Restore Rebuild Revive - Week Six : 02 Mar 2011

Asked a few times recently about my “call” to teaching. Never thought of it as a “call”, blessed to have been led to the Lord by one who taught me that all in Christ are “called” to teach God’s Word.
As a brand new believer, Toni-lee said I had been soaking it in long enough- time to start discipling. Invited gals from school over for a Bible study. “Prepared,” just about finished when a Jehovah witness came to the door. Tried it out on her. Gals came over next day. Opened my Bible, my “study” notes gone! Quickly prayed and flipped my Bible open, randomly, landed in Philippians. Read the passage, “expounded” it and one of the gals prayed to give her life to Christ. (don’t recommend this style of discipleship)

 It was clear to me that day that the Word of God is…

Heb 4:12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 

It was clear to me that it was not about me, it was the Spirit of God, using the Word of God that brought new life to Laura.

 In my journey I have unfortunately made things more complicated than need be. In what I believe to be an honest desire to “feed” I have been known to bring out way too many courses! (Firehose)

 Tuesday praying about this message struggling with its simplicity and prayed to God. A leader had a dream-I was so complicated, I sang a song and you all followed a horse out.

 As I teacher I live in the tension between being faithful to the Word of God, to handle it accurately, and yet never forget that the Scriptures don’t need me to change lives. I may get to come along for the ride, but it is God alone who changes lives.

 Why I LOVE Neh 8. As we have studied this historical account of God restoring, rebuilding His people, it has been tempting to put Neh on a pedastal. We are told it is God’s work, but hearts long to follow a person and be distracted by Neh good and godly leadership. And then we come to what appears to be the climax of the book of Nehemiah, the revival of the people recorded in chapter 8. And now there is hardly any mention of Neh. In fact, written in 3^rd person.

It is true that another, godly man, Ezra, a priest and a scribe is involved. And we can’t exactly say that Ezra just threw a bunch of scrolls and the ground to see where they would land (phil).

Ezr 7:10 For Ezra had set his heart to study the Law of the LORD, and to do it and to teach his statutes and rules in Israel.

Ezra had been sent about 14 years earlier to Jerusalem by Artaxerxes to teach the divine law and insure that worship was being carried out in the temple. But Ezra’s priestly heart, his intense study and stellar teaching are not center stage. God’s presence is,

 J.I. Packer, “God now acted in a way that put His human agents in the shade. …He visited his people, preempting their attentions and making his presence felt among them in a way that had not been the case before.

The Spirit of God, gave the people of God all they needed through the Word of God. He desires to do this for us.