Applause in the house of God is appalling. It's profane; it's an abomination. That a preacher, a mere preacher, should ever be applauded! That a performer in the church service, who plays an instrument or sings a spiritual song, should be applauded! That is appalling. Have they never read the Scriptures? Isn't that utterly scribal in its character? Isn't that pandering to self-seeking and love for human praise? God will have no rivals. We gather together to worship the Lord. Our attention is directed to him. What is going on today is terrible: people dressing and behaving and acting in church to attract attention, and notice, and applause. Our praises should be simple. Hopefully it is full hearted and sincere, engaging our whole being. Non-conformist churches have a choir: everyone is in it! There is no worship by proxy in the New Testament. Everyone worships together.
Do you get the temptation – the devil comes knocking at the door of your mind – ‘Be the best Sunday school teacher’? In the sense of, the most noticeably effective one, who people will look up to and admire? Crush the thought at once; pray against it; get rid of it. There is no advance in communion with Christ, if we allow in self-advertisement, self-praise, self-flattery. Self has got to go. That is really the message of the denunciation of the chief priests and the scribes and the Pharisees. Let it not be in our churches.
It is not the business of the pastor, the preacher, to be thinking about his reputation – ‘Get about a bit. Accept every invitation to be a visiting preacher and a weeknight preacher, all over the country, as much as you can. You've got to get your name out there.’ That is shocking advice. Christ's name is the only name that matters, and we’ve got to tell our souls that constantly. It isn't self-advertisement; it isn't self-seeking; it isn't personal reputation; it isn't to be sought after and pursued. Christ is all; he is all that matters.