March 18, 2001

Hebrews 12: 1-11 (p. 1052)

Before the passage: the book of Hebrews of written during a time of turmoil, confusion, & persecution in the Early church. The author tries to encourage them in two ways -- first he reminds them that Christ endured suffering for their sake and they must sometimes endure it for his. And secondly he tells them that suffering can be used by God to teach us. He uses the word "discipline."  A loving parent, like God, uses discipline,
 not as a vindictive act, but rather to teach, instruct, and train up a child.  Let’s take a look.  Please read the passage.

 I’d like to talk to you this morning about "The Importance of Being Teachable." Are you teachable?   - do you have a teachable spirit? Is your mind able to jump on another train of thought and easily consider another’s point of view? Or is your mind a lot like mine? It’s gets stuck . . . stuck on one track, one train of thought . . and the switch from one track to another . . . doesn’t work, or it’s very slow!
 Ex. I came home from a church meeting one night, and I said to Beth, "Have you noticed that men sometimes get stuck in their thinking, and you can’t do anything to get them to look at it another way? They’re just completely stuck?" She grinned and then she laughed and looked at me and said, "You know, I have noticed that tendency among certain men!" That wasn’t exactly the response I was looking for!
 Ex. Scott Peck uses a great illustration in The Road Less Traveled. Two battleships assigned to the training squadron had been at sea on maneuvers in heavy weather for several days. I was serving on the lead battleship and was on watch on the bridge as night fell. The visibility was poor with patchy fog, so the captain remained on the bridge keeping an eye on all activities. Shortly after dark, the lookout on the wing on the bridge reported, "Light, bearing on the starboard bow." "Is it steady or moving astern?" the captain called out. Lookout replied, "Steady, captain," which meant we were on a dangerous collision course with that ship. the captain then called to the signalman, "Signal that ship: We are on a collision course, advise you change course 20 degrees." Back came a signal, "Advisable for you to change course 20 degrees." The captain said, "Send, I'm a captain, change course 20 degrees."  "I’m a seaman second class," came the reply. You had better change course 20 degrees." By that time the captain was furious. He spat out, "Send, I’m a battleship. Change course 20 degrees." Back came the flashing light, "I’m a lighthouse." We change course.
 Lent is about changing course. It’s about allowing God to pilot us, to put us on the right course. And to achieve some success and progress in this, we have to learn to be teachable.
 Now the Bible is very clear on this. Jesus said, "Blessed are the meek, for their shall inherit the earth." James wrote, "Humble yourselves before the Lord and he will lift you up." Proverbs 12:1 - "Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates reproof is stupid."   (I check three different translations . . they all used the word stupid!) One translation says, "He
who hates correction is stupid." Now what does mean?  How do we interpret this?  What is that saying? It’s saying, "He who hates correction is stupid!!" But the wise person is teachable. The wise person seeks out advice & feedback from others. The wise person is a student of life.
 What did Jesus say?   He said,  "Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me."  - be teachable, be a learner!
 I’ve been wanting to preach on Proverbs 12:1 for a long time but I had no illustrations of a positive application of the verse! "Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates reproof is stupid."   We all hate reproof. We all hate to be corrected. It’s hard to think of someone who loves being corrected, who thrives on it. All too often when someone corrects us or disagrees with us we become debaters instead of explorers. We become soldiers, dug in and fighting, instead of pilgrims on a journey together. Well, one week about a year ago I finally got some illustrations.
 Ex. Baptism Talk.   I was meeting with a couple who asked me to baptize their baby. I then explained our beliefs about baptism and the promises that parents make when a child is baptized, one of which is to promise to bring their child to church and attend themselves to set a good example. Well, the father then respectfully asked me, "Why do I need to go to church to be a Christian? I believe in God. I pray. Why do I need church?"
 I said this: "Christianity is a Team Sport. It always has been, from the Israelites, to Jesus and the Disciples to the Early Church who met in peoples homes. God always calls people into groups, teams. And Sunday morning is the Team Meeting."
 Immediately his eyes got bigger and he said with surprise, "Wow. I never thought about it like that. I’ve been missing the team meetings."
 My jaw dropped. Here was a human being, a man no less, who was instantly open to new idea that stood in direct opposition to his .   (I thought to myself, "Man, how did you do that?")
 Ex. The Humble Songwriter. I have a friend who’s a songwriter. I'll call him,  "Tom H." Whenever we get together to play, he plays for me his latest song. One time one of the songs he wrote had a line in it that I thought was song confusing, at least it was confusing to me. I thought it could be strengthened, but I debated saying something. Songs are very personal & very vulnerable to share. They come from your heart & soul. But  eventually I did tell him my impressions. He thanked me & said something that I found striking, "Keep that feedback coming, Rich. I need it to get better." That’s someone committed to learning & growing, someone with a teachable spirit.
 Being Teachable is a spiritual issue, because God wants to shape us more and more into the image of Christ. Hebrew 12 says, God disciplines us so that we may "share in God’s holiness," and produce the "peaceful fruit of righteous.
And God has one basic course in spiritual formation for all of us . . . and that is life. And when we’re teachable we learn and grow in this life. God wouldn’t have it any other way.
 In closing, let me make some simple statements about Being Teachable.
 1.  Being teachable means that I realize that my knowledge is incomplete and that therefore, when I am in a disagreement with someone there is the slight possibility that I might be wrong. Have a Teachable spirit is a freeing thing -- it frees us from the overwhelming burden of always having to be right.
 2. Being teachable means that we say things like,
 "Tell me more. I want to understand what your perspective."
 "How do you see it?"
 "What could we do differently? What do you suggest?"
 "I might be wrong in my opinion. What do you think about it?"
 In other words, we are fellow explorers of truth & life, and not just debaters of positions.
 3.  Being teachable also means that we ask ourselves (silently in her hearts) what can each person I come into contact with teach me?  (even if I think they’re out to lunch)  What can I learn from this person?  Every person that God ever created has something to teach us.
 4. Being teachable means that I truly believe that God isn’t finished with me yet. And therefore I offer myself to God in each and every circumstance, and ask to be taught and shaped more into the image of Christ. So that we may gain more of the mind of Christ, more of the life of Christ within us.

 So practice being teachable. I guarantee you, life will give you opportunities to do so this week. Be a learner, a curious observer and student of life, for God’s sake, and for yours.

Let’s close in prayer:
 Gracious God, you are holy and perfect and all-knowing, and we are not. Help us to remember that this week . . . s that you might be God and we might be disciples - learners and pilgrims on a journey of faith. In Christ’s Name. Amen.

Rich Knight