Sermon: The Call to Reign in Life Through Jesus Christ
Scripture: Genesis 1:26-28 “Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness. Let them rule the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the domestic animals all over the earth, and all the animals that crawl on the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.”
Romans 5:17 “It is certain that death ruled because of one person’s failure. It’s even more certain that those who receive God’s overflowing kindness and the gift of his approval will rule in life because of one person, Jesus Christ.”
Introduction: It is both mysterious and amazing to think that God created man in his own image and likeness, then allow him to rule over His creation. Man was created to be wise in his mind, holy in his heart, and righteous in his actions. Then God made man free moral agents over his creation. Man was to live in the light of knowledge, reason and common sense. Besides that, God made man to live in community with one another. God said, it is not good for man to be alone. We need other people and other people need us! Mankind is called to live connected to God, to one another and to this world around us. The image of God was marred by sin. Mankind was deformed by sin, informed by the Law, reformed by Jesus Christ and restored by the renewing of our mind. Now believers proclaim the good news of Jesus, cultivate loving relationship in community, practice justice to all, and engage the culture we encounter each day in life changing ways for the kingdom of God.
The message of the Scriptures above is clear. Believers are created in the image and likeness of God to reign in life. Why? Because in Christ Jesus we have received “the gift of righteousness”, we have received “the abundance of grace”, and finally, believers are call to reign in life “through Jesus Christ.”
The call to reign in life does not include ruling the world of others or trying to rule the Country or trying to rule the state or the community, it must begin by taking authority over your personal world and in the sphere of our influence? Ruling over those things that have a great impact on our life. It means ruling your thoughts, words, attitude, and actions. Our words have created power. They can build or destroy. Our attitudes control our emotions and feelings. If we allow our emotions to run wild, our lives will be chaotic. Our actions are seeds that will always produce a harvest. Our thought life guides our whole being. We must rule our world so we can guide our thoughts, control our words and our attitudes and our actions. God proclaims two outrageous ideas in these Scriptures: First, we are created in the image and likeness of God with unlimited potential and creativity and told to have dominion. Second, we can reign in life through Jesus Christ regardless of the environment in the world, country, or the state. If we rule our own personal world, we can live a life of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost.
At creation, God invested Adam and Eve with full authority for managing their lives and ruling their personal world. They were God’s agent on the earth to make sure His will was done in the garden of God. The garden of Eden was under their sphere of their influence. Adam and Eve were deceived by Satan into transferring their authority to Satan through willful disobedience of God. Remember the Scriptures teach us by saying, “for the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God's wonderful grace and his gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ.” Sin always brings death. Death became king. It ruled the lives of every person born from Adam. “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” By contrast, Paul now writes, those who receive the abundance of God's grace and the free gift of righteousness will themselves reign in life through Jesus. For those who receive Jesus Christ as Savior, everything changes.
Yet we must be aware that any authority given to us by God must be protected and used wisely. As with Adam and Eve, Satan will try to get every believer to hand their authority over to him. Or Satan will deceive believers into believing they have no power or authority to reign in life. Or Satan might encourage believers to adopt a skewed or distorted view of God, His love for mankind and the power they have been given. Sometimes, Satan may tempt believers into allow others to rule over their lives, set their limits and control their influence. It’s not until believers accept their rightful place in Christ Jesus and decide to reign in life, walking with God’s wisdom, obeying His laws and precepts can we experience all the benefits in life and make a lasting impact in the world. God has saved us, redeemed us, and empowered us to reign in life through Jesus Christ. Yes, God reigns over all, but He has given you and I dominion on earth to reign in life. Opposition, difficulties, and challenges will come, lightning will still flash, and thunder will still roar, but we have been given strength for every battle. Bones will still break, joints will still hurts, pandemic will still come, but we can live victoriously. Psalms 18:39 reminds us, “For You have armed me with strength for the battle; You have subdued under me those who rose up against me.”
Psalms 115:14-16 “May the Lord richly bless both you and your children. May you be blessed by the Lord, who made heaven and earth. The heavens belong to the Lord, but he has given the earth to all humanity.”
