Learn What To Do When God Says "No" with Pastor Rick Warren

good morning Saddleback and Merry Christmas I want to say hi to all of our campuses that are watching right now by the way next weekend first weekend in December we start campus number 20 Saddleback you're Belinda so I would encourage you if if you want to be a part of a brand-new church just starting out at least go to the first service so I give you permission to cut class at Lake Forest and go up to your Belinda as we start that new church I've been at the very first service of every one of our campuses and I'll be there next Sunday morning as we are launching Saddleback your Belinda now if you take out your message notes inside your program today we're going to conclude the 40 days of Prayer series I have about 12 more messages and so I'm going to have to probably do a part two sometime this next year to be a part of that but you know many times in the Bible God promises to answer your prayers one of the shortest examples of that is right there at the top of your outline Jeremiah chapter 33 verse 3 that says this call to me and I might answer you well that's not what it says is it called to me and I what will you might circle that not might not maybe not if I'm in a good mood not having a bad hair day you just called me and I will answer you that's the promise from God God answers every single prayer now he doesn't answer them the way you like it every time but it's an answer no is an answer wait is an answer grow up is an answer and a little while is an answer in my way is it answered God never leaves a prayer unanswered every prayers answered it's not every prayer God says yes to and there are many many reasons for that there are a lot of examples in the Bible where God says no to great men and women of faith prayers that were prayed by by Abraham God says no Moses no Daniel no job Jonah no Elijah no Peter Paul God said no to Jesus yes even God's Son there are prayers that were quote unanswered meaning they weren't answered the way Jesus asked even his own son God said no now that could be confusing and I didn't want to deal with close this series without dealing with when God says no because you're gonna have many knows from God in your lifetime that can be confusing it can be well if God is truly loving and if God has the power to control everything why is my request denied good question it can be confusing it can be frustrating why do some people get miracles and others don't why when we pray for people who sit some of them get well and some died I prayed for a lot of people who got well I prayed for a lot of people who didn't get well that's frustrating why do some people get relief from their pain and others don't why do some couples pray for a child then they get a child in others just a sincere and claiming the promises of God they don't get a child and the hearts are broken by that in other words why does God sometimes say yes and why does God sometimes say no well when you think about it there are some mysteries but they're also some obvious things for instance one thing that's obvious is this when Q people are praying for the opposite thing obviously God can't answer both if a child is praying for it to snow so they don't have to go to school and that the parent is praying for it to be clear weather so they go to work God is obviously going to say no to one of them today all over America at football games people are praying for the opposing team half of them will be disappointed I don't really think God cares who wins the Super Bowl I'm not sure that he answers a prayer for a team but even if he did only 50% would get it it's like I'm praying for my candidate you're praying for your candidate so clearly obviously a lot of Prayer when people are praying for opposite things that's not going to work then there are some prayers that we pray and if God was to answer him he'd have to take the way with the free will and the free choice of other people what if somebody came up to you and said I am praying that God forces you to marry me that ain't gonna happen because God's not gonna take away your free will and that person can pray all they want God's gonna say no because God is not in the business of taking away your free choice he made you in His image and he's not gonna overrule your choice God is not gonna force you to marry somebody God can't force you to fall in love with somebody and by the way God can't force somebody to stay in love with you and some of you have prayed that prayer God make my spouse not leave but they left why because God doesn't force anybody to do the right thing he doesn't force you to do the right thing you make bad choices all your life he done forced you to do the right thing that you'd make your puppet and so he doesn't force anybody else and so God if you you're praying God I want you to change that person's mind and make them do this well God says I don't do that with you why would I do that with anybody else so that's a logical reason why people you know pray for things that that actually don't don't happen but then there's another reason and it's sometimes when we pray for sick people and if you if everybody you prayed for never died then anybody with great faith would never die and we aren't meant to live on this planet forever you're meant to live forever I live forever I just want to live on this planet forever because there's sorrow and suffering and sadness of sickness and racism and injustice and sexual abuse and harassment and all kinds of war and all kinds of other things I I'm glad I don't have to live on this planet forever I want to live forever just not here I want to live in a place where there's no sorrow no suffering no sadness no sickness no tears and so everybody you pray for when they're sick most of the time they may get well but there is going to be one point where the prayer is not gonna be answered because God never meant for you to live forever on earth everybody dies at some point and I don't know why we need to be shocked by that because the fact is we're all terminal feels that way she's got a terminal illness you have a terminal illness every human being is going to die at some point so why are we shocked that's at some point somebody dies that's just not logical but in spite of those things that oh I can see that I can see