Why and How We Teach the Bible

The teaching of the word of God is one of the means of grace in a local assembly. That is, the Holy Spirit communicates more grace to believers by the instrumentality of the word of God within a local church. Grace is multiplied through the knowledge of the word. How then do we teach the word? Should every believer aspire to the office or function of a teacher?

Transcript

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How do you teach the Bible? Um, the first thing I want to start with tonight is to say that there are a few means of grace in a local church. There are within a local church there are specific activities. There are specific activities that God uses to dispense his grace to his people. There are specific activities, ceremonies, if you like, functions with which God uses to give more grace to us as Christians. Activities through which the Holy Spirit works to convey spiritual blessings to the people of God within a church. One of such activities that the Holy Spirit uses to supply grace to his people is prayer, corporate prayer. It's one activity with which the Holy Spirit uses to supply grace to his people. Corporate worship is another example that the Holy Spirit takes advantage of to multiply grace in the life of his people. You see, no matter how you know great a worshiper you are, there are realms in worship that you may not be able to break into except within the context of the body. There have been times when we've been worshiping in church and you just sense a palpable presence of God. I mean, there was a day we were worshiping in church at Upper Church, and you know, it was like you know, somebody embraced me. It was like an invisible force, just embraced me like I was at the point of tears. That's the presence of God in the context of the body. God using taking advantage of even right now, I feel the presence of God right here. You know, God using just talking about it. He uses the the presence, he uses some activities to dispense grace to his people. Um, communion is another example of such activities that God uses to dispense grace to his to God uses that those activities to supply spiritual substance to his people. You see? What other examples come to your mind? Praying together. That's an example of activities within the context of the body. I'm calling them the means of grace in a local church. Spiritual gifts, giving is an example of um this um means of grace. Give and it shall be given unto church discipline. You see, church discipline is an example, um, a function of a local church by which God can supply grace to you. God can supply grace to me. You see, um, evangelism, baptism is an example. These are all activities within a local church. These are things that you know, where you can do some of them individually. You can, of course, you can pray individually, you can, you know, worship God individually, but many of these activities take in take up new life when done within the context of a body, you see, and personal ministry to individuals. These are examples of activities by which the Holy Spirit uses to convey uh grace and spiritual life to the saints within the body, within a church. The teaching of the word is one of such primary activities. The teaching of the word is one of such primary activities through which it's a channel that um brings spiritual blessing to the people. So the Holy Spirit can walk through any of these channels to bring various kinds of blessings to the individual. So let's talk about the teaching of the word of God today. Teaching of the word of God. Why do we need to teach the word of God? Teaching, like I've just mentioned, teaching is one of the means through which God administers his grace within a church. Even before we became born again, even before we became um Christians, even before a person becomes born again, the word of God is the vehicle through which the gospel is preached. The word of God is what is the vehicle through which the gospel is preached. Let's look at um Romans chapter 1, verse 16. Romans chapter 1, verse 16. It says, For I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation. I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it's the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes for the Jews first, and also to the Greek. The word of God is the vehicle by which grace is ministered to people, is the vehicle by which grace is ministered. 1 Corinthians chapter 1, verse 24. 1 Corinthians chapter 1, verse 24. But to those who are called both Jews and Greeks, Christ, the power of God, and the wisdom of God, Christ, the logos of God, Christ, the logos of God, the word of God, and the power and the wisdom of God. 1 Peter chapter 1, verse 23. Having been born again, not of correct corruptible seed, but incorruptible, through what? Through what? The word of God. So we were born again through the word of God. We were born again through the word of God, even before you became a child of God. It was the word of God that that welcomed you into this kingdom. We are born again into the through the word of God, which lives and abides forever. So even before you became born again, the the V the Word of God was already ministering grace to you. The word of God is also able to build us up. Acts chapter 20, verse 32. I commit you to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among those who have been sanctified. Acts 20, verse 32. The word of God is also necessary for spiritual nourishment. Matthew chapter 4, verse 4. Man will not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. We are talking about why the necessity, the necessity for teaching the word. These are some of the necessities because the word of God is the means by which people are saved, is the means by which we are saved. The word of God is able to build us up. After we have been saved, the word of God is what helps us to grow. 1 Peter chapter 2, verse 2. As Nibon babes, desire the sincere make of the word, which is able to build you up. You see, the word of God is also necessary for nourishment. We've talked about that. And the word of God convicts us of sin and turns us to righteousness. The word of God convicts us of sin and turns us to righteousness. That our text, 2 Timothy chapter 3, verse 16. All scriptures is given by the inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. The word of God gives us direction and guidance. It instructs us in righteousness. Psalm 119, verse 102, 105. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. The word of God, it's a light, is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path. The word of God gives us wisdom. This is why we need to teach the word of God. You and I need to teach the word of God. The word of God gives us wisdom. Psalm 19 and verse 7. Psalm 19 and verse 7. Making wise the simple. If you want wisdom, the place you look for wisdom is in the pages of the scriptures. It's the word of God. We don't look for wisdom in other places. We don't look for wisdom from the counsel of other people. No, we look for wisdom from the pages of the Bible. The word of God has this inherent capacity to make the simple wise. Make people that you never thought were amount to much, make them look like they are the ones that know the most. Yes, that's what the word of God can do. The people that that you have written of in your mind, the word of God can turn that person, turn that situation around, and make it look like, wow, we never expected this. We never expected it. The word of God can also give hope. These are the reasons why we teach and we preach the gospel, or we teach and we preach the word of God. Romans chapter 15 and verse 4. Romans chapter 15 and verse 4. For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of scriptures might have hope. We through the patience and comfort of scriptures might have hope. You are in an hopeless situation, you visit the word of God. You see, it's the word of God that will give you hope, that will let you see that that thing is actually not hopeless. Yes, it will fill your expectation. Feel your expectation because you know that the expectations of the righteous man will not be cultured. The word of God is also powerful to accomplish God's will on the earth. The word of God is powerful to accomplish God's will on the earth. Look at Isaiah chapter 55 and verse 10 to 11. Isaiah 55, verse 10 to 11. For as the rain comes down and the snow from heaven, and do not return there, but water the earth and make it bring forth an bird, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater. Verse 11. So shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth. It shall not return to me void, but it shall accomplish what I please. It shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it. That's the word of God. These are scriptures that exalt the word of God, that exhorts the word of God in your mind. Exhort the word of God. Let you see the excellence of the word of God. Look at Jeremiah chapter 23, verse 29. Is not my word like fire, says the Lord, and like hammer that breaks rock, breaks the rock in pieces. This is this is powerful stuff. Hebrews chapter 4, verse 12. Hebrews chapter 4 and verse 12. For the word of God is living and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of the soul and spirit. See, the word of God is so strong, so so precise that it can pierce the soul and the spirit. Like it can it can go and look for the intent of your heart, divide it into the joint and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intent of the heart. This is the word of God. The preaching of the word of God, the teaching of the word of God has the capacity to do all these great and mighty things. And this is why the actual words of the Bible are far more powerful than and more effective than the words of man. The actual words of the scriptures, they are far more powerful and far more effective in changing people's minds and hearts than merely humanly spoken words. That is, just putting these words on your screen and you reading these words and paying attention to them, just giving them your attention, these words of God on your screen right now have the greater capacity to change your heart, mold your heart, change your mind more than anything I can tell you, more than anything any pastor can tell you. That is, I'm saying that a pastor can say the same thing that the word of God is saying using different words, that his own summary is not as powerful as the word of God. The word of God in its actual state, in its actual state, has greater power, power, has greater effectiveness in changing hearts, in changing minds. And this is why I think we alluded to this um on Friday. This is this is why it's it's best to stay as close as possible to original translations of the Bible. You know, it's best to stay as close as possible to original translations of the Bible. You know, um, I'm sure you we all know this. The Old Testament was was was written in in Hebrew um and which was later translated to English. The New Testament was written in Greek, which was later translated to English. Some translations are are closer to those original translations than um some other translations. For example, the New King James Version or the KJV actually, the KJV, the King James Version of the Bible is closer to those original translations, closer to the Greek, um, closer to the Hebrew for the Old Testament, the New American Standard Bible, also closer to the Greek um in the New Testament and closer to the Hebrew, closer to those original actual words that were inspired by the Holy Spirit. You see, the reason for staying close to the original translations as much as possible is that all communications are richer and better explained in the original language. I mean, I know you probably know this. There are some adages in Yoruba, for example. There are some adages in Yoruba that if if I say those adages in Yoruba and ask you to translate transliterate in English, it loses some of its meaning. Loses some of its some of its meaning, you know. Um, or you say some some old sayings, some some proverbs in in your original language, and you say, oh, translate it to English. By the time you they finish transliterating and putting it together, you realize that this thing, if you are the original language, language speaker, you're this English version, it has lost some meaning. It has lost some depth. You know, it has lost some depth. Um, and that's the same way with the Bible. That when you are the further away you are from those original, the original language in which the Bible is written, the the the greater chance you have of losing meaning and losing depth of scriptures. You see, and it is the word of God as inspired that has life. It is the word of God as inspired that has power, not man's interpretation of the word of God, not somebody's somebody's idea of what the of what you know that scripture or that verse is trying to say. No, that's not what has power. It is what God has said that has power. You see, not somebody's idea of what God is trying to say. So we try to stay as close as possible. As a Bible teacher, you try to stay as close as possible to those original to translations of the Bible that are closest to the original translation. So as a Bible teacher, you see, the the the excellence of the word of God cannot be lost on you. This is important. That is, if you are going to be a teacher of the Bible, the excellence of the word of God, you cannot, you can, it's