Mentorship Meeting Notes 24/07/2025

Title: Breaking Strongholds: Uncharted Waters – The Story of Embracing Weakness

A Personal Reflection: Wrestling in the Spirit

The past few weeks have been unusually strenuous for me—most of the commotion originating not from external events but from a deeper spiritual unrest. I’ve found myself battling exhaustion, emotional lows, and irritability. The challenge with spiritual battles is that they often manifest through soul wounds, creating chaos in the very areas we wish to keep most protected.

It’s true: hurt people hurt people. But we often forget that those wounds typically affect the ones we love the most.

The Spiritual Blueprint of a Human Being

Scripture reveals that we are tripartite beings: spirit, soul, and body (1 Thessalonians 5:23). Each part is distinct but deeply interconnected, forming a divine synergy when functioning as God intended.

a. The Body: A Living Temple

Our bodies are not just biological machinery; they are temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19–20). In Genesis 1:26–27, God declared that we are made in His image. That likeness is more than visual—it is spiritual, moral, and functional. Our bodies were meant to house His glory, like holy artifacts that represent a deeper spiritual truth.

But when man fell (Genesis 3), our glorified bodies were downgraded to dust—fragile, mortal. Romans 8:20–22 explains that creation groans under the weight of human rebellion. The body, once a vessel of glory, became fleshly—subject to decay, disease, and death.

b. The Soul: The Control Center

The soul consists of the mind, will, and emotions. It is here that decisions are made, emotions are processed, and thoughts are formed. When God created Adam, He was innocent—but not righteous. Righteousness, according to Romans 4, had to be imputed.

Free will—this delicate balance between logic and emotion—is our greatest gift and greatest risk. It is what distinguishes us from animals and angels. But after the fall, the soul became fragmented. Men often lean toward reason and logic; women, toward emotional intuition. This imbalance causes relational friction and clouds our spiritual discernment.

c. The Spirit: Divine Life Within

Why does every human have a spirit—even unbelievers? Because the spirit is the seat of God-consciousness. It is eternal, uncorrupted by physical decay, and connected to the unseen realm (Ecclesiastes 3:11; Job 32:8).

The spirit comprises:

• Conscience – awareness of moral right and wrong (Romans 2:15)

• Fellowship – capacity to commune with God (John 4:24)

• Intuition – spiritual knowing beyond reason (1 Corinthians 2:10–14)

Your body can be harmed, your soul can be wounded, but your spirit, once born again, is hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 3:3). It becomes a fortress of truth and power that no demon can access without your permission.

3. The Spirit of a Man Sustains Him

Proverbs 18:14 declares, “The spirit of a man will sustain him in sickness, but who can bear a broken spirit?”

This means that:

• Your spirit was designed to be your power source.

• If your spirit is strong, no external storm can take you down.

• If your spirit is broken or neglected, even small challenges feel overwhelming.

Spiritual strength does not make you weird, it makes you resilient, discerning, and fruitful. We are called to live from the spirit,not from the wounded soul or dying body (Galatians 5:16–25).

4. Leaving Familiar Ground: Parable of the Soils

In Mark 4:13–20, Jesus teaches the Parable of the Sower—a foundational parable that unlocks the meaning of all others. Here are two unchanging truths:

a. The Seed Always Works

God’s Word is incorruptible seed (1 Peter 1:23). There is nothing wrong with the Word. If something isn’t growing, the issue lies with the soil—our hearts.

Yet, in practice, we often run after charismatic ministers, powerful prayers, or magic verses hoping to force breakthrough. But God's Word has sustained generations, torn down empires, birthed revivals, and raised the dead. You are not the one exception it won’t work for.

b. The Heart Determines the Harvest

The parable teaches that the seed’s productivity depends on the heart’s condition:

• Pathway Soil: Hardened by overexposure, no depth (Mark 4:15)

• Rocky Soil: Shallow, emotional response without endurance (v. 16–17)

• Thorny Soil: Distracted by cares, riches, and desires (v. 18–19)

• Good Soil: Prepared, surrendered, and consistent (v. 20)

The Word cannot flourish in a heart already filled with its own plans. Asking, “Should I do this or that?” often reveals we’ve already made up our minds and are seeking confirmation rather than revelation.

