"When God Says No" - Stephanie Ike

[Music] the scripture and we'll just see how God takes it I know we could stay standing family just do a squat just imagine you're doing a squat right there because as I was praying family what God kept showing me it was through the life of Abraham you see Abraham was someone who his life radically changed with his encounter by God because it was the words Abraham was that through your life through your offspring all the nations on the earth would be blessed and that was because through the life of Abraham our Lord Jesus would be born and so from the very beginning the Holy Spirit had had a plan concerning his line äj-- and I believe that each and every one of you there is a plan that God has for the dreams and the visions that he has given you that the Holy Spirit has a plan for what he wants to do with it on the earth and so when we say God never the same Holy Spirit I want more of who you are we're literally saying God come in and wreck my life because when we say God less of me and more of you then God begins to show you the part of you that needs to be less God begins to reveal to you if you're saying less of me and more of my spirit then I will show you the areas of your life that you need to bring into alignment and so I want us to read this scripture in the book of Genesis while we're standing it's Genesis 16 we're going to read from 16 to chapter 17 verse 2 I'm going to jump into another verse in chapter 17 and so it says Abraham was 86 years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram when Abram was 99 years old the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him I am Almighty God walk before me and be blameless and I will make my covenant between me and you and will multiply you and then he jumps to Genesis 17 verse 15 to 19 and he says then God said to Abraham as for Sarah your wife he shall not call her name Sarai but you but Sarah shall be her name and I will bless her and also give you a son by her then I will bless her and she shall be a mother of Nations kings of people shall be from her then Abraham fell on his face and laughed and said in his heart shall a child be born to a man who is 100 years old and shall Sarah who is 90 years old bear a child and Abraham said to God oh that Ishmael might live before you then God said no Sarah your wife shall bear you a son and you shall call his name Isaac I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant and his descendants after him family you may be seated if you would like to take notes the word that God gave me about this message is when God says no and you see family any time we come before God right now we're in a season where just as we are just even look at what took place today we're in a season where literally we're saying God we want more of you our pastor started a series on understanding the holy spirit on Sunday and if you haven't watched it I really recommend you do so because again family whenever we are coming before God in the posture of humility to say God I want more of you we're literally saying God bring all of my life into alignment the interesting thing is that in this house we sense surrender we sensed humility we send submission we sense God I need to I want to see you right and in your walk with God there was always going to be certain things that you're gonna see in different stages of your life there gonna be certain seasons that would repeat itself and those are seasons when God starts seeking more of your surrender and that I believe family that is because no one can ever know the fullness of God God is God God is too big four for us as creative beings to hold all of who he truly is and so when God wants to reveal more of himself he begins to shake up the things in your life that has placed a limit to his power that has placed a limit to his faithfulness that has placed a limit to his potential you see what is interesting is that prior to the scripture that we read when God first encountered Abraham and he tells Abraham all these great things Abraham I'm gonna you know you're gonna have a son and all these amazing things God never tells Abraham that it would be a son with his wife Sarah because the God is a no-brainer right I mean you're gonna have a son you're married her name is Sarah that's the person is gonna have the child but in abraham's existence you see if you read the study of abraham abraham had experienced god in many ways but he had not experienced the power of god in that way when god encountered him the first time and tells him abraham leave your father's house leave everything and follow me Abraham knew God to be his guide there are other scenarios where Abraham recognized that God is is protected but he had never experienced the power of God to go beyond what he knew in regards to science and just the nature of things and so when Abe when God is telling Abraham you're gonna have a son and that was what Abraham truly desired there's a time that he was having a conversation with God and God is telling him all these great things and Abraham is literally saying it doesn't matter because who's gonna inherit it and God tells him oh no you're gonna have an heir but you see there was a moment where Abraham's wife tells him look I cannot bear your children take my one of my staff and marry her and you know Abraham slept with her and then she conceived and she had Ishmael but this was what involved human planning this involved the the help of man and there are some words that God would give you that he does not require your help he only requires your obedience to the way the ways of who he is not you see things and so because what Abraham an experienced about God he had not he had yet to experience the power of God and so what he