God is An Absolute Sovereign

In this part of the sermon: Martin opens with the analogy of the Mayflower's oak barrels, which served for drinking water and ballast. He applies this to the spiritual life, arguing that believers need…

The oak barrels on the Mayflower, used for drinking water and then filled with seawater for ballast, illustrate the two functions of foundational biblical truths: sustaining life (water) and providing stability in turbulent times (ballast) for the believer's soul.

I know that some of you have had the privilege of visiting Plymouth, Massachusetts, and you have seen the replica of the kind of town that our pilgrim forefathers built and in which they lived in the 1600s after arriving on these shores from Great Britain. And most likely, those of you who have been to Plymouth went aboard the Mayflower II, an exact replica built from the very original plans, the original drawings of the Mayflower I. And if you did a thorough tour of that ship with a guide or on your own, you went down into the belly of that ship, and there you saw a strange sight. You would h...

0:00 - 1:25 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Further biblical evidence is presented, including Daniel 4 on God's rule over kings, Isaiah 46 on His unique ability to declare the end from the beginning, Psalm 135 on His…

The meteorological explanation for a snowstorm is contrasted with a biblical understanding, pushing the listener to consider God's ultimate sovereignty over natural phenomena, rather than attributing them to mere chance.

Why did we get dumped with that pile of snow? Well, the meteorologist on channel 2 and 4 and 5 and 7 and 9 will say, Because there was a moist weather system forming down off the Carolina coast. And because of the movement of the jet stream, etc. and the vapors rising from the ocean, it was drawn up this way.

23:06 - 23:29 Read in full sermon

Driving home: God is either sovereign over all the universe in all that makes it the universe. Or you will eventually exclude Him from the whole.

The seemingly insignificant death of a bird hitting a window is used to illustrate God's meticulous sovereignty over even the smallest events, arguing that if God is not sovereign over this, He can be ruled out of anything.

The expansive statement of Daniel. The sweeping declaration of Isaiah. The ordering of the elements. Right down to that little bird that is flying and thinks your picture window is open space.

26:13 - 26:29 Read in full sermon

The point: Set out to sea with the conviction of God's sovereignty, and you will be a monument of God's stability in the midst of upheaval and disruption, and submission in the face of crushing providences.

Martin shares his personal experience of preaching on God's sovereignty over nature (including the body) and then receiving a cancer diagnosis three months later, illustrating the need for this doctrine as ballast in the face of crushing providences.

And part of the result of the fall is that there has been worked into the fabric of the gene pool certain predispositions to certain diseases and then there are certain toxins and all of the rest. And I said, what are you going to do when you go to the doctor and you've had that biopsy? And a few days later you hear the dread C-word. Little did I know that three months later I would have the biopsy and I would hear the C-word.

39:18 - 39:48 Read in full sermon

Driving home: He said, it's very simple. There's a war and Jesus is going to win.

A story of seminary students asking a janitor about his understanding of Revelation, to which he simply replied, 'There's a war and Jesus is going to win,' illustrates the core, comforting truth of Christ's ultimate victory and administrative reign.

Only get a batch of them in the bookstore. I had the privilege of reading it and filling out the recommendation. It's a book on a very straightforward, helpful, non-complicated commentary in the Book of the Revelation by Dr. Verne Poitras.

64:03 - 64:20 Read in full sermon