Introduction

Genesis 1:28-31 NKJV  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.”  (29)  And God said, “See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food.  (30)  Also, to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food”; and it was so.  (31)  Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

• Alright, we have now read this passage of text three times! And we are on our third and final sermon from this text. Next week we move on to Genesis Chapter 2!
  • But for today, let’s talk about the final of the first three commands God gave mankind.
    • First: Be Fruitful and multiply.
    • Second: Fill the Earth and subdue it.
    • Third: Have dominion over all the Earth.
  • So two weeks ago we talked about the first command God gave mankind “Be fruitful and multiply”.
    • In this sermon I urged the church to abhor abortion in all of it’s forms, to never think carnally about having children but instead to seek God and ask God “How many children should I have?”. We encouraged adoption, evangelism, and generational thinking.
      • By the way, since that sermon, four couples have come forward to me seeking assistance with adoption or fostering! If you want to help, you can give on the church app to the adoption fund, praise God!
  • Then last week we talked about the command to “fill the earth”.
    • That God’s original plan was for the earth, all of it, not just the garden of Eden, to be full of His people.
    • And that God’s plan is STILL for the earth to be full of His people.
    • And the challenge was for us, as Christians, to go out and to lead people to Christ in all nations so that, with the help of the Holy Spirit, the earth will once again be full of God’s people… so that when the son of God returns to Earth He will find faith!
  • Now this week we talk about the final of the three commands that God gave mankind… “Subdue and have dominion over all the earth”.

Genesis 1:28 NKJV  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.”

• Subdue the earth and have dominion over the fish, the birds, and every living thing that moves on earth…
  • This, church, is what is sometimes known throughout church history as “The dominion mandate”.
    • We are commanded to TAKE DOMINION, and that is exactly what we are going to talk about today.

• Multiply, Fill, Dominate… Part 3 – Take Back Dominion
  • Listen, today’s sermon may get a little political…
    • Actually, it is probably going to get a lot political…
    • Because worldly politics actively fights against this command from God.
    • And modern Christian Culture has rebelled against this command from God.
      • And we will look at some of the reasons why…
      • But what we will NOT do is allow culture to dictate what we can and can not preach about… we preach the WORD of God in this church, and we are not ashamed of the Gospel here… so let’s pray and then we will get into it.

• Point one this morning is that we are to have dominion over the Earth, not the other way around.

Point One – We are To Have Dominion Over the Earth, Not The Other Way Around

Genesis 1:28 NKJV  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.”

• The word here for dominion in the Hebrew is “Radah”… it means “To rule, to control, to dominate”… in other words, it means “Dominion”.
  • God tells us, in clear instruction, to have Dominion over all the earth, to subdue it, to control it, to rule over it.
    • There is a reason that lions are not in charge…
      • The world says “Survival of the fittest” well put a bear and a human in a lion together and see who is more fit.
      • But God did not put lions in charge…
        • That is why when Daniel was thrown into the lions den, Daniel did not get eaten… because the lions were not in charge.
          • OH THAT WILL PREACH.
            • God did not give the lions domion over man… but God gave MAN dominion over lions.
            • And not just any men, but men and women of GOD.
              • It is GODLY people, people who belong to the family of God who are commanded to take dominion.
• Yet, when I seem to talk to just about anyone about taking dominion over the earth… the sense that I get is that the majority of mankind has the feeling that the earth is in control and that we are just passengers along for the ride.
  • Or that the earth is in charge, and we are just an annoying nuisance living on it’s back.
    • Many ancient religions WORSHIPED the earth… the Pagans worshiped the earth, they sing songs to it and praise it and make sacrifices to it…
      • It is a twisting of God’s word, and a twisting of God’s commands… and it has gone on for far to long.
• Of course today we don’t call people who worship the earth “pagans” we call them “Climate Alarmists”.
  • A group of people who have taken over the mainstream narrative suggesting that we must submit to the earth, worship the earth, make sacrifices to the earth… or we are all going to die…
    • And these pagans… these climate alarmists… they have prophets, just like the pagans of old.
    • And just like the pagans of old… the prophets were not very good at prophecy…

