The Greatness of God

February 7, 2012 Hi everyone!
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. 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, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.” Ephesians 6:10-20

Recently, a church member approached me following one of our services and asked a question: “Pastor, do Baptists not talk about the devil? I don’t recall in any of your messages where you talk about the devil! Is there a particular reason why this subject is not talked about?” I tried to answer the question as honestly as I could and said: “I am not sure why other Baptist churches and their pastors do not speak much about the devil but I believe that it is due to personal preference. For me, to the contrary, I do talk about the devil fairly often, calling him by the names in the Bible as “the enemy of our souls”, “Satan”, “ the evil one”, the “accuser”, the “thief that comes to steal, kill and destroy, the father of lies”. BUT I make a conscious effort not to give him center stage and prominence in any of my messages. The Bible is quite clear when it says that “the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” (1 John 4:4) Christ in us gives us the authority and the power to overcome the evil one. I choose not to give Satan any more attention than necessary. I believe that God alone is Creator and the devil is like us in that we are created beings, lesser than God. That is why we call God Almighty! James 4:7 reminds us that our focus instead is to be on God. “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”

If we keep our focus on God, then He gives us all that we need to resist the “flaming arrows” of the evil one and we will then enjoy the fullest life possible! Live life to the full, Kinoole! Fix your eyes fully on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith and stand fast! Stand firm on His Word and pray. And thank you for praying for Gail and me and our families! We are indeed blessed to have your prayer support! Pastor Daniel

A Belated Happy New Year Greeting!

Hello everyone! Sorry this is already twelve days late but maybe the saying "Better late than never!" applies here! This comes with a New Year's prayer, from the Apostle Paul's letter to the Ephesian church in chapter 1:15-20 For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know Him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, and His incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength,20 which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms. . . the Apostle Peter caugtht this thought when he wrote his letter to the saints in 2 Peter 1:3-4 "His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires." God makes His power available for life and godly living but we cannot go with God and remain the same as we are. As we begin this new year, remember what Jesus said to the Apostle John in Revelation 2 to give to the church of Ephesus: "Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love.5 Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place." May 2012 be the best year ever as we return to our first love, to love the Lord our God with all our hearts, soul, mind and strength! Amen? Let's get to work! See you this Sunday! Pastor Daniel

Emmanuel: God Is With Us!

Hi everyone! Possess the Land: Room to Dream is now officially a reality! With the wonderful memories of the Celebration Event still fresh in our minds, with the Thanksgiving season reminding us to be thankful for God's abundance and with the Christmas season upon us pointing us to the Reason for the Season Is Jesus! God has surely blessed Karen and me! On the last night before my 90-year old mother left to return to Maui, she prayed to receive the Lord and accept God's offer of salvation and eternal life(heaven). For over 50 years, ever since my sister came to faith in Christ as a freshman in high school, many people has prayed for the salvation of her family, especially Mom and Dad. God has been faithful to answer these prayers! Great is His faithfulness! God has reminded us that acquiring the next door property is not about land but expanding His influence here in Hilo. He wants every person in Hilo to come to a saving knowledge of His Son! Everywhere the church is: in our homes, in our neighborhoods, in our work places and places of recreation and activity, He is inviting us to be the salt and light for those we know to come to know Him. In Jesus' priestly prayer(John 17:3), Jesus prayed: "Now this is eternal life; that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ , whom you have sent." 1815 Kinoole Street is where the church gathers each week and where He scatters us to be His witnesses to those being saved and to those perishing. Now He has entrusted us with expanding our gathering place to include an additional acre in one of the busiest and most trafficked intersections in all of Hilo. Why? Because He wants "every knee bowed and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." (Philippians 2:10-11) This is our time to trust God to do the impossible! I remember my pastor once saying: "If God can perform the greatest miracle in our lives by making our hearts tender toward Him, every other thing that we may consider impossible IS POSSIBLE WITH GOD! He is looking for a people who will trust and obey! Are we ready? Do we want to see God do the impossible? Let's join God as He does the impossible, shall we? Exploring God's riches of God together, Pastor Daniel

Happy 65th Anniversary Kinoole Baptist Church!

