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Dream Again: The Power of Mentorship
October 4, 2023 · 30 min
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Series A Significant Life October 4, 2023 · 30 min · A Significant Life
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Jim Graff is a respected pastor, leader, and author who loves helping people fulfill their unique
potential while finding their significance in Jesus Christ.
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0:02 Prayer is our connection with God. A time to bring forth our hurts, our worries, and our praises. A time to be in the presence of Jesus. This month, we at a0:13 significant life want to help lead you into a focused time with our father. Uniting together in prayer, we pray for transformations that only the Holy Spirit can bring. When you sign up at a significant0:25 prayer life dot com, we'll send you prayer points and sample prayers to help guide your words and deepen your prayer life. Each week, there will be a new focus. Let's ask God for a0:37 renewal of the Holy Spirit in our churches and guidance amongst our governments and leadership. This October, we hope you'll join us for a significant prayer life. Let's unite in prayer and be0:49 part of what God is doing across the globe. Visit asignificant prayer life dot com to sign up today.1:02 It's been well said that great mentors are very hard to find, but they are impossible to forget. And it's because of how they speak to the hopes within us and help us achieve what would be impossible without them.1:14 Today, we'll discuss why the Apostle Paul taught us to actively seek the motivation and instruction mentors bring us. We'll learn to recognize what makes a person the right mentor for us and why receiving can be1:26 difficult, so we receive well the life changing gift of mentorship.1:49 How many of you guys have enjoyed, the series so far? Talking about dream again. Amen? Amen. Man, we've been talking about how God wants to restore the dreams, the2:01 purposes that he's placed inside each of our hearts. And pastor Jim kicked it off with an awesome message, talking from Philippians 3. How we talked about how leaving our past can be difficult. Right? But how2:12 important it is that we learn to leave our past so that we can experience all God has for us. And then last week, pastor g brought a great word while getting a workout in. Some of you guys remember the treadmill, and he2:23 talked about how we have to learn to run like our life depends on it. Right? So in order for God to resurrect dreams in our heart, in order for us to experience all that he has for us and to2:35 fulfill the purpose he's he's called us to, number 1, we need to learn to let go of our past. Right? To to focus on moving forward. Number 2, we need to learn to run with passion, with2:47 purpose, and with discipline. And here's what we're gonna talk about today. Alright? We're gonna talk about how we need to learn to learn from 1 another. Everybody say learn from 1 another.2:59 Do you have some people in your life that you know, if these people weren't in my life, I wouldn't be where I am today? Right? Most of us probably do. Maybe it's family members, maybe it's friends, maybe3:11 it's, you know, coaches or teachers. And we use all kinds of words to describe these people. Right? Their influences, maybe their advisors. But the word that I wanna use today is a word called3:22 mentor. Everybody say mentor. Mentor. Now, I was a little hesitant to use this word because I know that sometimes this word can carry a ton of weight. Like, maybe you think it's that 1 person that I can3:34 attribute my entire life success to. And, you know, the truth is, I think that we can have many mentors in our lives in different areas. So here's the definition that I wanna talk from today. It's, from the3:46 Webster's dictionary. It says, a mentor is a trusted guide or counselor. So what does a guide do? A guide helps you get where you're going. Right? Faster with fewer headaches,3:58 Apple Maps, Google Maps. Right? And the truth is, guides I mean, mentors play a big part in our life. If we were to look at a lot of the people that we admire or look up4:10 to, you know, whether it be in real life or even in movies, we would see that almost always there are mentors who have been in their life to help get them to where they are today. For example, how many of you guys4:22 remember The Karate Kid? Yeah? I'm not talking about Jaden Smith. Alright. I'm talking about the real Karate Kid, the original. How many of you know there's no Karate Kid without who? Mister4:33 Miyagi. Wax on, wax off. Right? Any Star Wars fans? Alright. There's no Luke Skywalker without who? Obi Wan. Right? Or let