Tag Archives: God sent His Son

GOD, WHY ARE DOING NOTHING?

Apologetics, ,

Habakkuk 1:2 NLT
[2] “How long, O Lord, must I call for help? But you do not listen! “Violence is everywhere!” I cry, but you do not come to save… “

The world, and our own country, is in such a mess that we think God has lost control. We cry out to Him but nothing changes. Sin is rife everywhere. Evil doers are becoming bolder and more blatant in their pursuit of ways to get what they want at the expense of others.

Like Habakkuk, we accuse God of inactivity, even indifference as His own people suffer along with the rest. We beg Him to do something and wait in vain for some kind of supernatural intervention that will magically straighten things out.

Let’s examine the situation from the Bible’s perspective.

Is God still in charge? The Bible assures us that He never changes and that He is always in charge in human affairs. For example, Daniel recorded event after event where God revealed His sovereignty even in Babylon where His people were in captivity. He drove history towards their restoration and repatriation for His one purpose…to bring His Son into the world.

God’s timing and ours don’t match. Only when we look back do we see how He was moving in the world to prepare for the coming of His Messiah.

Paul writes…

Romans 5:6 NLT
[6] “When we were utterly helpless, Christ came AT JUST THE RIGHT TIME and died for us sinners.*

Galatians 4:4 NLT
[4] “But when THE RIGHT TIME came God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law.”

History reveals that God was putting all the structures in place to prepare for Jesus’ coming.

We can be sure, then, that God will intervene at the right time.

God’s response to Habakkuk’s complaint is a startling reminder that God works in ways we least anticipate. His people were on a downward spiral of idolatry and wickedness. God’s way to intervene was by sending them into captivity at the hands of ruthless and cruel conquerors, the Babylonians. The outcome for the people of Judah was an abrupt end to their passion for idolatry.

“You want to worship idols! You can have them all you like, in Bsbylon!” They felt the heat of a ruler, Nebuchadnezzar, who enforced idolatry on pain of death.

As He did to Egypt, so God showed Babylon and His own people His power over those who tried to destroy them. He rendered Babylon’s dumb idols useless to stand against those who revealed a steadfast faith in the one true God. He put an arrogant world ruler in his place by sending him into insanity for a season. He brought Babylon down through more powerful nations, the Medes and Persians. He moved Israel towards conquest, occupation and oppression by the Romans.

Then Jesus came…

Is God working now?

We are assured, both by history and by God’s Word, that we can safely trust God to work in the world to fulfill His will. We need not be concerned about what is going on around us. God has not abandoned His plan to set up His kingdom on earth under the command of His Son.

Psalms 2:1-6 NLT
[1] “Why are the nations so angry? Why do they waste their time with futile plans? [2] The kings of the earth prepare for battle; the rulers plot together against the Lord and against his anointed one. [3] “Let us break their chains,” they cry, “and free ourselves from slavery to God.” [4] But the one who rules in heaven laughs. The Lord scoffs at them. [5] Then in anger he rebukes them, terrifying them with his fierce fury. [6] For the Lord declares, “I have placed my chosen king on the throne in Jerusalem, on my holy mountain.”

Psalms 2:7-8 NLT
[7] “The king proclaims the Lord’s decree: “The Lord said to me, ‘You are my son. Today I have become your Father. [8] Only ask, and I will give you the nations as your inheritance, the whole earth as your possession.”

Jesus assures us…

John 5:17 NLT
[17] But Jesus replied, “My Father is always working, and so am I.”

Jesus said it and He doesn’t lie.

What is God doing?

We don’t know but we can be sure that..

Ephesians 1:11 NIV
[11] “In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything IN CONFORMITY WITH THE PURPOSE OF HIS WILL… “

We may not see or understand what God is doing in the world, nor is it important that we do, but we can be sure that…

God is still in charge;

God is working behind the scenes to move history towards and to prepare His people for Jesus’ return;

Jesus is in charge of and working in everything in the world for the good of the church;

Ephesians 1:22 NLT
[22] “God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made him head over all things for the benefit of the church.”

