Physical Condition, Appearance & Bearing

Introduction: The Preacher's Relationship to Himself

0:02 itself, and in our treatment of this subject thus far this semester, having laid out some preliminary considerations, we then took a broad overview last week of what we will be covering throughout the semester, and we'll be considering the act of preaching in terms of the preacher and his present relationship to God, and then the preacher and his relationship to himself, the preacher and his relationship to his hearers, the preacher and his relationship to his paper, and then the preacher and his relationship to his general physical surroundings. And under that first heading then last week, we sought to consider by way of exhortation four very vital elements that go into effective preaching as to the act of preaching, the preacher and his present relationship to God should seek continually to set before his own mind and heart the awareness that he is preaching in the sight of God, he is preaching as a man on his way to the judgment of God, he is preaching as an appointed ambassador, herald, and gift of God, and he is preaching as one who is engaging in that activity that is uniquely designated.

1:29 And unchangeably relevant as God's instrument of bringing blessing to his people. Now what we are going to do today is to begin to take up together the subject of the preacher in relationship to himself, the act of preaching with reference to the preacher's relationship to himself. So this would be large letter B. The preacher in relationship to himself, and as we begin to take up the subject, I'll give three introductory concerns, and then we will take up the first strand of a number of strands, namely the preacher's physical condition, appearance, bearing, or what we may call more briefly, pulpit deportment. So that's where we are, and that's where we're going to go by the Lord's help. The act of preaching. The act of preaching in relationship to oneself as a preacher.

2:36 Eventually we'll cover the use of the voice, the control, and the place of the emotions, and physical action in preaching, and those vital concerns, but today we will take up only this area of the general physical appearance and bearing of the preacher. Now I want to introduce this whole division. This whole division of our study with three things. First of all, a word of explanation, and then a word of foundation, and then a word of qualification.

Explanation: Preaching Involves the Whole Redeemed Humanity

3:12 Now, a word of explanation. When I say the act of preaching in relationship to yourself as a preacher, I mean preaching as it has reference to the totality of the redeemed humanity of the preacher. We hope that you will understand that. We hold a theology of preaching which has as one of its fundamental tenets that true preaching is not merely an intellectual and verbal exercise or discipline, nor is it yet an intellectual, verbal, and spiritual exercise.

3:50 Just as surely as the truth of God and the law of God are addressed to the whole man, so the communication of that word to others involves. If the first commandment is to love God with all the heart, mind, soul, and strength, then surely love to God ought to be most active in the act of preaching on behalf of that God, and therefore preaching, that is, preaching, will involve the whole of the heart, the mind, the soul, and the strength, that is, the entirety of our redeemed humanity, everything from the deepest springs of the heart. To the highest fountains of the mind, to the broadest rivers of emotion, and to the most concentrated energies of physical energy and activity, all of them are to be engaged in the act of preaching. If you want to think of it in terms of the analogy of many streams flowing in to constitute a river, all the streams of our redeemed humanity are to flow into this river. This river is called the act of preaching. And not one stream of what constitutes you as a man should be omitted from that river.

5:12 Not one should be dammed up. Not one should be dried up. Not one should be allowed simply to overflow its banks and run any which way. But in the act of preaching, the entirety of our redeemed humanity is to be active.

5:30 And so, when I speak of preaching, the act of preaching is to be active. And so, when I speak of preaching, the act of preaching is to be active. This act of preaching in relationship to the preacher himself, that word of explanation is necessary that you understand what I'm referring to. Now, secondly, by way of introduction, I want to say a word on the biblical foundation for this approach.

Biblical Foundation: Self-Control and Edification

5:53 We've established that the great axiom for all preaching is let all things be done unto edification. So, with this specific division of our study, the dominant biblical concept consists in the combination. of two texts of Scripture. The first one is 1 Corinthians 14 and verse 32.

6:16 Here in this section where Paul is dealing with the regulation of the exercise of the gift of prophecy, he says, giving very, what some would call, restrictive directives, even when there was this gift of heightened, revelatory activity, for you can all prophesy one by one that all may learn and all may be exhorted, and the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets, for God is not a God of confusion, but of peace. Now the word here, the spirit of the prophets, the word spirit there is the animating, governing principle which dictates how, and when a man will speak in a public assembly. And here the apostle says that the spirit of a prophet is subject to the prophet. It is under the regulative control of his own mind, judgment, and will. Commenting on this, and may I urge you not to despise Wilson's little paperback commentaries.

7:35 They are a rich goldmine of very helpful exegetical insights. Wilson comments, Unlike the diabolical inspirations of heathenism, the breathings of God's spirit do not carry away the prophet without his consent or will, and therefore he has no right to make inspiration a pretext for refusing to submit to the rules laid down by the apostle. And this must be so, for it would be the height of impiety to attribute the confusion which would result from a perfectionist, prophetic free-for-all to him who is the God of peace. So that in this whole matter of thinking biblically about preaching, we must begin with the realization that in this engagement of the whole man in the act of preaching, and as we reflexively consider ourselves in that activity, we must recognize this principle that our human spirit is, is to be constantly subject to an enlightened judgment, sanctified affections, and a will that is respecting the principles of God's word. So that's the first key text that forms the foundation for this approach to the act of preaching, particularly the preacher in relationship to himself.

9:03 And then the second text is Galatians 5 and verse 23. I alluded to this briefly last week, but I want to focus, focus upon it a little more today.

9:14 In the listing of the nine-fold fruit of the Spirit,

9:19 the apostle says that the fruit of the Spirit is, and the last of the nine-fold fruit of the Spirit mentioned, is self-control. Egratia. I keep...

9:34 Ah, there we are.

9:46 The fruit of the Spirit is self-control, and it's the verbal form of the verb egratio my, found in 1 Corinthians, 9.25. And in this Winter Olympic time, this is a very appropriate verse and verb. Every man that strives in the games exercises self-control in all things.

10:12 And the meaning of that was patent to people in the Greco-Roman world as it is evident to us that the person going for gold, if Paul were writing today and we were having a cabbage patch, a cabbage patch version here, we would say, and every man going for gold exercises self-control in all things. The athlete bringing his ultimate goal into mind regulates every facet of his humanity, his eating habits, sleeping habits, how much cardiovascular demands he'll make upon himself, muscular exercise. Everything. Everything.

10:56 Everything is regulated by the athlete seeking to attain the goal. He exercises self-control in all things. Now it is at this point that the biblical teaching regarding the fullness of the Spirit and the control of the Spirit is in total antipathy to the pagan concept of being under the control of the gods. And it's that very concept that Paul alludes to in 1 Corinthians 12 and verse 2.

