Elijah: The Man, Part 2

Driving home: Thy word was in my heart as a fire shut up within my bones, and I was weary with forbearing and I could not stay.

The description of Elijah as a 'hairy man' or 'man dressed in hair' highlights his rugged, unrefined appearance, contrasting with court elegance and underscoring his lack of worldly credentials for confronting the king.

You'll remember later on in 2 Kings, a certain man is sent by a leader on a mission and the prophet Elijah stops him, delivers the message of God, and he comes back to his leader and tells the story. They say, what did he look like? And they said, and the Hebrew there is obscure, he is a hairy man or a man dressed in hair. But in other words, he was not a man who was found in the silks and satins and elegance of the court.

6:10 - 6:37 Read in full sermon

Driving home: Thy word was in my heart as a fire shut up within my bones, and I was weary with forbearing and I could not stay.

Elijah's spirit, vexed by Baal worship, is compared to Elihu's heart like wineskins ready to burst and Jeremiah's fire shut up in his bones, illustrating the intense, internal compulsion to speak God's message.

He is so consumed with this message from God, his spirit is so vexed within him at the wholesale abandonment to the worship of Baal, that it's as though he has within him the words of Elihu as recorded in the book of Job, my heart is like wineskins ready to burst. Or in the language of Jeremiah who said, I've had it every time I open my mouth, I'm put down, I'm abused, I'm not going to speak anymore in the name of my God. But he said, though I have problems speaking, I have a greater problem being silent. Thy word was in my heart as a fire shut up within my bones, and I was weary with forbeari...

7:17 - 8:21 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Elijah's boldness is demonstrated through his confrontation with Ahab, his mocking of Baal's prophets on Mount Carmel, and his fearless declaration of judgment against Ahab and…

Ahab's pouting over Naboth's vineyard and Jezebel's subsequent plot to murder Naboth illustrate the depth of their sin and set the stage for Elijah's fearless confrontation.

Ahab, driven by the cruel tyranny of his own sin, sets his affection upon a vineyard and he can't have it. And like a little kid who can't have an ice cream cone when he wants it, he pouts and becomes petulant. And Jezebel comes along and comforts him and says, well, darling, what do you want? I'll get it for you.

12:15 - 12:40 Read in full sermon

The point: Preach God's word faithfully, even the 'offensive doctrines,' without fear of man, avoiding veiled orthodoxy.

Martin describes preachers who use orthodox terms but avoid 'offensive doctrines,' likening it to drawing a sword but keeping it from blood, illustrating a lack of true boldness.

He that hath a dream, let him speak his dream. But he that hath my word, let him speak that word faithfully. You know, there is a way of being orthodox, and in your orthodoxy, veiling a spirit that is shot through with the fear of man. It's a way of preaching that will comfort and console the initiate that you're being faithful. In other words, the terms, the words, the doctrines that faithful preachers are supposed to preach will be mentioned enough in passing that the undiscerning initiates, those who understand those doctrines and key biblical words, will sit there and say, well, our pastor...

16:35 - 17:46 Read in full sermon

The point: Exercise boldness in dealing with children, firmly and lovingly disciplining them, remembering you stand before the living God.

Parents who lack boldness in disciplining temper tantrums are given as an example, showing how a lack of standing before God leads to fear of children rather than firm, loving correction.

his word faithfully. But you see, that not only applies to preachers, it applies to parents. Some of you lack boldness in dealing with your children. And you know why? It's because you don't stand before the living God when you deal with your children. Some of you parents are afraid of your children. Some of you who have young children, you're afraid of them. When they throw a temper tantrum, you're just...you just don't quite to do. Well, Johnny, Sally, don't do that. Now, that's not nice. That's not good. Instead of setting the child up off the floor and upon your knee and saying, stop that ...

20:52 - 21:38 Read in full sermon

The point: Be bold to witness to peers, honor the Sabbath, and resist peer pressure to lie, use foul language, or engage in sin, remembering you stand before the Lord God.

Martin recounts his own momentary shame in bowing his head to pray in a restaurant surrounded by ungodly men, illustrating that even preachers struggle with the fear of man and need to remember they stand before God.

You need, if you're the children of God, if you fled to Christ in Hebrew, and you belong to Him, you need to say, Lord, I stand before You. Who are these fellow playmates? Lord, I stand before You, and You'll dare to rebuke them. But you don't learn that once for all. I'm going to tell you something you'll be surprised at, but you need to know it. During these conferences, my routines to get up in the morning and do my running early in the morning and go to a little place down the road here and get a quick breakfast and come back and have the time quiet when you're all over there hooping and h...

