Basic Assumptions

The point: Go to the Scriptures and seek to derive from the Scriptures what it means to have God as our Father, rather than attaching perverted concepts of fatherhood from earthly experiences.

Martin warns against attaching perverted, twisted concepts of fatherhood (from earthly experiences) to the notion of God as Father, urging listeners to derive their understanding from Scripture instead.

And God has sent forth the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, calling us to cry, Abba, that is, Father. And now when we think of God as our Father through the work of Christ, we must not attach to the notion of Father the perverted, twisted concepts of fatherhood that we may have experienced in our own homes. Rather, we must go to the Scriptures and seek to derive from the Scriptures what it means to have God as our Father. And I'm convinced that with reference to the matter of singleness, it is doubly essential for every single man or woman of marriageable age

11:59 - 12:41 Read in full sermon

The point: Reckon with the matter of your own singleness with a Spirit-given understanding of the Father's perfectly knowledgeable concern.

He uses the example of children who are absolutely confident in their parents' love and knowledge, sharing everything without embarrassment, to illustrate how Christians should approach their Heavenly Father.

When a father has a wholesome relationship to his children and they are confident of his love, there is nothing they will not share. Now at times it borders on the ridiculous, it sometimes becomes very embarrassing for parents who have children who are absolutely confident that since mom and dad know them, there's nothing that's worth hiding from them anyway. I wonder, has this really gripped you, that your Heavenly Father, if you are in the family of God through faith in Christ, has a perfect knowledge of what you are, not just as a human being, not just as one human being, but you, that whic...

15:25 - 16:08 Read in full sermon

The point: Have your eyes open to behold the presently active concern of your Father, which is a point of faith and not of sight.

Martin recounts Satan's temptation of Jesus after His forty-day fast ('If thou be the Son of God, turn these stones to bread') to illustrate how the devil attacks the present activity of God's concern, suggesting God would withhold good.

The devil will attack the child of God at this point. The present activity of the concern of God. You remember how he threw this in the teeth of our Lord? If thou be the Son of God, then certain in God your father loves you.

18:23 - 18:37 Read in full sermon

The point: Have your eyes open to behold the presently active concern of your Father, which is a point of faith and not of sight.

He references the taunt thrown at Christ on the cross ('You said God was your father... Let that God deliver you now') to further illustrate the devil's attack on God's present concern and the need for faith.

He doesn't delight to see you after a forty-day fast, continuing in hunger. Turn these stones to bread. Surely your father will give you leave to gratify an appetite that he has given. Remember how the taunt was thrown in the teeth of our Lord upon the cross?

18:37 - 18:55 Read in full sermon

Driving home: What was the greatest obstacle in the way of your redemption and mine? Well, the greatest obstacle was this. How can God be just and pardon the guilty?

Martin uses the rhetorical question 'Why aren't you in hell tonight?' to powerfully demonstrate God's lovingkindness and His powerful disposition to our highest good, as the only reason for salvation.

He hath not dealt with us after our sins, nor rewarded us after our iniquities. For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is his lovingkindness towards them that fear him. Why aren't you in hell tonight? There's only one reason.

20:47 - 21:07 Read in full sermon

The point: Learn to rest, to sink down into the arms of a God who is powerfully disposed to your highest good.

He uses the metaphors of a 'celestial killjoy' and 'Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde' to describe the blasphemous unbelief that suspects God wills eternal salvation but consigns to temporal misery, challenging this false view of God's character.

Or is there a burning suspicion that somehow he's the celestial killjoy who's guilty of the grossest form of schizophrenia? He's a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde who can will my eternal salvation but who consigns me to temporal misery, a life of singleness.

25:11 - 25:34 Read in full sermon

The point: Consider the peculiar problems and needs of single, saved, earnest Christians in the full conviction that our Father knows us, is presently and actively concerned, and is powerfully disposed to our highest interests.

Martin draws an analogy to a parent seeing their child losing blood on a hospital bed, asking if the father knows, cares, or will withhold what is good, to show that the problem of trusting God's concern is universal, not just for singles.

losing blood on a hospital bed, and pulse growing weaker? What do I do as a father with children? I have to reckon with the same issue. Does my father know?

26:42 - 26:55 Read in full sermon

Driving home: It should be an occasion of amazement to us, though seldom it is to our shame, that the God of heaven would actually embody his mind in the words of Scripture.

He imagines God speaking with a thundering voice from Mount Sinai, only for people to argue about the precise words, to illustrate the kindness of God in giving His mind in written Scripture, preventing such confusion.

We say, oh, if God would only run to heavens and speak. Can you imagine what would happen if right now there was a thundering such as there was upon Mount Sinai when God came down in smoke and thunder? And out of that thunder came a voice and said, I, Jehovah, God of heaven and earth, am about to speak to you. Listen carefully as I speak.

27:49 - 28:08 Read in full sermon

The point: Pray, 'Lord, the problem is not with your word. The problem is with my own sight. Open thou my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.'

Martin states that his personal opinions 'aren't worth a wooden nickel' when compared to the directives of God's Word, emphasizing the binding authority of Scripture over human thoughts.

Jesus said, Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you. Now this means that my opinions on matters aren't worth a wooden nickel this weekend. When we come to discussions, if you ask my opinion about something, I shall try to be careful and say that's my opinion. That's not a directive from the word of God.

33:23 - 33:45 Read in full sermon

The point: Pray for a good night's sleep to come refreshed to hear God's word.

He describes himself as a 'clever rationalizer' who can bend the 'arrows of conviction' so they deflect from his heart, illustrating the human tendency to resist God's Word and praying for submission.

it, Lord. You know it. I'm so clever that I can take the arrows of conviction, and I can bend them just as they're about to strike my heart so they just completely deflect, and they end up in the wall. Lord, help me to have those hands that take your arrows and push them away, tied behind me in loving submission. Lord, bring your arrows home to

37:38 - 37:59 Read in full sermon