04a) Pastor's Spiritual Development, Part 3

In this part of the sermon: Martin briefly recaps the first discipline of devotional assimilation of God's Word and then introduces Robert Murray McCheyne's example of consistent cultivation of his soul…

A quotation from Bonar's 'Remains and Memoir of Robert Murray McShane' is used to illustrate McCheyne's incessant labors, scrupulous devotion, and daily enlargement of heart in fellowship with God, serving as an example of consistent spiritual cultivation.

This real, this expanding, this genuine acquaintance with God and His ways, and we've addressed just the first of those disciplines, namely that of the devotional assimilation of the Word of God, and I sought to underscore that it ought to be structured and consistent, systematic and comprehensive, prayerful and meditative. And as a little P.S. and before moving on to the second of these means, namely the maintaining of the habit and spirit of secret prayer, I commend to you the section in the Remains and Memoir of Robert Murray McShane by Bonar. He writes on page 54, his diary does not contai...

0:02 - 1:00 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin briefly recaps the first discipline of devotional assimilation of God's Word and then introduces Robert Murray McCheyne's example of consistent cultivation of his soul…

McCheyne's soul's prosperity is likened to 'the river deepened, as it flowed on to eternity,' illustrating continuous spiritual growth and deepening communion with God.

And this is a marvelous statement. Quote, Now, toward the end of the lecture, if we come to it today, we'll deal with what some of those extraordinary seasons are, of protracted seasons of waiting upon God, at times perhaps even joined to fasting. He did occasionally, McShane, set apart seasons for special prayer and fasting, occupying the time to set apart, so set apart exclusively in devotion. But the real secret of his soul's prosperity lay in the daily enlargement of his heart in fellowship with his God. As the river deepened, as it flowed on to eternity, so that he at last reached that fe...

1:30 - 2:30 Read in full sermon

The point: Commit to prayer as a duty, even when desire is absent, trusting that delight will often follow.

The analogy of waiting for desire and delight to pray is used to explain that commitment to duty often precedes desire, and waiting for feeling will lead to a 'shoddy prayer life.'

Sometimes delight and desire precedes us to the performance of that duty. Most often it is commitment to duty that will take us there, and hopefully desire and delight will often follow. But the man who waits for desire and delight to take him to the place of prayer will have of all men the most shoddy prayer life. And Psalm 5 has been a passage that God has used in my own life over the years where here the psalmist gives expression of his commitment to what I am here calling the habit that is the conscious moral commitment of the will to pray.

4:26 - 5:10 Read in full sermon

Driving home: But the man who waits for desire and delight to take him to the place of prayer will have of all men the most shoddy prayer life.

Jesus's humanity is presented as an example of self-assumed weakness, not drawing on infinite deity, to emphasize the reality of His need for prayer and the drain on His humanity.

I think in one of your messages I heard the number. But in Mark 1, an amazing passage, remembering now that our Lord did not draw upon the resources of our Lord. He did not draw upon the resources of infinite strength that were His in His deity, but He lived in the self-assumed weakness of humanity, humanity in our condition. Hence it is said, He took upon Him the likeness of sinful flesh, a man of sorrows acquainted with grief.

6:50 - 7:25 Read in full sermon

The point: Set a goal to pray through Ephesians 3:14-19, asking God to help you understand what it means, and read sermons and commentaries on it.

Martin compares his feeling about preaching on Ephesians 3:14-19 to a 'little kid who had never climbed a 40-foot high hill' being asked to 'Climb it, boy' in front of the Matterhorn, illustrating the prayer's intimidating depth.

I say that's the most intimidating prayer recorded in the Bible, at least according to my present understanding. People have asked me why when I preached to Ephesians 1 and 2 I stopped and never went on to chapter 3. Well, there were several reasons. This is one of them.

15:50 - 16:09 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: The second and third purposes of secret prayer are to keep one's perspective of reality in focus (2 Corinthians 4:18, Psalm 73) and to see sins in their true light (Psalm 90:8…

Asaph's experience in Psalm 73 is used as a classic example of how perspective on reality (the prosperity of the wicked vs. the righteous) is regained in the 'sanctuary of God' (the secret place).

2 Corinthians 4.18, you remember, follows hard upon Paul calling the whole world to be in the presence of God. And here I've quoted two texts. kept clear and focused then he can say light affliction and it's in the secret place uniquely that God enables to keep that perspective of reality enables us to keep it and the classic example in the psalms is psalm 73 you remember Asaph's problem he looked around the righteous they were harassed from morning to night the wicked they were sliding through life and into death without a twitch of concern and he said the whole world is topsy turvy he said i...

18:36 - 20:02 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: The second and third purposes of secret prayer are to keep one's perspective of reality in focus (2 Corinthians 4:18, Psalm 73) and to see sins in their true light (Psalm 90:8…

Asaph's self-description 'I was as a beast before thee' is used to illustrate his lack of spiritual understanding and focus on temporal things before regaining perspective in God's presence.

