Just Say No

This is a casual, mental, and emotional reset with practical and scriptural tools that can help you say no to what doesn't serve you. Do you feel like there's too much going on? Discover scriptural and metaphysical ways to say no. I share personal stories, biblical scripture, and actionable tools to say no, so you can say yes to what is greater.

These messages focus on discovering practical, scriptural, personal, and metaphysical ways of experiencing more of God in all aspects of life, including the good, the bad, and the challenging.

Welcome to Invite God In. I’m Teemaree.

Transcript

Is too much going on? Is too much on your mind? Too much on your heart? Is there too much that you're overseeing? Let's invite God into it. You're not alone. Today we're going to talk about just say no. Oh my gosh. Okay. Who here remembers the dare campaigns in the schools, Just say no. I was thinking about that as I received the word for this, This just say no message. And I thought that it was, Carol does, Yes indeed, Honey, I do too. And it came to my mind because I was thinking, Oh, I hear you. I hear you God. Okay. Just say no. And then I thought how ironic and funny, Cause I was raised at that time. And I remembered that and I thought, Goodness gracious, Just say no. Yes. At the time it was encouraging, Uh, Kids of all ages, Uh, Through grade school and, And, And beyond to say no to drugs. The program that would run it was the acronym was DARE. And it standed, It stood for drug abuse resistance education, DARE. But why I thought of it today and I feel that it correlates so well is because isn't it funny that sometimes it feels like we have to dare to just say no. Oh my gosh. Who else sees the irony of this? Because I tell you something as an adult, A full on grown, Um, Being still evolving, Still evolving. I digress, But sometimes it feels like it's a dare to just say no to all the things that are occupying my mind, My activities, The temptations to say things, Honey, And to do things that, You know, I don't need to be doing. Am I the only one here? I mean, It feels like just, So we're going to get into it today. We're going to get into various ways that we can just say no, Because this hits us from all angles. And Matt, It didn't work for you. Awesome. Um, Guess what? Well, We'll save it for fellowship. You know, I was thinking about this because there's a lot going on and there are a lot of pressures. Some are innocent. Some are not so innocent. Some are self-imposed, But we've got a lot going on and it only seems to be layering and ramping up. I'll give you an example. I have a wonderful neighbor and I really, Really appreciate having her as a neighbor. I come from a lot of living experiences where neighbors just didn't really talk to each other. It wasn't that people were mean. They just were kind of busy, Not running into each other often. And so you could live in a place and not know at all who was around you. So when we came here, I was so, So grateful and happy for this neighbor that I have. I appreciate that she says hi and that she wants to know what's going on. I care. And it means something to me that she cares and notices things that are happening around the neighborhood. And sometimes she tells me things I don't want to hear. She gives me the tea on things I'm not trying to be a part of. So it feels like a dare to just say no to my neighbor. I care about her. I love that she wants to connect. I don't want to alienate her, But sometimes what she's sharing is not really something I want to receive. Has anybody ever experienced this? This is really, Really challenging and it happens to us all the time. It can be at work. It can be at school. It can be in our neighborhood, You know, And so what do we do? Can I tell you something? I found in scripture the most eye-opening situation, Okay? And I feel that it applies here in a massive way. So let's go ahead and dive into it. Those of us who have even the most, I think most people know who Jesus is, Whether they believe in him or not, Whether they think he's cool or not, People have heard of Jesus. And I think most people would consider Jesus like a really, Let's be casual here, A really chill dude. Let me know if you agree. Most of the stuff about Jesus is that he was really, Really welcoming, Right? Like just, He was there, Provided miracles, Forgiven people coming after him. Wow. So imagine my surprise when I read in the Bible that he tells Simon Peter, He starts off as Simon, Becomes Peter. He's one of the apostles and is kind of like Jesus's right-hand man, So to speak. And so he tells, You know, Peter loves Jesus. And it's getting to be the time when Jesus is going to be crucified. He's doing the best he can to tell his disciples that this is going to happen. And after circling around with this information a bit, He finally tells them kind of straight out, Like, Look, This is going to happen. Well, Peter loves Jesus, Right? And so he's like, No, I won't let that happen. I'm paraphrasing heavily here, And I promise you, I will give you the area in the Bible where you can find it yourself in your favorite translation. But anyway, So when Jesus hears Peter tell him this, He says to Peter, His friend, Get behind me, Satan. Now I'm not going to say that to my neighbor, Okay, And I'm not saying we should do that. But here's where it just blew my mind with reading that this happened. This was a deep, Deep friendship, A mentor, Teacher, Friends. They've been together. They've been traveling. There's a love here, A brotherhood. And he says this to