11:25 You know that when you were Gentiles you were led away unto those dumb idols howsoever you might be led. Notice they were passive and in their pagan worship the concept of ecstasy and working oneself up to the place where he was carried away by the gods. That was part of paganism. And the more we come into the orbit of the dynamics of grace and toward the heart of Bimbley, biblical faith and practice, the more removed we will be from anything that even approaches that pagan concept.

12:07 The fruit of the Spirit is not ecstasy being led away but self-control. So that as we stated last week, never is the Spirit more in control than when we are most in control of ourselves.

12:28 When our minds and hearts suffused with selfless love, desiring to do the most good to the most people, then recognizing the principles by which that end will most likely be realized, our spirits are subject to us. We are in control of what we are doing and yet wonder of wonders, the more that control is exercised to those noble ends, the more we have reason to believe we are men full, of the Spirit and under the control of the Spirit. McElvain, from whom you'll be hearing much in days to come, has a chapter on self-control in his book on elocution. And here is his axiom, and then he fleshes it out. Self-control is essential to the consciousness and manifestation of reserved force in speaking. And then he has a dash and then he quotes the text, the Spirit of the Prophets, must be subject unto the prophets. The orator also is a prophet in a true though limited sense and is equally necessary that his ardor and passion, however high they may rise, should never be allowed to get the better of reason and propriety.

13:48 He must never allow himself to be transported wholly out of himself, but there must always be a clear method in his prophetic raptures. It was said of Demosthenes that even in his most impassioned eloquence he was never known to lose control of himself. And this enabled him to control and direct the very storm which he raised and on which he rode. In like manner, all truly great orators in their noblest flights, whilst transporting their audiences, keep the mastery of the situation by remaining masters of themselves.

Qualification: Self-Forgetfulness in the Pulpit

14:27 And he is capitalizing on the fact that he is a master of himself. He has captured the heart of the issue and he goes on in this entire chapter to elucidate that principle and we'll have opportunity to refer to him again. So in thinking of this whole subject, the preacher in relationship to himself, we must approach it first of all understanding by way of my introductory word of explanation what I mean by ourselves, the totality of our redeemed humanity, and then see that in approaching this subject with a biblical mindset, there is no contradiction whatsoever between careful analytical consideration of self-control of the preacher with respect to himself in the act of preaching and the highest forms of impassioned spirit-anointed utterance. For even in prophetic utterance, which we do not claim to attain to, the spirit of the prophets was subject to the prophets and the fruit of the spirit is in all situations in all circumstances at all times the fruit of the spirit is self-control. Then by way of introduction, not only a word of explanation and then giving you some biblical foundation, but then thirdly, a word of qualification, caution and direction. A word of qualification, caution and direction.

15:53 Almost everything we consider under this category of the act of preaching in relationship to the preacher himself will, in fact, demand critical analysis and conscious efforts at correction, cultivation and improvement. I hope there's not a one of us who can come through this department of our study without engaging in some very humbling and searching efforts of correction leading to efforts in cultivation and improvement. However, here is the qualification, caution and direction. However, with but few exceptions, the conscious analysis and conscious steps to correct, cultivate and improve must rarely be carried on in the act of preaching itself.

16:54 With but few exceptions, the conscious analysis, conscious steps to correct, cultivate and improve must rarely be carried on in the act of preaching. These things must be done out of the pulpit, so that in the pulpit the highest form of self-control will be manifested, which is self-forgetfulness. The highest form of self-control will be manifested, which is self-forgetfulness.

17:33 And by that I mean this.

17:36 So taken up is the preacher's mind and heart with his subject,

17:43 the truth of God. With God, with himself, with the good of those to whom he ministers,

17:53 that those all-absorbing issues cause him to forget himself.

18:00 He is in control with respect to never forgetting I'm under God's eye. He's in control in that he never forgets I must handle the truth with integrity. I must preach unto edification. But those things have so taken hold of him that he has forgotten himself.

18:19 You see, it's better than a man should, should preach with naturalness, earnestness, and evident rough edges under the threefold pressure of these realities.

18:33 Far better that he should do that with earnestness rather than sacrifice any one of these things for a polished style. If a man must give up naturalness for a polished style, he's paid too great a price. If he must impinge upon earnestness for a polished style, he's paid too great a price. And if he must give up the consciousness of God and the passion to handle the truth accurately and to do good to men in order to be polished, then God curses polished.

19:10 Now let me illustrate. Here's a man who knows he has a problem with articulation. He got into sloppy habits as a kid. It wasn't corrected in his most formative years.

19:21 And he frames his words at the back of his throat or by his molars instead of up by his front teeth with his teeth. With his tongue. And with the speech apparatus that God's given out here. Well, what should he do?

19:35 He's conscious. He has a need to work on that. Well, let him consciously work at that at home in his conversation with his wife, with his children. Reading out loud at family devotions.

19:47 Even over-emphasizing if necessary in order to retrain his ear to what he is doing. Tell his family that he is going to talk a little bit strange around the house. He's trying to get out of the habit of slurring over his D's and T's and B's. So daddy will sound a little funny around that.

20:10 That's fine. Fine. Fine. But when he gets in the pulpit, that's not the place for the exaggerated use of enunciating techniques and pronunciation, etc.

20:22 Let his preoccupation be God, the truth of God, and the people before him. And then let his preaching come out naturally even with some long strides yet to be taken in pronunciation, enunciation, articulation. But let him do that conscious practice at home. Now that does not mean that he may not intermittently in the course of his preaching say to himself, slow down, buster.

20:52 Use your apparatus more. No, that will pass through his mind. But not to the place where that clouds these other great preoccupations that form the heart and soul of effective preaching.

21:07 Now, the balancing perspective is that it's not wrong to think of these things in the act of preaching if to do so is necessary unto edification. For example, the first time I ever saw what I looked like when I get worked up, it shocked me. Someone took a candid photograph of me and I said, man, I look like I'm angry as all gas. Get out.

21:35 I said, that's what I look like when I get worked up. They said, exactly. And I said, well, I've got to work on that. No, I'm still working on it because I still look too angry at times when I'm worked up.

21:44 And it's not wrong when the truth of God is burning in my heart and there is a passion that that truth be communicated to the people of God to have a little monitor go off and say, now be careful that you don't allow yourself unnecessarily to look angry. That's not wrong consciously to think of that. Why? Because, that is being in control of yourself to the great end of edification.

