Giant(s)

Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd's bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine.
1 Samuel 17:40

In yesterday's post I talked about how David ran confidently into battle because he knew the Lord would help him defeat Goliath.

Why then, did he need 5 stones if he was so confident? It only took one.

Goliath had 4 giant brothers; ever been in a fight with brothers?

Since the days of Goliath there have been giants, they stand and mock and keep people from living the life God intended.

There are still five Giants today that represent some of the world's biggest problems affecting billions, not just millions, of people. They are:

Spiritual Emptiness

Over 4.5 billion people in the world do not know Jesus Christ. Of these, 2 billion people have never even heard the Christian message.

Self-centered Leadership
Self-centered or corrupt leaders are abusing their power to serve themselves instead of using their power and influence for the good of those who need help the most.

Extreme Poverty
More than 8 million people around the world die every year due to extreme poverty related issues. Over 1 billion people live on less than 1 dollar a day.

Pandemic Diseases
Currently, 300 million people suffer from curable diseases; most of these are under the age of five. There are over 40 million people infected with HIV/AIDS resulting in 15 million children losing one or both parents.

Illiteracy & Lack of Education
Over 3 billion people, half of the world's population, are functionally illiterate.

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.

I am a part of the P.E.A.C.E. Plan, which is a massive effort to mobilize all Christians around the world into an outreach effort to attack the five global, evil giants of our day. Simply put, the P.E.A.C.E. Plan is about ordinary people, empowered by God, making a difference together wherever they are.

God has a history of calling average men and women into his service. This is demonstrated over and over again in Scripture.

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 are powerless to shame those who are powerful." 1 Corinthians 1:26-27

The P.E.A.C.E. Plan is profoundly simple. P.E.A.C.E. is about every member of your church being on mission and in community/small groups of believers doing just what Jesus did:

Plant Churches …to address the giant of spiritual emptiness

Jesus is the antidote for spiritual blindness.

"Jesus said to the people, 'I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won't be stumbling through the darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life." John 8:12

Equip Servant Leaders … to address the giant of corrupt leadership

Jesus called out and mentored leaderless people.

"Jesus call out to them, 'Come, be my disciples, and I will show you how to fish for people!" Mark 1:17

Assist the Poor … to address the giant of extreme poverty

Jesus identified with people of poverty.

"You know how full of love and kindness our Lord Jesus Christ was. Though he was very rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty he could make you rich." 2 Corinthians 8:9

Care for the Sick … to address the giant of pandemic diseases and care for those who suffer from them

Jesus restored health to people with sickness or disease.

"He healed people who had every kind of sickness and disease. News about him spread far beyond the borders of Galilee so that the sick were soon coming to be healed from as far away as Syria. And whatever their illness and pain, or if they were possessed by demons, or were epileptics, or were paralyzed – he healed them all."
Matt 4:23-24

Educate the Next Generation … to address the giant of illiteracy and lack of education

Jesus taught people who lacked understanding.

"After Jesus finished speaking, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, for he taught as one who had real authority- quite unlike the teachers of religious law." Matt 7:28-29

David believed God was who He said He was and that the battle was His, so he picked up the stones that would take down the giants.

Will you?