82a) Pastoral Intercessory Prayer #1

The point: Set the priority of giving oneself to prayer and the ministry of the word, following the apostles' example.

Martin uses the analogy of a baseball pitcher throwing a curveball with a seamless baseball to describe Lenski's unusual interpretation of 'proskartereo' as worship, arguing it's an unnatural and unsupported reading.

When used with the dative, a specific thing, it means to be busy with that particular thing, to be engaged in, to be devoted to. And in each of these usages, in connection with prayer, te prosuche, it clearly means the activity of prayer. And how in the world Lenski says that it means worship, I'll never know. It's one of those things where Lenski will throw a curve at you and you wonder where he found the seams on his baseball to get his curve.

15:10 - 15:43 Read in full sermon

The point: Maintain a beautiful balance between prayer and preaching, avoiding presumption (praying without preaching) and wretched creature confidence (preaching without praying).

Martin quotes John Owen's piercing words that without continual fervent prayer for the flock, no man preaches or performs other pastoral duties as he ought, and that such prayer is the validation of sincerity in ministry.

Brethren, those are searching words, but I would not know how to refute them. I would not know how to refute them. The validation of the sincerity of all our other labors is the labor in prayer for those to whom we minister that Christ may be formed in them. Calvin, I'm sorry, Owen, underscores then, using as his the first text that he had printed out after having a string of eleven texts is Acts 6 and verse 4 as setting the framework for our responsibility in this area.

22:02 - 22:39 Read in full sermon

The point: Maintain a beautiful balance between prayer and preaching, avoiding presumption (praying without preaching) and wretched creature confidence (preaching without praying).

Matthew Henry's commentary is summarized with the analogy that 'to pray, and not to preach is presumption. God uses means. To preach and not to pray is wretched creature confidence,' illustrating the necessary balance.

And those ministers without doubt are the successors of the apostles, not in the plenitude of apostolical power, those are daring usurpers who pretend to this, but in the best and most excellent of the apostolic works, who give themselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word. And such Christ will always be with, even to the end of the world. You see the beautiful balance? To pray, and not to preach is presumption.

24:00 - 24:28 Read in full sermon

The point: Maintain a beautiful balance between prayer and preaching, avoiding presumption (praying without preaching) and wretched creature confidence (preaching without praying).

Martin quotes Calvin, who states that pastors cannot think they've discharged their obligation by merely teaching daily, but must add prayer, underscoring the necessity of prayer beyond teaching.

God uses means. To preach and not to pray is wretched creature confidence. And then the third witness from the past, Calvin, in his commentary on Acts chapter 6, writes, It is not the case, therefore, that pastors are to think they've discharged their obligation if they've spent time each day in teaching. And there my heart smites me.

24:28 - 24:52 Read in full sermon

Driving home: Moses prayers made me change my mind and I'm not going to covet with all kinds of theological abstractions and equivocations but hold tenaciously to the fact God decreed for all eternity to do what he did but Moses praye…

Martin describes Abraham's intercession for Sodom as having an element of 'holy cheek and brassiness' and 'dickering with God,' to highlight the boldness and persistence in his prayer.

And in verse 22 we read that the men turned from fence and went towards Sodom but Abraham stood yet before the Lord. And then Abraham enters into this wrestling with God that which every time I read it I say there's an element of holy cheek and brassiness in the way he deals with God. He's dickering with God. Lord for this many yes well for this many yes for this many and then he piles up the sincere language of the awareness of what he's doing.

28:01 - 28:35 Read in full sermon

The point: Stand between God and the people in prayer, even when they provoke God's anger or treat the leader poorly.

The incident of Moses interceding for Israel after the golden calf (Exodus 32) is used as a powerful example that prayer genuinely changes things, as God 'relented' from the evil He said He would do.

will appear as a thing of naught and as he wrestles God dares God dares to give as an account of his own response to the intercession of Moses verse 14 and the Lord repented the Lord relented of the evil which he said he would do unto his people does prayer change things yes it does it does and the spirit of God who reveals in other places of scripture known unto God are all his works from the beginning of time he works all things after the counsel of his will the same God and the same scriptures is unembarrassed to say Moses prayers made me change my mind

30:58 - 31:42 Read in full sermon

The point: Stand between God and the people in prayer, even when they provoke God's anger or treat the leader poorly.