22:08 Let not your good be evil spoken of. So, I want to qualify when I say that we should not be working on these things in the act of preaching, I am not saying that we should not from time to time intermittently be conscious of some of these things and make necessary adjustments in the act of preaching. Listen to two of the old masters who speak to this issue. Broadus, page 285, page 482 at the bottom says, Above all, be yourself.

22:40 Speak out with freedom and earnestness what you think and feel. Better a thousand faults than through dread of faults to be tame.

22:53 Broadus had no sympathy for tame preachers. He wanted wild woods.

22:59 That's the opposite of tame, isn't it? Speak out with freedom and earnestness. Better a thousand faults than through dread of faults to be tame. Some of the most useful preachers, men in a true and highest sense eloquent, have had grave defects of manner.

23:15 Habitually correct faults as far as possible, but whether the voice and the action be good or bad, if there's something in you to say, speak it out, and by all means let there be no affectation or even artificiality. So Broadus, and likewise Taylor, the Ministry of the Word, page 72, but here as in all things, he's speaking about cultivating elocution, that is, pleasant and effective speech. Above all things, be on your guard against artificiality. What you have to do is not to imitate another, but cultivate yourselves.

23:56 Do not covet the stare and stark theatric practiced at the glass, that's a phrase out of a poem from Cowper, but aim rather to cure yourselves of any awkwardness or any awkwardness that may adhere to you, and to acquire inequalities in which you may be deficient. Do not make yourselves into lay figures, which are the painter's poor substitutes for living men, but be yourselves, only yourselves, purged from your faults and clothed with as much power as you can acquire by laborious exercise.

Avoiding Extremes: Fatalism vs. Crippling Preoccupation

24:32 So you see, when the athlete goes into the arena for the actual contest, it is there that all of the technical practice and all of the disciplines in which he's exercised self-control prior to that moment are to come to expression in what he does, whether it's in those eight minutes on the mat in the case of a wrestling match, or it's the four and a half minute long program in a skating competition, it's not there that someone practices or goes through what they're doing as though they were practicing when they do, it's evident to all of us that they are not caught up with the particular thing that they're supposed to be doing at the moment. So, that rather lengthy introduction I think is necessary, brethren, to put these things in a context in which we will be able properly to handle them. Now, we'll have occasion to come back to these things again and again and again, but as I conclude the introduction, I want to point out to you how understanding these perspectives will keep us from two grave extremes in this matter of the act of preaching as it relates to the preacher himself, all the way from his external appearance to the use of his voice, physical gestures and mannerisms. There are two great extremes to which we are constantly vulnerable. One, I would call

26:00 a paralyzing fatalism.

26:04 A paralyzing fatalism that says, well, I am what I am, take me the way I am or leave me. If God wanted me to be different, He'd have made me different. He would have brought different influences to bear upon me in the period of my development and there are people who say, well, if God's called me to preach, He called me to preach with my bad diction, with my sloppy grammar, with my awkward gestures and with my squeaky voice and if that's good enough for God, it better be good enough for His people or it's too bad. It's too bad for them.

26:41 Well, that's a paralyzing fatalism that has in its roots some horrible, unmortified selfishness, probably laziness and a host of other ugly sins. But then on the other end of the extreme is a crippling preoccupation with these matters and a man becomes so conscious of his defects that he becomes self-conscious about them and his self-consciousness destroys his liberty in speaking, his liberty in feeling, his liberty in being engaged in the whole of his humanity. And brethren, it would grieve me if any of the things we cover get some of you so conscious of these things that you become paralyzed in terms of attaining even now some degree of naturalness in preaching. Our goal should be the goal that Paul set before Timothy in 1 Timothy 4 in verse 15. Give yourself wholly to these things that your progress may be manifest unto all. And in the context he was dealing with the very thing we're talking about.

27:53 Till I come give heed to the reading, to exhortation, to teaching. Do not neglect the gift that is in you. You've got to do something in the guarding and cultivating of that gift. And he said do it in such a way.

28:07 Be diligent in these things. Give yourself wholly to these things that your progress may be manifestly manifest unto all. All of us ought to be progressing in our ability to preach well until we go down to our graves. And even at the time when some of our natural powers may wane, when the mind may not be able to think as clearly, when the mind may not be able to think as originally, there should still be evidence of growth in richness as we ripen in grace.

28:39 And we ought to accept as our lifetime ambition that anyone who hears us at any point in our ministries could say if they heard us from 20 to 25, we saw progress. From 25 to 30, from 40 to 50, from 70 to 80, that your progress may be manifest unto all. That we go to our graves determining that we're going to be better preachers every time we preach. And we never give up on that.

Pulpit Deportment: Physical Condition, Appearance, and Bearing

29:08 No matter what we may attain in the eyes of others, determined, that we've not yet come up to the standard that we see in the Word of God and the standard that we've accepted for ourselves. All right? Let's then begin to take up the first strand in this area of the act of preaching in relationship to ourselves. We've had this introduction with the word of explanation, the word concerning the biblical foundation for this concern, then the qualification and warning of the abuse of this.

29:41 Now then, we're going to take up strand number one of the preacher in relationship to himself, and that's what I'm calling your physical condition, appearance, and bearing. Your physical condition, appearance, and bearing, or if you want a shorter little subtitle, pulpit deportment. But that dates me to use that language, so...

30:07 But I so like it that I couldn't leave it out. All right. Your physical condition, appearance, and bearing.

30:16 If you and I were preaching as disembodied spirits to fellow spirits, or as blind,

30:25 or to blind people, this division of our study would be rendered almost unnecessary. All I'd have to deal with would be the subject of the emotions and the voice.

30:36 But we do not preach as disembodied spirits to fellow spirits. We speak as men whose apparatus is our physical and emotional organism. But we do not preach the whole of our redeemed humanity. And we speak to people who have ears and eyes, aesthetic sensitivities, and faculties, as well as hearts and minds with which to receive God's truth.

31:06 And many times the impression of the truth upon the mind and heart is greatly hindered by what the ears and the eyes and the aesthetic sensitivities confront. In the man who's preaching.

31:23 And what a terrible thing for God's truth to be hindered in its impact upon the mind and heart of our hearers because of something they are seeing with their eyes in awkward gestures, hearing with their ears of a voice that is indistinct or strident and grating, or gets on a high pitch and tear and stays there until it hurts. It's a terrible thing. And therefore we must be concerned about these matters as the heralds of the word of God. For when we ask the question who made us with eyes and ears and aesthetic faculties as well as minds and hearts, God or the devil?

