WEBVTT 00:00:00.200 --> 00:00:04.379 verses 12 through 14 Hebrews chapter 5 verses 00:00:04.379 --> 00:00:08.599 12 through 14 and when you have found that say 00:00:08.599 --> 00:00:16.719 we should be teaching by now when you found that 00:00:16.719 --> 00:00:20.160 we should be teaching by now and here's the part 00:00:20.160 --> 00:00:22.719 that's special about today we've never done this 00:00:22.719 --> 00:00:26.480 before I was I planned on telling a story this 00:00:26.480 --> 00:00:29.859 morning And I asked Anita to give me the details 00:00:29.859 --> 00:00:33.799 as she remembered them last night. And I said, 00:00:33.820 --> 00:00:35.560 you've got to tell that story because you're 00:00:35.560 --> 00:00:37.179 going to do it so much better than I'm going 00:00:37.179 --> 00:00:41.340 to. And just so that we're clear, you all love 00:00:41.340 --> 00:00:45.460 me. I love you. And at some point in the story, 00:00:45.539 --> 00:00:47.280 you're going to be like, our pastor is a jerk. 00:00:48.719 --> 00:00:50.859 And that was her fear. She's like, I don't want 00:00:50.859 --> 00:00:53.109 to make you look bad. So we're just going to 00:00:53.109 --> 00:00:55.090 go ahead and talk about the elephant in the room. 00:00:55.450 --> 00:00:56.810 At some point, you're going to be like, yeah, 00:00:56.869 --> 00:00:59.869 our pastor's a jerk. But you love me anyways, 00:01:00.049 --> 00:01:03.909 right? So would you give a warm North Royalton 00:01:03.909 --> 00:01:07.870 welcome to my beautiful wife, Danita. OK. So 00:01:07.870 --> 00:01:09.450 he asked me last night to tell the story. And 00:01:09.450 --> 00:01:11.290 I'm like, well, what part of the story? Because 00:01:11.290 --> 00:01:13.629 if you've been around us, you've probably heard 00:01:13.629 --> 00:01:16.409 us. No, maybe. heard us at some point say, oh, 00:01:16.430 --> 00:01:18.510 look at the baby eating the baby food. You probably 00:01:18.510 --> 00:01:21.310 heard that phrase. So we, as a family, kind of 00:01:21.310 --> 00:01:23.890 tell that story from that viewpoint. But the 00:01:23.890 --> 00:01:28.230 story started before that for me. I was pregnant 00:01:28.230 --> 00:01:30.989 for Aubrey, and Caleb was about 18 months old. 00:01:31.549 --> 00:01:33.930 And those of you who have had children remember 00:01:33.930 --> 00:01:36.129 the first trimester and how exhausting it is. 00:01:36.409 --> 00:01:40.250 So I was so tired that day, and I just. I couldn't 00:01:40.250 --> 00:01:42.390 even think straight. But I had to go to Kroger, 00:01:42.629 --> 00:01:44.750 pick up something. We were in Central Ohio at 00:01:44.750 --> 00:01:49.349 the time. And I was, as mothers do, thinking, 00:01:49.469 --> 00:01:51.489 OK, I've got to figure out something for lunch 00:01:51.489 --> 00:01:55.590 for her. She's eating real food, but I didn't 00:01:55.590 --> 00:01:58.189 have anything super easy. And then I got to make 00:01:58.189 --> 00:02:00.109 dinner and just all the things, the checklist 00:02:00.109 --> 00:02:03.310 in your head. So I'm walking around Kroger to 00:02:03.310 --> 00:02:04.870 pick up a couple things. I'm like, I'm just going 00:02:04.870 --> 00:02:08.229 to pick up this jar of toddler food. It's kind 00:02:08.229 --> 00:02:11.150 of like real food and she'll eat it, it'll be 00:02:11.150 --> 00:02:15.030 fine. So I take this, this is like step three. 00:02:15.069 --> 00:02:16.689 You know how they have like step one, step two, 00:02:16.710 --> 00:02:19.250 step three baby food? Toddler food, it was toddler 00:02:19.250 --> 00:02:20.969 food, I'm telling you, it was toddler food. So 00:02:20.969 --> 00:02:24.289 I warm up the toddler food we get home and she's 00:02:24.289 --> 00:02:26.969 in her high chair and I'm just like, okay, like 00:02:26.969 --> 00:02:28.969 30 minutes and she'll go down for a nap and I 00:02:28.969 --> 00:02:31.689 can go down for a nap, I'm so tired. and I'm 00:02:31.689 --> 00:02:34.810 feeding her this toddler food. And in Knoxville, 00:02:34.930 --> 00:02:36.710 in the middle of his day, he stopped in for some 00:02:36.710 --> 00:02:38.449 reason. I'm not even sure why, because he usually 00:02:38.449 --> 00:02:41.610 didn't. And he's like, oh, look at the baby eating 00:02:41.610 --> 00:02:44.590 the baby food. Well, just for the record, at 00:02:44.590 --> 00:02:47.449 the time, Kalen thought Phil hung the moon and 00:02:47.449 --> 00:02:49.789 the stars and everything else in between. And 00:02:49.789 --> 00:02:52.770 I think so. I think he did, too. But as soon 00:02:52.770 --> 00:02:56.030 as he called her a baby, that was it. She wouldn't 00:02:56.030 --> 00:02:58.729 eat it. And so then I'm like, I'm looking at 00:02:58.729 --> 00:03:01.189 him like, I'm gonna kill you, like you are gonna 00:03:01.189 --> 00:03:05.229 die today. And then he's like, okay, well I gotta 00:03:05.229 --> 00:03:09.030 go, I'll see you later. And I still have to find 00:03:09.030 --> 00:03:11.110 food for this kid to eat so she'll take a nap 00:03:11.110 --> 00:03:14.789 so I can take a nap. So I'm like, okay, thanks, 00:03:15.069 --> 00:03:18.590 bye honey. Moral of the story is she did live, 00:03:18.810 --> 00:03:21.710 she ate, she took a nap, he didn't die, I didn't 00:03:21.710 --> 00:03:27.520 die, it was great, but. Look at the baby eating 00:03:27.520 --> 00:03:30.500 the baby food. It was not one of my brighter 00:03:30.500 --> 00:03:32.919 moments. It's not one of my brighter moments 00:03:32.919 --> 00:03:38.199 and So it was like really bad Really mad about 00:03:38.199 --> 00:03:40.219 me saying hey look at the baby eating the baby 00:03:40.219 --> 00:03:42.960 food. So this morning I want to talk with you 00:03:42.960 --> 00:03:47.379 about we should be teaching by now right and 00:03:47.379 --> 00:03:50.780 That phrase really comes from Hebrews chapter 00:03:50.780 --> 00:03:54.039 5 verses 12 through 14. So you've already found 00:03:54.039 --> 00:03:56.770 it. You're with me Here's what the passage says. 00:03:56.789 --> 00:03:59.150 I'll be reading from the New Living Translation. 00:03:59.250 --> 00:04:02.169 It's not one that's better than another. It's 00:04:02.169 --> 00:04:04.009 just the one that I'm reading from this morning. 