Good morning y’all.

Honestly, the key takeaway of this message is in the title — there is wisdom in worship because worship is powerful enough to shift atmospheres, rewire your mind, dispel negative thoughts.

I don’t want to write too much here, because I want you to spend sometime in the presence of God simply worshipping. As promised, I have created a playlist with worship songs that align with what we have been exposed to in these first few chapters of Proverbs. Each week, I will add more songs to the playlists so that we can continue to build as we journey.

The Apple Music & Youtube playlists are the same, I just wanted to provide options for those who may not have Apple Music.

Apple Music Youtube

If you would like for me to include Spotify in the list of options as well, please let me know and I will do so.

Happy Listening, and I pray that the Spirit of God continues to wash over you and move through you as you endeavor to grow closer in intimacy with your Father.

I love you, I pray that you love you, & just know that God loves you right up to the moon and back ✨🤎

See y’all tomorrow morning at 6:30a.m. CST.

To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. I do not put any of my writings or videos behind a paywall, so becoming a paid subscriber is simply a means of supporting my ministry that is always accessible to all.

Foundational Texts

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭2‬:‭1‬-‭8‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“My son, if you receive my words, And treasure my commands within you, So that you incline your ear to wisdom, And apply your heart to understanding; Yes, if you cry out for discernment, And lift up your voice for understanding, If you seek her as silver, And search for her as for hidden treasures; Then you will understand the fear of the Lord, And find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom; From His mouth come knowledge and understanding; He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk uprightly; He guards the paths of justice, And preserves the way of His saints.”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭6‬:‭25‬-‭34‬ ‭NLT‬‬

““That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? “And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith? “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.”

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭2‬:‭9‬-‭22‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“Then you will understand righteousness and justice, Equity and every good path. When wisdom enters your heart, And knowledge is pleasant to your soul, Discretion will preserve you; Understanding will keep you, To deliver you from the way of evil, From the man who speaks perverse things, From those who leave the paths of uprightness To walk in the ways of darkness; Who rejoice in doing evil, And delight in the perversity of the wicked; Whose ways are crooked, And who are devious in their paths; To deliver you from the immoral woman, From the seductress who flatters with her words, Who forsakes the companion of her youth, And forgets the covenant of her God. For her house leads down to death, And her paths to the dead; None who go to her return, Nor do they regain the paths of life— So you may walk in the way of goodness, And keep to the paths of righteousness. For the upright will dwell in the land, And the blameless will remain in it; But the wicked will be cut off from the earth, And the unfaithful will be uprooted from it.”

Key Takeaways

* We should be earnestly seeking the kingdom of God. Some of those things include wisdom, discernment, knowledge, and understanding. This requires consistent time dwelling in the presence of God. When you follow this blueprint, God will provide for you everything that you need — even things you don’t realize you need. Place Him first and foremost as the priority in your life and watch how everything around you not only transforms, but elevates.

* The principles of praying without ceasing. Spend time with God in your secret place, but then take Him with you out of this space. Invite God into the mundane, routine tasks of your day, and you will increase your awareness of His presence and ability to discern and sense Him around you at all times. Praying without ceasing leads to protection. Literally, abide in God’s presence at all times. Start off with small, simple things — God can do a lot with your little.

* When you build up your faith and trust in God through the small things, it makes it that much easier to trust in Him for the big thing(s) because you have this long and solid precedence of how He has showed up for you previously [See David & Goliath | 1 Samuel 17]. Where you are now is training ground for the future, even when it looks nothing like the promise, vision, and/or anointing that God has revealed to you about your life. One of the greatest and most transformative experiences of your life will be when you come to the realization for yourself that there is absolutely no aspect of your life that God does not care about and that He doesn’t want to be a part of.

* Even with words that are familiar, look up the definition — this will unlock key understanding and revelation in the text. Allow the Holy Spirit to guide you in this endeavor, otherwise it can become counterproductive. If there’s a particular word that stands out to you, a word that is repeated multiple times within the passage you’re studying, and/or you have this urge that you just can’t get past, that is The Holy Spirit urging you to go deeper. Reading the AMP version can help with this as well, which leads me to my next point:

* Read God’s word in multiple translations. Reading the same text in multiple translations can help to reveal key context, insight, and understanding. A slight difference in phrasing and/or word usage can be just the thing you need to ignite that lightbulb in a text that had you stumped. Also, don’t be afraid to ask questions. Ask God, ask your community, but don’t stay stuck on an island by yourself.

