Being told “no” is not easy.

• Kids don’t like “no” and neither do adults.

Times in the Bible when God answered petitions with “yes”:

• Exodus 32; Numbers 14 – Moses interceded for the Israelites

• II Kings 20 – Hezekiah’s request to live longer

Sometimes God’s answer is “no.”

• II Samuel 12:13-22 – David and Bathsheba’s baby

• II Corinthians 12:7-10 – Paul’s thorn in the flesh

Considerations for prayer

• We must be in a right relationship with God. I Peter 3:7

• We must not ask for something that contradicts His will. James 4:3

• Our perspective is limited by our minds. Isaiah 55:8-9

God told Paul “no.”

• I Corinthians 2:3

• Galatians 4:13-15; 6:11

“My grace is sufficient for you.”

• When life doesn’t go our way, we may question our faith.

• God may say “no” because we need reminding of what He has done for us. Ephesians 2:4-5, 8-9

• The effects of God’s grace must be seen in our lives. II Corinthians 9:8; Ephesians 2:10; Titus 2:11-14

• Sufficient à to be enough

• Application: Even in being told “no,” there is good.

  • Occasion to thank God for what He has done.

“My power is made perfect in weakness.”

• Is this the way the world works?

• God works through man’s weakness to show His power.

  • Exodus 7-14: Moses vs. Pharaoh

  • Joshua 6: The walls of Jericho

  • Judges 7: Gideon and the 300 men (Judges 7:2-7, 9)

  • I Corinthians 1: The gospel message

• Made perfect à to perform, execute, complete, fulfill. Psalms 28:8; Isaiah 40:29-31

• Application: In weakness, insult, hardship, persecution, and calamity, show God’s power in your life.

  • Genesis 21:1-5

  • Mark 10:46-62

  • Acts 16:16ff

  • II Corinthians 11:23-29

  • Matthew 26:26-29 – Jesus’ death

“I am content with …”

• Content à it seems good to me, is one’s full pleasure

  • NOT “I’ll only be happy/content if …”

  • Philippians 4:11-13

• Isaiah 53:7 – At what point did Jesus ever express discontent?

• Paul boasted of his weakness.

  • I Corinthians 2:1-5 – What impact would this have had on the Christians in Corinth?

• There is value in sharing our challenges with others. James 5:16

• Revelation 3:15-17 – A false impression of strength is damaging.

• Application: How might your challenges, or those facing society, allow you to show true contentedness?

When God’s answer is “no”

• Remember His grace.

• Let His power shine in your weakness.

• Be content with your lot in life.

I Thessalonians 4:1-18

I Thessalonians 4:1-2 – “Excel still more.” Every church should want to mature to this point. They were not perfect, but were doing well and the next step was to grow.

I Thessalonians 4:3-8 – In Paul’s day, chastity was regarded as an unreasonable restriction. The phrase “possess his own vessel” has been debated for a long time. It could mean one’s own body or could be a reference to one’s wife. (Romans 6:13; I Corinthians 6:19-20; 7:2) The overall message is to abstain from sexual immorality.

• Job 31:1; Matthew 5:27 – We have to guard ourselves from sexual immorality.

• The idolatrous practices in those days involved sexual immorality, which was part of what made it so popular. These Christians had come out of these idolatrous practices.

I Thessalonians 4:8 – See Nehemiah 9:30; Acts 7:51-52; I Thessalonians 1:5; 2:2, 8-9, 13; 3:2; 4:1-2, 6, 11. The gospel was from God! The “Holy Spirit” here refers to the inspired message they had received and were receiving through Paul as a messenger.

I Thessalonians 4:9-10 – See Matthew 23:23; I Corinthians 13:1-3. It’s possible to follow every law precisely, but ultimately fail if you lack love. Verse 9 is an example of a figure of speech called paralipsis, in which emphasis is added by professing to say little about it. Compare other examples in Philemon 1:9; I Thessalonians 5:1.

I Thessalonians 4:11-12 – Compare II Thessalonians 3:11-12. Get to work!

I Thessalonians 4:13-18 – The dead in Christ will rise first, then those alive in Christ will meet him in the air. This should be a great comfort to us. This does not say that Jesus will come to earth (pre-millenialism). The doctrine of rapture comes from a misinterpretation of this verse. John 5:28-29

II Corinthians 7:4

Do I understand that I am personally guilty of sin?

