C) God uses all eventsgood and badto accomplish his purposes. He is the preeminent insider who knew Jesus as well as anyone has ever known himyet in the end never really knew him at all. God reigns over the nations; God sits on His holy throne ( Psalm 47:8 ). That pagan nation was struggling against Egypt for dominance. As we saw in the first four verses of this book, Habakkuk was confused. God is unimpressed by our collection of readers, likes, retweets, friends, connections, or admirers. 2 Devout men buried Stephen and made great lamentation over him. His words imply that all the torment will be tolerable. That is what moving forward would require, or so it seemed. Things may seem impossible, and for men, they might be impossible, but nothing is impossible with God (Lk. Philippians 3:4-7 - although I myself might have confidence even in the flesh. Really, its just fine. Two verses later, in Rom. He is working all things after the counsel of His will (Eph. Soon they will be raised up from that struggle to full power. The Lord did it, but He did it through Moses. The unbelievers, become confused, not remembering ever having the opportunity to serve Jesus. Stating that the plans of men are many but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand. Because God is utterly unimpressed by my rsum. His plan in doing so was to bless all people. WebWhat if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: 1 Peter 2:8 And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed. For God so loved the world he gave his only begotten son for those who believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life.. Judas didnt know it, and neither did the disciples, but Gods fingerprints were all over his act of betrayal. WebJohn 3:16. Recent events may not have gone how you hoped and the signs may seem bleak. Though absolutely sovereign, all knowing, all wise, and everywhere present, God uses sinners to accomplish His will. This warning was made clear in the ancient covenant revealed long before through Moses in Deuteronomy 28. It only made sense on Sunday morning when Jesus rose from the dead. I might preach to 100 people on Sunday morning in my own little church, but I preach to thousands over the internet. 2) If Jesus did descend into hell, why? But if anyone says to you, This is meat sacrificed to idols, do not eat it, for the sake of the one who informed you, and for conscience sake; I mean not your own conscience, but the other mans; for why is my freedom judged by anothers conscience? He used sinners to accomplish His sovereign will. According to the number of days which you spied out the land, forty days, for every day you shall bear your guilt a year, even forty years, and you will know My opposition. They heap judgment on themselves. Causing a sacrifice to take place that would open salvation up to all people. and they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land. A man who lived in a time in which only Jews served the one true God. Their horses also are swifter than leopards, And more fierce than evening wolves. As with the raising of Moses hands by Aaron and Hurt, sharing the gospel, or praying, God delights in and receives glory for himself, when we submit to His will, live by faith, and obey His Word. WebGod never does evil Himself. I have heard the complaints of the sons of Israel, which they are making against Me. God has already determined the end from the beginning (Isa. B) We entrust our lives to the God who cares for us. Solomon was given a mind like no one before and like none even after him (1 Kings 3:12). Going to church wont make you a Christian any more than sleeping in a garage makes you a caror going to a donut shop makes you a cop. Surely you shall not come into the land in which I swore to settle you, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun. And goes on to say, How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces, and assign him a place with the unbelievers. At first he ordered the Israelite babies to be killed at birth by the midwives (Ex. When Isaiah 53:1 speaks of the future coming of the Messiah, literally it says, who would have believed the thing reported? His birth as a baby who would grow up, suffer and die was most unexpected. Get your Bible. Many that people can plan to do much but is God that will always have the final say. In Acts 2 God poured out His Holy Spirit on the disciples who spoke on the streets of Jerusalem in the languages of the Gentiles who were present. Two questions confront us as we consider the story of Judas: Last weeks sermon dealt with the first question. Able to do exceedingly and abundantly using unlikely people to further His plans. The total number of prophecies is well over 100. God didnt want to lead the people around the Red Sea by the way of the Philistines knowing they might get scared and run back to Egypt (Ex. We see this all the way through the Bible. I think we can learn some great lessons by answering these questions. He mustered his army and went after the Jews in hot pursuit. In spite of our slownessand even sinGod will bless and use us to fulfill His purpose of blessing all nations through Christ, because of our relationship to the Father through the Son. We know from the sowing and reaping principle that t here will be degrees of torment in the lake of fire. But My servant Caleb, because he has had a different spirit and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land which he entered, and his descendants shall take possession of it. Impatience and failing to trust God is never helpful. Gods Ability To Use Unlikely People Even Unbelievers. That doesnt make us anything more in Gods eyes. I find it remarkable how consistently the New Testament writers see the hand of God in the