Rev Gideon Lee
Deuteronomy 3:21-29
Moses Forbidden to Cross the Jordan
21 At that time I commanded Joshua: “You have seen with your own eyes all that the Lord your God has done to these two kings. The Lord will do the same to all the kingdoms over there where you are going. 22 Do not be afraid of them the Lord your God himself will fight for you.”
23 At that time I pleaded with the Lord: 24 “O Sovereign Lord you have begun to show to your servant your greatness and your strong hand. For what god is there in heaven or on earth who can do the deeds and mighty works you do? 25 Let me go over and see the good land beyond the Jordan–that fine hill country and Lebanon.”
26 But because of you the Lord was angry with me and would not listen to me. “That is enough” the Lord said. “Do not speak to me anymore about this matter. 27 Go up to the top of Pisgah and look west and north and south and east. Look at the land with your own eyes since you are not going to cross this Jordan. 28 But commission Joshua and encourage and strengthen him for he will lead this people across and will cause them to inherit the land that you will see.” 29 So we stayed in the valley near Beth Peor.
I have been a Christian a long time. How many of you have been a Christian for at least 5 years, 10 years, 15 years, 20 years, 25 years, 30 years and more than 30 years? Wow, praise the Lord. I have not walked with Him that long as I'm only 25 (laughs). How many of you know as we walk with God, we have mountaintop experience and also the valleys. I am going to talk to you about one of the toughest things we faced when following God.
I don't think there is anything that causes more discouragement, anger and frustrations than this.
Why is it sometimes prayer work and sometimes prayer don't work. I have prayed for people to be healed and they die. I have prayed for broken marriages and it didn't work.
A Jew went to the wailing wall to pray for the last 50 years, praying for the Jews and the Arabs to be at peace and a reporter asked how he feel, praying for so many years and the Jews and Arabs are still against each other? And he said he felt like he is talking to a wall.
Sometimes that's how I feel when I prayed and God seems so far away. As a Christian we all go through that. How come sometimes prayer works and sometimes it don't. This morning I want to say this: God answers prayer.
Jeremiah 33:3
‘Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.’
I want to tell you this, if you are a child of God and have walked with him faithfully, the only unanswered prayers are the ones you never prayed.
The problem is that the prayer God answers you don't like it. How does God answers us?
YES
The first is Yes. How often you find a new Christian prayed for something and God answers his prayer so quickly. But as he matures you find his prayer are no longer answered as promptly and may not even be answered. There is a reason why.
Moses Forbidden to Cross the Jordan
21 At that time I commanded Joshua: “You have seen with your own eyes all that the Lord your God has done to these two kings. The Lord will do the same to all the kingdoms over there where you are going. 22 Do not be afraid of them the Lord your God himself will fight for you.”
23 At that time I pleaded with the Lord: 24 “O Sovereign Lord you have begun to show to your servant your greatness and your strong hand. For what god is there in heaven or on earth who can do the deeds and mighty works you do? 25 Let me go over and see the good land beyond the Jordan–that fine hill country and Lebanon.”
26 But because of you the Lord was angry with me and would not listen to me. “That is enough” the Lord said. “Do not speak to me anymore about this matter. 27 Go up to the top of Pisgah and look west and north and south and east. Look at the land with your own eyes since you are not going to cross this Jordan. 28 But commission Joshua and encourage and strengthen him for he will lead this people across and will cause them to inherit the land that you will see.” 29 So we stayed in the valley near Beth Peor.
I have been a Christian a long time. How many of you have been a Christian for at least 5 years, 10 years, 15 years, 20 years, 25 years, 30 years and more than 30 years? Wow, praise the Lord. I have not walked with Him that long as I'm only 25 (laughs). How many of you know as we walk with God, we have mountaintop experience and also the valleys. I am going to talk to you about one of the toughest things we faced when following God.
I don't think there is anything that causes more discouragement, anger and frustrations than this.
Why is it sometimes prayer work and sometimes prayer don't work. I have prayed for people to be healed and they die. I have prayed for broken marriages and it didn't work.