00:04:04.409 --> 00:04:06.150 So if it sounds a little bit different than what 00:04:06.150 --> 00:04:08.310 you're seeing in reading, it's just a different 00:04:08.310 --> 00:04:10.870 translation. But here's what it says in the NLT. 00:04:11.330 --> 00:04:13.750 You have been believers so long now that you 00:04:13.750 --> 00:04:16.149 ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need 00:04:16.149 --> 00:04:18.709 someone to teach you again the basic things about 00:04:18.709 --> 00:04:22.170 God's Word. You are like babies. who need milk 00:04:22.170 --> 00:04:25.209 and cannot eat solid food. For someone who lives 00:04:25.209 --> 00:04:28.750 on milk is still an infant. It doesn't know how 00:04:28.750 --> 00:04:31.889 to do what is right. Solid food is for those 00:04:31.889 --> 00:04:35.490 who are mature, who through training have the 00:04:35.490 --> 00:04:38.430 skill to recognize the difference between right 00:04:38.430 --> 00:04:41.250 and wrong. Here's the phrase that I want you 00:04:41.250 --> 00:04:43.970 to notice with me. It's the first part of that 00:04:43.970 --> 00:04:47.029 first well those verses that we read. You have 00:04:47.029 --> 00:04:50.569 been believer so long. that you ought to be teaching 00:04:50.569 --> 00:04:53.629 others. Easy enough, right? You've been believers 00:04:53.629 --> 00:04:56.850 so long that you ought to be teaching others. 00:04:57.410 --> 00:05:00.449 But then it goes on to say, oh, look at the baby 00:05:00.449 --> 00:05:04.949 eating baby food. But you've been believers so 00:05:04.949 --> 00:05:07.269 long that you ought to be teaching others. The 00:05:07.269 --> 00:05:09.269 word ought there is a Greek word. Here's your 00:05:09.269 --> 00:05:11.730 kind of Greek lesson for the day. I'm a biblical 00:05:11.730 --> 00:05:13.829 language nerd. The word that's used there is 00:05:13.829 --> 00:05:18.459 Ophelio. Everyone say Ophelio. Ophelia is it's 00:05:18.459 --> 00:05:20.699 the Greek word that's used there and it means 00:05:20.699 --> 00:05:25.839 that we are morally obligated to it so we have 00:05:25.839 --> 00:05:30.680 a moral obligation to not only like what it's 00:05:30.680 --> 00:05:33.800 okay for us to need milk at some point right 00:05:33.800 --> 00:05:36.220 it's okay for us when we're new in Christ to 00:05:36.220 --> 00:05:38.899 need milk and to not be ready for solid food 00:05:38.899 --> 00:05:41.879 but when we're in relationship with Jesus for 00:05:41.879 --> 00:05:45.100 any length of time We have a moral obligation 00:05:45.100 --> 00:05:48.139 to continue to grow and mature and eventually 00:05:48.139 --> 00:05:50.120 gets the point that we can invest in others. 00:05:50.339 --> 00:05:53.620 If that makes sense, say, oh, yeah, that we shouldn't 00:05:53.620 --> 00:05:57.720 be like owed to baby eaten to baby food forever. 00:05:59.459 --> 00:06:02.759 So scripture says by now, you should not just 00:06:02.759 --> 00:06:06.019 be being fed, but that you should be feeding 00:06:06.019 --> 00:06:09.819 others. But here's the thing. Instead of chewing 00:06:09.819 --> 00:06:14.240 on steak, we're still sipping on bottles. I mean, 00:06:14.240 --> 00:06:15.480 you know what I mean by that, right? I mean, 00:06:15.480 --> 00:06:17.600 it's a metaphor, but we're still sipping on bottles. 00:06:17.660 --> 00:06:20.980 We're sitting in sermons, but not stepping into 00:06:20.980 --> 00:06:24.160 discipleship. This entire concept flies straight 00:06:24.160 --> 00:06:27.259 in the face of the consumeristic mentality that's 00:06:27.259 --> 00:06:29.860 currently plugging the church. One of the most 00:06:29.860 --> 00:06:32.720 common, like they do surveys and studies on people 00:06:32.720 --> 00:06:35.459 who leave one church and go to another. One of 00:06:35.459 --> 00:06:37.639 the top five reasons that people leave one church 00:06:37.639 --> 00:06:41.300 and go to another. You know what it is? This 00:06:41.300 --> 00:06:47.680 phrase. I'm just not being fed. And I hear you. 00:06:47.939 --> 00:06:52.439 I mean, I get it. And there could be a valid 00:06:52.439 --> 00:06:56.139 argument there. But do you understand that when 00:06:56.139 --> 00:06:58.980 we're followers of Jesus, we have a moral obligation 00:06:58.980 --> 00:07:02.300 to move from, hey, I'm not being fed to, I need 00:07:02.300 --> 00:07:04.699 to now take responsibility for feeding others? 00:07:05.500 --> 00:07:07.939 That we need to be a part of serving other people 00:07:07.939 --> 00:07:10.579 around us. So this flies straight in the face 00:07:10.579 --> 00:07:12.740 of all of that and we want to come and kind of 00:07:12.740 --> 00:07:15.639 take it all in and what the writer of Hebrews 00:07:15.639 --> 00:07:18.459 is saying is that there is a time for that but 00:07:18.459 --> 00:07:20.579 we need to get to the point where we're infesting 00:07:20.579 --> 00:07:23.100 in others every conversation, every time that 00:07:23.100 --> 00:07:25.639 we support the work of the church, every time 00:07:25.639 --> 00:07:27.899 we go without something that moves the needle 00:07:27.899 --> 00:07:30.720 of the kingdom forward, every time that we do 00:07:30.720 --> 00:07:34.879 that we're demonstrating the kind of natural 00:07:34.879 --> 00:07:38.920 growth that's expected. of every believer. Because 00:07:38.920 --> 00:07:41.839 here's the bottom line. When we come into relationship 00:07:41.839 --> 00:07:44.519 with Jesus, we no longer belong to ourselves. 00:07:49.339 --> 00:07:50.800 I'm preaching a whole lot better than you're 00:07:50.800 --> 00:07:53.220 responding. When we come into relationship with 00:07:53.220 --> 00:07:56.399 Jesus, we no longer have the right to exist for 00:07:56.399 --> 00:08:00.319 ourselves. Think of it like this. So I lived 00:08:00.319 --> 00:08:02.339 on my own for a while. I was a bachelor. I had 00:08:02.339 --> 00:08:04.819 my own house. I did my own thing. I cooked my 00:08:04.819 --> 00:08:07.920 own meals. I invited people over. I did what 00:08:07.920 --> 00:08:10.579 I wanted to do. I didn't really have to answer 00:08:10.579 --> 00:08:13.519 to anyone. It was my place. I did what I wanted 00:08:13.519 --> 00:08:16.420 to do. But when I entered into a relationship 00:08:16.420 --> 00:08:19.839 with Danita, I lose the right to do what I want 00:08:19.839 --> 00:08:23.920 to do. I have to consider what's best for her. 00:08:25.240 --> 00:08:29.079 And at first, that takes some adjustment. But 00:08:29.079 --> 00:08:31.500 you eventually get to the point that it becomes 00:08:31.500 --> 00:08:33.940 second nature that I want to do what's best for 00:08:33.940 --> 00:08:37.039 Danita and That's constantly something that I'm 00:08:37.039 --> 00:08:39.059 striving for the same is true in our relationship 00:08:39.059 --> 00:08:41.779 with Christ that when we begin a relationship 00:08:41.779 --> 00:08:44.000 with him We can't just do what we want to do 00:08:44.000 --> 00:08:46.700 We have to think about what's best for the kingdom. 00:08:46.779 --> 00:08:49.019 What's gonna be pleasing to Jesus. What's gonna 00:08:49.019 --> 00:08:52.700 help the people around me So we all understand 00:08:52.700 --> 00:08:55.590 that right? So this really is where the five 00:08:55.590 --> 00:08:58.070 -fold ministry comes alive. So last week we talked 00:08:58.070 --> 00:09:00.629 about shepherds, and one of the main jobs of 00:09:00.629 --> 00:09:02.889 shepherds is that they feed the sheep, right? 