The Amen: Its Meaning and Significance

The point: When a hymn is announced, glance up at the left-hand corner to note its source (e.g., Psalm paraphrase, human author) to better sing with understanding and for further meditation.

Martin uses the example of singing a paraphrase of Psalm 84 to illustrate how knowing the origin of a hymn (Scripture or human author like Charles Wesley) can deepen understanding, appreciation, and meditation during worship.

All right, so I'll make the suggestion again, and I'll keep doing it until it becomes habitual, all right? I would urge you, when a hymn is announced, just glance up at the left-hand corner, and if you had done that this morning, you would have noted that we were singing a paraphrase of Psalm 84. And not only would you be better able to do what the Apostle Paul said, when he, in the chapter we'll be consulting in a few moments, said, I will sing with the Spirit, I will sing with the understanding, but it also becomes a clue then for further meditation, so that as you have opportunity, perhaps ...

0:47 - 2:09 Read in full sermon

The point: Constantly be trained and reminded of things pertaining to the worship of God, as they do not come naturally.

Martin clarifies that Dr. Bob Martin and Pastor Lamar Martin are blood brothers, but he shares no common ancestry with them despite the same surname, addressing potential concerns about 'ecclesiastical nepotism' for visitors.

And God willing, beginning on October the 10th, Dr. Bob Martin, and for you visitors, this is not ecclesiastical nepotism. The two Martin brothers, Dr. Bob and Pastor Lamar, are blood brothers.

3:11 - 3:25 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: He introduces 1 Corinthians 14 as the New Testament passage addressing the corporate 'Amen,' highlighting its assumption in the early church as an intelligent, verbal assent to…

He uses the analogy of an assembly appearing like a 'madhouse' to interested seekers or uninstructed pagans due to untranslated tongues, to illustrate the problem of selfish gift exercise in Corinth.

And it is especially powerful because of the manner in which it is addressed. And I refer to first Corinthians chapter 14, in this particular chapter, the situation envisioned is one in which tongue speakers were selfishly exercising their gift with no thought of corporate edification because they were untranslated languages. And furthermore, they were showing insensitivity to those that we might call interested seekers and uninstructed pagans who might come among their assembly, and rather than be blessed, they would think they had walked into a madhouse. And so that's the situation envisione...

4:30 - 5:38 Read in full sermon

Driving home: She is saying yes from the heart I concur with the rightness of God bringing judgment upon me if I am indeed an adulteress.

Martin humorously refers to the concoction of holy water and dust in the jealousy ritual as a 'tabernacle milkshake' to make the strange ritual more relatable and memorable for the audience.

Here is a specific rubric that the priest was set up to undertake in the presence of God and particularly of this woman with her husband obviously as a bystander. Now then, having gone through that ritual then we read in verse 21 Then the priest shall cause the woman to swear with the oath of cursing and the priest shall say unto the woman The Lord make you a curse and an oath among your people when the Lord makes your faith your thigh to fall away and your body to swell and this water that causes the curse shall go into your bowels and make your body to swell and your thigh to fall away. Here...

20:29 - 21:53 Read in full sermon

Driving home: But remember, he is speaking to a people, many of whom do not acknowledge him to be who he really was.

He uses the analogy of 'buttressing Mount Everest' or the Matterhorn to illustrate that Jesus, as truth incarnate, does not inherently need His words buttressed, but does so for the sake of His unbelieving audience.

But someone says, well, the Lord Jesus would only speak truth. It's like saying, would someone please go out and buttress Mount Everest?

37:13 - 37:21 Read in full sermon

Driving home: But remember, he is speaking to a people, many of whom do not acknowledge him to be who he really was.

Dr. Bob Martin showing photographs of the Canadian Rockies to his wife and him is used to reinforce the idea that some things, like majestic mountains, inherently need no buttressing, drawing a parallel to Christ's inherent truthfulness.

Dr. Bob recently showed my wife and me some lovely photographs of the Canadian Rockies. And one thing they don't need, is buttressing. And does the Lord Jesus need to buttress his sayings?

37:28 - 37:40 Read in full sermon

Driving home: Rather, in a positive way, we have seen that the word is introduced by God himself in the giving of the Old Testament law in that strange ritual of the jealous husband in Numbers chapter five. We've seen that it's overar…

He uses the analogy of a 'verbal caboose' on a freight train to illustrate the common misconception that 'Amen' is merely a signal that a prayer or sermon has ended, rather than a meaningful affirmation.

the Lord Jesus be with the saints. Amen. Now is this vain repetition by the Holy Ghost? No. He would never be guilty of that which Jesus condemns. When you pray, use not vain repetitions, but here in a short space we have. Two Amens. One in conjunction with the promise of the Lord Jesus to come quickly. The other a benediction. The grace of the Lord Jesus be with the saints. Amen. Well, in the remaining three minutes, what can we say by way of summary and conclusion? We've looked at this brief and only selective overview, trying to ascertain the meaning and significance of the word Amen. What ...

51:42 - 52:43 Read in full sermon