The Place Beyond Okay | Restriction | Judah Smith

Welcome back to another weekly service. We have dedicated the month of July 2025 to the place beyond okay. The place beyond okay. Like if I asked you, are you okay? What would you answer? If you're like me, sometimes it's like, I don't know. Do you remember as a kid someone would ask you question?

You go. Do you ever do that? Like which is like I don't know. Like are you okay? I don't know. How do I know if I'm okay? By the way, I don't just want to be okay. How do I know how to be better than okay or beyond okay?

Well, that takes us back to the beginning, the original environment for the human being to flourish. It's the garden. And in the garden, we see four elements that make up the most optimal environment for man. Now keep in mind these four elements are introduced before there is sin.

So once the sin problem is solved through the finished work of Jesus, we now can approach relationship, rest, restriction and responsibility. Redemption has solved the sin problem. Now let's investigate and ask ourselves like if I asked you how are your relationships? How are you resting? How is your restriction?

And how is your responsibility? What I have done over the process of the last several years as this construct has helped me in formation and flourishing. I've just ranked them. Oftent times relationship can be a good one for me. So I rank it number one. I'm really doing good leaning in on my four important relationships and I investigate them.

Maybe rest I can be really good at. So that's number two. And then maybe restriction is number four. So, I now know suddenly I got to ask myself, what am I saying no to? And I want to start this week. We're talking about restriction. Giving you a quote that changed my life.

An older gentleman, an older preacher found me late in my 20s, almost 30, and he says, "As you get older, your no will become far more important than your yes." So, let me ask you, what are you saying no to? What are you saying no to? Now, ironically, and this is, you know, basic philosophy, I'm not trying to trick you, but what you say no to is ultimately fueled by what you say yes to.

For instance, 25 years ago, I said yes to a woman named Chelsea Renee Smith. Her maiden name was Smith, and I'm Smith. We are not related as far best as we can tell. Okay. But I married this extraordinary woman that I'm still in love with today. And because I have said yes to her, it is my privilege to say no to other things and other people.

No. I I I only save this part of me for Chelsea. What are you saying no to right now? That'll tell you what you're saying yes to. Where are your boundaries? Where are your limitations? Where do you say no? I call it the necessary no. There is a necessary no in this life.

So, we're going to talk about restriction. Now, immediately when I say restriction, and I I chose uh the R word like there could be restraint, but restriction. It it even like uh the way it's said in the English word, it just kind of comes out like who? Restriction.

It's like kind of intense. You're like, "All right, whoa. I don't know if I like I really like the rest message. I really like I can even even work with responsibility next week, but restriction. God wants to restrict me. God wants to limit me. I want to live a life with no restrictions.

Really? No restriction, no boundaries, no limitations. All right, let's just go with one. No gravity, guys. What? Like immediately chaos ensues. No gravity. Now, if you can prepare for a no-gravity environment, there's a lot of blessings. And my spine sometimes could use a no-gravity environment. But there are so many limits to the universe that create well optimal environment.

You know the research, you know, the study. It's 2026. We all know this, right? Or it's is it 26 or 25, guys? It's 2025, right? I thought suddenly I thought it was 2026. We're going to put this on the recording, too. We are not going to edit this out.

I honestly all of a sudden thought it was 2026 and I was like, "No way." But it's still 2025. Good news. But nonetheless, we know by now like just a little bit closer to the sun. A micro amount. And we all melt. There are distances, organization, limitation, restriction that create the solar system, the universe that we live in.

When the ocean exceeds its boundaries, it's a flood. This morning, I started a bath, went downstairs to make my normal espresso, and then I have like an electrolytes drink. this is my morning routine like I'm sharing it with you, you know, and I just got excited about the espresso machine and I was just enjoying it and thinking and laughing and then it hit me and I could hear our house is older and I could hear the bath water is still going.

