Submission / Apprehending Promises

In this part of the sermon: The sermon is a continuation of a previous message, emphasizing that present trials are God's 'smelting furnace' for faith, testing the depth of believing attachment to Christ's…

A ticket or voucher marked 'invalid if detached' illustrates that the current sermon is a continuation of the morning's message and cannot be properly understood in isolation.

into your courts and into your gates we thank you for this blessed lord's day in the fellowship of your people in the worship of your name and in the hearing of your blessed word and we pray that you would crown the day with the sense of your nearness as we look into your word together lord jesus come by your spirit stand amongst your people as our great prophet ministering to us that word of instruction and consolation which you know we need we look to you in the expectation of faith we say with samuel speak lord for your servants here amen now i'm sure that most of you at one time or another...

1:23 - 2:44 Read in full sermon

The point: In the midst of baffling, confusing, and disturbing circumstances, submit to the ways of Christ, trusting that He knows what He is doing and has not ceased to love you.

Jesus' delay in healing Lazarus, despite His love, illustrates how Christ's ways can appear contradictory to His heart, yet serve a greater, more glorious purpose (raising him from the dead).

Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany of the village of Mary and her sister Martha. And it was that Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. The sisters therefore sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he who, whom you love is sick. As Pastor Donnelly pointed out in a sermon in this passage some years ago, had the language been, he whom you detest, or he whom you do not regard is sick, there would be nothing shocking, but he whom you love is sick.

13:08 - 13:49 Read in full sermon

The point: Walk by faith, not by sight, seeing that Christ orders all affairs, and has not vacated His position of absolute authority during times of crisis.

Jacob's lament, 'All these things are against me,' when he believed Joseph was dead, illustrates walking by sight rather than faith, unaware of God's gracious, unfolding plan.

Genesis 42, 36, old Jacob sees a conspiring of circumstances and says, Joseph's gone. One son is not. Now you're going to take this one. All these things are against me.

18:29 - 18:42 Read in full sermon

The point: Walk by faith, not by sight, seeing that Christ orders all affairs, and has not vacated His position of absolute authority during times of crisis.

Paul's repeated prayer for the removal of his thorn, and God's response ('My grace is sufficient'), illustrates how God uses weakness to manifest His power, testing submission and dependence.

He has been on his throne far above all principality and might and power and dominion and every name that is named not only in this age, but in the age to come. One other example. Think of Paul with his thorn in the flesh. 2 Corinthians chapter 12 verses 8 and following.

20:19 - 20:40 Read in full sermon

The point: Embrace God's inscrutable ways with believing submission, not fatalism, trusting in a sovereign, omnipotent, wise Christ who does all things well.

A poem by Samuel Rutherford, written during deep personal trial, expresses believing submission to God's inscrutable ways, praising Him even for 'this stroke' until Christ appears.

Came across a wonderful poem by Samuel Rutherford and it was written by me. And it was written by me. And it was written on an occasion when God struck very deeply into Rutherford's life.

24:25 - 24:37 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: The third way trials test faith is by examining the reality of our 'apprehension' (laying hold of) Christ's promises, which are 'Yes and Amen' in Him, and become vital lifelines…

The act of police apprehending a felon (laying hold of, seizing) is used to explain the meaning of 'apprehension' in relation to God's promises – not just understanding, but actively taking hold of them.

Now, for the sake of you children, the word apprehend is not a synonym with comprehend. To comprehend means you understand. To apprehend means to lay hold of, to seize. You may read in the paper, such and such a crime was committed, the felon was apprehended.

29:33 - 29:50 Read in full sermon

Driving home: The promises of God are little more than pious, pious slush until we are thrown into a crucible where they become the handles by which we are kept from sinking into despair.

Gospel promises, once 'nice talk,' become a 'lifeline' for a convicted sinner, illustrating how God's promises become vital 'handles' in the crucible of trial for the saint.

Now many of the promises of God are little more than pious words on a plaque until they're tested in the crucible of trial. For example, many of us heard gospel promises all our lives and they meant little to us. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved. If you Lord should mark iniquity who could stand but there is forgiveness with you that you may be feared.

32:22 - 32:44 Read in full sermon

The point: Actively apprehend God's promises, taking hold of them and pleading their fulfillment before God, running to them as a lifeline.

A man running to a city of refuge after committing manslaughter illustrates the urgency and active nature of 'apprehending' God's promises, laying hold of them for protection and hope.

Are you pleading that? Are you apprehending that promise, taking hold of it like the man who was, who was, conscious that he had committed manslaughter, not willful murder and runs to the city of refuge and enters within its doors? Are you as it were running to those promises, laying hold of them and pleading their fulfillment before your God? Or take the promise of Matthew 28, 20.

34:51 - 35:20 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Abraham's faith in believing God's promise of a son despite his and Sarah's physical 'deadness' (Romans 4) is expounded as a powerful example of apprehending promises against all…

Abraham's realistic assessment of his and Sarah's 'dead' bodies, yet his unwavering faith in God's promise of a child, illustrates apprehending promises against all natural hope.

And without being weakened, in faith he considered his own body, now as good as dead, he being about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah's womb. Now think of what it's saying here. When Abraham got up in the morning, he didn't look in the mirror, whatever kind of mirror he may have had, and say, well, it's a matter of mind over matter. There's a hundred-year-old man looking in the mirror, but what I see is a handsome twenty-five-year-old.

41:13 - 41:40 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: The Emmaus disciples' dejection and Jesus' rebuke for their 'slowness of heart to believe' (Luke 24:25) highlight how unbelief hinders joy, while the opening of the Scriptures…

The dejection of the Emmaus disciples, with 'chins dragging on the concrete,' illustrates the sadness and unbelief that comes from not believing God's word, even in the presence of Christ.

Did I not say, if you believe, you would see the glory of God? You remember those two men on the road to Emmaus in Luke chapter 24? Their chins were dragging on the concrete. And the Lord Jesus draws near and said, fellas, what's your problem?

44:33 - 44:49 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: A quotation from Spurgeon, written during a time of defection, encourages believers to press on with the gospel, trusting that God works powerfully through few and weak…

A quote from Spurgeon, reflecting on Gideon's thinning army during the 'downgrade controversy,' encourages faith and perseverance in preaching the gospel, trusting God's power through few and weak instruments.

Listen to Spurgeon seeking to stir up his own heart and the hearts of his people to faith against a backdrop of the world. A backdrop of great defection toward the end of Spurgeon's life. Some of you who know his, acquainted with his biography, you know about the downgrade controversy or English friends would say controversy in which many of the people who at one time stood with Spurgeon in the earlier days of his ministry treated him as a crotchety old man and defected from loyalty to him and to the cause of truth as liberalism was coming in to the Baptist denomination. And in commenting on t...

46:58 - 47:43 Read in full sermon

The point: In the crucible of trial, thank God, knowing His Word is sufficient to give understanding and enable a response of intelligent faith and wholehearted submission.

Recalling past times when Trinity Church faced large construction bills with no money, leading to prayer meetings and God's provision, illustrates how trials force dependence on God and develop faith.

You see, God's been good to thrust us into this furnace of affliction. God saw many of us were all together too naive about the Christian life and too comfortable. We were in a comfort zone. Months went by and we never had to pray, Lord, give us spirit of generosity and meet the budget.

51:21 - 51:42 Read in full sermon