It’s Time to Take Dominion Part IV Kay Keith Peebles 10/27/17 17.41
My parents taught me well. I grew up going to church every Sunday so I learned faithfulness, servanthood and commitment. My mother taught me how to cook, clean the house, do the laundry, iron and sew. Both my parents taught me the gift of hospitality and friendship as well as treating others with integrity and honesty. I learned to respect and honor all authority figures. My dad taught me how to work hard and do the best job I could do. I was prepared to put into practice everything I learned and take responsibility for my actions.
I left home when I married at the age of 20. I was excited to have my own home whether it was an apartment or a residence and make it ours. I wanted to stand up and make my own decisions (with my husband) and be a responsible adult. It was time to put into practice everything I had learned from my parents. In a sense, it was “time to take dominion”.
This is the forth and final part of a message I preached in Kenya in September of this year. The series began with listing the three directions that vie for our attention here on earth. They are: Looking back (at our past) which we cannot change, Looking helplessly around (at our circumstances) which will eventually change, and Looking down (at ourselves) which won’t change unless God is allowed to intervene. In the natural realm, our lives are a total contradiction to what the Lord says about us. We must therefore set our gaze upward upon Him “Looking Up” to see our resurrected Lord as He rules and reigns in heaven. . “Rising Up” to reach the high call of Jesus Christ and “Taking Dominion” over the earthly and demonic realms through His authority, power.
TAKE DOMINION!
Psalm 8:4-9 “What is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of [earthborn] man that You care for him? Yet You have made him a little lower than God (Elohim, angels), and You have crowned him with glory and honor. You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet, All sheep and oxen—Even the beasts of the field, The birds of the air, And the fish of the sea That pass through the paths of the seas. O LORD, our Lord, How excellent is Your name in all the earth!” (Emphasis mine).
God created man to have dominion over the works of His hands. He made man in His image and placed him in the Garden of Eden. He then gave that dominion to Adam and Eve. “And God blessed them [granting them certain authority] and said to them “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subjugate it [putting it under your power] and rule over (dominate) the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and every living thing that moves on the earth.”
When sin came into the world through Adam and Eve, we lost dominion, and the earth became the domain of Satan. Jesus came to restore all things which will be completely fulfilled at the end of the age when He returns to rule and reign. His ministry on earth was a demonstration of the power, plan and purpose of God for the earth and its inhabitants. He knew He would be the sacrifice to reconcile mankind to God but He had to train His disciples (believers) to continue His work on earth until He returned. When Jesus was raised up into heaven, He gave believers (His disciples), authority here on earth to be His witnesses to the world. He also gave us the authority to bring His Kingdom here on earth by our being one with Christ.
Authority over demons: Luke 10:19-21 – “Listen carefully, I have given you authority [that you now possess] to tread on serpents and scorpions, and [the ability to exercise authority] over all the power of the enemy (Satan); and nothing will [in any way] harm you…” See also: Mark 16:17, James 4:7, Mark 6:13, Matthew 10:1
Authority to bind and loose on earth: Matthew 16:19 – “I will give you the keys (authority) of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind [forbid, declare to be improper and unlawful] on earth will have [already been] bound in heaven and whatever you loose [permit, declare lawful] on earth will have [already] been loosed in heaven.”
Authority to destroy strongholds, arguments, opinions: 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 – “For though we walk in the flesh [as mortal men], we are not carrying on our [spiritual] warfare according to the flesh and using the weapons of man. The weapons of our warfare are not physical [weapons of flesh and blood], Our weapons are divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying sophisticated arguments and every exalted and proud thing that sets up against the [true] knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought and purpose captive to the obedience of Christ.”
Authority to do the works of Jesus: John 14:12-15 – “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, anyone who believes in Me [as Savior] will also do the things that I do; and he will do even greater things than these [in extent and outreach], because I am going to the Father…”
Authority to proclaim and declare His Word: Acts 1:8 – “But you will receive power and ability when the Holy Spirit comes upon you; and you will be My witnesses [to tell people about Me] both in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and Samaria, and even to the ends of the earth.” See also Luke 4:18, Proverbs 18:21.
Authority to speak in His Name: John 14:12-15 – “…And I will do whatever you ask in My name [as My representative], I will do it. If you [really] love Me, you will keep and obey My commandments.” See also: Mark 11:23, Luke 10:17-19
Authority to heal the sick: Mark 16:17-18 – These signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents and if they drink anything deadly, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick and they will get well.” Matthew 10:8 – “And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.”
Jesus gave believers authority! It is time we walk in the maturity of the faith by faithfully serving Him and doing the works that He did. It is His power and it is for His glory, but we have been given the authority to call upon His power and His name to do His will.
Ephesians 2:6 “And He raised us up together with Him [when we believed], and seated us with Him in the heavenly places, [because we are] in Christ Jesus.” Those heavenly realms are “the realms of celestial creatures and spiritual conflict”. (Key Word Study Bible). It is the heavenly Jerusalem of Hebrews 12:22.
Ephesians 3:10-12 “To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ; to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him.”
Ephesians 6:10-18 “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.”
When we are one in Christ as He is one in God, we will walk in the authority to bind and loose, pray, declare and proclaim the Word of God. We will use the authority He has given us to cast out demons and pull down strongholds in His name. We will heal the sick and raise the dead in His power and His name. All believers have the power of life and death in their tongues, therefore we can either build the Kingdom of God or the kingdom of darkness. It is time to “Look Up”, “Rise Up”, and “Take Dominion” as the sons of God in the earth. His Kingdom will manifest when we do and His return will be swift! We are not waiting on Him, He is waiting on us. Be encouraged, He is calling us all: “It’s Time to Take Dominion”!
