Date: 08-Oct-2024
Name: Lakers Komaiya
Topic: DOMINION BY DESIGN Part VII - IN PURSUIT OF GOD
Content:
Genesis 1:28 - “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.”
Psalm 63:8 - “My soul follows hard after You [My soul follows close behind You, My soul becomes consumed by You]; Your right hand upholds me.”
I. Divine Partnership
1. We pursue God because, and only because, He first put an urge within us that spurs us to pursue Him.
John 6:44 - “No man can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him…”
Matthew 11:28-30 - “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
> Dominion is not just about power or authority, but an invitation into partnership with God.
II. Distracted and Diverted Hunger
2. Man’s thirst for God is often hijacked, misdirected and locked in to all that is in the world - to the lust of the flush, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. (1 John 2:16). This sustains the process of conforming to the world.
The impulse to pursue God originates with God, but the outworking of that impulse is our following hard after Him; and all the time we are pursuing Him we are already in His hand: “Your right hand upholds me.”
Psalm 42:1 - “As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God.”
> Failure to follow hard after God opens man to the deception of the enemy.
III. Chasing and Dwelling
3. The appointment of the pursuit of God is that we may abide in Him.
John 15:4 - “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.”
Who would, after seeking the King’s palace, be content to stand in the door, when he is invited in to dwell in the King’s presence, and share with Him in all the glory of His royal life?
> The grace to come and the grace to abide are alike from God alone. - Andrew Murray
The life of a believer is bankrupt of fruitfulness without him abiding in God. The promise of Genesis 1:28 - “And He blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful…” becomes a mirage.
The take off point of dominion is fruitfulness. The starting point of fruitfulness is the planting of seed (the Word of God - “And God said to them…”) in a heart-environment that is blessed.
IV. The Preoccupation of Abiding in Him
4. The preoccupation of ‘Abiding in Him’ suggests:
- Giving up one’s whole life to Him, for Him alone to rule and order it
- Taking up His yoke, and submitting to be led and taught, to learn of Him
- Abiding in Him, to be and to do only what He wills
Come to Me,…and I will give you rest…and you will find rest for your souls.
Matthew 11:28-30 - “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you’d learn of Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”
5. We are not blessed because we follow hard after God, abide in Him and produce much fruit. We follow hard after God, abide in Him and are fruitful because we are blessed.
Genesis 1:28 - “Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful…”
> Your fruitfulness is sustained by prophetic and divine declaration of blessing and favour. We have to learn to listen and hear God.
> We are not blessed before we follow hard after God, abiding in Him and producing much fruit. We follow hard after God, abide in Him and are fruitful because we are blessed.
V. Divine Declaration of God’s Blessing
John 10:27-28 - “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. 28 And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.”
6. At the centre of pursuit of God and abiding in Him is fruitfulness and rest.
Let’s Pray🔥❤️🙏🏾
Prayer Points:
