Jason K. Allen's Blog, page 15

How to Assemble Your Sermon

Sunday is coming. Every pastor reading this article knows exactly what I mean. To be a preacher is to live perpetually in final exam week. There’s an ever-present, impending deadline hanging over you. It’s a glorious deadline but a real one, nonetheless. Sunday is coming.

Your impending deadline necessitates moving from interpreting the text to assembling the sermon. At this point the hard work of interpretation is largely done. You understand the text, you know how it fits into its immediate context, and you know where it’s situated in redemptive history.

You’re now ready to organize, review, and cull your notes. The ingredients are ready to be incorporated in a way that produces a sumptuous feast for God’s people. You’re ready to assemble your sermon. During this stage your focus turns to condensing, refining, and ordering your notes. Your goal is to pull together these disparate parts into a coherent and compelling sermon whole. This involves several stages, but they all flow together naturally. I label this stage assembly because sermons aren’t to be a loose collection of disjointed parts; rather, they should present the text in a unified, coherent way.

Draft the Sermon Body

Now that the lion’s share of the exegetical work is done, you must transition to the actual drafting of the sermon manuscript. Depending on your style (notes or no notes, manuscript or outline), this process will vary widely. Though I do not read my sermon notes, over the years I’ve generally drafted an entire manuscript for sermons I preach.

If you are a newcomer to preaching, let me encourage you to do the same. There is no substitute for being forced to attain clarity of thought. As you write your sermons, imagine yourself behind the pulpit proclaiming the words that are being penned. As you draft the body of the sermon, you can follow a simple three-step approach to each major point—explain, amplify, and apply the text, in that order of importance. While these steps are fluid, morphing with each sermon and each sermon point, they should be your default grid.

What is more, if while drafting the manuscript you find that you reach a saturation level with one sermon point, you can shift to another—even if it is not in sequence—and gain a fresh wind and renewed sense of focus. I encourage you to draft your sermon manuscript before turning your attention to the introduction or the conclusion. If a potential introduction or conclusion comes to mind, write something on a notepad as a reminder to consider it later.

For me it is important that I follow this sequence because it prevents me from allowing the tail to wag the dog. This is more a matter of preference than conviction, but it’s worth encouraging you toward ordering your work with intentionality. John Stott makes this point, writing,

“It seems essential to prepare the body of the sermon first. If we were to begin with a predetermined introduction or conclusion, we would be almost bound to twist the text to fit. So instead, we start with the body. Only then shall we ‘top and tail’ the body, that is, supply it with a head and a tail end, an introduction and a conclusion.”1

Draft the Conclusion

Again, this is more a matter of preference, but I encourage you to draft your conclusion immediately after you’ve written the main body. This is the most natural workflow because you’re already in the “wind down the sermon” frame of mind. That is to say, you know where the sermon is going, and in your heart you should have an idea as to the parting thrust you want to leave with your audience.

Let me encourage you to plan your conclusion. If you fail to do so, you will have the tendency to preach until you “fizzle out.” Such conclusions make for weak sermon endings, and they may jeopardize the entire worship service by not rightly encouraging the audience’s response.

Draft the Introduction

Next, after the sermon’s body and conclusion are complete, you should turn your attention to the introduction. I save this step for last not because it is the least important aspect of your sermon but because it is the most important—at least when it comes to engaging and retaining your audience.

You should give thought to the introduction throughout the sermon preparation process. What is more, by now you will likely have a list of potential introductions and a healthy supply of introductory remarks—including the text’s context—and a brief, simple overview of the passage.

The goal for the sermon’s introduction is simple. You should desire the introduction to be so compelling that if you were to stop speaking after introducing the sermon, your listeners would insist that you resume it. Week to week the style of your introduction will vary because there are various acceptable ways to introduce your sermon. The style of introduction you develop is inconsequential if the desired result is accomplished.

Weave in Transition Phrases

At this point the sermon is present both in skeletal and muscular form. Nonetheless, your aim is to preach a sermon, not merely a collection of sermon points. What likely is now needed is the support structure and connections. What we might think of as the sermon’s tendons and ligaments. Therefore, you should comb through your sermon looking for awkward locutions, dislodged thoughts, non-sequiturs, and turgid transitions.

Carefully consider how the sermon will move from point to point. Intentionally employ phrases and words that help carry your listeners along with you throughout your sermon. A good rule to remember here is to tell the audience where you’ve been, then tell them where you’re going. This ensures seamlessness, keeps them aware that you’re moving between points, and helps them remain engaged.

Additionally, try not to be too bony in your presentation. Thus, don’t say, “Point number one is Jesus loves you.” Such phrases tend to be too abrupt. Rather, smoothly and seamlessly transition the listener to the next point without their feeling like you have just slammed on the brakes, and now you’re pressing down on the accelerator.

Conclusion

Learning to assemble your study notes into a cohesive sermon is a must for pastors. This process is one of culling, ordering, refining, and strengthening the sermon. Your congregation does not need to know everything that went into preparing your sermon. They’re not all that much concerned about Greek and Hebrew parsing and verb tenses.

Furthermore, they should not have to interpret you as you explain the text to them; they trust that you’ve done the interpretive work. This process is vital, as it will determine how well your sermon is understood and received. While most pastors rightly devote much time to interpretation, not as many are as concerned with assembly. For the sake of your audience, be diligent in this crucial aspect of sermon preparation as well.

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*This article is an excerpt from Letters to My Students, Vol. 1, On Preaching, by Jason K. Allen.

Available to purchase online at Amazon.com  and B&H. Learn more at jasonkallen.com.

1. John R. W. Stott, Between Two Worlds: The Art of Preaching in the Twentieth Century (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans Publishing, 1982), 243–44.

