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When God Says No! - 173 · Marriage Life and More and Bible Study

• 0:03
  Daniel Moore: It's a different kind of freedom.
• 0:05
  Daniel Moore: It's not just the freedom to do whatever you want and say whatever you want.
• 0:09
  Daniel Moore: It's not a pretend freedom.
• 0:11
  Daniel Moore: It's a real freedom, a deep freedom.
• 0:15
  Daniel Moore: There's a freedom that I hope to experience more and more in my life, and I pray the same for you, because Paul said I want you to be free.
• 0:24
  Daniel Moore: Isn't it funny that he's praying for them.
• 0:27
  Daniel Moore: He's in prison and he's the freest one of them all.
• 0:31
  Daniel Moore: Some of the least free people I ever met in my life had the most stuff, and Paul is so free at this point.
• 0:39
  Daniel Moore: He's free from the need to know what happens next.
• 0:42
  Daniel Moore: He's free.
• 0:43
  Daniel Moore: Wouldn't it be good to be free like that?
• 0:45
  Daniel Moore: And he sets himself free instead of waiting for someone else to.
• 0:51
  Daniel Moore: This week, on Connecting the Gap, we're going to talk about Paul and Barnabas.
• 0:54
  Daniel Moore: This week we are talking about when God says no, we'll be back with that right after this.
• 1:29
  Daniel Moore: They say that it is darkest right before the dawn.
• 1:38
  Daniel Moore: So remember, no matter what battle you are facing, what war is raging, the dawn is coming.
• 1:51
  Daniel Moore: Prepare for battle, prepare for victory.
• 1:57
  Daniel Moore: You can visit my sponsor's website at wearewarriorsapparelcom.
• 2:04
  Daniel Moore: Welcome to Connecting the Gap Podcast.
• 2:06
  Daniel Moore: I'm Daniel Moore, your host.
• 2:07
  Daniel Moore: Thank you, guys again for taking time out of your busy schedule this week to come and check out this week's episode.
• 2:12
  Daniel Moore: Last week, of course, we finished up our series on the battle within overcoming the invisible war and that was a very long, extensive study that we'd done on spiritual warfare and I hope you guys enjoyed that.
• 2:25
  Daniel Moore: You can go check that out on all my podcasting platforms my website, connectingthegapnet.
• 2:30
  Daniel Moore: You can also go to YouTube and have a playlist there with all of those episodes in there as well.
• 2:35
  Daniel Moore: And this week we're going to kick off a few weeks here a little over a month probably of doing some different things.
• 2:41
  Daniel Moore: I've got some different episodes here and some interviews coming your way with some different people that I think will really interest you, and we're just going to have a fun time here over the next couple of months and then we'll start a new series after that.
• 2:54
  Daniel Moore: But today we are talking about when God says no, and I know a lot of times in our life we want to do our own thing, we want to go our own way and God has other plans for us, and so whenever we try to do things and we go against what God wants us to do, a lot of times, it just seems like it doesn't work out, doesn't it?
• 3:14
  Daniel Moore: Well, we're going to talk a little bit about that today and see what Paul did whenever he ran into this situation where the Holy Spirit told him not to do something that he wanted to do, something that sounded right, something that sounded like he should be doing, but the Holy Spirit said no.
• 3:30
  Daniel Moore: This week we are talking about when God says no In Philippians, chapter 1 and verse 15, it's Paul speaking.
• 3:52
  Daniel Moore: He's saying it is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill In verse 16, goodwill In verse 16, the latter do so out of love, knowing that I am put here in defense of the gospel.
• 4:09
  Daniel Moore: Remember, I'm where I'm supposed to be, regardless of how I got here.
• 4:13
  Daniel Moore: I was put here and you know that's a way of seeing life that will set you free from the need to understand all the events as they're happening, just to decide in advance.
• 4:24
  Daniel Moore: Wherever I end up, that must be where God has me.
• 4:28
  Daniel Moore: Now.
• 4:29
  Daniel Moore: This can get dangerous, because you can end up blaming God's sovereignty for your lack of responsibility.
• 4:35
  Daniel Moore: You know, I just lost the job.
• 4:38
  Daniel Moore: I guess God wanted me to lose the job.
• 4:40
  Daniel Moore: Well, I guess God probably wanted you to show up on time.
• 4:44
  Daniel Moore: So let's don't get carried away.
• 4:45
  Daniel Moore: But when the situation is out of my control, it's definitely not out of God's hands.
• 4:51
  Daniel Moore: When he says I'm put here, that's one way of seeing it.
• 4:55
  Daniel Moore: He's positioned and he sees himself as stationed rather than seeing himself as stuck.
• 5:01
  Daniel Moore: So the location doesn't change, but the lens he views his situation through is changing through the years.
• 5:09
  Daniel Moore: And since he's old now he has this great perspective and we get in on it through this letter that he wrote to the Philippian church.
• 5:17
  Daniel Moore: So some people like me and some don't, but he says the former preach Christ out of selfish In verse 18,.
• 5:39
  Daniel Moore: You know I work at a radio station called K&EO.
• 5:41
  Daniel Moore: Well, I found a new radio station, wdim.
• 5:45
  Daniel Moore: What does it matter?
• 5:47
  Daniel Moore: And when all this nonsense starts playing in my head, I just turn the dial and I try to find a different signal, the signal that lets me know I can't think short term and I can't let little things or the little foxes spoil the vine.
• 6:01
  Daniel Moore: I can't let the flies get into the ointment and mess up something sweet.
• 6:06
  Daniel Moore: So I got to get my priorities straight now, according to God's purpose for me.
• 6:10
  Daniel Moore: So what does it matter?
• 6:12
  Daniel Moore: You know, it's not that I don't care about what people think, it's that it no longer controls me.
• 6:19
  Daniel Moore: So in verse 18, what does it matter?
