This truth about Judas illustrates Gods control of every event in the universe. God has the amazing ability to do things that simply do not make sense to mankind. But the fact of the matter is it wasnt me! 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. Suggestions? We pray because we believe God, because we want to trust in God, praise God, ask God for things we cant do ourselves. But before his salvation took place God was still using Him. In the process, we will also find an answer to a third question, Who are the sons of God in Gen. 6? If you like solving mysteries, you will love this, "Churches are going apostate inside their comfortable church buildings! 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. Literal Standard Version. But He is unique and who can turn Him?And what His soul desires, that He does. 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. Prayer is one of the means God uses to accomplish His sovereign will and get glory for himself. 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. 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. This seems to be one of the reasons God had Moses lift up his staff and hands to divide the Red Sea. 1 In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also put it in writing: 2 Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. They gather captives like sand. (1 Corinthians 1:2629). 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 very first verse my daughter ever memorized was Isaiah 40:8, The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever. It seemed like an odd one to begin with, but now in retrospect it might have been the best one. Finally, they suborned perjury by putting forward false witnesses who produced contradictory testimony. The sad story of Judas stands as a warning to religious people not to trust in their religion. Two verses later, in Rom. God strengthened Cyrus so that he could conquer nations and overcome opposition Thus says the Lord God to His 2. WebGod never does evil Himself. He is working all things after the counsel of His will (Eph. God was about to turn to the Gentiles as He judged Israel as a nation for her unbelief. 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. 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. Nothing is ever left to chance with God. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them and bowed down with his face to the ground. God answered him. This is a true mystery, which we may explain in various ways but will never fully understand. Will we show forth Gods glory in our obedience and in our receiving of His covenant blessing? 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. He even turns wicked hearts to serve his Sovereign purpose. 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. A prophecy we can imagine would have seemed quite improbable to those who heard. Other examples could be added to this list. Is that a contradiction? Visit Justins personal website Here. They live as if there was no Creator, no moral law, no accountability. 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. At the beginning of their sojourn, Joseph was ruler of Egypt, a son of Jacob, and watched over his own. Our accolades cannot merit us any greatness. Just as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things! (Rom. Providence means that God is in charge of the entire universe at all times and nothing happens outside his control. In spite of all this they still sinnedAnd did not believe in His wonderful works. When we dont see the ungodly punished immediately, or when they seem to be successful in their evil ways, we should not assume that God is beaten or is pleased to turn His head. But we need to grow in faith and obedience. Because God created all He can use anything in creation. And the Lord had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they granted them what they requested. 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. Though absolutely sovereign, all knowing, all wise, and everywhere present, God uses sinners to accomplish His will. Every evil in the world must somehow serve Gods purpose. so that they might escape from the devil's snare, even though they've been held captive by him to do his will. At my own local church, and everywhere else I go, faithful men and women record my sermons in audio and sometimes video. God can use even you even me. Gods plan even extended to having Jesus buried in a borrowed tomb (see Isaiah 53:9). We are saved by living faith in the Son of Godnot by outward religious observance. When God determines where we will end up, he also determines how we will get there. In this period of Judahs last kings, the Prophets warned of the fulfillment of this covenant promise. 55:8-9). And he was an exalted and successful king. For Permission to Quote Information visit http://www.lockman.org. Gods plan even extended to having Jesus buried in a borrowed tomb (see Isaiah 53:9). I have not been named most influential, listed as most attractive, or voted most likely to succeed. Do not lament your insufficiency. 10:17 Paul writes, So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the Word of Christ. When we preach the gospel to someone and they come to saving faith, we dont boast that we have saved them but that God has saved them, though we were the instruments of Gods saving work. God himself had foreordained every detail surrounding the death of his Son. But what they do is not going to bring them true blessing. It is a mighty nation, It is an ancient nation, A nation whose language you do not know, Nor can you understand what they say. . God strengthened Cyrus so that he could conquer nations and overcome opposition Thus says the Lord God to His 2. Thats where the judgment will come from. Is it true that God cannot look upon sin? Here are some examples: 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. 