1. religion and spirituality
2. christianity

The P.E.A.C.E. Plan
Rick Warren
Several years ago I went to South Africa to train pastors and after I
taught, I said, "Take me out to see some churches." I went out and found
this small church, a tent church with about seventy-five people – fifty
adults and twenty-five children who had been orphaned by AIDS. Here’s
a tiny little local church trying to care for twenty-five children. And they
had very few resources. But they were doing a great job. Later that same
night I went out and I just sat down on the ground and I said, “God, what
am I missing? I missed this AIDS pandemic thing. I didn’t realize how
big it was. I didn’t realize how important it was. What else am I missing? What are the
other problems in the world?”
As I was thinking about the AIDS problem I was thinking, this thing is so big. The AIDS
pandemic is so big it was overwhelming. The way that it had impacted this little church
where every couple had to take in an orphan and care for them…It’s almost despairing.
But a couple of verses came into my mind. Jeremiah 32:27 ''“I am the Lord, the God of
all mankind. Is anything too hard for Me?”'' The answer is obviously no. There’s
nothing too hard for God. Then in Ephesians 3:20 ''“With God’s power working in us,
God can do much, much more than anything we can ask or imagine.”'' I don’t know
about you but I'm a pretty big thinker. I can imagine some pretty big things. I’ve never
been accused of small thinking. Yet God says in this verse, “Rick, you think about the
biggest thing I could do in your life. You imagine the greatest thing I could do in your
life. And I can top that.” It says God is able to do much more than you think or ask or
imagine.
One of the things that the principles of faith teaches us is that Jesus said, ''“According to
your faith it will be done unto you.”'' God says you get to choose how much I bless your
life. You get to choose how much I use your life. “You get to choose what I do in your
life. According to your faith. You believe Me for a little, I’ll do a little in your life. You
believe Me for more, I’ll do more in your life. You believe Me for a lot, I’ll do a lot in
your life. According to your faith, it will be done unto you.”
So thinking about these two verses God says ''“Nothing’s too hard for Me and I can outdo
anything you ask or imagine.”'' I began to think about what are the biggest problems on
this planet. I think God gets the most glory when we attack the biggest problems. When
David takes on Goliath, the little guy takes on the big guy, people go “Yeah God! This is
cool. God is great!”
So I started thinking, what are the biggest problems in the world? What are the problems
that affect billions of people? Not millions, but billions! As I began to think about this
keeping in mind all of the countries I had been in and all the traveling to all the countries
where I’ve talked to pastors, certain problems kept coming up over and over and over. I
call them the global Goliaths. They are the five biggest problems on the planet. Now
there are a lot of problems that affect millions of people. But these problems affect
billions of people. So, I call them the five global giants, the Goliaths of our day. As I sat
there on the ground under the African sky I just wrote them down.
Five Global Giants
1. The first global giant is Spiritual Emptiness
It’s the number one problem on our planet. Billions of people live without hope. Live
without meaning. Live without purpose. They’ve got little to live on and they’ve got
even less to live for. They don’t know that their life is not an accident. There are
accidental parents. There are no accidental children. There are illegitimate parents.
There are no illegitimate children. Your parents may not have planned you but God
planned you. Really it doesn’t matter whether your parents were good, bad, or
indifferent. They may have even abandoned you. But they were the parent God chose
for you. Why? Because they had just the right DNA to create you. And God was more
interested in making you than He was in their parenting skills. Does that make sense? It
doesn’t really matter whether they were good parents or bad parents or maybe even
absentee parent, they had just the DNA that God needed to create you. And God was
more interested in how much He wanted to create you than how good they were as
parents. You’re not an accident. You’re made to last forever. Most people don’t know
that. They don’t know that this life is preparation for the next. That Jesus Christ came to
forgive our past, give us purpose for living and a home in heaven. So it’s the number one
problem in the world.
