Just Say YES!
Aug 11, 2023 | by Joel Jacobs
Have you ever taken the time to ponder how great things start with a simple “yes”? Let me first use some worldly examples of what I mean. Think about Milton Hershey, The Wright brothers, Henry Ford, Walt Disney, Sam Walton, and Will Kellogg…just to name a few. They either started, revolutionized, or greatly contributed to an industry that has an enormous footprint today. They all started with some type of “yes.” But the yes didn’t just stop with them though. I’m almost certain it required other yeses as well. Yeses that preceded even their birth.
What if Wilbur and Orville’s parents never moved back to Dayton? There was some type of “yes” involved with that decision. Would their course still have led to the first flight? Wilbur Wright is seen to some as the clear leader in regards to the Wright brothers initiative to explore flight. Orville became deeply involved eventually, but I can imagine there was a conversation between them. Wilbur probably needed help and wanted to get his brother Orville to also catch the vision he saw. What if Orville said, nah, I think we should stay focused on bikes…? How might flight in today’s world look if Orville hadn’t said yes?
Now let’s look at the Word. Hebrews 11, referred to by many as the “Hall of Fame of Faith,” is full of yeses. Noah “Yes, I will build this ark as God has commanded me.” Abraham “Yes, I will leave my family and go to the land that God shows me.” Moses “Yes, I will return to Egypt for God’s people.” And so many more throughout all the Old Testament. Mary “Yes, be it unto me according to your word.” Peter “Yes, I will leave my fishing business and follow you.” Paul “Yes, I will go and preach the Gospel to the gentile nations.” And the biggest of them all…Jesus “Yes, not my will but Yours be done.”
Now, don’t mistake any of this for a “see, God is in control’ type of message. It’s the exact opposite. All the examples I’ve listed had the opportunity to say no. Henry Ford could have stayed a farmer. Milton Hershey could have kept making caramel candies and never added milk to chocolate. My grandfather once told me he said no to an investment opportunity, but if he had said yes, we might own a baseball team. With a chuckle he revealed that no was to Microsoft… Noah could have said no, Abraham could have said no, Moses could have said no, Mary could have said no. Even Jesus could have said no. No’s lead to a different outcome. Certainly, there are details of God’s ultimate will that no one and nothing can disrupt, but there’s no way for us to know what God would have done differently if Noah had said no. But at minimum we know it would have been a different outcome for Noah and his family.
Finally, even in my personal life, I examine the yeses that brought me to where I am today. Take this ministry for example. Pastor Diana could have said no to Pastor Gary’s proposal even after the Lord told her it was going to happen, and she was to say yes. So many other of their yeses contributed to Pastor Anthony, not just being born, but how he was raised and what influenced him. So many yeses by Pastor Anthony that eventually led to a “yes, Lord we’ll start Faith Building Church.” My wife and I said yes, we’ll come back after our 1st visit at Faith Building Church. Yes, I’ll stand in the parking lot. Yes, I’ll direct the youth. Yes, I’ll get ordained. Yes, I’ll accept a full-time position. So many simple “yes, lord” has brought so many blessings to myself, my family, to this church family, and so many that have been impacted by this ministry all over the earth!
The main point of all this is for you to see that the simplest yes (followed by obedient action) could be the catalyst for something extraordinarily huge for the Kingdom. Don’t get hung up on all the times you said no either, or what you might have missed because trust me, I’ve said no to the Lord A LOT. Be encouraged, that His grace is always sufficient and know that God wants to do BIG things through you. He’s just waiting on you to say YES!
Love you all,
Pastor Joel