you cannot be lost on you. That is, you must the word of God must be exalted in your heart more than anything. The word of God must be supreme in your heart more than anything. This is one of the requirements. We're talking about how to teach the Bible. The word of God must be supreme, must be higher in your mind, in your estimation. You must reckon the word of God as the highest authority. I don't know if you're hearing what I'm saying. You didn't hear what I said. You, as a Bible teacher, you must reckon the word of God in your heart as the highest authority, higher than opinions of men, higher than what you have heard, what your parents told you. I'm telling you, higher than what your pastor told you, higher than everything you have ever heard, you must reckon the word of God as the highest authority that there is. The superior power, there is superior power in the very words of God in scriptures. There is superior power in the very words of God in scriptures. There is superior power in the very words of God in scriptures. I have here the actual words of the Bible are far more powerful and far more effective in changing people's minds and hearts than any merely human words spoken by a pastor or a teacher. And you must know that. That is, you can't be teaching the word of God and your your teaching is is full of ideas, it's full of stories, it's full of conjecture. No, your teaching as a Bible teacher, it must be full of the scriptures, it must be Bible. You are teaching the Bible, not ideas, not feelings. You are not teaching feelings. You're not, I feel like, no. You are teaching scriptures, and you must have fidelity and show fidelity to the scriptures as a Bible teacher. What is the goal of teaching? What is the goal of teaching? Um, teaching is not to impress, teaching is not to impress, teaching is not to impress. 2 Timothy chapter 3, verse um 16 that we just read. Let's see if one or two of us can um tell us some of the goals of teaching before we get into further things here. Um, 2 Timothy chapter 3, verse 16. He says, All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. So we're talking about how to teach the Bible. And we what I'm trying to address here first are the um unseen, the the the mindset portion of of how to teach a Bible, of how to teach the Bible, the the the the unconscious part of it. Talking about exalting the word of God in your heart as the highest authority. You cannot be a Bible teacher if you don't do that. You if you have not reckoned the word of God as the highest authority there is, you see, and also you cannot be a good Bible teacher if you think teaching the Bible is about you. Teaching the scriptures is never about you, is never about how to impress others. Teaching the scriptures is the primary way for building and grounding and maturing believers. Teaching the word of God is the primary way believers are built, believers are grounded, and believers are mature. Acts chapter 20, verse 32, Acts chapter 20, verse 32. So now, brethren, I commend you to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among those who are sanctified. There are some inheritances. I mean, as we'll see when we as we continue our study of Galatians, we see in Galatians chapter 4, we see in Galatians chapter 4 that it says, now I say that the heir, as long as he's a child, does not differ at all from a slave, though he's master of all, but is under guardians and stewards until the time appointed by the father. And this is saying there are some inheritances that you cannot have access to until you are built up. There are some inheritances of redemption, there are some profiting of redemption that you do not have access to until you are built up. So, so no matter how much you pray for those things, you will not get them. I mean, you know the example that is much um given. A father, I mean, I have a almost three-year-old. Imagine he says that you give him his um the key to our car and say, Oh, I want to take you to the store to go get um some cheese. You know, that's not gonna happen because he has not grown up to be able to undo that responsibility, he has not grown up to be able to undo that inheritance. So when the Bible says in Acts of the 20, verse 32, they're recommended to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance, you better be built up before you seek for inheritance. That's what Galatians chapter 4 is telling us. Until you are built up and you have reached a certain level of maturity, some inheritances are not in view for you. And how do you get built up so that you have access to the inheritances that you have in Christ? It is the instrumentality, the primary instrumentality is the teaching of the word of God, is the teaching of the word of God. While there is a place for gifts, um, where there's a place for gifts and of gifts, um, this is very important. However, a proper ministry work which will stand the test of time cannot be built on gifts, but through the instrumentality of the teaching of the word of God. There's a place for the gifts of the spirit, there's a place for the you know the exorberant display of the gift of the spirit. There is a place for that, and God wants that in our midst. But when we're talking about building up people, that's uh building up a work and and and having a ministry that will last the test of time, it has to be founded, it has to be built on the instrumentality of the teaching of the word of God. Do you know that Jesus was never known as a miracle worker in his inner circle? The disciples never called Jesus the miracle worker. I don't know if you're hearing what I'm saying. The disciples only knew Jesus as a rabbi, a teacher. They never referred to him as a miracle worker. He was our rabbi, rabbi. The people closest to him knew him as a teacher. And that was what Jesus was doing for them. He was teaching them, teaching them. And that's the only way. If if that's all Jesus did, that's what you and I must also do. That's why Jesus has Jesus' ministry, you know, and his impact has lasted centuries, a millennium or millennia. Because he taught, he taught, he taught, he taught his disciples, he preached to the crowd, he taught his disciples. You see, sometimes there's a temptation to be um to sound, you know, prophetic and deep in your teaching. And some people, you know, some people cower, some people shrink because they feel like they're not they're not deep enough. No, you don't, you don't, no. People that want to sand so deep, you at the end of the day, you realize that there's really nothing there. See, there's no point. The Bible tells us that there's a simplicity in Christ. Look at 2 Corinthians chapter 11, verse 3. There's a simplicity in Christ. It's not, it's not about you know being deep. No, it's not about it's not about mysteries that you can't find in the Bible. No, that's not what we're talking about. We're talking about the simplicity that is in Christ. 