His Mouth

Introduction: The Living Lord Speaks Through His Word

0:00 This sermon was preached on Sunday morning, October 2nd, 1988, at the Trinity Baptist Church in Montville, New Jersey. We have confessed in the words of the hymn we have just sung that when we come to the teaching and preaching of the Word of God, we do not come to a book, nor do we come to a greatly exalted book, or even to a holy book,

0:36 but we come to a living Lord who himself speaks to us in his holy book, the Bible, and let us then seek his face that each of us will have a heart to receive that which our Lord himself would say to us from the scriptures. Let us pray. Our Lord, we have confessed in the singing of this last hymn that we are gathered,

1:09 gathered to hear your voice, and we acknowledge that left to ourselves we have no ability rightly to understand your word. We have a native disinclination to receive and obey that word, and we therefore pray that there would be copious measures of the Holy Spirit resting upon this gathering of your people that both of us may be able to hear your voice. Let us pray. With he who seeks to open that word and to teach and preach it, and each one who sits before it will be conscious of your presence and power in the midst,

1:55 causing that word to come to each one of us not in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and in much conviction. Hear us as together. We plead these mercies from your hand because you died and rose from the dead, and you sit at the right hand of the Father that we might be so blessed of you. Amen.

Context: The Anatomy of a Man of God Series and the Centrality of Preaching

2:25 For the past several Lord's Days, we have been considering together the subject, the anatomy of a man of God. In this brief series of studies, I have been attempting to study the anatomy of a man of God. I have been attempting to study the anatomy of a man of God. I have been attempting to set before you the biblical description of an able minister of the new covenant, the biblical description of a true servant of God equipped by the head of the church and set apart to labor in the word and in doctrine.

3:06 Now, since only a relatively few of you will be sovereignly marked out and properly set apart, you may ask the question, why have I chosen to address this theme before the whole assembly of God's people? And that question is a fair question and deserves an honest answer. So before we proceed to consider the next feature in the anatomy of a man of God, let me answer the question, why consider such a theme in the whole Galilee?

3:47 Well, indeed, it is based on what we gathered from this evening. Since the fall of 1977, we have had functioning within our assembly, and as an integral part of the life of the church a full-time program of Ministerial training, called the Trinity Ministerial Academy, and each year in the month of September we mark out a Lord's day evening and designate it as Academy Night. introduce themselves to us, and one of the elders brings a ministry from the Word of God

4:25 that focuses upon and underscores some aspect of the work of the Christian ministry. And our purpose in that night and in those ministries is to set a biblical standard of ministry for the students among us, to seek to impart a clear vision to the newer members among us as to what this ministry of the academy is all about, and then to renew that vision for those who have been members among us for a longer period of time. Now, having answered the question, why address this subject in the whole assembly,

5:08 I want to address a second question. And that is, what have we seen already concerning the anatomy of a man of God? Well, as we looked at his head, we saw from the scriptures that a man of God has a head marked by at least these three features. It is covered with the helmet of salvation, 1 Thessalonians 5.8.

5:34 It is filled with the knowledge of the Word of God, 2 Timothy 2.2 and Jeremiah 3.3. And it is furnished with the tools for a lifetime of a fresh and sound ministry in the scriptures, 2 Timothy 2.15.

5:53 Then we move to a consideration of the eyes of a man of God. And we saw from the scriptures that they are marked by these three features. They are fixed on the unseen world of spiritual reality, 2 Corinthians 4.18.

6:12 They are focused upon the Lord Jesus Christ, Hebrews 12 and verse 2. And they are perceptive to the true state of men, even as are the eyes of our Lord Jesus, as recorded in Matthew 9 and verse 36. Then we contemplated the ears of a man of God. And we saw, likewise, three things that characterize his ears.

6:40 They are continually changing. They are continually open to hear the Word of God, Isaiah 50, 4 and 5. Continually responsive to the reproofs and corrections of God, Proverbs 15. And they are ready and waiting to respond to the special call of God, Isaiah 6 and Acts 13.

7:02 And then last Lord's Day we looked at the heart of a man of God. And we saw that it is, first of all, the heart of a man of God. And we saw that it is, first of all, a constantly guarded heart, Proverbs 4.23.

7:16 A continuously tender heart, contrasting 1 Samuel 24 with 2 Samuel 11. And that it is an increasingly loving, responsive and vulnerable heart, 1 John 3.17, 2 Corinthians 6.11 and 2 Corinthians 12 and verse 14.

7:41 Now this morning we come to a consideration of another feature of the anatomy of a man of God, namely the mouth of a man of God. Having considered his head, his eyes, his ears, and his heart, we now come to the question, according to the scriptures, what will characterize the mouth of a man of God? Now we live in a day in which, relatively speaking, preaching is little thought of. We live in a day in which there is a demeaning of the unique place of preaching in the purposes of God.

