Before the Sermon, Part 1

The point: Consciously cultivate a fresh awareness that you will be confronted with the very word of the living God.

Martin asks if the appearance of an angel or Elijah to preach would change preparation for worship, highlighting how familiarity with God's Word can lead to carelessness compared to the awe inspired by a direct divine messenger.

Consciously cultivate a fresh awareness that you will be confronted with the very word of the living God. Suppose an angel were to appear in our midst this morning and after every test to which we could subject an angel though I don't know what those tests would be and we were convinced that it was a bona fide messenger of God and that angel were to announce that in this place next Lord's Day morning the regular hour of morning worship Elijah who stood on the mountain of transfiguration with Moses conversing with the Lord Jesus concerning his coming decease at Jerusalem. If you knew that a bon...

8:09 - 9:16 Read in full sermon

The point: Consciously cultivate a fresh awareness that you will be confronted with the very word of the living God.

Extending the previous illustration, Martin asks if Jesus Himself appearing to preach would alter preparation, further emphasizing the need for reverence when hearing God's Word, which is ultimately His voice.

And suppose the prophet were to tell you that he had been told by the Lord Jesus that on the following Lord's Day that the Lord Jesus himself were to come from his place at the right hand of the Father and were to stand before you in his glorified presence somewhat in manners unknown to us veiled that we would not all be struck dead by the sheer glory of that presence. Would it make any difference in the way you prepared yourself for this hour of worship and ministry?

9:20 - 9:58 Read in full sermon

Driving home: Hell itself after the day of judgment does not reveal God as a consuming fire as fully as does Golgotha dear people.

God likens the entire globe to His 'little hassock' or footstool, illustrating His immense greatness and transcendence, which should evoke reverence in those who hear His Word.

heaven is my throne the earth is my little hassock where I rest my foot the earth is my little the earth is my little this entire globe God likens to his footstool where then is a house big enough to contain me where is an edifice that will secure the envelopment of my presence the answer is obvious no such house does exist or could exist for all these things has my hand made and so all these things came to be says the Lord but my presence is secured not in any way in any house that's built and dedicated to me or that claims to house and encase me to this man will I look even to him that is po...

17:49 - 19:18 Read in full sermon

Driving home: Hell itself after the day of judgment does not reveal God as a consuming fire as fully as does Golgotha dear people.

Martin distinguishes the 'trembling at my word' (Isaiah 66:2) from the cringing fear of a guilty criminal, explaining it as a deep reverence and godly fear born of realizing one is in the presence of the living God.

be glorified that we may see your joy but it is they that they should be put to shame you see it was the true Israel within Israel being glorified persecuted by those who are only Israelites in name so this phrase trembling at the word is synonymous with saving religion to this man will I look even to him who is poor and of a contrite spirit who has owned the reality of what he is as a creature and as a sinner in my presence and has cast himself upon my mercy and my covenant in faithfulness and yet far from leading to a cavern to the God whom he now knows as a great and glorious and pardoning ...

19:18 - 20:46 Read in full sermon

Driving home: Hell itself after the day of judgment does not reveal God as a consuming fire as fully as does Golgotha dear people.

Martin contrasts the thunder and lightning of Sinai with the cross of Golgotha, arguing that the latter reveals God's 'consuming fire' and burning holiness even more profoundly, as it consumed His own Son for sin.

to God with reverence and all for our God not was God is a consuming fire and take but one point in the contrast of the two covenants whatever the thunder and the lightning and the fire upon Sinai did to strike fear into the hearts of men it cannot begin to compare with the unleashing of the fiery indignation of God that consumed his own beloved son upon the cross whatever there was of the revelation of the awesome burning holiness of God upon the shaking mountain there called it pales into insignificance before the darkened heavens in the immolated body and the shrieking cry of dereliction fr...

25:15 - 26:44 Read in full sermon

The point: Cultivate a disposition of joyful expectation and submission, having no area of life cordoned off from God's directives in His Word.

The story of young Samuel hearing God's voice in the night (1 Samuel 3) illustrates a 'joyful expectation and spirit of submission' to God's Word, contrasting with fear or dread.

and spirit of submission turn please to first Samuel chapter three for an illustration of what I'm trying to capture in the words joyful expectation and spirit of submission you children one of the first bible stories most of you learned was the story of young Samuel taken by his mother up to the temple as a little boy and she would visit him once a year and bring him a coat that was suitable to his growth and you remember that incident when in the middle of the night he hears a voice and he thinks that it's the voice of the old priest Eli and a couple of times he goes in and asks why Eli has ...

28:12 - 29:41 Read in full sermon

Driving home: You see all the best food in the world will not be nutritious to someone whose ability to assimilate that food is being hindered by the physical condition.

Martin uses the analogy of needing both nutritious food and a healthy digestive system for physical nourishment. This illustrates that even the best spiritual food (God's Word) cannot nourish a soul if its 'spiritual digestive system' is hindered by sin.

away sometimes indicates being under undressed but he says you must put away put off therefore all wickedness and guile and hypocrisies and envies and evil speakings and having done so you are now in a position to long for the spiritual milk that you may grow thereby you see if we are to experience nourishment as living human beings we have got to have at least two things we have got to have nourishing food that can provide the nutriments to replace cells that are dying to nourish us in all the intricacies of what make us what we are in our physical existence we must have nutritious food and a...

44:30 - 45:59 Read in full sermon

The point: Ask yourself: 'Am I bringing a healthy spiritual digested system to that word?'

The Greek word for 'guile' is explained by its root meaning, describing the act of baiting a hook as a fisherman, illustrating deceit and hidden motives.

in a good state of health then you have got to put away and what does he address first of all he says put away all wickedness and the word can mean wickedness in the most general sense all kinds of wickedness or it can mean as it does in one other setting malice ill will most of the commentators that I consulted said it is probably in the general sense he uses the word all in front of it put away all that could be called wickedness get your wickedness before you seek to take in the pure milk of the word of God and then grammatically the next three things are grouped together look at them and a...

47:27 - 48:55 Read in full sermon

Driving home: The full soul loathes the honeycomb but to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.

Martin quotes a Puritan preacher who called God's Word 'costly physic' and emphasized the need to 'empty your heart of evil frames and prejudice' for it to be digested, reinforcing the need for spiritual preparation.

James says putting away therefore all filthiness and overflowing with wickedness you and I must ask ourselves this morning is my digestive system full of the destructive influence of malice deceit hypocrisy and jealousy or evil speaking is filthiness and abounding wickedness shutting down all of the systems that would enable me to break down and assimilate into my spiritual bloodstream the nourishing word of God dear people the exhortation I'm bringing you for these passages is not something strange to me if you were to have sat in the congregation a little town of England about three hundred ...

54:49 - 56:17 Read in full sermon

Driving home: The full soul loathes the honeycomb but to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.

The Puritan quote uses the metaphor of a 'stomach clogged with filth and phlegm' that cannot digest food, vividly illustrating how an unprepared heart full of sin cannot assimilate God's Word.

physic to your greatest profit he calls the word of God a costly physic and then interestingly this was after I'd already committed to follow this particular outline to thy preparation for it to thy carriage at it to thy behavior after it as to thy preparation for hearing the word I shall request you from God to mind these ensuing particulars number one empty your heart of evil frames and prejudice evil frames the dish must not be put into which we put these spiritual dainties if the stomach be clogged with filth and phlegm it cannot digest and concoct our food he said that's gross well I hope...

56:17 - 57:46 Read in full sermon