Hi everyone! What an incredible Celebration Event! Lauryn really outdid herself in the decorations, simple but really elegant! And the Possess the Land: Room to Dream banner was striking! Food selection great, portions generous and tasty! And thank you ladies for the wonderful desserts(I especially enjoyed the mochi and the chi chi dango!) The assorted delicacies was worth braving the rainy conditions! Over 75 people in attendance, including children AND 49 families making commitments to give above their regular giving for the next 3 years. What a great display of trusting God! Ken's and Lauren's giving testimonies were impactful! Please pray for God's leadership and protection! Have a great thanksgiving this week with family and friends! We love you all! Pastor Daniel and Karen

Keep It Up! Don't Quit Now!

Hi everyone! I trust that this blog finds you well and that you are looking to Jesus for your help! In our bible study this week, we were reminded in Romans 14:12 "So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God." Because God is owner, we are managers or stewards. Everything belongs to God and one day, He will call us to account for our:

Use of Words: Matthew 12:36-37 But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”

Use of Spiritual Gifts 1 Peter 4:10 "Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms."

Use of Possessions Luke 16:1-2 "Jesus told his disciples: “There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions. So he called him in and asked him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you cannot be manager any longer."

In the movie Spiderman, Peter Parker is reminded by his Uncle Ben: "Remember Peter, with great privilege comes great responsibility!" Similarly, we have been privileged to serve the Master of the Universe, our Lord Jesus to represent Him before an unbelieving Hilo. But with this privilege also comes responsibility to be faithful, to walk the talk, to be the bibles that people will read this week and see the love of Jesus. May God help us, His church here at Kinoole, to be faithful to the call! Have a great week!
one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.
We are responsible to God to be good managers of our Possessions. (Luke 16:1-2) Jesus told his disciples: “There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions. So he called him in and asked him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you cannot be manager any longer.’

We Can’t Do This In Our Own Strength! Because when we do, we will fail: Jesus said “Apart from Me You can do nothing.”

Find Us Faithful

This past Sunday, Gail Inamine shared in her message "Tithing Is Taking a Risk" that in 1977, our church risked hiring her as a second staff person. "At the time" she stated, "in our Hawaii Baptist Convention, there were not many churches that had more than one on staff. Most had just the pastor". But for almost 35 years, she has served our church and our Lord faithfully and we have been especially blessed by her ministry. I believe that God has proven many times over to all who have benefited by her faithful devotion that when we trust God fully, there is really no risk involved, just faith and obedience. In the song "Find Us Faithful" by Jon Mohr, he reminds us of the faith that the Lord demands of every generation. As we approach the 65th anniversary of God planting our church here in Hilo, remembering the host of faithful servants of God that have come before us, it is altogether proper for us to declare our allegiance once again to the One who saved us and placed us here at Kinoole to carry on this legacy:

We're pilgrims on the journey Of the narrow road
And those who've gone before us line the way
Cheering on the faithful, encouraging the weary
Their lives a stirring testament to God's sustaining grace

Surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses Let us run the race not only for the prize
But as those who've gone before us Let us leave to those behind us
The heritage of faithfulness Passed on through godly lives

After all our hopes and dreams have come and gone
And our children sift through all we've left behind
May the clues that they discover And the memories they uncover
Become the light that leads them To the road we each must find

Oh may all who come behind us find us faithful May the fire of our devotion light their way
May the footprints that we leave Lead them to believe
And the lives we live inspire them to obey

Oh may all who come behind us find us faithful
Oh may all who come behind us find us faithful

God bless you this week as you enjoy the devotional lessons of "A Study in Biblical Stewardship: Generosity"! See you this Sunday! Pastor Daniel

Call to Prayer

Hi everyone! Just enjoyed praying this morning in a Prayer Gathering for Possess the Land: Room to Dream capital stewardship campaign. One of our members shared an interesting conversation he had with a man who has created over 100 Japanese gardens here in Hilo. This passion to leave behind "Living Treasures" reminds me of what God desires of us in 1 Peter 2:9-10: "But yo are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy." The Apostle Paul gives a similar appeal in his second letter to the Corinthian church(2 Cor.2:14-15) "But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of Him. For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who being saved and those who are perishing." In his letter to the Ephesians(Eph 2:10), he writes: "For we are God's workmanship(His masterpieces still in progress) created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." We are leaving behind a legacy of faith for those who come after us. At our Commitment Service on November 20, 2011 we will celebrate our 65th anniversary. It was mentioned today that some of us may not be here to celebrate our 75th, 85th or 100th year anniversary. But God is calling on us to leave a foundation of dependence on God to provide the resources for the purchase of the property NOW and the building of buildings LATER. I am so glad to be a part of a church who believes God! Enjoy the week of prayer! Pastor Daniel