WEBVTT - Michele Jackson - Oct 09 - 3:30 pm 0:00:06.570 --> 0:00:09.410 Welcome to Life in the Overflow. My name is Michelle Jackson. 0:00:09.490 --> 0:00:12.930 I serve as senior pastor at Hope Christian Church in Beltsville, Maryland. 0:00:13.150 --> 0:00:16.340 I'm excited that you're here listening today. We're gathering all 0:00:16.380 --> 0:00:17.980 women to hear what the Lord is. 0:00:17.940 --> 0:00:18.680 Saying to us. 0:00:19.220 --> 0:00:23.160 John 10.10 states that the enemy comes to steal, to kill, 0:00:23.400 --> 0:00:26.540 to sour, and to devour. But Jesus came to give 0:00:26.600 --> 0:00:29.200 us life, the zoe life of God in abundance. 0:00:29.660 --> 0:00:31.060 In an overflowing measure. 0:00:31.200 --> 0:00:34.280 There's a dimension of supernatural life that God has called 0:00:34.300 --> 0:00:35.860 us to walk in as women. 0:00:36.220 --> 0:00:37.600 We fill so many roles. 0:00:37.380 --> 0:00:41.380 In society, as wives, as mothers, as business leaders, as creatives, 0:00:41.520 --> 0:00:44.270 as stay-at-home moms. The Lord has called us to walk 0:00:44.310 --> 0:00:46.770 in a level of influence and grace because of the 0:00:46.810 --> 0:00:49.430 life of God that is within us. So listen as 0:00:49.490 --> 0:00:52.290 I share my heart, biblical truths, and guide us through 0:00:52.310 --> 0:00:54.700 so that we can discover a deeper love for Jesus 0:00:54.840 --> 0:00:57.480 and grace for our families, for our communities that we're 0:00:57.540 --> 0:01:00.400 called to love and serve. the assignments that we're in, 0:01:00.820 --> 0:01:04.680 and fresh connections to kingdom-thinking women. I'm excited that you're here. 0:01:04.940 --> 0:01:16.990 This is Life in the Overflow. Hey everybody, it's Pastor Michelle. 0:01:17.090 --> 0:01:19.550 I'm so excited that you're here. I want to first 0:01:19.590 --> 0:01:22.050 wish you a Merry Christmas. I hope that your Advent 0:01:22.090 --> 0:01:26.280 season has been great and that you have great plans 0:01:26.420 --> 0:01:30.470 for the season to celebrate. the birth of our Lord 0:01:30.530 --> 0:01:34.209 and Savior, Jesus Christ. I hope you are not letting 0:01:35.270 --> 0:01:40.069 the commercialism of Christmas take over your holiday, but rather 0:01:40.190 --> 0:01:44.450 just enjoying time with family and friends and really reflecting 0:01:44.520 --> 0:01:46.150 on how much the Lord has done this year. I 0:01:46.310 --> 0:01:49.320 thought it would be great for us to pick up 0:01:49.400 --> 0:01:52.139 kind of where we left off and talk about five 0:01:52.200 --> 0:01:54.680 voices that you need in your life as a leader. 0:01:54.940 --> 0:01:57.960 Five voices that you need in your life as a leader. 0:02:05.000 --> 0:02:08.500 So I want to get right into this with you. 0:02:08.520 --> 0:02:13.540 I just know that for 2023, as I was sharing 0:02:13.580 --> 0:02:17.590 at the end of my last teaching podcast about the 0:02:17.669 --> 0:02:21.470 five tips for leaders, I know 2023 is going to 0:02:21.530 --> 0:02:30.520 be an extraordinary year. We've already experienced unprecedented shaking nationally, internationally. 0:02:31.980 --> 0:02:35.889 But I believe the Lord will. is allowing the shaking 0:02:36.350 --> 0:02:40.670 to establish his church and to establish you and who 0:02:40.690 --> 0:02:42.730 he's called you to be in this season. And so 0:02:43.130 --> 0:02:45.270 I want to make sure that you and I both 0:02:45.330 --> 0:02:48.610 have the right voices in our life that are going 0:02:48.630 --> 0:02:51.460 to help propel us into all that God's called us 0:02:52.380 --> 0:02:54.920 to be and do. So the first voice that we 0:02:54.960 --> 0:02:57.380 need in our life is the voice of the Lord. 0:02:57.400 --> 0:03:02.510 Psalm 29 says, declares that the voice of the Lord 0:03:02.680 --> 0:03:05.900 is powerful. The voice of the Lord is over the waters. 