Transcription
Why does God tell you so many times in the Bible, he wants you to ask for what you need in prayer? Because he knows that's how you're going to learn to trust him. When he meets that need, you'll trust him more. When he meets the next need, you'll trust him more, just like a parent and a child does.
And so, if I don't think God is good, I don't get in that cycle. And if you're not asking God to meet your needs in your life, then you're just assuming that you have to solve them all on your own. You're not letting him meet those needs. You're not growing. And you're not learning to trust him.
You say, "Well, this is such a small thing. I want to go give God just the big things in my life." Listen, every one of your requests are small to God. You don't have any big requests in his book. Every request you got is tiny. There's nothing too hard for God. So, it's not like, well, I should save, you know, let God give world peace and I'll worry about my car payment. No, God says you can pray about anything. God is interested in every detail of your life.
So, when's the last time that you actually said, um, you know, God, um, you are so good and I know you like to give things and it's one way of teaching me to trust you. Uh, so here's another one. And you tell him about something in your life. And you, if it's big enough to worry about, it's big enough to pray about. And if you prayed about it, you'd have a whole lot less to worry about.
And so you go to God, say, "God, here's what I need." And then you wait patiently because God's timetable's not yours. God is not a vending machine that you put in the prayer and you pull it and you instantly get the result. No, God wants to build your faith. God wants to test your faith. He wants to strengthen you. So, you don't get it on your timetable. You get it on his timetable. And you wait patiently and you don't get in a hurry. You realize that a delayed answer is not a denied answer. You understand that? A delay is not a denial.
This is called maturity. Children don't know the difference between no and not yet. You tell a kid, "I want to go to the event." Well, not yet. They think it means no. No, it just means not yet. And so, you trust God's timing. Jesus said this in Luke 11. If you as imperfect parents know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly father, who by the way is perfect. How much more will your heavenly father give good gifts to those who ask him? God only gives good gifts. God will never give you a bad gift. You can ask for bad things. That's okay. Go right ahead. And God will say, "I'm not going to give that to you." But you can ask for good things. God gives good things to those who ask. And when you do this, then you grow. So many times, the reason you're not growing in faith is because you're not asking.
I'm embarrassed to tell you this story, but even pastors can forget the goodness of God. A week ago, Friday, I lost my phone. My iPhone. Now, since I've got all my email and all my text messages, and I get often hundreds a day, that means for every day that it was lost, those responses are piling up and people going, "Well, Pastor Rick must not be interested in me. He doesn't care or whatever." And I tore the house apart, looking for it everywhere. I mean, I'm looking under the sofa and I'm digging through trash and it wasn't anywhere in the house. So, I go out to my car. I tore my car apart. I, you know, I'm looking with a fine-tooth comb and, you know, magnifying glass. I couldn't find it. The next day, I go to the office. I tore my office apart. Okay. A Tuesday. Uh, Wednesday, I thought, well, it's still not found. Um, so I did it again. I tore them all apart again. And I literally retraced my steps. I went looked at every single thing in the whole house. Couldn't find it in my car, in my office, anywhere.
And so, you know, by Thursday, I'm going, "Whoa, I can't imagine how many things are on that phone, text messages and stuff like that." And so, um, my son Josh loaned me an old phone, so at least I had something, but it didn't have all the backed-up stuff on it. And, uh, so Thursday night, Kay had been gone all this last week. She was in Washington D.C. When Kay's gone, I end up staying up all night. And I would, you know, one night I got a couple hours sleep and I stay up and I was studying for this message on the goodness of God. So, Thursday night about 8:00 p.m., um, uh, uh, I started studying and about 4:00 a.m. in the morning, I haven't gone to bed yet. And, um, I'm walking up the stairs and I'm thinking about the goodness of God and how God wants us to ask. And all of a sudden it dawned on me, Rick, you haven't even prayed about this. Oh, God. Yeah. You know, I spent all this time tearing things apart. I haven't even, God knows where the phone is. And I did not even think to stop and ask God, "Where's the phone?"
