As we move about in our daily lives and especially around the body of Christ, we see and hear many voices and believers saying, “God is in Control”! We may not have given enough thought and meditation to that statement! The scriptures state that God is the same today, yesterday and forever. We would say yes and amen!
If we follow that logic, then that would mean that if God is in control now, then He has always been in control. That line of thinking places God as being responsible for all the wickedness, which we see operating on the earth throughout history until today!
As we observe all the wickedness and the evil that is operating around the world, it is certainly not God being in control and God’s sovereign plans that has caused all this world wide evil. God is not the one who is in control and orchestrating such evil happing on the earth. We should be wiser than accept such “churchy clichés’” and charge such evil as being results of the plan of God or the hand of God.
Let’s back up to the creation of mankind and examine the scriptural account of the creation of man and some particular points recorded in the Word of God concerning the creation of man and that which God said concerning man. When we use the term “man” we are referring to male and female of the species. We use “man” and “mankind” to refer to male and female of the species.
We are going to take a serious look at dominion. God has given mankind dominion over the whole earth. If we execute our dominion properly on the earth, things will go better for us and the earth
Gen 1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.
Dominion #7287 radah (raw-daw');a primitive root; to tread down, i.e. subjugate; specifically, to crumble off:
The KJV translates this word; (come to, make to) have dominion, prevail against, reign, (bear, make to) rule,- r, over), take.
(AHD) tread. 1. To walk on, over, or along. 2. To press beneath the feet; trample. 3. To subdue harshly or cruelly; crush. 4. To form by walking or trampling. 5. To execute by walking or dancing.
subjugate 1. To bring under control; conquer. 2. To make subservient; enslave. --.
dominion 1. Control or the exercise of control; sovereignty. 2. A territory or sphere of influence or control; a realm.
Contrary to what we have seen and heard, it is clear that the Godhead i.e., the Father, the Word and the Holy Spirit, came into a divine agreement before creating man and declared that mankind shall have dominion on the earth. The original intent of the Lord God was for mankind to receive divine counsel and instruction from the LORD and then execute the righteous Will of God onto the earth.
Adam and Eve operated for some period of time exercising their dominion in 100% agreement with the Lord God as He would come and walk with them in the cool of the day. The Lord God would give them divine wisdom and instructions as pertaining to the earth and they would in turn exercise their dominion over the earth and they and the earth would line up with that divine counsel.
God’s throne is in heaven and He executes and operates in holiness, righteousness and justice.
God established the earth to be the throne of mankind and mankind was created to reflect the holiness, righteousness and justice of God onto the earth. Man was created in the image and likeness of God and the planet earth was created in the image and likeness of planet heaven.
This begs the question, what are the mechanics and methods by which mankind (male and female) executes and operates dominion on the earth? Since man is created in the image and after the likeness of God, it would be of great benefit if we know and understand how God Himself executes dominion.
(AHD) Image 1. A reproduction of the form of a person or an object, especially a sculptured likeness.
likeness 1. The state, quality, or fact of being like; resemblance.
In the Genesis account, we find some eleven times that it is stated, “and God said”! It is obvious that God operates by “spoken Word”. Since we are created in the likeness of God, then it would stand to reason that mankind would also operate dominion by “spoken word”. So in like manner as God, then Adam begin to operate by spoken word and “Adam said”! Adam begins to operate and execute dominion by “spoken word.”
God’s method is to speak a thing first and then bring forth that which He has spoken. We see this in operation in verses 26 & 27.
Gen 1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
We find the Law of Genesis in chapter one and verse eleven. Again God speaks it and then God brings it into being.
Gen 1:11 And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.
12 And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
We can plainly see that every thing produces after its kind, whose seed is within its self. This is one of the statutes that God established on the earth and it works for all mankind i.e. believers or unbelievers. A believer or an unbeliever can plant a seed in the earth and it will produce a harvest after its kind. This is the Law of Genesis!
statute 1. Law. A law enacted by a legislature. 2. A decree or an edict, as of a ruler. 3. An established law or rule, as of a corporation.
Mankind was given total dominion over all the earth and also given the right to freely enjoy all the good benefits and wealth that the earth contained, with the exception of one tree. The fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was off limits to man and the instructions came with a very sever warning from the Lord.