A Jew went to the wailing wall to pray for the last 50 years, praying for the Jews and the Arabs to be at peace and a reporter asked how he feel, praying for so many years and the Jews and Arabs are still against each other? And he said he felt like he is talking to a wall.
Sometimes that's how I feel when I prayed and God seems so far away. As a Christian we all go through that. How come sometimes prayer works and sometimes it don't. This morning I want to say this: God answers prayer.
Jeremiah 33:3
‘Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.’
I want to tell you this, if you are a child of God and have walked with him faithfully, the only unanswered prayers are the ones you never prayed.
The problem is that the prayer God answers you don't like it. How does God answers us?
YES
The first is Yes. How often you find a new Christian prayed for something and God answers his prayer so quickly. But as he matures you find his prayer are no longer answered as promptly and may not even be answered. There is a reason why.
WAIT
We have no problems when God says yes to us. The problem creeps in when God says wait.
God sometimes says its a yes but not now. He wants to say yes to you but you have to wait. I thank God that in my walk with Him, 80 to 90% of the time God says yes to me.
Sometimes when we ask our parents for things, before we start we get a no for an answer. Sometimes my children will ask me things and they know I will say no but sometimes I surprise them with a yes. We don't always say yes because we know what is best for them. God has a yes phase.
Why do you think God says wait? Because He make all things beautiful in His time. All things. Not according to my time or your time or the church board's time but the sovereign God's time because He knows ALL things.
Sometimes we ask for things but God knows you are not ready. God will not withhold good things from you but sometimes He will say wait.
I give you an example. How many of you learn to ride your bike or drive your car before you got your licence? Don't put up your hands. I learnt to ride a bike at Form One. I stayed at a Chinese kampung and I really enjoyed myself growing up there going to the drain and catch fish running around naked and climbing trees. We would block up the drain and literary scoop out the water and there will be lots of fishes. Some of my friends will be naked save for their underwear.
Everybody in the kampung seems to know how to ride a bike. There was this girl, I think she's just 11 or 12 and she'll be riding around the kampung at an empty field. She was riding one day I saw her driving at full throttle. At a bend, she went one way and the bike the other and she fell off the bike. It was a painful lesson for her. Yes she can ride a bike but she was not ready to ride it responsibly.
Sometimes we are like that. We don't like to wait right? How many of you like to wait for your Char Koay Teow? We don't like it cos we have 2 minute noodles and fast food. But God sometimes says wait.
NO
But what we really really don't like is when God says no. We don't like it. But I want you to know, when God says no, He still answers prayer. When He says no, without a shadow of a doubt it is always for your good.
Let me give you an example. Looking at my wife and my three and a half children, how many of you know I'm expecting number four? Made in Penang. Sometimes Christians ask me "you want to compete with Abraham is it?". Or they ask Me "Lu bo kang cho ar" (you are so free in Penang nothing to do is it?) This really gets to me. Ok, where was I?
When I look at my children, I thank God that he said no to me on my ex-girlfriend. If He had said yes to me I won't be standing here today. I have a wife who love me and love God and I have beautiful children. Because my ex-girlfriend is a non Christian. Do you know I married my
ex-girlfriend? Because she is my wife now.
His ways are always better than your way and His thoughts higher than your thoughts. So if God says no to you don't get angry with God. Please understand it is always for your own good and He has a better plan for you.
Do you know about Paul's thorn in the flesh? Remember Paul asked God three times for God to remove it from him but God says no to Paul. Instead God said His grace is sufficient for him. God gave him his strength and patience and grace to carry him through.
We have a tunnel vision. But God sees the beginning and the end. He is the alpha and the omega. He can see the end. God has a panoramic view, the beginning and the end and what happens in the middle He knows. God has a better plan for you.
God sometimes says its a yes but not now. He wants to say yes to you but you have to wait. I thank God that in my walk with Him, 80 to 90% of the time God says yes to me.
Sometimes when we ask our parents for things, before we start we get a no for an answer. Sometimes my children will ask me things and they know I will say no but sometimes I surprise them with a yes. We don't always say yes because we know what is best for them. God has a yes phase.
