When God Says 'No'

One day little boy was on his knees praying beside his bed. His uncle walked down the hall sawing prey on and just stopped here with the little boy would try little boy had prayed and asked God if he could get a bicycle for Christmas when Christmas morning came, there was no bicycle under the tree in Dr. walked over the little boy, smiled at him and said well I guess God didn't answer your prayer little boy thought for a minute and he said no God answered my prayer. He just said no I'm afraid a lot of us get caught up in that uncles theology. If God answers us with a yes, we consider it an answer to prayer of God answers us with another week is think that God did not answer and let me taste something such that theology is a bad theology. A lot of people today had that theology, and it's bad because the it leaves us with an idea that we know better than God, and that what we really want is not what God wills, not God's answer but we just want him to grant us our request and give us what we want that theology is rampant in our society today and it stinks we share with you another quick illustration back in the October 1988 I was installed as the pastor here at Grace Church my friend Harry Reeder did the installation sermon and as he was getting started with that sermon, he made a comment that I thought about many times since then. He said that he had been praying that God would call me to Grace Church and he said what it all transpired. He was a little bit shocked but went on to say that it seems like that God delights in telling me know. He said we all laughed at that. I laughed to what Harry said. He said, not completely, and just for folks that he is true that sometimes we have desires and aspirations and visions and we want to ask God for something and it seems to be a good request. It seems to be a God honoring requested God just says no as if you been a believer for any length of time is that ever happened to you, happens to me often. I have prayed for people that have cancer and asked God to deliver that person from cancer and heal that person may that cancer go into remission and is on thinking about this.

I'm thinking this would honor God if he would heal this person and this would make that person happy and healthy and and his friends and his loved ones would be overjoyed and yet the person gets worse and the person dies some of the ladies and pray for your unbelieving husband for a long time and you've asked the Lord to just soften their hearts, and instead of the heart getting saw, for it seems like the heart got harder and that's hard to figure out or or some of you have had children that were rebellious and you've asked the Lord to do just get right that rebellion. It seems like they just dug their heels in harder in that rebellion. So we look at that situation. We say wait a minute I got the exact opposite of what I was praying for.

Why did God do it that way, especially in light of what Jesus had to say in Luke chapter 11 verses nine through 13. He said I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you seek and you will find knock and it will be open to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds into the one who knocks it will be open, one father among youth's son asked for official instead of a fish give him a serpent for Yasmin Egli give him a scorpion. If you then are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him as odd as it may seem, there is no contradiction there, though the passage in Luke 11 doesn't say that that will always get what we want. It says that God will always give us what is right. We may not like it and we may not understand in our flesh may not want what God's answer is, folks, rest assured of this when God answers our prayer with me yes or no, it is always for our good and for God's glory. Prayer is not an exercise in manipulating God to get him to give us what he really doesn't want us to have. Prayer is a an instrument in God's hand to help us line up our will with what God's will is Psalm 37 verse four says delight yourself in the Lord your God and he will give you the desires of your heart. How is that will if you delight yourself in the Lord your God the things you love him with an all-consuming love, then you can be trusted that his desires are going to be your desires that you will what he wants for you. And if God answers a prayer, with no than you be able to rejoice in that because you know that this is not something God would have you to have at least in the present time. A written statement when I was a young Christian that was written by St. Augustine than Ira, recoiled at it when I read it way back then, and Augustine said this, he said, love the Lord and then do what you please and I could never think it oh no don't tell people that if you tell people that then then they can get all messed up. There think that Christianity is a ticket to heaven in a license to sin. I was wrong. If people truly love the Lord your God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength than their good desire what God desires to delay will be looking at a chapter in the Old Testament that some believe is most important chapter in the Old Testament.

Why is that because it's a chapter that teaches us about the Davidic covenant. This was a covenant that God entered into with David were God promised David that in his bloodline would be born, the Messiah, the King of Kings and Lord of lords. Four points I want to share with you this morning .1 is a godly desire look with me verses one and two. Now when the king lived in his house and the Lord had given them rest from all is surrounding enemies. The king said to Nathan, the prophet see now I dwell in the house of cedar with the ark of God dwells in the tent and we need to picture this setting it in our minds. David is just my Jerusalem the capital of Israel for seven years. He bring it in the capital of Israel. But David driven out the Jebusites and he had come in.

