“That= ’ll Teach ‘Em!”

(Dreams and= Visions, Part 2)

Acts 2:37-4= 7, Psalm 19:7-11, 14

September 2= 4, 2006

INTRO: Picture this sce= ne: Jerusalem, about = 6 months after the death and resurrection of Jesus. A young Christian named Benjamin runs into his fellow disciple Eli on the street. Perhaps the conversation g= oes something like this.

&nb= sp; Benjamin: Brother Eli, great to see you! Say, were you at the temple last night?

&nb= sp; Eli: No, I had to work late. How was it?

&nb= sp; Benjamin: Incredible! John taught about love.

&nb= sp; Eli: Man, I’m sorry I missed that. But the night before= I caught Matthew’s teaching on the finances of a Christian. It was terrific.

&nb= sp; Benjamin: Yeah, I heard that too. And tonight Andrew’s going to talk on how to tell your family members about Jesus.

&nb= sp; Eli: Oh, I’ll be there. I just love the way St. Andrew teaches in Aramaic, with a Scottish brogue.

&nb= sp; Okay, maybe it never happened quite that way. But when Acts 2:42 tel= ls us that the early Christians “devoted themselves to the apost= les’ teaching,” it means something very much like that. The apostles’ were right there in Jerusalem with them, teaching at the temple, and probably other places around town. <= /p>

&nb= sp; Can you imagine what it would have been like to hear Peter talk about how the Lord restored him after his cowardly denial?

“Peter, do you love me?”

“Lord, you know I love you.”

= “Feed my sheep.”

To hear James describe the time he saw the transfigured glory of Jesus right in front of his eyes, or hear Thomas tell how Jesus he= lped him overcome his doubts? The first Christians must have been mesmerized by those teachings. No wonder they gathered in the temple every day. No wonder they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching!

&nb= sp; Of course you and I can’t just go to the temple and hear Thadd= eus or Nathaniel or Bartholomew. The temple has been destroyed, and the apostles have gone to heaven. But we can still devote ourselves to the apostles̵= 7; teaching, can’t we? For the teaching of the apostles didn’t die= with them. We have their teaching right here, in Scripture. They wrote it down f= or us. Or they told others who wrote it down for us. All the stories, all the miracles, all the timeless, life changing truth that the apostles taught is still available, right at our fingertips.

1. We find the apostles’ teaching in the THE = BIBLE.

&nb= sp; In fact, I think we could even say that what we have is better than = what the first Christians had. Sure, they got to hear the apostles teach live an= d in person, but those were the rough drafts. We have the finished product. And = the Word the apostles’ handed down is at least as powerful and effective = as the words they spoke in the temple.

II Timothy 3:16 says All Script= ure is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training = in righteousness.

<= span style=3D'color:black'>The early Christians devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching. Clearly they found it thrilling. Exhilarating. Li= fe changing. But we have an even greater opportunity than they had. We can read and study and hear that holy Word again and again. We can still hear biblic= al sermons. We can attend Bible studies. And whenever we want, we can pick up = our Bibles on our own and read.

In fact, we can = go even deeper than the first Christians were able to go. We can meditate on e= very God-breathed passage. We can copy it down and carry it around with us to th= ink about at stoplights and lunch breaks and when telephone operators put us on hold. We can memorize it. We can compare one passage with another.

We too can devote ourselves to the apostles’ teaching. And when we do, we discover that= the same Holy Spirit who breathed the Scriptures uses those same Scriptures, ti= me and again, to breathe deep, divine truth into our hearts. Life into our spirits. Guidance into our confusion. Comfort into our souls.

Remember what we learned last week. This passage we’re looking at in Acts 2:41-47 is a portrait of the church as it ought to be. It shows us God’s vision of what He wants the local church to be. And one of the things that happens wh= en the church is what God wants her to be is that the people devote themselves= to the apostles’ teaching. So it pleases God when His people are continu= ally learning more and more about Him. And by the same token, it pleases God whe= n His church is constantly teaching.