me give 1 for you Spurs4:45 fans. Alright? Greatest power forward of all time, mister Timmy D. Alright? There's no Tim Duncan without his coach. Right? Coach Pop. Or maybe it's the other way around. I'm not really sure at this point.4:58 But as you can see, mentors play a huge part in our life. And this happens in the real world, but did you know this example is biblical? Let me give you a few biblical examples of some people that we know from scripture5:09 who had mentors. Here's the first 1, Moses. How many of you guys know Moses? Moses led the Israelites out of slavery. Right? Pretty amazing. But did you know that when Moses got into the wilderness with5:21 the people, he had a mess on his hands. He didn't know how to lead like he needed to lead. So God brought somebody by the name of Jethro. Everybody say Jethro. Jethro. Into his life. His father-in-law.5:33 In Exodus 18, you can read about it. And he helped Moses become a better leader. Or how about Paul? You guys know Paul. He wrote 2 thirds of the New Testament. Right? An amazing amazing man. But5:45 even Paul had a mentor. His name was Barnabas. You can read about Barnabas in Acts chapter 11. And here's my favorite 1. Jesus. Anybody love Jesus? Yeah. Did you know Jesus5:57 learned from people? Luke 2, and I'm gonna start in verse 42. It says this, it says, when he was 12 years old, I think this is kind of funny. When he was 12 years old, they went up to the festival according to their6:08 custom. After the festival was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it. Thinking he was in their company, they traveled on6:20 for a day. The whole day, y'all. Mary and Joseph lost Jesus for a whole day. No big deal. Just the son of God. Right? Oops. So I think some of us parents,6:32 we need some grace when we lose our kids at the grocery store. Amen? I'm just kidding. I'm just kidding. Do not quote me. I'm just joking. Keep an eye on your kids. But they lost Jesus and it you pick up in verse 45, it6:44 says, when they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him. After 3 days, they found him 3 days. Whoo. After 3 days, they found him in the temple courts sitting among the teachers,6:55 what, listening to them and asking them questions. He was growing. He was learning. Scripture says, Jesus grew in wisdom, stature, and favor with both God and man. This7:07 idea of a self made man or woman is a lie. This is a that society tries to place on us. The truth is God wants us to learn from 1 another.7:19 God wants to use our experience, our expertise, our gifts so that we can help each other get further along in life. Why? Well, because here's the truth. Right? Our success is not just7:31 about us, is it? Our success is about the kingdom. So we're all in this together. Now before we get, too far along, I wanna just for a moment stop because I know there7:43 are probably people here today who are thinking kind of how I was thinking when I felt the Holy Spirit put this message in my heart. And that's, you know, yeah, Michael, but what about the dangerous side of mentorship?7:54 Because no doubt, it doesn't take long to find a self proclaimed expert in just about any area, right, in real life or online. People who claim to have a lot of expertise but have8:06 very little experience. People who claim to have awesome advice but have very little authority or accountability. And, we've seen people get hurt. We've seen people get burned.8:18 Right? So let me just say this before we get too deep in it. A mentor should serve as our guide. Every everybody say guide. Mentors are great guides, but mentors should never8:29 replace our God. Amen? Amen. See, our ultimate authority is always God, the Holy Spirit and his word in our lives. Because mentors aren't perfect. Anybody in here8:41 perfect? Exactly. Right? Mentors are human beings. They're not perfect. But they can be so helpful in our lives. Here's another thing. Mentors can't give us the fulfillment that only God can give. Right?8:53 I've seen people who, you know, get a mentor in their life and, you know, they get in it and they're so excited because they wanna grow and they wanna please God, but somewhere along the way, they start wanting the9:04 approval of their mentor so badly that it becomes a codependent and impossible situation. Only God can really bring fulfillment in our lives. So mentors aren't God, but they can be great9:16 guides. Amen? So I think there are probably 3 different people here today. There's a group of people who would say, you know, I know this is true. I have mentors in my life and I'm so9:28 thankful for the difference that they've made in my life. And that's awesome. And I believe there's still gonna be some stuff in the message today that'll