0:03:06.960 --> 0:03:10.700 The voice of the Lord breaks the cedar. The Lord 0:03:10.800 --> 0:03:16.080 breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon. And what we 0:03:16.120 --> 0:03:19.320 should know there is that the cedar in Lebanon is 0:03:19.360 --> 0:03:22.920 the hardest wood. And so what the Lord, what the 0:03:22.940 --> 0:03:25.960 psalmist was saying of the Lord's voice is that it 0:03:26.000 --> 0:03:31.829 could penetrate and can penetrate the hardest substances, the hardest places, 0:03:32.130 --> 0:03:35.230 the voice of the Lord is powerful. So as a 0:03:35.290 --> 0:03:41.110 leader for direction, for purpose, for insight, for revelation, for 0:03:41.170 --> 0:03:43.550 making plans, we need the. 0:03:43.510 --> 0:03:44.350 Voice of the Lord. 0:03:45.610 --> 0:03:48.780 We need the voice of the Lord influencing our decisions, 0:03:49.340 --> 0:03:53.640 influencing our plans, because the voice of the Lord is 0:03:53.740 --> 0:03:58.940 powerful and the voice of the Lord establishes the authority 0:03:58.980 --> 0:04:03.250 of God. And so, you know, all of the angels respond, 0:04:03.720 --> 0:04:07.010 the 420 elders, the cherubims and the seraphim, they all 0:04:07.070 --> 0:04:11.610 respond to the voice of the Lord crying, holy, holy, holy, 0:04:11.630 --> 0:04:15.930 holy is the Lord. And so we as leaders, we 0:04:16.190 --> 0:04:19.450 often have so many perplexing decisions we have to make. 0:04:20.050 --> 0:04:25.540 I don't know about you, but where I am in ministry, 0:04:25.640 --> 0:04:30.760 oftentimes my leadership team, they want decisions made and you 0:04:30.779 --> 0:04:35.060 can feel pressured at time, um, to make decisions if 0:04:35.100 --> 0:04:38.440 you're only relying on your voice. But when you have 0:04:38.460 --> 0:04:41.210 the voice of the Lord, um, in your life and 0:04:41.710 --> 0:04:44.790 the Lord is speaking to you and you're sure of 0:04:45.089 --> 0:04:49.270 his voice, um, it's important that we're sure of his 0:04:49.330 --> 0:04:54.980 voice so that we can hear his voice clearly, you know, um, 0:04:56.210 --> 0:05:00.710 John chapter 10, verse 27 and 28 say, my sheep 0:05:01.230 --> 0:05:05.170 hear my voice and I know them and they follow me. 0:05:05.770 --> 0:05:09.950 And so even as leaders, we are first following Christ. 0:05:10.350 --> 0:05:15.050 We're first following his pattern as an example. And as 0:05:15.150 --> 0:05:18.609 we continue to submit and follow the voice of the Lord, 0:05:18.970 --> 0:05:23.650 we demonstrate and show what a good follower of even 0:05:23.890 --> 0:05:27.630 our leadership should look like. And so the voice of 0:05:27.690 --> 0:05:31.510 the Lord is a non-negotiable. You know, I can't lead. 0:05:32.089 --> 0:05:34.750 I can't make big decisions unless I've heard from the Lord. 0:05:35.450 --> 0:05:38.270 And I have learned in seasons how to hear his voice, 0:05:38.810 --> 0:05:41.590 how to distinguish when he's really speaking to me and 0:05:41.630 --> 0:05:45.510 when it's a pizza thing, you know, or when it's 0:05:45.550 --> 0:05:49.310 something I ate the night before. But I've learned how 0:05:49.350 --> 0:05:51.800 to distinguish the voice of the Lord. And so for 0:05:51.880 --> 0:05:54.050 you as a leader, You know, as a leader in 0:05:54.089 --> 0:05:57.310 your home, you're setting a standard for your kids. You 0:05:57.350 --> 0:05:59.989 can set a standard even if you don't have children, 0:06:00.029 --> 0:06:03.430 the people that you live with, roommates, whatever, your spouse, 0:06:05.110 --> 0:06:09.190 at college, you can set a standard. But the way 0:06:09.230 --> 0:06:12.310 you're able to set a standard is by knowing the 0:06:12.350 --> 0:06:16.260 voice of God and being fully convinced. And it goes 0:06:16.360 --> 0:06:19.460 on to say, John chapter 10, verse 28 says, and 0:06:19.520 --> 0:06:21.779 I give them, those that hear my voice and follow, 0:06:22.260 --> 0:06:25.469 I give them eternal life and they shall never perish. 