mentoring

Discipleship Is About Spiritual Pursuit

When the time came for Elijah to leave this earth, Elisha chased him all the way from Gilgal to the Jordan River. He refused to let his mentor leave his sight. Elisha told Elijah: “Please let a double portion of your spirit be upon me” (2 Kings 2:9). Elisha knew he needed what his mentor had. He was passionate and determined. When heaven’s flaming chariots arrived, Elijah’s mantle fell on his disciple.

Many people today want spiritual power, but few are willing to make the sacrifices necessary to obtain it. You must humble yourself and admit you need the wisdom of those who have gone before you. Don’t become proud and think you can do this on your own. Be a learner. Study the Bible. Read spiritual books. Chase your mentors. Learn everything you can. And most of all, develop a prayer life and pursue the Holy Spirit. Ask Him for a double portion of His anointing in your life!

 

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You Need ‘Protein’ to Get Spiritually Strong

1 John 2:14 says: “I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one.” If you want to make strong disciples, you must teach them to feed on God’s Word. Nobody can overcome sin or become a strong Christian without feeding regularly on Scripture.

If you want to build muscle you must go on a high-protein diet. If you want to grow spiritual muscle you must discipline yourself to eat the meat of the Word. Don’t just snack on spiritual junk food. Don’t just listen to occasional sermons. Teach your disciples to study daily, cut deep into the Word, find the choice meat and chew long on it. That’s how you become a strong man of God.

 

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Learn to Focus on ‘the Few’

When you minister, remember: Don’t be so fascinated by a crowd. The crowd is great, but probably your biggest assignment is mentoring the person or small group of disciples you brought with you. Invest in them, pray with them and let them see Jesus in you. They will learn from your example.

Be proactive about taking a disciple with you when you minister. Whether you are traveling to preach, going to pray at the hospital, doing an outreach or counseling someone. Jesus always performed His miracles in front of His disciples so they could see. Ministry is not about you! Look for opportunities to include others as you do the work of ministry.

 

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You Must Be Broken to Impact Others

When Jesus fed the crowd of 5,000 in Mark 6:33-44, He did four things. 1) He took the bread and the fish, 2) He blessed the food, 3) He broke the food and 4) He gave the food to the multitude (see verse 41). This is how God works with us. He takes us, He blesses us, He breaks us and then He shares His life through us.

If you want to be used by God, you cannot skip the third step. We love to be blessed, but few of us want to be broken. But if you have not been broken you cannot reach your full potential. Your influence will be determined by how much you allow the brokenness of God in your life. God uses trials and difficulties to form your character. Embrace your trials and let God shape you. Submit to His dealings. In the end, your life will touch a multitude.

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Reset Your “GPS” for a New Year

Each new year I do an exercise called “resetting my GPS.” This could help you!

*** “G” stands for “goals.” Setting goals helps you move forward. What do you want God to do through you in 2018? Write down your faith goals. Be specific.

*** “P” stands for “prophetic word.” I always ask God what He is saying to me for the next year. Sometimes He gives a Scripture; other times it’s a word or phrase. This year He gave me the word “ADVANCE,” with instructions to study Deuteronomy 8 and the book of Joshua.

*** “S” stands for “special prayer.” I set aside 1-3 days to saturate my year in prayer. I will unplug my phone and fast for a few days this week. I’ll make a list of specific needs, and then I will pray about all those items during my break. I hope you can reset your GPS for 2018!

 

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Confidentiality Is Vital in Discipleship

Your disciples may need to open their hearts to confess ugly, embarrassing sins. They need to do this to find true healing. James 5:16 says we can’t be healed until we confess our sins to one another. If your disciple has a deep addiction, confession is necessary for freedom!

But you must be 100% committed to confidentiality. When your disciple bares his soul to you, cover his sins with the blood of Jesus and NEVER tell others what he said. 1 Peter 4:8 says: “Love covers a multitude of sins.” You are betraying your disciple if you tell others about his private confession. Unless he confesses to child sexual abuse or murder (which you are required by law to report to the police) his confession is between you and him. Your disciple needs a “safe place” to heal. Don’t disrespect him by sharing private information.

 

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You Must Learn to ‘Chew’ the Bible

One of the best ways to study the Bible is to read one book at a time (such as Romans or Isaiah) and slowly “chew” on each verse. The biblical word “meditate” means “to chew,” as a cow chews its cud over and over. The more you read a passage, the more “juice” you squeeze out of it!

Another great method is a word study. You can pick a biblical word such as heaven, hell, salvation, mercy, Holy Spirit, doubt, healing or justice. Any word! Then use Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance (it’s online at eliyah. com) to read all the verses in which the word appears. You can also see the original Hebrew or Greek meaning of the word. Doing a word study will soak your mind with God’s truth concerning a topic you need to understand. Joshua 1:8 promises if you meditate on His Word every day, you will be successful. Try it! ”

 

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Make God’s Word Your Priority

By definition, a disciple is a “student.” You can’t be a true disciple if you don’t study God’s Word. And studying is not the same as casual reading. If you want to grow to maturity, you must dig in the Word as if you were mining for gold.

When I study, I read a Bible passage numerous times. I ponder every word, as if I were looking at each sentence with a magnifying glass. I write down my impressions. Then sometimes I look up the verse in my Strong’s Concordance and write down the Greek or Hebrew definitions. During this process the Holy Spirit shines His light on the Word and I receive divine revelation. Proverbs 3:13-15 says that finding wisdom from God is better than finding precious jewels. If you dig diligently in the Bible you will find priceless treasure!

 

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How Many Disciples Can You Mentor?

I’m often asked how many disciples one person can mentor. I believe you can mentor people at various levels. Jesus called 12 men to follow Him closely, and He discipled a group of women (Luke 8:1-3). He also trained a group of 70 in ministry (Luke 10:1), and He preached to crowds. But Jesus invested more time in three followers (Peter, James and John) and John seemed to have the deepest revelation of the Savior because He had such close access to Him.

Jesus did not invest the same amount of time in everyone. He influenced people on different levels, but He focused on the few. Don’t spread yourself too thin. There is no set number of disciples you can mentor. But regardless of how many people you influence, make sure you invest your most quality time in the “Johns” whom God has put closest to you.

 

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Should a Mentor Admit His Weaknesses?

Should a mentor admit his weaknesses to the person he’s discipling? Some people believe a leader should never be open about his faults, since this will cause people to “lose respect.” But the Bible requires us to be humble and transparent. The apostle Paul is our example. He told the Corinthians: “I will rather boast about my weaknesses” (2 Cor. 12:9). You don’t have to talk about your darkest secrets with your disciples. Some things are best shared with trusted peers or with your mentor.

But don’t pretend you are perfect. Be vulnerable and open. Your disciple will respect you more–and he will be willing to share his struggles with you—if you show him how you are overcoming your sinful habits, character flaws and life challenges. Your humility will produce humility. Your transparency will help your disciple find healing.

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