He rebuilt the city of Jerusalem, made it a beautiful city. It was now the capital of Israel and David had at that point time defeated all the surrounding enemies and so this was a very exciting time. The people experiencing great prosperity and David had a man named Hiram who is a great architect a great engineer to come in and build a palace for him and his family. It was the most beautiful palace on the face of the earth and we need to remember that David was not born with a silver spoon in his mouth. He was a shepherd boy when he was young and so where did he sleep most the time he slept out in the pasture. It was a clear night, just throw a blanket over himself and sleep under the stars. It was a rainy 90 find the cave to sleep in but now he's the king, and he is living in luxury and ease and in a beautiful home like I said the most beautiful home probably on the face of the earth in this great palace. I can imagine one day and walking out and goes out on his balcony. That's a covered balcony. He looks up on Mount Zion.

Mount Zion is where they built the tabernacle of David in that tabernacle, there is the ark of the covenant and what's going on layer worship 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. They are singers that are sitting in dancers that are dancing. There are musicians that are planned for the priest or bowing down for the presence of God in the ark of the covenant is just a a beautiful thing this David is watching all the sudden it starts raining and David is dry and he's warm. Everything's fine for David because he's watching from a covered balcony, but he looks at the worshipers there get soaking wet looks at the tabernacle.

That's nothing more than a animal skin tent that dirty and he looks at that. He says what a minute. Hey sees that the win type it up against the that the tent he sees water rushing up against it and he said this is not right.

He said look at me I'm I'm I'm here experiencing this kind of luxury in and ease and just have a great time and here's the key here is the ark of the covenant in the tabernacle in a dirty tent. He said this is hard for me to live without. I think I feel terribly, terribly, horribly guilty about this. So what am I gonna do about it. David says that this is this is what I'll do, I'll build the temple and the Lord I'll build the most beautiful building that has ever been built on the face of this earth, I will build it for God's glory. I'll build a building so beautiful that it will make my palace look like an absolute shack.

David wanted to do that for God's honor.

He wanted to do that for God's glory. And Nathan the prophet who is truly a man of God, agrees with David this is a great thing to do.

David, this is what you need to do. Let's do it. David Texas to point to a heavenly rejection. Look at verses four through six with that same night, the word of the Lord came to Nathan, go and tell my servant David thus says the Lord God. Would you bill me I have to dwell in. I'm not lived in a house since the day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day, but I've been moving about in a tent for my dwelling. God spoke to the prophet Nathan and told Nathan emphatically know David is not to build the temple of the Lord, that will be for David's son Solomon, who at this time is not even born.

Nothing is called Nathan by surprise. I think Nathan thought to himself. When David talk to him and said I want to build a temple to the Lord. I want to build this glorious a building for him. I think Nathan immediately said man that's a great thing that's exactly what you need to do. David, I think this is good and he did not consult the Lord. He did not pray about it.

He just immediately took it for granted that this was a good thing and he was wrong. He thought he knew what the will of God was but God tolling no this was not the will of God for David to build the temple that was a shock for Nathan, an absolute shock. We have to be very careful folks.

When we claim that we know the will of God. We need to be careful, we need to remember that God's ways are not our ways in God's thoughts are not our thoughts were as high as a heavens are above your sewer God's ways are higher than our ways and in his thoughts higher than our thoughts. I get so frustrated sometimes with people telling me why on know what God's will is I'm doing this because God told me to do it.

I'm doing that because God told me to do it and you look at what they're doing and it's something that's totally in violation of God's word books we need to quit getting guidance from our feelings and get our guidance from the word of God.

In acts chapter 8 Philip that the deacon was in a dilemma much like this of Philip was preaching revival down in Samaria and I mean the spirit of God was moving people get saved right and left demons were being cast out of people. People get healed of diseases.

I mean the spirit of God was moving. Philip had never seen anything like this before and then an angel the Lord came to Philip and said Philip God wants you to leave this place. People should go out in the middle of a barren desert and just wait and and Philip thought to himself that can't be right. I'm being used of God here.

This is an exciting time.

God is moving. God is using me. I don't want to leave this place.

But what Philip didn't realize is that God had an appointment set up for him in the middle of that barren desert. There was a man, a Ethiopian eunuch who was a treasure of Ethiopia very prominent man had gone to Jerusalem, seeking for God he didn't find God, but he did get a scroll of Isaiah while he was there and he's coming back home and he's going to cross this barren desert is in his chariot need the opens at scroll up a ring stand. Isaiah 53 and just at that point in time Philip seizing Philip runs over the chair you juts in the chariot with the thesis to understand what your reading nieces know I don't understand what I'm reading now cannot unless I have someone to teach me.

Philip took the scroll Isaiah 53 out of his hand and the Scripture says he preached and to him. Jesus and that eunuch right there in that chariot chain to know Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior completely turned her his life around Canaan know who the true God really was lite when he went back to Africa he didn't go back by himself. He took Jesus with.

Anyway, back preaching the gospel and much of north Africa. As a result of that came to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Let me tell you something, folks. God is sovereign. He knows what he's doing.

This is why said no to Philip because he had other plans for Philip being obedient to God often means doing that which seems unreasonable and impractical to our human minds God told David no David thought he was right.

Nathan thought he was right.

If you and I had been right there with them. Then we would've thought it was right to. But God said no have you ever been there. Maybe there was a time in your life you wanted to be a missionary so you decided will you just go to Bible school you go on the seminarian and you get your training it and he started putting things into the works and all of a sudden one of your parents got sick and you were not able to do what you wanted to do. You were not able to go on the seminarian you had to stay there and you had to work in, you had to take care of one of your parents and it just blew your mind.

Why you wanted to do this. Your your intentions were good, but God said sometimes what we think is plainly God's will is not that Texas to the third point a divine comfort that this comes from another book in the Bible that gives us detail helps us understand what's going on in first Samuel chapter 7 and we see this in the second Chronicles chapter 6 verses seven through nine. These are the words of King Solomon as he is as is dedicating the temple of God and pray in that prayer of dedication.

He says this now is in the heart of David my father to build a house for the name of the Lord, the God of Israel but the Lord said to David my father whereas it was in your heart to build a house for my name.

You did well that it was in your heart. Nevertheless, it is not you shall build a house but your son shall be born to you shall build a house for my name and where's the comfort of God for David. In this David wanted to build a temple for the Lord. That was his desire wanted to do it for God's glory was all excited about it. But God said no David you will not build a temple. You will not be able to fulfill that dream. So how was David comforted. Listen carefully, God revealed to David that he would judge David not just for his actions, but also for his motives that when David was stand before the judgment seat of Christ, he would not be judge for not building the temple he would be judge for wanting to build the temple and trying to build the temple listen carefully when God judges us. He judges us, not only for what we do, but for what we would have done if we could have me give you a few scenarios set a parent's godly parents who want to put their kids in a very godly environment and so they pray for their kids. They pray with their kids. They plant the word of God into their kids heart there in church. It's a Bible believing church church where the kids go to the under good expositional preaching. They put their child children into a Christian school. Now these are not perfect parents because there are no perfect parents, but these are parents who love the Lord and you desire with all their heart if they might raise their children up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, but one of their child children when they get to their late teenage years rule prevails and they turn against their family.

They turned against the church and they turn against God, and what goes on in the hearts of those parents immediately that they begin to feel all this terrible guilt and a similar function. If I could just done something different if I could have just done this or just done that then things would be different in everything would be so much better and what happens. It's hard to just flooded with guilt. It's okay to evaluate your own life and heart condition. Critical evaluation limitations and morbid introspection is used of the devil to destroy us and we don't need to do that we need to sometimes be able to trust God's sovereignty. It may be that God's using that situation to break that child completely. We don't know we need to trust God. Another scenario, a godly lady is is married to an unbeliever. Her husband, it resents are going to church. He allows her to go on Sunday morning worship. That's about it. He forbids her to go on Sunday night won't let her go to any of the women's meetings they won't let her get involved in any service of positions in the church whatsoever. So what is the lady doing the lady begins to become a prayer warrior in her home. She finds out people in the church were going to a difficult time.

Maybe I having lost a loved one, maybe having lost a job and she sends them no changes since them up hearts and lets them know that she's praying for them and gives them encouraging Scripture to read. She goes there were neighborhood finding out those who know the Lord, and you don't and giving them gospel tracts. Here's a lady longs to be in church. She longs to serve others, but it some point. She knows that she can't do it like she wants to when she stands before God to be like David God will judge her. Not just for what she did, but for what she would have done if she could have and how many do we have sitting in this congregation right now. Maybe sometime in your life you felt that God called you to. Maybe a pastoral ministry for you would be a preacher or maybe that he called you to be a missionary but as you look at the situation, he realized that she did not have the spiritual gifts to do that but you have been faithfully giving tithing and going over and above the time giving to missions to help missionaries you have prayed for missionaries you have prayed for your pastor. You have prayed and and and and moved in and done things to help other missionaries as they were come in the enmity of their own furlough you bring them in your home you give them a place to stay focused when you stand before the Lord, you will be judge not just for what you dealer for what you didn't do for what you would have if you could have. Thank God that our Lord is able to read into the depths of our heart and know our motives, point for a covenant promise. Look at verses 12 through 15 God says this to David when your days are fulfilled and you live down with your fathers.

