A VOICE
Selected

¹⁹ Now this was John’s testimony when the Jews of Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. ²⁰ He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Christ.”

²¹ They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” He answered, “No.”

²² Finally they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”

²³ John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’” — John 1:19-23

Some believe that the Wachau Valley in Austria is the most beautiful place on earth. There, the wide Danube River cuts between mountain ranges. The wedge between the mountains is narrow and deep and the water is swift. I am told that there are places in the valley where the echo of a ship’s horn returns after a three-second delay, and it comes back exactly one octave higher.1

Listening to the preaching of John the Baptist, the religious leaders thought they heard an echo. After eight hundred years, they thought the voice of Elijah had returned. John the Baptist told them that he was now Elijah’s voice, but he was “a voice” whose purpose was to make straight the way of the Lord.

Since John the Baptist, there have been other voices continuing the echo. Over time, other pastors, preachers and evangelists have spoken out to make straight the way of the Lord. For over fifty years this television ministry has been a voice in the wilderness. And for the years to come, this pulpit must not grow quiet. I must never drop the mantle given me by the voices before me. I too must be a voice making straight the way of the Lord.

Just as the echo of the ship’s horn came back one octave higher, my voice will be in tune with those before me — though it may possess a different pitch because of the different times in which we live.

A Watchman’s Voice
“Condemning Sin”

My voice will be a watchman’s voice, condemning sin. According to Ezekiel 33:6, if I do not use my voice to condemn sin, God will condemn me as the watchman:

⁶ “But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people and the sword comes and takes the life of one of them, that man will be taken away because of his sin, but I will hold the watchman accountable for his blood.”

It was the duty of the watchman to announce the approach of any enemy. If he failed, the city fell. If he was silent, the city was sacked. The people depended on him to identify and cry out any threat. Ezekiel’s responsibility, therefore, was to announce the threat of any sin that sought to besiege the people. God would hold him accountable if he was silent about sin. God would hold him accountable if the people fell because he failed to cry out.

In this pulpit, I feel there is an accountability to God and an obligation to the nation. Because of our growing television ministry, I see the nation as a congregation. With a watchman’s voice I must cry out every time sin threatens the land. I must cry out because there are fewer pulpits that will.

I receive some moving letters from television viewers. This one hurt and angered me when he wrote that his church had left him. The church voted that what any member believed the Bible to say was fine for them. Furthermore, the deacons of the church decided to continue having revival services as long as the guest evangelist was instructed not to preach about sin. Because fewer pastors are and more need us to be, I must hold my post as a watchman and condemn sin.

A Workman’s Voice
“Cutting Straight”

Not only must I have the voice of a watchman who will condemn sin, but in this pulpit, I must also carry the voice of a workman who will cut straight. This was the charge the Apostle Paul gave to Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:15:

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.

While working with Aquila and Priscilla, Paul learned how to make tents. A tent maker, much like a tailor, knew the importance of cutting material according to the pattern. If the individual pieces were not cut straight, it would ruin the tent. When sown together, the pieces would not fit and the tent would not work. And no one wants to buy a worthless tent.

The words “correctly handle” are translated in other versions as “cutting straight.” Paul was challenging Timothy to be a workman of God’s word and interpret each verse, every chapter, and all books accurately. Only by interpreting scripture right does it work, and only when it works will people believe and buy into it.

I started preaching when I was seventeen. The first sermon I preached was 25 minutes when I rehearsed it, but was over in 10 minutes when I preached it. My dad, who preached for forty-three years, was my teacher, model, and mentor. His predictable charge to me was, “Son, preach the Word.” But in a teachable moment he explained further,

Mark, study God’s Word, know God’s Word, and preach God’s Word in such a way that if anyone wants to argue with you, they will first have to argue with God’s Word. — Dr. Charles M. Becton

I commit to you, as I have committed to my Dad and my heavenly Father all these years. I will be a workman who will cut God’s word straight with study. In this pulpit, I will be a voice who will confidently and competently preach the Word as a faithful workman.

A Teacher’s Voice
“Equipping Saints”

According to Ephesians 4:11-13, my voice must have a third quality. It needs to be a teacher’s voice.

¹¹ It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, ¹² to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up ¹³ until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

My role as a pastor-teacher is to equip believers to do the work God has called them to do, and enable them to become all God wants them to be. As every teacher knows, repetition is important.

In the prologue to Leadership Jazz, Max DePree writes about his granddaughter, Zoe. She was born prematurely and weighed one pound, seven ounces. Because her biological father had abandoned her, DePree wanted to be there for her. Therefore, a wise nurse named Ruth told him,

“For the next several months, at least, you’re the surrogate father. I want you to come to the hospital every day to visit Zoe, and when you come, I want you to rub her body and her legs and arms with the tip of your finger. While you’re caressing her, you should tell her over and over how much you love her, because she has to be able to connect your voice to your touch.” 2

Through a continual repetition of preaching and teaching, I want a similar association to occur. I pray that, over time, people will connect a voice with a touch. Prayerfully they will hear God’s voice and experience God’s touch.

