The Making of a Preacher -Prep

Premise Revision

I. The Setting of the Story

          The Making of a Preacher takes places on Earth during Matthew Marks' early years of life and ministry. The transition to the planet, ZoNed4, in the next galaxy, for the rest of his life and ministry, shows the reader that we humans will often go to extreme lengths in the attempt to run away from our problems. Ultimately, we learn after we arrive at our destination that we brought our problems with us.

II. The Protagonist is Matthew Marks.

          Matthew Marks was born and bred to be the next great preacher in the Marks family's line of great preachers, that totals nine with Matt being the tenth in the line. The Preachers Marks have been great revivalists in the New World since the colonists left England in search of religious freedom. Many souls have been won by the preaching of The Gospel of Grace paid for by the Blood of Jesus Christ and secured through His Resurrection on the third day.

          A. Flaws:
                    1. Matt agrees with the purpose and the ongoing ministry of his forebears. The growing doubts that have been sown in Matt's heart
through disappointment, verbal abuse, and the temptations of the desires of the flesh threaten to unravel more than three centuries
of family ministerial reputation. This leaves the eternal destinies of myriad souls, hanging in the balances until these doubts can be
resolved.
                    2. Matt is more relational than the other nine preachers of the family before him. The other preachers of the family stayed the course
because their need for emotional/relational connection was filled up with love of The Lord and His Word. In relationship to other
humans, they were each "loners." Matt is just different. Matt loves The Lord, but Matt has a stronger need for people in his life.
This causes Matt to try to salve the pain of doubts in his heart through the out-of-bounds pleasures of the flesh, which includes the
viewing of soft-core pornography. (This means he doesn't pay to view, but the "free stuff" is bad enough.)

          B. Goals:
                    1. Matt's greatest goal in life is to be rightly related to his Lord, Jesus Christ, serving him with a single focus, free from all doubts.
                    2. Matt wants to avoid destroying his home by repenting of and forsaking all of the sins that so easily beset him, making restitution
where and when required, apologizing to all he has offended, and making a clean start in life.

III. The Inner & Outer Conflicts are Keeping Matt from Being the Preacher He so Desires to Be.

          Holiness, (which means being separate from sin,) is the primary internal drive of the preacher. He demands holiness of himself. He preaches holiness to the congregation in general and to the individuals in specific. Weariness in the ministry, which leads to the loss of focus on this purpose, causes many a preacher to fall into the trap of the opposite polarity of Holiness, which is Immorality. The Apostle Paul knew this all too well, that the preacher does not have the luxury of indulging any of the desires of the flesh for anything other than survival. For instance, the desire to eat is important for it keeps us alive, but taken to the extreme, it becomes gluttony. The desire for sex draws the preacher into the depths of his relationship with his covenant wife but taken to the extreme, which is outside of marriage in some way, this desire becomes immorality, instantly disqualifying the preacher for The Gospel ministry. (I Corinthians 9:27)

IV. The Antagonist is Lazarus Watyudid.

          Lazarus Watyudid, along with Andy Attelpate and Runfro Allatsgood, are accomplices in the nefarious task of turning a good man bad with all the finality of an assassin's bullet. What makes their goal all the more heinous is that their objective is not to kill the physical body, but to assassinate the man's character, leaving him to live out his life in the quasi-living state of uselessness, hopelessness, and the complete stagnation of all that's good about life.
          These three demons of Hell hate all that is good, including The Gospel of Grace, Holiness, Jesus Christ as "The Way, the Truth and The Life," (John 14:6) and especially the salvation of souls. They play on Matt's many insecurities, which all stem from his doubts about his relationship with The Lord Jesus Himself.
          These three are the personification of the accuser of the brethren in a trinity of evil. They are all liars, who tempt Matt to sins, saying, "It'll be okay. Who will know?" The moment that he gives in, during a time of exhausted weakness, these accusers change their tune. "How can you keep preaching holiness, when you have committed immorality? You'll never be holy, again, and able to preach because you just ruined your history! You may as well give up!" That was obviously their goal. Many a poor, tired, weak, sinful preacher has given up on life at that point. Sadly, the enemy wins too many of these battles.

V. The Resolution Comes When Matt Throws Himself into the Arms of His Savior.

          Ultimately, during Matt's coma when The Lord Jesus shows him all of his swerving ways, all the times that He protected Matt from going further into sin, all the value that he has in Jesus' eyes, and all the ways that he can and will be used in the future, Matt throws himself down at the feet of Jesus, Who just as quickly lifts him in His Arms into a strong embrace. (Psalm 91:1-2)
          Matt cries great bellowing tears and says, "Jesus, I've ruined my life! How can I ever do anything for You, again, in the eyes of the world?"
          Jesus smiles at Matt, saying, "You've done all that I ask. You've confessed your sin. (I John 1:9) You remember the woman, taken in adultery, right? I didn't ask her about her sin. I asked her about her accusers. She responded in three words, that there were no accusers. I told her, 'Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more.'"
          Matts tears dry a bit, and he says. "Okay. I get it. You forgive me, but what about all the people, who hold cards against me. What do I do, if they accuse me?"
          "Confess your sins," Jesus says. "Ask for forgiveness. Be willing to do what is necessary to be restored to fellowship with those persons, if they will let that be possible. If not, then when they tell you, that it's over and release you from the conversation, then walk away and don't look back. (Romans 12:18)"
          Incredulous, Matt says, "How can You accomplish anything in life with a frail and flawed man, such as I?"
          "Think of it this way, Matt," Jesus smiled. "Any average violinist can play a Stradivarius like a professional, but it takes the Hands of a true Master to make a broken down fiddle sound like a Stradivarius. I am The Master. You are the broken down fiddle. Rest in my Hands, and we will make beautiful music together."

VI. The Moral of This Story is Redemption.

         1. Every human is a preacher, whether he or she realizes it or not.
         2. Every human has a unique message he or she adds to the HIStory of Humanity, whether spoken or lived.
         3. Every human is a sinner in need of redemption by virtue of our birth connection to our original parents, Adam & Eve.
         4. Jesus Christ provided this redemption a little over 2000 years ago through His Death, Burial & Resurrection.
         5. Every human who accepts the Gift that Jesus provides demonstrates the reality of redemption.
         6. Every human who chooses to go his or her own way without Jesus speaks wisdom as a cautionary tale.