But we need to grow in faith and obedience. 13:17). If one of the unbelievers invites you and you want to go, eat anything that is set before you without asking questions for conscience sake. They mock authority and law, and believe that might makes right. They still look to their own strength and ability as if they were divine and answer to no authority above their own. Why? We know from the sowing and reaping principle that t here will be degrees of torment in the lake of fire. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth (Isaiah 53:7). Or how do you know, O husband, whether you will save your wife? The gospels writers emphasize that although the Jewish leaders earnestly sought for witnesses who could testify against Christ, they found no one willing to come forward. 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. An unlikely person to be used by God. Jump to Previous God knew that Pharaoh would change his mind about letting the people of Israel go and that he would pursue them to bring them back to Egypt. I am not a rising star in any field, industry, or arena. Having all the wisdom in the world didnt guarantee fidelity. Jump to Previous and be astounded! Just as He did with Pharaoh who placed no faith in the God of Israel. He fought against God and hoped to destroy the early church. But we learn that over time a new Pharaoh arose who did not know Joseph or respect what Joseph had done (Ex. The fact that God ordains both the means and the ends should surely encourage us as we face our own trials. The Lord can never be blamed for evil, but evil does not take p. God never does evil Himself. 10 people that God used to accomplish his purposes I. Paul: The one with a shameful past and challenging present (4:18) Colossians 4:18 - I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. Those who read my words are in many different situations: May I repeat what I just said: He has not brought us this far to cause us to fail. God chooses the custodian with a heavy accent to share the gospel and save lives. A) We bow in submission before the mysterious ways of God. They heap judgment on themselves. Recent events may not have gone how you hoped and the signs may seem bleak. But all of them come from the hand of the Lord. Here are five specific prophecies that were fulfilled when Judas betrayed Jesus: Psalm 41:9Close friend will betray Christ (see John 13:18). A man who lived in a time in which only Jews served the one true God. Covenant judgment was about to be poured out upon Israel. Though absolutely sovereign, all knowing, all wise, and everywhere present, God uses sinners to accomplish His will. They make a joke out of those who dare to not submit to them. For how do you know, O wife, whether you will save your husband? A lesson worth considering, but not the main lesson I want to focus on, is that God often put us into situations where only He can deliver us. Now if You slay this people as one man, then the nations who have heard of Your fame will say,read more.Because the Lord could not bring this people into the land which He promised them by oath, therefore He slaughtered them in the wilderness. But now, I pray, let the power of the Lord be great, just as You have declared, The Lord is slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, forgiving iniquity and transgression; but He will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generations. Pardon, I pray, the iniquity of this people according to the greatness of Your lovingkindness, just as You also have forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now. So the Lord said, I have pardoned them according to your word; but indeed, as I live, all the earth will be filled with the glory of the Lord. 1 John 5:14. WebGod will never set man's will aside and use him for a good purpose without his being willing to be used. How will they preach unless they are sent? I, the Lord, have spoken, surely this I will do to all this evil congregation who are gathered together against Me. God Can Use Unbelievers part 1: Cyrus God Works His Will 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. God is not finished with you yet, so dont give up on him. WebJohn 3:16. God reigns over the nations; God sits on His holy throne ( Psalm 47:8 ). 16 But for this purpose I have raised you up, to show you my power, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth. 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. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them and bowed down with his face to the ground. God use unbelievers to accomplish his will Yet I was shown mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief; Immediately the boys father cried out and said, I do believe; help my unbelief.. Judas served Gods purposes even though what he did was wrong and he ended up in hell. 2:11). This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask God Uses Many People to Accomplish His Purposes 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. Two verses later, in Rom. My ministry is small locally, but gigantic because of the faithful service of others. In this wilderness they shall be destroyed, and there they will die. 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 Lord. God ordains the means and the ends of life. 1 John 5:14. We see the same thing after the Israelites cross the Red Sea and are attacked by the Amalekites (Ex. 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. 