The people of Jacob were trapped. All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, But He does according to His will in the host of heaven, will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion. For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also; but the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard. It will be a most terrible judgment. Did Jesus Descend Into Hell? Tell the sons of Israel to go forward. It appears that between 11 PM Thursday night and 7:30 AM Friday morning, Jesus underwent six different hearingsone before Annas, two before Caiaphas, one before the Sanhedrin, and two before Pontius Pilate. What does it mean that God came from Teman (Habakkuk 3:3). Causing a sacrifice to take place that would open salvation up to all people. Do you merely profess Christ and trust in your religious habits to save you, or do you possess Christ in your heart by faith? 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. In this period of Judahs last kings, the Prophets warned of the fulfillment of this covenant promise. So He brought their days to an end in futility And their years in sudden terror. So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires. His betrayal proved that the Jewish leaders were far from innocent bystanders in the death of Christ. A prophecy we can imagine would have seemed quite improbable to those who heard. Here are some examples: 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. 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. I am sure God has many reasons for doing the things He does in the way and timing of His choosing, but lets consider some likely reasons He used Moses, a sinner, to be the instrument of His sovereign, miraculous work of dividing the Red Sea. Also, be sure to stop by our prayer wall. For he sees that even wise men die;The stupid and the senseless alike perishAnd leave their wealth to others. The Israelites and the church did face some tough times and we may too. Grace be with you. This seems to be one of the reasons God had Moses lift up his staff and hands to divide the Red Sea. Remember my imprisonment. Gods Ability To Use Unlikely People Even Unbelievers. God could have had the earth swallow up the Amalekites. Having all the wisdom in the world didnt guarantee fidelity. But God did just that and used a sinning Gentile to begin the process of restoring Israel. 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. Literal Standard Version. As we saw in the first four verses of this book, Habakkuk was confused. In their very act of oppression, they unknowingly serve the glory of the Creator. He stands behind it indirectly, but He directly stands behind good. 1:22). Habakkuk 1:5, Look among the nations and watch Be utterly astounded! For Permission to Quote Information visit http://www.lockman.org. by Bob Burridge 2013, 2015 Being a creative, innovative or highly effective leader is insufficient. Remember my imprisonment. The Pharisees came out and began to argue with Him, seeking from Him a sign from heaven, to test Him. In 609 Judahs King Josiah was killed in battle against Egypt. WebGod Can Use Unbelievers part 1: Cyrus 1. Through one mans treachery, Jesus proves himself a man of peacenot a man of war. 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.. I run into people in different countries or am contacted by those from different countries who have been blessed by my preaching. 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. 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. 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. How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? (Bible quotations are from the New King James Version of the Bible unless otherwise noted.). Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God. God answered him. Here is my answer: He allowed Judas to betray Jesus so that Jesus could become the Savior of the world. Gods Ability To Use Unlikely People Even Unbelievers. They were in an impossible situation with no way out. for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure. 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. All of our resources exist to guide you toward everlasting joy in Jesus Christ. Judas served Gods purposes even though what he did was wrong and he ended up in hell. Nothing that happened to Jesus that night or later on Good Friday made sense when it happened. Now the two angels came to Sodom in the evening as Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. He betrayed the Lord but ended up vindicating him. Most people in the world have no experience of lasting joy in their lives. God will deal with them according to his plan, but first, He will use them for His own covenant judgment. 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?. Egypt made his brother, Jehoiakim, the new king over the Jews. They will be held guilty. This is a true mystery, which we may explain in various ways but will never fully understand. We see this all the way through the Bible. He is the preeminent insider who knew Jesus as well as anyone has ever known himyet in the end never really knew him at all. 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. ", Writing & Teaching Inductive Bible Studies. Solomon was given a mind like no one before and like none even after him (1 Kings 3:12). Israel as a nation had rejected the promises of Moses and the Prophets culminating in the demand for the death of Jesus, Gods Messiah. They intend to be their own god. 