Taught of God

In this part of the sermon: Martin introduces 1 Thessalonians, highlighting Paul's passionate concern for the Thessalonians' spiritual maturity and the transition in chapter 4 to practical exhortations…

Paul's concern for his converts is likened to a fish not just spawning eggs and forgetting them, but nurturing them to maturity, illustrating the depth of his pastoral care.

what we might almost call passionate concern of the Apostle for his converts. He just didn't spawn his eggs and go up river and forget them. When the Lord was pleased to bring people to birth through the Apostle, he had this great concern that they would go on to maturity in Christ. And in that third chapter, the Apostle, as it were, unzips his heart and lets these Thessalonians see something of that genuine holy concern.

1:06 - 1:36 Read in full sermon

Driving home: ye yourselves are one word God taught if there is no such thing as being taught of God then the apostle conceived something that isn't and he passed it on as truth and therefore told a lie no there is such a thing as bei…

Paul's creation of the word 'God-taught' (theodidaktos) is compared to his coining 'God-breathed' (theopneustos) for inspiration, emphasizing the direct, divine origin of the teaching.

Then he went to his thesaurus couldn't find the word he went to his dictionary couldn't find the word he said well I'll make one so he made a word and what he did is he took the word God and the word to teach and he just welded them together in one word so that the way this should be translated is God dash taught it's one word in the original same thing he did with the doctrine of inspiration 2 Timothy 3.16 all scripture is given by inspiration of God that's a lot of words to describe one original word in the original he took the word for God and the word for breathe and he put them together a...

9:38 - 11:07 Read in full sermon

The point: Beware of any emphasis in the church that lowers the centrality of the Word of God in worship and service; run from it like a mortal enemy.

A story about ministering to Christian college students reveals their lack of biblical thinking and reliance on psychology/sociology, illustrating the danger of churches neglecting solid exposition of God's Word.

I wish I had time to have Mr. Rogers give you a little testimony. I think he got an eye-opener yesterday. Ministering to a group of college students some miles from here, Bill went along with me, and here are the students that are the salt of the earth and the light of the world on those godless campuses.

30:58 - 31:14 Read in full sermon

Driving home: But if all you have is the Word, you won't be God taught. He says, it came not in Word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit.

A Chinese Bible is used as a 'grotesque illustration' to explain that even if the Word of God is present, without the Spirit's illumination (like not knowing Chinese), one cannot understand or be taught by it.

If someone were to present me with a Chinese Bible, it would be as much the Word of God as my English Bible. But I couldn't be God taught through a Chinese Bible for the simple reason I can't read Chinese. I can't know what's there. It's the Word of God, but it's Chinese.

34:13 - 34:32 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin explains that the Holy Spirit's powerful and personal application of the Word is essential for divine teaching, as the natural man cannot receive spiritual truths, and this…

Martin shares a personal story of his son crying because he saw his sin in a new way, illustrating the Spirit's direct, personal, and inward work in teaching the lessons of sin and grace.

Time alone will tell if it's real or not, but because He's not here, I can say one of the precious things that happened even this morning. I was up in my study early and my son came in. He's home with the bug and he had his Bible and his Pilgrim's Progress. He's learning well under his arm.

35:57 - 36:12 Read in full sermon

The point: Beware of anything that will grieve or quench the Spirit of God and fight it like your mortal enemy, just as you would fight anything that demeans the Word of God.

The experience of a scriptural phrase in a hymn suddenly 'breaking wide open' is used as an example of the Holy Spirit's anointing teaching the believer in everyday moments.

The Word of God is the basis and you're driving along in the car and you're thinking on a verse and all of a sudden the verse breaks open. Where did that come from? Who was sitting by your side to say, hey, did you ever see this in that verse? Ah, the anointing you've received teaches you.

39:04 - 39:19 Read in full sermon

The point: Beware of anything that will grieve or quench the Spirit of God and fight it like your mortal enemy, just as you would fight anything that demeans the Word of God.

The anointing oil flowing from Aaron's beard to his garments is used to illustrate how the Spirit's anointing, poured out on Christ, flows down to the least member of His body, the church.

And that anointing is the portion of every Christian. Why? Because the Lord Jesus, when He ascended to the right hand of the Father, the Scripture says, He hath received the promise of the Father. The one to whom the Spirit is given without measure, poured out in plentitude His Spirit upon His church.

39:42 - 40:00 Read in full sermon

The point: Cry to God for the Spirit's operation whenever you are exposed to the written Word, pleading with Him to send His Spirit to teach you.

Childhood memories of searching for buried treasure on Long Island Shore are used to illustrate the intensity and diligence with which believers should hunt for truth in God's Word.

They thought, they reasoned, they compared, and the Spirit of God and the Word of God operated. I commend for your serious reading Proverbs 2, the first seven verses along this line, where God says, if thou cry after knowledge, search for knowledge like hid treasure. Do you remember when you were kids and you actually thought, maybe you didn't, but we did, we actually thought there's some treasures buried because we lived right by Long Island Shore and Long Island Sound in Connecticut. And I can remember if we ever thought we were somewhere where something was buried.

42:57 - 43:27 Read in full sermon

The point: As initially God-taught believers, make it your ambition every Lord's Day to be God-taught, coming with high regard for the written Word, utter dependence upon the Spirit, and full employment of the mind.

A new convert's distress over not being specifically convicted by God during a sermon illustrates the deep desire of a God-taught heart to hear and respond to God's voice, contrasting it with the apathy of many long-time churchgoers.

I had someone call me last week the only professors who had been saved a very short time. Matter of months. And this individual was greatly disturbed. Didn't know what was wrong.

45:38 - 45:49 Read in full sermon