(continued) -- by G.W. Crisp
Again...Why Do We Desire Sauls and Not Davids?
A final thought as to why churches, pastors and congregations choose the flesh many times, rather than the Holy Spirit. Many of us feel much more comfortable around a “Saul” than we do a “David”. And, by virtue of this, we become more “uncomfortable” around truly spiritual people. Often, around the anointing, we shy away or “hide”, as it were. Now, we won’t admit this, but it is true nonetheless. I can remember times, in my early years of walking with the Lord, how I would not draw so close to those who seemed to have “power” with God...not because I was afraid of them, but because I felt unworthy or even ashamed at times. It was as if I feared they might see within my dark, tortured soul, detecting all my weaknesses and failures. I later learned that this was not true, and that the devil had just cowered me down as he played mind games with me; making me feel unworthy, rejected, lonely and isolated. And it worked.
It took me thirteen long years to get to a place where God could reach down into my heart and convince me that I was
“someone” in His Kingdom (or maybe I should say: It took God thirteen long years of molding me, shaping me, and teaching me that I did belong somewhere in “the overall scheme of things”). Were those 13 years wasted? No. Would I want to go back and change anything? While it would be very easy to say “yes”, truthfully I must say “no”. Was I saved? Yes. Did I love God? Yes. Did I serve Him? Yes, the very best I knew how. But I did not know who I was in Jesus Christ, and I did not know Who He was in me! And I certainly didn’t know who I was in the Body of Christ. I just drifted along, floating with the tides and rolling with the punches, sometimes caring... sometimes not.
The Path of Least Resistance
There are many Christians in our churches who feel the same way as I did: No real purpose; no real joy; no real life. When you couple this with our everyday strife and cares, our family troubles or our problems on the job or at school...sometimes it is just easier to roll with those punches, floating in and out with the tides in our lives...and ultimately taking the path of least resistance. Many decisions within the four walls of the churches in America are made with very little true prayer or very little concern for the long-term effects of those decisions. Some examples?
A pastor in Texas, who sends “out-of-state” for a music minister who will bring their church to a higher level of perfection. Based on true prayer and spiritual discernment? No, not really. How can I say this? Because of the very obvious (and almost “immediate”) results. Was it based on the fact that he had a Masters Degree in Music? Primarily yes, it was. Was he gifted in the things of music? Oh yes, no doubt about it. Did he know how to lead people into worship? Again, yes, at least usually. However (and here is the telling point of the story), did he know how to deal with people... did he know how to treat people...? I must give a resounding “No, he did not!” Did he bring peace and unity to that church? Another resounding “No”! Did he cause division and strife and fear and tears among the Body there? Sadly, I must say: Yes, yes, YES! It became an absolute nightmare.
As I have said in several other teachings: This is not hearsay. I was in that church; deeply involved in the worship and music. I saw and heard and was “caught in the midst of” all that happened there. I only share these things because we need to understand that this is not an isolated incident, happening only rarely in a few cases. Dear Church, this is happening all over America in the Body of Christ (if not the world over...!).
In this next portion of our teaching, I’d like to address the question: Just what does a teacher do? In doing so, let’s take a look at someone who is usually not considered so much a teacher as he is a prophet, a judge or an Old Testament apostle...or even the “Law Giver”.
Moses, the Teacher???
As I mentioned earlier, Moses denounced his upbringing, his background, and what was rightfully his, much the same as Paul. We’ll look at a few verses, then discuss Moses as a teacher.
Acts 7:22 “And Moses was learned (meaning educated and instructed) in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and in deeds.”
Hebrews 11:23-29 “By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months by his parents, because they saw he was a proper (handsome) child; and they were not afraid of the king’s commandment. By faith Moses, when he was come of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing instead to suffer affliction with the people of God, rather than enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season. In doing so, he esteemed the reproach of Christ, considering that to be greater riches than the treasures in Egypt, for he had respect unto the recompense of the reward (or: Moses knew his Rewarder). By faith he also forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured, as seeing Him who is Invisible. Through faith, Moses kept (and agreed with) the passover, and he committed himself to the sprinkling of blood, lest he that destroyed the firstborn should touch them. By faith they passed through the Red Sea as if on dry land, and when the Egyptians attempted to do so, they
were drowned.”
