Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:00:00]:
Evening, church family. It's again, it's great to see everybody. You know, one of the things I think that what we say about ourselves I know you probably notice this, that what you say about yourself is kinda important. You know? It's the way that you see yourself, the way you think about yourself. You know? How many of us that when we've made a mistake, we go, oh my god. I'm so stupid and this and this and this, we see do we say things like that maybe? Or or maybe when you've blown it or you you struggled in something, you say, oh my gosh. I'm just a I'm just a sinner. And and it's true that all of us are imperfect and all of us make mistakes, but we do know that that the scriptures say that you're you're called a saint in the Bible.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:00:36]:
Right? That whatever after having come to Jesus, that God uses the term to describe followers either as saints or disciples, right, or or sometimes believers, maybe 1 time or 2 times in the judgment. Christians. Right? But it it uses a different term than sometimes that we might take. Because I I hear that so often that when people hey. I'm just a sinner. And and it is true that we sin, but it's it's like how God defines us, he said, is and I've said it myself. Right? But but he says I'm a saint. I'm a I'm a follower.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:01:10]:
I'm a disciple. But we all know that because what we say about ourselves and how we see, what labels we use makes a difference. Now where am I going with this? It's it's easy to get confused that when we, in English, when we use the word church, because what does it say? How many of you guys said to somebody today, hey. I'm gonna go to church today. And then what did you mean? You meant this place. Right? You meant this this building, this this facility. And and, yeah, that's it's kinda common vernacular, obviously, but we all know that what is the church? The church is not the building. The church is the people.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:01:45]:
Right? It's all the believers together make up the church. Right? So do me a favor. Just turn to your neighbors. I'm so glad you're the church. Right? I'm glad that I get to be together with you guys. You guys are the church. Right? This is just the building, and and we're grateful for it. We're we're thankful for it.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:02:01]:
We're, on Sundays, we're thankful for Ho'okele where we, get to meet. But the reason I I I say that is because sometimes words, have been used historically in different cultures and different places that that have kinda got the churches, and the people of God, kinda stuck in some ways. We have some friends right now who just are having a great vacation in Japan. They're in Hokkaido, and, like, heading out my wife's hometown, having a great right? So Karen's having a great time with her friends. But the word for church in Japanese is the word. Now, that I was talking to my wife because I remembered that the word, actually means learning place. The characters for that literally mean the learning place. Does learning happen in a in a church environment? Yeah.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:02:57]:
Yeah. It does. I sure hope it does. Right? I sure hope that we we grow and we we we learn more and more about the the Lord, but but is it any wonder in Japan that there's been moments where they've struggled because it's be a kind of a dry learning environment? Right? And and maybe, how many of us who know who Joe Rogan is? Anybody know? Yeah. Okay. Like, I'll everybody listened to the podcast. We got some of us, we're gonna watch the fights tonight after after service, but, and we'll see him in there too. But, like, but he's a a comedian, MMA commentator, right, Spotify, Phenom.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:03:34]:
I mean, he signed a 100,000,000 deal $100,000,000 deal with Spotify, and the other week, resigned for 250,000,000. This guy's on a rocket ship, going up. I I like Joe Rogan even though I know Joe Rogan's an atheist, technically. Right? But maybe he's changed some, and, we see him changing because he used to be really hostile to the church. But at this point, he's not as bad. You know, one of the things he said was about the church. There's a discussion he's having, with a guest, and he said, there's something powerful about people coming together and and getting up from their houses and getting up from whatever that they're doing, and they go to this place, and they gather with people, and they affirm the truth, and they they encourage one another. And he says that something that's powerful, not just for those people, but the people who go, but it's powerful for our society, he said.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:04:33]:
Right? And that's if you ever if you've been watching Joe Rogan long time talk about stuff, that that's like a total change, for him to to say that. And but even at that stage, even as as as, honoring and as kind of, supportive as that is or as the word kokai is in Japanese. It misses something because it's not just a gathering place. It's not just a, a place where we, the learn that we learn. It's not just a place where we affirm the truth, but it's a place that we worship. And we just had a corporate time that we worshiped together. But this evening, I wanted to take a look as how do we worship together, and and probably one of the best places to think in terms of a template for us is the early church. Because the the way that God started the church, I believe, is how God wants the church today.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:05:25]:
Then it says it like this in acts 246 to 47. It says they worshiped together. Let's say the word worshiped. Worshiped. Right. They worshiped together at the temple each day. Right? You know, how often? Every day, daily, they met. And they met in homes for the Lord's supper and shared meals together with what? Great joy and generosity.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:05:47]:
And so there's a it's a it's an a kind of a a an appealing, a win sum. It's a a great attractive kinda environment because there's great joy and generosity. And when they were doing, what were they doing? All the while what? Praising. Praising god and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day, the Lord added to their fellowship those who are being saved. And worship, praise, and worship marked the early church along with the disciples teaching and the sense of joy and generosity. And so today, I believe that's the environment that God desires for us to to create, that God desires for us to to grow, that God desires for us to have an impact. And so would you be kind enough? We're gonna read, Psalm 122 verse 1 together.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:06:35]:
Would you be kind enough? Let's stand in reverence for god, reverence for his word, and let's read what it says. Ready? Let's go read. I was glad when they said to me, let us go to the house of the lord. And, you know, I don't know how many of you, that this this evening before you came and somebody said to you, hey. Let's go to church. And some of us might be going, that's awesome. And then some of us went, what? Like, if you if you go to church, then you can watch the fights afterwards. If you go to church, you can go out to dinner after sometimes people bribed people.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:07:10]:
How many of you guys I've bribed people before, my own kids. Right? But here's the thing. Is that what is it that God's looking, man? He's like, he's so stoked when he said, hey. Let's go to go worship. Let's go to go meet God today. Let's go to gather with the people, the church, the people of God, and then when they're saying, man, I wanna go. Right? It's this is something that happens. I believe that God is blessed by that.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:07:33]:
So do me a favor. Turn to your neighbor. Says you're you're a blessing today. You're a blessing for being here today, and then you can have a seat. Because worship is powerful. But how is it that we worship together? Because there's all different kind of ways that people worship, but how is it that we think that that we ought to worship? And and, our prayer is that as as however much that we've been either in the church or how we how long we've been together or how long we've been Christians or followers of Jesus, my prayer is that all of us would continue to grow, that would continue to be changed and transformed. Not only that we would be with Jesus and know God, but that we would become more like him, that we'd become more transformed, and that we would be then empowered to do the things that he calls us to do, do the things that Jesus did. The great news he says is that the good news is when you come to him, he loves us as we are, but he doesn't just leave us as we are.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:08:32]:
He changes us and transforms us over time to be more and more like Jesus and even to do the things that you never thought was possible. Right? And so I wanna look at 5 things this evening that I we're hoping that that when you come and when we come in, corporately together, that you experience in, in some ways, and that these would be measures if you wanna know, like, what is it that we hope, to achieve that when we're together corporately? And I would say this is because the the first thing is this, that god is looking for worship, but not just any kind of worship, but worship in spirit and in truth. Worship in spirit and in truth. Jesus said it like this. He says, the time's coming. Indeed, it's here now when true worshipers let's say true worshipers. True worshipers. So in other words, not everybody who worships, right, worship something, worships God.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:09:26]:
He says he doesn't count that as not everybody's a true worshiper, but they will worship the father in spirit and in truth, and that the father is looking for those who will worship him that way. And sometimes we come, we said, man, I I came looking for god. I don't know if I met God today. I don't know if I I I sense God today, but here's the good news that when you worship God in spirit and truth, it says he's looking for you. Right? Because he's searching for people who will do that. For god is spirit, so those who worship him must worship him in spirit and truth. Now it's not just 1 or the other, not just worship him in spirit, not just worship him in truth, but but often what we see in the scriptures is attention or a balance. Right? That on one end, we want the spirit's activity, and at the other end, we need to make sure it's rooted in the truth.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:10:18]:
Right? We need to make sure it's not just rooted in feelings, but in truth. We're not just saying we're not just having a dry truth, not just the learning place, not just the study place. And by the way, there's great some really great churches in Japan as well. I know I use that term, which is the Japanese word for church, but but there are struggles. Right? And so there's a tension that happens. And and so what does it mean then to worship in spirit and truth? I think one sense about it, we could probably say it's worshiping in spirit is also kind of a sense of sincerity it's talking about. There's this impact that that we're worshiping, not just, you know, out of, out of obligation. You know? We're not just repeating words.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:11:01]:
We have no idea what we're talking about. Right? That so often, I've I've talked to sometimes kids who have been raised in, some of that Christian school or a different kind of a church environment, and they say, hey. I I've been to church. I've done all that, but and then they can repeat the verses and King James. No. But, but they can repeat the verses, but when I ask them what it means, they have no idea. Right? And so I I believe that God wants us not just to say the words, but to understand the words that that we say, that to understand the words that we read. And so there's this aspect of because he he wants there to be a sincerity of heart.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:11:44]:
Now because God's attracted, he says, to to worshipers, right, who who worship like that. There's a sense of loyalty that it's a loyalty to God. When when Mary Magdalene, followed Jesus, she was a she was a, I think, a person that marked just the spirit of worship that when Jesus was doing his ministry, she and her sister, they supported the ministry out of out of their funds that they apparently came from a wealthy family along with their brother, and they were supportive financial supporters of Jesus' ministry. And that when it was time when Jesus was speaking and and, though, it was customary for the women to serve, we didn't see Mary just kinda so busy in serving and getting everything done, which is, to be honest, a culturally appropriate way that they would serve. Right? But where where do we find her? Sitting at the feet of Jesus, wanting to hear his word. And before his death, what do we see? That stirred by the spirit of God, she breaks basically the bank. Right? She cracks open her four zero one k and pours it out on Jesus' feet in perfume and then wipes it with her tears and hair. Right? There's this like a deep devotion that she has.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:13:06]:
Is it and and I I believe that's part of what God is looking for, a sincerity and a and a passion and a heart for God, but it's also, I think, it's just that that in when he's saying in spirit, worship in spirit is that that we're not just trusting in the words, but we're trusting in the the the Holy Spirit to even lead us in our time. Right? We we wanna, like, we wanna have good music. Right? We wanna do the best that we can. We wanna have the best technical things we can. We wanna have the but this is not a show. Right? It's not a show. I I I you know, it's not a it's not a gig. That's what I love about, what I love about our team.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:13:47]:
They've all played outside. They've all sang outside. They've been in that kind of a thing, but this is not a gig for them. This is this is a thing they do as a gift to God, and so there's a spirit then. And Jesus talked about that when the spirit comes, he's gonna lead us into the truth. So spirit and truth go together because the spirit always leads us into truth. He'll guide us into the truth. Right? He'll speak about Jesus, and so it's not just going holy spirit crazy that we we do whatever.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:14:21]:
Now now when we worship God, right, but at the same time, we you know, how many of you have been moved by just music? Right? Just just moved by music at times. Right? And, I I I was listening to some music. It was just kinda like movie music with movie score music. Right? And sometimes I I'm listening to the music, and I I can remember that and I'm getting emotional just listening to the music. And and music has that capacity to touch our hearts, but when we come, we're not just looking for a good hook. Right? We're not just looking for a good lick. We're not just looking for a good, you know, kind of a music score, but we're looking for songs that lead us to God, to the father, to the son, the Holy Spirit, right, The spirit of truth. And sometimes we've not sang certain songs even though it was a great musically song because sometimes maybe certain things in the the lyric was a little maybe kind of borderline whether we would say that's biblical or not.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:15:30]:
And so sometimes we we removed things like that. We haven't sung those songs or that maybe it lacked sincerity. There was a song that talked about this years ago that we sang, and we were singing this song. It was a great song, and then it came out. And it was just about how Jesus is our healer, God's our healer, and and then it came out that the guy who wrote the song, that the the story behind the song was that he had cancer and God healed him. Right? It turns out he never had cancer. He pretended he had cancer, and he he deceived his wife. He deceived his church, and he wrote this song, and it was super popular song, went around the world, and then came out that the song, like, wasn't even based in the truth of his experience.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:16:13]:
And so, you know, they the the church that is well known around the world for producing, and we all sang their songs before that but the thing is that they pulled the song. They went for what? We pulled the song because it wasn't based in reality. It wasn't based in sincerity. Right? And so we we're looking for that. So but but part of it is that God wants us to be a people that that when we come to him, we're coming, like, moved by the spirit, empowered by the spirit, but at the same time committed to truth. And so God is enthroned on the praises of his people, it says. And and I believe that worship is so powerful because God is attracted to worship. In in in in the Psalm, when it that the God is enthroned on the praises of his people in Psalm 24, that, it's some of the translations that he's seated in the assembly, but the the picture is that when when the worship is playing, God comes and he sits and he's moved.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:17:16]:
Would you know that that when you worship him with with your heart and that you worship him according to the truth of who he is, that God is attracted to you. Do me for it. Turn your ear and say god's attracted to you. God's attracted to you. Right? Not because of what you have, not because of how you look, not because you can sing well, right, not because you're musical, right, but because because of your hearts. Now when you worship at the same time in our thing, we we want everybody to be, engaged in worship. Right? We we don't want it to be now if you never came to church before, I understand that that there's some people when they come into worship time, this is how they they worship. Right? That's how they word some it's like they they they will stand, and they will they will honor, like, what everybody else is doing.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:18:11]:
But to them, it's like, this is just the music, and this is what they're waiting for. I'm waiting for a message. And and, and and I don't think that's the way God wanted us to. I understand that there's a learning curve to this and that you come in just as you are. Right? I'm glad that we can come in just as we are. But but so often, so much of the mess to our our gathering time in our in our service together is that you can become passive. Like, in this time, how many guys are talking right now? Only me. Right? I'm on a big note right now.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:18:45]:
Right? So but the thing is that, and it's easy, k, that you can become listeners, but in worship, it's the time you cry out to God. Your heart is the instrument. Your voice is the instrument by which praise is being done. They might be playing a guitar or a drum or or singing, but you have the same instrument through your heart and through your voice. And so God calls all of us to engage all that we are. Is aren't you guys glad that God wants you to experience him personally? God wants you to experience him directly in this time, and how does he say? He says in Psalm 47 and 1, let's read what it says. Come, everyone. Clap your hands.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:19:30]:
Shout to God with joyful praise. Now when I say when we say that, it's like we we sang a song, and then people are clapping. Is clapping just to keep timing? No. Sometimes that I've been told, I need help. Yeah. Every once in a while. Like, Jasmine, she would say that. Like, she would say, please don't clap so loud when you're in the front row.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:19:52]:
You could throw me off. So say, hey. God bless you too. You know? Let me tell you about all your faults. No. But, so, but when we're in this place that and then sometimes clapping is spontaneous. Right? How many of you guys watched the game last week, and on the 2 seconds left, Oh my gosh. Like, how many pitter patties? Half the people went like, whoo.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:20:16]:
Right? And then half the people was like you know? Right? Half the people. Because the chiefs pulled it out in the last 2 seconds of overtime. But here's the thing. But there's it was spontaneous. Right? So sometimes we see in the scriptures that people clap spontaneously, and sometimes it's kind of a affirming point. It's not I wouldn't say it's not rehearsed, but it's an affirmation just like in a in a speech, in a political speech. You guys ever watch these people that they get up and they speak and they so my fellow, you know, whatever, and it's telling all these things, and I'm gonna do this because people, you know, matter to this administration, and then people are they all, like, spontaneously, like, super no. You know what they're saying? It's like, that's our guy, and we like him.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:21:06]:
Right? And so they clap. Right? And it's an affirmation point. Sometimes clapping can can be like that. Clapping can be a an affirmation of our love for God. Can it can be spontaneous because of the goodness of God that we're just so glad to be in the in the, in the space to worship. So often in the beginning, when they say, hey. Let's stand and worship. And I'm clapping, and I'm just saying, lord, we just welcome you today, and we're just so to be in this space to worship you.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:21:37]:
And and god really I I believe that god looks to that. He's attracted to that. And sometimes clapping can also be sometimes clapping can also be as a spirit there's a spiritual war component Because in the scriptures, we see in Job, it mentions in in in, chapter 27, I I believe that we're that when they they would clap, it was really kind of a a a point of this of scorn and and kind of, belittling of of of something. And so sometimes in spiritual environments, when the enemy is at work, the the people of God that that at times you clap. And it's like saying, you know what? When you don't know if those anybody who have dogs at home, where you come home and the dog's not supposed to be on the bed, what do you what can you do when you when you come in? Like, hey. Get off. Right? It's a sign of authority that is expressed over something that shouldn't be there. And there's times that you know what? When we sing, I believe that that you there's times you know that you come in heavy every once in a while.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:22:44]:
Right? Maybe you you know that season, and an enemy's trying to steal your joy. He's trying to steal your promise. And that when you clap sometimes they clap that you should say, like, basically, just be telling the enemy, get your hand off my life. Get your hand off my heart. Get your hand off my situation. God God tells us to worship with all that we are. Right? Last week, we said with a heart and our mind. Right? So emotion and mind, but the other party says with all of our strength, and I believe that's using our body.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:23:19]:
The other part it says is that, very clearly, I think, is about raising our hands. Let's read what it says. Psalm 60 three four says, I'll praise you as long as I live, and in your name, I will lift up my hands. And sometimes I it's it's odd that when people who are not believers and they come in into the church and, like, they just use, like, kind of terminology that makes sense to them. And I I read this writer, and, like, he was talking about, churches, you know, like, when people raise their hand, he says, and they raise their hands to God like football style. Like like, you know, like like a goal kind of a thing. Like, okay. I guess if that's what that that's what it meant to you.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:23:59]:
I mean, that's what the the obviously, the person not a believer, not not having been in that environment. Right? But that when we raise our hands to God, that sometimes it's like it's honor. We wanna honor God. Right? We wanna we're just it's like you're in the middle of somebody who's so much greater than you, right, that it just seems to me that there's been times that just to sit like this seems so so disrespectful. Now I'm not saying this is disrespectful because I understand that you just come that that this is not disrespectful. For me, if I'm standing in the worship and the king of kings and the lord of lords is there, I would feel disrespectful to sin. Somebody oh, yeah. Just Jesus.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:24:42]:
You know what I mean? Like, there's parts I want to raise my hand and and give him praise. And sometimes, to be honest, can be more than that. Right? How many of you guys have ever been in the place where you walk in and then may if you've had kids, let's say and that you you come in and and your kids just go go like this. Right? You go, dada or mama. Right? Just coming in. And what is that? It's a it's an appeal to to closeness. Right? And sometimes it's saying, god, dad, would you carry me? I just wanna be close to you. Sometimes there's moments we just raise our hands because we just wanna be close.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:25:22]:
Sometimes it's surrender. God, I'm surrendering to you. And so often that these things, can they happen if you don't do them? They can, but there's something about your body in congruence with the things that you're trying to do, right, in making it work together. And so I I love what it says that we can celebrate. We can rejoice in his presence in different different things. Right? Sometimes it says, come let us worship and bow down. Let us kneel before the lord our god, our our maker. For he is our god.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:25:57]:
There's times when we've said, I I've asked you guys to kneel, and I I've been so, like, honored that you would honor God that way because some of you guys, I know you get bad knees. Right? Like, I I know it's not the easiest, and I I we've were like, on Sunday, we're just saying, I felt like the Lord's just saying, you don't have to kneel to be, you know, bow before God, but if you can, would you? Man, everybody and I saw people. I was thinking, oh, these guys, they cannot, but everybody everybody just went because they they just wanted their heart to be responsive to God. And they're we're the people, he says. He watches over the flock under his care, so before Sometimes at the end of worship, we're just gonna say, hey. We're just gonna be quiet before the Lord ended, and there's no singing and no right? We're just gonna be quiet, And this and sometimes you can just feel that it's just like a like, your heart's been just and your mind has been just racing throughout the day, and you just feel like this peace. Require ourselves before the lord. It says, Psalm 4610 says, be still and know that I am god, and I will be honored by every nation.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:27:15]:
I will be honored throughout the world. If you read the context, it's saying, basically, at that point, it's like the world's going to hell. He says, though, the the mountains fall in the ocean, and it's just chaos and crazy. He says that what we're gonna do when the world's crazy, sometimes what is he saying? Just be still and be quiet. And sometimes it's like, why do we be quiet? Because sometimes that's when you hear the whisper of God. Right? I'm so busy. I'm so, you know, saying so many things. I cannot hear God talking.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:27:49]:
So sometimes we we do that. All these things is because we wanna honor God with all that we are. Now this isn't exhaustive. Right? This isn't exhaustive. There's other things. It talks about dance before the Lord. Right? We use our body and all the right? It's it calls us for kind of an exuberant worship sometime. Sometimes it's calling us to be a quiet worship.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:28:10]:
But in all these things, it's just saying that we love God with all that we are. Right? Now are these are these verses meant to be descriptive, or are they meant to be instructional? In other words, are are they just kinda like, hey. They that's what they were doing. They were clapping their hands, and he wrote that, hey. Or, or is that meant to be prescriptive? You should clap your hands. I think the answer is both. Right? I think sometimes it's it it it describes how they worshiped, and sometimes it's instruction how to worship. Now what if you say, that's not my style.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:28:48]:
That's not how I was raised. That's not my personality. And I I would understand because that's not my I wasn't raised like that. Right? I I I remember, you know, like, going to school. I was just we were just talking in our small group on on Thursday and just saying, hey. You know, in school because one of the brothers, he's really musical, can sing, and I said that, you know, when he took music class and they talked about, like, this is this is a whole note, and he goes like, and then they okay. That's a whole note. This is a half note, and that's a half note.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:29:22]:
A quarter note. And I was like, I just, like I have no idea what you guys talking about. Just like you're just making it up. I I was a 0. I I got f in music in elementary school, whatever. I hated it because it didn't make sense to me. Right? And so that explains the clapping. No.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:29:38]:
But but but when when that happened, that's not my style. I I I never sang out loud. I never but, man, I love worship now. When I came into the church as a young man and never having been to church, just moved. Like, I would come, and I remember just tears streaming down my face. Right? And I would be like, what is this? I'm not even sad. What? And it's like, man, just, you know, like, when you grow up, like, you just gotta be hard. Right? You just gotta nobody but you.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:30:14]:
Right? You gotta do everything itself. And all of a sudden, just all that hold up that when the spirit of God comes oh, man. You just feel this release. Sometimes just tears come as a result. All the stuff you've been holding in, I sense that. Right? So here's this this aspect. That's not my style. It wasn't my culture.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:30:35]:
It wasn't my personality, but how many of you guys know God can change you? Right? God can change you. And and so here's what I I'd say that at the same time, ultimately, worship is not for you, but for God. Right? Although we hope that when you come, that you will experience God's presence and that the worship will speak to you. But what we want to help you to do is to worship and to bring your gifts before God, to bring your heart before God, to bring your praise before God. You see in acts 13, and, it says this, before they were this the Paul, the apostle, was sent out on his missionary journeys. He was part of the church in this, place called Tarsus, and it it says that, he was an elder there. He was like a a leader in that church. He says in verse 2 of acts 13, he says, while they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, set apart from me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:31:48]:
Do me a favor. If you're looking at your notes, just circle the word worshiping. Circa up the word worshiping because the literal word for that is that they were giving service or serving God. That's the literal thing. Now there's a most translations will say worshiping. Right? There's there's some translations will say ministering to God. In other words, see, worship is our gift to God. It's the echo of what it says in the 10 commandments when in Exodus 20 when it says that you shall serve no other god before me.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:32:29]:
It's the it's the Hebrew equivalent of this Greek word. This aspect that we are ministering to God and serving God. You see, worship, really, it's it's our gift to God. Right? It's our gift to God. Now, now some of you might remember what I said last week, that God doesn't really need your worship. Right? That God doesn't really need your worship. Like, some of us like, oh, is God so needy that he needs our worship? And I I talked about last week. No.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:33:00]:
God's not needy. He doesn't need your worship. He'll be God just as much as if you never worshiped him, in the 1st place. Right? But but what I didn't say is that though he doesn't need it, he likes it. He likes your worship. He likes you worshiping. Right? And so the scripture talks about in heaven, there'll be worship, and it's the party. Right? Talks about it as the marriage feast of the lamb.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:33:27]:
You can read about in Revelation chapter 19. And, yet at the same time, have you ever come and just not been into it? Right? I just I just don't feel like worshiping today. Maybe some days you walk in and you feel like hands in your pocket, and it's like all that you could do was to get here. No problem. We understand that. Right? That if you've been in that kind of a place before and sometimes we get that way. Sometimes you get in a funk. Anybody? You know what I'm talking about? You guys been in a funk.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:33:58]:
We all get in a funk sometimes. So what do you do when you're in the funk and you don't feel like worshiping? You don't feel like you have any praise to give? What do you do? Well, you know, one of those things is, first, I'd say this, think about think about God think about God and and what he's done and where has he, what he's done for you and who he is. Right? Because you need to have a a component of truth in your mind. You need this hook, right, we talked about, the spirit and in truth. Is worship? You gotta have a a mental grasp of who god is. So if we're worshiping the infinite and uncorruptible and merciful and kind god, the one who hears us in he hears the cry of the child in the Philippines as much as he hears the cry of the child on the street, right, of the of the person in a a tight squeeze that God is the God. I I love that the scripture reveals that God is the God who hears. He says in the the book of Genesis, right, that, like, nobody else could see.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:35:13]:
He was the child was crying under the bushes. The angel came and says, the lord heard the child crying. I love that. Right? Now we think about who is this because sometimes your your heart's a little hard. Right? Sometimes you're a little distracted. Sometimes you're tired. This last week, I was I kinda got up one of those mornings. I was I I was just kinda, like, just doing my devotions, and it just felt like I was going through the motions.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:35:39]:
You know what I mean? Like, I was reading the Bible, and, like, what could I say is I read the Bible. You know what I mean? Nothing stuck out to me. It didn't have but this is what I just said. I said to the Lord. I I just said, you know, Lord, I I just don't I don't feel you today right at this moment, but would you love through my heart today? That somehow, today, I I need to go that I need you to renew my mind. And so would you think with my mind today? And and would you help me to see not just with my eyes, but to see with I I started just praying like that. Just, god, that would you would you touch people with my hands today? Right? Would you walk around in me? Would you love with my heart? And you know what happened as I began to just think about that? I just started to sense God's presence because I started thinking and presenting myself before in that moment. Right? So present yourself to God when you come.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:36:36]:
If you feel flat, just present yourself to God, but think about who you're bringing yourself before. Right? And, and just know this. Sometimes you can worship when you don't feel like it. This is what it says in Hebrews 13/15. Let's read what it says together. Ready? Begin. Therefore, let us offer through Jesus a continual sacrifice, a praise to God, proclaiming our allegiance to his name. When it says sacrifice, what is that? If something dies in a sacrifice.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:37:19]:
So I'm gonna just die to yourself a little bit. That's what he's saying. You guys ever do that for somebody? They they say, hey. Let's go to this thing. We there's a party, and you the last thing you wanna do is go to that party. It's the last thing you wanna do, but for your girlfriend, for your boyfriend, for your kids. Right? Yeah. You guys have your kids ever say, hey, daddy.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:37:41]:
Let's go to Chuck E. Cheese. I hate Chuck E. Cheese. No. But like a you know what I mean? I don't wanna go to that place, and they're like but I okay. Let's go. I died to myself to go and what because I love them more than how I felt about it.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:37:58]:
That makes sense? So sometimes sometimes because worship is for God that that he calls you to honor him and sacrifice. But what will happen is this is what I believe normally happens that when we begin to do that, that you'll find that worship can change your attitude and renew your strength, that worship then can change your attitude and renew your strength. In the seventies, psychologists began to study this thing about the the kind of the mind body interaction, and, they called it the facial feedback hypothesis. And it's been debated since then, and and and, a lot of studies show that there's a there's a thing that if basically, kinda one of the things they said is if you don't feel happy but you smile, will your attitude improve? And there's bunch of studies that say yes, and then there's a few studies that were done that said no. But but then over the the course of time, it seems to be clear that that it has some impact. Like, we're not saying that you're so depressed right now. You're clinically depressed. You cannot get out of bed.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:39:12]:
You cannot do I say, hey. Just smile, then it all got away. That's not what I'm I'm saying. Right? But but it's saying that kinda like all things being equal, all things being equal, you may not feel it, but when if you start acting a certain way, right, if you start acting a certain way, what they found is basically your your emotionally to what you're you're choosing to do physically with your body. And in cognitive behavior therapy, the people are told that if you're if you're kinda like down and you're struggling and all that, think about that what used to bring you pleasure, and go do that. Go do something that makes you happy. Go do something that makes you feel good so that you can reconnect. You don't feel good, but go do it.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:40:09]:
And what will happen is often your feelings gonna follow that. And so I believe this is consistent with the way God made us. Because all of you and all of us, we all have a body, mind, and a soul. Right? And, and a spirit. So our body, soul, and spirit. And that so often, what what we're trying to do is that the the world lives like it. Whatever my body tells me, I gotta do. And the second thing is that whatever emotions tell me that I gotta do, and then we don't even know what our spirit does, and we just kinda override it, like, by the appetites of our flesh.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:40:43]:
And, you know, I'm tired. I never let go, so I'm not going. Right? I'm grumpy, so I don't have to act nice. Right? I'm gonna just be crabby today. Right? Whatever that whatever. So that kind of a thing. But the scripture, I believes, wants us to flip that this body you gotta listen to what your body said. There's some people say, I would be a hypocrite if I didn't do it.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:41:03]:
You know why? Because that's not how I felt. You're not being a hypocrite if you don't do what you feel. Sometimes you're being mature. Right? Sometimes you're being an adult, and sometimes as a spiritual person, that that's what we do. And so this is what we do. You have a spirit. If you're a believer, in your spirit, you wanna praise god always. Now you might not always feel like it, so this is what we do.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:41:38]:
We you don't feel it in maybe a soul, but you tell your body, I'm going. So you go. And clapping and clap. When you're singing, I'm gonna sing. And what happens is that your soul starts catching up to what your spirit and your body is doing. Right? And when you when you do this, that what if you go like, well, I don't I don't like the song. I don't I don't know this song. I don't I don't like the set that they sang or whatever it is.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:42:09]:
Like, then when that that if you're starting to complain about all those things, remember, worship wasn't for you. Right? Worship was for God. Right? The message is for you. Worship is for God. But but here's the thing that so often research tells us, you're you're gonna catch up. Your soul catches up. There's been time to I just the last thing I wanted to do how many of us the last thing you wanted to do was to come to church, and you went to church, and you go, I'm so glad I went. Right? Because it was in that moment that your soul catches up to what you decided to move.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:42:45]:
And so this is this aspect, right, that God wants you to do that. So, turn to your neighbors so that when you're discouraged, let your soul catch up to what you're you decide. Right? Everybody gets down. Everybody gets discouraged, but but engage. Right? Engage. And so it is the last thing. It's the last thing. So, and and so I I also believe that God wants us to have a freedom of expression.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:43:15]:
So we're not saying everybody gotta clap their hands. Everybody gotta raise their hand. Everybody gotta kneel. But so often, we say if you would you join us? Feel free to join us as we do this. Right? Hey. We're gonna ask you. Feel free to raise your hands. But when we say feel free, we're not just saying, everybody raise your hand now.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:43:30]:
Right? We don't ever wanna do it like that. We don't wanna command you, but but we're gonna invite you to do that. Hey. Would you join us? Let's clap. Right? And and sometimes, are we keeping the beat? Maybe. But but it's fun. Right? And why? Because it says make a joyful noise. And so, but god wants, I believe, a freedom of expression but not to be a distraction.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:43:54]:
And and what do I mean by this? Because that sometimes people ask about, like but how come we don't speak in tongues on on the weekend? And and I I I believe there's a I I do. I speak in tongues almost every weekend. Every every service, I just don't do it out loud. Right? Why? Because the scriptures say don't don't prohibit that, but it also says it also says that we shouldn't, like, make somebody else uncomfortable or confused or nervous about it. And so he says this in 1st Corinthians 14/28. But if no one is present who can interpret, they must be silent in your church meeting and speak in tongues to God. How? Privately. So sometimes, you know, you know, worship that to be honest, when especially those songs, and I'm gonna say it like this.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:44:51]:
Maybe, you know, like, when there's a lot of the chorus and we sing the chorus over and over, I don't wanna sing the chorus over and over. I I just, in my heart, in my hand, I'm just worshiping God. I just in in in my prayer language, I'm just not doing it out loud for everybody to hear because that's that's not for everybody. It's like, who is it for? It's for God. Right? My gift for God. Sometimes it just and so we don't wanna dis we we're not forbidding that. We're just saying, you have freedom to use your gifts. Let's let's not be a distraction.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:45:26]:
Right? You know, one of those things I mentioned was dancing before the Lord. And I remember when we're at the middle school, there was a a brother who used to come to church, and and I would you know, like because it was like rows. Right? Not like in the tables here. So I'm I'm often at the front row, and I'm worshiping. So I don't know really what's going on behind me, but people would ask me, hey. Did you see the guy dancing? And I've seen him out of the corner of my eye every once in a while. And he's like, yeah. I said, you know, hey.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:46:01]:
Maybe that's his church tradition. Maybe that's where he came from. It's like, hey. We can have a freedom. Right? And then over time, I remember asking the wife would come and as well, and I I said, oh, so did the church you guys come to, like, you know, have, like, freedom, like dance in the spirit or whatever? And he said, no. Like so, so that's not the kind of a tradition you guys came from? No. That's just him. That's what she said.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:46:28]:
And then I oh, okay. Okay. But I thought I don't wanna squelch the spirit that what's going on. And then somebody says, it's not that he's just standing where he's at. It's like he's going up and down the aisle. I go, what? I never realized that because I'm not watching. And and so when that was happening, I want I want I'm in the back one day, and I saw that when the worship was happening and he was dancing up and down the aisle, I noticed nobody's watching God. They're all watching the guy going up and down the aisle.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:47:01]:
Right? And so I had to pull him on the side and said, brother, like, if you could stay on one spot, I I could care less. Be free before god. You wanna raise your hand, raise your hand. You wanna dance in that spot, but please don't go up and down the aisle because everybody is looking at you. They're not looking at Jesus. Right? And and he understood, and he stopped coming after that. And and and I I felt, you know, like, hey. We're I'm I'm cool with that.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:47:33]:
That's not my style. Right? But the thing is that I don't want my freedom. Yeah. I have that freedom. So I'm not that free to dance like that. Right? But but here's the thing. I don't want my freedom to be a distraction. It's the same thing with with any gift.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:47:50]:
Right? Because the gifts are meant to bring attention to Jesus, not attention to me. Right? And so just hey. We want everybody to have a freedom, a growing sense of freedom to raise your hand, to to to to kneel if you feel like it, to sometimes you're singing we're singing, and then you know what? You just wanna be quiet. You wanna be silent before the Lord. Feel free to just be silent. Right? In the silent moment, right, when we say we're gonna be silent, like, you might feel exuberant, but we don't want everybody just gonna, like going, like, all crazy in that moment of silence because other people trying to calm their heart. Right? So when you're in a community that that you you don't just do what's comfortable for you, but we try to have to consider everybody. Because it I mean, maybe I think about it like this.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:48:47]:
You know, in the summer when it's really hot, sometimes I'm just at home in shorts and no shirt. Right? But if I'm sure. Right? But if I'm inviting people over, guess what? I might be like this the most brutal work shorts that you ever had, all the stain from paint and holes and all that stuff. Right? But if I welcome you, I'm gonna put on a shirt, and I'm gonna try not wear, like, 1 stinky, sweaty work clothes that I I was using for something else. Why is that? Because I want you to feel comfortable that when we're in together. Right? So sometimes we we can have freedom of expression, and you can like, when you worship by yourself, you can just do whatever. But we're saying here is just like, we want you to be expressive, Just not be a distraction. That make sense? And I hope that everybody that for some of you, this is your this is as much freedom as you have, like, to worship like this.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:49:55]:
We hope that one day the hands come out the pocket. We hope that one day that you'll clap because your heart's in that place and that or maybe you're stretching your heart. Maybe you raise your hand. Right? Because why? You just you find a freedom before God. And when you do and you call out to God, you worship him, this is what he says. Man, I'm attracted to you, and he draws close. And that's what we want you to experience as you give your worship to Jesus together. Make sense? So that's how I think that we wanna worship together.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:50:31]:
We never wanna command, but we wanna invite you. Right? We don't command your heart. We don't command you to act, but we wanna invite you. K? Let's bow our heads. We'll close in a you truly are good and merciful and kind and mighty and holy, and you give us the privilege. Lord, you give us the privilege to know you and not just to for me to know you personally, but to be part of a community, to be part of a the body of Christ. And, lord, we're not gonna tell other churches how they should worship. We're not gonna tell other churches that what they should do.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:51:25]:
We just wanted to make sure that we understood that, lord, we wanna be a worshiping church that brings honor and glory to you, and that, lord, there would be a freedom that you would have to move in your spirit, your spirit, lord, in our times together. That, lord, I believe that you can speak to hearts. You can heal. God, you can stir. God, you can convict. You can encourage. You can renew. You can empower, what you're doing is so different than what in 1 person's heart than what you're doing in another person's heart because we came in different places.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:52:16]:
But I still thank you that we can come together as 1 body to honor you, to honor one another with a spirit of freedom. Because with a spirit of freedom is, that's what we'll find you, lord god. So, father, I pray that your blessing on your sons and your daughters tonight, lord, on your people today. Hey. You know, with our heads bowed and our eyes closed that that maybe you're just you wanna worship, but you just haven't, you know, you're just nervous. Some reason is like you feel like if you raise your hand, everybody's looking at you. You feel like if you there's been times you felt like I wanna kneel before god, but you just said nobody else is kneeling, so you don't kneel. If that's you, I I I'm with you.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:53:10]:
I've been there. But would you just be responsive to Jesus, responsive to the spirit? Because I believe that what happens that when people respond to that, it actually moves the people around you. These people, they see it's like like some people who saw Mary when she broke that bottle of the most expensive perfume imported on Jesus' feet, and she wept and she wiped her his feet with her tears and her hair. The 11 of the disciples were in awe, and they worshiped more deeply. One did it. His name was Judas, and all he was thinking about was the money. And so I believe this. This is what happens.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:54:15]:
When people are genuinely moved and you follow that, would you know that that's not only your gift to God, it's sometimes your contribution to the corporate worship. Yeah. But you don't have to do it to be spiritual. You don't have to do it because everybody else is doing it. But if if god is moving you, would you just respond to him? Father, we wanna be responsive to you and that we wanna grow in boldness and in freedom and in strength in you. And I think it's not about a style. It isn't about a style. It's about spirit and truth.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:54:58]:
God, would both of those grow in us today? We love you. We bless you. We pray these things in Jesus' name. God's people say, amen. Amen. God bless you guys. Have a great evening.