In "Gifts of Leadership, Part 2," Pastor Martin continues his exposition on the essential components of sanctified leadership, focusing on spiritual courage, a unique spiritual disposition for rule in Christ's church, and spiritual force of character. Drawing primarily from Jeremiah 1, 2 Timothy 1, and Matthew 20, he argues that true spiritual leadership requires a divine endowment of courage that transcends natural temperament, a humble and servant-hearted approach to authority distinct from worldly rule, and an unmistakably masculine character marked by sound judgment, resoluteness, and seriousness. Martin applies these principles to the pastor's role in confronting sin, leading the church, and even governing his own home, emphasizing the acid test of domestic leadership.
Primary Texts
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Jeremiah 1:4-19This passage is expounded to demonstrate that spiritual courage is a divine endowment, not dependent on natural temperament, using Jeremiah's call as a primary example.
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2 Timothy 1:6-8This passage is expounded to show Paul's exhortation to Timothy, a naturally timid man, to stir up the gift of spiritual courage given by God.
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Matthew 20:25-28This passage is expounded as the pivotal text defining the unique spiritual disposition for rule in Christ's church, contrasting it with worldly authority and emphasizing humility and servanthood.
The Necessity of More-Than-Ordinary Spiritual Courage0:02
Jeremiah and Timothy: Examples of Divinely Endowed Courage4:09
The Practical Implications of Lacking Spiritual Courage6:21
The Unique Spiritual Disposition for Rule in Christ's Church9:27
Spiritual Mindedness, Humility, and Servanthood in Rule13:28
Owen's Confirmation and the Persuasion of Judgment17:51
The Necessity of Spiritual Force of Character23:44
Components of Spiritual Force of Character: Masculinity28:11
Components of Spiritual Force of Character: Judgment, Resoluteness, Seriousness32:35
Key Quotes
“It's the hireling who flees. And many a man shows his hireling temperament by his absence of spiritual courage. He'd rather let the flock be decimated than run the risk of having some fangs in his own butt.”
“A man who lacks the spiritual courage to confront his wife and put her in place when she needs to be. I've seen men in the ministry who long ago should have reared back on their hind legs and said to their wives, Woman, that's enough!”
“He says now you're fully aware of the modus operandi the spirit the ethos of rule as exercised among the Gentiles remember Rome ruled the existing world Herod up there in the Galilee area Pilate down in the Jerusalem area they had seen the manifestations of the structure of Roman rule and he says you know that the way these boys go about it is once they've secured their position then they lord it down upon their underlings and they exercise their authority in a manner that is utterly devoid of the dynamics of the graces of the kingdom of Christ might is right the heavy hand and the male's fist win the day now he says not so not so shall it be among you in the exercise of rule and authority in my kingdom there's a totally different ethos a totally different modus operandi”
“Woe be unto the church that has as its primary leadership someone who has the Gentile mentality the mini-pope mentality the man whose word is law whose bearing is magisterial and his majesty and whose implement of rule parallels that of the Gentiles even though Jesus said not so shall it be among you”
“You see you can't bluff it in your exposition and then pull it off by the sheer weight of authority that's the Gentiles that's the Gentiles but we must persuade the judgment that's the Gentiles that's the Gentiles and then we make the application and then we entreat not by pulling rank but by appealing as Paul does if there be any consolation in Christ if there be any bowels of mercy if this if that make full my joy that doesn't sound like a Gentile with a mailed fish coming down saying and we must have more than an ordinary degree of the disposition consistent with the unique nature of rule in Christ church”
“Gentleness and tenderness are never more beautiful than when couched in unmistakable masculinity”
“A man cannot be at one in the same time a prophet and a clown”
Applications
All listeners
Have the courage to run into a pack of wolves and protect the flock, rather than letting them be vulnerable.
Confront people individually with their sins, even those who hold tremendous influence and could undermine your ministry.
Confront your wife and put her in place when she needs to be, demonstrating spiritual courage in your own home.