As with Paul, we can see into the man, Moses. We see that he renounced many great and wonderful things: Wealth, stature, the wisdom of Egypt, not to mention all the perks that went along with being Pharaoh. Moses had it made, but his heart and conscious and the call of God upon his life was something that he could not shake. Nor, I’m certain, did he want to. All throughout his life he knew...there was something more; something greater; something to be done that he had not yet done. While Moses was and is considered the law-giver (Luke 2:22 & 4:44; John 1:17 & 7:19), he was also a shepherd (both to real sheep and God’s sheep); he was a prophet; and he was (as I referred to in the teaching on the apostle) an Old Testament apostle. And, he also was a wonderful teacher.
For forty years, he led the people of God, staying with them through thick and thin, both day and night, for better or for worse, in spite of their rebellion and belly-aching. On several occasions he even interceded and pleaded for their lives when God would have destroyed them all. We can find this in Exodus 32:7-14 and Numbers 14:11-24, where the Lord was extremely displeased with the disobedient and unbelieving Israelites, and where He was quite willing to “consume them” and make of Moses an even “greater nation” than before. But Moses pleaded with the Lord, interceding with all of his heart, and the Lord turned from His desire to kill them all.
Only a shepherd, whose heart longingly and achingly watched over his flock, could have shown the great love Moses did as he “bargained with God” concerning these rebellious people. Only a man who had the heart of a teacher could have both found the wisdom and the words to argue with God, then find the same kind of wisdom to then relate to the people on a level that saved the nation of Israel at that moment in time.
Moses -- leader, shepherd, judge and teacher -- not only kept (what many scholars believe could have been as many as three or four million people) the nation of Israel intact, but he was also able to convey the words that the Lord spoke to him time and again. When God told him how to handle a matter, he and Aaron took care of the matter. And when God told Moses that there was to be a tabernacle built, in which He would be glorified and worshipped, he gave Moses precise and exact instructions as to its building. Hebrews 8:5: “(These serve as an example and shadow of heavenly things, as when Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle. The Lord told him: See that you make all things according to the pattern shown to you in the mount.”
“According to the pattern”...if you’ll take a look at all of those many instructions, you’ll quickly see that only one who knew how to teach could have conveyed and explained and made sure that each and every golden socket, purple thread, brass fixture or carved pomegranite was meticulously carried out. Not to mention the tremendous patience that he (Moses) must have had. That is one trait all teachers must have, for not all who are taught learn on the same level or as quickly as others.
The Heart of a Teacher
A teacher can be many things. They can be a mother, a father, a pastor or a Sunday school worker, but all teachers have one thing in common. All teachers, male or female, young or old, rich or not-so-rich, will have this one trait: They love to study God’s Word. They have a hunger, a thirst, a pulling at the heart to know more, to go deeper, and to climb higher... it is instilled in them as part of their calling, for let’s not forget: The Teacher has also been “called of God”, commissioned by Jesus Christ Himself, to aid in the growth and maturity of His Body.
A teacher can be many things. One thing they cannot be is lazy when it comes to God’s Word. As I look back on my life, even all the way to junior high or even grade school, I can see how I loved to study, to take notes (copious notes!), and I never complained when asked to do a written report. Now everyone may not have this same history, but in many areas I was weak, so we all have different strengths and weaknesses when it comes to how the Spirit of the Lord “grooms us” over the years. I did not read as much as many of my peers, but when I found something I did like to read, I drank it in. That is how it is now, with reading and studying the scriptures. I am not one to stick to a strict and regimented daily Bible reading.
I know many people feel that we must read the Bible every day, in order to maintain our “spiritual edge”, but I am reminded of a missionary I met many years ago in Vera Cruz. I travelled with this young man (probably in his early thirties---I was twenty at the time) as he made his bi- or tri-monthly “stops” in several Mexican rancheros, scattered across several states, and I learned something. Not then, but it stayed with me over the years, and I remember it today. We spent maybe three or four days going from one deserted stretch of dusty road to another until he said,“Here we are.” I saw nothing, but as he pulled off the “highway” (a two-laned road) people began to come out of nowhere, as if they had been hiding.
This was hilly country some of the time; flat and barren at other times, yet I never saw any villages or people until he said, “Here we are”, and sure enough we were. He would take care of any business that needed tending to: Marriages, baptisms, counselling, preaching, teaching...if he wasn’t an apostle, he was one excellent evangelist. One day I asked him, “When do you pray?”, for I had never seen him pray; he was always going, going,going. He just smiled at me and replied, “Oh, I pray all the time. While I’m driving; all during the day. I don’t have a set time to pray. I pray all the time.”
