A Clear Vision in a Confused World

Rev. David Church

"But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the
portion of the king's meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he
requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself."
Daniel 1:8

In 605 B.C., a young crown prince of the Babylonian Empire became

commander and chief of the armies of Babylon.

•In the spring of that year he marched his armies through Egypt and Assyria
conquering everyone and everything that crossed his path.
•He continued marching those armies through Syria and Palestine claiming
victory after victory.
•By 597 B.C. he had moved into Judah and then Jerusalem.

On March 16th 597 B.C., this crown prince, now king of Babylon, accepted the
total surrender of King Jehoiachin, king of Judah and Jerusalem.

This king would go on to reign over the most powerful empire in the world for
the next 43 years ... his name, Nebuchadnezzar.
During his reign, Nebuchadnezzar helped build the city of Babylon into the most
formidable fortress city the world had ever known.

•Babylon was a rectangular shaped city rising impressively above the desert in
the land we now know as Iraq.
•The mighty Euphrates river flowed from north to south right through the
center
of the city.
•The city was surrounded by 50 miles of double walls.
o The inner wall was 21 feet thick and three hundred feet tall.
o The outer wall was 11 feet thick and three hundred feet tall.
o Both of these walls were reinforced by 420 foot tall towers that were
spaced
at 60 foot intervals around the entire circumference of the city.
•The waters of the Euphrates were diverted to form a moat around these mighty
walls.

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The city had eight gates. All of them were very impressive, but the
most notable was the Ishtar gate.

•This gate was not made of stone as the others, but with beautiful
lazuli blue tile.
•Ishtar gate was the most notable because it accessed the two
citadels of the city and also an enormous palace.
•Just beyond the Ishtar gate was one of the seven wonders of the
world:
oThe Hanging Garden of Babylon.
►Nebuchadnezzar built this garden for his homesick queen.
►You would not expect to find a beautiful forest covered
mountain in the middle of a fortress city, but
there it was just beyond Ishtar gate.

•In the center of the city was a beautiful bridge supported by brick
pillars linking the old part of the city to the new. •Towering over this
bridge was a massive 30-story building called the ziggurat.
•At the top of the ziggurat was a temple devoted to one of their many
notable gods, Marduk.

In that era, there was no city on earth as impressive or spectacular as

the city of Babylon. In theAncientAkkadian language, Babylon
means, "The gateway of the gods." That would certainly be the
impression one would have upon seeing this spectacular city; it
looked like a gateway to the heavens. Yet in the Hebrew language,
Babylon means something entirely different. It means "confused."

Daniel 1 :3-5
"And the king spake unto Ashpenaz the master of his eunuchs, that he
should bring certain of the children of Israel, and of the king's
seed, and of the princes; Children in whom was no blemish, but well
favoured, and skilful in all wisdom, and cunning in knowledge, and
understanding science, and such as had ability in them to stand in the
king's palace, and whom they might teach the learning and the tongue

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of the Cha/deans. And the king appointed them a daily provision of
the king's meat, and of the wine which he drank: so nourishing them
three years, that at the end thereof they might stand before the king."

It was the custom of King Nebuchadnezzar to take the finest things of

every land he conquered and bring those things to his palace; this
included the finest children. The king's orders were to bring the finest
of the royal children to his palace in Babylon.

The scripture records the names of four of these children: Daniel,

Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.
•These four boys were of royal blood.
•They were the strongest, healthiest, and the best looking young
men in the kingdom of Judah.
•They were also very wise and knowledgeable for their years.

At the time, these Hebrew boys were young teenagers between 14 and
16 years of age. Nebuchadnezzar's plan was to place them in a three
year training program to learn the customs and language of the
Chaldeans.
•They would live in the palace of the king.
•They would eat at the king's table.
•They would sit and learn from the king's counselors.
•They would have all of the advantages of a prince.