As a matter of f= act, the most literal translation of the word the Bible uses for “disciple” is “student.”

Think about what happens when the church helps us learn. Think about what happens when the church teaches.

2. Teaching continues the ministry of JESUS.

Remember that Jesus was a teacher. The Gospels show us Jesus teaching time and again. The Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7. The sermon on the l= ake in Mark 4. The great parables of the lost in Luke 15. The “I am the b= read of life” sermon in John 6. In fact one of the most common words used = to address Jesus was “teacher.”

&nb= sp; Mark 6:34 paints this picture of the Lord. When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things...̶= 1;

When the chu= rch teaches, we’re doing what Jesus did. We’re also doing what Jesus told us to do.

   &nb= sp; You know Matthew 28:19-20. The risen Jesus gives this commission to = His Church. “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, bapti= zing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.”

   &nb= sp; Last week we looked at how Baptism is the first step in making disciples. Teaching is the second step. Teaching is the tool God uses to he= lp believers grow into strong, mature disciples. That’s why part of our mission statement is “to teach believers how to become more faithful disciples of Jesus.”

   &nb= sp; We don’t automatically know how to become better disciples. We don’t automatically know how to follow Jesus, how to experience more = and more of His joy and love and peace, how to live in a way that brings glory = to Him. We need to be taught.

   &nb= sp; Particularly children.

3. CHILDREN need to be taught.

   &nb= sp; A dear Christian friend of mine, whom I respect greatly, is getting = up in years. He says most of his memories now are from childhood. He tells old= er stories these days, tales from when he was a boy. That seems to be a fairly common phenomenon. It happens to many of us as we get older. But he shared something recently that blew me away. It’s really quite profound. He = says he wishes he had memorized more Scripture as a child. That way he would remember today the things he really wants to know. Wow!

   &nb= sp; Well we shouldn’t be surprised. Deuteronomy 6:6-7 says, These commandments that I give you today are to be up= on your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk= about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie do= wn and when you get up.

     And in II Ti= mothy 3:14-15, Paul tells the young pastor, But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from = whom you learned it, 15and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make= you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.

     We should be teaching our kids about the things of God. Parents can do it at h= ome. The church does it through ministries like Sunday school, Vacation Bible School, Way Cool Kids, Y-Zone.

   &nb= sp; Teaching children is extremely important. That’s why this year we’ve hired Jennifer Haddad as our Director of Children’s Ministries.

   &nb= sp; We also teach kids about the Lord in less formal ways, whenever we interact with the children in our community. We share the love of Jesus with them. We model for them what it means to be a disciple. You know they’= ;re watching us. And we’re teaching them lessons whether we mean to or no= t. Children need to be thought the things of God.

   Parents, if you had to = make a choice, would you rather your kids know how to play piano or how to pray effectively? How to dance or how to walk with the Lord? How to catch a foot= ball or how to receive the abundant life Jesus wants them to have? I’m sure you’d rather they know the things of God. But take a look at our schedules. Take a look at our budgets. We invest tons of money and time on = our children, and well we should. They are precious gifts from God, and God has entrusted them to us. But do we invest at least as much in their spiritual lives as we do in sports or the arts or other forms of education? Are we showing them how to devote themselves to the apostles’ teaching? Chil= dren need to be taught about the Lord.

   &nb= sp;

   &nb= sp; We’re following an order of worship this morning that we use m= ore than any other. If you worship here regularly, it’s probably pretty familiar to you. That’s intentional.

   &nb= sp; I’ve had teenagers tell me that they have this bulletin memori= zed. I think they mean it as a complaint, but I answer, “You’re welcome.” Look at all the important Scripture they have stored up in their hearts.

