When God Says No!

Introduction

Good morning. One of my favorite comic strips is about two men who are standing near a ledge, as it turns out, but you don’t quite know that from the first panel. They’re standing at this ledge, as I’m trying to get this computer cord in. And they’re standing on a ledge, and there’s a fence, and it says, God’s commandments. And as they’re looking at the commandments, one friend looks at the other and he says, I’m just not interested in this. This is holding me back. It’s keeping me in. I’m getting tired of this. It’s not what I wanted. It’s not what I planned. And before the other man could speak, the friend went and jumped over the fence, which, as you remember, was on a ledge, and there was no land to catch him.

And what the friend was going to say if he had had just a moment was it’s not just keeping you out, it’s protecting you from the fall. I think when we consider God’s law, sometimes we think of God’s law as some sort of unnecessary restriction. We think of God’s law as something that’s to our detriment rather than that which it is a manifestation of his perfect wisdom. The problem is we don’t always see the full plan. And it’s easy to look at Bible stories where there was great success of someone like a Joseph, who, even when he was in a pit and in jail, he would climb the ladders of success and play a prominent role in forming the Jewish people and allowing them to survive a famine in the land of Egypt.

It’s easy to say God’s plan was best if Joseph had just known. But when it’s my life, when I don’t understand why things are going the way that they are, I’m left with many questions, and most importantly, I’m concerned about when God says no. We’ve all been there a time when you have prayed, not just once, not just twice, maybe three times, even per day, even maybe per hour. God, please help me get through this. Please help my family get through this. Let remove this from me. Let me surpass this, let me overcome this difficulty, this triumph. And the answer continues to be from our perspective, no. I’d encourage you to turn your Bibles with me to 1 Kings chapter 22. I’d like to see an example of when God says no, and as we all know, we should have listened, and in this case, both Israel and Judah should have listened.

It’s frustrating. It’s hard because we don’t see the full picture. We don’t see the full story. And the truth is, obeying God isn’t just about getting great riches, climbing the ladder of success and being as important and powerful as Joseph was. Sometimes it is just like that comic strict for our protection, that God is not allowing what we think is best, what we think is our plan, to come into place. In 1 Kings chapter 22, as the kingdom of Israel of God’s people has divided into the northern ten tribes called Israel and the southern two tribes called Judah. We find them at the brink of war in 1 Kings chapter 22, beginning in verse 1. For three years Syria and Israel continued without war. But in the third year, Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, came down to the king of Israel.

And the king of Israel said to his servants, Do you know that Ramoth Gilead belongs to us? And we keep quiet and do not take it out of the hand of the king of Syria. And he said to Jehoshaphat, will you go with me to battle at Ramoth Gilead? And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses. And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, inquire first for the word of the Lord. Now this was a master stroke. I do appreciate Jehoshaphat, who is king of Judah, the kingdom that actually had a few good kings, stopping to say, before we go into this battle, before we make this major life decision, we just say, What is the Lord’s will on that?

Certainly that’s a good example for us. But in verse 2, excuse me, verse 3, when it talks about the king of Israel, which is also mentioned in verse 2, we’re talking about a king named Ahab. Now, King Ahab was not one of the good guys, and of course, being a king of Israel guaranteed that he was someone who rejected God. But Ahab didn’t just reject God. He was the champion, the gold medal winner of turning his back and turning his nose up to God. King Ahab was the one who, with his wife, that wicked woman named Jezebel, who was there for the showdown, you might say, between Elijah and the prophets of Baal, the one who was in every way a petulant, unhappy king. He was petulant, he was unhappy, he wanted what wasn’t his.

You think of the story with Naboth’s vineyard. You think about the wickedness that he and his wife Jezebel conspired with to do against not only the cause of God, but in raising up the practice of idolatry and what should have been God’s chosen people, even within the northern tribe, the kingdom of Israel should have been a shrine, should have been committed to serving God. And yet he had turned his back on them at every turn. The good news was that the king of Judah, Jehoshaphat, does have a good mindset here. The problem is he doesn’t quite take the reins fully. We saw in the first four verses, we’re considering what in verse 3. Do we go and take this land out of the king of Syria’s grasp?

