Cleave Unto the Lord.” (1996 Conf. in CA)

Driving home: This is baseline conversion. Anything less than this is bogus.

Martin contrasts the Antiochian conversions with a 'deeper life conference' to clarify that turning to the Lord is baseline conversion, not a subsequent spiritual experience, emphasizing the authenticity of the initial turning.

In other words their faith was the result of the putting forth of the hand of God and the manifestation of that faith was they turned unto the Lord. That is their whole souls turned in the direction of the Lord Jesus who was the substance of the preaching and they gave themselves up to the Lord to be saved by Him on His terms. This is not an account of a deeper life conference where after people had trusted Christ as Savior some preachers come along and tell them now you need to get fully surrendered and fully yielded and you need the baptism in the Spirit and this, that and the other and then...

11:14 - 12:20 Read in full sermon

Driving home: This is baseline conversion. Anything less than this is bogus.

Martin humorously dismisses the idea of a self-appointed call to ministry based on a 'divine twitch,' contrasting it with Barnabas's church-sent authority to highlight the importance of instituted means and church order.

And they sent forth Barnabas. He didn't wake up in the middle of the night one night and say I have felt a divine twitch in my left ventricle. God has called me to go up to Antioch. No one dare question my call.

13:57 - 14:14 Read in full sermon

Driving home: one of the great texts of whether a man is a true man of God is whether or not he can rejoice with holy joy when he sees the grace of God even though he has had no part in the working of that grace.

He suggests that 'night visions' might indicate a need for an EKG or dietary check, rather than divine revelation, reinforcing that God speaks through His Word and established means.

Nonsense. When you think God is speaking through a twitch in your ventricle your problem is you probably need to have an EKG and find out what's wrong with your heart. When you think God is speaking to you in night visions my friend you just better check what you eat before you go to bed. God speaks in his word and God works by the instituted means that he has established.

14:14 - 14:39 Read in full sermon

Driving home: one of the great texts of whether a man is a true man of God is whether or not he can rejoice with holy joy when he sees the grace of God even though he has had no part in the working of that grace.

Martin uses the analogy of a 'commodity like a glass of water' to explain that while grace itself is unseen, its effects are visible in transformed lives, which Barnabas observed.

Is the grace of God a commodity like a glass of water? Like a pulpit? Like a microphone? Like a Bible?

15:19 - 15:27 Read in full sermon

Driving home: one of the great texts of whether a man is a true man of God is whether or not he can rejoice with holy joy when he sees the grace of God even though he has had no part in the working of that grace.

He contrasts Barnabas's gladness with the 'squinty-eyed and cynical' or 'green-eyed with envy' reactions of some modern preachers to God's work elsewhere, highlighting Barnabas's genuine joy in God's grace.

He saw things for which there was no rational explanation but that God in grace had indeed brought forth his hand not in displays of his power that merely astounded people and filled them with temporary amazement and wonder and gathered the crowds. No, after the dust had settled and there was sufficient time to evaluate the lifestyle and the perspectives the conversation and the family life and the personal lives of these people Barnabas came to the conclusion there is no explanation for what I see. But the grace of Almighty God. And what did he experience when he saw it? The text says, look a...

16:12 - 17:20 Read in full sermon

Driving home: for the sake of your soul go where this book is opened up week after week as the meat and potatoes our brother said of the ministry don't be led away with charismatic personalities and with people that make you feel good…

Martin uses the metaphor of 'meat and potatoes' to describe expository preaching that opens up the Bible, contrasting it with sermons that merely entertain or quote phrases, to emphasize the necessity of deep engagement with Scripture.

sufficient for the vilest and the neediest of sinners and as you turned unto the Lord so Barnabas said I exhort you I entreat you I seek to motivate you to go on continuing to remain in the Lord to go on continuing to cleave to the Lord That was the substance of his exhortation as to what he exhorted them to do but now notice in the substance of his exhortation how he encouraged them to do it He did not encourage exhort and motivate them to cleave to the Lord in any old way but look at the text and I say to some who may be visiting and are not part of a church where this is what a preacher doe...

22:36 - 24:04 Read in full sermon

Driving home: the great people in whom the Holy Ghost is given a spirit of generosity to line his pockets to build his mansions to buy his boats is a false prophet on his way to hell he is not a good man I don't care if he claims to r…

He contrasts Barnabas's 'goodness' with manipulative preachers who seek personal gain, asserting that such individuals are 'false prophets on their way to hell,' to underscore the moral integrity required of a true man of God.

why he sought only the good in the well being of these Antiochian Christians you see when he came and saw the grace of God he knew many things that the grace of God would do for people he had been down at Jerusalem when the grace of God had worked so powerfully and this is what he said to the people who were giving up title to lands and possessions and voluntarily putting them at the disposal of the apostles and the deacons to be distributed according to need now if he knows the grace of God can make people so generous that they're willing as it were to throw their checkbooks down at the feet ...

