Genesis 1:26: God said, “Let us make human beings in Our image, to be like Us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground.”

Did you know that worship, and dominion are interconnected? If we make the choice to worship God, then He has promised that we will walk in dominion in the earth.

When Lucifer rebelled in his heart against the authority of God, it was for the sole purpose of glorifying himself over God. He desired to exalt his throne above God’s throne, and this cost him his dominion as an Arch-angel. We see Satan make his first appearance in the New Testament when Jesus was led by the Spirit of God into the wilderness. Satan promised Jesus that he would give him great authority over his kingdoms and the glory of them if He would just worship him as “god.” To this, Jesus quoted a portion of Scripture from the Law of God, “You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.”

Satan will offer people this world’s pleasures and fame as long as they make a commitment to worship their “self” nature and not God. Nonetheless, it is not hard to see that the price a person pays for listening to Satan far outweighs any short-term fame, wealth, or authority because they soon become enslaved to his lies. Jesus tells us in Mark 8, “What shall it profit a man if he should gain the whole world, and lose his soul?” Once again, we can see that worship and dominion are connected.

It is God, who has given us the right to have dominion over the earth, and it was Satan, who stole that right through man’s sin. As man made the decision to worship self in the place of God, he has slipped deeper into bondage and depravity. The key to remaining faithful to God is to avoid hardening your heart to His voice. If you truly desire to live with authority, then you must see to it that God has the proper place of priority in your life over self.

The more a person or a people harden their hearts against God, the more they will turn their worship toward self—producing bondage in their lives. Instead of having dominion over the creatures that God promised us in the beginning, men will worship them as god.

Romans 1:18-23: God shows His anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness. They know the truth about God because He has made it obvious to them. For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see His invisible qualities—His eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God. Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship Him as God or even give Him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools. And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles.

They didn’t worship or honor God because they rejected or suppressed the truth that God had revealed to them. As a result, they chose to worship the very thing that God had given man dominion over. Do you honor the Word of God in your heart? When the Holy Spirit speaks the truth into your life, do you listen? Each time we deny the authority of God to speak into our lives, we are giving our dominion over to Satan to hold us in bondage.  —submitted by Pastor Asa Dockery, US