If you've already planned your life—your friends, your city, your timeline—why would God interrupt that? He won’t impose Himself. Faith begins where self-reliance ends (Proverbs 3:5–6).

Creating New Neural Pathways Through Prayer

Prayer isn’t just spiritual chatter—it rewires your mind (Romans 12:2). True prayer will take take things which seemed to be inconceivable to you and your generation and furnish them on your heart as absolute truth to you. When we surrender our will, we open ourselves to divine wisdom. The fear of the Lord becomes the gateway to this wisdom (Proverbs 9:10).

For years, I misunderstood “fear of the Lord” as a call to live in terror. But it’s really about esteeming and honoring God's words above anyone elses. The Bible says 'let God be true and every man a liar' and yet most of us live as if we were true and the Lord was a liar (Romans 3:4). When I remove plan B and respond to God as GOD, beautiful things begin to happen.

Wisdom Looks Like Risk

Wisdom often appears foolish (1 Corinthians 1:25). You won’t follow it unless you trust its source. To fear the Lord means to declare: Whatever You say, I will do, regardless of cost. This is the beginning of wisdom, true humility that opens us to a higher way of living.

The Prophecy and the Plan

A few years ago, I met an elderly woman at an inner healing retreat. “God called me to Kenya 40 years ago!” she exclaimed. “Did you go?” I asked. Her face fell: “No... but you being here tells me God hasn’t given up on that plan.”

She carried prophecy but it landed on the hardened ground of her heart. Fear, timing, money etc always found a way to hold her back from pursuing God's plan for her life. This is the tragedy of many believers. It doesn't take much for us to stumble on the revelation of what God wants us to do with our lives but it takes a heck of a lot of courage to drop our personal agendas and press in for the wisdom of how to execute that revelation.

How many alternatives do you have? How long will you distract yourself with the things of the world before you decide to honour what God said over you?

Broken Reeds and the Arm of Flesh

“Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help…” (Isaiah 31:1). Egypt represents false strength—broken reeds that pierce us when we lean on them (2 Kings 18:21).

We all lean into our strengths. We hide our weaknesses. But God did not measure David’s spirituality by his relationship with Samuel (the prophet, who loved him) but with Saul (the demonised king, sitting on his throne). It's in times of pressure and persecution that we truly see in whom we have placed our trust. Is your spirituality a facade for the church or as a by product of drinking from the well of Jesus.

Most people lean to the flesh when we are under pressure. For example men often respond to pressure with logic and force. Women, with soothing and manipulation. We lash out at our loved ones, raise our voices, manipulate and coerce until we get our way. The only problem with that is that God doesn't want you to get your way He wants you to enter into His way. (Isaiah 55:8–9).

Wrestling with Leviathan

If you’re wrestling with a principality, your talents, charm, or intellect won’t win this battle. Leviathan is king over all the children of pride (Job 41:34). Every time you try to manipulate or force your way forward, you tighten his grip.

You may have a plan, but if God has said "stay," why are you planning your exit? If He said "go," why are you hoarding your resources?

Faith is not a product of excercising my will, it is a by product of surrender. Faith without works is dead.

Wisdom Hidden for You, Not from You

"The secret of the LORD is with them who fear Him" (Psalm 25:14).“Faith without works is dead” (James 2:17).Ephesians 4:17–19 warns of walking in the futility of our minds, alienated from God’s life. Of course you don't know how it's going to happen. If you knew, you would blab it and every demon in the world would know. The Lord is hiding the strategy for you, not from you. When you decide that it is God or nothing you will begin to see the goodness of God shaping the course of your life in the most beautiful and expected of ways.

It’s time to abandon fear, stop drawing strength from flesh, and start drawing from the spirit that has been regenerated in Christ (2 Corinthians 4:16).

A Prayer for This Season

Lord, thank You that You know my end from my beginning. I know what You are asking me to do. Help me to receive the fear of the Lord, that I may also receive Your wisdom. Help me to prioritise this calling—to think, breathe, and live it daily, as Joshua 1:8 instructs, that my way may be prosperous and I may have good success. Grant me the Spirit of wisdom and revelation that I may know You more and walk in a way that is fully pleasing to You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.