When God says YES!

So, I have to be honest. If I was on the outside looking in on sermon topics that addressed God answering prayer I might assume that God is mean, ungracious, and kind of cold. After all, most sermons that address the topic of answers to prayer talk about what to do when God says no. This may give the impression to a nonpraying person that God says no a lot of, or most of the time. After all, the sheer quantity that we talk about this very thing might make someone assume that we really need to prepare people for all the times God is going to tell them no and disappoint them.

However, many of us know that God does, many times, say yes to our prayers. We spend time praying and asking for specific things and many times God comes through. You pray for the new job and God gives it to you; you pray for a new home and the sellers accept your offer; you pray for healing and you are healed.

So, what are some Biblical concepts we can use to keep our life on track when God says yes? After all, even an answer of yes can cause us to get our eyes off Jesus if we are not careful.

#1 Remain Faithful

We all know the stories of the people that hit the lottery and slowly but surely begin to fade into a new life that is so different than the life they once had. They abandon the values and things of importance that they once had and seemingly turn into a whole new person. Their family and friends stand and watch as the money causes them to spin out of control and creates a person they do not recognize anymore...

Can I tell you that I have seen the same thing happen to people with answered prayer?

Here is an example. A couple prays and prays for a new camper- they love going camping, and they would love to have a nice new camper to do so. They work and save, and get the money together and they pray to find the right camper in their price range that will fit their needs- and God brings them the camper. It is perfect. They drive away praising God for this gift....

Within the next year they are hardly at church anymore. Most weekends are spent at the campground. They are camping almost every weekend between Memorial Day and Labor Day, and because they miss so much church already in the summer it is much easier to miss the rest of the year.

They used to give money so freely to those in need, but now they have the payment on the camper, and they pay $55 a night every weekend for the spot.

And their kids used to come to Sunday school and most of the youth activities, but now they are camping so much they cant remember the last time they went on a youth outing...

I wish I could tell you this is not common, but it happens more often than many of us like to admit.

Remaining faithful when God says yes means not letting the gifts that God gives become a distraction to serving God fully.

#2 Remain Humble

A pastor finally gets an opportunity to speak at a large community association gathering. He feels rather proud that he was asked, so he refuses the check saying that "he felt special enough by being chosen" and that the check should go to a better cause.

Reluctantly, the person giving the check did say that they had a special fund that this money could be used for. When the pastor inquired further about this special fund, the person said, "It’s so that we can get a better speaker next year."

says that if we humble ourselves before the Lord He will exalt us.

Humility is the act of placing someone or something above yourself. It is remember that everything is not about you- and specifically for followers of Jesus humility is about remember that God is God and we are not, and that He is the provider of all things...

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.”

Think of it this way, a man gets a promotion at work with a raise and better hours, and all kinds of benefits. He starts this new position and all is going well, but he allows his pride to creep in. Instead of his promotion being built on the fact that God showed him favor and gave him this opportunity he begins to build it one “I am the hardest worker in this place.” “They gave me this promotion because I am the best worker they have, no one does as good of a job as me” “I am the best supervisor in this building- I make sure stuff gets done!”

Because of this attitude he begins to look down on other employees, treat them poorly when their performance is not up to his standards, and he becomes a pain in the neck to work for.

Remember pride and arrogance see the things God give us as obligations because we deserve them. Humility sees the things that God gives us as gift that we use to worship God and bless others.

When we stay humble we allow the things God gives us to be used for his glory and for other’s benefit. What if the man who got a promotion stayed humble and used his position to empower others, train them to put them in a position to be promoted and provide a better opportunity for their families and other things like that?

#3 Remain Thankful

There is a difference in saying Thank God and living Thank God.

“And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him”

Can I confess to you that I am sometimes confused and disappointed when I hear athletes or musicians thank God in their acceptance speeches. Nothing adds up to me, ,many of these artists and others thank God and then run off to lives that lack any other fruit in glorifying God. Every now and then Jess and I will watch one of these shows, we will hear a musician sings songs about drinking, promiscuous sexual relationships, and other forms of godlessness, and then get up and thank God for the award…something does not add up! Maybe the best way to thank God is to use the talents you were created with to glorify him, not to glorify such sinful practices?

Remaining thankful to God means using our lives and the things that He gives us to glorify him. To take care of the things he has given us- some of it is a stewardship issue.

#3 Nothing can stop the yes- except you

There is a reason that Drew Brees is one of my favorite athletes. Not just because of his skill or talent level, but because of the man that he is. He is a man that truly believes that Christ is King and he

says “What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” The Message translation reads like this: If God is on our side, how can we ever lose?

I imagine a super-athlete when I think of this. Imagine if your favorite football team drafted a defensive tackle standing 12 feet tall and weighing 1,500 pounds. His bench press is 2,000 pounds and his squat is 4,000 pounds. He runs a 2.9 in the 40 yard dash. His bones and muscle are like steel, and those he tackles often end up with a concussion.

Let’s face it, if that guy gets on the field there is no stopping him- the only chance the other team has is if he stays off the field. That is like you and God. If God has said yes there is no man, no woman, and no Devil that can stop it from coming- NO ONE.

#4 It does not mean it will be easy

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”

A few years ago at Ignite Drew was one of the speakers and he