perceived as the will of God is that I will have a son how the son came maybe doesn't really matter because in the natural Sarah is too old to bear children and it's so interesting family because God allows Abraham to have Ishmael for 13 years without ever showing up Abraham has this belief that Ishmael would be the Covenant child this would be the promised child and so for 13 years Abraham is looking at Ishmael with the expectation and the belief that you would be the one that God was talking about and so when God has this encounter with him and he's telling him I am God Almighty you see for some of you while you were worshiping in this house there it had been a while for you to see God above your circumstances because perhaps the rhythm of your life kept showing you that it seems as though my circumstances are bigger than my god you may not articulate it that way but you live that way and so in this moment Abraham believe me Abraham was in a later time known as the father of faith but in this moment God is telling him that your wife would bear you a child and Abraham laughs and he's like at this age God really but God introduces himself and that's what's key as I am Almighty God you may not have known me to be Almighty but I'm gonna show you who I really am I'm gonna show you a side of me that you have never experienced and family that is what happens when we begin to say God more of who you are because what it's an introduction of God show me a side of you I have never experienced I know you to be I know you to be my provider maybe maybe I know you to be my healer but I don't know to be the one who would lead me into the promises that you have spoken I don't know what it feels like to walk in the manifestation of a dream and so maybe I don't know you to be that person and so I'm accepting things that is below me and I'm sabotaging opportunities that speak higher to me because God I'm yet to experience you in that way and so you really have this moment where God says I am God Almighty walk blamelessly before me and that's death is God telling Abraham behold and so what is fascinating in this scripture is that when they have this interaction and I found it I'm like God you waited 13 years and I wondered what was the symbolism about 13 years and and my and what what I understood as I prayed about this word is that what if God wanted to just postpone the time to show Abraham how much powerful he really is that I know you don't really believe me in this area and I've allowed you to have your expectations and have your beliefs but I'm about to shake things up for you because you see family what I understood about this word is that when God says notice something he wants to make you available to a greater yes and that process that process can be painful because you have become accustomed you see why we get disappointed in life is because the expectation we had of something was not according to it was not in alignment with what God says it is and so when it doesn't meet our expectations and now we want to point the fingers at God and say well God you should have done this or you allowed this thing in my life God you even gave me a word about it do you know that it was an angel of the Lord that gave Ishmael the name Ishmael and so can you imagine what it feels like when it looks like God has his hand on something but the problem is that you both have different expectations of what it represents you see when God encounters Abraham and tells them this is not the promised child Isaac is the son that you would that would be your heir God never tells Abraham to disown his son Ishmael he doesn't tell him to cut off all communication with him he tells him to change his expectation of who Ishmael is saying and what the Lord was showing me is that there are things that many of us are feeling a bump some discomfort about or you sense that God is saying no to and it's not for you to be impulsive about your actions because some of us what we do is that when we sense that God is saying notes is something we're impulsive about how we move and we don't move in wisdom because there are some people perhaps you are in you turned what God positioned in your life to be a business relationship and you made a romantic and when God is showing you know oh that's such some people but when God is saying no to it God is not saying cut ties with this person walk away from them block them you know but then you know all of a sudden creep on their pages you know now when God is saying no he's saying change your expectation of who that person is to you because the expectation you have of them is not the expectation I placed on them in your life there's some of you that the positions the job positions you're in and you feel unsettled about it and it's not for you to just all of a sudden get up and quit but it's for you to recognize God what if my expectation about this job is to get a promotion and to go higher in the ranking but God is saying no this is just a place to help you fund your dream and so the discomfort you feel is not for you to quit your job the discomfort you feel is to change how you perceive it some of you you're in cities maybe even in Los Angeles and some watch and maybe you're different cities are you're a different country and you sense the Lord showing you that this is not the place I have called you it is not for you to make the mistake and say you know what I'm just gonna get on the plane and everyone wants to have that LA story of I came to Los Angeles with $100 in my pocket didn't know nobody no God wants you to use wisdom because it is it doesn't add to the glory of God for you to have this heartbreaking story sometimes we inflict that on ourselves and in the goodness of God he will make everything to