God Appointed Means of Grace

The point: Listen with three ears (physical ears and eyes) with focused attention, because the message is vital for your heart.

Martin uses the analogy of listening with 'three ears' (two physical ears and eyes) to emphasize the importance of visual focus and mental engagement during the sermon, drawing from Luke 4:20 where the eyes of the synagogue were fastened on Jesus.

And I said, I'm not going to tell you what I mean. I'll explain it when I begin to preach. But I want you to listen with three ears this morning. Did you know God has given you three ears with which to listen?

12:01 - 12:15 Read in full sermon

Driving home: However the same Bible teaches with equal clarity that the God who alone saves sinners sovereignly and efficaciously is the God who uses means in order to bring sinners into the possession of this salvation.

He describes the God-appointed means of saving grace as the 'spiritual echosphere and biosphere' of the second generation, conveying that these means have been as essential and pervasive as the air, water, and food they consume.

have been as much a part of your life as the air you breathe the water you drink and the food you eat. Those means have been nothing short of your spiritual echosphere and biosphere. And that is an unspeakable privilege. But you say Pastor what precisely are you referring to when you say the God appointed means of saving grace?

20:38 - 21:08 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: The second means is the example of authentic Christian experience, illustrated by Timothy's grandmother Lois and mother Eunice (2 Timothy 1:3-5). Martin challenges the second…

He uses the example of Timothy's grandmother Lois and mother Eunice (2 Timothy 1:5) to illustrate 'unfeigned faith' and authentic Christian experience, arguing that Timothy could never shake the reality he saw in them.

How unceasing is my remembrance. I thank the presence of you in my supplications night and day, longing to see you, remembering your tears, that I may be filled with joy, having been reminded of the unfeigned faith, that is, the authentic faith. It's the word hypocritical with the alpha privated in front of it. It is non-hypocritical faith.

27:03 - 27:28 Read in full sermon

Driving home: And as much as you try in moments when the devil is assailing your faith to dismiss it all, you say, if only I could get rid of this one and that one and the other one in my memory, I could begin to believe it's all a bu…

Martin describes a scenario where parents, after a spat, ask their children for forgiveness, and a father wakes a child to apologize for harsh discipline. This illustrates authentic Christian experience in the home, showing humility and repentance.

There's no explanation for that man who lives in your home, who provides for you, who leads you at family worship, who treats your mother with dignity and seeks to nurture her as Christ does the church, who is patient with your bullheadedness and stubbornness, who is willing to take the time to invest his life in you, who even now busts his hump that you might have an educational framework rooted in the scriptures, who gives himself to being a father who nurtures you. You see in your dad reality. You see in your mom reality. I didn't say perfection, but reality. When mom and dad have a spat, y...

29:17 - 30:15 Read in full sermon

Driving home: And as much as you try in moments when the devil is assailing your faith to dismiss it all, you say, if only I could get rid of this one and that one and the other one in my memory, I could begin to believe it's all a bu…

He shares a personal anecdote about his own mother's authentic faith, stating that he could face any skeptic and challenge them to explain his mother's reality if they wished to dismiss Christianity as bunk. This emphasizes the power of a lived example.

I thank God for that blessing. Growing up as a second generation, I knew if nobody else in the world was real, my mother was for real. I could have faced the most articulate, skeptic, agnostic, atheist, materialist, and looked him straight in the eye and say, I can't handle one of your arguments, but when you can explain my mother, then I'll listen to you. Otherwise, get out of here.

31:50 - 32:21 Read in full sermon

The point: Stop and think about the millions who never had these spiritual privileges, and recognize the wonder of your own.

Martin contrasts the second generation's privilege with 'millions upon millions' in history who lived and died without ever seeing a Bible, meeting a true Christian, hearing earnest preaching, or being prayed for. This highlights the uniqueness and magnitude of the second generation's blessing.

how blessed you are with respect to God graciously and sovereignly surrounding you with these saving means of grace means of grace has it ever dawned on you that millions upon millions in the history of the past generations of the world have been conceived born lived and died and did not have any one of these four things for one hour in their entire lifetime now you stop and think get your stupid video game out of your head and who's going to win this game and that game get real kids and stop and think with me for a minute millions upon millions in past generations who never saw one verse of h...

43:46 - 45:15 Read in full sermon

The point: Stop and think about the millions who never had these spiritual privileges, and recognize the wonder of your own.

He uses a hypothetical scenario of a pre-conception choice, asking if the second generation chose to be born into a context with the means of grace. This underscores the sovereign and gracious nature of God's provision, as they had no choice in the matter.

sparing himself pouring himself into you in the preaching of the word there are millions who haven't had any one of those four things in your generation for one minute many of your names were heard in the throne room of heaven this morning some of your names were on my lips in the place where I pray has it gotten hold of you kids what a privilege what a privilege what a blessing God's given you did you have some pre-conception existence and remember walking up the stairs and remember walking up to the throne of God and saying God looking down on that earth I see there are whole segments of hum...

48:10 - 49:36 Read in full sermon

The point: Consider your obligation to those who have not had these influences, and shape your life to take on challenges and responsibilities to spread these blessings.

He addresses the devil's lie that God is a 'celestial killjoy' who wants to cramp one's style, arguing that God's provision of means of grace is out of love to prevent self-destruction, not to hinder life.

God put me down there where I'll hear preaching that makes the Bible come home to my conscience with life and power and vigor and Lord put me there where people will pray me out of hell did you make any such decision I didn't you didn't God has sovereignly and graciously surrounded you with these means of grace now why has he done it the answer to that must always be rooted in God's revealed will not his secret will and his revealed will is he's done it because he means to show grace to you he's done it graciously he says I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked but that he turn and live ...

49:36 - 51:05 Read in full sermon

The point: Consider your obligation to those who have not had these influences, and shape your life to take on challenges and responsibilities to spread these blessings.

He references the lepers in 2 Kings 7 who found abundance and declared, 'We do not well to keep this to ourselves,' challenging the second generation to consider their obligation to share their spiritual blessings with a needy world.

with my arm around you and you telling me oh pastor why God should give me all the light and privilege I'll never know then I challenge you in the language of 2 Kings 7 you remember there was a famine in the land and God said in one day it's going to break the back of the famine and there would be an abundance of food and God kills the whole Syrian army and there's some lepers who come upon the spoils and they said we do not well to keep this to ourselves we do not well and they are passionate to let others know that there's an abundance to meet the needs of God's people if you really apprecia...

52:33 - 54:00 Read in full sermon

The point: Surround your children with the Scriptures, talking of them when you sit down, rise up, and go in the way, and filter all media through a biblical lens.

He provides examples of parents critically analyzing TV programs, videos, and music with their children through a 'biblical filter,' demonstrating how to apply Scripture to daily life and entertainment choices.

when they watch a TV program bringing it through a biblical filter or are you letting the world stamp its own mold upon their mind are you sitting and critically analyzing the video you checked out of Blockbuster or are you just throwing yourself on the giggles and the laughs with your kids bringing those scriptures to bear upon the subtle and sometimes not so subtle attack upon a biblical view of man and of life and of sex and of the family are you talking of this blessed book when you rise up when you sit down when you watch the TV the kind of music they listen to if they just like it and th...

55:29 - 56:58 Read in full sermon