I am the trustee of nothing more than my personal belongings. God will bring ultimate and final judgment upon all ungodliness. But Habakkuks confusion was not doubt. 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. Moses didnt have any power to bring the ten plagues upon Egypt either. We see this all the way through the Bible. Sighing deeply in His spirit, He *said, Why does this generation seek for a sign?
God Israel stumbled at the stumbling stone, the suffering messiah (Romans 9:31-33). When Moses spoke these words to all the sons of Israel, the people mourned greatly. 1 John 5:14. Be encouraged Christian, God intends to use you in all your multifaceted weakness and obscurity for his glory. 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. They will be held guilty. And goes on to say, How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? Those who turn in humble trust to the Lord, who rest in His work of redemption, who seek to walk in his ways, and who turn in humble repentance when they fail, will receive His righteousness, and blessing forever. 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. 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. and be astounded!
God Will Use Even You WebGod never does evil Himself. The fact that God ordains both the means and the ends should surely encourage us as we face our own trials.
God so that they might escape from the devil's snare, even though they've been held captive by him to do his will. 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. The sheep representing believers who did Gods will and the goats representing unbelievers who do not do Gods will. This week were looking at the other side of the equation. At times, God enlisted non-believers to help His people through the ages. Moses didnt have any power to divide the Red Sea. We know from the sowing and reaping principle that t here will be degrees of torment in the lake of fire. God doesnt need men, but God chooses to use men at times to accomplish His sovereign will. We know from the sowing and reaping principle that t here will be degrees of torment in the lake of fire. These lessons simply teach us that God can take that which is evil and use it for his own good purposes. Remember my imprisonment. 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. Through one mans treachery, Jesus proves himself a man of peacenot a man of war. This is a true mystery, which we may explain in various ways but will never fully understand. Why? 16:30), when he uses you or others, delivering you from your trials, be sure to praise, thank, and give Him all the glory for sovereignly using sinners. By his treachery he established the very cause he set out to destroy. God can use anyone and anything.
Does God Accomplish His Purpose in Our The fact that God ordains both the means and the ends should surely encourage us as we face our own trials. 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. I have heard the complaints of the sons of Israel, which they are making against Me. Jesus said to them, If you were blind, you would have no sin; but since you say, We see, your sin remains. WebGod never does evil Himself. (see Acts 1:20). Often in the confusion of life, we cant see the ends, much less the means God intends for us. They looked to themselves for their power. At my own local church, and everywhere else I go, faithful men and women record my sermons in audio and sometimes video.
God Uses I think we can learn some great lessons by answering these questions. Now relax your hand! And the angel of the Lord was by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. Rejoice that Christ is all-sufficient and always dependable. But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. Just as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things! (Rom. The repentant show Gods unmerited grace to undeserving sinners, and reveal the merciful blessing and goodness of God. Prayer is one of the means God uses to accomplish His sovereign will and get glory for himself. 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. In the beginning Satan challenged Gods right to rule. God is not the author of sin, but He can use sinful men to attain an objective. He may for a time use the ungodly to bring deserved chastising upon the hypocrites among His own people, and to show his uncompromising wrath upon those left to what we all deserve aside from the work of his grace. His words imply that all the torment will be tolerable. Also, be sure to stop by our prayer wall. Though absolutely sovereign, all knowing, all wise, and everywhere present, God uses sinners to accomplish His will. 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. Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? 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. I might preach to 100 people on Sunday morning in my own little church, but I preach to thousands over the internet. God strengthened Cyrus so that he could conquer nations and overcome opposition Thus says the Lord God to His 2. 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. 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. 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. He does this for obvious reasons. Do not lament your insufficiency. 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 God promised to precede Cyrus and destroy all opposition that Cyrus would face: 'I will go before you and make the 3.
God Uses Many People to Accomplish His Purposes He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. Moses was sent by the Lord multiple times to Pharaoh asking for the release of the Hebrews. The Lord even tells Moses to do it, divide it! God doesnt need men, but God chooses to use men at times to accomplish His sovereign will. 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.
God Works His Will God use unbelievers to accomplish his will The way to heaven is only Jesus and Jesus only.. Why did a holy God allow such evil to continue? The Pharisees believed they were serving God but in reality, they didnt even know Him.
His But he chose instead to allow himself to be arrested, knowing that this would fulfill Gods plan. 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.
God Can Use Unbelievers part 1: Cyrus For how do you know, O wife, whether you will save your husband? His son Jehoahaz became king. He wants us to trust in Him, to rely on Him, to cry out to Him, and then give Him glory for delivering us. Consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. WebGod Can Use Unbelievers part 1: Cyrus 1. During his ministry his greatest opposition came from the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the scribes and the teachers of the Law. Gods plan even extended to having Jesus buried in a borrowed tomb (see Isaiah 53:9). Do you merely profess Christ and trust in your religious habits to save you, or do you possess Christ in your heart by faith? Their chargers charge ahead; Their cavalry comes from afar; They fly as the eagle that hastens to eat. He stands behind it indirectly, but He directly stands behind good. God sees. International Standard Version. Will we show forth Gods glory in our obedience and in our receiving of His covenant blessing? A second reason, related to the first reason, is that God knew that by doing His miracles through Moses, Moses would then in turn give glory to God. I dont speak on any circuits, have given no TED talks, and have been the keynote speaker less than once. In fact, in one place in scripture, God said that what He was doing could not be understood even if He explained it. Pharaohs heart was hardened again. We all understand that God intended that Jesus would die for the sins of the world. God picks the scrawniest little girl to lead off on his kickball team. 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. Soon they will be raised up from that struggle to full power. Two questions confront us as we consider the story of Judas: Last weeks sermon dealt with the first question. Habakkuk 1:5, Look among the nations and watch Be utterly astounded! If we lack wisdom, we should ask God for it (James 1:5). All of it happened according to Gods plan. 10:14-15). While not all became believers, many felt a strong attraction to his message. He told the people that Pharaohs army would be wiped out, though he did not know how. Zechariah 11:13Judas would give the money back. When Judas actually betrayed Jesus in the Garden, Peter immediately sprang to his defense. So through his death, he can have everlasting life on earth. Even those who dont believe and even speak against. so that they might escape from the devil's snare, even though they've been held captive by him to do his will. God is unimpressed. Joseph made Egypt phenomenally wealthy during the years of the famine. God promised to precede Cyrus and destroy all opposition that Cyrus would face: 'I will go before you and make the 3. Moses give the Israelites specific instruction and visible representation from the invisible God. WebGod was about to turn to the Gentiles as He judged Israel as a nation for her unbelief. 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. Yet, God used him to rebuild the temple and allow Jews to return to their land.
