Pastor Elwin Ahu
September 1, 2002 - W0235

The saying goes, ìYou canít judge a book by its cover. Itís whatís inside that counts.î Well, the same is true about churchesóappearances can be deceiving. A churchís building alone doesnít make any difference or have any impact on the world. Itís what is on the inside of the churchóits peopleóthat makes all the difference.       

It was the faith of a group of men who actually busted through a building that once caught the attention of Jesus Himself, and made a difference in their friends life: ìA few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. So many gathered that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them.î

ìAnd they came, bringing to Him a paralytic, carried by four men. And being unable to get to Him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above Him; and when they had dug an opening, they let down the pallet on which the paralytic was lying. And Jesus seeing their faith said to the paralytic, ëMy son, your sins are forgiven.íî (Mark 2:1-5)

These four friends represent the Church, and the paralytic represents a world paralyzed by apathy, indifference, selfish ambition, greed, lack of leadership, government bureaucracy and broken relationships. The paralytic could be a friend or a family member who has been paralyzed financially because of heavy debts. Itís apparent that by responding with actionóas the four friends didóthe Church can make a difference in a paralyzed world. This response will exhibit the kind of faith that catches Jesusí attention. Itís a faith strong enough to carry whomever we need to make a difference with right before the Lord. Then we begin to change the world, and we truly become people who make a difference. You see, itís not about programs, itís about people. In this lesson weíll discover three key characteristics of world-changers.

PEOPLE WHO MAKE A DIFFERENCE:

1. Respond to God-given opportunities.

Many people were there that day that Jesus, the Master Communicator, was teaching. But rather than the four friends just listening and taking in more teaching, these four men decided to take action. This was their God-given opportunity to get their sick friend to the Lord. By choosing to respond to an opportunity, these were men of action. And, they became people who made a difference.

The book of Luke records a similar story in a different way: ìAnd the Lordís healing power was strongly with Jesus. Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a sleeping mat [and]... tried to push through the crowd to Jesus...î (Luke 5:17-19 NLT)

Not only were these four men action-oriented, they were also sensitive to a situation where their friend could be healed. These friends believed Jesus had the healing power and did something about it. They could have left their paralytic friend at home and said, ìCall us if you need anything,î then gone out to hear Jesus, but they didnít. They werenít satisfied by just listening, nor were they interested in any more studying. Their faith in action came naturally when the opportunity allowed it. They didnít hesitate or procrastinate, they did appreciate the magnitude of the moment and seized the opportunity.

ìYet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.î (James 4:14)

Q1: In your spiritual growth, have you grown to the point where youíre able to respond naturally with action or do you need to hear more?

Q2: Is there a God-given opportunity in your life right now that you can respond to?

As a church, weíve had some good projects during this ìMaking a Differenceî series. Immediately following the ìImagine a Churchî message, we received hundreds upon hundreds of project suggestions from our members. Weíre in the process of deciding which idea weíre going to use first. This upcoming Saturday, September 7^th, we will be painting and cleaning the Kuhio Park Terrace low-income housing development. (Youíre invited!) We also have a Thanksgiving lunch for Farrington High School (our temporary church facility) as well as for the rest of the community. Upcoming projects will be highlighted and announced so you can be a part of a God-given opportunity in our community.

Even if we as a church have projects lined up, if God has placed a project on your heart to make a difference, please donít wait for the church! Please donít wait for us to call you, or wait for us to organize it. Simply respond at the opportunity God has given you. Go for it!

About a week ago, we got a call from the MDA telethon saying they needed help. Although it was a last minute thing, I called someone and this person was not only willing but responded by organizing it! Within a weekís time he drafted and coordinated 100 volunteers! Letís be a church of like-hearted people, ready to roll and make a difference when the opportunities present themselves. Just go for it!

Q3: What or who has the Lord placed on your heart and in your life that you need to make a difference with? What practical ways are you able to help, believing God will take care of the rest?