• 6:23
  Daniel Moore: The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, christ is preached and because of this I rejoice and I will continue to rejoice.
• 6:35
  Daniel Moore: You know what are you going to do about it, devil?
• 6:37
  Daniel Moore: You hit me with your best shot and I'm still in church.
• 6:40
  Daniel Moore: I will continue to rejoice.
• 6:42
  Daniel Moore: You could knock that smile off my face if you tried.
• 6:45
  Daniel Moore: I'm still smiling and my back's hurting, and I'm still smiling, with migraine headaches, but I'm still smiling.
• 6:52
  Daniel Moore: And my kids are out of control, but I'm still smiling while I yell through clenched teeth.
• 6:58
  Daniel Moore: And in verse 19 of Philippians 1, it says For I know that through your prayers and God's provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance.
• 7:08
  Daniel Moore: In verse 20, I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed but will have sufficient courage.
• 7:16
  Daniel Moore: So you know, I'm not asking God to reduce the conflict, I'm asking him to increase my courage for the conflict, so that, now as always, christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.
• 7:30
  Daniel Moore: For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.
• 7:34
  Daniel Moore: You know I can't lose.
• 7:35
  Daniel Moore: If I'm to go on living in the body, well, this will mean fruitful labor for me.
• 7:40
  Daniel Moore: And you know the next line.
• 7:43
  Daniel Moore: I just laughed because he's talking like he's choosing a show on Netflix.
• 7:47
  Daniel Moore: What shall I choose?
• 7:49
  Daniel Moore: You know, I don't know.
• 7:50
  Daniel Moore: And he's talking about life and death.
• 7:54
  Daniel Moore: But he's come to the point in his life where he's like well, either way, I'm cool.
• 7:58
  Daniel Moore: I don't even know.
• 8:00
  Daniel Moore: I'm torn between the two.
• 8:02
  Daniel Moore: You know, I kind of want to get out of here.
• 8:05
  Daniel Moore: This world is a crazy place and I'd love to see Jesus.
• 8:08
  Daniel Moore: I've got a reward waiting with my name on it and I want to see the one who died for me and bled for me and I want him to wipe every tear from my eye and I want to be in his presence and I'd kind of like to depart.
• 8:21
  Daniel Moore: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far, but it's more necessary for you that I remain in the body.
• 8:30
  Daniel Moore: So, since you still need me, you know I probably can't leave I'd like God to take me to heaven, but he's probably going to make me stay Convinced of this.
• 8:42
  Daniel Moore: I know that I will remain.
• 8:43
  Daniel Moore: Can I go to heaven?
• 8:44
  Daniel Moore: And he said it's a no-go.
• 8:56
  Daniel Moore: Now look at it from the perspective of the Philippian church, who would have been excited to receive this letter with news about their beloved apostle Paul.
• 9:04
  Daniel Moore: You know, I can almost hear their feet stampeding through the streets.
• 9:08
  Daniel Moore: I can almost hear them knocking on the door of Lydia, who was the first convert when Paul passed through Philippi and she opened her heart and then her home, and that's how the whole church got started in Philippi, in a sense.
• 9:19
  Daniel Moore: So I can hear through the streets of Philippi hey, lydia, we got a letter from Paul Because they couldn't follow him on Instagram.
• 9:27
  Daniel Moore: No-transcript or his execution or the date of his release, but we need to know how Paul is doing and we really need him out of prison so he can help us accomplish the purpose of God.
• 9:41
  Daniel Moore: Hey, we got a letter from Paul.
• 9:43
  Daniel Moore: Come on, lydia.
• 9:44
  Daniel Moore: And maybe that Roman jailer was still around who locked Paul up and then, when Paul and Silas sang at midnight and refused to leave the prison until they led that man to the Lord because they were more concerned about him being free than them being free, and maybe he comes around and maybe they all meet up at Lydia's house if she's still living.
• 10:04
  Daniel Moore: And we got a letter from Paul and you know when you get an urgent email and you just kind of skim past all the polite stuff.
• 10:11
  Daniel Moore: You know, paul and Timothy service.
• 10:13
  Daniel Moore: Jesus Christ, yeah, yeah, yeah, god's holy people, christ, jesus, love, yeah, yeah.
• 10:17
  Daniel Moore: Well, is he getting out, paul?
• 10:19
  Daniel Moore: Do we need to get the welcome home from prison committee together?
• 10:21
  Daniel Moore: Are you coming to see us?
• 10:23
  Daniel Moore: What did Caesar say?
• 10:24
  Daniel Moore: Do you have a date set?
• 10:25
  Daniel Moore: Have you been able to defend yourself?
• 10:27
  Daniel Moore: And you know they must have been surprised that Paul only gave a half a verse to his situation and the rest of the entire letter.
• 10:36
  Daniel Moore: Paul teaches them a lesson and it's this he teaches them how to be released in reverse, how you can still be in the same situation that you prayed to get out of, but even though you're still in that situation, you are free in your spirit.
• 10:51
  Daniel Moore: You know God is more interested about freeing you in your spirit than he is freeing you from your situation.
• 10:58
  Daniel Moore: And this is a core teaching and the essence of the gospel is that God is more interested in delivering us on the inside you know, changing us on the inside and rearranging our internal condition than he is about arranging our external affairs.
• 11:13
  Daniel Moore: This gospel is not popular to teach in an age that is so consumed with changing scenery we are more concerned with the scenery than we are with our spirits and Paul is teaching us a lesson.
• 11:25
  Daniel Moore: We'd be wise to listen to him.
• 11:28
  Daniel Moore: He says I'm not out yet, but I'm free.
• 11:31
  Daniel Moore: I'm still right here in this cell physically, but spiritually I'm free.
• 11:36
  Daniel Moore: Well, free from what?
• 11:38
  Daniel Moore: Free from pain?
