Priest of God and Christ

Well, one of the messages that I gave this year at the Feast of Tabernacles in Abbotsford had to do with our future role of serving as priests of God and Christ in the world tomorrow. And in that message, I focus on a major element of that job description, which is, as priests, we will be the teachers.

We'll be the teachers of the way of God to the people that are living in that age and in that generation. During that message, I covered Isaiah 30 and explained that, again, we would be those teachers offering a helping hand to the individuals of that age and proclaiming to them, this is the way walk in it whenever they turn to the right hand or whenever they turn to the left. I covered the fact that we will help instruct the people in the millennium of the laws of the commandments of the way of God.

We'll help to create an environment that facilitates a rich relationship between those people and their Creator. And in doing so, we're not going to come between mankind and their God, but we'll, in that turn, direct people in a very personal relationship to God. For my message today, brethren, what I'd like to do is take a chunk of that feast message that I gave and focus in on what you and I can be doing today as we prepare ourselves to serve as priests of God and Christ in the world tomorrow.

The Bible indicates that that will, in fact, be our role as the return of Jesus Christ. And we can't expect that it's something that we'll simply walk into without any preparation. The fact is, the Bible does show that we are being prepared now to serve in that role. So let's take a look at that today and see what it is that we can be doing in our lives as we walk through our day-to-day life to prepare to be priests of God and Christ in the world tomorrow.

I would like to begin with a scripture that shows that this is, in fact, the role that we'll be stepping into after the return of Jesus Christ. If you turn please to Revelation 20, Revelation 20. We see the prophecy of what is yet to take place for mankind. Revelation 20 will begin in verse 4. And I'm sure as we understand, Revelation was a message that was given to John by an angel. That message was given to the angel by Jesus Christ.

That message was given to Jesus Christ by God the Father Himself. Revelation 20, beginning in verse 4. And it says, So we see the term a thousand years and we understand that that represents the world tomorrow. It represents the millennial reign of Jesus Christ on this earth. And millennium simply means a thousand years. Verse 5, it says, So at the return of Jesus Christ, the first resurrection then kicks off the beginning of the thousand years. Verse 6, it says, Brethren, how prepared are you for that role?

How prepared am I to serve in that role? And what can we be doing today in order to learn and to grow and prepare ourselves to step into that position at the return of Jesus Christ? We'll examine that today. Now begin with, have you ever given much thought, have you ever considered what it would be like to be a priest of God and Christ? Now the concept of priesthood is probably a little bit of a scary thought to contemplate. In many ways, when we think of being a priest, it's probably a foreign concept in many ways to our thinking.

You know, we tend to think of priests as something that happened and was fulfilled physically under the Old Covenant. Under the New Covenant, Jesus Christ is our high priest. But in terms of serving as a priest, we probably don't give a whole lot of thought to that in our day-to-day life. A priest can have, actually, in some of our minds, a negative connotation because of certain ways in which the priesthood and certain denominations have been portrayed or conducted themselves in certain ways.

But God is calling us and training us now for the position of priests, serving before Him in the world tomorrow. And I believe there's a lot that we can learn about that role by examining what the Word of God has to say about the priesthood historically, about what the function and the responsibility was of the physical priesthood that served before God as it's laid out in Scripture.

The Bible actually has a lot to say about the function of priests. Under the Old Covenant system, the priesthood served in various ways. We're probably most familiar with the fact that the priesthood were in charge of carrying out sacrifices and offerings at the tabernacle and later the temple.

Other priestly functions included the blessing of the people. It included determining the will of God. The priest carried out the various temple duties as it pertained to the showbread and the burning of incense and tending to the fire that was to never go out. They took care of these physical things and these physical services that were conducted in the physical temple of God under the Old Covenant. Of course, as we know, from Scripture the primary function of the priesthood was to be a teacher. They were to live the way of God. They were to demonstrate it. They were to know God's truth and be able to teach it to the people as a part of their function.

