Pastor John Tilton
July 15, 2018 - W1828

Welcome to New Hope! We are continuing our Ohana Factor series on the kinds of biblical people we need in our lives. 

Today is a special day because we are celebrating our youth and youth leaders and a story about a young girl named Rhoda. We can learn from our youth by reconnecting with the pureness and innocence of a child—they take everything at face value! The young children hear what their parents tell them and say, “Yes, I believe you. I trust you!” God wants to see that pureness in us.

When Jesus is taken into heaven, King Herod kills James, a follower of Jesus. Some of the Jews were happy because they didn't believe in Jesus and didn’t like His followers.  So King Herod decides to throw Peter into prison with the same intention of killing him after the Passover holiday. He orders 16 soldiers to guard Peter, plus two sentries at the gate. Peter has a big problem—he’s in prison with seemingly no way out!

Sometimes we think of prison as bricks and mortar, but many times we are in prison right where we are—in our finances, work, health, relationships, or addiction and…

We Find Ourselves Imprisoned And Bound By The Chains Of Life! What will it take to get out of that prison and be free again, when the enemy wants us to feel that we’re stuck and have no way out. Here’s what King David prayed:

Psalms 142:7 NIV says, “Set me free from my prison, that I may praise your name. Then the righteous will gather about me because of your goodness to me.”

Prayer is simply communicating with God, saying, “Thank you Lord for all you do,” telling God how much you love Him. It can be prayer of intercession, or just sharing your day by “talking story” with Him. Is your prayer life intimate with sincerity for the Lord? When you pray, do you believe that God hears you, that He is good and faithful? Do you believe that God will set you free? What will it take to feel that freedom once again? The answer is…

1. Pray In Earnest!

Prayer is letting God know your hearts. Acts 12:5 NIV says, “So Peter was kept in prison but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.”

Philippians 4:6 NIV says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” Give it all up!

While Peter sat in jail, God’s people gathered to pray for him. And that night, an angel comes into Peter’s jail cell and wakes him and says, “Peter, get up and follow me!” Peter’s chains fall off, but the soldiers kept sleeping! I believe God wants your chains to fall off and set you free!   Do you believe that God can set you free from whatever you're going through?

Peter thought he was dreaming, but he follows the angel, passing all the guards. When they come to the iron gate of the prison, it swings open on its own! After they walk a few steps into the city, the angel disappears.Peter goes to the house of Mary (mother of John, also known as Mark) and knocks on the door. Rhoda, the servant girl, comes to the door and hears Peter’s voice announcing that he was Peter and that the Lord sent an angel to rescue him from Herod…

Acts 12:14 NIV says, “When she recognized Peter’s voice, she was overjoyed. She ran back without opening it and claimed, “Peter is at the door!’”

The adults didn’t believe that their prayers had been answered and went back to praying. Rhoda keeps insisting that Peter is outside, so they finally listen and open the door and sees Peter—God has freed him! He has answered their prayers!

When Peter knocked on the door, Rhoda was overjoyed—so overjoyed, that she forgot to open the door! Isn’t that like our children? They will make mistakes—forget to open the door, not clean their rooms, forget to brush their teeth—but we get to love and encourage them!

Rhoda was an encourager. She was so moved by the spirit and encouraged the people to be intently connected to know that their prayers were answered. Let us also…

2. Be An Encourager, Not A Drainer!

Pastor Wayne shares a story about how some people walk into a room and it brightens up: brings a smile and lifts the spirits. However, there are others that walk into a room, and a dark cloud follows them—I call them drainers. They can drain the life out of you if you allow them.

Romans15:13 NIV says, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

Rhoda was overjoyed and exuberant. Do you bring joy to people? Do you look at the glass as half full rather than half empty because the Lord is your Lord and Savior and the Holy Spirit is in your heart? Be like Rhoda and be an encourager because…

a) Encouragement Builds One Another Up.

Thessalonians 5:11 NIV says, “Therefore, encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.”

It is a known fact that many of the world’s most successful people (the best athletes, those who amassed great fortunes, done great things) had someone that had encouraged and built them up.