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Lord’s Day Meditation: “Renew a Right Spirit Within Me” by C.H. Spurgeon

Lord’s Day Meditation: “Renew a Right Spirit Within Me” by C. H. Spurgeon (Morning and Evening, October 31, Morning)

“Renew a right spirit within me.” (Psalm 51:10)

A backslider, if there be a spark of life left in him will groan after restoration. In this renewal the same exercise of grace is required as at our conversion. We needed repentance then; we certainly need it now. We wanted faith that we might come to Christ at first; only the like grace can bring us to Jesus now. We wanted a word from the Most High, a word from the lip of the loving One, to end our fears then; we shall soon discover, when under a sense of present sin, that we need it now. No man can be renewed without as real and true a manifestation of the Holy Spirit’s energy as he felt at first, because the work is as great, and flesh and blood are as much in the way now as ever they were. Let thy personal weakness, O Christian, be an argument to make thee pray earnestly to thy God for help. Remember, David when he felt himself to be powerless, did not fold his arms or close his lips, but he hastened to the mercy-seat with “renew a right spirit within me.” Let not the doctrine that you, unaided, can do nothing, make you sleep; but let it be a goad in your side to drive you with an awful earnestness to Israel’s strong Helper. O that you may have grace to plead with God, as though you pleaded for your very life–“Lord, renew a right spirit within me.” He who sincerely prays to God to do this, will prove his honesty by using the means through which God works. Be much in prayer; live much upon the Word of God; kill the lusts which have driven your Lord from you; be careful to watch over the future uprisings of sin. The Lord has his own appointed ways; sit by the wayside and you will be ready when he passes by. Continue in all those blessed ordinances which will foster and nourish your dying graces; and, knowing that all the power must proceed from him, cease not to cry, “Renew a right spirit within me.”

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Four Realms of Realization in Preaching

When preparing a sermon, the first thing to remember is that, when it comes to biblical interpretation, context is king. Every first-year seminarian has been taught this lesson, and rightly so. You cannot accurately interpret a text, much less rightly preach it, unless you consider its context. As Don Carson has warned, “To take a text out of its context is to have a pretext.”

Yet for the preacher contextual concerns involve more than a familiarity with your passage and the book in which it’s situated. To be sure, familiarity with your biblical context is paramount, but the preacher must maintain other realms of familiarity. Accomplished surgeons know their patients as well as their instruments. For the preacher it is not all that different. One of the most important, yet often overlooked, aspects of sermon preparation is familiarization.

For the sermon to be maximally effective, there are several realms with which the preacher must be familiar. Consider with me these four crucial ones.

Know Your Audience

The first question you must ask is, “To whom am I preaching?” Depending on the audience, whether your church or another group, your message may change or at least be adapted. Certainly, Scripture’s authority and power ensure its ability to transform any person in any context. Our setting doesn’t change what we say, but it may change how we say it.

We want our sermons to achieve the most optimal impact. Different groups in varied settings often require sermons that are different in style and depth. Thus, every sermon should be customized and crafted specifically for its recipients.

This became clear to me in February 2006. The prior Lord’s Day was the last Sunday in the pastorate I’d enjoyed for nearly four years. I had just transitioned to a new position in the president’s office at Southern Seminary. My family and I were in the throes of unpacking and attempting

to settle into our new home in Louisville. Unexpectedly, I received a call on Friday afternoon about preaching in Nashville on Sunday. The pastor had

a family emergency, and since the church had strong ties to the seminary, I felt obligated to meet their need. The short notice of the request and an already overbooked Saturday (including the commute to Nashville) meant

I had little time to prepare.

I elected to use a previously preached sermon. Though I spent as much time as possible reviewing my notes, I failed to remember that the two congregations could not have been more different. My former church was considerably smaller, more rural, and obviously well acquainted with me and I with them. The church in Nashville was nearly ten times larger, in a major city, and they did not know me at all.

I’ll never forget the feeling I had during the preaching event when I realized that my application and illustrations were less than ideal for that audience. Thankfully, I was able to adjust midcourse and prevent disaster.

So, as you prepare the sermon, think through who your audience will be. Ask yourself questions like:

• How will this point strike the eighty-year-old lady who lost her husband

last year?

• Will the less-educated folks in the audience be able to process this biblical

concept as presented, or does it need to be simplified?

• What does this truth have to say to the young couple struggling with marital trouble?

• How might this concept be expressed in a way that is encouraging to the

middle-aged woman recently diagnosed with cancer?

Remember, the more personal the sermon, the more likely it will be well received. For those who weekly preach to the same congregation, there’s simply no excuse for sterile, impersonal preaching.

A pastor is called to do more than simply lecture; he is a shepherd called to care for his congregation. When you’re truly shepherding your people, the Lord will bring specific people and situations to mind as you prepare, and He will lead you in applying the text to your congregation, not just to Christians generally. Indeed, each sermon is custom-built, bringing a specific text to bear on a specific congregation. As York and Decker note,

Sermons are not about just imparting information. They should be custom built to change lives. We don’t want to fill their heads; we want the proclamation of the Word to grip their souls and motivate them to conform to the will of God. Our approach to the Bible and to preaching, therefore, has application as its ultimate goal. Application is what makes the Bible come alive and makes sermons practical.

Know Your Context

Second, the preacher must be familiar, broadly speaking, with the text or book he is preaching from. This familiarization takes place at both the macro and the micro level. At the macro level, the preacher should let the big picture of the text marinate in his mind.

For example, if you are going to preach through the book of Acts in the fall, then read through it a few times during the summer. Likewise, peruse commentaries and other resources to help familiarize yourself with the broad contours of the book. Obviously, as your sermon preparation progresses, you’ll move from broad familiarization to a more technical analysis of the passage.

Questions to be asked at this stage are:

• What are the main themes in this book?

• Does the author repeatedly emphasize anything throughout the book?

• What is the outline of the book?

• What are some seemingly difficult passages in the book?

Once the preacher is generally familiar with these book-level questions, he can then move to the micro level with more specific, passage-level questions like:

• What is the author saying in this passage?

• How does this passage relate to the preceding passage?

• How does this passage relate to the following passage?