events surrounding the death of Christ. They deride every stronghold, For they heap up earthen mounds and seize it. Scripture even points to the fact that God used Cyrus even though he didnt know God. Gods sign of judgment was that they would hear foreign language on the streets of Jerusalem, speaking in a language they did not understand. But among the leaders of the nation, only a few followed Christand they became secret believers for fear of persecution by their brethren. In the beginning Satan challenged Gods right to rule. 28:36, The LORD will bring you and the king whom you set over you to a nation which neither you nor your fathers have known, and there you shall serve other gods wood and stone. We see this all the way through the Bible. Nor grumble, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the destroyer. shall by no means see the land which I swore to their fathers, nor shall any of those who spurned Me see it. Jump to Previous There is no better example of Gods providence at work through the actions of a sinful man. He recognized what was evil because he believed Gods law. But Moses said to the Lord, Then the Egyptians will hear of it, for by Your strength You brought up this people from their midst, and they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land. Sign up to join over 20,000 subscribers receiving our weekly sermon email. Remember my imprisonment. But to the rest I say, not the Lord, that if any brother has a wife who is an unbeliever, and she consents to live with him, he must not divorce her. God asks us to do things we cant do, because it makes us trust IN HIM, not ourselves. Before the Apostle Paul wrote his letter he was known as Saul. If not, we have reason to question whether our faith is real. The unbeliever has made an exchangethe truth for a lieand the devil is happy to facilitate the swap by presenting the sinner with a wide array of lies from which to choose. Say to them, As I live, says the Lord, just as you have spoken in My hearing, so I will surely do to you; your corpses will fall in this wilderness, even all your numbered men, according to your complete number from twenty years old and upward, who have grumbled against Me. WebGod was about to turn to the Gentiles as He judged Israel as a nation for her unbelief. your corpses will fall in this wilderness, even all your numbered men, according to your complete number from twenty years old and upward, who have grumbled against Me. As for the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land and who returned and made all the congregation grumble against him by bringing out a bad report concerning the land, even those men who brought out the very bad report of the land died by a plague before the. Often in the confusion of life, we cant see the ends, much less the means God intends for us. The fact that God ordains both the means and the ends should surely encourage us as we face our own trials. New American Standard Bible Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. We are called to be among his faithful people. The people of Israel, were backed up against the Red Sea with Pharaohs army charging at them. WebGod never does evil Himself. Your sons shall be shepherds for forty years in the wilderness, and they will suffer for your unfaithfulness, until your corpses lie in the wilderness. Moses was an instrument, a tool, a vessel for Gods use, and so are we all. God uses pathetic people for his glorious purposes to show his superior power. And that is okay. WebGod Can Use Unbelievers part 1: Cyrus 1. He has many means to accomplish that holy purposeincluding some that are difficult to understand. God is not the author of sin, but He can use sinful men to attain an objective. Today, the weapons of force have improved, yet all the more they take whatever they want, and give only when it serves their purpose. Gods plan even extended to having Jesus buried in a borrowed tomb (see Isaiah 53:9). 3 But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison. When the angel stretched out his hand toward Jerusalem to destroy it, the Lord relented from the calamity and said to the angel who destroyed the people, It is enough! International Standard Version. Therefore if the whole church assembles together and all speak in tongues, and ungifted men or unbelievers enter, will they not say that you are mad? I dont speak on any circuits, have given no TED talks, and have been the keynote speaker less than once. Unbelievers Are blinded by the God of this world 2 Corinthians 4:4 Verse Concepts Our prayers do not alter Gods eternal decree. When you find yourself in a tight spot and you cant see any way of deliverance, have faith in God, obey His Word, and wait for the salvation of the Lord. It was the tech team, the web master, the secretary, or whoever posted my sermon on line. He could have just caused them to drop dead. So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires. Habakkuk learned that the material success of the ungodly is not a reliable measure of their true success. Moses was a by-product of the Egyptians attempts to hinder Gods blessing upon them, was placed in pitch covered basket and set adrift in the Nile, but rescued, weened by his own mother, adopted into Pharaohs house, and educated in all the learning of Egypt (Acts 7:22). And Jesus said, For judgment I came into this world, so that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may become blind., Those of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these things and said to Him, We are not blind too, are we?. 5:14). I cant charge an exorbitant hourly fee for my time. In their very act of oppression, they unknowingly serve the glory of the Creator. Other examples could be added to this list. When Moses spoke these words to all the sons of Israel, the people mourned greatly. There are so many amazing things in these few verses. Why would God allow his Son to suffer such indignity at the hands of one who claimed to be his friend? 