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.. The Prophet was told to look around him and see what was going on among the nations, observe! 2:11). 2) If Jesus did descend into hell, why? Soon they will be raised up from that struggle to full power. Really, its just fine. He chooses to use sinners to accomplish His sovereign will, often in ways we dont even understand. But among the leaders of the nation, only a few followed Christand they became secret believers for fear of persecution by their brethren. I answer yes. 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. God will surely judge all rebellion, secret and open. Why? Sighing deeply in His spirit, He *said, Why does this generation seek for a sign? God was revealing that He was going to use this ungodly power for judgment upon his own straying people. Paul used this verse from Habakkuk to warn the foolish despisers of the gospel. They do whatever they want. 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. For Permission to Quote Information visit http://www.lockman.org. 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. It was all the Lord. I might preach to 100 people on Sunday morning in my own little church, but I preach to thousands over the internet. Everything was planned by God down to the tiniest detail. But sometimes we forget that when God ordains a particular end, he also ordains the means to that end. His covenant is always enforced. When we reach a dead end in our own resources, God can part the sea of the impossible and get us through, but I digress. Is that a contradiction? Though absolutely sovereign, all knowing, all wise, and everywhere present, God uses sinners to accomplish His will. We have one life to use, and the usefulness of that one life depends not on our rsum or even how much we know. Gods Ability To Use Unlikely People Even Unbelievers. Yet, God used him to rebuild the temple and allow Jews to return to their land. Because God created all He can use anything in creation. God is not the author of sin, but He can use sinful men to attain an objective. 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 the two great texts to keep in mind regarding Gods providence and our own personal experience: The first is the famous statement by Joseph to his brothers in Genesis 50:20, You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good. The second comes from the familiar words of Romans 8:28, And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. These verses teach us that God is able to take the worst things that happen in life and turn them for our good and his glory. But what they do is not going to bring them true blessing. God will deal with them according to his plan, but first, He will use them for His own covenant judgment. Jesus waved him off by declaring, All this was done that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled (Matthew 26:56). We might make Jim Collins proud, but God yawns at our leadership abilities. As we saw in the first four verses of this book, Habakkuk was confused. Although God was at work in the betrayal, you couldnt see it that night. WebJohn 3:16. That literally means, I find no basis for any of the charges brought against this man. In modern terms, you might call it a Summary Judgment in favor of Jesus. Pharaohs heart was hardened again. Two verses later, in Rom. 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. Verse Concepts. 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. 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 Lord can never be blamed for evil, but evil does not take p. God never does evil Himself. 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. I dont have any letters after my name. 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. Yet He was still able to accomplish His will through them. During his ministry his greatest opposition came from the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the scribes and the teachers of the Law. But our God is mightier than any office or country. 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. 1 John 5:14. And how long will they not believe in Me, despite all the signs which I have performed in their midst? We when we dont know if something is Gods will, we pray, Yet not my will but yours be done (Mt. The fact that God ordains both the means and the ends should surely encourage us as we face our own trials. Moses didnt have any power to bring the ten plagues upon Egypt either. But as for you, your corpses will fall in this wilderness. The greater the pain, the harder it is to see Gods fingerprints. Does God sometimes use evil to accomplish His plans (Habakkuk 1:5-11)? In our text, Ex. Solomon was given a mind like no one before and like none even after him (1 Kings 3:12). Understanding God in Troubled Times Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? To put the matter that way raises several other questions: Was Judas predestined by God to betray Jesus? I have not been named most influential, listed as most attractive, or voted most likely to succeed. He has not brought us this far to cause us to fail. The people of Jacob were trapped. Here are some examples: At first he ordered the Israelite babies to be killed at birth by the midwives (Ex. We need to remember that God uses the foolish. I sit on no boards. They sweep through like the strong winds from the East gathering up captives that number like the grains of sand. Are we becoming more like Jesus by the power of the Spirit? 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. 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. Egypt made his brother, Jehoiakim, the new king over the Jews. They have heard that You, O Lord, are in the midst of this people, for You, O Lord, are seen eye to eye, while Your cloud stands over them; and You go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night. This week I ate lunch with a man who has recently become an acquaintance through an e-mail correspondence. 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. and be astounded! The story of Judas teaches us that nothing happens by accident. 28 who says of Cyrus, He is my shepherd, saying of Jerusalem, She shall be built,, and of the temple, Your foundation shall be laid. . 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?. The fact that God ordains both the means and the ends should surely encourage us as we face our own trials. In such a manner Judas served Gods purposes through his wicked act of betrayal. In fact, in one place in scripture, God said that what He was doing could not be understood even if He explained it. Strategically, this appeared to be a very unwise move, unless you are God. God strengthened Cyrus so that he could conquer nations and overcome opposition Thus says the Lord God to His 2. 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? by Bob Burridge 2013, 2015 Each time Moses would perform a mighty sign to convince Pharaoh of Gods power but each time God would harden his heart. I am a preacher and Bible teacher. By his treachery he established the very cause he set out to destroy. In those moments we often feel alone in the chaos of circumstances as life tumbles in around us. They had been in Egypt under Egyptian task masters for 400 years. Today, the weapons of force have improved, yet all the more they take whatever they want, and give only when it serves their purpose. International Standard Version. How beautiful! At times, God enlisted non-believers to help His people through the ages. God used this unlikely group of people to accomplish His greatest work and they had no idea. God scoffs at any attempt by me or you to prove our worthiness. Judas professed Christ but he did not possess him, which is why he is in hell today. He told Moses, Tell the sons of Israel to go forward. But how? WebGod will never set man's will aside and use him for a good purpose without his being willing to be used. 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? Jesus said to them, If you were blind, you would have no sin; but since you say, We see, your sin remains. Though absolutely sovereign, all knowing, all wise, and everywhere present, God uses sinners to accomplish His will. 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. God 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. God uses pathetic people for his glorious purposes to show his superior power. Jump to Previous Surely you shall not come into the land in which I swore to settle you, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun. 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. Verse Concepts. ", Writing & Teaching Inductive Bible Studies. We might be a life-hacking, productivity guru. So He brought their days to an end in futility And their years in sudden terror. All of it happened according to Gods plan. Were they to voluntarily all drown? International Standard Version. That is what moving forward would require, or so it seemed. This is a true mystery, which we may explain in various ways but will never fully understand. Embrace your weakness, so that the power of Christ may rest upon you to reveal Gods surpassing greatness (2 Corinthians 12:9). WebGod never does evil Himself. They have no respect for the leaders of other nations. WebGod never does evil Himself. God then raised up Moses and his brother Aaron as instruments to deliver the people of Israel from cruel bondage. The Lord did it, but He did it through Moses. The phrase all this refers to the betrayal, the circumstances surrounding it, and the circumstances flowing from it. Solomon was DaVinci, Einstein, Bach, Jordan, Augustus, and Shakespeare rolled into one superior man. The Prophet Habakkuk wrote during the troubled times before Judahs captivity. It doesnt mean everything will also go perfectly or the way we hope. 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. WebGod Can Use Unbelievers part 1: Cyrus 1. We are here and gone again. One final point is in order. The Pharisees came out and began to argue with Him, seeking from Him a sign from heaven, to test Him. Do not begrudge your weakness. Just as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things! (Rom. Lest he misunderstand, I also told him that going to Calvary Memorial Church cannot save anyoneor help save anyone. The people of Israel, were backed up against the Red Sea with Pharaohs army charging at them. Prayer is one of the means God uses to accomplish His sovereign will and get glory for himself. This week were looking at the other side of the equation. 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. In the providence of God, the betrayal by Judas actually advanced Gods purpose in the world.