Even his enemies played into Gods handthough they did not know it at the time. 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. 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. Often in the confusion of life, we cant see the ends, much less the means God intends for us. Jesus said the unbelievers failed to give him food, drink, nurse him in His sickness, or visit Him in prison. The Prophet Habakkuk wrote during the troubled times before Judahs captivity. Nor grumble, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the destroyer. 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. Literal Standard Version. This truth about Judas illustrates Gods control of every event in the universe. 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.. Now if You slay this people as one man, then the nations who have heard of Your fame will say. 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. The Bible says, God was well pleased through the message preached to save those who believe (I Cor. Do not lament your insufficiency. the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces, and assign him a place with the unbelievers. 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. 2 Devout men buried Stephen and made great lamentation over him. It will be a most terrible judgment. 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. This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask Yet I was shown mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief; Immediately the boys father cried out and said, I do believe; help my unbelief.. 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. WebGod never does evil Himself. How will they preach unless they are sent? At first he ordered the Israelite babies to be killed at birth by the midwives (Ex. God used this unlikely group of people to accomplish His greatest work and they had no idea. 1 John 5:14. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. So through his death, he can have everlasting life on earth. 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. A prophecy we can imagine would have seemed quite improbable to those who heard. Israel as a nation had rejected the promises of Moses and the Prophets culminating in the demand for the death of Jesus, Gods Messiah. I, the Lord, have spoken, surely this I will do to all this evil congregation who are gathered together against Me. What does it mean that God came from Teman (Habakkuk 3:3). But what a privilege it is to be used by God! Our accolades cannot merit us any greatness. The Lord can never be blamed for evil, but evil does not take p. God never does evil Himself. Going to church wont make you a Christian any more than sleeping in a garage makes you a caror going to a donut shop makes you a cop. Its something we can clearly see within the pages of our Bible. He stands behind it indirectly, but He directly stands behind good. How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? At times, God enlisted non-believers to help His people through the ages. God was rejecting their national privilege, and turning to the Gentiles to populate his Covenant Nation on Earth. Which caused the church to grow rapidly. How long shall I bear with this evil congregation who are grumbling against Me? So the emphasis of the chapter is on Gods working out His purpose through ordinary people who obey Him. Comments? Many believed they were going to die and complained to Moses (Ex. Though used of God to complete his plan, those who crucified our Lord were still personally wicked and godless in what they did. by Bob Burridge 2013, 2015 Egypt made his brother, Jehoiakim, the new king over the Jews. The phrase all this refers to the betrayal, the circumstances surrounding it, and the circumstances flowing from it. 5:14). He has not brought us this far to cause us to fail. But now, the grief of the Egyptians had subsided and was replaced with anger and regret. Grace be with you. Grace be with you. We return now to the original question: Why did God allow Judas to betray Jesus? So while many American Christians worry about what will take place in the coming years I find peace in knowing that God can use even the most unlikely candidates to accomplish His will. Most people in the world have no experience of lasting joy in their lives. 4 Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word. Wisdom didnt guard him against a wandering heart. And goes on to say, How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? It forces us to live by faith, which is how He wants us to live all the time because it gives Him glory. Many that people can plan to do much but is God that will always have the final say. As we saw in the first four verses of this book, Habakkuk was confused. 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. 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). Why did a holy God allow such evil to continue? We concluded that the Bible doesnt give us a final answer regarding why Judas betrayed Jesus Christ. Psalm 69:25Reputation destroyed forever. Verse Concepts. All of our resources exist to guide you toward everlasting joy in Jesus Christ. God may ordain to use their wickedness, but this does not make it morally right. His silence spoke more loudly than the foolish claims of his lying accusers. Gods Prophet Jeremiah warned of Gods judgment. Nothing that happened to Jesus that night or later on Good Friday made sense when it happened. 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. 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. In the same way, you wives, be submissive to your own husbands so that even if any of them are disobedient to the word, they may be won without a word by the behavior of their wives. for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure. Not one of these men, this evil generation, shall see the good land which I swore to give your fathers. Believer, dont think that your faithful service to your local body of believers is insignificant or accounts for little or nothing. He stands behind it indirectly, but He directly stands behind good. Sighing deeply in His spirit, He *said, Why does this generation seek for a sign? WebGod was about to turn to the Gentiles as He judged Israel as a nation for her unbelief. 1 John 5:14. He uses believers and unbelievers. We pray because God is sovereign and all powerful. God strengthened Cyrus so that he could conquer nations and overcome opposition Thus says the Lord God to His 2. 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. and they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land. He had great trust in the truth of God. When we pray, we strive to pray according to Gods will (I Jn. Embrace your weakness, so that the power of Christ may rest upon you to reveal Gods surpassing greatness (2 Corinthians 12:9). I dont speak on any circuits, have given no TED talks, and have been the keynote speaker less than once. He has but one endto make us like Jesus. Here is my answer: He allowed Judas to betray Jesus so that Jesus could become the Savior of the world. WebJohn 3:16. Because God created all He can use anything in creation. Be encouraged Christian, God intends to use you in all your multifaceted weakness and obscurity for his glory. He stands behind it indirectly, but He directly stands behind good. God wants to use those who look away from their self-sufficiency to his all-sufficiency. For how do you know, O wife, whether you will save your husband? Zechariah 11:13Judas would give the money back. But they feared to do it during the Feast of Unleavened Bread because of the crowds that thronged Jerusalem. C) We place our confidence in Gods ultimate purpose for us. Verse Concepts. That is what moving forward would require, or so it seemed. We see this all the way through the Bible. Philippians 3:4-7 - although I myself might have confidence even in the flesh. WebGod Can Use Unbelievers part 1: Cyrus 1. At times, God enlisted non-believers to help His people through the ages. The Pharisees came out and began to argue with Him, seeking from Him a sign from heaven, to test Him. God can use even you even me. This could be the begging