2 Corinthians chapter 11, verse 3. But I fear lest someone, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your mind may be corrupted by the from the simplicity that is in Christ. I fear. Apostle Paul writing to the Corinthian church, he said, I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted by the simplicity that is in Christ. He says, Some people are going to come, they're going to tell you some verbose things, some some lighter than life things. Then they're going to be telling you about mysteries and depth and height and all of those things and things that cannot be substantiated by the Bible. So they're going to come. But there is a simplicity in Christ that you must not lose hold of. A simplicity in Christ. Teaching the word of God simply simply. Now, the simplicity in Christ may not be accessible to the carnal mind, but it doesn't mean that it's not simple. Let me say that again. The simplicity that is in Christ may not be accessible to be to the carnal mind, but it doesn't mean that it is complex. It doesn't mean that it is that you have to see the people that handed this gospel to us. I'm talking about the Nigerian church, many of them were not educated. When you think about Apostle Ayo Babalola, for example, he was not an educated man. And God used him that greatly. Yes, we can say that, oh yeah, there might be a limit to how far God can use you if you're not educated. But I'm saying that he could, even with that formal education, they could grasp the simplicity that is in Christ. So that I'm saying that as a teacher of the word of God, your goal should not be, oh, mystery. I want to deliver mystery. I want to say things that they've not heard before. I want to say things that nobody has ever said before. No. Your goal should be to present the word of God in a simple way that a five-year-old can understand. That's the goal. Because that is how people are built up. That is how people are grounded. That is how we become mature as Christians. I already said this, the teaching is not about you. What are some dangers of teaching to impress? Some dangers of teaching to impress. When we teach to impress, we raise shallow Christians. When we're always when we're trying to be deep, unnecessarily, we are going to raise shallow Christians. Yeah. Christians that don't have a solid understanding of the scriptures, always grasping for vague ideas, always grasping for things that has no immediate consequence for their spiritual growth and their faith. Shallow Christians. They can't defend their faith because they don't know the clear truths that the Bible teaches. And there's a difference between what is in the Bible and what the Bible teaches. As a teacher, you should also know that there's a difference between what is in the Bible and what the Bible teaches. For example, Moses, I mean, pardon me, Solomon had many wives. That's in the Bible. But the Bible doesn't teach that. You see, there's a difference between what the Bible teaches and what is in the Bible. The fact that it's in the Bible, we have more than in the Bible, does not mean that the Bible teaches that. So when people come and say, oh, but it's in the Bible, or Jesus turned water into wine. No, no, no, no, no. So as a teacher of the Bible, as a teacher of the Word of God, you are sensitive to all these things, you know, so that you can help others build their faith. When we are when we teach to impress, we raise confused Christians, you know. When you are constantly introducing extra-biblical ideas, you raise confused Christians. They start chasing after spiritual experiences. And we're not going to be like that at the landmark church. No. We are going to be granted Christians. People who have a defense for their faith. Yes? People who have a defense for their faith. Not hunting spiritual experiences around. Not hunting for spiritual highs every time. You see? You know, haunting for spiritual highs instead of staying with the transforming word of God. They're easily tossed, easily tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine. No debt. They're superficial in their faith. That's the risk when we're teaching to impress or when we lack, we're not paying attention to the ability to teach the word of God in a local church. Who should teach the Bible? Who should teach the Bible? Who should teach the Bible? And before I go on, I want to ask and take a break and ask you your opinion on this. Is teaching an anointing or is teaching a skill? Is teaching an anointing or is teaching a skill? I have here that teaching the word of God is both an anointing and a skill. Teaching the word of God is both an anointing and a skill. That Ephesians chapter 4, verse 11, um, that we just read, it says, and he himself gave some to be apostles. This is talking about after Jesus, verse 10 says, He who descended is also the one who ascended far above all heavens, that he might feel all things. So he's talking about the glorification of Jesus. He's talking about after his resurrection, having spoiled principalities and power, and is glorified in heaven, he's exalted so that he can feel all things. So he's saying that as he himself, he gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry for the edifying of the body of Christ. So some are called to be teachers, the anointed to be to be teachers, but everyone can and should cultivate the skill of teaching. Everyone can and everyone should cultivate the skill of teaching. Every believer should cultivate the skill of teaching. If you are interested in partnering with God for the equipping of the saints, if you are interested, if you are interested in partnering with God for the equipping of the saints, um, you know, as a head of department, as a leader in the church, and I consider all of us on the call to be leaders at the landmark church. At some point, somebody will ask you a difficult question. You see, somebody will ask you a difficult, a thorny question, somebody will ask you that. You see, so you everybody can cultivate that ability to teach, that ability to um unravel difficult truths, that ability to simplify um ideas or complex ideas, that that ability to break things down and to make it accessible to um a younger believer. You see, uh 2 Timothy chapter 2, verse verse um 15. Be diligent to present yourself, approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. See, we must be equipped to accurately divide and handle the word of God. We must be equipped to accurately undo the word of God. And this verse also suggests that when a Christian leader is not able to accurately undo