How To Grow As Teacher || State Road Church Of The Nazarene

verses 12 through 14 Hebrews chapter 5 verses

Hebrews 5:12–14

12 through 14 and when you have found that say

we should be teaching by now when you found that

we should be teaching by now and here's the part

that's special about today we've never done this

before I was I planned on telling a story this

morning And I asked Anita to give me the details

as she remembered them last night. And I said,

you've got to tell that story because you're

going to do it so much better than I'm going

to. And just so that we're clear, you all love

me. I love you. And at some point in the story,

you're going to be like, our pastor is a jerk.

And that was her fear. She's like, I don't want

to make you look bad. So we're just going to

go ahead and talk about the elephant in the room.

At some point, you're going to be like, yeah,

our pastor's a jerk. But you love me anyways,

right? So would you give a warm North Royalton

welcome to my beautiful wife, Danita. OK. So

he asked me last night to tell the story. And

I'm like, well, what part of the story? Because

if you've been around us, you've probably heard

us. No, maybe. heard us at some point say, oh,

look at the baby eating the baby food. You probably

heard that phrase. So we, as a family, kind of

tell that story from that viewpoint. But the

story started before that for me. I was pregnant

for Aubrey, and Caleb was about 18 months old.

And those of you who have had children remember

the first trimester and how exhausting it is.

So I was so tired that day, and I just. I couldn't

even think straight. But I had to go to Kroger,

pick up something. We were in Central Ohio at

the time. And I was, as mothers do, thinking,

OK, I've got to figure out something for lunch

for her. She's eating real food, but I didn't

have anything super easy. And then I got to make

dinner and just all the things, the checklist

in your head. So I'm walking around Kroger to

pick up a couple things. I'm like, I'm just going

to pick up this jar of toddler food. It's kind

of like real food and she'll eat it, it'll be

fine. So I take this, this is like step three.

You know how they have like step one, step two,

step three baby food? Toddler food, it was toddler

food, I'm telling you, it was toddler food. So

I warm up the toddler food we get home and she's

in her high chair and I'm just like, okay, like

30 minutes and she'll go down for a nap and I

can go down for a nap, I'm so tired. and I'm

feeding her this toddler food. And in Knoxville,

in the middle of his day, he stopped in for some

reason. I'm not even sure why, because he usually

didn't. And he's like, oh, look at the baby eating

the baby food. Well, just for the record, at

the time, Kalen thought Phil hung the moon and

the stars and everything else in between. And

I think so. I think he did, too. But as soon

as he called her a baby, that was it. She wouldn't

eat it. And so then I'm like, I'm looking at

him like, I'm gonna kill you, like you are gonna

die today. And then he's like, okay, well I gotta

go, I'll see you later. And I still have to find

food for this kid to eat so she'll take a nap

so I can take a nap. So I'm like, okay, thanks,

bye honey. Moral of the story is she did live,

she ate, she took a nap, he didn't die, I didn't

die, it was great, but. Look at the baby eating

the baby food. It was not one of my brighter

moments. It's not one of my brighter moments

and So it was like really bad Really mad about

me saying hey look at the baby eating the baby

food. So this morning I want to talk with you

about we should be teaching by now right and

That phrase really comes from Hebrews chapter

Hebrews 5:12–14

5 verses 12 through 14. So you've already found

it. You're with me Here's what the passage says.

I'll be reading from the New Living Translation.

It's not one that's better than another. It's

just the one that I'm reading from this morning.

So if it sounds a little bit different than what

you're seeing in reading, it's just a different

translation. But here's what it says in the NLT.

You have been believers so long now that you

ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need

someone to teach you again the basic things about

God's Word. You are like babies. who need milk

and cannot eat solid food. For someone who lives

on milk is still an infant. It doesn't know how

to do what is right. Solid food is for those

who are mature, who through training have the

skill to recognize the difference between right

and wrong. Here's the phrase that I want you

to notice with me. It's the first part of that

first well those verses that we read. You have

been believer so long. that you ought to be teaching

others. Easy enough, right? You've been believers

so long that you ought to be teaching others.