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. (Video #2), Lesson 2: Gods Use of the Ungodly Habakkuk 1:5-11. Paul used this verse from Habakkuk to warn the foolish despisers of the gospel. Moses give the Israelites specific instruction and visible representation from the invisible God. He had great trust in the truth of God. Verse Concepts. Habakkuk 1:7-11, They are terrible and dreadful; Their judgment and their dignity proceed from themselves. Who would have had his own beliefs and gods that contradicted much of the Bible. Because God created all He can use anything in creation. He is working all things after the counsel of His will (Eph. Often in the confusion of life, we cant see the ends, much less the means God intends for us. Two questions stand out: 1) Did Jesus actually descend into hell? 1 And Saul approved of his execution. Verse Concepts. Do not begrudge your weakness. An unlikely person to be used by God. At times, God enlisted non-believers to help His people through the ages. 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. They thank me for posting my sermons on the internet. And he was an exalted and successful king. We are called to be among his faithful people. 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. In the time of the New Testament after the resurrection of Jesus Christ, we see the expansion of Gods Covenant to include Gentile believers drawn to the Savor by the Gospel. Even those who have a very low view of Gods sovereignty, if they pray, pray because God is perfectly sovereign, otherwise prayer would be an exercise in futility. But Habakkuks confusion was not doubt. 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. He has but one endto make us like Jesus. But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.. 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. The evil ones believe pridefully that their own imagined gods have blessed them. We pray because we believe God, because we want to trust in God, praise God, ask God for things we cant do ourselves. Because God is utterly unimpressed by my rsum. 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. We see this all the way through the Bible. God is unimpressed by our collection of readers, likes, retweets, friends, connections, or admirers. WebJohn 3:16. But this much is clear: He never believed that Jesus was guilty of any crime. Gods plan even extended to having Jesus buried in a borrowed tomb (see Isaiah 53:9). It forces us to live by faith, which is how He wants us to live all the time because it gives Him glory. The unbelievers, become confused, not remembering ever having the opportunity to serve Jesus. 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. Unbelievers Are blinded by the God of this world 2 Corinthians 4:4 Verse Concepts 1 John 5:14. His covenant is always enforced. Everything was planned by God down to the tiniest detail. Why? Do not lament your insufficiency. Moses was an instrument, a tool, a vessel for Gods use, and so are we all. 1:15-16), later to be thrown in the Nile (Ex. This warning was made clear in the ancient covenant revealed long before through Moses in Deuteronomy 28. During this period, foreign powers invaded Israel again and again, and inside the nation known as Gods people, evil and immorality raged. Gods plan even extended to having Jesus buried in a borrowed tomb (see Isaiah 53:9). When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them and bowed down with his face to the ground. A man who lived in a time in which only Jews served the one true God. 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. Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? 2 He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. 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. Israel stumbled at the stumbling stone, the suffering messiah (Romans 9:31-33). Everything fits into Gods plan. 3 But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison. Things may seem impossible, and for men, they might be impossible, but nothing is impossible with God (Lk. God doesnt need men, but God chooses to use men at times to accomplish His sovereign will. 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. Peter didnt see it, he only saw the treachery of Judas. 12:35-36). We are saved by living faith in the Son of Godnot by outward religious observance. 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. In spite of all this they still sinned And did not believe in His wonderful works. (see Acts 1:20). God is not the author of sin, but He can use sinful men to attain an objective. Habakkuk learned that the material success of the ungodly is not a reliable measure of their true success. And how long will they not believe in Me, despite all the signs which I have performed in their midst? I am the trustee of nothing more than my personal belongings. The sheep representing believers who did Gods will and the goats representing unbelievers who do not do Gods will. Pentecost was a sign to the unbelieving of Israel that they had broken the covenant and stood deserving of Gods judgment and wrath. 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. During his ministry his greatest opposition came from the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the scribes and the teachers of the Law. Holman Old Testament Commentary: Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah by Trent Butler. so that they might escape from the devil's snare, even though they've been held captive by him to do his will. But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or an ungifted man enters, he is convicted by all, he is called to account by all;read more.