00:09:02.889 --> 00:09:05.210 We talked about that. They care for, they nurture, 00:09:05.549 --> 00:09:09.230 they provide for the sheep. So teachers really 00:09:09.230 --> 00:09:13.149 is... So it's the job of the shepherd in the 00:09:13.149 --> 00:09:15.049 five -fold. It's the job of the shepherd to make 00:09:15.049 --> 00:09:18.929 sure that the sheep get fed. But really they 00:09:18.929 --> 00:09:22.750 can't do that alone. So it's the role of the 00:09:22.750 --> 00:09:25.049 teacher that helps people get grounded in it 00:09:25.049 --> 00:09:27.649 It's what allows the Word of God to go down deep 00:09:27.649 --> 00:09:29.970 and to really become the foundation that they 00:09:29.970 --> 00:09:31.990 live their lives from Shepherds can't really 00:09:31.990 --> 00:09:34.370 do that and all the other things it's teachers 00:09:34.370 --> 00:09:35.809 that are helping them to have the depth that 00:09:35.809 --> 00:09:38.730 they need So shepherds and teachers go hand in 00:09:38.730 --> 00:09:41.110 hand But teachers are the ones that are helping 00:09:41.110 --> 00:09:44.370 them to really get this stuff rooted and established 00:09:44.370 --> 00:09:47.950 So nobody gets mad when you have to spoon feed 00:09:47.950 --> 00:09:51.830 a baby, right? No one gets upset about that. 00:09:52.909 --> 00:09:55.190 It's cute I mean the entire thing and maybe they 00:09:55.190 --> 00:09:57.370 don't like it. So maybe you do the little airplane 00:09:57.370 --> 00:10:02.129 thing You better open up here it comes. Oh, there 00:10:02.129 --> 00:10:06.570 you go. Good job. No one gets upset by that But 00:10:06.570 --> 00:10:09.769 do you know how ridiculous it is? when you're 00:10:09.769 --> 00:10:14.909 cutting up steak for a 50 year old man And he 00:10:14.909 --> 00:10:17.210 doesn't like the way that the steak's been prepared. 00:10:17.309 --> 00:10:20.129 So you're doing the airplane thing for a 50 -year 00:10:20.129 --> 00:10:23.110 -old man. Because hey, he's got to eat his food. 00:10:23.570 --> 00:10:25.730 So you're like, hey honey, open up your mouth. 00:10:28.090 --> 00:10:31.110 Do you know how ridiculous that is? That's not 00:10:31.110 --> 00:10:36.529 cute. That's tragic. Right? I mean, that's tragic. 00:10:36.909 --> 00:10:39.750 We expect that we need to feed babies. We don't 00:10:39.750 --> 00:10:41.629 expect that we're going to have to feed 50 -year 00:10:41.629 --> 00:10:46.409 -old men. Right? It's tragic. So there's a time 00:10:46.409 --> 00:10:49.049 and a place for us to do that with people who 00:10:49.049 --> 00:10:50.970 are new in the faith, but there comes a point 00:10:50.970 --> 00:10:54.690 where we need to have enough maturity to say, 00:10:55.549 --> 00:10:58.610 I'm gonna cut up my own steak and I'm gonna eat 00:10:58.610 --> 00:11:03.149 my own steak. So here's the insight here. Christian 00:11:03.149 --> 00:11:05.730 maturity is not about how long you've believed, 00:11:06.509 --> 00:11:09.009 but it's about how deeply you've been transformed 00:11:09.009 --> 00:11:12.580 and trained. Maturity is measured in multiplication. 00:11:12.840 --> 00:11:15.840 It shows up when we start passing on what we've 00:11:15.840 --> 00:11:18.559 received. Now here's the thing, and I wish I 00:11:18.559 --> 00:11:21.299 had a catchy way of saying it, and I don't. I 00:11:21.299 --> 00:11:24.820 couldn't think of one. But here's the bottom 00:11:24.820 --> 00:11:28.600 line. When we're talking about faith, it's not 00:11:28.600 --> 00:11:34.360 really yours until you give it away. And I wish 00:11:34.360 --> 00:11:36.539 I had a catchy way of saying that. But you know 00:11:36.539 --> 00:11:39.399 what I mean by that, right? So like I have this 00:11:39.399 --> 00:11:43.360 faith that's my own, but it's not really mine 00:11:43.360 --> 00:11:46.360 until I figure out a way to give it to somebody 00:11:46.360 --> 00:11:49.600 else. And in giving it away to somebody else, 00:11:49.600 --> 00:11:53.519 that's when it really becomes mine. It's when 00:11:53.519 --> 00:11:55.539 somebody else has benefited from the faith that 00:11:55.539 --> 00:11:59.419 I have. A true story of a church in Uganda, a 00:11:59.419 --> 00:12:02.740 woman by the name of Grace could not read, she 00:12:02.740 --> 00:12:06.519 could not write. So she didn't have a Bible even 00:12:06.519 --> 00:12:08.879 if she could have found one and opened it up 00:12:08.879 --> 00:12:10.879 somehow She wouldn't have been able to read it. 00:12:11.159 --> 00:12:13.159 It would have not made any sense to her but she 00:12:13.159 --> 00:12:16.860 sat every week and listened for years as scripture 00:12:16.860 --> 00:12:21.820 was read out loud and it was a powerful experience 00:12:21.820 --> 00:12:24.279 for her so she began to memorize the things that 00:12:24.279 --> 00:12:27.360 she would hear read and Before long she would 00:12:27.360 --> 00:12:30.679 gather all of the village girls around on a daily 00:12:30.679 --> 00:12:33.539 basis. She would gather them around and she would 00:12:33.539 --> 00:12:36.100 begin to recite the word of God that she had 00:12:36.100 --> 00:12:39.320 memorized. Just from hearing people read it out 00:12:39.320 --> 00:12:41.340 loud. So here's the thing that's amazing about 00:12:41.340 --> 00:12:43.480 that. She couldn't read, she couldn't write, 00:12:44.480 --> 00:12:49.220 but she could teach. And the word of God was 00:12:49.220 --> 00:12:53.519 bearing fruit because she was teaching. So if 00:12:53.519 --> 00:12:55.899 grace can disciple people without a Bible in 00:12:55.899 --> 00:12:58.600 her hand and without the ability to read or write, 00:12:59.200 --> 00:13:02.840 what excuse do we have? when we literally have 00:13:02.840 --> 00:13:12.340 hundreds of translations in our pocket. So I 00:13:12.340 --> 00:13:17.360 would say that it's time for us to grow up in 00:13:17.360 --> 00:13:20.360 every language. You can even get it in Hawaiian 00:13:20.360 --> 00:13:22.919 Pidgin. If you don't believe me, check it out. 00:13:22.960 --> 00:13:25.139 And if you want something fun to do this afternoon, 00:13:25.480 --> 00:13:27.659 read your favorite Bible passage in Hawaiian 00:13:27.659 --> 00:13:31.529 Pidgin. I promise you'll laugh. We have all kinds 00:13:31.529 --> 00:13:34.470 of stuff. So it's time for us to grow up, right? 00:13:34.570 --> 00:13:36.450 That's what the writer of Hebrews is saying, 00:13:36.490 --> 00:13:38.350 that there's a time and a place for us to have 00:13:38.350 --> 00:13:43.090 milk, but there's also a time for us to be past 00:13:43.090 --> 00:13:44.909 the point of, oh, look at the baby eating the 00:13:44.909 --> 00:13:47.529 baby food. That's the point that it's making, 00:13:47.570 --> 00:13:49.529 that we need to grow up, that it's time to get 00:13:49.529 --> 00:13:51.750 off the bottle. Look at your neighbor and say, 00:13:51.889 --> 00:13:58.429 get off the bottle. By now, you ought to be teaching. 