• What is the main point of this passage?

• How does this passage affect the flow of thought in the rest of the book?

One way I attempt to grasp the “big idea” of the text is to force myself to write out the main idea of the passage in one sentence. I have found that the earlier in the sermon preparation process I can produce the central proposition of the text, the sooner the other components of the sermon will come together.

John Stott comments on the need to ascertain the main idea of the text, and he offers suggestions as to how one might obtain it. Specifically, Stott argues that patience is central to familiarizing oneself with the text. That is to say, familiarization should function more like a Crock-Pot than a microwave. Slow and protracted contemplation often will yield the best results. Stott writes,

So then, in our sermon preparation, we must not try to by-pass the discipline of waiting patiently for the dominant thought to disclose itself. We have to be ready to pray and think ourselves deep into the text, even under it, until we give up all pretensions of being its master or manipulator, and become instead its humble and obedient servant. Then there will be no danger of unscrupulous text twisting. On the contrary, the Word of God will dominate our mind, set fire to our hearts, control the development of our exposition and later leave a lasting impression on the congregation.

Know Yourself

Third, while at first blush this may seem odd, you will learn that how you feel spiritually directly influences how you preach. You should strive for self-awareness. This moves beyond the blatant question, Am I living in sin?

Rather, it is to reflect on the spiritual indicators in your life. If you are ill tempered toward your wife, adrift in your devotional life, or just cold about spiritual things, your preaching will suffer. You should be especially mindful of this as you approach the Lord’s Day. Self-awareness is a difficult subject to master, but he who would be a powerful preacher must give himself to careful consideration of his own spiritual state.

Beyond the weekly evaluation of his own spiritual status, the preacher should also look inward as he considers what passages and/or books of the Bible to preach through. Generally, what you find interesting in Scripture, you will be able to communicate in an interesting way. Likewise, what impassions you will surely lead to more impassioned preaching.

Of course, this should not devolve into hobbyhorse preaching; a faithful pulpit will, over time, preach the whole counsel of God, including books or genres with which the preacher struggles. Nonetheless, it may be wise to get plenty of repetition in before taking on a particularly challenging book of the Bible.

Furthermore, I’ve noticed that often my strongest preaching comes from preaching an area of personal weakness. For instance, several years ago I was frustrated with myself for not doing a better job of practically living out my faith. I decided to preach through the book of James and, in a real way, the Lord grew me spiritually as He grew my church spiritually. Self-awareness is difficult to master, but wise is the preacher who gives it intentional thought.

Know the Culture

Fourth and finally, though the preacher always has both eyes in the text, he should, nonetheless, try to keep his hand on the pulse of his culture. Strive to be mindful of how society is influencing the congregation and what the pressing concerns of the day may be.

For example, I have been burdened in recent years about the proliferation of pornography, so I have preached sermons on this sin. Likewise, being aware of pressing political issues and knowing what is dominating the news cycle can help foster specificity in sermon application.

Conclusion

When it comes to preaching effective sermons, familiarization is an essential step. How will you helpfully apply the text if you don’t know your audience? How will you faithfully exegete the text if you don’t know the literary context? How will you rightly proclaim the text if you don’t know yourself? And how will you accurately situate the text if you don’t know your cultural context?

If you are familiar with these four areas, then you can count on an accurate and persuasive sermon that moves your audience to action. If you are unfamiliar with these four areas, then you can count on a shallow sermon that has little effect on the audience. The only question now remaining is, Are you willing to put in the needed work of familiarization?

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*This article is an excerpt from Letters to My Students, Vol. 1, On Preaching, by Jason K. Allen.

Available to purchase online at Amazon.com  and B&H. Learn more at jasonkallen.com.

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Lord’s Day Meditation: “Thou That Dwellest in the Gardens” by C.H. Spurgeon

Lord’s Day Meditation: “Thou That Dwellest in the Gardens” by C. H. Spurgeon (Morning and Evening, October 30, Evening)

“Thou that dwellest in the gardens, the companions hearken to thy voice: cause me to hear it.” (Song of Solomon 8:13)

My sweet Lord Jesus remembers well the garden of Gethsemane, and although he has left that garden, he now dwells in the garden of his church: there he unbosoms himself to those who keep his blessed company. That voice of love with which he speaks to his beloved is more musical than the harps of heaven. There is a depth of melodious love within it which leaves all human music far behind. Ten of thousands on earth, and millions above, are indulged with its harmonious accents. Some whom I well know, and whom I greatly envy, are at this moment hearkening to the beloved voice. O that I were a partaker of their joys! It is true some of these are poor, others bedridden, and some near the gates of death, but O my Lord, I would cheerfully starve with them, pine with them, or die with them, if I might but hear thy voice. Once I did hear it often, but I have grieved thy Spirit. Return unto me in compassion, and once again say unto me, “I am thy salvation.” No other voice can content me; I know thy voice, and cannot be deceived by another, let me hear it, I pray thee. I know not what thou wilt say, neither do I make any condition, O my Beloved, do but let me hear thee speak, and if it be a rebuke I will bless thee for it. Perhaps to cleanse my dull ear may need an operation very grievous to the flesh, but let it cost what it may I turn not from the one consuming desire, cause me to hear thy voice. Bore my ear afresh; pierce my ear with thy harshest notes, only do not permit me to continue deaf to thy calls. Tonight, Lord, grant thine unworthy one his desire, for I am thine, and thou hast bought me with thy blood. Thou hast opened mine eye to see thee, and the sight has saved me. Lord, open thou mine ear. I have read thy heart, now let me hear thy lips.

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MBTS Fall Convocation 2019: Isaiah 6:1-8

Transcript:

Thank you again Dr. Swain. I invite you to turn with me in your Bible this morning to the book of Isaiah, chapter six. Our Convocation sermon this morning, will be from Isaiah chapter six verses one through eight. Read with me together, “In the year of King Uzziah’s death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of his robe filling the temple. Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called out to another and said, ‘Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of hosts, the whole earth is full of his glory.’ And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the temple was filling with smoke. Then I said, ‘Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.’ Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal in his hand, which he had taken from the altar with tongs. He touched my mouth with it and said, ‘Behold, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away and your sin is forgiven.’ Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?’ Then I said, ‘Here am I. Send me!’”