There are a lot of people feel like Solomon in Ecclesiastes who said, “Everything is
meaningless, utterly meaningless. What do people get for all their hard work?
Generations come and go but nothing really changes. Everything is so weary and
tiresome. No matter how much we see we’re never satisfied. And no matter how much
we hear we’re not content.” They are without purpose. Or as Isaiah said, “My work all
seems so useless. I spent my strength for nothing and to no purpose at all.” The number
one problem on the planet is spiritual emptiness. There are over 4.5 billion people in the
world do not know Jesus Christ. Of these, over 2 billion people have never even heard
the Christian message.
2. The second global giant, and this may surprise you, is Egocentric Leadership
Egocentric leadership means leaders who think that followers exist for them instead of
them existing for the followers. It’s the root cause of so many other problems. A lot of
the problems in our world would already be solved if we had more unselfish leaders.
There is a severe shortage of the type of leadership that Jesus modeled – servant
leadership. This is where the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He said, ''“I
didn’t come to be served. I came to serve.”'' But today a lot of leaders think the whole
goal is just to get elected and then consolidate your power and get re-elected. It becomes
all about you rather than all about the people you are serving. Corrupt and greedy and
even dishonest selfish leadership all around the world keeps billions of people stuck in
poverty and disease and lack of education and so many other things.
I like to say that there are little dictator’s everywhere. They’re in every business.
They’re in every country. They’re in every committee. They’re in every church.
They’re in every academic setting. They’re in every neighborhood. Have you noticed
this? You give a guy a little bit of power and he turns into a dictator. Now all of a
sudden he’s trying to control your whole life and tell you what you can and can’t do.
Most people do not have the character to handle influence. They don’t have the courage,
the compassion, the conviction and the character to handle power. So it goes to their
head. Then all of a sudden it’s all about them rather than all about God and all about
serving other people. Egocentric leadership keeps people in prison. In prison to poverty
and to disease and to ignorance and a lot of other things that create massive amounts of
suffering for people.
There are really only two kinds of leaders in the world. There are selfish leaders. And
there are servant leaders. Servant leaders are shepherds. They care for the people. They
care for the flock. In Zachariah 10:2 God says, ''“The people are like lost sheep. They
are abused because there is no shepherd.”'' Shepherds serve. They’re not dictators.
They’re servants. God hates leaders who take advantage of followers. In Ezekiel 34:8
He says ''“As surely as I am the living God you’d better listen to Me. My sheep have
been attacked by wild animals who killed and ate them because there was no shepherd.
The shepherd did not try to find the sheep. They were taking care of themselves not the
sheep.”'' The Bible says in Proverbs 11:14 ''“Without wise leadership a nation falls.”''
That’s true in every area. Without wise leadership, a family falls. Without wise
leadership, a business falls. Without wise leadership, a church falls. Without wise
leadership, a country falls. Everything rises or falls on leadership. And the world
desperately needs leaders with compassion and conviction and character and courage to
challenge the selfishness in our society and to lead unselfishly. Spiritual emptiness is the
first global giant. Egocentric leadership is the second global giant.
3. The third global giant is Extreme Poverty.
The Bible describes it like this in Lamentations 4 ''“Their skin is shriveled on their bones.
It’s become as dry as a stick. Those killed by the sword are better off than those who die
of famine. Racked with hunger they waste away for lack of food.”'' Poverty keeps
billions of people stuck in miserable hopeless living conditions. Half the world today
lives on less than two dollars a day. Half the world! That’s three billion people live on
less than two dollars a day. A billion and a half people live on less than a dollar a day.
We can’t even imagine that. A billion people in our world live in slums, in grinding,
dehumanizing poverty. Countless people go to bed hungry every night wondering, am I
going to have a meal tomorrow morning? This is the face of extreme poverty and it is a
global evil giant.
