Principles of Strategy and Methodology, Part 3

The point: As a church, we must not grieve and quench the Holy Spirit; our personal ethical walk before God, with one another, and before the world is essential for knowing His superintendence in missionary endeavors.

The fact that Barnabas was a native of Cyprus is used as an example of God using natural, providentially arranged interests and contacts to determine where Paul's first missionary journey began.

in order to take off on their first missionary journey, they went to the island of Cyprus, moved across the island from east to west, and from there moved up into this area and labored in the planting of churches before returning to Antioch. And we noted that God used what we might call, natural, providentially arranged interests and contacts in determining where to begin. Barnabas, Paul's companion in the first missionary journey, was a native of the island of Cyprus. We get that information from Acts 4, 36,

5:06 - 5:48 Read in full sermon

The point: As a church, we must not grieve and quench the Holy Spirit; our personal ethical walk before God, with one another, and before the world is essential for knowing His superintendence in missionary endeavors.

The Holy Spirit twice forbidding Paul and his companions from going west or north during the second missionary journey is used to illustrate maintaining sensitivity to the Holy Spirit's guidance in missions.

Our strategy must be one in which we maintain real sensitivity to the Holy Spirit who is the executor on earth of the will of the exalted Lord in heaven. And this is seen particularly in the beginning of the second missionary journey when twice it is stated that after Paul and his companions started out and visited these churches, they attempted to go west and the Holy Spirit said no. They attempted to go north and the Holy Spirit said no. So they ended up over here at Troas and there God gave to Paul a vision and a man of Macedonia stood in that vision

6:31 - 7:15 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin introduces the fourth strand by expounding passages from Paul's missionary journeys (Acts 13, 14, 17, 19) that show his consistent practice of going to Jewish synagogues…

Paul beckoning with his hand before speaking in the synagogue is cited as a biblical precedent for physical animation in preaching, using paralinguistics.

And we read, They went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and sat down. And after the reading of the Law and the Prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent unto them, saying, Brethren, if you have any word of exhortation for the people, say on. And Paul stood up, and beckoning with the hand, said, Men of Israel. Here is one of the biblical precedents for at least some physical animation in preaching.

9:27 - 9:56 Read in full sermon

The point: We should seek to find groups of people who are providentially prepared to be taught the way of life and salvation, as evidenced by their hunger for biblical truth.

The planting of churches where tapes and books have gone before and found hungry hearts is used as an example of finding providentially prepared people in modern missions.

We should seek to find a group of people who are providentially prepared to be taught the way of life and salvation. It's been interesting to see that churches have been planted through our endeavors where tapes and books have gone before and found their way into the hands and hearts of people hungry for the biblical gospel, hungry for biblical worship, hungry for biblical church life. And finding those prepared people, we've been able to send a man in,

17:40 - 18:21 Read in full sermon

The point: We should seek places where the gospel can be taught and proclaimed with freedom and liberty, seizing opportunities for open discussion and teaching.

The DIT Bible study in Manila, led by Pastor Steve, is presented as a fruitful evangelistic contact where people are willing to study the Word of God during their lunch hour, illustrating a 'synagogue' equivalent today.

if not the most fruitful evangelistic contacts in the endeavors of Pastor Steve in the Philippines is the Bible study held in one of the office complexes there in Manila, the DIT Bible study. There is a group of people willing during their lunch hour to come and study the Word of God. They don't have to be convinced that it is the Word of God. They're prepared to study it.

19:42 - 20:10 Read in full sermon

The point: If people are willing to stop and listen, or gather for discussions, we should seize those opportunities as part of our missionary methodology.

Martin recounts his experience preaching in the open air on Main Street in Stamford, Connecticut, in the early 1950s, describing it as a 'marvelous Agora' where people would listen for extended periods, contrasting it with the present day.

The main street in Stamford, Connecticut was a marvelous Agora, a marvelous Mars Hill. And the guys would stand around on Thursday night, the night the Liggett's drugstore was open and the stores were all open and people were shopping. It was a marvelous place to stand and preach and often on Sunday afternoon. And there are times that some of us preached until our stomach muscles were literally cramped and we'd step aside and the next fellow would preach.

20:44 - 21:13 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin introduces the fifth strand, which is to labor in strategic centers of influence. He cites Paul's work in Antioch (a major city), Philippi (a chief city and Roman colony)…

Martin quotes from the Zondervan Pictorial Bible Dictionary to highlight Philippi's strategic importance as a Roman colony, a key city dominating road systems, and a center of influence, reinforcing why Paul chose to labor there.

