INTRODUCTION

There’s a life we were meant to live. Jesus calls it the “abundant life.” (John 10:10) What is that life? It may go much deeper and be far richer than what you’ve experienced so far. How do you know? How do you find it? The “I am Sent” discipleship course will help take you there. Let’s start here.

OUR HEARTS’ TWO GREAT DESIRES

Many of us share a common story. It goes something like this: When we first came to faith in Christ we knew we were changed. We were different. We suddenly felt free, forgiven, loved and alive. We felt different about the world and our role in it. Early on, we recognized we were set apart for grand and eternal purposes, purposes He designed long ago specifically for us. (Eph.2:10) These things would advance His kingdom and set captives free. God’s Spirit, now dwelling within us, was bidding us to come join Him in this adventure. It would require faith, risk and yes, possibly even suffering but, there would be a payoff, a reward if you will, not just in heaven, but also in the here and now. It’s a payoff we all desire to the core of our being. What is it? It’s critical we know for it’s where life is found. To miss it is to reduce the Christian life to simply showing up on Sunday, living morally and giving some money to some good causes. Or worse, to miss it is to put your heart in jeopardy for when it isn’t satisfied it will seek fulfillment from false lovers, lovers that cannot satisfy and will only lead you down a path of destruction. Sadly, many of us have missed it and now we’re left wondering, “Is this all there is?” So what is it we’re looking for? Let’s settle this here and now, once and for all.  

It may surprise you to hear we know your heart’s greatest desires. No, we haven’t hacked your phone or read your journal. We know them because we all share the same two. In fact, if you were to travel the whole world asking people along the way what their two greatest desires were you would soon discover this fascinating truth. It sounds preposterous but it’s true. What are those desires? We all have the desire to know and experience an ever deepening; no strings attached, unconditional love and we all have a desire to know our lives have a transcendent meaning or purpose, that they count in eternity. Think about it for a minute. We may not all use the same exact words but when you boil them down we’re all saying the same thing. It’s not a coincidence. Redeemed or not, we all long for those two things because….God made us that way.  The obvious next question then is, “Why?”

This brings up another fascinating truth. In fact, all of Christian thought and practice should moor itself to this profound reality. God made us that way because from the very beginning He wanted us to be “one” with Him. (Jn.17:21-26) He wanted us to partake in the perfect, sacred love and fellowship of the Trinity. In other words, He wanted us to know what it is to be fully known and yet completely accepted, completely fulfilled and satisfied…in Him.  Let the joy and depth of that sink in for a moment.

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Because we were made to be one with Him our souls cry out for what only He can satisfy. The scriptures reveal this truth from beginning to end. They tell us He’s our living water, (Jn.4:10 & 7:37-38 & Is 55:1) our bread of life, (Jn.6:35, Rev.7:16) our treasure and great reward (Gen.15:1, Lam.3:24). The Psalmist knew of this longing and where to find fulfillment when he penned the words, “O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water…your steadfast love is better than life.” (Ps.63 & Ps.42:2) Similarly, not only do you long for God but it may come as a surprise that it’s also His great longing to be in union with you, to dwell with you. Always has been. Always will. It’s the worst kept secret in the history of the world but still we seem to have missed it. Again, all of scripture testifies to this amazing truth. (Lev.26:11-12, Zech.2:10-11, 1Jn.1:2-4, Jn.14:23/17:21-26, 2Ptr.1:2-4, Rev.21:3) It’s why God is still pursuing, redeeming, reconciling and sanctifying His bride, the Church/you, to Himself today. (Lk.15, Philp.1:6, Eph.5:25-32, Jn.17:19, 2Ptr.1:2-4)

We also mentioned our core desire of wanting to know our lives have transcendent meaning and purpose. It’s that deep desire we all have to know our lives count in the eternal scheme of things. The reason that desire exists for everyone, redeemed or not, is because we’re all eternal image bearers of God. What we mean is, no matter where you stand in your relationship with Him, at least a shadow of that eternal transcendence remains. For the believer, as someone who is hopefully growing in “one-ness” with Him, you can’t help but love and care about the things God loves and cares about. It’s loving and caring about His glory, His kingdom, the lost, justice and mercy. For it’s in those God-glorifying things where we find our transcendent purpose and meaning, purposes that will bring us great joy, fulfillment and ultimately, deeper intimacy with our Triune God. 

