Changing Hearts Instead of Minds
I shared an old post last week entitled “Prophets or Scribes.” In that post, I described the difference between the teaching of Jesus and the majority of other Rabbis in his day. What was that difference? According to those who heard our Lord, unlike the other teachers in that day, Jesus taught with authority.1
What does it mean to teach with authority? The Greek word used to describe Jesus’s teaching can be translated as “authority” or “power.” And having taught God’s Word for forty years, I can tell you there is a big difference between teaching that tantalizes the mind and teaching that impacts the heart. Only teaching that reaches the hearts of hearers has the power to change lives, the power to usher people into the presence of God.
One of our Filipino members was leaving church a few weeks ago when she took my hand and said, “Thank you, Pastor Dan, because of your teaching, I’m feeling the presence of God once again in my life.” Talk about making my day!!
There was a time when I, without fully realizing it, was teaching to the minds and not the hearts of my hearers. I was caught up in exacting, correct interpretation of Scripture. The priority in my teaching ministry was helping people believe the right things in the right way. But as my own spiritual journey began to focus more and more on knowing, experiencing, and living in the presence of Christ, through the power of His Holy Spirit, I began to understand my calling as a pastor-teacher in a different light. I began to long for my hearers to draw closer to Christ, to experience his presence in their lives.
I cannot begin to tell you the immediate and powerful impact that change in my teaching had upon the lives of my hearers. And it was at Seoul International Baptist Church, with its mixed bag of denominations and Christian traditions, that I learned how unimportant correct doctrine is compared to living in the joyful, powerful presence of Jesus! If only more teachers in our churches today would prioritize teaching to change lives rather than teaching to change minds, we would see a great move of God in our churches.
Throughout our Bible, the word “know” refers over and over again, not to intellectual understanding but to intimate relationships. When Scripture tells us that Abraham knew Sarah and she conceived, it is not talking about a meeting of the minds between husband and wife. When Paul says he desires to know Christ, he is not talking about facts, data, and information. He is talking about an intimate, ongoing relationship with the Lord of the universe.
Isn’t that what you ultimately desire in your life as a follower of Jesus? To know him in a deeper and more intimate way? To experience his tangible and living presence at home, school, work, or wherever?
Everything else pales in comparison to living in the presence of Jesus.
In Christ,
Dan
You can check out my podcasts at Church on the Edge and my books on Kindle.
Mark 1:22 and others.