Creation; Providence

Driving home: faith may swim where reason may only wade. We may trust where we cannot fathom. We may believe where we cannot understand.

Quoting a Puritan writer, Martin uses the metaphor of faith swimming where reason only wades to illustrate that believers must trust God's ways even when they cannot fully comprehend them.

as well as all other subjects, but in a particular way, this one, with faith as our climate. We cannot come expecting to squeeze the infinite God and his ways into our little teacup minds. It cannot be done. As we mentioned last week, quoting one of the old Puritan writers, faith may swim where reason may only wade. We may trust where we cannot fathom. We may believe where we cannot understand.

1:48 - 2:22 Read in full sermon

Driving home: he doesn't do this reluctantly he doesn't say oh well the bible teaches he's sovereign and though i hate the doctrine i'll admit it oh he stands back glad to acknowledge that this is his god

He alludes to a previous illustration about the right and wrong way to use proof texts, reminding the audience that the passages cited are succinct summaries, not isolated verses.

to demonstrate this truth from the Word of God with three general statements from the Old Testament that crystallized the whole teaching of the Bible, trying to demonstrate this truth from the Word of God, with three general statements from the Old Testament that crystallized the whole teaching of the Bible, trying to demonstrate this truth from the Old Testament that crystallized the whole teaching of the Bible, and finally, we reached this conclusion in the New Testament. Now, we are not going to use proof texts, not in the wrong way, remember the illustration of the right and wrong way, but...

3:56 - 4:36 Read in full sermon

Driving home: he doesn't do this reluctantly he doesn't say oh well the bible teaches he's sovereign and though i hate the doctrine i'll admit it oh he stands back glad to acknowledge that this is his god

Martin shares a personal experience of receiving new insight into Romans 11:36, emphasizing the joy of understanding God's sovereignty not as a reluctant admission but as glad worship.

the inhabitants of the earth and none can stay his hand and say unto him what doest thou and then the other assertion in isaiah 46 where god declares i will do all my pleasure my counsel shall stand and in the new testament ephesians 1 11 he worketh all things after the counsel of his will and romans 11 and verse 36 for of him through him and unto him are all things to whom be glory forever and forever i was telling someone at the door last sunday night something that i never saw before until i was preaching on it and there's nothing more blessed than when god gives you light on your feet and ...

5:17 - 6:01 Read in full sermon

Driving home: by thy will they existed and were created as the elders are worshiping god in terms of creation they worship him as the god who acted in absolute sovereignty in the realm of creation

He rejects the caricature of God creating out of loneliness, comparing it to a child playing with toys, to emphasize that creation stemmed from God's perfect, self-sufficient will.

of creation by his will all things existed and were created the initiation of creation was due entirely to the sovereign purpose of god i do not like this caricature of god the picture that god was sort of dwelling in self-contained loneliness and so because he was lonely he had to somehow make a few worlds as a little toy to play with and put a few people there like a child will play with his dogs that's a terrible terrible travesty on the character and nature of god for there was a perfect fellowship if i may use the term in this sense in the in the tribe

10:47 - 11:28 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin details God's sovereignty in creation, explaining that all things existed and were created by His will, both in the initiation and execution of creation, refuting…

Martin recounts reading a nature series that dismissed the biblical view of creation in favor of evolution, using it to highlight the naturalistic philosophy that denies God's sovereign design.

heaven and in earth and in all the deep places and so the sovereignty of god in creation asserted i would say to you students who will sooner or later be tempted to begin to flirt with the ideas of just a naturalistic philosophy things just came about by a process of selectivity and all the rest listen i was interested in getting our we buy this lifetime series on nature and the different uh the different uh countries they some of you are familiar with this wonderful pictures in there

14:09 - 14:54 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: He explains that God's providence extends to all things, including the laws of nature (storms) and what appear to be 'chance happenings' (casting lots), actively disposing of them…

He shares how reading Nahum 1:3, 'The Lord hath his way in the whirlwind and the storm,' removed his fear of thunderstorms, illustrating God's active control over natural phenomena.

You haven't told me anything. That storm is a demonstration of God's purpose and product. Frankly, this is what took away my fear of thunderstorms. I used to have a terrible fear of thunderstorms and lightning storms even after I was a Christian.

