Trials: Depth of Attachment to Christ Tested

The point: Ask God for the present, powerful ministry of the Holy Spirit to understand His Word and be honest about the state of our hearts.

The experience of finding a passage in systematic Bible reading that perfectly fits the day's need, as if 'tailor-made,' illustrates God's providential guidance in personal and congregational life.

You may not read through the Bible from Genesis to Revelation every year, but over the course of two, three years, you find yourself going through the entirety of the Word of God in some kind of systematic order. And if that's true of you, then you have found, as I have found, many times in that regular, programmed, scheduled reading of the Word of God, some portion in that particular day's reading, that is, some portion in that particular day's reading, was tailor-made for the need of that day. Had you been searching for a passage somewhere between Genesis 1-1 and the last verse in Revelation...

3:42 - 4:51 Read in full sermon

The point: Recognize that true saving faith will always become a tried and tested faith, leading to praise in the day of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The metaphor of trials as a 'smelting furnace' or 'laboratory' illustrates how God uses difficult experiences to test, purify, and develop faith, making it more precious than gold.

we have faced what to some of us has been the most severe test of our faith, since we first professed, to lay hold of Christ as our Savior and our Lord. And as we ease back into our verse-by-verse study of 1 Peter, what I want to do this morning is taking what I've already done by way of review of the heart of our study in our last exposition, I want to speak to you on the subject, how our recent trials have been the smelting furnace of our faith. How our recent trials, have been the smelting furnace of our faith. It was one thing for me, as a teacher of the Word, to seek responsibly to open u...

9:32 - 10:52 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin argues that whenever Christ becomes the object of saving faith, He also becomes the object of supreme devotion and unrivaled love, as seen in 1 Peter 1:8 and Christ's…

The example of the Pharisee in Luke 18 bringing 'brownie points' to God illustrates the devil's tactic of distracting sinners from Christ as the sole object of faith.

He focuses upon putting something between the sinner and Christ as the object of faith, and something between the sinner and Christ as the supreme object of devotion. So you have people thinking they can bring their brownie points to God, like the Pharisee in Luke chapter 18. I do this, I do that, I don't do this, I don't do that. God is not interested in your brownie points.

20:46 - 21:12 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin argues that whenever Christ becomes the object of saving faith, He also becomes the object of supreme devotion and unrivaled love, as seen in 1 Peter 1:8 and Christ's…

The story of the rich young ruler illustrates the devil's tactic of placing something (wealth) between the sinner and Christ as the supreme object of devotion, preventing true saving faith.

He's only interested when the sinner in the nakedness of his need lays hold of Christ himself. But what did we read about in Matthew 19? We found someone that wanted to go to heaven by Jesus. And Jesus said, you won't go to heaven by me until I become your biggest, most precious treasure.

21:12 - 21:32 Read in full sermon

The point: Examine your attachment to Christ: unless Christ's clear word or unavoidable providence removes you from your current assembly, your remaining is a test of your believing attachment to Him.

The scattering of the Jerusalem church in Acts 8 due to persecution illustrates a clear instance of divine providence necessitating a church's dispersal, contrasting with subjective reasons for leaving a church.

I'm talking to you, my dear people. And I am saying, unless the clear word of Christ in which he judges false shepherds on facts, not rumors, and false teachers by what they teach contrary to the word of God, and a church that is no longer a true church, because it won't discipline, it won't order its worship, that's how Christ delineates when you ought to leave a church. When by his providence he extricates you, and it's unavoidable as he did at the Jerusalem church. They had an exodus that makes ours look like kids play overnight.

30:59 - 31:42 Read in full sermon

The point: Do not be bullied into a false sense of guilt for staying where Christ has placed you; bless God for testing your believing attachment to your Savior.

The story of a young man who lost his fiancée because he refused to leave the church illustrates principled loyalty to Christ above even the deepest human affections.

There sits a young man who had held before him this carrot. Leave this church and you will have the woman on whose ring you put a, on finger you put a ring and with whom you set a marriage date. Refuse to leave this church and she'll be taken from you. And she has been taken and he sits in this place today.

45:46 - 46:15 Read in full sermon

The point: Do not be bullied into a false sense of guilt for staying where Christ has placed you; bless God for testing your believing attachment to your Savior.

The example of parents and relatives who have felt deep family tears but remained committed to Christ's will illustrates prioritizing Christ above son, daughter, or in-laws.

Not out of blind loyalty to a church but out of principled loyalty to his savior. There sit parents and relatives in this place who have felt the tear in the wrench of the deepest tides but they have not contemplated for a minute that they would in any way abandon what they know to be the will of Christ for them because they love him more than son, daughter, daughter-in-law, son-in-law. I stand here only because of that commitment. When I've had to leave my wife weeping for fear of my life. When she has been made privy to things you know nothing of. Of the murderous, vicious things. And that's...

46:15 - 47:14 Read in full sermon

The point: Do not be bullied into a false sense of guilt for staying where Christ has placed you; bless God for testing your believing attachment to your Savior.

Martin shares his personal experience of staying in ministry despite vicious threats and his wife's fear for his life, illustrating his unwavering allegiance to Christ.

Not out of blind loyalty to a church but out of principled loyalty to his savior. There sit parents and relatives in this place who have felt the tear in the wrench of the deepest tides but they have not contemplated for a minute that they would in any way abandon what they know to be the will of Christ for them because they love him more than son, daughter, daughter-in-law, son-in-law. I stand here only because of that commitment. When I've had to leave my wife weeping for fear of my life. When she has been made privy to things you know nothing of. Of the murderous, vicious things. And that's...

46:15 - 47:14 Read in full sermon

The point: Consider that current trials, though severe, may be God's classroom to strengthen spiritual muscles for greater suffering and attachment to Christ in the future.

The analogy from Jeremiah about running with footmen versus contending with horsemen illustrates that if believers falter in smaller trials, they will be unprepared for greater suffering.

He cannot be My disciple. Whosoever confesses Me before men, him will I confess before My Father. He that denies Me before men, and he goes on to say, don't be afraid of those that kill the body. Or He previously said in verse 28 of Matthew 10, fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. What's the context? He said, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. It's not going to be easy. And if we allow the pressure of a few fractured human relationships to make us tremble and hesitate on what our course of action will be, what will we do if it means being thrown in the hot box and ...

50:18 - 51:08 Read in full sermon

The point: Understand that being a Christian is serious business, requiring total self-commitment to Christ, like a one-way mission with no return.

The analogy of WWII suicide bombers with only enough gas for a one-way trip illustrates the absolute, no-return commitment required of a Christian, signifying total self-abandonment to Christ.

You're like those 16 year old kids in the Second World War that were strapped in their fighter planes dive bombers back there in Tokyo and took off with only enough gas to get them out to the US fleet. The bomb was there in the nose of the plane and when they dived on the deck they'd had it. They weren't coming back. When they left the decks of the carriers to the shouts and praise of their comrades, they were one-way pilots. That's what a Christian is. No gas for the return trip. When you dive on the deck sink or swim, live or die I belong to Christ and he belongs to me. Let us pray. Our Fath...

53:33 - 54:22 Read in full sermon