Let's move on then to the pastor's heart. I've assigned a couple of weeks for this, so we'll just make a start on it today. Again, can I encourage you to check out the links on the Populi website related to this lecture as well. Try to pick out the best web links and post a couple of PDFs. that really I view as quite an integral part of the course. They fill out areas. There are some areas I looked at and I thought, I can't say that any better. Therefore, read that chapter from, say, Derek Prime's book on prayer. Andrew Boner begins us here by saying, I've been led to feel that where we see grace decline in a preacher, It is a time when we may expect less for ourselves, for his prayers will be feeble, and the less of the presence of God will be among us. So, again, just underlining what I've been saying. So, what I've done here is I've really given an A to Z of the characteristics of a pastor's heart, okay? So they're not in order of priority. They're not in any logical order. But I ended up with so many characteristics of a pastor's heart that I thought, well, I'm just going to take the easy route here and do an ABC, OK? Maybe it would be a test if I ask you to look at the quotes and then give me the A that this is speaking of. But I won't do that. So the first A is assurance. Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones. says, you remember that the first question which George Whitfield put to Howell Harris on the occasion of their first meeting was this, do you know that your sins are forgiven? First question, eh? What an icebreaker. That to me is the question which every minister and every man who claims that he is a Christian should be made to answer. But if you are not certain about that, your so-called belief in Christ is valueless. And he goes on to say at the very end of that paragraph, the man who is doubtful about it is of no help to me, however learned he may be and however much he may know. For all his knowledge and learning are of no value to me as long as he is doubtful about the one thing which really does concern me. I ask him bread, but he gives me a stone. I think the general point is well made. It would be very rare to find a minister of the gospel who has no or little or very rare assurance. However, just dial this back a little bit, the minister is going to have times, many ministers are going to have times where they will lack assurance. They are human beings. They are sinful human beings. They are weak human beings. And yet, can still be useful, contrary to what Martyn Lloyd-Jones is saying here. and sometimes be even more useful. Because probably they're in the midst of a great spiritual battle. They're fighting for assurance. They're feeling needy and dependent. And they're going through a great struggle. And oftentimes, a pastor's own struggles can be very fruit-bearing for his congregation. So in a general sense, aim, yes, high, for high assurance. But if you're lacking it, you can't say, well, I can't preach today. I don't know for sure if I'm saved. B is for Bible. Iain Murray, biographer of Jonathan Edwards, says all his personal papers from this period indicate that a new master interest possessed him to enjoy the word of God. I had then, he later wrote, and at other times, the greatest delight in the holy scriptures of any book whatsoever. Oftentimes in reading it, every word seemed to touch my heart. He closes that, often dwelling long on one sentence to see the wonders contained in it. And yet, almost every sentence seemed to be full of wonders. Ian Murray again on Martyn Lloyd-Jones. By no means, he says, all his hours in the study were directly concerned with the pulpit. Chief place went to reading the Bible itself. And in the first instance, for his own spiritual help, not to find texts. Vitally important. He aimed, says Murray, to go through the scriptures every year, omitting nothing. And he says, Lloyd-Jones says, that should be the very minimum of the preacher's Bible reading. Murray says, his ability to quote scripture from memory in the course of preaching was one consequence of the time given to this practice. And there's an interesting one at the end there. He says, to aid the seriousness and frequency of his study of scripture, he resolutely avoided referring to a Bible concordance during his early years at Sandfields. What do you think of that? Here's us with logos and Bible works and accordions. He's shunning a strong concordance. I wouldn't like to make it a rule. I think there's a point in it, isn't there? You know, there is no incentive for us to learn where scriptures are today. Because we just Google it. We've got a lot of phrases. Google. Oh, there we go. And even pastoral ministry, I know ministers are using their iPads and their iPhones. So there's really no need it would appear, I think there is a need, but it would appear there's no need for this facility with the Scriptures. So if a concordance was going to be an impediment to Lloyd-Jones, what do you think our tools can be? It's just a caution, there's something here that we do need to be wary of. Lloyd-Jones again, on the minister in private, that's an address he gave, he spoke first of the supreme importance of system and regularity. System and regularity. And in John Pollock's biography of Billy Graham, You know, whatever else people can say of Billy Graham, he knew his Bible. He