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. God reigns over the nations; God sits on His holy throne ( Psalm 47:8 ). Were they to march into the sea holding their little ones, driving their cattle, and pushing their elderly? We pray because God is sovereign and all powerful. 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. WebGod never does evil Himself. 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. These lessons simply teach us that God can take that which is evil and use it for his own good purposes. WebGod Can Use Unbelievers part 1: Cyrus 1. They scoff at kings, And princes are scorned by them. Jump to Previous Our accomplishments do not justify our existence. For how do you know, O wife, whether you will save your husband? So the emphasis of the chapter is on Gods working out His purpose through ordinary people who obey Him. A third reason God had Moses raise his staff and hands before dividing the Red Sea is that God delights to use sinners to accomplish His sovereign will. Then the Lord heard the sound of your words, and He was angry and took an oath, saying, Not one of these men, this evil generation, shall see the good land which I swore to give your fathers. Christianity is not about religion, its about a life-changing relationship with the Son of God. Gods covenant warned from the beginning that if Israel fell into sin God would use a foreign heathen nation to bring judgment upon them. But most of the time we wont see it fully until we finally arrive in heaven. 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. And a woman who has an unbelieving husband, and he consents to live with her, she must not send her husband away. God Himself said that He used Pharaoh so that His name would be known on all the earth. Then his mind changes, and he transgresses; He commits offense, Ascribing this power to his god.. B) We entrust our lives to the God who cares for us. 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. The total number of prophecies is well over 100. During our conversationwhich lasted two hours and was both cordial and very frankI told him that his religion could not save him. 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. But we can find hope in knowing that God is in control, He works all things for our God, and no suffering we face know will even be able to cast a shadow on the glory we will receive in Heaven. God will bring ultimate and final judgment upon all ungodliness. Causing him to not let the people go. It was a period of apostasy and violence. Yet, Solomon turned away from God (1 Kings 11:4, 912). He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth (Isaiah 53:7). 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.. Philippians 3:4-7 - although I myself might have confidence even in the flesh. Their chargers charge ahead; Their cavalry comes from afar; They fly as the eagle that hastens to eat. God chooses the custodian with a heavy accent to share the gospel and save lives. I also answer yes. so that they might escape from the devil's snare, even though they've been held captive by him to do his will. God will surely judge all rebellion, secret and open. Recent events may not have gone how you hoped and the signs may seem bleak. Thus they plundered the Egyptians ( Exodus 12:36 ). Consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. WebGod will never set man's will aside and use him for a good purpose without his being willing to be used. Do not begrudge your weakness. Embrace your weakness, so that the power of Christ may rest upon you to reveal Gods surpassing greatness (2 Corinthians 12:9). God is not the author of sin, but He can use sinful men to attain an objective. 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). 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. God will use it even if you do not understand how. "Equipping and encouraging people to keep believing in Jesus", Copyright 2020 Keep Believing Ministries. 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. Your children, however, whom you said would become a preyI will bring them in, and they will know the land which you have rejected. Its okay to be a nobody, if in all you do, you serve Somebody. So through his death, he can have everlasting life on earth. You have entered an incorrect email address! Nothing is ever left to chance with God. This week I ate lunch with a man who has recently become an acquaintance through an e-mail correspondence. We might make Jim Collins proud, but God yawns at our leadership abilities. 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. But what a privilege it is to be used by God! 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? 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. Unbelievers Are blinded by the God of this world 2 Corinthians 4:4 Verse Concepts Until that man turns from his sinwhich in his case means acknowledging his behavior as sinand runs to the Cross of Christ he cannot be saved. This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask Many believed they were going to die and complained to Moses (Ex. His plan in doing so was to bless all people. If we lack wisdom, we should ask God for it (James 1:5). Though used by God for his purposes, the ungodly are still evil. 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.
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