 So the topic that I want to talk to you about is the need for mentors the need somebody say the need for mentors, I don't know if that Grammarly if it's correct or not, but it makes sense to me. So hope it does to you You know as you see Before I get into the message you see that a lot of young people are The youth is coming up to able to speak we believe in raising a young generation as they're going to take over You know the ones this service we want them to to practice to speak more and this is going to be their their their day that they're going to to impact a generation so as you see you know as Elizabeth as Eric as Zaki as Pablo as all the young the youth begins to come up here to begin to Speak support them pray for them. These are the people. They're going to raise your kids So as you pray for them as you ask God to anoint them you're also praying for your own future Amen, so just believe that pray for them right now me my wife, Sylvia We decided to take on Sundays right now to be able to mentor them to be with them to Support them to raise them up because that's what our pastor did for us, you know our pastor You guys don't even know you know 15 though, you know 10 to 15 years ago, you know He invested to us. He carried us. He was there. He was you know Laugh with us cried with us because the things that we said on Sunday, you know He supported us and today we are who we are because of our pastor. Amen, you know The stuff that we've done Jesus have mercy We thank God for for the life of our pastor. Amen, and today we're here So that's what I want to talk to you about the need for mentors in our lives Believe in our youth pray for them and believe that God's gonna take them to a place The we dream of a man church that they're gonna take over schools. They're gonna raise a standard raise a banner They're gonna make a difference in our city and in our country for the name of Jesus Christ. Amen Let's put our hands together for Jesus one more time you know Mentorship goes for me long ways back to the days in Africa and you know, I remember it now and You know our pastor has a vision, you know to to to To see what God is doing all over the world. Whatever it is is Ukraine, Russia, China, Africa You know Nigeria, Cameroon, South Africa, whatever it is and to be able to be a part of that So he wants us to connect whatever Whatever what God is doing and to be able to bring it here In our pastor as as he looks at the bible reads the bible He understands the power of mentor He understands if you come under somebody that God is using Mitle and healing deliverance prophecy Sooner or later as you walk faithfully under them God will begin to do the same thing in their midst So, you know about three years ago some I even know two or three years ago, you know Pastor like oh, we need to go to this place, you know the the synagogue church foundations I'm like no I was the young one. I'm like, yeah, you know me. I don't have wife kids or whatever sent me And I remember as I went there And we have agreed with alien Vlad. We're like, hey, you know what? They're like you go for six months and then we will go six months after you're done I'm like, yes, you know, I'll test the waters. I can do that. It's no problem So I don't know who decided why we recorded video here, you know, hey, you know, we're going we preach here We're gonna come and learn from you and stuff. So I'll get to Africa and I'm like, man, I'm gonna learn mentorship. Yeah I'm gonna be just like, you know, a prophet and then Time goes by. I'm like, dude, this is hard. It's not easy right rice, you know humidity Sweating like crazy. I'm like, man, it's not easy Come to the office of problem. Hey, you know, let me Let me haul out my boys See what they're doing over there in America You know, so I call them remember they're like give me the phone because they felt sorry for me I was like even weeping like just let me call them and I call I remember talking to to them I'm like, hey guys, you know, so, you know, when are you guys coming like? Oh, no, we're not even coming You know, no, you know, just do it. I'm like a little like my heart my heart sunk like to the I was on the second floor. I felt like to the first one and I remember there and you know, that's when I came back. It took me like six months to be there rejection And you know, and I understood from that point on the mentorship is not fun in games It is it is not something easy if you want to go to the top Mentorship will cost you if you believe that you will be mentored by someone and it's going to be easy They're going to pat you on the back every they're going to say, oh good job But everything that you do you are totally wrong And for somebody to become a successful person for somebody to come and under a mentor and to become who god wants them to To become you have to go through thick through thin you have to go through weeping you have to go through rejoicing You have to get a phd and good and the bad you got to get phd and blackmail and hardship and rejoice in every area of your life You will gonna have to master that You ask any great hero of faith and don't tell you the mentorship comes with a price Every single person in this place you may say, you know what? You know, I know everything and right now we have this Epidemic going around, you know Don't tell me what to do Don't I know at all, you know and they go out and they begin to do