Before the Sermon, Part 2

Introduction: The Pastor's and Listener's Core Responsibilities

0:02 This sermon was preached Sunday morning, May 28, 1995, at the Trinity Baptist Church of Montville, New Jersey.

0:12 Now, as we have done for the past several Lord's Day mornings, may I urge you to turn with me to the eighth chapter of the Gospel according to Luke, Luke's Gospel in the eighth chapter, and the words of our Lord Jesus as found in verse 18. In Luke's account, our Lord has spoken the parable of the sower, or the parable that some of us have designated as the parable of the soils and the seed. He has interpreted that parable. He has spoken in parabolic language in verses 16. In 17, and then in verse 18, speaking to his own disciples, he says, Take heed, therefore, how you hear, for whosoever has, to him shall be given, and whosoever has not, from him shall be taken away, even that which he thinks. Or seems to have. Take heed, therefore, how you hear.

1:41 Let us ask God to grant us grace to understand more fully the meaning and the implications of these words of our Lord Jesus. Let us pray. Our Father, we have sung together from the first psalm your blessing that rests upon those who hear. We have sung together from the first psalm your blessing that rests upon those who hear.

2:04 We have sung together from the first psalm your blessing that rests upon those who hear. hear your word who meditate upon it and yet we acknowledge that it is a closed book to us unless you by the holy spirit grant us illumination and understanding and we therefore plead that you would send forth your holy spirit now in the teaching and preaching of the word of god that each one of us whatever our circumstances or state may be may know your voice speaking clearly and powerfully through the written word of you the living god we ask in jesus name amen now as i stand before you this morning in the capacity of a recognized pastor and teacher in this assembly you you you , suppose i were to ask you what is the distilled essence the most fundamental responsibility god has laid upon me in conjunction with my position as a pastor and a teacher and preacher of the word of god is it to persuade you that i'm a nice guy or at least i ought to try to be a nice guy

3:33 is it to attempt to convince you that i have some ability to use words in a way that might impress you is it to make you feel good and go away with a more settled sense and increased measure of self-esteem is that the heart of my task well i hope that many of you even the children are already inwardly saying no no pastor that's not your task rather your task is to preach the word in the language of second timothy chapter four to preach the word to reprove rebuke exhort with all long suffering and with teaching i hope you would think that your task pastor is to deliver us the word of god tell us what god says in the bible tell us accurately clearly clearly and with spiritual passion preach to us the word of god that is your task well if that is what is in your mind you are right that is my task however i want to turn the tables and ask as you sit in

4:51 this place this morning in the capacity of a professed disciple of christ or as one who has not embraced christ crucified buried and risen from the dead and has not embraced christ as a person as your only hope of salvation you are nonetheless sitting here as one listening to the scriptures what is the heart of your task what is your most fundamental responsibility is it to assess how well i may preach to you this morning is it merely to listen to the ministry of the word is one would attend upon a musical or a vocal recital to a music of the born loss familiars and then 레kmah the gospel to six songs a time in our religious life dream life only then can we might hear the gospel right and won't we have a long journey beginning after marriage right starting to preach to the ministry of the word as young people are listening most now you know or is it simply to sit through another service so that you can maintain your credibility as one worthy of the status of a member in good standing in this church or of some other church well again I trust inwardly you're shaking your head no that is not my responsibility as a gospel listener my responsibility is distilled in the very words of the Lord Jesus in Luke chapter 8 and verse 18 I am to take heed therefore how I hear these words spoken to his own disciples

Framework for Hearing: Before, During, and After the Sermon

6:16 these words of the Lord Jesus establish the fact that it is the duty of all who are privileged to hear the word of God preached consciously and constantly to pay attention to the word of God and to pay attention to the word of God in the manner in which they hear that word now in seeking to amplify this duty enjoined by the Lord Jesus and to break it down into its particulars I've suggested that a helpful framework is to think of this duty as it relates first of all to our preparation for hearing the word of God preached or taking heed how we hear prior to to the actual hearing of the word then taking heed how we hear during the preaching of the word and thirdly taking heed how we hear subsequent to the preaching of the word now in taking up this first category of concern namely that which relates to our preparation for hearing the word preached I set before you two directives last Lord's Day morning first of all two words of exhortation with respect to the spiritual disciplines that are critical if we are to hear

Preparation Directive 1: Cultivate Awareness of Confronting God's Word

7:42 the word of God with profit and I express those words of exhortation in this way first of all I urge you consciously to cultivate a fresh awareness that you will be confronting the very words of the living God himself if you are to hear in the preaching of the word we are confronting the word of the living God and that word according to scripture is living and is an active word it is not examining something that God said in the past it is being exposed to that which God is saying to us in the present and if indeed by the grace of God we come to the preaching of the word having to some degree consciously cultivated that fresh awareness it will inevitably have two fundamental results in the disposition with which we come to attend to the preaching of the word it will produce on the one hand a deep reverence and godly fear for that word Isaiah 66 and verse 2 to this man will I look even to him who trembles at my word and then it will produce

