King Solomon levied 150,000 workers (2 Chr 2:17) , enlisting 3,300 overseers (1 Kings 5:16)  and 300 commanders over all (2 Chr 2:18) for the building of the temple. Such a monumental undertaking that required careful preparation and careful attention to detail in order to mobilize a large number of men. The task of the ministers of God should be to prepare the people to partake in the advancement of the greater kingdom that is Christ's as He did bid His followers: "Engage in business till I come"   (Lk 19:13). The same business He mentioned when Joseph and Mary found Him amidst teachers in the temple (Lk 2:49) : "to do the will of Him who sent Me"   (Jn 4:34) . What will? "To give His life a ransom for many"   (Mat 20:28) . To what end? " That they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent" (John 17:3) . Knowing God opens the gates to gospel action - to its proclamation, just as YHWH was the motivation beh...

Take heed to yourselves lest you should be void of that saving grace of God which you offer to others, and be strangers to the effectual working of that gospel which you preach; and lest, while you proclaim the necessity of a Saviour to the world, your hearts should neglect him, and you should miss of an interest in him and his saving benefits. Take heed to yourselves, lest you perish while you call upon others to take heed of perishing, and lest you famish yourselves while you prepare their food. Though there be a promise of shining as stars to those that turn many to righteousness (Daniel 12:3) , this is but on supposition that they be first turned to it themselves: such promises are made ceteris paribus, et suppositis supponendis. Their own sincerity in the faith is the condition of their glory simply considered, though their great ministerial labours may be a condition of the promise of their greater glory. Many men have warned others that they come not to that place of torment, ...

To emphasize the standard is not to be mean-spirited, nor should it be viewed as censorious. We exercise the same judgement when trusting our health to the diagnosis of a qualified physician, or place ourselves under the knife of a qualified surgeon. But the ministerial office is qualified by God Himself. Theological schooling is very important. But how do you measure education when in our day, every school claims to be truthful while contradicting each other on doctrinal interpretation? And even so, to be proficient theologically, or to confess to a creed, does not necessarily mean one is spiritually born again. When this requirement is set aside, everyone is ministry is legitimately correct, and the line between mere human knowledge and heaven-sent unction is blurred. *************** We are not among those who accept the apostolical succession of young men simply because they assume it; if their college experience has been rather vivacious than spiritual, if their honours have been c...

For years have I sat under emotional and academic yet lifeless preaching about repeated affirmations of basic truths. It merely stunted my growth. But I believed I had to sit through it because it was the program, and I convinced others to do the same. The glaring truth stared me in my face the whole time yet I closed my eyes because the system was set up as such, that I had to be bodily present, never mind if my spirit remained unfed. It was assumed that the Spirit was always present in the external exercises, but the lives of those who sat with me told differently as they remained lethargic and uninterested. In our first church, it was about the grandeur of gifts, achievements and humanism. In our second, comfort, richness, and identity. With our third, which professed to be reformed in doctrine but definitely not in deed, it was timidity and dead religion. There was rampant gossiping, backbiting, and taking sides. The pastor was then in a secret relationship with the youth leader wh...

An open door presented itself last week, sovereignly I might add, when Pastor Leonardo Galanza of Center for Biblical Studies Institute and Seminary in Rizal sent me an invite asking if I would be interested to join their classes for this year. But of course, I would love to study! If only to know more of Christ! The one thing that stood in the way was the absence of funds. I appreciated the kind Pastor's invite and thanked him, replying, "I will have to pray about this first," and asked the LORD for provision should it be His will I study. After asking in prayer that Saturday night I submitted my application. The following morning, while I was thinking about items I could sell for the cost of the class, an email greeted me - money unsolicited came in from the US that covers what I need. I did not tell anyone of my need but the LORD, and in the usual way He sent an instant answer to prayer. This does not surprise me, for the LORD has always answered according to our...

The LORD in His tender mercy has once more breathed upon the smoking flax and caused its faint ember to burn afresh. Such encouragements have often come unto me in seasons most needful, arriving not a moment too late, but in that wise providence of the Father who knows well the precise hour wherein His child is weary and near unto fainting. I have received many such gracious helps from His hand—those quiet mercies which seem small unto the eyes of men, yet are glorious refreshings unto a discouraged soul. I have often considered the matter of labor and fruitfulness, and have found my own thoughts too frequently governed by the feeble judgments of human reason. A man casts a seed into the earth and departs from it; he leaves it there unseen and forgotten beneath the soil, and when he passes by in another season, behold, a tree has risen where once there appeared nothing but bare ground. So does the Lord often work in ways hidden from our sight. Many a time have thoughts arisen within me...

Pastoral Theology: The Man of God, His Shepherding, Evangelizing, and Counseling Labors by Albert Martin From 1978 to 1998, Pastor A.N. Martin taught Pastoral Theology in the Trinity Ministerial Academy, a church-based ministerial training institution. Every Friday throughout the academic year, all the students would gather for two hours of teaching presented in a four-year cycle. Subsequently various series of the audiotapes were widely circulated. Many expressed their desire to see these lectures printed. Volume One Many expressed their desire to see these lectures printed. As an intermediate step in responding to that desire, the Trinity Baptist Church eldership decided to encourage Pastor Martin to rework the original lectures and deliver them one final time, while professionally recording them. This project was begun in 2007 and completed in 2012 with Pastor Martin teaching his entire Pastoral Theology course “one more time” to 25 to 30 men. The transcriptions of these DVD lectures...