Have you ever gone to
church and got exactly what you needed?
Of course you have, and that is exactly what happened to me today! I’m
going to share the sermon my Pastor (Willie C Barnes) preached today (well my
notes from the sermon, and my take on it). The title of his sermon was “When
God says no” 2 Corinthians 12:7-10
This sermon was right
on time for the New Year. A lot of people like to “name and claim” things and then
get so discouraged when God says “No” or doesn’t answer their prayer in the way
they want it to be answered. We take certain scriptures (usually out of context.)
and try to justify why God should just give us what we want right when we ask
it. (Ask God in the context of his plan) As Children of God we have to remember
and fully understand that for one God is not a personal genie, but he sits on
the throne and he has a plan. In Jeremiah 29:11 it says that God’s plan is to
give us an expected end. We know our expected end. We know its victory; it’s
winning and reigning with Christ! We have to go into our situations already
KNOWING that regardless of what happens, you came into this a champion and you
will walk away the same!
Not only does God have a plan, but he has a
purpose. He has all given us a purpose on this earth. We all have a purpose and that is to spread
the gospel. Now the way you do it, is another purpose, and that purpose is
armed with the gifts God has given you to fulfill that said purpose. God’s purpose for our lives might result in
him saying no to us. We may want to leave our job to go do something else, but
how do you know it’s not God’s purpose for you to be there and minister to
those around you on your job? (I can give testimony to that. I’ve wanted to
leave my job, but God had/has me here to minister to coworkers, and people I
came in contact with while at work.) We have to remember though we plan and
come up with a reason and a purpose to do things, we have to remember, if we’re
about Kingdom business, we have to put God’s plan and purpose first. We have to
trust God and his purpose. Proverbs 3:5 says “trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own
understanding”. We know that God is not going to steer us wrong. It may not
make sense to us, but we can trust God, because all things work together!
God has a plan, and
purpose and a will. God’s will for our lives is salvation. That is why he sent
his son Jesus Christ to die on the cross for our sins. That was God’s will. We
have to have such a trust and a faith in God that we are okay with abandoning our
will for his will. Even Jesus had to abandon his will for God’s in Luke 22:42 “saying, Father if thou be willing, remove
this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine be done”. We have to get comfortable with saying “nevertheless
not my will, but thine be done” That phrase is so profound. It shows the faith,
the trust, the confidence that one has in God. Your humbling yourself and
saying “God, I really think I should try it this way, but because you’re omnipotent,
because you’re omniscient, because you’re omnipresent, because you’re Jehovah
Jireh, because you’re Jehovah Nissi, because you’re Jehovah Rapha, because you’re
the great I am, because you’re alpha and omega, and everything in between,
because you can’t change, because you won’t lie, because you will never leave
me nor forsake me, because you first loved me, I will abandon my will, for your
perfect will.
Now I know it’s
easier said than done to abandon or will for God’s, simply because we think we
know what we’re doing, when God has shown us time and time again that we don’t.
It’s easier to hold on and do the things we can see, instead of stepping out
and trusting something we are unsure of. Completely normal for us to have those
feelings and thoughts, but we can’t let that fear (that’s basically what it
boils done to) override doing what we know is best, which is trusting God.
Sometimes God’s “No”
is his way of keeping us humble. It's his way of keeping us seeking after him, it's keeping us needing him and remembers where our help comes from. His No helps us remember his power. If God gave some of us some of the things we
prayed for we would absolutely lose it. Some people might even put those things
in the place of God and have idols. If God gave you that husband/wife or that
job promotion you’ve been praying for, would you keep God at the forefront of
your life? Would you begin to worship that job or that husband/wife. Would you
look to praise the doctors instead of God if he had given you that healing
right then and there? 2 Corinthians 12:9 says “And he said unto me, My grace is
sufficient for thee; for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly
therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may
rest”.
God’s No is grace and
favor. God’s No is power in our weakness; God’s no is promoting humility, and exercising
our faith in him.
God’s no is really yes.
If you love someone
tell them
I love you
Destaynee
No comments:
Post a Comment