Captivity wasn't looking too tough for these four boys. They might
have had it good in Jerusalem, but now they had the finest things in
the world at their fingertips. It was into this perfect paradise in the
middle of a desert that they came:
•over the Euphrates River;
•through the beautiful blue Ishtar gate;
•under the mighty walls of the fortress city;
•past the citadels and hanging gardens of Babylon;
•and into the magnificent palace of King Nebuchadnezzar, king
of all the world.
Nebuchadnezzar had plans for these boys. He said, "I just need three

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years with these boys and they will be Babylonians!"

•Three years of teaching them

•Three years of showing them the wonders of Babylon
•Three years of showing them how to worship the gods of
Babylon
Yet as Daniel was sitting down to his very first meal in the king's
palace, he made a decision that would come to define his years in
Babylon. Daniel purposed in his heart not to partake of the king's
meat or drink (Daniel 1 :8). Why?
•Daniel was a Hebrew boy.
•He wasn't about to transfer his citizenship.
•Daniel had been brought up in the city of Jerusalem which
means "foundation" or "city of God."
Daniel was now living in the gateway of the gods but Daniel had been
raised in the city of God!
Daniel was presented with a choice. For most people this would have
been a confusing time ...
•There he was in the most beautiful and powerful city in the
world surrounded by many gods.
•Everything and everybody is at his beck and call.
•Most people would give anything to live like Daniel lived.
. .. but not Daniel.
•Daniel had come from a city whose builder and maker was
God.
•Daniel had come from a city whose foundation was the one
true God.
No, this wasn't a confusing time for Daniel.
•Daniel had a crystal clear vision of who he was.
•He had a crystal clear vision of who his God was.
Daniel made a stand. How was he able to do it?
The Chaldean people viewed their city as the "gateway of the gods".
but Daniel viewed Babylon as "confused". When Daniel looked at
Babylon, he didn't see all the wealth, wonder and attractions; Daniel
saw confusion.
Daniel understood that these people were confused.
•They were confused by all of the attractions of their
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beautiful city.
•They were confused by the many different temples, idols
and gods.
While living in this confused world, Daniel made a stand to live for
his God! From his very first meal forward, Daniel established a clear
pattern to live by.

Daniel 6:10
"Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his
house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem,
he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave
thanks before his God, as he did aforetime."

Three times a day, Daniel turned away from the gateway of the gods,
and turned toward the city of God and prayed to the one true God.
•This reminded Daniel who he was and where he came from.
•This reminded Daniel that Babylon was not his home, he was
just passing through.
Daniel was not confused. He was crystal clear about what he needed
to do. He would remain true to His God. The pattern that Daniel lived
by gave him a clear vision in a confused world.
Never before in the history of mankind has the world had so much to
offer: technology, travel, education, wonders of the world, hopes and
dreams for the future.
But inasmuch as the world has a lot of good things to offer, it also has
a bad thing: sin of every kind.
Satan has come in and he has blurred the demarcation line that
separates God's church from the world. For many, it has become
confusing to live for God in this world. The truth of the matter is this -
anything that pulls you away from God is a bad thing.
We have to be clear about one thing: are we going to serve God no
matter what this world offers us?
Some things in this world might look okay, or even good. Yet the
Bible says;

I John 2:15
"Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any

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man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him."
Everything around Daniel looked good, everything around Daniel was
the best the world has to offer, everything was his for the taking. No
doubt he was tempted.
That first meal in the palace must have been a grand occasion.
•The finest of chinaware
•The finest linens and decorations
•The finest cuts of meats and produce

Daniel was a captive. He had to have been very hungry.

•The king's meat looked good.
•The king's meat smelled good.

But Daniel did not allow himself to be confused. He knew and

understood what God required of him. He knew who he was and who
his God was.
God has called us out of darkness into His marvelous light.
•We are a chosen generation.
•We are a royal priesthood.
•We are a holy nation.

