Pastor Phil MaCallum
November 5, 2006 - W0645

My wife Leslie and I will be married 24 years this month.  Leslie is a real cat person but I don’t particularly like cats.  It’s not that I dislike them or anything; I just ignore them about as much as they ignore me.  It’s all about their attitude.  I think it all started back in the Egyptian days when the Egyptians thought of them as gods.  It got to their heads and ever since then, they’ve been impossible!

Personally, I’m a dog guy.  Cats have hard hearts and they don’t ever seem to change.  Dogs, on the other hand, when they’ve done something naughty, they look like they’re sorry.  They hang their head down and their ears lay flat.  Sometimes their tales are even between their legs.  They look like they’re sorry but realistically they don’t really change either.  They are still ruled by the instinct of a dog.

The one thing cats and dogs have in common is that they can’t repent.  On the other hand, we humans are unique in that we have the ability to change from the inside out; we can repent.  God enables us to change and repent.  Correspondingly, He also enables us to make choices. 

I saw a news interview with the woman who was the first person to exit the Pali tunnel on the afternoon of the landslide.  She said she was running late for work that day so she thought she’d better speed up a bit to get to work on time but then she felt the Lord saying to slow down.  Well, she did – and I am happy to report that she successfully avoided calamity because she chose to listen to and obey the Lord!

The story of the Apostle Peter is has a good lesson for us as we talk about how to say “yes” when we want to say “no” to God.  Peter was a guy who was used to being in control.  He was an anxious, energetic follower of Jesus so it’s understandable that he was upset upon hearing what Jesus had to say to him:

“’No!’ Peter insisted.  ‘Even if I have to die with You, I will never deny You!  And all the other disciples vowed the same.” (Matt. 26:35)

“…And immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed.  At that moment the Lord turned and looked at Peter.  Suddenly, the Lord’s words flashed through Peter’s mind:  ‘Before the rooster crows tomorrow morning, you will deny three times that you even know Me.’ And Peter left the courtyard, weeping bitterly.” (Luke 22:60-62)

Contrary to Peter’s confidence that he would never deny the Lord, Peter discovered something; Peter discovered the devil wasn’t his worst enemy, he was!  Peter’s story plainly reveals that despite what we may think, there’s a part of us that just doesn’t want to do what God wants us to do.  It’s like having a “terrible twos” child inside each of us that just doesn’t cooperate with what God wants us to do.

Our hearts, with adjustments, can do things that are totally wrong but feel that it’s alright.  Jeremiah explains, “The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked…” (Jer. 17:9).

Sometimes when we say “sorry” to God, we really mean “it’s easier to apologize than to obey.”  Sometimes when we say, “just a minute God,” we really mean, “I don’t want to do what you want me to do, I want to do what I want to do.”  And sometimes when we say “later” to God, we’re really just saying, “no.”

When Peter said, “I’ll never deny You!” it sounded like yes but it really meant no.  Our sinful nature sometimes deceives us into thinking that we’re really saying yes to God when we’re actually saying no.  You must…

1.      REALIZE THAT NO MATTER HOW HARD YOU TRY, YOU CANNOT CHANGE HOW YOU FEEL BY YOURSELF.

That’s not to say that there is no hope for mankind.  On the contrary, as I mentioned earlier, unlike animals, God created humans with the unique ability to change from the inside out.  The secret is…we need to give God access to the very core of our being and allow Him to transform us. 

When it comes to obeying God’s Word, if we change the word “can’t” in our statements to “won’t”, it clarifies what we’re really talking about.  When a married person says, “I can’t stop seeing that other person,” don’t they really mean, “I won’t stop seeing that other person”?  Or when someone says, “I can’t forgive him/her,” don’t they really mean, “I won’t forgive him/her”?

The word “won’t” gives clarity to the real situation but that doesn’t necessarily make it easier to avoid, so…

2.      ACCEPT THAT YOU CAN’T CHANGE YOUR HEART, BUT YOU CAN PUT IT IN A PLACE WHERE GOD CAN OPERATE ON IT.

“Jesus went on a little farther and bowed with His face to the ground, praying, ‘My Father!  If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from Me.  Yet I want Your will to be done, not Mine.’  Then He returned to the disciples and found them asleep.  He said to Peter, ‘Couldn’t you watch with Me even one hour?’” (Matt.26:39-40).

This passage shows a stark contrast between Peter and Jesus.  Peter made promises; Jesus prayed.  Peter was sleeping; Jesus was praying.  Peter spoke with confidence; Jesus humbled himself and showed total reliance on His Father.

