Hello, and welcome to simple man sermons, the preachings of a simple man called by God to share the good news of Jesus Christ.

Now we're going to be talking today about a theme that presents itself many times throughout the Bible.

But let us go first to where it is mentioned.

First, when God creates man.

Then God said, let us make man in our image according to our likeness.

Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.

Again, let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, over the cattle, over all the earth, over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, over everything.

And just a little bit after that, then God bless them, and God said to them, be fruitful and multiply, have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.

Now, I would submit, wherever you are in your Christian walk and this journey, in this marathon, that it's often good to go back to the beginning and look at Genesis.

God creates everything, everything comes from God.

God created in everything that you see, everything that you see, everything that you experience, everything with your physical senses, that you can touch and smell and see and behold and hold in your hand.

God created it.

God created every living thing also, and he says, be fruitful and multiply after creating many things.

But the only thing he tells, the only thing in creation he tells to have dominion is man.

You are different from all other created things.

Because it doesn't say about anything else in creation.

Let us make man in our image and our likeness and the image of God.

He created the male and female.

That's unique, and nothing else.

Did he say to have dominion.

He doesn't.

You just say have dominion over a few things.

He says, have dominion over all over every living thing that moves on the earth.

Likewise, when God destroys yet saves Noah and his family and the art, and this is what God says when Noah comes out.

So God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.

And the fear of you, and the dread of you shall be on every beast of the earth, on every bird of the air, and all that move on the earth, and all the fish of the sea.

They are given into your hand.

So you are called to have demas, and you are called to rain to rule.

It should go without saying, but I'll say it anyway.

Under God and submitting to God and serving God, but reining over creation, reining in life?

Is that does that bring true for you in this life?

Now, I'm not talking about popular culture.

I'm not talking about the way society sees reigning in life and ruling in life.

You see a lot of times it seems like in this modern world we spend our life in boxes, from one little box to another.

We live in a box, We get in a box and drive to work, and we spend our workday in another box.

We go shopping to get stuff in another box to bring home to our original box.

Now, society may tell you that the nicer box that you start out in and the nicer box that you drive around in is a measure of how good your life is.

The nicer box you go shopping at, in the nicer box that you go to work to, the nicer stuff you bring home to put in your original box, that's a measure of how you're doing in life.

And I would submit these two verses from Jesus' own mouth.

The abundance of a man's life does not consists in the number of things that he possesses.

And also likewise Ecclesiastes, that's all vanity and grasping for the wind.

No, I'm talking about really raining in life.

I'm talking about raining life in such a way that what culture and society and popular culture say and think is just a side note to you.

You're not even generally aware of it, that you're so much raining in life.

They used to are so far outside the box that those little boxes are small to you compared to how you're reigning in life.

Hard to think outside the box when you're always trying to fit in and consumed with the boxes.

Forget about the boxes, think about greater, better things.

Does Jesus not say the lamp of the body is the eye.

The lamp of the body is the eye.

If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light.

But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness.

If therefore the light that is in you as darkness, how great is that darkness?

What are you focused on in life?

Where are your eyes looking at?

What are they coveting?

Are they coveting your neighbor's house or your neighbor's wife?

Are they coveting real riches?

God?

Jesus a relationship with him?

What does Paul say in the New Testament?

Imitate me as I imitate Christ.

If we want to look around and be good at something, Let's say a skill, we look at somebody that's really good at that skill, and we imitate them.

Who reigns?

King's reign?

Who's the king of king and lord of lords?

God reigns, Jesus reigns.

I must say this.

I think that I think a lot of popular religion today may encourage weakness by misinterpreting meekness as weakness.

Meekness, I submit, cannot be weak because God is not weak.

God is never weak, for it is written about God.

I change not.

I would submit to you that meekness is power under control Marion Webster.

Meekness and during injury, with patience and without resentment.

Do we not see this illustrated by Jesus in the when he's going through his trials?

Does Jesus not say or do you think that I cannot now pray to my father and he will provide me with more than twelve leagus of angels.

Jesus wasn't overpowered.

Jesus God was never bested by being led to the cross.

Twelve legions of angels is a scary thing to think about.

I forget the exact story, but in I believe in kings.

One angel kills thousands of people, and there's only a few mentioned.

When Sodom and Gomorah, entire cities are destroyed.

Twelve legions of angels, it says he could have at a moment's notice.

Jesus has obviously authority and power, he just has it under control.

Likewise, when Jesus is attacking the garden and Peter draws his sword and attacks those attacking Jesus, Jesus said to Peter, put your sword into the sheath.

Shall I not drink the cup which my father has given me.

Jesus was not crucified because he was not strong enough to not be crucified.

Jesus was crucified because he was so strong he willingly submitted to the father's will even when it hurt.

