Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:00:00]:
Hey, you know, I do hope that during these 21 days of prayer so far, I guess we're about, what, 13 today? Day 13. I hope that at this point you're starting to develop a little bit of a rhythm. You know, I know in the beginning we get so focused, some of us, on the food or staying away from social media and all those kinds of things that we're trying to lay aside. But hopefully you're also starting to develop a positive rhythm. And if you haven't yet, don't worry, it'll happen. And. But it's a great time for us to partner together, to kind of set our sights straight as we begin 2026. But I do want to ask you guys this.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:00:36]:
How many of you have rules in your house? Raise your hand. Thank you. Thank you. We all need rules, right? We all need rules in the house. Without it, there's a little bit of chaos. And, you know, one of the rules that we have in our home is that no food in the rooms, right? I cannot stand to have food in the room. I don't want to have roaches in the house and that kind of a thing. And so, you know, for many, many years, we ate dinner.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:00:57]:
Everybody, if we're going to eat, we eat around the D table. Unfortunately, we got that broken down a little bit when some kids said, we gotta have a movie night. And all of a sudden we started eating in the living room. But in general, you know, that's what we do. And, you know, one of the blessings of having kids and having kids especially, you know, as they grow older, is birthday parties and get togethers and all that, right? In Hawaii, like most places, when you get together, what's the central part of it? Food. Right? We need food. And so when the kids were young and we had these get togethers, we know the kids are going to run around, they're going to go all over the place, inside the house, outside the house, and they go in their rooms. And so we had to tell them, hey, what's our rule? We gather them together before that time.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:01:41]:
What's the rule about taking food into the rooms? No food in the room, Right? Oh, okay, awesome. So tonight, when your friends come over, right, and we're doing all kind of stuff, and when all the uncles and aunties and dad and mom, we're all kind of doing our own thing and distracted or whatever that we're doing, if they're trying to bring food in your room, what are you going to say? No food in the room, Right? Good, good. Counting on you, right? We're counting on you. Sounds simple, right? And at the end of the evening, you know, everybody's like, we give our goodbyes, right? Hug everybody, putting the food away. And then after the party, we go into the kids room and I would see plates and pizza and sometimes pizza on the floor without even the plate, you know what I mean? And I would be like, what? What happened? You know, what's the problem? You know, the problem really was that although they said the words that no food in the room was the rule, what they didn't understand was the authority they had by virtue of belonging to our family. You see, being a yamaguchi living in that home gave them certain rights and certain responsibilities because this wasn't just my house or my wife's house, this is our house, right? And so, you know, of course they have to be responsible for their own behavior, but sometimes that means that we also have to respond and be responsible for the things that happen in the places where we traffic, in the places where we have some sense of responsibility for. In the same way that as followers of Jesus, we have rights and responsibilities in God's family, in his kingdom. And if we don't understand them, maybe like how my kids didn't understand, then we'll be confused at times.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:03:25]:
At times we can get ineffective, and times we'll get sidetracked. And at times we'll be deceived and we'll permit things not just in our life, but in our environment, in our homes, in our workplaces that ought not to be there. And so Jesus makes clear to us a principle that we're going to see found in Matthew 28. And so in kindness would you stand. Not kindness, but in reverence for God and His Word. Let's stand. And we're going to read together what's found in Matthew 28, 18:20. And it says it like this.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:04:00]:
Ready? Let's read. And Jesus came and said to them, all authority in heaven and earth has been given to me. How much authority? All authority. And what does that mean, heaven and earth? It's not just having authority on this plane, but he says he has all authority in the heavenly plane, right? That he's. He's the Master, he's the King, he's the one that the Father has given him. Right, the Father, Son and the Spirit. And then he goes on and he says this. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have Commanded you.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:04:44]:
And behold, I am with you always to the end of the age. Now, you know, if the disciples were like my kids, they would say, okay, got it, go to the ends of the earth. But you know what they did? As soon as it was done, they stayed. They didn't go to the ends of. They just stayed in one place. They stayed in Jerusalem for many years. And so the thing is that sometimes we can say the words, but we don't understand the authority that we've been given. Sometimes we don't understand the authority that we've been given, responsibility that we've been given.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:05:17]:
But Jesus, because he had the authority, guess what? He enjoys giving authority to you. He invites you and me to be partners in his kingdom work. And he gives us the authority to do that. So before you're seated, do me a favor, turn to your neighbor. He says, God invites us to partner with him and then you can have a seat. Isn't that a great partnership? That when you partner with God because He had all the authority, he says, go. But what is he doing when he's telling us, go. I'm giving you the authority to spread the gospel, to teach people, to help them, to follow, not just here, but to follow these things.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:06:00]:
And this fulfills Daniel's vision that we see about the Son of Man, whose dominion is everlasting and whose kingdom will never pass away. Because Jesus has the authority. And you know, this is not just found in this place. This is this principle we see continually over and over again in the Bible. Beginning, guess where? From the very beginning. Because when God created the heavens and the earth, and he created the earth and in the garden and he placed a man in it, what did he say to the man? I'm God, I'm going to do everything. I'm going to tell you what to do in every sense. He says, no, what does you do? You, Adam, are to have dominion over the earth, right? That you, Adam, name the animals.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:06:47]:
God loves somehow in his infinite, not just wisdom, in his infinite character, in his divine plan, he invites us continually, although he has all the power. We don't have the same level of power, obviously, but he does what, he delegates that power to us. So we're going to clarify something important because that's the concept of authority versus power. I remember talking to one of my kids teachers once and they were talking about like authority. And I said, yeah, you know, there's a difference between authority and power, right? You know the difference, right? And I thought, I didn't mean to be sarcastic or Anything. I just, I thought that it's important to know the difference. And she actually, she didn't. So I said this, that the reality is that authority is a delegated right or authorization, right, a permission to do something.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:07:42]:
And power is the ability to do it, the strength to do it, whether it's the force to do it. Well, Jesus tells this kind of scary story in Matthew 7 where he said there's going to be some who prophesy and cast out demons and do all these miracles in his name. And then what does Jesus say to them? Depart from me. I never knew you. And what is he saying to them? They may have had power somehow displayed, but you know what they didn't have? Authority. And the opposite hand, sometimes we seem like we have authority, but we don't have the power. But the thing is that you could be, you know, 98 pounds soaking wet, and you don't understand maybe your authority in Christ at the moment, but when you do, you can operate out of the authority of heaven itself. And guess what? When God gives you authority, he will give you the power as well.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:08:38]:
But the power comes not from our own flesh, not from my own plan, but the power comes from his spirit, right? And so Jesus gives authority, but he also would define how it works, who it represents and. And what it's for. And so this evening, that's what we're going to talk about, right? How this thing works, who it represents and what it's for. And, you know, as we started this series, we. We started by saying that it's. It's our intimacy with God, that if we want to be confident in Christ as we move forward in the year, right? Because, you know, the year will have great things ahead. But, but like in any year, there's going to be some things we didn't see coming, right? There's going to be some things that try us and challenge us, and that's just kind of the nature of life. But it's our closeness to God, it's our intimacy with God that kind of helps to define that.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:09:30]:
And then we say as well, is that we have open access, right, that you can come anytime he says, come boldly before the throne of what? Grace. We said, right, Come boldly before the throne of grace. Come confidently, come diligently before that throne of grace. And so this evening, as we're looking at it, we also need to know what authority we come. And so the first thing that we want to remember is that authority comes from our connection with Christ. That's why we started with Intimacy with Christ. Intimacy with God. Because spiritual authority is not something that you and I carry inherently independent from God.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:10:10]:
But it flows. It flows. Florida is like water. It has a downward flow, right? It always starts at the top and it flows down. And so God says this, that when you're connected to him, that from heaven to earth, that authority will flow down. And Jesus told this story, this parable on the night as he's walking with the disciples, he says this. I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:10:43]:
For. For apart from me, you can, what, do nothing, right? And so it's this connection, this union with God that says this. That's if we think about the plant, right? We. We think of a. Not a stem. What do you call that, a trunk? Or like this, the vine. It looks like if you ever see grape vines, if you ever go to wine country, you'll see it looks like a little tree trunk. It's not a very big one, but you'll see it.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:11:11]:
Some of them get pretty big. But. But off of that, there are branches that connect. And what happens, what flows between that branch and. And the trunk or the vine is life, right? The life flows without it. Without it, there's. There's. That thing will die and wither with.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:11:30]:
Without it. But with it, it blooms with it, it's green with it, it's vital with it, it's living with it, it continues to grow. And so he says this. Whether you need power or you need authority, it's connecting with God, living and dwelling with Jesus, that allows his life to flow in us and through us. And so if that's the case, then it's also something we need to be reminded is the further we are, the lesser that we're connected. It tends to weaken our authority and power, right? Because it's just kind of the way that it goes, right? And last week we had talked about. Is that you can be stuck in a situation like I was, even though you're connected, even though you're related, even though you. But you don't feel comfortable because you're not close, right? But when you're close that it's easy for God to just whisper.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:12:27]:
When you're close, it's easy for God to just put something in your hand. When you're close, it's easier. And so when Jesus was asked by the Roman centurion to heal his servant, Jesus was ready to go. But what did that guy say? He says, no, you don't have to come. You don't have to come. Why? Just say the word. Why? Because I know it will be done. Because I am a man under authority, so I know how authority works.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:12:55]:
And so part of that, like this, this connection is that when you're, when we're submitted to God, right, Then you can use the authority of God. And this guards us, right? It guards us from just presuming what God's will is. It prevents us from walking out and just saying that this is what God wants to do. Have you ever said that? Very confidently, yeah, this is what I know this is God's will, but it wasn't God's will. I've been there, right? And just ask my wife, right? But you know, there's been times like that. But it's prevents us that when we start seeing that we don't operate for Jesus, I don't have to prove anything for him, but we need to operate from him. We need to operate with him. Because your faithfulness and my faithfulness precedes our influence, right? It precedes our authority and our power.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:13:49]:
Because he says it like this in Luke 16:10, what does it say? One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much. And so that if you, you're faithful when you have a little bit of a small measure of authority, a small measure of power. He says what? He says, I can give you more because if you're faithful in a little, you'll be faithful in much. And the converse is true, right? If, if you're not faithful in a little, you're not going to be faithful in much. And that's why God sometimes you'll see, you can sense almost it kind of ebb and flow. But there's always some authority that's in your life as a follower of Jesus. But as you grow, so does your authority. As you grow, so does your power.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:14:35]:
Because if we don't want to be stuck in a case that God gives us this authority and power, but at the end we're just winging it and doing it all on our own, right? That just leads to heartache all around. Second thing that we need to be reminded is that how we steward our authority is about is as important as the way that we act and what we do. And so because the second point is this, your authority is to represent Christ's character and power, right? That you and I, that when we move forward in life and you move forward in 2026, is that you have authority to represent both his character as well as his power. Why do I say that? Because Paul said it like this. In First Thessalonians 1:4,5, he says, Brothers, for we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you. Let's say chosen you. Right. Aren't you glad you're chosen? Right.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:15:36]:
You and I were chosen as well. Right? You at home, you're chosen as well. But because our Gospel came to you not only in word, but what? Also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. And so what do we see with this? He says that Paul didn't just say words, but he had some demonstration of God's power. But he said also what I came with full conviction. In other words, that he came with a sense of integrity. Right? He came with a sense of that. His character reflected that.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:16:10]:
And he also said this. He says that we are ambassadors for Christ. What are ambassadors, by the way? You know that's a very coveted position today, right? Those people who work in public service, those who work in. What is that called? Foreign affairs, right? They have this. It's a very coveted position because. But the thing is that an ambassador in a country does not create policies. They represent the policy of the king or the president or the prime minister. Right? And so they're delegated authorities, just like all of us.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:16:51]:
Right? Which means authority includes if it's character as well as power. It includes things like our tone. It includes things like our humility. It includes things like the posture of our heart, our truth and love. Right? And sometimes that's where we get it wrong. Right? Because sometimes we, we. We. We get that wrong because we, we kind of stray from Christ.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:17:17]:
Right? And that's why we've been emphasizing at the beginning of the year trying to, to commit ourselves to be daily in the Word. It doesn't matter where you start. It matters that you start. It doesn't matter if you do it for three minutes, you. Or you do it for 30 minutes, it's that you start. And then you know what? Try to be consistent. Why? Because it's getting to know the word of God, that you can know the character of God, that you can know the heart of God. It's getting to know his will and his ways.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:17:51]:
Right? And we'll hear his voice. And because. And when you start. How do we start? If you're starting for reading for the first time, and I know that there's some folks in our, our church family again, just brand new, making some commitments or brand new, starting to read the Bible for themselves, the biggest mistake I see that people make when they Begin to read the Bible for themselves is they just say, where do they start? Genesis. Why? Because every other book, where do you start? You start in the middle. You start in the beginning. So I understand that. That's why they do it, right? But you don't want to be reading a couple books in and then thinking, well, I sinned.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:18:27]:
I better go out and catch a dove and sacrifice it, right? You know, like. So the thing is that begin someplace. If you never read begin in the New Testament, begin in the Gospels, right? It's a great place to start because then we understand that, you know, we all still sin, we all still struggle, but there's grace and forgiveness that we confess, we repent, we make a change, and the blood of Jesus covers us. And so the more you have God's word in you, it'll help you to understand his character, right? It'll help you to understand his will and his ways. Otherwise, maybe you'll be like this. I remember one night that we're gonna have dinner, and one of the things kind of pet peeves, I think, both my wife and I. Anybody who cooks dinner, anybody who cooks dinner at home, how many of you, you get the whole dinner set and you go like, okay, everybody, let's eat. And then what if they're not there, the food getting cold? They never even come help set the table, right? Kind of irritating, right? You guys know what I'm talking about, right? And so that's kind of our pet peeve.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:19:31]:
So I remember one day, it's like, hey, table wasn't set, the food wasn't out, wasn't quite ready. But I remember telling one of the kids in the house, hey, go, go call your brother and sister and tell them to come in because we want to eat pretty soon. So I. And then I just go about. We're finishing up some stuff, and then I. I hear the door open. And he doesn't really go and tell him. I hear him yelling from the open door, hey, you guys better come home and be ready for eat or else.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:20:01]:
Dad said, right? And did I say that? No. At least that's not my tone, right? That's not my attitude, right? I never have the or else in that, but they kind of throw me under the bus, right? They make me look bad, right? That's. I wasn't. They made me look like I was angry. Was I angry? No. You know what the thing is, though? They told the content that I wanted, right? What was that content that I wanted? Come in the house. We're going to have dinner. Right.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:20:33]:
That's the content. Content was correct. Tone, attitude, heart. Right? Key, Totally the opposite. But does it matter? Some people say, as long as they come, does it matter? I think it matters, right? I think that when you give. When you give the same. When you speak for God, and you might get the content, but you have the wrong attitude. You know what people sense? God is a judgment God.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:21:04]:
God is against me. Kind of a God, right? And they don't have a healthy fear of the Lord. Maybe they develop an unhealthy fear of the Lord. Maybe they have an unhealthy view of God. So God wants us to not just have authority, but he wants us to know, not just content, but he wants us to know his heart. Because if we don't. Right. Messes things up.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:21:33]:
And so how does this work at home? Let me show you a couple things. Let's talk about a few things. How this works in your life. In my life, Right. Because how does it work at home? Because truth without heart really often sounds like anger. There was a truth. Truth was we wanted you to come in to the kids. Right? But without heart, it sounds angry, right? How many of us that we've ever looked around the house and we said, hey, this, but I gotta clean up.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:22:02]:
Or you look in your kid's room and you say, what? Hey, anybody ever said this? Hey, this room looks like a pig lives in it. What's wrong with you, right? Clean your room. I told you a hundred times, right, when we say that, that we understand the intention. The intention is what? You want a clean room, right? You want them to clean. You want them to be responsible. You don't want them to kind of practice some discipline, whatever the case. Right? But what do they hear from that? What do they hear? They hear, man never gonna. I'm never gonna make him happy.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:22:36]:
I'm never gonna write. I'm never gonna satisfy. It's like, it's. I'm already. I'm already behind. But what if we said it differently at home? What if we said it differently? What if we said, hey, you know, I need you to clean your room, you know, before dinner, because we want the house to look good before, you know, before people come tonight. Right? I know you had a long day, but thanks for helping. Is this the same instruction? It's the same expectation, but it's a different spirit, isn't it? See, so often our families, they catch not just the content, they catch our spirit.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:23:13]:
And so this is the thing that God wants us to walk and bring. The spirit that Jesus gives Us and bring that into our home. And what about at work? Right? What about at work is that sometimes that there's deadlines? Anybody work with deadlines? I think a lot of us work with deadlines. And if. What if your boss came and he says, hey, this needs to be done by Friday, and I. Can I just go and level with you? If it is not done by Friday, we're gonna have a big conversation, right? What does that say? Well, there is a deadline. When is the deadline? Friday. Okay, we all get that.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:23:50]:
But what is that saying is that my job might be on the line, right? My career might be on the line. What if that same conversation went like this? Hey, you know, this is due Friday, and everybody on the team, we're working hard to get that right? And so if there's anything that you need from me to help you get this across the finish line, let me know, right? But I know that you're capable and we can do it together, but we need it by Friday. How is it different, right? Same instruction? Same instruction. It's just. Isn't a different tone. Isn't that a different tone? It doesn't lower the standard, but it preserves the dignity. Because truth without heart, right, feels like pressure, compulsion instead of leadership. And so God gives us authority and he gives us power, but we don't want to misrepresent and we don't want to be misunderstand or undervalue someone.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:24:56]:
How does that look like that? And how does it look in the church, right? I think so often truth without heart feels like judgment. Maybe you've been in a conversation with somebody and they're kind of explaining what the situation that goes on. And maybe there's some things that, you know, maybe, yeah, maybe that's not what the scripture says. And so what would they hear? If you're, you know, you're just talking with your friend or you're talking with somebody that you met, you're talking in a small group and you go like, man, that's a sin. You got to repent today, right? Is that true? Maybe. Maybe that's the takeaway that needs to happen, right? But the Bible is clear, right, that what does that person feel? That person feels judged. Maybe that person starts feeling controlled, right? What if instead of saying that, we said, you know, hey, you know, I'm not sure if you're familiar, but the scripture is pretty clear that God doesn't want to control you, but because he loves you and wants to lead us to life, that he's calling us to surrender certain things to our lives. And I think this is a place that we need to surrender.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:26:10]:
And, you know, we're all in process, but God can give us the grace to help us in this process together. Right now, the truth still doesn't change. Scripture isn't compromised. God's character is made visible. But I think we do it in a way that sometimes maybe leading with compassion when we have to bring some correction, leading with a spirit of humility, right? Instead of coming down like, hey, this is the way that it ought to be. And I think when we communicate rules without relationship, people experience rejection. When we communicate truth without heart, people assume we're angry or we're being judged, right? That's how my kids said dad is angry, right? That's why dad said or else. Or that's why some people might think that's why leadership is so cold.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:27:06]:
Or that's why some people think God is harsh because of the way that sometimes his followers, right? His people who've been delegated. When we don't know, not just authority, but that we don't know the character that we have to display as much as the power as well, make sense. And so here's the third thing. Here's the third thing that authority is given to build up and not tear down, right? Authority is given to build up and not tear down. And we talked about that. Authority flows like water, right? Flows from the top to bottom, right? But sometimes in the world, when you're on top, what happens? You want to make sure people don't take your spots. So some people say it's like the crabs in the bucket, right? You guys ever heard that? The crabs in the bucket, when people are trying to move up, what do the other crabs do? Pull them down, right? So, but that's not biblical authority. That's not the way biblical authority is used.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:28:05]:
In fact, in Mark 1042, 45, he just says this. Whoever wants to be great must be your servant. He says, Jesus said, right? And so he defines that that authority is also a responsibility and a privilege. What is the responsibility? It's ultimately about extending Christ's kingdom and not my kingdom, right? But when God, Christ's kingdom is extended and I'm a part of that, generally I get blessed, right? Generally I am. Somehow I get elevated in that process, but not because I'm looking to be elevated by just looking to elevate Christ, that somehow that tends to happen. God's goal of authority, again, is his kingdom, right? Not my kingdom. And so Paul said it like this in Philippians 2. 3, 4.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:28:57]:
He says, can we read this together? He says it like this. Let's read, do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility, count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interest of others, right? And so he's saying that in this process of building others up, right? Why is it because we're going to consider them? It says, when it says do nothing from selfish, invisible. But it says, in this case, it says, count others more significant. In some translations, like New American Standards, says consider someone more important than you. Does it mean that people are more important than you? No, just treat them like that, right? You're just as important. Do me a favor, turn to your neighbor. Says, you're just as important, right? You're just as important as your neighbor, right? You're just as important as your spouse.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:29:55]:
You're just as important as your kids. But he's saying this, treat them, consider them right, value them that way. That's part of the kingdom mentality. He says, for this reason, for this reason, I write these things while I am away from you, that when I come, I may not have to be severe, right? And be in that way. He doesn't want to have to come down hard. In my use of authority that the Lord has given me, what can we read that together for building up and not tearing down. If people were to describe what is your leadership style, right? And you might not consider yourself a leader, the way you carry yourself, how would they describe that? Is it, man, you better toe the line? Because if they're, if you, if you make you step out of line, man, that hammer is coming, right? Maybe it sounds like, you know, a little bit of tear down, right? Maybe if he's saying that he's always looking for ways to help, to take a step of faith, to take a step forward. It might be a different kind of atone.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:31:07]:
But it says, in the kingdom, authority is measured not by who you push down, it's by who you build up, right? It's not by how many errors you can point about the next person. It says, like, before I take the, the speck out of somebody's eye, I better take the log out of my own, right? And so it's. Authority doesn't build people up. It's not being used and exercised the way Jesus intended, right? And so are you going to be perfect in this? Probably not. But can we correct toward it? Can we correct towards Jesus? Can we correct toward his character? Can we correct toward his Way, his manner, his power, right? And so, because authority is given to build up and not tear down. But what happens is, I think, when we understand that this delegated authority that's been given to me, that when I. When I realize, I understand that these things happen for what, for what reasons? To. Through my connection with Christ, right? That that authority flows through that connection, that.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:32:19]:
That union, and that then I. I can represent his character as well as his power, right? Then when those things start coming into play and I'm trying to build up and not tear down, I'm not trying to build my kingdom, I'm trying to build his, then what happens is when you encounter opposition, when you encounter even spiritual opposition, it gives us authority for discernment and warfare, because authority includes. That authority includes how to. How to understand what God is trying to do and how to win a spiritual battle. In Ephesians 6, 10, 13, he says it like this. Finally, be strong in the Lord. Let's say, be strong in the Lord, right? So God wants you to be strong, right? God wants us to be strong. And in the strength of whose might his might put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:33:23]:
And you know that the reality is, you and I, we do have an enemy in here. Although we say, love your neighbor as yourself and let's reach people for Christ, let's be. Let's love people with the love of Jesus. You have an enemy, let's make no mistake about it. But your enemy is not necessarily your neighbor or the person that you work with who blocks you. But the enemy that you have is the devil, right? The enemy that you and I have is the world system. The enemy that you and I have that works against us, that challenges us, it's our own flesh. Have you ever been in a place, you've been your own worst enemy, right? Your anger, your tendency to be selfish at times, Right? We all understand that.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:34:01]:
And so he says this. But you can be strong and stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against rulers and against authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. But he says this. When you. When you feel like the world is against you, when you feel like, you know, like that man, it just seems like one thing after another, right? I was talking to somebody. I had a flat tire before Christmas. And then the next week, on the day we have Christmas service, we had a great weekend, right? It was a great Weekend I'm driving to go home, right? There's another nail in the other tire, right? And you know, that kind of a thing, and I got to go visit somebody after that.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:34:55]:
It's like one, I just drove home to change car and, you know, did all that. And then the refrigerator conks out, right? And then the other week, what happens? I get the leak that happens in my house, right. It seems like. Right. It seems like there's some kind of opposition, right? So we have to take authority over that, right? That the Bible says that there's a devourer. The Bible says that there's the one who comes to steal, to kill and destroy. And we don't want to just let that happen, keep happening. Like we stand in authority against it, right? So there's things that you and I, you need to stand that if there's an atmosphere in your home, if there's an atmosphere in your workplace that you go, like, bro, something is not right in this place.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:35:42]:
You guys ever like. Like, it's like there's tension in the room or there's a. There's a. There's a heaviness in the room. There's something, right? That. That when we sense that. That if you can experience this aspect from Christ that he's given to you, understand that he's also giving us authority at times to discern and then at times to stand against. And he says it why? Because against these cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil, even in heavenly places.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:36:16]:
What does that mean? That, to be honest, it's like over Kapolei, right? It's over the west side. It's like the over regions that sometimes you see prevailing things, right? There's one of the things that was happening a few years ago. I don't know what the situation is, but, you know, when Dr. Hale was. He was going back and forth to Molokai and I was asking, well, why are you going all the time? He says there is a suicide epidemic in Molokai right now. It's like, if you were to take that same percentage and apply that to here, it'd be like hundreds, if not thousands compared, right? There's something that was happening in that season. And does it just have to be just happen in prayer, we just only pray? No, he's doing both prayer and at the same time, inject wisdom, counsel, right. Understanding and guidance and all these things.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:37:15]:
And so we understand that, you and I, that how do we do that? There is an order to this, though. How do we do that? The first thing is, I kind of mentioned it earlier, is that it starts with submission. There is an important order, and it starts with submission, right? Because if I am not submitted to Christ, when I stand against something that is opposing us, you know what? It will not respond. It doesn't have to. Why? Because if I'm not responding to Jesus, why should they respond to Jesus? The centurion said what? I am a man under authority. That's why I know when I say to one to go, he goes. Because when my authority says to go, I go. And so without submission, our authority starts to collapse in the spiritual realm.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:38:15]:
That's why he goes on. And he says this in James 4. 7, he says this. Can we read that together? Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil and what? And he will flee from you. There is an order, right? There's an order to that submission. Resist, let's say resist, right? And then what? It's victory. Then he flees.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:38:46]:
But if I don't resist and I don't submit, then victory is not probably going to happen. And so Jesus goes on, though. But he did give authority. He gave authority. How? He said it like this. In Matthew 10. One, he says, and he called to him his twelve disciples, and he gave them authority over what unclean spirits, to cast them out, to heal every disease and every affliction. Now more than ever, God needs his people to understand that he doesn't just give love, he doesn't just give forgiveness, he doesn't just give hope, but he also gives authority and power to his people.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:39:33]:
And how does that come? It comes from the Holy Spirit. It flows from the throne of grace, right? And that we're here more than ever, that we need to learn how to take authority in our homes, in our workplaces, right? And in, in, in our church and in our community. And so, you know, one of the things I know that when it, when I, I read this, and once somebody told me, but that was the, that was the apostles he gave that kind of a thing to, right? Yeah, it was they, they were. But he called them his disciples, right? But you know, In Luke chapter 10, Jesus sends out, it says Luke chapter 10, verse 1, says that he sent out 72 other people to go do the same thing, right? To proclaim to go before him. And it says that when they returned, this is what they said. Lord, even the demons are subject to, to us, in your name. That's not the apostles. There's not 72 apostles in the Bible.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:40:47]:
That's followers of Jesus. You have the same authority that he gave to those men, those women. Why? Because God loves to share. He loves to bring us as part of the family business, right? And so if there's something that's happening in your work, maybe there's kind of a spirit of complaining. You know what, name it. When you pray, I just want to encourage you. Name what it is that you see. And I'm not saying, hey, Bob, you a complainer? I'm not saying that.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:41:33]:
But like, when you pray, right? Say I notice there's a spirit of complaint, right? I notice there's a spirit of apathy. I know there's a spirit of pettiness or anger or whatever it is. You name it. And when you pray, if you're submitted, if you're connected, right? Then you command it to leave in the name of Jesus. And would you claim, claim that place where you work, at your desk at least, right? Maybe you cannot control the whole company. Maybe you cannot control the whole department. Maybe it's the crew that you lead. If you don't lead the crew, maybe at your desk, right? Maybe it's who you interact with.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:42:21]:
But. But pray, take authority in your home. It's the same thing. You guys ever been in that place that we're fighting? I don't even know why we fighting, right? And there's contention. Pray for that. Pray against that spirit of contention, right? A spirit of disagreement, right? And sometimes it's not even for a reason that we can't even decide. You know, it's often that's a telltale sign. And just like there's not even a real, real reason, that's a telltale sign.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:43:00]:
And so because Christian authority isn't about dominating somebody, it's about the delegated trust from heaven because we stand under Christ. And there after that, then we can represent him. We get to speak for him. You get to speak for Christ. Do me a favor. You can say, I get to represent him. Would you say, I get to speak for him, I get to serve like him, right? And I get to advance his kingdom. That's what authority is given for.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:43:43]:
So the question isn't, do you have authority? You do. The question is, how are you stewarding? Right? That's really that question. But if you, if you're like my kids, maybe you didn't understand, but hopefully what you understand it a little better today, right? And this is not to guilt you, make you feel bad. What is it for? So that you can steward it with. Well, I just want to close by asking this. Where's God given you authority? But You've been too hesitant to steward it. Because sometimes maybe you think, who am I to say, right? I'm just a, you know, I'm just a 98 pound, soaking wet guy. You feel like you're going against a giant gorilla of a opponent.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:44:41]:
But this is what he said to the disciples. Who am I to say? Because I told you, go make disciples of all the nations. What if they said, that's not my culture? What if they say, that's not my God? That's like a different level God. It's like, you know what? Go teach, baptize, right? Make disciples of all nations, of all the people. And the second half of that question is this, where might God be asking you to represent Him? More accurately? Is there a place? Because maybe this is where the Spirit is saying, this is where I want you to rise up in. Because this isn't about tearing you down. This is about building you up. But there's a place where you got to rise.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:45:35]:
Hey, let's bow our heads. Let's close in a word of prayer this evening. Father, thank youk for hearing us. Thank youk for seeing us. Thank youk for knowing the shoes or the slippers that we walk in. And Lord, you're not here. Thank you. You're not here to tear us down.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:45:57]:
You're here to build us up. But if there's a place that you're extending your hand to your people and you're saying you can step into this and there's a place, would you speak to your people? And if you're here this evening and you see a place, maybe you've been hesitant, maybe you see a place that I need to be a better representative of Jesus character, not just my own character. And if you're saying, God, I'm willing today, I'm willing to step into that, would you just raise your hand to God and say, God, I sense that. I sense there's a place. Thank you. Thank you, Lord Jesus. Father, I thank youk that yout're not looking for perfect men. You're not looking for perfect women.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:46:57]:
You're looking for men and women whose hearts are completely yours, who were more interested about following youg than having people follow us. That, Lord, we're more interested in building your kingdom than building my kingdom. So, Father, I thank you. Would you pour out your presence and your power, Because, Father, we want to represent you well. And thank you that we have everything we need in terms of authority and power. And that, Lord, as the more work, the more we draw closer, the more you pour out. We receive it, Lord, we believe it. And we're going to stand in it for our lives, for our families, God, for our future, because it matters.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:47:58]:
In Jesus name God's people, say amen. Amen. Hey, God bless you guys. Thanks for joining us tonight.