32:05 Well, it's God who made us with all of these faculties.

32:11 And if we ask the question who's ready to take advantage of any unseemliness which will turn away the mind and the heart from the truth.

32:21 Remember the parable of the sower. Whenever the sea of the word of God is sown, the fowls of the air are ready to pluck it up. And sometimes you can create those fowl with your own awkward mannerisms. You can cooperate with the devil in plucking up the word while all the while you seem to be laboring to sow it into the soft folds of the human heart.

General Physical Condition: Enhancing Usefulness

32:47 All right? Having said those general words in sort of leading into this subject of your physical condition, appearance and bearing, I've got five areas. That I want to address under this heading. Five areas of your physical condition, appearance and bearing.

33:05 The moment of truth has come. Preparation is behind you as much as the time allowed. And you're coming to walk to the sacred desk to proclaim the word of God to your people on a given Lord's Day. Here are five areas that you must be concerned about.

33:24 Number one, your general physical condition. Your general physical condition.

33:32 Now, I'm not going to repeat what was given in unit one on the physical and emotional health of the preacher. But suffice it to say that if you appear before men to preach the word of God manifestly, patently, overweight, hypertense, continually drawn and sallow,

33:56 when such conditions are not necessary, you will neutralize some of your usefulness as a preacher. And that in two ways. Number one, there will be an erosion of esteem and confidence on the part of your hearers.

34:18 There will be an erosion of esteem and confidence on the part of your hearers.

34:31 Most frequently, these conditions of being manifestly overweight, hypertense, or continually drawn and sallow are the fruit of a lack of discipline, a lack of self-control, a lack of conscience about matters pertaining to the way in which we treat this body which is the temple of the Holy Spirit.

35:00 And your own people will instinctively know whether or not, and I'm going to say it this way, it's the best way I know, whether or not they can be proud of the way their preacher looks. Whether they feel comfortable inviting people into the assembly without having to make excuses. Now it's different. Your people will have no problem saying to a visitor, look, our pastor doesn't look too well.

35:23 He's come through a tremendously serious bout with such and such and he's just getting back on his feet. No problem. But if a man's sallow, worn-out appearance is the long-term fruit of an inability to say no to things he ought to say no to, an over-inflated sense of his own importance that he's not getting adequate rest, he's convinced of conveying a false concept of the gospel. Believe my gospel and you too will turn into a haggard, worn-out, frazzled person.

35:56 God is a cruel taskmaster. Look at me. I'm living proof of it. He squeezes blood out of a turnip.

36:02 He's worse than the Egyptian taskmasters. He makes you go make brick without straw and without mud. And I'm a living proof of it. Look at me.

36:11 Now, brethren, that's not right.

36:14 And when you have the esteem and confidence of your hearers eroded, it's different. Difficult to preach with effectiveness. And then secondly, if you're not concerned about your general physical condition, not only may there be an erosion of esteem and confidence in your hearers, there'll be an erosion of your ability to give yourself to the rigors of preaching. There'll be an erosion of your ability to give yourself to the rigors of preaching.

36:43 If preaching is an activity of the whole man, not just your mind, your spirit,

36:51 but a mind and a spirit acting through a spirit acting through a set of vocal cords and lungs and the physiology that are either adequate for the task or not,

37:04 then you see how vital this is. Listen to Broadus and all the old writers. Many of them have a section on the physical culture of the preacher. Let the physical condition be as vigorous as possible.

37:16 482. In order to this, seek good health in general. Take abundant sleep the night before preaching. At the meal before preaching, eat moderately.

37:26 A food easily digested. And if you're to speak immediately, eat very little. And do not, if you can possibly avoid it, exhaust your vitality during the day by exciting conversation. A healthy condition of the nervous system is surpassingly important.

37:43 Not a morbid excitability such as is produced by studying very late the night before, but a healthy condition so that feeling may quickly respond to thought, so that there may be sympathetic emotion and at the same time complete self-control. And all the old writers, they got right down to what foods you should eat and shouldn't eat before you preach because they understood this. The modern writers don't because many of them don't know what preaching is. And they don't know something of the tremendous demands it makes upon the whole of your humanity.

38:16 We go back to McElvain. Listen to his very sagacious counsel. Page 157. And I will be giving you some notes Xeroxed copies of sections of McElvain further on in the semester.

38:30 Axiom 83. Vitality and the favorable mood are dependent upon physical regimen, which varies for different speakers. The importance of such regimen arises from its influence upon the vitality. A high degree of vitality and the favorable mood for speaking are no doubt dependent to a considerable extent upon moral but far more upon physical causes.

39:02 And then he goes on to actually give a prescription for physical conditioning prior to preaching that will help a man preach. And then he goes on to speak very wisely. He says the vital forces will not inspire the brain and grind in the stomach at the same time. And then he goes on to give very practical advice with regard to what to eat and what not to eat in preparation for preaching.

39:31 His concluding statement of this section, whatsoever is worthy of the name of preaching requires the exercise of the whole vital force of a sound and healthy man. To preach the gospel takes all there is or can ever be in any man. Now that's what he thought about preaching.

39:56 That's what he thought about preaching. Now I know there are exceptions. I'm fully aware of 2 Corinthians 12. Paul had some kind of an impediment that he felt would weaken him to the place of inefficiency.

40:10 But isn't that interesting? He knew there was a relationship between strength and efficiency. That's the very point. And that's why he was saying, Lord, take it from me.

40:21 I can't fulfill the task with this weakness. See, Paul's thorn has often been used to a wrong end. The whole assumption of that section is that ordinarily the servant of God is given a measure of strength essential for the task which God calls him to perform. And when there seemed to be an impediment to that, he asked the Lord to remove it and God said, no, my grace is sufficient for you.

40:47 My strength will be made perfect in the midst of weakness. But again, the evidence is that divine strength met him and compensated for what would normally be there by ordinary physical strength.

41:05 If I read the passage rightly, that's what it says. My strength is made perfect in the midst of human weakness. And there may come a time at the end of one's days when if a man is 75, people may expect him to have the bearing of a 75-year-old man. And if like John Knox, you had spent some years as a galley slave and had your body wracked with pain, you may have to be carried up into the pulpit with assistance.