23:39 - 24:31 Read in full sermon

The point: Engage in daily devotions to bring near the reality of living in God's presence, remembering that all your actions are answerable to God.

Devotions are contrasted with a 'magic little ritual' where one puts in a 'nickel worth of devotions' to get 'spiritual power,' emphasizing that their true blessing is bringing the reality of living in God's presence near.

You see, that's why your devotions are so important. You see, devotions aren't some kind of a magic little ritual that you put in a nickel worth of devotions and get out a nickel worth of spiritual power. One of the great blessings of your devotions is it brings near the reality that you live that day that is before you. In the presence of God.

26:31 - 26:52 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Elijah's compassion is evidenced by his deep concern and fervent prayer for the widow's dead son, and his sensitivity to Obadiah's fear, demonstrating that standing before a…

Elijah's combination of fiery zeal and compassion is compared to Christ, who scourged the temple but also welcomed children and repentant sinners, illustrating that boldness does not preclude sensitivity.

And so we see in Elijah this manward grace of boldness and may God grant a new dimension, a new dimension of that grace to us as people. But we see in the second place the manward grace of compassion and sensitivity. As I just mentioned very briefly yesterday, we often think of men with Elijah's boldness as being men who become insensitive and callous in human relationships. But Elijah was so much like his Lord, the Lord who would later with fiery zeal make a scourge of cords and drive out the changers of money in the temple and yet be the same Lord in whose presence children felt at ease. And...

27:16 - 28:18 Read in full sermon

Driving home: No man can stand before the Lord God of love and compassion and not himself be a man of compassion and sensitivity.

Ahab's concern for feeding his horses while the nation suffered under judgment is presented as a 'beastly nature' with parallels to the misplaced priorities of people in the present day.

Think of the beastly nature of this man Ahab. The whole nation under judgment and children dying and widows crying and he's concerned about his horses. Oh the parallels in our own day. But Obadiah meets Elijah in this pursuit of grazing places for the horses of Ahab.

34:09 - 34:29 Read in full sermon

Driving home: No man can stand before the Lord God of love and compassion and not himself be a man of compassion and sensitivity.

A hypothetical scenario where an 'important preacher' dismisses Obadiah's fear illustrates how a lack of sensitivity can manifest in ministry, contrasting with Elijah's compassionate response.

And so when I come and tell Ahab and he cannot find me, he'll slay me. But I thy servant fear the Lord for my youth. Was it not told my Lord what I did when Jezebel slew the prophets of the Lord? How I hid a hundred men of the Lord's prophets by fifty in a cave and fed them with bread and water. And now thou sayest go tell thy Lord. Behold, Elijah's here and he'll slay me. Now if Elijah were a light of light, like a lot of important preachers, he would have said look here, Obadiah, who in the world are you to question me? I'm God's servant.

34:55 - 35:24 Read in full sermon

The point: Combine boldness in preaching with genuine love and compassion for people, being willing to impart not just the gospel but your own souls.

Paul's description of being 'gentle in the midst of you as when a nurse cherisheth her own children' is used to illustrate the deep, affectionate desire and tenderness required in ministry, even alongside boldness.

witness nor seeking glory of men neither from you or from others. He underscores the elements of boldness unfettered fidelity to the message but now notice the contrast verse 7. But we were gentle in the midst of you as when a nurse cherisheth her own children and the picture is of a woman who's a wet nurse who sells her services to nurse other babies who loves children so much she'll even suckle another mother's child and he says when such a woman has her own child the fruit of her own womb at her breast what bonds of love. He says we were as gentle as a nurse cherishing her own children. Ver...

37:21 - 38:50 Read in full sermon

The point: Combine boldness in preaching with genuine love and compassion for people, being willing to impart not just the gospel but your own souls.

Paul's words about speaking with tongues of men and angels without love becoming 'sounding brass and clanging cymbals' are used to warn reformed preachers against uncompassionate orthodoxy.

And I stand... I stand to protest against any notion as being Christian that says it is less than Christian manhood to say to people of you have become very dear to me. Without this element I remind you of the language of the same apostle, though we speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and though the truth we speak be glorious reformed truth, we have become very dear to us. And we have become so much the same. I have become so much more than just theANTICAL, the most transcendent being of the world. I have become so much more than something that is a symbol of beauty, of the Comedy of ...

