Mistakes or Mentors: Seven Keys to a Blessed Life
Dr RJ Sing, 37 min
Originally preached as “Mentorship: 7 Keys of a Blessed Life”
Sermon outline
Wisdom is the difference between poverty and prosperity, and you can receive it painlessly through mentors and through seven keys: the Holy Spirit, order, your assignment, relationships, honour, seed and receiving.
Main text
- Psalm 1:1-6
- Proverbs 4:7
Opening
He has the church tell one another they are ready to hear the word and prophetically declares that they will never have another bad day. He prays for the word to feed God's sheep, announces his subject as seven keys to a blessed life, and reads Psalm 1 slowly, stressing that whatever the righteous do shall prosper. Before the seven keys he gives an introduction on mentorship as the transference of wisdom.
Mentorship is the transference of wisdom: wisdom truths 1 to 7
Wisdom, not information or knowledge, is the most powerful force on earth. He lists: (1) wisdom is the master key to every treasure in God's promise of a thousand times more; (2) it is not inherited through the bloodline, since a wise father can have a foolish son; (3) all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in Christ; (4) the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of wisdom who uses your gifts and skills; (5) wisdom is more powerful than weapons of war; (6) it makes you ten times stronger than those without it; (7) it makes your enemies helpless against you.
Illustration: Solomon did not ask for riches, honour or long life. He asked for wisdom and knowledge to judge God's people, and God gave him riches, wealth and honour as well.
“Wisdom is the difference between poverty and prosperity.”
- Proverbs 4:7
- 2 Chronicles 1:11-12
- Proverbs 10:1
- Colossians 2:3
- Ecclesiastes 9:18
- Ecclesiastes 7:19
Wisdom truths 8 to 12: favour, promotion, wealth and relationships
He continues: (8) wisdom creates currents of favour and recognition towards you, because a Spirit-filled child of God carries an attractiveness that is from God; (9) wisdom guarantees promotion, so be wise in how you speak and carry yourself; (10) when you increase in wisdom you increase in wealth; (11) your investment in books, CDs and the church's devotional proves your passion for wisdom; (12) wisdom is transferred through relationships, as Moses laid hands on Joshua.
Illustration: Some would rather spend the money on a packet of chips than on the Chronicle. He says that if you meditate on the word you will get boxes of chips.
“Your willingness to invest in knowledge is a signal that you understand the rewards of wisdom.”
- Proverbs 4:8
- Proverbs 10:22
- Proverbs 8:18
- 2 Timothy 2:15
- Proverbs 13:20
- Deuteronomy 34:9
Two ways to receive wisdom: mistakes or mentors
Mistakes teach through pain, the school of hard knocks. Mentors transfer wisdom without the pain. Mentors are gifts from God, gates to greatness and bridges to blessing, and more than teachers or cheerleaders: they are coaches focused on the protégé. His goal as a pastor is for his people to do exceptionally well.
Illustration: Two lessons people learn the painful way: giving in before marriage and being left with a baby, and signing surety for someone else's debt and paying when they default.
“Mentors are gates to greatness.”
Key 1: The Holy Spirit
Develop a walk and a relationship with the Holy Spirit, who is to us what Jesus was when he walked the earth. Set aside a special place at home to meet with him, sing to him and receive his wisdom. The closer the relationship, the more he reveals secret things, dreams and hidden treasures.
“The greater your relationship with the Holy Spirit, the more God becomes your friend.”
- John 14:26
Key 2: Order
Order is the accurate arrangement of things. It exists for protection and safety, while disorder is the seed of confusion.
“Order is the accurate arrangement of things.”
- 1 Corinthians 14:40
Key 3: Your assignment
Your uniqueness is linked to an assignment, which decides what you see and what you do. What you love and what you hate are clues to what you are called to heal and to fix. He asks the church to change their language: they are not just members or partners, they are on assignment, and God needs them to carry out his work on earth.
Illustration: God needs a preacher to preach, a teacher to teach, a mother to mother, a father to father and a mentor to mentor.
“Your assignment is the point of your distinction.”
- 2 Timothy 1:1
Key 4: Relationships
The Holy Spirit is your adviser, and your relationship with your parents brings divine favour. A mentor is someone who has been where you want to go, and watching someone break a barrier makes it conceivable and achievable for you. Only foolish people say they do not need a teacher.
Illustration: Life is full of people who need you and always come with a need, but there are others who heed you: they listen to your advice and follow it.
“There are people who need you and there are those that heed you.”
- Proverbs 13:20
Key 5: Honour
Honour is a seed for access: honour someone and the door opens, dishonour them and it shuts. Failure in life can often be traced to a person you chose to dishonour. You learn to honour God by first honouring people, and your level of blessing is in proportion to your level of obedience.
Illustration: The first person you ever met was your mother, your first caregiver, who taught you about God. You met a human before you met God.
“Honor is a seed for access.”
- 1 Peter 2:17
Key 6: Seed
Everything begins with a seed, and the whole world runs by seedtime and harvest. Conversation is a seed for understanding, knowledge for blessing, thankfulness for more. Giving in the kingdom is never a loss, because believers live in God's economy of abundant life, not the thief's economy of loss.
“If you do not like your harvest, you must change your seed.”
- Genesis 8:22
- Luke 6:38
- John 10:10
Key 7: Receiving
The whole Bible is a book about receiving: healing, miracles, correction and answers. Many have mastered sowing but not receiving. Receive a gift with excitement and gratitude, even a small one, because how you receive determines whether more comes.
Illustration: Some people say thank you and push a gift aside. A child given something worth two or ten rand reacts as though it were a Porsche. He also reminds married couples how freely they expressed themselves when they first met.
“You must be a master sower, but at the same time, be a master receiver.”
- Luke 6:38
Putting it into practice
- Choose mentors over mistakes and follow the counsel of someone who has been where you want to go.
- Set aside a special place at home to meet with the Holy Spirit.
- Start saying 'I am on assignment' about your church, your work and your business.
- Honour the people God has placed in your life.
- Sow without counting it a loss, and receive every gift with open excitement.
Closing
He says these are the seven keys and that if people practise them they will bring blessings untold: wisdom has now been transferred to them and they should use it. He has the church stand and tell one another they will never have another bad day, then blesses their marriages, families and everything they have before handing over to Sia for the grace.
Declarations he led
- My bad days are over.
- When I increase in wisdom, I will increase in wealth.
- I am on assignment.
- Abundance is mine. It's coming to me.
- I'm a master receiver.
In his words
- “Mentorship is the transference of wisdom.”
- “Mentors are gifts from God. Mentors are gates to greatness. Mentors are bridges to blessings.”
- “Show me something that you hate, and that's what you are called to fix.”
- “Anything that leaves your hand doesn't exit your life. It goes into your future and multiplies.”
- “If you're grateful for small gifts, God will give you bigger gifts.”
Every scripture in this message
- Psalm 1:1-6
- Proverbs 4:7
- 2 Chronicles 1:11-12
- Proverbs 10:1
- Colossians 2:3
- Ecclesiastes 9:18
- Ecclesiastes 7:19
- Proverbs 10:22
- Proverbs 4:8
- Proverbs 8:18
- 2 Timothy 2:15
- Proverbs 13:20
- Deuteronomy 34:9
- John 14:26
- 1 Corinthians 14:40
- 2 Timothy 1:1
- 1 Peter 2:17
- Genesis 8:22
- Luke 6:38
- John 10:10