8:27 And in place of the biblical emphasis upon preaching, we find the church inundated with an emphasis that is totally out of proportion to the word of God, if not out of direction. And we see that in place of the biblical emphasis upon preaching, that there is a tremendous emphasis upon music, upon drama, upon mime, upon entertainment, and a host of other things which are never said to be the instrument chosen of God for the calling of His church.

9:11 for the calling of His church. his elect and for the building up of his saints in their most holy faith. And so as a preview and a lead into our contemplation of the three characteristics of the mouth of a man of God, let me remind you or for some for the first time point out how central is the act of preaching in the purpose of God so central that there is a specific focus upon the mouth of the servant of God as a unique instrument of accomplishing God's purposes.

The Primacy of Preaching: God's Chosen Instrument

9:53 Look with me briefly at three texts that set forth this truth so clearly. First of all, in the 15th chapter of the book of the Acts of the Apostles, the Bible says, Acts chapter 15, we shall look in a moment at a statement of the Apostle Peter.

10:14 In this particular setting, the church at Jerusalem is gathered with the apostles who were resident in Jerusalem at that time. Representatives have come from the church at Antioch, and they are gathering to discuss the whole question of whether or not Gentiles can be brought into the church as full members of the church. They are full-blown Christians and members of the body of Christ without having to submit to circumcision and becoming ritual or practicing Jews. And Peter is about to stand and declare why it is that he is convinced that God has already

10:58 answered that question in the conversion of Gentiles, particularly Gentiles of the household of Cornelius. Now, in that context, we read in verse 7 of Acts 15, And when there had been much questioning, Peter rose up and said unto them, Brethren, you know that a good while ago God made choice among you, now notice, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe.

11:38 God made choice, not that by my guitars and drums, not by my acting troop, not by my dancing feet, but by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. And then in verses 33 and 39, And then in verses 33 and 39,

12:14 and 34, I should say, back to chapter 10, where what he's describing actually took place, notice the focused emphasis again upon the mouth and upon speech. Verse 22, And they said, Cornelius, a centurion, a righteous man, and one who fears God, and well reported of by all the nation of the Jews, was warned of God by a holy angel to send for you into his house, He which in the Lord's name is Paul, doing all that He cannot signify, not seeing with sin, but in singing, in singing tithes, usually reciting the word of God's praises, and coming from heaven from heaven. not to hear words from you. Not to hear songs, not to see mime, not to watch your feet, not to watch the music or their facial expressions,

12:58 Not to enjoy your musical performance, but he was informed that he would hear words from you. but he was informed that he would hear words from you. And when they were all gathered, Cornelius having had a vision, men go to Peter's house, Peter's had a vision to see and see. Jon, abandon their ambition and go to Peter's house, Peter's had a vision to see and see a prophecy of God.

13:13 and when they were all gathered, sandy steps with their minds, and Peter stopped at them, just like a doomed abusive and foiing of God, vision and they are all gathered notice the emphasis in verse 33 forthwith therefore I sent to you and you have well done that you are come now therefore we are all here present in the sight of God to hear all things that have been commanded you of the Lord and Peter opened his mouth and said verse 42 and he charged us to preach unto the people and to testify verse 44 while Peter

13:51 yet spoke these words the Holy Spirit fell now you see brethren when Peter reflects upon all of this later on in that council in the church at Jerusalem he says God made choice that by my mouth and here the centrality and the primacy of preaching is underscored in such a vivid way that it is impossible to miss the divine intention upon this emphasis or in this emphasis then in Romans chapter 10 we have a similar emphasis in this passage familiar to many of us

14:34 we have the wonderful promise in verse 11 of Romans 10 for the scripture says whosoever believes on him shall not be put to shame for there is no distinction between Jew and Greek but the same Lord is Lord of all and rich unto all that call upon him for whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved how then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed And how shall they believe in him whom they have not heard?

15:18 And how shall they hear without a musician?

15:23 How shall they hear without an actor? How shall they hear without a mime or a dancer? No. How shall they hear without a preacher?

15:37 And here God has tied the salvation that comes to every sinner, Jew or Gentile, who calls upon the Lord to the primary instrument by which men will be brought to call upon him the activity of a preacher. And then one other text, 1 Corinthians chapter 1. Remember, we're simply leading into our subject. By demonstrating the centrality and primacy of preaching in the purposes of God's saving grace.

16:17 And here we read in 1 Corinthians 1.21 the following. For seeing that in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom knew not God, it was God's good pleasure through the foolishness of the preaching to save them that believe. Now, this is where translators find a difficult task.

16:45 The marginal reading of the 1901 is through the foolishness of the thing preached. And often people read the text as though foolish preaching were owned of God. No, that's not the sense of it at all.

17:00 What the text is saying is this. Though men in their vaunted so-called wisdom do not come to the knowledge of God. God is not. Left the world to bury itself in the ignorance of its so-called wisdom.

