MY STORY 3 – PTR. ALVIN GUTIERREZ – 10AM MORNING SERVICE

RUTH 1:6-18 (NIV)
6 When Naomi heard in Moab that
the LORD had come to the aid of his people by
providing food for them, she and her
daughters-in-law prepared to return home from
there. 7 With her two daughters-in-law she left
the place where she had been living and set
out on the road that would take them back to
the land of Judah.

RUTH 1:6-18 (NIV)
8 Then Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law,
“Go back, each of you, to your mother’s
home. May the LORD show you kindness, as
you have shown kindness to your dead
husbands and to me. 9 May the LORD grant
that each of you will find rest in the home of
another husband.” Then she kissed them
goodbye and they wept aloud 10 and said to her,
“We will go back with you to your people.”

RUTH 1:6-18 (NIV)
11 But Naomi said, “Return home, my
daughters. Why would you come with me? Am
I going to have any more sons, who could
become your husbands? 12 Return home, my
daughters; I am too old to have another
husband. Even if I thought there was still hope
for me—even if I had a husband tonight and
then gave birth to sons—

RUTH 1:6-18 (NIV)
13 would you wait until they grew
up? Would you remain unmarried for
them? No, my daughters. It is more
bitter for me than for you, because
the LORD’s hand has turned against me!”
14 At this they wept aloud again. Then
Orpah kissed her mother-in-law
goodbye, but Ruth clung to her.

RUTH 1:6-18 (NIV)
15 “Look,” said Naomi, “your sister-in-law is
going back to her people and her
gods. GGoo bbaacckk wwiitthh hheerr.” 16 But Ruth
replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to
turn back from you. Where you go I will
go, and where you stay II wwiillll ssttaayy. Your
people will be my people and your God
my God.

RUTH 1:6-18 (NIV)
17 Where you die I will die, and there I will
be buried. May the LORD deal with me,
be it ever so severely, if even death
separates you and me.” 18 When Naomi
realized that Ruth was determined to go
with her, she stopped urging her.

THE DECISIONS WE
MAKE TTOODDAAYY
DETERMINE THE
STORIES WE’LL TELL
TTOOMMOORRRROOWW.

SOMETIMES THE BEST
DECISION YOU CAN
MAKE IS TO STAY
WHEN IT WOULD BE
EASIER TO GGOO.

HEBREWS 12:1-2 (NIV)
Therefore, since we are surrounded by
such a great cloud of witnesses, let us
throw off everything that hinders and the
sin that so easily entangles. And let us
run with perseverance the race marked
out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the
pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set
before him he endured the cross,
scorning its shame, and sat down at the
right hand of the throne of God.

RUTH 2:11-12 (NIV)
11 Boaz replied, “I’ve been told all about what
you have done for your mother-in-law since the
death of your husband—how you left your
father and mother and your homeland and
came to live with a people you did not
know before. 12 May the LORD repay you for
what you have done. May you be richly
rewarded by the LORD, the God of
Israel, under whose wings you have come to
take refuge.”

WHAT DOES
GOD WANT
YOU TO WANT?

james 5:7-9 (esv)
7 Be ppaattiieenntt, therefore, brothers, until the
coming of the Lord. See how the farmer wwaaiittss
for the precious fruit of the earth, being ppaattiieenntt
about it, until it receives the early and the late
rains. 8 You also, be ppaattiieenntt. EEssttaabblliisshh yyoouurr
hheeaarrttss, for the coming of the Lord is at
hand. 9 Do not grumble against one another,
brothers, so that you may not be judged;
behold, the Judge is standing at the door.

IF YOU QUIT
TOO EARLY,
YOU’LL GRIEVE
DEEPLY.