Now, the priesthood under the Old Covenant system, again, were to teach the people the laws and the statutes, the ordinances of God, and how they were to apply them and live them in their lives. Brethren, as priests of God and Christ, this will be a primary function of our role in serving in the position of priests in the age to come. The fact is, we will be the teachers. And it's a position we need to be preparing for today. Now, unfortunately, the biblical record shows us that the physical priests didn't always fulfill their requirements as they should have. In fact, it's clear that much of the time they didn't. The record shows that when God's people turned away from serving Him and went off into idolatry, when they went off into rebellion against God, oftentimes the priests did so as well. And at times it was the priests that even that led the charge. The fact is, God doesn't look well in those things. And there were severe consequences in certain cases to their misdeeds. What I'd like to do is take a look this afternoon at a few scriptures that demonstrate what God expects of someone who is serving in the position of priests, and especially as it relates to their function as a teacher. And as we go through these things, we're going to see what lessons that we can learn today and apply in our lives as we prepare to be priests of God and Christ in the world tomorrow. Let's begin by turning over to Ezekiel 44.

Ezekiel 44. This takes place in the middle of a vision that God gave to Ezekiel. And the passage actually looks forward to a future physical temple that will be reestablished in Israel. There will be a physical priesthood that will be reestablished as well. And the scripture here is telling because it shows what God expects of faithful priests that are serving before Him. Now you can go through the book of Leviticus, and you can see many of these things lined out through various passages. But Ezekiel 44, I think, brings it together for us in a nice, nice, tight package. So I'd like to look at a few of these things. Ezekiel 44, beginning in verse 20. Jumping in the middle of the description of priesthood here, it says, So basically the point is they're supposed to remain clean, they're supposed to remain pure in their service before God. Verse 23, it says, So basically the point is they're supposed to remain clean, they're supposed to remain pure in their service before God. Verse 23, it says, So not only would the priest help you with the service before God, but also with the service before God. So not only would the priest help you show the people the difference and teach them the difference between right and wrong, but they would also help to teach them to discern. Discernment goes beyond just saying, do this, don't do that. Discernment moves into judgment and wisdom and exercising those things in order to properly understand the difference between the clean and the unclean. And so the priesthood was supposed to be able to help the people to learn and to grow and to understand in those ways. Verse 24 says, So the priests were to be proficient in exercising judgment according to God's laws, according to his standards and ordinances. So God set the example of living according to the law. When people looked to the priesthood, they were supposed to see an example of someone who was living God's way. And it was an example that should guide and direct the people as well and inspire them and show them what God's way looked like. Because a huge part of teaching others is your example. So God expected that if you were serving in the position of priests before its people, your example would be right, it would be true, and it would be dedicated to living God's way. Now Malachi 2, if you turn over there, contains a rebuke of the priesthood. Malachi 2, I think the rebuke is telling because it shows us what the priests of God should have been doing in his service. Again, God was rebuking them because they had strayed from the calling they had given them. But it's instructive to see what they should have been doing. Malachi 2, beginning in verse 1, it says, So it's a very, very high standard that God holds the priesthood to because they're in a leadership position before the people. They're to be setting the example before the people. And the fact is here they weren't. God's taking them to task. Verse 3, he says, Verse 6, it says, Verse 6, it says, And that's what God expects. That's what God expects from a righteous priest who would serve before him. One that would have his law in their mouth, would be able to teach it, would be living it by example, and then would also be able to convince others and turn them away from their unrighteousness. Verse 7, it says, So as a messenger, he was responsible. He was responsible to deliver God's words, to deliver his instructions and teach them to the people. We see that they were, in fact, tearing them out as well. Verse 8, It says, Again, the rebuke is because the priests were not living up to the standard that God expected of them. They weren't teaching the people as they should have been. They were not taught the people themselves stumbled. God laid that as a very, very high accountability at the feet of those priests who were to be serving before him.

Now, as we look at this section of Scripture, we should be able to notice that there are three distinct attributes that God expects of those priests who would serve before him. And I believe they're points that are important for us to take notice and us to prepare for in our lives today. Point number one is, priests serving before God, they must know the way of God. Priests was expected to know the way. Verse 6 said, So, as a representative, as a messenger of God, he was expected to have a working knowledge of the law of God and the commandments of God, and to be able to show that in both example and application. The second point is, a priest serving before God must go the way. They were expected to be living it. In verse 6 it said, So, the priests must be living in such a way that they're actually living what God requires, that they're actually a physical representation of what God expects and God's standard before the people. And the third point, as priests, the messenger of God, they must show the way. Priests of God must show the way. Again, going back to verse 6, it says, So, the priesthood was expected to teach others the way to live, according to the laws and the standards of God. A priest serving before God, fulfilling his will and his commandments, must be able to know the way, to go the way, and to show the way.

