Confidently Plunging into the Absurd
Paul Derks
Transcribed by PulpitAI (with edits)
Introduction – Christo Möller
Paul is gonna speak this morning. I’m gonna invite Paul up. Come on up, Paul. He’s been attending Salem for quite a while. This morning when we spoke, we said, I think it’s been almost about a year, but there’s been a couple of months where he was away ministering at another church, leading worship. He’s grown up in ministry. He didn’t go to seminary; he grew up in seminary, right? And we’re really happy to have Paul here share the Word with us this morning. So let’s welcome him. Thanks, Paul.
Paul’s Introduction
Thanks. Well, after that kids’ message, I don’t know what else I can say. That was awesome.
Well, yeah, I’m really glad he kind of did a little intro, because I’m terrible at introductions. I always leave out critical things like, you know, that I’m married, stuff like that. And so, but I am. Rickie is taking the kids to the nursery, because, you know, as parents, you know, sometimes kids just wake up ornery, and today’s one of those days. So Declan and Kirsten are my two little ones, and they’re in the nursery right now, and so she’ll be back here shortly.
But yeah, I’ve had a lot of fun experiences in ministry, and so whenever Chris reached out and asked if I’d like to do this, of course I felt honored and wanted to take the opportunity to do this, because one of my passions is connecting people with God, right? And so whether that’s through music or preaching, whatever that may be, I’m all for it. So thank you guys for this.
After Easter
Well, so we’re a week after Easter, right? And you know, we’re kind of getting back into the swing of things of normal life—you know, mother-in-law’s gone home, and we’ve eaten our dinners. We’re getting back in the swing of things. And for us it’s kind of easy just to jump right back into it, but rewind about two thousand years, and the lives for the disciples were not quite going back into the swing of things. Right? They were still running from the authorities at this time, obviously still in shock to some degree that their best friend and Savior just was with—or is actually currently with them at this point for the next forty days, in the flesh, holes in hands, somehow eating fish with them, alive and well, right? I mean, that’s got to take more than just a couple days to set in, you know?
So one thing that the Jews had been told for thousands of years before this point is that they were God’s chosen people. Right? They’re God’s chosen people. And that meant something, right? They followed a certain set of rules. They had certain rituals and practices that set them apart as God’s chosen. Well, you have the Gentiles, on the other hand—all the pagans, right—and really, there’s no rhyme or reason with them. Kind of whatever felt good at the time, they did. A lot of times in pagan societies, they’re kind of stuck in this ritualistic cycle of just life, work, death. Life, work, death. Right? There was no higher purpose, or nobody was chosen, right? But of course, as we all know, Jesus changed everything. Right? You have the Jews, who suddenly—Jesus completely turned the Jewish tradition on its head. He fulfilled it, right? And so they’re going, “Well, so what does it mean to be God’s chosen now? If we don’t have to follow all these rules the way we thought we did, what does this mean for us?”
And of course, the Gentiles who are hearing the message of Jesus, they’re going, “Well, what does it mean? What does ‘chosen’ mean in the first place?” You know? “What do you mean there’s more to life than just this cycle of life and death?”
So a question that we see kind of underneath everything in the New Testament, right, and something they’re asking now—two thousand years ago as well as we ask today—is, “What is it to be God’s chosen? What does it mean to be God’s chosen?” What does it mean to be God’s chosen?
So I’m gonna ask a lot of questions today, and you’re gonna be like, “Man, I don’t want you to ask me another question.” Okay? But just bear with me. We’ll get there. But this is the main question. Keep this in your back pocket, because we’ll be talking about this a lot. “What is it to be God’s chosen?”
The Call of Abram
A word came to a man. This man—(Psych. All right, we’ll go back. That’s fine).
A word came to a man. This man was born in a pagan society around 2200 BC, likely growing up a pagan, okay? He observed pagan rituals, like sacrificing children to gods and kings, right? He observed pagan practices, like building idols and praying to them. And he lived out pagan philosophy, okay, like being subservient to the sins of his family, being subject to the cycle that I’m talking about—just life, death, and Hades. A word came to this man, and at first he likely considered this word should just be one of the other hundreds of gods that he had come across or heard about or whatever. Right? But something was different about this God. This God said, “Leave behind your country. Leave behind your relationships. Leave behind your father’s house. Go to a land that I show you. And if you do this, I will make you a great nation. I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.” This sounded quite a bit different than all the other gods he had heard about.