work together but there's some of us that what it shows you that God is saying change your expectation about the city that what why don't you use the time you have here start saving start applying to the jobs I'm calling you to in that city I've called you into don't be impulsive about your actions you see there are different things that it's interesting because as I was praying before the Lord and I kept seeing it was just it was a very interesting vision so it was almost as sit there they were I mean it looked like just a huge community at the ocean uh you know at the the beach right and on the other side of it so you have you know when you have the you have the ocean and then you really never see anything on the other side you just see water but on the other side of it was another just like a sandy area and in that sandy area it began like this place that was just deserted and all of a sudden it started to spring forth just trees of beautiful fruit trees and vegetable trays it was amazing and things literally so that coming out of the ground that things that you did not even labor for were just there waiting on you and what was interesting was that there were people that were so eager to get on that to the other side and so they got underwater and not almost not preparing and not planning of what it would take for them to get to the other side and I saw why people drowned and I'm like oh my god and there were this group of people they said look why don't we take the time to build a boat and there were many that were arguing I'm seeing this and it's almost like a movie many were arguing well why are we gonna why are we taking the time to build a boat but somebody else's turn is gonna get to there and you know get our things but there was an abundance of it that even if someone wanted to take ownership of however they could carry there was an abundance of it and the people that waited and said let's take the time let's learn what it means to build this boat and as we build the boat we know that we have something sturdy to take us to the other side I saw where it took I mean it seemed like it took you know over a period of days or weeks or months but when they build that boat nothing stopped their journey and as I saw that I said God what are you showing me and he said that what he wants to make you available for that you answer to that by your preparation that this is not the season to be impulsive because this unsettled that the feeling of feeling unsettled or God I feel like I'm supposed to do this but but maybe is dead or maybe is this and maybe is that he's saying all it takes is a willingness to change how you perceive where you are because his spirit will do everything else thank you Jesus thank you Jesus I want to continue my notes but I feel like God wants something else to happen in this house thank you Lord you see Wow you haven't lost anything you haven't lost anything I think that one of the things that we find in this city is that we are so we feel pressured about time we feel pressure to perform we feel pressured that God you know I'm hitting this age I'm clocking this age but God is saying you haven't lost anything because and I'm just gonna flow how God leads me because some of you have felt like you lost your investment for some literally has been finances and you felt as though you you you put money in things that amount it to nothing you felt like you've lost your savings you've lost in it and you you feel like you're in this space of like God why try anymore and what God is showing me is that even the resources you had he gave it to you to lose just bear with me you see often times when God wants to train you when God wants to teach you about the manner in which is called you God can give you something with the intention for you to lose it you see in the scriptures we some of you may know this some Bible verse that talks about that God who restored the years that the locusts have eaten the canker warms of Eden they know cockroaches are not there but they should be because they look nasty like the roaches and the other ones but what is fascinating is that in another Bible passage it tells you that they are the army of the Lord even though the same God says I would restore what they took but they were sent by the Lord at the same time sometimes God will put you in positions for you to have something in your hand to lose it not because you will not get it back it will teach you in the process and so and so you are you are you are struggling with God do I want to throw myself back into this thing do I want to invest myself back into this do I want to invest my resources back into it and God said of course you should because what you lost was never yours in the first place now I'm about to give you oh thank you Jesus thank you Jesus thank you Jesus you haven't lost anything you cannot lose what was never yours it is different if you're losing something that was entrusted to you to grow but there are times that God will entrust something to you to give away because that is part of your process it's so fascinating to me that when it came to Ishmael his name was given to him by the angel of the Lord even though the conception was outside of the will of God but everything about him was still directed because it was a moment when Ishmael when actually when Hagar was pregnant and you know Sarah was feeling like she you know Hagar was looking at her funny and things like that and so she wanted to send her out of the house and an angel of the Lord comes to her and tells her submit to Sarah and so all of this time God is never trying to remove Ishmael from the house and so a different perspective that I just want to present is that it's almost as if Ishmael comes into the house and