I think for us we can see the importance of developing these aspects in our life today. Now, a prime example of an individual carrying out the function of priesthood in a proper way, in the way in which God directed, can be found in the example of Ezra. Ezra came on the scene at 457 BC, following the Babylonian captivity and the rebuilding of the temple under the rubber belt. Even though the temple was rebuilt, that physical structure had again been replaced, the problem was the people themselves were in need of rebuilding. They were in need of spiritual rebuilding and in need of instruction of the law and standards of God.

Now, the name Ezra means help, and Ezra helped to restore Judah in a very specific way. So let's take a look at that. If we go back now to the book of Nehemiah, Nehemiah chapter 8, we'll see an example of Ezra helping to restore the people. Nehemiah chapter 8.

Nehemiah and Ezra were contemporaries, and Nehemiah returned to Jerusalem 13 years after Ezra did, and he set himself to rebuilding the wall surrounding Jerusalem. So when we come to Nehemiah chapter 8, it begins here just following the completion of the wall. Nehemiah chapter 8, beginning in verse 1.

If we back up just a little bit, it says, Verse 1, it says, So Ezra the priest brought the law before the congregation of men and women, and all who could hear with understanding on the first day of the seventh month. Of course, we understand the first day of the seventh month is the Feast of Trumpets. Verse 3, it says, So here we find Ezra. He's fulfilling his priestly function of standing before the people, teaching people from the law of God. And as the chapter goes on, it describes the people's response, according to Ezra's teaching and the understanding that Ezra and the Levites helped to convey to the people. We jump down now to verse 9 of Ezra chapter 8.

Verse 9, it says, Ezra the priest and the scribe and the Levites, who taught the people, said to all the people, This day is holy to the Lord your God. Do not mourn nor weep, for all the people wept when they heard the words of the law. They wept because they hadn't been keeping it, and they hadn't been carrying on and living and functioning as God had required. Ezra the priest now is bringing this to their attention, and it says, They wept when they heard the words of the law.

Verse 10, So the Levites quieted all the people, saying, Be still, for this day is holy, do not be grieved. And all the people went their way to eat, to drink, to send portions, and rejoiced greatly, because they understood the words that were declared to them. Again, that's the role of the priesthood in action. Ezra took these people, who were not living according to the ways of God. He was expounding the words in the law of God, and Ezra and Nehemiah and the Levites helped to bring the people to understanding. And there was great rejoicing before God. Verse 13 says, Verse 15, And the people went out and brought them, and made themselves booths, each one on the roof of their house, or in their courtyards, or the courts of the house of God, and in the open square of the water gate, and it had just filled the whole vicinity, and built a booth city. It says, And on the eighth day there was a sacred assembly according to the prescribed manner.

So, Judah, as they came back out of captivity, that remnant, as they came and rebuilt the temple, rebuilt the wall around Jerusalem, they still lacked in the spiritual understanding and guidance as to the law and the standards that God expected. So here we have Ezra. He's fulfilling this priestly role in which he's been given. And what we see here is a result of a willing people who want to learn God's way and know God's way, under the leadership of an individual who is capable of teaching it, instructing and demonstrating the law and the truth of God. And it said there was very great rejoicing. And the people returned, at least two at times, in obedience to God. It's a prime example of how the priesthood should function, consider before the people. Now Ezra was able to accomplish the spiritual turnaround for the people of Judah. How was he able to do that? Well, obviously God was with him, and God helped him and strengthened him and inspired him in his service. But Ezra didn't just walk into the situation unprepared. He didn't just go into it cold perky, as we would say. Ezra prepared himself in service before God and the people. So let's take a look at that back in Ezra, Chapter 7. Just go back. One book.

Ezra, Chapter 7. Let's look at the preparation of Ezra.

Ezra 7, beginning in verse 6. The first part of Ezra, Chapter 7, lies out the genealogies of Ezra. Verse 6, it says, So Ezra knew God's law very, very well. He was a scribe. Verse 9 says, So what we see here, brethren, is that Ezra had prepared his heart to know the way, to go the way, and to show the way of God. And God used them in a very powerful way. I think the lesson for us, as we look at these examples and as we understand our future role as priests of God and Christ in the world tomorrow, you and I must be preparing our hearts to know the way, to go the way, and to be able to show the way of God. It is in fact, brethren, it is in fact our calling. The fact is, God isn't going to place anyone in the position of priest or into his kingdom, for that matter. If they haven't demonstrated that they could first know his truth, can live by it, and be an example and an instruction to others. So the question is, how are we doing?

