Mission Sent
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Mission Sent
Spiritual Gifting 101: Everyone's a Teacher (Even You)
Every believer is called to teach, whether they recognize it or not. This eye-opening exploration of Romans 12:7 challenges the common misconception that teaching is reserved for those with specific spiritual gifts or formal positions within the church.
Drawing from both the Old Testament's Shema (Deuteronomy 6) and Jesus's Great Commission, we discover that spiritual teaching has always been a universal responsibility for God's people. Moses instructed all Israelites—not just the priests—to diligently teach God's commands to their children throughout daily life. Similarly, Jesus commanded his disciples to make disciples by "teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you."
The most powerful truth revealed is that we teach constantly through our actions, regardless of our words. Children don't learn to lie through formal lessons but by watching parents bend the truth. Coworkers don't learn about our faith through theological discussions but by observing how we handle stress and conflict. As the saying goes, "I've been watching you" captures how our lives speak louder than our words ever could.
While teaching is universal, James 3:1 reminds us that teachers face stricter judgment, demanding greater responsibility. This requires testing what we teach against all of Scripture (not just isolated verses), aligning with other believers' understanding, and developing the backbone to stand firm when challenged. The platforms may differ—teaching families, small groups, or larger congregations—but the calling remains the same.
Are you fulfilling your responsibility to teach those God has placed in your path? You can't teach what you don't know, so make learning Scripture a priority. Join us for Systematic Theology starting April 16th and discover how to step more fully into your calling as a teacher of God's truth.
All right and good morning. This week's going to go or start a little different than it normally will, is. I want to start by correcting two things that I've said in the past couple of weeks, and by correcting I more so mean like clarifying. I'm not sitting here going, hey, this was absolutely dead wrong. And now I'm going to switch to something else. Number one in the announcements if you didn't catch it, because I didn't hear it until this morning when I was getting everything ready I said there are two weeks left till April 13th. That is a lie. Next week is April 13th. Apparently, reading a calendar was a struggle for me.
Speaker 1:And the second one is this I said a few weeks ago that most of us are taught like you have very specific spiritual gifts, and every time I've heard it taught, like anytime I've heard spiritual gifting taught, it's been in that like context. In fact, most of the time when we hear it taught, the usual thing is you start with like, hey, we're going to take this like assessment, and then you're going to go through and you're going to find out what, like, your spiritual gifts are, just like we would with a personality test, right. However, through a lot of study this week. What I've noticed is that, although is true, you do have primary things that you're gifted with that are unique in your gifting, there are certain spiritual gifts that extend to every single believer. In other words, if you're sitting here going, hey, I'm a disciple of Jesus, just like we looked at last week, you are gifted to serve. That goes to every single believer. Now, are there going to be believers that have an easier time with that? Yeah, there will. On the flip side, though, does that go to every single one of us that say, yes, I follow Jesus? Yeah, if you say you follow Jesus, you are gifted to serve.
Speaker 1:Today, we're going to be looking at the next part of that verse. Remember, last week we talked about I kind of cut the verse in half and I hate doing that. This week, we're going to be looking at the next part of that verse. Remember, last week we talked about I kind of cut the verse in half and I hate doing that. This week, we're going to look at the second half of that. And it was a lot this week as I studied, because I went oh, this applies to every single disciple as well. This isn't something that is just specific to certain people. So I'm going to pray and then we're going to jump into that.
Speaker 1:Father, I thank you so much for your word and I thank you, god, for the gifting that you have given. Father, I ask and I pray that as we go through this this morning, that we realize, father, that we are called to more in your kingdom. Called to more in your kingdom. Father, I ask and I pray that it's not my words people hear, but it is you speaking through me, and I am just a tool that you use to sanctify your people. Father, we pray this in Jesus name, amen. All right, and this week I'm going to put it all in context. You're going to hear the same verse over the next couple of weeks, but we're going to read it all in context.
Speaker 1:In Romans 12, starting in verse 6, it says Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us. Let us use them, if prophecy, in proportion to our faith in service and our serving. The one who teaches in his teaching, the one who exhorts in his exhortation, the one who contributes in generosity, the one who leads with zeal, the one who does acts of mercy with cheerfulness. All right, so our main focus this week is going to be on the one who teaches in his teaching. And, like I said in my intro, if you call yourself a disciple of Jesus, if you sit here and go hey, I'm a Christian, understand this you are now also a teacher. And for those of you in here that are sitting here going nope, not gifted with that, I'm going to go ahead and make the argument, as the Bible will, that, yeah, you are. See, these gifts. If we look at all of scripture, we see them happen more often than just in first Corinthians 12 and 14 and Romans 12 and in various other places. In fact, the first place we're going to look is all the way back in the Old Testament. We're going to jump all the way back to Deuteronomy.
