From You Sounded Out the Word/Saving Faith

In this part of the sermon: Martin explains the meaning of 'sounded out the Word of the Lord' as a clear, trumpet-like blast, emphasizing that it was the Lord's message and that the report of the…

The word 'sound forth' is compared to a trumpet blast heard above the din of battle, illustrating how the Word of the Lord from Thessalonica cut through the confusion of human life with a clear, discernible note.

Now why could Paul say that these people had become an example to all, that believe? Well he answers that question in verses 8 through 10 and the first thing that confronts us is this phrase, from you sounded out the Word of the Lord. So let us consider first of all the fact that there was a sounding forth of the Word in verse 8 and then in verse 9 we'll consider the manner of this sounding forth of the Word and then from verses 8 through 10 some of the important lessons contained in this, the sounding forth of the Word. Verse 8 then declares to us the fact that from the church at Thessalonica...

4:15 - 5:19 Read in full sermon

The point: Be careful in our evangelizing to declare the facts about God, Jesus Christ, and His saving acts as revealed in His holy Word.

The abundance of lessons in the passage is compared to a Thanksgiving table with so much food that one doesn't know where to begin, conveying the richness and depth of the text.

Now if this is so what are the important lessons that the spirit of God would have us learn from this passage? Well there are so many I told my wife and several others this week it's sort of like coming to the table at Thanksgiving when there's so much food you don't know where to begin and it's frustrating so you just got to start somewhere and hope you can get a little bit of everything. Well that's this passage there are so many practical lessons in this passage that I think I've at least got them divided up into the meat and potatoes and we'll call the meat the doctrinal implications and l...

14:02 - 15:08 Read in full sermon

The point: Be careful in our evangelizing to declare the facts about God, Jesus Christ, and His saving acts as revealed in His holy Word.

Martin recounts a conversation with a liberal young people's advisor who could not define her 'Christ,' illustrating the danger of vague faith not rooted in objective, biblical revelation.

what the Bible tells us is that there's to be faith in the God revealed in scripture in the Christ revealed in the word of God so that our attention is not so much upon faith as though faith is some kind of magical ingredient like a super vitamin of some kind that will fix you up good and cure all your ills but faith is merely the bond which unites us to the living God to change the figure is merely the hand which takes hold of the great provisions that God gives in his grace now you say why stress this point well perhaps if you sat where I sat a week ago Saturday night you'd feel the need of ...

16:37 - 18:07 Read in full sermon

The point: Examine if your professed faith in the living and true God has been attended with a turning away from every false God, including self-concocted deities.

The creation of an idol from personal ideas and prejudices is compared to Aaron collecting jewelry to form the golden calf, illustrating how people concoct a 'God' that suits their preferences rather than worshipping the God revealed in Scripture.

that well who is your God then the minute you begin to declare God is the God revealed in this very passage who has reserved wrath for all his enemies and who will punish them with everlasting destruction and people say oh but my God wouldn't send people to hell forever well who is that God then who is your God he's an idol he's not the living and the true God for the God revealed in scripture is the only true and living God and he's the God revealed as an absolute sovereign as the judge of the universe as the God who will punish with everlasting destruction those who defy his rule and who rej...

28:24 - 29:53 Read in full sermon

The point: Examine if your whole sphere of interest and longing has been elevated from earth to heaven, focusing on the coming of Christ.

Martin humorously references those who literally put on white robes and waited on hills for Christ's return, contrasting this with the true meaning of 'waiting for His Son from heaven' as a reorientation of life's focus.

Sit back and get a long, faraway, wispy look in one's eyes and put on a white robe and find the highest hill and wait for the clouds to part? That's the way some have interpreted it, and they've actually done that. Put on their white robes, go up to the top of a hill somewhere and wait. Well, I'm glad they had sense enough not to hold their breath while they were waiting.

34:22 - 34:41 Read in full sermon

The point: Examine if your whole sphere of interest and longing has been elevated from earth to heaven, focusing on the coming of Christ.

A hypothetical scenario of a Martian living with a believer and then a non-believer is used to illustrate whether a stranger would observe a radical shift in life's focus, goals, and interests, indicating a true 'waiting for His Son from heaven.'

She has to go through the same activities, but it's obvious, her whole sphere of interest and longing has been elevated above this to that. That's the report we meet everywhere we go, that you people not only gave up your idols, and not only turned to the living and the true God, but, all your hopes and your longings focus upon the coming of his beloved son. Is that true of you? Suppose a total stranger who knew nothing about the Christian message, would have been dropped down out of Mars, just happened to fall out one of the windows of a flying saucer, and right down at your living room, in y...

36:31 - 37:12 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: He illustrates how the Thessalonians' transformed lives, affecting their daily activities, speech, and attitudes, created an undeniable report that spread widely, demonstrating…

Martin imagines a traveler returning to Thessalonica and finding his drinking buddies or a prostitute gone, illustrating how the transformed lives of believers in a bustling, immoral seaport town would inevitably spread a report of conversion.

Faith in repentance, the invisible actings of the soul in response to the invisible world of the Spirit cannot be hidden for they'll affect from the morning till the night. And Paul said it just couldn't be hidden. Think of what it meant there, right at this main center on that Roman road. And you know what most seaport towns are like.

47:01 - 47:25 Read in full sermon

The point: Expect to know if the Lord saves your children by the fruit in their lives, not just their verbal profession.

Abe Lincoln's quote about fooling people is used to emphasize that while hypocrisy might fool some for a time, the absence of genuine fruits of faith and repentance will eventually reveal itself.

And listen, beloved, the absence of them can't be hidden for too long either. Wasn't it Abe Lincoln said you can fool some of the people all of the time, all of the people some of the time, but you can't fool all the people all the time? You may fool some. You can speak the words, but over the long haul, sham usually sooner or later reveals itself.

49:15 - 49:40 Read in full sermon