Pastor Jon Burgess
January 28, 2018 - W1804

Aloha, New Hope and all of you watching online! Today, I want to talk to you about what faith is like when it comes to Extreme Temple Makeover. If faith only works within the walls of the church, it’s not faith at all.

Ephesians 2:17-22 NIV says, “He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through Him, we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of His household, built on the foundation of apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the chief cornerstone. In Him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy Temple in the Lord. And in Him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by His Spirit.”

The three Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) talk about Jesus cleansing the Temple. He comes into the Temple and turns over the tables of moneychangers who were exchanging Roman coins for Jewish coins and frees all the cattle, sheep, and doves that were to be used for offering sacrifices.

Was it a temple tantrum? (Sorry, bad Pastor joke!) No, it wasn’t a temple tantrum! It was a righteous sense of indignation that said, “Why are you using the Temple for something it wasn’t supposed to be used for?” They were taking advantage of the poor, not allowing the lame, sick, blind, mute, women, children, or Gentiles to enter the Temple. Jesus was doing a prophetic act of what the Temple was supposed to be and what it would eventually become.

As soon as Jesus did that, Matthew 21 records that the lame and sick started coming towards Jesus and He healed them right in the Temple; children started shouting in the temple area, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” and the religious leaders were indignant!

Extreme Temple Makeover is that God is calling us home to be whole and holy. The house of the Father was to be open to everyone, but the religious leaders were taking advantage of the people who desperately needed to know God’s love. This was a temporary makeover, but Jesus was about to go on the cross to provide a permanent makeover of the Temple. It wouldn’t be just stones, but souls. The Temple is not located at an address but would be located in every place that you and I go! The extreme temple makeover that Jesus wanted to see is…

1. COME AS YOU ARE: HOME

Acts 2:36-39 says, “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah. When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, ‘Brothers, what shall we do?’ Peter replied, ‘Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.” 

God was talking about us. He welcomes the Gentiles into the presence of God (those who are weak, broken, lame, or with a checkered past) and He makes us temples of the Holy Spirit!

[Video]

PASTOR JON: To help us understand what that looks like in a real practical way, let’s go inside Jacque Rojas’ Salon on Kapiolani Boulevard. Jacque has been doing this for 20 years. At the end of the year, she had a vision to be able to bless some special servants at each of our six New Hope Oahu campuses by giving them a makeover.

JACQUE: The only thing I ask is that it be someone that exemplifies the mission statement of the church. The message when they come here is to thank them for everything they’ve done. They don’t know why they’re here or why they were chosen. They cannot give me anything—no tipping, no gifts.

What happens is when you selflessly serve, you forget about yourself, and you don’t know how to receive and so you burn yourself out! This is a chance to empower someone who has been so devoted and to validate and honor them for what they do and for who they are. For many of them, this is the first time they have to sit and do absolutely nothing! It’s only about them. They have to sit here. They have to receive everything!

PASTOR JON: Jacque is using her gifts, literally changing lives, starting from the outside, but going to the inside, reminding them of who they are. I am praying Jacque’s story inspires others. Maybe you don’t have a salon. Maybe you work elsewhere and have different gifts. Use that gift to bless somebody else.

[End Video]

Just as Jacque is intentionally reaching out making sure that people are served, you and I must be intentional too. Wouldn’t it be awesome if we were like Jacque? Oftentimes, life gets busy and stressful and sometimes we can’t handle it any more and we just want to hide. God is saying, “I want you to remember who you are. You have been called to share with the world what you have been given—Jesus!”

2.   REMEMBER WHO YOU ARE: WHOLE

We must never forget that we are temples of the Holy Spirit and that we are to show the world what it looks like when a broken person is made whole through Jesus Christ.

If we find our identity in our brokenness rather than in Christ’s brokenness, we forget who we are and instead of understanding that Jesus conquered sin, death, and hell, we are hiding away from the world as the disciples did and give people a wrong message. Soon they will see us as defensive and argumentative. The world may know what we are against, but do they know that we are for them? Extreme Temple Makeover looks like…

Acts 2:44-47 says, “All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad 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.”

How did that happen? When the Holy Spirit moves through each of us, we are no longer the same people. When you welcome the Holy Spirit into your heart, you become a Temple of the Holy Spirit and begin to see things happen in your relationships.

You don’t have to jump through hoops to know Jesus. You don’t have to know all the scriptures. You won’t be expected to act like you’re saved. We want you to come and share a relationship with Jesus. And we become the Christians people want to be around. They will want to ask, “How can you have hope in the middle of your hardship? It is a relationship, a natural fusion with the supernatural when the Holy Spirit moves in and takes over every square foot of your life.

The disciples were hiding behind closed doors and Jesus walked through the doors. He looked at His disciples in the eyes and reminded them “Peace be with you.” They were feeling anything but peace. They thought Jesus was dead. They thought everything was wrong. They thought they had messed up and were going to be crucified along with Jesus. So what could they do? They hid behind closed doors.

A door doesn’t bother Jesus; He just walks through saying, “This is not where you’re supposed to be. I conquered sin, death, and hell to make you whole so you can go into the world and let others know they can be made whole, as well.”

If we’re not careful, we will begin to find our identity in our broken places instead of where Christ has made us whole. He took our punishment upon Himself. Some Christians don’t ever walk into the wholeness of God because of the awful things that have been done to them, and they become defensive—questioning their faith and the brokenness, the hurt, and the pain. God loves you right where you are and wants to make you whole in the middle of any brokenness.

3. SHARE WHERE YOU ARE: HOLY

When you hear the term “holy man” what comes to your mind? Jesus? The Pope? Maybe it’s someone who wears a clerical collar, a monk in a far off monastery? All of these are examples of people who are holy but is not the full definition of what it means to be holy.

One of my favorite definitions of holiness is from Pastor Wayne, our senior pastor. He says, “Holiness is not so much about what we’re keeping ourselves from as what we’re giving ourselves to.” I love that. Holy means to be set apart. We’re not going after the same sins and do the same things we did before we came to know Christ.

Start using your life talking to people, conversing and relating with them, showing them how God has met you and made you whole. Everyone knows Jesus Christ through a relationship. Someone cared enough to share Jesus with you; you were transformed from hiding behind a closed door and being defensive in your faith, into a person opening the doors of your lives to share and show the world how real our God is.

When you ask Christ into your heart and welcome the Holy Spirit, you become the temple of the Holy Spirit. You will begin to see things happen in your lives, relationships, and the world around you. You don’t have to jump through hoops. You don’t have to know all the scriptures. Just come and have a relationship with us and let us share Jesus with you.

The best message you can bring to the world around you doesn’t have to be delivered on a stage.   It is a message of your life: How Jesus is leading you as you’re raising your kids, working on your marriage, or advancing your career. Jesus is in every one of those places—that’s the temple of the Holy Spirit. Everywhere you are, He is! That’s amazing.

QUESTIONS:

1. How did you first learn about Jesus?

2. What can you share with someone who doesn’t know Jesus?

3. Who took the time to tell you about Christ?

4. How do circumstances determine your faith in good times and bad?