“ Great Sermon! ” I wish I had heard this years ago! I have heard about being a christian parent before, but this really is a tremendous eye opener for any parent. It is so easy to get lulled into the ways of the world as we would all like to "have the best" for our children and it reminds us where our focus must be! Thank you!
“ Great Sermon! ” Brother Vincent is one of my favorite preachers of all time and I was very excited to listen to this sermon however, the microphone must fall off or something because it is almost inaudible after the first 1 minute.
“ Response: God and Evil, 3 ” The greatest illustration of how God is the Creator of all things and fully in control of everything, yet without himself committing sin, is the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ: that one event is fully a human action and fully the carrying out of the divine plan. On the one hand it is the greatest evil men have ever committed, but this same event is God's greatest act of love and kindness toward us.
In other words, God is the author of the crucifixion of Jesus, and it is a wholly good act on God's part. Yet the human actors in this event intended evil and committed a horrible sin against God. They were not forced to do what they did; they were not puppets on a string; they acted as they chose to act without coercion -- God never does violence to the will of the creature.
God has foreordained whatever comes to pass; yet God has given human beings the ability to make authentic choices without coercion.
You might find my blog on this topic of interest( http://www.sermonaudio.com/new_details3.asp?ID=7474 ).
God bless you,
Bob
“ Response: God and Evil, 2 ” The Hebrew word, _ra_, translated "evil" in Isaiah 45:7 is contrasted with the Hebrew word, _shalom_, "peace." _Shalom_ is much broader than our concept of the absence of war; it also includes health, prosperity and well being. _Ra_ is the exact opposite of _shalom_; _ra_ includes all the things that Zoroaster attributed not to his god, Ahura Mazda, but to Angra Mainyu.
For Isaiah, as for the rest of Scripture, God's sovereignty extends to all events. That doesn't mean that God is the author of sin (God does not act contrary to his own nature; God does not and cannot sin.), but it does mean that sin doesn't happen outside of God's control or outside of his benevolent plan. For example, Joseph's brothers committed dreadful sin against him when they sold him into slavery. Yet all these terrible events took place under God's benevolent plan: "But as for you, you thought evil against me; but God meant it for good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive" (Genesis 50:20).
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“ Response: God and Evil ” In Isaiah 45 the future king of Persia, Cyrus the Great, is addressed almost a century before his birth. Cyrus would be steeped in the Persian dualism that was given its most popular expression by Zoroaster (Zarathustra):
"He apprehended Ahura Mazda as God, the one eternal uncreated Being, wholly good, wise, and beneficent; but coexisting with him he saw another Being, the Evil Spirit, Angra Mainyu (Pahlavi Ahrimanc), who was wholly evil, ignorant, and malign, likewise uncreated, but doomed in the end to perish" [Mary Boyce, "Zoroaster, Zoroastrianism," _The Anchor Bible Dictionary_, Vol. VI, David Noel Freedman, ed., (New York: Doubleday, 1992), p. 1170.].
Against such dualism, the Holy Spirit moved Isaiah to write that there is only one God, the God of Israel. Isaiah explains that this one true God created all things and is completely sovereign over everything, including good and evil. This was completely contrary to what the future Cyrus would believe, indoctrinated as he was with Zoroastrian dualism. But, says Isaiah, the true God is the Creator of all things and fully in control of whatever happens.
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“ Great Sermon! ” Praise The Lord,
Hello there. I am listening to your sermon Principalities and Powers. In the beginning you teach that God, did not create evil.
You have said that all things have been created by God. But God did not create evil.
Could you please explain ISAIAH 45:7(5-10). I am enjoying you message/study.
“ Great Sermon! ” Brother Vincent preaches a riveting sermon shedding light on a wonderfully edifying truth of the Scriptures. Sprinkled with tons of related and fascinating information as well.
“ Great Sermon! ” Just wanted to say thank you and that I praise God for you. It caused me to look at, repent of, and get right past sins I had dismissed or forgotten about. Communion IS that important. Thank you.
“ Great Sermon! ” I listened to this sermon, the whole today. I learned that the reason why we are suffering the type of lives we are living today, is because we are living an Old Testament lifestyle (Like as of the days of Noah, Lot and Neniveh. This is why we are experiencing O. T. mercy and punishment from God (causing death), than N. T. Grace of God of forgiveness and salvation (causing life. I am blessed.
what incredible insight into the heart of even men who walked alongside the teachings of the bible. So evident is the horrible and ever lurking conclusions of a man in the guise of an angel of light with the tyranny of a demon from hell.
