THE YES!
Stand & Declare these words –
‘The Anthem of The Original’
o I am created as The Original – there is nobody like me – I am unique – I am The Masterpiece – The one of a Kind –
o Because I am The Original – I am designed to fulfil a special plan that nobody else in the world is able to do
o The Plan of God for my life is real enough to impact my present and my future – and change the world around me! –
o (What makes me The Original? Discuss with 2 people around you)
o I have a 16 month old son,
o who has the adventure spirit of David Livingstone and Jim Corbett all packed up within him – he wants to explore and learn everything around him – Since he knows he is The Original he is desperate to let the world know the original qualities within him
o This adventure spirit makes him reach out for everything within his reach – Imagine this our house – and for a few moments imagine Josiah is running around the corners of this house – he reaches out his hand for the glass – imagine the response of his parents – NO –
o Josiah moves his hand and reaches for the laptop screen – I shout – NO
o Under the sofa – Neena shout NO
o Jump out of the balcony – we shout – NO
o No wonder recently my son – probably in a moment of frustration – to live in such a negative world - shouts out – NO – NO –NO - NO
o As followers of Jesus – many times – we have the same understanding regarding our walk with Jesus – and even when others want to follow Jesus we present this NO-religion –
o We have this idea about this Jesus-experience – that there is big vast world to enjoy outside – but if you choose to follow Jesus – you are stuck up in this small room – hearing NO TO EVERYTHING YOU FEEL YOU WANT TO DO
o NO SMOKING
o NO BAD LANGUAGE
o NO HAIR-CUT
o NO TORN JEANS
o NO GOING THERE – NO GOING HERE
o NO DON’T TOUCH THAT – NO DON’T TOUCH THIS
o NO NOT THAT MOVIE –
o NO NOT THAT SONG
o NO NO NO – DON’T GO NEAR THAT BOTTLE
o NO NOT THAT BOOK
o NO NOT THAT
o NO DON’T LOOK THERE – DON’T WEAR THAT
o Many feel if I don’t do all these things – I will probably get a front seat in heaven! – but is this what this Jesus Experience all about – a morbid life of hearing No and deciding to say NO to cool things in life?
o To unpack this interesting world of NO – we need to understand the real nature of the word which is our topic for discussion tonight – the word YES!
o I was generally analyzing the word YES during the day
o It could start early morning – Yes, darling, I will definitely have tea
o Yes, I will be late from office
o Yes, this is Jacob Mathew on phone
o Yes, you are the right man for the job
o Yes, Sir, I will make sure it is done by 4 pm
o Yes, go ahead, you have my permission
o Yes, I do
o Yes, I will be part of this team
o Yes, I will do whatever it takes to find the root of the problem
o The more you analyze the use of this word YES and No, you discover something – tell me when do you and I use the words YES and No?(response)
o no one goes around saying the word YES in vacuum - or it would be weird if someone keeps saying YES YES YES – The word YES or NO is always in response to a question or to a situation!
o To discover what this Jesus-experience is all about and whether it is just a NO-religion – I want us to look at 3 true events as recorded by the Bible
o Genesis 2: 8-17(read)
o God creates the beautiful world – designs a fabulous garden for Adam and Eve to call it their home – gives them an all-access pass to everything in the garden – except eating fruits from 2 particular trees – God basically told Adam & Eve –
you know what guys? – this whole place is just for you to enjoy – If your question is – can we swim in that river - YES go ahead
– You will find gold towards the other side – If your question is – can we make decorations with this pure gold – make chairs of gold – plates of gold – beds of gold – YES! Go ahead!
There are amazing trees all over the place – variety of fruits – food that is fingerlicking good – if your question is can we have all this stuff without worrying about food-poisoning – YES! Its for you to enjoy
Everything you lay your hand on the wide expanse of this garden – and if you are wondering if it’s for you to enjoy – YES! It all belongs to you!
