Matthew 4:1-11 Mark 4:17-22
"Yes or No" You Decide.
A few years ago Gloria and I were traveling on one of the freeways our on our way home from vacationing some place in the south, I can't remember exactly where we were coming from.
All of a sudden, all I could see ahead of us were braking taillights. Beyond them was what looked like the parking lot at Disney World. Nothing but a sea of red lights as far as we could see.
Fortunately for us we were just approaching a exit ramp which I took without the slightest bit of hesitation.
My GPS went right to work and started recalculating as soon as it realized I had altered the course it had originally set for me.
It took us about a mile west of the freeway, and then north and east and guided us back to the highway just ahead of the accident that had the road blocked stopping all traffic for miles.
I felt so blessed to have my GPS because I knew it would guide me back to the right road eventually.
If I had not exercised my option to get off and go around we could have set out there for hours because nothing was moving beyond the point where we made our exit.
As we travel through life, it is always good to have options. But there are many times in life when there are no options.
Sometimes in the journey through this life of uncertainty, we run into wilderness experiences that require a YES or NO, with no other choices.
When Jesus was in the wilderness Satan offered Jesus the option of bypassing his mission and taking the easy way out.
Three time the devil tried to get Jesus to say "No" to God and "Yes" to him. But Jesus remained faithful. He chose to ignore the options of the devil and stay on the course laid out for him by his heavenly Father.
He made up his mind who he was going to serve!
Jesus said "No" three times.
But the most glorious thing about his saying no to the devil was, each time he said no to the devil, he said yes to God!
Yes Father, I will follow you!
Yes Father! I will be the example for your people!
Yes Father! I will suffer and die for them!
And he continued to say Yes to God for the rest of his earthly life.
He made a choice and he stood by it.
There was to be no straddling the fence or trying to stay in the middle of the road,
there was no compromise,
no partial surrender!
He was committed, even to death on the cross.
There are personal wilderness experiences for each of us, and like Jesus, we must walk them alone.
No one can walk them for us.
There are going to be times in our lives when we encounter situations and circumstances that will require us to choose between God and Satan, and the only two choices will be Yes or No!
When the rich young man came running up to Jesus and asked the question, "What Must he do to inherit eternal life?
I imagine he thought he was pretty much home free because he had obeyed the commandments all of his life..
He was doing all the right things!
When Jesus quoted the commandments to him he probably felt proud and maybe even have been expecting Jesus to give him a big Atta boy, you know a pat on the back.
But Jesus, knew what was really in his heart.
Jesus said, "O yes, by the way. One other thing you need to do before you lock up your seat in the kingdom.
You have quite a bit of material wealth; go sell it all, give the money to the poor and then come and follow me."
Hello? "What's that you say, Jesus?" "I didn't hear you."
I sort of feel for the young man.
Here he is coming to Jesus looking for options and then finding out there were none!
Finding out that his only option was total surrender of everything that was important to him.
To him Eternal Life was not worth the price he had to pay for it. He valued his earthly treasures more than eternity in the kingdom.
The scriptures say, "the man went away very sad, because he was very rich." What a pity.
I know something of how he must have felt because I have said No to Jesus on many occasions.
Many times in my journey of faith I have wanted options and when there were none, I turned my back on Jesus and walked away sad, because I was unwilling to make a commitment to him.
But I thank God that He gave me a second chance!
I thank God that I finally woke up and made the decision to say Yes to God!
I thank God that the Holy Spirit is my Guide today and I am committed to being an obedient disciple.
I am proud to say today that "I am not a fan of Jesus, I am a follower".
PAUSE - CHANGE DIRECTION
The scriptures say Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit before he went in the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
When we have the Holy Spirit working in us there is no temptation so great that we cannot resist it.
The Holy Spirit of Jesus acts like the GPS we have in our automobiles.
He maps out our destination for us and he will lead us to the kingdom of God if follow him in the way he guides us.
Whenever we make a wrong decision or we sin against God, the spirit warns us to repent;
he warns us to turn and go in another direction,
he warns us to get back on the right road.
Several years ago, before I allowed the Holy Spirit to take control of my life I was struggling with direction, my faith, what little I had was tested in many ways.
Poor health situations,
Poor mental attitude
Low self-esteem
Unrest on the job,
Unhealthy relationships,
Alcohol and drug addiction,
If you combine all of these things with a lack of spiritual guidance you wind up with a person who is often depressed, uncertain about the future, and someone who is thoroughly mixed up and confused about what life is all about. That was me.
And then one day I came Face to Face with Jesus.
In my wilderness journey God led me to a church in Mt. Clemens, Michigan where I met Jesus Face to Face and He gave me no options.
He said "come, follow me",
"Come, turn away from the life you've been leading and follow me".
And I said "Yes"! Through tear filled eyes, and a heart so overwhelmed by the presence of unconditional love, I said, "Yes Jesus, I will follow you"!
"I will be whatever you want me to be"!
"I will do whatever you want me to do"!
"I will go where you send me"! "Even to Fowlerville".
"Yes Jesus, I will follow you"!
And everything I thought and felt about life changed in an instant.
I had straddled the fence for many years, one foot in church and one foot in the world, unwilling to make a commitment to Jesus.
But on that day, October 7, 1998, I knew I had to make a choice. I knew I had ran out of options and my moment of truth had arrived!
I knew I could no longer stay in the middle of the road.
I had to choose who I was going to follow, and I chose Jesus. I chose Jesus because the emptiness inside of me had finally been filled by the presence of the Holy Spirit and I knew then whom I wanted to serve for the rest of my life.
Has everything been perfect since then? No!
Have I stumbled along the way? Yes!
Do I expect the road ahead will be any different? No!
But I do know that as long as I allow the Spirit to be my guide I will continue to say "NO" to the devil and Yes to Jesus, no matter what the choices may be.
To meet Jesus Face to Face forces us to choose sides.
It forces us to take good look at ourselves and the things we hold dear to our heart!
Illus.
Friday, I was talking with a dear friend of mind and she shared with me a story about a person she met while working in a soup kitchen.
I had the opportunity to witness to one lady named Cora. She is in sad shape. She's a widow, homeless, alcoholic, into drugs, and very fearful of this world. She broke my heart. Before her husband died, she lived like the rest of us.
I held her hand and prayed with her that God would protect her and keep her safe, and warm, and that she'd always feel Him close. I promised I would pray for her daily. She's really struggling.
When I cupped my hands around hers, she started crying. I asked her why and she said- "nobody has touched me (physically) in so long". I so felt her pain of loneliness. Then I hugged her and told her of God's love! She was embarrassed by her clothes and how dirty they were. I reminded her that God looks at our heart. People today are too caught up in clothes and the outward appearance. Even in America, there are so many homeless, hurting people. They are souls God wants to speak to. I was so blessed to talk with her.
The woman left the shelter that day with a smile on her face and a feeling of hope because my friend had chosen to say "Yes" to Jesus, when he said, "Come, follow me."
Some situations require a Yes or No!
As much as we would like to we cannot have it both ways.
We have to make a choice.
Jesus made his.
My friend made her.
I have made mine.
Have you made yours?
Jesus says, "Come, follow me".
What do you answer?
Yes or Not it's up to you. Amen.
