NO, Probably Not

I had just spent over thirty minutes pouring my heart out in teaching God's truth. I was nearing the end of the message. Rather than close out the time with a prayer I did something a little different. I wanted to know if those in attendance clearly understood God's word and if they were willing to adjust their lives to that truth.

I went around the room asking people if they would follow through on what Jesus commanded. The first person I asked paused for a moment and then shockingly said, "No, probably not." That person was not alone. Others said they would not heed Jesus' commands either. The majority said they would. Those who denied were faithful members and leaders.  I could not believe what I heard.

We had just sat under the clear authoritative teaching of Jesus and people openly rejected, Christian people, openly rejected the truth. What Jesus commanded was neither easy nor comfortable. And in the end of our time together what Jesus commanded made no difference to many people in the room.

I do not think that is an isolated incident. I think all over America there are scores of people who reject adjusting their lives to Biblical truth. They hear, hear some more, forever hear but do not do what Jesus says. They prefer to live according to their own rules, their own values, and their own wisdom. People actually think they know how to live their lives better than to live out Biblical principles.

Perhaps this is why there can be a great divide in some churches between pastors and the congregations. If a pastor comes in holding to the inerrancy of scripture and its authority, and  preaches expecting everyone in the church to live up to those standards, but find congregants live by a different set of rules trouble will soon follow.

How can true followers of Jesus in response to Biblical truth ever say, "No,  probably not." In other words, how can true disciples ever say anything but, "Yes, Lord."

It does not matter what Jesus commands. Our response should ever be, "Yes, Lord."

Let me illustrate. Last Sunday morning while driving into my office before the worship service I saw an elderly woman using a walker slowly shuffling down a busy thoroughfare in Bridgeport. We were going in opposite directions. I passed by when I felt the first nudging from the Lord that I needed to turn around to offer the lady assistance.  Two scriptures came to mind as I passed by.

Luke 10:30-37 (NASB)
³⁰  Jesus replied and said, "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among robbers, and they stripped him and beat him, and went away leaving him half dead.
³¹  "And by chance a priest was going down on that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.
³²  "Likewise a Levite also, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.
³³  "But a Samaritan, who was on a journey, came upon him; and when he saw him, he felt compassion,
³⁴  and came to him and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them; and he put him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn and took care of him.
³⁵  "On the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said, 'Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I return I will repay you.'
³⁶  "Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers' hands?"
³⁷  And he said, "The one who showed mercy toward him." Then Jesus said to him, "Go and do the same."

Matthew 25:31-46 (NASB)
³¹  "But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne.
³²  "All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats;
³³  and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left.
³⁴  "Then the King will say to those on His right, 'Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
³⁵  'For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in;
³⁶  naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.'
³⁷  "Then the righteous will answer Him, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink?
³⁸  'And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You?
³⁹  'When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?'
⁴⁰  "The King will answer and say to them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.'
⁴¹  "Then He will also say to those on His left, 'Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels;
⁴²  for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink;
⁴³  I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.'
⁴⁴  "Then they themselves also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?'
⁴⁵  "Then He will answer them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.'
⁴⁶  "These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."

I had two choices. Rebel against God and His teachings. Reject His prompting and nudging to help. Or obey. In my mind I had no choice. I did a u-turn to help the lady. When I got there another lady and her husband had stopped and gotten out of their vehicle to help this elderly lady. I made the block and saw they had the situation taken care of. 

Didn't God know that couple would stop when He prompted me to turn around. I am convinced God tested me that day. He wanted my obedience. 

I cannot conclude that story with some great moment of ministry. I can tell you in that moment when confronted with God's truth I did not respond, "No, I will probably not obey You in this now or in the future." I said, "Yes, Lord." 

How can we ever go into a devotion, attend a worship service, or sit in a Bible study and not upfront say, "Yes, Lord." I clearly understand to make such a commitment is unsettling. 

I recall in one worship service where we were demonstrating humility by washing people's feet the Lord  prompted me to go wash one person's feet. I did not want to. This person did not live a Christ honoring life, had hurt many people in that church, and we had our disagreements. I sat in the pew wrestling with God. I always know when it is truly God leading in an area when I try to rationalize disobedience and argue my way out of it but the prompting continues. I surrendered. I got up and went to that individual and brought them to the altar. I knelt down and took off their socks and shoes and washed their feet. In hindsight I am glad I obeyed. That moment proved be a turning point in my relationship with that individual. 

May we never respond to God's call for us to do something or to adjust our lives to His truth by saying, "No, probably not. " May He forever hear these sweet words roll off our tongues, "Yes, Lord."