Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:00:01]:
Jesus said that no greater love has anyone than this than a man would lay down his life for his friends. And I I don't know about you. I I don't know, like, a ton of people who have lost loved ones, in the pursuit of defending our nation. But I I vividly remember, a few years ago, it's actually a little more than a few now, but we were at the middle school at that time. And there was a a brother that was there. He was a big guy, you know, like you could tell, like a big military guy, and and he just asked if we could pray. And and and I said, sure, sure. And, and it was on a memorial day.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:00:44]:
And I remember him saying, would you be would you pray with me? Because, you know, I he's a veteran. He's he was active duty still, but that he had lost his son, in the war. And, you know, it shocked me, to be honest, that, you know, his son, 18 years old, went into the service, and I think it was in Iraq that he he he laid down his life in the defense of freedom. And this father was broken, proud. He was grateful to serve, and he was missing his son. And he was all of those things. But, you know, like the old saying goes that, freedom isn't free. And so this evening, before we go any further, can we just pray for, those who have laid down a son, they've laid down a daughter, they've laid down a husband or a wife or and, or father or mother at the altar of, freedom for our nation.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:02:05]:
And can we pray for our nation as well? Father, we know, there's no more costly sacrifice, you said, than a man would lay down his life. And father, that, we know that so often it's just easy for us to take it for granted, but it is, Lord. It is sons and daughters, and husbands and wives, and fathers and mothers that that often go to in defense of our nation. And father, we we don't want to take it for granted. That, lord, we live in the freest nation on the face of the planet, not simply because we do things right, Lord. We we often don't, but it's because we have men and women who have been willing to pay the price. So we pray, Lord, would you cover those families and remind them that they'll see their loved ones, again. But father, we just thank you that the nation that we live in, is blessed.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:03:05]:
It's blessed by you, but it comes at a high price at times. And so we thank you for those who have laid down their lives. We're thankful for the Lord, help us to live to the best of our ideals as a nation. Father, for freedom, lord, to honor you, father that that the name of Jesus would go out throughout the world. Lord, we ask that would you bless us as a country, as a nation, bless those who have served as well. We pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:03:39]:
Hey. Thanks, guys. You know, at Easter, we began a new series was, just against the odds and how Jesus beat the odds. Right? He beat he beat all the odds when he rose from the grave, and people were amazed and and, and shocked as well as relieved. But father, the father's power and the father's plan to raise Christ from the dead. And this, throughout the series, we've been talking about that there are three things he said that remain, faith, hope, and love. And that, in this aspect, that when we move through life, there's things that change. How many of you guys' life has been changing recently? Right? Anybody? Yeah.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:04:17]:
I I know there's a bunch of people whose lives changed recently. Some Right? Anybody? Yeah. I know there's a bunch of people whose lives changed recently. Some of us, we have a graduate in the family, today. Right? Or tomorrow, we'll have a graduate in the family. There's some of us that, I was talking to a friend and and, and she was saying that when her daughter asked her, mom, can you, sign my release form? She says, oh, I don't need to sign the release anymore. She goes, why? Well, you don't care? Oh, no. You're an adult now.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:04:47]:
Right? And there's a change. Right? And things change. Kids grow up. Kids become adults, and it's an amazing thing. But the things that remain, he said, are faith, hope, and love. And we're at this place. We talk about something, I I think, that we all have heard about. Like, you cannot be even you don't even have to be a churchgoing person without hearing about the love of God.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:05:11]:
And when we hear about the love of God, I think it it is the hard part is it's so common to hear about the love of God that sometimes it becomes a cliche. Sometimes it loses its meaning, and sometimes it loses its power. And this evening, we what we wanna talk about when we talk about the love of God is that the love of God is a love that encompasses you. It's the love that includes you. It's a love that surrounds you. It's a love that wants to move in you but also wants to move through you. And this evening you know, I don't I don't know where you're at this this evening. I mean, it's like that we're in this, kind of I I feel like it's just coming up summer.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:05:54]:
Right? Just about summer's right around the corner. People getting ready for summer plans. Kids going to school, some of them, some of people, you know, getting ready to travel, some people traveling already. We're seeing all kinds of things. I just feel like this this the cusp of change, but I'm so glad that what never changes is God's love for us. And so this evening, before we go any further, can you would you be kind enough to stand? And, we're gonna read together. Acts seventeen twenty eight and first John four eight. Speaking about the fact let's read first John four eight first.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:06:34]:
Speaking about the love of God. How how has it happened? It's because of who God is. Let's read what it says. Ready? Begin. God is love. Right? Now, let's just say that one more time like we really believe it. Ready? God is love. Right? Now when we say it like that, firstly, God is love.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:06:54]:
It sounds a little better when we say it like we had a little bit of energy in it. Why? Because that's the nature of who God is. Is there more to God than love? Absolutely. But fundamentally, if we want to know what love is like, we have to look at God. And that when we look at God, we'll know his love. And the other part about it is that sometimes when life changes and you go through different seasons and you're all in different kind of situations, predictable. This this is what the scripture says, that he's here right now. He's in the midst.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:07:31]:
He's in the midst when you're in control. He's in the midst when you feel out of control. He's in the midst when you're you're it's it's a high season, and it's like you're on the peak of the mountain, and he's with you when you feel like you're in the valley. That's what he says. And and how do we know that? Because it says it like this in Acts seventeen twenty eight. Let's read what it says. Ready? Let's read. For in him we live and move and have our being.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:07:59]:
In other words, there is no place you can go that God is not there. There is no place you can hide from him. There is no place that he doesn't see, that he doesn't know that he isn't with you. So before you're seated, would you turn to your neighbor and just tell them, aren't you glad that God who loves you is here with you? And then you can have a seat. And that phrase, God loves you, can be the most life changing, amazing statement in the world, but often, it feels a little tired. I'm gonna say, often, it it feels like it's lost a little bit of impact. And and sometimes, I think it's because, when I hear the response at times, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:08:46]:
That's nice. Right? You know, you guys ever hear that? Like, people say, yeah. God God loves you. And you go, oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I know.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:08:52]:
I know. And and it's it's sort of not received with a sense of wonder. It's not received with a sense of honor. It's it's more like, you know, hey, Monday's a day off. Oh, yeah. Yeah. I know. And but how can we have those reactions when the creator of all things, who spoke the universe into being? Not the big bang.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:09:19]:
Right? Not the big bang. The big bang didn't speak all things into being. It's the big banger that spoke it into right? And the one who is everywhere at all time, knowing all things, and is all powerful, and good, and merciful, and kind, how can it become at times How can it become at times, oh, yeah. That's nice. Because to be honest, sometimes we don't experience it. Sometimes we don't sense it. Sometimes we don't feel it. And and sometimes we take it for granted.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:09:53]:
But if you've never experienced it, to talk about the love of God, I understand that that, you know, if you've never experienced it, you go, oh, okay. That's nice. Because but you have no reference. Right? And some I've heard people say, you know, they they discount it because they say it's like this. It's like, oh, but, yeah, that's not a big deal because god being god, he has to love me. Right? Because he's god. You never hear that one? Like, god has to love me, and it somehow just the fact is that that because god has to love me, then it doesn't mean much. But the reality is God doesn't have to love you.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:10:31]:
You know, where does it say that God has to love you? The reality is God chooses to love you. God chooses to love me. He is love, and so it is not a hard choice, but it is who He is. God loves you, but He doesn't love everything about you. That's the truth, to be honest. Sometimes the truth about it is that God does love you, but He doesn't love everything about you. He doesn't love everything about me. How many of us are here with someone that we love? You're sitting next to me.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:11:06]:
Right? Now just take a look at your your partner, your spouse, spouse, you know, boyfriend or girlfriend, and and grab a hold of your hand, and just tell them, I love absolutely everything that you do. No. No. No. I made you liars if you said it. But the reality is that being in love or loving someone doesn't mean that we love everything about them. And and why is that? Because love is not an endorsement about everything that somebody does, right? So what it doesn't mean, it doesn't mean it's all good, right? When we say that God loves you, it doesn't mean it's all good, right? Because God is love. That, I'm okay.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:11:52]:
You're okay, God. It's good. It's all all cool. Right? Unfortunately, because we're not good. Unfortunately, because we're not always okay. And Jesus, when he says he loves us, he's not saying it's because, oh, yeah. Everything you do is right. To be honest, sometimes the lives that we live are quite fleshly lives, right, at times.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:12:15]:
Sometimes we get angry. Sometimes we get depressed. Sometimes we get jealous. Sometimes we get lustful. Sometimes we get envious. Sometimes we get irritable. That's selfish, divisive, and that's just the morning. No.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:12:25]:
But, you know, maybe you get indifferent at times, uncaring, envious, prideful, all kinds of things. Right? Unjust. But this is what God says. It's not he doesn't say, you know, the great promise of God is that he hates me in all that I do. The great promise of God is that he loves me at times despite what I've done, despite where I've been, despite how I've been. And so on the same hand, we do need to be mindful what it doesn't mean when we say that God loves you and that we we are these people at times that have lived fleshly lives. What we're not saying is there's nothing good in you. Right? We're not saying that.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:13:11]:
We're when we say that we all are sinful, we all have sinned, we're not saying it's you're just a miserable loser of a person, and, you know, if it wasn't for God, you know, you couldn't even, you know, get out of bed. We're not saying that. What we're saying is that you were created in God's image. And you and I, we haven't always lived up to the image that we've been created in. But there is value in you because you're made in his image. You know, in the scripture, the reason it says that murder is wrong, the reason why it says murder is wrong, I mean it's like we all know it's wrong, right? How many of us don't know if murder is wrong? Okay. Thank you. Otherwise, we would wanna escort you guys out and then you guys come like later on when you learn.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:14:01]:
No, but we understand that that murder is wrong. Instinctively, we know. But the scripture says, it's because that we destroy the image of God in destroying that person. That person, you destroyed something of infinite value. And so there is great value in you. So we're not saying that there's not value in you, right? But the truth is that God doesn't say, It's all good. He doesn't say, There's nothing good in me. He doesn't say, I'm okay.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:14:36]:
You're okay. The truth is, he says this. This is what God says. God says, I'm okay, and you're not always okay. Right? But the thing is that you're still loved. Despite your flaws, despite the fact that there's things that are out of your control, despite the fact that you and I stumble and fall at times, that we give in to our baser nature at times. It's despite those things, he says we're loved. Right? He doesn't love us if we do right.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:15:09]:
He wants us to do right, but he loves us regardless. He doesn't wait to love us till we turn our lives around. He loves us, and it helps us to turn our lives around. God loves you and wants the best for you, obviously. Obviously. Right? And so this is what it says that that although we are people who fundamentally are imperfect, right, fundamentally have a tendency how many of you guys know that the tendency that you have is it's easier to do wrong than right? Right? It's have is it's easier to do wrong than right? Right? It's easier to be, little bit less loving than to be always loving. Right? That we we're all, I think, have those things. But the the fact is that the truth is that you are more deeply flawed than you can imagine.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:16:05]:
Right? I I am more deeply flawed than I can imagine. There's nothing about my life that is perfect, and nothing about me that is perfect. I experienced the goodness of God, but I know everything that I do somehow. Somehow. Because I'm not a perfect person. But the other part of it is that I'm more loved, and you are more loved than you can imagine. See, the good news about the love of God is you're not loved because you earned it. You're loved because of who God is.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:16:44]:
He sees your value. He understands your weakness. And even in those things that are beyond your control, the good news is God's still in control. And he still can make a way for you. And so God loves you and wants the best for you. And so he says this, that because of our brokenness and our sinfulness, and the fact that we have this tendency, and we feel the pull in us at times. We all feel the pull. Right? It doesn't matter if you've been a Christian for five years or ten years or twenty years.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:17:20]:
It doesn't matter if you've experienced the power of the Holy Spirit. You know, all of us know, there is a pull in us at times to live out of our flesh instead of our spirit, right? And so we know that. But because of that, this is how God says that He wants the best for you. I I love what it says. Romans five verses six to eight, He says, you see, just at the right time let's say the right time. When we were still powerless you see, the right time wasn't when you felt powerful. The right time is when you were powerless. Because if you felt powerful, you said, God, I'll do it.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:17:59]:
I'll fix it. Christ died for who? The ungodly. God doesn't wait till you get things together. He doesn't wait till you, you know, shape up your life. He doesn't wait till you kick that habit. He doesn't wait till you get your words and your anger under control. He says this, at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely, he says, will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person, someone might possibly dare to die.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:18:29]:
But let's read verse eight together. Ready? Let's read. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. And so the love of God is sacrificial. The love of God is not about feelings. The love of God is about action. The love of God is about about wanting what is best for us.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:18:52]:
And even when people don't know or appreciate, God doesn't wait, and he doesn't say this. When you can appreciate what I do for you, like if I'm giving you a cup of coffee. Anybody, you know, I I noticed this that sometimes I say, hey. Let's get together for coffee. And that's usually just a phrase like, just get together. Right? You don't have to actually drink coffee. Right? But it's like, you drink what you wanna drink. Right? You can have a, soda.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:19:22]:
You can have a tea. You can have whatever the case. Right? But if I if I brewed to you the perfect cup of coffee, and you sipped it, and you went like This is horrible! I would know you're not a coffee drinker. Right? I would just know you're not a coffee drinker. But here's the thing is that there is a there'd probably be a part of me that's like, I just wasted a perfectly good cup of coffee on you because you don't appreciate it. Right? It's like when my kids were young, and they said, daddy, daddy, we wanna eat lobster. They go, oh, what? This is like it's super expensive on the menu. I don't I don't know about that.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:19:59]:
It's like, well, would you like a hamburger? Daddy, daddy, we want hamburger. Guess what you can get then. Right? Because we if you're not gonna you don't know the difference between hamburger and lobster, just let's just eat hamburg. Right? But this is what he doesn't say, that he's gonna wait till you know, and you can appreciate, and that you will validate all that he's done for you so that, you know, we just know that you know it was a sacrifice what I did for you. No, He didn't do it that way. He just says, I did it because you needed it. Even though you didn't understand it, even though you didn't appreciate it, even though you wouldn't have even wanted it, he says, I did it. Because there comes a time.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:20:48]:
There'll come a time, and many of us, most of us in this room, we understand the time, that if it wasn't for that, we would be absolutely lost. Our lives would be spinning out of control. And because of His sacrifice, He says this, that we changed. He doesn't love us to change us, but because He loves us, we want to change. Right? And and so we have to grow in God's love. Right? We have to grow in this process, but we gotta first respond. The beginning to change is getting to know God, but the turning point is when you trust him. The point is when you surrender to him.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:21:37]:
That when you get to that place, you know what happens? Then life begins to change much more quickly. And the power to live and the power to overcome sometimes these weaknesses and impulses and and and distractions that we have, he says, it starts to reside in you because the same spirit that raised Jesus from the dead comes and lives in you at that moment. And so this is what encouragement he says in second Corinthians six. He says it like this, As God's partner, we beg you to not beg you not to accept this marvelous gift of God's kindness, and then, what? Ignore it. Right? So he's saying this, like when you respond to it, don't respond to it and then ignore it. He says, For God says, at just the right time, I heard you. On the day of salvation, I helped you. Indeed, the right time is when? Now.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:22:35]:
Today is the day of salvation. And you know, every once in a while, I've I've said it where I I've said that, Hey, you know that God is the God of second chances, but He's the God of a hundred chances. Right? He's the God of, and you fill in the blank, chances. But the reality is, the reality is, there's one day when there's no more chances. Right? Because if you die before that time, that was your last chance. Right? So the encouragement he's saying is today is the day of salvation. If you're alive today, it's still not too late. Right? It's still not too late.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:23:21]:
Do me for it, just turn to your neighbor and say, It's still not too late. Let's say it like we mean it. Right? It's still not too late. It's still not too late to make a change. It's still not too late to get committed. It's still not too late to experience his love. But the thing is, that all of us, we have an outer life, the life that everybody sees, right? And then there's an inner life, where a lot of people don't see. And many of us, we have strategies to cope with life, and and sometimes we we put on a a happy face, and sometimes we're not happy.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:23:56]:
Right? Sometimes we just go through things, but there's there's things. And I I don't mean it to be negative, but we this is the problem with the fact that sometimes we do that, is that that sometimes we will put on a brave faith, sometimes we'll put on a happy faith, sometimes we'll be, like, lean in like like we mean it. But then what can happen is that sometimes this is what we think. It's like, I can't tell God what I really think, what I'm really feeling, because he wouldn't like it. And I think it's not that you cannot tell God what you really think and what you really feel. And I understand the whole faith component. I'm a faith person. I believe that we need to trust God.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:24:49]:
But you can pour out your heart when you don't feel like it. You can you can do all these things. Why is that? Because to be honest, until that time, at times, what we're really putting on is we're putting on the face, but we haven't put on the faith. And so you can show God your ugly face. You guys know you guys ever heard that term where we say, like, oh, I cried, but it was a what kind of cry? It was a ugly cry. It's like, like, the kind of honey butter coming out. Like, it's like, there's no it's not like the dainty, like the one tear, you know, like, it's not that kind cry. Right? It says that you can cry the ugly cry before God, as well as, yay, when you're filled with faith.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:25:37]:
Right? You can eat in either case. But the reason we I'm talking about this is because all of us, I think, deep down, there's things we know about us that need to change. Right? Amen? There's deep down, there's things in me that need to change. My wife reminds me regularly. But, you know, like when we got married, I remember that, you know, our mutual friend, my wife lived with, her roommate, was a friend of mine as well. And she had a couple cats from her, her mom was her mom's cat, because she couldn't take care of it, so she went and got it. And she already had a cat, and those cats were fighting. And so right after we got married, right after we moved into the house, and, you know, it may not right after.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:26:26]:
This is I'm sorry. It's about a year. About a year after because we had actually moved into our house where we live today. And, we get a call, and and Carol says, hey. Can you guys would you guys be open to taking in Nishiki, the cat? And and my wife gives me that message when I came home one day, and I I was not happy to hear that request. Because Nishiki, the cat, was a blind, one eyed orange cat that had like a horrible temper. It's the kind of cat that you would reach out to pet it, and it would go. Right? It's the kind that if you fed it food, it might eat the food and then kinda do, like, paw you at the same time.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:27:15]:
Right? It's the kind of cat that, like, if you walk by, sometimes would hiss and and try to attack you. Right? So I like, I'm not exaggerating. Pastor Brian is over here, and Sharon, welcome. But he remembers the cat. Right? Like, he wasn't a friendly cat. And I was thinking, why in the world would we want this cat? And and I just said, the cat is not a pleasant cat. And this was my wife's response, but love can change anybody. Yeah, except that cat.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:27:51]:
No, but like but you know the cat is that when the cat came, he wasn't. She she wasn't, and and you know, to be honest, she she was often like that, I think, out of fear. You know? Because she was blind in one eye. She was declawed. She was she had all these things. She was getting beat up by by the other cat left and right. But then, you know, after the cat came in and lived with us, then one day I I'm sleeping and one night one morning, I wake up and the cat is sleeping on my chest. And then I started to pet it.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:28:24]:
And she went, No. I was kidding. She did. Love did change the cat. I'll be honest. Love did change the cat. The big question is, does God's love change us? Right? Does God's love change us? If if our love could change the cat, can God's love change us? And the answer is yes. Can you tell your neighbor, yeah.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:28:48]:
The answer is yes. But we have to grow into it. Right? We have to grow into it. It's not automatic. It's not automatic. It wasn't automatic that the cat changed because it was considered effort on our part. But it takes effort on our part. When I say effort, it's not working to earn it.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:29:12]:
It's the effort of trusting him. It says it like this in Ephesians three seventeen and nineteen. It says, Christ will make his home in your hearts. How? As you trust in him. As you trust in him, your roots will go down into God's love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God's people should. So does that include you? Amen. Right.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:29:39]:
Includes you. Includes me. How wide and how long and how high and how deep his love is. And may you experience experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. I I I echo that. I don't understand the love of God. I can receive it. I don't fully understand it, why God loves us so much, but I can receive it.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:29:59]:
And then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. And so he's causing us, he wants us to grow up into him. But how does it happen? As you trust in him. As you trust in him. He says he makes his home in our hearts, but you trust in him. Now, you know, I don't know how this illustration is gonna work out, but, you guys remember when people actually used to dye Easter eggs? Do you guys remember that? Right? Like, nowadays, I just see a lot of sometimes it's like, you know, the plastic egg, and we do that plastic egg, you know, on our egg hunt. Like, we just cannot imagine, you know, boiling, you know, 700 to 800,000 eggs and dying them. But, you know, at home, we used to do that, right, as kids.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:30:48]:
You guys remember that? Right? So it was great to diet, and then you guys remember after, like, you would play that, egg fight how many of you guys played the egg fight? Right? Break the egg, and then how many of us got sick of eating egg salad sandwich after we crack all the eggs? So we you know, but it was a great thing. Right? But we you would take an egg, and you would place it in a cup or whatever dye with a little plastic or the wire spoon, and you would dip it in the thing. You guys remember that? And what would happen? Miraculously, that white egg turned into what? Whatever color. Whatever color that you dyed it into. Right? And the more it was immersed in it, it would be changed and transformed. Except except what? Except the place where you would take the wax like crayon, and you could make a design, or you could do all those things, and that you would dye it in the cup, and the white egg would become green. Except this is the part where I said, I don't know how well it's going to be. We didn't have a wax thing, we had a crayon, so it's red.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:32:03]:
But you notice every place is green except the places where the wax covered it. Right? Crayons just wax. Right? Colored wax. And somebody wanna give me a Kleenex or something? Because I put two hands, and I don't wanna stain my clothes. Sorry about that. Or and so here's the this is the this is the point what I'm trying to say, That in art, they call this thing, when you do this thing and you get a design, and you you, you know, you you dye it and some parts get thank you so much, Ben. Can I give Ben a hand? Thank you, Ben. So the thing is that, that's called wax resistance.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:32:52]:
Right? You see, the covering of wax creates a barrier, so that it that die cannot penetrate. And sometimes the reason as God's love is trying to grow down in us and in our hearts is that we have different areas of resistance. Sometimes it's the resistance of the will, I just don't like, right? How many of us have been in that place? It's like, Hey, you need to grow in this area. You go, Yeah, I know. I know. I just don't like, right? And sometimes that that resistance of the will, guess what? God will not affect those places. At times, you go like, no, God. This place is mine.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:33:37]:
I just no light. I don't like you touch this relationship. God, I don't want you to touch how I deal with my money. God, I don't want you to touch about what I do with my time. God, I don't want you to touch about how I, you know, go out with my friends. If you say that, the love of God will go, but it'll go around that spot. That make sense? And and so there is a resistance of the will. There's a resistance at times of things that we're blind to, that to be honest, you didn't even realize.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:34:10]:
Right? Sometimes it's the things that have pained us, the trauma we've been through, right? The the the the difficulties that you have, that it comes out in your life. It comes out in your life, but you don't even see it. Other people see it. Right? Other people tell you, You know, you know, you kinda, you know, you didn't need to get that excited about this thing? Anybody ever tell you something like that? You're a little bit, you know, or you're a little bit too controlling in this area, area, or you need to be stronger in this area. Do you guys know what I'm talking about? You don't see it so much, people tell you. Sometimes it's because we're blind, right? Because of things that have happened to you, you don't even realize it. And some of us, we realize it, it's because of the things that we've been through, and you're not proud of it. And I'm guessing we all have players in our life.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:35:08]:
We're not proud of. Right? And so sometimes the hold of guilt and shame, it's like a wax thing, and it covers this this part in our heart. And even though the love of Christ is embracing us, it finds a difficult time to penetrate. And sometimes, to be honest, it's there's a resistance of performance. There's some of us that it's like, I can do it for god. When to be honest, god doesn't call you to do it for him. He calls you to do it with him. Right? So and so because we because we're high performers, because we're good at that, that we I don't need God today, I say, I can do it.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:35:53]:
God, I can do it. Just give me the ball. Right? And sometimes it's a resistance because, you know, you can't take responsibility for something. And so you always blame other people. Oh, it's because my parents were like this, or it's because, you know, this job or whatever, because my boss wasn't good, because and, you know, they might not have been good, but because we don't take responsibility for certain things, it's like a cap because we blame somebody else. It's somebody else's fault. It's I I would have done it. It's like the school's fault.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:36:31]:
It's the whatever's fault. It's the resistance. Sometimes there's a resistance from generational things that have happened in your life. Sometimes there's, to be honest, sins that have been practiced in our home long before. And this is not to that we don't take responsibility. It's but you see it from generation to generation. Some of us, it's broken relationships. Some of us, it's substance abuse.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:37:03]:
Some of us, it's been anger problems. Some of us, it's you fill in the blank. Right? And and why do I say that it's a point of resistance? It's not to have a generational sin in your line is not necessarily demonic. It's not. It's an area of weakness and a susceptibility. It's like this. It's like, if, you know, some of you guys have mentioned, you know, I lost a bunch of weight, right? But how many of you guys know that, just because you lost weight doesn't mean that you still don't crave nanding, Spanish rolls sometimes. Right? It's like, it doesn't mean that you don't crave like, oh, I wanna eat malasadas today.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:37:57]:
Right? Like it doesn't mean that. Right? And here's the thing is that we can have a propensity to something. We can have a propensity to something because of a generational thing. And it's easy for the enemy to grab a hold of that, but it's not necessarily demonic. Not necessarily. But what's the solution that if you had these things, that you notice an area of resistance, whether it's from things that you've done or things that were done before you. Whether it's things that were words that were spoken against you. Sometimes we've been cursed.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:38:32]:
People have said to I I I I'm shocked that I hear how often I hear that somebody says, you know, you'll never make it. You want a month too much. And sometimes it's teachers. Sometimes it's parents. Sometimes it's relatives. Sometimes it's a friend. Sometimes it's it shocks me, but sometimes those words that we're say said to us, they take root in our life. And it's like a curse that was placed on you.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:38:59]:
And sometimes, those areas of resistance, this is what we need to do. We need to take those areas of resistance, and we need to bring it before God, confess it before God. God, I noticed this in my life. And we admit if we've done it, and then we say this, God, would you break it? God, would you change it? God, would you forgive me for that? You know, there's a story in Luke 19 where, Zacchaeus was, it says he was wealthy and he was a tax collector. And he was a short guy, so I kind of relate. But, so when Jesus walked through town, he couldn't see. And so being a person who he even though he wasn't known to be a spiritual man, he lived the exact opposite. Right? A life of wildness and and excess.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:40:03]:
He was known to be a person who would charge more than what he's supposed to. He he was known for that. And he was wealthy as a result. He still had a heart to see Jesus. Something was stirring him. You know what you call that? The love of God. Right? The love of God was drawing him. And it says that when Jesus came, that when he came to that spot and Zacchaeus is in the tree, he looks up and he says, Zacchaeus, I gotta go to your house today.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:40:32]:
Right? He just invites him, how you like that? Jesus, just make house. Hey, I can come to your house. What you making today? Right? And and so he comes, and there's a big party, and there's a lot of food. And in the midst of all of these things that people began to say, what's wrong what is wrong with Jesus? He goes to this place, right, that he doesn't know this guy, who this guy is. Right? But this and then this is what happens, that Zacchaeus says this. When he encounters Jesus and he responds to Jesus, he comes up and he says, Lord, if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount. Lord, even now I give half of my possessions to the poor. And this is what Jesus said to him.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:41:16]:
Today, salvation has come to this house because this man too is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and save the lost. Now, every time the presence of God comes in an area that when it really, when the spirit of God comes and he makes us aware of an area of resistance, if it's embraced with a sense of repentance and surrender, guess what happens? Becomes an opportunity for renewal. Becomes an area for that cap, that that resistance to be taken off. It becomes that place that now the roots can go down. And so if you notice that in your life, if you notice that in your, in your past, if you notice that in your struggle, if you notice that in your the way your thought life works, right, would you just say, god, I just realized I'm not the only one. I recognize it was before me, right? And I'll say this again even though I said it many times, that I had anxiety. After we got married, I never realized I didn't think I had anxiety.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:42:37]:
I just started getting weird pains. And then I went to emergency and I got the EKG. And they said, oh, your heart looks fine. But but I swear I was having a heart attack or something. Right? I didn't realize that was anxiety. Right? And then it it it was just getting bad. And and, I was struggling with this and I was like, I couldn't sleep and the whole thing. And, and there's a there's a spiritual component.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:43:05]:
Believe me, there is a real spiritual component. And then I remember, finally telling my mom I was struggling with that. And I said, you know, mom, I went to this hospital emergency and, you know, did these things. And she said that, oh, dad, she says. There's just anxiety. You know, your mom my your grandma had it. My mom had it. Your uncle Charles had it.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:43:28]:
I have it. And so don't worry. And I just said, mom, you guys all might have had it, but I don't want it. Right? And I didn't want it. And so this is what I did. I said, lord, I recognize that this anxiety, it happened in my family before me, but I don't want it. I recognize it's been crippling to some of my family And I don't want it to cripple me. So I just surrender that to you.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:44:02]:
And you know what happened? It's not that I never worry. It's not that I never But you know what? I've never had that kind of a, basically, a panic attack after that. I've never had that place where I gotta go to emergency. Right? And so I would say this. It just opens a place where the love of God can come and change us little by little. Because confession and repentance and renewal wipes away the resistance when it's presented before God. Make sense? Yes. Yes.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:44:43]:
And so, hey, I'm gonna wrap up here pretty soon here. It's like, and so what is it that we need to do that we need to respond? Right? We need to respond to God. And so it's it's good to surrender. It's good to invite him. It's good to pray for those things. It's good to, confess those before God. But the the ultimate thing is that we just generally, we just love God back. What do we do with the love of God? You know? We say we love Him back.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:45:18]:
Jesus was asked what was the most important commandment, and he said this: Listen, O Israel, the heart the Lord our God is one and only Lord. And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength. And he said, that's the greatest commandment. It's just to love God. Just love him back. It's like you don't have to generate emotions. You respond to him. You just need to seek him.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:45:46]:
Right? Why would we seek a God who is perfect and holy and righteous and we're not always? The God who is loving, but we're not always. Because when we do, we'll encounter the God who is loving. What will What do we encounter when we come with a spirit of humility and we seek God? Maybe it's like what it says in one Corinthians 13. And we all know this that in the sense of, maybe in weddings, and maybe you've studied love before. But this is what it says. Love is what? Patient. Love is kind. It does not envy.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:46:29]:
It does not boast. It is not proud. It does not dishonor others. It is not self seeking. It is not easily angered. It keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth. It always protects.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:46:46]:
It always trusts. Always hopes. Always perseveres. Love never fails. You know what this says? It says love. Who else is love? God is love. When I see this, this is what I see. I could just easily have said, Jesus is patient, and Jesus is kind, and Jesus does not envy.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:47:12]:
Lord, what about those guys? They're baptizing over there, and it's like, people are going, following, and what did he say? That's fine. Let him go. Jesus wasn't envious. Jesus didn't boast. Jesus is not proud. He didn't dishonor others. He's not self seeking. He's not easily angered.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:47:34]:
In fact, it says in Psalms, it says that God is not easily angered. He keeps no record of wrongs. He doesn't delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth. And when the woman was caught in the middle of adultery, he protected her. Jesus protects. Jesus trusts. Jesus always hopes. He always perseveres because Jesus never fails.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:48:07]:
When you seek him, this is what you look for. You look for the God who is always patient, who's always kind. Now does that mean does that mean that, you know, that he's always gonna just say, attaboy. No, not always. Once we come to know him, there is the tender side of love that we just read about, right? But how many of you know that there's a time when love has to be strong, Right? There's a time for tenderness, and sometimes there's that real love, sometimes it's strong. We cannot change the line. Why? Because we love you. Right? How many times, parents, have we said that? It's because I love you that I have to draw a line.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:48:57]:
It's because I love you that I'm gonna ground you today. It's because I love you that Right? And Jesus said it like this, How we love God back? He says, If you love me, keep my commands. So when we obey him, when we obey him, that's how we love him back. When we trust him, when we seek him. Right? Now what about those times when when we rebellious, when we have that resistance, and we have all those things? Well, sometimes God will discipline us, and it's not because he doesn't love us, it's because he does. Right? For the Lord, it says, disciplines those he loves. Hebrews 12. Right? And he punishes each one he accepts as his own child.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:49:50]:
And you endure this divine discipline. Remember that God is treating you as his own children. Aren't you glad that God doesn't treat you like an outsider? You guys ever you guys ever in that kind of a place you see somebody doing something like a bonehead thing? Like seeing somebody do their most bonehead thing, but you don't say anything. Why? Not in my kuleana. Right? Not worth getting into it. But if that was your child, if that was your spouse, right, if that was your parent, somebody that you love, and you see them making that same mistake, would you just go, ah, that's alright. You can say something. Right? Why? Because you want the best for them.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:50:38]:
Who have ever heard of a child who is never disciplined by his father? If God doesn't discipline you as he does all of his children let's say all of his children. All of his children. So it's not just you. It's all of us. It's all of us. It means that you are illegitimate and not not really his children. So don't be afraid because God isn't looking to pour out his anger to punish you and alienate you and leave you in your guilt and shame. Right? That's not what God is trying to do.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:51:11]:
And so some of us, we get nervous because we don't want to ever be, like, that cannot be God if there is discipline. Why? Because God is always love. Yes. He is always loving. But sometimes the love comes in the form of correction. Why? So we can become reconciled. Why? So we learn how to walk in rightness and righteousness. Why? So we understand that that he he's showing the fact that he's committed to us and that we belong to him.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:51:45]:
You see, if he didn't care, he wouldn't do anything. I love what Psalm one nineteen sixty seven says. I used to wander off until you disciplined me, but now I closely follow your word. I relate to that. And and the thing is, it's not a sign of his displeasure with you. It's a sign of his love. And so the love of God endures. But one day, when we're in heaven, the love of God will continue.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:52:23]:
But you know what the good news? You won't need discipline at that point. I won't need discipline at that point. We just rejoice in his presence. And so this this evening, we're gonna conclude here. We're gonna I'm just gonna close this time, and then we're gonna take communion together. But I'm just going to ask you to do this. I'm going to ask us to let the Lord search our heart, because the love of God is meant to go down deep, it says. Let His roots go go down deep within you.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:52:56]:
But sometimes what we find is areas of resistance. And we're just gonna ask the spirit of God, would you show me, Lord, if there's an area of resistance in my life? And if he reveals that to you, I just want to encourage you. It's not a thing. He's not doing it to shame you. He's not doing it to embarrass you. He's not doing it to scold you. He's doing it because he loves you. And then if you see that, would you just confess it to Him? Lord, I haven't always been open.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:53:28]:
Lord, sometimes I haven't wanted to see. Sometimes I haven't wanted to deal with this. But today, I confess that to you. I surrender it to you. And would you break the power of that as I surrenders to you? Would your roots go down deep in that area of my life? That's what we're gonna ask. Make sense? Yeah. Let's bow our heads. Father, we're thankful to be loved by the king of the universe, the creator of all things.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:54:04]:
It is the most amazing thing in the world when we experience it. And father, it's the most amazing thing in the world even when we haven't experienced it Because, Lord, we know it can change our life. Because thank you that you didn't wait for us. You didn't wait for us to to want you. You didn't wait for us to figure everything out. You didn't wait for us to change. You said this, Let me make the way first. Thank you, Jesus, that you went first.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:54:37]:
Thank you, you went to the cross first. Thank you that you rose from the grave first. And because of that, Lord, that your love is poured out upon us. Thank you, Lord. But would you come now? And would you search our hearts, Lord? And spirit of God, would you come If there's an area of resistance, Lord, would you just bring it to our attention? Father, if there's an area we've been struggling with, would you remind us? Lord, if there's an area where we've been fighting you for control, would you show us? Because we thank you that you love us, and sometimes it's just patience and kindness and mercy. And sometimes there's correction. And I thank you, Lord. We need both sides of love.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:56:10]:
And would you just be not embarrassed to name it before you've been angry, if you've been whatever it is, fill it in. Fill in the blank. Whatever your struggle. Lord Jesus, thank you that you died for my sin. Thank you that you died that I might have life and have it to the full. And, Lord, I know there's a process and I that we all grow, but, Lord, I I just want this area. Lord, I surrender it to you today. I confess, Lord, that sometimes I've listened to this.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:57:14]:
I've listened to this habit. I've listened to this generational thing. I've listened to my flesh. I've listened to my weaknesses and my addictions. Lord, I've listened to my feelings more than your word. But Lord, I just repent. I confess and I surrender it to you. Would Jesus would your love grow down deep in that part of my heart to renew and refresh, to heal and restore, to release? We say in the name of Jesus, would that area be released and the enemies hold over those areas in Jesus' name be broken.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:57:58]:
And father, we're praying for a spirit of renewal. Lord, we don't do this to be loved. We do it because we are loved. Thank you, Lord Jesus. In his name we pray, God's people say, amen. Hey, we're gonna prepare our hearts this evening. We're gonna take, communion, and, you guys know we practice an open communion. If you're at home, you know, we invite you to come take communion with us as well, and hopefully you have something, a piece of bread, a cracker, or of something to just it's a symbol, even if it's not bread, whatever you have.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:58:47]:
And a cup of juice or wine if it's not bad for you, or just water. Whatever it is you have to be the symbols for the body and the blood of Christ. And what we're gonna do is what I love about it is in in the gospels, after the resurrection, it says that there are these two guys walking away, and they were dejected and broken because they had seen Jesus killed. They had seen him crucified. It had been three days and now they're leaving the city. They're walking away. They're just going to their life. And it says, in that moment, Jesus comes and walks up alongside them.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:59:35]:
But they didn't know it was Jesus. And sometimes that we're walking and we don't realize Jesus is with us, but he's there. And he has this conversation and they go like, Oh, you don't know what happened? And he's like, Woah, what happened? And he started telling them all these things. And then this is what he does. It says, he told them later that all what the Scriptures had talked about, like all the Old Testament, and he said, how it all pointed to him. And you know what he was doing? He was reinterpreting their understanding of the word of God. Because sometimes we need that. We sometimes we think the Bible is about telling us all the rights and the wrongs and rules and regulations.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [01:00:19]:
That's not what it's about. It's about how to have a relationship with God. It's about how to follow him more closely. It's about how to be free. It's about how to honor God. It's about how to how to live well, how to be blessed, how to be a man or a woman of faith. And then he goes on and he and then he says that he he begins to share with them not only what reinterpret their experience, not only to reinterpret their understanding, but then he says that he in the breaking of the bread, he said their eyes were open. All of a sudden, they saw Jesus, And they met Jesus in the communion.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [01:01:03]:
Their eyes were open. And this evening, when we take the bread and we take the juice, it's to meet Jesus. We meet Jesus at the cross. We meet Jesus through the sacrifice. And so the bread and the juice are here. So at your own pace, go ahead, and if there's something that you just need to pray for, pray over, if you'd like somebody to pray with you, then, you know, let us know as well. But you can take the elements or we can pray for after we take the communion. But take the elements, and then when everybody has it, we all take it together.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [01:04:31]:
Would you hold the elements in front of you? Lord, we come not simply because we need you, but we come because we want you. Father, we've confessed our sin, we've we've recognized Lord before you that there are areas of our heart that at times have been resistant, have been hardened, have been rebellious. But Father, when we take these elements, it reminds us that you didn't die for the perfect, and you didn't come for the godly. You said that when we were still sinners, Christ died for us. And father, today, though we know you, we're thankful that communion reminds us that you're with us now, that we're covered by your blood, we're covered by your sacrifice, that Jesus, that you now are with us here. Lord, we're seeking after you today, and we're seeking after you through the elements, through the bread and through the juice, Lord. Thank you. Father, thank you that you have a grace for us today.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [01:05:51]:
Thank you that your love covers us today. Lord, thank you that your blood washes us clean today. Lord, we want You to fill us today because You died and broke Your body. Would You take the bread? And thank you, Lord, that your blood washes us clean. And thank you, by the blood, there's power. Lord, thank you, by the blood, there's authority that is released. Thank you by your blood there's healing that is released. And father, we're praying, Lord, a restoration and a healing of the soul, of the body, and of the mind today by the blood of Christ.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [01:06:40]:
Lord, thank you that you're here right now and that there is grace and mercy, Lord, at the table. Thank you, Lord. There's your power and your love at the table. Will we take the cup? Would you take the cup? Lord, we receive all that you have for us today. Lord, we're drawing close to you today. Thank you, Lord, that you're alive in us. Come, Holy Spirit. Fill your sons and your daughters today.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [01:07:12]:
Thank you for the love of God that embraces us in all that we are and all that we have, God. We honor you. In Jesus name, God's people say, amen? Amen. Amen.