Proper Teaching Style

"But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine"  (Titus 2:1, ESV).
"But even if I'm uneducated in public speaking, I'm not uneducated in knowledge"  (2 Cor. 11:6, CEV).

There is hardly a comparison between teaching and preaching, and between a Bible study or class and a sermon--viva la difference!  In Bible studies or Sunday school, there is an encouragement of student involvement and participation, while people are basically passive and attentive during a sermon, though they can take notes.  The two are separate gifts and all teachers don't necessarily make good preachers and vice versa. Teaching is not a performance where one is judged by his dramatics or personal style.  Reading is usually considered a no-no by professors of homiletics, but some preachers are such good readers and know their material so well they get away with breaking the so-called rules--on the other hand, reading notes and hand-outs for listeners are practically always appropriate for Bible studies.

God is able to work through personalities and use them accordingly--Scripture was even written respecting individual personality and style.  Paul was known for being "bold from far away" or in letters, but "timid in person" (cf. 2 Cor. 10:1, NLT).  He probably wasn't your typical type A personality or mover-and-shaker spokesman like Peter most likely was.  We must be careful in judging teachers and/or preachers by their personality or charisma, for false teachers shall arise and deceive many--we are to test the Spirit, and to hold them accountable to true doctrine, exposing heresy.  Truth does matter and we are sanctified by the truth.  When the preacher is done, he doesn't want to hear, if he knows the Lord, that he did a good job, or that he's a good speaker, he wants to know if God spoke to their hearts, touched, and convicted them!  There are many good speakers out there who are characters and heretics, but people are nevertheless fooled and deceived.

One of the biggest lies today in the church is the presence and dissemination of prosperity theology, or that it's always God's will to prosper believers financially and they should cash in on the spiritual lottery.   The Bible makes it clear that some people's reward is in this life, and that the wicked to indeed prosper. Prosperity is no sign of God's blessing nor a litmus test that He is delighted in you.  Obedience is the only measure of faith, not even ecstasies, experiences, or achievements.

Just because a church has become a megachurch doesn't mean we can infer that it's doing God's will, and some pastors are simply great entrepreneurs and businessmen, not spiritual leaders.  Religion was never meant as a means of getting rich or to cash in on one's faith.  We must have a quest for the truth and being ever vigilant to heresy in the church, for when we become blase to it, we lose the focus and aren't keeping the main thing the main thing.   You're better off in a church with an expositor of the Word, or great biblicist of the first order, or even old-fashioned exegete than one who knows how to gather crowds by preaching what's popular, like eschatological themes, i.e., prophecy and end times.   We aren't looking for great leadership ability, because the preacher and teacher are basically servants of all the church members in toto and should be dedicating his time to study and disseminating the Word.

The studious preacher or teacher doesn't spoon-feed the flock of God, but feeds the sheep as well as the lambs, giving meat in due season, and not neglecting the milk of the Word for those not ready for solid food--there's something for everyone, with no one going away unspoken to through the ministry of the Lord's anointing.  The wise preacher knows where the sheep are spiritually, and doesn't ever preach over their heads, nor talk down to them either, but meets everyone's needs and God is able to speak to their hearts so they will know to recognize the voice of the Lord.

Note that the exhortation is to teach sound doctrine, not to teach with the homiletic devices of charisma, histrionics, or personality--it is of utmost value that the preacher/teacher knows his way around the block theologically and not to ever bail out theologically either, but to be ever vigilant to heresy creeping in and defiling many through false teachers, who may be personable and have magnetic personas.  It is much more important than the disseminator of truth use sound, biblical interpretive techniques that he is trained in public speaking or oratorical skill.  The faith must be in the Word of God not in some show the preacher puts on or exercise of his brilliance or scholarship that is intended to impress and wow the listener.

In the final analysis, God rewards faithfulness more than sheer skill or natural talent, or even education (D. L. Moody never went to a seminary, yet God just chose to anoint him to preach the gospel, not to mention the Prince of Preachers, Charles Haddon Spurgeon!). Before preaching we ought to have done our homework, prepared ourselves spiritually, and have faith God will use us.  Always "Preach the Word (cf. 2 Tim. 4:2), and do not give in to "itching ears," giving people what they crave or are curious about.  Consequently, we ought to make it our aim to preach, not like we have studied preaching and know the art, but that it be demonstrated we know the Lord.  Above all, aim to be praised by God, not man!    Soli Deo Gloria! 

Worshiping Faux Gods

"... You must acknowledge no God but me, for there is no other savior" (Hosea 13:4, NLT).

