You Have Dominion Part 3
Scriptures: Matthew 8:14-17, 23-27; Luke 9:1-2, 10; 10:1-17; John 14:12-
14; Matthew 28:18-20
Introduction:
In my message last week, I gave you examples from the Old Testament of where God had given man dominion and expected man to walk in that authority. I shared with you that when man fell from grace because of sin, God went into action to bring about a restoration. In the examples last week, I focused primarily on how God used certain individuals to accomplish His will. These individuals were backed up by God in that when they spoke or took action, He guaranteed their success. This morning we will examine some New Testament scriptures that will make this more personal for each of us. If you could not relate to the Old Testament examples, you will be able to relate to these. Remember what I told you two weeks ago about us imitating our Father? In some of these examples today, you will get an idea of what this means. Let’s start with a couple of examples of Jesus walking in the authority God had given Him.
I. Examples of Jesus Walking In Authority
As we look at these Scriptures, remember Jesus walked this earth as a man, not as God. Jesus walked this earth as a man so that He could show us how we are to walk and the authority that we all should operate in. Look at Matthew 8:14-17.
“When Jesus came into Peter’s house, He saw Peter’s mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever. He touched her hand and the fever left her and she got up and began to wait on Him. When evening came, many who were demon-possessed were brought to Him and He drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick. This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah ‘He took up our infirmities and carried our diseases.” Matthew 8:14-17
In this account in Matthew, Jesus starts out by addressing the needs of the people in a way that had never been done before. He healed the sick and cast out the spirits oppressing the people. This had not been done before and was one of the signs that would tell of the one who would be the Messiah. Matthew records these events and stated that Jesus was fulfilling the prophecy spoken by Isaiah. The importance of what we see here is that Jesus, walking as a man in a perfect relationship with God, took authority over sickness and demonic spirits. Look down a little further in Matthew chapter 8 at verses 23-27 for another example that Jesus gave us.
“Then He got into the boat and His disciples followed Him. Without warning a furious storm came up on the lake so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke Him saying, ‘Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!’ He replied ‘You of little faith, why are you so afraid?’ Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the waves and it was completely calm.”
There are several things that stand out in these verses. First, Jesus, as a man, exercised His authority over the elements. When the disciples were scared, He asked them why they were so afraid. Why do you think He asked them this? Could it be because He expected them to understand the authority they had and that they too could have taken authority over that situation? Could it be that He expected them to understand that nothing would happen to them until they completed what God had planned for them? In the disciples’ eyes, only Jesus could save them, but in Jesus’ eyes they were never in any real danger. Now I want you to consider something that may be a stretch for some of you, but stay with me. It has been recorded that Jesus walked with God because He was God’s Son. When He spoke, He knew the authority from whence He was speaking. He had faith that whatever He said it would be established because He knew who He represented and what had been given to Him. Based on that, consider this question. When Jesus rebuked the winds and they stopped, was He going against God and rebuking God? What I am asking you is was God the source of this storm? The reason that I want you to consider this is that if God was the source of this storm, Jesus was rebuking God and actually going against God’s will which we know He did not, would do. Therefore we can be assured that God was not the source of this storm and when Jesus rebuked the storm, He stood in the authority that He was given as the Son of God. It is important that we understand that God is not always behind the storms, tornadoes and hurricanes that we encounter although He is an easy target to be blamed. These verses also tell us that this authority that Jesus exercised is the same authority that we have. With these two examples, let’s now examine how Jesus imparted this same authority into His disciples.
II. The Apostles and Other Disciples Walking In Authority
“When Jesus had called the Twelve together, He gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases and He sent them out to preach the Kingdom of God…..When the apostles returned, they reported to Jesus what they had done.” Luke 9:1-2, 10a
In the above verses, we find that Jesus is sending His disciples out to minister to the people, the lost sheep of Israel. He had spent some time teaching them and He felt comfortable that their faith was at a point where He could send them out to be a witness unto Him. Now as He was preparing to send them out, look at what He gave them. He gave them Authority, authority over sickness and authority over evil spirits. Remember when He first started out, He did the same, healing the sick and casting out demons. It is important for us to realize that these two areas (sickness and demonic possession) were areas that no one believed there could be a solution. The solution came through Christ and He gave that same authority to His disciples. One other point, the authority that Jesus gave His disciples He never took any of it back. Once that authority was given to them, it stayed with them. The disciples did as they were told and went out preaching the Kingdom of God. They returned to Jesus after having successfully completed their tasks (verse 10). Let’s looks a little further in the gospel according to Luke. Turn to Luke chapter 10, verses 1, 8-9 and 17.
