Psalms the Series - Mentors - 9/7/14

Sermon 9-7-14 psalms the series psalm 1

¹ Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, ² but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. ³ That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prospers. ⁴ Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away. ⁵ Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. ⁶ For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.

New series on the psalms

Some of my favorites.  Ps 1, ps 23, ps 51, ps 150

Type of literature

Happy, sad, joyful, angry, don’t take all of the advice……

Bad enough that he prays for god to kill his enemies

Worse that he thinks that it is spiritual to do so

Today the psalmist is staying-

…You will be blessed if you don’t take advice from the wicked

…You will be blessed if you focus on in God’s ways

….the wicked are like chaff that is blown away by the wind….

chaff…it’s the outer hull of corn or wheat….

Blown by the wind

Not good for food.   

But the righteous will be successful in life

Its an illustration of growing…..agrarian farmers would understand…..

Roots, water, growth, success!  Fruit!

The psalmist is praising his mentor

About how the righteous are stable like a tree.  Solid.  Unmovable.  Connected to the source of water.

Roots of tree in Lebanon

We have all known people like this……..mentors

Going about doing good.  Making a mark, leaving a legacy

taking time to care about and teach others.

Unpretentious.  Not looking for attention.

Never to be mentioned in  history books.

They simply took the time to care.

Through these acts of love, great leaders were born.

they sparked a flame in others that helped change the world.

They are our Roots and wings

To mentor is to love, to invest in another, to sacrifice yourself for  them.  to see their potential and help them achieve it.  to believe in them and to help them believe in themselves.

Jesus mentored and deployed

He was a man on a mission.

He built relationships

He mentored

Watch me, go with me, you do it…….. go

Come follow me.  go and make disciples

He deployed

He cared for them in the process

He know they would do compel them to do more for God than if he simply told them what to do!

Later, when the apostles would all end up giving their lives for God, it would be the relationship w Jesus that motivated them, not simply the ask.

Jesus spent time with His disciples. – mandatory for mentorship

All around you are potential mentors

Carol q- loving family and great mentors

They are around us all,

You must spend time with them and you must listen

Bill carter, son you  are talking when you ought to be listening.

True spirituality understands the importance of listening and learning from others.

  

Have you ever had a mentor? A rock….someone that has made a difference?

I have had many….

here are some of mine

My dad- the older I get the more I appreciate him

Dale maxwell - Jt coody/jeff booker – solid, dependable, stable, persistent

Wayne bateman – a deep faith – deep cried unto deep scripture

Bad mentor- bob forbes – cheated people – coke bottle story

Jim Ireland- it’s a smart calf that listens to its fodder

          Jim Ireland taught me that ministry is not about me

Becky hughes

Harold smith -  the plumbing problem – you stay with a thing

Doug hawley - generosity

Carol quiring - wisdom

Hubert neth – a kindness, a goodness, an honesty

Richard Rohr – dualistic thinking.  Right vs wrong.  Judging everything and every one.  Vs loving.

Lost w/o a mentor

Were you ever lost and not know you were lost?

I needed someone and I didn’t even know it

Story of the radio at forbes const and jim shreives

At a time when I was self righteous and full of myself, god sent me bob tuttle 

bob tuttle – the leader of the band - lyrics

          never trust a shepherd who isn’t someone elses sheep.

          Real funny, authentic, down to earth,

Conclusion

I thank God for human mentors

many of these people have no idea how they effected us

The righteous are self unaware

They cant explain how they do what they do

they just go about doing good.  Some of it rubs off on us

today I want to ask you a couple of questions

1.    Who are you?  Are you like a tree planted by waters?

2.   Who can you be

3.   Who can you be this to?

Someone is waiting for you

Invest in them

You are their roots

You can give  them wings and help them to fly