“Learning From Other People”
Learning from Life Series
Sunday, 11/23/08- Acts 19:1-10
Introduction: In the Disney park, California Adventure, there is an Animation Studio where you can go and learn how to draw one of the Disney characters, or you can see Crush from “Finding Nemo,” or you can go to find out what Disney character you are most like. In this last exhibit, the screen asks you different multiple choice questions to help you discover your personality and who you are most like. One question that is asked is: Would you rather curl up by yourself with a book, or go out and party? Of course, if you choose the first answer, you are more of a loner. If you choose the second answer you are more of a people person.
This morning, as we finish our series on “Learning from Life,” I want to talk about how we all need to be a “people person” to some extent. What I mean by this is that God developed us to be in relationship/fellowship with others. We are not meant to do everything by ourselves. God gives us people in our lives to assist us, but also to help teach us. So let’s see how we learn from other people.
I. Adam and Eve- (Genesis 2:18-24; Matthew 22:37-40; Prov. 27:17)
a. Not good to be alone- From the very start, we see that creation is
about being in relationship. God created man and woman last in the order of creation, but that was so that He could first create all that we would need to survive. But when He created man and woman, He created us in His image, in His likeness, so that we would be able to relate to God. But God also wanted us to be in relationship with other people. That is why in Genesis 2:14 God says: “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” God then proceeds to create a woman, Eve, so that Adam and Eve would not be alone, but have each other.
Later on, when Jesus was on this earth, we see Jesus talking about the 2 great commands. Jesus says in Matthew 22:37-40, “Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' 38This is the first and greatest commandment. 39And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' 40All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
b. Importance of human relationships- We are called to be in
relationship with others not just to love and be loved, but so that we could learn from others as well. To think that we can know all things without help from others is foolishness. As Proverbs 27:17 says, “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” We are sharpened by another who has wisdom and knowledge to share. We are sharpened in our character when we associate with others of good character. We increase in understanding when we seek to learn what we do not know from those who know it.
Going back to Adam and Eve, we can see that during the time of creation, Adam wasn’t alone; Genesis 2:19-20 tells us, “Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds of the air and all the beasts of the field. But for Adam no suitable helper was found.” Adam had all the animals, and plants, and trees to care for, but these were not suitable helpers for Adam. So God causes Adam to fall asleep, and out of one of his ribs he forms the woman. This represents the closeness that a man and a woman are to have in marriage. But it also shows the importance of human relationships!
II. Holy Spirit- (Acts 19:1-7; John 14:16-17, 26; John 16:7-8, 13-14; Isaiah 11:2-3; )
a. Holy Spirit in the New Testament- This last weekend I had the
opportunity to take some of the youth on an Alpha retreat to talk about the Holy Spirit. We learned about who the Holy Spirit is, and what the Holy Spirit does. The Holy Spirit actually has a multi-faceted role. He was involved in the creation of the world, He was the breath that gave Adam life (the ruach), and He was fully given to us after Jesus left the earth. When Jesus is talking to His disciples as recorded in the gospel of John, we see Jesus trying to help the disciples try to understand the role that the Holy Spirit will play in their lives after Jesus leaves this earth.
Let me read for you a couple of passages; one from John 14 and the other from John 16… John 14:16-17, 26- “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— 17the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you…. But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.” God has given us the Holy Spirit as a counselor; one who is there to teach us what we need to know and help us to understand what might be confusing. The Holy Spirit is also there to let us know what we have learned, and remind us in those times when it is best to remember.
In John 16:7-8, 13-14 Jesus tells us a little more of the Holy Spirit’s role:
“But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. 8When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment:… 13But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 14He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you.” The Holy Spirit is also there to teach us about our sin and help to lead us out of our sin. It is because of the Holy Spirit that we can know the truth of God and apply this truth to our lives. Those who have not given themselves over to the presence of the Holy Spirit will struggle to learn and understand these truths!
