All That Jesus Taught Bible Study - Part 5 — Zac Poonen

Doing Before Teaching

We want to look again at our subject, all that Jesus taught, based on the Great Commission as found in Matthew chapter 28, verse 18 to 20, which, as I've repeatedly said in our last studies, is the part of the Great Commission, the second half of the Great Commission, which is not sufficiently emphasized in Christendom.

The first half being Mark 16, 15, going to all the world and preach the gospel, which is being emphasized. And here we are looking particularly at Matthew 28, verse 20, to teach people to do all that Jesus commanded.

And I want to emphasize the word do. Teach them all that I commanded would be different from teach them to do all that I commanded. Jesus wants us to do and then to teach, not teach what we have not done.

So we don't begin by teaching, we begin by doing. You can't go to a Bible school and spend three years there, get a degree, and think that you can now teach people if you have not done what Jesus has commanded in your own life.

I remember asking a person once who graduated after a four-year Bible college course in a particular Bible college. He won the first prize in that at the graduation ceremony where I was speaking. And he came to see me and I asked him, what is your spiritual condition at the end of these four years of study, your inner life?

He said, it's worse than when I first came. I'm more defeated by sin. He was honest. I said, now you're going to go out with your degree and become a pastor somewhere. What are you going to teach people?

Hebrew and Greek and interpretations of various verses? Or are you going to teach them how to overcome the lust of the eyes? How to overcome anger? That's what they need to hear because that's what Jesus taught.

And if you haven't experienced that overcoming in your own life, what are you going to teach? Theory. This is the sad state of so many preachers and pastors. And that's why you hear every now and then of some famous preacher or pastor who's been preaching for many years.

Suddenly you discover he's been living in adultery for so many years. How is it that the people in the congregation could not discern the impurity in this man's spirit? Because they were taken up by the eloquence of his preaching and the knowledge that he had.

Jesus said, teach them to do what I commanded. Now I want you to turn to Acts chapter 1 verse 1 and see Jesus' own example. Acts was written by Luke, the co-worker of Paul. And before he wrote Acts of the Apostles, he wrote Luke's Gospel.

Jesus’ Pattern of Doing and Teaching

And there, in Acts of the Apostles, he refers to the Gospel of Luke that he had written in these words. He wrote both of them to a person called Theophilus. And he says, the first account I composed, O Theophilus, which is the Gospel of Luke, which we know is the Gospel of Luke, was about all that Jesus began to do and teach.

So, if you were to ask Luke to give a title to his gospel, he would say, all that Jesus began to do and teach. Not all that Jesus taught, but what he did and taught. It was a principle in Jesus' life that he would not teach what he hadn't done.

It's more than that involved in this sentence because it refers to his actions and his miracles and all that. But the principle is this, do and then teach. Not teach and do, but do and teach. Jesus did not practice what he preached, but he preached what he had already practiced and continued to practice.

So, that's the principle. So, based on that, if you were to ask Luke to give a title to the Acts of the Apostles, based on that one verse, what title do you think he would give? If the Gospel of Luke was all that Jesus began to do and teach in his physical body on earth, Acts of the Apostles would be all that Jesus continued to do and teach through his spiritual body, the church.

And that is our ministry. To continue, for Jesus to continue to do and teach what he began to do and teach when he lived on earth for 33 years. That's why the church is called the body of Jesus Christ.

That's why to understand all that Jesus taught is important because we got to do it and then we got to teach it. There's a very interesting incident in Acts of the Apostles, chapter 10, where we read that there was a very God-fearing military man who was a heathen, not a Christian.

Cornelius and the Necessity of Experienced Proclamation

He was not even a Jew. He was a Roman soldier called Cornelius. He was a centurion, means he was a certain high-ranking officer in the Roman army. And he was a God-fearing man. A man who feared God, it says.

A devout man. A man who gave many alms to the people. He helped poor people. And he prayed to God continually. Now the question comes, does God listen to the prayers of people who are not Christians? Does God look at the money that non-Christians give to poor people?

