Pastor Wayne Cordeiro & Pastor Paul Brown
June 14, 2020 - W2024

"Fixing Our Devotion"

Faith Fixer Upper 

Pastor Wayne Cordeiro & Pastor Paul Brown

June 13 & 14, 2020

PASTOR WAYNE:  Aloha, New Hope Ohana!  Today, we will look at "Fixing our Devotion" in our Faith Fixer Upper series and talk about what it means to have a genuine relationship with Jesus Christ.  Just because people say they're Christians, doesn't really mean they have a vital relationship with God--because the outer doesn't always equal theinner!

We can go through the motions of going to church, taking our kids to Sunday school, even giving an offering, but right after church we could default back to our old ways! Though what we say may be true, the way we live is not congruent with what it truly means to be a Christian! Let’s talk about what it means to have a dynamic relationship with Jesus Christ, and how to restore a relationship of closeness when we fall away from that target. 

God created us with a need for Him and, without Him nothing satisfies because life is without purpose--it's listless! If you're not near to God, you could come to church but not be satisfied; you could hear sermon after sermon, but it won't fill your soul; you could be rich, but still not be satisfied or nourished with your wealth--because all the goods in this world just won't satisfy! 

Psalm 73:28 NASB says: "But as for me, the nearness of God is my good; I have made the Lord God my refuge..."

This passage is saying that satisfaction in life comes from our closeness with God; so, no matter what our occupation or position in life might be, being close to God is the bull's eye! Every concentric circle away from Him (the bull's eye) concerns God so much that He calls that distance away from Him sin!  

Let me show you what I mean:  Sin is an archer's word: When the arrow goes outside the bull's eye, every concentric circle is actually called a sin: one sin, two sin, three sin. So, sin is the same thing that the Bible uses when we miss the bull's eye--not coming up to God's best. It distances us from what God's creation and design was in the first place. After a while, if we continue to normalize it by saying, "It's okay to be outside the bull's eye," we normalize our distance from God and live according to our own devices!  It's not the action that concerns God as much as the consequences of that action!

God wants us not to just have faith, but to possess and practice vibrant faith! God is delighted when we have a daily ongoing genuine relationship with Jesus Christ. Remember, God doesn't need you and me to make the world go around, and He's not demanding performance. He can do everything; yet, He delights in carrying out His will through His children when they have a good relationship with Him. Sometimes we get caught up in the “busyness" of daily life and forget about our relationship with God, and we sometimes mistake our activity in church for closeness with Him, and trade Ministry for holiness or activity for nearness that result in dissatisfaction and, possibly, resentment!

Do I Have a Self-Correcting or Self-Adjusting Relationship with God? 

Romans 6:23 NIV says: "For the wages (or the result) of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."

There are two kinds of death: One is the cessation of life; the other is separation from life.  If God is life, then sin separates us from that life; and if we keep going that way, eventually, sin will lead us to death--total separation from God's original design!

So, if we don't develop a nearness to God (being in the bull's eye), or if we hold on to an unhealthy conscience, we could be going the wrong way without even realizing it and thinking that we are okay but always feeling guilty! We must develop a healthy conscience by strengthening our relationship with God; only then will we sense His displeasure when we sin and make the necessary adjustment--this is called a self?adjusting mechanism. 

If we don't have a vibrant relationship with Him, then a healthy conscience will not be a part of our life. We must develop that through reading His word and knowing His heart. The more we know His heart, the more it will help us to adjust our lives and be close to Him. If we don't have a healthy conscience, we’ll just keep going until we hit a wall and things get messed up! But, if we develop a deep relationship with Him, concurrent with that is a healthy conscience. Then we can sense when things are going off a little and make the necessary correction and hit the bull's eye every time! Here are three gauges to use as a heart check to our faith:  

1. A Healthy Conscience Helps Us Maintain A Healthy Relationship with God

When we have an ongoing relationship with God, there will naturally be an outpouring not only into you, but also into others through you. You will be able to help repair broken relationships because a healthy conscience will direct us to make things right. 

Now, when you have a good/close relationship with God it doesn't make you free from pain, but the pain is bearable because you will have more compassion over the brokenness. When we sense that things aren't right (a prophetic sense that comes by being close to the Lord), we develop a healthy conscience, so that we can sense danger before hitting a wall!  God will give us the wisdom to do or say the right thing. And when my relationship with God is good, I'm more eager to resolve fractured relationships with family members and others around me; but if my vertical is off, I can't even sense when things are off.