it there are times when God says no it's just unexplainable and there are times when you ask a legitimate request you don't see anything wrong with it and it doesn't happen and it makes no sense that's when it's unbearable that's when it's heartbreaking that's when you go I don't get it I don't get it that kind of no and when that happens the God says no that is the greatest test of faith in your life prayers that are not answered the way you want will absolutely be the single greatest test in your life and God say are you gonna trust me or you know so we need to deal with this what do you do when when God says no particularly the times when there's the tragic accident and the unexplained death and the - dream and the unfulfilled longing and you've prayed and you've longed and longed and longed for it and the denied request and that's when it feels unbearable today what I want to do is two things first I want to give you just a few possible reasons why God says no in your life two or three there could be thousands there probably are I know that I'm sure there are hundreds of reasons legitimate reasons why God would say no to a particular request that we can't see but I'm just gonna give you three then more important than that the explanations I want I want to share with you what to do when God says no in your life because you're gonna get a lot of knows you're gonna get a lot of yeses but you're gonna get a lot of knows too as I said there may be a thousand good reasons why God says no but before I share with you three of the possible explanations I wrote a caution there notice on your outline there's a caution a warning use these these reasons I'm about to share with you to comfort yourself but never never use them with somebody in pain because you don't know why God said no to them so I'm gonna give you three reasons but it could be none of these reasons for somebody you're talking to and it's very presumptuous for you to assume you know why and it doesn't help them explanations never comfort if my wife were to drop dead tomorrow night and I knew the reason it wouldn't make it any less painful we often think if we understand why something happened it'll make it easier it does not but when someone dies our tragedy happens our first question is why why why it's okay to ask why even Jesus did on the cross my God my God why but he didn't get an answer and what are you gonna do when you don't get the answer some things you're gonna only understand in heaven so never presume to know why God does something unless he tells you clear example of this is the story of Job if you open your Bible right to the middle it almost comes to the story of Job job was the wealthiest man in the world the Bill Gates the the Warren Buffett of his day and on single day he went from hero to zero he lost everything all of his children were killed by marauding terrorists he had a big family they're all killed on one day all of his crops burned down all this cattle and sheep and goats died he lost all of his wealth in a day and then he gets a terrible incurable painful disease you think you've had a bad day all on one day and job goes out and sits down on the ground in an ash heap just to mourn and grieve in his despair but Jove had three friends and those three friends come and they at first they do the right thing the three friends come and they sit down with job and they sit there in silence with him for seven days that's what a friend does when somebody's in grief you show up and you shut up the deeper the pain is in somebody's life the fewer words you use somebody's having a bad day or day you can talk with him for 30 minutes about it if somebody just had a loved one died you just need to show up and shut up people I said I don't know what to say to that person who had that tragedy don't say anything you just need the presence of your life the Ministry of presence and for seven days job's friends sit there and they're the best friends you could possibly they sit with him in the ground around him without saying a word for seven days they're just carrying the pain with him they didn't get in trouble till they open their mouths and you won't either until you open your mouth and the rest of the book of Job is they chart try to start trying to explain the unexplainable job you're suffering because of this or maybe because of that and they're offering all these different reasons they think they're helping job by offering explanations they are not they're making it worse and the point is they get it all wrong they don't know why this is happening and at the end of the book God comes and before he restores job's health and actually restored everything else gave him twice as much wealth as it had before work God speaks to job and then he speaks to job's friends and he castigates them for trying to explain the unexplainable instead of just leaving it as a mystery here's what he says look up here on the screen God says two jobs three friends I'm angry with you for you have not been right in what you said about me my servant job is the only one who spoke the truth and got it right in all the entire book now I like that that's encouraging because a lot of the chapters job is just flat-out complaining to God God this is terrible I hate what's going on I haven't done anything wrong here and he's complaining and and God says you're right it's okay to complain when you're in pain God says that's okay what's not okay is giving an explanation that isn't true it isn't true the reason I'm belaboring this a point is because you're always on thin ice when you try to explain something that God doesn't explain and I see well meaning believers trying to do this with stuff that happens in our world the last few months we've had three hurricanes an earthquake a mass shooting in Vegas all kinds of different things and sometimes you'll hear people well-meaning stand up and they say well that hurricane hit that city that is the judgment of God no it is not and you just need to shut up I know that for a couple reasons practical and Biblical I remember when when Katrina hit and it hit New Orleans that great hurricane hit that city people call it the Sin City Sin City and they said God there were people actually say that is the judgment of God on the Sin City well evidently God did a lousy job because he missed this