Times of Visitation

In this part of the sermon: Jesus's tears are provoked by two considerations: all that Jerusalem missed in terms of spiritual privileges and blessings, and the terrible judgment they would incur due to their…

The concept of God's judgment having both a 'privative' (withholding) and 'positive' (inflicting) sense is illustrated by the judgment of hell, where 'Depart from me' is privative and 'into everlasting fire' is positive.

You have this two-fold emphasis that I have brought out and sought to bring into focus in our studies on the doctrine of hell. That God's judgment comes with a privative sense. He withholds certain things. Depart from me.

5:00 - 5:13 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin defines a day of visitation as a time when God brings unusual spiritual pressures and influences to bear upon individuals, churches, or nations, making eternal realities…

Martin quotes Bishop Ryle's commentary to define a day of visitation as special manifestations of God's presence, the neglect of which is a turning point in spiritual ruin.

They wondered at the gracious words that proceeded out of his mouth. The Father spoke from heaven and said this is my son, hear him. So that for Jerusalem the day of visitation was the unusual opportunities that came in the person and ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now as a general principle a day of visitation is and I read now from Bishop Ryle's comment on this passage there seems to be no doubt that churches, nations and even individuals are sometimes visited with special manifestations of God's presence.

9:09 - 9:50 Read in full sermon

Driving home: But as a pastor I receive in the course of two weeks a letter from someone who says their heart has been pierced and they have been seeking Christ earnestly fervently and believe possibly the Lord has brought them into s…

Martin shares a personal anecdote about 'decision days' in the Salvation Army to clarify that he is not advocating for specific, limited times for salvation, but rather a general season of heightened spiritual influence.

No the scripture tells us in 2 Corinthians 6 1 and 2 in the acceptable time I have called to thee behold now is the day of salvation today if you hear his voice Hebrews 3 I am not saying there are only certain times I was brought up in a church or something that resembled a church they didn't even call themselves a church it was a salvation army and they had decision days in the salvation army and four times a year there were decision days and you could get saved on those days. Those were decision Sundays. They have them in some of the old Mennonite churches as well. Well I am not saying that ...

15:08 - 16:09 Read in full sermon

Driving home: no man is ever saved until conscience is awakened to need to guilt to the crime of sin and so when conscience begins to speak with unusual clarity and he begins to point out our sins when he begins to speak with a volume…

He contrasts John the Baptist's ministry, which drew crowds by the power of the Holy Ghost without modern 'machinery,' with contemporary evangelism that can gather crowds without spiritual power, highlighting the unique power of God's visitation.

this is a day of visitation for what was the mark of both the ministry of John and of Jesus anointed preaching John filled with the Holy Ghost from his mother's womb and John came to the wilderness of Judea preaching and there was such power attending that preaching that the multitudes of Jerusalem flocked to hear him he had no advanced man he had no commitment planning for two and three years this great campaign getting all the civic officials to cooperate getting all this kind of machinery that would get the average modern evangelist a crowd without one wattage of Holy Ghost power from the s...

19:07 - 20:36 Read in full sermon

Driving home: no man is ever saved until conscience is awakened to need to guilt to the crime of sin and so when conscience begins to speak with unusual clarity and he begins to point out our sins when he begins to speak with a volume…

Martin describes the mysterious experience of 'unction' in preaching, where his own mind is enlarged and the congregation is transfixed, likening the Spirit's work to the wind, which cannot be controlled but is known when present.

or less prayerful in my preparation I am not any more or less dependent upon God when I step into this pulpit but when I open my mouth I've moved along through the introduction the review and then something happens something happens my own mind is enlarged my spirit is stretched my tongue is loose and then there's a sense that something settles in to this congregation and everything every eye is transfixed and I sense that people are not only giving me their eyes but their hearts and their ears and there's that peculiar sense God is here other times it never comes I can't explain it the waves ...

