This post is the transcript of a message I preached entitled, “The Movement of YES!”

E.F. Borish — Product Manager, Milwaukee Gear Company, Product Engineering Magazine — wrote an interesting article in the business magazine, Fast Company, entitled, 50 Reasons Why We Cannot Change. Here are some of the reasons Borish listed as for why we can’t change:

1. It has never been done before.
2. We tried it before.
3. We’ve been doing it this way for 25 years.
4. It won’t work in our company.
5. Why change — everything’s working OK.
6. It can’t be done.
7. We don’t have the money, personnel or equipment.
8. It’s not my job.
9. It’s contrary to policy.
10. You’re right, but ….
11. It needs more thought.
12. It needs committee study.
13. It’s impossible.

WE LIVE IN THE MULTITUDE OF NO  

Jeremiah 46:25 The LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, saith; Behold, I WILL PUNISH THE MULTITUDE OF NO, and Pharaoh, and Egypt, with their gods, and their kings; even Pharaoh, and all them that trust in him:

One night at a prayer meeting this verse just JUMPED OUT AT ME! I WILL PUNISH THE MULTITUDE OF NO! Wow! That is a pretty harsh statement from our God. As I studied I realized that the verse is not talking about the literal concepts of “Yes and No.” THE MULTITUDE OF NO is a city.

WE MUST BECOME A MOVEMENT OF YES!  

We need a change of perception! We must change from a mindset of “NO” to a MOVEMENT OF “YES!”

“Yes! Those three letters, Y–E–S, pack incredible power. Yes opens doors, while No slams them shut. Yes steps into the world of possibility; No watches potential walk away. Although No delivers finality, Yes evokes excitement—and sometimes apprehension—for what lies ahead.” (Excerpt From Making Your Children’s Ministry the Best Hour of Every Kid’s Week by David Staal & Sue Miller)

“NO imprisons, YES liberates; NO paralyzes, YES empowers; NO disheartens, YES encourages; NO sickens, YES heals; NO makes useless, YES makes us useful and, NO makes us feel hopeless, while YES rejoices in its God.”

We need to change the “NO” labels in our lives into “YES” affirmations! YES, I am BLESSED. YES, I am VALUABLE. YES, I am GOD’S MASTERPIECE. YES, I am SECURE. YES, I am VICTORIOUS. YES, I am FOCUSED. YES, I am STRONG. YES, I am DETERMINED. YES, I am ANOINTED. YES, I am PATIENT. YES, I am PROTECTED BY MY GOD!

DAVID HAD AN “I WILL” SPIRIT 

• Psalm 34:1 I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth. 2 My soul shall make her boast in the Lord: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad. 3 O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together. 4 I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.
• Psalms 18:1-3 I will love thee, O LORD, my strength. 2. The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower. 3. I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies. 
• Psalms 121:1 I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. 2. My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth. 3. He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber. 
• Psalms 101:1 I will sing of mercy and judgment: unto thee, O LORD, will I sing. 2. I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way. O when wilt thou come unto me? I will walk within my house with a perfect heart. 3. I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes: I hate the work of them that turn aside; it shall not cleave to me. 4. A froward heart shall depart from me: I will not know a wicked person.
• Psalms 9:1-2 I will praise [thee], O LORD, with my whole heart; I will shew forth all thy marvelous works. 2 I will be glad and rejoice in thee: I will sing praise to thy name, O thou most High.

THE EARLY CHURCH LEADERS SAID YES

• Acts 2:42 And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers (PRAYER). 43. And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles. (SERVE). 44. And all that believed were together, and had all things common; 45. And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need. (GIVE) 46. And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, 47. Praising God, (WORSHIP) and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved (EVANGELISM).

1) I WILL PRAY

In his book, “I Will,” Thom S. Rainer gives us four simple items of action and accountability in the area of prayer for your church:

• 1. I will attend worship services.
  
• 2. I will pray before I attend worship services.
  
• 3. I will pray as I enter the worship center or sanctuary.
  
• 4. I will pray that I will be a worshipper instead of a judge.