0:06:25.950 --> 0:06:29.510 Neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. 0:06:29.870 --> 0:06:32.690 And so the voice of the Lord is not just 0:06:33.250 --> 0:06:38.480 protection and safety. It's also a defense, right? And so 0:06:38.950 --> 0:06:42.239 no weapon formed against you can prosper when you allow 0:06:42.279 --> 0:06:45.880 yourself to live as a sheep, hearing the voice of God, 0:06:46.260 --> 0:06:51.859 following him and staying in his protective care. The second voice, 0:06:53.120 --> 0:06:55.390 And I would even say that this is in rank order. 0:06:55.550 --> 0:06:58.610 So like top five, meaning number, the first voice you 0:06:58.650 --> 0:07:00.529 need is the voice of the Lord, right? The second 0:07:00.570 --> 0:07:03.910 voice you need is your own voice. Many of us, 0:07:05.130 --> 0:07:11.850 because of our upbringing, our voice is the last voice 0:07:11.890 --> 0:07:15.870 we listen to. But our voice in agreement with God's voice, 0:07:16.030 --> 0:07:19.770 with his word, with what he's downloaded in prayer to 0:07:19.890 --> 0:07:24.830 us that does not violate his word, and even words 0:07:24.870 --> 0:07:27.560 of prophecy that have been spoken to us by the 0:07:27.600 --> 0:07:31.780 Spirit of the Lord or by confirmed prophets or by 0:07:31.820 --> 0:07:36.800 our pastoral leadership, like that don't violate scripture, we need 0:07:36.820 --> 0:07:38.960 to then speak to our spirit. 0:07:39.020 --> 0:07:40.490 So your voice is powerful. 0:07:41.490 --> 0:07:44.370 In times of inner healing ministry here in our church, 0:07:45.330 --> 0:07:49.710 we encourage people to read the scripture to themselves out loud. 0:07:50.260 --> 0:07:53.150 and to make eye contact with themselves and speak to 0:07:53.190 --> 0:07:58.450 their spirit. You know, in seasons when I lived alone, 0:07:58.970 --> 0:08:02.110 I still live alone, but in seasons when I lived 0:08:02.150 --> 0:08:06.170 in an apartment, shall I say, I remember that I 0:08:06.530 --> 0:08:10.450 would tape scriptures to my mirror so that when I 0:08:10.490 --> 0:08:13.380 was like brushing my teeth, I could look at certain 0:08:13.440 --> 0:08:16.460 things that were important for me to rehearse so that 0:08:16.660 --> 0:08:19.620 my voice began to take on the voice of the 0:08:19.700 --> 0:08:24.410 Lord scripture, began to echo the truth of God's word 0:08:24.730 --> 0:08:26.990 in that season. And that was a really powerful anchor 0:08:27.010 --> 0:08:31.090 because that was a crazy season. I was working in 0:08:31.130 --> 0:08:34.650 ministry at the time, training to be the senior pastor. And, 0:08:34.929 --> 0:08:37.170 you know, I would, my schedule was a little hinky. 0:08:37.230 --> 0:08:39.390 I would preach at night and come home late or 0:08:39.809 --> 0:08:42.030 different hours and things like that. And then the place 0:08:42.090 --> 0:08:46.120 I lived, there were people watching me and leaving me 0:08:46.150 --> 0:08:50.790 little harassing notes. And so That spirit of intimidation tried 0:08:50.840 --> 0:08:53.060 to come against me. And so, you know, it was 0:08:53.100 --> 0:08:55.400 important for me to have those scriptures that I could 0:08:55.880 --> 0:08:58.560 rehearse and so that I wasn't bound by a spirit 0:08:58.580 --> 0:09:02.160 of fear. And so your voice plays a vital role 0:09:02.340 --> 0:09:05.650 in your spiritual life because your voice becomes the voice 0:09:05.690 --> 0:09:08.910 of agreement first in your life. If we don't learn 0:09:08.950 --> 0:09:12.250 how to develop our own voice, the power and influence 0:09:12.270 --> 0:09:14.730 of our own voice in our life, then we're constantly 0:09:14.770 --> 0:09:19.440 looking outside of ourself for affirmation and for agreement. And 0:09:19.480 --> 0:09:21.840 don't get me wrong, there's a place for that, right? 