March 01, 2009
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Why God Won't Pick Your Stocks (But a mentor can show you how) One of the scary things I've heard recently is the idea of having the Holy Spirit show people investments. Don't get me wrong. God can do anything He wants to do and I'll bet there are exceptions to the "norm" I'm sharing in this newsletter. Here's my suggestion: don't wait on God to show you specific investments. Servants who wait on God to provide a revelation of every next step usually end up waiting most of their lives before they get it figured out. The prophetic gifts used in church and in personal ministry are real and profound, but they are not a shortcut when we get into the business realm. God primarily works through "wisdom" in those areas. Please hear this carefully. Wisdom and Revelation - The distinction between wisdom and revelation is a little confused right now. We're prone to think of "man's wisdom" in a negative light in contrast to the wisdom and revelation of God. We know that if we lack wisdom we can ask God.
The mistake we make is thinking of wisdom and revelation as the same thing. Revelation (apokalupsis) is the revealing or disclosure that comes from God quickening our own spirit. Wisdom (sophia) is primarily a faculty of the mind. We can share the wisdom of proverbs and learn them with our minds and understand the wisdom of God. In addition, God can quicken our spirit with revelation that goes beyond our thought processes and plants a new idea. We we teach something, we can share ideas, but it's when the Holy Spirit "reveals" that teaching really works. I'm sure you've experienced the difference between a dry teacher and an anointed one that is helped by the Holy Spirit. The best teachers just share something the Holy Spirit is already saying and make room for the lights to come on.
We don't want to play wisdom against revelation. We want to value both and understand their proper role. In Acts 6:3 the church chose seven men "full of the Spirit and wisdom." In other words we want our disciples to be spiritually sharp enough to hear from God "and" have the wisdom to administratively solve big problems and use their minds. We want to be both spiritual and smart or wise. Where to find wisdom - Right now, there are open doors of ministry in the seven mountains for believers. Let's use business as an example. If we want to learn how to multiply wealth in real estate, business or investing, most of us would apply James 1:5 and ask God for wisdom. The two results would be: 1) the dial tone during prayer and 2) an occasional failure rooted in self-deception. Here's why - although revelation always comes from God, from a practical standpoint, wisdom nearly always comes from a mentor that puts his or her pants on one leg at a time. The biggest mistake I see believers make, moving their ministry focus from the church to the marketplace, is an unwillingness to ask for help... they are too busy praying, trying to get revelation from God for specific business moves. They often get burned because the wisdom they need has already been revealed - to their mentor who is already functioning in their mountain. Servant to King - We all start our relationship with God by learning He's the boss (Lord). We learn to obey God and serve others. Although we always have a servant's heart to help others, our identity eventually shifts to "friend" or "King."
That maturing process leads us to a transition from revelation to both wisdom and revelation. We're no longer afraid to use our heads... have a personal dream, think, create, and initiate. We're commissioned and empowered to minister in the marketplace and we're not waiting for additional revelation to do it. We may need some additional wisdom from others. I've noticed Kings routinely instruct one another and seek wisdom from others. They will even hire that kind of help. It's kind of like cheating - they show each other how to do things. Kings have a natural tendency to "search out a matter" by asking questions and listening to the answers (Pro 25:2). Discipleship - The spiritual and Biblical foundation that is laid in believers via the local church is excellent. We learn to experience the presence of God, pray for the sick, witness, and develop our prophetic gifts. We're just starting to realize that it's just a foundation for our ministry in the other mountains in the marketplace. We're called to a spirit of wisdom and excellence in politics, education, the arts / entertainment, communication, and business. Let's stick with the business example. If our new disciple wants to start a business he won't learn that in church or in the prayer closet... get the picture? Wisdom comes from mentors. You can't learn ballet by reading a book, even it's the Bible.
A spirit of wisdom - Let's say it this way, "The spirit of wisdom is a mindset willing to listen to a mentor." Practically, your mentor is already in your mountain. Can you see the connection between a hearing ear and wisdom? Can you see that priests are not equipped to provide mentoring outside the church mountain? Can you see the self-sabotage in trying to learn something by revelation alone?
Want to know a secret? We don't learn by revelation! We can see that it's possible to do something by revelation, but we can only learn how to do something from a mentor. We watch them do it over time and learn from their example and then we try it while they watch us. They don't just tell us how, they show us how. That's the way Jesus taught his disciples - they were with him while He ministered. Information without a personal mentor is a very difficult way to learn. If you ask God for wisdom, He will give it to you through a mentor. Can you see the mentor in James 1:5ff? Revelation will open our eyes to "reveal" a poverty mindset. Learning to multiply finances in some practical area comes through a mentoring relationship that imparts the wisdom to make good business decisions. Fairly simple process, isn't it? God won't prophetically pick your stocks, but a mentor can show you how.
We're Dancing,
John and Sue www.Releasing-kings.com
PS: I want to recommend some follow-up reading.
You're invited into the vision to release Kings; communicate the message, make the money, and do the mission.
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