• In 1989, a senior United Nations official predicted that “entire nations could be wiped off the face of the Earth” by rising sea levels if global warming was not reversed by the year 2000.
  • I have been around since 89 and I don’t recall any nations being wiped out…
  • In 2005, the United Nations Environment Programme predicted that by 2010, some 50 million “climate refugees” would be fleeing from climate change-induced coastal flooding, drought, and other disasters.
    • I know about a lot of refuges, I have housed some myself… never met a climate refuge though…
  • In 2007, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predicted that by 2020, Himalayan glaciers would be gone.
    • I googled it, they are still there guys…
  • In 2008, Al Gore predicted that the Arctic would be ice-free by 2013.
    • Also still there.
  • In 2009, King Charles, then only Princ Charles, claimed that we had only 96 months left to save the world from climate change.
    • That was 177 months ago… we are still here…
  • In 2020, a report by the United Nations Environment Programme predicted that by 2023, the world would face a “catastrophic” global temperature rise of 2°C above it’s average temperatures in 2020.
    • Yet global temperatures have not raised even a tenth of a degree since this prediction.
• Guy’s these failed predictions, these false prophecies are ALL over… but they are never talked about… these guys just go on to make more an more false prophecies… WHY THOUGH?
  • Because the Devil is a liar, and a thief, and a fearmonger… He lies about climate change… he tries to steal your peace and your money… and he wants you afraid… because afraid people are easier to control.
    • We saw that play out in the Covid nonsense…
      • Church I have neighbors who wear masks when they go on walks, they wear big rubber or leather gloves tucked in tight to big over coats, and cover there head with huge hats… Because they are afraid of Covid…
        • They are CHRISTIANS who love God… but they fear the lies instead of fearing God… as such, they have not been to church since the pandemic…
        • Satan won that battle in their life.
• GUYS I KNOW HOW THE WORLD ENDS… BECAUSE THE PROPHETS I LISTEN TO HAVE A 100 PERCENT TRACK RECORD.
  • So I have nothing to fear.
    • Guys I am in charge of this earth… you are in charge of this earth.
      • I have dominion…you have dominion over it.
      • So I will take care of the earth, of course, I am not unaware of the dangers of pollution and litering…
      • I will take care of the earth because that is my responsibility as someone with dominion over it…
        • I will take care of it… but I will not worship it, and I will not FEAR it…
• And I just want to encourage you church… climate change, earthquakes, wars, rumors of wars… whatever… DON’T BE AFRAID. GOD PUT YOU IN CHARGE.
  • The lies and the fearmongering is there to take control away from you… BUT GOD GAVE YOU CONTROL.
  • TAKE BACK DOMINION.
• Now that brings me to my second point this morning, take back dominion over your homes.

Point Two – Take Back Dominion Over Your Homes

Genesis 1:28 NKJV  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.”

• Now if the Earth is supposed to be your domain, then your HOME should definitely be your domain right?
  • God gave us dominion over the Earth, He gave us the responsibility, the Command to take dominion over the earth and subdue it…
    • Then CERTAINLY our homes, our houses, where we live… we should have dominion over our homes amen?!
• Well then church we need to take back dominion over our homes.
  • Because we have been losing ground.
    • We have been losing ground in our homes, in our families, with our children, in our own minds who’s thoughts we ought to be taken captive…
    • Yet we are losing ground.
      • We are losing ground to Social Media.
      • We are losing ground to Netflix, and Disney, and YouTube.
      • We are losing ground to the mainstream media… to CNN, and Fox News, and NPR…
      • We are losing ground to social trends, a sexualized culture, and school systems that say “We know how to raise your children better than you know how to raise your children.
    • We are losing ground because we are not taking the dominion mandate seriously.
  • God tells us to take dominion of the earth, to subdue it, to have dominion over ever living creature and we struggle to take dominion over our own homes, our families, our children.
    • Now I am not saying Social Media is all bad…
      • I am saying it has no authority in my house.
    • I am not saying watching Netflix or hulu is always sinful.
      • But streaming services do not have dominion in my home.
    • I am not saying you cant read or watch or listen to the news…        
      • I am simply saying know who is in charge…
    • And while the culture, and the trends, and the sexualization of things is getting more and more evil…
      • I am saying “NOT IN MY HOUSE”.
• One of my favorite events in Scripture is from Joshua chapter 24.

Joshua 24:14-15 NKJV  “Now therefore, fear the LORD, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the LORD!  (15)  And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”

