The God Who Withholds No Good

...just be an intimate friend in their life, Father, that as they face situations, Lord, where it seems something is withheld, Lord, that they would see it clearly. Lord, we want to see things according to Your mind, Father. We don't want to have things tainted with our own carnal thinking or thinking in ways that You do not think, Father.

We long to have the mind of God be our mind. And Lord, You've said to the Corinthians, You have the mind of Christ. And so, Father, we know it's Your desire, it's Your will that we would think and act and be like the Savior.

And so, Lord, would You use us for encouragement right now? And Lord, I pray You'd be with the teachers in the back who are teaching the children. Lord, we long to see our children come to know You, the living God. We just commit this time to You.

In Christ's name, amen. Amen. Well, I want to think about the simple truth.

As I prayed, no good thing. Does He withhold from those who walk uprightly? This is a truth that has just been so pivotal in my own life as a Christian. And it's basically acknowledging the truth that God alone is the best judge of what is good for you and me.

That's what it really comes down to. You're acknowledging the best judge of what is good for you is not you. It's God.

That's a massive thing that comes down to. I was thinking, there's so many things even recently that could maybe illustrate this as we go into this. The Musselmans and the McCanns.

They get to the airport. They had three flight delays. Now, is that a good thing? That was being withheld? Or was something better given to them by the delay? Now, we can answer that question without knowing what happens in the future.

Some of us would say, well, I could say it was a good thing if God gives me future light to recognize why He allowed the providence of three plane delays. And you would agree. It's easier to worship the Lord when you see what He kept you from with a delay.

So it's a good thing regardless because God is in control. But the plane that was supposed to take them to France had an engine fire. And so if the flight had been on time and the engine fire hadn't yet happened and they're all on a flight over the Atlantic and the engine fire happens, they could have died.

And so they can easily look and say that was a good thing. Those three flight delays were a good thing. But they can say that because they saw what God kept them from.

But brethren, we need to be able to say that regardless of whether future light is given or not. Because He says no good thing does He withhold from them who walk upright. And we've got to believe that regardless.

And so that was one example that here another is that ran into George Matheson, the Scottish preacher. He was known for writing the hymn, O Love That Will Not Let Me Go. And he once shared a powerful reflection late in his life.

He said as a young man, he was engaged to be married. And he began to lose his sight. Upon learning he would soon be blind, his fiancee left him unwilling to face a life of caring for a blind husband.

For years, Matheson prayed for restored sight, believing that healing would be a good thing. But the healing never came. Decades later, after a life of deep ministry impact, writing hymns and sermons that touched thousands, including through the very suffering he endured, Matheson said this, I thank God for the unanswered prayer.

He gave me not what I asked, but what I needed. You hear that? That's the God that we have. He gives us, it might not be what we ask, but that doesn't mean you don't ask, right? You don't, you want to have a balanced perspective.

Same thing, Amy Carmichael, as a kid, she's praying a good thing for Amy Carmichael was going to be what? Yeah, change my eye color. I want to look like the people of my own country, but the better thing for her was to have brown eyes so she could blend in in India, sneak into these temples dressed as an Indian woman and take some of these young girls out. Right, so that's what was better for her.

So this is an important truth, but let's turn to Numbers 16, and I just want to look at basically four scenes unfolding this truth for you guys, four scenes. In scene number one, I want to look at a man who said God withheld something good. So we're going to look at a negative example.

This is important because this at times, we could be the person, all right? I'm sure you look back at things in your life that you thought were good, and they ultimately were not, and so maybe there's something we can glean from Numbers 16. And so this is scene number one. And I don't want to assume everyone is very familiar with this passage, so we are going to read most of it.

So if you're new to the Word of God, you'll have the whole context, all right? So let's start in verse one. Now Korah, the son of Ezar, son of Koha, son of Levi, and Dathan, and Abram, the sons of Elab and On, the son of Pelas, sons of Reuben, took men. They rose up before Moses with a number of people of Israel, 250 chiefs of the congregation chosen from the assembly, well-known men.

They assembled themselves together against Moses. Now notice this. At this point, who are they going to think is withholding good from them? Moses and Aaron.

