How God Prods His Children

The point: Periodically ask yourself, 'What is my learning doing for my living?'

Martin contrasts trying to avoid worldliness by carrying an 'evangelical checklist' with the biblical method of transformation through the renewing of the mind, showing that true change comes from thinking God's thoughts.

And be not conformed to this world, but be transformed, how? By the renewing of your mind that you may prove, that is, experimentally work out what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. How does a person keep from being squeezed into the world's mold? Is it by carrying around his little evangelical checklist and pulling it out every time and going down through the alphabetical order and saying, no, that's not in, that's out, that's in, that's...

14:30 - 15:00 Read in full sermon

The point: Periodically ask yourself, 'What is my learning doing for my living?'

Martin criticizes the common approach to prophecy as merely satisfying an 'itch for knowing the future,' likening it to a 'sanctified crystal ball,' arguing that its true purpose is life transformation.

Jesus said in John 13, 17, If ye know these things, fine, now, blessed are ye if ye do them. The end of knowing is doing. So what's the place of knowledge, understanding of, say, this very matter of the factors related to the return of Christ? I always get a bit disturbed when I, every time I go through one of my periodicals, it has an ad in there by someone who puts out a periodical on prophecy and it says, for all prophecy lovers, well, you know, most prophecy lovers I've met, they love facts of prophecy as an end in itself.

15:22 - 16:02 Read in full sermon

The point: Periodically ask yourself, 'What is my learning doing for my living?'

To assess if learning is impacting living, Martin suggests asking one's spouse, 'Do you see what I am hearing doing anything in the way I'm living? Are you increasingly living with a better husband? Better father?'

What's my learning doing for my living? Is it doing anything? And if you find it difficult to assess it, ask your wife.

16:56 - 17:03 Read in full sermon

The point: Constantly ask yourself, 'What is the light in my mind doing to increase the heat in my affections?'

Martin recounts hearing a tape where a speaker minimized doctrine, telling Christians they 'know too much' and should 'sweep all of that out of your mind and just let yourself open up to the Holy Spirit,' which Martin warns against as opening oneself to 'some other spirit.'

I remember hearing a tape by someone who was speaking on the subject of the fullness of the Holy Spirit. And this was one of the emphases that this individual made. That's the trouble. He says, you Christians, you know too much.

18:17 - 18:28 Read in full sermon

The point: Beware of any ministry which minimizes the place of solid instruction of the great facts of the Christian faith.

Martin describes hyper-spirituality as a 'subtle disease' in the Christian life, more difficult to deal with than overt carnality because it 'drips and oozes' spiritual-sounding language while downplaying essential truths like knowledge.

And I say, therefore, by way of implication, beware of any ministry which minimizes the place of solid instruction of the great facts of the Christian faith. Beware of any such ministry. Beware of it. Beware of any attitude of mental laziness no matter how spiritual it sounds.

20:48 - 21:13 Read in full sermon

The point: Beware of any ministry which aims directly at the life or the affections without informing the mind first.

Martin references the Emmaus Road experience to show that affections are heated when facts come by the illuminating ministry of Christ opening up the scriptures, not by direct emotional appeal.

Yeah, but the question is, how do you deal with your heart's affection to Christ? Does God, as it were, come directly to the realm of the affections? Or does He set before us the great truths of redemption? And as the mind focuses upon them and the spirit illuminates that truth to us and we're enabled to take hold of it in faith, did not our hearts burn within us?

21:59 - 22:25 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: God's exhortation is often 'Be what you are.' Believers, constituted children of light by grace, are called to live consistently with that new identity. Martin contrasts this with…

Martin uses the metaphor of 'dead' professing Christians, dragging their feet, to illustrate a lack of spiritual vitality, and then questions how one might 'infuse new life' into them.

It's a terrible thing to see a group of professors professing Christians who are dead.