31:25 - 32:54 Read in full sermon

Driving home: May I say it reverently the Holy Spirit is the modest member of the Trinity he delights as it were to be in the wings behind the folds of the curtain manipulating all the lights and in seeing Jesus Jesus said he that hat…

Martin reverently describes the Holy Spirit as the 'modest member of the Trinity' who delights in pointing to Christ, illustrating that a Spirit-filled person will prioritize Christ's glory, not their own.

anointed no it was exhorting them with purpose of heart to cleave to the Lord but he was also full of the spirit and the faith and that's why he told them to cleave to the Lord and do you see the connection when a man is full of the spirit he is under the power of that person whose most delightful ministry is to point to Jesus Christ and to speak of himself he should take the things of myself and shall reveal them unto you he will take the things of myself and reveal them unto you may I say it reverently the Holy Spirit is the modest member of the Trinity he delights as it were to be in the wi...

34:23 - 35:52 Read in full sermon

Driving home: May I say it reverently the Holy Spirit is the modest member of the Trinity he delights as it were to be in the wings behind the folds of the curtain manipulating all the lights and in seeing Jesus Jesus said he that hat…

He uses the metaphor 'Main Street Sodom' to describe the pervasive sinfulness of Antioch and contemporary society, emphasizing the constant need for believers to cleave to Christ for preservation.

not to his peculiar doctrinal formulations he is his greatest passion is that people will know and see and appreciate the sufficiency and the glory of Christ and be more and more attached he was exhorting them to cleave to the Lord for he was full of the Holy Spirit and then it says of faith well what's the connection between faith and the exhortation he gave just this Antioch was no Garden of Eden like any city in the Greco-Roman world Antioch was full of sin and you had people who had all of the vulnerability and all of the remaining propensity to sin that you and I have living here in what ...

35:52 - 37:20 Read in full sermon

The point: Cleave to the Lord Jesus Christ alone as the sole object of your trust for every part of your salvation, especially when facing besetting sins, daily cleansing needs, and duties in various life circumstances.

Martin recounts meeting a dear brother he hadn't seen in years, rejoicing that Christ was 'still keeping him in the way,' to illustrate the ongoing grace of Christ in preserving believers through trials and temptations.

of God remember the exhortation of Hebrews 12 in the light of the marathon race that is the Christian life lay aside every weight and the sin that does so easily beset us and run with endurance the race that is set before us looking off unto Jesus the author and the perfecter of faith one of the joys when I come out to a place like this where I've not been for years and see people I haven't seen for years is to see this marvelous truth before my own eyes there's a dear brother now teaching down at Westminster I hadn't seen him in years and when he came through the room where I was preparing to...

43:16 - 44:46 Read in full sermon

The point: Cleave to the Lord Jesus Christ alone as the sole object of your trust for every part of your salvation, especially when facing besetting sins, daily cleansing needs, and duties in various life circumstances.

He quotes verses from 'Amazing Grace' to underscore the theme of God's preserving grace, which operates through clinging to Christ alone.

straight in the eye with a good conscience before God and man embracing me as one who was still in the way and I in turn could embrace him as one who was still in the way and we stood there embracing rejoicing not in our great strength but in the grace of Christ who has kept us as we have kept him the sole object of our trust for every part of our salvation Bunyan understood it well didn't he in the well-known hymn Amazing Grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me I once was lost but now I'm found was blind but now I see it was grace that taught my heart to fear and grace my fears ...

44:46 - 46:15 Read in full sermon

The point: With purpose of heart, cleave to the Lord himself as the supreme object of your affection and loyalty.

Jesus's parables are used to illustrate that the Holy Spirit always reveals Christ as supremely valuable, demanding an undivided heart at conversion.

unto the Lord now follow me closely whenever the hand of God accompanies the preaching of the gospel of God and people turn unto the son of God hear my question now in what light does the Holy Spirit always reveal Christ to the heart in which he is working saving grace he always reveals him according to the words of Jesus in those kingdom parables of the field and of the pearl you remember Jesus said the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man who found a treasure in the field and having found it he went and sold all that he had that he might purchase the field and have the treasure the kingdom o...

47:43 - 49:12 Read in full sermon

The point: Don't allow any romantic interest to rival Christ's place in your heart.

