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We're there in 2 Timothy 2. 2 Timothy 2, look at verse number 1. Thou, therefore my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus, and the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men who shall be able to teach others also. So you have the Apostle Paul preaching to, or writing this letter, this epistle to Pastor Timothy. Obviously the Apostle Paul has taught Pastor Timothy many great things. And then what does it say? Well now Timothy, now it's your turn to pass on the things that I've taught you onto faithful men. Find men in the church that are faithful to church, faithful to the Lord God, and use them to be others, sorry, that they would also then teach others also. Isn't that interesting? So the Apostle Paul taught Timothy, Timothy then used to teach faithful men, and the faithful men are then to teach others in the church. And so the title for the sermon this evening is, Able to Teach Others. Sorry, that's it. Able to Teach Others. Able to Teach Others. I was going to say Able to Teach Others also, but the title is Able to Teach Others. Now I've only got a few weeks really when you think about it. I've got a month and a half before we kind of start making our move back to Queensland, but really when you start to count down the weeks there's not many left. So I really want to spend my time thinking about what I need to cover before I leave. Now Lord willing I'll be able to travel every week for the midweek services as long as there's no other issues COVID related I'll be doing that. But obviously on the Sundays I'm going to be dependent upon other men in this church to open God's Word, to teach this church, and you see this is something that we see in the Bible. To find faithful men, men that are willing to teach, men that are willing to receive God's Word and pass down God's Word, and this is a biblical approach. And so I'm very thankful that tonight we've got at least three of the four men that will be preaching on a regular basis on the Sundays on a rotation basis. And maybe one day, maybe you say, speak about yourself, well I can't teach anybody. Well look, maybe one day God will use you to teach others also. And so we all have opportunities to teach. Sometimes we think about the pastor being a teacher, yes I am a teacher, and obviously there comes a level of skill. To be a pastor you have to be apt to teach. You've got to have the aptitude. In fact if you'll drop down to verse number 15 in the same chapter, 2 Timothy 2 verse 15, it says, I love verse number 15 because again, this is an epistle to a pastor, Pastor Timothy. I think by now Timothy has been under the mentorship of the Apostle Paul for some time. I'm sure he's an experienced man. I'm sure he knows his scriptures really well. But you see the pastor is to still study. He's still to learn. You should never get to a point, well you should never get to a point where you think you just know it all. You know all the doctrines, you've dotted every I, you've crossed every T, you know everything that has to go with the Bible, and now it's your job to teach. No, your job is also to learn, to study yourself, to keep learning, keep studying, so you can then be a benefit to those that you are teaching. Drop down to verse number 24 please. And we're looking here at the qualifications of a pastor in 2 Timothy 2 verse 24. It says, Apt is the word aptitude. You know you've got the ability to teach. Not everybody has that. Now when I say not everybody has that, what I'm trying to say is, I'm not saying that it's not like, I personally believe everybody can be a teacher. I personally believe everybody can teach someone else some great things. But you've got to develop that aptitude. You've got to develop that ability and you know the experience that comes when you stand behind the pulpit. But Brevin, you know it's all of our ministry to at least go and preach the gospel to the lost. To share the gospel of Jesus Christ and every time we do it, every time we share the gospel, whether it's door to door to family and friends, what are we doing? We're teaching them. You know, go ye therefore and teach all nations, said Jesus Christ. And he's speaking to all his disciples. You see we've all been given this ministry to teach. And not all of us are going to necessarily teach behind the pulpit. Hey, but we can definitely all teach the gospel to this lost and dying world. It keeps going there. It says, patient, verse 25, in meekness, instructing those that oppose themselves. What does that mean? So the pastor is to instruct those that oppose or fight against themselves. How does someone fight against themselves? It says if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth. You see, all of us, even myself included, Brevin, we don't know all the Bible. Like we haven't got every doctrine 100% correct. Now when it comes to fundamental truths, absolutely. When it comes to the primary fundamental truths that make up Christianity and the doctrines of salvation, of course. You know, those things must be understood 100%. Otherwise you don't have Christianity. But then there's other things. Other things of maybe, you know, people have different opinions. Christians have been arguing back and forth about things over the centuries. And what I'm trying to say is, you know, nobody, unless you're the Lord God, nobody has perfect doctrine about every little issue in life, okay? And so the idea of opposing yourself is that you've got error, you know, and you don't want someone to teach you what is right. You know, when you teach something that is wrong, you know what you become? You become very prideful about that. Or you can become prideful, I should say. Where even if you're corrected, you won't take the correction. And that's the idea of opposing themselves. You know, you've got the preacher preaching the truth and they just won't receive it. They won't receive it. No, I know what's true. I'm not going to accept that. And it's the pastor's job to make sure you're able to help these people that have poor doctrine and get them on the right path. Because, again, it says, if God prevent you, we'll give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth. So in other words, they believed a lie. And, you know, the repentance is to go from believing, not believing that lie, to believing that truth. And so you can see there in 2 Timothy 2, a lot of it has to do with teaching. That's one of the key things that's mentioned in this chapter. And as I said to you, I want to be someone that gets faithful men. You know, the men that will be preaching on Sundays. You will be those faithful men. You know, and I know probably in your mind you're thinking, I don't know if I can do it, pastor. Am I really that faithful? Well, if you're committed to preach God's Word, you know, whether it's once a month or, you know, twice a month, you know, some of you guys have mentioned that, you know, basically be faithful to that. Be faithful to the Lord God. Be faithful to your commitment so you can be a benefit to the rest of the body of Jesus Christ. And so we pass it on. You know, I've never liked this idea of you having all this knowledge and never passing it on, like not passing it on. You know, anything I know about the Bible, you can ask me. I'll tell you what I know at least. I'm not going to hide it from you. I'm not going to charge you money to know the truth of God's Word. Okay, church is a place you can come, and the wisdom, the teaching should come out freely. You know, if God has shown us great truths, we should show others the great truths that are found in God's Word. Now, can you please drop down? It's actually, sorry, change books. Go to Hebrews chapter 5. Go to Hebrews chapter 5. Hebrews chapter 5. And Nicholas, can you get