Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:00:00]:
Hey, good evening, everybody. Somebody told me, hey, you look like you got some color. And I think it doesn't help when I wear a white shirt, but you know, like, you got baptism, you know, outside we're doing different things. If I keep going in the sun one more time, I can give some of you guys hard rub, you know, like on the, on the color thing. But I'm not just the light colored Japanese boy. I come dark pretty soon because I grew up here. Right? So, hey, we're continuing our series. We started a few weeks ago in First Thessalonians.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:00:31]:
And one of the reasons we, we talked about it, we, you know, wanted to look at this book is because of all the things that are happening around us. And you know, with all these things that are happening around us and, and people are asking, you know, and we're asking ourselves, is, is the Lord coming? Is he coming soon? And, and I think the answer is yes, to be honest. But it gives us some instruction on what to do practically, how we live, how in these kinds of times. And if you've ever felt unsure about what God wants from your life, you know, there's some instruction that we find in this little book of First Thessalonians. And part of it is because we also live in a world that's probably filled with a lot of distractions. You know, people are trying to figure out, like we're searching for purpose through success or pleasure or distractions, or maybe it's through adventure or our relationships or maybe, you know, our own work and our influence. And when we're looking all of these different places, it becomes we can live a very distracted life. But First Thessalonians lays out some simple, powerful blueprint, I think, to how we can live with both purpose and hope.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:01:47]:
And so we're in chapter four of the book and in this chapter he's going to give us some, I think, a roadmap for some practical living. And, and in a way that is marked by different characteristics we'll take a look at in a little bit. But it is very clearly showing us that it's not a one time decision that we make. I mean, it is a one time decision we make maybe to start the journey, but it's a continual journey of intimacy with Christ, closeness with Christ and transformation and becoming more like him. And what we find in chapter four is he goes from kind of like the first three chapters, a lot of kind of instruction, declaration to exhortation. Now, so how does this hit, how does the rubber hit the road with some of these things. And he's going to be stating some truth, but he's going to be calling us how to live out that truth. And so this is, I think, not a time he's saying in general.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:02:49]:
This is not a time to kick back and ease your foot off the pedal. This is the time that we kind of brace for some of the things that are coming. And so this evening we're going to open up by reading the first two verses in chapter four. And would you be kind enough? Let's stand in reverence for God, reverence for His Word, and let's read God's Word together. Ready? Let's read finally. Dear brothers and sisters, we urge you in the name of the Lord Jesus to live in a way that pleases God, as we have taught you. You live this way already, and we encourage you to do so even more for you. Remember that what we taught you by the authority of the Lord Jesus.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:03:35]:
And you know, sometimes when we get some instruction and sometimes when we get some direction, and sometimes when we get a charge to do something, it's not because we're not doing it. It's not because we're failing. It's because God knows there's more in you. God knows there's more capacity in you. God knows there's a closer walk with you. God knows that there's a greater gifting that he wants to unfold. And so he's saying in this portion, he says, actually, you know, we don't see it in this translation in the New Living. I was a little hesitant to use this, but some other things are really good in this chapter with this translation.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:04:11]:
But you know where it says where we urge, it says actually in the original language and probably many of the translations that you read, it'll say we ask and we urge. Because it actually says two things. And it's like one is kind of like we're calling you to, hey, can you respond in this way? But then the other hand, he's saying, we urge, which is saying, like, I'm kind of trying to push you forward a little bit, right? And so sometimes there's a push and pull. But you know what happens we when you push and pull, you stand straighter, right? You stand stronger. And so sometimes we need to be pulled in closer. And sometimes we need to say, hey, go out and get out there and run the race that you've been called. But sometimes in that push and pull, you'll stand stronger. So do me a favor, before you're seated, just turn to your neighbor, says, I'm so glad you can stand stronger and you can have a seat.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:05:05]:
So we're going to stand for the rest of the service? No, I'm just kidding. We're not. But. And so he goes right in this asking and urging. He's saying, you know, I want you to have a goal. If you haven't been clear, and if you and I, maybe if you've ever lived this way, you know the frustration of it. And I've talked about it, you know, many times before that I used to live to try to make myself happy. And why was that? Because that's what my parents said.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:05:31]:
Glenn, all we want for you is just for you to be happy in life. But I never tell my kids that. I never tell my kids that because it's like the reality is I want them to be unhappy. That's not what I'm saying. It's just that I know that if you're chasing happiness, you'll never be satisfied, Right? It's a losing proposition. You know what? I want them to live. I want them to chase purpose. I want them to chase Jesus.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:05:56]:
I want them to chase living an honorable life. I want them to chase being a person of character. Because if you're living in those kinds of things, you know what happens? Happiness is a byproduct. Happiness is not a good goal. Happiness is a nice byproduct when it happens, right? And so he says, make pleasing God your goal, right? He's saying, live in a way that pleases God. Now, I'm not saying it because you're not. He's saying, you guys already are. But I know that you can pursue him more.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:06:26]:
I know you can trust him more. I know there's more love in you, and I know that you can get closer. And so he says that when we're doing these things, how. How do you please God? You guys ever been in that place? How do I please God, right? What pleases God? And can we just say this when we're talking about pleasing God? It's not, we do these things so God will love us, right? And we're not saying this. Do these things so God will finally love you, you miserable Russian. No, that's not what Paul is saying. He's saying, because you're loved, right? Let's say that because you're loved, right? Because you're loved, right? That you can do these things. It's because he has favor on you, because he has grace for you, because you matter to him.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:07:13]:
He says this, and let's look at those Things. The first thing he's saying is start with dedication, right? Let's start with dedication. And we look in the next set of verses, verses three to eight. He says, God's will for you is to be holy. And I underlined that in your notes. But, you know, the thing is, would you just circle that word holy? And that word holy, to be honest, it's a cognator. It derives itself from the word holy, right? The word holy hagias in the Greek, but it's a little different. It means to be consecrated.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:07:51]:
It means to be dedicated. It means to be holy. We know, means to be set apart. It's like he's above everything, right? He's a cut above anything that you can think of. But then there's this idea then, because he's that way that we dedicate or consecrate ourselves to him. And so when we come to this place, about this desire to follow Jesus, he says, you know, would you surrender your lives to Him? If you haven't, would you commit your lives to him and his will? Sanctification, being sanctified or dedicated or consecrated, however word you want to use, it means being set apart for God in thought, in body, in lifestyle. And that we recognize it's not just, I don't just give him my heart. I give him my heart, but I give him my body.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:08:47]:
It affects the way that I live. It affects the way that I make choices. It affects the way I do relationships, he says, because it's not just about me being happy. It's, I can please God by this, and it's a recognition that I belong to God. And when you belong to God, you find your greatest joys when you're close to him, you find your greatest joys when your life's aligned with him. You find your greatest joy when you find him working in you and through you. You know, the apostle Paul said this. He says, because I've been crucified with Christ.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:09:19]:
In other words, I laid my old life down. Last week we did baptism again. Congratulations. Kielke's in the room, who got baptized. Linda in the room as well, who got baptized again. We just want to say congratulations. And, you know, funny thing is that there was a little bit more wave action than, you know, we cannot plan those things. Then in the baptism, you know, we're bobbing up and down and all that.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:09:42]:
And I saw somebody's eyes when they were about to get baptized. The eyes a little bit bigger, right? Like, and, you know, I did say, like, hey, you know, we never lost One yet, you know, in baptism. But we almost lost one. And that was Pastor Jeff. We didn't know where he went for a little while. But, you know, the thing is that we never lost one. But one of the things that what we're doing when we do baptism is it's. It's a dedication, right? It's that dedication.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:10:08]:
And what we're saying is that when we lay someone into the water, it's that the old Glen, the old me, I died to myself, my sin, my old life. But you know what? I'm being raised up in the newness of life. I'm being raised up to follow Jesus. And so he's saying, paul says, I've been crucified with Christ. I've died to my own life. It's no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me and the life I now live in the flesh. I live by faith, let's say faith, right? It's not just by sight, right? We're living by faith. We're living by trust.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:10:43]:
It's not just what I think. I'm not living out of knowledge. Is knowledge bad? No, absolutely. Knowledge is not bad. Knowledge is good. But you know what? Sometimes you ever trust your knowledge, your experience versus God's direction, you know, when those two things clash, you know, what I found, unfortunately, in my life is God's way was always right. And my way might have been right at a certain moment in time, but it just doesn't have lasting power, right? And so here's the thing. It's that he's saying, I live by faith.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:11:17]:
This life I live in my body, I live by faith in the Son of God who loves me and gave himself for me, right? So again, this is not to be loved. It's because I am loved, right? And so he says, we start with dedication. And then what does that mean? Well, then there's some other things that come out of that. He goes on. He says, so then the second half of that same verse, verse three, says, so stay away from all sexual sin. How much of sexual sin? All right, all sexual sin. It's not saying all sex is bad. It's saying that some can be bad, right? Some can be sin, right? And he says, then he says this, then each of you will control his own body and live holiness in honor, not in lustful passion like the pagans who do not know God and his ways.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:12:10]:
And so he says this. Never harm or cheat a fellow believer in this matter by violating his wife. For the Lord avenges all such sins as we have solemnly warned you before. And so, you know, in some sense, you might think it might be. Should go without saying, right? Almost like that you don't, you know, steal your neighbor's wife or you don't steal your neighbor's husband or you. You don't steal your neighbor's boyfriend or whatever it is that. That kind of a thing. But the call is, is to learn the habit of purity, right? Learn the habit of purity.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:12:43]:
Because Paul, like us, lived in a sexually permissive culture, you know, and. And you know, like, I think so often that we look at our culture and depending on your perspective, if this is all you've seen, it's just normal to you, right? This is just normal. But for some of us that, you know, if that. Those of us who have a little bit more age under us, we have seen kind of like the sexualization of our. Of our youth, of women, where it's like, it wasn't always like this, right? For instance, I remember asking myself this very stark question. When did yoga pants become pants? You guys know, when did yoga, like, okay, you can use it for workout. Okay, you can use it for that. But like, you know, when did that just become regular pants, you know, because what if I walked around like today in yoga pants and I did my message in the yoga pants? Like, some of you, like, getting sick.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:13:48]:
You. Oh, my gosh, I. It pictured that. No, but like, it would be odd, right? But I just remember it wasn't always like this. And part of it is Paul reminds us as believers that wherever we come from, you know, is where we come from. Wherever you start, you start. It's okay. It's okay.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:14:07]:
You know what is most important that you start, right? Doesn't matter where you start. Turning it over and says, it doesn't matter where you start. It matters that you start, right? It matters that you start now, you know, like, I'm just going to say it like this, you know, we all probably know that men, we're a little different than women. And what gets us but men, we're often very visually attracted, right? Very visually stimulated. That's why porn is often geared towards man, right? All these images and all these kinds of things. And, you know, kind of like we, you know, what we don't realize is sometimes when you grew up in Hawaii, how much skin we show compared to other parts of the world, right? How much skin we show sometimes to other places, like even in the mainland where it's cold country, right? I just came back from Japan, right? And you know, one of the Things is like, I had just. I never noticed, but I just had way less visual distraction. Not because Japanese ladies are ugly, right? That's not the.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:15:09]:
They just wear more clothes. They just wear more clothes. And it's like when you don't see skin, you don't see. See all this other things, you don't see. People walk around in like super, super tight things. It's like you just. You just keep going. Then you just.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:15:24]:
You're not tempted to do one of these things, right? Like, and. And that. Just this aspect that he's saying, we live in this culture that there's so much distraction wherever you go. Now, I'm not saying there's plenty sin in Japan, right? There's plenty of sin in Japan. There's plenty of porn in Japan. There's different things like that. But on the street, you don't see it. And so here's the thing that holiness and purity is not automatic.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:15:50]:
It's something that you have to learn. It's something that you have to develop. It's something that has to be strengthened because, you know, one of the reasons that there's so much pushback against this kind of a thing, let's say modesty, or to be honest, there's an increased sense of movements toward modesty. There, there is. But. But there's also the rise of. One of the. The things that's growing in our culture is paganism.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:16:15]:
You guys know what I mean? Paganism. Paganism is where people start worshiping kind of like elemental spirits and all that. But, you know, one of the big pushbacks paganism is. And it's sort of rising a lot among younger people. But it's. It's a kind of a rebellion against this in specific instruction, learning the habit of purity. Because they say the exact opposite. They say, you know what? If it.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:16:42]:
Basically, you could ultimate. We could summarize that viewpoint as this. If it feels good, do it, right? If it feels good, do it. Why should I restrain myself, right, if I have an impulse? You know, when we heard this, we heard it for those of us who are old enough in the 70s, right? We heard it. And you know what? The 70s brought so much rise of the destruction of the family brought so much rise. A divorce, it brought so much rise of the fact that kind of transactional sexual relationships. And it's like it just hang this kind of a thing that it's so pervasive today started then. And it started when you had this mindset, if it feels good, do it.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:17:27]:
Like, why should I restrain myself? Why should I do these things? Why should I put myself in subjection to God and his way? Because it leads to a rash of divorce. Because people become selfish. People start ending up following their lust. People start indulging their flesh. You know, one of the things that we. We all know, and we all know it by probably by experience, the more you give yourself to some kind of a sexual temptation, it doesn't satisfy you. It just makes it worse. It just makes it easier the next time.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:18:02]:
It just makes it easy. And so he's saying, we know these things. And so I'm saying there's a proper place. If you want to understand God's view of sexuality. We do have to understand that, you know, sex is a gift. God says sex is a gift, but it also has very clear boundaries. Right? Things are not bad, but, you know, like, I don't anybody here garden or what? But I'm not a gardener. But my wife certainly is.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:18:36]:
And so she has all these pots and all these. My patio is filled with plants. My wife's not here. So one of the responsibilities I have is right now when I came home is I got to water all the plants. I only killed one so far, but one. I'm sorry, one didn't make it already. But the thing is that, you know what? The dirt is very healthy, grows. But we love the dirt when it's outside.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:19:01]:
We love the dirt when it's in a pot. You know why we don't love dirt when it's all over the white carpet, right? It's not that dirt is bad, but outside of the boundary, it becomes sometimes dirt, right? It becomes sometimes problematic. And so sex is a gift from God, but there's boundary for it. I think the other thing that we have to know is that no matter where you came from, there's hope and healing from having transgressed in this area, having been in bondage in this area today, it's very easy. Many people, many young people, to be honest, they'll struggle with the stuff that they watch on their phone, the things that they've done in the past, the hookups, that all these kinds of things. If you have struggled this year, it's not that you're less loved by God. He's saying, no, you're totally loved. But he says he's calling us out of that because the purpose of sex was, yes, connection and intimacy, yes, obviously, children and raising up the next generation.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:20:09]:
And, yeah, you know, about learning how to serve one another. But he is saying to us that your body should follow your Decisions that you shouldn't follow your body for your decisions, right? Because how many of us remember a time in our life where we go like, I was so mad I just had to punch him, right? Oh, I had to say something. And you yell at why? Because you were mad, right? So in other words, what did we say? My emotion drove me and overrode everything else. I knew that what I should do, right? Because I was angry, right? Or sometimes how many of we were hangry, right? We were hungry and angry, and so we yelled at the dinner table before we ate or whatever it is. But it's a reminder that, you know, you do have a body, right? You have a body, you have a soul, you have emotions, and you have intellect and the ability to choose, but you have a spirit as well. And so often in our culture, we live the inverse of how God has designed it. We say, you know what? My body, I was hungry, so I had to go do this thing. You know, I was tired, so I had to act out, right? I was frustrated, so I had to just yell at them or swear or whatever it is.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:21:34]:
And then, yeah, I know, I feel guilty afterwards. Because your spirit, right? So we live our body first, we live our emotions or our soul second. And then we just kind of like we let the spirit bring the cleanup. And what he's saying is this. It's just. It's supposed to be the opposite. Strengthen and live out of your spirit first. Let your spirit rule your life, right? And you know what? This Holy Spirit can strengthen your spirit, right? And then he says this, and he says, you know what? Then you bring your.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:22:09]:
You bring your emotions on the line to that, and then make your body obey. You know, we're not beginning. We're going to have 21 days of prayer. You know, Christy had mentioned. And we're not. It's not prayer and fasting. But one of the reasons why we practice fasting is because we make our body respond to what our decisions, our soul has decided and what the spirit has chosen versus just our impulses. That's one of the reasons why you fast.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:22:44]:
It's like to break that bondage of just being enslaved to your body, being enslaved to your flesh. And so holiness isn't about just what we avoid, but it's also about what we're becoming. It's also about that relationship with God because he calls us to honor him with our bodies and our relationships. He says God has called us in verse seven. I'm going back to verse seven. He says, God has called us to Live holy lives, not impure lives. Therefore, anyone who refuses to live by these rules is not disobeying human teaching, but is what, Rejecting God, who gives his holy spirit to you. And so the spirit will remind you, the spirit will prompt you.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:23:35]:
But we don't pursue holiness again, to be loved. We do it because we are. And so can I just ask you to do this? Guard your heart and guard your mind and guard your body. Do you have some kind of guard, right, that. That what you say permissible, that. That you get to watch on your phone or you get to watch on. On your computer or what you get to watch on the tv or what kind of movies you go to or what kind of places of entertainment that you go to. Right? You know, for some of us, maybe you live pretty good.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:24:11]:
And then all of a sudden, hey, your friend's getting married. He gets a. There's a bachelor party. I know some guys, it's like, somehow for some of those guys, that. That's that tension point. Hey, what they're gonna do, where they gonna go? And you hate to be, you know, maybe kind of like the. The party pooper. But, you know, I've said to some of my friends that it's like, hey, let's go do this thing.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:24:33]:
I say, oh, sorry, I cannot go. Why? Because I'm judging them? No, I'm just saying, you know what? I have enough problems of my own. I don't need to put myself in that situation. Right? And so here's this aspect is make yourself accountable to someone, you know, at the same sex as you. A brother. If you're. If you're a man, have a brother that can. Somebody that you can say, you know, there's.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:24:58]:
We've done some discipleship groups where one of the things that we do is that we just confess the things that we struggled with this week, and we confess the things that maybe we haven't done so well. Why? Because. Because we want to just. We have to humble ourselves or whatever. No, it's because it's in that place that sometimes we find healing, because it's in that place that sometimes we find strengthening. And so Jesus said, the scriptures say, you know, confess your sins to one another, that you might be healed, you're forgiven the first time you. You confess, but you find healing sometimes when you share that with another person. And so he's saying this.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:25:38]:
Would you learn that purity is not impossible? It just needs to be practiced. So when you start saying, you know, like, how I dress and where I go and what I Put in front of me so often that's the part that will help us, right? You make a decision in your heart to follow the Lord and it just becomes easier. And then he goes on. He goes on and he's saying not just to call us to live holy lives, but he calls us to keep building bonds of love. He goes on in verse nine, somehow I don't see it in my notes. Did I put it in your notes? I can't remember. Okay, somehow I just miss putting it in your notes. But verses 9 and 10 says, but we don't need to write to you about the importance of loving each other, for God himself has taught you to love one another.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:26:35]:
Indeed, you already show your love for all believers throughout Macedonia. Even so, dear brothers and sisters, we urge you to love them even more. And he said, you know, love the people around you. He's saying, but can I say this? Be open to loving people that maybe you don't love right now, right? Be open to loving people maybe that you don't even know right now. Maybe come alongside others that sometimes you didn't know that you needed to come alongside. You know, I was talking to some friends and, you know, somebody said, you know, I have enough friends already, right? In other words, like sometimes I just get the unfriendly mold. And you hear me say that, like when I'm in the gym, sometimes it's like I've gotten better. I've gotten getting better.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:27:28]:
But here's the thing. It's like, I think we need to be people who, you know, you don't have like a million friends. The point is not to have a million friends. But I do think he calls us to love one another. You know, when we had kids, I remember talking with Rika about, you know, baby was just about to be born, Sarah was just about to be born. And I just say, hon, how you feeling? You know, Sarah's going to be coming soon. And she says, I'm nervous. I said, you're nervous, really? And I remember delivery was hard.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:28:03]:
You know, we didn't do any kind of epidural till the last second. And so it didn't even matter. It didn't lessen any of my other pain. I remember they teach you all these techniques about how to relax, you know, and all that. One of them was like, you slow dance and you know, you do the birthing classes and man, I just remember slow dancing with my wife and then the, the contraction hit and it's like, it's. It's like she just bear hugged Me and bent me. And I was like, oh, my gosh. She's.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:28:36]:
She's in a lot of pain. So I thought, is it the. Is it the pain of childbirth? You know, maybe we can just. We can do stuff differently this time. And she's. No, no, no, no. It's not that. You know, she just said, I.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:28:47]:
I just love Jacob. That's my firstborn. I just love Jacob so much. I'm a little fearful that I'm not going to be able to love Sarah as much. And I said, wow, I didn't see that one coming. And. And I understand. Yeah, he's definitely.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:29:09]:
You know, he's special and we love him. But I think, you know, I think it's sort of like how some diseases work, because. Disease? What are you talking about? See, I think there's a spiritual disease God gives you. It's called enlargement of your heart. Yeah. Not a physical enlargement of your heart. Right. That'd be problems.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:29:34]:
But when God enlarges your heart kind of in a spiritual sense, in emotional sense, all of a sudden it's not that you love this one less. He just makes your heart bigger so you can love more. And so she said, wow. Yeah. You know, that. That makes sense. And, you know, obviously, when. When Sarah was born, and it's like just holding her and all that, she got all that bond and, you know, she never struggled.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:30:05]:
She never struggled with that sense of, I gotta love this one. And, you know, then there is the. There's practical problems sometimes because you got two young kids, and then later when we had three and juggling all those balls, and some of you guys have way more that you juggled. But there's practical things, but it's not because of love. Right. But can I ask you, is your heart growing in love? Is your capacity growing? Or do we put our hand over the cup and we say, it's enough, Lord, it's enough? But you remember when you were new? You remember when you were young in the faith? You remember when you didn't know if you really fit in? You know, Jesus loved you, but you didn't know if maybe the church loved you. You didn't know if other people loved you. Remember that time? But somebody reached out to you, somebody encouraged you, somebody, you know, kind of shared life with you? Well, you know what? There's other people that are coming in our path as well.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:31:09]:
And so we got to be. Not just receive it, but we got to give it. And even when. Even when sometimes people, I think, don't Want to be loved sometimes, even when they make it tough to be loved. Now, I remember when I. I had become a Christian in college, you guys know, and so, you know, you. You just kind of start growing up in the faith with all these buddies, right? Just. We're all young, we're all in the ministry, and it's all great.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:31:38]:
And we all, you know, it's like you. You kind of have this, like, different kind of level of friends, right? Because we. We grow in the faith together, and we all did these things. We in a. Some of us went on mission trips together, or even if we didn't go on the same trip, you know, we kind of went at the same times. And when we graduated, you know, we still. Everybody's still staying in contact. And then all of a sudden, you know, one of the brothers, he just drops off the face of the planet, and he's a good friend for, you know, like four or five of us.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:32:10]:
We're just, like, tight. And the question is, hey, you talked to so and so. Oh, no, like, you called him. It's like, yeah, I never respond. Yeah, ye. This is before email. So, like, somebody got. Before email.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:32:24]:
Was that. Did they have electricity back then? No, you know, but yeah, no, they didn't have email. We didn't have cell phone or text or whatever, right? So it was like, nobody did that, but it's like you might write them, you call them, and then that's it, right? That's all you can do. And then, you know, he didn't respond. So you know what? We said, let's go visit him. He had moved to Maui for work, so we said, wait, let's all go Maui. So four of us, we went to Maui, right? And we knew where he worked, and so we just showed up at his. At the place where he was working.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:32:57]:
It was a store, and he was a manager store. And he's like, oh, shocked. He's like, oh, man. He's like. And he's like, no, yeah, we're Maui. And, you know, just kind of pretend like, oh, we just happen to be in the neighborhood. And we came and he's like, showing us around the store and he's telling us about the owners, like, how great it is to work in this place. And, you know, it finally got to me.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:33:19]:
And I said, you know what? We. We didn't come to find out how good the owners are. We came to find out how you doing. And you saw his face change a little bit, right? And. And he, you know, he said, oh, man, I'm sorry. And, and it's. I just wanted, we just wanted to say, you know what, we're not going to just let you walk off into the sunset. We understand everybody gets struggles, you know, we're not saying, we're not scolding you, we're just saying, brother, we're not letting you go.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:33:52]:
Right. And you know, years later, you know, I remember because he didn't respond right away, but I did a camp, I spoke at a camp and he was at the camp, a singles retreat. And you know, we're just really connected. And I said, man, I'm so glad to see you. He had moved back to Oahu and all these kind of things, different career and the whole thing, but. And pursuing God. And he said, we just were talking and he said, you know, you know, when you guys came to Maui, man, I was so mad initially because I was just running. I was just in this time I was just running.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:34:31]:
But you know, I'm so glad you guys came because that really helped me later. Right. And so I think this aspect keep building bonds of love. And sometimes it's because things that you learn as a believer, some things that you experience in life that you need to share with somebody else. Right. You know, the Sports Illustrated had this article years back about One of the PGA's greats, Greg Norman, golfer. I'm not a golfer, but you know, like, I guess that's a shark shirts, right? That's golf. I think that's the Greg Norman shirts, right? That.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:35:09]:
But it's kind of like when he was still in the top of his game and he was in a tournament and you know, he was. Looked like he was gonna win the tournament and then this other guy just comes on the scene and he, he, he beats him out. It's by one 15 foot birdie on the, the 72nd hole that they've been golfing and, and all of a sudden, you know, he loses this Masters tournament and you know when he wins, he lost to this guy named Nick Faldo and, and they show later at the end that they. Nick Faldo and he, you know, Greg Norman was just, he was reach out his hand and give him a. And to be gentlemanly, right? Golf is supposed to be the gentlemanly sport. And instead the guy just when he reached out his hand to hug, shake his hand, he just, Nick Falzo just hugged him. He just hugged him and he didn't let go. And then at the end both of them are in tears.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:36:17]:
And you know, later Greg Norman said, you know, I wasn't crying because I'd lost. I'd lost golf tournaments before, you know, and I'll lose more. He says, I cried because I never felt that from another man before. I'd never been hugged like that in all my life. And, you know, he tells the story about later. Before that, his dad, you know, like, dad would be doing all these things he'd want to hug from his dad, and his dad just never hugged him. And when he experienced that, it just melted something inside of him, and it was like water to something inside of him, right? Why? Because somebody just dared to just reach out, you know, hug isn't the magic bullet. It's not that.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:37:04]:
That's the magic bullet. It's that we ought to be building bonds of love, right? And reaching out sometimes, even when they're giving you the signals not to. Because one preacher said this, I love. I read this. He says, you know what you never find in the Bible where it says, humble one another, right? Cause us to love one another. You never find it. Scrutinize one another. You never find it in the Bible.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:37:34]:
Pressure one another, embarrass one another, interrupt one another, defeat one another, sacrifice one another, shame one another, judge one another, run one another's lives, or confess the sins of another person. Instead, we find love, encourage, strengthen, stand with, right? Bear one another's burdens. And when we do, often there's a release for people. People know not only that God loves them, but that they're worthy of love. He goes on in verse 11, and he says this, so make it your goal then to live a quiet life, minding your own business and working with your hands, just as we instructed you to believe. You know, when Paul writes this, it's important to consider that, you know, when Paul wrote this, that the church in Thessalonica was really heavily influenced by Greek culture and Greek philosophy, right? Because it's in. It's in Greece. And the Greeks were, for the most part, had a low view of physical labor, manual labor in particular.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:38:48]:
And so Paul is addressing maybe some of that bias even in the church. But another factor in here was, I don't know if you guys remember, but they said that the Thessalonian church also had been going through a lot of persecution, right? So that they had kind of lost their jobs and they had been beaten at times. And so because of the kind of thing that he's saying, that for some people that maybe was so vocal in their faith, but weren't living this aspect, that it kind of invited more persecution. So he's saying, you know what, what's the thing he says? Live a quiet life. Now, it's not saying hide your faith when it's saying minding your own business. This is not what he's saying. Mind your own business. That's not what he's saying.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:39:37]:
He's saying, take care of your stuff at home. Be responsible, right? Provide for your needs. He says, then people who are not believers will respect the way you live and will you. And not need to depend on others. Paul writes these to correct some misunderstandings about the faith and about work and all that. Some people think that work is part of the fall. Work is an evil thing. And work is like, oh, man, if Paul, if the Adam never sinned, then we wouldn't have to go work.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:40:10]:
We could just live it. No, that's not true. Work came before the fall, right? He says, God said that I placed you in the garden, so to care for it, to tend it, and then to name the animals and to. Right? So work came before the fall. Work is not sin. Work can become that when it's my God. Work can become that if I mistreat people at work or whatever it is. But work is a meaningful part of life.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:40:44]:
Being productive, not being idle, not being busy bodies, right? Being productive for yourself and for your family, right? It's not saying you got to earn X amount, right? But it's saying that we ought to be productive, right? To people. And he says, I know that you're already doing these things, but I want you to understand that. Be responsible. Make it your goal to live a quiet life. Don't be idle. Because if they were the kind of people that just proclaimed the gospel but never had a lifestyle of responsibility or if they were at work, right? Like maybe I just say it like this. I'm very blessed. Whenever I see somebody bring their friends from work to church, I'm super encouraged when I see that somebody, hey.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:41:39]:
Because I ask, right? Hey, how did you come? And sometimes people say, oh, yeah, I just work with so and so. And they, they brought me. Because you know what? I know that that means. I know that. Then my friend who's at church, who brought his friend from work, I know he's responsible at work, right? I know that he's not the. The guy who gossips about everybody at work. I know that he does his job. And why is that? Because if he was the guy who, you know, was talking about Jesus, but he never really did his job good, right? He talks stink about everybody at work.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:42:17]:
Is that person gonna come with him to church. No, you're not. Because if that's what it means to be a Christian, I don't need to know, right? And so I know that, you know, when people do it, it's a testimony to your co workers. It's a testimony to the world. Because if we want to reach other people, we got to be willing to be sometimes conscientious as our job and maybe not a slave to work, but being a person who doesn't run away from responsibilities and embraces it. You know, I asked my dad before he was a believer, I remember asking my dad, just trying to stir conversation, meaningful conversation with my dad. And I said, dad, what does it mean to be successful in life? And it's one of those that made him rub his face, you know. Well, he's thinking, right? He said, I guess if a man can take care of his business, pay his bills and keep his word, it's a pretty successful life.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:43:25]:
And he wasn't a believer, right? And so he didn't know about pleasing the Lord. He didn't know about living for eternal things. He didn't know about all of those things. But you know what? I love what he said. I love what he said because it's, you know, being responsible for yourself, right? And not making other people be responsible for you, right? That I honor my commitments so I'll pay my bills, right? I keep my words. So, you know, when it comes to this, it's just living a responsible and quiet life. I think that is what he's saying, right? It's not saying that if you have an exciting job, that that's not good or whatever, but he's just saying being dependable, right? So can I just ask you this? Are you dependable in the workplace? Are we peaceable in our relationships or the way that we interact, let's say at work or even among our neighbors, that it shows that, hey, you know, that this person, that being a follower of Jesus, it seems to be making a good impact in their life, right? And this person is a responsible person. And so I think Paul's making that kind of a thing.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:44:46]:
So he's saying, right? So some of it is not just the instruction, its encouragement to take action. And so this is one of the things he's saying. I'll just say this. This is the last thing, you know, Paul actually starts this thing with finally and he gives all these points. So sometimes when I know, when the pastor says, this preacher says, and finally, it doesn't mean that's really the last point, right? You guys ever get caught like that? Oh, we're wrapping up. Yeah, but this time, this is my wrap up, really the last point. But he goes on and he says in verse 13, and he changes gears a little bit. And so he says, and now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died so you will not grieve like those who have no hope.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:45:34]:
You see, in the past, he was dealing in the book, he was dealing a lot with what happened in the past, what God did, how they responded and how it's happening and what's happening in the present. And now he's making this transition in this chapter where he's talking about what's happening in the present, but what's going to happen in the future. Right? So God's interested in your past, he's interested in your present, and he's also interested in your future. So he's saying, hey, if you want to get a grip of the future, do you want to have a clearer picture of what's going to happen? He says, let me tell you. So he goes on and he says, for since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died. Now, part of that is that they were looking forward to the return of Jesus. But you know, the thing is that as they were, they were doing that, there is a part of them that was a little nervous. Will I make it when Jesus returns? I don't know if you've ever felt like that, right? I'm guessing you have.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:46:39]:
I know I have. Right. Will you make it? Will I make it? And the other thing is that, oh, my friend passed away and you know, I know that they were older or they had an accident or whatever it is, and I don't know, would they make it? Right. So there were some questions and faith was new to them. And so Paul gives this instruction. And to be honest, I don't think this is about the Rapture. This is about the return of Jesus, where he will resurrect. It comes in a resurrection.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:47:18]:
We talked about in the book of Revelation, which happens after all of these things, that God brings the final judgment in the world and re establishes everything. And he says this, he says, we tell you the truth. We tell you this directly from the Lord, that we who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those who have died. And when Paul says, we're telling you this directly from the Lord, there's no, you know, we don't see a picture where in Book of Acts or something where Paul gets a vision or somebody else teaches him something. But he says this. We tell you this directly from the Lord. So either this was something that was being taught orally, or Paul did have a vision, did have this encounter with God. But he says, for the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout when the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:48:21]:
And he says, first the believers who have died will rise from their graves. Then together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and then we will be with the Lord forever. So encourage each other with these words. And what he's trying to do is he's trying to bring some clarity to some things that we're not clear, clear to them. And so one of those things that maybe can bring clarity for us a little bit is that probably a lot of us grew up saying that when we die, what happens? If you're a believer, what happens? You're going to be with the Lord in heaven, right? And it's going to be like that forever. And that's true, but that's not the complete picture. Because you see, when we die, what happens? Something is remaining on earth, right? Your body. Your body will still be.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:49:26]:
And so when we have a service, a funeral, it's over. The remains, right? The body, the ashes, whatever it is. But where is that person? That person, their spirit and soul are in the direct presence of the Lord. They're in heaven, but they don't have a body at that moment. Can you still live and be like that? I think angels do that, right? We see God bring back the spirit of Samuel. He didn't have a body, but he was alive in the presence of the Lord. And so if you have a loved one right now, they probably do look like how they looked probably when they were young, in their prime and all that. And you would see them, but somehow there's not a physical substance, there's not a physical body.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:50:26]:
And they're in joy in the presence of the Lord. And somehow they can still, I think, partake of all the things heaven. But you and I, we were created to have three parts to ourselves. A body, a soul, and a spirit. There comes a season when we pass away where this body that somehow grew frail or old or sick or was in an accident, that this body won't make it for all of eternity. So what does God do. He says, I promise there'll be a new body. Just like there'll be a new heaven, a new earth, something renewed that wasn't, that's not going to get sick, that's not going to need glasses, right? That's not going to have all these things that's not going to be, have a pre disposed condition.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:51:26]:
How many of you guys are like, oh yeah, my, my parents had high blood pressure, so I have high blood pressure or you know, like my parents had this kind of an ailment and it's like I have this, there's not going to be none of that. And so he's saying when that time comes, when that time comes, kind of after all of the end times thing, after all these things and God causes the resurrection if you're still alive on the face of the planet. He says there will be the resurrection of those who have passed away before us, who've been in heaven, but they'll get a new body. But that's not the great hope, to be honest, that you get resurrected. In this passage, if you look at it, what does it say? Verse 17. Can we just look at that? Let's read what it says again. Then together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord, right? So what is the hope is that it's not just you because you had faith, it's your family, it's your loved ones that you'll be together. The people that you have missed, the people that like you have longed to see.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:52:54]:
And like, to be honest, there's many of us, we've said goodbye to loved ones and some of us recently. But he's saying this, that in the Lord he says we'll be together again, right? And he says that's part of the encouragement. They're not going to be alone in heaven, right? You're going to be with those who you already know, those you already love. You know funny. Mark Twain was quoted by saying, why is it that we rejoice at a birth and grieve at a funeral? He says it's because we're not the person involved. In other words, you know, we're super happy when the baby but like it's super traumatic when they get bored, right? And we're super sad at the funeral. Why? Because we're not the person who died. He's saying, but because that guy goes directly to be in the presence of the Lord, right? They're rejoicing.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:53:52]:
But the truth is we are sad so what he's saying, though, what Paul says to address that, he says we can grieve but still have hope. It's not a final goodbye, not because sentimentality. And we're just going to say nice words. No, this is a promise. He says this is a direct revelation from God. We'll be together. And he says there, then we will be with the Lord forever. And he just says this.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:54:28]:
So encourage each other with these words. Is it an encouraging word? So even in your difficult, know this. It's not the end. It's not that you'll never see them again. You will. Whether we go to meet them or till that day when the resurrection happens. But at the end, it'll be together. So we learn to love one another now.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:55:01]:
We learn how to strengthen one another now. We learn how to please God now. We learn how to practice holiness now. Right? Because we want to be that people that pleases God. Amen. Hey, let's bow our heads. We'll close in a word of prayer. Father, I know that as we look at this chapter today, that a large purpose you call us to do is to live how to please you.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:55:40]:
And we're thankful that you're not impossible to please. Lord, you said faith pleases you. In fact, without it, it's impossible to please you. But it is also dedicating ourselves, consecrating ourselves, and learning how to practice a sense of purity. Father, as you said, it's overflowing in love. It's learning not how to just say, I love this many people and I'm done and I don't care about anybody else, but it's saying, Lord, that it's letting love flow in us, but letting love flow to us. Lord, you talk about us learning how to not be idle and be productive, Lord, even even in retirement for some of us, that I think that we find our greatest joys just being productive, being faithful, Father, looking forward to the hope. And maybe some of us, Lord, but maybe you've released loved ones to the Lord, or maybe some of us, you might be even in a season of life, that maybe some of your closest family or your closest friends, maybe some of them are more, more of them in heaven even than here on earth.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:57:05]:
Be encouraged. We'll be together, you'll see them again. But if you haven't said to God, God, I want to please you. God, I'm willing to dedicate myself. I just want to invite you, to give you an opportunity to say, lord, I'm willing to learn to develop purity. I'm willing to learn how to practice that. I'm willing to learn how to let love overflow. I might not be the most loving person today, but, Lord, I know that you can love me and you can love through me.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:57:49]:
It might be that learning how to be quietly faithful at work and maybe being a good example, Lord, it might be in the midst of your grief, just saying, God, I'm willing, I'm willing to be encouraged in the midst of my grief right now. Sometimes it gets so hard right in the beginning especially, and just being willing to be encouraged. If that's you this evening, would you just raise a hand, say, God, that's me today. I want to please you, God. I want to learn to develop some purity in my life, Lord. I want to learn how to let love flow through me. Not just to my close, tight circle of friends, but I'm willing, I want to be a better witness at work because I'm putting my hope in you, Father. We're thankful for that.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:58:52]:
We're thankful that we don't do it to be loved. We do it because we are. So we dedicate, we consecrate ourselves today in Jesus name God's people say Amen. Amen. Amen. Hey, thanks, folks. God bless you guys.