WHERE DOES
GOD WANT
YOU TO STAY?

james 5:10-11 (esv)
10 As an example of suffering and
patience, brothers, take the prophets who
spoke in the name of the Lord. 11 Behold,
we consider those blessed who remained
sstteeaaddffaasstt. You have heard of the
sstteeaaddffaassttnneessss of Job, and you have
seen the purpose of the Lord, how the
LLoorrdd iiss ccoommppaassssiioonnaattee and mmeerrcciiffuull.

GOD IS
COMPASSIONAT
E AND
MERCIFUL.

galatians 6:9 (NIV)
9 Let us not become weary in doing
good, ffoorr aatt tthhee pprrooppeerr ttiimmee we will
reap a harvest iiff wwee ddoo nnoott ggiivvee uupp.

1 CORINTHIANS 15:58 (NIV)
58 Therefore, my dear brothers and
sisters, ssttaanndd ffiirrmm. Let nnootthhiinngg mmoovvee
yyoouu. Always give yourselves fully to
the work of the Lord, because you
know that yyoouurr llaabboorr iinn tthhee LLoorrdd iiss nnoott
iinn vvaaiinn.

2 THESSALONIANS 3:13 (NIV)
13 And as for you, brothers and sisters,
never ttiirree ooff ddooiinngg wwhhaatt iiss ggoooodd.

HEBREWS 12:2-3 (NIV)
2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and
perfecter of faith. For the joy set before
him he endured the cross, scorning its
shame, and sat down at the right hand of
the throne of God. 3 Consider him who
endured such opposition from sinners, so
that you will not grow weary and lose
heart.

HOSEA 1:2-3 (NIV)
2 When
the LORD began to
speak through Hosea,
the LORD said to him,
“Go, marry a
promiscuous woman
and have children with
her, for like an
adulterous wife this
land is guilty of
unfaithfulness to
the LORD.”

HOSEA 1:2-3 (NIV)
3 So he married
Gomer daughter of
Diblaim, and she
conceived and
bore him a son.

HOSEA 3:1-5 (NIV)
The Lord said to me,
“Go, show your love to
your wife again,
though she is loved by
another man and is an
adulteress. Love her
as the Lord loves the
Israelites, though they
turn to other gods and
love the sacred raisin
cakes.”

HOSEA 3:1-5 (NIV)
2 So I bought her
for fifteen shekels
of silver and about
a homer and a
lethek of barley.

HOSEA 3:1-5 (NIV)
3 Then I told her,
“You are to live with
me many days; you
must not be a
prostitute or be
intimate with any
man, and I will
behave the same
way toward you.”

HOSEA 3:1-5 (NIV)
4 For the Israelites
will live many days
without king or
prince, without
sacrifice or sacred
stones, without
ephod or household
gods.

HOSEA 3:1-5 (NIV)
5 Afterward the
Israelites will return
and seek the Lord
their God and David
their king. They will
come trembling to
the Lord and to his
blessings in the last
days.

HOSEA 2:5-13 (NIV)
5 Their mother is a
shameless prostitute
and became
pregnant in a
shameful way. She
said, ‘I’ll run after
other lovers and sell
myself to them for
food and water, for
clothing of wool and
linen, and for olive oil
and drinks.’

HOSEA 2:5-13 (NIV)
6 “For this reason I
will fence her in with
thornbushes. I will
block her path with a
wall to make her lose
her way.

HOSEA 2:5-13 (NIV)
7 When she runs
after her lovers, she
won’t be able to
catch them. She will
search for them but
not find them. Then
she will think, ‘I
might as well return
to my husband, for I
was better off with
him than I am now.’

HOSEA 2:5-13 (NIV)
8 She doesn’t realize
it was I who gave her
everything she has—
the grain, the new
wine, the olive oil; I
even gave her silver
and gold. But she
gave all my gifts to
Baal.

HOSEA 2:5-13 (NIV)
9 “But now I will take
back the ripened
grain and new wine I
generously provided
each harvest
season. I will take
away the wool and
linen clothing I gave
her to cover her
nakedness.