maybe didn't interpret it rightly as we would say, but he knew his Bible. And interestingly here it says, he used to get up so early in the morning, and he reads long passages of it at a time, says his wife, he's always at it. But it isn't as if from 7 to 7.30 this morning I had Bible reading. That's not Bill's nature. He's not that organized a person, but he does read the Bible continually and every day and large portions of it. So B, Bible, is at the very heart of the heart, the very heart of the pastor's heart. Thirdly here, Christ, and I feel bad here just giving this a couple of minutes. I hope you don't take away from this some, you know, Christ is just one of many things. Everything in here is related to Him, okay? But very specifically, let me say here in the quote from Richard Baxter, he says, I saw more need of a higher work, and that I should look often upon Christ, and God in heaven than upon my own heart." Iain Murray on John Murray says, On arrival, I was welcomed by Mrs. Murray and their two lovely children. Shortly afterwards, Mr. Murray joined us. He looked very reduced and tired, but warmly welcoming. While Mrs. Murray prepared a cup of tea, I remarked to John Murray, that in the morning I've been thinking of the words, unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given. Oh yes, he said eagerly. Here you have the two natures of Christ, the son from everlasting given, and the child born in time. I also think that wonderful should be an adjective, and that the passage should read wonderful counselor. But however it may be understood, he is the counselor, and he is wonderful. I think what Iain Murray is saying here is just this little reference to a verse and outflowed Christ. It was just like a spark that lit a fire. Next C is communion. Murray says this brings us to what is most important of all in any understanding of Edward's private hours. His view of his public work as a calling to speak to men in the name of God was inseparable from his conviction that the first demand in such a calling was that his own knowledge of God should be personal and firsthand. Edward's whole ministry, as that of the Puritans, was based upon the conviction that the usefulness of a preacher's work is invariably related to the nature of his inner life. Personal communion with God must come first. Similar quote following that. Again, about Edwards. Moving down the page there. to the quote from the Life and Diary of David Brainerd. He says, I retired early for secret devotions, and in prayer God was pleased to pour such ineffable comforts into my soul. And I could do nothing for some time but say over and over, O my sweet Saviour, O my sweet Saviour, Whom have I in heaven but Thee, and there is none upon earth that I desire beside Thee. If I'd had a thousand lives, my soul would gladly have laid them all down at once to have been with Christ. My soul never enjoyed so much heaven before. Further on, and really brainers, it's just such a classic example of a man who lived a life in communion with God. He says, in the afternoon I withdrew to meet with my God. I withdrew to my usual place of retirement in great peace and tranquility, spent much of the day alone, enjoyed the presence of God in some comfortable degree. Spurgeon there. Says, but oh, could I feel the presence of the Lord as in days gone by, how joyful. Could I enjoy his face and feast upon his love, then would it be a sort of heaven below the skies. Fairest of beings, best beloved, come, let me see thy smiling face. Well, at times that feels like another world, doesn't it? It shouldn't be. Compassion is the next C. Baxter says, my soul is much more afflicted with the thoughts of the miserable world and more drawn out in desire of their conversion than heretofore. Seeking to cultivate a compassionate heart. Next C is confession. Lots of C's here. I don't know what that says. Confession. Life of John Murray. I think this is Murray speaking. Your letter of Tuesday has just arrived. as I have just turned to Corinthians 7, 8 to 11. For it immediately occurred to me that this paralleled your reaction to remark re-Sabbath travel. I sin too, but I wish that I could repent as you apparently do. I can, however, appreciate your chagrin." At our last General Assembly, I made a remark. This is not Murray. This is somebody writing to Murray, actually. At our last General Assembly I made a remark or a series of remarks from that floor that was unfair to a fellow Commissioner. I made public apology to the Assembly and private apology to the person injured. He readily forgave me as a Christian gentleman, but oh what pain that error gave me. It still makes me smart when I think of it. Yeah, assemblies, synods, presbyteries, concisteries, kirk sessions, they're places of great sin. I don't know if I've ever left a general assembly without having to write a letter of apology to someone afterwards. That might be just me. Or at least make a call. I think it's worth doing, though. However much you were provoked, however much you were wronged, Just to get into the practice of that confession. Break down the barriers before they begin to really solidify confession. Conscience. This is from the biography of Tom Carson by his son Don. He resigns from Faith Baptist Church. He says, as the fulfillment of a vow rightly made in good conscience before the living God. But