20:36 - 22:05 Read in full sermon

Driving home: no man is ever saved until conscience is awakened to need to guilt to the crime of sin and so when conscience begins to speak with unusual clarity and he begins to point out our sins when he begins to speak with a volume…

He quotes an old preacher who said, 'I don't know what it is but I know what it ain't,' to further illustrate the mysterious nature of spiritual unction in preaching.

or less prayerful in my preparation I am not any more or less dependent upon God when I step into this pulpit but when I open my mouth I've moved along through the introduction the review and then something happens something happens my own mind is enlarged my spirit is stretched my tongue is loose and then there's a sense that something settles in to this congregation and everything every eye is transfixed and I sense that people are not only giving me their eyes but their hearts and their ears and there's that peculiar sense God is here other times it never comes I can't explain it the waves ...

20:36 - 22:05 Read in full sermon

Driving home: no man is ever saved until conscience is awakened to need to guilt to the crime of sin and so when conscience begins to speak with unusual clarity and he begins to point out our sins when he begins to speak with a volume…

Conscience is described as a 'little moral monitor in the soul,' a 'moral arbiter,' and a 'referee' that says 'foul or fair,' emphasizing its role in awakening to sin.

but there's been something something something there oh my friend that's a day of God's visitation when you find the word coming with unusual power secondly when conscience speaks with unusual clarity and volume this little moral monitor in the soul conscience that little moral arbiter that little referee who says foul or fair inbounds out of bounds that pestilence the little fellow whom we've tried to squelch and stifle no man is ever saved until conscience is awakened to need to guilt to the crime of sin and so when conscience begins to speak with unusual clarity and he begins to point out o...

22:05 - 23:34 Read in full sermon

Driving home: no man is ever saved until conscience is awakened to need to guilt to the crime of sin and so when conscience begins to speak with unusual clarity and he begins to point out our sins when he begins to speak with a volume…

Felix's trembling at Paul's preaching is used as a concrete example of conscience speaking with unusual clarity and volume during a day of visitation, which Felix then tried to suppress.

in terms of my lust and my passions oh that's conscience's hunting ground and of the judgment to come conscience is God's continual reminder that will stand in his presence even in the heathen we read in Romans 1.32 who knowing the judgment of God you see he was right in the hunting ground of conscience right in the area where conscience does his work and as Paul reasons of these things does Felix scratch his scraggly beard and yawn brush his hair behind his ears and say well that's all nice oh no he had a time of visitation for notice what happened Felix was he trembled clearly he was all the...

25:03 - 26:29 Read in full sermon

Driving home: no man is saved until that other world which permeates this physical world that world of spiritual reality that world which extends beyond this world and yet permeates this world until that world becomes real to a man he…

The tragedy of Jerry Lee is cited as an example of how God uses circumstances to make the conscience of young people thunder, indicating a time of visitation.

off conscience voice and his day of visitation comes my friend what's the state of your conscience God used circumstances such as the tragedy of Jerry Lee to make the conscience of some of you young people thunder in a way that it hasn't for a long time what if that were you it's conscience speaking some of you does God use the influence of that godly father and mother every time you see them walking strictly before God in the light of his law conscience thundering out saying that's what you ought to be walking before that converted wife or husband you the unconverted spouse does conscience th...

26:29 - 27:56 Read in full sermon

Driving home: no man is saved until that other world which permeates this physical world that world of spiritual reality that world which extends beyond this world and yet permeates this world until that world becomes real to a man he…

Salvation is likened to a marriage proposal, with Christ as the bridegroom and the church as the bride, illustrating that one must see Christ as winsome and worthy to say 'I do' to His claims.

it's a day of the Lord's visitation when there's the sense of the reality of the world and of course this is vividly illustrated in the life of our Lord vividly illustrated in the life and ministry of the apostles but I must hurry to the third indication of the time of visitation I'm sorry a fourth when the provisions and claims of the Savior are unusually clear and clear and winsome what is salvation? well the Bible describes it under many figures it's such a many-sided thing that God doesn't give us just one figure to illustrate it but one of the most vivid and one that communicates to us so...