We're going to find out that's not the case, it's God. Take note of that. Together against Moses and against Aaron, and said to them, you have gone too far, for all in the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them.

And they accused them, why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord? So Moses, he hears this. When Moses heard it, he fell on his face. Verse five, he said to Korah and all his company, in the morning, the Lord will show who is His and who is holy and will bring him near to Him.

The one whom He chooses, He will bring near to Him. And then he gives these commands about taking the censors, Korah and all his company, put fire in them and put incense on them before the Lord tomorrow. And the man whom the Lord chooses shall be the holy one.

You have gone too far, sons of Levi. And Moses said to Korah, and look what he says. Hear now, sons of Levi, is it too small a thing for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the congregation of Israel to bring you near to Himself? And then he says what they're doing, to do service in the tabernacle of the Lord and to stand before the congregation to minister to them and that He has brought you near to Him and all your brothers and sons of Levi's with you and would you seek the priesthood also? So that's the issue.

In these people's lives, Moses is saying, is it too small? Meaning he recognizes they've got a perspective that what they have, what God has appointed for their life is too small of a thing and they're wanting something more, which for them, that would be they're seeking the priesthood. They're basically saying, should not all of God's people be priests? Which amazingly in the New Covenant, guess what? We all are priests, right? That's incredible. So that's what they brought forward.

Is it too small? And you find this language used again in verse 13 after they're judged. This is actually those in this rebellion saying, it is a small thing that you have brought us up out of the land flowing with milk and honey to kill us in the wilderness, that you must also make yourself a prince over us. So you see, these people, there's something that they believe is a good thing.

They desire this thing and this thing is not being given to them. And they're looking at the main issue being Moses and Aaron withholding this thing. But then what's the very next verse say in verse 11? Therefore, it is against the Lord that you and all your company have gathered together.

And he says, what is Aaron that you grumble against Aaron? Meaning you're just grumbling against a man. The bigger issue is ultimately you're grumbling against God. So we got to recognize that.

If there's something in my life right now that I believe is a good thing, right? And God is withholding that thing. I've got to recognize at the end of the day, number one, who is ultimately doing the withholding? It's the Lord. But Korah had the perspective that God was with them in all of this.

And that wasn't the case. And Moses says, therefore, against the Lord, you and all your sons have gathered. And so that same thing can happen to us.

We can end up with a wrong perspective in our mind that we don't recognize. So he goes on here, verse 12, And Moses sent to Caldathan and Abram, the sons of Elab, and they said, we will not come up. And then that's where they said, it's a small thing.

Then we go to verse 14, Moreover, you have not brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey. So they've got a bad, they've got a horrible perspective on the leadership that the Lord put right there. And they don't believe that God's promises of being taken to a land of milk and honey, that all this is being fulfilled.

Verse 15, And Moses was very angry. He said to the Lord, do not respect their offering. I have not taken one donkey from them and I have not harmed one of them.

Verse 16, And Moses said to Korah, Be present you and all your company before the Lord and they and Aaron tomorrow and let every one of you take a censer and put incense on it. And every one of you bring before the Lord a censer. 250 censers, you also and Aaron, each a censer.

So every man took a censer. He put fire in them, laid incense on them and stood at the entrance of the tent of the meeting with Moses and Aaron. Then Korah assembled all the congregation against them at the entrance of the tent meeting and the glory of the Lord appeared to all the congregation.

Verse 20, The Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron saying, Separate yourselves from among this congregation that I may consume them in a moment. So here the Lord's judgment is. And they fell on their faces and they said, Oh God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, so one man sinned and will you be angry with all this congregation? And the Lord said to Moses saying, Say to the congregation, Get away from the dwelling of Korah, Dathan and Abiram.

Then Moses rose and went to Dathan and Abiram and the elders of Israel followed him. And he spoke to the congregation saying, Depart please from the tents of these wicked men. Touch nothing of theirs lest you be swept away with all their sins.

So they got away from the dwelling of Korah, Dathan and Abiram. And Dathan and Abiram came out, stood at the door of their tents together with their wives, their sons and their little ones. And Moses said, Hereby you shall know the Lord has sent me to do all these works.