how would he support his family? Tom and Marge had no savings, almost no retirement benefits and no house. One of the biblical passages that burned in Tom's conscience as the deadline of his vow loomed larger on the horizon was 1 Timothy 5 verse 8. But if any provide not for his own. especially for those of his own house. He hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel." But here's this man who Providence is saying, it would appear to him, you're going to be in big trouble, man. You go through with this, carry this through, you're going to end up out in the street with no money, no way to provide for your family, and that makes you worse than an infidel. So, what do you do? Well, there's the higher demand, isn't there? Conscience. If you start letting providence dictate, then you're going to make conscience subject to providence. And far better to keep a clear conscience and trust providence rather than be determined by it in some kind of prospect. And again, I've seen that a number of times in men making calculations as to how this would affect them. If I do this, then that. Therefore, I'll do another. So I won't get that. And nothing's worth that. Paul talks about exercising himself to keep a conscience void of offense before God and man. And God will provide. God does provide. Next C is consistency. Consistency. I think there's some interesting story here from Lloyd-Jones. This wealthy businessman had invited the Lloyd-Joneses for Christmas. They weren't Christians, this businessman and his wife, but very grateful to the doctor for his effective discouragement given to their son who wished to become a minister, a missionary. Right, after midday dinner in this home on Christmas Day, Dr. Lloyd-Jones had gone upstairs and was settling down in an armchair to rest when he was given a most distinct impression that at 9 o'clock that evening, when the family and visitors were to be assembled for party games, he must address the question to them. Why did Christ come into the world? The impression he at once resisted. thinking how he would be resented at a gathering of this nature that they were attending as guests for the first time. But the conviction that he was called to do this was inescapable, and his inward conflict was not resolved until he went down on his knees and promised God he would do it. So the evening arrives. It's agreed they would all listen to an appeal on behalf of the blind, which was to be broadcast on the radio before 9 o'clock. As soon as broadcast was over, before anything else could begin, Doctor addressed the question, why did Christ come into the world? So no one could explain it. Discussion ensues. And soon everything's forgotten apart from this subject. Time passes. Guests rise. Guests depart. Still the debate goes on. At length, the host fell down on his knees and began to pray for pardon. This is not an Arminian we're talking about here, remember. Easy believers and get a decision. This is Lloyd-Jones. Later, his wife did the same, and also the older daughter. But still the son, who'd contributed the most heated words in the argument that had gone on, was unmoved. Eventually, he was to sink to the floor on the carpet before the fireplace with an audible groan. When Dr. Lloyd-Jones, who'd been able to remain cool, asked, what's the matter? The now silent youth pulled two tickets for a dance the next evening out of his pocket. All along, his resistance had been stiffened by the awareness that if he believed the truth they were hearing, his way of life would have to change radically. And all that to illustrate the power of consistency. Whatever the environment, wherever we find ourselves, however difficult. Lloyd-Jones used to ministering amongst the poor in Wales, mining town. Here he's in this kind of classy company. Consistency. There's that phrase in the AV, instant in-season and out-of-season. It's a sort of quaint phrase, but I don't know, it really captures it, I think. Instant in-season and out-of-season. D for death. D for death. Boner, well, he was so afflicted by death, Boner. So many of his loved ones died, family, close family. And you read that beautiful diary and just the impact upon him. You even hear these words, Lord, shall I not abhor sin that brought in this death? Shall I not long for resurrection? Come and destroy death. Be its plague and grave's destruction. Come, Lord, and wipe away all tears. Come, Lord, cast death and hell into the lake. Come quickly. I was able to preach all day." It's really saying, Let death empower you. Let death motivate you. Let death inspire you. Let death call you to the exercise of ministry and really seek to build. It's actually very common for ministers to be quite callous about death, especially in big congregations. Become very professional first few funerals. You're a nervous wreck, but you get used to it and you can do it quite well. Never be insensitive to death. Dependence. Dependence upon God. Boner again, he says it's God's way to let ministers try all their strength first. and then he himself comes and subdues the hearts they cannot. Perhaps God is trying me thus. I'm using all means and all my power and it avails nothing. Now, I'm telling you this, no doubt you're going to hear this again and again and again in seminary and you'll go out sort of believing it in your head and then you'll go and try and be