damolaolomu

the reality of the new birth.

Welcome back to life! A life of God, i mean you died, now you’re back. Redeemed, the beloved of God. 

You have become a new man, a new person, an overcomer of the world. 

Now i think it’s expedient that we establish this new reality, this life you and I now live as the redeemed;

• Dominion.

When God created Man, he hinged it on two parameters. Image, Likeness to the end that they would have dominion.  Gen 1:26.

The Hebrew word for image in the text is ‘ṣelem’ which is transliterated as semblance, a representative, like a copy. 

The Hebrew word for likeness is ‘dᵊmûṯ’ which simply put is a similitude, of the same model, kind, or fashion. 

And the purpose for this was to create a race that would have dominion over the fishes of the sea, birds of the air and all creeping things, a specie that the rest of creation would be subject to, as creation would then submit to HIM. -Rom 8:16

A race who would be fruitful and multiply. – Gen 1:28

A race who would prosper and steward the earth and fullness, a man who would mirror God’s reign in heaven here on earth as the God desired it.

Now Mankind fell from grace, lost that dominion through sin by disobedience and got shut out of that first estate. Creation was made to be subject to an authority, as dominion also can pass for authority. Adam and Eve yielded themselves to the enemy and automatically became subject to his authority for it is written that whosoever you yield yourselves to obey, you are subject to. -Rom 6:16

Satan, the adversary took the place of our dominion over creation and that’s one of the reasons creation earnestly waits for the manifestation of the sons of God. 

That’s what christ did, restored us back to the position of sons.  He restored us to the place of dominion over all things as it was in the beginning. Now satan lost, but he won’t just admit it and give it back to us. That’s where authority comes in.

• Authority.

When Jesus rose again from the dead, he took back that authority.  -Matt 28:18.

He satisfied the claims of justice by his sacrifices, the blood and the cross. As the second Adam in God’s eyes,  he pleased God and became the perfect example of what mankind should be.  As sin, death and defeat became imputed to all of mankind by Adam’s actions, righteousness, life and victory became imputed to mankind by Jesus’ actions.  -Rom 5:12. 

He confounded the enemy and his cohorts when he rose up from the dead, openly disgraced them and showed their powerlessness over him and as a direct result us. -Col 2:15

Now Jesus didn’t just win for himself, neither did he take that authority and power for himself alone, God by grace, made it available to all of us. 

Tracking back, He demonstrated this authority even before his death, to model what God expects us to be after redemption.  By that authority, he healed all that came to him with diseases,palsies, afflictions.  He casted out devils and destroyed all the works of the devil, he set captives free, he brought light to those in darkness because he was the true light, by this same authority he raised the dead. Matt 12:15,Matt 15:30, Acts 10:38.

It’s also important to note that all the while doing so, he taught and told his disciples that the same works they’re seeing him do, they’d do also, even greater. -John 14:12.

And to prove that they really could, he gave them the first dose power to do so when he sent them out, and the seventy-two returned with joy. With a testament that the demons were subject to his name, even before glorification, Amazing. -Luke 10:17.

Then he gave them authority over serpents, snakes and scorpions and all the power of the enemy. -Luke 10:19

Upon resurrection, he obtained for us legal grounds to exercise that authority. 

To do all that he did and more, and it was proven by the works of the apostles, they did all that Jesus did. You can too.  That’s your new reality.  Col 2:14

You have authority to enforce the reality of the finished work of christ over the works of the devil in your life. Every area, health, relationships, family, finance. Every promise of God is your right and inheritance and you can exert it as a legislator that you are.  -Luke10:19

Purpose

Now that you’re officially reborn, it’s important that you have an understanding of why God did what he did when he justified, sanctified and glorified us according to his divine purpose. He predestined us to be his sons, to bring him glory just as Jesus did.  -Eph 1:5