that'll encourage you. And then I think there are people here9:36 today who would say, you know, I have people in my life, but I don't know if I have all of the right people in my life that I need. And I believe I got some stuff from God that's gonna help you today as well. And then9:48 I think there are probably people here today who would say, you know what? I need good mentors in my life. So here's what we're gonna talk about today real quick. Alright? We're gonna talk about 4 things that I think we10:00 can do to attract and grow from mentors. How do we grow through mentorship? Are you guys ready to jump in? Alright. Let's do it. If we're gonna grow through mentorship,10:12 I believe, number 1, we need to ready ourselves. Everybody say ready Ready. Myself. Now, what does that mean? Well, I think it means 3 things. And I have some10:23 scripture here to show you what I'm talking about. But number 1, I think that we have to work on having humility. Everybody say humility. Humility. What is humility? Well, humility means we recognize10:35 that we need help. Anybody like me, you will spend 15 minutes in the grocery store before you admit to anybody that you don't know where the butter is. Is it dairy? Is it yogurt? What where is this10:47 thing? Right? I'm not even talking about H E B. 10 rows at Dollar General. I just I can't find it. Right? But unless we're willing to acknowledge, admit, and10:59 recognize that we need help, we'll never get the help we need in life. Here's the second thing. I think we need coachability. Everybody say coachability. Coachability. What is coachability?11:11 Well, teachability means we're willing to be taught something. Right? Coachability means we're willing to be held accountable for what we're being taught. In other words, we gotta be11:23 willing to allow people to bring accountability into our lives. We gotta be willing to maybe push our buttons a little bit from time to time so that we can grow. And here's the third thing I think we need to ready11:34 ourselves is we need discipline. Everybody say discipline. Discipline. Discipline means we're willing to do the hard work that it takes to grow. Why are these things important? Well, I think they're important11:46 for 2 reasons. For 1, if we don't ready ourselves, if we're not humble, we're not gonna recognize an opportunity for mentorship that comes our way. Right? If we're not disciplined, if we're not11:58 coachable, we're gonna squander opportunities that come our way. Now, I have an example of this, and I I didn't necessarily wanna share this example because it's kind of a sad story,12:10 and I'm believing God's gonna restore this person. And I know we have a lot of Texas A and M fans here today. But there's a documentary that came out about Johnny Manziel. And I haven't seen it yet, so I'm not12:22 necessarily saying to watch it, but I do know his story. How many of you guys know Johnny was an amazing college football player for the Aggies. Right? 1 of the best to ever play, in my opinion. He was12:34 drafted in the first round of the NFL draft. It was by the Cleveland Browns, but he still made an NFL team. Alright? And he was there you go. Steeler fan. Some of you got it.12:46 He was expected to do great in the NFL, at least have somewhat of a successful career in the NFL. But he didn't. Right? He was what we would call a bust. And if you know his story, you know that he12:57 squandered a lot of opportunity. He, he partied. He they said he really didn't watch any game film at all. And I know a lot of people who say, man, I feel like Johnny Manziel's parents,13:09 his coaches, his friends, they all failed him. And I would agree with that. I think there's some truth with that. But I would also argue that Johnny Manziel was an NFL football player. That means13:21 that he had access to the same locker room, the same NFL coaches, the same advisers that every 1 of his teammates had, many of who had successful careers with less talent.13:33 But Johnny didn't what? Johnny didn't ready himself. Right? He wasn't humble. He didn't work hard. And I'm believing God's gonna restore him. I think it's a sad story, but I believe God has a future for him. I'm13:45 believing he's gonna find Jesus. Amen? He may not play football in the NFL, but God can do something great with his life. But he's an example of what happens if we don't ready ourselves. We might have people who are13:57 ready and willing to speak into our lives, but we gotta start by being ready. Here's what Paul said. Paul was a great example of a mentor and a great example of someone who was mentored well.14:09 From where he started to where he finished is an amazing story. So most of the scriptures I'm gonna talk from today are gonna be from