Mentor and Mentee

All right, today is an exciting day for us as we have 3 people getting baptized and we are at the conclusion of our “Life of Elijah” series. I have LOVED doing this series with you all this summer. Tons of fun! If this is your first time here today, welcome to week 10 of 10! Elijah lived about 850 years before Jesus in the nation of Israel, and he spent much of his life boldly confronting those who were leading others to pray to idols instead of the one true God. Let’s jump into our passage (Page 250) (renovation app) (2 Kings Chapter 2) Hey, if you don’t have a Bible at home, and you want to start studying it for yourself… Would you do me a favor and take one of our Bibles with you on your way out today? That’s our gift to you. It even has a reading plan taped in the front that will tell you the easiest books to start with! (2 Kings 2:1 6) – NIV When the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. 2 Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here; the Lord has sent me to Bethel.” But Elisha said, “As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel. 3 The company of the prophets at Bethel came out to Elisha and asked, “Do you know that the Lord is going to take your master from you today?” “Yes, I know,” Elisha replied, “so be quiet.” 4 Then Elijah said to him, “Stay here, Elisha; the Lord has sent me to Jericho.” And he replied, “As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you.” So they went to Jericho. 5 The company of the prophets at Jericho went up to Elisha and asked him, “Do you know that the Lord is going to take your master from you today?” “Yes, I know,” he replied, “so be quiet.” 6 Then Elijah said to him, “Stay here; the Lord has sent me to the Jordan.” And he replied, “As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you.” So the two of them walked on. Okay, so this is going to be Elijah’s last day on earth. Miraculously, he’s not going to die. The Lord is going to take him up to heaven in a whirlwind. And we see that his eventual successor, EliSHA is still with him. In fact, he’s been serving and learning from Elijah the Prophet for many, many years now. This wasn’t just a semester internship And EliSHA is going to benefit so mightily from all those years of learning from his mentor Elijah If you read the rest of 2 Kings, you’ll see that Elisha’s life is so incredible…and so fruitful for the Lord And I think that speaks volumes of the power of being in a mentor and mentee relationship. CHASE AFTER PEOPLE AHEAD OF YOU In fact, let’s take a look at 4 Important Factors, from this passage, that we can learn about the mentor/mentee relationship. Here’s the first one: 4 Important Factors of the Mentor/Mentee Relationship 1. Chase after people ahead of you This is something that jumps right out from this passage. Elijah has a busy last day…lots of walking. And several times he tells Elisha, “Stay here…I’m going on to Bethel…to Jericho…to the Jordan River.” And each of the 3 times, Elisha says, “I will not leave you” And he chases after Elijah. Even though he’s been following him for years…he wants to get every second with him that he can before Elijah leaves this earth So the first big question here for all of us is this: Do you have someone who is ahead of you spiritually that you’re learning from? And I’m not talking about a pastor you podcast or an author you read. I’m talking about someone you can rub shoulders with. They’re in your life. Been to your house. They know about your ups and downs. Because we all need people like this. And it doesn’t even have to be anything official (like, “you’re my mentor now)…but we need people in our lives who are spiritually ahead us…who can teach us to follow God, lead holy lives, have a passion for the lost, raise Godly kids/grandkids, and all of that. This is one of the reasons our church is SO passionate about House Groups. These are our groups of 30some people that meet every week (and sign ups start in just THREE weeks!!) We want you to be known. Church for so many Americans has become a place that they walk in and out of…for years…and they don’t know anyone. But we want you to be known. And specifically known by people who can help you grow Spiritually. And being in a House Group gives you access to a whole bunch of people like this. But I find that sometimes you have to chase after mentors. Because if someone is ahead of you as a leader…and especially spiritually…they’re probably busy. Elijah the Prophet wasn’t sitting around looking for something to do. Even when he first put his cloak around Elisha and picked him as his successor back in 1 Kings… Elijah went right on to doing more things, and even back then, at the beginning, Elisha had to chase after him! Mentors are on the move, you have to chase after them. Also, mentors are, not always, but often, older than you too. We run against the grain of consumeristic culture in a lot of ways here at Renovation Church. A lot of churches have taken to structuring groups by, “Are you 24 26 and love the outdoors, then we have the group for you!” And people love that, because it’s easy to make friends and feeds into our American culture of consumerism and customization. But can you imagine Peter and Paul in the early church going, “All right, who’s 33 35 and loves farming?” Our groups are intergenerational…on purpose. 