Well, have a look here. The angel came and said to him, an angel, God sent an angel to Cornelius. And he said to him in verse 4, your prayers have ascended as a memorial before God. And the money you have given to the poor, the alms have also ascended as a memorial before God.

Isn't that interesting? And when Peter saw Cornelius later on, he says, there's one thing I've discovered, Peter says, that with God there is no respect of persons. He later on says in the same chapter.

But the point I want you to notice here is, when the angel came to Cornelius, why didn't he give him the gospel? Why didn't he explain to Cornelius, that do you know that you're a sinner, that Christ died for your sins and rose again.

And you need to receive him as your Lord, repent and believe. He couldn't say that. All that the angel could tell him was, your prayers and alms have ascended. And now please send somebody to go and call verse 5, Acts 10, 5 for Peter.

He's living far away in another place and in Joppa. Send somebody. It may take a few days for Peter to come here, but you got to wait. And the angel then departed. Now, don't you think the angel could have told him exactly what Peter would tell Cornelius?

The angel knew the gospel very clearly. Why didn't Almighty God allow the angel to preach the gospel to Cornelius? This is a very important question. Why did Cornelius have to wait for so many days to hear the gospel till Peter came?

Because the angel had not experienced the gospel. He could not say like Peter, I was a sinner, but Jesus died for me, and his blood cleansed my sin, and I'm forgiven. Because the angel could not say that, he could not preach it.

He could not preach a truth that he knew. He could probably preach better than Peter. It doesn't matter. He's not allowed to preach it because he hadn't experienced it. Jesus is teaching us one fundamental principle that we are not permitted by God to preach what we have not experienced.

There's a word for people who do that. Those who preach what they have not practiced or experienced. And the word in the New Testament is hypocrite. And there are many hypocritical preachers. So when Jesus said in this Great Commission, teach them to do all that I've commanded you, he was telling us to be free from hypocrisy.

He was telling us never to speak about that which we haven't done. For example, if you have not gone to North India as a missionary, you can't ask other people to go there as missionaries, can you? Well, you can teach it, but you haven't done it.

It's very necessary, very important. But who's got the right to teach it? The one who's done it. That's just one example. And applies in many, many other areas of life. We must be willing to humble ourselves and recognize that God has got many people in the body of Christ to preach various things.

And I may not be called to preach everything. I can only preach what I have done. I cannot teach people to overcome anger, to give up anger, if I'm still getting angry with myself, with my wife or co-workers or whatever it is.

I cannot ask people to overcome dirty thoughts, sexual thoughts, if I'm still defeated by it myself. I can say, hey, fellas, I'm defeated, but let's you and I struggle together. That's fine. But I must be honest.

Receiving God’s Word as Newborn Believers

So teach them to do. Now let's turn back to Matthew chapter 4. We were looking at the first thing that Jesus commanded there was to learn to receive God's Word. One of the first things we need to learn as newborn babes.

Man shall not live by bread alone, Matthew 4 .4, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. In 1 Peter and chapter 2, we read that in verse 2, that like newborn babes, we must desire the pure milk of the Word of God.

As newborn babes desire the pure milk of the Word of God. It's just like any newborn baby, if it's normal and healthy, as soon as it's born, it cries out. And from the very first day onwards, for a number of days and weeks and months, it keeps on crying out.

And what's it crying out for? Milk. Nobody has to teach that newborn baby to cry for milk. If it's a sick child, it will not cry. And unfortunately, we have a lot of sick babies in Christendom. If you've had a healthy new birth, a proper new birth, and you're born as a healthy, spiritually healthy child of God, I want to tell you that nobody will have to teach you to cry out for the milk of the Word of God.

I remember in my own life, when I was born again 52 years ago, I found within me a tremendous cry for the milk of the Word of God. I was too young to eat the meat, which is also found in this book, but I could receive the milk.

And this is the very first thing that characterizes any genuinely born-again child of God. So, if you claim to be born again and you have absolutely no desire, for the milk of God's Word, I would ask you to question whether you're really born again.

Every healthy baby cries out for milk all over the world, in every nation, in every place. In all centuries, it's been like that. And so it is, where there's a genuine new birth, there's a longing to receive God's Word, to hear what God has to say to me.

