His Feet, Part 1

Driving home: And yet in the realm of the spirit, the text says that the feet of a man of God are in every case beautiful feet.

Martin uses the analogy of feet being generally considered the most unattractive body part to highlight the spiritual beauty of a preacher's feet, contrasting physical appearance with divine purpose.

Even as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that bring glad tidings of good things. Now this particular passage, and I refer, of course, to the statement of verse 15, is quoted in part, or is a partial quotation, of a passage found in Isaiah, the 52nd chapter and the 7th verse. And this passage informs us, concerning the feet of a man of God, that they are always beautiful feet. Now for many of us, our physical feet are often the part of our body, that we think about when we read in 1 Corinthians 12, about the uncomely parts of our body. And for many of us, whatever attractive fe...

6:11 - 7:39 Read in full sermon

Driving home: Now you see this is all bound up in the word sent. How shall they preach, except they be sent? It does not say except they go, but except they be sent. And if one is to be sent there must be a sender.

Gardiner Spring's analogy of private citizens vs. commissioned ambassadors in wartime is used to distinguish between a believer's general obligation to share truth and a minister's unique, commissioned authority to speak in God's name.

However, and here I quote Gardiner Spring, while these truths are truths that ought neither to be forgotten nor abused, and I've just summarized the truths he has laid out, it is equally true that no private Christian is authorized to utter the truths of the gospel in God's name and as his commissioned ambassador. He may and ought to speak for God in his private capacity, but not as a minister of the gospel. When two nations are at war, the private citizens of both who are resident in the land of the enemy may in their private capacity urge the claims of their own land, while as commissioned a...

10:58 - 12:21 Read in full sermon

Driving home: Well the truth is my dear brethren is that the only way in which you will confront the Lord Jesus prior to death and judgment is that you will confront the Lord Jesus as he comes to you in the good tidings proclaimed by …

Martin poses a hypothetical scenario of Jesus arriving on heavenly chariots to speak directly, to emphasize that this is not how Christ comes to men today; rather, He comes through the preached word.

how shall they build from whom they have not heard but how if they are to believe upon christ and that belief is to give birth to a calling upon christ first of all here all upon him in whom they have not believed how shall they believe he says him whom they've not lost hear the voice well then that poses a problem how are we going to hear his voice he's an angel going to fetch him out of heaven and accompany him in a grand on heavenly chariots and bring the lord jesus down here this morning let him off in the parking lot and have him come up through the foyer and amongst the

28:41 - 29:49 Read in full sermon

The point: If you are unconverted and have heard the gospel, you are being urged to lash yourself to the Lord Jesus Christ by faith, fleeing to Him for salvation.

The analogy of sailors lashing themselves to the mast of a ship in a storm is used to illustrate the desperate, unwavering trust and commitment sinners are urged to have in Christ for salvation.

You've heard his sincere well-meant offer and entreaty and gracious commands to come to him to believe upon him to throw yourself upon him to do what sailors used to do in the midst of a raging storm. When they thought the ship would break to pieces they knew that the most stable thing on that ship was the mast sunk in its socket in the keel of that ship. And they would literally lash themselves to the mast. And they would literally lash themselves to the mast.

48:57 - 49:27 Read in full sermon

The point: Understand the glory, wonder, and majesty of being sent by the Sovereign to preach His word, as your feet are instruments of bringing Christ himself to men.

Martin quotes Cotton Mather to underscore the immense honor, importance, and usefulness of the Christian ministry, even for imperfect men, as it restores God's throne in hearts and proclaims Christ.

What a glorious concept of the ministry. No wonder Cotton Mather wrote as follows. The office of the Christian ministry rightly understood is the most honorable and important that any man in the whole world can ever sustain. And it will be one of the wonders and employments of eternity to consider the reasons why the wisdom and goodness of God assign this office to imperfect and guilty man.

59:51 - 60:22 Read in full sermon

The point: Exercise your ministry with solemnity, not lightly, flippantly, carelessly, casually, or folksy, knowing you are a bearer of the Son of God himself to men.

A quotation describing the time between Christ's victory and second coming as an 'empty space' where preaching sends forth its voice, emphasizing preaching as Christ's feet and mouth in the present age.

His influence is nothing. is nothing compared to the influence of a sanctified Christian pulpit filled with a vessel of clay in which God has deposited the treasure of the gospel. Oh, men in the ministry and aspiring to the ministry, how can you ever exercise a light, a flippant, a careless, casual, jokesy and folksy ministry when you know your sins and the Lord of lords and a bearer of the Son of God himself to men in the word and proclamation of the gospel? One has captured the wonder of it and written as follows, between Christ's victory at the cross and the open tomb and the consummation a...

61:24 - 62:42 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: He illustrates this with an anecdote about George Whitfield demanding a hearing from a sleeping man, and a personal story of rebuking a student, emphasizing that a preacher, as a…

The well-known anecdote of George Whitfield rebuking a man sleeping during his sermon is used to illustrate the preacher's confidence in his divine authority and his right to demand a hearing for God's message.

I close with this rather well-known illustration from Whitfield's life, but if you've not heard it, perhaps it'll whet your appetite to read the briefer biography of Whitfield that's recently come out by Mr. Dollimore. He had complete confidence, He had complete confidence, He had complete confidence, in his authority as a servant of Christ, and he was determined that it should receive the respect it deserved when he preached. Once in a New Jersey meeting house, writes his biographer, he noticed an old man settling down for his accustomed sermon time nap.

64:27 - 65:04 Read in full sermon

The point: As a commissioned ambassador of the King, it is right to demand a hearing for the word of the King; it would be sin to do anything less.

Martin shares a personal anecdote of rebuking a young woman preening her hair during his sermon, reinforcing the point that a preacher, as a messenger of the Sovereign, demands a hearing for the word of God.

I must and I will be heard. When I had the temerity to rebuke a proud, vain young woman sitting up in the back row of a balcony in a Christian college a few years ago who dared to sit there and preen her hair while I was preaching the word of God and I waited for her attention and she did not give it to me and when I had what the students regarded as the gall to point to her and say, young woman, preening your hair, I am not here on a fool's errand. I am here with the message of my sovereign and I demand a hearing.

65:54 - 66:32 Read in full sermon