4. The fourth global giant on the planet is Pandemic Disease
Pandemic diseases are diseases that are spread over a wide geographic area. The Bible
tells us in Jeremiah 20:8 ''“Prophets who spoke long ago before my time and yours
predicted that war, starvation and diseases would come to many nations and powerful
kingdoms.”'' Billions of people today suffer from diseases. What is unconscionable to
me is that we know the cures for most of these. Or at least we know how to prevent
them. What is amazing to me is that the world is suffering from diseases that we figured
out how to cure or prevent in the 19th century and now it’s the 21st century. That’s just
wrong! We know the cure for yellow fever, we know the cure for measles, for mumps,
for typhus, for polio, for leprosy. We know the cure for water born eye diseases and
parasites and the number one killer of many children – diarrhea. We know about these
problems and how to solve them. We figured out recently that 300 million people will
get malaria this year. Three hundred million people! Think about that. That’s a disease
that we figured out how to cure and how to prevent almost 100 years ago. But 300
million people will have malaria this year. It’s just unconscionable. Currently, 300
million people suffer from curable diseases, most of these are under the age of 5. There
are over 40 million people infected with HIV/AIDS resulting in 15 million children
losing one or both parents. Eight thousand people die from AIDS every single day.
Pandemic diseases are the fourth global giant.
5. The fifth global giant is Rampant Illiteracy
Hosea 4:6 says, ''“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.”'' Billions of people
have little or no education. Half of our world is functionally illiterate. Think about that!
Half the world cannot read, write or do basic math. How are they going to make it in the
global economy? They are destined to live out their lives in darkness.
Facing these Giants
There’s only one group that’s big enough to take on these five global evil giants –
spiritual emptiness, egocentric leadership, poverty, disease, and illiteracy. That group is
the millions and millions of local churches that are spread out in every nation dotting the
entire globe. As I sat there that night under the African sky thinking that God says, ‘Is
there anything too hard for Me?’ And, ‘I can do more than you can think or ask or
imagine.’ I began to think what are the big problems? What are the problems nobody’s
been able to solve so far? I came up with those five. I then began the second question,
which is if those are the problems then what did Jesus do? What did Jesus do when He
was here on earth? And Jesus did five things while He was here on this planet. He came
to bring the kingdom of God and to announce the kingdom of God and He did five things.
First He planted a church. He said ''“I will build My church and the gates of hell will
not overcome it.”'' He started with the church.
Second, He equipped leaders. He spent three years training a group of twelve guys, the
disciples. He equipped servant leaders. He washed their feet and then He said, ''“I’ve
given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you.”'' I want you to be a servant
leader now too.
Third, He assisted the poor. In fact, in Jesus’ very first sermon at Nazareth, the very first
public message, the first sentence of the first sermon He announced His agenda to the
world. He says this in Luke 4 ''“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me. He’s appointed Me
to preach good news to the poor.”'' His very first sentence of His very first sermon points
out the poor as special people He would help. He assisted the poor.
Fourth, He cared for the sick. The Bible tells us that ''“Wherever Jesus went He healed
people of every sort of disease and illness.”
The fifth thing He did was He educated people. Jesus was a teacher. In Matthew 4:23 it
says, ''“Jesus went through Galilee teaching in the synagogues preaching the good news
of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness among the people.”'' He did
preaching, teaching and healing. And He had a particular interest in little children. He
said, ''“Let the little children come to Me and don’t hinder them for such is the kingdom
of God. The kingdom of God belongs to such as these.”'' In fact He said it’s better for
you to tie a millstone around your neck than hurt one of these little ones. He said for
such is the kingdom of God. Who? Little children – He cares about the next generation.
What Jesus modeled is the antidote to the five biggest problems on the planet, the global
giants. If we will just do what Jesus did we can attack these five global giants. What
Jesus did in His physical body while He was here 2000 years ago, He expects His
spiritual body, the church, to continue. Whatever Jesus did while He was here on earth,
He expects us to keep doing. What is His spiritual body today? The church. That’s us.
