Thoughts for Life: #68 Prepare Your People by Teaching Them God's Word

Dr. Wesley L. Duewel: One of your main responsibilities as a shepherd is to feed your flock (1 Peter 5:2). This was among the last exhortations Jesus gave before He ascended to heaven.

His threefold word to Peter was to feed both the lambs and the sheep (John 21:15-17). Bible truth is compared in Scripture to food. God's Word, especially in its more simple teachings, is compared to nourishing milk (Is. 55:1; Heb. 5:12; 1 Peter 2:2) (Google image, Jesus teaching).

Its more doctrinal teachings are compared with solid food (1 Cor. 3:2: Heb. 5:12-14). Jesus called His words real food (note John 6:35; 55, 63). David testified that God's Word was sweeter than honey to him (Ps. 119:103).

Spiritual health and strength depend upon spiritual food. Weak spiritual life in a congregation is usually indicates that the pastor has not been feeding his people adequately.

The pastor who complains that his people are not interested in deep spiritual truth tells us two things: he has not led his people into a deep walk with God, and he has not been feeding them adequate Bible truth. Only spiritually sick people lack appetite for spiritual food.

Spiritual service for God depends on spiritual health and that depends on adequate spiritual food. The basis for preparing God's people for spiritual service is to make them spiritually strong and well taught.

They must know God's Word to be guided in God's service, to be able to answer questions and to lead unsaved people to Christ. Christians are always to be prepared to answer everyone who asks the reason for the hope they have (1 Peter 3:15).

Paul reminded the Ephesian elders, "I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God" (Acts 20:27). His next words were, "Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers.Be shepherds of the church of God" (v. 8).

Paul relates the two concepts. He is innocent of the blood of all (v. 26) because he has declared God's whole will. Note the elders are to do the same. That is what is involved in watching over the flock, in being a shepherd of the church of God.
What must you do to declare the whole will of God?

1. Derive your teaching from the whole Word of God. Use both Testaments. The Old testament was the only Bible the apostles had; all their messages were based on it. Don't neglect it. Anyone who declares the whole will of God must be familiar with and understand every book of the Bible so that the Spirit can guide him to preach from any part and use the whole of Scripture.

2. Over a period of several years cover every major topic in the Bible. When God considers subjects important enough to be included repeatedly in His Word, they are important to God's people. Other types of preaching may be used at times, but only by expository preaching through the books of the Bible can the whole of Scripture by thoroughly covered.

A spiritually lazy person who is not adequately reading and studying the whole Word tends to preach most of his messages from the same part of Scripture or on the same topic.

3. Place your emphasis where God places it. Give constant attention to the major emphasis of Scripture. What God only mentions in one or two verses of Scripture is not a major topic for your ministry. Topics which recur again and again are obviously of great concern to God. The constant use of a reference Bible and concordance is a necessity for your Bible study.

4. Ground your teaching thoroughly in every major doctrine of the Bible. The Bible is not organized like a manual of systematic theology. But your systematic understanding of doctrine is essential to your knowing and preaching the whole will of God.

Occasionally you may want to give a doctrinal series for a few weeks. However, systematic doctrinal teaching can be included bit by bit in your regular message. Continue to give doctrinal insights as well as practical applications. First, you yourself must understand the doctrine clearly.

Only then can you teach it simply with illustrations and
applications which will live in the hearts and minds of your people. If your heart is aflame with a doctrine, and it should be, your teaching will be full of life.

5. Constantly include practical application. God's Word was inspired by the Holy Spirit section by section to help people in real-life situations. It is eternal truth of relevance to all people, but not all sections are equally relevant or urgent at a given moment.

6. Convey a clear overview of God's great plan. Your people must be helped to realize the grandeur, glory, and significance of God's overarching plan for the ages. Help them realize the unity of God's plan and the significant role God has for them within that plan.

Nothing makes the whole of Scripture come more alive or more relevant to your people than to catch a vision of their own part in God's great plan that stretches out into eternity. Then they will thrill over both the practical impact for today and the great eschatological promise for their tomorrows in eternity.

Thus you will equip them with zeal to be involved in God's ongoing purpose, with practical direction to serve the Lord meaningfully and significantly in their daily lives, and will help them see their part in the church as it fits into God's eternal plan.

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Used by permission of the author and Duewel Literature Trust, Inc., Greenwood, Indiana. Creative reading style by Jean.

Ablaze for God
#68 Prepare Your People by Teaching Them God's Word
by Dr. Wesley L. Duewel
(pp. 181-182) ZondervanPublishingHouse

People holding prayer letters

Father, before Jesus ascended back into heaven to be with You, He instructed His disciples to feed His sheep.
Some were to be fed the Word as milk, in application for the new-born believers, while more mature ones would need deeper teaching, to help them thrive.
Our spiritual health and strength depends upon the spiritual food we receive. If our congregations are weak in spiritual life, help our pastors be willing to have Your Spirit teach them how to feed what will be adequate for our spiritual growth.
May they follow the list from above, of what's important for them to do:

Teach from the whole Word of God.
Cover every major topic in the Bible.
Teach thoroughly in every major doctrine of the Bible.
Place your emphasis where God places it.
Constantly include practical application.
Convey a clear overview of God's great plan.

We ask this in Jesus' precious name. Amen.

Today's Bible verses-

1 Peter 5:15 (KJV) "But sanctify the Lord God in
your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer
to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope
that is in you with meekness and fear [respect].

2 Tim. 3:16, 17 (KJV) "All scripture is given by
inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine,
for reproof, for correction, for instruction in
righteousness. (17) That the man of God may be
perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works."

2 Tim. 4:2 (KJV) "Preach the word; be instant in
season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering
and doctrine."

Today's quote-

~ Cindy Jacobs- Prophetic people need to have the fear of the Lord operating in their lives much more than others. It is crucial that they be whole people. Whatever issues need to be dealt with, both past and present (selfishness, pride, brokenness from family of origin and so on), need to be brought under God's divine searchlight.

The fire of God will purge and cleanse us a we allow the Holy Spirit to deal with bitterness and bring us to the place where we are vessels of honor in the service of the King. He will take out the parts of us that are our own flesh and cause us to be clean conduits of the flow of His power so He can bring great blessing to the Body of Christ." (p. 68 of The VOICE of GOD).

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