God Doesn’t Just Do Things… He Gets Things Done

In this month’s teaching, I would like to share with you some important points that will help us to understand and follow God’s progress in our life. Let me show you several examples, from both the Old and New Testaments, to prove the truth.

In Joshua 2:1 and 8-13, we read:  “Now Joshua the son of Nun sent out two men from Acacia Grove to spy secretly, saying, “Go, view the land, especially Jericho.” So they went and came to the house of a harlot named Rahab, and lodged there.  8Now before they lay down, she came up to them on the roof, and said to the men: “I know that the Lord has given you the land, that the terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land are fainthearted because of you. “For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were on the other side of the Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed. “And as soon as we heard these things, our hearts melted; neither did there remain any more courage in anyone because of you, for the Lord your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath. “Now therefore, I beg you, swear to me by the Lord, since I have shown you kindness, that you also will show kindness to my father’s house, and give me a true token, “and spare my father, my mother, my brothers, my sisters, and all that they have, and deliver our lives from death.”

Let me begin with this question: Does God need spies? The answer is: Of course not. God holds the universe, and is in charge of everything we see and everything we don’t see. So why would God send spies? The reason is, to involve us into what he is doing.

When Moses sent spies, God used it to test their faith. When Joshua sent spies, God used it to save a harlot named Rahab and her household from destruction. Therefore, we can see that God doesn’t just do things – he gets things done. If you read these verses carefully, you see that God also spoke to the spies through this woman, telling them that Jericho was already in fear of Israel and their God. In addition, these three spies had to hide themselves in the mountains for three days, because they were being hunted by the people of Jericho.

However, they did receive the message to spare the life of Rahab and her household, and passed it on to Joshua. My friend, God will send you to the place that you think can never be reached, or to the people of whom you would never consider that they would be saved. But God knows best, and He will send us there even for one soul.

Secondly, things sometimes look unreasonable in the natural – like they don’t make any sense at all. But my friend, when we follow God, we cannot limit ourselves to things that make sense. We must follow the voice of the Spirit and obey God by faith. Hallelujah!

The next example in the Bible involves Ruth the Moabite. Naomi and her husband Elimelech and their two sons had to flee from Bethlehem, which is called in Hebrew the “House of Bread” to Moab. They thought that they were escaping the drought, and in the natural, this was true. But in the supernatural, God had other plans, which were to bring Ruth the Moabite back to Israel, and out of Ruth would be born a great-grandson, who was David the King. Consider also the blessings that followed Naomi. In Moab, she became bitter, which is Mara, because she had lost her husband and her two sons. But God restored Naomi’s joy when Ruth gave birth to a child, of whom Naomi was the grandmother. Ruth 4:15 reads: “And may he be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age; for your daughter-in-law, who loves you, who is better to you than seven sons, has borne him.”

As you see, my friend, God always works things together for good for those who love him and are called according to his purpose. Let me tell you even more pointedly that God has a great purpose for you, and all you have to do is follow Him in every way, by faith.

My next example is Yeshua, Jesus, our Lord and Savior. In John Chapter 4, Jesus and His disciples had to go through Samaria. Yeshua was led to go that way back to Galilee. In those days, Judea and Samaria were enemies. In the natural, they would obviously avoid this route and go some other way, but Yeshua had to go through Samaria. God had seen another woman who was living in deep sin and who needed to be reached.

In the natural, Jesus’ disciples of would never even talk to her, let alone take a drink from her, because in the natural, they were enemies, and she was a woman, and she was a sinful woman. But God was interested in setting her free. God had to send Yeshua’s disciples away so that they would not interfere, because they were carnal at that time. When they returned with food, Yeshua said something interesting. He said: I am not hungry, because my food is to do the will of my father.

My friend, what are the priorities in our lives today? Are we hungry for God? Are we tuned in to the spirit to do his will, even if it looks foolish? The world moves and lives only by natural thinking, but we live by the supernatural move of God.

My final example in this teaching is taken from the Book of Acts, Chapter 10, Verse 1 through 6:  “There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian Regiment, a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, who gave alms generously to the people, and prayed to God always. About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God coming in and saying to him, “Cornelius!” And when he observed him, he was afraid, and said, “What is it, lord?” So he said to him, “Your prayers and your alms have come up for a memorial before God. “Now send men to Joppa, and send for Simon whose surname is Peter. “He islodging with Simon, a tanner, who house is by the sea. He will tell you what you must do.”

Cornelius was a Roman centurion, and in those early days, there was no way that a Jewish person in his natural mind could believe that God would visit a Gentile. Again, this was their natural thinking, but in the supernatural realm, God was reaching out to a Gentile who was praying to Him every day and who feared Him, along with his entire household. Peter had no idea that a change of mind had to take place in his life. God had to send Peter to the house of Cornelius in order to bring the good news of the Messiah so that they may be saved. It is interesting to note that the Holy Spirit fell upon the whole household while Peter was still preaching. He hadn’t even finished yet.

There is another interesting point here that I would like to share. In those days, God had to convince the Jewish people that the Gentiles were a part of the kingdom through Jesus the Messiah. In our day, this has been reversed, and the Jewish people must be convinced that they have a part in God’s kingdom through Jesus the Messiah.

Coming to the end of my teaching, I would like to bring your attention back to the fact that God always moves in the supernatural according to His purpose, and that He always gets things done. My friend, we must understand that it will take the supernatural to convince the Jewish people that they belong to the Kingdom of God through Jesus the Messiah. Are you ready to move by faith – not looking at the natural, but following God in His supernatural move to do His will? In conclusion, let me encourage you to continue to stand and believe for the miracle that you are looking for. Have faith, and believe God for his guidance through His supernatural path to get things done in your life.
Shalom.

By: Messianic Rabbi Gennady Livshits