Faith Confessions
Be magnified O Lord my God, be highly exalted my Father, because it is your delight and pleasure to prosper me well beyond my imagination and thinking.
Be magnified O Lord my God, be highly exalted my Father, because it is your delight and pleasure to prosper me well beyond my imagination and thinking.
Friends, God Shall supply, He shall supply generously and liberally, God shall supply from the abundance of His riches. He may work through extraordinary means to deliver our supply to us or He shall cause men to give back to us. Expect a truckload of supplies, they are coming. Indeed they are here (at your doorstep), receive them. When you get a call about a delivery, do not say; ‘but I did not order anything, go sign off your supplies… sent by Your Father.
The early verses of Luke chapter 5 does more than show a miracle of provision and abundance. Those verses of scripture portrays Peter in a light that helps us appreciate why Christ chose him as the rock upon which to build his church despite his human imperfections and why it was possible for Peter to experience a net-breaking catch of fish.
It’s easy to have wisdom interwoven with understanding and assumed to mean same thing. But do they really mean the same?
“And the Spirit of the Lord will rest on him— the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.”
Isaiah 11:2 NLT
While Isaiah 11:2 might look like 3 bundles/pairs of the functionality of the Spirit of the Lord, however, one thing is clear, and that is the fine delineation between the Spirit of wisdom, understanding and knowledge.
Has God ever asked you to undertake a project, start a business or ministry, embark on a journey? Now, can you remember Him providing you with clear details of every stage of that endeavor from the onset?
Do you sometimes feel like you don’t know what to do? Take a look at Proverbs 24:3-4, I love this portion of scripture…
“Through wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established; by knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches.“
Proverbs 24:3-4 NKJV
There are different definitions of wisdom; the right application of knowledge, knowing what is right or true, sensible thinking, etc.
The Bible provides somewhat different definition of wisdom…
“And this is what he says to all humanity: ‘The fear of the Lord is true wisdom; to forsake evil is real understanding.”
Job 28:28 NLT
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
Proverbs 9:10 NKJV
Wisdom is to fear the Lord.
To fear the Lord is to reverence the Lord, to trust fully in the Lord, to hearken to the Lord.
Understanding is often explained as comprehension, insights, good judgement, awareness, discernment, etc.
From the Bible, we learn that understanding means to clearly delineate evil from good and to choose to embrace good. Understanding means discernment, clarity, gainful reflections.
Knowledge is acquired fact or information.
So, with knowledge, we gather information/facts, understanding helps us make sense of knowledge while wisdom helps us arrive at the right decision/action.
“Through wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established; by knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches.“
Proverbs 24:3-4 NKJV
We create things through wisdom and establish them through understanding.
God created all the beauties of earth and heaven through wisdom. Through understanding, He founded and established all His creations.
“By wisdom the Lord founded the earth; by understanding he created the heavens.“
Proverbs 3:19 NLT
“But the Lord made the earth by his power, and he preserves it by his wisdom. With his own understanding he stretched out the heavens.
Jeremiah 10:12 NLT
Solomon amassed the most recorded wealth in the scriptures by operating in wisdom and understanding.
“God gave Solomon very great wisdom and understanding, and knowledge as vast as the sands of the seashore.“
1 Kings 4:29 NLT
“With your wisdom and understanding you have amassed great wealth— gold and silver for your treasuries.“
Ezekiel 28:4 NLT
A prosperous farmer is one that has understood the times and seasons and through wisdom takes the right actions.
“The farmer knows just what to do, for God has given him understanding.”
Isaiah 28:26 NLT
“Therefore do not be vague and thoughtless and foolish, but understanding and firmly grasping what the will of the Lord is.”
Ephesians 5:17 AMPC
Therefore while we can create things through the wisdom of God, understanding is what helps us bring them to tangibility.
We need knowledge, wisdom and understanding to create and amass wealth.
To be successful in life, knowledge, wisdom and understanding must work together.
“For the Lord gives wisdom; From His mouth come knowledge and understanding“
Proverbs 2:6 NKJV
“But true wisdom and power are found in God; counsel and understanding are his.“
Job 12:13 NLT
“Your commandments give me understanding; no wonder I hate every false way of life.“
Psalms 119:104 NLT
1. Understanding comes to us as insights when we listen and are perceptive.
Understanding comes from listening, by being perceptive, through reflective thinking, through discernment.