* God created us to be in community, but make sure you allow Him to provide said community. Also, seek God FIRST before you talk to others. He will help you stop the outside noise from coming in the first place so you don’t have to worry about trying to turn it down. When you allow God to guide you on who to talk to about what, you will receive answers to things that you haven’t even voiced out loud to that person yet — that is a sign that they are being led by the Spirit to be a messenger on God’s behalf. I feel like this is a great space and opportunity to suggest Priscilla Shirer’s Book Discerning the Voice of God. It was a great aid for me early in my journey and I have reread it twice since then to refresh and see how my communication with God has evolved.

* Let God be your blueprint, not people. If you rely on your own understanding, it will be too late by the time you recognize that they are a wolf in sheep’s clothing. God’s wisdom and discernment will help you to identify when you are in the presence of people who are willfully choosing to disobey and walk in opposition of Him.

* Consistent heart checks will keep you in alignment. I sometimes ask God to do a “root-cause-analysis” on me or to give me a “full body tune-up” just to check-in and make sure there’s nothing lurking that I’ve missed, check for any wounds that need tending to, ensure that my heart is still postured towards Him, and that I am in alignment with His will. I ask Him to completely dispel my taste/appetite for any desires that did not come from Him. I ask God to reroute me if I’ve taken a wrong turn somewhere and I’m no longer on the path that He paved. Don’t assume that no opposition means alignment and don’t think that obstacles mean you heard God wrong. To be fair, it’s usually the opposite. Satan doesn’t oppose what he has no reason to feel threatened by. But it’s always good to check-in with God and be sure because the opposition you’re facing could also be Him getting your attention so you can pivot and reroute — hence the root-cause-analysis.

* Don’t put a comma where God put a period. When God is done speaking, don’t continue the conversation to yourself unilaterally. He does not need you to add on to His plan, problem solve, or work things out. All God asks for is your obedience and your faith in Him to do exactly what He said He would do.

As the text begins to ramp up and we grow deeper into biblical wisdom and the practicality of applying it to everyday life, we will slow down a bit and I will break the chapters down into more than one session as led by The Holy Spirit. Once again, the main objective of this journey is true transformation and renewal, not just reaching the finish line.

If you have any questions, insights, or personal accounts that you want to add, do not hesitate to join the discussion. I look forward to continued communion with y’all as we grow together, while growing deeper.

I love you, I pray that you love you, & just know that God loves you right up to the moon and back ✨🤎

To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. I do not put any of my writings or videos behind a paywall, so becoming a paid subscriber is simply a means of supporting my ministry that is always accessible to all.

Foundational Text

Proverbs 1:1-7 (NKJV)

“The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel: To know wisdom and instruction, To perceive the words of understanding, To receive the instruction of wisdom, Justice, judgment, and equity; To give prudence to the simple, To the young man knowledge and discretion— A wise man will hear and increase learning, And a man of understanding will attain wise counsel, To understand a proverb and an enigma, The words of the wise and their riddles. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, But fools despise wisdom and instruction.”

‭‭I Kings‬ ‭3‬:‭5‬-‭15‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ (Solomon’s Request for Wisdom)

“At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and God said, “Ask! What shall I give you?” And Solomon said: “You have shown great mercy to Your servant David my father, because he walked before You in truth, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with You; You have continued this great kindness for him, and You have given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day. Now, O Lord my God, You have made Your servant king instead of my father David, but I am a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in. And Your servant is in the midst of Your people whom You have chosen, a great people, too numerous to be numbered or counted. Therefore give to Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people, that I may discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?” The speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing. Then God said to him: “Because you have asked this thing, and have not asked long life for yourself, nor have asked riches for yourself, nor have asked the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern justice, behold, I have done according to your words; see, I have given you a wise and understanding heart, so that there has not been anyone like you before you, nor shall any like you arise after you. And I have also given you what you have not asked: both riches and honor, so that there shall not be anyone like you among the kings all your days. So if you walk in My ways, to keep My statutes and My commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your days.” Then Solomon awoke; and indeed it had been a dream. And he came to Jerusalem and stood before the ark of the covenant of the Lord, offered up burnt offerings, offered peace offerings, and made a feast for all his servants.”