Avoid the 'mini-pope mentality' and ensure your concept and exercise of rule are spiritually minded, humble, and servant-hearted, not imported from the world.
Lead by persuading the judgment through gospel motives and the exposition of God's Word, rather than simply pulling ecclesiastical rank.
Nourish and cherish your wife in self-giving service while nonetheless leading her as her head, allowing God to periodically remind you of your roles.
Cultivate an unmistakably masculine character, which is a gentle strength, regardless of physical stature or vocal chords, as God has ordained males to lead.
Develop unmistakable soundness of judgment and resoluteness of purpose, so that your leadership is credible and unwavering.
Maintain a basic seriousness of demeanor, avoiding being a 'clown,' so that you are taken seriously as a prophet of God.
Cry to God to grant spiritual force of character, resisting conformity to the gender mix-up and role reversals of the age.
Do not overreact and equate unmistakably masculine character with harshness and machoism, but rather embody the tenderness of a nursing mother alongside the strength of a father.
A full transcript is available on the
tab. 47 paragraphs, roughly 38 minutes.
Machine transcription
The Necessity of More-Than-Ordinary Spiritual Courage
The following lecture is part of the Pastoral Theology course given at the Trinity Ministerial Academy in Montville, New Jersey. All right, brethren, let's pick up precisely where we left off in the previous hour as we have considered the first two of the five fundamental components of the gifts essential for sanctified leadership. We touched, first of all, upon the fact that we must have, by divine endowment, a more-than-ordinary degree of spiritual discernment, a more-than-ordinary measure of spiritual wisdom, and now, thirdly, a more-than-ordinary degree of spiritual courage. A more-than-ordinary degree of spiritual courage.
Now, spiritual courage may have absolutely... No relationship to natural temperament.
And I rest my case on one Old Testament minister and one New Testament minister. My Old Testament servant of God is Jeremiah. In his commission, there is abundant evidence that he was temperamentally, apparently, much like Timothy. Because when the Lord comes to him in Jeremiah 1 and indicates that before...
He was even... Informed in the belly and made his exit from the womb that God had set him apart and appointed him a prophet, his first response is, O Lord Jehovah, I know not how to speak, for I am a child.
And that seems to be a generic confession of incompetence. But now notice where the focus begins to land in the subsequent verses. But the Lord said unto me, Say not, I am a child. For to whomsoever...
Whosoever I shall send you, you shall go. And whatsoever I shall command you, you shall speak. Be not afraid because of them. For I am with you to deliver you, saith the Lord.
Then he put forth his hand, touched my mouth, etc. And then, when we come down to verse 17, Thou therefore gird up thy loins and arise and speak unto them all that I command you. Be not deceived. Be dismayed at them, lest I dismay you before them.
For behold... Now notice, this is not natural temperament.
This was not woven into the texture of his personality and his psyche in the womb. I have made you this day a fortified city and an iron pillar and brazen walls against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, the princes, the priests, the people. They shall fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you. For I am with you, saith the Lord, to deliver you.
So here is an endowment of spiritual courage. And it didn't negate his fundamental, melancholic, fearful temperament. This is the man who curses not God, but like Job, curses the day of his birth. Wishes he had never been conceived.
Says he's going to quit the ministry. Then he said, The problems I have in the ministry are small compared to the problem I have when I say I'm going to keep my mouth shut. Then your word is in my heart as a fire shut up within my bones. I was weary with forbearing and I could not speak.
So I believe there is abundant evidence in the ministry and in the unveiling of some of the inner workings of the psyche and the personality of Jeremiah that he was not temperamentally a courageous man, but he was given a more than ordinary... He was given an ordinary degree of spiritual courage to stand against the whole structure of leadership there in Israel.
