Nothing can thwart the plan of God

Exodus 20; Job 38; Luke 23; 2 Corinthians 8

The Ten Commandments are in Exodus 20. I’ve probably broken all of them in either thought or actions.

In Job 38, God asks Job where he was when God created the world and what does he know about His care for it. Sciences work to answer these questions yet creation is filled with mysteries and unanswered puzzles.

Luke 23 is a short account of Jesus’ trial, conviction, crucifixion, death and burial. It happened because we broke all those commands and in our ignorance of God’s almighty power, we tend to think we know it all when we really don’t know very much. All this makes me sad.

I note also that when people are against Jesus, they become united with each other in their hatred of Him.

And Herod with his soldiers treated him with contempt and mocked him. Then, arraying him in splendid clothing, he sent him back to Pilate. And Herod and Pilate became friends with each other that very day, for before this they had been at enmity with each other. (Luke 23:11–12)

This strikes me as true for many today who might not agree on much, but if they mock God, they have common ground, an agreement that uses the word ‘together.’

The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying, “Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.” (Psalm 2:2–3, italics mine.)

The first believers experienced this ‘togetherness’ as Jesus was mocked and crucified. They wrote about it and then about their prayer to God concerning this opposition:

“ . . . for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” (Acts 4:27–30)

This passage encourages me because these two men who united to destroy Jesus were doing it according to the plan of God. He was not thwarted by them taking counsel against the Son of God. God was sovereign over their plan and using it to fulfill His plan. The psalmist knew this and could say:

He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision. Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying, “As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.” I will tell of the decree: The Lord said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.” Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him. (Psalm 2:4–12)

And the NT believers could ask for boldness because they knew the power of God. He could heal, perform signs and wonders, but most of all, He saves those who take refuge in Him and pours out wrath on those who refuse to trust Him.

APPLY: Sin would destroy us all if God had not intervened. Because of His grace, I can boldly declare the Word of God and even laugh at the opposition, no matter how united they are to destroy the people of God. It cannot be done. I have eternal life and because of God’s grace and the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, no one can take that away from me or take me from His gracious love. Today, I need to praise God for His power and continue to declare to others that He is Lord.

A most incredible plan . . .

 We’ve been members of two large church (two different countries) that welcomed everyone. In one, the pastor sometimes poked at congregations with the attitude “us four, no more, shut the door.” This morning’s reading shows that Paul battled this same attitude. Jewish believers had a problem accepting Gentile believers. If these non-Jews must be let in, then they must keep Jewish customs. Paul didn’t agree.

My book says, “Paul’s wide outlook and genuine concern that the Gospel might reach out to all the world triumphed over the narrower perspective and more limited concern of the Jerusalem apostles. He had truly caught the vision of his Lord that the message should go out to all nations.”

Paul’s vision was not new. The Old Testament has ample evidence that this was God’s plan all along. In the first Bible book, He said to Abraham, “I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” (Genesis 12:3)

Jesus also said, “And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” (Matthew 24:14)

One verse that hints strongly at the heart of God says, “I was ready to be sought by those who did not ask for me; I was ready to be found by those who did not seek me. I said, ‘Here I am, here I am,’ to a nation that was not called by my name.” (Isaiah 65:1)

Paul understood that the Jews were called the people of God because He selected them to know Him and to take His truth to the nations. However, they failed. Even then, Almighty God had a plan to use that failure to bring good — even the accomplishment of the very thing they failed at!

So I ask, did they stumble in order that they might fall? By no means! Rather, through their trespass salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous. Now if their trespass means riches for the world, and if their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full inclusion mean! Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry in order somehow to make my fellow Jews jealous, and thus save some of them. (Romans 11:11–14)

How this works is beyond my ability to understand and explain yet the Bible says God intended the world to know about Him, selected the Jews to convey that message, they said ‘us and no more’ but God was not surprised. His redemption plan was always about Jesus, just as Peter told them . . .

“Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know— this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it. (Acts 2:22–24)

After the resurrection, many Jews believed but many resisted — to the point Paul told them he was taking the Gospel to the Gentiles. In fury, the Jews tried to silence and even kill him, but God rescued this man many times so he could do what his predecessors and persecutors were supposed to do but had failed.

From this summary, I rest in the reality that when God decides to do something, He cannot be stopped. Satan and all who oppose God have been trying to silence Him and His people for centuries. They are still at it. Our culture will allow religious rights to almost every group that demands them, but not to the group that God has selected to bear His name.

Yet He cannot be silenced or stopped. I’ve been reading amazing stories, one of a mission to the homeless fought by the mayor and leaders in a city, yet God went to bat for them and it happened and is thriving. Another is the diary of a servant of God in a medical mission to a very anti-Christian country. She tells of God consistently and graciously being in their midst when humanly speaking there was no hope.

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Oh Jesus, redemption history tells of the power of God to finish what He starts, to keep His promises, to win when all seems doomed. Your life, death, resurrection and glorification declare the same power. This universe, this world, this land, Your church, and my tiny and insignificant life are in Your hands, along with every single person and issue on my prayer list. If anyone should say, “How can you believe in God?” I am able to answer them, “How can you not?”

Master of the master plan . . .

The Bible can be summed up in three statements: God made it; humanity ruined it; God remakes it. Every time I read the world news, it seems obvious we are in the second phase, yet it is that third one where the Lord wants my focus.

The Word of God helps me with this by continually repeating the good news. God is God and totally capable of accomplishing His purposes:

“The Lord reigns; he is robed in majesty; the Lord is robed; he has put on strength as his belt. Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved.” (Psalm 93:1)

The psalms are filled with words of praise and worship. Declaring God is God is not a chant or a mantra; it is a truth that all who love Him know and are glad to tell the world. He is our vision and hope. His plan is our goal and keeps us stable, even as the world wobbles and reels under the weight and actions of sinful souls. Yet they will not be able to ruin God’s plan because:

“For you, O Lord, are most high over all the earth; you are exalted far above all gods.” (Psalm 97:9)

“Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases.” (Psalm 115:3)

“For kingship belongs to the Lord, and he rules over the nations.” (Psalm 22:28)

While the remaking is not the sole task of God’s people, He uses us to declare His purposes. I am to live in response to His promises, fighting sin, yielding to His rule over me, and telling others how Jesus Christ gives eternal life and renewed hope to all who trust in Him:

“But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which he will display at the proper time—he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.” (1 Timothy 6:11–16)

As I read these verses, the sinful antics of those who resist God remind me of squirming bugs impaled on a stick. They may spread death, destruction and fear buy they can only go as far as God allows.

I also interpret the so-called ‘natural’ disasters as warnings to those who think they are the masters of their fate. God allows His creation to warn us that we, and all schemes to rule this world for personal gain, are nothing compared to His mighty power and plan. Even as it is torn apart, God shows us that His power to both destroy and rebuild are mightier than anything humanity can do.

I am not only encouraged by reminders of who is the Boss in this messy planet, but also filled with praise. It is not fully evident yet, but the day is coming when God’s reign will be revealed and “every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:10-11)

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Oh Jesus, my heart joins the heart of the psalmist to say: “Oh come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods. In his hand are the depths of the earth; the heights of the mountains are his also. The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land. Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker! For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.”

And to those who are not His people yet, I and the psalmist add: “Today, if you hear his voice do not harden your hearts.” (Psalm 95:1–8)