New Hope Notes: When It's Time To Grow

	New Hope Notes

	When It's Time To Grow When Life Leaves Quesions Pastor Aaron Cordeiro November 10, 2019 - W1945

	“When It’s Time To Grow” When Life Leaves Questions Pastor Aaron Cordeiro November 9 & 10, 2019 Aloha! It’s great to be back in Hawaii! We are in a cool series, “When Life Leaves Questions;” and, today, we will talk about “When It's Time To Grow.” We will see how the Bible hones on the idea that practicing our faith really is the best way to grow our faith! We all have questions, so this series will take us on a journey through life. If a life journey were a map, it would show us what God says about it and how to go through obstacles—for instance, when your marriage goes south, this is how you navigate it with the Holy Spirit. Does it seem to you as though time is flying? My son Micah is 6 today and my daughter Elli is 10—that would be 12 more summers before he turns 18 and graduates, and 8 more summers for Elli. Life and things are changing at a rapid pace, and the phrase: “Life is short, enjoy every bit of it,” comes to mind. We have a choice to either say, “Yes, Lord, I want to grow into your best,” or we can settle into second or third best. Today, I want to talk about the blessing and how amazing it is to really grow with God and step into His absolute best! The question is: “When is it time to grow?” Answer: “Right now!” God’s purpose is that we all grow spiritually in our faith; and New Hope Oahu has always given us opportunities to serve and to get involved because it’s through serving and practicing (what we hear on a week-to-week basis and doing daily devotions) that cause our faith to grow! In sports, there are two groups of people: Spectators (fans/watchers) and Participators (players/performers). We can know a lot about a game, but it is not until we actually get into the game that we’ll experience victory! The blessing of watching the game is different from the blessing reserved for those who actually play the game; there's also a big difference between knowing about things, and actually doing it! John 13:17 NASB says, “If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.” There are different levels of faith: Elementary, Intermediate, Novice, Expert, and Professional. When we get involved and go through the levels of faith, we move from being a Spectator to a Participator, that qualifies a person to teach others, and God blesses us! The Bible says in Luke 12:32 NKJV, “…it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” God wants to bless you, but it will require participation—participation will not only gain the blessings of God, but it will develop and mature your faith, increasing your capacity as a person, leader, mom, or dad, someone who follows Christ. Hebrews 6:1 NASB says, “Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity…” Elementary principles relate to the basics—things that are straightforward and uncomplicated. But in order to step into God’s blessing, we must be willing to step out in faith, press on to maturity, and increase our capacity. It will take discipline (doing things that we don’t feel like doing) that seem unrelated to our faith, such as, serving others, spending quality time with our children, doing the dishes, or folding the laundry. Hebrews 5:12 NASB says, “For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you…and you have come to need milk and not solid food.” So, when it's time to grow, remember… Practice Is How God Designed Us To Mature In other words, God says Practice Equals Spiritual Growth. When we are serving, we are progressing/loving more. The only way to overcome evil is to do good—that would be forward momentum in faith! Hebrews 5:13-14 NASB says, “¹³For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant. ¹⁴**But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.”** Your senses need training: If we don't practice our senses to discern good and evil, then we can regress. If we’re mature but not continuing to take the things that God speaks to us and put it into practice, we regress and go from solid food/meat to milk! Milk is when we hear the word of God. It's like drinking Muscle Milk (what body builders drink) and going to the gym and working out, and building muscles. If we just hear the word and we don't do something with it, we will regress or stay still—but when we serve, there comes a sensitivity to discern what's good and what's bad. When I came home from college, Dad handed me a toilet brush and said, "Aaron, time to scrub toilets,” and I would scrub toilets! I had to also mop the floors and clean the sinks—I was so mad! I mopped the floors, thinking where’d they come from? Look at all the dirt on the floor! Then the Lord started working on my heart, “Aaron, where did all these people come from?” I started to think, “Jesus, you know where we’ve come from, and you met us where we were, and came to save us! So, I'd be cleaning the dirty sink and thinking what’s the lesson? I would hear the Holy Spirit saying, “Scrub toilet, scrub heart.” And the Lord would scrub my heart as I scrubbed the toilet! It was through serving that I learned humility. At first, I