September 26 - A Teachable Spirit
All servants of God must have a teachable spirit. When God spoke to Israel, His servant, He declared who He was: “I am the first, and I am the last. “ He was their Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, the Lord their God, “who teaches you to profit, who leads you in the way you should go.” If Israel had paid attention to His commandments, then their peace would have been like a river, and their righteousness would be like the waves of the sea. God was their Teacher, if Israel were teachable, God would have given them much blessing.
The real servant of God, the Messiah, comes with a teachable spirit and a spirit of obedience. He is to have a teachable tongue, or a tongue that has been taught. The words He utters are the result of having been taught by God and not from His own mind. As a result, He can use words to sustain the weary. Most of the words we say are not from the Lord as Paul exhorts the Ephesian Christians to forsake falsehood and lies but to speak the truth, not letting any bad words come out of their mouths. What they say must be edifying to others, to build them up and not to tear them down.
To be teachable, one must have an open ear before the Lord. Every morning, the Servant’s ear is awakened to hear as those who are taught. As He goes before the Father morning by morning like a student listening to his teacher, the Servant would not become rebellious and turn backward. Even when others are striking his cheeks and pulling his beard, He does not hide His face from disgrace and spitting. The Lord helps Him and He is not disgraced. He sets His face like a flint in the midst of suffering and persecution. He knows that God is His vindication and His help.
Many of us are taught by human teachers and there are many of those in the church. Some of the teachers have a father’s heart and are able to care for our spiritual welfare. Others are Bible taught, digging deep into the Word and find life sustaining principles for our daily living. In the case of the apostle Paul, he was Spirit taught through direct revelation from the Holy Spirit. Although most people thought that he was self-taught, actually, it was just the opposite. Yes, we can depend on human teachers or even fathers, we can depend on our interpretation of the Bible or we can teach ourselves through reading books or going to seminars. However, if the Holy Spirit is not teaching us, we have missed a big part for the Holy Spirit is our Teacher.
Are you teachable? Being teachable means that you are obedient to what the Lord has spoken, not only in the revealed Word but also as He speaks to you every day. Do you listen to His voice? Do you set aside time to seek Him? Is your ear open to Him, does your mouth speak His words? Ask God to open them now.
Ps 106:32-39 Isa 48:12-50:11 Eph 4:17-32 Prov 24:5-6