Different Meetings (Part 3)

THE DAILY WORD
By Jim Seekamp

Friday February 15, 2008

Teaching Meetings

The Bible tells us that the early believers both proclaimed the good news (preached) AND TAUGHT from house to house:

Acts 5:42 (NIV)
Day after day, in the temple courts and FROM HOUSE TO HOUSE, they (the apostles) never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ.

Some of the apostles were also teachers (which is very often the case). Since they taught from house to house, that means there were teaching meetings. There should be meetings that are just for the purpose of teaching, since God put TEACHERS in the church as one of the five-fold ministries:

Ephesians 4:11-13 (NIV)
11. It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and TEACHERS

The most common spiritual gift that goes with the office of teacher is healing. When Jesus taught, He often healed:

Matthew 4:23 (NIV)
Jesus went throughout Galilee, TEACHING in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and HEALING every disease and sickness among the people.

Matthew 9:35 (NIV)
Jesus went through all the towns and villages, TEACHING in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and HEALING every disease and sickness.

Teaching is important to the ministry of healing. You can get people physically healed by the anointing, or by gifts of the Holy Spirit, or by faith in God's Word; but if you are not taught how to HOLD ON to your healing, you will often lose it when satan tries to convince you that you're not healed after all.

One of the devil's main ploys is to get people to doubt their healing so he can get them back in his realm - the realm of the natural. We are to stay in the realm of the SPIRITUAL, because that's the arena where we can defeat satan every time with God's Word. But if we are never TAUGHT God's Word on healing, we have no weapon to stand against satan's lies.

2 Timothy 3:16 (NIV)
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for TEACHING, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,

The ministry of teaching usually happens in a meeting, and it is the most important kind of meeting for any new believer. If we are not TAUGHT what God's Word says, we are easy prey for satan's lies, since without the Word of God (which is the sword of the Spirit) we are unarmed against him!

Ephesians 6:17 (NIV)
Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

The Word of God is the only WEAPON we are given to fight with in the spirit realm, and it is a very mighty weapon that the devil can't stand up against. That makes a BIBLICAL teaching ministry absolutely essential in the church!

PRAYER
Thank You Father for Your Word, which tells me so much about You. Thank You for loving me so much that You sent Jesus Christ, Your only begotten Son, to pay the price for my sin. Thank You Father for being present with us when we meet together as believers.
In Jesus' Name, Amen

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