Hindrances to Meditation, Part 2

Driving home: The more spiritual the activity, the more violent the warfare.

Were you conscious of the flesh warring against the spirit during the church picnic ball game? Probably not. But try to kneel and meditate on Scripture afterward — suddenly you are conscious of conflict because the more spiritual the activity the more violent the war.

now we had a good ball game at our picnic yesterday any of you fellas were you conscious of the flesh lusting against the spirit when you were playing ball anybody conscious of spiritual conflict no some of us were conscious that there are a few more muscles that we forgot we had when we got out there and tried to play like little boys some of you girls ladies But you weren't conscious of spiritual conflict, were you? I wasn't, were you? Any of you conscious of spiritual conflict? Why?

18:07 - 18:42 Read in full sermon

Martin observes the strange phenomenon: a believer can scarcely keep his eyes open over Romans 8 yet effortlessly devour the funny papers and headlines — a giveaway sign of fleshly indisposition.

You can follow the headlines very easily. You can follow the funny paper and the particular columns that you follow with interest, with great avidness. No realiness! How come?

24:29 - 24:39 Read in full sermon

Felix did not openly reject Paul's preaching of righteousness — he simply said 'go thy way for this time, when I have a more convenient season.' That convenient season never came, and never does.

the flesh will manifest itself in warring against the spirit in this particular area by giving promises of more diligence in that duty at a more convenient time. Remember what Felix said to Paul? He didn't say, now Paul, look, this whole business of conversion and getting right with God and judgment in the world to come, that's all just a lot of hot air. Forget it.

28:29 - 28:53 Read in full sermon

Driving home: I buffet my body to black and blue, lest by any means when I have preached to others I myself should be a castaway.

A soldier in combat does not toss down his rifle and pillow his head on his helmet because he is tired — lives are at stake. So the believer in the spiritual warfare of meditation must buffet weariness.

when a soldier's in a battle and he knows that his life and the lives of his fellow soldiers are at stake he doesn't throw down the gun take his helmet off and make a pillow of it in the middle of the battlefield simply because a little weariness has seized his flesh some of you have seen some of the very graphic pictures in our popular periodicals of some of our boys in Vietnam who sometimes have been on duty around the clock day in and day out and they're baffled weary and their faces are lying but none of them would be so foolish to say well I'm weary not too much is at stake throw down his...

35:36 - 36:21 Read in full sermon

The point: When weariness strikes during meditation, literally buffet your body — splash cold water, stand, slap your face, dress lighter — refuse to surrender to fleshly drowsiness.

Martin recalls a friend in England who started every day with a cold bath at 6 AM to drive sleep from the body — practical buffeting of the body in service to the spirit.

As far as the coolness keep yourself chilly to keep yourself awake go ahead and do it Remember when I came back from England our friend from England would appreciate this they keep everything much chillier over there but their clothing is about four times as thick as ours And after I got acclimated to it, to wearing two sets of underwear and two sets of socks and a waistcoat and the rest, well, I found my mind was much more alert just on that simple principle of having the temperature a little bit cooler and having more and cooler fresh air going through my head. I didn't get dopey quite as of...

39:26 - 40:02 Read in full sermon

The point: Make the first task of every day fighting your way past competing duties to your knees — embrace the daily skirmish as part of the way of blessedness.

Martin transparently describes the daily fight to push past every other 'urgent' duty and drive himself to his knees first — assuring hearers that pastors face the same warfare.

and he has to seek to order it according to the principles of Scripture and it happens almost without fail every morning when I would set myself to go up to that study first of all to wait upon God and to pray and to meditate with no thought of sermons or pastoral duties I think of a thousand things that ought to be done letters that haven't been written calls that haven't been made people that haven't been visited duties, duties, duties You know what I do to myself? I say, now wait a minute. If you died and went to heaven at 12 o'clock today, those duties would get done, or the world wouldn't...

42:59 - 43:43 Read in full sermon

Driving home: It's not the word preached over the head in a building that sanctifies. It's the word preached into the mind, filtered into the heart.

Mention 'Salem' and the jingle plays in your mind unbidden — proof that repeated exposure produces involuntary mental return. The Word should be drilled in the same way.

I don't care if it's Salem cigarettes, and right now that little jingle comes right to your mind. You heard it? There it is. And you can never think of that jingle without selling cigarettes.

51:32 - 51:41 Read in full sermon