Latest / Near East Christian Fellowship Sermons / The Believer's Authority in Christ

Transcript

The Believer's Authority in Christ · Near East Christian Fellowship Sermons

0:02
Hi there. Welcome to NECF. We're excited to share
0:07
today's message with you. Don't go anywhere.
0:10
Stay with us till the end for some valuable resources
0:14
to enrich your faith. Here's today's sermon.
0:22
The title of this message, straight up, is actually
0:25
The Believer's Authority in Christ. This message
0:30
is actually a continuation of our union with
0:35
Christ, but we are keeping it on a different
0:37
title, right? So it should be the believer's
0:39
authority in Christ. But I'm going to say some
0:42
things from where we stopped, right? Where we
0:46
stopped on our union with Christ, where we stopped.
0:50
I will say some things to build up on that. Then
0:53
we get into the believer's authority in Christ.
0:59
Okay, so if you listen to the union with Christ,
1:02
there's a continuation of it, but we have a title,
1:04
a different title, which is the believer's authority
1:06
in Christ. And it's intentionally titled like
1:10
that. I'm not trying to try to come up with a
1:12
different title from, no, no, no. There's a reason
1:15
why I titled it the believer's authority in Christ.
1:21
In Christ. There's a reason for that. And as
1:24
the teaching goes, we will be able to observe.
1:29
Why that is. Now let's go to Philemon 6 verse
1:33
8. Let's start with that. The believer's authority
1:37
in Christ. Philemon 6 from verse 8. Sorry, Philemon
1:54
chapter 6. chapter 1, then from verse 6 to 8,
1:59
rather. Or we can read from verse 1. Let's read
2:02
from verse 1 because we didn't have a Bible reading
2:04
this morning. So we'll read from verse 1. Paul,
2:07
a prisoner for Christ, and Timothy, our brother.
2:11
So fill him on from verse 1. We'll go to 6 and
2:14
8. Paul, a prisoner for Christ, and Timothy,
2:18
our brother. So fill him on, our beloved fellow
2:21
worker. and Afia, our sister, and Akipos, our
2:25
fellow soldier, and the church in your house.
2:28
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and
2:32
the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God always
2:35
when I remember you in my prayers because I hear
2:37
of your love and of the faith that you have towards
2:40
the Lord Jesus and for all the saints. And I
2:44
pray that the sharing... of your faith may become
2:47
effective, right, for full knowledge of every
2:51
good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ.
2:54
For I have derived more joy and comfort from
2:58
your love, my brother, because the hearts of
3:01
the saints have been refreshed through you. That's
3:05
it. Accordingly, though I am bold enough in Christ
3:08
to command you to do what is required, yet for
3:10
love's sake, I prefer to appeal to you. I, Paul,
3:15
an old man and now a prisoner also for Christ.
3:18
I appeal to you for my child, Onesimus, whose
3:22
father I became in my imprisonment. Formerly
3:26
he was useless to me, but now he is indeed useful
3:30
to you and to me. I am sending him back to you,
3:33
sending my very heart. Verse 13. I would have
3:39
been glad. to keep him with me in order that
3:42
he might serve me on your behalf during my imprisonment
3:45
for the gospel. But I prefer to do nothing without
3:49
your consent in order that your goodness might
3:52
not be by compulsion, but of your own accord.
3:56
For this, perhaps, is why he was parted from
4:00
you for a while. that you might have him back
4:03
forever, no longer as a bondservant, but more
4:06
than a bondservant, a beloved brother, especially
4:09
to me, but now much more to you, both in the
4:12
flesh and in the Lord. So if you consider me
4:15
your partner, receive him as you would receive
4:18
me. And if I have wronged you at all or owes
4:21
you anything, if I have wronged you at all or
4:24
owes you anything, charge that to my account.
4:26
I, Paul, write this with my own hand. I will
4:30
repay it. to say nothing of your owing me as
4:34
even your own self. Yes, brother, I want some
4:37
benefit from you in the Lord. Refresh my heart
4:39
in Christ. Verse 21. Confident of your obedience,
4:43
I write to you, knowing that you will do even
4:46
more than I say. At the same time, prepare a
4:50
guest room for me, for I am hoping that through
4:51
your prayers I will be graciously given to you.
4:54
I paraphrase my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus,
4:57
sending greetings to you. And so do Mark. So
5:10
where do we want to pay attention to in Philemon,
5:13
right? Where we want to pay attention to is actually
5:17
the aspects, verse 4 to 6. It said, I thank God
5:22
always when I remember you in my prayers because
5:25
I hear of your love and of your faith. that you
5:30
have towards the Lord Jesus and for the saints.
5:34
Now, this is similar to Ephesians, right? If
5:36
you are very conversant with Ephesians 1, since
5:38
the head of your love and your faith towards
5:39
the saints, I do not cease to give thanks to
5:42
you, remembering in my prayers that the Father
5:44
of our Lord Jesus Christ, the God of our Lord
5:46
Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, right? That
5:48
is similar to this, right? That is Ephesians
5:51
1 from verse 16. So, it's talking about someone
5:57
who is in faith. right? Has faith towards the
6:01
Lord Jesus Christ, right? And love towards the
6:03
saints. Now, he's saying something immediately
6:08
after that. He said that, I pray that the sharing
6:12
of your faith may become effective. Can you give
6:16
me KJV? Don't use ESV, please. You can stay on
6:18
KJV. I would like to have the variant. Just give
6:20
me KJV. So that the communication of thy faith
6:22
may become effectual by acknowledging of every
6:27
good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus. So
6:31
first, there are people, I mean, Philemon is
6:33
someone who has faith, right? He's talking, he's
6:36
writing to someone, right? Paul is writing to
6:38
Philemon, right? So he's saying that you have
6:40
faith. You have faith in Christ. Your love towards
6:43
the saints is also something that I acknowledge.
