You Don’t Have to Say Yes

Matt Ulrich • Sep 8, 2026

There are so many good things asking for our life and our yes, and we often don’t have enough to give to them all. The needs are infinite! We must determine who needs me now. As we journey through the book of Mark, a discipleship manual, Pastor Matt Ulrich takes a look at Mark 1:35-37, “Everyone is looking for you!” Jesus used a specific way of listening. He understood the difference in being needed and called. Mark purposely shows us the many times Jesus withdrew to pray, followed by listening, then to engagement with people. Communion with the Father was the starting point for Jesus’ ministry. The loudest need should not determine your deepest yes; the Father should. The call to “Come follow Me” may include getting up very early in the morning to intentionally meet with Father, being temporarily unavailable to the people around us. There’s a difference between being needed and being called! Our time in prayer with the Father becomes resistance to the voices of the world.