But There are couple of trees in vast huge garden, which is a NO for you – Touching or eating stuff from that tree is dangerous for you – but I trust you – as you will be so busy enjoying the whole garden that you will have no time for this tree
o The rest is history!
o Such a big YES! From God – they went for the puny NO – the temptation of that one NO item looked much more enticing than all the YES items put together
o I was wondering – is this not what we do with our lives – God gives the huge privilege of enjoying God’s world – option of doing so many things right and we choose the one wrong thing
We have the massive option of showing genuine acts of love to people – but we end up narrowing our options to the world of lust
We know the power of living at peace with people – caring for people – but we choose to live in the messy dark alley of war
We know the energy of giving our time and talents to help the helpless, but we throw away our dignity by aiming to grab the morsel of the rich and mighty
o Choosing that one NO – messes up enjoying all the YES – Adam & Eve – had to be kicked out of the garden – suddenly all the YES turned to a NO(no more swimming pool – no gold – no finger licking food)
o That’s where you and I come into the picture – with our complaints of a NO-religion – and scream – this is not fair! Life is not fair! God is not fair! We want to enjoy everything – but they make all these rules – NO NO NO
o But God was basically saying was this and that’s the first point want you to remember ENJOY - When I say No! It is because I want you to enjoy my YES! Plan for your life -
o Your response to that could be – that’s not fair to make such rules
o God’s gentle loving whisper to you would be - Enjoy my world but on my terms – When you make your own world you can make up your own rules
o Have you ever wondered why every gadget in the world – every luxury offer – every tempting scheme has 2 words which we all hate - Conditions apply – Because the creator of each of these gadgets or offers – are repeating the eternal words of the creator – Yes! You can enjoy using my item/plan as long as you follow my instructions
o (My wife and I may say NO a thousands times over Josiah – the purpose is this – so that his life is out of dangerous to enjoy his life
o The next passage I want you to look at is found in the book of Jonah 1: 1-3, 9, 10, 2:1, 10, 3: 1-3(read)
o God has an astounding plan for Jonah – he chooses him out of everybody else in that region – God has an astounding plan for Nineveh – he offers his grace to this great city – all that Jonah had to do was to say YES to that plan and watch God’s beautiful blueprint for his life unravel before his very eyes
o But there is a twist very early in the game – Jonah says Nah, runs away and jumps into a ship and takes off in the opposite direction
o Whenever people say no for anything there is usually a reason(No I cannot marry you because you don’t look like Shahrukh Khan – No, I cannot help you because I don’t feel like helping you – No, I don’t want to go out with you guys because you guys are not much fun
o So, as I was reading this passage – I was trying to figure out – what was Jonah’s excuse as the bible does not clearly mention it
o Nah, God, going to Nineveh is too much of hard work
o Nah, God, I want a break in life – so I am going on this long vacation
o Nah, God, I want to sleep
o Nah, God, I have no friends in Nineveh
o Nah God, I don’t like the food in Nineveh
o Nah God, I don’t want to go – if I go – I preach – they repent – you forgive – no judgement – life becomes boring(Jonah 4:1-3)
(What do you want to see God do? Will determine your obedience)
o Whatever his excuse – the rest is history!
o Jonah is caught in a storm – the ship is about to sink – and Jonah has enough common sense to realise his presence on the ship is going to bring great pain to his ship-mates – Jonah is thrown off the ship by his ship-mates on his own request – swallowed by a huge fish – and there begins the 3 painful days for Jonah
o Inside the belly of the fish – Jonah is on his knees suddenly realising – where he should have been – enjoying the cool of the evening in Nineveh – watching God in action changing an entire city – what a pleasure – instead what a pain to be stuck within the belly of this dirty smelly fish
o Inside the belly of the fish, God reminds Jonah of a valuable lesson and that’s the 2nd thing I want you to remember tonight PLEASURE- Saying ‘Yes’ to my plan brings pleasure Saying No to my plan brings Pain!
o Our experience with Jesus – is one of awesome pleasure – when we choose to say YES – to everything He wants us to do
o Well that’s where you and I again come into the picture with our stunning complaints – well God, the problem is I don’t know your plan – so since I don’t know your plan – I do my own thing – how will I know God’s plan for my life?
