Apt To Teach

  

"A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach;"  (I Tim. 3:2)

  

If you'll read the entire list of pastoral qualifications (verses 2-7), you will not find preaching on the list.  But Paul does list teaching in the very first verse of seven qualifications.  Then if you'll study through the pastoral epistles (I Timothy thru Titus), you will find twice as many references to teaching as preaching.  In the four gospels, teaching is mentioned more than preaching by about a 60/40 ratio.  Yet, for some strange reason

, in looking back over my 44 years of being a Christian, I can't name over 10 men who impressed me as being good Bible teachers.  Most all of the emphasis and energy has gone towards preaching while not one preacher out of twenty ever turned out to be a good teacher or even wanted to be one.  Even Dr. Ruckman had high hopes of being a preaching evangelist, but he finally yielded to God's will and agreed to be a teacher of the Book.  Thank God for that!

  

I don't mean to downplay the importance of preaching, but I find it very sad that so many have downplayed the importance of teaching.  Preaching gets all the spotlight and praise and name recognition while teaching gets to ride in the backseat in hopes of getting a chance to utter a few words somewhere along the way.  In reality, by the Bible standard, it should be the other way around.  That's why I recently stated that a preacher who doesn't get people interested in the Bible is a loser.  

  

A true Bible preacher is a God-called man who is "apt to teach."  He doesn't just yell and "run the bases" for a weekly religious show, and he doesn't just give sweet devotions.    A true Bible preacher is also an able teacher who studies and rightly divides the word so that people go home with a better understanding of God's word.  Because of his studying and teaching, people don't just follow a list of religious do's and don'ts that they were pressured into following; they actually develop an interest in the Bible and begin to grow in their understanding of it and in their desire to obey it.  They are truly LED by the Holy Spirit, rather than being pressured into following religious rules.

  

I will add that some have the idea that teaching has to be dry and boring, while preaching is more passionate and exciting.  That's just not true.  It all depends on the individual and his attitude and knowledge about the subject matter.  Both preaching and teaching can be very interesting and edifying when the man is prayed-up and prepared.  In fact, a wise and experienced preacher knows how to balance a message with a good blend of both.  The reality is that good teaching requires WORK (II Tim. 2:15), and most men are too lazy to put forth the effort, so the "teaching is boring" myth gives them a convenient excuse.  

    

But my words will be largely ignored while preachers continue to send young men to "Bible school" to learn the Book that THEY should have taught them.  The fact that almost no one sees a problem with this is quite alarming, or at least it is to THIS preacher AND teacher.

  

There are two chief reasons for preaching being more desired than teaching: IT OFTEN TAKES LESS WORK and IT GETS MORE PRAISE.  That can be a deadly combination.  It doesn't have to be, but it often is.

I recall a certain comment that I once received from a missionary who basically said that he could never be a pastor because that would require lots of study in preparation for new messages every week.  Another pastor that I sat under for six years had a habit of preaching about ten sermons over and over again, sometimes under different titles, instead of studying and preparing fresh new messages regularly.  A man from Michigan once told me that his pastor told their church that "I cannot teach you the word of God."  My wife and I were in a Georgia church many years ago when a young man stepped into the pulpit and literally screamed for about fifteen minutes and was then praised for really knowing how to "preach."  Trust me, I could continue for quite a while.  

Commenting on another post, someone recently suggested that "passion" was the mark of good preaching.  If that's so, then why isn't it one of the qualifications of a bishop in I Timothy 3?  I'll tell you why: passion can be easily counterfeited with drama and theatrics, even when there's no real underlying substance to what's being said.  That's why I still remember the volume, the twitching and jumping around, and the facial expressions of the Georgia youth, but I can't remember a word that he said.  It was all drama and theatrics, but not enough substance to be remembered.  It's like these commercials that put so much effort into making you laugh or cry that you forget what they were selling.  I suspect that THAT is why "passion" is not listed as a requirement for a preacher.  Even cheerleaders are "passionate," but God never calls them to preach.  Kenneth Copeland is "passionate," but does that qualify him?  I've had these camp meeting junkies in my church.  They give God their emotions, but their minds are reserved for sports, politics, money and other secular interests. When they can't turn the worship services into a fleshly festival, they'll either start trouble or leave. Let 'em leave. Better off without 'em.

Now, TRUE passion comes naturally from the heart when a man really loves God and God's word.  A man who loves God and the Bible will naturally have the right amount of passion, and it will be balanced with his own personality, not copied from someone else.  If he loves and believes what he is teaching (or preaching), it will be interesting and edifying.  He might or might not jump and yell, but his passion for truth will be evident for all to see and hear.  He will not be dry and boring.

