Proverbs 3:7-9 | The Coachable Christian | Michael Dodd

and tonight's message title is the coachable christian and our scripture our scripture reference is out of proverbs 3 verses 7 and 8. uh but before we begin please join me tonight for uh a brief moment in prayer before we begin this mess just pray father we thank you tonight for your presence in this place we thank you for your goodness we thank you for your kindness god the very reason we are here in this room and that our hearts are beating that we're breathing and thinking and seeing and and hearing lord it's all because of you and we celebrate tonight your salvation in this place we celebrate your goodness and we pray god that that you would open our our hearts in the eyes of our understanding to what you want to do through your word and by the power of the holy spirit show us how to further apply your word tonight in our lives we pray in the name of jesus and if you agree with that please say amen amen well check it out it's labor day weekend and you're here you are a holy bunch of people you are holy people i love it this is cool uh and fall is drawing near right can you believe that fall's drawing near already i think september the 22nd is the uh is like the first day of fall and i hope you had a great summer did you enjoy your summer uh i had a great summer the highlight of my summer in particular was that my wife and i celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary come on 30 years [Applause] 30 years it blows our minds 30 years five kids later uh the uh the first three of our five are married i blinked my eyes and we have five grandkids and uh it just time goes so fast doesn't it uh so boy if that doesn't encourage us to really live uh for jesus i don't know what i mean just this life is a blink of an eye and so now we are are closing in on on the fall season and i got to tell you for myself and from my family uh this time of year means one thing in particular now we love the seasons how they change and whatnot but it means something really special to us because it means that college football has officially kicked off who loves i'll get some college football lovers on it come on that's cool and i got to tell you as my brother pastor matthew has shared in previous messages i played college football at the university of washington and later at boise state university and when you're new to a college football program as i experienced twice i don't recommend it but as i experienced twice you realize that you're immediately immersed in the coaching of that team and you also realize in those settings that there will be when you're a player there will be coachable moments i experienced a couple of coachable moments myself and you know i got to tell you this while i while i experience those coachable moments uh there's a lot going on while playing college football if i had only heeded the instruction from my coaches in the first place i i would have actually saved myself a lot of unnecessary additional running that i did following practice you know what i'm saying uh the it's it's it's it's a lot of work when you don't follow the the the coach's instruction the playbook that is right so one of those times in particular that i thought would be fun to share with you tonight is that when i was a freshman at the university of washington before i transferred to boise state of course one of the first things i remember being told in an orientation-like meeting was to never never ever ever lose your playbook do not lose your playbook keep it with you at all times now this was important for several reasons but one of them was this they that we were told listen you don't know who's rolling through the campus there are people that come in from other campuses looking for something lying around don't leave your playbook around that's like handing the golden ticket to an opponent right keep it with you at all times all kickers punters everyone on the team they're all given a playbook and so of course i had the place kicker playbook and one day i realized something that was frankly very terrifying i realized that i did not know where my playbook was my heart sank my head and my i sweated profusely you could imagine the nerves running through my body i had lost my playbook i was certain though that i had placed it on the top shelf in my locker and that someone must have stolen it i was sure i had put it there so guess what i have to go to my position coach who's a very friendly guy and and say coach uh you know here's the thing uh you know i am 100 sure that i had placed my playbook in the top shelf of my locker you know in the locker room and i i came to open it it's not there i think someone has stolen my playbook and he just stares at me with his beady eyes not saying a word and i keep explaining my story and explaining my story and all the while i see him reach over he just looks at me then it reaches over to his tv hutch where he has a tv vcr center and i see him reach below his tv and pull out this large binder and hold it up in front of me and i just froze i just froze right there at that moment he said coach hopkins found this in the training room there was nothing i could say right oh my and he said come see me after practice on tuesday well here's the deal with practice on tuesday it's full pads we condition hardcore on tuesdays it's not the day to see coach after practice not the day that day comes it's raining the entire practice full pads pads are soaked et cetera et cetera i i i see coach right after practice and he goes c hopkins i go over to coach hopkins coach hopkins looks at me and says are you ready i go uh yeah he goes follow me if you've ever seen husky stadium it has a lot of stairs and needless to say i never lost my playbook again never lost it again that was a ton of additional running that i wouldn't have had to do if i just had heated the instruction from day one right well in the bible there's a lot of encouragement to be coachable and teachable and and why is there so much encouragement to be coachable and teachable well because those who are coachable