Aloha I Ke Akua Christian Fellowship
Senior Pastor Paul A. Kaiwi, Jr., M.D.
Sunday Morning Service
September 3, 2006
Breaking Our Silence!!!
JOKE: Passengers aboard a luxurious cruise ship were having a great time until a baby girl fell overboard. Immediately there was an 80 year old man in the water who rescued the little girl. The crew pulled them both out of the shark-infested, rough waters. The captain was grateful as well as amazed that such an old white-haired man performed such a huge act of bravery. That night a large banquet was given in honor of the ship’s elderly hero. He was called forward to receive an award and was asked to say a few words. He said, "First of all, I’d like to know who pushed me overboard."
Introduction: Today’s message is sort of like the joke I just shared. We’re going to get pushed. But no worry, It’s a good kind of push, because we’re going to get pushed by God this morning.
Ecclesiastes 3:7b NIV ...a time to be silent and a time to speak.
This giant called the church is silent and sleeping. The church must awaken and no longer be silent. It is time for every person who calls themselves Christians to rise up, wake up, and break our silence. This entire world was created by our Father God, and He wants His children to have it. He wants every human being on this earth to have a personal relationship with Him. I guarantee that!! But, He cannot have these relationships if the church is silent.
Here’s a quick history on the United States and the Church.
●Christianity got taken out of our U.S. Government, and the church stood by in silence.
●The bible got taken out of our U.S. court rooms, and the church stood by in silence.
●Bible reading in public schools got banned, and the church stood by in silence.
●Prayer in public schools were stopped, and the church stood by in silence.
●Freedom of speech laws allow people to speak nasty and profane language in public, and the church stood by in silence.
●Abortion laws allow killing of innocent babies, and the church stood by in silence.
●The enemy is taking over our country, and the church stands by in silence.
The enemy wants Hana, Keanae, and Kaupo but this church is not going to stand by in silence. No way! We are going to make some noise and cause some shaking. Not by power, or by might but by His Holy Spirit. I know that we have some people in here who are called by God to preach the gospel, called by God to make some noise, called by God to cause some shaking. And just like me, you people cannot hold it in. It’s like fire shut up in your bones.
Jeremiah 20:9 NIV But if I say, "I will not mention him or speak any more in his name," his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot.
We must break out of our silence. We must break out of our comfort zones. We must break out of the four walls of this Helene Hall. We cannot remain silent any longer.
Luke 19:40 NIV "I tell you," he replied, "if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out."
Acts 4:20 NIV “For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard."
Background for these next scriptures…
Acts 4:7-13, 17-20, 23-24, 29-33 NLT They brought in the two disciples and demanded, "By what power, or in whose name, have you done this?" 8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, "Leaders and elders of our nation, 9 are we being questioned because we’ve done a good deed for a crippled man? Do you want to know how he was healed? 10 Let me clearly state to you and to all the people of Israel that he was healed in the name and power of Jesus Christ from Nazareth, the man you crucified, but whom God raised from the dead. 11 For Jesus is the one referred to in the Scriptures, where it says, ’The stone that you builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.’ 12 There is SALVATION in no one else! There is no other name in all of heaven for people to call on to save them." 13 The members of the council were amazed when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, for they could see that they were ordinary men who had had no special training. They also recognized them as men who had been with Jesus. 14 But since the man who had been healed was standing right there among them, the council had nothing to say.
15 So they sent Peter and John out of the council chamber and conferred among themselves. 16 "What should we do with these men?" they asked each other. "We can’t deny they have done a miraculous sign, and everybody in Jerusalem knows about it. 17 But perhaps we can stop them from spreading their propaganda. We’ll warn them not to speak to anyone in Jesus’ name again." 18 So they called the apostles back in and told them never again to speak or teach about Jesus. 19 But Peter and John replied, "Do you think God wants us to obey you rather than him? 20 We cannot stop telling about the wonderful things we have seen and heard." 21 The council then threatened them further, but they finally let them go because they didn’t know how to punish them without starting a riot. For everyone was praising God 22 for this miraculous sign – the healing of a man who had been lame for more than forty years.
23 As soon as they were freed, Peter and John found the other believers and told them what the leading priests and elders had said. 24 Then all the believers were united as they lifted their voices in prayer: "O Sovereign Lord, Creator of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them – 25 you spoke long ago by the Holy Spirit through our ancestor King David, your servant, saying, ’Why did the nations rage? Why did the people waste their time with futile plans? 26 The kings of the earth prepared for battle; the rulers gathered together against the Lord and against his Messiah.’ 27 "That is what has happened here in this city! For Herod Antipas, Pontius Pilate the governor, the Gentiles, and the people of Israel were all united against Jesus, your holy servant, whom you anointed. 28 In fact, everything they did occurred according to your eternal will and plan. 29 And now, O Lord, hear their threats, and give your servants great boldness in their preaching. 30 Send your healing power; may miraculous signs and wonders be done through the name of your holy servant Jesus." 31 After this prayer, the building where they were meeting SHOOK, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. And they preached God’s message with boldness.
32 All the believers were of one heart and mind, and they felt that what they owned was not their own; they shared everything they had. 33 And the apostles gave powerful witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and God’s great FAVOR was upon them all.
