I made a statement last week in the message that I want to repeat this morning … “Sometimes, God says no.” And what I want to do this morning is give us a couple of the many examples of God saying no.
Moses’… It was Moses hearts’ desire to go into the Promised Land but because he didn’t follow God’s directions in one incidence, God said no…
Deuteronomy 34:1-4 (NKJV)
1 Then Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which is across from Jericho. And the Lord showed him all the land of Gilead as far as Dan,
2 all Naphtali and the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the Western Sea,
3 the South, and the plain of the Valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees, as far as Zoar.
4 Then the Lord said to him, "This is the land of which I swore to give Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, ’I will give it to your descendants.’ I have caused you to see it with your eyes, but you shall not cross over there."
God said no to Moses. One of the godliest men to ever live on this earth received a “no” from God. And regardless of the reason, God still said… no. Joshua had this to say about Moses…
Deuteronomy 34:10-12 (NKJV)
10 But since then there has not arisen in Israel a prophet like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face,
11 in all the signs and wonders which the Lord sent him to do in the land of Egypt, before Pharaoh, before all his servants, and in all his land,
12 and by all that mighty power and all the great terror which Moses performed in the sight of all Israel.
What a mighty man of God… and yet as much as God loved Moses and worked through Moses, He wouldn’t allow him to go into the Promised Land. And the reason was because Moses, in a moment of anger, forgot to give God glory and honor and in doing so missed out on the promise of God. There are others in the O.T. that God said no to like David when he wanted to build a temple for God, and Jonah when he wanted to go down to Tarshish instead of Nineveh, and Gideon when he wanted to pass the buck onto someone else. But I want us to look at a story in the N.T. in Mark 5 involving a man whose life drastically needed a change…
Jesus and the disciples had been out on the Sea of Galilee. They had just come through a horrific storm where they had to wake Jesus up from a long needed rest to rebuke the wind and the waves. And as the storm clears out they find themselves coming ashore in the Gadarenes…
Mark 5:1-20 (NKJV)
1 Then they came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gadarenes.
2 And when He had come out of the boat, immediately there met Him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit,
3 who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no one could bind him, not even with chains,
4 because he had often been bound with shackles and chains. And the chains had been pulled apart by him, and the shackles broken in pieces; neither could anyone tame him.
5 And always, night and day, he was in the mountains and in the tombs, crying out and cutting himself with stones.
6 When he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and worshiped Him.
7 And he cried out with a loud voice and said, "What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God that You do not torment me."
8 For He said to him, "Come out of the man, unclean spirit!"
9 Then He asked him, "What is your name?" And he answered, saying, "My name is Legion; for we are many."
10 Also he begged Him earnestly that He would not send them out of the country. Notice the demons desire was to stay in the same area and so they petitioned Jesus, they prayed to Him.
11 Now a large herd of swine was feeding there near the mountains.
12 So all the demons begged Him, saying, "Send us to the swine, that we may enter them." Notice they desired to go into the swine and again petitioned Jesus to grant them their request.
13 And at once Jesus gave them permission (He answered their prayer with a yes). Then the unclean spirits went out and entered the swine (there were about two thousand); and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the sea, and drowned in the sea.
Notice that the answer they desired brought about their demise. Their fear was to be without a body because an evil spirit without a body to possess roams the earth in search of one. So God answered their prayer with a yes knowing what was going to take place.
14 So those who fed the swine fled, and they told it in the city and in the country. And they went out to see what it was that had happened.
15 Then they came to Jesus, and saw the one who had been demon-possessed and had the legion, sitting and clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid.
16 And those who saw it told them how it happened to him who had been demon-possessed, and about the swine.
17 Then they began to plead with Him to depart from their region.
Notice again that they asked Jesus to leave, they petitioned Him to leave their country. And guess what, He did. He answered their prayer with a yes. So He answered with a yes to the demons and He answered with a yes to the unbelievers.
18 And when He got into the boat, he who had been demon-possessed begged Him that he might be with Him.
The one whom Jesus had delivered now has a petition. This man had been tormented for years. He had been living in the tombs of the island, running around naked and mindless, tormented by a horde of demons day in and day out. And for the first time he sees clearly, he thinks clearly, he’s healed, he’s clothed, and he’s in his right mind.
And now the One who has healed him is leaving the island, so what is his natural response… It says that he, just like the demons and the unbelievers, begged Jesus. “I want to go with you.” “Don’t leave me now; I’ve just gotten straightened out.” “I’ve been waiting for this day Lord.” “No one else could help me; what am I supposed to do now?” “Please let me get in the boat and go with You.” He petitions the Lord for a yes and looking at it from the natural eyes we assume that Jesus would say… “Get on board, there’s plenty of room.” I mean, He’s been answering everybody else’s prayers surely He’s going to give the thumbs up for this new convert.
19 However, Jesus did not permit him
Now wait a minute… Jesus said yes to the demons and yes to the unbelievers but no to a new convert. Here is why I love this story… because it shows the sovereignty of God and it gives us a glimpse into the mysterious ways of God. When He said yes to the demons concerning the pigs, He knew what a “yes” would bring about. He knew those pigs would run down the hill and kill themselves causing a stir on the island because that was their main source of income.