I ran upstairs and the bath water had exceeded, you know, like there's a little drain at the top of the tub, at least in our part of the world, and it can like drain. It's there just in case you forget when you're making espresso that you started the bath, but it was already like it the drain couldn't keep up with the the the amount of water that was being poured in.

And I missed the bath overflowing this morning by seconds, friends. By the way, I didn't because I was there right on time and it all worked out and I kind of had a good chuckle. But there's a limit to my bathtub and when that limit is exceeded, water damage is done and I lose my marriage.

I'm kidding. I'm kidding. I'm kidding. But you know, Chelsea's very upset with me, right? So boundaries, well, they're a blessing. Restriction can lead to flourishing. It can lead to fulfillment. And so this week is dedicated to something that is it well it's it's such a gift. Restriction is a gift.

Now that leads us to the Garden of Eden. The most debated the most discussed aspect of the garden. You've never heard this is that in this garden there are orchards. Probably multiple orchards. Are there thousands of trees? Probably, maybe more. This is a reasonably vast garden from best we can tell.

The original environment that God placed man is orchards and orchards of trees. And the scripture says in Genesis 2:16, "You shall surely eat of every tree of the garden, but one of the trees, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. You shall not eat it." And so the conversations and debates press on.

Thousands of years later, we're still debating why why why put the bad tree in there, God? Which, by the way, it's not necessarily a bad tree, but it's the knowledge of good and evil. It's the tree of knowledge. God said, "Listen, all the trees in the garden freely eat as much as you want.

This one tree, don't eat it. Don't eat it." didn't say don't touch it. Didn't say don't look at it. Didn't say don't sit under it. God said simply don't touch it. Now later the serpent, the enemy, the adversary, the devil will come in the form of a serpent.

He'll say, "Did God say you can't even touch it?" Which of course he never said. But of course the limitations and restrictions get exaggerated. So we get exasperated with limits and restriction and we well what do we do? We decide differently. I have lost count how many people have asked me in my line of work why the tree of the knowledge and good of good and evil.

Why did God even put it there? Well first observation which I think is incredibly important and that is the odds are always stacked in our favor. Thousands of yes trees, one no tree. Thousands of yeses, one no. Why the no? Well, it's necessary. Why? It's a symbol of moral autonomy.

There has to be some free will. By all indications, authentic love can only be fostered where there is authentic choice. So God in an effort to avoid creating Pinocchios and he just pulls our strings, he gives us a level. Yes, sovereignty is always the overwhelming favorite and it is absolutely the overwhelming responsibility in the solar system in the known universe.

And yet there is autonomy. There is free will. There was a tree we could say yes to, but should say no to, but maybe we'll say yes to, but we should say no to. And it's up for us to decide. Love requires choice by every indication I've ever studied or read.

So the no is necessary. choice is necessary. And I assure you, as a man who loves to follow the ways of Jesus and study the person of Jesus and the teachings of Jesus, there is choice here today. And yet that choice is a privilege and a blessing. Clearly, God won't override our choices.

Sometimes perhaps, but to a certain extent, he will allow our choices to be our choices so that we are in fact the free will beings that as a result can experience true love. What is restriction? Well, first it's a symbol of moral autonomy. But number two, restriction is a form of boundaries.

These boundaries are for formation and for flourishing. Boundaries are a blessing. Now in ancient time, in ancient Bible days, they saw boundaries. They saw restriction, limitations not as limiting as much as they were a blessing. they were protecting. So your no is what's powerful. Often times people have said to me, I just I want to be a yes guy.

I want to be a yes person. Well, I think I get the context and I think I understand what they're saying and so do I. I don't want to be a big no person. But if you say yes to everything, well, you say yes to nothing. If everything is true, nothing is true.

If everything is an automatic yes, then what is true and what is right? The no is necessary? Where are you using your no? Where are you saying no? I'll take it as far to say. I think sometimes you need to say no even when you don't have to.