00:13:59.319 --> 00:14:03.700 Here's the problem that we have. We're overfed 00:14:03.700 --> 00:14:08.620 and underformed. We scroll, we skim, we share, 00:14:08.620 --> 00:14:11.700 but we don't really search out the will or the 00:14:11.700 --> 00:14:14.679 Word of God. We're drowning in information, yet 00:14:14.679 --> 00:14:17.519 starving for transformation and formation. So 00:14:17.519 --> 00:14:21.799 many of us can quote Christian content, but I'm 00:14:21.799 --> 00:14:24.000 not sure if Jesus himself walked in the room, 00:14:24.000 --> 00:14:27.659 we'd have any idea who he was. So here are the 00:14:27.659 --> 00:14:30.820 symptoms of that. We know catchphrases, but we 00:14:30.820 --> 00:14:34.139 don't know scripture. Or sometimes, like this 00:14:34.139 --> 00:14:36.539 is always comical to me, when people will quote 00:14:36.539 --> 00:14:39.820 quote unquote scripture and it's nowhere in the 00:14:39.820 --> 00:14:42.340 Bible. Like some of my favorites are this, people 00:14:42.340 --> 00:14:44.320 will say, well you know the Bible says God helps 00:14:44.320 --> 00:14:47.159 those who help themselves. No, actually the Bible 00:14:47.159 --> 00:14:50.200 says the exact opposite of that. So like that's, 00:14:50.240 --> 00:14:51.960 first of all it's not scriptural, number two 00:14:51.960 --> 00:14:55.789 it's not even good theology. Like I had a Sunday 00:14:55.789 --> 00:14:57.409 school teacher one time who said, you know, the 00:14:57.409 --> 00:14:59.950 Bible says when hell freezes over Well, let me 00:14:59.950 --> 00:15:02.370 tell you something the Bible nowhere says that 00:15:02.370 --> 00:15:04.889 okay, trust me I've read the thing cover to cover 00:15:04.889 --> 00:15:07.710 nowhere does it say that that's funny and I'll 00:15:07.710 --> 00:15:09.850 remember that for a long time But the Bible does 00:15:09.850 --> 00:15:12.870 not say that so we know these catchphrases, but 00:15:12.870 --> 00:15:15.470 we don't really know scripture very well We nod 00:15:15.470 --> 00:15:19.690 at truth, but we don't live it We'll rage over 00:15:19.690 --> 00:15:25.419 cracker barrels rebranding but we won't flinch 00:15:25.419 --> 00:15:34.080 when our neighbor's bleeding in the street. We'll 00:15:34.080 --> 00:15:37.980 repost devotional thoughts, but we refuse discipleship. 00:15:40.080 --> 00:15:43.460 This one is kind of funny to me, but it's disturbing 00:15:43.460 --> 00:15:45.580 at the same time, so I'm not sure which part 00:15:45.580 --> 00:15:48.500 of my brain to store this in. But they did a 00:15:48.500 --> 00:15:52.070 recent Bible literacy survey. And they found 00:15:52.070 --> 00:15:56.429 that more Americans could list all of the Kardashians 00:15:56.429 --> 00:16:03.470 than the Ten Commandments. So I told Danita that, 00:16:03.610 --> 00:16:06.509 and she said, well, I can't. And I said, which 00:16:06.509 --> 00:16:09.049 one can't you? She's like, I can't name all the 00:16:09.049 --> 00:16:12.509 Kardashians. I said, OK, that's great. Can you 00:16:12.509 --> 00:16:14.710 name all the Ten Commandments? And she can. She 00:16:14.710 --> 00:16:16.870 can tell you all the Ten Commandments. But she 00:16:16.870 --> 00:16:19.250 probably can't tell you all the Kardashians. 00:16:21.019 --> 00:16:22.840 Think about it. We've heard the truth. We're 00:16:22.840 --> 00:16:25.740 just not grounded in it. And here's the big problem 00:16:25.740 --> 00:16:28.519 information without transformation of spiritual 00:16:28.519 --> 00:16:32.299 malnourishment It's like eating fast food every 00:16:32.299 --> 00:16:37.200 day for every meal So, I mean sure your plates 00:16:37.200 --> 00:16:43.240 full But your soul's empty The devil doesn't 00:16:43.240 --> 00:16:45.779 care how many sermons that you've streamed books 00:16:45.779 --> 00:16:47.740 that you've bought or reels that you've saved 00:16:48.800 --> 00:16:53.899 If it doesn't make you more like Jesus Matthew 00:16:53.899 --> 00:16:56.700 chapter 28 verses 19 through 20 says this go 00:16:56.700 --> 00:16:58.759 and make disciples teaching them to obey all 00:16:58.759 --> 00:17:00.519 that I've commanded you So let's break that down 00:17:00.519 --> 00:17:02.580 a little bit. I've put some of the the key words 00:17:02.580 --> 00:17:05.680 here up on the screen This is also a good opportunity 00:17:05.680 --> 00:17:08.819 to see if your glasses need a new prescription 00:17:08.819 --> 00:17:12.579 But anyways, so it's a gift that keeps on giving 00:17:12.579 --> 00:17:14.880 right you can do you check your eyes at the same 00:17:14.880 --> 00:17:17.299 time? So the first one there you see the word 00:17:17.299 --> 00:17:19.220 that's there right there Everyone try to say 00:17:19.220 --> 00:17:27.299 that. So mathetousate, right? Everyone say that. 00:17:27.359 --> 00:17:29.779 You see this word right there? It's the word 00:17:29.779 --> 00:17:33.039 that's translated as make disciples. So here's 00:17:33.039 --> 00:17:34.480 the thing that I want you to notice about that. 00:17:34.500 --> 00:17:38.180 So the word that's translated as make disciples 00:17:38.180 --> 00:17:43.500 literally means to make lifelong learners. So 00:17:43.500 --> 00:17:45.720 that's what he's calling us to do is to make 00:17:45.720 --> 00:17:49.539 lifelong learners. It's different than just teaching 00:17:49.539 --> 00:17:52.240 a Sunday school lesson. This is how do we get 00:17:52.240 --> 00:17:54.579 people to spend the rest of their life learning 00:17:54.579 --> 00:17:57.339 and continuing to grow and develop? So this isn't 00:17:57.339 --> 00:18:00.500 just a one -time convert kind of thing. It's 00:18:00.500 --> 00:18:03.839 it's how do we get people to yes have a one -time 00:18:03.839 --> 00:18:06.519 experience with this but that they're so changed 00:18:06.519 --> 00:18:09.079 by that one -time experience that they give the 00:18:09.079 --> 00:18:11.160 rest of their life to living it out and learning 00:18:11.160 --> 00:18:13.900 more about him. That's what we're talking about. 00:18:14.920 --> 00:18:17.160 So make disciples. The second word I want you 00:18:17.160 --> 00:18:20.579 to see is didasko. It means to teach systematically, 00:18:21.460 --> 00:18:23.799 intentionally. It's instruction that changes 00:18:23.799 --> 00:18:27.500 lives. So it's not just, hey, we're going to 00:18:27.500 --> 00:18:29.420 talk about something that doesn't matter at all, 00:18:29.420 --> 00:18:32.299 but we're talking about something in such a way 00:18:32.299 --> 00:18:34.900 that lives are changed forever. And that takes 00:18:34.900 --> 00:18:38.420 intentionality. That's this word didasko. The 00:18:38.420 --> 00:18:41.819 last word is terrain. It means to obey, to treasure, 00:18:41.859 --> 00:18:43.960 to live it out. So here's the insight in all 00:18:43.960 --> 00:18:47.519 of that. Teaching always aims at obedience. Teachers 00:18:47.519 --> 00:18:50.420 aren't content dumpers, they're formation leaders. 