How are we doing in our preparation to serve before God and Christ as priests? These same three points need to be in place. They need to be developed in our life. We're going to be qualified to serve in that way. So I'd like to take a look at the three points as it would relate to our training and our preparation today. For us, as future priests of God and Christ, we must, number one, know the way. We must know the way. Now, how do we come to know God's way? Well, very easily put, it is revealed through God's Word. God's Word shows us his way. In Psalm 119, verse 105, David said, Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. So what he's saying, God, is that Your Word illuminates the trail before me. It shows me how to live this life, how to walk, how to place my feet in service to you. God's Word gives us knowledge and understanding, and it directs our steps in life.

We need to study God's Word daily. We need to come to know God's Word very, very well. Often times it's interesting to me when we read the Bible to our children and we go to certain sections that we would consider Bible stories that the children tend to enjoy. Sometimes we can just read through those things and enjoy them as simply a story. I think it's important that we stop and we take time and we look at the example and the lesson that is actually there to be learned. The story of Lot's wife coming out of Sodom and Gomorrah, which I gave a message on a couple weeks ago, is not just a cute children's story. But it demonstrates and shows us why we have to come out of this world, how we have to dedicate ourselves to serving God and never looking back. As we walk through Scripture, these examples are laid out for our admonition, for our training, and for our improvement as we learn to serve before God and Christ. So we need to study God's Word. We need to come to know it very well, because rather than these are the words of life. They are the words that lead to life if they are implemented in our lives. These are the same words that we are going to be instructing, that we are going to be training before all the people in the world tomorrow. We need to commit ourselves to studying the Bible, to internalizing it, to applying the principles in our life, and actually following through. Not just considering these things' cute stories, but we actually need to learn the lesson well and put it to practice in our life. Let's take a brief look at the value of having a working knowledge of the Word of God. Let's go to 2 Timothy chapter 3. 2 Timothy chapter 3. Timothy was a young minister who the Apostle Paul considered to be almost a son. In 2 Timothy we see instructions that he gave to Timothy on importance of being a minister and things that he should be sure to do as he teaches. And yet it's instructive for us, because it helps us to understand the importance of God's Word. 2 Timothy chapter 3 and verse 16. It says, All Scripture is given by inspiration of God. It is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. Why is that? Why do we have these criteria laid out for us? Verse 17 says why? So that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

So here in verse 16 when it talks about the Word of God, it says, All Scripture is given by inspiration of God. The term translated inspiration of God, that word in the Greek is theonustos. Theonustos. It's a word that Paul put together. And it's a Greek word that's made up of two other words. Word theo, which means God. And nustos meaning to breathe or breathe out. And so what it's telling us is that Scripture is not the opinion of a man. The apostle Paul says these aren't my words. This isn't my opinion. It's not the opinion of the minister who's instructing you. But all of God's word contained in the Bible in its original form and its original text are God-breathed, God-inspired words. And he says it's profitable for a number of applications. It's profitable for doctrine, which doctrine is simply established teaching. It's the words that Jesus Christ taught, that the apostles taught and re-enforced in their teaching. And it's the words that we use today as we develop the fundamental doctrines of the church. It's established teaching in the Word of God. It says the Word of God is useful for reproof, which simply means convincing someone of the errors of their ways and turning them onto the right path again. God's word is useful for correction, which simply means changing from wrong to right. But what's interesting is as we study the Word of God, what we should be able to find is that we become self-correcting. Self-correcting. You know, we shouldn't always have to be corrected by someone coming up behind us, you know, kind of whacking us on the back of their head and telling us to straighten up. The fact is, if we're mature Christians and we're studying the Word of God for the purpose of learning and growing, we should be self-correcting. We should be able to see those things in God's word that are maybe different than how we're living our life. We should be able to make a change. That's a sign of a mature Christian, one who's self-correcting.

