During the Sermon, Part 6

The point: When a word setting forth a provision of God comes, though the statement of that provision seems so contrary to all that you see and feel, you are to believe God.

Paul's immediate response of faith to God's promise during a life-threatening storm in Acts 27 is contrasted with a hypothetical response of doubt and despair, illustrating the principle of immediate faith in God's word.

And I could not help but think in my preparation and in my preparing of the review of that beautiful example of this principle in Acts chapter 27 and I simply quote the text as we end the review when Paul in the midst of that apparent disastrous situation of this tremendous storm that went on day after day and all hope was abandoned. And yet he says in Acts 27.28 There stood by me this night an angel of the God whose I am whom also I serve saying fear not Paul you must stand before Caesar and lo God has granted you all them that sail with you. Wherefore sirs I want you to know that having hear...

7:11 - 8:29 Read in full sermon

Driving home: a word from God asserting or doinging or demonstrating the impenetrable mystery of his ways and works demands an immediate response of chastened silence and reverent praise.

The trivialization of sacred truths into short, catchy phrases like bumper sticker slogans is used to highlight the generation's tendency to oversimplify profound theological concepts, which Martin vows to resist.

in all of the mystery of his being the magnitude in the infinitude of his being and the mystery of his ways some things can't be stated in three words and what I'm stating is that when under the preaching a word from God comes in the opening up of scripture asserting or demonstrating for the Bible not only makes statements it sets before us history and fact and biography a word from God then either asserting or demonstrating the impenetrable mystery of his ways and works we will confront again and again under any ministry that is true to the word of God those things that God says and does befo...

12:29 - 13:54 Read in full sermon

Driving home: God will not trivialize his thoughts and his ways and reduce the religion of the Bible to bumper sticker slogans and to three minute soundbites God will not accommodate himself to such nonsense with respect to the sacred…

A quote from E.J. Young's commentary on Isaiah is used to further explain that God's ways and thoughts are so high above man's that they cannot be fully grasped, emphasizing their incomprehensibility.

than your thoughts you see God himself interprets the significance of verse 8 in what way are his thoughts unlike ours and his ways unlike ours well they are unlike ours and here's the imagery as the heavens are higher than the earth they transcend and are above the earth and it is this very nuanced dimension that E.J. Young in his masterful commentary in Isaiah highlights when commenting on this very verse he says the implication is that just as the heavens are so high up of the earth that by human standards their height cannot be measured so are God's ways and thoughts so above those of man ...

16:50 - 18:19 Read in full sermon

Driving home: God will not trivialize his thoughts and his ways and reduce the religion of the Bible to bumper sticker slogans and to three minute soundbites God will not accommodate himself to such nonsense with respect to the sacred…

The game of hiding pennies for children to find is used to contrast with the unsearchable nature of God, arguing that God cannot be 'found out' or fully comprehended by human searching.

if he pass through and shut up and call into judgment then who can hinder him you see his question Job can you by searching can anyone else by searching find out God when I used to play games with my kids where I'd hide pennies in various places in the living room in the cracks of the pillows and under the rug etc by searching they could find every penny I had hidden till there were no more pennies to be found is God such that if you search hard enough and long enough in all the cracks and crevices you can say I know all that is God the rhetorical question obviously has a negative answer can y...

21:13 - 22:41 Read in full sermon

The point: Go with the flow and immerse yourself in trivialized religion even enough to immerse yourself sprinkle yourself in trivialized religion or get out in the depths and have the blessed blessed experience of using your mind …

Swimming in a backyard pool where the bottom is visible is contrasted with swimming in the deep ocean (e.g., 10,000 meters deep) to illustrate the difference between humanly comprehensible truths and the unfathomable depths of God's wisdom and ways.

so that Jew and Gentile constitute the new Israel of God and Paul says you know where I am now when I think of these things I'm not in my backyard pool where I can see the bottom four feet away you know where I am I did my homework I took out my National Geographic Atlas here's a big one I have to sit it next to one of my lateral files and there's a map of the ocean as best they've been able to map it and I'm going to I'm going to and do you know there's a spot I think it's the deepest spot that I could find in my limited time to look at it it's over there in the area of the Philippines where ...

40:21 - 41:51 Read in full sermon

Driving home: I thank you oh father lord of heaven and earth that you did hide these things from the wide and understanding and did reveal them unto babes yea father for so it was well pleasing in your sight

An extended quotation from a Scottish preacher on the inner life and peace of Jesus is used to explain how Christ's total acquiescence in the Father's will and confidence in His ways allowed Him to rest even before perplexing divine actions, serving as a model for believers.

you did hide and you did reveal for so it was well pleasing in your sight in a marvelous treatise it's not a long treatise flaky goddish godly scottish preacher writer of another generation writing on the inner life of our lord has a beautiful chapter on the peace of jesus he says my peace I give unto you and he's expounding what the peace of christ was for him and in the midst of doing that he says one of the strands of the peace of christ was his totally total acquiescence in the will of the father and his absolute confidence in the ways of the father and he says so often with us we are anxi...

53:35 - 55:03 Read in full sermon

The point: The moment you find yourself doing that say oh god that's the essence of blasphemy i've made myself the judge of the world and you will not look favorably upon me doing that there is one lord and one judge and his name i…

The metaphor of 'shrinking God down' to fit between one's ears or within the skull is used to describe the error of trying to make God comprehensible to human reason, arguing that such a 'god' is not worthy of worship or trust.

in applying the directive very briefly what you'll be tempted to do when you face those impenetrable mysteries is to start to put yourself in the seat of mr ito and you're going to make yourself the judge and you're going to determine a standard to which you are going to be judged and to which you are going to make god accountable in your court the moment you find yourself doing that say oh god that's the essence of blasphemy i've made myself the judge of the world and you will not look favorably upon me doing that there is one lord and one judge and his name isn't spelled like yours or mine i...

62:20 - 63:48 Read in full sermon

The point: You kids going off to college remember this how suave and how impressive the young phd may be no matter how persuasive male or female teacher who tries to get in the leaven of egalitarianism and feminism and moral relati…

The example of suave, persuasive college professors who promote relativism and a 'small' god is used to warn young people against intellectual arrogance that diminishes God, emphasizing that such a god offers no help in judgment.

you'll never fall down and worship him you'll never throw your life at his feet saying oh great infinite god you are worthy of a thousand hearts that i have them to give you may feel comfortable with a god like that but when your back's against the wall and you need an intervention that is beyond human resources you won't call upon that god for trouble you'd have to first of all get him out of your skull before you could even address him so you make your choice whittle god down and you kids going off to college remember this how suave and how impressive the young phd may be no matter how persu...

63:48 - 65:17 Read in full sermon