00:18:51.019 --> 00:18:56.380 In Jesus' day, there was this phrase, and so 00:18:56.380 --> 00:18:59.140 like Jesus calls these disciples to follow him, 00:18:59.539 --> 00:19:03.640 right? He invites them to be his teledeme, that's 00:19:03.640 --> 00:19:06.140 the word that's used there, to be his teledeme. 00:19:06.799 --> 00:19:09.839 And they were the students. Jesus was the teacher. 00:19:10.279 --> 00:19:12.960 So the word that they would use in Jesus' day 00:19:12.960 --> 00:19:15.599 was they would call him the rabbi. He was somebody 00:19:15.599 --> 00:19:18.000 who would teach spiritual things. But it was 00:19:18.000 --> 00:19:22.220 more than just that. So when a rabbi would call 00:19:22.220 --> 00:19:25.819 a teledeme to follow after him, he was saying 00:19:25.819 --> 00:19:27.779 a lot of different things in that statement. 00:19:27.920 --> 00:19:30.039 So he's saying, hey, come follow me. But in saying 00:19:30.039 --> 00:19:32.240 that, he was saying of this person, you have 00:19:32.240 --> 00:19:36.390 what it takes to be like me. You have what it 00:19:36.390 --> 00:19:38.730 takes to do what I do you have what it takes 00:19:38.730 --> 00:19:41.950 to say the things that I say I see in you the 00:19:41.950 --> 00:19:45.730 potential to be just like me. So when Jesus finds 00:19:45.730 --> 00:19:51.769 these fishermen He sizes them up and says hey 00:19:51.769 --> 00:19:56.869 listen you have what it takes to be like me and 00:19:56.869 --> 00:19:59.410 When he finds tax collectors, he looks at these 00:19:59.410 --> 00:20:01.490 people that their society has thrown out and 00:20:01.490 --> 00:20:04.470 said hey these guys are scumbags But he looks 00:20:04.470 --> 00:20:06.430 at them and says, you have what it takes to be 00:20:06.430 --> 00:20:08.950 like me. You have what it takes to do what I 00:20:08.950 --> 00:20:12.930 do. And then he says, come follow me. And there 00:20:12.930 --> 00:20:15.329 was this common expression in Jesus' day, and 00:20:15.329 --> 00:20:18.470 it went like this, may the dust of the rabbi 00:20:18.470 --> 00:20:21.750 cover you. May you be covered in the dust of 00:20:21.750 --> 00:20:24.869 your rabbi. In other words, may you walk so closely 00:20:24.869 --> 00:20:28.470 to him that as he's traveling the road of life, 00:20:28.609 --> 00:20:31.210 that you get everything that's going on around 00:20:31.210 --> 00:20:34.170 him and in him, you get that on you. May you 00:20:34.170 --> 00:20:37.390 be covered in the dust of the rabbi and Here's 00:20:37.390 --> 00:20:39.589 what's so amazing about that You know when Jesus 00:20:39.589 --> 00:20:42.390 looks at you he sizes you up and he says I think 00:20:42.390 --> 00:20:46.109 you have what it takes to be like me That's what 00:20:46.109 --> 00:20:50.150 Jesus says about you You have what it takes to 00:20:50.150 --> 00:20:52.829 be like him to do what he does to say the things 00:20:52.829 --> 00:20:55.809 that he said to respond the way that he responded 00:20:55.809 --> 00:20:59.490 and Our prayer then becomes may we walk so closely 00:20:59.490 --> 00:21:01.650 with him that we become covered in the dust of 00:21:01.650 --> 00:21:06.009 the rabbi that we follow him, that we, like there 00:21:06.009 --> 00:21:08.950 was this thing, and I hope this isn't just, I'm 00:21:08.950 --> 00:21:11.789 not trying to be weird, but like they would follow 00:21:11.789 --> 00:21:15.049 their rabbi everywhere because they wanted to 00:21:15.049 --> 00:21:17.210 do exactly what he did. So if the rabbi went 00:21:17.210 --> 00:21:19.750 in to use the bathroom, they would follow the 00:21:19.750 --> 00:21:22.609 rabbi in just because they wanted to know, what 00:21:22.609 --> 00:21:24.950 does he do? And they, I mean, literally it was 00:21:24.950 --> 00:21:27.009 that kind of detail. They wanted to do everything 00:21:27.009 --> 00:21:30.319 that the rabbi did. And they gave their life 00:21:30.319 --> 00:21:32.700 to learning what that was going to be like and 00:21:32.700 --> 00:21:36.380 how they could live that out. So Jesus thinks 00:21:36.380 --> 00:21:39.099 you have what it takes to be like him. So here's 00:21:39.099 --> 00:21:42.880 the fact, Jack. You have what it takes to be 00:21:42.880 --> 00:21:48.099 like him, to follow him so closely. But he also 00:21:48.099 --> 00:21:51.299 believes that you have what it takes to then 00:21:51.299 --> 00:21:55.599 turn around and help other people follow him. 00:21:56.769 --> 00:21:59.130 The goal of teaching is not that people follow 00:21:59.130 --> 00:22:01.890 us. Have you ever heard people who are teaching 00:22:01.890 --> 00:22:03.390 or doing something like that, but really all 00:22:03.390 --> 00:22:05.410 they're doing is kind of building themselves 00:22:05.410 --> 00:22:08.109 up and people follow them? And you know that's 00:22:08.109 --> 00:22:10.069 the case because when they're not there anymore, 00:22:10.089 --> 00:22:13.309 people don't follow anymore. Because people were 00:22:13.309 --> 00:22:14.930 following a personality, they weren't following 00:22:14.930 --> 00:22:17.390 Jesus. Our goal is not to get them to follow 00:22:17.390 --> 00:22:20.910 us, but to follow Jesus. So here's the question. 00:22:21.670 --> 00:22:24.289 If somebody sat under your teaching for a year, 00:22:24.450 --> 00:22:27.710 would they... merely know what you know or would 00:22:27.710 --> 00:22:30.990 they want to live the way that you live? So here's 00:22:30.990 --> 00:22:33.490 what I want you to do just for a second. I want 00:22:33.490 --> 00:22:35.609 you to think about this with me. I want you to 00:22:35.609 --> 00:22:39.009 think about the last time that you taught somebody. 00:22:39.710 --> 00:22:41.769 Just think about the last time you taught something 00:22:41.769 --> 00:22:45.970 or you shared truth with someone. Was it just 00:22:45.970 --> 00:22:48.869 information or were you giving them something 00:22:48.869 --> 00:22:51.390 they could do with it? So I want you to find 00:22:51.390 --> 00:22:53.730 somebody close to you. And I want you to finish 00:22:53.730 --> 00:22:58.769 this statement. Here it is. A disciple is somebody 00:22:58.769 --> 00:23:02.470 who, fill in the blank. So one other person around 00:23:02.470 --> 00:23:05.490 you, a disciple is somebody who, and then tell 00:23:05.490 --> 00:23:07.890 them the answer. Just somebody right beside you. 00:23:08.210 --> 00:23:10.789 You've only got a couple seconds. Start now. 00:23:11.450 --> 00:23:13.950 Somebody right beside you, a disciple is somebody 00:23:13.950 --> 00:23:22.960 who. So you see, even a simple phrase reveals 00:23:22.960 --> 00:23:25.140 whether we're thinking in terms of knowledge 00:23:25.140 --> 00:23:28.960 or obedience. So when the Bible talks about teaching, 00:23:29.000 --> 00:23:32.200 it's always pointing toward obedience, not just 00:23:32.200 --> 00:23:35.160 knowledge, not just information's sake, but always 00:23:35.160 --> 00:23:37.779 leads toward obedience. A guy by the name of 00:23:37.779 --> 00:23:40.140 Bruce Wilkinson. Anybody recognize that name? 00:23:44.079 --> 00:23:49.299 New York City. Crossing the switchblade. Anyways. 