Let’s pray. Father, we bow in this moment. We pray, Father, in the
minutes to follow that you would consecrate for yourself people anew. Set us
apart for greater service. Set us apart for more marked devotion and commitment
to you. We pray these things with earnestness in Jesus’ name, amen.

Thinking this morning in our time together briefly about
consecrating ourselves unto the Lord. To consecrate simply means to set apart,
to sanctify unto, to recommit yourself unto. It is fitting and right this week
that you do this, that we do this at the beginning of the academic year for all
of us faculty, staff, students, onlookers, trustees, lay people, all who are
here today. Because regardless of where you are in Christ and regardless of
what your calling in ministry is or isn’t, all of us, as believers in Jesus, if
we want to be more faithful to serve him and more fruitful in that service, a
renewed setting apart moves us in that direction. Moreover, to do that, it’s
good to come to terms with these passages and Scripture that remind us anew of
the character of God, the character of Christ, the ministry of the Holy Spirit
that confront us anew with the holiness and the sovereignty and the power and
the majesty of our God and we must confess this is a need, an urgent one, but
it’s also a counter intuitive reality.

The society in which we live in 2019 is not given to pausing and
thinking about weighty things. Busyness, clutter, triviality, entertainment,
all of those things occupy our time and fight for our attention. Thus, to pause
and reflect on the grandeur of God is something of an interruption, but a
needed interruption. Moreover, to think about this passage and our calling is
helpful to remind us of the gravity of our work.

When people asked me to describe Midwestern Seminary, there are a
lot of different ways I describe it, but one of the most frequent ways, I say,
is the campus is a cheerful place. People are happy. If you were to be on our
campus, you would sense people who love being here, love God’s calling on their
lives, and there’s a winsomeness and a cheerfulness in this place. If you were
to eavesdrop on the Vivion House tonight, what would you hear coming from the
Allen family? Probably the most common noise is laughter. We’re a happy people.
I’m a happy man, though I’m serious about that work. And it seems to me there
is indeed a biblical reality to that. We are called to a winsome seriousness, a
cheerful devotion, a happy sobriety of who we are in Christ and what He has
called us to do. But there is a weight and a gravity behind all of this.

This struck me anew over the summer. I had the opportunity to
preach in a number of different Southern Baptist churches. Often, as you do,
after you preach, you’re out in the big foyer area visiting with church members
and greeting folks who want to come up and say hello. I was there, my wife was
nearby, and this young man came up to me. He was probably early twenties. He
had a big ole smile on his face. And he came up to me and he said, “You are
awesome.”

And I said, “What was awesome?”

He said, “You were!”

And I said, “Well, that’s kind.”

And he said “I’m, going to do what you do.”

And I said, “What’s that?”

He said, “I’m going to be a pastor, I’m going to be a
preacher. Like what you do! I want to do that! That was awesome! So what do I
have to do to be a pastor?”

And, I said, “Well, you know, there’s a process there. It’s
not like you just announce it in exuberance in the foyer. Number one, God has
to call you to ministry. God has to call you to that. That’s not something that
we can humanly engineer, but God has to call you to ministry. Secondly, Holy
Scripture has to verify that calling. 1 Timothy 3 in places states that your life
must align with that. Thirdly, a church has to recognize that and see that and
affirm that calling in you. Fourth, you have to be prepared for ministry. And
that’s usually a process of mentorship. And often, studying at a seminary, like
the one where I serve. Fifthly, there’s got to be a church who believes in you.
And wants to hire you and they actually call you to come serve on their
ministry staff.”

And he said, “That’s all it is?! I am in!”

Let’s start this over. You’re not hearing me well this morning. He
was a sweet young man, and who knows what the Lord is going to do or not do
with him, but I was struck in that moment anew that ministry is actually a very
serious matter, is it not?

Now as I speak to those in the room today and those watching via
live stream and video later, there is a variety of calling. Some of you in the
room this morning are dead-set on the mission field as quickly as you can get
there. Others of you are dead-set on the pastorate as quickly as you can get
there. Some of you in the room come to seminary this morning feeling God’s
call, having been affirmed in that call by a church, but to be candid, that’s a
little opaque, and a part of your time here is to visit with professors, and
build friendships and involvement in a local church. That helps to clarify your
calling and give direction. We’re here to do that.

All of you in the room today are not here for ministry. You’re
just in town visiting your friend or you just kind of popped in and you want to
see what’s happening at Midwestern, and we thank you for joining us. No matter
where you are on that spectrum, it is fitting and right and good to get a
refresher in God’s character and to be set apart for Him.

What is going on in Isaiah five and six? Well, we see a prophet
who has a dramatic encounter with the Lord in chapter six. Now we tend to see
chapter six and think about this prophet, Isaiah, who needed this encounter. He
needed an awakening. He needed some sort of renewal, some sort of repentance to
take place. He needed that. And the truth of the matter, is we all need that.

A. W. Tozer famously observed, “The most important thing
about you is what comes into your mind when you think about God.” John
Calvin famously wrote in his Institutes, “You really can’t know yourself
rightly until you know and see God.” So much about us fights against
pausing and reflecting and being challenged by passages like this. What is
more, we acknowledge that there is a particular offense in these verses to
modern man, right? Because it collides with our culture and our personal senses
of morality and what we want to do, or not do, with our bodies, and our lives,
and our sexuality, and all the rest. But we declare this morning that this
passage is good and fitting and right and worth being trumpeted from a thousand
mountaintops.