me a drink of water if there's any water? But Hebrews chapter 5, please. Hebrews chapter 5 and verse number 12. Hebrews chapter 5 and verse number 12. It says here, For when, for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again, which be the first principles of the oracles of God. So you've got the apostle, I believe the apostle Paul writes the book of Hebrews. He tells the Jews, listen, you ought to be teachers by now. You know, you've heard the truth. You've been in church. You know, you've seen Christ. You've learned the truths of Jesus Christ. And he goes, there are so many of you that have received great truths, you've received great training, but you ought to be teachers by now. Instead, what are you? You're someone that needs to be taught the same things again and again. The first principles of the oracles of God. The very fundamental truths. It's like, man, you know you need to read your Bible. You forgot to read your Bible. You know you ought to be in church. You forgot to go to church. You know you ought to be soul winning. You're not soul winning. You ought to be confessing your sins to the Lord on a regular basis. You're not doing those things. You ought to love and serve the brethren. You're not loving and serving the brethren. Just the most basic things, they've forgotten. And what do we learn there? That we can be Christians that forget the most basic things when it comes to God's word. And so we should not be that way. We should not remain babes in Christ. We should learn and grow, and then for the Lord to use us to be teachers of His word. It says, let me just read verse 12 all over again. For when for the time you ought to be teachers, you have need that one teacher again, which should be the first principles of the oracles of God, and are become as have need of milk and not strong meat. So let's keep going, verse number 13. For everyone that useth milk is unskillful in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. Now is there anything wrong with being a babe? Anything wrong with being a baby? Is there anything wrong with baby Elias back there being held by mum? Is there a problem being a little baby? Of course not. In fact, right now he serves a perfect illustration. He's having milk right now. That's what babies need. They need a lot of milk. They love their milk. It helps them grow. And you know what? The Bible has a lot of great milk that's going to help us grow. But you know what? Yes, milk is great when you're a newborn. Milk is great when you're one year old or even sometimes two years old. But boy, if you're 20 years old and you're still drinking milk, you're still needing the milk and you avoid everything else. I still need my milk. There's something wrong. You haven't grown. Now obviously that won't happen with a real man. A real human being is going to need more than milk in life. But when it comes to a spiritual man, that can happen. The spiritual man can remain a little baby. And we want that babe to grow up. We want that babe, that new man that God has given us, to grow, mature, become perfect in Christ, and then be able to then teach others strong meat. Because it says in verse 14, But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, just like an adult, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. So I said to you, I do believe teaching is a ministry for all of us. Soul winning is a ministry for all of us. Teaching the gospel is a ministry for all of us. But even if you're in a family, you also are a teacher within your family unit. Please turn to Ephesians chapter 5. Turn to Ephesians chapter 5. Ephesians chapter 5 and verse number 25. Ephesians chapter 5 and verse number 25. The Bible reads, Love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for it. Let's get going. Verse number 26. So what is it that Christ does to the church? He washes, he cleanses the church. How? By the washing of water by the word. This is why we have preaching. We preach God's word so we can wash away the filthiness of our sins. So that we can be better people, we can be more holy, we can make little improvements in our life to be more Christ-like. And then it says in verse number 27 that And then look at verse number 28. A lot of people forget this bit. So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. So like in the same way that Christ loves the church, in the same way that Christ washes the church with his word and helps to get rid of those blemishes and those spots and those wrinkles, in the same way so ought men to love their wives as their own bodies, he that loveth his wife loveth himself. So men, what is the Bible teaching us here? Yes, to love your wives, but specifically how to love your wives in this sense. Teach her the word. Teach her the Bible. Her husband ought to be the spiritual leader in the house. And our wives, ourselves, we've got issues. We're not perfect. We're going to have shortcomings. And you know what? As a husband, you are there to be an instructor for your wife. And say, honey, look, I know we've been doing it this way for this long. Not just you, myself as well, honey. You don't want your wife to think you're just pointing things at her. Or this is an issue, the way you're feeling in this situation. Let me just show you a story here in the Bible. Let me just show you a teaching here, a principle that I think is going to help you. And men, we ought to be teachers of our wives, helping her along with the word of God. And I was going to say something else, but I kind of forgot my point there. Anyway, the point being that even within a family, you have a teacher. The husband is the teacher of the wife, helping her, getting rid of the little issues and problems through the teaching of God's word. Now, let me just quickly read to you from Deuteronomy 11, 18. Deuteronomy 11, verse 18, it says, Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontlets between your eyes. And ye shall teach them, your children, speaking of them, when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. You know what else the Bible says? That in a family, if you're a mother or if you're a father, we ought to be teaching our children. You know, every situation of life, we think, okay, I'll teach my children, I'll take them to church till they learn the Bible. No, you need to teach your children. I mean, it's great you take them to church. It's wonderful, okay? But they're going to learn a lot more when mom and dad are teaching them, okay? Oh, well, I take my kids to the public school system, and they'll teach. No, no, you're teaching your children. This is why homeschooling is such an advantage, because every situation in life, you're going to be with your kids. You know, you're not going to have this mindset, well, my kids are getting education for those four, five hours, I don't know how many hours in school, I forgot now, six hours of schooling, therefore I don't need to worry myself in that area. No, a lot of you guys know that our schooling system fails, not just in the academics, but also in the social, what's the word I'm looking for? Social justice, the mode of this world, the wickedness of this world. You know, we need to protect our kids. You know, parents, we are teachers. Husband, you are a teacher of your wife. And so please don't think that teaching is this thing, you know, you've got to get a certificate at this university, I'm a teacher, you know, like some countries in the world don't have chilies like that, you know, you go through university, I'm a teacher, look at me, I'm a teacher. If you're husband, you're a teacher. If you're a mother, you're a teacher, okay? We've all been given the responsibility to teach others, okay? All right, so if we're all going to be teachers, and again, I'm kind of, I guess I'm focusing this sermon on the men