Monthly Archives: October 2023

Here is Your Battle Plan!

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This is small portion of a Class I recently taught in Legacy School our online school.

Paul told Timothy a valuable insight. It was a charge he gave him. A charge was a command that was not to be taken lightly and was expected to be heeded. Paul gave 6 charges to Timothy over the 2 books written to him. This is the first or foundational charge. The word commit following the word charge was the passing of the charge into the hands of Timothy to steward.

1 Timothy 1:18–19 (KJV 1900) — 18 This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightiest war a good warfare; 19 Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck:

The word war means to make a military expedition, to lead soldiers to war or to battle, (spoken of a commander). It is a verb or action word. Paul was expecting Timothy to go on military conquest, campaign, or a mission. He was to be strategic in the advance of the kingdom. But not by natural means but by spiritual means. It was to be a “good” warfare. The word “good” means excellent in nature. It would hold the nature of Christ and the spirit of excellence. It was a battle that was to be done a certain way. As he did this the outcome would be a warfare. The word warfare means a military campaign, military service, or discharge of apostolic duties. It is the word Strateia which is the root of our word strategy. These means it would be calculated and planned. It is also a noun and descriptive of something accomplished. The outcome of deciding to lead others would result in strategic warfare that would require precise planning.

Paul refers to how to strategize in this warfare, it is found in the prophetic words Timothy had been given when he was commissioned. It was what God said over his life. Paul connects the warfare that it is related to what was said prophetically over Timothy. The ability to lead others is related to the prophetic words spoken over our lives. It also holds the strategy we are looking for in how to conduct our campaigns, mission and visions. It is connected to kingdom exploits and advancements. This tells us how prophesy will also reveal what kind of things will try to stop us from fulfilling our destiny. Paul was saying to Timothy the battle is not just about your life, but it is about Timothy’s destiny upon the earth and the work he had been assigned for the Kingdom of God.

Paul tells us the destiny and fulfillment of Timothy’s words will not occur by himself, but he will need to enlist other soldiers to war with him. The destiny was not about Timothy’s life but what Timothy was to accomplish with His prophetic words. He had been given the weapon of war within his prophesy and instruction to convey the importance of what he carried to others. The prophecy would hold such hope, power and vision that it would convince others to aid Timothy and join alongside him. Paul would tell him later to find faithful men able to teach others also. This is not just doctrinal instruction but prophetic strategy that would be sustained to generations coming forth from the prophetic word.

The Power of Prophesy over a life is a seldom accessed or seen as tool of warfare. Your prophetic words are a battle plan for your life. These words must be worked out and strategized over. They must be safeguarded as well. Paul would also warn Timothy that as a good solider he was not to be entangled with the affairs of this live. The entanglements come to dimmish the prophetic words over His life. This prophetic word carried great force and power and worldly affections would reduce its impact. A strong word requires the application of force and resistance to whatever would hinder them from fulfillment.

Perhaps if prophetic words were not so flowery but carried the sense of true kingdom destiny others would engage into them. Perhaps if prophesy were at a higher level, we would have the strategy we are looking for. Make war with your prophesy. Your prophesy is your battle plan given to you by God to fulfill.

Identity and Design

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At the creation account we see God saying, “let’s make man in our image”. He was telling all that he had already created a type of heavenly council. But then God says l am going to make man in my image. Every person has been made in the image of God taking on certain attributes. We are all fearfully and wonderfully made. We all have our own personalities and even Gods imprint of uniqueness. Our facial features, how we walk, talk, think, come to conclusions and even our fingerprints and DNA are all unique to us. I believe we each are given a very small percentage mix of God that makes up all these things on our life. If we could put everyone together, we would see the total reflection of God. This uniqueness is our design by Father God.

Psalm 139:13–15 (KJV 1900) — 13 For thou hast possessed my reins: Thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb. 14 I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: Marvellous are thy works; And that my soul knoweth right well. 15 My substance was not hid from thee, When I was made in secret, And curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.

We also have an identity as Sons and Daughters grafted into the family of God. We are being made conformable to the image of the son or take on an identity of sonship reflecting the identity of Jesus. Identity comes from the Son Jesus. We are reflecting on him through us, and we all are on this same journey to be conformed to the image of the son. We seem to be settled that we all are sons and daughters.

We never attack each other for being a son or daughter or taking the privileges of sonship. We never attack the reflection of the son as we would be attacking the son himself. But what we do attack is the design of each other. We attack how we act out how we are made. How we do things, how we conclude our thoughts in reasoning, and even the giftings a person may have that are both natural and spiritual. These become friction points in relationships.

We are also all struggling with our own design being expressed. We may hold back because we are not accepted or feel we will be rejected. We only do certain things and do not fully move in the strengths of our design to not offend others. Now design is not something we hide behind for unredeemed areas of our life. When I talk of design, I’m talk inf Gods reflection in you. Because we may not be settled in our design and how we walk it out we may and do struggle when others express of their design. We become critical, judgmental and can even close someone down from functioning. I have seen this happen many times and seen the missing answer not being able to have expression.

We have been in a season of identity truly being discovered but now we are now transitioning into Gods design for us. The word design means:

  • a plan or drawing produced to show the look and function or workings of a building, garment, or other object before it is built or made.
  • an arrangement of lines or shapes created to form a pattern or decoration.
  • decide upon the look and functioning of (a building, garment, or other object), by making a detailed drawing of it.

Within your design 3 distinct areas that make up the whole of you. We could call it spirit, soul and body but I call it your human makeup, your spiritual life, and your spiritual DNA.

Your human makeup is what we see to deal with mostly. It is your emotions and how they are managed. It is how you think and conclude conversations. It is the way you reason or deduce thoughts being conveyed and heard. It is how you come to conclusions and values you form. It is how you conduct yourself in life and walk out life with others. It includes your natural talents and abilities. For the most part this is a majority of our design and because of this it also is the interaction part of us with others. It becomes the expression of the rest of our design as well. Because it is the primary interactive area it also is what people focus on to attack or receive.

The second area of design is your spiritual life. It is the things of the spirit you have experienced that have formed you. It also is the way you prophesy, teach, preach, witness, testify, and express yourself. It holds all the activity of the spirit including graces and spiritual giftings. It is the interaction of your spiritual life flowing outward through your natural design.

The third area is your spiritual DNA. This is who you are to God and his plan for your life. It is how you allow the Son to reflect through you. It is what you’re reproducing and the revelation of Gods glory in and through your life. It is the very deep essence of Gods image within you.

Your design is a sum total of all three of these Gods deposit within you and how he made you to reflect those deposits. Your design is the total reflection of Christ through you. It is how you do things. It is how you lead your life. It’s how you function in the body. How God designed you is to reflect the identity he has assigned you. This is why overflow or function comes from identity. When we settle both identity and design, we then have a flow in two areas, and we end with overflow. True ministry comes from overflow, or you could say comes from being settled in who you are and what you carry.

The main design element for all of us is LIFE IN THE SPIRIT. 

  • Designed to answer the why’s
  • Designed to create an open spiritual atmosphere.
  • Designed to give opportunities.
  • Designed to have Creative worship.
  • Designed to produce Revelatory teaching.
  • Designed to encounter God on a personal level.
  • Designed to see yourself through Gods eyes.