Even when you don't need to, even when you could say yes, you say no. Jesus skipped meals sometimes as a way of focus, a place of prayer. Fasting is a part of the history of the early followers of Jesus. They would skip food. They would say no to things like food just to say no so that they could focus more on the beauty, sovereignty, and majesty of Jesus.

Sometimes you need to say no. What am I saying? That place beyond okay, where you're better than okay, where you're flourishing, where you're thriving, that place is not without plenty of nos. What are you saying no to? And here's the truth. And I'm almost done. Here's the truth.

There is undoubtedly in my mind right now something you need to say no to and I need to say no to. And I think somehow we instinctively know what it is. So this is your pastor, your friend, your fellow follower of Jesus, and your weekly reminder. Trust God.

Trust him with the no. Say no and see what happens. I'm going to say it again. Say no and see what happens. And I'm reminding you that somehow while you're watching this right now, I'm telling you it's happening. You know what you should say no to. For some of you, it's food.

Several years ago now, I knew God had asked me to stop drinking alcohol. I just knew it. I don't know why. It wasn't that I was even necessarily abusing alcohol, but I just knew. And it was on our 20th wedding anniversary. If you know this story, I've shared it before.

We're at this hotel. I had a margarita. Chelsea was talking. I was tired. The margarita didn't help. Made me more tired. We're walking back to the hotel room and she's like, "Wow, you were really talkative tonight. Like, it's your 20th wedding anniversary." Like, you know, talk, discuss, engage with your wife.

And I was like, but I got all upset. We got in a big fight. I didn't go to sleep that night. And I knew what God was asking of me. And I sensed in my soul God said, "I'm asking you to do what I asked you to do more than a year ago.

I want you to say no to alcohol." Now, now when I say no to Chelsea enjoys wine, loves wine, loves good wine. I like uh enjoying the process with her and smelling the wine and being like, "It's amazing." So for you, saying no to alcohol isn't the thing at all.

But for me, I knew somehow in my soul, I think every human being was designed to be a receptor of God and his fathership and leadership and directing. And I think already you know what you're supposed to say no to. It could be something very simple. I remember stories of like saying no to certain products in your house and only to discover that parents discovered that their kids had an allergy towards that product and by saying no to the product they actually improved the health of their children.

It could be wild things that you suddenly have a sense to say no to. My senior year of high school, this is getting really bizarre, but I'm just feel I'm leveling with you. God told me to not watch anything on television or movies, dedicate the whole year to them.

And I don't even know why. I look back and I think God helped me and it was great, but like I can't say. And when I did that, I won a million dollars, you know? No, it just but I think it was good and I felt like that's what God told me to do.

I still watch sports, live sports, I got to admit, but I didn't even watch Sports Center. Like I did no movies, no entertainment, and it was just to focus. So it could be something. so arbitrary and simple. The silly thing we do is once we feel like we should say no to something, we want everybody else to say no to the same thing.

Well, that's silly. God has each one of us on our own journey. So, I encourage you, lean into maybe that specific thing God is asking you to say no to. And I think boundaries are a blessing. And by saying no, you lean into further formation and an increase of a flourishing, meaningful, significant life.

Lastly, restrictions are more than limitations. Restriction is an act of love that becomes shaped by trusting God. That's what happens. Okay. Okay, God. The only thing I can tell you is the things that God's asked me to say no to, I've just had to say, "I trust you with this.

I trust you that you'll be more fulfilling than this." That's hard. Hey, don't beat yourself up. There are things right now in my life, undoubtedly, I should be saying no to that I'm not saying no to. And I have to take that to God. Now, I'm not going to get discouraged.

I'm not going to beat myself up. God is gracious. K. God is long-suffering. God is kind to me. But I feel like in a way there's always something in our life we could say no to. Some of it could be candy. It could be a number of different things.

So don't beat yourself up. But ask God to meet you there again to develop this love for him in your life that's shaped by trusting him. baby with something so literal, physical, and tangible. Restriction, it's a symbol of moral autonomy. Restriction, it's a blessing. And restriction, it's an expression of love shaped by trust.