That last statement is the thing we must not miss as it brings us to the point of this course. These two desires of deep intimacy and transcendent purpose go hand in hand. Meaning, the extent to which we’re able to experience this life-giving, ever deepening intimacy and purpose with the Father (the abundant life) is in large part dependent on us seeking out, discovering and engaging in the “good works” He designed for each of us long ago. (Eph.2:10) For it’s in the carrying out of those things alongside the Father where we’re able to know and enjoy Him to the depths possible in between the “now and the not yet”. These desires of ours were completely fulfilled in the garden but now, post-Fall, we find ourselves longing to have them restored or as Blaise Pascal said, “this infinite abyss” filled. We want that back. That’s why we all still long for and search out the same two things. He wants us to seek them out and find them fulfilled in Him once again. (Acts 17:27-28)

Now, having that as our foundation, let’s talk about the purpose of this course. Let’s talk about why Jesus “sends” and why we, the Church must be intentional with our sending today. Let’s explore how this works.

The abundant life cannot be experienced apart

from the good works God designed for you long ago.

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THE SANCTIFYING WORK OF SENDING 

In Matthew 9:35-38 we’re told the story of how,

“Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to His disciples, “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.”   

When Jesus saw the great needs of the world he modeled for us how we should respond. He prayed and he sent. This was how he would advance his Father’s kingdom. This was how he would add citizens to it. He was passionate about reconciling us to Himself and He knew people wouldn’t or couldn’t come to Him so He and His followers would have to be sent to them. They were to seek out that which was lost. But, what if his response wasn’t just about the kingdom and the lost? What if his motive for sending his followers out into the world went beyond that? What if it also had to do with putting them and now us in a position to experience the very things our hearts’ long for most? Here’s how this ever-deepening intimacy happens.  

Jesus was big on “Sending.” He uses that word over 35 times in the gospel of John in either referring to Himself being sent or in sending others. His passion for sending was due to reasons we just mentioned but it also had to do with us and should be at the heart of what compels us to be sent and why we should send others.

Jesus knew sending us to live out the great commandment and the great commission in a fallen world would put us in precarious positions, positions of risk, sacrifice and at times, suffering. What He also knew was it would make for fertile soil in which to experience a deeper and more intimate union with Him. How so?

Let’s focus on the word “sanctification” for a moment. Sanctification means “to make holy and to set apart for divine purposes.” In other words, what God is doing in our sanctification, by purifying us, is putting us in a position to experience more and more of that love and like-minded purpose we experienced in our pre-Fall state, a state that will be ours again in full in heaven. In the meantime, how He sanctifies us is through what have come to be known as the “disciplines of the faith.” These disciplines are Bible study, Prayer, Fellowship and Worship. Our role in this process of sanctification is to embrace all that He’s given us for, “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness.” (2Ptr.1:1-4) By participating in those disciplines, through the power of His indwelling Spirit and in the context of community, we’re able to grow in purity and holiness, which in turn allows us to experience greater oneness and depth of love and purpose with the Father. But yet, one very important thing still remains. Tragically, it’s the oft forgotten, undervalued or misinterpreted element of our sanctification. It’s the Missio Dei, The Mission of God. 

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It’s His intent and our command to go out into the world and make disciples. (Matt.28:18-20) It plays a vital role in us being able to experience the love, unity and purpose we long for. It’s in large part why Jesus “sent” His disciples and why it’s so critical that we send and are sent today. How does God use the mission to sanctify us? 

When we’re faced with the inherent trials and tribulations of the great commission, we will go one of two ways. We will either retreat toward comfort, security, isolation and self-reliance or we will move toward Him, toward faith, dependence and what we desire most, transcendent purpose and deep intimacy. He knew if we would trust Him within the context of our “Sent-ness”, it would give us opportunity after opportunity to see Him show up, to see His power and purposes working in us and through us. It would give Him yet another place to reveal Himself to us. (Jn.14:21) As the apostle Paul discovered, being sent allowed him to experience “the power of the resurrection” and this may sound odd but also, the joy of “the fellowship of sharing in (Christ’s) sufferings”…the depths of which can only come by laboring alongside Him in the harvest. (Philp.3:10) He longed for the sweetness of that fellowship.