And look what he says here in verse 28, an incredible statement. And it was not of my own accord. See Moses can look, he recognizes, I'm in the place I am, it has nothing to do with me.

God put me here in this place. Verse 29, If these men die as all men die or if they are visited by the fate of all mankind, then the Lord has not sent me. So he has this humility, realizes, you know, what if I'm wrong? Verse 30, But if the Lord creates something new and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them up with all the belongings to them, and they go down alive in the Sheol, then you shall know that these men..." And then look what he says.

When we believe God has withheld something good from us, this is what you're doing. These men have despised the Lord. To despise is to make little of God.

I'm making little of God's sovereignty, little of God's providence, little of God. It's despising the Lord when we look at something and we accuse the Lord of withholding good when He said He will not withhold good. As we'll see, there are things that are good, but they might not be good right now in your life.

One of the greatest applications of this in marriage, right? He finds a wife, finds what? A good thing. Well, then you say, well, Lord, if You don't withhold good, why haven't You given me a wife yet? Well, maybe it's not good yet. Or the right person.

God's more concerned about you getting married to the right person than you're concerned about getting married to the right person. You've got to believe that. He's in control.

So, they're judged. God opens the earth up. He consumes them.

Honestly, you would think that would wake people up, right? But look at verse 41, On the next day all the congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron. I don't know, brethren. If I saw the earth open up and all these people get consumed, you would think that would just make you go... But these are people who had the Red Sea split.

They saw a lot of miracles. Incredible. Alright, so that's, I think what's worth reading right there in Numbers 16.

So they had an accusation against the Lord. We're all equal. Why do you exalt yourselves above the assembly? So they're basically accusing Moses and Aaron of pride, but the reality of it is, as Moses said, this is not my doing.

It's the Lord's doing. The Lord's put me in this situation. What were the Korah thinking? They believe something is being withheld by Moses and Aaron, but ultimately it was the Lord.

That's why I said, what is Aaron that you grumble against him? Don't mask. If you're grumbling at a person believing this person is ultimately the issue, you have to recognize it's God. God uses people.

God uses means, but our ultimate issue is with the Lord. We've got to recognize that. Alright, so that is scene one.

In it, we see Korah and others in their pride, discontent, thinking the Lord was withholding something good from them, and ultimately we recognize that wasn't the case. That wasn't what was happening, that God was withholding something good. So remember, you have to believe God is the best judge of what is good for you.

So scene number two. I want to look at a God who spared, not His own son, Romans 8, but did spare the sons of Korah. The sons of Korah.

In this passage, we've got a man, Korah, in this rebellion. And look at verse 27. Notice, there's a small detail here that's interesting.

In verse 16, So they got away from the dwelling of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. So all three of them, right? And Dathan and Abiram came out and stood at the door of their tents together with their wives, their sons, and their little ones. It doesn't mention Korah.

It just mentions those two men right there. And if you go a little further, read v. 26. Just flip to the right.

V. 26, we'll start verses 9-11. The sons of Elab, Nemuel, Dathan, and Abiram. These are the Dathan and Abiram chosen from the congregation who contended against Moses and Aaron in the company of Korah.

When they contended against the Lord. Notice, that's how he records it. They didn't contend against Moses and Aaron.

They contended against the Lord. That's who our ultimate beef is with. V. 10, the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up together with Korah.

When that company died, when the fire devoured 250 men, they became a warning. And then look at the last verse. But the sons of Korah did not die.

And when I first heard number 16, you're more familiar with Achan and all of his children, his wife, all of them dying. And it even says they're the little children in the family. You can almost miss it that not all the men's sons all died.

The sons of Korah did not die. Now, does it say specifically why they didn't die? Does it say this is why they didn't die? Here, one thing to consider is, Deuteronomy, the law says fathers shall not be put to death because of their children, nor children should be put to death because of their fathers. Each one should be put to death for his own sin.

So you read that and you're thinking, well, does that mean Dathan and Abiram's sons were complicit? And Korah's sons were not? But then it does say all their sons and their little children died. How complicit are little kids? So I don't know if that's the answer. You know what? I can tell you this.

God is merciful. That could be an answer. God shows mercy and gives mercy.

