The Stone and Sword
A meditation on the White Stone and our personal swords:
Knowing when your sword is glowing!
What’s written on your personal sword?
This little meditation is about your personal sword–the areas God has given you uniquely to minister His Authority. Hopefully this writing will model what I am talking about!
This article is less about determining your gifts, and more about particularly what is written on your sword. Connected to your eternal identity, and your particular authority to move in it on earth!
We are clothed in Christ, but He is also clothed in us! He uses the uniqueness of who we are, to minister in specific ways through us! He enjoys our unique identities, and gives His Authority in relation to the shapes of who we are. Identity and calling to move in Authority work in tandem. In Jeremiah, we read–“I knew you in the womb; therefore I called you…” That’s the order–God knows our identities, so He calls us out into calling which suit that identity! In other words, the white stone dialogues with the sword! It’s not just that identity precedes calling, identity also shapes calling. Our swords of authority relate to who we are, and who He is in us!
Here on earth, we begin to wear what we already are and one day will fully be. To be echoes coming from the voice of that white stone where our eternal names are written, to be brothers and sisters of Jesus in His incarnation, is our daily practice as followers of Him on earth.
When I was younger, people said to wear the sword of the Spirit; but as I’ve gotten older, i’ve sought out specifics!
What words and verses are written on your particular sword? When exactly are you moving in His Authority? And what activates His Authority coming through you? We each have particular spiritual authority here on earth. Knowing the specific perimeters of your personal authority allows new levels of enjoyment in partnering or collaborating with God! As we learn to use our personal swords, we are participating in our heavenly identity, and getting to know and love, and i think, appreciate who God really is.
Putting on your personal sword.
When do you feel like you are moving in God’s authority? Be specific! Exactly what lights up your sword? Knowing when it lights up–ie when you are moving in His Authority-allows us to know how God is working with and through us. Here we are looking at personal areas of authority, or communion in power with Christ. We need to get used to the perimeters of our own personal authority in Him-the perimeters of their domain!
What are the obstacles for you wielding your personal area of authority? Mine, fear of abusing, no good models for it etc. But, above, The Father has your eternal name written on a white stone, who am I to choose not to echo back that name. For we are His workmanship created in Him, for the particular good works prepared beforehand! (Ephesians 2:10) There is an echo of this name inscribed on your personal sword. When the Spirit comes into your sword, what words or designs or images light up or are illuminated? These reveal the nature of your domain on earth!
What we are doing when we move in His Authority in our particular areas is starting to wear our eternal names. Wearing your personal sword, and knowing how it works, is practicing being eternally who you are! Allow The Holy Spirit to illuminate the words on your sword. Is yours justice and comfort? Mine is expression and identity. Then there are bible verses on mine–Psalm 139; Jeremiah 1:4; Ephesians 2:10 etc. What’s written on yours? What does this reveal about who you are? And when does your sword light up? What does this reveal about what purpose He made you for?
How to activate your sword.
For me, it is when i start to prophecy or express what i see in the Spirit for another person. It is also when i start to name or deeply behold someone or something. The spirit gaze activates my sword. And my words spoken from Him, activate it. Knowing how to activate your personal sword helps you know how God uses you in life, but ultimately tells you about who He is. That is the point of our authority here on earth–to get to know and love God by using it, and to learn to use it in His Wisdom.
Still, if you know how it lights up–then you can choose when to activate it, based on growing wisdom of how He ministers what you carry to others. In this way, ministry itself is a way of getting to know and love God. I still think this is the primary function of ministry, at least in our personal lives. Yes, it helps others, but the inner motivation is always about getting to know and love more of God, and have more of His Life formed in us! Ministry is formation!
Ministry and moving in God’s authority is just another way to get to know and appreciate who He is. But He does wait for us to exercise our authority. It does change the world when His mini-priest usher in the Kingdom into the particular fields He has given us to have authority over! God is relational, and a collaborator. He needs partners on earth. That is part of our tasks as humans. So we need to know when we are moving in our authority.
When do you feel your spiritual sword light up? In what situations? Is it in caring for others? Is it alone in the forest? Is it when you are praying for someone? Is it when you share an image you have for someone? Is it in travel to other nations?
We all have general authority and particular areas of authority, which are connected to our unique identities? Knowing what is written on your personal sword is one way to celebrate with God, the particular aspects of Himself which you reflect!
My sword lights up when i am naming things in my own style. That is one of my sword activators. I know that if i start to name things as I see them, and in my own style, something starts to glow spiritually. In ministering to another person, i need to know when I am doing this, because the words will go into them more deeply. So, i want to make sure I know when He is speaking through me, so I can bring love to that conversation. Mainly, we do this to give people a more whole image of who God is. He does not just have knowledge about you, He is communicating in love with you at all times. God is one, so His Loving Heart is always there when communicating. We are broken ones, so we don’t always have love or some of the other aspects of His Heart there when giving others knowledge. But as we grow in Him, we bring more of Him to our expressions of His Heart.
This way of watching when your sword glows, or when The Spirit starts touching your words or actions, is an ongoing meditation on God and His ongoing actions towards others and yourself. It is an amazing way, to stay in His Presence as well. God is such an interventionist, ever present, with us always, God! Knowing when we are moving in His Authority is one way to stay aware of this!