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. His silence spoke more loudly than the foolish claims of his lying accusers. The evil ones believe pridefully that their own imagined gods have blessed them. I have heard the complaints of the sons of Israel, which they are making against Me. Rejoice that Christ is all-sufficient and always dependable. Get our Question of the Week delivered right to your inbox! The manner of the judgment would be unexpected. He could have rained fire and brimstone down on them. It appears that between 11 PM Thursday night and 7:30 AM Friday morning, Jesus underwent six different hearingsone before Annas, two before Caiaphas, one before the Sanhedrin, and two before Pontius Pilate. Thats generally the way life is for all of us. Grace be with you. God will bring ultimate and final judgment upon all ungodliness. That leads me to ask a simple question: Are you a professor or a possessor? In the providence of God, the betrayal by Judas actually advanced Gods purpose in the world. But as for you, your corpses will fall in this wilderness. When Judas kissed Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, Peter impulsively grabbed his sword and started swinging. 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. He uses believers and unbelievers. But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or an ungifted man enters, he is convicted by all, he is called to account by all;read more.the secrets of his heart are disclosed; and so he will fall on his face and worship God, declaring that God is certainly among you. 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. This warning was made clear in the ancient covenant revealed long before through Moses in Deuteronomy 28. Yet both declare His awesome glory. Why? Does God sometimes use evil to accomplish His plans (Habakkuk 1:5-11)? God sees. Gods plan even extended to having Jesus buried in a borrowed tomb (see Isaiah 53:9). So He brought their days to an end in futility And their years in sudden terror. WebJohn 3:16. When God determines where we will end up, he also determines how we will get there. We all understand that God intended that Jesus would die for the sins of the world. First, we see the faith of Moses. God is unimpressed. God Gods Ability To Use Unlikely People Even Unbelievers. Jesus said to them, If you were blind, you would have no sin; but since you say, We see, your sin remains. They had been in Egypt under Egyptian task masters for 400 years. Our prayers do not alter Gods eternal decree. We see this all the way through the Bible. When they offered him 30 pieces of silver, he readily accepted even though that was the going price for a slave. Why bother praying to a God who isnt? God in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. The thing he values the most is dragging him down to eternal damnation. 1:22). He had great trust in the truth of God. Paul used this verse from Habakkuk to warn the foolish despisers of the gospel. And He *said to them, Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, Move from here to there, and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you. I didnt attend an Ivy League school. Fifth, and the point I want to focus on, is that the Lord tells Moses, lift up your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, and the sons of Israel shall go through the midst of the sea on dry land. I find this very interesting and encouraging. 1 And Saul approved of his execution. Scripture even points to the fact that God used Cyrus even though he didnt know God. They had fast horses and were more fierce (more alert, fierce, and sharp) than the hungry wolves that come out to hunt in the evening. He stands behind it indirectly, but He directly stands behind good. God Can Use Unbelievers part 1: Cyrus He uses believers and unbelievers. For I will work a work in your days Which you would not believe, though it were told you.. Remember my imprisonment. If God did the miracles without Moses, amazing things would have happened, but the people would not have known what was going on or what to do. God Then God, in His sovereign power and will, takes our weak and fallible service, and accomplishes His will, like parting the Red Sea. God use unbelievers to accomplish his will They intend to be their own god. Our accolades cannot merit us any greatness. God Will Use Even You But the fact of the matter is it wasnt me! For Permission to Quote Information visit http://www.lockman.org. Everything else in the story fits into Gods plan: The crown of thorns, the scourging, the trials, Pilates testimony, his verdict of death, a man to help carry the cross, the place of deathGolgotha, and the moment of death3 PM, the time when the Passover lambs were sacrificed at the Temple. Our accomplishments do not justify our existence. Jesus waved him off by declaring, All this was done that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled (Matthew 26:56). His We are saved by living faith in the Son of Godnot by outward religious observance. What an honor to serve the King of kings. 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. Jesus Sends Out the Not one of these men, this evil generation, shall see the good land which I swore to give your fathers. The coming of Messiah was unexpected. Assyria had fallen when Nineveh, its capitol, was destroyed in 612 BC. And that is okay. We have one life to use, and the usefulness of that one life depends not on our rsum or even how much we know. Each time Moses would perform a mighty sign to convince Pharaoh of Gods power but each time God would harden his heart. Jesus responded to the false testimony by saying nothing at all. Anxiety, worry, anger, never help remedy the situation, they are emotions that compound our trials and betray that in our hearts we dont believe God, dont trust God, and dont think He is good. God Uses He clings to his sin like a drowning man to an iron life preserver. Is it true that God cannot look upon sin? Even those who dont believe and even speak against. But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills. Romans 8:28 says, For those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. All things includes both good and