When You Say Yes

Saying yes to God doesn't require perfection. Saying yes just requires a 'Yes'.

Matthew 5: 1-12

We are still in the early stages of 2020. We are still in the stages where we are deciding if we are going to eat right or not. We are still in the stages of deciding whether or not this is the year that we will volunteer or purchase a gym membership. Yet, I cannot help wonder how many people said, "This is the year that I will say yes to God?"

I ask that question because we are closer to God’s appearing than we have ever been. Yet it seems we are farther away from Him than we have ever been. Saying "Yes" to God means change, and I am not sure how many of us really want change. Saying "Yes" to God can mean that there is an admittance of wrong doing and a commitment to do it right. Saying "Yes" to God means that there is a call for obedience.

Let's look at Matthew 5:1-12. As a quick summary, it says, "... blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, blessed are those who are persecuted, blessed are the peacemakers..." and it goes on and on. Yet, if you look a little deeper, the blessing comes because you have made a decision to say "yes" to things that are not popular and can, at times, be disheartening. 
When you say yes to God, you often:

• Are Poor in spirit- you feel as though you are at the end of your rope.
• Mourn, both for the death of those who are closest to you and also you mourn for the things that break the heart of God.
• Meek, and that meekness can be perceived as weakness
• You hunger and thirst after righteousness, for nothing can fill those places but God.
• Make every effort to be merciful and have a pure heart, you have empathy for others
• Should have peace as your ultimate goal. For the Bible says that God is not the author of confusion, and if confusion ever comes your way, you should know that its author, its source, its intent, its mission comes straight from the enemy.
• Are often persecuted when you try to do right. You may be insulted, and people will say all manner of evil against you falsely, because you choose to say yes to God and to stand for what is right.

It is important to remember that God gives us free will. He is not One to force you to do something that you have no desire, or do not want to do. You have a choice to say "Yes, God, I will obey." You have the leeway to choose a YES. God doesn’t want slaves, He wants followers. He wants friends.

Here are a few things to remember.

1. Saying yes means total obedience. God's Word is absolutely right. And when you say yes, you choose to follow Him. It means that what you want and desire is secondary to what God desires for your life. Because He is a good Father, you can trust him and His ways, for His ways are right and kind, and are what is best for you.
2. Saying yes means being open to what God has to say. In I Samuel 3, the Lord spoke to Samuel 3 times in an effort to get his attention. The Bible says that Samuel was very young and did not know God at that early age well enough to know that it was Him speaking, hence he thought it was Eli. But Eli shared with him that if God speaks to you again, say “Speak Lord, thy servant heareth.” This allowed Samuel to be open to what God wanted to share with him. Please note, openness, does not mean agreement. You may not always understand or even like what God has to say, but it is still your responsibility as a child of God to follow.
3. Saying yes to God means that you may encounter opposition. It may be hard. It may be unpopular. It may be uncomfortable. You may lose friends and family. You may lose those closest to you. You may have to stand when no one else is standing. You may come home frustrated. You think a situation is not fair. You may have to endure hardship. But the Bible says to endure it as a good soldier (II Tim 2:3). When you say yes to God it may mean persecution. It may mean leaving everything behind. It may mean standing for right. But the joy of knowing that you are pleasing God and will receive the blessing of God makes it worth while.

​Saying yes to God does not require perfection.  A yes doesn’t require gifts and talents. A yes just requires a YES.