So whatever He did, we need to keep doing. In other words, we have to learn to love
people like Jesus. How do we love people like Jesus? We do the things that Jesus did.
He planted churches. He equipped leaders. He assisted the poor. He cared for the sick.
He educated the next generation. He attacked the five biggest problems on the planet.
They’re the same problems we have today. How do we continue what Jesus did? We as
the body of Christ must also Plant Churches, Equip Servant Leaders, Assist the Poor,
Care for the Sick and Educate the Next Generation. Those five activities embody what
Jesus did and what He expects His followers to do in the world today. A simple
definition describes this:
Ordinary people empowered by God making a difference together wherever they are.
Notice each phrase.
“Ordinary people.” This is not for super saints, or super talented, or super mature. It’s a
plan for normal people, busy people like you and me who have a lot of things going on in
our lives, a plan for normal average people to make a difference with their lives. There
aren’t enough superstars in the world to tackle the five global giants. It takes ordinary
people.
But we are “empowered by God”. Whenever God asks you to do something He’ll give
you the energy to do it. When God asks you to do something, He’ll give you the power,
the connections, the resources, the commitment, the wisdom, whatever you need. He will
not ask you to do something without supplying what you need to do it.
Ordinary people like you and me empowered by God '''making a difference together'''.
You don’t do mission on your own. You do it in community. You do it with other
people. You’re not alone. You’re not a lone ranger. You do it in community. Because
we’re better together. Snowflakes are pretty frail but if enough of them stick together
they can stop traffic. By myself I can’t make a big difference in the world, by yourself
you can’t make big difference in the world. But together we can make a big difference
Ordinary people empowered by God making a difference together '''wherever they are'''.
In their own homes, neighborhoods, workplace, schools and wherever God may take
them. Making a difference by doing what Jesus did.
P - stands for Plant Churches
Plant new churches or if there’s one already there you partner with that church. We start
with the church. Why? Because God has not promised to bless our plans. But He’s
promised to bless His church. How long does it take to plant a church? One day. Just
get two or three people together and you’ve got a church. If you’re talking about
buildings and seminary trained pastors, it might take a long time. But the church is not a
steeple. It’s people. And Jesus said, “Where two or three are gathered in My name, I'm
in the midst of them.” So what we call small groups at our church, anywhere else in the
world they’re called a church. Because a church can be just three or four people. So the
three thousand people that started small groups at our church are really three thousand
church planters. Anybody can start a church. You just get two or three people together
and you’ve got church going. Jesus said, “Where two or three are gathered in My name
there am I in the midst of them.” The Apostle Paul modeled this as well, and he says this
in Romans 15 “My ambition has always been to share the good news where the name of
Christ has never been heard.” Rather than where a church has already been started by
somebody else. So you start by planting churches and if there is a church already there,
you help them plant churches where none exist.
E - stands for Equip Servant Leaders
God wants to solve the leadership shortage in our world. God knows we need more
godly leaders of integrity and compassion. In Jeremiah 3:15 He says “I will give you
leaders after My own heart who will guide you with wisdom and understanding.” God
wants the leadership crisis to be resolved. When we have better leaders we’re going to
have a better world. Paul says this to Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:2, “Pass on what you heard
from me in the whole congregation to reliable leaders who are competent to teach
others.” Notice four generations in this verse. Paul says I give it to you, you give it to
reliable leaders, who are going to give it to other people to pass it on. To keep growing
you have to pass it on. What kind of leadership model does the world need? Not a
western model of leadership. We need the Jesus model of leadership. There’s only one
perfect leader and that’s Jesus Christ. So we plant churches and we equip servant leaders
who lead like Jesus.