Jeremiah and Timothy: Examples of Divinely Endowed Courage
The prophets, as you were reminded from Pastor Lamar a couple of weeks ago, those of you who heard his message every time Jeremiah opened his mouth and spoke of coming judgment, there were three dozen false prophets to stroke the people, to comfort them, to turn around and cast dispersions upon Jeremiah's loyalty. And even his patriotism, call him a traitor, and yet he was enabled, the man who seemed to be naturally timid and fearful, he was given a more than ordinary degree of spiritual courage. And I say the same is true of Timothy, who obviously had, in conjunction with a comparatively weak physical constitution, Paul speaks of his oft infirmities,
his confidence, constantly exhorting him not to be ashamed, not to be fearful. And in 2 Timothy 1.7, he gives one of those most wonderful encouragements to Timothy in telling him that the very spirit by which he has been endowed for the work to which God has called him, and I remind you it's in that context, verse 6, for which cause I put thee in remembrance, 2 Timothy 1.6, that thou stir up the gift...
the gift of God which is in thee through the laying on of my hands, for God gave us not a spirit of fearfulness, but of power and of love and discipline. Be not ashamed, therefore, of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me, his prisoner, but suffer hardship with the gospel according to the power of God. So here's a clear indication that Paul is pointing Timothy to the fact that the God who called, called him, and gifted him, has also conferred upon him a more than ordinary degree of spiritual courage in the midst of native temperamental reticence and physical weakness.
The Practical Implications of Lacking Spiritual Courage
Without this, we're going to do the work of overseeing the flock of God. How are we going to have the courage to run into a pack of wolves and say when they encircle the flock, when this is over, there's going to be...
Dead wolves are a dead shepherd,
but the sheep are not going to be left vulnerable. It's the hireling who flees. And many a man shows his hireling temperament by his absence of spiritual courage. He'd rather let the flock be decimated than run the risk of having some fangs in his own butt.
His own career, his own safety, his own well-being, his own stipend, his own match. As I said, to a group of almost 400 ministers this spring, I said it's a very simple answer to the question why some of you remain in organic connection with denominations that have standing committees that are flirting with Rome. Three words. Mance, stipend, and retirement benefits.
And they lack the spiritual courage to stand up against evil and to bear the consequences. How are you going to confront people individually with their sins? How are you going to go to that person that you know holds tremendous influence, who, humanly speaking, has the ability to undermine your whole ministry and run you out of town on a rail? How are you going to go and confront that man with his sin if you lack spiritual courage?
And you see, this is why, again, most often a man proves his competence to lead in his own home. A man who lacks the spiritual courage to confront his wife and put her in a position of power, a man who lacks the spiritual courage to confront his wife and put her in place when she needs to be. I've seen men in the ministry who long ago should have reared back on their hind legs and said to their wives, Woman, that's enough! They lacked the courage to do it.
And they were like Eli. The thing you guys do is not good. That's all he could do, was whine at them when they're having sexual intercourse with women who come up to worship. And he whines at them.
The thing you do is not good. And when God's indictment, he came through the prophet, he said, this has come upon you, why? Because you restrained them not. He lacked the courage to walk up to them, those guys off the women they were having illicit intercourse with.
He just whimpered at them. That's all. Lacked spiritual courage. What a horrible thing to see a church that is reaping the fruit of years of a ministry where the men in key leadership lack spiritual courage.
The Unique Spiritual Disposition for Rule in Christ's Church
The tragic thing. I say, it is essential to the work of oversight. And then fourthly, we must have more than an ordinary degree,
and this is a mouthful,
and even my comrade who helps me out so often in wording things couldn't help me with this. He wanted me to try to break it down into two things and I couldn't follow his track so I had to stick with my own.
A more than ordinary degree of the spiritual disposition consistent with the uniqueness of the unique nature of rule in Christ's church. A more than ordinary degree of the spiritual disposition consistent with the unique nature of rule in Christ's church.
