Specific Directives to the Men

Driving home: He is a man writing by the inspiration and authority of Jesus Christ, the head of the church.

Martin Luther's quote about loyalty being tested where the battle rages is used to introduce the contemporary 'battle' over male and female roles in the church.

It was Martin Luther who said that where the battle rages, there the loyalty of the soldier is put to the test. And I could not help but reflect, as Pastor Nichols read Judges chapter 5, that perhaps Luther's mind was not influenced from that curse that was pronounced upon Mirov. For you will note in Judges 5.23 that the curse upon Mirov came not because of what we would call any strictly negative thing that Mirov did as far as undermining subversively the armies of Israel, but Mirov's curse simply because they did not come to the help of Jehovah. They did not come to the help of Jehovah again...

2:22 - 3:30 Read in full sermon

Driving home: He is a man writing by the inspiration and authority of Jesus Christ, the head of the church.

The analogy of a target with a bullseye and four concentric circles is used to explain the framework for understanding 1 Timothy 2:8-15, with the passage itself as the bullseye and surrounding contexts as the rings.

Well, there is a battle raging in our day, both within and, I'm sorry, without and sad to say, within the Christian church with respect to the issue of the teaching of the Word of God as it touches upon male and female roles and functions, particularly within the church and within the family. And in order to provide a framework within which our minds may be brought into direct contact with one of the most pivotal passages in the Scriptures explicitly addressing itself to this issue, I'm directing your thinking to the passage in Timothy for these few Lord's Day evenings. In approaching the pass...

3:31 - 4:57 Read in full sermon

Driving home: He is a man writing by the inspiration and authority of Jesus Christ, the head of the church.

The illustration of a sandwich, with 1 Timothy 2:8-15 as the filling, and verses 1-7 and chapter 3:1-13 as the top and bottom slices of bread, is used to explain the immediate contextual pressures on the passage.

And then finally, in the circle nearest the bull's eye, we considered last Lord's Day evening the immediate contextual pressure and the children will remember the illustration of the sandwich. And you have the top piece of bread pressing down from above, verses 1 to 7, in which we have the primacy, the comprehensiveness, and the concerns and theological basis for the church's prayers. And then, coming up from beneath, the bottom slice of bread, is chapter 3, verses 1 to 13, the requirements for the official office bearers in the church who, teach, lead, and serve in those offices. And that is ...

6:44 - 8:11 Read in full sermon

Driving home: Who can come into the presence of God and stand before Him with peace, with joy, with access? He that hath clean hands and a pure heart.

Various biblical postures for prayer (uplifted hands, bowing, closing eyes) are described to illustrate how the body can express inward spiritual disposition, connecting to the directive of 'lifting up holy hands'.

fit to take the leadership in prayer simply because he is a man no if he cannot pray in conjunction with a life of godliness let him be silent because his prayer will be a mockery to the living God now why do I say well I'm simply summarizing the significance of the language that I hope to open up in the next few minutes let's take it phrase by phrase first of all he says the men who take the lead in prayer are to do so lifting up holy hands now one of the postures in which the oriental prayed was the posture of uplifted hands when the hands are stretched out you're acknowledging knees when th...

29:16 - 30:45 Read in full sermon

The point: Recognize the tremendous responsibility that comes with women gladly waiting for male leadership in the assembly, and fulfill the command for men to pray.

A vivid story of a man with a Magnum 44 pointing at the pastor is used to illustrate that true love is realistic and does not play games with reality, contrasting with infatuation, and setting up the discussion of interpreting pauses in prayer meetings.

prayer meetings? Well, the Bible says, love thinketh no evil. Love believeth all things, love hopes all things. Love delights to put the best possible construction that sanity will allow upon any situation. Now, if a man came through that door tonight with a wild look in his eyes, and his hair going every which way, and his shirt going every which way, and his shirt going every which way, and his shirt going every which way, and his shirt torn open, holding a Magnum 44, and pointing at me, and I could tell from the look of the steel it was the real thing, saying, get out of that poker or I'm g...

45:15 - 46:10 Read in full sermon

The point: Don't be oversensitive about your sinfulness, but come with an attitude of no conscious controversy with God, turning away from your sins.

John Newton's quote 'I am not what I should be...' is used to encourage men not to be oversensitive about their sinfulness when praying, but to come with a desire for holiness.

None of us is. You remember Newton's classic words, I am not what I should be. I am not what I want to be. I am not what I shall be.

56:18 - 56:33 Read in full sermon

The point: Beware of being overly subjective, waiting to 'feel led' to pray; instead, set your rudder in dogged obedience to God's Word and trust Him for enablement.

The metaphor of setting the rudder of obedience and waiting for the 'wind of heaven' to fill the sails is used to encourage men to pray in obedience even when they don't 'feel led,' trusting God for enablement.

And that very sense of weakness weans me from all confidence that I can conjure up acceptable prayers in my own mind. And when I have felt weakness and stumble and stutter, as it were, into the presence of God, it is then that the greatest seasons of enlargement have come. And the wind of heaven fills the sails of one who has set his rudder in dogged, naked obedience to the word of God apart from his feelings. You can't fill your sails, but you can set your rudder.

57:51 - 58:25 Read in full sermon

The point: Beware of being overly subjective, waiting to 'feel led' to pray; instead, set your rudder in dogged obedience to God's Word and trust Him for enablement.

The example of Quaker meetings, where people sit waiting for inspiration, is used to illustrate the danger of waiting for a 'feeling' before preaching or praying, emphasizing the importance of obedience to command.

If I waited until I felt some conscious help of the spirit before I stood up to preach, you'd get pretty slim thickens. We'd have an awful lot of Quaker meetings. We'd have a whole bunch of Quaker meetings. We'd have a whole bunch of Quaker meetings.

58:35 - 58:42 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin addresses unconverted men and women, explaining that true prayer is impossible without a proper understanding of God's holiness and one's own sinfulness, and without coming…

The analogy of saying a little prayer like reciting a nursery rhyme is used to highlight the shallow view of prayer held by those ignorant of God's holiness and their own sinfulness.

How many of us have heard that? People who don't know a thing about what prayer is. Oh, will you say a little prayer for me? As though you said a little prayer like you recited a nursery rhyme.

60:00 - 60:08 Read in full sermon

The point: You cannot pray a true prayer until you have come to Jesus and found forgiveness and salvation in Him. Repent and believe the Gospel.

A quote from a hymn ('How shall I, whose native sphere is dark...') is used to express the profound problem of a sinner approaching a holy God, setting up the need for the gospel.

You begin to understand how vast and extensive is your deflection, your departure, your roving from God's holy law. You begin to understand what you are as a sinner in your guilt and bondage. And the thought that you could talk with such a high, lofty, majestic and holy being becomes a terrible, terrible problem. How shall I, whose native sphere is dark, whose mind is dim, before the ineffable appear and on my naked spirit bear the uncreated being?

60:55 - 61:30 Read in full sermon

The point: You cannot pray a true prayer until you have come to Jesus and found forgiveness and salvation in Him. Repent and believe the Gospel.

A quote from a hymn ('There is a way for man to rise...') is used to present the gospel as the solution to the problem of approaching a holy God, through Christ's sacrifice and advocacy.

How shall I have dealings with that God? How can I pray? That's where the gospel comes in. There is a way for man to rise to that sublime abode, an offering and a sacrifice of Holy Spirit's energies, an advocate with God.

61:30 - 61:47 Read in full sermon