50 Days to More

A Seven Week Campaign to Begin 2018

Week 4: Investing in Uncommon Mentorship Which Promotes You

Day Twenty-Three (1/29/18): Mentorship in the Bible
Recommended Reading: Deuteronomy 34

There are lots of examples of mentorship all throughout scripture. Today we are going to focus on only a few stories, but if you study on your own you will realize there are many more!

1. Moses & Joshua

Deuteronomy 34:9 (ESV), "And Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his lands on him. So the people of Israel obeyed him and did as the Lord had commanded Moses.”

Because of Moses’ mentorship to Joshua, it legitimized his assignment in the presence of others. He was validated as an extension of Moses' authority. Israel would have never followed the leadership of Joshua if Moses had not first qualified him in their eyes. Throughout his difficulties in the wilderness, Joshua was always by Moses' side. He was there waiting at the bottom of Mount Sinai; he was there in the Tabernacle of the Wilderness, and he was there to help him lead the people. Because of his faithfulness to Moses, it elevated him to leadership when Moses was gone.

2. Ruth & Naomi

Naomi’s mentorship to Ruth positioned her into the favor of Boaz, her kinsman redeemer. She learned to glean in the field of favor. So much so that she was given hand-fulls of wheat on purpose! She was even given so much favor that she went down in history as an ancestor of Jesus, though she was a Moabite.

3. Elijah & Elisha

Elijah cast the mantle of his ministry in the direction of Elisha, and he grabbed ahold of it! The power of mentorship inspired Elisha to believe God for a double portion of his anointing. That’s exactly what he received! Elisha did twice as many miracles as his mentor Elijah. According to the Bible, Elijah performed 8 miracles and Elisha performed 16 miracles.

4. Mordecai & Esther

Esther became the Queen of Persia because of her mentorship from her Uncle Mordecai. She found favor with King Xerxes and became queen because of her obedience to Mordecai's instructions. She then discovered Haman’s evil plot to destroy the Jewish people and exposed him to the King. She was able to save her people and an entire race because of her willingness to learn from her uncle. She was brought to the Kingdom for ‘such a time as this’. (Esther 4:14) Stepping into her assignment and fulfilling it with great dignity, she went down in history as one of the greatest leaders in the Bible!

5. Paul & Timothy

Paul encouraged Timothy, his protégé, to boldly face the challenges that were ahead of him as a pastor and leader of the first century church. He instructed Timothy on how to live and lead with a godly testimony.Paul taught Timothy how to put other leaders in place that would follow the same standards. Paul, one of the greatest leaders of that time, mentored Timothy, who in return mentored many others.

If you want to accelerate and move ahead quickly in your assignment, you need mentorship! Uncommon mentorship in your life will require a very costly investment. All of these people in scripture had to sow seeds of time, honor, obedience, attention, etc. to learn from their mentors and reap the benefits.

In reality, those seeds are a small price to pay to receive such big rewards. Are you willing to pay the same price?

“Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophecy when the council of elders laid their hands on you.” 1 Timothy 4:14 (ESV)

Compiled by Christine Thompson & Meredith Hobbs
Taken from the Sermon Series “7 Steps to One Thousand Times More”
By Pastor Timothy Coats
Family First Church - Spring Hill, Florida