Paul. Okay? Romans 12 3. He said, for by the grace given me, I14:21 say to every 1 of you, do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of14:33 you. In other words, be humble. Right? In other words, be coachable. Here's another scripture. Pastor g talked about this 1 last week. First Corinthians 9. Paul said14:45 this. So I run with purpose in every step. I'm not just shadow boxing. I want discipline my body like an athlete training to14:56 do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others, I myself might be disqualified. In other words, Paul's saying, this takes discipline. This life of growth15:08 that I'm living, it takes discipline. It takes work. So number 1, if we wanna grow through mentorship, we have to ready ourselves. Here's the second thing we have to do. We have to pray15:20 and pursue. Everybody say, pray Pray. And pursue. Did you know you can pray about anything? You can pray for that parking spot. You15:33 can pray for the Cowboys to beat the Eagles. Here's the thing, though. You don't always necessarily get the answer you're looking for. Right? But Philippians 4, it actually says that we should15:45 pray about everything. It says, don't worry about anything. Instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done.15:57 And that includes having the right relationships and the right connections in our lives. But sometimes we get so worked up and so zealous man, we start running from thing to thing. We gotta connect with this person and16:09 this person. We gotta DM the right people and be at the right events and all of these things. And all that's good, but we forget that it starts with prayer. Right? Right. 2 reasons. 1, when we pray, we get to16:21 tell God what we need. We get to invite him into our situation. Right? But here's the other thing that happens when we pray. We give God the opportunity to show us what we really need. Right? How many of16:33 you guys dated in junior high? Come on. I wasn't allowed to date in junior high. It's fine. Some of you did though. Do you guys remember what you thought you wanted in a guy or a girl in junior16:45 high? Your boyfriend, your girlfriend? Maybe it was just like the fastest boy in recess or the tallest kid in school. Right? Or maybe it was that 1 girl in class who played video16:56 games. Right? Wanna come over and play Nintendo 64 with me. Right? Come on. Could you imagine if you had the same standards for your husband and or wife that you17:08 had for your boyfriend or girlfriend in junior high? We'd be in trouble. Right? See, God knows what we need way more than we even know for ourselves.17:20 So we need to start with prayer. But it doesn't end there. Right? We can't just pray and sit, you know, back. We gotta get out and get around the right people. Here's what, Proverbs 13 20 says. It17:32 says, walk with the wise and become wise. For a companion of fools suffers harm. Some of us are hanging out with fools too much. Right? I'm just kidding. I'm just kidding.17:44 I'm not saying dump all your friends, but here's what I'm saying. Is that funny? Somebody's got some interesting friends.17:55 Here's what I'm saying. If you wanna go somewhere in life, you gotta get around people who are headed in the right direction. That's what I love about church. Right? There are so many amazing people18:08 in this room. So many different gifts, so many different passions, so many people heading in intentional directions. It's why I love connect groups and serve teams because you get people together18:19 with similar passions, with experience. What a great opportunity to build life giving connections in our lives. So if we're gonna grow through mentorship, number 1, we need18:31 to ready ourselves. Number 2, we need to pray. We need to pursue. Here's the third thing that we should do. We should submit and strive. Everybody say strive. Now18:43 clearly, if we're gonna grow, we have to have some submission in our life. Right? We have to be willing to allow someone to pour into us. But I wanna talk about the word strive for a moment. Because I18:55 think there are probably a lot of Christians who think, wait, Michael, I thought I wasn't really supposed to strive as a Christian. I thought it was, you know, just let God work. Right? Sheep don't strive and there's19:07 some truth in that. We don't have to strive for salvation. We don't have to strive for God's grace and forgiveness. We don't even have to strive for certain provision in our lives.19:19 But it does not mean that we don't apply ourselves as Christians. And I feel a burden to just remind some people here today that we have a lot of people in19:31 our world working really hard for the wrong things. We have a lot of people working really hard to