A - stands for Assist the Poor
:The Bible tells us in 1 John 3:17 ''“If you see somebody in need and you have the means
to do something about it but you turn a cold shoulder and do nothing what happens to
God’s love in you? It disappears.”'' I used to think that God didn’t have any favorites in
the world, that He treated us all the same. That is just not true. Did you know that the
Bible says very clearly that God has favorites? He says it several times. You know who
His favorites are? The poor. God says My favorites are the poor. He cares about the
poor. And the test of faith God says is how you treat His favorites. How do you treat
poor people? James 1:27 ''“What God considers to be pure and genuine religion is this, to
take care of orphans and widows in their suffering.”'' Notice he didn’t say that pure and
genuine religion is how much doctrine you know. It’s how do you handle the poor,
people who are widows, people who are orphans. Proverbs 19:17 ''“If you help the poor
you’re lending to the Lord and He will repay you.”'' God says I want you to care about
the poor. It is a test of your love and it is a test of your faith.
C - stands for Care for the Sick
:Approximately thirty thousand children die every day around the world from preventable
diseases. Three thousand children will die today from a mosquito bite. That’s
unconscionable. God says I want you to care for the sick. Luke 6:36 says ''“You must be
compassionate just as your Father is compassionate.”'' He tells us in Ephesians 5:2
''“Live a life of love just as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us.”'' And how do
you show love? How do you show it when people are sick? God wants us to care for the
sick.
E – stands for Educate the Next Generation
:God cares about succeeding generations. Psalm 78 says '''“So the next generation will
know and all the generations to come know the truth and tell the stories so your children
can trust in God.”''' He says I want you to know the truth and tell the stories so your
children can trust in God. So that future generations will understand these truths.
Proverbs 22:6 '''“Teach the children how they should live and they will remember it all
their lives.”''' Educate the next generation.
Whatever It Takes
Where is mission to be done? According to Acts 1:8 we are to reach out in Jerusalem,
Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth.
Jerusalem -- This is your personal mission. A lifestyle fo caring and reaching out to the
people around you. Your family. Your relatives. Your neighbors. Your co-workers.
You need a personal plan on how you’re going to minister to the people closest to you.
Judea and Samaria -- This is your local mission. This is best done in teams, what you
do in the communities where they live. A year ago in our church we did a local mission
project involving all of our small groups. We have about 3,000 small groups in our
church. They’re spread out over 83 cities. We took on as our local project to feed every
homeless person in our county three meals a day for forty days. That’s a pretty big
project. We had no idea how many people there were. When we added it up it was
almost 40,000 people. That meant providing about 120,000 meals everyday for forty
days. And amazingly, God made it happen. It took over two million pounds of food. It
could have never been done as individuals. But because we had a small group network in
place the groups did it using about 9,300 volunteers. It was because the small groups
together we could do things we would never do by ourselves. Currently we have almost
200 individuals who go with their small groups to 5 different motels each week to
minister to the homeless and those in transitional housing. Churches are being planted in
these motels and holistic help is being provided. These things could never happen on a
continual basis if they were not being led by small groups.
Ends of the earth -- This is your mission to the entire world. It’s not just about location.
It’s about dedication. It is not crossing the sea. It’s seeing the cross. In the last few
years we’ve had members of our church going out to different countries. Those small
groups have been engaging locally and globally in planting churches, equipping leaders,
assisting the poor, caring for the sick, and educating the next generation. We have been
trying to make it so simple that anyone can do it.
We have been figuring out simple, reproducible and sustainable ways to do these five
things.
“Where did you get that idea?” From the Apostle Paul. Paul would often go to a village
or city, spend two days and leave a church. The longest he ever spent in any place was in
Corinth where he spent two years and that’s where he had the most problems. He’d go
into a city, be there for a couple of days, appoint elders and leave. Obviously his idea of
elders was a whole lot different than mine. He’d say, “Here’s my follow up. I’ll write
you a letter in six months.” Obviously it worked. We’ve got the New Testament and
we’re all here. Obviously it worked.
What’s different about this mission effort? Every one of these activities has been being
done by churches and other organizations for years. There are church planting
organizations. There are leadership training organizations. There are organizations that
care for the poor, organizations that help the sick, organizations that train and educate.
