THE GIFT OF TEACHERS

(INTRO) YOU MIGHT BE A TEACHER IF… (Me/We)

[1]WELCOME: Good morning brothers and sisters. If you’re new with us on campus or checking us out online, we’re glad you’re here. My name is Nic Cook and I’m one of the pastors here at Cornerstone church. And we are finishing up our teaching…

SERIES: called 5: Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Shepherds, and Teachers. If you’ve missed any of the last couple of weeks you can catch up either on our app, our website, or our youtube channel. As we’ve gone through this series, we’ve talked about how the mission that Jesus started of bringing the kingdom of God from heaven to earth did not stop when he returned to heaven. His intention was for his church to continue to let Jesus rule in them and work through them. [2]Ephesians 4:11 says that “11 Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers.” Each and every one of us is gifted to do one of these roles. We’ve covered Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, and Shepherds, and today we’re talking about…

·  [3]TEACHERS: Just like we’ve done with the other roles, I’m going to give you some phrases that often apply to people who are teachers. See if any of these resonate with you. [4]People say that I’m good at presenting information and ideas. [5]I love to show people how to do things that I do well. (Notice this isn’t just presentation or information, but it can be based on a skill set that can be illustrated or imitated) [6]I try explaining things in different ways if people are finding a concept difficult to grasp or understand. (Not just information but understanding and comprehension.) [7]I enjoy coming up with the best, most efficient way to do a task right. (Teachers love to ask, does this work? Is there a better way?) [8]I like creating environments where people can learn and mature. (Again, teachings is more than information, it’s application and transformation. Are people growing and maturing?) My hope is that if you haven’t found your fit in the last couple of weeks, that today is your day. So, before we dig into today’s teaching time, I’d like to encourage you to turn to [9][Matt. 7:24-29]. We’re going to look at the greatest teacher of all time to see his intention for how we continue to do what he did. Before we do, let’s pray and ask the Spirit to teach us today.

(TEACH/APP) THE TEACHER WITH AUTHORITY (God)

[10]WHAT MADE JESUS SUCH AN AMAZING TEACHER? Whether someone is a Christian or not, Jesus has been recognized as one of the best teachers in all of human history. Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists, and historians all agree that his teaching has had a profound impact on all major civilizations. If you are a Christian, we believe that he is not just one of the greatest teachers in all of human, he is THE GREATEST TEACHER IN ALL OF HUMAN HISTORY. In fact, even during Jesus’ lifetime, this is what he was primarily known as. Of the 90 times that someone came to Jesus and addressed him, 60 of those times they called him “teacher.” For example, the religious leader Nicodemus came to Jesus and said “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” [Jn. 3:2].

The passage of scripture that we just read is the end of what we could call the sermon on the mount. In Matthew ch. 5-7 we hear a compilation of the very first sermon that Jesus ever preached. It takes a total of about 12 min and 30 sec to read out loud. Yet it has been the source of thousands of books, and hundreds of thousands of sermons to try to explain it and apply it. [11]In the next year or so, I’m planning on preaching through it and here is a picture of some of the resources I’ll go through in order to preach 3 chapters. What may take a short time to read, will take more than a lifetime to apply. So, the idea of whether or not Jesus was a teacher is not the question. The question is why was he the greatest teacher of all time? The people that had just heard the sermon were able to put their finger on it. In [verse 7:29] they said Jesus was such an incredible teacher because he…[12]

TAUGHT WITH AUTHORITY: Have you ever noticed that when someone is trying to make their point sound more believable, they will quote scholars, and put out statistics from experts? One news station will say here is why our economy is doing so badly and then have 2 professors talk about why it’s so bad and then give 4 statistics from business experts. Then you change channels, and the news station is saying here’s why the economy isn’t really that bad and they have their own experts and statistics. This is the modern equivalent of what was happening during the time of Jesus with interpreting scripture. A teacher would read a scripture, then they’d say, well as the Rabbi Hillel tells us, this is what it means. Then other people would say, no the scripture says this, because Rabbi Shammai says this.

And Jesus doesn’t refer to any other experts. He simply says, here are the people that are blessed. Be salt and light. You may have heard it said…I tell you to do this. When you give, do it this way. When you pray, do it this way. When you fast do it this way. Here’s how you deal with anger, lust, wealth, worry. He speaks as if his way is the only way and right way! As he ends his sermon on the mount Jesus says, here’s how you can treat my teaching. Ignore it, and when trouble comes, and it will come, everything you’ve built is going to come crashing down around you. Your way of life will fail you and leave you shivering in the middle of the storm if you try to do things your own way. Or, the alternative, is to believe that my words are true and put them into action. And when you do, it will provide you a stability that cannot be shaken. You will be able to withstand the worst that this world can throw at you. This is Jewish wisdom at it’s greatest. Here are two paths. One leads to life and shalom/peace, the other leads to death and chaos and destruction. There are no shortcuts. It might be easier to build on sand and not do the work of digging down 50 feet till you hit the solid rock, but it’s disastrous if you do. So at it’s most basic, [14]TEACHERS SHOW US HOW TO LIVE ACCORDING TO GOD’S WISDOM, NOT WORLDLY WISDOM. So let’s get practical on how teachers today can