41:34 But isn't it interesting that beautiful picture that McRae gives of Knox when as an old man his two assistants carried him up into the pulpit and he said he leaned with his arthritic frame upon the pulpit and for the first 20 minutes when he was expounding he leaned. But then when he came to application they said he preached as though he would fly out of the pulpit and ding the pulpit to blasts. And when the truth of God so permeated the man's being, that it even gave life to his arthritic joints as an old man. Well, surely that commends the gospel when a man is able to preach it with all of his being.

42:14 And brethren, I can understand that if people for the sake of making strides in promoting their own name and getting some of the world's glory in the field of athletics will submit themselves to rigorous discipline in all things, what higher, more noble, task can a man have than to preach the gospel? And should he not be continually conditioning the whole of his physical condition that he might preach as effectively as he can possibly preach for as long as God will give him strength to do it? I don't understand that when a man will not see that relationship and do what is necessary to live in the light of it. Whatever else you carry into the pulpit, my brother, you're going to carry yourself. And what you carry is either going to enhance the gospel you preach and your ability to preach it or to detract from it, one or the other. So you must be concerned about general physical condition because you carry yourself into the pulpit and long before you open your mouth, you're there with yourself and people see you for who you are.

Clothing: Cultural Compatibility, Modesty, Aesthetics, Flexibility

43:28 Now then, next to general physical condition, we take up secondly, clothing.

43:35 Now again, it's not my purpose, to construct a theology of dress in a real sense. I believe this is both necessary and possible, but it is interesting, is it not, that the first act God performed towards sinful man, not the first word spoken, but the first act after he spoke the word of inquisition, the word of punishment and the word of promise, his first act was that of a tailor and a groom.

44:04 The Lord God made skins and clothed them. Almighty God becomes a tailor and a groom. It's interesting.

44:16 It should at least apprise us that these are matters that don't fall outside the realm of God's concern. But I want to limit myself to just saying a few words about clothing as it relates to your appearance to lead in the worship and especially to preach the word of God to the gathered congregation of God's people.

44:40 Now here, there are two texts that ought to burn in our own consciences with respect to our clothing. 1 Corinthians 9, 19-23 in this section of Paul's deliberate denial of certain liberties for the sake of the gospel and his enlargement upon that subject. He says in this section, verses 19-23, For though I was free from all men, I brought myself under bondage to all that I might gain the more. That is, I brought myself to be regulated by men's expectations on matters indifferent to the Jews. I became as a Jew that I might gain Jews, etc. All of these things, verse 22, I become all things to all men that by all means I may save some and all things I do for the gospel's sake. Now, certainly this touched externals.

45:48 At one point, he was willing to have his whole appearance in terms of his hairstyle radically altered to gain some Jews. He had his head shaved, took a Nazarite vow.

46:03 It did touch on things external. We have that clear example of it with regard to that Nazarite vow.

46:11 And so, our perspective must be with regard to our clothing, we're ready to put ourselves in bondage to all men. If, by dressing us up, in a certain way, we can more readily get the ears of our hearers, we are prepared to subjugate our own personal taste and sartorial inclinations to a higher end. And that end is to save some. Then the second text is 2 Corinthians chapter 6.

46:44 2 Corinthians 6, verses 3 and 4. Giving no occasion of stumbling in anything, that our ministry be not blamed or ridiculed, but in everything commending ourselves as ministers of God,

47:04 giving no occasion of stumbling in anything. Now again, Wilson's comments on this text found on page 81 and 82.

47:21 The connection is with verse 1. We entreat giving no occasion of stumbling. The consciousness that he is a worker together with God leads the apostle to conduct himself in a manner which is consistent with the ministry he has to exercise. Ministers give occasion of stumbling when by their own faults they hinder the progress of the gospel in those who hear them.

47:47 Paul claims he's not of that company and testifies to his careful concern not to stain his apostleship with any taint of disgrace. For this is a trick of Satan to seek for a fault in ministers which will tend to bring the gospel into disrepute. For if he succeeds in bringing the ministry into contempt, all hope of progress is gone. Thus the man who wishes to make himself useful in Christ's service must devote all his energies to maintaining the honor of his ministry.

48:22 And that quote is from Calvin. In nothing giving offense. Now in the application of these two texts I should like to suggest that there are three things which ought to regulate your external adornment or your dressing for your public labors in the ministry. Three things ought to characterize your clothing, your external adornment including your hairstyle on the head or on the face.

48:55 Number one, cultural compatibility. Cultural compatibility.

49:03 When things are compatible they are congruous. They work together well. Now it is the genius of the gospel that it does not demand that we all return in culture to the Hebrew society of the old covenant or to the Greco-Roman culture in which the new covenant community was formed and to which its documents came. We must return to remind ourselves that the only aspect of our culture with which the gospel makes war is that which is sinful.

49:41 Now the gospel is prepared to make war with anything in the culture that is sinful. And this is where much of modern missiology and contextualization has gone wrong. It is ready to press the gospel into the mold of thoughts and patterns of behavior that are themselves the expression of sin. And there is an accommodation of the gospel to things with which it ought not to be or to which it ought not to be accommodated.

50:10 But with regard to such matters as dress in our appearance formally and publicly to proclaim the word of God the cut of our suit the style and color of our shirt and the width of our tie should reflect the fact that the gospel does not make war with that which is neutral in the culture. Your physical appearance your dress your clothing should be a monumental witness to the fact that the gospel you preach is not at war with the non-moral issues of your culture. People should look at us and think I mean people should not look at us and say do you mean that if I believe the message he preaches I must go back to the clothing styles of the fifties and the sixties or the forties although the forties are coming around naturally now broad brimmed hat and floppy trousers if you live long enough you see the things come in cycles. No there should be nothing that distracts people from our message when we stand up in the pulpit but to state it frankly brethren if a man stands in the pulpit in the average church in America today with six inch wide lapels on his jacket he's distracting people from the gospel. Now he may think for Christ's sake he's being frugal but he's not. But far better to go on out and shovel sow and earn thirty bucks

51:40 and go to a local tailor and have to have the lapels cut down than to take that thirty dollars and give it to missions at the expense of turning away the ears of one's hearers. Now I've saved my six inch wide ties I've got them safely put away they'll come back in time and when they do I'll wear them. But if I appear here this morning with one of those big tight I mean you men would see I don't need to say a thing but I've seen guys do that utterly insensitive to the cultural setting in which they were and what did people immediately assume? Well this is some baggy trousered dirty nose kind of religion.

52:18 People have got enough objections to the truth without you giving them any. They've got enough so called reasons to turn us off without us giving them more. So we put ourselves in bondage to all men. Why?