‭‭I Kings‬ ‭11‬:‭1‬-‭14‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ (Solomon’s heart turns from God)

“But King Solomon loved many foreign women, as well as the daughter of Pharaoh: women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites— from the nations of whom the Lord had said to the children of Israel, “You shall not intermarry with them, nor they with you. Surely they will turn away your hearts after their gods.” Solomon clung to these in love. And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines; and his wives turned away his heart. For it was so, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned his heart after other gods; and his heart was not loyal to the Lord his God, as was the heart of his father David. For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. Solomon did evil in the sight of the Lord, and did not fully follow the Lord, as did his father David. Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, on the hill that is east of Jerusalem, and for Molech the abomination of the people of Ammon. And he did likewise for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods. So the Lord became angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned from the Lord God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice, and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods; but he did not keep what the Lord had commanded. Therefore the Lord said to Solomon, “Because you have done this, and have not kept My covenant and My statutes, which I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to your servant. Nevertheless I will not do it in your days, for the sake of your father David; I will tear it out of the hand of your son. However I will not tear away the whole kingdom; I will give one tribe to your son for the sake of My servant David, and for the sake of Jerusalem which I have chosen.” Now the Lord raised up an adversary against Solomon, Hadad the Edomite; he was a descendant of the king in Edom.”

Series Objectives

Before we deep dive into the chapters and verses of Proverbs, we want to understand the writer, the times, and the historical context surrounding the book so that we have a solid foundation, preparing us to better understand and receive the wisdom within.

Also, approaching the start of the series this way:

* Teaches us to slow down and truly ingest the word when studying the bible instead of subconsciously just trying to check something off the bible reading to do list, reach a goal, or complete a challenge.

* Teaches us how to study the bible & retain the lessons.

* Opens up the door to receive new revelation, understanding, and closeness with God.

* Creates the pathway for not just “knowing” the word of God but being able to apply it practically, daily.

Our overarching goal as we journey through the book of Proverbs is transformation and renewing of the mind. I want to help you answer the questions — according to God— “What is Wisdom?” and “What is foolishness/folly?”. By the end of this journey, the word of God will begin to imprint on our hearts and minds. Lastly, I want everyone to know more concretely how God & The Holy Spirit speaks back to them and deepen their ability to discern the voice of God and distinguish it from others.

Key Takeaways

* Receiving/having wisdom is not enough — it has to be utilized and applied. Wisdom requires acceptance of the fact that you are being called higher to reflect Christ and must relinquish desires, thoughts, and ways that reflect the world. This is not always easy, but it is necessary to ensure you are not ensnared by the false light of folly. We can see from the life of King Solomon that having wisdom alone is not enough, one must also have the discipline and discernment to apply it — to trust in God and know that His plan is best regardless of what is happening around us. Only with the guidance of The Holy Spirit are we able to navigate life applying these principles.

* Approach this study of wisdom with the correct heart posture — fear and reverence of God with the acceptance of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. We can only get to the Father (God) through the Son (Jesus) and His Spirit is our advocate and guide. Wisdom comes from God, Jesus embodies wisdom, and the Spirit helps us to discern, navigate, and apply the lessons.

* Ask more probing questions. The depth and quality of your questions to God on this journey will determine the depth of your revelation and the level of transformation you experience. When you don’t know what to ask or what to say, ask God — literally — what questions you need to ask Him to receive the wisdom, answers, and understanding He wants to give you. He WILL respond. Your journal will be one of your best friends in this season — whether you choose to write, type, voice memo, video record, or all of the above — be sure to write down the revelation [Habakkuk 2:2]. Keep record of your questions, your prayers, your experiences, your dreams, your perceived answers from God, etc. They will serve as a blueprint and tool not only for the season that you’re in now, but for a time yet to come. God is going to give you everything that you need and you won’t realize the true depth of those words until years from now, but this is the beginning of something new and I’m grateful to be a part of this journey with you 🫶🏾.

* As we go through these verses, remember to read with the context that wisdom and folly are personified as women. This will make more sense as we go along, and I will reiterate this point several times in the chapters to come.

* Take every thought captive — “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we takive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” [‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭10‬:‭5‬ ‭NIV‬‬]. Don’t let any thoughts go unchecked in this season.

