Preparing for Dominion

**fennywest** Fri 03 Dec 2010, 2:09 pm

27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
29 And God said, “See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food. 30 Also, to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food”; and it was so. 31 Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
Gen1:27-31

God is a planner
He prepared before creating man.
He prioritizes
He is a God who knows His priority. He made the environment before creating animals and created the environment and animals before creating man.

He is a God of perfection. Whatever He made was made well. –excellent
He created other things in their own kind but made man in His own image- a god-kind. Man was the crowning glory of is creation.- His masterpiece, Ps8, Ps139
He gave man dominion- mastery, authority, over all His creation.
He created man to have a companion, a helper- woman.

We were given the mandate to be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth apart from subduing it.
Although man fell, God put in place a redemption plan which was fulfilled in the fullness of time (Gen3:15, Gal4:4, -3:13) through Jesus Christ- the God-man, sinless, sacrificial Lamb of God. , He was the Last Adam who took our place on the cross to reconcile us back to the Father. (Eph2:6 Rom.5:15, -8:1-4)

You have God’s imprint, his signature, his stamp of authority on the earth. You are His, His ambassador, to represent Him well. You are to imitate Him in your living ( 2Cor5:17-21, Eph.5:1.)

So be creative, innovative
Be a master of whatever you do; Excel. Have an excellent spirit. Like Joseph, and Daniel. (Gen.39:2-3, 22 Dan1:8,20)
Prayerfully have strategic plans. Take steps of faith, trusting in His integrity, faithfulness and love to help you fulfil His will, not your will.
(Prov3:5-6, Matt 6:10, Matt7:21)
Fulfil the mandate He has given to you. (Jer. 29:11)
“Therefore, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, Acts26:19
I have finished the work which You have given Me to do. John17:4
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 2Tim.4:7
saying, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.” Luke22:42

Hence the P’s for Dominion are:
Pray
Plan, prepare, prioritise, project, pursue your plans, produce, persevere, partner { Holy Spirit, other of the same mind and vision( power of association)}
Why?
Pray-
Pray because without God you can do nothing of substance, worthy of commendation, of eternal value. Without prayer you will be misdirected; sinful pride will result from your achievements; you will make your achievements a god and bow down at its altar. You will be trusting, not in God but in yourself. ‘God does not delight in the legs of a man or in the strength of a horse.’ You will be setting yourself up for failure. So pray without ceasing. Pray about everything; worry about nothing. Pray about your plans- that they will be in line with God plan for your life.John15:1-7, 1Thess5:17,Luke18, Acts3 -4:29, acts13:1-3, However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting Matt17:21.”

PlanAfter praying, plan with confidence. God plans and you too should plan. He planned the coming of Jesus and what He would do. It was well timed. He prepared people for His birth, His forerunning etc.
Therefore, when I was planning this, did I do it lightly? Or the things I plan, do I plan according to the flesh, that with me there should be Yes, Yes, and No, No? 2Cor1:17
And now I say to you, keep away from these men and let them alone; for if this plan or this work is of men, it will come to nothing; Acts5:38
Proverbs 3:5-6 (New King James Version)
5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
6 In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct[a] your paths.

Prov.3:5-6
Prepare Proper preparation precedes proficient performance. Lack of preparation precedes poor performance. God prepared Mary for the coming of Jesus. John the Baptist was also prepared before Jesus came. David was prepared as a shepherd of sheep before he became the shepherd of Israel. Similarly, Moses was looking after the sheep of Jethro before he was called to be the shepherd of Israel.

Prioritise,When a cart is put before the horse, there will be disaster. God prepared the earth before creating man. A woman should be prepared before giving birth. Naturally the body readjusts itself for the baby to come. Apart from that, there are other things that the woman should do to avoid undue hardship or problem after giving birth such as where the baby will stay, provision for the baby etc.
Project,Part of planning is projection- looking not the future. ‘Where do you see yourself in 5year’s time?’ You must have heard such a question in job interviews. To be a strong candidate for that job, you cannot say, ‘I don’t know’ It is not arrogance to look into the future and hope for progress, did you have a plan for the year 2010? Towards the close of the year have you reviewed your plans to see what progress you have made? Have you made adjustments, answered certain questions as to why you have not achieved certain goals? Without this process, you will hardly make any inroad into your promised land. You may just s be going on in circles like the Israelites. Rather than making advancements or, exploits. The truth is that if you aim at nothing, you are sure to hit it: nothing. So, make projection into the future. Say, ‘God willing I hope to achieve these goals.