17:15 But rather God has exercised his sovereign prerogatives and determined through that which the world calls foolishness. He would rescue sinners who are brought to faith in the gospel. And he has chosen that great end. And the means to.

17:41 To that end. You see, there are many in our day who have no question that it's the gospel alone that saves. But their thesis is that we are at liberty to use whatever medium of communicating the gospel that we choose. And if we choose to communicate the gospel by drums and guitars and acting troops and mines and whatever else and films, that's our prerogative so long as it's the gospel that is communicated.

18:10 But you see, that's not what this text says. It says it was God's good pleasure through that which the world regards foolishness, namely the kerubma. And that word means the thing preached. And it brings into an inseparable relationship both the message in its content and the manner of its communication.

18:39 Kerubma is basically the message. The message heralded by an official messenger called a herald. So that we can understand the emphasis of the word by simply using this altered emphasis. It was God's good pleasure through the foolishness of the thing preached to save and believe.

19:06 And there the emphasis falls upon the content of the message. It was God's good pleasure through the foolishness of the thing preached to save and believe. It is the message that the king himself has authorized, namely the gospel. But it can also be rendered, It was God's good pleasure through the foolishness of the thing preached to save them that believe.

Characteristic 1: A Purified Mouth

19:31 And in that very word, God has captured the primacy of preaching in the saving purposes of God. Now, in the light of the evening Light, these three texts and many others could be marshaled to demonstrate that principle, let us now contemplate what the scripture says concerning this part of the anatomy of a man of God, namely his mouth. And in the time allotted this morning, I want to focus upon three aspects of the mouth of a man of God. It is, first of all, a purified mouth,

20:13 secondly, a skilled mouth, and thirdly, an anointed mouth. First of all, then, the scriptures tell us that the mouth of a man of God is a purified mouth. That is, it is a mouth kept free from corrupting, abusive, and destructive speech. Will you turn, please, to 1 Timothy chapter 4.

20:42 We should be looking at a number of texts.

20:46 1 Timothy chapter 4.

20:50 One of the unique designations of Timothy is the very term in the subject of our message, man of God. He is called that in chapter 6 and verse 11. But thou, O man of God. And in chapter 4 of 1 Timothy, Paul is exhorting Timothy that he give no necessary grounds for people to be prejudiced against his message and ministry because of his relative youth.

21:24 He was probably in his late 30s. And he says in verse 12, let no man despise your youth. Let no man think lightly. Let no man think lightly of you because of your youth.

21:37 Let no man say, well, what can you expect? Timothy is still wet behind the ears. But be an example to them that believe. And then notice the first particular that is mentioned in word.

21:55 Then in manner of life, in love, in faith, in purity. Timothy, neutralize the liabilities of your relative youth. By a blameless, exemplary life and paramount among the areas in which you are to be exemplary is the matter in word, in speech. Timothy, let no man despise your youth, but be an example of believers in your speech as well as in your general demeanor.

22:35 Timothy, if you would stand. If you would stand in the congregation at Ephesus and when you would command and speak and teach and exhort in terms of the many things that I've told you about in this epistle, your credibility will stand or fall in terms of whether or not the mouth that speaks the word of God is a mouth that is free from corrupting, abusive, and destructive speech in your ordinary life and conversation. Timothy, do not expect to speak with grip and power and convincingness the word of God from the pulpit

23:20 if your speech in your ordinary movements among the people of God is not a pattern of godly speech. The same emphasis is given to Titus, who is Paul's representative in the churches there. In the isle of Crete. And so he writes to Titus after telling him the many things he is to teach to old men, young men, older women, younger women.

23:49 He says in verse 7 of Titus chapter 2, In all things showing yourself an example of good works, in your doctrine showing uncorruptness, gravity, sound speech,

24:07 you cannot be condemned, that he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say of us. Literally healthy speech, which in the setting seems not only to apply to his public teaching, but to the general exemplary pattern of his life, that no one will be able to undermine the official teaching coming from Titus' lips in the pulpit because of what they've heard from his lips in their general interaction with

24:44 Titus the man and then we turn to Ephesians chapter 4 and we find these very searching words addressed to all of the people of God in general all of the people of God in general verse 29 let no corrupt speech proceed out of your mouth but such as is good for edifying or building up as the need may be that it may give grace to them that hear now follow my reasoning

25:22 if it is incumbent upon every child of God the most immature babe in Christ to make conscience that no one is five years old the most immature babe in Christ to make conscience that no one is No corrupt speech proceed from his mouth, no speech that would be like rancid and decaying food, but only that which will build up and edify like wholesome, fresh, nourishing food, if it is incumbent upon all the people of God in general.

25:54 To have their speech always regulated unto edification and not unto corruption, how much more the speech of one whose mouth would be an instrument of life and salvation and edification to the people of God. If this is the standard for all of God's people, then surely that standard is intensified and heightened.