Pastor Wayne tells a story that when he first got into Eugene Bible College, he was struggling academically and wondered if he was supposed to be there. But his professor, Dr. Grace Flint, wrote encouraging words on one of his papers and said, “Wayne, I believe in you—you’re going to do well.” He says that Dr. Flint’s encouragement when he needed it was the turning point in his life that allowed him to achieve everything God had called him to do: Eugene Bible College is now New Hope Christian College; there are 152 New Hope affiliated churches, worldwide; He has written 14 books; helped scores of people come to the Lord—all because someone took time to encourage him!   I challenge you to find someone today that might need a helping hand or a good word that you can bring life to because…

b) Encouragement Can Save A Life.

You never know when God will bring someone into your path and give you a word and the ability to touch and save that life!

Let me share a testimony of someone who was going to commit suicide, but because of spirit-led Pastor Wayne, this person chose to commit his life to the Lord instead, and has been a long-time staff member with New Hope for the past 23 years, and has passed that encouragement on to others!

In 1995, this staff member’s spouse divorced him through no cause or fault of his and because of the divorce he was separated from his children. He was depressed, despondent, and in pain and planned to drive his car off a cliff. He was listening to the radio at the time and Pastor Wayne was preaching a message of hope, so instead of driving off a cliff, he looked up the address for New Hope (which then was on Beretania Street) and drove to the church unannounced and ran into Pastor Wayne’s secretary, Carol Ann Shima, and said, “I would like to see Pastor Wayne.”

Pastor Wayne made time to see him that day and encouraged him and told him three things to remember: Stay close to God, take long walks, and come help me build this church!

Pastor Wayne’s message gave him hope and, today, he is a pillar at New Hope and has encouraged hundreds of people. He found purpose, life, and a new family! God’s providence led Pastor Wayne to speak into his life that day.Oftentimes, encouraging others can be as simple as responding with a kind word, a smile, a helping hand, a prayer, or giving a hug. New Hope has been known as the “hugging church” because everyone hugs. That is encouragement.

3. Be Persistent And Persevere For The Things Of God!

Rhoda persists in telling the adults that Peter is outside. When the adults tell her that it is probably Peter’s angel, she persists because she recognizes Peter's voice —she is standing on what she knows is the truth and believes that their earnest prayers are answered! Are you standing on what you know is the truth of the living word of God? And when you do your devotions and stand on the truth, you too can be as confident and persistent as Rhoda.  

James 1:12 NIV says, “Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love Him.”

Are you willing to persevere and stand on what you know is the truth, to see God's faithfulness; block out all distractions of the world; press in every day in earnest prayer? Trials and tribulations can be devastating and may last many years, but hope comes through Jesus Christ. 

Here’s a testimony of persistence and perseverance from one of our youth leaders:

[Video]

My name is Kuuipo Kohatsu. I was born in 1994 to a mom who was 17—one sister was born two years later and another a year after that.

I can remember eating out of trashcans, living in cars, taking care of my younger siblings, and being taken away from my parents. I had a lot of anger toward my biological parents. I couldn’t imagine parents who are supposed to love their children would choose drugs as a way of life. The last memory of my dad is when he was running from the police, and Child Protective Services came to put all of us together into a home—which we eventually got adopted into.

I felt unwanted, never got along with kids my age, felt I didn’t belong and didn’t have a place. But the Lord continued to remind me who He needed me to be. Being adopted into the Kohatsu family was the beginning of a lot of healing. If it were not for this family, I definitely would not know the Lord. I wouldn’t have been able to work through everything I’ve gone through. It has built deeper roots for the love that I have for people.

I remember Pastor Aaron speaking into my life and saying, “You have the gift of loving people. That’s the gift that Jesus had. You need to walk in that.” I remember breaking down in tears because I didn’t want to love people any more—I wanted to give up!

Then he says, “You can’t give up on whom the Lord made you to be. That’s not how it works. You have to step into that gifting. It’s not easy, but it’s so worth it.” The Lord has put mentors in my life that believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself. I see the heart of the Lord in every one of them. I don’t know who I would be without them.

If my circumstances had forced me to be anybody, it wouldn’t be who I am today. Even though every single moment of my life sucked, my love for people is so much deeper because of it. The Lord has made me to genuinely love people!There’s no way I would be in youth ministry, dancing hula, or whatever, without His faithfulness and love for me.

[End video]

Study Questions

1. What are circumstances that make you feel that you are in “prison?”

2. What were the times when you were down and someone encouraged you?

3. Who can you encourage or hug today?

4. Who is a “Rhoda” who uplifts you?