Pursue your goals, dreams and plans. Have short-term goals and long-term goals. Your goals should not be general but ‘SMART’
Specific
Measurable
Attainable
Realistic
Time-related

People in the business world know this and apply it to get results. We are meant to be wiser because of the Spirit of God in us
.
Pursue your plans, after you have prayed about them, Put things in place, stop procrastinating. Procrastination is the thief of time. Pursue those plans with zeal.

Write down your plan so that you can see them. This will force you to be specific as indicated above
Plans do not fulfil themselves. Plans have to be married with passion to beget offspring or yield results or dividends. Your plans will not be worth the paper on which you wrote them down unless you do something about them.

The fact that you prayed once about your plans does not mean you stop praying about them. With the passage of time you may need to review your plans as they become more concretised or visible
.
Produce. Ensure your plans are carrying you forward, enabling you to increase, multiply rather than containing you. You are called to be productive, to multiply and replenish; be creative and innovative with the mind of God. Also know that you will ultimately reproduce your kind. So mind what you produce. You want to produce a fruit that will not only remain but give glory to God.
Do not stagnate. Press forward for the mark of the prize God has called you for. God is for you and no one can be against you. You are more than a conqueror ( Phil3:12-14)
If there are no spoils, don’t go to war. In other words, do not dissipate your efforts. Have a focus. Don’t beat the air don’t waste your time. Value your time. Maximise every moment (Eph.5:16). Go the extra mile in all you set your hands to do. Do it as unto the Lord. (Col 3:23, deny yourself keep your focus. Aim to win the Crown of righteousness (1Cor9:24-27)

PersevereEndure hardship as a good soldier of Christ.( 2Tim2:3)
Without a doubt, you will face obstacles, opposition, barriers, bottlenecks; even the devil himself. The disciples faced opposition as they started making impact; making waves.(Acts8:1- Cool

If you’re afraid of failure you will not leave the comfort of the boat. Peter was the only one that stepped out of the boat and was the only one that walked on water.
So He said, “Come.” And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus.

Matt14:29 Acts4
Jesus was opposed and so will you be opposed. Do not see opposition as being out of the will of God. See it differently and be determined to press on regardless of the opposition. God allows opposition to make us more robust, more elastic, more prayerful and to increase our faith in Him and not ourselves.
When the disciples were flogged and imprisoned, more prayer ascended up to heaven and they saw more miraculous interventions. Even when they were released they prayed so much that the place where they prayed shook.
(Acts4:31) That did not happen until they were opposed. When they were persecuted they went to different places and spread the Gospel so doing. So persecution bought propagation and angelic ministration, which is God’s will. Persecution also brought unity and there is power in unity.( Acts4:32-37)
When the Israelites were pursued by Pharaoh and came face to face with the red sea, their faith was tried although they were faithless God in His mercy parted the Red Sea for them to walk on dry ground. Similarly their test on thirst resulted in another miracle- water from a rock and bitter water made sweet from a branch thrust into the water. This was a symbol of the cross that was to come to make our ‘bitter waters sweet’- Jesus Himself. Without faith we cannot please God. (Heb11:6) And our faith will be tried, tested with a view to birthing testimony(James1:12 Rom5:3-5,2Cor4:7-9, Rom8:,11,16,18, 24 19, 28,31, 32, 37-39Rom10:17, 2Cor5:7, 1Pet4:12-14, Heb12:1-3)
Partnership.Let us now look at our association with the Holy Spirit and others of the same mind and vision (the power of association).
Do not be deceived: “Evil company corrupts good habits.” 1Cor15:33
But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner—not even to eat with such a person. 1 Cor5:31
18 Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. 19 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? 20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body[a] and in your spirit, which are God’s.
1Cor6:18-20
2 Corinthians 6:16-20 (New King James Version)
16 And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you[a] are the temple of the living God. As God has said:

“ I will dwell in them
And walk among them.
I will be their God,
And they shall be My people.”[b]