But then it goes on to say, oh, look at the baby

eating baby food. But you've been believers so

long that you ought to be teaching others. The

word ought there is a Greek word. Here's your

kind of Greek lesson for the day. I'm a biblical

language nerd. The word that's used there is

Ophelio. Everyone say Ophelio. Ophelia is it's

the Greek word that's used there and it means

that we are morally obligated to it so we have

a moral obligation to not only like what it's

okay for us to need milk at some point right

it's okay for us when we're new in Christ to

need milk and to not be ready for solid food

but when we're in relationship with Jesus for

any length of time We have a moral obligation

to continue to grow and mature and eventually

gets the point that we can invest in others.

If that makes sense, say, oh, yeah, that we shouldn't

be like owed to baby eaten to baby food forever.

So scripture says by now, you should not just

be being fed, but that you should be feeding

others. But here's the thing. Instead of chewing

on steak, we're still sipping on bottles. I mean,

you know what I mean by that, right? I mean,

it's a metaphor, but we're still sipping on bottles.

We're sitting in sermons, but not stepping into

discipleship. This entire concept flies straight

in the face of the consumeristic mentality that's

currently plugging the church. One of the most

common, like they do surveys and studies on people

who leave one church and go to another. One of

the top five reasons that people leave one church

and go to another. You know what it is? This

phrase. I'm just not being fed. And I hear you.

I mean, I get it. And there could be a valid

argument there. But do you understand that when

we're followers of Jesus, we have a moral obligation

to move from, hey, I'm not being fed to, I need

to now take responsibility for feeding others?

That we need to be a part of serving other people

around us. So this flies straight in the face

of all of that and we want to come and kind of

take it all in and what the writer of Hebrews

is saying is that there is a time for that but

we need to get to the point where we're infesting

in others every conversation, every time that

we support the work of the church, every time

we go without something that moves the needle

of the kingdom forward, every time that we do

that we're demonstrating the kind of natural

growth that's expected. of every believer. Because

here's the bottom line. When we come into relationship

with Jesus, we no longer belong to ourselves.

I'm preaching a whole lot better than you're

responding. When we come into relationship with

Jesus, we no longer have the right to exist for

ourselves. Think of it like this. So I lived

on my own for a while. I was a bachelor. I had

my own house. I did my own thing. I cooked my

own meals. I invited people over. I did what

I wanted to do. I didn't really have to answer

to anyone. It was my place. I did what I wanted

to do. But when I entered into a relationship

with Danita, I lose the right to do what I want

to do. I have to consider what's best for her.

And at first, that takes some adjustment. But

you eventually get to the point that it becomes

second nature that I want to do what's best for

Danita and That's constantly something that I'm

striving for the same is true in our relationship

with Christ that when we begin a relationship

with him We can't just do what we want to do

We have to think about what's best for the kingdom.

What's gonna be pleasing to Jesus. What's gonna

help the people around me So we all understand

that right? So this really is where the five

-fold ministry comes alive. So last week we talked

about shepherds, and one of the main jobs of

shepherds is that they feed the sheep, right?

We talked about that. They care for, they nurture,

they provide for the sheep. So teachers really

is... So it's the job of the shepherd in the

five -fold. It's the job of the shepherd to make

sure that the sheep get fed. But really they

can't do that alone. So it's the role of the

teacher that helps people get grounded in it

It's what allows the Word of God to go down deep

and to really become the foundation that they

live their lives from Shepherds can't really

do that and all the other things it's teachers

that are helping them to have the depth that

they need So shepherds and teachers go hand in

hand But teachers are the ones that are helping

them to really get this stuff rooted and established

So nobody gets mad when you have to spoon feed

a baby, right? No one gets upset about that.

It's cute I mean the entire thing and maybe they

don't like it. So maybe you do the little airplane

thing You better open up here it comes. Oh, there

you go. Good job. No one gets upset by that But

do you know how ridiculous it is? when you're

cutting up steak for a 50 year old man And he

doesn't like the way that the steak's been prepared.