that are going to be teaching on Sundays, so I want you men to really pick this up. Look, it's applicable to any teaching situation. And I've got six things that I want you to think about, and if you realize that you lack in some of these areas, please fix it up, please tighten it up so you can be a more effective teacher than you can be more beneficial, more profitable to the body of Jesus Christ, okay? Please turn to James, actually no, please turn to Proverbs chapter 18. Please turn to Proverbs chapter 18. Proverbs chapter 18, please. While you're turning to Proverbs 18, I'm going to read to you from James chapter 1 verse 19. James chapter 1 verse 19 reads, Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear. Be quick to listen. Listen to other people, listen to other positions, listen to other opinions, okay? Be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath. The first point that I have for you tonight, brethren, is in order for you to be an effective teacher, to teach others, you need to be a strong listener yourself. You need to be able to hear what other people are saying, right? When someone says to me, pastor, I'm struggling in this Bible passage or I'm struggling to understand this doctrine or this idea, can you show me, and I get behind the pulpit and I teach on that doctrine and I just teach, you know, we are right and this is their position and amen, we believe this, but I don't address the question. I don't address the challenge that that individual had. Have I really benefited him? I haven't listened to what they have to say. You know, when it comes to, obviously, preaching behind the pulpit, you know, you can't, you know, you can't really apply this idea of the strong listener very easily because preaching behind the pulpit, it's pretty much a one-way thing. You know, sometimes I'll ask you for, you know, I'll ask a question, you know, does anyone know what this is, does anyone know that? Sometimes I'll ask the question, but mostly when it comes to behind the pulpit, it's a one-way teaching situation, isn't it? But what would be a two-way situation that we do in our church? That would be like going door to door soul winning. You know, and some people sometimes, yeah, they've got their soul winning plan, they've got their verses, that's wonderful, great, that's a good start, but then it's like, well, I get to the door, I've just got to give my spiel, right? I've just become a robot and I've just got to get through my plan and it doesn't matter how they react, I've just got to get through my plan and hopefully they get saved. But listen, you know, one of the great things about going door to door soul winning is that you learn to be a strong listener. You start to pick up the signs if they've understood what you've said or whether they're struggling at some point. And they start to pick up, are they paying attention or are they losing interest, you know, and it's good when you go door to soul winning, not just to here's my plan and you shut up and I'll tell you, hey, it's good to ask questions along the way, get that person involved. You know, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, do you know what sin is, do you know what a sinner is? Yes, I do. Well, give me an example of what a sin is. Start asking questions so you can, you know, what's the word I'm looking for? Capture their attention. You know, there can be feedback. You can hear what they're saying. And you know what, when you start to pick up what others are saying, you're going to be a much more effective teacher because you're actually addressing the issues or the confusion that they have. So obviously they're going to learn a lot better. You know, when I come behind the pulpit, one thing that I've learnt to do is be repetitive. And I don't know if it comes across as being repetitive, but I say the same things, you know, different ways at different times. Right? I might quote it. I'm doing it right now. I might quote it a different way. You know, I might turn to another barber verse and show it from a different angle. What I've just done, I've just done it. I've just said the same thing three times. Because sometimes you don't get it the first time. It doesn't really click. Or maybe someone doesn't understand that style of language or they can relate to another way better than the others. Okay? And that's the idea is to be a strong listener, paying attention, understand the people that you're teaching. And brethren, we're not just coming to show our intellect. We're not just coming to show how much we know the Bible. You know, we're actually trying to teach people. We want the church family to walk away saying, boy, I've learnt something in the Bible today. You know, I've been reminded of some great truth that I've kind of forgotten. You know, I didn't realize the Bible was actually saying that the way, you know, I'm doing it right now, the repetition thing. But, you know, the idea is that people would walk away having learnt a little more. You know, this isn't just a teaching show. Look at how I can teach. Look at my wonderful illustrations. Look how wise I am. You know, I hope wisdom comes out. I hope the wisdom of God comes out. Okay, I hope, you know, you gain from the teaching but that you've benefited from it. That you can say, boy, it was actually worth coming to church tonight. I learnt something new. I've been encouraged in God's Word. That's what we want people to walk away from when they come to church but it's about paying attention to what others are saying. You know, I'm preaching chapter by chapter through the Bible. I also sometimes preach through series and I have like different objectives. But, you know, at the same time, I'm not so strict on what I'm teaching. I'll adjust my sermons or I'll preach a random sermon if I feel like there's been a conversation in the church or I get questions all the time. Sometimes I get phone calls or emails or whatever. People ask me questions. And sometimes those questions will spur in my mind a sermon that I should preach. So I am actually, in a sense, even though this is a one-way channel, preaching behind the pulpit, I still am listening to what I'm hearing and then in the future at some point I'll be preaching about that topic because, you know, it's things that I've been thinking about. So it's fresh on my mind. So usually when things are fresh on your mind, that's a good idea to preach on that issue. Okay? But it's about being a strong listener. You're in Proverbs 18 verse number 2. I'd better fast forward. Point number 1 has taken me a long time. But Proverbs 18 verse number 2, it says, A fool hath no delight in understanding. A foolish person doesn't want to learn anymore. All right? This is why he's foolish. You know, he doesn't delight. He doesn't enjoy learning. He doesn't enjoy understanding things. But notice this. But that his heart may discover itself. That his heart may discover itself. What does that mean? To discover himself. He basically, he wants to tell everybody what he knows. Okay? He wants his heart to basically discover who he is. Guys, look at me. I'm so knowledgeable. I know all these things. You know, he refuses to listen. He refuses to learn. He refuses to get other understanding. And he just comes out and opens his mouth about everything he seemingly knows. But everyone then knows he's foolish. Okay? Because he's just speaking about himself. And that's the issue. And you've got to be careful with this. As a teacher, you don't want to be someone. I'm just here to preach. Look at me. I'm so wonderful. You know? Pat me on the back. Good job, Pastor Kevin. Well done. No, brethren. You know what? Let's understand what other people are going through. Understand the difficulties that people have so we can then be a benefit to others. Don't be