Renewed Commission of the Prophet

In this part of the sermon: The sermon begins with Jonah being vomited onto dry land, prompting a reflection on his disorientation and the strange providence that preserved him, leading to his questioning of…

Martin uses the analogy of Jonah's inability to calculate time in the whale's belly (no sundial, no Timex) to emphasize the disorientation and the miraculous nature of God's revelation of the three-day period.

It is a great help to read one's Bible with a measure of sanctified imagination. And I wonder if you've ever paused to make at least an effort to feel what Jonah must have felt between verse ten of chapter two and verse one of chapter three. For a period of time that probably only later by direct revelation could he calculate his three days and nights. For how does one calculate time in the pitch black, dark dampness of a whale's belly?

2:46 - 3:21 Read in full sermon

The point: Recognize that the element of unilateral authoritarian directive lies at the heart of all true preaching, even if it is unpopular in a day that prefers dialogue and sharing.

A young man's discomfort with Martin's 'authoritative element' in preaching, preferring 'dialogue and sharing,' is used to highlight the contemporary aversion to unilateral, sovereign directive in preaching and to contrast it with the biblical model of 'thus saith the Lord.'

I said, well, tell me. He said, I'm just not used to this authoritative element. I'm used to dialogue and sharing. I said, well, you may well be.

9:33 - 9:45 Read in full sermon

The point: Reflect on God's grace in forgiving, cleansing, reinstating to communion, and even restoring to usefulness after disobedience, just as He did for Jonah and Peter.

The tender scene in John's Gospel where Jesus reinstates Peter after his denial ('feed my sheep, feed my lambs') is used as a parallel to God's gracious restoration of Jonah, demonstrating God's consistent character in dealing with disobedient prophets.

One whose mouth was set apart to speak for his Lord, but from that very mouth there came foul oaths and cursing under pressure, saying, I know not the man. And you have that tender scene in John's Gospel where the Lord singles out Peter, reinstates him, and then He says, feed my sheep, feed my sheep, feed my lambs. Oh, how gracious is the God of Jonah who is the God of Peter, who is our God. And although we perhaps have not been as dramatic in our disobedience as was Jonah, surely again and again we have had words from God as explicit as was the word to Jonah, go to Nineveh. We have had a word...

14:01 - 15:27 Read in full sermon

The point: Reflect on God's grace in forgiving, cleansing, reinstating to communion, and even restoring to usefulness after disobedience, just as He did for Jonah and Peter.

Jesus' reminders to the Jews of His day about Elijah being sent to the Gentile widow of Zarephath and Elisha healing Naaman the Syrian are used to illustrate God's long-standing heart for Gentiles, foreshadowing the Gospel's spread to all nations.

I could only think of John 10 in verse 16 as I meditated upon this. The Lord Jesus said, Other sheep I have which are not of this fold, them also I must bring. And you get little hints of that in the Old Testament. It was this very fact, you see, that irritated the Jews of our Lord's day in His own hometown when He spoke of the Spirit being upon Him to proclaim light to Gentiles.

17:39 - 18:08 Read in full sermon

The point: Realize that plain preaching, even if resented, is the most gracious thing God provides, offering warnings and overtures of mercy that many cities and individuals in history never received.

The analogy of preachers telling 'pious lies' and 'talking people into heaven' at funerals is used to expose the danger of false teaching that offers comfort without true repentance, contrasting it with the plain, confrontational truth of God's Word.

and no overture of grace in terms of the preaching of Jehovah ever came to them. My friend, you could have been bypassed, reared in a pagan home where the name of God was never reverently upon the lips of praying mother and father, reared in a pagan home where the Bible was never opened. You could have sunk into hell! And some of you are so duped by sin you sit there tonight even whispering in your mind, I wish it were so!

23:15 - 23:46 Read in full sermon

The point: Test any supposed spiritual renewal by whether it results in explicit obedience to God's revealed will, rather than relying on feelings or emotional experiences.

The illustration of Jonah not having 'wonderful tinglys up and down his spine and felt the Lord so precious and broke out in tongues' after being vomited up is used to critique superficial spiritual experiences and emphasize that true spiritual renewal is evidenced by explicit obedience, not mere feelings.

Jonah had wonderful tinglys up and down his spine and felt the Lord so precious and broke out in tongues and had a glory, hallelujah experience and ran around to any starfish on the shore, shaking them to enter into his joy of his glory. No, no, no, no, no, no. The ultimate test of any supposed spiritual renewal is right here. Does it result in a return to explicit obedience to the revealed will of God?