26:24 In the one who would have a chosen mouth to be a chosen instrument of bringing distinct, redemptive blessings to men through the preaching and teaching of the word of God. A similar line of reasoning can be taken from the third chapter of the book of James, James chapter 3. Writing to all of the people of God in general in this context. A classic chapter on the tongue filled with graphic imagery about the evils of the tongue, the power of the tongue, the unruliness of the tongue.

27:08 James captures the imagery of a fountain and notice his language in verse 9. Therewith bless we the Lord and Father, and therewith curse we men who are made after the likeness of God. Out of the same way. The mouth come forth blessing and cursing.

27:29 My brethren, these things ought not so to be. Does the fountain send forth from the same opening sweet water and bitter? And then he changes the imagery. Can a fig tree, my brethren, yield olives or a vine figs?

27:50 And then he changes the imagery again. Neither can salt water yield sweet. You see, he's underscoring the fact that there should not be the kind of incongruity between our speech, which, if it occurred in nature, would cause us all to wonder if the world was falling to pieces at the seams. What would you think if you came to what was reputed to be a fresh spring coming out of the side of a rock that was supposed to be the purest water in all of the world?

28:26 That particular area of the country. And standing before that spring, someone had a ladle. And they took a ladle of that water and drank, and their faces, their face lit up, and they smacked their lips and they did everything but write poetry and songs to celebrate the sweetness, the deliciousness, the purity, the invigorating quality of that water. And right after that, someone came with a ladle.

28:55 From the same spring, drank a mouthful and began to double over in agony. And inside of three minutes was lying, writhing on the ground, and in five minutes lay there dead.

29:10 You say, it's impossible. How could sweet, life-giving, poem-invigorating, song-precipitating water in one moment be this? And a moment later caused death.

29:28 He said, It doesn't happen in nature. Then he changes the imagery and says, Do you find a tree that one man comes by at 9.05 and he plucks off some ripened figs? And he extols the virtue of the figs.

29:42 And two minutes later, someone comes by and plucks off some olives. And they're extolling both figs and olives off the same tree. He says, Brethren, it doesn't happen. And likewise, you don't find someone taking a bucket of seawater and then putting, putting it in elegant glasses to serve it to company as their drinking water at a feast or a banquet.

30:05 He says, You see, in nature this is utterly incongruous that from the same source there should be such utterly contradictory things coming forward. Likewise, he says, Then out of this mouth, out of this mouth there should be only the pure water of life. Out of this mouth there should be only, only the sweet, non-brackish water that refreshes. Now I say, brethren, if that is true of all of the people of God in general, how much more of those whose mouths in a unique way are to be the instrument of imparting life and salvation

Isaiah's Cleansing: The Necessity of Purified Lips for Ministry

30:49 and edification to the people of God. Surely the mouth of a man of God must always be, be a purified mouth. A mouth kept free from the corrupting, abusive and destructive speech. And in preparation for this ministry, I think for the first time I appreciated something that's always mystified me.

31:19 In the call of Isaiah the prophet, we had occasion to look at Isaiah 6 in conjunction with the ears of a man of God. Now let's go back to it. As we conclude this division of our study,

31:34 this first head on the mouth of a man of God, you'll remember that Isaiah is given this shattering vision of the exalted and holy God. And when he has this vision of God in his exaltedness and holiness, he is given an acute sense, not only of his creatureliness, but his sinfulness. But notice, the area in which that sinfulness is most acutely felt in this vision. Then said I, verse 5, Woe is me, for I am undone,

32:17 because I am a man, and I would have thought him to say, of unclean heart.

32:25 And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean hearts, for mine eyes, have seen the King, Jehovah of hosts. Surely, this vision of the exalted Lord in the brilliance and intimidatingness of his holiness would lay bare the depths of a man's heart by contrast. Yet Isaiah's conviction focused upon his lips. Woe is me, for I am undone, because I am a man of unclean lips.

33:00 And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean hearts, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips. Verse 6, Then flew one of the seraphim unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar. And in the sermon by A.W. Tozer,

33:18 which I shall never forget, as long as God gives me some recall of the past, speaking on this very point, he said, Can you imagine a coal so hot that a seraphim can't handle it, bear? So hot that a seraphim, one of the shining ones, the burning ones, must take tongs. And then what did he do with it? He took that white hot coal and touched, verse 7, his mouth.

33:52 You know what it's like when you just sip a little coffee that's too hot and it touches your lips. You place a piece of meat or an instrument that's too hot, the lips with all of their sensitivity. One can only imagine, imagine the shriek of pain and the curl of smoke and the smell of burnt flesh that went up into Isaiah's own nostrils in this vision.

34:16 When God touched his lips, he burnt and seared his lips with a coal so hot that one of the burning ones could not hold it except he held it with tongs. And he touched my mouth with it and said, Lo, this has touched thy lips and thine iniquity, it has taken away and thy sin forgiven. Then he hears the voice of God and then God says, verse 9, Go and tell. Go and tell.