So much to say here. So much to say. And I'll end with this. Jesus gets away to pray and he's tempted in the wilderness for 40 days. Satan literally comes to him and at one point in Matthew 4:3 he says, "If you're the son of God, command these stones to become bread."

And Jesus says, "It's written, I'm not going to live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God." And essentially Jesus says, "No." Now, my question is this. Could Jesus make the stone into bread? Yeah. If Jesus did that, is that sin? Or let me say it this way.

Is that bad to turn stone into bread? Is bread bad? Is Jesus eating bread bad? No. Jesus ate bread. He definitely ate bread. So you look at this and you're like, "What's the big deal?" Now, there's a lot of significance here and preachers will tell you like it's saying no to the flesh and no to the and that might be true, but let's make this incredibly simple.

I think in a lot of ways it is. Hey, turn the turn the stone into bread. Jesus says, "No, I can. I could. I I I've had bread before, but the answer is no." And he was hungry. He hadn't been eaten. But he says, "No, I every word that comes from the mouth of God that that gives me sustenance and strength, and so I'm going to say no to this."

What you say no to is not just what you absolutely clearly should. There are some things you obviously should say no to. Breaking the law, hurting people, that's a no. That's a no. That's a no. But I hope you figured out by now. In a lot of ways, we're talking about things that you could, you have before.

Some would argue you should, but somehow you know in your heart that's a no. Right now, use the power of restriction to provide an environment, a place that takes you past okay and helps you thrive in this life. I know I've ended every week like this, but I'm going to do it again.

This works well with others. This works best, I should say, with others. So, let's talk about this in community. Let's consider restrictions. There's a myriad of conversations that can be had about this necessary. No. Let me pray for you. God, thank you for the opportunity we have to open up your book and the story and to learn.

I can imagine people's souls right now that are watching this and I pray that their soul would prosper and be in health that their body that they would prosper and be in health even as their soul prospers and pray that that scripture. We want souls that are healthy and buoyant and alive.

So, I ask that you would give us um energy and strength and fortitude and faith to say no to some things you're asking us to say no to. I trust you with that. If you're watching this and you would like to follow Jesus and receive the free gift of forgiveness that only he offers, just say, "I do.

That's me." And it's done. It's done. Let us know on pastor chat any way we can serve you and help you. I love you church home. Thanks for watching. Hey, next week we end the whole month of July and we're going to talk about responsibility which is also an incredible gift and I'm excited to share that with you.

See you next week. Love you. 
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 I call you faithful for the promises you've kept and every need you've met. Lord, I'm so grateful. You were with me every step and I never will forget. Cuz when I think of how you've blessed me, how your hand has never let me go.

You've never let me go. Cuz you have been so good to me. God, I can't believe how you love me. What a friend you have been. so good to me. God, I can't believe how you love me. What a friend you have been. I call you Savior. for the blood that washed me clean.

For the wrongs that you redeemed and I know you're able, my eyes don't have to see. One more reason to believe. Cuz when I think of how you've blessed me, how your hand has never let me go. You never let me go cuz you have been so good to me.

God, I can't believe how you love me. What a friend you have been. So good to me. God, I can't believe how you love me. What a friend you have been. Oh, what a friend you've been. Oh, cuz for every morning, for every open door, I call you faithful.

And I just want to thank you, Lord, for every mountain, for every time you brought me through. I call you faithful. And I just want to thank you, Lord, for your forgiveness, for how you never turned away. I call you faithful and I just want to thank you, Lord, for your salvation.

You paid the price I couldn't pay. I call you faithful and I just want to thank you, Lord. 
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 Oh, 
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 and I just want to thank you, Lord. 
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 Oh. Oh. Oh. Cuz you have been so good to me. God, I can't believe how you love me. What a friend you have been.

So good to me. God, I can't believe how you love me. What a friend you have been. 
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 Heat. Heat. 
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