18 year olds to 80 year olds. Because sometimes…what a group of new moms needs is not just a bunch of new moms but also a mom who’s already been a mother for 20 years. We need to learn from people who are ahead of us. But finding the right person to walk with you spiritually…and spend time with you…and hang out with you…maybe study Scripture with you… …will often require you chasing them to get their attention. I’ve been blessed this past year or two to have more and more pastors that are ahead of me pouring into my life… But I always have to put in effort to chase them…because they’re busy. But it’s worth it! Start the chase DON’T JUST LOOK FOR SOMEONE TO POUR INTO YOU Okay, let’s take a look at the next important factor of the mentor/mentee relationship we can learn from this passage: 4 Important Factors of the Mentor/Mentee Relationship 1. Chase after people ahead of you 2. Don’t just look for someone to pour into you Whenever we talk about mentorship and learning from someone spiritually…most of us (because we’re American consumers) tend to just think about one side of the equation. We think… “ooo…who could help me?!” But don’t just look for someone to pour into you, who could you pour into? If we truly want to be “like Christ,” then we should be pouring into ours. How much of His time did Jesus spend spiritually influencing and mentoring others? A LOT! You want to be like Him?? Well…get influencing? Who are YOU influencing spiritually? Could you write any names down to answer that question? And they don’t have to be young in age…they could just be young in faith! But maybe you start with Renovation Kids, or Youth Group…or just a newer believer in your House Group On a very related note, let me tell you what is THE most common comment I’ve heard from people in our lobby in the past 6 months. Someone will come up to me, almost every other week, and say, “Pastor, love this church, but I feel like I’m the only old person here.” First of all, I always, think, “you should meet the other 75 “only old person here” that just introduced themselves to me But let me just address that from a few angles. One: We are SOOO excited (thrilled) that you are here. Two: I think what you’re seeing here when you look around in the lobby at different ages is not actually youth…as if it’s just a church of young people. In fact, agewise, what you’re seeing is not all that different than what you’d see if you looked around in Target in Blaine It’s just that in the vast majority of churches in America nowadays, you only see predominately grey hair. And so when people come in here from a different church, that’s one of the first things that stands out. But friends, this is what it looks like when people of all ages are coming to Christ and growing in him…and it’s beautiful. Three: Not only are we so glad that you are here, we need you. We need all 75 of you that have talked to me in the last few months about “being the old person” to sign up for a House Group in a few weeks Like Elijah…passing on his wisdom to Elisha…and these other schools of prophets he had started in different towns. At this stage in your life…think FIRST not about who can pour into you…but about who you can pour into CRAVE “THE HEART” OF SOMEONE AHEAD OF YOU Okay, let’s keep reading to see our third point (2 Kings 2:7 14) – NIV 7 Fifty men from the company of the prophets went and stood at a distance, facing the place where Elijah and Elisha had stopped at the Jordan. 8 Elijah took his cloak, rolled it up and struck the water with it. The water divided to the right and to the left, and the two of them crossed over on dry ground. 9 When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken from you?” “Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit,” Elisha replied. 