Hymn: He Leadeth Me Bible Passage: Psalm 23 (Good News Bible) 1 The Lord is my shepherd; I have everything I need. 2 He lets me rest in fields of green grass and leads me to quiet pools of fresh water. 3 He gives me new strength. He guides me in the right paths, as he has promised. 4 Even if I go through the deepest darkness, I will not be afraid, Lord, for you are with me. Your shepherd's rod and staff protect me. 5 You prepare a banquet for me, where all my enemies can see me; you welcome me as an honored guest and fill my cup to the brim. 6 I know that your goodness and love will be with me all my life; and your house will be my home as long as I live. Introduction: I'm so thankful that you came to join us today for our last English Chapel before summer vacation. Have you got some good plans for the next 6 weeks? I pray that God would bless you a lot during the vacation and bring you back safely in September! But, no matter where you go or what you do, God will be with you and He wants to guide you everyday. And that's the theme of my message that I want to talk about today. If you want to know of God's faithfulness, just look to your testimony! So, let me share my testimony with you today - in three parts. (testimony = 証 <あかし>) 1. Salvation - I had just graduated from high school and summer vacation had started. I had spent my 3 years of high school not really knowing where I was going. I was a very quiet young man who was looking for answers to life's tough questions - Who am I? What's the purpose of my life? But I couldn't find any answers, no matter how hard I searched. I got depressed often because of this and became pretty shy. Then one day, I met one of my friends and she asked, "Would you like to come to a hayride that Youth for Christ is having? It's gonna be a lot of fun! Were gonna eat a lot of good food, go on a real hayride, sing songs and play games!" I couldn't think of any excuse and so I told her "Yes." The event was just as she had said - lots of fun from beginning to end. As the evening drew to a close, a young man got up on stage and gave his testimony about how he became a believer in Jesus. His sincere words of faith and loving smile had a deep impact on me! That evening, 40 years ago this month, June 1973, I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior. God turned my life around 180 degrees! I became positive, outgoing and happy for the first time in my life! I look back on that now as the single most important moment of my life! Jesus became my shepherd. He gave me all I needed. He let me rest in His fields of green grass and led me to His quiet pools of fresh water. And He gave me His strength which has never left me to this day! 2. Protection - Time passed quickly and soon I graduated university and seminary. What was God planning for the next chapter of my life? Soon, God called me to become the minister of a small church in Hawaii. My job-hunting days were over! Little by little, believers came and joined the church. One by one, men and women accepted Christ as their savior. It was a joyful time not only for myself, but also my mom. She loved Hawaii and was so excited to come and visit! Maybe she was thinking, "Finally my son has the perfect job in paradise!" We spent good time together, sharing that special Aloha Spirit! But as each year passed, I began to feel restless. Was God preparing me for something else? On my 8th anniversary of working in Hawaii, my good friend, Jim Allison came there on his honeymoon. After spending some refreshing time together, Jim asked, "How's your work going here?" I answered that maybe God was ready to take me on to some new work. He then invited me to come to Sapporo to teach English and Bible. Quickly, God opened the door for me to move to Japan. And I arrived here in March of 1992. My mom was so disappointed! How could her son give up a job in paradise? Now he lived on the opposite side of the world! I told her that God had clearly led me to Sapporo, but this didn't help her feel any better. Then, 6 months later in September, God showed us His purpose. The largest tropical hurricane in U.S. history struck the state of Hawaii. It tore through the exact center of the island of Kauai! The roof of the home where I used to live was sucked off and half of the church roof collapsed! It was a shock! Soon after, I talked to my mother on the phone. She finally said that she was so glad God had protected me so clearly. If I had not taken the job in Sapporo, I may not have survived! Jesus guided me in the right paths. His shepherd's rod and staff protected me! 3. Guidance - My life here in Sapporo has been one blessing after another! I taught at Hokusei for 4 years after moving here. Then God led me to restart a ministry I had done before. As I pastored my church on Kauai, I also had the joy of working as a resort minister. I preached and did weddings at hotels all over Kauai. Now God clearly opened the door for me to do the same in Sapporo. I quit working at Hokusei and followed God to strengthen the wedding work He gave me. After investing 13 years and performing over 5,000 weddings, suddenly one day in July of 2009, I got a phone call from my old friend, Bob Gettings. "Hey Don, would you be interested in coming back to teach the Bible at Hokusei?" God's timing is always perfect, isn't it?! My wedding work had settled down and God again was pulling my heart to other work. I immediately said "Yes" and now here I am, back at the best university in Hokkaido! I just finished teaching the 1st semester of my 5th year after returning to Hokusei and I have some good news I want to tell you. Of all the years I have taught Bible here, this has been the best so far! More of my students have gotten excellent grades than any other year before! And more students are showing their interest in Christ! I thank God for His faithful guidance! Jesus welcomes me as an honored guest and fills my cup to the brim. I know His goodness and love will be with me all of my life! Conclusion: Our chapel time is almost done for today. To my fellow believers I say, "Look to your testimony if you want to see the faithfulness of God!" To those here today who haven't believed in Jesus, I say, "Summer vacation is the perfect time! Trust Jesus with all of your heart and see the wonderful testimony He will give to you!"
Closing Prayer: Loving Heavenly Father, thank you so much for this very good 1st semester. Thank you for the hard work of all the teachers and students. God, watch over us as we enjoy our vacations. Bring us salvation - give us protection - and above all, take is by the hand and guide us everyday. I pray this now, in Jesus precious name. Amen.
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About This PageThis is my personal space to share my messages and thoughts about Hokusei English Chapel and the things that God brings in to my life. Archives
October 2015
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