A Heart of Wisdom

‘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.

‘But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”’ 1 Samuel 16:7

When the Lord told Samuel that people judge by outward appearance, but He looks at the heart, it was at the point when Samuel thought Eliab (David’s eldest brother) was the Lord’s anointed based on his physical appearance. However, God’s criteria was very different to the extent that the Lord told Samuel Eliab was actually rejected. Which means the criteria God used to assess who would be king was very different from what Samuel had in mind.

Similarly, there is a perspective the Lord may have on different aspects of our lives which differs from what we think He is looking for.

This series we delve into how the Lord views aspects of our lives (relationships, leadership and others) based on our heart disposition.  We pray that the Holy Spirit guides us through this study and reveals God’s heart on the matters of life to us. Click HERE to download the study.

“Don’t keep hoarding for yourselves earthly treasures that can be stolen by thieves. Material wealth eventually rusts, decays, and loses its value. Instead, stockpile heavenly treasures for yourselves that cannot be stolen and will never rust, decay, or lose their value. For your heart will always pursue what you esteem as your treasure.” Matthew 6:19-21

“Wealth and honor come from you alone, for you rule over everything. Power and might are in your hand, and at your discretion people are made great and given strength… Everything we have has come from you, and we give you only what you first gave us!” 1 Chronicles 29:12, 14 NLT

The dictionary defines as Treasurer as: a person appointed to administer or manage the financial assets and liabilities of a society, company, local authority, or other body. The main duties of a treasurer are to oversee the financial administration of the organisation, review procedures and financial reporting, advise the board on financial strategy, and advise on fundraising.

In the context of God’s kingdom, a kingdom treasurer is one who administers his/her finances with the mentality that God owns it all and that we are just stewards of what He gives us. As such there are principles for effective stewardship that we must understand which we will delve into this series. Our prayer is that the Holy Spirit will guide us as we learn and put these principles into practice, so we become effective and trusted treasurers for the kingdom of God. Click Here to download the study.

‘Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.’ Matthew 5:16

We are called to be light. So when the world around us seems to be dark, confused and corrupt, it’s not a time for believers to hide away or join the voices complaining about what is going on. Rather the darkness around us should act as a backdrop for us to shine by bringing light, wisdom, righteousness and much more to the end that the Lord is glorified.

The Bible tells us that there is nothing new under the sun, which means there will be others who have experienced darkness, yet their light shone brightly and we can learn from them. This series we are looking at some examples of such people who used the darkness around them as a platform to shine and trust that the Holy Spirit will lead us so that we also gain understanding of how the Lord wants each of us specifically to shine based on our circumstances and assignment. Click Here to download the series.

‘Once Jesus was in a certain place praying. As he finished, one of his disciples came to him and said, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”’ Luke 11:1

During His earthly ministry Jesus lived a life of prayer, to the extent that His disciples had to ask Him to teach them to pray. This means they must have seen how prayer transformed Jesus and His ministry as a whole. Because of prayer Jesus healed all who came to Him, He was filled with wisdom, he was always at the right place at the right time, He fulfilled all He was meant to do.

We know that Jesus is our template so when it comes to an area as critical as prayer it will help us to understand a few things about what Jesus prayed about, how he prayed, when he prayed and much more.

We trust the Holy Spirit to guide and transform us through this series as we deep dive into Jesus’ prayer life. Click Here to download the study

‘Build houses and dwell in them; plant gardens and eat their fruit. Take wives and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands, so that they may bear sons and daughters—that you may be increased there, and not diminished. And seek the peace of the city where I have caused you to be carried away captive, and pray to the Lord for it; for in its peace you will have peace.’ Jeremiah 29:5-7

After King Nebuchadnezzar invaded Jerusalem the Israelites found themselves in exile as they were taken as captives to Babylon. It seemed inconceivable to them that the Lord wouldn’t get them out of that situation as soon as possible so they could go back home. But God said something interesting to the Israelites in exile through prophet Jeremiah which must have seemed shocking to them. According to the word of the Lord Israel would be in Babylon for a good number of years. As if that was not enough, while there they were to focus on building their lives in Babylon rather than going back to Jerusalem.

There are situations we go through in life that may cause us to question if God is really with us. The external circumstances may seem so contrary to our expectations that our constant prayer is for God to either change the circumstance or get us out of that situation as quickly as possible. However, as we mature in God we see that there are times when He doesn’t change things around us, rather His objective is for us to change within those circumstances.

This series as we look at how to thrive in adverse circumstances, we pray that the Holy Spirit will guide our thoughts and actions so we see adversity from the right perspective and respond accurately. Click HERE to download the study.