foolish. Keep learning. Keep listening to what others are saying. Please go to, in the same chapter, Proverbs 18, verse number 13. This is a much more familiar verse. Proverbs 18 and verse number 13. He that answerth a matter, before he heareth it, it is a folly and shame unto him. Okay? He that answerth a matter. If you speak and you're addressed in a situation before you've even heard what they're saying, before you even try to gather what they're... You know, sometimes I've observed this, brethren. I think I've observed this in the past. But I think overall, when I look at my brothers and sisters in the Lord, especially in part of my church, we've all gotten better at this. Okay? And I'm just talking in general. I'm not trying to pinpoint anybody. But there's been this time where, maybe going back a few years, I felt like that if someone was wrong in doctrine, it's like, let's quickly just correct that guy. Let's just shut him down. Oh, no, that's wrong. This is the right thing to believe. But you know what? It's not just about shutting someone down. That is wrong. What are we trying to do? We're trying to teach that person. We're trying to say, hey, look, we want you to come along over here. But what's going to get them from wrong doctrine to right doctrine? You understanding why they believe that. You understanding why they've gotten confused. You understanding what verses they're struggling with. You know, it's once you understand where the problem is, then you can go and address their confusion. And once you've made clarity of that confusion, then it's much easier for them to come along to your side. It's not just, well, you're wrong. I'm right. That doesn't help anybody. Anybody can win an argument. Anybody can say you're wrong and I'm right. You know what people love to do when they're Christians? Oh, I believe the Bible. You don't believe the Bible. Anybody can say that. That's not it. Are you able to show people where they're wrong? Are you able to understand and listen to where they're coming from? Answer for matter before he hear of it. You've got to listen to what people are saying. Then open your mouth. Then instruct. Then teach. But brethren, to be a good teacher, you must be, first, a strong listener. Please go to Proverbs 24. Please go to Proverbs 24. We'll get to the second point now. Proverbs 24 and verse number 27. Proverbs 24, verse number 27. I've preached on this verse. I love this verse. This is really like, you know, it's interesting. I would say this is like one of my life verses. What do we learn there from the very beginning? Prepare thy work. Brethren, the second point in order for you to be a good teacher is be prepared. Please don't think you can leave a sermon to the last minute. You know, I'll just give it an hour of preparation. I'll give it ten minutes of preparation. I'll just give it the day before preparation. Now, listen, I actually prepare, honestly. Like today, only prepared today. Sometimes I prepare the day before or on the same day, but you need to understand I've also got a lot of experience. I've been doing this for a long time. I'm preaching three, four sermons a week for the past four years. Obviously, I've gained how to better give myself time management and because I'm preaching like four sermons now, it's much better for me to have sermons that are fresh in my mind so I can kind of remember what I've said when I'm preaching so many a week. But, brethren, you know, you need to give it time. You need to give preparation. You know, because people will pick up whether you've actually prepared. You know, a good target, if you're going to be a preacher behind the pulpit, a good target for preaching would be to aim between 40 minutes to an hour. You know, 40 minutes, don't go over an hour. It gets a bit too long. I go sometimes over an hour and I'm usually apologetic, right? But, you know, you should be able to get through. And, look, if you think this is going to definitely go longer than an hour, maybe think about making that a two-part sermon or something, right? But 40 minutes to an hour, make that your goal, okay? And the reason I say this is because, especially in my church, here we know we've got people that travel from Canberra. We've got people that travel from the country of Victoria. That's pretty far, okay? Some people travel half an hour, 40 minutes, maybe an hour sometimes to get to church. On the Sunshine Coast, same thing. I've got a family that travels an hour and a half and another family that travels three hours and, you know, people travel. And to me, I kind of think, okay, people are traveling this far, okay? I mean, look, if someone's going to travel three hours, okay, one and a half hours to go to church, one and a half hours to get back home, three hours, then they should at least deserve three hours of me preparing, at the very minimum, right? Like, they committed three hours to come to church and I can't, I preach a 15-minute little sermon. Here you go. That's a little pat on the back. It's like, was it worth it? Was it worth the effort? What I'm trying to say to you, brethren, is that, you know, our brethren in our churches, we actually travel quite a distance. I understand why it's difficult for people to get to church. It's not like we all live just in the local community. You know, a lot of churches are like that. You know, the church members are just part of the people that are just locally, you know, or maybe families, you know, different generations. So you've had people in the local community and they have kids and they got married and the church is made up of families. But when it comes to our church, people actually want to travel. People want to travel to listen to the preaching. Why? Because they trust that this church is going to preach the truth. You know, and they don't just trust Pastor Kevin Sepulveda. They believe that there must be faithful men in this church as well that are able to preach them some great truths, so it's worth coming to the house of God for fellowship to meet the Lord Jesus Christ, to have the presence of Christ before them, to be moved by the Holy Spirit, and to receive some great teaching from God's Word. Let that be a bit of pressure for those that are going to preach, okay? Let that be a bit of pressure. Oh, man, you know, it's going to take me a long time to prepare. All right, think about your brethren that are going to travel. Think about all the traveling time so they can come and hear you preach and teach them some great truth about the Bible. That gets me, you know, motivated. That gets me putting my head down, studying, thinking, concentrating, making sure that I'm giving them something worthwhile. Can you please turn to Proverbs 21? Proverbs chapter 21. Actually, you are there. You are there. Actually, no, you're not. Sorry. I'm getting confused now. Go to Proverbs 21. Proverbs 21. Like I said, I'm preaching from my mobile phone. It's a little bit small here, okay? Go to Proverbs 21. And it says here in Proverbs 21 verse 31, Proverbs 21 verse 31, The horse is prepared. Remember, this is my second point. Be prepared. The horse is prepared against the day of battle. But safety is of the Lord. But safety is of the Lord. Now, listen, if the Lord God is calling us to battle, and actually we are. We're spiritual soldiers for the Lord Jesus Christ. We are soldiers for the Lord, aren't we? Yeah. We are called to battle. It's a spiritual battle, though. Okay, so, okay, we've got to battle. But listen, you know, it's the Lord's job to keep us safe. You know, the Lord's going to protect us. You know, if we walk in his righteous paths and we do the best, we serve the Lord Jesus Christ as best as we know, then we can be sure that the Lord Jesus Christ will protect us. And Brethren, if we're destroyed and we lose, well, that's