HOSEA 2:5-13 (NIV)
10 I will strip her
naked in public,
while all her lovers
look on. No one will
be able to rescue her
from my hands.

HOSEA 2:5-13 (NIV)
11 I will put an end
to her annual
festivals, her new
moon celebrations,
and her Sabbath
days— all her
appointed festivals.

HOSEA 2:5-13 (NIV)
12 I will destroy her
grapevines and fig
trees, things she
claims her lovers
gave her. I will let
them grow into
tangled thickets,
where only wild
animals will eat the
fruit.

HOSEA 2:5-13 (NIV)
13 I will punish her
for all those times
when she burned
incense to her
images of Baal,
when she put on her
earrings and jewels
and went out to look
for her lovers but
forgot all about
me,”says the Lord.

HOSEA 2:14-23 (NLT)
14 “But then I will
win her back once
again. I will lead her
into the desert and
speak tenderly to her
there.

HOSEA 2:14-23 (NLT)
15 I will return her
vineyards to her and
transform the Valley of
Trouble into a gateway
of hope. She will give
herself to me there, as
she did long ago when
she was young, when I
freed her from her
captivity in Egypt.

HOSEA 2:14-23 (NLT)
16 When that day
comes,” says the
Lord, “you will call
me ‘my husband’
instead of ‘my
master.’

HOSEA 2:14-23 (NLT)
17 O Israel,, II wwiillll
wwiippee tthhee mmaannyy
nnaammeess ooff BBaaaall ffrroomm
yyoouurr lliippss,, aanndd yyoouu
wwiillll nneevveerr mmeennttiioonn
tthheemm aaggaaiinn..

HOSEA 2:14-23 (NLT)
18 On that day I will
make a covenant with
all the wild animals and
the birds of the sky and
the animals that scurry
along the ground so
they will not harm you. I
will remove all weapons
of war from the land, all
swords and bows, so
you can live unafraid in
peace and safety.

HOSEA 2:14-23 (NLT)
19 I will make you
my wife forever,
showing you
righteousness and
justice, unfailing love
and compassion.

HOSEA 2:14-23 (NLT)
20 I will be faithful to
you and make you
mine, and you will
finally know me as
the Lord.

HOSEA 2:14-23 (NLT)
21 “In that day, I will
answer,” says the
Lord. “I will answer
the sky as it pleads
for clouds. And the
sky will answer the
earth with rain.

HOSEA 2:14-23 (NLT)
22 Then the earth
will answer the
thirsty cries of the
grain, the
grapevines, and the
olive trees. And they
in turn will answer,
‘Jezreel’—‘God
plants!’

HOSEA 2:14-23 (NLT)
At that time I will plant a
crop of Israelites and
raise them for myself. I
will show love to those I
called ‘Not loved.’ And
to those I called ‘Not
my people,’ I will say,
‘Now you are my
people.’And they will
reply, ‘You are our
God!’”

SSmmaallll disciplines
that lead to bbiigg life
changes.

2 Chronicles 15:2-7(Niv)
2 He went out to meet
Asa and said to him,
“Listen to me, Asa and
all Judah and
Benjamin. The Lord is
with you when you are
with him. If you seek
him, he will be found by
you, but if you forsake
him, he will forsake
you.

3 For a long time Israel
was without the true
God, without a priest to
teach and without the
law.

4 But in their distress
they turned to the Lord,
the God of Israel, and
sought him, and he was
found by them. 5 In
those days it was not
safe to travel about, for
all the inhabitants of the
lands were in great
turmoil.

6 One nation was being
crushed by another and
one city by another,
because God was
troubling them with
every kind of distress. 7
But as for you, be
strong and do not give
up, for your work will be
rewarded.”