“ Great Sermon! ” The gospel of Christ began with the word REPENT -- and it is the missing element in Satan's gospel.
Preach it Brother !!! It is a breath of fresh air to hear the gospel of Christ
While there are valid reasons for opposing intervention in Iraq, I object to some listed in the prior post:
Depleted uranium (DU) is not a question of foreign policy, but of weapon safety. Note, DU is primarily of value for armor-piercing rounds, which are of little use against insurgents who don't drive tanks or APCs.
War profiteering? The RCC may call profiteering a sin, but Scripture doesn't, so long as both parties negotiate prices freely. And it is politicians who make war, not industry. At least some industrialists in the past were pacifists (e.g. Henry Ford, Hugo Junkers), and most modern ones support leftist policies.
Iraq: Death of Reason has now been released to the public by Voice in the wilderness productions. This stunning new film attacks the Evangelical Church’s error in supporting the war in Iraq. Produced and directed by Raymond Schwab and Elliott Nesch of Beit Shalom Ministries, Iraq: The Death of reason addresses just war theory, Abu Ghraib torture, depleted uranium, the deceptions sold to the American public by the Bush administration, false flag operations, war profiteers and calls the Christian church to reconsider their position, since prior to invasion 79% of evangelicals supported military action. In Feb 2007 Raymond Schwab and Elliott Nesch will walk from Denver to DC to protest publicly the Christian support. This film is being offered for any size donation to their ministry to help raise funds for the upcoming walk.
For more info go to www.beitshalomministries.org
To view the film for free online go to:
Part 1: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4285458293746631497&hl=en Part 2: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8147818935080796713&hl=en Conclusion: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3845643139747749983&hl=en
Hell is a dreadful place, described by the Lord Jesus as the outer darkness, where the gnawing worm never dies and the burning fire is never extinguished (Matthew 22:13; Mark 9:48; Revelation 14:11). All of us deserve to go there (Revelation 20:13-15), and it will be a place of "weeping and gnashing of teeth" for everyone. But some people's experience in hell will be worse than others.
The Bible tells us that everyone has sufficient truth so that no one will have an excuse on the Day of Judgment (Romans 1:18-21). If a person had an opportunity to hear the gospel and declined it, his judgment will be more severe than that of somebody who had no such opportunity. But if someone has actually understood the gospel and refused to turn to Christ, his judgment will be the most severe of all.
The older I get, the more I am reminded that I need the blood of Jesus, not only for my sins, but for the sinful element in the things I attempt to do as an expression of my love for God, even when I do those things by the power of the Holy Spirit.
There is a Christian version of noblesse oblige: the greater my privilege, the greater my obligation and the more serious and sinful are my sins and the sinful element that remains in what I do.
Many Christians were praying no doubt that even in the late hour Saddam would hear the One True God of Israel speak to Him, and repent of his sins if not to accept Jesus as His Saviour, but sadly that doesn't appear to have happened. The irony is that he has now discovered the Truth and his rejection of it, thus his eternal fate is sealed and it ain't paradise with 70 virgins. We can only pray for the rest of the Muslim world as it also has to determine its path at this time, and that many would know Jesus as more than a Prophet, but rather the One who can save them unto eternity.
Please do not think Saddam Hussein never had an opportunity to hear the Gospel. Shortly before 9-11 Saddam Hussein hosted a conference of MiddleEastern Christian leaders in Baghdad. At least one of the pastors who received an invitation to attend this conference is very evangelical and is conservative in his doctrine and faith. This pastor knowing that the conference possibly was a setup to trap and to eliminate Christian leaders, choose to attended anyway. Although the conference organized by the Iraqi Government was somewhat ecumenical this pastor was also guaranteed a time to preach and to share his faith freely. Following his preaching he was able to carry on conversations with other delegates in attendance at the conference. I don’t recall whether he stated if Saddam Hussein himself ever attended any of the session, but by his own invitation Saddam Hussein during his life had the opportunity to hear the Gospel preached. This pastor also stated, after his return from Baghdad, that because Saddam Hussein did not trust the Muslim community, all of his personal staff were from the Iraqi “Christian” Community. When Saddam Hussein died a lost sinner, it was not due to a lack of opportunity to hear the gospel.
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3/21/07 9:07 PM
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