00:23:50.319 --> 00:23:53.160 This is not original with me Bruce Wilkinson 00:23:53.160 --> 00:23:56.640 wrote this and but it's so so good He wrote a 00:23:56.640 --> 00:23:58.460 book and in fact, it's one of the resources. 00:23:58.480 --> 00:24:00.240 I'll forget to say this later So I'm gonna say 00:24:00.240 --> 00:24:02.299 it right now, even though it doesn't really fit 00:24:02.299 --> 00:24:05.160 It's so if you feel like you're you're called 00:24:05.160 --> 00:24:07.640 or gifted to be a teacher That's kind of the 00:24:07.640 --> 00:24:10.500 lane that God's put you in I want you to send 00:24:10.500 --> 00:24:12.660 me an email or a text this week because I have 00:24:12.660 --> 00:24:15.200 a list of resources that I'll send to you This 00:24:15.200 --> 00:24:17.700 is one of the resources because I think it's 00:24:17.700 --> 00:24:20.720 outstanding but the book that he wrote called 00:24:20.720 --> 00:24:25.559 The Seven Laws of the Learner, outstanding. And 00:24:25.559 --> 00:24:29.799 I think it applies to everybody who is teaching 00:24:29.799 --> 00:24:32.799 or coaching or pastoring. I think the principles 00:24:32.799 --> 00:24:35.460 are outstanding and I'm gonna kind of give them 00:24:35.460 --> 00:24:38.599 to you at a very high level, but the book's worth 00:24:38.599 --> 00:24:42.079 reading in its entirety. So here are the seven 00:24:42.079 --> 00:24:44.319 laws that Bruce Wilkinson talks about. The first 00:24:44.319 --> 00:24:47.259 one he talks about is the law of the learner. 00:24:47.599 --> 00:24:50.440 the law of the learner. And here's what the principal's 00:24:50.440 --> 00:24:53.240 basically getting at. Teachers are responsible 00:24:53.240 --> 00:24:57.279 for causing learning. That seems self -explanatory, 00:24:57.440 --> 00:25:03.180 right? But not so fast. Do you know, even in 00:25:03.180 --> 00:25:06.200 education systems today, there are a lot of times 00:25:06.200 --> 00:25:08.819 that we act like the responsibility to learn 00:25:08.819 --> 00:25:16.880 is on the student. Right? So Bruce Wilkinson 00:25:16.880 --> 00:25:19.240 and lots of people like him say that if we're 00:25:19.240 --> 00:25:22.059 going to make education really work, if teaching's 00:25:22.059 --> 00:25:24.160 really going to work, we have to flip that around. 00:25:25.319 --> 00:25:27.799 And we have to flip it around so that the teacher 00:25:27.799 --> 00:25:31.779 is responsible for learning. So the question 00:25:31.779 --> 00:25:33.700 then becomes, like at the end of the day, if 00:25:33.700 --> 00:25:37.339 you're a teacher, it's not, did I teach it? But 00:25:37.339 --> 00:25:40.779 the question then becomes, did they learn it? 00:25:41.440 --> 00:25:44.230 Because if they didn't learn it, It doesn't matter 00:25:44.230 --> 00:25:48.410 if you taught it, because the responsibility 00:25:48.410 --> 00:25:51.150 to learn is on the teacher. The second law is 00:25:51.150 --> 00:25:53.430 called the law of expectation. This one's really 00:25:53.430 --> 00:25:55.250 big. I'm telling you, these things apply to so 00:25:55.250 --> 00:25:58.170 many things. It's the law of expectation, and 00:25:58.170 --> 00:26:00.490 here's what it says. Learners rise to what you 00:26:00.490 --> 00:26:06.089 believe about them. Man, I tell you what, that 00:26:06.089 --> 00:26:12.390 applies to so many things. In your relationships. 00:26:14.380 --> 00:26:20.579 You pick the relationship. If you believe the 00:26:20.579 --> 00:26:24.819 best in somebody, they'll live up to it every 00:26:24.819 --> 00:26:29.859 time. If you believe the worst in them, they'll 00:26:29.859 --> 00:26:34.059 live up to it every time. So this law simply 00:26:34.059 --> 00:26:37.819 says that if you expect discipleship, then they'll 00:26:37.819 --> 00:26:41.920 give you discipleship. Whatever you expect from 00:26:41.920 --> 00:26:45.349 them, So like we want to set the expectations 00:26:45.349 --> 00:26:48.289 pretty high right because people will reach the 00:26:48.289 --> 00:26:51.670 level of our expectation But if we expect them 00:26:51.670 --> 00:26:54.869 to mess up if we expect them to fail then guess 00:26:54.869 --> 00:26:58.410 what's going to happen They're gonna mess up 00:26:58.410 --> 00:27:02.630 and fail But if you look at every relationship 00:27:02.630 --> 00:27:04.670 that you're a part of and say you know what I 00:27:04.670 --> 00:27:08.230 believe that you can be like Jesus I Believe 00:27:08.230 --> 00:27:11.910 you have what it takes Then guess what will happen? 00:27:13.549 --> 00:27:16.289 They'll start to be like Jesus. The next law 00:27:16.289 --> 00:27:19.549 is called the law of application and here's the 00:27:19.549 --> 00:27:21.509 the bottom line with it It says that learning 00:27:21.509 --> 00:27:24.650 dies without action So if you don't get them 00:27:24.650 --> 00:27:26.910 to do something with what you're teaching them, 00:27:27.170 --> 00:27:29.150 then you're wasting your breath It's not it's 00:27:29.150 --> 00:27:31.450 not ever going to stick with them. So we need 00:27:31.450 --> 00:27:34.109 to design every lesson for practice Not just 00:27:34.109 --> 00:27:36.730 for notes. The next one's the law of retention 00:27:36.730 --> 00:27:45.220 if they forget it They never learned it So this 00:27:45.220 --> 00:27:49.579 is where the three R's come in. Now, we were 00:27:49.579 --> 00:27:52.079 talking about this this morning. It's no wonder 00:27:52.079 --> 00:27:54.240 that we struggled with some things because we 00:27:54.240 --> 00:27:56.279 used to call the three R's reading, writing, 00:27:56.460 --> 00:27:59.400 and arithmetic. How in the world does that make 00:27:59.400 --> 00:28:01.819 any sense? I mean, I get it, there's an R in 00:28:01.819 --> 00:28:05.279 the words, but is anybody else with me? Why do 00:28:05.279 --> 00:28:08.480 we call that the three R's? I mean, why don't 00:28:08.480 --> 00:28:13.680 we call it readings and R? Writing's a W, arithmetic's 00:28:13.680 --> 00:28:16.359 an A. Why don't we call it that? I don't understand. 00:28:16.440 --> 00:28:19.259 What is this? So here's where the three Rs come 00:28:19.259 --> 00:28:24.579 in. Repetition, review, reinforcement. Repetition, 00:28:24.599 --> 00:28:29.039 review, reinforcement. And that results in transformation. 00:28:29.240 --> 00:28:33.240 The next is the law of need. Learners only learn 00:28:33.240 --> 00:28:41.440 when they see why it matters. That makes sense, 00:28:41.599 --> 00:28:44.660 right? If we don't connect it to anything that's 00:28:44.660 --> 00:28:46.440 significant for them, they're not gonna learn. 