thought this is not related to ministry; but it was through serving and practicing my faith that the Lord started to reveal His heart to me! So, when it's time to grow, remember… Practice Makes Perfect (Perfecting Heart) Matthew 5:44-48 NASB says, “⁴⁴But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, ⁴⁵so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. ⁴⁶For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? ⁴⁷If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? ⁴⁸Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Anybody can love people that are lovable, but what about the unlovable ones? It takes practice to perfect. It is not really a skill—it’s perfecting the heart! When we practice and serve God, and serve one another (especially the unlovable ones), God starts to perfect our hearts. It is the reason Jesus left heaven and came down to earth to save people like you and me, that we may gain the heart of Christ! The Lord has designed a lot of life skills and maturing processes to do when no one is looking. God taught me to do small things, like scrubbing toilets to Start Small, But Start Now Sometimes in we get excited and overcommit saying: “Let’s do devotions five hours a day” or “I’m going to eat vegetables from now on.” We might spend two hours doing devotions and not eating vegetables, and say, “Never mind, I’m done!” So, start small, but start now because the perfecting process takes time! My dad loves to ride horses and do mounted shooting, where he rides a horse and shoots a gun at targets at the same time! Usually when I get into something, I pick it up quickly, and I’ve been practicing riding and shooting. But it's one thing to ride a horse, and it's another thing to shoot from a horse! Then it was my turn—Dad’s horse is trained so it takes off, and I can’t handle him! So, I get off and I’m frustrated because my daughter has been riding the last six or seven months and has already surpassed me in riding skills! I told my dad how frustrating it was—I can control my dirt bike, but I cannot control a horse! Dad said, "Aaron, there are things in life that you cannot control: Slow is fast. Fast is slow. About my journey riding horses—I barely got on the horse for the first three years—it takes time to get familiar. The year after that, I worked on some technique. Don’t try to do it in three days—take three years, and enjoy the process!” How many of you are like me and rush to get things done? We have an idea of how life should be like, and we want to rush to the end. But God says, “Hey, you know, practice is about perfecting the heart.” How many of us can look past people or God's best in our life? We miss what God is speaking to us because we want to get to the end. Listen to what God is saying, “Enjoy the process, enjoy one another!” Some of us overcommit, and we fail, and we just sit down and cry—and don't do anything at all! Exodus 14:15 NLT says, “Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the people to get moving!” So, when it's time to grow, remember… Practicing And Applying Matures Us Into What He Has Formed Us To Become God’s goal (His endgame for us) is that we become people of stalwart faith (godly husbands and wives, sons and daughters of the King) people that look and lead others like Jesus, through the tough terrains of life. Philippians 3:12 NASB says, “Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.” Paul is saying, “I haven't arrived yet, man, but I'm not quitting until I attain what God has really called me to. I’m not stopping. I’m going to practice.” We need to realize that without practice and application, we can never realize our full potential of what God has created us to be. Galatians 4:19 NASB says, “My children, with whom I am again in labor until Christ is formed in you— Paul is saying, “Stick with it, my children! We must move from elementary principles, beyond to Christ likeness, and doing whatever it takes!” That's what New Hope Oahu is about—that we follow Christ and do it together! We will do something not because we feel like it! The problem at first might be a battle, and we’ll fight with ourselves, fight with bad habits, and fight with what we’re supposed to do, but the bright side is that it will get easier the more we practice! So, when is it time to grow? Now! When we practice: God's design is to mature us and increase our capacity, to get the lay of the land and to know the terrain. And on the difficult parts, learn how to get over it! At first you might falter, but just stay with it! As we start to understand life, we’ll go from Elementary, to Novice, to Expert, and to Pro like Christ, willing to take the things that God speaks and work it out! As God's children, the Bible says it is God's good pleasure to bless us. The blessings of God are unlocked when Christ is formed in us. If we are willing to take the things that God speaks and practice it, there’s a special blessing for those that do! Study Questions How often do you hesitate to do something because it is out of your comfort zone? Describe your feelings for others when you serve the Lord. When are times you feel that you are drawing closer to God? Are