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AYES AND NAYS

I've always been a little fascinated by politics and government, especially the United States.

The founders certainly did a great job trying to ensure gridlock in Washington D.C., which has boded well for the most part but can also be frustrating at times.

One of my favorite moments is the "vocal vote" in which the Speaker will say something like:

  • "All in favor say, 'Aye.'"
  • "All in opposition say, 'Nay.'"

When the speaker does this, it's an opportunity for supporting members, to stand, say "Aye," and show their agreement with the proposal.

Hopefully, the speaker gets to say "The 'Ayes" have it."

Something similar is happening in 2 Corinthians 1:20B.

2 CORINTHIANS 1:20B

Paul is speaking to the Corinthians church about being anointed, filled, and sealed by the Spirit.

And as he approaches the pinnacle of this moment, he says:

20 And so through [Christ] the “Amen” is spoken [in regards to God's promises] by us to the glory of God.

The idea of "Amen" is "to be in agreement."

Paul anticipates a few things regarding accessing the promises of God.

  • We access the promises of God through Christ.
  • We have to be in agreement/amen with God's promises (ie - standing in faith, not in unfaith.
  • When we stand in agreement with God it brings him glory.

JUST SAY "YES"

I think in life there are two things that really keep us from saying "Yes" to God's promises.

  1. Distraction. We are distracted with doing things in our own strength:
    • Trying to make amends with our past
    • Trying to fill our lives with cheap, social media dopamine
    • Trying to experience something transcendent
    • Trying to pursue healing using our own wisdom
    • Trying to accumulate wealth on our own

In other words, we distract ourselves from agreeing with God's promises of forgiveness, joy, His presence, healing, prosperity, etc. because we want to do it on our own - apart from God.

  1. Unfaith. We simply don't believe God.

The Bible is so clear, that virtually nothing happens apart from faith.

In multiple places, Jesus talks about having a mustard-seed faith that can move mountains.

In the gospels, the disciples are chided for their lack of faith.

In Hebrews, the writer says all the great things were done by faith and that without faith it is impossible to please God.

In other words, we won't ever experience the fullness of the promises of God without building up our faith - at least to mustard size.

So this Pentecost season, just say "Yes" to God's promises through Christ, because God has already said "Yes" to those same promises in Christ.

Just say "Yes."