34:50 You see what God is saying?

34:53 If I'm calling my servant to a ministry in which his mouth will be the unique organ that comes into my service, then my cleansing will focus upon that very instrument of his humanity. Upon that very faculty of his humanity. Would he speak for me with his lips? Then the lips must feel the cold of the purging, fiery cleansing of God.

35:24 And only then is he set apart and commissioned by the living God. God would purify Isaiah's mouth before he makes that mouth the instrument of his life. Of his grace to others. You men in the academy, you can't afford the luxury of a loose and a careless tongue.

35:51 You cannot expect that a mouth that dabbles in corrupting, abusive or destructive speech, let alone double innuendo, speech that is borderline true, speech that is borderline pure, you cannot indulge with your lips. Those sins, and expect that God will take that mouth and make it an instrument of life and salvation and healing to others. And you must cry to God for an acute sense of a heightened awareness of the sins of the tongue and of the mouth. That that organ may be

36:33 a peculiarly kept organ of life and salvation. As you people pray for the life and salvation of God, the men in the academy, and you say, what shall I pray for them? Well, remember this element of the anatomy. Pray that they will not only have the kind of head we've seen in scripture, the kind of eyes and ears and heart, but pray that they will have a purified mouth, that as they live and walk among us and move in and out, while they move among us as real men, as whole men, as natural as opposed to plastic and artificial men, that in their most relaxed moments of belly laughter, when their whole humanity

37:18 is poured out in wholesome laughter, there will never be anything that is corrupting, defiling, abusive, or destructive. And you men, remember, all you need do to have an erosion of your usefulness is to have it become known not based upon slander or the prejudice of slander, or someone who is resisting your ministry to their conscience, but have it known based on your performance and your own lifestyle that you have a careless mouth, a mouth that can speak sarcasm and cut and abuse,

38:01 a mouth that can speak half-truths as though they were whole truths, a mouth that strains reality and strains fact. Let that be known. And I don't care if you have the eloquence of an angel. There'll be very little usefulness in your pulpit ministry over the long haul.

Characteristic 2: A Skilled Mouth (Accurate, Articulate, Persuasive)

38:24 The mark of the mouth of the man of God like that of Isaiah is that it is a purified mouth. But then secondly, it is also a skilled mouth, a skilled mouth. And I chose my words carefully. I did not say eloquent.

38:46 Eloquence may only be within the reach of a few, but a skilled mouth is and must be within the reach of any man who is to be set apart to labor in the word and in doctrine. And by a skilled mouth, I mean a mouth gifted and trained to proclaim the truth of God in an accurate, articulate, and persuasive manner. A mouth both gifted and trained to proclaim the truth of God in an accurate, articulate, and persuasive manner.

39:29 Let me break those points down. It must be a mouth gifted and trained in an accurate proclamation of the truth of God. 2 Timothy 2.15 Do thine utmost to show thyself approved unto God a workman that needs not to be ashamed, cutting astray, yet coarse in the word of truth.

39:52 2 Timothy 1.13 Hold the form, the pattern of sound or healthy words which thou hast learned from me. 2 Timothy 4.4 Preach the word.

40:07 Be instant in season and out of season. The mark of the mouth of a man of God is that it is a skilled mouth, a mouth, both gifted and trained in an accurate proclamation of the truth of God. Not a mouth joined perhaps to a sincere heart and even a godly life that when it attempts to articulate the truth of God puts the tail where the head belongs and puts the ear where a foot belongs and so jumbles God's truth as to confuse God's people and misrepresent God. No amount of personal godliness

40:51 or heart purity or sincerity of motive will unjumble the misrepresented truth of God. And so the mark of the mouth of a man of God is that it is a skilled mouth, a mouth gifted and trained in the accurate proclamation of the truth of God, but secondly a mouth gifted and trained in our articulate proclamation of the truth of God. And if you were to look up the word articulate in your dictionary you would find these several meanings. Expressing oneself easily and clearly,

41:33 to speak distinctly. In 1 Corinthians 14 we have perhaps the best biblical statement on the necessity of articulate speech in a man of God. 1 Corinthians 14 verses 9 or 8 and 9. If the trumpet give an uncertain voice who shall prepare himself for war?

42:04 Hear all the soldiers in their tents. The captain gives orders that it's time to come and to take arms and to prepare for a battle charge. Now he tells the trumpeter to give the appropriate silence upon his trumpet. Well the poor fellow gets the notes so mixed up that some men in one tent are grabbing their mess kits and heading out to the mess hall.

42:31 Another group going to the parade grounds. They think there's going to be an inspection. Others begin to unleash their boots. They think it's a call to a little R&R.

42:41 You see the trumpet, if it does not give a clear and certain sound, the poor soldiers won't know what they're supposed to do. That's the imagery. Now he goes on to say verse 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40,

43:25 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 67, 68, 69, 70, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 62,

44:09 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 67, 68, 69, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 75, 76, 76, 77, 77, 78, 78, 79, 80, 91, 92, 92, 93, 93, 94, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 100, 100, 100, 100, 100, 100,

44:54 100, 100, 120 ... 120, 120, 129, 120, 120, 122 ....