Why do you think God says wait? Because He make all things beautiful in His time. All things. Not according to my time or your time or the church board's time but the sovereign God's time because He knows ALL things.
Sometimes we ask for things but God knows you are not ready. God will not withhold good things from you but sometimes He will say wait.
I give you an example. How many of you learn to ride your bike or drive your car before you got your licence? Don't put up your hands. I learnt to ride a bike at Form One. I stayed at a Chinese kampung and I really enjoyed myself growing up there going to the drain and catch fish running around naked and climbing trees. We would block up the drain and literary scoop out the water and there will be lots of fishes. Some of my friends will be naked save for their underwear.
Everybody in the kampung seems to know how to ride a bike. There was this girl, I think she's just 11 or 12 and she'll be riding around the kampung at an empty field. She was riding one day I saw her driving at full throttle. At a bend, she went one way and the bike the other and she fell off the bike. It was a painful lesson for her. Yes she can ride a bike but she was not ready to ride it responsibly.
Sometimes we are like that. We don't like to wait right? How many of you like to wait for your Char Koay Teow? We don't like it cos we have 2 minute noodles and fast food. But God sometimes says wait.
NO
But what we really really don't like is when God says no. We don't like it. But I want you to know, when God says no, He still answers prayer. When He says no, without a shadow of a doubt it is always for your good.
Let me give you an example. Looking at my wife and my three and a half children, how many of you know I'm expecting number four? Made in Penang. Sometimes Christians ask me "you want to compete with Abraham is it?". Or they ask Me "Lu bo kang cho ar" (you are so free in Penang nothing to do is it?) This really gets to me. Ok, where was I?
When I look at my children, I thank God that he said no to me on my ex-girlfriend. If He had said yes to me I won't be standing here today. I have a wife who love me and love God and I have beautiful children. Because my ex-girlfriend is a non Christian. Do you know I married my
ex-girlfriend? Because she is my wife now.
His ways are always better than your way and His thoughts higher than your thoughts. So if God says no to you don't get angry with God. Please understand it is always for your own good and He has a better plan for you.
Do you know about Paul's thorn in the flesh? Remember Paul asked God three times for God to remove it from him but God says no to Paul. Instead God said His grace is sufficient for him. God gave him his strength and patience and grace to carry him through.
We have a tunnel vision. But God sees the beginning and the end. He is the alpha and the omega. He can see the end. God has a panoramic view, the beginning and the end and what happens in the middle He knows. God has a better plan for you.
FOR HIS GLORY
Last but not least, when he says no, not only is it for our good and a better plan for us, but also for His glory. He said no to Moses. What did Moses do? God said command the stone but he struck it with his staff twice. Because of this small thing God says He will not lead the people into the promise land but Joshua. He longs after 40 years in the wilderness to enter the promise land. How many of you like to go on a road trip for 40 years and not reach your destination?
Moses pleaded with God to just step foot on the land but God said no. He told
Moses no and told him no more about this. He took him up a mountain and showed him the promise land but he will not lead the people there. God has His plan.
Look at Jesus praying in the garden of Gethsamane more than 2,000 years ago. He prayed so intensively that blood came out of his sweat. I asked my doctor friends and they say it is possible when we are under extreme pressure, when the blood vessel break under our skin. He was under extreme pressure knowing he was going to the cross. What he could not face was that every sin would be on Jesus.
Jesus understood that as a sacrificial lamb it will be the first time He would be cut off from the Father. His prayer of the night is "if it be possible let this cup pass from me". If there is another way, but I thank God he ended with this - but not my will but your will be done. He understood His responsibility. Aren't you glad that God said no to His son? It is because God said no that we are seated here today.
This morning when God says no it is for His glory. We may not understand but it is for His glory. Don't get angry when, as your pastor I may say no. I am not God but sometimes I may have to say no. Please give me room to say no.
Faith in God is not just when God answers our prayer but when we still believe in Him even when He says no.
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