Today we continue our series, “Progress On Purpose.” I told you that God wants us to walk in “NEW LEVELS IN 2021!” But if we are going to do so, we must be intentional about our progress. With that in mind, as we lay the foundation for the year, I told you that I would discuss “Leveling Up” in five areas:
1. Spiritually
2. Financially
3. Physically
4. Internally
5. Externally
We have finally made it to the last area. As I prayed over what to address with leveling up your external relationships, the Father led me to cover the following topics in this section:
1. The three people you need in your life (the roles you need filled)
2. Discerning when to let people go
3. The importance of choosing the right friends
4. Surrounding yourself with people of like-precious-faith
Setting the stage:
The 3 people (or roles) you need [filled] in your life are:
1. A Paul. This refers to people you look up to (spiritual covering, coaches, mentors, sponsors, and models)—examples like Paul to Timothy, Elijah to Elisha.
2. A Barnabas. People on your level (peer relationships, you need people to be there for you)—examples like Paul and Barnabas, David and Jonathan.
3. A Timothy. People who look up to you (you need people you can pay it forward with)—What Paul did for Timothy and what Elijah did for Elisha.
So what does this mean for you today? As I introduce you to the first one today, I will address by speaking to five roles you should have filled in the “people you look up to” category.
1. Coaches (speak TO you)
2. Mentors (speak WITH you)
3. Sponsors (speak FOR you)
4. Models (you may NEVER speak)
5. Spiritual parents (there is a spiritual transfer)
1. You need coaches in your life (these people speak TO you).
— They have experience.
— They know how to take someone without the experience and provide them proven principles, methods, and ways to create the desired outcome.
— They know the value of practice, and they drive drills that produce proven skills for success.
— They provide guidance, and only those who put the guidance into practice get to benefit from it.
— These people may or may not be committed to you. Their focus may not be you. Their focus may simply be proving their concepts. Some coaches focus on refining their processes, so they can be seen as a proven coach who produces results.
— There is nothing wrong with have a coach in your life (financial coach, fitness coach, etc.); just know their role and don’t expect them to be something they are not.
2. You need mentors in your life (these people speak WITH you).
— This is someone you consider to be at a position in life that you aspire to attain.
— You evaluate this person to be worthy of emulation.
— You have a direct relationship with them, and they are willing to invest in you.
— Unlike the coach (who may or may not be committed to your personal development), this person agrees to mentor you solely because they want to see you succeed.
— If you are the mentee and have a mentor (you can have them in many areas of your life), please value the investment.
— Make yourself someone worthy of the investment your mentor is making in your life.
— This person is taking their time, talent and experience, and investing it into your success. Don’t make them regret it.
— If you are a mentor, level up your commitment to your mentees this year. If you are a mentee, please make sure you level up your commitment to the people who are investing in your success.
— Make sure you follow-thru (on the homework/assignments they gave you), and then follow-up (so your mentor can know you valued their input enough to put it into action).
3. You need sponsors in your life (these people speak FOR you).
— A sponsor opens doors for you that you cannot open for yourself.
— A sponsor can do something for you with one phone call that you could not make happen with 10 years of hard work.
— God will lead people of influence to move on your behalf. They wind up using their power, influence or money, to help you in ways you cannot help yourself.
— Favor can do more in a minute than labor can do in a lifetime.
— When God gives you favor with people, and they do things on your behalf, make sure you honor and value your sponsors.
— If they get you a spot on the dance floor, honor the investment enough to make sure you dance with everything you have!
— When someone puts their reputation on the line for you, please do not make them regret their decision.
4. You need models in your life (these people you don’t have to speak to at all).
— You can model yourself after someone in the Bible.
— You can model yourself after someone who wrote books.
— You can model yourself after someone you follow on YouTube or social media.
— You can model any level of success you have access to.
— If someone is willing to share what they did to get to where they are, and you have access to that information, you can use their blueprint as a model.
— This is especially important to minorities or people who have been disadvantaged in some way. If you can see someone who looks like you, sounds like you, or has a last name that sounds like yours doing something that you have only dreamed of, God can use their success as a source of inspiration in your heart.
— I was there when my wife met the first African American General Officer she ever met. She was visibly moved. She was stirred on the inside. The same happened to me years later when I met a Hispanic General. The point is that if you can see someone you can connect with on an inward level, the success that person is modeling before you can impact you in ways that are hard to express.
— I cannot overstate the impact a Godly-appointed model can have on someone, especially a young person.
5. It’s good to have spiritual parents (this is a spiritual covering).
— This is a spiritual relationship.
— God assigned Paul to be the Spiritual Father of Timothy.
— God assigned Elijah to be the Spiritual Father of Elisha.
— In addition to the direct counsel a spiritual covering can provide you, God is able to connect you to the anointing that is on their life (or lives). Further, there can be a spiritual transfer of their anointing.
— Timothy received (spiritually) what was on Paul.
— Elisha received (spiritually) what was on Elijah.
— When you have spiritual parents, and you submit to this Godly-ordained spiritual covenant, you become a partaker of the grace that is on the lives of your spiritual parents.
— This is not about hanging out with them, or having dinner, or having coffee. Bigger than that, this is about becoming a partaker of the grace that is on their lives. The spiritual connection is able to take you to another level. You get to enjoy what is ON you, AND what is ON them!
— Their ceiling can become your floor!
That’s enough for today. I just wanted to introduce all of this to you.
Declaration of Faith:
Father, I thank You for this teaching. I now see how important it is to have the right people in my life. These are people You assigned to me, from the foundations of the world. I thank You for giving me coaches, mentors, sponsors, models, and spiritual parents. As I get all these roles filled, I am in a position to receive the divine wisdom I need in order to become the man (or woman) You called me to be for such a time as this! I am not a lone ranger. I have divine connections and Godly relationships. I am ready to LEVEL UP my life in 2021 and beyond! GREATER IS COMING FOR ME! I declare this by faith, in Jesus’s name. Amen!
This is Today’s Word. Apply it and prosper!