1. Breaking our Silence allows Salvation for our Community
In verse 12, when we break our silence, we can share Salvation to our families, coworkers, friends, social groups, enemies, people we meet on the street, or in the stores. We don’t need to shove Salvation down their throats. We simply let them know the truth that God loves them, and we love them too. We allow our community to receive Salvation in Jesus Christ. We allow them. It is their choice. By no means do we force them into salvation.
If we should decide to remain silent about salvation for our community, then that means we are OK with them going to hell and burning forever and ever. It means that we are OK with them spending eternity with Satan and his demons. I tell you church family, I am not OK with that. And I know that deep down inside, you are not OK with that also. Therefore we must break our silence and speak Jesus to our community. Get this one, we must break our silence and live Jesus in our community. People will see us and hopefully seek God as a result.
Personally, I am not one for public speaking because I carry a heavy “Pidgin” accent, which I am embarrassed about. But when I think about the bigger picture, that someone may come to the Lord if I speak, then I am very willing to break my silence. I may have a word that makes someone choose heaven over hell, eternal life over eternal death. With this said, I believe that all of us here today go through that same situation. You may feel shame or embarrassed, or feel unprepared to break your silence. But I’m telling you that you may carry that one word, or that one idea that when you speak it, it could make one or one thousand people choose heaven over hell and eternal life over eternal death. We must break our silence! Let’s think about the bigger picture. God wants relationships with every human being out there! We must break our silence and tell them about Jesus!
2. Breaking our Silence causes a Shaking in our Community
Check out verse 31, after they prayed, they were filled with the Holy Spirit and the building shook. It is time for us to break our silence and cause a shaking and rumbling in our community for God. If not, the stones will cry out and praise God. And I ain’t letting no stone next to me praise God, because that’s my job! Let’s cause a massive shaking in Keanae, Hana, Kaupo, Maui, Hawaii.
Illustration: Remember several years ago, our Hana community was the second worst town in Hawaii for ice (crystal meth) use and abuse. At that time, the devil was causing a whole lot of shaking in our town. Then some residents realized that in order for us to fight back against ice, we need to cause a ruckus or a rumbling or some shaking in Hana. From that, we got the roadside PA’I (people against ice) program every Tuesdays or Thursdays in the afternoons. We brought drums and cans and whistles to cause some shaking. And that was a good thing! Because it worked! It got our community to pull itself out of the ice epidemic. We can do that for our God also!
When we accept Jesus Christ into our lives as our Saviour, we also receive the Holy Spirit. This is God’s same Holy Spirit which we see in verse 31, that caused the disciples to preach God’s message with boldness. Church, every one of us have the potential to preach the gospel with boldness, and live our lives with boldness, and shake our community with boldness. Shake our community until they realize that God is in the house and He ain’t leaving. Let’s cause a shaking and awakening! Let’s break our silence. God’s church has no walls, no boundaries. We are here to shake, rattle, and roll.
We are here to:
●pray for those who need prayer,
●feed those who are hungry,
●teach those who want to learn,
●comfort those in crises,
●give to those that need,
●give hope for the hopeless,
●heal those who are hurt,
●encourage those who are discouraged,
●lead the unsaved to Jesus.
Illustration: The New Testament of the bible records forty distinct sick people suffering from some type of disease who had been healed by Jesus. Of the forty sick people, thirty-four were either brought to Jesus by others, or Jesus was taken to them by others. In only six cases out of forty did the sick people find their way to Christ on their own.
Gang, we need to either take Jesus out to the community, or bring the community in to Jesus. We need to break our silence and get involved with our community members, friends, families, enemies. We need to take Jesus out to them or bring them into church to Jesus.
3. Breaking our Silence brings Favor to our Community
Let’s look at verse 33. When we break our silence and give a powerful witness and testimony about our Lord Jesus Christ, God will honor us with His favor. Because we are telling people to be reunited again with their creator, God the father. His favor will be upon His people and our communities. And when God has His hands of favor on our people, the enemy will have a very difficult time trying to get to us. Let us break our silence for God, and watch His favor take over our lives.
When God’s great favor is upon us all:
●Prostitutes can become preachers,
●Alcoholics can become apostles,
●Sinners can become saved,
●Criminals can become Christians,
●Murderers can become Martyrs,
●Evildoers can become Evangelists,
●The Poor can become prosperous,
●The Hurt can become Healers,
●The Failures can become the Favored,
●The Wicked can become Worshippers,
●And, Speakers of Gossip can become Speakers of the Gospel.
Anything can happen when God’s favor is upon us all.
Conclusion
In closing, just like Peter and John experienced in the bible, Satan and his forces want to keep us silent so that they can do what they do best. That is to keep our people and our communities in the dark and far away from God. This sleeping giant called the church is being commanded to break our silence. Only then can we lead people to Jesus Christ, and only then can we cause a shaking in our communities.
Illustration: Many mornings I wake up early to sit outside to pray in peace and tranquility. In the early morning, there’s no noisy trucks, no automobile loud sound systems, no crying one year old babies, and no telephones. I sit back and think about what my day will be like and how good or how stressful it may be. I think about those who are in need and those who are less fortunate than we are. I think about our fellowship and how each person is growing spiritually. Yet throughout all of these thoughts, I think about God’s love for me, and how He allowed me to live yet another day. I am so grateful that He gives me another chance to do His work and hopefully, to do good for mankind.
It’s time for all of us to do good for mankind. This sleeping giant called the church is being commanded to break our silence. Only then can we lead people to Jesus Christ, and only then can we cause a shaking in our communities.