Isaiah chapter 6: Here is the King of Judah. We know Uzziah has
just abdicated his throne by death. History teaches us that King Uzziah died in
approximately 739 BC. He became king at the age of 16 and reigned for some
50-52 years, to be exact. His reign was largely successful, largely faithful
compared to other kings, but in his later years, as so often happens, pride
festered in his heart. He became a law breaker. He brazenly entered the temple,
treading on ground reserved for the priest and God judged him and struck him
with leprosy and Uzziah died. Nonetheless, Uzziah was a popular king and his
death sent shock waves throughout the kingdom. The throne was now vacant. The
people were anxious about their future.

Moreover, they were under a threat. The Assyrian Empire was on the
move. They were the dominating power in the region. In due time the Assyrians
would overthrow them and conquer them and occupy their land to deport many of
their people into slavery. And so this is a time of great crises.

Additionally, it was a season of moral confusion and spiritual
decay. There was a sense of crisis in the air. The people needed fresh vision
of God. Now Isaiah, as is so often the case, he was dialed in on what was wrong
with society. As seen in chapter five, he was accomplished at assessing and
critiquing what was wrong with his fellow countryman. Places like verse eight
of chapter five: “Woe to those who add house to house and join field to
field, until there is no more room so that you have to live alone in the midst
of the land!” In other words, this is basically like materialism. Woe to
you who are stockpiling things and adding house to house and thing to thing. He’s
calling out materialism. Verse 11: “Woe to those who rise early in the
morning that they may pursue strong drink.” And verse 22: “Woe to those
who are heroes in drinking wine and valiant men in mixing strong drink.”
He’s calling out drunkenness. Verse 18: “Woe to those who drag iniquity
with the chords of falsehood, and sin as if with cart ropes.” In other
words, woe to those who indulge in a hedonistic lifestyle. It’s about indulging
and pleasing the self. Verse 20: “Woe to those who call evil good, and
good evil; who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; who
substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.” Woe to you moral
relativists. You’re reinventing social norms to fit your own standards and
liking, rejecting the biblical standards. Verse 21: “Woe to those who are
wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight!” Woe to those who
are filled with pride.

Thousands of years later, man hasn’t changed much. If we’re
honest, preachers haven’t changed much. Because this preacher Isaiah, he is
dialed in on what is wrong with society, and he is dropping thunderbolts,
lightning bolts at it. And we all confess this morning as evangelicals, as
Southern Baptists, we are pretty good at announcing what is wrong with the
culture, what is wrong with Washington, what is wrong with politicians, what is
wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong.

That’s a part of the role of the prophet, yes. But something
happens in chapter six when he sees the Lord. His urgent concern is not over
what someone in another town is doing. It is over what is in his heart. It is
not over what is wrong with the relativists or the hedonists or the
materialists or the drunkards. There’s this urgency over what’s wrong in his
life. There’s a crisis that he stumbles into and that leads us now to chapter
six.

The people want a vision and they get one. In the year of King
Uzziah’s death, the prophet sees the Lord sitting on a throne. Now these eight
verses, just think of them in two kind of broad swaths. First, is the
consecration Isaiah experiences in verses one through seven. Then in verse
eight, the commissioning Isaiah receives. This consecration Isaiah experiences is
in the year of King Uzziah’s death. I’ve referenced him. Isaiah sees the Lord
sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted with the train of his robe filling the
temple. What does he see? Who does he see?

Well, evidently the prophet is now bug-eyed. He gets a glimpse
here of the Lord. Now to those of you who have your Bible open and who read it
regularly, as I trust we all do, sometimes you see the Lord, capital L, capital
O, capital R, capital D in your Bibles. This is a reference to YAHWEH, the God
who is I AM, the God who revealed himself to Moses in Exodus chapter three, the
personal name of God. Other places, it is capital L, lowercase o, r, d. This is
the title Adonai, which means king or ruler. One is his name: YAHWEH. One is
his title: Ruler.

Now the gospel of John even gives us more clarity on what Isaiah
is seeing, whom Isaiah is seeing. He is the Lord Jesus Christ. He looks and he
sees that the throne is occupied. Again, let’s just pause here. Everything
seems zany. Politics. Culture. Everything seems topsy-turvy. Everything seems out
of control. The Middle East, Asia, South China, Europe, South America. It looks
like it’s accelerating at a pace of more and more disruption, more and more
unpredictability, more and more volatility. It’s easy to ask who in the world
is on the throne, but Scripture teaches us the Lord is on the throne.

Additionally, many times in ministry, you find yourself, we find
ourselves in a topsy-turvy context. It seems like it’s out of control. God,
what’s going on here? I’m at this church and they’re being mean to me. And
where am I? What have You called me to do? It’s easy to almost conclude that
God is impotent and is not able to affect His will or He’s preoccupied with
another galaxy somewhere. But I want to remind you that this Lord who’s on the
throne is a personal Lord, He is the one who has called you. He is the one who
has set you apart. He is the one who is reigning over all.

Now what we see here, then, is this description that begins to
amplify the character of the One on the throne. This train, He’s lofty and
exalted, He’s up high. You look up high to Him, you don’t look down to a potent,
but you look up. This one is elevated all the more. And the train of his robe fills
the temple. The train of the robe is a sign of regality, of sovereignty, of
majesty. And the bigger the robe, the greater the One who wears it. So Isaiah
sees this robe is flowing through the temple, filling the temple. There’s no
mistaking who is on the throne, the majesty of the One on the throne, the power
of the one on the throne.

But as though that needed to be clarified, verse two teaches us,
shows us that there are these seraphim, these angelic beings who are, who are
above Him, each having six wings. And what are they doing? Well, with two they
cover their face. Why? Because the One they’re in proximity to, they are not
worthy to see. With two they covered their feet. Why? Because feet are a sign
of uncleanliness. With two they flew, they’re hovering around, they’re floating
around, flying around and they are saying an antiphonal response back and
forth, back and forth, calling out to one another again and again and again:
“Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of hosts.” Holy, Holier, Holiest is the
Lord of hosts. And they’re occupied with this.

