Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:00:00]: Hey. Good to see everybody. Hope you're doing well. Hey. You know, this wasn't just the Freedom Independence Day on July 4th on Thursday, but this weekend has been our Finding Freedom retreat to, kind of the crew that's been going through the summer, spring in the summer. So can we just say congratulations to all those guys having gone through a weekend. It's been a great time. Some of them are still here. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:00:25]: Actually, they had a very long weekend. So, but we just wanna say thank you to the team as well, and hopefully that you've been having a a great weekend so far. Tomorrow, you know, baptism is 1 of the favorite things that I do. Just to see people that that they're standing, it's it's like putting a stake in the ground, saying, you know, I'm I'm ready to be counted. I'm ready to lay all the old behind and walk in the newness of Christ, and so tomorrow, if you're free, come join us. It would be wonderful, but to stand with the the 8 folks who are getting baptized tomorrow, and who knows, Sometimes you bring your shorts. People will actually go like, you know what? I think I'm ready for that. Right? So, come join us. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:01:04]: We'll be out at Nimitz Cove. Actually, is it Nimitz Cove? Is that what Nimitz Beach. Yeah. It's Nimitz Beach. Right? That's what I thought the name was. And, but I'm reading this reading it at the same time. So, hey, this this, this evening, though, this weekend, we're continuing this series. We started, at this point 5 weeks ago, I think. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:01:24]: And so, we've been hearing about the I am the bread of life. Right? I am the light of the word. I am the door. I am the good shepherd. Last week, we talked about I am the resurrection and the life. And each of these are revelations of of god's plan and who god is, to to that Jesus comes to the place where he says that I, the God who is the invisible God, has now become visible in Christ. And so we see these things about it, and this evening we're gonna be going through something that might be familiar, and many I'm guessing many of us have said this verse before, have actually, maybe said it to other people. Maybe it played a part in in, in your spiritual journey as well. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:02:09]: But Jesus says in John 146 that it's just a title right now that's written on the thing. Can we just say that together? This is what Jesus said: I am the way, the truth and the life. And and that statement, that threefold statement that talks about the way and truth and the life, Jesus says that I am as the representative of God, as the the God who has come in the flesh. I'm not simply away, not simply gonna give you some information, not simply, give you things to do, but I am the way, the truth, and the life. And the context in which this happens, it's it's maybe sometimes it's removed, sometimes it's clouded, but I think it's important to understand there's generally a context because if you get information and there's no need for the information, how many of you guys pay attention? Right? Not not too much. Right? Some of you guys heard me say that a number of years ago. I went flying with a friend of mine, and he used to own a flight school in Hawaii, and he said, my dad my father-in-law was in town and he wanted to fly, and so I called my friend. He said, oh yeah. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:03:22]: Just bring him down. We'll go out. And so, Jacob and my father-in-law, myself, and we we head out there and he's showing off his plane and showing off his new plane and explaining how it all works. How many of you guys ever, flew a plane before? Anybody fly a plane before? Oh, wow. Did you fly a plane, Haley? Wow. That's amazing. I'm gonna ask you later. Yeah. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:03:47]: Maybe the plane was this big, but, you know, the thing is that he's explaining all this stuff. This is the control. This is the thing. I go, yeah, yeah, yeah. You guys ever pretend that you're late paying attention to somebody? Yeah, yeah. Like spouses. Right? You guys do to wife, and your wife, you just oh yeah. Yeah. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:04:02]: Yeah. Yeah. But you're not really listening. Right? So that's how I was. And he's explaining, this is how you take the plane off. I said, good. Good. And then at the end, he goes, okay. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:04:09]: So now take the plane off. And I I'm sitting in the the other side of the cockpit, and then I just got yeah. Yeah. They just no. Well, go go ahead. Go take off the plane. He goes, no no no no. You you take off the plane. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:04:24]: He goes, but I don't know what to do. He said, oh, I just explained it. And then all of a sudden, like literally, my hands start sweating. And then because he said this, he says, no, I'm not kidding. I'm not kidding. This is what I do for a living. I teach people how to fly a plane. But you know before when he was talking, you know, it was like I could care less, to be honest. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:04:44]: I'm just listening polite, waiting for him to do it. But you know what? Sometimes people will say, sometimes God says. I hope you're listening because this might be your time. Right? It might be your turn, and and so all of a sudden, oh my gosh, I had to ask him over over and over, and he was great to to explain that. And although the plane didn't go exactly straight, it actually got in the air. Right? And so here to tell the story. And so the disciples are no different, that that Jesus has been giving all this instruction, and sometimes, to be honest, they're not quite listening. They're not quite listening. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:05:19]: And so the context of this I am the way, the truth, and the life happens at the beginning of the chapter He He says, There's more than enough room in my father's home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I'm going to prepare a place for you? And he says, everything is ready, let's say everything is ready. Everything. Then he says, I will come and get you, so that you'll be with me always, and you know the where and you know the way to where I'm going. But I love this is what Thomas says all of a sudden in verse 5. Let's read that together. Ready? Begin. No, we don't know, Lord, Thomas said. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:06:04]: We have no idea where you're going. So how can we know the way? Right? And so the thing is that Jesus has been talking about this for a long time, but all of a sudden, he says, hey, you know where we're going, and it's like, no, I don't know. Right? And and because we don't know, because you don't know the destination, how in the world this is his thing. How in the world, since we don't know the destination, how can we know how to get there? Right? And so all of a sudden, I think it's at this point, Thomas starts listening very intently. And the thing is that people have asked maybe, how do you know that you're going to heaven? How do you know that you you know, and you'll hear all kinds of answers if you ask people that, do you believe that you're going to heaven? Some people will say, I don't know even know if God exists, heaven exists, or I I'm sure I'm going. I'm sure some I've talked to a lot of people say, I'm sure I'm not going if there is a heaven. But the thing is that usually, that when it comes down to it that some people think, I'm likely to go to heaven because I'm a pretty good guy. I haven't done anything bad or the people who say, it's like, I might not be the greatest guy but I know what Jesus did for me. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:07:10]: Right? And so, here's the thing though. The way to heaven is not a way, right? It's not a it's not a technique. It's not the 10 things that you do to get into heaven. It's not the eightfold path. It's nothing like that. But the way isn't anything you do, he's a person you can know. See, Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:07:35]: the way Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:07:35]: to heaven, the way that where he's going isn't anything that you and I have to prove, have to earn, have to merit. He says, but it's it's a person you can know. Right? And because some people, we we like to to say, it's like, you know, but I'm a good guy. Right? I I have a great sense of direction. I have photographic memory. I know what I'm doing. Right? But sometimes this is why God doesn't just give us a map, and then this is what you do. You know, when, when we were in Japan, I took my family on a drive across, that my wife's hometown, Sapporo, is on the island of Hokkaido, and I don't know if anybody's been there. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:08:11]: I think some of us have been there, and it's a it's a pretty big, you know, island. It's the 2nd largest island in in the Japanese chain, and it was like a 5 and a half hour trip that we wanted to go. I wanted the Japanese You see the the Japanese cranes, they call them the tsuru. It's like about this tall, and we got to see a bunch of them just walking on the road right where we were staying, and it's like it was amazing. It was a great trip, but 1 of the things we wanted to do was to go to visit a lake that was like 40 miles away from where we were staying, and so like some of the some of the boys who wanted to fish, and then my wife wanted to see some stuff, and and so we're driving a little rental car, and it has a GPS. I made sure they made it in English because otherwise it's useless to me, but, and so we had it in English. I put in the coordinates, and then it charted out a course, and it said you know it was gonna be like 30 minutes, or 40 minutes, to get there. But as we're driving, the road disappears and it turns into gravel. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:09:26]: And you go like, I'm not sure. You know, like, the car that we're driving is not like a normal sized car. You guys ever see the kind cars in Japan? That the wheel is like really only this big. Right? It's not like So it's not like I get a ton of clearance, and so I'm thinking maybe it's just a gravel road for a little while, but after a mile or 2, I just noticed like, this thing is gonna go I think it's 30 miles like on this gravel road, and it's like kind of brutal, right? And then I noticed I look at my phone and my phone has like 1 bar. And then I start thinking to my I just forward the thing. It's like, I don't want to be 10 miles in, no phone service, and then we get to a place where the car gets stuck. You guys know what I'm talking about, right? Like, I know a road I've never been, an area I've not driven in, and so I start turning around. I'm gonna say, I'm gonna turn around, and my son at that point, he goes like, no dad, just keep going. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:10:18]: I got him on Google Maps, and my wife is pulling out the road map, like the paper, you know, like the old school map. That's my wife. So she's pulling out the stuff. She's like, well hon, I think if you turn around and you do this thing, and it's like, the 3 of us are fighting, and I'm driving, right, trying to figure it out, and you know, the thing is that this is why God didn't give us a map. Right? He didn't just give you coordinates that you guys go and argue. We're like, no no no. This is the way. No no no. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:10:43]: This is the way. This is what he says. Just come to me because I am the way. No. You come to me, you'll be there. We'll get there. Right? It's not it's not a coordinate. It's not a structure. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:11:00]: It's it's a relationship. Right? And he's saying this. It's like if Jesus was in the car, he says, I'm the way, then we just listen to what he's saying. That's then you'll get there. And that's the key that he's saying this, that I don't know where you're headed today. I don't know where that you're trying to get to. I don't know what what season everybody you might be in different places. Right? Some of us just starting out in life, even though she flew flew a plane. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:11:27]: And then, you know, some of us a little bit more down down the down the road a bit. Right? Some of us are kind of like on the retirement side, and we're we're kinda easing back in life. But this is what god says, that you have a path and you have a journey, but this is what Jesus says. I'm the way. I'm the way. Wherever you at, wherever you're at in this in this season. Did you know that the people of God, before they were called Christians, because Christians came because that's that was actually a negative term. It was it was really, kind of a slam on Christians, because, because Christian actually means little Christ. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:12:02]: It was like saying, oh yeah. Yeah. You guys anyway tell you, oh yeah. You're a good boy now. Right? You know, after you became a believer. Right? It's kind of the negative thing. Before they were called, the people of God were called Christians. They were called people of the way. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:12:16]: That if you read the book of acts, you'll see it that whether it's it's it's throughout in in acts 92, acts 199, chapter verse 23 as well in chapter 1922, chapter 22, and chapter 24. The people of God, when when, Luke is writing, he calls the church, he calls the people of God, people of the way. Because that we were committed not just to a way. We were committed to the way. Right? We were committed to God and God through Christ. And so some people love to say that, what's the way to heaven? And some people have said, it's like a mountain. Right? You guys ever heard this 1? It's like a mountain, and that we're all there's so many pathways to the top or basically like to heaven. It's just that the thing is that sometimes from your vantage point, you cannot see there is another pathway. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:13:11]: But Jesus didn't say, I am a way. He says, I am the way. And and by saying that by saying that that with that definite article, we're not just saying I'm a way. He's saying, No. I'm the way. It's an exclusive claim. It's, it's a, it's a on or an off switch. It's a this I am it or and there or there's no other way. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:13:37]: And so it's stark contrast because sometimes in in our environment today where we want to say every opinion, every opinion is equally valid. Every opinion just is equally the same. No. It's not. Because some things are right and some things are wrong, right? How many of you guys, when you go to the doctor and he goes, yeah, I think, you know, mister Yamaguchi, I think you you need a surgery to remove your appendix. That's the problem of your pain. And I and I If I ask, you said, and I ask him, how do you do that? And he says, oh, it doesn't matter. Yeah. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:14:13]: Anyway is good. Are you gonna are you gonna want that surgery? Would you want it to say, like the guy who says, no, there is a way to do this thing. Right? Because I don't want to say, well, we can come from here, or we can come from here. Like, it doesn't even make any sense. And and so there is a way. And so Jesus is saying, I'm the living way. I'm the living way. Because it's the word way is actually a path. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:14:41]: He says, the word the path is following and walking with the living God. He's saying that when you've seen me, when you've seen me, you know the way because I'm the way. Then he goes on and he says, what? I he goes on and where did I put that verse on the thing? I didn't have to where I I placed it? Well, I guess it's in the next 1. And then it says this. He goes on, and he says in verses 6 to 7 can we read what he says in this course in this place? It says, Jesus told him, right, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No 1 can come to the Father except through me. And then he says this, If you had really known me, you would know who my father is. From now on, you do know him and have seen him. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:15:33]: And that sounds like, okay, great. Jesus is saying, like, look, if you see me, you've seen God. Right? That's what he's saying. Right? If you've seen me, you've seen the father. And then Philip, his response is this. Philip said, Lord, show us the father, and we'll be satisfied. Jesus is saying, hello? Hello? Anybody listening in there? Because he's replied Philip, he's saying, have I been with you all this time and yet you still don't know who I am? Anyone who has seen me has seen the father. So why are you asking me to show him to you? Don't you believe that I am in in the father, and the father is in me? The words I speak are not my own. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:16:24]: Right? The words I speak are not my I'm not making it up as we go along. But my father who lives in me does his work through me. Just believe that I am in the father and the Father is in me. Now, you know the the word truth, right? The word truth. He says, I am the way and then he's saying, I am the truth. The word truth, if you look up in the dictionary, actually says, it's it's the body of real things, events and facts, actuality. Right? That the definition of truth, the first definition of truth is the body of real things, events and facts. In other words, it's actuality. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:17:11]: It's what's really, really real. Right? And it's amazing today because in our season of, in our culture, that the word truth is thrown out that it doesn't mean that. Right? Because people will say, Well, this is my truth, and this is my truth. Right? And so when they say that, but we we had talked about it in the past, that what they're really saying, it's my perspective. It's my experience. It's my and you can have experience, and you can have perspective, and you can have different ideas. That's not a problem. But that's different than actuality. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:17:45]: Right? Because if I were to say, how much how much does this little podium weigh? Right? And if somebody says, I know how much it is, because they they pick it up, and I they say, this is £50. I was thinking, you better lift weights a little bit more because it's not that heavy. Right? But like, if if somebody else says, oh, it's £20. Right? If somebody else says it's £16.8, like, what what a case. It's like everybody might be wrong, but this actually weighs a specific amount. The real issue. But somebody might say, but to me, it seems like £50. Right? Well, because maybe I have a sore shoulder or I have a bad back or whatever, so it seems heavy. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:18:26]: Well, we're not asking about how hard it is for you. We're asking what is this actually. Right? And so, when Jesus says, I am the way, the truth, He's saying this, that He is the actual unchanging truth about God. He's not just a avatar. He's not just a representative. He's not just the latest and then somebody else will come on and they'll be the greatest. He's saying, I am the actual representation of God. Right? And so when Philip says, Lord, show us the father, and we'll be satisfied, Jesus is saying, Philip, buddy, don't you get it, what I've been talking about? And Philip is asking something that Moses couldn't even see because Moses, who was it says like the guy in the Old Testament who's basically the greatest guy in the Old Testament, closest to God, God talked to him as he talked to a friend. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:19:27]: Moses asked in Exodus 33, Lord, Because you can't handle the truth. Right? Uh-uh. Because you can't handle the truth. Right? It's going fry your circuits. And he says, please, Lord, let me see you. And God says, no. You cannot. If you see me as I am, your body is not made to handle that. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:19:54]: And so what he did was he took Moses and put him in the crevice in the rock, and he put him in that crack, and he covered him with his hand, he says, and the Lord passed by and let him see, kind of like the afterglow of when he walked by. And it literally says, so that he might see the back of God. But this is what God's response was to Philip. Philip, Moses couldn't see it. Right? None of them could see it, but look. You see me, And you seeing me, you're seeing god, right? You're seeing your father. Now, why, if that's true, why is it that none of the disciples died or people didn't die? Because God came in flesh. Right? And He restrained himself from all of His power, it says in Philippians. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:20:50]: He emptied himself. Of His nature? No. Of His rights. Right? He didn't display all of his power. When Jesus says, I can call, like, 6 legions or 12 legions of angels to come at my call, this is the god that we serve. Like, at my, like, I can fry all of mankind. I don't because I restrain myself. Why? Because I became because I love man, because I love people, I became a person. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:21:25]: And when he put on flesh, it was so we could see the invisible God visible. So that we could see the God who who who was distant, we could see him close. Philip, have you not understood this? He's saying. You guys remember the old WWJD bracelets, right? What would Jesus do? Because if we want to really know what God is like, then just see what Jesus does. Right? If you want to know how God acts, see how Jesus acts. If you want to know what God thinks, see how Jesus thinks. If you want to see what Jesus would say, listen to what Jesus says. And it's in those kind of situations that God says to us that Jesus is the exact representation, it says in the book of Colossians, of the exact representation of the invisible God. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:22:22]: Last week, we talked about, I am the resurrection and the life. That he who believes in Me, even though he dies, yet shall he live. And you know, I had mentioned last week that Jesus was angry. It says He was angry. Right? And then I had mentioned that you know like, it's the name the word that's used is, the snort of a horse in battle. And then when I snorted, a little bit of ton of butter came out. So by the way, that's another story. But, and I had mentioned that God was angry. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:22:53]: What was Jesus angry about? Right? Because this wasn't the way. But you know, 1 of the things I realized at the end of the week, and not until we were done even on Sunday, was I didn't read not just how God thinks about it, but how God feels about it. I just realized that, hey, you know, I want you to hold message and never read that verse again, which I didn't highlight. And and and it's kinda easy when I scan the note why I missed it because it's the shortest verse. Right? It's the shortest verse in the Bible. And and in some translation, all it says is 2 words, Jesus wept. In the the translation I used to have 3 words, began to weep or whatever. And, but it's the same thing. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:23:33]: And you see the heart of God? The heart of God is that when he sees the brokenness in the world, he's not angry at you. He weeps. He weeps when you're broken, when you struggle. He weeps that the things that cause you pain, the things that break your heart. You know what? God's heart's broken. He says, Romans tells us, rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep because that's the heart of God. Right? And so this is what he's saying, the actual, the actual god, the real God, that he doesn't say every way is valid. Everybody, you can have your own opinion, but what you can't do is you can't have your own math and and live that way without consequence. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:24:26]: Right? You cannot ignore gravity and say, well, there's no in my truth, there's no gravity. You can you can say that if you'd like, but most of us won't walk to the edge of the roof and walk off. Right? Because at that point, we understand it doesn't matter what you believe. Right? It matters what's real. It matters what's actual. And so the truth is the revelation of the living God, the actual truth. When Jesus says, I'm the way, the truth and the life, You know, the interesting thing about it is that I talked about the context, like, where he said, in my father's house, and that, I mean he said, don't let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, you also believe in me. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:25:11]: Well, if you go back even 3 verses before that, it's John chapter 13. And the thing is, you guys know that the chapter and verse breakdown in our Bible, it's not the way it was written. This came in basically, like, 800 years or 600 years after Christ, where all this was has come into be. But this is the same I believe in the original, this is how it would have read. It doesn't just say, don't let your hearts be troubled. It starts probably with this context, where Simon Peter asked, Lord, where are you going? And Jesus replied, you can't go with me now. Right? But you will follow me later. And he says, why can't I come and why can't I come now, Lord? He asked. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:26:00]: I'm ready to die for you. And Jesus answered, die for me. I tell you the truth, Peter. Before the rooster crows 3 times and before the rooster crows tomorrow morning, you will deny me 3 times that you even know me. But don't let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God. Believe also in me. And he asked the real context. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:26:25]: See, the real context is, you see, the truth doesn't just tell you about God. The truth tells you about you. Right? The truth tells you the reality and the actual about you. How many of us think that we're pretty good people? Right? Pretty good people, but to be honest, sometimes you don't wanna tell all the truth. Right? But sometimes we wanna be generous, but sometimes inside we don't really wanna share. Right? I mean, and I'm not saying that it doesn't matter that sometimes we we struggle with those things, but to be honest, this is what Jesus was saying to Peter. Peter, you said that you're gonna do whatever it takes. No you're not. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:27:08]: In fact, you made big promises. He didn't say it this harshly. You make big promises, but you cannot deliver. In fact, you're gonna deny me. If Jesus said that to you or he said that to me, we'd probably be pretty discouraged. Right? But you know the thing is that when we don't respond to the truth, you know, Peter couldn't handle the truth. I think he couldn't conceive that because he was blinded to his own weakness. And sometimes God speaks to us truth, not simply about what you can do through Christ, because we love to say that. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:27:45]: Don't you love to say, III say that to myself, I can do all things through Christ who what? Gives me strength. Right? Philippians 4:13. Yeah. What I don't say is that I don't quote this. Yes. I would you would deny me 3 times before this. Right. I don't quote that. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:28:03]: But when Jesus says that to us, sometimes he's talking about human nature, not just Peter's nature, but human nature. On my own, apart from the power of the Holy Spirit, I cannot live the Christian life. The Christian life is not hard. It's impossible apart from the power of the Holy Spirit. I cannot do this. I cannot love like how He calls me to love. I cannot be bold like he calls me to be bold. I cannot be faithful as he calls me to be faithful, but with the power of the Holy Spirit. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:28:39]: Philippians 4:13, by all means it's true. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. But what would have happened if Peter said, Lord, deny you. It would kill me if I denied you. Would you help me? I wonder if that could have been different. You know, if you responded with a sense of humility. Sometimes when you hear the truth, it calls us to faith, and sometimes it should call us to a spirit of humility. Because that there's no hero on this side of eternity that's not Jesus, right? Because he's the only 1 who always did it right, the 1 who laid down his life, the 1 who who took the bullet. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:29:29]: Right? He's the real hero. But but to us, we follow. We follow him. And then he says, he goes on, and he says, he's the life. And what does that mean? I think it means he's the life in terms of origin, quantity, and quality of life. Right? He's the life in terms of origin, quantity, and quality of life. And you notice that Jesus doesn't say he says, I am the way to heaven. He doesn't actually say that. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:30:07]: Right? What does he say? He talks about in my father's house. Right? He doesn't say heaven because, you know, you could go to somebody's house. You guys ever go to somebody's house and they weren't there? It could've been disappointing. Right? Or you didn't see them. You know, when I was going to school, on the mainland, going to seminary, I would help my friends who ran some flower shops. And 1 of the flower shops was out in Santa Monica. It's actually a pretty famous flower shop. And so they would deliver like to a lot of celebrities. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:30:44]: And and my friend, he's a full on Laker fan, and so he told me, hey, let's go. Took me to a Lakers game, all that kind of stuff. And it was amazing. These guys are way more giant than I thought, right? But 1 of his favorites was Magic Johnson, and he had already since retired and the whole thing. You guys know Magic Johnson? Right? So he may not have been the highest scorer, but he was the playmaker on the court. Right? So Magic Johnson wasn't known because he was the, Michael Jordan that was in the air and like kind of jumping over, but he's the guy who set the play. He's the guy who got the ball. Right? So he's the playmaker. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:31:25]: Magic Johnson, it was the dominant force on the Lakers. Right? And, and so there was a flower delivery to Magic Johnson's house. And when that came up, this is what he said. Roger said, Oh, I'll take that 1, right? Because he wanted to deliver the flowers to Magic Johnson. Right? And so he went up into Brentwood, he went up into this very rich sea area, big house, big gate, rings the door at the gate, flower delivery for Magic Johnson from Anthony's Florist, and and so they open the gate, he walks in the door, and he's so anxious to meet Magic Johnson, but it's just the security guard opened the door, takes the flowers. Thank you. No. Bye. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:32:12]: That kind of a thing. Because he he was at Magic Johnson's house, but he didn't see Magic Johnson. Right? And and so this is what he's saying though, that the the issue is this. He's not taking us to heaven. He's not just taking us to a place. So do you guys ever hear this? Because in heaven you can serve the endless barrel. Right? In heaven you can play the perfect round of golf. Right? It's the perfect. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:32:40]: You guys know what I mean? And we describe heaven like it's what we enjoy here on earth, but we just get to do it for all of eternity. I don't think that's really heaven, to be honest. In heaven, what you get to see is God face to face. Is there reward? Yes. There's reward. Is there some sense, I mean, the scriptures describe it like that, but it's not selfless indulgence, or, or like, like, some faiths that say, that you can have, you know, 72 virgins or whatever. It's not like that. It's not an indulgence of our flesh, because our nature will be different in heaven. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:33:23]: And so it's it's it's in the midst of that that we'll have life and the fullness of life in God. Life happens in the midst of truth and relationship. So when Jesus says, I am the way, the truth and the life, what he's talking about is because it's in this place you have relationship. Now he's also, I said it's in terms of origin, quality, and or quantity and quality. Because this is quantity in terms of eternal life, quality of life in terms of an amazing experience, right? But when I say in origin, you know, it says it like this. This is what he says about the life. In John chapter 1, if I can kind of jump to there. He says, In the beginning, the word already existed. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:34:20]: The word was with God, and the word was God. He existed in the beginning with God, and God created everything through him. And nothing that was created except through him, the word gave life to what? Everything that was created. Who is the life to everything that was created, and his life brought what? Light to everyone. And so when we think about this aspect, he's when we get to see him the way that we get to see Him, that He is really the expression of the father, the visible expression of the invisible God. He is part of of the Godhead, the father, the son, and the spirit. But he says this, that Jesus isn't dependent on anyone for life. You guys, to be honest, this this Jesus says about himself, about God, in John, chapter 5, verses 26 and 27. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:35:33]: It says it like this. It says, The father has life in himself. Let's say life in himself. You know what that means? He's uncreated. God wasn't created. Nobody created God. Right? The universe didn't create God. People didn't make up God, right? That God existed. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:35:55]: He had life in himself. And he has granted that same life giving power to his son. And he has given authority to judge everyone because he is the son of man. What is it saying? I don't know about you, but I was created. I didn't create myself. Right? And when you see somebody that says, I'm a self made man. No, you're not. You're mom and dad. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:36:26]: Right? Like, no, you're not. Right? God created you through that through that avenue. And there is nobody alive, and no 1, no human being ever else who has been alive that has made himself. It's just, it's nonsense, Right? But but Jesus comes. He says, God the father, who has life in himself, has given Christ the same, life in himself. He's the origin of life. He doesn't need me, but you know what the great news is? He wants me. He doesn't need you, but the great news is he wants you. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:37:05]: The great news is he loves you. The great news is that you matter to him. Because he wants you to experience life. Right? Because although in this life, you have great things that you can do. Right? There are great things, great meals. Right? So people ask me, How was your trip to Japan? I said, awesome. And it usually boils down to 2 things, people and good food. Right? Like my family. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:37:33]: Right? My friends, I got to see, right? And then good ramen, good sushi, right? And it was all of those things. And sometimes all that together. Because it's in there that you have we have life. Right? Just time to relax. And I hope in this summer, to be honest, you have time with good people. You have good food. Right? You have some time to rest. Hopefully, it's it's there's a and that's that's a good that's good. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:37:59]: It's a good thing. God says that we ought to rejoice in those things, that you ought to eat sometimes. Everyone's I'm not saying blow out your budget, but sometimes, you know, hey, buy the rib eye from Safeway. That was only $8 on sale. That was just up until 4th of July. No, but buy something. No. Hey, dude, sometimes it's good. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:38:21]: Right? Every day ought not to just be the same, But he's saying this because these are expressions of the goodness of God. These are expressions of the goodness of God. And today, he wants you to live in the goodness of God. And so the world was created. Right? Today, the physicists tell us that probably was the big bang. Right? And how many of us know if there's a big bang, then there's a big banger somewhere. Right? That's God the Father, right? That he created the world, created the physical universe, but He's the origin of it. He's the source of it, not the universe. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:39:02]: This universe, this is the weird thing. The universe wasn't always here? Or did you guys know that the universe is continually expanding? So what is the other question? What's beyond where the universe is currently? And and scientists have no explanation. Right? They don't have explanation. You know what's beyond? God. God. God. Just, He created all things. And so people like to say that Jesus is a way to God at times. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:39:45]: Or sometimes they say, He was a good man. Some people say, He was a great teacher. Right? Sometimes people say, It's like, I learned so much from him. I respect him. And you know, today some people will actually laugh at that. I I watched AAA video not that long ago, with a TV actor. Do you guys know who Paul Rudd is? Right. Ant Man, and the guy who looks perpetually like 39, but he's like 57. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:40:18]: I have no idea how old he is, but he's a guy always, a holy guy, but always looking young. Right. And he was on some kind of a talk show a little while ago, and he was asked he was asked a question. The question is, if you could have dinner with anyone from any period of time, who would you want to have dinner with? Right? Who would you want to meet basically? Who would you want to have Let's take a look real Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:40:50]: quick. During an interview, a reporter asked actor Paul Rudd, if you could meet anyone in history, who would it be? Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:40:58]: Anyone from history, who would I who would we choose? Oh, that's a great question. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:41:02]: I know my answer. Go ahead. Jesus Christ. By the way, laugh all you want. And it seems like it would be a wrong thing to say, he existed. Yeah. Right? We know he so wouldn't you wanna spend some time with him and go, Jesus, what's the deal? Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:41:19]: Yeah. What's the deal? I was Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:41:20]: just thinking, what's the deal? True. Yeah. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:41:22]: Right? Yeah. Yeah. I Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:41:23]: mean, I probably that's a great it is no genuinely Fantastic answer. But and it sounds like you say this and people are gonna go, woah. Woah. Woah. You can't say that. And I'd say, well, why? No. That's who I would choose. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:41:33]: That's true. It's a great yeah. Great answer. Yeah. Guys? Guys? Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:41:37]: Come on. I don't know if you could I got Jesus. Who do you guys get? Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:41:44]: You guys see the the initial response? What was the initial response when he said Jesus? They laugh. They laugh. You know what is 1 of the the biggest ways that people use to shut Christians up. It's not an argument. It's not reasons. It's to mock. It's to make fun of them. Those of you who have ever been in a class in a university, or maybe nowadays even in high school, And and I've I've literally been in a class that's like that. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:42:20]: And it says like, how many anybody Christian years? It's like, oh, Miss Yamaguchi happened to be a believer in God, right? And he starts saying this, and it's like trying you know what he's trying to do? He's trying to shut me up. Does he have any argument? Does he have any rationale? Does he have any defense? It's absolutely 0. So this is what he says. Just make fun of him. Because most people, you know what they do? Oh, that's alright. I don't have anything to say. Right? They do exactly the same. And and it was pointed out to me. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:42:57]: That was Millie Bobby Brown. And I said, who's that? And I was like, I don't know. Oh, that's not the person? I don't know. Somebody said that. Right? But, here's the thing. Right? But these these folks, you know the thing, the reality is, don't let the world that when we hear about Jesus that says, I am the way and the truth and the life. You know what some people say? Well, what's the truth? Everybody has their own truth, right? What's the way, right? Because maybe, you know, it's like a mountain and there are different ways. These are nothing that what Jesus says, right. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:43:40]: It's the same thing that that Pontius Pilate said to Jesus is, what is truth, right, before the crucifixion? And he said, don't you know I have the power to set you free or to kill you? And you don't answer. And what was Jesus' response? You don't have any authority unless my father has given it to you. I can be free in a moment's notice. Right? Because I am the way and the truth and the life. And so when Jesus makes this statement, I am the way, the truth and the life, no 1 comes to the Father but through Me, He's not saying, I'm a good man. Let me show you good ways. He's saying, I'm the only way. Right? Because I'm the only God who made all things, who can fix all things, and who can bring life in any situation. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:44:38]: You know, C. S. Lewis, who was a great writer and theologian, read this verse, and has said, looked at what he has said, and he had this to say about it. He says, I'm trying to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about him, that I'm ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don't accept his claim to be God. That is 1 thing we must not say. A man who mere who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic, if he was just a person. Right? He would either be a lunatic that Doctor. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:45:26]: Hale would certify, Yep. This guy is crazy, right? On the man who says he's a poached egg, on the same level as a man who says, I'm a poached egg, or else he would be the devil of hell. Because if he wasn't that way, if he wasn't the truth and he wasn't the life, right, then the probability he'd be like the devil of hell. And you must make this choice, because either this man was and is the Son of God, or else a madman, or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool. You can spit at him, and you can kill him as a demon, or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense, but his being a great human teacher because he has not left us open to this. He did not intend to. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:46:23]: And we're all faced with the frightening alternative that the man that we are talking about either was and is just what he said, or else a lunatic or something worse. And he says this. This is not how he ends this quote. He says, I have to accept. The 1 who had been c s Lewis, I don't know if you know this, but for many years had been an atheist. Having gone through World War 1, having lost friends and seen horrible, horrible events that happen in war. That We're talking To be honest, every war is horrible, but World War 1 was like on a scale that we don't even understand. It like on a battle, on a battle, not, not the war, in a battle, they're losing at times like a 1000000 men die. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:47:17]: It's, like, insane. We don't even understand the level of death and destruction that people in World War 1 faced, because it was the first time you had automatic weapons, machine guns, planes, and they had these crazy tactics before, like, the Civil War, where they just walk out on the line or they run across, And so that's why you would have this horrible, like, massive casualties. As a result, CS Lewis said there's no God. Right? There cannot be. What I've seen, my truth, my experience, it doesn't make any sense. And then became a professor after the war, taught at Oxford, started hanging out with some friends. 1 of these guys, his name is JRR Tolkien, who wrote, right, and some others. And they formed a group, and they talked about literary things. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:48:16]: And over time, this ardent and starch staunch atheist who said there is no way, and there is no God, and Jesus was just a crazy man or he's a whatever it is, comes to the end and he says this, I have to accept the view that he was and is God, because it wasn't just about his experience. It wasn't just about what he'd been through because there's an actual, a real situation, a real real way. Not just the way of your imagination. Not just the way that you want it to be. There's a real God And He is Jesus. The way, the truth, and the life. That makes sense? Let's bow our heads. We'll close in a word of prayer. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:49:14]: Father, for many of us, we've everybody in this room and folks watching online, every 1 of us have had pain and difficulty in life that at times has challenged us, has made it difficult to see sometimes the goodness of God, sometimes to believe even if there is a God. But Lord, even when our performance fails, even when our own weakness fails, like like Peter's, that Jesus made a way to restore him, to draw him closer. And he said this, don't let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in me because in my Father's house there's many rooms. And if it wasn't so, I would tell you. But I go in and prepare a place for you, that where I am, Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:50:13]: you will be also. Right? Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:50:17]: And then he said, because I am the way, and I am Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:50:21]: the truth, and I am the light. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:50:24]: So when you come to him, you know the way. It's just him. You don't always have a GPS. You don't always have a tracking mechanism, but you stay close to him. He's the way. It's not just an opinion. It's truth. But this is the good news. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:50:48]: In the process, he gives you life. Father, this evening, we're thankful because we need a way that doesn't it's not debatable, it's not a set of steps. Lord, it's a person. We're thankful. It's you. Thank you for choosing us. Thank you for opening our eyes. Thank you for revealing yourself. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:51:15]: Thank you for giving us truth that we might respond to it. Lord, not only the truth about who you are, but sometimes the truth about who we are. That we're still people who stumble at times, who struggle with different things. But Lord, without understanding that, we wouldn't know our need for a savior. We wouldn't know our need for you. We would become so prideful. We would become so arrogant that we would say, we don't need God. We are God. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:51:50]: When the reality is it's the furthest thing from Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:51:53]: the truth. And thank you for bringing life in the midst of it. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:51:57]: We love you. We bless you. We need you. Hey, with our heads bowed, eyes closed, you know, if you've never said yes to Christ, and He doesn't say He's not gonna make you come, right? He's not gonna make you answer. He's not gonna make you believe, believe, but he's calling you to, and he's extending his hand to you, and he's saying, I don't know. I mean, I'm saying this. I don't know where you've been. I don't know what your experience has been, and you may have had some difficulties. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:52:33]: It's been hard to square, but this is all I know, that Jesus is the way, and he wants to be your way. That Jesus is the truth, and whatever thing that you've struggled, there's a way forward through him. And however hard life may be at the moment, God says this, when you come to me and you trust me, I will not only heal you and forgive you and cleanse you and bring you close, I'll let you experience life in a fullness. That's part of his promise. You just got to be willing to accept the truth. We're broken. We have needs. We need a savior. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:53:26]: Jesus says says this, but I'm the way. And if you're saying today that, hey. I need to respond to that. If that's true and he wants me, I wanna respond to him. And And we're just gonna pray a very simple prayer. If that's you and you wanna respond, can we just pray something simple like this? Dear God, it's not always the easiest thing to hear, but I confess I know I'm a sinner. I know I make mistakes. I know I rebel at times, but thank you for choosing me. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:54:06]: Thank you for extending kindness to me. I grab a hold of you today, and I ask you, Lord Jesus, come into my heart. Forgive me of my sin. I turn away from what I know is wrong, and would you lead me forward? Would you come live inside of me today? And help me to know you more. Fill me with your presence, and would you lead me to other people who are a little further along in the journey that might help me in the way? In Jesus' name, I pray. People say, amen. Amen. Hey. Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:54:56]: Can we say congratulations to those folks? Hey. God bless you guys. Have a great weekend. See you at the beach tomorrow.