Even if I don't have a Bible, to hear what God has to say to me, to hear His Word. Let's move on from there to the second, the answer to the second temptation that Jesus was tempted with, a second statement that Jesus made here in His ministry, in Matthew 4 and verse 7, You shall not put the Lord your God to a test.

Testing God and Distorting Scripture

Very important principle. What the devil was saying to Jesus was, If you're the Son of God, why don't you just throw yourself down from the top of the temple and claim the promise of God? For He said in Psalm 91, it says in Matthew 4, 6,.

This teaches us that Satan can even quote God's Word to you. Now this follows on from the first temptation. The first time he told Jesus to turn the stones into bread and Jesus said, Hey, man doesn't live by bread alone.

He lives by every word of God. And Satan caught on to that and said, every word of God, is it? Okay, here's a word of God. He will give His angels charge over you and your foot will not strike against a stone.

So why not jump off from the temple? So when the devil sees that you have learned to respect God's Word, the next thing he will try to do is to try and twist God's Word to make it mean something it didn't mean at all.

Or to misquote God's Word. Or to take God's Word out of context. And I can think of numerous Christians I've met in my life who have quoted a scripture from here or there completely out of context. And to satisfy their own desire to fulfill what they want to do, it's very easy to go to scripture and find a verse to do what you want to do.

There's so many people who go to scripture and find a verse to do exactly what they want to do. So remember this when we realize the importance of receiving God's Word and you read scripture regularly.

Remember also from this temptation that Satan can come and misquote a scripture to you. That's why it's important for us to study a scripture in its context and why it's important to study the whole of scripture by every word of God Jesus said.

Not just by one scripture. We can't live by one scripture. Man shall live by every word of God. And that's why it's important to know the whole of scripture. That's why it's important to study it. And if you are young, it's good to go and seek counsel from godly older men who know the word whenever you're thinking of understanding what scripture says on a particular subject.

It's very easy. I've come across people who have deceived themselves. I mean, let me use a humorous illustration to highlight this point. Consider a young man who wants to... who's very much in love with a girl called Grace.

And he wants to find the will of God. Or at least he thinks he does. But he's already very much in love with this girl and he wants to marry her and he just wants God's approval. So one day he reads in 2 Corinthians 12 verse 9, My grace is sufficient for you.

And he's convinced. Ah, God has spoken to me. Grace is the girl for me. He's just satisfying his own desire. Now take another example. Here's a young man whose parents have suggested some girl called Grace to him whom he doesn't like at all.

And he has no interest. He's not attracted to her. And he tells his parents, I've got to find God's will. And so he reads the same verse, 2 Corinthians 12 verse 9. And he says, My grace is sufficient for you.

And he goes to his parents and says, God has spoken to me that His grace is sufficient for me. I don't want this girl called Grace. God's grace is enough for me. You see how from the same verse, these two young men get two different answers to satisfy their own lusts.

What they want to do, they try to put into God's word. That's one example of how the devil can take a scripture and quote that to you. I mean, if he tried it with Jesus, don't you think he'll try it with you?

So what was Jesus' reply to that? All that Jesus taught. What did he reply to the devil? It's very interesting to see that in Matthew 4 and verse 7. When the devil said in Matthew 4 verse 6, it is written.

Jesus said, verse 7, again it is written. On the other hand, it's written like this, again it is written. So you see the whole truth is not found only in it is written. But in it is written and again it is written.

You put both scriptures together, then you get the truth. That's why it's important to study the scriptures to hear what God is saying to you. Otherwise, like I said, you can take one verse of scripture and go completely astray.

So Jesus said to him, it is also written, you shall not tempt the Lord your God. You shall not put the Lord your God to a test. You shall not try and claim a promise to try and test God. Now how does this apply in practical terms?

Using Ordinary Means Instead of Testing God

We're trying to understand all that Jesus taught. Here the temptation to Jesus was, jump off the roof of the temple and claim that promise in Psalm 91 and descend to the courtyard of the temple unhurt.