we see this throughout proverbs those who are coachable they get wiser those who are teachable they get wiser and god wants his people to be wise and live their lives wisely he wants every one of us to live our lives wisely to get wiser and wiser so tonight during our time together we're going to discover the character qualities of a coachable person and i got to tell you what i've noticed about this you know i've thought so much about this this message regardless of one season of life being coachable and teachable is is really is really so critical in our growth in the lord and as i share tonight i believe you'll see why and as we do it's my prayer as i share tonight it's my prayer that that will not only know what these character qualities are but seek to apply them to our lives to really become coachable christians again regardless of the season of life proverbs 3 verses 7 and 8 say this do not be wise in your own eyes fear the lord and shun evil this will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones so the first characteristic of someone who is coachable is this a coachable christian the the coachable christian is a number one a humble person and i gotta tell you you see it's uncoachable moments that one's attitude really reveals one's heart there's there's a true humility about someone who is coachable and you see it in their response their attitude in coachable moments it really comes out and it proves it it proves that that sincere authentic humility proverbs 3 verse 7 again it says do not be wise in your own eyes fear the lord and shun evil see the proverbs 3 is telling us here that those who are humble are people who for starters they they fear the lord meaning that they are people who acknowledge god in all their ways they acknowledge god in every aspect of their life humble people also don't act like they know it all you never hear a humble person say when they're being coached or corrected or taught instructed you don't ever hear them say oh no i know i know you ever met someone you're trying to help i mean you're trying to help them it's like seriously help them speak into life encourage the things that god in their life oh no i know i know you don't hear a humble person speak on that level because the the coachable heart is within them they're also aware of their weaknesses humble people are aware of their weaknesses and conscious of blind spots you also notice with people who are truly uh humble is that they own up to their failures they don't make excuses for their failures better yet they don't blame shift follow me people who are humble in heart are not blame shifters and most important they consider others more highly than themselves such a great character quality considering others more highly than themselves in philippians 2 verse 3 it says do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit rather in humility value others above yourselves another quality of those who are truly humble in spirit they they're slow to speak quick to listen quick to listen but again slow to speak james 1 verse 19 says this says my dear brothers and sisters to take note of this everyone if you're look to your neighbor and say hey you're in everyone everyone everyone right everyone should be quick to listen slow to speak and slow to become angry there's such a genuine humility in being quick to listen and slow to speak isn't there who here enjoys watching the olympics yeah a lot of hands come on did you have fun rooting on the u.s or what we had like a whole lot of gold medals i know in our total metal count the united states took it i think also right i think in our our gold medal count we also took that had the most gold medals it was a really cool olympics that way and they through the course of the olympics during the track and field portion they actually highlighted one particular us athlete by the name of vashti cunningham she is one of the top top high jumpers uh of course in the us but also in the world amazing athlete that they were they were highlighting during the track and field and it was so amazing when i watched her again this is a world-class athlete who knows what she's doing if you didn't know female high jumpers they can high jump like six and a half to seven feet that's like over that's way over my head i'm 62. could you imagine i mean that's so high they're so talented and strong what was so fun to watch though in this process and to see is how coachable and humble she was during her competition as she competed now here's what they would show after every jump vashti would would go right on over to her coach now her coach by the way is randall cunningham if you know that name he's an all-pro quarterback from back in the day was with the philadelphia eagles had an exceptionally successful career turns out that the man's a pa uh a christian and a pastor as well and and he's he's his daughter's coach really cool after every jump she went right over to her coach and while her coach was speaking to her here's what you would see just imagine this she would run across the track and there's dad coach in the stands and she would just stand there she wouldn't say a word not a word she would simply listen and hang on every word of her coach's encouragement his correction his specific instruction and then the strategy for the next jump you see it like play out it was the coolest thing to see and you would see this process literally take place jump after jump she would have returned to her coach humbly listen to his every word then execute the jump and so on and and it's really like important to note here that not only did she listen to again encouragement correction adjustment you could like hear the communication coming from him his instruction his strategy but she went out each time and did as best as she could didn't didn't you know nail all the jumps but did as best as she could according to her coaches leading such a humility from a world-class athlete who you would think knows it all but no she hung on every word he said wanted that input wanted to know if are there any in that dynamic any blind spots