scriptures, it can lead to shame. When a Christian leader is not able to accurately undo scriptures, like that is you've been you've been born again for 10 years, and when they still ask you a very simple question, you you you coward, you are like you start stammering. You see, it can lead to shame because you've not been diligent to present yourself, to undo scriptures right, right? And the scriptures, there's a proper way to undo the word of truth. It is not a chemistry textbook, the Bible is not a chemistry textbook that you know um you you just require your mind to interpret. No, it's not a chemistry, it's not a physics textbook that you just require your mind to teach you once you understand it. No, the Bible is a supernatural book that must be approached with humility and soberness. It must be approached soberly and with a lot of humility because it is a supernatural book. In a sense, the Bible is a closed book, and at the same time, it's an open book. You only get the juice out of it when you approach it with humility and with a lot of soberness. The Apostle Paul speaking to his son in the ministry, Timothy, he said, The Lord's born servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all. Look at what it says. 1 Timothy chapter 3, verse 1 to 2. This is a faithful saying. If a man desires the position of a bishop, he desires a good thing, he desires a good work. A bishop, when they say bishop, yeah, they're not they're not saying a bishop in the Catholic Church or anything. They're just saying the leader in church. That's what a bishop is: a leader in church, somebody who decides to lead people, whether it's one person, whether it's two people you are leading, that's you're a bishop. Um, a bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, and able to teach. Somebody say able to teach. Yes. So an overseer must be able to teach. Any leader must be able to teach. So teaching is not optional. That's the point I'm driving at for all of us. The ability to teach is not optional. Um, even for those who don't feel called primarily to the teaching ministry or to the office of a teacher, it is a skill that we must pay attention to and own and get better in. And God will help us in Jesus' name. So the first step, the first step is to acknowledge uh the call to teach. Um, type in the chat, everybody, type in the chat, say I am called to teach. Type in the chat, I am called to teach. Everybody, type in the chat, say I am called, I am called to teach. So the because this is this is the first step. The first step is is acknowledging the call to teach. You must be able to rightfully divide the word of truth. There's no point telling ourselves how to teach if if I don't think it's a big deal for me. If I don't think I don't, if I think I don't need it, then there's no point. If you really want to help others and we want to partner with God for the transformation of lives at the landmark church, listen to me. If we want to help others and we want to partner with God for the transformation of lives for of others, we must know how to teach. You must pay attention to it. We must know how to teach. As a teacher of the Bible who wants to build others up in into maturity, we must be intimately aware. So let's talk about let's talk about some some um responsibilities of a Bible teacher. Responsibilities of a Bible teacher. Um, the first is we must be intimately aware, you and I must be intimately aware of and understand the person of Jesus. This is critical. This is critical. We must be intimately aware of and understand the person of Jesus because the Bible is all about Jesus. The Bible from Genesis to Revelation is all about Jesus. The Old Testament, the laws and the law and the prophets is the foretelling of his coming, that the Messiah is coming. The Old Testament is the foretelling of his coming, the gospels is the fulfillment of the prophecy of scriptures that it would come. The epistles are the explanation and the teachings of the implication of his coming for you and I, for our lives. The scriptures, they are all about Jesus. So you, as a Bible teacher, you must be intimately aware of this fact, be intimately aware of the person of Jesus. That is, when you open any by any, when you open to read, the first thing, when you open the Bible to read, it's not, oh, what is uh what's the blessing that this thing is telling me, he's promising me today. No. As a Bible teacher, when you open the word of God, you are looking for Jesus on the pages of the scriptures. You're asking yourself, what does this say about God? What does it say about Jesus? That's what you're asking. Any verse of the Bible, what does this say about God? What does this say about Jesus? That is your primary concern because all of scriptures is about Jesus, it's about one person. It's about one person. Christ is the subject of the Bible. The Bible is about Jesus, and when you stand to teach from it, your goal should always be to make it known. I don't know if you're hearing what I'm saying. When you stand to teach the word of God, your goal should always be, your goal should always be to make Jesus known. You must be able to trace Jesus through the pages of scriptures. Because at the end of the day, Jesus is the answer. I said you must be able to take trace Jesus through the pages of scriptures because at the end of the day, when all is said and done, it all boils down to Jesus. Jesus is the answer that we are always seeking. Not you don't prescribe that answer in a lazy way. You don't just prescribe the answer in a lazy way. No, you pres you you prescribe Jesus as the answer in a reasoned way. Yes, you you present Jesus as the answer in a reasoned way, and the only way to do that is to understand and be able to trace Jesus from the pages of scriptures. You see? So you must be intimately aware about who he is, about his teachings, about his principles, about his mission. That is one of the responsibilities of a Bible teacher. If you try to do any other thing, other than make Jesus know from the pages of the scriptures, it won't it won't make sense. If you try to do any other thing other than make Jesus known from the pages of scriptures, it will not make sense and you will get yourself in trouble. It's only a matter of time. Jesus is the subject of the Bible. That is who you are teaching. That is who that is where we land every time. It is Jesus, everything about him. So a Bible teacher must know Jesus' person, must understand his teachings and his principles, and understand his mission. Understand his mission. Let me quickly read it. 1 Corinthians chapter 2, verse 14 to 16. And I mean, if we start from verse 1, it says, And I brethren when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom, declaring to