Gen 2:15 And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the Garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.
16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:
17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
When we follow the account, we see that God built Adam a helpmate. Adam named her Eve and called her woman.
Let’s follow the seed a bit further. We can plainly see that everything produces after its kind, whose seed is within its self. This is part of the dynamics that God established on the earth and it works for everyone. Again, a believer or an unbeliever can plant a seed in the ground and it will produce after its’ kind. There are many things that God established on the earth for mankind, before the fall of man, and those dynamics work for any human being on the earth.
dynamics n. 1.a. (used with a sing. verb). the branch of mechanics that is concerned with the effects of forces on the motion of a body or system of bodies, especially of forces that do not originate within the system itself.
God placed the dynamics of life within a seed; therefore, anyone that plants a seed in the ground can expect a harvest from that seed. In order for us to operate on the earth as God intended, we must make sure that we are in line with God’s Word and the dynamics that He, Himself, placed into motion at the beginning of the creation of the earth.
The devil is very crafty in the area of deception and he will try to trick us into accepting something that is not in line with the Word of God. For example, if you have five nonbelievers on one side of a thirty-story building roof and you have five believers on the other side of the same roof, and they should all chose to jump off of the building at the same time, what will happen to all of them? They will all make big splats. Why? Because of the dynamics of gravity! The law of gravity was set into motion at the creation of the earth and it works the same today for everyone, believers and nonbelievers alike.
Now, let’s look at a promise, in the Word of God, that God made to Noah when he came out of the ark.
Gen 8:22 while the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.
Does the earth still remain? Of course it does! So then, this promise is still in effect. We may not like it, but God said that this is how it will be as long as the earth remains. That principal is not based on our confession, our faith, or what we wish to happen.
Notice how God’s Word works, as compared to a seed, and the production by a seed in the earth.
Isa 55:10 for as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:
11 so shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.
as adv. 1. to the same extent or degree; equally. 1. to the same degree or quantity that. often used as a correlative after so or as. 2. in the same manner or way that.
so adv. 1. in the condition or manner expressed or indicated; thus. 2. to the amount or degree expressed or understood; to such an extent.
To understand the Word of God, we must understand a seed and its’ relation to the soil of the earth. In the natural realm, we know that rain places moisture into the soil and that moisture forces the earth into production. With the lack of rainfall, we have had several times seen the results of lack of moisture. The grass turns brown and the farmers complain that their fields do not produce their fruit and vegetables in abundance. If we never water our lawn, it will get very brown and dry when there is little or no rain, but then, when we have a good shower or two, the grass will turn very green in just a few days. The rain forces the earth into production.
Let’s look at this from another angle. What if we have a farm and just decide not to plant seed and just leave it all up to God because we heard several people say, “Well God is in control”, what will our farm produce? Ragweed, pigweed, cockleburs, Johnson grass and weeds!
God placed the life in the seed but he will not plant it for us. That is our job.
Let’s look at this from another angle what if we go buy seed and then just put it in the barn and then have a big prayer meeting and start believing and confessing for a big harvest. What will we reap? Nothing but weeds! It is our responsibility to plant the seeds for our self in order to get a harvest.
Let’s look at this from another angle. What if we just have a big dedication service over our farm and dedicate it to God and then someone comes along and plants marijuana seed on our farm. Will our farm just say, “Oh, I’m a Christian farm and I will not grow marijuana. Don’t kid yourself. The ground is designed by God to produce whatever is sown into the soil. The seed makes a demand on the soil.
Let’s look at this from another angle. What if we want to plant corn on our south forty and some one switches cottonseed into our planter and after we get through planting, we see the mistake, and we just say, “Well the ground knew what I meant to plant”. What will we have growing on the south forty? Cotton! The soil produces whatever is sown. The seed makes a demand on the soil.
Let’s look at this from another angle. What if a farmer wants to plant the north forty and the south forty the same day and he tells his son to plant the north forty while he plants the south forty so he gives his son some money, thinking that his son will go to the seed store and buy seed but instead the son plants the money? Will he reap a harvest of more money? Of course not! Money does not qualify to be a seed. One cannot sow money and get a harvest of more money. Selah!