22:18 - 22:34 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: He explains that God's providence extends to all things, including the laws of nature (storms) and what appear to be 'chance happenings' (casting lots), actively disposing of them…

Martin uses the childhood memory of drawing lots for dishwashing duties to make the concept of casting lots relatable, leading into the theological point about God's sovereignty over such 'chance' events.

I remember as kids we used to do this with the schedule for dishes. We had a schedule in our home. And you had to do the dishes a certain night. But sometimes the schedule got interrupted or it was a special holiday.

24:11 - 24:22 Read in full sermon

Driving home: the king's heart is in the hand of the Lord. And as the rivers of water or the water courses, he turneth it whithersoever he will.

He uses the image of a winding river seen from an airplane at 30,000 feet to illustrate how God can direct the course of kings' hearts as easily as He directs a river's path.

Those of you who've flown will understand what this means perhaps a little bit better. You're up at 30,000 feet. There's a place section where you're flying over Canada where you see that river. What's the name of it?

29:54 - 30:04 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: He illustrates God's providential control over all events, using the examples of Moses' preservation and Ahab's death, showing how seemingly random occurrences are precisely…

Martin recounts the story of Moses' preservation, highlighting a series of 'just by chance' events (midwives, ark in bulrushes, Pharaoh's daughter's bath, baby crying) as demonstrations of God's precise providential control over all events.

You remember the instance of Moses. Let me just take a few quickly, and then we'll look at a couple in the scripture. God was purposing to bring his people out of Egypt and his general method is a man. Whenever God would deliver his people, he prepares a delivery.

37:50 - 38:07 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: He illustrates God's providential control over all events, using the examples of Moses' preservation and Ahab's death, showing how seemingly random occurrences are precisely…

He uses the humorous and reverent anecdote, 'God pinched him,' to emphasize that Moses' cry at the exact moment Pharaoh's daughter looked was not chance but divine orchestration.

Someone has said, and I believe in this context, reverently, God pinched him.

39:20 - 39:24 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: He illustrates God's providential control over all events, using the examples of Moses' preservation and Ahab's death, showing how seemingly random occurrences are precisely…

He recounts the story of Ahab's death by a soldier drawing a bow 'at a venture,' illustrating how God sovereignly guides even an innocent, random act to fulfill His purpose.

You have the instance of Moses' cry. You have the instance in 1 Kings chapter 22 concerning the death of Ahab. We just read about this part. He goes out into battle and disguises himself.

40:17 - 40:29 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: He illustrates God's providential control over all events, using the examples of Moses' preservation and Ahab's death, showing how seemingly random occurrences are precisely…

Martin shares how he shocked people by stating that President Kennedy's assassination was not due to the assassin's skill but to God's sovereign purpose, illustrating God's control over all events, even tragic ones.

He died in a welter of his own blood in the chariot, according to the word of the Lord. Almighty God sovereignly moving on the heart of a soldier to pull a bow and shoot it, he didn't know where, guiding it precisely to his mark. All events, even the flight of an arrow. I shocked, I believe, a few people after the death of our late President Kennedy.

40:48 - 41:12 Read in full sermon

The point: Bow in worship to God, recognizing His infinite mind and wisdom in controlling every detail of the universe.

He uses the relatable image of his wife trying to manage three children's requests and complaints simultaneously to highlight the incomprehensible wisdom of God controlling every detail of the universe.

Oh, beloved, it ought to bring us to bow in worship. I see my poor wife sometimes when the three children all go at her at once and are hopelessly confused, she gets trying to sort out the request to this one and the complaint to this one, to think of a God who is controlling every detail down to the disposing of the dust that flies up as a car goes down the road

46:59 - 47:25 Read in full sermon

The point: Submit to God's providence, embracing circumstances He has placed you in rather than fighting a losing battle.

He retells the story of Jonah trying to flee from God, illustrating that fighting divine providence is a 'losing battle' because God controls the ocean and even a fish to accomplish His will.

Do you fight providence in your fighting a losing battle? When God in his providence has put you in circumstances that you just can't tolerate, you better just learn to tolerate something better, hug them, embrace them. Because you're fighting a losing battle. When you fight the hand of providence, old Jonah found it out, and I'm going to get away from God.

48:54 - 49:20 Read in full sermon