The Pastor's Physical and Emotional Growth, Part 1

Driving home: Rather, you will learn from the creation account that man as life is to be found in likeness of man, from the beginning. living soul is a body-spirit entity, and that apart from the body, his true identity cannot be unde…

This analogy is used to describe the pagan concept of man as primarily a soul merely housed in a body, which Martin contrasts with the biblical view of man as a body-spirit entity.

In other words, carefully and purposely, the biblical doctrine of man not merely suggests but demands this concern. In your systematics course, you either have or will eventually come to the doctrine of man under the heading, of course, of anthropology. And in that course, you will learn that man is not essentially and primarily a soul, but is in fact a man who is merely housed in a body. The concept of the knife in the sheath, the hand in the glove, the old pagan concept that the true man, the soul, is merely sheathed in the body as the knife in its sheath, or is merely gloved by a body as a ...

2:39 - 4:05 Read in full sermon

Driving home: Here is a direct relationship between true internal godliness and the health of the flesh.

David's experience with unconfessed sin, as recorded in Psalms 6, 32, and 51, is used as a biblical example of the physiological effects of spiritual and emotional distress.

We have the health of the soul pumping life into the body, and we have just the opposite. We have the non-life of the soul, the death of the soul, the disruption of the inner life, pumping, as it were, non-health into the body. And surely we see this illustrated in scripture, you remember David's sin and his subsequent period of impenitence when he records the fruit of that in Psalm 6, Psalm 32, and Psalm 51. The physiological effects of unconfessed sin are clearly delineated in those psalms. Those are not the only psalms, but those are three of the most powerful witnesses to this truth. And t...

8:29 - 9:37 Read in full sermon

Driving home: Here is a direct relationship between true internal godliness and the health of the flesh.

Elijah's depression in 1 Kings 19 is presented as a biblical example where God's initial ministry addressed his physical and emotional needs (sleep and food) before his spiritual state, highlighting God's recognition of the creature's nature.

We have the health of the soul pumping life into the body, and we have just the opposite. We have the non-life of the soul, the death of the soul, the disruption of the inner life, pumping, as it were, non-health into the body. And surely we see this illustrated in scripture, you remember David's sin and his subsequent period of impenitence when he records the fruit of that in Psalm 6, Psalm 32, and Psalm 51. The physiological effects of unconfessed sin are clearly delineated in those psalms. Those are not the only psalms, but those are three of the most powerful witnesses to this truth. And t...

8:29 - 9:37 Read in full sermon

Driving home: Here is a direct relationship between true internal godliness and the health of the flesh.

Martin quotes Spurgeon's sermon to his students, where Spurgeon candidly confesses how his severe illness and physical weakness rendered him mentally exhausted and unable to preach effectively, illustrating the delicate interplay between body and spirit.

and God's first ministry was not to rub his conscience raw. It was to give him sleep and food. And then a period of total detachment from pressure, and then and only then, when he was alone in that cave, God began to go after his conscience and say, Elijah, what do you do here? His first ministry was not to his inner man. His first ministry was to give him sleep and give him food. God recognizes the nature of the creature that he has made. Spurgeon, very wisely, and one wonders if he forgot some of his own counsel later on in life, very wisely to the men in the younger years of his ministry, s...

9:37 - 10:47 Read in full sermon

The point: Do not willfully and deliberately place yourselves in a way that tempts God to physical or emotional breakdown, or to a state that keeps you from optimum usefulness.

The human body is likened to a nervous system with 'peculiar circuitry' and 'fuses' that can 'blow' if too much current is run through it, and an 'earthen vessel' that will 'crack' if pressed too hard, emphasizing physical limitations.

And if you run too much current over that system for too long, something's going to blow. You have a body that is called an earthen vessel, and if it's pressed for found reason, it will crack. Now, I know special grace will be given under special circumstances to meet special conditions. special demands in the path of duty. But I also know that my Bible says thou shalt not tempt the Lord your God. And it's one thing for God to give special grace under special circumstances in the path of duty. It's another thing willfully and deliberately to place ourselves in a way in which we tempt God to ph...

15:21 - 16:27 Read in full sermon

The point: Do not willfully and deliberately place yourselves in a way that tempts God to physical or emotional breakdown, or to a state that keeps you from optimum usefulness.

Vance Havner's saying, 'if you don't come apart, you'll come apart,' is quoted to humorously but pointedly underscore the necessity of rest for ministers.

And if you run too much current over that system for too long, something's going to blow. You have a body that is called an earthen vessel, and if it's pressed for found reason, it will crack. Now, I know special grace will be given under special circumstances to meet special conditions. special demands in the path of duty. But I also know that my Bible says thou shalt not tempt the Lord your God. And it's one thing for God to give special grace under special circumstances in the path of duty. It's another thing willfully and deliberately to place ourselves in a way in which we tempt God to ph...

15:21 - 16:27 Read in full sermon

The point: Examine if neglecting your body and emotional health is genuinely piety or a demonic influence disguised as holiness.

