Christians exist to help others become Christians. “Go and make disciples,” was the rallying cry of Jesus. Recognising that truth, GodFirst recently preached a mini-series entitled, “Saving Lives,” where we looked at both the “why” and “how” of seeing people cross the line of faith in coming to believe in Jesus.

Part 1, the Why, was preached by Ross Lester, a good friend from Bryanston Bible Church

Part 2, which comes in two parts, was preached by PJ and deals with the nuts and bolts, including some practical tools. A handout relating to this talk can be downloaded here.

The whole series is available in audio and video formats here.

Looking to kick off 2012 by fueling the engines of faith, PJ has just completed a series entitled, “The Faith Offensive.” Faith is vital, as it is the one thing that makes all other things possible. We know from Scripture that faith is a fight – you don’t drift into faith! You forcibly acquire it!

In Part 1, a Soldier’s Faith, drawn from Jesus’ interaction with the Centurion (Lk 7:1-10), PJ explained the following points:

1. Faith draws on the Grace of Jesus
2. Faith draws on the Authority of Jesus
3. Faith draws on the Word of Jesus
4. Faith draws on the Compassion of Jesus

In Part 2, an Outcast’s Faith, taken from Jesus and the woman who had been subject to bleeding for 12 years (Mk 5:24-34), PJ preached through these points:

1. Why did she come?
2. How did she come?
3. Why did it work?
4. Why did Jesus expose her?

Part 3, a Father’s Faith, deals with Jesus and Jairus’ daughter (which comes straight after the outcast narrative). The text was Mk 5:21-42 and PJ explained the following points:

1. Faiths Asks
2. Faith Encourages others
3. Faith Trusts in God’s timing
4. Faith Ignores faithless words
5. Faith Holds on to God’s word
6. Faith Acts
7. Faith Protects

Definition

The teacher is someone who has a proven, anointed, effective and consistent gift of teaching God’s word. He is also able to develop others in their teaching gift. There is reason to believe that Paul referred to the pastor / teacher as one gift, so whether you agree with that or not, it is hard to imagine a pastor that can’t teach, or a teacher who is not pastoral!

How could I develop into being a teacher?

In an earlier blog in this series we looked at the ‘motivational’ Gift of Teaching from Romans 12. An Ephesians 4 teacher is simply someone with a mature and anointed teaching gift. So, the way to develop into an Ephesians 4 teacher is to focus on developing the Gift of Teaching and see if God promotes you to the office of a teacher. Here is a repeat of the earlier blog on the Gift of Teaching:

A Definition of the Gift of Teaching

The Gift of Teaching (Romans 12) is the special ability that God gives to people to explain and apply the Bible, in a way that helps others learn easily, enjoyably and effectively. It is a pre-requisite of being an elder/pastor (1 Tim 3:2&9 and Titus 1:9-16). The ‘person’ gift of the Teacher mentioned in Ephesians 4 would be a person that has a very mature and recognized gift of teaching.

Examples from scripture

• Neh 8:8:

‘They read from the book of the law of God, making it clear and giving the meaning so that the people could understand what was being read’

• Acts 18:24-28:

‘Apollos was a learned man with a thorough knowledge of the scriptures…he spoke with great fervour and taught about Jesus accurately… he vigorously refuted the Jews in public debate, proving from the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ.’

• Peter in Acts 2 and Paul later in Acts exhibit the gift of teaching from Old Testament scriptures.

• Jesus: referred to as the Great Teacher in Mt 23:10.

• Heb 12:26-28: Teachers are those who (1) Read scripture (2) Explain it (3) Apply it to our lives.

How will I know if I have this gift?

You will enjoy research, study and reading, but you will also be a gifted communicator. You will be concerned for biblical accuracy and context. When you discover a new truth, you will long to pass it on to others. You will get great satisfaction out of someone ‘getting it’. The best teachers are those with both good content and good delivery. People will tell you that they enjoy the way you preach/teach/lead the bible study. People will be pleased when they find out it is you who is preaching/teaching. Please note that some people are excellent researchers and very studious but are no good at delivering the truth to others. These people are better off serving someone who is good at the delivery side of things by researching and writing books and so on. Also remember that there are different capacities and types of this gift, so not everyone will be suited to the same teaching context. Some people thrive on small, interactive groups, and others on preaching to large groups.

How can I grow in this gift?

Pray for more of it. Study diligently. Seek out a mentor to learn from with the same attitude of Elisha in 2 Kings 2:2-9.