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. We know from the sowing and reaping principle that t here will be degrees of torment in the lake of fire. 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. Why? One final point is in order. Their horses also are swifter than leopards, And more fierce than evening wolves. Are we becoming more like Jesus by the power of the Spirit? God can use anyone and anything. The coming of Messiah was unexpected. I have not written a New York Times Bestseller, and no one has publicly endorsed, recommended, or vouched for me. 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. That leads me to ask a simple question: Are you a professor or a possessor? The Pharisees came out and began to argue with Him, seeking from Him a sign from heaven, to test Him. God ordains the means and the ends of life. I find it remarkable how consistently the New Testament writers see the hand of God in the events surrounding the death of Christ. Remember my imprisonment. Grace be with you. His silence spoke more loudly than the foolish claims of his lying accusers. 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. But we need to grow in faith and obedience. 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. There are so many amazing things in these few verses. I dont speak on any circuits, have given no TED talks, and have been the keynote speaker less than once. Third, it is necessary for us to remain silent, to not fret, grumble, or complain, while we wait for the Lord to deliver us from whatever trial we are suffering. This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 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. Do not begrudge your weakness. This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask Compared to you or me, King Solomon had it all wisdom, wealth, fame, power. Jesus is truly the lamb without blemish who died for the sins of the world (John 1:29). A complete answer is impossible for who has known the mind of the Lord (Isa. Yet He was still able to accomplish His will through them. Judas professed Christ but he did not possess him, which is why he is in hell today. 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.. 28:36, The LORD will bring you and the king whom you set over you to a nation which neither you nor your fathers have known, and there you shall serve other gods wood and stone. 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. 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. Those who look to themselves, will eventually and always reap their just punishment. And a woman who has an unbelieving husband, and he consents to live with her, she must not send her husband away. Which is why they completely missed the Messiah when they stood right beside Him. Yet, God used him to rebuild the temple and allow Jews to return to their land. 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. More insights from your Bible study - Get Started with Logos Bible Software for Free! They have no respect for the leaders of other nations. If we lack wisdom, we should ask God for it (James 1:5). Gods covenant warned from the beginning that if Israel fell into sin God would use a foreign heathen nation to bring judgment upon them. They were the ones who asked for valuables from the people of Egypt, who were so fearful and stricken with grief that they gave the departing Israelites their riches, literally paying the Jews to leave Egypt (Ex. I cant charge an exorbitant hourly fee for my time. He does this for obvious reasons. Thanks for your interest! Those who read my words are in many different situations: May I repeat what I just said: He has not brought us this far to cause us to fail. We should never presume to say to an unbeliever, God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life. We cant know that. 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. ", Writing & Teaching Inductive Bible Studies. For he sees that even wise men die;The stupid and the senseless alike perishAnd leave their wealth to others. In fact, in one place in scripture, God said that what He was doing could not be understood even if He explained it. Many believed they were going to die and complained to Moses (Ex. 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. even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor. How can I believe in the goodness of God when there is so much evil in the world? God uses pathetic people for his glorious purposes to show his superior power. We see this all the way through the Bible. Eventually, Pharaoh decided to use the Jews for slave labor. It only made sense on Sunday morning when Jesus rose from the dead. by Bob Burridge 2013, 2015 You do not have His word abiding in you, for you do not believe Him whom He sent. When the angel stretched out his hand toward Jerusalem to destroy it, the Lord relented from the calamity and said to the angel who destroyed the people, It is enough! Judas didnt know it, and neither did the disciples, but Gods fingerprints were all over his act of betrayal. Because God does miracles by His own power. Showing us that our God can and will use anyone even though they dont know Him. God calls the autistic man to give the most profound articulation of his simple faith. We concluded that the Bible doesnt give us a final answer regarding why Judas betrayed Jesus Christ. We need to remember that God uses the foolish. The phrase all this refers to the betrayal, the circumstances surrounding it, and the circumstances flowing from it. Those who were rebelling against God had become apathetic. 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?. Do not lament your insufficiency. Having all the wisdom in the world didnt guarantee fidelity. All of these people are unlikely choices to be used by God since they didnt truly know or believe in Him. Being a creative, innovative or highly effective leader is insufficient. 