9:11 a joyful expectation and a spirit of submission 1 Samuel 3 and verse 10 when young Samuel was told to go back to his bed and Eli recognized that God was speaking to him he said when you hear that voice again respond by saying speak Lord for your servant hears and the cultivation of this awareness that when we come to the preaching of the word of God that we are confronting the very words of the living God himself cannot help but produce in us that similar disposition and in reflecting upon these things I could not help but think of the words of Cornelius who when people say to him Peter came to minister the word of God to Cornelius and his gathered household said now therefore we are all here present in the sight of God to hear all things that have been commanded you of the Lord Acts 10 and verse 33 blessed is the preacher who preaches to a people who can say with some degree of spiritual honesty and integrity we are all here present

Preparation Directive 2: Repudiate Hindrances by Fresh Repentance

10:37 in the sight of God we are here to have dealings with the living God himself and to have dealings with him in terms of his own word we are here present in the sight of God to hear all things that have been commanded you of the Lord but then secondly I exhorted you to hear I exhorted you to hear I exhorted you to hear I exhorted you to hear I exhorted you not only to consciously cultivate this fresh awareness that in coming to the preaching of the word you are coming to have dealings with the living God himself but secondly consciously to repudiate by fresh repentance all that would hinder the joyful reception and effective assimilation of the word of God and we studied two passages of scripture in particular first we studied the word of God 1 Peter 2 and verse 1 and James 1 verse 21a parallel passages in which the main imperative is preceded by this other directive Peter says before you can long for that sincere milk of the word you must lay certain things aside James says before you can receive with meekness the engrafted word you must lay certain things you must put certain things away

12:05 remember the analogy for nourishment of our physical bodies there must be two things wholesome food and a healthy digestive system the best food in the world fed to a man whose digestive system is out of whack will do him no good and the best digestive system in the world without nourishing food to work upon and assimilate will do no good to the person who possesses it remember the parable of the sower it was the state of the soil that determined the fate of the seed the fate of the seed was not determined by the cleverness of the sower it was determined by the state of the soil when the human heart was hard the seed was plucked up by the fowls of the air when the human heart had no depth of soil that which seemed to germinate quickly withered before the rising withering rays of the sun and that which seemed to have the promise of fruit was ultimately choked in the soil where the thriars and the thorns had not been removed and it was only the heart described as a good and an honest heart that received that seed and brought forth

Preparation Directive 3: Cultivate a Meek and Eager Disposition

13:34 fruit thirty sixty and a hundredfold surely if that parable is teaching anything it's teaching us take heed how you hear take heed what kind of spiritual soil you bring to the sowing of the word of God yes the sower has awesome responsibilities to sow the pure seed of the word of God to sow it wisely to sow it to sow it in such a way that he sets forth that seed in the most likely manner for the soil to receive it but in this parable the great burden falls upon the state of the heart in those who are gospel hearers now this morning I want to as time permits to lay before you two additional exhortations and this will complete our study of how to take heed in our hearing with respect to what we do prior to our exposure to the preaching of the word the third directive is this consciously cultivate a meek and an eager disposition of heart towards the word which will be preached consciously cultivate a meek and an eager disposition of heart

15:03 towards the word which will be preached now the word disposition simply means the prevailing aspect of one's nature you say of a certain person he has a cheerful disposition you use the word disposition as descriptive of the prevailing character or nature of that person a somber disposition we say he's got an irritable disposition the prevailing nature of his character is that of irritability irritability or cheerfulness or somber I'm exhorting you consciously to cultivate a meek and an eager disposition of heart toward the word that will be preached and that deserves two questions in opening up this exhortation why ought we to cultivate a meek disposition of heart in anticipation of the preaching of the word turn to James 121 for the answer on what grounds do I exhort you as I exhort myself to consciously cultivate a meek disposition of heart towards the word that will be preached I answer because God explicitly

16:32 demands this of us in James 1 in verse 21 wherefore putting away all filthiness and overflowing of wickedness that's the part of the verse we considered last Lord's day receive now notice receive with or literally in meekness the implanted word which is able to save your souls James says it is not enough that your spiritual digestive system is emptied of all of the rancid stuff of filthiness and of wickedness and that you set yourself merely to receive the word he qualifies it he says you are to receive that word in meekness that word is to be received in a context of heart characterized by meekness and the meekness must be present when the word comes otherwise it will not be received in meekness if meekness is not the spiritual

