god uses unbelievers to accomplish his will

In such a manner Judas served Gods purposes through his wicked act of betrayal. For Permission to Quote Information visit http://www.lockman.org. To say it another way, there is a man in hell today who has been there for 2000 years even though what he did advanced Gods plan to save the world. God sovereignly saves sinners, yet, He often uses sinners to accomplish His sovereign will. At my own local church, and everywhere else I go, faithful men and women record my sermons in audio and sometimes video. The thing he values the most is dragging him down to eternal damnation. God picks the scrawniest little girl to lead off on his kickball team. Consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. Solomon was given a mind like no one before and like none even after him (1 Kings 3:12). We are called to be among his faithful people. Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? Guiding our world whether we are able to see it or not. As they plotted how to murder Jesus they had no idea they were accomplishing Gods will. We might be a life-hacking, productivity guru. God ordains the means and the ends of life. They wanted him dead and used Judas as a convenient means to that ugly end. 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. Verse Concepts. But what they do is not going to bring them true blessing. Impatience and failing to trust God is never helpful. 46:10). 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. Remember my imprisonment. 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. Until that man turns from his sinwhich in his case means acknowledging his behavior as sinand runs to the Cross of Christ he cannot be saved. 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. The manner of the judgment would be unexpected. Though absolutely sovereign, all knowing, all wise, and everywhere present, God uses sinners to accomplish His will. Questions? Gods covenant warned from the beginning that if Israel fell into sin God would use a foreign heathen nation to bring judgment upon them. God chooses the custodian with a heavy accent to share the gospel and save lives. 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. But what a privilege it is to be used by God! Do you merely profess Christ and trust in your religious habits to save you, or do you possess Christ in your heart by faith? For I will work a work in your days Which you would not believe, though it were told you.. A third reason God had Moses raise his staff and hands before dividing the Red Sea is that God delights to use sinners to accomplish His sovereign will. Were they to march into the sea holding their little ones, driving their cattle, and pushing their elderly? When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them and bowed down with his face to the ground. When we do that we become His instruments to accomplish His sovereign will. They were afraid. And how long will they not believe in Me, despite all the signs which I have performed in their midst? Why? If your rsum is sparse, your intellect feeble, your skills unimpressive, and your wisdom just average, fret not. God uses pathetic people for his glorious purposes to show his superior power. So through his death, he can have everlasting life on earth. Moses didnt have any power to bring the ten plagues upon Egypt either. Thanks for your interest! This warning was made clear in the ancient covenant revealed long before through Moses in Deuteronomy 28. He wants us to trust in Him, to rely on Him, to cry out to Him, and then give Him glory for delivering us. This could be the begging of a time of great growth for the church. But most of the time we wont see it fully until we finally arrive in heaven. We are saved by living faith in the Son of Godnot by outward religious observance. 4 Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word. In Jeremiah 13:20 it said, Lift up your eyes and see Those who come from the north . Jeremiah 25:32 says, Behold, disaster shall go forth From nation to nation, And a great whirlwind shall be raised up From the farthest parts of the earth., Habakkuk 1:6, For indeed I am raising up the Chaldeans, A bitter and hasty nation Which marches through the breadth of the earth, To possess dwelling places that are not theirs.. God will deal with them according to his plan, but first, He will use them for His own covenant judgment. 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 intend to be their own god. It was the tech team, the web master, the secretary, or whoever posted my sermon on line. Our accolades cannot merit us any greatness. Acts 2:23 tells us that Jesus was delivered up, by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death. Soon they will be raised up from that struggle to full power. God is unimpressed by our collection of readers, likes, retweets, friends, connections, or admirers. We see the same thing after the Israelites cross the Red Sea and are attacked by the Amalekites (Ex. Lest he misunderstand, I also told him that going to Calvary Memorial Church cannot save anyoneor help save anyone. God could by-pass us and do everything himself, but He does not. 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? The Lord said to Moses, How long will this people spurn Me? 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. Tell the sons of Israel to go forward. For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also; but the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard. Why bother praying to a God who isnt? 