he's spending all this time with Abraham and God even has a blessing for him because if Ishmael was really a curse even though God was faithful to Abraham I think that God would have revealed certain things about him that would look I mean there if you look at it if you go into like theology and they talk about Islam and eras well I'm not even looking at that right now because sometimes even what we are accustomed to thinking there is a higher way that God even saw that very thing and so what are there things that God would position in your life to train and teach you and while you're wondering because if God would use a man like Abraham and say he is the father of faith despite the moments of what may look as disobedience then what if that that very action of what looked like disobedience led him to the place that he could willingly say god I would give you everything so if Abraham wanted to sit down and pout and beat himself up for the mistake he made would he have come to that position where he would eventually be the father of faith you have not lost anything an event at some point in time we have to we their mistakes you make years but you cannot you cannot hold on to what God already has a different plan for you see family the interesting thing with Abraham thank you God the interesting thing with Abraham is that when God spoke a word to Abraham he spoke into his past his present and his future sometimes in life we only want words that speak to our past God I just want understanding about what happened I just and I'm I'll be fine I just want to know why this happened and that's good for me sometimes we only want words that speak to our presence which sometimes could even create stagnancy because we want to entertain things that are not speaking to who God has called us to be but who we are comfortable being you see Abraham the reason I believe one of the reasons why he was okay with God's asking the Lord that let ishmael live before you was because what abraham always desired was to be a father he was focusing on the present i've become a father god i'm good let ishmael be the one for all the plans that you have for my offsprings but the Word of God will also speak to your future the Word of God on Abraham's life would eventually reveal his legacy through Isaac that would bring forth to Jesus Christ a time that Abraham was not even alive on the earth see but that is what the word of god represents and so we have to start asking ourselves am i entertaining things that would impact my tomorrow that would impact the dreaded the the the decisions of my generation because God's Word is complete it's not halfway it's not that you know what I just want to make you feel good right now and then the generations after you are suffering for some of the actions that you made when we talk about generational blessing and generational curse what is that it is literally the decisions of the generations before you and so when we're aware in prayer God break every generational curse is the decisions and the actions that were made before you and so what kind of life do you want to live that would impact what you may never see on the earth and that was the word that God gave to Abraham we have to take the time to look into every area of our lives and say god when you're saying no I may be in my feelings and emotions are a very tricky thing because your emotions as real as they are to you they are shaped by your beliefs and your beliefs are not always fact your beliefs may not always be the truth because have you ever assumed something about someone that made you so angry that you just wanted to do the worst but it wasn't true when you assumed so you can be driven by emotions but doesn't make it true because you feel it doesn't make it true and so whatever God is saying no to family we have to take the time and the patience to say God let me not be impulsive but show me what this means and let me be mature enough and humble enough to recognize my part in this and to also recognize that God it will not change you from being God over my life you see as I was praying God was showing me that for some even when it comes into relationships and not being a victim of this you know you're the fixer-upper you you just want to fix everybody and you've never because you have not experienced God in relationships before you're not you just take what you what you see there and you're like what could I could do some renovations in your lives you're gonna fit right in but but what the Lord stare show me you know it's interesting families and friends of mine that are married or have children they've shared this with me how there's a way that your spouse can love you but there's a way that you may love your children that increases your knowledge about the love of God and God wants to show up even in your romantic relationships that you don't have to sabotage yourself because of what you think is the will of God but it's limiting his power and his faithfulness in your life Wow I just think God for moments like this thank you Jesus thank you Jesus thank you Jesus thank you there's a lady in here and you're whether you hear you're watching your mother is in a wheelchair and thank you Lord and you've been believing and she's believing - I don't know if you're here please stand up and if you're here you're watching me your mother's in the wheelchair and you're believing for her healing and I just see the Lord just touching her leg right now and I'm hearing Agnes Agnes thank you lord thank you lord thank you lord thank you Jesus can I just flow family let me can we just can we do this okay thank you lord I believe there are certain things that God wants to touch in this house because there's another lady you experienced your loved