Do we come to war with the people of Syria? The problem was they didn’t just inquire God’s will. The problem is, Ahab took over. Read with me, continuing in verse 6. Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, about four hundred men, and said to them, Shall I go to battle against Ramoth Gilead, or shall I refrain? And they said, Go up, for the Lord will give it into the hand of the king. But Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here another prophet of the Lord of whom we may inquire? And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man by whom we may inquire of the Lord. Mekaiah, the son of Imlah. But I hate him, for he never prophesies good concerning me, but evil.

And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say so. Then the king of Israel summoned an officer and said, Bring quickly Mekaiah the son of Imlah. Now the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, were sitting on their thrones, arrayed in their robes at the threshing floor at the entrance of the gate of Samaria, and all the prophets were prophesying before them. And Zedekiah, the son of Tenea, made for himself horns of iron and said, Thus says the Lord, with these you shall push the Syrians until they are destroyed. And all the prophets prophesied so and said, Go up to Ramoth Gilead and triumph. The Lord will give it into the hand of the king. Now the good news is in verse 5, King Jehoshaphat has said, We want to know what is the Lord’s will on this matter.

The problem was in verse 6, who did King Ahab consult? It was about four hundred men. This is a pretty thorough examination, wouldn’t you say? About four hundred men came and prophesied, and what was their what was their prophecy? Two times it stated, you see it clearly at the end of verse twelve, the Lord will give it into the hand of the king. Now that’s a little bit vague to be honest. But Zedekiah does double down to make it clear in verse 11 when he says, Thus says the Lord, with these you shall push the Syrians until they are destroyed. The about four hundred prophets, I might just say four hundred, just know it the actual term is about four hundred prophets. As they prophesy before the two kings, the king of Israel and the king of Judah, they say, You go to battle, you’re going to win this war.

But there’s something interesting about that. I, for one, would be convinced if 400 men I held to be prophets came to me and said, God has said, Go, you will win. God has said, go, you will win. God has said, go, you will win. Over and over again, if they all are in agreement, I would feel pretty strong about that. And yet in verse 7, Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, the one who’s not the wicked, not the gold medal winner of wickedness, not Ahab. This is Jehosaphat, the king of Judah, says, Is there not here another prophet of the Lord of whom we may inquire? Makes you think Jehoshaphat knew something about these prophets. In fact, we’re going to see something about them as we continue the reading.

But note, first of all, the description of Ahab, the king of Israel, in verse 8. Yeah, there is one man by whom we may inquire of the Lord, Mekah, the son of Imlah, but I hate him. Why does King Ahab hate him? Why does this king of Israel, king of God’s chosen people, hate this prophet of the Lord? Well, because he never prophesies good concerning me, but evil. Pretty easy to look at Ahab and see some of the petulance there. It’s easy to say, Well, maybe if you started obeying God, maybe if you submitted to the Lord your God, the prophet of the Lord would prophesy some good concerning you. But Ahab wasn’t worried about that. Ahab said, He doesn’t work with me, he doesn’t share my vision, he must hate me.

I don’t like asking him. And nonetheless, they summoned for him. And in verse 13, we see that’s where the story continues. And in verse 13, the messenger who went to summon Micaiah said to him, Behold, the words of the prophets with one accord are favorable to the king. Let your word be like one of them and speak favorably. But Micaiah said, As the Lord lives, what the Lord says to me, that I will speak. Already they’re trying to buy us the sample. They have this Micaiah, who King Ahab knows is just going to prophesy against me. That’s what he lives to do to make my life miserable. One of those prophets comes forward and says, Just make it favorable to the king. Just say what he wants to hear.

