Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this you will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you. (1 Tim 4:16)
Preach to yourself…and the Lord's message will be more relevant to others. It will be more real and not some abstract theory if you are part of the process. It will be more practical if we are seen practicing the truths of the faith. For how will we teach others about pursuing godliness unless we are pursuing it ourselves? This young preacher is warned about false teachers teaching demonic doctrines. The power of godly teaching that effects transformation will always be opposed by spiritual forces bent on our destruction and the attempt to diminish God's message into irrelevance. To be the most effective teacher, I must communicate a firm belief in what I believe. One thing I believe is that the Lord is able to transform us into the image of Christ when we learn to live within the authority of His word...practicing His teaching...practicing what we preach. I must preach to myself. Godliness is the goal. Teaching godliness requires that I am becoming more godly and the example of my life will confirm this for all to see. When I do not practice what I preach I can become one of those false teachers…teaching doctrines of demons…one of them being that God is not true to His word. Doctrines of demons consist of any teaching not grounded in the truth of God's word. This truth will set us free to serve the Lord and free from slavery to sin. When we are living God's word and learning how to worship Him rightly there should be progress toward Christlikeness. People should be able to see my spiritual progression…not regression. I don’t want to go backward from where I’ve come. Forward…godliness...is the goal. When I preach to me it is because I always need to be reminded of my destiny...and since I am going to be with Jesus it is required that I am to be more like Jesus.
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