18:01 context into which that word comes and therefore I have no question whatsoever that I'm binding your conscience by the word of God when I exhort you consciously to cultivate a meek disposition of heart toward the word which will be preached for without that you cannot receive the word to the ongoing work of God's salvation in your souls you ask and rightly so what then is meekness what is this spiritual digested juice called meekness what are the enzymes of meekness without which the word will not be digested and assimilated well in the context it's obvious that whatever the nuances of meekness may be in other settings that it is the opposite of opinionatedness and wrathfulness as these issues are addressed in verse 19 you know this my beloved brethren but let every man be swift to hear slow to speak in other words don't be full of your own opinions ready to continually

19:30 blurt out what you think and what you know but have a disposition of readiness to learn the opposite of opinionatedness is meekness and of wrathfulness of ill will let every man be swift to hear slow to speak slow to wrath in the context meekness is the opposite of opinionatedness and wrathfulness it is an inner disposition of mind and heart marked by gentleness and by teachableness in several contexts in scripture it is associated very intimately with lowliness of mind look at Matthew chapter 11 rarely does our Lord Jesus speak of what we would call the inner disposition of his own soul but here in Matthew chapter 11 he does he says in verse 29 take my yoke upon you and learn of me for I am meek and lowly in heart notice meekness and lowliness are united

20:58 it is an inner disposition of mind and heart marked by gentleness and here associated with lowliness and in Ephesians 4 in verse 2 after the apostle exhorts the Ephesian believers to walk worthily of the calling wherewith they were called he identifies the graces that must accompany such a walk with all lowliness and meekness one commentator is written it is that inwrought grace of spirit which accepts God's word without back talk dispute or questioning its root is the full realization of one's sinfulness and unworthiness and of the grace which God extends to us in our sinfulness and unworthiness that in wrought grace of spirit which accepts God's word without back talk dispute or questioning receive with meekness the engrafted word bring to the preaching of the word

22:27 a disposition of meekness not a disposition that's ready to argue with God and dispute with God and to question the rights of God and the ways of God but the recognition that as a sinner how privileged I am that God would at all even speak to me in his word as a creature utterly dependent upon the God who made me to tell me what I ought to know about himself and myself and the way of salvation and the path of duty and all that I need to know that I may please the God who made me and before whom I will stand in the day of judgment in the book of Psalms there is a parallel passage that affirms that it's only such who are taught of God namely the meek Psalm 25 verses 8 and 9 good and upright is the Lord therefore will he instruct sinners in the way God condescends to instruct sinners in the way but what kind of sinners arrogant proud opinionated sinners ready to talk back to God ready to argue with God ready to dispute with God why this and why that and why the other no the meek will he guide

The Necessity of Eagerness: Command and Commendation

23:56 in justice and the meek will he teach his way yes in his goodness God condescends to instruct sinners in the way but not proud arrogant stubborn opinionated sinners but sinners whose hearts have been brought into a frame of teachableness of lowliness of gentleness who own their ignorance and who are prepared that God shall instruct them in the way that pleases him and then the second question that you ought to raise based on the exhortation why ought me to cultivate an eager disposition of heart in anticipation of the preaching of the word I have exhorted you consciously to cultivate not only a meek but an eager disposition of heart toward the preaching of the word and you ask why and I answer because of the explicit command of God and because of the emphatic commendation of God first of all the explicit command of God we go back to 1st Peter chapter 2 the explicit command of God speaking to those who have been begotten again by the word of God's truth at the end of

25:25 chapter 1 we focused our attention last week on the opening words of chapter 2 in verse 1 of 1st Peter putting away therefore all wickedness and all guile and hypocrisies and envies and all evil speakings as newborn babes long for the spiritual milk which is without guile or as some translations the sincere milk of the word that you may grow thereby unto salvation as I indicated in expounding the opening words last week the center of Peter's exhortation is the imperative of verse 2 long for the milk that's the central exhortation but he uses a construction which indicates that before we will ever long for that milk there must be a putting away of all wickedness and guile and hypocrisy and envy and evil speakings there must be an ending of the spiritual digestive system of these sins that he addresses but now he says we are under a solemn obligation to have a disposition of longing for and then

26:55 he uses two adjectives and that's why you get the different translations you have Peter saying putting these things away and then in the way it comes to us in the original he is telling us there are two things about this milk that we are to long for and the two adjectives are one that has as its root the word logos which means word he had used it up at the end of chapter one and this is the word that it's difficult to translate it becomes logicos an adjective and then adolos that is without guile the word adolos guile with the alpha privative in front without guile so you have these two adjectives describing this milk it is the logicos adolos milk that you are to long that's why some translate the milk of the word others say no it means spiritual milk logicos used to translate spiritual well one thing is clear he's not talking about literal milk he's obviously speaking of milk as that which nourishes the soul and we know that it's milk that is connected with the logos with the word so whether it is the sincere milk or the