6:47
But he not added something to it. He added that
6:51
the communication, it means the sharing. Right?
6:54
That word communication is the word, the sharing,
6:58
the partnership of the faiths of Philemon. Right?
7:03
So you can use that and write that, that that
7:06
word also means partnership. That word also means
7:10
partnership, it also means conversation of faiths.
7:16
The word communication is also meaning the walking
7:19
out of your faiths. So he acknowledges that Philemon
7:23
has faith. And he said that this faith, right?
7:29
If you're working of it out, it will take through
7:33
something for it to be effective. So he said
7:36
the communication of your faith may become effectual
7:38
by acknowledging every good thing that is in
7:41
your soul. He has faith, but he said Philemon's
7:44
faith will become more effective when he is able
7:49
to understand. acknowledging every good thing
7:53
that he has in Christ Jesus. So we can say that
7:59
a believer's faith, because we stopped on faith
8:03
as an identity of the believer in the last teaching,
8:06
right? We said the believers are called faithful,
8:09
right? Paul will write and we'll call some people
8:12
faithful servants, right? Fellow prisoners, faithful
8:15
believers. So the believers are faithful. Now,
8:19
that faith that we have can only become effective,
8:22
right? Or becomes more effective when we know
8:26
acknowledgement, all that is ours in Christ.
8:32
So the sharing of faith, your partnership, also
8:35
your partnership with each other, right? So we
8:37
partner with each other in faith. We partner
8:40
with each other in the kingdom of God, right?
8:43
We partner with each other. We work together
8:45
for the kingdom, in the kingdom. Now that will
8:49
become effective when all of us, putting it in
8:54
our context now, we know what is our own in Christ.
8:58
What belongs to the believer in Christ. So faith,
9:06
right, works according to the knowledge of the
9:10
believer. Faith works according to the knowledge
9:13
of the believer. Faith works according to the
9:19
knowledge of the believer. The believer receives
9:24
knowledge through the scriptures. Okay? Faith
9:29
works according to the knowledge of the believer
9:31
and the believer receives knowledge through the
9:34
scriptures. So, it therefore means It therefore
9:42
means that if a believer receives a word or receives
9:46
a script or picks a scripture and is not well
9:49
interpreted, the believer's faith will not be
9:52
effectual. Can we say that? That when a believer
9:57
is taught the scripture wrongly, he will not
10:01
be effective in his faith. Can we say that? Yes.
10:04
So the effectiveness therefore comes from accurately
10:09
teaching the scripture. The effectiveness of
10:14
your faith would come when the scripture is...
10:20
So acknowledging all that is yours in Christ
10:22
comes by teaching. It's not like you open and
10:26
you say, ah, I've seen this one, I convert it,
10:28
I receive it. What if what the scripture is saying
10:31
there is not for you to be converted? So it means
10:35
that you will not be effective. But when there's
10:36
a teacher that explains the scripture, then you
10:41
are able... To know what is yours in Christ.
10:45
Hallelujah. So that is what we have been doing
10:48
actually in this church from beginning of this
10:50
year. Because we want you to manifest the kingdom
10:53
of God. Hallelujah. We want you to manifest the
10:57
kingdom of God very well. So we are paying attention
11:00
as pastors to explain to you that this is who
11:03
you are. This is what you have. This is what
11:07
you can do. Or this is what you have to do. So
11:12
acknowledging every of the good things you have
11:15
in Christ comes by the accurate teaching of the
11:19
scripture. And that is why this teaching is coming
11:21
to say the believer's authority in Christ. Because
11:25
the believer has an authority in Christ. If you
11:30
don't know it, you would sit down, right? It's
11:33
not an excuse, right? For you, how can I put
11:37
it? You're not knowing it, right? would definitely
11:41
mean that you will not be different from someone
11:44
who does not have it. So if you have an authority,
11:47
you don't know that you have the authority, you
11:49
will not be different from the person who doesn't
11:50
have it. So it means that, let's say, you are
11:53
a prince. You are a prince of a particular kingdom
11:55
you never knew, right? And we find you in our
11:58
midst, right? Or we find you in the society.
12:02
We just treat you anyhow. Right? We don't give
12:06
you that. Whatever is accorded to that prince
12:08
of that kingdom, we probably would not even give
12:10
it to you. But the moment you know, we will not
12:13
just give it to you, you will begin to act. So
12:16
the prince of any kingdom does not just receive
12:19
honor from people. He acts out of honor and authority.
12:25
So that is how the believer should be. Not that
12:28
the devil will be scared of you. You too will
12:31
be scared of the devil. All principalities and
12:34
power acknowledge you as the child of God. Meanwhile,
12:38
you, you are running away from that principalities
12:41
and power. Means that you are not exercising
12:44
your authority. You are the son of God. You are
12:46
the child of God. You grow in God. And therefore,
12:52
as you grow in God, as you grow in God, right?
12:57
you are able to exercise authority. A believer
13:01
is not called to be passive. You must know that.
