I’m Doug Apple...and my heart is on fire. (Luke 24:32)
“I’ll walk you to your car. I need to ask you something.”
That’s what the man said as he caught me leaving the church one day.
He said, “They’ve asked me to teach a class in a few weeks, and I was wanting to get your advice.”
I’ve been teaching adult Sunday school classes and Bible studies for over 30 years, so I should know a thing or two, right?
He said, “What is one piece of advice you would give me as I prepare for this class?”
Well, how would YOU answer that?
There are many good answers, of course, but here’s what I said.
Like the Old Testament prophets, stand in the presence of God, then deliver His message to the people.
Instead of thinking of creative ways to teach a Bible lesson, get alone with God, sanctify yourself to Him, set yourself apart for Him.
This means get alone with God. Have regular quiet time with just you and God and the Bible. Ask Him to lead you and show you things while you read the Scriptures.
And part of sanctifying yourself to God is setting aside some things of this world.
“What things? You mean, like, sin?”
Of course, sin. You should repent of all sin and come clean with God whether you’re a Bible teacher or not. That’s a given.
To really press in and seek God and sanctify yourself to Him, it means denying yourself some things. It means setting them aside to clear out time and space in your life for more of God.
Jesus said that if we want to follow Him, we must first deny ourselves.
You can deny yourself watching TV. You can deny yourself social media. Deny yourself secular music or books or whatever. And you can pray and ask God, “Lord, how can I sanctify myself for You?”
The point is to pull ourselves a little more away from our “usual” in order to seek God more diligently, knowing that God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him, as it says in Hebrews 11:6.
Jesus said go into your room, shut your door, pray to your Father. In other words, get alone, shut out distractions, talk to God.
If you want to be a better Bible teacher or preacher, that is one tip. Instead of trying to be more creative or witty or modern, my one tip for you would be to get alone with God and His Word, diligently seek Him, sanctify yourself to Him and see where He will lead.
Then you will be able to come out of your time with Him with a calling, with an anointing, and what the old timers called an “unction” to speak God’s words to God’s people in the power of the Holy Spirit flowing through you.
May God bless you today.
I’m Doug Apple.
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