Now one of the reasons you ought to buy a Zondervan Pictorial Bible Dictionary is you won't think your pastor's brilliant when they use it all the time. You'll say, hmm, I could have known that if I'd only looked it up. But in the Zondervan Pictorial Bible Dictionary under Philippi, this is what we read. A Macedonian town in the plain east of Mount Pangaeus.

25:04 - 25:28 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin introduces the fifth strand, which is to labor in strategic centers of influence. He cites Paul's work in Antioch (a major city), Philippi (a chief city and Roman colony)…

A writer's clever phrase, 'even though it was politically conquered, it conquered its conquerors with its learning and with its culture,' is quoted to emphasize Athens's enduring influence as a center of art, science, and philosophy, explaining its strategic importance for Paul.

Philippi, chief city in this part of the world. Then Acts chapter 17. We read in verses 14 to 16, of Paul's endeavors to preach and establish a church at Athens. It is said that Athens was the seat of Greek art, science and philosophy, and was the most important university city in the ancient world, even under Roman rule.

27:22 - 27:54 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin introduces the fifth strand, which is to labor in strategic centers of influence. He cites Paul's work in Antioch (a major city), Philippi (a chief city and Roman colony)…

The pilgrimages to Ephesus for Diana worship and memorabilia are compared to modern Roman Catholics making pilgrimages to Rome for relics, illustrating the commercial aspect of cult worship that the gospel disrupted.

And what happened was that it became, much like Rome is today, the old devout Roman Catholic who makes a pilgrimage to Rome, hoping to come back with some relic, a piece of stone, chipped off one of the building blocks of St. Peter's Cathedral, or a hair from the Pope's ear, or some other silly thing. Well, this is what happened at Ephesus. And people made their pilgrimages to Ephesus, hoping to come back with some memorabilia of their visit.

30:46 - 31:19 Read in full sermon

Driving home: Paul sought to labor in the strategic centers of influence in the existing Roman world. Not merely the concept of reaching many people because there were denser concentrations of population, but there was the matter of t…

The practice of scholars visiting Athens to 'validate their credibility' and 'degree polishing' is used as an example of the city's influence, explaining why reaching such individuals could have a broad impact.

How long were you at Athens? Six months. I was there three years. You see?

35:53 - 35:58 Read in full sermon

Driving home: Paul sought to labor in the strategic centers of influence in the existing Roman world. Not merely the concept of reaching many people because there were denser concentrations of population, but there was the matter of t…

God using persecution in Jerusalem to scatter believers throughout the Roman Empire is used as an example of how God orchestrates the spread of the gospel, paralleling Paul's strategic efforts to scatter the 'seed of the word' in key cities.

Such were some of you. You were homosexuals and you were adulterers and murderers and all of these other gross manifestations of sin. Well, it's at least a conjecture, but we see his tremendous burden to reach these population centers. And as God used persecution down in Jerusalem to scatter those people that were gathered on the day of Pentecost and for some period afterward were established when all the apostles were there at Jerusalem, God scattered them throughout the Roman Empire so Paul seeks to go and be the instrument of scattering the seed of the word

36:47 - 37:32 Read in full sermon

The point: As we pray and wrestle with God about missions, we should have upon our hearts the key centers of influence, both in our own country and to the ends of the earth.

Martin shares the story of Cal Walden and the church at Nation's Lakes, Michigan, a small congregation in a country setting, to illustrate that while strategic centers are important, smaller works are not despised and are also evidence of God's grace.

No, we are a saver of life unto life and of death unto death. But as we pray and as we wrestle with God about this matter of missions in the sending out of men to our own needy country and to the ends of the earth, we should have upon our hearts the key centers of influence. Now that does not mean that we despise nation's lakes in Michigan. If you could sit as I have with Cal Walden and I have to restrain myself from both weeping and shouting at the same time when I think of it to see that congregation of some sixty or seventy people where once a few years ago there was an empty building sitti...

40:27 - 41:12 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin shares a personal anecdote of how God providentially led him to northern New Jersey through an unexpected two-week job shoveling manure in 1962, leading to an invitation to…

Martin recounts his personal story of how he came to northern New Jersey for a two-week job shoveling dried cow manure in an old barn in 1962, which providentially led to an invitation to preach at a local church and ultimately to his pastorate at Trinity Baptist Church.

because as many of you know, what brought me here to north Jersey was a two-week job of shoveling manure in an old barn 30 miles from here. That's the truth. A friend of mine had bought a house in North Jersey. I had bought a house in North Jersey. I had bought a house in North Jersey.

46:34 - 46:50 Read in full sermon