13:05
A believer is not called to be passive. I'm intentionally
13:07
explaining this so that when we go to scriptures,
13:09
you understand. A believer is not called to be
13:12
passive. Like, like, like, like, you know, people
13:17
can, I mean, kingdom of God can just reign around
13:20
you. No, you are supposed to be active. That
13:25
when you see things that are against the kingdom
13:27
of God, you are able to rebuke them and put them
13:32
under control. Hallelujah. So, you will become
13:38
effective in your faith, right? When we are able
13:41
to teach you to acknowledge the authority that
13:46
you have in Christ. And in that authority, it
13:50
is called for you to exercise it. You're supposed
13:53
to exercise it. Now, you can write this down.
13:58
When we look out, when we look out to the world,
14:01
we see faith in Christ and we see ourselves.
14:08
When we look into the world, right, we look out
14:11
to the world, we see faith in Christ and we see
14:14
ourselves in Christ. Right? So when we look to
14:19
Christ, we see faith in him and we see ourselves.
14:21
So we see Jesus exercising faith. And we see
14:26
ourselves doing the same. Hebrews 12 verse 1.
14:34
Hebrews 12 verse 1. Can you help me there? Hebrews
14:39
12 verse 1. It says, Verse 2. at the right hand
15:11
of the throne of God. Look at that word. He said,
15:14
no, stay. Looking unto Jesus, the author and
15:19
the finisher of our faith. What this simply means
15:23
is that the circumference of the faith of the
15:28
believer. I already said, the circumference of
15:30
Christian faith is Christ. The circumference
15:35
of Christian faith is Christ. Outside that is
15:39
sin. Unbelief. Right? So, what we say we do as
15:45
believers, the faith we have, the circumference
15:47
of it, is Christ. So, anything outside Christ
15:51
is sin. It's unbelief. So, it therefore means,
16:02
right? It therefore means that Christ, we can
16:08
say therefore that Christ gave us faith. We can
16:12
say Christ gave us faith and we receive that
16:15
faith. So we can say Christ gave us faith and
16:20
we receive that faith. Now, let me add something.
16:24
1 Corinthians 12 verse 9. 1 Corinthians 12 verse
16:27
9. Is it to another by the same spirits, to another
16:37
the gift of healing, by the same Spirit. Now,
16:40
to another by, sorry, to another faith by the
16:44
same Spirit, right, is not saying that some people
16:46
have a special faith. This is the same faith,
16:49
right, given expression as a manifestation of
16:52
the things of the Spirit. So, we have already
16:54
been told that all that is found here in 1 Corinthians
16:58
12 is found in the believer. Do we agree on that?
17:03
So, this faith can also be expressed by what?
17:07
The believer. Because this faith is also found
17:11
in the circumference of Christ. Do we get it?
17:17
The gift of faith is also found in the circumference
17:20
of Christ. Therefore, it's not like someone else
17:24
would give expression to this faith and you as
17:28
a believer cannot. Every believer can give expression
17:31
to the gift. of faith, just like we can give
17:34
expressions of speaking in tongues, prophesying,
17:36
healing, and all of that. So every believer has
17:39
a spirit of faith in them. Every believer has
17:42
the spirit of Christ. Now, what about unbelievers?
17:47
There's something we should consider today. What
17:51
about people who have not believed, right? How
17:54
about people who have not believed? What we do
17:57
when we go for evangelism, right, for those who
17:59
go for evangelism, let me tell you what you're
18:01
doing. what you are doing is not to call out
18:05
faith from the person. So when I come to you
18:09
and I preach to you and I said, I preach the
18:12
death, the resurrection, the burial and the resurrection
18:14
of Christ to you, the death, burial and resurrection,
18:16
Jesus died and rose again for your sins and he
18:20
rose that he might give you eternal life, right?
18:24
I'm not telling the person, I'm not trying to...
18:28
Call faith out from the person. Because for an
18:31
unbeliever, there is no faith inside. Are you
18:33
getting it? So you are not calling faith out.
18:36
What you are doing is that you are giving them
18:38
faith. That's what we do when we go to preach.
18:41
The message is the faith, right? You give them
18:43
faith. That is why if you go to Acts chapter
18:45
2. Let's go to Acts chapter 2. Let me show you.
18:48
That after the gospel has been preached, some
18:50
people still ask, what shall we do, right? To
18:53
be saved. Because from them does not come belief.
18:58
So you have to say that believe this message.
19:02
You have offered that person faith. I give you
19:04
faith by telling you to believe the message.
19:09
Acts chapter 2. Acts chapter 2 from verse 36.
19:19
It says, let all the house of Israel therefore
19:23
know. for certain that God has made him both
19:26
Lord and Christ, this Jesus, whom he was crucified.
19:31
Now, when they heard this, they were caught in
19:33
their hearts. Do you see what happened to them?
19:35
They were caught in their hearts. They were caught
19:38
in their hearts, but that's not faith yet. Now
19:40
let's see. They were caught to their hearts and
19:44
said to Peter and to the rest of the apostles,
19:45
brothers, what shall we do? Did you see that
19:49
question? They heard the message. So you cannot
19:54
preach to somebody and say, I've preached the
19:56
prayer and resurrection of Jesus to you. You
19:57
have heard it, you have heard it. You will tell
19:59
the person, believe it. That is offering the
20:03
person faith. I'll show you from scriptures.
20:08
So you don't just tell the person you have faith.
