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Born to Rule
PowerPoint Slides from this Sermon
THE POINT: We were created in the image of the King of the Universe and our destiny is to rule and reign.
Genesis 1:26-28 (NIV)
Then God said, "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, and over all the creatures that move along the ground."
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. RULE over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground."
Revelation 5:8-10 (NKJV)
Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song, saying: "You are worthy to take the scroll, And to open its seals; For You were slain, And have redeemed us to God by Your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, And have made us kings and priests to our God; AND WE SHALL REIGN ON THE EARTH."
THE NATURE OF AUTHORITY
· Mankind was created in the image of God as a ruling being, particularly over the rest of creation.
· Mankind yielded authority to a snake on account of fruit and became the servant of what we were supposed to be ruling over.
· For a human being to be ruled by anything other than the Holy Spirit is an abomination.
· Most of us, even Christians, choose to allow things to rule us that have no right to.
SUBTLE FORMS OF SLAVERY
· Addictions
· Manipulative relationships
· Anger / bitterness / unforgiveness
· Fear and paranoia
· Financial slavery
o Debt
o Greed
o The “work to spend” system
GIANTS, GOLDEN CALVES & SOUP
· Not realizing you’re a slave
· Not realizing you’re not supposed to be a slave
· Fear of change
· Embarrassment (shame)
· Addiction to sympathy, pity, & charity
· Not trusting God to set you free
· Not being willing to fight for your freedom
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SLAVES BECOME RULERS
· Joseph
· Moses (and the nation Israel)
· Daniel
· Nehemiah
· Shadrach, Meshach & Abednego
· Esther & Mordecai
· The Passover
· The Year of Jubilee
The most repeated story of the Old Testament is that a slave turns to God and is exalted to a place of great authority after enduring trials.
RULERS HELP SLAVES TO RULE
Deuteronomy 15:12-15 (NIV)
If a fellow Hebrew, a man or a woman, sells himself to you and serves you six years, in the seventh year you must let him go free.
And when you release him, do not send him away empty-handed. Supply him liberally from your flock, your threshing floor and your winepress. Give to him as the LORD your God has blessed you.
Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and the LORD your God redeemed you. That is why I give you this command today.
Leviticus 25:47-49 (NLT)
“Suppose a foreigner or temporary resident becomes rich while living among you. If any of your fellow Israelites fall into poverty and are forced to sell themselves to such a foreigner or to a member of his family, they still retain the right to be bought back, even after they have been purchased. They may be bought back by a brother, an uncle, or a cousin. In fact, anyone from the extended family may buy them back.
JESUS CAN BUY US OUT OF SLAVERY
Philippians 2:5-11 (NIV)
Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death-- even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
SLAVES BECOME HEIRS
Galatians 4:1-7 (NIV)
So also, when we were children, we were in slavery under the basic principles of the world.
But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons.
Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, "Abba, Father."
So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.
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