Dominion Of The Heart

Today I want to go to Genesis chapter 1. Figure that's a good place to start and we'll just see where the Lord takes us. I want to talk about dominion of the heart. Dominion of the heart.

Genesis 1 verse 26 reads this way. Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness. Let them have dominion." Everybody say, "Dminion." >> Dominion. over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air, over the cattle, over all the earth, over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. So God created man in his own image, and in the image of God he created him, male and female he created them. And then God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and subdue it. Have dominion." Say, "Dminion >> over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth."

You might be asking yourself, why is Pastor Kevin talking about dominion? Well, first of all, it's in the Bible. So, I feel like if it's in the Bible, we should talk about it. Number one. Number two, I feel like we need to have a proper understanding of dominion because it's a biblical word. It's a God word. It's a covenant word that is there. It belongs to God first. He defines it. He is the one who can let us know what he intends for us to understand about it. Now again if you want to look up the definition of dominion you'll come across basically these words sovereignty and control. If I could sum it up simple in our today's language dominion would be sovereignty and control. To answer the question about why we're going to talk about dominion the answer is simple. Dominion is why you are here. >> Now I don't mean you know here physically in the room at centerpoint. I mean that's why you're here on this planet. When he was forming you in your mother's womb, before she ever knew your name, God was giving you dominion and authority.

Psalms 139 and 13, reading from the New Living Translation, it says this, "You made all the delicate inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother's womb. He gave you your unique DNA and your fingerprints and your eye color and all your personality traits and quirks and ticks and everything that makes you you." God did that on purpose. I'm gonna say that again. God did that on purpose. There was a reason behind it. Not only this, but the Bible goes on to say that he formed your days. Psalms 139:16 says this, "You saw me before I was born." Listen to these words. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. Do you understand the power that is in this truth for you and I today? Every day you've ever lived up until this moment, God has seen. Not only has he seen it, but God had a plan for that day for you to have dominion over the day. Everybody say dominion. >> I hope I can get this across today the way I feel like God's got it in my spirit today. You are to have dominion over the day. >> Dominion over that. I want maybe after this is over with today what I hope is when you wake up every morning that you take authority over the day that God's given you >> because that day is a gift. Did you know today is a gift from God? >> It's a gift. But no more than this being a gift. God has intended for you to rule and reign and have dominion over this day. You have the ability by God to have dominion over this day. Did you know that >> you can claim it and say, "God, it belong. Lord, you already put it in your book. You've already subscribed it to me. I might as well live up to what you want me to be. God, let me have dominion over this day.

Psalms 118:24. This is the day which the Lord hath made. I will rejoice and be glad in it. Do you have a rejoiceful attitude when you get up in the mornings? >> Yeah, there's a few out there. There's some, you know, you got to it takes a little minute. Yeah. Don't point fingers. You have to understand in the first part of this verse, it makes the last part easy to do. If we understand that we're to have dominion, we can be glad. This is the day the Lord hath made. He's given me dominion. Therefore, I will rejoice. >> You're not there yet, but I'm going to get you there before the end of the day. This is the day the Lord has made. I didn't make today. >> My enemies didn't make today. >> My God made today. >> And he has given me dominion over this day. Therefore, I will rejoice and be glad because my God has given me the power to own today. I'm not going to get caught up in excuses and reasons why it hasn't went the way I wanted it to. This is the day the Lord has made. I will choose to rejoice and be glad even in the bad days. Yes, even in the bad days. Even when I lose. Yes. Even the days that you have lost, it's still a good day because God gave you this day. This is the day the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad in it. I feel like we spend too much time fussing about the day, >> especially the day the Lord has made. Today is a gift. Therefore, I'm going to rejoice in the day he's given me. Cussing and fussing, you know who I'm talking to. Cussing and fussing ain't going to get you anywhere. Only makes you look like a fool. Don't you dare give credit to the devil for this day. The devil didn't give you this day. That's right. >> He didn't create this day. If he had his way, you wouldn't be here. >> And not just in this room. I mean, you wouldn't be alive if he had his way. >> This is the day the Lord hath made. I will take dominion. I will rejoice. I will be glad in what God has given me. What God has given me to steward >> through dominion.

