Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:00:00]:

All you moms out there. We always try to do something for moms. We always try to have a present, and we're talking about it. And I brought some ideas to the team. Hey, what about this? Would this be a nice thing? It's kind of like a personalized journal with a pen. It's like people are like, you guys ever try to give somebody a present? They got like, yeah, kind of a thing. So we said, hey, let's just go old school today. And so we just have a flower for all of you ladies, then.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:00:29]:

And just to let you know that you are loved, we want to honor you. We want to bless you. You guys are worthy. And I know that even if you're not a mom, a lot of you, that they're still going to give you a flower, and then you don't have to. We're not saying we're assuming anything when we say that, but it's just that we're going to pray for you, the other ladies in the house, even if you're not a mom, because we do want to pray for our sisters this morning. But moms play a special place, don't they? There's those seasons, they work their finger to the bone, they get up early and they stay up late. They love our families. They provide sometimes.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:01:16]:

They serve. They give of themselves, they give beyond. And because of that, that you have a place of honor. And we love you. We wouldn't be here without you, literally. And we know there's all different seasons that we have in this room, some that still in the diaper phase, right? And it feels like that's going to last forever, right? But can we just say it'll come to an end? It'll come to an end, right? But we applaud you today. We want to encourage you today. And there's some of us that it's a little bit longer, right? You're in that sweet spot.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:01:57]:

The kids are a little bit more independent, but they're not rebellious yet. And there's some of us with teenagers, we pray for your strength, right? Pray for your wisdom. Some of you guys, your kids have already gone out, and some people think, isn't it great when your kids, they're adults now, that you never have to worry them about them? But those people, to be honest, that's not true, is it? Right? Just because they're out of the house, it's just our worries changed, right? Actually, some ways they're bigger. It's different. And for some of you guys, you're in a sweet spot where, hey, maybe you're seeing the next generation come, and you get to step into that role as grandma. You get to step in that role. And some of us, we're not ready to be called grandma. So you have all these different names, right? Like, whatever that case is.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:02:47]:

But hey, it's a place of honor. It's a place of honor. And so we want to pray for the moms in the house, all the moms, can you just raise your hand, please? Again, can we just say thank you for all that you do for us? Thank you. That all that you do for your family. And you guys are creating a legacy. You guys are creating a legacy that's going not just the fact that you love your kids, but you're really raising up the next generation. And that is the most powerful thing anybody can do, right, is raise up the next generation. Dad's, you too.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:03:23]:

And we'll honor you guys next month, right? And so we'll give you guys the beef stick or whatever it is when we had it. No, I was kidding. And so we want to pray for the moms. And there's all kind of moms, too. There's spiritual moms. How many of us there's that sister that we go to sometimes for advice, sometimes for guidance, sometimes to be honest, because we want a listening ear, that we want a spirit of compassion, but we know that there's got to be some truth that's spoken. And some of you guys out there, sometimes we call it a mentor, that we use all different kinds of names. But some of you guys, that your Hanai moms, your spiritual moms, we want to pray for you as well.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:04:06]:

Influence, if you're next to the mother of your children, if you're next to your mom, would you just put your hand on their shoulder? As we bless our moms, father, we're thankful for moms and all the different seasons that are represented in the room today. And Father, that we're praying that would there be a strength outside of themselves for the young moms who just can't see beyond it seems like just getting through the day at times. Lord, would you give them a reminder that what they're creating and what they're doing now, although it seems so, thankless that Lord, it will bear fruit. It's like planting the seed, Father, it's like planting the seed. You don't get the benefit necessarily right at the moment, but it comes a little later. Father, we're thankful we rejoice with those who there's life in them right now that's growing. Father, we bless them and we bless that child that you're bringing into the world. And Father, we're praying for those, Lord, that who've been struggling and that they've been wanting and they've been desiring.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:05:13]:

And Father, we pray lord, would you hear the desires of their heart? And we stand in agreement. God, would you bring forth, Lord, that all that they've hoped for and that would you grant them, Lord, the child that they've been praying for? Father, we pray for those with in the years that are a little more challenging and maybe kids are changing, give them a wisdom that's beyond their years. And Father, give them a flexible spirit so that if they need to learn a new role or that they don't want that direct mothering as much, but we kind of turn into a mother from the coaches a little bit more, a little less, little less commanding. But Father, would you give them the balance, let them know when they need to be strong and to not give in to rebellion, but Father, to bring, Lord, at times the truth, but with grace, father, give them that wisdom that's beyond all of us and the grace in the moment, Lord, that they need it. And Father, for those who, Lord, that we're seeing kids graduate and step into their own and Father, would you help us to be a prayerful parent, to be a cheerleader on the sideline as they enter into the world and as they move forward with our kids that as they step into their own father, help us to be that. And Father, would we be reminded that even when kids are out of the house and done all those things, we're not remind moms that they're not necessary anymore, that they're still needed, they're still valued. There's still a role that you have, Lord, that sometimes as intercessor, sometimes as the one who will believe when nobody else can believe, because you've seen it, you've been through it. You know that the season will pass.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:07:15]:

You're an encourager. You're the one who speaks faith, you're the one who will speak life into that moment. Father, we need, Lord, our seasoned moms and our seasoned grandmothers, Lord, that will pray people past the points of contention, that will stand with them in the moments when it's so easy to give up. But Lord, we thank you for them, we bless the moms, but Father, we also pray for the young ladies in the house. Lord, those who are being raised up, we're thankful, Lord, that you're raising up this generation to be women of honor and women of strength and women of dignity. We echo, Lord, that what Your word says to us, that, Lord, you're raising up this women who will be clothed with dignity and honor. Father, we thank you for that. We thank you.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:08:11]:

You give us the promise in Your word, Lord, that she's clothed with strength and dignity and laughs without fear for the future, and that when she speaks that there are wise words and careful instructions and kindness as well. Father, we thank you for them and we pray that as you're raising them up, Lord, as you're raising them up, give them the resources they need, the relationships they need, the mentors that they need. Father, those who will go before them, thank you. That it's often Moms, it's often the moms who would you know that your children can follow in your wake not because you've been perfect, but you're just making the way forward. So we thank You, Lord, for the moms, and we thank you for those who are not moms yet. But we bless our sisters today in Jesus name, god's people say amen. Amen. Hey, thank you, guys.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:09:09]:

We're so grateful for you. We literally wouldn't be here without you, Moms. Right. But sometimes things are a little overdue. I read this story about a lady named Betty, and she lives in Madison, Wisconsin, and she had borrowed a book from the library and just forgot to return it. Right. You guys ever forget to return something that you borrowed? Right. If you hold onto it long enough, what happens to that thing? Yeah.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:09:37]:

It's just yours. Right? And so I have books in my library. To be honest, if I open it up, it's stamped with somebody else's name. It just kind of became somehow it just became mine. But she had it for a while, and then all of a sudden, she felt a little convicted. She said, oh, my, I got to return this. I got to get this back. She sent the book back to where she grew up, to the library there at Queen's Public Library.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:10:05]:

And it had been a few years, right? Like 63, to be exact, since she borrowed the book. So along with it, she sent a check for $500 to cover all the past due. Right. But sometimes there's things that are overdue, and I think one of the things that's overdue in our culture is really kind of having a culture of honor. We used to, at one point, be an honor giving culture. And some of us, you might have to think back, but you remember in school when you used to have to stand and pledge allegiance to the flag, right? That when we called people sir or ma'am or that when teachers were addressed in the classroom. It was Mr. Smith or Mrs.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:10:54]:

And not just Mr. Or Miss. Like, it can happen in all the high schools and middle schools, but all those kinds of things that we used to be a culture of honor where we could say, even when we disagreed, that we respect the office even if the person is not the most respectable. We used to kind of be that my wife grew up in Japan, and they were in that kind of a place. When the teacher would come into the room, all the students would stand up. Right. That kind of a time. And maybe we don't return at times exactly how it was, but can we say this, that I believe we need to return to have a culture of honor in our homes and in our relationships.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:11:37]:

We need to return to have a culture of honor in our church and in our ministries. When we return to have a culture of honor in our culture, our culture will change. How many of you guys think that, man, we need to just somehow return a little to those things, right? Because there's so much right now that people want to argue and pressure and power and politic that makes it so difficult. But this morning, that's not how your marriage is supposed to be. That's not how your family is supposed to be. That's not how your relationships are supposed to be. So this morning we want to talk about this concept of giving and receiving honor. And when we start operating in that way, it will change around us and partly because God changes us.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:12:23]:

And so this morning, can we stand in reverence for God and His Word? And we're going to read this morning a keynote from Romans 13 seven. And let's read what it says. Ready? Begin. Give to everyone what you owe them. Wait, let's stop here. How many of you guys remember right now you owe somebody $20? No, it's kidding. But we're not talking about those kinds of things, although that is included, right? But he says this if you owe taxes, pay taxes. If revenue, then revenue.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:12:55]:

If respect, then respect. If honor, then honor. And so it's saying that we give to everyone. Let's say the word everyone. Everyone. There's something that you owe everyone. You don't owe everyone taxes, you don't owe everyone revenue. But sometimes we owe people respect and we owe them honor.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:13:17]:

And is it because they always act honor? Not necessarily. We're going to talk about all of these things. But there is a kingdom principle about giving and receiving honor. And today that's what we want to talk about. And so before you see it, just turn to your neighbor, says that you can give and receive honor. Turn to your neighbor. Would you tell them that? And this is something that is it's something that is overdue. He says that we can give and give everything that we owe.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:13:48]:

And how does it begin giving honor? Well, it does say in this passage that we're giving respect and we're giving honor to those in authority. And in other places in the scriptures that Paul says that, hey, we ought to give respect to those in authority, kings and princes. And today we might say presidents or leaders or all of those things. And it's not because we always agreed with them. Do you think back then that they always agreed with Caesar? No, right, that they were persecuted. But it says that you gave respect even that we respected the office, even though at times there was persecution. And so there is that. But then it says probably for where we can start.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:14:33]:

Maybe the first thing that where we can start is I think it starts at home, right? It says it like this in Exodus 20, verse twelve, it says what? Honor who your father and mother. Then you will live a long full life in the land the Lord your God is giving you. So we do honor those in authority, and that's basically what mom and dad are. But it says also that specifically we give honor to Moms and Dads and those in authority. Right. Now, how do you honor mom? Or how do you honor dad? For a lot of us today, maybe there's going to be a dinner, right? Or there's going to be a lunch, or there's some gift that you've gotten. Or some of you I see some of you guys have lays today, right? Or some of us that we have. By the way, I know that there's a bunch of graduations that's been happening.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:15:23]:

Can we just say congratulations to all our graduate? One of them is here, Haley, right? But there's a bunch of them that kind of graduated throughout the last few weeks, and I think there's some more to people traveling, doing all that. But there's that stuff that's just an appropriate thing at graduations, right? You get Lays or you give flowers for mom or whatever it is, and some of you guys that you forgot to get something, guess what? That's why we have cards in the back, right? So if you forgot to write something for mom or write something for husbands, I know your wife is not your mom, but she's the mother of your children, so maybe you need to encourage and honor that, right? But so there's cards in the back. You can do that afterwards if you want. But here's the thing that those things are good, right? But you guys remember that it's really easy, kids, to honor moms when you're young, right? How many of you guys remember when your kids told you, mom, you're the best mom in the world. Dad, I want to be just like you when I grew up. And then something happens about 13 to 16, when you who are so wise, you don't know nothing now. You don't know what that's like, right? And it's like, you're not the boss of me, right? Sometimes it's like, what happens right around there? And there's a comedian, Jim Gaffigan, he does this bit about it, and he says this. He says, my children now find me annoying.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:16:53]:

And he says, all kids find their parents annoying, which is ironic because children essentially ruin their parents lives. Of course we love our kids. But he says, parents remember that you guys give your children all of your time, your energy, and your money, and so your children want to repay you with resentment. So sometimes that happens. And he says it's easiest to see when you get an adult child, you get an adult get a call from their mom. It's like getting the call from a bill collector. Oh, mom, right. That kind of a thing, right? It's not a good time.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:17:32]:

I think we can kind of relate to all of those seasons and depending on the season, what it is. But you give honor to mom. Is it the present? Is it the gift? Is it the dinner? Those things are great. They're fine. But can I say this? For some of us, maybe the best thing that you can give is the way that you talk to your mom. It's the way that you talk to your and I would say mostly to Moms. Sometimes it's Dads, but sometimes Dads not so much. Because if my kids ever talk to me with the attitude, you guys ever get the attitude, like brah, whatever, my kids say something like that.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:18:11]:

It's like there's something in me that just kind of stiffens up. What did you say? Right? Kind of I don't let it pass, right? But Moms sometimes a little kinder, sometimes a little gentler, and it hurts us, but we don't say anything, right? And so this is the thing. For some of you, the best gift you're going to give your mom today is the way that you speak to her. Just a little kinder, a little gentler, right? A little more respectful. That's one of the things that you can do. You know, that the thing, is that, to be honest, that moms won't say it when you hurt them all the time, but it doesn't matter that they don't say it. It doesn't mean it doesn't hurt, right? I had a friend once, he'd tell all these jokes and make fun of people, and he just really cut. I saw this one girl and everybody was laughing, and she was laughing, and I just pulled him on the side.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:19:08]:

I said his name was Rod, so I'm not going to disguise it. Rod. But he's guilty. So I'm going to just say, Rod. Rod. That was off, man. That was over the line. And he said no, but everybody was laughing.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:19:19]:

But it says it doesn't mean that it didn't hurt her, right? So to be honest, some of us as adults with adult parents, sometimes that's part of the thing. If you're a teenager, I understand you're frustrated with your parents. You're learning independence, you're learning all those things. But maybe one of the things you can start giving is just speak a little kinder, right? Speak in a way that you would like to be spoken to, who likes to be yelled at, who likes to catch attitude? Nobody, right? Just learn to give a little bit like that sometimes. That's where we start. Be a little more patient, right? How else can you honor them? How can we honor Moms or Dads? Sometimes it's just to recognize the sacrifice, right? Recognize the sacrifice. Did you guys remember that your parents had lives before you were born? Right? They were actually, you know what? If you're sitting next to your parent, look at your parents right now. Did you know that they were cool before you were born? They were once cool before you were born, right? But you took all the cool out of them.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:20:29]:

So here's the thing. Recognize that sacrifice and those of us that even when we can take those things, this is the hard part, because sometimes for some of us, you drove your kids all over the place. You got them ready for all of their competitions and their practices and all that kind of stuff. But if we're not careful, that sometimes we just take it for granted, right? We take all the sacrifice for granted. But when you recognize their sacrifice, it's honoring my mom. She worked full time as a mom, and it's like my mom's generation, I guess, at least in our family. It was the first generation where mom actually worked outside the house, had a full time job. She worked for a doctor.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:21:17]:

She worked for an OBGYN. But she took the job that was really close to our house so that if she needed that kind of a thing, she could run out. And I remember that we struggled a bunch when we were growing up. And so Mom, I remember one Christmas, she took an extra job. She took a part time job at El Wonders Jewelers in Wahua, and it's still close by. And I remember walking up that her going to work, coming home, changing her clothes, and then going to the jewelry store. And we walked up with my brother and sister and I. We walked up, and just to go in, there was a toy store next door, but we went in to see our mom.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:21:57]:

And the owner, he was really gracious, kind of a guy. Didn't say, Get your kids out, but just kind of just took an interest in us. But she did that to somehow make a little extra to make Christmas more special, right? And to be honest, I can't remember whatever gift I got that year, right? I can't remember that. But you know what I remember is my mom going the extra mile to doing whatever was necessary to just try to make it special. And I just remembered that. I remember telling my mom that, mom, I remember when you used to do those things, and she was honored, because I remembered and honored that sacrifice. I remember my mom saying stuff like at dinner, oh, no, I'm not hungry. You guys eat those last pieces.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:22:51]:

You know how many times mom was hungry when they said that? Or my mom saying this when it's like we're making bread or sandwiches or toast or whatever, and she says, oh, no, I like the ends. I love the ends, right, moms, they don't necessarily like the junk piece of bread. They love you. Right? And so they're willing to, at times, sacrifice, right? They're willing at times to my mom drove me yeah, she did drive me, too, into all my wrestling matches in high school and doing all that stuff. And my mom didn't even understand wrestling at all, right? She didn't know what we were doing, really, but she still was there. And as a teenager, if my mom cheered, I would be like, mom, don't embarrass me in front my friends, kind of a thing. And I took it for granted until, to be honest, after I graduated, right, and I became an adult. And you kind of see it in a different light then, and I see the sacrifices.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:23:49]:

And I understood that she was proud. But don't take mom for granted today because it wasn't automatic. It was a choice that mom made. It was because of her devotion, because of her love. And when you recognize that, it honors them, when we thank them for it. When we got married. And I started to see when I really learned was when I saw with my own kids and I saw what my wife went through right. And worrying.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:24:22]:

And when the kids got sick and kind of staying out all night to pat them with a cold towel because the fever wouldn't break with the tylenol or whatever drops. Right. And it's like cleaning up the throw up when they were sick and not complaining about it, I would clean it up. I just would complain while I do it. But those kinds of things, I would see that. I'd see my kids went to school and they said, mom, the lunch is really bad at school. So my wife started making getting up early to make box lunches for them. Bento like, man, it looked like could be sold in the restaurant.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:25:00]:

My kids used to say, like, all my friends, they're like, you're cooking, mom? I go, how do they know what Michael I just give away? Because then one of the kids is like that. He just wants to kind of brag or whatever, right? But all those things, it wasn't automatic. It was a choice that was made, right? And I saw that and I go, that's what my mom did for us, right? All those kinds of things. And so when we honor them, when we remember them, when we recognize them you know what? When you ask them for advice, when you get to that point, and maybe for some of us, that when you get teenagers and you feel like you're going to pull out all your hair and you just ask, maybe mom said, mom, how did you do it during that season? How did you juggle all of those things? You know, when you ask them just for their guidance or their advice or their prayer or their encouragement or support, it honors them. It honors them. And so you give honor, sure, by the big thing. You can do the flashy thing, but sometimes it's just the little voices of encouragement, the little voices that say, you're not forgotten. You're still needed, you're still wanted.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:26:19]:

We still recognize you. We still see you. Because sometimes, Moms, you feel invisible. Sometimes I know you feel invisible, but we see you today and God sees you every day. And so thank you for all that you do. Is that makes sense? Is that true? Right? And so sometimes it starts with just a little kinder. Can we just say that? Turn to your neighbor, says, I can be a little kinder, right? We can be a little nicer, right? We can remember to say thank you and all those things when the meal is good. There's times when I dig into the meal and it's like, all my kids, they're just silent eating, and I'll just say, this is awesome.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:27:05]:

It's good. And she's like, oh, thank you. And I just look at my kids. Oh, yeah, that's true. Well, just say thank you, you idiot. No, but just give her recognition, right? Just that kind of a thing. We're training up that next generation, too. And when we do those things, it brings mom honor.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:27:30]:

And when I say that, though, I know some of us, when we talk about stuff like this, that it's not everybody's experience. And I know some of us, that we have maybe moms, that they gave birth to you and you never saw them, or to be honest, that some of the things that we've struggled with in our lives is because that's what they struggled with. And they didn't just pass on a heritage of blessing and honor, but sometimes of all of those struggles. And we got in those struggles, and you got out of it, and sometimes they didn't yet. And so we understand sometimes it's a little bit more complicated. So what do you do? How do you honor mom when you don't always agree with those kinds of things? You've left that kind of a lifestyle or your values. Now say, I want to honor the Lord in the midst of this, but they don't care about those things. Well, the Scripture tells us that you don't always have to agree with somebody.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:28:28]:

Can we agree with this? You don't have to have to agree with somebody. You don't have to always embrace the things they embrace to give people honor, right? You don't have to politics tell us, if you don't agree with me, I cancel you. Right? Politics today is like because there's no honor in our culture in that regard, that if I don't like what you say, I ghost you, right? All those kinds of things that should never be found in the family of God, right? That's the world's way. Instead, this is what Scripture says. Romans 13, eight to ten. Can we just read that? It says, let no debt remain outstanding except the continuing debt to love one another. For whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. So what does it say? When are you done loving someone? Never.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:29:22]:

Exactly. Right? So it's not like I used to love them when I lived in the house, or I used to love them, but, hey, they hurt me, they wounded me. They said something they didn't approve of. What? Something doesn't say. It's like, okay, you don't have to love them anymore. And whatever other command there may be are summed up in this one command. Let's read what it says. What? Love your neighbor as yourself.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:29:44]:

Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore, love is the fulfillment of the law. Because what is it saying? In some ways. It's like to be honest, you can always give the human respect that they need, that they deserve as a human being. Look at your neighbor, look at your neighbor, right? Next, that person is made in the image of God, right? And as such that they are worthy of all the value and respect that God has implanted in them by nature, by nature God has placed it. Do we always live up to that? No, we don't. And so some of us that when you're in this kind of a season, that if you're to be honest, it's painful to be in there because sometimes it's tempting for some of us, sometimes it's going to draw us down the wrong road, right? For some of us it's because it literally is negative to your mental health or your spiritual health. You need to love maybe with boundaries, right? In the scriptures, it says honor your father and mother to kids.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:30:56]:

It says obey your parents. If you're not a child, you don't have to obey your parents. But you're still called to honor your parents. And so you can honor sometimes with boundaries, sometimes you can honor from a distance. But this is the thing we're never called to do, we're never called to curse, right? We're never called to badmouth, that's not what we're called to do. We're never called to pay back. You ever see Jesus say, hey, pay back those guys who hurt you? Is that what Jesus says? He said, no, don't worry, I'll take care of that, right? And so we are still called sometimes to honor because sometimes we're just honoring the fact that God has made them in his image and there's something in value even if they're not living at that moment where they are. Sometimes it's in the hope that they will, right? Sometimes it's in that hope.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:31:54]:

Now, this is important because it brings me to the second point, because you and I need to learn how to give honor. Because this is the second thing. You receive what you give, you receive what you give. So if you give blessings, guess what? You will receive blessings. If you give cursings, what will you receive? Cursing. Now, is that true? How do I say that? Well, because it says this vacancy in the scriptures, in Psalm 109, verse 17, it says it like this he loved to curse others, now what? You curse him, he never blessed others. Now what? Now you don't bless him, right? See, it's giving a principle that you receive what you give. How many of us want to receive cursings? I don't think anybody, right? How many of you want to receive attitude? Probably nobody, right? How many of you want to receive like sarcastic comments, right? Probably nobody.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:32:52]:

And so this is what it says. So don't give that, right? Give what you want to receive. What do you guys want to receive in relationships? Respect, right? Appreciation, right? Maybe affection, whatever the thing is so if you want to receive that, what are we called to give? Give respect, give honor, right? Give patience or kindness, if you want to receive those things. So when it says honor, your father and mother, do you guys notice this, that if you're honoring mom and dad, well, what do you get out of it? Like, Well, I gave them honor. What do I get out of it? It says, Ephesians tells us this is the first promise, a command in the Bible with a promise that you will then receive fullness or length of life and that God will make a way for you and bless you in life. You see, God is saying this, if you give honor, I'm going to bless you in return. He talks about it as well in this principle, it's a kingdom principle that if you receive a prophet, it says in Matthew 1041, if you receive a prophet as one who speaks for God, you will be given what? The same reward as a prophet? Are you a prophet? How many prophets we have in the room? Probably not a whole lot, but if you received a prophet as a prophet, this is what he says, you get the reward, the same reward. Why? Because when you will receive what you give, right? So if you give honor, you're going to receive honor.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:34:29]:

If you give blessing, you're going to receive blessing. If you want to be honored one day, give honor now. It's like planting a seed. You only get what you plant, and you generally get it when after you plant it. And to be honest, at times, how much do you receive? You get less plants than what you planted, right? But here's the thing, is that the ones that sprout will wake up far more abundantly than what you had planted. That's the principle it's talking about. And so give honor so you can receive honor. Now, a lot of you guys know we weren't here last week, my wife and I, because we went for my daughter's graduation in Oregon.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:35:19]:

And so Tim, our missions director last week, gave the message, can we just thank him that he didn't do a great job? Thank you, tim legacy, right? So we're all this is what we're doing. We are creating a legacy. But when it was coming up, we were excited to go, and my mother in law was going to go. She came in from Japan. She's been with us a month. And so I was really happy for my daughter as well as the rest of the family that we can do this. My mother in law never been to the mainland before, so I just was really looking forward to the trip. But Saturday, she started to come down with a cold.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:35:56]:

We didn't realize she was fine. And all of a sudden, somehow, Tuesday or Monday or Tuesday, she started to feel bad. And so we were saying like, mom, are you going to be able to go? And she says, I can go, but I'll push through regardless. I feel like dying. No, but that kind of a thing. And so we said, well, let's just take a look. And finally, on Wednesday, when I was leaving, we had to make the call, and we just said, hey, it's okay. Rica.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:36:25]:

My wife stayed home, and she never complained that on her birthday, she had to stay back, take care of my mom, my mother in law, and the rest of us were up in the mainland. We kind of having a good time, but she had to stay home. But this was the hard part. I was flying on Hawaiian Airlines. Anybody fly on Hawaiian Airlines recently? Some of us know that they've been having problems since they rolled out their new system. We experienced that, right? I didn't realize it till, like, one of my friends, she works in HR. She was working at the airport. She said and I said, what were you doing working at the airport? You don't even work there.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:37:07]:

She said, oh, because of the new system. And I go, you didn't hear? I go, no. It's like, yeah. She's talking about four hour waits and all that stuff, right? And it was just complicated because her ticket was paired with mine. I couldn't check in early because that would check her in early. I couldn't separate the ticket because you cannot get anybody on the phone, right? And had to change my mother in law's ticket, which is separate all this stuff. So I go early. I'm trying to stand in the customer service line, which was a super long line, and then work it on the phone.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:37:39]:

If I can get the phone thing done, they just say this. It's easier if you text us, right? And so we're working it out, trying to tell them what I want to do and standing in the line and texting. And finally I get this guy, and I tell him what I want to do. My wife and my mother in law want to go on Friday because they're sick, and so can I change their reservations? And he says, Let me see what I can do. And he says, I'm sorry, there's no flights available. I can't change anything. There's no flights available, booked. So now I'm in the line on hotwire, looking for flights for them to get there.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:38:20]:

We're going to do this thing, I don't care what, right? And I finally get to the front, and I explain to the lady what I'm trying to do, and she says, well, let me check you in first. We'll separate your wife staying. And then after she's done with that, I say, and, you know, the thing is, I know it says there's no flight. The guy told me there was no more flights, but I see there's three seats on Friday, right? And she says, Hold on, let me see what I can do. Now, I forgot to say is that when I got into the line, I didn't start by just telling her how frustrated I was with the airline or their new system. This is what I said when I first got to the line. I says, wow, it must have been sounds like it's been pretty crazy for you guys here, right? The last couple of weeks, she just kind of rolls her eyes, right? But I said this to her and she was pleasant. It wasn't just kind of blowing smoke, but I did say thank you so much for just being so pleasant today, because I know it's been challenging for you.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:39:24]:

And this kind of perked her up a little bit. She smiled, right? And she did say, I'm sorry, we don't normally do the change. The kind of changes that you want to do, we don't normally do here. That's not what we do here. But can you follow me? Because I can ask my friends in the back to do this. And so she went, and I had to stand for half an hour. So it's good that I went early. And I already had stood in line before that for 40 minutes.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:39:54]:

But when she came back, she said, we got booked the tickets for them to come on Friday. Hey, I thought the guy on the phone was telling me cannot no, but that's not what I said. But how many of you guys know just because someone says no doesn't mean it can't be done, right? But she did say oh, because there was a complication. It was a different class of ticket and you use miles and different things. And I already knew that you normally pay. What the difference? Because it was way more expensive to fly out on Friday now. And I said, oh, how do I pay for this? She says, oh, don't worry. She said don't worry.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:40:39]:

We worked it out somehow. I was curious how, but I just said thank you. How many of you guys know? You just say thank you and you walk away. Now, how would she have responded if when I got to the front of the line, I say, you guys plan this thing for how long to upgrade your system? It's horrible. You guys are worst airline, or whatever. If I had greeted her like that, what would she have done? Maybe book me in and say, sorry, you on your own, right? So are we saying this? You receive what you give. Is that simply a human thing? Because I was nice to her, she was nice to me? Or is it because if you honor somebody that God honors you? Which is it? It's both. It's both sometimes, to be honest.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:41:37]:

What sets the interaction? The interaction that you begin with is the interaction that you're going to get sometimes, right? Isn't that true? You're kind and nice to somebody polite or respectful. That's what you're going to get back oftentimes. Does it always happen? No. Sometimes you give honor and it doesn't come back to you. So this is what God's promise is. If they don't give back to you, don't worry, I will. If they don't respect you, don't worry, I will. If they don't reciprocate, don't worry, I will.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:42:15]:

This is what it says in Proverbs 1125 the generous will prosper, and those who refresh others will what themselves be refreshed. God understands. Not everybody reciprocates. But he says, don't worry, I'll refresh you. I'll provide for you. And so sometimes we get hesitant. It's like, I'm always giving, I'm always doing this. I'm always trying to be honoring.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:42:42]:

And they treat me like dirt. And so I want to treat them like dirt. That's human nature, right? There's nothing wrong with you if that's what you struggle with. But we just say sometimes, let's not give into our flesh. Am I saying this because I never get upset at no, I'm sorry. Because I need this message, this part of the message, I need it for myself, right? But here's the thing that God says this when you choose to honor and when you choose to honor Him. And part of the reason, you know how you honor somebody who's not honorable at the moment? It's like a charge card. Anybody have a charge card here? You guys have a charge card here? When you buy, you don't have to have that money even in your account, but you can make the purchase, right? You got to pay it later, right? You call that buying? On what? Credit? Exactly.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:43:37]:

Guess what? You can love somebody on credit. When that person is not lovable, you can love them on credit. You know why? Because Jesus already loves them. So you just say, Lord, I don't have any love for that person, but I love them with your love today. I don't have any patience. Today I'm going to be patient. Because you're patient with them. If you want to give honor and you cannot give that person not being honorable, you give it on credit.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:44:08]:

But who's going to pay you back? God's going to pay you back. That makes sense. Just do my favor. Turn to your neighbor, says, you can give honor on credit. You can give honor on credit, right? Because God's going to honor his debt, right? That's what he says. It's put it on my bill. That's what he's saying. I'll pay you back.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:44:27]:

Now, here's the other thing, is that some of us, we're in this place, in position in life where you naturally get honored because you're a position of authority. You're in a position now that you've risen to the ranks, that when you come in that in the military, people salute you. That you're in this place, that you're the manager, or you're in this place where people make away that kind of a thing. Or just even as parents now, here's the thing, is that God still wants us to say, even though we get in the habit of receiving honor, that God wants you to grow in honor. That however you are today, whatever age you are today, whether you're six or 86 or whatever it is, you can still grow in honor. This is what it says in one Peter 215 and 17. It says it is God's will that your honorable lives, let's say honorable lives. So we're supposed to live honorable lives? That it should silence those ignorant people who make foolish accusations against you, for you are free, yet you are God's slave.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:45:35]:

So there's a tension here. God's saying, I set you free, but you do have an obligation to honor the king, right? That God is still king and we're his servants. So don't what? Use your freedom as an excuse to do evil. The more we grow in authority, in life, in the work world, in family worlds, or whatever world you'll be, that you have a capacity to disguise evil things or unrighteous things or different motives, but we know how to make it look good. You guys agree. You guys know what I'm talking about, right? You can disguise those things. This is what God's saying. But don't use your freedom as an excuse to do something.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:46:21]:

Don't hide it, right? And so what it's talking about is that there is a stewardship that when you have honor or responsibility or authority, that there's a stewardship that you have respect everyone and love the family of believers, fear God and respect the king. And so that if you have a responsibility or stewardship of the honor that you're given this is why he says grow in honor. Because otherwise you start feeling entitled, right? You start feeling entitled. When we were in Oregon, I didn't know that you could actually bring lays from Hawaii to the mainland. Did you guys know that you can bring Lays? I didn't know that. I wish you had told me that earlier, Kathy. No, because I was in the airport and I saw this lady with a box. I know what's in that box.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:47:18]:

And I said, excuse me, is that Lays? And she said, yeah, I think they were going to where you guys were going for graduation. She said, oh, yeah, you can buy from certain florists. They'll have that like Watanabe or this Lays by Ryan, and you pay a $25 fee. There's an agriculture stamp and they'll tape it, and you cannot open the box, but you can bring lays. I wish I had known that earlier, because I was on the mission when I got to Oregon that I have to find flowers to make lays now, right? And how many of you guys know there's not a lot of tropical flowers when you go to Oregon? So I'm looking for what carnation? At least we can make a carnation lay and all that. So we're looking around in the stores and we're leaving, and it's a lot of traffic, and so it's two way in the lanes in the store, right? But then all of a sudden and people trying to turn left and all that, so it's slow, and we're trying to go out. And then I see this one car, like, what is that guy doing? And you can see everybody turning and looking because there was an older gentleman and his wife that he just was saying, I ain't waiting for nothing. So he made a third lane and just started driving.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:48:28]:

And people trying to tell he just keep going. And people have to stop like that just to let the guy go. And my son is looking at that. He says, I hate it when people are so entitled. And I just said, Amen. I didn't know if he was entitled or he was senile. To be honest, I couldn't tell the difference. But there's sometimes people just said, I paid my dues.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:48:53]:

I'm not waiting anymore. I'm not going to do this thing right. This is the part where God calls us. He said, Understand that there's a stewardship to the honor that you receive because people sometimes can honor you. But if they got to kind of swallow a little bit before they do that, that's not the greatest, right? It's kind of like when people honor you despite who you are as a person. That's not the best, right? So this is what God said. What's the solution in that? You grow as a person. Keep growing.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:49:33]:

Do me a favor. Turn to your neighbor and say, you can keep growing, right? You're not done, right? I'm not done yet. Paul said this to Timothy, who was a young pastor. He said, Timothy, let no one look down on your youthfulness. Instead, show yourself to be an example of those who believe in your speech, in your conduct, in your love, in your faith, in your purity. That's what God is saying to us when you're doing this thing, giving and receiving honor. If you keep growing, then when people give honor, it will be joyful to do it. There will be times they will do it regardless.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:50:14]:

And sometimes they honor you, not because they're not because you're acting honorable, but because they want to be an honorable person. I remember trying to open this door for this gal at university once, and she looked at me like, gave me stink eyes. She says, what, you think I'm just because I'm a woman, I cannot open my own door, right? And I spit and no, I was kidding. I didn't. But I said to her, I'm not saying it's. I'm not opening a door because you cannot open it. I'm opening the door because I wanted to be a gentleman. Yeah, right.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:50:51]:

So I still opened the door, but it robbed me of all the joy of all the opening the door, right? So let's not rob people of the joy of honoring us, because that's how do you do it. Just be an example. And Jesus kind of told a story like this. He said in Luke 14, he says, when you're invited to a wedding feast, don't sit in the seat of honor. Don't just grab the seat of the best seat. Don't just pull yourself. He says, what if somebody is more distinguished, more honorable, right, than you has been invited? The host will say, Come and give this person your seat. Then you'll be embarrassed.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:51:30]:

You'll take whatever seat is left at the foot of the table. What is it saying? Let people when you are the example, people will recognize that, and they'll want to bring you forward, right? They'll want to make the way. So that's the call to us. When my parents had their 50th wedding anniversary, my sister and I, we said, let's throw a party for mom and dad, right, and have a 50th wedding anniversary party. And they like this Tea house place. So we went there. Did we do it because my parents had a perfect marriage? No. Right? No, we didn't.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:52:14]:

Right? There probably were times where we kind of wondered, is it going to make it? But they made it, right? And so we rejoiced, and we were happy for them, and we were glad to do it. We did it with joy because they grew past some of those things that had been some difficult stages. And so know that that you you make it a joy. Don't steal people's joy from that. And if your people are honoring you, let them honor you, because it is their joy to do it. It's like saying when they give you a gift, just receive it. Receive it with joy. That's why they're giving it.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:52:57]:

Right? Don't steal their joy. Now, I know when we talk about stuff like this, sometimes we can look back at our life and say, I didn't handle this the best. I didn't handle this relationship the best. I didn't handle this situation the best. I wish I did all those things, and you might think, It's too late. I blew it. And can we just say, this is not too late? Let's just say those words. It's not too late.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:53:20]:

It's not too late. So one of the ways that it's not too late is because if you grow in honor, then, you know what? If there's something that you wish you gave more kindness or honor to somebody in this relationship, just do it now. And it doesn't matter if they don't respond to it or not. Why? Because I'm trying to be the honorable person, right? I'm trying to be an example. I'm trying to grow in my faith. So it doesn't matter if they respond or not, but we do it in the hope that one day they respond. And if not, you know what we do? We've blessed them regardless. Does that make sense? That's really that aspect.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:53:57]:

I think if we practice these things and we get better at it, you know what? It can change your family, it can change your relationships, it can change your ministry, it can change a church, it can change, to be honest, a community. If our communities acted this way, it can change our country, right? Because we'll act differently than the world does. Let's not take our marching orders from social media or how it handled in the public square today, god's called us to a different standard. Amen. As bower heads will close in a word of prayer. Father, this morning we're grateful You've honored us by calling us into Your kingdom. And sometimes we're put in places where we struggle about giving honor to different people. Because if we're real honest, they're not always acting the most honorable.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:55:02]:

But, Lord, if we're honest, we haven't always acted the most honorable as well. Lord, we need grace just like they need grace. Father, there's times where maybe if we need wisdom and how to, at times draw boundaries between those who are still acting painfully, kind of outside of the bounds of where they need to. Would you give your people wisdom that they can still give honor and still give respect, but sometimes they need to do it? A little bit of distance, a little bit of boundary. Give our brothers and sisters in that situation, that guidance and that wisdom. But, Father, for others of us, Lord, the rest that would you help us to see that when we don't feel the strength that we can do it? Or when we've developed habits that sometimes are of sarcasm, we have bad habits sometimes. But if that's you, would you just do me a favor? Would you just invite Jesus, say, Lord, and just tell Him, lord, sometimes I know I'm sarcastic. Would you help me, God? I'm inviting you in that would you help me control my tongue? I'm giving you access.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:56:20]:

And sometimes it's my anger, sometimes it's my impatience. Would you just surrender those things to him? Father, I thank you that we're still not the people we want to be, but, Lord, we can grow today. Father, we receive Your grace and Your mercy in the midst of that. And if you're here today and you're hearing these things and it's so far from your experience to be in that way, but would you know that God says that you're wanted and he has a heart for you and he wants to have a relationship with you? And if you give yourself to Him, you know what he says then? He says, then you'll understand the honor of being chosen by God. You understand the power of his grace and mercy in your life. He loves you. He cares about you today, and it doesn't matter where you've been or how you've lived, because we've all made our mistakes. He sees the value he created in you, even when we haven't lived up to them.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:57:28]:

All he asks is that you respond to Him. He loves you, but you got to still say yes to Him. If that's you this morning and you'd like to say yes to God, you'd like to begin this relationship with Him, I'd love to have the privilege of praying with you. It's a very simple prayer, and if that's you that you'd like to join along, would you pray with me? I'm going to just pray. Dear Jesus, thank you for knowing me and loving me. I confess I haven't always lived the way I know I should have. In fact, I admit I've rebelled. But would you have mercy on me? Come live inside me today.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:58:23]:

I turn from what I know is wrong, and so would you strengthen me today? Forgive me today. Lead and guide me today. I want to know Your will. I want to know Your ways. I want to know you. So would you help me to understand your word? And would you bring people along the pathway of my life, people that could encourage me in how to follow you and how I might encourage them? Thank you for Jesus. Thank you for being my Savior. Thank you for forgiving me.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:59:11]:

Thank you for being my God. Thank you for choosing me. So I choose you. In Jesus name, God's. People, say amen. Amen. If you prayed that prayer, we just want to say congratulations whether you are online or you're in the house. Hey, you know, we understand that sometimes it doesn't mean that life is not going on.

Pastor Glenn Yamaguchi [00:59:34]:

And if you need prayer here today, would you know too that go see folks in a prayer kernel. We'd love to be able to pray with you, but God bless you guys. Have a great Mother's Day.