   “Know th= at the Lord is God. It is He who made us and we are His.” (Psalm 100= : 3)

   &nb= sp; “If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”(I J= ohn 1:9)

   &nb= sp; “This is love: not that we loved God but that He loved us, and sent His son as the atoning sacrifice for our sins.” (I John 4:10)

   &nb= sp; Jesus replied: “'Love the Lord yo= ur God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' 38This is the first and greatest commandment. 39And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' = 40All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”<= /b> (Matthew 22:37-40)

     These are essent= ial things to know. These are key parts of the apostles’ teaching. I̵= 7;m glad our children have them memorized. And someday, they’ll be glad t= oo.

   &nb= sp; But kids aren’t the only ones who need to be taught.

4. ADULTS need to be taught.

   &nb= sp; II Peter 3:18 says, But grow in the grace and knowledge<= /span> of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.

     We never stop gr= owing. We never stop learning. At least we shouldn’t. When we devote ourselv= es to the apostles’ teaching we continually discover new treasures. Powe= rful insights on how to live in the center of God’s will. Higher perspecti= ve on the situations that confront us every day. Spiritual food that nourishes= our souls and feeds our minds on the very mind of Christ.

     For nearly thirty years now, it’s been my privilege to study the Lord’s Word, to study the apostles’ teaching for a living – first as a student = then as a pastor. And it’s a great adventure. My wife could tell you about= the night on our honeymoon when I came bursting into the bedroom, all excited a= bout something new I found in Luke’s Gospel. I wouldn’t say that was= the high point of our honeymoon. I wouldn’t dare. But I can tell you that the more we l= earn about the Scriptures, the more exciting and beautiful they become.

     Yet still, after thirty years, I feel like a beginner. A kindergartener. I feel like a snorkeler, skimming along the surface above some gorgeous reef. I dive down every now and then to examine some colorful creature or peer into a mysteri= ous crevice. But I can never stay down long enough. And there is so much breathtaking beauty that, even in a lifetime, I would never be able to expl= ore it all.

   &nb= sp; That’s why we’ve formed the ACTION Academy. You got a brochure when you came in this morning. [see www.woodburypres.com then click on ACTION Academy] The ACTION Academy is a ministry that’s designed to help us keep growing in our discipleship. It lays out for us how we can cover the basics, and how we can keep growing from there.

   &nb= sp; There are four areas of study, Bible, Christian Beliefs, Christian Living and Ministry.

    The first two areas are what you might call academic or mental. We learn what’s in the Bible, what the Bible says and teaches. Here we find foundational courses like Walk Thru the Old Testament and the Alpha Course,= and the Old Testament Story class, which Tom Williams is teaching in Sunday sch= ool at 10:00 AM.

   &nb= sp; Next year we plan to offer an Old Testament course on “Poets a= nd Prophets,” and a Sunday school class on Islam. (As we study what Musl= ims believe, we will have to look more closely at what mature Christians believ= e.)

   &nb= sp; The second two areas are very practical. How do we live as followers= of Jesus? How can we serve the Lord, and serve others in his name? “5 Ke= ys to Purposeful Living” and “Discovering God’s Vision for Y= our Life” are foundational there. “The Walk to Emmaus,” “Central Florida Helpline,” “40 Days of Purpose,” “Presbyterian Leadership” are among the courses in that area.
   &nb= sp; It’s called the ACTION Academy. It focuses= both on academic study and on action.

    Of course our small groups engage in Bible study. They work hand-in-hand with = the ACTION Academy. From time to time we offer “Crown Ministries,” “Reaching = Your World,” “Evangelism Explosion” and so on.

      Someday I’d like to see us include advanced courses like “Stephen Ministries<= /st1:PlaceName>,” “Bethel Bible Series,” “Disciple.”

   &nb= sp; In fact, I can picture us one day having a Discipleship Traini= ng Center that offers courses not only for members and friends of Woodbury, but for members of ot= her churches as well. I would love to see this be a place where many people in = our area can come to grow in their faith.

