A Heart of Wisdom

In a symphony orchestra there may be up to 100 or more musicians playing various instruments but despite the size everything flows together in harmony. The orchestra size could make individual musicians feel their contributions may not make a difference, but the conductor knows the sound expected from each instrument and the part it plays in making the symphony work.

Life can be likened to a symphony orchestra where there are several parties whose contributions to our lives add to the totality of who we’re meant to be and what we’re to do according to God’s agenda.

Looking at Jesus as a pattern we should follow, we know that He lived a very intentional life. As we take a closer look, we see that every step of the way there were critical people whose presence in and around His life played a crucial role to the success of His earthly ministry.

In thinking about these critical people our minds may immediately go to the 12 Apostles, but there were a multitude of people God networked into Jesus’s life to enable Him fulfil His assignment.

This series we are taking a deep dive into looking at some of those key people, how their roles in the life of Jesus impacted His earthly ministry. We pray that it will give us an insight into how masterful God is at orchestrating people/networks; how intentional He is about fulfilling His word and how willing and capable He is to do the same for us as He did for Jesus as we commit to Him. Click Here to download the series.

‘You have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you and I have appointed and placed and purposefully planted you, so that you would go and bear fruit and keep on bearing, and that your fruit will remain and be lasting, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name [as My representative] He may give to you.’ John 15:16

Being in motion does not necessarily mean moving according to divine instruction. Jesus is extremely intentional about His plans for us and desire for us to bear good, lasting fruit as we fulfil our assignments, which can only come from being in alignment with His will per time.

Accuracy in fulfilling our assignments means we must also be accurate in following Him and His instructions. However, accuracy in the things of God will be impossible without the Holy Spirit providing the critical element of divine counsel, which ensures we’re at the right place at the right time, doing the right thing and getting the right God-ordained results.

This series we are going deeper into what receiving divine direction looks like in practice and how can we follow the pattern Jesus showed us through His life for this to be a reality we can not only aspire to, but also experience. Click Here to download the series.

‘And he said, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Make this valley full of ditches.’ For thus says the Lord: ‘You shall not see wind, nor shall you see rain; yet that valley shall be filled with water, so that you, your cattle, and your animals may drink.’ And this is a simple matter in the sight of the Lord; He will also deliver the Moabites into your hand.’ 2 Kings 3:16-18

The kings of Israel, Judah and Edom launched a combined military campaign against Moab but for seven days they and their armies wandered in the wilderness without water and were getting fatigued and despondent. However, the prophet Elisha gave a specific word from the Lord that turned everything around even though it didn’t seem to make sense.

This series we are looking at what digging ditches means for us especially as we fast approach the end of the year. It’s possible that just like the three kings we may be feeling fatigued and perhaps even despondent as well. But the same God that turned things around then in one day can do the same and more for us. Click Here to download the series.

‘And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.’ Luke 2:52

“Mature”: To fully develop, to reach the most advanced stage in a process

People are generally aspirational by nature – we want to be better tomorrow than we were yesterday in the areas that matter to us. As much as we may aspire, if we don’t put a structure in place to achieve that improvement it will just be a nice dream. This is why we go to school, develop ourselves in our field of expertise, eat healthy, exercise and so on.

When it comes to the things of the spirit it’s important that we also aspire to ascend to greater heights because our spiritual capacity is closely linked to our natural ability to achieve and sustain whatever we aspire to. Life is spiritual as such ascension in the things that draw us closer to God should be the goal for every believer. We must also seek His wisdom to understand how to navigate the issues of life so we can truly represent Him in every area of our assignment.

This month we are running the spiritual maturity series which explores 3 critical areas: growing in our prayer life, identifying and maximizing strategic associations, growing in influence and expanding our boundaries as part of our dominion mandate.

Our prayer is that the Holy Spirit will give us the insight required so we end the year strong and start the coming year full of His wisdom. Click Here to download the series.

‘But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.’ Isaiah 40:31

The world is in a constant state of movement, and as believers we are meant to keep moving forward according to the momentum of the Spirit. Even though we are all in some form of motion, we may be moving at varying levels of speed. While some seem to be moving at a steady pace in life, others seem to be soaring while others are even stagnant. What causes these differences in momentum? What can we do to impact our momentum positively?

Life is spiritual, so this series we are looking at the spiritual elements that drive momentum and our prayer is that the Holy Spirit will open our minds to understand how to engage these elements so we can consistently be propelled forward in life.  Click Here to download the study.

