“The festival was nearly half over when Jesus went to the Temple and began teaching. The Jewish authorities were greatly surprised and said, “How does this man know so much when he has never been to school?”

Jesus answered, “What I teach is not my own teaching, but it comes from God, who sent me. Whoever is willing to do what God wants will know whether what I teach comes from God or whether I speak on my own authority. Those who speak on their own authority are trying to gain glory for themselves. But he who wants glory for the one who sent him is honest, and there is nothing false in him.” (John 7:14-18/GNT)

We see here Jesus preaching and teaching in a way which was foreign to the people. It was foreign to even the Jewish authorities-teachers and adherents of the Law of God. What was different? Authority and revelation. Was Jesus modeling the pattern to come? I absolutely believe so.

We must be very careful as ministers of the Gospel, when preaching and teaching, to do so in a way led by and instructed by the Holy Spirit. One of my biggest pet peeves is listening to a preacher/teacher who is simply regurgitating something they’ve heard or read before but are not delivering anything from their own personal revelation of the Scriptures. Just dry material. Now I’m not talking about teaching things outside of the Scripture or falsehoods but rather, teaching from personal revelation and insight provided by the Holy Spirit. This type of preaching/teaching will change lives! And the spirit within a believer will recognize that revelational aspect and receive such a message in a way that will change their lives! Their inner spirit will connect with such a teaching as being from the Lord rather than just from a man.

The Word of God is living and active and will speak to the heart of a person. This means, not just the written letter but the spirit behind the letter. This is what Jesus was known for in His teaching & preaching. He taught as one who had authority and from the inspiration of the Holy Spirit rather than just a dry intellectual study being relayed in such a way as the hearers only gained some mental assent-the spiritual transformation missing because the message lacked power behind it. We must study to show ourselves approved, seeking wisdom and revelation from the scriptures (Eph 1:17). We must be willing to seek out that revelation and spiritual depth for ourselves so that when we speak, we speak as one speaking God’s words which operate on the people’s hearts-not just their brains. It takes time in study and waiting on God to hear from Him. It also requires being sensitive to the Holy Spirit when we read and study. We need to slow down and chew on the Word. Let the Lord speak to us. He is most definitely willing if we are. We need our words to be spirit-filled and faith-filled which will in turn create faith within those we are speaking to. If it’s just teaching coming out of our own head or simply Bibilical knowledge without revelation, little to no change will be enacted. We don’t need more religion. We need more relationship. Relationship that comes from the words of Jesus being imparted into our spirits, to convey to others. He gave us the Holy Spirit and His authority to do what He did and to speak as He spoke. Let’s be faithful with that trust.

“Those who preach must preach God’s messages…” (1 Peter 4:11/GNT)