Pastor Wayne Cordeiro
August 1, 2021 - W2131

"When Your Resources are Gone"

What Do You Do...

Pastor Wayne Cordeiro

July 31 & August 1, 2021

Aloha and Welcome, New Hope Oahu--those here and online--around the world! I'm talking to you from my home in Eugene, Oregon. I want to say thank you to Pastor John Tilton and the wonderful team that God has put together at New Hope Oahu! Thank you for your faithfulness as we continue to work together on two fronts (in Hawaii and on the West Coast) with one heart as God has called us to and see how He will formulate a new season with the same heart! 

I want to talk to you today about the "Windows of Heaven," not singular--it's windows of heaven. I wonder how many windows heaven has to provide for our needs. 

Malachi 3:10 NASB says: "Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and put Me to the test now in this,” says the Lord of hosts, “if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows."

It's an infinite measure that God wants to provide for us, but we must make a choice: Either to provide for myself and ask God for help or have God provide and He will ask for my cooperation. I decided to ask God to provide for me and He spoke clearly to my heart and said, "I will provide under one condition:

·      If you want God's blessings, you must do it God's way! 

Colossians 3:3 NIV says: "For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God."

YOU MUST MOVE FROM BELIEVING GOD TO TRUSTING GOD! 

We believe God, but do we trust Him? Or do we believe Him but still do it our own way? 

James 2:19 KJV says: "You believe that there is one God; you do well: the devils also believe, and tremble."

We can't see what's around the corner so we must trust God and He will direct our path. It has to do with our faith, but faith isn't just believing in God--it's believing and trusting!

Proverbs 3:5-6 NKJV says: "⁵Trust in the Lord (not believe in God, but trust God) with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; ⁶ In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths."

How important is faith is your life? Is it as important to you as your finances, your wedding day, your job? My faith and my walk with Christ must be of such value that it directs my life and motivates all my decisions.  Paul said something radical in... 

Philippians 3:8 NASB: "...I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them mere rubbish, so that I may gain Christ."

To the apostle Paul, faith wasn't just a sidebar; life was a sidebar! Knowing Christ was the main thing, not his life or his comfort. If we're to be a people for whom God provides, we must... 

1. Put Jesus First in Everything

When you put God first in everything, all the provisions you need will be added to you!  

Matthew 6:33 KJV says: " But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you."

When you're seeking for something that's lost, you go all over the place looking, like a sonar--but you're not distracted! Seeking God's best is not trying everything first; no, it's seeking God first! You know that God is the answer, so you are focused, not be distracted!  

For example: From where you're standing, you can't see what's beyond the hill to where God wants you go; but when you crest the hill and look down, now you can see where to go. When you were on the other side of the hill, you just knew the general direction of what you were seeking--God's best for you! 

During this time of seeking, make sure that your relationships are healthy and that your heart is in the right place, and keep moving in that direction! Keep trusting God to provide everything that you will need along the way--but you must stay on the route! 

If you want God's blessings, you must do it God's way!

When I was younger, I ran a marathon, 26.2 miles, and they provided everything I needed: protection, water, Gatorade, wet towels, snacks, etc., but I had to stay on the route!  If you want God's provision, you must do it God's way!Sometimes we do things our own way and wonder why God is not providing. The journey becomes a classroom, and you learn along the way by pacing with people your speed.  

As you enter through the servant's entrance and serve, God will provide all your needs; but if you decide to go on your own, you must provide for yourself! In serving, you will learn punctuality, forgiveness, appreciation, patience, humility, hospitality, and when not to say something, you want to say--zip your lips! Work harder on yourself than you do on your job!  If you want God to bless your marriage, put Him first in your marriage, etc.  

When you’re still learning a lot, learn that God provides and learn the ways of God, and how to deal with people and apply what you learned! Your goal should not be a bigger paycheck! If you're only looking for how much you will get paid, you won't get very far. Instead-- 

2. Gain Life Experiences

Sometimes, people are looking for more money; but may I encourage you to look for more life experiences, so you can learn the ways of God and apply them. Life experiences are gold! 