Not only that, but Jesus also knew it would allow us to re-join Him in a way that is like our original mandate to steward, subdue and care for the world. Though that original mandate still exists we’re now called to come alongside Him in the work to proclaim and advance His kingdom, to be His ambassadors, His ministers of reconciliation, (2Cor.5:18,20) His royal priesthood (1Ptr. 2:9). This calling restores much of the transcendent, eternal purpose we seek. Ultimately, He knew these experiences would leave us wanting more of Him, experiences that would help us realize on the deepest level that He is the One that satisfies our greatest desires. Sending is how He further cultivates the life we long for.

This laying down of our lives in order to find the love, intimacy and purpose we long for is the great paradox of our Christian faith and there’s no getting around it. In order to experience the depths of this we must lay down the lives we’ve known and engage with God in the specific good work(s) He designed for us long ago. (Eph.2:10) Again, this is because intimacy and purpose go hand in hand. There is no other way.

THE FATE OF THE UN-SENT

This all sounds great doesn’t it? You may be saying, “I’m all in!” But, the reality is we live in a fallen world and we’re constantly battling against it, our flesh and a very real enemy. This constant onslaught is why many of us have slowly taken ourselves out of the game, no longer seeking to make disciples among the lost. Or maybe we just got distracted or were led astray by the temporal trappings of this world. Maybe we got burned out on a bad ministry fit. Maybe something happened and a fear or a lie arose, causing us to believe God wasn’t to be trusted. We wondered, “Is He really good?” Regardless, many of us have moved away from Him and back toward independence, away from kingdom work. In fact, many people are abandoning the faith altogether because it hasn’t met their core desires. They’ve unknowingly settled for a brand of Christianity that lacks faith, risk and therefore reward. Instead, it promotes a worldly comfort and security, a comfort and security that weren’t meant for us in this life. Those things simply can’t co-exist with the

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intimacy of God we long for and the transcendent, kingdom purposes He has for us. This brand is stomping out our hearts’ great desires.

And now, many of us find ourselves not having abandoned Him or having renounced our faith, but adrift and dissatisfied. This is a dangerous place, for when our hearts don’t get what they were made for they eventually seek relief from false lovers, lovers that will only lead us further and further from Him. (Jonah 2:8)  So in the meantime we look for different ways to distract, pacify or numb ourselves but in our quiet moments we still find ourselves longing for more.

The good news is we can get it back. We can have the abundant life Jesus came to bring, the life of deep intimacy and transcendent purpose we long for, but it’s going to take some intentionality. In fact, it’s going to take five things.  

JESUS ON SENDING WELL

Since sending is so critical to us experiencing the depths of this union and for advancing God’s mission in the world, it’s something we in the Church should take great care to do well. Whether it’s sending someone to the other side of the world or across the street, we should set them up for success. That means discipleship, discipleship for sending someone well. What does that look like? How do you send someone well? The following are five things we all need in order to be sent well. This is the heart of the course and where we’re heading.

1.    A SURRENDERED & ABIDING HEART

The first and most foundational thing someone needs is a surrendered & abiding heart. It addresses that great paradox of the faith we mentioned earlier. It’s that whole “losing your life for His sake” thing in order to find the life we really want. (Jn.12:24-26) This is a mindset of saying to the Lord, “I will go where you want me to go. I will say what you want me to say. I will do what you want me to do and I will give what you want me to give by the power of your Spirit, for a lifetime.” Because this is so foundational to us discovering and staying engaged in our kingdom calling, the first session of this course starts with a devotional on the subject. The journey we’ve been called to will be long and hard so we must count the cost as well as learn to partake in the reward early on. (Romans12:1; 2Cor.5:15; Esther 4; Gal.2:20 & Jn.11:16)

2.    A GOD-GIVEN MISSIONAL FOCUS

Secondly, people who are sent well, who grow in deep intimacy with the Father and bear fruit over a lifetime, have sought out and laid hold of the specific kingdom purpose(s) He designed uniquely for them. (Eph.2:10) In other words, they know and focus on their God-given mission. We mentioned this earlier. This is crucial. Although we should be ready to love and serve in word and deed wherever we are,(for we are always on mission) we must recognize that in order to make disciples it takes consistent investment of time and

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resources in the lives of those He’s called us to reach. (Matt.28:18-20) Randomly lobbing gospel grenades here and there or showing up once a month at ______________won’t get the job done or give us the intimacy we long for.