most sinful part the most sinful part of New Orleans is Bourbon Street the red-light district the drug zone the porno Zone and that part is the highest part in the city and it was untouched so God missed everybody else got hurt except the worst part in New Orleans it was untouched it's the truth you know look it up if God truly judges America and he has every right to but he hasn't but if he does I will tell you this it's not gonna start with hurting unbelievers he's gonna start with the church how do I know that first Peter chapter four look up here on the screen the Bible says first Peter 4:17 the time of judgment will begin first with God's own people the family of God if God decides to judge America or any other nation for that matter he's gonna start with us just start with his own family he disciplines his own family not the neighbor kids so what you see out there is not the judgment of God because the Bible says if it were you'd start with us and what we're not doing right as his own children you know having given you all those cautions I want to give you three possible of maybe a thousand reasons why God says no you get out your pencil and you want to write these down three of the many reasons God sometimes says no number one God says no when he has a bigger perspective God says no when he has a bigger perspective he can see what you can't see God sees the whole picture we don't we have a limited perspective God sees the wider view we don't God can see the future you can't God will always see stuff you can't see he can see around the curve he can see a ten years in the future he can see the implications of every decision Hebrews four says this chapter chapter 4 verse 13 he God knows about everyone everywhere everything about us is bare and wide open to the all-seeing eyes of our Living God nothing can be hidden from him now notice all of the the in all-inclusive terms everyone everywhere everything all nothing can be hidden and then God sees it all you don't see it all I don't see it all and sometimes God doesn't answer the prayer the way you went cuz he sees what you don't see you see our problem with our limited perspective is that we don't see the unintended consequences of what we're asking God can see how the dominoes fall over God can see that every prayer that is answered yes starts a chain reaction you don't see it but he does he knows how that decision that you just asked for is going to influence your grandchildren and great-grandchildren great-great-grandchildren he can see multi-generational you can't so some God sometimes says no because he sees what what you don't see if you could see your life the way God does would you pray would your prayers be different yep if you can see your life the way God does would it solve many of your problems yep you'd never have unexpected trouble oh I didn't see that coming because you'd see it coming you'd never have any unexpected difficulty you could prepare in advance you'd never ask for the wrong thing to do I don't ask for that because it'll create that in my life I've asked you this before during this series do you give your children everything they want of course not why because you love them but also because you can see things they can't see no parent would give their child everything they ask for God loves you too much to give you everything you ask for he can see what you can't see and the fact is when I ask God for something I can't imagine the implications the consequences the results I don't know what good or bad that's gonna bring what's gonna be set in motion yeah the consequences every prayer has consequences to it and God could see ahead now sometimes God says no to your prayer to protect you from something that you can't see to guard you look at this next verse on your outline proverbs 2 verse 8 God guards the course of the just and he protects the way of the faithful notice guards and protects now what does that mean that doesn't mean God takes you all out of trouble doesn't mean he keeps takes you out of the frying pan you're in he may leave you in the frying pan he just keeps you from getting burned remember when we studied the great guy in the Old Testament Daniel and he was doing the wrong thing and the King was gonna throw him to the Lions to be eaten and Daniel praise God keep me out of the lion's den God said no he put him in the lion's den and shut the lion's mouth bigger story bigger story better results better miracle remember the story the three Hebrew men who had defied the king and wouldn't know wouldn't obey Him he says we're gonna throw you in that giant fire pit that fiery furnace and they said Lord keep us out of the fiery furnace we gotta let God said no he let him go into the fiery furnace walk through it with him they were untouched they were burning when they came out the ropes that had tied them down were burnt off sometimes you'll say God don't let me go through this fiery trial God says you're gonna go through it but when you come out on the other side you're gonna be free free from that habit free from that person free from that fear free from that guilt free from that shame the the things that have been binding you up are gonna be burned off and it wouldn't happen unless you went through the fire sometimes God says no such free you know st. Paul Paul who wrote much of the New Testament his greatest desire his deepest prayer was he wanted to go to Rome and preach the good news because Rome is the center of the Roman Empire at that time it's the capital of the world I want to go to Rome Paul's idea of going to Rome would be I'll go to Rome take a Mediterranean cruise there then I'll rent the Colosseum for a week and have Paul's giant Harvest Crusade in the Colosseum well God actually said no to that but God said yes to getting Paul to Rome Paul got to Rome but he went in Chains as a prisoner and while he's in jail instead out preaching in the Colosseum he decides to write a few things these letters and those letters today are called the New Testament which do you think would have had greater effect Paul preaching in the Colosseum or Paul writing the letters that we study today he would have never written the letters if God hadn't put him in a prison where he couldn't do anything else but write the letters God had a bigger perspective God could see what Paul