Yes, God Does Teach: Remarkable Insights Into God's Wisdom

By John Langer

John Langer shares insights and wisdom from the Word

The choices we make in life can result in joy or sadness, depending on the resulting actions. With candor, John Langer describes some of the decisions he has made, a few with disasterous outcomes that only God's miraculous intervention could resolve. With insight, John shares

• Language: English
• Publisher: River Birch Press
• Release date: Jun 22, 2020
• ISBN: 9781951561390

John Langer

John's passion is sharing Jesus with others. He has spoken in front of thousands and to just one. His desire for others to know God is infectious and has drawn those he fellowships with to want a deeper relationship with God. May this book do that for you and may God's blessing be with you always.

Book preview

TEACHING COMES FROM GOD

As I sit and contemplate God teaching us, it has been on my heart to begin this book with the statement that nothing new will happen that God hasn’t been aware of and that hasn’t happened before.

What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun (Ecclesiastes 1:9).

We may not get much relief in our situation from this statement, but we can rest in knowing God is with us and will stay with us. This truth will become more and more evi- dent as you continue reading this book. God will supply our needs and He will direct our paths. This is only a glimpse into how God works in us day by day and what life can look like at times when He has our entire lives to use.

When we set out each day to climb another mountain or head down another valley, we can experience God’s provi- dence in our lives and recognize there is a reason for every twist or turn we make. Sometimes it comes at a great cost— our health, time from family, financial disaster, or even death—but in the end, there will be moments when we can learn some things that God would like us to understand.

I have known people who died not knowing the impact they had on other’s lives. They never saw the fruit they pro- duced, yet people came to know God in part because of the life they lived. But even in that circumstance, someday when we stand before God we will be shown how the tragedy we experienced had merit and value to our heavenly Father.

As we examine various times when God stretched and challenged my thinking, I hope you too will be stretched and challenged to allow God to do what He envisions for you and hang on for the ride of your life.

This will not be easy. Scripture clearly says in this life we will have trouble, so don’t be surprised. As Jesus was talking with the disciples, He shared with them what was to come to them and eventually come to us.

I have said these things to you in figures of speech. The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in fig- ures of speech but will tell you plainly about the Father. In that day you will ask in my name, and I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf; for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have be- lieved that I came from God. I came from the Father and have come into the world, and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father (John 16:25-33).

His disciples said, Ah, now You are speaking plainly and not using figurative speech! Now we know that You know all things and do not need anyone to question You; this is why we believe that You came from God.

Jesus answered them, Do you now believe? Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scat- tered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me. I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world ( John 31:33).

As I was reading Malachi 2 one day, I saw that God was speaking to the priests when He warned them about what they were doing wrong. He said that if they did not listen and give honor to His name, He would bring a curse on them. And He did just that. In this passage God was speaking of a covenant of life and peace for those who feared Him. Levi once stood in awe of Him; true instruction was in his mouth, and no wrong was found on his lips. He walked with peace and uprightness and turned from sin. The priest was to guard knowledge, and the people were to seek instruction from him.

Today we have God’s Word, and in it we find instructions for us on every aspect of life—everything from how to make decisions and understand our purpose to what we can expect from following God. The word of God is very important to us, yet many of God’s people seldom turn to it for answers to their problems, nor do they seek someone to help them un- derstand it.

As we begin to look at how God teaches us, we will ex- amine many ways in which our lives are guided by the Almighty and All-knowing Creator of us all. I hope your un- derstanding of our Lord continues to grow each day you live, so that when you go to be with Him, you will see Him in the same way He has taught us to see.

HOW DOES GOD TEACH?

Many are the ways God teaches us. Oftentimes the failures we go through helps us to understand Him better. Those fail- ures can redirect out path or help us to never make that choice again.

As we read our Bible, we receive instructions from God to turn from our wicked ways and learn better ways of doing things. He teaches us through dreams and visions. God also uses friends to teach us. Sometimes friends let us know that we need to avoid what is happening or encourage us to keep on doing what God has for us. For example, I was talking with a friend one day, and I instantly knew God was convicting me to change through the words he shared.

Through times of prayer God teaches us that He is with us and wants to help direct and guide us to a better day. When I add fasting to my prayers, I almost always receive a better understanding of knowing what God wants from me.

Through creation God says we can know Him by ob- serving what He has made. How can you not look at the Grand Canyon or the Ocean or the Majestic Mountains and yet not see there is a Creator?

Even when terrible trouble happens in our lives, He teaches us how to carry on by giving us the needed strength. God has taught me that when I listen to His voice and obey, something better will happen than what I planned. Once I stood in front of a gun aimed at me, and God taught me that He intended for me to be there and that the end result would be good.

God has shown me how to live humbly by taking excess from my life. Sometimes he blessed me with extra to learn to give it away. Once I spent my last dollar only to have someone ask for help, and I had nothing to give. This lesson caused me to always keep something aside with which to help another when the need arises.

Many of our lessons are learned, meaning we must go through an event to grasp the reality of the situation better. When my wife and I were in Canada and our grandson had a violent seizure, we found ourselves scrambling to get home. We could not get there for a couple days. In the meantime, we wept for God to help. We didn’t eat as we spent time with God when we knew the situation was getting worse.