o I am glad you asked that question – because the book I hold in my hands – has a detailed plan of the different areas of your life and what are different things you can YES to
o You pick up the book – really wow! I never knew that – does it say about the girl I am to marry
o No it does not say that – but it does say – say YES to marry a believer! It does say – Yes! Have sex after marriage and you are blessed(while you working on those two – I am sure God will craft out the name for you)
o You pick up the book – really wow! I never knew that – does it say about the company I will be working in
o No it does not say that – but it does say – Yes Seek God first and everything else will added to you – it does say – Yes work hard and don’t be lazy(while you are working on those two – I am sure God will figure out a company for you)
o Saying YES to my plan brings pleasure – while saying NO to my plan brings pain
o Video – Peter denying Jesus
o John 21: 13-17
o First thing – When I say NO it is because I want you to enjoy my YES! Plan for your life
o 2nd – Saying Yes to my plan brings pleasure – while saying NO to my plan brings pain
o Final thing God wants you to remember is RESTART– When your NO messes you up – run back to Jesus shouting YES to restart a fresh chapter!
o Peter had messed it up – but when he returns to Jesus – all that Jesus asks him is Peter – do you love me? Basically Jesus asks is – Peter, forget about the past - - will you say just embrace my original plan for your life
o The rest is history! Peter becomes all that God wanted him to become!
o On the other hand – Judas had messed up too – but he refused to return to Jesus
o Why do you think he did not return to Jesus?(think about it for a moment)
o Do you think Jesus would have given Judas the same chance to come back just like Peter? Do you think Judas would have been a great leader of the early church if he had come back to Jesus and said – Yes Jesus, I am sorry – I want to embrace your plan!!!
o Yes! 1000 times over, Jesus would have embraced Judas and restart the original The Original Plan for his life
o The greater crime than the Judas kiss itself is – refusing to trust God recreate & rebuild your life all over
o This evening – it’s possible you have messed up badly – but the bigger mess for your future is to refuse to trust God to set right the mess.
o I close with these 2 life – stories
o A woman is dying of AIDS, a life of immorality. A Counsellor is called. He attempts to comfort her, but to no avail.
o I am Lost – I have ruined my life and every life around me. Now I am going painfully to hell. There is no hope for me.
o The counsellor saw a framed picture of a pretty girl on top of the table. ‘Who is this – She’s my daughter, the one beautiful thing in my life
o And would you help her if she was in trouble or made a mistake? Would you forgive her? Would you still love her?
o Of course I would! I would do anything for her. Why do you ask this question?
o Because I wanted you to know – that God has a picture of you on His table – and he will do anything to reach out to you!
Conclusion
o Christina lives in a small dusty village in Brazil. Her heart was empty and she felt like society had cheated her of its joys. She longed for the excitement of the big city of Rio. One morning her mother Maria awoke to find Christina’s bed empty.
“Maria knew immediately where her daughter had gone. She also she knew immediately what she must do to find her. She quickly threw some clothes in a bag, gathered up all her money and ran out of the house.
On the way to the bus stop she entered a drugstore to get one last thing. Pictures. She sat in the photograph booth, closed the curtain, and spent all she could on pictures of herself. With her purse full of small black and white photos, she boarded the bus to Rio de Janeiro.
Maria knew that Christina had no way of earning money. She also knew that her daughter was too stubborn to give up. When pride meets hunger, a human will do things that before where unthinkable. Knowing this, Maria, began her search. Bars, hotels, nightclubs, any place with the reputation for street walkers or prostitutes. She went to them all. And at each place she left her picture – taped on a bathroom mirror, tacked to a hotel bulletin board, fastened to a corner phone booth. And on the back of each she wrote a note.
It wasn’t too long before both the money and the pictures ran out, and Maria had to go home. The weary mother wept as the bus began its long journey back to her small village.
It was a few weeks later that the young Christina descended the hotel stairs. Her young face was tired. Her brown eyes no longer danced with youth but spoke of pain and fear. Her laughter was broken. Her dream had become a nightmare. A thousand times over she had longed to trade these countless beds for her secure pallet. Yet the little village was, in too many ways, too far away.
As she reached the bottom of the stairs her eyes noticed a familiar face. She looked and there on the lobby mirror was a small picture of her mother. Christina’s eyes burned and her throat tightened as she walked across the room and removed the small photo. Written on the back was this compelling invitation. ‘Whatever you have done, whatever you have become, it doesn’t matter. Please come home!’ She did”
o Whatever you have done – wherever you are – will you say YES to God!
