Distraction to Dominion

In the Beginning...

Adam and Eve were in the Garden contented with God and having dominion over all God made (Psm 8:8-9). In slithered Distraction in the form of the serpent — more crafty and subtle than all the other creatures. Genesis 3:1 “Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made.” He got Eve’s attention and turned it to the forbidden Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. “He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?””

He tempted her with the pride of life and the lusts of the eyes and the flesh. Once she SAW that is was pretty and good for making one wise, she took it. Genesis 3:6 “So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.”

Distractions often tempt us in these 3 areas: PL (significance) and Ls F&E (people pleasing and comparisons) and through Fear: FOMO, Loss and death.

God has Dominion

English Standard Version Psalm 103

19 The LORD has established his throne in the heavens,

and his kingdom rules over all.

English Standard Version Psalm 103

22  Bless the LORD, all his works,

in all places of his dominion.

Bless the LORD, O my soul!

English Standard Version Chapter 15

Exodus 15:18

Deuteronomy 10:14 “Behold, to the Lord your God belong heaven and the heaven of heavens, the earth with all that is in it.”

You Were Created for Dominion

God’s original intention was that mankind, made in His image with His authority, would rule over the earth and everything in it.

Genesis 1:26–31 ESV

Then 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 birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

the Fall of Man

Lost dominion and curse of TOIL entered. Genesis 3:17–19 “And to Adam he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.””

Sin: the new dominator. Genesis 4:6-7 Cain: sin is crouching at your door to rule over you, but you must rule over it.

Evangelical Commentary on the Bible D. Cain and Abel (4:1–26)

Cain kills Abel in the field (Cain’s?). First, man fell out of relationship with God. Now he falls out of relationship with his brother. How can Cain love God whom he cannot see, when he cannot love Abel whom he can see? God’s question to Cain is followed by the famous question: “Am I my brother’s keeper?” The answer to that question, incidentally, is no. “To keep” means to be responsible for, to control, to exercise authority over. That is why God is repeatedly called Israel’s “keeper.” We are not called to be our brother’s keeper, but our brother’s lover. Abel’s blood cries out because the earth will not receive and cover over innocent blood.

Systematic Theology 5. Man Is at Once Placed in an Exalted Position

MAN IS AT ONCE PLACED IN AN EXALTED POSITION. Man is represented as standing at the apex of all the created orders. He is crowned as king of the lower creation, and is given dominion over all the inferior creatures. As such it was his duty and privilege to make all nature and all the created beings that were placed under his rule, subservient to his will and purpose, in order that he and his whole glorious dominion might magnify the almighty Creator and Lord of the universe,

Dominion Definition

Dominion includes concepts of:

STEWARDSHIP. The process of being responsible with someone else’s property while it is entrusted. In Christian traditions, stewardship is the recognition and faithful management of God’s gifts, including time, talents, possessions, and resources, for the purpose of advancing God’s kingdom and serving others.

AUTHORITY to rule over Creation

God’s SOVEREIGNTY - His absolute and unrivaled rule over all His creatures and their circumstances.

John 16: Jesus says the Father has given Him everything. Holy Spirit takes from what Jesus has and gives it to us.

“See Past the Distractions to What God Wants”

Because/When Distractions are Everywhere

Managing Distractions IS the Distraction!

Focus: The Elimination of Options/Distractions