28:24 without guile milk of the word or the without guile spiritual milk it is clear that he's speaking of that which God has given as the means of our nourishment that we may grow thereby unto salvation and we know from the analogy of scripture that that milk is indeed the word of the living God and Peter says we are to long for it we are not to come with a back hat indifferent spirit and say well let me see what the preacher may have to say today and whether the subject particularly excites me and piques my interest or not no Peter says there to be something of the yearning and longing of the suckling child for its mother's breast and he uses that very language as newborn breath off infants in arms make their hunger known by that peculiar cry of a hungry child and once the mother cradles it in its arms its mouth is open like a baby bird it's yearning it's longing for its nourishment Peter says in the same way long and yearn for that without guile

29:52 reasonable spiritual milk that God has given for our nourishment this is the word Paul uses when he describes the yearning of love for the Philippian church Philippians 1 in verse 8 he says that God is witness I'm not in indulging in excessive saccharine expressions of my heart God is my witness how I long after you all in the tender mercies of Christ Jesus it's the word he uses with respect to his yearning after his spiritual son Timothy you see this is speaking of a deeply felt consciousness in the soul when Paul thought of that Philippian church that had such a unique place in his affections he said I yearn I long after you all when he thought of Timothy and remembered their relationship and thought of the things through which they had passed together his heart he yearned to be with his spiritual son and he says Peter does that having put away these things that would as it were neutralize the effect of the most wholesome food if they are in our spiritual digestive system putting away

31:22 all wickedness all guile hypocrisy envies and evil speakings you come here with a tongue that has ripped open people this week you can't profit from the word if you haven't put it away by repentance and going afresh to the fountain open for sin and uncleanness if you have been living the life of one who is full of guile and duplicity and deceit and mask wearing hypocrisy and a heart full of envy and you've had no dealings with God at the cross of Christ you can't profit from the word you must put these things away I must put them away having put them away we are not to rest satisfied with anything less than a yearning a craving a longing for the word that would have some parallel in the yearning the craving the ardor of the suckling child for its mother's breast see how the psalmist knew something of this and expressed it in psalm 119 the psalmist knew something of this longing for the sincere milk of the word psalm 119 verses 19 psalm 119 and 20 I'm a sojourner

32:52 in the earth do not hide your commandments from me my soul breaks for the longing that it has unto your ordinances at all times what makes you broken hearted the psalmist says my soul breaks for the longing that it has for your ordinances again in verse 131 of the same psalm I opened wide my mouth and panted for I longed for your commandments and in both of these verses verse 20 and verse 131 in the Greek translation of the Old Testament that translation called the Septuagint the working Bible of first century Christians the Greek word used to express the Hebrew words for longing is this very word that Peter uses precisely the same word I opened my mouth wide and panted why you see a man with his mouth wide open and panting you say he's yearning for nourishment or drink or refreshment of some kind he says it was an expression of my longing for thy commandments

34:19 why are we to cultivate not only a meek disposition of heart but an eager disposition of heart because of the explicit commandment of God if you have been born of God God says to you and to me long for yearn after crave the sincere milk of the word and it is only in that posture that we shall know the reality spoken of in Proverbs 27 and verse 7 this is the reality this is why God commands this of us Proverbs 27 and verse 7 the full soul tramples upon or loathes a honeycomb but to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet you catch the graphic imagery here here's a person that's just had a seven course meal and stuffed himself to the point where he actually hurts and now someone comes to him and says look I've just taken this piece of honeycomb from the place where the bees produce it in my backyard and I want to share a piece of it with you and he looks at it and says come off it man I can't look at another thing why?

35:45 he's full to the gills he's stuffed and so that which would normally be considered a delicacy that he would take and relish he'd even take it and throw it on the ground and trample it but to the hungry soul a man comes to your door crawling on his hands and knees his tongue hanging out he's dry and his mouth is parched and he's thirsty and he hasn't eaten for three days and he's hungry and all you have left is a bowl of collard greens it sets your teeth on edge they're so bitter you put it down and he just gobbles it up like it was a thanksgiving dinner why? to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet to the hungry soul that's why God says crave that milk which is without guile that is spiritual or reasonable or is connected with the word milk it is that milk you are to yearn for for without the yearn you'll be like the full soul that loathes the cunning honeycomb and God alone knows how many honeycombs have been crushed under your feet in these pews because you've come full a heart full a heart full of the fluff and of the junk food of this world