>> When I think about this, I think about Job's response. Though he slay me, >> I doubt anybody in the room had a bad day like Job did. I doubt anybody and we got some sad stories in the room, but I don't think anybody compared to Job's story. And yet he said, "Though he slay me, yet will I trust him." How can you do that? Because he understood who it was that was still in control. I may not know everything that's going on. I may not know what's going to come tomorrow, but I know who holds my tomorrow. >> And it's in that I have confidence. It's in that that I have strength. It's in that that I have the ability to say, "This is the day the Lord has made. >> He authored it. He knew what I was going to face. and he's given me all the faith I need to get through this day. I may not like what comes my way, but I'm still going to raise my hands up in spite of all those things and say, "God, it's a good day. I'm going to praise you today." As long as YOU PUT BREATH IN MY LUNGS and give me the ability to say, "You are a good and a faithful God." I will stand to the best of MY ABILITY. SAY, "GOD, I REJOICE TODAY. IT'S A day you've given me. >> You were formed for dominion." Everybody say, "Dminion." Dominion. God put you in the world as a unique expression of his gifts and callings so that you can manifest his image in a way that nobody else can. >> You're special. Look at your neighbor right now. Say, "You're special." Some of you got a lot of satisfaction by doing that. You are the only one of you there is. >> You're one of a kind. You are a piece of work. You were created for a particular task that God created you to do. Amen. And the joy comes into our lives when we are connected to God. And that connection leads to the revelation of why we were formed. Our purpose, God has given you dominion to operate in the physical world. And that dominion shapes you and who you're becoming. He intended you to be something from the very beginning. You're not an accident. >> I say this many times. Your mom and dad may not have planned you, but God plans you. >> God doesn't make a mistake. God is not surprised. >> He's not surprised. >> He didn't look around and say, "Whoa, I didn't believe there's Look, there's Wesley. I didn't know there was going to be a Wesley." No, he knew you're not an accident >> and you're a piece of work.

Dominion does not start Listen to me. Okay, I'm going to be serious for a minute. I'm going do a little bit of teaching. I'm going to get back to preaching. But listen to me. Dominion does not start with action. Dominion does not start with action. Dominion starts with identity. Amen. >> Knowing who you are. It's first being before doing. I'm going to say that again because there's notakers in the room. This is a good note. Dominion does not start with action. Dominion starts with identity. It's first being before it's doing. For this to really make sense, you have to go deeper because most of our struggles do not start in our circumstances. They start somewhere much closer. So today, we're not talking about taking dominion over things. We're going to talk about taking dominion over our heart. I want to show you where dominion was first lost because dominion is always lost in the heart before it's ever lost in life. And that's the same place, the heart, where dominion can be restored. And I want to do a little restoring today. God's going to do some restoring in our lives. Are you excited about that? >> You guys good? You ready for the journey? >> As long as the heart is misaligned, it does not matter how gifted or how talented or how capable you are, you will never fulfill what you were created to do or accomplish as long as your heart's misaligned with him. >> Now, the world may say, "Look at that talent and ability." But are you doing it for the world? Were you created for the world? No. You were created for him and for his glory and for his purpose. That's why I say dominion is about understanding your identity. This matters in us because we cannot often do what we need to do because we're focused on the wrong things. You cannot do what you were created to do until you first understand who you were created to be. If we do this, what happens is we end up, listen to me, this is important, we end up chasing outcomes instead of our identity. That's what the world focuses on. The outcome, right? But God's not worried about the outcome. He's worried about you understanding who you are >> in him. Who you are is important to know. You will never truly accomplish your purpose until you understand who you are settled and who you're supposed to be.

That's why the experience of new birth is so important in our life. The plan of salvation has to be applied to your life because it doesn't just change behavior. In new birth, it reveals my identity. Before salvation is applied, even our best attempts at righteousness eventually become self-righteousness. That's not what we're meant to be. That's not what God intends for us. That's why Jesus came not just to change our actions, but to reach our hearts, to go down the deep down inside of who we are and where our identity was, because he knew it was going to flow from the inside, what we were passionate about, what we are attaching ourselves to, what our desires were. And God said, "That's where I need to go."

If we go back to our opening text in Genesis 1, we see that dominion flows out of being before it ever flows out of doing. Let me draw your attention back. Genesis 1:26. And God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness, and let them have dominion. Before dominion came, they were created in likeness." The identity became before the dominion. Are you catching what's going on? It's woven into our humanity at the level of our identity. We were made in the likeness of God to carry dominion in our very being. God, King of kings and Lord of lords. When you and I are made in the image of God, we were created to rule and reign. You were created to rule and reign. >> Step up to the plate and be who God called you to be. Quit being beat down. Quit being identified by your mistakes and your failures and your shortcomings. Here's the reality. Every one of us in this room are flawed individuals from left to right, front to back. Every one of us were imperfect. Every one of us needed God and all. Every one of us are sinners saved by his grace and his mercy and his love. Stop being less than who you are. Quit being identified by the sin that is there. >> Embrace your IDENTITY. YOU ARE A CHILD OF THE KING MEANT to rule and reign and have DOMINION AND AUTHORITY AND POWER.