• 11:39
  Daniel Moore: No, no, I'm hurting.
• 11:42
  Daniel Moore: Free from uncertainty?
• 11:44
  Daniel Moore: No, I don't know what they're going to do to me.
• 11:48
  Daniel Moore: Free from?
• 11:50
  Daniel Moore: Have you ever asked God to set you free from certain people?
• 11:53
  Daniel Moore: And he keeps trying and you keep texting them back.
• 11:56
  Daniel Moore: You know.
• 11:57
  Daniel Moore: So you need to work with the Lord.
• 11:58
  Daniel Moore: That's a whole other series right there, and Paul says I'm free.
• 12:02
  Daniel Moore: Oh, you're coming home?
• 12:04
  Daniel Moore: No, but I'm free.
• 12:06
  Daniel Moore: You know I'm free and you know.
• 12:10
  Daniel Moore: This is what I've been praying lately.
• 12:11
  Daniel Moore: I stopped praying.
• 12:13
  Daniel Moore: God set me free from it, whatever it is.
• 12:17
  Daniel Moore: You know this imagination that if that got better, I would be better, because sometimes that got better and I got worse.
• 12:29
  Daniel Moore: So I stopped praying.
• 12:29
  Daniel Moore: God set me free from it.
• 12:30
  Daniel Moore: Because sometimes God set me free from the situation and I took myself into a new situation and I took my same chains from the last situation or the last relationship into the new relationship.
• 12:40
  Daniel Moore: So lately I've been praying God, set me free from me.
• 12:46
  Daniel Moore: If you don't get that, you haven't lived long enough, because you will get tired of yourself at some point and you will get tired of making your own movies of which you are the star and everyone else is a prop, and you will want something bigger in your life than how I feel in this moment.
• 13:00
  Daniel Moore: You'll want something bigger in your life than what I'm earning.
• 13:04
  Daniel Moore: You'll want something bigger in your life than status.
• 13:07
  Daniel Moore: And so Paul said I'm free, not the freedom that you can see, but I am free.
• 13:13
  Daniel Moore: I'm free from the invisible prison, and that is the prison that's within his own mind.
• 13:19
  Daniel Moore: So I'm free because I'm releasing some things.
• 13:23
  Daniel Moore: And Paul says I'm releasing myself from the prison of resentment.
• 13:27
  Daniel Moore: I'm releasing myself from the need to know the reason why everything is the way it is.
• 13:31
  Daniel Moore: I'm releasing myself.
• 13:34
  Daniel Moore: And it's really beautiful, because he could have waited around to be set free by somebody else, but he decided I'm going to use the keys that God has given me.
• 13:42
  Daniel Moore: So I've got my own keys, called faith and trust and praise and gratitude, and so I don't need you to free me.
• 13:49
  Daniel Moore: I am setting people free from my need for them to validate me.
• 13:53
  Daniel Moore: I found freedom when I realized that I have all the resources I need through the Spirit of God, and it is through the provision of His Spirit.
• 14:03
  Daniel Moore: Paul's saying I'm not out, but I'm free.
• 14:06
  Daniel Moore: Nothing has changed in my situation, but I don't need my situation to change.
• 14:11
  Daniel Moore: God has changed me, and whom the Son sets free is free.
• 14:16
  Daniel Moore: Indeed, I'm free from what you think of me.
• 14:19
  Daniel Moore: You may say well, I don't want to lift my hands in worship.
• 14:24
  Daniel Moore: I don't want people to think I'm one of those weird Christians.
• 14:27
  Daniel Moore: Well, I think it's kind of weird that somebody that didn't die for you would dictate the level of your faith and that you would ever be ashamed of the gospel when you claim to be free.
• 14:37
  Daniel Moore: You know Philippians 1, paul said I'm free.
• 14:40
  Daniel Moore: I don't know whether I'll get out of this prison.
• 14:42
  Daniel Moore: But whether or not I get out of this prison is not the hinge on which my faith swings, because I made a decision to be free, free of bitterness, free of blame, real freedom, freedom that nobody can give you but Jesus, and freedom that nobody can take away.
• 14:59
  Daniel Moore: It's a different kind of freedom.
• 15:01
  Daniel Moore: It's not just the freedom to do whatever you want and say whatever you want.
• 15:06
  Daniel Moore: It's not a pretend freedom.
• 15:08
  Daniel Moore: It's a real freedom, a deep freedom.
• 15:11
  Daniel Moore: There's a freedom that I hope to experience more and more in my life.
• 15:15
  Daniel Moore: And I pray the same for you because Paul said I want you to be free.
• 15:19
  Daniel Moore: Isn't it funny that he's praying for them.
• 15:23
  Daniel Moore: He's in a prison and he's the freest one of them all.
• 15:26
  Daniel Moore: You know, some of the least free people I ever met in life had the most stuff, and Paul is so free at this point.
• 15:34
  Daniel Moore: He's free from the need to know what happens next.
• 15:38
  Daniel Moore: He's free Wouldn't it be good to be free like that?
• 15:41
  Daniel Moore: And he sets himself free instead of waiting for someone else to.
• 15:45
  Daniel Moore: And how he does it is kind of a cool process.
• 15:49
  Daniel Moore: I guess it's a psychological or theological lesson.
• 15:53
  Daniel Moore: All at once he does it by remembering, because if he dwells too much on what he's going through right now, it will cause him to lose hope.
• 16:01
  Daniel Moore: If he dwells too much on what's going to happen next, it'll cause him to be unstable, and he can't control that anyway.
• 16:09
  Daniel Moore: So he says I thank my God in every remembrance of you.
• 16:13
  Daniel Moore: This is in Philippians 1.
• 16:15
  Daniel Moore: It says in every prayer with joy and I thank him for your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.
