Oh Sovereign God…Amaze Us!
Acts 26:16 ’But get up and stand on your feet; for this purpose I have appeared to you, to appoint you a minister and a witness not only to the things which you have seen, but also to the things in which I will appear to you.
Moses, the child of a Hebrew slave, came into the world without much hope of a promising life. In fact, chances were that he would die even before he was old enough to take his first step. His mother placed him in a wicker basket and his sister put him in the river believing they would never see him again. But by God’s sovereign plan, the life of this little baby was forever altered when the daughter of Pharaoh, after finding Moses in the reeds, determined to make him her own son. Though he was truly the son of a slave, he grew to be great and favored in the house of Pharaoh. Later in his life he killed an Egyptian who was beating a Hebrew slave. This turn of events lead to Moses fleeing the comforts of a rich life in Egypt to the life of wilderness living. An insightful look into his life shows how God’s hand was ever directing events that would ultimately free the nation of Israel from their bondage of slavery.
Alexander the Great during his life conquered the known world expanding the Greek empire. The Greek empire was one of the great empires in history. Conquering most of the known world, Alexander established the Greek language and culture in every part of the empire. After Alexander died his kingdom was split and eventually the Romans became the next greatest empire of history. One of the greatest Roman contributions to the world was the roads they built. The establishment of a common language and a system of roads and highways prepared the way for the gospel to go forth into the world after the resurrection and ascension of Jesus.
Again, God’s sovereign purpose was accomplished through unsuspecting players in major roles causing events that would make it possible for God’s kingdom to advance. God wants His name glorified in the earth and through His sovereign power, this will be what happens in the scheme of world events. We saw God’s hand in a particular situation here again this week.
For almost the whole year since we have been here, we have been preparing and exploring different ministry opportunities for the crusade that will be here in August. One of the things explored was a possible one day crusade in a nearby city. And that is exactly what it would be, a daytime crusade. This city has a festival every other year beginning January 6 that has given it international fame called Carnival to the Devil. It is structured as a great ritual around the devil. For the whole year preceding the actual festival there are different rituals performed as an extensive dramatic poem written in a collective way by deep mystics. One of the fives main parts of the carnival is called the Entrance of the Devil which is an all day feast on the Saturday of the festival.
We tried to get a crusade set up for this city but doors just kept closing…and now we know why. On the Saturday of our crusade the devil worshippers of this region will be coming to Pereira. Why? Because they are having a satanic concert here. Now, isn’t God good? There will be hundreds, maybe thousands of devil worshippers here during the same time God will be pouring out his Spirit over this city. As we are making a public declaration of God’s name in the city, demonic forces will be subdued. We believe these lost satanic worshipers will be overcome by the power and love of the Spirit of God and drawn to the crusade! Oh, what a display of His glory!
Matthew 11:12 “From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and violent men take it by force.
God repeatedly continues to show us His sovereign hand in events. Though there are times we have trouble understanding what is going on as we work and pray for direction, God is ever faithful to reveal Himself in everything.
Isaiah 14:27 “For the LORD of hosts has planned, and who can frustrate it? And as for His stretched-out hand, who can turn it back?”