2 Corinthians 4.18, you remember, follows hard upon Paul calling the whole world to be in the presence of God. And here I've quoted two texts. kept clear and focused then he can say light affliction and it's in the secret place uniquely that God enables to keep that perspective of reality enables us to keep it and the classic example in the psalms is psalm 73 you remember Asaph's problem he looked around the righteous they were harassed from morning to night the wicked they were sliding through life and into death without a twitch of concern and he said the whole world is topsy turvy he said i...

18:36 - 20:02 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: The second and third purposes of secret prayer are to keep one's perspective of reality in focus (2 Corinthians 4:18, Psalm 73) and to see sins in their true light (Psalm 90:8…

Moses penning Psalm 90 after seeing the wilderness generation die is used to illustrate how God sets 'our secret sins in the light of your countenance' through the experience of His wrath.

of secret prayer that most frequently our sins are seen in their true light in two passages that I've listed Psalm 90 Moses the man of God pens this psalm having seen that whole wilderness generation die 30,000 I think a month by my calculations over 40 years no wonder he says in verse 9 our days are passed away in your wrath we bring our years to an end as a sigh then sorry verse 8 you have set our iniquities before you our secret sins in the light of your countenance for all our days are passed away in your wrath and it's the phrase our secret sins in the light of your countenance the closer...

20:02 - 21:30 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: The second and third purposes of secret prayer are to keep one's perspective of reality in focus (2 Corinthians 4:18, Psalm 73) and to see sins in their true light (Psalm 90:8…

Isaiah's vision in Isaiah 6 is used to illustrate how drawing near to God's glory exposes one's own sinfulness, leading to a cry of 'Woe is me, I'm undone.'

There was no moral stain or blemish, but when in the year that King Uzziah died and in conjunction with the death of that king, God was pleased to give him this shattering revelation of the glory of the pre-incarnate Christ. For John 12 says Isaiah spoke these things when he saw his glory. You remember how he is undone in the presence of this great and glorious God whose train filled the temple and before whom these sinless creatures must veil face and feet and with a kind of holy restlessness must fly about the throne crying holy, holy, holy as the Lord, God the Almighty. Woe is me, I'm undon...

21:31 - 22:15 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: The second and third purposes of secret prayer are to keep one's perspective of reality in focus (2 Corinthians 4:18, Psalm 73) and to see sins in their true light (Psalm 90:8…

The metaphor of a 'subtle encrustment over our hearts' is used to describe how sin can become hidden until we draw near to God and see it in the light of His countenance.

Mine eyes have seen the King Jehovah of hosts. And brethren, we can get a kind of subtle encrustment over our hearts with regard to the sins of our hearts until we draw near and see them in the light of His countenance. And then they appear in something of their true and native ugliness. And then furthermore, it's in the secret place, in the discipline of secret prayer in which your pardon and acceptance are sealed afresh to your heart.

22:15 - 22:54 Read in full sermon

The point: When God sheds light on a path of duty, give consent of your will to perform it when circumstances are right.

Martin recounts a personal story of his mother's practical wisdom, advising him not to think about the Lord while mixing concrete, illustrating that 'not every duty is my present duty' and liberating him from a sense of bondage.

Not every duty is my present duty. Whatever thy hand finds to do, do with all thy might as unto the Lord. That liberated me as a young Christian when I'd go off to do construction work in the day and I'd go home and I'd say to my godly mother, Mom, I don't know what's wrong, whether I'm getting backslidden. There was a whole period of an hour or two today when I had no conscious thoughts of the Lord.

33:53 - 34:14 Read in full sermon

Driving home: you've got to eat crow feet, legs, feathers and all and humble yourself under the mighty hand of God.

Martin shares a personal story from his youth, where his siblings observed him, the only Christian, consistently acknowledging his sin to them, illustrating the impact of maintaining a good conscience before others.

Back then it was going to my siblings. Family of 10 living in a house. A little house. The only Christian among the siblings at that time.

40:44 - 40:52 Read in full sermon

Driving home: you've got to eat crow feet, legs, feathers and all and humble yourself under the mighty hand of God.

The idiom 'eat crow feet, legs, feathers and all' is used to vividly describe the humbling experience of confessing sin and maintaining a good conscience.

But I learned early from the pressure of that home that if I'm to have a conscience void of offense to God and man you've got to eat crow feet, legs, feathers and all and humble yourself under the mighty hand of God.

41:23 - 41:37 Read in full sermon

The point: Regularly expose yourself to the 'masters of the inner life' through Christian biography and devotional literature to expand your knowledge of God and keep your heart sensitive to holy things.

The analogy of a thief sandpapering his fingers to sensitize them for cracking a safe is used to illustrate the need for periodic seasons of waiting upon God to 'sensitize' the soul's 'nerve endings' to holy things and remove spiritual calluses.

from Christian biography the benefit of such seasons and then I've listed on page 27 the necessity for such seasons here are three of the most fundamental the frightening power of indwelling sin it has a hardening dulling effect and sometimes a day spent shut off from telephone and normal eating and drinking and shutting with God in serious self-examination taking perhaps the larger or shorter catechism statements on the ten commandments and asking God to use his law to condemn and scour your heart it's amazing how much can be seen in a day of waiting upon God there's a frightening power of in...

43:47 - 45:15 Read in full sermon