D. GROWING COMPETENCE

I SEEM TO START A PROJECT OR MISSION BUT I GET BOGGED DOWN AND STOP. Recently, in the Northwest (United States), several young men decided they wanted to climb Mt. Hood. This snow-covered mountain is 12,000 feet high and has many stories of failures in conquering the mountain.  When they asked others to join them, many declined. It was evident they did not have a HEART to do it. Others wanted to but could not get a VISION of where to go and where the path was. The final item that discouraged some of the climbers was the lack of tools and know-how to get through the ice and get to the top.   The climbers that combined all three of these items were successful. I met one fellow who had climbed the mountain 21 times.

Over the years, it has seemed critical if we wanted to do anything significant that, we needed three things to make it happen. The first was heart or desire, the second was vision or the ability to see the end, and the third was having the know-how or resources to accomplish it. Use these questions to coach someone in this area. What is stopping you from reaching your end goal?

Proverbs 4:23 (NIV):

^23 “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.”

1. What is on your heart in regard to the project or mission you want to accomplish?

2. Where did this desire come from?

3. What Scriptural ideas have shaped your heart in this direction?

4. What happens to cause your heart to get side-tracked in this task?

1. What can you do to guard your heart and to help you pursue your passion?

2. What is it in your walk with God that will confirm your heart’s desire?

3. What steps can you take to keep your heart filled with passion??

4. What will be your desired outcome, and when?

MY VISION IS UNCLEAR. I CAN’T SEE WHERE I AM GOING

George was grappling with understanding how to align with God’s vision. He wanted to know God better but was unsure of the next steps. He asked his coach, “How can I have clarity of vision and understand where I fit into God’s plan? How can I know God better?” The coach referred him to Eph. 1;15-16. The coach said, “George, I will pray this verse for you.” George went home and meditated on this passage. His coach asked him the following questions after reading the passage to help him with clarity:

Ephesians 1:16-17 (NIV):

^16 “I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. ¹⁷ I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.”

1. Look at this passage and tell me two things that we should pray for ourselves and others.

2. What does it mean to have a spirit of wisdom?

3. Are there other verses that give us help in understanding this?

4. What does it mean to have a spirit of revelation?

5. What will be the results of these two things in our lives?

6. What would knowing God more deeply mean to you?

1. On a scale of 1-10, where are you in going deeper with God?

2. Based on that assessment, what could you do to go deeper?

3. How would this prayer be of help in your daily life for you and others?

4. When will you put this into practice?

THE STORY CONTINUES

Then on the next coaching session George asked, “How can I see God more clearly?” The coach referred to our spiritual eyes and the importance of opening our eyes to see better. He referred him to the verse below.

18-23 of Ephesians 1:

¹⁸ I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, ¹⁹ and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength ²⁰ he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, ²¹ far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. ²² And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, ²³ which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.

1. What does it mean when the author uses the phrase “eyes of my heart”?

2. What are the three things he wants us to see?

3. Which of these do you see yourself having a clear heart vision for?

4. What would you like to focus on? Calling, Inheritance, or Power?

1. What study can you do to understand this focus more?

2. What will be your prayer for this day?

3. What can I do to help you gain a clearer vision?

4. When will you take steps to put this prayer into your life?

5. How will you know that the eyes of your heart have been opened?

For all three of these key concepts to work together, you will need the final item. This is know-how, or having someone with you who has the know-how. This is the place for skills, tools, and resources to help you accomplish the mission.  One example of just such a skill is how Jesus taught his disciples to pray. This is an example of know-how.

Jesus’s Teaching on Prayer Luke 11:1:

One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.

1. What do you learn about know-how from the Lord’s prayer?

2. What resources and knowledge did Jesus give his disciples in the area of prayer?

3. Now that you have a heart and a vision, what know-how, tools, or resources are needed to execute the tasks that will reach your vision?

4. What kind of experience have you used in implementing these know-how tools?

1. What kind of training or modeling will you need to implement?

2. When will you pursue this training?

3. Who can be of help to you?

4. What steps can I take to hold you accountable for these actions?

1. What is the most important part of this lesson to you? Explain.

2. How do you see applying aspects of this lesson to your life?

3. When do you feel would be the best time to make that application?

4. What do you hear the Lord speaking to you about this right now?