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. The sheep representing believers who did Gods will and the goats representing unbelievers who do not do Gods will. That doesnt make us anything more in Gods eyes. The gospel writers record many Old Testament prophecies that were fulfilled in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Solomon was given a mind like no one before and like none even after him (1 Kings 3:12). And it is just like God to ask us to do hard things, things that seem impossible, that we know in our hearts we cant do. In fact, in one place in scripture, God said that what He was doing could not be understood even if He explained it. Wisdom didnt guard him against a wandering heart. Gods Ability To Use Unlikely People Even Unbelievers. God uses pathetic people for his glorious purposes to show his superior power. Literal Standard Version. Often in the confusion of life, we cant see the ends, much less the means God intends for us. Do not lament your insufficiency. They sweep through like the strong winds from the East gathering up captives that number like the grains of sand. Though absolutely sovereign, all knowing, all wise, and everywhere present, God uses sinners to accomplish His will. Judas professed Christ but he did not possess him, which is why he is in hell today. The trials that were meant to establish his guilt ended up establishing his innocence for all the world to see. Their end will be most awful. WebGod never does evil Himself. 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. Do not lament your insufficiency. Thus they plundered the Egyptians ( Exodus 12:36 ). Anyone who resists God risks falling into spiritual deception (2 God Can Use Unbelievers part 1: Cyrus Sign up to join over 20,000 subscribers receiving our weekly sermon email. 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. The people of Jacob were trapped. 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. WebThe Scripture teaches that God achieves His purpose in unbelievers. 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). God picks the scrawniest little girl to lead off on his kickball team. God is unimpressed. The book of proverbs also gives us insight into this. Why does God allow deception Then the Lord heard the sound of your words, and He was angry and took an oath, saying, Not one of these men, this evil generation, shall see the good land which I swore to give your fathers. 21 Many are the plans in the mind of a man. Remember my imprisonment. I have not written a New York Times Bestseller, and no one has publicly endorsed, recommended, or vouched for me. And the Lord had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they granted them what they requested. In 609 Judahs King Josiah was killed in battle against Egypt. For he sees that even wise men die;The stupid and the senseless alike perishAnd leave their wealth to others. They were afraid. WebGod never does evil Himself. Two verses later, in Rom. Thus they plundered the Egyptians ( Exodus 12:36 ). God is still using unlikely people to accomplish His will on earth today. So through his death, he can have everlasting life on earth. But sometimes we forget that when God ordains a particular end, he also ordains the means to that end. Fit to be Used Or see articles from other writers we feature Here. (see Matthew 27:5). 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. In spite of all this they still sinned And did not believe in His wonderful works. And that is okay. He had great trust in the truth of God. But most of the time we wont see it fully until we finally arrive in heaven. Grace be with you. 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. Nothing is ever left to chance with God. We when we dont know if something is Gods will, we pray, Yet not my will but yours be done (Mt. Now if You slay this people as one man, then the nations who have heard of Your fame will say. 1:37). They wanted him dead and used Judas as a convenient means to that ugly end. 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. Now the two angels came to Sodom in the evening as Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. Really, its just fine. 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.. WebGod 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. Were they to march into the sea holding their little ones, driving their cattle, and pushing their elderly? 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.. So the emphasis of the chapter is on Gods working out His purpose through ordinary people who obey Him. We are called to be among his faithful people. But we need to grow in faith and obedience. Until finally it came to the Red Sea where the Egyptian army was destroyed and the tale spread across the world to the glory of God. They have heard that You, O. So through his death, he can have everlasting life on earth. What does it mean that God came from Teman (Habakkuk 3:3). Peter didnt see it, he only saw the treachery of Judas. The evil nations God was raising up to judge his rebellious people were self-centered. That pagan nation was struggling against Egypt for dominance. It doesnt mean everything will also go perfectly or the way we hope. WebGod was about to turn to the Gentiles as He judged Israel as a nation for her unbelief. 1 John 5:14. Assyria had fallen when Nineveh, its capitol, was destroyed in 612 BC. Consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. Did Jesus Descend Into Hell? Be encouraged Christian, God intends to use you in all your multifaceted weakness and obscurity for his glory. Sighing deeply in His spirit, He *said, Why does this generation seek for a sign? But among the leaders of the nation, only a few followed Christand they became secret believers for fear of persecution by their brethren. He recognized what was evil because he believed Gods law. 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. We have one life to use, and the usefulness of that one life depends not on our rsum or even how much we know. Jesus point is clear, The King will answer and say to them, Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.. A complete answer is impossible for who has known the mind of the Lord (Isa. 55:8-9). Even those who have a very low view of Gods sovereignty, if they pray, pray because God is perfectly sovereign, otherwise prayer would be an exercise in futility. God doesnt need men, but God chooses to use men at times to accomplish His sovereign will. 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?. Why? In many cases without them even realizing that they were being used by God. WebGod will never set man's will aside and use him for a good purpose without his being willing to be used. Then God, in His sovereign power and will, takes our weak and fallible service, and accomplishes His will, like parting the Red Sea. The way of the wicked is like darkness;They do not know over what they stumble. This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask The purpose of www.drivennails.com is to help train expository preachers in sermon construction and delivery, to train inductive Bible study writers and teachers, and to edify the saints with the Word of God. Im not a founder, innovator, CEO, or visionary of any company. Is it true that God cannot look upon sin? WebThe Scripture teaches that God achieves His purpose in unbelievers. Does God Accomplish His Purpose in Our Do not begrudge your weakness. 