When we deserve death, He doesn't kill us. And you know what? Even when we were complicit in an absolute rebellion against Christ, God showed us mercy. Well, another thing in the midst of all of this to know about, the position of the Korahites, we read in 1 Chronicles 9, that they were keepers of the threshold of the tent.

They were keepers of the entrance of the tent. It says in 1 Chronicles 26, as for the divisions of the gatekeepers, who were the gatekeepers? The Korahites. These people.

So that was this position that they had that they were not satisfied with. Alright, so that's scene 2. The sons of Korah did not die. So scene 3. A lesson never forgotten.

So I remember years ago, I see that text, the sons of Korah did not die. It's like, wow, that's incredible. They didn't die.

I always thought they died. I didn't know they didn't die. Well, then that makes you ask, well, what happened to the sons of Korah? What happened to these guys? They didn't die? Does the Bible say anything else about the sons of Korah? Or obviously, more importantly, their family line? Did those relatives learn from Korah's sin? I mean, if you were his son and you were there and Dad gets consumed into the middle of the earth, would that have any impact on your life? Is there anything there? Well, turn to Psalm 84.

Psalm 84 is where we have this statement. No good thing to see withhold from them who walk uprightly. Psalm 84.

One thing to remember about the Psalms is it's often been mentioned, when you open it in the ESV, there is a heading that is added by the translators. And that is the statement in the ESV, My soul longs for the courts of the Lord. Right? That is added.

But under that, there is the superscription. And the superscription in the Psalms is a brief heading placed that was part of the inspired text. You understand the translators didn't come later and try to figure out, well, who wrote this? No, this is actually there.

So if you read Psalm 84. And as we read Psalm 84, this might be 18 generations later. I'm trying to figure out, how many generations later is this? Because it says, a psalm of the sons of Korah.

Well, obviously, it's not his actual sons. They're long dead. So this is generation after generation after generation.

Another thing to remember is Korah's rebellion mentioned in the New Testament? Yes, it's in the book of Jude. Korah's rebellion, what he did, it's not just taking up almost an entire chapter in the Old Testament. It's referred to again in the New Testament.

People knew about Korah. There was lessons to be learned from this rebellion. Jude calls it, he says, Korah in his jealousy.

That's how he describes what was going on in Korah's heart. And so, Psalm 84, it had me asking questions, is there anything here that possibly as these sons are writing these generations later, is an allusion to number 16? And I'd say this, even if you can't prove there is an actual allusion here by looking at the Hebrew and finding specific phrases in the Hebrew that are in Exodus 16 and are in Psalm 84, I learned something from this by looking at Korah and looking at what his sons' generations later are saying. So even if Korah's sons, let's say, they were too shallow to pick up the lesson, I think we can all pick up a lesson here from this.

So let's read Psalm 84. To the choir master, according to the Gitteth, a psalm of the sons of Korah. How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts, my soul.

Yes, faints for the courts of the Lord. My heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God. Even the sparrow finds a home and nests for herself where she may lay her young at your altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God.

Blessed are those who dwell in your house, even ever singing your praise. Blessed are those whose strength is in you and whose hearts are the highway to Zion. As they go through the valley of Baca, they make it a place of springs.

The early rain also covers it with pools. They go from strength to strength. Each one appears before God and Zion.

O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer. Give ear, O God of Jacob. Behold our shield, O God.

Look on the face of your anointed. And then here, the first verse that I thought, this is interesting. The sons of Korah are about to say something I think is very interesting to consider.

For day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness. And I'm reading this like, you know what? Korah was a doorkeeper.

Keeper of the threshold. And he wasn't okay with it. He wanted to be a priest.

And here 18 generations later, there's this Psalm in the sons of Korah saying it. I'd rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness. There's a possible illusion here, connection here.

I mean, if my great granddad was part of, my great, great, great, great, great granddad was part of a rebellion, upset about something being withheld, we should all be priests, right? And I'm writing and I'm expressing this. There's a possibility there. I mean, the tents of the wicked, it speaks that way in number 16.

And you know what? These guys, they weren't dwelling. Were they dwelling in the tents of wicked? No, actually, when the earth opened up for whatever reason that we don't know, they were not standing there with their dad. They didn't get consumed down.

