(see Acts 1:20). To put the matter that way raises several other questions: Was Judas predestined by God to betray Jesus? And that is okay. 21 Many are the plans in the mind of a man. Training for Preachers and Teachers of God's Word, Want to know what an RSS feed is and how it works? God use unbelievers to accomplish his will One final point is in order. Here is my answer: He allowed Judas to betray Jesus so that Jesus could become the Savior of the world. Many that people can plan to do much but is God that will always have the final say. God The way of the wicked is like darkness;They do not know over what they stumble. A man who lived in a time in which only Jews served the one true God. God Can Use Unbelievers part 1: Cyrus Often in the confusion of life, we cant see the ends, much less the means God intends for us. God sees. so that they might escape from the devil's snare, even though they've been held captive by him to do his will. Our accolades cannot merit us any greatness. Solomon was given a mind like no one before and like none even after him (1 Kings 3:12). He has not brought us this far to cause us to fail. They wanted him dead and used Judas as a convenient means to that ugly end. Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.. The purpose of www.drivennails.com is to help train expository preachers in sermon construction and delivery, to train inductive Bible study writers and teachers, and to edify the saints with the Word of God. That doesnt make us anything more in Gods eyes. International Standard Version. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them and bowed down with his face to the ground. Though used of God to complete his plan, those who crucified our Lord were still personally wicked and godless in what they did. I have heard the complaints of the sons of Israel, which they are making against Me. 2) If Jesus did descend into hell, why? 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? They move ahead as a determined army spreading violence. But now, I pray, let the power of the Lord be great, just as You have declared, 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., but indeed, as I live, all the earth will be filled with the glory of the. And how will they hear without a preacher? WebJohn 3:16. God God strengthened Cyrus so that he could conquer nations and overcome opposition Thus says the Lord God to His 2. Now the two angels came to Sodom in the evening as Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. All of it happened according to Gods plan. They looked to themselves for their power. This week were looking at the other side of the equation. God often reveals himself in most unexpected ways. Or see articles from other writers we feature Here. At first he ordered the Israelite babies to be killed at birth by the midwives (Ex. Being a creative, innovative or highly effective leader is insufficient. He was ready to die for his Master and intended to take a few of the bad guys with him. 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. And a woman who has an unbelieving husband, and he consents to live with her, she must not send her husband away. God is not the author of sin, but He can use sinful men to attain an objective. He sent His son to pay a most costly price for the sin of His people, for those who trust in Him. Our prayers aline us with Gods eternal decree. 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. In fact, in one place in scripture, God said that what He was doing could not be understood even if He explained it. Are we becoming more like Jesus by the power of the Spirit? Wisdom alone, though, is insufficient. In Acts 1:16 Peter declared that the Scripture had to be fulfilled. He meant that the Old Testament predictions (he cites Psalm 69:25 and Psalm 109:8) regarding Judas were bound to come true. The Neo-Babylonians were dominated by Chaldean kings. Fit to be Used In the healthiest churches, we find a holy conspiracy between pastors who gladly care for the sheep, and sheep who do what they can so that the pastors might serve joyfully. Bible Hub 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.. It forces us to live by faith, which is how He wants us to live all the time because it gives Him glory. The Lord can never be blamed for evil, but evil does not take p. God never does evil Himself. The fact that God ordains both the means and the ends should surely encourage us as we face our own trials. God didnt need to have Moses lift up his staff. In those moments we often feel alone in the chaos of circumstances as life tumbles in around us. This is the grace of God as revealed in His merciful covenant. God has already determined the end from the beginning (Isa. This truth about Judas illustrates Gods control of every event in the universe. We return now to the original question: Why did God allow Judas to betray Jesus? It can be fairly said that the common people by and large respected Jesus and responded positively to his message. Be encouraged Christian, God intends to use you in all your multifaceted weakness and obscurity for his glory. God is not finished with you yet, so dont give up on him. Do not lament your insufficiency. During this period, foreign powers invaded Israel again and again, and inside the nation known as Gods people, evil and immorality raged. A prophecy we can imagine would have seemed quite improbable to those who heard. We see this all the way through the Bible. 4:5). Does God sometimes use evil to accomplish His plans (Habakkuk 1:5-11)? Those who look to themselves, will eventually and always reap their just punishment. God 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?. Literal Standard Version. Even his enemies played into Gods handthough they did not know it at the time. But we need to grow in faith and obedience. 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. Were on a mission to change that. 