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. But we need to grow in faith and obedience. Now the Amalekites and the Canaanites live in the valleys; turn tomorrow and set out to the wilderness by the way of the Red Sea.. He has many means to accomplish that holy purposeincluding some that are difficult to understand. Or how do you know, O husband, whether you will save your wife? He stands behind it indirectly, but He directly stands behind good. Jump to Previous God 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. Second, the proper response to any trial or danger is to not fear but stand by and see the salvation of the Lord. How many times do we fret and worry and then see the Lord deliver us and realize that all of our anxiety and fretting was for naught, that it accomplished nothing, but was an expression of our sinful doubt? God will use it even if you do not understand how. God The evil ones believe pridefully that their own imagined gods have blessed them. A) We bow in submission before the mysterious ways of God. He uses believers and unbelievers. C) God uses all eventsgood and badto accomplish his purposes. Impatience and failing to trust God is never helpful. Prayer is one of the means God uses to accomplish His sovereign will and get glory for himself. 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. One final point is in order. And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed (Genesis 12: 3). And the Lord had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they granted them what they requested. 6:10). 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. I believe that t he Lord is here suggesting that the eternal torment that unbelievers will experience will be on a scale from more tolerable to less tolerable. Soon they will be raised up from that struggle to full power. And how long will they not believe in Me, despite all the signs which I have performed in their midst? This brings us face to face with the doctrine of Gods providence, which means, A) God has a plan that includes everything that happens in the universe, and, B) Gods plan extends to the tiniest details of life, and. He used sinners to accomplish His sovereign will. We return now to the original question: Why did God allow Judas to betray Jesus? God promised to precede Cyrus and destroy all opposition that Cyrus would face: 'I will go before you and make the 3. The Prophet was told to look around him and see what was going on among the nations, observe! God uses pathetic people for his glorious purposes to show his superior power. In fact, in one place in scripture, God said that what He was doing could not be understood even if He explained it. So continue to trust in Him and you wont be disappointed. Steven Lee is the Pastor of Preaching & Vision at. 13:17). Now relax your hand! And the angel of the Lord was by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. He uses believers and unbelievers. This New-Babylon marched through Canaan and took hostages (one of them was Daniel). Later Pilate gave in to pressure and ordered Jesus crucified. More insights from your Bible study - Get Started with Logos Bible Software for Free! When they offered him 30 pieces of silver, he readily accepted even though that was the going price for a slave. But before his salvation took place God was still using Him. Third, it is necessary for us to remain silent, to not fret, grumble, or complain, while we wait for the Lord to deliver us from whatever trial we are suffering. Stand by and see the salvation of the Lord which He will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you will never see them again forever. For I work a work in your days, a work which you will by no means believe, Though one were to declare it to you., Jeremiah also spoke of the same thing about which God warned Habakkuk. Those who look to themselves, will eventually and always reap their just punishment. 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. Literal Standard Version. When he went before Pilate, the Roman governor received an urgent message from his wife: Dont have anything to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of him (Matthew 27:19). God even gave prophecy through Isaiah that this very thing would take place. 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. Paul, in writing to Corinth, corrected the Churchs misuse of speaking in foreign tongues. 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. They looked to themselves for their power. In heaven, each mans praise will come to him from God, and God will be glorified for sovereignly using sinners for His good purposes (I Cor. The Lord will fight for you while you keep silent. Then the Lord said to Moses, Why are you crying out to Me? Here are some examples: They gather captives like sand. Judas served Gods purposes even though what he did was wrong and he ended up in hell. 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?. And the Lord had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they granted them what they requested. Everything was planned by God down to the tiniest detail. Jesus is truly the lamb without blemish who died for the sins of the world (John 1:29). This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask Now the Amalekites and the Canaanites live in the valleys; turn tomorrow and set out to the wilderness by the way of the Red Sea. The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, How long shall I bear with this evil congregation who are grumbling against Me? Moses didnt have any power to bring the ten plagues upon Egypt either. 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. But the fact of the matter is it wasnt me! After God redeemed Israel from Egypt through a series of ten miraculous plagues, he had Moses lead the people of Israel out of Egypt near the shore of the Red Sea. Email Jack. Judas didnt know itand doesnt get any credit for itbut his dastardly deed actually fulfilled predictions given by the Holy Spirit hundreds of years before he was born. by Bob Burridge 2013, 2015 I cant charge an exorbitant hourly fee for my time. Though used by God for his purposes, the ungodly are still evil. The fact that God ordains both the means and the ends should surely encourage us as we face our own trials. But as for you, your corpses will fall in this wilderness. 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. Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever? God reigns over the nations; God sits on His holy throne ( Psalm 47:8 ). At my own local church, and everywhere else I go, faithful men and women record my sermons in audio and sometimes video. He could have just caused them to drop dead. 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. I sit on no boards. 1 And Saul approved of his execution. His covenant is always enforced. 1:21). He fought against God and hoped to destroy the early church. Habakkuk 1:5, Look among the nations and watch Be utterly astounded! WebThe one who believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself; the one who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has given concerning His Son. His betrayal proved that the Jewish leaders were far from innocent bystanders in the death of Christ. Psalm 69:25Reputation destroyed forever. You have entered an incorrect email address! 17:8-13). 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. 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. The very first verse my daughter ever memorized was Isaiah 40:8, The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever. It seemed like an odd one to begin with, but now in retrospect it might have been the best one. A most astonishing way of fulfilling that prophesy. Unbelievers Are blinded by the God of this world 2 Corinthians 4:4 Verse Concepts Jesus waved him off by declaring, All this was done that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled (Matthew 26:56).
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