And the pivotal text that I have in mind for which that rather lengthy mouthful is an attempt to set a framework of emphasis is Matthew chapter 20 and beginning with verse 25. You remember the setting that the ambitious mother has been putting in a word for her sons with reference to station and places of influence in the kingdom of Christ and when the others hear it they are moved with indignation because their mamas didn't get there first and we read in verse 25 Jesus said you all need to be corrected plus your mamas but Jesus called them unto him and said you know that that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them kata kuriu'u or kurie'o they lord it down upon them and their great ones and here you have kata with exousia in its verbal form I'm not sure exactly what it is I forgot to memorize the word but that's what you have I do remember that in looking at the text and their great ones exercise authority over them he says now you're fully aware of the modus operandi the spirit the ethos
of rule as exercised among the Gentiles remember Rome ruled the existing world Herod up there in the Galilee area Pilate down in the Jerusalem area they had seen the manifestations of the structure of Roman rule and he says you know that the way these boys go about it is once they've secured their position then they lord it down upon their underlings and they exercise their authority in a manner that is utterly devoid of the dynamics of the graces of the kingdom of Christ might is right the heavy hand and the male's fist win the day now he says not so not so shall it be among you in the exercise of rule and authority in my kingdom there's a totally different ethos a totally different modus operandi yes there is the exercise of authority there is the exercise of rule and these would be uniquely endowed had already been and marked out to exercise rule and authority
Spiritual Mindedness, Humility, and Servanthood in Rule
as apostles but he says the nature of the rule in my church and kingdom is utterly unique it is different from that rule which is exercised in the world among the Gentiles and it seems to me that two things comprise the spiritual disposition consistent with the unique nature of rule in Christ's church number one spiritual mindedness in one's concept of that rule and humility and servanthood in the posture of administering that rule spiritual mindedness in one's concept of that rule among the Gentiles there is a carnal mindedness concerning rule might makes right power must be patent and must be pressured upon people to keep them in line of the dynamics that are operative in the kingdom of Christ the Gentiles know nothing and woe be unto the church that has as its primary leadership someone who has the Gentile mentality
the mini-pope mentality the man whose word is law whose bearing is magisterial and his majesty and whose implement of rule parallels that of the Gentiles even though Jesus said not so shall it be among you there is no spiritual mindedness in the concept of rule all of the concepts of rule and the exercise of authority have been imported from the world not so shall it be among you there must be a spiritual mindedness that is a recognition of the peculiar dynamics and chemistry that are operative in the exercise of rule in Christ's church and then that must be joined to the humility and servanthood in one's posture of rule you see how it's emphasized whosoever would be great among you shall be your diakonos your deacon your servant table waiter and whosoever will be first among you shall be your doulos your bond and your slave so what is our lord doing he's bringing the qualities of humility and servanthood into the posture of the rule that will be administered in his kingdom and he sets himself forth as the great example in paradigm
even as the son of man came not to be ministered unto but to minister and to give his life a ransom for many now in so doing does he relinquish his posture as head over all things to the church no as the one who has all authority in heaven and earth no as the one who says take my yoke upon you no but he says when I invite you to take my yoke I am meek and lowly in heart and so our lord is the great paradigm and example of humility and servanthood which must mark the posture in which we exercise rule so I didn't know how to express it any other way than this and maybe as you wrestle through this and go over your notes if you come up with a way that I can shorten it state it more succinctly I'd appreciate your help but there must be in the one who would give spiritual leadership in the church a more than ordinary degree of the spiritual disposition consistent with the unique nature of rule in Christ's church and so involving spiritual mindedness in the concept of that rule and humility and servanthood in the posture of it and here again Owen was most helpful
Owen's Confirmation and the Persuasion of Judgment