• 16:21
  Daniel Moore: So he revisits in his mind a time maybe 30 years earlier, and he began this work with these friends in Philippi and now he's writing them a letter about his current situation.
• 16:33
  Daniel Moore: But the way that he deals with his anxiety you know how many of you are dealing with anxiety in your life and you don't mind raising your hands he remembers and he concludes something when he revisits his memory of God's faithfulness, because there is a way of remembering the past that will paralyze the potential of today, but there is a way of remembering the past that can fuel your faith for tomorrow.
• 16:58
  Daniel Moore: Paul does the latter.
• 16:59
  Daniel Moore: He says I thank my God every time I remember you and I remember your partnership.
• 17:04
  Daniel Moore: I'm not in this by myself, from the first day until now, and I'm confident of this that he who began a good work in you, who started it you know that's what they used to say in middle school when there was a fight and you get dragged into the principal's office, we used to have a saying I didn't start it, but I finished it.
• 17:24
  Daniel Moore: And so God does both.
• 17:27
  Daniel Moore: And when the devil starts picking on you, don't forget who started it.
• 17:31
  Daniel Moore: If God started a good work in, you guess what he's going to do he's going to finish it.
• 17:33
  Daniel Moore: If God started a good work in, you guess what he's going to do he's going to finish it Now.
• 17:36
  Daniel Moore: You won't know all the details when it starts, but God is not like you, and so he knows the end from the beginning.
• 17:44
  Daniel Moore: God saw the last frame of the movie before he started casting or directing.
• 17:48
  Daniel Moore: So God reveals these things to us in reverse.
• 17:51
  Daniel Moore: It's like Abraham, I'm going to bless the whole earth through you.
• 17:56
  Daniel Moore: Abraham's like okay, can you tell me how?
• 17:59
  Daniel Moore: And God's like no, go to the land, I will show you, and the details will unfold as your obedience does.
• 18:06
  Daniel Moore: And so Paul says I remember how this started and I know who started it.
• 18:11
  Daniel Moore: It was God, because I wasn't even trying to get to Philippi.
• 18:16
  Daniel Moore: Actually, when I think about how I came to you and how we started, it was almost an accidental miracle.
• 18:22
  Daniel Moore: I call it that knowing that nothing is an accident to God.
• 18:25
  Daniel Moore: That could be a whole discussion called miracles by mistake, just like what feels like the worst mistake of your life.
• 18:32
  Daniel Moore: And it was really God using human weakness to display divine strength.
• 18:36
  Daniel Moore: So, paul, he has like a faith flashback.
• 18:41
  Daniel Moore: You know, david, he did the same thing.
• 18:43
  Daniel Moore: You know there's Goliath, and Goliath is huge.
• 18:46
  Daniel Moore: Well, david remembered there was also a lion.
• 18:50
  Daniel Moore: That lion's now dead.
• 18:51
  Daniel Moore: There was also a bear, and he was big.
• 18:54
  Daniel Moore: He's dead too.
• 18:56
  Daniel Moore: You know, the bigger they come, the harder they fall.
• 18:59
  Daniel Moore: So if the lion's now dead and the bear's now dead, well, goliath is about to be dead.
• 19:04
  Daniel Moore: It's called a faith flashback.
• 19:06
  Daniel Moore: And Paul says I remember I'm released in reverse.
• 19:10
  Daniel Moore: It's kind of weird.
• 19:13
  Daniel Moore: In order to go forward with faith, I got to remember how I went out preaching, and I went to the Jews first.
• 19:19
  Daniel Moore: But as I was preaching to the Jews, the Gentiles wanted to hear it too, and the message was too big because God told Abraham I bless all people through you.
• 19:29
  Daniel Moore: And so God started using me to do what he said he would do, and he chose me.
• 19:34
  Daniel Moore: In fact, acts chapter 9 calls Paul God's chosen vessel.
• 19:39
  Daniel Moore: You know, we've been talking about choices, always remembering that you didn't choose God, he chose you, and if he started it, he's the author and finisher of your faith.
• 19:48
  Daniel Moore: So Paul says I start preaching.
• 19:51
  Daniel Moore: I went on a little tour.
• 19:53
  Daniel Moore: I started some churches in Galatia.
• 19:54
  Daniel Moore: It went really all around.
• 19:57
  Daniel Moore: I wanted to take the gospel further and when I got home, the people who should have been celebrating were suspicious, because sometimes we don't like when God doesn't meet our rules of who he's supposed to reach and who he's supposed to bless.
• 20:10
  Daniel Moore: And Paul was like they didn't believe me.
• 20:13
  Daniel Moore: They were like you can't be a Christian.
• 20:15
  Daniel Moore: This is what they thought.
• 20:17
  Daniel Moore: And you know you have to keep the Sabbath and you have to be circumcised.
• 20:21
  Daniel Moore: Now let me tell you what that did.
• 20:22
  Daniel Moore: You know that shut down the men's ministry.
• 20:25
  Daniel Moore: And Paul was like no, I don't think so.
• 20:28
  Daniel Moore: I think it's about the inside.
• 20:30
  Daniel Moore: I don't think it's about the outside.
• 20:32
  Daniel Moore: I think that's what Jesus came for so we could stop fixing things on the outside and smiling pretty like our life is Pinterest, and get real and come into the presence of God.
• 20:43
  Daniel Moore: Imperfect, I don't think it's really important what you wear or that you can say the right words.
• 20:48
  Daniel Moore: I don't think that matters.
• 20:50
  Daniel Moore: I don't think that's the priority.
• 20:52
  Daniel Moore: It's what's on the inside.
• 20:53
  Daniel Moore: Once that is fixed, then the outside will take care of itself.
• 20:57
  Daniel Moore: And so he shared the gospel freely, freely, with everybody.
• 21:01
  Daniel Moore: The grace of God.
• 21:04
  Daniel Moore: Then we got home, had to have a little meeting to decide could the Gentiles come into the church, and it was a rowdy meeting.