Martin uses the vivid image of the Israelites 'kicking at Moses' shins' through their grumbling, yet still turning to him for intercession, to illustrate the selfless nature of pastoral prayer even when mistreated.

a sad spiritual state that they're grumbling against God they're grumbling against his servant when their back's against the wall they say our leader has power with God in the place of prayer as unspiritual as they were they knew him to be a man who could wrestle with God you see the emphasis you see where I'm going with the application and Moses does pray and God gives him direction about the serpent of brass and God as it were withdraws then the horrible judgment that would have come upon many more as the serpents bit them but they knew him to be a man who would wrestle with God on their beh...

33:55 - 34:39 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Drawing from 2 Timothy 3:16-17, Martin surveys numerous Old Testament leaders—Abraham, Moses, Joshua, Samuel, godly kings, and prophets—demonstrating that their God-appointed…

Martin uses Samuel's intimidating presence, due to his power with God in prayer, to challenge the modern view that any intimidating demeanor is a mark of carnality, arguing that godly men of prayer can inspire a healthy fear.

verse 16 now therefore stand still and see this great thing which the Lord will do before your eyes is it not wheat harvest today I will call unto the Lord that he may send thunder and rain and you shall know and see that your wickedness is great which you've done in the sight of the Lord in asking you a king so Samuel called unto the Lord and the Lord sent thunder and rain that day and all the people greatly feared Jehovah and Samuel no wonder when he came into town they were a little bit unstrung they said you come in on a message of mercy or when a man has such interaction and power with Go...

42:47 - 43:31 Read in full sermon

The point: Do not let the intimidating standard of Paul's intercessory life keep you from coming to that example again and again, asking God to work it in you.

Martin references Dr. Donald Carson's book, 'A Call to Spiritual Reformation Priorities from Paul and his prayers,' as a salutary resource that has deepened his own intercessory life by guiding him to pray through Paul's prayers.

that he says he prays constantly for all these people and then for Timothy night and day he says remembering your tears but nonetheless it's there and he says I am what I am by the grace of God and so we can't run away though the standard is intimidating when we draw near and in recent days it's even become more so as I've been working through and have been almost completed a careful prayerful attempt to absorb Dr. Donald Carson's excellent book A Call to Spiritual Reformation Priorities from Paul and his prayers he just expounds these prayers and I found it very salutary to take the expositio...

48:42 - 49:26 Read in full sermon

The point: Do not let the intimidating standard of Paul's intercessory life keep you from coming to that example again and again, asking God to work it in you.

Paul's statement in Galatians 4:19, 'my little children of whom I travel again in birth till Christ be formed in you,' is used as a metaphor to convey the intense, repeated spiritual labor of intercession for the spiritual formation of his people.

that I continually bring before God in my intercession this is the man who could say in the tender language of Galatians 4.19 my little children of whom I travel again in birth till Christ be formed in you something no earthly mother ever had to do go through birth pangs twice he said I travel again in birth till Christ be formed in you who could say in Romans 9.1 and 10.1 I have been I have great sorrow continual heaviness my heart's desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved here is the example and though we feel we are light years from it brethren don't let the distance kee...

50:11 - 50:55 Read in full sermon

The point: Ask if disruption or defections in the church are rooted in your own failure to intercede.

Martin quotes John Owen: 'He that is more frequently in his pulpit to his people than he is in his closet for his people is a sorry watchman,' to underscore the critical importance of private intercession for the flock.

that is brought and again it's one of the passages brethren that strikes me to my heart whenever I read it for the shame of God the shepherds are become brutish and have not inquired of the Lord therefore they have not prospered or dealt wisely and all their flocks are scattered at times when I've been grieved when there's been disruption in the life of the church and defections from the ranks God points the finger back at me and said is this the fruit of your own failure to pray without in any way making myself vulnerable to false guilt I must ask that question could it be that there's been a...

59:05 - 59:49 Read in full sermon

The point: Bring the especial state and condition of all known members before God in daily pastoral supplication, especially those who are spiritually sick, tempted, afflicted, or disconsolate.

Owen's lovely old word 'be misted' is used to describe sheep walking in a mist or fog, illustrating the spiritual confusion or depression some church members experience, for whom pastors must intercede.

within its scope the especial state and condition of all the members so far as it is known unto them there are some of them who are spiritually sick and diseased tempted afflicted then he uses a lovely old word be misted they're walking in a mist they're walking in a mist walking in a fog be misted wandering out of the way surprised in sins and miscarriages disconsolate and troubled in spirit in a peculiar manner the remembrance of them all ought to abide with them and be continually called over and this is where my heart is smitten in their daily pastoral supplication you know that person tha...