37:14 with the fluff and the junk food of your own your own efficiency with a sense give me light Lord give me strength Lord my mind is full of darkness give me understanding oh God speak to me this morning I come with the yearning and the craving of the nursing babe God says you and I have a response you and I have a responsibility to cultivate a disposition of meekness and of eagerness for the preaching of the word of God we're to cultivate this eagerness because of the explicit command of God and then because of the emphatic commendation of God remember when we were studying Acts together just a couple of weeks ago Acts 17 and verse 1 verse 11 God commends the people of Berea and why does he commend them and even attribute to them through Luke the designation of nobility verse 11 of Acts 17 these that is

38:41 those at Berea were more noble of all the things that could be said of them they are described as possessing a kind of spiritual nobility these were more noble than those in Thessalonica and wherein did their nobility lie in that they receive the word with all readiness of mind they receive the word with readiness and very interestingly that word readiness occurs most frequently in 2nd Corinthians chapter 8 in conjunction with Paul's directives for that benevolence of God and in verses 11, 12, and 19 it's given there as eagerness or readiness Paul speaks of their eagerness and their readiness to participate in that offering in the same family of words Paul speaks in Romans 1.15 I am ready I am eager to preach the word to you who are at Rome also think of the disposition of Paul with regard to gospel opportunities and the eagerness the readiness with which he desired to seize them for the sake of Christ and for the sake of the souls of men think of the eagerness of those that were sharing in that benevolent offering

40:10 and it's that word that is found here in Acts 17.11 spiritual nobility consists in receiving the word not with a semi cynical spirit not with the tentative spirit of someone who comes primarily to judge the preacher rather than to be judged by the word but readiness of mind eagerness the same disposition with which Paul yearned to go to Rome and preach the gospel the same disposition in which the grace of God worked in the hearts of these Gentile Christians to share in the needs of their brethren in Judea it is that readiness that is commended by God and where that readiness is not there God condemns it again and again I just began to look through some of the statements in the Old Testament where God spoke in condemnation of his people that they despised his word I have written unto him the ten thousand things of my law but they were counted unto him as a strange thing there was that disposition the exact opposite of the readiness of mind God said I send you the prophets rising early and late and you would not hear there was no readiness to hear there was no heart reaching out in the language

Personal Responsibility for Cultivating Disposition

41:38 of Psalm 81 10 open your mouth wide God says and I will fill it open your mouth wide and I will fill it now I emphasize dear brethren that this cultivation of a meek and an eager disposition of heart toward the word is not something that your husband or wife can do for you mom or dad can't do it for you the preachers or your elders can't do it for you you must cultivate that disposition by the means that God has given until you can say with some degree of honesty that I come to the ministry of the word with a craving and a yearn that at least has some resonance in the yearning of a babe a nursing babe for its mother's breast in the yearning of a sensitive apostle for his dear spiritual son Timothy in the yearning of that sensitive pastor apostle for that special church in his affections the church at Philippi an eagerness that finds some parallel in the disposition of the Bereans and the church receiving the word with readiness of mind and then fourthly and finally

Preparation Directive 4: Cultivate Dependence on the Holy Spirit

43:06 I exhort you in taking heed how you hear not only to seek by God's grace consciously to cultivate this disposition of meekness and eagerness of heart in preparation for the word but consciously cultivate a disposition of dependence upon the whole of the Holy Spirit and his ministry as you anticipate the ministry of the word consciously cultivate a disposition of dependence upon the Holy Spirit for his ministry as you anticipate the ministry of the word and I want to say two things under this heading first of all a word about the necessity for this disposition of dependence and secondly the manifestation of this disposition of dependence the necessity for this disposition of dependence it is rooted in the fact that the Holy Spirit who is the author of this book is also ultimately the only true teacher who can unlock that truth to us you have that beautiful description of the ministry of our Lord Jesus to his own disciples after the resurrection in Luke chapter 24 and we read in verse 14 and he said unto them these are the words which I spoke

44:34 which I spoke while I was yet with you that all things must be fulfilled that are written in the law of Moses and the prophets and the Psalms concerning me the Lord Jesus had especially from Caesarea Philippi onward after Peter made the great confession thou art the Christ the son of the living God the Lord Jesus had repeatedly told them I must go to Jerusalem I must be handed over by the chief priest into the hands of the Gentiles I must be scourged and crucified in the third day I must rise again from the dead everything that scripture says about me must be fulfilled but again and again the scripture says they understood not this saying they understood not this saying they understood not this saying he spoke it simply and clearly but the light didn't go on in here didn't go on in here and now look at verse 45 of Luke 24 then opened he their mind that they might understand the scriptures you see he had spoken before he said these are my words which I spoke unto you while I was yet with you I spoke of these things again and again and again but you know Savvy it didn't sink in the light didn't go on but now