But Mekai’s attitude is solid, and perhaps the tagline from the lesson this morning, as the Lord lives, what the Lord says to me, that I will speak. Well, verse 15, the story continues, and we had come to the king, the king said to Mekaiah, shall we go to Ramoth Gilead to battle, or shall we refrain? And he answered him, Go up and triumph. The Lord will give it into the hand of the king. But the king said to him, How many times shall I make you swear that you speak to me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord? And he said, I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains as sheep that have no shepherd. And the Lord said, These have no master, let each return to his home in peace.

And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, Did I not tell you that he would not prophesy good concerning me, but evil? And Mekaiah said, Therefore hear the word of the Lord. I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, and all the hosts of heaven standing beside him on his right hand and on his left. And the Lord said, Who will entice Ahab that he may go up and fall at Ramoth Gilead? And one said one thing, and another said another. Then the spirit came forward and stood before the Lord, saying, I will entice him. And the Lord said to him, By what means? And he said, I will go out and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, You are to entice him and you shall succeed.

Go out and do so. Now therefore, behold, the Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all of these your prophets. The Lord has declared disaster for you. Then Zedekiah the son of Chenea came near and struck Mekai on the cheek and said, How did the Spirit of the Lord go from me to speak to you? And Mekaiah said, Behold, you shall see on that day when you go into an inner chamber to hide yourself. And the king of Israel said, Seize Mekah and take him back to Amon, the governor of the city, and to Joash the king’s son, and say, Thus says the king, put this fellow in prison and feed him meager rations of bread and water until I come in peace.

And Mekaiah said, If you return in peace, the Lord has not spoken by me. And he said, Hear, all you peoples. So, of course, Mekal was warned in verse 13, just speak favorably to the king, and as he promised he would in verse 14, he spoke as the Lord had spoken. And of course, that message elicited two pretty strong responses. You see, first of all, what did Zedekiah the prophet do? He struck him, he said, How can you be getting this prophecy when I’m getting mine that says the very opposite? That says something that’s different. But Mekah didn’t just lose from Zedekiah the prophet, he lost in the eyes of Ahab. In verse 26, the king of Israel said, Seize Mekah, take him back to Ammon, the governor of the city, and Joash the king’s son, and say thus, thus says the king, put this fellow in prison.

Mekaiah was imprisoned because he was consulted, because he was summoned to say, Should we be doing this, should we go to war? Mekaiah inquires of the Lord, gets that the answer is no, you will be defeated if and when you go. And in response for giving them exactly what they were seeking, that is the counsel, the wisdom, the advice of God. He struck, thrown in prison, and fed meager rations. Of course, it’s no surprise, we don’t need to read the full story, but in verses 29 through 40, guess exactly what happens. We’ll read the first several verses here. So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, went up to Ramoth Gilead. And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, I will disguise myself and go into battle, but you wear your robes.

And the king of Israel disguised himself and went into battle. Now the king of Syria had commanded the thirty-two captains of his chariots, fight with neither small nor great, but only with the king of Israel. And when the captains of the chariot saw Jehoshaphat, they said, It is surely the king of Israel. So they turned to fight against him, and Jehoshaphat cried out. And when the captains of the chariot saw that it was not the king of Israel, they turned back from pursuing him. But a certain man drew his bow at random and struck the king of Israel between the scale armor and the breastplate. Therefore he said to the driver of his chariot, Turn around and carry me out of the battle, for I am wounded.

And the battle continued that day, and the king was propped up in his chariot facing the Syrians until at evening he died, and the blood of the wound flowed into the bottom of the chariot. And at about sunset a cry went through the army, every man to his city, every man to his country. So the king died and was brought to Samaria, and they buried the king in Samaria. It’s powerful to see verses 38 through 40, but for our lesson today and for time’s sake, we won’t see that that is an answered prophecy of God that was made towards at for Ahab, that this exactly would come to pass, and we see it fulfilled in verses 38 through 40. But if you consider the way this went, this is a pretty stark turn from verse 5.

