John Gray - The Other Side Of No
I'm gonna go to Isaiah 38. Travel with me real quick. First verse, "In those days Hezekiah was sick and near death". This was a good king, good man, served God. "And Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz went to him and said to him, 'thus says the Lord, set your house in order for you shall die and not live'". Boy, that's no fun. It's one thing to get a doctor's report, you can believe God. It's another when the word came from God. Hey, God how you doing? I'm good, I'm gon' see you in a minute. No, nah I wanna be down here. No, nah you're coming up here. Wasn't God nice about it though? He said set your house in order. Isn't that sweet?
Hey, make sure that insurance is paid up 'cause you are outta here! I ain't even gon' tell you how, you just gon' be nervous all day, just take me, don't tell me! Peek-a-boo, I'm just playing you got a few more minutes. Go ahead. He says, to Hezekiah, get you're not recovering from this. "Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and he prayed to the Lord and said, 'remember now o Lord I pray how I have walked before you in truth with a loyal heart and have done what is good in your sight'", truth, loyal heart, and did what was good in your sight. "And he wept bitterly".
I want you to know, the first thing that Hezekiah got was a reminder of what he had done in serving the Lord and it wasn't pride, he just wanted to let God know hey I've been serving you, please don't I just need a little more life. I need to be satisfied with my life. God promised that he will allow his saints to live a full life, to die satisfied in their years. Hezekiah turned his face to the wall which means he turned out the prophet, he turned away from the sickness, he turned his face to the wall.
What some of you need to do who have been hearing no, and the people who keep saying no and reinforcing no, is you need to turn your face to the wall and turn away from the voices and the people and the situation. And when you turn your face to the wall, it was symbolic of him saying, God I don't care what I heard from the prophet, I don't care how my body feels, it's me and you right now. And a lot of believers get distracted in this season. Do not get distracted in this season by your circumstance. Your circumstance is a set-up. God actually put you in the circumstance to see if you knew enough about him to know he wouldn't leave you here like this.
I think somebody caught that in their heart. I want to encourage you again, if I can repeat that. There are people in this room that you are in the middle of something that hurts, it feels like it's breaking you and it seems as if God is nowhere to be found. I want you to know it's not the devil, that's God. He placed you there to show you who he is in a greater way. God I'm praying for a child, the child won't act right. I know, keep praying. But aren't you, keep praying. But God my husband, he's not doing right, keep praying. My wife, she's trippin', keep praying. This job, I'm searching but everybody's saying no. That's all right, keep praying, keep believing.
How come these people are hating on me? How come they're whispering behind my back? How come nobody wants to encourage me? Because sometimes you need to learn to encourage your own soul. You need to understand what the anointing that's on your life right now, everybody's not gon' be your cheerleader. So you need to cheer yourself. You need to get yourself hyped. You need to hype yourself, you need to pound yourself, you need to dap yourself. I'm fearfully and wonderfully made. Greater is he that's in me than he that is in the world. I'm the head and not the tail. I'm above and not beneath. I am the lender, not the borrower. I got more than enough, hey!
This is a season for you to encourage yourself. When you hear a no, declare God's yes. He wept and while he was crying, 'cause Isaiah was a real prophet. He ain't like today's prophets. Today's prophets, you see prophets on tv, everything is good news. I want you to know right now, I'm gon' tell you right now I got this miracle water, I'm gon' send it right to your house and you sprinkle it on your bills, I'm gon' tell you what. Bill collector, he'll quit calling. Imma tell ya that right now. I'll tell you what, if you just dial in right now you get two miracle bottles for the price of one miracle bottle, imma tell ya that right now.
Brother Rusty, he's gon' sing a song and while that song's going you get to that phone right now. I come to the garden alone while the dew you better get your miracle water right now, I'm gon' tell you what right now you better come get. I want you to know that you already have the miracle water, it's the living water, it's the Word of God found in Jesus Christ and what he spoke in the word is what you can repeat in the earth. It's time for you to become a repeater of the word.
