Jesus is The Teacher

1 You’ll remember, friends, that when I first came to you to let you in on God’s master stroke, I didn’t try to impress you with polished speeches and the latest philosophy. 2 I deliberately kept it plain and simple: first Jesus and who he is; then Jesus and what he did—Jesus crucified.

Last week, we learned that Jesus is qualified to be and is our best friend. He knows everything that we are going through so he can help us through whatever that is.

Today, I am speaking about Jesus our teacher. He is absolutely the greatest teacher ever.

48 times he is referred to as “teacher.” He spoke and people were amazed. People would sit for hours to hear him teach.

What makes someone a great teacher? Relevant, authentic, real, funny....

When I think about Jesus, I think about someone who taught the truth and was authentic.

Jesus taught by example.

John 13:15 NLT

15 I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you.

During the last supper, Jesus washed the disciples feet. He said I will show you humility. He washed Judas knowing he was about to betray him. Peter knowing he would deny him… Jesus showed us what to do. He is saying here that he wants us to do what he was doing. He washed their feet and said this is what you do...

Jesus taught that there will be times that we don’t understand something in life…

Too often when we don’t have a teacher or an example, we do the wrong things.

When we don’t know what to do…

We take things into our own hands…

Proverbs 14:12 NLT

12 There is a path before each person that seems right, but it ends in death.

In the absence of a teacher… an example we will do things our own way… The first thing we try to do is...

We try and fix it ourselves.

You don’t think that you need anyone else to help you. God teaches us differently. Jesus gave us an example to follow.

Abraham & Sarah tried to fix it themselves. …

When we don’t have an example, we make mistakes. We mess up marriages… careers… lives. Inmates didn’t have examples… or a dad. They tried to fix it themselves.

We look to others for solutions.

We often ask the wrong people what we need to do. Too often we ask people who are struggling with the same stuff we are for advice. We have to look to the Lord and godly people for solutions.

Guess what Oprah said today… Guess what Dr Phil said today… Guess what Judge Judy said today...

When you have all these people giving you conflicting advice, it’s easy to get to this next place...

We learn to live with it.

We give up and say we will just learn to live with it. Whatever situation you are in, you feel defeated and you just think I’ll never change… I might as well just give up.

You may be ready to give up.

After we have tried everything, sometimes,

We turn to God.

Once we have explored all of our options, we finally turn to God.

What would it be like if we turned to God first?

Jesus came to teach us how to live. He taught us in his word.

When we don’t know what to do, we need to look to our Teacher… Jesus.

Ephesians 5:1 The Message

1 Watch what God does, and then you do it, like children who learn proper behavior from their parents.

Watch … learn … do it.

Our job is just to learn and imitate Jesus.

Ephesians 5:1 NLT

1 Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children.

Imitate Jesus. We need to be like Jesus.

Ephesians 5:1 NCV

1 You are God’s children whom he loves, so try to be like him.

We need to know Jesus the great teacher.

He came to show us...

1. How to overcome temptation.

Jesus went out in the wilderness and he was led out there to be tempted. So the devil comes out to him… he was hungry… he was tired…

Matthew 4:1–10 NLT

1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil. 2 For forty days and forty nights he fasted and became very hungry. 3 During that time the devil came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread.” 4 But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” 5 Then the devil took him to the holy city, Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, 6 and said, “If you are the Son of God, jump off! For the Scriptures say, ‘He will order his angels to protect you. And they will hold you up with their hands so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.’ ” 7 Jesus responded, “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the Lord your God.’” 8 Next the devil took him to the peak of a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 “I will give it all to you,” he said, “if you will kneel down and worship me.” 10 “Get out of here, Satan,” Jesus told him. “For the Scriptures say, ‘You must worship the Lord your God and serve only him.’”

highlight Jesus answers.

Some of you have been tired and the enemy has come to you and tempted you… to cheat, to lie, to be unfaithful… and you might be ready to give into that temptation. But look at what Jesus said in verse 10…

Jesus used the WOG to defeat temptation. You may be facing temptations, but the Jesus taught us that there is power in the WOG

Look at what happened...

Matthew 4:11 NLT

11 Then the devil went away, and angels came and took care of Jesus.

Without the WOG is we are helpess.

Hebrews 4:15 NIV

15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.

Jesus was tempted in every way. There is nothing that you will go through that he doesn’t understand.

1 Corinthians 10:13 NLT

13 The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.

Use the WOG to help you out of situation

The solution to overcoming Temptation is the WOG

2. How to face impossible situations.

Story of Lazarus - John 11

When Lazarus died, the sisters ran up to him and said if only you had been here, he would not have died.

Jesus wept… possibly over their lack of faith. Jesus knee he was going to raise Lazarus from the dead.

The solution to impossible situations is… FAITH

Hebrews 11:6 NLT

6 And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.

When Jesus saw their faith… he called Lazarus out of the tomb.

John 11:23–27 NLT

23 Jesus told her, “Your brother will rise again.” 24 “Yes,” Martha said, “he will rise when everyone else rises, at the last day.” 25 Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. 26 Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die. Do you believe this, Martha?” 27 “Yes, Lord,” she told him. “I have always believed you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who has come into the world from God.”

Jesus wants to see their faith. When he sees her faith as she says God will do whatever he asks, he raised Lazarus. Jesus knew were will face impossible situations and that we had to havre faith in him.

Whats’ your impossible situation? How is your faith. We have to place our faith in Jesus.

3. How to submit to God’s plan.

This si hard because we all have this thing called the FLESH or our old nature. That’s the part of us that wants to sin… to walk the opposite way that God wants you to.

Jesus teaches us to submit to God’s plan by being Obedient. You may not understand it… be obedient.

1 Peter 2:21 NLT

21 For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you. He is your example, and you must follow in his steps.

Jesus submitted to God’s will. In the Garden, he asks his father if there was another way, but then he said, not my will but your will be done.

I imagine that Jesus did not want to get whipped to unrecognizable… but each step towards that whipping post and the cross had a name on it. Each step was out of obedience to his Father’s plan.

You may be battling some issues… dis honesty… get rid of it and submit to God’s plan.

4. How to show unconditional love.

Here is the Key to unconditional love - FORGIVENESS

FOIRGIVNESS is how we show unconditional love.

Story of the sinful woman who wiped Jesus feet with her tears and hair.

Luke 7:47 NLT

47 “I tell you, her sins—and they are many—have been forgiven, so she has shown me much love. But a person who is forgiven little shows only little love.”

This woman had been forgiven and it moved her into repentance.

The woman at the well

Peter -

Conclusion

Jesus did not come to earth just to die, He came to teach us to live.

You may be dealing with people that let you down… Jesus faced this too. He forgave them.

When he washed Judas feet, before he betrayed him, taught us the importance of unconditional love and forgiveness.

You may be here and need Jesus to wipe your slate clean. Jesus can do that. God’s unconditional love can do that.