Before the Sermon, Part 2

The point: Consciously repudiate by fresh repentance all that would hinder the joyful reception and effective assimilation of the word of God.

The analogy of physical nourishment (wholesome food + healthy digestive system) is used to explain that both the pure Word of God and a prepared heart are necessary for spiritual profit. Just as the best food won't help a sick digestive system, the Word won't profit an unprepared heart.

remember the analogy for nourishment of our physical bodies there must be two things wholesome food and a healthy digestive system the best food in the world fed to a man whose digestive system is out of whack will do him no good and the best digestive system in the world without nourishing food to work upon and assimilate will do no good to the person who possesses it remember the parable of the sower it was the state of the soil that determined the fate of the seed the fate of the seed was not determined by the cleverness of the sower it was determined by the state of the soil when the human...

12:05 - 13:34 Read in full sermon

The point: Consciously repudiate by fresh repentance all that would hinder the joyful reception and effective assimilation of the word of God.

The parable of the sower is used to illustrate that the 'state of the soil' (the human heart) determines the fate of the seed (the Word). This emphasizes the hearer's responsibility in receiving the Word, rather than solely the sower's cleverness.

remember the analogy for nourishment of our physical bodies there must be two things wholesome food and a healthy digestive system the best food in the world fed to a man whose digestive system is out of whack will do him no good and the best digestive system in the world without nourishing food to work upon and assimilate will do no good to the person who possesses it remember the parable of the sower it was the state of the soil that determined the fate of the seed the fate of the seed was not determined by the cleverness of the sower it was determined by the state of the soil when the human...

12:05 - 13:34 Read in full sermon

The point: Consciously cultivate a meek and an eager disposition of heart towards the word which will be preached.

Jesus' self-description in Matthew 11:29 as 'meek and lowly in heart' is used as the ultimate example of the disposition believers should cultivate when approaching God's Word.

blurt out what you think and what you know but have a disposition of readiness to learn the opposite of opinionatedness is meekness and of wrathfulness of ill will let every man be swift to hear slow to speak slow to wrath in the context meekness is the opposite of opinionatedness and wrathfulness it is an inner disposition of mind and heart marked by gentleness and by teachableness in several contexts in scripture it is associated very intimately with lowliness of mind look at Matthew chapter 11 rarely does our Lord Jesus speak of what we would call the inner disposition of his own soul but h...

19:30 - 20:58 Read in full sermon

The point: If you have been living a life of guile, duplicity, deceit, hypocrisy, or envy, and have not dealt with these sins at the cross of Christ, you cannot profit from the word; you must put these things away by repentance.

The yearning and longing of a suckling child for its mother's breast is used by Peter (and Martin) to describe the intense craving believers should have for the 'sincere milk of the word,' highlighting a deep, natural hunger.

without guile milk of the word or the without guile spiritual milk it is clear that he's speaking of that which God has given as the means of our nourishment that we may grow thereby unto salvation and we know from the analogy of scripture that that milk is indeed the word of the living God and Peter says we are to long for it we are not to come with a back hat indifferent spirit and say well let me see what the preacher may have to say today and whether the subject particularly excites me and piques my interest or not no Peter says there to be something of the yearning and longing of the suck...

28:24 - 29:52 Read in full sermon

The point: If you have been living a life of guile, duplicity, deceit, hypocrisy, or envy, and have not dealt with these sins at the cross of Christ, you cannot profit from the word; you must put these things away by repentance.

Paul's expressions of longing for the Philippian church and his spiritual son Timothy are used to illustrate the deeply felt consciousness and ardor that should characterize a believer's yearning for God's Word.

reasonable spiritual milk that God has given for our nourishment this is the word Paul uses when he describes the yearning of love for the Philippian church Philippians 1 in verse 8 he says that God is witness I'm not in indulging in excessive saccharine expressions of my heart God is my witness how I long after you all in the tender mercies of Christ Jesus it's the word he uses with respect to his yearning after his spiritual son Timothy you see this is speaking of a deeply felt consciousness in the soul when Paul thought of that Philippian church that had such a unique place in his affection...

29:52 - 31:22 Read in full sermon

The point: If you have been living a life of guile, duplicity, deceit, hypocrisy, or envy, and have not dealt with these sins at the cross of Christ, you cannot profit from the word; you must put these things away by repentance.

The psalmist's act of opening his mouth wide and panting for God's commandments (Psalm 119:131) is used as a vivid metaphor for intense spiritual longing and craving for nourishment from the Word.

in the earth do not hide your commandments from me my soul breaks for the longing that it has unto your ordinances at all times what makes you broken hearted the psalmist says my soul breaks for the longing that it has for your ordinances again in verse 131 of the same psalm I opened wide my mouth and panted for I longed for your commandments and in both of these verses verse 20 and verse 131 in the Greek translation of the Old Testament that translation called the Septuagint the working Bible of first century Christians the Greek word used to express the Hebrew words for longing is this very ...