He knew that the whole island would show up to see what had happened which also meant that they would be exposed to the Good News of Messiah and understand that Light has shined in the darkness of the Gadarenes. When He answered yes to the unbelievers concerning leaving the island He knew what “Yes” would bring about. He knew that they were rejecting Him. But He also knew that a seed had been planted in their hearts. They had seen something and heard something that would gnaw at their conscience till the day they died. He didn’t mind answering yes to them because it was a part of His plan. And when he said “no” to the new convert it was also a part of His plan...
19… but said to him, "Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you."
When He said yes to the unbelievers He already knew that He was going to say no to the believer. Yes I will get in this boat and leave your island. Yes I will answer that prayer. But here’s what you don’t understand… I have a plan with every answer I give and you might deny Me but what you cannot do is deny what I’ve done. I have touched somebody’s life. I have brought them out of darkness into the marvelous light. I have proved my authority over the demons of hell. This man was naked and now he’s clothed. This man was out of his mind and now he has a sound mind. Yes I’m going to leave but he’s going to stay.
But in order for him to stay Jesus had to tell him… no, you cannot come with me because I have another plan for you. Here’s what it boils down to… will you trust Him when He says no? I’m sure this man was heartbroken when Jesus said no. I’m sure he was confused. I would say that his first reaction was probably a feeling of rejection. He might have thought to himself… You mean You can save my soul and You can deliver me from the demons and you can give me a right mind but you can’t let me come with you? It doesn’t matter what he thought or what he felt… the answer had been given… no, you cannot come. But here’s what you can do… trust Me, because I have a plan. Can I tell you something… when God says no… it doesn’t mean that it’s the end of the road. What it means is this is not the road He wants you to take. The road you want to take is not going to get the job done because it’s not a part of the plan. The answer you want is not going to bring your God given destiny to pass because it’s not a part of the plan. He loves us and because He loves us sometimes He has to say no because it doesn’t line up with His purpose in our lives. We have to remember why He saved us. He saved us so that He can work through us.
John 15:16 (NKJV)
16 You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit…
He didn’t save us so that we could live comfortable lives without any difficulties. If that was the truth we wouldn’t have the story of the widow with two mites and a beggar named Lazarus. If that was the truth we wouldn’t have Godly men and women in this world living without food, water and shelter. If salvation meant that all of our problems were done away with at the cross Paul would have never told us about all of the problems he had been through since coming to the cross. Instead he said…
2 Corinthians 11:24-28 (NKJV)
24 From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one. (That means he had almost two hundred scars across his back since becoming a Christian.)
25 Three times I was beaten with rods (there’s more scars); once I was stoned (there’s more scars); three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep;
26 in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren;
27 in weariness and toil (pain, because of everything his body had been through, more than likely he lived in pain), in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness--
Paul was physically and emotionally a wore out individual, but he kept on going.
But then Paul goes on to say… that’s not all…
2 Corinthians 12:7-10 (NKJV)
7 And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations (that God had given him concerning the Kingdom of God), a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet (Beat with a fist) me, lest I be exalted above measure.
8 Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me.
9 And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness."
God didn’t answer him the first time and He didn’t answer him the second time. But the third time Paul prayed about it God gave him an answer. And the answer was… no, Paul I’m not delivering you from this. But what I am going to do is teach you how to rely on My strength instead of your own. You’re going to climb mountains that you don’t physically or emotionally have the strength to climb. And you’re going to walk through valleys that you don’t physically or emotionally have the strength to walk through. And you’re going to fight battles that you don’t physically or emotionally have the strength to fight. You’re going to face difficulties that could never be faced in your physical strength but because of My grace upon you you’re going to make it through. No Paul, I’m not going to give you the easy way out because if you go down that path you’ll never accomplish the goals that I’ve set for you to accomplish.
So how did Paul handle God’s “no” to his request? By saying these words…
Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
He determined within himself to bow down to the will of God and in doing so he received the grace to live out the plan of God in his life.
** The Lord has more need of our weakness than of our strength: our strength is often His rival; our weakness, His servant, drawing on His resources, and showing forth His glory. Man’s extremity is God’s opportunity; man’s security is Satan’s opportunity. God’s way is not to take His children out of trial, but to give them strength to bear up against it —Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
After Jesus told the delivered man of the Gadarenes no… He looked at him and said… what I want you to do is take what I’ve done in your life and go tell your family, and tell your friends and tell everyone you come across what the Lord has done for you.
20 And he departed and began to proclaim in Decapolis all that Jesus had done for him; and all marveled.
And history tells us that a great revival broke out. In Matthew 4:25 Great multitudes followed Him--from Galilee, and from Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan. This only came about because this man responded to the Lord’s “no” by trusting and believing that God’s answer was to help him and not harm him.
Jeremiah 29:11 (NKJV)
11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.