So what does he do? With no destination, no plan, he went. Husbands, imagine telling your wives, “Hey, I don’t know where we’re going, but pack your bags.” I don’t think that conversation would go very well in my household. She’d be like, “I need a plan,” all right? Oh, this is Rickie, by the way. She came back. She came back! No.
Now this man, he grew a relationship with this God, right? And even at times he argued with this God. Okay? But again, this God was different than the others. This God kept saying things like, “You will be a blessing to the world.” “This is my covenant with you.” “Walk blameless before me.”
Then one day this God appeared to this man. He says, “I am El Shaddai, the God Almighty.” And as you can imagine, this man falls terrified to the ground because none of the other gods had appeared to him before. Now this man, named Abram, was dead to his old pagan name and would now be called Abraham.
The Promised Son
Now once again this mighty God, whom Abraham now recognized as the one true God, promises Abraham again of offspring. That doesn’t make sense. Abraham was really old. But just like he listened when he left his hometown, okay, he trusted God to follow through on his promise.
Some time passed and some battles were fought. Still no child, yet there was still a promise. And finally the time came. After making a mistake with his servant, God blessed Abraham’s wife with a son, and they named him Isaac, which means “laughter,” because the idea of Sarah having a child at her age was unbelievable. Twenty-three years had passed, okay, from the time El Shaddai made the promise to the time that Abraham gets to hold his baby. Twenty-three years. This was the child he had long dreamed of and that God promised, or so he thought.
Main Passage
So our scripture today takes place about 20 years after Isaac’s birth in Genesis 22, verses 1 through 9, and I will be reading from the ESV version. All right.
After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love…
(First mention of the word “love” in the Bible, by the way.)
… and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.”
Sounds kind of similar to the first, doesn’t it? “Go to a land that I’ll tell you about. Just go to the land of Moriah, and I’ll tell you which mountain to go to.”
So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac. And he cut the wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar. Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you.” And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son. And he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So they went both of them together. And Isaac said to his father Abraham, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” He said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” Abraham said, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So they went both of them together.
When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son.
God’s Chosen
I ask again, what is it to be God’s chosen? What is it to be God’s chosen?
I think in many ways, Christianity in America is suffering. And it’s not suffering because of persecution. Around Easter, so many stories of Christians being beheaded around the world just started populating. It’s horrific. Praise God, we don’t have to deal with that here, but it does exist in the world, right? No, American Christianity is not suffering due to persecution. I think it’s suffering because we’re in a slumber. We’re asleep. It’s a slumber that has cheapened this idea of faith.
I watched a documentary on the church in Iran. It’s a wonderful documentary. I really recommend you check it out on YouTube—Sheep Among Wolves, part two, volume two. It’s a couple hours long, so instead of family movie night, check this out. Well, maybe not family movie night, but, you know, it’s good to watch. One of the stories that’s told in it is of a Christian man and woman. The woman was from Iran, married an American man. They moved to America, and after a couple years, she says, “I want to move back to Iran.” And in shock, the husband says, “Well, why in the world would you want to go back to persecution?” And her response should scare us, should terrify us. American Christianity is in a demonic slumber, and she would rather face persecution than be asleep.
I hear a story like this, and I can’t help but imagine if we Christians in the West, including myself, actually read the Bible, and specifically this scripture, with the weight it deserves, we wouldn’t be able to sleep at night. The weight of the cost of righteousness would be so heavy that nothing else could fill our minds. We should read the story of Abraham and be sleepless. What is the cost of righteousness?
I wonder what Abraham was thinking in the moment he had his arm pulled back, seeing the horror in his son’s eyes. Was it surprising to him? Remember, after all, he spent the first 70 years of his life in a pagan society where sacrificing children to gods and kings was commonplace. So maybe this God wasn’t so different from all the others. Yet, the writer of Hebrews tells us that Abraham believed God would raise Isaac from the dead. Would we have such faith?
