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(see Acts 1:20). And a woman who has an unbelieving husband, and he consents to live with her, she must not send her husband away. Even Jesus cannot save a man who claims his sin is not really sinful. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. He uses believers and unbelievers. 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. God strengthened Cyrus so that he could conquer nations and overcome opposition Thus says the Lord God to His 2. I am not a rising star in any field, industry, or arena. Your children, however, whom you said would become a preyI will bring them in, and they will know the land which you have rejected. Because God is utterly unimpressed by my rsum. We pray because we believe God, because we want to trust in God, praise God, ask God for things we cant do ourselves. He has many means to accomplish that holy purposeincluding some that are difficult to understand. Summary 28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. 2 Devout men buried Stephen and made great lamentation over him. A lesson worth considering, but not the main lesson I want to focus on, is that God often put us into situations where only He can deliver us. 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. You are going to need it as we search the Scriptures to answer these two questions. Holman Old Testament Commentary: Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah by Trent Butler. Moses was sent by the Lord multiple times to Pharaoh asking for the release of the Hebrews. Do you merely profess Christ and trust in your religious habits to save you, or do you possess Christ in your heart by faith? 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 is only as we look back that we see clearly that God was there all along, working behind the scenes for our good and his glory. They move ahead as a determined army spreading violence. God uses the overwhelmed and disheveled mother to nurture her children into spiritual giants. They gather captives like sand. Or how do you know, O husband, whether you will save your wife? When they offered him 30 pieces of silver, he readily accepted even though that was the going price for a slave. Our accolades cannot merit us any greatness. 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. 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. 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. This seems to be one of the reasons God had Moses lift up his staff and hands to divide the Red Sea. God is unimpressed. But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. 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. We might make Jim Collins proud, but God yawns at our leadership abilities. They were in an impossible situation with no way out. Fourth, Gods command seemed impossible to obey. Many believed they were going to die and complained to Moses (Ex. 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. 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. 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. 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. Or see articles from other writers we feature Here. Herod the Great tried to kill him in Bethlehem. 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. The manner of the judgment would be unexpected. Matthew 26:3-5 informs us that the leaders of the Jews were looking for an opportunity to arrest Jesus and put him to death. And the Lord had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they granted them what they requested. 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. 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. He clings to his sin like a drowning man to an iron life preserver. The Pharisees came out and began to argue with Him, seeking from Him a sign from heaven, to test Him. 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. You have entered an incorrect email address! It even included the price Judas would receive for his act of treachery30 pieces of silver. 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. 3 But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison. Gods Ability To Use Unlikely People Even Unbelievers. 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 himself had foreordained every detail surrounding the death of his Son. WebGod 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. Also, be sure to stop by our prayer wall. He recognized what was evil because he believed Gods law. Verse Concepts. Another unlikely person used by God was King Cyrus of Persia. 12:35-36). 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. God wanted the people of Israel to look to Moses as their God appointed human leader and deliverer. 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). At times, God enlisted non-believers to help His people through the ages. Lest he misunderstand, I also told him that going to Calvary Memorial Church cannot save anyoneor help save anyone. 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. It was all the Lord. That doesnt lessen his guilt, but it does increase our appreciation of Gods sovereignty over the affairs of men. 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. How can I believe in the goodness of God when there is so much evil in the world? Guiding our world whether we are able to see it or not. In fact, in one place in scripture, God said that what He was doing could not be understood even if He explained it. They live as if there was no Creator, no moral law, no accountability. Though used by God for his purposes, the ungodly are still evil. During this period, foreign powers invaded Israel again and again, and inside the nation known as Gods people, evil and immorality raged. C) We place our confidence in Gods ultimate purpose for us. Often in the confusion of life, we cant see the ends, much less the means God intends for us. 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. At the beginning of their sojourn, Joseph was ruler of Egypt, a son of Jacob, and watched over his own. And how will they hear without a preacher? 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. Compared to you or me, King Solomon had it all wisdom, wealth, fame, power. For Permission to Quote Information visit http://www.lockman.org. I didnt attend an Ivy League school. WebThe one who believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself; the one who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has given concerning His Son. He stands behind it indirectly, but He directly stands behind good. But the fact of the matter is it wasnt me! In their very act of oppression, they unknowingly serve the glory of the Creator. 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. 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. I also answer yes. Though absolutely sovereign, all knowing, all wise, and everywhere present, God uses sinners to accomplish His will. What Jesus Wants Emphasized In His Church! Scripture even points to the fact that God used Cyrus even though he didnt know God. 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? We turn now to consider how the sin of Judas served many good purposesnone of which were seen that night and none of which diminish his true moral guilt. When we pray, we strive to pray according to Gods will (I Jn. God doesnt need men, but God chooses to use men at times to accomplish His sovereign will. 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. 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.