Q and A
Fearless • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Personal:
How long have you been playing guitar?
34 years
I saw your guitar case has stickers on it. Are they places you’ve been?
not mine
Why were you scared when you sang your songs because they were great!
I was made fun of alot and endured alot of rejection when I was a kid. Insecure. Low self-esteem. Kinda hated that I was Japanese. I wanted to be white so bad.
I never felt like I could ever get dad’s approval.
As a sophomore I was up and coming cross country runner and was in place on the team to go to state. At districts, I had a horrible race, a whole minute below my average time and the top JV runner passed me and he got to go to state. All I wanted was for my dad to say, “I’m sorry, I know you tried your best. It’s ok.”
I got one A- all through high school, and it’s like it still wasn’t good enough. My dad was like, I’ll go talk to the geometry teacher and see if I can get her to change your grade.
My dad was always comparing me to my brother and sister.
I don’t remember my dad ever telling me that he was proud of me until I was an adult. So I was about 25 at that point.
For a long time I placed my self-worth and identity in success and since I never ever was able to achieve what I thought was success, I was a failure and never good enough at anything.
I’m also my own worst critic and nothing I do is good enough.
Now, I’ve had victory over that by the grace of God, but every now, Satan whispers lies in my ear...
How many songs have you written?
Somewhere around 85-90. They’re not all done.
Which is your favorite?
Need
Do you listen to a lot of music? If so, who is your favorite artist?
Toby Mac; Josiah Queen; Skillet; David Crowder; Phil Wickham; Matthew West; NF
If you could have anything for Father’s Day, what would it be?
Time to clean and organize my garage and shop.
What is your favorite verse / book of the Bible? (2)
Trust in the Lord with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the Lord and turn away from evil.
And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.
Revelation and Ephesians
How can you pray for me?
My brother had a heart attack yesterday. It was a widow maker. But God spared him. He was on the way to work with his girlfriend and he said he was having pains in his chest so she took him straight to urgent care...
What church do you live in?
I’m pastor of the Lighthouse Fellowship in Corsica SD
How long have you been a pastor?
youth pastor - 13.5 years
senior pastor - 18.5 years
Total 32 years.
What was the name of your first rap?
Hope
Can you speak Japanese?
Only a few phrases.
Salvation:
How do you accept Christ?
By faith.
For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.
that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.
By Confession
Confess means to agree with.
You agree with the fact that Jesus is Lord.
Lord - master, owner, but this word is also the Greek word for the Hebrew “Yahweh” or Jehovah.
So you are agreeing with the fact that Jesus is God come in the flesh.
You are agreeing to give your life to Him and let Him be master of your life.
Believing means to be firmly persuaded.
So you are also fully convinced that Jesus died on the cross for your sins, in your place as your substitute, and as a result God forgives you and are given God’s righteousness in return.
But you also are fully convinced that He rose from the dead, which proves that Jesus is God and that His death really does pay the penalty for our sins.
In the end, We owed a debt we couldn’t pay, so Jesus paid that debt He didn’t owe.
But part of the process is verbally saying out loud, what you are agreeing with and to.
Was there another way to forgive our sins instead of Jesus being crucified?
No, only because that is the way that God decided it had to happen.
That was His plan from the beginning.
If you don’t remember your repentance, are you saved?
Depends. For me, no. I don’t remember praying with my dad when I was 5.
For others, they just grew up with it and have always believed.
What I tell people, is that if you’re not sure, talk to God about it and just reaffirm your faith, your love, and your allegiance to Him. Mark the day down, and use that as the “day”. My example of Basic Youth...David and Goliath’s sword.
What do you think about the message of God?
What is the meaning of glory and glorified?
simply - glory is the fame, reputation, and magnificence of God. It ties into the essence of who God is in His attributes and character. And then us recognizing that and giving Him the praise and honor that is due Him for His splendor.
It can also mean the radiant brilliance of light that emanates from His essence.
When we have fallen short of the glory of God - it means that we are not what and where God intended for us to be.
Glorified usually deals with the state of our existence when we get to Heaven.
For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself.
If God loves us why does he send us to hell if we don’t love him back?
First, hell was not created for humans.
“Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels;
But, for all those that reject His gift of salvation, there is no other place to go.
Secondly,
If I raped and killed a woman and I was standing before the judge and he said, “Oh it doesn’t matter. I love you and don’t want to see you go to jail, so I’m going to let you go free.”
Is that judge good or just?
God being a good and just God, must punish wrongdoing and the punishment is unfortunately is jail forever without parole.
That jail cell just happens to be in hell.
Mental Health:
If someone was saved and committed suicide would they still go to Heaven?
Yes. That’s no different than committing any other sin right before I died. For example, a semi crosses the barrier and right before it hits me head on I say, “God damn it!” I just took the Lord’s name in vain and cursed. I sinned right before I died. But Jesus already paid for all of my sins, past, present, and future.