No one wants to talk about it, but the truth is that many preachers are in the ministry only because they're too lazy to work real jobs.  This means that they are also too lazy to study and become approved WORKmen in the scriptures (II Tim. 2:15).  The religious drama that they bring to the pulpit is only a poor substitute for their lack of truth substance (The less he has to say, the louder he says it.)  Their members call him a good preacher because he's a "passionate" preacher, but they send all their Bible questions to someone else.  

A call to the ministry is more than a call to travel, witness, preach and fellowship.  It's a call to solitude where you must PRAY, WORK and STUDY so that you always have fresh manna for God's people. (This post alone took over two hours of prayer, meditation and writing.)  It's a call to FEED the sheep (John 21:15-17), not to merely pacify or entertain them.  Everything comes with a price, and those who choose to be preachers without being good teachers are often little more than religious thieves who are encouraged and supported only by ignorant people, not by sound-minded believers.

For any young man wanting to enter the ministry as a preacher, I would first ask one question:  What do you REALLY want?

-James L Melvin

biblebaptistpublications.org

Farther Along (song)

All Through The Night (poem)

Sleep, my love, and peace attend thee,
All through the night;
Guardian angels God will lend thee,
All through the night;
Soft the drowsy hours are creeping,
Hill and dale in slumber sleeping;
Love alone his watch is keeping-
All through the night.

While the moon her watch is keeping
All through the night
While the weary world is sleeping
All through the night
O'er they spirit gently stealing
Visions of delight revealing
Breathes a pure and holy feeling
All through the night.

Though I roam a minstrel lonely,
All through the night;
My true harp shall praise thee only,
All through the night;
Love’s young dream, alas! is over,
Yet my strains of love shall hover
Near the presence of my lover
All through the night.

Love, to thee my thoughts are turning
All through the night
All for thee my heart is yearning,
All through the night.
Though sad fate our lives may sever
Parting will not last forever,
There's a hope that leaves me never,
All through the night.

Hark! a solemn bell is ringing
Clear through the night;
Thou, my love, art heavenward winging,
Home through the night;
Earthly dust from off thee shaken,
Soul immortal thou shalt waken,
With thy last dim journey taken
Home through the night.

-Har­old E. Boul­ton

Note: It was first published under that name by Bardd y Brenin (Edward Jones) in Musical Relicks of the Welsh Bards(1784). Those lyrics were eventually replaced by Harold Boulton's now familiar lyrics.

Believer's Heritage- Leslie Morgan Horton

Leslie grew up in Flower Mound, TX, where she attended Marcus High School. She later went to Baylor University, where she was active in Campus Crusade and her beloved KXA sorority. Through mutual friends, Leslie met Mark, fell in love, and married on May 16, 1999. With him by her side, she fulfilled her two greatest dreams of being a teacher and having children. Leslie’s Wish was to create a home that featured scripture that we could read for encouragement and to remember her.

 

Leslie was a one of a kind spirit. Her calming presence and love for Jesus were evident in all she did. She wasn’t just kind to her friends, she was kind to people who were not very kind to her. She was known for constantly serving others even when it meant expending her last ounce of energy, as was the case the last few months.  Throughout Leslie’s life, she desired to be obedient to God’s calling, whether that was starting a Moms in Prayer group, returning to teaching, or starting the children’s ministry at her church. The paths she was called on weren’t always easy, but Leslie chose to be faithful to God’s calling rather than merely existing for her own comfort. She knew that this life wasn’t her ultimate home. She chose, in faith, to invest in eternity. The smile that slowly slipped on her face after she passed tells us that her investment was not misplaced.

Leslie deeply leaned on this service, although she never talked with Daily Audio Bible, she was committed to listening everyday and hearing God’s word. There were many nights where she could not rest or stop thinking and she would begin listening to scripture read from DAB and she would find peace and rest. She said that thanks to DAB, she was able to hear the entire bible which made her very happy. She want find joy connecting someone with this service because it meant so much to her.

 

In her own words, these are Leslie’s parting remarks: “I stopped clutching this life to the point of where I squeezed all life out of my days. It is only in my surrender that I was actually able to live. We are all called to lay our burdens at Jesus’ feet. My burden has been cancer. When I finally released this burden at Jesus’s feet, then the peace flowed. There are some types of good that can’t be attained the easy way. There are some goods that we only experience through great struggle and great suffering. The peace and love that I’ve had during my final days, weeks, and months far surpasses anything I had before cancer. From the outside looking in, my life looks like it has slowly petered to a halt, but in my spirit, it has been the opposite.”

Matthew 11:2-6- Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples, And said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another? Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see: The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.