Speaker 1:Okay, in Deuteronomy we have what's called the Shema. All right, and this is what every Israelite would have said every morning. It's presented as a prayer right, hear O Israel, the Lord, your God. The Lord is one and you shall love your God with all your heart, with all your mind, with all your body and with all your soul. That is the Shema. He said this every morning as they rose. But see, moses doesn't stop right there, he goes on. After he says this, starting in verse six he goes and these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down and when you rise. See, moses knew that this is bigger. You're going to teach this stuff, and when are you going to teach it? Like, yeah, we can sit here and go. Well, when I sit in my house and when I walk by the way, and when I lie down and when I rise, really, what he's saying is all of the time Like that. That it's just a way of saying like, no matter what you're doing, you're going to be teaching this.
Speaker 1:Who is Moses speaking to at this moment? Because that's very important for us when we look at things in context. He's not just talking to the tribe of Levi. He's not just talking to those ladies in here that have been doing the law of grace, right. Who's the tribe of Levi? Those are the priests, right? That's not who Moses is talking to, though. He's talking to all of Israel. He's not just sitting here going, hey, if you were a priest, you're going to teach this stuff. He's sitting here, going no, no, no, no, no. If you were an Israelite, if you follow after the God of Jacob, abraham, isaac and Jacob, you're going to teach this, regardless of your position, regardless of your status, you are going to teach this position, regardless of your status, you are going to teach this.
Speaker 1:And if we jump all the way back into the New Testament, we have what's called the Great Commission. Jesus has been crucified, laid in the tomb and resurrected. He tells the disciples hey, meet me at the mountain in Galilee in which I told you to meet me. And here's his words to him you ready. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, doing what? Teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age. We call that the Great Commission. Behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age. We call that the Great Commission. Jesus is sitting here, going hey, I'm about to ascend back to the Father. My helper is going to come, he's going to help you with all of this. And what is his message? What does he tell all of the disciples. And if you read that in Matthew 28, it says and the 11 went. In Matthew 28, it says and the 11 went.
Speaker 1:However, most theologians make the argument that at this time, this is when all 500 disciples were gathered together. That we see in 1 Corinthians 15. This is more than just the 11 apostles, this is going to be this full number of disciples. And Jesus, talking to them, goes hey, here is what you're going to do when I leave. Here is the mission of the church Go and teach, see. He didn't look at them and go hey, peter John, the disciple whom I love. He went no, no, no, no. All of you. Go and teach, see. This is how we make disciples Understand. A disciple isn't a choice, it's something you're taught to do.
Speaker 1:We were talking Gabby goes on Thursdays usually for private coaching for softball, and one of the things we were talking about on the ride home was is it worth it? Is it worth it to do the private coaching, opposed to just doing like rec league softball? And Gabby was telling us that in the past couple of weeks she's learned more about especially the fundamentals of the game in the past couple of weeks than she has in the past couple of seasons and we were talking about how, like, the difference between good and great is what we're taught, because it's a skill, and if it's a skill, you can be taught it. It's a skill, and if it's a skill, you can be taught it. See, and the problem is is we do not take it upon ourselves to teach that, because we go. I'm not a teacher, I'm not gifted with being able to teach someone something, and I'm going to make the argument here that you teach people all the time, regardless of what you think. Every single thing you do and say is teaching someone something, and what we see here is it's easy to look up here and go no, no, no, no, no, you're the teacher, because this is what I do week in, week out. But, see, the scriptures are going to sit here and put that weight not just on me, but on every single one of us in this building who sit here and go. I believe that Jesus is who Jesus claimed to be, that we're to make disciples. That is an intentional thing, and I'm going to tell you right now discipleship is a messy and awkward thing because it's a very personal thing, because, see, it's more than just can I teach you the information that the Bible has, because I'm going to tell you, like April 16th, make room in your schedule, be a part of the systematic theology class.
Speaker 1:You want to know what the Bible says? Hey, this is a huge deep dive into that. But it's more than just information. It's sitting here going. How do I take this information and actually apply it practically to myself so that 2 Corinthians 3 18 would show that I am transformed from one degree of glory to the next? That's that process of sanctification that I look more like Jesus? It's not sitting here going.
