The Next Yes

The Next Yes: Walking with Jesus One Step at a Time

Opening Reflection

Welcome to this message on the next yes—a phrase that captures something essential about the Christian life. We've just completed a powerful series on the person of the Holy Spirit, and today I want to build on that foundation by exploring what it means to actually follow that leading in our daily lives.

Galatians 5:25 reminds us: "Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit." But what does that really look like?

The Problem: Feeling Stuck

After 29 years in full-time ministry, I've noticed a pattern. Many people have said yes to Jesus, and they're journeying with him. But somewhere along the way—whether it's weeks, months, or years—they hit a wall. They find themselves saying, "I feel stuck. I don't know what God is doing. I don't hear him."

Some of us don't know where to start, so the big picture overwhelms us. Others are in the middle of life, wondering: Is this really what I thought my life would look like? Have I accomplished what I wanted to accomplish? Does God still have a plan for me in this season?

Here's the truth: The Christian life is not about having the whole path figured out. It's about trusting Jesus enough to say yes to the next step.

So many of us don't take that next step because we're trying to calculate whether it fits into our 10-year plan. We're asking: What's my ROI on this investment? Should I really say yes to this? And while we're calculating, we miss what God is actually inviting us into.

Why Is Obedience So Difficult?

Why does obedience feel so hard—especially when we've seen God's faithfulness over and over?

It's not because we don't love God. It's not because we don't want to follow him. Often, it's because we want certainty. We want the whole plan, the whole roadmap, the guarantee.

But throughout Scripture, God rarely gives people the whole picture. He gives them the next step.

A Critical Truth About Obedience

Before we go any further, I need to say this clearly: Obedience is not how we earn God's love. Obedience is our response to the God who already loves us. Obedience isn't a burden—it's an invitation. An invitation to trust him, to walk with him, to discover his faithfulness one step at a time.

The Next Yes Builds Our Trust in God

Let's look at Peter's story. In Luke 5, Jesus approaches Peter after a frustrating night of fishing. Peter is exhausted. Maybe you know that feeling—one more night of a crying baby, one more setback in something you're building, one more disappointment.

Jesus tells him: "Put out into deep water and let down those nets."

Peter could have said, "I've already done that. I know this doesn't work. Why would I do it again?" But instead, Peter says something remarkable: "But because you say so." Peter doesn't have all the answers. He doesn't understand. But he trusts Jesus enough to obey.

And soon after, Jesus says: "Follow me." Peter leaves everything. Not because he knows the future, but because he trusts the one who is calling him.

Every act of obedience becomes another opportunity to discover God's faithfulness. We don't wake up one day and automatically know what trust is. Trust is built through daily yeses. Through walking with Jesus and seeing, over and over, that he is faithful.

I can look back over 29 years of my own imperfections, failures, and inability to see God's hand most days. Yet I can honestly say: I see the faithfulness of Jesus. With every yes. Even when I said yes with the wrong attitude, even when I had to repent and say, "Okay, let that go"—Jesus was faithful.

We don't learn God's faithfulness from a distance. We discover it as we follow.

So I want to ask you: What areas is God asking you to trust him in today? What step have you been postponing while waiting for more clarity?

The Next Yes Changes How We See the Journey

In Matthew 14, Peter sees Jesus walking on water and calls out: "Lord, if it's you, tell me to come."

Jesus responds simply: "Come."

Peter steps out. For a moment, he experiences the impossible—he's walking on water. Then he notices the wind, the waves, the circumstances. He begins to sink. And Jesus catches him.

What changed? Peter's perspective changed. His circumstances didn't change. His life didn't suddenly become problem-free. But the way he saw things transformed.

When you walk with Jesus, when you keep in step with the Spirit, you begin to see storms differently. You see waiting differently. You see failures and shortcomings differently. Because you know: The Lord is good. I can trust him with my next yes.

Brad and I were recently facing uncertainty when he received a cancer diagnosis just as we were stepping into a new season at Angelus Temple. Were we afraid? Absolutely. Is it real and heavy? Yes. But every single day, we wake up and make a choice: He is good. He is faithful. What is my next yes?

That's not denial of the difficulty. That's the power of perspective. The Spirit doesn't change our circumstances first—he changes our perspective. And when our perspective shifts, suddenly we can see God working in ways we couldn't see before.

*Instead of asking "When will this season end?" ask the Holy Spirit: "What are you showing me in this season?"

Sometimes we're so focused on where we're going that we miss what God is doing along the way. If I'm not careful this summer, I'll be so focused on getting through Brad's surgery that I'll miss having my college-age kids home. I'll miss the moments of walking with Jesus in the midst of it all.

The Next Yes Expands Our Heart for Others

In Acts 10, Peter receives a vision. God sends him to Cornelius—a Gentile, someone Peter would never have pursued on his own. Yet Peter obeys. And suddenly, his understanding of what God loves expands.