Rainer continues, “It is time for a corporate worship revolution. It’s time to make that moment of gathered believers a priority in our lives. It’s time to stop making worship attendance an optional activity. It’s time to ask God to get our hearts right so we desire to worship Him in a corporate setting, not because we have some legalistic obligation to do so. It’s time to urge others in the congregation to make corporate worship a priority. It is truly time for a corporate worship revolution.” 

2) I WILL SERVE

Psalm 100:1 Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands. 2 Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing. 3 Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. 4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. 5 For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.

YES, SIR! This has been the motto of my life. YES, SIR! God has placed people in my life who has challenged me to do more in God’s Kingdom and I have simply said, “YES, SIR!”

• God started calling me to go to Bible School after I graduated High School and I said YES (Admittedly, this initial call was the hardest one for me to respond to).
• Then God called me to be the youth pastor in Battle Creek, MI and I said YES!
• God placed an incredible woman, Bobbi Fae, in my life and I GAVE A RESOUNDING YES!
• Together we continued to say YES to the call of God. In 2004 we said YES to the call to pastor Crossroads Apostolic Church in Howell, Michigan.
• In 2005 we were asked to be the Small Group Pastors at The Potter’s House church and said YES! I said YES but had to go to the library the next day to do research on what small groups actually were! Now, because I said YES 13 years ago God is using me to train others how to do small groups.
• In 2008 we were invited to pastor Adrian United in Adrian, Michigan and once again, we said YES!
• After four years of pastoral ministry in Adrian, my wife, Dr. Morehead, was invited to be the Vice President for the Urshan Community. We said YES and moved to St. Louis, Missouri where she led the merger of Urshan College and Urshan Graduate School of Theology. Once that task was completed we said YES to return to Michigan where my wife is the Superintendent of Covert Public Schools.
• For the past five years, I have said YES to full-time evangelism and have been humbled and honored to travel the country preaching to children, young people, and adults.

The heartbeat of our ministry is to help as many leaders as possible also give a resounding YES to the call God has placed within their heart.

3) I WILL GIVE

In his book, The Generosity Ladder, Nelson Searcy tells a captivating story on the power of giving:

You may have heard the story about how people catch monkeys in India. Long ago an insightful hunter figured out that monkeys are selfish creatures, so he created a way to capture them that takes advantage of this nature.

First, the monkey hunter cuts a small hole in one end of a coconut – a hole just big enough for a monkey to fit his hand inside – and ties a long cord to the other end. Then he puts peanuts, banana chunks, or some other enticing treat into the hole. He places the coconut in the monkey’s path and sneaks away, holding the other end of the cord. Inevitably, an unsuspecting monkey comes along, sniffs out the treat, and wriggles his little hand into the hole to grab the treasure. With that, the hunter’s job is done. All he has to do is yank his side of the cord, and the entire monkey/coconut kit and caboodle land at his feet.

But isn’t there something missing here? Why wouldn’t the monkey just pull his hand out of the coconut and run for his life? Remember that monkeys are selfish. Once they get their hands on something they want, they won’t let go. With his fist wrapped around the goods, the monkey can’t get his hand out of the hole. If he would just loosen his grip and let go of the bounty, he could save himself. But he clings tightfisted to what’s “his” and finds himself ensnared.”

“It’s easy for us to see how ridiculous the monkey is being. If we were sitting at the edge of the jungle watching the scenario play out, we would scream, “Let go! That little fortune isn’t worth your life!” And yet back in our own corner of the world, we are as guilty as the monkey. We hold on too tightly. We want what is ours, and we want it so badly that we are often blind to the consequences of our grasping.

We are born keen on self-preservation. Despite the seeds of generosity that may be in our heart, we all are prone to approach life with an almost primal hoarding mentality. We want to be secure. We want to get all we can. We are focused so intently on our “treasure” that we don’t see the hunter lurking behind that nearby tree.

