Pastors Wayne Cordeiro, John Tilton, Scott Hogle, Rod Shimabukuro
April 4, 2021 - W2114

Easter At New Hope Oahu

"Freedom in Christ--The Untold Stories"

Pastor Wayne Cordeiro, Pastor John Tilton, 

Pastor Scott Hogle, Pastor Rod Shimabukuro

April 3 & 4, 2021 

PASTOR JOHN TILTON:  Aloha and Welcome, to our Resurrection Service at New Hope Oahu! I believe that God has something for each of us today; and if we have ears to hear and eyes to see, we will learn about the "Freedom in Christ--the Untold Stories."  

The Untold Stories are the events that surround the crucifixion and the resurrection of Jesus, scripturally; Freedom in Christ is to know all that God has for you and to rekindle your heart from the struggles and stresses that the devil has put on you, every day.   

When Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to the tomb early the next morning, they were expecting to see a huge rock blocking the entrance but... 

Matthew 28:1-6 NKJV says: "¹Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. ² And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone...and sat on it. ³ His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. ⁴ And the guards shook for fear of him and became like dead men. ⁵ But the angel answered and said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. ⁶ He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay."

Imagine going to the tomb, and an angel suddenly descends, and the earth shakes! It's scary, but the angel says, "Do not be afraid."  God wants to speak to you today because He loves you so much and wants a relationship with you!

 Romans 6:5-6 NIV says: "⁵ For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. ⁶ For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin."

Maybe this is your first time at New Hope Oahu; your family or a friend dragged you along, and you don't know what to expect! You're saying, "You don't know the life I've led.  I'm not worthy."  But know that God loves you and Jesus died on the cross and washed that all away. This is the Easter story--and now you can say, "He is risen!  It's a celebration!"  

You will find Freedom in Our Risen King! John 8:36 MEV says: "...if the Son sets you free, you shall be free indeed!" Let the celebration continue as we go out the doors of the church! And here's Pastor Wayne Cordeiro by video...

[Video] 

PASTOR WAYNE:  I love walking along the edge of the river and hear the water flowing over the rocks; but every step counts because a misstep and I'm in the river!  It's a beautiful walk, and I like walking with Jesus, but every step must be calculated because it's important--the step of repentance and redemption moves us to a closer relationship with Him. I want to take you to one of my favorite spots and talk about reaching out to Jesus and coming in contact with the Savior:  

The scene opens in a busy marketplace, and Jesus is with His disciples; and a woman, knowing of His reputation, had suffered for 12 years without a clear diagnosis with no hope of healing, came up behind Him.  She was thinking in her mind, "If I could only get close enough to touch Him, I know He'd heal me."  So, she got close and reached out and touched the hem of His garment--and this is what happened:

Mark 5:25-33 NASB says: "²⁵ A woman who had had a hemorrhage for twelve years, ²⁶ and had endured much at the hands of many physicians and had spent all that she had and was not helped at all... ²⁷ after hearing about Jesus, she came up in the crowd behind Him and touched His cloak. ²⁸ For she had been saying to herself, “If I just touch His garments, I will get well." ²⁹ And immediately the flow of her blood was dried up...and she was healed of her disease." ³⁰ ...Jesus, perceiving in Himself that power from Him had gone out, turned around in the crowd and said, “Who touched My garments?” ³¹ And His disciples said to Him, “You see the crowd pressing in on You, and You say, ‘Who touched Me?’” ³² And He looked around to see the woman who had done this. ³³ But the woman, fearing and trembling, aware of what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth."

When the disciples heard Jesus say, "Somebody touched me," they said, "There's hundreds of people.  They're all around you and everyone is bumping into you."  But Jesus said, "No, no, no, someone reached out intentionally and touched me. I felt power going out from me to heal because of faith--not because of crowds!"  It was an intentional touch, not an accidental bump!

When the woman reached out to touch the hem of Jesus' garment, she actually touched His heart! He's near enough to you now so you can intentionally touch Him; Heaven will notice; you'll touch God's heart--and miracles will happen! 

Jesus didn't come to just bring a new religion--He came to repair a broken relationship between God and man! He sent Jesus to bring us redemption!