66:29 - 67:14 Read in full sermon

The point: Pray continually for the presence of Christ in the assembly of the church, with all the blessed evidences and testimonies of it, recognizing it as essential for life and power.

Owen's statement that without the presence of Christ by the Spirit, all outward order and forms of divine worship are 'but a dead carcass,' is used to emphasize the absolute necessity of Christ's active presence for true spiritual life in the church.

or it was an especially blessed Lord's day God was with us he says no anything else less than anything other than that is just a carcass now this presence of Christ in the assemblies of his church by his spirit accompanying all ordinances of worship with a gracious divine efficacy evidening itself by blessed operations on the minds and heart of the congregation this are pastors of churches continually to pray for and they will do so who understand that all the success of their labors and all the acceptance of the church with God in their duties do depend here on if Christ is not with us our mo...

68:42 - 69:27 Read in full sermon

The point: Pray for your people to keep up your own love for them.

Owen's view on authoritative blessing (referring to the Aaronic blessing) is used to illustrate that while pastors may not have institutional authority to bless, they can continually pray for God's blessing upon their flock.

and then he gives four reasons why we ought to do so and four things we ought to pray for my first reason is no man can have any evidence in his own soul that he conscientiously performs any ministerial duty to his flock who does not continually pray for them have overtones of what he said elsewhere now he brings in a fresh thought this is the way whereby we may bless our congregations he says authoritative blessing as far as I know is taken from us he's referring to the Aaronic blessing where God says you may put this blessing upon the people as far as I know so apparently he didn't raise his...

72:04 - 72:48 Read in full sermon

The point: Battle prayerlessness with determination, striving for greater faithfulness in intercession.

Martin uses the metaphor of 'skeletons in the closet' to refer to hidden sins or failures, contrasting Samuel's clear conscience with his own keen sense of failure in intercessory prayer.

when you're having to face what could be life-threatening illnesses and surgical procedures that are serious and you review your life it's a wonderful thing to be able to look back like a Samuel and say before God I have no skeletons in the closet but it's another thing to be able to say what have I left undone that had I not my youth over again I would do differently and to feel the weight of your sins of omission and in no area do I feel them more keenly than in the matter of faithful structured dogged commitment to intercessory prayer for my people I have a relatively good conscience that G...

75:01 - 75:46 Read in full sermon

The point: Battle prayerlessness with determination, striving for greater faithfulness in intercession.

Martin describes his 'sins of omission loom[ing] like a mighty mountain' before him, to convey the overwhelming weight of his unfulfilled duties in intercessory prayer.

when you're having to face what could be life-threatening illnesses and surgical procedures that are serious and you review your life it's a wonderful thing to be able to look back like a Samuel and say before God I have no skeletons in the closet but it's another thing to be able to say what have I left undone that had I not my youth over again I would do differently and to feel the weight of your sins of omission and in no area do I feel them more keenly than in the matter of faithful structured dogged commitment to intercessory prayer for my people I have a relatively good conscience that G...

75:01 - 75:46 Read in full sermon

The point: Battle prayerlessness with determination, striving for greater faithfulness in intercession.

Martin uses the metaphor of 'my river to cross over to a better place' to refer to death, expressing his determination to battle his prayerlessness so that he won't have the same keen sense of failure when facing death again.

my rationalizing heart and there isn't the same degree of faithfulness in the place of intercession and I pray God that my confession to you men may stir you up that should you be brought to length of years you'd be able to say well there's much concerning which I'm ashamed but by the grace of God God kept me faithful in the labor of intercession and I'm not for those placed under my charge I've not been utterly prayerless I don't want to give that impression but I've not been what I ought to be in that place and God is helping me to bring forth some fruits meat for repentance but I tell you t...

76:31 - 77:15 Read in full sermon

The point: Pray when you ought to pray, and do not use noble labor as a substitute for intercession.

Martin uses the analogy of a recalcitrant wandering sheep who might 'turn around and butt us and kick us and bite us' to illustrate the difficult and unpleasant aspects of pastoral work that prayer should not be an excuse to avoid.

on the mountainside pouring out his soul in intercession that's where he was never did he give in to the temptation to rationalize there was too much to do to pray and never did he use prayer as an escape from doing the unpleasant he never prayed when he should be working never worked when he should be praying and his grace and his power is available to us in our union with him and let us pray that he would give us grace to pray when we ought to pray and not to use the most noble labor as a substitute for intercession and never to use intercession as an excuse not to do the difficult work

77:59 - 78:44 Read in full sermon