Peter says: "I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism."

This hits me deeply. Because one of the biggest obstacles to obedience is relational. There's someone in your life, or a group of people, and you think: Unless God changes their heart, I'm just stuck. My life will always be this way because of them.

Maybe it's a marriage that's difficult. A friendship that went bad. A workplace conflict. A family relationship that feels broken.

And we begin to connect our ability to follow Jesus to their willingness to change. We make our obedience dependent on their faithfulness instead of on Jesus' faithfulness.

But here's the beautiful truth: Jesus died on the cross for that person. The very person whose name makes you cringe—Jesus loves them deeply. Jesus paid the ultimate price for them.

Does your next yes change them? Not always. God changes hearts. But your yes gets you aligned with God's heart. The closer you walk with Jesus, the more you begin to love what he loves.

So I ask you: Who has God placed in front of you? Who might be waiting on the other side of your yes today?

The Next Yes Draws Us Deeper Into God's Story

In Acts 2, Peter stands and preaches. Three thousand people respond. It's a remarkable moment—the birth of the church.

But Pentecost didn't begin at Pentecost. It began years earlier on the shore of Galilee when Jesus said: "Follow me."

Peter couldn't see Pentecost from the fishing boat. He couldn't see Cornelius. He couldn't see the church being born. But God could.

Every yes was preparing Peter for what God was doing next. The fishing boats, the storms, the miracles, the failures, the restoration, Cornelius, Pentecost. Every single step was drawing Peter deeper into God's story.

The book of Acts spans about 40-45 years, but we read about it in a few chapters. We see the miracles, the wonders, and we think: That's what walking with Jesus looks like. But the reality is, those 40 years were made up of thousands of ordinary yeses—every single day, people saying yes to Jesus.

It's not always the big moments. It's the everyday. And you don't know what beautiful chapter of God's story your yes is writing.

One of my favorite things about being at Angelus Temple is standing in the courtyard after service. People come up to me and say, "Do you remember me? I was in the youth ministry 25, 30 years ago." And I get to see the fruit of a yes from decades ago. There are ripples in their lives, in their families, in generations.

That's what happens when we keep saying yes. God often uses today's obedience to prepare us for tomorrow's assignment.

Four Truths About the Next Yes

1. The next yes builds our trust in God. Every act of obedience is another chance to discover that Jesus is faithful.

2. The next yes changes how we see the journey. Our perspective shifts. We see that God is bigger than our circumstances.

3. The next yes expands our heart for others. We begin to love what Jesus loves.

4. The next yes draws us deeper into God's story. We're not just living our own lives—we're participating in God's redemptive story.

The Invitation: Don't Overcomplicate It

God is still moving. The invitation is to move with him.

Don't overcomplicate the Christian life. Yes, we're called to take up our cross daily. But we're surrendering to the one who took up the cross for us. Every day, my yes is simply: Let God do what only God can do.

You don't need to have all the answers. You don't need to see the next 10 years. You don't need a magic moment or gold dust or some dramatic sign. You just need to wake up and say: Jesus, what is my next yes today?

God moves through ordinary yeses, lived out in faith, day after day, step after step.

The Beautiful Truth About Peter

Here's what I love most about Peter: He wasn't perfect. Peter doubted. Peter sank. Peter misunderstood. Peter denied Jesus three times.

Yet Jesus never stopped pursuing Peter.

After the resurrection, Jesus restores Peter, recommissions Peter, continues writing Peter's story. Why? Because the story was never ultimately about Peter's faithfulness. It was about Jesus' faithfulness.

Some of us need to hear that today. Your next yes doesn't require a perfect yesterday. The invitation isn't to be more like Peter. The invitation is to trust the Jesus who never gave up on Peter.

Trust him with your next yes.

What Is Your Next Yes?

As we close, I want to ask you: What is your next yes?

Not next year. Not someday. But today.

Maybe you're in a season of change, hardship, or loss. Maybe you're feeling stuck. Maybe you don't know what God is doing, where he's leading you, what your life will look like. Maybe you're wondering: Does God still want me here? Is he shifting my job, my location, my family?

Those are great questions. But as we seek Jesus together, may our response always be: "Okay, Lord. I will follow you. Where you go, I will go. If this is where you want me to be, I will be."

Every day, it's the little yeses. Every single day.

Maybe your next yes is to surrender your life to Jesus for the first time. Maybe it's to say yes to prayer in a hard situation. Maybe it's to say yes to trusting God with your next step, even though you can't see the whole path.

The altar is open. God's presence is here. And the same Jesus who called Peter is still calling people today. The same Spirit who led the early church is still leading his people.

God is faithful. He is present. And he is working.

What is your next yes?