20:09
It's not enough to preach it. You must offer
20:12
it. What should I do? Believe this thing that
20:15
I've told you and you will be saved. So what
20:19
did he tell them? He said, Repent and be baptized,
20:22
right? Every one of you in the name of Jesus
20:24
Christ for the forgiveness of your sins and you
20:27
will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. So
20:31
he's telling them to believe. Believe this message
20:33
that we have presented unto you and you will
20:36
be saved. So when we go for evangelism, two things
20:40
we do. We explain all Christ has done. Good.
20:43
Second, we tell them to believe it. Because out
20:46
from within an unbeliever cannot come faith,
20:49
except a believer tells the person, believe this
20:53
message of God. And when they believe, when they
20:55
say, I believe, it means they receive that faith.
20:58
So when an unbeliever believes, it means that
21:00
they have received the faith you offered to them.
21:02
They have received the faith. But when they reject,
21:05
because they can reject the message, they can
21:07
reject what you offer to them, then when they
21:09
reject the gospel, then they stay in unbelief.
21:14
Hallelujah. So therefore, one of the ways, right,
21:21
coming back to the believer now, I just said
21:24
that so that it will help us when we go to teach
21:26
and we'll go to preach. Now, one of the ways
21:29
a believer gives expression, right, to faith,
21:35
right, one of the ways the believer gives expression
21:38
to faith, one of the ways the believer walks
21:41
out his faith is to exercise authority. One of
21:47
the ways by which the believers express this
21:50
faith, manifest this faith, is to exercise authority.
21:56
So we're going to check this word authority.
22:00
We're going to see how authority actually manifests
22:02
in the scriptures or how authority has been explained.
22:06
Because we read from that song, it says that
22:09
there are kings, there are kingdoms, there are
22:11
thrones. And the reality is they exist. There
22:15
are thrones and there are kingdoms. There's a
22:17
kingdom of darkness. The scriptures say, you
22:20
have translated us from the kingdom of darkness
22:22
into the kingdom of your beloved son, the kingdom
22:27
of lights. So there are kingdoms. It also means
22:31
that the devil also has an authority. That's
22:35
what it means. He has an authority. So we need
22:38
to learn what authority is. We need to learn
22:41
what dominion is. So that we can dissociate authority
22:44
of the Father, authority of Christ, from the
22:47
authority of the King of Darkness. And you can
22:50
know, as a believer, what you should exercise.
22:55
Okay? So we can know as a believer what we should
22:58
do. What we should do? Exercise. Right? Exercise.
23:05
Now let's go to Genesis 1. Of course, you should
23:08
know that when we are teaching, paying attention
23:10
to this kind of a thing. this kind of a teaching,
23:13
we will go to Genesis. Genesis 1, verse 18, 26,
23:20
and so 28. And to rule over the day and over
23:25
the night and to divide the light from darkness
23:29
and God saw that it was good. Go to 26. And God
23:34
said, let us make man in our own image and likeness
23:36
and let him have dominion over the fish of the
23:40
sea. and over the fire of the air and over the
23:43
cattle and over all the herds and over every
23:46
creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
23:50
Right? Over every creeping thing that does what?
23:52
Creepeth upon the earth. Next one. And God blessed.
23:59
And so God created man in his own image and in
24:02
the image of God created him. Male and female
24:05
he created he them. Verse 28. And God blessed
24:08
them and said, Be fruitful. Now the word dominion
24:25
here is actually the word radar. So write it
24:28
down. The word dominion here is radar. It's actually
24:31
the first exercise or the first expression of
24:37
authority. So the word here is rather R -A -D
24:42
-A. R -A -D -A. So it means to have authority
24:51
over something, actually. That's what it means.
24:53
It means to have authority, to have a reign over
24:56
something, to have rulership over something,
25:00
to exercise dominion over something. It's the
25:07
same word that was found in that to rule over
25:09
the day, to rule over the night, means to have
25:12
dominion, right? Genesis 1 verse 18, to have
25:15
dominion over the night. We see that. So what
25:21
is happening in Genesis 28? What is happening
25:24
in Genesis 28? What is happening there is that
25:28
God's intention, right? God's intention is that
25:35
after... man is made. Okay, I cannot say after
25:39
man. That would not be correct. Let me correct
25:42
it. As man is being made in the image of God,
25:46
he has authority. Because it's not like after
25:50
you say then you now get. It comes with it. It
25:53
tells us that salvation right? Comes with authority.
26:02
Salvation comes with authority. Please stay on
26:04
that scripture. Take it back. Verse 27 had explained
26:10
that God will make man in his own image. This
26:12
is God's intention, right? This is God's desire.
26:15
And 28 says that as man is made in the image
26:20
of God, man would have what? Dominion. Man would
26:25
have authority. Man would have radar. Genesis
26:31
4 verse 1. Genesis 4 verse 1 to 7. Genesis 4
26:36
verse 1 to 7. And Adam knew his wife, and she
26:41
conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten
26:44
a man from the Lord. And she again bare his brother
26:49
Abel. And Abel was a keeper of the sheep, but
26:52
Cain was what? A healer of the ground. And in
26:55
the process of time, it came to pass that Cain
26:59
brought of the fruit of the ground, and offering
27:01
unto the Lord. And Abel also brought of the firstlings
27:05
of his flock, and of the fats thereof. had respect
27:09
unto Abel and unto his offering. But unto Cain
27:14
and to his offering, he had not respect. And
27:17
Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.
27:20
And the Lord said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth?
27:23
Why is thy countenance fallen? If thou doest
27:28
well, shalt thou not be accepted. And if thou
27:31
doest not well, sin lies at the door. And unto
27:36
thee... Now, in the context of this, again, is
27:53
the context of a man, right? It's the context
27:59
of a man. A man that has refused to believe.