HIROO ONODA (1922-2014)
In 1944, Lt. Hiroo Onoda
was sent by the Japanese
army to the remote
Philippine island of Lubang.
His mission was to conduct
guerrilla warfare during
World War II. Unfortunately,
he was never officially told
the war had ended; so for
29 years, Onoda continued
to live in the jungle,

ready for when his country
would again need his
services and information.
Eating coconuts and
bananas and deftly evading
searching parties he
believed were enemy
scouts, Onoda hid in the
jungle until he finally
emerged from the dark
recesses of the island on
March 19, 1972.

Hiroo Onoda was 20 years-old
when he was called up to
join the army. At the time, he
was far from home working at
a branch of the Tajima Yoko
trading company in Hankow
(now Wuhan), China. After
passing his physical, Onoda
quit his job and returned to his
home in Wakayama, Japan in
August of 1942 to get into top
physical condition.

In the Japanese army,
Onoda was trained as an
officer and was then
chosen to be trained at an
Imperial Army intelligence
school. At this school,
Onoda was taught how to
gather intelligence and
how to conduct guerrilla
warfare.

“You are absolutely forbidden to
die by your own hand. It may
take three years, it may take five,
but whatever happens, we'll
come back for you. Until then, so
long as you have one soldier,
you are to continue to lead him.
You may have to live on
coconuts. If that's the case, live
on coconuts! Under no
circumstances are you [to] give
up your life voluntarily.”

Once on the island of Lubang,
Onoda was supposed to blow
up the pier at the harbor and
destroy the Lubang airfield.
Unfortunately, the garrison
commanders, who were
worried about other matters,
decided not to help Onoda on
his mission and soon the
island was overrun by the
Allies.

The remaining Japanese
soldiers, Onoda included,
retreated into the inner
regions of the island and
split up into groups. As
these groups dwindled in
size after several attacks,
the remaining soldiers split
into cells of 3 and 4
people.

Onoda first saw a leaflet
that claimed the war was
over in October 1945.
When another cell had
killed a cow, they found a
leaflet left behind by the
islanders which read: ""The
war ended on August 15.
Come down from the
mountains!"

But as they sat in the jungle,
the leaflet just didn't seem to
make sense, for another cell
had just been fired upon a few
days ago. If the war were
over, why would they still be
under attack? No, they
decided, the leaflet must be a
clever ruse by the Allied
propagandists.

Again, the outside world tried
to contact the survivors living
on the island by dropping
leaflets out of a Boeing B-17
near the end of 1945. Printed
on these leaflets was the
surrender order from General
Yamashita of the Fourteenth
Area Army.

Having already hidden on the
island for a year and with the only
proof of the end of the war being
this leaflet, Onoda and the others
scrutinized every letter and every
word on this piece of paper. One
sentence in particular seemed
suspicious, it said that those who
surrendered would receive
"hygienic succor" and be "hauled"
to Japan. Again, they believed this
must be an Allied hoax.

Leaflet after leaflet was
dropped. Newspapers were
left. Photographs and letters
from relatives were dropped.
Friends and relatives spoke
out over loudspeakers. There
was always something
suspicious, so they never
believed that the war had
really ended.

Year after year, the four men
huddled together in the rain,
searched for food, and
sometimes attacked villagers.
They fired on the villagers
because, "We considered
people dressed as islanders
to be enemy troops in
disguise or enemy spies.

The proof that they were was
that whenever we fired on one
of them, a search party
arrived shortly afterward."3 It
had become a cycle of
disbelief. Isolated from the
rest of the world, everyone
appeared to be the enemy.

In 1949, Akatsu wanted to
surrender. He didn't tell any of
the others; he just walked away.
In September 1949 he
successfully got away from the
others and after six months on
his own in the jungle, Akatsu
surrendered. To Onoda's cell,
this seemed like a security leak
and they became even more
careful of their position.

In June 1953, Shimada was
wounded during a skirmish.
Though his leg wound slowly
got better (without any
medicines or bandages), he
became gloomy. On May 7,
1954, Shimada was killed in a
skirmish on the beach at Gontin.