Sometimes we’re afraid to say that because then the person might think, “Oh, if I kill myself I get to escape this pain and torture I’m in and go to Heaven.”
We think if we say, “No” to that question, then the person won’t try it.
What I say is, “If you are struggling with suicide, get some help. You are not alone. You are not the only one that has ever had those thoughts. There are loving people who want to help you.”
Why does Satan use mental health against some people and not others?
Some people are more prone to struggle with it. Goes back to finding that specific weakness of yours.
If someone in your life is harming themselves, what could you do to help?
First, don’t judge them. Be compassionate and supportive. Offer them help and hope. Pray for them. Encourage them to seek out professional help.
Help them to try to understand that there are ways to manage the emotional pain they are trying to rid themselves of.
How can God help with mental health?
How can I take care of my mental health with God?
How can you heal from suicidal thoughts?
Take those thoughts captive and submit them to Christ.
Seek help and counsel for godly people who can pray for you and encourage you.
There are some cases where medication might be helpful, but I don’t think that medication is the permanent solution. I believe medication can help you get over the hump, but it is the ongoing care that will be more valuable.
My concern is addiction to and it causing deeper depression.
Suicidal thoughts usually stem from depression, etc.
Why can’t God cure my depression?
He can.
There are also other things that help. Diet, exercise, vitamin supplements and good sleeping habits help the body heal.
Reading and Memorizing Scripture I believe are a necessary part.
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word,
A big part is holding onto hope in Jesus.
Alot of depression deals with a sense of hopelessness. Like there is no way out.
It is possible that there is a spirit of oppression over you that mature believers may need to help pray it away from you.
Which leads me to the next question:
What God does for us:
“I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.
Helper - paraklete - to comfort, encourage, and exhort
Another - one just like me. So just like Jesus brings comfort and encouragement, so does the Holy Spirit.
But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.
In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.
God gives us the Church to help us. He has gifted people with spiritual gifts to come alongside and help.
But one who prophesies speaks to men for edification and exhortation and consolation.
or he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, And recovery of sight to the blind, To set free those who are oppressed, To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.”
Does God forgive self-harm? What does He think of it? Why?
Just like any other sin, God forgives it. Here’s the general principle behind what He thinks of it.
Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.
Spiritual Battle:
Can you pray to Lucifer first and not mean it?
I just wouldn’t go there.
Is it possible to speak an incantation or spell and not mean it?
The problem is, there is power in the spoken word, it may not matter whether you meant it or not, a word spoken cannot be taken back.
If I told someone that they were ugly and fat and good for nothing, but didn’t mean it, could there still be hurt feelings?
If you have done so, just confess it to God and let Him cover, forgive, and fix it.
Was the witch flying on something, or just floating through the air?
I’ll have to ask my buddy. But I seem to recall he said he was.
How does Satan disguise himself?
Good question. Metaphorically by making something look good that in fact is damaging. Like the bait on the lure.
Satan does have the ability to possess people and thus control a human.
Jesus then answered, “That is the one for whom I shall dip the morsel and give it to him.” So when He had dipped the morsel, He took and gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. After the morsel, Satan then entered into him. Therefore Jesus said to him, “What you do, do quickly.”
And the beast which I saw was like a leopard, and his feet were like those of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. And the dragon gave him his power and his throne and great authority.
For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds.
Through false prophets, teachers, and apostles.
Apologetics:
Why did God make us? Why does God love us?
Because He wanted to.
Love needs an object to love.
We are created in His image. Imago Dei
So we have a part of Him in us.
Just like a physical father loves his creation (children), so God loves us as His creation that looks like Him.
Not physically, but in essence of character.
Why is God good?
He just is.
Because if He was not, there would be no such thing as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, etc.
Those attributes can only come from that which is good, and those attributes are a part of being created in the Image of God.
God is creative, so we are creative.
God is loving, so we are loving.
God is full of joy, so we can be full of joy.
God is compassionate, so we are compassionate.
But that’s what the fall did, damage the image.
Now instead creating things, we destroy them.
instead of loving, we covet and hate.
Instead of joy, we have angst and anxiety
Instead of compassion, we are harsh and uncaring.
If God is forgiving, why doesn’t He forgive Satan?
All of the angels had one choice and one choice alone.
Be loyal or disloyal.
They are not created in the Image of God.
They were created as servants to serve.
I don’t believe the angels have the capacity to love.
So once Satan and angels he took with him made their decision to be disloyal, that was it, their fate was sealed. There is no redemption, nor does God have any desire to redeem them.
He desires to redeem us because we are created in His Image. He loves us and gave us the capacity to love Him in return.
Who wrote each book of the Bible?