00:28:47.299 --> 00:28:49.200 So we always wanna connect truth to life and 00:28:49.200 --> 00:28:53.119 death relevance. The law of equipping. Teachers 00:28:53.119 --> 00:28:55.920 give tools, not just talks. We need to equip 00:28:55.920 --> 00:28:58.200 them with habits, resources, and accountability. 00:28:58.380 --> 00:29:00.519 So what do we give them? Habits, resources, and 00:29:00.519 --> 00:29:04.160 accountability. The last one, law of revival. 00:29:04.920 --> 00:29:07.559 Spiritual truth sticks through repentance and 00:29:07.559 --> 00:29:12.990 obedience. These are really, really good. I wish 00:29:12.990 --> 00:29:14.710 I came up with them. I didn't come up with any 00:29:14.710 --> 00:29:18.250 of them. But Wilkinson says that the last law 00:29:18.250 --> 00:29:20.829 is the law of revival. And here's what it's talking 00:29:20.829 --> 00:29:23.750 about. That transformation requires heart change, 00:29:23.849 --> 00:29:31.150 not just head nods. So until our hearts change, 00:29:34.349 --> 00:29:39.460 revival's not ever going to happen. But when 00:29:39.460 --> 00:29:45.519 my heart changes, revival follows. Teaching isn't 00:29:45.519 --> 00:29:47.660 just about finishing the outlines, about forming 00:29:47.660 --> 00:29:50.900 a life. If they don't walk closer to Jesus after 00:29:50.900 --> 00:29:54.140 you teach them, then all that was done is just 00:29:54.140 --> 00:29:56.960 a transfer of facts. Jesus did not say teach 00:29:56.960 --> 00:30:00.640 them all that I've commanded, but what he did 00:30:00.640 --> 00:30:04.420 say is to teach them to obey all that I've commanded. 00:30:04.700 --> 00:30:07.279 Again, teaching always points toward obedience. 00:30:07.609 --> 00:30:10.990 Not obedience to us, but obedience to him. That's 00:30:10.990 --> 00:30:13.009 discipleship, that's formation, that's our call. 00:30:13.630 --> 00:30:14.910 If you have your Bible there still with you, 00:30:15.029 --> 00:30:16.329 I want you to look at just one verse with me. 00:30:16.390 --> 00:30:19.950 It's Ephesians 4 verse 16. It says this, from 00:30:19.950 --> 00:30:23.190 Christ the whole body grows as each part does 00:30:23.190 --> 00:30:28.849 its work. So we've spent, what, six weeks now. 00:30:29.190 --> 00:30:33.329 Is that right? Two, four, yeah, six. Six weeks 00:30:33.329 --> 00:30:35.849 talking about a pest apostles prophets evangelist 00:30:35.849 --> 00:30:37.930 shepherds teachers. We had one week that I wasn't 00:30:37.930 --> 00:30:41.670 here So you got a bonus week with something else? 00:30:43.049 --> 00:30:45.109 That's just some of what God's done right there 00:30:45.109 --> 00:30:47.390 gifts to the church so that we can be the very 00:30:47.390 --> 00:30:50.269 best that we can be and Not all of us are apostles 00:30:50.269 --> 00:30:52.430 not all of us are prophets not all of us are 00:30:52.430 --> 00:30:54.450 evangelists Not all of us are shepherds not all 00:30:54.450 --> 00:30:58.029 of us are teachers, but God's given some of those 00:30:58.029 --> 00:31:01.519 to the body of Christ as a gift And when we all 00:31:01.519 --> 00:31:05.599 do our part, whatever your part is and whatever 00:31:05.599 --> 00:31:09.420 my part is, when we do our part, the body grows. 00:31:11.299 --> 00:31:13.500 And when teachers, we're talking specifically 00:31:13.500 --> 00:31:15.599 about teachers, when teachers step into their 00:31:15.599 --> 00:31:18.640 calling, I mean when they really step into it, 00:31:18.720 --> 00:31:24.200 the church begins to shift. Right? There's a 00:31:24.200 --> 00:31:26.700 shift that happened. Atmospheres change, roots 00:31:26.700 --> 00:31:29.240 go deep, shallow faith begins to stretch and 00:31:29.240 --> 00:31:32.640 be strengthened. People stop grazing on religious 00:31:32.640 --> 00:31:35.539 reels, snacking on sound bites, scrolling through 00:31:35.539 --> 00:31:38.140 half -truths. They get rooted, anchored, grounded 00:31:38.140 --> 00:31:40.940 in the living Word of God. Disciples stop saying, 00:31:41.099 --> 00:31:42.880 I've heard that before, and they start saying, 00:31:42.920 --> 00:31:45.980 I'm living that now. It's no longer about filling 00:31:45.980 --> 00:31:48.099 notebooks, it's about filling neighborhoods with 00:31:48.099 --> 00:31:50.740 light. It's no longer about head knowledge, it's 00:31:50.740 --> 00:31:54.079 about heart obedience. And the church? The church 00:31:54.079 --> 00:31:56.660 doesn't just grow in size, it grows in depth, 00:31:56.880 --> 00:31:59.079 in discernment, in obedience, in Christlikeness. 00:31:59.480 --> 00:32:02.079 Because when teachers rise up, truth takes root. 00:32:02.460 --> 00:32:04.539 And when truth takes root, the body of Christ 00:32:04.539 --> 00:32:09.059 becomes alive. So that's what happens when teaching 00:32:09.059 --> 00:32:11.880 goes beyond information and becomes transformational. 00:32:12.539 --> 00:32:14.940 That's what happens when teachers do their part, 00:32:15.579 --> 00:32:20.079 the body of Christ grows. So, I'm gonna kind 00:32:20.079 --> 00:32:24.220 of... I'm going to let you guys in on a conversation 00:32:24.220 --> 00:32:26.460 I'm going to have with a very select group of 00:32:26.460 --> 00:32:28.599 people. But you all could get to listen. That's 00:32:28.599 --> 00:32:31.000 fine. But I'm not really talking to you for a 00:32:31.000 --> 00:32:34.240 minute. But the group I do want to talk to just 00:32:34.240 --> 00:32:36.259 for a minute is maybe you've taken the test. 00:32:36.380 --> 00:32:39.359 I gave out an APES test that just kind of helps 00:32:39.359 --> 00:32:42.119 you to identify where you might be in the fivefold. 00:32:42.819 --> 00:32:45.099 Or maybe you already knew that. Or maybe today 00:32:45.099 --> 00:32:46.500 for the very first time you're like, I think 00:32:46.500 --> 00:32:51.099 this could be me. I think that maybe God's Calling 00:32:51.099 --> 00:32:54.220 upon me is to teach so how many people that's 00:32:54.220 --> 00:32:56.279 you either you took the test and it indicated 00:32:56.279 --> 00:33:00.339 that you might be a teacher or Okay, who else? 00:33:01.279 --> 00:33:06.460 to anybody else All right, so the rest of you 00:33:06.460 --> 00:33:08.900 get to listen in for a little bit and I'm gonna 00:33:08.900 --> 00:33:11.220 talk to these folks and maybe somebody even watching 00:33:11.220 --> 00:33:14.839 is and if that's you Send me a note. I would 00:33:14.839 --> 00:33:16.819 love to give you some resource and help but for 00:33:16.819 --> 00:33:19.019 a second. I'm just gonna kind of come over here 00:33:18.940 --> 00:33:21.119 And you, the three of us, are going to have church. 