light. And the cool thing that I've seen about him is that he already is one.”

53s

#ResurrectionBringsNewLife

“But, God, I believe in my heart of hearts that when your kingdom comes and your will is done on earth, in us, and through us, there is victory in your son, Jesus. So let the resurrection happen. Let the new life begin in the hearts of your people. The world might catch a glimpse of the story that you're writing that is unfolding right before our very eyes.”

53s

#NewLifeOnDisplay

76s

#ChosenAndLoved

“And, God, it's not just for the sake of the world because your your story is what sets us free. Your story is what gives us victory. Your story is the one that has the good ending. The one where all things are made right. Your story is the one where the god of that religion religion tells us all the stuff that we have to do to earn his or her love. You're the story that says, I choose you while you were yet a sinner. I love you while you're yet choosing to reject me, choosing to push me away, choosing to say I don't exist. I still love you. I still choose you. I still want you.”

57s

#HealAndSendUs

“So let the resurrection happen. Let the new life begin in the hearts of your people. The world might catch a glimpse of the story that you're writing that is unfolding right before our very eyes. Heal our blindness. Restore restore our legs so that we can go and be the sent ones. Redeem us. Resurrect us that we may have new life in you. To you the glory.”

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