Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:00:00]:
You know, when you look out the door, you know, at even at this time, it's already, it's already dark. Right? It's like it's like nighttime. It's just 6:30 now. I love the the the wintertime, the shorter days and the longer nights. Anybody else like me, I I like that. I like the change of the weather. I like when it gets a little bit cooler, you know, cooler days a little bit, sometimes cooler, I'm for sure cooler nights, but you know, I remember a while back I was in town. I was in a friend's condo.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:00:30]:
They were, kind of in a rise condo, out by in Mo'ili'i area, and we never having dinner, and and, you know, the sun went down, and we were just kind of hanging out, and then when it was all dark like it is now, you know, we're looking out over the city, and I just said to him, I said, wow. Man, you have such an awesome view from this place. I just love, you know, the way the light shine on the city. Right? And it looks great. And then my friend, and he was, you know, in the ministry, with me as well, but he just goes, yeah, but you know, you just look out in the darkness and think about all the the crimes that get committed and the domestic violence that happens at night, and and the drug abuse, and and all those kind of things, and sometimes I think people rape and get people who are hungry, and I just looked at him and I said, Dennis, you have such a beautiful view, but we're not gonna ask you to write the the the brochure for the condo because, I think he'd get fired. Right? But he had a he had a point, I think. He had a point. And the point is that sometimes that although in this Christmas season, there's we look at things and we want to see the lights, we we want to have the decorations.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:01:45]:
I I like having the tree, even if there's no smell. I love having the, the colors. I love having those things. At the same time, we know that there's still a lot of darkness in the world. And sometimes it's closer than we'd like. And, and it's supposed to be a season of joy, but sometimes it can feel like anything but a season of joy. And you know, it it was the same way in the beginning on that first Christmas, and to be honest, it it happens like that in in every Christmas that there's there's darkness. It's a season of dark and light.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:02:23]:
It's not just one. It's a season of joy, but for often, there's also a season of sorrow and some difficulty. And I wanted us to take a look, at that first incidence, not when Christ was born, but when he was conceived, when God did the greatest miracle, that the God of the universe, the one who who existed before time, before mass, before space, before planets, that the one who did that that the God who is the invisible God, because the God is spirit, that somehow he married himself, bound himself to a physical world. He stepped out of the realm of where he normally dwells, and he entered ours, and he entered our world. And we're gonna read this in Matthew 1 verses 18 and 19. Would you be kind of, let's stand. Let's stand in reverence for God. Let's stand in reverence for His word.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:03:23]:
And then we're gonna read this together. This is how it starts. Ready? Let's read. Verse 18: This is how Jesus the Messiah was born: His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. And Joseph, to whom she was engaged, was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly. And although this is the greatest miracle where God becomes man, that God who has spirit enters a physical realm that manifests himself. We see these things happening, but yet at the same time, it really kind of blew up the relationship between Joseph and Mary.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:04:17]:
Right? They had wedding plans. They she kept herself, pure before that time, and now all of a sudden, when she becomes pregnant, that fact that God begins to move didn't create peace. It created actually chaos. And sometimes, even in those moments of great light, of great work that God is doing that we ought not to be surprised that at times, even though God is doing great things, there can still be great chaos. Because in this world, there's always gonna be darkness and there's always gonna be light. But guess what? God wants you to focus on the light. So before you're seated, turn to your neighbor and just tell them, let's focus on the light. Right? But we understand that there's great darkness in this life.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:05:05]:
Sometimes, you know, if I was if if I were Joseph and someone were to ask me at that time, hey, how's things going with you and Mary? And it might be kinda like one of those things like, I I don't know how to say it, but, it's complicated. You guys ever say something like that? You know, when and and, you know, without saying too much, you you you let people know that, you know, not everything's going great. Right? Not everything's going well. And and sometimes today, life is complicated. Right? Sometimes today. Now, God was doing something good in the world, and he is doing something good in the world now, but sometimes we don't see it. Sometimes we're overwhelmed by the darkness. It it feels like a storm, and we all go through storms.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:05:57]:
Right? We all go through storms. Some storms are bigger than others. Some storms have longer lasting effects than others. For some, that storm, it seems like it puts out the lights for a few hours, and for others it lasts for months months, and sometimes it's years. And in the midst of those times that that, you know, that all of us will have storms. Now and you're either in a storm or you got through a storm or you're about to enter a storm. And when I say something like that, some of us might think like, wow pastor, can't you be more positive? You know, like, the storms about life. I said, well, I'll be more positive because I'm positive that all of you are either coming out of a storm or you're in a storm or you're about to enter a storm.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:06:45]:
But the thing is that we Jesus told us in this life that we'll have trouble. But he said, take heart. I've overcome the world. And so we ought not to be deceived. We ought not to be surprised, he said, that that things get difficult at times. And and and and I know, maybe even in this room, that that some of us have been through some very difficult times. We've we've lost loved ones. We've we've stood through some difficulties.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:07:14]:
Sometimes it's the things that are happening outside of you. Sometimes it are things that are happening in you. Right? That you you you had the test. You you didn't like the the results of the test. Right? Some of us that that maybe, you know, we're we're not talking about it, but that there's there's a tension in our home that, man, you you haven't experienced this before. Sometimes it's this aspect that some of us, we're so weary, we're so weary, we feel like we're barely holding on. Right. Some of us, it seems like, you know, the tension, it's it's it's not just the things that are happening on the inside or the outside.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:07:53]:
It's affecting my marriage. It's affecting my family, right. It's affecting my work. And for some, it's, you know, it's financial. There's different things. But when we're in this kind of a situation, whatever the case, whatever the storm is like, that I think that we need to understand a few things. I'd like to address that because this weekend, because a lot of times, we wanna come to the holidays, and we want to be able to celebrate, and we wanna be joyful. And to be honest, not every Christmas, to be honest, is filled with the same.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:08:30]:
Right? Because life changes, sometimes the season changes, and sometimes life is complicated. But the reality is that whether you're in the storms of life right now, you're not alone. God is with you, and he hasn't left you. And there's an amazing visitation of God that he wants to do, just like he did with Mary, that he wants to bring life even in the midst for some in the darkness. Now the thing is this we see this played out, over and over again in the scriptures. You see it played out with the disciples. And and I want to kind of contrast what what we'll see here, and we'll come back to, Mary and Joseph and what happened in the midst of their storm. But but sometimes that what we wanna look at is the fact that what happened with the disciples later, when when Jesus walked there, there still were storms.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:09:28]:
There still were storms. In Matthew 8 verses 23 to 25, we're gonna read this portion and some of scripture, and a lot of you know that there's 4 different accounts of the gospel. Right? Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, and and sometimes these things are looking at the same exact story, but sometimes one gives a little bit of detail that the other one doesn't give. And so sometimes you if you want to get the fuller picture, you you have to look at more than one account. Right? And although we're looking at this story in Matthew chapter 8, you can read the same story in Matthew, in Mark chapter 4 verse 38 and, and from that place on. And it starts with the situation that when we come to a storm, what happens in the storm? That is what we wanna see. And you're gonna see it in here. And preceding verse 23, it actually says it's that Jesus told the disciples, let's go across the lake and get to the other side.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:10:28]:
And so they follow him and it then it says this in verse 23. Then Jesus got into the boat and started across the lake with his disciples, and suddenly let's say the word suddenly. Suddenly. You guys ever feel like sometimes suddenly there's problems? Right? Suddenly things that were going so smooth, and then then it's not so smooth. You ever go out, like, your car's running perfectly one day, and then the next morning, like, it won't start. Right? It seems like it comes on suddenly. Sometimes it's suddenly. It says, a fierce storm struck the lake with waves breaking into the boat, and Jesus, but Jesus was sleeping.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:11:05]:
Let's say sleeping, right? Sleeping, right? Jesus was sleeping. Do you sleep? Right? We don't fault people for sleeping, right? But sometimes we fault people for sleeping at the inopportune time, right? That if you're you're at work, you catch your coworker sleeping, are you happy? Probably not. If you're a teacher and you're sleeping, probably not. Right? That for you guys on the table, no, I was kidding. You guys are awake. Everybody's awake. So, I appreciate that. But here's the thing, that he's sleeping.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:11:34]:
Jesus was sleeping. And the disciples went and woke him up shouting out. What does he say? Let's read what those last words were. Ready? Begin. Lord, save us. We're going to drown. And so what happens in a storm? Well, it always starts with an event. Right? A situation of some kind.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:11:52]:
We we read Joseph and Mary. Right? A fiance, about to be married, prepping for wedding, prep and and doing everything right. Right? They're saving themselves, you know, doing all these things, and then what we find in the story is she's found to be pregnant. You know, it actually uses that phrase in the gospel of Luke that he says that Mary was found to be pregnant. In other words, she didn't just come out and say, Joseph, you know, I had this amazing encounter with God. That it actually I think this occurred probably several months later is that is she starting to show. And maybe Joseph says, hey, Mary, been eating well, a little bit. And then then later on, came to find out what that's a weird way that you're putting on weight.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:12:41]:
Right? And it says that at one point it was undeniable that she had become pregnant. And all of a sudden, man, the relationship is in a turmoil. And if your name is Joseph, you're probably angry, feeling betrayed. Right? If you're married, you're feeling judged and misunderstood. Right? And all of a sudden, this couple that was so close that you you sense this tension of division and how can we stay together? Right? If you can't believe me when I tell you that God is the one, then how can you believe me for something else? And and so we we see these things happen sometimes in relationships. And in the situation on the boat, what is it that we see? We see the storm come out. It's a physical storm. Right? It's a thing that you that affects your life.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:13:39]:
Right? It's it's like the hurricane that that comes in. So starts with an event, right? But unfortunately, when there are storms on the outside, so often they they start creeping on their way on the inside. Right? It's it's at that place where that our emotions start to to get stirred. And for the disciples, I think they were afraid. Right? They were It says very clearly, right, that they they said, we're gonna drown. And and then when they see Jesus and Jesus is sleeping, it doesn't say expressly what Joseph was feeling, but I think we all would be, hurt or offended or angry or or like Mary, misunderstood. Right? And so what happens, you have an event, it happens with an event, it happens with a situation, but it stirs our emotions. Right? That we're not Spock out there.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:14:35]:
We we don't just think so logically. Well, it must be the fact that, you know, God that we don't think like that. Right? We're or the storm and we see Jesus sleeping. We we're saying, Lord, what's going on? Right? We're we're afraid. Right? We're scared. We feel like you you let us in the wrong direction. Maybe we feel taken advantage of whatever But this is what wasn't what I signed up for when we got engaged, Mary. So what does it say that Joseph starts thinking? He makes an evaluation, and he says he's a righteous man.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:15:23]:
So what does he plan to do? He plans to divorce her quietly, right. But he's already said, I I cannot do this then, right. And so he makes an evaluation. The disciples make an evaluation, right? The disciples say what? Lord, don't you care that we're gonna drown? God, you don't care, right? Jesus, you don't really care what's happening to us. You're sleeping and we're dying here. We're drowning here. Joseph says no one needs to know. It's gonna be our secret.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:16:08]:
Right? And when your emotions and and all these things get twisted, and you make these evaluations, you find that your secrets make you sick. Your secrets make you sick. And if we don't have some kind of injection of something along the way, what happens is that event that stirs our emotions, that cause us to make evaluations, end up growing or crippling our theology depending on which way it falls. Maybe the the way it cripples your theology is, you know, I thought God answered prayer, but I guess he doesn't. Maybe I thought that God was good, but maybe he's not as good as I thought he was. Maybe I thought God was all powerful, but I guess he wasn't strong enough to change this situation. Maybe I don't really think I'll depend on God. I think I better depend on myself the next time.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:17:10]:
And you start making, not just events and emotions and things start happening on the inside and making evaluations, but it starts changing your view of God. It starts changing your, your theology. When all you have is events, when all you have is emotions, and you're all evaluations, you'll end up with a faulty theology. Because we need the word of God. We need God's revelation, not just my evaluation. Because it's not that you're you're gonna move it in the direction of your emotions. You're gonna move it in the way of your comfort. We're gonna we need God's word.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:17:51]:
That's one of the reasons God gives us His word. So that when our feelings blind us, that when the situation is so painful that all we want is to stop, that we we make an evaluation. It's like divorce is better, or you know what, just let's just drown then. It's like, I guess we all die. Right? That's the the the disciples were at that place. But God gives us our word because if not, our feelings run us, 99% of us, maybe a 100% of us, something cripples our faith. It cripples our view of God. It cripples our theology.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:18:35]:
Well, I think the disciples in the boat neglected one significant fact. Right? That when they thought, we're we're going, it started out good, It got bad real quick, then we're confident that we're gonna get to the other side too. You don't care, and we're all dying. What was the fact that they neglected? Jesus was still in the boat. Right? Jesus was still with them. Maybe they forgot to read what it said and remind themselves what it says in Isaiah 4,110. He says, Do not anxiously look about you. Do not be fearful, for I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:19:23]:
Right? He says that that you know what? I I I'm still holding you. I'm still with you. They forget that fact. And sometimes what happens when we're going through a storm and all we're caught in our emotions, we we start we start running with our emotion. We start making poor choices, that we need to remember that what God is doing. And He gives us things like this in the word. Now this week in my devotions, I was reading in the book of Nehemiah, and we won't really look in that place, but I do want to encourage you, to read, if you have time this week, just write this down on your side. Nehemiah 8 and 9, those two chapters.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:20:08]:
Nehemiah 8 is famous for this one verse that says, the joy of the Lord is what? My strength. Right? The joy of the Lord is my strength. It sounds so great. Right? But the reason why Nehemiah says that is because the the people were were weeping. The people were overwhelmed with their guilt. They were overwhelmed with their sin. They they they heard the word of God that told them about what God's expectations and his standard were, and they they realized how far they were from it, and so they start weeping. And so Nehemiah says, no no no no.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:20:41]:
Stop. This is not a time to weep. This is not a time to be overwhelmed. Your emotions are not what God is trying to stir. What what is he saying? It's the joy of the Lord that's gonna be your strength. But this is what he says in chapter 9. He prays. And and I was sharing with the staff in the devotions.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:20:59]:
I was sharing with some friends in the devotions, and and what do you do when you're in the midst of that kind of storm? He prays, and in his prayer, that what he prays is really simple. He he prays about what God does. He focuses on what God does and what God says and what God is doing. Like, it's 5 times more, 10 times more than what their faults were. God, you are the maker of heaven and the inhabitants of heaven. You're the one who created the garden. You're the one who called us and chose us. You're the one who that when we were in Egypt that you sent a deliverer.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:21:48]:
You're the one who made the way through the Red Sea. You're the one who walked with us in the pillar of fire and the pillar of cloud to bring comfort and shade in the day and protection and light at night. You're the one who revealed yourself on Sinai. You're the one who spoke to us the word of faith and that you sustained us through the desert. You're the one who fed us and gave us water when we could had nothing to do, but you brought the food on the ground over the last 40 years. That you're the one. He goes on and on and on. And then later, after having said about like 20 things that God has done, he says, but we've been this.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:22:31]:
But I've I've made my mistakes. What do you tend to look at? Do you tend to look the opposite way? All the the reasons why God can't help you. All the reasons why this storm is just so bad. All the reasons why versus God's little thing. Yeah. But you sent Jesus. You know, the thing is that if you in the word of God, you'll see, you'll have the fuel for your faith to say, you know what? I'm not the only one who's gone through a season. I'm not the only one who's gone through a storm.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:23:05]:
That there are other people that God sustained, and He's gonna sustain me. I was listening to worship music the other day, and, a song was playing. I think we've sung it here before. Have we ever sang, you know, the song, Yes, I Will? Or we don't sing it. Maybe I just listen to it enough that I think we sing it sometimes. And I'm just listening to the words, and I play it over, and they play it over because I love what it says, this song, Yes I Will, just goes, I count on one thing. The same God who never fails will not fail me now. You won't fail me now.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:23:52]:
Right? In the waiting, the same God who's never late is working all things out, is working all things out. And then he's just a decide it's a decision he makes. So I will praise and glorify, glorify his name. You know, I was I'll be honest, when I heard that, I wasn't, like, in the midst of the storm. I wasn't in the washing machine of life. But I'm coming out of 1. Right? And so it reminded me. It reminded me that the same God who never fails never failed me.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:24:35]:
It reminds me that the same God who's never late wasn't late. But you gotta feel your faith in the midst of the storm. You cannot just let it ride out and let your emotions dictate your evaluations, and let the event kinda start to spoil your your theology. Now the fact is god knows. God cares. Wherever you're at today, God knows. God cares. Do you wish you had turned to your neighbor and said, God knows, and God cares, even if you're in the midst of the storm.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:25:17]:
So if that's the case, you know, we this is a natural thing. This happens to everybody. There's an event, and it stirs your emotions, and you you make some thoughts, and you attempted to make these decisions, and we say these crazy things at times, and we we're in the midst of that, and and we we we start it starts messing with our relationship with God and my view of God. Why does God allow that? The reality is is because God is more concerned with our character than with our comfort. Now, I I may not like that fact, and you may not like that fact. But you know, the thing is, it's true. Just some of us know as parents. Right? Is that that those of you who have raised children and were raising children, you what do you ever say, like, I'm raising kids.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:26:08]:
It's not an easy thing. Right? But the reality is that we're not raising them to be children. We're raising our kids to be responsible, right, spirit led adults. Right? We're that God honoring people. And yet, the thing is as a result, we never we never said that we always want we're so concerned about their comfort. Sometimes we had to push them. Sometimes it was hard. And sometimes you and I, maybe, we made the wrong call.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:26:40]:
Right? There has been times that you guys ever have that your kids complain about something and say, quit complaining. Get back onto the field. And they realize, oh, he was really injured. I felt really bad after. And, you know, I've made I've made some mistakes. The good news is God doesn't make mistakes. And the good news is God does love you, and he is a good father. I might not always enjoy this fact that God is growing my character more than my comfort, But he told us in advance.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:27:13]:
Right? In this world, you have trouble. And so I shouldn't be shocked, although sometimes I am. He says, but the good news is this, take heart because I have overcome the world. And you know what your lowness is with Jesus and the disciples when it says that they were afraid, and it says that you don't care, and almost you can see them pointing their finger at him, and and just maybe a bit of discouragement, maybe a bit of disgust, maybe a bit of anger. How can you sleep when we're going through all of these things? But what does it say in verse 26? Jesus responded and said, why are you afraid? You have so little faith. And then it says, Then he got up and rebuked the wind and the waves, and suddenly there was a great calm. You know, the thing is that when Jesus speaks to the situation, he can speak he can change the situation. When Jesus speaks to a cancer, He can remove the cancer.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:28:23]:
When Jesus speaks to a broken heart, He can heal a broken heart. But you know what the first thing He does? He doesn't speak to the waves. Who does He speak to? The disciples. The first thing he does in the midst of the storm is he speaks to his sons and his daughters. He speaks to his people. And what is he saying? Why are you afraid? What's the implication? I'm still with you. I'm in the boat with you. If you're in the storm today, Jesus is in the boat with you.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:29:06]:
Don't be afraid. Have more faith, he's saying. And then it says, he rebuked the wind and the waves, and the things changed. What about Joseph? Joseph was planning to divorce his wife. And then it says in Matthew 20 1:20, it says, and as he considered this so he was considering the divorce. He was gonna he was just gonna divorce her. He just was gonna end it. He was just gonna sweep it under the carpet.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:29:40]:
It was just gonna be his little secret. And then he says this. An angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid. Do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. She's not lying to you, Joseph. I did this. Right? I did this. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit, and she will have a son.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:30:09]:
And you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. And sometimes in the middle of the storms, God is creating a situation in which He will save people from their sins. Maybe He will save them in their sin. And all of this occurred to fulfill the Lord's message through his prophet. Look, the virgin will conceive a child. She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Emmanuel, which means God is with us. So what's the point? God might be more concerned with our character than our comfort, but he never leaves us to do it. He's with us always, and he's with you always.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:31:00]:
And so we see this aspect. Let god speak to you before he speaks to the situation. I don't know about you, but sometimes when it's really hard, I just ask, god, can you change the situation? And you know, there's times I've seen God totally change the situation. But even usually before he changes the situation, he wants to change me. And sometimes, I've prayed for the situation to change, and God wants to change me. And you know, if you're in a situation like that, we'll believe with you. We'll pray with you. We'll pray for you.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:31:41]:
We'll believe that God's a healer. Why? Because that's who he said he is. Right? And that we're believed that God's a provider. We're believed that God's the one who makes a way. We'll believe that God is the one who heals hearts. Right? We'll believe. And to be honest, probably all of us, we've been in different places where you've experienced that yourself. But sometimes in the fresh place, when it's sudden, when it's a time that you don't expect, it's harder.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:32:10]:
But we remember there's always darkness, and there's always light. It's just what we focus on. So what are we called to do as we round this time towards Christmas? Would you shine your light as well out in the darkness? And you might feel like maybe right now, my my light is not that strong. My light is not that strong. It's it's so small. But the greater the darkness that even that little light, even these little tiny lights, you still see it. It's still a contrast. Jesus said this.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:32:55]:
He says, You're the light of the world, like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. What is he saying? Don't hide your light. Don't hide your light. Don't hide the light that's shining in you that and that put it that puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand where it gives light to everyone in the house. And in the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see so that everyone will praise your heavenly father. In this season, in this season, tell people your story. Tell people how Jesus has met you.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:33:37]:
Share your testimony. Invite your friends. Right? Invite people. Right? The little card, I I was in my favorite place to do meetings and counselings in Costco. No, but like, you know, I just saw a friend I hadn't seen in a little bit, and we stopped, and he's in his past, and he's just, you know, he's working, he's doing different things, and I just we're catching up about family. And I just take out a card, and I say, hey, by the way, in case you're not busy, we'd love to see you at Christmas. And he said, oh yeah, we've been talking about it. Right? Is he gonna come? I don't know.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:34:19]:
I just wanted to shine some light. You're you're not responsible for people what they do. You know what you're responsible for? That they have something to respond to. You know the old saying is, you miss every shot you never take. Right? There's people in this room, it's just because I just said, hey, if you ever want to join us, and you know what? I couldn't change someone's heart, or I couldn't make someone want to come, But they had something to respond to. That's all that's really that's all we do. It just give people something to respond to. And sometimes, you know, you're praying for you're praying for that child, some of us, who's going the wrong way.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:35:13]:
We're praying for that spouse who's, like, seem to have checked out. And sometimes this is what we're praying, God save them. But you know what the scripture says that we ought to pray? God opened their eyes and let them see the light. And why is that? Because it says because the devil, the god of this world has blinded their eyes so they cannot see the light, and then they cannot respond. So we shine the light. We pray for our friends. We pray for our family. God, would you open their eyes? Would you let them to see the light as Christians? Would you we share our testimony.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:36:01]:
You pray for people. You help them in the midst of what they're going through. You you get into a conversation. Right? You you help the ones who in need. That's part of what we're doing through our Christmas offer. And then you know to be honest, does it mean you do it because your life is all together? No. And I was talking with, you know, somebody before service, and I know they had a doctor's appointment. And and we all know that kind of a situation.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:36:40]:
You guys ever go to the doctor, and and, they tell you and then one of my friends, he he's here he was here for his dad's funeral like a few weeks ago, and we had him over for dinner. And I was just talking to him about, you know, like some things I'm doing, and people noticed that I lost weight. People have mentioned to me, you know, like, wow, you look great. What's the secret? What's the secret? The secret is you have high blood sugar and you try eat like you have a high blood sugar, and to get it under control, you end up you end up losing weight. I didn't end I didn't plan to lose weight. Right? And I'm telling my friend, who's a doctor, and he says, oh yeah, I have diabetes too. I'm on my medication. I was thinking, so I sent him the same video I sent out a bunch of you guys that somebody sent me.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:37:38]:
They said, yeah, it was me, and it really helped me. I never had to go on medication. I'm out of I'm not even prediabetic anymore. And, but here's the thing. You know my friend? He might have his own health conditions, but he really helps people in their wounds and in their sicknesses. You see, doctors, they're just people. And sometimes you can walk with a limp, and sometimes you have a condition, but it doesn't mean you cannot minister healing, right? He still helps people, even though he has his own health stuff. Well, what about us? You don't have to be perfect to share the good news.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:38:34]:
In fact, sometimes it's the greatest testimony. I don't just sell going to service. I actually go myself. Right? Like, it's it's like God has helped me in the midst of what I'm going through. Right? You see, some of the times that we're like Joseph, we want to hide all that stuff. And you know what? You're not the only person who's had those thoughts. And I think that when Joseph shared and ministered to people in the future, he'll probably say, man, I was checked out, but God met me. And when he did, it changed my heart.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:39:23]:
Shine the light. That's what we're called to do. That make sense? But we're gonna pray here in a second, and, I'm just gonna ask us, would you be kind of just by your heads with me? We're gonna pray. And you close. But I know that just I just have a sense, and I've obviously, I've talked to some people as well, and knowing that there's there's just a season, there's just a lot of stuff that's going on. And you know, some of us, you're dealing with grief. It's been a hard year, right? We've had people that I don't care how you cut it, they just went too early. There's some people that your marriage is holding on by a thread.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:40:20]:
There are some people that you just been running on fumes, and you you just feel burnt. You don't know if you have anything left to give, and You're stressed out. And there's some people that you're just feeling this division that that why is it this it's like why is this time when we're supposed to be coming together, I just feel like just the things are kind of blowing up. Things are blowing apart. And maybe some, like Joseph, just, I'm not gonna say anything. I'm just gonna check out. And you're feeling this thing to isolate. For some that you don't know how you're gonna make it financially, and it's like no matter how you stretch it, you whatever the case, that you're in need of the miracle, Jesus was with them in the boat.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:41:16]:
Jesus was with Joseph in that season and was with Mary. And we're gonna pray for a miracle. And if you're here and if any of those things related to you or even if not, but you're just in need of a miracle today. You're just in that need that that it's been dark, and and we need the light to shine more brightly. We wanna focus on that. We wanna pray for you today. And I I'm believing that God wants to do the miraculous. God wants to meet his people, but we gotta ask them.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:41:53]:
And if that's you, would you just be saying, yeah, that's me. I need that. And would you just stand if that's you? Say, God, I I need that. I need you to move in my life. Nobody need here a miracle? No? Okay. Yes. And you don't have to explain what your miracle is that you need. We're just gonna pray for it.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:42:25]:
And father, right now we're thankful. Just as you were with the disciples in the boat, when they were thinking that, Lord, you don't care. Lord that that all of a sudden we're overwhelmed and we can't escape these circumstances. We're thankful that you spoke to the disciples. Would you speak to your sons and your daughters even in this moment? And father that when when Joseph was ready to check out, because he couldn't believe what was going on, and he he said that, I just need to get out from this thing. He was ready to give up. Father, I thank you that that Lord, You spoke. So Father, we are grateful that You speak to your sons and your daughters.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:43:14]:
And we are just saying in the name of Jesus that you are more powerful. Yes. Lord, you are more powerful than cancer. God, we're saying that, Lord, you're more powerful than a spirit of division. Father, we're you're more powerful, Lord, than than our greatest need that you're a provider. That God, that you're a healer. That God, you're the one who leads your people forward. Father, we just declare in the name of Jesus, Lord, that we're not alone, and we're not isolated, God, because we're of the accepted.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:43:50]:
Lord, we're in the family of the living God. And father, we're praying and declaring, Lord, over our friends, Lord, that that Lord, even in grief that Lord that it's in that moment that you said that they will find comfort. And so Father, we're thanking you that Lord you are the God of all comfort, God. That Lord that you understand the loss of a child, Lord, that you gave your only son, Lord, so that when we are in the midst of our greatest grief, Lord, that You want to stand with us, Father. We're so thankful, but we just say the enemy who's a deceiver, the one who's a liar, the one who's an opposer, the one who comes to delay, the one who comes to lie to us, Lord. We just say, in Jesus' name be silent and get your hand of God's sons and God's daughter. Father, we're praying God, there's enough light for their darkness. Father, we're praying God, there's enough light to to shine for a a new season.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:44:51]:
Father, that a changing of the season, but a growing of our hearts as well. Father, we wanna learn, we wanna love, we wanna follow, but Father, we declare it over our brothers, over our sisters, over one another today. And Lord, we just commit ourselves afresh to you. Thank you, Lord. We declare you're good. We declare you're sufficient. Lord, we declare you're able whatever it is your people are going through that Lord, you're able today, and that you're leading us forward because of your good way, because of your good heart, Lord, and because of your good plans today. We declare it.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:45:36]:
We receive it. We believe it. In Jesus name, God's people say, amen. Amen. And I just seal that with praise. Hallelujah. Hey, you guys are and if you're here, we're gonna close in a song here in a second. But if, you know, if you're here and you know that your time that a lot of us were gonna fellowship afterwards, but if you need to to pray specifically about some things, you could see one of the prayer team or some of the staff, and we'd love to be able to pray with you.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:46:06]:
But don't let the storms stir your emotions, stir your evaluations. Instead, let God enter in that moment. That's what we wanna pray. We believe God for that. Right? Amen? Amen. Hey, God bless you guys. Thanks for joining us today.