Rewind — the teaching platform built on your church’s own preaching

The big idea

Every David needs a Samuel — gifting without guidance usually ends in disaster, so every believer needs a mentor who can call the greatness out of them.

God places mentors in our lives to see what others miss, to be a refuge in hard seasons, and to speak truth we need to hear. Pastor Daniel shows through David and Samuel's relationship that our calling isn't dependent on our family of origin, but it is sustained through godly mentorship marked by integrity, wisdom, and backbone.

A story from life

Daniel recounts a tense encounter while working at AT&T that led a national sales trainer to offer him mentorship, which he says changed the financial future of his family.

Point 1 of 6

Gifting without guidance usually ends in disaster

Pastor Daniel introduces the David and Samuel relationship in 1 Samuel 16, noting Samuel's fear of mentoring again after Saul failed to listen to him. He argues gifting can become dangerous without guidance, and that God doesn't need perfect mentors, just willing ones.

I believe that every David needs a Samuel because gifting without guidance, it usually ends in disaster

— Daniel Goulding

Point 2 of 6

David's family overlooked him, but his calling wasn't dependent on that

Working through the anointing scene, Pastor Daniel notes David was hidden on the fringes by Jesse, likely due to family dysfunction, and never even brought in to be presented to Samuel. He tells the church that undealt-with father wounds shaped David's later failures, but that our calling is not contingent on our family seeing our potential.

your family upbringing, your family dynamics, they don't have to define the calling that God has put on your life

— Daniel Goulding

Point 3 of 6

Mentors can see what other people miss

Samuel saw greatness in David that Jesse overlooked. Pastor Daniel illustrates this with Tom Brady being passed over by five quarterbacks in the 2000 NFL draft until one quarterback coach argued for him, and shares his own story of a youth pastor who told him he had a gift to teach.

You don't need everybody to see your potential. You just need somebody to see it

— Daniel Goulding

This divorce doesn't have to finalize who you are. This failure doesn't have to be final

— Daniel Goulding

Illustration

Five quarterbacks drafted ahead of Tom Brady in the 2000 NFL Draft are named to illustrate how one coach's belief in an overlooked player can unlock extraordinary potential.

A story from life

Daniel describes a youth pastor who told him he had a gift for teaching and put him on stage three weeks later, which he credits as the moment that launched his preaching ministry.

Point 4 of 6

Mentors are a refuge in the storms of life

When Saul tried to kill David, David ran to Samuel at Ramah rather than facing the crisis alone, shown in 1 Samuel 19. Pastor Daniel notes that who we run to in a storm determines whether it makes us bitter or better, and that a mentor creates a safe place to just be human.

Related passage

Point 5 of 6

A godly mentor needs integrity, wisdom, and backbone

Pastor Daniel lists three qualities to look for: integrity (the same person on Sunday as on Friday, citing Paul's charge to imitate him as he imitates Christ), wisdom gained through lived experience rather than mere knowledge (Job 12:12), and backbone to tell hard truths, as Samuel did to Saul in 1 Samuel 13.

you don't need to be perfect. You just need to be consistent

— Daniel Goulding

Point 6 of 6

Even without a human mentor, the Holy Spirit mentors us

Pastor Daniel closes by pointing to 1 John 2, saying one of the Holy Spirit's jobs is to develop us into what Jesus taught, so no one is ever truly without a mentor even if they lack a human one right now.

you will not stumble your way into a life of purpose

— Daniel Goulding

Take it into your week

Pastor Daniel's charge is that every David needs a Samuel, and every Samuel also needs a David.

Application

Seek out a mentor who sees your potential
Ask God for someone a season ahead of you who can call out the greatness in you, even if your family never affirmed it.
Run to a mentor, not away, in the storm
When life falls apart, choose to bring it to a trusted mentor who lets you just be human rather than facing it bitter and alone.
More seasoned believers, invest in younger families
Pastor Daniel asks those further along to pour into the young families filling the church so their marriages and lives can mature.
Look for integrity, wisdom, and backbone in a mentor
Choose someone whose character matches their success, who has lived wisdom rather than just knowledge, and who will tell you hard truths.
Turn to the Holy Spirit if you lack a human mentor
Pray and ask God to bring a mentor into your life, and remember the Holy Spirit is already at work developing you into who Jesus calls you to be.

Keep going

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