Three Words of Admonition

The point: View changes or crises in a biblical way and react in a godly way.

Martin recounts the recent announcements of an elder's resignation and his own planned phase-out, setting the personal and congregational context for the sermon's warnings.

For the sake of any who may not have been with us last Lord's Day, let me take a few minutes to explain the significance of that title and then to review briefly what we considered from God-breathed Scripture last Lord's Day. On January 8th, at a special congregational meeting, the resignation of one of your elders was read to you, and then at our annual business meeting on January 25th, I announced to you my plans in the will of God, to phase out my role as your resident pastor within the next two to three years and to relocate in Michigan, not to retire, but in order to concentrate my remain...

3:35 - 4:39 Read in full sermon

The point: Do not weary of a ministry that balances consolation and warning, lest you betray your soul to danger.

He uses the 'zeitgeist' (spirit of the age) to describe a cultural tendency to desire only comforting Bible messages, not reproof, highlighting a dangerous spiritual preference.

Don't forget it. It happened with my own that once had a teenage not only consolations that touched the hearts of men, but creating, searching, reproof and admonition that touched the deep springs of the heart. Men have been bullied by the zeitgeist, the spirit of our age, says coddle me with Bible, but don't reprove me. Don't rebuke me.

15:57 - 16:37 Read in full sermon

The point: Do not weary of a ministry that balances consolation and warning, lest you betray your soul to danger.

He uses the example of warnings on medicine bottles and road signs to show that people welcome warnings in secular life, making the rejection of spiritual warnings illogical and dangerous.

And dear people, there are warnings that are needed for us as a congregation. I trust my spirit in giving the warnings will be one of the spirit of long suffering, of pastoral gentleness, of tenderness. But at the end of the day, a warning is a warning. And it's amazing how in every other area, if people don't give enough, warnings, they take them to court.

16:37 - 17:06 Read in full sermon

The point: Beware of a misplaced trust in men, even good men, and avoid being guilty of it.

He alludes to Revelation 6 (men crying for rocks to hide them) to vividly portray the terror of the Lord's judgment, underscoring the futility of trusting in man or idols.

And here in Isaiah chapter 2, the chapter concludes, verse 22, with these words, Cease from man whose breath is in his nostrils, for wherein is he to be accounted of? Now what's the context of this? If you look back to verse 12, it is the context of the prophet announcing a great day of the Lord that will be upon all the proud and all the haughty. And if you read the language of this paragraph, you see overtures of what we find in Revelation chapter 6 when men will cry for the rocks and the mountains to hide them from the face of Him that sits upon the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb. An...

19:28 - 20:39 Read in full sermon

The point: Examine your heart to see if your ultimate trust has subtly shifted from the Lord to men, and 'cease from man whose breath is in his nostrils.'

He quotes E.J. Young's commentary on Isaiah 2:22 to deepen the understanding of 'cease from man,' explaining it as a command to desist from placing confidence in human ingenuity or wisdom.

When I, the living God, come forth in judgment, what will you do? What can any man do? Not only will your idols not help you, you cannot help nor deliver one another. Listen to the comments of E.J. Young on this text.

21:52 - 22:06 Read in full sermon

The point: Examine your heart to see if your ultimate trust has subtly shifted from the Lord to men, and 'cease from man whose breath is in his nostrils.'

He uses the analogy of a crisis as God's hand pulling away blankets and coverings to reveal our true selves, specifically what we ultimately trust in.

And dear people, I believe that admonition and that warning is needed by us. When God shakes, as it were, our comfort zone by disrupting the structure of human leadership in any sphere, it can be very unsettling to those who are led. But not only can it be unsettling, it can be God's means to bring us up short and to cause us to ask the question, what is that in which I ultimately trust? Remember the principle I articulated last week.

23:02 - 23:40 Read in full sermon

The point: Examine your heart to see if your ultimate trust has subtly shifted from the Lord to men, and 'cease from man whose breath is in his nostrils.'