Adam's dominion flowed out of who he was. When he had work to do, he does it. He doesn't struggle to do it. Just flows out of him. When he was naming the animals, he didn't struggle to do that. He's like hippopotamus, giraffe, opasum, leviathan, king James. He didn't struggle. We have no indication he struggled. You know why? Because he had dominion to do that. >> That's what God created him to do. He said, "Go into the garden and tend the garden to take care of it." So when he was doing what he was created to do, it wasn't anything that was causing him to have a lot of struggle. Go back and read it. You don't get any indication. There's no language that is there to say that he was struggling to do anything that he was created to do. None. No, not one bit. We find ourselves struggling to accomplish things so many times in life. And we struggle is because we are forcing ourselves into something we were never designed to do. And in doing this, we are using behavior modifications instead of understanding we are meant to have dominion. Behavior modification always has limits. When you try to do something that you were not created to do, it often feels like putting the shoe on the wrong foot. Anybody ever ask you to do something you're not created to do? You know, I think many of you know that I love college football. Let's be honest. I'm 5' 11, about 195 pounds. I can run to 40 in 30 seconds. That's not good in case you were wondering. Yeah. There's just something as much as I have this passion for that. There's no way. There's no way. I've said this before. I would love to slam dunk a basketball and I can when I bring the goal down, but at 10 foot in my best of abilities at my peak performance years in my teenage years, I could sometimes touch the net. Sometimes touch the net. It's just not in the cards for me. So, as much as I had a desire to do that, I was never able to do that. That's not what I was built to do. You see what I'm doing right now? This is what God made me to do. This is what God I don't get nervous doing this. And God uses me in this bit. And this is the skill set that God has given me. And I've embraced it. And because of that, I have a sense of fulfillment and peace knowing I'm doing what God created me and called me to do. I'm not called to do what the rumor is. I'm not called to be children's evangelist. I would not be successful. I would be in jail week one. But I'm so thankful that you guys know what God created you to do and you've embraced it and God uses you in mighty. You see where I'm going? Every one of us have a gifting, a calling, a skill set that God created you for. And when you're in that, you have the ability to have dominion and power and authority in those things. What is your purpose in life? What did God create you to do? Until you know who you are in him, you will do often times things you're not supposed to do and you find yourself struggling and becoming so frustrated in life. Dominion flows, ladies and gentlemen, out of your identity.

Dominion was lost. But I want to show you Paul writing to the church at Ephesus how this happened. Paul's addressing this issue of dominion that was established in the garden. We see in Ephesians chapter 4 verse number 17. This I say therefore and testify in the Lord that you henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk in the vanity of their mind having the understanding darkened being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them because of their blindness of their hearts. You see that the blindness of their hearts who being past feeling have given themselves over into lasciviousness to works of uncleanness with greediness. Verse 20 but you have not so learned Christ. If so be that you have heard of him and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus, that you put off concerning the former conversations of the old man, which is corrupt according to deceitful lust, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, that you may put on the new man, which is after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. As we can see from reading this passage, this newness, this righteousness flows out of being reborn. You got to be born again. I'm still talking about the new birth. You got to be born again. And it's in that new birth experience, you become aware of your identity in him. >> You become aware of this reality, of this truth. I don't belong to me. >> Boy, that went over like a lead balloon.