Verse 11, then he mentioned, notice it starts with a four. I'd rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness. Why would you have such a desire? Four, for there's something about my God that is made real to me that gives me this desire that I'm okay being a doorkeeper in the house of my God.

Verse 11, for my God is a Lord who is a sun and a shield. And this Lord bestows favor and honor. And this Lord, He doesn't just give favor and honor.

And then He gives this broad statement about the character of God. And He says, no good thing does this Lord bestow, withhold from them who walk uprightly. O Lord of hosts, blessed is the one whose trust is in You.

These sons of Cora are writing. You know how there's certain truths that just hit you? They help you maintain a close, intimate walk with Christ. There's so much, God gives grace and glory, all these things, but they can look at it and summarize the character of God is a God who withholds no good from them who walk uprightly.

So, that's also an interesting statement, right? Because the very issue with Cora, the very issue with their great-great-grandfather, the sin in his heart was he believed God was withholding good from him. Remember, he said Moses and Aaron. He kept saying, Moses and Aaron, you guys are the problem, but how does the author record it? His issue was against the Lord.

He was despising the Lord. So, it's almost like you're reading here, his great-great-great-grandchildren, they're like, no, we are not going to repeat what great-great-grandfather did. We're not going to do that.

We're not going to stand before the Lord and accuse Him of withholding a good thing from us. So, did they possibly learn from family history? Whether I can prove they did or they didn't, brethren, you and I better learn from your own family history. Old Testament history is written down for our example.

There's so much to learn from history. Even from church history. So that's scene 3. Scene 4. A fearful warning of the seriousness of the sin of accusing God of withholding good.

I mean, look, for one, you see it's serious because God killed all these people. I mean, how much more serious do you need than that? God creates a new judgment, opens up the earth, and the people demanding to be priests are consumed down, their families and their little children. It's kind of like, what gets emphasized more from the Old Testament? People kind of minimize the sin of grumbling.

You think grumbling's not that big of a deal. And then you go look at the Old Testament and you see the judgment that God had for grumbling and what happens. You're like, wow, grumbling is a horrible sin.

But again, grumbling and believing God withhold, they're both sins against God. All sin ultimately is against God. But it's a sin of giving in to a distorted perspective of who God is and His treatment of you.

And what's more offensive to God than that? To despise the way that He's treated you and to look at it as wrong and accuse Him of that. That's serious. So first, under this thought, the rebels thought God was on their side.

Let's go back to the Bible to Numbers 16. This is important for us, for me, right? A man thinks his ways are right in his own eyes. That's a warning we're given in the Scriptures.

So Numbers 16, verse 3, they assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron and said, You have gone too far, for all in the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them. You hear that? So they're looking and saying, God's with us. God's with all His people.

All His people should be priests. So they believe they're doing God's agenda with what they're bringing forward here. That's what's happening.

Korah accused Moses. I love Moses' response before he fell on his face. And he said to Korah and his company in the morning, the Lord will show who is His.

So this could be the same with us. This could be the same with me. This could be the same with you.

We get convinced something good is withheld. So we blame others for what we lack. And we shout, God is on our side.

All the while, we could possibly be opposing the Lord. We don't recognize it. And they're not admitting their real issues with God.

Again, I can't stress that enough. Your problem is not people. It's not someone in your life.

It's what do you think about God? Second thing, don't view small what is not small. Little is much. I love that song.

I remember first hearing it, John recorded them singing it in a psalm. Little is much if God is in it. What an incredible truth.

In Numbers 16, 9 to 14, Moses said to Korah, it's too small a thing. It's too small a thing. That was their perspective.

They went on later to say that, right? In verse 13. It's a small thing. Brethren, is there anything you're looking at in your life right now you say it's a small thing? That God is done in your life and your perspective is that small, I want the big thing.

Is that happening? In any place in your life, in your heart. I was just reminded, 1 Corinthians 13, the weaker parts of the body are indispensable. Right? And I don't, you know, David Gonzalez, are you here? David's here, right? Yeah.

Are you happy being a doorkeeper in the GCC? I was thinking about that. If you have someone who's a doorkeeper, in modern terminology, you know what? The doorkeeper, David Gonzalez, matters. He's indispensable.