But again, repetition is important. That is why the manuscripts of my sermons are placed on our church’s website the Wednesday after the Sunday they are preached. That is also why we are looking to build an archive of messages that can be webcast over the internet. This will enable people world-wide to find a message that addresses their need. They will not only hear it, but they will also see it preached. Furthermore, it is my dream to compile messages and publish them in book form. Currently, we have been offered an opportunity to be on radio in Richmond, Monday through Friday. We have also been approached by two other networks that would broadcast us nation-wide, and another wanting to air our program in the region of central Pennsylvania and Northern Maryland.

By using multiple methods, believers will have multiple opportunities to hear God’s voice, experience God’s touch, and be equipped to do and become all He asks.

A Farmer’s Voice
“Casting Seed”

The voice of this pulpit has never been limited to believers only. For decades, it has been a farmer’s voice casting the seed of salvation. It has been fulfilling Jesus’ parable in Matthew 13:3-8. Jesus said,

³ Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. ⁴ As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. ⁵ Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. ⁶ But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. ⁷ Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. ⁸ Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop-a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”

Though the parable focuses on the condition of the soil, there is something to say about the farmer casting seed. The only way the farmer will see a yield is if he casts the seed. The more he throws, the more he yields.

Television allows us to cast the seed into an enormous field. Through our broadcasts state-wide and nation-wide, we now average 200,000 viewers each Sunday. Yet some may say that only believers are watching. Here are some telling statistics from a recent study by the Barna Research Group.

• 44% of Americans associated with a non-Christian faith interact with Christian media.
• Of the 50 million not aligned with Christianity, more than 15 million had some degree of exposure to Christianity through media.
• More than one-fourth of that group listened to Christian radio, one-quarter watched Christian TV, and one-seventh read a Christian book.3

This television ministry is casting the seed of salvation on the soil of hearts and seeing results. With four months left in the year, we have nearly matched our totals from last year. We have been able to meet the needs of 841 people who have called during our telecasts. And, we have been able to help 26 surrender their lives to Jesus Christ.

The principle of a farmer is the principle of this ministry. The more seed a farmer throws, the more harvest the farmer yields. The more broadcasts we air, the more opportunities we have to see a harvest — because each time we air we are casting the seed of salvation.

A Servant’s Voice
“Accountable to God”

Please, do not misunderstand the motive behind this ministry. It is not the voice of ambition but the voice of obligation. As servants, we are obligated to multiply the resources given us by God. Jesus taught this in Matthew 25:19-21,

¹⁹ “After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. ²⁰ The man who had received the five talents brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.’

²¹ “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’”

The servant recognized what his master had given him and multiplied it. Seeing the servant’s faithfulness, the master praised him and then entrusted him with more to be multiplied.

Only a few churches have the God-given resources for a television ministry. This is not a luxury. It is a responsibility. We have an obligation to see a multiplication of that which God has given us. We will know if we are doing our job if God gives us more jobs to do — and that is what we are seeing. The increasing opportunities to web cast on the internet, to be on radio, and to broadcast on other national networks is an affirmation of our current effort and of our need for more help.

Several years ago in England, Sir John Barbirolli was conducting a great symphony orchestra. There was “standing room only” for the Saturday night performance. The next morning the hall was to be used for a worship service. A patron of the orchestra noticed that Sunday’s preacher was sitting next to him. He leaned over and asked, “When are you going to fill this hall the way Sir John has tonight?” With unwavering confidence the preacher said, “I will fill this hall on Sunday morning when you give to me, as you gave to Sir John tonight, eighty-five disciplined men and women to be with him and to work with him.”4

I cannot be the voice of this pulpit alone. I cannot fulfill the increasing obligations of this television ministry by myself. I need others who will be with me and will work with me.

I need men and women who will pray. Pray that God will keep us from pushing on doors that no man can open. Pray that God will reveal His open doors, the ones no man can shut.

I need men and women who will volunteer their time and talents. As our organization grows larger and our obligations grow stronger, we will need more volunteers who will offer their time and talents.

I need men and women who will give. I want no one to give their tithe to this ministry, for the Bible says the tithe is for the church. Yet we will need many who will give beyond their tithe so that we can step through the doors God will open. I will need many to give so the seed can be cast.

The voice of this pulpit has been the shared ministry between the pastor and people of this church for over fifty years. For it to continue the echo of condemning sin, cutting straight God’s Word, equipping the saints, casting the seed, and being accountable to God, we must accept this responsibility together. It will take all of us to be the voice God is asking us to be.