2. Identify Our Future Commitments 

The New Testament gives us a great example of commitment from the Apostle Paul's life. When everything was taken away from Paul and he had nothing left, he still had his commitment.  Even from prison he would write some of the New Testament passages that would change lives yet still today. Paul was eventually asked to deny his faith, which he wouldn't do, so he was beheaded! All Paul had left was his unshakeable, undying commitment to Christ. He lost everything: his possessions and even fellow countrymen, but God used him yet to write nearly half of the New Testament. It's almost as if God was looking for someone who had nothing left but commitment! 

Paul's life teaches us that when everything is stripped away from us, the last thing standing must be our commitment to Christ!  A great definition of "commitment" is staying true to a worthy decision long after the emotion of that decision has passed! May I encourage you to write down your top four commitments? This is so important for accountability, it encourages us to stay the course, take action, and to make sure those foundations are unshakeable! 

PASTOR PAUL: Hey, we're continuing our Faith Fixer Upper series. Pastor Richard did a great job of explaining what it looks like to Fix Our Faith; this week we'll be talking about Fixing Our Devotion. They're so connected: If faith is our trust in God, then devotion is our continuation in our trust in God.

Devotion is really not devotion until it's tested--until then, it's really just good intentions! [The word devotion in Strong's (4574) is an object of worship, something adored.] When devotion is tested and has passed the test, it becomes devoted! Pastor Wayne Cordeiro refers to this and says: "There's a stark difference between good intentions and commitment." I love that our God didn't just stop at good intentions; He actually went the second mile and loved us unto death!  

God didn't just say, "I so loved the world." He said, "I so loved the world that I gave My only Son, that you would have a new identity and be called sons and daughters, prince and princess of the Kingdom of God." We are His beloved! God has been devoted to us from the very beginning. Now, the question is: Are we devoted to Him?

3. Be Obedient to Current Affairs, Your Present-Day Commitments   

Your current state of affairs may be your marriage, family dynamics, finances, or health.  

Habakkuk 2:2 (KJV) says: "And the Lord answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it."

Write down what God reveals to you and make it plain, so that you can run with it! There's one commitment above all else that benefits the commitments that you make; and if you do not commit to this one commitment, it actually is detrimental to the other commitments: Be committed to God!  In fact, when we develop a commitment or devotion to God, we actually develop a lemon?to?lemonade faith. You've probably heard the adage: “When the world (or life) gives you lemons, make lemonade!”  

The apostle Paul was just like that. When he faced death, he says in Philippians 1:21 NIV: "For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain." When he experienced the temptation for the glory of the earth, he says in Philippians 3:8 ESV: "Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord…"  And when he had a physical ailment, he says in 2 Corinthians 12:9 NIV: "But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness…'”

My question is: Who is speaking into your life? Is it the author of life who says, "I love you and I encourage you, I identify with you, and I reward you?" God is speaking into our lives, and I believe that's Paul’s secret, and the reason he could make lemons into lemonade is that he heard the voice of God!  

Notice the three aspects of Paul's life that made him the person of The Gospel with a faith that took lemons and made lemonade:

Ephesians 6:18 NIV says: "And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people."

1. Be committed to Spirit?Filled Prayer.  Spirit?filled prayer just means that we recognize our need for Christ, that we can't do this without Him. We need His wisdom, understanding, and power. "Pray on all occasions" mean in hardship, decision making, discernment, and relationship; what to say, how to say it, the tone in which to say it, and even for the right heart to speak. 

2. Be alert and understand the schemes of the enemy. He does not come through the front door of your house. Many times, he comes through the unlocked door of our hearts, so be alert to his schemes of trying to attack your family through anger and frustrations. 

3. Be committed to unrushed time in His word. Slowing down with God and His word familiarizes ourselves with His voice: 

Hebrews 5:14 NIV says: "But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil." 

May I encourage you to commit to spirit?filled prayer, be alert and understand the schemes of the enemy, and have unrushed time in His word so that we develop a lemon?to?lemonade faith! 

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION: 

1.      How are you recognizing the need for prayer in your life?
2.      How are you being alert with regard to the schemes of the enemy?
3.      How are you being a genuine Christian?
4.      How are you committing to help others in their walk with Christ?
5.      How are you recognizing Christ in your life?