Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:00:00]:
You know, this evening we're continuing our series in some sense that we've been doing. We were at first Thessalonians, but we finished it. And we're actually going to be jumping into the book of Second Thessalonians. And how many of us feel like, boy, we're living in some uncertain times, right? Like sometimes it's like the things that's happening in nature, for sometimes it looks like things are happening politically, sometimes it looks like the spiritual confusion or morality that's happening in the world. And sometimes it feels like it's not just out around the world. It's what's happening in our own lives. So we can see sometimes injustice or persecution or confusion. And in moments like these, it's easy to feel discouraged or overwhelmed.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:00:41]:
And so we might be tempted in some of those moments to kind of, you know what? I just need to kind of take a step back or I just need to make a compromise here or, you know, sometimes we question. We question, why are these things happening? And if you've ever felt like any of that, the Thessalonian believers knew exactly what you feel like because they felt the same way. Because they were young Christians facing intense persecution, they're trying to hold on to their faith and doing great, by the way. They were doing wonderfully. But at the same time, just all these kind of different weird teachings started creeping in and confusing their understanding about Jesus return. And to be honest, when we talked about that a couple weeks ago about Christ's return, he the second coming, that there comes a point where they start wondering, did Jesus come? And we missed it. Right? I don't know if you've ever felt like that, but that's what they felt. And so all these questions that coming out and.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:01:41]:
And they start getting back to Paul. So Paul addresses them with a second letter. And it's to steady their hearts, it's to comfort them that God has not lost control. No, you didn't miss the return of Christ. And we got to live faithfully until that day. And so it's kind of like it's meant to be a comfort, but not to stay complacent, right? Not to get complacent. And so this evening, as we're continuing in the series, I'm just saying that what is this about? It's really being comforted, but not complacent. And this evening we're going to just take A Look, chapter one of 2 Thessalonians 2, and we're going to look at living rightly in a hostile world.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:02:22]:
Because in this series, I think that we need some clarity and we need some comfort in this time of confusion, in this time of what is just even. It becomes a question. Sometimes we'll need courage. We need courage to not just endure hardship, but to stand firm in our faith and to have hearts that are refreshed. We need conviction so that we can live in the way that God has called us to live and not give into kind of all the dictates of culture. And we need promise because we need to know the hope that's in Christ and his victory that is not just for those out there, but it's even for us who are here. And so in this letter, Paul the apostle, right, shortly after he wrote that first letter to Thessalonica, and as he's writing, he's going to be addressing some of these things. Now, when you read the Bible, I think it's important to understand and remember every once in a while that it wasn't written to you, but it was written for you.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:03:26]:
Let's say that together. The Bible wasn't written to me, but it was written for me. What do I mean by that? Because when we see a letter called Thessalonians or First Thessalonians or Second Thessalonians, who is it written to? It's not rocket science. It's written to whom? The Thessalonians. Right. So the guys in Thessalonica, and they lived, to be honest, 2,000 years ago about this, at this stage. Right. And they had a particular culture influenced by Greek mythologies and all the different other kinds of aspects that moved in that way.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:04:01]:
But it was written to them, but it was written for you and for me as well. Right. It was written for every believer in every season throughout all of history. And so sometimes we're going to have to understand, well, why does he address this issue? Because that was an issue that needed to be addressed in that season. And although we may not hold the same exact situation, you might not be thinking, well, I wonder if I missed the Second Coming. But you'll see things in it that still applies to you, applies to your faith, applies to the way that we walk. And so there are some things I'm just going to say in this book, there are some really comforting things. And then there's going to be some things that are a little hard.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:04:45]:
Right? And it's not hard because it's hard to understand. It's just so hard sometimes in the face of culture, sometimes in the face of what people say about that. And so this Evening. We're going to kind of delve into that. And I'm just going to read the first few verses in Second Thessalonians, chapter one and two. And it's not even printed in your notes, it's the introduction. But this is what he says. Would you do me a favor? Let's stand in reverence for God, reverence for his word, and mind if I pray as we start? Father, I thank you for the word of God.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:05:19]:
That Lord, sometimes when we read it, there are some books we read which are maybe a little difficult to be honest. And when we like what's going on and who is he talking to. And yet in this book we'll see some pretty clear and easy to understand things. And yet at the same time, Lord, sometimes it's the things that we understand that trouble us, not the things we don't understand. Sometimes it's the opposite. But would you just lead us and guide us today? Thank you, Lord, that you know what each of us needs today. And, Father, that our understanding of what you wrote and what you have said and what you have done, Lord, would it influence us so we can see what you're doing? And, Father, that what you have done, that impacts our life today. So, Father, lead us and guide us and bless us today in Jesus name.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:06:05]:
Amen. He says it like this. In verses one and two, he says, paul, Silvanus and Timothy to the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. And you know that aspect of grace and peace that's found in Jesus. We pray the same for you today. So do me a favor, before you're seated, just turn to your neighbor, says, God have grace and peace on you today. Then you can have a seat.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:06:37]:
And it's just a simple introduction, you know. And one of those things that's a little different that we see is Paul doesn't even claim the apostleship. He doesn't. I don't need to. I already said that. You guys know who I am, right? So he's. He's kind of getting a little shorthand here. And then he goes on in verse three, and he says this.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:06:51]:
I'm going to just jump right in. And he says, and we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers, as is. Right. Because your faith is growing abundantly, let's say the word abundantly. Right? So it's not just growing. Oh, yeah, yeah. He's a little different. Yeah, I can see he's a little, you know, his understanding.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:07:07]:
He's saying, no, man, you guys are really growing, that you guys are really doing good. And he's saying, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing. Therefore, we ourselves boast about you in the churches of God for your steadfastness and faith in all your persecutions and in all the afflictions that you're enduring. Now, Paul wants to encourage this church in Thessalonica because if we remember, when the gospel came, it came with great persecution. In fact, they wanted to stone Paul, and they wanted to kind of just basically stone everybody that that was following Jesus. Now, this strange new teaching that they thought and the gospel was growing in the middle of that. And so Paul writes that first letter. And, you know, the thing is that sometimes, you know, when you go through this hard season, we know it's a hard season, but we think, I'll just get through it.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:07:59]:
But what happens when the period of, like, a few weeks turns into a few months or a few months turns into a few years, right? All of a sudden sometimes you. You get a little tired, maybe, and we wonder, is it really. Am I really doing that great? Because why isn't it getting better? And, you know, the thing is that that's how they were feeling. And it might not have been written to you and to me, but, boy, doesn't that sound like a message to you and to me, and sometimes it just rings a little closer, maybe even in certain situations that are happening around the world, you know, reminds me of what happened on February 1, 2021. And that was a kind of like this second year of pandemic, almost one year, you know, since all this has been going on. And, man, we're just trying to figure out all these things about streaming and all this stuff that people weren't really, like, fully coming back to church yet, and all that stuff and craziness. And we're doing all that, and we're trying to figure out, like, how, you know, we have ministries in places that are very difficult that around the world and the places where we have been ceding ministry and some of you guys know very clearly where we do things, that on February 2, 2021, that on top of all that's been going on here, it was much worse in Asia, much worse in terms of the kind of the virulence of the disease. Southeast Asians actually have a genetic predisposition to get Covid more on a stronger basis.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:09:46]:
And many people lost their lives. A lot of people had really long Term effects. And so some of our staff died as a result in Myanmar. And then on February 1, the coup happened that after the election that all of a sudden, if things couldn't be bad, and it was bad already, then the. The government military overtook the duly elected officials and put them in jail and set the country in turmoil. And all of a sudden, now this country that seemed to be holding together in the midst of it, it seems like all of a sudden now kind of like all hell breaking loose. And to be honest, our staff held tight. They kept preaching the gospel, they kept investing in kids, they kept trying to build one another up.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:10:43]:
We you guys in this room, many of you, and those of you at home that kept praying and gave and we gave because as things were spinning out of control, prices were going crazy and kids didn't have food to eat. And we kind of helped them through that period. But you know that it hasn't really gotten any better. War has been raging and it's like one nation, but it's like eight states. It's like it's beginning to look like there's like an individual army in each of those states. And who knows when this thing is going to be resolved. But you know, in the midst of all those things that they're still reaching out, they're still teaching kids, they're still equipping orphans, they're still preaching the gospel. They led in the last few months, in the last few months, they led 60 people to Jesus and baptized like, some 25 or 20, 30 of those guys.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:11:49]:
And you know what? Like, man, when I see what's going on in that place, and they're not just saying, I'm not just hiding, although they can be pulled off the street and conscripted into an army and be basically being used as fodder for when they go against the people that often their own kin, often their own kind of tribal kind of a setting, and you know what? They soften them up. And then the military comes in after that can happen to them. But they're still saying, you know what? We're still trusting God, we're still serving Jesus, still leading people to Jesus at great risk to their lives. This is happening today, and it is an honor for me to say, you know what? These are our friends. These are the people that you guys pray for, support and all that, and we ought to be proud of them, should we not? Right? So it's like, man, I thank God for them. We pray for them, right? But the thing is that what we recognize is that God is still at work, even though it hasn't quite resolved on a political level. And we can still be thankful. We can still see what God is doing.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:13:10]:
Why? Because we talked about it when we prayed this evening. Because that in moments of great upheaval, so much dust and seeds are thrown into the air. And what lands on you, we don't want to indiscriminately blossom. We don't want fear or selfishness or we don't want a sense of skepticism and a hard heart begin to develop, letting those kind of seeds take root in our heart. And what happens when I see the activity of God, when I see what he's done and I see what he's doing, it tends to, you know, what tends to kind of neutralize the seeds that we don't want growing in our lives and instead that we can have. Still have faith, we can still have joy. And I know it's possible because I see it in my friends in Myanmar. I see it in the midst of war.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:14:06]:
I see it in the midst of, at times, not knowing where the next round is, not just for them, but the people depended on them to eat and survive. And they have been sustained by the grace of God and partnership from many of you in this room, right? And so we are grateful for that. But remembering and sharing God's faithfulness from the past often becomes a powerful means of encouraging one another in the present. And so can I just ask you this? That what have you seen God doing for you or doing around you even now? Is there something that you can thank God for? Even if it's as simple as, you know, my gosh, that. Lord, in this last Tuesday, I'm so thankful that none of my friends or none of my family got hurt or that we were able to be together, that we were able to, whatever it is. What can you see? Because if you find nothing that you can be thankful for, it becomes very difficult. It becomes very difficult at times to combat the seed of skepticism, to combat that thing of just saying, you know, not just skepticism, but, you know, of critical spirit or whatever it would be. And so sometimes we need to grow in our faith.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:15:34]:
Faith. But life gets in the way, right? Because you feel like in situations like that, man, it's like, I don't know if I have enough energy to kind of do what I need to. I don't know if I have enough time. I don't know if I, you know, it's just a hard season. You know, they could say that, right? They could say that. But I want Us to know this, that when it's hard, to be honest, when it's hard, that's often where your faith grows the most. Your faith doesn't grow the most in the easy season. You know, you might get knowledge in the easy season.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:16:06]:
You might get kind of a lot of input in this easy season. You might get some an opportunity to do different kind of experiences in the easy season. But, you know, the thing is that it's in the hard season that you have the greatest opportunity to grow. Think back in your lives. When did you become more dedicated? When did you get to see God's faithfulness the most? Right. When did you get to see the fact that when you thought you wouldn't, you didn't know if you're going to make it. But God pulled me through. Was it in the easy season or was it in the hard season? Right.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:16:40]:
You know, the thing that Romans tells us is that when we are grateful because we see that, that it does this thing that doesn't allow our hearts to get hardened, right? There's this capacity. So we see this. So it's important recognize what God has done and is doing. And wherever you are right now, however much you've advanced, however much that you have stood firm, however much that you have been done, anything that's worthy of praise, and many of you have done tremendous things of praise, right? That's praiseworthy. And in reaching people for the Gospel, standing firm, ministering to one another church, trusting God in the midst of all that, that is praiseworthy. But you know what? More is to come. More is to come. God's not done.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:17:32]:
God wants to do more in your life right now than you can ask or imagine or think he's not done. You haven't run out of blessings yet. God doesn't have a limit that God doesn't have a quota. It's like it's one blessing per calendar year, you know, is one miracle. You know, it's like God doesn't have a blessing quota like that, right? The best is yet to come. But we have to trust him. And what allows us to do that when we see what he's doing and we see what is done, it allowed the Thessalonians to grow. It's allowing our friends in Myanmar to grow.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:18:11]:
And why do we go through these hard seasons? Sometimes? Sometimes I think it's like what Paul went through. The Apostle Paul said it himself. And maybe he doesn't write about it in this letter, but he wrote about it in Corinthians, Second Corinthians, where he said this in 1910, he says, indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. In other words, we thought we weren't. Literally, we were going to make it. We thought we were cashing in all the chips. You know, I'm just. I had a good run.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:18:45]:
I'm going home to Jesus. But that was to make us rely what, not on ourselves, but on God, who raises the dead. Sometimes when we get to this place where you go, like, I don't have any. I don't know physically, I don't know practically how I can move forward anymore. I think I really hit the end of the road. Does God do it just to say, okay, because you're not a good believer, because you're not a good son, you're not a good daughter. The devil tells you that. Don't listen to the devil, listen to God.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:19:22]:
Because one of the things. When you hit the end of the road, guess what? God can make road, right? God can make a new road. He can extend your road. Because he says this in verse 10. He delivered us from such a deadly peril, like, literally, they thought we're hanging it all up. What is he talking about? Is he talking about the shipwreck that happens where he thought they were all going to die? He never hit that. Yet there were times where he got stoned and they thought he was dead. I'm guessing as well.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:19:50]:
I wonder at some of those times that whether actually Paul was killed and God resurrected him. Because when you get cracked with a stone and your friends think you're dead, they carry your body out and then you wake up and then you stand. I think sometimes, you know, sometimes you just revived. But sometimes I think God raised Paul from the dead. And so if God needs to raise you from the dead, he can raise you from the dead if he needs to. But do me a favor, if you feel like you're the end of the road, there's more road ahead. God can make a new road. Turn to.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:20:31]:
Your neighbor says, God can make a new road for you, right? It's not just what he's done, it's what he's doing. God's not done working. And then he goes on in verse five, and he says, and this is the evidence of the righteous God, the righteous judgment of God, that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering. Since indeed God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to grant relief to you who are as afflicted as well as to Us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels. Now, this aspect, he needs to address this. The elephant in the room is the fact that they're still suffering right in the middle of all of these things. It's still hard, right? And so he doesn't just say, well, let's not. Let's kind of dance around the subject.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:21:28]:
He needs to address that. And something we said is that of course they were going through it and others as well, but. Right. Why is that? Because that caused them to doubt themselves. Everybody doubts at some point, right? Can I just. Is that true? How many of you doubted? Right? You had your doubts. Maybe you still have your doubts. Now, here's the thing about your doubts is, is that sometimes I don't think anybody ever truly addresses every intellectual question, every kind of a personal doubt, every.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:22:02]:
You never get to the place where you never have anything. It's just that if you have something where you have a doubt, you have enough answers so that what you do is you interpret what you don't know by what you do know. That makes sense, right? Like, I mean, hey, are there things like, hey, how exactly does the dinosaur thing work with, you know, the biblical account and the whole thing? And it's like, man, there's so many different ways we can go. And there's books that are written on them and written by, you know, biochemists and written by guys who are in biology and all these things who are believers. Right? And it's detailed and I can't explain it because, man, I should have studied harder in biology. But some of those things, I've read them, but I can't use this time to discuss that. But what I'd say is this, even though this mechanic that they're talking about at times, and that I get it. In the sense when you're reading, it's sort of like math.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:23:04]:
Oh, I get it. And then when you have to explain it to somebody else, like, I don't know how to say it, but what I do know is I never knew there was a God. And now I know God. I never knew how it worked, and I just thought this whole thing was crazy. And then God revealed himself and he's been faithful every step of the way. And that the presence of God in my life has been more of an impact that the way that I actually live and the way that I actually treat people than some of those little things that I don't understand. You know what happens? It's like, it's not that I don't have Any questions? It's just that the knowledge and experience I have with God, like it just overshadows those things. It's like, who cares? That makes sense.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:23:54]:
And so we get to this place when we understand that what God wants us to do is to trust him and, and obey Him. Now I'm not saying that we don't seek out intellectual answers to some of the things that we deal with. And in fact, I normally enjoy that kind of a discussion. And if you have that kind of a discussion, if I'm equipped to do it, I'm gonna, I'd love to be able to talk to you about it. If not, there's sometimes I have resources that I can say hey, and then we can dialogue about it. Books that you want, but you got to invest a little bit to get sometimes the answer when it comes to that because it's not a straight, like a two second answer. So. But I think that there's a lot of value in that.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:24:40]:
But at the end, Jesus wants us to trust him and obey him. Right? At the end, it always comes down to Jesus wants to trust us to trust him and obey him. And he says in this passage, he says in this passage that, you know what, that when we're coming to this place, he says the evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom for which you're suffering, since God indeed considered it just to replay with affliction those who afflict you and to grant relief to you who are as afflicted as well as to us. When the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels. There's this thing that the return of Christ is revelatory. In other words, it's going to show something that had previously been hidden. And what is currently not visible to the world is the presence of Christ. Right? It's not visibly present that we don't go, you don't have to like, hey, you know, I, I got a Dorito chip when I opened the bag and it looked like Jesus in the thing, you know, like we, you know something, they put a lot of like photos and all that kind of stuff.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:25:52]:
Like, that's not Jesus, right? I don't need the Shroud of Turin. Although to be honest, I wouldn't doubt that. You know, there's different things that going on. But hey, could that be. I think they've never really done a full analysis because when they did the previous analysis, there were some questions on genetic contamination in the thing, that what they took was from a. Actually a place that had been repaired. You know, I don't know if you guys are following any of that stuff, but there's different things along those lines. But the revelation of Jesus, there's.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:26:28]:
There's people right now that they don't see God, they don't sense God, they don't trust God, they don't know God. But when Christ comes, there will be a revelation that, oh my gosh, there really is a God. He really did make a way through Christ. He really is returning, right? The return of the Lord will come unexpected and it will be frightening, frankly, to people who don't know Christ, because they never expected this. On the other hand, for those who oppressed we talked about, it will be a time of vindication and that you will be strengthened and you will be encouraged and justice will be kind of laid out. Now, sometimes what we read in this portion is that sometimes we see God in a different light because we think that, okay, God is holy. I know that. And, and I needed forgiveness, you might know that.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:27:39]:
But he was kind to me, he was merciful to me. He forgave me, you guys. Does that resonate with anybody? Right? Like, I didn't deserve it. It's beyond what I had imagined. It's beyond what I know. So the thing is, why does it say then for some people ask this, why does it say God will repeat, pay with affliction those who afflict you? In other words, we don't like the fact for some of us that God's going to bring judgment on the world because what we have heard is that God is a loving God. Is God a loving God? Absolutely. But he's not only loving, right? God is also a just God.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:28:29]:
God is also a holy God, right? And there is this principle that is going to be laid out that Paul's laying out for this. That's called the law of retaliation. It's the principle of justice where justice is meted out accordingly, corresponding directly and proportionately to the. To the offense that has been done. And this is probably most commonly expressed in this in the Old Testament. An eye for an eye and what, a tooth for a tooth. That makes sense, right? So it's like if somebody did something to somebody. In the Old Testament, there was this thing, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:29:10]:
Now, this was not given so that you just bash the guy. It was actually meant to limit in excess right of retaliation. It was limitless so that if somebody did something to you, like, hey man, that guy disrespected me, I go burn his House down. Right, Right. That guy said something to me. He gave me stink eye. And so I'm going to just pound him out. Like that's what it was to limit.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:29:36]:
No, no, no, no. Right. There is a limit. An eye for an eye. Did he harm you physically? Well, then you cannot harm him physically. Right? It was meant to be a limit because the human tendency is that I do more than what was done to me because I'm mad now and I'm scared and all these things. And so. But here's why God says it, that those who.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:30:01]:
And some of us have been in places where we have truly been targeted for our faith, that we have truly been taken advantage of because we were gracious and tried to do something in the name of Jesus and people took advantage of and stole from you or took something from you. Right? And that if you're in that place, this is what God says about that. In Zechariah 2. 8, he says this. For thus says the Lord of hosts, after his glory, sent me to the nations who plundered you. For he who touches you. What touches the apple of my eye? What is the apple of my eye? It's your pupil. Actually, that's the metaphor that they use, the apple of my eye.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:30:50]:
Because it kind of looked like something like an apple to them. And so he says, anybody ever, like, try to touch your eye? What do you do instinctively, right? Is that you see somebody and if somebody actually poked your eye, it's painful, right? And so God says this. When people unjustly target a believer, mistreat a believer, persecute a believer, that harms a person of faith, right? Because of their faith. Guess what? It's like you poke God in the eye. And what is it saying now? That there is some kind of justice that needs to be meted out and it's going to be commensurate to what they've done. And so I have known parents that when kids have come to Christ and the parents are not believers, like literally tear up the Bible that literally have. When these guys are trying to go on a mission trip, that they would tear up the application and, and throw it in the trash or when the letter comes and prevented these things. And I have had to tell to sometimes parents, like, I know you don't agree with them, I know you don't like all that they're doing, but I do want to caution you, like, you know, you're always going to be their parent, but watch how you persecute their faith because God is still watching.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:32:23]:
And the thing is that what we do to a person, God says this, I'm watching and I don't forget. So in verses 7 to 10, he's going to say some words that are kind of, they're stiff words, they're straight words, and it has to do with hell and eternal punishment. Now when I became a Christian and went into the ministry and I worked on college campuses, I was sharing the gospel. We're making disciples, we're kind of developing leaders and people who will go out and, and do ministries in different kind of places. My mom thought this is what she thought I was doing. She said this to me once. I said, mom, what do you think I do? I just asked her, she said, oh, you just walk up to people say, hey, you know, you go in hell. And I said, no, mom, I just had that conversation with you.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:33:14]:
No, but you know, the thing is that as a young believer, I did have kind of a stiff conversation with my mom because I didn't have wisdom, I had zeal. How many of you guys have had zeal, but not that much knowledge, right? As a brand new believer, but you love your family, right? So you want them to go to heaven. And so I would ask my mom and it's like, you know, and I said stuff and she was Catholic and I said some really bad things about the Catholic Church and my mom just like was so offended right? Now the thing is that I know many great believers in the Catholic Church, I'm not Catholic. And I think that there's many things in the Catholic Church that in the traditions, that's not helpful. And to be honest, sometimes not biblical, right? But they love Jesus, many of them, and many, I believe, going to heaven, right? Because they love Jesus and they follow him, right? But because of that, my mom thought that's how I just handled with everybody, right? And so as a result, when I kind of heard that from my mom, it made me a little bit skittish, like, well, I hope that's not the impression people get, right? Because I'm trying to tell them about the God who loves them and cares about them. And so I understand that the subject of hell and judgment, it's a sensitive subject sometimes to get into, right? And people, as a result, it's not just me, but churches have sometimes skirted the subject. Sometimes I've skirted the subject because, mom, that's not what I do, right? But if we read the Bible, when it comes up, we cannot skirt it, right? It's an important lesson. So let's continue on.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:34:58]:
He Says this. I'm just going to reread part of seven. He says, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus, they will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might. God bless you guys. Let's close in prayer. No, I'm just kidding. I'm just joking now. It's saying this, that God inflicts vengeance.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:35:28]:
And so when we read this, sometimes it sounds rough, right? And so some of us, we protest because I thought God was a God of love and why is he such a vengeful God? I thought God wasn't punitive and God wasn't like, mean and all these things. And we misunderstand the word one sometimes what the word vengeance means, because the word vengeance literally means to give justice, justice or punishment, satisfaction or legal remedy. So he is bringing. When he says vengeance, what he's saying is he's bringing justice to the situation. So what is it based on? Sometimes he's saying this, that how you violated is to the degree of satisfaction that will be needed, or justice that will be needed, or legal remedy or punishment. And so some people will say, we look at this, that I have actually heard this, and sometimes I've had kind of like debates with people and all these kinds of things. And I've been asked this once, is that why is punishment, hell eternal when every mistake that we make on this earth is just temporal? In other words, it was a mistake, I did it here. But it's finite, right? This life is finite.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:36:45]:
So why will I have an eternal punishment? Anybody ever wondered that or anybody ever brought that before you? Right? And so I think we need to look at this, that what is it talking about when we say this? And the reason why punishment that Jesus talks about is eternal and not just temporal. It's not just, okay, give you three slaps on the wrists, you know, 10 years, you know, in this difficult situation, and then. And then we're all good. Part of it is this. Let me give you. There's several reasons. The first thing I think that we can look at this is the nature of sin is relational, not just temporal. In other words, sin is not merely just breaking the rules.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:37:32]:
It's about rebelling against someone, right? And it's rebelling against a holy and eternal God. And so the gravity of our sin isn't just, I broke a few rules or I mistreated some people. But it's. The fact is, it's who did I commit this sin against? In Psalm 51:4, David says, against you and you only have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight. And so a sin against an infinite and eternal being carries eternal consequences. And we often forget is that you and I are not just temporal finite beings. In other words, from the moment you were created, you were created to live forever. It just depends where, right? So at the end of this life, every person who's born will live, continue living after they die.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:38:34]:
The issue is just where, right? And so people, we're not eternal in the sense that we lived forever beforehand, but since the moment we were created, we continue to live forward forever. And so it's like insulting a stranger sometimes. If you insulted the king, you know, in Thailand, the king's face is on money, just like, you know, the presidents that we have here did. You know that if you step and deface the king's image, like literally on money, you go straight to jail. They arrest you on the spot because you are defacing that offense they say is against the king in Thailand. And so it's worse than chewing gum in Singapore, right? So it's, you're not just going to get on cane, you're going to jail, like for real kind. And so in the sense that God is saying this, that it depends on who we offend by our offense. The second thing I think we need to remember is, is eternal separation isn't because you made one mistake, but it's a result of persistent rejection.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:39:54]:
Because God is in the habit of extending himself, right? Extending himself, giving grace. It says where sin abounded. It says grace abounded all the more. In other words, it's sort of like this. Somebody has said this, you know, when somebody gets arrested and pulled into the station, it's not the first time they did it, right? I know from experience, but it's true, right? I've been in a place where I was riding in the police car and not the ride along. You know what I mean? I was young, right? But it wasn't the first time I did something. And here's the thing is that I learned from some of those things. But in Romans 2, 5, it says this.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:40:51]:
If we don't listen, if we don't respond to God, he says, you are storing up wrath for yourself because of your stubborn and unrepentant heart. You see, God loves people, God loves you. God loves your family, God loves your neighbors. God loves, you know, the People that you hang out with who don't know Jesus. But one thing he's saying, he wants them to come. You're inviting them, you're praying for them. But he says there is a grace for them to come. But if they continue to refuse over the course of a lifetime, it wasn't one time they rejected.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:41:29]:
It was a lifetime of rejection, right? And he goes on and he says, because God's judgment is always just, but it's measured. It's not that he wants to smash each person. He just says this in Romans 2:6, God will repay each person according to what they have done. In Revelation 20:12, it says this. The books will be open and judgment is based on what is recorded, suggesting some kind of a fairness and some kind of a tempering, depending on what you have have done. Now, no one will say on judgment day, God, you're unjust. And God has gone to extreme lengths to provide a way of escape. God doesn't want anybody to go to hell.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:42:23]:
Second Peter says this. The Lord is patient, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. Let's say everyone. God wants everyone. God wants the people who persecute our friends in Myanmar to repent and come to faith, right? God wants the crazy guy who killed all those people in Idaho to repent and come to faith, right? God wants that person who, you know, kind of robbed old people of their life savings, you know, from some scam over the phone, to repent and come to faith. But they have to choose. They have to respond. God's made provision through Jesus.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:43:10]:
He said this. I will take the sin of the world on myself. If we want to know what ultimate judgment looks like. Jesus says, I've done it, and all you got to do is turn and come to me. And you know what I'll do if you turn and come to me? Come humbly, come honestly. I'll forgive you your sin and place you into my family. That's what he says. Because the purpose of the gospel is rescue, not condemnation.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:43:47]:
Makes sense. Jesus says this, for God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. And so we have to understand that although it does talk about an eternal judgment is because to be honest, people live forever and our God lives forever. And if you choose to not be with him, there has to be a place for you. God doesn't just destroy you and annihilate you and you cease to exist. Every person who's born or maybe even unborn right Lives forever. The issue is just where make sense, okay? And so this is what he says in verse 11. To this end, we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:45:00]:
Now, you know this aspect that what he's talking about is that he wants you to fulfill your calling, right? He wants you to fulfill your calling and live worthy of your calling. To live worthy of your calling. Now, when we think about living worthy of our calling, I think sometimes it stands in contrast to what the world often says. I think the world often says, follow your dreams. You guys ever heard that one, right? Follow your dreams. Live out your passion, right? But did you guys know that research has found that following your passion is often not the greatest advice? Because this is likely to lead to overly limited pursuits, inflated expectations, whether it's your career or how much money you make or whatever thing, and early and eventual burnout. And so they conclude in this study that people who are told to follow their passions and interests, that they find that this idea has different motivational implications. Urging people to find their passion may lead them to put all their eggs in one basket, but then to drop that basket when it comes too difficult to carry.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:46:15]:
Because although the culture is telling us, like, look within yourself, right? Assuming that. Because I like this, and this interests me, that. That that's the way to live, the study encourages us to ask, are we still looking only to the self or are we looking outward and upward as well? He says most successful young people don't look inside and then plan a life. They look outside and find a need or a call or a cause which summons their life, which calls them forward. And, you know, the thing is that somebody said this, that if I look within, I'm filled with doubt, right? But if I look around, I can feel insignificant. But if I look at God, I can be at peace. But we look at the world through the lens of Jesus, through the lens of our faith, that what can happen is we sense a call to something, to live a life that's bigger than ourselves, to live a life that's. That's worthy of Jesus.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:47:39]:
When I say worthy, it doesn't mean earning it. I think what it's talking about is living a life in line with it, right? That's aligned with it. It's sort of like this. I just Heard this funny story which I relate to in some sense, where somebody was going to a party and there was an open bar. And he was like, oh, so excited to go to this place that had an open bar. And it was a big party, it was a big gathering. And when they saw him, everybody was glad that he was there and he was headed to the bar. But he said, then they said this, but would you mind opening us in prayer? And he said, oh, because now all of a sudden when I have to open in prayer, some of the things that were a temptation for him became something that he couldn't give himself to.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:48:49]:
Right? Why is that? Because he was feeling there would be a misalignment of this calling to pray and claim the name of Jesus and be kind of like go crazy at the bar. Right. And what am I saying? That every drop of alcohol is evil and should never touch a Christian's lips? No, I'm not saying that. I am saying that drunkenness is something that the Bible says we shouldn't give ourselves to. It tears at our soul, right? It breaks us down. But we were called for something, right? That God made you and has things in advance for you to follow. But we only kind of find our standing when we give ourselves to something greater than ourselves. Somebody said this.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:49:57]:
A person is like a rubber band or an unblown balloon. And I forgot to pick up the balloon before I came to service today. And there's balloons right here, though. But, you know, if I had a balloon right now, that I had one in my house, but it was a tiny balloon, and it's just like this big, small, little red balloon, and that's all it looks like. But what happens when I blow on it and I feel it and I stretch it? That balloon goes from this size to this size and is much bigger and fuller only when it's been stretched, when it's filled with something not of itself, then all of a sudden it has an existence. It has a capacity to be bigger than itself. And God wants to stretch you and me, when he says, live a life worthy, he's just saying, would you line your life up with me so that you won't be embarrassed that the way that you live and the words that you speak, you're not going to be perfect. No one will.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:51:19]:
That's not what I'm saying. It's just saying, seek to live that life of alignment with God and you fulfill your call. Make sense? Yeah. I want to close this portion, and we're going to take communion together. And I think it's important when we just talking about the subjects that we talked about tonight is to understand that you don't have to live a perfect life. You don't have to be a perfect Christian to have confidence about your eternal destination and about peace with God. Can we just bow our heads in this moment before we take communion? Father, as we begin this look at second Thessalonians, Lord, I think it really is about living rightly in an unjust world. And that message would have been of great comfort to those who are living in a place where, Lord, how long, Lord, how long do we have to endure? And sometimes we feel that way in different places.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:52:30]:
And. And I'm thankful that you're saying, Lord, that you notice that, Lord, sometimes that our lives somehow reflect something where it is encouraging for people to hear how people are standing strong and pursuing Jesus and making sacrifice for the honor of God and loving one another and caring for one another and being Lord, the people like the hands and feet of Jesus. Lord, I thank youk. This room is filled with people like that and I'm sure people at home who are watching. But Father, we also know that it matters that we share the gospel, because, Lord, people are meant to live forever. But the question depends on where and apart from the grace and the mercy of Christ. Lord, I would never want to stand before the living God. Lord, it is Jesus.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:53:31]:
He is my only hope and trust. And if you've never known Jesus today, you've known church, maybe, you've known religion, maybe, but you've never really known Jesus. He wants you. He died for you so that you wouldn't have to. And so all you have to do is say, God, I need you. I've been doing my own thing. I've been doing it my own way, but I'm changing direction. I want to trust you, I want to follow you.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:54:11]:
I want to know you. Today. I'm changing, changing my heart. I'm changing my direction. That's what the word repent means, to change direction, to change your mind. And I'm putting my faith, I'm trusting in Jesus, in His sacrifice. Father, I thank you that today that if there's people right now just making that decision and telling you these things, Lord, that we believe in our heart and confess with our mouth. You said we shall be saved.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:54:47]:
If that's you, would you just say, lord, that's me today. Lord, I confess today. Lord, I need you today. I'm trusting you today. Thank you for seeing me. Thank you for knowing me. Thank you for calling me because of your love and your grace in Jesus name. Amen.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:55:06]:
As a result of that, we're going to take communion that celebrates and honors Christ's sacrifice and says it's enough. And in the back there's some elements or in the front there's some elements, some bread and some juice. I'm going to ask you, just at your own pace, come up and. And if there's something that you need to confess, to confess it, right? But we're going to take these elements together. So would you come up? I know they're getting some things ready, but just come up. You can come up now and they'll hand you the. They'll hand you the bread and you can take the juice on your own.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [01:00:17]:
You know, when we come to a place of communion, it reminds me, I guess of something that's kind of happened in the last few days. How many of you guys have heard that, you know, because of the dry winds and the high winds, that they have a red flag warning. In other words, they're talking about like if there's a fire, like they don't want it to turn into Lahaina right in the Waianae coast, they don't want it to turn into a lahaina situation in those areas where there's a lot of brush, because once it starts, it can consume everything. I remember when I was living in California, I read this story of something that had happened a little before. In California, fires are so bad, they call it fire season. And they said that what had happened is that as the fire was kind of moving up, I think it was in the San Bernardino Hills that there was a guy who was stuck with his family in his car, and there was a wall of flame in front of him and a wall of flame coming up behind him as he had been caught. And so he was panicking and wasn't sure what to do. And he had remembered in front of him they had previously had a fire already, and there was a patch of land that had already been burned.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [01:01:42]:
And so as the flames came around that portion, he knew that although the fire would come if he kept where he was, he and his family would be burned alive. And so he, as quickly as he could, sped through. And I'm not suggesting this as a strategy, but he burst through that portion that was on fire, and he went through the fire until he got to that portion that had already been burned, and there he was safe. And why is that? Because fire cannot burn something that has already been burned. And this is what it says about Jesus with us in Hebrews 2:14. He says, since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is the devil, and deliver all those who, through fear of death, were subject to lifelong slavery. For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham. Therefore, he had to be made like his brothers in every respect.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [01:03:07]:
In other words, he came flesh and blood, just like you and me. That God became flesh, flesh and blood, so that he might become in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest of God to make the atoning sacrifice for the sins of the people. Because he himself suffered when tempted, he's also able to help those who are being tempted. So when Jesus became a man, he took his body, and it was whipped and it was lashed, and his body was broken, and he was nailed on a cross and his blood was shed. And that's the symbols that we hold. So when we put our faith in Jesus, why is it that we are safe? Because the fire cannot burn what has already been burned. Because God will not judge what has already been judged. The penalty for sin is death.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [01:04:17]:
So Jesus said this, Let me do it for you. My body will be broken. My blood will be shed. And when you hide yourself in Jesus, what God sees is he sees Jesus in you. So he says, price has been paid. Judgment no longer needs. Why? Because we said we are guilty. We said we need his grace.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [01:04:50]:
Cannot be burned because it's already been burned. Will not be judged because it's already been judged. Make sense? We take the elements. Lord, who could come up with a plan like that but you? Who could fulfill a plan like that but you? If some man were to do it, he could die, maybe for one man. But when the God man, the man who is both flesh and blood but eternal, he can make an infinite amount of forgiveness to all who put their trust in him. So Father, we thank you. It's you who saves us. It's your body that was broken.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [01:05:36]:
In my place. I take the bread as a symbol. Would you take the bread? Father, we're thankful that the blood that washes away sin. You said that without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sin. You said this cup is your blood. Lord, thank you. We thank you. It washes away.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [01:06:04]:
It's the symbol that washes away all of our sin. But Lord, we want to meet the real Jesus at the cross this evening. Would you take the cup? Father, we're thankful for the grace. We're thankful for the mercy. We're thankful that you who are just makes a way for any man, for any woman. But we stand, Lord, not in our righteousness. We stand in your today. And we say to every spirit of condemnation, be silenced.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [01:06:43]:
Because we have already judged ourselves guilty. But thank you Jesus. You make us right. It's your sacrifice. We stand in that. In Jesus name, God's people say amen. Amen.