in confirming the direction of my thinking and helping to sharpen it again volume 4 you'll be reading this in your two week assignment God willing at the bottom of page 514 he writes when our savior forbade referring to this part of the book passage all rule unto his disciples after the manner of the Gentiles who then possessed all sovereign power in the world and told them that it should not be so with them that some should be great and exercise dominion over others but that they should serve one another in love the greatest condescension unto service being required of them who are otherwise most eminent he did not intend to take from them or divest them of that spiritual power and authority in the government of the church which he intended to commit unto them his design therefore was to declare what that authority was not and how it should not be exercised a lordly or despotical power it was not to be nor was it to be exercised by penal laws courts and coercive jurisdiction which was the way of the administration of all power among the Gentiles such a rule is signified unto them the authority
whereof from whence it proceeded was spiritual its objects the minds and souls of men only and the way of whose administration was to consist in a humble holy spiritual application of the word of God or rules of the gospel unto them and then he speaks that the end of that rule is merely and solely the edification of the church and then he amplifies how that is to be secured so I believe Owen is captured in different words the essence of what I'm trying to say that rule there is and a passage like this does not negate the overarching teaching that is bound up in those nouns by which the office is described the verbs by which the duty is enunciated to believe them of concepts of rule and authority and direction to the people of God is to make of God's word a nonsense book but our Lord is saying that in our pro-administration of that rule there must be spiritual mindedness and in the humility and servanthood and when the rubber meets the road that means that rather than quote pulling rank I'm your pastor you're to do this
the judgment and then you make appeals based upon gospel motives that's the difference you see between simply pulling ecclesiastical rank and leading in the manner in which Christ says we're to lead that is the difference very very interesting comment came from one of our men who had visited a church elsewhere on a business trip recently and I played dumb it's easy for me to do that and just asked a few questions and said how did you find the ministry he said well to be honest pastor something concerned me he said I'm not comparing in a wrong way one ministry with another but one thing no matter who ministers in this place I find that my judgment is always persuaded when the word of God is expounded and I am told it means thus and thus my judgment is persuaded in the exposition so that when the application is made my conscience is carried but he said I found in this ministry the work of exposition was too shallow to persuade my judgment therefore the application did not grip my conscience and I said bless God that man understands something
you see you can't bluff it in your exposition and then pull it off by the sheer weight of authority that's the Gentiles that's the Gentiles but we must persuade the judgment that's the Gentiles that's the Gentiles and then we make the application and then we entreat not by pulling rank but by appealing as Paul does if there be any consolation in Christ if there be any bowels of mercy if this if that make full my joy that doesn't sound like a Gentile with a mailed fish coming down saying and we must have more than an ordinary degree of the disposition consistent with the unique nature of rule in Christ church and here again you see why the home is such an acid test of that because it's in the home that there must be that wonderful fusion of servanthood from a posture of authority so that while you're nourishing and cherishing your wife in self-giving service you're nonetheless leading her as her head and she knows it and seldom do you have to say woman that's enough in any good marriage God will allow an occasional thing just to make sure you're still sitting in the saddle as your marriage grows you'll find at times you'll go weeks and it'll never occur to you who's head around here
The Necessity of Spiritual Force of Character
you're both so comfortable in your roles I'm going on 34 years and I can testify to that but still once in a while God lets you come to something where you feel the thing bucking underneath you and you gotta say who's in the saddle and who's got the reins and you're reminded it's your job to pull the reins and sit in the saddle and it's hers to follow but seldom will you have to do that in a good marriage but I believe God allows just enough to periodically bring us both back to a consciousness of whether or not we are living out our God-given roles well the same is true in a wholesome pastor-flock relationship rarely will you have to in that sense be conscious of being in the saddle because you and your people together are being carried along under the pressure of gospel motives in your various responsibilities as outlined in the Word of God well then the last thing that I want to mention and here I struggled and struggled and I'm gonna hide behind Dabney in my sense of frustration and maybe again we'll have enough time to discuss this and you men can help clarify it this is the fifth element essential if we are to administer by the grace of God sanctified leadership in the church and I'm calling it this a more than ordinary degree of spiritual