52:31 That we might save some in nothing giving offense that the ministry be not blamed. So our clothing should be marked by cultural compatibility. That's why one of the few things I enjoyed about going to Pakistan I enjoyed meeting brethren and the rest but there were many other things that were very distressful including the Pakistani trots and I got a good case of those but I found very soon that in many of the places I ministered cultural compatibility in that particular context of smaller groups and intimacy was that I could preach with a short sleeve shirt and no tie and I thoroughly enjoyed being culturally compassionate and compatible. If I had my way I'd never wear one of these things.

53:12 I'm one of these guys that when I take a shower in the winter day like today by the time I'm out of the shower and just the exercise of drying myself I'm sweating at the roots of my hair and my back is all soaked again. Might as well take another shower. So having living in a lather of my own sweat all the time I don't like it at all. If I had my way I'd appear like this in the pulpit every Sunday.

53:36 If I had long sleeve shirts they'd be rolled up here open down to the navel and I'd really be ready to go.

53:45 But that would not be culturally compatible. You see I might be very personally comfortable but not culturally compatible. Alright? Second thing that should characterize our dress Christian modesty.

53:59 Christian modesty. Now what do I mean by the word Christian modesty? It is the opposite of that which is gaudy. Provocative or sensational.

54:11 The opposite of that which is gaudy provocative and sensational. One of the requirements for an elder in 1 Timothy 3.2 is kosmios. The very word used with regard to a woman's dress in 1 Timothy 2.9.

54:30 Difficult to define but it puts us into the orbit that is exactly the opposite of what is bizarre. And much of bizarre dress in our day is a philosophical statement. It's part of a nihilistic philosophy that has gripped the whole punk rock and acid rock and hard metal rock scene. Unisex perversity and homosexual and transvestite debauchery.

55:02 And we must not allow any of those things in any way to cling to us in our appearance as to our dress our clothing. So Christian modesty must mark us. All our clothing should be distinctively masculine. Let it be tailored in such a way as not unnecessarily to outline and to accent your genitals.

55:27 Some men sitting on a platform have been embarrassed. They gave a lesson in male anatomy. Their trousers were altogether too tight in their crotch to put it bluntly.

55:40 If you happen to be fairly well built and you keep yourself in shape be careful about getting clothing that's too form-fitting. It could be an occasion of stumbling particularly in this body-worshipping age. There was a time when you didn't have to be too concerned that women would be erotically stirred by the appearance of a man. But with all of the emphasis now in which women are trying to prove they can do anything men can do one of the perverse expressions of that is men have been ogling women's bodies if they were well stacked for years why can't we women ogle men's bodies?

56:14 If they're well stacked that's part of the curse that has come with the feminist emphasis but that's there and you and I must recognize that and Christian modesty will demand that we be careful in the choice of the clothing that we wear into the pulpit. And then I would add a third thing about our clothing cultural compatibility Christian modesty thirdly aesthetic sensitivity and by this I mean an awareness of what colors go with what other colors what style shirt with what suit what tie with what suit and so we must ask the question who made people with aesthetic sensitivities and capacities God or the devil? Well if God did then let's not dishonor the God of aesthetics when we're preaching him as the God of special revelation. Who made us so that the average person feels a sense of clash and disharmony if someone has a blue suit and has a green tie with it. God made us so that the average person feels uncomfortable in that color combination.

57:27 Well don't dishonor the God of general revelation while speaking his mind from special revelation. Let your physical appearance manifest that that is one and the same God. And if you need to go to a men's shop and get a chart such charts are available that say with such a color suit such and such a color shirt and tie are compatible. If you're color blind and your wife has no sense of aesthetics then get a color chart from a men's shop.

57:58 Simple enough. There's no excuse for any man appearing in a way in which there is a jangling of one's aesthetic sensitivities. I said three things there are four brethren. The fourth is sanctified flexibility.

58:16 Sanctified flexibility. Flexibility. Within the general guidelines of what is culturally compatible you must be flexible in terms of the specific context in which you are preaching. A sport jacket in slacks with a pastel shirt may be just right for your prayer meeting but it would be horrible taste for you to conduct a funeral five hours before the prayer meeting with a sport jacket matching slacks a pastel shirt and a matching tie.

58:46 When you show up in that attire at the funeral you're going to offend people. Why? It's not culturally compatible. It's expected you wear your darkest suit your most somber shirt or formal shirt and tie.

58:58 It's not in the Bible. No, that's part of culture. Who's the lord of culture? Is that an innocent manifestation of our culture?

59:04 Then the sovereign God has ordered it.

59:07 So in serving him show submission to him and sensitivity to what is not what you think ought to be whether you like it or not. Likewise what you may do in bringing a message at a teenage Christmas party may not be proper for a wedding the next day or vice versa. Show up to preach to a group of teenagers at an informal party in your best pinstripe suit in a white shirt and a maroon tie and the kids are going to say don't turn up dress informally now don't try to dress like one of them then you're ludicrous and they sense that you're trying too hard. But find something appropriate for someone who they regard as halfway to being an old man.

59:50 Duffer and dress accordingly. Alright? Sanctified flexibility. Now let me say by way of application and then we'll take a little break here after we've done this in this whole matter of our clothing don't be so spiritual as to minimize these things.

60:08 It is not a biblical spirituality which is unconcerned with gaining men's ears so as to save them.

60:18 It is not a biblical spirituality which is unconcerned with whether or not we're giving unnecessary offense. A biblical spirituality is concerned with getting ears and causing no offense to the ministry. Now I know there have been some men of great gift who've been eccentrics in the area of their clothing and they got away with it. But did they really?

60:42 How do we know how many others they might have reached had they not been oddballs?

60:48 Now if God commissions a John the Baptist to dress in a leather girdle and I have a funny diet of locusts and wild honey that's one thing. But you and I have no such revelation. And the son of man is our pattern here. He came in the ordinary clothing of an ordinary humble Palestinian.

61:07 He ate ordinary food and drank ordinary wine. So much so that his ordinariness was the great stumbling block to the claims that he made. And we must be followers of our Lord. Now a good rule of thumb that I found helpful is to try to dress in such a way that you can even show up with a new suit a new shirt or tie and few will even notice it.

61:35 Don't consider it a compliment unless you've been so poor and thread bare that a new suit almost would be like a new face. Now that might be the exception but in ordinary situations ordinary circumstances your whole image in your clothing should be such that you show up with a new shirt new suit new tie and few people even notice it. Why? Because your clothing has made them feel so comfortable that they don't notice it.

