WE ARE CALLED TO BE SELF FEEDING

A BOOK REVIEW OF THE DIVINE MENTOR

By Wayne Cordeiro

“Your words were found and I ate them;

and Your words became for me a joy and the delight of my heart;

for I have been called by Your name, O Lord God of hosts.”  Psalm 119:24

This verse in the book "The Divine Mentor"  was the most striking and hit my heart with major blows.  First of all I could see myself in the “I’m not being fed here” scenario.  When Mike and I were first married we went to my home church.  It was where I was baptized at the age of 9 and had remained a member and where we were married.  Mike gave up his home church because staying at my church meant so much to me.  After we had our first child I began attending a Bible study with women from another church.  It is the Bible study I would most like to recreate today, if I had the chance.  This Bible Study was where God first opened my eyes to His word.  I had read scripture before, of course, and knew all of the stories that had been taught to me through the years.  I knew them but they really didn’t know me! The first study I was in with this group was a “Neighborhood Bible Studies” series book called Four Men of God.  It took us through Adam, Abraham, Joseph and David.  There is no doubt that this time was the turning point in my life.  I ate up God’s word.  I could hardly wait until we met again because I was learning so much from our time together each week.  Most of the other women all attended the same church – Jesus Fellowship – that met in the Holiday Inn.  Before long I was being fed so much in that Bible Study that I was overflowing.  My desire was to teach others and I had the feeling I was no longer being fed in my church.  What are we to do when this happens?

As The Divine Mentor is showing us in it’s chapters, the church isn’t to be our prime feeding source.  We are told to not forsake gathering together as a body but I believe the church is to be the place where people hear the “milk” messages that lead them to a greater desire for the “meat” messages that are in God’s word.  We want others to do what only we can do.  Make us grow!

Psalm 32: 8-9 “I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go; I will counsel you with My eye upon you.  Do not be as the horse or as the mule which has no understanding, whose trappings include bit and bridle to hold them in check, otherwise they will not come near you”

95% of what we do – anyone can do.  Only 5% of what we so is something no one else can be responsible for

·         Only I can be a husband/wife to my spouse

·         Only I can be a father/mother to my children

·         Only I can grow myself spiritually

·         Only I can keep myself healthy

·         Only I can keep myself disciplined

God sends the Holy Spirit who will guide us into all truth because truth needs a guide.

John 14: 16-17 says “I will ask the Father and He will give you another Helper, and He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth” then John 16:13 says ”But when I, the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you in all the truth”

We gain all-important wisdom only as The Divine Mentor instructs us through a living interaction with and understanding of God’s word.  Our need for such a guide becomes increasingly vital as we get closer and closer to the end of history when spiritual deception will become most rampant.  Paul warned of false prophets.  He cautioned that many people living in those days will have a strong tendency to be “always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth” (II Tim 3:7).  We should always be careful in how WE lead others as well.  Not being foolish in our speaking to others about scriptures or mislead by what we read in secular books or novels.  What you may read and have no problem seeing as fiction, may cause someone else to question or to be lead away from God’s true word.  This is why we need the Holy Spirit to be our guide.  He acts as our coach – just as an athlete needs a coach, we need a coach.  Athletes know that they cannot become and remain the best at what they do until they understand and apply the crucial essential of becoming coachable. 

Good Lessons and Bad Lessons

The Bible is filled with good and bad mentor /coaches.  We can learn from both of them.   Proverbs 24:30-32 says “I passed by the field of the sluggard and by the vineyard of the man lacking sense and behold, it was completely overgrown with thistles; it’s surface was covered with nettles, and it’s stone wall was broken down.  When I saw, I reflected upon it; I looked and received instruction.”

Our biblical mentors are caretakers who steward your inheritance until you come of age.  They teach, advise, tutor, mentor, coach until we receive the fullness of what God intends for us.  This is our divine inheritance.  What kind of inheritance do you seek and how soon do you want it?  The influences in our lives reflect how soon we want to receive our inheritance.   Proverbs 13:20 says “He who walks with wise men will be wise but the companion of fools will suffer harm” Our mentor, the word, says we become like the people we hang around with.  Wisdom is contagious.  It’s something you catch more than something you comprehend.  Physical death of our biblical mentors did not terminate their lives.  God gave them eternal assignment to tutor future generations of His children. 

A friend gave a cross necklace to his son and fiance at their rehersal dinner.  He explained that there were two words that lead them to the rehearsal dinner where he presented his gift.  His son had said the two words “Will you” and the fiance answered with two words “I Will”.  What he had inscribed on the back of the cross necklaces were two words “I Choose.”  In this case it was making the choice, daily, to be a husband and wife.  This father was a wise man.   

We make a choice daily on how our relationship with God will be that day.  Will we spend time with him and learn from the mentors he has provided in His word?  Daily we choose if we will become wiser.  Will we discipline ourselves to close out all else or will we go on with life as usual?  Each of us has to make our own choice.  What do YOU CHOOSE?

Is making the right choice today enough?  No, it is a daily choice we need to make.  Look at King Solomon.  He was considered one of the wisest men ever yet when he forgot where his wisdom came from and he began to think of himself as more than he really was, he became foolish.  How can we avoid this pitfall?  Stay DAILY in the word.  Talk to God.  Build the relationship He desires to have with you.  “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Prov 9:10, Psalm 111:10) and Proverbs 1:7 goes on to say “fools despise wisdom and instruction.”

There are many jobs, vocations, hobbies and talents that take daily practice.  Can you think of a few?  How about athletes, musician’s, physician’s?  Even a physician must have a mentor / coach to continue his learning process.  When I thought about this I was amazed.  I think of athletes and musicians as having coaches or lessons or practice that keeps them at peak performance but other jobs require this as well. Not just physician’s because I am a secretary but if I stopped typing or using the computer I would loose my skills.  I would slow down in my typing skills, wouldn’t I?  New programs would come out but I wouldn't want to learn how to use them.  I need my mentors on my job just like everyone else.  I need to be teachable.   I remember when we got our first computer and I thought it would be just the thing for my Mom to use to write letters to her brothers.  She had said writing letters was a slow process for her anymore and she didn’t enjoy it.  She had been an accountant so she used a typewriter daily.  I thought this would be a piece of cake yet her response to me was “I am 77 years old and I don’t have to learn anything I don’t want to anymore!”  This was in stark contrast to the woman who got her college degree at age 47 and her high school diploma at 67. 

Think of all you have just heard.  How many mentors from God’s word are you really familiar with on an intimate level?  Do you try to read the Bible daily?  Do you journal what you read?  Perhaps you are content to read without really getting intimate with God daily?  I submit that until you can find someone that you will be accountable to on a consistent basis you may not be the self feeder you could become.  Are you afraid to begin on your own?  Find a Bible Study of others that really want to learn.  Make a commitment to never miss a meeting – be accountable!

The new year of 2012 will begin in just a few hours.  What kind of New Year resolution can you make that would be more fruitful in your life than having daily time with God?  Spend time reading his word, journal things that you come across, pray for others and perhaps even keep a log of your prayers so you can see how God is working.  As I have said before, my experience builds my faith which becomes my testimony!