one died of cancer and right now there's another person in your family that has cancer and you were hesitant to pray about it because you you feel as though God I sought you about this and I and we lost her to this to cancer I don't think I want to pray about this again and the Lord is showing me that your experience of him does not make him there's not stopped him from being a healer but that his knowledge of why he took her there the reason behind that was needed and so I'm not sure if you're in this house just stand up if you're listening to me then you're listening to me but there was there was a thank you Jesus thank you Jesus thank you Jesus thank you Jesus thank you Lord and and there's been a battle in your heart that God you can't do this because you didn't do it here oh thank you lord you see family there are things that are literally beyond our understanding at times and it's not because when we look at the Word of God God but this is what your word says why didn't this happen but there are things that because first of all your family never really leaves you right but sometimes even when Jesus said it is good that I go some in some cases it is good and even though it doesn't feel good and it doesn't look good but in this particular situation I see that the very thing that you've been questioning God about that God you're not gonna heal this the Lord is showing me that as you place your hands and pray that he would actually begin to use you as a vessel for healing [Applause] [Music] Thank You ver thank you Jesus thank you Jesus thank you Jesus there was such a strong healing anointing in this house thank you Jesus thank you Jesus there's a there's a I believe it's a lady it's um someone you're someone in your family is going blind you're going blind and they're losing their eyesight if if I'm talking to your viewer here just stand up or if you're watching they're losing their eyesight thank you lord thank you Jesus and the Lord is just showing me that he is touching that already he's touching that already how God we love you we love you God thank you lord thank you lord thank you lord there's someone you need your in order for your your paperwork like your it has to do it like your visa but the school some it's so there's something with your visa paperwork but you are rejected by the school or the school it seems like they're rejecting you but the Lord is saying go back go back to that interview because it's gonna work out and I just want the reason I'm saying if you're in the room stand up so that we can even just pray with you as well at the same time but if you're if you're watching you're watching but you're another for your visa work to process there's a complication that you're having with your school and the Lord is saying go back and it's like almost go back for another thank you Jesus go back again [Applause] and he's gonna work it out he's gonna work it out because he's showing me you see when we call upon the name of Jesus we don't have to do that much work because he steps into the room and he starts wanting to shake things up and so what he's showing me is that go back and go with confidence because when the Holy Spirit is on you you can demand things that people that it doesn't even make sense it looks like it belongs to you and so oh thank you God thank you God everything is gonna work out even the immigration process God will be the officer thank you Jesus thank you Jesus there is there's there a couple of you actually and you've been praying for to conceive and you've been having difficulty one person in particular you've had two miscarriages and you're still believing God for for the fruit of the womb but that if you're in this house just stand up and place your hand on your belly and we I just want to pray for you if you're watching we're gonna pray for you but you're believing God for the fruit of the womb you've had two miscarriages there's nothing to be ashamed about because when the Lord is moving he's moving in such a powerful way to heal and to restore and even though you've questioned that God are you able to do this I don't even want to try and actually your mindset is that you want to have children but it's almost like you feel like you don't want to try again because of what it did to the marriage Wow Wow Heavenly Father we just thank you for your daughter's we thank you Lord God there you are the God of restoration restoration thank you Jesus you are the god of restoration we thank you for what you're doing in this house you see family sometimes why this is even necessary is because it helps us to understand that God you see me you see me because for many of you what you need in your life is just to simply know that God sees you because if the eyes of the Lord are on you then why should you be afraid if the eyes of Jesus are on me why should I fear you know what it's so powerful about relationship with God is you're literally in relationship with the creator of all creations your relationship your your covenant with God there is and so when circumstances begin to hit your life it is to put yourself in the position and the posture of God give me understanding you see for many of you more of the Holy Spirit means God I want I want to move in your wisdom and I want to move in your understanding I don't want to be easily trust to-and-fro when something happens because even in this season even as I spoke about when you're saying that God less of me and more of you God sometimes will put your flesh and display and for some of you you've been wondering why is it that I'm praying to God from of the Holy Spirit and I find myself to be more irritable I'm finding myself to be more angry or I'll find myself to be more lustful or whatever it is because God now puts