46:02 after they have come to pass now the Lord says it is time that their minds will be illuminated and when the Lord Jesus opened their understanding then they saw then they perceived how it all fit together he didn't say anything different but he performed a work upon their perceptive faculties that made all the difference in the world he may as well have been speaking in a foreign language to them until their understanding was opened and that's the ministry of the Holy Spirit now that our Lord Jesus has gone back to the right hand of the Father he promised he would send one who is designated not only the helper the comforter but his second most predominant designation in the upper room discourse is spirit of truth John 14 and verse 16 he speaks of the Holy Spirit as the spirit of truth he is spoken of in 1st John 2 27 as the anointing which all believers have received who teaches and dear people ultimately though we who are called upon to preach the word must do our work and labor at being clear and simple

Manifestation of Dependence: Pleading for Supplies and Repudiating Self-Confidence

47:31 and seek to bring in timely and choice and help helpful illustrations and analogies and imagery that's our tools it is we ought there's enough sin in any sermon I preach to damn me a thousand times over but no one can substitute for the present ministry of God the Holy Spirit he must open the eyes of the understanding he must illuminate our minds and he can take even preaching and make it effectual while some slumber and slip into hell under the most earnest and clear preaching so when I urge you to consciously cultivate a disposition of dependence upon the Holy Spirit in this ministry as you participate or as you anticipate the ministry of the word I do so because of the absolute necessity for this disposition of dependence and then you ask what will be the manifestation or acting of this disposition of dependence I answer we will plead with God for fresh supplies of the Spirit as we anticipate the preaching of the word we will plead

49:00 with God for fresh supplies of the Spirit as we anticipate the preaching of the word the terminology supplies of the Spirit I take directly from Philippians 1 in verse 19 where Philippians Paul writes to that church that had a unique place in his heart I know that this shall turn out to my salvation through your supplication and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ Paul knew that he was indwelt by the Spirit of Christ that he had been enabled by the Spirit in every facet of life and ministry to that hour you have yet he believed that there were further supplies of the Spirit that would be granted unto him there in his imprisonment at Rome in answer to the prayers of the Philippians hundreds of miles away so when I use the term supplies of the Spirit it is this passage that has fashioned that phrase in my own thinking and it's this for which Paul himself is found praying for the Ephesians in Ephesians chapter 1 after outlining the marvelous provisions that are already theirs in Christ in verses 3-14

50:29 all the way from God's free sovereign electing love in Christ before the foundation of the world to their being sealed with the Spirit verse 14 which sealing is an earnest a down payment of their future inheritance when their body shall be redeemed at the coming of the Lord Jesus he traces salvation from eternity to eternity attributes it all to grace all to the actings of the triune God Father Son and Holy Spirit but after having outlined all that they are and have in Christ he says for this cause having heard of the faith verse 15 in the Lord Jesus which is among you and the love you show to all the saints I do not cease to give thanks for you making mention of you in my prayers and what does he pray for that God would give unto them a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him having the eyes of your heart enlightened that you may know in other words he is praying that there would be fresh and intensified measures of spiritual illumination not that they might obtain something in Christ that they don't yet possess but that they might come to an understanding of what is theirs in Christ

51:59 now and what will be theirs in Christ in the ages to come but he knows that he could write 50 epistles opening up all of their privileges in Christ but unless God works in them enabling them to know what is theirs all of his writing is in vain and so he prays believing that the spirit of God was the one who could operate upon the mind and the heart he prays this is why David prayed as he did in Psalm 119 verse 18 open thou mine eyes that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law he acknowledges Lord you must literally undress my eyes my eyes have layers and folds of cloth over them that will keep me from seeing clearly Lord dress my eyes behold the purity of your truth undress my eyes Lord this is why Luke 11 in verse 13 is so precious to many of us Jesus wonderful word of promise if you who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children how much more shall your heavenly father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him

53:26 he waits to be asked how often it could be said of our barren listening to sermons you have not because you ask not there in Proverbs chapter 2 where Solomon outlines to his son what he must do to come to the knowledge of God and of his ways in the midst of searching and seeking he says Proverbs 2 and verse 3 and notice how vigorous the language is this is not some little now I lay me down to sleep kind of prayer he says in verse 3 yea if thou cry after discernment lift up thy voice for understanding in other words he says my son it isn't enough that you make a conscious effort to retain what I say that you seek after truth you must cry out to the living God that he would grant you understanding the manifestation of this spirit of dependence upon the Holy Spirit will not only be that we will cry mightily to God that he would open our eyes but we will also repudiate all confidence in ourselves or in the preacher as we anticipate the preaching of the word