push worldly agendas, People working really hard to take biblical values out of19:42 society, out of our kids, out of our future. How many of you guys think we need people of God who are willing to work really hard to make sure that doesn't happen? Amen? Amen.19:57 We need people who wanna give their best for the kingdom of heaven. We need people in position of leadership who love God. We need people who are leaders who love God. We need20:09 bosses. We need employees who are the best example to their coworkers. We need teachers. We need people who wanna give their best for Jesus. People who want to give their best so they can be20:21 all God has called them to be. Why? Not so that we can receive the praise of man, but so we can use our influence to point people to Jesus. Amen? Amen. I don't know about you, but if I'm gonna represent Jesus,20:33 I wanna give him my best. If I'm gonna represent the king of kings, I wanna try to be on my a game. I'm not gonna be perfect, but I'm gonna strive. Here's what first20:44 Timothy 4 10. This is Paul talking to 1 of the guys that he mentored. His name was Timothy. He said, that is why we labor and strive. Because we have put20:56 our hope in the living God who is the savior of all people, especially of those who believe. See, we should be so passionate about helping people know Jesus that we can't just sit back.21:08 Right? We have to get out there. We wanna give God our best. Church, we want you to dream again. That's what this series is about, man. God has plans for your life and and I want you21:20 to take the lid off of what you believe God can do in your life because he can do amazing things, scripture tells us. But let me just remind you this morning, our success is21:32 not just about us. Right? It's about the kingdom. It's about the kingdom. So that brings me to my fourth point this morning. If we wanna grow through mentorship, number 1, let's ready21:43 ourselves. Let's pray. Let's pursue. Let's submit. Let's strive. And here's the last thing. Let's pass it on. Everybody say pass it on.21:55 Pass Luke 16 10 talks about how he who is faithful with little will be blessed with much, trusted with much.22:07 How many of you know if we want people to pour into our lives, we better steward it well? If we want people to pour into our lives, we better turn around and begin pouring into other people. Right?22:20 Second Timothy 2. Paul poured so much into Timothy, somebody that he mentored. And this is what he said. He said, the things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses,22:32 entrust these to faithful people who will be able to do what? Teach others also. In other words, Paul said, Timothy, pass it on. And here's when you22:44 know you got it. When it's not just about us anymore. When it's not just about you. When you've experienced God's goodness to the point where you say, you know what? I wanna help other people experience his22:55 goodness like I have. That's why I love Psalm 71. Most scholars believe Psalm 71 was written by King David towards the end of his life. King23:07 David was amazing. I mean, he wasn't perfect. He made mistakes, but he accomplished some amazing things for God. King David's the 1 that was a shepherd boy who was just killing lions like it was nothing.23:19 And then he showed up and the entire Philistine are I mean, the entire Israelite army was scared to death of this giant named Goliath. And Jesus said I mean, Jesus. David said, let me at23:31 him. Went out there and killed him with a slingshot. You all remember that? And then he grew up and he became king of Israel and he led Israel to success. David23:43 had everything. He had wealth. He had fame. But David wasn't content towards the end of his life to just enjoy the blessings that God had placed in his life, to just23:54 enjoy everything that he had done for God. No. If we pick up in Psalm 71, David said this, since my youth, God, you have taught me. And to this day, I declare your24:06 marvelous deeds even when I'm old and gray. Can anybody relate with that this morning? Just kidding. Do not forsake me, my God. Till what? Till I declare your24:18 power to the next generation. Your mighty acts to all who are to come. Listen. David wasn't done just because he had accomplished amazing things. David's heart, it was full of24:29 passion to pass on what God had done for him. And I think I'm speaking to some people today. I just feel burdened to be a messenger24:41 to you today. Some of you, maybe even towards the latter parts of your life. Man, you have so much experience, giftings. Let me encourage you. Pass it on.24:54 Pass it on. We need you. Psalm 1 45 says, 1 generation commends your work to the others. They tell of your mighty acts.25:06 