A Teachable Spirit

By Pastor Mark S Disbrow

 

Many people simply do not have a teachable spirit.

 

What does this look like?

How does it affect their lives?

How does it impact others?

Do we need to have one?

Where can we get one?!

 

Jesus spent a lot of time teaching. He taught His disciples, the multitudes, individuals, and even the Pharisees. We can observe that some of these ÔstudentsÕ received the teaching and others didnÕt. Jesus set a new paradigm for teaching with parables, truth spoken in love with authority.

 

Often we meet people who just never seem to able to change. They are stuck in their old lives and canÕt seem to get out of it. Invariably, they will blame someone or something else.

 

 

The basics on having a teachable spirit is knowing:

 

  1. We have a spirit as we were created in the image of God.
  2. Someone is the teacher and the other is a student. They canÕt be both at   
            the same time.
  3. Being taught requires an openness and willingness to be taught; the
            desire to learn.
  4. Learning comes from being teachable.

 

What does a teachable spirit look like?

 

Luke 19:1-8 - Zaccheus was open and teachable. He learned and was transformed.

 

John 4:9-29 - The woman at the well moved from one world-view to another. She moved from false teaching to the Truth. At first she debated what Jesus was saying but eventually learned and went to tell others. This is a teachable spirit. Yet she brought them to Jesus and let the teacher teach them. She was not yet a teacher.

 

What does an un-teachable spirit look like? How does an un-teachable spirit affect the personÕs life? How does it impact others?

Hear no evil, speak no evilÉ cartoon?

 

Mt 19:16-21 – The rich young ruler didnÕt want to learn, he wanted to be told that he had already done everything correctly, that he had already learned everything, and wanted Jesus to give him something to do that he was willing to do. Yet, Jesus gave him a teaching and the man went away. This was an un-teachable spirit puffed up with pride and works.

 

The Pharisees

Mt 13:11 – GodÕs spiritual knowledge and abundance will pass you by.

Mt 15:7-9 – Results in hypocrisy

Mt 16:6-11 – This leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees can spread.

Mt 21:23-27 – Pharisees questioned JesusÕ authority and would not listen. Finally in verse 45,46 they sought to seize Jesus.

 

The Pharisees were well schooled. They had knowledge. They knew the scriptures. Yet they did not have a teachable spirit and Jesus passed them by. The salvation that was at hand was then given to the Gentiles. The Gentiles were teachable.

 

Mt 23 - Jesus warned the people and exposed the PhariseesÕ hypocrisy. He then went on to pronounce woes on them (vv. 13-36). [read vs. 13]

 

Do we really need to have one? Some of us already know everything!  J

 

If you donÕt have one, wisdom is going to pass you by. Relationships, love, grace, mercy, will also pass you by.

 

How do I recognize one when I see it?

 

Do you find people shutting you out? Do you find that your relationships are very short lived? Do you find yourself repetitively making the same mistakes?

 

An un-teachable spirit will reject the message of the Lord. It will reject the Holy Spirit indwelling. It will become home to demonic spirits. It is self-seeking. An un-teachable spirit is not of God and is of the devil. Amen?

 

A strong statement: A person with an un-teachable spirit is being controlled by a spirit other than that of God. We must watch out for this when we see this spirit.

Like Jesus; We must counter it with truth and prayer.

Like Jesus; We might have to acknowledge their spirit and pass them by.

 

Where can I get a teachable spirit?

 

Everyone can become teachable and have a teachable spirit. Take on the characteristics of a teachable spirit. Yield your spirit in deference and respect to others. Become a life-long learner. [Pastor Ron, Mike C. know much and are still learning]

 

The first step is being born again, renewed, a new creation. A spirit of the devil is not teachable of the things of God. It is the natural man and natural man cannot understand the things of God. We must be a spiritual man.

 

Next, we must become a disciple. Disciple means ÔlearnerÕ or ÔpupilÕ. We never arrive or come to a full knowledge so we must always have a teachable spirit.

 

Conclusion:

 

What are the characteristics of a teachable spirit?

 

  1. Humility
  2. Gratitude
  3. Eyes to see – spiritually, not physically
  4. Ears to hear – must listen
  5. Reverence
  6. Respect
  7. Enthusiasm
  8. Transformation
  9. Spiritual growth into maturity

 

We all have some level of un-teachable spirit at least occasionally. We pray that it is short lived or that it is being discerning of false teaching.

 

Was todayÕs teaching of God?

 

Was it GodÕs word?

 

Is it a lesson for you and me?

 

We need to continually sit under the teaching of the Holy Spirit. This requires that we step into the classroom brethren and listen! Often we think we already know the lesson and so we decide to skip it and not appear, or we decide to dominate the conversation with our knowledge.

 

Brethren, GodÕs word is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the bone and marrow. This means he can teach each of us something with the same scripture.