God is love and love is God. Allow the love of your Father to wash over you in this season and shine through you as you learn to recalibrate your life and live with Him as the firm foundation on which you stand. Invite God into your heart, and allow Him to lead in every aspect of your life. This isn’t just about your spiritual journey and relationship with God, it’s about breaking down the walls that have compartmentalized and kept a part every other aspect of your life from His control. Welcome to the journey of living life more abundantly.

I love you, I pray that you love you, & just know that God loves you right up to the moon and back ✨🤎

To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. I do not put any of my writings or videos behind a paywall, so becoming a paid subscriber is simply a means of supporting my ministry that is always accessible to all.

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Foundational Texts

‭‭Romans‬ ‭12‬:‭1‬-‭2‬ ‭CSB‬‬

“Therefore, brothers and sisters, in view of the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your true worship. Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.”

Matthew‬ ‭16‬:‭24‬-‭28‬ ‭CSB‬‬

“Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of me will find it. For what will it benefit someone if he gains the whole world yet loses his life? Or what will anyone give in exchange for his life? For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will reward each according to what he has done. Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.””

Key Takeaways

* Present your body as a living sacrifice to God. This requires death to self in order to gain Eternal Life in Christ. Surrender. The process, the fall, the letting go, it can seem scary and like you are literally falling to your death — that’s because in many ways you are. The old version of you has to die so that the version of you who God has always known can take precedence and you can exist in the fullness of your truth. . When you let go of the life, dreams, and goals that you’ve spent majority of your existence planning for, praying for, and cultivating, this too can feel like death — once again, it is. It is death to your flesh so that the Spirit of God in you can reign supreme and lead you to life more abundantly. You have to trust in God your Father enough to know that He is waiting for you at the other end of your release, ready to breathe new life into you. So yes, the letting go is scary, but what’s even more terrifying is building a life that is not rooted with God at the foundation and Jesus as your cornerstone.

* Conviction vs. Condemnation. When The Holy Spirit convicts you, He doesn’t just identify the problem and leave you to wallow in guilt and shame with no course of correction or road to redemption. God’s conviction is always rooted in love and it is framed by His desire to see all of His children transformed into Christlikeness. To call you guilty would be to contradict His word, and our God is not contradictory. To condemn you would mean that the sacrifice of Jesus is incomplete, and that’s not true. So when God convicts, He also provides you with the way to righteousness. He lovingly shows you the correct way to do things or to handle that situation so that you don’t make the same mistake again. Furthermore, He shines His light on the dark corners of your heart and mind where the root of the trauma, pain, or whatever is causing that response in you resides so that you can be healed, freed, and released from the stronghold that was keeping you in that cycle of sin.

Condemnation is Satan’s attempt to keep you from receiving God’s loving grace, mercy, forgiveness, and healing. If he can get you to persecute yourself and feel so guilty about your actions that you’re afraid to turn to God for help, then He can keep you from growing closer in relationship with God and learning to wield the powers inside of you that he can never defeat. Condemnation is just an onslaught attack of every wrong you’ve ever done. He’ll take this one mistake and use it to make you feel as though you’re the worse kind of person and that God is angry with you. There’s no path for redemption, just repetitive memories of your mistakes, low moments, regret, shame, etc. That is not God. Your Father does not speak to you that way and He does not keep a record of your wrong doings.

1 Corinthians 13:5 (NIV)“It [love] does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.”

Psalm 103:12“As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.”

Hebrews 8:12“For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”

Isaiah 43:25“I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions… and remembers your sins no more.”

* With that being said, be sure to always seek God’s help to get to the root of an action or problem. God helped me to see that root cause of my frenzy/frantic actions was control. When God reveals something to you, don’t just take that and move on, ask Him more probing questions so that He can help you work it out. By getting a handle on the issue of control and the past experiences that made it feel like the best option, I was able to heal another part of me and surrender even more to God. This is not a one-time process. As soon as I think I’ve surrendered everything there is to surrender, God reveals to me that there are still some parts of me that I’m holding hostage from Him. Together we work on my release so that I can bask in the freedom and peace that residing in Him provides. You will learn from experience that the free fall that looks scary is really surrender into Gods peace and protection. He will not let you fail. Perfectionism can also be at the root of control.