Mistakes that cost them so much and the devil is so smart because he knows if you mess up In your earlys you spend the rest of your life just recovering from it So he knows if he can hit you strong enough in your youth in your teen years in your early 20s If he can hit you strong enough because of lack to listening to parents to mentor to authority He'll just spend the rest 30 40 50 60 years Recovering from mistakes that you made because not willing to obey your mentors So we we thank god for the life of our pastor because he knows one thing Look at a place where god is using a mighty man a prophet an apostle Go there water his hand learn from him walk behind him learning because they'll come at day where a double portion Anointing will fall upon your life upon a church upon our home groups and they'll begin to walk Prophecy he'll begin to cast out demons because that is what god wants you to do Jesus says you know he says in the last days you'll do greater things. Why he understood that if you walk on your authority You will also walk with authority amen church. So There's quite a few scriptures that I have when it comes to mentorship I just want to read a few of them first peter first peter 2 17 18 says Respect everyone and love the family of believers fear god and respect the king You who are slaves must submit Submit to your masters with all respect Do what they tell you not only if they are kind And reasonable but even if they are cruel second Timothy 2 2 says the things Which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses and trust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also Proverbs 27 17 says iron sharpens iron So one man sharpens another Proverbs 22 verse 6 says train up a child in the way he should go Even when he's old he will not depart from it So we see bible talks about mentorship talks about you know being under somebody who can train you that later on When god wants to use you that you'll not just depend on luck or you're not just depend on Oh, hopefully life will just be nice to me No, you will have the character of god to sustain the position that god has for your life Many people who are sitting here will become doctors will become NBA players soccer players They'll become you know millionaires they'll become business owners They'll become you know, maybe mothers that will raise great children But that takes character And how is character developed under somebody at some mentor some anointing man of god Maybe it's under your parents. Maybe it's under your pastor Maybe it's under your leader your home group leader that god has put you in not by accident But for a purpose the one at time comes you ready to maintain the position that god has for your life I meant church Ask your neighbor who's your net who's your mentor? Turn to your other neighbors ask him who mentors you There's there's actually I want I want you to there's top mentor relationships that I want you to guys to see This is actually very very interesting if you can pull up the first one top mentor relationships So top mentor relationship Oprah Winfrey was mentored by Celebrate Arthur and poet the late Maya Angelo That one Angelo come on now Former Apple CEO And the late Steve Jobs served as a mentor to facebook co mark zuckabug Kobe brine Kobe brine was mentored. This is this actually pretty interesting. Kobe brine was actually mentored by michael jordan and michael jackson How do you guys didn't know that let's go to the next slide? former Morehouse college president dr. Benjamin maize was an outspoken critic Of a surrogation before the rise of the modern civil rights movement and a mentor to dr. Martin Luther king jr. The first woman to co-author cbs evening news and the second woman to anchor one of the most america major network newscast Connie chung was a mentor to fox news reporter kyeong be young I'm just trying to help you guys out here Barcelona superstar leo messy if you guys know for uh was mentored by ronal diño. I can go next slide Former super bowl champion, uh, daryl green was mentored by his middle school football coach Astronaut and former u.s. Uh senator john glenn was mentored by his high school civics teacher mother teresa committed to a life of helping others and was Recognized as one of the most admirable people of the 20th century. She laid remarkable and re Revered life, but many may not have achieved all that she did if it weren't for her mentor father michael Van der pietz And I think there's one more bill russell played center of boston seltex from 1956 to 1969 His mother was his greatest mentor then fashion designer christian dior mentored his fellow designer That one. I don't know that how do you how do you pronounce that young vess laren't Warren buffett is often considered the most successful investor of the 20th century. He mentored microsoft co-founder bill gates musician ray ray charles Mentored music industry legend Quincy jones So if you see these statistics you'll be able to see that people who become great don't become great By mistake or by luck Somebody comes into the life and begins to shape and begins to form begins to say you can't do this Hey, don't do that. Hey, you better cut off this. Hey, don't do this. Hey, good job or not continue doing it There was a mentor somebody who spoke to them and say, you know This is what you need to change in order for you to maintain the position that god has for you It could be