1
Session 3
THE TRUE CONDITION
OF OUR WORLD
A. WAKE-UP CALL
September 11, 2001 in retrospect.
"What am I supposed to do as a Christ-
follower, preacher and evangelist to
respond to this "new" world?
B. HAD ANYTHING REALLY CHANGED?
i. Catastrophic Evil
Rwanda genocide
800,000 slaughtered in 7 years
Pol Pot regime in Cambodia
2,000,000 murdered (1975-1979)
Holocaust
Annihilation of 6,000,000
Stalin's Dictatorship-Forced Famine
7,000,000 dead (1932-1933)
ii. Several weeks after 9/11, people from all
over the United States flooded churches
and mosques. They came looking for
assurance, hope , help, compassion,
understanding but did not find it in the
church.
"The American church have been so
insulated from the suffering of our world
that we did not know how to respond.
The church-God's agent for change in the
world responded largely with platitudes
from the pulpit and inactivity in the streets
when the world needed us most"
C. RAW, HOPELESS, STRICKEN....
BUT TRUE
i. Two billion people live on less than
$2 per day.
ii. Tsunami in Indonesia (2004)
250,000 people died.
250,000 people die every 40 days
of AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa
iii. Hurricane Katrina's landfall in New
Orleans and Mississippi Gulf Coast.
1836 victims
About 1800 people or more die
every 46 minutes from the lack of clean
water
An estimated $10 billion per year would be
sufficient to take on the task of providing
clean water for every human being on
the planet.
In perspective, Americans spend $10 billion
each year on movies and $40 billion on pets
and pet products.
D. WE OWE IT ALL TO ADAM...& EVE
i. Each of us must come to terms with the
true condition of our world.
ii. Read Psalm 19:8
The precepts of the Lord are right,
giving joy to the heart.
The commands of the Lord are radiant,
giving light to the eyes.
iii. Read Matthew 13:15
For this peoples heart
has become calloused;
they hardly hear with their ears,
and they have closed their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their hearts
and turn, and I would heal them.
iv. Read Isaiah 6:9
He said, Go and tell this people:
Be ever hearing, but never understanding;
be ever seeing, but never perceiving.
v. Read Ephesians 1:18
I pray that the eyes of your heart may be
enlightened in order that you may know the
hope to which he has called you, the riches
of his glorious inheritance in his holy people,
What is the connection God has created
between the eyes and the heart?
Why is this connection necessary for
God to work in the world?
2
THINK
What is the real condition of our world?
What is the best approach for our
involvement?
vi. The condition of our world today is caused
by the fall of man resulting in sin entering
the world.
Genesis 3:1-21
The Fall of Man
The Punishment for Sin
vii. The suffering we see and the injustice
that permeates our societies are nothing
more than the symptoms of sin.
viii. The result of sin on humanity was both
physical and spiritual.
ix. If sin is the true culprit, then every issue
of poverty, injustice and oppression has
a spiritual element to it.
We can't solve these symptomatic problems
without tackling the problem of sin.
Without spiritual transformation, we will
never have social transformation.
x. God is just. So, He punished Adam and all
of creation in response to sin.
(Gen. 3:17-19)
xi. We're all born into this sin and we all
suffer the consequences of God's
judgment. The effect of sin are experienced
in every part of creation.
xii. Read Romans 8:18-23
Present Suffering and Future Glory
18
I consider that our present sufferings are
not worth comparing with the glory that will
be revealed in us.
19
For the creation waits
in eager expectation for the children of God
to be revealed.
20
For the creation was
subjected to frustration, not by its own
choice, but by the will of the one who
subjected it, in hope
21
that[a] the creation
itself will be liberated from its bondage to
decay and brought into the freedom and
glory of the children of God.
22
We know that the whole creation has
been groaning as in the pains of childbirth
right up to the present time.
23
Not only so,
but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of
the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait
eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the
redemption of our bodies.
QUESTION
How does creation pay the price of sin
entering our world?
Write down the key result of sin on
creation.
xiii. Read Romans 8:19-22
"The creation waits in eager expectation for
the sons of God to be revealed. For the
creation was subjected to frustration, not by
its own choice but by the will of the one who
subjected it, in hope that the creation itself
will be liberated from its bondage to decay
and brought into the glorious freedom of the
children of God. We know that the whole
creation has been groaning as in the pains
of childbirth right up to the present time"
Note:
(a) Creation is paying a price for the sin of
man because the world is subject to
decay and death.
(b) All the world (not just humanity) is
experiencing frustration, bondage and
decay.
(c) Creation is in fact awaiting for the
redemption of God's children.
(d) v.20 : When Christ comes again in all
His glory to redeem His church, all of
creation will be redeemed with it.
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E. IN THE MEANTIME
i. THINK
What should the church do in the meantime?
Basically, the church is called to do two
essential things:
a. Announce the good news
of the coming of the kingdom
of God and the gift of salvation
through Jesus Christ
ACTION
Tell them that the Lord is coming
and redemption is at hand.
We can be reconciled to God through
the saving work of Jesus Christ.
b. Provide the signs (valid proofs)
of God's coming redemption by doing
the good works that God has
prepared in advance for us to do.
(Ephesians 2:10)
ACTION
The good works involve feeding
people, clothing people and providing
for the needs of people.
ii. In Matthew 9 & 10, Jesus sent out His
team of 12 disciples for ministry
assignment.
Matthew 10:7-8
"As you go, announce this: "The
kingdom of heaven has come near.'
Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse
those with skin diseases, drive out
demons. You have received free of
charge; give free of charge."
Note:
Jesus was extremely specific.
Preach ... do good works!
iii. Philip "....proclaimed the good news
about the kingdom of God and the name
Jesus Christ, both men and women were
baptised" (Acts 8:12)
iv. Paul also carried out this important
ministry:
In Acts 28:23, Paul "...from dawn to dusk
expounded and witnessed about the kingdom
of God. He persuaded them concerning
Jesus from both the Law of Moses and the
Prophets"
v. When Christ comes again, all of us who have
accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour
will be ushered into this long-awaited
kingdom of God. Until then, through both
word and deed, we are to give witness to
God's love to a lost world.
vi. We've been given a special invitation from
God, a mission that only the people of God
can accomplish. The very mission of the
church is to go out among the dying, the
hurt and the needy and to share the good
news of salvation in Jesus through word
and deed.
vii. God's plan is to use us to provide for the
immediate needs of the people.
Through the service and sacrifice of the
people of God, the gospel is proclaimed to a
world in agony.
As Gary Haugen often says, the church is
God's Option A," and He doesn't have an
"Option B."
viii. THINK
As the people of God, are we abdicating our
role as God's agent for change in the world?
How does this affect the big picture of God's
plan to redeem the world?
F. TAKING IT FURTHER (I)
i. Watch It
Watch the news this week with purpose!
Pay attention to stories relating to poverty,
suffering and justice.
ii. Research It
After that, look up for more information
on the internet regarding some of those
stories, to gain a better understanding.
iii. Talk About It
During the week, bring up the issue you
have examined with someone in your
conversation at least once.
Talk about what you have learned.
Also, listen to someone else's perspective
without judging it.
iv. Take this chance to begin meaningful
dialogue that will lead to prayer,
transformation and action.
Notes prepared by William Yeong for Care Group
meetings based on Todd Phillips's
GET UNCOMFORTABLE. Lifeway Press. (2013)
