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Topic: Teachers (07/12/04)
TITLE: The Greatest Teacher By Clay Drysdale 07/19/04 |
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As wonderful as some of the teachers are that we have in our school systems, we have an infinitely more wonderful, loving Teacher in the Holy Spirit. If we have accepted Christ into our lives, then the Spirit resides inside us. He waits patiently for us to allow Him to teach us. As John writes, "[W]hen He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth" (John 16:13 NASB). John writes further in one of his epistles, "[T]he anointing which you received from Him [Christ] abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you" (1 John 2:27 NASB). John stresses that the anointing of the Holy Spirit is so powerful that He is even able to teach us without the aid of others!
Of course, God often uses earthly teachers to instruct us, but He is more than able to do it on His own, with just the Holy Spirit. If we allow the Spirit to work in our lives, listening to His instruction, we will be far ahead of where any college degree can take us! The Holy Spirit is the perfect teacher. He never gives up on His students and you'll never have to worry about Him slacking off after receiving tenure. Furthermore, He never needs continuing education credits because He is the Supreme teacher!
However, we must stay in His classroom if we are to learn (i.e. stay tied into Him through regular prayer and bible study). If we should decide we need a break from teaching and begin doing our "own thing" the world's way, He will use our conscience to call us gently back to the classroom and into the presence of Christ. "'Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me'" (Rev. 3:20 NASB). Only in rare cases will He chase down the hallway after us (think Jonah on the ship or Paul on the road to Damascus). He loves us more than we can ever know and His greatest desire is to bring us closer to Christ.
Touching on a whole other topic, the reason I believe that God chooses earthly teachers to do much of His work is that the teacher often learns more than the student does. If you've ever prepared for a presentation for school or work, you've probably realized that you learned more about your subject than anyone hearing your presentation did. God uses teachers because they are blessed through their teaching as much as the student is. However, the more I think about it, as great as Mr. Melton was, algebra probably would have been a whole lot easier if I’d had the Holy Spirit for a teacher!