28:48 - 29:21 Read in full sermon

The point: Do not gauge your spiritual state by a 'feel-o-meter,' but by the extent to which your feet are resolutely planted in God's revealed will.

The metaphor of a 'feel-o-meter' is used to warn against gauging one's spiritual state by emotions, instead urging reliance on the extent to which one's feet are planted in God's revealed will.

You see, because their great grief is not that they've really sinned, but because having sinned they feel bad, their spiritual exercises are all over when they feel better. And the devil is a master of imparting spurious feelings. My friend, don't you gauge where you are by a feel-o-meter. You gauge where you are by the extent to which your feet are being planted resolutely and determinately in the revealed will of God.

29:52 - 30:30 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Jonah's obedience was demanding due to Nineveh's immense size and power, and the gravity of his message: 'Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown,' a message of judgment…

Comparing Nineveh's 'three days' journey' circumference to the 'greater New York, New Jersey metropolitan area' helps listeners grasp the vastness and demanding nature of Jonah's mission.

Now it doesn't mean great unto God in the sense of moral greatness, but of its physical size and influence. And without going into the many theories as to the precise interpretation of three days journey, suffice it to say that in all probability this is a description of what we would call the greater metropolitan Nineveh area. And if we take a day's journey as being 15 to 20 miles, we are told that the greater metropolitan Nineveh area had a circumference of 60 miles. So we think we live in the greater New York, New Jersey metropolitan area.

31:52 - 32:36 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Jonah's obedience was demanding due to Nineveh's immense size and power, and the gravity of his message: 'Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown,' a message of judgment…

Describing the Assyrians as the 'Russia and the Red China of that period in world history' vividly conveys their cruel military might and aggressive spirit, highlighting the danger Jonah faced.

You get some idea of the vastness of this city. And Jonah is commissioned to go to a city that is great before God. It was the seat of the cruel military might and power of all Assyrians. And the Assyrians were known for their heartless cruelty and warfare, for their aggressive militaristic spirit.

32:36 - 33:03 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Jonah's obedience was demanding due to Nineveh's immense size and power, and the gravity of his message: 'Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown,' a message of judgment…

A preacher's suggestion that Jonah might have had a 'strange bleached look' from the fish's juices is used to illustrate how God might have physically marked Jonah as a 'sign' to the Ninevites, validating his message through his unique experience.

How God had prepared a great fish and in that fish had prepared him. How God had caused him to be vomited up on the land. How God had commissioned him a second time. And I'll never forget one preacher suggesting, and I only suggest and I cannot at this point assert, could it be, could it be that God even allowed some of the natural juices that were there in the belly of the fish to put some permanent mark upon the very physical appearance of Jonah that would cause everyone to be astounded and say, man, what in the world is wrong with you?

36:59 - 37:35 Read in full sermon

The point: Aspire to be in a 'holy fainting fest' as a preacher, recognizing your own insufficiency and relying entirely on God's power to make His Word effective.

The metaphor of a 'holy fainting fest' describes the preacher's profound sense of inadequacy and dependence on God's power when delivering His Word, especially a message of judgment, acknowledging that human words alone are insufficient.

We are not sufficient of ourselves to think anything is from ourselves, but our sufficiency is of God. It was demanding obedience, not only because of the greatness of that city, but because of the gravity of his message. And oh, may I say to you who engage in preaching and you who aspire to that awesome work, the most wonderful place in all the world to be as a preacher is to be in the midst of a holy fainting fest. To be in the midst of a holy fainting fest.

38:47 - 39:29 Read in full sermon

The point: Recognize that God must attach almighty energy to the preached word for it to penetrate hearts and bring conviction.

The analogy that a preacher might as well 'speak in Chinese or Hindustani or Bengali' if God does not attach almighty energy to his words emphasizes the utter dependence on divine power for the Gospel to penetrate hardened hearts.

For when I stand to preach here to you who are yet in your sins, I recognize that your hearts are as adamant against the God whom I preach as were those walled cities against any invaders. And I have no foolish notion that by entreaty and by thunder and by the sweet overtures of mercy there is some way that I can prevail upon you to become a Christian. My friend, I know if God does not attach almighty energy to my words spoken in His name, I may as well speak in Chinese or Hindustani or Bengali. My friend, has God come with His word and impressed upon you? He's got claims upon you. That's my o...

40:47 - 41:47 Read in full sermon