Jesus took this understanding of the vegetation kingdom into his preaching and teaching and we find this in the book of Mark chapter four. We need to look at this very closely, because this is so simple that we have just missed it.
Mark 4:1 and he began again to teach by the sea side: and there was gathered unto him a great multitude, so that he entered into a ship, and sat in the sea; and the whole multitude was by the sea on the land.
2 and he taught them many things by parables, and said unto them in his doctrine,
3 hearken; behold, there went out a sower to sow:
4 and it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the way side, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up.
5 and some fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of earth:
6 but when the sun was up, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away.
7 and some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit.
8 and other fell on good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased; and brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some an hundred.
9 and he said unto them, he that hath ears to hear, let him hear.
10 and when he was alone, they that were about him with the twelve asked of him the parable.
11 and he said unto them, unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of god: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables:
12 that seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them.
13 and he said unto them, know ye not this parable? and how then will ye know all parables?
14 the sower soweth the word.
15 and these are they by the way side, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts.
16 and these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness;
17 and have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word's sake, immediately they are offended.
18 and these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word,
19 and the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.
20 and these are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred.
I want to point out some very important terms and definitions of the words that are stated in this parable and even defined by the Lord Jesus Christ himself. We must have the meanings of these words solid in our minds, or we will be subject to be lead astray by the well meaning ministers that have been tricked by Satan with highly excited error that pulls on the lust of the flesh.
In this parable, what is the seed that the sower sows? The Word of God! Certainly money does not qualify to be a seed. In this parable, what is the soil where the seed is planted? The heart of man! We have been taught that money is a seed and can be sown into all kinds of things. We have received teachings from our Elders that say money is a seed and a ministry or the church is the good ground to sow into.
Let’s look at the extension of this parable by the Lord Jesus Christ.
Mark 4:26 and he said, so is the kingdom of god, as if a man should cast seed into the ground;
27 and should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how.
28 for the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear.
29 but when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come.
Jesus is saying that the kingdom of God operates just like a seed. The only reason that a farmer would plant a seed in the ground is that he full well expects to receive a harvest from the seed, which he has planted. Due to the industrial revolution, most people today never plant a seed. If they do, it is just flowers or something that does not pertain to their livelihood. In the earlier days of this country, people planted large gardens and they canned the produce that the earth produced and that was their livelihood for the winter months. Now we just go to the grocery store for our supplies. We can rest assured that someone had to plant a seed and reap a harvest and then ship that produce to the supermarket in order for us to buy it and consume it.
Let’s look at some of the sayings of Jesus about a seed and see how that relates to our spiritual lives. How many times have we heard sermons or teachings on the faith that is just the size of a mustard seed? Mustard seed is only listed in the bible five times. Groaning, on the other hand is listed nineteen times. Now, you tell me, have you heard more teachings on the mustard seed faith or groaning more often, as taught in the church? According to the ratio in the bible, for every five sermons that we hear on the mustard seed, we should hear nineteen sermons on groaning. I am listing the scriptures that contain “mustard seed” so we can see if faith is compared to the “size of a mustard seed”. Also, mustard was not some special spiritual seed. Mustard was common in that time and region. If Jesus had been in the USA, He would have used a corn seed or a cotton seed or something that is common to this area.
Matt 13:31 another parable put he forth unto them, saying, the kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field:
32 which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof.
Matt 17:20 and Jesus said unto them, because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, if ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.
Mark 4:31 it is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is sown in the earth, is less than all the seeds that be in the earth
less adj. a comparative of little. 1. not as great in amount or quantity. 2. lower in importance, esteem, or rank. 3. consisting of a smaller number.
luke 13:19 it is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and cast into his garden; and it grew, and waxed a great tree; and the fowls of the air lodged in the branches of it.
Luke 17:6 and the lord said, if ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you
like 1. possessing the characteristics of; resembling closely; similar to. 2.a. in the typical manner of. b. in the same way as.
as 1. in the role, capacity, or function of. 2. in a manner similar to; the same as. just the way it is, with no changes or modifications.
