Delivery of the Message

Driving home: Unaffected naturalness in preaching, is a man of God standing before the people of God with heart and mind impregnated with the truth of God, seeking to convey that truth to others without attempting to change the finger…

The analogy of a preacher's 'fingerprints' on the truth, like authors' fingerprints on Scripture, illustrates that unaffected naturalness means conveying truth through one's unique, redeemed personality.

But I don't know how to reduce this. If you can reduce it, help me later. But I try to define this or describe it in the following way. Unaffected naturalness in preaching, is a man of God standing before the people of God with heart and mind impregnated with the truth of God, seeking to convey that truth to others without attempting to change the fingerprints of his own redeemed humanity, which of necessity must be found on the truth presented.

7:02 - 7:41 Read in full sermon

The point: Put off characteristics of the 'old man' like insensitivity, coarseness, dogmatism, and unloving bombast when preaching, and instead preach in the fragrance of the graces of the 'new man'.

The concept of being three men (old man, new man, human) is used to explain that while the 'old man' should be put off in preaching, the 'human' aspects should not be divorced from the 'new man's' expression of truth.

I do not think it is out of place to expect that it shall be manifested at the lower level of the Spirit's grace and assistance in the opening up and applying of those words which God the Holy Spirit has given to us. As I indicated this afternoon, one has said that all of us are in one sense, or have been three men. There is the old man. That which according to Colossians chapter 3 has been crucified, has been put off, Romans 6, Colossians 3.

9:04 - 9:39 Read in full sermon

Driving home: I detest with you the emotional rape committed by professional manipulators upon simple people.

This illustration contrasts the sadness over a dead bird with the profound grief over a dead child to show that emotional intensity should be directly proportional to the weightiness of the facts confronted.

If I'm taking a walk and I see a bird that's become the object of the cunning ability of a cat and its stealth, the moment there registers in my mind the fact that that bird has died and I think that there may be a little papa bird somewhere who goes into his nest alone tonight or little baby birds who chirp and chirp and there's no mother, understanding the fact and contemplating some of the situations involved and knowing there's one less bird to chirp to the glory of God, there's a measure of sadness. I always feel sad when I see a dead bird that's been mauled by a cat.

15:34 - 16:14 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: This section argues for the free but controlled flow of emotions in preaching, asserting that truth received by the mind and believed by the heart should naturally affect…

The example of a young suitor's emotions inflaming his mind to produce eloquent words illustrates that emotions do not necessarily cloud clear thought but can enhance it.

Any objection that the mind will not clearly convey truth if it's clouded by emotions. Finds no basis in scripture, and it's not sound psychology either. For you let the emotions of the young suitor, whose mind is convinced that that woman is for him, and whose heart loves her. Let him get in the context of seeking to woo and to win her, and the very fire of his emotions will inflame the mind and stretch it until there will flow out of him words that will amaze him.

24:30 - 25:12 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: This section argues for the free but controlled flow of emotions in preaching, asserting that truth received by the mind and believed by the heart should naturally affect…

A quote from a periodical criticizing a preacher for 'allowing himself to become somewhat emotional' is used to highlight a prevalent, but misguided, attitude against emotional expression in preaching.

One of the elements of true preaching eloquence. I'm not talking about artificial eloquence, but that Holy Spirit eloquence that causes God's truth to come through with power and clarity. Is in great measure related to this matter of the free flow of the emotions following the track. I read something recently in a periodical that has literally haunted me in the past weeks as this whole series of lectures has been guest-stating, and boiling, and stewing.

25:22 - 26:01 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: This section argues for the free but controlled flow of emotions in preaching, asserting that truth received by the mind and believed by the heart should naturally affect…

Dr. Merrill Tenney's simple exposition of John the Baptist as a 'burning and shining light' (John 5:35) is shared as the best illustration of the need for both 'heat' (emotion) and 'light' (truth) in preaching.

He was burning. The best exposition I ever got of that text was when Dr. Merrill Tenney. Again, a man whose theology would be indistinct in many areas.

