Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:00:00]:

Hey. Good evening, everybody. Good to see you guys. Hope you guys are having a wonderful week. Actually, can I just say this? Man, today is way better in the week than it was on Monday for me. So, I'm having a a phenomenal day today, and so, we're hoping that you guys have as well. Hey. You know, one of those things, I think, that everybody deals with is fear we talked about.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:00:22]:

And, you know, one of those things I heard a story about guy who, had a really kinda severe phobia, and he went to go see a psychologist. He saw the psychologist. He told him, doc, you know, I don't know, man. I don't how to to deal with this thing. I just when I go to bed at night, I just feel like there's somebody under the bed, and I can't control it. So I go under the bed, and then when I get under a bed then. I feel like somebody's watching me from on top of the bed, and so I don't know how to deal with this. I'm stuck either way.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:00:50]:

And then he goes, my doc listens to him. He says, well, you know, I I I feel like I can treat you well. And he says, yeah. Just make an appointment, and then you come see me once or twice a week over the next 6 months, and and I'm sure that we can take care of a problem. I I you you can you can get through this. And he, you know, kinda pats him on the shoulder, and the guy goes, that sounds really good. He says, but, how much do you charge? He says, $150 an hour. And guys, well, you know what? Let me just check.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:01:16]:

I gotta check my insurance and all that, and than and then he goes. He walks off, and then he doesn't see him for a while. Then he he's walking down the street when they they bump into each other. He goes, hey. Whatever happened. I you know, I know that you were thinking about it. You had that fear. He says, well, you know, I talked to my friend, and he said that he could help me for $10.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:01:33]:

He is what did he say? He said he just said cut off the legs of the bed, and that solved the whole problem. No. But, you know, the thing about that is that, to be honest, that you we we wish that was true that that sometimes you could just take care of problems like that by just cutting certain things off, but there are some things that that we we should get rid of, and there's some things we should never lose. And this weekend that we're continuing our series called, restoring the awe of God is one of those things that we should ever lose, that we should always maintain. It's a it's a healthy fear of the Lord. And so this evening, we're gonna continue that series by talking about responding to God's word. And so would you be kind enough enough to to stand with me. Let's stand in reverence for God.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:02:17]:

Let's stand in reverence for his word. And, we're gonna read from Isaiah 66 verse 2. If you you have your Bible, you can turn with me there. If you, don't, you can see, on the screens or in your notes, but it says it like this. Let's read together. Shall ready? Begin. My hands have made both heaven and earth. They have they and everything in them are mine.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:02:41]:

I, the lord, have spoken, and I will bless those who with humble in contrite hearts who tremble at my word. And we see in this section right here, we see in this passage, God's declaring it toward at the end of this giant book of of prophecy, a giant book that speaks of the glory of God in the book of Isaiah where he says, I made heaven and earth. I've made everything you can see. I've made everything you can see. And in the middle of all of those things, I am lord over all things, and all things belong to me, he says, but I will bless those who have won a humble in contrite heart and who tremble at my word. And God values those who value him. God values those who value his word. God values those whose hearts are humble rather than being raised up with kind of a personal or or sinful kind of a pride.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:03:39]:

And he says that when you have these things, it will help you to be responsive to God, to be responsive to his word. And this is gonna be This is the launch point for our message this evening. So before you're seated, do me a favor. Just turn to your neighbor and just would you let them know, hey. God God knows your heart, and then you can have a seat. Right? God knows your heart. He says, hey. I wanna bless those whose whose hearts are humbled, whose who have contrite hearts.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:04:09]:

You know, one of those things is that we hear today, probably a lot of different voices. Probably this week how many of you guys listen to podcasts sometime during the week? Listen to podcast. Yeah. Bunch of us listen to podcast. How many of you listen to Christian radio? Listen to Christian radio. Right? Listen to music. You listen to all can you watch TV? You watch talk you listen to talk radio, whatever. Like, for many of us, that the, the the life is not short on voices to listen to.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:04:38]:

But I think what is, important in the midst of that is not every voice has the equal weight. Right? How many of you guys have ever had unsolicited advice in the workplace these were among your friends that, hey. Something's going on, and they say, hey. Can I just give you some advice here and to tell you something? Some of them, you know, they may tell you about investment advice. Some of them tell you might tell you about relationship advice. Some of them tell you about career advice. But one of the things that I've learned is that there's always people people who are willing to give you advice. But one of those things I always look at is if somebody's telling me about, you know, investment advice.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:05:16]:

I I wanna make sure that, you know, that that they have some means. Right? And it's kinda, like, would be odd than if the the guy, you know, doesn't have a job and, you know, and struggling by it, and he wants to tell me how to manage finances. Right? I I I have a hard time. I've heard people say, so often that, you know, people will say these kinds of things. If I was you, I would just leave that person already, you, and then you listen to that person, maybe been 3 times divorced and all that kind of a thing. It makes me nervous. Right? Because the thing is it's not by the multiplicity of words that matter, but not every word is of equal weight. And god wants us to come to this This place where we understand that his word that he says this, ought to have the greatest weight in your life.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:06:00]:

It ought to be the weightiest voice that you hear is the voice that comes from God. In this scripture, it says this. He says, I will bless those who have a humble and contrite, who tremble at my word. Heard. You know that word word? If you have a, a pencil or pen, I just I would encourage you to just circle that word word. Not. Sometimes you hear the word that maybe you're familiar with the word, logos in the New Testament. That's Greek.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:06:32]:

But but in in this portion, this is the testament, but it's it's not the writings. It's not the 10 commandments that God says. God uses a word, the word, which is actually as the word speech or, like a spoken word. And there are different kinds of ways by which God speaks. For Sure. That the word of God is the revealed will of God is definitely the word of God. Right? This is the word word of God. If you've ever wondered, like, what weight do I give the Bible? I think the Bible is the revealed word of God.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:07:06]:

It's it's higher than what your feeling is. It's higher than what my feeling is. It's it's it's weightier than I don't care if what Elon Musk says about investing. I I don't care about what somebody else says about investing. I my word is is God's word is is weightier still on life and faith, and so we understand there is the revealed word of God, the written word of God that all of us ought to aspire to understand and study and internalize, but there is also a spoken word that God can speak to you. That if you've ever heard the whispers of the spirit, that you've ever heard the spirit whisper to you something that that it's really just God's direct word to you. Sometimes we use the word Rhema in the New Testament, but the word is the bar here in the Old Testament that God can speak to you. Do me a favor.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:08:01]:

Turn to your neighbor and says, god can speak to you. Right? How many of you ever heard God's voice whisper than in that way. Right? That I I hope that you have. If you haven't, you know, we want you to be able to do that. But he says this, that if you want to be able to hear that word, there's a a few things. He says that if you haven't been hearing that, that there's some things. First thing he says is there's 3 things. He says it's humility, it's a contrite heart, and those who than heart and those who tremble at my word.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:08:28]:

He says that that in that midst of that, he says, I will bless those who have that than humble and contrite heart. He's he talks about this aspect that that when you you have a sense of, of humility before I that you have a dependence on him that we understand that God is God, and I'm not him. Right? I'm be there's there's few things I understand, about God. Well, maybe there might be a a bunch of things I understand about God, but when it comes down to it, the fundamental thing I know is there is 1 God, and I'm not him. Right. I hope you guys at least understand that. Right? You could be, for the 1st time in church or your 1st time listening to a a message, but stand that. When we understand that you and God and and and myself and God, we're we're just not on the same plane.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:09:14]:

You know, sometimes we can, get confused about that that that god's word and your word are are 2 totally different things. God desires for you to have that sense of humility. A contrite hard. It's this aspect of a sense of repentance. It's this aspect saying that when you recognize that you have strayed, when you recognize that you've you you've been slack. When you recognize that you haven't pursued as much, as you ought 2 that that there's a sense of a turning in our hearts. There's a there's a change of heart. And then he says this, it's this aspect of trembling at my word.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:09:51]:

This aspect that says that when God speaks something there used to be an old commercial. It was a financial commercial called for EF Hutton. You guys remember that? He says that it used to be when EF Hutton speaks and then they would be on the street, people are walking, and they would that that somebody would be talking. In, you can see a guy often, like, in a suit, and he goes, like, when EF Utton speaks and they they stop and they look everybody stopped and everybody he's trying to hear. People listen. And you know what it ought to be is that when god speaks, the people stop than and people listen. And we are not to just blow off the word of God. God's word is god's voice is not something to put to voice mail.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:10:33]:

God's word is not something that we, we let go to a sense that we look okay. And then we turn it over. In the book of first Samuel. We see that this doesn't always happen even among the people of God. In the book of first Samuel, we we see a character who was basically the head priest. His name was Eli, and and Eli had 2 sons who were also priests under his leadership. Than and, unfortunately, they weren't quite cut from the same cloth. And Eli, though he was not a perfect man, wasn't as than than his sons, who actually, in the middle of performing their duties, would take advantage of their influence, would take advantage of their power and began to sleep with the women who came to to pray, came to take advantage of those who women who came to ship.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:11:25]:

And and for some of them that he who came, who brought offerings, he says that these sons that actually, would steal and take by horse offerings that they should not have taken. That it's utterly heinous and disrespectful and than and and entirely lacking in the fear of the Lord. And Eli, when he gets wind of this, pulls his sons in it says. Man, I can't believe the stuff I'm hearing about what you guys are doing. You guy are you guys crazy? Basically, he says, but but all he does is scold them, and he doesn't do anything else. He doesn't remove them. He doesn't discipline them. He doesn't challenge them beyond scolding them.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:12:13]:

Instead, what he does is he delays. He he waits. And then in the middle of that, God has a response to Samuel. And God's response to Samuel I mean, not Samuel. To Eli is this. He says, why do you scorn my sacrifices and my offerings? Why do you give your sons more honor than you give me. Because when we get slow to neglect God than or his word. When we get to honor a person above god than or our reasoning above God that we end up honoring that more than we honor God.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:12:56]:

It's a lack of awe of God, and God's The response comes in the next verse. In the next verse, this is what it says in first Samuel 2:30. I think it's written in your notes. It's not. Let's read this together. This is what he says. Ready? Let's read. But I will honor those who honor me, and I I will despise those who think lightly of me.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:13:20]:

Now those are sobering words, and I understand that that that this This series has could be challenging in some ways because so often we we focus on the love of God, and we continue to wanna focus on the love of God. We've talked about that every, every week that we've been in the midst of this series. And today, I want you guys to know that God loves you and that nothing will than change that. Right? God loves you. He cares for you as you are. He cares about you. As you are, turn to your neighbor and says, god cares for you and loves you just as you are. Than right? But let's not be mistaken to think that God wants you to stay as we are.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:13:56]:

I that that all of us that we we are loved as we are. And the love of God, it it outlasts all of eternity. But he says, he didn't want us to stay as we are. Did god love Eli's sons? Yes. He did. But he said this, I despise those who think live me. Now, unfortunately, the word despise, is is maybe not the best translation in this particular translation here in in in the new living. And and and and a number of translations use the word despise, but it actually comes from the Hebrew word, which means small or trivial or insignificant and, maybe kinda having the the sense of saying having a little account for.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:14:49]:

And what he says is this, is if you if you don't give weight to me and my word, then I will think very little about you in terms of weight and a sense of, of, of kind of significance that that god can love us, but he just understands this. But, hey. We're just we're we're just we're just down. We're we're not we're not a person of significance, he's saying. Because he would think of us as trivial. When you treat God as trivial, he says that at the end, what he'll say is that I think that you've got that mistaken. And one of the things is, I can only understand that to think a little less than you. Than You see, it says that to the wise, god is shown as wise.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:15:35]:

And at at the same time that than to to those who are crooked, god might be shown himself shrewd. You see, sometimes that god reflects back to us than what we give to him. And so he says this aspect. Although we're loved and though we our cared for god says this, that one of the things he says he values is he values those who value him, and he values those who have an awe and a holy fear of him. So this evening, if we wanna reestablish and restore our awe of God. It begins with realigning our hearts with the holy fear of the Lord. And now how do we do than This just brings me to the 2nd point. Just 3 points tonight.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:16:21]:

I kept you guys super long last week, so I can keep you short tonight. But I got it. So, It's just the thing. It's the second thing is this, respond to God's word quickly. Respond to God's word quickly. We need to repent, I think, at times of casual attitudes that we can have to God and his word. God's written word. God's written word.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:16:43]:

Again, it's the revelation of his will. It's the way God, God sees things. It's the way things are that he gives us than and reveals to us so that we can understand for all of time, regardless of what you feel, regardless if you can hear his voice, that God says, let we reveal it through to you through the prophets. Let me reveal it to you through the apostles, and he says this. And so that if we find ourselves in this place where the the awe of God that we began by saying, oh my god. God is so wonderful. God is so mighty, and that we we get nervous in in in in the middle of that before him, not because we are wondering whether we're loved, but we've never been in the presence of someone so awesome than someone so wonderful that that sometimes it does. That it just leads to awe in us.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:17:33]:

He says that let us not lose that. Than One of those things he says is instead, would you change your heart? Instead, would you change your attitude? Because when you change your heart and you change your attitude, then then your behavior changes. Right? That whatever change starts in the heart, that when you start in the heart, that it'll play itself out interactions. And the Bible There's a lot about obedience. Because God wants you to obey him so he can bless you. Than his instructions, he says, are for your good, but he also tells you how he wants you to obey him. Right? And, I I remember, when my kids during the pandemic that, remember my youngest sun that, when they didn't go to school. Right? Every all the school was online, and it was, like, 8 o'clock.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:18:29]:

And and I was thinking like, buddy, you gotta get out of bed here. And I I open the door and knock on the door, open the door. Before because we I hadn't heard anything. You know? You're just kinda looking for the signs of life at times in the house. And and I opened it up. I opened the door, and he's totally lying on in his bed sleeping still. I said, hey. School starts in, like, 5 minutes.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:18:53]:

Right? And and, it'll maybe even less than that at at that point? He goes, yeah. Yeah, dad. Don't worry. And he says and then as soon as at 805, he just hit ping, and, you know, he's in the Zoom call, than and and that he was just kinda going like that. Right? Just kinda kinda lying there. And I I was than saying, son, we gotta talk about attitude a little bit. Right? Because I think the thing is that, yes, you were there. Yes.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:19:24]:

But were you attentive? Were you engaged? Right? And so this is what God says, that God gives us a little bit of instruction that God doesn't want you just kinda lying in bed, right, kinda like and and that's that's your life in with God. Instead, he says this in Psalm 11960. Let's read what it says. Ready? Begin. I will hurry without delay to obey your commands. God wants you and I to obey quickly. God wants you and I to obey immediately often. That god wants us to be pretty quick to obey and not slow to obey.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:20:00]:

He wants us to be quick to believe and not slow to believe. Jesus was walking one day, at the, on the day of his resurrection, and he walked with some of the disciples who, didn't know that he had resurrected. And they're walking, King, Cleopas, it says, on on the road to Emmaus, and and Jesus walks alongside them. And they don't recognize who he is, but then they begin to talk. And he he says, hey. Hey. Where are you guys going to get into this conversation? And and he says, well, you don't I can't believe you don't know anything that's going on, and, you know, he gets into this place. And then it says in the than of that.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:20:35]:

Jesus begins to preach a message about all of the time in the ultimate I wish I could heard that conversation. In all all of the moments in the Old Testament where where Jesus was displayed in every prophet, in every book. It says, in every your book. He's explaining, and then he says this to them. But all you who are so than slow of heart to believe. Right? How many of you guys know that that's not a encouragement? Right? How many know that's not that's not a compliment? Than and and God says this. He says that sometimes we can be slow to believe, and sometimes we can be slow to respond and slow to obey. You know, when my oldest son was in middle school.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:21:20]:

Yeah. I I don't know why, but when it comes to this aspect of obeying quickly, I can get a lot of children's story, but, you know I'm not sure why that is. No. But, but one of those things that when he was in middle school, they had this new policy in in the middle school. And it was called the kinda like a no child left behind, and and and it was this this idea that they didn't want any child than to fail. And so that he somehow got in his head was that when assignments were due because we would see his folder, and we would wanna asked to see his folder because he he had had some challenges, on his self management. And that we would see things, and and any don't you have any homework to turn in? Are you working? Oh, no. I'm fine.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:22:03]:

I'm fine. And and then weeks weeks went by, and he would say, did you turn in your paper? No. No. I can just turn it in at the end. I was thinking, are you sure this is the way that it worked? And she said, you guys don't understand or whatever. And then a a few weeks after that, we had this parent teacher conference. And when we met with the the teachers, they they explained that, yes, they did have this kinda no child left behind. And and instead of saying that if kids didn't turn in their work because they there were assignments to be turned in.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:22:33]:

You said just said this. If you didn't turn it in, they didn't give you an f. Instead, they said, just something along the lines of, kind of a yet to succeed, you know, like, not quite hitting success yet. And but you know what that really meant? If you don't turn it in, you fail. But but he he didn't understand that. And and so what did he think? He thought, like, hey. I have forever to the end of the semester. But how many of you guys know what happens when that happens? You just get start getting overwhelmed.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:23:09]:

Right? More and more behind. And when we had this conference with the, with the the teacher and kinda explaining I said. You know, we're not here to tell you guys how to do this, but I think the system sucks because I think it's teaching kids just to just procrastinate. And, you know, the thing is that what happens is that they have no desire to turn in on time. They have no tire in time. They have no incentive to meet a deadline. And, thankfully, that they agreed with that by the end of the year that this system someone was just tossed out because they found that what how many of you guys know that sometimes what sounds good in a conference somewhere that when you put it to life in real life that doesn't quite work. Right? That sometimes we can have this kind of an aspect because that's not the way than Life works.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:24:03]:

And God says this, that for us, that it's so easy he understands for us that when we hear God's we're to say, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I got it. I'll take care of it. I'll do it when? Later. Right? You guys than God, I'll do it later. But to God, delayed obedience is disobedience.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:24:26]:

Than that delayed obedience is disobedience. Jesus tells this story in Luke chapter 14 verse 16 to 21. And by the way, when we talk about these things, is is this does this have anything to say that god doesn't is not loving? No. Right? Does this has to to say anything that if you if you haven't listened and you disobeyed and you you set it off today that God doesn't care about us. No. But we don't understand the ways of the kingdom, and God wants us to understand his ways is that when he says something, he actually expects to be obeyed. Right? Some of us think that we we we say the words that rules are meant to be what? To be broken. But is that a rule meant to be broken? Of course not.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:25:10]:

Rules are made because somebody violated something in the past. Rules are made to be followed, but we understand that sometimes the heart of people that we wanna break rules. And so Jesus tells a story in Luke chapter 14. He says this, that Jesus replied with a story, he said. He said a man prepared a great feast and sent out many invitations. And when the banquet was ready, he sent his servants to tell the guests. He says, come. The banquet is ready, and they began making what? Excuses.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:25:41]:

Let's say the word excuses. Excuses. Yeah. What kinda excuses did he go? He says this. 1 said, I just bought a field and must That's inspected. Please excuse me. Another said, I bought 5 pair of oxen, and I wanna try them out. Please excuse me.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:25:55]:

The other said, I just got married, so I can come. And the servant returned and told his master what they had said, and his serve and the master was, what? Totally understanding. Right? No problem, you guys. Is that what it says? No. It says. Actually, the master wasn't just irritated, but the master was furious. Right? And it it uses the word angry. It uses the word, like, with with this the orgay uses this very strong word for, almost a violent anger.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:26:33]:

And why did the master feel that way? Because in the midst of the gracious Just invitation. Jesus is telling the story. Guess who's the master? Him. Right? He's a master. Than guess when he makes an invitation, he says that what kinds of excuse were given. He says, one said I bought a field and must inspect it. He had he had a business, investment. Right? He he bought a he he bought a investment, and he wants to inspect his investment, make sure that it it is.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:27:06]:

What do you think? It's just like because he's excited. He wants to see that. Right? He's like, hey, man. I've been praying for this. I've been believing for this, and and so it's come. And so I thank you, but I I got to go visit this thing. I got to go check it out because, man, that's all I've been thinking about. In other words, what does he do? He places lesser value on the master's invitation.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:27:25]:

The second 1 is he says this, I I bought 5 oxen. And what is that? It's really a work kind of investment, right, that they was meant to kinda help him in farming, meant to help him in plowing fields. It's they're beasts of burden. Than do you need to check out your oxen right away? No. You don't. But he says I want to. Right? I I want to try him out. Like, is he is he really gonna farm, and is he really gonna kinda plow right now? You know, he just wants to check it out, he's saying.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:27:58]:

Than and and so in the middle of that, he said so he says, excuse me. And the other one says, I just got married, so I can't come. Than and and so the other one is a relational issue. Right? And so he says, blaming his wife all of a sudden. I'm like, how many of the guys that's not the first guy to do that. But, right? It. So we find this aspect that that but all of them are excuses, nonetheless. And so what did he do? That if we read the story continue to read the story.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:28:26]:

It says the master then says forget these guys. Than instead, go out and go into the highways and the byways and invite anybody who will listen and that to the people who hear this invitation to come to this wedding, to come to this feast. He says that would then we'd let them in, than And then all of a sudden, that the people who were first given missed the biggest opportunities of their life. They missed their window of opportunity. Their excuses might have seemed harmless. Their excuses might have seemed understandable, but none of them were urgent. None of them was critical. None of them begged for that attention at the moment.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:29:15]:

Instead, they just were slow. Or maybe someday, maybe later later than on in in not later on. Earlier in the same book in in Luke chapter 9, Jesus is walking along the road, and he's with the disciples. And he says, to these people well, 1 guy says this, lord, let me. Come follow you. And then he says, yeah. Go ahead. Come on.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:29:42]:

And and then he says, oh, but I I gotta go do something first. And then the next person comes on. He said to another person, he says, come follow me. Let's say the words, come follow me. You know, if you listen if you than I I I challenge you to to think in terms of this. If you've have you ever heard that verb? We've heard those phrases before. Right? Come follow me, but they've only been used Then to the best of my knowledge, they've only been used when Jesus has called the apostles. He does he hasn't said this except to the rich young the ruler and to this man, and he says to him, come follow me.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:30:21]:

I think this come follow me is not simply a, hey. Just come be 1 of the boys. Come out and hang out. I mean, to be honest, it's a high honor. It's being invited into the inner circle with Jesus. And the man says this. The man agreed, but he said what? Lord, first, let me return home and bury my father. But Jesus told him let the spiritually dead bury their own dead.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:30:51]:

Your duty is to go and preach that about the kingdom of God. Now if you've not heard this before, one of those things is it it could sound like a kind of a a hard, you know, rejoinder to to the man's comment. If we didn't understand that it's not that his father was dead. It. It was a sense in which someone would say, hey. You know what? I I'll do this, and I'll follow you, and I'll do all those things than after my parents die. After they die and and then they're buried, then I I I won't I won't worry about them, and they won't worry about me, me, then I can come in and go do that thing. And it was meant to be kind of a a time that just like when is that? We don't know.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:31:36]:

Right? In other words, he is saying this, I I'm giving voice that this is important, but the reality is this is more important to me. Now one of the other things that may not be so clear is that it was usually the oldest son's responsibility. Just like in a lot of Asian families that when a parent dies, who's responsible? The oldest son. It's it's that way in the Middle East as well. And so it's the oldest child. And but there is than so, responsibility, but there's also a benefit for that. It's called the double blessing. What does that mean? Is that if you have 2 sons, The oldest son, if he takes care of his parents, still they pass away, that he gets 2 thirds and the younger son it gets.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:32:27]:

1 third. The double blessing. That makes sense? So there's a financial incentive, and what he's really saying is, I gotta get the bigger part of the inheritance first is what he's saying. That's that's really what he's saying. But here's the hard part than is that he may have got the bigger inheritance, but he missed the opportunity of a lifetime. Now I don't know how that would have worked in the sense of because it still only has 12 tribes of Israel. There's 12 apostles. Maybe maybe, maybe we wouldn't have had Paul.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:33:00]:

I don't know what what the the thing is. But if he had said yes, but can I there's there's something I I I am learning about this? Have I have you ever been kinda delayed when God told you to do something? Yeah. Yeah. I I wish I I have obeyed God all the time. To be honest, There's a portion, in in Matthew where it says this. It's after you're giving an offering and and while you're giving an offering, realize that somebody is was offended by you. What does he say? He says go leave the offering. Go be reconciled.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:33:34]:

Right? Go be reconciled, and then complete your offering. You know, I didn't it came I was made aware that that somebody got offended by something that I had said. You know? Not just, like, in the message, but some, like, little personal interaction. And and I was wondering. I was asking this person, hey. Where's this guy? I haven't seen this guy. And what because and, you know, I was kinda hemming and hawing. I said, you know, you know, somebody said something, and I said, oh, who's that? I said, that wasn't me, was it? And the person goes, yeah.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:34:02]:

It was you. And I said, oh, wow. And he says, man, I I I should go apologize right away. And he says, no. No. No. No. Don't go apologize.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:34:12]:

Why? Because they're gonna find out that I told you. You know what I mean? Right. So somebody tells me that and, yeah, I hate when when you find out something like that. Right? So I I delayed Why? Because I didn't want him to look bad. But I shouldn't have delayed because god's word should have a higher weight. It's a it's a regret that I have. I wish I had done it immediately I didn't. Now here's a principle I'm learning is that Anytime God gives a stated command without a specific date or time that he wants you to do it now.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:34:58]:

If he says come follow me, he means when? 2 days from now? 5 days from now? No. He says he means now. Right? He means now. If he says to you, hey. Forgive those who have, have kinda persecuted you. What does he mean that? Like, someday? Like, hey. When you get over it? No. He he means now.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:35:20]:

Right? If he says, hey. Next year, forgive him. Than he says then you got next year to to forgive him. Now when when our kids were growing up and, my wife would be making dinner, and she would say, hey. Tell the kids to come down in 5 minutes. When does she want them to come down? 5 minutes. But if she just says, hey. Tell the kids come down.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:35:41]:

When does she when does she want them to come down? Now. Yeah. Right? God's the same way that that when he says something, if he doesn't say, hey. Do it later. Do tomorrow when you do this thing. Right? In the future, when you do this thing, that God tells you this, that God actually wants you to do it now. You know? There have been times when I've asked God, God, what do you do you have anything to say to me? And God whispered I we were in Israel on the Sea of Galilee, I remember. We just had this wonderful I experienced tonight.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:36:13]:

I just prayed and I asked the lord, lord, is there anything you know, we just it was a tremendous time, and I just remember saying, lord, if you have Anything that you wanna say to me, would you just let me know? And I I didn't expect to hear anything. And the lord said to me, believe me for more. Guess when God wanted me to do it, like, someday? No. Today. I want you to you start believing me for bigger things. And so I know about you, but has God spoken to you about anything? Than And have you done it? Because delayed obedience is disobedience. And if we wanna restore our awe of God, if you than the blessings of God. He wants you to follow him quickly.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:36:59]:

He wants you to listen to him quickly. He wants you to believe him quickly. Don't be slow. Don't be slow. Will will he still love us? Of course, you'll still be loved, but something at times can happen. You can miss opportunities. Now has ever God ever told you something that hasn't made any sense to you. Okay.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:37:24]:

We can hear that. Thank you for sharing that, Jasmine. No. But, than Yeah. I mean, if we're honest, right, that we've all heard stuff where God has told us to do something, and it doesn't make any sense to you. I remember when I was a a New York Christian and, I was, parking my car, and I felt like the Lord said, go talk to this person. Right? The security guard that was driving around in the University of Hawaii parking lot. Did I know the park did I know the security guy? Than No.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:37:54]:

Did God tell me what to say? No. Right? And so you know what was my first response was? Than wait. Wait. Are you talking to me? Right? Like a like, wait. What? That that guy? It it didn't make any sense. What do I say? What do I do? I didn't know what to say. I didn't know what to do. It just didn't make any sense.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:38:15]:

I literally, I did walk up to the guy. He says, You know, I just wanted to come up because I felt like God wanted me to come up and talk to you. And the guys were like, what? It's the security guys. And they're kind of chuckling, laughing, and and he says, what did what did god wanna say? He said, to be honest, I don't know. I I think god just is saying that he cares about you and and that he wants you to know him, and uncomfortable silence. Kinda like now. No. But, you know what I mean? Okay.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:38:45]:

And it didn't make sense to me. But, you know, in that season of my life, I was very quick to obey. Right? And it didn't matter if I understood it. Didn't matter if I understood everything, how it worked. If I could do it, I generally did it. But you know what happens sometimes as the older you get, you have this thing is that that I'm older now, and you get this thing where you get, I have wisdom. Just let's say this thing. I have wisdom.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:39:16]:

Right? And so when you have wisdom, than Don't let your wisdom talk you out of obedience. Right? Because sometimes this is what it says that when, oh, today, now I have a little bit more wisdom than I did when I was a new believer and, you know, just kinda like so if God whispers something to you. I don't ever wanna be a person who ever tries to talk you out of obeying what God said for you to do. I may ask you. I may question and are we sure this was God? How do we know this is God? I may say, is this consistent with his word? I may be saying, is this a wise move? Is it you know, I could be we could ask those kinds of things, but God's told me at times things that didn't make any sense to me. Anybody here ever have a financial difficulty? Okay. Like, come on. Everybody should raise their hand.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:40:08]:

Unless you guys always continually rich. Or, you know, like, you guys were rich your whole life every single moment. Let's have lunch afterwards. You can pay. But, Right? So, I mean, we've all had that kind of a situation. Right? I remember there was a season in in our lives. I was talking to the staff about it, last week or this week is that that, I had an idea. You know, one of those things I I found was when they say, if you're gonna ever start a business, do something that you know and do something that you love.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:40:34]:

Right? And so you know one of the things that I know how to do? I know how to do weddings. I've done a ton of weddings. Right? And, you know, as a result of doing weddings, you know who I tend to meet? Other people who participate in the weddings, like photographers and and videographers and people who play music, and and and sometimes I've met people who do makeup and do all that because right. You start meeting these people. Right? And so guess what idea happened when when we are going through a financial difficult time that I thought I would start a business. What kind of business? A wedding business. Of course. I I started writing up a business plan.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:41:09]:

I started writing about all the contacts. I started writing up this thing, and my contact and my my emphasis was gonna be to do it for Japanese weddings. Why? Because I have half a Japanese wedding already. Right? Like, I have a I have a translator in my house. I have someone who can speak. And and the thing thing is that because I don't know if you guys noticed, but Japanese, when they come from Japan, they spend a ton of money on weddings. Right? They they do it all than Right? And and and so my my thing wasn't to just, you know, because I didn't have I don't have a chapel. I don't have a thing.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:41:47]:

And so I I was thinking about doing it kinda like stuff like on a kind of a a beach setting or whatever it is that people wanted to do something along those lines and just kind of a little different niche, a little bit of a different thing. And and so one day in the morning, we're having coffee, and I said, hon, I have this idea. I just I I I cannot say this from God, but this is my thing. Let's do this wedding, and I you know, we'll have the guys like that. Some of the worship team guys that they can play at the wedding. And you know what we can do? We can pay them so that those guys. They can kinda increase their their their income. And you know what? And it's like as it grows, that I won't have to do all the weddings.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:42:22]:

The but we'll have staff guys to do them. Why? Because, hey, they could get extra money too. Right? So, hey, everybody. Right? And it's like guys who do the video. We have video guys. They'll do it. They get paid for the product. And I was just thinking, hey.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:42:36]:

This will spread all the wealth around. And isn't this a great idea? And my wife's Response was, I think a wedding is ministry, and we shouldn't try to get rich off of that. I said, no. No. No. No, honey. Yeah. Yeah.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:42:55]:

Yeah. That's true. That's true. But let me explain to you. This is how it'll work. Right? This guy and then I try to explain in? My wife goes, yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:43:01]:

But this is I I don't think God wants us to do that. I said, well, hon, they're not even a part of the church. Right? They're not even part of the church. They're they're coming from overseas and this and this. And he says, you know, but we'll counsel them, and we'll try to share the gospel, try to lead them to Christ, and do the whole thing. And than But they're gonna pay somebody. They might as well pay us, right, rather than someone else. And my wife says, I I don't think than I I don't think this is a good idea, Glenn.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:43:29]:

I don't think this is God. And so as a good, dutiful husband, I was all salty. No. But, you you know, when your wife tells you no, and it rain on your parade and the whole thing. And and so as a as a good husband who still needed to provide, I said, I don't care what my wife said. I wouldn't do this thing is what I thought. Right? Until, like, the next day, I'm working on it, and then, like, literally, I don't care what my wife I don't know how I was gonna I do it without my wife anyway because I cannot answer the phone. I cannot communicate on all these things, but she was an integral part.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:44:02]:

The big hiccup. Right? But here's second big hiccup was then god said, no. God said, you just said no. You're not gonna do that. Than and there was no explanation. There was no this is the ministry. There was none of that. God just said no.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:44:23]:

He he didn't say it wasn't a good idea. He just said you ain't doing it. Did I understand why? Not really. But guess what? I closed the file, and I put it away, and I haven't really looked at it since. Because what I understood is that I ought to obey god before I obey my reasoning. Right? And guess what? God wants you to obey God before you obey your reasoning. Than because is it reasonable? Is this a reasonable thing for God to tell Joshua and the the leaders in Israel to go walk around the fortified monstrous fort fortress of Jericho, whose walls were not just simply high, but they said were so wide that they could ride a chariot on the top of it. Is that to walk around that wall 7 times, once every day on the 7th day, walk around 7 times and then and not say anything, and then all of a sudden, yell at the end of 7th time, and the walls will fall down.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:45:39]:

Was that reasonable? No. If we get try to give this plan to the military guys, hey. This is maybe this is how we should deal when we, you know, they invade the the city of Fallujah or whatever. Like, you know, they would have said that thank you for, thank you for your plan, but I think you're smoking crack. Right? So there's there's some things. Right? It's not a literal battle plan. It's but it's god's word in god's direction, and he expected them to follow it. Was it reasonable for Peter and John and the rest of the disciples when they were told to stop preaching the gospel, lest they do to them what they did to Jesus.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:46:29]:

Was it reasonable for them to say, I don't care what you say, but I'm gonna keep preaching. Was that reasonable? Well, not if you value your life. Right? And so was it reasonable for God to ask Abraham to sacrifice than his son. No. It was unreasonable. So many things in the Bible, when God speaks to people, It's unreasonable. There's not a reason that's given. They're just told to obey, than but they considered God to be holy and righteous, and so they didn't let their personal reasoning override God's direct command.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:47:20]:

But what if God what if you don't understand what God's saying? What if you don't understand that God's asking me to do this thing? Right? Sometimes you guys don't understand. You guys ever like, I've not understood at times. And you know what? You can ask God to clarify. I don't know how follow certain things. Right? But but how many of us have ever had that? Somebody asked us maybe when you were a kid, You ask your parents, why do I have to do this? Anybody what's kind of a those of us. Right? So most of us, we're not that young. So what kind of a response did you get when you said, why? Why do I have to do that? What's the response you normally got? Because I said so. Right? Because I said so.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:48:01]:

I've used that because I said so. Right? And the thing is that when you say that because I said so, are you just mad because they questioned you? No. It's just that sometimes what we're really saying what they're really saying is that you're not quite old enough to understand, but you gotta trust me in this, that I actually do know better, right. And I am saying this for your own good, right. And to be honest, if you tell your kids that when they're asking you, why I gotta do this? Generally, you know, it sounds exactly the same. It's because I said so. Right? But that's usually what what I said so means. And but the thing is that if you're saying here that, hey.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:48:41]:

You know, I'm a millennial. Millennials always have to hear the reason why we did like, did did God give Abraham a reason why he had to sacrifice his son? Did he give Joshua an explanation about why he needed to walk around 7 times? Did God give a reason than to there's no reasons that are given. Right. It's just God says, and he expects you if you know him, he expects you to trust him. And so God doesn't always tell you why. God doesn't always tell me why. Now. Sometimes the reason why God doesn't tell us why is maybe even sometimes if he told you why, you wouldn't do it even more so because you'd be more for Adrian, right, about things.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:49:27]:

But but the thing is that here's what happens. The more you lean into following you know what? Something happens. You start changing, and I start changing. And then what we start finding is that what God he's looking for is not the power that you have to do it. It's the willingness that you have to do it that releases God's power. Is that when you are willing to do it. And when you are willing to say, god, even though I don't understand it, that is often the part where it releases his power than to do it. Because it actually it says in Philippians 2/13 what does it say? Let's read what it says.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:50:06]:

For god is working in you. Right? Giving you the desire and what? The power to do what pleases him. You see, if you have the desire, god will give you the power. Right? He'll even give you the desire over time. The more you follow him, you want to follow him. And then he says this. What's the power? It's the power of the Holy Spirit. The same spirit that raised Jesus from the dead.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:50:34]:

So often, God seems like it seems impossible at times to do what God calls us to do. But sometimes, if we're not careful, than we listen to our reasons, we listen to our preferences, we listen to all the different ways that we do it, and God Doesn't always tell you what. He didn't tell us. Does it make sense to forgive those who persecute you? Right? Or does it make sense to forgive those 2 have hurt you and wounded you. Does it make sense to bless those who who have taken advantage of you? It doesn't always makes sense. But this is his call. This is his instruction. And sometimes when we're young, maybe we say crazy things, and you test God just to make sure that's God.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:51:21]:

Right? When you're not sure in the beginning, that sometimes we call that putting out a fleece. That's Gideon than where he says, god, if it's really you, god, would you would you make this fleece wet in the than Right? And all the ground around it dry, and and so it happened the next day. And then it's so he says it was that when? Then he says, god because God's asking him to do something very, very dramatic, asking him to go to war, asking him that he's never been to war. He's other man trained for war, and God's telling him, go to war. And then he says, well, God, if this is really you, can you do the opposite now? Now make the ground all wet and make this fleece stay dry. What is he doing? He's just asking god, god, am I really hearing you? And so these are not signs of great faith. It's the signs when you're in the beginning stages. Right? That sometimes we hey.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:52:14]:

We we gotta make sure that this is God, and I'm not just crazy. But God wants you to Trust him in your personal life. God wants him to trust you with your family life. God wants him to God his life. God wants you to trust him with your school life. You're just saying God wants you just to trust him. And you know what? The thing is he won't always tell you why, the the things that he tells you to do. In Deuteronomy 29/29, let's read what it says.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:52:45]:

It says this. Let's read. Ready? Begin. The lord our god has secrets known to no one. We are not accountable for than him, but we are but we and our children are accountable forever for all that he has revealed to us so that we may obey all the terms of these instructions. I love what that says because it's saying, than you're not responsible to know everything. He's not holding you according to that. There's some things he won't tell you.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:53:19]:

There's some He won't say in the moment. He says you're not accountable for that. You're only accountable for the things that he has revealed. And he says, these things that we are to obey them in all the terms of his instruction. And, you know, the thing is that what happens is sometimes gotta call you to do something, and it doesn't make sense. I remember there was a couple in the church that, than, owned a a flight instruction company in Hawaii and actually one of the biggest than flight, schools in Hawaii. And they were coming to church, and, you know, he'd asked me to come fly with him, check out his plane, than and all that. And and then it was fun and all that.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:54:07]:

And and then they had some crazy stuff in happening in their in their business, and it it seems like whether it was things were, like, breaking and things were missing and thing it just seemed like everything started going wrong. And then and he was a relatively new believer, and she was a little more seasoned. But they felt like God told them, Just call a pastor. Come pray for him. Pray for the company. Pray over the pray over the buildings. And so I didn't understand that. Didn't understand why.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:54:43]:

They just called. So we began to pray. We began to walk around, walk through their facilities, and claim God's authority over it. And he was new in many ways to this whole kind of a thing. Yeah. But things began to change. Right? The less things that that there was better attitude in the work, and there was less, conflict that was happening with their neighbors, all those kinds of things. Why? Just because they disobeyed, and they were quick to obey.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:55:15]:

There's a brother in a church who heads up a a development company in, in our area. Right? Been around for a long time, and and there was an idea that came up that, hey. They built market homes. That's all they've done. Market homes. So just individual homes, and they thought, like, hey. Maybe should been a project to do Hawaiian homes. We've never done a Hawaiian homes, but somehow how just this idea was per percolating that god wanted him to bid this thing for Hawaiian homes.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:55:49]:

And so they started to put a team together, and they did all this thing and ended up building these wonderful homes. Right? Kanahili. Beautiful homes. People from the church live in those homes because they just had an idea that came from God. God started to whisper. Even though they'd never done it, they didn't know how to do it, then began to do it. Or a friend who had $1,000,000 deal in his company to kind of partner with a online a travel company. They've been working this deal for a long time.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:56:36]:

We pray about it. We talk about it in small group. And then one day, he comes back, and he says, the deal just blew up. They had to say it. This whole thing just blew up. And he was so mad, and he was so discouraged, and he didn't know what to do. Like, he he just was he just wanted to quit. He just than I felt like God left him and all this kind of stuff.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:56:59]:

I've been working this thing for so long, and it's like and it can just die like this. And I just felt like the Lord said. Just pray for a resurrection of the deal. And so I said, hey. Can we pray? I said, you know, God can't just raise the dead. He can raise dead deals. Right? And we just laid hands on And we just say, lord, we know every they stopped talking. They stopped talking about the deal.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:57:29]:

We know the deal is dead. It had been dead for weeks, actually. But we just say, Jesus, if you can raise if, god, if you can raise Jesus from the dead, we know it's no big for use to raise this Expedia deal. And then a week or two later, he comes to LifeGroup. He says, guess what? Deal is back together. Right? And it's It's because simply when God whispers something, I could've said, I don't know. That than I don't wanna offend him. I don't wanna make him feel bad or whatever.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:58:11]:

I could've said all of those things, but God just expects us to obey him quickly. There's some things, you and I, that when we get in the habit of obeying quickly, even when doesn't make sense even when that you know what? To be honest, you just place it higher than your higher than your priority, higher than your word, higher than your reasoning. You know what god says? Because I can honor people like that. Because when you honor me and you honor my word, then I can bless you. That make sense? And I love what it says that if you you see what it says in Proverbs 3, 5, and 6, it says it like this. Can we read that together? It says this. Trust in the Lord. We all know this.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:58:58]:

Trust in Lord with how much? All your heart, and do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take. He says when we do this, we just restore the awe of God in our lives. And sometimes we restore the awe of God in our corporate time together. That we need to restore that aspect by just saying, you know what? It's not the song they sing. It's not the wet tempo. Whether I know the song. I like the song.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:59:29]:

You know what? Just worship me with all that you have. Yeah. Let's bow our heads. We're closing a word of prayer. Father, this evening, I know it's a simpler message. And, father. Just the fact that for us to be responsive to you and to be responsive to your word. And father, I pray that you would forgive me.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:59:53]:

Lord, would you forgive me? And if that's you, would you just tag along? Would you forgive me when I've treated your word as optional, when you've whispered to me when I've read something in your word that I haven't prioritized it. I didn't think it was important. I realized that what I was doing when I when I did that was I was saying it was trivial to me. Than father, I just I wanna change. I wanna change my attitude. And, god, would you forgive me that there have been times I've been slow. And I said, when you've whispered something, I said, god, I'll do it later. So, So, father, I repent that there's times I just I'm slow when I need to be quick.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [01:00:43]:

Would you help me, lord, to see things the way you see things. And, god, forgive me for those moments when I trust in my own wisdom and my own control in my own resources rather than following you and yours. I ask for faith, god, to receive your word and to bring godly people around me and counsel. But, lord, I want to restore the awe of god, not simply in my life, than the god in our church. And, lord, it only happens when collectively that we all just say, god, there's no one like you. Than lord, we long to hear your word, but we also long to follow your word. And with our heads bowed and eyes closed, if there's somebody out there that would you know that God's word to you is not only that you're loved, and he's not trying to prove to you that that he's great and mighty. He is.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [01:01:42]:

He just but he's just saying this. He wants you to come and experience the grace and mercy in Christ, and he knows that you haven't always done it. He knows that you've made your mistakes. But this is the good news. He loves you anyway. He cares about you anyway. And he knows that you've doubted, and he knows and you know what? And he loves you anyway. This is all he's saying.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [01:02:04]:

He just said, just come to me, and I'll make it right. He says, come to me, and all will be forgiven. Come to me and just turn from what you know is wrong. He says, I'll forgive you. And if you've never done that before, just wanna invite you to to pray a very simple prayer. Just to say to him that, god, I'm sorry. I've sinned. I haven't listened.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [01:02:30]:

But today, I know I need you. Would you come live inside me today? Thank you for Jesus that he died in my place. God, I put my trust in him. Lord, it's it's not about what I can figure out, but it's listening to you and following you. Would you lead me, and would you guide me? Would you forgive me, and would you renew me. Thank you for Jesus who paid the price. I receive him today, and I want to know you more than yesterday. If you said yes to Jesus today, let us know.