Speaker 1:Can you pass a bible quiz? Because you want to know a secret? The devil could pass a Bible quiz. The devil could run circles around me, even with all of my degrees on what the Bible says, you know why. He studies it way more than I do and has for a way longer time period.
Speaker 1:See, it's not just do you have information, it's are you a disciple? How do you teach someone to follow? How do you teach someone to sit here and go? Hey, like if Jesus said it, we should do it, because that's what following is. How do you teach someone to sit here and go? Stop looking at the glam and glitz of the world and start looking at Christ, because all of this stuff over here is just going to leave you feeling empty and hollow and wanting more. That's all it's going to do. You can chase after anything in this world, and you are still going to feel empty. I don't care how high you get, I don't care how drunk you get, I don't care how much sex you have, I don't care what you, how much money is in your bank account. This is all going to leave you feeling empty, all of it, and you're still going to be sitting here going. I want to taste something, because you have eternity in your heart, and yet Jesus is sitting here going. What you don't understand is, if you don't fill it with me, you're going to spend your life exhausted, chasing after idols. That don't matter now.
Speaker 1:Like I said, all of us are teachers, but who we teach may be different, how we teach may be different. How we teach may be different. Like I don't do one-on-one tutoring, I teach a whole class of students where you may be sitting here going. No, no, I work better one-on-one. Now.
Speaker 1:I do want to say all of this with one verse in mind, because it is a verse as I started in my ministry. It is a verse as I started in my ministry. It was a verse that really hit me to the core and that's found in James 3. It says this, starting in verse 1, not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. James means exactly what he says there. Now, josh, how are you saying that we're all called to be teachers, but James is sitting here going not many of you should be teachers. Here's what James is saying. You really need to do your due diligence in what you're teaching, because you will be judged for what you teach, whether it's right or wrong. See, I had no problem coming up here this morning, going, hey, I want to clarify some things. I want to correct what I have said before, because that's what a good teacher does.
Speaker 1:There have been times where I'm teaching, especially in math, and let's say we have this like huge quadratic equation up on the board and like we're on step 13,. And I'm looking at at it and I'm like, oh, I went wrong somewhere. I have no problem looking at students and going, hey, everything I've just told you to write down, go ahead, crumble that piece of paper up because none of this was right. I forgot up here. Some of us, we got too much pride to do that. Right, we'll teach the mistake. Hopefully no one caught it and then we'll just keep on adding on to that. That's a problem, like I have no problem when I messed up with my children, going to my children and going, hey look, I apologize. Like there have been times where, like, I've had to go to JT and go, hey look, my bad, what I was teaching, how I was teaching, was not correct. Although I'm not apologizing for getting angry, I am apologizing to the level of anger I got.
Speaker 1:It happens because we are imperfect and, like James is sitting here saying, hey, understand, you will be judged with greater strictness, you should have a fear when it comes to teaching what Jesus actually says. Now, that fear should not be so debilitating that you don't do anything, because that's the opposite of faith. Right, faith is sitting here, going because I believe I will do. Fear is sitting here going because I'm afraid I'm just going to stop, but on the same hand, you should do your due diligence Because, understand, if Jesus is the foundation, the cornerstone, as scripture would say, everything else has to be built off of Jesus, which means how I view my work. Whatever my job is is built off of how I view Jesus. Am I working unto men or am I working for the Lord? Do I do everything to the best ability or do I just kind of coast through the motions because I can? Because Ecclesiastes would say whatever your hand finds to do, do with all your might. It doesn't say whatever you find to do that you enjoy doing, do with all your might. It says anything. If you're doing it, do it to the best of your ability. See, this is why it's vital that we know what we're talking about.
Speaker 1:Think about it. I've given you guys this example many times. Those of you in here who have children, did you ever teach them something like this? You better not start a fight oh, I heard it, someone even mumbled it under their breath but you better finish it. Understand that is antithetical to what the gospel actually says. Jesus' words are this If someone slaps you on the right cheek, give them your left cheek also. But we don't teach that because we don't want our kids to be a punching bag. But there is a difference between what you're teaching and what Jesus actually says, and there's a thousand examples we could go through of that because of what you teaching based off of what scripture actually says, or is what you're teaching based off of what your parents taught you and what their parents taught them? Parents taught them. See, understand, if you want different, you have to do different. You want to follow Jesus. You actually have to follow Jesus, and that might mean that some of the things you got bouncing on in your head are not correct and you need to do it differently, especially if you're sitting here going.