Paul spends the rest of Ephesians writing down what this looks like. Talks about husband loving their wives and wives submitting their husbands and walk in wisdom and don't grieve the spirit and walk in love and walk in light and children obey parents and on and on and on. All this comes out of the heart because he knew because of the blindness of their heart, they've lost out of touch of reality with who they are. So here's what happens. When a man sinned, he sinned in response to a lie from the devil. That's why I'm going back to the garden. This is how it all got messed up, right? Genesis 1, he created them in God's image. Give them dominion to rule and reign to have authority and power. But then the enemy comes in and the enemy doesn't want us to be here. The enemy looks at us and sees a direct reflection of God and he doesn't like that. So he's going to do anything he can to cause us to stumble. So what does he tries to do from the beginning? He tries to cause there to be doubt in our minds. The lie that he so persuaded mankind that he could find his identity outside of his union with God. I'm going slow on purpose because you got to get this wrapped around your mind. You got to understand if we're going to have our dominion, if we're going to reclaim it, we got to understand the why behind it. The lie persuaded mankind that he could find his identity outside of his union with God. But Genesis 3:1 says this. Here's the interaction. Now the serpent was more subtle than any of the beasts of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, "Yay, hath God said, you shall not eat of every tree of the garden?" Now, what are we doing here? We're using God words. Sounds really good, doesn't it? Because it sounds like God. Because these are the words of God. But he's putting a little bit of a question there. All of a sudden, instead of it being something said in confidence, it's said with an air of suspicion. Did God say? All of a sudden, now we begin to question, can God be trusted? Verse number four, same chapter. And the serpent said to the woman, "Ye shall not surely die, for God doth know the day the eve thereof. Then your eyes shall be open, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil." What's so ironic is they already were like God. They were made in his image. The enemy is trying to convince them they're something that they're not. They were already like God. Yet they became convinced that having for themselves a list of rights and wrongs and dos and don'ts, changing my behavior will make me like God. All of a sudden, God said, "You can't eat of that." And the enem is like, "Well, you're not going to die if you eat that. You're going to be like him. You're already like him." But instead of going to the source of authority, they decided to question inside themselves. And in the process, they lose their dominion and power. They were already connected to God. The enemy likes nothing better than to try to take the very thing that he can't take from you because his job is to convince you to let it go. >> He cannot take your relationship with God. >> He cannot separate you from God. >> New Testament tells us what can separate me from the love of God? Nothing. Nothing can take me out of his hand. But I can willingly get out. I can choose. So we see from the very beginning his operation to get us to lose our dominion was to convince us that we were missing something in our life. That God was not fully giving us all that we needed when they had everything they had. They had everything that they had already was given to them from God. But he convinced them that God couldn't be trusted. Can you imagine how this now we read this, right? We read it in the Bible and we're like simple-minded people. Adam have to deal with all this frustration and brokenness in the world because of Adam. But let me ask you, how are you doing at dominion right now? How are you doing at ruling and reigning? You have an example of how it went wrong. I want to know how you're doing with it. How are you holding up? When I think about this and it says, remember I was talking to you when it comes to dominion, the dominion flows from what? Identity. Dominion flows from identity. This is important because this is where so many people struggle. They don't think they struggle, but they struggle here.

I think a beautiful picture is painted in the scriptures in the woman who's caught in the act of adultery. In John chapter 8, it says she was thrown down by her accusers. I always wonder, you know, she's caught in the very act. I don't think I have to describe that because we have young ears in the room, but I think most of us understand what the act means. Where was the fella? Why isn't he there too? She's there though, thrown down. We often misquote Jesus and we say this, "Go and sin no more, neither do I condemn thee." But that's not what is said. Look at John chapter 8 verse number 10. When Jesus had lifted up himself and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, "Woman, where are thou accusers? Hath no man condemned thee?" And she said, "No man, Lord." And Jesus said, "Neither do I condemn thee. Go and sin no more." Jesus knows this is important. He understands that go and sin no more flows out of I'm no longer condemned. When the condemnation is gone and the existence of alienation has been removed, then I can go and sin no more. But as long as I feel condemnation, as long as I feel the shame, it's I struggle to get away from the sin. So Jesus says, "Neither do I condemn thee. Don't let this get something that hangs you up." And how many people have been held hostage in their life, held hostage by the sin, held hostage by the condemnation, held hostage by the labels, held hostage by the mistakes, held hostage when Jesus says, "I don't condemn you." I mean, let me get down real with you right now. To really understand the New Testament birth and new birth plan is to understand that you have been redeemed, washed by the precious blood of Jesus. That when he looks at you, he doesn't see the mistakes or the failures. He doesn't see the labels. He doesn't see the wrongs. He still sees the value of the created thing he made inside of you. He still sees all the talents and giftings and abilities. He still reads through the pages of the book he's pinned of your life and he sees the outcome he has planned for you. The enemy is never going to tell you your value. He's always going to tell you you're worthless and you're a failure and you're mistake and you're always going to be so and so. You're always going to as I talked about it last Sunday that you're a Smith and Smiths always do that or you're a Johnson or you're an Allen. You're none of those things. You're a child of the king. Embrace being redeemed. >> Stop identifying with the failure. He says, "Neither do I condemn thee. There's no condemnation there." You know why? Because he knows as long as you feel that condemnation, you can never become what you're intended to be. But he says, "Go and sin no more." After he told her, "I don't condemn you. Hey, you made a mistake. It's okay. I still love you." Do you know he loves you? >> Do you know our God loves you? >> He loves you. He loves you in spite of you. He loves you in spite of how you view yourself. In spite of your failures and your shortcomings and your hiccups and your hang-ups, he still loves you. >> Remember, dominion flows out of what? >> Identity. Until you know, I've been redeemed. Until you live like you've been redeemed, you're always going to be less than what you were intended to be. It's only once you fully embrace the fact that I couldn't do it for myself. I couldn't save me. You can't save you. I can't be good enough. I can't do enough good deeds. I can't say enough good things to ever earn my redemption. Thank God I don't have to. He did it for me. And he did it for you. He went to Calvary. He died on a cross. He took on the penalty of the sin and the weight and the pressures and all the stuff that you and I could never do. Why? Because he loved you. >> Yes. because he still had a plan and a purpose that he wanted to see fulfilled inside of your life and mine. So, he's willing to take on the punishment of sin to take our place on that cross. Why? Because he wanted to restore back what had been lost in the garden. You were meant to rule and reign. You were meant to have dominion. That's why you got to be born again. Because it brings our heart back to the infilling of his spirit inside of us. And it brings you back into the relationship with the author and the finisher of my life. I have to have this knowledge. And if you're struggling with sin, I can promise you all day long, you're going to struggle with this. If you're trying to do it on your own, you're going to fail miserably. >> It's like trying to keep a diet. We're still in January. How many of you have already wrote off those New Year's resolutions? 18 days in, bunch of quitters. If you are focusing on behavior, not doing, not acting, not seeing, not partaking, not applying, what you need to do is run into the presence of God and let him stay filled with his spirit. Be filled with the spirit. You want to do right things, then stay filled with the spirit. If you want to do right things, sew into the spirit, not into the flesh. You're going to reap something. What are you sowing? You sewing into the flesh? If you want to change your life, you want to walk closer to God, I'm going to tell you what you're not going to do. You cannot binge Netflix and get closer to God. >> Amazon Prime, Hulu, whatever. Some point you got to own it. Some point you need to embrace that I was meant to have dominion. You were meant to have dominion. It's not for a select few. It's for all of us.

