At times, God enlisted non-believers to help His people through the ages. Pentecost was a sign to the unbelieving of Israel that they had broken the covenant and stood deserving of Gods judgment and wrath. 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 ordains the means and the ends of life. But most of the time we wont see it fully until we finally arrive in heaven. As the persecution he inflicted was just the jump-start the early church needed to start taking the Gospel to the rest of the world. The evil ones believe pridefully that their own imagined gods have blessed them. Moses didnt have any power to divide the Red Sea. The mind of evil changes from bad to worse being taken in by successes in conquest. Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? 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. When God desires to save someone, He raises up Christians to preach the gospel. 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. And the Lord had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they granted them what they requested. 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. The thing he values the most is dragging him down to eternal damnation. Anyone who resists God risks falling into spiritual deception (2 The Prophet was told to look around him and see what was going on among the nations, observe! Verse Concepts. Nor grumble, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the destroyer. 46:10). Isaiah 28:11 warned, For with stammering lips and another tongue He will speak to this people. Jeremiah 5:15 said, Behold, I will bring a nation against you from afar, O house of Israel, says the LORD. Jesus, in the Olivet Discourse, gave the parable of the sheep and the goats. Not one of these men, this evil generation, shall see the good land which I swore to give your fathers. Though absolutely sovereign, all knowing, all wise, and everywhere present, God uses sinners to accomplish His will. This New-Babylon marched through Canaan and took hostages (one of them was Daniel). The Lord will fight for you while you keep silent. Then the Lord said to Moses, Why are you crying out to Me? Because God created all He can use anything in creation. He uses believers and unbelievers. 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? Training for Preachers and Teachers of God's Word, Want to know what an RSS feed is and how it works? 2 Devout men buried Stephen and made great lamentation over him. This is the attitude of the evil heart in all ages. A) We bow in submission before the mysterious ways of God. Get your Bible. They gather captives like sand. Why? What an honor to serve the King of kings. They had been in Egypt under Egyptian task masters for 400 years. Just as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things! (Rom. Other examples could be added to this list. Although God was at work in the betrayal, you couldnt see it that night. 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. Egypt made his brother, Jehoiakim, the new king over the Jews. Jesus Sends Out the But the Jews who disbelieved stirred up the minds of the Gentiles and embittered them against the brethren. God 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. 14 But the Pharisees went out and conspired against him, how to destroy him. Do not begrudge your weakness. For Permission to Quote Information visit http://www.lockman.org. Who would have had his own beliefs and gods that contradicted much of the Bible. Their horses also are swifter than leopards, And more fierce than evening wolves. For how do you know, O wife, whether you will save your husband? Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever? But He is unique and who can turn Him?And what His soul desires, that He does. WebGod was about to turn to the Gentiles as He judged Israel as a nation for her unbelief. God didnt need to have Moses lift up his staff. He stands behind it indirectly, but He directly stands behind good. A most astonishing way of fulfilling that prophesy. God Works His Will Really, its just fine. I am the trustee of nothing more than my personal belongings. Guiding our world whether we are able to see it or not. It becomes all the more bold in lawlessness. So continue to trust in Him and you wont be disappointed. In this period of Judahs last kings, the Prophets warned of the fulfillment of this covenant promise. His words imply that all the torment will be tolerable. But it does mean everything will happen as God sees fit. 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? They were afraid. Embrace your weakness, so that the power of Christ may rest upon you to reveal Gods surpassing greatness (2 Corinthians 12:9). 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. Everyday Apostolic 2019 | All Rights Reserved, Gods Ability To Use Unlikely People Even Unbelievers, Canceling Church On Christmas Removes Christ From Christmas, Great Resources On Baptism In The Name Of Jesus, A Diluted Christianity: Oneness, Trinitarian, Or Is It All Just Irrelevant, Youre Not David Pastor Raymond Woodward, The Walking Bible Pastor Raymond Woodward, Wait On The Lord by James Wilson NAYC 2019, If I Shout/Lets Testify Medley FAC Sanctuary Choir. Fit to be Used All rights reserved. All of it happened according to Gods plan. I, the Lord, have spoken, surely this I will do to all this evil congregation who are gathered together against Me. 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. Do not lament your insufficiency. Tell the sons of Israel to go forward. Amen. Able to do exceedingly and abundantly using unlikely people to further His plans. God We know from the sowing and reaping principle that t here will be degrees of torment in the lake of fire. Judas solved their problem by volunteering to betray the Lord. 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. Even Jesus cannot save a man who claims his sin is not really sinful. More insights from your Bible study - Get Started with Logos Bible Software for Free! He does this for obvious reasons. Does God sometimes use evil to accomplish His plans (Habakkuk 1:5-11)? God Will Use Even You The Lord can never be blamed for evil, but evil does not take p. God never does evil Himself. God Works His Will How beautiful! He betrayed the Lord but ended up vindicating him. Then his mind changes, and he transgresses; He commits offense, Ascribing this power to his god.. 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. . This week I ate lunch with a man who has recently become an acquaintance through an e-mail correspondence. Although Judas appears to be acting solely on his own initiative, it is clear that his betrayal fits into a larger pattern of eventsone that is orchestrated by the unseen hand of the Living God. 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. That is what moving forward would require, or so it seemed. 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. We see this all the way through the Bible. 