The History of Aurora First Assembly

40 Days of Legacy

Introduction

“Cover me, I’m going in!” I heard that line a thousand times watching old western movies as a kid. A team of marshals unleashed a blanket of gunfire while a few brave souls advanced forward with heads down and determined to take new ground. In light of our relocation efforts, those words have a new and sobering meaning to me.

As we near the halfway point of our capital campaign and initiate a new legacy of ministry, we must expect, face, and overcome spiritual obstacles. Make no mistake, Satan and his angry legion of despicables won’t be happy about our vision. On the other hand, God will be pleased, honored, and glorified.

Our successful efforts do not happen because of our strength or resources, but only by the supernatural power of God. Zechariah shot a hole through the target when he said, “‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty” (Zechariah 4:6). Nehemiah launched his own building program with prayer when he said, “for some days I fasted and prayed before the God of heaven” (Nehemiah 1:4).

You hold in your hand a devotional and prayer guide entitled, “40 Days of Legacy.” This guide is our plan to provide “cover” as we advance forward and take the high ground. It is a powerful life-changing journey into the future of Aurora First Assembly. This devotional resource examines 40 principals that King David and the children of Israel applied in building the temple and how they can relate to each one of us. I am asking you to partner with me by doing the following:

Read: Set aside five minutes of each day to read each day’s devotional thought in the morning.
Think: Allow the application questions to serve as food for thought throughout your day.
Pray: Pray about how each principal may apply to you and your family.
Act: Respond to what God places on your heart.

So please use it, pray it, and believe it! But most importantly, cover me, we’re going in!

Pastor Gene and Rhonda

The Faith of Our Fathers

In you our fathers put their trust; they trusted and you delivered them (Psalm 22:4, NIV).

The 1997 movie, Amistad, was based on a true story of 53 Africans who were illegally seized by the slave trade in 1839. Captured and accused of mutiny, the Africans were tried as slaves. At one point in the movie, John Quincy Adams tries to communicate to a slave named Cinque the enormity of the challenge that lay before them. Feeling a sense of destiny upon his shoulders, Cinque responds:

I will call into the past—far back to the beginning of time—and beg my ancestors to come and help me at the judgment. I will reach back and draw them into me and they must come. For at this moment, I am the whole reason that they have existed at all.

As we approach the monumental task of relocating this ministry, we should all share Cinque’s sense of responsibility and respect for the past. In the past 75 years, the faith, sacrifice, and vision of many who have called Aurora First their home have paved a way before us. Their steadfast spirit has carried this church through uncertain storms, and their humble grace has been an example to us in seasons of success.

As we approach the financial goal of $1.2 million this December, let us remember the faith of our fathers. Like Cinque, let us call into the past for strength. Let us draw close to the stuff of their spirit. For at this moment, the future is the whole reason they have existed.

Think

Is there a person in your past whom you might consider as a role-model, someone for whom you felt great responsibility and respect? In what ways did that person give you strength to draw on?

Think of some Biblical figures whose circumstances and actions inspire you. What were their circumstances? How did they overcome adversity? What is it about their stories that inspires you and gives you strength?

Pray

Ask God what you can do today to be a role-model for future generations. Seek to learn how you might become a pillar whom others look to for strength.

Act

What steps could you take to become the kind of person to whom future generations might draw on for strength? Determine to begin those steps today.

Are You Planting Walnuts?

Earlier this year I planted a walnut tree. It’s a strange feeling, planting walnut trees. You know that you are never going to see that tree looking as a walnut tree should, old and gnarled and venerable and full of nuts. Some day, perhaps, your grandchildren or more likely some stranger’s grandchildren will look up and say, “Doesn’t that walnut tree look great,” or will curse it when the nuts get in the way of the lawnmower. They won’t thank you or curse you; they won’t even think of there being a you, someone who once consciously decided to plant that tree in that place. So why was I doing it? I won’t see it grown up; no one will thank me for it or remember me for it. I guess I planted it because it just seemed right and would seem right in the days after I was gone. It was, I must admit, a good feeling. I wondered why such an irrational act felt so good. It set me thinking.