So this man said I was loyal, I've served you and I did what was right and then he cried. Isaiah had already said, hey man you gon' die. I'll talk to you later or maybe not. He was already half way out the door and the word of the Lord came to Isaiah he said, turn around. I want you to know tonight Marks the turnaround. I've been trying to teach but I feel the preach on me. I want you to know you got the bad news, but before the prophet could get out, God said turn around. I don't know what you've heard, I don't know what they've said, I don't know your situation, I don't know what your bank account looks like, I don't know where your marriage is, I don't know where your relationship is, I don't know what's going on in your career, I don't know what's going on in your mind, but I want you to know that tonight the turnaround has made it to your house! The turnaround has made it to your house.
I know it's crazy. Some of y'all, I would encourage, just it's a faith move. Sometimes God tell the people to March around the wall seven times. But tonight, and don't feel obligated. Because even if you're seated the turnaround is still here. I want you to know that. Be encouraged. Wherever you are in your walk, I want to celebrate every person. Whether this is your first time, or you've been coming here for years and you're saying, do I have to do what they just did 'cause that's weird. Don't, no, no, no. This didn't change anything. That was for us to declare I agree with God. But what God said, it's gon' happen whether you, it's gon' happen!
So since it's gon' happen, let me get in agreement with it! The turnaround is tonight! And since there's a turnaround, I'm gon' go head and turn up! Since he turned it around, I'm gon' turn it up! I'm not gon' keep my mouth closed. I'm gonna bless the Lord at all times and his praise shall continually be in my mouth! My soul shall boast in the Lord. The humble shall hear of it and declare! Something's breaking out over there, I don't know what's going on. And something's breaking out in your home.
I want you to know, people of God that God is determined to bless you. He is determined to go beyond your need. He is determined to break you out of debt! He's determined to heal your body! He's determined to restore your marriage! He's determined to fight for your children! He's determined to give you the dream that's been in your heart! Oh yes he is! Our God is great and greatly to be praised! Our God is good and he is loving and he is kind. The other side of no is an opportunity to trust, to stretch, to believe. Please, God help me in here right now.
Luke 8, I gotta keep it together, Luke 8:40. I want you to know sometimes no is a set-up and every time Jesus said no or every time there was a no, Jesus was right there in the midst to see what the people would do. Notice that every time he healed, he didn't say hey, I did that. Man, how about my power? He would always say, be it unto you according to your faith. Your faith has made you whole. Your faith has made you well. Oh woman, great is your faith. Because if you have faith, I got full. So great is my faith-full-ness! He's got faithfulness but you've gotta add the faith to his fullness!
If he's got the fullness, I've gotta add the faith so I can declare his faith-full-ness! But I can't declare his faith-full-ness unless I come to him with emptiness. Prideful people don't get breakthrough in uh-uh, this is not the season for the boastful to show up like, yeah I'm in the building. No God's like, he's looking for the people like the syrophoenician woman. Listen, not only do I not know who you are, I don't even go to synagogue. I'm not a Jew, we don't even get along but I don't care! I'm so desperate for my daughter to get delivered, you can say whatever you want to me, but I'm not leaving until you bless me!
Anybody else like that woman? I don't know all the scripture, I don't know the right things to say, I don't know how to pray but I bet you this, I'm not leaving until I see the turnaround. It's turning around, it's turning around. On the other side of no is a turnaround. I love it. It's not a revolving door. Uh-uh, no, no, no. You're not gon' end up back here next year, he said I was suppose to be on the other side of no. I'm still getting no. No, you're not. This is the season where yes is gonna over take you. This is the season where the doors are not gon' be cracked they gon' be wide open, off the hinges. Off the heezy fo sheezy!
I want you to understand God's about to not just do it, he's going to over do it! Why is he going to over do it? Because you're overdue for your miracle! I feel God breaking out in here. I've only got a couple of minutes. Brandon, Luke 8 talks about a woman who had the issue of blood, you know her story well. But on the other side of that story, was a little girl who was dying. Here's a grown woman, here's a little girl. She'd been bleeding for 12 years and Dr. Paul shared what that woman would feel like, what she would be like. He said she'd probably be anemic. She's probably be weak, it'd be a miracle if she was even able to stand.