And in Acts 19:7 we see the Holy Spirit coming upon the people as they were baptized by Paul in the Holy Spirit, and they prophesied God’s truth, and many were taught by these words of prophesy. Even though God was no longer flesh, God found a way to speak to His people through the power of His Holy Spirit.
b. Holy Spirit in the Old Testament- But the Holy Spirit also played
the role of teacher at times in the Old Testament, and came upon others to give them the ability to teach.
1. Exodus 4:15- God says to Moses: “You shall speak
to him (Aaron) and put words in his mouth; I will help both of you speak and will teach you what to do.” This is one of many places in the Old Testament that uses this phrase “put words in his mouth.” This phrase is referring to God using His Spirit to enable Moses to be able to speak God’s message to the Pharaoh and the Egyptians. It is by the Spirit’s leading that Moses will be able to clearly speak the truth of God and inform the people what of God intends to do and how God will bring His people out of bondage and into freedom!
2. Numbers 22:28-34, 38, “Then the LORD opened
the donkey's mouth, and she said to Balaam, "What have I done to you to make you beat me these three times?" 29 Balaam answered the donkey, "You have made a fool of me! If I had a sword in my hand, I would kill you right now." 30 The donkey said to Balaam, "Am I not your own donkey, which you have always ridden, to this day? Have I been in the habit of doing this to you?" "No," he said. 31 Then the LORD opened Balaam's eyes, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the road with his sword drawn. So he bowed low and fell facedown. 32 The angel of the LORD asked him, "Why have you beaten your donkey these three times? I have come here to oppose you because your path is a reckless one before me. 33 The donkey saw me and turned away from me these three times. If she had not turned away, I would certainly have killed you by now, but I would have spared her." 34 Balaam said to the angel of the LORD, "I have sinned. I did not realize you were standing in the road to oppose me. Now if you are displeased, I will go back… Well, I have come to you now," Balaam replied. "But can I say just anything? I must speak only what God puts in my mouth.” Here we see God’s Spirit speaking through and teaching with the mouths of both Balaam’s donkey and Balaam himself.
3. Deuteronomy 18:17-20- “The LORD said to me:
‘What they say is good. 18 I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers; I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him. 19 If anyone does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name, I myself will call him to account. 20 But a prophet who presumes to speak in my name anything I have not commanded him to say, or a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, must be put to death.’” Here again we see this phrase “put words in his mouth” referring to how God speaks His words by His Spirit filling His prophets so that the truth of God is made known.
4. Jeremiah 1:9- “Then the LORD reached out his
hand and touched my mouth and said to me, "Now, I have put my words in your mouth.” Jeremiah was concerned to be set apart to speak for the Lord seeing that he was so young and didn’t think others would listen to him. But God assured Him that because the Spirit of God would be giving Jeremiah the words, all would be well, and people would still receive God’s teaching and they will listen!
III. Disciples- (Matthew 4:19, 5:1, 9:1-8)
The disciples were those who learned from another; mainly Jesus Christ. Here we have fisherman, and tax collectors, not trained in the ways of God. And yet Jesus called them to follow Him. As Jesus Himself said in Matthew 4:19- “Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” They did not know how to convert people to become followers of Jesus, but they would learn how to do this by listening to Jesus, and watching Jesus, and following Jesus.
And we see Jesus continually teaching them:
We know that the beatitudes were Jesus’ teaching the people, but we might not realize that they were directed at the disciples; listen to Matthew 5:1, “Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them…” Jesus goes on to teach them about being salt and light, fulfilling the law, aboutnmurder and hate, adultery, divorce, making oaths, not seeking revenge, loving their enemies, giving to the needy, prayer, fasting, not worrying, not judging others, making requests of God, bearing fruit, and being a wise builder. WHAT A SET OF LESSONS THIS WAS FOR THE DISCIPLES. IT WAS LIKE A CRASH COURSE TO GET THEM READY FOR MINISTRY!
But the disciples also learned from others who encountered Jesus; as they watched Jesus teach others, they in turn learned as well. One example of this is seen in Matthew 9:1-8, where some people bring a paralyzed man to Jesus to be healed. As Jesus sees this man, he forgives him of his sins. But this isn’t what they wanted or expected, they wanted Jesus to heal the man. We pick it up in Matthew 9:4-8, “Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, "Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts? 5Which is easier: to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up and walk'? 6But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins...." Then he said to the paralytic, "Get up, take your mat and go home." 7And the man got up and went home. 8When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe; and they praised God, who had given such authority to men.” The people learned about the authority of Jesus right here, and the disciples learned as they watched Jesus teaching other people. This was a pretty regular occurrence for the disciples.
