Sunday Sermon
DESTINED FOR THE THRONE - The Perfect Love Story
Date: March 2, 2008
Speaker: Pastor Gerry Gregoire
Scriptural Reference: Genesis 1:26-28; Revelation 19:20:6
Listen to Audio Sermon

(GEN 1:26-28, REV 19:20:6)
26 God said, Let Us [Father, Son, and Holy Spirit] make mankind in Our image, after Our likeness, and let them have complete authority over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the [tame] beasts, and over all of the earth, and over everything that creeps upon the earth. [Ps. 104:30; Heb. 1:2; 11:3.]
27 So God created man in His own image, in the image and likeness of God He created him; male and female He created them. [Col. 3:9, 10; James 3:8, 9.]
28 And God blessed them and said to them, Be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it [using all its vast resources in the service of God and man]; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and over every living creature that moves upon the earth.

DO YOU KNOW THAT YOU ARE A CHILD OF GOD AND AS SUCH DESTINED FOR THE THRONE. IN VERSE 28 OF THE SCRIPTURE GOD TIPS HIS HAND WHEN HE SAID THAT HE WAS GIVING MAN DOMINION OVER THE EARTH AND THE CREATURES ON IT. THEY WERE TO GOVERN THE EARTH AND REIGN WITH HIM. HIS PLAN FOR THE MAN, CREATED IN HIS IMAGE, WAS ONE THAT WOULD BLOW US AWAY IF WE UNDERSTOOD THE FULL IMPACT OF WHAT HE WAS PLANNING FOR MAN. IT WAS PURE JOY AND HAPPINES AND IT’S WHAT MAN SEEKS TODAY. BUT IN THE WRONG PLACES.

SINCE MAN HAD A FREE WILL, HE MADE SOME SELFISH DISCISIONS THAT WOULD COST HIM HIS REIGN OVER THE EARTH. WHEN THEY DISOBEYED GOD, SATAN TOOK OVER AND BECAME THE PRINCE AND POWER OF THE AIR. BUT DO YOU KNOW THAT GOD’S PLAN FOR MAN HAS NEVER CHANGED. HE STILL WANTED TO GIVE MAN DOMINION OVER THE EARTH. THAT WAS HIS MISSION AND FROM THE MOMENT OF THE FALL OF MAN GOD HAD A PLAN THAT WOULD RESTORE THAT DOMINION. THAT PLAN INCLUDED JESUS.

LOOK AT GENESIS 3:14-16 ---
14 And the Lord God said to the serpent, Because you have done this, you are cursed above all [domestic] animals and above every [wild] living thing of the field; upon your belly you shall go, and you shall eat dust [and what it contains] all the days of your life.
15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her Offspring; He will bruise and tread your head underfoot, and you will lie in wait and bruise His heel. [Gal. 4:4.]
16 To the woman He said, I will greatly multiply your grief and your suffering in pregnancy and the pangs of childbearing; with spasms of distress you will bring forth children. Yet your desire and craving will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.
17 And to Adam He said, Because you have listened and given heed to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, saying, You shall not eat of it, the ground is under a curse because of you; in sorrow and toil shall you eat .

WHAT HE NOW TELLS THEM IS THAT I AM GOING TO GIVE DOMINION BACK TO MAN BUT YOU WILL HAVE TO SUFFER THE CONSEQUENCES OF YOUR DISOBEDIENCE. CHILDBEARING WILL INCLUDE PAIN AND YOU WILL HAVE TO WORK FOR WHAT YOU EAT.
CAN ANYONE TESTIFY THAT IT’S BEEN DIFFERENT IN THEIR LIFE? PROBABLY NOT.

BECAUSE WE WERE CREATED IN THE IMAGE OF GOD, SATAN WANTS TO DESTROY YOUR LIFE AND WANTS YOU TO CONTINUE TO DISOBEY THE LORD AND TO NOT BELIEVE THE PROMISES OF THE BIBLE. THAT IS HIS JOB AND HIS PRIMARY FOCUS. HE DOES NOT WANT YOU TO TAKE DOMINION AND ENJOY LIFE. WHAT IS SAD IS THAT MAN , FOR THE MOST PART, HAS BELIEVED THE LIES OF SATAN.

WHEN JESUS CAME, LOOK AND UNDERSTAND WHAT HE WAS SAYING IN LUKE 4:42-43 ---
42 And when daybreak came, He left [Peter’s house] and went into an isolated [desert] place. And the people looked for Him until they came up to Him and tried to prevent Him from leaving them.
43 But He said to them, I must preach the good news (the Gospel) of the kingdom of God to the other cities [and towns] also, for I was sent for this [purpose].
44 And He continued to preach in the synagogues of Galilee.

ARE YOU GETTING THIS? HE SPOKE AND SAID THAT HE MUST PREACH THE GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD AND THAT IS THE REASON HE WAS SENT. IN OTHER WORDS, THE KINGDOM AND ITS PRINCIPLES WILL BE RESTORED TO YOU AND DOMINION WILL BE RESTORED TO MAN.