anything's anything i'm not doing that i can't feel it i'm not doing what should i do next that was the the the entire context of that dynamic in those coachable moments really cool you see proverbs is telling us that humble people like vashti for example and like some i got to say some of the most humble men of god i know who are well in their years very successful in business very successful in life you see the fruit you see i mean you see fruit after fruit after good fruit they are open to correction instruction adjustments strategy they want to hear they you know there's one man in particular who's a very close friend of mine in vancouver and and you would think of all the men that wouldn't need coaching and instruction you would think it was this guy i got to tell you but no he's always open to hear to hear what input could could help him move forward as a man of god in the things of god i'm just amazing stuff you see proverbs is telling us that humble people they're again always learning and becoming wiser because they're open to correction as i said a second ago like vashti everybody here's the deal everybody's ignorant you know everyone lacks knowledge in some way shape or form but just on different subjects you know because it's impossible to know everything in life so it's wiser to learn from the experience of others wouldn't you agree absolutely what a benefit we have and and by so doing this we save ourselves a lot of unnecessary grief you know i could have taken some cues from some of the players at washington like don't lose your playbook and i would have saved myself a lot of painful unnecessary running that i shouldn't have had to do if i'd only listened right but if we're coachable and intentional to draw from the wisdom of others we can avoid the same mistakes that others have made you know one's coachable and humble heart it actually reveals some things it reveals maturity right and what it also does though is it brings unity to the body of christ ephesians 4 verses 11 through 13 say this so christ himself gave the apostles the prophets the evangelists the pastors and teachers to equip his people for works of service so that the body of christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the son of god and become mature and become mature attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of christ you see humility and maturity they really go hand in hand remember that humility and maturity they go hand in hand humility it flows from the heart of a christian that is mature therefore a mature christian will be a humble christian and as a result and this is so important the body of christ benefits because the coachable individual is submitted to christ's lordship ultimately and is fulfilling the role in making disciples through and in the body of christ because they're living according to the instruction of the father himself they're living according to the leading of the holy spirit themself it's such a key piece that when we are coachable the body of christ benefits when we have that true humility in in that true heart of being a teachable christian something really interesting to illustrate this um i was uh really really blessed to be a part of a super huge win in in like in husky history we played the usc trojans back in 1990 and i'll tell you right now um it was a very uh surprising game surprising game in that we easily beat usc like 31-3 and and now i got to tell you we as a team were like wow we just took it to him you could imagine what we were thinking following the game and what i'm emphasizing here is the importance of being coachable for the purpose of greater unity in vision in the body of christ so it was this question mark like wow their offense they had nothing our defense rolled them over like i mean it was so easy for them to only score three points they had a quarterback that was unbelievable nationally renowned i mean on paper they should have beat us up frankly they should have taken it to us come to find out not immediately but years later and this is actually documented there's a story about this on espn while the game was going on while the game was going on the head coach and the coaching staff as you know if you if you're a football fan they they communicate the plays play-by-play to the quarterback before the team goes into a huddle and they go out and they run the offensive play right so the coach head coach is feeding the play in so to speak to the quarterback the quarterback the entire game made the decision himself to ignore the head coach's play calls he decided while the game was going on he was going to run the plays according to what he thought should happen literally made the decision and you would see in how they documented this you would see the quarterback come off the field he and the head coach are at odds you could imagine what the head coach what are you doing we're calling these plays what are you thinking why why aren't you taking my instruction why aren't you carrying out the team strategy we're trying to win here regardless of what the head coach said this starting quarterback made the decision play after play after play even when it was failing miserably didn't care he kept on doing what he was doing well thanks for the help buddy because we just took it to you 31-3 so needless to say we were celebrating had no idea what was really going on behind the scenes but it lent to a great win it also serves the analogy that you know what when we as members of the body of christ when we when we carry out the plan of god through our life that the lord is asking of us as a part as a member of the body of christ the whole body benefits amen and not only does the whole body benefit but the lost god uses then us to help the lost and be found because we're executing the plan the game plan this strategy as as as his sons and daughters to win people to jesus every every player in the body of christ has a specific role in function and as long as we're submitted to the lordship of jesus christ with the right attitude a humble heart guess what the kingdom of god wins amen amen be