Mustard seed faith has nothing to do with the size of our faith. It does, however, have everything to do with the similarity of operation. The only reason that we would plant a mustard seed or any kind of seed in the ground is because we understand this operation of the ground and the seed and we full well expect a production and harvest.
The fact that the seed that we sow is less than all the seeds that are in the earth is highly important. The curses are already out there. We don’t even have to sow them. We can clear off a piece of land down to bare soil and wait a few weeks and we will find all kind of weeds, briers, thorns and thistles. Who planted those seeds? Nobody! They are already there. If we should sow a seed in that area, we can rest assured that it is less than the number of all the seed curses that is already there. That is the point that Jesus was making in the parables. If we want to reap a harvest, we will have to control the curses i.e. weeds.
John 12:24 verily, verily, i say unto you, except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.
Have we ever given thought to why a fence post rots? God designed the earth with different chemicals and stuff in it that activates when moisture is present and the ground attacks anything that is put in it and tries to kill it. The outside of a seed is a hard shell and that protects the life that is within the seed. In order for the life that is in the seed to come forth, that hard shell must decay or rot. At that point the life that is in the seed makes a demand on the soil and begins to draw nutrients from the ground and begins to grow a root system, then a stalk and then leaves and finally fruit.
Now with all this information about a natural seed, we should be able to see the method of operation in the kingdom of God.
Jesus states that the seed is the word of god.
Jesus states that the soil is the heart of man.
The next question that is usually asked is, well, how do we plant the word in our heart? The answer is so simple that you will have trouble accepting it.
We speak the word out loud so we can hear our self say it!
We speak the word out loud so we can hear our self say it!
We speak the word out loud so we can hear our self say it!
Notice what Paul says about this in Romans 10.
Rom 10:6 but the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, say not in thine heart, who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring christ down from above:)
7 or, who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up christ again from the dead.)
8 but what saith it? the word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;
We plant the word in our heart by saying it out loud. How many times have we heard someone pray, “Lord just reach down and touch sister so & so”? That is not righteousness, which is of faith speaking. Jesus totally and faithfully completed all the work necessary for everything that we will ever have need of on this earth when He said, “It is finished”! Then He sat down at the right hand of the Father expecting until his enemies are made his footstool. Those ineffectual prayers will not have Jesus jumping up and down so he can come down here and touch someone.
Once that we understand the dynamics of the spoken word, we can see how the kingdom of God works and also why some positive thinking teachings work even though they leave God out of the teachings that they present. Notice what Paul goes on to say;
Rom 10:9 that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the lord jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that god hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
10 for with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
We can easily see that the entire recreation act of the new birth, by the Spirit of Christ, while in our fallen Adamic human spirit, is accomplished by the fact that we said some words? It is like getting married. One cannot get married without saying some words as simple as, “I do” or “I will”. How simple is that?
I want to look now at the law of the harvest. Many believers violate the law of the harvest. Smart farmers would never violate the law of the harvest.
Mark 4:29 but when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come.
If we go to any seed stand and buy a packet of seeds, we can look on the back of the packet and there it will be stated a time from planting to harvest and it varies with the different types of seed. For example, radishes may say 30 days, while corn may say 90 to 120 days to harvest.
With this in mind, we can easily see that if we go out one day and plant our field in corn, and then come back the next day and say, “hey we planted corn in this field and we don’t have any corn, let’s plant it again”. We could do that 365 days a year and never get a harvest of corn. Why? Because we have violated the law of the harvest! Many believers will confess something once or twice and then they give up because they did not immediately see the harvest of what they were confessing.
Once we start confessing the word, there is a due season and a process to full maturity, and if we pull up the small plants, there will never be any maturity that brings forth the harvest.
Gal 6:8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.
9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
10 As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.
We hear many people talk about the “power of the Word!” However, if we look at Hebrews chapter one, we will see it states “the Word of His power”!
The power of God is contained in every Word of God in seed form and we can plant the Word in our heart by simply saying it out loud where we can hear our self say it. If we don’t violate the law of harvest we will reap a harvest in due season. Isn’t that something?
Grace and Peace multiplied in the name of Jesus.
Compiled by Jerry Thomas 10/15/18
All scripture references are (KJV) unless otherwise denoted.
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