Pass it on. There are some people today too, I'm not just talking about the older people, there are so many people in this room today who have been through things, who are gifted, who have things to25:18 offer, so much to offer. Can I just encourage you? Let's pass it on. That's 1 reason I love Paul because Paul always had a mentor. He had Barnabas, but he25:30 always had a Timothy, someone he was pouring into. Paul had a a Barnabas, a mentor, but he had a John Mark, someone he was pouring into. He had a25:41 mentor, but he was always pouring into people. How many of you guys know that sounds like the kingdom of heaven. Right? It's not just reaping, reaping, reaping. No. It's sowing and25:53 reaping. Sowing and reaping. So let's be people who are always sowing and we're always reaping. Amen? I like the phrase that says this, God26:05 will always get it to you if he knows he can get it through you. And I know I'm with some people who are like that this morning. Amen? You know, I think about our pastor, pastor Jim. When he26:17 got saved, he thought the book of Job was how to get a job. That was his starting point. And I'm actually thankful for miss Tamara who poured into his life all these years. Now she she has.26:29 She has. I'm not totally joking. But it wasn't just her. Alright? There were a lot of people who poured into his life, and he readied himself, and he's grown.26:41 But you know what? He didn't just take take take. Aren't you thankful he's turned around and man he's blessing so many of us in the way that he shares the word of God, the way that he's obedient to God. And it may not26:51 look just like pastor Jim, but God wants to do that in your life where you're at. Amen?26:59 Well, hope your faith was encouraged today because it really is true that opportunities for success are all around us, and they can become our realities when we seek the right mentors. So much of what we enjoy today, Jim27:11 was empowered by godly mentors in our life. And now we have the joy of passing those things on. We're now in a season where we're still learning, but we're enjoying seeing others blessed too by the transforming power27:23 of God's truth. Hebrews thirteen:seven and 8 says, are to remember our leaders who spoke the word of God to us. We're to consider the outcome of their way of life and to imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same27:34 yesterday, today and forever.27:36 In other words, Jesus will give us the blessings He gives to others whenever we give Him the faith that those others gave us. And that's why mentors are so powerful. They teach us what to give to God so that He27:48 gives back to us. And that changes marriages, families that can bring loved ones back to God. And that's why we're kicking off this special season of prayer this month. Jesus said whatever we28:00 desire when we pray, believe that we've received it and we'll have it. And when we know that God has the power and the plan to answer our prayers, then we come with a confidence that changes everything.28:12 And mentors put that confidence in us. They help us see that God makes a way for people who grow stronger day by day. So we sure hope you're going to join us in this prayer focus. Let's believe to receive28:23 together and let's rejoice together.28:31 Prayer is our connection with God. A time to bring forth our hurts, our worries, and our praises. A time to be in the presence of Jesus. This month, we at A28:42 Significant life want to help lead you into a focused time with our father. Uniting together in prayer, we pray for transformations that only the Holy Spirit can bring. When you sign up at a significant28:54 prayer life dot com, we'll send you prayer points and sample prayers to help guide your words and deepen your prayer life. Each week, there will be a new focus. We will29:06 pray together for those in struggling marriages, in abusive marriages, and for those in relationships where 1 spouse may not believe in Jesus. Together,29:18 we will lift up our children, students, and youth. Across the world, we will individually pray for the cities in which we live, lifting up the leaders and decision makers,29:30 and we will pray for our countries, including our United States of America. Let's ask God for a renewal of the Holy Spirit in our church churches and guidance amongst our governments and leadership. This29:42 October, we hope you'll join us for a significant prayer life. Let's unite in prayer and be part of what God is doing across the globe. Visit asignificant prayer life dot com to29:53 sign up today.
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The Bond of Peace: Forbearance: His Way or the Highway Jim Graff
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