Ultimately, the first mandate or assignment was to go into all the world, all nations, this world of men, so everywhere men are, nations, territories, kingdoms, governments, industries, the church and ideally every realm of man’s domain and and make disciples of all nations, bringing them into the knowledge of his will and his ways, baptizing them in the name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit.  – Matt 28:19-20

We as sons of God are his representatives, his ambassadors for his kingdom to reign on earth as it is in heaven. He gave us power to do exploits, to take charge, and have dominion as the lord commanded it. To bring every creature back to the knowledge of God as creature awaits the manifestations of the sons of God. -Romans 8:19

We are to embrace heralding the Glory of God, making the earth filled with the knowledge of the glory of God as the waters cover the sea.  -Hab 2:14

For some he gave gifts, special gifts for the building of the church. Usually referred to as the 5 fold. 

-Apostles

-Prophets

-Teachers

-Evangelists 

-Pastors 

These are those called specifically by God to serve the church body and ecclesia.

To build up his saints. – Eph 4:11

But essentially we all have a place in the call of God, as we’re all parts of a body, some pronounced, some not seen but every part is as important. 

Being called of God is not for a select few, all of us are called by God and we all have parts to play in his kingdom reigning on earth as it is in heaven.

It’s also important to note that passion isn’t purpose, even though a purpose revolves around something you’re innately passionate about, there’s a sense of assignment, a sense of responsibility and a fulfillment with purpose.

Purpose can be likened to what you were created to do, the position you were made to occupy, it defines and qualifies your existence and subsequently assignment, in purpose lies fulfillment.  An in-depth satisfaction and sense of belonging, a duty assigned to you before you came into the world. – Jer 1:5

While not all of us are meant to be on the pulpit, like i’ve said earlier, we all have a purpose assigned to us from the foundations of the world that we’re required to engage in and fulfill. Else the moment we became reborn, he’d have called us home. 

• Understanding the enemy

Paul said in his writings that we shouldn’t be ignorant of the wiles, the stratagems of the devil, for we wrestle.  It’s important to know that we’re dealing with a rebel, rebels don’t respect the status quo, they don’t follow order and that’s exactly why they’re rebels.  -Eph 6:12

The fact that we have overcome according to God’s word doesn’t mean the devil and his cohorts would just let us be, even though judicially they should, i mean its only right, but they wont, again, they’re rebels so we have to fight not from a place of fighting to win, but fighting from a place of victory and enforcing that which christ already did.  -1 John 5:4

You see, the fact that Christ bore our sicknesses on his back and by his stripes we’re healed doesn’t stop the enemy from trying to afflict the believer with a sickness, that’s why its our responsibility to reject that sickness and insist, enforce our freedom from diseases and get our healing.   -1 Pet 2:24, Isa 53:5,7

That’s why on ascension, our lord Jesus gave us power, the power he took back from the enemy, the root word there is authority, legislative jurisdiction to enforce our judicial ruling.  

The enemy doesn’t care about the fact that we have victory on paper, he cares about what we do with that victory we have on paper.  Matt 28:18, 19, Luke 10:19

We have a wicked adversary who wouldn’t stop at trying to fight our faith, beliefs and life because knowing he’s defeated and his reign on this side of eternity is for a time, he’s ready to afflict and frustrate us but thanks be to God who causes us to triumph always.  2 Cor 2:14

Now this isn’t so we glorify the enemy because we’re meant to triumph over him even as Jesus already did, or to live in fear, because we didn’t receive the spirit of fear but of love and adoption. We’re to exact our dominion and authority over the enemy and his hordes.  To trample over them as they’re under our feet. 

It’s a call to awareness, to understand his motives to kill steal and destroy, to know his desires, to actively resist him and keep him under foot.  -John 10:10, Psa 91:13, James 4:7.

It’s so that we’re conscious of the fact that we are here to spoil his works too just as Jesus did. To free people from his chains and blindfolds as we continually yield to the father.  We have a victory, and we live to enforce it.  Shalom!