couldn't see Paul thought you're keeping me God from doing what I'm good at I'm good at public speaking I should be out there teaching the good news in the Colosseum God says you're exactly where I want you to change in this prison because you're writing letters that are gonna become the part of the New Testament part of the Bible bigger bigger perspective and God says that's what I'm gonna do in your life now number two second possible reason not only does God say no when he has a bigger perspective God often says no when he has a better plan God has a better plan what do you mean by that I mean that sometimes God says I intend to answer your prayer just not the way that you wanted answered I'm gonna say yes but I'm not gonna say yes the way you want it said yes I have a better idea and in His infinite wisdom God has a better plan Isaiah chapter 55 says this verses 8 and 9 God says this plan of mine it's not what you would work out neither are my thoughts the same as yours for my ways are higher than your way now I want you to circle the word ways my ways God says are higher they're better I got a better plan the years and notice it's plural ways God never just has one way of doing something unlike you gods options are unlimited he has many alternatives he's never forced to answer in just one way let me give you an example let's say mmm you're in deep debt okay you're in financial stress and you pray God I have spent money I didn't have to buy things I didn't need and God now I'm really deeply in debt and it was my own decisions that got me in debt God didn't get you in debt you got yourself in debt by overextending we say God even though I blew it's my fault I'm not asking to be helped me out bail me out now how can God answer that prayer Oh many ways there are multiple ways many ways that God could increase your income and there are many multiple ways that God could reduce your expenses where you spend less you see the problem is when we pray we don't just want what tell God what we want we tell them how we want it we want it in our preferred way and what our preferred way is always the easiest way God I need you to get me out of debt what's the easiest way win the lottery I guarantee it God is not going to use that way God gonna use that way because you don't grow God doesn't want to use the easiest way to answer he wants to use the best way and the best way that will keep you growing because God's more interested in your character than he is your comfort so he wants to answer help you get out of debt but he don't want to help you get out of debt in an easy way that tomorrow you just get right back into it he wants you to learn some stuff so you stay out of debt not the easiest way but the best way the way that grows your faith now the way that grows your faith listen closely sometimes requires a delayed answer God is not a vending machine we said this God is not a genie God is not a you know jackpot or you know slot machine where you put in the prayer pull the lever and boom you instantly get the answer that doesn't grow your character it just makes you less likely to grow and sometimes God in order to get you growth delays the answer to your prayer and he said we're gonna go slow until you grow and then we'll give you the answer did you know that in the Bible many of the greatest people of faith did not get the answer that was promised to them before they died now this blows the whole health and wealth prosperity gospel out of the thing because some people actually teach well you know you're supposed to get whatever you want and if you didn't go whichever you want because you didn't have enough faith there's a word for that it's what you get when you cross a crocodile and a boat an abalone it's a croc abalone okay lots of great people in the Bible did not get what they asked for they stayed sick they stayed poor or whatever and and the Bible says this about the greatest Saints in Hebrews chapter 11 which is God's Hall of Fame of faith verse 39 and 40 it talks about these were commended for their faith yet none of them received what had been promised why God had planned something better Circle planned something better God had planned something better and I want you to write this down because it's an important lesson of life its principle of life God has all of eternity to fulfill his promises God has all of eternity to fulfill his promises they're about 6,000 some say even 7,000 promises in the Bible to you but God is not limited by your 80 or 90 years on earth God has all of eternity to fulfill those promises some of the promises that God has given to you are gonna be fulfilled in heaven in in eternity when you look back you probably if you're true to yourself or you're honest you'll but you're glad that God didn't answer some of your prayers I am there a lot of prayers that I'm glad God said no to in the 1970s when I was a sophomore in high school my plan was to become a politician man was I dumb just showed my immaturity I'm just kidding but that was my plan and when I was a sophomore in high school I received an appointment to the United States Senate to work as a Senate aide I know that's great I'm gonna move to DC and I'll start my career in public service in government now I was praying god I want to I want to go to be involved in government God said no and they said you're not gonna come at the beginning of summer you're gonna come at the end of summer and that summer I got a job as a lifeguard at Christian camp my life was a revolution nice and by the end of the summer I didn't want to go I'm glad God said no in 1979 kay and I prayed to be missionaries overseas and we were actually thinking about going to Japan because I had been a short-term missionary I'd have planet help plant a church in Nagasaki Japan God shut the door we weren't able to go we weren't able to go that was a heartbreak to me so god I understand why you know we wanted to go and you close the door you closed the door there's a heartbreaking to me but I'm glad he said no there'd be no Saddleback Church if we'd gone to Japan 1980 when we moved here to this valley my plan we didn't have any funds finances my plan was to enlist five financial sponsors who would underwrite the first year this church and I worked for about a year trying to find financial sponsors done to write the first year this church and nobody would step up and I went everywhere finally just say well forget it okay we're going we're just gonna move on faith so he packed up everything in a u-haul truck and moved Southern California kind of like Beverly Hillbillies you know just come and listen to my story about a man named Jed you know California is the place you ought to be many of you know this story from class 101 we got here four o'clock in the afternoon I pulled off at El Toro Road on the first off-ramp we could find in this area found the first real estate office I could find walked in there was late in the day it's about 4:30 now and one guys in the office his name's Don Dale I walked in I said hi my name is Rick Warren then I've moved here from Texas to start a new church and I don't have any money I don't have any members I don't have any building and I need a place to live and he did what you just did he laughed but where God guy's God provides he said well let's see what we do and make this story short within about two hours he had driven us to a condo over in Laguna Hills we signed the papers on it we said we'll take it he talked to the owner of that condo and somehow convinced the guy to give us the first month rent-free and nothing down only God could do that and as we're driving there I said hey Don you go to church II know it doesn't hon I don't go to church anywhere and go great you're my first remember i'ma start a church for people who hate church you're in okay and we started this church a week later with my wife and I and our baby Amy Don and his wife his little girl Heidi and one other person and the rest is history I'm glad God said no to those financial sponsors because it would have never had the lessons of faith that I had in those early days we were here we had a house we had no money had no money then about the third day I get a call from a guy says is this Rick Warren I said yeah I said you the young kids starting a new church in Southern California and that Orange County oh yeah he goes well my name is Bill Grady I we've never met but I live up here in Fullerton and I just feel led to pay your rent for the next three months I go hello you are my new best friend and and I could tell you a hundred stories like that there was the time we were planning the first service for it on Easter service and I had no members nobody I'm just planning it myself and then Don and his family come okay one day came out okay and I are out buying used baby equipment for the nursery the garage sales we went to this one garage sale and there was like a diaper changing bed in the swing and some little toys and stuff for the kids and kegels we'll take it all and she added up they said how much it cost you $32.50 I'll never forget that amount $32.50 so she wrote a check $30.50 knowing that we had just a little bit of money in our savings account and that was money for us to live on and I had no income and there's gonna be four months do we had our first service she wrote us on faith 30 jobs 50 cents we got in their car we drove home same day I go out I walk in and I open the mailbox and there's a letter from a little old lady that I had met one time I preached in a church in Dallas and she evidently liked the message had never forgotten later I said where'd that young whippersnapper go you know and and they said we went to California start a church and so somehow she got my dressed somehow and she wrote me a note I'll never forget it handwritten note from an elderly woman she said diam I'm on a limited income just a pension fixed income but I want to be a part of what you're doing and maybe this can help and it was a check for $32.50 that is the lamest clap I've ever heard for a miracle of God now do you think that would have happened if I had lined up five sponsors no because I wouldn't even be living on faith I remember in the early days when I found a piece of land over in Laguna Hills I thought 12 acres this is cool most churches have like half an acre the twelve acres is great and we were all ready to go for it and God said no I got a little bit bigger plan for you than that not 12 120 acres I'm glad God said no because if we had bought that peace property you wouldn't be here God has a bigger perspective and God has a better plan we see this all through scriptures now I remember by the way at one time I remember asking Kaye honey do you can you remember what you were glad that God said no - she said yes because there were two guys I wanted to marry and God said no I said I'm the lucky dog and for those guys I say Nana Nana Nana I got her you didn't if you've ever been to a high school reunion you should thank God he didn't answer your prayers okay cuz that hunk of burnin love in high school is now big fat tub of goo and he's a megachurch faster Garth Brooks wrote that song thank God for unanswered prayers he's got a bigger perspective and he's got a better plan number three God says no when he has a greater purpose God always acts for good and in love and you and he has a greater purpose God will never let your prayers interfere with your purpose let me say that again God has a purpose for your life he's never made anything without a purpose and God will not even let you interfere with your purpose through your prayers and if you're praying something that's not according to his purpose he's just not gonna give it to you Psalm 57 verse 2 I cry out to God the Most High who fulfills his purpose for me see God isn't obligated to explain why he does what he does he doesn't owe you an explanation he's God and some of the things you couldn't understand but he does say I have a purpose for your life now not everything that happens in your life is good you know that a lot of bad stuff happens because you make bad choices and other people make bad choices but God goes I can even use that I can even use your dumb mistakes I could even use other people's dumb mistakes and I could fit it into the purpose in everything God does he allows in your life even the bad stuff he allows it for a purpose and that purpose is good including the problems and the unanswered prayers they're part of the purpose you may be in a tough spot right now you're going through a really tough spot right now look at the next verse the purpose of these troubles is to test your faith as fire tests