Touré Roberts - It's Non-Negotiable

I just have a thought I want to share today. My God moved at the nine o’clock service, and I believe God is going to continue to do so in this service. But I have one thought from Matthew chapter 5, verse 37. It’s a thought from the mouth of Jesus that I believe is relevant to the moment we’re in as believers—those who are trying to figure it out, those who are trying to walk this thing out with the Lord, which is all of us. I have a simple thought: one verse, and I won’t have you standing long. Jesus says, «But let your yes be yes, and your no be no; for whatever is more than these is from the evil one.» Now, full disclosure, that’s the New King James translation. If you break it down to the Greek, it reads a little differently; it works, but I like to be as accurate as possible. There are at least two words for «evil» in Greek. One word really means evil; it means depraved, wicked, right? It means bad. This other word for evil means hurtful. I mean, this is more like hurtful; this will hurt you. It’s hurtful in its effect, which is how that particular word is laid out. So, the word that’s used here is the second word; it means it’s hurtful in its effect. Therefore, that passage better reads, «Let your yes be yes, and your no be no; if you do anything outside of that, it can be hurtful to you.»

Father, I thank you so much for your word. It’s a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path. God, your sons and daughters are gathered here, Lord God, not to hear man’s clever speech, but to hear a divine word from you that will touch them, bless them, and feed them. We acknowledge that we don’t live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of your mouth. We need your word; we’re desperate for your word. And so, God, I just believe, Lord God, as I submit myself to you, that you will allow the spirit of wisdom, revelation, insight, knowledge, and prophecy, along with the full measure of heaven’s resources, to reach the people you love the most—that is humanity, your creation. You love us so much. So, God, I thank you that we’re going to partner for these next 15-20 minutes. We’ll partner together, Lord God, and feed your sons and daughters in a way that will edify them, shore them up, bless them, and break yokes if necessary, God. May we bring clarity where there was confusion. Father, may the end result of this time together be all of us leaving here better, clearer, stronger, and shining brighter because we’re in your presence. We love you, and we thank you in Jesus’ name. Amen. Amen.

Do me a favor: high-five somebody and say, «You’re in the right place! You’re in the right place today!» Today, I want to deal with this thought. And if I’m honest, I’m still, you know, full disclosure, I’m still wrapping my head around this thought. I believe it’s important. If you know me, you know I don’t really like the sermons where we sit and enter; I like to listen and share what I hear so that we all can get what we need. I want to talk today about non-negotiables, and I want to share this thought with you that I believe is going to assure you. The backdrop or context of this statement that Jesus makes about letting your yes be yes and your no be no—and if you do anything beyond that, it can be hurtful to you—is that Jesus is preaching a popular message known as the Sermon on the Mount. He’s talking about many things. I love it. He is challenging the religious culture of the time. He is bringing revelation to areas where religion had lost its potency. People were locked into rules without understanding the thought behind the rule, because it is not the rule that is significant; it is the idea underneath the rule that has value. This means that if you get the idea, you don’t need the rule—you’ll catch that later, but that’s okay.

So Jesus is teaching, and I love this passage because he starts talking about integrity. One of the things that I love about Jesus more than anything else is his integrity. When I say integrity, I’m not talking about Jesus living a sinless life; rather, when I use the term integrity, I’m not talking about perfection. Integrity and perfection are not the same; they’re different. Integrity has to do with you being true to who you are and who you present yourself to be. You have integrity when your yes is yes, and your no is no. My dad was not in my life the way I wanted him to be, and I don’t say that with bitterness—God rest his soul. I say that with the understanding that his dad wasn’t in his life either, and sometimes you can’t give what you did not get.