28:03
Now, we can't go into, I think we've taught this
28:06
before in church about what happened between
28:08
Abel and Cain. And we said the difference between
28:11
them is not the offering of those things, it's
28:14
the faith. Okay? The difference between Cain
28:18
and Abel is not the offering of the first things
28:21
or the fruits of that, but it's faith. You can
28:24
see that in the New Testament. So, what was taking
28:27
place here is that Cain did not have faith. Right?
28:32
He did not have faith. And because he saw the
28:35
outcome of the faith of Abel, he was angry. So
28:43
he was still without faith. So Cain saw the outcome
28:46
of another man's faith and he was angry. So what
28:52
did God say? Even in the anger, God said, Sin
28:56
is at your door. If you had done good, if you
28:58
had believed, sin is at your, you wouldn't be
29:00
in this countenance. But sin is at your door.
29:04
And God's desire is that Cain would do what?
29:10
Would overcome by believing. That word rule over,
29:14
right, is the word mashal. It's almost the same
29:18
thing as that word radar. It's almost the same
29:20
thing. It's just that radar had an additional
29:22
meaning. Right? There are some other explanations
29:25
for it. But both of them mean to have dominion,
29:27
to rule over, to exercise. In fact, in this context,
29:31
it says Christ to have dominion. So God's expectation
29:37
in the case of Cain is not that Cain will be
29:40
lost. It's that Cain, right, would have dominion
29:45
over sin. Right? So again, we see that God's
29:51
deliverance of Cain, Right? Comes with dominion
29:56
over sin. It comes with dominion over unbelief.
30:05
So we see that that word is mashal. I think M
30:07
-A -S -A -L. Right? M -A -S -A -L. And the other
30:11
one is rada. Now from these two contexts, we
30:14
are going to check more. Right? From these two
30:16
contexts, we would realize that God's intention
30:19
for man. And God's authority for man is in the
30:26
context of the gospel. It's in the context of
30:31
salvation. God's authority for man, God's desire
30:37
that man should exercise authority is in the
30:41
context of salvation, is in the context of his
30:44
deliverance, is in the context of what he wants
30:47
to do. Do we get it? So for Adam is that believe,
30:54
you will be made in my image and you will have
30:56
authority. For Cain is that if you will do good,
31:01
if you will believe, that's the good. So if you
31:04
will do good, to do good is actually to believe
31:07
the message, right? To do good, your countenance
31:09
will not be like that. But sin is crushing, but
31:11
you would have dominion over it. So we observe
31:14
that in these two contexts, what we see is that
31:17
God's desire for us. Or for a human to exercise
31:21
authority is within the circumference, again,
31:25
of the gospel, is within the circumference of
31:28
salvation. So it means that any authority that
31:32
is outside that will be seen, will be unbelief.
31:39
Any authority outside that will be seen and will
31:43
be unbelief. Now let me show you another scripture
31:51
where God used a nation to communicate this same
31:56
thing. Right? So let's go to Deuteronomy 15 verse
32:01
6. Deuteronomy 15 verse 6. but thou shalt not
32:19
borrow, and thou shalt reign over many nations,
32:22
but they shall not reign over thee. The same
32:26
word, mashallah radah, appearing there, that
32:29
Israel as a nation, what would they do? They
32:32
would reign over many nations. Now, if you check
32:37
history, and in the settlement of Israel as a
32:42
nation, they have never governed other nations.
32:46
They have always, have issues with other nations
32:49
around them. They have never been able to bring
32:52
them, he's not talking about Israel's leadership
32:54
here, that Israel will now, okay, he's not talking
32:58
about Israel, like the king of Israel, being
33:01
the king of the Moabites. No, that's not what
33:03
he's talking about here. So what is Israel's
33:07
reign over all nations? Who are the all nations?
33:10
Now, when they say Israel and other nations,
33:13
the word other nations refers to the ungodly.
33:16
Okay? It refers to the ungodly. It refers to
33:20
nations that don't know God. Right? It refers
33:23
to nations that don't believe the message of
33:26
God. So what he's saying here is that the activities
33:30
of those countries, okay, I'll come back to it.
33:34
The activities of those countries, Israel will
33:37
renovate. And those countries will not reign
33:41
over Israel to mean that to bring Israel to serving
33:45
their own God. So Israel will have dominion over
33:48
their unbelief, over the activities, over their
33:51
idolatry, over their adultery, over all the things
33:55
they commit. So Israel will have dominion over
33:58
that. Israel will rule. It means they will have
34:00
a power, right? To bring forth, to bring down
34:04
the kingdom, to establish the kingdom of God
34:06
over... the activities of those countries. Do
34:09
we get it? Do you remember there was a tribe,
34:12
actually, that lied to Israel? I don't know if
34:15
you're doing the canonicals. And they began to
34:17
live with them, right? That is a country. What
34:20
did they do? They gave them rules on how they
34:22
should live in Israel, right? And they cannot
34:26
do anything outside Israel. That is containing
34:28
the activity of that tribe. So, it therefore
34:33
means that to rule over would also mean... That
34:35
to have dominion over ungodliness, to have dominion
34:40
over darkness, to have dominion over sin, over
34:46
everything that is outside Christ. So he's not
34:51
saying that Israel will produce a governor for
34:53
all the countries in the world. He's not saying
34:56
that Israel will be a world power. No, he's not
34:59
saying that Israel is saying that what those
35:03
nations do. Right? You have the capacity to bring
35:07
down the activities of darkness. So again, in
35:12
the context of salvation, in the context of delivering
35:15
a particular nation. All right, so we've seen
35:22
these two contexts. Now, there are other contexts
35:28
where the word dominion is used. There are other
35:31
contexts in which the word dominion is used.