how genuine gold is and your faith is more precious than gold so what do you do anytime you're discouraged it's not working I'm hitting my head against the wall it's not happening and it's happening too slow anytime you feel discouraged you remind yourself the God has a greater purpose for your life you need to remember that he's got a bigger perspective he's got a better plan and he's got a greater purpose look at this next verse 2nd Corinthians 4 these present troubles the ones you're going through right now are quite small compared to eternity and they won't last very long yet they will produce for us an immeasurably great glory that's the reward in heaven that will last forever so we don't look at the troubles we see right now rather we look forward to what we have not yet seen for the troubles we see will soon be over but the joys to come will last forever and friends as your pastor who prays for you I pray for you all the time who loves you I love you if you're gonna be happy in life you're gonna have to learn three facts of life three realities and the first reality is that there are some things in life that you're just not going to understand till you get to heaven the Bible says there are secret things that God doesn't reveal you couldn't even understand them there's some things in life you're just not gonna get the answer to do you get to heaven but you don't need an explanation to be happy you just need the presence of God second thing you need to know is that there's some things gonna happen in your life that are never gonna change some problems in your life are never going to change until you get to heaven if I got this arm cut off it's not growing back it's never ever growing back it's not going to change till I get to heaven permanent problems happen because we're in a broken world and there's some problems no matter how much you pray God says I'm not taking the way you're in a broken world and I just want you to learn to manage it I want you to learn to trust me and I want you to learn to grow up so the some things I'm never gonna understand why they happen and there's some things that are never gonna change no matter how much you pray because God's more interested in your character than your comfort as I said but there's another thing you need to learn and it's that sometimes you're going to suffer for the benefit of other people that's called redemptive suffering that's thinking this week about all of the ministries that were started in this church because people had prayers that they had prayed and God said no to they prayed for a child and they didn't get a child and so they started the adoption ministry or are they prayed for instant healing of an addiction but it didn't happen so they started the recovery ministry and I could give you a hundred other ministries that started because God said no to an easy answer and instead God says I'm gonna take your pain and bless other people you know how you have no idea how many famous people K and I and non famous people have counseled about suicide in the four years since Matthew took his life we're not gonna waste our pain you have no idea how many people who have come forward saying I struggle with the mental illness we've been able to help because we had mental illness in our family and my youngest son for 27 years God wants to take the greatest pain in your life and use it to benefit other people do not waste your pain not only is this true in your own life it's true of Christ God even allowed his own son to suffer for our salvation that's redemptive suffering he had a greater purpose a greater purpose was your salvation if God allowed his own son to go to the cross and suffer all that suffering for the benefit of you for your salvation when he allows you to go through suffering for the benefit of helping other people you are most like Christ in that moment it's not easy it's not fun but you're growing up and you're becoming like Christ when you suffer and you use that pain to help other people and you don't waste that pain now what do I do when God says no right quick this is real fast three things here when God says no number one trust that God does everything in goodness and love trust that God does everything for me in goodness and love God does not do anything I'm loving God does not do anything evil everything God does is always for your own good and because He loves you Psalm 25 10 all the ways of the Lord are loving there are no unloving ways of God God cannot act in an unloving way God is love Romans 8:28 in everything not sum in everything even the bad stuff in everything God works for the good of those who love him now you need to remember that and you need to trust that God does everything in goodness and love in your life even when he says no because anytime God says no Satan is gonna start shooting darts of doubt at you God doesn't love you he doesn't care about you otherwise he'd give you everything you want he doesn't love you Satan is a liar I want you to write this down in your outline I don't have to understand God's answer to know it's motivated by love I do not have to understand God's answer to my prayer to know that whatever answer it is it's always motivated by love so I said God loves you too much to give you everything you asked for so really when God says no you've got three options you can resist it presented or relax in it could resist it I need to fight God and when God says no you get mad at God and you turn your back on God and say ok God if you won't play game my way I'm leaving you I'm out of here I'm gonna take my ball and go home and I've met a lot of people who walked away from God because God said no and they didn't trust that he had a bigger perspective a better plan and a greater purpose they walk away in resentment and rebellion that's the second thing you do is you can resent it you can resist it you can resent it you become rebellious and you you come bitter and miserable and you doubt God's love and I know a lot of people who've lived their entire life in misery and they're miserable because they're resentful and they've never accepted the fact that God only does what's good in their lives or you can relax knowing that God always has your best injured smart God it doesn't make sense I don't understand it it's incredibly painful but I know this