Michael Youssef - When God Says "NO"
Everything in us, everything that we have learned, everything that the world tells us, everything we've been taught, is not to be poor in spirit. Feeling helpless or hopeless or unworthy, feeling totally empty is not what is going to make you a success on Wall Street. "Well, I understand that. It is self-confidence, it is self-assertion, it is a projection of self-image, that's what's going to make you a success". No, Jesus said the real success is to be poor in spirit and that they declare that publicly to God and to yourself.
That's the secret of success. That's the secret of getting you to heaven. Not feeling good about yourself, not feeling self-confidence, not feeling pride in yourself, and not feeling that you're the captain of your ship, and not feeling that you are in charge. "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven". What is he saying? He's telling us that the very first qualification for heaven is being poor in spirit. Someone again might protest and say, "Well, man, heaven must be a place filled with losers". And you're exactly right. It's exactly right. Jesus said, "Those who lose their life for my sake are the true winners of heaven".
So what is the kingdom of heaven? Kingdom is where there is a king, where there is a sovereign in control of that kingdom. The kingdom is not made of geography, it's not a piece of land, it's a spiritual kingdom. Kingdom is when you are under the king's rule. Poor in spirit means your spirit is poor, not the Holy Spirit. Your spirit feel impoverished. When your spirit does not feel pride in itself, only then will you know that God has got you. Only then will you know that God has radically changed you. Only then will you know that God is taking notice of you. Only then will you know that God has found you when you were lost.
Hear me right, this is important. There are a lot of people who want to get God's attention, especially if they're in trouble. They want God's attention, right? You agree? But the only way to get God's attention is not bragging about everything else that's in your life, but to brag about the right thing, and that is God. No, I can tell you in all honesty, I only brag about a God without whom I am helpless. I brag about a God without whom I am hopeless. I brag about a God without whom I'm desperate. I brag about a God without whom I can do nothing. I'm talking about having received these gifts and these talents from the hand of God. I acknowledge God as the source of all gifts, the source of all talents, that I'm dependent on God on the use of these gifts, that I am daily, diligently use these gifts and talents so that he gets all the glory.
D.L. Moody used to say, "True humility attracts, lack of humility subtracts, and false humility detracts". And here, my beloved friends, in this true humility, not false humility; true humility, you find our friend David, in 2 Samuel chapter 7. I hope you have it open in front of you because that is one of the most powerful chapters in the whole of the Old Testament. As a matter of fact, I'm going to show you that that chapter can easily be a 7-week discipleship course. Here, we are going to see true humility in action. A lot of people talk about humility, but we're going to see how it works in action, actually in real life. Here is David, he's not spoiled by his success. He's not giddy with his position. David is not swollen by victory that he had received.
Here, we see David not forgetting the Lord in the midst of his prosperity. No, instead, we see his poverty of spirit continues on. That is true poverty in spirit. This is truly a man whose poverty in spirit is on display for all of us to see. How? By having the glory of God as his number one concern, by having the honor of the Lord as his number one priority, as having the worship of the true God as his life's goal. Someone will say, "Well, Michael, you said this is the first step. This is the entry level". Yes, but I also said that it has to stay with you for the rest of your life.
Poverty of spirit just happened the moment you come to Jesus, and the rest of your life you're going to live kind of on your own steam, as it were. No, sometimes we feel so overwhelmed when God blesses us, when God pours his blessings on us and we feel humble, we feel unworthy of all these enormous blessings, but it's a whole different ballgame when God says "No" to you and you still pray and you're humble and you're broken before God in the same way as you did before. It is when God says to you, "No thanks, it's not you".
In 1 Chronicles chapter 17, verse 3. By the way, 1 Chronicles 17 and 2 Samuel 7 are mirror passages of the Bible. They're reporting the same thing. One has more details about one thing or the other, but in 1 Chronicles 17:3, God sent Nathan the prophet. He said, "Go and tell David, 'Thus says the Lord.'" This is not just take it or leave it. This is not just a principle. This is not, "Thus says the Lord: You are not the one to build a house for me". Please don't miss this. There is nothing more revealing of a person's true relationship with God, true relationship with the Lord, than how he or she reacts when God says, "No". Perhaps you prayed for some physical need and God says, "No," or at least not yet.
What is the nature of your relationship with the Lord then? Perhaps you lost a business deal that you earnestly wanted and you earnestly prayed for. That business deal fell apart. What is your spiritual temperature after that happens? Perhaps you applied to attend a certain college and the doors did not open for you, or perhaps you prayed about a certain position in a certain company and the door was shut. How are you relating to the Lord when that happens? I know the disappointment of God saying No, and there are times when I did not react right. I did not react like David.
2 Samuel 7:18: "King David sat before the LORD". That is a sitting or a posture of prayer. You're sitting in a posture of prayer. This man, David, has been denied the fulfillment of his life's vision. He had just been denied the fulfillment of his dream. He had just been denied the fulfillment of his longing desire. But instead of sulking, which he did before, by the way, he did before, he sulked before. I've sulked many times. Instead of sulking, he prayed. He prayed, "Lord, if I cannot fulfill this vision of building a house for worship. I'm gonna give my all," and in fact, he gave his entire net worth, "to others who can build it. Lord, even though I'm not going to have the joy and the pleasure of serving you in this way, I'm going to stand behind those who do. Lord, even though I might not have the joy of preaching, I'm going to stand behind those who do. Lord, even though I cannot serve you as I want to, I will stand behind those who do".
That's the prayer. And my beloved, this is true humility. This is true poverty of spirit. Now I come to the prayer, the sevenfold prayer of David. After disappointment, this is a model prayer for everyone, without exception, you should learn from when you receive disappointing news, when you don't receive answers to prayer.