Satan presenting himself as a 'minister of righteousness' and urging self-flagellation or denial of legitimate bodily concerns is used to illustrate how neglecting physical and emotional health can be a demonic influence disguised as piety.

And he says, It's demons that lead people to believe that in the path of negating those appetites, they will find a higher dimension of spirituality. Let me put it as bluntly as I know how. It may be a demonic influence that is driving you to neglect your body and your emotional health. It may not be the interest of genuine piety. It may be the influence of a false spirit. And remember, Satan at times presents himself as a what? As a minister of righteousness. You want to be a holy man? Flagellate yourself. Deny yourself the legitimate concerns of your body

18:15 - 19:00 Read in full sermon

The point: Examine if neglecting your body and emotional health is genuinely piety or a demonic influence disguised as holiness.

An extended quotation from the Larger Catechism on the duties required by the Sixth Commandment (preserving life, sober use of meat, drink, medication, sleep, labor, and recreations) is used to demonstrate that Puritans understood the importance of physical well-being as a moral duty.

A sober use of meat, drink, physics, and what they mean by physics is proper medication, because the proof text is, for Isaiah said, let them take a lump of figs and lay it for a plaster upon the boil and he shall recover. So under the proof text for physics, they are saying medication. A sober use of meat, drink, medication, sleep, labor, and recreations. You mean the Puritan says it's our duty?

20:44 - 21:20 Read in full sermon

Driving home: However, it is not naked truth which makes preaching what it is. In the mystery of what preaching is, it is truth as conveyed through the human instrument presently feeling the power of that truth...

The brief biography of John Owen is referenced, noting his acknowledgment of 'irreparable damage' done in his early years due to neglecting his physical and emotional health, serving as a cautionary tale.

So a biblical view of preaching, and we don't have time to go into all of that now, but we shall eventually. establish it from Scripture that preaching is an activity of the whole man, not just the mind and the mouth, demands this concern. So those are my lines of evidence from special revelation. Now, my one line of evidence from general revelation, the past and present experience of men of God demands this concern. The past and present experience of men of God, I'm talking about proven preachers, not armed preachers. to read in the brief biography of Owen, or synopsis of his life that is in ...

34:41 - 35:54 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Drawing from general revelation, Martin presents the historical and contemporary experience of proven preachers as the fifth line of evidence. He quotes Porter and Blakey, who…

Martin quotes extensively from Porter, a homiletics professor, who recounts his own physical breakdown due to excessive study and neglect of exercise, serving as a powerful admonition to young ministers about the consequences of ignoring physical health.

was no mean preacher in his own days and taught homiletics and pastoral theology for a number of years. I'm referring to Porter. And on page 510, he has a footnote in a chapter on the preservation of the vocal organs. I mean, these old guys, they didn't bypass this stuff.

35:54 - 36:17 Read in full sermon

The point: Do not join the ranks of preachers who mistake physical and emotional exhaustion for spiritual dullness or backsliding; recognize your human limitations.

Martin quotes Blakey, a Scottish divine, who argues for a connection between good health and good preaching, warning against the 'sad, somber, melancholy look of the invalid preacher' and its repulsive effect, especially on the young.

was neglected nor am i such a novice in human affairs as to expect that any counsels which i have heard of have been thought of in the hope that they may save you some of those i can give by way of premonition will be seasonally and seriously regarded by more than one in ten of those to whom they're addressed so if he were standing here he'd say about 2.5 of you would listen to what he was saying one who had the very best opportunities for observation on this subject and who was much distinguished for two for discrimination of judgment remarked to me the student must break himself before he'll...

41:42 - 43:04 Read in full sermon

The point: Engage in a regular but flexible discipline, recognizing that there will be unexpected events and circumstances that require bending your schedule.

Martin uses the example of playing table games with one's wife as a form of emotional release and relaxation, even if it's not his personal preference, to illustrate the need for flexible, structured activities for emotional health.

The night for total relaxation from all ministerial pressures to keep emotional health. To spend the night just playing table games with your wife, if that's what you like and she likes. I can't understand how anyone would, but if they do, then fine. If I've got an evening alone, I know how better ways I'd rather spend it than playing table games with my wife.

55:10 - 55:32 Read in full sermon

The point: Engage in a regular but flexible discipline, recognizing that there will be unexpected events and circumstances that require bending your schedule.

The scenario of a 'bleeding sheep' (a church member in crisis) calling during a day off is used to illustrate the need for flexibility in a pastor's discipline, bending the schedule to meet urgent needs while still aiming to maintain the overall structure.

But be that as it may, if that gives you emotional release, then play your table games. Whatever it is, fine. But if you've got a bleeding sheet that calls at suppertime and profusely apologizes that they've intruded on your day off, and yet you sense that this sheet needs immediate attention, you don't say, Sorry, I learned in my lecture. Cut her hat and...

55:32 - 55:55 Read in full sermon