there times you struggle to understand what God wants us to do? Explain. Who can you “serve?” “When It’s Time To Grow” When Life Leaves Questions Pastor Aaron Cordeiro November 9 & 10, 2019 Aloha! It’s great to be back in Hawaii! We are in a cool series, “When Life Leaves Questions;” and, today, we will talk about “When It's Time To Grow.” We will see how the Bible hones on the idea that practicing our faith really is the best way to grow our faith! We all have questions, so this series will take us on a journey through life. If a life journey were a map, it would show us what God says about it and how to go through obstacles—for instance, when your marriage goes south, this is how you navigate it with the Holy Spirit. Does it seem to you as though time is flying? My son Micah is 6 today and my daughter Elli is 10—that would be 12 more summers before he turns 18 and graduates, and 8 more summers for Elli. Life and things are changing at a rapid pace, and the phrase: “Life is short, enjoy every bit of it,” comes to mind. We have a choice to either say, “Yes, Lord, I want to grow into your best,” or we can settle into second or third best. Today, I want to talk about the blessing and how amazing it is to really grow with God and step into His absolute best! The question is: “When is it time to grow?” Answer: “Right now!” God’s purpose is that we all grow spiritually in our faith; and New Hope Oahu has always given us opportunities to serve and to get involved because it’s through serving and practicing (what we hear on a week-to-week basis and doing daily devotions) that cause our faith to grow! In sports, there are two groups of people: Spectators (the fans/watchers) and Participators (players/performers). We can know a lot about a game but it is not until we actually get into the game that we’ll experience victory! The blessing of watching the game is different from the blessing reserved for those who actually play the game; there's also a big difference between knowing about things, and actually doing it! John 13:17 NASB says, “If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.” There are different levels of faith: Elementary, Intermediate, Novice, Expert, and Professional. When we get involved and go through the levels of faith, we move from being a Spectator to a Participator, that qualifies a person to teach others, and God blesses us! The Bible says in Luke 12:32 NKJV, “…it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” God wants to bless you, but it will require participation—participation will not only gain the blessings of God, but it will develop and mature your faith, increasing your capacity as a person, leader, mom, or dad, someone who follows Christ. Hebrews 6:1 NASB says, “Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity…” Elementary principles relate to the basics—things that are straightforward and uncomplicated. But in order to step into God’s blessing, we must be willing to step out in faith, press on to maturity, and increase our capacity. It will take discipline (doing things that we don’t feel like doing) that seem unrelated to our faith, such as, serving others, spending quality time with our children, doing the dishes, or folding the laundry. Hebrews 5:12 NASB says, “For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you…and you have come to need milk and not solid food.” So, when it's time to grow, remember… Practice Is How God Designed Us To Mature In other words, God says Practice Equals Spiritual Growth. When we are serving, we are progressing/loving more. The only way to overcome evil is to do good—that would be forward momentum in faith! Hebrews 5:13-14 NASB says, “¹³For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant. ¹⁴But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.” Your senses need training: If we don't practice our senses to discern good and evil, then we can regress. If we’re mature but not continuing to take the things that God speaks to us and put it into practice, we regress and go from solid food/meat to milk! Milk is when we hear the word of God. It's like drinking Muscle Milk (what body builders drink) and going to the gym and working out, and building muscles. If we just hear the word and we don't do something with it, we will regress or stay still—but when we serve, there comes a sensitivity to discern what's good and what's bad. When I came home from college, Dad handed me a toilet brush and said, "Aaron, time to scrub toilets,” and I would scrub toilets! I had to also mop the floors and clean the sinks—I was so mad! I mopped the floors, thinking where’d they come from? Look at all the dirt on the floor! Then the Lord started working on my heart, “Aaron, where did all these people come from?” I started to think, “Jesus, you know where we’ve come from, and you met us where we were, and came to save us! I'd be cleaning the dirty sink and think what’s the lesson? I would hear the Holy Spirit saying, “Scrub toilet, scrub heart.” And the Lord would scrub my heart as I scrubbed the toilet! It was through serving that I learned humility. At first, I thought, this is not related to ministry; but it was through serving