It’s one thing to consider going to war with Syria to reclaim land, to grab land. It’s a great thing to say, what is the Lord’s will on this? To say, God, please help us. Let us know. Just help me understand. Is this your will for my life? The problem with Ahab was what? He didn’t want to hear no. He only wanted to hear God’s will, and so far as it meant, go ahead and go, you’ll have the victory. He only wanted to know God’s will as long as it prospered him in his life. He wanted to know God’s will as long as it meant he would win, that he would be victorious. And when he consulted that prophet, who he knew would disagree with them, and Micaiah says, This is going to be a disaster.

They ignored him. They went into battle, and a disaster it was. Ahab is killed, and the army is left to flee. Every man to a city, verse 36, every man to his country. There’s a bunch of lessons that we could learn from here. Obviously, Ahab and Jehosaphat should have listened to the advice of the true prophet of God. Obviously, if we had hindsight, we’d say, no, don’t go to battle. Just trust the word of the Lord. But the truth is, Ahab’s really not that different from us in a couple ways. Can I outline a few of those? One of those being we kind of want to know what God’s will is, unless or until it disagrees. Then all of a sudden we think, well, that can’t be truly his will, right?

We don’t know. That can’t be exactly what he wants. Certainly God doesn’t want this for me, or certainly God does want me to be prosperous in this way or that. Or maybe we’re like Ahab, where we just say, you know what? Anytime I read the will of God, anytime the elders, the preacher, the deacons, those Christians who live next door, anytime they come talk to me, they’re always telling me not to do something. They’re always warning me that I might fall away. They always have bad news. The truth is, when we take that obvious point, we realize it wasn’t Makaiah being mean to Ahab. Mekaiah just simply spoke what the word of the Lord is. He echoed the refrain of verse 14 As the Lord lives, what the Lord says to me, that I will speak.

1. Do Not Be Deceived by the Yes Men

Certainly that needs to be our attitude. That would be an important lesson to learn from this text as well. No matter what God says, we need to teach truth and live truth alone. Don’t trust man, don’t trust anything except God’s will. Submit to him, and God will accept you. But this lesson is titled, When God Answers no for a reason, I want to go through a few different things we can learn from this to say what should we do when God says no? Perhaps we’re like Paul with that thorn in our flesh that we’re trying to debate and consider, will God please just remove this from me? Do I really have to suffer through this? Consider, first of all, we need to not be deceived by the yes men.

Can we talk about those about 400 prophets of Baal for a moment this morning? When we see that about 400 men, 400 prophets are gathered before the kings of Israel and Judah in verse 6 and 7, and they say, Go to battle, it’ll be in the hands of the king. We’re kind of left wondering, what does that mean about them? It’s not just that 1 Kings 22, verses 6 and 13 makes the point that they were wrong, but consider the words of their prophecy a little bit more closely. As you’re looking at verse 6 and in verse 13, consider exactly what their prophecy was. Go up, for the Lord will give it into the hand of the king. Verse 12, excuse me. Go up, and the Lord will give it into the hand of the king.

Now it’s specified from Zedekiah that they would win, but really in its vague form, we see that they were really kind of hedging their bets. What type of spirit were they receiving? Well, that’s where we get into the middle of the text, and we see a warning that there are people, there are teachers, there are people who claim to be prophets, maybe who do even teach truth, who know some good things, who know how to rightly divide the word of truth, at least in a few different areas, who teach us some good ideas. But God certainly warns against us time and again, trusting in man’s judgment. Can I show you something frightening in 2 Thessalonians chapter 2? Turn with me to 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 and tell me if this doesn’t sound a little bit familiar to our text this morning.