How wonderful it was for the disciples to learn from Jesus, the Master. They learned when Jesus taught in parables, and then they had the opportunity to ask about the meaning later after everyone else left. They learned when Jesus did miracles; they learned when Jesus challenged the Pharisees. They were always learning, because they were always with Jesus.
IV. Teachers- (Acts 19:8-10)
a. Paul as a teacher- People can also learn by having teachers in their
lives. There are times when my kids don’t like to do their homework, or complain about having to go to school. I ask them: What would it be like if you never learned anything more? What would it be like if 20 years from now you still only know what you know now? That would be a great shame, and would limit their lives greatly!
Teachers are an important part of life. And we see this example of Paul in Acts 19:8-10, where the scripture tells us: “Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly there for three months, arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God. 9But some of them became obstinate; they refused to believe and publicly maligned the Way. So Paul left them. He took the disciples with him and had discussions daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. 10This went on for two years, so that all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord.” Paul taught in the synagogue, the lecture hall, he even taught in town squares and the courtroom. God used Paul to teach others.
Who are some of the important teachers in your life? For me it was my youth director, Dan Webster. I remember that he had a tremendous impact on my life. But I also gained much knowledge in seminary, and at the many conferences I go to. We should be thankful for those teachers God puts in our lives.
b. Mentors in life- God also helps us to learn from mentors that come
into our lives. We see that Paul was a mentor to others. Three of the more well known mentees of Paul’s were Timothy, Titus, and Philemon. If you want to know more about these relationships, you can read the letters he wrote to them in New Testament. For Timothy, it was Paul helping him to learn how to be a leader. He helped Timothy in avoiding false teachings, overcoming heresy, appointing qualified leaders, and how to supervise the affairs of the Ephesian church.
For Titus it was about appointing elders, dealing with rebellious people, teaching sound doctrine, teaching others about doing what is good, and avoiding foolish controversies. Lastly, for Philemon Paul was trying to teach him how to be a Christian slave owner. In many ways that is a conflict in terms, but because slavery was still legal, Philemon was grappling with what this meant. Especially since he found out that his slave had stolen from him and run away. Paul was sending the slave back, but giving guidance in how Philemon should respond to his slave.
I don’t know about you, but I have had many mentors in my life. Glen Perry was my first mentor helping me grow in my Christian faith right after I became a Christian. Paul Jensen was another, who helped instruct me in leadership skills while I was in college. Father Harris was still another, who was like a father to me in many ways. He was a person I could go to for advice, and talk to in ways I could never talk to my dad.
EX. I remember one time when I was a Junior High Director. I was having my first “Parents Night” for the parents of my Junior Highers. The night of the event I started to panic. I was a single 25-year-old, and I was going to talk to these parents about parenting. Feeling this fear, I called Father Harris. He calmed me down reminding me that parents are only parents of Junior highers for 2 years, whereas, I had been working with Junior Highers for many years now. I indeed had more experience in relating to Juinor Highers!
I am grateful for the mentoring opportunities God gives me today to help others grow in their faith and living out the call God has for their life. And I am equally grateful for the people God puts in my life who still mentor me.
Conclusion: We have a choice. We can let others teach us, or we can think we know it all and have to do it on our own. The more you open up your heart to learn, the more you will find that God teaches you in so many ways. You don’t have to be in school to have teachers who can teach you important lessons. You don’t have to be a in formal training to be a disciple. You do have to be willing to learn. You do have to put yourself in a place to be mentored. You do have to open yourself to God’s Spirit so that you can be led by God. I pray that through this series, you have a better understanding of how God teaches us through God’s plan, through times of waiting, through failures and successes, and through other people. Le t us give thanks to God for the many ways He helps us to learn; hopefully this day and every day. Amen.
