Anatomy of a Man of God: His Ears

The point: Make these words from the mouth of the servant of Jehovah your meat and drink. Pause every Tuesday morning before you come to that first class and say Oh Lord Jesus make me to say with you the Lord Jehovah has wakened mo…

An old woman in Scotland, when asked about a preacher for their vacant pulpit, requested, 'Sir, whoever you send us, send us a man who knows God other than by hearsay.' This illustrates the need for a man of God to have a deep, personal, experiential knowledge of God, not just academic knowledge, which comes from an open ear to God's Word.

Pause every Tuesday morning before you come to that first class and say Oh Lord Jesus make me to say with you the Lord Jehovah has wakened morning by morning. He has wakened my ear to hear as a disciple as a learner as one who is prepared to hear and to do that my lessons will come through the crucible of my own struggles and my own spiritual experience that when I pass on the fruit of them to others they will throb and bristle with the vitality of the energy of my own contact with that truth. This is what that dear old woman in Scotland meant when talking with a representative of the denomina...

19:01 - 20:31 Read in full sermon

The point: Pray earnestly for the men in the academy that they never join the ranks of those who sit and listen attentively and even brag to their peers about the quality of their professors' lectures, but rather hear with a view t…

Martin uses the term 'Ezekiel society' (referencing Ezekiel 33:30-32) to describe people who eagerly listen to God's Word and praise the preacher but do not obey or apply it to their lives. This serves as a warning against superficial hearing and a call to genuine obedience.

other than by hearsay. And the mark of the ear of a true man of God is he never joins the Ezekiel society. You know what I mean by the Ezekiel society? I mean this not to be pejorative to Ezekiel but to fix in your mind where it's found in Ezekiel chapter 33 we are told in verses 30 to 32 these frightening words Ezekiel chapter 33 and as for thee son of man the children of thy people talk of thee by the walls and in the doors of the houses you were to pass by as a stranger the buzz words were about Ezekiel the great prophet of God who preached the words of God. He says they talk about you by t...

20:31 - 21:58 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Drawing heavily from Proverbs 15, Martin illustrates how a fool despises correction, while one who regards reproof gains prudence and understanding. He stresses that loving…

He states that 'Church history is strewn with the carcasses of ministers who hated reproof,' fulfilling Proverbs 15:10. This vivid image underscores the destructive consequences of pride and unwillingness to receive correction in ministry.

But you see, when you refuse to take reproof from your fellow men, you're rejecting the word of the God whose word you say you're willing to receive. For it's God who said, receive the reproof of a father and you will come into the path of prudence. Verse 10, there is grievous correction for him that forsakes the way, and he that hates reproof shall die. Church history is strewn with the carcasses of ministers who hated reproof.

30:49 - 31:31 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin uses Ecclesiastes 4:13 to paint a stark picture of an 'old and foolish king' who refuses admonition, contrasting him with a 'poor and wise youth.' He warns ministerial…

Drawing from Ecclesiastes 4:13, Martin contrasts a 'poor and wise youth' who can receive admonition with an 'old and foolish king' who cannot. This illustrates the spiritual tragedy of pride and self-importance that makes one impervious to correction, regardless of age or position.

He that refuses correction despises his own soul, but he that hearkens to reproof gets understanding. You see, it is for this very reason that the writer of the Ecclesiastes, the preacher said, and I ask you to turn over to chapter 4 and verse 13. Chapter 4 and verse 13. Better is a poor and wise youth than an old and foolish king who knows not how to receive admonition anymore. What a horrible picture. Here is a king with all of the privileges and all of the opportunities and all of the wealth and store of wisdom and experience and knowledge. And along comes a poor young man, nothing that is ...

35:23 - 36:32 Read in full sermon

The point: If you have not come to that place in solemn wrestlings with God, where there's something more important than the affirmation of your own identity, the finding of your own ego, the protection of your own image, get out a…

The account of Paul publicly confronting Peter in Galatians 2 is used as a prime example of a man of God (Peter) humbly receiving public reproof from a younger brother in the Lord. This demonstrates the humility required to prioritize being right with God over personal reputation.

And you find that those ears are open to the word of God, open to receive it for the molding and the shaping of his own life, primarily, fundamentally, and essentially. Secondly, his ears are continually responsive to the reproofs and corrections of the people of God. Even, even, even if he must be published, Even, even, if he must be published, he must be publicly reproved. And in my preparation, I went back over that whole incident in Galatians 2.

38:46 - 39:23 Read in full sermon

The point: No one will make progress in grace who does not in a secret place with God, no one will say, Oh God, let even my enemy smite me and I shall count it kindness. I shall regard it as oil upon my head. And God, if you want t…

Martin encourages listeners to pray, 'Lord, rebuke me with a jackass, a donkey, rebuke me with a cockroach.' This hyperbolic prayer emphasizes a desperate desire for God to use any means, no matter how humble or unexpected, to correct one's pride and blindness, rather than leaving one to self-deception.

And when they come to you and point out your fault, that's only a sneaky way that they're creeping up behind you to dig at you because they're jealous of your house. They're jealous of your face, jealous of your figure, jealous of your kids. And you put all kinds of rotten motives into the heart of the one who only comes that you might be found in the way of life. No one will make progress in grace who does not in a secret place with God, no one will say, Oh God, let even my enemy smite me and I shall count it kindness.

43:10 - 43:45 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: The third mark of a man of God's ears is their continual readiness to respond to God's specific call, beyond the general call to ministry. Martin expounds Isaiah 6, detailing…

The detailed account of Isaiah's call in Isaiah 6, including his vision of God, confession of sin, cleansing, and immediate response to God's difficult mission, serves as a powerful Old Testament example of a man of God's ear being ready for God's specific call.

You remember the familiar account of the call of the man of God, Isaiah, to the prophetic office. And while fulfilling his ordinary course of responsibility, Isaiah one day is shaken by a sovereign intervention in the way of a vision given to him by the Lord. And in that vision, he sees the exalted Lord upon his throne. And I will not even read the passage, for fear I'll stop and begin to preach on it, and I must not.

47:53 - 48:34 Read in full sermon

The point: You men in the academy have some solemn times with your wives on this matter. You wives face honestly this matter of God's call upon your husband. God have mercy on any one of you wives that would stand in the way of you…

Martin references the sacrifices of missionaries like Steve Huffmeyer and the Nanny family, enduring oppressive climates, difficult languages, isolation, and suffering. This illustrates the costly nature of God's specific call and the unwavering commitment of those with ears ready to obey.

The man of God, like a Steve Huffmeyer, says, here am I, Lord, send me, though it means going to a climate hot and oppressive to us. Our poor brother Nanny and his family, they're freezing all the time in this weather.

55:24 - 55:40 Read in full sermon

The point: I have to afresh say, Oh, God, can I really say, I'm not bound to a comfortable air-conditioned building. I'm not bound to a lovely split-level home. Lord, I'm your free man. Speak, Lord. Your servant stands ready to go.

Martin shares his personal struggle and re-evaluation of his call to Trinity Baptist Church every time he visits places of great need with few laborers. This illustrates the ongoing challenge to remain 'expendable' and ready for God's call, even when settled in a comfortable ministry.

He's expendable. Those of you who've been here for years know that almost every time I come back from being away in a place of crucial need where there's so little light and so little manpower, it takes me about six weeks to get saved. And it's settled in my heart that I can justify staying on in this place. When I accepted the call to labor here in 1962, it was a call in principle to live and to die with this people.

57:28 - 58:02 Read in full sermon