      Further, a= ll our staff members are responsible to help “teach believers how to become = more faithful disciples of Jesus.” Jennifer not only administers our children’s ministry, she also teaches teachers to teach. Ginny not on= ly directs the choir, she also teaches singers to sing to the glory of God. Ch= eryl and Kim not only watch our little children in the nursery, they actively te= ach them about Jesus. Harold not only cleans the church and mows the lawn, he teaches the rest of us how to care for the property God has entrusted to us. (That’s why we’re having the workday on October 7.)

   &nb= sp; And I’m coming to the conclusion that I need to spend a greater portion of my time helping people learn how to teach others.

   &nb= sp; Again, Paul told Timothy, (II Timothy 2:2) And the things you have hea= rd me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also= be qualified to teach others.

   &nb= sp; Ephesians 4:11-13 says, It was he [Christ] who gave some to be apostl= es, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, 12to = prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built = up 13until we all reach = unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaini= ng to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

     And in Hebrews 5= :12 we read, In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need som= eone to teach you the elementary truths of God's word all over again. You need milk, not solid food!=

   &nb= sp; More of us ought to be teachers. That’s part of what it means = to be devoted to the apostles’ teaching.

   &nb= sp; And what happens when we devote ourselves to the apostles’ teaching the way the early Christians did?

      Romans 12:2 answ= ers that question. Do not conform any longer to the patter= n of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. …=

5. The results are TRANSFORMATION.

   &nb= sp; Last December Pat and I got to go to the Candlelight Procession at E= pcott. The reader that night was Jackie Velasquez.

   &nb= sp; On the row in front of us were two retired couples. A conversation between the two husbands reminded me of those old codgers on “The Mup= pet Show.” One of the elderly gentlemen asked his friend, “Who is Jackie Velasquez?”

   “I think she̵= 7;s a Christian rock singer,” his friend replied.

   &nb= sp; “Christian rock! What’s that? It’s like taking a <= st1:City w:st=3D"on">Las Vegas casino = and turning it into a chapel.”

   &nb= sp; I didn’t say anything, but I thought to myself, “Exactly! It’s like taking a Pharisee named Saul, who has made it his life̵= 7;s mission to kill Christians, and turning him into an Apostle who preaches the gospel and starts new churches everywhere he goes.”

   &nb= sp; You see, the Christian life is about transformation. It’s about becoming a new creation. It’s about living a new life. It’s abo= ut becoming more and more like Jesus.

   &nb= sp; And Scripture tells us that this transformation comes from the renew= al of our minds. We need to be taught. And the church needs to teach. And the result of that study and teaching, the result of devoting ourselves to the apostles’ teaching is that our lives are transformed by the renewing = of our minds.

   &nb= sp; For more on that renewal, I encourage you to go home and read Psalms= 19 and 119, I Corinthians 6:9-11, Titus 3:3-7.

   &nb= sp; But let me emphasize again that the apostles’ teaching isnR= 17;t just about theory, ideas, facts, stories. The apostles’ teaching is practical.

6. Teaching calls for ACTION.

    One time I preached on that verse we just read from Hebrews that says, “by this time you ought to be teachers.” I said that we should al= l be learning about the faith from someone else, and we should each be teaching = at least one other person about the ways of Jesus.

   &nb= sp; After church a dear lady came up to me and said. “I want you to know that was an excellent sermon. I’m not going to do it, but it was= an excellent sermon.”

      Now I don’t want to offend her, but that sister was wrong. She may have been wrong about the “excellent sermon” part, but that isn’t w= hat I mean. She was wrong when she said, “I’m not going to do it,” but not for the reason you may think. She was wrong because she = is doing it. I happen to know that she is in a small group that studies the Bi= ble pretty vigorously. I also happen to know that she is actively teaching her grandchildren and other people in her sphere of influence about the Lord. S= he is doing what the Word of God tells us to do. And that is excellent.=

   &nb= sp; II Timothy 3:16-17 says, All Script= ure is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training = in righteousness, 17so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

     <= span style=3D'color:black;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style:italic'>= God gave us the Scriptures so that we could do good work. It’s practical.= It isn’t just about what we think and believe. It’s also about wha= t we do in real life.