• 21:10
  Daniel Moore: But ultimately they said you know, we probably should just go with God.
• 21:14
  Daniel Moore: Imagine that If God's doing something, we probably should just go with God.
• 21:15
  Daniel Moore: Imagine that If God's doing something, we should probably stay out of his way.
• 21:19
  Daniel Moore: So go ahead, paul.
• 21:21
  Daniel Moore: Not that we really like you anymore, but we're not going to stop you.
• 21:24
  Daniel Moore: So go preach.
• 21:27
  Daniel Moore: And now Paul leaves to go preach again, but this time he has an idea.
• 21:30
  Daniel Moore: He's like I need to go to check on the churches that I started and see how they're doing.
• 21:34
  Daniel Moore: I need to go back to some of the places where we planted a church and see if the seeds have become trees.
• 21:40
  Daniel Moore: I need to go strengthen people in the faith that began and I want to see if they're still moving.
• 21:46
  Daniel Moore: I want to see if their choices are becoming habits or becoming automatic.
• 21:50
  Daniel Moore: Paul's like I want to make sure there's no missing pieces.
• 21:53
  Daniel Moore: I want to make sure that what God started gets completed.
• 21:58
  Daniel Moore: And so he goes on this preaching tour.
• 22:00
  Daniel Moore: Hashtag strengthen the saints.
• 22:02
  Daniel Moore: Hashtag check in on the church.
• 22:04
  Daniel Moore: Now you can't take Barnabas.
• 22:07
  Daniel Moore: No, barnabas was the first Christian that liked Paul.
• 22:10
  Daniel Moore: Most of the Christians didn't like Paul because Paul used to kill Christians.
• 22:14
  Daniel Moore: It's kind of hard to apply for a senior pastor job with that on your resume.
• 22:18
  Daniel Moore: But Barnabas was like, nah, he's cool.
• 22:22
  Daniel Moore: And then Paul and Barnabas got in a fight about John Mark, because it doesn't matter how delivered you get, you never fully get delivered from drama.
• 22:29
  Daniel Moore: You know, I left that church.
• 22:32
  Daniel Moore: There was just too much drama.
• 22:33
  Daniel Moore: Well, what church are you going to join?
• 22:35
  Daniel Moore: Because the moment you join it, that one's going to have drama also.
• 22:39
  Daniel Moore: So Paul goes preaching and the grace of God was unleashed, and really that's what the whole book of Galatians is about.
• 22:46
  Daniel Moore: One of the places Paul went to check on, he went to Galatia, and this might be a little complicated for just like a normal discussion, but maybe you could study it on your own time.
• 22:57
  Daniel Moore: We always try to put enough in these discussions that you can take home some Tupperware and then go back and visit the things that you want to look more into.
• 23:04
  Daniel Moore: And, with that said, we're going to take a break here for a moment.
• 23:07
  Daniel Moore: When we come back, we're going to continue this week's discussion on when God says no.
• 23:12
  Daniel Moore: We'll be back right after this.
• 23:32
  chataboutjesus.com: Many people look to others to fill the hole in their heart, but this problem is about more than being lonely for the companionship of someone else.
• 23:36
  chataboutjesus.com: No, you're actually lonely for God.
• 23:37
  chataboutjesus.com: God made you in His image, for fellowship with God.
• 23:41
  chataboutjesus.com: Until you come to know God personally, you will continue to have this emptiness.
• 23:45
  chataboutjesus.com: We want to help you trade your loneliness for a relationship with Jesus Christ.
• 23:50
  chataboutjesus.com: If you would like to learn how to have a relationship with Jesus, call or text us at 888-NEED-HIM.
• 24:16
  Daniel Moore: Welcome back to Connecting the Gap podcast.
• 24:18
  Daniel Moore: I'm Daniel Moore, your host.
• 24:19
  Daniel Moore: This week we're talking about when God says no.
• 24:23
  Daniel Moore: We've been in Philippians, chapter 1, talking about Paul when he was in prison and when he wrote back to all the Christians and told them he was free, but yet he was in prison.
• 24:35
  Daniel Moore: How could that be?
• 24:37
  Daniel Moore: Well, he chose, in that situation that he was in to still trust in God and to worship God.
• 24:44
  Daniel Moore: He knew he had freedom in Christ, regardless of what his physical circumstance was.
• 24:50
  Daniel Moore: And as we left here going into the break, we were starting to talk about Paul when he started to decide to go check on some of the churches that he had planted.
• 24:57
  Daniel Moore: You know, paul had an idea to go check on the churches and God didn't tell him to do it.
• 25:02
  Daniel Moore: You know, paul had an idea to go check on the churches and God didn't tell him to do it.
• 25:06
  Daniel Moore: In fact, paul, in this particular scenario, he's not so much being led by God to do it as he is being led by his burden to do it.
• 25:11
  Daniel Moore: And the only reason I point that out is because I think a lot of us think that God's leading us looks like, you know, god's got a rope and he's pulling us, you know, and that's almost how we follow Christ, like, ok, god, here I come.
• 25:26
  Daniel Moore: But actually it was more like this we lead and God follows or goes with us.
• 25:32
  Daniel Moore: We should have that desire inside of us.
• 25:34
  Daniel Moore: So Paul set out and God went with him, and so that's a simple principle.
• 25:40
  Daniel Moore: Divine empowerment often awaits human initiative.
• 25:44
  Daniel Moore: And so Paul went out and he went to check on the churches and it was like a very effective trip, a very effective preaching tour.
• 25:52
  Daniel Moore: He couldn't take Barnabas, so he took Silas, which is good, because Silas likes to sing and they needed to sing at midnight when everyone's chains were so tight, so that everyone's chains could come loose, because God will put you in your life who you need for the season that you're in.