0:09:22.080 --> 0:09:24.099 The Bible declares where two or three are gathered in 0:09:24.140 --> 0:09:26.900 his name, he's also in the midst. That plays a 0:09:27.000 --> 0:09:32.090 function in our spiritual life. However, your voice is so 0:09:32.210 --> 0:09:35.150 influential because your voice is the voice you hear in 0:09:35.170 --> 0:09:38.689 your head. Your voice is the voice that talks you into. 0:09:38.710 --> 0:09:39.469 And out of things. 0:09:39.830 --> 0:09:42.829 And sometimes we're not able to distinguish between our voice, 0:09:43.309 --> 0:09:44.890 the voice of the Lord, and the voice. 0:09:44.730 --> 0:09:46.830 Of the enemy. So it's so. 0:09:46.730 --> 0:09:48.550 Important that we learn how to hear the voice of 0:09:48.590 --> 0:09:52.060 God Number one. But then number two, we learn to 0:09:52.120 --> 0:09:55.950 hear our own voice so that we can distinguish, okay, 0:09:55.970 --> 0:10:00.740 is that my flesh or is that my spirit? right? 0:10:01.160 --> 0:10:03.810 So the third voice that I would say is so 0:10:03.910 --> 0:10:07.890 important is the voice of your conscience. The voice of 0:10:07.910 --> 0:10:12.330 your conscience. Anything good in my life is because of Christ. 0:10:12.870 --> 0:10:16.110 And I know that's your testimony too. And so the 0:10:16.150 --> 0:10:18.730 voice of my conscience, I've come to know is the 0:10:18.760 --> 0:10:22.550 voice of the Holy Spirit within me. And the Holy 0:10:22.610 --> 0:10:27.890 Spirit conscience allows me to live a life of conviction, 0:10:28.890 --> 0:10:32.090 a conviction of what's right to do. And I'm not 0:10:32.130 --> 0:10:35.320 saying that it's always easy to do it, but I 0:10:35.360 --> 0:10:38.280 have a conviction of the things I should be involved in. 0:10:38.940 --> 0:10:44.500 And I'm not living in under condemnation or guilt or shame, right? 0:10:45.020 --> 0:10:48.330 So let's look at James chapter three together really quick. 0:10:48.710 --> 0:10:51.689 because this is how we know the voice of conscience. 0:10:52.870 --> 0:10:56.569 But the wisdom that comes from above is first pure, 0:10:56.590 --> 0:11:03.390 then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy, and good fruit, 0:11:03.890 --> 0:11:09.600 impartial and sincere. Peacemakers sow in peace and reap the 0:11:09.660 --> 0:11:13.540 fruit of righteousness. So we know if you go up 0:11:13.640 --> 0:11:17.540 above that to James 3, verse 16, It says, for 0:11:17.559 --> 0:11:21.939 where jealousy and self-ambition exist, there will be disorder and 0:11:23.040 --> 0:11:27.280 every evil practice, right? And so the voice of our 0:11:27.380 --> 0:11:32.270 conscience isn't one that causes us to be bound by 0:11:32.350 --> 0:11:34.370 guilt and shames or sins of the past. 0:11:34.390 --> 0:11:35.990 That's actually the voice of Satan. 0:11:37.990 --> 0:11:41.610 The voice of condemnation is another voice of Satan because 0:11:41.650 --> 0:11:42.809 it comes to condemn. 0:11:43.150 --> 0:11:45.550 It comes to judge. It comes to accuse. 0:11:46.110 --> 0:11:48.309 And for those that are in Christ, Romans 8, 1 0:11:48.309 --> 0:11:51.630 tells us that there is now no condemnation for those 0:11:51.650 --> 0:11:54.870 who are in Christ. So we have to learn how 0:11:55.050 --> 0:11:58.720 to cherish the voice of our conscience that gives us 0:11:59.220 --> 0:12:02.980 the power to live right, to do right, that helps 0:12:03.059 --> 0:12:05.980 us to be convicted when we sin so that we 0:12:06.440 --> 0:12:10.940 quickly repent and not give the Satan and his minions 0:12:11.280 --> 0:12:13.800 authority in our life and legal territory in our heart. 0:12:14.270 --> 0:12:14.510 Right? 0:12:14.929 --> 0:12:17.100 We have to learn how to do that. But part 0:12:17.130 --> 0:12:20.160 of that is loving the voice of our conscience, right? 