35:37
2 Samuel, if you can just write down, 2 Samuel
35:41
23, verse 3. 2 Samuel 23, verse 3. In this context,
35:48
it is used for leadership, right? So, see, the
35:52
God of Israel said, the rock of Israel speak
35:55
to me that he that ruleth over men, must be just,
36:01
right? Ruling in the fear of God. So here, it's
36:05
talking about someone's leadership, right? Practical
36:08
leadership within Israel. Practical leadership
36:11
within Israel. So the word is used in the context
36:13
of practical leadership here, in the context
36:16
that we see it. Leviticus 25, verse 43. Leviticus
36:22
25, verse 43. These are other contexts where
36:25
the word Radha or Mashal is used. Thou shalt
36:28
not rule over him with rigor, but shalt fear
36:32
thy God, right? Shalt not rule over him with
36:37
rigor, but thou shalt fear him. So it's talking
36:39
about practical leadership here in this Leviticus,
36:42
right? Of course, it's related to the believers
36:44
as well, but it's talking to Israel about their
36:46
servants, about the people that are within their
36:48
house, that you will not rule over them with
36:51
force. So we see leadership here. Now let's check
36:54
one more scripture. One more scripture now. Genesis
37:02
37 verse 8. So first we have seen dominion in
37:06
the context of the gospel, in the context of
37:08
salvation, in the context of having dominion
37:11
over all that is outside Christ. Now, let's go
37:14
to Genesis 37 verse 8. And his brother said to
37:19
him, Shall thou reign over us? Or shall thou
37:24
indeed have dominion over us? And they hated
37:29
him yet the more for his dreams and for his words.
37:34
Now go to Genesis 50 verse 19. Genesis 50 verse
37:39
19. And Joseph said unto them, Fear not, for
37:43
I am in the place of God. Next. But as for you,
37:48
you taught evil against me, but God meant it
37:51
unto good, to bring to pass as it is at its ease
37:55
this day, to save much people. Now, what we see
38:00
here in the context of Moses, sorry, in the context
38:03
of Joseph, is that Joseph, Joseph's brother,
38:07
we're expecting, right, that Joseph would rule
38:12
over them with rigor, okay? So you've seen in
38:16
Leviticus that says don't rule over people with
38:18
rigor, right? We've also seen that he that rulets,
38:21
rulets with the fear of God, leadership. Now,
38:26
in the context of Joseph, something popped up.
38:30
Two things popped up. Both salvation and leadership
38:34
popped up. So the brothers of Joseph, they took
38:37
him and they said, they sought him out and the
38:41
whole story cut short. They were found in Egypt.
38:43
And Joseph became a picture of a savior to them.
38:48
Okay? So because they became a picture of a savior
38:51
to them, and Jacob, their father, now died, they
38:55
assumed that now that Jacob is dead, this young
39:00
man called Joseph will rule over us, would dominate
39:03
us, would oppress us. But look at Joseph and
39:05
Isaiah in 50. He said, you taught it for evil,
39:08
but God taught it for good, to bring to pass,
39:12
as it is this day, to save much people alive.
39:18
To save much people what? alive. So while some
39:21
people think that, oh, what they did will result
39:24
to domination over each other, Joseph is saying
39:28
that it is unto salvation. It is unto what? It
39:34
is unto salvation that people will be saved.
39:38
So we see it also in the context because Joseph
39:41
was actually the governor of Egypt in this place
39:44
at this time, and now he had gained so much influence.
39:49
Now let's go to Judges 8, 22 to 23. I'm going
39:54
to pick up everything together and explain something.
39:59
Judges 8, verse 22 to 23. Next. And Gideon said
40:19
unto them, I will not rule over you, neither
40:21
shall my son rule over you. The Lord shall do
40:24
what? Rule over you. We see the word rule as
40:30
a picture here. It's expressed as submission
40:33
to God. Right? Dominion here is used as submission
40:40
to God. As submission to what? To God. Now let
40:47
me quickly... and just pick up three things.
40:50
First, we have seen that when it comes to the
40:53
dominion, when it comes to authority, it is in
40:58
the context of salvation. Have we seen that?
41:01
We have seen it in the context of salvation.
41:03
We have seen it also in the context of leadership
41:08
over other nations. We have seen it also in the
41:12
context of domination over the activities of
41:16
the ungodly. And now we are seeing it as used
41:22
in context towards God as the leadership of God
41:28
over a people. So as believers, how from using
41:35
the Old Testament context now, how should we
41:38
exercise authority? I need to quickly mention
41:43
this to say that God has not given the believer
41:47
to exercise authority, to exercise dominion,
41:50
let me put it that way, over another believer.
41:54
I'm going to show us the scripture, right? So
41:56
God has not given, the authority that we exercise
41:58
is not authority over another believer. It's
42:05
not an authority. So you say, I have authority
42:07
over you in the context, no, it's not, it doesn't
42:10
work like that. Can you help me with these scriptures?
42:18
Leviticus 25, 43. Have you read it? Go to, let's
42:22
see. Go to Deuteronomy, Deuteronomy 5, 15, verse
42:27
7 to 11. Deuteronomy 15, verse 7, right? thy
42:48
hand from the poor brother. Next. But thou shalt
42:53
open thy hand wide and thou shalt surely lend
42:55
him sufficiently for his need in that which he
42:58
wanted. Beware that there be not a thought in
43:01
thy wickedness saying the seventh year and the
43:04
year of release is at hand and thy eye be evil
43:07
against thy poor brother. Thou shalt give it
43:09
him not and he cry unto the Lord against thee
43:12
he shall be a sin unto thee. And thou shalt surely
43:15
give him, and thy heart shall not be grieved.
43:18
And when thou givest unto him, because that for
43:23
this thing the Lord thy God shall bless thee
43:27
in all thy works, and in all that thou puttest
43:31
thy hand unto. For the poor shall never cease
43:34
out of the land. Therefore I command thee, saying,
43:37
Thou shalt open thy hand wide unto thy brother,
43:40
to thy poor, and to thy needy, and to thy land.
43:44
The next. And if I brought up an Hebrew, okay,
43:47
verse 11. All right, stay in verse 11. Now, if
43:54
you read Deuteronomy 15, the reason why God is
43:59
saying this, right, is that the Israel would
44:03
not oppress each other. That the people of Israel
44:06
will not be oppressors. of their own brother.
44:10
And you can see what Gideon says. Gideon says,
44:12
I will not rule over you, but God will rule over
44:16
you, right? It means that God will be the one
44:19
you will submit to. Deuteronomy, still in Deuteronomy
44:24
15. I'm actually looking for a particular scripture
44:30
and I'm sure time is almost up, but I'll share
44:33
it subsequently. The scripture says that no man,
44:36
like none of you, would have dominion over another.
44:40
Right? None of the Israel will have dominion.
44:43
That's why Gideon is saying, I'm not going to
44:45
have dominion over you. Even when Israel choose
44:47
a king to have dominion over them, there was
44:50
a warning that this king might oppress Israel.
44:54
And therefore God began to say, any king that
44:57
will rule in Israel must rule in the fear of
45:00
God. So it therefore means that to bring all
45:03
this together, that the only... Areas, right?
45:07
The areas where believer can exercise authority
45:10
over, authority over, are things outside Christ,
45:16
not on another believer. Okay? Not on another
45:20
believer. A believer can exercise authority upon
45:24
ungodliness, kingdom of darkness, ungodly nations,
45:29
and this is on the activities of these nations,
45:34
as we see. in the case of Israel. A believer
45:39
will have dominion over the powers of darkness.
45:44
A believer will have dominion over the activities
45:47
of the kingdom of darkness. A believer will have
45:54
authority found in the context of the gospel
45:57
over the kingdom of darkness, and not over another
46:02
believer. So you can't say you are casting and
46:05
binding your brother. Okay? So we can't say you
46:08
are casting and binding a believer. So a believer
46:11
is, okay, you want to cast. No, you cast what
46:14
you cast. The activities is actually, what you
46:17
have dominion over is these activities, these
46:19
principalities, this kingdom of darkness. If
46:24
you also observe, when Paul was preaching and
46:27
the lady that was possessed was actually, trying
46:30
to prophesy and making a disturbance. It was
46:33
not even, he cut out the activity of darkness
46:38
that was in that place. So the goal, right, the
46:41
goal of the believer, right, is to exercise authority
46:46
and dominion over the things that are found outside
46:50
the conferences of Christ. So as believers, we
46:58
must always set our hearts to be active, to exercise
47:01
this authority. So we can exercise authority
47:04
in dark places. We can exercise authority over
47:09
unbelief, over idolatry, over ungodliness. Now
47:17
the question becomes, are there other authorities?
47:19
Are there people that exercise authority outside
47:23
this? And do we actually? In quotes, working
47:27
for God. Right? In quotes, right? Working for
47:32
God in the name of a prophet. Yes. Yes, there
47:37
are authorities that we exercise outside the
47:40
circumferences of Christ. That is why I'm trying
47:45
to establish for us to know that the authority
47:48
that the believer should exercise. when it comes
47:52
to Christ, is the authority within the circumference
47:55
of Christ, within the circumference of what Christ
47:58
has done, and over all that is not found in Christ,
48:02
over all that is not found in Christ. But not
48:06
on another believer, right? Not, you know, exercising
48:09
authority on another believer. Not exercising
48:13
authority on things that are outside of. Not
48:16
exercising authority, right? Exercising authority
48:19
over things that are outside Christ. So it therefore
48:27
means that what God was offering to Adam, right,
48:31
was salvation and authority and a reign. Salvation
48:36
and authority and a reign. And that has also
48:40
been offered to you. It has been offered to me
48:43
since we came into faith. Now that we are in
48:48
faith, we have authority. Now let's go to 1 Kings.
48:56
Let's go to 1 Kings. I'm just going to use 1
49:01
Kings. 1 Kings chapter 17. 1 Kings chapter 17.
49:15
Now, most of the time, right, when we are taught
49:19
about authority, right, people quickly say, What
49:24
about, you know, people talk about Elijah, people
49:27
talk about Elisha, and the kind of authority
49:30
that they exercise. Now go to 1 Kings chapter
49:34
17. Let's read. nor rain this year, except by
49:54
thy words. And the word of the Lord came to him,
49:56
right? Except by my word, rather, by my word.
50:00
And the word of the Lord came to him, saying,
50:02
The path from here, turn eastward, and hide thyself
50:06
by the brook Cherit, which is in the east of
50:08
Jordan. You shall drink from the brook, and I
50:12
have commanded that ravings to feed you. So he
50:17
went and did according to the word of the Lord.
