Preacher—commit yourself to faithful exposition of the Word of God. Set the standard for the new year by standing with a Bible in your hand and speak the truth in love. Here a Roman soldier experienced a miracle by exhibiting faith in the spoken Word of Christ! Perhaps your church is sick—even to the point of death. Do you believe in that life-giving Word?
Jesus sets before His audience a call for commitment. He is moving to the conclusion of His sermon, and had laid out the terms for His kingdom followers. Now, He brings the people to this choice: there are two gates—one broad and the other narrow; two roads—one broad and the other narrow; two groups—the many and the few; two destinations—destruction or life. There is no middle ground—no third option. Everyone reading these words has made a choice.
The thing about this choice, is to be in one classification, you need do nothing except choose to remain where you are. We are all born with a depraved nature. When we reach an age of moral responsibility, we choose to remain as we are with the crowd we belong to and bound for hell.
The preacher must do as Jesus did. He must call on people to repent. It is a call to commitment. He is to present the Gospel in such a way as to shine the light on that narrow gate. In fact, it is a singular way—a Person, Jesus Christ. He said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me,” (John 14:6). The Path is a Person. It is a call to follow Jesus, and that is the Calvary Road.
That is the invitation the preacher must give—to come and die. It is Christ’s appeal, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me,” (Matt.16:24). Few are wanting such a life, and yet the most important thing about a road is not how many have chosen it, the ease of access, and smoothness of travel, but the destination. The way to hell has a wide access ramp, it is well marked, it is the popular way, and easy—just shift into neutral for it is all downhill. But the end of the road is a fatal, fiery crash.
The good news the preacher presents is there is another road. It is narrow and uphill all the way. Not many are on it. Yet, it ends on the mountaintop of glory! Man of God, summon people to Christ. Give the Gospel invitation. Do not be discouraged when few respond. It is not your task to try to make the invitation easy—to broaden the appeal—to gain decisions rather than disciples. Getting someone to walk down an aisle and sign a membership card is not the same as getting them to walk to the cross and sign their life over to Jesus. Yet, because some have resorted to emotional manipulation does not mean we abandon the invitation. Just make it plain as Jesus did. You are calling them to come and die, but it is dying that we gain eternal life.
In Matthew 6, we have the heart of the Sermon on the Mount and it deals with the matter of the heart. We can group these warnings of Christ around three dangers for any believer: pride, prayerlessness, and possessions. Yet, these are especially perils for the preacher.
There is A WARNING ABOUT PRIDE. Jesus warns in several places about “hypocrites,” who in their giving (v.1-3), praying (v.4-15), and fasting (v.16-18), do so with great public fanfare. Their intention is to have the applause of men. A pastor may do the right thing, yet for the wrong reason, and it then be wrong. Such may have the appreciation of humans, but not the approval of heaven! It is not that a preacher can or even should always keep his service secret, but if motivated by self-promotion, we try to steal that which only God merits—His glory! How many will find their lifetime “achievements,” go up in smoke at the Judgment Seat as hay, wood, and straw?
There is A WARNING ABOUT PRAYERLESSNESS (v.4-15). There is extensive teaching concerning prayer. We already have addressed the motive for prayer, but Jesus goes on to speak to the manner of prayer and furnishing a model for prayer. Jesus assumes we will pray. He says, “when you pray,” not “if you pray.” Now, the preacher will pray publicly, yet he is not to simply be the professional pray-er. There is the danger that in volume of sound and verbosity of speech, he thinks he is reaching heaven, while his words rise no higher than the ceiling. There will be no power, nor fruitful ministry, if it is not rooted in a private prayer life that connects us to God. Impotent preaching is often due to inadequate praying!