him, What? This seems totally left field. Well, When we look into this from different perspectives, Basically, Even though he said that directly to Peter, He's really saying like, Hey, Basically, Don't mess with my vibe. Hey, Don't get in the way of, You know, My destiny. What do y'all think? Because we're dissecting this, Right? But really, As I'm reading this in different translations, He's not really saying this to Peter, But he's basically saying like, Hey, I won't be moved. I say no to all that that you're saying, Because trust me, I'm not trying to go through this really like if I could have my father take this on, I would or away from me. But I won't be stopped from doing and fulfilling my destiny. Whoa, This is major. And the reason why it could fit for today is because it's really empowering to think of a way to just say no. That isn't mean. That may be weird, But is actually taking a stand for our purpose, Our destiny. Who we're meant to be. Some of you are listening and you're trying to hold on to your peace, Man. You're trying to stay positive. You're trying to, You know, Get your goal accomplished. You're trying to chill out. You don't need this mess in your life. You don't need the gossip. You don't need the bad news. You don't need the tea. What if just saying no is actually just saying yes to our peace, To our purpose, To our destiny? Tell me in the comments if you feel any of this. I was really blown away when I discovered it, And I promised I would share with you where you can find it in scripture yourself. And that comes from Matthew chapter 16, Verse 21 through verse 33. And you can read it in any translation that you like. Matthew chapter 16, Verse 21 through 33. So wow, Here I am and I'm like, Man, Like I said, I won't exactly use that quote. But perhaps there's a way I can just say no to my neighbor. Perhaps there's a way I can just say no to being afraid I may alienate her and find a way to just tell her lovingly, Like, I don't want to hear about that. Or well, Yeah, To be honest, That's probably the way I would do it. I could make an excuse, But I wouldn't want to lie. So maybe that's something that I can do. Tell me if you have some thought of something that you may be able to do when you're experiencing someone that you either care about, Or you have to stay in relation with, That is trying to share something with you that you know you can't afford to hear right now. Because it's going to take your peace, Or it's going to sway your mind from a goal, Or it's going to distract you, Or it's going to make you angry. Now, I'm not talking about being afraid of experiencing human emotion, But I'm talking about us really walking this out because there's good for us here, Right? You're chosen, You're different, You have purpose, You're planned for this time. There's a destiny that's associated with you. You are a blessing to so many people, People that know you, That just see you, That are inspired by you on social media, That watch you in your community groups, And they say, Man, If I could just be like, Wow, I really feel good when I'm around. Thank God that said hi to me, Helped me out, Gave me a ride, Loaned me money, Shared my social media posts, Reviewed my business. Believe me, You're making a big impact. So, Hmm, What an exciting thing to explore. And I tell you, I was pretty, Pretty surprised when I read that because, Like I said before, If anybody's chill in the Bible, I would have to say it's Jesus. So finding out that he said that to his friend, Wow, It took me a few times to really reread that and say, Well, Where did that come from? Why would he say such a thing? Wow, I feel bad for Peter. He was just trying to help him out. He was just sorry for his friend. He doesn't want it. All these human emotions. But when we're tight to something greater, Hmm, Maybe we're not doing what everybody else is doing. What do you think? There's another concept that really came to my mind, And this is taking on a different point of view. Do I have anyone that is watching today that is interested in metaphysics, Christian science, Science of mind, Or unity? If you are, Definitely go ahead and let me know in the comments. Like I said, All faiths are welcome here. This is a different perspective on scripture and these faith systems. And what it is, Is it's taking the approach of really taking a lot of ownership about what we say, What we think, And the power behind it. So they teach denials. Okay, Look, Not denials like being in denial. Not that kind of denial, But like denying with your word. In Christian and Catholic and these types of faith systems, You might have heard the term rebuking. I rebuke that. Like, I don't even think so. You better. . . A rebuke is a hard. . . Talk to the hand. I don't even think so. I just put up a wall. Goodbye. So if you've heard of any of these terms, Denials are a really interesting thing. And I wanted to talk a little bit about that because it's a powerful way that we can just say no. I actually used it twice and I'll share both stories with you. And you let me know if either of these kind of types of experiences have been felt or had by you. So today I was working on a large project and I knew that I had our time together today. And I'd like to definitely spend time with God beforehand. And I like to prepare my message, At least know what are we covering and have something for you to share. And so I was tempted all day, All day to feel like there wasn't going to be enough time. Have you ever had this experience? Like all day I was vacillating between