29:54 - 30:09 Read in full sermon

The point: Never attempt to put emotion into a sermon, as this prostitutes the pulpit and turns preaching into play-acting.

The story of an old southern preacher whose tears came at the exact same point in every sermon illustrates the danger of attempting to 'put emotion into a sermon,' turning it into play-acting.

That is to prostitute the pulpit and turn preaching into play acting. I remember someone telling me about an old southern preacher. They'd heard him preach a so-called famous sermon many places. And they could tell the exact point at which the tears would come in every second.

31:39 - 31:55 Read in full sermon

The point: Avoid the evils of affectation in the use of the voice, which neutralize preaching effectiveness.

The metaphor of 'strange gases' surrounding the pulpit that affect a preacher's larynx is used humorously to highlight the unnatural vocal affectations some preachers adopt when in the pulpit.

What exotic gases must surround the pulpits. As to have such strange effects upon the larynx of some preachers. You stand here. Sit here before a meeting and talk with them.

35:58 - 36:12 Read in full sermon

The point: Never plan the modulation of your sermon (e.g., when to raise or lower your voice).

Martin shares a personal testimony of planning vocal modulation in a sermon, describing how he felt 'polluted' and 'dirty' afterward, illustrating the error of deliberate, artificial vocal control.

And I trust personal testimony is not out of place here. I had only been preaching for a matter of about two to three years. I was in college at the time. And I had been affected with the leaven of a speech class.

37:07 - 37:18 Read in full sermon

The point: Be careful of accusing other brethren of deliberate affectation, remembering the unconscious imitative process.

Martin describes how he subconsciously imitates gestures or vocal patterns of effective preachers he sits under, cautioning against quickly accusing brethren of deliberate affectation.

Be careful of accusing other brethren of deliberate affectation. For if you really give yourself to a preacher when he preaches. There is an unconscious imitative process going on. And I find if I sit under an effective preacher for two or three times.

39:56 - 40:14 Read in full sermon

The point: Avoid the mesmerizing effect of neutral tone and volume.

The drone of an airplane is used as an analogy for the 'mesmerizing effect of all neutral tone and volume' in preaching, which puts listeners to sleep.

I remind you again, brethren, I haven't allowed elements of humor that I would not bring into the act of preaching. This is a lecture, and I believe there's a difference in what is warranted humor in this and would not be in the other. But if we can perhaps see ourselves in some of these things, under that maxim, avoid monotone, the first subdivision. Avoid at all costs the mesmerizing effect of all neutral tone and volume because it's like the drone of the airplane.

44:33 - 45:04 Read in full sermon

The point: Avoid the dulling effect of all raised tone and volume, which leaves no room for emphasis.

Martin recounts working with a young preacher who started his introduction with such high intensity that he had nowhere to go when the sermon demanded real emphasis, illustrating the 'dulling effect of all raised tone and volume'.

The man who gets up here and the only place he can go from there is into a false center. I worked one time with a young preacher. He would get going in his introduction. You'd think that he'd been carried out in wings of unusual enlargement and unction, and he was just giving the review from the last sermon.

46:09 - 46:26 Read in full sermon

The point: Avoid the dulling effect of all raised tone and volume, which leaves no room for emphasis.

Spurgeon's vivid description of a preacher who 'mistakes perspiration for inspiration' and 'tears along like a wild horse with a hornet in his ear' illustrates the negative impact of sustained, overly loud preaching.

And so when something really demanded, the only place he could go really was into a false center. And I had to work with him on this thing to try to get him out of that terrible habit. I do not know that any of you have it, but I would be very much surprised if in a congregation of this size there would not be some who at least have a tendency in that direction. Spurgeon, in his own style, said, It is an infliction not to be endured twice.

46:27 - 46:54 Read in full sermon

The point: Forget yourself and be yourself in physical actions, seeking to rid yourself of grotesque, distracting, or uncouth gestures.

Martin recalls Professor Murray's raised eyebrow as a non-verbal answer to a question, illustrating how much can be communicated without words and the eloquence of physical actions.

