One approved of God: probing source and mentors- part I

Background

“And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: and he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do. And there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias; and to him said the Lord in a vision, Ananias. And he said, Behold, I am here, Lord. And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the street which is called Straight, and enquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul, of Tarsus: for, behold, he prayeth, and hath seen in a vision a man named Ananias coming in, and putting his hand on him, that he might receive his sight.But Saul increased the more in strength, and confounded the Jews which dwelt at Damascus, proving that this is very Christ.
‭‭Acts‬ ‭9‬:‭1‬-‭6‬, ‭10‬-‭12‬, ‭15‬-‭16‬, ‭22‬, ‭26‬ ‭KJV‬‬

And Eli perceived that the LORD had called the child. Therefore Eli said unto Samuel, Go, lie down: and it shall be, if he call thee, that thou shalt say, Speak, LORD; for thy servant heareth. So Samuel went and lay down in his place. And the LORD came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak; for thy servant heareth. Then Eli called Samuel, and said, Samuel, my son. And he answered, Here am I. And he said, What is the thing that the LORD hath said unto thee? I pray thee hide it not from me: God do so to thee, and more also, if thou hide any thing from me of all the things that he said unto thee. And Samuel told him every whit, and hid nothing from him. And he said, It is the LORD: let him do what seemeth him good.”
‭‭1 Samuel‬ ‭3‬:‭6‬-‭14‬, ‭16‬-‭18‬ ‭KJV‬‬

Although Saul was not counted as one of the original disciples, his impact is one of the most popular in the body of Christ. There was nothing ever said regards to mentorship, however, there were men sent for his sake. Today, many seek to be mentored by people who have trodden the path of their call, however, some end up seeing mentors as Gods, and some mentors direct people into their personal preferences and personified dealings than the pathway designed for them. Today let us dive into the phenomenon of mentorship and source.

Apostle Arome once said to probe one who claims to be a messenger of God, we need to probe his source. The first an individual upon whom the burden of the Lord is laid is his source. Paul’s encounter with Jesus was the beginning of his journey and destiny, this shows the importance of encounters seeing the same turn out of events in the life of Samuel. Encounters will be dealt with in another blog. In Paul’s rendition, after his conversion, the Lord would not directly tell him what he needed to do but required a member of His Body to initiate him into identification with the Body. This is because he had been saved and brought to the Lord directly and not indirectly through any channel. The Lord sent Ananias, a member of his body to initiate Paul, showing the importance of the body of Christ, that a saved believer needs the members of the Body of Christ. This is the first evidence and quality of a mentor, he must be part of the Body.

Concerning source, Paul was blinded and could see nothing until the Lord opened his eyes, this dealing was to ensure Paul does not consider himself more knowledgeable than all, but to have enlightenment from the very source, whereafter he was commissioned to open the eyes of others. This encounter and enlightenment gave Paul the zeal to begin to proclaim the name of the Lord. You cannot proclaim an experience you have not encountered, your confidence will be depleted when critics arise. Men who knew Paul were amazed knowing his past endeavors, but Paul grew more adamant about his new identity in Christ and was empowered more.

In Acts 9 we also see examples of men whose call were directed to specific people for instruction and direction. But these days many look to mentors as people to endorse them. Just like Ananais, a mentor must be deeply grounded in God, the very source. As seen in the life of Samuel, Eli taught him how to respond to the call of God but could not show him the pathway God had specifically designed for Him, yet Samuel’s vision concerned a judgment on the house of Eli. The mentor’s response to your vision/burden determines his/her standards and the part to play. Eli responded saying it is the Lord, let him do what seems good to him. A mentor understands the speaking of God irrespective of their personal dealings and is able to distinguish from the directions given to a mentee.

Beloved, you have been called by God, but you need the body of Christ, men do not approve God does. But God uses men to help men and perhaps train men. A man without the Body stands to be swayed away from the truth and eventually mislead. There may be wolves clothed as lambs, hence the source of every man is to be evident in order to trod their God-given destiny. Good morning.