And people will see, oh, what a great man of God. Look at his faith, how he claimed that promise and was not hurt. And Jesus said, I will not tempt God like that. I mean, when God has provided, when there are stairs provided from the roof of the temple to go down, there's no need to jump off.

You go use the stairs. The meaning is we can use means that God has provided and not tempt God by asking him to do something for us in some spectacular way. For example, in Acts chapter 8, we read of an instance where after Philip had preached to the eunuch, it says in Acts 8 verse 39 that the Holy Spirit snatched Philip up and transported him all the way to another place called Exodus.

Acts 8, 39, 40. He gave him an airlift like in a helicopter. The Holy Spirit did that to Philip. Now, if you want to go from one place to another place and you try to tempt God saying, do that for me, Lord, that's tempting God.

And if God's provided buses and trains and scooters and airplanes, why do we need to ask the Holy Spirit to take us like that? To tempt God is to try and claim a promise so that I can perhaps testify later on what a spectacular thing God did for me.

For example, there are people who when they are sick, they say, I'm going to trust God to heal me. Even though medicines are available on the next street and there are doctors available to advise us, we don't use those doctors and those medicines.

And there are many foolish Christians who have died like that and allowed their children to die and their wives to die because they try to claim a promise. The Lord is my healer, and so I don't need medicine.

When God has provided stairs in the temple, he expects you to use them instead of trying to jump off the roof and claiming Psalm 91. And so when God has provided medicines, he expects you to use them and not foolishly claim some promise saying the Lord will heal you.

It's as foolish as trying to ask the Lord to transport you from one place to another like he did with Philip. And we also must remember that God does certain things for certain people. He doesn't do that for everybody.

So we need to be very careful in studying the scriptures that we're not trying to do something spectacular in order to get some honor for ourselves. The desire for honor from men is so deeply rooted in our flesh that sometimes we are not even aware of it.

Balancing Grace, Truth, and Spiritual Gifts

It's one of the great things that Jesus taught his disciples to battle against. He said here also the temptation basically was to get honor. You know, claim God's promise and descend unhurt to the courtyard of the temple and people will acclaim you.

Or it could be in less spectacular ways. Jesus said later on in Matthew 6, when you pray, don't pray in such a way as to get honor from the men who are listening to you praying. Don't fast and inform everybody how many days you fasted for.

That's to get honor. When you give, don't let anybody know what you gave. And yet you see how much Christians have disobeyed these commands, getting honor and tempting God. So we find that this matter of putting God to the test, as it were, has got many, many ramifications.

There are many, many areas where we can do this. So we need to be balanced in our understanding of these scriptures. This verse with that verse. It is written and it is also written. The great need in the Christian life is for a balance.

For example, the Bible says in John 1 and verse 14 that the glory of God was seen in Jesus Christ full of grace and truth. There's a balance. Like Jesus said, when the devil said it is written, he said it is also written.

We must have grace and we must have truth. That's the balance there must be in our life. We must have the fruit of the Spirit and we must have the gifts of the Spirit. We find Christians sometimes emphasizing the fruit of the Spirit is the most important thing.

Or some other group says the gifts of the Spirit, brother, we can't do without the gifts of the Spirit. I say we need both. And the answer always is to look at Jesus and see what he had. What did Jesus have?

Did he have the fruit of the Spirit or the gifts of the Spirit? You know the answer. He had both. Did he have grace or truth? He had both. Many people say we must stand for the truth. Right. The others say no, but we must also be merciful.

So which was Jesus? Was he merciful or did he stand for the truth? He had both. You see a classic example of that in the case of the woman caught in adultery. The Pharisees wanted to stone her to death.

Truth is Moses said stone her to death. What did Jesus say? He was without sin. Throw the first stone. And then he didn't tell the woman oh your sin is not serious. He said go and sin no more. I don't condemn you woman.

That's one part of it. Grace and the truth. Go and sin no more. So remember it is written. It is also written. There we find the whole truth of Scripture. Let us pray. Heavenly Father help us to be balanced Christians in every area of our life.

We pray that the Holy Spirit will show us the areas where we are not balanced and where our life dishonors you. We pray in Jesus name. Amen.