God's Will

It seems to me that God has two types of desires or wills A determined will and a permissive will. God's determined will (or desire) is what God has determined will happen. He will cause it to happen regardless of any human desires. So when he wanted to harden Pharaoh's heart because it was His will to deliver ten plagues, He hardened Pharaoh's heart  (Exodus 7:3). Pharaoh basically had no choice. God hardened his heart so that He could deliver 10 plagues and show Himself powerful to Israel and everyone else. But I believe God has a permissive will also. This is God allowing people to choose between right and wrong, faith or disbelief, obedience vs rebellion. In God's permissive will He wants all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth (1Tim. 2:4). But he does not force people to come to Him, rather he lets them choose to believe in Jesus or not. I believe both of these principles operate in the world simultaneously. What God has determined to happen will indeed happen. As in Joshua 11:20 "For it was of the Lord to harden their hearts that they should come against Israel in battle and that he might utterly destroy them, and that they might receive no mercy, but that he might destroy them, as the Lord had commanded Moses." These kings came out to fight against Joshua because God moved their hearts to come out so that he can really destroy them by the sword of Joshua and Israel. But in God's permissive will he withdraws his influencing hand to check the heart of his people. In Deuteronomy 8:2 God said "remember that the Lord your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not." So both of these principles are equally applicable in the world. Whenever God chooses, he moves man's heart to do his determined will whether for good or for destruction. But I believe most of the time God allows our hearts the freedom to choose so that our true heart is revealed.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Humility

Prov 12:1 says "he who hates correction is stupid." As I read this verse this morning I was reminded of the new series we are preaching on at the Rock: "Greatness - The Way Up is Down". Jesus said "...whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all." Mark 10:43-44 So if we want God to exalt us and be men and women of influence, we must humble ourselves (bring ourselves low) in our relationship to God and others. Prov 18:12 reads "Before his downfall a man's heart is proud, but humility comes before honor." What does a humble man look like? At a minimum a humble man: is Teachable (allows others to mold his life) is a Servant (serves others both physically and spiritually) is Submissive (submits to proper authority - both divine and human) Puts Others First (doesn't grab the biggest and best slice of pizza first) Seeks Advice (doesn't think or act like he's a "
Read more

Bad Shepherds

Do you know what bad shepherds do? They beat their sheep, they neglect the needs of their sheep, they don't even care when the sheep wander off. They are too concerned about themselves to care for their sheep. Now why do I care about shepherds and sheep? Because God compares spiritual leadership with shepherding sheep. In fact before his final ascension Jesus told Peter three times in various ways "Feed my sheep" in John 21. As I read Ezekiel 34:1-10 this morning I was reminded of just what kind of leader God wants me to be: 1 The word of the LORD came to me: 2 "Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy and say to them: 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Woe to the shepherds of Israel who only take care of themselves! Should not shepherds take care of the flock? 3 You eat the curds, clothe yourselves with the wool and slaughter the choice animals, but you do not take care of the flock. 4 You have not strengthened the weak or healed the s
Read more

God's Looking for a Few Good Men

As I was reading through Job this morning I began to realize how deep this man's character was. His integrity and uprightness came from the core of his inner being - and he knew it. When his friends misdiagnosed his suffering as a result of his wickedness and secret sins he responded to their verbal accusations by saying: "I will never concede that you are right; I will defend my integrity until I die. I will maintain my innocence without wavering. My conscience is clear for as long as I live." Job 27:5-65 NLT As I kept reading I noticed the righteous character of Job (especially as seen in chapters 29 and 31). Job was a man: of compassion of justice who would not lust after women who was honest (without deceit or falsehood) who was faithful to his wife who treated his employees with dignity and fairness who helped the poor, the widow, and the fatherless who trusted God for his security and not his wealth who did not worship any other god who did not hold grudges nor
Read more