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Facing the world's five evil giants!
By Rick and Kay Warren The world is full of problems. Some are small and some are huge. As Kay and I considered the problems facing the world today, we concluded there are five giants -- five pervasive problems that affect billions of people. These are the ones we want to tackle, believing God gets the most glory when we attack the biggest giants. These problems are so huge that they can only be addressed with total dependence on God and with all of us -- your congregation and mine, Christians all around the world -- working together to confront them. Here are the giant problems, as we see them: 1. The first global giant is spiritual darkness. Here’s a startling truth: Billions of people have never even heard the name of Jesus Christ. Three thousand distinct people groups around our world wouldn’t even know the name of Jesus if they heard it. “Who is that?” they’d ask. “What’s so significant about that name?” These people know nothing about Jesus or about God. If you were one of those who had never heard the name of Jesus, wouldn’t you want somebody to come tell you about our Savior, our Lord? The Bible says in Romans 10:14 (NCV), “Before people can ask the Lord for help, they must believe in him; and before they can believe in him, they must hear about him; and for them to hear about the Lord, someone must tell them.” The greatest giant in our world today is the fact that billions of people do not know Jesus Christ. 2. The second giant we want to tackle is the lack of servant leaders around the world. Around the world, there are plenty of people in leadership who abuse their power. Many refuse to use their power for the good of their people -- instead they choose to use it for themselves. This has created chaos in the world. Leaders must have moral basis. They must have wisdom. Proverbs 11:14 (NLT) says, “Without wise leadership, a nation falls.” Proverbs 16:12b (Msg) says, “Sound leadership has a moral foundation.” And Zechariah 10:2 (TEV) says, “People wander around like lost sheep. They are in trouble because they have no leader.” In the developing world there are 2.1 million pastors and church leaders. Of those, 1.9 million have never had any training at all. Not only have these leaders not gone to seminary or Bible school, they haven’t even gone to high school or primary school. They have no training whatsoever -- and yet they lead the church. This must be remedied. 3. The third giant we’re going after is poverty. More than half of the world -- that’s three billion people -- live on less than two dollars a day. One-sixth of the world’s population lives in slums. Those are heart-breaking statistics. Proverbs 28:7 (NIV) says, “The righteous care about justice for the poor, but the wicked have no such concern.” It’s easy to live in a bubble and think the rest of the world lives like we do. When we go about our daily lives forgetting how most of the world lives, we tend to judge people for being poor. Job 12:5 (GW) says, “A person who has an easy life [that would be you and me] has no appreciation for misfortune. He thinks it is the fate of those who slip up.” Tell that to the parents of 10 million little girls who’ve been sold into prostitution in Southeast Asia. Their families exist in such grinding poverty they see no other way to feed their families than to sell their little girls into prostitution. It’s a horrible existence. 4. The fourth giant we want to attack is disease. Billions suffer the effects of famine and drought. They are homeless, hungry, and helpless. They’re ill. We can do something about that. Psalm 38:6-11 (GW) says, “I am bent over and bowed down very low. ... My insides are filled with burning pain, and no healthy spot is left on my body. I am numb and completely devastated. ... I’ve lost my strength. Even the light of my eyes has left me. My loved ones and my friends keep their distance and my relatives stand far away because of my sickness.” We have seen the effects of poverty as we've traveled. We’ve seen the effects of people with HIV/AIDS. The stigma is enormous. People are abandoned by their own families. Their bodies slowly waste away from opportunistic infections. As Christians we cannot ignore these people. Ezekiel 34:4 (TEV) says, “You have not taken care of the weak ones, healed the ones that are sick, bandaged the ones that are hurt, brought back the ones that wandered off, or looked for the ones that were lost. Instead, you treated them cruelly.” 5. The fifth giant we want to tackle is ignorance. Over half the world is still illiterate. How can a country grow and be strong economically when its citizens can’t read, can’t write, and don’t know the fundamentals of math and science that we take for granted? It’s no wonder these countries aren’t strong. Hosea 4:6 (NIV) says, “My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge.” There’s a desperate need for teachers and schools and materials to help people grow. These five giants can be toppled. We can make a difference. -Purpose-Driven- Biblical foundation for the P.E.A.C.E. Plan God has a history of calling into his service incredibly average men and women. This is demonstrated over and over in the pages of the Bible. "Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world’s eyes, or powerful, or wealthy when God called you. Instead, God deliberately chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose those who are powerless to shame those who are powerful." (1 Corinthians 1:26-27, NLT) The other truth that supports the elements of P.E.A.C.E. is that every believer is a minister of God’s good news. In the Apostle Paul’s words, every believer is a missionary! "All this newness of life is from God, who brought us back to himself through what Christ did. And God has given us the task of reconciling people to him." (2 Corinthians 5:18, NLT) And finally, Jesus practiced P.E.A.C.E., and the P.E.A.C.E. strategy is clearly seen through his actions. Planting churches - Jesus was the antidote for spiritual blindness
“…I will put together my church, a church so expansive with energy that not even the gates of hell will be able to keep it out.” (Matthew 16:18, Msg) "…the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places." (Ephesians 3:10, NAS) Equipping Servant leaders - Jesus called out and mentored leaderless
people "And you are my friends if you do what I command you. I do not call you servants any longer, because servants do not know what their master is doing. Instead, I call you friends." (John 15:14-16, GNB) "When he went ashore, he saw a large multitude, and he felt compassion for them because they were like sheep without a shepherd." (Mark 6:34, NAS) Assisting the poor - Jesus identified with people of poverty Jesus said, "Happy are those who know they are spiritually poor; the Kingdom of heaven belongs to them!" (Matthew 5:3, GNB) "Then [Jesus] turned to his host. 'When you put on a luncheon or a dinner,' he said, 'don’t invite your friends, brothers, relatives, and rich neighbors. For they will repay you by inviting you back. Instead, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. Then at the resurrection of the godly, God will reward you for inviting those who could not repay you.''' (Luke 14:12-14, NLT) Caring for the sick - Jesus restored health to people with sickness
or disease Educating the next generation - Jesus taught people who lacked understanding
"When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were utterly amazed. They said, 'Where did this man get all these things? What is this wisdom that has been given to him? What great miracles are being done by his hands!'" (Mark 6:2, ISV) What makes P.E.A.C.E. so different? The elements of P.E.A.C.E. are not new or different than traditional
missions. The difference is not so much in what is done, but rather
both how it is done and who does it. The acronym “P.L.A.N.S.”
details some of the key values that make the P.E.A.C.E. Plan so revolutionary.
Led by small groups Networks church to church Personal P.E.A.C.E. Plan The P.E.A.C.E. Plan begins with Christians understanding how the Great Commission of Jesus impacts life on a daily basis. What does it mean to live “on-mission” 24/7? The P.E.A.C.E. Plan has three components to help every believer be a world-class Christian: 1. Personal P.E.A.C.E. Personal P.E.A.C.E. is what each person can do within
their circles of influence as it relates to the five areas (planting
churches, equipping leaders, assisting the poor, caring for the sick,
and educating the next generation.) Below is a list of suggestions
you can use today to begin living on-mission in each of the five areas.
These are given just as examples to get you started. Use your creativity
to add new actions for each area! Taken from www.purposedriven.com/en-US/PEACE/PEACE_Plan.htm Click below for further information 90 days of blessing |
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