in any era. You don't have to say that oh if i'm going to come to the church I'm going to have to become a pastor because pastor lat is mentoring me. No, we're talking about character We're talking about things of your character something that god wants you to work on it's you know, you you you're getting angry easy You know, you know trying to rush all the time, you know not being patient not being loving You know these things the skills that god needs for you to become an influential person in the community for jesus christ Who is your mentor this morning this evening? First point. I want you to to write down is this that you don't choose if you get mentored you only choose Who mentors you? You don't choose if you get mentored you only choose who mentors you you'll either Be mentored by success or by failure. There's only two options You don't choose. Oh, you know, i'm not mentored by anybody, you know, I do I tell my own life No, you actually is being mentored by something or by someone you just only choose if it's success or if it's failure That's the only thing that that you you choose success if you begin to say, you know, I want to be you know success Mentors me, you know, oh i'm being successful in all of these books. No success is painful Success is not fun If you're being mentored by by success by maybe maybe your home group leader Maybe your parents or maybe somebody it's it's they tell you to do the things which you don't like You know, it's it's one of those things that it's not fun. You know for me, you know, it's Pastor Vlad it's Ilya it's my dad, you know, there's you know audio books different passing Oh back then was profit and all these people and when they begin to come to me and they didn't tell me Oh, good job. No, they say hey caught this off or this thing will destroy you later on Hey that relationship you better cut it off. It's it's poisonous. Hey that habit cut it off You know lately I've been coming work late to work and they were like hey stop coming You know and I'm trying to play it off with the joke and inside. I'm like, ah You also come late the other day Taking coffee. I know you I know you you know, it's like and and inside of you comes up But but in same time I'm like if I want to be better if I want to have the character That god has for me to maintain the position whatever it may be I need to submit to my mentors. I just say you know what? Yeah, I'm wrong Maybe I'm not I'm not admitted by deep down inside. No, I'll become better I'll become stronger because I know they're going to become a time where god's going to require Of my character to hold the position that god has for my life You see joseph joseph begins to be to be betrayed begins to be sold into slavery But at all times there was somebody over him and he was faithful. He was committed when people looked at him He saw that god is with him. Why he was willing to submit himself It was they weren't christians. There were heathens. They didn't know god He walked we got he had dreams he had all these things So you gotta say no, you guys don't even know what you're talking about But god shaped this character under heathen rulers in praise and slavery in prison until the throne came His character was ready to maintain a blessing How many how many times god wants to give the blessing to people? But that character is not enough to destroy and god knows if I give you that blessing It would only destroy you and I build you up How many people begin to run away from mentors run away from church church is a place of mentorship as you're here You're being mentored by by the word of god as you're here You know you've been mentored by your home group leaders and they begin to avoid that and then we know like oh Success come away and and it doesn't come your way. He actually runs away, and it just keeps going So it's it's it's one of those things. It's like, you know you you text me like hey, bro You know, let's let's step up in that game. Oh my phone is broken and then I'm always like this thing I'm like a wife text him like hey come over for some movie. Oh come on right over, you know, it's like really They begin to go from hard. They begin to try to bounce mentors bounce the people that god has sent their way To avoid correction to avoid mentorship so they could have an easy life Well, let me tell you something easy life never leads to success That is that is just plain truth easy life Never let somebody to the throne the road to the throne a full of it's it's full of scorpions as snakes It's thorns this all it's it's hard But those who make it will enjoy the reward that it brings and my church Your home group. I want to really stress the importance on your home groups We we in the church were privileged as you're coming to to a large congregation You're also can become a part of a small group that can speak life into you that can pray for you There's a weakness in your life that it can build you There's you know, not the home group that you attend They those people have to be a your mentor could be somebody else outside that but you must Attend a home group because that is where you're shaped. That is where you're built That is where god speaks his word into your spirit and you begin to grow But if you begin to avoid these things and you just come to church once a week and expect god's blessing Where it doesn't go it doesn't work like that Whom god loves he prunes whom god