30:17 - 31:46 Read in full sermon

The point: Give yourselves to prayer as never before, even to fasting if necessary, and look upon anything that clogs your path to the prayer closet as a vicious enemy.

The phrase 'the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence' is explained through the analogy of an army pressing a battle to the city walls, where victory is near but opposition is fiercest, illustrating the spiritual warfare accompanying a day of visitation.

number one give yourselves to prayer as never before if you are not if necessary even to fasting Jesus said in Matthew 11 in verse 12 and this text to me can only be understood in the context of this idea of a day of visitation text that troubled me for years I still don't understand all that it says but I think I have a little light in the light of what we've studied tonight speaking of John the Baptist and the greatness of his ministry our Lord then says even though John was the greatest of the prophets he that is but little in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he in other words somethin...

40:35 - 42:04 Read in full sermon

The point: Give yourselves to prayer as never before, even to fasting if necessary, and look upon anything that clogs your path to the prayer closet as a vicious enemy.

The analogy of 'goal line stands' in football is used to reinforce the idea that the fiercest opposition occurs when one is closest to achieving the objective, applying this to spiritual battles during a visitation.

Jesus says the kingdom of heaven is at hand now commensurate with that day of visitation is this strange language about the kingdom of heaven suffering violence and the violent taking it by force what does it mean I think this is the picture when soldiers have been pressing a battle on the outskirts of a city in the old days when they had walled cities and they have pressed the battle to the place where the opposing army in retreat has entered through its own city gates and locked itself behind the walls they are the nearest to victory they're right up to the walls but listen carefully not onl...

42:04 - 43:31 Read in full sermon

The point: Be unusually careful not to grieve the Holy Spirit by corrupt communication, bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, evil speaking, or malice.

Little sins are compared to 'cinders' in the eye, emphasizing that even small impurities can hinder prayer and quench the desire to seek God during a time of visitation.

in the tentacles of the devil when a church is near and in the midst of the day of visitation that may mean the release of precious souls new dimensions of outreach and penetration into the devil's territory unusual opposition therefore children of God in the time of visitation you must give yourselves to prayer I must give myself to prayer as never before and look upon everything that clogs your own path to the prayer closet as a vicious enemy of the blessings of the day of visitation do you follow me or am I just talking words just a little sin oh is it you know what little sins do little si...

44:27 - 45:54 Read in full sermon

The point: Be unusually careful not to grieve the Holy Spirit by corrupt communication, bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, evil speaking, or malice.

The Holy Spirit is depicted as a dove, not an eagle, to illustrate that He alights in quietness and rest but flies away when there is 'ruffling' (gossip, bitterness, etc.), highlighting the need for believers not to grieve Him.

than the apple of the eye and a little cinder of uncleanness of pride of bitterness of jealousy of anger the little cinder kills and quenches the desire to pray it's true isn't it so may I urge upon you as I pray as God's people as I exhort my own heart that we give ourselves to prayer as never before and that we violently and viciously deal with anything in our own hearts that would make us ill at ease in the presence of God secondly child of God in the time of visitation be unusually careful not to grieve the spirit in Ephesians 4.30 we have the admonition grieve not the Holy Spirit of God b...

45:54 - 47:21 Read in full sermon

The point: View as your mortal enemy anything that makes conscience tune down its volume, makes Christ less winsome, or makes the world of spiritual reality more distant.

The joy of a bride looking back on her wedding day 60 years later is used to illustrate the eternal blessedness of those who respond to Christ's proposal during a day of visitation.

look back in eternity and say oh that was my day of visitation how the word came to me powerfully oh how vivid heaven and hell became oh how winsome Christ appeared I could almost as the rich young ruler run after him saying good master what shall I do but oh I played the fool I let the television I let my friends I let my companions I let my school work I let this or that crowd into my mind and push out the series impressions push out the serious intention what a terrible thing in eternity to bemoan the fact that you knew not the day of your visitation oh how much more blessed through all ete...

56:09 - 57:37 Read in full sermon