What would you put on the altar for God? What have you put on the altar for God? Because typically, what you have done is a good indication of what you would do, right? Now, hear me—if you think I’m talking about putting your kid on an altar, that’s not at all what I’m getting for. That’s not it at all. What I’m talking about is, have you put your ego on the altar? Have you put your talents on the altar? And talents could be skills and achievements and stuff like that. It could be money. Interpret that however you wish. Have you put your talents on the altar? Have you put your knowledge and experiences on the altar? Do we really take it in and understand its meaning? I think many of us underestimate the depth of commitment that God asks of us. Jesus says to deny yourself and pick up your cross. Do we really understand what that means, especially in light of the story last week that Jesus died on that cross? Do we really understand the cost of righteousness?
One of my favorite Christian philosophers, Soren Kierkegaard, says that it takes a special courage to, “close my eyes and confidently plunge into the absurd.”
(Let’s see, I’m getting behind. I’m getting caught up in talking here, and I’m forgetting about my slides. There we go. Okay. So what would you put on the altar for God? What have you?)
But yeah, Soren Kierkegaard writes, “To close my eyes and confidently plunge into the absurd is a special courage.” Okay? It’s a courage. Right? Not “walk,” right? He didn’t say “walk.” He didn’t say “run,” but to “plunge” yourself into the absurd. And that’s a definition of faith that really makes the most sense to me. Faith requires the acceptance that what God is calling you to probably makes absolutely no sense. It probably makes absolutely no sense.
Why would God do that? Well, because he wants you to trust in his deliverance, not in your understanding of the situation. Right? Abraham saw no way out. He was going to obey, and he confidently told his son, the one who carried his own wood for his own offering, that God would provide. Yet, he didn’t see a way how God could do it. He believed anyway. Do you understand the cost of righteousness? Can you plunge yourself confidently into the absurd? Can you believe even when there’s absolutely no reason to believe? God may bless you with many good things, like Isaac was to Abraham, but God will test your heart. Do you worship him because you’ve been blessed, or do you worship him because he is deserving nonetheless? Do you worship the gift or the gift-giver? That is the test.
Faith in the Impossible
And many times we face trials or obstacles, and we see no way out. And it’s true that it is impossible. It’s okay to accept it is impossible. It is impossible that a mountain can be thrown into the ocean, yet faith the size of a mustard seed can do it. If it wasn’t impossible, it wouldn’t require faith. I like to use the term faith in different ways a lot, and definitely not in ways that’s as heavy as this; I can tell you that. Like, “Oh, I’m so tired, I don’t know if I can cook dinner tonight,” right? “Oh, I have faith in you,” you know? Like, we kind of throw those kinds of things out, and it’s like, you know—the true meaning of the word “faith” is much, much heavier, you know?
You know, it’s absurd to believe that an all-powerful God can become human, yet still be God. That’s impossible. It’s absurd to believe that this God would care about us enough to be humiliated on a cross. It’s impossible. It’s absurd to believe that this human would be dead for three days in the ground and then rise up from the dead. That’s impossible. It’s absurd to think that by believing in him, we somehow rise from the dead with him. That’s impossible. Similar to what Paul says in 1 Corinthians chapter 1, verse 23, our faith is scandalous to the materialist and it’s moronic to the non-believer. But this is what Jesus asks of us nonetheless.
Doubt
Like Abraham, Peter had a similar opportunity to walk in perfect faith. And it’s a very well-known story; we all know it. He was close. He was so close, but just fell short. The cost of righteousness was just too high for him. Matthew 14, verses 22–31 says:
Immediately [Jesus] made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but the boat by this time was a long way from the land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them. And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” and they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.”
And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus.
Now I want to take a moment here. Peter “got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus.” He did it. Right? A lot of times in my mind, I imagine him getting on the water and then he just sinks, right? No, he walked on the water and came to Jesus. He did it. That’s pretty cool. Like, imagine if you did that, you know? Like, “Whoa, I just did that!” You know? He got out of the boat, and he walked on the water and came to Jesus.