23:08 - 23:12 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: God's exhortation is often 'Be what you are.' Believers, constituted children of light by grace, are called to live consistently with that new identity. Martin contrasts this with…

Martin contrasts unbiblical methods of stirring up affections (like getting a 'good quartet' or a 'rousing sermon') with God's method of addressing truth to the mind first.

Now, how are you going to do it? Some people say, well, get a good quartet in that can get them stomped. See?

23:39 - 23:44 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: God's exhortation is often 'Be what you are.' Believers, constituted children of light by grace, are called to live consistently with that new identity. Martin contrasts this with…

Martin shares a personal anecdote about preaching evangelistic sermons that were 'easy to listen to' and the temptation for people to prefer such messages over 'close reasoning of the scriptural writers,' warning against the spiritual weakness that results from a diet of less than '16 ounces to the pound solid biblical ministry.'

By reminding them of what they know. And this is a very valid and necessary principle. And I face it constantly. Let me just let my hair down.

24:19 - 24:29 Read in full sermon

The point: Be in ever increasing measure what you are in reality by the grace of God.

Martin describes the 'most exacting discipline' of verse-by-verse expository preaching, contrasting it with the ease of preaching on passages that 'just break open and they cry out, preach on me!'

And churches are filled with people fed on that kind of ministry. And their spiritual weakness is all the testing and testimony one needs of the fact that this is not a biblical ministry. You see, it'd be much easier for me in my preparation, this kind of preaching through verse by verse, chapter by chapter, is the most exacting discipline upon a minister.

25:40 - 26:02 Read in full sermon

The point: When you and I sin, we move into that realm of darkness. Ask yourself, 'Why are you in any way partaking of that which is darkness? You're of the light. Be what you are.'

Martin uses the analogy of a commander stirring his troops to action by reminding them of what they are (protectors of liberties, wives, children) and then exhorting them to 'be on the battlefield what you are.'

Like a soldier. He is duly sworn in to the armed services of his country. He stands as a protector of the liberties and values of that country. He stands in a more personal sense as the protector of his own personal and domestic liberties.

28:32 - 28:51 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: God's exhortation is often 'Be what you are.' Believers, constituted children of light by grace, are called to live consistently with that new identity. Martin contrasts this with…

Martin critiques the public school system's attempt to inculcate values like 'be nice, be good' without a theological basis, likening it to hanging ethical conduct 'on a sky hook' that won't hold because it denies children's fallen nature.

So when the public school system tries to inculcate in our children values, on what basis can they do it? Be nice, be good. Why? They can't say because you are nice and good by nature.

31:33 - 31:47 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Paul enforces exhortation by appealing to distinctively redemptive privileges, such as election to salvation and Christ's atoning death. Martin argues that for a child of God…

Martin uses the example of immorality in Corinth to show how Paul addresses sin not by appealing to social ills or reputation, but by reminding believers that their bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, bought with a price.

He always roots his exhortation in distinctively Christian and redemptive concepts. You remember in Thessalonians, in Corinthians he's dealing with the problem of immorality. How's he going to deal with it? Here are people abusing their bodies, making a playground of their bodies and abusing their God-given faculties of sex.

34:43 - 35:03 Read in full sermon

Driving home: And I say, if that motive doesn't pry a professing Christian from the jaws of his lust, what will?

In the context of temptation to sexual sin, Martin urges believers to remember their body is 'purchased property,' bought with the price of Christ's agony on the cross, a motive that should 'pry a professing Christian from the jaws of his lust.'

He says, I want you to think in that moment of temptation. Listen, your body is purchased property. It's purchased property. It's not your own.

36:13 - 36:24 Read in full sermon

Driving home: How can I pray hallowed be thy name and contemplate a course of action that throws mud upon that name?

Martin illustrates the difficulty of spiritual watchfulness by comparing it to being a night watchman, where 'everything about you speaks sleep,' and references the disciples sleeping in Gethsemane despite Christ's command to watch.

You don't want to be watchful. Who wants to be watchful? It's not easy to sleep.

39:25 - 39:28 Read in full sermon