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. He reminded Peter that he could call for 12 legions of angels72,000 highly trained, heavily armed members of the Angelic Defense Leagueto come to his rescue at any moment. A complete answer is impossible for who has known the mind of the Lord (Isa. 14:11). I have an unimpressive family background and do not come from a long line of important people. Everything was planned by God down to the tiniest detail. The fact that God ordains both the means and the ends should surely encourage us as we face our own trials. All rights reserved. Before the Apostle Paul wrote his letter he was known as Saul. He has not brought us this far to cause us to fail. 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. Often in the confusion of life, we cant see the ends, much less the means God intends for us. Jump to Previous Now the two angels came to Sodom in the evening as Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. Or see articles from other writers we feature Here. Yet, God used him to rebuild the temple and allow Jews to return to their land. 16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. Comments? He sent His son to pay a most costly price for the sin of His people, for those who trust in Him. But as for you, your corpses will fall in this wilderness. Then his mind changes, and he transgresses; He commits offense, Ascribing this power to his god.. They were evil cowards who hated the Son of God but feared a popular uprising if they tried to arrest him. Here we see that when believers are doing the will of God, obeying the Word of God, and serving even the least of the Saints, they are Gods instruments, doing Jesus will, ministering to Jesus people, His body, His bride. Are we becoming more like Jesus by the power of the Spirit? So the emphasis of the chapter is on Gods working out His purpose through ordinary people who obey Him. (Video #2), Lesson 2: Gods Use of the Ungodly Habakkuk 1:5-11. God uses all those who humble themselves before the cross, boasting only in him his strength, his wisdom, his righteousness, his accomplishment. How will they preach unless they are sent? I sit on no boards. Rejoice that Christ is all-sufficient and always dependable. I am a preacher and Bible teacher. He chooses to use sinners to accomplish His sovereign will, often in ways we dont even understand. 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. He mustered his army and went after the Jews in hot pursuit. The greater the pain, the harder it is to see Gods fingerprints. The mind of evil changes from bad to worse being taken in by successes in conquest. He stands behind it indirectly, but He directly stands behind good. Other examples could be added to this list. even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor. 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. 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). Even today there are those who are arrogant and have no honor for God as He reveals Himself in Scripture. He betrayed the Lord but ended up vindicating him. Grace be with you. Habakkuk 1:5, Look among the nations and watch Be utterly astounded! But we need to grow in faith and obedience. 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. 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. . He recognized what was evil because he believed Gods law. So the emphasis of the chapter is on Gods working out His purpose through ordinary people who obey Him. 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. The new Pharaoh saw the Israelites as a plague in the land. 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. His plan in doing so was to bless all people. Often in the confusion of life, we cant see the ends, much less the means God intends for us. We see this all the way through the Bible. Nor grumble, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the destroyer. 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. What an honor to serve the King of kings. 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. God will use it even if you do not understand how. WebGod was about to turn to the Gentiles as He judged Israel as a nation for her unbelief. 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. God has the amazing ability to do things that simply do not make sense to mankind. Because they did not believe in GodAnd did not trust in His salvation. Israel as a nation had rejected the promises of Moses and the Prophets culminating in the demand for the death of Jesus, Gods Messiah. 14 But the Pharisees went out and conspired against him, how to destroy him. In fact, in one place in scripture, God said that what He was doing could not be understood even if He explained it. 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. Nothing is ever left to chance with God. For how do you know, O wife, whether you will save your husband? Psalm 69:25Reputation destroyed forever. And the Lord had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they granted them what they requested. God uses all those who humble themselves before the cross, boasting only in him his strength, his wisdom, his righteousness, his accomplishment. Eternity will reveal how your faithful service was used by the Lord in amazing ways. Do not lament your insufficiency. God has the amazing ability to do things that simply do not make sense to mankind. and be astounded! One final point is in order. 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. C) We place our confidence in Gods ultimate purpose for us. 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. In spite of all this they still sinnedAnd did not believe in His wonderful works. The Prophet was told to look around him and see what was going on among the nations, observe! 