‘When we were at Mount Sinai, the Lord our God said to us, ‘You have stayed at this mountain long enough.’ Deuteronomy 1:6

‘But the path of the just is like the shining sun, that shines ever brighter unto the perfect day.’ Proverbs 4:18

The Bible tells us that the path of the just shines ever brighter which means that a believer’s life is meant to be one of continuous progress in all areas. But there are times where we don’t move as we should for a variety of reasons. It could be the Lord pausing us as part of our spiritual development and maturity plan, it could be the enemy hindering our momentum or perhaps we are the ones hindering ourselves because we have become comfortable at a particular level. Whatever the reason, at some point the Lord will prompt us to let us know it’s time to move from where we are to a new position.

How do we know when it’s time to make a move and how do we position ourselves for this? How do we ensure we are constantly accurate with the timing of the seasons of our lives so we don’t miss what God wants to do at that time? We will look at these and more in this series. Click Here to download the study.

“Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.” 1 Peter 5:8

Many times when we speak of the enemy at work, what we are looking at are the results of the enemy’s prowling exercise as the Bible tells us clearly that the enemy is always looking around for someone to devour. For him to be looking means not everyone is readily available to be devoured. Therefore, it would help us to understand the things that make people susceptible.

“When the devil had finished tempting Jesus, he left him until the next opportunity came.” Luke 4:13 NLT

Remember the enemy is opportunistic and quite subtle, which means the areas of susceptibility may not be so obvious. What we’re dealing with is a methodically minded being who isn’t necessarily focused on a one-off event, but rather drives a process of steadily eating away at something until there are no defenses or strength left to resist. This series we are looking at some of the critical things to watch out for in our lives so we don’t create opportunities to be taken advantage of by the enemy. Click here to download the study.

“The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it. The world and all its people belong to him.” Psalms 24:1 NLT

As a good military officer must understand how to work with the weapons in his arsenal, we must also understand how to work with prophetic utterances to shift things both spiritually and physically. Prophetic utterance simply means speaking divinely inspired words because it’s the power of God that makes the difference.

Everything in nature is already hard coded to respond to God’s voice because He spoke everything into existence. When we speak His word things change, but we must understand there’s a skill in understanding what to say to effect the change. This series we’re looking at one of the elements of nature that is frequently mentioned in the Bible – the wind.

Wind is the perceptible movement of air in a direction and the Bible speaks specifically about four types of winds. Why is wind important? What does each type of wind signify and what does this mean for us as believers?

We will go through these and more as we delve into understanding the wind as a prophetic tool. Click here to download the series.

“Look, I am sending you out as sheep among wolves. So be as shrewd as snakes and harmless as doves.” Matthew 10:16 NLT

The world is filled with all kinds of evil and wickedness, yet this is the same environment that Jesus said He expects us to not only function in but to thrive and walk in dominion. We know for sure that the Lord knows the end from the beginning so He certainly knew what His children will be up against, especially in these times. How then are we meant to walk in dominion in such an environment?

This is where spiritual intelligence and wisdom come into play. The sons of Issachar understood the times (spiritual intelligence) and knew what Israel ought to do (spiritual wisdom). Intelligence has to do with the acquisition of knowledge while wisdom is the ability to correctly apply the knowledge acquired.

Bringing this to the arena where most of us operate whether it’s in our businesses, careers, etc. we need to understand the specific intelligence and wisdom required to excel in our section of the marketplace. Especially as we will be dealing with different characters who Jesus called wolves.

This series we are looking at what it takes to thrive in the midst of wolves in the marketplace as we are called to do. Click Here to download the series.

“Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand… But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear” Matthew 13:13, 16

People are dual in nature: there is our natural self which is our body, then there is our spirit which is our true self. While both are simultaneously in existence during the period we’re alive on earth, they may be having two very different experiences. This is why when Jesus was talking about people not seeing in the verse above, He wasn’t speaking of natural but spiritual blindness. Which means we can have 20-20 perfect vision with our natural eyes but be partially or totally blind in the spirit.

The spirit realm is the driver of whatever we see manifesting in the natural, so if our vision is poor spiritually we will be significantly short changed in life. This series we are looking at what it means for our spiritual eyes to be open so we can life effectively and victoriously as Jesus intended.

Our prayer is that as we commit to drawing near to the Lord the Holy Spirit will open our eyes so we see clearly where it matters. Click Here to download the study.