you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. Telling us, the only thing I want to tell you is Jesus. Verse 14 to 16. Look at what it says. But the natural mind does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. Verse um 15. But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one. For who has known the mind of God that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ. So we have the mind of Christ, and that's mind that that reveals Jesus to us on the pages of the Bible. Alright. So the goal of teaching is not to appear spiritual or to appear better than the people that you are teaching, because teaching is not about you, teaching is about them. We don't have to appear deep. Our goal is to impart biblical wisdom to the people that we are teaching in a clear and unambiguous manner. When our goal is to is is impact, when our goal is impact and wanting to help people, we wouldn't even have time for big words. You won't have time for big words, you won't have time for big words. Your job as a teacher isn't to impress with complicated or vague ideas, it is to equip believers with clear, sound doctrine that leads to spiritual growth and maturity. Alright, let's get into the into the into the meat of the teaching today. Um, general principles. So, what are some general principles as a Bible teacher? Or these principles are whether it's the Bible you are teaching or even other things, what are the general principles that are helpful for a Bible teacher? You want to start with why. So when you are giving it a subject to teach, or you are teaching you are teaching Sunday school, or you want to teach on a Sunday morning, you want to start with why. That is, why is this subject important for your audience to care about it? Why is this subject important for your audience to care about it? Just like we did in today's teaching. Like, why do we teach? We started from that. Why do we teach? Why should we teach the word of God? So you want to start from why? That's that's how you secure the attention of the people you are talking to. Start from why. When the reason is not known, then you know, when the purpose of something is not known, they say abuse is inevitable. So you want to start with why. Why does this matter to God? Why does this matter to you? Why does this matter to your family? Why does this matter to your marriage? You start with why. And then you want to unpack the how. You want to unpack the how. You want to guide people, you want to guide them step by step through the details of the subject that you've been given to teach on. You want to guide them step by step through the details of the of the issue or the subject that you've been that you've been given to teach on. You see? And you the way you test your explanation is that can can a novice understand what I'm saying? Can can a novice understand it and be able to explain it without losing much meaning? That's how you that's how you test your explanation. That is, you don't make any assumptions, you don't make any assumptions about their knowledge. You you want to step through the topic. And ideally, when you're stepping through the topic or stepping through the issue, you want to be asking yourself questions. You see, as you are digging deep into that issue or into that topic, questions will be bubbling up in your heart. And teaching is you answering those questions. As you you will see now, like as we move through the various segments of this, even teaching tonight, it will. So, as you are digging through the subject and the issue, you are just asking questions. Those questions, or the Holy Spirit would minister those questions to you, then you go look for the answers. Or you would minister the answer to you, then you go build out, build out the answer and make it more robust. But as you that that's how you step through it, that's how you step through, you unpack the how answering questions. Answering questions. Okay, what would somebody who is learning about this then? What would they be curious about? Okay, you answer that question, then you move to the next thing. And finally, you illustrate with examples where appropriate. You illustrate with examples where appropriate. For a Bible teacher, you must know that the word of God explains itself. Let me say that again. The word of God explains itself. So we look to the Bible primarily to explain itself. We don't use pop culture to explain the Bible, we don't use our experiences to explain the Bible. We look for the examples in the Bible to explain the Bible. The Bible is a complete book, it is its own best cross-reference. You see, it's a complete book. You don't need help. You don't that is, if I want to define faith right now, the Webster Dictionary has a definition for faith, but the Bible has a definition for faith. Which definition of faith is appropriate? The Bible's definition of faith. If I want to define divine healing, there's a there's a definition in the Bible. The Bible is its own best cross-reference. I don't look to other things to interpret the Bible or to buttress the Bible. Primarily, we look in the Bible to buttress itself. You look in the Bible to buttress itself with a story, with a verse, with a psalm, with a proverb, you look in there to buttress itself. You see, it's okay to use real-life stories and analogies. Um, you can also use visuals as well, uh, you know, to make the ideas that you are communicating, to make them stick, and to drive on the point. Um, but you see, people like stories these days, people just like a lot of stories. But you must make sure that your stories are not taken away from the truth of scriptures. You must make sure that stories are not taken, or they or your stories are modeling or obstructing divine truth. You know, somebody was teaching, you know, I was Sunday school coordinator in um um upward church. You know, one of the teachers was teaching. I mean, I had to I had to call the person to order. Like, no. I mean, like you had 30 minutes to teach and you use 15 minutes to tell stories. No, no, you know, because because you you sense that, oh, people are enjoying the story. No, you don't use stories, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. You you I determined to know nothing among you except Christ and Him crucified. Stories are good, people's ears are tingly, they want to hear stories, and you you can use them sparingly, but they must not model divine truth, they must not obstruct from the truth of the Bible. Because we're not here to learn about your experience. We're not here to learn about your experience with your landlord or your landlord. No, no, no, that's not what we're here for. We're learning to hear to learn the truth of the word of God. So that's very important that