Lessons About God and Life of Faith

In this part of the sermon: Martin details the explicit command of God for Elijah to go to Zarephath, the sure word of promise that a widow would sustain him, Elijah's implicit obedience despite the dangers…

God gives Elijah precise directions to Zarephath, like giving a city, state, and county, to ensure no indefiniteness, highlighting God's clarity in His commands.

Here was an explicit command of God, and the moment it came to Elijah, Elijah knew what the Lord wanted him to do. He wanted him to go from this pleasant retreat in which he had been hiding for some months, possibly about a year, and as the crow flies, and there were no jet planes then, but as the crow flies, go to a place that was approximately 120 miles from where he now was, through howling wildernesses, through mountain passes, right into the very area where Jezebel's father was a king. And he knew this. We're back in chapter 7.

6:27 - 7:06 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin details the explicit command of God for Elijah to go to Zarephath, the sure word of promise that a widow would sustain him, Elijah's implicit obedience despite the dangers…

Elijah's journey to Zarephath is compared to an hour's walk to relatives, contrasting the simplicity of the narrative with the arduous reality of a 120-mile wilderness journey, emphasizing his implicit obedience.

Just. Went. To Zarephath. Just like it was about an hour's walk to the relatives, you know, down the road a piece.

10:06 - 10:12 Read in full sermon

The point: Learn the lessons about God's absolute sovereignty, trustworthiness, judgments, and inscrutable ways to be strong and serve God in our generation.

Martin describes how God often presses the same important lesson upon a believer through personal devotions, Sunday School, and congregational meetings, indicating its vital importance, just as He did with Elijah.

Now, some of you have mentioned how personal the word of God is to the people of Israel. And I think that's a very important lesson. I think that's a very important lesson. You probably have had a lesson that's important to you and perhaps, in your own devotions during the week, you've been reading something and God has been pressing a certain lesson upon your mind.

12:31 - 12:43 Read in full sermon

The point: Learn the lessons about God's absolute sovereignty, trustworthiness, judgments, and inscrutable ways to be strong and serve God in our generation.

The widow appearing at the city gate precisely when Elijah arrives is presented as a 'strange coincidence' to the world, but an evidence of God's providence to the child of God, demonstrating God's sovereignty over timing.

sovereignty of God in this paragraph? Well, in the first place, we see his sovereignty in the realm of God. We see his sovereignty in the realm of God. We see his sovereignty in the realm of of providence. Now what is providence? I answer the question from the shorter catechism. God's works of providence are his most holy, wise, and powerful, preserving and governing all his creatures and all their actions. We read in the narrative, so he arose, verse 10, and went to Zarephath, a journey of many days, or several days at least, and it says with artless simplicity, when he came to the gate of th...

13:55 - 14:48 Read in full sermon

The point: Learn the lessons about God's absolute sovereignty, trustworthiness, judgments, and inscrutable ways to be strong and serve God in our generation.

The precise timing of Elijah's arrival and the widow's appearance is likened to someone knowing a commuter train schedule, highlighting God's meticulous orchestration of events, even when the human actors are unaware.

And here God so ordered the planning of Elijah's day that at the precise moment that he comes up to the gate of the city and not three minutes before, a woman happens to come out of the gate of the city. You'd think here that she knew he was coming in on the 617 commuter train. I mean, the way you read it here, it's as though she knew he was coming at the precise time she's going to meet him at 617. Now, she wasn't going out to meet a prophet.

15:18 - 15:46 Read in full sermon

The point: Have tremendous confidence in God's absolute sovereignty over the free actions of men when their decisions affect God's plan for your life.

The widow's initial kindness to Elijah is described as what she might perceive as 'a little bit of the milk of human kindness,' but Martin reveals that behind it was the 'vice-operation of a sovereign God,' demonstrating God's sovereignty over human will.

Remember, God had said to the prophet, I have commanded a widow to sustain. And why was she kind? She was kind because God was working in her spirit and in her heart to make her kindly disposed to the prophet. She, perhaps, was unconscious of that when she felt, Well, I ought to get this poor, funny-looking fellow here in his hairy coat and his bushy beard.

18:20 - 18:42 Read in full sermon

The point: Have tremendous confidence in God's absolute sovereignty over the free actions of men when their decisions affect God's plan for your life.

The scenario of Mr. Harrison refusing to sell land is used to illustrate that when human decisions affect God's plan, believers should not despair because God has absolute sovereignty over the 'free actions of men,' providing confidence in God's control.

And oh, what a lesson for us as God's people. In all of our dealings with men, where their decisions and their actions and reactions affect the plan and purpose of God for our lives, what tremendous confidence it gives to know He has an absolute sovereignty, not over, only over the details of providence, not over financial circumstances, but over the free actions of men. So when Mr. Harrison says, no, I'm not disposed to sell you that hunk of land right now.

19:05 - 19:34 Read in full sermon

The point: Pray for God to move the right person to sit next to you on a train or plane for evangelism.

Praying for God to move someone to sit next to you on a train or plane for evangelism illustrates how God sovereignly orchestrates seemingly free choices of men to accomplish His purposes, even without their conscious awareness.