In 2 Thessalonians chapter 2, read with me in verse 11. In 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 and verse 11. As you consider this group that’s spoken of, in verse 11, Paul writes, Therefore God sends them a strong delusion. Who is this? Those in verse 10 who refused to love the truth, who refused to be saved. In verse 11, therefore God sends them a strong delusion so that they may believe what is false. In order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. This is a little bit of an uncomfortable story in 1 Kings 22, and really a bit of an uncomfortable passage in 2 Thessalonians chapter 2. What does it mean that God allowed a spirit to go and lie to the prophets of the king of Israel of Ahab?

What does it mean in verse 11 that God sends those who reject the truth a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false and be condemned for it? Might it be that when we when we want to know something or we want to live a certain way, that we reach a point where we’re just going to do whatever we want regardless of what God has said. And maybe we’re going to be a lot like Ahab, and we’re going to gather these prophets who are going to have the attitude of Zedekiah, the messenger, excuse me, who comes to Micaiah and says, just tell the king what he wants. Give a favorable report. What did Ahab know about Micaiah before he even showed up? This guy just always prophesies evil towards me.

He hates me. It’s easy to find people who agree with us. But maybe this picture of God sending a strong delusion is not altogether different from Romans chapter 1. If you’ll turn there with me to see this, in Romans chapter 1 and verses 24, in verse 26, and in verse 28, we see time and again this idea of God’s role and a sinner rebelling against him. In Romans chapter 1 and verse 24, note the language. Therefore God gave them up in the lust of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the creator who is blessed forever. Amen. Verse 26, for this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions, verse 28.

And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. You see in verse 24, God gave them up. Verse 26, God gave them up. Verse 28, God gave them up. Does that mean God condemned them? God certainly condemned their actions. But who was in charge of this rebellion against God?

And worshiped and served the creature rather than the creator. Who is this in verse 26? As those who gave up their natural, dishonorable relations for those which were dishonorable, the natural for the dishonorable, those which are contrary to nature. In verse 28, God gave them over to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. When God says no, can I make a tender plea this morning? Don’t just go on the internet. Don’t just find the church that agrees with you. Search the word. What does God say? If God is telling you not to do something, if God is instructing you to do something, there is a reason for it. Even if we wanted to pretend that wasn’t true, we will be judged in how we do what?

Keep the word of the Lord. If heaven is worth it all, if pleasing God is worth our every moment in this life, don’t just find people who agree with you. There will always be people who agree with you. It will be easy to find even 400 men, 400 authors, 400 Google hits that agree with you. But God’s opinion and God’s law is not changed by the opinions of men. It was just Micaiah who said, do not do that. You will be destroyed. And yet, what came to pass? They were destroyed. King Ahab died, and the army had to retreat. It doesn’t matter who’s saying what, how popular they are, or how many people say it, we need to not be deceived by people who disagree with us.

2. God Knows What Is Best

But consider also, we need to realize that God knows what is best. That’s a very obvious point. But in 1 Kings chapter 22, and in verse 17, as Micaiah is giving this vision, he says in verse 17, I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains as sheep that have no shepherd. And the Lord said, These have no master. Let each return to his home in peace. Don’t go to war. This is going to be a disaster. You will be scattered. You will be defeated. And as we know, that’s exactly what came to pass. And the truth is we can read the story and we can know that. We can say, of course, we need to do what God said. Of course, Ahab, that evil, wicked man, would reject the prophet of the Lord.

Of course, he should have just believed what God said would come to pass. But what about my prayers? What about when I’m praying to be relieved of some sort of physical problem? When I’m trying to be relieved of some sort of mental struggle, emotional hurdle, spiritual difficulty. Where is God then? Why is he saying no to me? If I have those questions which are natural, which can and should be examined, can I say that my faith is complete if I don’t conclude that my God knows what is best? In Romans 8, Romans chapter 8 and verse 28 comes one of the most famous passages in the New Testament. And of course, we’ll study what the intents of that is and what it means. But in Romans chapter 8, and in verse 28, and we’ll continue reading as we go from there.