bad things. We return now to the original question: Why did God allow Judas to betray Jesus? All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, But He does according to His will in the host of heaven, will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion. They were the ones who asked for valuables from the people of Egypt, who were so fearful and stricken with grief that they gave the departing Israelites their riches, literally paying the Jews to leave Egypt (Ex. International Standard Version. God then raised up Moses and his brother Aaron as instruments to deliver the people of Israel from cruel bondage. Egypt and the Neo-Babylonians were competing for world dominance. The Prophet was told to look around him and see what was going on among the nations, observe! How long shall I bear with this evil congregation who are grumbling against Me? So through his death, he can have everlasting life on earth. Now relax your hand! And the angel of the Lord was by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. That literally means, I find no basis for any of the charges brought against this man. In modern terms, you might call it a Summary Judgment in favor of Jesus. Bible Hub 55:8-9). Pastor, Expository Preacher, Author, Trainer of Preachers and Bible Teachers. 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. During our conversationwhich lasted two hours and was both cordial and very frankI told him that his religion could not save him. 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? Or how do you know, O husband, whether you will save your wife? This was Moses advice to the people of Israel when facing the imminent threat of death, and it is true for us as well when facing any trial. I sit on no boards. As they plotted how to murder Jesus they had no idea they were accomplishing Gods will. God Uses Because God created all He can use anything in creation. If we lack wisdom, we should ask God for it (James 1:5). also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will, All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing,But He does according to His will in the host of heavenAnd among the inhabitants of earth;And no one can ward off His handOr say to Him, What have You done?. God Uses In fact, in one place in scripture, God said that what He was doing could not be understood even if He explained it. God 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. 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. But we can find hope in knowing that God is in control, He works all things for our God, and no suffering we face know will even be able to cast a shadow on the glory we will receive in Heaven. God Uses Many People to Accomplish His Purposes It doesnt mean everything will also go perfectly or the way we hope. One of the most remarkable things about the Scriptures is how they preserve for us what we regard as our highest dignity, which is the right to exercise our own will. What does it mean that God came from Teman (Habakkuk 3:3). Anyone who resists God risks falling into spiritual deception (2 During this period, foreign powers invaded Israel again and again, and inside the nation known as Gods people, evil and immorality raged. In fact, in one place in scripture, God said that what He was doing could not be understood even if He explained it. Summary Grace be with you. As for you, lift up your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, and the sons of Israel shall go through the midst of the sea on dry land. When we dont see the ungodly punished immediately, or when they seem to be successful in their evil ways, we should not assume that God is beaten or is pleased to turn His head. His purpose in creation will stand. We might be a life-hacking, productivity guru. Moses was sent by the Lord multiple times to Pharaoh asking for the release of the Hebrews. Strategically, this appeared to be a very unwise move, unless you are God. He does this for obvious reasons. I have an unimpressive family background and do not come from a long line of important people. Moses didnt have any power to divide the Red Sea. This week I ate lunch with a man who has recently become an acquaintance through an e-mail correspondence. But now, I pray, let the power of the Lord be great, just as You have declared, Pardon, I pray, the iniquity of this people according to the greatness of Your lovingkindness, just as You also have forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now., but indeed, as I live, all the earth will be filled with the glory of the. Sighing deeply in His spirit, He *said, Why does this generation seek for a sign? Be encouraged, child of God. Jesus is truly the lamb without blemish who died for the sins of the world (John 1:29). I have not written a New York Times Bestseller, and no one has publicly endorsed, recommended, or vouched for me. The sheep representing believers who did Gods will and the goats representing unbelievers who do not do Gods will. The way of the wicked is like darkness;They do not know over what they stumble. 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. 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. There is no better example of Gods providence at work through the actions of a sinful man. Do not lament your insufficiency. Verse Concepts. 46:10). Habakkuk 1:5, Look among the nations and watch Be utterly astounded! The book of proverbs also gives us insight into this. 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. 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.. In the healthiest churches, we find a holy conspiracy between pastors who gladly care for the sheep, and sheep who do what they can so that the pastors might serve joyfully. What Jesus Wants Emphasized In His Church! God strengthened Cyrus so that he could conquer nations and overcome opposition Thus says the Lord God to His 2. Later Pilate gave in to pressure and ordered Jesus crucified. 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? But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. He used sinners to accomplish His sovereign will. 6:10). It is a warning to Israel that if they should break Gods covenant, calamity will come upon them revealing the wrath of the offended God. Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God. 28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. All of it happened according to Gods plan. Consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. God But they feared to do it during the Feast of Unleavened Bread because of the crowds that thronged Jerusalem. The terms Neo-Babylons and Chaldeans are used interchangeably for the people of that Empire. Matthew 26:3-5 informs us that the leaders of the Jews were looking for an opportunity to arrest Jesus and put him to death. Guiding our world whether we are able to see it or not. Its okay to be a nobody, if in all you do, you serve Somebody. Gods plan even extended to having Jesus buried in a borrowed tomb (see Isaiah 53:9). In fact, in one place in scripture, God said that what He was doing could not be understood even if He explained it. God uses pathetic people for his glorious purposes to show his superior power. God doesnt need men, but God chooses to use men at times to accomplish His sovereign will. That is what moving forward would require, or so it seemed. He uses believers and unbelievers. Moses didnt have any power to bring the ten plagues upon Egypt either. 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. But sometimes we forget that when God ordains a particular end, he also ordains the means to that end. Causing him to not let the people go. Gods Ability To Use Unlikely People Even Unbelievers. Get your Bible. He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will. You are going to need it as we search the Scriptures to answer these two questions. But what a privilege it is to be used by God! So the emphasis of the chapter is on Gods working out His purpose through ordinary people who obey Him. Impatience and failing to trust God is never helpful. 10:17 Paul writes, So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the Word of Christ. When we preach the gospel to someone and they come to saving faith, we dont boast that we have saved them but that God has saved them, though we were the instruments of Gods saving work. 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. Before the Apostle Paul wrote his letter he was known as Saul. God used this unlikely group of people to accomplish His greatest work and they had no idea. Your children, however, whom you said would become a preyI will bring them in, and they will know the land which you have rejected. I dont have any letters after my name. We turn now to consider how the sin of Judas served many good purposesnone of which were seen that night and none of which diminish his true moral guilt. It becomes all the more bold in lawlessness. 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. A complete answer is impossible for who has known the mind of the Lord (Isa. You truly never know God could be doing something right that we wouldnt understand even if He told us. God picks the scrawniest little girl to lead off on his kickball team. Why would God allow his Son to suffer such indignity at the hands of one who claimed to be his friend? He stands behind it indirectly, but He directly stands behind good. At times, God enlisted non-believers to help His people through the ages. But the Jews who disbelieved stirred up the minds of the Gentiles and embittered them against the brethren. But we need to grow in faith and obedience. The new Pharaoh saw the Israelites as a plague in the land. I have received no honorary doctorates. God didnt need to have Moses lift up his staff. The mind of evil changes from bad to worse being taken in by successes in conquest. God uses pathetic people for his glorious purposes to show his superior power. It doesnt matter if you have theology degrees or mothered a dozen healthy, happy children or started several 501(c)3s to feed the poor and end trafficking. Though used of God to complete his plan, those who crucified our Lord were still personally wicked and godless in what they did. He could have just caused them to drop dead. 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. 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. How can I believe in the goodness of God when there is so much evil in the world? So the emphasis of the chapter is on Gods working out His purpose through ordinary people who obey Him. Do not lament your insufficiency. Finally, they suborned perjury by putting forward false witnesses who produced contradictory testimony. 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. God Uses But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or an ungifted man enters, he is convicted by all, he is called to account by all; the secrets of his heart are disclosed; and so he will fall on his face and worship God, declaring that God is certainly among you. God I am sure God has many reasons for doing the things He does in the way and timing of His choosing, but lets consider some likely reasons He used Moses, a sinner, to be the instrument of His sovereign, miraculous work of dividing the Red Sea. I have heard the complaints of the sons of Israel, which they are making against Me. Understanding God in Troubled Times 14 But the Pharisees went out and conspired against him, how to destroy him. God doesnt need men, but God chooses to use men at times to accomplish His sovereign will. He even turns wicked hearts to serve his Sovereign purpose. God Works His Will
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