I Corinthians 6:19-20
'What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost
which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For
ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in
your spirit, which are God's."
We can't allow ourselves to be distracted by Babylon. We can't let
Satan confuse us. We have the word of God, we know what His word
says. Daniel had a vision and he stayed true to that vision. He
belonged to God!
Satan can paint a pretty picture but don't let him woo us with the
things of this world. The Bible says that Satan desires to sift us like
wheat.
•That can only happen if we are not submitted to God.
•That can only happen if we are confused and vulnerable.

Nebuchadnezzar pulled these boys in at a vulnerable time in their

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lives.
•They were hurting.
•They had been ripped from their homes; taken from their
families.
•Their king had just surrendered.
Nebuchadnezzar pulled them in and began to woo them with all the
splendor of the kingdom. That is what Satan does. He will tempt us
with every promise of this world. He will take us to places that we
never dreamt we could be.
Satan doesn't need a lot of time to make an impression on our mind.
•Just a few weeks
•A few months
He just wants to get a hold of our mind and our body for a short time,
and if he can do that, he will have us. That is Satan's desire! It wasn't
easy for Daniel to make a stand.

• He was a stranger in a strange land .

• He didn't know what had become of his family.
He was emasculated (that means he could never have children) . He
had no chance of a future with a family of his own. There was no
future for his country. He was stripped of his identity.
Nebuchadnezzar changed his name from Daniel which meant, "God is
my Judge", to Belteshazzar which meant, "protect the king."
He was surrounded by false gods . He was forced to protect a king
who had destroyed his life .

But Daniel said, "I know who I am, and I know where I am going!"
For three years, Daniel stood his ground while living in the palace of
Nebuchadnezzar.
•He ate vegetables instead of the king's meat.
•He prayed to the one true God of Israel.

When the three years of training was over, these boys were brought
before the king.

Daniel 1: 19-20
"And the king communed with them; and among them all was found

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none like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: therefore stood
they before the king. And in all matters of wisdom and understanding,
that the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all
the magicians and astrologers that were in all his realm."
In three years time, Daniel and the three boys became 10 times wiser
than all of the king's counselors!
They made a stand so they received God's favor!
For the next sixty plus years Daniel lived in the palace in Babylon
interpreting the king's dreams until a Persian king named Darius
gained power. Under his reign, Daniel became an important figure in
the Medo-Persian Empire.
It was God's favor!
Let us be like Daniel.
•Make a stand for Go
•Make a stand for truth .

When we are willing to stand up for God in the midst of a confused

world, God will bring favor to our lives .

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 FREE YOUR MIND | Rev. Joel Ayuda

Mark 6:1-6 “And he went out from thence, and came into his own
country; and his disciples follow him. And when the sabbath day was
come, he began to teach in the synagogue and many hearing him were
astonished, saying, From whence hath this man these things? and
what wisdom is this which is given unto him, that even such mighty
works are wrought by his hands? Is not this the carpenter, the son of
Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and
are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him. But
Jesus, said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, but in his own
country, and among his own kin, and in his own house. And he could
there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick
folk, and healed them. And he marvelled because of their unbelief.
And he went round about the villages, teaching.”

There Is Creativity in You

There are many things that can be said about God. He is the
comforter, way-maker, lover, healer, rabbi. But, the first thing that
God wants you to know about Him from the beginning is that He is
the Creator, and you are created in his likeness and image. And
because of that, God did not give man everything. He did not give
him chairs, pencils or tables, but He gave him trees. He did not give
him glasses, computers, iPods and watches, but He gave him his
mind. Man needs something to create like God.

When you ask God for something, do not expect Him to bring exactly
what you asked for. It may show up in a raw form so you can mold it
out. He did not create trees without a system of reproduction.
What will you do with the staff that God gave you? You have to make
something out of it. Inside a seed is the future of a tree. The future is
inside you. You need to fix your mind for unless you set your mind
right, everything you invested upon is going to leak out of the
premises of a mind that refuses to change.

The most powerful tool that you have in your body is your mind.