God's word is also useful for instruction in righteousness, which means God's word teaches us to become more like God the Father and Jesus Christ. These are His words. God is righteous. This is instruction on how to put on their character, their nature, and their righteousness in our lives today. Now, it's important that we realize that as we study God's word, that the Bible is revelatory. It reveals things. I've heard a minister one time say that the Bible isn't so much regulatory as it is revelatory. You can see many people in the world look at the Scripture and think it's regulatory. It's just full of do's and don'ts. Don't do this. Don't do that. It's regulations. But when you understand it in its right and proper context, we come to understand that God's word is revelatory. That it reveals the mind of God. It reveals His nature, His character to us. And it reveals what it is that we need to be developing in our personal life. God's word is revelatory. So Bible study is important. If you ever feel that you're struggling to find time or the motivation for study, ask God to help. Come before Him in prayer. Ask Him to guide you and lead you and to inspire you in His words. Ask Him to help motivate you to desire that relationship with Him. We need to be learning and growing in these things.

Let's go to Psalm 25 and verse 4.

Psalm 25 verse 4 is my last Scripture in this point.

Psalm 25 verse 4 is the words of King David. He says, Show me your ways, O Lord. Teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation. On you I wait all the day. So David said, God, please show me, teach me, lead me. And we need to approach God's word with that desire, that attitude in mind, that we want God to reveal His way to us. We want Him to guide and lead us and to teach us how it is we need to live today. So again, step number one for future priests is that we must know the way. We must know the way. If we're going to teach it, we're going to demonstrate it and instruct it to others, we must know the way. Second point for future priests of God and Christ is that we must go the way. We must go the way. If we first know the way of God, then we're accountable before Him to actually act on what it is that we know. God's given us His law and His truth and we're convicted of it. We're accountable to act on it. But brethren, this is not a new concept. From the beginning of His working with ancient Israel, God expected that this standard would be upheld. And when He gave Israel His commandments and His laws, He expected that they would actually do something with it, that they would put it into practice. Let's go back to Deuteronomy 10th chapter.

Deuteronomy 10, beginning in verse 1.

Deuteronomy 10, 1. It says, 2. At that time the Lord said to me, 2. Cue for yourselves two tablets of stone like the first, 3. and come up to me on the mountain and make yourself an ark of wood. 4. And it will write on the tablets the words that are in the first tablets, which you broke, and shall put them in the ark. 5. Verse 3. So I made an ark of acacia wood, two tablets of stone like the first, and went up to the mountain, having the two tablets in my hand. 6. And he wrote on the tablets according to the first writing, 7. The Ten Commandments which the Lord had spoken to you in the day from the mountain, from the midst of the fire, in the day of the assembly. 8. And the Lord gave them to me. 9. Verse 5. It says, So what we find is that God gave the instructions to Israel. 10. But what did he expect them to do with it? Once they'd received the commandments, once they'd received the instructions of God, what were they to do? 11. Let's jump down to verse 12, Deuteronomy 10. 12. And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you? 13. But to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. 14. And to keep the commandments of the Lord and its statutes, which I commanded you today, for your good. The people were expected to take God's word and to live it. They were expected to go the way. Because the words God had given them were the words of life. They were the words of instruction that would teach them to walk according to the mind and the nature and the character of God. And it's the same with us today. So we've been given, through the blessing of God's Spirit, through the opening of our minds, a working knowledge of the laws and the truth and the standards of God. We expect us to do something with it. In Luke 12, verse 48, I'll quote it for you. Jesus Christ says, For every one to whom much is given from him, much will be required. So we're accountable. We're accountable to what we know before God. We know the way. We're expected to go the way.

James had quite a bit to say about following through and what we know to do. Let's go to James 1 and verse 22.

James 1.

Verse 22.

James had a lot to say about being doers of the Word of God, not just hearers only. James 1.22 says, But be doers of the Word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. You know, we can come to the point where we deceive ourselves because if you walk in the services and you hear the Word of God expounded, and you walk out the door saying, wow, that was a really great sermon, but it doesn't lead to any change in your life, then it's simply a deception. You think you're improved. You think you've benefited from it. But again, if you've not applied it in your life, then all you've really done is raise your level of accountability before God. And if you're not doing anything with it, that's frankly a dangerous position to be in.

