This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare (1 Timothy 1:18).
In Acts 5:26, the Bible says, “Then went the captain with the officers, and brought them without violence: for they feared the people, lest they should have been stoned.”
From the foregoing verse, there’s the captain, then there are officers. The word “captain” is the Greek “strategos”, and that’s the ̄ commanding officer. However, the word “officers” is “hupēretēs” (Greek), which refers to those who work with their hands; that is, those who carry out the assignment or instructions given by the “stratēgos”—the captain or commanding officer.
Then, when you read 2 Timothy 2:3, it says, “Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.”
The word “soldier” is the Greek, “stratiotēs” and it’s different from both “strate ̄ gos” and “hupēretēs.” But when it says to “war” a good warfare as read in our opening verse, it uses “Stratiomai” for war. That refers to a commanding officer in the military expedition—a strategist. He’s not the “huperete ̄ s,” he’s ̄ not the “stratēgos,” but the strategist!
You’re required to be tough like the “stratēgos”; tough as a good soldier. But you’re not to carry out the “war” like the “hupēretēs”—the officers; rather, use prophecy. Hallelujah!
Use prophecy to wage war; that’s the strategy, and it’s a strategy of the Spirit. In prophecy, you’re declaring words of power, inspired by the Holy Spirit. Use the spoken Word to frame and plan your course of life. The Word is a spiritual substance. That’s why it’s important you pray in the Spirit a lot. As you do, you’ll find yourself uttering words in your understanding that are inspired by the Spirit of God, by which you prevail over demons and the adversities of life.
The Bible says, “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh” (2 Corinthians 10:3). In other words, though we live in the human body, our war isn’t according to the flesh.
Then the 4th verse tells us about the weapons of our warfare: “(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds).” These weapons aren’t manmade or invented by human understanding; rather, they operate through God to the pulling down of strongholds.
It doesn’t matter what kind of strongholds they are; whether they be intellectual strongholds, mental strongholds, political strongholds, scientific strongholds, or medical strongholds! We have weapons to dislodge these evil strongholds and render them ineffective and futile. Hallelujah!
The Holy Spirit, through the Apostle Paul, tells us about one of these effectual weapons of our warfare in our opening scripture prophecy! Use prophecies as a weapon as you wage spiritual warfare by faith.
God’s Word about you prophecy. Therefore, always speak forth His Word.
The Word of God from your lips is the sword of the Spirit (the “rhema” of God). This an inspired utterance of the Word of God from your mouth. It’s a prophetic word. With it, you chart your course in life from glory to glory. You can re-frame and re-plan your life. You can override the sequence of unpalatable events in your life or circumstances.
What has God said about you? What has He said about lost souls? What has He said about your situation? Use those words to make war and cause His will to be established in your life, in your nation, and in the lives of men and women around the world.
Take with you words, and turn to the Lord: say unto him, Take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously: so will we render the calves of our lips (Hosea 14:2).
Being born again, we’re engaged in a spiritual warfare: a fight of faith. Actually, it’s called “the good fight of faith” (1 Timothy 6:12). It’s a good fight because we always win. If a Christian loses in the good fight of faith, then he or she isn’t using the right arsenal; and part of that arsenal is prophecy.
In 1 Timothy 1:18, the Apostle Paul, by the Spirit, gave an important charge to Timothy, and by extension the rest of us, saying, “This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare.”
We make war with prophecies. Don’t let the Word of the Lord that has gone forth concerning your finances, health, family, business or career fall to the ground. Use them in your fight of faith. Make war with them. No matter what comes against you; no matter the challenges or crises you face, declare the Word.
It’s time to make war with those prophecies you wrote somewhere in your note or diary. God gave you those words for you to affirm the same in consent. If you don’t say it, it won’t work. “He said; so that we may boldly say…” (Hebrews 13:5-6).