They’re startled by this, they’re taken aback by this. And it just
keeps going back and forth, back and forth, echoing through the chambers of the
temple. Why? Because that is the attribute they are most struck by in that
moment and in that place. And not to play games with this, you know, but again,
they’re not yelling, love, love, love or grace, grace, grace, or peace, peace,
peace. Or there’s a lot of things they could be saying. They’re struck by
holiness.

Then, they declare the whole earth is full of his glory. So I
mentioned already, Isaiah chapter 6 tells us that they are seeing the Lord
Jesus Christ, this preincarnate vision of Jesus and his glory is on display,
and they are smitten by it. My mind races to the isle of Patmos when John, in
exile there, who wrote of this scene in Revelation Chapter 1. When he
encountered the risen Lord on Patmos, what did he do? He fell down like a dead
man. A similar response to these seraphim.

Do you see the position he sat in? One of unmatched holiness,
unmatched majesty. There is a clear distinction. He’s set apart from every
created being, including even the seraphim. Notice verse three. They call out,
they’re declaring back and forth, back and forth, “Holy, Holy, Holy.”
Now, I don’t know about you, but, I think I might get bored doing that day
after day, year after year, century after century, millennia after millennia,
eternity pass, eternity future. But, then I am reminded, if we were to somehow
enter that scene and go up to one of the seraphim and tap him on the shoulder
and say, “You know, aren’t you tired of saying that?” Are you kidding
me? They would respond, “The holiness that is before us is so unspeakable,
so unfathomable, so incomprehensible that we have not, we will not get over the
character of the One whose presence we are in.”

Verse four, what happens here? “The foundations of the
thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the temple was
filling with smoke.” The scene that shakes the temple, and there’s smoke there,
not produced by fog machine. There’s smoke there produced, generated, by the
presence and activity of the Lord.

How does he respond? We’re about to see that Isaiah quickly is
sobered. His first response is, “Woe is me.”

I love reading presidential biographies and I can always have one
or two going. To me, one of the most interesting and tragic presidents we’ve
had in American history is Richard Nixon. If you look at what he accomplished,
before my time, I wasn’t born yet, but reading, I mean, his administration
accomplished a lot. He liked to play on the grand stage: international
activity, going to China, negotiating with the Russians, navigating Vietnam and
all the rest. And the great irony of Watergate is if anyone didn’t need to
break into the DNC to get reelected, it was Richard Nixon. They won, he won in
a dramatic landslide that really had nothing to do with a few scraps of
information from the Watergate Hotel. But the more you read about the Nixon
White House, and memoirs, and people like Chuck Colson and others, you learn
how everything that made the White House was choreographed. Chuck Colson wrote
about how when President Nixon was going to meet with someone, they would put
these people through the ringers. The White House staff would come in and show
the guests this, and show them that, and butter them up. By the time they
actually got to the Oval Office to meet with President Nixon after this, this
multifaceted stage, choreographed process, you could have the mightiest man on
the planet melt like butter before President Nixon. They were in awe of being
with the president in that Oval Office.

That doesn’t compare one ounce to the throne room. Isaiah is
struck, and his concern, note, goes immediately from chapter five and the
condemnations of his countrymen to, “Woe is me.” This is, this is
dramatic moment. This scares him to death.

Woe is a word of self-renunciation, of self-judgment, of
self-condemnation. And it’s not, “Woe are they,” it’s, “Woe is
me.” Not, “Woe is she.” It’s, “Woe is me.” I am
ruined. I am caught off. I am destroyed. He’s not saying, you know, this is
kind of intense and I might die or this is kind of intense, you know, this
could be my death. No, he’s saying, I am like dead. “Woe is me. I am
ruined.” Why? “Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I live amongst
a people of unclean lips, for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of
hosts.”

Why the lips? Unclean hands? Unclean feet? Unclean heart? Unclean
mind? Why unclean lips? Could that be because we’re taught in Scripture from
our Lord that the mouth reveals the heart? From the lips is the overflow of the
inner being. Perhaps Isaiah is cataloging in a flash all those other words, all
those critical statements, all those words of condemnation, those words of
gossip, sorts of deceit, those words of pride. In all of that, Isaiah is struck
by the holiness of God and he is smitten. He declares that he is a man of
unclean lips and that has been made plain to him by the fact that he has seen
the King, the Lord of hosts.

What happens? Does Isaiah fall into the abyss? Do seraphim come to
him and say, you thought this was bad. But you think it’s bad now? It’s about
to get worse. You’re about to get zapped by the one who occupies the throne. What
happens here?

Verse six: “Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a
burning coal in his hand, which he had taken from the altar with tongs.” I
imagine Isaiah is scared spitless. In my imagination I would be scared
spitless. If I were there, seeing this scene, and then a seraphim came at me
with a burning coal, I’m thinking, this is the filming of my death sentence.

But the seraphim comes, in verse seven, and “he touched my
mouth with it and said, ‘Behold, this has touched your lips. Your iniquity is
taken away and your sin is forgiven.’” Here’s the glory of consecration.
God has infinite grace. He doesn’t leave us in a state of contrition, and
brokenness, and humility, and repentance. This is up. He’s not a God who holds
our head underwater. He’s a God who lifts us up. He’s not a God who tortures us
with the haunting of our consciences. He’s a God who forgives and lifts us up.
He is a God who restores. We’re all here today as followers of Christ because
in our own way, time, place, and setting, we have experienced that in
conversion. And perhaps as we start a new academic year, we need to experience
it again in consecration. I believe that the greater one is set apart by God,
the greater one will be used for God. The lower one is brought in the presence
of God, the higher one is lifted up for the cause of God.