0:12:20.540 --> 0:12:22.980 So that, oop, I shouldn't be going here. I shouldn't 0:12:23.000 --> 0:12:25.660 be going there. I remember there was a season in 0:12:25.679 --> 0:12:28.460 my life where I knew I shouldn't have been going 0:12:28.760 --> 0:12:31.339 where I was going. And I went anyway. And a 0:12:31.380 --> 0:12:36.179 whole heap of hurt happened. And I learned how important 0:12:36.240 --> 0:12:39.679 the voice of my conscience was and how important it 0:12:39.740 --> 0:12:42.800 was for me to not allow my conscience to be 0:12:42.940 --> 0:12:50.679 seared or quieted by my rebellion. Come on, somebody, your 0:12:50.780 --> 0:12:53.990 flesh will cause you to be rebellious, to feel like 0:12:54.390 --> 0:12:57.670 I can do this. It's not that bad, you know, 0:12:57.830 --> 0:13:00.370 and the enemy will be cheering you on down the 0:13:00.429 --> 0:13:04.630 road of destruction. But the wisdom that comes from God, 0:13:05.980 --> 0:13:08.839 that speaks in your spirit through the voice of your 0:13:08.900 --> 0:13:10.940 conscience is peaceable. 0:13:11.640 --> 0:13:12.400 It's loving. 0:13:12.960 --> 0:13:19.470 It's gentle. It's accommodating. It prefers others over ourselves. It 0:13:19.570 --> 0:13:22.000 brings forth good fruit in our lives. 0:13:22.480 --> 0:13:23.290 It's impartial. 0:13:23.390 --> 0:13:26.780 It doesn't have biases, right? The last time we were 0:13:26.800 --> 0:13:29.960 talking about the tips for leaders, I was talking about 0:13:30.020 --> 0:13:32.720 how the best weight you can lose is the weight 0:13:32.740 --> 0:13:35.520 of other people's opinions, right? That cause us to be 0:13:35.580 --> 0:13:39.819 biased or to have steward offense. Well, the wisdom of 0:13:39.880 --> 0:13:45.290 God is impartial. It doesn't show favoritism. It's always sincere. 0:13:45.830 --> 0:13:50.339 It's always true. It is without hypocrisy. It is so 0:13:50.410 --> 0:13:51.040 good for us. 0:13:51.220 --> 0:13:54.780 It is unwavering, right? The wisdom of God. 0:13:55.120 --> 0:13:58.020 And so we, as the people of God, we have 0:13:58.059 --> 0:14:02.260 to let our conscience be stewarded in such a way 0:14:02.700 --> 0:14:06.829 that we are able to live beyond reproach. 0:14:08.330 --> 0:14:09.150 This is so good. 0:14:09.730 --> 0:14:12.350 One other thing that I want to mention about voice 0:14:12.390 --> 0:14:15.679 is And this isn't a voice that we should empower, 0:14:16.120 --> 0:14:20.960 but it's the voices of others that are not the 0:14:21.060 --> 0:14:23.730 ones we run with, the voices that bring tales, the 0:14:23.850 --> 0:14:27.290 ones that bring contention and factions. 0:14:26.850 --> 0:14:27.470 Into our life. 0:14:27.950 --> 0:14:32.890 Proverbs 26, verse 10 says, for lack of wood, the 0:14:32.970 --> 0:14:39.750 fire goeth out. And where there is no whisperer, contention seetheth. 0:14:39.950 --> 0:14:40.510 Seetheth. 0:14:42.620 --> 0:14:46.640 I'll read it in a more intelligible version for me 0:14:46.660 --> 0:14:49.760 because I got a cough drop in my mouth right now. 0:14:50.700 --> 0:14:54.500 For lack of wood, the fire goes out and where 0:14:54.560 --> 0:14:59.740 there is no whisperer, quarreling ceases. For lack of wood, 0:14:59.980 --> 0:15:03.390 the fire goes out and there is no whisperer who gossips, 0:15:03.790 --> 0:15:09.130 contention quiets down. And so it is really important the 0:15:09.250 --> 0:15:14.840 voices that we allow to influence us, to speak to us. 0:15:15.400 --> 0:15:18.820 And we have to also steward our voice in the 0:15:18.880 --> 0:15:23.000 lives of others because as a parent, as a spouse, 0:15:23.640 --> 0:15:27.240 as a brother or sister in your familial roles, our 0:15:27.320 --> 0:15:29.590 voice influences our family. 