A third thing. Realize our contention is always against God. I guess I'm being repetitive there.

I already mentioned that. If you say, I'd have a spouse if more single people were in the church. That's not true.

Right? You can be in the middle of nowhere and absolutely have no single people, be managing a garden by yourself and end up with a wife the next day. Right? Adam had that happen. That probably won't happen to you in the same way, but you know what? There's planes now and there's other people on earth.

Okay? My point is don't look at the circumstances and limit God that He's too small to work in the midst of the circumstance. Well, I can't, you know, I mean, if you were at Joel Beeky's thing, and he mentioned the 69-year-old guy who just got engaged to get married. Was he 69? And he'd never been married? Yeah.

Yeah, Sid. If it's a good thing. There might be something better than a wife.

Far better than riches and gold. So yeah, my discontent thinking God is withholding something from me like Korah, and telling God what you've done is too small. Too small.

All right. Scene four. Lepronis.

Just briefly back to Psalm 84. You know what? I printed my notes front and back. I usually just have them on the front.

I think I'm skipping some pages here. But no good thing, the Lord withholds. But I do need to be responsible.

So you can still turn to Psalm 84. There was one other thing here. Yeah, in Psalm 106, keep your finger in 104, and then just go to 106.

Look at this. It's always interesting how things are described in the initial context, and then biblical authors comment on it in another place, and they might describe it with different verbiage. And basically say this is what was going on here.

And that's what happens here in verse 16. When the men in the camp were jealous of Moses and Aaron, the Holy One of the Lord, the earth opened and swung. It's interesting.

When the men in the camp were jealous of Moses and Aaron, the Holy One of the Lord. You know what's interesting is what was Chorus saying? We're all holy. Right? And he's saying no.

There was a distinction here in the roles God had given. But what was their issue? They were jealous of Moses. That's what the heart problem was.

The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan and covered the company of Abiram. And yeah, it's interesting here. It doesn't say Chora.

Fire also broke out in their company. The flame burned up the wicked, and it goes on. So then back to Psalm 84.

Psalm 84. Brother, remember in 1 Timothy, just stresses this point. With contentment, there is great gain.

Right? A lot of this deals with us being content in the Lord. So briefly, Psalm 84, verses 11 and 12, just to think of some of these terms. Like I said, he tells us what God is.

Look at verse 11. He's saying, remember it's connecting. I'm okay being a doorkeeper in the house of my God.

And the reason I'm okay with that is because of who God is. For the Lord God is. Understanding the attributes of God, understanding the character of God is really important.

It's really important. And he says, the Lord is a sun. Is a sun.

What does that mean? I mean, a light to our path. Jeremiah says, the Lord who gives the sun for light by day. I mean, He's our light.

Without Him, we can't see anything. A sun. Psalm 19, it says, nothing is hidden from the sun's heat.

So when you think about the Lord as a sun, it could mean He sees everything. And so he's saying, the Lord God is a sun. He sees all.

That might be what he means. Some options on what he means by sun. Then he says, the Lord is a shield.

In Psalm 18, he says, He's a shield for all who take refuge in Him. So they're saying, you and I are afraid of. We go into our shield.

And he's saying, that's who the Lord is. The Lord protects. The Lord protects us.

Then he says what the Lord gives. The Lord gives. The Lord bestows upon His people favor and honor.

This could mean He gives justification. It could mean He gives glorification. That's the ultimate new covenant favor, right? The favor to be a child of God.

The favor to have all my sins blotted out. There's nothing greater than that. The honor to be seated at the King's Cable.

The honor to be a child of God. You can't beat it. It's the greatest thing.

And then he says, after he's already saying the Lord gives favor and honor, he makes this general statement. No good thing does God withhold. It's incredible.

Just like Romans 8. If He gave us His Son. If He gave us His Son. How much more also with His Son will He graciously give us all things.

Now what does this teach us? Number one, if it's true, no good thing does He withhold. What's that imply about who's doing the withholding? God. God.

So number one, God does the withholding. Listen to Genesis 30. Verse 2, Jacob's anger was kindled against Rachel.