So you're doing the airplane thing for a 50 -year

-old man. Because hey, he's got to eat his food.

So you're like, hey honey, open up your mouth.

Do you know how ridiculous that is? That's not

cute. That's tragic. Right? I mean, that's tragic.

We expect that we need to feed babies. We don't

expect that we're going to have to feed 50 -year

-old men. Right? It's tragic. So there's a time

and a place for us to do that with people who

are new in the faith, but there comes a point

where we need to have enough maturity to say,

I'm gonna cut up my own steak and I'm gonna eat

my own steak. So here's the insight here. Christian

maturity is not about how long you've believed,

but it's about how deeply you've been transformed

and trained. Maturity is measured in multiplication.

It shows up when we start passing on what we've

received. Now here's the thing, and I wish I

had a catchy way of saying it, and I don't. I

couldn't think of one. But here's the bottom

line. When we're talking about faith, it's not

really yours until you give it away. And I wish

I had a catchy way of saying that. But you know

what I mean by that, right? So like I have this

faith that's my own, but it's not really mine

until I figure out a way to give it to somebody

else. And in giving it away to somebody else,

that's when it really becomes mine. It's when

somebody else has benefited from the faith that

I have. A true story of a church in Uganda, a

woman by the name of Grace could not read, she

could not write. So she didn't have a Bible even

if she could have found one and opened it up

somehow She wouldn't have been able to read it.

It would have not made any sense to her but she

sat every week and listened for years as scripture

was read out loud and it was a powerful experience

for her so she began to memorize the things that

she would hear read and Before long she would

gather all of the village girls around on a daily

basis. She would gather them around and she would

begin to recite the word of God that she had

memorized. Just from hearing people read it out

loud. So here's the thing that's amazing about

that. She couldn't read, she couldn't write,

but she could teach. And the word of God was

bearing fruit because she was teaching. So if

grace can disciple people without a Bible in

her hand and without the ability to read or write,

what excuse do we have? when we literally have

hundreds of translations in our pocket. So I

would say that it's time for us to grow up in

every language. You can even get it in Hawaiian

Pidgin. If you don't believe me, check it out.

And if you want something fun to do this afternoon,

read your favorite Bible passage in Hawaiian

Pidgin. I promise you'll laugh. We have all kinds

of stuff. So it's time for us to grow up, right?

That's what the writer of Hebrews is saying,

that there's a time and a place for us to have

milk, but there's also a time for us to be past

the point of, oh, look at the baby eating the

baby food. That's the point that it's making,

that we need to grow up, that it's time to get

off the bottle. Look at your neighbor and say,

get off the bottle. By now, you ought to be teaching.

Here's the problem that we have. We're overfed

and underformed. We scroll, we skim, we share,

but we don't really search out the will or the

Word of God. We're drowning in information, yet

starving for transformation and formation. So

many of us can quote Christian content, but I'm

not sure if Jesus himself walked in the room,

we'd have any idea who he was. So here are the

symptoms of that. We know catchphrases, but we

don't know scripture. Or sometimes, like this

is always comical to me, when people will quote

quote unquote scripture and it's nowhere in the

Bible. Like some of my favorites are this, people

will say, well you know the Bible says God helps

those who help themselves. No, actually the Bible

says the exact opposite of that. So like that's,

first of all it's not scriptural, number two

it's not even good theology. Like I had a Sunday

school teacher one time who said, you know, the

Bible says when hell freezes over Well, let me

tell you something the Bible nowhere says that

okay, trust me I've read the thing cover to cover

nowhere does it say that that's funny and I'll

remember that for a long time But the Bible does

not say that so we know these catchphrases, but

we don't really know scripture very well We nod

at truth, but we don't live it We'll rage over

cracker barrels rebranding but we won't flinch

when our neighbor's bleeding in the street. We'll

repost devotional thoughts, but we refuse discipleship.