Maybe that's why she wasn't standing when she got to him. She was on her knees, on her face, saying if I could just touch the helm of his garment. If I could just get there. If I can get near his sandals. If I could just do that. And notice that Jesus wasn't just walking. Know this about Jesus. Jesus never went anywhere arbitrarily. Everywhere Jesus went was on purpose. So he was walking to the crowd 'cause the father said somebody's gon' touch you there and their miracle is going to be the beginning of another miracle they don't even know about. Here's a woman, how long was her issue of blood Fiona? 12 years, all right.
So here's Jesus walking through the crowd, people touching him. Nope, that's not the one, nope, that's not the one. No, they're just here because they want a magic trick. I'm not Copperfield, I'm not in Vegas. Nope, that's not the one. They just want something and then they're gon' leave. They're not gon' change, no that's not the one. Wait, who just touched me? Did you catch what just happened? He's walking through the crowd because the father told him walk through the crowd and you're gonna know it when you're touched and when you're touched, stop and turn around. He turned around and said wait, who touched me? And her touch was the end of her flow.
But the end of her flow of 12 years, was also the beginning of a miracle for a little girl who was also 12. He stopped the flow in one and started it in another. They both had an issue of blood. One was bleeding too much and one's blood stopped moving and Jesus said since I am the blood and since my blood's gon' be shed, I might as well stop that and start that. I want you to know God's gon' stop some stuff and start some new things. The turnaround is here! My time is almost up and I feel the power of the Holy Ghost in here. That woman had her, no, you won't get better. No, there's no way for that to change. Give me all your money. No, still no, still no. And then she got to Jesus on her knees and one yes changed it all.
I want you to know that your yes has arrived after a lifetime of nos, tonight begins your year of yes. I'd like to repeat that again just to encourage you. After a lifetime of nos, tonight begins your year of yes and what God says yes to in this year, is going to set you and your family up for years to come. Yes, to that project. Yes, to that business. Yes, to that idea. Yes, to that store. Yes, to that movie. Yes, to that book. Yes, to the dvd. Yes, yes, yes and yes! No more no's! Somebody just caught it over there! No more no, no more I'm sorry. No more we'll try again, no! On the other side of no, is a yes from God.
My final point, Exodus 14. Moses found himself in the middle of no man's land. No way out. Dr. Paul, the Pharaoh's army behind him. The sea of reeds in front of him and a bunch of grumbling, complaining people near him. You done brought us out here to die didn't you? It wasn't enough graves in Egypt that you brought us out here and we gon' die? Moses said, what we gon' do? God was like, you, nothing. Me, everything. In this season, this is not about your power. It's not about your skillset. This is about the goodness of God. He said stand still and see the salvation of the Lord. I want you to know something.
See, lift your hand. Just lift it up. This is what he told Moses. He said look, "Why do you cry to me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward". But wait, there's a sea in front of us. Did I say so go forward? But there's something in the way! There's nothing in the way! But I see a stumbling block! No you don't, you see a stepping stone! And he says, "Lift up your rod and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it". Right now prophetically, every no is in front of your face right now. No, you won't get the home loan. No, you're gonna stay in that debt. No, the marriage is never gonna work. No, you're not gonna have kids. No, you're not gonna be healed of cancer. No, you're not gon' get a kidney. No, forget that liver transplant, whatever. No, you'll still stay in that addiction.
I want you to know God says lift your hand. He said, stretch out your hands and then divide it. Go ahead and prophetically just, move devil get out the way, get out the way, get out the way move devil get out the way, get out the way, get out the way and if you don't know what that song is, ask one of your urban neighbors and they'll tell you. It's ludacris for you not to know that song. But I want you to know when you just did that, all of your nos, because the moment you had faith to believe God, the nos had to spread out and bow down! And God is gonna take you to your promise with all of your nos stacked up on both sides! I remember you told me I'd never make it. I remember when you laughed at me. Watch me as I walk to my destiny. Let me wave at y'all. Look at all of my no's. How you doing? I'm walking in my yes!