Acts 2:22 “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— 23 this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.
God does not simply work miracles in a vacuum. There is no distinction in the Bible between what God does and what people do. We tend to relegate God to control the weather, and nothing else.
How does Jacob get the birthright and the blessing? Through the sinful greed of Jacob, through the impetuous sin of Esau, through the deceitful schemes of Rebecca and through the blind eyes and feeble hands of Isaac.
How does God deliver his son to be crucified for the sins of the world? Through the sinful greed of Judas, through the deceitful schemes of the Priests and Scribes, through the blindness of Pilate, and through the sinful hands of the Roman soldiers.
God is going to accomplish what he has purposed to do, and he will use the free choices of people to do it.
One of my favorite stories from seminary days is of praying passionately for God to provide money for our bills. I received a check that week from a church to pay my bills. Studying for this sermon I realized that I have actually received a check in the mail every month since then to pay for my bills – we call those pay checks.
Since God works through people, ask yourself. What do I want God to do through me? And what do I already know that God wants to do through me.
You know God wants you to love your wife. Pray that you will love her and then pursue her.
You know he wants your children to be obedient, pray that you will discipline them in love, and then act to train them up in the way they should go.
You know he wants you to be pure before marriage. So pray for your purity and get a filter for your internet.
You know he wants the lost to be saved. Pray for him to convert your friends, and then invite them to church.
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