[End Video]

PASTOR SCOTT HOGLE:  The reason the woman with the issue of blood is such an amazing story is that it talks about the heart of God.  Few stories capture the heart of God the way that this does. If you could reach out and touch the hem of Jesus' garment today, what would you ask for--a healing in your body, the return of a wayward son or daughter who has left home and God, or are you needing a financial miracle? The woman wasn't on God's schedule that day; He had no plans to meet her, but she busted through the crowd, and had to reach Him!   She pressed and crawled; and when she reached out and touched Jesus, she tapped into a promise!  

Hebrews 11:6 NKJV says: "...He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." God's answer to whatever you've come for today is Yes and Amen!  He wants to grant you your request so... 

1.  Reach out intentionally to touch Jesus.  

2.  Receive from Jesus the FREE gift of salvation.  

Once you receive the free gift of salvation, you're already in the family of God, and all His promises are yes and amen! Six thousand years ago before the world was even formed, the first promise of God on record is that The Lamb would be slain. It's actually written in the last book of the Bible (Revelation) that The Lamb would be slain before the foundation of the world. That means, before you were ever born, God gave you a way home! In God's foreknowledge, He would look into the future and planned a Perfect Sacrifice!

There's an amazing movie that Mel Gibson made several years ago called, The Passion, about the crucifixion of Jesus. The definition of "passion" is the willingness to suffer for what you love.  It's not just about the suffering of Jesus; it's about His willingness to suffer! The scripture says that Jesus came to earth for one reason: to die for the sins of the world--restoring our relationship back to God. He purchased our freedom! The first Easter sermon was preached after the crucifixion.   

Something very important happened the moment that Jesus died: The veil of the temple, which represented our sin and separated the people of God from the Holy of Holies, was torn in half! Now, people can boldly run up and sit on Daddy's lap and ask Him anything they needed, and He would say, "Yes." Can God live within a sinful heart? No, but because Jesus paid the price for our sin, we have become righteous in God's eyes and are able to come close to Him! 

The temple would no longer be brick and mortar, but we are the temple of the living God!  The minute you say yes to Jesus, you become one in spirit with Him, and God's presence, His life, His divine nature, actually comes to live inside of you.  That's His gift--His plan all along!  Jesus even prophesied that after three days in the tomb, He would rise from death.  Just as Jonah was in the belly of the whale, Jesus would be in the belly of the earth.  He was on the ultimate rescue mission.  God is a victory God! Pastor Rod will tell us about a man who did not take the third step...

3. Repent of your sins and live in freedom from the inside out.   

PASTOR ROD SHIMABUKURO:  Jesus is the Risen King, the head of the family, the head of the church.    

Notice, I did say "from the inside out," not the outside in.  Because receiving eternal life and living it out as Christians requires our repentance--the constant turning from our ways to God's way!

The enemy, the devil, our own pride and sins, hold us back from the word "repent."  It's this big spiritual word that means give your life to God--turn from your own way to God's way!  It's with this inner godly sorrow that you want to say to Him, "I need you.  I want to live for you.  I want God in my life."  

In Luke 16: 30-31 is a story that I will give an overview:  Jesus tells a parable of two polar opposite people with opposite backgrounds: A rich man who represents the self?made DYI?image person--secure, independent, lots of good deeds, performance?oriented, hard worker, and good qualities; but the poor man was dealt a bad hand in his life, and although living through hard circumstances, he was repentant and believing in God.  

Romans 10:9-10, “If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be Saved.  For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved.”  

I was a dishwasher at Old Spaghetti Factory, and there were Christians witnessing, and I'd just wait till they would make a mistake and fumble and sin and it got to me! These Christians were blowing it, but there was something about their inner heart that caught my attention; they would say they were sorry and come back and ask for forgiveness!  Later, I received the Lord, and I experienced this inner change!

What religion, what God in the world has a creator who came, lived, suffered, and died for the sins of mankind?  What kind of God would do that?  Jesus was raised to life for yours and my freedom, and He's alive!  Because of His empty tomb, all of our empty hearts can be filled with the freedom like we've never experienced before!

John 11:25-26 KJV says: ²⁵ Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: ²⁶ And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die."

Jesus was raised from death to life for our freedom--He is alive!  Because of His empty tomb, all of our empty hearts can be filled with the freedom like we've never experienced before!  

STUDY QUESTIONS: 

1. What are you doing today to get closer to Jesus?

2. How are you sharing the Lord’s good word with your friends and colleagues?

3. In what ways are you showing others your love for God?

4. How are you incorporating the Lord’s work in your life?

5. What challenges are you overcoming to be an example to others who don’t know God yet?