I wondered first why so little of the rest of my life had this kind of perspective. I was, most of the time, more like a sower of annual flowers, looking for results this summer or at best a planter of shrubs which have a three-year payoff. “Thinking beyond the grave.” It’s a nice phrase. Living now so that others later can live more abundantly. Life after death, but others’ lives after your death. Perhaps that is part of what Christianity is really all about.

These are the words of British philosopher, Charles Handy. In light of our decision as a church to relocate our ministries to the property we own in the Southlands area, they have newfound meaning. That is the same philosophy King David had when he led the nation of Israel in their own building program. As we approach the financial goal of $1.2 million this December, we should be motivated by the same sense of obligation to project our faith, courage, and sacrifice into future generations. David faced the challenge of a building program as we are at Aurora First Assembly, but he looked at it more like passing down a legacy rather than building a building. So, with each dollar we give and each hour we pray, let’s view them as walnut seeds yielding a future harvest.

Think

Are you a sower of annual flowers, looking for immediate but short-lived results? Have you ever wished you had dedicated more time to something of greater, longer-lasting value? Now is the time to put feet to those wishes and make them a reality.

Pray

Ask God to help you see the long-term benefits of today’s hard work and sacrifice. Allow Him to move on your heart so that the things you do today will leave a legacy by projecting your faith into future generations.

Act

As you weigh the choices and sacrifices you will make, what Scriptures come to mind that help you to see the future value, whether material or spiritual, of your sacrifices? In other words, what verses help you to see the walnut tree rather than the seed? Jot some of those verses down here and refer to them for continued encouragement.

A View from Another World

Scientists affectionately call it “The Eye of God”—a helix nebula spotted by the Hubble Space Telescope. The Hubble is not much bigger than a school bus, but it can observe 19 galaxies and see as far as 108 million light-years away. That has not always been the case. For thousands of years, our vision into space was somewhat limited and blurred. The earth’s atmosphere causes a blurring effect for any telescope located under the atmosphere and on the surface of the earth. That frustration was overcome in 1990 when NASA placed the Hubble Space Telescope in orbit. Without being hindered by the earth’s atmosphere, the Hubble’s resolution is ten times better than any telescope on earth. The Hubble’s position above the earth’s atmosphere is the secret to its power.

Our vision is a lot like that. In order to be effective, it has to originate from above—not from what is of this world. First Chronicles 28:12 tells us that David’s vision to build a temple came from God. His vision, like our own, came from God and not man. We can have all the money in the world with the best architects and builders, but unless our vision comes from heaven, we will not be successful. But what is a worthy vision? What is our vision for this new building?

In 1 Chronicles 28:2, David answered these questions by calling all his people together and painting a mental picture of the vision God had called them to in building the temple of God.

King David rose to his feet and said: “Listen to me, my brothers and my people. I had it in my heart to build a house as a place of rest for the ark of the covenant of the Lord, for the footstool of our God, and I made plans to build it.”

Our vision is not unlike that of David’s. Our vision is not to construct a building but to create an environment of faith for the future. This fall we will all be stretching our faith to meeting our December building fund balance of $1.2 million. Let’s remember, we’re not just building a building. We’re creating a resting place for God’s powerful presence in the Southlands area!

Think

Have you been looking at this project as though through an earthly atmosphere, hindered from seeing with heavenly vision? What steps can you take to keep your vision as though coming from above and not from this world?

Pray

Pray that God will give you a mental picture of the vision He has for Aurora First. Pray that His presence will come to the Southlands area in a new and mighty way because of the work you are doing today.

Act

What will make the new construction more than just a building, but an environment of faith? Discover what steps you can take to be a part of the spiritual construction as well as the material construction.