0:15:30.040 --> 0:15:30.690 And so as. 0:15:30.680 --> 0:15:34.050 Women of God, we have to be the voice that 0:15:34.590 --> 0:15:39.090 is right, not the voice that brings contention, not the 0:15:39.150 --> 0:15:42.280 voice that brings a tale of You know, because my 0:15:42.320 --> 0:15:44.420 grandmother used to tell me, the one that helped raise me, 0:15:44.970 --> 0:15:47.070 she used to tell me this, a dog who brings 0:15:47.150 --> 0:15:49.550 a bone carries a bone. And those aren't the people 0:15:49.610 --> 0:15:52.130 you talk to because you can't trust them because if 0:15:52.150 --> 0:15:54.330 they will talk to you about somebody else, they will 0:15:54.370 --> 0:15:57.390 talk about you to somebody else. They will take your 0:15:57.460 --> 0:16:01.720 private thoughts, your private business, and carry that to somebody else. 0:16:02.080 --> 0:16:05.740 And so we've got to make sure that we as women, 0:16:05.760 --> 0:16:09.230 because we love to share, relate, talk, connect, but we 0:16:09.250 --> 0:16:11.940 have to make sure that we are not gossiping and 0:16:12.020 --> 0:16:16.760 whispering about others, because where there's no wood, meaning where 0:16:16.780 --> 0:16:19.620 there's no fuel for the fire, the fire can't even 0:16:19.660 --> 0:16:23.680 get started, right? Troubles can't even go forward. I remember 0:16:23.730 --> 0:16:28.850 in a season where, you know, navigating relationships and different 0:16:28.890 --> 0:16:31.590 friend groups that I was in, and I learned a 0:16:31.630 --> 0:16:34.910 powerful lesson. Everything that can be said shouldn't be said, 0:16:35.390 --> 0:16:37.510 you know, and there were things that were true, but 0:16:37.550 --> 0:16:40.080 it wasn't the time and it wasn't my place. And 0:16:40.100 --> 0:16:43.960 so sometimes it's not always gossip or tailbearing or telling 0:16:44.000 --> 0:16:48.140 things out of school that causes contention and friction in relationships. 0:16:48.520 --> 0:16:51.880 It's also the truth being shared at a time that 0:16:51.940 --> 0:16:54.540 is not God's appointed time for that discussion. 0:16:54.920 --> 0:16:56.480 Hallelujah. All right. 0:16:56.580 --> 0:17:01.300 So number four, the fourth voice that you need, the 0:17:01.350 --> 0:17:07.119 voice of a mentor that sees your God potential. the 0:17:07.180 --> 0:17:11.760 voice of a mentor that sees your God potential. You know, 0:17:12.420 --> 0:17:20.140 Elisha was seen by God first and then by Elijah. 0:17:20.880 --> 0:17:27.920 First Kings chapter 19 tells us that when Elijah came 0:17:28.240 --> 0:17:31.719 out from under the broom tree and the cave and 0:17:31.790 --> 0:17:35.430 his whole thing with being intimidated by Jezebel and running, 0:17:36.230 --> 0:17:39.090 In his encounter with the still small voice, the Lord 0:17:39.130 --> 0:17:48.320 gave him instructions to go and anoint Elisha, who would 0:17:48.440 --> 0:17:53.800 be his successor as a prophet. And then Elijah went 0:17:53.960 --> 0:17:57.080 on the journey that God sent him on to find Elisha. 0:17:57.100 --> 0:18:03.290 And then he invited him, 1 Kings chapter 19, verse 19. 0:18:03.290 --> 0:18:08.080 So Elijah went from there and found Elisha, son of Shaphat. 0:18:09.200 --> 0:18:14.060 He was plowing with 12 oxen and he himself was 0:18:14.140 --> 0:18:18.260 driving the 12th pair. Elijah went up to him and 0:18:18.359 --> 0:18:22.180 threw his cloak around him. Elisha then left his oxen 0:18:22.220 --> 0:18:23.899 and ran after Elijah. 0:18:24.720 --> 0:18:25.520 And so. 0:18:26.780 --> 0:18:32.980 Every leader needs a mentor that knows them by the spirit. 