This one is kind of funny to me, but it's disturbing

at the same time, so I'm not sure which part

of my brain to store this in. But they did a

recent Bible literacy survey. And they found

that more Americans could list all of the Kardashians

than the Ten Commandments. So I told Danita that,

and she said, well, I can't. And I said, which

one can't you? She's like, I can't name all the

Kardashians. I said, OK, that's great. Can you

name all the Ten Commandments? And she can. She

can tell you all the Ten Commandments. But she

probably can't tell you all the Kardashians.

Think about it. We've heard the truth. We're

just not grounded in it. And here's the big problem

information without transformation of spiritual

malnourishment It's like eating fast food every

day for every meal So, I mean sure your plates

full But your soul's empty The devil doesn't

care how many sermons that you've streamed books

that you've bought or reels that you've saved

If it doesn't make you more like Jesus Matthew

Matthew 28:19–20

chapter 28 verses 19 through 20 says this go

and make disciples teaching them to obey all

that I've commanded you So let's break that down

a little bit. I've put some of the the key words

here up on the screen This is also a good opportunity

to see if your glasses need a new prescription

But anyways, so it's a gift that keeps on giving

right you can do you check your eyes at the same

time? So the first one there you see the word

that's there right there Everyone try to say

that. So mathetousate, right? Everyone say that.

You see this word right there? It's the word

that's translated as make disciples. So here's

the thing that I want you to notice about that.

So the word that's translated as make disciples

literally means to make lifelong learners. So

that's what he's calling us to do is to make

lifelong learners. It's different than just teaching

a Sunday school lesson. This is how do we get

people to spend the rest of their life learning

and continuing to grow and develop? So this isn't

just a one -time convert kind of thing. It's

it's how do we get people to yes have a one -time

experience with this but that they're so changed

by that one -time experience that they give the

rest of their life to living it out and learning

more about him. That's what we're talking about.

So make disciples. The second word I want you

to see is didasko. It means to teach systematically,

intentionally. It's instruction that changes

lives. So it's not just, hey, we're going to

talk about something that doesn't matter at all,

but we're talking about something in such a way

that lives are changed forever. And that takes

intentionality. That's this word didasko. The

last word is terrain. It means to obey, to treasure,

to live it out. So here's the insight in all

of that. Teaching always aims at obedience. Teachers

aren't content dumpers, they're formation leaders.

In Jesus' day, there was this phrase, and so

like Jesus calls these disciples to follow him,

right? He invites them to be his teledeme, that's

the word that's used there, to be his teledeme.

And they were the students. Jesus was the teacher.

So the word that they would use in Jesus' day

was they would call him the rabbi. He was somebody

who would teach spiritual things. But it was

more than just that. So when a rabbi would call

a teledeme to follow after him, he was saying

a lot of different things in that statement.

So he's saying, hey, come follow me. But in saying

that, he was saying of this person, you have

what it takes to be like me. You have what it

takes to do what I do you have what it takes

to say the things that I say I see in you the

potential to be just like me. So when Jesus finds

these fishermen He sizes them up and says hey

listen you have what it takes to be like me and

When he finds tax collectors, he looks at these

people that their society has thrown out and

said hey these guys are scumbags But he looks

at them and says, you have what it takes to be

like me. You have what it takes to do what I

do. And then he says, come follow me. And there

was this common expression in Jesus' day, and

it went like this, may the dust of the rabbi

cover you. May you be covered in the dust of

your rabbi. In other words, may you walk so closely

to him that as he's traveling the road of life,

that you get everything that's going on around

him and in him, you get that on you. May you

be covered in the dust of the rabbi and Here's

what's so amazing about that You know when Jesus

looks at you he sizes you up and he says I think

you have what it takes to be like me That's what

Jesus says about you You have what it takes to

be like him to do what he does to say the things

that he said to respond the way that he responded

and Our prayer then becomes may we walk so closely

with him that we become covered in the dust of

the rabbi that we follow him, that we, like there

was this thing, and I hope this isn't just, I'm

not trying to be weird, but like they would follow

their rabbi everywhere because they wanted to

do exactly what he did. So if the rabbi went

in to use the bathroom, they would follow the

rabbi in just because they wanted to know, what

does he do? And they, I mean, literally it was

that kind of detail. They wanted to do everything

that the rabbi did. And they gave their life

to learning what that was going to be like and

how they could live that out. So Jesus thinks

you have what it takes to be like him. So here's

the fact, Jack. You have what it takes to be

like him, to follow him so closely. But he also

believes that you have what it takes to then

turn around and help other people follow him.