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. I have heard the complaints of the sons of Israel, which they are making against Me. Before the Apostle Paul wrote his letter he was known as Saul. Jesus point is clear, The King will answer and say to them, Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.. God is not finished with you yet, so dont give up on him. We all understand that God intended that Jesus would die for the sins of the world. One swing of his sword whacked off the ear of Malchus, servant to the High Priest. Then we read this in Exodus 14:13-16: But Moses said to the people, Do not fear! Why would God allow his Son to suffer such indignity at the hands of one who claimed to be his friend? He may for a time use the ungodly to bring deserved chastising upon the hypocrites among His own people, and to show his uncompromising wrath upon those left to what we all deserve aside from the work of his grace. God is unimpressed. C) God uses all eventsgood and badto accomplish his purposes. The Lord can never be blamed for evil, but evil does not take p. God never does evil Himself. And a woman who has an unbelieving husband, and he consents to live with her, she must not send her husband away. Psalm 109:8Replaced by another manMatthias (see Acts 1:20). God has the amazing ability to do things that simply do not make sense to mankind. Zechariah 11:13Judas would give the money back. Were they to voluntarily all drown? Even today there are those who are arrogant and have no honor for God as He reveals Himself in Scripture. Moses was sent by the Lord multiple times to Pharaoh asking for the release of the Hebrews. This could be the begging of a time of great growth for the church. Our prayers aline us with Gods eternal decree. God doesnt need men, but God chooses to use men at times to accomplish His sovereign will. In the eyes of the Jews, Saul would be seen as a warrior of the faith. 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. To put the matter that way raises several other questions: Was Judas predestined by God to betray Jesus? 1:22). In Jeremiah 13:20 it said, Lift up your eyes and see Those who come from the north . Jeremiah 25:32 says, Behold, disaster shall go forth From nation to nation, And a great whirlwind shall be raised up From the farthest parts of the earth., Habakkuk 1:6, For indeed I am raising up the Chaldeans, A bitter and hasty nation Which marches through the breadth of the earth, To possess dwelling places that are not theirs.. Why? Nothing that happened to Jesus that night or later on Good Friday made sense when it happened. By his treachery he established the very cause he set out to destroy. 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. 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. The gospels writers emphasize that although the Jewish leaders earnestly sought for witnesses who could testify against Christ, they found no one willing to come forward. 3 But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison. 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. 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. The Lord did it, but He did it through Moses. Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God. It is not our responsibility to determine how God will use us, but it is our responsibility to be faithful to obey the Word of God. His words imply that all the torment will be tolerable. God Himself said that He used Pharaoh so that His name would be known on all the earth. 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. WebGod was about to turn to the Gentiles as He judged Israel as a nation for her unbelief. WebGod will never set man's will aside and use him for a good purpose without his being willing to be used. 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. Eternity will reveal how your faithful service was used by the Lord in amazing ways. They mock authority and law, and believe that might makes right. They still look to their own strength and ability as if they were divine and answer to no authority above their own. Anyone who resists God risks falling into spiritual deception (2 Literal Standard Version. Christianity is not about religion, its about a life-changing relationship with the Son of God. In fact, in one place in scripture, God said that what He was doing could not be understood even if He explained it. The Israelites and the church did face some tough times and we may too. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. or will we in our rebellion demonstrate the just curse of His covenant warnings? Now the two angels came to Sodom in the evening as Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. 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. 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. 2:11). Psalm 69:25Reputation destroyed forever. Solomon was given a mind like no one before and like none even after him (1 Kings 3:12). It even included the price Judas would receive for his act of treachery30 pieces of silver. God then raised up Moses and his brother Aaron as instruments to deliver the people of Israel from cruel bondage. Thats generally the way life is for all of us. His story is unique in that he claims to be a Christian even though he has chosen a way of life that God calls an abomination. so that they might escape from the devil's snare, even though they've been held captive by him to do his will. Israel as a nation had rejected the promises of Moses and the Prophets culminating in the demand for the death of Jesus, Gods Messiah. Habakkuk 1:5, Look among the nations and watch Be utterly astounded! You truly never know God could be doing something right that we wouldnt understand even if He told us. How long shall I bear with this evil congregation who are grumbling against Me? But this much is clear: He never believed that Jesus was guilty of any crime. He dealt with his doubts and confusion in the right way, he turned to God, not to his own understanding. 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. .

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