You Have Dominion Part 1
Scriptures: Eph. 1:13; 5:1; John 1:12; 2 Cor. 5:17; Ezek. 22:30
Introduction
You have heard Pastor Fulks, Rev. Welcome and I say for months that we all need to understand who we are and whose we are. This is not something that happens overnight, but it comes as you continue to learn God’s Word. Think of a son who as a child was stolen away from his family. His family was royalty and they never stopped searching for their kidnapped son. As the child grew into an adult he was found and he learned about his heritage and from whence he came. Once this was known and he was reunited with his family, it would still be hard for him to shake off who he was (and is) and become someone else. Although he begins to realize all of the “things” that are available to him now that he is reunited with his family, he has a hard time utilizing them because he is not used to having them. It is much easier to remain in the life that he was used to than fully adopting a new life. To help their son transition from his former life into his new life, his parents spends valuable time teaching him. As the son learns of his history and from whence he came, slowly he begins to understand who he is and accepts what is available to him as the child of his parents. It still takes him a while to fully leave some of his old ways, but he eventually takes on his new life and begins to operate in a way that he never dreamed possible.
This scenario describes each of us. You see, we were lost heirs. Our lives were filled with worries, doubts, fears, stress, and sin. We did not know any other way to live and so we managed to get by as best we could. But now we have been found. The search for us is over. We were heirs to a kingdom and we did not even know it. Now that we have been found, we too must go through the process of learning what it is that we have and what is actually available to us as children of our Father. Through this series titled “You Have Dominion” we will examine who we really are as sons and daughters of God. Let me start by giving you some background on what happened once you were saved.
I. You Have Been Sealed
“In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation, having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise.” Ephesians 1:13
When you accepted Christ, you were sealed. This seal is stronger than Ziploc, stronger than duck tape, stronger than the strongest glue. Your seal indicates possession (you belong to Someone) and security (you will remain safe until you get to your final destination). The presence of the Spirit of God is upon you and it seals you, giving you your guarantee of your inheritance of eternal life. Have you ever mailed a present to someone that was valuable? Because it is fragile, you take special precautions to package it so that it will not be broken during the shipping process. Maybe you wrapped it paper and then surrounded it with bubble wrap to secure it. Then you gently placed it in the box, sealed the box with tape and mailed it. If it was really expensive, maybe you even purchased insurance as additional protection. Because you took such care in packaging the present, it arrived at its destination the way you intended it to. The seal that has been placed on you identifies you as an inheritor, a child of God. It seals you, offering you protection throughout your life and the assurance of your eternal life when you leave this world.
When the book of Ephesians was written, seals carried significant importance. Seals in the New Testament times guaranteed that the contents of a package were complete and non-defective. The seal would only be placed on the package after it had been examined and inspected completely. If there was anything wrong with the package, the guarantor would not place his seal on the package. The seal was only placed there after the package was confirmed to be in the condition that it was supposed to be in. The seal was proof that the package was impeccable. During this time, to seal a package required the person to pour hot wax onto the flap of the envelope or the string that bound the package. Afterwards, he would press his insignia into the wax, leaving a visible, distinctive mark. This insignia alerted everyone that the package was the possession of someone very powerful and/or wealthy. Therefore the “seal” guaranteed that the package would make it to its final destination.
Although your previous life may have given you the idea that you are less than what you are, I want you to know that there is NOTHING defective or INCOMPLETE about you. The seal that has been placed on you proves that you are complete and therefore impeccable. Your Father has examined and inspected you and once He was satisfied that you were what He wanted you to be, He placed his seal on you. You are not damaged goods. There is nothing damaged about you. You are approved, endorsed, recognized, affirmed, sanctified and notarized. No mistake has been made for you have been fully investigated and examined. You are the inheritor and the seal is real. That seal guarantees that you will make it to your final destination. Do not doubt that whatever you go through from this day forward, you will make it. Your seal does not leak nor can it be broken by any outside force. You have been sealed and God has placed His insignia on you stating that you are what He designed you to be; you are in the condition that He approves of; and there are nothing damaged about you. Stop acting like you are damaged, broken goods. God has made you whole and you should start acting like it. If you are to stop acting like broken, damaged goods, you must start acting like something else. The point of this whole series is to get you to start acting like your Father, God.