God's will. You know, if we lose our life for Jesus Christ, well, we are going to lose our life at some point. Okay? Hey, what a great thing to lose our life for Jesus Christ. I think there is great rewards for that. Okay? But, you know, at the same time, yeah, Jesus Christ is going to help me. All right? So, you know what? Okay, it's my turn to preach this Sunday. All right, you know what? But safety is of the Lord. Christ, you know what? I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. And those verses are great. So I'm not going to prepare. I'm just going to turn up on Sunday morning. I'm just going to turn to some random passage and do the best I can. That's not what this is teaching. The horse is prepared against the day of battle. So even though safety is of the Lord, you still have to prepare for battle. Okay? And Brethren, this is the sword of the Spirit. Preaching God's Word is a battle. I am battling the old man. I am battling the lust that we have in our flesh. We are battling Satan. Hey, battling Satan in Baptist Church. That was one suggestion from the kids for the name of a church. We are battling the Word, you know? We're battling weakness. This is a sword, Brethren. We're going to battle. But listen, let's prepare. If you've got a horse, prepare for battle. Prepare the horse. What's the point of having a horse that you've never ridden before? You know? And think, oh, this horse is going to help me in the day of battle. I've never ridden him before. I didn't even know how to ride a horse. But it's going to work, right? Horse, you know, the safety is of the Lord. No, you're going to get destroyed. You get that horse as ready as you can. You put a saddle on it. You put the bridle, the reins. You start to learn to control it. You tame that wild beast if you have to. You teach it to follow orders. You might need to put some armor on that horse. Get him ready for that battle. Teach in that horse directions. And then you go to war. And you say, man, I've prepared as best as I can. Now it's up to you, Lord. I've done everything I can, Lord. It's up to you. And, Brethren, yes, when I come up to preach behind the pulpit, I say, Lord, it's up to you. Please give me your spirit. There are things that I've forgotten. I've prepared my sermon. I kind of forgot them now. As I'm getting ready to preach. I need your help, Lord. But you know what? Have I prepared? Of course I've prepared. I've prepared as best as I can. Again, today, a little bit limited time because I'm traveling from the Sunshine Coast. A little bit tired. My mind's a little bit foggy. But look, it's the best I can. I'm going to put my best foot forward and the rest is up to you, Lord. The rest is up to you, God. But the point is, be prepared. Prepare yourself. Don't forget, you're preaching. You're trying to teach the people of God. You know, we're not just trying to have church service for the sake of having church service. We want to walk away having learned some great truth from His Word. Can you please go to Proverbs 14? Proverbs 14. I'll get to my third point now. Proverbs chapter 14. Now before we read Proverbs 14, I'm going to read to you from 1 Thessalonians chapter 5 and verse number 14. It says, Now we exhort you brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feeble-minded, support the weak, be patient toward all men. Be patient toward all men. You know, one of the weaknesses that I see in a lot of Christians, myself included, is patience. Because tribulation works with patience. And if you've been living in Australia, we have a lot of luxuries. Even this COVID restrictions, tribulations, not really, come on guys. You all look well fed. You've all had a house to sleep in. It's not like there's been bombs dropping your house like in some places that have gone through warfare. You know, you're not going through famine. I mean, you know, I know we wine. We are a nation of winers though. That's what we are. But you know, the Bible tells us that patience, to develop patience we must have tribulations. And that's why sometimes I think as Christians especially in Australia, we just don't have the patience. Because we don't have the tribulations. Tribulations come, we wine. But actually, that's what's going to give us patience. Oh COVID, it's a little bit of tribulation. We're wining already. Come on. You know, God wants to use that to work as patience. But the Bible says, be patient toward all men. You know, the third point that I believe is point number three. Let me just double check there. Point number three, brethren, is you must have patience. If you're going to be a teacher, you must have patience. And if you're going to be a pastor, you better have the patience. Because people aren't, you know, you're going to have expectations. You're going to think, because I thought, you know, by year number two of our church, by year number three, by year number four, you know, we're going to be like a 200. I never preach this stuff, because who knows, right? But I'm just hopeful, right? We're going to be a 200-member church. We're going to be studying churches all over the place, in Melbourne and in Adelaide and in Perth. We're going to be doing so many marathons, you know, everywhere. And you know, Lord willing, all these things happen. I hope so. But you know what? You need patience, because you can't control growth. You can teach God's Word, but you know, as growth as numbers go, you know, people come, people go. And you've got to learn how to be patient. You know, sometimes you want your church members to be a little bit more mature in the Lord Jesus Christ. You want them to have and learn things, and you realize, oh man, my church members, they haven't really learned the things that I've been covering the last year. You know, but here's the thing, you've got to teach them again. Okay? It's not about just losing your temper and why aren't you guys growing? You know, what's wrong with you all? Come on, guys. You've got to be patient. People need time to grow. You know, babes to an adult takes 20 years, doesn't it? We're talking about a babe having the milk of the Word of God. To become an adult, you need at least 20 years. We need to be patient. Growth takes a long time. And you know, people learn at different rates. You're there in Proverbs 14, verse 29. Proverbs 14, verse 29, it says, You see, if you're hasty, what's that? That would be opposite of patience, right? You're hasty. You want things done. You want things quickly. Come on. You know, fast food. You know, McDonald's, you go for a drive-thru. You know, if you're waiting, you know, two minutes, you're already complaining. Come on, guys. Fast food. But you know, Bible growing and preaching is not fast food. This is the meat of God's Word. It takes time. It takes time to digest, absorb, and we forget. You know, you probably forgot what I even preached last week. You know, I mean, we need to just be patient. People grow at different rates. I know, you know, going to... I think I've shared this before in this church, but I'm a slow learner. I'm actually a really slow learner. You know, every time I've taken on a new job, I'm like, you know, if I'm being trained with other people on the job, they're excelling much faster than me, okay? I take time. In fact, sometimes I tell my instructor. I tell them, look, I'm not stupid, okay? I'm just a slow learner, okay? You know, I'm not the kind of guy that wants to learn, you know, ten things at once. I'd rather just learn the one thing and learn it well and learn it really well so I'll never have any more questions about that first one and then get to my number two issue and learn that really well. You know, and then not have any questions about that. Then get to, you know, the others, they're learning ten things at once, okay? Yeah, in