Where Taking Dominion Begins - Part 1

Would you like to see God’s Kingdom manifested in righteousness, peace, joy, and power in the Holy Spirit? Would you like to see the rule and reign of Jesus Christ in and through His Covenant people realized in real time and space? Would you like to see the vast powers of this present darkness subdued and defeated? As you may recall, I have discussed what the Scripture reveals about the necessity of that Kingdom being manifested in and through local church assemblies of God’s Covenant People.

While that is true, it occurred to me that we have to get more fundamental. Perhaps we are jumping ahead and skipping over the basics. The question we need to ask is this: Where does the Kingdom realized begin? What is the per-requisite that must be the first essential requirement for the Kingdom to be realized in your local area, your state or province or country?

Here it is: Does Jesus Christ have dominion over you? The Kingdom of God broadly applied must first begin with you and me. If we expect to see the kind of transformation of government, education, and health care, among the other various areas that are important aspects of life, it must begin with you and me as individuals first. Is Christ your Lord and Master? Put another way, is He your life?

How can we expect other kindred to respond to the gospel of the Kingdom if you and I have not first come to a place of full submission before the Lord God of our fathers?

Full Submission

This is a process through life. But the important idea here is that we want to fully submit to God and become aware of those areas in which we are not in submission. The Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthian church, “I die daily” (I Corinthians 15:31). It’s a daily submission and, often times, a struggle because we are confronted with our own pride. Pride refuses to submit!

Pride takes many forms and is expressed in an infinite variety of ways from very subtle to overt haughtiness (holier than thou). Pride is at the heart of sin. The Apostle calls it “the old self,” or “old man,” or “the flesh.” This is the old, corrupted Adamic nature that refuses to submit to the Creator.

The Self of Pride

Pride is deeply embedded in the old Adamic self and can be identified as:

• Self-righteous (justifying ourselves according to our own standards)

• Self-esteem (thinking of ourselves more highly than we ought to think)

• Self-vindication (revenge is mine)

• Self-glory (in my opinion, preferences, performance)

• Self-pity (woe is me)

• Self-ease (eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we die)

• Self-indulgence (we will build bigger barns)

“The victorious believer will become aware of many forms of self which must yet be dealt with. We shall discover: In our service for Christ, self-confidence and self-esteem; in the slightest suffering, self-saving and self-pity; in the least misunderstanding, self-defense and self-vindication; in our station in life, self-seeking and self-centeredness; in the smallest trials, self-inspection and self-accusation; in the daily routine, self-pleasing and self-choosing; in our relationships, self-assertiveness and self-respect; in our education, self-boasting and self-expression; in our desires, self-indulgence and self-satisfaction; in our success, self-admiration and self-congratulations; in our failures, self-excusing and self-justification; in our spiritual attainments, self-righteousness and self-complacency; in our public ministry, self-reflection and self-glory; in life as a whole, self-love and selfishness. The flesh is an 'I' specialist.”1

Could this be said any better?

Sub-Mission

Until the pride of self is dealt with, we cannot and will not daily experience success in submission to Christ Jesus. Let’s break that word down:

Sub – to be under

Mission – being sent to perform a service with a defined purpose

In respect to the manifestation of the Kingdom of God, submission is to be yielded to the service of the Kingdom mission of Jesus Christ. It is to be humbly surrendered to be God’s servant in the duty of His Kingdom work. It is a denial of the “old self” in order to be fully engaged as God’s Kingdom ambassadors.

How do we begin this life? Where does it start? It starts when we come to the end of our “old self” and realize we just can’t continue to live this way anymore. Then, we are ready to give up the “old self” struggle and receive a new “Life” – the Living Bread of Heaven and the Water of Life.

“He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it.” – Matthew 10:39

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1L. E. Maxwell, Born Crucified, pp. 86-87

Next up: Where Taking Dominion Begins – Part 2