The Adoration of the Angelic Host

Driving home: This was a multitude of the army of God who are mighty in strength, who wait upon the will and word of God, and accomplish his purposes.

Martin contrasts the common effeminate image of angels with biblical descriptions of them as mighty warriors, emphasizing their strength and purpose in God's army.

a multitude of the army of heaven, we must forever erase from our minds this notion of rather effeminate looking winged creatures who would be the very same as the angels. And when we read that in the sequel to the angels' glorious good news that there was appearing with this particular angel singular, we must forever erase from our minds this notion of rather effeminate looking winged creatures who would be the very same as the angels. This was a multitude of the army of God who are mighty in strength, who wait upon the will and word of God, and accomplish his purposes. And throughout redempt...

12:55 - 13:36 Read in full sermon

Driving home: This was a multitude of the army of God who are mighty in strength, who wait upon the will and word of God, and accomplish his purposes.

He cites examples of angels bringing destruction (Syrians, Sodom and Gomorrah) and appearing as chariots of fire to Elisha's servant, reinforcing their role as powerful agents of God's will.

of the most frightening missions of judgment upon men. It was angels that went forth from forth and brought destruction to the entire camp of the Syrians by the thousands. It was an angel who came and brought judgment upon Sodom and Gomorrah, or at least announced that coming judgment. And you'll remember in 2 Kings, when the prophet Elisha is going out and facing the camp of the Syrians, and his servant with him is fearful. He says, O Lord, open his eyes. And when

13:36 - 14:12 Read in full sermon

Driving home: This was a multitude of the army of God who are mighty in strength, who wait upon the will and word of God, and accomplish his purposes.

Jesus' statement about being able to call 'twelve legions of angels' is used to further illustrate their military might and purpose for rescue, not gentle fanning.

in this passage, we must think of the angels in biblical terms. You'll remember Jesus described them in military terms as well. In Matthew 26 and verse 53, when they came to apprehend our Lord, he said, don't you think that I could even now ask my father and he would send me what? Twelve legions of angels, a legion being 6,000. He said, if my word, 72,000 angels would come to do what?

14:42 - 15:12 Read in full sermon

Driving home: The suddenness was intended to underscore the sovereignty of this revelation of God. Heaven was coming down. Heaven was coming down to earth with a ruthless graciousness.

Martin contrasts the gradual, human-initiated approach to spiritual reality in Eastern religions and cults with the sudden, sovereign intrusion of God's revelation to the shepherds, highlighting God's gracious initiative.

Heaven was coming down to earth with a ruthless graciousness. You see, in all of man's efforts to pick himself up by his own bootstraps and, as it were, to elevate himself into the world of spiritual reality, the element of gradualness and the length of time it takes for a man to get into the proper frame where he is susceptible to the spirit world, that's the emphasis. That's the emphasis. That's the emphasis.

20:47 - 21:19 Read in full sermon

Driving home: If it does, my friend, your attachment to the passage may be predominantly sentimental. Because the significance is not the form in which the words came, but the substance of the words themselves.

He challenges listeners' potential disappointment that angels 'said' rather than 'sang,' suggesting that such disappointment indicates a sentimental attachment rather than focus on the substance of the message.

And the overriding use of the word for communication, praising God and saying, would indicate that they did not sing. That this was some kind of a verbal chant or expression. That it came not in a musical form. Now, does that disappoint you?

24:09 - 24:29 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin addresses the textual variant in Luke 2:14, explaining the difference between 'goodwill towards men' and 'peace among men in whom he is well pleased.' He concludes that…

Martin briefly breaks his own rule against turning the sanctuary into a Greek classroom to explain the textual variant of 'eudokia' versus 'eudokias' and its impact on translation.

Well you say, how in the world do you get this diversity? Well I've often told the men in the academy classes on preaching never turn the sanctuary into a Greek classroom or a classroom on Greek. But I must break my own canon very briefly this morning. And it all hinges on the presence or absence of one letter.

27:07 - 27:28 Read in full sermon

Driving home: The acts of God in redemption are the most brilliant manifestation of His glory.

He references Psalm 19 and its musical composition to acknowledge that creation shows God's glory, but then argues redemption reveals it even more brilliantly.

Why is that the first part of their praise? Well, here's the simple reason, and may God help us to lay hold of it, that the acts of God in redemption are the most brilliant manifestation of His glory. The acts of God in redemption are the most brilliant manifestation of His glory. Now, the work of God in creation shows His glory. Psalm 19, the heavens declare the glory of

33:33 - 34:09 Read in full sermon

Driving home: The acts of God in redemption are the most brilliant manifestation of His glory.

He uses the complexity of the cell/atom (microcosm) and the vastness of the heavens (macrocosm) to illustrate God's wisdom in creation, then argues the incarnation surpasses these displays.

Worlds, galaxies come into being out of the womb of nothing when God speaks. You talk about power. You talk about wisdom. We heard in the earlier hour something of the wisdom of God manifested in the microcosm.

34:44 - 35:00 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: The first component of the angels' praise is 'Glory to God in the highest.' Martin argues that God's acts in redemption, particularly the incarnation, are the most brilliant…

He uses Peter's statement about angels desiring to 'look into' these things, comparing it to stooping down to peek into the empty grave, to illustrate their intense interest in redemption.

And the very verb for look into is the one used in Luke and in John, where they came and stooped down to look into the empty grave. What a beautiful picture. Peter says, angels desire to down and peek into these. They desire to.

38:46 - 39:07 Read in full sermon

Driving home: The Bible clearly teaches that human sin has made God our enemy.

He explains that for a Hebrew mind, 'shalom' (peace) was shorthand for all the glorious blessings of God's covenant mercy, not just a casual greeting.

For a Hebrew mind, peace or shalom was the verbal shorthand for all the glorious blessings of the God of covenant mercy and faithfulness. And when you met a fellow Hebrew and said shalom, you just weren't saying peace, brother, peace.

40:15 - 40:32 Read in full sermon

The point: Receive the fundamental word of instruction that God's glory applies across every aspect of life and God's dealings, including how He applies salvation.

He illustrates that God does not forgive sin without punishing it, but sends His Son to bear sin and wrath, crying 'My God, why have you forsaken me?', to uphold His justice and glory.

And so when God would save sinners it must be in a way that does not stain the glory of His holiness. He doesn't just reach out arms of unprincipled pity and draw a sinful man to himself and say, alright, you all goofed, you all blew it, but let's forget it. I love you, you steal, no, no. He must send His own Son and that Son must live in a condition of abject poverty.

49:42 - 50:08 Read in full sermon

The point: Beware of the notion that the Christmas message is a humanistic call for everyone to get along and live in peace, separate from Christ.

He critiques the common notion of the 'Christmas spirit' as a humanistic call to civility and peace, arguing it turns angels into heralds of self-help rather than Christ's unique peace.

When people talk in their sentimental way about the Christmas spirit, that's what they're talking about. They've turned these angels into heralds of humanism. Now you people have got it in you. You just don't stop and work at it enough.

52:28 - 52:44 Read in full sermon