Each Sunday I stand at a pulpit and talk for a long time. (Ask anyone in our church family; they will confirm this.)
Why do people sit quietly and listen to what I have to say? Am I more interesting than the other people in the room? Certainly not! I am one of the least interesting people you will ever meet. People don’t come out on Sundays to hear what I have to say. They come to hear what God’s Word—the Bible—has to say.
This spring at our church, we have been studying Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. I encourage you to read it in Matthew 5 – 7. It only takes a few minutes, andit contains many classic statements of Jesus.
After Jesus preached, the Bible says that “the crowds were amazed at His teaching, because He taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law”(Matthew 7:28-29). They knew there was something different about Jesus.
Jesus has authority because He is the Son of God. He proved His authority when He died on the cross and rose again. He declared His authority when He ascended into Heaven (Matthew 28:18). He’s alive today with authority to save all who repent of their sin and accept Him as their Saviour.
Our job as preachers is not to speak on our own authority, but on the authority of the Word of God—accurately, boldly, and faithfully.
When you come to church on Sunday, don’t listen to me. Listen to Jesus, whose words have been recorded by His Holy Spirit in the pages of His holy Word. He is the authority.
Pastor Kent Babbey
Blenheim Baptist Church