we don't service the itching ears of people in your teaching. No, you don't service the itching ears of people, and this is going to take discipline. It's going to take a lot of discipline. You don't service the itching ears of people in your teaching. Now, let me quickly round up. How, this is what you've been waiting for. How do you become a better Bible teacher? How do you become a better Bible teacher? I think I have about uh 12, 11 things here, but we'll step through it fast. And if there are questions, we will take those questions quickly. How do you become a better Bible teacher? How do you become a better Bible teacher? Number one, study great teachers. Study great teachers. Somebody's message that I mean you you finish listening to that message and you are like, wow, like it's just clear as day to you. Like you you feel like writing a book about it. That's a great teacher. Study great teachers. What did they do? What do they do? What do they do often? What do they do sparingly? How do they start? How do they finish? You study great teachers. If you want to be a good teacher and you want to be a good steward of the word of God, you study a great and this is you being a great student. You cannot be a great teacher of the Bible of the Word of God if you are not a great student of the Word of God. You cannot be a good teacher of the Word of God if you are not if you are not a good student of the Word of God. So you want to become a great Bible teacher, you pay attention to good teachers. You pay attention to what they've written, you pay attention to their messages, you go over it, you take notes, that's how you become, you have to become a student first. I feel like that's what I should have written first before studying great teachers. You have to be a student first. You have to be a good student first before you can be a good teacher. Number two, you spend time reading and studying your Bible. You spend time reading and studying your Bible. And you let the Holy Spirit speak to you. We already said that you approach the word of God humbly and soberly. You know, there are days that you open your Bible and it will look like grip to you. It happens to all of us, it happens to the best of us. You just open the thing and it's like, what's this? You read, you finished reading one chapter, you are like, what did I even read? You try and not, you you go from Old Testament to New Testament, maybe New Testament will make sense. Sometimes the issue is you are still you've not you've not yielded yourself. You've not you've not asked the Holy Spirit to speak to you. You must approach the Bible with humility and soberly. So when you're reading it, when you're studying it, you say a quick word of prayer. Holy Spirit, as I read these scriptures, speak to me. Simple. That's it. That's it. You don't have to do any gymnastics. Father, as I open the Bible, as I open your word, speak to me. Speak to me. Holy Spirit, speak to me. That is all. And as you read it, as a Bible teacher, expect to see things that others don't see. Expect to see insights in the scriptures that others don't see. That's what differentiates you as a Bible teacher. As you open the word of God, expect to see things. So you are expecting it that I'm going to see something here that is not accessible to the regular Joe or somebody who's not paying attention. Yes. That's what differentiates you. Expect to see things that others don't see as you read and you study your Bible. And it's the Holy Spirit that does that for us. He opens our eyes to see things, to see insights, to see truths that are concealed, that are hidden from other people. You see, for many people, when they read Genesis chapter 1, verse 1 to 4, they just see it as uh it's uh it's the account, it's the Bible's account of creation. Let's look at it. Genesis chapter 1, verse 1 to 4. And I just want to show you that you can you have to expect to see things that others don't see. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was without form and void, and darkness was on the face of the deep, and the spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Then God said, Let there be light, and there was light, and God saw the light. God saw the light, that it was good. Somebody just thinks, I mean, somebody will read that. A Christian will read that and just move on, and just you know. But for you as a Bible teacher, you look at that and you're like, hmm. That means for you, the insight that you as a Bible teacher as you see from that is that the word of God has creative powers. The word of God has creative powers. That is any word of God, the Bible, spoken, has creative powers. So if I want to create something, something is something is not there, the word of God can create it. That's the insight that you are seeing as it as a Bible teacher. You also see now that that that you know there is no darkness too thick, too deep, that the word of God cannot pierce. That's the insight that you are expecting, that you are seeing as a Bible teacher. So as you read the Bible, you don't just read it casually. You are expecting that God will speak something to you that that you are expecting that the Holy Spirit will minister something to you that is not accessible to other people. That they will not see it that way. You see, that they will not see it that way. They might read it five, five times, they will not see it. But you, as a Bible teacher, you are expecting the Holy Spirit to speak to you as you spend the time reading the Bible. You also spend time obeying the written word. You want to be a good teacher of the word of God, you spend time obeying the written word. You spend time living out the truth that you hope to impact to people. You spend time living out that truth. That is what strengthens your conviction in the communication of the truth. If you have not spent time living that truth out, you will not be convinced in your communication of the truth. You will be shivering, you will be unsure, you will be uncertain, you will lack confidence. The lack of confidence you have is because you've not spent time obeying the word of God. You see, when you spend time obeying the written word, it that's what fuels your communication. That is what adds fuel to your communication. You see, there was a there was a woman, the woman took her son to Madman Gandhi, you know, the um Indian um man. He took her son to the boy was eating too much sugar. So she took her son to Madman Gandhi and said, Madman Gandhi, tell this boy, I know he will listen to you, tell this boy to stop eating so much sugar. Well, Madman Gandhi told the boy, the woman, bring him back in three days. So after three days, the woman takes Madman Gandhi, um, takes her son to Madman Gandhi, and Mad