The link between family and dominion
We sometimes fail to experience our blessings simply because we fail to respect the order of God.
In Genesis 1: 28, God says to Adam and Eve:
'God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”
Most people overexcited about God's promises, only focus on the 'dominate part' without the order which creates an environment facilitating domination.
In the order leading up to domination, God said:
1. Be fruitful,increase in number,fill the earth...
2. Then subdue it and rule over the living creatures
The fruitfulness God refers to,is about procreation or family creation. Adam and Eve were told to start a family first, then they would subdue the earth. In other words, if they had decided to remain the way they were, they would not have been able to dominate.
Domination originates from the cohesion within a group or family unit. Anyone who ventures into doing things on his/her own, will have a very hard time to exercise dominion in his/her life.
Every year, we hear people stating things like:
'I will dominate this year,
This is my year of ruling as Queen...'
It is great what they say, but if they don't work on maintaining their family relationships (and I mean spiritual and biological family) then they will have a hard time to rule in their lives.
Family is so important to God that He commanded us to be in a group (family) and replicate ourselves before ruling. Fighting with the backing of a group is better than fighting alone.
Family is so important to God that the first commandment following the four commandments related to His persona and worship, is a family commandment: 'Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.' (Exodus 20:12) .The fact that God attached a promise to the above commandment proves the utmost importance that God gives to family. By the way, the fifth commandment is the only commandment holding a promise. By studying closer the same command,one can only conclude that failing to honor our parents would definitely make life very hard for us...
Family is so important to God that He is actually willing to withhold His blessings upon unfaithful and violent husbands towards their wives as the book of Malachi 2:13-16 cites:
'Another thing you do: You flood the Lord’s altar with tears. You weep and wail because he no longer looks with favor on your offerings or accepts them with pleasure from your hands. You ask, “Why?” It is because the Lord is the witness between you and the wife of your youth. You have been unfaithful to her, though she is your partner, the wife of your marriage covenant.
Has not the one God made you? You belong to him in body and spirit. And what does the one God seek? Godly offspring.So be on your guard, and do not be unfaithful to the wife of your youth.
“The man who hates and divorces his wife,” says the Lord, the God of Israel, “does violence to the one he should protect,” says the Lord Almighty.
So be on your guard, and do not be unfaithful.'
God is actually willing to disregard an offering or even a Tithe if the carrier is a violent,unfaithful man who fails to treats his wife correctly. It is worthy to quote that some men are experiencing blockades at work,business or in their lives in general simply because of the way they treat their wives.
If we do the spiritual math right, it would go as follow:
'Make your wife happy, and the Heavens will pour blessings in your life'
Family is so important that Jesus said in Matthew 5:22-24:
'But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, ‘Raca,’ will be subject to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be subject to the fire of hell. Therefore if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.'
Reconciling and living in peace with your brother, matters more to God than your offering. It's crazy how sometimes we act carelessly, thinking that our giving will wipe out all misfortunes in our lives...This explains why some people keep offering and tithing but don't see any fruits.
If your family relationships are characterized by strife,anger, hate...you will hardly dominate in life.
Family is so important to Jesus that even though He could have ministered without an aide, He chose to have apostles and disciples. By the way, Jesus decision to create a spiritual family also called 'church' made it (somehow) possible for Him to go back to His Father at age 33. Jesus did not need to remain for centuries on Earth since He had a family on Earth to back His message. Jesus Teachings have dominated through centuries because of the the fact that He multiplied Himself through people also called Christians and as a result we find His Teachings everywhere: on google, on the internet,on Facebook, in free Bibles, in books,in museums....
Jesus followed the simple principle:
1. Be fruitful , multiply yourself (He did it by having followers)
2. Dominate (His family has decided to back his message through centuries)
Family is so important that the wisest man who ever lived once said: 'Two are better than one." (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12)
Family is so important to Jesus that He actually said: 'Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.' (Matthew 18:19)
Surprisingly, Jesus mentions the number '2' with a reason. Multiplication starts from '2'.
Family is so important that Joshua actually said: 'Me and my house ,we shall serve the Lord' (Joshua 24:15). Unfortunately some of us, servants of God, serve the Lord without our family involvement. I remember meeting preachers who neglected their families in favor of the pulpit. But the Bible says: 'Me and my house', the Bible does not say 'I shall serve alone'.
How can we serve while failing to involve our families in our ministry?
Our service and ministry starts at home first. As servants of God we should stop saying that God will take care of our spouse and kids while we spend our entire days trying to save the world and other people's kids. God will take care of our kids and spouse through us. Let's make sure that we have time to tell stories to our kids before they sleep, time to make breakfast for family, time to maintain our daily family duties...
Family is so important to God that the Bible says:
'Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.' (1 Timothy 5:8)
Worse than an unbeliever? Really? That sounds harsh...
A man who runs away from his children, and who does not provide for them, is worse than unbeliever. In such instance, there are countless people who attend church,praise and do all sort of things but fail to provide for their families...as a result they fall under God's category: 'Worst than unbeliever....'
I am sharing this, not to get you angry or upset but to wake us all up!
Have you ever wondered why everything is just stuck and blocked in your life in spite of offering,tithing and serving in church...Start looking at your relationships.
Before building a great ministry, do like Jesus did: 'Build a family'
You wanna be great? Maintain your family relationships in order....
I hold two university degrees, but it was only possible through my father's backing. There has been countless times where I escaped terrible tragic events because of my siblings backing. What would have happenned if I was in strife with my family?
There has been times where my life was unlocked because of the connection I held with a spiritual brother or sister. What would have happened if I was a loner?
Again I say to you:
1. Multiply, be fruitful, belong to a family in unity.
2. Dominate.
God Bless you.