force of character a more than ordinary degree of spiritual force quote from Dabney volume two of his discussions evangelical and theological he says on page thirty-one in his essay on what is a call to the ministry the scriptures which define the necessary qualifications of the minister may be digested in substance into the following particulars he must have a hearty and healthy piety that's his inward walk with God a fair reputation for holiness of life that's his external bearing and demeanor before the church and the world a respectable force of character when I first read that I said hmm I wonder what he means by that the words captured my ear and then he says fourthly some Christian experience and aptness to do teach well when he begins to expound those various things this is what he says on page thirty-five the three qualifications next mentioned a fair reputation for sanctity of life a respectable moral force of character and some degree of Christian experience may be grouped together
the man whose Christian character and now he begins to describe it does not command confidence and respect would as a minister only dishonor God and his cause yet it is every man's duty to reform those inconsistencies by which he has forfeited the respect of mankind whether he's to preach or not and having thoroughly reformed them he may find his way open to the pulpit but the minister must have some force of character and then he describes it in terms of its opposite the feeble undecided shuffling man who cannot rule his own family nor impress and govern his inferiority by moral force had better not preach there may be cases where this weakness of character is found incurable although coexisting with genuine piety and then he goes on to say this is why no novice must be put into the office of the ministry because this force of character now when you hear the words I'm sure it strikes a response in you but then when you ask what is it made up of here are at least some of its strands an unmistakably masculine character whatever this more than ordinary degree of spiritual force of character is
Components of Spiritual Force of Character: Masculinity
it is the opposite of a feminacy if God is ordained that only males exercise rule in his church he means males who are patently males in the development of Christian masculinity now I am not saying that means that every man must pump iron until he looks like Arnold Schwarzenegger Junior or he must develop the kind of growling snarl that will make him look like a Christian John Wayne facing a bunch of Indians no I'm not talking about that at all but I am saying there must be regardless of his physical stature regardless of the thickness or thinness of his vocal chords which make his voice naturally deep or naturally high all of those variables fully taken into account you must sense immediately in the presence of this man he is of one gender alone and that is the masculine gender he may have the most gentle voice he may have the most tender bearing and demeanor but it will be all the more beautiful because it's couched in an unquestionable masculinity and it's
and gentleness and tenderness are never more beautiful than when couched in unmistakable masculinity see most of you you see there's some advantages to being old Carl perhaps can remember with me the two old folks in here the Tim Tim Roller bearing ads where it showed that guy with the square jaw and the stubble on his chin and then the little caption under it was so tough but oh so gentle and they showed this guy maybe holding a little a little animal and stroking its head well here he was the picture of square jawed stubble masculinity but then he was always doing something very very gentle and tender well it just offset it offset that dominance of rugged masculinity to see it in some gentle little act like picking a flower they had different thing each time and then the caption was so tough but oh so gentle now that's what we're talking about Brett and if you're to have the force of character to lead God's people to lead men you yourself must be a man to lead women sanctified women who are comfortable with divinely instituted male leadership in the home and in the church nothing will turn them off quicker the signs of effeminacy it's very very interesting that when you see
the panning of the people that follow guys like Jim Baker it's mostly old women to whom he's their little boy it's not young men who see in him a fellow man and a standard bearer of sanctified masculinity you look at the complexion of the crowd that follow Jim Baker and it's mostly retired ladies and their wimpish husbands because the first and only time I ever saw that guy on television long before there was any scandal I said to my wife that guy's a twinkie the minute I saw him the whole bearing was so utterly funny but I mean that's the truth and how can you how in the world a man like that could lead a church made up of real spirit filled men and women he couldn't do it couldn't do it so unmistakable masculine character must be part of this force of character unmistakable soundness of judgment is part of this force of character how can you feel safe in following the leadership of men who do not manifest and prove fundamental soundness of judgment if every third week they're having to reverse the decisions made the week before and to backtrack you can only go so far