the short run, you know, and this is what I tell my trainers. Look, this is how I am. I really need to get grounded. Please don't get frustrated at me if I'm asking questions. You know, I'm not trying to slow down the process. This is just how my brain works. I really need to understand. I don't want to just... Which button do I press, boss? Oh, that one? Okay. I don't want to be that kind of worker, okay? Which button? What button do I have to press, boss? That one. Okay, but why am I pressing this one? You know, is there another button that we can press? You know, does it have to be this one? Why? But in the short run, I'm a slow learner, but in the long run, I'm actually more effective in the end, okay? Because when it comes to things that are outside of the box, outside of the box thinking, when it comes to troubleshooting, things aren't working well or I can find ways to improve and make us more efficient, more productive, that's where my strengths are because I've understood things really well from a fundamental level, but I needed patience and people need patience with me so I can learn those things, get grounded well in those things and move forward. And listen, one thing with our children, 11 children, my wife homeschools, I think, 9 out of 11 right now. They're all at different ages. They're all at different years. And they all learn differently. Some kids are more academic than others, right? Some kids, they can learn something once and they've got it. Others, they need to learn it again and again. You know, some people are very good with theory and books and some people, they're not and they need their hands on. They need to do it themselves, you know? Some people can watch and learn and say, no, I need to get in there, I need to press that button, I need to move that drill, bang that hammer, so I know what I have to do. And we just all learn differently. This is why we need patience. This is why we need repetition, you know, to teach the same things again and again because, you know, we're all at different stages in our life. I could teach something and, you know, you're not there and really, you know, you think, oh, that's a good sermon, but, you know, I'm not there in life. My wife preached about being a good husband and you say, well, you know, that's good. You know, I hope that I can be a good husband one day, but then maybe you get married one day and now that sermon's a lot more relevant to your situation and you can learn a lot more. So we're always at different stages in our growth. Can you please go to Proverbs 22? Proverbs 22 and verse number 6. Proverbs 22 verse number 6. Bible says, train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it. I actually already spoke about this verse a little bit ahead and I said to you that a child takes, how long does that child need to be to become old, to become an adult? 20 years, right? In the Bible it's 20 years. We say 21, do we? No, we say 18 in Australia. I think in America you've got to be 21 years old to be considered an adult, okay? But listen, it takes time. Train up a child in the way he should go. You know, it requires patience, requires patience. Could you imagine, you know, people, you know, just think about one child. Think about how many years, how much work you require with that one child. What if that child has a sibling? What if there's three? What if there's four? What if there's five children in that family? What if there's 10? What if there's 11? You know, the patience for one, now you've got to do it 11 times. And this is why I'm so blessed to have my wife. I'm not trying to boast of her, but I know how much work she puts into the lives of her children. And, you know, the goal is that our children will get to a point where they're old enough and we don't have to teach them anymore, you know? And they won't depart from the things that we've taught them before. Are they going to make mistakes? Of course. Are they going to disobey and be rebellious? Of course. We've all done it, okay? But the goal is that they would then be men. Wow, I didn't have to go through these mistakes. I didn't have to make these errors. If I just listen to mum and dad from the very beginning, now I get it, right? When you become an adult and you become a father and I don't think about the things my parents taught me, now I get why my dad taught me that. Now I get why my mum taught me that. It makes sense now. Thank you, mum and dad, for teaching me all those things, but I didn't get it when I was young. It didn't make sense. Hey, but, you know, you teach things while they're young, patience, they take time to grow, then the goal is that they would be able to then move on and continue in the paths that they've been taught. So once again, brethren, the third point that I have for you today is patience. So far, point number one was be a strong listener, point number two was be prepared, and point number three was be patient. All right. Can you please now turn to 1 Corinthians 9. 1 Corinthians 9. I'll try to speed up now. 1 Corinthians 9. And the passage that I'm going to read to you first is Philippians 2 verse 3, which says, Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. And this is another verse that I just love. You know, when I look at this church, and I look at whoever you are, I don't care who you are, even if it's my own children, even if it's someone that's new to church or a baby in Christ, when I look at each one of you, the Bible tells me I have to esteem you better than myself. You know, each one of you, in my mind, you're better than me. And you know what you ought to be thinking about others in the church? They're better than me. You know, and just lifting one another and just esteem each other as our brothers and sisters in the Lord. There's a reason for this. Verse number four, Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. Let this mind be new, which was also in Christ Jesus. I love this. This mind was in Christ Jesus. He looked upon others. What do others need? How can I teach that? We know Christ was the greatest teacher on the earth, okay? And he looked at others and said, You know what? I'm going to esteem them. I'm going to make sure that I tailor my teaching for them. He taught them in so many different ways. You know, sometimes he taught them through illustrations. You know, he taught the same stories in different times that he went out. If you look at the life of Christ and you put it all together, you'll notice that Christ taught the same doctrines again and again to different situations, different groups of people, et cetera, et cetera. But Christ would tailor his teaching to others. You know, again, he wasn't just, What do I have to tell people? He's looking at others and going, How can I teach them? In what way do I teach them? What do they need to understand? Christ tailored his preaching and his teaching to other people. So this is why I've got you here in 1 Corinthians chapter 9, verse number 19, and I haven't given you the fourth point yet. The fourth point, brethren, is to be a good teacher, you have to be adaptable. You have to be adaptable, okay? Sometimes you might be on the job. If you've got a trained position, you're training new people, and you think, You know what? All these learners, they need to be adaptable to me. They need to basically get my, you know, this is how I train, and if you don't follow along, then you're fired. You need to just get out of here. No, we actually, if you want to be a really good teacher, you have to be adaptable to each person that's in that situation, each person that's in that environment. And adaptable. So look at 1 Corinthians chapter 9, verse 19. And, you know, the Apostle Paul gives us this adaptability as he's going around teaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. Verse