45:03 123 ... 124, 123, 125, 120, 120, 120, 126, 120, 120, 120, 120, 120, 120, 120 ...

45:18 мы

45:23 263, 124, 25, But then thirdly, under this head, it is a mouth gifted and trained in the persuasive communication of the truth of God. While we believe again that only God makes his truth effective to secure the consent of the human will, we do not believe that the truth comes as mere moral suasion, that if a man has enough words arranged in the right way, sufficiently illustrated and hurled home to men's hearts with passion and earnestness and entreaty, his words can overpower the reluctance of his will. We believe no such thing.

46:08 We believe it takes a gracious, divine intrusion of God upon the human will to turn it from self-love into the way of repentance and faith. But the Bible also teaches that God uses means. The Apostle Paul could say in 2 Corinthians 5, 11, Knowing the terror of the Lord, we persuade men. He says in 2 Corinthians 5, later on, We beseech you in the stead of Christ, be reconciled to God.

46:44 In the moving passage that we looked at, yes, the last Lord's Day, just briefly in closing, Paul, in 2 Corinthians 5, 11, 2 Corinthians 6 says, O Corinthians, our mouth is open to you. And he says, Our open mouth was but the mirror of our open heart. Our heart is enlarged. Our mouth is opened.

47:09 And when we read the apostolic preaching, and when we read the apostolic entreaties in the pastoral interaction in the epistles, we find that there was not only an act, an accurate presentation of God's truth, an articulate proclamation of God's truth, but there was a persuasive proclamation of God's truth. There was winsomeness at times. There was entreaty. There was pathos.

47:45 At times there was thunder and terror and lightning and wind. And there was logic of the mind. And there was logic of the heart. And the mark of a man of God, though no man attains to the standard seen in the Lord Jesus, no man attains to the standard that he sees, even in those servants of God recorded in the Bible, the mark of a man of God is that he gets beyond the accurate concepts of the mind being accurately presented,

48:24 with the mouth and the element of the fusion of the truth to his own humanity that enables him to spread his own soul over his hearers, must be present. Paul could say, we seek not yours, but you. We were willing to impart to you not the gospel of God only, accurate, articulate, but our very souls, because you, because you were become dear to us. That's persuasiveness.

49:01 That's persuasiveness. And you men in the academy, you face the ministry in our day with a tremendous disadvantage. You live in the day of cool communicators. You see from the tie up to the top of the head and barely the width of the shoulders, the prime time newscaster, who without any passion or pathos can talk about the weather in the same breath that he talks about 200 people dying in a bus, in a flood, in the wake of a hurricane.

49:42 He's not seeking to make any direct appeals. He's not seeking to entreat. He's not seeking to move. He's just this marvelously efficient, emotionally bland word machine.

49:56 And even at the highest level, the epitome of that, as some of the very candidates said, before us in highest political office, and we suffer because in God's common grace, we've not heard a Churchill that could mobilize a whole nation. That was down for the count with the referee having five fingers up on one hand and four on another and under God with words brought a nation off its back to face the Third Reich and bury it. And I can still hear some of Churchill's

50:38 words ringing in my ears and standing in the pulpit. It may be unspiritual, but I get goosebumps. The element of persuasiveness! And we suffer because we don't even have them in the world.

50:53 And alas, there have been so few in the church in our generation. But oh, I beg you, man, pray God will liberate you from the false modesty that makes you afraid to spread your heart out over your people. Yes, you've laid out the truth clearly and you must. You've set it forth with great articulation and you must.

51:21 But if the element of persuasion is not there, I wonder if indeed God has set you apart to mirror his son, for he never spoke the truth in a take-it-or-leave-it manner. And we are his ambassadors to speak in his stead. And while men may behind our backs, say, I can't stand that loud, intense preaching or that soft, intense preaching and all the rest, this much they know that we weren't playing games,

52:04 that we wanted them to know and to taste the realities that have been set forth in the word of God. It's an interesting statement. We look at it very briefly in Acts 14 to close this second head. Luke, the great theological historian, who's not at all, ashamed to give theological interpretation to the history of the church, to write concerning Lydia, whose heart the Lord opened, to write as many as were ordained to eternal life, believed.