this is not good what's happened to me right now but I do know this you are good you are good you're a good god and you are loving and you will never stop loving me and even in this your love still remains number 2 second thing you do when God says no when in pain you pray what Jesus prayed facing the cross you pray what Jesus prayed facing across Jesus prayed a prayer the night before he went to the cross he was in the Garden of Gethsemane Gethsemane is a word that means where they press the grapes and it was is a garden of grape are not grapes of olives it was a garden or orchard of olive trees on the Mount of Olives and it was Jesus favorite pray place to pray he knows tomorrow tomorrow he's going to be suffered suffering he's going to be tortured he's gonna be put on the cross he's gonna be shamed he's gonna be spit on he's gonna be whipped he's gonna be crucified he doesn't want to go through this pain anymore new or I do the Bible says that in that agony he went to the garden to pray and the prayer that he prayed is the same prayer you should pray when you're in pain so follow this closely mark chapter 14 verse 35 36 going a little farther into the garden Jesus fell to the ground he's in agony praying that if possible he might not have to suffer what was ahead of him what's that crucifixion he said God if it's possible I don't want to die on the cross if there's any other way for the salvation of the world I don't want to die on the cross it's okay to say God I don't want this I don't want to go through this suffering it's okay for you to say that I don't want to go through this I don't want to face what I'm about to go through cancer surgery divorce death whatever god I don't want to do this he prayed that if possible he might not have to suffer what was ahead of him and Jesus prayed Abba Father remember Abba daddy the intimate term daddy father my father and he says three things all things are possible for you please take this cup of suffering away from me yet I want your will not mine to be done those are the three things you should always pray when you're in pain okay write these down here's the right way to pray when you're in pain first affirm God's power that's the first thing you do and he says God father I know you can do anything all things are possible for you so you know God I know you could take care of this situation I know you could keep me out of this suffering I know you could take away the pain instantly father you are all-powerful that's the first thing you do second then you ask with passion you affirm God's power I know you can do anything you ask with passion father please give me what I ask father please take this cup of suffering away from me it's okay for you to pray God please take away the pain please take away the suffering that's okay and there are sometimes God will but sometimes you won't and so then you pray the third you affirm God's power you ask the passion and you accept God's plan however God I want most what is your will yes I don't want to go through this suffering I don't want to go through this problem I don't want to go through this pain but nevertheless what I want even more than that is I want your plan I want your purpose I want your perspective I want your will however yet your will not mine to be done that's what I want when you pray that prayer God smiles because he knows you trust him number three what I do when God says no I trust that everything he does is in love doing this goodness I pray the prayer Jesus I'm honest about what I want but I say I really want more than else I want your plan and your purpose and number three I expect God to give His grace to handle his answer I expect God to give His grace that's his strength his power to handle his answer what is grace grace is God's power to handle pain and grace is God's power to do the right thing anyway even when it's painful I'm gonna do the right thing even though it's painful you know even the Apostle Paul who was the greatest Christian who ever lived next to Jesus Christ Himself did not get any answers to all of his prayers in fact he had what he called a thorn in the flesh we don't actually know what it was but it was a lifelong problem that caused great pain in his life and he says God had blessed me so much that he gave me this problem this thorn in my side that what just wouldn't go away to keep me dependent upon him and he says many many times I prayed for God to take it away and God would not take it away he said no and here's what he says about that problem 2nd Corinthians 12 8 to 10 3 times I prayed to the Lord about this and I asked him to take it away God take away this pain but his answer was my grace my grace is all you need for my power is greatest when you are weak so Paul says I gladly boast about my weaknesses my pain my problems my difficulties so that Christ's power can flow through me but when I am weak then I'm strong I'm not going on my power I'm going on God's power many of you know that I've struggled with the handicap since since childhood I was born with a brain disorder and that makes public speaking painful and makes sleeping very difficult among other things that won't go into all the details I've been to the best doctors in the world I went to Mayo Clinic and they said we may name a syndrome after you because they said we know about 15 16 17 other people in the world who have this my brain to simplify it runs extremely hot and extremely fast and it causes all kinds of problems in my body and for 50 years I've asked God every day to heal it and he has said to me every time my grace is all you need my grace is all you need and when I started Saddleback I said Lord you know how painful it is for me to speak I could do one service but I could never do too this is before they invented video the salvation and I could do two but I could never do three services we went to three services and I said I can do three but I could never do four and I'd go home and finish after four servers go home and just get in bed and crash about twenty-four hours I can do four but I could never do five and then we go to five services the church kept growing and then pretty soon we're doing six and I remember that decade where I'm doing six services every weekend and at the end if you didn't even have this you'd be a basket case never to do in