Ultimate Purpose for the Divine Directive

In this part of the sermon: Martin introduces the sermon by asking what humans have in common with the cosmos, contrasting the unbelieving view of a purposeless universe with the believer's conviction that…

Martin asks if listeners have ever considered what they have in common with the sun, moon, stars, and galaxies, setting up the contrast between secular and biblical worldviews on purpose.

Speaking as it were oracles of God. If any man ministers, ministering as of the strength which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, whose is the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. I'm wondering if you, and by you I mean moms and dads, older men and women, boys and girls, I wonder if you, and by you I mean moms and dads, older men and women, boys and girls, I wonder if you, and by you I mean moms and dads, older men and women, boys and girls, I wonder if you, and by you I mean moms and dads, older men and girls, I wonder if you, and by you I mean m...

1:14 - 2:18 Read in full sermon

Driving home: And yet, all of it together created to the end that the God who created it and us might be glorified in that which he has created.

He describes the secular answer to humanity's commonality with the cosmos: merely different parts of a measureless universe existing for unknown reasons, often held by highly educated individuals.

are scattered across the heavens, and then those massive displays of God's might and power and immensity, the distant galaxies? Well, there are some, and there are not a few, who would answer that question in our day in this way. All that we have in common with the sun, the moon, the stars, and the distant galaxies, and even with the fish, the birds, snails, and earthworms, all that we have in common is that we are different parts of a measureless universe that came into being who knows when, that exists for who knows what, and that will continue for who knows how long. And the people who give...

2:18 - 3:33 Read in full sermon

Driving home: And yet, all of it together created to the end that the God who created it and us might be glorified in that which he has created.

Martin humorously refers to old age as an affliction not covered by medical insurance, making the point that it's an unavoidable reality for all.

We have no idea of when all this came into being, why it exists, and how long it will exist, and to what end, if anything, it exists. Well, while unbelieving philosophers and physicists and anthropologists and astronomers stumble in their futile attempts to answer this question, humble believers, from children to people tottering on the edge of the grave through that affliction that will overtake all of us, called old age. That's one affliction that's not covered by your medical insurance. We're all going to get it.

4:04 - 4:41 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin defines glorifying God as extolling Him for who He is and what He has done, explaining that God's essential glory is eternal, and creation manifests this glory. He uses…

He explains God's essential glory as the 'outshining of all that He is,' comparing it to a central sun from which beams of glory emanate, which creatures perceive and respond to with praise.

for who He is and for what He has done. And to the extent that we see who He is in what He has done, we take the unfolding of His gracious work as the springboard to magnify, to praise, and to extol His glorious being. Think of it this way. God's essential glory is the outshining of all that He is as God. And in that sense, God has been a glorious God from eternity. I know it strains the brain of the most brilliant person here and of the most brilliant person here. And I know it strains the brain of the most brilliant person here and of the most brilliant person here. And I know it strains the...

14:10 - 14:57 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin defines glorifying God as extolling Him for who He is and what He has done, explaining that God's essential glory is eternal, and creation manifests this glory. He uses…

Martin recounts the common child's question, 'Who made God?', to illustrate the difficulty of comprehending a being without beginning and to affirm God's eternal nature.

beginning. God has no beginning. The little child asked, Mommy, God made all things? Yes. Next question. You've heard it. I've heard it as a parent. Who made God? And you have to say no one made God. He just always was. From everlasting to everlasting, the psalmist says, you are God. And because God has always been and has always been what He is, and He is the same yesterday, today, and forever, He is the God who is and the God who shall be, His essential glory, the outshining of His perfections has always been the same. God being who He is, the outshining

14:57 - 15:44 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: He explains that all blessings from God come through Christ, and therefore, all glory returned to God must also be 'through Jesus Christ.' Martin highlights Christ's centrality in…

He uses the analogy of a 'conduit' or 'medium' to explain that all of God's love, grace, and saving power come to believers 'through Christ,' and in return, all glory returns 'through Christ.'

