Life of Faith

Driving home: Therefore take heart, be of good courage, men, for I believe God that it will be just as it was told me. Take heart, for I believe God that it will be just as it was told me.

The proverb 'one picture is worth a thousand words' is used to explain why the Bible often uses history and biography: to illustrate and confirm doctrines through real people and circumstances, making abstract truths more tangible.

Now most of us have heard and perhaps heard many times the familiar proverb or aphorism that one picture is worth a thousand words. And if I were to ask you children to explain that little aphorism or proverb, I think most of you could do it. It tries to capture the fact that there are some things that are more clearly perceived by seeing and observing than by hearing elaborate descriptions about them. If we were trying to explain to someone who had never seen a brilliant southern Florida sunset, it would be far easier to take a wide-angled photograph of one such sunset and say, Here is what I...

6:44 - 8:12 Read in full sermon

Driving home: No, Luke says that all hope that we would be saved was finally given up. Now, do you see why I call this a startling exhortation? In the midst of that situation, Paul says, buck up, be of good cheer, get rid of your univ…

The recent hurricane Bertha is referenced to help the audience visualize the 'tremendous turbulence' of the seas during Paul's storm, making the ancient event more relatable.

These would be winds of hurricane or cyclonic force and with them would come what many of us have seen on our televisions in recent days with the hurricane Bertha that moved up the coast, tremendous turbulence in the seas and from the quiet tranquil seas supposing they were going to have a very uneventful journey, suddenly these unusual winds These unusual winds come down upon them, and the ship is caught. No longer can the helmsman plot his course and set his sails, but they are driven by the wind. And we read that things began to get so bad that they not only had to take their large lifeboat...

11:51 - 13:12 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin dismisses common, inadequate explanations for Paul's courage (optimism, positive thinking, miracle-working). He presents Paul's own explanation: a word of reassurance from…

The common definitions of an optimist (always expecting sun) and a pessimist (always expecting rain) are used to clarify that Paul's courage was not mere psychological optimism but grounded in something deeper.

Though it's a startling exhortation, the apostle gives what I trust to you is a satisfactory explanation of that exhortation. We could ask the question, What explanation can be given for Paul's exhortation, given the preceding circumstances, the predicted events, and the subsequent events? What explanation can be given for such an exhortation? Was Paul what we commonly call the eternal optimist? You know what an optimist is. That's the one who wakes up in the morning, and there's not a hole in the cloudy, thick, murky skies. It's raining. Cats and dogs. He says to his wife, I'm so glad it's ra...

19:33 - 20:23 Read in full sermon

Driving home: I have had a word of reassurance from my God that all will be well with us. And I believe him. That's the satisfying explanation for his startling exhortation.

Robert Schuller, known for his 'plastic smile' and 'positive thoughts,' is cited as an example of a superficial approach to cheerfulness that Paul's faith is explicitly not.

Well, was he a Robert Shuler born before his time? You know who Robert Shuler is? The man with the plastic smile who says, Cheer up. Think positive thoughts. Life is beautiful. Life is rosy.

20:56 - 21:11 Read in full sermon

Driving home: Reality is not determined by what you see and what you think will be, but reality is determined by what God says will be. And I believe.

Martin vividly imagines Paul raising his voice and hand amidst the heaving, creaking ship, the crashing waves, and the despairing, seasick men, to underscore the startling nature of his exhortation to 'take heart'.

looking out into the heaving sea, hearing the creaking of the planking on that ship, seeing every single visible sign of imminent danger, He raises His voice and I cannot conceive of Him doing it without a raised hand, though it's not in the text. Men, give to a cheer, take heart, crash, bang, creak, heave. Maybe some were hanging over the gunwales, losing whatever food they had attempted to take, though most of them, it says, were fasting for days. Get the picture.

30:38 - 31:17 Read in full sermon

The point: Plant your feet on God's promise to provide for your needs if you seek His kingdom first, making principled decisions even at financial expense.

The decay of the human body and the prospect of burial are contrasted with the sure promise of resurrection, illustrating how faith rests on God's word even in the face of physical reality.

is no word from God that says, earnest, believing, godly Christians can be and ought to be delivered from all physical harm. And when people try to get others to muster up faith that they can be healed, it's a fanatical faith, for it has no word from God to which it can align itself and say, it shall be even as it has been spoken. Can I say of this body, with the seeds of death in it, with the passing of the years, more and more of those seeds germinate and we become conscious. In this way and in that way that indeed our outward man is decaying and heading for the grave, can we look into the c...

50:30 - 51:41 Read in full sermon

The point: Be men and women of faith, prepared to take God's promises and believe they will come to pass, especially in challenging ministry endeavors.

The mission fields of Newark and Manhattan, seen as 'bastions of immorality and wickedness,' are compared to Corinth and Ephesus to illustrate that God's power can plant truth even in the most challenging environments, if men and women of faith are present.

The essence of that faith is the conviction that what God says is and what God says shall be, will be. While all the while remembering the handmaiden of faith, that inevitable accompaniment of faith, using every legitimate means, in every pursuit that is according to the will of God. What is needed more than anything else in this place, in the leadership of this church, surely it is this, men and women of faith. Men and women prepared to take the promises of God that are yes and amen in Christ, and to believe that it shall be, even as it has been spoken. As we think of these endeavors, in the ...

61:10 - 62:36 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin describes how Paul's act of giving thanks and eating in the midst of the storm encouraged everyone else to take heart and eat, demonstrating the contagious nature of…

Martin imagines Paul holding onto the rigging, giving thanks, and eating amidst the violent storm, demonstrating his concrete, visible confidence in God's word, which then encouraged the other sailors.

I wonder how he held on while he gave thanks. See, as I say it, your imagination just goes in a number of directions. The ship is heaving. The planks are creaking.

63:36 - 63:46 Read in full sermon