Skip to content

“Confirming Voices” (bibliography); Hinderances

John 6:53-56 Pursuing a Ministry Permeated with Christ

In this sermon, Pastor Albert N. Martin continues his series on pursuing a Christ-permeated ministry by first presenting "confirming voices" from past Reformed preachers—J.W. Alexander, Thomas Murphy, Gardiner Spring, and C.H. Spurgeon—all emphasizing Christ as the sum and substance of all preaching. He then identifies and offers correctives for hindrances to such a ministry, categorizing them as "hindrances of the head" (deficient persuasion, skill, or naive assumptions about listeners) and "hindrances of the heart" (waning love for Christ, weakened faith in the cross's power, or withering vigor in abiding in Christ). Martin urges pastors to cultivate a deep, personal love for Christ, to diligently work at preaching Christ, and to explicitly connect all biblical truth to Him, never assuming listeners will make the connections themselves.

3 illustrations in this sermon

Hindrances of the Head and Their Correctives
compare analogy

Holy Spirit as Spotlight Operator

The point: If deficient in the skill of preaching Christ, work at it, labor at it, and learn from proven craftsmen by reading and listening to their sermons.

Martin uses the analogy of the Holy Spirit as a stage light operator who narrows the spotlight and increases brightness when Christ is center stage, illustrating the Spirit's delight in magnifying Christ in ministry.

and your great privilege. And then I'd like to set one other fact, a deeper persuasion, and it is this. If the most delightful ministry of the Holy Spirit is to magnify our Lord Jesus, and it is, I like to think of the Holy Spirit and I hope it is not irreverent to do so, as that person in the, in the, on, behind the stage who is charged with the manipulation and control of the lights on center stage. And he has a script of the play.

18:11 - 18:48 Read in full sermon
Hindrance 1 of the Heart: Waning Love for Christ
lightbulb example

Man Full of Mary

The point: If there is a waning love for Christ, own it as a shameful reality and set about to do something about it.

Martin gives the example of a man whose heart is so full of his beloved (Mary or Jennifer) that he naturally speaks of her, even without contriving, to illustrate how a heart full of Christ will naturally diffuse Christ in preaching.

disruption of first may be Katrina, or Rita, or Who's in the World series, or nuclear physics. He'll find something in what you're talking about that precipitates from him some speech about his Mary, or about his Jennifer, or about other unnamed women. Some of you have a knowing look in your eyes.

36:44 - 37:14 Read in full sermon
Hindrance 2 of the Heart: Weakened Faith in the Cross's Power
auto_stories story

Personal Struggle with Temptation

The point: Continually hold out Christ crucified as the 'bread' and 'drink' in preaching, as it is the ongoing life and nourishment for the souls of His people.

Martin shares a personal testimony of intense temptation after his wife's homegoing, where his 'only salvation' was daily reading and praying through Romans 6:1-14, illustrating the power of feeding on Christ crucified for overcoming indwelling sin.

crucified that sin's dominion has been broken. Here, I want to give a word of personal testimony. I don't often do that, but I'm going to do it. Back some months ago, it had been probably four or five months after my wife's homegoing.

45:43 - 46:04 Read in full sermon
headphones Listen to full sermon