Manifest for Renewal: Global Mission

One word to summarize Christianity is the word, "Go."

"In the same way that you gave me a mission in the world, I give them a mission in the world." (John 17:18)

"God said to me, 'You are my servant in whom I will display my splendor.' But I said, 'I have labored to no purpose. I have spent my strength in vain and for nothing.'" (Isaiah 49:6) So God gave Isaiah the antidote to his discouragement. He told Isaiah his vision was not big enough; his dream was too small. " God said, 'It's not a big enough job for my servant just to recover the tribes of Jacob. I'm setting you up as a light for the nations so that my salvation becomes global!'" (Isaiah 49:6)

Our mission is the Global Glory of God, because God is not satisfied with anything less than the salvation of all nations.

FIVE GLOBAL GIANTS

1. Spiritual Emptiness

People are lost. Sin has broken their relationship with God. They have little to live on and less to live for. They don't know the message of Salvation.  The number one result of broken relationships is conflict. Where there is spiritual emptiness there is conflict.

2. Self-centered Leaders

There are two kinds of leaders: selfish leaders and servant leaders.
When the wrong kind of people get into power their attitude changes. They begin to use people for their own benefit.
Somehow, service over time becomes "serve-us."

3. Extreme Poverty

You have no idea how bad it can be. Most of the world would love to have America's problems. The poorest of the poor in America are wealthy by the world's standards. Half the world lives on less than $2/day. A billion people live on less than $1/day.

4. Pandemic Diseases

Billions of people suffer from curable or preventable diseases.  30,000 children die every single day of preventable diseases. We have a tsunami in the world every eight days! The world lacks the leaders who will say, "Enough is enough! We're going to stop this!"

5. Illiteracy & Education

Billions of people have little, or no, education.

There is only one group big enough to solve this problem. It is the Church.

The PEACE PLAN: What Jesus Did!

1. Jesus preached reconciliation.

He said we must reconcile with God (vertical concern) and reconcile with other people (horizontal concern).

"God reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation." (2 Cor. 5:18)

2. Jesus equipped servant leaders.

"Jesus appointed twelve as apostles that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach." (Mark 3:14)  Jesus loved everybody, trained the 70, disciples the 12 and hung out with the 3.  Jesus invested the maximum amount of time with those who would bear the maximum responsibility.

"The Good Shepherd puts the sheep before himself, sacrifices himself if necessary." (John 10:11)

"Pass on what you heard from me..to reliable leader, who are competent to teach others." (2 Timothy 2:2)

3. Jesus assisted the poor.

"If you see someone in need and have the means to do something about it, but turn a cold shoulder and do nothing, what happens to God's love in you? It disappears!" (1 John3:17)

4. Jesus cared for the sick.

"Wherever Jesus went,he healed people of every sort of disease and illness." (Matthew 9:35)

"You have failed to care for the sick or strengthen the weak or bandage the injured ones. You have failed to bring back the strays or looks for the lost.  On the contrary, you've treated them cruelly and harshly... So this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I now consider you my enemies, and I will hold you responsibility for what has happened to my flock." (Ezekiel 34:4,10)

5. Jesus educated the next generation.

"God commanded our ancestors to teach their children, so the next generation might know the truth - and even the children not yet born may in turn teach their children. So each generation can set its hope anew on God." (Psalm 78:5-7)

FIVE GLOBAL GIANTS

1. Spiritual Emptiness

2. Self-centered Leaders

3. Extreme Poverty

4. Pandemic Diseases

5. Illiteracy & Education