Albert N. Martin – Personal Testimony

The point: Sense afresh the great truth of Romans 11:36, that all things are from, through, and to God, and to Him alone be the glory.

The expressions of love and gratitude from God's people are described as 'velvet-lined, golden chains' that bound his heart, preventing him from focusing on anything but God's goodness and mercy.

I have lived out half a century, and this event has drawn forth many, many surprising and unexpected expressions of love, of gratitude, of goodwill, from so many of God's people, not only here in this congregation and in this country, but even across the puddle, as we affectionately say, over in the United Kingdom. And as I have lived in the past two weeks under this tremendous deluge of visibly and tangibly expressed goodwill and gratitude and love, I have found that all of those expressions have forged. Velvet-lined, golden chains that have so held my heart that it simply cannot break free t...

2:53 - 4:16 Read in full sermon

Driving home: That which is born is born due to powers outside of itself. You and I were conceived and born and we had nothing to say about it.

These three images of salvation (birth, resurrection, creation) are used to illustrate that spiritual life is imparted by powers entirely outside of oneself, emphasizing God's sovereign work.

You see, the common denominator of each one of those images or analogies is this. That which is born is born due to powers outside of itself. You and I were conceived and born and we had nothing to say about it.

11:56 - 12:13 Read in full sermon

Driving home: That which is born is born due to powers outside of itself. You and I were conceived and born and we had nothing to say about it.

The raising of Lazarus from the dead is used to demonstrate that the dead do not cooperate in their own resurrection, highlighting God's life-imparting voice.

When someone is raised from the dead, he does not cooperate in his own resurrection. When Jesus spoke into the very face of death in Lazarus' tomb and said, Lazarus, come forth, Lazarus did not pick a nearby daisy and begin to pluck it and say, shall I or shall I not? He was dead. But the voice, the voice that spoke imparted life.

12:15 - 12:42 Read in full sermon

The point: Treasure Philippians 1:6 and 1 Peter 1:5 as special promises of God's keeping grace.

The fourfold strand of God's keeping grace (purpose, death of Christ, intercession, Spirit) is compared to the deeply embedded cables of a suspension bridge, illustrating its unbreakable foundation.

to the saving grace that comes sovereignly on the threshold, but to the certainty of the grace that keeps all those who are truly brought within its orbit. And what a wonderful thing it is to know that beneath that keeping work of God is that fourfold strand that cannot be broken, God's own eternal, immutable purpose spoken of in Romans 8, 29, whom He did foreknow, He did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son. God in eternity committed Himself to take this fallen Son of Adam and so to work in Him by His grace and so to keep Him that one day, one day, this fallen Son of Adam will...

20:51 - 22:16 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin asserts that his standing as a Christian and minister is supremely a monument of God's grace, drawing parallels to Paul's testimony in 1 Corinthians 15. He then elaborates…

Martin's mother's hearing loss is shared as a personal anecdote of how God providentially trained him to speak distinctly and enunciate clearly, preparing him for preaching.

I was born into a home with a mother who was afflicted with a serious hearing loss. And to make life a little more tolerable for her, I had to learn how to look directly at her face and to use all of this apparatus when I spoke. God trained me by means of my mother's affliction that I might learn to speak distinctly and to enunciate clearly. And if you wonder why I always have to drink that water, when you use all of that apparatus when you're speaking, it gets dried out very quickly.

27:27 - 27:57 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin asserts that his standing as a Christian and minister is supremely a monument of God's grace, drawing parallels to Paul's testimony in 1 Corinthians 15. He then elaborates…

Being the eldest of ten children and observing his parents' interactions with them is presented as God's training for him to be a pastor to a church with many young families.

And then I think of the wonderful relationship God has given me to you, dear children. And people have asked me, they say, Pastor Martin, how is it you get along so well with children? Well, you see, God put me at the top end of a family of ten, not the bottom end. I don't know what it's like to think of home without little brothers and sisters.

28:02 - 28:21 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin asserts that his standing as a Christian and minister is supremely a monument of God's grace, drawing parallels to Paul's testimony in 1 Corinthians 15. He then elaborates…

Martin recounts being called to be a pastor from 'shoveling manure' in bullpens at an old Catholic retreat center, illustrating God's strange and humble ways of guiding him to his place of labor.

Well, God called me to be your pastor from shoveling manure, literally. Literally! Literally! I was in an itinerant ministry, and a friend of mine had started a new work some 30, 40 miles from here, and they bought out an old Catholic retreat center, and it had a home with a chapel and had a big barn.

31:07 - 31:29 Read in full sermon

Driving home: I find something far more hard to think what God will say if I dare to use my mouth in His name while I'm knowingly tolerating sin in His presence. He killed a couple of people in the book of Acts for that.

The death of Ananias and Sapphira is referenced to underscore God's seriousness about life and character over outward gifts and service, especially when tolerating sin.

I find something far more hard to think what God will say if I dare to use my mouth in His name while I'm knowingly tolerating sin in His presence. He killed a couple of people in the book of Acts for that.

37:43 - 37:59 Read in full sermon

The point: Go say 'I'm sorry' and confess your sin to maintain a good conscience, regardless of whether others acknowledge theirs.

Growing up in a large family, Martin learned the discipline of saying 'I'm sorry,' even when others didn't apologize, to maintain a good conscience before God.

And again, God burnt that determination into me very early. And living in a large family, very easy to have many occasions when you need to fess up. Now, I thank God. That's one thing we were made to do as children, to say I'm sorry.

39:00 - 39:14 Read in full sermon

The point: Plead with me that I may above all else guard my heart, for out of it are the issues of life, and make progress in grace.

Receiving tributes does not puff him up but humbles him, like Peter's reaction to the miraculous catch of fish, recognizing his unworthiness and sinfulness before God.

I believe I can honestly say that doesn't gender pride. It's like Peter when the great draft of fishes was brought in and he knew he was unworthy of a miracle. He fell down at the feet of Jesus and said, Lord, depart from me. I'm an unclean man. I say, how would my sister ever write that letter? If she knew what was in here, if she even once happened to put her ear by the place where I pray and hear some of the things I have to confess to God that are known only to Him, would she be able to say that? And my deep concern as I face whatever years yet remain to me is that I may make progress in g...

48:21 - 49:18 Read in full sermon