For nearly 20 years after Shimad's
death, Kozuka and Onoda
continued to live in the jungle
together, awaiting the time when
they would again be needed by
the Japanese army. Per the
division commanders instructions,
they believed it was their job to
remain behind enemy lines,
reconnoiter and gather intelligence
to be able to train Japanese
troops in guerrilla warfare in order
to regain the Philippine islands.

In October 1972, at the age of
51 and after 27 years of
hiding, Kozuka was killed
during a clash with a Filipino
patrol. Though Onoda had
been officially declared dead
in December 1959 Kozuka's
body proved the likelihood
that Onoda was still living.
Search parties were sent out
to find Onoda, but none
succeeded.

Onoda was now on his own.
Remembering the division
commander's order, he could
not kill himself yet he no
longer had a single soldier to
command. Onoda continued
to hide.

In 1974, a college dropout
named Norio Suzuki decided
to travel to the Philippines,
Malaysia, Singapore, Burma,
Nepal, and perhaps a few
other countries on his way.
He told his friends that he was
going to search for Lt. Onoda,
a panda, and the Abominable
Snowman.

Where so many others had
failed, Suzuki succeeded. He
found Lt. Onoda and tried to
convince him that the war was
over. Onoda explained that he
would only surrender if his
commander ordered him to do
so.

Suzuki traveled back to Japan
and found Onoda's former
commander, Major Taniguchi,
who had become a bookseller.
On March 9, 1974, Suzuki and
Taniguchi met Onoda at a
preappointed place and Major
Taniguchi read the orders that
stated all combat activity was to
be ceased. Onoda was shocked
and, at first, disbelieving. It took
some time for the news to sink in.

We really lost the war! How
could they have been so
sloppy?
Suddenly everything went
black. A storm raged inside
me. I felt like a fool for having
been so tense and cautious
on the way here. Worse than
that, what had I been doing
for all these years?

Gradually the storm subsided,
and for the first time I really
understood: my tthhiirrttyy yyeeaarrss as
a guerrilla fighter for the
Japanese army were abruptly
finished. This was the end.

I pulled back the bolt on my
rifle and unloaded the bullets.
I eased off the pack that I
always carried with me and
laid the gun on top of it.
Would I really have no more
use for this rifle that I had
polished and cared for like a
baby all these years?

Or Kozuka's rifle, which I had
hidden in a crevice in the
rocks? Had the war really
ended thirty years ago? If it
had, what had Shimada and
Kozuka died for? If what was
happening was true, wouldn't
it have been better if I had
died with them?

During the 30 years that
Onoda had remain hidden on
Lubang island, he and his
men had killed at least 30
Filipinos and had wounded
approximately 100 others.
After formally surrendering to
Philippine President
Ferdinand Marcos, Marcos
pardoned Onoda for his
crimes while in hiding.

When Onoda reached Japan,
he was hailed a hero. Life in
Japan was much different
than when he had left it in
1944. Onoda bought a ranch
and moved to Brazil but in
1984 he and his new wife
moved back to Japan and
founded a nature camp for
kids.

In May 1996, Onoda returned
to the Philippines to see once
again the island on which he
had hidden for 30 years.
On Thursday, January 16,
2014, Hiroo Onoda died at
age 91.

When Onoda returned to
Japan, he was seen as a
hero. He was also given his
pay for the last 30 years. Life
was much different in Japan
now than he remembered,
and not at all to his liking.

Many of the traditional Japanese
virtues he cherished such as
patriotism were nearly non-existent
in the culture; indeed in
his view Japan now cow-towed to
the rest of the world and had lost
its pride and sense of itself. So he
moved to Brazil and used his pay
to buy himself a ranch there and
eventually married.

Onoda released an
autobiography: NNoo SSuurrrreennddeerr,, MMyy
TThhiirrttyy--YYeeaarr WWaarr in which he
details his life as a guerrilla
fighter.
After reading about a Japanese
teenager who had murdered his
own parents in 1980, Onoda
became even more distressed
at the state of his country and
young people in Japan.