62:05 That ought to be the standard.

Grooming: Details Reflecting Sanity and Sensitivity

62:08 I like the kind of spirituality of a tozer when the pious woman came up to him and with the far away look in her eye you know you'll meet those people from time to time what is the last thing says well ma'am I checked my zipper I've never forgotten it last thing before I come out from that upper room is I check to see that I feel the upper part of the zipper because I tell you when you're walking out of the pulpit at the end of the sermon and you look down and it's been opened it's too late then and I don't say that on someone else's testimony it's happened right here all right well with tozer in our ears let's take a little break now all right brethren having touched now on two areas under this general heading of our physical appearance and bearing or pulpit deportment I've mentioned the matter of our general physical condition secondly our clothing now thirdly our grooming and under this heading I include such things as your

63:37 hairstyle your fingernails in length and cleanliness your shoes shine or unshined and scuffed a clean iron handkerchief the style and placement of your glasses it's not good grooming to have full eyes glasses and use them like they were for lower cases you know or to have them so bent out of shape I've sat there sometimes and wanted to tell a preacher look let me just adjust your glasses tighten up the bows I found it terribly distracting don't you

64:19 too cheap to get some new ones and he's trying to get a little bit more out of him alright so one picture's worth a thousand words so under grooming brethren this is what I'm talking about and seriously this is not a matter of indifference it's not without reason that one of the first signs that a psychiatrist looks for in someone who has mental problems is what disarray of dress and indifference to grooming that's associated with madness sobriety and sanity are associated with good grooming indifference to those things are associated with madness so when we bring 1st Corinthians 9 and 2nd Corinthians 6 to bear all things to all men that we may by all means save some in nothing giving offense then we must be concerned about these details of our grooming and here again just apply those four things that we said with regard to clothing cultural compatibility this pertains to your hairstyle your glasses your facial hair 15 years ago facial hair in a minister was in many situations to make him suspect now in many cases it's to make a wonderful statement that I'm a man and

65:48 I'm not ashamed of it and well trimmed facial hair is non offensive and in many situations I think enhances a man's masculinity but there again you see cultural compatibility and if the time comes when there is something in the culture that facial hair is saying something you don't want to say then even though your wife just loves your scratchy beard and you think you look like whoever you think you look like you may have to take it off all things

66:23 with the matter of glasses when a certain type of frame just goes completely out of style and you just make yourself look like an odd ball then as much as you'd like to say well it's not good stewardship they work why do I need to get new ones I find it far easier to trust God to send me the hundred dollars that I might be culturally compatible than to save that money at the expense of having people week after week visitors come among us and the first thing they notice when I stand to preach is my out of date glasses frames now those are very practical things but that's the real world brethren and people think that way so cultural compatibility again Christian modesty what kind of cologne you're going to use you're going to use the stuff that is advertised as a turn on and is strong and pungent and sends out a message that's not modest you get a cologne that is masculine that is not associated with seduction that is so heavy that it's doing in a man what an animal being in heat does for the female of the species so Christian modesty in the use of your cologne aesthetic sensitivity again if you've got unmanageable hair then or fine hair like mine that would be flying in your face then you've got to humble yourself and buy some hair spray the

67:52 first time I bought a thing a hair spray I thought I'd die my whole life hair spray was something for women and I didn't know whether my hand would be paralyzed when I tried to squeeze the pump the first time but no longer could you

68:15 and just wash it and dry it it goes all over the place so I have to glue it in place with hair spray aesthetic sensitivity and then sanctified flexibility there was a time when I could brag that I could get in the shower and be out and ready to preach in eight minutes and no more I had five minutes to that just for this dry hairstyle that came into vogue ten twelve years ago used to be nice to come out of the shower partially dry it put a little cream on it and go your way and preach can't do that anymore so you have to be flexible in these things and all together they do either enhance or erode our credibility so don't be so spiritual to minimize these things don't be so selfish as to be unwilling to do these things and don't be so self centered as to major on these things last thing we want is for you guys to become band box dandies we don't want you to be that either you don't even know what a dandy is you're so young but it's what it sounds like you know prissy you meet some preachers and you know that they're more concerned about their physical appearance than they are about your soul and that we don't want so in everything moderation now then fourth area is posture and here I refer to the position or carriage of your body in coming onto the platform the posture you assume there before you preach and then

Posture: Dignity, Certainty, Modesty, Compatibility

69:45 especially the posture you assume when you walk to the pulpit and while you're delivering the word of God we will deal with physical action so I'm only dealing with this limited aspect for now now you may ask the question does this make a difference well men in our generation think themselves wise that they have discovered what they now call body language well that's been something that has been part of human experience from the time God made us what we are and when you read both the old and the new testaments there are many of a direct relationship between states of the mind and heart and positions of the body and if a man saunters into the pulpit with one of his hands in his pockets his shoulders stooped I don't expect much from his bridging there's something about his bearing that is sending out a message so let me leave you with some key words which ought to characterize our posture so that again you have something concrete to work on and with which to evaluate yourself and help your wife evaluate you first of all dignity I'm coming into the place of God's special presence I will be handling his holy word I'm on a noble exalted

71:14 glorious mission would you appear stoop shouldered hands in pockets when ushered into the oval room at the White House can you imagine someone coming in who's not an intimate friend how you doing Ronnie he'd be out as quick as he came in you just don't do that in the presence of a dignified person honor to whom honor is due carry yourself with dignity well we're in the presence of God and there ought to be a dignity to our posture secondly there ought to be an element I don't know what else to call it but certainty I am a messenger of God I know what I'm doing here therefore I need not assume a false timid bearing as though that will prove I'm very humble man ought to walk to the pulpit as a man who knows the mission he is about and it will give not only an element of dignity but of certainty to his bearing and then thirdly modesty I'm a redeemed sinner I'm unworthy to speak in my master's name therefore there'll be no strut of the rooster how can a man be full of swagger and

Facial Expression: Mirror of the Soul

72:44 strut and cockiness who's been pardoned by grace from execution justly deserved and when he appears in the presence of the sovereign who's pardoned him there'll be a modesty to his bearing and then fourthly again the word compatibility I'm a lover of men seeking to be sensitive to the things that will gain their ears in any given situation and here the text out of first Corinthians thirteen is so helpful love does not behave itself unseemly and the details of that will be different in many situations but there must be compatibility in the whole matter of our posture alright now the final aspect for our general physical appearance is our facial expression our facial expression and again I'm not leaping ahead to the aspect as it falls under the category of the emotions or physical action but rather I limit my concern to the facial expression in coming to the platform and entering the pulpit and here again let me just briefly outline several passages that make it clear that the face is often the mirror of the soul the face is often the mirror