The goal of teaching is not that people follow

us. Have you ever heard people who are teaching

or doing something like that, but really all

they're doing is kind of building themselves

up and people follow them? And you know that's

the case because when they're not there anymore,

people don't follow anymore. Because people were

following a personality, they weren't following

Jesus. Our goal is not to get them to follow

us, but to follow Jesus. So here's the question.

If somebody sat under your teaching for a year,

would they... merely know what you know or would

they want to live the way that you live? So here's

what I want you to do just for a second. I want

you to think about this with me. I want you to

think about the last time that you taught somebody.

Just think about the last time you taught something

or you shared truth with someone. Was it just

information or were you giving them something

they could do with it? So I want you to find

somebody close to you. And I want you to finish

this statement. Here it is. A disciple is somebody

who, fill in the blank. So one other person around

you, a disciple is somebody who, and then tell

them the answer. Just somebody right beside you.

You've only got a couple seconds. Start now.

Somebody right beside you, a disciple is somebody

who. So you see, even a simple phrase reveals

whether we're thinking in terms of knowledge

or obedience. So when the Bible talks about teaching,

it's always pointing toward obedience, not just

knowledge, not just information's sake, but always

leads toward obedience. A guy by the name of

Bruce Wilkinson. Anybody recognize that name?

New York City. Crossing the switchblade. Anyways.

This is not original with me Bruce Wilkinson

wrote this and but it's so so good He wrote a

book and in fact, it's one of the resources.

I'll forget to say this later So I'm gonna say

it right now, even though it doesn't really fit

It's so if you feel like you're you're called

or gifted to be a teacher That's kind of the

lane that God's put you in I want you to send

me an email or a text this week because I have

a list of resources that I'll send to you This

is one of the resources because I think it's

outstanding but the book that he wrote called

The Seven Laws of the Learner, outstanding. And

I think it applies to everybody who is teaching

or coaching or pastoring. I think the principles

are outstanding and I'm gonna kind of give them

to you at a very high level, but the book's worth

reading in its entirety. So here are the seven

laws that Bruce Wilkinson talks about. The first

one he talks about is the law of the learner.

the law of the learner. And here's what the principal's

basically getting at. Teachers are responsible

for causing learning. That seems self -explanatory,

right? But not so fast. Do you know, even in

education systems today, there are a lot of times

that we act like the responsibility to learn

is on the student. Right? So Bruce Wilkinson

and lots of people like him say that if we're

going to make education really work, if teaching's

really going to work, we have to flip that around.

And we have to flip it around so that the teacher

is responsible for learning. So the question

then becomes, like at the end of the day, if

you're a teacher, it's not, did I teach it? But

the question then becomes, did they learn it?

Because if they didn't learn it, It doesn't matter

if you taught it, because the responsibility

to learn is on the teacher. The second law is

called the law of expectation. This one's really

big. I'm telling you, these things apply to so

many things. It's the law of expectation, and

here's what it says. Learners rise to what you

believe about them. Man, I tell you what, that

applies to so many things. In your relationships.

You pick the relationship. If you believe the

best in somebody, they'll live up to it every

time. If you believe the worst in them, they'll

live up to it every time. So this law simply

says that if you expect discipleship, then they'll

give you discipleship. Whatever you expect from

them, So like we want to set the expectations

pretty high right because people will reach the

level of our expectation But if we expect them

to mess up if we expect them to fail then guess

what's going to happen They're gonna mess up

and fail But if you look at every relationship

that you're a part of and say you know what I

believe that you can be like Jesus I Believe

you have what it takes Then guess what will happen?

