Seeking the Face of God

Driving home: If we meet with trouble in the way of duty, we may believe it is that God may have an opportunity of showing so much more of His marvelous lovingkindness.

Martin quotes Matthew Henry's comment that trouble in the way of duty provides God an opportunity to show His marvelous lovingkindness, illustrating that the crisis came to Judah not due to disobedience but in the path of duty.

And then, we looked into the passage, verses 1 through 4 of 2 Chronicles 20, and considered the general circumstances of the time of this crisis. And all I will do to review is to read a quaint comment that I discovered in Matthew Henry when I was reading his account of this passage today. He said, If we meet with trouble in the way of duty, we may believe it is that God may have an opportunity of showing so much more of His marvelous lovingkindness. This crisis came to Judah and to Jehoshaphat the king, not on the heels of disobedience, but on the heels of a great revival and reformation. And...

4:06 - 5:26 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin analyzes the first component of Jehoshaphat's prayer: a conscious remembrance and reiteration of God's nature and character, including His covenant grace, unrivaled…

The frenzied, wild-eyed wailing and self-mutilation of the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel is contrasted with the intelligent, earnest, biblical prayer of Jehoshaphat, highlighting the difference between unbelieving and God-honoring prayer.

They did not gather together and wring their hands in some kind of an emotional frenzy. There was no wild eyed, mindless screeching out of unbelieving wailing in the presence of an unconcerned and a distant deity. That's what you had on Mount Carmel. They cut themselves with lances.

18:40 - 19:03 Read in full sermon

Driving home: I have no sympathy for those that say theology is detached, abstract, has no relationship to life. You try to tell Jehoshaphat that. There's a sense in which his theology stood between him and those armies and was the on…

Martin contrasts Jehoshaphat's recitation of theology in prayer with writing an essay for a theology exam, emphasizing that theology is not abstract but vital for comfort and strength in real-life crises.

And if you choose to say thus far and no far, you can stop them twenty yards from the gates of Jerusalem. There is the conscious remembrance, conscious remembrance of God. The conscious reiteration of the nature and the character of God. What we have here is pure, vigorous, intelligent theology coming out in prayer. This is theology proper. This is the doctrine of God that had been infused into the spirit and mind of Jehoshaphat. He was not writing these things for an exam in theology at the Trinity Ministerial Academy.

27:54 - 28:33 Read in full sermon

The point: This will be the sheet anchor to our souls as we pass through this crisis. And whatever crisis God has for us in the future, it is our knowledge of God. They that know their God shall be strong and do exploits. Be still …

The story of the Queen of Sheba's visit to Solomon's temple is recounted to illustrate how the glory of God's presence in the temple was recognized and proclaimed, connecting God's past deeds to His present presence among His people.

then he moves from that contemplation of God's past conquest to this gracious reality he had made his people his peculiar dwelling and in a special way the temple the place of his presence it was not enough that they were planted if they were without God after they were planted and so when all of the warfare was over you remember David had in his heart to build a house and God says no you're a man of blood but your son after you in days of peace will erect that symbol of my presence and Solomon erects that magnificent temple in the glory of God so fills it that even the priests can enter and t...

33:18 - 34:46 Read in full sermon

The point: This will be the sheet anchor to our souls as we pass through this crisis. And whatever crisis God has for us in the future, it is our knowledge of God. They that know their God shall be strong and do exploits. Be still …

Martin shares personal anecdotes of God's past provision for Trinity Baptist Church, including the acquisition of their parsonage and the current building, to encourage the congregation to remember God's faithfulness in their own history.

well it must not only be that which God is in himself God of covenant grace and faithfulness unrivaled supremacy absolute sovereignty absolute omnipotence but is he not the God who has wrought mighty conquests for us this morning after we had prayed for some time and felt we needed a break and a change of posture and then came back there were few of us still gathered and I began to share some of God's past conquests for this people and what a thrill it was to reiterate what God has done to plant us in this place as a congregation of his own choosing to reiterate the mighty victories that God h...

