God’s Global Workforce – Part 3

Review

• We must distinguish between worldly success and kingdom , between the American dream and the vision.
• We cannot measure Christian success by , money and other symbols of ministry prosperity.
• While God does prosper people, determining whether material success is from the world or from God requires .
• One way to discern is by being clear about what biblical prosperity is; it is NOT prosperity for sake.

Prosperity is

• “provision for ” (Myles Munroe).
• for your assignment.
• lavish supply for the
• Matthew 6:31-33

• We are all on assignment to complete a mission from another .
• This was the point of Superhero Sunday Month.
• We watched movie clips of superheroes so we could understand the ways that we are superheroes.
• You’re not from . You are from the one who sent you (John 17:16-18).
• The sender is responsible for the one who is sent spiritually and materially.

A sent one is

• an (II Corinthians 5:20)
• a (Matthew 9:37-38)

Jesus, the Educator

• The work of the church is as much as it is anything else.
• A disciple is a .
• A student’s success is measured by learning .

learning outcomes identify what the learner will know and be able to do by the end of a course or program. (Shirley Lesch, retired professor from George Brown College in Toronto, Canada).

Biblical Learning Outcomes (Acts 2:41-47):

• The crowd becomes a congregation (Acts 2:41-42).
• Devotion to the Word (Acts 2:42).
• Meals and gatherings in homes (Acts 2:42, Acts 2:46).
• Prayer (Acts 2:42).
• Awe (Acts 2:43).
• Signs and wonders (Acts 2:43).
• Generosity beyond tithing (Acts 2:44-45).
• Praise (Acts 2:47).
• Favor (Acts 2:47).
• People daily joining the church (Acts 2:47)

• If we don’t look at learning outcomes, we’ll confuse a crowd with a .
• You can amass a large group of people through attraction or through biblical .
• An attraction model depends on stage talent, high production values and expensive Christian professionals.
• A biblical multiplication model is not about attraction. It relies on the to draw people to God as God’s people labor in God’s field.
• A biblical multiplication model is cheap because it depends on the laity working for as God pays their ministry .
• Here’s the big idea: A sent one is also a . (Hebrews 5:12, Ephesians 4:11-13)

Summary of Key Principles (Bishop’s Blueprint)

• The Bible gives us general to live by and it provides the purpose for every church that God has ordained in the world.
• In that sense, every local church has the same .
• However, the Bible not only invites us to follow the instructions spelled out in Scripture, but also the instructions to us as spelled out by the Holy Spirit (Acts 13:2-3, Acts 16:6-10)
• People who are sent and follow the of the sender get the results the sender promised.
• The purpose of Zoe Christian Fellowship of Whittier is to help people live for purpose (not their own private ambition).

In effect, we

• teach people to do the will of the sender, not the will of the sent.
• help people transition from being casually Christian to Kingdom committed.
• raise up an ever-expanding core of committed followers of Christ to disciple and preach the gospel to people in every nation.

As sent ones we know that we are

• superheroes
• ambassadors
• laborers
• students (disciples)
• ministers

As laborer’s in God’s field, our strategy is to

• Seek God
• Serve People
• Solve Problems
• Share the Gospel

We affirm the learning outcomes in the 5 I AMs:

• I am to bring the Word of God to the nations.
• I am to make Christ known to all men.
• I am to become a true worshipper of God.
• I am to fulfill God’s purposes in the earth.
• I am to have the God-kind of life.

Joshua D. Smith, Ph.D., 2019