Isaiah here is processing. He’s reflecting. He’s flying. Now, he’s
been forgiven. Well notice verse eight. Verse eight: “Then I heard the
voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?'” That
is a voice that is echoed through the ages and echoed into the lives and hearts
of so many of us in the room today. For me, I was in college contemplating walking
away from my college basketball scholarship and college basketball team. I had
been converted my freshman year in college, began to sense in my own, unknown
way a call to ministry in my sophomore, junior year. It became more pronounced,
more intense, and more clear. There was a moment of crisis in Romans 10, and I
Timothy one and two, and II Timothy, and Titus, and processing. And then, in my
own way, hearing and receiving that call: “Whom shall I send?” And in
that context, law school began to seem awful trite for me. In that context, a
career in politics or some other profession, seemed very second class. For me
in that moment, it was just the natural, obvious, clear, “Here am I! Let me
volunteer! Here am I! Here am I! Send me!” You felt that somewhere along the
way, so many of us have. To be used most effectively for the Lord in such
service, we must first be brought low before Him in consecration. That’s what
Isaiah says, “Here am I. Send me!”

My first commencement I preached was here in December of 2012. We
were in the old chapel, which is now the Spurgeon library. We were in there,
packed in there for commencement, and I preached that morning. In the sermon, I
challenged the graduates who were there. I said, “You know, don’t be a
minister who is about the business of building his resume. Don’t be a minister
who is here merely to get credentialed. Don’t be a minister who’s about
calculating, strategizing about, ‘I can do three years here’ and, ‘I can get
promoted there,’ and, ‘four years there and I can go here.’ Don’t, don’t,
don’t, don’t, don’t, don’t, don’t.” I said, “Here’s what you do. Toss
your resume to the wind, drink a six pack of Red Bull and just go preach to
anyone who will listen.” And I still believe that and still maintain that.
The passion to go, and to preach, and to teach, and to minister ought to bring
about us a little bit of reckless abandonment. As a footnote, I got a letter in
the mail a few weeks after that commencement sermon from an elderly lady who
rebuked me for encouraging our graduates to drink alcohol. I wrote her back,
very sweetly, informing her that Red Bull was a caffeinated drink, not an adult
beverage. I would still say that to you this morning, but not on the back end
of things at commencement, but on the front end of things at convocation.

Let’s be a people who are serious, who are cheerful, who know that
calling, who believe that calling, who’ve encountered the Lord. When we go
about life and ministry with ambition and drive in good gospel ways to such a
degree, there might be an uncle, or a daughter, or parent, or friend who
thinks, “You know what? He kind of acts like a religious fanatic on
occasion.” That’s okay.

Would you pray with me? Father, we come to You this morning. We
pray in need, a prayer of consecration. Father, help us to be faithful. Help us,
Father, to be cheerful warriors who are pursuing you, living for you, going
about the business with a weight, but with the joy, knowing and believing this
year is going to be a great year for growth and for church and kingdom impact.
In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.

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Lord’s Day Meditation: “I Will Praise Thee, O Lord” by C.H. Spurgeon

Lord’s Day Meditation: “I will praise thee, O Lord” by C. H. Spurgeon (Morning and Evening, October 30, Morning)

“I will praise thee, O Lord.” (Psalm 9:1)

Praise should always follow answered prayer; as the mist of earth’s gratitude rises when the sun of heaven’s love warms the ground. Hath the Lord been gracious to thee, and inclined his ear to the voice of thy supplication? Then praise him as long as thou livest. Let the ripe fruit drop upon the fertile soil from which it drew its life. Deny not a song to him who hath answered thy prayer and given thee the desire of thy heart. To be silent over God’s mercies is to incur the guilt of ingratitude; it is to act as basely as the nine lepers, who after they had been cured of their leprosy, returned not to give thanks unto the healing Lord. To forget to praise God is to refuse to benefit ourselves; for praise, like prayer, is one great means of promoting the growth of the spiritual life. It helps to remove our burdens, to excite our hope, to increase our faith. It is a healthful and invigorating exercise which quickens the pulse of the believer, and nerves him for fresh enterprises in his Master’s service. To bless God for mercies received is also the way to benefit our fellow-men; “the humble shall hear thereof and be glad.” Others who have been in like circumstances shall take comfort if we can say, “Oh! magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together; this poor man cried, and the Lord heard him.” Weak hearts will be strengthened, and drooping saints will be revived as they listen to our “songs of deliverance.” Their doubts and fears will be rebuked, as we teach and admonish one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. They too shall “sing in the ways of the Lord,” when they hear us magnify his holy name. Praise is the most heavenly of Christian duties. The angels pray not, but they cease not to praise both day and night; and the redeemed, clothed in white robes, with palm-branches in their hands, are never weary of singing the new song, “Worthy is the Lamb.”

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Lord’s Day Meditation: “But Their Eyes Were Holden That They Should Not Know Him” by C.H. Spurgeon

Lord’s Day Meditation: “ But Their Eyes Were Holden That They Should Not Know Him ” by C. H. Spurgeon (Morning and Evening, October 29, Evening)

“But their eyes were holden that they should not know him.” (Luke 24:16)

The
disciples ought to have known Jesus, they had heard his voice so often, and
gazed upon that marred face so frequently, that it is wonderful they did not
discover him. Yet is it not so with you also? You have not seen Jesus lately.
You have been to his table, and you have not met him there. You are in a dark
trouble this evening, and though he plainly says, “It is I, be not afraid,”
yet you cannot discern him. Alas! our eyes are holden. We know his voice; we
have looked into his face; we have leaned our head upon his bosom, and yet,
though Christ is very near us, we are saying “O that I knew where I might
find him!” We should know Jesus, for we have the Scriptures to reflect his
image, and yet how possible it is for us to open that precious book and have no
glimpse of the Wellbeloved! Dear child of God, are you in that state? Jesus
feedeth among the lilies of the word, and you walk among those lilies, and yet
you behold him not. He is accustomed to walk through the glades of Scripture,
and to commune with his people, as the Father did with Adam in the cool of the
day, and yet you are in the garden of Scripture, but cannot see him, though he
is always there. And why do we not see him? It must be ascribed in our case, as
in the disciples’, to unbelief. They evidently did not expect to see Jesus, and
therefore they did not know him. To a great extent in spiritual things we get
what we expect of the Lord. Faith alone can bring us to see Jesus. Make it your
prayer, “Lord, open thou mine eyes, that I may see my Saviour present with
me.” It is a blessed thing to want to see him; but oh! it is better far to
gaze upon him. To those who seek him he is kind; but to those who find him,
beyond expression is he dear!