mindful of that every one of you regardless of age from a youngest oldest we all have a part to play and it's key in the advancing of god's kingdom you know a second characteristic of someone who is coachable is that they actively seek wise counsel they ask for feedback even when it's not offered i got to tell you know something that uh when i when i see this when i think about this they ask for feedback even when it's not offered what that is such a posture of humility isn't it proverbs 4 verses 7 through 9 and verse 14 it says this the beginning of wisdom is this get wisdom though it may cost all you have get understanding cherish her and she will exalt you embrace her and she will honor you she'll give you a garland to grace your head and present you with a glorious crown you know maybe you know someone who who desperately seeks counsel and wisdom in crisis mode but fails to pursue wisdom when things are going well you know what i'm saying the bible actually in proverbs 1 verse 7 calls that person foolish but those who pursue pursue wisdom they do the following they they look to god's word as the final authority and memorize bible verses and then even meditate on them to store up wisdom for the future they don't wait for crisis mode they have the word of god in them amen to build their faith so they can stand firm in faith when life is happening and things are tough you ever had life happen and things tough but you got the word of god in you and it helps to anchor you and and encourage you this encourages you to stand firm in your faith in those moments of crisis the word of god in us is critical how do we do that again memorizing the word of god and seeing that his word is the final authority second timothy 3 verses 16 and 17 say this all scripture is god breathed and is useful for teaching correcting rebuking and training in righteousness so that the servant of god may be thoroughly equipped for every good work and god desires that we be thoroughly equipped for every good work that he has for each of us to carry out to his glory amen it's a good place for a big amen amen that really is god has plans and intentions through your life and his word equips us for every good work you know something else that that those do who actively seek wise counsel is that they take notes when there's a message i've noticed that actually personally i gotta tell you this is so encouraging we have high schoolers no kidding wednesday night rolls around and the message is happening and they are taking notes as fast as they can write literally just flying sometimes on my car you on your phone are you well yeah but i'm taking notes you know or yeah but i'm looking at the scriptures they're so actively engaged they're taking notes they're storing up wisdom for themselves so that when things happen in life they're not swayed by the moment they're not swayed by feelings and emotions they anchor in and stand on the word of god so great to see so encouraging they also look for godly mentors people who actively seek wisdom they're looking for godly mentors to help them grow in the things of god and in life like the friend i mentioned a second ago he literally this man is like in his 60s has godly mentors that he allows to pour into him to help him even grow all the way look it was like this is a godly man to help him grow even more in the things of god and there's an accountability in it even and it just blows my mind people who actively seek wisdom also ask others for help when needed right they're not trying to walk life solo that's not god's intention we're all intentionally purposely knit together as the body to support one another ask for help when needed that's what the body is for proverbs also speaks of those who are the opposite of humble and choose not to seek or pursue wisdom proverbs 26 verse 12 says that do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes there's more hope for a fool than for him tell us what you really think solomon what do you really think about that those who actively seek wise counsel also learn from the right teachers proverbs proverbs says that fools breed folly and the wise impart wisdom they learn from the right teachers and a big key to this also is discerning who does and does not teach wisdom in their words and actions we need to be discerning of who we're drawing from you know there's a there there is a principle that i've learned to live from and that is to counsel up when something's going on and i need wisdom i don't counsel horizontally i counsel up and the council i pursue is from those who i know they are they have the fruit of a long-standing walk with god they i mean they truly love god they truly love people they have the word of god in them in them anchored in them they hear the voice of the lord that and frankly and spiritually i know they have my back those are the kind of people that we want to receive wisdom from there are a lot of i'm 51 years old now right and i got to tell you i've learned something that there are a lot of smooth talking foolish people out there just saying it's true story but there are also a lot of soft-spoken wise people as well amen it's being discerning of who we are drawing from in relationship to wisdom proverbs 13 verse 20 says this whoever walks with the wise becomes wise but the companion of fools will suffer harm proverbs 11 i mean all these warnings these are things honestly so if we just realize the importance of these principles i've seen these principles right here make or break people from young to old not kidding personally i mean i've seen this in people's lives personally i've seen it in business i've seen i mean in family the list goes on walking with the wise is key proverbs 11 verse 14 says this where there's no guidance a people falls but in an abundance of counselors there's safety again counselors people of god who you can really trust in the things of god to speak wisdom into your life last those who actively seek wise counsel they they receive correction as a blessing they receive correction as a blessing i personally myself i've had moments where my natural