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.. God uses all those who humble themselves before the cross, boasting only in him his strength, his wisdom, his righteousness, his accomplishment. Another unlikely person used by God was King Cyrus of Persia. God During our conversationwhich lasted two hours and was both cordial and very frankI told him that his religion could not save him. Those who were rebelling against God had become apathetic. They probably said things like, See, God isnt doing anything no body ever gets punished, it cant be very serious. They had forgotten the longsuffering of the True God who made all things, and who rules as King over all kings. We should never presume to say to an unbeliever, God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life. We cant know that. The fact that God ordains both the means and the ends should surely encourage us as we face our own trials. 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). Summary The Lord can never be blamed for evil, but evil does not take p. God never does evil Himself. So through his death, he can have everlasting life on earth. I cant charge an exorbitant hourly fee for my time. And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. To put the matter that way raises several other questions: Was Judas predestined by God to betray Jesus? We need to remember that God uses the foolish. 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. Unbelievers Are blinded by the God of this world 2 Corinthians 4:4 Verse Concepts They have heard that You, O. 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. Before the Apostle Paul wrote his letter he was known as Saul. The way to heaven is only Jesus and Jesus only.. Providence means that God is in charge of the entire universe at all times and nothing happens outside his control. Jesus is truly the lamb without blemish who died for the sins of the world (John 1:29). WebGod never does evil Himself. In such a manner Judas served Gods purposes through his wicked act of betrayal. 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. It can be fairly said that the common people by and large respected Jesus and responded positively to his message. I have not been named most influential, listed as most attractive, or voted most likely to succeed. 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. He told the people that Pharaohs army would be wiped out, though he did not know how. But we need to grow in faith and obedience. The people of Jacob were trapped. 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. Because God is utterly unimpressed by my rsum. Those who look to themselves, will eventually and always reap their just punishment. Jump to Previous At first he ordered the Israelite babies to be killed at birth by the midwives (Ex. Jesus waved him off by declaring, All this was done that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled (Matthew 26:56). They all come for violence; Their faces are set like the east wind. A complete answer is impossible for who has known the mind of the Lord (Isa. 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. In the same way, you wives, be submissive to your own husbands so that even if any of them are disobedient to the word, they may be won without a word by the behavior of their wives. He could have rained fire and brimstone down on them. They scoff at kings, And princes are scorned by them. 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. Bible Hub They sweep through like the strong winds from the East gathering up captives that number like the grains of sand. This seems to be one of the reasons God had Moses lift up his staff and hands to divide the Red Sea. 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. 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. (1 Corinthians 1:2629). In many cases without them even realizing that they were being used by God. Why does God allow deception 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. 2 He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. Stating that the plans of men are many but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand. Often in the confusion of life, we cant see the ends, much less the means God intends for us. God God himself had foreordained every detail surrounding the death of his Son. Wisdom didnt ensure obedience. Now relax your hand! And the angel of the Lord was by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. 18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. God Uses Many People to Accomplish His Purposes 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. Summary Because God does miracles by His own power. The Bible says, God was well pleased through the message preached to save those who believe (I Cor. Pharaohs heart was hardened again. 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. Then God, in His sovereign power and will, takes our weak and fallible service, and accomplishes His will, like parting the Red Sea. If your rsum is sparse, your intellect feeble, your skills unimpressive, and your wisdom just average, fret not. Truly I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation.. It only made sense on Sunday morning when Jesus rose from the dead. God Uses Herod the Great tried to kill him in Bethlehem. Gods plan included the time of Jesus deathPassover, the placeJerusalem, the opposition by the Jewish leaders, and the betrayal by Judas. Because they did not believe in GodAnd did not trust in His salvation. 14:11). 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. In fact, in one place in scripture, God said that what He was doing could not be understood even if He explained it. Bible Hub God uses all those who humble themselves before the cross, boasting only in him his strength, his wisdom, his righteousness, his accomplishment. God Will Use Even You In 609 Judahs King Josiah was killed in battle against Egypt. Gods plan even extended to having Jesus buried in a borrowed tomb (see Isaiah 53:9). Showing us that our God can and will use anyone even though they dont know Him. The unbelievers, become confused, not remembering ever having the opportunity to serve Jesus. 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. 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.. Truly I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation., Truth Of God Is denied by Unbelievers, the Truth of God Is denied by Unbelievers, Unbelievers Are blinded by the God of this world, Unbelievers Will be classed with outbreaking sinners in eternity, Unbelievers Their lifetime spent in vanity, Unbelievers Shall be judged by God's word in the last day, Will be classed with outbreaking sinners in eternity, Shall be judged by God's word in the last day. 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 know from the sowing and reaping principle that t here will be degrees of torment in the lake of fire. You do not have His word abiding in you, for you do not believe Him whom He sent.
Self Determination Theory In The Workplace, Articles G