54:55 consciously repudiate all confidence in ourselves our own ability we know the word of God fairly well we know the ropes we have a general understanding of biblical content we can subtly cultivate a spirit of self confidence no we repudiate it and take the posture of those who are utterly dependent upon God and we do the same with respect to whoever the preacher may be the text that God has used in my own life again and again over many years is Jeremiah 17 verses 5 through 9 Jeremiah 17 verses 5 through 9 the last passage we'll consider this morning why must we cultivate this spirit of conscious dependence upon the Holy Spirit manifested in earnest prayer and in the repudiation of all creature confidence listen to these words thus saith the Lord Jeremiah 17 5 cursed is the man that trusts in man and makes flesh his arm he doesn't say cursed is the man that trusts in a heathen idol cursed is the man who trusts in some idol made by the hands of men no cursed is the man that trusts in man and makes flesh his arm and in so doing here's the inevitable accompaniment

56:24 and whose heart departs from the Lord you can't be trusting in yourself and the Lord's at the one in the same time either he's the object of your trust you've gone out of yourself into him or you're trusting in yourself that's true with regard to salvation remember Jesus spoke the parable in Luke 18 he spoke to certain that trusted in themselves that they were righteous and said all others it not and then he describes that Pharisee who goes up into the temple and prings his spiritual feathers like a peacock Lord I'm this I'm that I'm the other I do this I do that he trusted whereas the poor publican went out of himself and said oh God be merciful to me the sinner you see God curses self-trust in the matter of salvation but he also curses it in the matter of listening to preaching you trust in yourself you trust in the preacher God says the curse is on you cursed is the man that trusts in man and makes flesh his arm and whose heart departs from the Lord what will the result be he shall be like the heath a barren place in the desert he shall not see when good comes you see good is coming to others all around and this is the most amazing thing to me over years of preaching in one place to see in the same and become mighty and others saying

57:52 well I've got to seek a ministry elsewhere this ministry does me no good I've seen it again and again and again well look at the text he shall not see when good comes but shall inhabit the parched place in the wilderness a salt land not inhabited blessed is the man that trusts in the Lord and whose trust the Lord is he shall be as a tree planted by the waters that have overtones of another passage we sang about Psalm 1 the blessed man does not walk in the counsel of the ungodly stand in the way of sinners sit in the seat of scoffers but his delight is in the law of the Lord and on his law doth he meditate day and night his delight he shall be like a tree planted ah but listen the one who meditates in the law of God day and night and becomes like a tree planted is not one who thinks that in the strength of his own powers of meditation he comes to understand the word of God but in dependence upon the Lord for he shall be as a tree planted by the waters that spreads out its roots by the river and shall not fear when heat comes but its leaves shall be green and shall not be careful in the year of drought neither shall cease from yielding fruit unless you are tempted very quickly to say oh I don't trust in myself look at the next verse

59:21 the heart is deceitful above all things and exceedingly corrupt who can know it dear people self-trust under the ministry of the word is one of the most subtle forms of sin that we commit and that's why I'm urging you in response to the words of the Lord Jesus take heed how you hear take heed how you hear the manner of your hearing is a matter of great concern to the Lord Jesus and ought to be to you and to me and therefore I urge you to consciously cultivate prior to the preaching of the word a fresh awareness that you are confronting the very words of the living God himself consciously repudiate by fresh repentance all that would hinder the reception and the assimilation of the word consciously cultivate a disposition of heart characterized by meekness and eagerness consciously cultivate a disposition of dependence on the Holy Spirit I can hear someone saying but pastor that's demanding my friend is it biblical the question is not whether it's demanding the question is this is it what God

Practical Implementation and Parental Instruction

60:50 requires of us and if it is then in the strength of Christ we should lay hold of that strength and say with Paul I can do all things through him that strengthens me let me urge you to do something this may sound ludicrous to some of you but if everyone in this building were to take simply four minutes every Lord's Day morning and say I refuse I refuse to go to the preaching of the word unless I've spent at least one minute consciously thinking upon those four things and crying to God that they might be wrought into the texture of your soul take just a minute and say in quietness before God oh God I am going to confront your words today the very words Jesus said that will meet me in the last day Lord help me truly that that's what will happen in the preaching now how long did it take me to say that about twenty seconds and then say oh God if there's anything that I've not dealt with in daily hourly repentance keeping short accounts with you a conscience void of offense to God and man Lord if there's anything of wickedness of guile

