The Garden

Luke 13:¹⁹ “It’s like a single mustard seed that someone took and planted in his garden. That tiny seed grew and became a tree so large that the birds could fly in and make their nests in its branches. (Voice, emphasis added).

How do you establish the Kingdom as a teacher, a writer, an entrepreneur, a solopreneur, or a journalist? Jesus says the tiny mustard seed was planted in the man’s own garden. Luke 13:^18-19 “Then he said, “How can I picture God’s kingdom for you? What kind of story can I use? It’s like an acorn that a man plants in his front yard. It grows into a huge oak tree with thick branches, and eagles build nests in it.” (MSG, emphasis added). The first thing you need to do to occupy is, Take The Territory. If you plant seeds in other people’s garden, when the harvest comes you will discover that there is a reason it is their garden. Even though you planted the seed, the owner of the territory takes the proceeds of the land. Therefore, the first thing you and I have to do is to take the territory. You have to take your territory.

What is God setting before you? The first thing you need to do even before you begin to plant your seed is to secure the territory. Deut.2: ³¹ “Then the Lord said to me, ‘Look, I have begun to hand King Sihon and his land over to you. Begin now to conquer and occupy his land.’ You have to contend before you can occupy. You have to conquer before you can occupy. God is saying, you need to get ready to fight, get ready to war, get ready to take hold of the territories that God has marked for you. You have been prophesying and now it is time to occupy. The first step in occupying is to secure the territory and you secure the territory by fighting. If there are no giants, the territory is not for you because it is not good enough. There will be giants, so you have to be ready to fight. Prophecies have gone forth but fighting to occupy has to follow.

Paul speaking to Timothy in 1 Tim.1:¹⁸ “I am giving you these instructions, Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophecies made earlier about you, so that by following them you may fight the good fight.” The Voice Translation puts it this way, “…with God’s message stirring and directing you, fight the good fight”. The New King James Version puts it this way, “…according to the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you may wage the good warfare”. Prophecies have gone forth about you, use the prophecy to wage a good warfare. So, the prophecies become the basis for the fight, not the excuse not to fight.

We often use prophecies as an excuse not to occupy, not to fight. ‘God said it, I believe it, that settles it!’, and people go to sleep expecting the miracle to drop from heaven. Yet they have been sleeping for fifteen years and no miracle has dropped. Why? It is a challenge for the Christians of our time. We are big on the faith, and on prophecies and there is nothing wrong with that. In fact, anyone who tries to talk us out of it is wasting their time. The supernatural precedes the physical. Yet after you prophesy, you have to wage war, fight with the prophecy and occupy the territory.

Prayer: Father, I praise You my Rock, the One who trains my hands for war and gives my fingers skill for battle and gives me the capacity to occupy [Ps.144:1], in Jesus Name. Amen!