Nature of our spiritual warfare (continued)

 

Unfortunately, with the exception of Jesus Christ, no other man has fulfilled God's plan. He alone exercised His dominion and authority over the earth. Here are a few examples of how Jesus Christ demonstrated His power and authority over the earth.

On one occasion He was in a boat sleeping, and without warning, a furious storm came upon the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat; so the men were amazed and asked, "What kind of man is this? Even the wind and the waves obey Him!" (Matthew 8:23-27).

Early one morning, Jesus was hungry. Seeing a fig tree by the road, He went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then He said to it, "May you never bear fruit again!" Immediately the tree withered (Matthew 21:18-19). disciples went and woke Him up saying, "Lord save us! We are going to drown!" Jesus replied, "You of little faith, why are you so afraid? Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm. The

On another occasion, Jesus was confronted with the question of paying temple taxes. Although as the Son of God, He was not required to pay taxes, nevertheless to avoid offending them He asked His disciples to, " Go to the sea and cast a hook, and take the first fish they catch; open its mouth and you will find a shekel. Take it and give it to them for My tax and yours" (Matthew 17:27).

We know also of the incident where the disciples saw Jesus Christ actually walking on the sea, and Peter said to Him, "Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water." And in all accounts, Peter himself actually walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, Lord, save me!" And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught, and said to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?" (Matthew 8:26).

These examples are not merely miracles so to speak, but a manifestation and demonstration of one exercising his authority, and dominion over the earth. This is what it means to have dominion. To have dominion over the fish of the sea, one should be able to go where the fish go. To have dominion over the birds of the air, and should be able to travel where they travel. Some of us may want to simply close our minds on these things, with the notion that this is beyond our reach. Fair enough, but let us not forget that, man was created to have dominion over the earth.

To verify the fact that this is what we were destined to become, after the episode with the fig tree, Jesus said to His disciples, "I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, Go, throw yourself into the sea, and it will be done. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer" (Matthew 21:21-22).

When Peter began sinking whilst walking of the water, Jesus simply stretched out His hand and caught him and said, "You of little faith, why did you doubt?" Unfortunately for us, it is quite difficult for us to attain this level of faith, by which we can take control, because, how are we to believe in Him of whom we have never heard? And how are we to hear without a preacher? And how can men preach unless they are sent? You see faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes by the preaching of Christ.

To have dominion is to have commanding position over whatever you have dominion over. This is man's destiny to have dominion over the earth, even Satan and his demons that are now cast down to the earth. Satan knows this, and this is why he is so furious, and he is all out to destroy man. Satan took away the initiative from Adam by deceiving Eve, and caused them to disbelieved and disobeyed God.

He attempted to kill Jesus Christ, as soon as He was born. He tried to take the initiative away from Jesus Christ before He began His ministry, shortly after His forty days and night fasting in the wilderness. Remember one becomes the slave or servant to whom he/she yields to obey. This also applies to Satan and his demons.

If Jesus Christ had yielded to any of his requests, He would have relinquished His power and authority to him. It took Adam only one act of servitude to lose control over a whole earth. Hence the reason why we are admonished to, "Resist the devil and he will flee from you."

Satan succeeded in having Jesus killed on the cross, and thought that he had the victory. But little did he know that, the death of Jesus Christ, was, "God's secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory" (1Corinthians 2:7-8). 

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T be continued

With brotherly love

Lucius Joseph