almost worrying that I should rush and like, Nope, I'm not going to go there. And on and on and on and on. It's like, You know what you're setting yourself up to do. You know your plans. You've got your stuff together. And yet for some reason you're like, But we're going to be late. But maybe we should leave earlier. But maybe there's going to be traffic. But maybe. . . But what if it doesn't. . . But what if it doesn't send? But maybe I should double check. Tell me if you have experienced any of this. So today this was something that was brewing. Like I could sense it throughout the day. So I was in denial mode. And that today looked like this. So I'm doing my work and I'm starting to feel this sensation of like, You know, Worry, Like I'm not going to have enough time. Maybe I should hurry up. That sensation inside where you start to feel a little fluttery. Like you want technology to go faster. You want the thing to just be done. And then I would take a breath. And I'd be like, Nope. There's enough time. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. And that's because I've used that statement before. Then it would come again. Take a breath. Not immediately. Because I still walk things out myself, Honey. Okay. Sometimes it takes me a minute. And then I realize it's creeping on again. And I'm like, Whoa, Wait a second. I'm starting to feel stressed again. Like I'm not going to have enough time. I'm just going to say no to that. Nope. These plans are blessed. Everything's going to work out. So on and on I went throughout this process. And lo and behold, All things did work out. All things did work out. The project was accomplished. I'm here during our blessed time together. There is a topic. Life is good. It's all good. This sounds simple. And it is. But it isn't always easy. It can be really easy because it was a literal physical emotion that would start to bubble up. It also would happen and start to rise. It's real easy to fall into that thought of like, Oh no. What if insert potential bad scenario? Just say no, Beloved. Just say no. As a matter of fact, You can even just say no. Like no. No, Get this, Is a complete sentence. Who knew? Who knew? No is a complete sentence. Right? I use this type of mentality and this type of denial. Okay. Years ago, My husband and I had to move. We had to get into the storage unit quickly. We had a ton of stuff. We were at the tail end. The storage place is closing. All the things, Right? It's that domino effect. We have to get this done to do the next thing to do the next thing. Every time my father-in-law and my husband would come up the stairs with a new thing, Because I was like, I'll organize the stuff. You guys bring the stuff. That's not going to fit. I don't know. I don't know how we're going to do this. Look, They're wonderful people. We're all just doing our best and we were all very tired. And when you're tired, You just don't have a lot left in the tank. And I was tempted to let that get to me. As a matter of fact, It started to get to me, Like get on my nerves. And then when I get on my nerves, Then I'm starting to get angry and I'm losing sight of what is possible. Have you ever felt this? So here I was in that experience. And I'm like, Nope, Nope, Nope, No. No, This will fit. No, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Nope. Everything is okay. Nope. Be willing, Be willing to just say no to the bad circumstance, To the worried feeling, To the things that are just rent in space in your mind. Denials work. They're the opposite of affirmations. Affirmations are when we affirm good things, But sometimes when we are having too much going on, When we are emotional, When we are worried, When we're overwhelmed or tired, It's too hard to say the positive statement. So it's a little bit easier to just say no. So if you are wondering about the action point, It's just say no, You can just say literally no. You can deny the experience using a phrase that is powerful to you. It can be scripture based, A practical statement, And you can just take an action. Like me with my neighbor and just maybe excuse ourself from the thing that is tempting us to give our power away, To forget who we are, To step outside of the truth of our purpose. Now, Do any of these sound good to you? Which do you think would be the easiest for you to practice until we meet again next week? I think for me, It would be definitely the denial. I find that it is powerful. It is effective. It is easy to remember because pretty much whatever's happening, If it's unwanted, I could be like, Nope, I don't think so. Nope. I rebuke. No. I don't accept that. I don't want that. Send it back where it came from. Thanks. Bye-bye. Talk to the hand. Don't kill my vibe. See, Pretty soon it gets kind of fun. Oh my gosh. So these are things that we can do to go ahead and just say no and stay in our power. This allows us to invite God into our lives. Invite our divinity. Invite our purpose. Invite our goal. Invite our plan. Invite our dream to manifest. Invite our love. Invite our power to pray. Invite our sensation of compassion. Invite our ability to forgive, Honey. Because no, It's cool. Shake it off. You know what I'm saying? Or actually that was Mariah's shake it off. We could also, You know, Do Taylor's shake it off. Both are good. So this is what we can play with. And this is what we can do. Let's just pray out. May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make his face to shine upon you. And may the Lord watch over you and give you his peace and all your loved ones as well, Beloved.