Yes and Amen: Stop Arguing with What God Already Said

Sermon outline

Every promise in God's Word is already a yes and an amen to those who believe, so stop debating it, grow your own faith, agree with God in what you say and walk as the success He made you.

1. All the promises of God are yes and amen

   Reading from the Amplified and King James, he says that whatever God has promised in His Word finds its yes in Christ: God does not say no to anything that is in His Word, though it may require patience, because His Word is His will. 'Amen' means 'so be it', and since Jesus' words are spirit and life, preaching under the anointing carries life to those who say amen to it. So come with your Bible and notepad and let the Word locate you.

   “God doesn't say no to you if it's in his word.”

   • 2 Corinthians 1:20
   • John 6:63

2. Faith is proved when life visits you

   You may think highly of yourself, but the perplexities, trials and challenges of life are the true test of your faith. A person walking in faith does not cower, buckle or cave in, but believes God beyond all natural evidence, because he has the evidence on the inside, a title deed and an assurance from a heart that refuses to give up.

   “All the evidence on the outside may look like it's failing. But you have the evidence on the inside.”

   • Hebrews 11:1

3. Develop your own faith

   Faith is the only way to the treasures of God, and it grows by exercise. Do not hitchhike on someone else's faith: listen to the Word, study and meditate, and if you fail, try again. There are levels in the things of God, like classes at school, and God has given every person a measure of faith that grows as it is used. Put legs to your faith, as James teaches, and remember that maturity depends on hunger for God, not on age.

   Illustration: What the church does publicly comes from years of building faith behind the scenes, meditating on the promises and 'exercising ourselves to godliness'.

   “Don't hitchhike on someone else's faith. Develop your own faith.”

   • Romans 12:3
   • James 2:17-18
   • 1 Peter 2:2
   • Hebrews 5:14

4. Walk with knowledge: you are God's secret agent

   Beyond the beginner's groping in the dark there is a revelation knowledge of the Word and of who you are in Christ, and that is where the power is; some say the right words and scream 'in the name of Jesus' with no inward revelation. Whatever your background, if you are born again you are an ambassador for Christ, trained by the Holy Ghost to demolish the works of darkness. By His stripes you were healed and He became poor so you could be rich: stop trying to become what God has already made you.

   Illustration: An airline pilot does not climb into the seat one day and decide to fly to London: he is trained and skilled, and so must believers be in handling the Word. The man with an empty cupboard who says 'I'm rich', and the man given two months to live who says 'I'm healed'.

   “If you're trying to get rich, you've lost the battle already.”

   • 2 Corinthians 5:17
   • 2 Corinthians 5:20
   • 1 Peter 2:24
   • 2 Corinthians 8:9
   • 2 Corinthians 4:4
   • Matthew 5:13-14

5. Agree with God: you will have what you say

   True humility in the kingdom is agreeing with God, because two cannot walk together unless they agree. When God says one thing and you say another, there is no power. Jesus said you will have what you say, so if you say 'I'm poor', that is your lot. Christ has been made your wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption, and as a man thinks in his heart, so is he: think like a king and you will speak, walk and rule like one.

   Illustration: The first time he confessed 'I'm a millionaire' he choked and could not get the words out, because it sounded like bragging and a lack of humility. A promise of a new car takes hold of your heart long before 'the four wheels hit you'.

   “True humility in the kingdom of God is agreeing with God.”

   • Amos 3:3
   • Mark 11:23-24
   • 1 Corinthians 1:30
   • Proverbs 23:7
   • 1 Corinthians 6:19

6. Don't be double-minded

   A double-minded man should not expect to receive anything from the Lord: your heart wants something while your mouth says 'I don't know if it's God's will'. The children of light are led by the Spirit and know the mind of the Lord: when He says give, forgive, go left or go right, they do it. Abraham did not argue with God; he said yes and amen and went, so begin every venture saying it will work.

   Illustration: People who agonise over a job offer, 'Should I go? Shouldn't I go?': 'I know in my knower.'

   “Walk with one mind. One heart.”

   • James 1:6-8
   • Romans 8:14
   • Genesis 12:1
   • Genesis 17:5

7. To those who believe: you are a success

   He returns to the verse: the promises are yes and amen to those who believe, so choose God's Word over what your senses, your doctor or your employer tell you. You are made in the image of God, and God does not make failures; like Joseph, who came out of the pit and the prison, a man or woman of God cannot be kept down. God does not make poor investments: if He has invested in you, He knows you will make it.

   Illustration: Even if you were duplicated by the millions, popping out like popcorn, every copy would be a success, because the original was a success. God has told the church it will have a 10,000-seat building and will shake Durban: 'It's a yes and an amen.'

   “God does not make poor investments.”

   • Genesis 1:26-27
   • Genesis 37:24
   • Genesis 41:14
   • Psalm 1:3
   • Isaiah 46:10