41:33 - 42:16 Read in full sermon

Driving home: It has to do with the gracious work of God producing a proper assessment of who I am and what God is and enabling me to live in the light of that.

Humility is distinguished from personality type, noting that aggressive people can be humble and quiet people proud, illustrating that humility is a work of God, not a natural temperament.

Humility may have nothing to do or has nothing to do with personality type, a very aggressive personality. A very aggressive, outgoing, ebullient type of person may be very humble. A very quiet, diffident, reserved person may be as proud as the devil.

44:50 - 45:05 Read in full sermon

The point: Examine your heart for pride; can you genuinely rejoice in the gifts and usefulness of brethren whose gifts eclipse yours?

Martin expresses fear when preachers pray to be a Spurgeon or Whitfield, distinguishing between excusable youthful immaturity and a deeper, prideful desire for personal glory and recognition.

I'm scared to death whenever I hear a preacher praying, oh, God, make me a Spurgeon. Oh, God, make me a Whitfield. I'm scared to death when I hear a man pray like that. On the one hand, it could simply be immaturity.

49:59 - 50:14 Read in full sermon

The point: Examine your heart for pride; can you genuinely rejoice in the gifts and usefulness of brethren whose gifts eclipse yours?

A scenario where a pastor's pride is wounded when his congregation praises a guest preacher more than him illustrates the challenge of humility and rejoicing in others' gifts.

How do you feel when that man comes? You invited him, you see, for meetings. You invite him as your peer. And lo and behold, the Holy Ghost came upon him with power and he preached with such boldness.

51:21 - 51:34 Read in full sermon

The point: Accept admonition from your spouse without bristling, recognizing that pride hinders this and is overcome by standing in God's presence.

Martin abhors the 'red carpet treatment' of preachers with posh motels and unlimited expense accounts, contrasting it with the humble example of Christ and Elijah.

Humility. He can eat in a widow's home at a widow's table having simple fare and his nose is never bent. I abominate this red carpet treatment of preachers as though they were some kind of ambassador or something else from another country, putting them up to the poshest motels and giving them unlimited expense accounts. It's so unlike the master and so unlike his true servants such as Elijah.

53:23 - 53:56 Read in full sermon

The point: Cultivate consistent personal and domestic piety so that your family, even in moments of irritation, is forced to acknowledge you as a 'man of God.'

The widow's observation of Elijah's table manners, willingness to clear dishes, and making his own bed are given as examples of the 'little things' that reveal true character and domestic piety.

Now remember, she called him this after he had lived in the home many days. And there's nothing like the intimacy of the domestic sphere to show a man for what he really is. And after living many days to watch his table manners, to see if he was selfish, if he took a whack off the bread first or whether he passed it to her in deference to her, and to the son, and then took for himself. To see whether he was too high and mighty in his official ministerial capacity to offer to clear up the dishes.

56:58 - 57:34 Read in full sermon

The point: Teach submission to authority by modeling it yourself, avoiding open defiance of constituted authority.

Martin recounts his frustration with parents who openly defied the conference elders' instruction to remove disruptive children, illustrating a lack of submission to authority and its impact on teaching children.

How can you teach your children submission to authority when in this conference there's been open defiance of the authority of the elders of Grace Baptist Church? And I don't know who's involved so I can look with a clear conscience that I'm not using the public place to make private accusation. At the opening meetings you were instructed if children disturbed, take them out. And I've sat through meeting after meeting where I've had to cry, Lord help me to concentrate with the bin of squawking babies.

64:24 - 64:50 Read in full sermon

The point: Teach submission to authority by modeling it yourself, avoiding open defiance of constituted authority.

Martin shares how he submitted to the elders' authority regarding his preaching topic, even when he wanted to preach something else, illustrating the principle of submission to constituted authority.

I'm subject to that authority. I wanted to preach something else. And I told the elders at Carlisle and they said you'll do nothing of that sort. You preach what we told you.

64:57 - 65:05 Read in full sermon

The point: Treat your wife with love, sensitivity, and gentleness, not like a 'thief,' so your children see consistency between your preaching and your life.

Dads who break the speed limit while trying to teach submission to authority are given as an example of hypocrisy that undermines parental influence.

How can you dads teach submission to constituted authority when your son sees you break the speed limit day after day and week after week when you drive? No one knows what the Bible says about husbands. Love your wives, be sensitive, be gentle, and they see you treat your wife like a thief. Oh, may God help us to see.

65:26 - 65:55 Read in full sermon