• 26:07
  Daniel Moore: Just because Barnabas left doesn't mean that God did.
• 26:11
  Daniel Moore: So pick up Silas and hit the road and Paul says let's go.
• 26:17
  Daniel Moore: And Acts 16, 4 records what happened next they traveled from town to town and they told all the churches good news we met with the council of Jerusalem, you don't have to be circumcised.
• 26:28
  Daniel Moore: And all the men say amen.
• 26:31
  Daniel Moore: So Paul's like all right, put down your knives.
• 26:34
  Daniel Moore: We're not doing that anymore.
• 26:35
  Daniel Moore: Just here's what you do Don't worship idols, don't eat food with the blood still in it, strangled animals and you can come to the kingdom.
• 26:43
  Daniel Moore: And they went around delivering it.
• 26:45
  Daniel Moore: And here's what happened In Acts 16.5, the churches were strengthened in the faith.
• 26:51
  Daniel Moore: Everywhere Paul went, god gave him the grace to go and God gave him the evidence and the church grew daily in numbers.
• 26:57
  Daniel Moore: And then verse 6 happens.
• 27:00
  Daniel Moore: Acts 16.6 says Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the devil from preaching the word in the province of Asia.
• 27:12
  Daniel Moore: Did you guys catch that?
• 27:14
  Daniel Moore: Did I say the verse wrong?
• 27:17
  Daniel Moore: Having been kept by the oh, not the devil.
• 27:21
  Daniel Moore: Having been kept by the Holy Spirit.
• 27:23
  Daniel Moore: Having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching.
• 27:26
  Daniel Moore: I mean, I understand the Holy Spirit keeps me from doing certain things, you know.
• 27:32
  Daniel Moore: Please don't look at me like you've never had the Holy Spirit have to restrain you.
• 27:35
  Daniel Moore: Please don't look at me like there's never been a cuss word coming out of your mouth or something like that, and that God was on the inside of you and yanked them back in and it was like swallowing down vomit to keep it from coming out.
• 27:47
  Daniel Moore: It tasted really bad.
• 27:49
  Daniel Moore: I mean, I understand the Holy Spirit kept me from going off and I can understand.
• 27:54
  Daniel Moore: The Holy Spirit kept me from certain parties, but I didn't know the Holy Spirit would keep you from preaching.
• 27:59
  Daniel Moore: Isn't that a weird verse?
• 28:02
  Daniel Moore: Having been kept by the Holy Spirit, you know I want to blame the devil here, because everything that I want to happen in my life that doesn't happen, I give the devil credit for it.
• 28:13
  Daniel Moore: Every dream that I have that doesn't come true, it's the devil.
• 28:17
  Daniel Moore: The devil is more popular than God in most sermons.
• 28:20
  Daniel Moore: It's the devil.
• 28:21
  Daniel Moore: It's just nothing but the devil.
• 28:23
  Daniel Moore: And the Lord really spoke to me the last time I went down that line of logic and the sense that I got is he was telling me to stop giving the devil credit for stuff I'm trying to do in your life and particularly stop giving the devil credit for the moments where I hold you back, because Paul was the most brilliant preacher that ever lived.
• 28:44
  Daniel Moore: There was nobody better to preach in Asia than Paul.
• 28:46
  Daniel Moore: And watch what he says.
• 28:48
  Daniel Moore: He says I wanted to do a good thing.
• 28:50
  Daniel Moore: My desire was right.
• 28:52
  Daniel Moore: It wasn't out of bad motives.
• 28:54
  Daniel Moore: I was trying to strengthen the church.
• 28:56
  Daniel Moore: I was trying to build people up in their faith.
• 28:58
  Daniel Moore: I was trying to do what I thought God told me to do.
• 29:01
  Daniel Moore: And I went to Galatia, and God let me.
• 29:04
  Daniel Moore: And I went to Phrygia and God let me Acts 16, 7,.
• 29:09
  Daniel Moore: But when I tried to go to the border of Mycenae and tried to enter Bithynia watch what it says next the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to.
• 29:18
  Daniel Moore: I mean, what's up with God holding Paul back from preaching the gospel?
• 29:23
  Daniel Moore: Why would God send his son and not spare his son?
• 29:27
  Daniel Moore: And then Paul goes to try to preach and God says no.
• 29:32
  Daniel Moore: So Jesus goes into all the world and preach the gospel and Paul's like okay.
• 29:38
  Daniel Moore: God says no, not there.
• 29:40
  Daniel Moore: Paul's like well, I'm just trying to do what you told me to do.
• 29:44
  Daniel Moore: Let's try again.
• 29:46
  Daniel Moore: Maybe we can get in Mycenae.
• 29:47
  Daniel Moore: Paul's plans to go to Mycenae.
• 29:50
  Daniel Moore: He got to the border, no.
• 29:53
  Daniel Moore: And most of us right here, most of us would have gone back home, because the moment that we make progress and then the progress stops, we cave.
• 30:02
  Daniel Moore: You see, here's the good thing about being a good parent.
• 30:06
  Daniel Moore: You really don't know what kind of a parent you are until you have to tell your kid no.
• 30:11
  Daniel Moore: It's true, because we used to play this game with the kids and I know it's terrible, but sometimes we'd ask them who would they choose to live with.
• 30:19
  Daniel Moore: It's just a terrible evil game that we would play with our kids, and we used to feel like it was a compliment when they said us, until we realized that the one they would choose to live with is usually the parent who doesn't know how to say no.
• 30:32
  Daniel Moore: That was always their favorite parent.
• 30:35
  Daniel Moore: And you say God is a good, good father.
• 30:37
  Daniel Moore: I mean, I like that song too, but is he still good when he says whatever good parent has to say every once in a while, no, no, I'm not going to make it easier, no, I'm not going to bring them back into your life, no, I'm not going to take that thing away.