Okay, so 4:00 a.m. in the morning, I'm in a pair of shorts and a t-shirt and I'm walking up the stairs up to my study. And in that moment, I go, "Okay, God, I need to repent. I know better than this. You're a good God. There's nothing too unimportant to you. I could talk to you about anything." And so I said, "God, because you're a good God, would you show me where my phone is because I can't find it." And I said, "Now, Lord, I'm going to go to bed in about an hour. And if you want to show me in a dream, that'd be okay." You know, I'm trying to like give God hints, okay? Tell him, "Not only do I want him to answer, I want him to answer in my way." Like he couldn't have thought that one up. So, I'm going to God, why don't you just like tell me in a dream where my phone is and I'll wake up and then I'll go get it. Um, and, uh, you know, I'm just thinking this is kind of crazy because I haven't even prayed about this.
And so, uh, I went into my study to start shutting things down and there were some dishes in there. I thought, "Oh, I need to take those downstairs and wash them and get them all cleaned." So, I went back downstairs and cleaned up the dishes. And as I was walking back to go upstairs, I started humming a tune. A tune just started coming into my mind. I thought, "That's an interesting tune." I said, "I bet I could give that to our worship team, and they could probably come up with a worship song with that catchy tune." So, I went over and sat down at Kay's piano. It's got a beautiful piano there in the little living room area. And I walked over there and I sat down and I start playing this tune out and I go, "Yeah, that's good." Often if I get a tune in my mind, um, I'll get my phone and I'll turn on the recorder and I'll record it. So then I can send that MP3 to somebody and they say, you know, use this if you like it. And so I thought, oh, I need to go get the phone that Josh gave me for today because I've lost the other one. And so as I stood up from the piano, I looked over and right by the metronome on the black piano was my black phone.
Now I started laughing and crying at the same time. I'm Oh, come on. I mean, really, God, this was not five minutes after I had prayed. Not five minutes. And I said, "God did more in five minutes than I could do in five days of searching on my own. God is good. God is good." And what was interesting is as I was praying on the steps there, I said, "Now, Lord, you know, this isn't going to shake my faith if you don't do this." I mean, I'm just, you know, not every prayer gets answered, and we don't know all the answers why on that. I know we'll understand it one day. So, I trust you. And if I'm asking you to show me where my phone is and it doesn't show up, I'm not going to take that as a big deal. It's not like it's going to make or break. But because you're a good God and because this is really important to me, uh, I'd like you to show me the phone. In five minutes after I'd prayed that prayer, I found what I couldn't have found in five days. That is the goodness of God. And God says, I want to do that in your life. I want to show you how good I am.
Now, you say, "Well, I don't want to bother God in my prayers." You're not bothering God. He's waiting to have a relationship with you. Look at the next verse. Hebrews 4:16. Let us come boldly, not tentatively, not timidly. Let us come boldly to the throne of our God, our good and gracious God. He's a good God. He's a gracious God. Then there we'll receive his mercy and we'll find grace when we need it. So you come to God boldly. God, I need you to show me where my phone is. I'm going to trust you no matter what, but I need you to show me where my phone is. This is a request.
Now, what is God's motivation in answering your prayers? Well, David tells us in the next verse, Psalm 69:16, "Answer me, O Lord, out of the goodness of your love." God answers every prayer that's ever been answered in your life is because God is a good God. It's all based on his goodness. You see, if you were more aware all the time how good God really is in your life, every time you got stressed out, you would automatically go to prayer. You would automatically not say, "Well, how can I figure this out? I've got this bill to pay." You would automatically just go to God and naturally ask for his help. But when you forget God's goodness that he's waiting to answer your prayer, you try to do it on your own.
Let me show you some verses. Psalm 16:1 and 2. "Protect me, God, because I trust in you. You are my Lord and every good thing I have comes from you." It is the goodness of God that answers your prayers. Romans 5:3 Paul says this, you know, we can have joy even in our troubles. Even when life sucks, even when life is difficult, we can have joy even in our troubles because we know that these troubles are good for us. Yeah, God can bring good even out of troubles. These troubles are good for us producing patience and character and hope. God says it'll produce hope in your life when you come and you ask me.