(JC) FOLLOW THE EXAMPLE OF THE GREAT TEACHER

·  [15]TEACHERS POINT PEOPLE BACK TO THE FOUNDATION OF GOD’S WORD: Early on in his sermon on the mount Jesus says [Mt. 5:17-18] I haven’t come to abolish the law, but to fulfill it. Now the religious teachers of the day would have disagreed with that statement, but they were wrong. Jesus never broke a commandment of God, however, he broke all kinds of traditional rules that had been added to God’s word by men. Jesus constantly quotes scripture. He knows it well. It’s been planted deeply in his heart and mind and is the foundation of his teaching. Matthew records Jesus quoting scripture around 33 times alone. Jesus even knew the word of God well enough to summarize the 613 laws and commands contained in the Old Testament. [Mt. 22:36-40] [16]Teachers in the church need to be absolutely consumed with consuming the word of God and teaching others to do the same. I was having a conversation with my Grandpa, who is one of my spiritual heroes, about a book I was reading on hell, and he kept saying, that’s good, but are you reading the bible. His point wasn’t that reading books about the bible were bad, but we must read the bible itself far more than we read books about the bible. What did God say, instead of what do people say about what God said. Like Jesus our great teacher, we must stand on the foundation of God’s word and point others to do the same. But teachers must also teach us how…[17]

o JESUS IS THE FULFILLMENT OF GOD’S WORD: While Jesus is teaching, he covers a lot of issues like lust, anger, worry. However, there is one thing he taught in the sermon on the mount that spoke to his authority and why we should head his words more than anything he said earlier. He said [18][Mt. 7:21-23] If you want a bold statement on whether Jesus’ teaching should be obeyed, here it is. JESUS SAYS ON JUDGEMENT DAY YOU WILL STAND BEFORE ME. [19]TEACHERS MUST HELP OTHER KNOW AND BE KNOWN BY JESUS! If we simply give good information, or interesting facts about the bible, we have failed. The whole reason we study and teach the bible is to know Jesus for ourselves. And then we turn around and teach others how to know Jesus. So that at the end of time, they can stand before Jesus and hear, well done instead of I never knew you. Teachers show us Jesus is the answer to the curse in Genesis 3, how Jesus is the Ark in the story of Noah, how Jesus is the Passover lamb in Exodus, how Jesus is the fulfillment of the law in Leviticus, how he’s the King promised to David, how he’s the suffering servant in Isaiah. They show us Jesus is the best image of a truly human life. They show us how Jesus is the rescuer from slavery to sin. TEACHERS OPEN THE BIBLE AND MARCH STRAIGHT TOWARDS THE LIFE, DEATH, RESURRECTION, ASCENSION, AND RETURN OF JESUS.  Teachers also…[20]

·  TEACHERS MUST CONFRONT FALSE TEACHING AND SIN: This is where teachers and prophets often find themselves working together or teachers find themselves also operating as prophets. Do you know how they teach bank tellers to spot fake money? It’s not by having them study counterfeits. It’s by handling the real thing so much that they can tell when something doesn’t feel or look like the real thing. This is what Teachers must be able to do. Biblical Teachers point out how the social justice movement tries to coopt Christianity, but many who are part of that movement don’t believe in Jesus. Biblical teachers point out how some conservatives try to coopt Christianity and turn it into a political party but that’s nationalism not Christianity. Everyone uncomfortable yet? Jesus is Lord, His Kingdom is not of this world, and God does not exist to make you happy, healthy, and wealthy. In fact, Jesus said, be prepared for persecution because of me.

o [21]I believe that two of the greatest threats that the church faces are FALSE TEACHERS who twist scripture and tell people what they want to hear, and A CHURCH THAT DOESN’T KNOW THE BIBLE FOR THEMSELVES AND CAN’T TELL THE DIFFERENCE. Which is why the role of teachers finally is to…[22]

·  TEACH OTHERS HOW TO LEARN FOR THEMSELVES: The bible is a big book. It’s complex. Anyone who says it’s simple is wrong and makes others feel stupid for not knowing how to approach it. The best teachers are people who not just tell people things, they show them how they came to that conclusion. They lead people through a process. They walk with people as they’re learning. Want to learn how to read the bible? Don’t know where to start? Let’s do it together. Let’s open the book of mark and meet each week and talk about it. Scared of words like Doctrine, faith, justification, and sanctification? Let’s get together and walk through the Apostles creed, here’s the NIV topical guide to the bible. It will help you find scriptures around what you want need to learn. Don’t know how to hear from God in prayer? You get the point. Here’s a bonus point… [23]

·  GOOD TEACHING LEADS TO OBEDIENCE AND TRANSFORMATION: The point is not to know a lot, it’s to figure out how to live well and to be transformed by the process of following Jesus! It doesn’t matter if you memorize scripture if it doesn’t change you. It doesn’t matter if you learn to pray but still hate your neighbor. Jesus says, I taught you these things, now put them into practice.

Now, here’s how I want to end before we break for discussion. My gut is that far more people are teachers than they realize. You do not have to stand up and preach like I just did. You don’t have to teach a bible study to be a teacher. While Jesus did both these things, [24]most of the teaching that Jesus did, happened as he was doing life with the people alongside him. He did things and then explained why he did them. His personal study of scripture flowed into his life. As he was obedient to God, he explained why he was doing what he did. That’s why I think dudes who swing a hammer, or work on computer networks need to see that if Christ changes how you do your job and you share what you do and why you do it with others, you’re a teacher. No stage or classroom needed. If you’re a lady who is a stay-at-home mom or a nurse, and Jesus changes how and why you do what you do, share it with others and you’re teaching. Bring what you know about Jesus into what you’re doing and teach others to do the same. Bam! Teachers. (demonstration and Imitation) TEACHERS ARE THOSE WHO SHOW US HOW TO LIVE ACCORDING TO GOD’S WISDOM, TO LIVE LIKE JESUS!