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Your mind must be strong for the Bible says it is with the mind that
we serve the Lord (Romans 7:25). That’s why the enemy fights you in
your mind.

For as a man thinks in his heart, so is he (Proverbs 23:7). The devil

does not have to tie you physically for you to be in bonds. What he
does is tie your mind with stress, worries, aggravations, anger and
rebellion. He can make you physically ill if your mind is ill. If you
can get your mind out
of trouble, you can get your money, family and career out.

Programming Your Mind for Victory

You need to reprogram your thinking – “God’s favor is on my life.
No obstacle is too big for me. I know I am more than a conqueror.”
When you do that, you are programming your mind for victory. You
become what you believe (Matthew 9:29).

If you believe that you could never break that addiction; that you are
not attractive; that you are not that talented, then you go through life
with low self-esteem and miss out the fullness of God’s blessing. You
should be dwelling on thoughts like “I’m blessed, I’m talented, I’m
strong and creative.”

Twenty years before Abraham had a child, God said, “I have made
you a father.” That was in the past tense and Abraham chose to
believe that. Not just because God had said it that it will automatically
come to pass, Abraham knew he had to do his part.

All throughout the scriptures, God had promised many things but
many of them are in the past tense. In Ephesians, God have blessed
you with every spiritual blessings (1:3), have made you worthy
(Colossians 1:12), and surrounded you with favor (Psalm 5:12). You
need to do your part like Abraham. You need to come to an
agreement with God
Power of Perception
It is not what you’re going through that matters, how you perceive
what you’re going through does.
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The enemy works according to your perception of your situation.
What one perceives as a crisis, to another, opportunity. Some people
see the recession as a dilemma, but some, as a business opportunity.

Some people see that singleness as a curse, to others, a blessing. Some

people see that their marriage is a dilemma, but some see it as a
blessing. Somebody will perceive your family, blessings, talents and
situation differently.

Perception is a powerful thing. How you perceive a situation is vital.

Perception is everything. Instead of asking God to change your
situation, ask Him to change your perception of your situation.

There is danger in a flawed perception. The Bible said that when He

came into His own town, He had gone in the synagogue to teach. The
people knew that it was the same Jesus who was left in the synagogue
at the age of twelve conferring the scriptures with the doctors of the
law. They were shocked at Him then. How did this boy know what He
knew? “How is He bright as He is?” But here comes eighteen years
later, the same people who were amazed at Him when He was a child,
are now
questioning where His wisdom came from. However, it was not a new
wisdom, not a new knowledge. They were shocked at His knowledge,
wisdom, and works (miracles).

You Have To Learn Beyond Your Situation

“How is this boy, who is as ordinary as His father, a carpenter, knew
all of this that He knows?” Their thought was, if His father is a
carpenter, He should be a carpenter. The people limited Him by His
parents, community and background.

If you come from this same situation, look at Jesus. He was not bound
to it.

You need to have a mind that goes beyond your situation; that seeks
to learn things that are not connected to where you came from or even

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where you are. You need to learn outside the box. You need to learn
things that you do not even know how you’re going to use it. Because
if you’re going to learn according to what you are right now, then,
you can only do what you are doing right now. Do not pray that God
will get you over there when you keep your learning over here. You
must learn ahead.

Jesus had knowledge and wisdom and they knew He performed

miracles. His potentials were limitless. But when they heard His
knowledge, wisdom and saw His works, they were offended. Why?
How can they be offended? He set the captives free and healed the
sick.

There are people who are offended at you when you’re doing well.
Even Jesus marveled at the reaction He got from His own folks. They
were not evil, they were just limited. People do not have to be evil to
be
offended. That’s just how they perceived it. He gave them the greatest
gift that God had ever given to mankind. He gave them an
opportunity, but they blew it because they have a poor perception of
the situation.

