We are back again for part two of the series on prayer. I hope you are enjoying this series. Let's dig in. The last time we talked about Keys. Today we will talk about Dominion "Let Them"
I want to start with this statement. The bible is not about religion. It is simply about a King (God revealed in Christ on Earth), a Kingdom (a government and a country called heaven), and a Royal Family( his offspring - us). In a nut shell, it about God's intention to extend his heavenly Kingdom here on earth. Genesis 1:26 "says let them have dominion." We all know this was messed up by Adam, but God sent Jesus to give this dominion (kingdom or governing authority) back to us. This truth is found in Matthew 4:17 "repent for the kingdom of God is at hand." This was Jesus' main sermon. With that being said, lets talk about prayer.
Without God man can not and without man God will not. In Genesis 1:26 God said " 26 "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, a]">and over all the creatures that move along the ground." This is God's mission and vision statement for man. The word man is plural and refers to the spirit being. The word image means nature or character. We are spirit beings because God is and we have God's characteristics because we are made in his image. No other creature on earth has God image. The word likeness means to function like God. God functions by a substance called faith. God speaks and things happen. In the kingdom of God you have to believe before you see. Habakkuk 2:4 says "the just shall live by faith."
The best way to understand God and what he says is to know what he did not say. He did not say let us have dominion. He took his self out and said "Let them have dominion." He separated himself from that statement. Ask yourself this question; If God is sovereign (can do whatever he wants without being affected by humanity) why pray? Ok... you thought about it? Here are some answers: God is only as sovereign as his word (he is only sovereign until he speaks), HE chose to limit himself to his word, he will never violate his word, his holiness protects his integrity, and when he speaks his word becomes law. This is the heart of prayer.
"Let them" is a law that was established. He will not violate that law. Psalm 138:2 says "I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy loving kindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name." The word name means "to be." When Moses asked God what his name was he said "I AM" (whatever you need him to be.)
God gave each one of us the ability to control what happens here in the earth. He is always willing and available to operate through us. We can not blame HIM when we choose to do things our way. All he needs is access to the earth through us. Therefore, any spirit on earth without a physical body or cooperating with a physical body is illegal. That's why demons and angels are illegal on earth without permission. God saw Eve when she was being tempted, but he could not intervene because he did not have a body and satan knew that. (Side bar: Maybe God is not moving in your situation because you have not given him permission to.) HE made a promise to the devil in Genesis 3:15 and we'll go there tomorrow.
Know that you have dominion and you don't have to take anything the enemy gives you. The power is in your spirit man not your flesh. Can't wait for part three tomorrow.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Prayer (Everyone Does It... Few Are Sure It Works) Part 1: Keys
Part 1: Keys
Prayer is universal. Every human being has a natural inclination to address a deity. Even the atheist when he mashes his finger prays to someone. Every religion does it. Yet very few people believe it works. The sad thing is that it is the smallest meeting in every church. Why? As human beings we are inclined to resist things that don't work. People have tried prayer and feel that it doesn't work so they avoid it at all cost. People don't attend prayer meeting. That's why we relegate it to a few old church mothers. However, there is no ministry in the bible called intercession. The bible says that all men should pray.
If we all would be honest, we prayed for years and did not see results. I believe the reason why is because we don't know the keys and principles to prayer. Jesus said in Matthew 16:19 "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." Okay... what are keys? Keys are principles. Keys give you authority, access, power, and control over something. If I give you the keys to my car you have access to it at any time. The principle of prayer gives you access to heaven so we can control and impact what happens here in the earth.
Have you ever asked these question: "Does God hear me?" "Why does it seem like my prayers are hitting the sealing and bouncing back at me?" " Is God mad at me?" "Why is prayer so boring and fruitless for me?" Most of the time we pray and wonder if it is even making sense, but because of the pressure of doing it we do it as a ritual without expecting any results.
He said I will give you the keys to heaven. Heaven is a place. In Matthew 18:19 he says "Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. 20For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them."These are powerful statements. These are prayer keys. Jesus came to bring a kingdom to earth. Not a religion. We have developed a religion that is not compatible with the kingdom. Thats why he said keys of the kingdom and not to the kingdom. There are many keys of the kingdom. We have been using the wrong key to unlock things in our life through prayer. Prayer is giving God permission to impact your life. In order to get the right results in prayer you have to use the right key.
Note: Prayer is not automatic. Just because you can talk does not mean you can pray. Jesus told the pharisees " you think you will be heard because of your much speaking." In other words long drawn out prayers does not guarantee that the lord will answer you. So that tears the thoery down that prayer is just talking to God. Let me prove it. In Luke 11:1 Jesus went to pray and when he finished the disciples asked him to teach them to pray. When they ask him Jesus did not say "just talk." He gave them a pattern to go by. He taught them for three chapters on prayer. Prayer has to be learned.
See you tomorrow for part 2
Prayer is universal. Every human being has a natural inclination to address a deity. Even the atheist when he mashes his finger prays to someone. Every religion does it. Yet very few people believe it works. The sad thing is that it is the smallest meeting in every church. Why? As human beings we are inclined to resist things that don't work. People have tried prayer and feel that it doesn't work so they avoid it at all cost. People don't attend prayer meeting. That's why we relegate it to a few old church mothers. However, there is no ministry in the bible called intercession. The bible says that all men should pray.
If we all would be honest, we prayed for years and did not see results. I believe the reason why is because we don't know the keys and principles to prayer. Jesus said in Matthew 16:19 "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." Okay... what are keys? Keys are principles. Keys give you authority, access, power, and control over something. If I give you the keys to my car you have access to it at any time. The principle of prayer gives you access to heaven so we can control and impact what happens here in the earth.
Have you ever asked these question: "Does God hear me?" "Why does it seem like my prayers are hitting the sealing and bouncing back at me?" " Is God mad at me?" "Why is prayer so boring and fruitless for me?" Most of the time we pray and wonder if it is even making sense, but because of the pressure of doing it we do it as a ritual without expecting any results.
He said I will give you the keys to heaven. Heaven is a place. In Matthew 18:19 he says "Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. 20For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them."These are powerful statements. These are prayer keys. Jesus came to bring a kingdom to earth. Not a religion. We have developed a religion that is not compatible with the kingdom. Thats why he said keys of the kingdom and not to the kingdom. There are many keys of the kingdom. We have been using the wrong key to unlock things in our life through prayer. Prayer is giving God permission to impact your life. In order to get the right results in prayer you have to use the right key.
Note: Prayer is not automatic. Just because you can talk does not mean you can pray. Jesus told the pharisees " you think you will be heard because of your much speaking." In other words long drawn out prayers does not guarantee that the lord will answer you. So that tears the thoery down that prayer is just talking to God. Let me prove it. In Luke 11:1 Jesus went to pray and when he finished the disciples asked him to teach them to pray. When they ask him Jesus did not say "just talk." He gave them a pattern to go by. He taught them for three chapters on prayer. Prayer has to be learned.
See you tomorrow for part 2
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)