17 Therefore

“ Come out from among them
And be separate, says the Lord.
Do not touch what is unclean,
And I will receive you.”[c]
18 “ I will be a Father to you,
And you shall be My sons and daughters,
Says the LORD Almighty.”[d]
2Cor6:15-20
23 And being let go, they went to their own companions and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them. 24 So when they heard that, they raised their voice to God with one accord and said: “Lord, You are God, who made heaven and earth and the sea, and all that is in them, 25 who by the mouth of Your servant David[b] have said:

‘ Why did the nations rage,
And the people plot vain things?
26 The kings of the earth took their stand,
And the rulers were gathered together
Against the LORD and against His Christ.’[c]

27 “For truly against Your holy Servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together 28 to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose determined before to be done. 29 Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word, 30 by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus.”
31 And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness. Acts4:

In the beginning, there was chaos
(disorder) and the presence of the Holy Spirit changed the chaos into order. We need the power of the Holy Spirit in all we do to ensure order and progress. This was why Jesus told the disciples to wait for the infilling (empowerment) of the Holy Spirit.
The History of Creation
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was[a] on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Gen1
The Holy Spirit is the Guide, the Strengthener, the Teacher, the Comforter, the anointing that breaks the yoke of bondage. He brings Divine Direction into our lives, brings about the supernatural dimension to our service. Without Him we will be working in our own strength, accomplishing dead works. He gives us impetus, zest, zeal, passion, unction dynamism and a cutting edge in ministry.
There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse,
And a Branch shall grow out of his roots.
2 The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him,
The Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
The Spirit of counsel and might,
The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD. Isa11
Isaiah 10:27 (New King James Version)
27 It shall come to pass in that day
That his burden will be taken away from your shoulder,
And his yoke from your neck,
And the yoke will be destroyed because of the anointing oil.

Isa10:27
Acts2:1-4,
The Work of the Holy Spirit

5 “But now I go away to Him who sent Me, and none of you asks Me, ‘Where are You going?’ 6 But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. 7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. 8 And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 9 of sin, because they do not believe in Me; 10 of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; 11 of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.
12 “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. 14 He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. 15 All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you.[c]
John16:13; 23
8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me[a] in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Acts1:8
We can see His influence on Peter and other disciples on the day of Pentecost and thereafter.
Partner with Him today and see the difference He makes to your life as a believer.

And to have His continued influence you must be yielded to Him daily. That was why Paul enjoined those in Ephesus: ‘Be being filled with the Spirit.’
Ephesians 5:18 (New King James Version)
18 And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit,

We also need to partner with those who have like precious faith; who are going in the same direction with us; who have a similar vision with us. ‘Can two walk together except they be agreed?’

Amos 3:3 (New King James Version)
3 Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?

How could one chase a thousand,And two put ten thousand to flight, Unless their Rock had sold them, And the LORD had surrendered them? Deut32:30
One shall put a thousand to flight but two shall put 10,000 to flight. We need each other to keep warn together. ‘Iron sharpens iron.’ ‘
As iron sharpens iron, So a man sharpens the countenance of his friend. Prov27:17
When brethren dwell together in unity… there the Lord commands the blessing and life forever more.’ Ps133:1-3

So my friend you need to pray first and foremost to acknowledge God in all your ways; to show that you are not relying on your own strength or wisdom;; to show that you desire above all, His will for your life.
After doing this, plan, Write down your plans and pursue your plans passionately, with faith in your heart, pressing on regardless of the opposition that will surely come.

Use the opposition to reach higher heights and deeper depths. Increase, move forward, be productive, master and follow the momentum that God brings your way. Keep on praying; don’t stop. Review your plan in the light of what is now visible. Know that unless your vision ‘frightens’ you, it is not big enough. Do not limit God. Do not compromise your standards and your integrity because of opposition or trials of life. Know who you are in Christ. Know that you have been given dominion, mastery over all of God’s creation. Know that the dominion that was lost through the first Adam was regained by the Last Adam-Jesus Christ; and that you are now seated with Christ in heavenly places- far above principalities and powers and throne and dominion. (Col2:15, Rom8:26, Eph.2:6) Make the Holy Spirit your Partner and you will not only go far but accomplish your vision .Work in harmony with those God brings into your boat and you will do great exploits to the glory of God.

Remain blessed