loves he chastising and i'm not trying to you know, say the life will be hard I'm just saying there's a great reward coming but you need to prepare You need to prepare There's a reason why a church went through such a time of you know criticism of blackmail people saying different things Because god knew there's a time where god's gonna pour out his blessing But he needs the people who will be able to maintain the blessing have enough character to sustain what god's going to pour out For the youth, you know as the youth begins to rise up right now There's some young people like, you know, I want to do my own thing Well, let me tell you something a lot of people at your age paid a price of saying I do what I want Until this day can't recover from the mistake that they made and early you need to pay a price In order to receive a mentor Who's your mentor it's not somebody that always pats you on the back that you know that uh, oh good job You know it don't worry it's not gonna be no that one that gets up in your face says five in the morning I want to see your morning prayer. Hey sunday. I want to see your home groups. Hey, there's volunteering You got to get involved stop being lazy. You've been coming to church for a year now get involved in church Start volunteering. There's many things to do they get up in your face and they begin to tell you the things That you don't like that's how we grow number two Obedience to your mentor is more important than sacrifice Before david goes before david goes and fights Goliath he begins to come to to solve begins to ask him for permission to go fight him david proved his life under authority imagine when when a prophet Comes to your house and says call all your kids To a party i'm gonna anoint a next key in your house. This is this celebration a prophet of israel comes to your house And says to your dad call the kids to the house. We're gonna party God's gonna anoint somebody and david does not get called because he was appointed to shepherd the sheep He was obedient There was an instruction given david you have to you need to stick with the sheep while we go enjoy and david said You know what? I'm gonna obey whoever god put over me. It was his parents He david goes so you know you don't even know god is with me. I slay lines here bears fall on my feet You're telling me to to stick with the sheep the prophet is coming. No, he obeyed the instruction of his dad When it could have even cost him the next potential king But god saw the obedience and god says no The king the king is not in the house. He's somewhere else God began to search him out god begins to find him at that place. I'm telling you may god has sent You know some people like oh my parents are this my parents don't know god has put you in a family for reason To build and to shape your character because there's comes a time where god says I have the blessings for you But you need to have character enough to maintain to what's about to come Come on. Let us put our heads together for jesus christ We see even the greatest example jesus christ he begins before he starts his whole ministry He becomes under the obedience under mentorship under the authority of his parents I mean if anybody on earth needed an excuse that would have been jesus christ Yet for 30 years of his life. He was under submission and under the authority of his parents Your parents could be your authority could be your your home group leader could be your pastor when they begin to speak into your life It is the same time where holy spirit is speaking to your life And he wants to prepare you for the blessings to come. I'm not trying to say that look you need to suffer I'm saying god wants to bless you That's what i'm trying to say god wants to bless you But for the blessing to take place you need the character to maintain every high place is a slippery place Every high place is a slippery place So you need to have the character enough to sustain what god is about to give you the fame the greed the fear The emotions do not rule you out when god brings the blessing into your life. Amen church Sometimes, you know, I come I come in contact with some people, you know, some new people come to a church and You know, I love helping out people, you know, they come like hey What is something I can help you with some people like yeah, I need a lie Some people like I need money this and that, you know So I begin to you know Genuinely trying to help these people out and then it comes to a point where I'm like trying to help them out Try to help them out At the end of the day, it's like I want them to succeed more they they want to succeed themselves It's like what is wrong with this picture? I want you to succeed and you know you want to succeed But hey, man, I want to help you to to to do this to accomplish this Maybe next week. Okay, but you know what life will teach you a lesson If you don't want to obey the mentors life itself does the job to teach you a lesson and the rocky bubble I did the speech when life hits he'll take your face and stick it to to the mud and you know, you know, the rest I would goes he already did the speech. I don't need to tell you again what life will do But we have the opportunity In in this place to be mentored by home group leaders But but in the in the area of yogi bear in the area of camera crew of ushering to become to a part of a church Or maybe even parkour or whatever it