“After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of Him to every town and place where He was about to go….When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is set before you. Heal the sick who are there and tell them ‘The Kingdom of God is near you.’……The seventy-two returned with joy and said ‘Lord, even the demons submit to us in Your name.”
After the twelve apostles returned with success, Jesus appointed seventy-two others to go out before Him to the cities where He was planning to visit. They were sent out to prepare the people of those cities for His coming. This seventy-two did not include the apostles, these were other disciples who were following Jesus. Jesus gave them the same guidelines as He had given the apostles. When these seventy-two disciples returned, they were rejoicing at their new “Jesus given” authority. In verse seventeen they told Jesus that even the demons submitted to them in His name. Again, when they walked the path Jesus had given them, they also carried with them the authority that Jesus possessed.
In these two examples we have seen where the twelve apostles and seventy-two other disciples of Jesus were sent out with His authority. They were given authority by Jesus and when they exercised that authority, they had immediate impact on the situations around them. So the question for the day is, do we have this same authority? How can you know that you have been equipped with this authority? Let’s look at a few examples of what Jesus said about you and me.
III. You and I Walking In Authority
The first reference I want you to look at is St. John 14:12-14. In this reference we have very specific statements that Jesus made about you and me.
“I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in Me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these because I am going to My Father. And I will do whatever you ask in My name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in My name and I will do it.” John 14:12-14
The first word I want to focus on is the word “anyone” in verse 12. That word means exactly what it says, “anyone”. Anyone includes you, me, our parents, children, co-workers, anyone on the face of the earth. So you can substitute the word “anyone” with your name. “I tell you the truth, Rodney, who has faith in Me, will do what I have been doing.” Place your name in the sentence and make it personal. Doesn’t that give you chills just knowing what is available to you? So the first thing we recognize is that if we have faith in Jesus, we should be doing what He was doing. What was He doing? Healing the sick, casting our demons, feeding the hungry, teaching people what they have as believers in Him. These are just a few of the things we should be doing. But that is not all that He said. Look at the rest of verse 12. Again substitute your name for the word “He” in the second part of verse 12. “Rodney will do even greater things than these because I am going to the Father.” The authority has been given to us already, all we need to do is believe and start walking in what has been given to us. I tell you the truth, I get chills when I think about everything God has empowered us to do. If you read all of verse twelve with your name in it, it would sound like this: I tell you the truth, Rodney, who has faith in Me, will do what I have been doing. Rodney will do even greater things than these because I am going to the Father.” When you read God’s word like this and make it personal, you start becoming aware of who you are and what has been given to us. Okay, that was one example. Let’s move on to a very familiar verse of Scripture. Turn to Matthew 28:18-20
“Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20
In these verses we see what is known as “The Great Commission”. Jesus tells His disciples that “all authority in heaven and on earth” had been given to Him. Now notice what He says next, “Therefore go….” Jesus told His disciples that since all authority had now been given to Him, they should go out into the entire world to teach the people. In other words, the authority that He has is now available to them because they are going out and doing His will. When you combine this with the verses we read in the John chapter 14, it is hard not to recognize that each of us have been given something very special, authority to accomplish the will of God on this earth. Jesus gave us the authority to do whatever needs to be done in order to accomplish what He has called us to do. Does this mean we will not have trials and tribulations? No, absolutely not. Because we have a very active enemy out there, there will be things that we will go through. Our true victory came when we were delivered from Satan’s hands and became recipients of eternal life with God, but while we are on earth, our goal is to share this same victory with others who are still held under Satan’s control. God gave the authority to Jesus and Jesus has enabled us to walk in that authority.
In examining some of the Scriptures from both the Old and New Testament, we have found that in the beginning God gave us dominion, the power to rule the earth. This was given to Adam and to Eve. However, when the fell through sin, Satan took the authority that was given to man. God in His mercy, continued to reach out to man in a very personal way. Throughout the Old Testament, while waiting for Christ to come, God used men and women to accomplish His will. But it was not until Jesus came on the scene that the fullness of what God had for us was realized. Through Christ we were restored to our full relationship with God. With that restoration came the restoration of the authority that man was originally given. This authority is given so that we are able to accomplish God’s will here on earth. We must begin to see ourselves as God sees us and begin to walk in the newness of what He has claimed us to be. Next week I will close this message by giving you a few examples of what the word of God says about us as being a child of God. May God bless you as you continue to think on whom you are in Him and what He has made available to you.