Since the time of Adam until now, when you sin, the natural tendency is to run and hide. Don't act like this is something foreign for you. You know how many people I've ran into, how many people throughout the years, through the 30 plus years of ministry I've now had in my life, how many people have said, "Well, I'm gonna get to church one day when I have to get my act together." That doesn't make any sense at all. >> If there's ever any time you need to go to church is when you don't have your act together. >> Yeah. You don't have to get cleaned up to come to him. Just come to him. Let him do the cleaning. Let him do the washing. Let him do the restoring. Let him do the fixing. Let him do the mending. Let him do the loving. Let him do the caring. Let him do the repair. That's what he specializes in. He loves to take the broken pieces of our life and make something beautiful out of it in a way that only our God and author can do. So why would you start running? Why would you start running away from him? Why would you not run to him when you make a mistake? If you're going to run anywhere, run into his arms. Let him embrace you. Don't be ashamed. Take what shame you have. Take those failures. Take them and run it to him and lay it at his feet AND LET HIM RESTORE YOU BACK WHERE you need to be.

>> That's why people under condemnation, I don't understand. They come to church and you can see them. They're white knuckled and sitting won't grip and you want you can you can tell you can look out of the congregation and tell God is working on them and they're like just want to go back and whisper let go let him love you let him restore you let him fix you the problem is our hearts let me show you in the scriptures the problems that have come from the hearts 1:21 and you who were once alienated and enemies in your mind by your wicked works yet now He has reconciled. When the human heart is detached from God, it produces evil.

I'm going to go through these kind of quick. Not all these verses are going to be up, but I want you to listen to me. This is what the word of God says about our hearts. Matthew 5 says this. Jesus says, "An adulterer is committed. Adultery is committed in your heart when you lust after someone." The Bible says, "The pure in heart shall see God." Jesus says in Matthew number 6, "Wherever your treasure is, that's where your heart is." Luke 6:45, this verse is for you. A good man out of the good treasures of his heart bringeth forth that which is good. An evil man out of the evil treasures of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil. For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh. Jesus said in Matthew 13, when your heart is dull, you cannot hear the word of God. In Mark chapter 4, he even compared it to blindness. And we understand that the word of God is the seed and needs to be sown in the heart. God only accepts worship that's done from the heart according to Matthew 15. For in fact, verse number 19 says, "But out of the heart proceeds evil thoughts, murders, adulterers, fornications, thefts, false witnesses, and blasphemies." Jesus said in Matthew 18, you must forgive from the heart. Mark 11, Jesus said that if you do not doubt in your heart, you cannot if you don't doubt in your heart, you can move mountains. In John 7, he says, "The rivers of living water will flow out of your heart." Acts 2 and Acts 7 says, "Then when they heard this message, they were cut in their heart." Deuteronomy and Leviticus says, "True converts are having the circumcisions of the heart." Proverbs says to keep your heart with all diligence for out of it flows the issues of life. Romans 8 says that with the heart we believe under salvation. Hebrews says the word of God is sharp and powerful and able to descend the thoughts and the intents and the purposes of the heart. These are just a few instances. Jeremiah 17:9 says the heart is deceitful above all things, desperately wicked. Who can know it? If you're going to have dominion over anything, you got to have dominion over your heart, ladies and gentlemen.