When Satan went to the Garden of Eden to beguile and take control of
mankind, he did not use any demon, magic or cast any spell. He just
worked on Adam and Eve’s perception of the situation. Satan said,
“You will not die. But you will be as wise as God” (Genesis 3:5).
Satan played with their perception. Perception is powerful. All
humanity fell because of false perception.
There was a woman in the Bible who was bleeding for twelve years.
Jesus did not tell her he was going to heal her. He said woman “Thou
art loosed from thy infirmities” (Luke 13:12). He said “thou art”, not
“thou will.” And when her perception of her situation changed, her
condition changed. When your perception changes, nobody can stop
you, nobody can limit you, nobody can bind you. The moment you
think differently, you act, move, and function differently. Why do you
think God used the foolishness of preaching of the gospel?
Because whenever the word of God is preached, perceptions are
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changed. The woman got healed because she valued the opportunity –
the presence of Jesus.

Are you getting so little from your faith when in truth, God wants to
give you more? Are you missing out on miracles in your life because
you do not perceive the opportunity to be valuable?

God will give you according to the basis of your expectation. Some
people who received the opportunity and valued what they have, got
twice as much as those who became common with what they got.

Jesus cannot do anything with an atmosphere of wrong perception. If

you are asking God for something that He already promised and it is
not working, could it be possible that you have an outdated perception
of God? It is not that you do not know Him, maybe you just have
become familiar with Him. Every time people get familiar with Jesus,
they miss Him and the opportunity that comes with Him.
Are you affected by a flawed perception?

Almost everybody who got healed in the New Testament got healed
as Jesus passed by. Your opportunity is passing by. Jesus is passing
by. All that God is going to do is pass by.
Grab this opportunity where you can call ordinary things as divine.
References:
Power of Perception – T.D. Jakes;
Program Your Mind For Victory – Joel Osteen

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YOUR CHOICE TODAY DETERMINES YOUR DESTINY
Pr. Frederick Suday

“I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set
before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life,
that both thou and thy seed may live” (Deuteronomy 30-19).

Life has full of choices. Every day we make a choice. There are times
that our choices are right, but sometimes we make wrong ones. It’s
not a big deal if we make a wrong choice in our minor decisions like
the color of the tie that we use today does not match with our long
pants, or you bought a dress for your sister which is not her favorite.
But in making a major choice, be sure to think of it many times before
you decide, because it will bring tremendous impact and great damage
in your life and in others’ lives if you make the wrong choice.

Be Careful in Choosing Friends

It’s nice to have friends. When we are down, they are there to lift us
up. When we are weak, they are always there to make us strong.
When the whole world has gone out, they are always there ready to
come in. They know who we are, along with our weaknesses, but they
still love and accept us. William Arthur Ward shared much insight
when he said, “A true friend knows your weaknesses but shows you
your strengths; recognizes your disabilities but emphasizes your
possibilities.”

But sad to say, many become drug addicts, are disobedient to parents,
are failing academically and destroy their lives because of their bad
influential friends. If we are not careful in choosing our friends, we
may become like them. We may be influenced by their bad habits,
speeches, actions and attitudes. In your constant company with them,
you will gradually become like them. One said, “Tell me who your

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friends are and I will tell who you are.” Even King Solomon, the
wisest man who ever lived admonished us in Proverbs 22:24-25,
“Make no friendship with an angry man; and with a furious man thou
shalt not go: Lest thou learn his ways, and get a snare to thy soul.”
George Washington advised, “Associate yourself with men of good
quality if you esteem your own reputation: for it is better to be alone
than to be in bad company.”

There are certain things that we can’t choose. We can’t choose our
parents, brothers, sisters and relatives, but we can choose the friends
we want to have. Choose your friends wisely and you will be grateful
for having them in your life continually.

Be Careful in Choosing a Life Partner

I have heard many people being regretful for choosing the person they
married as their husband or wife. They realized that their choice was
wrong. They said that it happened because they didn’t listen to the
advice of their parents, pastors and Christian friends. They were
overwhelmed by their unhindered feelings. Because of this, we have
seen many separations and broken families in our society. These
things can be prevented if people make the right decisions. As
Christians, how can we know that our choice is right and that it is the
will of God?