3 But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison. My ministry is small locally, but gigantic because of the faithful service of others. 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. I also answer yes. 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. God reigns over the nations; God sits on His holy throne ( Psalm 47:8 ). Psalm 109:8Replaced by another manMatthias (see Acts 1:20). Gods plan even extended to having Jesus buried in a borrowed tomb (see Isaiah 53:9). The trials that were meant to establish his guilt ended up establishing his innocence for all the world to see. 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 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 uses all those who humble themselves before the cross, boasting only in him his strength, his wisdom, his righteousness, his accomplishment. They have no respect for the leaders of other nations. This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask No buildings, streets, or hospitals have been named in honor of me. In fact, in one place in scripture, God said that what He was doing could not be understood even if He explained it. God has the amazing ability to do things that simply do not make sense to mankind. The new king was deposed after three months. Its okay to be a nobody, if in all you do, you serve Somebody. And did not believe in His wonderful works. 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. 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. You have entered an incorrect email address! 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 then raised up Moses and his brother Aaron as instruments to deliver the people of Israel from cruel bondage. Though used of God to complete his plan, those who crucified our Lord were still personally wicked and godless in what they did. Why would God allow his Son to suffer such indignity at the hands of one who claimed to be his friend? 5:14). They looked to themselves for their power. 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.. Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? Be encouraged, child of God. Including those who dont believe He exists. 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. His plan in doing so was to bless all people. You are going to need it as we search the Scriptures to answer these two questions. I have received no honorary doctorates. 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. The gospel writers record many Old Testament prophecies that were fulfilled in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Do not begrudge your weakness. (see Matthew 27:5). Causing him to not let the people go. He stands behind it indirectly, but He directly stands behind good. I have not written a New York Times Bestseller, and no one has publicly endorsed, recommended, or vouched for me. Do not begrudge your weakness. 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. When they offered him 30 pieces of silver, he readily accepted even though that was the going price for a slave. They live as if there was no Creator, no moral law, no accountability. Zechariah 11:1230 pieces of silver (see Matthew 26:15). Gods plan included the time of Jesus deathPassover, the placeJerusalem, the opposition by the Jewish leaders, and the betrayal by Judas. 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.. They deride every stronghold, For they heap up earthen mounds and seize it. 2:11). God promised to precede Cyrus and destroy all opposition that Cyrus would face: 'I will go before you and make the 3. And he was an exalted and successful king. Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God. Later Pilate gave in to pressure and ordered Jesus crucified. Pharaohs heart was hardened again. But sometimes we forget that when God ordains a particular end, he also ordains the means to that end. God doesnt need men, but God chooses to use men at times to accomplish His sovereign will. This is a true mystery, which we may explain in various ways but will never fully understand. I am the trustee of nothing more than my personal belongings. But they feared to do it during the Feast of Unleavened Bread because of the crowds that thronged Jerusalem. God reigns over the nations; God sits on His holy throne ( Psalm 47:8 ). Remember my imprisonment. So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires. 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. Do not begrudge your weakness. Understanding God in Troubled Times 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. Judas solved their problem by volunteering to betray the Lord. 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. 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. 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. Copyright 2002-2023 Got Questions Ministries. (see Acts 1:20). 1:22). But as for you, your corpses will fall in this wilderness. I think we can learn some great lessons by answering these questions. His betrayal proved that the Jewish leaders were far from innocent bystanders in the death of Christ. WebThe Scripture teaches that God achieves His purpose in unbelievers. We see this all the way through the Bible. 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.. Even those who dont believe and even speak against. He could have just caused them to drop dead. All of it happened according to Gods plan. He had great trust in the truth of God. During this period, foreign powers invaded Israel again and again, and inside the nation known as Gods people, evil and immorality raged. 28:49, The LORD will bring a nation against you from afar, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flies, a nation whose language you will not understand.

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