1:22). So the emphasis of the chapter is on Gods working out His purpose through ordinary people who obey Him. Yet if the unbelieving one leaves, let him leave; the brother or the sister is not under bondage in such cases, but God has called us to peace. Then his mind changes, and he transgresses; He commits offense, Ascribing this power to his god.. He fought against God and hoped to destroy the early church. We live most of our days in Good Fridayenduring confusion, opposition, disappointment and the many tragedies of life. 14 But the Pharisees went out and conspired against him, how to destroy him. Your children, however, whom you said would become a preyI will bring them in, and they will know the land which you have rejected. Even Jesus cannot save a man who claims his sin is not really sinful. This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask So then tongues are for a sign, not to those who believe but to unbelievers; but prophecy is for a sign, not to unbelievers but to those who believe. For God so loved the world he gave his only begotten son for those who believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life.. Holman Old Testament Commentary: Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah by Trent Butler. For the unbelieving husband is sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified through her believing husband; for otherwise your children are unclean, but now they are holy.read more.Yet if the unbelieving one leaves, let him leave; the brother or the sister is not under bondage in such cases, but God has called us to peace. Will we show forth Gods glory in our obedience and in our receiving of His covenant blessing? God uses pathetic people for his glorious purposes to show his superior power. In the time of the New Testament after the resurrection of Jesus Christ, we see the expansion of Gods Covenant to include Gentile believers drawn to the Savor by the Gospel. However, he had Aaron and Hur hold up Moses arms and had Joshua lead the armies of Israel. God Himself said that He used Pharaoh so that His name would be known on all the earth. The way to heaven is only Jesus and Jesus only.. Amen. A nation would come to judge them speaking in a language they did not understand (Deuteronomy 28:49). A prophecy we can imagine would have seemed quite improbable to those who heard. God also testifying with them, both by signs and wonders and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own will. Each time Moses would perform a mighty sign to convince Pharaoh of Gods power but each time God would harden his heart. Zechariah 11:13Judas would give the money back. We pray because we believe God, because we want to trust in God, praise God, ask God for things we cant do ourselves. I have received no honorary doctorates. In Acts 1:16 Peter declared that the Scripture had to be fulfilled. He meant that the Old Testament predictions (he cites Psalm 69:25 and Psalm 109:8) regarding Judas were bound to come true. For this reason God purposefully led the wondering multitude to a place where there was no possible way of escape from Pharaoh and his army, humanly speaking. Surely all the men who have seen My glory and My signs which I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness, yet have put Me to the test these ten times and have not listened to My voice, shall by no means see the land which I swore to their fathers, nor shall any of those who spurned Me see it. He clings to his sin like a drowning man to an iron life preserver. As far as Pilate was concerned, he was ordering an innocent man put to deathwhich is why he tried to wash his hands of the whole affair. Though absolutely sovereign, all knowing, all wise, and everywhere present, God uses sinners to accomplish His will. In spite of our slownessand even sinGod will bless and use us to fulfill His purpose of blessing all nations through Christ, because of our relationship to the Father through the Son. Although God was at work in the betrayal, you couldnt see it that night. It was all the Lord. Copyright 2002-2023 Got Questions Ministries. He uses believers and unbelievers. Thus they plundered the Egyptians ( Exodus 12:36 ). 1 In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also put it in writing: 2 Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. The way of the wicked is like darkness;They do not know over what they stumble. The trials that were meant to establish his guilt ended up establishing his innocence for all the world to see. There he said in 1 Corinthians 14:21, With men of other tongues and other lips I will speak to this people; And yet, for all that, they will not hear Me, says the Lord. He directly quoted the covenant warning of Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Deuteronomy. In fact, in one place in scripture, God said that what He was doing could not be understood even if He explained it. And did not believe in His wonderful works. Fourth, Gods command seemed impossible to obey. Truly I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation.. WebJohn 3:16. God calls the autistic man to give the most profound articulation of his simple faith. But he chose instead to allow himself to be arrested, knowing that this would fulfill Gods plan. He stands behind it indirectly, but He directly stands behind good. Verse Concepts. For who resists His will?, For He says to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.. We pray because God is sovereign and all powerful.
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