God Uses WebJohn 3:16. WebAnd then they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the Devil, who had caught them and made them obey his will. That leads me to ask a simple question: Are you a professor or a possessor? C) God uses all eventsgood and badto accomplish his purposes. Email Jack.
God use unbelievers to accomplish his will In the words of a 19th century writer, hatred, treachery and deceit will not prevail against the church of God. His silence spoke more loudly than the foolish claims of his lying accusers. Our accolades cannot merit us any greatness. Now the two angels came to Sodom in the evening as Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. 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). 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. The Lord can never be blamed for evil, but evil does not take p. God never does evil Himself. Though used of God to complete his plan, those who crucified our Lord were still personally wicked and godless in what they did.
God Can Use Unbelievers part 1: Cyrus God use unbelievers to accomplish his will 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. 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. We are called to be among his faithful people. We are here and gone again. 2 Devout men buried Stephen and made great lamentation over him. Why would God allow his Son to suffer such indignity at the hands of one who claimed to be his friend? Your children, however, whom you said would become a preyI will bring them in, and they will know the land which you have rejected. Yet both declare His awesome glory. God even gave prophecy through Isaiah that this very thing would take place. We might make Jim Collins proud, but God yawns at our leadership abilities. (see Matthew 27:5). God has the amazing ability to do things that simply do not make sense to mankind. I didnt attend an Ivy League school. But the fact of the matter is it wasnt me! B) We entrust our lives to the God who cares for us. I cant charge an exorbitant hourly fee for my time. 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). Thus they plundered the Egyptians ( Exodus 12:36 ). God blesses those in whom he stirs to obedience, and judges disobedience. God was rejecting their national privilege, and turning to the Gentiles to populate his Covenant Nation on Earth. Judas solved their problem by volunteering to betray the Lord.
God Uses Often in the confusion of life, we cant see the ends, much less the means God intends for us. As a place to begin, consider three verses dealing with Judas. This could be the begging of a time of great growth for the church. 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. Copyright 2002-2023 Got Questions Ministries. Because God is utterly unimpressed by my rsum. 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. 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?. 1 John 5:14. Yet, Solomon turned away from God (1 Kings 11:4, 912). We have one life to use, and the usefulness of that one life depends not on our rsum or even how much we know. We might be a life-hacking, productivity guru.
God Works His Will I sit on no boards. If so, did he have a choice? ", Writing & Teaching Inductive Bible Studies.
Why does God allow deception There is no better example of Gods providence at work through the actions of a sinful man. Because they did not believe in GodAnd did not trust in His salvation. This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask He uses believers and unbelievers. Those who look to themselves, will eventually and always reap their just punishment. He stands behind it indirectly, but He directly stands behind good. So through his death, he can have everlasting life on earth. The ungodly show the futility of their rebellion, the awful penalty of sin, and the just wrath of God. Do not begrudge your weakness. 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. Your children, however, whom you said would become a preyI will bring them in, and they will know the land which you have rejected. But God gave the command, Moses obeyed the command, and in a sense Moses divided the Sea, as the Lord commanded, and in a more ultimate sense God did the miracle and divided the Red Sea. Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.. 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. And the Lord had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they granted them what they requested. But Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh remained alive out of those men who went to spy out the land. But what they do is not going to bring them true blessing. WebJohn 3:16. But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills. He betrayed the Lord but ended up vindicating him. But it does mean everything will happen as God sees fit. Fourth, Gods command seemed impossible to obey. Are we becoming more like Jesus by the power of the Spirit? His betrayal proved that the Jewish leaders were far from innocent bystanders in the death of Christ. Judas professed Christ but he did not possess him, which is why he is in hell today. Unbelievers Are blinded by the God of this world 2 Corinthians 4:4 Verse Concepts It is a mighty nation, It is an ancient nation, A nation whose language you do not know, Nor can you understand what they say. . An unlikely person to be used by God. God strengthened Cyrus so that he could conquer nations and overcome opposition Thus says the Lord God to His 2.
God 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. God strengthened Cyrus so that he could conquer nations and overcome opposition Thus says the Lord God to His 2. Judas served Gods purposes even though what he did was wrong and he ended up in hell. God uses all those who humble themselves before the cross, boasting only in him his strength, his wisdom, his righteousness, his accomplishment. The new Pharaoh saw the Israelites as a plague in the land. Nothing will ever be able to affect Gods will. Comments? 6:10). Peter didnt see it, he only saw the treachery of Judas. No, its a mystery. What an honor to serve the King of kings. Tell the sons of Israel to go forward. Literal Standard Version. What Jesus Wants Emphasized In His Church! Anyone who resists God risks falling into spiritual deception (2 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? Because God created all He can use anything in creation. They wanted him dead and used Judas as a convenient means to that ugly end.