0:18:34.170 --> 0:18:38.639 This is a kingdom principle. Every leader needs a mentor 0:18:40.540 --> 0:18:42.960 who knows what God's called for them to walk in. 0:18:43.359 --> 0:18:46.990 And Elijah and Elisha, it was a powerful thing because 0:18:47.570 --> 0:18:51.429 Elijah was the mentor for Elisha as a prophet of God, 0:18:52.369 --> 0:18:54.730 teaching him how to steward the mantle, how to steward 0:18:54.750 --> 0:18:57.690 the anointing, how to walk with God, how to raise 0:18:57.770 --> 0:19:02.219 up a company of prophets. It was a powerful mentoring 0:19:02.300 --> 0:19:05.909 relationship or as we call it in church circles, it 0:19:05.950 --> 0:19:12.840 was a powerful pour. He was poured into by the leader, right? Okay, 0:19:13.700 --> 0:19:17.900 those who are called to pour into you, they're called 0:19:17.920 --> 0:19:20.540 to cultivate you for the purpose for which God has 0:19:20.580 --> 0:19:22.640 ordained in your life. And in order to be able 0:19:22.660 --> 0:19:25.109 to do that, they've got to be able to see 0:19:25.130 --> 0:19:30.090 you by the Spirit, speak into your potential, and not 0:19:31.270 --> 0:19:35.429 be so caught up with the opinions of man, or 0:19:35.490 --> 0:19:37.669 so much so your flaws. It doesn't mean they're not 0:19:37.690 --> 0:19:39.730 going to see your flaws or they're not going to 0:19:39.810 --> 0:19:43.719 see room for you to grow in your character before God, 0:19:44.300 --> 0:19:47.520 but he or she should have a conviction from God 0:19:47.580 --> 0:19:52.380 regarding your call and your assignment. You know, personally, this 0:19:52.420 --> 0:19:56.699 has been life transforming for me because when I was 0:19:56.760 --> 0:20:01.420 ordained to succeed my father, my father asked Bishop Bill 0:20:01.460 --> 0:20:06.770 Hammond at my ordination when it was peacetime, then nothing 0:20:06.790 --> 0:20:09.639 had happened, that he that he would be my covering 0:20:09.700 --> 0:20:14.500 and spiritual father if my father passed away. And so 0:20:14.660 --> 0:20:18.640 in the early days of my father's passing, Bishop Hammond 0:20:18.680 --> 0:20:22.080 was right there to speak with me, to counsel me 0:20:22.240 --> 0:20:26.119 in the grief process, in starting up and leading in 0:20:26.140 --> 0:20:30.570 the church. He always makes himself available to phone calls, 0:20:30.630 --> 0:20:35.270 to text messages. He's responsive. He speaks into my life. 0:20:35.710 --> 0:20:39.970 He prays for me. He prays over me. He prophesies 0:20:40.030 --> 0:20:43.740 to me. He builds me up. He corrects me. He 0:20:43.820 --> 0:20:48.120 challenges me. He is a mentor. He is also my leader. 0:20:48.180 --> 0:20:49.980 I'm fully submitted to him. When he calls me and 0:20:50.020 --> 0:20:53.070 he's like, you need to fix this, I'm going to listen. 0:20:52.810 --> 0:20:53.490 To him, right? 0:20:53.770 --> 0:20:58.010 So we all need mentors in our lives. we really, 0:20:58.030 --> 0:20:59.810 you only need one good one. A lot of people 0:20:59.830 --> 0:21:02.230 want to be discipled by a lot of different people, right? 0:21:02.690 --> 0:21:05.030 But you only really need one good mentor. If you 0:21:05.090 --> 0:21:07.910 have more than one good mentor in your life, like 0:21:08.100 --> 0:21:10.419 you are so rich and you don't even know, you 0:21:10.460 --> 0:21:13.240 have like so much untapped resources. And I'm going to 0:21:13.260 --> 0:21:15.939 get into that in a second. But one of the 0:21:16.000 --> 0:21:19.220 powerful things about my father in the faith, Bishop Bill Hammond, 0:21:19.640 --> 0:21:21.959 this is what he said to me that gave me confidence. 0:21:22.480 --> 0:21:24.690 When my father passed, he said, a woman can be 0:21:24.930 --> 0:21:26.609 anything God calls her to be. 0:21:27.260 --> 0:21:27.820 With God. 0:21:28.880 --> 0:21:31.679 And so, again, we've kind of talked about this in 0:21:31.700 --> 0:21:35.949 the last episode, but in many church contexts, women in 0:21:35.990 --> 0:21:40.070 leadership is not some, they're barriers to that. Women are 0:21:40.090 --> 0:21:44.330 not senior pastors. And I honor every denomination and differences. 0:21:44.369 --> 0:21:48.970 We're all a part of God's body, right? But there 0:21:48.990 --> 0:21:52.169 were many people that I considered friends that left my 0:21:52.250 --> 0:21:55.410 church when my mom passed in 2018. 