34:46 - 36:15 Read in full sermon

The point: This will be the sheet anchor to our souls as we pass through this crisis. And whatever crisis God has for us in the future, it is our knowledge of God. They that know their God shall be strong and do exploits. Be still …

Martin vividly describes the dilapidated state of the church building when they first acquired it (reeking of stale beer, dirty, shambles) and the conviction that 'this is what God has given us,' illustrating God's gracious provision and presence transforming a physical space.

building and everything and then the day we stood in this place that reeked of the smell of stale beer the floors had not been stripped in 50 years they were a dark ugly brown this place was completely cleared there were eggs that had been thrown upon the walls it was a shambles it was dirty it was filthy and we stood at that back door and we looked at one another and said this is what God has given us and the conviction was sealed to our hearts and we looked back didst not thou plant us this is what God has done and then above all else he has given us the seal of his special presence and what...

36:15 - 37:42 Read in full sermon

The point: Woe be unto you if you reverse the order you get the problem so before your eyeballs that you can't see God Moses endured why seeing him who is invisible

The example of Moses enduring by 'seeing him who is invisible' while the Israelites only saw the Red Sea and Egyptians is used to illustrate the importance of seeing God clearly before addressing the problem.

that you can't see God Moses endured why seeing him who is invisible all the children of Israel saw was Egyptians coming behind them Red Sea in front of them mountains to the left mountains to the right and they said man we're in a pickle would to God we'd died back there but Moses endured seeing him who is invisible now that's what happened to Jehoshaphat his eyes clear with the vision of God his mind is full of remembrance of the deeds of God and now he turns to this God and says now Lord behold now Lord take a look at the mess we're in behold the children of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir wh...

39:12 - 40:40 Read in full sermon

The point: We have to say Lord that coalition is going to drive us out of business added to that problem Lord we have no might against it and we don't have a clue for what to do about it.

The story of Joshua and Jericho is used to illustrate that even when God's people have no might, He can make known the path to victory, highlighting the severity of Judah's situation where they had both impotence and ignorance.

you have raised up from our ranks an army competent to handle them if you will bless our fighting or even if they could say Lord we have no might but you've made known to us the path to victory as you made known to Joshua they had no might against Jericho but Lord you told them march around it seven days the seventh day seven times blow your trumpets and the rest and I'll take care see it's one thing to claim impotence but to know what your path is but when you add ignorance to impotence then you're really in a fix and that's precisely where they were and they spread the whole problem before G...

42:09 - 43:37 Read in full sermon

The point: We've tried in these days to resist the temptation to do something oh how strong the temptation has been isn't there something we can do and the little children of our remaining sin tug at us continually saying do this d…

A vivid image of a child tugging at his daddy's shirt, asking to run from the armies, while the father insists on standing before God, illustrates the internal struggle against carnal confidence and the call to patient, believing dependence on God.

if he is God he must and so we can say our eyes are upon thee Lord we believe you are there great head of the church all power in heaven and earth are in your hands and so our eyes are upon you confessing we believe he's there confessing we believe he understands knows our need and will in his time meet that need and that posture of heart is underscored by verse 13 now all Judah stood before the Lord that word stood can mean simply physical posture but in some places it means more than that it means to be presented it's said of Moses in Psalm 106 in verse 23 that Moses stood before the Lord on...

47:57 - 49:24 Read in full sermon

The point: We've tried in these days to resist the temptation to do something oh how strong the temptation has been isn't there something we can do and the little children of our remaining sin tug at us continually saying do this d…

Martin quotes Matthew Henry's quaint description of 'an eye of acknowledgement and of submission, an eye of faith and of utter dependence, an eye of desire and hearty prayer, an eye of hope and patience expectation,' to summarize the meaning of 'our eyes are upon thee'.

we must run stand before God but daddy we gotta do something we are doing something we're standing before the Lord waiting for God to intervene and so we've tried in these days to resist the temptation to do something oh how strong the temptation has been isn't there something we can do and the little children of our remaining sin tug at us continually saying do this do that do this and we have to say to all those little brats shut up we're doing what we're supposed to do we're standing before the Lord we're standing before the Lord believing expectant prayer Matthew Henry again quaintly says ...

49:24 - 50:49 Read in full sermon