Pastor Paul Brown
May 23, 2021 - W2121

"Divine Mission – Update the iOS of Your Soul”

Divine Appointments - God's Unfinished Work

Pastor Paul Brown

May 22 & 23, 2021 

Aloha and welcome, New Hope Oahu--in person and online! It's an honor to have you worshiping with us today!  The topic of our message is "Divine Mission - Update the iOS of Your Soul."  As I was pondering on this message, I thought 2020 was a crazy year--it's now 2021 and there are still problems and stresses! But let's just keep on going!  Before we do that, we must first update our iOS (internal operating system). 

In this season, God has called us to a Divine Mission of being a light in the darkness! When things are at its worst, the church is at its best!  I asked Pastor Wayne [Cordeiro], "There's so much going on, what do we do?" I love his answer: "We need to get back on The Mission." 

Matthew 28:18-20 NIV says: "¹⁸ Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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.” 

In his book, "Doing Church as a Team," Pastor Wayne says, "My church must be a battleship, not a cruise liner! If we're to pierce the darkness and rescue lost souls, we cannot be a ship full of spectators. Everyone must know why they are on board!"  

Some of you may be in a season of working 80 hours a week; some of you have worked 45 years and retirement is coming up, and you're facing another transition in life and asking, "What do I do now?" Some of you wanted children and now that they are teenagers you say, "God, you can take them back!"  Some of you are "empty nesters." Your value and identity were so connected to your kids and now you're not sure what to do.  In every season of life, we must reorient ourselves during the transition period to become successful in the next season.  

Ecclesiastes 3:11 NIV says: "He has made everything beautiful in its time."

There's a time for every season, and if you're going through a difficult time, that's your season of hardship; and if you're going through a joyous time, that's your season of joy--they're all good times in its season.  Are you preparing for the next season that God is bringing you to?  

Joshua was a student under Moses and became the overseer of a million plus people! In fact, three times God said to Joshua, "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid. Don't be discouraged!"  

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

Any time things are mentioned in threes, it literally means divine completion!  Peter betrayed Jesus three times; Jesus asked Peter three times...

John 21:15-17 NRSV says: "¹⁵ ...Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon...do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.” ¹⁶ A second time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Tend my sheep.” ¹⁷ He said to him the third time, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter felt hurt because he said to him the third time...And he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep." 

Peter actually had to upgrade his perspective in order to have the right mindset and the capacity to become the rock and pillar of the church.  We, too, must upgrade our perspective on how we think about what we think about! 

Not updating the iOS on your computer, will cause problems: The computer becomes (1) more susceptible to hackers; (2) the apps that are supposed to help you, won't work because they can't process the information; and (3) the computer slows down.  In fact, you try to do more, but you do less! You may need to...

1. Update Your Security Software

There are the three updates we must make: our security, our thinking patterns, and our habits. But the first thing to remember is that we can do nothing without the Holy Spirit! 

John 14:26 NIV says: "But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you."  

Proverbs 4:23 NIV says, "Above all else, guard your heart for everything you do flows from it."  The NLT says:  "Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life."

The course of your life is determined by the condition of your heart.  Many times, we blame our heritage, but let me remind you that we have a Father in heaven, and we have His DNA! I had to update my perspective, the security walls in my life, to guard my heart against fear by making my thoughts obedient to God!  

2 Corinthians 10:5 NIV says: “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” 

Take every thought that comes into your mind and make it obedient to the will of God!  You have a Divine Mission, and your success is crucial to the health of the body of Christ because your success is our success!  

Obedience Check: John Maxwell in his book, "The Making of a Leader," talks about obedience checks along the way, and says that everything rises and falls on leadership!

Are you willing to be obedient? How do you think about what you're thinking?  It's really saying, "Lord Jesus, what are you trying to do?  How are you trying to correct my heart?"  Sometimes my heart doesn't want to listen; but as I obey, my heart changes in the action--and a Divine exchange takes place! But I must do this daily.  

2. Update Old Thinking Pattern 

Romans 12:2 NIV says: "Do not conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will."

God is actually trying to redeem the way we look at our wounds; the way we think about our failures; and the way that we think about our history. B.J. Neblett says, “We are the sum total of our experiences.  Those experiences, be they positive or negative, make us the person we are."  He is saying that our experiences make us who we are. 

Going to college was a time of anxiety for me; I had tons of debt and full of anxiety, but...  

Philippians 4:6-7 MEV says: "⁶ Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and supplication with gratitude, make your requests known to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will protect your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."

When we go through pain and suffering, James 1:2-4 NIV says: ² Consider it pure joy... whenever you face trials of many kinds, ³ because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. ⁴ Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."

Through the Word of God and the Holy Spirit, we can enjoy even the difficult times in our lives.  We must get back to that.   

1 Corinthians 9:27 NLT says: "I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified."

Craig Groeschel, says. "Discipline is choosing what you want most, over what you want now."  So, if you want God's best in your life more than what this world has to offer, you must...

3. Update Old Habits

Ephesians 4:22-24 NIV says: "²² You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; ²³ to be made new in the attitude of your minds; ²⁴ and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness." 

We must choose to take it off our old self and put on the new self--it doesn't happen naturally! We make habits; and habit make us!

Pastor Wayne says:  "Transformation doesn't happen in a day.  It happens daily."  "First, we make our habits; then, our habits make us."  Here are five habits to help us put off the old self and put on the new self in the acrostic: PEPRD.  

P rayer is connection between you and God.  

E xercise. take care of the temple of God--be the best to do the mission God has given you. 

P lan.  Make specific plans, keep them easy, upgrade your perspective--your mindset.

R ead. Decide to read. Find an adviser through reading great books.  

D evotions.  I'm not just reading the text; I'm letting the text read me!

When you're in a fog, and don't know what to do, just PEPRD--pray, exercise, plan, read, and do devotions! We have a Divine Mission to make disciples of every nation, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

1. What is the Divine Mission of New Hope Oahu?

2. What happened when you updated an old thinking habit?

3.  Share your experience with PEPRD.

4.  Memorize Philippians 4:6-7.