BECAUSE MAN HAD A FREE WILL ALL ATTEMPTS TO HELP MAN GET DOMINION FAILED. SO BAD WAS MAN’S BEHAVIOR THAT GOD HAD TO DESTROY THE WORLD WITH A FLOOD IN NOAH’S DAY. BUT NOW, THANK GOD FOR JESUS.

GOD’S WHOLE PURPOSE IN JESUS WAS TO TEACH GOD’S KINGDOM PRINCIPLES TO MAN. HE WAS TO COLONIZE THE EARTH WITH GOD’S PURPOSE. WHEN TAUGHT TO PRAY WE WERE TOLD THIS IN LUKE 11:1-2
THEN HE was praying in a certain place; and when He stopped, one of His disciples said to Him, Lord, teach us to pray, [just] as John taught his disciples.
2 And He said to them, When you pray, say: Our Father Who is in heaven, hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come. Your will be done [held holy and revered] on earth as it is in heaven.
3 Give us daily our bread [food for the morrow].

WE ARE NOW TO BRING HEAVEN’S ATMOSPHERE AND BEHAVIOR TO THE EARTH.

THE COMING OF JESUS WAS ALL OVER THE OLD TESTAMENT, BUT WHEN HE CAME THE CHOSEN PEOPLE MISSED HIM BECAUSE THEY WERE BELIEVING FOR WHAT HAD BEEN THEIR IDEA OF A KINGDOM. BUT, THIS JESUS WAS BORN IN A MANGER OF COMMON PARENTS. THAT THEY WERE NOT LOOKING FOR AND DIDN’T EXPECT. BUT WHAT JESUS WAS DOING WAS SHOWING US HOW HE WAS HUMBLY BRINGING THE KINGDOM TO THE COMMON PEOPLE AND THAT IT WAS POSSIBLE TO BE A KING IN ANY CIRCUMSTANCE. YOU DON’T HAVE TO LIVE IN A CASTLE TO REIGN. FROM HIS HUMBLE BEGINNING, HE BEGAN TO ENFORCE HIS AUTHORITY IN WHAT HAD BEEN THE DOMAIN OF SATAN. HE ALSO WANTED US TO UNDERSTAND THAT WE WOULD GET THAT SAME POWER TO REIGN OVER THE DEVIL REGARDLESS OF YOUR CURRENT STATUS IN LIFE. SATAN CAN NO LONGER LORD IT OVER YOU. YOU ARE NOW OWNED BY THE TRUE KING OF KINGS AND HAVE THE POWER OVER THE ENEMY, THE DEVIL.

THE DIFFERENCE NOW WAS THAT HE WAS GIVING US HIS SPIRIT TO HELP US MAKE IT. REMEMBER, WE STILL HAVE A FREE WILL. GOD WILL NOT FORCE YOU. BUT HIS PROMISE IS TO HELP YOU COLONIZE THE EARTH SEE ACTS 1:8
8But you shall receive power (ability, efficiency, and might) when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be My witnesses in Jerusalem and all Judea and Samaria and to the ends (the very bounds) of the earth.

HE HAS GIVEN US THE NAME OF JESUS, THE HOLY SPIRIT WITH HIS FRUITS (THE CHARACTER OF CHRIST) AND THE GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT TO HELP BUILD UP THE BODY OF CHRIST TO COLONIZE THIS WORLD. WE HAVE POWER OVER THE DEVIL AND ALL HIS FORCES, BUT THE ONE THING MAN WILL NOT DO IS TO GIVE OVER HIS WILL TO GOD. AND THERE LIES THE REASON WHY WE HAVE DONE SO VERY LITTLE TO BRING THE KINGDOM OF OUR GREAT GOD TO THIS EARTH

WE ARE TO USE THAT POWER TO GO AND MAKE DISCIPLES OF THE KING AND KINGDOM ALL OVER THE EARTH. TO WHAT EXTENT HAS THAT HAPPENED AND WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MAKE IT HAPPEN?

LUKE 10:17-19
17The seventy returned with joy, saying, Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name! 18And He said to them, I saw Satan falling like a lightning [flash] from heaven. 19Behold! I have given you authority and power to trample upon serpents and scorpions, and [physical and mental strength and ability] over all the power that the enemy [possesses]; and nothing shall in any way harm you.

HE GIVE US THE POWER TO REIGN AND COLONIZE AND TELLS HIS DISCIPLE THAT NOTHING CAN HARM THEM. HOW MANY CHRISTIANS BELIEVE THAT TODAY?

THE PROBLEM THAT WAS AROUND THEN AND IS STILL AROUND TODAY IS THAT MAN HAS A PROBLEM FOCUSING ON SEEKING GOD’S KINGDOM FIRST. THEY MAY START OFF WITH THE RIGHT MOTIVE, BUT INEVIDIBLY THEY BEGAN TO FOCUS ON OTHER THINGS.

LOOK AT WHAT JESUS SAID ABOUT THAT IN LUKE 9:61-62 ---
61Another also said, I will follow You, Lord, and become Your disciple and side with Your party; but let me first say good-bye to those at my home. 62Jesus said to him, No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back [to the things behind] is fit for the kingdom of God.