God will give us opportunities all the time, the question is what will our response be. Will our response be the same as the four friendsí? People who are responsive to God-given opportunities are proactive, they move and get the job done. Not only do proactive people respond to opportunities, they respond with a bold and confident faith. This brings us to the second key characteristic of people who make a difference: TheyÖ

2. Possess an audacious faith.

Possessing an audacious faith is believing strongly, without a doubt that the Lord will do what He says He will do. Itís a confidence in the Lord that is unshakeable. Thatís the kind of faith necessary to be a world-changer and to make Kingdom differences.

Thatís the kind of faith the four friends exhibited: ìThey couldnít get to Jesus through the crowd, so they dug through the clay roof above His head. Then they lowered the sick man on his matÖî (Mark 2:3-4 NLT)

Visualize what these four men did, and you see for yourself that they really wanted their friend to see Jesus! There was no stopping themónot the crowd, not the roof, nothing! This behavior was extreme and this just didnít make any sense. But thatís what caught Jesusí attention. However extreme their conduct might have been, they believed and trusted Jesus cared more about people than He does about buildings.

This is exactly the kind of faith we should have and how we should live our Christian lives. Possessing an audacious faith thatís bold and confident, believing and trusting that the Lord will do exactly what He says He would do, regardless of the cost. ìAnd without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.î (Heb. 11:6)

Our faith is to be based upon who God is and not what He can do. Not once did the Bible say they asked Him to heal their friend. Their role was to believe Jesus was the Healer. Whether God healed was up to Him. They left that to God. They simply fulfilled their side of the equation by lowering their paralytic friend before Jesus. And Jesus honored that faith.

I think about how Pastor Wayne and his wife Anna had an audacious faith by moving from Hilo to Honolulu to start this church. I think about Carol Ann and Dan Shima who left their professions just to help Pastor Wayne and Anna build this church. These are full-time volunteers who are not concerned with results, but with a deep bold abiding confidence that God will take care of the rest. As a result of their faith, my life was saved, and Iím here today because of what they did. I owe so much to how much theyíve exercised their faith. If you study the Bible, youíll find that the fulfillment of Godís promises was always accomplished by people who responded to God-given opportunities with audacious faith.

Q3: Do you know someone with an audacious faith? Share what s/he has done to impact your life, or the lives of others, for Jesus.

Q4: How bold is your faith? Do you believe deeply that God does what He says? What are some of His promises concerning you?

As world-changers we first take the step of responding to God-given opportunities. Second, go forward with an audacious faith. And the third and final key of people who make a difference, is we also need to be people who...

3. Are thrilled about showing other to Jesus.

The excitement of showing others to Jesus is what drives world-changers like these four friends. They were so motivated that they did whatever they could so their friend could see Jesus. Notice that their goal wasnít so much so that Jesus would see their friend, but for their friend to see the Lord. They knew that once theyíre friend saw Jesus, his life would be totally changed, never to be the same again.

ì...[They] let him down through the tiles with his stretcher, right in the center, in front of Jesus. And seeing their faith, He said, ëFriend, your sins are forgiven you.íî (Luke 5:19-20)

Q5: In the past, has the Lord brought an opportunity before you to take action? What did you do?

As we see, programs or church buildings alone wonít make a differenceÖ unless Jesus Christ is at the heart of it. While I sat on the bench as a judge, I saw a lot of programs. Being that they were never Christ-centered, individuals came right back through my court again. I made sure that people I sentenced knew about Jesus Christ. There were certain defendants that I felt the Lord saying, ìCall them into chambers and tell them about the Lord, and see what happens in their life.î Even if I was to suffer criticism for doing what I did, I completely trusted the Lord. Regardless of how many programs we may engage in, if people arenít seeing Jesus through us, then weíve missed that opportunity to make a difference. It isnít necessarily to drag people to church; itís allowing the light of Jesus Christ to shine through us.

ìYou are the salt of the earth... You are the light of the world... Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.î (Mt. 5:13-14,16)

Q6: Of the three world-changer characteristics, which one are you best at? Which one needs the most improvement in your life?

Final Q: What point impacted you most & how will you be different by what youíve learned today?

Many Mahalos to Doreen Rabaino for this Sermon Summary!