74:11 track down that first murderer remember what his first question of inquisition was and the Lord said unto Cain why are you angry and why is your countenance fallen God took notice of his face and he says you got a sad face what is the reason for it why is your countenance fallen remember what Jesus said in Matthew 6 16 when you fast be not as the hypocrites who make themselves what sad of countenance but he said wash your face put oil upon it that you appear not unto men to fast but unto God Proverbs 15 13 another very helpful text a glad heart makes a cheerful countenance cheerful face but by sorrow of heart the spirit is broken and Isaiah 3 9 the show of their countenance doth testify against them and you'll find in the pastoral ministry there are so many things you can tell about your people from the look on their face some of your sheep you can read their spiritual state on their face almost any given Lord's day the show of their countenance doth witness against them and he's speaking here of the arrogant look in the countenance of these people who are sinning like Sodom and Gomorrah and yet are

75:41 utterly unashamed and then Acts 6 15 where it speaks of Stephen whose face was as the face of an angel all the grace that was poured into his soul found a peculiar expression in his face and when Moses communed with God what was it that struck people when he came down from the mount his

76:07 theology of the peculiar way in which the soul is mirrored in the face and therefore our facial expression should be an accurate reflection of what we're all about in preaching and here again let me set forth several key words which ought generally to characterize our facial expression in entering the place of preaching now in the act of preaching the facial expression will undergo the full spectrum of legitimate expression but

76:37 begin to open up the word of God the facial expression you carry with you first of all it should be one marked by sobriety again I quote my dear late doctor a man cannot be both a prophet and a clown you can't appear in the pulpit as one who's characterized by levity and be a man of God there must be sobriety but then the second thing should be joy I'm not a messenger of death but of life that's the whole emphasis of second Corinthians chapters two and three is it not if the ministration of death came with glory that made Moses face to shine so a veil had to be put upon it how much more is the ministration of life to be characterized with glory so brethren there ought to be joy that manifests itself in our countenance thirdly there ought to be in our countenance something that grows out of our confidence in God not a nervous shifting of the eyes an inward sense of weakness and helplessness we are not sufficient of ourselves yes but read on but he has made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant thanks be unto God who always leads us to triumph in Christ I'm coming on a

78:07 mission given by almighty God I'm not on a fool's errand I have confidence in my God I've got no confidence in myself but I have confidence in God and it should register upon my countenance and then fourthly my countenance ought to speak good will to men good will to men my countenance ought to be a kindly countenance that bespeaks that I've come to do people good I've seen some men whose countenance in coming into the pulpit the only thing I can think of that has a parallel if you know what happens sometimes maybe you're not as carnal as I am to occasionally watch a prize fight but occasionally when I get to watch one you notice how sometimes when they come to the ring for their instructions before the fight begins and they're trying to stare one another down they're trying to knock the guy out with their looks that's the way some people come into the pulpit everything about them says I'm going to knock you out with what I got to say and his joy is set and the eyes are stared and I just feel like saying man is this guy here to do me good or is he here to bury me now there should be something in our countenance that speaks that we come with good will in our hearts towards men there was one man thank God the Lord is wonderfully delivered in but while he was even here in the academy I told him I said brother I said people are not going to want to listen to you preach I said when you enter into the pulpit you have a look about you like

79:36 you're carrying the burden of the whole world on your back and what you do is you make people pity you that you're so oppressed rather than look expectantly to receive a word of life and encouragement for them in their state of need and I said you got to deal with that thing he just had such a look of heaviness about him and we can laugh about it now but God is wonderfully wonderfully delivered this dear brother but that's what I'm talking about and these can be cultivated we can pray Lord do something in me that will indeed cause me to enter the pulpit with sobriety holy joy confidence in yourself and good will to men and Lord if there's some short circuits that that's not coming out then help me to work on my very facial expression the fruit of the spirit is self control how often have you said to your kid now get that pout off your face what do you do if they look up and say I can't control my facial expressions you say well I'll help you by means of your behind amazing the relationship between the behind and the facial muscles yes daddy you go to sister and give that to her with a smile on your face yes daddy boy it's amazing alright well then what's good for the goose is good for the gander alright don't say well I can't help I've got all these great yes you can help it don't be so self centered don't be so selfish and even if you're

81:06 passing through tremendous pressures God can give you grace that that does not register on your countenance and brethren I speak there again by coming through the crucible and some of you know what I'm referring to in the horrible baptism of grief that we passed through some years ago in our family people would come and say pastor how in the world can you come before us with a cheerful countenance I said God gives grace because I have no right to appear before you any other way I have no right

Conclusion: The Dignified Christian Gentleman

81:44 is indeed no little part brethren of effectiveness over the long haul across a broad spectrum of people and so let's not minimize something so practical and so apparently inconsequential as the facial expression and may God help us that it will be characterized by these four things now in all of these things and I say this in conclusion we do not want to absolutize in their application God has made a tremendous diversity of things in his creation colors and shapes of flowers and birds and trees and so it is in our own distinct individuality and I would not in any way want to flatten us all out and negate personal tastes legitimate shades of personality and all of those things however what I am saying is that our great passion must be with regard to this whole matter of our physical appearance and bearing as we enter the pulpit our concern must be that we will do all we can to gain the ears of men to save some and that we shall in nothing give offense that the ministry be not blamed in our general physical condition our clothing our grooming our posture and our facial expression now let me ask you if that seems like a big order which one would you omit

83:13 and still maintain a good conscience and as I went back over this material I said each time I come to it I asked God Lord give me fresh light if I'm laying burdens that should not be laid help me to see and I went over those things and I said which one can I omit not a one which one would you label as superfluous well

83:45 in what I would describe in three words as dignified Christian gentlemen dignified Christian gentlemen in other words dignified and gentlemen aren't popular in our day but if I could ask anything of God for you men in your external appearance and bearing as much as I pray that for your internal life you have a passionate sensitive growing love for Christ consuming desire to serve him preach his word with all your being it would be that God make each one of you into a dignified Christian gentleman and if that means you've got to read some books on etiquette and you've got to get some charts on how to match a shirt and tie whatever I must do to become a dignified Christian gentleman by the grace of God I want to become that why that