Who's behind the mountain?

Leading to my Baptism

I was born the eldest son of a Christian home; so for me the existence of God was completely natural.  Praying and singing praises were activities which I took as a matter of course.  I also enjoyed going to church; it was an integral part of my life.  That was me; but my sin was not so naturally resolved.  Whilst believing in the Lord Jesus, I nevertheless thought that unless I worked hard to study the Bible, I could not hope to understand the things of God.  While I was in junior high school, I was asked to consider being baptised, but I refused, believing that my faith was not yet sufficient and that I should work at it more first.

However, the Lord Jesus had mercy on me and prepared a time of blessing for me.  That day I was sitting in the worship service, the same as always.  A teenage girl, also in junior high school, was to give her testimony before being baptised.  She was being baptised after only six months of coming to church and I thought to myself, "what can she know in just six months?  I've been coming to church since I was born and yet I still don't feel I'm ready."  So I thought I would listen to what she had to say.  The girl stood at the pulpit to give her testimony, but tears trickled down her cheeks and she couldn't speak.  Then the Lord said to me "have you ever shed tears when you have thought of my cross?"  Hearing these words, I realized how proud I was.  Becoming aware of the greatness of my sin, I prayed right there, all the way through the service.  As I prayed, I was shown more and more the greatness of my sin and was led to repentance.  As I continued praying, the Lord Jesus touched me and led me into great peace and joy.  It was the time of experiencing the baptism of the Holy Spirit.  A month later I was baptised.  It was the Day of Pentecost.
 
Leading to full commitment

When I graduated I started work, which was not what I had hoped.  Yet the Lord upheld me, even though my hopes were not granted.  When I was at senior high school, I developed epilepsy.  Consequently I began commuting the ten kilometres to work by bike.  Cycling to work became a time of prayer for me.  This was because ever since I had been in junior high school, I had been praying for Pastor Kanai who was doing church planting in Wakayama prefecture, and I sometimes wondered and prayed about whether I should go into full time work and serve in Wakayama too.  As I prayed about giving myself to the Lord for full-time service, I felt the Lord speak to me about serving in my church.  Then, as I put my efforts into ministry at the church and continue d praying, my desire to commit myself to the Lord for full-time work grew stronger.  I became completely confused about whether I should serve in the church as a church member or whether I should go into full-time service.  As I continued praying through my confusion, the Lord Jesus gave me the following scripture from Isaiah 65:17-18 "Be glad and rejoice forever in that which I create."  With that word I decided to dedicate myself for all my life to serving the Lord as a layman.  For me this was a very deep commitment.  However, when I was 25, the Lord spoke to me at a youth camp about getting personally involved in full-time service.  That Autumn I got married and six months later we entered Hebron Bible School.

 

Leading into the SFDD (The WEC Related Group of Churches)

After graduating from Bible School, we returned to my home church; and as I contributed to the ministry there, I was led again to think of full-time service.  The Lord spoke to me through the verse "By the grace of God, I am what I am" and showed me that it was through the SFDD churches that I had been loved and had received God's grace.  Therefore, I applied to join the SFDD.  I wasn't accepted; but through this experience too I learned the preciousness of God's love; and I continued participating in my home church.

After two years I was again led to join the SFDD.  This time, I was prompted by a book that I had borrowed from a friend.  It was a book about making decisions.  Reading the book, I learned that one must make the decisions that one is faced with right here and now.  I prayed for a month, but the Lord said nothing.  I wondered what on earth I should do, but the thing that was most stressed was to make decisions based on love.  Until now the Lord had raised me in the faith and shown me His love through the SFDD and through my church; therefore it would be good if I could serve the group I love.  Once again, I applied to join.  And so it is, that as from April this year, I have been given the responsibility of pastoring the Oyake Itsukushimi christian church.