OPENHANDED LIVING

“If I were asked to sum up all Jesus’ teaching on money and possessions in one sentence, it would be this: Don’t be a monkey. Just kidding. It would actually be: live an openhanded life. When you open your hand and give something that’s difficult to deal with over to God, he replaces that empty space in your palm with peace. So as you learn to release control of your money to God, he will replace your financial stress with financial peace.”

If we don’t learn how to handle our resources the way God intends, we’ll never be able to live the life God created us to live. I want to live an openhanded life!

4) I WILL WORSHIP

There’s an old Gospel song that says, “DON’T WAIT TILL THE BATTLES OVER, SHOUT NOW.” This is a hard mental shift for us but we must start praising God NOW for what we trust He will do in the FUTURE. The great Biblical example of this is of PAUL AND SILAS (Acts 16:25‐30).

Acts 16:25 And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. 26. And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one’s bands were loosed. 27. And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled. 28. But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here. 29. Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, 30. And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?

From this scripture we glean the following principles:

• A) Sing where you are!
• B) Worship will cause a great shaking!
• C) Worship will loose your bands!
• D) Worship will bring in a light!
• E) Worship will affect those around you!

My wife was recently preaching at our home church and stated, “I know my PRAISE will take over my PROBLEM!” No matter what situation we are in we must be like Paul and Sias and God will create a chain reaction that no man can deny.

5) I WILL GO

Once again Thom Rainer gives us great insight into the great commision when he writes, “My research team and I did such a study several years ago. The results surprised all of us on the team. Eight out of ten people who do not attend church will come to church if someone invites them. That one statistic may be one of the most amazing we have uncovered in my twenty-five years of research. If you invite them, they will come.”

CONCLUSION

I’ll say yes Lord yes, To your will and to your way

I’ll say yes oh yes, I will trust you and obey

When your spirit speaks to me, With my whole heart I will agree

And my answer will be, Yes Lord {Yes}

Yes in the morning, Yes in the evening

Yes in the midnight long oh, Yes when I wanna say No

Yes when I don’t wanna go, Yes when down in my soul

You have my answer, Indeed is yes

My final answer, Completely yes

Lord you have my answer, Indeed forever is {Yes Lord}

I’ll go, When you want me to go

Yes I’ll do, Want you want me to do

Yes I will be, Want you want me to be

Just tell me, Lord, I will wait

I won’t ever say no lord, I won’t ever say no to you, I won’t ever say no lord

GEORGE WASHINGTON – I’VE GOT THIS OLD UNIFORM

Rev. Paul Mooney tells a story in his typical dramatic flair about being ready for duty. At the first continental Congress, James Adams stated that we were not prepared to break away on our own. He stated that we did not have the will, grit, ammunition, resources, and most importantly the manpower to win a war.

Then, something curious happened at the second Continental Congress. A young general by the name of George Washington showed up and sat in the front wearing his old uniform. It was as if Washington was signaling to the entire Congress that just in case you need a general I have this old uniform I’ve been holding onto and I am ready to enlist for battle.

When we make a choice to enlist for battle and say YES to God‘s commands, we send out three distinct signals.

• First, we send a signal to God that we are ready to submit our lives to Him and give Him complete control.
• Next, we send a signal to other believers that we are ready to join them in this gospel fight.
• Finally, we send a signal to the enemy that I have signed up and I am dressed to participate in whatever God has called me to do. Simply stated, when you enlist and get your war clothes on, you are saying YES TO GOD!

 

PLACES THIS MESSAGE HAS BEEN PREACHED

• August 23, 2017 – The Pentecostals of Northwest Arkansas – Rogers, AR – Pastor Russell Hamby
• June 10, 2018 – Apostolic Faith Tabernacle – Ferndale, Michigan – Pastor: Rev. David McCool
• June 10, 2018 – Life Church – Roseville, Michigan – Pastor: Rev. David McCool
• August 5, 2018 – Abundant Faith – Evansville, IN – Pastor: James Maroney 
• September 23rd, 2018 – Apostolic Pentecostal Church – Campbellsburg, KY – Pastor: Nate Roemer  
• September 30th, 2018 – Pentecostals of South Haven – South Haven, MI – Pastor: Philip Haner