Learning from Life Series
Sunday, 11/23/08- Acts 19:1-10
Introduction: In the Disney park, California Adventure, there is an Animation Studio where you can go and learn how to draw one of the Disney characters, or you can see Crush from “Finding Nemo,” or you can go to find out what Disney character you are most like. In this last exhibit, the screen asks you different multiple choice questions to help you discover your personality and who you are most like. One question that is asked is: Would you rather curl up by yourself with a book, or go out and party? Of course, if you choose the first answer, you are more of a loner. If you choose the second answer you are more of a people person.
This morning, as we finish our series on “Learning from Life,” I want to talk about how we all need to be a “people person” to some extent. What I mean by this is that God developed us to be in relationship/fellowship with others. We are not meant to do everything by ourselves. God gives us people in our lives to assist us, but also to help teach us. So let’s see how we learn from other people.
I. Adam and Eve- (Genesis 2:18-24; Matthew 22:37-40; Prov. 27:17)
a. Not good to be alone- From the very start, we see that creation is
about being in relationship. God created man and woman last in the order of creation, but that was so that He could first create all that we would need to survive. But when He created man and woman, He created us in His image, in His likeness, so that we would be able to relate to God. But God also wanted us to be in relationship with other people. That is why in Genesis 2:14 God says: “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” God then proceeds to create a woman, Eve, so that Adam and Eve would not be alone, but have each other.
Later on, when Jesus was on this earth, we see Jesus talking about the 2 great commands. Jesus says in Matthew 22:37-40, “Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' 38This is the first and greatest commandment. 39And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' 40All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
b. Importance of human relationships- We are called to be in
relationship with others not just to love and be loved, but so that we could learn from others as well. To think that we can know all things without help from others is foolishness. As Proverbs 27:17 says, “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” We are sharpened by another who has wisdom and knowledge to share. We are sharpened in our character when we associate with others of good character. We increase in understanding when we seek to learn what we do not know from those who know it.
Going back to Adam and Eve, we can see that during the time of creation, Adam wasn’t alone; Genesis 2:19-20 tells us, “Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds of the air and all the beasts of the field. But for Adam no suitable helper was found.” Adam had all the animals, and plants, and trees to care for, but these were not suitable helpers for Adam. So God causes Adam to fall asleep, and out of one of his ribs he forms the woman. This represents the closeness that a man and a woman are to have in marriage. But it also shows the importance of human relationships!
II. Holy Spirit- (Acts 19:1-7; John 14:16-17, 26; John 16:7-8, 13-14; Isaiah 11:2-3; )
a. Holy Spirit in the New Testament- This last weekend I had the
opportunity to take some of the youth on an Alpha retreat to talk about the Holy Spirit. We learned about who the Holy Spirit is, and what the Holy Spirit does. The Holy Spirit actually has a multi-faceted role. He was involved in the creation of the world, He was the breath that gave Adam life (the ruach), and He was fully given to us after Jesus left the earth. When Jesus is talking to His disciples as recorded in the gospel of John, we see Jesus trying to help the disciples try to understand the role that the Holy Spirit will play in their lives after Jesus leaves this earth.
Let me read for you a couple of passages; one from John 14 and the other from John 16… John 14:16-17, 26- “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— 17the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you…. But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.” God has given us the Holy Spirit as a counselor; one who is there to teach us what we need to know and help us to understand what might be confusing. The Holy Spirit is also there to let us know what we have learned, and remind us in those times when it is best to remember.
In John 16:7-8, 13-14 Jesus tells us a little more of the Holy Spirit’s role:
“But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. 8When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment:… 13But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 14He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you.” The Holy Spirit is also there to teach us about our sin and help to lead us out of our sin. It is because of the Holy Spirit that we can know the truth of God and apply this truth to our lives. Those who have not given themselves over to the presence of the Holy Spirit will struggle to learn and understand these truths!
And in Acts 19:7 we see the Holy Spirit coming upon the people as they were baptized by Paul in the Holy Spirit, and they prophesied God’s truth, and many were taught by these words of prophesy. Even though God was no longer flesh, God found a way to speak to His people through the power of His Holy Spirit.
b. Holy Spirit in the Old Testament- But the Holy Spirit also played
the role of teacher at times in the Old Testament, and came upon others to give them the ability to teach.
