He uses believers and unbelievers. 1:37). Egypt and the Neo-Babylonians were competing for world dominance. 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. 28:25, The LORD will cause you to be defeated before your enemies; you shall go out one way against them and flee seven ways before them; and you shall become troublesome to all the kingdoms of the earth. 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. Guiding our world whether we are able to see it or not. For he sees that even wise men die;The stupid and the senseless alike perishAnd leave their wealth to others. The sad story of Judas stands as a warning to religious people not to trust in their religion. I was not a cum laude graduate. The articles posted on this website are here to provide information about the Bible and specific topics related to the Reformed Faith along with it's application in our daily thoughts and activities. God uses all those who humble themselves before the cross, boasting only in him his strength, his wisdom, his righteousness, his accomplishment.
God Uses Things may seem impossible, and for men, they might be impossible, but nothing is impossible with God (Lk. 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. shall by no means see the land which I swore to their fathers, nor shall any of those who spurned Me see it. Nothing is ever left to chance with God. Then we read this in Exodus 14:13-16: But Moses said to the people, Do not fear! In fact, in one place in scripture, God said that what He was doing could not be understood even if He explained it. WebJohn 3:16. 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. Summary 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. God has the amazing ability to do things that simply do not make sense to mankind. In 609 Judahs King Josiah was killed in battle against Egypt. They were evil cowards who hated the Son of God but feared a popular uprising if they tried to arrest him. Believer, dont think that your faithful service to your local body of believers is insignificant or accounts for little or nothing.
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. At times, God enlisted non-believers to help His people through the ages. So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires. Verse Concepts. 1:8). 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. He stands behind it indirectly, but He directly stands behind good. A complete answer is impossible for who has known the mind of the Lord (Isa. They sweep through like the strong winds from the East gathering up captives that number like the grains of sand. By his treachery he established the very cause he set out to destroy. 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. 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. Rejoice that Christ is all-sufficient and always dependable. So He brought their days to an end in futility And their years in sudden terror. 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. God didnt need to have Moses lift up his staff. If God did the miracles without Moses, amazing things would have happened, but the people would not have known what was going on or what to do. Until finally it came to the Red Sea where the Egyptian army was destroyed and the tale spread across the world to the glory of God. God then raised up Moses and his brother Aaron as instruments to deliver the people of Israel from cruel bondage. Or how do you know, O husband, whether you will save your wife?
Does God Accomplish His Purpose in Our Jesus Sends Out the Christianity is not about religion, its about a life-changing relationship with the Son of God. In spite of all this they still sinnedAnd did not believe in His wonderful works. Though absolutely sovereign, all knowing, all wise, and everywhere present, God uses sinners to accomplish His will. God strengthened Cyrus so that he could conquer nations and overcome opposition Thus says the Lord God to His 2. God picks the scrawniest little girl to lead off on his kickball team. God blesses those in whom he stirs to obedience, and judges disobedience. He uses believers and unbelievers. 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. Pharaohs heart was hardened again. Jesus waved him off by declaring, All this was done that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled (Matthew 26:56). Even today there are those who are arrogant and have no honor for God as He reveals Himself in Scripture. 2) If Jesus did descend into hell, why? B) We entrust our lives to the God who cares for us. Assyria had fallen when Nineveh, its capitol, was destroyed in 612 BC. But sometimes we forget that when God ordains a particular end, he also ordains the means to that end.
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. Causing him to not let the people go. 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. When Judas kissed Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, Peter impulsively grabbed his sword and started swinging. 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. 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. God is not the author of sin, but He can use sinful men to attain an objective. God promised to precede Cyrus and destroy all opposition that Cyrus would face: 'I will go before you and make the 3. 1 John 5:14. But our God is mightier than any office or country. 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. 3 But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison. Soon they will be raised up from that struggle to full power. Most people in the world have no experience of lasting joy in their lives. I have received no honorary doctorates. 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. Moses give the Israelites specific instruction and visible representation from the invisible God.
What does it mean that God came from Teman (Habakkuk 3:3). 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?
His We need to remember that God uses the foolish. At times, God enlisted non-believers to help His people through the ages. I am a preacher and Bible teacher. God doesnt need men, but God chooses to use men at times to accomplish His sovereign will. 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. Click here. Just as He did with Pharaoh who placed no faith in the God of Israel. I run into people in different countries or am contacted by those from different countries who have been blessed by my preaching. 17:8-13). 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. This week were looking at the other side of the equation.
During our conversationwhich lasted two hours and was both cordial and very frankI told him that his religion could not save him. God even gave prophecy through Isaiah that this very thing would take place. WebGod Can Use Unbelievers part 1: Cyrus 1. I dont have any letters after my name. The mind of evil changes from bad to worse being taken in by successes in conquest. 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. Herod the Great tried to kill him in Bethlehem. 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. It will be a most terrible judgment. Summary We see this all the way through the Bible. How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand. I might preach to 100 people on Sunday morning in my own little church, but I preach to thousands over the internet. Anyone who resists God risks falling into spiritual deception (2 We might make Jim Collins proud, but God yawns at our leadership abilities. Get our Question of the Week delivered right to your inbox! Those who look to themselves, will eventually and always reap their just punishment. In fact, in one place in scripture, God said that what He was doing could not be understood even if He explained it. So the emphasis of the chapter is on Gods working out His purpose through ordinary people who obey Him. (Bible quotations are from the New King James Version of the Bible unless otherwise noted.). 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). Comments? 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 way of the wicked is like darkness;They do not know over what they stumble. 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. The coming of Messiah was unexpected. God calls the autistic man to give the most profound articulation of his simple faith. 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.