Pastor Richard Waialeale
January 10, 2021 - W2102

"The Reason for Our Hope"

Pastor Richard Waialeale

January 9 & 10, 2021 

[Video: Testimony of Rien and Malama Vidad]

RIEN:  It's an empty life!  I didn't realize it at the time, but he [dad] was self?medicating, so it was normal for me to see him with a drink--it was abnormal to see him without one.  When school let out, sometimes I didn't want to go home because I didn't know what to expect when I got there.  I would hear him saying to me, "You can't," "You don't," "You're not good enough," and I struggled with that because I didn't know (as a nine?year?old) why someone would tell me they wish I were never born.  There was a hole in my heart that only God could fill; and I tried to fill that hole with gambling and drinking--but I knew that I knew that I knew that I didn't want to live like that anymore!

MALAMA:  We went to the same high school and had a few classes together, but we didn't have any interest in each other.  During the summers, I worked with his mom; and 10 years later, we had our high school reunion. It just so happened that week his mom slipped and fell.  As I was coming home that night the road merged and he cut me off the road, so I had to slam on my brakes.  He rolled down his window and said, "I'm so sorry. It's been 10 years and I forgot the road merged over there." He took his hand from his face and I saw that he was actually crying.  

RIEN:  I said, "My mom is in the hospital.  If you can go see her, that would be great," and we started a conversation from there.  

MALAMA:  His dad was too frail to take care of his mom, so Rien gave up everything to come home.  That's when 1 Samuel 16:7 came to mind: “People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” Then I saw his heart! I was going to church at the time, but I didn't want to be pushy with him about church because I had already asked him a few times. 

RIEN:  My mom had been praying for me to go to church, and I didn't really want to go, but I would go just to make her happy. 

MALAMA:  I usually don't buy DVDs of church sermons because I'm usually there; but I felt the need to grab this one.  Two weeks later, at my mom's house after I got the DVD, I asked Rien if he would like to watch a DVD with me--and he listened to it intently. 

RIEN:  Every line of the song that she sang pierced me. It's as if she were talking to me and the words were hitting me! I couldn't stop crying and said, "That's me! I want to change, but I just don't know how to be who I'm supposed to be!"   

MALAMA:  During the altar call, he raised his hand and just bawled.  

RIEN:  Once I raised my hand, I thought everything would be fixed--magically perfect, and it wasn't!  It must have been about five years of going to church--showing up, putting on a church face, and thinking that I was okay--but I wasn't!  

MALAMA:  It hasn't been easy.  There's always growing moments.  Probably one of the most difficult time was my health--the doctors told me not to have any more children because I'd be risking my life.  I think that was hard on him, too.  Many times, things were said in anger or hurt, and I hung on to that, and it made me draw away from him.  

RIEN:  I wasn't who I was supposed to be; I wasn't the guy that I had promised I would be. There were a lot of work that I had to do yet; but getting plugged in with the right people really accelerated my growth! I found myself at Life Change; they helped me deal with what I was going through.  It helps to recognize your problem in a community of people who are going through the same things--it helped me to heal.  

MALAMA:  Our support system was the family of God at New Hope Oahu; it's where we get our joy and wisdom.  No matter how bad or big our problems may seem, there's nothing that God can't fix, and there's nothing that God doesn't know about!  

RIEN:  Understanding that there was a reason for everything that I had gone through (even though at the time I didn't understand it), I would cry out to God and ask Him, "Where are you in the middle of all of this?" And even though I'd let God down countless times, He still loves me and still has a future for me, and still wants the best for me! 

MALAMA:  The blessing is that God has always wanted to save his dad and He did in the end; and what He will do through Rien!  God orchestrates all the details in our lives. He had plans for us even before we were born, and we see them come to pass--it's really cool! 

[End Video] 

PASTOR WAIALEALE:  Welcome, Everyone, especially our online viewers; thank you for choosing to watch us! Such a great story!  Rien and Malama Vidad are now leaders of our Life Change Ministry, a 3-1/2?month program. 