a minister on your own strength. It's going to happen to most of you. And 80 to 90% of young men who enter the ministry are not so young men. Within about three to four years, collapse. There's a turning point. And usually it involves thoughts of, I'm not meant for this. This is useless. I followed the wrong calling. I need to get out of this. This is a disaster. I've seen no blessing. And it can go on for some months, at least weeks, but sometimes months, even longer. And maybe it's only, sometimes only, I need money that will keep you in it. If I abandon this, how do I provide for my family? Or what will people say? It can be sinful reasons that can actually keep you in the ministry through these times. But they are usually real turning point times. And as I say, I'm afraid most of you will have to go through it. So don't be surprised when it comes along. This is what's happening. It's God's way to let ministers try all their strength first. And then he himself comes and subdues the hearts they cannot. I wish it wasn't so. There are some things that only experience can teach us. However much we know up here, we are just so independent by nature. dependence. And can I just quickly say the last person that contacted me about this, a young man, his ministry has just blossomed in the last two or three years. Saw no one converted at all for the first three, four, five, five years I think of ministry. And I think it was really his wife that kept him in the ministry. But he got through it, broken, changed tone of his sermons, no longer thrashing people. And really, really encouraged to see his ministry bearing through it. So don't think it's a strange thing when it happens to you. I hope it won't. But if it is, you might remember. Dependence. Desire. Desiring God, as someone famously said. Just a quote there to inculcate this flame. Flame these desires. Keep these desires awake. Fired up. Moving on. Devotions. Devotions. I think I'll deal with this a wee bit more when we come to pastor study. But suffice to say here, Book 12 is again Boner, says, I must also resist the temptation of doing or reading anything before having found God in private and wrestled with Him. Also, he says, some time must be found for this before family worship. By the grace of God and the strength of His Spirit, I desire to lay down the rule not to speak to man until I have spoken with God, not to do anything with my hand until I have been upon my knees, not to read letters or papers until I have read something of the Holy Scriptures." Just bank that. Make that a non-negotiable in your life. Spurgeon says, Mr. P came in this evening and talked till past 11 so that I lost some of the time I should have spent in devotion. Now, that's OK now and again. Obviously, you have to be prepared for disruption, especially in the evening. But not as a pattern. And again, Spurgeon, I have my daily supply. And sure enough, I do not have two days portion at a time. Why can't that work, eh? You know, I'm having such a busy day tomorrow. Surely if I do double today, that'll get me through tomorrow. No. No. No. Book 19 is R.C. Anderson. I don't quite know what background R.C. Anderson is. He's an American, maybe from somewhere around Chicago. I think it's an older minister. I don't know if he's still alive. That book, I was really surprised at how good it is. On the ministry, I think it's published by Moody. It's in our library, The Effective Pastor. Lots and lots of very practical helps. Maybe a different general philosophy of ministry, but lots of real common sense, everyday practical helps. And he says, because the pastor is under such close observation, he More than any other professional person needs to work hard to assure that he has both a private family life and a private personal life. Derek Prime. Someone has aptly said that our character is who we are in the dark. Our secret and private life provides the clue to God's approval upon our more public life and service. That's a nice little phrase here. If we had to sum up in one word what a shepherd and teacher's life should be like, it would be the word. godly, even though it's much out of vogue. Its essence is doing what pleases God without any eye to the approval of others. Our secret life is the clue to our public usefulness. Saying the same thing again, different words. And again from Prime, he's talking here about a devotional life. And he breaks it into three, our walk with God, the sustaining of our spiritual life, and the development of our own Christian character. And let me just close with that today. He says under that last heading of our own Christian character, a pastoral objective is to see others grow in their likeness to their Lord and Master. And we must not neglect that priority ourselves. Christian character develops as we add to faith goodness, and to goodness knowledge, and to knowledge self-control, and so on. He says a key aspect of our devotional life is our meditation. upon the person of our Lord Jesus Christ and deliberate self-examination to ensure that we are making it our aim to be like him. And he finishes, only as we possess these qualities in an increasing measure will we be kept from being ineffective and unproductive in our knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. Let me finish with that today, and we'll take up the rest of this lecture next week.