I remember the first time I prayed the kind of prayer that Jesus did in the garden…”not my will Lord but Your will be done.”  I was just shy of 20 years old and I had girlfriend that I thought I was going to marry.  She was a good Christian girl and she was very close to her family but I was feeling a calling on my life that may have required me to move away from that area.  After a lot of struggle, I finally told God, “not my will by yours be done,” and I left it at that.

A while later, I went to JCPenney’s  -- the catalogue section -- to order a gift item.  There was a really helpful young lady there by the name of Leslie.  To make a long story short…after we had gotten to know each other and I started to wonder again about the future, I told Leslie about the calling I felt God had placed on my life.  Leslie started to cry, then she said, “When I was little girl, I felt as if God has asked me if I could be a pastor’s wife.”  And that wasn’t the end.  When I went to talk to her parents, Leslie’s Mom said she had been feeling like God had asked her if she could let one of her children go overseas.

That was my first memorable experience of praying the kind of prayer that Jesus prayed and having God work things out for the greater good in my life…

3.      PRAY UNTIL YOU SEE THINGS FROM GOD’S POINT OF VIEW.

“Let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.  We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith.  Because of the joy awaiting Him, He endured the cross, disregarding its shame.” (Heb. 12:1-2)

Abraham Lincoln once sat his Cabinet down and handed out blank pieces of paper.  He asked them all to sign it.  They looked at the blank sheet and said that they couldn’t sign it because they didn’t know what they would be agreeing to.

Jesus endured the cross because He saw the joy of the Lord that was awaiting Him when He said yes.  The Lord isn’t asking us to say yes to Him just when He asks us to do things; the Lord is asking us to say yes to Him before He asks us to do anything.  How can we do that?

I CAN SAY “YES” BEFORE I KNOW WHAT GOD WANTS BECAUSE I KNOW…

God loves me by limiting me. 
“The Lord disciplines those He loves.” (Heb. 12:6)

When God says no, He has a better yes in mind.

“You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good.” (Gen. 50:20)

God’s ways bring short term pain but long term gain.

“No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening – it’s painful.  But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way.” (Heb. 12:11)

All the good things God has for me to enjoy are inside the fence.

“The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places.” (Ps. 16:6)

Therefore, I will delight in the Lord so I can have what is worth desiring.

“Delight yourself in the LORD and He will give you the desires of your heart.” (Ps 37:4 NIV)

So what waits for you on the other side of yes?  Someone once said, “Die empty…with everything given to Him.” 

I knew a woman and her husband, Margaret and Ray, who took everything they had to purchase a building, to turn it into a counseling center for pastors and others who needed help.  After Ray died, Margaret felt like she couldn’t go on by herself.  One day, as she was standing in the yard at the church, thinking to herself, “God, why won’t you just take me home?  I miss Ray and I want to come home.”  Just then, a pastor walked by and said, “You can’t go home yet. You have more to do.”  Margaret went home and opened her house once again.  After several years, she was diagnosed with cancer and died just 60 days later.  Moments before she passed, I remember her saying, “How is everyone?  Is everyone okay?”  Four hundred people attended her funeral:  pastors, politicians, and tv personalities alike.  They touched thousands of lives.  That’s the joy of giving your life to Jesus. 

DISCUSSION ITEMS

1.      Have you ever thought that you knew yourself so well but then found out later that you didn’t know yourself as well as you thought (e.g., like Peter who insisted he’d die with Jesus but then denied Him three times)?  Please explain.

2.      Have you ever tried to change something about yourself (your character)?  What did you do?  Were you successful?  Why or why not?

3.      Have you said, “Yes” to Jesus?  If so, was it because of something He did for you?  If not, why not?  In either case, please explain

4.      Which of the following can you testify to?  Please explain.

·     God loves me by limiting me.

·     When God says “No”, He has a better Yes in mind.

·     God’s ways bring short term pain but long term gain.

·     All the good things God has for me to enjoy are inside the fence.

·     Therefore, I will delight in the Lord so I can have what is worth desiring.

5.      Which of the above do you still struggle with?  Please explain.

"All scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong with our lives. It straightens us out and teaches us to do what is right. It is God’s way of preparing us in every way, fully equipped for every good thing God wants us to do.” (2 Tim. 3:16-17 NLT)

 Sermon Notes Ministry: Debbie Chang, Doreen Rabaino, Leighton Loo,

                                                Jay Tsukayama & Rhonda Pang