Now, you see...that’s where I knew he was wrong. After all, I’d just gotten out of Bible school and I knew better! I was taught that I must read my Bible every day, pray every day, witness every day, if not to everyone I came into contact with, and on and on my commandments went. So I knew this maverick missionary had “lost his way”. I vainly tried to explain to him the importance of a “structured prayer life”. He only smiled; he knew I was young and ignorant and had a lot to learn. You see, (for I did finally learn) it’s not how much we pray or read or witness...it’s how we do these things that matters.
So, what’s the heart of a teacher like? I believe when it comes to searching out some passage or some truth, they are happy and thrilled to be checking out the Greek meaning compared to the Hebrew; or they’ll enjoy tracing the connection to various New Testament words; or they’ll even find pleasure in just studying out “threads” to words of Jesus and words of Paul or other writers. And teachers all have their own way of studying. My way of studying may not be yours; yours may not be what others follow in their course of study; but all true teachers have some sort of “way” of studying.. It isn’t necessarily “perfect”, nor will it always make sense to others, but that doesn’t matter. All God cares about is that the calling and the “stamp” upon our lives be valid and active.
The Beginning of a Teacher...
In the beginning, at the start of the awareness that one has the urge or a drive to
“teach”, a teacher will not care who they teach. In the beginning, we teach whomever we can; whomever will listen. And, a teacher will not always be so concerned with punctuation or form or spelling; we just love to teach. I began teaching seven to nine year-old boys. I’ve also taught four, five and six year-olds. I then taught older kids, then high school, then young adults, until finally I “graduated” to teaching real adults. I know that sounds silly, but that’s how it feels sometimes. I might also add that the “process” was over a fifteen year period, so do not get impatient. Patience is a virtue, and that is not just some cliche’.
However, having said all of that, there is a sad note in all of this. Many times, what happens in the churches across our land is this: We (and not just teachers, but all of us!) tend to get “pigeon-holed” after a while. “He or she teaches kids”; therefore: “They belong in the children’s ministry.” Or, “They teach young people”: “We’ll keep them teaching teenagers (for the rest of their lives!)”
Now, let me clearly say: There are those called to the children’s ministry, which is a very difficult job to fulfill without all the Grace and Power of the Lord, and I do not slight them in the least. There are also those called to teach young people, and these may be happy and well-suited for youth groups and such. All I’m saying is, if you know you are called to teach, and you are currently teaching children or youth or even young adults, and yet you still feel frustrated or stifled or unfulfilled... it is not altogether illogical to think that there may be “more” for you to do; more that you need to do in your ministry and your calling.
Sometimes it takes patience, wisdom and guidance from other ministers in order to get going in the right and complete direction. Many a teacher of the Lord has gotten frustrated and stifled when they were incorrectly forced to remain teaching children when God was ready to move them on up to older kids, young people or even adults. It happens, more than you may care to know, but don’t get discouraged. Trust God, trust God, and when you get discouraged trust God even more...He is in control. He really is.
And sometimes, when you’ve reached the end of your potential; the end of what you know to do... it’s time to move on. Not an easy thing to do, but sometimes it must be done. And remember: God's Gifts and Callings are “without repentance”... he’ll not take them back, and man cannot take them away from you, even when it seems that he (man) does.
One Final Thought
A teacher is forever learning. None of us “knows it all”. We must be willing to learn. Always. Always keep an open heart to learn and receive of other teachers and other members of the Body of Christ. As several teachers have taught me: “Always be willing to be willing...”
That’s a very good thing to learn. And live with. As a tree, standing tall and strong, let your roots grow deep...drink in all that you can, from the heavenly rains above and from the earth where God has planted you...then as you grow and you share, many will come to rest beneath the covering of your branches and the shade of the Lord, which He has given you. As a teacher, grow and be strong; become a comfort to others, for the time is come when the Body of Christ needs to feed and be strengthened with Heavenly Truth. Good, true, spiritual Teachers can provide this Truth. Teachers, whoever you are...be faithful to your calling, and bless and strengthen the Body of the Lord.
Lastly, this thought: Pastors can be teachers; evangelists can be teachers; even prophets and apostles can be teachers. Any of the other four of the Five-fold Ministry can also be a teacher, having that additional “calling” upon their lives. There can be a “dual calling” on the lives of some, but this in no way takes away from the calling and the Gift of the Teacher. The Gift of the Teacher to the Body of Christ today is as important and as vital as any of the other four Ministry Gifts. So take heart, Teachers, and tread your corn well.
Here is the link to go to the study on the “Nine Gifts of the Spirit”, even though they are not yet “finished”. I will try and get them finished as soon as possible. Click here for the “Gifts of the Spirit”.
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