Pastor Paul Brown
April 18, 2021 - W2116

Attributes That Inspire Success

Divine Appointments with God

Pastor Paul Brown

April 17 & 18, 2021

Welcome, New Hope Oahu!  We're so excited that you’re with us today, in person and online. Thank you for choosing to worship with us! We are starting a new sermon series today called, "Divine Appointments with God," and our message is, Attributes that Inspire Success, as we want to be prepared to meet with God for this divine individual appointment! 

In preparing this sermon, I realized that life is very fragile--it’s finite as in a moment of time, it will end! Many of us could get stuck trying "to keep up with the Joneses" and living for the approval of others; but there will be a moment in time when we take our last breath and stand before the King of Heaven, individually, and give an account of our lives! As I was reflecting on this, I realized that there's a treasure we can mine from 2020--that life is short!

Matthew 25:23 NIV says: "His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’"

There are some things in our hearts that God wants to fine tune. Pastor Wayne says:  "We won't be held accountable for how much we've done, but how much we have done of what He's asked us to do." So, there's an eternal perspective that we must see in life; for instance, we make assumptions by what we see in people; but in the eyes of heaven, people are valuable. As a mom, dad, or business professional, do we have the perspective of heaven in everything that we do?  

Heaven's Perspective: You are a pastor who is a mom, and your podium is the kitchen table; or you are a pastor who is a carpenter, and your platform is the construction site. You may be a mom, a grandmother, or a grandfather, and some of you may be thinking, "Am I a full?time pastor now?" Yes, just go ahead and do it!  

The greatest test is that you reflect Christ anywhere you wake, work, or worship!  So how do we live our life so that, when we breathe our last breath, we would have lived in light of the applause of heaven?  Our lives must be focused on exactly where we’re going and why we're existing--because we’re tethered to eternity!  

Matthew 22:36-40 NIV says: ³⁶ “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”

³⁷ Jesus replied: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ ³⁸ This is the first and greatest commandment. ³⁹ And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ ⁴⁰ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

The law of the prophets is the Pentateuch--the first five books of the Bible. All the minor and major prophets and the Psalms, together, are summed up in:  Love God and Love People! There are three ways that we can live an inspired, successful life in the eyes of heaven: 

1. Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart.  

Colossians 3:23-24 NIV says: "²³ Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, ²⁴ since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving." 

There will be times, when we are motivated to work by praise, position, glory, money, and other things; but, as Christians (Kingdom people), we are called to be motivated to serve the Lord from a place of relationship with Jesus, and He becomes our anchor! As we serve God, we serve people--and we never stop serving!  On the other hand, I’ve seen people who serve a leader, not their God, and when a leader messes up, they are done! But when you remember who you serve, you will begin a life of faith because you're not connected to something that fails--you are anchored to Jesus Christ!

Matthew 5:16 NIV says: "...let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven."

When we are anchored to God and reflect His love through everything we do and we serve with excellence, others will see our good deeds and our good deeds actually reflect back to the goodness of God!  Make a To-Do list for things that must be done but you’ve been avoiding:  Send the email or to call that person and ask for forgiveness.  Pray, "Lord Jesus, would you give me the courage to see heaven on earth through my life." God gives us an eternal inheritance, no matter what season we're in, but we need courage to obey God!

2. Be strong and courageous in doing the will of God. 

Joshua 1:9 NIV says: "...Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

When Moses passed the baton to Joshua, Joshua would be responsible for over a million people!  God said to Joshua, "Be strong and courageous and the promised land will be yours." The Lord is saying to us, "If you're strong and courageous, I'll take care of the rest."

Pastor Wayne says:  Even though God promised the Israelites the land, they still had to contend for every square inch of it! What things are you wrestling with that you need to be strong and courageous? Is it in your mind, thought life, anxiety, anger, or frustration? You must be courageous and say, "I’m not going to let the enemy have my family. No, I'm going to pray. I'm going to confront the unforgiveness in our family, and I'm going to have courage!"  It is easy to say, "I’m sorry you felt that way," but harder to say, "I’m sorry, please forgive me."  We need courage to do the things of God. Even Paul prayed in...

Ephesians 6:19 NIV says: "Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel."

When I go surfing, to me, it’s time to surf!  I’ll put on my hat and sunscreen--I’m not thinking of anything else.  Then the Lord says, "Do you have the courage to speak to that person?" We need courage to share God’s goodness; and when we are courageous, we will see victory in the areas of our lives that we are afraid to confront. We must speak in love; ask for forgiveness; and ask for boldness.

3. Fight for time to spend with God. 

It’s not just doing devotions but spending time with God to rest in Him and letting Him speak to you to encourage and remind you that you're already valued--that's the reason He died on the cross! Now, rest and spend time with God!

Luke 5:15-16 NIV says: "¹⁵ Yet the news about him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses. ¹⁶ But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed."

We see that Jesus did many great things, such as, teaching and healing people again and again, feeding the multitude, and casting out demons; yet, Jesus, the King of kings, the Lord of lords, took time to rest in secluded and lonely places to pray. We, too, must rest, and in our rest, we continue in our work. I would say that everything that is good effectuates in lonely times--the time we spend with the Lord.

Sometimes we get a little dry, and if we're not careful, especially in ministry, we'll do good things but never get filled up!  We keep doing more, and when people ask for more (not because they're mean or terrible) but because they're needy! Instead of looking to Jesus for help, they look to you, and you can't give any more--you gave every drop that you had, and you say, "I'm dry!" 

But the truth is that we are like sponges--made to be squeezed out!  That's so cool.  We are made to go back into the presence of God and get filled, and then get squeezed out by people; then get back into the presence of God to get filled, then get squeezed out, again and again!  

Here is a spiritual discipline:  Have a daily fixed hour of prayer.  Daniel prayed three times a day and David prayed seven times a day.  Prayer actually integrates being and doing in daily life, developing the ability to hear a word from God in the midst of our daily struggles!  When we pray in the midst of work, we can actually identify that we're not just doers, but we're be?ers; You're not a human doing--you're a human being!  And you begin to actually integrate prayer into your life.  We are sons and daughters of the Almighty King of kings! 

Psalm 27:4 NIV says: " One thing I ask from the Lord...that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple."

It is in the presence of God that you’ll recognize that you are a son or a daughter, and that you have everything you need for the purposes of godliness. The Lord is your provider and healer; you have the encouragement that you need to keep on going and to be courageous! 

I love my Papa Louie, my grandfather.  He would always say, "I'm proud of you, boy." And he would always ask, "Do you know this man named Jesus? Do you know Him?" It's the most eternal thing you could ever do--choose to follow Jesus.  A week ago, Papa Louie went home to be with the Lord, and he is now resting in Jesus! 

STUDY QUESTIONS:

1.   What change can you make to live an anchored life?

2.   What is something that you need courage to face?

3.   Have you noticed that when you do things for God, things happen to encourage you to do more? Explain.

4.   What changes have you noticed in your life since you said, "Yes," to God?