number 19 says, For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain them all. You know what? Teaching others is to be a servant. That's what it is, okay? Teaching, you know, to teach isn't, I've got the authority, you know, I'm the boss here, you know, listen to what I gotta say, I'm teaching, guys. No. Teaching is service. You're passing on information. You're helping others gain truth from God's word. Why does he do this? To gain them all? I want more people to come to Jesus Christ. Verse number 20, And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews. To them that are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law. To them that are without law, the Gentiles as it were, as without law, being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ, that I might gain them that are without law. To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak. I am made all things to all men that I might by all means save some. Save some. So what's he doing? Preaching the gospel. Does he have the same plan? Guys, just open the door, alright, here's my spiel. I don't care who you are. Here's my same spiel over and over again. He thinks, hey, who's at the door? Is it a child? Is it an adult? Is it an older person? You know, there are times that people have told me that I've just, you know, I've just lost a loved one now. You know, I'm just, you know, this thought of the gospel and going to heaven, it's too fresh for me. I've just lost, you know what? I'm not like, come on. I just, you know what? If you don't hear it, you're going to go to hell. If someone's lost a loved one, you can see them going through sorrow and mourning. Guess what, I'm going to be a lot more gentle with that person. You know, I'm still going to try to get to the gospel. I'll be saying, well, you know what? The lost loved one that you're thinking about right now, right now, he would want you nothing more than to hear how to get to heaven. Even if that lost loved one is in hell. I know that lost loved one wants them to know how to go to heaven. Okay, we see that example with the rich man that went to hell, right? No, he didn't have a name, right? Because he was with Lazarus. And then wait, he wanted for Lazarus to be returned back so his brothers could hear the gospel, so they could avoid hell. So that's what I tell people. I don't tell them, yeah, your lost loved one's in hell. I just say, look, wherever they are, I don't even say wherever they are. I say, look, that your lost loved one would want you to know how to get to heaven right now. And I try to be as gentle as I can to someone that is mourning, someone that is sorrowful. There's been times that I'm sure we've all had these experiences. I once went to the soul winning and I can't remember all of the stories, right? I can't remember everyone that I've given the gospel to and seen saved or the adventures. Sometimes people come, you know that time we went soul winning and this person, I'm like, not really. I don't remember anymore because I talk to so many people, right? But the ones that kind of stay in my mind are usually the really awkward ones. And the ones that I remember right now are, you know, I was speaking to a lady who was mentally handicapped, you know, and I stood at her door for even for an hour trying to help her understand the gospel. And it's like, I felt like we were just on the same issue again and we weren't really moving forward and then we'd move forward and like I'd have to go backwards and explain something else and I'm kind of thinking, man, am I wasting my time here? You know, could it be that, you know, this is just a hindrance to my work? Maybe there's someone else down the street that needs to hear it but it's not like we've been argumentative. She wants to understand it. She wanted to give me time but she's definitely, she was mentally handicapped, all right? It took an hour but guess what? She eventually understood and believed and called upon the name of the Lord. Amen, okay? But you know what that needed? Patience. I could have been, this is, it's been half an hour now. It's been 40 minutes now. We're still on, you know, Christ came to die on the cross for you. We're still here. You know what? I'll see you later. No, sometimes we need patience. We need to be mindful. You know, be adaptable. I'm saying patience. We need patience as well. Adaptable, adaptable, okay? I'm in another situation. I went and another one hour long gospel presentation and this was an African lady. She had a whole bunch of kids in her house and English was her second language and she had kids running around, okay? And she wanted to hear it, okay? But because English wasn't her first language she had to, you know, explain it in different ways and sometimes she'd be distracted by the children. I started to get a bit frustrated. I'm like, okay, you know, she's English's second language. We've got to give her time and now we're into it. Again, I'm kind of getting frustrated but you know what? She caught upon them a little. Not just her but some of the children that were with her also bowed their heads and caught upon the Lord. I don't know if those children got saved because I don't know how much of the presentation they got but, you know, adaptability is so important for you to be able to teach others. Again, you're thinking about others. You're esteeming others better than yourself. So, this is the goal and when I preach behind the pulpit my goal is that my children would understand what I'm saying. I try to preach at a level that children will be able to walk away and get, you know, I believe they'll walk away getting something out of it. You know, sometimes you might go to church and some pastors they talk over your head. They use big words, right? The intellect and the children, well, the children out there they've got to go to Sunday school because the children don't get what's going on, right? So, they need some watered down lesson in the Sunday school because the preaching is just too great, too wonderful for the children. My goal is to teach my children. If I know if my children are going to get it then hopefully everyone else is going to get it if I target it at that kind of level. So, adaptability. Alright, can you please go to what can I get it to turn to? Yeah, please turn to Philippians chapter 4. Philippians chapter 4. Philippians chapter 4, please. And while you're turning to Philippians chapter 4 I'm going to read to you from James chapter 1 verse 22 which says, But be ye doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. But be ye doers. Now, we often apply this when you hear teaching of God's word, yeah, it's great that you heard it now go and do it. Yes, okay. But in reference to being a teacher the next point that I have for you, point number 5, is set an example. You know what, make sure that if you're going to be teaching that you can also show by example the things that you're teaching. Now, some people have said to me you should never teach something that you are not like 100% on board with or you shouldn't preach about a sin that you're struggling with. Well then, I don't know, I'm going to cut up my Bible a lot if I start doing that because I'm not this wonderful, perfect man that's got it all right. My goal is just to teach the whole counsel of God. As I am teaching others I'm also teaching myself. Study to show thyself approved. Yeah, I'm teaching myself a lot of the times. But you know, the best way for someone to learn is not just to hear you say it but then to see you do it as well. You know, if you're preaching about soul winning that's wonderful but then others need to see you actually go and do the soul winning as well. If you teach about reading the Bible then people need to see that you're someone that reads the Bible, that