Pastor Aaron Cordeiro
November 9, 2014 - W1445

[Pastor Aaron]

I want to share with you a few things I feel that made New Hope so special. Then we're going to shift gears and my dad is going to come up and share from the Holy Land on some reasons why the early church was not just unique but one of the most powerful movements on the face of the planet.

One of the reasons why New Hope was so special was this:

1. New Hope was always a church that believed in people's potential.

    I think about the people around here that are serving up front or serving on stage or serving in the back. There was someone that believed in their potential, in my potential. We would not be here today if there wasn't someone that believed in your and my potential.

    I want us to read a scripture that is just so beautiful that really captures the heart of God as well as a value that we hold high here at New Hope.

    1 Corinthians 2:9 says,

    “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”

    How many of you love the Lord?  He's got magnificent, wonderful promises for people like you and me.  So if that's true that God has these massive, magnificent, amazing promises for people like you and me, then your best years are yet ahead of you.  That means we can get better. I think that is why New Hope has always been such a special church, because we don't freeze dry people to their past mistakes, but believe that their best days are yet ahead.

1. We've always been a church that has been resourceful.

    I remember the time when our family was moving from the Big Island to Honolulu. And because the congregation asked their friends and relatives in Honolulu to come to our service, we ended up with 700 people attending church at Stevenson Intermediate School. We did not have enough chairs for everyone but from the offering we received we were able to purchase 700 chairs for the next service.

    And I recall another time when we leased the Stan Sheriff for our 7^th anniversary service and at the last minute UH tells us that they had a game two hours before our service. So what did we do? We put all the gear, sound equipment, seats, etc. at the top rafters of the arena. So when the game ended all we had to do was bring it down to the floor. In two hours we had everything set up for the service.

2. New Hope was a church that's committed to the scriptures.

    Revelation 21:22 says,

    “And I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God, the almighty, and lamb are its temple, and the city has no need of the sun or the moon to shine upon it for the glory of God has illumined it and its lamp is the lamb.”

    New Hope was not only resourceful, but we don’t need a building and the lights and the fun things; all we need is the presence of God and we are okay.

    In 2 Timothy 3:16-17 it says,

“All scriptures are inspired by God, profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training and righteousness, so the man of God may be adequately equipped for every good work.”

 Therefore, here's the promise for all of us.  If we love God, our best days are ahead of us, and God will continue to use this church called New Hope in great ways.  But what makes a good church?  What is it that allows a church to thrive and grow?  Well, we want to go all the way back to the Holy Land and see and hear with our own eyes what God might speak to people like you and me about what we should listen to today.

 [Pastor Wayne in video from the Middle East]

 Aloha from the Holy Land.  We've traveled thousands of miles to come here and we're excited to be here, so I would say to you, “Shalom.”  I wanted to greet you this weekend from the Holy Land, an absolutely amazing country that still resonates with the life of Christ.

 On our first stop we’re headed to the Philistine country. Then it’s off to Jordan where Esau and Jacob lived. Then we take a swim in the Dead Sea, then on to Jericho, the first land conquered by Joshua. Later we stop at Galilee where Jesus fed the 5,000. Further we arrive at Mount Carmel where Elijah defeats the 850 prophets of Baal and Asherah. Finally we come to the highlights of every trip---the Holy Land. It’s the old city of Jerusalem where Jesus walked among the people and performed many miracles. And it is the place where Jesus life ended and our redemption began.

 Acts 2:46-47 describe the kind of people that God used to build the early church:

 “Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts.  They broke bread in their homes and ate together with gladness and sincere hearts praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people, and the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.”

 Did you catch those two last words---being saved?

There's a big difference between saved and being saved because salvation isn't just a one?time event that just happened long ago.  It can happen every moment, in each and every day.  It's an ongoing process of likeness, of change, of learning, of being renewed.  There's a huge difference between someone who just got saved long ago and someone still being saved, and God was adding together those kinds of people.  Both the Christians, the one that God saved long ago and nothing took place since then, and the other is one that has a fresh growing, learning, changing experience.  The other experienced God's touch that’s living off of maybe yesterday's experience.  But there are others who are still being saved.  Both met the Lord, but one relationship is stopped.  The other, it's still fresh.  And we've all met people who got saved back in the '70s or '60s or '80s, and they haven't gotten any more saved since then.  They can be crotchety and they can sort of be squeaky whenever they move; everything seems hard.  On the other hand, we've met people that are still being saved.  There's something fresh and exhilarating about them, and they're staying current with what the Holy Spirit is saying, walks where he's walking now and saying what he's still saying today.

 Although we are here in Israel, and it's amazing to be walking where Jesus once walked, what’s even more amazing is to meet people and to walk with people, to be with people right here at New Hope who are walking where Jesus is still walking, learning what Jesus is still teaching; because, he's not only just a historical figure provable in history and archeology.  He's alive today walking with us right now, right here, and that's what makes your relationship with Jesus so special, so fresh, and so real.

 So let me encourage you all the way from the other side of the earth, this week, walk where Jesus is walking, say what Jesus is saying.  You see, we're hearing what he said, walking where he walked, but let's all walk where He is walking now, say what Jesus is saying now.  Let him encourage someone through you today.  Let him hug someone through you today.  It could be your spouse or your parent or your child, a friend, a neighbor, but let him live through you today, and when you do what Jesus is doing and when you walk where Jesus not only walked but is walking, then it doesn't matter if you're in Hawaii or in the Holy Land because in either place, you'll be fine because you will be in the Holy Land because the Holy Land is where Jesus is walking today. 

 From all of us over here on the other side of the world, we want to send you our Shalom, our love.  Thank you for supporting us, praying for us. 

 [Pastor Aaron]

 The question might be this:  Where is the Holy Land?  Where is the promise for people like you and me?  Maybe it would be asking ourselves the question, “Lord, what are you saying?  Today would you run those words or would you say that through me.  Lord, what are you thinking maybe about my spouse or my kids?  Lord, would you run those thoughts through me.  Oh, dear God, what are you behaving like today?  Lord, would you run that behavior through me.  Lord, what are you feeling towards my loved ones?  Would you feel those feelings towards me today?  Lord, who are you forgiving?  Who are you willing to forgive?  Father, would you run that forgiveness through me.”

 And wherever we go today, and it can start today, wherever we walk, it will be on holy ground.  When we gather as a family, when we have family gatherings, there can be holy ground.  When we come to worship before God, there can be holy ground.  When you are on your way to work and arrive at that wonderful workplace that you go to, even there can be holy ground because it's not a geographical location, but it is where Jesus is walking. 

 And the question is, “Are we following?”  It's my prayer today that as Christ had made the call to every single one of us: “Come follow me”, that we would follow Him with all of our hearts.  Amen?

 Questions:

1. What are three reasons why New Hope is special?

2. What makes a good church?

3. What is the difference between saved and being saved?

4. Why is the Holy Land located wherever Jesus walks and not only in Jerusalem?

5. Where are some places that can be the Holy Land?