0:21:55.410 --> 0:21:56.109 And that was fine. 0:21:56.150 --> 0:21:58.909 But when I succeeded, my father as senior pastor was 0:21:58.970 --> 0:22:02.310 different because many of the people ended up leaving because 0:22:02.330 --> 0:22:06.010 it was the ending of an era. They were shepherded 0:22:06.050 --> 0:22:09.470 by my father. But others left because I was a 0:22:09.490 --> 0:22:12.360 woman pastor, because I was a woman leader. And so 0:22:12.390 --> 0:22:16.300 for my mentor and bishop to say to me, you 0:22:16.320 --> 0:22:18.040 can be who God's called you to be as you 0:22:18.080 --> 0:22:21.860 walk with God was powerful. And I'm glad that he 0:22:21.900 --> 0:22:25.450 didn't assume that I just already knew that. Because the 0:22:25.490 --> 0:22:30.280 voices in our life often bring confirmation and affirmation at 0:22:30.359 --> 0:22:32.660 times when we need it. But it's important that they 0:22:32.740 --> 0:22:35.500 line up biblically to what we're called to be and do. 0:22:37.000 --> 0:22:40.510 And so I want to just encourage you that sometimes 0:22:40.990 --> 0:22:44.890 we want mentors and we want people in our life 0:22:44.910 --> 0:22:48.110 that are going to let us wallow in the barbs 0:22:48.550 --> 0:22:52.350 or even people who are tailbearers in our life that 0:22:52.369 --> 0:22:54.950 we were talking about. that want to bring the bone 0:22:54.990 --> 0:22:57.410 that people have said or whatever. I had people like 0:22:57.430 --> 0:22:59.910 that too. And I quickly learned that many of them 0:23:00.190 --> 0:23:05.379 just lacked discernment. They lacked good judgment and things that 0:23:05.400 --> 0:23:09.060 were unproductive and not worth repeating. Sometimes they would repeat 0:23:09.119 --> 0:23:13.840 them to me. And I learned how to recognize as 0:23:13.940 --> 0:23:16.820 a senior leader to pray for them because they didn't 0:23:16.859 --> 0:23:19.580 understand and that they were opening the door to witchcraft 0:23:19.640 --> 0:23:21.260 even in their own life. And so I had to 0:23:21.320 --> 0:23:25.129 teach them and kind of coach them that we're open 0:23:25.170 --> 0:23:29.380 to that, not to do that. But secondly, when we 0:23:29.430 --> 0:23:33.680 talk negatively about past or present leaders that have been 0:23:33.700 --> 0:23:37.040 in our life, it should always cause the hearer to 0:23:37.100 --> 0:23:40.480 question us, not to question the leader, right? Because there's 0:23:40.500 --> 0:23:45.629 something in our heart that is incorrect or misaligned to 0:23:45.670 --> 0:23:48.350 being fully submitted to who God's called for us to 0:23:48.390 --> 0:23:51.159 be submitted to. So Every leader is going to be 0:23:51.200 --> 0:23:54.580 subject to someone. That's how God's authority works. And so 0:23:54.859 --> 0:23:57.619 if we're going to be good leaders, we have to 0:23:57.680 --> 0:24:00.450 have voices that have authority in our life to tell 0:24:00.510 --> 0:24:03.690 us no, to tell us that's a boundary, to tell 0:24:03.770 --> 0:24:07.110 us that no, you can't cross that limit. Not just 0:24:07.170 --> 0:24:10.590 the word of God, but for us to be willing 0:24:11.109 --> 0:24:15.010 to be submitted one to another as we submit to Christ. 0:24:15.650 --> 0:24:19.530 The last voice that's important is, is the voice of 0:24:19.619 --> 0:24:22.850 those that God's called for you to run with. God 0:24:22.930 --> 0:24:26.949 has not ordained for his church to be an island. 0:24:27.450 --> 0:24:28.470 We're a community. 0:24:28.890 --> 0:24:32.790 There's a koinonia and a fellowship that we're called to 0:24:32.830 --> 0:24:37.970 walk in as believers. And God has friends and relationships 0:24:38.430 --> 0:24:43.510 for you of people that you can not just do 0:24:43.550 --> 0:24:46.170 ministry with or pray with, but also you can do 0:24:46.250 --> 0:24:49.380 life with. eat chicken with them, go on vacation with them, 0:24:49.920 --> 0:24:53.020