Everyone Is A Teacher

Introduction

The Problem – Second Peter 2:1-2

“But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who brought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed.”

The Solution – Romans 12: 2

Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

“A wise man teaches because he has something to say. A fool teaches because he wants to say something”. Plato

A word about Teaching before we start

Everyone is a teacher. From the moment of your conception until this moment as you read this blog. Everyone has taught you something. God said to Jeremiah in Jeremiah 1:5

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”

Science is just now catching up with the fact that we can be taught from the womb. Some scientists are even exploring the possibility that “genetic makeup” affects generational behavior. We also know from the Bible that generational curses are real. I’m not sure if there is enough time left (before Jesus returns) for science to catch up with scripture – but that’s another lesson.

For now, let it suffice to say that everyone you have met in your life; either one-on-one, through TV, Books, school, Church, Work, the Social Network, or even the doctor who slapped you on the behind when you were born, has been and may still be – a teacher. I am willing to believe that at least 80% of these people have influenced you in the ways of the world and not in the ways of God. 95% to 99% is probably more accurate. This influence (teaching) affects every moment of our being. Our fellowship, our work, our ministry, our families, our prayer life, and certainly our relationship with God – this includes our entire Faith and belief system. The knowledge from this teaching is constantly knocking at our consciousness. This knocking is not a tap – tap – tap – but a BANG – BANG – BANG! It is the World Raping at your door. It is the world corrupted by Satan that is raping. It is Satan himself who is constantly butting into your God-conscious life. I’m sure, like myself, you have felt it in your prayer life, in reading the Word, in speaking to others of Jesus, Yes, even in teaching and preaching the Word. – It is that constant interference and distraction that takes you away from your pursued task.

How do you stop it?

You can’t. Without God Himself. It cannot be stopped.

A transformation of the inner man must take place. You do not want to “Heal” your mind. You do not want to “Heal” your memories. You need a metamorphosis – a total transformation. Like a caterpillar to a butterfly, you must become a new creature. The word of God in 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “…we are a new creature”. This is a positional statement. It is how God sees us. But our minds still need renewing. The washing of the word remains and must be done – every day. Ephesians 5:26

“…that he might sanctify it, having cleansed it by the washing of water with the Word…”

How does it work?

The World’s Influence

First the world: let us look at examples of how the hardening of the heart happens. We have become desensitized by the teachings of the world and our hearts are hardened. (Hebrews 4:7) “…Today if ye shall hear his voice, Harden not your hearts.” Satan is continuously trying to harden your heart – away from the things of God to the things of the World.

Personal experience:

When I began doing research at the University of Vermont Medical School, I needed to kill some mice. I was a bit squeamish at first not knowing what to do. But I reluctantly did the task by anesthetizing them in ethyl ether. My heart didn’t want to do it. Years later I found myself guillotining hundreds of mice at a time. I would chop their heads off with a homemade guillotine. Then I would hold them upside down over a beaker to collect the blood. When I could feel their heart stop beating I knew the blood was exhausted, I threw the carcass into a waste can. I did this over and over. My heart was hardened.

Prayer ministering experience: Through our church’s prayer ministry I counseled some Vietnam vets. I remember one in particular who became so used to killing the enemy that shooting them became somewhat boring. So he would try killing them by ricocheting bullets off walls. Later he found himself shooting them with tracer bullets so that he could see them burn. He and his buddies would laugh. Their hearts were hardened.

The little subtle things count big:

Smoke one weed, drink one more drink, do something you know that is a “little” but not right. Just once. As an experiment to see what everyone is talking about. Never give God the benefit of the doubt. Later, you find yourself in fear of not getting enough, you are addicted, and an ineffective Christian. You have problems but the Word does not seem to solve them. There seems to be no way out. Church doesn’t seem to work and the world has no answers. The world’s solution is to eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die. But there is a way (Read my Blog on “But God”). We must become a new creature. 2 Corinthians 5;17 says,

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”

Here is a well-known list of the teachings of the world vs. the teaching of the Word. I’ve used this before in my Blog on Authority/Absolutism and Woke. It is worth looking at again.

And so, the hardening of the heart has begun and is already in us – because of the teachings of the world and everyone we have met from before birth on to now.

Experience also teaches us but do not let your experience be your guide!

1. The Hebrews, Israelite’s worshiped false gods. Why? It worked!
2. At Elim Bible Institute my wife and I had a close friend from Niger. He told us a story of a villager who had broken his hand while working. He was in a considerable amount of pain. His father, an elder and preacher in the village, requested many emergency prayers for his son. His son did not recover and the pain was very intense and increasing. The father took his son to a local Witch Doctor who prayed and his son was immediately healed. The elder/pastor was immediately evicted from the community for believing in the Witch Doctor (the world) more than in Jesus.
3. Many of us have gone to and may still have a desire to go to fortune tellers, palm readers, and read our horoscope (“Oh, I just do it for fun”). This is called Spiritual Adultery.

Let me explain.

Imagine this: As a husband or wife you have an affair and the spouse finds out. Your explanation is “Oh it was nothing serious. I was just having a little fun. Think nothing of it”. How do you think that will go over? How do you think it goes over with God when you tell Him, “Oh, I was just having a little fun. It’s nothing serious”? Really!

4. The Church, Jesus Christ started and to whom we belong – is involved in Spiritual Adultery of all sorts when we play with the Occult. Pray for the Church, that we will turn from our wicked ways. Yes, I say WE and OUR.
5. Recently I had a neighbor (well-meaning and acting as a protector) tell me about someone who just moved into the neighborhood. Her advice was to stay away from him. Really? God’s said that He died for that person. I should meet him and plant seed. Be very careful that we are not misled by “well-doers”.

There are many more examples. Perhaps many you can give. That is one of the purposes of testimonies.

The Solution

You must replace with ways of the world with the ways of God. What has been taught to you over the last 20, 30, 40, 50, 50+ years must be erased and replaced. As you can imagine replacing these years of garbage with truth is not easy. Take an example from computer technology. The consequence of not replacing this garbage is simply “garbage in garbage out”. As I said earlier, It cannot be done without God. Your life must be centered on God’s activity. Human wisdom and knowledge are inadequate to determine how you should act. You can not rely on human logic, but, you can always rely on God’s truth. Experience God. Don’t be satisfied with just knowing of Him but know Him through experience. You cannot expect to have this knowledge and be lazy as most of us are;

1. Read the word, be washed in the word, daily and not just a little
2. Pray with expectation
3. Study/meditate don’t just read.
4. Experience God. Joy, excitement, and adventure come with Experiencing God
5. Do not believe the way of the world. Seek the way of the Word for the truth.
6. Don’t look down the road to the future, just do what God puts in front of you today. Be sensitive to it. Expect something any moment. See Matthew 6:34 “Be not therefore anxious for the morrow: for the morrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof”.
7. Remember there are only 24 hours in a day. If you find yourself tired, and exhausted and cannot complete everything you want to do – you are probably doing something God does not want you to do. Matthew 11:28 – anything else is Religious and not Godly.

Enough Said.

“Thy Words were found, and I did eat them, and Thy Word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by Thy name, O LORD God of hosts.” (Jeremiah 15:16)