I thank you so much for praying for me for today's big job. I really enjoy talking, especially the day-to-day chatting with people. How ever, when it comes to speaking to you from a pulpit on Sunday, it is very different.

This year my husband has been given quite a few chances to speak to people in different churches around Japan. It's been such a grace to him, as well as to us all. For each time, I asked a few pastors to take my husband's place in giving us sermons. I, myself, ran away from this precious job of speaking to you. However, for today's message, I could locate no one who was able to take this job from me. I know by this that it is my turn to come up to the Lord -- Yes, this week!

I prayed over this work so earnestly [last night, Mrs. Hirota was singing psalms and songs to the Lord. I observed her briefly as I came out of my classroom. She was alone, and I thought it best not to disturb her]. Again, I would like to give my thanks for the part our God has given me.

In today's scripture; I Peter 1:23-25, the last verse never fails to encourage us. Well, last week, a very influential Christian lady passed away, Ayako Miura. She is famous for her many novels based on true Christian love and faith. You know, except for only a few years of her life, she had been in bed all of the time, suffering from illnesses. She was such a well-used Christian that even the Japanese media displayed an interest in her books and her life -- so news of her death was on t.v. the moment she died! She had such a strong influence on Japanese people. I know how hard it was for her to live such a life; full of diseases. But, she herself was proud of her pains. She used to say all the time that God loved her so much that He gave her several kinds of sicknesses, which weakened her so much.

Thinking of this lady and her hardships, I also remembered my own; next year, my husband and I will have been married for thirty years. That means that it will have been years since we started our life fully devoted to God. I clearly remember almost every single hardship; we were constantly short of money, we had no help, people around us never became interested in God -- When my children were still small, I used to carry my little girl on my back while I played the organ for Sunday worship. I was not happy at all. I was tired and lonely inside. But later one lady confessed to me that she had been deeply moved by my suffering; feeling lonely and tired, and playing the organ with my daughter on my back. She said that she found my faith in it. As a result, she also became a Christian, and took to mastering the piano herself. I know God is wonderous. God uses everything to save people. God is good.

However, at the age of 50, I started to feel fatigued. When people asked me where, I needed to point out many parts of my body. I have pain in many places. Physically, I was aching, and mentally and spiritually I was in such anguish. Then, it was the 27th of September, I found a light! I was at a gathering for pastors in Oita City. We have been gathering together and praying for a revival in Oita, but on that day we had a special missionary guest from South America. This lady testified that she had been cleansed through one incident in her ministry: in the past, she had been holding a bible study for one young man. She was so busy that, for this study, she used part of her one day off work. It took her three hours to arrive at his place, and the travel wore her out. So when the young man said that he wanted to stop the bible study, she was deeply shocked. Inside of her mind she said "do you know how much I am giving you? You don't understand me at all!" However, she stopped the bible study with him and several years passed. Just recently, she met him again. Now, he was seriously ill and begged her to forgive him for what he had said. But by then she had learned the truth, that it was not him but herself that needed the work of the Holy Spirit; the cleansing. She apologized instead to him. And he too apologized. And through the prayers of her church, he was healed.

Listening to her testimony, I felt the same conviction. I found, or maybe already knew that I had the exact same struggle deep inside of my heart. I felt tired from the visible nature of people. I went forward and had a chance to be prayed for by that missionary.

I felt something was surely happening in my life. Though it was her first time in meeting my husband and I, this lady prayed over the healing of all of my aching parts. More surprising than that, in her prayer, she said something like a prophecy to me and our church. She encourage me in saying that we would receive certain words to fulfill our church, and said that we would experience God's miraculous works in the church. Again, she encouraged me not to leave (I used to try to run away from the job of being the pastor's wife). I was given the words from II Timothy 1:7.

In this gathering, I repented, and was able to start a brand new life again. I hope and pray these wonderful signs will be seen in our church. But, of course, we are to keep praying earnestly.

Sermon translated by Junko Okamoto - Edited for the Net by Shido
For another sermon see: Oita Evangelical Christ Church
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