They'll start to be like Jesus. The next law

is called the law of application and here's the

the bottom line with it It says that learning

dies without action So if you don't get them

to do something with what you're teaching them,

then you're wasting your breath It's not it's

not ever going to stick with them. So we need

to design every lesson for practice Not just

for notes. The next one's the law of retention

if they forget it They never learned it So this

is where the three R's come in. Now, we were

talking about this this morning. It's no wonder

that we struggled with some things because we

used to call the three R's reading, writing,

and arithmetic. How in the world does that make

any sense? I mean, I get it, there's an R in

the words, but is anybody else with me? Why do

we call that the three R's? I mean, why don't

we call it readings and R? Writing's a W, arithmetic's

an A. Why don't we call it that? I don't understand.

What is this? So here's where the three Rs come

in. Repetition, review, reinforcement. Repetition,

review, reinforcement. And that results in transformation.

The next is the law of need. Learners only learn

when they see why it matters. That makes sense,

right? If we don't connect it to anything that's

significant for them, they're not gonna learn.

So we always wanna connect truth to life and

death relevance. The law of equipping. Teachers

give tools, not just talks. We need to equip

them with habits, resources, and accountability.

So what do we give them? Habits, resources, and

accountability. The last one, law of revival.

Spiritual truth sticks through repentance and

obedience. These are really, really good. I wish

I came up with them. I didn't come up with any

of them. But Wilkinson says that the last law

is the law of revival. And here's what it's talking

about. That transformation requires heart change,

not just head nods. So until our hearts change,

revival's not ever going to happen. But when

my heart changes, revival follows. Teaching isn't

just about finishing the outlines, about forming

a life. If they don't walk closer to Jesus after

you teach them, then all that was done is just

a transfer of facts. Jesus did not say teach

them all that I've commanded, but what he did

say is to teach them to obey all that I've commanded.

Again, teaching always points toward obedience.

Not obedience to us, but obedience to him. That's

discipleship, that's formation, that's our call.

If you have your Bible there still with you,

I want you to look at just one verse with me.

It's Ephesians 4 verse 16. It says this, from

Ephesians 4:16

Christ the whole body grows as each part does

its work. So we've spent, what, six weeks now.

Is that right? Two, four, yeah, six. Six weeks

talking about a pest apostles prophets evangelist

shepherds teachers. We had one week that I wasn't

here So you got a bonus week with something else?

That's just some of what God's done right there

gifts to the church so that we can be the very

best that we can be and Not all of us are apostles

not all of us are prophets not all of us are

evangelists Not all of us are shepherds not all

of us are teachers, but God's given some of those

to the body of Christ as a gift And when we all

do our part, whatever your part is and whatever

my part is, when we do our part, the body grows.

And when teachers, we're talking specifically

about teachers, when teachers step into their

calling, I mean when they really step into it,

the church begins to shift. Right? There's a

shift that happened. Atmospheres change, roots

go deep, shallow faith begins to stretch and

be strengthened. People stop grazing on religious

reels, snacking on sound bites, scrolling through

half -truths. They get rooted, anchored, grounded

in the living Word of God. Disciples stop saying,

I've heard that before, and they start saying,

I'm living that now. It's no longer about filling

notebooks, it's about filling neighborhoods with

light. It's no longer about head knowledge, it's

about heart obedience. And the church? The church

doesn't just grow in size, it grows in depth,

in discernment, in obedience, in Christlikeness.

Because when teachers rise up, truth takes root.

And when truth takes root, the body of Christ

becomes alive. So that's what happens when teaching

goes beyond information and becomes transformational.

That's what happens when teachers do their part,

the body of Christ grows. So, I'm gonna kind

of... I'm going to let you guys in on a conversation

I'm going to have with a very select group of

people. But you all could get to listen. That's

fine. But I'm not really talking to you for a

minute. But the group I do want to talk to just

for a minute is maybe you've taken the test.

I gave out an APES test that just kind of helps

you to identify where you might be in the fivefold.

