Yes!

John met Yoko through one of her art shows. He recalled one of her exhibits. It was a step ladder with something very tiny on the ceiling.

John climbed the ladder and got really close to the tiny thing. It was a word. It said, "Yes."

Now, I'm not saying that one word was what caused John to fall in love with her, but I do think it was an incredible moment in his life, by his own account. Yes is an extremely powerful, emotional word.

We crave the "yes." While only one well-placed no can cast a net of disappointment, one yes can launch a rocket, and a million yesses will not overstuff you.

I wonder why we skip the yesses of Scripture so readily. I could list 70 pretty easily, I think given a decent concordance, from "Yes, and the Lord has forgiven your sin. You are not going to die." (2 Sa 12:13) to "Yes! God is great beyond our knowledge" (Job 36:26) to the "Yes! His loyal love endures" repeated in Psalm 118.

There are tons of yesses, but my favorite yes comes from Paul's second letter to the Corinthians:

For the Son of God, Jesus Christ...was not "Yes" and "No," but in him it has always been "Yes."

Green Light Believer

I'm not one to sizzle about sermons. A good sermon should speak, specifically, to the people being addressed. A good sermon will, primarily, give the listeners something to do, not something to talk about.

I've heard "good" sermons that gave me something to talk about, but I can't remember any of those. I've also heard sermons that taught me to pray, to fast, to witness, to serve, to be baptized, to change. I remember each one of those, because I'm still trying to live them today.

I have to say that the sermon on Sunday was both "good" and purposeful.*

To (brutally) sum up what was a work of beauty - the sermon demonstrated that if you've been waiting on direction from God, just recognize that He's already told you what you've asked Him for. When Gideon laid out the second fleece, he'd already received two convincing signs before that...and before that, had been told explicitly by God what to do. What we often use as a model (laying out a fleece, asking for a miracle/sign) for our relationship with God's will in our life is actually a model of what not to do!

God speaks in his Word. He speaks to his followers. Speaks, not "will speak," not "might speak."

Why do we ask for signs while God is talking to us? When my boss tells me to do something, I don't then ask for a sign!

That's the "thinky" part, the "good" sermon that tickles my ears, but what makes it great is that it changed me, too. That Sunday morning, I came to church something of a "Red Light" follower, waiting for clear direction from God to do anything. I left a "Green Light" Believer, and started doing things (witnessing, praying, writing), without signs or clarity, and figuring that IF what I do eventually becomes something that places me in opposition to God's will that...

...he'll give me a sign.

Until then, I'm going to approach the mission field sort of like the Monkees approach pirates. (It probably doesn't help if you change the lyrics slightly in your head, to "Green Light Believer." But now you are going to try, anyway.)



Poor mission field. Poor, poor mission field.

I hope this doesn't encourage my pastor to attempt less effective sermons on my account.

*At last check, the sermon wasn't yet up and available online. It will be soon here. Until then, you can catch up on a few previous lessons. Or not. What am I, your mother? (I'm not your mother, am I? Send paperwork if you think this might be the case, because I'm pretty sure I'd remember something like that.)