THE MAN WANTED TO FOLLOW JESUS, BUT HIS WHOLE HEART WAS NOT IN IT. HE WOULD FOLLOW BUT KEEP LOOKING BACK TO WHAT HE MISSED. WE CANNOT BE DOUBLE MINDED WHEN WANTING TO APPLY THE KINGDOM’S PRINCIPLES. JESUS SAYS THAT ANYONE WHO LOOKS BACK, OR CHANGES THEIR FOCUS, IS NOT FIT FOR THE KINGDOM.

WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO THOSE WHO ARE ABLE TO FOCUS AND REMAIN FOCUSED? REVELATION 20:6Blessed (happy, to be envied) and holy (spiritually whole, of unimpaired innocence and proved virtue) is the person who takes part (shares) in the first resurrection! Over them the second death exerts no power or authority, but they shall be ministers of God and of Christ (the Messiah), and they shall rule along with Him a thousand years.
WHAT WAS LOST IN THE BEGINNING BY MAN’S DISOBEDIENCE TO GOD’S WORD IS REGAINED TO THE MAX AT THIS TIME IN REVELATION. MAN IS AGAIN IN A POSITION OF DOMINION.

WHAT WE NEED NOT FORGET IS THAT EVEN NOW AS WE LIVE ON THIS EARTH, WE HAVE DOMINION OVER ANTHING SATAN CAN CONGER UP. DISEASE CANNOT TOUCH YOU, YOUR EVERY NEED IS MET. YOU ARE TO BE BLESSED OVER AND OVER AGAIN. JESUS DID SAY THAT WE WOULD HAVE TRIBULATION IN THIS WORLD BUT THAT WE SHOULD NOT FEAR FOR HE HAS OVERCOME THE WORLD. WE FORGET THIS MANY TIMES AND ARE SUCKED INTO WHAT OUR LIVES ARE PRESENTING US FROM DAY TO DAY.

I THINK THIS KINGDOM CONCEPT IS SO IMPORTANT THAT I WILL MAKE THAT THE MAJOR TOPIC OF OUR SECOND YEAR HERE AT JESUS THE ROCK FELLOWSHIP. UNDERSTANDING THE GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM IS THE KEY TO OUR SUCCESS. GOD LOVES US SO MUCH THAT HE DIED TO GIVE MAN BACK HIS DOMINION OVER THE EARTH AND ALL THE OBSTACLES THAT ARE IN THE WAY.

I WANT TO LEAVE YOU TODAY WITH THESE NEW CONCEPTS ABOUT THE KINGDOM OF GOD:

1. GOD HAS GIVEN US A BUILT IN DRIVE TO RULE AND DOMINATE, TO EXERCISE CONTROL OVER OUR CIRCUMSTANCES AND ENVIRONMENT. BUT THE ENEMY HAS TURNED THAT AROUND TO FIT HIS PURPOSES.

2. GOD’S HIGHEST PRIORITY IS RESTORING THE KINGDOM OF GOD ON THIS EARTH. HOWEVER MOST HUMANS DON’T KNOW THAT.

3. WHEN WE UNDERSTAND KINGDOM FIRST, WE WILL UNDERSTAND HOW TO LIVE ON THIS EARTH. THIS HAS NOT BEEN MEN’S FIRST PRIORITY.

4. THE GREATEST TRAGEDY IN LIFE IS NOT DEATH, BUT LIFE WITHOUT A PURPOSE. WHAT IS YOUR PURPOSE?

5. THE GREATEST CHALLENGE IN LIFE IS KNOWING WHAT TO DO. THAT IS WHAT WE INTEND FIND OUT IN THESE NEXT FEW SESSIONS.

6. THE GREATEST MISTAKE IN LIFE IS BEING BUSY, BUT NOT EFFECTIVE. ARE YOU EFFECTIVE?

7. THE GREATEST FAILURE IN LIFE IS BEING SUCCESSFUL IN THE WRONG ASSIGNMENT. WHAT IS YOUR REAL ASSIGNMENT?

8. SUCCESS IN LIFE IS THE EFFECTIVE USE OF TIME. HOW HAVE YOU BEEN USING YOUR TIME?

9. THE KEY TO EFFECTIVE USE OF TIME IS CORRECT PRIORITIES. WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR PRIORITY?

10. ALIGNING OURSELVES WITH GOD’S PRIORITY ENSURES THAT WE WILL ALWAYS TRAVEL IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION IN LIFE. WHICH DIRECTION ARE YOU GOING IN?

11. CORRECT PRIORITIES MEANS GOD’S PRIORITY, AND GOD’S PRIORITY IS KINGDOM FIRST.

MATTHEW 6:33 ---
33But seek (aim at and strive after) first of all His kingdom and His righteousness (His way of doing and being right), and then all these things taken together will be given you besides.

ARE WE READY TO TAKE BACK WHAT ADAM AND EVE LOST IN THE GARDEN? HE LOVES US SO MUCH THAT HE IS DIRECTING US BACK TO THE THRONE. THANK YOU LORD FOR LOVING US SO MUCH!