Or maybe you already knew that. Or maybe today

for the very first time you're like, I think

this could be me. I think that maybe God's Calling

upon me is to teach so how many people that's

you either you took the test and it indicated

that you might be a teacher or Okay, who else?

to anybody else All right, so the rest of you

get to listen in for a little bit and I'm gonna

talk to these folks and maybe somebody even watching

is and if that's you Send me a note. I would

love to give you some resource and help but for

a second. I'm just gonna kind of come over here

And you, the three of us, are going to have church.

You all get to listen in. I'm not excluding you,

but I want to talk to you. I want to see eyeball

to eyeball for a little bit, okay? And if that's

you and you're watching, well, then I don't know

how to do that, but just for you guys for a little

bit. First of all, I've tried to make sure we

do this, but in a moment, I really am going to

exclude you. You still get to listen in on the

conversation, but I need your help for a little

bit. These folks feel like part of the way that

God's called them and gifted them is to teach

To make sure that as a body we're moving from

milk to meat that we don't have 50 year old men

Who were cutting up their state going? Open up

the airplane because that's not cute. It's pathetic

Right, that's pathetic so these good folks feel

like God's Calling upon them is to help us to

move from milk to meat so that people feed themselves

so that together we become more like Jesus and

we invite other people into the journey of being

more like Jesus. And that's incredible. So we

give thanks to God for them. Okay, let me run

that by you again. I think you missed it. Let

me slow it down. So we give thanks to God for

them. Two of you got it. That's amazing. That's

incredible. Let me give third time third times

the charm so we give thanks to God for them.

There you go Because we need them We need them

So I'm gonna talk to you just for a little bit

just the three of us First of all you too I do

want you to send me a note just to remind me

because I'm I'm getting old and I'll forget But

I do have resources that I want to pass along

to you. Some of them are books that you can purchase.

Some of them are like podcast things. There's

a scripture reference thing that would be great

verses for you to memorize. And I want you to

have those because we believe in you. And we

thank you for what you're doing. But I want to

talk to you about how you can grow as a teacher.

Because it's important that we continue to grow,

right? So we're talking about lifelong learners.

So as people who teach, how do we stay, because

you can't expect people that you're teaching

to do it if we don't do it ourselves. So how

can we stay sharp and how can we continue to

grow? First is stay rooted in scripture. Let

the word be your daily bread, not an occasional

snack. Number two, pursue learning. Refine your

craft. Be teachable before you ever teach. Number

three, practice and reflect. Don't just talk,

evaluate. What brought clarity? What brought

confusion? And if you're not certain, ask the

people you're teaching. They'll tell you, if

you give them permission. Seek feedback in mentors.

Lone rangers burn out. Let others sharpen you.

Numbers one, two, three, four, five. Number five,

it's the last one. Live what you teach. integrity

is the curriculum your students will never forget.

So I have a I'm gonna give them a special prayer

and blessing I want you all to agree along with

me all right so that's your part I want you to

agree with me and then I've got a benediction

for everybody but this is just for them okay.

So first of all I have a commission for you.

And if you want to write this down, I know that

I think both of you are note takers. So this

is, it's not really mine. I don't get credit

for it. But this is a good commission for you.

It's 2 Timothy chapter 4 verse 2. I think it's

2 Timothy 4:2

a perfect commission for teachers. Here's what

it says. Preach the word. Be prepared. Whether

the time feels right or not. Correct. Encourage.

Teach. Do it with great patience. and careful

instruction. So, here's my blessing for you,

just you two. You all get a blessing too, but

this is just for them, but I do want you to agree

along with me if you can, but for you two. May

wisdom guard your tongue. May compassion shape

your words. May the Spirit give you joy as you

plant seeds. That will bear fruit and do season

your faithfulness echoes through all of eternity

And we give thanks to God for you So everybody

there's here's your benediction Just stand for

a little bit you guys have been seated forever

And act like I'm about to give you something

Because I am. This is your benediction. This

is gift. May the God who equips you fill you

with boldness to speak truth, patience to serve

and love, and endurance to keep going. Endurance

so strong that you'll keep going even when it's

hard. May Christ go before you, beside you, within

you until the body is fully alive in him. We

ask this in the strong name of Jesus.