Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:00:00]:
Hey. You know, yeah. I'm looking forward to, like, May has a a number

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:00:04]:
of things, you know, going on. It's like, I love Mother's Day, coming up next week. And, you know, when we do the, child dedication actually, I guess that's June. Every every once in a while, people will ask, hey. Do you guys do, baptism for the, babies and, you know, for infants? And, you know, one of the things I like to explain is that, you know, baptism is really, it's a decision that a person makes. Right? So baptism is based on the faith of the person getting baptized. But, you know, when we dedicate a child, what that's based on is the faith of the parents. Right? It's because the child cannot make that decision.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:00:41]:
But what are they saying? It's like, lord, I I want this child to experience your favor, your guidance, your your covering. And so as the faith of the parent, it says that we they often that they some of the kids, they ran up to Jesus, but it's like that Jesus some of the, disciples are trying to get them away, but the Lord said to them, hey. Let them come because the kingdom belongs to such as these. So some of us that, you know, like, if you have a child, you're, you know, like, whether and sometimes we have those. They're they're they're still just infants, newborns, and sometimes we have the the ones who are dedicated that, you know, that sometimes they're bigger than me. So, and I guess, you know, that it doesn't take a whole lot to get bigger than me. But, you know, that that they are they're a little older. So, it doesn't matter in the stage.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:01:29]:
And, so, yeah. This that's coming up as well. Hey, you know, we're continuing the series. Duran had mentioned, that we started at Easter called Against the Odds. And sometimes we we face things that, you know, that that are bigger than us, it seems like, or seems we're not sure how we get through them. But I love what the, the word of God promises. And the word of God promises not only that God is with you, but that the way that you'll get through it. And and we're gonna read that, together and, and from first Corinthians thirteen thirteen.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:02:04]:
And would you be kind enough to just stand with me? We're gonna read that together. And he says it like this. It says, ready? Let's read. Three things will last forever: faith, hope, and love. And the greatest of these is love. And you know what is God is saying? He's saying that, Hey. As no matter what season of life that you're in, no matter what you face, no matter, whether it seems like the odds are in your favor or the odds are against you, he says that these three things remain. They remain all throughout this life, and they remain with us when we go to the next life.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:02:42]:
Is that there is faith, hope, and love. And that we believe that God has a faith that can strengthen you, a hope that endures, and a love that can surround you. And so this evening, we're continuing on that faith, portion, tonight, the second of the of the messages. And so before you're seated, just would you speak to your friend or your folks who are around you? Just tell them, I'm so glad God has a faith to strengthen you. And then you can have a you can have a

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:03:13]:
seat. You

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:03:13]:
know, we talked about faith, last week as a confidence, a deep trust. And, and it's important to know what faith means. Right? To believe in fully believing and trusting in. But the question is, is that sometimes we can think about faith as almost like the levels. Right? And I've I've been in that kind of a place where, and there is I I do believe there are levels of faith because when you start in, the journey, you know, you have you look at the the tiniest faith, but this is what it says, that it doesn't matter how tiny the faith, but it's what we use, what we do with that faith. And so wherever you're at, you you have a faith of some kind. He says act on it, move in it. Right? But the question becomes more important sometimes than the level of your faith, the amount of your faith, is what do you have faith in.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:04:10]:
Right? It is the object of your faith that matters the most. Right? Are we trusting at times in our abilities to fix everything? That's my faith. My faith is or that sometimes the faith is the faith in faith. Like, things will work out. Why? And he goes, well, because they just do. Right? It's like there's no reason. There's no rationale reason, there's no rationale behind that, but we're just saying, hey, just I just noticed things tend to work themselves out in life. And and in those kinds of things, it's that's not a faith in God.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:04:41]:
Now anybody ever get an email recently about a a Nigerian prince that wants to send you money or I don't know if anybody's got that or, more recently, I've gotten a call from Samantha from the tax relief department regarding my IRS problem. I don't know what you're saying. They wanna they wanna help me solve my problem. I get these phone calls now. I go, I don't think I I think I date all my taxes. Right? But, reminds me that we need to know who it is we put our faith in. It reminds me of a story about an old rich man, and he had three sons and, that they die and they all arrive at the pearly gate. And when they get to the gate, Peter is there and he says, you know, we've been expecting you, but we didn't expect your sons.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:05:26]:
Why what are what are they here? He says, you know, the old man replies and said, well, you know, it's all my fault because when I was dying, he said, I had a test for them. I I wanted to to see who I could trust to run my, you know, business, the family business and take it all over. So I gave everybody a hundred dollars and they said, I want you to to do the best that you can and fill this room with something for a hundred dollars. Right? Because you gotta be a good businessman to be able to do this. And so whoever accomplishes that will will get everything. And so Peter asked, so what happened? And he said, well, the the oldest son kinda chimes in. He says, well, I I took the money and I got a a all many boxes of cotton as I could, and it filled the room. And so I thought, well, you know, I did the best job I could.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:06:14]:
And so, well, that doesn't explain why you're all here. And so the second son says this. He said, well, I I bought a a gas cylinder, but I and as soon as I opened the valve and the stinky smell of the gas started to fill the room, I thought I won. And Peter still he's curious. He says, that sounds a little strange, but but why are you all here? And then the youngest son said this, because because I brought a lit candle thinking it'll easily light the room. We fill it with light. Right? And so, you know, the thing is that when you, obviously, none of those us could be trusted, but the thing is that we want to be able to understand that the most important thing about your faith isn't always the level of your faith, it's the object of your faith that matters the most. You know, the the the scriptures talk about God as as powerful, obviously.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:07:07]:
Right? That it's by his word that he spoke the universe into being, that whatever that you can feel, whatever that you can touch, whatever you can see, whatever you can, hear, right, whatever you can smell, these things have come into existence because God just said, He spoke the word. Who else can can do that? Right? It that he's the most enduring, that he he doesn't get old, he doesn't get younger, he doesn't get stronger, he doesn't get why? Because he's he's the same. He's enduring. He's good. He's wise. Right? He's he's present. He's pure. All of these things.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:07:45]:
Right? And so faith is the conduit by which we experience and we connect with God, but it's also the way that we embrace His promises as well. So faith is an important thing, but faith in what is the most important thing? Do you have a faith that's in God? Not just yourself, not just the people around you, not just your skills, or the circumstances around you, because all of those things at times are out of our control. But when we have our faith in God, that opens up the doors of possibility. Because nothing is impossible, it says, with God. Right? Nothing is impossible with God. And so, this this evening, you know, as we're moving forward, I do wanna take a look at at a passage of scripture where there's a couple people that are, a part of it, and and there are two ways I think that there's more than two ways, but there's a few ways that it's important to remember, how faith can be expressed. Faith in God can be expressed. And the first person we're gonna take a look at is a man named Jairus.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:08:57]:
And Jairus was a leader of the synagogue. As a leader of the synagogue, he would have been an upright man. He would have been at at least 30 years old. It's obvious in this this that he has a a child, a 12 year old daughter, the the apple of his eyes. And, he comes to Jesus with a problem. And And it says it like this in Luke eight forty one. He says that, then a man named Jairus, a leader of the local synagogue came and fell fell at Jesus's feet, pleading with him to come home with him. His only daughter was on was about 12 years old, was dying.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:09:35]:
And as Jesus went with him, he was surrounded by the crowds. And so we see this situation, especially when we they're in a time when there is no health care, so to speak. Right? They're not not like modern health care. Right? That, no diagnosis. It doesn't tell us what the the the ailment was, but it was obvious that she was, on her last legs. And so in desperation and in faith, he comes and he comes to Jesus. And he says, if you come, Lord, come because my daughter's ill. Come because even though she's dying, I know.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:10:14]:
He's he's saying, I trust that you have some ability that's way beyond us. Unfortunately, in the story, the the very next verse is that he gets interrupted in the journey. Right? And because a woman comes up to him, and and she has a a problem that she's been struggling with. Now her her struggle is is twelve as well. It's twelve years she's been struggling with this problem, and that she's and so on top of that was the the religious aspect that that said in the religious aspect that that said in those days that when you had that kind of a bleeding problem, that you were spiritually unclean or ceremonially unclean. So what that meant was you couldn't go to the temple. What that meant was that you couldn't go to the synagogue. What that meant was that if anybody touched you while you were in this state, that they themselves became unclean, and so they couldn't go and worship, and they couldn't go do all those things.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:11:15]:
So you tended to become more isolated. Right? You tended to be more alone. And so she would have also been looked down upon. You've been stuck in this cycle for twelve years. You know, what did you do? I don't know if you've ever been in that place where it's not that you're only down, but you kinda get blamed for being down. Right? And and sometimes it's not any fault of hers. Right? Sometimes we if you're struggling with with depression, sometimes we we we don't just struggle with depression, but we struggle with, well, why are we depressed? And you can almost feel like it's it's my fault. And sometimes it's not anything that you've done.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:11:58]:
But this is what this lady is going through. And so she was broke, sick, tired, isolated, but she also had faith. Do me a favor, just turn to your neighbor, we can still have faith. Right? Why do we say that? Because she was saying to herself, and to be honest, all you gotta do is keep reading from that. This is from verse 43 and be and below. It's just the next verses. I just didn't print them. She was saying this, if I just touch Jesus, if I just touch Jesus, I know He can heal me.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:12:35]:
In fact, I don't even need to touch Jesus. All I gotta do is touch the thing that's touching Jesus, and and I'm sure He can heal me. Even if I just touch His robe, even if I just touch the the edge of His clothing, God can heal me. So she she does what no one would expect. She kinda muscles her way in into the crowd. She's in she's touching everybody, and I hope nobody sees me. I hope nobody recognizes me because, you know, they'll be upset, right, that I'm not supposed to be in the crowd. But somehow, her need, sometime her her faith, sometime somehow her her desire for for healing pushed her past all of these barriers.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:13:19]:
And she said, I just need to press into Jesus. There's times you and I, we just need to press into Jesus. And you know, sometimes it's your past telling you something. Sometimes it's people have said something in the past. Sometimes it's your own doubt about yourself, or your own faith. But you should just press in to Jesus. And when she gets to that place, and she extends her hand and touches her cloak, I don't know if it's if if if she felt like a jolt. Sometimes people say that I just felt a warmth.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:13:52]:
Sometimes I just felt sometimes people have said to me, I just it's like I felt electricity, right, go through my body. I people have told me it's like I just felt a burning sensation. And in the midst of that, that Jesus says, I felt the power of God go through me into this woman. And so in the middle of this thing, Jesus turns to her and says this in eight forty seven-forty eight. He says, Daughter, He said to her, your faith, let's say your faith, has made you well. Go in peace. You see, her faith married her well. Was it because the massive level of her faith? To be honest, I think part of her faith was desperation.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:14:39]:
But it also was knowing that God was good, knowing that Jesus was was kind, knowing and hearing that he had been healing people and delivering people and and and doing miracles, but her faith was in God. Right? And and it says because her faith was in the right object, she had faith in Jesus, despite her obstacles, despite those things, God was able to move. And you probably have obstacles in your life. Life. You probably have things that you struggle with. And it's not saying you gotta clean up your life, right, before we come. It's not saying make your life perfect so so that God can move. It's saying we're regardless of where we are, when we put our faith in God and we're connected to him, that anything is possible.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:15:30]:
And and this is an amazing thing. So she's healed after twelve years. Instantly instantly she felt it. You know, like we sang tonight, that song, Just One Word, the song goes, I can't remember the name, Just One Word, and You revive something within me, right? Just one touch, and You revive every dream. You know, I just remember being in worship when I had been diagnosed with cancer. And just singing that song, something stirred that faith and saying, God, it's always the same way. Just, and in that song, I just felt a touch from God. Just sitting right over here, standing over here, just worshiping.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:16:22]:
And to be honest, I didn't know anything happened until almost two years later, when you get this biopsy, and they said you can't find anything, right? But I felt it. I sensed the power of God. I sensed His presence. And And I said, God, I just I'm trusting in you. And so, you know, the thing is that it's who we trusted. It's Jesus. And the amazing thing is that this drama is unfolding, but remember Jairus? Jairus is in a hurry. Jairus is not like, oh, yeah.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:17:02]:
Yeah. Yeah. No. No. No. Go finish your conversation. Right? He's like, my daughter is like right? She's dying. And then it says this worst case scenario, absolute worst case scenario.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:17:15]:
It says, A messenger arrived from the home of Jairus, just as all this is going on, the leader of the synagogue, and he told him, Your daughter's dead. There's no use troubling the teacher right now. But when Jesus heard what had happened, He said to Jairus, Don't be afraid. Just have faith. Just have faith. Is he saying just buck up your faith level? He says, no. What he's saying, just have faith? He's saying, you know what? Just trust me. Just trust me.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:17:50]:
She'll be healed. Sometimes you need to keep trusting Jesus when there is no real reason on the surface to trust Him. It's when somebody has told you it's too late already. When the doctor tells you there's nothing that we can do. When the electric company says, Well, we can't turn the power on till you pay the complete bill. And being able to play the complete bill is months away for you you to save to that. Right? It's in those moments, He says, Keep trusting God. Right? In those moments, He's saying, I'll take care of you.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:18:29]:
In those moments, He says, Nothing is impossible with God. You know why? Because Jesus was already with Jairus. Right? Jesus was already with Jairus. And so we gotta keep listening to what Jesus says when the world tells you at times, it's too late. When the doctors tell you it's too late. When the financial people tell you it's too late, right? When relationship looks dead, keep trusting in Jesus. And you know what? Just listen to what He says. She chose, and he chose to trust what Jesus said more than what the doctor said, more than what the servant said, right? That your daughter has died.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:19:18]:
And so when in that moment, it's not enough to just have having heard the promise of God, at times you gotta possess the promise of God. You see, there's a difference between ownership and possession. Right? You know, the thing is that once we become a follower of Jesus, he says this, in in Ephesians one three, he says, He's blessed you. Let's say, blessed you. With every spiritual blessing in heavenly places. So you have been blessed from the moment that you say yes to Jesus. You're not just like, Okay, I guess maybe I can go to heaven when I die? Or, but I don't know, like I can't ask for, you know, the change in my circumstances because, you know, I kind of made all my mistakes. Sometimes we can think like that, right? Like I made my bed and I gotta just kind of live it.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:20:18]:
And would you know that God says that, No. I've blessed you with all the blessings. You don't get some, you get all. Turn to your neighbor and say, You get all the blessings. All the promises. He says, It's available. Because if it was what you earned, then that's not a gift. Right? If it's what you earn, that's what you do you.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:20:39]:
That's your payment. But he says, we don't deserve anything. But we receive all of the grace, and all of the mercy, and all of the kindness. Right? And so we have to understand, God is not holding out on us. He's saying, you're blessed, but that's not enough. You have to possess those promises and those blessings. And you don't just, at times, do it, get it, receive it just by saying it, right, or hearing about it. That's an important part, hearing about it, Because you cannot hold on to something that you don't know is available to you.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:21:20]:
But then you have to act on it. You have to act on it. What did the woman do? She went through the crowd. She pressed in. What does Jairus do? Jairus could have just walked away, says like, I don't know what you're talking about Jesus. She's dead already. It's too late. But you know what? He let Jesus come with him to his home.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:21:47]:
And when they went to his house, it was not a pretty sight. There was morning, it was like she had died. And when Jesus said, you know, she's only asleep, but I must wake her, they laughed. They literally they're so shocked that he said that. They laughed at him. You know, there is no more powerful kind of anti faith kind of a thing that can be done sometimes than to be mocked. I don't know if you've ever been in that place. Like, I've worked with college students for many years, and you can be like, they want to stand for God and then all of a sudden the professor in front of everybody, Oh, you know, mister mister Smith, like, you happen to be the Christian in the group, and it's like, woah, why don't you tell us? Right? You know, that kind of a thing, and put on the spot and being humiliated.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:22:48]:
There's no argument. But it's so easy to fall in the back. You know, they kind of fall into your seat in those moments. In those moments, Jairus still brought Jesus. And what happens is his daughter is raised. She is raised from the dead. And Jesus only takes in, in that moment, it's only Jesus and the parents, and Peter, James, and John. Not even all the disciples.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:23:23]:
Nobody else. Why? Because I I believe that God wanted there to be an atmosphere of trust and belief. And so, yes, that atmosphere and that kind of environment of faith can be very important, but it's the object that who you trust. That you've been given authority over the enemy. You've been given the promise of provision. You've been given the promise of guidance. You've been given the fact that He's never the promise that you're never gonna be alone. That He's with you always till the end of the age.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:24:02]:
All the promises of God belong to you. This is your inheritance from the moment you trust Christ. But sometimes we have to fight for it, right? Because if Jairus sent Jesus away, what would be the problem? The problem is, it wasn't that the promise wasn't applying to him anymore. He just didn't hold on to it. And sometimes we just have to fight for it. Sometimes we need to hold on to it. You gotta go past your fears. You gotta go past your discouragement.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:24:36]:
Hold on to what Jesus says more than what the world said. Dare to ask God for what only He can give you and then take a step towards it. Right? So his his daughter gets raised back to life. I've seen marriages that have died years, divorced, separated, come back to life, resurrected, having the privilege to to do a few weddings like that, opportunities for for businesses, that, to be honest, that seem dead in the water come back to life. I I've I've seen people on the brink of death, literally where the doctors have said, There's nothing I can do. And God do an amazing thing, and when the move of God happened, everybody felt it. I've seen those things, right? But is it always where I've been healed myself, right? Not just once, to be honest, more than one occasion. But God can always do the miraculous.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:25:42]:
But here's the tension. He doesn't always. He doesn't always do the miraculous in the sense of changing it the way that I want. Right? Now, God is always doing something miraculous. But sometimes He's not changing the circumstance. Sometimes He's changing us in the middle of the circumstance. And we have to understand that if it's not always just a miracle, but you never know when, and you never know what, right? Because, but sometimes He's always working, but we just have to be willing at times to say that sometimes the change is to get through the circumstance. Sometimes a miracle is that He sustains you through the process.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:26:31]:
Right? Anybody here hate the dentist? Right? Not that you hate all dentists, but you probably you hate going to the dentist, Right? Like, I have friends, good friends that they're they're dentists, but I'm not super thrilled to see my friends in that circumstance. But, you know, the other week, couple weeks ago, I had my teeth cleaned. And after I don't know. It was weird. My teeth were sensitive, you know. And then over time, it it got more than sensitive. It got painful. Right? It just got worse over the weekend.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:27:03]:
So this week, it was it was bad. And, you know, it and and to be honest, it reminded me of something where I've had a cracked tooth in the past. And it's like I don't know if you guys know what the throbbing and it's like weird. It's like a tooth pain is not it is unlike any other pain. Right? I I I've had broken bones. I've had torn ligaments. I've had, you know, all my bumps and bruises, sprains, all that. But, man, I don't know.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:27:30]:
Sometimes dental pain is a whole different thing. And so I was waking up in the middle of the night, you know, and all that, and and and I remember just praying. I remember saying, Lord, would you would you heal me? I know that, you know, you you healed my shoulder with the torn, labrum. You healed the the cancer in my prostate. Lord, thank you that I know you can, but I had a sense that God was saying, you just gotta go through this one. You just gotta go through this one. And not like a ton of explanation, just that's that's what's gonna happen. And so we had prayer on Wednesday night, and, I didn't even ask necessarily to be supernaturally healed because I knew that God wanted me to to kinda just walk through this thing.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:28:21]:
And, to be honest, it was so bad. Right? I'm waking in the middle of the night, and when I go, I gotta get an appointment. I get and, they say, yeah. You know what? Your tooth is cracked. And so let's just send you to go get an exam. Go see the specialist guy, and he could tell you whether we can save your tooth or whatever it is. And so I go see the guy, and he says, well, yeah, you need the root canal and, you know, the whole thing. And I don't know if anybody's got a root canal before, but it's like, that's a whole lot of fun that you never planned for that day.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:28:56]:
Right? Speaking sarcastically. But, you know, that day, I I I went in Thursday, and I I got it done right at the moment. And he and he's one of those guys that, the specialist guy is telling you, like, hey. You know, we're gonna numb you, but if you feel anything, let me know. Don't be a tough guy. Right? And, and I think you know why they do that? Because they know that even if you get through it, then you never wanna go back again. Right? Like, so they want you to kinda do this thing. And so as he's drilling, I can totally feel it still, but I still didn't wanna say anything.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:29:35]:
And then I just but I prayed, you know, Lord, thank you that you're with me even even now. Thank you that you're with me even now. And, and then I he he drilled again and it got worse. So I let him know. I screamed. No, I was kidding. No, he didn't scream. But like, I let him know that, you know, it's still it's still bad, and he he he gave me more stuff.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:30:01]:
And but the thing is then, you know, after that though, like I was hating life sitting in that chair. But then when I had the peace, then it didn't matter. And then it didn't matter. And it's like we just got it done, Right? And I know it's a little thing, a a a a a a root canal is a a little thing compared to going through a divorce. It's a little thing compared to, you know, losing your job when your whole family is dependent on you. It's just a little thing compared to when, you know, maybe you've lost a loved one, right? It's a little thing, but sometimes it's the little thing that you go through that even when you stick holding on to God, that something's changing. It's just not changing the way that you'd like but it's something that's changing on the inside, right? That God is changing things and sometimes He is changing us. But you got to hold on to Jesus.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:31:12]:
And you know, he he gives this kind of both sides. The Bible talks about both sides, the miraculous miracles, the healings, the provision, all of these things. And then it says, sometimes you gotta have perseverance. It says it like this in Romans five verses three to four. Let's read what it says together. Ready? Let's read. We can rejoice too when we run into problems and trials. For we know that they help us develop endurance, and endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:31:57]:
And so, at times when we go through these things, and you're praying that for God, would you just would you meet me in my point of need? God, there's I I need like your help in this thing. Sometimes, you'll feel that pressure, but would you know that pressure builds strength, not just pain. Pressure builds strength, not just pain, when your faith is still in God. That pressure that you feel, it's doing something. It's the trials are like the gym of your faith that that you feel that pressure, and there's a little bit of pain, there's a little bit of discomfort, but it's building something. Right? The the problems and the troubles that we go through, that they add stress to our life for sure. Right? And and actually, though that stress though, the byproduct of that is it grows your endurance, it grows your character. Because how many of us know that sometimes it doesn't matter what you said, what you promised, but you have to go through something before you can fulfill that promise.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:33:09]:
You know, Peter said, Lord, I'd never deny you. But you know what? He did. He did. And he went through that part because it sometimes we make a promise we cannot keep in our own power. And he said, Lord, everybody denies you. I will never deny you. But he did. But when God takes us through moments like this, what He is trying to do is develop your endurance, develop your character, right? Develop so why is that? So He can give more into your hands without it destroying you.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:33:54]:
How many of us have asked for something, you know, but if God gave it to you, right, how many of you have asked for a financial provision above and beyond what you really need? Like, right? Lord, if I win the lottery, right? Lord, if I right? Like a Publishers Clearing House. Whatever it is that we you know, Lord, all I need is just one jackpot in your Vegas trip. Right? Like, we say that. Right? But to be honest, sometimes, why doesn't God always give us things like that? It's because then I don't ever need to trust you anymore. Right? Then I'll take care of it. Then I'll do that. But sometimes God says, You go through it because it builds character. It strengthens us.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:34:50]:
And when you have character, and we've talked about it like this, it's what holds something. It's like the the prongs of your rings, lady. When you have a a diamond or some special jewel, that those prongs are like your character. They hold something precious. If you don't have that prong, you can have something that's invaluable, it's been with you from generations, but you can't hold on to it. What holds it? Is your character holds it. Character allows us to hold on to those things so that we don't blow out our lives, so that we don't do this in the future. But we all need to develop that.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:35:34]:
And your greatest problems are often God's greatest canvases in which He paints in our lives the good things that He is trying to do. But it starts sometimes in chaos. It starts sometimes in difficulty. It starts sometimes in our lack. But then we experience His grace and His goodness and His kindness and His power that sustains us through it. But you just gotta keep trusting. Keep working at it. Keep seeking Him.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:36:04]:
Keep working at your situation while you're holding on to Jesus. So don't bail, stay in the process. Right? Don't bail, stay in the process. Because sometimes we want a quick fix. Anybody want a quick fix? Yeah. I wanted a quick fix, right? I just wanted my stuff to go, pain go away. But God is more interested in growth at times than comfort. Faith produces endurance.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:36:32]:
So don't tap before you get to the end. Galatians six:nine says, Let's not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time, we'll reap a harvest if we don't give up. In his book, there's a psychologist Larry Crabb, also Christian, a Christian, thinker as well. He he writes about a story from his childhood and where he had to go through some difficulty. He remembers this as a kid being three years old and and wanting to be grown up like everybody else in his family. He was the youngest kid. And he couldn't even use the bathroom by himself, at that age, but he said, I'm gonna do it this day. And so he he got into the bathroom, and he went inside, and he locked the door, and he used the bathroom.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:37:20]:
He was all proud of himself. But then when he tried to get out, he didn't have the strength to unlock the door. And so he kept trying and trying, and he couldn't do it. And then next thing he's, like, crying and screaming and pounding on the door, and and mom and everybody, like, started running around in the house coming up, and they're trying to open the door from the outside, but they couldn't. Right? And he was thinking, like, everybody's hearing. Right? Everybody, like, probably the neighbors are hearing his these screams. And mom's shouting, are you okay? Hold on. Wait.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:37:54]:
We'll we'll get something. What he didn't know was that his dad didn't come upstairs, so he didn't hear his dad's voice. He heard his mom. He heard he heard his siblings, but but nobody could open the door because dad quickly ran. Instead of running upstairs, he went to the garage, and he picked up a ladder from the inside the garage. And he took the ladder out, and he leaned it up against the wall, and up went up the second story and climbed in the window where his son was screaming. And he couldn't see anything, but then all of a sudden his dad was there and he reached over and unlocked the door. Because he had the strength to do something beyond what he was able to do.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:38:47]:
And you know, for he says that in his earliest growing up, he thought that's how God always works, that faith is always for the miracle, that beyond what you can do. But then he said this, sometimes he does, but now, when I'm no longer three years old, I'm realizing that the Christian life doesn't always work this way. And I wonder, are any of us content with God? Do we even like him when he doesn't open the door we most want opened? When a marriage doesn't heal? When rebellious kids still rebel? When friends betray? When financial reversals threaten our comfortable way of life, when the prospect of terrorism looms, or when health worsens despite much prayer, or when loneliness intensifies and depressions deepen, and when dreams die. But God has climbed through the small window into my darkroom, and He doesn't walk by me to turn the lock that I couldn't budge. Instead, He sits down on the bathroom floor and says, Come, Sit with me. And he seems to think that climbing into the room to be with me matters more than letting me out to play. I don't always see it that way. Get me out of here, I scream.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:40:09]:
If you love me, unlock the door. But he says this, dear friend, the choice is ours. Either we can keep asking him to give us what we think will make us happy, to escape our dark room and run to the playground of blessings, where we can accept his invitation to sit with him, for now perhaps, in darkness, and to seize the opportunity to know him better and represent Him in this difficult world. And sometimes when we can't even see Him, or feel Him in our emotions, or in our situation, if you're in that darkness, would you know God still sees you? And still calls you. And so James says it like this, he says, So dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind Let's just say any kind. Right? Well, you fill in the blanks. Sometimes you think that your troubles are so you know, if it was different, then God could help me. But God says this, of any kind come your way.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:41:13]:
Consider it an opportunity for great joy for when you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow. For when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing. It's just that sometimes, you gotta kinda focus on the bigger picture in the longer term. Sometimes you have to focus on that, not just the immediate situation, but what God is doing on a bigger basis. You know when Jesus was being crucified, it was nothing that you and I will ever approximate or go through, But it wasn't pleasant. But he had a long term goal, and he had a bigger picture that he was working on. Right? It says that when in Hebrews twelve two, he says, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:42:24]:
For the joy set before him, he endured the cross scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. God could endure the pain. Jesus could endure the pain and the difficulty and the shame and the embarrassment of it because He was doing something bigger for you and for me. And sometimes God is doing something bigger in your life for you than you can see at the moment. You know, a couple months ago, on our anniversary, Rica and I, we went to California for, our anniversary, and you guys might have heard, and got to visit my son and go see some nice cool things. But, where he lives, he my son lives in San Luis Obispo and right next to this town called Paso Robles, which is a a big wine kinda area. And I I had said to my wife, hey. Let's go check out this winery some winery there.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:43:25]:
There's, like, I don't know, not a hundred, but there's, like, a ton of them out there. And, my wife has no interest. She doesn't drink anything of any kind and but I said, yeah. You don't have to drink anything. It's just beautiful. Right? It's just a beautiful place. And when they have good food and this beautiful situation, you don't even need to drink wine to enjoy it. Right? And so, I made a reservation and we went out there.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:43:50]:
And it was. It was a beautiful drive from the hotel, and we kind of went in the country. And it wasn't a long drive, but it was really nice, beautiful countryside. And then you see these vineyards, and you see the vines growing, and there are different ages, in some of these wineries. Some you can tell are kind of more newer vines, and some look like they have been around for quite a while. But you know what I've come to learn is that planting a vineyard is a big deal and it's a long term process. In the first year when they plant a vineyard, they usually take shoots instead of like planting by seed, because those are the most strong, and they tend to give you the best return. And so they plant the shoots in the first year.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:44:43]:
And it will grow, and you know, generally just let them grow, right? At the end of the year, they just cut them back a little bit. They prune them. Second year, it passes. It cuts it back again. Third year, same thing. Now in the third year, there's actually viable grapes that are viable grapes that are starting to germinate. But serious winemakers will leave those clusters on the vine. They won't use those.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:45:16]:
For most, it's not until year four that they bring in the first harvest. And for those growing grapes and making wine, they'll bottle the harvest, right? They'll process the grape, but they don't taste it for at least another two to four years because it has to age. It has to get to this place where it ferments and does all these things, and its flavor blossoms and kind of rounds out. So it's seven or eight years before you start when you start a vineyard, before you even taste the first thing. And they say that most vineyards in places like Paso Robles or Napa or whatever, they don't even reach a break even point until year fifteen to eighteen and beyond. So you kind of have to understand this. It's a long term process. But how does that apply to us? But sometimes, when we look at our own lives, we are thinking, like, why am I, like, further along? Right? Why aren't I why am I still struggling with this situation? Why aren't I more fruitful? Why is the fact that sometimes I go through seasons, it feels like God's cutting me back? Why does it have to be so frustrating and so difficult? Why is it taking so long? Because God's not just looking about today.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:46:49]:
He sees who you're becoming and who He's making you to be, not just next week or next year, but He sees what He wants to do in you and through you. But it it takes a longer time. And it's not just darkness for eighteen years. That's not what we're saying. It's just that you have to develop. You have to grow. You have to stay plugged in, stay connected to Jesus, right? Because it's in those moments you get stronger. And it's in those moments that you'll be fruitful, and there'll be things that'll be happening.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:47:33]:
And sometimes it doesn't take that long. But in order for him to get the fullness in your life, your roots gotta get deeper. You gotta mature. Because faith isn't a magic escape hatch. It's a muscle, and it grows. And it can give you peace, and it can give you comfort. And it can give you at times the ability to go through chaos or pain. But faith isn't circumstantial.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:48:06]:
Right? It's not, Lord, I just need a I just need a quick fix. I just need to escape this pain. It's not intellectual ascent. Right? It's not just thinking about it in your head and being able to say it. I believe God is good. I believe but it's an 18 inch transmission when it goes from your head to your heart. It entails us admitting that we need Him. Right? Because sometimes you see below the surface of your life the kind of the bankruptcy at times within our life.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:48:45]:
Overwhelmed sense of what we're facing. Knowing that we're putting our faith in the right object, not just faith for faith's sake. And ultimately, it's a decision. Faith is a decision ultimately. It's a commitment. So stay rooted. Because faith is like a muscle, that the more it's exercised, the stronger it gets. Right? The more you use it, the more you can do.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:49:18]:
Because God's developing in you a faith that doesn't just endure, but that wants to thrive. So just don't cut short the process. Don't cut short the process. Would you know God is working in you, and He is far from done because He sees a picture of you that is way beyond what you could ask or think. Amen? Let's bow our heads. We'll close in a word of prayer. Father, we're so grateful that you have a vision of us, a vision of our lives, a vision of what can be impacting the world and the kind of life that we live. And Lord, it's more than just about having a miracle fix every problem.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:50:12]:
I thank You that the miracle does work, Lord. But we need to have a faith that doesn't quit. Lord, we need to be a people who don't quit when things are challenging and when things go against what we had hoped. Lord, sometimes it's in those moments that it seems like things have gone in reverse. But Lord, I thank You that You have not changed. You are still good. You are still kind. And even when we can't see You, and sometimes even when we are angry sitting in the dark, sometimes even when You don't open that door, I thank You that You are still calling us to be with You.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:50:53]:
And sometimes, Lord, it is in those moments that we are developing endurance, and that we are developing character, and we are developing strength. Lord, that change happens in a level that allows You to do above and beyond what we could ask or think in the future. I'm thankful, Lord. And while we are seated here this evening, maybe with our heads bowed and our eyes closed, maybe there is an area that you have been asking God to do something, and some of us you haven't even asked. I feel like there is somebody here that you haven't even dared to ask, because you don't want to be disappointed. But would you just ask? Ask God to work in that area of your life. Just ask Him. Just be like the woman.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:51:47]:
Say it doesn't matter what anybody said. It doesn't matter that what you've done. Just ask Him. He's pleased that you ask, that you're trusting Him. But if there's some moments that, God, it seems so long and you're tired, would you say, God, I'm asking that You would still turn that unlock that thing. I'm still asking God that You would move it forward. But if You're calling me to stay with You in this season, I'm willing to stay. I'm willing to hold on.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:52:34]:
I am not going to bail halfway, because I am going to stay faithful to You. Father, I thank You that there is a value in not quitting. And not just going by what the world says, not just going by what my eyes see. I'm not just going by what is comfortable. I'm trusting in You, the living God, my Savior, my Shepherd, my Healer, my Provider. And I thank you the promises of God towards me are yes and amen. And Lord, would you give the strength to go through those times? Would you give the power to sustain Your people and cause them to thrive? Hey, with our heads bowed and our eyes closed, if you're here, and maybe you've just never really said yes to Jesus yet, But you know that that's how you connect to Him, by just trusting Him. Connect to Him by faith.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:53:41]:
He says this, He says, Because it's by faith, by trusting, by committing, by fully embracing Him, that you have confidence, and that the grace of God works in concert with that trust to save you, to redeem you. And it's not a result of what you've done, like you did something good, or you've got to earn some favor. It says no. It's the gift of God. You can't pay it back, and you can't earn it, but you can receive it. If you've never received it, then maybe today is the day. I just want to give you an opportunity to receive that. If that's you, would you just raise your hand to God and say, God, that's what I need today.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:54:32]:
I just need that grace. I need that mercy. God, I want You, and I'm trusting You. Maybe for some of us, it's a renewal of your faith, a recommitment of your faith, that you need to do that. We're going to just pray a real simple prayer. And would you join me? Lord Jesus, thank You for really knowing me, and for loving me, and extending Your hand towards me. I want to grab a hold of Your hand and trust You. Would You come live inside me today? Would You forgive me of my sin? And would You bring me forward to the place You want me to be? Help me to know You.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:55:37]:
Help me to hear You that I might know You more and become who You want me to be. Lead me today. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. Hey. Can we say congratulations to the folks? Hey. God bless you guys. Thanks for joining us today.