So how do you help someone discern their God-given mission? Fortunately, God doesn’t want it to be a guessing game. He wants us to know. However, because he’s so passionate about our relationship, he wants us to seek Him for it. He sets it up that way because the process leads to greater intimacy and depth, an intimacy and depth that will serve us well in carrying out our mission. Part of that seeking involves understanding and valuing how He uniquely made us. In fact, skipping this step is to disregard God’s sovereign hand on our lives. It’s important we know what our gifts, skills and strengths are. It’s important we assess our personality traits and passions. It’s important we look back on the stories He’s written for our lives because all our experiences, our victories, our failures, even our tragedies, have uniquely prepared us and will give us wisdom and passion for what lies ahead. It’s His intent that we know and draw upon all these things so that we can be effective in what He’s calling us to and….as we stated earlier, they will give us insight into WHERE and HOW we were meant to love and serve others.

Because mentoring and person on person discipleship have largely fallen by the wayside, many of us haven’t had an older, insightful someone to point out the unique and special things in us that were meant to be leveraged for His kingdom (2Tim.1:6). That’s why this course is so important. We need to know what these are and be affirmed in them. Therefore a majority of our time will be spent learning about who He made us to be along with seeking His will about our kingdom calling.

3.    SENT TOGETHER

Thirdly, people who are sent well don’t try and “go it alone.” The mission was always meant to be done in the context of community. We can’t emphasize this enough. Jesus sent out the seventy-two in twos for a reason. (Lk.10:1&2) He knows us. He knows we’re broken, imperfect individuals who are easily discouraged or led astray. In fact, going it alone is the main reason so few of us launch, stay on mission and therefore never win, build and send disciples. Bottom line, we need each other. We all need the consistent support of like-minded friends who share our kingdom calling, friends who will come alongside us to pray, plan, share ideas, encourage and do the work with us. (Heb.10:24-25). Therefore, it’s our intent to help match you with others of the same or at least similar calling. More on this later in the course.  

4.    A PLAN TO GET THERE

It’s been said, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” Rarely does God’s kingdom advance without one. That’s why we’ll help you come up with a simple, executable, dynamic, Spirit-led plan to get you going on your God-given mission.  

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5.    EQUIPPING & GUIDANCE

Finally, different contexts call for different approaches. Meaning, ministering to kids at an inner city school will look different from reaching people on Wall Street. Therefore, you’re going to need some specific, ongoing equipping and guidance. This means access to training, ideas, best practices and coaching. Coaching and training from those who’ve been there and done that. In short, we want to set you up for success. You’ll find some of this on your own but you’ll also be able to access a growing forum of resources and coaches at https://sentonesnetwork.org/Help-for-your-mission.

We’ll return to these five things in Session 5 and unpack them further.

GOALS

The goals for this course:

1.   We pray you’ll discover the truth in the paradox of how success starts with surrender. How laying down your life for Christ and His kingdom will give you the purpose, joy and depth of intimacy you desire with Him.

2.   We pray you’ll feel developed, discipled and in the process more fully embrace how the Master designed you. May you see the Father’s providential love and wisdom as you discover the strengths, passions, story, skills, personality and gifts He’s given you. 

3.   We pray you’ll find, engage in and fulfill your God-given mission. That you’ll see yourself as a Sent One. For when you do you’ll see His kingdom advance, captives set free and God receiving the glory He is due.

BEFORE YOU BEGIN

This course is most beneficial when led by an experienced guide and done with a group of others who know you well. Both will be able to encourage you and point out things you may not see. If you choose to do a self-guided study you can still get much out of it. However, we do recommend you take the time to process with a friend or two. If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact us at Coaching@SentOnesNetwork.org.   

Finally, you’ll notice that the first four sessions are full of personal, introspective assessments. Some of you will welcome this and be fascinated by what you discover while others will tire of it quickly. We just ask that you remain patient and trust us that there’s a method to our madness. There are two things at play here. One, we want you to see and value how you’re uniquely made and how you’re of great worth to God and His kingdom. Sadly, many of us have failed to see this. Secondly, we will use all these assessments, as well as a couple other things, to help you discover the specific mission God has for you for this phase

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of your life. We’ve included only that which will help you learn what that is and live it out. So let’s stop grasping at the darkness. Let’s find our place in His plan and get on with living the life we long for, the life of intimacy and purpose He meant for us to live!

"And the more I considered Christianity,

the more I found that while it had established a rule and order, the chief aim of that order was to give room for good things to run wild." 

G.K. Chesterton

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