In Romans 8 and verse 28, and we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good. For those who are called according to his purpose, and we say, There it is. You do what God said, He’s going to take care of you. You know what this verse does not say? Everybody who just says something to God is going to be rich, wealthy, and live a carefree, cancer free life. That’s not what this says. In Romans 8 and verse 28, a very important first phrase, and we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good. What does that mean? Perhaps we see a little bit more at the end of this chapter in verses 36 on down, as it is written, For your sake, we are being killed all the day long.

We are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered. That can’t be the good. What does it mean in verse 37? No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus, our Lord. God has promised what is best for us, who love God, that we will be enveloped in his love. That is the victory. Nothing here. It’s about being with God. We have to know that. We have to believe that because when I struggle, when I don’t know why God would afflict my family like this, when I don’t know why my uncle would be diagnosed with cancer, when I don’t understand why my life is going so awry, why my life is hard, why I lost my job, why I’m sick, I realize that it’s not about this life.

In verse 36, there was this terrible thing going on. For your sake, we are being killed. We are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered. In verse 37 and 38, what is the victory? We are going to be more than conquerors through him who loved us. Yes, we’re going to trust God. What is that victory? Nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus, our Lord. The victory is in Christ. And that victory that God offers is spiritual. It’s not carnal. We have to get out of this mindset. It’s obvious to look at Ahab and say, you should have listened to Micaiah. But the truth is, Ahab was consumed with what? Ahab was consumed with Ahab. And when I struggle in my faith with God, it’s because I’m struggling, because I want God to agree with me, not me make my life right with God.

We may not think that. We may not ever say that. But somewhere in the back of our minds, we know that when we say, Why would God do this to me? If we don’t have the trust that God’s will is best for our life, if we don’t truly know and have the faith and the love of God that knows that we will be more than conquerors through him who loved us, then can we say that we are truly devoted to him? Can we say that we truly do live like God is best? Because if we don’t, we’re allowing myself, my vision, my thought for how my life should go to dominate my life and so pull me away from the love of God that I so desperately need.

Consider there are a few answers from God as you turn to James chapter one with me. Consider that sometimes God does actually have us experience trials. That it is possible in this life that our decisions will actually, through tough times, lead to a better benefit. It’s not cut and dry, it’s not just do God’s will and you’ll be rich and famous, don’t do God’s will and you’ll be poor and broke. It’s not like that. God promises us spiritual blessings. But what about when God says no to my plea to remove a temptation, to remove a trial? James chapter 1 and verse 2, count it all joy, my brothers. When you meet trials of various kinds, count it all joy? When I encounter various trials, are you kidding me?

Verse 3. For you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. Our God’s way is best. Not just because of his laws, not just because we read in the Bible of all the examples of where it is, but because even through struggles, what can happen? Even through trials, what can happen? In verse 3, the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. It’s hard to say why does God allow things to happen? Why doesn’t God just take them away? Why didn’t God remove whatever it was that was Paul’s thorn from his flesh? Why didn’t he just do that? We can take comfort in knowing there’s a few answers. First of all, there may be something better.

But it may just be that we need to go through something that will allow us to grow. You know, the quickest way to get stuck in traffic is to pray for patience. Because God will teach you. As we think about those different trials in life, as we think about the struggles that we may have that aren’t as simple or funny as traffic and patience. We realize that even when it comes to illness, even when it comes to spiritual struggle, that we need to consult what is the true word of God. And when we consult the true word of God, what do we learn about our God? Our God always keeps his promises. Our God cannot lie. We know that God’s way is best. His ways are higher than our ways.

3. Never Compromise His Will

His thoughts are higher than our thoughts. And we know that if we trust in God, to those that love God, all things will work together for good. That doesn’t mean a new job. That doesn’t mean a perfect bill of health. It means we can be with our Creator forever. That’s a powerful blessing this morning. Consider one final point with me. We need to never compromise his will. I’ve said it once, I’ve said it twice. I’ll say it yet even again. Verse 14 shines as something that could go in our refrigerator, go on that bumper sticker. Verse 14 of 1 Kings chapter 22, Micaiah says, As the Lord lives, what the Lord says to me, I will speak. We need to never compromise his will. The truth is sometimes what we do is we say, okay, I know God’s will is best, but maybe if I do these things, God will make it work out for me.

