Sermons tagged #Paradox

Title of Sermon: Embracing the Paradox of God's Wisdom Scripture Text: 1 Peter 3:13-22 Pastor-Teacher: Justin Hornbaker Date Preached: 7-30-23

Psalm 39 begins with David holding back his complaint lest he be a stumbling block to the wicked (vs 1-3). This preface leaves the reader anxious to find out what is troubling him so? When he finally opens his mouth in verse 4, his complaint is not regarding any human being, wicked or righteous, but is laid against the Lord, Yahweh. We learn from this that it is wise to not voice complaints against God in the hearing of enemies; nevertheless, we should bring our troubles before God Himself. What troubles David so, is the brevity and meaninglessness of human existence (vs 4-6). The Selah at the end of verses 5 and 11 follow the Hebrew word hebel, translated "mere breath," leading us to pause and meditate on this sobering thought. This is the key word of the book of Ecclesiastes, often translated, "vanity." As perplexing as the brevity of life is, verse 5 affirms that God has made it this way. But why then does God bother with such an insubstantial creature as man? What is His concern with me? Why can He not just leave me alone in my fleeting life? The answer is both easy to understand and utterly abstract. There is a paradox that although our life is fleeting and years are short, we are more than just passing creatures. Our brief journey on this earth has eternal value, as God made us for eternity and for Himself.

There is a vast difference between authority and authoritarianism. We tend to have an allergic reation to authority these days, and it's largely due to bad experiences with authoritarian leadership. Jesus calls us to a better way: leading by service. The disciples had been arguing about which of them would hold the highest rank among the others. And Jesus took that opportunity to teach them the paradox of leadership. The key to leadership is that a true leader must be a servant. Jesus illustrated this concept with a little child, turning the world's idea of leadership on its head. "Do you want to be the greatest in the Kingdom?" He was asking. "Then go and love a little child." That is a picture of true selfless service. The Bible itself gives examples of leaders who were authoritarians and cared more for their own pleasure than for the glory of God and the people whom they ought to have served and cared for. If you want to be a true leader in God's Kingdom, it doesn't start with you. It starts with those around you – your wife, your children, your church family, your employees, etc. But Jesus wasn't just content to say what a leader should be. He actually showed it. He illustrated true servant leadership by humbling Himself, serving others, and dying for His people. What kind of leader are you? Service takes sacrifice, but the Holy Spirit will enable you to do it!

We left off at Hebrews 10:19-31 and we go back to 23. So, open your TextBooks and get out your note taking devices. We find out that "He is faithful" is of the foremost understanding, because without that you'll wind up careening into the ditch. Everything in the Bible refers back to Exodus 3:14. And there's only one way to approach the Bible and that's with the quantum phrase Entanglement. He intentionally hides Himself in Scripture. Do not throw out the whole Bible because you discover one verse you don't understand. When He compiled His Book, why did he include human beings in the process? It's free will. That's why... Okay, the pastor explains that much better. How can the Calvinists and the Armenians use Hebrews 10:23 to make their case for their doctrine? They have a simplistic why of looking at things. Now we get back to the question of time and consciousness. Christ says "Come!" and take the water of life FREELY. There is no infringement there. So, Total Inability is crushed by the words of Christ. Calvinists tell you that you're inability has the power to thwart Christ. We might think God has a paradox, but there is no paradox with God. Freedom is in the consciousness. And, Time is felt. It's subjective. And now we get further into quantum mechanics. He gives the answer as to how time connects to free will. What is imagination? Is time real or an illusion? Ecclesiastes 3:11 lays it out. Is God capable of saving everyone? Why doesn't He? Does that relate to time? Malachi 3:6... I change not. His goodness doesn't change. Ezekiel 3:16-21 explains a lot. Predestinationalism has no place in the Bible. Obviously, there's more, so press play!

