When the Door Closes // I Need a Miracle Please, Part 5

Yep, yep.  I believe in miracles.  I believe that God will do a miracle for me.  But – well, what happens when He says no.  What happens when I have a heart for this or for that – but He closes the door.  Slams it in our face. This week on the program, we've been talking about miracles. This series is called "I Need a Miracle Please". How many times have you and I been caught in a tight spot and thought to ourselves – nothing short of a miracle is going to save me from this one. Or, or there's something on our hearts. We have this desire. A good desire. A desire perhaps to serve God and yet things just don't seem to be working out. We can't talk about miracles without talking about the fact that sometimes, sometimes, we go to God and ask Him for a miracle and that miracle seems to be denied by God. How can that be? Jesus Himself said: If you love me and my word abides in you and you abide in me, you can ask anything that you wish in my name and it will be done for you. (John 15:7) How can it be that God would deny me miracle that opens the door to me doing some good work for Him? How can it be that God denies me a miracle of healing – healing a sick child, or healing a loved one. How can it be? I've heard people preach that the only circumstance in which we miss out on something that we ask for, is if we don't have enough faith. Frankly – I'd love to ring their necks. Because that just isn't true. You may think that's pretty strong language but I get really angry with people who twist the truth. Now a lack of faith, that sometimes is the reason we miss out on things from God. Yes. It is. Listen to what James writes when he talks about going to God and asking for wisdom. James chapter 1 beginning at verse 6. He says: But ask in faith, never doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind; for the doubter, being double-minded and unstable in every way, must not expect to receive anything from the Lord. See, God rewards faith, that's what we've been talking about over these last few days. But He doesn't demand complete faith, or perfect faith. In fact, the last time that I checked, faith the size of a tiny little mustard seed was enough to tell a mountain to go jump into the lake. It's not the size of our faith that matters. Not the perfection of our faith. See sometimes, my heart is deeply troubled. Sometimes, I'm afraid to stand in a place that God's called me to stand. Sometimes I'm afraid to step forward and do the things that God's called me to do. How do I know that I have faith? I'll tell you. If I stay in that place, and do the things that God's called me to do, if I'm prepared to fail unless God shows up, no matter how much my emotions are on that roller coaster ride, if I hang on to that tiny little seed of faith somewhere in my heart then I know I have faith. But if I run and hide to protect myself then I don't. Sure, faith is important but sometimes we get it wrong. Sometimes we don't hear God properly. And sometimes we ask God for something that isn't in His sovereign will. I've written a book recently called 'Unlocking the Power of Prayer' and I've devoted a whole chapter to this question. You know, when my children were little, I wouldn't give them a sharp knife to play with. It's only when they grew up into young adults that they got to use the carving knife. Sometimes we ask God for things that we're not mature enough to use or to do or to cope with. And so the reason I get so upset by people that somehow seem to preach that we can expect God to deliver on any outrageous request that we make and that if He doesn't it's because we lack enough faith. That's not only a lie, but it condemns those who listen. It blames them for something that's not their fault. And I just feel today that we need to deal with this decisively because when we ask something of God and His loving, perfect answer is no, then we naturally feel condemned. We do and that's not what we're meant to feel. There's no better way of tackling this subject than through the Apostle Paul. Now Paul is definitely one of your biblical 'A' List. One of those great characters of the New Testament. In fact, he wrote almost half the books of the New Testament so God entrusted an awful lot to this guy, Paul. He was a passionate fellow. He had a heart to tell as many people as he could about Jesus. Travelled all over the place for years and years. Right across the known world, proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the good news. Sometimes, in fact quite a few times, his heart raced out there ahead of God to do this or to do that but he was prevented from doing so. Have a listen to what he writes to the church in Rome, in Romans 1, chapter 13. I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that I have often intended to come to you but thus far have been prevented, in order that I might reap some harvest among you as I have amongst the rest of the Gentiles. See, he's writing to them, "I really, really, really have wanted to come to you, to tell you about Jesus, to reap a harvest for God's glory." You can just imagine Paul praying and imploring God, "God let me go to Rome. Let me go to them. God, let me go and tell them about you. Father God, please, please let me go in Jesus name!" Pouring his heart out to God over this. Now this is a good, honourable thing. This wasn't for Paul's comfort or luxury or glory, far from it. Travelling to Rome in those days was not an easy journey, as he was later to find out when he was shipwrecked along the way. No, this was for God's glory. Paul's intentions were Godly and good in every way. But listen to what he says, "Thus far I have been prevented." In other words, to that point, God had not answered his prayer. God had not let him pursue the desires of his heart. God had not opened the door. God had not made a way for Paul to go and fulfil his heart's desire. So what, did Paul lack faith? Was Paul double minded? No, he was a great man of God. He gave his life to the service of preaching the Gospel. He was responsible for planting so many churches. He was used mightily of God. God just said no that time. In fact, later in the book of Romans Paul tells us why: Thus I make it my ambition to proclaim the good news, not where Christ has already been named, so that I do not build up someone else's foundation, but as it is written, "Those who have never been told of him shall see, and those who have never heard of him shall understand." This is the reason that I have so often been hindered from coming to you. That's Romans chapter 15. In other words, the Romans had already heard about Jesus and there were other people in the world that hadn't. And God had something better for Paul to do right then with his time than go and tell people who'd already heard about Jesus, about Jesus. Paul had a heart to do one thing, and God had a plan for Him to do something else. Paul wanted to go to Rome but God had other, more important things for him to do and that's okay because Paul did what God had told him to do. Eventually he did get to go to Rome but on God's terms, in chains, on death row. See how plain and simple this is. It's got nothing to do with lack of faith on Paul's part. And again of Timothy, Paul and Silas we read in Acts chapter 16: They went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. Sometimes God just has different plans. And that hurts. That can be confusing. Sometimes we wish it was different. As I've said many times, God isn't some performing poodle that dances to our tune. He's a sovereign and mighty God. And when we pray, "Our Father in heaven hallowed be your name, your will be done, your kingdom come … " What we're saying to Him is this. First and foremost, no matter what the cost to me Dad, I just want you to know that I want your will to be done. And you know something, when we're in that will, there's a peace and a rest and a trust and a joy that happens. Because He is going to get it right.