of a time of great growth for the church. A God who can bring something good out of betrayal can be trusted to accomplish his work in your life. Now and then we advance to Easter morning where we discover Gods purpose in our pain. International Standard Version. His words imply that all the torment will be tolerable. God picks the scrawniest little girl to lead off on his kickball team. This week I ate lunch with a man who has recently become an acquaintance through an e-mail correspondence. Being a creative, innovative or highly effective leader is insufficient. We might be a life-hacking, productivity guru. But our God is mightier than any office or country. The sad story of Judas stands as a warning to religious people not to trust in their religion. Thanks for your interest! When God desires to save someone, He raises up Christians to preach the gospel. When Moses spoke these words to all the sons of Israel, the people mourned greatly. This warning was made clear in the ancient covenant revealed long before through Moses in Deuteronomy 28. If your rsum is sparse, your intellect feeble, your skills unimpressive, and your wisdom just average, fret not. Were they to voluntarily all drown? The way of the wicked is like darkness;They do not know over what they stumble. 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. Then God, in His sovereign power and will, takes our weak and fallible service, and accomplishes His will, like parting the Red Sea. The coming of Messiah was unexpected. He has many means to accomplish that holy purposeincluding some that are difficult to understand. 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. God uses all those who humble themselves before the cross, boasting only in him his strength, his wisdom, his righteousness, his accomplishment. 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. Moses had great faith! 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.. They post my sermons on the web and people listen to or watch me preach all over the world. The Lord can never be blamed for evil, but evil does not take p. God never does evil Himself. God reigns over the nations; God sits on His holy throne ( Psalm 47:8 ). This doesnt erase tragedy or transform heartache, but it gives us a divine perspective on the hard times of life that enables us to keep on going when wed rather give up and quit. What Jesus Wants Emphasized In His Church! In spite of our slownessand even sinGod will bless and use us to fulfill His purpose of blessing all nations through Christ, because of our relationship to the Father through the Son. 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. Jump to Previous But most of the time we wont see it fully until we finally arrive in heaven. God then raised up Moses and his brother Aaron as instruments to deliver the people of Israel from cruel bondage. God is not the author of sin, but He can use sinful men to attain an objective. There are so many amazing things in these few verses. WebThe Scripture teaches that God achieves His purpose in unbelievers. 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. He reminded Peter that he could call for 12 legions of angels72,000 highly trained, heavily armed members of the Angelic Defense Leagueto come to his rescue at any moment. WebGod Can Use Unbelievers part 1: Cyrus 1. How does this truth apply to Judas? Even those who dont believe and even speak against. But he chose instead to allow himself to be arrested, knowing that this would fulfill Gods plan. 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. This shows the mercy and compassion of God to help the Israelites. When Judas actually betrayed Jesus in the Garden, Peter immediately sprang to his defense. That pagan nation was struggling against Egypt for dominance. He is working all things after the counsel of His will (Eph. 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. They gather captives like sand. Summary Why? As for you, 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. Understanding God in Troubled Times In the beginning Satan challenged Gods right to rule. Consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. God doesnt need men, but God chooses to use men at times to accomplish His sovereign will. 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. In many cases without them even realizing that they were being used by God. God answered him. We see this all the way through the Bible. 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. Are we becoming more like Jesus by the power of the Spirit? Peter told the early Christians that the Scripture had to be fulfilled. He meant that the betrayal had to happen the way it did. 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. 4:5). Although God was at work in the betrayal, you couldnt see it that night. Email Jack. 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). Holman Old Testament Commentary: Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah by Trent Butler. This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. Things may seem impossible, and for men, they might be impossible, but nothing is impossible with God (Lk. God himself had foreordained every detail surrounding the death of his Son. 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. In spite of our slownessand even sinGod will bless and use us to fulfill His purpose of blessing all nations through Christ, because of our relationship to the Father through the Son. God promised to precede Cyrus and destroy all opposition that Cyrus would face: 'I will go before you and make the 3. Then his mind changes, and he transgresses; He commits offense, Ascribing this power to his god.. We are saved by living faith in the Son of Godnot by outward religious observance. 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. But the Jews who disbelieved stirred up the minds of the Gentiles and embittered them against the brethren. As Christians, we have nothing to fear or worry about because we know that God is in control. Amen. At my own local church, and everywhere else I go, faithful men and women record my sermons in audio and sometimes video. The repentant show Gods unmerited grace to undeserving sinners, and reveal the merciful blessing and goodness of God. This seems to be one of the reasons God had Moses lift up his staff and hands to divide the Red Sea. Gods plan even extended to having Jesus buried in a borrowed tomb (see Isaiah 53:9). 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. 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. More insights from your Bible study - Get Started with Logos Bible Software for Free! 18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. 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. Peter didnt see it, he only saw the treachery of Judas. Psalm 109:8Replaced by another manMatthias (see Acts 1:20). Christianity is not about religion, its about a life-changing relationship with the Son of God. 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. In fact, in one place in scripture, God said that what He was doing could not be understood even if He explained it. The people of Israel, were backed up against the Red Sea with Pharaohs army charging at them. Why? He told Moses, Tell the sons of Israel to go forward. But how? 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? 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. Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God. 10:14-15). Eternity will reveal how your faithful service was used by the Lord in amazing ways. The Lord can never be blamed for evil, but evil does not take p. God never does evil Himself. or will we in our rebellion demonstrate the just curse of His covenant warnings? Were they to march into the sea holding their little ones, driving their cattle, and pushing their elderly? 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. Solomon was DaVinci, Einstein, Bach, Jordan, Augustus, and Shakespeare rolled into one superior man. 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.read more.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.
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