All that God funnels down to us in the way of distinctive, redemptive privilege and blessing, he funnels through Christ, and he has ordained that as we receive those blessings, and as the blessings of his salvation are worked out in us, that we, in return, through Christ, will bring glory to the God who conveyed those very blessings to us through the Mediator. So without appearing crassly material, if you can think of it this way, that in all of God's approaches to us in grace and mercy, Christ stands between God and us, himself God, but in his appointed place as Mediator, and all the blessing...

25:32 - 26:43 Read in full sermon

Driving home: Lenski perceptively says this is not an expression of mere intellectual conviction, but of an... Exalted, God-praising conviction of faith.

He uses the example of states ratifying a constitutional amendment to explain what it means to 'ratify' something, applying it to Peter's 'Amen.'

Placed at the end and meaning truth, so be it. This amen is a solemn, confessional expression of the apostle Peter. Now think with me for a minute. Use your imagination.

53:42 - 53:56 Read in full sermon

Driving home: Lenski perceptively says this is not an expression of mere intellectual conviction, but of an... Exalted, God-praising conviction of faith.

Martin quotes 2 and 3 John where John expresses a desire to speak 'face to face' rather than writing with 'paper and ink' or 'ink and pen,' setting up an illustration about writing instruments.

When John is completing two of his epistles, the second and third epistle of John, you remember what he says in verse 12 of 2 John, similar words, at the end of 3 John. Having many things to write. I would not write them with paper and ink. You would not write them with the existing tools of written communication.

53:58 - 54:17 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: The word 'Amen' at the end of the passage signifies Peter's solemn ratification and personal commitment to this ultimate purpose, emphasizing that it is not a mere intellectual…

He describes writing with a quill pen, noting how pressure affects the boldness of the writing, to illustrate how Peter likely wrote 'Amen' with conviction and emphasis.

Any of you written with a quill pen? You ever had the privilege of actually writing with a quill pen? Someone took a feather from a bird and shaped it so that it would hold ink and dispense it at the end, and they put a little split on it. Now, if you want to make a letter light, what do you do?

55:12 - 55:30 Read in full sermon

The point: If you are irritated by the emphasis on God's glory, recognize that this is proof of the carnal mind's enmity against God.

Martin uses the analogy of someone praising a person or thing you detest, which stirs up negative feelings, to explain how the emphasis on God's glory can reveal one's spiritual state.

It's a text like this that perhaps more clearly than many others will really show you where you're at spiritually. It's like having someone in your presence praising with enthusiasm a person or a thing you detest. What does it do to you? It stirs up the negative feelings.

58:54 - 59:04 Read in full sermon

The point: If you are irritated by the emphasis on God's glory, recognize that this is proof of the carnal mind's enmity against God.

He uses the rivalry between Yankee and Mets fans to illustrate how praise for one's rival team can stir up negative feelings, applying it to the carnal mind's reaction to God's glory.

For example, some of you guys when you get together and talk baseball. Some of you are avid Yankee fans. You know who can draw out your Yankee zeal more quickly than anything else? Let somebody start bragging about the Mets.

59:04 - 59:20 Read in full sermon

The point: If you are irritated by the emphasis on God's glory, recognize that this is proof of the carnal mind's enmity against God.

He uses the example of envy being stirred up when someone praises a person you envy, further illustrating how the carnal mind reacts negatively to God's glory.

And when they're bragging about the Mets, when you say you're bragging about any team in the New York metropolitan area, call it an area, it's Yankees or nothing. Doesn't it draw out your anti-Met feeling, the more enthusiastic the Yankee fan talks? Or maybe your teams are the Giants and the Jets. What happens in the presence of someone whom you envy, towards whom you have that bitter, horrible, hellish spirit of green-eyed desire for what God has given them and not given you? What will stir up that envy more quickly than someone in your presence speaking in a commendatory way about that perso...

59:20 - 60:23 Read in full sermon