is god can use any foolish thing To shape your character so that when blessing comes you're able to maintain a man church A lot of people they you know, they they turn spiritual and I've heard this many times and they said, you know what? These people are sinners. Holy spirit is the only thing that mentors me Jesus mentors me and I'm like, you know, that's cool. Like how can you? Be mentored by something that you don't see Which should be much harder for you but something you see it's hard for you to obey like how does that make sense? There they can't listen to to earthly obedience and they're willing to to say, you know, I'm I'm being obedient to spiritual obedience, it's like, how does that work? You first need to to be obedient to your parents You need to be obedient to your pastors to your leaders to your boss in your work job Whatever it is god has put you there for a reason so you as you begin to elate Joseph was put in the house where they betrayed them If if you think that's bad, no, I mean we live in America you can sue all you want But you know, Joseph had it bad, but yet god used that betrayal to prepare for his throne You might be thinking oh, I'm gonna quit this job every job I get there always after me No, maybe god's want to build your character and you're always running away from it Holy spirit begins to choose certain events and certain things in your life He wants to say, you know, I want to work on that thing even though it does not make sense to you But I want to build your character. I want to build your character this morning God was building my character. They towed my car. Jesus have mercy 250 bucks I park I come from morning prayer park my car there tons of cars there. I walk out whole parking lot is gone. I'm like, wow Jesus came I was I was I was anchored and I was boiling my wife, you know My wife sits beside me. She's like honey, you know down there and I'm deep inside. I'm like boiling my god Don't let me say anything I don't want, you know, and you know, she's calming me down I'm like and god's just building. There's certain things that and I know I have you know, sometimes I want to say things But you know that day today a word straight out of church shirt because I'm like, dang it I can't say anything bad So when I was there was like this you guys are And walked away. I'm like swiping the card of faith You know, so God chooses foolish things in this world to begin to mentor you to begin to shape your care God knows There's a time that is coming where it's going to be so hard and when you have that character when you have that soil because A time a trial a time of trial is a soil where a man of faith flourishes It's it's for you when when the hard times come it's a soil for you that the man of faith begins to flourish Begins to force become better than you were yesterday and that is who god wants us to be a man church number three, holy spirit The best mentor Holy spirit the best mentor Yeah, write this down. This is very important your relationship with your mentors Affects your relationship with the holy spirit Your relationship with your mentors affects your relationship with the holy spirit If you can't be obedient to your mentors, you will not obedient to the holy spirit If you could not submit yourself to authority You will not submit yourself to the holy spirit Holy spirit begins to use authority. They might be good. They might be even cruel Holy spirit still can use them to shape you. That's that's that's what god did in david's life God begins to use salt who begins to Persecute and begins to you do foolish thing to his life and you look at life of david and you're like This is cruel. This is not fair yet david said i'll never raise my hand against the anointed one Can you the power of men's trip even if it's a cruel one? Even if it's a cruel place some people begin to you know, they I've met some people they they come from They they come from other churches, you know this oh that church, you know, oh, they're like this at this and the one thing I know if they're talking about that church sooner or later They'll say same thing about the church and just kept going. I'm going where god's like There's something that I want to I want to fix in you maybe that pride issue Maybe that's that that you know, you being stubborn or maybe your your character your Your your fears or your emotions or your greed god's like I want to fix that But every time I come to you and I want to help you you keep running away because either somebody's cruel or they're unfair Or this is how they're treating you yet. I want to prepare you for your throne Yeah, I want to prepare you for your throne You know when I lived in Africa, I'm telling you A lot of unfair things were done to me I look back and I thank god for every single one of them I literally look back and I just thank god. I'm like god I see where where my character was shifted in that place and it was unfair I look I look at certain things that happen take place now It's like god those things were unfair, but I look back and I'm like god now I'm at a place where I only dreamed of because you took me through that place In order for you to enjoy blessing you have to get a phd In criticism In blackmail and in unfair treatment phd of oh, they lied against me phd and oh, they backstab me Oh phd and oh, they talk bad at me. You have to conquer that place So when you sit out of throne god can