Moving From Survival Through Success to Significance
(Acts 1:8-18)
Rick Warren recently told Charlie Rose in an interview on Public Broadcasting Television. "Most of the world struggles to survive. The majority of Americans are striving for success. Yet, few people ever achieve a deep sense of significance. He told Charlie, I want to give the rest of my life in helping all the peoples of the world find signficance."
Warren writes: "The P.E.A.C.E. Plan is a massive effort to mobilize 1 billion Christians around the world into an outreach effort to attack the five global, evil giants of our day. These are the world’s biggest problems, affecting billions, not just millions, of people: spiritual emptiness, corrupt leadership, poverty, disease, and illiteracy.
These five global giants ravage the lives of billions of people worldwide and all work together to constrain them and cut them off from knowing the saving grace of a loving God who sent his son, Jesus Christ, to die for their sins allowing them eternal hope and security. There is no organization or government that can effectively eradicate these giants. The only successful solution is the global Church of Jesus Christ.
"The Scripture shows us that Jesus shared the Good News, trained leaders, helped the poor, cared for the sick, and taught the children," Warren said. "Our P.E.A.C.E. Plan will just do the five things Jesus did while he was here on earth."
P.E.A.C.E. is an acronym that stands for "Plant churches, Equip servant leaders, Assist the poor, Care for the sick, and Educate the next generation," Warren said. The emphasis calls for church-based small groups to adopt villages where spiritual emptiness, selfish leadership, poverty, disease, and ignorance keep people from experiencing the kind of life God wants them to have, he said.
’WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF ...?’
"There are thousands of villages in the world that have no school, no clinic, no business, no government -- but they have a church," Warren said. "What would happen if we could mobilize churches to address those five global giants?"
Warren’s "Purpose Driven" movement is an ideal vehicle for launching such an effort. A combined 23 million copies of his books -- The Purpose Driven Church and The Purpose Driven Life -- have been sold, and more than 400,000 pastors in 162 countries have been trained in the "church health" principles that took Saddleback from seven to more than 20,000 members in 25 years. His approach organizes congregations into small groups that focus on the five biblical purposes of the church: worship, fellowship, discipleship, ministry, and evangelism.
The following are some ways of deciphering what Jesus meant in the great commission (Matt 28:18-20) to accomplish His purpose for our lives and the world that He so loved that He gave His only Son. (John 3:16,17)
1. MEANING - Many people lack a sense of meaning, purpose or significance because they are yet to find God’s plan for their life. It begins by what Jesus said in Luke 10:27, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength and mind and your neighbor as yourself. For all the law and the teachings of the prophets are summarized in this statement." We find meaning when we love God and we seek to exude that love by serving people. Jesus said, "My food (satisfaction) is to do the will of Him who sent me and to accomplish His purpose. When Jesus said, "It is finished." He meant that He had paid for the penalty of the sins of the whole world." WE find our greatest meaning when we present Christ as the spiritual solution that plagues every human being. Their need to find forgiveness and eternal life by receiving Christ as their Savior. That meaning is their developed, appropriated and discovered fully by allowing the fruits of the Spirit to be expressed in all kinds of service to Christians and non-Christians in the world.
2. MANAGEMENT - The Lord Jesus wants to be our manager, boss and the authority in all areas of our life. When we refuse to allow Him to manage our assets, time, or agenda we are saying to Him that we think we can do a better job than HE can in making the most of our lives. No wonder so many people are living without a sense of complete significance. As C.S. Lewis once said, "Jesus was either a liar, lunatic or Lord." Let us let the Lord of the universe operate in HIs rightful place in our lives, families and vocations so that we can see best manager make the most of our time.
3. MOBILIZER - The Lord Jesus said, "As you are going (the present participle of Go) indicating that there is a natural assumption that true discples will be actively going to the lost, needy and unreached people groups of the world. Make disciples of all the ethnic groups of the world. It is not enough to be in motion, we should be mobilized for His cause, church expansion and Christ like activities.