For example, Isaiah 43:2 says, “When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.” Don’t just read that and be quiet; respond. Declare, “I’m forever protected and fortified against all evil and wickedness in this world. I dwell in the safety and peaceful habitation of the Almighty; a place of glory, dominion and everlasting joy, where I reign and rule with Christ over circumstances.” In the face of trouble or adversity, make war with words. Affirm your victory. Hallelujah!
Despise not prophesyings (1 Thessalonians 5:20).
In the Apostle Paul’s defense of the Gospel before King Agrippa and Bernice, as recorded Acts 26, Paul emphasized the importance of prophecy. He did it by confronting King Agrippa with a direct question. He asked him, “King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets? I know that thou believest” (Acts 26:27).
Paul challenged Agrippa’s understanding and faith in the prophecies regarding the coming of the Messiah. God’s only proof for the people at the time was prophecy
There were so many prophecies about the Saviour—the Messiah—and they had to keep searching the Scriptures for these prophecies. They had to turn to the words of the prophets.
For example, the prophet Isaiah had prophesied, “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14). In Isaiah 9:6, he further prophesied, “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”
Prophecy is like a guiding light. Our opening verse charges not to despise prophecies. The prophetic words of scripture and of the Spirit are important. The same Paul who asked the king Agrippa the question above said to Timothy, “This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare” (1 Timothy 1:18). Like Timothy, trust the prophetic words of Scripture and the prophetic words of the Spirit to you, and use them to make war.
Some time ago, I was chatting with a lady who has been trusting God to reconnect her and her husband. The husband lives in another country and despite having tried several times to join him there, she always ended up being refused a visa
She said, “Pastor, it looks as if all the words that God spoke to me are a lie. I’m so concerned that things seem to be going against my prophecy.” I encouraged her, “your prophecy won’t lie if you keep hope alive while you work at it.” Guess what? She came back with amazing testimonies shortly after!
Friend, God’s word over your life will still come to pass.
Always remember that the prophecy is bigger than the problem you are facing. Actually, the problem is because of your prophecy. This is why you need to be conscious of your prophecy, not your problem. You must learn how to WAR with prophecy and WORK alongside prophecy if you would become all that God has said concerning you. Prophecies don’t fulfill themselves; we WAR to fulfill them
Behind every prophetic word are satanic onslaughts. You need to pray your prophecy into manifestation. You need to pray in the human and material forces necessary for the fulfilment of your prophecy. Prophecies require the platform of work for their fulfillment. Until divinity meets with humanity, prophecies cannot be fulfilled
Work provides the right atmosphere for the WORK of God to manifest in your life. This is why you cannot be singing, “Standing on the promises” while all you are doing is sitting in the premises. It just wouldn’t work!
Nothing works until you work. In fact, you cannot conclude that something is not working unless you have taken the time to really work it. God has finished all the work He needs to do; the ball is now in your court. You either play it or watch it
When you work, you have the opportunity to prove that God is faithful. How would you prove the reality of divine favour if you don’t labour? You must not be careless with your prophecy. If the devil cannot steal your prophecy, he will attempt to stop it
One way he does this is to bring problems your way. Learn to put your prophecy in your mouth and not the problem. What has God said concerning you this season? Make it your vocabulary. War with it. Work with it. You will succeed!
We must make war with prophecies. Don’t ever let the Word of the Lord that has gone forth concerning your finances, health, family, business or career fall to the ground without it producing the fruits of what it talks about. Speak the Word of God and use it in your fight of faith. Make war with God’s Word. No matter what comes against you, any member of your family or friends; no matter the challenges or crises you face in life, declare the Word of God.
If you don’t say God’s word and use it to fight the good fight of faith, it won’t work.“He said; so that we may boldly say…”(Hebrews 13:5-6). In Isaiah 43:2 says, “When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee…” As Christians, we shouldn’t just read such a scripture and be quiet; we must respond.
PS: PSSBC school 25 is now open, registration is now fully on as we onboard new students. Classes start in a few days. Kindly register now if you are led to do so
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-GSW-