May 18, 2025

If You Say So

Pastor Rok Lee

Acts 11:12-18

12 The Spirit told me to go with them and not to make a distinction between them and us. These six brothers also accompanied me, and we entered the man’s house. 13 He told us how he had seen the angel standing in his house and saying, ‘Send to Joppa and bring Simon, who is called Peter; 14 he will give you a message by which you and your entire household will be saved.’ 15 And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them just as it had upon us at the beginning. 16 And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ 17 If then God gave them the same gift that he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could hinder God?” 18 When they heard this, they were silenced. And they praised God, saying, “Then God has given even to the gentiles the repentance that leads to life.”

In January 2007, Steve Jobs stood on stage at Macworld in San Francisco. He told the crowd he would introduce three revolutionary devices. First, a widescreen iPod with touch controls. Second, a revolutionary mobile phone. Third, a breakthrough internet communicator.

He repeated these three phrases again and again, and then said, “These are not three separate devices. This is one device. And we are calling it the iPhone.” He said that one problem with smartphones at the time was that they had too many buttons. But the iPhone would have no buttons.

Do you remember what kind of phone you used 15 years ago? Back then, we believed we couldn’t make calls without buttons. We thought we couldn’t send texts without buttons. But look at your phone now—does it have buttons? Probably not. And if someone here still has a dial phone, I respect you in a different way.

Before the iPhone, a phone without buttons was unimaginable. Why am I talking about the iPhone? Because people fear change. When the iPhone was announced, people asked, “How do you make a call with no buttons?” “How do you send texts?” “How do you change the settings?” It felt uncomfortable and unfamiliar. People usually don’t want something new—they prefer what is familiar.

That’s what happened in the early church too. Christianity at first was made up of Jews who followed Jesus. They still saw themselves as part of Judaism. So the idea that Gentiles (non-Jews) could receive the gospel and the Holy Spirit was shocking to them. Gentiles weren’t considered God’s chosen people. So when Peter baptized Gentiles and said the Holy Spirit came to them, many Jews were upset. What is today’s passage about? The Jewish Christians criticized Peter. “How could you baptize Gentiles?” “How could you eat with people who aren’t circumcised?” They were stuck in their traditions and couldn’t accept change.

Then what did Peter say? His first words in Acts 11:12 are: “The Spirit told me…” Peter was saying, “This wasn’t my idea. This was God’s command.” Maybe Peter himself didn’t feel it was right at first. In Galatians 2, we see that even later, Peter avoided eating with Gentiles, and Paul rebuked Peter. So Peter was still struggling by accepting Gentiles.

But in Acts 11, Peter says, “This is not my doing. God told me to do this.” He obeyed even when he didn’t want to.

Have you ever had a moment in life like that? Where you didn’t want to do something, but God kept telling you to do it? For me, that was becoming a pastor. When young people tell me they’re unsure about what job to pursue, I always ask, “What do you enjoy doing?” That’s because we usually spend our whole lives in one field. You can’t be a soccer player one day and a surgeon the next.

But here’s the irony: I’m doing the thing I wanted to do the least. I love sitting in a lab, doing research, and reading books. I hate standing in front of people. I hate being the center of attention. Public speaking? No thanks. Becoming a pastor? It was the complete opposite of my personality. But God told me to do it, so I obeyed.

Even now, I still don’t like standing in front of people. You know what? At my wedding, I was so nervous about walking in that I went to the restroom to calm down. People probably thought the groom had run away. And yet, every week I stand behind a pulpit. Why? Because this is the path God has called me to.

Even though I didn’t want this, I have found joy in it. And I keep finding joy each day. I get to see how God works. I get to share Jesus with people. This ministry brings grace and life—not because of me, but because God is doing it.

In today’s world, we often ask, “What makes me happy?” We think personal happiness is the most important value. But I want to challenge you to ask a different question: “What makes God happy?” If I only chased what made me happy, I wouldn’t be living this joyful life.

I often tell my wife, “If I hadn’t married you, I’d probably skip meals and eat sweet desserts every day.” And I add, “Maybe I’d already have diabetes and be gone.” I know exactly what makes me feel happy—fried food and sugar. But is that real happiness? Or is it actually dangerous?

So let me say it again: the question matters. Instead of asking, “What makes me happy?” Ask, “What makes God happy?” When you do what pleases God, God provides everything you need. Think of a king sending a servant into battle—would he send him without a sword or armor? No. He would provide everything the servant needs.

True joy comes from following God. When we chase personal happiness, we often feel more empty. But when we ask what pleases God, we find freedom, joy, and purpose of our lives.

But here’s the problem—we fear that little change in the question. We’d rather remove the buttons from a phone than change the way we think.

Back in college, one of my friends had a phone with no buttons. I asked her, “Isn’t that hard to use?” She showed me all the features and said it was even better. I tried it, but I didn’t believe her. I stuck with my button phone for years. It wasn’t until 2010 that I got my first touchscreen phone—and finally understood.

Today, you may hear my story and still doubt. You may think, “That’s for special people, not me.” But just like the iPhone changed the world with one small idea—no buttons—your life can change with one small question. “What makes God happy?”

Dear church, you are standing at the edge of something amazing. One small change can lead to a huge transformation. Don’t be afraid of the change. Even if it’s hard, scary, or uncomfortable, ask God this week: “What would make You happy, Lord?” And your life will be filled with joy that’s deeper than anything you’ve ever known.