62:17 of hypocrisy and evil speaking concerning which I've not yet repented Lord to put away all the things that I may receive the word as I ought and then pray oh Lord give me a disposition of meekness and oh Lord create in me a hunger and a thirst for your word give me to know how much I need the light of your truth I need the instruction the comfort the rebukes the reproofs all that your word will bring to me Lord I confess my hunger is meager increase it and make it a year then oh God send your spirit send your spirit to me send it to all who sit with me send the spirit upon the preacher send the spirit upon the congregation I believe if that began to be a discipline of everyone in this place who names the name of Christ suddenly you would find yourself profiting in ways you never have before and then instead of that madness that gets everyone's nerves jangled and you rush out so discipline the ordering of your family life that there's at least a few minutes to sit with your wife and your children before you come

63:45 to Sunday school and then on into church and say to the children children you're going to hear the word of God in Sunday school today that's the word of the God who made you the God who upholds your life the God before whom you'll stand in judgment don't forget it children it's God's word that you're going to hear today 15 seconds it took to say that and you say to your children seeking to train them dear children you've got any sins that you've not confessed to God to mommy or daddy or to one another let's get them sorted out even if we have to in the car on the way to church because God says if we're to receive his word we've got to put away all wickedness and all guile and all hypocrisy and dear children ask God to give you a heart like Samuel though you're young a heart ready to receive the word a meek heart not a proud heart not an arrogant heart but a meek spirit and that God will give you a hunger but what your Sunday school teacher will teach you from the Bible and what pastor will preach about oh yes there'll be words he'll use I'll have to explain to you when we get home because this is not an advanced Sunday school my task is to preach primarily to the adults who are disciples that they might come to maturity and it's your task to break it down and make it palatable to your children as the head of the household as the father and mother that's your task but to ask the children children

65:13 pray that God will give you a spirit of eagerness and then let us together acknowledge how much we need the Holy Spirit can you imagine what a crop of good gospel hearers would be raised in this place if by the grace of God we take heed how we hear and then pass on to our children how we hear how they are to take heed how they hear David Clarkson the successor to John Owen preacher again back from the 1600s listen to what he said to his people these are my closing words to you before you hear he said to his people endeavor to get your souls into a capacity of hearing fruitfully to get spiritual advantage by hearing take pay your heart before you come to the public assembly make them tender and fit to receive impressions from the word of God set them open that Christ may come in make room empty your hearts of sin and vanity that the spirit may work freely with liberty without interruption get your hearts melted in prayer raised by meditation

Concluding Exhortation from David Clarkson and Prayer

66:41 if you seek the Lord there in secret he will find you here in public if you meet him in private he will come along and continue with you you expect no increase from seed if it be cast into the ground before the ground be plowed and broken up you must get the fallow ground of your heart broken up so you can receive the seed of the word Hosea 10 12 Jeremiah 4 says so not among thorns if you would sow rightly and reap in mercy you must break up the fallow ground of your heart how is that seek the Lord heartbreaking heart melting prayer then he will reign righteousness peace and holiness not in drops but in showers do not sow among thorns pluck them up cast them out cares pleasures lusts else no room for the good seed they will choke it say to them as Abraham to his young men going to sacrifice abide here I will go yonder and worship and come again to you if lawful he's saying take your cares if lawful and say to them as Abraham did to his servants stay here I go I go here the word of the living God enclose your hearts with holy thoughts with lofty thoughts of God he is a jealous God

68:09 common hearts are profane hearts there must be a separation you must fence your hearts against the inroads of the world let not your hearts continue rocky if they are though the seed may abide there it cannot take root get them melted that they may receive impressions from the mold of the word for those who have experience of the Lord's presence and workings they find there is a great difference as to the efficacy of the word when they come negligently and when they come preparedly when they step immediately out of the world into God's presence their interviews are not so delightful so advantageous the word is not so powerful and melting and inflaming as when they have endeavored to dispose their hearts for so great a work I'm not preaching anything novel it's stretching back into the mid-sixteen hundreds and I'm not preaching the man preaching this to his congregation may God grant that we will take heed how we hear let us pray our father we would confess to you the horrible sins of careless hearing of your word

69:39 we would confess to you the sins of creature confidence the sins of prayerless hearing of the word the sin of hearing the word without conscious dependence upon the spirit oh Lord forgive our sins in conjunction with this great privilege and help us from this hour forward in the strength of Christ in ways we have never never known before to take heed how we hear to begin if we've never begun to continue if we have begun to continue to increase more and more in the grace of cultivating those various spiritual disciplines prior to the preaching of the word that will make that word under your blessing a much more fruitful word in our hearts and in our lives to this end we plead with you seal your word to our hearts this morning we plead through Jesus Christ our Lord Amen Amen