Pastor Paul Brown
January 17, 2021 - W2103

"Awake, Arise & Act"

Pastor Paul Brown

January 16 & 17, 2021

Aloha & Welcome, New Hope Oahu--Anywhere & Everywhere! 

We're so excited to be in our new series, "Awake, Arise, and Act!" This series is about how we, you and I, are the church!  The church is not these four walls--we are the church!   We are called to preach and live the gospel of Jesus Christ, visit the orphans, take care of the widows, visit the imprisoned, and take care of the downcast.  God has called us to be lights in a darkened world!

Philippians 2:14-15 NIV says: "¹⁴ Do everything without grumbling or arguing, ¹⁵ so that you may become blameless and pure, 'children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.' Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life."  

Has God ever asked you to do something that you didn't want to do, and you didn't do it, and now you feel so convicted?  I did, and said, "Lord, give me another chance, I'll do it! I'm going to start praying for that person, even though he is a bully and my enemy." God loves our bullies and that's the right response, to pray for our enemies.  

Matthew 5:43-45 NIV says: "⁴³ “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ ⁴⁴ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, ⁴⁵ that you may be children of your Father in heaven."

That's when we shine!  It's so easy to grumble about everything during this season; but remember that grumbling is a killer of faith! It's when we say, "No, I'm going to pray for my enemy and ask God to change this person's heart no matter what," is when we shine.  But when we blend in and do the natural thing, we take revenge. We shine only when we do God's will when we want to do our will so badly. We worry about the economy; we're angry about the political climate; and anxious about COVID and its limitations--but God has called us to be the lights of Jesus in a darkened world! 

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THE CHURCH?

The purpose is to preach and live the gospel; visit the orphan; take care of the widow; visit the imprisoned; and be lights in a darkened world. We have a choice to blend in with the world and get angry or stand out and shine! I'm believing that God will show us how to shine, in the time that we are given. We didn't choose our family or the struggles that we're going through; but we do get to choose what we'll do in the midst of our struggles. We, the church, should look different from the world when responding to hardship and crisis.

James 1:27 KJV says: "Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world."

Matthew 25:35-36 NKJV says: "³⁵...for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; ³⁶ I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me."

Sir Winston Churchill said:  "The farther backward we can look, the farther forward we can see into the future."  When we can learn from our forefathers of faith how they went through struggles and suffering, we can learn the way forward:  

1. AWAKE to God's Plan in the Midst of the Distractions

Proverbs 4:25 TPT says: "Set your gaze on the path before you. With fixed purpose, looking straight ahead, ignore life’s distractions.^"

God's Plan:  Salvation, Restoration, and Transformation.  He wants to save, restore, and transform our lives from the inside out; anything that takes away from that is a distraction!  We must make a decision to listen to God's voice and to learn how to navigate through what's coming up next. Only God knows how and He will download it to you personally; but we must get close to His voice and develop deep roots in our relationship with Christ Jesus.  

•       Submit to Imperfect Leadership Because of God's Perfect Leadership  

We can submit to imperfect leadership because we trust a perfect God!  

Romans 13:2 NIV says: "Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves."

We get distracted when we come against our leadership.  Submit even to imperfect leadership because of God's perfect leadership!  Therefore, I will not bad?mouth imperfect leadership for when I submit to imperfect leadership, I'm trusting a Perfect God!

Throughout the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, we see imperfect leadership, but godly people saying, "Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him;" "Even if I get thrown in the furnace, I will trust my God."  We see imperfect leadership, but God always says, "I will sustain you."  When Jesus is being questioned by Pontius Pilate, Jesus was silent and Pilate said,  

John 19:10-11 NIV says, “Do you refuse to speak to me?” Pilate said. “Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?” ¹¹Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above.”

Jesus shows us what it looks like to be strong, courageous, and anchored in God--His confidence came in the belief and the understanding that God is in control, even when there is imperfect leadership and a biased crowd.  Jesus was saying, "I believe my God is good, and even if my will is not His will, I know His will is better!"   

2. ARISE by Developing Deep Roots in Your Relationship with Christ  

Colossians 2:7-8 NCV says: "⁷ Keep your roots deep in him...Be strong in the faith, just as you were taught, and always be thankful.  ⁸ Be sure that no one leads you away with false and empty teaching...which comes from the ruling spirits of this world, and not from Christ."

I believe Pastor John had it right when he said that we must invite God's voice through prayer in this season.  Pastor Wayne says:  We aren't easily knocked down when we are on our knees.  I love this:  If you have time to worry, then you have time to pray. Whatever you're worried about, make it your prayer list!  It actually injects our natural life with the supernatural.  So, when you know that you are actually getting into an argument, pray, "Lord Jesus, would you give me your heart; help me to see past the fruit to the root, and give me wisdom that goes beyond the ages that comes from you?" 

3. ACT by Preaching and Living the Gospel of Jesus Christ 

Matthew 28:19-20 NIV says: "¹⁹ Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely, I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

We are anchored by preaching and living the gospel. The word "disciple," literally means "a follower;" a deeper meaning is "a learner of Jesus Christ."  Alvin Toffler, a sociologist, said:  "The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write; but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn." 

Whether you're seasoned or at the beginning of your faith in Jesus Christ decide, "I'm going to learn more about Jesus; unlearn some habits that I've developed; relearn to be a person of faith, joy, and of peace. The greatest asset to yourself is to invest in how you think and encourage others; so, learn, relearn, and unlearn by sharing our testimony. I believe the key to changing our nation's troubles will not be seen in new policies, but in discipling young people to become a follower/disciple of Jesus Christ by changing their way of thinking--so be a mentor or find one.  If we challenge ourselves to be lights in the dark world, I believe that will happen.  

Luke 10:1 NKJV says: "After these things the Lord appointed seventy others also and sent them two by two before His face into every city and place where He Himself was about to go."

Luke 10:18-19 KJV says: "¹⁸ And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. ¹⁹ Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you."

There's something connected when we preach the gospel and live the gospel: the enemy gets defeated, and I believe that will happen in this season!  We can say, "I'm going to be a star in a darkened sky by deciding right now to be rooted in my faith.  I'm going to pray for and love those who persecute me, to be a person who invites all things into a place of prayer, to fulfill the purpose of the church of God and "be lights in a darkened sky."  We need to be people that pray and allow God to change our perspective through the word of God.  I will love those who hate me, pray for those who persecute me, and become stars in a darkened sky! 

STUDY QUESTIONS: 

1. How do you encourage others to be more like Jesus?
2. How are you preaching and living by the gospel of God?
3. How are you staying awake to God’s plan in the midst of distractions?
4. In what ways are you showing God’s love for others?
5. How have you dealt with a tense moment with others, using God’s love as an example?