1. Exodus 4:15- God says to Moses: “You shall speak
to him (Aaron) and put words in his mouth; I will help both of you speak and will teach you what to do.” This is one of many places in the Old Testament that uses this phrase “put words in his mouth.” This phrase is referring to God using His Spirit to enable Moses to be able to speak God’s message to the Pharaoh and the Egyptians. It is by the Spirit’s leading that Moses will be able to clearly speak the truth of God and inform the people what of God intends to do and how God will bring His people out of bondage and into freedom!
2. Numbers 22:28-34, 38, “Then the LORD opened
the donkey's mouth, and she said to Balaam, "What have I done to you to make you beat me these three times?" 29 Balaam answered the donkey, "You have made a fool of me! If I had a sword in my hand, I would kill you right now." 30 The donkey said to Balaam, "Am I not your own donkey, which you have always ridden, to this day? Have I been in the habit of doing this to you?" "No," he said. 31 Then the LORD opened Balaam's eyes, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the road with his sword drawn. So he bowed low and fell facedown. 32 The angel of the LORD asked him, "Why have you beaten your donkey these three times? I have come here to oppose you because your path is a reckless one before me. 33 The donkey saw me and turned away from me these three times. If she had not turned away, I would certainly have killed you by now, but I would have spared her." 34 Balaam said to the angel of the LORD, "I have sinned. I did not realize you were standing in the road to oppose me. Now if you are displeased, I will go back… Well, I have come to you now," Balaam replied. "But can I say just anything? I must speak only what God puts in my mouth.” Here we see God’s Spirit speaking through and teaching with the mouths of both Balaam’s donkey and Balaam himself.
3. Deuteronomy 18:17-20- “The LORD said to me:
‘What they say is good. 18 I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers; I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him. 19 If anyone does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name, I myself will call him to account. 20 But a prophet who presumes to speak in my name anything I have not commanded him to say, or a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, must be put to death.’” Here again we see this phrase “put words in his mouth” referring to how God speaks His words by His Spirit filling His prophets so that the truth of God is made known.
4. Jeremiah 1:9- “Then the LORD reached out his
hand and touched my mouth and said to me, "Now, I have put my words in your mouth.” Jeremiah was concerned to be set apart to speak for the Lord seeing that he was so young and didn’t think others would listen to him. But God assured Him that because the Spirit of God would be giving Jeremiah the words, all would be well, and people would still receive God’s teaching and they will listen!
III. Disciples- (Matthew 4:19, 5:1, 9:1-8)
The disciples were those who learned from another; mainly Jesus Christ. Here we have fisherman, and tax collectors, not trained in the ways of God. And yet Jesus called them to follow Him. As Jesus Himself said in Matthew 4:19- “Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” They did not know how to convert people to become followers of Jesus, but they would learn how to do this by listening to Jesus, and watching Jesus, and following Jesus.
And we see Jesus continually teaching them:
We know that the beatitudes were Jesus’ teaching the people, but we might not realize that they were directed at the disciples; listen to Matthew 5:1, “Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them…” Jesus goes on to teach them about being salt and light, fulfilling the law, aboutnmurder and hate, adultery, divorce, making oaths, not seeking revenge, loving their enemies, giving to the needy, prayer, fasting, not worrying, not judging others, making requests of God, bearing fruit, and being a wise builder. WHAT A SET OF LESSONS THIS WAS FOR THE DISCIPLES. IT WAS LIKE A CRASH COURSE TO GET THEM READY FOR MINISTRY!
But the disciples also learned from others who encountered Jesus; as they watched Jesus teach others, they in turn learned as well. One example of this is seen in Matthew 9:1-8, where some people bring a paralyzed man to Jesus to be healed. As Jesus sees this man, he forgives him of his sins. But this isn’t what they wanted or expected, they wanted Jesus to heal the man. We pick it up in Matthew 9:4-8, “Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, "Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts? 5Which is easier: to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up and walk'? 6But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins...." Then he said to the paralytic, "Get up, take your mat and go home." 7And the man got up and went home. 8When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe; and they praised God, who had given such authority to men.” The people learned about the authority of Jesus right here, and the disciples learned as they watched Jesus teaching other people. This was a pretty regular occurrence for the disciples.
