Hindrances to Worship in the Converted, #1

Driving home: And it is precisely at the point when all of my faculties are focused upon doing the highest good, that evil will put forth its highest energies to negate that good.

Indwelling sin, though deposed from dominion, is compared to a former president who is not content with being a governor and constantly seeks to regain power, illustrating sin's persistent activity.

Let not therefore sin reign. It's attempting to. Dominant sin has now been relegated to the place of remaining sin, but it is not content with its deposition. It's like a former president who can never be content to be a governor.

13:48 - 14:08 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin identifies indwelling sin (Romans 7) and the imperfectly sanctified body (2 Corinthians 5) as the core realities from which all hindrances to acceptable worship in…

The idea of a magical instrument that could temporarily suspend indwelling sin and bodily imperfections for an hour of worship is used to highlight the reality of our present struggle and God's wise reasons for allowing it.

Well, you see, that's the origin of the problems we face in worship. If only there were some kind of a magical instrument through which we could pass whenever we came to any place to gather for public worship. And passing through that instrument, indwelling sin in its influence would be suspended only for an hour. and all the imperfections of the present bodily state could be shed only for an hour.

19:19 - 19:52 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: He categorizes the first type of hindrance as physical, including pain, weariness, and weakness, explaining how indwelling sin exploits these morally neutral states to divert the…

Mr. Spence's experience with jet lag is used as a relatable example of physical weariness that can hinder worship.

He, being wearied with his journey, sat thus by a well, John chapter 4. Some of you who travel, you experience jet lag. Mr. Spence knows what that is.

22:45 - 22:57 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: He categorizes the first type of hindrance as physical, including pain, weariness, and weakness, explaining how indwelling sin exploits these morally neutral states to divert the…

The common experience of children's needs (belly aches, colic, teething, flu) disrupting sleep is used to illustrate how family life can contribute to weariness that hinders worship.

Having lived for a while with his bodily clocks twelve hours in the other direction, he's finding it a bit difficult to get sorted out. It may be that the kids kept you up half the night, Saturday night. They seem to have very little respect for your intention to render to God whole-souled worship. And their belly aches, and their colic, and their teething, and their flu bugs seem to have very little respect for your holy resolve to be a whole-souled worshiper.

22:57 - 23:28 Read in full sermon

The point: Exercise rigorous discipline to master your body, preparing it for worship throughout the week.

The rigorous, comprehensive discipline of an Olympic runner (eating, sleeping, dating, reading habits) is used to illustrate the level of self-control believers should exercise in all areas of life to prepare for worship.

1 Corinthians 9 and verse 27. The Apostle Paul, speaking in a context of determination to persevere in the Christian race, says this, verse 25. Every man that striveth in the games exerciseth self-control in all things. In other words, a man who is determined to be an Olympic runner does not merely exercise discipline when he is out on the track.

25:29 - 26:01 Read in full sermon

The point: Exercise rigorous discipline to master your body, preparing it for worship throughout the week.

Martin shares a personal anecdote about his mother instilling character through making him do things he disliked, contrasting it with a 'soft recliner mentality' that hinders spiritual discipline.

I'm grateful to God again and again that I was raised in a relatively Spartan situation with a mother who made me do things that I didn't want to do, and I thanked her the other day on the phone again for it,

27:41 - 27:54 Read in full sermon

Driving home: Any worship that is not the product of the understanding of truth Is false worship

He describes observing charismatic leaders using crowd psychology and repetitive slogans to whip people into a spiritual frenzy, contrasting this with true worship rooted in understanding truth.

Is false worship now you see what this does to so much of what's called worship in our charismatic circles today it's when people's minds get blown and they get carried out you see quote in the spirit and it's usually someone who's a master of crowd psychology whipping up the troops I've seen them do it I'm not talking second, third, fourth hand I've been there and I've seen them manipulate the crowd And what do they do? It's almost a form of hypnotic repetition of little Jesus slogans. And people, as it were, are whipped into a spiritual frenzy, not as the result of coming to grips with clear...

41:42 - 42:39 Read in full sermon

The point: Take sermon outlines and other truths, make them the basis of meditation, and gather them by prayer to come to worship in the realm of truth.

The practical action of typing up sermon outlines for the congregation is given as an example of a pastoral effort to combat mental ignorance and encourage meditation on truth.

this is why I've preached the series that the entrance of God's word might give light that the light of truth would dispel the mist of ignorance but the problem is you see indwelling sin so operates upon the mind that what we see clearly one week we forget the next that's why Peter had to say in 2 Peter 1.13 I think it necessary as long as I'm in this tabernacle to stir up your minds by way of remembrance So what we've done at a practical pastoral level, one of the brethren has had his fingers very active this week. He's typing up the outline of this series. And we're going to have it mimeogra...

45:17 - 45:55 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: He uses the analogy of thieves to illustrate how indwelling sin subtly attempts to rob God of the worship due to Him, whether through physical excuses or mental passivity.

The scenario of clever thieves trying to steal tithe money on the way to church is used as a vivid analogy for how indwelling sin attempts to rob God of the worship due to Him.

What would you do if you knew on the way to this building every Lord's Day, there would be clever thieves standing outside the building, either by force or by smooth talk, trying to steal your tithe money?

52:42 - 53:01 Read in full sermon