Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:00:01]:

You know, it is great to go and develop some long term relationships in Fiji. And I haven't been able to go since the pandemic, and I'm sure I'll be able to go again probably next year. But they do such a wonderful job, and really a large part of what they do is kind of multiplying the ministry. We could do a little bit, but then when we equip and we speak into the lives of the leaders and pastors that are there, then they go out and they actually do the things that they can do way better than us. And so Dr. Hale and Dr. Clarence did such a great job last year that they really kind of invited them to expand in some of that. And so we're excited to hear when they come back and thank you for everybody who partnered with us, who gave for that mission as well.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:00:51]:

But this evening I had mentioned that we're starting a new series. But sometimes what I've noticed is that we forget stuff. Anybody here forgot something today? Maybe that before you came. Or let's just say this how many of you guys have ever gone to your car, put something because your hands are full. You guys ever do this? Put something on the roof of your car and then you forgot that you put it on the roof of your car and you drove away? Anybody did that, right? I've done that. A bunch of what kind of things have you guys left on the roof of your car? Coffee phone. What's that? Oh, eyeglasses. Eyeglasses.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:01:37]:

I've left keys. But then you can't start your car, right? So then you get the keys. At least I've left a Bible. And when I was driving, I heard this kind of the pages are flipping like this and then I see this giant Bible fly off the back of my car, right? So I think everybody's forgotten stuff and sometimes all different kinds of things. But what would you do if you're driving on the road and you saw somebody driving like this? Billy was driving his Chevy Cruz in Independence, Missouri when he approached a car with a young child riding on the roof. Billy almost couldn't believe his eyes. The child forgot that she had this child on the roof of her car or she didn't care that she had the child on the roof of the car. I'm not sure which one is worse.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:02:30]:

But the thing is that sometimes it is crazy what you can forget, right? In the same way, part of it, I think sometimes we forget things sometimes because we get a little too familiar. Sometimes you get a little too comfortable. There's an old saying that familiarity breeds contempt. But that's not always the case, right? Because familiarity can breed devotion. It can breed a greater sense of intimacy. But sometimes what happens is when we get familiar and we get comfortable and we forget to honor the people in our life or we start taking people for granted, then all of a sudden something begins to grow in us that's probably not the healthiest. And so maybe it's at that point that we start losing a little bit of respect. We start losing a little bit of reference.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:03:20]:

This happens often in long term relationships, but it can also happen in our faith. It can happen in our relationship with God. And so this evening we're beginning a series I'm just calling Restoring Our Awe of God. And we're looking at this thing about actually in this beginning of the series about what attracts God's presence. But before we kind of get into that thing about what attracts God's presence, I've noticed just this aspect that when I first became a believer, I was totally in awe of God because I had no God prior to becoming a believer. I wasn't raised in the church, right? So when I said yes to Jesus and I experienced his presence, I was like, shocked that I could know God. It was just an amazing thing that I could talk to the God of the universe and I was in such awe of God. And then after a while, you kind of get a little comfortable, right? We start getting a little maybe too familiar, and we forget that we're talking to the One who spoke and created the universe.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:04:33]:

That everything that you see, to be honest. Do me a favor. Just touch the chair that you're sitting in, right? Touch the chair that you're sitting. There's some people who say that the physical world, that it's really just physical things in the world. But you know what the Big Bang theory tells us is that everything that was created came out of what? Nothing. Right? And so would you know that before there was a physical universe, there was a spiritual world that all that we are touching and all that that we see is a derivative world. These things came out after the spiritual world, after God decided to create another realm, another world, a physical realm and that we get to live in. We forget that sometimes that this is the God that we serve, that at his word, that these things happen, that he brought order out of chaos, that at his word, he split the seas.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:05:28]:

This is the God that we serve. And yet he came veiled in flesh and walked in our steps in Christ Jesus. And so we remember when we remember these things sometimes maybe it brings us back. But we're not the only people that have ever experienced this, that sometimes we maybe lose a little bit of that awe of God. Solomon, who is often widely talked about in the Scriptures as the wisest of all men, was also subject to that. He started as a believer. He started in his role as a king on really kind of like the best foot that you can. The Lord appeared to him in a dream and he asked Solomon, solomon, what is it that you would like, ask me for anything? And so he asked, he said, Lord, I'm like a child here, I'm totally overwhelmed to lead your people and I need wisdom to do that.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:06:28]:

I don't have the wisdom. Would you give me wisdom so I can lead your people well? And it says how God was so pleased. He said that you didn't ask for money and you didn't ask for just long life. You didn't ask just so that you could get back at people who wronged you. He said that, I'm going to give you wisdom and I'm going to give you things that you didn't even ask for, like wealth and renown and all of these things. And God began to just bless Him, right? And the hard part about it is, after a while, operating out of the blessings of God, he began to get deceived a little bit and start thinking that maybe all the good things that he got was because he was so smart. Maybe starting to think a little bit that he was the one that figured it all out. That's why God blessed him, because he was wise, right? And so we see some kind of a decline for him.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:07:21]:

Now, when you take God for granted, then often it leads to a distance. And Solomon is actually known as wisest of all men. But he wrote a bunch of books, things like Proverbs. And in Proverbs it's interesting because he actually talks about the fact that we ought to be reverent and in awe of God. But sometimes you can say the thing, you can even tell other people about it, but sometimes forget to do it yourself. It says that this is what Solomon said in Proverbs 910. He says, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and the knowledge of the Holy One. Is understanding like the most fundamental thing if you want to be a wise person.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:08:06]:

He's saying is this fear the Lord? When you start having this reverence and fear of God, that all of a sudden that's fundamental foundational to kind of living a wise life, but he didn't apply it in his own life. Here's the good news though, that sometimes when you stray and you lose something like that, you forget something that you can get it back. So even though Solomon, if you read about his life, you know that he had a kind of a complicated life. But at the end of the life, it seems like he recovered this awe and fear of God. And I'd like us to read about that, how he reclaimed this aspect of the fear of the Lord. In Ecclesiastes, chapter twelve, verses 1313 to 14, and would you be kind enough, let's stand in reverence for God, reverence for His Word, and let's turn if you have a Bible you want to read out of your own Bible, you're free to do that. And if not, we'll read out of your notes. But this is what it says, verses 13 to 14.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:09:09]:

Ready? Let's read. Now. All has been heard. Here is the conclusion of the matter. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind. For who is this duty? Is it the duty of the king? No, it's for everybody. Everybody's duty, he says, is fear god keep his commands. Let's read on.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:09:35]:

Verse 14 says this what? For? God will bring every deed in the judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil. And so, even though Solomon forgot these things toward the end of his life, he says, you know, to be honest, I've lived all the ways that any person could live and all the excesses that any person could have. He practiced those things until he came back. He says, everybody stands accountable before God. And I think the biggest thing everybody needs to do if we really want to be able to live a good life, we really want to be able to live a wise life, really want to be able to be close to God, is that I need to understand the fear of God and to keep his commandments. And so this evening, for us, as we are looking at this aspect of restoring our awe of God, would you do me a favor? Just turn to your neighbor before your seat. He says, hey, we all need to stand in awe of God, and then you can have a seat. We all need to stand in awe of God.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:10:38]:

This stands in such stark contrast, right, to our culture today, right, that so often that we think that all fear is bad. In fact, it's not so prevalent today, but a few years ago, everybody you drive around, you would see a sticker in the back of trucks or the back of cars. Sometimes you see it on T shirts. It would say, what no fear, right? And we would think that fear is bad, that we think all fear is bad, and we start getting things confused, I think, today because fear, we think, will hinder us in our relationships, right? If I'm fearful or fear will hinder me from accomplishing all that I'm supposed to accomplish, and that kind of fear, sure, maybe those kinds of things can be negative, but it's also kind of bled in, I think, to the church where we think all fear maybe is bad. Maybe we think even that the fear of the Lord is something they said in the Old Testament. But in the New Testament, God doesn't want me to be fearful, right? Because sometimes we hear that that maybe it does say that God has not given us a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power and love and of sound mind. He says in one Timothy or maybe that we remember that perfect love casts all fear. And so people will say sometimes when we talk about the fear of the Lord, they say, well, you know, like this is that's an Old Testament thing? But that's not what it says in the Scripture.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:12:06]:

In the Scripture it says in Psalm 99, it says that the fear of the Lord is pure for how long? Enduring forever, and that the decrees of the Lord are firm and all of them are righteous. And even in the New Testament it says it like this. And can we read this together? In Hebrews Twelve, verse 28, it says this, let's read. Ready? Begin. Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful and so worship God, acceptably with reverence and awe. And this aspect of reverence and awe, this aspect of kind of the, this is really what the fear of the Lord is of reverence and awe. And not being afraid of God, but understanding the fear of the Lord is to have reverence and awe. Now, it will use definitely the word fear.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:13:11]:

They will use that word fear. But the fear of the Lord is different than a spirit of fear. And we ought not to confuse that. So don't confuse that spirit of fear with holy fear, the holy fear of God. In that Hebrews twelve passage, there's a couple of words that are given to talk about awe and reverence and this aspect of respecting greatly and honoring God. And so, to be honest, if you want to understand maybe a very simple definition of the fear of the Lord, it's a difficult thing, because there's so many aspects to this fear of the Lord that we can't say, it, I think in a simple sentence, we can't say it in a paragraph because we'll see this fear of the Lord is said over 280 times in the Scriptures. And sometimes there's a breadth to it. But maybe a good way for us to begin to understand it is to remember to fear God is to be in awe and reverence of Him, right? To be in awe of reverence.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:14:18]:

And who are you in awe and reverence of generally? Someone greater than yourself, right? Someone more powerful than you, someone more knowledgeable than you, someone more accomplished than you. It's to respect him greatly. It's to give him a place of honor and adore Him above all else. And you know, so often that churches, they call our gathering that we are in today, what do you call that? Often in a church? Call it a service, right? You guys ever heard that? We tend not to use that word because to be honest, in our church culture, kind of like that has been going on here in Hawaii for a while, that so many times we spoke to the needs of people. And so sometimes, to be honest, I think that people thought serve us was almost like serve us. We come to church to be served. We come to church that you meet our needs. And the thing is that we want to meet people's needs.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:15:26]:

That's not a problem. But you know what the word service actually meant in the beginning, when the church would have a service, it was so that we come to serve God and that God was the focus and God is the one that we serve. And so when we stand and we worship, our worship was our service to God, right? In the proclamation of the word of God, it was our service to God. And so sometimes that got a little bit confused. And so we see this aspect that this aspect of service is this aspect of the fear of the Lord is because we want to honor him, we want to respect Him, that there is a holy fear of God. It's not to be afraid of God, right? When God says that the fear of the Lord, he doesn't mean to be afraid of him. And a person who is scared of God, like, literally is petrified that doesn't want to come into God's presence usually either has a wrong view of God or they're hiding something, right? The person who doesn't want to come into the presence of God usually has a wrong view of God, that God's trying to punish them, that God's trying to take something away from them, or they have something to hide. If we remember in the book of Genesis, adam in the garden after he does what God told him not to do, to eat the forbidden fruit has actually broken creation.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:17:05]:

Right? Part of the reason why life is hard. Do you guys ever feel like life is hard? Sometimes because the world got broke? The world that we live in is not the world that God designed. And to be honest, part of our forebearers, they broke the world. And so when they broke it, you guys ever break something and then put it back? Just kind of make it look like it's the same thing, put it in the same place? And then when somebody says, what happened? And what do you say? I don't know. Right? So Adam is like that, except when God asks him, Why are you hiding, Adam? He says, Because I was naked and ashamed, and so I hid. And so fear and shame. And that wasn't supposed to be the relationship that God wanted to have with people. It entered the world because of this disobedience.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:17:58]:

So sometimes when people have this aspect of hiding from God, being afraid of God, it needs to be broken a little bit. That part needs to be corrected, because God doesn't want to have a relationship where you're ashamed to come into his presence, that God loves you. He really does care for you. Do me a favor. Turn to your neighbor and says, God does love you. He loves you right as you are. He does and sometimes this aspect of guilt and shame that he paid that price, he paid for that price at the cross. And so he's saying in many ways that when he calls us, he wants our heart to echo, lord, when you call me, I want to come, right? So like in Psalm 27, I've said this many times before where it says, Lord, my heart has heard you call.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:18:50]:

And Lord, in my heart, he's saying, Lord, I'm coming right Lord, I'm coming. If you're calling me God, I want to be there. But it uses this aspect that we come with a fear of the Lord, which doesn't squelch intimacy with God. It actually fosters and enhances it because we know that we're coming to someone so much greater than us, so much more powerful than us, and not just us, than whatever it is that is against you right now. Whatever it is, the challenge that's before you, whatever it is that you see is wrong in the world today, would you know? God is greater than all of that? That God's greater than all. Like the nations it says are a drop in the bucket in his sight. That all of the things that are happening, some of us, we get worried about so many things. You can be worried about climate change, you can be worried about the economy, you can be worried about whatever the situation.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:19:46]:

But God says this, I'm greater than all that. I'm greater than all that. And so he says that when we honor Him like that, then we start to see ourselves more clearly. We see God more clearly, and that we don't just see God through our problems. We see sometimes our problems and our challenges through God. That's what he's calling us to do. See your life and see yourself, see your world. And he says, but you got to reverence him.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:20:16]:

Fear him first. Psalm 89 seven says this in the counsel of the Holy Ones, god is what not just feared, greatly feared. He is more awesome than all who surround Him, whether that is the host in heaven or that is those on this earth. Now, there's something then, if this is what we want to restore, the sense of reverent, kind of honor of God, the holy fear of God, not a spirit of fear, not a spirit of guilt, not a spirit of shame, not a spirit of judgment. But understanding a reverence for God is an important thing, because God is attracted by those who have Godly fear of Him. God is attracted by those who have a Godly fear of Him. Now, I know when we talk about that, that sometimes it's an unsettling thing that people used to say that, oh, these are great God fearing people. You guys ever heard that? They're just great God fearing people.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:21:28]:

We tend not to use that today. Why? Because we think fear is all bad, right? That all fear is toxic. Not all fear is toxic. Fear of the Lord is a healthy fear, and all of us ought to understand that. But sometimes the reason why we also talk about God is attracted to people who have the fear of the Lord, because that where God is attracted to something, his presence is more fully known. His presence is more fully known. Now, I know that some people when we talk like this, that the presence of God to be more fully known, or that we want to welcome God into this place. There's some people that they have a little theological problem with that, because they say that God is present everywhere at all time.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:22:18]:

They called up on the presence of God, and that is true, that God is present at all places at all times. That is true. But there are times when God will show Himself and people can experience his presence in a different way than just the omnipresence of God, right? And that you can experience it personally. Jesus said it like this, that sometimes theologians call this manifest presence. He says this in John 1421. Let's read what it says. Whoever has my commands john 1421 Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:23:13]:

In other words, he's saying what? Earlier we talked about fear God and keep his commands. And so he says this whoever has my commands and keeps them, right. The one who honors me, the one who reveres me, the one who fears me, he says, the one who loves me will be loved by my Father. But what else? He says, I too will love them, but I'm going to show myself. I'm going to let you experience My presence more. He's going to manifest his presence. It's clear from the scriptures, whether it's in the Old Testament or in the New Testament, that sometimes God wants to show himself. Now, it's true that God is every place always, right? So, like Psalm 139, where it says, hey, where can I go from your presence? I could go to the remotest part of the sea, I could go to Fiji, I could go beyond Fiji, I could go to New Zealand or wherever I go around the world.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:24:05]:

And could I run away from presence? Obviously not, he says. But sometimes you can feel all alone in those places. Sometimes you can feel all alone here, right? And so it's in those moments that we don't experience God, you know, that there are moments where you don't experience God that he talks about that because, yes, God is close, but God says this, I'm also the God who's far away. I don't know if that makes sense to you, but in Jeremiah 23 23, he says this am I a God who is only close at hand? Says the Lord. No, I am far away. At the same time, some people might be wondering what does that even mean? And theologians talk about two things aspect and it's a continuum, the nearness of God. It's called the imminence of God and the fact that God is beyond everything that what you're experiencing, beyond your life, beyond all the problems and concerns that you have, beyond all the dreams that you have, that God is above all that, or transcendent, that there is both a transcendence of God and an imminence of God. But what happens is that when we have the fear of the Lord, a holy fear of God, he says this.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:25:32]:

It's a precursor to God revealing Himself in greater ways. And we even see this in the New Testament. And one of the I think the greatest things that we see in the New Testament was the birth of the church. We see this happening in actually Acts chapter one, acts chapter two, when the Spirit of God falls on the believers who are praying at Pentecost and at that point that the church is birthed, they go out into the community, they preach the gospel. And it says that thousands of people came to faith. And for us, like last week was an exciting time to be out in hokele and the start of a new season in the church. And you could feel it. It was tangible in the room, that there was sense of expectation, there was a sense of just gratitude, there was a sense of joy.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:26:27]:

And it was a great sense about that. But this is what it says in Acts 42 42. It says all the believers devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and to fellowship and to sharing in meals, including the Lord's Supper, and to prayer. And then it says this in verse 43. Let's read what it says. A deep sense of awe came over them all. And the apostles perform many miraculous signs and wonders. And you know where it says a deep sense of awe came over them? It actually uses the word Phobos, where we get the word fear, where you get the word Phobia.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:27:09]:

And he says, a deep sense of fear because what was that fear? The fear was a reverence for God, that man God is doing something, that God's presence is here. People are being changed. People are encountering them. And then what happened? There was a manifest presence of God so that they performed many miracles, many signs and wonders, and all the believers met together in one place and they shared everything they had. And so we see this concept then it's not an Old Testament concept of the fear of the Lord. It's a biblical concept. It's a principle for the people of God to understand that the awe of God was not an Old Testament thing. It's a god people thing.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:28:01]:

So I just want to bring one thing before you maybe that can be helpful for us to restore our awe of God. And it's simply this that before you bring yourself, before God, before you ask for something, before you worship, just remember who you're talking to. Just remember who you're talking to. I've been in places where you guys ever try to talk maybe whether in this kind of a setting where you have to present something, but nobody's listening. I do a lot of weddings, but you know what was harder than doing a wedding once was being the MC. At the wedding, people say, oh, Pastor Glenn, we'd love for you to be the MC for the wedding too. And I was thinking, I didn't do that. Weding he said, Would you be the MC? And I did that too.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:28:55]:

And you want to try to be funny. You want to try to be all this, but it's like when people are eating and you're doing all this stuff and you're trying to bring up some kind of a part of the program, it's like nobody's paying attention. You guys know what I'm talking about, right? There's just all the side conversations, and you hear the clinking and clanking of all the stuff, and nobody's paying attention. What do you feel like at that moment? Do you want to talk at that moment? Or you just want to say, like, how would you respond to that in that kind of a moment? I've been in that moment. You know what I did? I said, I need ten people because there was a lot of people I need ten people to go at the count of three to go, shh. Okay? One, two, three. And I said, you guys go. And then everybody went, shh.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:29:45]:

And then everybody stopped, right? And then they looked at me, and I said, now you guys go and listen. No, I didn't say that. But here's the thing, is that just because nobody wants to talk when nobody's paying attention would, you know, God is the same way that when nobody's paying attention that we can sing songs, right? But that's what we did. We sang songs. But when we are looking for God, we're honoring him, revering him. God. Then all of a sudden, singing is one of the most powerful things, because we're bringing ourselves before the presence of God. That when we pray.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:30:26]:

You guys ever pray that you don't even remember what you talked about, right? Or like, have you been like me? That you pray late at night, and the next thing there's like, a drool pool of drool on the side that you fell asleep as you started praying? If somebody was talking to you and you're talking to them, and then the next thing, you're pouring out your heart, and then you hear this kind of makes you not really want to say anything, right? So this is why God says, Honor me. Honor me. Revere me. Remember who you're talking to. And who are we talking to? Remember we. Just read that Hebrews 1228, but it continues on. There's another verse after that. But Hebrews 1228 says this therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God, acceptably with reverence and awe.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:31:26]:

But what's the second half of that sentence? Let's read that. For our God is a consuming fire. This is New Testament. And what is it saying? In some sense, it's reminding us way back to when Moses encountered God on the mountain in Sinai as a shepherd walking around, as a guy who thought his life was over. He saw a fire burning in a bush, but the bush wasn't getting burned up. And he thought that this is weird. Then he heard a voice. You guys remember what that voice said? Take off what? Take off your shoes, because the place where you're standing is holy ground.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:32:16]:

Don't treat this place that where you're standing as common in my presence. This is not a common thing. Our God is a consuming fire, he says, and that it's the same God. We sing that song saying that. I love that song, that he's the same God that you read and hear is the same God that we're calling to. And so he says, Treat me with reverence and awe. Why? Because one he's due. That's what he's worthy of.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:32:54]:

But then this is what he's saying. Then you know who you're talking to. Does it mean that we ought to just pray like this? Oh, great and mighty and horrible or terrible fire, god of fire, I am nothing before you. Is that what he's saying, how to pray? No, I don't think that's what it means to have the holy fear of God. Although I can understand there could be great reverence in that. When Jesus told us to pray, how did he teach us to pray? He taught us to call him Father, right? And Matthew six nine, he says this what? Pray like this. Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. Now, for some of us, I know that praying to God like a father can be difficult because of your relationship with your dad.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:33:58]:

For some of us, right. I had a hard time relating to God as father. I related to Jesus when I first became a believer because I could understand Jesus. I could see Jesus in the Scriptures, I could hear his voice. But sometimes I just kind of felt I couldn't relate to God as Father because, to be honest, my dad didn't really talk a whole lot. He wasn't always available, he wasn't always around. And so if you have a hard time with that aspect relating to God as a father, because he seems maybe a little distant or preoccupied, this is not what God is saying, that God is not the distant and preoccupied father. Now, thankfully, my relationship with my dad changed, and thankfully, I changed as a believer.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:34:50]:

It's very easy now for me to pray to God as Father, but he's saying this. Yes. That we connect to Him relationally, right? We give Him the highest honor. We say pray. Let our Father, where in heaven may your name be kept holy. And what does that mean, to keep God's name holy? It's to remember that God is different than us, that God is just above everything, that God, that the Father that we pray to is a mighty God. He is above all things. He's pure, he's powerful, he's wise, he knows all things.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:35:36]:

He's in all places at all times. But God says this. I want you to connect to me relationally. When he says father, it doesn't mean that father. Like in the old days if you ever watch a movie. Yes, Father. And then kind of have to stand at attention. Most of my friends that I've known, whether they're young, like my kids age or whether they're older than me, most of us never grew up calling our dad Father.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:36:09]:

We grew up calling our dad what probably dad, right? Different cultures maybe have different words, pop or whatever, different kinds of things. Sometimes Daddy right. When you're really young, the word that Jesus uses is not the word for Father. Like a title, like, this is your role, this is your mantle, you're a father now. That's not the word he uses. He uses the word for papa, for dad, for Daddy. The word abba. If you think of that word abba, it's like the first words that a child might mouth that when he's born, right? And so, unfortunately, ladies, sometimes the first word out of the baby's mouth wasn't mom, it's aba.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:37:05]:

And that's what he's saying. Relate to me like you're a child and I'm your dad, and I can pick you up, I can carry you. Yes, I can do all of those things. But your dad is the King of the universe. He's the everlasting god. He's the mighty one that all the angels in heaven bow and bring honor and glory to his name. He's saying that that's your dad. That's your dad.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:37:40]:

That's your father. And so we revere him. And so it invites us to elevate us because he's saying this, that's who your dad is and that his blood runs through you. He chose you to be part of that family. He wants you to be part of that family. He wants you to come under his covering. He wants you to experience all that he has for you. But you got to know who you're coming to, because God is is God kind and gentle like Jesus did where he said that like a bruised reed he won't break if something's already bent and bruised.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:38:29]:

He says that Jesus is not going to just break it in half. He says if you feel like your faith sometimes is like a little kind of ember, just a burning ember, just a little bit of whiff of smoke is coming out. He doesn't just go like, just might as well turn this out. That's not how he says, jesus is very kind, and we see that at times. But how else do we see him? Sometimes he turned over to tables, right? Sometimes he called people broods of vipers and snakes because they had zero reverence for him. And so here's the thing he's saying, understand, yes, there is the kindness and the intimacy of God, but understand that he's the mighty God, he's the holy God, but in Christ Jesus, we come through Him. So next time my challenge to you is this next time you come together and you want to worship, next time you pray, before you even pray, it's not about your words, by the way. It's not about all your words.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:39:42]:

Just start thinking about who it is that you're praying to, the image that you have of God. Would you just tell yourself, remind yourself the truth about who God is as you're coming to him and say, god, I'm thankful that you're the God who consumed all the sacrifice and the rocks in fire. You're the God who brought kind of the flood on the earth. You're the God who met Moses on the mountain in fire. You're the God who at the same time came and touched a leper when he extended his hand like he touched me. And God, there's nobody like you. Nobody can touch me like you. Nobody could lead me like you.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:40:53]:

Nobody could have forgiven me like you. Nobody could guide me like you. Just before you pray, that's it, that's all you do. You start remembering who you're talking to, who we're praying to. And, you know, the same thing happens, to be honest. We're going to take a look at this passage in Acts a little bit more over the coming weeks as well, because, to be honest, so often, you know why teaching is important, you know why they got together, it says in fellowship. And they did all these things. It's not that you need more teaching.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:41:37]:

This is what they were doing. They were looking for God in the teaching, and when they fellowshipped, they were looking for God in the fellowship. And when they ate together and they shared their lives together, they were looking for God in the fellowship. So it's just remembering who we're coming to so often changes that. There's time to play and time to just hang out and laugh and do all that. And then there's this time when we come, it's like it's a holy time before a holy God, a reverent time. Does that make sense? Because he says it's in that moment that the angel of the Lord encamps around those that fear him. If you want to have God's angelic host fill your hole, fear the Lord.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:42:39]:

It says that to the person who hides himself we talked about in the secret place that he's protected by it says disease and pestilence and all these things, to be honest, were kind of gods of the surrounding nations. And he says that if you want to be protected and you want that covering over you, that even though life is crazy outside but nothing that you're protected, he says this you got to remember who you're hiding yourself in. And so there's length of days, productivity of days, joy in life. There's a sense of change that happens in us and producing holiness in our lives that as we mature and grow, it says all. We find these things when there's a fear of the Lord. And I love what? Joy. Dawson, the author conference speaker, said this when we see Him face to face one day, when we see God face to face in all his awesome holiness and blazing glory, it will seem incredible to us that we ever had a casual thought in relation to it. Because one day we'll see Him for who he is.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:44:14]:

We're thankful that he covers us in Jesus. But the God of the Bible, the whole Bible is the God that we serve. Let's just remember that that makes sense. Let's bow our heads. We're closing the word of prayer. And before we even pray, would you remember that who you're talking to? And if you're like me that sometimes maybe I forgot and I just rattle off my list to God. Or I just sing a song and think god is pleased with my song, then I'm not remembering who I'm singing to. I'm not remembering who I'm praying to.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:45:09]:

Or sometimes I worry and I feel like, God, I don't know if you can hear me or that I don't know if you're big enough to handle my problems. And just remember that God's way bigger than all your problems. He's way bigger than all the challenges that you face. He's way bigger than all your weaknesses. Sometimes you think the weakness is you the problem. Some of us. There's somebody here that you feel like you're the problem. You're the problem.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:45:35]:

This is what God says. I'm bigger than the obstacle in you, what you think is the problem. I died for you. You're clean because I died for you, because I washed you. You're my child. But he's just saying this remember your dad. Remember your dad who treats you kindly is also fire. The one who split the seas, the one who poured out his spirit.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:46:23]:

And he says he wants to pour out his spirit on you. And if in that moment maybe you say that sometimes, lord, I've taken you so casually sometimes I take our gatherings sometimes so casually sometimes I think in terms of the things that you've said to me, I want to pick and choose versus obeying you. Maybe it's in those things that we confess to Him and we say, god, I want to change. Would you change my heart? God, I'm changing my heart today. Father. I thank you. You say these things not because you want to put us in our place, but it's because when we fear you, then we can really see you. When we have the fear and the reverence and the honor of the Lord, then we can really sense Your presence, because you reveal yourself.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:47:30]:

God, would you reveal Yourself right now to Your people who are reverencing you, who are in awe of You, Lord, that sometimes we're turning away from some of those things that we just think that you owe us. Lord, you owe us nothing. But thank you that you give us everything. Father, we're so grateful to be Your sons, to be Your daughter. And Father, I thank you that when we recognize and we turn away from those things, Lord, would there just be a wave of refreshment over Your people, Father? Would there be a covering over them to just bring life again? Because it's not about just us trying harder. It's not about us just doing the right thing. It's. Lord, would you empower us by your spirit today? Would you fill us, Lord, with your spirit today? The same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead, the same Spirit who showed Himself in fire, Lord, that would you fill us today? That's our God.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:48:49]:

Thank you, Lord Jesus. And if You've never said yes to God, because you always thought like, I'm good, that's okay. There's some people who have kind of thought like that. Maybe you thought like, that maybe somebody's watching right now that you thought like, hey, when I'm on my deathbed, when I'm old, I'll give my heart to God. God's saying this, no, today's the day. If that's you today and you're saying, God, I recognize. If this is the God who sent Jesus on the cross, if this is the God who loves me, this is the God who's calling me, who wants to be kind to me, I need that kind of kindness, because one day we'll all stand account before Him. One day we'll all stand for our lives before Him.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:49:42]:

And if you recognize, you need grace, you need his mercy. That's why Jesus came. And if that's you, would you just pray a real simple prayer? Pray a very simple prayer. God, thank you that you who are mighty would care about me. You who created all things, value me as Your creation. So, Lord, I want to respond to you today Would You come live inside me today? Thank you that Jesus died in my place. And because of that, Lord, I'm not going to be alone, because you're going to be with me always. I receive you because I need you today.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:50:40]:

Thank you for your kindness. Thank you for your mercy. Thank you for choosing me. Would you help me to grow so I can know you more? Open your words so I can understand and would you bring people along my way to help me in the path, help me in this journey of faith? And would you help me to become all you want me to be, all you creating me to be, as your child? In Jesus name, amen. Hey, can we say congratulations? Those who prayed? But that's where refreshment comes from. Restoring it's. Remembering the awe of God. Hey, God bless you guys.