Another way, my personal sword lights up, is when i start naming or beholding someone’s identity–their deeper identity. I learned this in traveling. When I start to really look into another person from my spirit, I start moving in His Authority. Some of my friends, light up, when talking about social justice or what is truly fair. Some in organizing groups etc. There are as many types of swords as their are people.
Again, when I was younger, we were told just to wear the sword in the spirit. That’s a good start, but as you grow, you want to know more particularly what your personal sword looks like; and how to use it specifically to bless the most people. You start to want to use His Authority in wisdom. The Holy Spirit can reveal what is written on your personal sword, and I think that this is part of God’s pleasure, as we grow into intentionally partnering with Him in letting His Kingdom come onto the earth, as it is in Heaven! In the end, we are all getting used to wearing eternity!
That white stone is already glowing above, and we can wear the echoes of its inscriptions written by The Father onto our particular hearts!
A sword of course was not just a weapon, it was a sign of authority, and specific domains of authority. Many people are bothered by Paul’s military metaphors. But that is not the point here. For a harp can also be a sword, as King David proved–who had specific musical warfare and healing gifts through his instruments!
Regardless, the white stone above is already illuminating our swords! Our eternal identities hidden in Christ, already echo forth through Him in particular designs into our lives, and cast their shapes our onto others! Knowing your sword, offers us more enjoyment and spiritual efficiency in living within the pleasant lines, inscriptions and contours, of our inheritances! As His Stone illuminates the inscriptions of your personal sword, you are able to wield them more in the light of His understanding!
The Spirit actives Word. When the two touch, our swords glow. This is why we need both The Holy Spirit and Jesus working in tandem. We could also see ourselves as the “words” that He activates by His Holy Spirit. We are like mini-words or poems, participating in The Word, Jesus Christ.
When the Holy spirit anoints some area of our life, we sense this spirit word proximity and the Power of God is made manifest through our particular swords of domain or domain of authority.
There is the first work of formation within us, then their is the partnering with Him in His fields outside of us. This stage is where personal sword use enters. This stage of spiritual development, where we are possessing, occupying and cultivating the lands we are given. If we look again at the basic stages of spiritual development as: coming out of slavery, wilderness knowledge and training, deeper death at the Jordan, then entering in possessing, occupying and then co-cultivating the lands He has given us and which are actually His Own inheritance, then this personal sword use aspect would come as we are going into possess our inheritances, or the later half of our spiritual journey. There are lots of models for spiritual development. I John’s three stages–beginner, intermediate, and master. And then the more complex models developed by the mystics–such as St John of The Cross’. Here I’m using the model of the Jewish journey.
We are talking about how to know when you are moving in God’s authority, and how to know its shape and range, and how to wield it! These are helpful things to know as we move into partnering in bringing His Kingdom to earth in areas outside of ourselves, particularly shared for our way. Ultimately, of course, The Holy Spirit has to reveal our swords to us, and the dimensions of our authority in Him! We know our own domains of authority by revelation. But others can help mirror them for us; and we can become more aware of when we are moving in them, so that we can do so in His Love and Wisdom and Ways! Then sword use becomes part of our personal relationship with God! Formation of His Life within us, then impartation and activation of His Life outside of us is usually the sequence of transformation.
I do think someone like Paul, had such an intense sword that he needed 14 years of training in order to know how to use it. But when he did, it effected all of subsequent history! The training under Mercy and Grace seems very important. And there is freedom for us to play with our swords as we learn to wield them. Training includes Grace covered play! We don’t need to be tentative to learn our swords, but also to be wise. Just as in prophesying-it is not always about the fact that you can prophecy, but when and how He is offering that gift to another. That requires love and wisdom. But there need not be perfectionism around training and playing with our swords.
King David also knew his sword well. When he worshiped or made poetry or song, something lit up! Daniel had many things which caused his sword to light up–dream interpreting was one, another was actual management of resources i think. Counseling was another thing written on his sword. Jeremiah and Paul had their biographies written on their sword, so that their lives became a sign or living symbol. Each person has unique things inscribed on their sword. Interesting to study scripture in light of the writers personal sword or areas of authority.
We did a test run of some of this teaching in our local community round table gathering this weekend. We talked about our personal swords, and then went around and asked people what was written on theirs, and how they activate their swords. Some of the questions which came up were really helpful. The major ones were around how to train others to activate their swords. I think this can be done in small groups, and in playful Grace-full exchange. Getting feedback from one another on when they see your sword light up. Others can mirror it for us, so we become more aware of when we are moving in His Authority. Another way is to look at where you personally feel Him move. Is it when you are in conversation with others. It is while gardening etc. Another way is to look at your life verses, or the places in scripture you most often return to for guidance and comfort and anchoring over the years. Usually these verses relate or are directly written on your personal sword or area of authority. Hope that helps. I will share more as it comes. Another great question was around how swords work in tandem with other’s. This questions feels like a matter of observation and seeing which ones He places near one another and asking why. Thanks to my local circle of friends also for letting me test that teaching, and refine it. It is a grand adventure to learn how to move in tandem with all your amazing swords, my friends!
