But the Jews who disbelieved stirred up the minds of the Gentiles and embittered them against the brethren. 13:17). In fact, in one place in scripture, God said that what He was doing could not be understood even if He explained it. From the earliest days of Jesus life we find the Jewish leaders conspiring against him. I am the trustee of nothing more than my personal belongings. 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. 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. Lesson 7 The Interpretation of Scripture, Lesson 5a Boundaries of the Doctrine of Creation, Primeval Chronology by Dr. William Henry Green, Lesson 8 Gods Special Providence & Miracles, Lesson 10 Assurance of Grace and Salvation, Lesson 2 Christian Liberty and Liberty of Conscience, Lesson 3 The Regulative Principle of Worship, Lesson 4a The Elements of Regulated Worship, Lesson 4b The Elements of Regulated Worship, Lesson 1 An Overview of Special Eschatology, Lesson 2 -The Great Tribulation of Matthew 24, Lesson 3 The Millennium of Revelation 20, A Guide for Small Group Bible Study Leaders, Defending the Biblical Faith by what God Shows Us, Lessons in the Westminster Shorter Catechsim, The Inspiration of the Treasured Word of God, Summary of the 45th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America, The Holy Spirit In the Ministry of the Word, The Necessity of Biblical Love in the Believers Life, Keep Your Bible Skills Sharp and Ready (part 2), Keep Your Bible Skills Sharp and Ready (Part 1). Jesus says much the same thing in his famous prayer just before Judas arrives: None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that the Scripture would be fulfilled (John17:12b). Copyright 2002-2023 Got Questions Ministries. Grace be with you. God often reveals himself in most unexpected ways. by Bob Burridge 2013, 2015 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. 2:11). First, the people of Israel were for the most part leaderless. 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? It can be fairly said that the common people by and large respected Jesus and responded positively to his message. Because God created all He can use anything in creation. It doesnt mean everything will also go perfectly or the way we hope. 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. When Judas actually betrayed Jesus in the Garden, Peter immediately sprang to his defense. A) We bow in submission before the mysterious ways of God. 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. He has not brought us this far to cause us to fail. They had been in Egypt under Egyptian task masters for 400 years. WebJohn 3:16. Gods Ability To Use Unlikely People Even Unbelievers. All of our resources exist to guide you toward everlasting joy in Jesus Christ. Able to do exceedingly and abundantly using unlikely people to further His plans. 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. 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. 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. They live as if there was no Creator, no moral law, no accountability. Habakkuk learned that the material success of the ungodly is not a reliable measure of their true success. Paul used this verse from Habakkuk to warn the foolish despisers of the gospel. I sit on no boards. For I will work a work in your days Which you would not believe, though it were told you.. He wants us to trust in Him, to rely on Him, to cry out to Him, and then give Him glory for delivering us. No buildings, streets, or hospitals have been named in honor of me. How will they preach unless they are sent? God promised to precede Cyrus and destroy all opposition that Cyrus would face: 'I will go before you and make the 3. 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. The Pharisees came out and began to argue with Him, seeking from Him a sign from heaven, to test Him. 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. And how will they hear without a preacher? The sad story of Judas stands as a warning to religious people not to trust in their religion. God uses pathetic people for his glorious purposes to show his superior power. Thus they plundered the Egyptians ( Exodus 12:36 ). 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. 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). He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will. That is what moving forward would require, or so it seemed. His son Jehoahaz became king. We pray because God is sovereign and all powerful. 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. Impatience and failing to trust God is never helpful. But sometimes we forget that when God ordains a particular end, he also ordains the means to that end. He stands behind it indirectly, but He directly stands behind good. 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.. This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask The Prophet was told to look around him and see what was going on among the nations, observe! Recent events may not have gone how you hoped and the signs may seem bleak. WebGod will never set man's will aside and use him for a good purpose without his being willing to be used. Judas professed Christ but he did not possess him, which is why he is in hell today. Israel stumbled at the stumbling stone, the suffering messiah (Romans 9:31-33). He even turns wicked hearts to serve his Sovereign purpose. 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. Now and then we advance to Easter morning where we discover Gods purpose in our pain. He uses believers and unbelievers. The fact that we cant conceive of free choice coexisting with Gods predestination simply reminds us once again that he is God and we are not. He has but one endto make us like Jesus. Zechariah 11:13Judas would give the money back. Here are some examples: They had no weapons to fight Pharaohs army, no experience in war, no ability to defend themselves, and no way of escape. So through his death, he can have everlasting life on earth. 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. Here are some examples: 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. We know from the sowing and reaping principle that t here will be degrees of torment in the lake of fire. Thus they plundered the Egyptians ( Exodus 12:36 ). Even those who dont believe and even speak against. His plan in doing so was to bless all people. 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. 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. However, he had Aaron and Hur hold up Moses arms and had Joshua lead the armies of Israel. 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. His words imply that all the torment will be tolerable. Sign up to join over 20,000 subscribers receiving our weekly sermon email. We when we dont know if something is Gods will, we pray, Yet not my will but yours be done (Mt. You truly never know God could be doing something right that we wouldnt understand even if He told 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. Wisdom didnt ensure obedience. How can I believe in the goodness of God when there is so much evil in the world? Nothing that happened to Jesus that night or later on Good Friday made sense when it happened. Gods covenant warned from the beginning that if Israel fell into sin God would use a foreign heathen nation to bring judgment upon them. But among the leaders of the nation, only a few followed Christand they became secret believers for fear of persecution by their brethren. Do not lament your insufficiency. 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. Suggestions? You have entered an incorrect email address! When Moses spoke these words to all the sons of Israel, the people mourned greatly. It becomes all the more bold in lawlessness. WebGod Can Use Unbelievers part 1: Cyrus 1. Understanding God in Troubled Times Fourth, Gods command seemed impossible to obey. 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? Having all the wisdom in the world didnt guarantee fidelity. Why tell Moses to lift up his staff and stretch out his hand over the see and be the instrument God would use to divide the sea? The ungodly show the futility of their rebellion, the awful penalty of sin, and the just wrath of God. The people of Israel, were backed up against the Red Sea with Pharaohs army charging at them. 4:5). At the beginning of their sojourn, Joseph was ruler of Egypt, a son of Jacob, and watched over his own. We should never presume to say to an unbeliever, God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life. We cant know that. This seems to be one of the reasons God had Moses lift up his staff and hands to divide the Red Sea. 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? 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. An unlikely person to be used by God. Comments? 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. (Video #2), Lesson 2: Gods Use of the Ungodly Habakkuk 1:5-11. 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. More insights from your Bible study - Get Started with Logos Bible Software for Free! Visit Justins personal website Here. Though absolutely sovereign, all knowing, all wise, and everywhere present, God uses sinners to accomplish His will. I have heard the complaints of the sons of Israel, which they are making against Me. He who rejects Me and does not receive My sayings, has one who judges him; the word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day. 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.
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