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Lord’s Day Meditation: “After This Manner Therefore Pray Ye” by C. H. Spurgeon

Lord’s Day Meditation: “After This Manner Therefore Pray Ye” by C. H. Spurgeon (Morning and Evening, October 29, Morning)

“After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, etc.” (Matthew 6:9)

This prayer begins where all true prayer must commence, with the spirit of adoption, “Our Father.” There is no acceptable prayer until we can say, “I will arise, and go unto my Father.” This child-like spirit soon perceives the grandeur of the Father “in heaven,” and ascends to devout adoration, “Hallowed be thy name.” The child lisping, “Abba, Father,” grows into the cherub crying, “Holy, Holy, Holy.” There is but a step from rapturous worship to the glowing missionary spirit, which is a sure outgrowth of filial love and reverent adoration–“Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Next follows the heartfelt expression of dependence upon God–“Give us this day our daily bread.” Being further illuminated by the Spirit, he discovers that he is not only dependent, but sinful, hence he entreats for mercy, “Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors:” and being pardoned, having the righteousness of Christ imputed, and knowing his acceptance with God, he humbly supplicates for holy perseverance, “Lead us not into temptation.” The man who is really forgiven, is anxious not to offend again; the possession of justification leads to an anxious desire for sanctification. “Forgive us our debts,” that is justification; “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil,” that is sanctification in its negative and positive forms. As the result of all this, there follows a triumphant ascription of praise, “Thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, forever and ever, Amen.” We rejoice that our King reigns in providence and shall reign in grace, from the river even to the ends of the earth, and of his dominion there shall be no end. Thus from a sense of adoption, up to fellowship with our reigning Lord, this short model of prayer conducts the soul. Lord, teach us thus to pray.

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Lord’s Day Meditation: “His Head Is as the Most Fine Gold” by C. H. Spurgeon

Lord’s Day Meditation: “ His Head Is as the Most Fine Gold ” by C. H. Spurgeon (Morning and Evening, October 28, Evening)

“His head is as the most fine gold, his locks are bushy, and black as a raven.”(Song of Solomon 5:11)

Comparisons all fail to set forth the Lord Jesus, but the
spouse uses the best within her reach. By the head of Jesus we may understand
his deity, “for the head of Christ is God” and then the ingot of
purest gold is the best conceivable metaphor, but all too poor to describe one
so precious, so pure, so dear, so glorious. Jesus is not a grain of gold, but a
vast globe of it, a priceless mass of treasure such as earth and heaven cannot
excel. The creatures are mere iron and clay, they all shall perish like wood,
hay, and stubble, but the ever living Head of the creation of God shall shine
on forever and ever. In him is no mixture, nor smallest taint of alloy. He is
forever infinitely holy and altogether divine. The bushy locks depict his manly
vigour. There is nothing effeminate in our Beloved. He is the manliest of men.
Bold as a lion, laborious as an ox, swift as an eagle. Every conceivable and
inconceivable beauty is to be found in him, though once he was despised and
rejected of men.

“His head the finest gold;

With secret sweet perfume,

His curled locks hang all as black

As any raven’s plume.”



The glory of his head
is not shorn away, he is eternally crowned with peerless majesty. The black
hair indicates youthful freshness, for Jesus has the dew of his youth upon him.
Others grow languid with age, but he is forever a Priest as was Melchizedek; others
come and go, but he abides as God upon his throne, world without end. We will
behold him tonight and adore him. Angels are gazing upon him–his redeemed must
not turn away their eyes from him. Where else is there such a Beloved? O for an
hour’s fellowship with him! Away, ye intruding cares! Jesus draws me, and I run
after him.

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Lord’s Day Meditation: “I Have Chosen You Out of the World” by C. H. Spurgeon

Lord’s Day Meditation: “I Have Chosen You Out of the World” by C. H. Spurgeon (Morning and Evening, October 28, Morning)

“I have chosen you out of the world.” (John 15:19)

Here is distinguishing grace and discriminating regard; for
some are made the special objects of divine affection. Do not be afraid to
dwell upon this high doctrine of election. When your mind is most heavy and
depressed, you will find it to be a bottle of richest cordial. Those who doubt
the doctrines of grace, or who cast them into the shade, miss the richest
clusters of Eshcol; they lose the wines on the lees well refined, the fat
things full of marrow. There is no balm in Gilead comparable to it. If the
honey in Jonathan’s wood when but touched enlightened the eyes, this is honey
which will enlighten your heart to love and learn the mysteries of the kingdom
of God. Eat, and fear not a surfeit; live upon this choice dainty, and fear not
that it will be too delicate a diet. Meat from the King’s table will hurt none
of his courtiers. Desire to have your mind enlarged, that you may comprehend
more and more the eternal, everlasting, discriminating love of God. When you
have mounted as high as election, tarry on its sister mount, the covenant of
grace. Covenant engagements are the munitions of stupendous rock behind which
we lie entrenched; covenant engagements with the surety, Christ Jesus, are the
quiet resting-places of trembling spirits.

“His oath, his covenant, his blood,

Support me in the raging flood;

When every earthly prop gives way,

This still is all my strength and stay.”

If Jesus undertook to bring me to glory, and if the Father
promised that he would give me to the Son to be a part of the infinite reward
of the travail of his soul; then, my soul, till God himself shall be
unfaithful, till Jesus shall cease to be the truth, thou art safe. When David
danced before the ark, he told Michal that election made him do so. Come, my
soul, exult before the God of grace and leap for joy of heart.

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