• Children start out innocent. Acts 2:38; Luke 18:15

• But at some point, God starts holding us accountable for our sins.

  • Numbers 14:29; Deuteronomy 1:39 – Twenty was the cutoff age in the wilderness, but this is not a universal rule we see elsewhere in the Bible.

  • II Chronicles 34:3 – Josiah started serving God at age 16.

• Baptism is an appeal to God for a good conscience.

  • I Peter 3:21

  • Guilt à Baptism à Clean conscience

  • Acts 9:5-6, 9 – Saul realizes he is guilty.

  • Acts 22:16

• Notice how it’s personal.

  • Acts 2:23, 36

  • Acts 9:19

  • Acts 16:34

Do I know the good news?

• Matthew 28:18-20

• Acts 2:40-41

• Acts 8:12, 35

• The act of baptism is based on Jesus and His death.

• Romans 6:3

• We don’t have to know it all to be baptized. None of us do!

Am I convinced?

• Mark 16:15-16; Acts 8:12-13

• Acts 17:2-3, 11; 18:8 – People were reasoning through the scriptures and believing!

• Hebrews 11:6

• Romans 10:8

Am I prepared to start a new life?

• I must repent.

  • Acts 2:41; Ezekiel 18:30-32; Jonah 3:4-5, 8; Acts 26:20

  • Change of mind à change of life

• I must prepare to walk in newness of life.

  • Romans 6:3-4; Luke 14:26; II Corinthians 7:8-10

  • Repentance is lifelong!

Micah 1-7

Introduction

• Micah means “who is like Jehovah.”

• Micah was contemporary with Isaiah, which we can see by comparing the kings mentioned in both books.

• Micah primarily prophesied to the poor and downtrodden, from about 735 B.C.

God’s judgment on Samaria and Judah with a ray of hope for salvation for a remnant (Micah 1-3)

• Micah 3:2 – Truth is the most hated thing in the world!

Messianic hope (Micah 4-5)

• Micah 4:1-3 – Compare Isaiah 2:2-4.

• Micah 4:3-5 – God’s kingdom would be peaceful, not defended with carnal weapons. II Corinthians 10:4-5

• Micah 4:4 – Christians have more power than Satan. We can resist him!

• Micah 5:2 – Jesus would come out of Bethlehem and be eternal (deity – see John 1:1).

• Micah 5:7-9 – We should be as dew from the Lord, like showers on the grass. This is referring to the positive influence the righteous should have on those around them.

• Micah 5:8 – See Proverbs 28:1. The righteous will be bold like a lion, standing in truth. II Corinthians 10:4-5.

God has a controversy with Israel (Micah 6)

• Micah 6:1-5 – Israel had no gratitude for God’s blessings.

• Micah 6:6-8 – It is possible to do the right things in worship and still not be saved. God wants a right life, not ritual.

Penitent prays and the divine promise (Micah 7)

• Micah 7:1-6 – Confession of the people’s guilt.

• Micah 7:14 – Prayer for God’s blessings.

• Micah 7:15 – God would show them marvelous things!

• Micah 7:16 – Nations will be confounded at the might of the righteous. Proverbs 28:1; II Corinthians 10:4-5

• Micah 7:18-20 – God delights in mercy and will pardon iniquity. Hebrews 8:12

Lessons for us:

• God requires us to live righteously. We must be merciful and walk humbly with God.

• The holiness of God and righteousness of God must be stressed today.

• Ritualistic keeping of commandments is not sufficient for salvation.

Next up: Zephaniah

I Thessalonians 3:1-13

I Thessalonians 3:1-5 – This is still needed today: older Christians encouraging new Christians. Timothy is a good example of how we can each take on different roles and help the cause of Christ. I Corinthians 3:5-6

I Thessalonians 3:6-8 – Paul was connected to the Thessalonians. He rejoiced and grieved with them (3 John 1:3-4). Are we connected to others like this and concerned for their souls?

I Thessalonians 3:9-13 – Paul wanted them to be complete. They had a good start, but there was more for them to do. II Peter 1:5-11; Luke 18:18-23. Spiritual growth is about forsaking that one hardest sin you struggle with!

• Acts 15:36

• Is the Bible setting us up for failure? Can we ever reach the standard God sets?

  • Psalms 130:3-4; I Thessalonians 4:1, 10, 18; 5:8; I John 1:6-9; Revelation 2:4-5

  • It’s not about being perfect! It’s about striving to grow closer to God. Jesus blood makes us perfect.