you speak about the Bible. You know, these are things that have to come together. Send the example is a great way to teach. And you're there in Philippians 4, look at this, verse number 9. Philippians 4, verse number 9. So, you know, the Philippian church has been told, look, the things that you've learnt, great. The things that you've received, great. And heard, you know, you've been hearing some preaching, hey, that's great. But then the next part says, Do. The apostle Paul says, yes, you've received God's word, you know, you've heard God's word, you've learnt God's word, but not only that, you've seen me do the things that I've taught. Hey, all these things, put it together and do it. Hey, Paul, set the example. Look at what I'm doing. Do what I'm doing. Serve God the way that I'm serving and the God of peace shall be with you. So set an example. And my kids right now, I guarantee, and if you've got kids, you know, your kids are going to be thinking the same thing right now. Yeah, mum and dad tell me to do lots of things, but they don't really set a great example. Yeah, you know what, kids are going to start to see some failings in your parents. Why? Because we're human beings as well. Okay? Yeah, that's going to happen. And listen, kids, when your parents, you're going to be doing the same thing. Your kids are going to look at you going, hey, mum and dad told me the X, Y and Z, but you know what, they don't really do it the way they want me to do things. But yeah, you know what, we are, you know, yes, it is a failing. It's a failing of man. But one of the great ways in order to teach others is to set an example. You see me do it, you do it the same way that I'm doing it. All right, back to Proverbs, please. Please come to Proverbs 21. Proverbs 21, please, and verse number 11. Proverbs chapter 21 and verse number 11. Now, as I'm going through these points, you know, for the men that we'll be preaching, I don't want you to think, Ben, you know what, yep, I'm not doing this or that. I'm not up to speed here. Therefore, I'm not going to preach. Wrong attitude. Wrong attitude. The right attitude is, yeah, you know what, there are places that I am lacking in. Yes, we all lack in different areas. Even me, Reverend. Okay, we all lack. So what do we do? Give up? I can't do it. No, you work on it. You improve it. You try to get better. You go to the Lord, say, Lord, help me work in this area. Help me be better so I can be a better teacher. So I can be a better teacher. That's the right attitude. Not to go, then I can't just teach anyone. No, of course, listen, none of us have made it. None of us are like Jesus Christ just yet. And we won't be until we receive our new resurrected bodies. So I'm not trying to discourage anyone. I'm not trying to make you think, should I quit then? No, serve God, okay? And where you fail, where you have issues, go to the Lord. Ask him for aid. Ask him for help. Mark it down as something you need to work toward so you can be an effective teacher, more effective teacher than you are today. But Proverbs 21 verse 11. Proverbs 21 verse 11. When the scorner is punished, the simple is made wise. And when the wise is instructed, he receiveth knowledge. I kind of started with this thought. But notice here that the wise is instructed, he receiveth knowledge. You think, why does the wise man need to be instructed? I already kind of said to you it. This is point number six. Continue learning. If you want to be a good teacher, continue learning. Don't think you've made it. Don't think you've reached it and now all I have to do is tell others what to do or what others need to believe about the Bible. You continue learning. The wise man still loves instruction. Okay, he gets wiser. He gets more knowledgeable. He becomes a better teacher to pass on the information that he's received. Please turn to Proverbs chapter nine. Proverbs chapter nine and verse number nine. Proverbs chapter nine and verse number nine. Proverbs chapter nine and verse number nine. The Bible says, give instruction to a wise man and he will be yet wiser. Teach a just man and he will increase in learning. Brethren, increase in learning. You know, you're going to come here and preach the Bible, preach behind this pulpit, or you're going to be out there soul winning, or husbands are going to teach your wives the Bible, or mothers are going to teach your kids the ways of the Lord and to help instruct them in this wicked world. Brethren, we need to keep learning. We need to keep gaining knowledge. You know, let us never be people that when we get to an older age, you know, we retire, you know, we've worked hard, we've retired now, you know, now it's just relax. No, keep gaining wisdom. The wise man gains knowledge. Keep learning. Keep instructing. Keep training. Otherwise, your brain's going to turn to mush. All right? You need to keep working that brain like you work a muscle so it can be empowered, so you can be more effective, so you can gain more knowledge. Again, for what reason? So you can be a teacher to others. Please go to Proverbs chapter 18. Proverbs chapter 18, verse number 15. Proverbs chapter 18, verse number 15. Proverbs 18, verse 15. The heart of the prudent getteth knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeketh knowledge. Do you seek knowledge? Oh, I've made it. I know it all. Then you're not wise. You're a fool. Okay? The wise man will continue to seek knowledge. You're already wise. Keep seeking knowledge. Keep learning. Keep growing. The Bible, you'll never get to the bottom of it. You'll never. You know, I could preach. I could go. I don't know how long it will take, maybe 20 years potentially, to preach through the whole Bible, chapter by chapter, every single week, and brethren, everyone have covered everything. Why? Because this Bible is endless. Every teacher can be applied in so many different ways. Well, I truly believe when we get to heaven, we're going to keep learning. Well, we're going to keep gaining more knowledge. I have no doubt Jesus Christ is going to open his Word and teach us some wonderful truths that we've never heard before. You know what? We'll never get to the end of learning because God's understanding is infinite. We're never going to get to that infinite understanding of God. It's wonderful to know that we can keep gaining knowledge, continue being wiser, being more effective, be able to achieve more in our lives. So, brethren, point number six was continue learning. Please don't think you've made it. Please never think you've reached the pinnacle of a teacher of the Bible. Keep learning. You go backwards the other way. People see it. I've been in church and after a year and a half, the pastor's preaching the same sermons again. It's kind of like he's reached the end of his learning. He's reached the end of his hundred sermons and now he's regurgitating those hundred sermons again. And then he's regurgitating those hundred sermons again. And he's regurgitating those hundred... It's like, man, I've heard this sermon maybe three times. I've been in that situation. I've been there. I think maybe others have been there. I've definitely been there. I'm like, this is the same sermon I heard probably a year and a half ago. Exactly the same. Word for word. What does that demonstrate? That that preacher is not gaining more wisdom. He's not gaining more knowledge. But that's what God wants from us. So, brethren, just in conclusion, we're all teachers. We've all been called to teach. But especially for those that are standing behind this pulpit, these are the six things that I want to leave you with. Number one, be a strong listener. Number two, be prepared. Number three, be patient. Number four, be adaptable. Number five, set an example. And number six, continue learning. Okay, let's pray.