• Put away the god’s which your fathers served…
  • The people loved those false gods… Joshua says “GET RID OF THEM”.
  • What do you love that you need to get rid of?
    • Put away the pornography, the vulgarity, the filth that culture worships…
    • YOUR HOUSE IS YOUR DOMINION, DO NOT ALLOW EVIL IN YOUR HOUSE.
      • I say this, yet most of us not only allow evil in our house, but we invite it with the things that we watch, and listen to, and joke about.
      • With the clothes that we wear and the people we hang out with… we invite evil in our house.
  • PUT THOSE THINGS AWAY, Joshua says… and chose whom you will serve.
    • Will you serve Netflix, and Hulu, and Disney, and Youtube?
    • Will you serve romance novels, or manga, or secular books that lead to dark thoughts?
    • Will you serve footBaal or BasketBaal, or BaseBaal. (Baal, by the way, is an ancient evil God, I am making a play on words here)…
    • WHOM WILL YOU SERVE?
  • AS FOR ME AND MY HOUSE WE WILL SERVE THE LORD.
• We WILL Serve the Lord.
  • Not we might… not we should… not even “we will strive to” or “we will try our best to”.
    • No, WE WILL SERVE THE LORD. THIS IS MY DOMAIN, GOD PUT ME IN CHARGE OF THIS HOUSE. WE WILL SERVE THE LORD.
      • Does that mean I don’t watch Netflix or use Social media or whatever?
        • No, I do… but it means I don’t serve them, they serve us.
        • If a show I love goes of the deep end, I stop watching it.
        • If a show is pornographic, it is not played in my house.
        • We are in charge and we chose what can and can not take place in our home.
    • My daughter is 6… the other day she told me my shoes looked “Hot”.
      • I said “excuse me?” She said “Your shoes are hot dad!”
      • I looked at Amanda and I said “Where did she learn that word?”
      • Amanda said she had been watching the “High School Musical” show on Netflix.
        • So I called Hannah over, explained that show was too old for her and that she was not allowed to watch it.
        • Hannah cried. But Hannah crying is better than the alternative.
    • “Well that’s a bit harsh! Hot is not a bad word”… yest it is, it is a cultural word that means sexy, as in “That article of clothing makes you look sexually appealing”.
      • But pastor she doesn’t know that… YEAH, that’s the problem.
        • Because first it is “Those shoes are hot”
        • Then it is “This shirt is hot”
        • Then she gets old enough to google and searches something “Hot clothes for teenage girls”.
          • And now instead of crying about not being able to watch a show, she is rebelling because I wont let her wear a crop top and short shorts to school.
• In my house I HAVE DOMINION. And with that dominion I make a Stand… AS FOR ME AND MY HOUSE WE WILL SERVE THE LORD.
  • And anything that is not of God, be it major league sports, or TV shows, or even the news… they are a guest in my house and they BETTER WATCH THEIR MANNERS OR THEY WILL BE TOLD TO LEAVE.
• In my house we worship, we pray, we study our Bibles, we talk about the things of God. IT IS NOT AN OPTION, IT IS WHO WE ARE.
  • CHURCH TAKE DOMINION OF YOUR HOMES BACK.
    • And this brings me to our final point this morning: Take Back Dominion In Politics

Point Three – Take Back Dominion in Politics

Genesis 1:28 NKJV  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.”

• Listen… according to Pew Research… an astonishing 63% of Americans claim to be Christians.
  • Now we live in a country where politicians are chosen by the majority.
    • So why is it that every politician in America is not a Christian?
      • For goodness sake we have a HUGE majority of the population claiming to be Christians… but we don’t have a majority of the population voting like they are Christians.
    • We are commanded by God to take dominion… and we say “Hey, let’s leave the dominion up to the pagans and the heathens”.
      • And what is the result?
      • The result is that we live in a nation where more than a million babies are aborted every year… where we don’t arrest men for murdering babies, but we arrest ministers for trying to stop those men from murdering babies.
        • We live in a nation where the public schools are almost completely devoid of God… where pornography is given out for free in our children’s school library and where teachers are trained to give “gender affirming care” to confused children without the parents knowledge.
        • We live in a nation that offers more protections for your sexual identity than for your religious identity… a nation where a Baker from Colorado can be sued for decades time and time again because he lives his life by the Bible.
        • We live in a nation that invites new ways to do evil… a nation full of politicians who go out of their way to call good evil and to call evil good.
• And I think it is time that changes.
  • For DECADES it was illegal for a church to endorse candidates or talk to much about politics from the Pulpit… but one of the things President Trump did right was that he removed the fangs from the Johnson Amendment… now churches can not be punished for talking about politics.
    • But either way, we are going to talk about it… because I believe that God want’s us to have dominion.
    • Election season is coming up, let us use the word of God and the power of democracy to vote in God fearing Christians who know that the Law of God and the ways of God are better than the law of man and the ways of man. Amen?
  • Now in a moment I am going to bring up two men who are running for the Cedar Rapids Community School District School board.
    • I am going to endorse these men and urge you to vote for them on November 7^th.
    • But before I do that we need to do something far more important… we need to preach the gospel.

Conclusion – Take Dominion of Your Own Life

• Now we have talked a lot about dominion… about the Kingdom of God.
  • And I want to make sure that everyone in this room is a part of the Kingdom of God.
    • Because if you are not a part of the Kingdom, then you have no right to dominion.

John 3:1-5 NKJV  There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.  (2)  This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.”  (3)  Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”  (4)  Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?”  (5)  Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.

• Gospel Call
• Invite up Barclay Woerner and Rick David… Take back dominion of our Public Schools… better to vote in Christians then to just sit back and complain!