He then returned to Japan in
1984, establishing a nature
school for young people
where he could teach them
various survival techniques
and teach them to be more
independent and better
Japanese citizens.

In May 1996, he returned to
the Philippines to the island
he had lived for 30 years
donating $10,000 to local
schools; as you might
imagine, he is not too popular
with the locals there, despite
the donation.

“Menne vsehro uld gnievvee ru pd.I woulHloIRdOsO I OeNhO.aA te o . D”to
(1922-2014)

“Mceonm spheotuel dw intehv er If theyw doom, etnh.wTihlla ta liws abyesc e aloussee. guys wmoomree ne nhdauvrea an cloe.t My mtohtahte,r said ansdo HIROO rsihgeh ONODA
wt.a”s (1922-2014)

““ One must aallwwaayyss bbee cciivviicc--
mmiinnddeedd.. EEvveerryy mmiinnuuttee ooff
eevveerryy ddaayy,, ffoorr 3300 yyeeaarrss,, II
sseerrvveedd mmyy ccoouunnttrryy.. II hhaavvee
nneevveerr eevveenn wwoonnddeerreedd iiff tthhaatt
wwaass ggoooodd oorr bbaadd ffoorr mmee aass aann
iinnddHIiRivvOiOid dONuuOaaDlAl..””
(1922-2014)

““ Parents sshhoouulldd rreemmeemmbbeerr
tthhaatt tthheeyy aarree ssuuppppoosseedd ttoo ddiiee
bbeeffoorree tthheeiirr cchhiillddrreenn.. NNoobbooddyy
wwiillll hheellpp tthheemm llaatteerr oonn,, ssoo tthhee
ggrreeaatteesstt ggiifftt ppaarreennttss ccaann ggiivvee
tthheeiirr iinnddeeHppIReeOnOn cchhiillddrreenn OddNeeOnDnAccee..””
iiss
(1922-2014)

““NNeevveerr ccoommppllaaiinn..
WWhheenn II ddiidd,, mmyy mmootthheerr ssaaiidd tthhaatt iiff II
ddiiddnn’’tt lliikkee mmyy lliiffee,, II ccoouulldd jjuusstt ggiivvee
uupp aanndd ddiiee.. SShhee rreemmiinnddeedd mmee tthhaatt
wwhheenn II wwaass iinnssiiddee hheerr,, II ttoolldd hheerr tthhaatt
II wwaanntteedd ttoo bbee bboorrnn,, ssoo sshhee ddeelliivveerreedd
mmee,, bbrreeaassttffeedd mmee aanndd cchhaannggeedd mmyy
ddiiaappeerrss..
SShhee ssaaiidd tthhaaHttI R IIO hOh aOadNdO tDtooA bbee bbrraavvee..””
(1922-2014)

MATTHEW 26:39 (NLT)
He went on a little farther and bowed with his face to
the ground, praying, "My Father! If it is possible, let
this cup of suffering be taken away from me. YYeett II
wwaanntt yyoouurr wwiillll ttoo bbee ddoonnee,, nnoott mmiinnee."

JJEESSUUSS WWIILLLL
NNEEVVEERR GGIIVVEE
UUPP OONN YYOOUU..

THE ONLY
THING WORST
THAN THIS
LIFE, IS THIS
LIFE WITHOUT
JESUS.

MY STORY 3 – PTR. ALVIN GUTIERREZ – 10AM MORNING SERVICE

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

What's hot

What's hot (20)

Similar to MY STORY 3 – PTR. ALVIN GUTIERREZ – 10AM MORNING SERVICE

Similar to MY STORY 3 – PTR. ALVIN GUTIERREZ – 10AM MORNING SERVICE (20)

More from Faithworks Christian Church

More from Faithworks Christian Church (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

MY STORY 3 – PTR. ALVIN GUTIERREZ – 10AM MORNING SERVICE