“To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given, and they will have an abundance of knowledge. But for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them.
Matthew 13:12 NLT
“Perceptive words spread knowledge; fools are hollow—there’s nothing to them.”
Proverbs 15:7 MSG
“Though good advice lies deep within the heart, a person with understanding will draw it out.”
Proverbs 20:5 NLT
“Fools have no interest in understanding; they only want to air their own opinions.”
Proverbs 18:2 NLT
“A truly wise person uses few words; a person with understanding is even-tempered.”
Proverbs 17:27 NLT
2. Knowledge is in The Word of God.
“And here’s why: God gives out Wisdom free, is plainspoken in Knowledge and Understanding. He’s a rich mine of Common Sense for those who live well, a personal bodyguard to the candid and sincere. He keeps his eye on all who live honestly, and pays special attention to his loyally committed ones.”
Proverbs 2:6-8 MSG
3. Wisdom begins where the fear of the Lord rules however wisdom becomes fully expressed when we go back to God for understanding and knowledge.
If you ever feel like you do not know what next to do in what God has asked you to do, you need wisdom….. indeed, you’ll need more than wisdom to be successful.
“Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.“
Proverbs 4:7 KJV
Without understanding, wisdom is fruitless.
“Through wisdom a house is built, And by understanding it is established; By knowledge the rooms are filled With all precious and pleasant riches.”
Proverbs 24:3-4 NKJV
We need understanding to gain knowledge, and we have to apply knowledge gained in order to act wisely.
Here is what I see in all of this; Listen to the Word of the Lord and draw understanding, then you will build knowledge (become knowledgeable) and when you apply gained knowledge, then you are operating in wisdom. That’s how to know what to do at every time ‘t’.
“A mocker seeks wisdom and never finds it, but knowledge comes easily to those with understanding.”
Proverbs 14:6 NLT
Listen. Understand. Know. Act.
This is the expected pathway to acting in wisdom. However, many times, this is not the common pathway God walks us through.
Now, back to that God-inspired project you embarked on….did God walk you through; listen to my word, gain understanding, know what I want you to do, then do it? …
Commonly, we find ourselves starting from Acting on a Godly counsel (instruction or directive), we hear God say ‘start this’ or ‘do that’ and we generally obey and follow.
We follow because we trust and reverence God. By doing so, we actually begin the walk towards wisdom…. the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom….
But then, in the middle of it all, we may seem lost unless we go back to; Listen, Understand, Know. I believe that it is when we go through this process that we are able to establish and bring to tangibility the things God spoke to our hearts.
“Through wisdom a house is built, And by understanding it is established; By knowledge the rooms are filled With all precious and pleasant riches.“
Proverbs 24:3-4 NKJV
Whatever point you are at in that Godly mission, here’s a prayer to pray….
I thank You Father because I have wisdom, understanding and knowledge. I listen and draw from understanding and knowledge from You (Your Word and Spirit), so I say that I know what to do (in line with your plan and purpose). Success is inevitable and success will be my experience in Jesus Christ name. Amen!
Everything God asks us to do will 1. work for the furtherance of the gospel; improve people’s knowledge of God, 2. Be of benefit to other people.
We must understand how the world we live in works, we must find out how our Godly mission fits into the larger whole, and we must identify areas of impact God would have us make.
Wisdom to create. Understanding to found and establish. Knowledge to make it functional and fit for purpose.
Thank You Father ❤
Medicine is a professional discipline having different specialties. To rise to the status of a Specialist in medicine you must undergo some professional exams plus minus a residency training. This is the usual career path in medical practice.
As a young doctor I started asking questions about administration and management in Health. This is not a common pathway for doctors to rise to the top. But as far as I could see, clinical practice wasn’t my thing. Yes! I prayed, prayed and followed my heart, glad I did.
Generally, success is defined by power, wealth or prestige. People reckon you as successful if you have made good enough profit to be considered wealthy, if you occupy a position of power or if you have earned or become conferred with a prestigious role.
Often there is a lot of emphasis on hard-work, sharpening skills, grooming talents more than on chasing one’s passion, especially if such passion has not been known to bring prestige, power or profit.
In this blogpost series, we’ll be exploring ‘ways of increase with God’. And we’ll be answering some key questions as we go along; ‘should a Christian rely solely on God’s grace and not work hard?.’ ‘Is the message of prosperity as popularly preached in some Christian circles unrealistic?’ We’ll also look at essential Christian virtues for sustained divine increase, as well as enumerate killers of increase/growth in a Christian’s life.