52:43 Yet in Acts 14, he writes as follows, and it came to pass at Iconium that they entered together into the synagogue of the Jews. And so spake, you have two little words in the Greek, putos hoste, so spake. And Alexander in his commentary on Acts, I believe, demonstrates from a linguistic standpoint that the emphasis falls by the use of these two words in that conjunction upon the force, the warmth, the unction, the manner of their speaking, that a great multitude, both of Jews and Greeks believed. The same Luke who says,

53:27 as many as were ordained to eternal life believed in chapter 13, now says they so spake that a multitude believed. No contradiction, for God is the God who works by means. And oh, my younger brethren aspiring to the ministry, cry to God that he would take whatever native gifts he has given, and by arduous prayer and pains, seek to have them so trained and disciplined, that you have this mark of a man of God, a skilled mouth,

54:03 that you may so speak that it will not at all be incongruous that God should use the manner of your speaking to influence multitudes, not for your success image, but for our dear Lord Jesus Christ, that he may have the reward of his sufferings, in the salvation, and conversion of his elect, and in healthy, well-ordered, vigorous churches, in which his rule is loved, and his spirit is present with power. Now, you'll notice that in every one of the subheadings,

The Gift of Utterance and the Preacher's Diligence

54:44 I said a mouth gifted and trained in accurate proclamation, gifted and trained in articulate proclamation, gifted and trained in persuasive proclamation, and why did I use the word gifted in every subheading? For the simple reason that I believe what Spurgeon said in his lectures to his students, and that is that man cannot give the gift of utterance. Man can discipline and hone and train and develop, but God must give a gift of utterance.

55:26 And though I'll not take time to read it, there is an excellent section in his lectures to his students in which the bottom line is Spurgeon says, if God has not given a man the gift of utterance, the best thing for him to do is to leave our pastor's college because we cannot help him. And you people, as you pray for the academy, pray that discernment will be given to us as we listen to the tapes of these men as they go out and preach, as we get the input from the churches where they preach. One of the hardest things in the world is to tell a man who loves Christ, who lives a godly life, who has a heart for the kingdom of Christ,

56:10 to tell him at this stage in his life we have no reason to believe that God has given him the gift of utterance. That's one of the most difficult things to do, but we've got to be faithful to do that. We must be faithful, or we will blight congregations, who cannot be edified only by a man's personal godliness, or by his sincerity, or by his love for the kingdom of Christ. Peter did not say God made choice that by my life the Gentiles might believe, by my mouth the Gentiles might hear and believe.

56:50 What an awesome responsibility is upon us. There is that beautiful description of a man of God found in the book of Ecclesiastes, and I close the heading with this text. The book of Ecclesiastes, Psalms, Proverbs, Song of Solomon. Ecclesiastes, I'm sorry, Song of Solomon.

57:12 Ecclesiastes 12, verse 9. And further, because the preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge. Yea, he pondered and sought out and set in order, many proverbs. The preacher sought to find out acceptable words, and that which was written up rightly, even words of truth.

57:43 The words of the wise are as goads, and as nails well fastened, are the words of the masters of assemblies, which are given from one shepherd. Isn't that a beautiful picture of a man of God? Under the one shepherd of the sheep, here is the under shepherd, seeking out and setting in order the words of God, and seeking to lay them out, and to see them function as goads, and as nails well fastened in the assemblies of God's people.

Characteristic 3: An Anointed Mouth

58:25 Well, I must hasten to touch briefly upon this third aspect of the mouth of the man of God. It is not only a purified mouth, a skilled mouth, but it is an anointed mouth. And what do I mean by that? I mean it is a mouth marked by authority, power, and unction imparted by the Holy Spirit.

58:50 Now, we in this place unashamedly, and at times even vehemently, reject, refute, and say in certain areas, abominate, all of the second work of grace theology afloat in our day, the nonsensical claims of many so-called charismatics. But, oh dear people, what a tragedy it would be if in our unashamed and vehement rejection of second work of grace theology, the nonsense and the wild claims of many facets of the charismatic movement, we should in any way infer

59:34 that we do not believe in or cherish the biblical doctrine of the anointing of the Holy Spirit that is particular to the servants of Christ who speak the word of Christ. When Paul would have the Ephesians pray for him, notice where he wanted them to focus their prayers. Ephesians chapter 6. After giving an exhortation to pray for all the saints, he then says, don't forget me.

60:06 And this is what he wants them to pray for him. Verse 19 of Ephesians 6. And on my behalf that utterance may be given unto me in opening my mouth to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel. He says, as you pray for me, don't pray for my feet, don't pray for my hands, don't pray for my ears, pray for my mouth.

60:35 Pray that my mouth may be opened and with boldness that I may give utterance to the gospel. Paul understood that there was an immediate divine operation of the Holy Spirit upon those faculties by which he would speak forth the word of God. And it's interesting in the book of Acts, how there is a constant and repeated emphasis in this matter of the connection between being filled with the Spirit and speaking. It begins on the day of Pentecost.

61:15 Verse 4 of Acts 2. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak. Now this is not to say that the Holy Spirit operated only at what we would call the mental and the mechanical faculties of the speech, bypassing the heart, and the emotions. No.

61:36 But in doing all of that other, there is this close conjunction between filled and they spoke. And you find later on in the fourth chapter the same emphasis. Acts 4 and verse 8. Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said unto them, Acts 4 and verse 30 and 31, they are praying that God would give them grace to go on preaching in the face of opposition.