He said, am I in the place of God who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb? See, he knew it. He knew the fruit of the womb is not coming because God is withholding the fruit of the womb. That's what's happening.

God can withhold you from getting pregnant. And He has some purpose behind that. As hard as that can be.

Like I said, you might not recognize the reason on this earth. And the second thing this teaches us, as I already said earlier, there are things that we think would be good right now, but are not. And that's where it gets really complicated, personally.

Right, you're wrestling with things in your life and you're trying to discern like, okay, I know overall this seems like a good thing. Is the timing right? Is this a good thing? Is this spouse a good thing right now? But remember Hebrews 11, all these though commended through their faith did not receive what was promised. Why? Since God had provided something better for them.

Remember, God is a God who's going to give you what is best for you. You're Paul, is it a good thing this thorn, this messenger of Satan be removed from my flesh? It's a good thing. I mean, why would Paul pray three times for it to get removed? He thought it was a good thing if this thorn would get taken out.

Was it a good thing for the thorn to get taken out? Was it a good thing? No, it wasn't a good thing for the thorn to get, why? If the thorn got taken out, who said yes? Why was it a good thing if the thorn got taken out? Well, the better thing was the thorn remaining and what was the purpose of the thorn? Yeah, to keep him from becoming conceited. So Paul, what did it take for Paul to recognize that? It sounds like when he writes there, it took the Lord telling him that. The Lord didn't make it real.

You're praying, remove the thorn, remove the thorn, three times, you're persistent in it, and then the Lord makes it clear this is actually a good thing, because if I don't, you're going to become conceited. And then it makes you realize, okay, I need to be thankful for this thorn, because I underestimate what could happen to me if the thorn gets removed. So again, it's the Lord knows what's best.

Here, another thing we have to realize, there are things not being withheld that we think are bad. And what do we have to recognize about those things? If God withholds no good, then what's true of the bitter cup? It's good. It's actually good.

Right? Romans 8.28, for we know all things work together for good. No, that's incorrect. Wait, how's Romans 8.28? Does it start out with for we know? It does.

Yeah, I mean, that's interesting. Do you know that? Paul said he knew it. All things work together for good for those who are called according to His purposes.

Lazarus died. This is a good thing if he's alive. No, God got more glory by him being raised at a later point.

Joseph is sold by his brothers, put in prison. I mean, that sounds like a bad, bad situation, right? No, God had something much better. Sorrowful disciples.

They're sorrowing. Lord, don't leave us. He tells you the truth.

It is to your advantage I go away. Isn't that something? It's to their advantage, but it just doesn't make sense right when it's happening. And he says why.

If I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. Oh, there's something better for you guys than the Son of God in the flesh. It's Him sending the Spirit of God.

That's a better thing. Again, God is the best judge of what is good for us. Conrad Murrell, he said the Christian will miss out on absolutely nothing that is good for him.

Now, in one way, I don't know if I agree with that statement, and this is why. What's the next phrase in this text? I agree with the statement, but we don't just take a man's statement above Scripture. Look what the very next thing is in the text.

No good thing does he withhold. From who? So there's a condition. There's a condition.

If I'm not walking uprightly, what's that mean happening? Are things being withheld? You better believe it. Now, yes, they're being withheld because God has a greater purpose that He's going to work out in my life. So it doesn't undo Romans 8, 28.

But if you've got known sin in your life, undelt sin, God will withhold things in your life and in my life. If I'm here today and I have any sort of bitterness in my heart that's not dealt with, I should not expect to be able to go and pray to God and move on with the Lord, right? If I know that I have something against my brother, I leave my gift at the altar, and then I go to my brother, and I get reconciled, and then I present my gift. Thinking neglected duties.

Last time I talked to Tim, I think he's in James 4, 14 to 17. You know, neglected duties. Think Tim's going to deal with that? If you know the right thing to do and you fail to do it, it's sin? I mean, if there's something in my life I know I should do and I'm failing to do it, I can't expect God's going to withhold things.

It's interesting in Numbers 16, if you caught this, Moses, he said, I did not take any of their donkeys or harm their animals. Meaning, he was walking uprightly. He wasn't mistreating the people.