4. MEDICINE - The Lord Jesus is offering people the cure for their spiritual cancer. If someone were to come to the billions of people who are sick, hurting and suffering from illness promising them a cure, they were most likely take it. Spiritual sickness has an eternal consequence unlike physical illness that can only last so long. Jesus said, "I am the great Physician."
5. MONEY CONTROLLER - Most people are afraid of financial short-falls and so they hesistate to give God their all. Yet, Jesus said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me." Christ promises to supply all the needs of those who are ready to do His will. For nineteen years I lived on $450/month as a missionary to Africa. The Lord saw to supply all my needs plus the expansion of ministries for the starting of hundreds of churches and the winning of over 350,000 people to Christ through 125 film evangelism centers. All of these provisions were given as proof that what Jesus said was true. "Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added to you as well."
6. MY LOVE - Jesus said, "A new commandment I give to you that you love one another. By this will all men know that you are my disciples because you have love for one another." (John 13:34,35) The best teaching, credibility and influence is the example of one’s love to others. This is proof that God’s love is a supernatural gift that enables us to love people that perhaps do not deserve it.
7. MIRROR - God’s word is like a mirror. When we look at it deeply the scriptures teach, reprove, correct and train us in righteousness so that we can be equipped and thorougly furnished for all good works." (2 Tim 3:16,17) Many people are disheveled, dysfunctional and deceived simply because they have not look deeply in to the word of God to find their compass for life and relationships. Why suffer needlessly? Many churches are not being blessed because they are failing to live up to the essential tenets in the great commission.
8. METHODS - Following the PEACE plan is one of many methods but it is constructed by someone with a proven track record. It begins by planting church and equipping servant leaders. That is exactly what Jesus taught in Matthew 10. The first thing we are to do when we go in to the city is to find a man of peace and stay in that house and develop an incarnational ministry to begin a fellowship of believers. Why try to improve on the proven guidelines Christ gave us?
9. MESSAGE - There are many messages that I read on sermoncentral.com but a very small percentage deals with the great commission. Could it be that too many of us are just giving people what they want to hear instead of what Christ commands them to understand?
10. MAXIMIZER - The Lord Jesus gave us the great commission so that we could be maximizers of our assets, time, and talents. Too many people are dabbling in things that are good but are actually enemies of what is best.
11. MULTIPLIERS - The Lord Jesus wants us to disciple people in all the people groups of the world so that they can reproduce and multiply Christ’s church throughout the world. Paul the apostle went on many missionary journeys because he knew the power of multiplication instead of addition. Yes, he stayed in Corinth and in Ephesus for 1.5 years and 2 years respectively, but most of the time he stayed on the move in order to hand the responsibilities of teaching, training and reaching local people up to the indigenous leaders. Let us do the same and not get bogged down in doing things that others might be able to do far more efficiently.
12. MORE THAN ENOUGH - Paul wrote, "God is able to make all grace abound to you so that having all things at all times you may have more than enough so that you can abound in every good work." (2 Cor 9:8) Let us take the promise given to us in I Cor 15:58 to heart, "Be steadfast, unmoveable always abounding in the work of the Lord knowing your labor is not in vain in the Lord."
13. MEMORIES - Let us believe that the Lord will allow us to leave a legacy of one who who faithful to His priority commands. Henry Denaunt was one who is worth remembering, even though he died in poverty because he started the Red Cross. All over the world the International Red Cross or Crescent in some Muslims sectors is recognized as the world’s leading relief agency. Denaunt was a believer who gave everything he had to assist the poor, the hurting and the suffering after he observed it first hand during the battles of Napolean in Italy. Let us leave a lasting influence and legacy that will carry forth the great commission in the minds of all who come behind us.
14. MURAL - Let us help paint the picture of Christ through our lips, lives and lessons. It is not enough to just live for ourselves, we must give people a visualization of what Christ would do if He were living in our shoes. What are people seeing in you?
15. MODEL - Jesus is worth imitating, especially when it comes to serving others in the most significant way. I John 2:6 The one who says he abides in Him ought to walk in a manner in which He Himself once walked. Like Keith Green sang, "I want to, I need to, be more like Jesus." That is our prayer, our song and our pathway to significance.