And do you remember this afternoon when the question was addressed to Professor Murray concerning the subject of his view of whether or not the magistrate was subject to the word of God? Were you all looking? I had his answer before he ever opened his mouth. Remember what he did?

49:23 - 49:35 Read in full sermon

The point: Forget yourself and be yourself in physical actions, seeking to rid yourself of grotesque, distracting, or uncouth gestures.

A story about a Westminster Seminary student from a different cultural background being so distracted by Martin's 'preaching with his whole body' that he couldn't hear the truth, illustrates the need for naturalness rather than a rigid model of gestures.

I remember the experience I had a couple of years ago. I was preaching in the church. We had some young fellows from Westminster Seminary in the congregation.

51:08 - 51:15 Read in full sermon

The point: Expose yourself to honest criticism from brethren to identify and eliminate distracting habits.

Martin shares a personal anecdote about his distracting habit of buttoning and unbuttoning his jacket while preaching, which his wife pointed out, illustrating the need to rid oneself of grotesque or improper gestures.

And I'm only pleading them for that naturalness. I would encourage you to read Spurgeon's two chapters on the subject and then expose yourself to the honest criticism of some of your brethren. You may have a grotesque habit that is distracting from the truth. I had one that got, probably had many others that hadn't been brought to light.

54:02 - 54:21 Read in full sermon

The point: Preach to people's eyeballs, using their eyes as a register of their attention and understanding, and be willing to adjust if you see a 'dull, hazy, London foggy look'.

The example of making specific application to college students sitting together, and then looking at them directly, illustrates how 'penetrating directness' in delivery complements 'discriminating application' in content.

You realize here's a place to give pointed, specific, discriminating application and you've worked it into the content of the sermon. Now when you come to preach Sunday morning, if your church is like ours, many times the college students with their sense of camaraderie sit together. What good will it do if you know the college students are over there to start making this application to the side windows over here?

56:58 - 57:22 Read in full sermon

The point: Preach to people's eyeballs, using their eyes as a register of their attention and understanding, and be willing to adjust if you see a 'dull, hazy, London foggy look'.

Spurgeon's statement about being restless until he had even a blind man's eyes fixed on him illustrates the importance of preaching to people's eyes as a barometer of their attention and reception of truth.

You read men in their eyes. And when you're preaching along and you see that dull, hazy, London foggy look in the eyes, then you know you're not coming across. It would do no good to stumble through the rest of the sermon. Cry out, Lord, give me some little illustration.

58:02 - 58:20 Read in full sermon

The point: Cultivate penetrating directness by not being so tied to your manuscript or notes that you cannot interact with the congregation.

The analogy of a lawyer before the jury box, sensitive to their reactions and hurling questions, illustrates the climate of 'penetrating directness' in preaching.

I think the best illustration I know of that climate is the lawyer before the juror's box.

61:01 - 61:06 Read in full sermon

The point: Cultivate penetrating directness by not being so tied to your manuscript or notes that you cannot interact with the congregation.

The discussion of Jonathan Edwards' use of notes and a candle is used to argue that while he may have used them, his example should not be a hiding place for preachers who lack penetrating directness due to being bound to their manuscript.

I was so glad the issue of Jonathan Edwards came up this morning. And as the gentleman said, having looked at some of the original, manuscripts of Edwards, he said it would be impossible for them to be read as such because they just were not that full. I rather think that Edwards, if he had his notes, may have forgotten one of his next heads. And so because there were no electric lights illuminating the page at which he could look almost imperceptibly, as far as the congregation is concerned, may have taken his candle, gotten his next head, set the candle back in the socket, set his notes down...

63:01 - 63:38 Read in full sermon

The point: Cultivate sanctified flexibility, allowing for the Holy Spirit to give spontaneous light and utterance in the pulpit beyond prior preparation.

A quote stating that sermons are 'conceived and gestate in the study, but they are either born or stillborn in the pulpit' is used to introduce the concept of 'sanctified flexibility' and the unpredictable element of the Spirit's work in preaching.