Verse 23. It says, For if any one is a hearer of the Word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in the mirror. For he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of a man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does. So basically it's saying that knowledge is useless unless it's acted on. This whole exercise simply becomes academic if we learn the way of God but we don't apply it. We can become very knowledgeable on an academic level, but in that way we fall very, very short if we don't actually apply the words and laws and the standards of God, which we've learned. James went one step further in chapter 4, verse 17, and I'll quote it for you. He says, So if we know the way, but we don't go the way before God, if we don't act out and conduct ourselves in the way in which God directs us, and the way He requires, it is in fact a very serious matter before God. I would submit to you it's better to have not known the truth of God in this life than it is to have your mind open, the truth revealed to you, and not act on it. It's a very high level of accountability God calls us to when He reveals to us His word.

Now a blessing to actually live in God's way and applying it in our lives is that it leads to understanding. That's where it leads to understanding. Psalm 111, verse 10 says, We actually gain a much deeper understanding of God and His word and His truth when we do it. I think probably a prime example for us would be the Sabbath and the Holy Days. We can know about them intellectually. We can go through the Scriptures that show that we should be keeping the Sabbath day as the Sabbath and keeping God's Holy Days. But you can still lack the understanding of why you do these things if you're not applying it. Probably many of us in this room have had friends that once sat here, were once part of the congregation, who kept the Sabbath, kept the Holy Days, and then were convinced to do otherwise. Left the fellowship. What happens a number of years later when you come up and you say, Oh, by the way, we're leaving next month to go to the Feast of Tabernacles. A lot of times they'll go, Oh, right, the Feast of Tabernacles. Now, what did that represent again? I can't remember. Why did we keep those? It's because they stopped keeping God's Sabbath, stopped keeping His Holy Days, that the understanding is lost. God gives us His Word, expects us to keep it, and when we do, we gain understanding. The Sabbath day and God's Holy Days reveal to us God's plan of salvation for all of mankind. You know, that understanding comes by keeping this day, by hearing the Word taught, by going to the Feast of Tabernacles and coming out of sin, represented by the Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread, by receiving the Holy Spirit that's represented on Pentecost, the return of Jesus Christ on Trumpets, the binding of Satan on the Copic. As we walk through these Holy Days, we come to learn and understand God's plan of salvation.

Final Scripture on this point, John 14, verse 21. Here's Jesus Christ speaking. He said, He who has my commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love Him and manifest myself to Him. So the fact is, we actually demonstrate our love to Jesus Christ when we do what He commands. So if He who has my commandments and keeps them, that's the person that loves me. Because you're following through on what He said to do. He actually says in verse 15 that if you love me, keep my commandments. So one of the ways that we express our love and our relationship to Jesus Christ is actually doing what it is He's commanded us to do. It's when we go the way. Third and final point that I'd like to cover today for future priests of God and Christ is we must prepare ourselves to show the way. When we know the way, and when we're living it, then we ought to come to the point where we're able to teach it. We're able to show it to others. God provides us with many opportunities to teach in this life. Teaching isn't only for the ministry. Every one of us has opportunity and scope in our life in which we can reach out and teach others. And in fact, we have responsibility to teach others. God provides us with many of those opportunities in this life. God told us the disciples, later the apostles, to go out and teach the nations those things that they've been taught by Jesus Christ, to go out and preach the gospel. That's the commission of the church today. That's the job of the ministry today, which is to teach others and to spread the gospel of the kingdom of God. We do that primarily in this day and age through internet, through television, through the magazine, through the various outreach efforts that we have in the church. Now, as individuals of the body of Christ, you have opportunity as well to support the effort to teach others through your own personal examples. The way you live your life and conduct yourselves before others. You have the opportunity to show others what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. That's a very heavy responsibility that's placed on each and every one of us. You must live by example.

So how do we do that? There are various examples, various ways in which we have opportunity in the body to teach. When people come and walk in the door of the church, number one, they have to be able to see that God's way works. You know, it's one thing to get up and preach a message and to give a sermon, but they have to be able to see it's carried out in application. You have to look around and see that God's way works in our marriages, that it works in our relationship with one another, that it works in the way that we live our life on a day-to-day basis.

God expects that if we're mature Christians, we ought to be teachers. Let's go to Hebrews, chapter 5.