And then Romans 8:28. And he says, "We know that in everything, not just the good things, in everything, the good and the bad, God works for the good, because he's a good God. The good of those who love him." It's not all good, but he works it for the good of those who love him and are called according to his good purpose. All hope is based on the goodness of God. If God is not a good God, we're hopeless, friends. There's no rational, logical reason to be hopeful about the future. If God is not involved and God is not a good God, we lose hope because hope is based on the goodness of God.
When you forget God's goodness, David talks about this in Psalm 27. Here's what he says. "I would have despaired. This is just honest. I would have despaired unless I had believed that I'd see the goodness of the Lord, confident of this, that I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living." He said, "But I didn't give up hope." Why? Because I believe in the goodness of God. And he said, "Instead, I thought, wait for the Lord. Be strong. Let your heart take courage." Yes, wait for the Lord.
He's saying, when you made a prayer request to God, said, "God, I need this," and it hadn't come in the instant second, which it rarely does, God's testing you, testing your faith. And when that happens, he's saying, "Don't get in a hurry. Just wait." So many of your problems are because of your inability to wait. Your inability to delay gratification. I really want that. Well, have you asked God for it? Have you ever prayed, given God a chance to give it to you before you go out and put it on a credit card? I got to have it now, even though I can't afford it, I'll put it on a credit card. Well, why don't you first ask God to give it to you? Have you ever done that? Let God give it to you first. Don't get in a hurry. As I said, delays are not denials. No and not yet are not the same thing.
Now, he's saying, "I would have despaired if I hadn't believed in the goodness of God." If you right now are fighting depression or you're fighting discouragement or you're fighting despair, I want to suggest you do two things. Number one, you need to start focusing on all the ways God has been good to you. Get your eyes off the problem that's getting you down and get your eyes on all the things that God has done for you. Make a list. Count your blessings. Literally make a list and think of all the things that God has done good in your life and all the good things you have right now. Not that the cup's half empty, but all of the 90% of all the things you wouldn't have without God in your life. And start focusing on all of that.
Hope is anticipating God's goodness. That's what hope is. Hope is anticipating God's goodness. God, you've been good to me in the past. I believe you're going to be good to me in the future. That's called hope. I don't know what's going to happen in my life, but I know you're a good God, and you're going to be with me in the future. That's called hope. Hope is anticipating the goodness of God. And as I said, friends, if God is not a good God, then we're hopeless. We're up a creek without a paddle. If God is not a good God, then you don't have any reason to be optimistic about life because everything's stacked against you in so many different areas and we'd all be on our own. The foundation for all hope in your life is the goodness of God. And the more you understand how good God really is to you, the more hopeful you're going to be, the more optimistic you're going to be, the more filled with joy and peace you're going to be.
Do you remember this verse? Jeremiah 29:11. "For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord. They're plans for good." There's that word. God's a good God, and he has good plans for your life, not bad plans for your life. Satan has bad plans for your life. God has good, only good plans for your life. "I know the plans I have for you. Plans for good, not for disaster." God doesn't want to destroy you. Notice God's goodness and hope go together. Psalm 27. "I would have despaired. I'd be in despair. I'd be depressed. I'd be discouraged. I'd be doubtful. I'd be, you know, really not good if unless I had believed that I'd see the goodness of the Lord. I saw him out in the future in the land of the living. But I did believe in the goodness of God. So instead, I thought, 'Wait for the Lord. Be strong. Let your heart take courage.' Yes, wait for the Lord."
You don't know what's going to happen. Neither do I. You don't know the losses you're going to have. You don't know the hits you're going to take. You don't know the conflicts you're going to have. You don't know the lacks you're going to have in your life, but I do know this. Goodness and mercy are going to follow me the rest of my life. And you'll experience that if you trust him. If you trust his goodness, it doesn't happen automatically. You've got to just trust him. "Surely your goodness and your love will follow me all the days of my life." And if that's not enough, David says, "And not only that, you're going to take care of the next life, too. Because God is a good God, he will take me to heaven one day." Hello. That's your inheritance. Once you are saved, God says, "Nobody's going to pull you out of my hand." Well, you can jump out of God's hand. How big is God's hand? You can't jump out of it. You might lose some joy, but you're not losing the relationship. He will take care of me and take me to heaven one day.