Martin quotes an old Puritan on the difficulty of winning and keeping the heart entirely for Christ, encapsulating the challenge of maintaining undivided affection.

but whenever God truly saves a person that's how he reveals him but the great difficulty is maintaining that heart of undivided affection one of the old Puritans said it this way the most difficult work in conversion is winning the heart entirely to Christ and the greatest difficulty of the Christian life is keeping the heart entirely with Christ that's it that's it in a nutshell the greatest difficulty in conversion is the winning of the entirety of the heart to Christ and the greatest difficulty of the Christian life is keeping the entirety of the heart with Christ therefore I exhort you wit...

50:41 - 52:10 Read in full sermon

The point: Don't allow any romantic interest to rival Christ's place in your heart.

He uses a humorous anecdote about children's stages of romantic interest ('yuck' to 'yummy') and his own teenage heartbreak to illustrate the reality and intensity of affection, emphasizing that Christ demands unrivaled devotion even over romantic interests.

but whenever God truly saves a person that's how he reveals him but the great difficulty is maintaining that heart of undivided affection one of the old Puritans said it this way the most difficult work in conversion is winning the heart entirely to Christ and the greatest difficulty of the Christian life is keeping the heart entirely with Christ that's it that's it in a nutshell the greatest difficulty in conversion is the winning of the entirety of the heart to Christ and the greatest difficulty of the Christian life is keeping the entirety of the heart with Christ therefore I exhort you wit...

50:41 - 52:10 Read in full sermon

The point: Grow in your understanding of the details of the obedience required of you as a disciple, seeing your duties as flowing from the heart of your Savior.

The analogy of a laser beam used to reattach a torn retina illustrates the focused, concentrated nature of 'single-eyed' obedience to Christ.

eyed object of your obedience and what do you mean preacher by single eyed I'm using Jesus words from Matthew 622 where he said I'm not a single if your eye be single your whole body shall be full of light in other words if your purpose is narrowed and focused like the laser beam like that beam of light that went in on the back of my retina a couple of months ago and put 60 little tacks to attach a torn retina to the back of the eyeball that beam of light pointed concentrated what I'm saying with purpose of heart cleave to the Lord with single eyed obedience as you grow in the awareness of you...

55:07 - 56:36 Read in full sermon

Driving home: what a prostituted diluted word it is in our day anybody that taps tips his hat to Jesus in one way or another is ready to be called a Christian and take the name Christian

Martin uses the relatable scenario of frantically searching for a lost shoe before church to illustrate the intensive nature of Barnabas's search for Saul, highlighting his determination to secure more teaching for the Antiochian church.

but in the midst of it all they were with purpose of heart to remain attached to in vital union with the Lord Jesus Christ with purpose of heart cleave to him as the sole object of your hope I have no time to open it up with purpose of heart cleave to him as the sole object of your boasting you see you can take it out in all kinds of directions but having expounded the text having given this pastoral application of the text let me now complete our study by very briefly considering a concluding observation in connection with the text did these people at Antioch do what they were told to do and ...

58:05 - 59:34 Read in full sermon

Driving home: what a prostituted diluted word it is in our day anybody that taps tips his hat to Jesus in one way or another is ready to be called a Christian and take the name Christian

He describes how the Antiochian believers' transformed speech, work ethic, and family interactions led their neighbors to call them 'little Christs,' illustrating the credible impact of cleaving to the Lord.

Saul comes and teaches them but now look at the closing words there was God given consistency and credibility verse 26 it says and the disciples were called Christians first at Antioch disciples had always just been called disciples of Christ or peoples of the way as you read in Acts first time they ever called Christians you know what that word Christian is in the original it's a line it's a Latinized Greek diminutive of the word Christ Christianos it means they were called little Christs you Hispanics know how the diminutive can come in Teresa becomes Teresita Olga becomes Olgita Oscar Oscar...

61:02 - 62:30 Read in full sermon

Driving home: what a prostituted diluted word it is in our day anybody that taps tips his hat to Jesus in one way or another is ready to be called a Christian and take the name Christian

Martin laments the 'prostituted, diluted' use of the word 'Christian' in modern society, contrasting it with the Antiochian example to emphasize the true meaning of being a follower of Christ, particularly in honoring the Lord's Day.

to the Lord Jesus that whether by their friends or their enemies they must be designated little Christs not that they have power to save or they are to be worshipped or they are to be trusted no but that they so represent him and reflect attachment to him that's the only word they could give for him what a prostituted diluted word it is in our day anybody that taps tips his hat to Jesus in one way or another is ready to be called a Christian and take the name Christian think of all of those big overgrown boys that this day will cause millions in our nation to break the fourth commandment who c...

64:00 - 65:27 Read in full sermon