Speaker 1:I want to be a good and faithful servant of Christ. The good and faithful servant of Christ. So what happens when the Bible says something that is the opposite of what I do? Well, I need to bend to the Bible, not the other way around. I don't need to go poking around trying to find other verses that will justify my behavior. I need to sit here and go uh-oh, I need to come into alignment with Christ. See, it's absolutely vitally important that we know what to do. Another thing you need to realize is that you, like I have said at the beginning, you are teaching all the time, all the time. Think about it. How does JT know how to treat a wife, because I'm going to go ahead and tell you all, in case you haven't noticed JT ain't there yet we haven't had those deep conversations with. This is how you treat a woman. But if JT were to get married right now, I bet he would know how to treat a wife, how he's seen me his whole life treat his mom, and he's going to take that as he moves away from this.
Speaker 1:In fact, my words are very, very, very, very, very cheap, debbie. I can hands down tell you Debbie's biggest frustration with me in life. She's not allowed to say I'm sorry, and for someone who, like words, matter to, that's very hard for her. But we've had conversation after conversation after conversation. I don't care what you have to say, just to be transparent in front of all you. You know how many girls I've said I love you to A lot. You know how many I married One A lot. You know how many I married One.
Speaker 1:Was I lying? Oh God? Yes, over and over and over. Did they believe it? Yep, did I get what I wanted out of that? Yes, wickedly and sinfully, I used my words to my advantage. Think about that. Words mean nothing. You can tell me whatever you want, but you know what, you can't hide your actions. So in deception training, which you know, the county of Volusia paid me a lot of money to learn how to tell when people are lying. Money to learn how to tell when people are lying.
Speaker 1:There are things that, regardless of how well you can lie, that you can't fake. Your eye movement, your body posture, your heartbeat, your perspiration, stuff like that you can't hide. This is how lie detector tests work. Right. They measure these things that, regardless of how well you lie, you just can't fake. Now, unless you have like something mentally like where you like just believe your lies. What do we call that? Pathological liar? I don't know why. My children were the first ones to say that you just can't fake this kind of stuff. You just can't fake this kind of stuff.
Speaker 1:And seeing what happens is is, regardless of the words coming out of your mouth, your actions are going to tell different. That's why I don't care what you have to say to me. I really don't. I don't get into a lot of arguments. You know why? Because talk is cheap. Why do I care what you have to say Now, what you do, on the other hand, like JT, can look me in the face all day long and tell me how important MMA is to him, but when you ain't been in a month and a half three months, however long it's been, guess what I know isn't important to you.
Speaker 1:Students can come up to me at the end of every nine weeks and go is there anything I can do for extra credit? And I can go. No, not at all. You know what you should have done your work. It's the same thing, hey, and you know what? That's a great illustration. This kind of just hit me. Some of us are going to stand in front of Jesus and do the same thing, right, some of you are going to get in front of Jesus and go no, no, no. Is there any extra credit I can do? And he's going to get in front of Jesus and go no, no, no, no. Is there any extra credit I can do? And he's going to go. No, I gave you plenty of opportunity before this moment. What did you do with it? That's the parable of the talents, isn't it? But see, understand, like we teach all the time, just based off of what you do, to the point that there's this early 2000s theologian. His name's Rodney Atkins.
Speaker 1:He wrote this song that he's driving through town, just his boy and me with a happy meal in his booster seat. He gets to and the yellow light turns red. He hits the brakes and mumbles under his breath. His fries went flying, his orange drink covered his lap. And then his four-year-old said a four-letter word started with S, and he was concerned. And I said son, now, where'd you learn to talk like that? And the son's response I've been watching you, ain't that cool. See, some of you, some of y'all, are familiar with this theologian. See, some of y'all are familiar with this theologian. See, understand, those words are true.
Speaker 1:If you're a parent in here, did you ever sit down with your child and go hey, here's how to lie? No, how'd they learn to lie? Then they saw it Every time. You were on the phone with your spouse and you went baby, I'm almost home, and you were still sitting somewhere you shouldn't have been to begin with and your child was in the car with you. They knew. Anytime I've been on the boat and Debbie's been like, hey, what time are you going to be home? Oh, this is my last cast.
Speaker 1:You don't think JT realized that he just lied to mommy. He has no intention of packing it up right now. So that's how you lie. Huh, daddy, I didn't sit him down and go hey, here's how you do it, here's how you get really good at it. With every lie there's a kernel of truth, and if you can find that kernel like, that wasn't what we did.
