Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:00:00]:
Hey. Let's say congratulations to all our graduates this year. And, you know, I know that there are some who have actually graduated last week, somewhere, graduated in the beginning of the month, some of our college graduates, and some actually tomorrow. And so, I I think, Campbell's tomorrow, Wai'anae's tomorrow, and so, but again, congratulations to all these guys. You know, when you're in high school, how many of you guys have great memories of high school? How many of you guys can remember high school? I know you're like this, or college. Right? You know, I hope that you guys had great memories. I hope our friends who graduated had great memories in high school, or great memories in college. But, you know, isn't it good to know that there's much, much more beyond that.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:00:46]:
Right? We enjoy that season of our life, but it is preparation for what lies ahead. And we have graduates that have gone from high school and college, and actually there's a there's a doctor in there as well, a doctor of physical therapy, even in that group. And so, you know, and there's graduations happen at a different level. But, in this season, you know, I I I we can't help but think about graduation. And, I remember when I graduated from college and standing in front for the longest graduation of my life at was the most boring, longest graduation. But at the end, I remember thinking to myself, I'll never ever have to take another exam for the rest of my life. Right? You guys laugh because, like, I couldn't have been more wrong, not because I did go to do another growing. You're never done being in a place where God wants to take you to the next, done being in a place where God wants to take you to the next level.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:01:51]:
And so one of the things I've learned is that, you know, right now I know that there are exams, there are things that lie ahead, but it's because God's trying to promote, because God's trying to grow, you and me and our so, one of the things I'm sure of is that, is our graduates, have a good road ahead of them. But who God promotes that God will test. You know what the hard thing about that is? He doesn't always tell you when the test happened. That if he were to tell you, oh, by the way, tomorrow when you wake up, and that you try to get to work on time, it's not gonna work out, because there's gonna be rain and accidents, and, you know, like, if he told you, to be honest, you'd probably be a little bit more prepared. But the reality is, sometimes the ones that matter the most, you never actually he doesn't say anything, right? And so in these, you know, what are some principles this evening I want to talk about, is some principles to spiritual promotion, because God doesn't just test us because He loves to, you know, pop, do the pop quiz. How many of you guys remember the the dreaded words that, Okay, everybody, take out a sheet of paper, right? And that kind of that line, but you know, the thing is that God has his promotion in mind. It's just that tests and promotion go hand in hand. And so this evening, before we get into the rest of the message, let's read what it says in Psalm 75.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:03:24]:
We're gonna read verses 6 to 7. Might sound a little different because of the King James version today, but would you do me a favor? Let's stand in reverence for God, reverence for His word, and let's read it together. Ready? Begin. But God is the judge. And he put it down 1, But God is the judge, and he put it down 1 and set it up another. And you know, the thing is that God says this that, you know, that you you might, have gone to the best school, or maybe it didn't go to the best school. You you might work for the greatest company, or you might work for a company that's that's struggling. You you might be a homemaker, or you you might be kinda in the middle of, in between something.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:04:11]:
But God says this, that promotion comes from Him. It's not based on if you have a good recruiter. It's not based if you have the the the best, resume or, you know, curriculum vitae. Right? So whatever the case that God says that He has the capacity to bring promotion. So before you're seated, do me a favor, just turn to your neighbor, and in the spirit of what it said that we just read, say, I'm so glad that you no, I was kidding. But like, I'm so glad that you guys are here today. And, give somebody a hug or a handshake, and then we're gonna and then you can have a seat. You know, I think what this is saying, in many ways is that you and I, we were made for more.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:04:57]:
That we were made for more. And you know, we're gonna take a look, I want to take a look at a a character in the Bible that, he's he's a well known character, but to see some principles on promotion that we see from the life of Joseph. And if you know of Joseph, you find him in the book of Genesis, probably around verse chapter 37 is the beginning of that. And Joseph starts at a very early age, at 17, having this dynamic, encounters with God, and it shows up in dreams and visions. And he has a sense that God has plans for him, but that God has a touch in his life, but he doesn't know what specifically. He doesn't know how. He doesn't know what shape, you know. It's sort of like, in the scriptures when, Samson was born, that Samson was visited.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:05:53]:
Samson's parents were visited by an angel before they conceived, And and, and so that when the husband hears that this happened, that he he wants to he prays that they can see the angel again. The angel, graciously comes again, and he says, you know, I I have some questions. It's like, what what job should he do? Or how should we train him? Or what should we and, you know, the thing is he he asked all the practical questions. Right? Like, should I send him to Kapolei High School? Should I send him to IPA? Right? Should I should I send them to private school, Christian school? What and and they're saying and and the angel says, you know what? I already gave you the information that you need. And and don't worry about all the specifics at times. But but god is saying, but I'm gonna use this man in a great way someday. And sometimes you have a sense that God has more in store for you. Sometimes, for some of us, it's hard to believe that God has more in store for you, but God does.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:06:51]:
And so whether you find it hard to believe or easy to believe, then let's take a look at some of the principles this evening on spiritual promotion. And one of the things I've seen is that if you notice that that when you look at who God chooses to do something, they're already always doing something already. Right? They're they're not just sitting at home twiddling their thumbs, and just sitting and waiting and praying. They're already about their their the business of something. It says this in Genesis 37. It says that Joseph's brothers went to pasture their father's flocks at Shechem White. That was a family business, right? So they were, they were, sheep herders. Right? And so, he says that when they'd been gone for some time, Jacob said to Joseph, Your brothers are pasturing the sheep at Shechem.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:07:42]:
Get ready, and I'll send you to them. And Joseph said what? I'm ready to go. Right? And so Joseph had, I'm a ready to go kind of mentality. Joseph was at his dad's beck and call. He said, dad, if you tell me to go here, dad, I'm there. Right? If you tell me to stay here, take care of the sheep here, I'm I'm ready to do that. He was about his father's business. And when god starts this spiritual promotion process, he's doing when he's doing something, you you always find people doing something already.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:08:12]:
Gideon, when he's called to to lead the nation out of deliverance, he's threshing wheat. Right? That when Moses is is called to lead the people of of god out of slavery. He's leading sheep. Right? He's shepherding sheep on a mountain. That when David was called to become a ruler and a king, that he was a shepherd as well. Elisha was serving Elisha, right, that he, Elijah. And so, you know, we see them always that God takes somebody who's already doing something. And so sometimes maybe when you don't know where to start.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:08:48]:
Right? Because I I know that, when I talk especially to young people but it's not only young people. Sometimes it's people kind of in the midlife crisis. You know, like you studied, and you went into the occupation that you trained for, only to find that you go like, Oh my gosh, this ain't, this ain't me. Right? Like, there must be something else, right? God, there must be I don't feel this. Right? And I know that, that pressure that especially though people in that stage or young people feel today to kind of have a definitive line, like, what is it that I'm supposed to do? Right? And so sometimes what I have seen is that it leads them to do nothing, right, because they're paralyzed with making a mistake. But if you're in that position, when you don't know where to start, can I just start with this? Just do something, right? Just do something. Because one of the things that I've seen is that God is just, it's like driving a car. Right? That a car, like if you, if you just looked out on the street, there's a bunch of cars that are lining the street.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:09:58]:
And you know, if you jumped in the car, and you said, Hey, I know what it's like that, I gotta turn here, I gotta turn there, and that and but you know what? The car was off. And you could turn the wheel all you want. What's going to happen? Absolutely nothing. But once you start moving, it becomes much easier for god to tell you, hey. Turn here. Right? Stop here. I want you to go straight on this section. I want you to turn right.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:10:28]:
And it's like once you start moving, god has a much easier time to communicate to you in a way that makes sense and you start seeing progress. Today, if you're one of those that you're you want to do it perfect. Right? You want to do it right. You don't want to waste time in a at a dead end job or dead end career. And part of that is like, sometimes I see that I think the pressure is from social media, and and kids see some that, you know, have found their niche. And to be honest, most of us most of us don't. Most of us kind of seemingly meander our way, but I think the most important thing to do is not to find the one perfect thing that you ought to do. Start to develop some skills on something you can do.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:11:13]:
Right? Just find what you can do. You don't have to do it forever. But what you'll find is everything you do will be used in this process, in building in you a tool belt of skills, of abilities, of relationships, of connections at times, of a perspective. And so you don't have to figure it all out, but start doing something. Right? Don't stay at home. Don't don't just wait till you figure it all out. And you know, when we find that that God brings promotion, when He gets us moving, sometimes the promotion begins by something that doesn't feel like a promotion, but something that doesn't always feel like this. Is this what promotion feels like? And we see this in Joseph's life because he went as his dad directed.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:12:04]:
He served as his dad had always told him to do. And it says that as he went to to go give the message that his had for him, he says when he saw his brothers, they saw him long before, he saw them. And so they began to make a plan even when they saw him, because there was a little bit of jealousy. How many of you guys, that you were the golden child in your family? Raise your hand. Anybody? You know? Nobody? All black sheep? Okay. Okay. 1 in the back. But that's not what your dad said.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:12:34]:
So, no, I was kidding. Just joking. But, right? So so you guys might feel like some of us felt like, oh man, we were the golden child. Some of us felt like the black sheep. Some of us, maybe, you were overlooked. You were the, the the maladjusted middle child. No, I was kidding. But, right? So whatever the case, but but Joseph was, like he literally was the golden child.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:12:54]:
Like it was like nothing he could do would go wrong. It was it was obvious that, you know, like some guys got hand me downs, and some guys got the brand new coat. Joseph got the brand new coat, and he should be the youngest, and so he should get the hand me down. Right? So we don't know why exactly it is, but but it says that it's because he was the son of his dad's old age. Right? And so they did have one more son, but still it says that this this jealousy started to take a soul. And he says that instead, that when they saw him, they weren't happy to see him. They were they were upset. And so he says, instead of hurting him though, they said, let's sell him to the Ishmaelite traders.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:13:33]:
I mean, to be honest, that they initially had thought about one of them had thought about killing them, but was stopped by the others. And he said, after all, he is our brother, our own flesh and blood. And his brothers agreed. And so when the Ishmaelites, who were Midianite traders, came by, Joseph's brothers pulled him out of the cistern and sold him for 20 pieces of silver, and the traders took him to Egypt. Now the thing is that Joseph had had some great dreams of of leadership, of authority. He didn't quite understand what it meant. And but God had a plan. God had God had a plan.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:14:10]:
God knew that there would be a season that he would have to have a man in Egypt who followed him, who would bring wisdom and direction, somebody who could hear his voice, someone who could lead a large group of people. But you know what? When you're in Israel, and you're kind of looked down upon ethnically, it was this kind of a relationship. How do you get that guy? Well, God still has a plan. You know, some of you, you're in positions where you understand that you go, like, where I am, the the field that I'm in, or my background, or if anybody knew, kind of like that, there's no way. You know what? God knows that. God is in the habit of taking people who you would think are the least likely. Joseph would have been the least likely to succeed in this. But God had a plan.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:15:09]:
Do me a favor. Turn to your neighbor and just tell them, God has a plan for you. Don't limit what God can do through you because of where you've been, because of what your mistakes have been, right? Don't let guilt and shame define your progress. Let Jesus define your future, right. And so, when he gets us moving, though, it doesn't always feel like a promotion. Sometimes you might be in the thing, and you might go like, how come I gotta clean the bathroom in the office? Right? Or why do I get stuck with the the the menial tasks, or I get the hardship, or why is it that I have to go in a crew that does that job that's not, you know, whatever the case. Right? So, and you know the thing is that when we're in that kind of a position, it doesn't feel like a position, it doesn't feel like promotion, but God's checking, can you be faithful in that? Can you have an attitude that that that overcomes in that? Now sometimes when you're promoted, when God begins this process of moving in your life, sometimes you will lose something and you'll gain something. Joseph loses family, literally.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:16:20]:
Right? His brothers sell him, and he has lost total connection with his family through no desire, through no plan, through no fault of his own. But god had a plan. And somehow, there was this severance, at least for a season. But then he brought him into new places, and new connections, and new relationships, and a new sense of surrounding. And sometimes you're going to go through that. You're going to go through some seasons that you let certain things go in order to receive new things. Sometimes you start by going through maybe a season of isolation before you come to the season where things become to feel fuller. Sometimes you feel cut off, but God has you in his hands.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:17:10]:
And he says, just keep seeking him. Another principle I see in this, and that was displayed in the life of Joseph, is that when he was sold, he was eventually sold into the hands of the governor in Egypt, and so Potiphar and his household. And it says in Genesis 39, it says, The Lord was with Joseph, so he succeeded in everything he did, as he served in the home of his Egyptian master. And Potiphar noticed this and said that the Lord was with Joseph, giving him success in everything he did. And this pleased Potiphar, so he soon made Joseph his personal attendant in charge of his entire household and everything he owned. If you continue to read this Joseph narrative, one of the things that you'll hear, it says, is this common refrain: And the Lord was with Joseph in whatever he did. When he was a slave, when he was sold, when he, he was sold as a slave again to Potiphar, and began this process starting from, I don't know, like, if there's, kind of apprentice slave 1 to apprentice slave 2, to journeyman slave. I don't know how it worked, but I'm sure there were levels to this thing.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:18:39]:
But it says that Joseph, that the Lord was with Joseph. And when you're in this place that, you know, that Joseph was an Israelite, right? So he spoke Hebrew. And in Egypt, guess what they speak? Come on. Thank you. Egyptian. Right? So the thing is, like, it's not rocket science, right? Like, so, not a trick question. So here's the thing is that Joseph had to learn a new language. He had to learn new customs, right? You guys ever go to a company, and you got to learn a new lingo? You're in a new industry, and there's just a whole different set of acronyms.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:19:21]:
There's a whole set of different, you know, shortcuts that people use. There's a different culture to the company. There's a different pace to the company. A and and you learn that there's there's these things that you have to learn to traffic and do what it is that you will do. But I gotta ask you to do this. I gotta I gotta encourage you. In that moment, when you're in that season and you're learning new things and new ways and new strategies and new, you know, technical things and new, you know, language to communicate, and that in those moments, would you be sure to affirm your identity, affirm your identity in Christ, right? Because when you're in that place and you're learning a new language, the world, something else, people, the devil, whatever it is, your flesh, will begin to try to shape you into something else. When you're learning that new language, and you're learning new ways, and then all of a sudden, you the the the folks that you hung out with in high school, it's like you you when you get together, you can connect about that time.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:20:27]:
Right? You can tell about old times, but sometimes it starts getting difficult to talk about now times. Right? Because it's a different language. We're we're in a different season. We're in different industry. We're we're totally, you know, like somebody's married and somebody's not. Somebody has kids and somebody, you know, they're separated. Whatever the case, it's it's a different thing. But somebody is going to try to shape you.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:20:49]:
The enemy is going to try to shape you. Your company is going to try to shape you. The world is going to try to shape you. The devil is going to try to tell you who you are. But you have to know that that I'm a son, that I'm a daughter of the most high god. Because if not, you know, you start taking the identity as whatever your occupation is. You start taking on the identity of whatever the company you are. Right? Now, the thing is that when I say to know your identity in Christ, it's it's not to say know your spiritual gifts.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:21:27]:
Your gifts, spiritual gifts you have, that's not your identity. Right? You might be a teacher, spiritual gifts you have, that's not your identity. Right? You might be a teacher, or you could be an intercessor, or you, you could be a person who, you know, maybe the Lord moves you, you could be a person who, you know, maybe the Lord moves through you powerfully in in in the miraculous. That's not your identity, that's your gifting, maybe. Right? There are some of you that we think about it's our calling, you know. So I'm calling to I'm called to work with kids, or I'm called to the kind of the tech sector, or I'm called to, you know, kind of meet people who are are on the margin that's kind of overlooked by society. Right? And those are important. Your calling is important, but that's not your identity.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:22:10]:
Because those things will, can change with the season, right? Your gifts might be expressed in different ways, in different, kind of environments, right? That sometimes God will bring out new giftings when things change. He's not saying that what the gifting that he had before was not good. It's just that you will need something else to move forward in this, in this arena. Right? And so, but what I am saying is this, that this is often how the Lord will try to, or I'm sorry, the enemy will try to derail you and change your identity. He will either try to make you puffed up and say, Man, oh, you're the company. They couldn't do it without me, right? And you know what, we're successful because I, man, everything, if we're Joseph, right? It's like everything I put my hand to, brother, I get the magic touch. You know? When I was doing bathrooms, all of a sudden, like, it's the cleanest bathroom we ever had. Right? Like, when I started doing crops, all of the crops was the big everything he touches.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:23:18]:
And so sometimes if you're not careful, the enemy puffs you up. Right? And he says, Man, I do so much around this place. This place wouldn't succeed. It wouldn't survive without me, right? Or he'll get you to try to compromise yourself. They'll try to get you to compromise yourself. Look how hard you work. Right? You deserve some compensation for that, right? They don't recognize your abilities. You know, it doesn't matter, you know, that, they won't miss this, right? Joseph was in that position, right? The more he was promoted, the more he was recognized.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:24:04]:
There came responsibility, but there came temptation at a different level. It says that Joseph was a very handsome man and well built young man. And Potiphar's wife soon began to look at him, it says, lustfully. And she said to him, straight out, come sleep with me, she demanded. But Joseph refused, he says. Look, he told her, my master trusts me more than every with everything in his household, his entire household, and no one here has more authority than I do. But he has held nothing back from me except you because you are his wife. And he says this, How could I do such a wicked thing? Right? And what does it say in that last part? And it would be a great sin against God.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:24:48]:
Right? It'd be a great sin against God. You see, Joseph never loses his identity. He says, before I came to this place, before I got to before I got to run the household. Right? So before he became the chief of staff in terms of of running the house. Right? Like, what what he eats, where the the the preparations. Right? The the The kind of the operation of all the different staff around it, all of those things. It says that before that, he says, You know what? But I'm God's man. Before I'm the governor's man, before I'm your subject, he says, I'm God's man.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:25:30]:
Are you God's man? Are you God's woman? That's what God is asking, right? He says, Understand your identity. Be faithful to Him because not every promotion looks like a promotion, we said, right? And some promotions, they are actually tests, right? Some promotions are tests. Sometimes God brings us to a different place. He brings us to a measure of success, and he says, that's a test. There's a test when you don't have enough. Right? Right now, some of us, we're being challenged financially. And it feels like we don't have enough. That's a tough test, right? That's a tough test when you're stretched and you're saying, okay, I'm not going to do this, I'm gonna cut this out to make it stretch.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:26:23]:
Right? And everybody has that everybody's been through that where they have to cut back just to survive. Everybody's been through that season. That's a tough season. You know, spiritually speaking, spiritually speaking, sometimes the harder test is when you have more than enough. And why is that? You said, I would be grateful to God. Well, to be honest, sometimes, when you don't have enough, you're just totally dependent on God. And sometimes when you have more than enough, I'm good. Hey, anything we can pray for you? I've asked people, and this is not saying that they're prideful or self satisfied, but can I pray for you? He said, no, I'm good.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:27:08]:
I don't have any worries. And so what do we do? We tend to take the credit ourselves. And Deuteronomy 8:10 to 11 says this. The the warning he gives, he says that God was bringing them into the promised land. And he says, when you go to the promised land, that you're gonna get to some places where you didn't build that house, but I'm gonna give you the house. You didn't plant those crops, but I'm gonna give you the crops. Right? That you didn't earn all that wealth, but I'm gonna give you the wealth. And he says this, so when you've eaten your fill, be sure to praise the Lord your God for the good land He has given you.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:27:43]:
But that is the time to be what? Careful. He's saying, to be honest, he's not saying it's not stretching to be in the test of need. It is. It is stretching. I've been through that, right? I mean, very recently, through that, right? But he says that'she doesn't say that's the time to be careful because we're holding on to God because we know we need God. But he says, but in the time of plenty, beware that in your plenty, you do not forget the Lord your God. And then disobey his commands, regulations, and decrees that I'm giving you today. It doesn't matter where your promotion is.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:28:22]:
Sometimes marriage. Marriage is a promotion, right? You could be living together, and you get married, and you know what? You know that's a totally different deal. It's different. Like, Oh, we've been together. We've been living together. We got kids already. And then I find that when they get married, they just feel that's a different level. Right? There's a promotion.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:28:43]:
Right? Or you know, I've been dating. We've been dating for 10 years. When you get promoted, that's a different level. And when you get promoted in a job sometimes, that you might have felt like, man, I could run this department, but then you get the then you get the call, and you get the position. And then you realize like, oh, not as easy as I thought, right? Anybody ever been there? Right? You're like, oh, I can do it, then you get it, right? Now, some of those times that maybe it's just a spiritual promotion that you that you sense God giving you a wider birth, that he giving he gives you more influence and more authority. But you know what? You gotta be careful because sometimes we can stop meeting with God because we gotta do the ministry. Right? Right? Because we get so busy doing good things, maybe even God things, but I forget about God. And so that's what he's saying.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:29:36]:
It's the same principle that let's be careful, he said. It's not that, you know, you you don't want to have more than you need, right, because that gives you the capacity for generosity. To be honest, I really believe God wants to give you more than you need because he wants you to be generous, right? But he does say this, When you get it, there's a test that comes with it. Let's pass the test, right? Let's be faithful, right? It's sometimes you can get guys that they say, man, they prayed so hard, and as soon as they get the job, I don't have any time to fellowship anymore. I don't have any time to to come to church. I don't have any time to that. But this is that time. You don't forsake.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:30:21]:
Even if you just gotta get together with your friends, you get But when you get together with your friends, it's not like you just get together with your friends. Let's go out, eat or do whatever. Just it takes that time to be to seek the Lord together, to pray together. Hebrews tells us that, Don't forsake the gathering together, right, of the body of Christ as is the habit of some. So he knows that even from back then, that was the habit. That once you once you fall out of the habit, it's hard, right? So he says, just be faithful to God. Do me a favor. Turn to your neighbor and says, you can be faithful to God.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:30:55]:
You can be faithful to God. Okay. We're not saying be perfect, right? Notice it doesn't say I'm not saying be perfect for God. I'm just saying just be faithful to God. Right? And and you know, the thing is that when Joseph was in prison, that, you know, there's there were some ups and downs because he, I'm sorry, when he was sold and enslaved, and he was in Potiphar's house, and and this his wife accuses him or entices him and tries to, seduce him, and he refuses to be seduced. Right after that, the story goes, is he, she makes the story up then. Right? She says, Hey, he was trying to sleep with me. He tried to take advantage of me.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:31:37]:
He tried to rape me. And so Potiphar, I don't know if he could smell the hypocrisy from his wife, he was saving faith, or if he really believed it, but he got rid of Joseph. Truman Prison, right? And so you see Joseph, he says like, he's coming from the outskirts to all of a sudden, he's elevated in his own family, and then all of a sudden, he's low in the family, and then he's he's put into prison, and he's sold as a slave, and then he rises to the top. He gets to the top, and then what? A false accusation. A false accusation. He doesn't get in trouble because he is unrighteous. He gets in trouble because he is righteous. And he gets further into prison.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:32:22]:
But this is what you notice that if you read the story: But what? But the Lord was with him. And even in prison, he starts rising to the top. You see, promotion isn't that when you get to the best place, the spirit of promotion says even when you're in the hard place, God can bring you up, right? And so, but when he's in prison, it says, but the Lord was with Joseph in prison and showed him his faithful love. Right now, if you feel like, man, I'm in a hard place. Right? I'm in a tough spot. I don't I feel hemmed in. I feel stuck. I feel if you're in that tough spot, I don't I feel hemmed in.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:33:05]:
I feel that I feel stuck. I feel if you're in that place, would you know that the lord's with you right now? You know, that's he knows that right now, you you might not see all the options that lie before you. And sometimes that's the enemy. The enemy tries to get you to think, I have no options. The Lord will open your eyes, will the Lord open your eyes that there are options for you. Sometimes we just think, it's just that I don't wanna do it because I don't feel qualified for it, and sometimes because I'm intimidated, sometimes I haven't dealt with my insecurity. Right? But God has an option for you. Do me a favor.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:33:41]:
Turn to your neighbor and says, God has options for you. There's things that he's he can lead you forward. Right? He can lead you forward. But it says though, even though he was in prison and he the Lord was with him, and so the Lord made Joseph a favorite with the prison warden. Right? And so all of a sudden, he's running the prison as a top prisoner. Before long, the warden put Joseph in charge of all the other prisoners and over everything that happened at in prison. Right? That's that's great. Right? At least, even if you're in prison, it's better to be on the top than on the bottom.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:34:20]:
But when the test comes from God, the hard this is the hard part. There is no announcement about how long it lasts, right? When you go through a test, the Lord never tells you, this test will last for 9 months. Right? Because if it was, no matter what it happens, you can make it to the 9 months. Right? But when you don't know, you know when it gets hard? 8 months 20 days. Right? By the time you get to 8 months 29 days, the enemy is on overtime trying to discourage you. Right? You know why is that? Because if he can get you to bail out before the end, that's the maximum amount of discouragement because the breakthrough is around the corner. And so this is the hard part about sometimes the tests of God. We don't know when it is.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:35:22]:
It's going to be tempting to quit. But can I tell you this? Never give up. Never give up. I've been in that place where God told me, This is a season of testing. Actually, he told me, This is a season of testing. He didn't actually tell me it was a season of testing. Testing. He did tell me it was a season, but that's when I was just diagnosed with prostate cancer.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:35:39]:
Right? When I got, like, hey, but when somebody tells you that, you know what? You go like, oh, this is going to be a different season. Right? And so, but I did hear the whisper that says, Glenn, this is only for a season. I heard that when I sat in my car before I drove away, right, because I belong to the Lord. Lord God, you were faithful before. You're going to be faithful after. You were good before. I still believe you're good. God, I'm still trusting.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:36:11]:
And that's when I heard the whisper that says, it's for a season. But you know what? I didn't know what season meant. How long is that? Sometimes this life is a season, right? Like, I don't know what that meant. I don't know if that meant, you know, years or till I go home. But I just said, I receive that. I I said, I I received that because I didn't wanna give up. I didn't wanna quit. For me, that season was 2 years.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:36:42]:
When I went back and I did the the biopsy again in 2 years, and when they said, All I can say, Ms. Yamaguchi, is that we can't find anything, right? You know, I knew the season had ended, right, and I rejoiced. I didn't know what was going to happen when I went to that appointment at 2 years. I was grateful for it, obviously, right? But what if I had said, you know what, I cannot live with this. Just do the surgery, that whatever the greatest, like, means like, you know what, for some people that kind of a season, I understand. They want to be like, they cannot live with this thought that there is cancer in your body or whatever it is. For most people who get prostate cancer, that 2 thirds, they said, will not grow dramatically in that short amount of time for most people. 2 thirds.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:37:42]:
The hard part is you don't know what percentage you are. Right? So, I mean, so there's no fault. And my friends were telling me some people were telling me, you gotta get this get it removed, take out your prostate, do all this stuff. And I was like, I read what they did, and I read what the side effects was, and I go, I don't know about that. I'm going with what god said. Some of you, you're gonna be in this place. People tell you that about your career. Sometimes people are gonna be telling you about your friends.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:38:11]:
Some people are gonna be telling you that about your God, about what your faith does in getting promoted in this industry. If you cannot talk the talk, you cannot act the way that you'll be limited in this industry, some of you guys are going to hear stuff like that. But you know what? Go with what God says. Go with what God says. Can you be an honorable man or an honorable woman and sell used cars? I believe you can. I have friends that are, right? You don't have to be slimy to make a living, right? You can be an honorable man, a godly man, a godly woman, just don't give up. Just don't give up. Now, Joseph was 17 years old, it says that when he started receiving the vision and he he was sold by his brothers into slavery.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:39:12]:
And it says that when later he is discovered, that because he could interpret dreams, that after having been falsely accused and gone through the ups and downs, that it took 13 years before he is brought into the household of a pharaoh. And that he's called then to administrate this great kind of savings and conservation of the harvest. Because there will be 7 seasons of plenty, but that's the preparation because there's gonna be 7 seasons of hard times, of famine, and all of that. 13 years it took for Joseph to get to that point. Somebody asked, why is it why did god take 13 years, and the real reason is because he couldn't do it in 12? No. I mean, I don't know exactly. Right? We don't know. Right? The exact reason.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:40:11]:
But Joseph never quit. And that made him promotable because he never quit. He didn't quit when he was in prison. He didn't quit when when when he was forgotten. Right? He he quitting isn't part of god's best. Be faithful. And that season when you're waiting, it makes us dependent on God. Joseph learned not just to wait on God, but to listen to God.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:40:38]:
You know what it doesn't say about Joseph previous to his time in prison? Was that Joseph could have visions and he could have dreams. It never says that he interpreted anything. But in prison, as he learned to wait on God, he learned how to interpret dreams. And when I say learned, I mean, it's like he learned how to hear god when god had the interpretation. Right? And so what happens is in that season of waiting, God is developing in you giftings and character and patience and all these things that just cannot happen like that. It doesn't happen in a fast food pace. And God's testing our character. God's testing your character, Right? Because you can only go so far with the character that you have.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:41:39]:
Promotion often happens when your character grows, not just your skill. There's many people who are skilled and right. How many of you guys have seen somebody? They rise and rocket to the top because they have a measure of skill. They just cannot sustain it. And so these are the guys whose lives blow up. I've seen it in the ministry. I've seen it in business, right? I've seen it in sports, right? Because they have a measure of skill, a talent, ability, and they rocket to the top. But you cannot rocket character.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:42:16]:
That is built slowly. And so how do we know this? It says, well, Psalm 10519 says this: Until the time came to fulfill his dreams, what? The Lord tested Joseph's character. That word test is not like exam. It's not examine. It's not like, let me kind of diagnose and figure out what it is. That actually, that word that it's used there, it's the word to melt and refine. That word test is like when you take a bunch of rocks, and you melt it down to find iron, right? And so, on one point it just looks like rocks, and in another point it looks like iron, and to refine it, it looks like steel. Or it looks like a bunch of rocks with, like, a little flecks and streams of gold, but when it's melted and all of a sudden all the impurities are removed, then it starts to shine like gold.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:43:21]:
So it's saying that it's the pressure and the heat that causes a refinement. And so God is refining your character and my character, so that when he brings us to the place, we have the character to sustain us in that place. And I want to encourage you to just use your gifts, wherever you're at. Like, be generous with your abilities. Be generous with your ability, or your time, or your your knowledge, or be generous with that. You know, it says that while he was in prison, when he learned how to determine dreams, it's because there were 2 guys that had a problem, right? That they they both had dreams, they were both in Farrow's court, the chief cupbearer and the baker, and they both had dreams. And it says that they didn't know what it meant. And so when Joseph saw them the next morning, he noticed that they both looked upset and said, Why do you look so worried? He asked them, and they replied, Because we both had dreams last night and no one can tell us what they mean.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:44:21]:
Interpreting dreams, he says, is what? God's business. And Joseph replied, Go ahead. Tell me your dreams. And Joseph begins to interpret the dreams, right? So use your gifts. Even when he was in prison, he used his gifts. He helped people. Help people because you have no idea what helping someone will do. Sometimes you just help people because that's the It's gonna be the connection that takes you to the next level.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:44:56]:
It's gonna be that way. It happens like that in business. It happens like that in the ministry. It happens like that in character? To be honest, Joseph was a little bit humble brag. Right? You guys notice that? Like he when he has this dream, when he's young, he tells his brothers, hey, hey, bros. I had a dream last night. I don't know what it meant, but we were out in the field and and that we were harvesting the grain, and we're tying it all together, and and everybody's bundle everybody had a bundle, and everybody's grain bowed to my bundle of grain. All you guys, you guys saw all your grain was bowing to mine.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:45:38]:
I have no idea what it means, but I just wanted to tell you my dream. Right? Like, a little bit humble brag. Right? You know what I mean? And and then later on, he says he has another dream, and he says that, I I was out there and then the sun and the moon and all the stars, they all bowed down to me. I have no idea, guys, what it means, but but guess what? Like and they're all telling us, like, bro, what are you guys saying that we're gonna all bow down to you? We're gonna all serve you. You're gonna be all you're gonna be over us. And they were mad. The bro that's why they sold him into slavery. Right? Because his humble brag, right? But we don't see that in the Joseph 13 years later, right? In fact, you know, when he sees the brothers, he recognizes the brothers.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:46:23]:
The brothers, they don't recognize him. And here's the thing is that that Joseph could have strung him up. He could have starved him. He could have fed him to the crocodile. He could have, like, whathe could have done whatever because he was second in command in Egypt by that time. Instead, instead, he just watches. He watches. He wants to make sure, he tests them.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:46:48]:
He's trying to check, like, did you kill my younger brother because of the jealousy that you had toward me? He's checking all these things. But you know, after that, then they kind of all get reunited, right, and the whole thing. But when their dad dies, and you see this in the Bible, when the dad dies, sometimes that's when the shakeup is. Because now that the old man is not there anymore, like, I wouldn't sometimes they didn't kill their brothers because they didn't want dad to be grieved. They didn't want mom to be grieved. So when the dad dies, when when Jacob dies, the brothers are all petrified. Because they think it's like, now is the time. He's gonna bring the hammer down.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:47:35]:
But in verse 20 21 of chapter 50, this is what, this is what Joseph says. You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people. You know what I realized? It wasn't about me getting to a position. It was about me being able to be used to cause people to survive like the worst season that we've been through in a lifetime, right? And so he recognizes it. So he says, don't be afraid. I'll continue to take care of you and your children. And so he assured them by speaking kindly to them.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:48:19]:
And so rather than the humble brag, there was just humility. Rather than just kind of a, okay, let's not kill him because of the old man, there is a sense of graciousness. He was able to recover from the sins that had been done to him, and he wasn't ministering out of his hurt. You see, sometimes if we're not careful, we minister out of our hurt. We minister through our scars. And And it's an interesting thing. There was this, study was done where they did an experiment where they had women come in, and they put a prosthetic scar on their face, and they said, We want to check, like, that you're going to go do this experiment, and we're going to have you go into this kind of, like, interview that you'll go on, and we want to check how discriminatory people are to the facial disfigurement. So they showed the women the scars in the in the mirror, but before they went out, they said, oh, wait.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:49:27]:
Wait. We gotta adjust that. Right? So let let let's something is wrong. Like, let's we've gotta fix it. But what they actually did was they took off the scar. Because it's all prosthetic. Right? It's just makeup. So so when they went, they thought that they had the scar on their face, but there was no scar.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:49:44]:
And so when they went to the interview, they all did the interviews, and when they all came back, all of them had this high level. They said, oh, yeah. They totally discriminated against me. Right? They totally just I felt it. I just felt you know why? Because they were ministering out of their scar, out of their hurt, their perceived. And you know what they did? They saw it on everybody. The reality was the reality was there was nothing there, and they weren't mistreated by it. They just read it like that all the time.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:50:21]:
But when you grow through your character and when you go through these things, you're not gonna have to death. Joseph doesn't do that. That's why he can be gracious to his brothers Because this is what he saw. I didn't see the scar that you guys put me through and put me in prison and and got me sold and the slave. That's not what he says. What he said was, I saw the hand of God in my life, who led me and was with me and never abandoned me. And even though, to be honest, you guys, you guys didn't have the greatest motives. You guys really meant bad.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:50:59]:
I'm not dumb, but I just noticed God was bigger than you. And what He meant was He meant it for promotion. That make sense? And as to some of the principles I see that of promotion. And as we're here, God has more in store for you. Eye has not seen, ear has not heard, it says, all that God has in store for those who love Him. Thank you for loving Him. This evening before we close, though, we're gonna celebrate not our love for God, but God's love for us God's love for us. We're gonna take communion together.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:51:36]:
The elements are in the back. And, just a cup of juice and a and a little piece of bread. And, we're gonna ask you guys to go take it at your own pace. And, but if there's something that, you know, God's been working on in you, and maybe you just need to surrender that. Right? Maybe even crosswise with somebody, and you know, it's kind of been eating you on the inside. Would you make a commitment to maybe call that person? Or forgive that person? Right? That would you just take this seriously that that we're not just eating bread and we're not just drinking juices, because we're coming before the king of kings, our master, our savior, who gave his life that he might his life might be in us. So that's what we're gonna ask and, invite you guys to take it your own pace. I'm gonna just close the message part here, and, we'll give you guys a chance to go get the bread and the juice.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:52:37]:
Father, today, I'm thankful that there's promotion for all of us. It doesn't matter, Lord, if if we're retired, there's a spiritual promotion. Lord, it doesn't matter if we don't even know what the career track you want for us, and we've been struggling because we we can't figure it out, and we're scared, and some of us are paralyzed. Would you just start doing something? Do what you can do, and God will start directing you in the place He wants you to be. Father, for some of us, we just need to affirm our identity. That regardless of all the lingo and the the culture that we are surrounded with in our jobs or in our school, Lord, that we belong to you first. And some of us, Lord, we just say today, I'm not quitting. I'm still moving forward with You.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:53:34]:
I'm still trusting. I'm still surrendering. Thank You for that. In Jesus' name, Amen. Hey, let's go get the communion elements, and we'll take it together. The book of Romans, it says, God shown us the way to be made right with him. Even though we don't always keep all the requirements of God's law, We're made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes no matter who we are.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:58:11]:
For everybody has sinned. And we all fall short of God's glorious standard, yet God freely and graciously declares that we are righteous. And He did this through Christ Jesus when He freed us from the penalty for our sins. For God presented Jesus as a sacrifice for our sin and people are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. And this sacrifice shows that God he was just being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past. For he was looking ahead and including them in what he would do in the present time. And God had continues to demonstrate his righteousness, for he himself is fair and just, and He declares sinners to be right in His sight when they believe in Jesus. Father, we're none of us are born right.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:59:18]:
None of us are born great and good. To be honest, Lord, all of us are a little broken, a little bent, a little twisted. Lord, we've all sinned, But we're thankful these things that we hold in our hands. This piece of bread, this cup of juice, they're the symbol of the sacrifice of Christ Jesus, that you broke your body on the cross, and you shed your blood, Lord, not just to forgive people, but to to make us your sons and daughters, and to bring us into right relationship with you. And today, when we take these elements, God, we just we just saying, God, we just need you still today. We still love you still today. We still need the blood and the body of Christ today. And we want to meet You today.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [01:00:15]:
Today, God, we want to hear Your voice. Today, we want to sense Your presence. And we don't do it because we are great and we are good. We are doing it because of Jesus and His goodness. We are thankful that you didn't die just for sins of the world, you died for mine. And as a symbol, I take the cup of bread in my hand. Would you take bread? Lord, I'm thankful the word tells us that the father is pleased to give us the kingdom. Because in Jesus, when we have the king, Lord, we have the kingdom as well.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [01:01:07]:
And we're thankful for the blood that was shed that washes us clean. Lord, would you would you just continue to wash us fresh today as we come before you? We take the cup. Father, we're thankful we're real sons and real daughters. We're really a part of your family, and you really do dwell in us and move in us in community. Not just those of us in the room, Lord, those of us at home, Lord, those of us who will gather tomorrow, Lord, people all over the world that that whoever names the name of Jesus and follows Him, who fully believes and trusts in Him, Lord, You said, in no way do you turn away. Lord, it's not to say the level of our faith is the issue. It's the choice that we make to trust You, to believe in You, to fully follow. Lord, we trust You afresh.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [01:02:10]:
We love You. We bless Your name. God's people say amen. Amen.