66 books, 40 different authors, 3 different languages.
Moses - first 5 books, a psalm
David wrote most of the psalms, but there was Asaph, the Songs of Korah
Most of Proverbs, the Song of Solomon, and probably Ecclesiastes were written by Solomon.
Paul wrote 13 maybe 14 of the books of the NT.
The books that carry a name, they wrote those books. Joshua, Hosea, Ezekiel
Luke wrote both the Gospel of Luke and Acts.
John wrote the Gospel of John, I, II, III John, and Revelation.
Some books were dictated. Some of Paul’s letters were actually physically written by a secretary as were some of Jeremiah’s writings.
What is some ?advice? You would give to someone?
Do animals go to heaven?
Not sure. I know there are animals in heaven. We are riding on horses following Jesus at the battle of Armegeddon. The new earth is a restored Garden of Eden, so it would make sense that would include animals.
But whether our pets are in heaven, just not sure. It’s possible God could recreate our beloved pets as part of the blessing of Heaven.
Why is Satan the way he is?
Because he let his beauty get the better of him and he became proud.
...‘Thus says the Lord God, “You had the seal of perfection, Full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. “You were in Eden, the garden of God; Every precious stone was your covering: The ruby, the topaz and the diamond; The beryl, the onyx and the jasper; The lapis lazuli, the turquoise and the emerald; And the gold, the workmanship of your settings and sockets, Was in you. On the day that you were created They were prepared. “You were the anointed cherub who covers, And I placed you there. You were on the holy mountain of God; You walked in the midst of the stones of fire. “You were blameless in your ways From the day you were created Until unrighteousness was found in you. “By the abundance of your trade You were internally filled with violence, And you sinned; Therefore I have cast you as profane From the mountain of God. And I have destroyed you, O covering cherub, From the midst of the stones of fire. “Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; You corrupted your wisdom by reason of your splendor. I cast you to the ground; I put you before kings, That they may see you.
“How you have fallen from heaven, O star of the morning, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the earth, You who have weakened the nations! “But you said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, And I will sit on the mount of assembly In the recesses of the north. ‘I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’
Why is devotions so hard to start doing?
Like any habit, it takes time and persistence to get it going.
In addition, Satan doesn’t want us doing devotions, so He’ll distract us and put up roadblocks and put excuses in our mind to not do them.
Relationships:
What’s your advice for keeping a God-centered teen relationship?
My first response is always, “What’s the purpose of the relationship?”
I believe that people shouldn’t be in a dating relationship if their purpose is not for marriage. I would be on the idea of courtship and not dating.
In other words, “Is that person someone you could conceivably marry within the next year or two?”
If not, you can be friends and get to know each other, but usually the only difference between being close friends and dating is the physical contact aspect of the relationship.
It is best to get to know them first as a good friend.
As a result I married my best friend and she still is my best friend.
That being said, our journey was we became best friends first. Everyone thought we were dating, but we weren’t.
So we met at 13. Started dating at 16. I gave her a promise ring at 19, and we got married at 22. We almost got married between 20 and 21, but we were both in college, and didn’t think we could afford college for the both of us because we would have lost some of our grant and loan money if we had gotten married.
Study the Bible together.
Share what God’s doing in your life and what you’re learning in your own study time.
But the closer you get spiritually, you will by nature get closer emotionally
And the closer you get emotionally, you will want to get closer physically.
So, you need to have boundaries.
This is what my wife and I did.
First of all we were both committed to being virgins when we got married. Even if we weren’t virgins due to past decisions, we would have made the decision to not have pre-marital sex anyway.
We would not give more than a good night peck on the lips. But some couples want to even protect that and like my daughter didn’t have her first kiss on the lips until their wedding day.
We would not touch each other where our clothing normally covered.
No frontal or behind hugging.
I would put my arm around her and we’d “snuggle” watching a movie sometimes, but she would never sit on my lap.
We held hands.
We would not be in a room alone together after 11pm
Generally, I would not go into her bedroom. We always hung out in public places.
And if we broke any of those boundaries, we just had to be honest and get back to them.
My youth pastor gave me an analogy that helped me and is what I tell everyone. When asked how far is too far...If you are driving...
Now, that is what worked for us, you’d have to decide what is best for your relationship.
How can I stop being so lustful?
Be careful what you watch and listen to.
When a lustful thought pops into your head, take it captive and bring it into submission to Christ.
Renew your mind through memorization of the Word of God.
Study what the Bible says about it.
For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each of you know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, not in lustful passion, like the Gentiles who do not know God; and that no man transgress and defraud his brother in the matter because the Lord is the avenger in all these things, just as we also told you before and solemnly warned you. For God has not called us for the purpose of impurity, but in sanctification.
Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.
Commit to die to those desires and learn what it means to walk in the Spirit.
But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law. Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality,