At home my family drew closer together as they relied on the doctors, family, friends, and most importantly, God, to help this small child. In the end it drew my son and daughter-in-law closer because we were not there. This lesson would have been different if we would have been there. With my wife and I out of the picture unable to directly help them, they were forced to rely more on each other and God.

Another way God teaches us is through discipline. Sometimes He blesses us as we do things He intended for us to. Sometimes He shows us things through celebrations and sometimes through suffering loss. For instance, while I was overseas, I have been invited to some funerals and found that different cultures react and bury their loved ones in ways I had not considered previously. In fact, sometimes my view of things dramatically changed by what I saw in other cultures.

Sometimes men and women of God have brought me knowledge I did not have, and sometimes God Himself has shown me a completely different view of who He is. There is nothing like being completely sure of something about God and have Him show you something different. For example, I was taught early on in my childhood that God does not heal any more and that was for the disciples and maybe a few more. Then one day I saw a miraculous healing, and that changed everything for me. I have seen hundreds if not thou- sands of healings since that day. God decided to teach me that He was more than I thought and could still do the im- possible in this day and age.

One of the most dramatic teachings I have had lately came at the expense of followers of Jesus overseas. When I arrived, I didn’t know that persecution had come to the point of people dying and lives being changed in an instant. I saw people losing their homes and many churches were destroyed. Some pastor’s homes had been taken, and most of the Christian bookstores had their books burned and their build- ings given away. The missionaries were losing their homes and the foreign ones were being deported. Christians’ homes were being taken only because the owners were followers of Christ.

I was asked shortly after I arrived and learned these things were happening, if I was still willing to stand up for God and share Jesus in a place where I could be put in prison or even killed. In that moment I needed to decide yes or no.

When I said yes, I didn’t know what events would follow. More than seventy people came to know Christ, and those living under this trouble were not only sticking with God but growing closer to Him. They came to need each other more as persecution came. They shared their food, homes, and re- sources to keep each brother and sister able to function in a world that had turned against them. Jobs were being lost and everything they knew from their previous lives had changed.

In all this what I saw was a powerful church that cared for each other. They cared for the lost, and they even loved their enemies, knowing those people harming them would suffer greatly in the end if they did not come to know Jesus.

The persecuted church is strong, vibrant, and real. I say real because when we in America go to church, hear the sermon, are moved, and then leave, it is not like those I saw abroad who also love God. They need each other to survive, and more importantly they know they need God. They fast many times throughout the week. They read God’s Word several times a day, and their prayers touch God.

I could not begin to write down all the ways in which God teaches us, but this gives you at least a glimpse of how He leads us to a better tomorrow.

Those being persecuted are also looking for a better to- morrow and will get it, although it may not be the better to- morrow they were looking for. But one thing I saw in them was that they knew God, and they themselves said that fact alone was worth all the suffering they were going through. One of those precious souls said that they would pray for me as I went home to America, so that I could share how God was taking care of them and how the church is strong there.

As you look to our heavenly Father for direction and guidance, may you seek Him in all you do, and He will guide your heart, soul, and mind in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Remember that God will teach you in many ways what you need to know and will help you stay the course. The lessons you learn will be very valuable to you so that you will be able to tell others how God has taught you.

WHAT DOES GOD TEACH?

The best place to find out the answer to this question is to look in God’s Word. His Word gives us instructions on how to live, and passage after passage is filled with insight and tes- timony of lives changed and how it occurred.

As believers, we have the Holy Spirit living in us, giving us a direct line to God. Remember inside you is the living God and what could be better than that? The disciples walked with God, but when Jesus ascended to heaven, He said His Father would send a helper called the Spirit of Truth. So, we have been given His Spirit to teach us how to live.

When we look at scripture we see many things, so here we will look at various passages on some of what God teaches us.

Now concerning brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another (1 Thessalonians 4:9).

Blessed is the man whom you discipline, O LORD, and whom you teach out of your law (Psalm 94:12).

O God, from my youth you have taught me, and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds (Psalm 71:17).

So Jesus said to them, When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own authority, but speak just as the Father taught me ( John 8:28).

Make me to know your ways, O LORD; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long (Psalm 25:4-5).

Good and upright is the LORD; therefore he instructs sin- ners in the way. He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way. All the paths of the LORD are steadfast love and faithfulness, for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies For your name’s sake, O LORD, pardon my guilt, for it is great. Who is the man who fears the LORD? Him will he instruct in the way that he should choose (Psalm 25:8-12).

Teach me your way, O LORD, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name (Psalm 86:11).

Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust. Make me know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul (Psalm 143:8).

So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom (Psalm 90:12).

In these few verses from the Bible, we see God teaches us a lot. Let’s look at a list of things found within them.

1. He will teach us to love one another.

2. God also disciplines us because He loves you and me.

3. Even in our youth He teaches us so that we will stay near to Him as the years go by.

4. Jesus did everything the Father wanted Him to do and will teach us how to follow Him also.

5. God leads us down the right path as He teaches us truth and leads us to salvation.

6. He is good and upright and teaches us humility as well as His steadfast love and faithfulness.

7. He shows us forgiveness and teaches us what the fear of the Lord is. He will instruct us in the way we should choose.

8. We are shown how to trust Him in all we do and to number our days so that we will gain a heart of wisdom.

Even in just these few verses, we can see that God has a lot to teach us and wants to show us the best path