Effective preaching is not only marked in the delivery by unaffected naturalness, penetrating directness, but by what I'm calling, sanctified flexibility. This principle brings us into a concept which I find it difficult to talk about, and yet I read something a few months ago that crystallized a growing conviction that I've had. This particular author said that sermons are not born in the study. They are conceived and they gestate in the study, but they are either born or stillborn in the pulpit.

65:21 - 66:02 Read in full sermon

The point: Cultivate sanctified flexibility, allowing for the Holy Spirit to give spontaneous light and utterance in the pulpit beyond prior preparation.

Spurgeon's words on preparing carefully but not so minutely that there's no room for the Spirit's help illustrate the balance between preparation and 'sanctified flexibility'.

I should not pray God to take care of me and then leave my front door unfastened and my window open. So I should not pray for the Holy Spirit and then go into the pulpit without having carefully thought out my text. Still, if I prepared thoughts and expressions so minutely that I never varied from my set form, I should think that my faith was, to say the least, encumbered with more works than would allow her much liberty of action. I do not see where the opportunity is given to the Spirit of God to help us in preaching if every jot and tittle is settled beforehand.

67:32 - 68:07 Read in full sermon

The point: If God the Holy Ghost gives you light on your feet, follow that light, even if it means deviating from your notes.

An old preacher's advice, 'young men, if God the Holy Ghost gives you light on your feet, follow the light. Your notes will be there next week. But the light won't,' powerfully illustrates the principle of sanctified flexibility.

And make this newly given utterance to be the very arrowhead of the discourse which shall strike deeper into the heart than anything you had prepared. I shall never forget the advice of a sagacious old preacher who had a group of us younger preachers together at a prayer meeting. A preacher's conference similar to this. And he was one of these men who broke all the rules, but in breaking them he kept the cardinal rule, be yourself.

68:25 - 68:51 Read in full sermon

The point: Be on the watch for moments when thought unexpectedly 'thaws out and flows' and gives the current free course.

Alexander's beautiful phrase, 'Be on the watch for moments when the thought unexpectedly thaws out and flows and gives the current free course,' describes the experience of spontaneous illumination.

And we must then have this sanctified flexibility that will follow the light when it comes and be obedient to the Holy Spirit. Alexander says, be on the watch for moments when the thought unexpectedly thaws out and flows and gives the current free course. Isn't that beautiful? Be on the watch for those moments when the thought unexpectedly thaws out and flows and gives the current free course.

71:10 - 71:41 Read in full sermon

The point: Be on the watch for moments when thought unexpectedly 'thaws out and flows' and gives the current free course.

The analogy of fireplace logs glowing steadily, then crackling and sparking with a sudden draft, illustrates how the Spirit's breath can bring moments of intense, spontaneous light and heat from the prepared truth.

I've been laboring at trying to come up with an analogy. And this is the closest I've come up with. I would appreciate some of your reaction to it later. You're sitting on a cold winter evening before a fireplace in the living room.

71:42 - 71:53 Read in full sermon

The point: Write sermons thoroughly and invest every thought with full expression, then pronounce as much as remembrance can retain, rather than wandering in a chaotic strain.

A poem by Gibbons is quoted to summarize the balance between thorough sermon preparation and the flexibility to allow instantaneous, Spirit-given thoughts to blaze forth.

This is from Gibbons, the Christian minister. Should you, my friend, the important question ask, with or without my papers shall I preach? My answer, hear and weigh. Yours truly, your sermons write from end to end and every thought invest with full expression such as best may suit its nature and its use and then pronounce as much as your remembrance can retain.

74:20 - 74:49 Read in full sermon

The point: Never be so enslaved to your notes as to repress an instantaneous thought that may dart upon the soul and blaze with divine strength and majesty.

The eyewitness account of Rabbi Duncan's profound, emotional, and spontaneous preaching on the sufferings of the Messiah illustrates all three principles: unaffected naturalness, penetrating directness, and sanctified flexibility.

Take two more minutes for the... Rabbi Duncan, the teacher at the Free College in Edinburgh who had such a profound influence upon the lives of young ministers after he went to glory and different appreciations were written concerning him by former students.

76:06 - 76:29 Read in full sermon