50:20
He went. and live by the brook of Jared that
50:24
is in the east of Jordan. Now two things you
50:26
observe here, that there's an authority, right?
50:31
There's an authority that the man of God says,
50:35
by my word, do we get it? By my word, there shall
50:40
be no earth, no rain. So it means that the man
50:44
of God is exercising an authority by my word.
50:49
The next verse, what did you see? You see the
50:52
word of the Lord. Did you see the word of the
50:54
Lord? Right? So something was spoken by the man
50:58
of God. And there were also instructions that
51:01
came from the word of God. Did you see those
51:03
two things? So it therefore means that the man
51:09
of God exercises authority. The man of God does
51:16
what? Exercises what? Now, if you read from verse
51:22
8 to verse 16, and you read from verse 17 to
51:28
verse 24, you will see that the man of God exercised
51:34
authority to bring back a child to life, to make
51:39
a divine provision to take place. You will see
51:42
that. And you will see that that is salvation.
51:47
That's just a picture of God's deliverance. It
51:49
was an instruction. So the man of God exercises
51:55
by the word of his mouth, he exercised deliverance
51:59
in the context of the widow. Now, if you go to
52:04
chapter 18, chapter 18, let's go to chapter 18,
52:09
verse 36. I'll stop here. Verse 36 to 40. And
52:16
at the time of the offering of the oblation,
52:18
Elijah the prophet came near and said, O Lord
52:21
God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be
52:26
known this day that you are God in Israel and
52:29
that I am your servant and I have done all these
52:32
things at your word. Answer me, O Lord, answer
52:35
me, that these people may know that you are God,
52:38
you, O Lord, are God, and that you have turned
52:41
their hearts back. Then the fire of the Lord...
52:44
fell and consumed the bond of rain and the wood
52:48
and the stones and the dust and licked up the
52:52
water that was in the trench. And when all the
52:56
people saw it, they fell on their face and said,
52:58
the Lord, he is God and God, he is, right? The
53:04
God is. Now, two things you observe here. Elijah
53:07
quoted something. The God of Abraham, the God
53:10
of Isaac. and the God of Israel. Now, this is
53:14
a picture of explaining God's promise. The thing
53:18
that connects Abraham, Isaac, and Israel is the
53:22
deliverance promise of God. What God will do,
53:25
right? What God will do is the same thing that
53:28
God provided and presented in Genesis chapter
53:32
1. Let us make man in our image. That is God's
53:36
promise. Right? Good promise to make people in
53:39
his image. Now, you see that he quoted that.
53:42
It's the God of promise that keep his promise.
53:44
He said, let it be known this day that you are
53:47
God and that you have turned their hearts back
53:51
to him. Now, you will see that the prayer was
53:55
answered and what you see, right, is fire coming
53:58
now. But look at verse, look at verse 40. Look
54:03
at verse 40. And Elijah said to them, seize the
54:08
prophets of Baal. Let not one of them escape.
54:12
And they seized them, and Elijah brought them
54:15
down to the brook Kishon. And what did he do
54:19
there? What did he do there? Was that an instruction
54:23
from the voice of the Lord? Was that an instruction
54:27
from the voice of the Lord? So he used his authority
54:31
in that point, right? So, it therefore means
54:36
that we can find some actions, right, that are
54:41
outside the circumference of Christ in the actions
54:46
of the prophets, in the exercising of the prophets
54:49
of the Old Testament. We can find actions, we
54:55
can find statements that are outside the context
54:58
of the authority of the gospel. in the prophets
55:02
of the Old Testament. We can do that. When you
55:06
read through, much more when you read through,
55:07
you'll find the prophets say, if I be a man of
55:11
God, such statements are, you know, are within
55:16
what? The authority of the man of God, right?
55:20
Within the deliverance plan of God, are we hearing?
55:24
Within the deliverance plan of God, we won't
55:29
find such a thing. Okay? So, authority of the
55:34
believer is exercised within the context of the
55:36
gospel, is exercised within the context of salvation,
55:40
is exercised within the context of God's deliverance.
55:43
So, if you tell someone and you say, because
55:47
I'm a child of God, if I curse you, you're outside
55:49
Christ already. You're already doing something
55:51
outside the circumference of Christ. Say, ah,
55:54
we just came down from three days fast. If I
55:57
curse you to... See, you are doing things that
56:01
are outside the authority that is given to you.
56:04
So you are acting on your own authority. Okay?
56:07
You are acting. You cannot say, if I curse someone.
56:10
No. Because, ah, I've read scriptures. I'm just
56:13
coming out from the mountain. If you want to
56:16
curse somebody, you are on your own. So the believer
56:20
only exercises the authority that is found within
56:24
the circumference of the message, the promise,
56:26
the salvation of God. Right? That is where our
56:30
authority is. Every other place is out of bound.
56:35
Hallelujah. So therefore, we can exercise authority
56:38
over the kingdom of darkness, over principalities
56:41
and power. Right? Because this is giving to us
56:44
our salvation. Can we give thanks? Thank you
56:49
for listening to today's sermon. Your journey
56:52
matters to us. Let's keep walking together. Visit
56:56
our website for more resources and follow us
56:59
on social media to stay updated. Feel free to
57:03
check the show notes for additional insights.
57:06
If today's message was a blessing, share it with
57:09
a friend. Till next time, be blessed.