Transcript
Week 1 of the series Yes². Transcribed from the service recording and lightly edited for readability.
Welcome to 2026: A New Series, Yes²
Welcome to 2026. So glad to see you. So glad you made it. So glad to be in the house of the Lord once again. This week we're starting a new series, and it's actually going to be our theme for the year: Yes Squared. When God's yes and my yes come together, they unlock unimaginable blessings.
Scripture Reading: 2 Corinthians 1:18–22
The scripture for this week is 2 Corinthians chapter 1, verses 18 through 22:
But as surely as God is faithful, our message to you is not "Yes" and "No." For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us — by me and Silas and Timothy — was not "Yes" and "No," but in him it has always been "Yes." For no matter how many promises God has made, they are "Yes" in Christ. And so through him the "Amen" is spoken by us to the glory of God. Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.
— 2 Corinthians 1:18–22 (NIV)
A New Declaration Statement
This year I want to graduate us up and take us to another level. Before each message, there's a declaration statement I want us to recite together. Say it with me out loud. Y'all ready?
I am a Christ chaser. I am here to be transformed. I am here to hear the voice of God. God, clear my mind and open my heart to receive Your word. Jesus, do not let me leave the same way I came. I am ready to be changed. Amen.
The Formula for Life
I know we're always looking for a formula to figure out this Christ thing, to figure out this God thing. One of my students walked in today, walked right back out, and said, "We're doing chemistry." I'm glad that brain is turning. That's my thing: always use your brain, always get some sparks flowing. And this is the thing: it is chemistry. It is an equation, a way to make this thing called life work.
God's Yes Is Already Spoken
This week's message is God's Yes Is Already Spoken. We find Paul addressing the church in Corinth, and this church is wrestling with inconsistency and mistrust. Some people are saying this, some people are saying that. And he's saying, "The God that Silas, Timothy, and I preached to y'all: His yes is always yes."
The word they use for this guarantee is arrabōn: a guarantee, a deposit. We've all taken out loans before. When you take out a loan, you've got to put a deposit down. They ain't going to let you take that money without putting something down. I don't care if it's a car or a house; you're going to put something down. And Jesus Christ's blood on the cross is the deposit for our lives.
God's Yes Is Eternal
Here's the thing: God's yes is eternal. His yes is rooted in His unchanging character. What do you mean, D? I mean His yes was said a long time ago. Before you were created, before you were formed in your mother's womb, before you took your first breath, God's yes was already there. And it's based on His character, because who God is can't change. He's the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Every promise He makes flows from His eternal purpose. His yes began before you were ever born.
Before I Formed You: Jeremiah 1:5
Remember Jeremiah. Jeremiah had a calling on his life, and God told him to go speak the word. He said, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you." God's yes preceded Jeremiah's existence, just like it preceded ours. There's a calling on your life, and the calling on your life was God's yes.
So why are we always trying to convince God of something? We're trying to convince God of the plan for our lives, where we should be going, what direction we should take, and what we need Him to sign off on. God's yes has already been declared.
God's Yes Is Faithful
Not only is His yes eternal; His yes is faithful. God never speaks a promise He does not fully intend to fulfill. Joshua was going to see the promised land. Abraham was going to make his way to Canaan. A lot of us don't realize this, but the family was originally headed to Canaan with Abraham's father. But he stopped short. He got somewhere that seemed nice, and he just chilled. So Abraham had to leave his family and go on to Canaan. Why? Because God said, "You've got a chill family, and a chill family is not going to get you where I want you to be."
When Life Contradicts the Promise
There are several characters in the Bible whose lives, with everything they went through, looked contradictory to the promise God had given them. Joseph is sitting in that pit while his brothers are about to kill him: "It ain't looking like they're going to be bowing down to me." Sold into slavery and put in Potiphar's house: "It don't look like nobody's going to be bowing down to me." Lied on after he'd done everything to make that house work and prosper: "It don't look like it's going to happen for me." In jail: "It don't look like it's ever going to happen for me." But just like that, in an instant, everything God promised was fulfilled.
If we truly understand that God's yes is faithful, it gives us (and this is my word for the year) the ability to be steadfast. I can hold on in the middle of whatever is around me that don't look like it's supposed to, because I know God's yes is faithful. His yes is reliable because His character is consistent.
God Provides Your Daily Needs
What do you mean, D? For forty years in the wilderness, there was manna on the ground every day. Every day for forty years, they woke up knowing the manna was going to be there. And guess what? The manna lasted until they reached the promised land, because when they got to the promised land, He had better stuff for them. But they knew without a doubt that manna was going to be there every morning.
God provides our daily needs. I told you about a year ago when I was unemployed (some of y'all know how that goes). When I was unemployed, God never let us go without what we needed. I might have missed out on a few wants, but all my needs were always provided. The mortgage was never late. The lights never got cut off. The cell phone didn't even get cut off. God provides everything you need. If we stop, take a breath, and take a beat, we'll realize that everything we've needed in life, He has always provided. Always.
So we can't be conflicted by our American values and American standards: "I don't have all the stuff I want. My life ain't comfortable the way I want it to be." God never promised you comfort.
What God Starts, He Completes
What God started in you, He will surely complete. Over and over, people went through things and God told them, "You're going to complete it." When the Israelites were rebuilding, they came up against all kinds of opposition. But people went and looked in the records and realized, "Wait, we ain't supposed to be hurting y'all. We're supposed to be paying for this." They weren't even Israelites, but God had them pay for it. Every time the enemy came against them, God made a way, because God was going to complete what He started.
"It Is Finished"
Even when our Lord and Savior died on the cross, what were His last words? "It is finished." Think about this. When Jesus died on the cross for all sins, He said, "It is finished." Y'all ain't picking up what I'm putting down. I told you the yes was eternal. It's faithful, because Jesus said, "It is finished." So whatever He's promised you, it's finished. You just have to hold on until you see it come to fruition. Okay, now we're cooking with grease. Let's go.
We don't need to protect what God has already sealed. We just have to walk in confidence, knowing it was stamped by heaven. So often we're trying to convince God, but we don't have to convince God of anything.
God's Yes Is Sealed
God's yes is sealed. The Holy Spirit is God's seal of ownership on your life. In baptism, we die with Christ. And how was Christ raised? Y'all have to see this. This is how God works; this is the chemistry right here. God in three persons: God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. When Jesus was raised, He was raised by the Spirit. All the parts of God working in concert. So the Spirit is the seal. Now when we get baptized, we're baptized not only in water, because John baptized with water, but Jesus baptizes with the Spirit. When He leaves, He says, "I'm leaving you the Spirit, the Comforter."
The Blood on the Door
Back in the Old Testament, the Israelites were in slavery and about to exit, and God was about to take every firstborn in Egypt. If the Israelites didn't want their firstborn killed, they had to paint blood on the doorframe of their house. When the spirit of death came through Egypt and saw the blood, it passed over. Hence the celebration of Passover.
The Spirit Is Our Shield
The Spirit is our shield. The Spirit is what keeps us safe when all hell is breaking loose around us. So I don't have to convince God of anything, because His Spirit is sealed in my life. The Spirit is also proof that God's promises are guaranteed. Jesus was resurrected by the Spirit.
If we let the Spirit flow through us and use us the way God wants to use us, we're going to walk different. We're going to talk different. We're going to move different. We can even go to those places we ain't got no business being, but when the Spirit is in us, we're going to act different in that place. We ain't going to drink as much as we used to. Why? Because we know we're there for more than just drinking. We are there to let other people know there's a living hope inside us. We can cut up and have a little fun, but we don't go too far, because we know we're there for a purpose. And my purpose is to show you that God is alive and real and actively working in the lives of His people. The Spirit will always keep us out of trouble. It's always going to give us a way out, a door. We just have to be listening and ready to take it.
Nobody Can Take What God Gave You
God's seal means that what He started is already secure. What do you mean, D? I mean nobody can take what God already gave me. Have you ever shared an idea and somebody stole it? And you got upset about it? What did you get upset for? It wasn't yours. It was yours to share and give to them. Because if it was for you, they couldn't steal it. We get upset about stuff that doesn't make sense because we don't really understand. I can share what God is going to do in my life. If it's for me, it's for me. And if somebody takes it and runs with it: "Oh, God, I guess that wasn't for me." I mean, are we going to believe it or not?
Daniel in the Lions' Den
That's why I like the Bible. The Bible is pretty crafty: you try to disprove it, and it's hard to disprove. For instance, Daniel in the lions' den. Some people say maybe the lions weren't hungry. But when Daniel was taken out of the lions' den, the people who accused him were thrown in, and they couldn't even hit the ground before they were eaten up. So obviously the lions were hungry. But God was not going to let an outside influence interfere with His plan. His plan was for Daniel to survive. Matter of fact, His plan wasn't just for Daniel to survive; it was for the nation to know that God was alive and real and actively working in the lives of His people.
Come here. When Daniel got thrown in, the king liked Daniel, because Daniel was a man making things happen. But the king's decree couldn't be undone, so in he went. And the king couldn't sleep. What did the king do all night? He fasted for Daniel. This wasn't an Israelite, but he was concerned for Daniel and Daniel's God. In the morning, he runs to the lions' den: "Daniel, was your God able to save you?" This man who wasn't an Israelite was so expectant about your God that he came calling, expecting an answer.
If y'all don't tell people what's going on in your life, they can't pray for you, and they can't expect what God is going to do in your life. There's somebody right now who is expecting you to do things you don't even know you can do. Why? Because God is talking to people about you. But you have to believe. That's why God's yes and my yes have to match up: I have to believe what God said about me. It's already done. You don't need to force God's hand.
God's Yes Is Not a Reward
You don't need to go seeking a reward. Here's the thing: God's yes is not a reward for your obedience. That's how we act a lot of the time. We think we get God's yes when we're obedient. But what did I say? God's yes is eternal. God's yes is faithful. God's yes is sealed. So your obedience has nothing to do with God's yes. God's yes came first, in Christ. God has already declared His yes over humanity: yes to forgiveness, yes to adoption, yes to purpose, yes to belonging.
Obedience Is Our Response
Obedience is our response to God's yes. Once you fully understand that God has already said yes to you, obedience should be your response. Obedience should be built on grace, because that's healthy. When it's not, we obey out of fear. And when we obey out of fear, we hide when we fall, and we measure our worth by our performance. But when our obedience is built on God's yes, our obedience is joyful. Repentance becomes safe, and failure leads to restoration, not rejection. So we've got to get the formula right. When we understand how the sauce is made, our response is different.
You Don't Have to Dance for God
It's funny. We've been watching all these Christmas movies, and everybody's got these stories about family parties. All the older folks have the same story: when they were kids, the parents were having a party, and they called the kids out to dance for the guests. "You can stay up late and come to the party, but you've got to entertain the people." And some of us think that's what we're doing with God: "We've got to put on a dance for God. We've got to entertain Him, because if He's happy, then we can get what we want." That is not how it works. You don't have to put on a dance for God. He wants your whole heart, because you understand what He has given you.
Why This Matters for the Church
Why does this matter for the church? If we preach obedience without first anchoring people in God's yes, we create guilt-driven Christianity. We raise rule followers instead of disciples, and we turn grace into pressure. But when people know God has already said yes, obedience becomes worship, surrender becomes trust, and faith becomes freedom. I'm telling you, when we get this equation right, when God's yes and my yes match up, we're going to be unimaginably blessed.
Weekly Challenge
All right, let's wrap it up.
- Reflect: Where have I been doubting God's yes in my life?
- Act: Write down one promise of God and declare it over your life every day this week.
- Pray: "Lord, thank You that Your yes over my life is eternal, faithful, and sealed. Give me confidence to walk in what You've already affirmed. Amen."
Closing Prayer
Let us pray. Most gracious and heavenly Father, we just come before You saying thank You. Father God, thank You for this new year. Thank You for another opportunity to come to Your house and worship and praise Your holy name. Lord, I pray that we can truly understand what You have in store for us. I pray that You would open our eyes so that we can see ourselves the way You see us. And once we see it, Lord, let us not just hold on to it, but tell others that there is a true and living God who is actively working in the lives of His people. Father God, I love You and praise You for all that You're doing and going to do. In the precious and powerful name of Jesus Christ, Your Son and our Savior, I ask it all. Amen.