six services the emotional physical energy that takes to give out to thousands of people and God just kept sin my grace is all you need and the very thing that has been the most painful in my life God used to shape me and make me depend on him and then for 27 years I prayed every day for God to heal my youngest son's mental illness they're all broken and it didn't happen in one day four years ago he took his life God said my grace is all you need and I will use this to help other people in pain everything I've learned in life I have learned from pain I have learned nothing from pleasure I've learned everything important I've learned to pain I have learned nothing from praise and compliments and having my picture on the cover of dozens of national magazines everything I've learned I've learned through criticism and attacks and the things that I've prayed about the most God has chosen to not remove but like Jobe Jobe says though he slay me yes well I trust him doctor kill me I'm still gonna trust him if God never said yeah to another fair in my life I still owe him the rest of my life and you do too if God never said yes to another prayer in your life you would even be alive if it weren't for him you wouldn't be saved if it weren't for him you wouldn't be on your way to heaven if it weren't for heaven all the things that God has done for you if he never did another yes he has a bigger plan better plan bigger perspective and a greater purpose so what have you been praying about but so far it hasn't happened so you been praying God I just want somebody to love just I want to be married and as your pastor who loves you I want that for you too if that's what you want and it breaks my heart when there are prayers like that that aren't answered I don't know but you need to remember this when something hasn't happened yet God has a bigger perspective he may be protecting you from an unforeseen problem in pain God has a better plan the story has not ended yet some of you went through a divorce that was an end of a chapter the chapter is ended but that's not the end of the story God is not finished with you that's not the end of your story it's the end of a chapter or you've gone through something else that's the end of a chapter it's not the end of your life God has a greater purpose and right now he's working on you and he will give you the grace on the power the handle he will never put more on you than he puts in you to bear it up the last verse on your outline says this those who know you Lord will trust you you do not abandon anyone who comes to you if you don't trust God when he says no it means you don't really know him those who know the Lord trust him I know is good I know he's loving if you don't trust him it means you don't know him yet you can get to know him starting today I'll end with this poem by Russell Calvert you are who you are for a reason you're part of an intricate plan you're precious and perfect unique design called God's special woman or man you look like you look for a reason God made no mistake he knits you together within the womb and you're just what he wanted to make the parents you had were the ones that he chose and no matter how you may feel they were custom designed with God's plan in mind and they bear the Masters seal it wasn't that they were good or bad parents were indifferent or you never even met him they had the DNA that created you and God was more interested in creating you and they were the only two who could create you he's more interested in you being alive than their parenting skills that's why he chose your parents he wanted you alive nobody else could have made you know that trauma you faced was not easy wasn't easy and God wept then it hurt you so but it was allowed to shape your heart so that into his likeness you'd grow you are who you are for a reason you've been formed by the Masters rod you are who you are beloved because there is a God let's bow our heads you're not gonna get a yes answer to every one of your prayers you ought to thank God for that some of them we can figure out why but some of them were never gonna know why until we get to heaven but we do know this God is a good God he's a loving God he has a greater perspective he has a better plan and he has a greater purpose if you don't trust him it's because you don't know him so why don't you take the first step today to knowing God really knowing him say dear God I want to get to know you just say that in your heart dear God I want to get to know you I want to open my life to you I want to learn to love you and trust you and I want to feel your love toward me I don't feel it but I want to feel it I want to be close to you and God I want your plan for my life not mine 9 hadn't worked out real well god I want your purpose for my life not mine God I want your power in my life not mine God I want your pardon for all the things I've done wrong I need your peace I need your presence thank you for letting your son Jesus suffer for me so he could pay for all my sins and God if you want to use the pain in my life to help others do so I want to be more like you so today as much as I know how Jesus Christ I asked you to fill me with your life and your love and your spirit let's start me on the journey to trusting you more every day and then one day I asked you to take me home to your home in heaven or all the questions will be answered and all the problems will be removed and all the pain will be replaced with your joy I look forward to that day help me to tell other people about this in your name I pray amen thanks for checking out this week's message on YouTube we would love to get you connected with our online community there's three easy ways to get you involved first learn about belonging to a church family by taking class 101 online second you can join an online small group or a local home group in your area and third check out our Facebook group to engage with our online community throughout the week to take these next steps visit Saddleback comm slash online or shoot me an email at online at Saddleback comm I hope to hear from you soon you

Channel: Saddleback Church

Views: 109,637

Rating: 4.840868 out of 5

Keywords: Saddleback Church, Rick Warren, Prayers, When God Says No

Id: 57begiKb94w

Length: 63min 27sec (3807 seconds)

Published: Mon Nov 27 2017