God Reveals Truth Through Biblical Teachers

CURRENT TEACHING SERIES Can You Hear Me Now?

God Reveals Truth Through Biblical Teachers By Rick Warren — Feb 28, 2015 “We do not speak in words taught by human wisdom, but in words taught by the Spirit, as we explain spiritual truths to those who have the Spirit.” (1 Corinthians 2:13 TEV) The Bible tells us in Ephesians 4:11-12, “Christ chose some of us to be apostles, prophets, missionaries, pastors, and teachers, so that his people would learn to serve and his body would grow strong” (CEV). How do you know when somebody’s talking if that person has this gift from God to be a teacher? Here’s how you know: Iif, during their teaching, there is a moment you feel like God is speaking directly to you — like you’re the only person in the room and the speaker is focused solely on you. In that moment, God has something to say to you. That’s how you know the gift of teaching is working. We pray for as teachers every week at Saddleback Church. There’s no way in a crowd the size of our congregation we could know the needs of everybody. So we pray, “God, we don’t know who’s going to be here and the things that have happened in their lives this week, but you do. Would you give us the ability to say something to these people that helps to meet a need in their lives?” And God does that. That’s how the gift of teaching works. There is a test that all of us need to put to this particular gift. Romans 12:6 says, “God in his kindness gave each of us different gifts. If your gift is speaking what God has revealed, make sure what you say agrees with the Christian faith” (GWT). If somebody’s got the gift of teaching, it’s going to agree with the Bible. I don’t care how convincing someone is; I don’t care how much emotion you feel from that person’s message. If what is said does not agree with the Bible, then the speaker does not have the gift of teaching. The Bible talks about this in 1 Corinthians 2:13: “We do not speak in words taught by human wisdom, but in words taught by the Spirit, as we explain spiritual truths to those who have the Spirit” (TEV). Before I speak, I pray, “Lord, help me remember the things that you want remembered, and help me forget the things that you don’t want said.” I even pray for you: “Lord, help them to remember the things that you want remembered, and help them to forget the stupid things that I might say. Help them hear from you, not me.” The truth is about God speaking to us, not about what some human being is saying. Am I saying that God speaks through human teachers like myself? Absolutely. It amazes me that he does! Why does he speak through us? Because he cares about you, and he loves you, so he will use people who teach the Bible to help you understand his truth. Talk It Over What has God taught you about himself through a teacher or speaker? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4M3Mw-F2WbcHow did it help you grow as a Christ follower? Think of a few effective Bible teachers. What are their common character traits? What is the role of the Holy Spirit in hearing and discerning the words of a Bible teacher? Open the Door to Abundance TODAY’S SCRIPTURE “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap...” (Luke 6:38, NIV) TODAY’S WORD from Joel and Victoria We serve a God of abundance! He wants to pour out His blessing on you until you are so full that you are running over with His goodness. Notice how this verse starts. It says, “Give, and it will be given to you.” Your giving is what sets the blessing of God into motion in your life. Giving is like a seed. When you plant an apple seed, it doesn’t just grow a single fruit. That one seed grows into a tree that has an abundance of apples. The same thing happens when you obey God in your giving. You get an abundant harvest in return. You are so blessed that you can’t even contain it! You have to just keep giving, and the cycle just keeps repeating itself. Is there something the Lord is telling you to give today? What do you have in your hand that you can use to be a blessing to someone else? Take a step of faith and set the blessing of God into motion. As you do, you’ll open the door for His abundance to flow in every area of your life. A PRAYER FOR TODAY Father in heaven, I receive Your Word into my heart today. Thank You for choosing to bless me so that I can be a blessing to others. Show me ways to bless others and teach me to receive all You have for me. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.