Who doesn't want that kind of life? It's not like we're selling stuff that tastes bad here. This is what everybody in the world wants. It's what everybody wants. But you only get it in the goodness of God. You don't get it in a drug. You don't get it in a relationship. You don't get it in a career. You don't get it in a pile of money. No matter how high the pile is. You don't get it in anything else. You get it in the goodness of God. And in that relationship where you keep asking, he keeps meeting your needs. And you keep trusting him more and more and more. All these good benefits come from where? "The Lord is my shepherd." The Lord is my shepherd. By the way, who is that shepherd? It's Jesus. It's Jesus.
Look at the next verse. John chapter 10. Jesus said this. "My purpose, the reason he came to earth, my purpose is to give life, not death, life, real life in all its fullness. You're just existing until you know Christ. You're not really living. My purpose is to give life in all its fullness. I am the good shepherd." You want to know the good shepherd? Jesus. I am the good shepherd. How do you know a good shepherd? The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. All of these benefits, the only reason you are able to get them is because Jesus Christ paid for them on the cross.
I want you to get this. God's goodness in your life has nothing to do with you being good. God doesn't require your goodness to be good to you. God's goodness in your life is because of the goodness of Jesus Christ. He paid for it. And when you're in Christ, we'll explain this in detail. That goodness makes you good enough for God and his goodness pours out on him. And all of the good things are because of what Jesus did on the cross. Now, do you understand why they call it Good Friday? It wasn't good for Jesus. Dying on the cross was a bad, painful, horrible, torturous death. But the good that came out of it is all that I just read you. And the good shepherd paid for that in your life. And if you die, not experience it, it's your fault. You can't blame God. Christ did everything possible to make it possible for you. Who doesn't want or need all these good things from God?
Let's bow our heads for prayer.
Dear God, you are so, so good. And forgive us for forgetting how good you are. And today we want to turn the corner. We want to return to you. We want to come back to your goodness. Some of us have strayed a long ways away. Another of us have just lost the connection. Now you pray. Say, "God, I'm sorry for the times that I've just forgotten how good you really are. That the air I breathe, that the beating of my heart, everything that I am, have, feel, hear, see, the senses that I have, it all is a gift from you. I would have nothing if you hadn't decided to create me." And so God, I want to ask you to forgive me for all the times I've claimed credit for stuff that you did in me and through me and to me and for me and I've acted like it all depended on me. And I'm sorry. You're a good God.
And God, forgive me for all the times that I've stopped asking for help. When I've spent five days looking for something when I may have been able to get it in five minutes if I just asked you for help. And God, I ask you to forgive me for all the times I've stopped trusting you in difficult times because I didn't really think you were that good. Help me to remember that we know that troubles are good for us, that they produce character and hope. Help me to remember that in everything, you're working for good. Even the bad stuff, you're working for good according to your good purpose in my life.
And God, forgive me for the times I've put my hope in something else besides your goodness. I put it in my own cleverness or my talent or my bank account or my boyfriend or even a dream. And Lord, I know that I'm going to become pessimistic about the future. I won't have any hope if you're not a good God. Teach me to anticipate your goodness in my life. Lord, I want a Psalm 23 kind of life, where because I trust in your goodness, you meet all my needs and you teach me to relax when I get stressed out because it doesn't all depend on me. Thank you that you replenish my strength when I'm empty. I need that. Thank you that you'll guide me when I'm confused. I need that. Thank you that you've promised to walk with me in the dark and fearful days. I need that. And because you're a good God, you've promised to protect me when I'm insecure and to show your favor when I'm attacked. And you're going to be good to me no matter what's happened. And you're even going to take me to heaven one day. What a God you are, God.
I want your favor on my life. And so today again, I commit or recommit my life completely to you. I want to start over. I want a fresh start. I want a new beginning. Jesus Christ, come in and take over every room in my hotel in my life. The bedroom, the bathroom, the living room, the guest room, the kitchen. I want you to come into every area of my life. And I want to learn to love you and trust you. And I ask you to do this not because I deserve it, 'cause I don't. And I ask you to do it because you truly are a good God. You want me to learn to trust you. So I'm voicing my need and I'm expecting you to meet my need and I'm thanking you that you're going to. And I humbly make this prayer in Jesus name. Amen.