Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:00:03]:
Hey. You know, during the holiday season, just kind of ramping up, last month when, Rick and I, we had a time off, and this was my my day off and so we went into town, and and, one of the things you guys probably hear me say is that we always look for, like, a new place to drink coffee or or something that has something, you know, a little different maybe that even to eat, but, we went to this place and, I ordered. And as soon as I ordered, the barista just looks at me. He goes, hey.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:00:34]:
Did you just run the marathon? And I go, no. Did you? Right? Because I I don't know about you guys, but I'm pretty good at making chitchat or, you know, starting conversation. I I I probably do that a lot myself, but I have never I just met somebody. 1st time, say, hey. Did you run the marathon? You know? Because when I and then he said, no. He didn't. Right? And so, I was smiling as I went back, and I told Rico what happened. And, we both kinda thought that was a little odd because when I look in the mirror, you know what looks back at me? Doesn't ring out marathon runner.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:01:09]:
You know what I mean? And so I just thought there was a little I chalked it up to, hey. What are those things? I have no idea. But then a little later, we're drinking coffee, and I saw a guy walking, and then I guess he's going to the restroom and stuff. And he was looking like he'd been run over by the truck and just got up and and was, you know, got going, and so he's walking like this. Right? And he's going to the restroom. And then I look at his shirt, and it it said Honolulu Marathon finisher. And then I oh, yeah. That that's just a couple days ago.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:01:43]:
And then it hit that you know, a lot of times, I don't realize I'm limping because of my knee, and the guy must've saw me who come in and probably had a limp that day and and just say, hey. Maybe he run the marathon. Right? And so, like, this is the lesson that I learned. If I wanna look like a runner, I would just wait till the day after the Honolulu marathon, and they wear my running gear and just kinda limp. No. But, you know, the thing is that sometimes you can kinda look like you're in shape and people, you can look like you're fit. And to be honest, you know, sometimes we're we're the farthest from, the truth. And, you know, as we're in this 21 days of prayer and fasting, you know, we're focusing basically, we you know, strengthening our prayer life, strengthening our our spirit, strengthening our soul.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:02:28]:
We've been talking about, emotional resilience last week. We talked about spiritual show strength at the beginning of the year, but it doesn't mean that we think the body is unimportant and that our physical life and our physical health, is not important. In fact, I think nothing could be further from the truth. And because although we all know that the body that you have right now, it's not made to last forever, we also know that you only get 1 in this life. Right? So at the end, when we turn it in, we wanna do the best job that we can with it. And this evening, we wanna take a look at, just the fact that that your health matters, that your fitness matters, and and, but not look at it like, you know, I think just simply as the world looks at it. It's not so that, you know, that you look, you know, your you're best for when you go to the class reunion or it's not so that, you know, you can, show up that other person. It that's not the reason or or even at times to feel good, but although every one of us wants to feel good.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:03:31]:
But would we you you realize that it matters to God as well as I think it matters not just to you, but the people in your life. And so this evening, we're gonna take a look at this. I'm gonna be start by reading 1st Corinthians 6/19 to 20. And would you be kind enough? Let's stand in reverence for God, reverence for his word, and then let's read what it says. Ready? Let's read. Don't you realize that your body it's a temple of the Holy Spirit who lives in you and was given to you by God. You do not belong to yourself, forgot bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:04:14]:
And, you know, the thing is this aspect of us not being just the own owners of our own life, that we were bought with a price, is this aspect that's saying that I don't just really live for myself today, that I I'm called as a follower of Jesus. Every believer is called to see their life as a as a stewardship. Ship and and so one of the things he says is not just he he doesn't just say, hey. Be strong in spirit. Right? He doesn't just say, hey. Be strong in soul. He actually talks about in this aspect that you have to honor God with your body. And that one of the reasons why we, that our fitness matters and our health matters is because God says this is a stewardship, the body that we have and the life that we live in our stewardship with God and and acknowledging his leadership and his ownership, and so we live well because it brings glory to God.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:05:14]:
And so would you be kind enough? Turn to your neighbor and say, hey, that your fitness and your health matters, and then you can have a seat. K. Now if you're 18, 20 years old and you just finished your your season or you're in the prime of your life, best shape in your life right now, and maybe you actually do run marathons. I know we have some marathon runners, that that are here tonight that, maybe you're already super disciplined, then maybe you feel I don't need this kind of message. I'm already got all this, together, but, like, but, this message is really to everyone whether you're you consider yourself really fit and healthy already or it's something that maybe that it's a it's a little bit of a challenge to you. But would you know that what we're talking as we talk about this, please see hear this. It's not as just like I don't wanna it'd be like some of us you you guys ever go to your doctor and says, you gotta lose £15. You gotta do this.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:06:08]:
You gotta and that kinda, like, you just feel like you get scolded. I love one comedian that he says this that whenever, I go to the doctor, that is the only guy that I ever, talked to that I feel like a little child. Like, he's like, you need to lose £15. He goes, yes, sir. I will. You know, I kinda why you know, that kind of a thing. And so so we we don't want it to be that, but we do want it to be the fact that you can be healthier, that you can build your convictions about this aspect of living a more healthy lifestyle. Because if we're the average American, what would that entail is that we would be overweight, that we would be frustrated with the pace of our life, we would feel short of time.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:06:47]:
And then if we're older, that we're dealing with multiple chronic lifestyle related health issues, re what whatever they would be. You might be low on energy, and and as a result, that that sometimes then we we may struggle to say yes to God's purposes, and and we may not be experiencing the fulfillment that God wants for us to to do that. But the good news is this that, in Christ, we can rise above the average. Right? So do me a favor. You'd say we can rise above the average. Right. Yeah. That we could live a proactive lifestyle, that we could gain more energy, that we can passionately follow after God, that we can allow time for rest and and recuperation, that we can experience the life that Jesus called us to.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:07:32]:
He he didn't say you know, some people think that, you know, like, I'll I'll sleep when I I, you know, I'll sleep when I go to heaven. Right? I'll rest then. Right? But to be honest, all that means is you probably go to heaven earlier. But, but so here's the thing is that we were never called to do that. And and so would you see we're gonna see 3 main points this, this evening. And the first one is this, that good health is good stewardship. Right, good health is good stewardship. Would you see your health is not simply, you know, having good numbers, not simply so that you can, you know, feel better or you can get more done, those things are absolutely powerful, I think motivators for for many of us but God says this, that some of this that what we do with our body, he says, can either bring honor to God or or maybe doesn't.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:08:22]:
And so God's concerned with your health because he says this in in 1st Corinthians 613, the body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord and the Lord for the body. And God made your body that when he that when he he made us. He he made us so that this body that we live in would bring honor to him. And so this this weekend, as we talk about this, that I I'm not sure, you know, like, where you're at, like so we're we're not trying to talk about attaining some, you know, physical beauty that only is, you know, the, you know, the models have or getting yolked or having a 6 pack or whatever it is, but good good health as a as a stewardship. Ship and, you know, and if you do have some health issues already, if you do have some congenital issues, if you do have some predispositions, if if you are dealing with some chronic things, this is not designed to make you feel bad because what we are saying is this. Whatever the hand that you have right now that we want you to play the hand the best that you got. Right? And so that that God says this, that we can maximize what we have at this point, Rick Warren writes, in his book, The Daniel Plan book, that basically, they're focused on when they do the 21 days of prayer. And he says this.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:09:45]:
He says this life is preparation for the next life, which will last for eternity, and God is testing you on Earth to see that he can trust you what he can trust you with in eternity. He's watching how you use your time, your money, your talents, your opportunities, your mind, and and, yes, even your body, are you making the most of what you've been given? God isn't going to evaluate you on the basis of the bodies he gave other people, but he will judge you with what you did with what you have been given. Like, good. You know, because I think the reality is it's like we're we're let's not get caught up in the thing about what social media looks like or what videos you've watched. But I think, you know, the reality is that for all of us, many of us, we've experienced, change in our life. We've we've experienced a turnaround. Maybe, you know, the grace and power of God that rescued you from a situation, you've seen a life change. You're a better man.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:10:44]:
You're a better woman as a result of your faith in Christ and drawing close to him and then, you know, the thing is that one of those things is that we want to just take that same faith and apply it to some of the health aspects of our life, you know, can I share with you some information I thought was amazing that the it says this, that the research tells us that the world population has tripled from 1950 just about tripled from 1950 of today, right, in that time, the average in the world health now, not just the United States, but world health, the average life expectancy in 1950 was 47 years old, in in a worldwide? Today, it's 73 years. And so we see in these these, 47 years I'm sorry. What whatever that yeah. That, not 47 years. That's whatever. 70 years. Right? That it's 74 years. We see in those 74 years that it's a dramatic change in life expectancy, but, you know, that we find that it hasn't always translated to kinda healthy living, though.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:12:00]:
Right? Even though the United States has a longer health span on average, United States is 79.25 years, but health care professionals and researchers recognize that there's a gap between lifespan and health span. Right? The lifespan is the total length of life that you live. Right? I mean, from birth to death, but the health span is that period that where you live basically free from disease, chronic illnesses. Days, right, those kinds of things. And so that there just because our life has been getting hunger, you know what has not kept track? The the it what the health span hasn't kept track with that. And so that using kind of life, health adjusted life expectancy, they say that the average person can expect to be sick, basically. There were chronic illnesses at least 9 to 10 years out of their life. And, or maybe 12 a half percent, depending, you know, as as life, projections continue maybe to increase.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:13:16]:
Now I think probably all of us have heard maybe something from an advertising or your health insurance or your health care corporation, right, that that's pushing you to greater health and fitness today. Right? It's not just about disease management. It's not just about management, it's not just about give you a pill or give you a surgery or whatever it is, but maybe it's about it's about living a more healthy lifestyle. Right? And so maybe they give you, healthy recipes in the the thing that comes in the mail, or maybe, you understand that a lot of you that you you probably if you have health insurance, private health insurance, probably have access to, like, a gym membership at a reduced rate, maybe, like, 5 or ten dollars a month, and, you don't have to pay, which is, like that's pretty significant if you work out at, like, 24 Hour Fitness. Right? And so, you know, that these things, are are given because they understand a healthier person that is not just a happier person, but it keeps their cost's down. Right? But but I I think for us that being a happier or a healthier person doesn't just make queue happier, but it allows you to reach your potential. It allows you to fulfill God's calling in your life. You know? It allows you to be able to to do things that would normally stop you.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:14:31]:
And so how do we do that? I think the second thing that I wanna bring up is that all of us have to do something that what all of us maybe have a tendency to do in the right situations, which is to make excuses. And so the second point is this, is that if we wanna be bring our fitness and and grow in that, we all of us have to stop making excuses. In John 10:10, he says this, the thief's purpose is to steal, kill, and destroy, but my purpose is what? Can we read that together? Is to give them a rich and satisfying life. But if Satan can steal your health, if he can kill and destroy your peace of mind or your ability to do God's work well, then many of us can find ourselves derailed or kinda sidetracked. Right? When you start surrendering, though, your body to the Lord, we begin to counteract the enemy's desire to derail you. You know, if abortion in the killing of innocent life is maybe not God's design, but it's the enemy's design because what is that projected at instead of these people growing up to be men and women of influence and power, we destroy them before they even have a chance. Right? It keeps his kingdom advancing. But when people come and step into the fullness of life and step into the fullness of faith, right, it becomes much harder.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:16:02]:
He does the same thing with us. He's he's strategic in that sense. I I believe the enemy tempts us in ways that that sometimes trim it to our own health. And so that what kind of excuses do we make? I I think, like, most of us, you know, sometimes depending where you're at life, that it's too late for me. Right? For some of us, it's I'll do it later. Maybe you grew up saying certain things or hearing certain things. I'm, you know, I'm just big boned or that's just kind of like the way it is in our our ethnic group or whatever. Right? And then every ethnic group has something, but but some of you guys might say, oh, but Japanese is thin and and and and normally healthy.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:16:41]:
I go, yeah. But we got Sumo too. Right? So we have all of them in, and every ethnic group has has all of them, but, some of us I've I've talked to, and I've said this, in the past, I don't like the taste of healthy food. Right? And, I could like, it it just taste junk. Right? And then so there's different things. Maybe you have health conditions already. Maybe you have some weight issue. Maybe you have some, you know, blood sugar issue or heart issues, and and so it it's running in your family.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:17:08]:
And, sure, those things may run in your family but I think most of us, the the the real excuses boil down to, I'm too tired, aired and I don't have enough time. Right? The reality is that because we all know that even if you have some kind of health condition now, we know the exercise probably helps that in the midst of that. But but a lot of times, it's saying, I'm I just don't have time to do it, and I'm too tired to do it. And, you know, the and they're different things, right, obviously, but I think what it really boils down to is the priority. Right? That what really matters because, you know, it's been said that, you know, we all take health for granted till we don't have it. Right? And and it's one of those things that people have said it doesn't at that point, it doesn't matter how much money you have. It doesn't matter how well known you are that if you don't have your health, that life is difficult. Right? And and so it's really a a priority thing.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:18:10]:
Because all of us, we probably don't how many of you guys get up in the morning? You're like, I'm bright eyed, bushy I just wanna go to work. But you go anyway. Right? And and so or maybe that you don't have time to but your kids have a sports thing, and and you somehow make it, you know, to the game or make it to the practice. Right? And, we have time for to watch our show on on Netflix or Amazon whatever, or or we have time for family and friends, but your health I would just say this, your health matters. Your health matters. But the one thing is that no one can prioritize your health for you. You know, children cannot prioritize health for their parents. How many of us when we were kids, you had a parent that smoked.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:18:52]:
You ever try to take their cigarettes away? Right? But it doesn't work, does it? Right? Maybe you have a a boyfriend or a girlfriend. And, you know, I had a girlfriend that that every time that she that I would put salt on my food. She would just kinda take the salt shaker away because she would think, you put too much salt on your food, right, and I would just get so mad. Just leave me alone. Let me eat the food. I like to eat. Right? And then when I started dating Rica, she never said anything about how much salt I put on my food? And then I started thinking, what? You don't care about my health? No. But so kinda win, right, sometimes.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:19:27]:
But, you know, the thing is that you can't kind of force somebody else to be healthy and to take opportunity to do that, but that's something that we have to do for ourself, but whatever that you invest in now in terms of your health will pay dividends, just like your investments, just like things that you plan for retirement, that if you want to have a good retirement, it takes more than having a good retirement account, it takes having the health to be well enough to enjoy that. Right? Because if you wanna be bouncing the Gantt kids on your on your knee or run around and chase them in the yard at some point, to be honest, it it's not enough to have a a a good retirement account. And so good health will help to maximize your life. Galatians 67 says it like this. Don't be deceived. God cannot be mocked because what? A man reaps what he sows. And so this this weekend, I just want us to take a little bit of time, that at the beginning of the year and many of us in the Daniel Fast that probably have found that some of these things are not as difficult as you would think. Right? And and so that that let's just invest a little bit in our own health.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:20:45]:
Do me a favor. Turn to your neighbor and say, you can invest in your own health. Right. Now how do you invest in your own health? You know that sometimes where you gotta start, you gotta start knowing where your where your where's your baseline? Where you at? Right? And so I just wanna say this for some of us. How many of you guys hate going to the doctor? Raise your hand. Oh, wow. There's more people than I thought. But there's a majority the vast majority of us.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:21:13]:
Right? And so the thing is that I just wanna when's the last time you heard bass like that? Right? It might have been on the way here. But, but when's the last time that you had a physical, I hope for looking around the room, it wasn't when you played sports in high school and you needed the physical at that time. Right? But, you you know the thing, when's the last time you kinda found out what your numbers are? Right? When's the last time that you had somebody look at you objectively, right, and just say, hey. Let's check your blood. Let's check your weight. Let's check your what's going on? Right? And not just managing sickness, but managing health. Right? And and and that's one of the first things I wanna say is that probably for some of us, that might be the first thing. You know, sometimes it it really pays to go to your appointments.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:22:06]:
It really pays to to get certain things examined I'm in right at different ages. You know, for women, you have a a mammogram. Men, you have your prostate. Right? That both of them probably nobody loves doing. Right, nobody loves doing them. But the thing is that they can not just save years, but they can save your life at times. Right? And so can I just ask you guys this? If you haven't had a physical if the last time you had a physical was before the the decade was 20 something, maybe it's time to go get a physical. Right? And you know what it'll do? It'll just give you an objective benchmark where you're at.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:22:47]:
Right? And and some of that's what we need. Right? We just need because sometimes we just say, no. I can fit that pants still, right, I can still wear that jacket. I can still wear that shirt. Yeah. We can if you just kinda, like, hold hold the thing and pull your belt, right, like a kind of a thing. And so that's not really objective. And so maybe that's a that's a way to to to do it.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:23:08]:
Get a objective look at where snapshot of where you're at. Not to discourage you, but sometimes it build conviction. And for some of you guys who are already on the right track, it's it's good. It'll just it'll give you peace of mind. But here's the third thing, is that I think we have to also start making changes. Right? We have to start making changes, I've heard it said that there's no elevator to success. You have to take the stairs. And when it comes to physical health, sometimes people will sell you an elevator solution.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:23:42]:
Right? It comes in a bottle. It's a pill, a powder, a diet, right, some extreme exercise plan and saying that, hey, you know, that this will fix your thing, or now you can take in a, you know, Ozempic you can take whatever the those kinds of Wegovy, those kinds of things, and it'll change your life. And, you know, those things can be helpful. Obviously, some of those things can be helpful, but don't think about it as a quick fix. Can we think about it as a as a journey? Right? It it's not just a moment in time in an instant fast food situation, but think of it as a as a lifelong journey. There was a time in my life when I never thought I would live past 35, the way I was living. And then there was a time where I thought I would live forever. You guys know what I'm talking about? And and both of those things were wrong.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:24:34]:
Right? Both of those things were wrong because the reality is all of us, there's a there's a lifespan. There will be a lifespan. But here's what happens is as I've grown, I began to think in terms that you know what? That my health matters not just simply for me or for my family even. It doesn't even matter just, like, you know, so I can do my job. But it it matters, to be honest, for God's purposes in my life. And one of the things that I've, really, I mean, seriously prayed for, and I just have related from the from kinda like the first time I saw it was it was just the kind of the this aspect about Caleb that from the Old Testament. You know, that he was 40 years old when, they entered into the promised land. I'm not into the they they walked in the desert and on their way to the promised land, and they were in the desert for 45 years.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:25:39]:
But when he was in the desert and I'm sorry. When they were in entering into the promised land and there were challenges ahead, you know, there were some, it says, that never made it out of the desert and that they died along the way. But but Caleb and Joshua were 2 of them that made it, and this is what he says in in Joshua 14. He says, now then, just as the Lord promised, he has kept me alive for 45 years since the time he said to Moses while Israel moved about in the desert. 85. Hey. That's a pretty good lifespan. That's the average lifespan in Hong Kong and Japan, they say, basically.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:26:16]:
Right? And he says, so here I I'm 85 years old, but what does it say about it? Verse 11. Can we read what he says? I am still today, as the day Moses sent me out, I'm just as vigorous to go out to battle now as I was then. You see some of us that the reason why he's saying this is because there was still another area to conquer. He says that he was given an allotment and it and and it hadn't been conquered yet. But if if Caleb was this kind of a 85, he probably would have said, I'd love to go, but I can't. And I wouldn't want that to be said by me, I wouldn't want that to be said for you. Instead, he says this, god, because I have the physical strength to still do this, god, I'm I'm taking the next sale. I'm taking the next thing.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:27:11]:
And so that all of us need to be mindful that that God can sustain us, but we have to cooperate. Right? We have to do our part. What's the 3 things that we wanna talk about in terms of Akita Fitness and I'd say the first thing is this, that you all of us, we gotta watch what we put in our body. Right? We gotta watch what we put in our body. And and primarily, that it comes down to 2 things for for people. Sometimes it's focusing on what we eat and what we drink. Right? And then the 2nd part is how much. Right? Now in the Bible, there's there's a a bunch in the Old Testament about dietary issues, about what kind of foods to eat, what not to eat.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:27:52]:
And, and do you guys ever remember where it says this, that the fat belongs to the Lord? That they would use that part as a sacrifice. Actually, that they were called not to just kinda consume that, not to grill it. For me, that would be the fat deserves to put on the grill with plenty salt, and that would be that sounds awesome to me. But but that's not God's it's kinda like design. And so he's saying that sometimes I think that that maybe we deal with these some of these chronic issues and weight issues and inflammation, because we don't listen to God's design, but that we just say we choose for ourself. Right? We choose for ourselves. And and now, I'm one of those guys that I I I've had the hardest time. I love the fat with salt on the grill.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:28:40]:
Right? With the with a piece of meat on that. And, but you know what I've learned is that when it was a big thing for me when I didn't have to eat meat, both lunch and dinner. Because I'm a meat eater guy, and and to be honest, I. Just to go from not eating, like, a hamburger and a thing and then having meat at dinner, that was a big deal. I learned that, hey. I I don't have to eat meat every meal. Right? And then it came to be, like, hey. It's okay that if we have a vegetarian thing every once in a while.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:29:12]:
And and so the problem though for me has been the amount that I eat. Right? When I was in college, I won an eating contest with guys bigger than Mark, and I had to throw up afterwards. But, like, but I won. Right? That's that's the kind of a thing. And but here's the thing is I I've lived to eat, not eaten to live. And and so that's kinda still been a struggle for me. It's that that I I can I can still eat a lot? I can still eat like a young man if I if I'm not careful, because I'm not a young man anymore. Right? I I used to be burn burning probably 1,000 and thousands and and thousands of calories, I'm probably burning half, today.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:29:58]:
And so but what I'm learning is gluttony wasn't just a sin in the scriptures because of, you know, kinda indulgence in them, it's the poverty, but also it's just a good stewardship of my body. And so with the holidays behind us now, this is a good time, I think, to talk about this. Right? We're probably we've all thinking a little bit. I I wanna be a little Healthier. Because we don't wanna be like how it says in Psalm 78 verse 18. He says it like this. This is what it says, Psalm 78/18. What does it say? Let's read.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:30:30]:
They willfully put God to the test by demanding the food that they craved. Right? And so sometimes we all crave food. Right, but here's the part that that this is one of the things. Even though I believe in healing and we have seen phenomenal healing, that the ones that have really frustrated me the most, that when we pray for people and I I I can I just say this? Obviously, there's, you know, you you can't tell that I'm I'm not a healer. Right? God's the healer. It belongs to him, but he commanded us to pray for healing. Right? Can I just get amen on that? He commanded us to pray. It's not it's not something that I have to stir up the he said to to pray.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:31:10]:
But sometimes what I've seen is that when when people didn't cooperate with what they already knew, the doctors told them to do. And so sometimes these lifestyle ones are so hard because I think God is saying, I hear your prayer, but I think you already know what your part of the equation is. Because our appetites make a good servant but a poor master. Because many of the ailments that sometimes people pray for in churches all over are things that would probably decrease, if not disappear, if we change a little bit of our our diet habits or what we put in our bodies or what we smoked, right, or how much we drank, and those things could be could be taken care of. And so, yeah, I'm not here to tell you about how to eat. You can find all that stuff online and probably you guys all have already. You probably all research different thing. Mediterranean, plant based, keto, carnivore, some of us.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:32:18]:
Right? High protein, low carb, blue zone, whatever, like and and and, you know, which one is right, to be honest? Because some of them are diametrically opposed, and and I think you find the one that works for you. Right? You find the one that works for you, but, I can say this that I know that there's a lot of science that goes into a keto diet, but you cannot do keto you guys know what I mean. Right? Keto diet, like, that you cannot do keto and then just go, man, I'm gonna eat this giant steak with all the fat because fat is the burner and then go eat, like, 2 cups rice. Or you know what I mean? Like, you know, because the the sign that doesn't work that way. Right? You you'll get in trouble that way, and so, you know, play havoc with your blood. So the the thing is that you have to understand the diet, the the the the plan, your eating plan that you're gonna take, so talk to your doc about it. And one of the things I've experienced I never did carnivore, but I've done keto, and I lost a bunch of weight. And it was good for me to kinda lose a bunch of weight, but the thing is that might be harder for many of us to continue on the long run.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:33:24]:
Right? Because to be honest that sometimes you wanna eat a little bit of a dessert. Something you wanna eat a little bit more of those kinds of things, but but research has well this this. And and I'm not a vegan guy, and I'm I'm I'm vegan now, but I won't be after 21 days. But, but but here's the thing, I will eat better. And and, and I I already am. I there's some of these recipes now. I'd like, that Costco had this mushrooms, lentil stew in their thing, and I looked at it. I go like, hey.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:33:56]:
That picture looks good. I wanna eat it. Right? And we made that last night. It was like, it was killer. Really? It was it was really good. I I said I can eat that when I'm not on this, 21 days of prayer and fasting. But research has well established that plant based diets it's reduced incidence for illness that heart disease. Right? And and, kind of lowering blood pressure, cholesterol, all those kinds of things.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:34:21]:
But for some of us who are on that kind of a thing, you gotta make sure that you're getting enough protein. Because to be honest, sometimes that that you can be on that kind of a diet and not get enough protein. But if for most of us, maybe you're kind of a little bit more I just wanna do it like a common sense is kind of a, eating plan. You know, they say that if you're gonna just say, hey. You just you know, that it's more like moderation and all that kind of stuff. You said what's some things that you want to be focusing on like, eat whole foods. Right? Not necessarily the the store, but, like, whole foods meaning, you know, unprocessed foods. Right? Avoid high sugar, high salt, those kinds of thing, they limit your intake of meat.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:35:00]:
Maybe instead of like me, that instead of like every day, twice a day, that I used to be, but that kinda limit that. Right? So that you you just kinda have a balance. Maybe avoid emotional eating, and so that you don't eat the whole bag of chips because you had a hard day work or eat the whole container of ice cream, that kind of a thing. Sometimes I've heard people say this, cut out the sodas, to be honest, including diet soda, do you know that the majority of people who are on diet soda and regular soda do not the difference, they never lose any weight. Because your body, although it tastes sweet to you, somehow your body doesn't always recognize even though I don't know how that works, but that they it doesn't it doesn't work. And then you see guys like Post Malone, the the musician guy who if if you've seen him with dramatic weight loss, must look like 50 pounds, he attributes it to just cutting out soda. Just cutting out soda. Here's the other thing.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:35:59]:
Drink more water. Three quarters of Americans walk around, they say chronically dehydrated. So chances are, most of us are. And it doesn't just give you a headache, although it can it can actually affect your skin. It gives you dry skin, can give you high blood pressure, constipation. Right? My first thing used to be, I drink a a hot coffee, right in the morning. That's the first thing. And doctor told me that's the worst thing that you do.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:36:29]:
First thing you should do, just drink a glass of water. He said you can have coffee. Just don't make it the first thing. Rehydrate first because coffee is a a diuretic. It'll actually dehydrate you more. And this is what I used to think. Get water and coffee. Right? Right? Until something till something happened.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:36:50]:
Till something happened. Till, like, they they checked, and I had a kidney stone. I'd never had that, you know, in a in a thing. And then I thought, okay. Maybe I'll try it then. And it just became normal after all, I just drink water first. I still drink coffee as soon as I'm off to Daniel Fast, but at least I drink a glass of water. I I try to be more conscious about that.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:37:10]:
Limit the amount of alcohol you drink. The Bible never says that alcohol is sinful or in, well, itself is forbidden. What does it say? Drunkenness is. Right. Drunkenness is. So but can I ask you this that for those of us who who may have a a a glass or two, do you have a limit? Because some of my friends that I know and love that that that this is one of their weaknesses. And the the weaknesses because to be honest, they never have a limit. Guess what? You never have a limit.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:37:49]:
It's so easy to go past it. Right? And and most kind of studies talk about, like, moderate drinking. 1 they say 1 to 3, but they say so maybe 2 because 3, you might not even pass the the the alcohol the the breathalyzer. But the thing is that if you don't this is one of the things I recognize about life in general. If you don't have a limit, you'll lead a life of excess. And the limit, well, it reminded me that when we were in Mexico, we were in Tijuana one day, and we were everybody was being offered switchblades and leather jackets. All the guys that somehow they say, hey. You know, hey, amigo.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:38:29]:
You wanna buy a leather jacket? You wanna buy a Switchblade? And and, my friend took out the Switchblade, and he's he's, you know, popping the blade in and out, and he's looking at it. And he told the guy he he asked the guy, hey. Where's the safety on this? And then he says, in here. You know, that's a I think that's good advice. Right? Does the safeties in here? Do you have a safety? Do you have a limit? I'm not here to say alcohol is evil, but I'm then asking if you have a limit. So I hope those of us that who are on the Daniel Fast that you're being refreshed and somehow a little bit on kind of a little healthier your lifestyle but the second thing is this. You gotta start moving your body because it's not just diet. Like, most studies say this, our bodies need to move.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:39:21]:
They were designed to move. Now somebody once said this, whenever I feel like exercise, I just lie down until it goes away. Right? Now I I resemble that. Right? But, but but when it comes to exercise, you know, I I think that sometimes we need to remove the lies that we tell us. Right? That that it's too late. Right? It's too late already for me. You know? And I got too many injuries. I got too many things or, don't believe the lie that you don't have to do some of us, the lie is that unless I can do what I used to do, it doesn't matter.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:39:53]:
Right, it's not good enough. Refuse to believe those things. Refuse to believe that everything needs to be comfortable and convenient too. Because most of us, our bodies are made to adapt. And without some kind of a pressure, without some kind of a challenge, your body will not adapt. And that you need to make a decision of your life and say that this is my life. This is my health, and I wanna be as healthy as I can be. Right? So in in 1st Timothy 48, it says a little bit about that.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:40:23]:
It says this, that can we read that together? Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better. Promising benefits in this life and in the life to come so we started talking about with godliness. We started our year talking about the spiritual aspect, but let's not neglect that physical training is part of it too. Now when Paul wrote this, they walked everywhere in the, whenever they went. Right? Like, we drive we live in a drive culture, don't we? Right? Or or you catch a bus or whatever, but we most of us don't walk very much. You know, when I go to Japan, I walk probably 5 times more than I ever walk in my life while I'm here, but I also noticed that they're much thinner than most of us than most of us here. I mean, part of it is because they just walk everywhere, and Paul just walked everywhere. And so he wasn't thinking about physical training, he said but he's probably walking his 10,000 steps.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:41:26]:
Right? He's he's probably doing those things. And and so and he's talking about maybe sometimes doing even more. He's saying it's it's still good. Right? But but can I just say this? When it comes to exercise that when it comes to exercise, probably that it's just best to remember that you cannot if you haven't been physically active, you cannot jump in and go in all out from the beginning. Right? That's the sure way to discourage yourself. Start with what is doable. Right? Because if you haven't run-in years, don't go out and run 5 miles. Right? If you haven't been in the gym in, you know, years, don't work out, like, to your max for an hour and a half.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:42:14]:
Right? You gotta start slow. Right, maybe maybe start with 15 minutes. Even maybe sometimes start with walking. Start with something that just makes that you can just say I had a success today. I accomplished my goal today. Because growing in fitness and exercise makes a better you. It reduces our stress level, it gives us greater mental clarity. It actually helps with brain health, all studies point to today.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:42:40]:
In fact, in in in also, like, warding off dementia and mental decline. Right? And so it gives you an energy boost. We know all those things. You probably know all that, but began begin with something manageable. Right? That you know, whether it's the walking. Right? That did you know that just walking 10,000 steps a day says there's a 90% reduction in heart attacks. 90% reduction in heart attacks. 30 to 70 sent reduction in cancer.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:43:08]:
50% reduction in type 2 diabetes. 70% reduction in rate stroke, 10,000 steps a day. Right? So you don't have to be, you know, you don't have to be the old athlete that you used to, they said that walking for 10 minutes after dinner dramatically reduces your blood sugar levels. But can I just throw this in a bit? But I do I'm gonna just put a pitch for something that I like doing is weight training. And and I'm saying this not because that's what I like, but because studies say today is that weight training is so much it's so important for longevity and maintaining strength into your years that as you get older, resistance training maintains your strength in your older years. If you are a woman, it is even more important because of the the bone loss potential. Right? Because your bones will get stronger if there is added pressure on them. Your your body only responds to the stresses that are put on it.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:44:18]:
That's how our body was made. And so can I just say this? What the the big thing you should do is try to find something that's fun. We we were out in town the other day, we saw some folks playing pickleball. I go like, oh, that's like tennis without the running. No. But, you know, it literally was. But, like, but it was it looked fun, and I could understand why my my wife wants to play pickleball, and I still understand why I say I don't really wanna do it. But, but here's the thing, though.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:44:49]:
But but find something that's easy for you to do something you like doing, and then maybe maybe multitask while you do it. Listen to listen to your favorite podcast, listen to an audible book, listen to the Bible, listen to worship music, listen to your favorite song, whatever it is that you that you guys wanna do, but just make it fun for yourself, and you can build your body and your mind at the same time. And I just wanna, last point, is just say this, that you also need to get regular sleep. That that health, people who study this stuff say that you also need to be healthy, you need regular sleep, 7 to 8 hours. And they talk about the not just it's having sleep, but the quality of sleep. Now I'm gonna ask you guys here. How many of you and then you you you can just say how many of you in your family, there is someone who snores? Raise your hand. Not the kind the kind of gentle kind like one time, you know, not but, like, they like, you hear it.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:45:55]:
Right? You guys know what I'm talking about. I have been accused of snoring. I don't believe it because I have never heard it. No. But, like, but the thing is that, you know, I I had this instance that I would wake up in the middle of the night, fairly often. And and then my wife started to tell me, like, hey, you know, you know, you weren't breathing for a while. I said, it's a magic trick. No.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:46:26]:
But, you know and I I said, oh, okay. And I always thought I should get checked some point, but I just couldn't sleep doing a sleep study. That seems like the weirdest thing in the world. How can I sleep in that place? But I read these studies that said that it's just because you have good blood pressure, and I have good blood pressure, that if you have sleep apnea if you have sleep apnea, the problem is not that your blood pressure your blood pressure may show this during that time, but in the moments of apnea, your blood pressure spikes. So people, when they find that people with normal blood pressure having strokes, they often have sleep apnea. And and and then they said this has been correlated to mental decline and dementia later in life. That made me scared. Right? So I said, I'll get I'll get tested.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:47:22]:
And the first thing the the guy who's kind of telling me about the test says this. He says, do you snore? They're taking all these thing days ago. Well, I've been told, but I don't really know. But I go, yeah. Yeah. I do. He goes, like, oh, you probably have sleep apnea anyway then. Like and and I go, what? He goes, yeah.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:47:40]:
The people who snore, like, 99 like, they've been a 100% that they they have a they have a sleep apnea problem. I've had a sleep apnea machine. It is the sexiest thing my wife says when I go to sleep, when I wear that. But, like, but I had that, like, since during during the pandemic. And the only reason I talk about that is that I want you guys, my friends, right, not to have the things that I was worried that I would get. Right? It it took me a while to get used to, but I definitely sleep better. And when I do, I don't snore. So if you are married to the snorer, give him one of those.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:48:24]:
Because when they do like, you don't snore. Because the the reason why you're snoring is that I'm not exactly sure the mechanics of it all, but, but getting it's not just sleeping for 7 to 8 hours. You have to supposed to have quality sleep. And so would you be mindful that did all of us, we need that because that's what the sleep is the mental or the physical mechanism that allows your brain to reset in memories that taking short term memories into longer term storage. If you rob yourself of this kind of sleep, I it's no wonder they correlate this with mental, faculties issues in the past. Okay? So just that we would do this with sleep. I just wanna close with this. I'm gonna close with this.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:49:15]:
Anybody here heard of this guy named Robert Morgan. Anybody know who he is? Well, I'm guessing you probably had it anyway. He's 93, an Irishman, he's a 4 time champion in indoor rowing with the heart rate and lung capacity of a healthy thirty to 40 year old, he has a body fat, of basically an athlete, and he's the subject of a new case study published in the Journal of Applied Physiology that looked at his training, his diet, and his physiology, and what they found was, you know, this guy is a pretty guy. He's a pretty ordinary guy. He used to work as a baker, and then he was a battery maker, and he has he has bad knees. And and here's the kicker, though. He didn't start exercising till he was 73. He never started exercising till he was 73.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:50:11]:
And, in the last 20 years, though, but since starting exercising, he's doing these one of these things called indoor rowing. You know, like, pull it looks like this cable that you're pulling, and, those of you guys who have bad knees, you have bad things, that there are things you can work around. Why does he do that? Because he has bad knees. And so he found something that he could do that wouldn't hurt him, that would still give him, a workout, and that that he as a result, he's gone 10 times around the world in distance. He's done it with exercising 40 minutes a day, though he didn't start out in the very beginning doing that that long. He was 18 and a half miles a day, which comes up to about 40 minutes. And he also mixes in, kind of a an easy day, a moderate day and an intense day. And these things kind of they they talk talk about causing muscle confusion and keeping your adapting.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:51:12]:
So 70% of this exercise is easy. 20% difficult but tolerable, and 10% kinda like all out and kinda hardly sustainable. He exercises 2 to 3 times a week and eats a high protein diet and, above what recommendations are. So that it seems to do this now. So what they say at the end of this article was that they're still learning a lot about starting late in life, exercise, but it's it's pretty clear that the human body maintains its ability to adapt to exercise at any age. It's in fact, it suggests that exercise could help us build and maintain strong, capable body, whatever our age. Right? Now there is this thing called sarcopenia. That's the loss of, muscle mass, the older you get.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:52:10]:
And so his exercise has slowed, he says, compared to 15 years ago, 10 years ago, he says, even 5 years ago. But they they summarize by saying this, but their their ideas are that we can't eliminate all the effects of aging, but it may slow our body's losses and flatten the decline. If Robert Morgan can do it at 73, it's not too late for you. Right? Only thing that we might lack is the will. But when we choose when we choose, God honors those choices. Make sense? Let's bow our heads. We'll close in a word of prayer. Father, I'm thankful that you love us whether we're fit we're not fit.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:53:04]:
That you love us whether we we eat all the wrong foods we eat all the right foods, whatever that means. We're thankful, lord, that these things that we've talked about tonight is not whether you will love us, whether you will call us, whether you will use us for your purposes, but we all have probably seen and we all have probably heard that it does affect sometimes our longevity and sometimes not just our life span, but sometimes our health span. And I I'm just gonna ask you just in the quietness of your own heart. If you've made excuses, if if you've said it's too late for me, would you know one it's not. Right? If if you have aches and pains and, you know, you have to do some work arounds, there's a workaround. There's different things that you can do. I'm not an expert, but but there are out there. But what I'm saying is this.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:54:15]:
If if you're just saying, god, I I want to believe that it's not too late for me. Would you say if that's the case, you wanna believe it's not too late for you, would you also then say, but god, I'm willing to do my part. You might not be perfect. We're not asking who's gonna be running the marathon next year, but but would you know that your health matters to you? It matters to your friends. It matters to your family, but it matters to God. And I think that God can use us more when we have more to give. So if that's you this morning this evening and you're just saying, god, I god. I I wanna be better.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:55:13]:
If that's you, would you I wanna be better in this area. But for some of us, it's like it's to start a physical exercise program, for some of us, it's like, I I'm gonna try to sleep better. For some of us, it's, I wanna watch what I put in my body more. And we we're not here to overwhelm us, but we're here to help us make the decisions we all would love the results of, but we've been nervous about. So, father, would you help your people? Lord, as they're entrusting themselves. Lord, they're they're asking you, like, I wanna do better. And would you say, god, I'm willing to do my part? Hey. You know what? Our heads bowed and our eyes closed.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:56:05]:
The the reality is too that, obviously, all of us, no matter if you're the fitness not and you're the, you know, the best diet in the world, none of us live forever. All of us, we have a shelf life. But the most important decision you'll make it's not gonna just be about your diet, but whether you trust in Jesus, whether you're surrendered to him. Because it's him that says that in the next life, can give us the new body. It's him in the next life that says that determines whether we're in his presence Oh, we're away from it for eternity. And would you know this? That God loves you exactly where you are regardless of where bin or what you've done, he knows you. He loves you, and he wants you. But if you've never had an opportunity to respond to him, if you've never said yes to Jesus, say, god, that would I just recognize not just about me taking care of myself.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:57:07]:
I just recognize I haven't taking care of my my whole life, including surrendering it to you. If you've never done that, I would invite you to to do that it'd be a privilege for me to to help in that process. And if I ask you this tonight, would you just say, god, whether you're in at home or in the house, if that's you, just say, god, I I really do want you. I do wanna know know you. I do want your presence in my life. Would you lead me and guide me? This is we're gonna pray together for something very simple. Would you join me if that's you? Or if you're just kind of recommitting your life. Would you pray this way? Lord god, thank you for loving me, and thank you for caring for me.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:57:57]:
I confess that I've sinned and then I need you. Would you come live inside me today? I put my trust in Jesus Who died in my place on the cross, who rose again and lives today. Thank you, Lord, for living in me now. Would you lead me, and would you guide me? Would you help me to know your will and your ways? Help me to hear your voice as I understand your word and the whispers of your spirit, I give you my life. Thank you for giving me yours. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen. Hey.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:58:50]:
Can we please say congratulations to those folks? Hey. God bless you guys. Thanks for joining us.