International Christian Concern's video: Why We Serve the Persecuted Part 1

For years, International Christian Concern has been at the front lines of persecution ministry, with ICC president Jeff King at the helm. To begin this video mini series, he asks the question, "Why do we serve the persecuted?" King summarizes the Biblical foundation of the mission of ICC to serve God's people in part 1 of the "Why We Serve the Persecuted" video series. Transcription: Simon Sinek is a organizational consultant, he's a marketing consultant, and he burst onto the scene in 2009. In 2009 he put out a Ted Talk and this thing went viral. It's gone around the world. It's been seen by multiple, multiple millions. And it's how great leaders inspire action. You should watch it. It's a favorite of mine Here's the gist of the video. I'm going to break this down for you. So basically he's saying, "Look, I've studied a lot of communications. That's what I do for a living." And he says, "Here's what most companies do. They say what we do and how we do it, and then they finish with why." So here's an example. So this is, these are my words, not his. So we're Ford, we're with a Ford company, and we build great cars and we do it with excellence. That's the how. So we start with what. And then finally why? Because we care about you and we want your family to be safe in a great car. So that'd be the why. So Simon, though, is studying the great communicators. He's looking at the Steve Jobs and others who were just fantastic. And he said, "Oh my gosh, this is weird." He said, "They're all flipping it." He said, "They start with a why." And so let me give you an example. So Tesla. I'm a big fan of Tesla. And you think about what their message is and get this. So here's their boiled down message. The world is facing a carbon crisis. It's cataclysmic what we're facing. So single handedly, we are going to move the world off of oil, off of fossil fuels. And so that's the why, okay. And then how are we going to do it? We're going to do it by building the best electric cars with the best batteries to hold renewable energy. It's going to come from solar roofs or wind or whatever. And then look what they've done. That message was so compelling. That's a big part of why they've taken off. They're not just, he's not just trying to get rich. He really has a mission, and he's really devoted to it. He's built that out, and it's extremely compelling. So think about the why. I do a lot. I think about the why with the persecuted. So why do we serve the persecuted? I mean, I think there's a lot of reasons. You can say, "Well look, the Lord calls us to defend the weak. He calls us to stand up for the oppressed, to be an advocate for those who are being oppressed." And there's all kinds of justice verses, all kinds of mercy verses, but in the end I say it's this. And this is, I saw this in a verse one time, in a passage, and I had read this passage probably a hundred before I read it. I mean before it clicked in my mind. And let me read this to you. So let's see. Saul went to Damascus. This is Acts nine, one through five. Saul went to the Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. And as he neared Damascus, a bright light shone from heaven. It flashed around him. He fell to the ground and he heard a voice say to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" Now this is the first time Saul has heard God's voice. He knows there's a God, but he doesn't know the voice of Jesus. He says, "Whom are you, Lord?" And what does Jesus say to him? He says, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting." So think about this. Jesus didn't say, "You're persecuting the ones I love. You're persecuting my club. You're persecuting my church." What did Jesus say to him? "You're persecuting me." And it's not figurative. You're persecuting me. And it's an identity thing. He's personally involved in it,.he's personally touched by this. And that really says something. And that leads you into something. And then I wrap it all around the concept of one body, which you'll see in scripture a lot, especially in the New Testament. Jesus talks about it a lot. But he says, "We're one body." So let's look at this and do a word study on it. Because if you really get a hold of this, it's going to blow your mind.