God created the heaven and the earth, placed all they would ever need in them, He chose to reign and manifest his greatness and glory in the heavens, but in his grace, God has given man the lordship over the earth and given man the ability to manifest His glory in the earth. Man set its limit, uses and abuses it, changes and redirect it, and even alters its grand design. God has given the earth during the present dispensation (in a great measure) under the power and will of men. When things here below are not working in the same perfect order as the things which are above. Man is responsible! It is true the Lord rules over all things by his providence, yet he allows and permits men to rule the earth, to break his laws and to persecute and abuse one another for the time being, and even set up their dumb idols in opposition to him. God has made men free moral agents. The free moral agency which God gave to his creation necessitates a degree of freedom and authority.
God desires to get involved into the affairs of men, but he must be invited. Because of God’s setup, He says, men ought to always pray and not faint. Our great authority in prayer can impact the community. Christ’s encouragement to his people is to prevail in prayer and not give up. How much more shall God avenge his own elect, who cry to him day and night, though he bear long with them? I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. God’s people are his elect: they have not chosen him, but he hath chosen them. Our communities are facing many difficult trials, all kind of oppression in this world: and we are positioned to carry all their complaints to God in prayer. We must not be weary, though our requests may not immediately succeed; but patiently persevere in calling upon God day and night. God will give us unusual insight and creative ideas and allow us to become the answer to prayer. Surely, if an unjust judge can become an answer to prayer, so can you and me. God bears long with his enemies, to see if they will yet repent and turn to him; and His delayed answers are sometimes an exercise of grace. God promises to speedily avenge His own, to punish our enemies, and to rescue us from our sufferings.
God has given us the power of prayer, the power to make right choices and decisions, and the power to change our directions. Sometimes, we sit around waiting for God to act, when the truth is, God is waiting for us to make a move. We are unable to tread the court of Heaven, but God has opened a field where we get to call the plays. He has given us some guiding principles and eternal laws to guide our actions. Since we are to reign in life, and control our sphere of influence, we must understand God’s guiding principles.
We must Learn God’s Setup. God has setup rule and laws to govern the earth. First, our faithfulness and commitment to prayer opens the door, allowing God to intervene into the affairs of life. There may be many things that we don’t fully understand. That’s okay! There may be many things we may not like about the setup, but we need to know how they work. Why? Laws and Rules are designed for protection. The rules can keep us from getting hurt. Secondly, rules and laws help us take advantage of the system God has put in place. I am glad God has given seasons, government, organization, and guidelines. I might not like all of them, but I need to know how things work. God made a promise to Noah and to all mankind after He smelled a soothing aroma of Noah’s offering, “Then the LORD said in His heart, “I will never again curse the ground for man's sake, although the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; nor will I again destroy every living thing as I have done.” God established his setup.
1. Life will be Filled with Changing Seasons. Genesis 8:22 “While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.”
We can’t stop changing seasons. Complaining won’t help, fighting against the seasons will not help, but we need to understand them so we can take advantage of the seasons and protect ourselves from harm. I can’t pray away the seasons I don’t like. I can’t pray away cold weather. I can’t wish for a cooler Summer or pray for an easier Winter. I can and should recognize the change and adapt for best results. I don’t have to panic or be alarmed. I can control my harvest with my seed. If you want bountiful harvest in the community, you must sow generously in the community. You will reap what you sow and in like proportion of your sowing. If I want friends, I must show myself friendly. If you want to be forgiven, you must forgive others. And if want to walk in God’s blessing, you must walk in obedience to God. We are called to reign in life, so we must submit to Christ understanding that whatever I sow, I will reap. Don’t try to beat God’s system. To say it another way, whatever you are reaping is what you have sown. Negatively, if you sow bad seeds, you reap a bad harvest. The law is also positive. If you sow good seeds, you will reap a good harvest. You will always get back more than you sow. You reap more than you have sown. More is the key! There are many ways to sow, the choice is yours. Anyone can sow! Many could sow but choose not to. Can is not the question, will is the question! What plan are you following? Does your plan include sowing? Finally, you could lose. If you don’t sow you have already lost!
2. Changing Seasons Will Be filled with Great Opportunities. Matthew 25:13 Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.
Use your Spring to prepare the ground and plant your seed, in the Summer growing season, guard and protect your crop, In the Fall, gather your harvest and in the winter gather your strength and get ready for next season. Life will be filled with opportunities to prepare for the bridegroom and to use your gifts to glorify God and to bless mankind. Life demands you use your gift. We must understand God’s setup: there will always be changing seasons, there are laws of reaping and sowing and the laws of use. Whatever you don’t use you will lose. Life never rewards uselessness. You can’t save up your muscles, brain, strength, energy, anything you fail to use, you will ultimately lose!