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. And a woman who has an unbelieving husband, and he consents to live with her, she must not send her husband away. Another unlikely person used by God was King Cyrus of Persia. WebGod Can Use Unbelievers part 1: Cyrus 1. Philippians 3:4-7 - although I myself might have confidence even in the flesh. Finally, they suborned perjury by putting forward false witnesses who produced contradictory testimony. He didnt accept evil apathetically, he was appalled by it. 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. Jesus responded to the false testimony by saying nothing at all. 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. For how do you know, O wife, whether you will save your husband? 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. At my own local church, and everywhere else I go, faithful men and women record my sermons in audio and sometimes video. Israel stumbled at the stumbling stone, the suffering messiah (Romans 9:31-33). I run into people in different countries or am contacted by those from different countries who have been blessed by my preaching. 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. God sometimes use evil to accomplish His plans (Habakkuk Do not lament your insufficiency. If youd like an interesting Bible study, take a look at the trials of Jesus. 55:8-9). Though there were still many who had remained faithful, others no longer followed the words of the Prophets. When God desires to save someone, He raises up Christians to preach the gospel. Thus they plundered the Egyptians ( Exodus 12:36 ). As far as Pilate was concerned, he was ordering an innocent man put to deathwhich is why he tried to wash his hands of the whole affair. 14:16, God, who is all powerful and infinitely sovereign, tells Moses, 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. Why didnt God just part the Red Sea? They sweep through like the strong winds from the East gathering up captives that number like the grains of sand. When you find yourself in a tight spot and you cant see any way of deliverance, have faith in God, obey His Word, and wait for the salvation of the Lord. Amen. Gods plan even extended to having Jesus buried in a borrowed tomb (see Isaiah 53:9). His plan in doing so was to bless all people. The manner of the judgment would be unexpected. 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. There he said in 1 Corinthians 14:21, With men of other tongues and other lips I will speak to this people; And yet, for all that, they will not hear Me, says the Lord. He directly quoted the covenant warning of Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Deuteronomy. Grace be with you. The fact that God ordains both the means and the ends should surely encourage us as we face our own trials. They were evil cowards who hated the Son of God but feared a popular uprising if they tried to arrest him. 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. God was revealing that He was going to use this ungodly power for judgment upon his own straying people. God use non-believers to help His people 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. But Habakkuks confusion was not doubt. God Their chargers charge ahead; Their cavalry comes from afar; They fly as the eagle that hastens to eat. in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. His words imply that all the torment will be tolerable. When God determines where we will end up, he also determines how we will get there. The terms Neo-Babylons and Chaldeans are used interchangeably for the people of that Empire. God uses pathetic people for his glorious purposes to show his superior power. 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. By his treachery he established the very cause he set out to destroy. We see this all the way through the Bible. Though absolutely sovereign, all knowing, all wise, and everywhere present, God uses sinners to accomplish His will. 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. When we pray, we strive to pray according to Gods will (I Jn. All of our resources exist to guide you toward everlasting joy in Jesus Christ. even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor. So through his death, he can have everlasting life on earth. Joseph made Egypt phenomenally wealthy during the years of the famine. (1 Corinthians 1:2629). 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. In spite of all this they still sinnedAnd did not believe in His wonderful works. WebGod will never set man's will aside and use him for a good purpose without his being willing to be used. 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. God uses all those who humble themselves before the cross, boasting only in him his strength, his wisdom, his righteousness, his accomplishment. The Lord can never be blamed for evil, but evil does not take p. God never does evil Himself. 2:11). God can use even you even me. God could have had the earth swallow up the Amalekites. How long shall I bear with this evil congregation who are grumbling against Me? We are called to be among his faithful people. Not one of these men, this evil generation, shall see the good land which I swore to give your fathers. 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. The repentant show Gods unmerited grace to undeserving sinners, and reveal the merciful blessing and goodness of God. What an honor to serve the King of kings. We know from the sowing and reaping principle that t here will be degrees of torment in the lake of fire. He stands behind it indirectly, but He directly stands behind good. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. But He is unique and who can turn Him?And what His soul desires, that He does. God will surely judge all rebellion, secret and open.
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