your flesh and display to show you what you need to kill because sometimes that very thing has been laying dormant for so long and the Lord starts showing you what is connected to and he's saying that if you really want more because this more of me is another it's not like a magic show there is a partnership and the collaboration with the Holy Spirit and so when he shows you that this is this is what it's really gonna look like you're gonna need to learn how to love like me because those things that anger you easily I'm gonna bring it in front of you even more because I'm gonna write I'm gonna bring it up to the surface so you would recognize what it means when you're saying more of me because more of more food more food God is amorphous Holy Spirit is to make you more effective it's not to keep you in your house or kumbaya it's to make you more effective on the earth and to be more effective is to look like him even more to be put and to be confronted by Asians are not waiver so that you know the Bible says how it offends is always gonna come but I believe you can choose to be offended or not thank you Jesus thank you Jesus thank you Jesus there's a gentleman and you're here you're watching if you're here please just stand up you've been finding a hard time because recently you you came you you you were you were in jail for some time and you came out of jail and because of your record you feel like you're finding a hard time to you know find work and different things and the truth is that you've been lying your way to find jobs and God says that then you have an interview coming up and the Lord is showing me that if you're honest he will give it to you that and it's not by your power and it's not by your mind it is by the Holy Spirit and he's saying that if you actually stand in honesty that he would give you that very position that you've been looking for thank you lord family stand with me stand with me thank you Jesus thank you Jesus thank you Jesus thank you Jesus thank you Jesus thank you lord thank you lord in this house thank you if you know you're in this house and you've been struggling with certain things that God is saying no to and you're saying that lord have your way I may not have understood it before but Lord I'm willing to submit I'm willing to surrender I want to know more of who you say I am and what you really have for me if that is you meet me at this altar as we pray and as we close hallelujah Jesus thank you Jesus Vega [Music] [Music] family the house of God is the safest place to be in you never have to be worried about you know looking like that guy of that person because God is a redeemer he's a restorer and anytime he's speaking he wanted beautifully I always believe I'd rather be set free then but then be validated okay I want to be set free by the Lord rather than seeking validation for my peers the house of God is it's a safe place thank you Jesus thank you Jesus family let's just you know just I just want everyone to just close their eyes and worship I believe there's some things that God is gonna work in you and there are things that he's gonna reveal to you for some of you that have been almost very impulsive he's gonna show you slow down slow it down slow it down thank you God thank you God [Music] [Music] [Music] for anyone in this house before as we even pray but even while where you're sitting but if you've ever had a miscarriage or stillbirth I want you to just touch your your womb [Music] [Music] Heavenly Father we thank you we thank you for what you're doing in this house Lord we thank you that it is you completely had your way tonight and you will continue to have your weight we thank you for the healing that is taking place we thank you for restoration that is taking place we thank you for perspectives that are being stood as shifting in the name of Jesus father God we thank you that you are having your way every word that you release tonight Lord God it speaks to the whole room I think you that you have you have already broken addictions in this house in the name of Jesus I thank you Lord that you love us all and Lord God by your Holy Spirit we would be all that you have called us to be there are things that we cannot do in our strength or in our power but Lord God that when we call on your name we know that you will activate the fullness of who we are Lord we say have your way have your way in your house have your way in the lives of each and every one of your children Lord we love you we love you God and may the word and me the worship that broke out for some of your children it broke out in a way that it has never come out of them before I thank you that they will cultivate it and they will be intentional about that secret place with you where they will seek your face Lord God and you will continue to grow them and establish them in who you are and in who you've called them to be we thank you Lord for strength for strength to let go for strength to change our expectations we thank you Lord that we will trust you in new ways that yes we may never have experienced you like that before but we know Lord God that everything that we would ever need is in you and that we would have faith for what we have never seen because we serve a God who is the almighty all-powerful all-knowing most loving most faithful God we thank you and so Lord we just say have your way in this house amen family have you been blessed today [Applause] [Music] you

Channel: ONE | A Potter's House Church

Views: 45,474

Rating: 4.922471 out of 5

Keywords: LA Churches, TPH, The Potters House, TPH LA, The Potters House LA, One LA, Toure Roberts, Sarah Jakes Roberts

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Length: 43min 55sec (2635 seconds)

Published: Fri Jun 28 2019