First of all, we should pray to God for guidance, wait for the right
time and listen to the advices of our pastor, parents and Christian
friends. We should also remember that the Bible has already set a
pattern in choosing a life partner, “Be ye not unequally yoked
together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness
with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with
darkness?” (II Corinthians 6:14). Our choices must be based on
biblical principles. What will happen if you choose the wrong person?
If you choose an unbeliever or an unfaithful Christian to be your life
partner, your service to God will be greatly
affected. It can affect your giving, church attendance, lifestyle, etc.
You will suffer from mental and emotional stress. Your children will
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be confused as to whose faith they will follow. In the end, your
marriage will end up a big failure.

Yes, it is true that the foundation of marriage must be love. But let us
be reminded that there are many kinds of love such as puppy love,
false love and true love. Do not choose with your heart only; decide
also with your head, for God puts our heads higher than our hearts.
The Creator of all things said, “The heart is deceitful above all things,
and desperately wicked: who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9). You
should always seek the will and guidance of God for you to choose to
right person whom the Lord prepared for you.

Be Careful in Choosing Who to Imitate and Follow

Most of our young people nowadays are having fun in imitating

someone, especially the celebrities. They constantly follow their
social media accounts such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. They
imitate their favorite celebrities on the way they talk, act, sing, dress
or even their likes and dislikes. If we are not sensitive enough, we
can’t notice that the world is now slowly crippling into our churches.
Someone testified, “When I was in the world, I found the church. But
when I’m in the church, I found the world.”

We can’t afford to move forward and leave behind what our

forefathers of faith had passed on to us. The next generation of
Pentecostals will be greatly affected if today’s generation lives as they
ought not to be.
Worldliness and carnality must not be welcomed in the church. If we
want to imitate and follow someone, it should be our Lord Jesus
Christ, the faultless One. In Him, we can’t find mistakes,
shortcomings or even sin. He is our perfect example and worthy of
emulation.

Be Careful in Choosing Priorities

In our high technology era, most of our youth today spend their day
using their gadgets like tablets, mobile phones, laptops and

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computers. Most of them don’t prioritize what’s really important but
choose to spend more time on what is fun. Most of the time, they
don’t pray, read their Bibles, meditate, share God’s Word or even
attend youth activities, because they occupy their time with things that
matter the least.

John C. Maxwell told his readers, “Your greatest possession is the

twenty four hours you have directly ahead of you.” How will you
spend it? Will you give in to pressure or focus on priorities? Will you
allow pointless e-mails, unimportant tasks, telemarketers,
interruptions, and other distractions to consume your day? Or will you
take complete responsibility for how you spend your time, take
control of the things you can, and make today yours? If you don’t
decide how your day will be spent, someone else will.

Time management consultant, Antonio Herrera asked the participants

in a seminar, “If we had to buy time, would there be any difference in
how we would spent it? Would the days of our lives be used more
wisely?”
He asked further, “What if you had to pay in advance one hundred
dollars an hour for the time allotted to you? Would you waste it?” The
answer should be obvious. William James said, “The great use of life
is to spend it for something that will outlast it.”

What we choose today can greatly affect our destiny. What has
happened to us today is the result of our choices yesterday. So every
time you make a decision, see to it that it is not the wrong one for
your future depends on it. That’s why we should pray to God for
guidance in all our plans, dreams, decisions and choices. Proverbs
3:5-6 exhorted us, “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean
not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him,
and he shall direct thy paths.”

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MENTORING: THE MINISTRY OF MULTIPLICATION
Rev. Jim Poitras

“And when Saul was come to Jerusalem, he assayed to join himself to

the disciples: but they were all afraid of him, and believed not that he
was a disciple. But Barnabas took him, and brought him to the
apostles, and declared unto them how he had seen the Lord in the
way, and that he had spoken to him, and how he had
preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus.” - Acts 9:26-27

Mentoring is a relationship between two people: the mentor and the

one being mentored.