look and you say god this is this a man after my heart Because even in the wilderness he chased after me even when it did not make sense He said god. I'm gonna use this foolish thing. I'm gonna turn it for my good Holy spirit wants to mentor us He wants to work He wants to take you to a place of your glory of your throne But you have to choose to mentor the the parents that god has put you in god is using them to shape you for the destiny He asks for you How many doctors how many how many professional basketball players soccer players Musicians people who will make history sitting here tonight But they're in a place of decision Do I submit to authority to mentorship or I run away from it? Do I submit myself or do I run away from the holy spirit is knocking Holy spirit's like I want to take you to a place where where I begin to guide you Why don't begin to whisper to you begin to to you say you know what this this person pray for him and god begins to move I want to take you to a place where where you're you're you're uh Out of the lunch or whatever god begins to give you a word of knowledge You begin to prophesy but god's like if you can't obey the people I put over you How can you listen to me with something that is there's so much more harder to do? How can you do that? And I believe us as our pastor has a vision of you know sending us to a place of mentors of people who have Who have great influence where god is using them mightily to give us a point the look chase after mentorship Even though it costs you everything Hold on to what is right because one day god will prove himself faithful You know even some of the men of god that we follow today prophet shippard brashiri his mentor even claims that this even sunday service His mentor prophet angel was there You know apostle gen chi that came here his mentor prophet tb josh. She was a beating to every little thing You know, uh, you know if you look at uh A pastor of latimer, you know his mentor is is our pastor Facility he listens to every after every sermon after every service. He begins to be mentored begin to sometimes It's like we don't like sometimes. Hey, you don't do this thing. You know, it's like it's so hard to listen to But we know one thing to come to a place of the throne You have to go through a place of chastisement come to come to a place where it's not easy But it's god you make all things work together for good for those who serve him. Come on Let us put our hands together for jesus christ sacrifice moves people But holy spirit has moved by obedience sacrifice moves people But holy spirit has moved by obedience The holy spirit wants to have such a close relationship with us To be able to to talk to us to be able to lead us to a place where he begins to use us to begins to give you dreams Ideas holy spirit is longing for that for that relationship with he wants to know you It's it's not that you are like a holy spirit. No, he wants it more than you want it He wants to walk with you. He wants to give you revelation. He wants to prepare Maybe he wants to talk to you and just begins to fellowship with you. He's your companion. He's your friend He's your partner in life by yet the obedience first flows flows from your mentors from your parents and from from your authority Yes, a lot of unfair things gets done to us a lot And but the holy spirit's like I use those things remember one time I did uh I did a black song here My desire by Kirk Franklin. I don't know. I got inspired. I'm just like man And my team was like my team was very young. So whatever I say they do, you know Now it's like if I say it's a bad song they they don't like no martin you're by yourself That one like all the teenagers that I'm like guys. We're doing kirk franken song my desire Everybody's like, you know, sorry. I'm like you guys listen. I'll kick you out, you know You have no other life to live And uh, everybody was like I just don't do that song. It's bad I'm like, no I got him piano and like my desire and I even started pronouncing some of the words the way You know kirk franken does black and after that, you know, latimer everybody came out to me like don't ever do that song like Okay, sometimes I do these, you know songs up here and I I said that and then the next day passed like, you know Don't you ever do that song? He sounded like a like a chicken just went run over something that he screamed me And during that time I'm like I was so passionate My heart was there and you just took it And at the end of the day, I'm like, you know what we'll get better We'll become the worship team that during worship people be delivered people be healed people be cast out They will happen they'll come to a place where we're during worship guys You'll see that during worship that there'll be such a thick presence that they don't even wait for the message Miracles begin to take place at that why because there was obedience to a mentor There was obedience to authority to say, you know what whatever you say because I believe god Spirit of god is upon you. He's speaking through you right now. I'm not gonna run away from challenges I'm not gonna back down whenever it's gonna get hard. I'm gonna stick forward because there's a crown Delays for me crown of glory There's a time where it's gonna come where people begin to you don't plot. Oh, how did you get to the place obedience? obedience obedience Ask your neighbor who's your mentor?