Hebrews 5 is the message that's addressed to actually the people of the congregation, and it discusses the spiritual maturity and the consequences of partaking in milk versus meat. Hebrews, chapter 5, beginning in verse 13, it says, It says, When it says, When you do that, you develop the discernment, the understanding, to actually put that judgment and that wisdom in the practice, to discern between both good and evil. But by reason of use, we have to be living this life. And why do we need to be doing that? Well, if we back up to verse 12, it tells us why we need discernment. It says, Not talking about the ministry, talking about the people in the congregation. By this time, you ought to be teachers. Now, not from the perspective of actually standing up before the congregation and teaching the people. That's not the point. But you ought to be able to share this understanding with others, both in word and in deed. Somebody comes to you with a question, you know, by this time you should be able to answer it. You should, by this time, be able to be an example for the truth of God and the way in which you live your life on a daily basis. In this life, God gives us many opportunities to teach, and it all serves to prepare us for our future calling and our future role as priests of God and Christ.

If you're a parent, you have a responsibility to raise up a child in the way that they should go. The other responsibility is to train them and bring them up in the training and the admonition of the Lord, which means read to them the Word of God. Let them see in your home and in your life that God's way does work. Parents are teachers. Grandparents are teachers. Older siblings are teachers to their younger siblings. If you have an unconverted mate, if you're part of the Church of God and your mate is not, you have an opportunity to be a teacher and to show them through your actions and how you conduct yourself that God's way is a positive thing. You have an opportunity to teach in your marriage relationship with that individual. You have an opportunity to reveal to them and show them the way of Christ because you never know you may be instrumental in helping to draw them to Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 7, 16 expresses that. In the book of Titus, it talks about the responsibility of the older individuals to teach the younger. The younger people are always looking to those that are older to them, for an example, and someone that they can emulate. We have the very small children that are looking to the slightly older children. You have children in the age of my daughter that are looking to the teens, for an example. You have the teens that are looking to the young adults, and the young adults are looking to the adults older to them. So basically everybody falls in the category of having opportunity to teach, opportunity to be examples to others for the truth of God. In the book of Titus, I'm in charge of the teen Bible studies. I bring in the young adults who are of a good example and show themselves faithful. I bring them in and ask them to assist me in teaching the Bible studies to the teens, because the teens look to them in a positive way.

They have to be a positive example in their life to use that way as well. But the fact is, we're always looking to others to teach. We all have opportunities to teach at school, on the job, in our marriages, in our families, to prospective members that might lock in the door. Oftentimes we have the Kingdom of God seminars that have been going on every four months. New people lock in the door and sit down and observe and listen. We need to be ready to give an answer. In fact, the apostle Paul emphasizes, the apostle Peter actually emphasizes the importance of being prepared to teach. Let's go to 1 Peter 3 and verse 15.

1 Peter 3 and verse 15. Peter says, but sanctify the Lord God in your hearts. Set Him apart. Set His word. Set His truth apart. Sanctify the Lord God in your hearts and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you with meekness and fear. So if we're going to be prepared to give an answer to anyone that asks, we have to know the Word of God very well. We have to be living it so that we can be a credible example of God's truth. Because the fact is, if we're not living God's way, if we're not expressing it in a way that's a positive example to others, not only do we discredit ourselves, but we can discredit in their eyes the Word of God. So we need to be able to give an answer, which means we should have studied the Word of God. We should have thought it through, reason it through in our mind so that we understand it very clearly, and internalize it as part of who and what we are. Verse 16, 1 Peter 3 carries on. It says, Having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed. So part of giving an answer is also, again, it's tied to our conduct. People are looking. They're seeing, Are you a credible person that I can even receive this information from? You don't even want to hear what it is that you have to say. So if we're going to show the way, we have to know the way. So we also have to be going the way. Brethren, in our lives, in our experiences today, we're being prepared for service to God and Jesus Christ in the age to come. Scripture shows us that we will indeed be priests of God and Jesus Christ, teaching those that are seeking to learn God's way in the world tomorrow. Let's learn the lessons well. Let's take the time to learn and to grow and develop the opportunities that God gives us in this lifetime. So when Jesus Christ returns, we will be prepared to serve before Him. We will be able to spiritually help the tattered people of this earth to come to know the way of God and Jesus Christ and to put it into action in their lives. We will be able to instruct with those words in Isaiah, which says, This is the way. Lock in it. We'll be able to demonstrate it. We'll be able to teach it. We'll be able to say, Look, I've learned it. I've lived it. Now let me show you. The question is, brethren, will you and I be prepared? I pray that we will.