BY GREG CRUM
“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.” Genesis 1:26
God’s original plan for man was for us to “have dominion” over this earth. He created this planet for us, filled it with awesome creatures numerous and varied, and delegated to us the responsibility to manage this property according to His expressed desires. Along with this delegation of responsibility came the authorization (authority) and the force (grace) to accomplish this wonderful task. We were set up beautifully, but then we reasoned with the enemy, doubted God’s Word and love for us, sinned, and fell from that grace with a thunderous crash. So, we messed up God’s plan royally, but just because we failed, does that mean that God’s intentions for us have changed? Of course not! God’s plan for man to exercise our authority in this earth never changed. He still desires that we use our faith to enforce His will and way in this earth, and, now, because of Jesus’ sacrifice for us, we once again can accomplish what God originally created us for!
Last week we spoke of the “great faith” of the centurion with the sick servant mentioned in Matthew 8. Jesus marveled at this man’s belief in him. He said he hadn’t seen that kind of faith even among the Israelites. What was so impressive about this man’s faith? It was what he understood about Jesus. This centurion was a man of authority. He knew what it was like to be in a chain of command, to give and receive orders. He knew that Jesus had authority over sickness and disease, and what’s even more impressive, he knew that all Jesus had to do to unleash that authority was to speak his word to that situation that was in subjection to his (and his Father’s) will. Some would say, “That’s great for Jesus, and it sure helped that centurion and his sick servant, but how does that help me make it through what I’m facing?” Much in every way! In that centurion’s faith and testimony is the key to a like “great faith” that will allow you to enforce God’s will in your life and receive from Him the deliverance that Jesus already paid for in full.
Friends, here’s a truth that too many Christians don’t understand—Jesus’ death for us was more than just a ticket for us to get into Heaven. He also paid the price to redeem our original rights and responsibilities over this earth. We’ve been given back our authority (really his authority, but we are members of his body) and endowed with power by the Holy Ghost to enforce God’s will in this earth. “Well, if that’s the case, why’s the world in such a mess?” In large part because we’ve doubted this commission and failed to follow the faith example found in the Word of God. We don’t understand authority because we despise it. We are so self-centered that we can’t be bothered to take orders from anyone, even Jesus. We don’t have “great faith” in this area like the centurion did because we don’t live life the way he did. We can though. We can begin to submit our hearts and minds to God and conscientiously and consistently take orders from our Heavenly headquarters. We can build our faith in the delegated authority of Jesus to the point that we are again useful to our Father in establishing His Kingdom on this earth. Really, that’s part of our “Great Commission” found in Mark 16. It was given to the earliest believers in Jesus, and it’s the continuing call for all believers today!
Greg Crum is the pastor of Calvary Temple in Lovely.