Speaker 1:But you know who else sees it your friends, your coworkers, your neighbors. Is it your friends? Your coworkers, your neighbors? Everybody in your life sees what you do. This is why Jesus goes. Hey, you are the salt of the earth, because you can sit here all day long and tell me how I'm a dirty sinner and I'm going to hell if I don't change my ways. But when I look at your life, do I see your love for me? Do I see you going the extra mile because you want to like, show Jesus to me? Or is it just your words that are telling me how evil, wicked and despicable I am? Because that's most Christians. Think about it.
Speaker 1:We talked about it last week. Right, I could show you pictures of dogs in kennels that look like they're being abused and your heart will be broken. But yet you drive through a city all day long full of people that are being hurt and abused and you're like, well, they did it to themselves Seems like their life choices and it's like, really, you don't know their story and some of them, yeah, it might have been their life choices. You ain't made no bad life choices throughout your life. You don't have things that you look back on and go man, thank God for God's grace in my life, because I was two choices away from being that person I go. There was a point in time me and Debbie were homeless and thank God, we had people in our lives that didn't look at us and go. There was a point in time me and Debbie were homeless and, thank God, we had people in our lives that didn't look at us and go well, should have made better choices. And I go think about this Everything we say, everything we do, people are seeing.
Speaker 1:So if we'll be judged for what we teach, let me ask you this how do you know what you're teaching is true and correct? So I met with an old friend this past week and we were talking and we were just talking about like Christianity and all the things that's around. It's a big topic, right. One of the things that came up is there are some 55 000 different denominations of people who would go. I'm christian. Think about this 55 000 different denominations of people who would go. I'm christian. Why are there so many differences? Last time I checked, we have one Bible that has pretty much the same information. So why are there so many differences? Doctrine and I want you to understand this matters. Theology matters. What you believe about Jesus shapes everything you do Understand, then what you believe about Jesus shapes everything you do understand. Then what you believe about Jesus matters.
Speaker 1:So how do we know that what we're teaching is true and correct and it's not the church down the street? Well, the first and foremost thing we need to do is how is what we're teaching compared to all of scripture? See, it's very easy to do what's called proof texting. It's very easy to start with an idea and then go find verses that support said idea, and that's super easy to do. It's very hard to go, hey, verse by verse by verse, and let the text speak for itself. So there's two different ways you can look at scripture. One is called exegesis. That's when we take out of scripture. We let scripture identify and explain what it's saying. The other one is called insagesis. This is where we put ourself into scripture. So, for an example.
Speaker 1:The best example I can give, the easiest to understand, actually is the story of David and Goliath. There are a lot of people who wrongly believe that that is a picture of you, that you're David, and that your sins and problems and all the things in your life are Goliath. Now here's the problem with that. If that indeed is what that story represents, understand you would miss all five times with those rocks. You ain't hitting Goliath, regardless of how big he is, and if you did, it's just going to kind of like, hit him and bounce off. That is putting yourself into Scripture, trying to pull out of Scripture what Scripture is not trying to tell you.
Speaker 1:On the other hand, if we were to look at that same story, here's what we need to understand. One, david is a real person who really lived. Goliath is a real person who really lived, who really was a giant, who really was a Philistine, who was really all of these different things. David killed Goliath. You know why? Because God had already anointed David to do that. Because he knew this was David's first step into becoming king of Israel and establishing his throne forever.
Speaker 1:Now we go. Well, he's not still king of Israel. No, he's not, but Jesus is, and Jesus comes from that lineage, and you see how easily everything points back to Jesus, that I'm just a player in that story. You know who we would have been. If you really want to be someone in that, you'd have been the Israelites. We'd have been the ones that were back there shaking in our armor, going, oh my God, how are we ever going to deal with this? That's who we would be. How do I know that? Because that's how we live our life right. Something bad happens and next thing you know, we're like, oh my God, we're never going to get through it.
Speaker 1:So, first of all, how does it hold up against scripture? I've said this many, many, many times. You know what you should never do. Just take my word for it. You know what you should never do. Just take my word for it Like you shouldn't. Although, yes, I do a ton of work to prepare for a sermon. I spend no less than 20 hours a week studying and reading and writing and rewriting and doing all of those things to prepare for what I do for anywhere between 40 to an hour and a half on Sunday morning. Two of you got it and, yeah, I put a lot of work in and I try to be as faithful and true. But you know what you shouldn't do. Just sit here and take my word for it Go home, study, go to UCAM to the same conclusion as I do Now I get it.