Mangandi says, Boy, stop eating sugar. And you know, the boy took it. So the woman went and asked Madman Gandhi, so why didn't you tell him? That's all you did. Why didn't you tell him to stop eating sugar the first day I brought him to you? Why did you say I should bring him back three days later? Well, Madmangandi told her, he said, because at that time I was also eating sugar myself. I was also eating sugar myself. So there was no point of me, while I'm eating sugar telling a boy to stop eating sugar. He said, but after three days I stopped eating sugar and I knew the benefit of it and I, you know, experienced it. And so I can now instruct your son to stop eating sugar. That's the way it is with the word of God. If you have not lived it, if you are not living it, if you are not obeying it, it will lack power in your mouth. It will lack power in your mouth. It's the word of God that adds weight to your words as you teach. It's what is what gives you confidence as you teach the word of God. All right, you get a proper study Bible. Get a proper study Bible. This is what allows you to connect the dots in the Bible. We talked about, you know, the Old Testament, the prophets, the law, um, the the Psalms and the and the and the and the wisdom books and the gospels, all of them pointed to Jesus. Well, it's a proper study Bible that's going to help you connect those dots. A proper study Bible, a proper study Bible where you have you know references. At least, and if you don't have a proper study Bible, know how to use an electronic one that has you know references, know how to use it. It's it's not a pain, it's not a burden, it's part of your spiritual maturity. And then I need to run through this. You read other supporting literature from verified and respected authors. Read respected authors, read supporting literature, supporting books from acclaimed authors, from teachers that are verified. Because teaching is garbage in, garbage out. Teaching is garbage in, garbage out. When you are giving a topic and you are researching about the topic, um, you look for credible sources. What have they said about this topic in the past? What have they said about this topic? It was um Bishop Benson and Dausa that said that you know, there's nothing wrong in copying as long as there's no copyright with scriptures, as long as you copy it right. It's like there's no there's no copyright with the Bible as long as you copy it right. So, what have other respected voices, respected teachers, respected preachers, what have they said about this topic? That is when you're given it, or what have I learned about this topic in the past? You know, what you consult your notes first. If when you are asked to teach something, your first place is go and type the topic in the internet and just pick the first link that shows up. You are going to get into trouble. No, that shouldn't be your approach. You look for respected authors and you look into yourself. Where have I encountered this before? Do I have it recorded in a note somewhere? And then you start from there. See, how do you become a better Bible teacher? You pray for utterance. This is where the confidence comes from. Paul tells Acts the believers to pray for him for utterance as it declares the counsel of God. You pray for utterance, you depend on the Holy Spirit. You pray for utterance and you also pray for the people you are teaching. I tell Sunday school people um all the time, you have no business teaching Sunday school if you have not prayed for the for your for your students. You have no business teaching Sunday school if you have not prayed for your students. You have no business instructing people that you are not praying for, or that you have not prayed for. You have no business teaching people that you have not performed. It is in the place of prayer that God, that the Holy Spirit gives you utterance, puts words in your mouth. Utterance is just the Holy Spirit possessing the human vocal cords to communicate spiritual truth or to communicate spiritual substance. That's utterance. But if you are not praying, if you are not interceding for people, the Holy Spirit will not put utterance in your mouth. The only way he puts utterance in your mouth is when you tell him that you need him and you ask him to help you. So you pray for utterance, you pray for the people that you're going to be taught, you're going to be teaching. Then you invest in developing your communication skills. And let me just run through this. You know your audience and you avoid overloading them. You avoid overloading them with too much. I hope I've not overloaded you tonight. You know, you avoid overloading them. What do they know? What is what do you have in common with them? You know, so you know your audience, spend some time. Okay, who am I going to be speaking with? Um, what do they know and what do I know? But you make sure you don't assume knowledge. Um, you focus on transformation, not just knowledge transfer, focus on impact, focus on impact, impact, focus on impact, not just knowledge transfer. No, that's not what we want. We want to we want people to change, we want people to have a new realization of a truth that they've seen before, or we want them to see something differently than they've seen before. See, so you're focusing on impact. Now you challenge yourself to grow. If you want to become a better Bible teacher, you challenge yourself to grow. You see your teaching ability as dynamic, not static. So you have a growth mindset in your teaching. You don't say, I'm just like this, you know, me is no, it's only for that, it's only for pastors, you know, it's the only that. No, no. You challenge yourself to grow. Understand the science of biblical interpretation, understand the science of how do you prepare a message, you know, how do you start him, how do you start the teaching? You know, the choice of words that you use. You know, then you practice often and ask for feedback. May the Lord bless us in Jesus' name. All right, I'm gonna stop there. I'm gonna stop there tonight. We've talked about how to teach the Bible, talked about how to teach the Bible, talked about some of the soft things about exalting the word of God above every other thing as a good teacher, as the teaching of the word of God as a means for the Holy Spirit to communicate grace and increase you know, grace in the midst of a church. And we've talked about why do we teach, we've talked about um what is the goal of teaching, we've also talked about the dangers of teaching to impress. Um, we've talked about um who should teach and what's the kind of mindset that a teacher should have. Um, and we finally talked about um some general principles and how to become a good Bible teacher. God bless you.