Long ago when the Greek warrior Odysseus went off to battle in the
Trojan War, he left his young son in the hands of a man named
Mentor. The father was away from his son for twenty years and when
he returned home his son had grown into a man. He had been trained
by Mentor.

Because of this story, we now say a mentor is someone who operates

as a father-figure in our lives.

The Bible says, “Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the

countenance of his friend” (Proverbs 27:17). People tend to become
like those they associate with. One man said, “Show me your friends,
and I will tell you what kind of person you are.” A mentor can
encourage you to do your best. He sees your potential and assists you
to be the person God has called you to be. He is interested in your
personal growth and development.
Howard Hendricks says that a mentor is committed to two things:
helping you grow and keeping you growing.

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One great mentor in the Scripture (though there are many) would be
the Apostle Paul. He drew Timothy to himself and mentored him. In
II Timothy 2:1-2 he said, “Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the
grace that is in ChristJesus. And the things that thou hast heard of me
among many witnesses, the
same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others
also.” What a tremendous definition of not only discipleship, but
mentoring.

Another great mentor was Barnabas. Originally he was called Joses

(Acts 4:36-37) but when he sold his property in Cyprus and gave the
proceeds to the Church, the leaders gave him a new name, Barnabas.
This means “Son of Encouragement.” He became a mentor to Paul
after the latter’s Damascus
experience. None of the other leaders wanted to have anything to do
with Paul, but later on we find Barnabas and Paul traveling together
as missionaries spreading the gospel. He was entering the ministry of
multiplication when he mentored Paul. Because he mentored Paul he
had an extended impact on
many cities in the ancient world. It was because of this same ministry
of multiplication that Jethro encouraged Moses to appoint other
leaders to judge the children of Israel (Exodus 18:14-23). One proverb
says, “The person who helps you carry your load does not develop a
hump.” This means it is good to help someone else but not to
completely take over another’s burdens. Another says, “If you get
your bundle ready, you will be helped to place it on your head.”

In Africa, as well as other parts of the world, the community is

regarded as an environment for realizing the potential of every
individual. The Akan maxim says, “If you do not allow your neighbor
to have [or reach] nine, you will not have [or reach] ten.”

Deuteronomy 6:1-14 allows us to see clearly that the gospel needs to

be passed from generation to generation. Failing to do this could
remove Christianity from the family lineage in just one generation.
Even David asked God to enable him to, “shew thy strength unto this

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generation, and thy power to everyone that is to come” (Psalm 71:18).
We all know that an “old man is like a library.” He has stored much
wisdom in his mind and these needs to be passed on to the future
generations.

Howard and William Hendricks in their book, As Iron Sharpens Iron

suggest mentoring was a way of life in Bible times. It was the primary
method of handing down skills and wisdom from one generation to
another. In their book they provided a list of some of the more
prominent mentoring relationships :

Jethro and Moses (Exodus 18)

Moses and Joshua (Deuteronomy 31:1-8; 34:9)
Moses and Caleb (Numbers 13; 14:6-9; 34:16-19; Joshua 14:6-
15)
Samuel and Saul(1 Samuel 9:15)
Samuel and David (1 Samuel 16:19;18-24)
Jonathan and David (1 Samuel 18:1-4; 19:1-7; 20:1-42)
Elijah and Elisha (1 Kings 19:16-21; 2 Kings 2:1-16; 3:11)
Barnabas and Saul (Acts 9:26-30; 11:22-30)
Barnabas and John Mark (Acts 15:36-39; 2 Timothy 4:11) Priscilla,
Aquilla, and Apollos (Acts 18:1-3; 24-28)
Paul and Timothy (Acts 16:1-3; 1 and 2 Timothy)
Paul and Titus (2 Corinthians 7:6, 13-15; Titus)

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