The first way of divine increase with God to consider is;
Service is a springboard to success and greatness. Service simply means doing something for others voluntarily or for a fee.
Eight years ago, I was randomly selected by the Commissioner of Health in my State to work in a committee with top shots in the healthcare sector at the time. Then I was appointed the welfare officer. Being the youngest member of the committee (in every sense) the greatest challenge I faced servng in that role was insisting that members earned their stipends. I acquired enemies that tried to hunt me many years later ?. But that’s not all that happened, many months on, one of the older ladies in the group, picked me to work with her as part of the management team in a newly established health board, a role that brought me to limelight in that area of healthcare delivery in the State. Years later, she said she chose me because of my dedication, hardwork and commitment as welfare officer in that committee we worked together at the time.
God deals with His children in different ways. As a Christian, God may endue you with strength and wisdom to serve and He provides opportunities for you to climb the next rung of the ladder by putting your gifting to use through serving.
The kind of service that would pull from your strength and gifting and bring divine increase will have to be selfless, conscientious, plus or minus an immediate or obvious personal gain. This can be service to humanity; done out of the fear of the Lord, or service done to God as an act of gratitude or show of love.
Our example of selfless service from the Bible is Joseph. As a mature man at 30 years, Joseph began serving in the court of Pharaoh the King of Egypt. The story of Joseph the son of Jacob spans over many chapters of the first book of the Bible, Genesis. We’ll look at a few;
“Joseph was thirty years old when he entered the service of Pharaoh King of Egypt. And Joseph went out from Pharaoh’s presence and travelled throughout Egypt.” Genesis 41:46. NIV
“The Lord was with Joseph so that he prospered and lived in the house of his Egyptian master. When his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord gave him success in everything he did, Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant. Portiphar put him in charge of his household and he entrusted to his care everything he owned. Genesis 39:2-5. NIV
If you are reading this blogpost and you are currently serving an ‘Egyptian master’ I urge you to stay where God has planted you because therein lies your increase. Or at least spend good time in prayer asking God’s direction before jumping out. God does not make mistakes. You may just be on a divine mission just like Joseph. Your service could be God’s opportunity to you to spring to the top for His divine purpose.
Interestingly, another person we see in the Bible that had great resilience for service is Jacob, Joseph’s father. Jacob served to get the love of his life, Rachel.
“So Jacob served seven years to get Rachel, but they seemed like only a few days to him because of his love for her.” Genesis 29: 20. NIV
Indeed, service can buy you prestige, power, profit as well as take care of your passion 🙂
In the next part of this blogpost series, we’ll look at key virtues for divine increase, some of which Joseph possessed.
Stay with me.
Peter (birth name Simon), is one of my favorite disciples of Jesus Christ. Understanding his transformation from an unstable, talkative fisherman to a reliable leader of the Church of Jesus Christ, reveals God’s magnificence in making a masterpiece and a rock out of an unusual vessel.
The early verses of Luke chapter 5 does more than show a miracle of provision and abundance. Those verses of scripture portrays Peter in a light that helps us appreciate why Christ chose him to lead his team despite his obvious human imperfections. They reveal the personality of Peter and how this contributed to him experiencing a net-breaking miracle.
The Master’s instruction was simple;
“Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch”. Luke 5:4b NKJV.
For many months, the Spirit of God stayed me on Luke 5 in response to my desire to experience God’s wealth and riches. I am still learning by that scripture 🙂 And in addition to some attributes of Peter elaborated in one of my past blog posts; ‘Men after God’s Heart‘ , I discuss here 10 things about Peter that I believe made his net-breaking miracle experience possible.
Peter gave up all (wealth, proficiency etc) for a higher calling.
Would you be ready to give up all for the gospel of Jesus Christ?
Personally there are attributes of Peter I need to imbibe to prepare for the overflow and abundance God has in store for me. I hope you find something to work on yourself too 🙂 And when the wealth comes, may we still recognize that ‘fishing for men’ supercedes all.
Prayer
Thank You Father.
You are at work in us to will and to do of Your good pleasures. And we give You praise forever in Jesus name. Amen. Help us to heed your instruction to “launch out into the deep and let down our nets for a catch”. For only in full obedience and unwavering trust is our miracle guaranteed. Amen.
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Blessings & Love Always.
Grace Obomanu