He didn't do it because he was weak.

He did it out of sacrifice because he loves and because his love is so strong.

Jesus God in the flesh, and not die because he was weak.

He died to show you that he could conquer and have power over death, even death.

So I will submit that there are times to not use power, but that is not the same as being weak.

There are times where you are called to submit.

We are always to submit to God and his will, and we are often called to submit to others in this world.

But I'm not aware of anywhere where I'm commanded to be weak.

So be circumspect and search the truth to yourself and see if you're not commanded to be meek and have your power under control.

But show me where you're commanded to be weak, for you were made in the image of God.

God is not weak.

God commanded man right after he made him to have dominion.

It seems almost popular in today's culture to apologize for showing strength and dominance.

But I will not apologize nor what I encourage you to apologize for being what God made you.

Again, not talking about reigning in life the way culture and society says.

It's not more walking around with a Gucci bag.

It's not the amount of zero's on a paycheck.

It's a poor man or a poor woman that measures are worth by money.

You're worth so much more than that.

I'm not against money.

It's often misquoted money is root of all evil.

That's not what the Bible says.

It says the love of money.

Money is just a thing.

It's not a thing to be loved.

God is to be loved, and your neighbor is to be loved the first two commandments.

Money is but a little thing.

And if you think money is big, then you must be little in your own eyes.

I would submit, if money is big to you, then you're not reigning in life.

Then that thing is reigning over you.

Now, there's somebody in my life that often seems to be pointing out how they don't have enough, and they were investing money into cryptocurrency, which I don't frown upon.

In fact, in the parable Jesus tells about the talents, it was said to the wicked servant, why do you need to deposit my money that it may gain interest?

But anyway, this person was oftentimes talking about money troubles and not having enough.

I pointed out that if you're investing, then you have more than enough.

You have more than you need by definition, because that's money that you don't need right now.

His focus, even though he had abundance, was on lack.

And no matter how much he had, if he's focused on what he doesn't have, he's not going to be reigning in life now.

This man, as far as I know, I have no reason to believe that he is a Christian yet.

But if you will, then you are commanded to have dominion.

And Ecclesiastes is written, he who loves silver will not be satisfied with silver, nor he who loves abundance with increase.

This also is vanity.

Like I said, there's nothing wrong with money in and of itself.

It's simply a medium of exchange to get goods.

But remember it is not money that supplies your needs.

It is written my God.

It has written, My God supplies all my needs.

Money's a poor substitute for God.

I'm not talking about that.

Like I said, that stuff is so small in comparison to what I'm actually talking about raining in life.

I'm not talking about zero's printed on a piece of paper that represent more paper that's mostly useless.

I'm talking about having dominion, having dominion, ruling and raining.

I'm talking about raining in life.

Have dominion over the fish of the sea.

What is it worth to go out on a beautiful day and cast a line and watch a fish dance on the end of it as you bring it in?

What is the worth of having a meal with peace and joy and good conversation with someone that you really love and who loves you in return.

What is the value of that?

I recently told my wife, and I really meant it.

We were having a chicken that we bought from Walmart that cost under five dollars for a whole chicken, and I told her that I would much rather sit down and have that simple chicken with her and a good meal with us being happy together, than all you can eat at the fanciest restaurant in the fanciest restaurant that I could think of in our city if we were fighting.

And I meant that Proverbs seventeen.

Better is a dry morsel and quietness there within than a house full of sacrifices with strife.

What's more important the amount of things in your house, or the quality of things in your house, or the quality of the relationships and the amount of love in your house and your dwellings.

Better is a tent filled with the ones that you love than I mansion filled with those who hate you.

What's the worth of sitting down in peace with a quiet mind and a cup of coffee with somebody you care about and want to talk to, even if it's the simplest of cups of coffee?

How much value is that interaction?

Sitting down with a cup of coffee with somebody you like, without gossiping, just talking about good, helpful things.

How much better is that than a super fancy, super expensive, highly decorated cup of coffee that you slurp down alone with dreadful thoughts while you're stuck in traffic.

I'm not against fancy coffee.

It's not my thing.

But if it's your thing, that's fine.

But what I'm saying is that's not the thing that makes the for one's life does not consist in the abundance of things he possesses.

Gospel of Luke Is it not written in Romans?

Much more?

Much more?

Will those who receive the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness reign in life through the One Jesus Christ.

Are you reigning in life.

Do you have dominion?

Do you have dominion in this world or does this world have dominion over you?

Because, as we talked about in the beginning, you were called to have dominion in this world.

For when God gave life to man, he said, have dominion.

And before Jesus died on the cross, that we may have a new life, be born again, he said, I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

Thanks for listening to simple man's sermons, and have a blessed day.