>> So, what are we going to do to get our heart back in touch with God? What are you going to do to take ownership and accountability for your heart? It's going to take us understanding the importance of being and being led by all that God wants to do for us. So, who here today, you don't have to raise your hand, but I'm asking you to reflect inside yourself. Who here today is struggling with your heart? Who's struggling? Let's be honest in the house of God today. It's a novel thought. How many of you know you know you're not where you need to be? What are you waiting for? We sit in a service where we sing songs of praise and worship. We feel his presence so strong in this place. Listen to me. Why are you justifying not fully committing yourself to God? Why are you lying to yourself saying you got it all figured out and you got it all together? Why are you doing this? Do you understand that this is the process that keeps you from having dominion? You were created with a purpose and a plan. I've already read to you that Psalms says that he's written it out. Everything he has for you to do. Wouldn't you like to discover what it is he has for you to do? Surely there's more to life than you going to the job and punching the clock. Surely there's more to your life than the meaningful day in dayout task. Do you know your purpose? Do you know why you were created? Do you know what God has for you? Salvation we talk about a lot here at Centerpoint. this new covenant. Jeremiah 31:33. This shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, sayith the Lord, I will put my law in their inner parts. I will write it in their hearts. I will be their God and they shall be my people.

So yeah, I got fiveish minutes and I'm going to end this. Got a couple of points for you here. How do I bring my heart under the dominion of Jesus Christ? How do I get it right? First, you have to be born again. You have to be filled with the spirit. You have to have repented of your sins. The Bible says no man can come unless the spirit draws. His spirit will draw you to a place of repentance. A place where you sit down and say, "God, forgive me of all the things that I've done." And I want you to know it's a place we all go. It's a place we all should go on a regular basis. It's not a oneanddone kind of thing. It's not a repent one time. It's not a go to the altar one time kind of thing. >> One of the things I love about this church is we're not ashamed to go to the altar. I love that. I love that there's no Well, nobody like, "Well, they've been up there like six times in a row." Well, you know what? You need to go too for those thoughts. You should be right up there with them. Here's the reality. I don't know how you can go from one service to the next and not have done something you need to repent for. >> You're not that good. I know I'm not that good. >> Reality is neither you. So coming to the altar is a sign of maturity. >> It's a sign of ownership. It's a sign of God, I want to be sure. Being filled with his spirit is the only way we can truly regain dominion. If you haven't been baptized, we had a baptism already. There's with plenty of baptism. If you've never been baptized in Jesus name, it was one of the most spiritual things you can ever do in your life. >> I'm telling you, if you've never done it, you need to try it. Let us explain the reasons why. Let us get you baptized today.