But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”
What if Abraham had doubted like Peter? Now, don’t get me wrong—I know God would have used Abraham magnificently, just like Peter was used in amazing ways even though he doubted, right? But I think most of us relate to Peter in a lot of ways, right? We get excited, fired up for Jesus. We step out of the boat, but then we see the waves, the impossibility. We hear the wind, the mockers, and the doubters, and our faith flounders a little bit. We hesitate. We start sinking. Helpless, we fall below the surface of the deep, looking up and praying to God that Jesus’ hand reaches into the water to save us. Abraham shows us a costly faith, a high-stakes righteousness. Peter sees the waves and hears the wind and becomes fearful of his life, even though he accomplished it. Even though he accomplished walking on the water and came to Jesus, he still doubted and sank. His faith is not enough to lay everything down on the line for the sake of Jesus’ instruction. Therefore he sinks, and Jesus says, “You of little faith.”
How many times does God want us to plunge into the absurd, and instead we think we know best? How many times do we limit God because we’re convinced we think we know as much as him? How many times has God had this incredible, impossible dream for us, and we say, “Stay in your lane. I don’t want to get out of the boat.” Praise God we have a God that reaches into the water and pulls us out. Amen? He just says, full of compassion, “You of little faith.”
To Be God’s Chosen
What makes us Christians any different than any other group? What makes us different? Is it our Sunday mornings, or is it our faith like Abraham? Is it our rituals and traditions, or is it the courage to dare and try and walk on water?
Well, what is it to be God’s chosen? I have some answers for you. I have some answers. And here they are. It is to accept the cost of righteousness, to pick up our cross, to plunge confidently into the absurd, and to believe what seems completely impossible. That’s the life of the disciples a week after the Resurrection. Everyone is saying, “You are nuts. You saw the dude who died like last week? That guy, you saw him?” They’re making fun of them. They’re mocking them. “That’s impossible. What are you talking about, you ate fish with him the other day?” It’s wild.
It is our faith that sets us apart. Right? Our unwavering, stubborn, persistent faith in an unwavering, stubborn, persistent, and faithful God. Yeah, our willingness to confidently plunge ourselves into the absurd.
And I want to clarify something here. This is not a faith in the afterlife, okay? Coming from the South, and I’m still learning kind of the—I’m fairly new up to the Duluth area, so I’m still learning kind of the cultural, theological leanings of the areas. But in the South, a lot of times you have a lot of people who go to church because they don’t want to go to Hell. It’s like, it’s faith by fear, right? And my friends, that is not the faith that Jesus taught. The fact of the matter—and this is the hard part—the fact of the matter is God deserves our praise even if there was no escape from Hell. And that’s, yeah. Our faith is for this life, not the next. Jesus, God himself, came to bring the Kingdom of Heaven to where? Earth. This life is the life that God has given us. This is the life we find faith.
The Sacrificial Ram
I want to continue in our scripture here in verse 10.
Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son. But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called the name of that place, “The Lord will provide”; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”
And the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven and said, “By myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies, and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.”
Now imagine if God had told Abraham the pressure he was under before the fact. And like God asked of Abraham, he sent his only son, whom he loved, to the mount. Like Isaac, Jesus carried the wood that his offering would rest on. But unlike Isaac, Jesus was the ram caught in the thicket. Jesus was the sacrifice. God carried out the task he freed Abraham of. What God didn’t make Abraham go through, he went through for you, for me.
What is the cost of righteousness? It is death on a cross. It is faith in Jesus’ sacrifice that sets us apart. That’s what it is. And unlike the ram, Jesus rose from the dead, amen? There will come a time for you to step out of the boat, like Peter. And when the time comes, my prayer is you keep your eyes on Jesus and not the waves of doubt and impossibility. Instead, believe with the faith of Abraham. We worship a God that makes the impossible possible, the unrighteous righteous, the sinful saved. We just need to accept it. So what is it to be God’s chosen? Think on these things.
