Who Worketh All Things

Driving home: God who worketh all things after the counsel, of his own will.

Martin uses Colossians 2:21, "Touch not, taste not, handle not," as an example of a verse that becomes an untruth when wrenched from its context, as temperance societies might do, when the context actually teaches against being subject to men's rules.

Now there are some statements in Holy Scripture, which, if wrenched out of their immediate setting, become absolute untruths. An example is the statement in Colossians, Colossians 2.21, Touch not, taste not, handle not. And so temperance societies, looking for some kind of a buttress to their position, have wrenched Colossians 2.21 out of its setting, and will have in their letterhead such and such a temperance society, Colossians 2.21, Touch not, taste not, handle not. However, when you read the context, you see it's teaching just the opposite. He says, don't be subject to men's rules, for in...

3:00 - 3:48 Read in full sermon

Driving home: We could translate it God who energizes all things according to the counsel of his will.

He uses the analogy of car designers who plan the car but do not execute the assembly, contrasting it with God who both designs the plan for the universe and is actively, powerfully present in its execution, unlike human designers.

As well as given me some innocent diversion and the other day I was reading an article on how your 72 cars will be made and so what it did is it took you back to the beginnings of the 72 cars way back I think about three years ago so it was out of date long before it ever got off the assembly line and it said that the first place the thing starts is with the designers designing engineers and they using their creativity try to create to come up with drawings of what the 72 cars should look like. Well after they come up with some acceptable drawings that are approved they pass their plans on to ...

21:53 - 23:19 Read in full sermon

The point: Let the understanding of God's comprehensive sovereignty provide fuel for intelligent, God-honoring worship, even amidst apparent chaos in the world.

Martin describes watching a young man operate a hand loom at the Larry Mills in Wales, creating intricate tapestry patterns. He uses this to illustrate the complexity of God's work, who, unlike the weaver, manages angels, men, devils, and all of creation with freedom of choice on the 'loom of history and destiny,' working all things after His will.

presently executing that plan you see I have few to worship God in the midst of all the apparent chaos it was Paul's contemplation of this that caused his heart to break loose in this great hymn of praise let me illustrate this past summer as a year ago this past fall when my wife and I were in Wales but then we were there as a family we went to a place about five six miles out of Aberystwyth where they have an old hand loom it's called the Larry Mills and they still weave the fabric in fact the coat that my wife wears in the wintertime that sort of brownish one was made on one of those hand l...

43:57 - 45:23 Read in full sermon

The point: Let the understanding of God's comprehensive sovereignty provide fuel for intelligent, God-honoring worship, even amidst apparent chaos in the world.

He quotes Spurgeon's reflection on the book of Esther, highlighting how God's divine will is accomplished while men remain perfectly free agents, acknowledging the mystery of harmonizing free agency and predestination as fuel for worship rather than detached debate.

things after the counsel of his own will and oh beloved when that grips us it'll send us down on our faces crying out worthy art thou oh lord our God to receive glory and honor and power you find it hard to worship you come in Sunday mornings and meditate on Ephesians 111 let your mind begin to stretch with that biblical concept and you will find solid fuel for intelligent God honoring worship listen to Spurgeon as he speaks on a related theme the theme of providence as it is illustrated in the life of Esther Mordecai and the events with Haman and King Ahasuerus etc and Spurgeon says the thing...

47:29 - 48:58 Read in full sermon