>> Now, there are some here today have done all these things, but you're still not who you're supposed to be. It does not negate what happened just because you're not living right in the moment. I know a lot of people who are not acting the way they should be acting. I want you to know that what you do is not who you are. Let that settle for a minute. I'm purposely being quiet. What you do is not who you are. That's what the world will do. Let's be honest. A lot of times that's what we do. Who you are is a child of the king. That's it. >> You may not be living like it. >> You may not be representing him well, but that does not negate who you are. >> You're a child of the king. The enemy wants you to be identified by your mistakes and failures. That's what's happening in our world today. People are so people are so messed up. I don't understand it. I know part of it is probably my age. I'm old now. A ap member. I just Shane and I look at things now. I'm like, "What? These people are crazy." No. I look at y'all all y'all's goofy haircuts. I don't get it. I love you. I think that's what happens when you get old. You start meddling. You're like, I don't know what people do things now. I don't understand confusion. I don't understand why all of a sudden nobody knows who they are. I don't get it. I don't know. I mean, all my life I knew which bathroom to go in. I don't understand the problem here how we got here. I don't understand. >> I'm just going to tell you this, okay? And this I could get off and this gets into a political mess and I'm not afraid of politics, but I purposely want everybody to know Jesus first. >> Okay? This church is about Jesus. >> We're not about an elephant or a donkey. We're about Jesus. But I'll say this. People have been having crazy desires since the beginning of time. >> Since the beginning of time. >> So you cannot and this is the part I mean the world we live in today. The culture says that if I'm not giving in to the things that I desire and crave that I'm not being true to myself. No. I'm sorry. That's wrong. Right? >> We all have urges and cravings and appetites, but they need to be kept in check >> and inside of boundaries where they're supposed to be. Look, look, men have been liking men and women have been liking women since the beginning of time. They also like animals. >> It's in the book. >> Like, well, Pastor Kevin, that's just weird and gross. There's some weird and gross stuff in this book. Just because you have a drawing for it doesn't mean it's right. >> There's things that are clearly stated in the book that you need to bring those things back into check. >> Not everything that you feel like you should do, you should do. >> And that doesn't mean you're being less. That's actually you being honest with yourself and realizing that was not created to do these things. Well, I've had these urges since the beginning. Oh, yeah. That's cuz you're a human being. you're emotional. They're there. But if God has spoke about it and he's going to be your Lord, I've said it many times. He's either Lord of all or he's not Lord at all. >> And he's pretty plain about how he feels. And I said this last I think I said it Wednesday night when I was talking in here teaching. Anything that God says is an abomination, you should really pay attention to that's a strong word. The best way I can put it in good old southern language, an abomination. When he says it's abominable, he's basically saying when I see you do that, it makes me want to throw up. >> So, it's hard for me to understand how you think it can be blessed when God views it as something he wants to do. When he sees it, he wants to throw up when it goes against the very way he created you to be. I was created this way. I was born this way. No, you were born a sinner. I'm just gonna say here's these. I'm gonna back my way out of this because I want you to feel the love of God. You were born either a male or a female. >> Listen to me. Listen to me before I don't need any rhetoric on this. I know where you're at. Just listen. You were born a male or a female. Everything past that, every feeling, every emotion, every craving, every yearning, every longing past you being a male or a female, it's all about being obedient. What you were was a man or a woman. Anything past that, you need to bring back into obedience. >> Anything past that is an appetite that needs to be controlled. Amen. >> You pray about it. >> I've already read the verse. He created them male and female >> and God doesn't make a mistake. >> Everything past that point, everything past that point is about obedience. >> You need to be filled with the spirit.

Second, you need to allow God to direct your needs, your works, your tasks, your abilities. When we focus on what we do, it often leaves our thoughts unchecked. This is a dangerous position to be in, especially when we're left alone and all by ourselves. Now, come on. You know, if we had a recorder in your car and you drove across town today, how many of you would be embarrassed? It's okay. I'll raise my hand. My family knows I have this thing. I say bad words. No, I mean, literally, that's what I say. The phrase bad words. I don't say words that are bad. I say the phrase bad words. Stubbing your toe. Bad words. Break a glass. Bad words. Now, I don't intend for them to be all those words that you just put out there. Some of you say John Brown. Some of you say things that I can't say in this room. Where this came into play is my youngest daughter was in her life class over here and she's they're doing prayer requests and she said pray because my dad says bad words. So the teacher came to me and said this is what they said and I'm like well she told the truth. Teacher's eyes got big. I'm like well hang on let me explain. I say the phrase bad words. But how many of you know left to yourself have moments that you're not proud of. So you got to bring those things back to him. Okay? It's part of being a human being. Bring those things back to him. You got to take dominion of your heart. You have to allow your thought and your life to be directed by his spirit. The word of God says gird up the loins of your mind. >> Yes. Do you understand that, Sister Kennedy? I know you understand this. You've used this a lot. You got to g up the loss of your mind. You know what that means? You got to be prepared for battle. >> Do you know why you got to fight? Because sometimes my mind gets the best of me. So, I got to take control of it. I'm here. Here's a word. You ready? I got to take dominion of my thoughts. >> I got to tell myself, that's not a right way to think. That's not a right way to feel. That's not a right way to do. That's not a right way to be. You take them captive. You hold those things. You bring it in account. G up the loins. You need to develop thought replacement. Y'all okay. Five minutes from right now, I'm in. I really am bringing this. In fact, musicians can come. God wants to do some restoring the heart here. >> You got to take things under control.