10 “You have asked a difficult thing,” Elijah said, “yet if you see me when I am taken from you, it will be yours—otherwise, it will not.” 11 As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind. 12 Elisha saw this and cried out, “My father! My father! The chariots and horsemen of Israel!” And Elisha saw him no more. Then he took hold of his garment and tore it in two. 13 Elisha then picked up Elijah’s cloak that had fallen from him and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. 14 He took the cloak that had fallen from Elijah and struck the water with it. “Where now is the Lord, the God of Elijah?” he asked. When he struck the water, it divided to the right and to the left, and he crossed over. Here’s what’s happening. Right before Elijah goes up to heaven…his mentee, Elisha, says, “Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit!” Now, some Biblical context: He’s NOT actually saying, “I want to be twice as powerful as you or anything like that” In the Old Testament, and in ancient Jewish culture, the first born son always received a double portion of the father’s inheritance. And so what Elisha is asking for is for the right to now be considered like Elijah’s son (his official successor) He wants to continue in the same power as his Spiritual father Elijah It’s actually a beautiful request. Here’s the 3rd point that this passage is teaching about the mentor/mentee relationship in this passage: 4 Important Factors of the Mentor/Mentee Relationship 1. Chase after people ahead of you 2. Don’t just look for someone to pour into you 3. Crave the “heart” of someone ahead of you Now, let me be clear. You’re not actually asking for someone’s spirit or anything like that. That’s paganism. If you’re a Christian, you have the Holy Spirit within you. What you’re praying for is like that song they play on the radio by Sanctus Real: “Give me a faith like Daniel” “a hope like Moses” “A HEART like David” Elisha is asking for the heart of his mentor! If you have a person in your life that is walking more closely to Jesus, start praying that God would give you a heart like that. And chase after them…so you can learn get it! FINISH WELL…OTHERS ARE WATCHING Let me give you a 4th point about mentorship from this passage: 4 Important Factors of the Mentor/Mentee Relationship 1. Chase after people ahead of you 2. Don’t just look for someone to pour into you 3. Crave the “heart” of someone ahead of you 4: Finish well…others are watching I love that Elijah gets this glorious ending with the Chariot of Fire and being taken up to heaven in a whirlwind. And you know what I think I like most about Elijah’s life…outside of maybe his intense boldness? It’s that he finished well. With so many young eyes on him…he finished well. There were so many points along the journey that Elijah could have quit the faith, right? Like when he was hiding by the brook? Or the widow’s son died? Or when Jezebel threatened his life? Or when depression completely overtook him And your life is going to look a bit like Elijah’s The rollercoaster of faith will take you to the mountains and the valleys. But you need to finish well, so you can keep pouring into others! The longer I’m in ministry, one of the most disheartening trends I’ve had to witness is seeing many Christians (who assumed they’d follow Christ for life) end up growing completely cold in faith when they’re 50, 55, 60. Walking with Christ is a marathon, not a sprint. Just because you’re passionate about Jesus at 40 doesn’t mean your faith won’t grow cold at 50 I believe there is no more dangerous time in your life spiritually than when you go to college, and when your last kid goes to college. Keep the faith! Look at how much God still used Elijah after those tough moments! But he kept seeking God…even in the valley. Don’t give up in the valley because God wants to take you to a glorious finish…and he has so many more people along the way that he wants you to pour into. BAPTISM What I want do now is pause for a few minutes and share with you a story of someone (a few people) who has made a choice to trust God…and follow Him with their life. In fact, I want to call our Baptismal Team on stage right now, so they can get our baptismal ready We believe in doing baptisms often here as people come to Christ …and so right now, you’ll not only get to hear a story of how someone met Jesus, and you’ll also get to see them be baptized. Baptism is a symbol of what Jesus did for you when you, personally, believed in Him It doesn’t save you. But it’s an important step for people once they’ve made a decision to follow Jesus And so we’re baptizing 3 people this morning who’ve made a decision to follow Jesus… (1 at 1st, 2 at 2nd) Every person you see baptized at Renovation Church is baptized by at least one sponsor (someone who’s had a spiritual impact on them) And so, we’re going to begin! (Chaz 1st; Missy – 2nd) (SWITCH TO