Today, we'll talk about "The Reason for Our Hope." It's about telling your story and how to do that. We'll be following one of Jesus's most outspoken disciples who was a natural leader, but always jumping to conclusions, impulsive, and sometimes presumptuous; he fell asleep when he should have been praying; and denied the Lord when confronted by a young maid. All four gospels describe him as somewhat unpredictable and temperamental. But, after the resurrection of Jesus Christ and throughout the New Testament, Peter was a transformed man!  

Dr. Luke, the author of the Book of Acts, records that after hearing Peter speak three thousand were saved! Everyone must have wondered how Peter was able to speak with such clarity and authority--until they realized that he had been with Jesus! Hanging out with Jesus will make anyone a smart person!  Peter had listened to, ate with, and traveled alongside Jesus for three years and the result was obvious--the same is true for us!  

Acts 4:13 NKJV Luke writes: " Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus."

The Boy Scouts motto is: Be prepared.  A good scout must always be prepared to handle anything that might happen; and the same is true for Christians, we should always be prepared to share The Reason for Our Hope in the following ways:

1. Be Prepared to Demonstrate Your Hope

The idea is not to defend a theological position.  Instead, it's to give a very simple Reason for Our Hope in God, and to shine brightly so that when people look at us, they will ask, "How can you have such hope?  Look at what's happening around us."  

1 Peter 3:13-16 NKJV says: "¹³ And who is he who will harm you if you become followers of what is good? ¹⁴ But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you are blessed. “And do not be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled.” ¹⁵ But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear; ¹⁶ having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed."  

God commands us to sanctify (or to set apart) one day a week for worship and rest.  Making Jesus Lord means to live for Him totally in an act of obedience to His commands--allowing Him to work in and through us. When meeting with Jesus, cancel all your other plans!

Action Step:  We're called to set apart Christ as Lord in our hearts. 

2. Be Prepared to Defend Your Belief

1 Peter 3:15 NIV says: "...Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,"

Only you can testify about you; that's what will touch a person's heart, so be able to demonstrate how it happened to you.  Everybody has a story. When you're living under the leadership of Christ, something happens to a nonbeliever when they see the hope that Christ gives you. God sets up people or situations so that He can work through them.  A non?Christian will see that there's something different about the way you walk and talk--you have a different spirit about you; they will be curious and make a comment.  Our testimonies live inside us, we were made for moments like this when all of life's experiences and preparation will pay off.  So, be willing to share your belief, you never know when God will call upon you to save a life! 

Action Step:  The greatest and easiest defense we have when defending our belief is simply to share our own testimony! You can argue on points of theology, but you cannot argue a person's transformed life.  Be prepared to defend your belief when people ask The Reason for Our Hope. 

3. Be Prepared to Disarm with Gentleness and Respect   

We're not called to win arguments; we're called to make disciples.  We should be ready to defend what we believe and avoid being rough and sharp.  Gentleness means strength under control; "respect" is the same word as "fear."  It doesn't mean that we should be afraid of people, but we should have a sense of holy respect every time we have the opportunity to share our faith with another person. 

1 Peter 3:15c NIV says: "...But do this with gentleness and respect,"

2 Corinthians 10:1 NIV says: "By the humility and gentleness of Christ, I appeal to you." 

1 Peter 3:16 NIV says: "keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander."

Our goal is to point people to Jesus, to make them fall in love with Him, and to disarm them--not point them to ourselves. Once the barriers crumble, people will be more prone to hear the message in a way that they can understand and embrace The Reason for Our Hope. God put it in us to share our testimony with other people; and we do that because He commands us to.  

ACTION STEP: Being respectful to people means to be gentle with them. 

The reality is that even though we mess up, don't allow that to prevent you from sharing.  Keep on trying because God will give you another chance--a second chance! Most of our witnessing is likely to happen in the passing moments of conversation; so, we should be sensitive to the needs of people and be aware of the promptings of the Holy Spirit.  

STUDY QUESTIONS:

1.  What caused Peter to be transformed from a fearful to a bold witness for Jesus Christ?

2.  List three ways that you can be prepared to share your testimony. Share one way that helped you the most?

3.  What does 1 Peter 3:16 say will happen to people who criticize your good behavior and maliciously lie about you?

4.  Being respectful to people means to ___________________________________.