Components of Spiritual Force of Character: Judgment, Resoluteness, Seriousness
impressing the credibility and the gullibility of God's people your credibility and their gullibility another element is unmistakable resoluteness of purpose what is that in a man that you sense once his principles are clear the tracks are laid you know that you're going to have to put a 40-minute before Magnum shell through his head to stop him resoluteness of purpose this one thing I did Luther's here I stand so help me God I can do no other why me to weep and break my heart I'm willing not only to suffer it but to die stop all this blabbering put your handkerchiefs back in your pockets Paul says there's a time to weep but don't weep because I'm going to get beat up for Christ I'm ready to die let my life go on I'm ready to die let my life go on let my life's blood out that's what we're talking about this degree of force of character soundness of judgment resoluteness of purpose and certainly a basic seriousness of demeanor a basic seriousness of demeanor I didn't say somberness inability to laugh
an artificial sobriety but a basic seriousness of demeanor I shall never forget the words of the late Dr. Tozer he said a man cannot be at one in the same time a prophet and a clown and because he had an unusual sense of humor and often humor is the ability to see the ludicrous to look at something and to see it in caricature and Tozer had that to an unusual degree and if you sat close to him when he preached you could just see the twinkle in his eye and just feel all the humor he was suppressing and occasionally it got out of hand and I had someone who actually heard saw this happen at a camp meeting out in western Pennsylvania years ago who at that time was in the alliance and Tozer was at a camp meeting and he got saying something funny and the people got responding and that thing snowballed to the point where all of a sudden he stopped he said a man can't be a prophet and an ass and I've just made an ass of myself and walked off the planet overcome with chagrin that he had prostituted his sacred position well this is what we're talking about a basic seriousness of demeanor without which you won't be taken seriously people regard you as doing your thing so whatever this force of character is brethren I think the minute you hear the words
you say yes that's true but then when you try to define it break it down into its various strands surely it involves those four elements unmistakably masculine in character soundness of judgment resoluteness of purpose seriousness of demeanor and I say that has nothing to do necessarily with any kind of external physical characteristics I've seen that force of character in guys that barely were five feet tall I've seen the absence of it in men that were big enough to be offensive tackles for the NFL it has nothing necessarily to do with anything external it's character that exudes through and oozes out of the pores of the external so that in the presence of some little runts I felt like a pygmy unworthy to kneel before them and we need to cry to God to grant us that it is an increasingly rare commodity with all the gender mix-up that's gone on in this crazy generation of ours and role reversals we're raising a bunch of the Maphrodites and we need to cry to God that we are not conformed to the spirit of this age
and that we don't overreact and think that unmistakably masculine character means harshness and machoism because I say there's nothing more beautiful to me than a Paul who can say as he did in Thessalonians a father like a nursing mother all in the same person and under God if we're to lead over the long haul with credibility we must have that spiritual force well brethren that's what was on my heart to say to you today and we've just run out of time for those of you that have to leave at one for those of you that may want to remain a few minutes and ask me to try to explain the unexplainable
This transcript was generated by automated speech recognition and may contain errors.
It is provided for study and reference only; the audio recording is the authoritative source.
Passages Expounded
Jeremiah 1:4-19
This passage is expounded to demonstrate that spiritual courage is a divine endowment, not dependent on natural temperament, using Jeremiah's call as a primary example.
2 Timothy 1:6-8
This passage is expounded to show Paul's exhortation to Timothy, a naturally timid man, to stir up the gift of spiritual courage given by God.
Matthew 20:25-28
This passage is expounded as the pivotal text defining the unique spiritual disposition for rule in Christ's church, contrasting it with worldly authority and emphasizing humility and servanthood.
Texts Expounded
auto_stories
Martin uses Jeremiah's commission to illustrate that spiritual courage is a divine endowment, not necessarily tied to natural temperament.
auto_stories
Paul's exhortations to Timothy are used to show that Timothy, like Jeremiah, was naturally timid but endowed with spiritual courage.
auto_stories
This passage is the pivotal text for defining the unique spiritual disposition required for rule in Christ's church, contrasting it with Gentile leadership.