We live in a world where for whatever reason people thinks that clothing is optional. I've told this story before, but I feel like it applies. My wife and I were with a few other people. We were at a hockey game. People need Jesus at hockey games. We were at a hockey game and we were sitting I was sitting on the end and we were there with a few other people and I was on the end with the guys. It was me and two other gentlemen and then it was the three wives. And my wife was great with child. And the little predators gals came down the aisles and they had their little pompoms and they was doing little, you know, cheer break. And this little girl, she comes, she sits like right, she stands right beside me and she's shaking everything she's got. Here's your moment, right? What are you going to do? So, I purposely turned my back so that I could catch my wife's eyes. And I looked at her and I just smiled and I winked because I wanted her let her know that whatever was moving behind me had nothing for me >> cuz I knew she was self-conscious about how she was. But I've told her this with all three of our children. She's never been more beautiful in those moments than when she was carrying our children. Now, I'm going to say I'm not saying that for brownie points. She loves me. I'm saying you got to own the moment. You got to own the moment. This is the day the Lord hath made. >> Maybe it's not a good day. Maybe you get bad news today. Maybe you get bad diagnosis. There's something about understanding who I am that even on the day that I get the worst news that I can walk out and throw my hands up and say, "This is the day the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad in it." What does that say? I have dominion over my heart. My emotions are going to kind of try to control me. Hey, listen. If you don't know about emotions, I just gave my daughter away on Friday. I was an emotional wreck. Yeah, Jan and Mark, I love your boy. But there was a moment I'm like, I may be 50 now. My shoulder may hurt, but I still got a little scrap in me. But I had to take dominion in my heart because it was the right thing.

Here's what I know, and I'm bringing this to a close. There's going to come a day that we're all going to stand before him. And you can walk up there thinking you're going to bring your list of reasons why you didn't have to do the things you were supposed to do. I didn't see it out. I didn't see it that way. I didn't think that was right. You know, he's a good God. He's a God of love. And I love that when people want to argue with me, they're like, "Well, he's a God of love. I just don't know if I can get behind if he's supposed to be a God of love. Where's all the bad in the world?" Well, well, first of all, you haven't even thought that question out. If you knew anything about God, you know that God didn't do this. We did this. We made the mess. But here's what I noticed one day that we sang this song. We sang the song earlier. I don't know if you barely paid attention to it, but it just made me smile because God's really good about confirming what he sends me to say. He's really good about it. It makes me happy because I'll be honest with you, half the time I come up here, I don't have a whole lot of confidence. Y'all may think differently, but most days I wrestle with myself. I wrestle. We sing. Every knee's going to We're going to confess. Everybody's going to confess who he is. He's Lord. That's scriptural. Every knee's going to bow. Every tongue's going to confess. Every knee will bow. Every tongue, even those who stand in defiance and say there is no God, they will bow one day and confess that he is God. That includes you. >> You can try if you want to in that day. And I hope you know my heart when I say this. It's not going to do you any good. We are going to be whether you like it or not. We are going to be judged by this. Whether you like it or not. Did we line up with it or did we not? Did you embrace it or did you not? Now, I'll be honest with you. He's not going to grade on the curve. >> He is a sovereign God. He stands for righteousness. He loves you enough that he's pulling for you right now. He loves you enough that he created you with a purpose and a plan. He loves you enough to give you all the tools and everything you need to make it.

Does anybody have a heart problem today? Does anybody need to check themselves today? Does anybody take need to take some dominion over some things? I'm going to tell you that I had to sit back there this morning. I was tired. It's been a long weekend. I laid on my altar in my office and I said, "Maybe y'all think I'm crazy, but this just I love you. I'm just transparent. I'm just me." It makes her nervous when I say that. I'm just me. I laid there this morning. I said, "God, I don't want to do this. I'm tired. I'm tired today. God, I realize that before I can get up and tell everybody else what it is they need to do, I need to make sure that I'm right, too. Because I realize Paul warned me, lest I was going to be a cast away. I need to make sure before I get behind this pulpit that I'm right. So, I sit back there this morning. I did a little heart surgery and I asked him, "God, search me cuz I'm not good. I'm not good on the inside, God. I know I'm not. So help me. And as he always does, he illuminated some things in my life. He brought some stuff to my mind, and I had to ask him to forgive me. I had to take dominion over it cuz I want to do what he wants me to do. I want to fulfill my purpose. I want to be able to stand and say, "This is the day the Lord has made. I will rejoice and I will be glad in it.

So, you don't mind standing with me right now? If you're okay and comfortable, just close your eyes. Jesus, I'm so thankful that you are patient and you are kind and you are loving. So thankful, God, that you don't condemn us. You encourage us to go and sin no more. So thankful, Lord, when I cry out to you, Lord, you are there. That when I ask for forgiveness, you're faithful and just to forgive and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. I'm so happy, God, that you are all of these things. Lord, today in this room, I feel you near and close in such a special, tender way today. I pray God that you would illuminate the things inside our life that we need to change. Bring those thoughts to our attention that we need to take captive right now. Right now. Right now. God, give us the boldness to take a step out of our seat right now to find an opportunity to reconcile with you. It's prayer time, church. This altar's open. This altar is a safe place to come. I invite you. If you're struggling with dominion in your heart, this is a great place to fix it. Come. Come. Let God work on you as only he