Speaker 1:Some of you are like well then, why on earth would I sit here and listen to you talk? And that is a fair point. I understand that. But you know why else you should go home and study. It's because I can't go as deep as I would want to, because here in the American church we have this problem where you feel like you have to get out of here on time because you have the rest of your day to do stuff. See, if I could go on for four, five, six hours. Understand, some of you have talked to me before. You know I can do that.
Speaker 1:There were city groups at our house that did not end till two, three o'clock in the morning because someone at like 11 asked a question and I was like you know what, let's get into that and I go. I can't do that here because it would be like me by the end. Let's be honest, it would be like me and Debbie, and Debbie would still be giving me the stank eye going. Come on, you got to wrap this up. But think about just what we're talking about right now. Right, just to show you how much deeper we could go into this, I'm going to jump into my next sermon real quick. All right, think about this.
Speaker 1:I am gifted to teach. That is one of my spiritual giftings. This comes easy to me, right? Let's say, for example, your gifting is mercy. Now, does that mean that because I am gifted to be a teacher, I should never extend mercy? Does that mean, because you're not gifted to teach, you should never teach? Are you sure? Because I can make an argument from scripture that would say the opposite of that.
Speaker 1:Right, we looked at it a couple of weeks ago in the book of Acts. In Acts six or seven, I can't remember off the top of my head. What do the apostles tell the people to do? Go find people to wait on the widows. Go find people to serve them, because that's not our job. See, we can make an argument for that. I can make an argument the other way too. Right, because Jesus washes at the feet of the disciples and says that you should put everyone above yourself. Do you see how these things seem to contradict, but at the same time complement each other so beautifully.
Speaker 1:Here's the bottom line of it, right? If you see a need, fill it Right, fill it. There's a place for you to be able to fill in, fill in. I don't care if you're gifted. Here's the deal. I'm the janitor here. You know that I am not gifted to play with doo-doo. So when a student comes out of the bathroomitor here, you know that I am not gifted to play with doo-doo. So when a student comes out of the bathroom and goes uh, mr Lively, it won't flush, guess who has to go fix that. That would be me. I got out of construction so I didn't have to do that stuff anymore. And yet Jesus goes nope, you're still going to do it, and some of them.
Speaker 1:I'm like look, we need to have a whole different nutrition class with you, because obviously there's something wrong. See, and really what it means is to fill where you can fill, right. But you see how much deeper we could go into this. Sometimes we just scratch the surface in the time that we're here. That's all we're doing. And then here's what we do we go. I can only give you an hour and a half a week to do this. So there is no other night for me to be able to go deeper into this with you, because all you get is this hour and a half on Sunday. And some of you are like, and we got to spend time singing, we can't just come in and preach the word, and then we got to talk, drink coffee, and we got to do all these other things too, and I'm like, look, man, if this is the only time we got, then we really need to be intentional with it.
Speaker 1:So, number one how does it line up against scripture? Number two how does it line up against other teachers? How does it line up against other Christians? Like, do you spend time during your week talking to other Christians about theology? And if you're sitting here going, no, understand, you're doing yourself a disservice, because here's what's going to happen and I'll tell you right now. He ain't here today so he can't defend himself, but that's on him.
Speaker 1:Eric rode with me in a truck for three years at work. We have had discussions like we did four 10-hour days. We have had discussions that started on a Monday and didn't get over till a Wednesday, and I'm going to be honest, we were municipalities, right, so it wasn't like we were out killing ourselves doing work either. I mean, we got done with our work and what we were assigned to, whatever our hand found to do, we did with all our might, right, and we were usually done by like 11. So it was like, hey, let's jump right back into this. Then you need to be having those conversations with other Christians.
Speaker 1:How does what you believe line up with what they believe? Is there a breakdown that is coming into play? Do you guys line up in different camps? If so, why do you line up in different camps? See, understand, and we're going to get into this in our systematic theology class, but does anybody know why the books of the Bible are the 66 books of the Bible? You know there are other letters and books that were written. In fact, if you grew up Catholic, you've read a lot of them, right? The Apocryphal, the Gospel of Thomas and the Gospel of Judith. You know how happy my mom would have been if they would have included that one in there, but why didn't they? It's called canonization. It's actually one of the first places we start in systematic theology, right? And what he's actually saying and what we need to look at is does this line up with everything else.