and practicing my faith that the Lord started to reveal His heart to me! So, when it's time to grow, remember… Practice Makes Perfect (Perfecting Heart) Matthew 5:44-48 NASB says, “⁴⁴But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, ⁴⁵so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. ⁴⁶For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? ⁴⁷If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? ⁴⁸Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Anybody can love people that are lovable, but what about the unlovable ones? It takes practice to perfect. It is not really a skill—it’s perfecting the heart! When we practice and serve God, and serve one another (especially the unlovable ones), God starts to perfect our hearts. It is the reason Jesus left heaven and came down to earth to save people like you and me, that we may gain the heart of Christ! The Lord has designed a lot of life skills and maturing processes to do when no one is looking. God taught me to do small things, like scrubbing toilets to Start Small, But Start Now Sometimes in we get excited and overcommit saying: “Let’s do devotions five hours a day” or “I’m going to eat vegetables from now on.” We might spend two hours doing devotions and not eating vegetables, and say, “Never mind, I’m done!” So, start small, but start now because the perfecting process takes time! My dad loves to ride horses and do mounted shooting, where he rides a horse and shoots a gun at targets. Usually when I get into something, I pick it up quickly, and I’ve been practicing riding and shooting. It's one thing to ride a horse, and it's another thing to shoot from a horse! Then it was my turn—Dad’s horse is trained so it takes off, and I can’t handle him! So, I get off and I’m frustrated because my daughter has been riding the last six or seven months and has already surpassed me in riding skills! I told my dad how frustrating it was—I can control my dirt bike, but I cannot control a horse! Dad said, "Aaron, there are things in life that you cannot control: Slow is fast. Fast is slow. About my journey riding horses—I barely got on the horse for the first three years—it takes time to get familiar. The year after that, I worked on some technique. Don’t try to do it in three days—take three years, and enjoy the process!” How many of you are like me and rush to get things done? We have an idea of how life should be like, and we want to rush to the end. But God says, “Hey, you know, practice is about perfecting the heart.” How many of us can look past people or God's best in our life? We miss what God is speaking to us because we want to get to the end. Listen to what God is saying, “Enjoy the process, enjoy one another!” Some of us overcommit, and we fail, and we just sit down and cry—and don't do anything at all! Exodus 14:15 NLT says, “Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the people to get moving!” So, when it's time to grow, remember… Practicing And Applying Matures Us Into What He Has Formed Us To Become God’s goal (His endgame for us) is that we become people of stalwart faith (godly husbands and wives, sons and daughters of the King) people that look and lead others like Jesus, through the tough terrains of life. Philippians 3:12 NASB says, “Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.” Paul is saying, “I haven't arrived yet, man, but I'm not quitting until I attain what God has really called me to. I’m not stopping. I’m going to practice.” We need to realize that without practice and application, we can never realize our full potential of what God has created us to be. Galatians 4:19 NASB says, “My children, with whom I am again in labor until Christ is formed in you— Paul is saying, “Stick with it, my children! We must move from elementary principles, beyond to Christ likeness, and doing whatever it takes!” That's what New Hope Oahu is about—that we follow Christ and do it together! We will do something not because we feel like it! The problem at first might be a battle, and we’ll fight with ourselves, fight with bad habits, and fight with what we’re supposed to do, but the bright side is that it will get easier the more we practice! So, when is it time to grow? Now! When we practice—God's design is to mature us and increase our capacity, to get the lay of the land and to know the terrain. And on the difficult parts, learn how to get over it! At first you might falter, but just stay with it! As we start to understand life, we’ll go from Elementary, to Novice, to Expert, and to Pro like Christ, willing to take the things that God speaks and work it out! As God's children, the Bible says it is God's good pleasure to bless us. The blessings of God are unlocked when Christ is formed in us. If we are willing to take the things that God speaks and practice it, there’s a special blessing for those that do! Study Questions How often do you hesitate to do something because it is out of your comfort zone? Describe your feelings for others when you serve the Lord. When are times you feel that you are drawing closer to God? Are there times you struggle to understand what God wants us to do? Explain. Who can you “serve?”