32:52 - 34:19 Read in full sermon

The point: If you have been living a life of guile, duplicity, deceit, hypocrisy, or envy, and have not dealt with these sins at the cross of Christ, you cannot profit from the word; you must put these things away by repentance.

The proverb of the 'full soul' trampling a honeycomb versus the 'hungry soul' finding every bitter thing sweet (Proverbs 27:7) is a graphic analogy illustrating that spiritual satiety or indifference prevents appreciation of God's Word, while hunger makes it precious.

why are we to cultivate not only a meek disposition of heart but an eager disposition of heart because of the explicit commandment of God if you have been born of God God says to you and to me long for yearn after crave the sincere milk of the word and it is only in that posture that we shall know the reality spoken of in Proverbs 27 and verse 7 this is the reality this is why God commands this of us Proverbs 27 and verse 7 the full soul tramples upon or loathes a honeycomb but to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet you catch the graphic imagery here here's a person that's just had a s...

34:19 - 35:44 Read in full sermon

The point: If you have been living a life of guile, duplicity, deceit, hypocrisy, or envy, and have not dealt with these sins at the cross of Christ, you cannot profit from the word; you must put these things away by repentance.

The Bereans are presented as an example of spiritual nobility because they received the Word with 'all readiness of mind' (Acts 17:11), illustrating the eager disposition God commends.

with the fluff and the junk food of your own your own efficiency with a sense give me light Lord give me strength Lord my mind is full of darkness give me understanding oh God speak to me this morning I come with the yearning and the craving of the nursing babe God says you and I have a response you and I have a responsibility to cultivate a disposition of meekness and of eagerness for the preaching of the word of God we're to cultivate this eagerness because of the explicit command of God and then because of the emphatic commendation of God remember when we were studying Acts together just a ...

37:14 - 38:41 Read in full sermon

The point: Consciously cultivate a disposition of dependence upon the Holy Spirit for his ministry as you anticipate the ministry of the word.

The post-resurrection account of Jesus opening his disciples' minds to understand the scriptures (Luke 24:45) is used to demonstrate the absolute necessity of the Holy Spirit's illuminating work for true comprehension.

which I spoke while I was yet with you that all things must be fulfilled that are written in the law of Moses and the prophets and the Psalms concerning me the Lord Jesus had especially from Caesarea Philippi onward after Peter made the great confession thou art the Christ the son of the living God the Lord Jesus had repeatedly told them I must go to Jerusalem I must be handed over by the chief priest into the hands of the Gentiles I must be scourged and crucified in the third day I must rise again from the dead everything that scripture says about me must be fulfilled but again and again the ...

44:34 - 46:02 Read in full sermon

The point: Repudiate all confidence in yourselves or in the preacher as you anticipate the preaching of the word.

Jesus' parable of the Pharisee and the publican (Luke 18) is alluded to, illustrating the contrast between self-trust (Pharisee) and humble dependence on God (publican) in the matter of salvation, extended to hearing the Word.

consciously repudiate all confidence in ourselves our own ability we know the word of God fairly well we know the ropes we have a general understanding of biblical content we can subtly cultivate a spirit of self confidence no we repudiate it and take the posture of those who are utterly dependent upon God and we do the same with respect to whoever the preacher may be the text that God has used in my own life again and again over many years is Jeremiah 17 verses 5 through 9 Jeremiah 17 verses 5 through 9 the last passage we'll consider this morning why must we cultivate this spirit of consciou...

54:55 - 56:24 Read in full sermon

The point: Repudiate all confidence in yourselves or in the preacher as you anticipate the preaching of the word.

The metaphor of a 'tree planted by the waters' (Jeremiah 17:8, echoing Psalm 1) is used to describe the blessed man who trusts in the Lord, emphasizing fruitfulness and resilience that comes from dependence, not self-reliance.

well I've got to seek a ministry elsewhere this ministry does me no good I've seen it again and again and again well look at the text he shall not see when good comes but shall inhabit the parched place in the wilderness a salt land not inhabited blessed is the man that trusts in the Lord and whose trust the Lord is he shall be as a tree planted by the waters that have overtones of another passage we sang about Psalm 1 the blessed man does not walk in the counsel of the ungodly stand in the way of sinners sit in the seat of scoffers but his delight is in the law of the Lord and on his law doth...

57:52 - 59:21 Read in full sermon

The point: Remind your children that they are going to hear the word of God, the God who made them and before whom they will stand in judgment.

An extended quotation from David Clarkson, John Owen's successor, is used to powerfully reinforce the entire sermon's theme of preparing the heart for hearing the Word, using metaphors of plowing fallow ground, melting hearts, and fencing against the world.

pray that God will give you a spirit of eagerness and then let us together acknowledge how much we need the Holy Spirit can you imagine what a crop of good gospel hearers would be raised in this place if by the grace of God we take heed how we hear and then pass on to our children how we hear how they are to take heed how they hear David Clarkson the successor to John Owen preacher again back from the 1600s listen to what he said to his people these are my closing words to you before you hear he said to his people endeavor to get your souls into a capacity of hearing fruitfully to get spiritua...

65:13 - 66:40 Read in full sermon