Speaker 1:Anyone in here ever had a Mormon come to their house? Hey, if nothing else, they're tenacious, right Tenacious, like they're not afraid to get on that little bicycle and wear that little tie and get to work. That's more than we can say. They're dead wrong in what they're doing and their whole argument falls down when you go okay, I'm not talking about the Book of Mormon, I'm talking about the Bible. But understand, you know, the best way to argue with them is knowing what the Bible says, like I don't need to have all of these fancy apologetics and backbone I didn't mean to say backbone that's what's coming up next. But if it passes the first test, awesome, like it's scriptural, I can back it up from the Bible. If it passes the second test, hey, you know what Other believers even see the same things.
Speaker 1:Right, we move on to the third thing, and that is this have a backbone. Some of y'all don't? Some of y'all are way too timid and going well, I don't, you know, I can't quote the verse and chapter the way like this person can. Who cares? Have a backbone. You know what you have in your pocket, a super computer that, if you can just get a couple of words that that's in that verse. All you gotta do is type it in and it'll tell you what verse it is. You don't have to be able to quote everything like that, but have a backbone in what you believe. Here's the deal.
Speaker 1:Again, that same friend I had met with this past week. We were talking and he was asking me a question about a sermon from a different pastor that he had listened to this week, and me and this other pastor come to very, very, very different conclusions on what this verse means. And this other pastor just happens to have way more degrees than I do. He has a way bigger platform than I do, and, all intents and purposes, most people would be like intimidated because and I'll even tell you, like he's a pastor, that I respect a lot of what he says, but that didn't mean that he's 100% correct on everything he says either. You know what I didn't do Back down, I didn't play that whole. Oh well, yeah, I guess I can see that card. You know why? Because what he was saying wasn't true. And if what he was saying was true, it would shrink the church down to.
Speaker 1:We are only for people who believe and I've heard this from a lot of pastors that unbelievers cannot worship rightly, and although that is true that if you are not a believer you will not worship rightly you can't worship rightly because you are still dead in your trespass and sin. I agree with that. But the church isn't just for believers. Why did Jesus enact the church? Why did Jesus create the church? To seek and save what is lost. So if we're not out among the lost, then what are we doing? We're just kind of in this holding pattern until Christ comes back and all we got to do is take care of each other. That is not what we exist for.
Speaker 1:And after this conversation my friend was like oh, you know what? That does make a lot more sense. See, can you make an argument for what you believe? Because I'm going to tell you, if you say something you believe, you will find someone who will say the exact opposite of what you believe. You will find someone who will say the exact opposite of what you believe. It doesn't matter whether they're a Christian or a non-Christian. You will find Christians that will just like argue JT is a prime example of this.
Speaker 1:Or Debbie JT will argue just to argue. He could completely agree with your point, but he will argue with you about it. I don't know where it gets something like that from. I'm going with it came from Debbie, but I am open to other possibilities. Like, that is just what he does. His brain just works like that.
Speaker 1:And what I'm going to tell you is other Christians are going to argue with you based on what you believe. Why? Because some of us just like to argue. I will tell you right now. If you come, tell me something about what you believe, I will take the exact opposite position of you, just to see how long you will be able to argue until it breaks down. You know why? Because it's called training, like, and it's fun for me. And you know what? It sharpens my skills and as iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another, right Some of us. We need that because you need that backbone to be able to stand up against that.
Speaker 1:Because, understand, people are going to disagree with you. Some people are just going to be like nope. Other people are going to be like nope, and here's why All you have to do in my house is bring up like okay, here's what kicked up the whole thing. Yesterday, right, gabby asked me a question about 9-11. With that, jt launched into this whole thing that had to do with this other building that exploded seven minutes before the Twin Towers, and this proves that in this whole conspiracy theory and I was like you're kidding, right, daddy was on BBC. Yeah, because we can't fake anything digital nowadays I mean, come on, we have a class here where, like, eighth graders can show me they're bouncing on the moon. You really think, like, someone that actually knows what they're doing can't do this. Jt, come on, man, like, and at the end of the day, like, this is what launched into the whole argument thing. But we have to have a backbone because, unless you've never seen YouTube, there are people that believe the exact opposite of you.
Speaker 1:Now, who we teach and this is it, and I'm wrapping up after this who we teach. This is where I think the gifting of teaching really takes separate paths. Right, like I said, everybody in here is called to teach. Who you're called to teach is different. See, some of you and I'm going to just speak to dads for just a second dads and husbands, you're called to teach your family. That is your responsibility. That is not my responsibility. That is not your wife's responsibility. That is your responsibility. You are called to teach and lead your family. Your family is your first ministry. In fact, you can't come do what I'm doing if you do not lead your family well, according to Titus and Timothy.