First of all, of the sevenfold prayers, David attributed everything to God's grace. David attributed everything to God's grace. It's on the screen so you can write it down, and don't forget it. All seven of them will be on the screen in a minute. Verse 18: "Who am I, Sovereign LORD, and what is my family, that you have brought us thus far"?
As I said in the beginning, a genuine belief of one's unworthiness is the secret of true humility. The New Testament says that the reason salvation is by grace alone is so that no one can brag or take credit for it. That's the reason. The reason so many professing Christians are trotting around like peacocks, you know what I'm talking about? Feeling righteous, because they do not comprehend God's grace. They really don't. And the reason they don't comprehend God's grace is because they do not comprehend the enormity of their sinfulness. Can I get an "Amen"? David recognized his unworthiness and his nothingness but God's everythingness. Just I made a word up.
Secondly, David apprehended the greatness of God. Verse 22: "How great you are, O Sovereign LORD! There is no one like you, and there is no God but you". Beloved, there are many who preach the love of God, the love of God, the love of God, the love of God, and they never preach on the justice of God, and they make it look like God is kind of an irresponsible grandfather who lets his grandkids do everything they want. They never preach the justice of God. They never preach the holiness of God. They never preach the purity of God. On the other hand, there are people who explain grace as if there's something due to them, you know, that God owes them grace. In this age of entitlement, we brought that entitlement to the church and to our doctrine and theology as if God owes us grace.
Thirdly, David affirms the goodness of God. Look at verse 23: "And who is like your people Israel, the one nation on earth that God went out to redeem a people to himself". The redemption of the Lord Jesus Christ to us by his precious blood that was shed on Calvary demands the loudest praise, demands the loudest praise, not sitting on your hand and doing nothing for him. The salvation that Jesus gave us, full and free, elicit our giving him of everything. The grace of God compels us with the deepest of gratitude.
Fourth of the sevenfold prayer that David affirmed God's covenant. Verse 24: "You have established your people Israel as your very own forever, and you, O LORD, have become their God". Here's the one thing about God that you can take to the bank. When he makes a covenant, he will keep that covenant. God is a faithful God. That means he will always, always, always keep us out of the bargain. It's us who don't. We don't. And you know what? We bring pain upon ourselves when we do not keep our side of the covenant. We really do, because we are prone to be covenant breakers.
One of my favorite hymns, "Prone to wander. Lord, I feel it. Prone to leave the God I love, he to rescue me from danger, interpose his precious blood". In fact, the writer of this hymn who was prone to wander away from the Lord, he really did, and that's why he wrote that stanza last, and he was conscious of this and conscious of this, and every time he comes back, pours his heart to God, God receives him. One time he was sitting in one of those horse and buggy cars, and the lady in front of him, she was humming this song, and then she engaged him in a conversation, and she said to him, "Do you know this song"? He said, "Ma'am, I'm the miserable soul that wrote that song". "Prone to wander. Lord, I feel it. Prone to leave the God I love".
David attributed it all to the grace of God. David apprehended the greatness of God. David affirmed the goodness of God. David affirmed the covenant of God. And fifthly, David asserting the promises of God. Look at verse 25: "And now, LORD God, keep forever the promise you have made concerning your servant and his house". And you know, of course, what he's talking about, right? Jesus, the Son of David, who will sit on the throne forever. That was a prophecy, a messianic prophecy. And David here is doing two things simultaneously.
Look at them with me. He is taking hold of the divine promise and believing it. And secondly, he is pleading for God to fulfill that promise in the future. David believed the Word of God in the book of Numbers chapter 23, verse 19, where it says: "God is not a man, that he should lie, or son of man that he should change his mind. Does he speak? Does he not act? Does he promise and not fulfill it"? And the answer is, absolutely not. Please, you must understand biblical faith. The word "faith" gets bandied about sometimes, drive me nuts.
You know, faith-based this and faith this and faith this. But biblical faith, you must understand, is a gift of God. It's a gift of God. Because I know that my God does not only promise, or is a promising God, but he's also a performing God. Because I know that my God is not only faithful in calling me, but he's also faithful in keeping me. My God is not only a covenant-making God, but he's also a covenant-keeping God. My God is a God who's not only a convicting God, but he's a forgiving God. My God is not only a calling God, but he is a receiving God. My God is not only initiating God, but he is a compelling and fulfilling God, amen, amen. And that is why the Scriptures says that "he who began a good work in you is able to bring it to completion".
Six, David announced the glory of God. Look at verses 26 and 27. No wonder when the disciples said to Jesus, "Teach us how to pray," he said, "This is the pattern that you follow". And you know what he did with that pattern? He begins with the glory of God and he ends with the glory of God. That's how our prayer should be. Begins with the glory of God, ends with the glory of God. Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be, glory to your name, and ends with: to you the glory. Thine is the glory.
The seventh and the final of the sevenfold prayer of David, after disappointment, David pays tribute to the faithfulness of God. Look at verses 28 and 29. David, with his ups and downs, failure and sin, and he never lost sight of the faithfulness of God. Now, beloved, our God is as good as his word. Please take this question personally. How do you pray when God says no? Or maybe not yet? Think long and hard about this. It's very important. It's very important.
I know what my longing is. I cannot stand here and say I've done it all the time. No, no, no. My longing is that I'll pray like David. I want to always praise God for his grace. I want to always praise God for his greatness. I always want to praise God, affirm his goodness. I always want to affirm the covenant with God, and I always want to assert the promise of God. I always want to announce the glory of God in every action and every thought. I always want to pay tribute to the faithfulness of God. May God grant me and you this desire.