God’s Presence

in the Southlands

When King David was building the temple, he had a vision of that building serving as an intersection between God and man. We see this again in Psalm 132:7-8:

Let us go to his dwelling place; let us worship at his footstool—arise, O Lord, and come to your resting place, you and the ark of your might.

The Ark of the Covenant was a rectangular box made of acacia wood about 4 by 2½ by 2½ feet and covered with gold. It was carried on poles inserted in rings at the four lower corners. The lid of the ark was called the “mercy seat” and was a gold plate with two angel-like figures with outstretched wings that faced each other from opposite ends.

The ark served several needs and became a central element of worship in Israel’s history. It was a spiritual archive, a storage place for items of spiritual significance. It was also a supernatural meeting place. God told Moses that His divine presence would rest between the angelic figures and that He would meet the spiritual leadership there to speak with them and reveal His will. The ark became the meeting place in the inner sanctuary where the Lord revealed His will to His special servants, like Moses, Aaron, and Joshua. The ark became a powerful symbol of God’s divine presence in the midst of His people.

It was at the ark where God revealed Himself, spoke, and guided His people. A few years before, David had installed the ark in a tent at Jerusalem, but David now wanted to create a more permanent home for the ark in a newly constructed temple. His desire was to locate the ark where the presence of God would be accessible. He wanted to create an intersection where God and man could meet in the temple.

In the same way, Aurora First Assembly’s new building will become a powerful landmark where spiritual transformation, supernatural epiphanies, and changed lives occur. The building will be a living reminder of God’s past provision, direction, and anointing upon our church. It will be a meeting place where the presence of God is expected, welcomed, and rests. It will be a supernatural vortex where people find divine direction, redirection, and inspiration for life—an intersection where needy people meet a powerful God.

Just as David’s desire was to locate the ark where the presence of God would be accessible, our desire is that Aurora First Assembly will be a place where God is accessible. As we all search our lives and make new sacrifices to meet our December building fund balance of $1.2 million, lets keep in mind that we are creating a resting place for God’s presence and footstool for others to reach heaven.

Think

What makes a building a place where God’s presence can rest? What is it about a place of worship that creates an atmosphere where people will feel God’s presence?

Pray

Pray that Aurora First would become a modern-day “ark” in the Southlands—a place where spiritual transformation can take place, where people will find direction and inspiration, where they will meet God face to face.

Act

Find ways that you, personally, can be a part of turning the new building into a powerful symbol of God’s divine presence.

Preserving Precious Values

Rodney Zeeb, inheritance expert and author of the book, Beating the Midas Curse, says that six out of ten affluent families will lose the family fortune by the end of the second generation, and nine out of ten will have depleted the family wealth by the end of the third generation.

Zeeb is not the first person to figure this out. An ancient Chinese proverb says: Wealth never survives three generations. These sobering realities raise the question: How can families push blessing into future generations and protect resources? To help families make successful transfers, some financial advisers are broadening their approach and urging families to focus on passing on values as well as valuables to successive generations.

Our building program is an opportunity for us to preserve our spiritual values and the valuable treasures of faith. David also recognized this when he was building the temple in the Old Testament. He spoke of the temple as a resting place for the Ark of the Covenant:

In addition to the ark’s being a meeting place between God and man, it was also a storage place for items of spiritual significance. In it were stored the stone tablets of the Law of Moses (God’s laws and precepts), the gold jar of manna that God fed the children of Israel while they were in the wilderness (representing God’s provision), and Aaron’s staff that had miraculously budded (representing God’s anointing upon His leaders).

In a powerful sense, David saw the construction of the temple as a way to preserve spiritual treasures. It would become a resting place for the powerful reminders and trophies of faith. Likewise, we have a vision to facilitate a legacy—to pass on the important treasures, trophies, and reminders of faith. In very much the same way, our relocation project can be an archive of spiritual legacy. As we all we stretch ourselves to meet this December’s building fund balance of $1.2 million, let us remember we are also preserving those treasures of faith. With each dollar we invest in building this resting place for God’s presence, we are also preserving our doctrine and ministry values as a church.