Psalm 75:6-7 KJV says: "⁶ For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south. ⁷ But God is the judge: he puts down one and sets up another."

So, if promotion comes from the Lord, then start by serving.

Luke 6:38 NIV says: " Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”

When I was 31 years old and we had two children, my wife and I felt a call to move to Hilo [Hawaii], to pastor a small church with 23 members; this is where I learned to trust God--not just believe, but to trust God! I needed more life experiences, and they gave me a ton of experiences! The church was small and could only pay our rent so I prayed and told God that He must provide so I could feed my family and pay the utilities. Did I believe God? Absolutely, but I was about to learn to TRUST Him--not just to believe Him!

Then a friend told me about a Christian magazine looking for someone to write about youth work; I had been in youth ministry for 11 years, so thought I would try my hand at it and began writing! I wrote about youth and leadership, and they sent me $50 for the article, and I thought five articles would be $250!  Then I remembered that if I wrote a booklet, they would pay $1000! This was amazing! So, I began writing and learned to articulate ideas, etc. Now it's 14 books! 

We bought our first house for $78,000, a major dilapidated fixer upper! The house was tilted, and I remember crawling under trying to jack it up to level it! That's all we could afford.  I kept working with the help of carpenters from the church and later, I sold it for twice what I had paid! Now, twelve houses later, I realized that God was providing for me in ways that I had never realized when I got engaged with whatever I needed to do and was willing to do it! 

So, if someone needs help, assist them, and gain more life experiences! Develop a work ethic and learn how to give and share. Seek God and put Him first, and gain life experiences--these are keys to the windows opening, then... 

3. Watch for the Windows of Heaven to Open

According to the Bible, there are many windows in heaven. 

Malachi 3:10-12 NASB says: "...put Me to the test...says the Lord of hosts, “if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows. ¹¹ I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruit of your ground; nor will the vine in the field prove fruitless to you,” says the Lord of armies. ¹² “All the nations will call you blessed, for you will be a delightful land,” says the Lord of armies."

The "windows of heaven" could be your salary, health, or marriage doing very well because if the marriage messes up, it could cost you a lot! Another window could be when a friend or helper fixes your broken car for parts and saved you $900 to 1000, and protection! The other day someone drifted into my lane and ran into the corner of my horse trailer, that's the strongest part of the trailer and it took off half of her front end and busted a tire and totaled her car; mine had a small dent that I welded and fixed. I said, "Lord, that's a window of heaven, you protected my trailer, and the horse didn't even know what happened!" Also, unexpected checks!  

How many windows can God open for you? Could be a million. Let me share this story: We had a young lady in our church named Ann who was hurting. She heard me on the radio and sent me an email asking if I would come and pray for her. She was bedridden; gangrene had set in her arm and leg. She loved God and loved to worship so on my next visit, I brought my guitar, and we sang. Her desire was for her Buddhist parents to be saved, but she passed away, and we had her funeral at our church in Hilo. It was the first Christian funeral in her generation. 

On Sunday her parents came to church and when I gave the invitation to receive Christ, they both raised their hands! The next week they had taken their Buddhist altar to the priest and told him they are no longer Buddhist and would be serving Christ! They were transformed and became members of our church and served the Lord until they both passed away.  

Let me tell you the rest of the story:  What I didn't know was that Ann's dad was an amazing carpenter--he had built many of the houses in Hilo.  When he retired and saw how I was trying to remodel my old house, he came every day, full time, and helped me remodel the kitchen and bath, etc. and when I sold the house it had doubled in price!

When I moved to Honolulu, knowing how to remodel old houses, I bought and sold 12 houses! It all began when I sang and prayed for Ann--you won't know the outcome, but when you do it God's way and seek His best, watch for the windows of heaven to start opening! One day you will look back and see that God provided every step of the way and opened the windows of heaven and poured you out a blessing you won't have room to contain! Do it God's way! 

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION:

1. What is the difference between believe and trust?
2. Share your experience of trusting God. What did God do?
3. Pastor Wayne said gaining life experience is gold, what did he mean?
4. Share an experience of God providing for you.