There is A WARNING ABOUT POSSESSIONS (v.16-34). Many a minister has been shipwrecked on the shoals of materialism. Obsessions for possessions have ruined many a preacher. A man who serves the church for money is a hireling, rather than a shepherd. It is not that a vow of poverty is required. If we do not provide for our family, we are worse than an infidel (1 Tim.5:8). To have possessions is one thing, but they must never possess us. It is not just a matter of what is in the bank, but what is in our heart. We may not have wealth, yet covet it. We may have little financially and correspondingly little faith—worrying about tomorrow rather than trusting God today.
Satan has these three traps set for you preacher! Watch where you step lest you be ensnared!
Matthew 5-7 contains the greatest sermon ever preached. It was preached by the greatest Preacher, the Lord Jesus, and is called the Sermon on the Mount. While we may never be elevated to the status of a great preacher, we can strive for great content—and know that the Spirit of Christ indwells the servant of Christ who has given is this subject matter. Let’s learn from Him, though we will certainly fall short of the standard the Perfect Preacher set.
He CARED FOR THE MULTITUDES, “seeing the multitides.” His message was evangelistic. Jesus never neglected the masses of humanity. They were lost in sin, and He would call them to repentance and faith. His compassion for sinners was communicated with an invitation to enter the Kingdom of God. Every preacher should have a heart to evangelize the sinner and proclaim the Gospel in each sermon.
Jesus COMMUNICATED WITH GREAT CLARITY. “He went up on a mountain.” Whether using a mountain for a pulpit or sitting in a boat where He employed the acoustics of the lake to carry His voice—the content needed to be communicated with clarity. What He said needed to be heard and so Jesus would employ the laws of nature to amplify His voice to speak the laws of the Kingdom of heaven. Preacher, pronounce your words and proclaim the truth with clarity. Don’t let how you say it obscure what needs to be heard.
Jesus CONCENTRATED ON HIS DISCIPLES, “His disciples came to Him. Then He opened His mouth and taught them…”. As previously noted, Jesus cared for the sheep wandering on the mountain, who needed to be summoned into the fold with a Gospel clarion call. Yet, He had a special concentration on the men who would be trained to be shepherds and extend His ministry after His departure back to glory. The preacher must also be a teacher. Edifying disciples must be the concentration of our communication. The Great Commission goes beyond the need to reach the world, to then teach the Word.
In these ways, we can be like the greatest Preacher who proclaimed the greatest sermon ever!
This world is not a playground, but a battleground. If we seek to be in God’s will, then we will run head on into the devil. The only perfect Man—the Lord Jesus—had to face and fight the devil. Yet, He was victorious each time. Hebrews 4:15, states Jesus was, “in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.” He sets the standard for successful spiritual warfare. He did not defeat the devil as God. Being fully God, He could have cast Satan into the abyss by a command. Yet, Jesus was also fully man, and overcame Satan as a man can—with the Word of God! This displayed His flawless nature, qualifying Him as the spotless Lamb to die in our place.
Further, by wielding the Spirit’s sword as a man, he showed us how we also may overcome the wicked one. That divine weapon is available to us! Paul described the whole armor of God in Ephesians 6, and the one offensive weapon, “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,” (v.17b). Each time, Christ met the Tempter with, “it is written,” three times beating back the thrust of temptation and putting the devil to flight.
That Word must be committed to memory. The ingestion of God’s Word is essential. David underscored that winning the war depended on wielding the Word, “Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against you,” (Ps.119:11).
The Word must be communicated in ministry. The proclamation of God’s Word is non-negotiable. The teacher in the classroom and the preacher in the pulpit must believe in the Word as their authority and proclaim the Word with all clarity. This will enable those sitting under the Word to experience victory!
It is the power of the Gospel message that summons sinners to salvation (cf. Rom.1:16). It is the power of God’s Word that breaks strongholds and sets saints free. “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,” (2 Corinthians 10:3-5).
On Monday through Saturday, I will study God’s Word, store it in my heart, and submit to it with my life. Then, I can stand with a Bible in my hand on Sunday morning before God’s people and by that sword see lives transformed with truth. “It is written!” is my conviction and my communication!