* Failure vs. The Process of Refinement. It’s always important to ask God for His perspective of the season or circumstance you’re in. One of the first times I did this, God revealed to me that what I kept calling failure was His process of refinement. My pathway to ministry is a perfect example of this. There were several periods of starting and stopping over the course of the last 3 years in which I would post consistently in obedience to God, and then obediently stop when He told me to as well. The long pauses in between made me feel as though I was failing — God’s perspective showed me that with each new start, my process became more refined based on what I’d experienced previously. I was becoming more aware of who He created me to be and getting more comfortable unleashing my voice. Experience allowed me to discern what works for me, what doesn’t work for me, what the resources/provisions are that I need, how to build a system that helps me sustain my calling, etc. God’s ways are not our ways, and His process is not always linear. So as you walk with Him, ask Him to show you things through His eyes so that you are not calling a season something completely different than what He is. This will help stave off frustration and disappointment, while keeping you aligned with God’s will instead of your own.

* Do not mistake God’s instruction to let go as spiritual warfare from the enemy. By no means am I implying that spiritual warfare is not real — in fact, my point is quite the opposite. BECAUSE spiritual warfare is something that we as Christians will encounter time and time again, it is easy to mistake every instance of friction, delay, and/or resistance as warfare. Sometimes, the answer is much more simple — God is telling you no. If not no, He is redirecting you or slowing you down. If you do not make it a practice to constantly seek God’s counsel and wisdom, then you will find yourself rebuking Satan for something God has sent to protect you. Don’t just pray about the issue and walk away, be still and wait to hear God’s response so that you can move in alignment with Him and not in opposition to Him.

Thank you for watching and reading. I look forward to growing with you on this journey of doing life with God in every moment of everyday.

I love you, I pray that you love you, & just know that God loves you right up to the moon and back ✨🤎

To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. I do not put any of my writings or videos behind a paywall, so becoming a paid subscriber is simply a means of supporting my ministry that is always accessible to all.

Previous Video

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Welcome

Hello and welcome to The Village — thank you for your time and presence!

If you prefer to read, the transcript for this video is available. You can also listen to the audio via The Village Podcast.

Key Takeaways From the Video

* God answers prayers through instruction, not just outcomes. My request for wisdom was answered with an assignment to study the book of Proverbs and later Ecclesiastes & Job. I didn’t just wake up one day suddenly wise — I made the request and God took me on a journey to receive His deliverance.

* Obedience in one season prepares provision in the next. What you do now in large part determines your future.

Proverbs 6:6-8 (NIV)

“Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers food at harvest.”

* Delayed understanding doesn’t mean misdirection. Sometimes, the understanding and answers you seek from God are on the other side of obedience, not at the starting line.

* Revisiting scripture brings new revelation. Even with the scriptures you have memorized, God can provide fresh new revelation, wisdom, understanding, and perspective that meets you right where you need it. This comes when you study and approach His word with the heart and mind of novice, forever seeking God’s presence.

* My role here is exposure, teaching, and guidance — not to give you a copy and paste blueprint to follow as if MY way is what’s most important. Test the fruit of everything I say/write and allow God — through the presence of The Holy Spirit — to direct you in application. Studying the book of Proverbs is one way to strengthen your spiritual muscle of discernment and aid in this process.

* Not every word applies immediately — some are for a time yet to come. When you write down the revelation (Habakkuk 2:2) it becomes that much easier to return to that word and discern what God is doing when that time arrives.

Prayer for Our Journey

Father, as we embark on this journey through your word, I pray that you open our hearts, minds, and spiritual eyes to receive, perceive, and know you in fresh new ways. Increase our discernment Father and help us to see more keenly from your perspective. Let your word come alive for us in ways that have never experienced before — unleash your revelation power in us in growing magnitudes. Be a veil of protection around us Father as we endeavor to know you more — and as a byproduct, get to know ourselves more. Guide is in transformation and renewal so that we become more like Christ today than we were yesterday. Teach us oh Lord as we die to our flesh and choose you intentionally everyday. May your arms be a place of refuge and a familiar dwelling space as we reach new heights and grow to new depths. These things I pray in Big Brother Jesus’ name, Amen!

I love you, I pray that you love you, & just know that God loves you right up to the moon and back ✨🤎

To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. I do not put any of my writings behind a paywall, so becoming a paid subscriber is simply a means of supporting my ministry that is always accessible to all.

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