Intro: Paradox and the Christian Life The Call of the Cross to Willing Suffering A. Jesus' Pattern & Promise B. 2 Illustrations C. Are you embarrassed by this call? D. Are you distracted from this call? The Call of the Cross to Faithful Dying John 16:33 — "In the World you will have tribulation…" 1 Cor. 1:23 — "…we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles." Von Moltke — "Dear heart, my life is finished. This doesn't alter the fact that I would gladly go on living and that I would gladly accompany you a bit further on this earth. But then I would need a new task for God. The task for which he made me is done." Chesterton: "Courage is almost a contradiction in terms. It means a strong desire to live, taking the form of a readiness to die."

We start back into this long process of divulging how it is that Determinism is false. The ancients call it, The Paradox of Man's Free Will. The Pharisee's agreed with determinism, but even they had problems with it. This is not a new debate that started around 400 years ago. It goes back a couple thousand years. Is the Omniscience and the Omnipresence of God something that overrides the free will of Angels, humans, and animals? What is neglected there is the Goodness of God, Psalms 36:5-7, and then there is Colossians 1:15-18. Ask, why is there evil because God is good? Is it a possibility to have a paradox with the Lord God Almighty. Step 1) God is Good. Step 2) He's infinitely smarter than me. Then there's the Time factor because He says to call upon Him while He is near. Our free will is not a paradox to God. And we're back to Gödel's Incompleteness Theorem. Then there's Deuteronomy 10:17, Romans 2:11... God has no partiality when it comes to salvation. You'll want to listen with your finger poised above the pause button, because there are many more verses you'll want to add into your study. Do we expect you to study? Well, it wouldn't be The Advanced Class if that weren't the case. We go over, "What is partiality?" because partiality is sin, and what does time have to do with free will? Time is derived out of consciousness, and now we're back to Genesis 1:1 and the time pieces God put into place. Clock time is not the same as conscious time. Nobody who believes in Calvinism talks about consciousness and time. Because they don't know what they don't know... and they don't want to know. That's a problem. There's much more from this pastor, so press play.

Merry Christmas! This is our online service for December 25, 2022. Today we conclude our Advent series with the Glory of Christmas in Luke 2. Thanks for joining us!

The incarnation of the Son of God is both a mystery and a fact of history. We look at its clear purposes, the detailed prophesies fulfilled and its astonishing paradoxes. We marvel and wonder at such things, and respond in grateful worship.

What is our stance as we consider those who have power over us, particularly when they are wicked? Nebuchadnezzar is a classic example of a megalomanical tyrant. How do we pray for such wicked people? 1 Timothy 2:1-8 guides us. While the Bible makes plain that God has an elect people (1 Corinthians 1:26-31; Romans 9). How do we reconcile 1Timothy 2:4 with that and with 2 Timothy 2:10? How do we understand 1 Timothy 2:5? The death of Jesus is SUFFICIENT for all men and women and children everywhere, even though it is only EFFICIENT for believers. Nebuchadnezzar was a low-life, and God struck him with insanity in order to humble him and bring him to confess that great confession in Daniel 4:34-38. 1 Timothy 2:1-8 encourages us to view others as elect -- in a judgment of charity of course. How can we effectively witness, or how can we effectively pray when we look at others as under the decree of reprobation? They may be, but only God knows that. How should we sing the imprecatory Psalms in the time between the First and Second Comings of Christ? "Father, forgive them" (Luke 23:34). I believe we will meet Nebuchadnezzar in heaven.

Paul is in the middle of praying that the church might know Christ personally and intimately, and experience his hope, riches, and power at work in their everyday lives. Then in this section of verses, Paul zooms in on this immeasurably great power of God. What is it like? Over whom is it exercised? How can we know it's for real? And how do we access it in order to live in the fullness of his supernatural strength?

God sovereignty versus man's responsibility.

As Christian's we have a responsibility to live and function in the world: The claim. The calling. The challenge.

On the night that Jesus died, he was not as passive as things looked on the surface. In fact, he was engaged in a cosmic battle between good and evil, light and darkness. And by his death, he destroyed the adversary along with his power of death.