What a tremendous, thrilling experience this can be if we have the confidence that Elijah had as God taught him this lesson that His God who promised to meet his need could do so because He can command widows. He can work in what we think are the free acts of men to accomplish His own sovereign purpose for His people. When you go to take a trip somewhere on a train or a plane, you ought always to pray, Lord, you move the person to sit next to me that you want me to talk to about you. And he may just come by and he thinks, oh, well, there's a nice looking guy or he looks like a quiet guy or she...

20:07 - 20:45 Read in full sermon

Driving home: Ultimately, for even so, Father, it seemed good in thy sight. Even so, Father, it seemed good in thy sight. The absolute sovereignty of God in the realm of grace.

Jesus's 'must needs go through Samaria' is used as an example of God's sovereign grace, where a seemingly indirect route was necessary to reach a specific 'other sheep' (the Samaritan woman), illustrating God's determination to gather His chosen.

And this woman was probably one of those other sheep that the Lord had purposed to gather. And if He's got to move a prophet from a hidden retreat 120 miles through wilderness and over mountain passes to get to that sheep, He'll get her. He'll get her. Remember it said of our Lord Jesus, He must needs go through Samaria.

23:30 - 23:52 Read in full sermon

Driving home: I am to be trusted, not because what I promise seems reasonable, but because what I promise is the word of myself. I am God. And don't trust me because it seems reasonable, trust me because I am God.

God sending Elijah to a widow is compared to sending a prophet to a poverty-stricken area like Augusta, Georgia, to be sustained by someone on relief, highlighting the strangeness and unreasonableness of God's command from a human perspective, yet demanding trust.

This was the day before social security, insurance benefits, when widows can take up jobs and work. No. This would be like saying, you think of the most poverty-stricken area you've ever been in. I think of some of the areas where I ministered down in Augusta, Georgia, where people literally lived in shacks.

28:08 - 28:27 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: The second lesson about God is His absolute trustworthiness. Martin shows how God's command and promise to Elijah seemed strange and unreasonable, yet God is to be trusted not…

Abraham considering his and Sarah's old, 'dead' bodies yet believing God's promise of a son is used as a vivid example of absolute trustworthiness, emphasizing that faith trusts God's word despite contradictory natural facts.

And without being weakened in faith, he considered his own body, the King James says he considered not. That shouldn't be. He considered his own body, now as good as dead. He said, alright, God promised me something.

29:56 - 30:09 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: The second lesson about God is His absolute trustworthiness. Martin shows how God's command and promise to Elijah seemed strange and unreasonable, yet God is to be trusted not…

Abraham's neighbors bragging about their growing families while he was childless is used to illustrate the social pressure and reproach he faced, making his faith in God's promise even more remarkable and glorifying to God.

And he glorifies God and says, Lord, the promise will yet be fulfilled. No doubt people thought that with age, senility was creeping in. Poor old Abraham. He got some sentimental hopes he's still going to be a daddy someday.

31:59 - 32:14 Read in full sermon

The point: Fear any attitude of despising the pure preaching of the word of God, lest God give you up to smooth words of false prophets.

Martin warns Trinity Church against seeking a 'more positive' ministry that avoids offending people once they have a respectable building, stating that such a compromise would be a 'frightful judgment' from God, preferring an earthquake to such a ministry.

That's a frightful judgment from God. Frightful. May it never come upon the Trinity Church. But never forget, if in the process of time when God moves us into a building of our own and we have the respectability of having some brick and mortar, though we're not quite respectable in the eyes of some yet as we meet in the gymnasium, we ever get to the place where we say, well, you know, now that we've got a respectable building and more people have come in, maybe we ought to have a kind of ministry that's a little more positive.

36:45 - 37:22 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin discusses God's fearful judgments, particularly in bypassing Israelite widows to send Elijah to a Gentile, as a foreshadowing of Israel's rejection. He also highlights the…

Applying business world principles (amassing the best men, techniques, programs) to the church is presented as a blight, contrasting it with God's inscrutable ways of choosing the weak and foolish to accomplish His purposes, emphasizing that God's ways are not man's ways.

For who hath known the mind of the Lord, or being his counselor, hath taught him? You can't bring the principles that operate in the business world and in the educational world and then impose them upon the church and try to operate the church that way. Many an evangelical church is blighted because people won't acknowledge the inscrutability of the ways of God. His ways are not our ways.

39:42 - 40:05 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin transitions to lessons about the life of faith. He argues that faith must be tested and tried to be strengthened, must have a specific word from God to plead in prayer, and…

Abraham's lack of confidence in God's promise leading him to have a child by Hagar, which 'plagued the nation of Israel for centuries,' illustrates how human scheming when faith is shaken leads to long-term negative consequences.

Do I believe we shall yet cradle an infant in my arms, our arms? Now at times his faith weakened and when he went out, helped God fulfill the promise and had a child by Hagar, he plagued the nation of Israel for centuries to come.

