39a) Preaching in Relationship to God

Driving home: it was his consciousness that he was not a self appointed man that gave him the boldness to proclaim his message he had a cultivated awareness that he preached as an appointed servant of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Martin imagines Paul's emotional and psychological pain in remembering his past as a blasphemer, persecutor, and injurious man, particularly the cries of babes and the face of Stephen, to underscore the depth of his unworthiness and the grace of his appointment.

Here the apostle says in spite of the painful remembrance and I wonder what he felt emotionally and psychologically when he had to pen the words blasphemer persecutor and injurious I can't imagine him doing that dispassionately I believe he carried a wound in his spirit to his dying day with respect to what he once was. The remembrance of little babes crying when he forcibly took away mothers and fathers.

4:00 - 4:31 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Drawing from Ephesians 4, Martin emphasizes that pastors and teachers are a gift of the ascended Christ to His church. He stresses that this appointment, though ordinary, is as…

Martin describes his alarm when a young man expresses a sense of being prepared for a 'great work' by God, contrasting this with the humility and reluctance of truly called biblical figures like Moses, Isaiah, and Jeremiah, to warn against self-appointed ambition.

few things will set all my alarm bells ringing more loudly and more clamorously than for some young man to come to me with a starry look in his eyes and say pastor martin i'm humbled by the thought that i just have a sense that god is preparing me for a great work in his kingdom all of my alarm bells go off what a frightening thing i said man little do you know what you're saying no when god called men rarely do you find them jumping front and center saying oh lord it's about time you saw things as i did when he's going to call moses he said lord you got the wrong

12:03 - 12:45 Read in full sermon

The point: Exercise holy caution not to run unsent into ministry, as this cuts the nerve of effective pastoral work.

Martin quotes a minister's letter lamenting the burden of dealing with men 'determined to be preachers—regardless' of the necessary graces and gifts, validating the problem of unsent ambition in ministry.

appointed i am not standing here because i decided it would be a good thing for me to stand here some years ago i read a book called the gospel of the gospel of the gospel of the gospel of the gospel of the gospel a letter that a minister sends out to fellow ministers in which he declared under the heading my greatest ministerial burden and you know what it was he said dealing with men who are determined to be preachers dash regardless dealing with men who are determined to be preachers regardless and

17:32 - 18:13 Read in full sermon

The point: Exercise holy caution not to run unsent into ministry, as this cuts the nerve of effective pastoral work.

Martin uses the analogy of marriage—better to wait longer and be happily married than to rush in and repent—to emphasize the need for holy caution in entering ministry, rather than running unsent and experiencing a lifetime of unfruitful labor.

then he went on to say what the regard this was the absence of the composite expression of the graces regardless of the presence of the presence of the presence of the presence of the presence of required in first timothy three the absence of evident gifts and aptitude to teach those things that are absolutely essential and yet and i can validate that when people have this subjective individualistic conviction god has set me apart to this and the only one that's ready to stand by it is the individual it's a frightening thing and brethren i would far rather as i tell people with regard to their...

18:13 - 18:57 Read in full sermon

The point: Lay hold of God's promise from Isaiah 55:10-11 and plead it repeatedly before God, believing that the word preached will accomplish His purpose.

The parable from Mark 4:26-29, where a farmer sows seed with expectancy despite not understanding the growth process, illustrates the preacher's holy enthusiasm and confidence that God's word will bear fruit.

turn to Mark chapter 4 Mark chapter 4 here in verses 26 to 29 so is the kingdom of God as if a man should cast seed upon the earth and should sleep and rise night and day and the seed should spring up and grow he knows not how the earth bears fruit of herself first the blade then the ear then the full grain in the ear but when the fruit is ripe straightway he puts forth the sickle because the harvest is come

24:44 - 25:28 Read in full sermon

The point: Lay hold of God's promise from Isaiah 55:10-11 and plead it repeatedly before God, believing that the word preached will accomplish His purpose.

Martin recounts the thrilling testimony of a young lady's conversion, who initially took sermon notes grudgingly but later found delight in God's word and prayer, serving as a vivid example of the 'seed' of preaching bearing fruit and confirming the preacher's expectancy.

there ought to be an element of holy enthusiasm and expectancy I am not on a fool's errand I am not on a fool's errand and how vividly I was reminded of this just last night we had the joy at eight o'clock in our elders meeting of having a an interview with one of our young ladies who's just turned I believe twenty and what a thrilling thing to have her give an account of her conversion undramatic no voices no flutter of angels wings no being broken down and humbled for three weeks while she could neither eat nor sleep nor drink but as we asked her to give an account of God's dealings with her

28:26 - 29:11 Read in full sermon

The point: Meditate upon 2 Corinthians 4:7-15 to understand the paradox of divine power in human weakness and its implications for ministry.

Martin mentions reading Philip Hughes' commentary on 2 Corinthians in his devotions, indicating how other theological works can bless and inform a pastor's understanding of key passages like 2 Corinthians 4:7-15.

and I've listed 2nd Corinthians 4 7 to 15 as a passage that I would encourage you to meditate upon you say Pastor there's a lot of passages from 2nd Corinthians yes because that's where I've been rooting around in the past week and a half or so in my own devotional life and as part of my devotions I'm even reading Hugh's commentary and my soul's getting blessed and here you have one of the many many passages where the apostle indicates something of these particular perspectives 2nd Corinthians chapter 4 and verse 7 but we have this treasure this treasure of the gospel ministry in which creativ...

31:24 - 32:09 Read in full sermon

The point: Meditate upon 2 Corinthians 4:7-15 to understand the paradox of divine power in human weakness and its implications for ministry.

Martin describes Paul and his companions as 'walking corpses' or men 'on their way to execution' due to constant persecution, yet out of their condemned state, life (churches) was coming, illustrating the paradox of divine power in human weakness.

and his speaking reflected that inner disposition of faith and confidence that in human weakness divine strength would be displayed as Paul is conscious that there is a particular providence constantly handing him and his companions over with as it were the death sentence over them you'd say those guys have had it that's the end of the road for them and yet out of one dead end after another what does God do? he's birthing churches all over the Roman Empire and these men go about as walking corpses in terms of the whole ethos in which they carry out their ministry pressured perplexed pursued sm...

33:37 - 34:21 Read in full sermon