He quotes Matthew Henry's commentary on Jeremiah 17:5 to elaborate on the curse of trusting in man, describing it as leaning on a 'broken reed' that will pierce the hand.

Its leaf shall be green and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit. Again, listen, to old Matthew Henry. Bless God for these who have studied their Bibles and see in it what we see. It is an excellent doctrine that is preached in these verses and of general concern and use to us all and does not appear to have any particular reference to the present state of Judah and Jerusalem.

26:13 - 26:46 Read in full sermon

The point: Beware of an unwarranted suspicion of and murmuring against your leaders, especially during difficult times.

He uses the example of a losing sports team firing its coach to illustrate the common human tendency to blame leaders when things go wrong, even when the fault lies elsewhere.

Beware of an unwarranted suspicion of and murmuring against your leaders. One of the most plain patterns of fallen human nature in any group setting, not just in the church, but in the world, is this. When any group of people come into difficult times and circumstances, the tendency is to suspect and blame their leaders for those difficulties. The team is going nowhere.

33:22 - 33:51 Read in full sermon

The point: Beware of an unwarranted suspicion of and murmuring against your leaders, especially during difficult times.

He uses the example of blaming leadership after a hurricane to further illustrate the tendency to 'stick it on the leadership' when difficulties arise.

He's on the sidelines in his Armani suit, just hollering at you, telling you what to do. Get rid of the coach. Hurricane. Devastates the whole area.

34:05 - 34:19 Read in full sermon

The point: Heed the warning against unwarranted suspicion and murmuring to avoid God's judgment.

He shares his advice to men in the academy about pastoral ministry, warning them that their motives and judgments will be questioned by those with incomplete information, highlighting the reality of leadership challenges.

And what was the murmuring? It was this chronic pattern of unwarranted suspicion of and murmuring against their leaders when they faced a crisis. And human nature is no different. I've told the men in the academy if you're not ready if you're not ready to have your motives questioned your judgments overthrown by every Tom, Dick and Terry who only have one tenth of the facts don't go into the pastoral ministry.

42:05 - 42:38 Read in full sermon

The point: Do not get antsy and lower the standard or be careless in seeking new leadership, even if God's provision seems delayed.

He uses the analogy of testing metals (documazo) by fire or chemicals to prove their authenticity, applying it to the rigorous testing required for deacons and, by extension, elders.

In other words, Timothy don't respond at a first look when it appears that a man may have these graces. No, no, no. Put him to the test. This word documazo is the word one would use with regard to testing metals.

50:05 - 50:23 Read in full sermon

The point: Do not get antsy and lower the standard or be careless in seeking new leadership, even if God's provision seems delayed.

He recounts the church's practice of having deacon candidates sit in on meetings for nearly a year to observe their character and responses, demonstrating a practical application of 'proving' leaders.

This is why as I think I mentioned, I did mention to you at our recent annual meeting when we recognized two deacons that for close to a year these men in whom there was perceived these character traits required of deacons, there was an additional proving by having them sit in with the deacons' meetings to see how they responded to their brethren. Do they defer in matters of judgment where deference is the manifestation of Christian grace or do they stand their ground and hold their position at the expense of unity and peace and harmony among the diaconate? Do they take responsibilities and ad...

50:51 - 52:15 Read in full sermon

The point: Do not get antsy and lower the standard or be careless in seeking new leadership, even if God's provision seems delayed.

He uses the historical example of Israel's impatient demand for a king (1 Samuel 8, 12) and the tragic result with Saul to warn against carnal haste in seeking leadership.

I urge you to read them. 1 Samuel 8 and then 1 Samuel chapter 12. You remember what happened. Israel got antsy to have a king. Samuel is on his way out. We want a king. It wasn't that they were waiting upon God for God's time to give them a king, which he obviously eventually purposed to do. From the book of Deuteronomy it's clear where God sets out the standards of how a king in Israel is to conduct himself personally and administer his rule in the name of Jehovah. But they were antsy to have a king and they wanted a king now. And God gives them their now king. And the result of it is tragic ...

52:35 - 53:31 Read in full sermon