• 30:56
  Daniel Moore: See, paul had experience with this, you understand, because he had something that he called a thorn in his flesh, something that he wanted God to take away, because he thought I could be so much more effective if it wasn't for this thing that's holding me back, and we all have that thing.
• 31:13
  Daniel Moore: And so Paul asked God to take it away, and God said no.
• 31:18
  Daniel Moore: And so Paul came back a second time and said pretty please.
• 31:23
  Daniel Moore: And God said no.
• 31:25
  Daniel Moore: And he asked him a third time, with the cherry on top and God said no.
• 31:30
  Daniel Moore: The answer is still no.
• 31:33
  Daniel Moore: And this is my question Is he still good when the answer is still no?
• 31:37
  Daniel Moore: Or do you have a conditional faith that when God says no you go home, that when it doesn't happen overnight and when you don't see the results right away, not only do you quit the gym but you quit the church and you quit praying and reading the word?
• 31:52
  Daniel Moore: And so we tried here and we tried there and God said no.
• 31:56
  Daniel Moore: So I guess it must be God's will for us to go back home.
• 31:59
  Daniel Moore: But you know what?
• 32:01
  Daniel Moore: Paul didn't see it that way.
• 32:03
  Daniel Moore: Paul knew that just because God says no doesn't mean it's over.
• 32:09
  Daniel Moore: Some of you may have a boyfriend or a girlfriend or a spouse and things just aren't quite cozy right now at the moment between the two of you.
• 32:16
  Daniel Moore: They may be doing some things to cause a strain on your relationship and your marriage, making some choices that you disagree with, and it's causing a division in your home or your relationship.
• 32:26
  Daniel Moore: And you keep praying for God to intervene and change your situation and it isn't happening.
• 32:32
  Daniel Moore: You're getting discouraged and frustrated and about to give up.
• 32:36
  Daniel Moore: Has it crossed your mind that maybe it isn't you?
• 32:39
  Daniel Moore: Maybe God is trying to work on a roadblock in their life and they haven't given in yet.
• 32:45
  Daniel Moore: And if God answers your prayer and causes a change in them prematurely, they will never learn their lesson and they will eventually go right back to the same pattern you prayed them out of.
• 32:55
  Daniel Moore: You know.
• 32:56
  Daniel Moore: The same goes for praying for healing.
• 32:58
  Daniel Moore: You can pray for immediate release from pain and suffering with the sicknesses you are going through, but God may have a bigger.
• 33:05
  Daniel Moore: I don't know what no you've been told by God, by life, by the doctor or by another person.
• 33:08
  Daniel Moore: I don't know what that no is, but I don't have to know what the no is, no is, but I don't have to know what the no is.
• 33:26
  Daniel Moore: Here's what I know, because he who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it.
• 33:29
  Daniel Moore: It's not over.
• 33:29
  Daniel Moore: In fact, here's what I learned about God.
• 33:32
  Daniel Moore: Sometimes, when he says no, it's because there's a greater opportunity that I don't know about yet, and God is so good.
• 33:39
  Daniel Moore: This is for somebody who's been told no, and the pain hasn't gone away and the memory hasn't gone away and it hasn't gotten any easier and the scenes haven't gotten smoother and it doesn't seem to be changing in your situation.
• 33:53
  Daniel Moore: But God came to give you strength in your spirit.
• 33:56
  Daniel Moore: It's not over.
• 33:56
  Daniel Moore: Just because God said no, it doesn't mean he's left you alone over.
• 33:58
  Daniel Moore: Just because God said no, it doesn't mean he's left you alone.
• 34:01
  Daniel Moore: He is with you in the no, like he was with you in the yes.
• 34:06
  Daniel Moore: He's a good father, he knows what's on the other side of no.
• 34:10
  Daniel Moore: So don't go home just because God said no.
• 34:14
  Daniel Moore: You know, but I'm trying so hard and I asked God.
• 34:17
  Daniel Moore: I told my life group leader I guess it just wasn't meant to be, I guess it just wasn't meant for me.
• 34:26
  Daniel Moore: You know, paul said no.
• 34:33
  Daniel Moore: Acts 16, 8,.
• 34:33
  Daniel Moore: Let's go to Troas.
• 34:34
  Daniel Moore: They passed Mycenae.
• 34:34
  Daniel Moore: That's where Paul wanted to go and God wouldn't let him.
• 34:36
  Daniel Moore: So they had to pass by.
• 34:36
  Daniel Moore: Sometimes you have to pass by your plans to get to God's purpose.
• 34:40
  Daniel Moore: He passed by what he had planned to get to what God purposed.
• 34:45
  Daniel Moore: So he passes by Mycenae and goes to Troas where he waits, in confusion.
• 34:49
  Daniel Moore: But he's chained to grace and he waits and he knows that if God says no, I won't remove it, the obstacle, the thorn.
• 34:58
  Daniel Moore: I will give you a grace that is greater, so that you can overcome it.
• 35:02
  Daniel Moore: It's a no-go, it's not over, it's a greater opportunity Because while Paul was at Troas not the place he had planned, the place God had purposed Acts 16.9 says he saw a vision in the night and in this vision it wasn't a vision of God, it was a vision of a man from Macedonia and he was standing there begging Paul come over to Macedonia and help us.
• 35:29
  Daniel Moore: And God didn't show up looking like an angel.
• 35:31
  Daniel Moore: God showed up looking like a need, and God might be speaking to you about your next season, in the context of the need that's standing right in front of you.
• 35:41
  Daniel Moore: Maybe you're just about to go home, you know, just go home, it's over.
• 35:46
  Daniel Moore: That's what the enemy has been telling you.
• 35:48
  Daniel Moore: Just quit trying to be free.
• 35:50
  Daniel Moore: Just quit trying and just give it up.
• 35:52
  Daniel Moore: This is who you are.
