Hello and welcome to our broadcast. We're in Romans chapter 12, trying to determine why people react the way they do. Stay tuned for our program. This is program number six in this series as we look in Romans chapter 12 about these seven different gifts, and with these gifts comes a motivation that drives us to react the way we react in any given situation. For instance, what each person in a church might believe that they needed in their church. The prophet, which was the first one that's listed here in verse number six, that person that sitting in the congregation would say, we need sermons that expose sin, proclaim truth, and warn of judgment to come. Then there's the servant sitting there, and he's going to say, well, what we need in this church is some practical assistance for every member of the church to encourage them and help them with their responsibilities. Who's right? They're both right. Then the teacher, which we'll look at today, he's going to be thinking, no, we need Bible studies with exact emphasis on the meaning of words as presented within the context. And then the exhorter would say, well, you know, I think we need personal counseling and encouragement for every member so they can apply scriptures to their everyday life. And then you have the giver, and they're going to say, well, no, we need programs focusing on financial help. Maybe we need to expand our missionary program and help people in our city who are in need. then the administrator will say well that's all great but we need a smooth running church with things being done decently in an order and we have to organize and then the mercy shore would say well no we need this we need special outreach ministries to help meet the needs people in our community are hurting. Maybe we need to do more with the seniors in our town. Who's right in these situations? They're all right, every one of them. There's seven different gifts here, and each one will have a motivation in the area in which their gift is. Now, we look in the Bible and we find that Luke was a teacher, and we want to talk about the teacher today. A teacher is one that wants to confirm statements that are made by others as being truthful. In Luke 1, verse 4, he wrote that thou mightest know the certainty of those things wherein thou hast been instructed. A teacher would confirm truth by established systems of truth, and Luke relates Christ's words to the Old Testament prophecies, and Luke related Christ's words to other Gospels in his account, if you read Luke 1, verses 1-3. And then a teacher expects those who are speaking to have earned the right to speak on any given subject. Luke expressed that he was an eyewitness, a qualified minister. He said he had perfect understanding of all things from the very first. that a teacher presents truth in a systematic way. It's interesting that as you look in Luke chapter 1, you have a total chronological approach to that chapter, and then you have phrases like, to set in order, and from the beginning, and to write unto thee in order. Also, a teacher will research as many facts as possible before presenting any kinds of material. It is interesting that Luke has the longest gospel, He gives detailed information that is left out of the other Gospels, and he emphasizes the completeness of his writings. He says in Acts 1 and 1 that he was writing of all that Jesus began to do. Now again, the teacher's concerned about accuracy, and Luke gives detailed descriptions in situations concerning conversions. in different circumstances, concerning physical conditions, concerning Peter's mother-in-law, for instance. He says, he didn't say she had a fever, she had a great fever. And then teachers are concerned about details. His book has accounts that are filled with details about names, and offices, and cities, and dates, and events. Read it through the Book of Luke, you'll see all these details that you won't see in the other Gospels. The teacher is slow to speak. but always listening. They are conspicuous sometimes by their silence, and that is the way it was with Luke. Now, Peter, on the other hand, he's quick to speak, not Luke. The teacher also is diligent and enduring. In Acts chapter 16, Luke wrote, we endeavored to go. In 2 Timothy, it says that Paul said, only Luke is with me. Well, we want to talk a little bit about some of the weaknesses of the teacher. You've got to be careful about becoming proud of their knowledge because the Bible says in 1 Corinthians 8 and 1, Paul said, knowledge puffeth up. And a teacher will have a lot of knowledge because they are driven. They have a desire. They are motivated to get into the Bible and get the knowledge. And so they have to be careful not to be proud of that. Then, it's easy for them to despise the practical wisdom of uneducated people. They tend to discount learning that does not take place in the classroom. In John 7, verse 15, it says, How knoweth this man letters, having never learned? And Jesus, when He wanted to pick some men, He picked some unlearned and ignorant men who had a heart to do what was right. Well, that doesn't mean we shouldn't study. The Bible tells us to study to show ourselves approved unto God. But a weakness of the teacher can be that they despise the practical wisdom of someone who's uneducated. There's a lot of preachers in the past who did not have any kind of a degree that turned the world upside down for God. Well, a teacher also needs to be careful not to be skeptical of anyone who teaches until they check it out. If it isn't right to the teacher until they check it out, they feel like they're the only source of truth sometimes on the earth. Well, they can be critical of sound teaching because of little technical flaws. Little failures or errors may lead to a criticism of the entire teaching of someone, and the teacher will spot the little errors and the little failures and things that are not factual very, very quickly. A teacher has to be careful not to depend on human reasoning rather than on the Holy Spirit. The primary tool of the teacher is their mind. Well, Proverbs 3 and verse number 5 warns, lean not unto thine own understanding. Isaiah 55 and verse 8 says, your thoughts are not my thoughts. We read in 1 Corinthians 1 and 20, the reasoning of men are foolishness with God. and so we read in first corinthians 2 and verse number 14 that god's truth is spiritually discerned and so spiritual discernment does not depend on the mind bible says the holy spirit will speak to our spirit and then our spirit should dictate to our mind our will and our emotions the teacher needs to be careful about teaching information without practical application. The Bible verses, every verse in the Bible, has a singular interpretation, but every verse in the Bible may have many applications, and Bible principles are always the same. So the teacher can be satisfied with sometimes just learning the interpretation, and not focusing on the application that is there. So teachers may get offended when others who make application without actual interpretation. And that's important. Sometimes we need to stop and realize now the interpretation of this verse has totally to do with Israel. And there's a lot of verses like that. However, here's an application for our age. Well, the teacher is going to get offended if you don't put that first part in there and say, well, look, here's the interpretation. For instance, can these bones live? My people, which are called by my name, would humble themselves and pray and seek my face, turn from their wicked ways, so on. Those verses are talking about Israel. Well, it's good to say that if we're going to teach a message about if my people would humble themselves, because that's the interpretation. But the application is good for all time. And you can get some really good applications out of that portion of scripture that says, can these bones live? Now that's talking about the nation of Israel, and we need to understand that. But sometimes if you don't mention that, the teacher's going to get offended because you just made an application and you didn't give the interpretation. And one of the biggest dangers of a teacher is they can be very boring. Teachers enjoy learning. A teacher delights in research. And they assume that everybody else wants all those details that they're finding. And sometimes a teacher wants to impress the people with all those details and how much they have learned. And these can be some of the weaknesses of the teacher. Now, we can look at all of these gifts and we can see their strengths and their weaknesses. And what we need to do as Christians, whatever our gift might be, is to determine to let the Holy Spirit have control.