How wonderful it was for the disciples to learn from Jesus, the Master. They learned when Jesus taught in parables, and then they had the opportunity to ask about the meaning later after everyone else left. They learned when Jesus did miracles; they learned when Jesus challenged the Pharisees. They were always learning, because they were always with Jesus.
IV. Teachers- (Acts 19:8-10)
a. Paul as a teacher- People can also learn by having teachers in their
lives. There are times when my kids don’t like to do their homework, or complain about having to go to school. I ask them: What would it be like if you never learned anything more? What would it be like if 20 years from now you still only know what you know now? That would be a great shame, and would limit their lives greatly!
Teachers are an important part of life. And we see this example of Paul in Acts 19:8-10, where the scripture tells us: “Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly there for three months, arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God. 9But some of them became obstinate; they refused to believe and publicly maligned the Way. So Paul left them. He took the disciples with him and had discussions daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. 10This went on for two years, so that all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord.” Paul taught in the synagogue, the lecture hall, he even taught in town squares and the courtroom. God used Paul to teach others.
Who are some of the important teachers in your life? For me it was my youth director, Dan Webster. I remember that he had a tremendous impact on my life. But I also gained much knowledge in seminary, and at the many conferences I go to. We should be thankful for those teachers God puts in our lives.
b. Mentors in life- God also helps us to learn from mentors that come
into our lives. We see that Paul was a mentor to others. Three of the more well known mentees of Paul’s were Timothy, Titus, and Philemon. If you want to know more about these relationships, you can read the letters he wrote to them in New Testament. For Timothy, it was Paul helping him to learn how to be a leader. He helped Timothy in avoiding false teachings, overcoming heresy, appointing qualified leaders, and how to supervise the affairs of the Ephesian church.
For Titus it was about appointing elders, dealing with rebellious people, teaching sound doctrine, teaching others about doing what is good, and avoiding foolish controversies. Lastly, for Philemon Paul was trying to teach him how to be a Christian slave owner. In many ways that is a conflict in terms, but because slavery was still legal, Philemon was grappling with what this meant. Especially since he found out that his slave had stolen from him and run away. Paul was sending the slave back, but giving guidance in how Philemon should respond to his slave.
I don’t know about you, but I have had many mentors in my life. Glen Perry was my first mentor helping me grow in my Christian faith right after I became a Christian. Paul Jensen was another, who helped instruct me in leadership skills while I was in college. Father Harris was still another, who was like a father to me in many ways. He was a person I could go to for advice, and talk to in ways I could never talk to my dad.
EX. I remember one time when I was a Junior High Director. I was having my first “Parents Night” for the parents of my Junior Highers. The night of the event I started to panic. I was a single 25-year-old, and I was going to talk to these parents about parenting. Feeling this fear, I called Father Harris. He calmed me down reminding me that parents are only parents of Junior highers for 2 years, whereas, I had been working with Junior Highers for many years now. I indeed had more experience in relating to Juinor Highers!
I am grateful for the mentoring opportunities God gives me today to help others grow in their faith and living out the call God has for their life. And I am equally grateful for the people God puts in my life who still mentor me.
Conclusion: We have a choice. We can let others teach us, or we can think we know it all and have to do it on our own. The more you open up your heart to learn, the more you will find that God teaches you in so many ways. You don’t have to be in school to have teachers who can teach you important lessons. You don’t have to be a in formal training to be a disciple. You do have to be willing to learn. You do have to put yourself in a place to be mentored. You do have to open yourself to God’s Spirit so that you can be led by God. I pray that through this series, you have a better understanding of how God teaches us through God’s plan, through times of waiting, through failures and successes, and through other people. Le t us give thanks to God for the many ways He helps us to learn; hopefully this day and every day. Amen.
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