I will raise up your offspring after you shall come from your body and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be to him a father, he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men with the stripes of the sons of men, but my steadfast love will not depart from him as I took it from Saul, put away from before you. David says to the Lord. I want to bless you, Lord, I want to build a temple to your glory. I want to build the most beautiful tipple in the world I wanted we to use the best masonry and in the best bricks in the Bear Stearns and working to bring in the greatest architects in the greatest engineers and working to build a monument to your glory were to build a building so beautiful that the world has never seen anything like it so that people will know if there is only one God and you are that one God. This is what I'm gonna do. I'm at a bill for you a house Lord God says no.

David you will not build a house for me, but I will build a house for you. I will bless your family with this blessing. Your kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom. Your throne will be an everlasting throne to the Lord mean by that he meant that the Messiah, the eternal King.

The King of Kings and Lord of lords would be born into David's bloodline now. I think what he saying to David as he is David. Don't get hung up on the mortar in the bricks on the signs and the and the symbols and the pictures and the types I think God the father was saying this to David. I give you Jesus I give you Jesus thousand years later, that prophecy was fulfilled to the letter as the Virgin Mary conceived and she bore a son and that son was the Lord Jesus Christ but Mary and Joseph were members of the tribe of Judah, and they were direct blood descendents of King David. Now Jesus was a a blood descendent of King David to the bloodline of Mary, but he was a legal descendent of David through the bloodline of his earthly stepfather who was Joseph. How important was that starts all the way back in Genesis chapter 49 verse 10 as Jacob is given a prophecy to his son Judah, and he says this to Judah.

Judah, the scepter of the royal scepter will not depart from you, until Shiloh come and then shall be the gathering together of his people in Psalm 89 the Holy Spirit of God, is giving David inspiration about the digit that it covenant and listen to what he says once for all. I have sworn by my holiness I will not lie to David is offspring shall endure for ever. This throne, as long as the sun before me like the moon, it shall be established forever a faithful witness in the skies.

I get people to remember that and at the next time you're out on a romantic wall with your with your wife and your walking around the lake. Perhaps and all of a sudden you look up and you see this beautiful moon shining down on you put your arm around your wife's neck and whisper in her ear, look out there that moon. What is that that is God given us a sign that Jesus Christ is on the throne. The next time you're just out jogging with some buddies and the son starts shining down on you and your starts perspiring look up to that son pointed out to your friends and tell them that's a sign that God is giving us that Jesus Christ is our own.

The throne and brothers and sisters, that's true. The same sign that God gave to David way back 3000 years ago that sign that God gave to David the side of the sun the side of the moon means the same thing today to us that Jesus Christ is still on his throne in Luke chapter 1 of the angel Gabriel came to Mary to tell her that she was going to give birth to the virgin born son of God. He said the us and behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be greatly called the son of the most time in the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David.

Romans chapter 1 verses one through three pulse start his letter off this way. Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle singled out for God's good news which he promised long ago through his prophets in the holy Scriptures concerning his son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who was a descendent of David according to the flesh in the book of Revelation chapter 22 the next to the last statement that Jesus makes. He said this is it, for I am the root and the offspring of David, the bright in the MorningStar on the close of something Roger Ellsworth said what you listen carefully to this date is descendents proved to be so faithless and wicked at the nation. Finally had to be punished by being sent into captivity in Babylon, but that only constituted interruption. Donna and of the reign of David's seed as the New Testament opens the people of Israel are back in their land, and a husband and wife are on their way to the village of Bethlehem there was born, the one who fulfilled the promise of permanence to David. He was none other than the Lord Jesus Christ himself. He's crying from David's line and by virtue of his redeeming work on Calvary's cross all authority in heaven and earth had been granted to him and that authority will never be relinquished. He is raining out the right hand of God and he will continue to reign for ever and ever. David was over when he owned at the goodness and grace of God to him that Grayson offered permanence to David's throne offers a glorious permanence to us as well.

It holds the crucified Christ before us and assures us that if we will turn from our sins and embrace him as Lord and Savior.

We will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Let's pray heavenly father is we were working our way through this passage we felt a little sorry for David. He desired to build a temple for your glory. He wanted to honor you, they wanted to prove to the world that Jehovah is God and deserves the glory she told David.

None that at first was hard to figure out, but now we know you had something better for David David to God. I want to build you a house, but you said no David, I will build you a house of bloodline. A royal bloodline Lord, you said to David, David, the Messiah, the Savior of the world will be one of your descendents.

The brick temple that you want to build would be temporary, but the Messiah is the eternal hope of this world. David offered God something good and God gave David his best to reassure David that Jesus would have his blood coursing through his veins.

Lord help us to quit doubting you help us to trust that you always know and do best, for it is the precious and holy name of Jesus that we pray. Amen