We don’t like giving up what? Control of our lives. Because it’s hard to trust. It’s hard to have true faith. That means there is no compromise. It is complete, undiluted faith and love and trust in our great God. Turn with me to Psalm 119. In Psalm 119, consider just the first eight verses with me. I know some of you may have been worried. Psalm 119, read the first eight verses with me. Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the way of the Lord, verse 1. Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart, who also do no wrong but walk in his ways. You have commanded your precepts to be kept diligently, oh that my ways may be steadfast in keeping your statutes.

Then I shall not be put to shame, having my eyes fixed on all your commandments. I will praise you with an upright heart when I learn your righteous rules. I will keep your statutes. Do not utterly forsake me. This is a complete submission to God’s will. Blessed are those whose way is blameless, verse 1, who walk in the way of the Lord. The way of the Lord is best, the way of the Lord is right, and blessed are those who walk in it. We need to trust that God’s way is best, that it’s not just about keeping us back, it’s not about going through hard times just to mess with us or to make things difficult. But we need to know there is light at the end of the tunnel, and it may not be here and now.

I would love to preach a message this morning that says, you know what? If you believe in God, he’s going to give you that great job, he’s going to give you that great paycheck, he’s going to give you that great health. Everyone’s going to be healed. Everyone’s going to make lots of money, and it’ll be great. Just say a prayer to God for riches, and he’ll deliver. But the truth is if you pray to God and you trust in him, there are riches beyond our imagination. Not in terms of income or money, but in terms of being with our God. Blessed are those, verse 2, who keep his testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart, who do no wrong but walk in his ways. When God says no, it’s tough for us to decide what to do, how to think, how to be, because we don’t have the full plan.

Conclusion

But can I sell you on one idea as we close this morning? We do have the whole plan. We saw how the world was created. Genesis chapter 1 and verse 1. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. We know what is going to happen, what happens at the end of this life. We will be judged. We will be held accountable for our actions, for our very thoughts. Have we committed our whole hearts to God or not? We know that victory awaits those who do. We know the beginning. We know the end. And we know the God who is eternal and who has made us with the soul that we might seek him, that we may find him, that we may walk in his pathways.

Will I simply trust and obey? When God says no, will I trust that he truly knows best? That doesn’t mean it’ll be easy. It doesn’t mean that it will be any simpler. But we can know one thing: that where my God is, there my heart should be also. Because that is where our treasure is. Our treasure is in heaven, if our heart is with God. Will you trust in him this morning? Consider that when God answers no, is not often that we think of it as a complete no. Sometimes it’s a wait. Sometimes it might be that we don’t understand. And the good news this morning is you don’t need to wait. God has answered yes, if you’re considering, can I be saved? Can I be washed of my sins?

The truth is you can be. As someone who’s never partaken of the sacrifice of Christ, if you believe in him, if you confess that Jesus is the Christ, make him Lord in your life, repent of your wrong, turn from a life of rebellion against God, and submit to his ways, you can be baptized into the death, burial, and be raised in the likeness of the resurrection of Jesus, having your sins forgiven, being put into the body of Christ as a powerful blessing of God. Walk in his ways this morning if you have thus far rejected him. Be baptized, becoming a Christian. Or maybe you’re a Christian who’s kind of turned your back. God has maybe answered no a couple times, or maybe you’ve compromised some of your will with some of God’s will.

You can be forgiven. Our God is faithful. Our God is just to cleanse us of our unrighteousness. If you’ll simply confess your sins this morning. If we can help you in any way, we can pray with you, we can pray for you, we can reason with you as the Lord has spoken that which we shall speak. If we can help you in any way, come forward now as we stand and sing the invitation song.