And not mistreating the people gave him confidence, even as he said, you know, is the Lord with me? It all the more gave him confidence of that. And so the same can be true for us. We had it in Bible reading, Proverbs 14, two, whoever fears the Lord walks uprightly.

The one who walks uprightly, fear God. And then it says this, but those who despise Him are devious in their ways. Well, that's what Korah did.

They were despising the Lord. Korah did not fear God. They didn't walk uprightly.

They despised God. And yet, they did think God was with them. That's a warning to all of us on an individual level.

So brethren, there you have it. No good thing does he withhold from them who walk uprightly. Are you walking uprightly? And I would, one way you could define it in the way that stuck with me is people have said, mere Christianity is walking and keeping a clear conscience between you and God.

Heard that said all the time over the years, right? It just remind you of Acts 24, 16. In view of the resurrection, I always take pains to have a clear conscience before God and man. What does Paul say, 1 Corinthians 4, 4? I do not know of anything against myself.

I'm not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who will judge me. If in my life, I can't say I've taken pains to have a clear conscience before God and man.

If in my life, I can't humbly say like Paul, I don't know of anything against myself, then this promise will be hard to lay hold of. But don't fear. God puts His finger on you as a father does.

And you know what? You'll learn the lesson and you grow and then you see good things not withheld because they're now good. And they weren't for a little bit because God had something better for you. Deal with that little shadow in your life with Christ.

And think, if you're lost, if you're not a Christian here today, don't you desire someone who makes such a promise to you that no good thing will I withhold from you? Who would want to be in a relationship with a person like that? That's an incredible person to know who withholds no good from his people. And the God who spared the sons of Korah, the God who gave grace to the sons of Korah to be content being a doorkeeper 18 generations later or whatever it is, this God did not spare His own son. He slaughtered His son that we could be sons and children of God.

And so the bitter cup that Christ drank on the cross, Peter, as we heard weeks ago, Peter looks at that and he says, this is satanic, you're going to go and die. No, Peter was trying to withhold a good thing from Christ and from himself. Peter, you're trying to stop Christ from going and atoning for your sins.

Are you out of your mind? George Muller, as his wife was dying, he said, my darling, we have received both grace and we shall therefore receive glory. And as by God's grace we walk uprightly, nothing that is good for us will be withheld from us. Hudson Taylor said in 1850, I feel I can trust Him with all of my concerns.

I can and do praise Him for all that is past, trust Him for all that is to come. He has promised to withhold no good thing from those who walk uprightly. I do love Him and I am determined to devote myself, my body, my soul and spirit to His work.

Now think of this, if you know anything about those two men who are very well known in church history, who lived a life of faith, who lived consistently and they made it all the way to the end. Isn't it interesting that one of the promises in the Bible that became an intimate friend for them, one of the promises in the Bible that stood out was Psalm 84.11. It was important to them to believe this about their God. And it's the same for all of us.

We need to believe this is true. Let's pray. Father, we thank You for the many promises in Your Word.

Lord, we know we will get to the end and look back as Israel did and say not one good promise of the Lord our God has failed. Even this promise, no good thing, do You withhold from them who walk uprightly. Lord, we're here today and we have in our own minds ideas of good things and this person thinks a spouse right now might be a good, and maybe it is, but Lord, I pray You'd help us to live out what we know we can and can discern and that's walking uprightly.

Lord, help us in that. And then we're gonna see You not withhold a good thing. Lord, help us not focus on the good thing that we're praying for maybe, but Lord, help us to walk uprightly and trust You'll bring it all about.

Lord, we thank You for being our God. We thank You for giving us grace and glory. Lord, we thank You for being a sun and a shield.

Lord, You have risen Your shield up and protected us so many points in so many ways in our own lives individually. Lord, we are too tired, too spiritually discouraged to rise up, take up the shield of faith. Lord, we're thankful that there was another shield standing in front of us when the fiery darts came and that was You, You are a shield.

And so we bless You today. Lord, I pray, Lord, my dear brothers and sisters, Lord, I pray that You would, Lord, help them to take this promise as their own, to remember it, Lord, that it would be an intimate friend like Taylor and others had it for their own lives. Lord, we thank You for being who You are.

Pray this in Christ's name, amen.