62:08 Verse 31. And when they had prayed, the place was shaken wherein they were gathered, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness. You see there is such a thing as a biblically accurate, articulate, and perhaps even human, humanly persuasive preaching that lacks the endowment of the Spirit. Paul could say in 1 Corinthians chapter 2

62:48 that though Christ crucified was his central theme, he says there was also another characteristic of his preaching. He said I was with you in weakness and fear and much trembling. And in that context he said my speech, and my preaching were not with enticing words of men's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power. In demonstration of the Spirit and of power.

63:19 He says in 1 Thessalonians 1, our gospel came not unto you in word only, but in power and in the Holy Spirit, and in much assurance or much conviction. And while I confess my total ignorance of much of the whole theology, and psychology, the biblical psychology of the work of the Spirit in conjunction with preaching this much, I do know that when he is present, and when he is attending the mouth of the servant of God, those who sit beneath this ministry, unless they are given up to hardness, or on any given day have had a difficult night,

64:00 and are there half asleep because of physical weariness, not because they are spiritually backslidden, the general tone of the assembly will be such that people are conscious that from the time the words leave a man's mouth and fall upon their ears, there is a weight, there is an authority, there is a reality, there is a pressure upon those words which cannot be explained in terms of human personality. And God comes on the very wings of Spirit anointed preaching. He rides in the chariot of a man preaching with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven.

Call to Prayer for Anointed Ministry

64:43 And oh dear men in the academy, with all of your labors to acquire a working knowledge in the original languages, in all of your labors to absorb a disciplined mind as you interact with those educational and theological disciplines of systematic and pastoral and historical theology, and exegesis with all of these things, be often in the place of prayer crying, oh God, if you will give to your children, if an earthly father will give to his children bread when he asks for bread,

65:24 how much more will you give the Spirit to those who ask? And have your prayers focused upon the anointing of the Spirit of God, for I'm convinced God would say, to many a man who may have a ministry that is biblical, you cannot fault his exegesis. It is articulate. You cannot fault the order and the structure and the choice of words.

65:51 And it may even have elements of persuasiveness. But the one thing he lacks is that endowment of the Spirit. And over that lack God would write these words, you have not because you ask not.

66:08 If you who are evil know how to give good gifts to his children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Spirit to those who ask him? And so the mark of the mouth of a man of God is that it is not only a cleansed mouth, a skilled mouth, but an anointed mouth. And as you people pray for the men in the academy, pray for your elders who stand before you, pray for his servants, pray that God will give us all the mouth of a man of God. And for you who are here, strangers to grace, who've wondered what is there in all of this for you,

Application to Unbelievers: The Seriousness of Words and the Need for Christ

66:51 well, I think the message is clear. And surely it's this in the language of our Lord. God takes words seriously. Every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give an account thereof in the day of judgment.

67:05 And your lies and your dishonesty and your slander and your mean and ungracious speech concerning others is all noted by God. And unless your sins are washed in the blood of Christ, you will stand and be condemned. God will need nothing more to show the justice of sending you to hell than to bring forth the words you've spoken that are contrary to his law. My friend, as surely as the servants of God need the blood of Christ and the Spirit of Christ to have a purified, blessed mouth, and as they need the aid of the Spirit to have a skilled and an anointed mouth, so you need the blood of Christ to have a standing before God

67:50 that will fit you to die and go to judgment. And while we've been speaking about what a man of God is, I would not even begin to be worthy of the title, did I not, in these moments as we close, urge you, if you're a stranger to grace, to go to Jesus Christ, the Christ who alone can do helpless sinners good, the Christ who died for sinners and lives to welcome sinners. Go to Christ! If you've not had hard dealings with Christ, your religion is of no account before God, whatever its name.

68:27 The rituals you've had done to you or by you are of no account if you've not had hard dealings with Christ that have brought you to possess the cleansing of his blood, and the renewal of his spirit. So I beg you to go to him, the anatomy of a man of God. We've looked today at his mouth. May God be pleased to grant such mouths to his servants here, in the academy, and throughout the earth, even in our generation.

Concluding Prayer for Godly Ministers

69:01 Let us pray. Our Father, we pray that you would take your holy word and so write it upon all of our hearts, that we may have a fuller and more biblical understanding of what we are praying for when we ask you to raise up men of God in our generation. Grant, O God, that this generation shall know the blessing of being confronted with men of God whose mouths are purified,

69:46 skilled and anointed by the Spirit to speak the everlasting gospel of Jesus. O Lord, help us as a congregation that we shall bend our prayers and our efforts to do all within our power to see that such men and such men alone are encouraged to pursue the work of the ministry, lest congregations be blighted with good, godly, sincere and earnest men who have not been given the mouth of a man of God. Hear our cry and answer our prayer.

70:29 For Jesus' sake we plead. Amen.