There are pseudo-gods, because there is a genuine God, who is the real thing, and all other so-called gods are counterfeits, poor excuses for, and a parody of the Real McCoy.  Evil is not the opposite of good, and couldn't exist apart from good.  It's the perversion and parasite of good and the lack or depravity of it.  It is a leech on the goodness of God and thrives by imitation and dependence since Satan is no original, but a copycat or spoiler.  People tend to think that the more gods they have the safer or more secure they are.  This was the case with Israel with Elijah when he asked them which one they will serve, as they halted between the two--Baal or God.  Baal was the god of fertility (family, fields, and flock) and they felt it couldn't hurt to have him on their side.

If we have the Almighty God of All-Sufficient One (El Shaddai) on our side, we need no other gods and have all we need.  God is sufficient to meet all our needs and fulfill our hearts, making us complete in Christ.  That's precisely what the Jehovah texts mean and the great I AM implies--God is everything to us and all we could ever need or want to be fulfilled. If we possess Him, we have all we need! 

The trouble with false gods is that they don't satisfy and leave a desire for more and other gods.  As Augustine said, "You have made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in you."  Pascal described our heart and soul as having a vacuum only God can fill!  You can never get enough fame to be satisfied, nor enough money to feel totally happy and content neither can power fulfill, since power corrupts and only makes you crave for more.  Lust is the unhealthy desire for something, and there can be a righteous acquisition of fame, power, or wealth that has God's blessing, but this only happens when one puts God first:  "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you"  (cf. Matt. 6:33, KJV).  God does promise to meet all our needs per Phil. 4:19, but not necessarily our felt needs or wants, and we must trust that God has our benefit in mind as our Benefactor.  It is unfortunate that some seek the benefits apart from the Benefactor though.

There are several false gods that can overwhelm a Christian and lead him astray:  money or mammon (note that Proverbs says that he who loves money is never satisfied with money and Job objects self-righteously that he has never made gold his security); success or achievements (God doesn't want your achievements--He wants your obedience and most importantly He wants you!); science and technology (this is neutral in itself, but we can get over fascinated and obsessed with it--modern achievements tend to lesson our faith in the power of God); sexual lust or libido gone awry; heroes or people in general (think of how celebrities, politicians, and athletes inspire us and people emulate and idolize them); family or children; (we are to "hate" our mother, father, etc., i.e., compared to Christ, and we never should put our hopes and security in these relationships--too many live vicariously through them and don't find personal fulfillment); glory (we may have our fifteen minutes of fame, and get a fatal taste of it only to seek it lustfully); our time as leisure and pleasure that we think belongs to us, but our times are in His hand (cf. Psalm  31:15).   Remember, God can endure no rival and is a jealous God that demands absolute loyalty and undivided hearts that are fully committed to Him and seek His will and glory (cf. 2 Chron. 16:9).

We must do some soul searching and take a spiritual inventory to determine where our ultimate loyalty lies (cf. 2 Cor. 13:5).  We can only be satisfied with the blessings God gives us when we put Him first and use the blessings for His glory.  Our decision to take up our cross and follow Him is a daily exercise and must be renewed constantly, as the devil will not cease to throw roadblocks in our way.  The question of our ultimate loyalty and allegiance, and which God or god we serve is bound up in whom or what we love--"for where your treasure is, there your heart shall be also."

Sad to say, some are more loyal to their politics than their religion!  One must be willing to die for and lay down one's life for the Lord's sake and that is total commitment.  Some believers are committed to a school of thought or doctrine more than to the Lord and seek to be divisive, contentious, argumentative, and judgmental.  We must ultimately throw down the gauntlet and not waver in unbelief:  "How long will you halt between two opinions?"  (Cf. 1 Kings 18:21).

The modern secular notion is that we are still evolving and are becoming gods and will eventually achieve immortality and utopia on earth.  This is the opposition to the faith and the flip side of believing in God--as Satan told Eve that she "would be as the gods, knowing good and evil."  Note that the greatest commandment is to love God (cf. Matt. 22:37) with all our being and in the Decalogue, the first one is to "have no other gods before" Him--God deserves first place and priority in our lives and we must suppress all ungodly goals, desires, and ambitions.  Only when we worship one God and have total devotion to Him is our heart undivided and totally complete.

Not to be remiss to mention that worshiping the one God in a false or inadequate way (not in the Spirit or in the truth) is also worshiping a false God and is by definition idolatry:  e.g.,  when we make God one-dimensional or put Him in a box, like saying,  "I like to think of God as the Great Spirit, or the man upstairs, as kind Father Time, or the Mean Judge, etc."  We must take all the attributes of God into consideration in our apprehension of God for who He is.

Some people have "thoughts of God that are too human"  (as Martin Luther told Erasmus), and don't realize that it's not how big our faith is, but how big our God.  It's not the faith, but the object of the faith!  Christians ought to be able to say, "My God is bigger than yours!" They may deny there is a supernatural God, but they will inevitably worship someone or something--we're wired that way.  (I refer to J. B. Phillips book, Your God Is Too Small.)  Soli Deo Gloria!