ISIS, Radical Violence and The Gospel
ISIS is a problem...a MAJOR problem that we cannot look away from.
Some may say this is simply a political issue that the church should not get involved in... I say it is a humanity issue that must not be ignored.
The goal of the group known as ISIS is found in their name: an Islamic state in Iraq and Syria. ISIS is terrorizing the Middle East by forcing over one million people from their homes and holding some innocent adults and children hostage. ISIS is violently taking control of towns and regions, and even executing several American and British civilians on video.
One of the worst things that has ever happened in the history of humanity is the Holocaust. It was brought on by a man named Adolf Hitler, who used a distorted view of God and Christianity to aim violent hatred at Jewish people...and he would make moves to acquire land, oppress people and then claimed he would go no further.
People believed him... and sat on their hands and did nothing...
The result was that an estimated SIXTY MILLION people lost their lives!
Edmond Burke once said, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”
Which brings me back to the current crisis in Iraq and Syria...
Remember- While Hitler said he intended to go "no further," ISIS has said they intend to go all the way!
While Hitler was subversive and quiet and kept his murder of innocent people a secret from the world, ISIS broadcasts beheadings of innocent people on YouTube.
Hitler’s army was considered at one time to be small in number; therefore not a significant threat to the world. However, because of the silence of the nations he became so powerful that it took the entire world working together and MILLIONS of lives to finally put a stop to his brutality.
And if something is not done NOW I believe one day our country could be facing a very similar situation with ISIS in our own back yard.
ISIS is the leader of radicalized Islam. Some say "the majority of Muslims are peaceful," which I would say is true. However, we cannot ignore the threat of radical people just because the majority are peaceful...
...because...
There are around 1.2 billion Muslims in the world. Intelligence estimates that between 15-25% are radicalized. While that is NOT the majority it does mean that between 180 million and 300 million (nearly the equivalent of the population of the US) are radicalized, which is a number that cannot be ignored.
The radicalized Muslim...
1 - Wants to finish Hitler's plan by destroying Israel (the only democracy in the Middle East.).
2 - Oppresses the rights of women and treats them like they are property rather than human beings.
3 - Seeks to advance their cause through a "convert or die" methodology!
And this is a big deal because I've heard it said that those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it!
What can we do about it?
1 – Be Passionate - As followers of Jesus we MUST become more passionate than ever for the Gospel. Jesus changing hearts is the only thing that can truly change the world! Radicalized Muslims cannot be negotiated with...but they CAN be changed by Jesus. We must believe that He is ABLE to do this and be willing to pray that they will see the light and meet Christ.
2 – Protect Our Hearts - As followers of Jesus we must guard our hearts and minds from hating the people of ISIS...we can hate what they stand for and what they do, but we must realize that, if it were not for the grace of God, we could have very easily been one of them.
3 – Pray for People - Pray for the protection of the people who are being murdered by this group, pray for those on the run for their lives to be protected and pray for the leaders of the world that they will drop the guise of political correctness and deal with this problem head on.
4 – Participate by Helping – I believe the Church (and specifically NewSpring Church) needs to do something to help. Our biggest desire is to help people who have been displaced, injured or have had family members murdered because of ISIS. We are in the process of identifying how we can best help these people and ultimately point them back to Jesus. We will communicate details as to how we can do this as soon as possible.
The ISIS situation is not just “their problem to deal with in the Middle East,” it’s OUR PROBLEM because it involves people Jesus died for. Jesus is not done with the mess and brokenness in our world, and it’s because of this we can all believe that the best is yet to come!