We Can You Must – The Necessity to Both Teach and Preach

Several years ago, a man prophesied over my life. He didn’t know me and yet started by saying, “You’re a teacher, teacher, teacher, teacher, teacher. That’s what you are. Everything about you is a teacher”.

He was right. I am comfortable being a teacher. I like foundation-laying and long-term incremental change. However, I am much less comfortable being an evangelist.

Whereas teaching enables us to do something, preaching challenges us to do it.

Teaching says, “We can be born again”, whereas preaching says, “You must be born again” (John 3:7).

Clearly, the latter is more difficult than the former. No one likes to be told what to do. However, if Jesus challenged people to change, we must do the same.

Even though I am more comfortable as a teacher, I have learned to follow Paul’s challenge to Timothy: “Do the work of an evangelist” (2 Timothy 4:5).

Sometimes, as the Australians would say, ‘we need to do the hard yards’ - even if it is uncomfortable.

Are you prepared to challenge people?

Are you willing to step out of your comfort zone?

Are you ready to do the right thing, even when others won’t like you doing it?

Robert