I always thought it was odd that Christ would send this message to John. Why would He tell John not to be offended?
Perhaps it was because the disciples were going to tell John about all the good Jesus was doing for those around Him, and yet He wasn't making a difference in John's circumstances.
Sometimes, we get upset when God appears to be working in everyone else's life, and yet He doesn't seem to be answering our requests (or answering them as we would have them answered). It's during these times that we should remember that God knows best, and He has promised to work all things out for our good (Romans 8:28).
Christ didn't promise use peace and wealth in this life. He never promised good health and a trouble-free life. He promised to never leave us nor forsake us. He promised to forgive our sins. He promised a mansion in heaven for eternity.
So, whatever you're going through, blessed is whosoever shall not be offended when things don't go our way!

Leslie Furneaux Morgan Horton, 41, went to be with the Lord on October 11, 2018, at 1:45 a.m. after a long struggle with cancer. She was surrounded by family.

Manda Strong Foundation - This website provides a Christ-centered support system for mothers battling cancer while also raising minor children. Support will come in many forms and will be tailored to meet the needs of each brave family.

Navigating Through Your Crisis (video sermon)

Ye Have Need

Most people who read Matthew 7 stop at the very first part of the very first verse, judge not, and never move past that.

There's a good amount to learn in Matthew 7! 

Matthew 7:7-11- Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?

Why ask Him? Doesn't He already know?

Matthew 6:8- Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.

Luke 18:1- And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;

He does know. He wants us to have a relationship with Him. More than just asking and getting. It's a conversation that allows you to learn more about yourself as well as Him.

Matthew 6:28-32- And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.

He has us pegged, doesn't He? God knows your needs better than you do. 

Philippians 4:19- But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

The problem is that we don't always want to accept what He knows we need.

The companion verses to this are found in Luke 11.

Luke 11:9-13- And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?

The whole reason we need a Savior is that we can never be good enough. Our idea of righteousness is far below the standard that God accepts. Christ died to fill the need of "not being good enough". Yet, sadly many reject Him assuming they can reach the goal on their own.

There are others who have accepted Him as their Savior and yet treat Him as Santa Clause. They look at the first part of this as a blank check- ask, and it shall be given you. Then they get mad when they don't get exactly what they ask for.

James 4:3- Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.

When Paul asked God to remove something he deemed was a hinderance, God told him "no". Paul's response should be how we all react.

II Corinthians 12:7-10 - And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.

Why would God tell Paul "no"? Because Paul needed something to keep him humble.

When God gives you exactly what you need, it isn't always what you want.

We have need (not needs, plural). What is our need?

Hebrews 5:12- For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.

We need teachers who feed us milk until we are strong enough for meat.

Hebrews 10:36- For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.

We need patience to wait for God to send us what He wants us to have.

I John 3:17- But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?

We need to have compassion on others. We need to help out our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Revelation 13:17-18- Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.

We need to see ourselves as God sees us.

The worst thing God could do to you is let you have your way!

Psalm 106:15- And he gave them their request; but sent leanness into their soul.

Our desires are carnal. Our view is from a worldly standpoint. We can't see the beginning from the end. We don't know how certain things will affect us.

Luke 11:12 -Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?

Now, why would God say this? We wouldn't give our children something that could hurt them. But God sees how that something will affect us. Sometimes He allows things to help us grow, or to enable us to accept what He sees is coming.

Luke 10:19- Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.

Why would he give you power over scorpions if there were never going to be scorpions?

Ezekiel 2:6-And thou, son of man, be not afraid of them, neither be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns be with thee, and thou dost dwell among scorpions: be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they be a rebellious house.

The fact is that every person has a free will. They can choose to act like a scorpion. How are you going to deal with these types of people if you've never faced a scorpion?

Revelation 3:19- As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.

Hebrews 12:7, 11- If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.

Everyone wants peace, but no one wants to endure the hardships that lead to peace. There will be bad guys who start wars; there must be strong good guys to fight those wars and bring peace. And you don't get strong good guys when all is easy.

Matthew 7:11b- how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?

Luke 11:13b- how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?

Notice the difference in these two verses. One says "good things" and one says "Holy Spirit".

Sometimes we get good things; sometimes we get the Comforter to help us through.

John 14:26- But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

God doesn't stop the bag things from happening; you won't find that promised anywhere in the Bible. What was promised is that He will never leave you or forsake you- through the good times or the bad, when there's joy or mourning, even when you doubt yourself or Him.

Job 2:10- But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.

Good times and bad times happen to us all. We all make choices and suffer consequences. Don't lay the blame on God for your choices. Don't get mad at Him for sending things your way that make you stronger. He knows what you will face in the future and He is going to prepare you whether you like it or not.