So what’s different about this mission effort? I'm glad you asked!
First of all, this is based on God’s biblical purposes. It means it’s built on the five
purposes that are given by Jesus Christ in the Great Commandment (Matthew 22) and the
Great Commission (Matthew 28). Two from the Great Commandment and three from the
Great Commission. These biblical purposes were given to every believer. ''“Jesus
replied: "'Love the Lord your God (worship) with all your heart and with all your soul
and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is
like it: 'Love your neighbor (serving) as yourself.' “'' Matthew 22:37-39 (NIV) ''“Jesus
came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
Therefore go and make disciples (evangelism) of all nations, baptizing them (fellowship)
in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them
(discipleship) to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you
always, to the very end of the age."'' Matthew 28:18-20 (NIV)
Second, this mission effort involves every member of the church. This is not a strategy
for just professional missionaries or for professional healthcare workers. It’s a strategy
for normal people. It’s a lay movement designed to mobilize average church members to
do normal tasks that can make a difference in the world. There just aren’t enough doctors
and teachers and missionaries and other professionals in the world to push back the
global giants. Everybody can participate somewhere and in someway.
Today for the first time in history it’s possible for everybody to go anywhere in the
world. When the disciples were listening to Jesus and He said, “Go into the whole world
and take the good news to everybody,” it was physically impossible. At that time, 2,000
years ago, they couldn’t do it. There were no planes. There were no trains. There were
no automobiles. There were no ocean-bearing ships. It was physically impossible for the
disciples to go to the whole world. They couldn’t do it. But that’s not our excuse. In
fact, you can go anywhere in the world today within a very short period of time. We are
the first generation in history to have the technology and the transportation to literally be
world class Christians. For a long time the whole idea of missions was either go overseas
and spend your entire life there or you stay home. Those were your choices. Take it or
leave it. That isn’t much of a choice because that leaves 99 out of 100 believers doing
nothing. Everyone who says, ‘I don’t want to spend my whole life overseas somewhere,’
was left on the sidelines.
Third, this mission effort links congregations. It's is a grassroots, church to church
strategy. In other words your church hooks up with another church overseas. That
church hooks up with another church. Every church is a sending and receiving church.
Linking church to church directly. Local churches can do this. It doesn’t take just
professionals or an organization to address the giants in the world. God has given every
local church what they need to accomplish what He wants them to do, starting their own
communities.
Fourth, this mission effort is led by groups. It is built on the power of teams, it is a small
group strategy that utilizes group dynamics for support and accountability. You will
notice in the New Testament that when Jesus sent people out He never sent them out as
individuals. He always sent them out in teams. He never said, You go by yourself
somewhere. He sent them out by twos or threes or in groups. He never sent them by
themselves. He always sent them in teams. The Apostle Paul used the same strategy.
Paul never traveled by himself. He always had a team with him. In fact, in one place in
Acts he tells us some of the names of the guys on his team; Aristarchus, Secundus,
Epaphroditus, Timothy. He tells us the names of the guys who were traveling with him.
And when he sent them out, he sent them out in teams. It’s better to have a partner than
to go it alone. Ecclesiastes says.
Fifth, this mission effort attacks all five giants. It is not specialized. It’s a
comprehensive, holistic strategy, which attacks all five giants because they’re
intertwined. The church can’t afford to specialize. The church has to do it all. It has to
care for the sick and assist the poor, educate the next generation, equip leaders, help
people with their spiritual hunger. It’s got to do it all. We attack all five giants because
God has called us to help people, and those in greatest need are affected by all five giants.
Sixth, this mission effort respects the local church. I think by now you’ve figured out
that we’re really big on the local church. It’s a church based strategy that makes local
congregations the heroes. Not governments or other organizations. It honors and values
the local church for its role in the community. We believe that local church leaders
understand local needs better than outsiders. And that churches, because of their location
(they’re in the community), their motivation (they have love), their longevity (they’re
going to outlast everything else), and their credibility are the best grassroots organization
to tackle the five giants.