42:55 - 43:10 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin transitions to lessons about the life of faith. He argues that faith must be tested and tried to be strengthened, must have a specific word from God to plead in prayer, and…

Churches adopting secular business and educational principles when God's way seems difficult is presented as a blight on 'unborn generations in the future of that church ministry,' illustrating the long-term negative impact of human scheming over faith.

That so often happens to us. Our confidence in God is shaken and so we begin to scheme and plan and the fruits of our scheming plague us and others to the end of our days. This happens in churches time after time when the way of God seems so difficult and so they scheme and plan and incorporate the principles of the secular business world and the secular educational world. and they blight unborn generations in the future of that church ministry.

43:11 - 43:40 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin transitions to lessons about the life of faith. He argues that faith must be tested and tried to be strengthened, must have a specific word from God to plead in prayer, and…

Jesus coming to the disciples in the 'fourth watch of the night' during a terrible storm, when all hope seemed gone, illustrates how faith is tested and strengthened through delay and seemingly impossible circumstances.

No, if our faith is to be strengthened, it must be tested, it must be tried. This principle is found throughout the entirety of Scripture, particularly in the Gospels. When the disciples are trying to row against that terrible storm, when does the Lord come to them? Not in the first watch of the night, not in the second, not in the third, but in the what?

43:41 - 43:59 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin transitions to lessons about the life of faith. He argues that faith must be tested and tried to be strengthened, must have a specific word from God to plead in prayer, and…

Jesus delaying His arrival until Lazarus had been dead for four days, when all hope was gone, illustrates how faith is tested and strengthened through delay and seemingly impossible circumstances.

In the fourth watch of the night, the Lord comes. Fourth watch. Just when all hope seems to be gone, He comes walking on the water. Remember the message came, come on down, Lazarus is sick, come and raise him up.

44:00 - 44:13 Read in full sermon

The point: When brooks dry up and human resources are gone, wait and cling in confidence to God's promise, rather than scheming your own way out.

Jesus waiting until Jairus's daughter died, despite being called when she was sick, illustrates how faith is tested and strengthened through delay and seemingly impossible circumstances.

All hope gone. Faith being tested. Faith being tested. The nobleman, I'm sorry, Jairus' daughter, waits until she dies.

44:24 - 44:32 Read in full sermon

The point: When brooks dry up and human resources are gone, wait and cling in confidence to God's promise, rather than scheming your own way out.

The Syrophoenician woman's persistent plea despite Jesus's initial ignore, refusal, and insult, illustrates how faith is tested and strengthened through adversity.

The message comes while she's still alive. He waits until she's dead. What's the purpose of all of this? That Syrophoenician woman who came, crying out for help for her daughter.

44:32 - 44:42 Read in full sermon

The point: When brooks dry up and human resources are gone, wait and cling in confidence to God's promise, rather than scheming your own way out.

The testing of faith is compared to exercise for an athlete, strengthening muscle fiber, to explain how trials develop and strengthen a believer's hope and confidence in God.

To test her faith. For the testing of faith is to the believer what exercise is to the athlete. It strengthens the muscle fiber.

44:48 - 44:56 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin transitions to lessons about the life of faith. He argues that faith must be tested and tried to be strengthened, must have a specific word from God to plead in prayer, and…

The widow's continued faith in God's promise after Elijah leaves, even when the meal and oil were at their last bit, illustrates that faith rests on the naked promise of God, not on the presence of a prophet.

All the while he's been here, that word that he gave me has been true. I've gone to bed some nights and the cruise was empty. I took out the last bit of oil.

47:48 - 47:57 Read in full sermon

The point: If there is a withholding of material supply, it is a call to prayer and searching of heart for disobedience or unbelief, not to scheming.

The common sentiment 'they just don't work for me' regarding God's promises is addressed, highlighting that promises only work in the path of obedience, not disobedience.

There'd be no manna out there camping in the territory of their own choosing. And so often the fact that the promises of God we say and let's be honest there's some of us in our hearts who say they just don't work for me. They work for George Muller and they may work for the pastor and may work for Miss so-and-so and Mr. so-and-so but they don't work for me.

52:54 - 53:14 Read in full sermon

The point: If there is a withholding of material supply, it is a call to prayer and searching of heart for disobedience or unbelief, not to scheming.

David's statement 'I made haste and delayed not to keep thy commandments' is quoted to emphasize the importance of immediate obedience, contrasting it with delayed obedience which becomes disobedience.

The moment God said go to Zarephath he packed his duds and he went. Immediate. David said, I made haste and delayed not to keep thy commandments. Delayed obedience always ends up as downright disobedience.

54:46 - 54:59 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: This section reinforces that God's promises are contingent upon obedience, illustrating how disobedience hinders blessing. Martin briefly touches on Elijah's immediate…

Saul's partial obedience is used as an example of not doing 'all that God said,' highlighting that anything less than complete obedience is disobedience.

If you don't obey when the issue is fresh and the consequences is sensitive it isn't long before you disobey. And there's no indication that he questioned God. He just did what God said and he did all that God said not like Saul who gave partial obedience. And then there's a tremendous lesson about the principle of giving.

54:59 - 55:17 Read in full sermon