   &nb= sp; James 1:22-25 says Do not mer= ely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it= says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror 24= and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks l= ike. 25But the man who looks intently into the perfect = law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has he= ard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does.

     And Jesus, at the end of the = Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 7:24-27) says, "Ther= efore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25The ra= in came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26But everyone who hears these words of mine and does no= t put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds bl= ew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash."

     <= span style=3D'color:black;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style:italic'>= Jesus finished perhaps his greatest teaching session by saying, “Don’t just think about these things. Do them!

     We will end our service today with those “last words” of Jesus before He ascend= ed into heaven. “Go and make disciples … teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you.”

     But not all tran= slations say it like that. Some say, “teaching them to observe all that= I have commanded you.” Observe. That can send the wrong message, can’t it? Someone might say, “I observe that Jesus said to forg= ive people. I observe that Jesus said to give to the poor. I observe that Jesus said to love my neighbor as I love myself. I have no intention of actually doing these things, but I observe that He said them.

     That misses the = point, doesn’t it? That’s why I like the translation we use, “Teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you.”

     The apostlesR= 17; teaching includes not only what Jesus taught us to believe, but also what he taught us to do. What he taught us to obey. And when we devote ourselves to= the apostles’ teaching, we’re investing ourselves in doing what He says.

     Acts 2:41-47 is a portrait of the church as it ought = to be. It shows us God’s vision of what He wants the local church to be. On = the one hand, that involves many things besides being devoted to the apostles’ teaching. It also involves being devoted to the fellowship, breaking of bread, prayer, sharing and so on. On the= other hand, being devoted to the apostles’ teaching is an essential part of what it means fulfill God’s vision for the local church.<= /span>

     Some of you are teachers in the public schools or in colleges. Do you ever have a student c= ome up to you and ask, “What do I have to do to get an ‘A’ in this course?” Or worse, “to get a ‘C.’ Or even just “to pass.” I bet = you hate that question. It reveals that the student isn’t really serious. That student doesn’t care much about the subject you teach. He or she= wants to do the bare minimum. Just enough to get by.

     Sometimes we Christians are like that. Sometimes churches are like that. We seem to have= the attitude, “What is the least I can do and still be a good Christian? = What is the least we can do and still be a real church?”=

     Well, I think we= find the answer to the second question in our Book of Confessions. The Sc= ots Confession says,

“The = notes of the true kirk, therefore, we believe, confess, and avow to be: first, the <= u>true preaching of the word of God, in which God has revealed himself to us, = as the writings of the prophets and apostles declare; secondly, the right administration of the sacraments of Christ Jesus, which must be associa= ted with the Word and promise of God, to seal and confirm them in our hearts; a= nd lastly, ecclesiastical discipline uprightly ministered, as God's Word prescribes, whereby vice is repressed, and virtue nourished.” = [Scots Confession ch. 18]

   &nb= sp; There you have it. The bare minimum. As long as we have those three things: true preaching of the Word, right administration of the sacraments = and ecclesiastical discipline, we’re fine. We pass. We meet the minimum requirements.

   &nb= sp; But is that really what we want to do? Do we want to be a minimal ch= urch or a maximum church? Do we want to get by with as little as we can, or do we want to fulfill God’s vision for the church?

   &nb= sp; I don’t want to settle for being a minimal church, do you? I w= ant to be church-to-the-max! I want to be all we can be. I want to be everything God wants us to be. And that includes learning all we can about the ways of God. Going to Sunday school.= Taking ACTION Academy courses. Re= ading the Bible daily and studying it alone and in small groups. That includes learning all we can about the ways of the Lord and putting it into practice= . It means being transformed by the renewing of our minds. It means devoting ourselves to the apostle’s teaching.