BAPTISM SLIDE) (WORD COUNT GOAL: 2,717) GOSPEL (Back to Mentor & Mentee Slide) The people getting baptized throughout the morning are doing so because of the Good News of Jesus Christ. That He came and died on the cross for our sins…and then resurrected to heaven….victorious The Elijah passages in the Old Testament are a preview of the greater thing that will come in Jesus. Let’s look at the rest of the passage (2 Kings 2:15 18) – NIV 15 The company of the prophets from Jericho, who were watching, said, “The spirit of Elijah is resting on Elisha.” And they went to meet him and bowed to the ground before him. 16 “Look,” they said, “we your servants have fifty able men. Let them go and look for your master. Perhaps the Spirit of the Lord has picked him up and set him down on some mountain or in some valley.” “No,” Elisha replied, “do not send them.” 17 But they persisted until he was too embarrassed to refuse. So he said, “Send them.” And they sent fifty men, who searched for three days but did not find him. 18 When they returned to Elisha, who was staying in Jericho, he said to them, “Didn’t I tell you not to go?” The prophets are worried that Elijah is gone, or lost, or even dead somewhere… Not understanding that he’s gone to heaven. It reminds me of that story of Easter morning…when another group of people is trying to find someone they think is dead…but actually isn’t. After Jesus has died on the cross and was buried in the tomb… Some of his followers go to bring spices for his burial. And an angel, greets those who are on their way and says: (Luke 24:5b 6a) – NIV “Why do you look for the living among the dead? 6 He is not here; he has risen! Love that line. Why do you look for the living among the dead? Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins, but He’s alive. And He’s with us today. ANd the baptisms we’re seeing all morning, are stories of people who have understood that Jesus Christ saw all of their sin… And loved them so much that He died for them anyway. And when they believed in that, and said, “I want to have a relationship with Jesus…to follow Him…to make Him the leader of my life” He started to change their life! Because He’s ALIVE! He rose again! And we have a relationship with God because He IS alive! Christianity is not about following enough rules and being good enough to go to heaven. No, it’s the fact, that we will NEVER be good enough, and God loves us anyway. And He sent his son to take the punishment we deserve. And we can know GOD. You can KNOW God and have a relationship with Him if you make this step to turn your life over to Him. In fact, I want to give you the opportunity right now. Let’s close our eyes. If you need to make that decision today… To believe Jesus Christ died in your place, to turn from your old life of sin, and to trust in Him as the leader of your life.. He can forgive you… He knew everything you’d ever do before He even decided to die in your place. If you want to tell Jesus for the first time today that you believe and want to be his follower…that you want to be forgiven… What I want you to do is just raise your hand up right now to tell God that you want to believe and follow. If that’s you, raise your hand up. For those of you raising your hand, we want to pray with you. Repeat this out loud after me…whether you’re a brand new believer or have been one for quite some time. Repeat after me Dear God I confess to you, that I have sinned against you. But God I believe, that you sent your Son Jesus, to take my place And God I thank you, for forgiving my sins. And now I commit, to following you, with my life. As everyone still has their eyes closed, for those of you that raised your hand, you just made the most important decision of your life, and I believe that requires some more information… So here’s what we’re going to do to get you that…as everyone has their eyes closed, I want you, in just a second, to walk back out to the lobby where it will be quiet. You won’t walk out there alone. There are others who raised their hands, and our follow up team is going to walk out at the same time with you And I, and our follow up team are going to get you some extremely important resources & next steps to get you started on the most important journey of your life. If you’re part of this church, and your friend or family member is standing up right now, PLEASE come out there with them. All right, you can all go now. As they’re walking, I’m going to thank God in prayer. Let’s pray Copyright: David Sorn Renovation Church in Blaine, MN You may use this material all you like! We only ask that you do not charge a fee and that you quote the source and not say it is your own.