Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:00:00]:
And I do want to say it's great to be back from Fiji. You know, to be honest, when we go to Fiji, one of the things I realize is, which one of these things don't belong. I don't know if you guys know. I look exactly like people in Fiji, except I'm way shorter, different ethnic background, and dressed different. But beside that, I look exactly the same. But, but we had a great chance, to go together. And, can we say thanks to doctor Hale? Because he's actually the guy who heads up the team, and and when they don't recognize me as me but they think I'm Hale, then I just kinda go with that as well. So but he did such a great job.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:00:39]:
And when we were often speaking in conferences or services or whatever, often Hale would start out kind of giving a psychological perspective with a science background on some of the things that we're talking about, then I would come in, and then batting cleanup often and was doing an amazing job was pastor Landon Mauricio, and you know what? They're here tonight, him and his lovely wife, Kayla. And when when I, when I asked them to stand, can you just go do a big like, with Landon and Kayla, would you guys stand for a second here? And, You guys can have a seat, but he's the senior pastor at 26 years old of called church in, in Moanalua. And so they meet at Moanalua High School, and just a great guy, great leader, great, great great brother, great speaker, and so it was just a fun thing. You know, like, it's always a highlight to go with the team, and the team is what what often really makes it. And, to be honest, I just I felt like I was just kind of filling in some holes, and, but both Hale and, Landon, they did such an amazing job. So if you get a chance, get to meet the Landon and Kayla at the end of the gathering, and so it's so nice for them to come and and visit. But, hey, you know, this this evening, we're gonna, not conclude the series because we still have one more installment next week, but we're gonna continue, on our series that we started after our anniversary, and that's Imua. Right? And so we can always look back about where god has brought us and what he's brought us through and what we've been able to, be become and do together corporately.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:02:25]:
Maybe you think about it even in your own personal life, and that's always a great thing, and I think we need to remember we all need to remember the good things of the Lord, the good things that he's done for us. Right? But it's also important to know what lies ahead and to know that we don't rest on our past, but we use it as a launching point. And so we've talked about that, right, about, it's sometimes it's not enough just to wanna go forward, but you gotta grow forward. Right? That there's times that you need to step into things that, you're, you know, to be honest, that you know where God's leading you, and sometimes you're gonna have to do it in moments of uncertainty because we understand that although God is calling us forward, we don't always know exactly what that picture is. It's not that every day is a sunny day, every day things go the way that we want, and that we've all experienced that. Right? How many of you guys have experienced that? Right? Maybe this week. I don't know. Maybe maybe today before you came.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:03:21]:
But the thing is that God never wants us to get bogged down under the circumstances of life, because there's always going to be something. And God wants us to be obviously wise and knowledgeable and aware of the world that we live in, right, to be wise as serpents and yet as as innocent and as gentle as doves. But, as we're thinking in these terms of moving forward, what do we do that what I've seen is that at times when we're not sure what the future would look like, when maybe when we're in a place where there there's risk that's involved, that sometimes things can go quite badly, to be honest, if things don't work out, and they often don't, but the thing is that what we fear is the what ifs. Right? You guys ever played that? The what ifs. Right? And so sometimes what I find is that I can see people get paralyzed. And so God says this, that when it comes to this aspect of moving together, that you don't just move together on the things that are a guarantee, because to be honest, in most things in life, you don't get a guarantee, but we need to move forward even in moments of uncertainty and not to be paralyzed by our fears or the what ifs in life. And this this evening, we want to take a look at a a short passage in this book that we've been using as as the key to launching forward, and that's found in Philippians, and so we're gonna read Philippians 4 verses 4 to 7. And can we just stand in reverence for God, reverence for His word, and we're gonna read that together this evening, and it starts like this.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:04:51]:
Let's read. Ready? Begin. Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again. Rejoice. So hey, let's say it again. Rejoice. Say the word rejoice.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:05:01]:
Right? So we're gonna start with rejoicing, and then it says this, Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation by prayer and petition with thanksgiving present your requests to God. Now, you know, as we look at this passage, as we're going to kind of explore it a little bit this evening, that sometimes, you know, when you want to preach something, communicate something, you look how to simplify it, right, you get a slogan, somehow you find ways to make it in a nutshell, and you know, I was reading this and I was thinking, if you're of a certain age, you might be tempted to name this something that goes, you know, like, don't worry, be what? Be happy. Right? You know, like the Right? You might be tempted to do that, but, I should have resisted that temptation just now just to do that. But, but it's not really saying so simplistically, don't worry, be happy. You know, it's just like kind of slap a happy sticker over it. It's saying that there's there's a depth and a reality that beyond the reality that you see, and that when you go from the the reality that's on the surface of life, because that's a real thing.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:06:14]:
Right? Sometimes we go through things, it's like it's real, but we also know that when you get through that at times, there's something that's deeper. There's a strength that's stronger. There's a there's a power that's greater than you. Right? And so this is what I believe that he's calling us to do is that that sometimes you're gonna see things in life that scare you. How many of you guys have been scared this week? Right? Yeah. And and, you know, I don't know what I don't know what it is, but the thing is sometimes it's like losing control of a certain thing or or we see certain, you know, situations that, that can, you know, kinda take one turn or the next, but the the reality that God says is that we can move forward because he's always in control. And so before you're seated, do me a favor and and just turn to your neighbor and say, I'm so glad you're here because God has a great plan for you. And then you're gonna have a seat.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:07:05]:
Right? And so, you know, when we look at this passage, we said, Paul said it twice. Right? It's it's so it was so nice. He said it twice. He said, rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again. Rejoice. And so he's he doesn't he makes no excuses. I'm gonna repeat myself, and it's not it's not just a literary device, but he's trying to, emphasize in in the Bible times that to repeat something was to make it an emphasis and see saying, rejoice.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:07:36]:
Now that word rejoice comes from the whole same word to be to to have joy. Right? It's the same root, kirete, for for for joy. And so Paul, when he's saying this, by the way, it's not because, you know, he's sunning himself in the Mediterranean, you know, and visiting the Greek islands. He's actually, if we remember when we started the book, he's in prison in Rome. And so that even in the midst of these kinds of situations and he's not sure, like, whether he's going to get out of prison or whether he's going to stay in prison. The good news is for him at this season, he actually gets out, but he's not aware about how it's going to turn out, but he still has a capacity for joy. And so what does he do? Why does he say this? He's because he understands this happens to all of us, that that you'll be in circumstances and situations that sometimes are great, and then sometimes they're not what we want them to be. And so he says, I don't want you to be under the circumstance.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:08:38]:
I want you to learn how to rejoice in the circumstances. And so God says not just don't worry, be happy, but rejoice, and he says a little bit of instruction, not just rejoice in the circumstance, rejoice in the Lord regardless of the circumstance. And, you know, it's actually a command. It's actually, and some of you guys that you guys who like to study part, you know, it's an imperative. It's something that He's commanding us to do, and so, you know, in the scriptures what we find is that so often that with a direction and a revelation then comes a command or some kind of a direction that is given, some kind of imperative that's given. And so for the person who really knows God, he's saying this, that rejoicing is tied to your connection, to your relationship with God. And that when everything else may be dark around, he says that when you can look at God, when you can see God and allow His light to penetrate your darkness, you know what it does? It it lightens your load. It it feels it begins to fill your heart.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:09:42]:
And so to make it clear, to find our joy is to find it in the Lord. And so that's what he's saying. He says, rejoice in the Lord full stop. Right? That that's that it starts there. But but sometimes how do you do that? Right? How do you do that? For me, you know what's helpful? It's always remember his goodness. I always start remembering his faithfulness. I always start to to look at his power. I I look at how he's shown himself in my life.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:10:07]:
I see these things, and sometimes in my dark moments or or the days that are cloudy, right, the days that are a little hazy, it's in those moments that I I start sensing His presence. And it doesn't mean that, you know, to be honest, that you're just hysterical and laughing all the time, right, and or smiling even so so greatly. But it's I think he's talking about a deeper reality, that joy, because you can have a joy that even in the midst of sadness, you can have a joy even sometimes in the midst of the most painful seasons of your life, Right? Because if it's if it's happiness, you you kind of be psychotic. Right? Or you gotta if you're just happy, I'm happy. I'm I'm in pain. And that's not what he's talking about. But if if you can be in pain and still experience this sense of joy, I think that's showing us there's something that's even deeper than your pain. Now I'll be honest, I haven't been in physical pain like that.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:11:05]:
I've been fortunate throughout my life. I can't say that I've had seasons where I've had extended, like, I've talked to some of my friends who have suffered a back injury, you know. I've had my own injuries, like, you know, like a blow up my knee or did all that kind of thing, but it's not generally, like, just throbbing all the day. It went on, like, you guys ever know somebody that constant, like, I've we've had people with constant migraines. I don't relate. Right? We've heard people that have gone through illnesses and car accidents that have really just derailed them. And and so what about them? I because I can't speak from experience. I wanted to make somebody else who did really go through it.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:11:46]:
There's a guy named Bob Record, and he he wrote a book called Forged by Fire, How God Shapes Those He Loves. And in it, he kind of details how, you know, unexpectedly, he suffered in an accident, a severed spinal injury. And so the pain, he says, was excruciating. He says they couldn't even keep him still long enough to get the MRI. They had to to knock him out. Right? So they could get the MRI done, and the MRI showed that he had 3 major points in his cervical area that were broken and and and and the swelling started to to start to rise. And so orthopedic orthopedic surgeon told him, you know, Bob, your your body's in it's in total it's a wreck right now. I I just gotta be honest.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:12:33]:
And because of the swelling that he was going through, his his pain level I don't know if you guys know this, but so often, why you ice something and keep it, to keep the swelling down is because that inflammation is really often the source of your pain. And so if you've ever had something like a knee thing or wherever because I've had a lot of those kind of injuries, I'll tell you, you know, you probably heard me say, hey, have you been icing it? Because ice is your friend. Do me a favor, turn to your neighbor and say, ice is your friend. Not the other kind ice. That's the enemy. Right? But, like, but, you know, like, when you get an injury, sometimes I just say people that pop, you know, like an Ibuprofen or whatever or Tylenol, whatever, but, you know, to be honest, if you ice it all the time, you don't even need those things. Right? Now he was on ice, on morphine, and and and he still was in pain, to be honest. He and because it it's that inflammation and all these nerve bundles, they're just so irritated and that that's what the inflammation does.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:13:32]:
And so he's he's in this, place of just wave of wave of of pain. He can't even sleep, and so any sleep that he gets is he has to be in a recliner and drugged out, and then it happens. Even then, just moments, right? Lucky to get an hour or 2. And then the doctor comes, and he says, you know, Bob, the unfortunate thing is you're gonna be like this for the next 5 weeks at least. And so we're gonna send you home, you know, with the cocktail of things to keep you as comfortable as possible. You still will have pain. You have to be in this collar. You cannot really, you know, walk around and do all those things, but you have to give yourself time to recover.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:14:16]:
And about halfway through, you know, he's getting stir crazy in his house and and so he he gets every effort and his wife helps him and he goes out on the patio and he says it's a cold, blustery winter day, and and he's feeling miserable, and it's a kind of miserable day, and it's reflective of his attitude, and then all of a sudden he says this bird flew into the the patio and and sat on the chair and just started singing, like it was just happy, you know, just happy to be alive, you know, just kind of right? Singing all that kind of a thing. And and and then he said all he could think about, where's my gun? Right? Like, I just want to blow this bird away. Right? It's like when you're not in a mood when you're not in the mood, right, you sort of somebody's happy and you're not, you know, in pain, it's sometimes just irritating. And so he he that's what he felt, but he just he the bird just kept going and and he tried to ignore it, and and then he stayed out there for a while. And then the next day, he wanted to get back out, so he got back out. And and and the next day was a great day. It was sunny day. It was a nice day.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:15:22]:
It was a beautiful day, and he could see the thing, and he could see the the the sunshine, and he was glad to be out. And on that day, the next day, and it looks like, at least the same bird. Right? Apparently, it looks like the the same bird. And it came, and it was still singing, and it was still whistling, and it was still happy. And instead of wanting to get the shotgun that or he thought about it, but that it it came to him. The the Lord whispered to him, and he says, Bob, you know, this bird can worship whether it's a dark day or a sunny day. How about you? And he realized, you know, that if this bird can do that, that that he realized that the capacity to rejoice in the Lord, that that all a bird does, when a bird does what it was created to, it brings glory to God. You know, when you and I, when we do what we were designed to, we bring glory to God, and it doesn't matter what that thing is.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:16:18]:
When you do what you were designed to do by God, you bring glory to him. You know what? It's it's like a song to God, But he says, you know what? I realize that there's an element of choice to rejoice in the Lord. Right? It's it's not to say that we ignore and we don't see the difficulties. Sometimes there's this aspect to rejoice in the Lord is a defiant even though whatever is going on in my life, I'm choosing to rejoice in God because I know that that I could choose one way or I could choose the other, but one way brings God glory. And to be honest, you know what you realize? It brings you higher. Yes. That's what it says. You know, when in in Nehemiah, many of us have heard this that it's the joy of the Lord that is your what? Strength.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:17:06]:
Strength. Yes. None of us know that. Right? And so that's what it says in in Nehemiah 8:10, but he starts by saying, do not grieve for the joy of the Lord is your strength. And if you ever read that passage that you find out that it's like the the Nehemiah had come up and explained about how they read the law, and they found out how far they were living from the law. They found out how far they had actually strayed from God's word. And so when they saw that, actually there was a kind of a mass response of people weeping and wailing before God because of their failure. And Nehemiah comes up and he says, Do not grieve.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:17:50]:
Is it true that they they blew it to some degree? Yeah. It's true, but this is what he said. You see, God's not looking at you by your failure. He's given you this word so that you can make the change, but this is a day of celebration, he's saying. Right? Because now you're drawing close. So he says the joy of the Lord is your strength. Don't grieve. Hallelujah.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:18:15]:
Right? Because the essential at times that really what gets us through is having that sense of plugging into God's strength, plugging into God's presence. And that even in our grief, even in sometimes in those most difficult times, that that we can have a sense of presence that brings a joy. When my mom and my dad passed away, and it was punctuated by, you know, almost 8 5, 7 years between. Right? That when my dad passed, we had been caring for him through his pancreatic cancer. So it was relatively rapid. I mean, it's like three and a half months. But a lot of you guys know I pulled back, you know, I just am staying out there, and anytime I'm out here to speak on the weekend, or maybe we would plan with some, the staff and the leaders, and then I would be taking care of him. And that was a difficult thing, but, you know, there were moments that I would not trade the world for that, that I got to spend with my dad, that I got to invest and I got to love him till the end.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:19:26]:
And I got to see him, how he handled that difficulty. And, you know, the thing is that I when I would to ask him, I said, dad, if you could do anything one more time, what would you do? And, you know, my dad being the kind of the gambling, you know, kind of drinking all that, I wondered that he had given himself to the Lord, but I wondered what he would say because sometimes I hear people say, Jess, I want to do one more Vegas trip. And what came out instead was I would if I could do one thing, I would love to see your sons grow to be men and follow the Lord. You know, in moments like that, and I remembered that, that it's it gave me joy. I mean, I was weeping actually when he told me that because it's like because I doubt to see not just the change in him but his faith for his grandsons. And so, you know, at times it doesn't mean that our hearts are not heavy, but there's a joy that can be sustained that even through that in in Psalm 97:1, he says, the Lord is king. Let the earth rejoice. You know, and sometimes we we get discouraged, and sometimes you go through these seasons, but but we remember that Christ is king, and he's still in control.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:20:47]:
Right? And he's saying this that as a there's a point of that that that we can experience his joy. And it's it's not the joy as the world gives that Jesus talked about. Right? It's a different joy. Right? And and and so he's saying that there's this sustaining thing. So do me a fraternity and everybody says, God can sustain you with joy, But it also involves a choice. Right? It involves a choice. It involves a choice to embrace that. It involves a choice to not simply focus on the dark things.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:21:20]:
And because if we do, if we if we focus on all those things, you know what we find? That our our anxieties and our fears start to grow. You know, anxiety and fear, everybody has it, right? Everybody has it, but when left unchecked, it's like a cancer. It grows bigger. It goes deeper, and sometimes it metastasizes and infects other things that are entirely unrelated, and so one of the things I learned about fear and anxiety is it's best to treat it and deal with it when it's young or small or not aggressive, right? But if you just leave it, you just try to ignore it, you know what happens? It does grow, right? It tends to grow. And so, you know, when God has this aspect in giving us this thing because we know that anxiety and fear is a thing that's common to man. He gives us a little bit instruction on this. Right? And so the second thing is that I think we need to understand is you got to look at your fears through Jesus. You got to look at your fears through Jesus.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:22:26]:
The reality is all of us experience fear, but you need to get something between you and that fear, so that fear does not overwhelm you. The first thing he says is, would you place Jesus in between you and your fears? Right? Because otherwise, you just get the full brunt of it. Otherwise, that you you receive that impact of it kind of unmitigated, undiminished. But this is what the Lord said. Just remember this. The Lord is near. The Lord is near. And and it's the nearness of God that is our good.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:23:00]:
Place Jesus between you and your fear. Would you understand that God is closer to you than you think? It's he's closer than when you feel him or when you don't feel him. He's closer than than when you see him at work than when or when you don't see him at work. Right? It's those things are great. When we see him at work, when we feel him, those are things that are awesome, but but sometimes you don't. Right? And but would you know that that doesn't mean that God is not close to you. Right? Because what does it happen, like, when you don't feel God? Does it mean that he's left you? He's forgotten about you? No. Right? That to be honest, that that it's just that you don't perceive him.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:23:40]:
And maybe that we are like Jacob in in the book of Genesis, when he's on his way and he's running away in difficulty. Right? He kind of family blew up and his whole family blew up, and his brother wants to kill him and the whole thing, and mom says, hey, get out of dodge because, you know, before Esau kills you, and he knows he's blown this whole thing up, blown his family mom against dad and all this stuff, and he's it's in chaos. And he says, as he's leaving, that he laid his head down on a rock, and he had this vision of God, and the heavens were open, and the angels of God were descending and ascending, and he realized, he says, Surely God was in this place, but I did not perceive it. You see, sometimes you're gonna be in this season where God's with you, but you just can't see it. Right? And that's where sometimes this stuff is done by faith. Right? And so but we don't just tell God about our problems. You got to look at your problems through Jesus. Because the reality is he gives us some instruction about that.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:24:43]:
He says it like this in Hebrews 13:5. Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have because God has said, never will I leave you, never will I forsake you. You know, even in times of financial uncertainty, he's saying this. Right? Even in times how many of you guys understand financial uncertainty? How many of us understand inflation or, you know, hey, the rent is going up or, you know, like my interest rate or whatever those kinds of things. But he's saying this, don't put your confidence in your capacities to figure out everything financial or, you know, what your do you have enough cushion, right, that sometimes people say this, in times of uncertainty, cash is king. I understand that that aspect. You're saying that you have a capacity, but you know what? The reality is that Christ is King is what he's saying. And he says this, though, Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:25:39]:
You see, when you understand that Jesus is bigger than your financial struggles. That Jesus is bigger than your family problems. That Jesus is bigger than when you feel stuck in your career. That He's saying, I'm bigger than all those things. Put your faith in Me. Why? Because I haven't forsaken you and I'm not leaving you. What is he saying? I'm still close. I'm still close.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:26:04]:
Right? Jesus said this. Surely, I am with you always. Let's say the word always. I I learned this in the Greek from Landon in Fiji. You know what the word always means in in the Greek? Always. Right? And, you know, this aspect of always, right, is it's it's when it's good and when it's not good. Amen. He said, I'm still with you.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:26:29]:
Do me for it. Turn your name to God. He's still with you. He's still with you. He's still with you. And and so we're in this place of uncertainty. He says, you know that when when you feel it, it's awesome, but I'm still with you even when you don't. Right? In fact, Jesus said this, that the scripture say this, that the Holy Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead is alive in you.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:26:52]:
So no matter where you go, because in this life, you cannot get away from your body. Right? So that he's saying this, the same Jesus the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead is alive in you. The Father is with you. The Son is with you. The spirit is with you, inside you, in fact. So he says this, would you know that I'm near? So I want you to look through your I want you to look at your problems through me, not look at me through your problems. Because when we look at God through our problems, God seems so small at times. His ability, his impact can seem so small or so far removed.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:27:29]:
But when you look at your problems through the lens of Jesus, then you start seeing that nothing is impossible with him. Right? He's faithful. Now how do you do that then? Now what what else can we put in between us and our fears? Do you know what the next thing is? Turn your anxiety into prayers. Hallelujah. Turn your anxieties into prayers. Yes. Because he says this. Right? Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation let's say every situation.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:27:59]:
Every situation. By prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And you know what it says? Don't be anxious about anything, but in every situation, there's a there's a contrast because there's a comprehensive negative. Right? In other words, he's saying, be anxious for nothing. That's negative. Right? Be anxious for nothing, like, it's it's a don't. Right? And with a comprehensive positive. But in everything do this, what, by prayer and supplication or prayer and petition.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:28:32]:
Comprehensive negative, that what we avoid, a comprehensive positive, what we do. He's saying this. So don't let your fears overrun you. Instead, do something positive. What is that? Turn your anxieties, turn your fears into prayers. What kind of prayers? Right? That that word prayer often in the scriptures is used in a way for intercession. Right? When you're praying for somebody or something, that kind of a thing. And so, you know, one of those for those of us who you guys ever been worried about somebody? Right? That that's really that's the fear that you have? It's like, you know, what happens if they never say yes? Like, you know, like, you know, they're they're they they they could really get into some serious trouble if they don't get this part together with their life.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:29:22]:
And, you know, when I was a young parent and, the kids were young, the, the, you know, the biggest fears that you have, you know, it's like the kids get sick or some kind of a thing like that, and I thought, like, I'll be so relieved when the kids grow up. You know what I found? It's that the older your kids go, like, some of us that it's like it's it's not easier, it's actually harder. Because to be honest, sometimes when the kids are young, I can control it. But when they get older, you worry just as much. But to be honest, you have less control. Right? And so you know what God gives us? Intercession as a result. Amen. Right? Bring them before the throne of grace.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:30:07]:
Bring them before the God of, who who knows them, the God who made them. Bring them before God. Commit them to him. So he's saying, pray for those people that cause you know, like, maybe some of you, you're worried about your your your your parents' salvation. You're worried about your, you know, your kids doing well. You're worried about I don't know. But whatever the case, bring those people before God, even if they don't know God. Right? They don't they don't have the they don't have God's telephone number.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:30:35]:
Right? So you call. You call on their behalf. Right? That's what intercession means, that you go on behalf of someone who cannot solve their own problem. Right? And so what does it do? It starts lessening your fears, starts lessening your, your worries. Pray he opened their eyes. Pray he draw them close. Pray that he would, his love would shine through all of those things. You know, those are all biblical prayers.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:31:04]:
Right? And And when you pray a biblical prayer, you know what? God wants to answer it. He will answer, he says, in first John. Right? Because if it's his will and you ask him to do his will, what does he say he'll do? He says, I'll do it. Right? It gives you confidence. Second thing he says is petitions. What what are petitions? It's an urgent request to meet a need. Right? It's it's like, when, the the this woman came before Jesus, he says, my my or the father came before Jesus. My daughter is dying.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:31:36]:
Please, Lord, come that she may come because if you come, she'll recover. You guys familiar with this passage in in accident? It's like on the way, Jesus encounters a woman who touches Him, and and she, when she touches him, he's healed instantly, but it sets in motion this, kind of a derailment of the him going to this guy's house. Right? So he she she gets healed and Jesus says, who touched me? And the the disciples are, like, Lord, this is crazy. What do you mean who touched you? Everybody's touching you and reaching out for you. We don't know. Right? And and it goes up, but he calls out the woman and and not because he's calling her out, but he says, woman, your your faith has made you well. I shouldn't even she didn't even say that I got to touch Jesus to be healed. As long as I touch what's touching Jesus, even if I touch his clothes, even if I touch the his shirt tail blowing in the wind, that's gonna be enough, and it does, but the the bad news is that when that happens, just as that's happening, then the servant of this master of this man comes and says, you know, you might as well just let the master alone because your daughter died.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:32:48]:
Right? Now, he had an urgent petition. Now, if I was in that position, right, I might have been tempted to punch the lady who had the bleeding. You know what I mean? Like, if there's a part of me that said, If you didn't get in the way, my son would be alive. But you know what Jesus says? He says, permit it. Let me let me go. And you know what? Rather than listening to sometimes, you got to listen to what the word of Jesus said. He says, she's only asleep. She's only asleep.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:33:20]:
That's what he said. The doctor said she was dead, but Jesus said she's asleep. And sometimes, you got to choose to believe what Jesus says rather than what the doctors say. Right? Because that what the world says, what your accountant says, right, what your business partner says, sometimes you got to choose to follow what Jesus says. And at that moment, when he goes, she was dead, He just raises her up. God can raise you up. And so in these moments, in that petition, in her point of his greatest need, that Jesus gets in the midst in between his greatest fear, the death of his daughter, and he raises her up. What happens when you put Jesus between your greatest fear in an urgent petition? The same capacity.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:34:17]:
Right? The same capacity. And so then he goes on and he says, requests, right, refers to naming specific items. You know, Lord, I just have these things, and I I I got rent that's due or I got taxes that's due or whatever it is that you got different things. It's my kids' tests. You know, it's like, I don't know. This you know, we've been dating for a little while, and then I'm not sure where it's going to Lord, would you guide us in our relationship? Whatever it is, you bring your requests before God. Right? And he says that when you do that, that you'll find how close he is. You'll find him moving.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:34:53]:
And he goes on, and he says this last one in that in that in that list of things. He says thanksgiving. Right? What is thanksgiving? It's not focusing on what is not accomplished yet, but it's really about what He's already done. Right? You remember about how faithful He is. You remember how He pulled you through in the past. You said, thank you, Lord. Right? I've I've been in that situation where panic sets in literally. The more I prayed, the the scareder I got.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:35:23]:
You guys ever been to that place? It's and that's not a prayer of faith. That's a prayer out of fear. And sometimes if you get to that place, you're saying, you know, like, I've seen people. Please please please please, like, in the middle of that. And I understand that desperation. Now God hears that desperation, but that's not the prayer of faith. Right? That's the prayer of desperation. And you see, you know what turned it around was not because I when I was praying for my son and I've seen his eyes roll in the back of his head, the more we pray, and I'm Pentecostal, so I'm speaking in tongues.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:35:53]:
I'm praying, we're laying hands and driving with one hand to the hospital. Right? But what do I do? I said to my wife, let's just stop. Stop. Because I just felt the fear rising in the car. Literally, you can feel the atmosphere of fear in the car. I said, let's just thank Him for what we know is true. Right? We don't even know what's going to turn out but lord, I just said, thank you, lord. Thank you that you love Marky more than me.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:36:19]:
Thank you, lord that you created him. Lord, thank you that even though we don't know what's really going on, thank you that you know and we just started thanking god for what we knew is true. And what happened? The atmosphere changed in that car, and it's like peace came down. Is it because we're such great wisdom and what to pray? No. We just thank God for who He was. And what we found, God is near. It's in those moments God is near. And so when you find the fear rising, thank God for who he is and what he's done in your life.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:36:57]:
Right? And then you can feel you'll feel that sense to ground you. Right? It's it's the peace of God that sometimes doesn't even make any sense because we didn't know when we rolled into the hospital. Right? And he's still going on, but we had a peace. Amen. Right? And so that's the third thing. The last thing is this. Remember God's peace follows you seeing Jesus through your before your fears. It follows you.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:37:26]:
It doesn't go before you. It follows you when you do that. In Philippians 4:7, he says it like this, and or we could say it like this, and following those things that we've talked about, the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. It's like saying this. You know, God, I brought all these things before you. Now that your peace comes. Right? It's like a shield. It's the sun and shield over me.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:37:59]:
And so he gives this introduction to this aspect of the peace of God. And sometimes, you know, we can use the peace of God in all kinds of ways, and and sometimes when I, you know, it's like, you know, I I know I'm doing what I'm not supposed to do, but I have a peace about it. Sometimes you can get a false peace. Right? And God's not telling you to do something, but that's just what you wanna do. And what we're really not saying is the peace of God. We're just saying, I just feel okay doing whatever I feel like doing. And that's not what he's talking about. He's saying that what happens is it's not autosuggestion.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:38:31]:
It's not self hypnosis. It's a peace literally that comes from God. So the peace of God is really part of it is the peace that God has in Himself. And you know what God doesn't worry about? God is not fretting like, oh, my gosh. Who's going to win the election? Right? You know, God's not worried about, like, who's going to win the war in Ukraine? He's not worried about those things. Right? But, like, what what is my son or daughter going to choose? He knows, and He's confident, and He just says this. Even when it doesn't go according to His plan, because not everything in this life happens according to his plan. Right? Not everything that people do is God's will.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:39:10]:
If that was true, then, you know, drug abuse is God's will. You know, child abuse is God's will. No. It's not. Right? Literally, he gave us the capacity to choose evil or choose good. And sometimes, unfortunately, people choose evil. But this is what God says, but my choice can even override your choice at times. Right? He says he says that I can channel the hearts of the king just like a channel of water.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:39:40]:
He still has free will, but I just have a capacity to orchestrate anything. He's still choosing freely, but I'm gonna direct him to the place that he needs to go. And so this is what he's saying, so he has peace. So when we say we get the peace of God, it's so that we're we're just as convinced that God is in control. Right? I want you to do me a favor. Think about what you're worried about the most right now. Close your eyes for a second. We're gonna do this at the end, but, like, just at this point.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:40:11]:
And everybody, if you have a big fear, and then would you just say to yourself right now and say to that thing that you're most worried about, you say, God is still in control. Right? See, God is still in control. And you when you look at that thing, don't just look at that thing now. Think about the God who is with you. Think about the God who is in you. Think about the God who said, I will be with you till you come and be with me to the end of this age, that he says, I am with you. Right? And see your see your fear. And says, would you say that, God, thank you that you're bigger than my fear.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:40:48]:
Thank you that you're bigger than this problem. And God, we're asking that as we do, would you would you manifest your presence in the midst of that? And whatever is that you pray. Do me afraid to open your eyes. Is it any lighter? Is it any smaller? Is there is there any more peace in your heart? He says, it's not just a peace that God has, it's the peace that comes from God. And at times, peace is a gift that God wants to bring. Right? Just there's a gift of peace. And he says, peace among men with whom God is well pleased in Luke. We don't always understand it, right? But you can receive it.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:41:52]:
So when I heard the diagnosis in the doctor's office, yeah, this biopsy is negative. This biopsy is negative, but this one was positive. And he says, I have to say, Miss Yamaguchi, you have cancer. It's like all of a sudden, it's like, that's just not what I thought I was ever going to hear after all these batteries of tests. All negative, negative, negative, negative. Oh, God, are you going to deliver me? And then all of a sudden, like, I wasn't really listening. I was listening but it didn't it wasn't all penetrating, right? And then he handed me this packet at the end and, and as I walked to my car and I and I sat in my car before I I drove away and I or put the key in the ignition, this is what I said. I just sat there, and I just said, god, you were faithful before I went into this office, and you're gonna be faithful after.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:42:52]:
You've been good to me because you're good before I went into this office, and I just say you're still good. God, there were things that I knew that I could control, and I tried to control them, and there's things I know I cannot control, but I know you're still in control. And it's in that moment that God whispered to me that He says, it's for a season. And when he said that, it's like peace when but I had to choose it. I had to choose it because fear is also at the door. So this is what I said, Lord, I receive that. Amen. God, I receive that.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:43:36]:
It's almost like a fleeting thought, but I recognize the voice of God because that's not the way I speak, but that's the way God speaks. And, you know, 2 years I had to go through. Right? 2 years I had to go and didn't do any treatment. Right? So I go to the next biopsy, and and then, you know, when he comes in, he's not happy. He's not he's, like, doing all this stuff, and he's, like, with a serious face, and I was thinking, oh, yeah. I don't know. What do we do the next session? Right? And he goes, but, you know, mister Emerge, all I can say is we can't find any cancer. Right? And this is what I said.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:44:17]:
Praise God. And I remember telling him what I said. I that when does this ever go away? He says, no. It doesn't. So I said, oh, okay. Well, that's good then. So if it goes away, this is what when he first told me, he said, if it goes away, then we know it was God who did it. Right? So I said, praise God, he healed me.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:44:38]:
And you know what he wanted to do? He said, no. No. No. No. No. You still have cancer. He said, you still have cancer. We just cannot find it now.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:44:44]:
And I said, well, better than you could find it. Right? It's like and, and I said, I know what you're saying medically. You cannot say I don't have cancer, but I believe I'm healed. Amen. Right? And you know what? I live like I'm healed. Amen. Right? And he said, yeah. No.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:45:01]:
Make no mistake. That's the this is the best possible outcome that we could have. Right? And and but the thing is that I wasn't living in fear for those 2 years because I had the peace of God, because he was near. I had to place him before the things that I thought about, but it guarded my heart and my mind. You have a referee. You need that you need it to be in your mind, as well as your heart, because I understood God was in control. I've seen that he was bigger than the problems that I faced. Right? And I have this intellectually, and this part in my heart that said that He's for me.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:45:39]:
He's not against me. He's he's on my side. Right? I just have to make sure I'm on His side. And when those two things were in alignment, when the fears did come, every once in a while they did come. You know, you read the book that they give you, you go, like, oh my gosh. This sounds horrible. But then I would just place the blood of Jesus over. Hallelujah.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:46:04]:
And I see it through Him. And all of a sudden, it was able to happen. Right? I had peace. You know, what happens when you're when you're really not sure? Last night we had dinner. I'm gonna just close with this and we're gonna take communion here in a minute. And and I'm gonna use generalities because this is still being streamed, and it's important that we had a friend that she came earlier in the year and, from Southeast Asia, in a war that in a country that it's in war. And she shared about her story and all the things that were going on, and the things that we're doing there as well. But while she was here, things got a lot worse.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:46:50]:
We thought, you know, how much worse can it get? Well, apparently a lot worse. And so now, you know, they they had this forced conscription, they have all these situations that are going on, they were conscripting men, now they started conscripting women. And now it's not just to 35, now it's to 65. It's really like saying, if you're breathing and living, we can pull you in. Right? And so she was instructed. She has some family here, so she's visiting them and putting in a, you know, emergency kind of a temporary visa situation because of what's happening in the country. And she's applied and waiting and waiting and waiting, and it normally takes, she said, 3 months, and it was already 4. So last night, yesterday, she flew into town on her way back home.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:47:49]:
And we had dinner, and while we're sitting around in the beginning, we're just kind of laughing and talking and doing all that. And then at the end, you know, it turns a little bit more serious. And, when we're talking, I said, you know, I'll be honest. You know, there's a part of me that I get real pragmatic every once in a while, because I know there's 12,000,000 people who walked into this country illegally and nothing happens to them. Right? Then and you're not, like, one of 420 1,000 criminals that came into the country. You're a godly woman and great track record, and we would go to bat for you, but I know that you feel God calling you back. And she doesn't know to what, but she has a peace. And so we just said we're praying an extension of that peace, And we we prayed her out.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:48:53]:
And she if you wanna see her, you can come to church tomorrow. Because we don't stream, we can kinda be a little bit more open tomorrow. And if you'd like, you know, you can let her know that you're thinking about her and praying for her. But and she'll share this part of her story herself. But I can say this. I I don't know if I would be the same piece. But you know why? Because I'm not facing that situation. You see, when it's you who's facing that situation, where does peace come from? Not come from you.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:49:27]:
It comes from God. It's the peace of God. And sometimes you're gonna look at the person that's next to you, and you look, I don't think I could have peace to go through that. But this is this is what you don't have the grace of God on you for that thing that your friend is going through because you're not that person. God says this, my grace is sufficient for who? For you. So whatever you go through, God has a grace for you. But you know what? Somebody else may not have that same grace because their circumstances are different. But God has a grace for you.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:50:07]:
Just as he has a grace Thank you, Jesus. For our friend. Amen? Amen. Let's bow our heads. We're gonna close in a word of prayer. Just close this message out here. Father, we're thankful that you're bigger than our biggest fear. Yes.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:50:22]:
Father, we're thankful that your faithfulness endures forever. Amen. And that it's your nearness, lord, that is our good. Yes. And sometimes we confess you seem far away. And sometimes it's because we've kinda just lost you in the busyness of life. But, Lord, in those moments, we will seek you and we will search for you and we will draw close in our hearts. If it requires for us to repent, we'll repent.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:50:53]:
But if it entails for us to to intercede, we'll intercede. But if it entails for us to to have an urgent request, we'll give you the urgent request. But sometimes, Lord, it just involves us being thankful. But sometimes it's just reminding ourselves that you're still in control. And so, Lord, we're thankful that You haven't thrown us to the wolves of our fears and our anxieties. Instead, Lord, You said You are with us always even to the end of the age. And father that you've told us to not just look at our fears but to look at you first. And father, thank you that you said that as a result, when we do those things, your peace follows.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:51:41]:
So we receive that today. We're thankful for it. In Jesus name, God's people say, amen. Amen. Hey. We're gonna prepare our hearts for communion here, in a in a minute, and if you're at home or, online or you're in the house, we practice an open communion. If you've never been here before, you don't have to, you know, we don't need your firstborn child. Right? You don't have to be a member.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:52:08]:
If you're a follower of Jesus, we invite you to take communion with us. If you you have young kids, we'll let you decide what you guys want to do, in this situation. Parents, that's your choice. But but we say we practice in open communion. All we ask is that you're a follower of Jesus. But the second thing the Scriptures do tell us, it does give us a warning. It says that when you you get together that we don't take communion in an unworthy manner, and it's not saying unworthy, we talked about before, it's counterbalanced. Right? It's like when you walk, Right? There's a balance.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:52:41]:
And so what does that mean? It's not saying you are sinless. It's saying, I take this seriously. I'm not treating communion like, yeah, just a piece of bread or just a cup of juice. That part, he says that it's as a result when people take communion like that. Sometimes, he says that you almost drink a judgment to yourself because who we come to is we come to the God that we meet at the cross all over again. And you know what you'll find? He says, because his grace is going to be sufficient for you. His body, his blood, it's more than enough. He says that I did he didn't just do this to get us into the kingdom, but that we can always meet Him at the cross, right? It reminds us that the price has been paid.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:53:30]:
It reminds us that He's for us, and we draw near in this moment. We want to meet Jesus in the communion. And so if there's something to confess, confess it. Right? If there's something to repent of, right, just repent of it. If there's a relationship that you need to draw close, make a commitment. Lord, I'm gonna I'm gonna reach out to that person. I'm not gonna wait for them to reach out on me. Right? That maybe after service, you shoot them a text.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:53:55]:
Hey. Just wanted to start thinking about you. Maybe we can get together. Right? You don't have to make it all right first. Make a commitment to. Okay? And, and bring who you are before him. Right? And so the elements are in the back and will give you an opportunity to have some reflection. But would you know this that communion reminds us, it's not what we do that makes us right with God.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:54:22]:
It's what he did that makes us even want to do our part. Right? And so, there's a grace. God has a grace for you, and we find it at the table at times. K? So we're gonna just pray a minute, and then at your own pace, go get the elements. When everybody's got it, we'll take the elements together. Father, I'm thankful. I'm thankful that you know us and that, Lord, as as we go, to get our elements, sometimes we need to leave certain things behind. Lord, it's an attitude sometimes.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:54:55]:
Sometimes it's a it's a thing we've been struggling with, and it's not even saying you have the power to to overcome it always. Would you just say, today, Lord? Give me the strength today, because I want to lay that aside, because we want to meet you at the table today. Thank you. You said, when we gather together, that it reminds us we don't come on our goodness. We come on yours. In Jesus' name, amen. Yes. That's your guys' pace.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:58:13]:
In Ephesians 214, he says this, for Christ himself has brought peace to us, and he's united Jews and Gentiles into one people when in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us. He did this by ending the system of the law with his commandments and regulations, and he made peace between Jews and Gentiles by creating in himself one new people. From 2 groups together as one body, Christ reconciled by both groups to God by means of his death in the cross and our hostility toward each other was put to death. You know, what it's saying is that God only has one people, right? He has one family. He's called the church, and that when he calls us, he says, yes, he's not ignorant that there were divisions. He's not ignorant that there were things that were in the way. He said, I'm going to make a sacrifice so that in my body that cast on Him was all of our infirmity, all of our sin, all of our sickness, all of our rebellion, right? Everything was cast on him, that he himself bore that so that we might be have life. And in essence, he's saying with these elements of the cross, he says that that all of him, like this old song that says, all of him is more than enough for all of me.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:59:56]:
So would you hold the elements before you, father, tonight, we confess we've sinned. We confess we strayed, but we confess our struggle. Father, we confess our fears, but we're thankful we're placing you in between us and our fears, in between us and our sin. Thank you, Lord. In between us in our greatest obstacle, in between us and our sickness today. Lord, we're thankful the cross is more than sufficient, that all of you, Lord, is more than enough for all of me. That, Lord, at the cross, Lord, that the price was paid, the blood was shed, Lord, and that your blood washes us and cleanse us. And you don't simply see us as sinners.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [01:00:46]:
Lord, you see us as forgiven, as righteous. Because you see that Jesus in us, Lord, is enough. The Jesus in us, Lord, that you say that you see the righteousness of Christ. Lord, we don't manufacture that, but we can sure as heck receive it. So, Lord, we receive it today. Yes, we do. And, Lord, we draw close to you today. Yes.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [01:01:10]:
Thank you, Lord, that when we draw close to you, you draw close to us today. So we take the bread as a symbol of your body that was broken. Lord, thank you for the grace that was given at the cross and is for me. Would you take the bread? And Lord, we're thankful for the blood that says, Lord, cuts a new covenant, not a good for our bad, but of the justification in Christ. Lord, being washed and made new. Lord, we're thankful for the cup and that Lord it says it didn't just forgive my sin, it allowed me to have a spirit of unity with every other believer as well. And then so Lord, we're praying the spirit of peace, the spirit of brotherhood and sisterhood, the spirit of of unity, Lord, the spirit of family in Christ Jesus. Lord, we're thankful for the blood.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [01:02:24]:
Makes it all possible. Will you take the blood? The cup. And, Father, we're just saying, Spirit of God, would you come? Yes. We want all of you today. Hallelujah. We give you all of us. Yes. We surrender, Lord.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [01:02:41]:
Yes. And, father, we're just saying right now, would your will be done Yes. In our lives as it is in heaven. Lord, would your kingdom come and be established in us, Lord, in our families, Lord, in our homes, God. Lord, in our hearts today. Father, in our health today. God, we're thankful in our finances today, God. We receive it.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [01:03:01]:
We receive it. Because you're worthy of all praise, Lord Jesus. In Jesus name, God's people say. Amen.