Friends, the greatest need in the twenty-first century is to release the pent up latent power
of the average believer in local churches around the world. If we can figure out a way to
turn an audience into an army, to turn consumers into contributors, to turn spectators into
participators, it will change the world. And it will bring in a second reformation of the
church and a major spiritual awakening in our world. Imagine, ten million churches with
a hundred million groups mobilizing a billion believers. If you’re going to think, you
might as well think big. It doesn’t cost anything. If you ever use the word “impossible”
listen for the laughter from heaven. The Bible says that all things are possible with God.
In fact if you came to my office and went into my study and you took the dictionary
behind my desk and you looked up the word “impossible” you would find that it’s not
there. It’s not in my dictionary because I cut it out! If it’s not in God’s vocabulary, it
shouldn’t be in mine. “All things are possible to him who believes.”
Seventh, this mission effort sends to the whole world. It is a global strategy. Our goal is
to mobilize every member in every church in every nation for the global glory of God.
What’s it going to take? If we’re going to see a second reformation in the church – the
first one was about creeds, this one will be about deeds. The first reformation was about
beliefs, this one will be about behavior. The first was about what does the church
believe, this one is about what does the church do. We already know what to believe.
We figured that out 500 years ago. What we need to do now is just do it. We need to be
doers of the word.
What is it going to take to have that kind of spiritual awakening?
1. We must adopt God’s agenda. That means lay aside our agenda and go for God’s
agenda. What is God’s agenda? What is God doing in the world? I’ll tell you in just one
little phrase – the kingdom of God. God’s agenda is the kingdom of God. The kingdom
of God is Jesus’ favorite expression. It was His major theme in His ministry. The word
“kingdom” is used 157 times in the New Testament. It’s Jesus’ favorite description of
what He’s doing in the world. Over and over in the parables He says, ''“The kingdom of
God is like this... The kingdom of God is like this... The kingdom of God is like this…”''
It was the thing He talked about more than anything else. Because it’s His priority. He’s
building the kingdom of God.
Where is the kingdom of God? The kingdom of God is wherever Jesus is king. That’s
what the kingdom of God is. It’s wherever Jesus is king. Jesus is king in heaven, so the
kingdom of God is in heaven. When Jesus comes back on earth and establishes a
millennial rule here, then the kingdom of God is on earth. If Jesus is king in your life,
then the kingdom of God is within you. All three of those He says in the New Testament.
It’s wherever Jesus is king. Wherever He is lord. Jesus told us to pray, “Thy kingdom
come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” Why does He pray that? “Thy
kingdom come, Thy will be done.” That’s redundant. The kingdom of God is wherever
the will of God is done. If it’s done in your heart then the kingdom of God is in you.
Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done. It is the same thing. The kingdom of God is
wherever God’s will is done. He says that we’re to pray that it will be on earth as it is in
heaven. Why? Because in heaven it’s done perfectly. God’s will is done perfectly. It is
not done perfectly on earth. So we pray “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth
as it is in heaven.” God wants us to live for the kingdom of God.
What is the kingdom of God? It’s God’s people fulfilling God’s purposes on God’s
planet. That’s the kingdom of God. God’s people fulfilling God’s purposes on God’s
planet. The Bible says the kingdom of God is multi-national, it’s going to come from
every nation. It’s powerful, it’s living by His power. It’s eternal, nothing can destroy it.
And it is inevitable. “The good news about the kingdom will be preached in all the world
and then the end shall come.” God is in control. One day God’s going to bring it all to a
culmination. We don't know when. But if we want to be on the winning side then we
need to get in the kingdom of God. I’ve read the last chapter of the book, the Bible. God
wins and so do we!!! That’s why Jesus said in Matthew 6:33 ''“God will give you all you
need from day to day if you live for Him and make the kingdom of God your primary
concern.”'' Seek first the kingdom of God. Make the kingdom of God your primary
concern and God will take care of all your other needs. If we’re going to do this we’ve
got to adopt God’s agenda, the kingdom of God.