00:33:21.200 --> 00:33:23.980 You all get to listen in. I'm not excluding you, 00:33:24.200 --> 00:33:26.059 but I want to talk to you. I want to see eyeball 00:33:26.059 --> 00:33:29.579 to eyeball for a little bit, okay? And if that's 00:33:29.579 --> 00:33:31.720 you and you're watching, well, then I don't know 00:33:31.720 --> 00:33:34.440 how to do that, but just for you guys for a little 00:33:34.440 --> 00:33:38.339 bit. First of all, I've tried to make sure we 00:33:38.339 --> 00:33:42.539 do this, but in a moment, I really am going to 00:33:42.539 --> 00:33:44.420 exclude you. You still get to listen in on the 00:33:44.420 --> 00:33:47.039 conversation, but I need your help for a little 00:33:47.039 --> 00:33:50.180 bit. These folks feel like part of the way that 00:33:50.180 --> 00:33:52.920 God's called them and gifted them is to teach 00:33:52.920 --> 00:33:55.940 To make sure that as a body we're moving from 00:33:55.940 --> 00:33:59.339 milk to meat that we don't have 50 year old men 00:33:59.339 --> 00:34:02.900 Who were cutting up their state going? Open up 00:34:02.900 --> 00:34:05.799 the airplane because that's not cute. It's pathetic 00:34:05.799 --> 00:34:10.940 Right, that's pathetic so these good folks feel 00:34:10.940 --> 00:34:14.300 like God's Calling upon them is to help us to 00:34:14.300 --> 00:34:17.760 move from milk to meat so that people feed themselves 00:34:17.760 --> 00:34:20.960 so that together we become more like Jesus and 00:34:20.960 --> 00:34:22.780 we invite other people into the journey of being 00:34:22.780 --> 00:34:27.500 more like Jesus. And that's incredible. So we 00:34:27.500 --> 00:34:31.559 give thanks to God for them. Okay, let me run 00:34:31.559 --> 00:34:34.699 that by you again. I think you missed it. Let 00:34:34.699 --> 00:34:39.000 me slow it down. So we give thanks to God for 00:34:39.000 --> 00:34:44.739 them. Two of you got it. That's amazing. That's 00:34:44.739 --> 00:34:47.469 incredible. Let me give third time third times 00:34:47.469 --> 00:34:50.010 the charm so we give thanks to God for them. 00:34:50.409 --> 00:35:00.369 There you go Because we need them We need them 00:35:00.369 --> 00:35:03.690 So I'm gonna talk to you just for a little bit 00:35:03.690 --> 00:35:10.630 just the three of us First of all you too I do 00:35:10.630 --> 00:35:12.929 want you to send me a note just to remind me 00:35:12.929 --> 00:35:15.710 because I'm I'm getting old and I'll forget But 00:35:15.710 --> 00:35:18.210 I do have resources that I want to pass along 00:35:18.210 --> 00:35:21.550 to you. Some of them are books that you can purchase. 00:35:22.269 --> 00:35:24.949 Some of them are like podcast things. There's 00:35:24.949 --> 00:35:28.050 a scripture reference thing that would be great 00:35:28.050 --> 00:35:30.489 verses for you to memorize. And I want you to 00:35:30.489 --> 00:35:33.610 have those because we believe in you. And we 00:35:33.610 --> 00:35:35.909 thank you for what you're doing. But I want to 00:35:35.909 --> 00:35:37.949 talk to you about how you can grow as a teacher. 00:35:38.769 --> 00:35:40.429 Because it's important that we continue to grow, 00:35:40.429 --> 00:35:43.409 right? So we're talking about lifelong learners. 00:35:43.820 --> 00:35:47.239 So as people who teach, how do we stay, because 00:35:47.239 --> 00:35:50.800 you can't expect people that you're teaching 00:35:50.800 --> 00:35:53.380 to do it if we don't do it ourselves. So how 00:35:53.380 --> 00:35:56.179 can we stay sharp and how can we continue to 00:35:56.179 --> 00:35:58.099 grow? First is stay rooted in scripture. Let 00:35:58.099 --> 00:36:00.800 the word be your daily bread, not an occasional 00:36:00.800 --> 00:36:04.539 snack. Number two, pursue learning. Refine your 00:36:04.539 --> 00:36:08.909 craft. Be teachable before you ever teach. Number 00:36:08.909 --> 00:36:11.610 three, practice and reflect. Don't just talk, 00:36:11.690 --> 00:36:14.289 evaluate. What brought clarity? What brought 00:36:14.289 --> 00:36:16.710 confusion? And if you're not certain, ask the 00:36:16.710 --> 00:36:19.750 people you're teaching. They'll tell you, if 00:36:19.750 --> 00:36:22.590 you give them permission. Seek feedback in mentors. 00:36:22.809 --> 00:36:25.750 Lone rangers burn out. Let others sharpen you. 00:36:27.010 --> 00:36:30.670 Numbers one, two, three, four, five. Number five, 00:36:30.789 --> 00:36:35.369 it's the last one. Live what you teach. integrity 00:36:35.369 --> 00:36:38.010 is the curriculum your students will never forget. 00:36:40.130 --> 00:36:44.329 So I have a I'm gonna give them a special prayer 00:36:44.329 --> 00:36:46.610 and blessing I want you all to agree along with 00:36:46.610 --> 00:36:50.030 me all right so that's your part I want you to 00:36:50.030 --> 00:36:51.530 agree with me and then I've got a benediction 00:36:51.530 --> 00:36:55.190 for everybody but this is just for them okay. 00:36:56.429 --> 00:36:59.710 So first of all I have a commission for you. 00:37:00.079 --> 00:37:02.039 And if you want to write this down, I know that 00:37:02.039 --> 00:37:04.139 I think both of you are note takers. So this 00:37:04.139 --> 00:37:06.460 is, it's not really mine. I don't get credit 00:37:06.460 --> 00:37:08.940 for it. But this is a good commission for you. 00:37:09.000 --> 00:37:13.199 It's 2 Timothy chapter 4 verse 2. I think it's 00:37:13.199 --> 00:37:15.179 a perfect commission for teachers. Here's what 00:37:15.179 --> 00:37:21.500 it says. Preach the word. Be prepared. Whether 00:37:21.500 --> 00:37:26.199 the time feels right or not. Correct. Encourage. 00:37:26.820 --> 00:37:30.750 Teach. Do it with great patience. and careful 00:37:30.750 --> 00:37:36.789 instruction. So, here's my blessing for you, 00:37:36.949 --> 00:37:41.449 just you two. You all get a blessing too, but 00:37:41.449 --> 00:37:43.489 this is just for them, but I do want you to agree 00:37:43.489 --> 00:37:48.849 along with me if you can, but for you two. May 00:37:48.849 --> 00:37:54.170 wisdom guard your tongue. May compassion shape 00:37:54.170 --> 00:37:58.349 your words. May the Spirit give you joy as you 00:37:58.349 --> 00:38:01.880 plant seeds. That will bear fruit and do season 00:38:01.880 --> 00:38:06.579 your faithfulness echoes through all of eternity 00:38:06.579 --> 00:38:12.380 And we give thanks to God for you So everybody 00:38:12.380 --> 00:38:18.139 there's here's your benediction Just stand for 00:38:18.139 --> 00:38:20.599 a little bit you guys have been seated forever 00:38:20.599 --> 00:38:29.579 And act like I'm about to give you something 00:38:29.559 --> 00:38:33.280 Because I am. This is your benediction. This 00:38:33.280 --> 00:38:39.239 is gift. May the God who equips you fill you 00:38:39.239 --> 00:38:44.440 with boldness to speak truth, patience to serve 00:38:44.440 --> 00:38:51.760 and love, and endurance to keep going. Endurance 00:38:51.760 --> 00:38:56.199 so strong that you'll keep going even when it's 00:38:56.199 --> 00:39:01.230 hard. May Christ go before you, beside you, within 00:39:01.230 --> 00:39:07.530 you until the body is fully alive in him. We 00:39:07.530 --> 00:39:09.230 ask this in the strong name of Jesus.