Are you battle ready?

Or are you battle weary?

This is War Room #8 and eight is the Biblical number of new beginnings. What new beginning does God have for us now that we’ve spent several weeks listening to His heart concerning spiritual warfare? Are there mysteries of God that prepare us for war without wearying us?
 
And this truth of who I am will be the bedrock foundation on which I will build my church—my legislative assembly, and the power of death will not be able to overpower it! I will give you the keys of heaven’s kingdom realm to forbid on earth that which is forbidden in heaven, and to release on earth that which is released in heaven. Matthew 16:18-19
 
God made us to be His legislative assembly in the earth. Ekklesia, the word used here, denotes so much more than gathering for a feel-good sermon, singing a few praise songs, and hanging out with like-minded people. Ekklesia is not a religious/church word. It’s a governmental term used by ancient Romans to describe the transition team that went into conquered territories to penetrate their government and social structure for the purpose of conforming them to the Roman way of life.
 
As God’s Ekklesia, we are His transition team in the earth. We are not meant to be ruled by or conformed to the things of this world. Rather, we are meant to conform the world to God’s pattern for living. We are His ruling class with governmental jurisdiction to resist and overcome the power of the enemy so God’s kingdom, power and glory can be manifested in the earth.
 
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Romans 12:2
 
If we’re battle weary, feeling hopeless and believing the lie that we’ve lost this war, it’s because we do not understand dominion.
 
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. Genesis 1:28
 
Dominion is our God-given authority and the identity in which we are to function. Adam and Eve had dominion in the Garden—until they gave it away. Jesus’ entire earthly ministry was one of taking dominion over things that were in opposition to God. Unlike today’s church, the miracles, signs and wonders attributed to the early church testify to their understanding of dominion. If we are to recover all the enemy has stolen, including our identify and authority, we must return to dominion—the state of authority and place of rulership we are meant to occupy.
 
It’s important to understand the distinction between dominion and domination. Dominion is the control, or the exercise of control, over a territory or sphere of influence. Domination, on the other hand, is control or power over others, supremacy or preeminence over another. Dominion is God’s gift of holy, loving and righteous rulership given to His people. Domination is the emery’s perversion of God’s gift. God gave us dominion to rule, but never to dominate other people.
 
When the people of God are functioning as His Ekklesia, those in government office are godly, righteous ones who govern under the dominion of God’s people. Satan is terrified that we will wake up and take back the dominion we’ve handed over to him. Although he is “the ruler of this world,” we rightfully have dominion over him.
 
Can you imagine what the world will look like when we rise up and take back our right to rule and reign as Christ’s legislative assembly here on earth?
 
How can we do this without becoming battle weary? The Bible speaks of two kinds of rest—Sabbath Rest and Dominion Rest. Sabbath rest is a time of rest, God’s gift to you entered into through Jesus’ finished work on the cross. Dominion Rest is a place of rest—it’s your place of God-given inheritance and destiny. To enter dominion rest, it’s necessary to war, work, persevere and defeat our spiritual enemies. Every time the Israelites defeated their enemies and took territory in the Promised Land, the land had peace and the people of God experienced rest.
 
When we allow the enemy dominion over us, we experience defeat, exhaustion and chaos. But when we take dominion over the occupying forces that dominate our hearts, souls, minds and the territory that is our rightful inheritance in God, we experience God’s rest.
 
Dominion rest is a weapon of warfare. We can only have true dominion rest when God is in His rightful place and we are ruling and reigning with the authority that is ours in Christ.
 
 
Where are you being dominated or oppressed by the enemy?

 
What has been stolen from you that you desire to recover?

 
How might you experience rest if you take dominion and subdue the enemy in that place?

 
How do you see yourself as part of God’s legislative assembly here on earth?
 
 

Know your enemy and know yourself,
and you can fight a hundred battles without disaster.
Sun Tzu