Speaker 1:That being said, are you teaching them? See, our platforms may be different. Some of you in here, you may grow one day to be a pastor of a 20,000 member church. That may be God's teaching in your life. We may never get there, but are you faithful to teach who Jesus has put in front of you to teach? So you understand when Jesus gave the Great Commission. Go, therefore, and make disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey all or observe all that I have commanded you.
Speaker 1:Was he only talking to guys? No, he was talking to all disciples. So, if you were anyone in here, are you teaching? Are you teaching the persons, the people that God has put in front of you to teach? See, and if you're sitting here, especially like when we're looking at a family level, and you're like, hey, I get it, most of you in here you have kids that go to a private Christian school, most of you in here, your kids come here and, yeah, they hear Bible almost every day. The only days they don't hear Bible being teached are the days they have to take what they have been taught and actually fill out their books. Have you ever came in here and looked at their Bible book to see what they filled out? Because if all you're doing is going by the grade I put in there, you're doing yourself a disservice. Because I'm going to tell you right now, some of them they just draw pictures. That's all they're doing. You know why? Because it's school, because what do they care? Because they don't have to deal with this. Like for all of you in here.
Speaker 1:Here's what we covered this week how does your sin separate you from God? Did anybody in here have a conversation at their house about how their sin separates them from God? No, right. Do you know how your sin separates you from God? So you understand like those things matter, right, god? So you understand like those things matter right.
Speaker 1:Are you teaching who you're called to teach? I know some of you in here are teachers. Are you teaching who you're called to teach and understand this, regardless of what grade you teach? Let's be honest, okay, and I'm a math teacher. When was the last time anyone in here used the Pythagorean theorem. See, I love when kids go. When are we ever going to use this? And you can ask any of the middle schoolers in here. I will flat tell them you're not. Like, unless you go on to be an engineer or an architect or something that is like super mathematical you're never going to see or use this again. You are never going to be at the grocery store and have to figure out the length of a hypotenuse. You're not. But the state said that you need to learn this, so we have to teach it Now. That being said, you know what they're going to use every day for the rest of their life. Who is Jesus and how does my sin separate me from God? See, think about the stuff you're teaching your kids. You know what?
Speaker 1:I don't waste a lot of time teaching JT how to be better at Street Fighter or Mortal Kombat or whatever game he is playing at that moment. You know why? Because that does nothing for his life. You know what I do spend time teaching JT here's how you catch fish. You know why? Because that way later, when his unmotivated self is homeless, I know he'll still be able to feed himself. Y'all can laugh all you want to. I stand by what I say. You know why? Because that's a skill that he'll be able to use for the rest of his life, because you know what's going to happen. God willing, if he has a family and he has a son, he's going to take him fishing. Me and him have that bond that we have, because me and him spend an awful lot of time just me and him. And you get into a lot of conversations when you're just alone on a boat. In fact, I think he gets in too many conversations. He doesn't understand the joy of just being quiet and listening to the waves.
Speaker 1:So does it pass the, the scripture test? Does it pass what other Christians are teaching and are you teaching? See, just like last week, this gifting goes to every single believer in here. If you were in this room right now saying Jesus is my Lord, you are called to teach. Are you teaching? Are you teaching others who Jesus is and what he has done, or are you just spending your time consuming on Sunday mornings?
Speaker 1:If you need help with this, like I've said many times, make time on Wednesday to come to Systematic Theology. Make time to be here, because if you're not going to make time, then how are you going to learn it anyway? And if you don't learn it, how are you going to learn it anyway? If you don't learn it, how are you going to teach it? Like, can anyone in here teach me how to solve quadratic equations? I'll tell you right now. Karen's probably the only one in here that would be able to teach it, with a handful of you being able to do it. But see, if you don't know it, you can't teach it.
Speaker 1:So, father, I ask and I pray that, as we move forward from this moment, that, god, you put into us that desire to learn, that you put into us, father, that ability to make time for the things that are important to us, to learn what your Bible, what your word says, so that, father, we may step into that gifting that you have given us as teachers. And, father, regardless of who we're teaching, the size and number of who we're teaching, god, help us understand how important it is to us that we teach that, father, the future of everything depends on this. So, father, I ask and I pray that you just lay upon whoever in this room, father, that desire and burning to teach those around them. Father, we pray this in Jesus' name, amen.