2. We have to abandon all distractions. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 7:35 ''“Do whatever
will help you serve the Lord best with as few distractions as possible.”'' What do you
need to let go of in order to serve the kingdom of God? A lot of things aren’t necessarily
wrong. They’re just not necessary. Maybe there are some things you need to lay aside so
you’ve got more time and energy for what matters most. It’s time to stop debating and
start doing. It’s time to stop criticizing other Christians and start cooperating. It’s time
for the church to be known for love and not for legalism and for what we’re for and not
just what we’re against. It’s time for the church to be the church. We adopt God’s
agenda. We abandon all distractions.
3. We appropriate God’s power. We’re not going to get this done on our own. People
say, “How do you have big goals without having a big head?” You totally depend on
God, that’s how you do it. 2 Corinthians 3:5 says, ''“We’re not saying we can do this
work ourselves. It’s God who makes us able to do all that we’re able to do.”'' So we
appropriate God’s power. We cannot handle the AIDS pandemic or any of these other
global giants without God giving us the grace, the energy, the power, the wisdom to do it.
We adopt His agenda, we abandon all distractions, we appropriate His power and
finally…
4. We answer God’s call. Isaiah did. In Isaiah 6:8 he says ''“Then I heard the voice of
the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send? And who will go for Me?’ And I said, ‘Here am I,
Lord. Send me.’”'' So, what is your response? What will you do in response to the
challenge to adopt God’s agenda, to abandon all distractions, to appropriate God’s power
and answer God’s call? If so, pray this prayer of commitment—
“Today I'm stepping across the line. I'm tired of waffling and I’m finished with
wavering. I’ve made my choice. The verdict is in my decision is irrevocable. I'm going
God’s way. There’s no turning back now. I will live the rest of my life serving God’s
purposes with God’s people on God’s planet for God’s glory. I will use my life to
celebrate His presence, cultivate His character, participate in His family, demonstrate His
love and communicate His word.”
“Since my past has been forgiven and I have a purpose for living and a home awaiting in
heaven, I refuse to waste any more time or energy on shallow living, petty thinking,
trivial talking, thoughtless doing, useless regretting, hurtful resenting or faithless
worrying. Instead I will magnify God, grow to maturity, serve in ministry and fulfill my
mission in the membership of His family. I will live the rest of my life serving God’s
purpose with God’s people on God’s planet for God’s glory.”
“Because this life is preparation for the next I will value worship over wealth, we over
me, character over comfort, service over status, and people over possessions, position,
and pleasures. I know what matters most and I’ll give it all I’ve got. I’ll do the best I can
with what I have for Jesus Christ today.”
“I won’t be captivated by culture, manipulated by critics, motivated by praise, frustrated
by problems, debilitated by temptation, or intimidated by the devil. I’ll keep running my
race with my eyes on the goal, not the sidelines or those running by me. When times get
tough and I get tired, I won’t back up, back off, back down I back out or backslide. I’ll
just keep moving forward by God’s grace. I'm Spirit led, Purpose Driven and mission
focused so I cannot be bought, I will not be compromised and I shall not quit until I finish
the race. I'm a trophy of God’s amazing grace. So I will be gracious to everyone,
grateful for every day and generous with everything that God entrusts to me.”
“To my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ I say: However, whenever, wherever, and whatever
You ask me to do, my answer in advance is yes. Wherever You lead and whatever the
cost, I'm ready. Anytime, anywhere, anyway. Whatever it takes, Lord, whatever it takes.
I want to be used by You in such a way that on that final day I’ll hear You say, ‘Well
done thou good and faithful one. Come on it and let the eternal party begin.’”
'''In two words I can summarize that prayer – “Send me”