II. Acting Like Your Father
“Therefore, be imitators of God, as beloved children.” Ephesians 5:1
Wherever we go people watch us to see if we are acting like our Father. Our Father’s enemy, the devil, which is also our enemy, will try to see if we truly think we belong to Him and have all of the benefits that come with it. We must learn to “act” like our Father. I am sure that you have been in situations where you were required to “act” differently from the way you were actually feeling. Maybe you were feeling sad or depressed but you “acted” like everything was fine. Maybe you were very angry, yet because of the situation you were in you had to “act” as if everything was okay. We are accustomed to acting every day of our life, we call it “living”. We constantly disguise what we are really feeling because we know we must act certain ways that are acceptable when we are in certain situations. Acting is an ability that every person possesses. Children know how to act; teenagers know how to act; husbands and wives know how to act, etc. When we are out in public with our children and they may want to be a certain way, we tell them they must “act” right. Our lives consist of us acting.
In Ephesians 5:1, Paul tells us that we should be “imitators of God”. This means that we should imitate or mimic what we see God doing. The word Paul used was a word that described actors who acted on stage for their profession. This word “imitate” also depicted the modeling of a parent, teacher, champion or hero. When a person was known for his high moral character, others were encouraged to emulate or copy what that person did. Paul is telling us that we should model our lives after our Father. Just as a professional actor is committed to capturing the emotions, looks, voice, character and even the appearance of the person he is portraying, we are to put our whole heart and soul into imitating our Father in every thing that we do. Remember the movie “Ray” where Ray Charles was played by Jamie Foxx. Mr. Foxx played that role so well that it was hard not to think of him as being the real Ray Charles. This is how good we need to be as we “act” like our Father. Although this may sound like a very hard thing to do, it is not. When we begin to understand God and know how He operates, it becomes easier for us to imitate Him. Jesus was our example here on earth and all we need to do is follow His footsteps. To accomplish this, we must know and believe that we are who God says we are. It will not happen overnight, but as we learn more and more about our Father, we will begin to act on that knowledge. Changing any behavior requires a decision to do things differently. To speak differently, to think differently and to act differently all starts with a decision. You can make the decision to start putting your unsanctified emotions, thoughts, feelings and behavior aside and start acting like God.
Jesus said, “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name.” John 1:12
We have no legitimate reason for failing to be an awesome success in what God has called us to do because we have so much going for us. If we do not recognize that we have dominion (because our Father gave it to) we will continue to walk and operate in this world as if we have no power or authority. According to John 1:12, we received divine power when we became children of God. Instead of spending valuable time focusing on our failures and weaknesses, we need to lay claim to what has been stored up for us as children of God. Look at what Paul records in 2 Corinthians 5:17.
“Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away, behold, new things have come.” 2 Corinthians 5:17
This verse explains that we are brand spanking new, nothing is old on us unless it is something we are trying to hold on to. The Greek word for “new” means “something that is brand new or recently made.” It also carries the idea of something that is superior. Are you starting to get a sense of what I am telling you? When Jesus came into our life, we were made brand new and what we “used to be” ceased to be. Every thing about us is new. We are not amended, corrected or improved upon. We were made brand new, never used, fresh out of the package. Therefore we need to stop laying claim to our family’s genetic problems, inheritable sicknesses, dysfunctional behaviors, hang-up, curses or any other negative things that was a part of your former life before Christ. If you believe that you have been made new, you know that the old stuff cannot be attached to you.
III. God Needs You and Me
The last point that I want to make in this introduction is that God needs you and me. There are things that must be done in this world that can only be done by us. When God gave us dominion, He did not, has not and will not take it back. With that said, it means that whatever He needs done in this world, He has given us the authority to get it done. Therefore it is up to us because God is not going to come down and do something that He has given us the authority to do. He is relying on us to do our jobs. Look at Ezekiel 22:30.
“And I sought a man among them who should build up the wall and stand in the gap before Me for the land that I should not destroy it, but I found none.”
Ezek. 22:30
If you read the preceding verses, you find that God was looking upon the sin within Israel’s society and was about to judge it. However, before He did judge them, He was looking for some man to stand in the gap before Him, to intercede for the land so that He would not destroy it. Having looked, He found no one. When we think of our responsibilities as Christians, we can understand that what God has placed in our hands He has given us the full authority to complete. God is not going to do what we need to be doing. He is not going to come down and lay His hands on the sick so that they may be healed, that is our job. He is not going to come down and cast our devils, this is our job. God is not going to do what He has commissioned us to do. This is why it is extremely important that we know and understand who we are in Christ and what we have been called do to with our lives on this earth.
Next week we will begin to look at what it means to have dominion. If we can understand this one truth for our lives, we can begin to change our surroundings. By the end of this series, you will know who you are and what you have available to you. May God bless and keep you.