reaction to correction was to get defensive you ever had that happen where you're someone's like hey is someone that someone that you that loves you that you trust you know it's not just someone coming off the street and saying hey mike no you know people who really sincerely love me care about me have my back spiritually naturally etc so you know i've pointed things out right and your natural reaction could be to get defensive but but our our naturally reaction to get defensive it really shouldn't be that way we should welcome correction and seek to grow from it and this goes for positive rebuke and even unruly criticism you ever been a recipient of unruly criticism right but can i tell you this either either receiving either is a chance for each of us to examine ourselves and to go from it there's a good practice i i picked up a while ago it's this if we receive an unfair criticism that's like 95 percentage wrong for you know for example our duty is to own up to the the five percent that's right by repenting when necessary and seeking from that point on to grow from it amen 5 or excuse me proverbs 15 verse 31 it says this the ear that listens to life-giving reproof which is correction will dwell among the wise my encouragement to you dwell among the wise listen to that life-giving life-giving reproof that's given in love proverbs 17 verse 10 says a rebuke goes deeper into a man of understanding than a hundred blows into a fool a rebuke has a far greater impact are you reading with that i mean think of it a rebuke has a far greater impact on a man of understanding than a hundred blows into a fool because the man of understanding wants to be growing in the things of god becoming wiser he sees value in that correction proverbs 15 verse 32 says this those who disregard discipline despise themselves but the one who heeds correction gains understanding then we see here in proverbs 12 verse 1. whoever loves discipline loves knowledge but whoever hates correction is stupid oh my solomon you're so rough such things being said in the word of god itself so pointed and and so black and white are feelings hurt or you call me what do you call me solomon right hebrews 12 hebrews 12 verses 7 through 11 speaks of how god disciplines those he loves and and how god often uses others people as instruments to correct his children so they grow to maturity in christ you see our our god's fatherly correction and that's what it is our god is a good god amen his fatherly correction is a good thing right i tell the high schoolers this if i know that that stove over there i know you're looking at me high schoolers on there if that stove over there is hot i'm gonna tell you it's hot why i don't want you to touch that and get hurt right now that hot stove in and of itself is gonna correct you it's it's gonna reveal to you why you shouldn't have done that but we can also take in the word of god before we get to that place of being corrected when unnecessary grief takes place when we disobey but you see again our our god's fatherly correction it's this is a beautiful thing it's reserved for us if you are his son or daughter raise your hand if you are his if you've placed your faith in jesus christ you are his son you are his daughter and his fatherly corrections reserved for us therefore our hearts should rejoice at correction as evidence of adoption as his sons and daughters now though it's painful in the moment the benefits are eternal so my question to you tonight is this how do you handle personally when you hear this word tonight how do you handle coaching and and teaching and even correction what's the what's the first heart response do you handle it with humility and obedience or with pride and defiance oh my it's revealing isn't it at the core what's your attitude your again your heart response in moments when you're being coached or perhaps even being corrected the challenge tonight to be coachable what it really is my friends is is that it's a call to surrender to the lordship of jesus christ it begins there and once we humbly surrender to his lordship and desire the things of god in that we're saying god you know i don't know it all i need your help i surrender my heart to you i don't have it figured out and ask that you would come in show me the way show me god i humble my heart before you tonight show me we know that his word is a lamp unto our feet and the light into our path we don't know but god we know that you know help us by the leading of your spirit it's that first step to becoming coachable and teachable i'll have the worship team up come on up i want to pray with you tonight it's quite a challenge to be coachable it does require humility it it required a heart that says you know what boy help me show me what must i do it's a heart that really ultimately says yes to the lord because the word of god the word of god itself is all that we need to really truly walk successfully in the things of god but it begins again with that coachable heart can you buy your heads close your eyes as i pray for you lord we praise you for being the author of all truth father we thank you for the ability to learn so grateful please lord help us humbly pursue wisdom to humbly pursue wisdom and learning for your glory and to serve others in that father i pray that you lead us by your spirit to pursue growth and to avoid things in life that that hinder growth help us god help us to receive correction and to to grow wise by learning from it i pray that you would lord weed out foolish and selfish tendencies in our hearts and keep our eyes help us to keep our eyes on you our great teacher in jesus name in jesus name amen amen amen amen tonight we're going to take communion together

Channel: Calvary Chapel Worship Center - Hillsboro, Oregon

Views: 100

Rating: 5 out of 5

Keywords: The Bible, God, Jesus Christ, Holy Spirit, Holy, Pastor Rich Jones, Pastor Matthew Dodd, Calvary Chapel, Faith, Grace, Revival, Truth, Prayer, Salvation, Calvary Chapel Hillsboro, Church, Christian, Jesus Return

Id: VQGlbSI4aDI

Length: 40min 41sec (2441 seconds)

Published: Sun Sep 05 2021