Matthew 25 has two parables of Jesus about the law of use. The Parable of the Ten Bridesmaids or virgins shows that in life, we must learn to do more than required. Most believers fail to reign in life because only do enough to get by. They do just enough to get paid and just enough to keep from getting fired! The door opens for people who carry some extra oil, go the extra mile, and keep watch over their own lamp. We don’t know the day or hour our Lord will return, nor do we know all we will need on the journey. One writer said, "Short is life; fleeting is time; quick is death; sure is judgment; long is eternity. Therefore, what you desire to do, do it quickly."
Secondly the parable of the talents stresses the point we should do our best. Three servants were given three measures of Gold. Three servants received different amounts to invest, yet they are not told where to invest. They must use their mind, their gifting, insights, revelations, connections to do their best. They must do everything they can to increase its value. One servant received 5 talents, one received 2, and one received 1. First understand, there is no room or time for jealousy or envy. You might not like that, but the way it is. (I don’t know how the owner made his decision, that is just the way it is.) The amounts were predetermined according to their abilities. There is no need to waste time trying to figure out the whys. Here is what happened, the first two servants gave glowing reports of increase and received praise for their work. The last servant knew the most and did the least, he fails to use what he had and lost everything. Whatever we fail to use, we will ultimately lose!
Deep down in many unregenerate hearts there lurks the idea that God is too severe upon poor mortals, expecting more of them than is reasonable. Yet, if they think so they ought to be roused to greater carefulness to render to the Lord full obedience; their knowledge of what the Lord demands will make their disobedience the more criminal. God hath given the earth during the present dispensation in a great measure under the power and will of men. We will not reign successfully unless we understand how things work! You might not like it, but you need to understand it. Control your sphere of influence, reign over your life by adapting to the seasons of life, doing more than required, carrying some extra oil, going the extra mile, and by keeping watch over your own lamp and doing your best. We don’t know the day or hour working days will be over. We don’t know what we will need on this journey. We must take advantage of every opportunity God gives us. Then take responsibility for your harvest! Don’t blame others, the government, the system for your harvest. Start sowing what you desire to reap. Acknowledging the harvest is from the seed you have sown is critical. Yes, the harvest is yours! What I am receiving from the community is in direct proportion to what I have planted. I am saved by God’s grace, yet much of what I experience in life are the result of my words, attitude and actions.
3. Life will Give You Only the Harvest You Deserve. Galatians 6:7-10 “Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant. Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessings if we don’t give up. Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith.”
You and I must take responsibility for our harvest. Don’t try to beat God’s system and don’t blame others for your harvest. It is yours! You will always harvest what you plant. First, we are created in the image and likeness of God. Our words have creative power. Our words and actions are seeds. Second, we can reign in life through Jesus Christ. At creation, God invested believers with full authority for managing their lives. We are God’s agent on the earth to make sure His will is done. Since the harvest is yours, if you don’t like the harvest, change what you are planting! If you like the harvest, you can make it more. You will always receive more than you plant. One seed will produce a stalk, a stalk may produce several ears of corn. Each ear of corn may have a hundred kernels of corn. Don’t allow one season of disappointment to stop you from sowing. You can never reap what you don’t sow. Get up and sow again! “Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith.”
Ecclesiastes 11:6 “In the morning sow your seed, and in the evening do not withhold your hand; for you do not know what shall be blessed, either this or that, or whether they both shall be fruitful in the same way.”
When you understand God’s setup, you will plant your seed in the morning and keep busy all afternoon, for you don’t know if profit will come from one activity or another, or maybe both. Take advantages of every opportunity that God gives. God is for us, and something is going to succeed. Come on, let’s reign in life through Jesus Christ.
Let’s take control of our words and begin prophesying a bright future for ourselves. Let’s take control of our attitude and emotions, understanding that God is for us and not against us. God will cause us to triumph mightily as we trust him. He has given us strength for every battle. Let’s do more than required, carry some extra oil, keep our lamps trimmed and burning bright. When the door open, we will be ready to enter in and take advantage of every opportunity God gives. Let’s reign in Life through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