Gid is working in everything for our good;

Romans 8:28-29 NLT
[28]”And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. [29] For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.”

God’s purpose, “in all things”, everything that is going on around us and in our Iives, is to restore the image of Jesus in us.

Jesus didn’t fuss about what Rome was doing in the world or what the religious rulers were doing in Israel. His focus was on what people were doing in their response to Him. “Reject me and my teaching and you are doomed. Receive me and my teaching and you will have eternal life.”

The rest is in God’s hands.

It’s as simple as that!

John 3:16-18 NLT
[16] “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. [17] God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him. [18] “There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son.”

Sons And Daughters

Christian life, , ,

SONS AND DAUGHTERS

But when the set time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law that we might receive adoption to sonship. Because you are His sons, God sent the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father!” So you are no longer a slave but God’s child; and since you are a child, God has also made you His heir (Gal. 4:4-7).

Now we are sons and daughters of God, and no longer slaves and orphans. We have the distinguishing marks of sonship – we have a name, a home, and an inheritance. God is our Father; we have been accepted as brothers and sisters of Jesus, and we share in all the privileges and benefits of being God’s children (Eph. 1:3-14).

  1. We have been given the Father’s name

Until Jesus came, the name of the Father was not known. In Jesus, we see the nature of God fully revealed – God with us and God with a face.

I have revealed Your name to those You have given Me out of the world. They were Yours; You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word (John 17:6 – Berean Study Bible).

http://biblehub.com/john/17-6.htm

Jesus revealed the Father’s name to His disciples so that, by His Spirit they (and we) could call on and use His name.

  1. We have a home.

A slave and an orphan have no home of their own. They live on borrowed property and can be removed at any time. They do not belong to a family. They have no roots and no security.

Not so God’s children.

Not only do we dwell in Jesus now, but we also have the assurance of a place in the Father’s house in eternity. David stated with great confidence:

I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever (Psa. 23:6).

On the eve of His death, Jesus promised His disciples:

Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms’ if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be with me where I am (John 14:1-3).

Amazing as it may sound, not only do we dwell in the Father, but He also dwells in us. So intimate is our union with Him through the Holy Spirit that He has made His home in us.

I pray that out of His glorious riches He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith (Eph. 3:16-17a).   

  1. We have an inheritance.

We are not only God’s children but joint heirs with His Son. What does that mean? What does Jesus inherit?

In these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, and through whom He made the universe (Heb. 1:2).

God appointed Jesus to be heir of everything He created, i.e., the entire universe and everything in it, and He appointed us to be joint heirs with Jesus. How awesome is that! But there is something else we are to inherit. Let me explain.

Firstly, we must understand that we receive an inheritance from someone who has died. It is not we who must die. We do not have to die before we receive our inheritance from the Father. It is ours now and available for us to use now.

To find out what our inheritance is, we must go on a Bible “treasure hunt”. The first clue, as we have already discovered, is in Rom. 8:17 and Gal 4:7 – the Father has appointed us to be His heirs and co-heirs with Christ.

The second clue is found in Heb. 6:12 –

We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.

Aha! We are getting closer. Our inheritance is contained within God’s promises. But how do we gain access to His promises?

For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And through Him, the  ”Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God (2 Cor.1:20).

We make God’s promises our own by endorsing what He has said and standing in faith on His Word. We ask Him to make good on what He has promised.

Now we are getting close to the treasure. What has God promised that we can claim as our own because we are His appointed heirs?

3 His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4 Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires (2 Pet. 1: 3-4).

God made His promises available to us so that we can participate in the divine nature. As we take hold of His promises in every situation, we become more and more like Him, filled with His love, joy and peace. What a life in the midst of our world’s chaos.

Sons and daughters? That is what we are!

Scripture is taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Have you read my first book, Learning to be a Son – The Way to the Father’s Heart (Copyright © 2015, Partridge Publishing)? You’ll love it!

ISBN: Softcover – 978-1-4828-0512-3,                                                                              eBook 978-4828-0511-6