• 35:53
  Daniel Moore: No, I'm loved by God, that's who I am.
• 35:58
  Daniel Moore: And he's a good father.
• 36:00
  Daniel Moore: And if he says no, there's something that he knows that I don't know, and that's what makes him God and that's why I worship him and I serve him.
• 36:08
  Daniel Moore: He doesn't serve me.
• 36:12
  Daniel Moore: So Acts 16.10 says, after Paul had seen the vision, we got ready Luke says at once and we left for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.
• 36:23
  Daniel Moore: And from Troas, the place where we were uncertain, we put out to sea and sailed straight for Samothrace, and the next day we went to Neapolis and from there we traveled to Philippi.
• 36:33
  Daniel Moore: I thank my God in every remembrance of you, in every prayer, with joy, for your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.
• 36:42
  Daniel Moore: And we got to Philippi, the place we didn't plan for, but the place God wanted us to be all along.
• 36:49
  Daniel Moore: See, because Philippi was a Roman colony and the leading city of that district of Macedonia.
• 36:55
  Daniel Moore: And Philippi was the first place in Europe where Paul established a church.
• 36:59
  Daniel Moore: In fact, it was the first place in the Western world that Paul established a church.
• 37:02
  Daniel Moore: In fact, it was the first place in the Western world that Paul established a church.
• 37:05
  Daniel Moore: Those of us in the Western world, we are part of a church that started because God told Paul no.
• 37:13
  Daniel Moore: I just wonder this week what's on the other side of your no that you will miss if you go home because you're disappointed.
• 37:18
  Daniel Moore: If you receive God's yes with praise, why not receive his no with trust?
• 37:24
  Daniel Moore: People are frustrated and hurting and disappointed and been struggling with stuff for generations and generations and you keep thinking that because it didn't turn out the way that you planned, that you must be outside of God's will.
• 37:37
  Daniel Moore: You're probably right where you're supposed to be.
• 37:41
  Daniel Moore: You're probably right where you're supposed to be.
• 37:46
  Daniel Moore: You're who you're supposed to be, and it was God all along.
• 37:47
  Daniel Moore: It was God in the yeses, it was God in the nose, it was God on the mountaintop when you had it, when you were succeeding, when you felt it, and it's God in the valleys.
• 37:56
  Daniel Moore: He's the same God yesterday, today and forever.
• 38:00
  Daniel Moore: He that began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it.
• 38:05
  Daniel Moore: Well, that's gonna do it for this week's episode of Connecting the Gap.
• 38:10
  Daniel Moore: Has God told you no about something in your life Trying to stop you from making a choice and doing something out of your own will and your own purpose?
• 38:18
  Daniel Moore: God has a plan for each of us.
• 38:20
  Daniel Moore: He has a divine appointment assigned to each of us in our life, daily, moment by moment, that he wants us to go and fulfill.
• 38:29
  Daniel Moore: We need to constantly be in prayer towards God, asking Him for His plan for our life, asking Him where we need to go next, if we rely on God and His direction 24-7 in our lives and we actually enjoy the moments when he says no, because we know that he has a better plan for us, and when he says yes, we can rejoice in the fact that we are in a place that he wants us to be in, a place where we can make a difference and we can maybe help others come to know Jesus in a better way by the example that we're showing in our testimony.
• 39:04
  Daniel Moore: That's what this Christian walk is all about.
• 39:07
  Daniel Moore: This is a lesson that's been hard for me to learn in my life is when to accept it.
• 39:12
  Daniel Moore: When God says no.
• 39:13
  Daniel Moore: Hopefully today you've received something from this and this example of Paul, when God told him no, that he couldn't go do something he wanted to do, even when that thing seemed exactly 100% right.
• 39:26
  Daniel Moore: Well, I'm out of here for this week.
• 39:28
  Daniel Moore: Visit my website, connectingthegapnet.
• 39:30
  Daniel Moore: Check out everything about our ministry there.
• 39:32
  Daniel Moore: Figure out all the podcasting platforms we're on.
• 39:34
  Daniel Moore: Please subscribe and share.
• 39:35
  Daniel Moore: Leave us a review where you can Leave some comments.
• 39:38
  Daniel Moore: Love to hear from you guys.
• 39:40
  Daniel Moore: Well, I'm out of here for this week and until next week.
• 39:47
  Daniel Moore: Don't forget that God's word never fails us.
• 39:48
  Daniel Moore: God's word has stood the test of time and, through Jesus' death on the cross, he has connected the gap You've been listening to Connecting the Gap podcast.
• 39:53
  Daniel Moore: I'm Daniel Moore, the host for this podcast, and I personally thank you for listening.
• 39:57
  Daniel Moore: Each week In this world there are many disconnects that cause chaos in our lives.
• 40:01
  Daniel Moore: This podcast is birthed from the desire to share hope and restoration of the power of the gospel by being transparent and open in our biblical walk with God.
• 40:10
  Daniel Moore: Each week, we take a few moments as we navigate God's Word and peer into other people's testimonies and encourage each other to connect the gap.
• 40:17
  Daniel Moore: We upload a new audio podcast every Thursday and a video version of it on YouTube and Rumble.
• 40:22
  Daniel Moore: We are also on the Christian podcasting app, edify.
• 40:25
  Daniel Moore: You can subscribe to our podcast on many of the available podcasting platforms, such as Apple Podcasts, deezer, spotify, amazon Music, iheart Radio, tunein Radio and many more.
• 40:37
  Daniel Moore: We are also available on your Alexa-enabled devices.
• 40:40
  Daniel Moore: If you would like to give us feedback or would like to contact our ministry for any reason, including prayer, visit our contact page at wwwconnectingthegapnet and send us a message.
• 40:50
  Daniel Moore: We hope you are blessed by this ministry.
• 40:52
  Daniel Moore: This is a production of Connecting the Gap Ministries.