John 3 10-12
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Rev. Thomas E. Walker
April 4, 2004
“Time To Teach”
John 3:10-12
Doing early bible time little boys and girls would rise early in the morning preparing for school at the local temple, once in the temple where classes were held. As they dashed to their seats too began there studies. It was the Jewish culture to know the first five book of Moses G.E.L.N.D. Genesis, to record God’s creation of the world and his desire to have a people set apart to worship him. Exodus, to record the events of Israel’s deliverance from Egypt and development as a nation. Leviticus, A handbook for the priests and Levites outlining their duties in worship and a guidebook of holy living for Hebrews. Numbers, to tell the story of how Israel prepared to enter the promised land, how they sinned and were punished and how they prepared to try again. Deuteronomy, to remind the people of what God had done and encourage them to rededicate their live to him. They had to learn this before coming of age, So what the teachers did in order that the student would learn they poured honey over the stone tables and allowed the children to trace the Hebrew letters with their fingers in order to get them to learn the word of God. This would symbolize the sweetness of the word. There were some similarities from that day to the early nineteen hundreds, they were still having school in the church and they still had the bible in school. But today there is no schools in our churches and no bibles in our schools. And that when I believe we lost our ability to learn the way God intended us to learn. When we took the bible out of our schools and replace them with worldly sayings and men’s philosophy and add our options about what we think God Should be rather than who he is, when we put our thoughts into the equation and took out his thoughts. We who teach need to know the things of God that we my not be ashamed but rightly dividing the word of truth.
Points:
1. Occupation
2. Inspiration
3. Illustration
1. Occupation
a. Nicodemus was known by who he was a teacher
b. The teacher is the word expose or expound on to pull out of the text on to put in.
c. Here he is before the School Master and “KNOWNEST NOT”
d. If you are going to teach someone about the bible you’ve better know what you are talking about.
e. Nicodemus was a renowned teacher of Israel, but did not understand this idea of being “Born Again”
f. Nicodemus is not along many people today do not understand the idea of being Born Again”
g. But if you are going to be a teacher you must be willing to be taught…
h. Now the bible says: Hebrews 5:12 (NKJV)
12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food. [i]
i. The call to Discipleship is to teach the way of Jesus Christ…
2. inspiration
a. To be taught you must have some inspiration, someone or something must inspire you.
b. Maybe a family member is a teacher or one of your school teachers Inspired you, something must inspire you.
Illustration
I once worked with a guy that wanted to be a school teacher, one day I asked him why did he want to become a school teacher and the reason I asked is because he was working in another field. His answer was because it was an easy major. My job at this particular time was to train people on a particular computer program, so I had the job of training this want to be teacher on how to us this program.
Day after day I would set with him and show him how to use the program and could not understand it, so one day I went to my supervisor and explained my problem with training this person.
My supervisor says to me what the problem; and I responded saying that he wants to tell me how to use the program the way he wants it to work; he want let me teach him. After my supervisor had a talk with him and some ultimatums were given he learned to use the program.
When we allow God to teach us and quit putting our thoughts into what he is saying we to will learn. Many times when we read the bible we interject our thought into it when we should Observe, Interruption and then application.
c. The job of the teacher is to cause the student to learn when the student shows up the student will learn.
d. The best teacher is God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
e. Look at what Jesus says in verse 11 Verily, Verily I say unto thee:
I. We speak
II. We know
III. We Testify
IV. That we have seen
V. And now you receive not our witness
f. We speak:1 Thessalonians 2:4 (NKJV)
4 But as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, even so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who tests our hearts. [ii]
g. We Know: Matthew 11:27 (NKJV)
27 All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father. Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him. [iii]
h. My Inspiration to the Gospel of Jesus was inspired by the Father, the Son and Holy Spirit not by men.
i. The Father who called me, The Son who died for me and The Holy Spirit who teaches me.
3. Illustration
a. The best type of teaching is a illustration, something that you can hold to in your mind.
b. Jesus gives Nicodemus this Illustration of the wind, he says you:
I. You can’t see it
II. You can’t feel it
III. You can’t taste it
IV. But you need it…. In order to live
c. Now if you don’t understand these earthly things how will you understand heavenly thing.
d. Heaven is a noun is a place where God lives
e. This word heavenly here is an adjective which is trying to describe and action.
f. It is a word describing a fair wind… like that of a wind filling the sails of a ship and taking it the right direction. It takes a good wind to move a ship.
g. It a metaphor; to turn ones mind successfully to a thing.
Illustration
Have you ever been in a head wind when it was coming straight into your face and you could not breathe and you had to turn your head to breath? God is trying to teach us and inspirer us and illustrate to us to turn away form the world and look to the Calvary’s Cross where my son died for you.
The idea, the Holy Spirit is showing us is a wind blowing directly into our face that we can not breathe, literally suffocating, dying. The natural thing to do is to turn away and live but because of sin we are suffocating by the things of this world. God is trying to turn ours minds successfully to a thing. What is the thing he is trying to turn us to Calvary’s hill where Jesus Christ died for us.
1 Corinthians 1:
23 But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness;
1 Corinthians 2:2
2 For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.
[1]
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[1] The Holy Bible : King James Version. Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1995.
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[i] The New King James Version. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1996, c1982.
[ii] The New King James Version. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1996, c1982.
[iii] The New King James Version. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1996, c1982.