O arquivo vivo está a carregar.
Part 1: The Seat (Series on Spiritual Positioning and Dominion)
Continue a explorar
Ligados pela passagem bíblica ou por temas comuns.
This month we're exploring the theme of impartation of uncommon positioning through spiritled investment—and this investment is not about money or resources, but about spiritual positioning in Christ.
Let's begin with Ephesians 1:18-23. The apostle Paul prays:
I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the age to come. And God placed all things under his feet, and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.
This passage reveals the position that Christ now holds and, remarkably, the position that has been given to us through Him.
The Power of Position in the Home
When I was young, there was a specific seat in our father's house—a seat only the father sat on. No one else sat there. It didn't matter what else was in that house; you understood the protocols. There was a seat, and that seat belonged to him.
Esta página ainda não foi totalmente traduzida. Parte ou a totalidade do texto abaixo é apresentada em English, o idioma original.
Today, many of us as parents find that our children don't understand this principle. They sit where they please, including my seat! But this teaches us something profound: certain positions are reserved for particular people, and understanding your rightful position matters.
Position in School
I remember my school days. In primary school, I sat at the back bench. From the back, you could do crazy things—fold paper missiles, shoot rubber bands at classmates while the teacher's back was turned. But when I got to secondary school, I shifted my position. I sat right at the front where the teacher could see me.
That simple change of position shifted everything in my mind. It changed how I behaved, how I thought, and how I was perceived. By form three, I became a school prefect—not because I became smarter, but because my position changed and I was noticed.
Positioning is Everything
This is true in the things of God as well. Positioning determines so much. God didn't leave humanity in a broken position. He made an investment to restore us to our rightful seat.
Today I want to focus on The Seat—though there are three things God has given us:
Genesis 1: Humanity's Original Dominion
When God finished creation, He said:
Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds of the sky, over the livestock, and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.
And then:
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 of the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground."
They were over. Over, over, over. They had dominion over all created things. Male and female—they were equal partners in that dominion.
This is why it is a kingdom injustice for a man to beat a woman or put her under his feet. When God gave dominion, He did not give a man dominion over his wife. He gave man and woman together dominion over creation. This is partnership, not oppression.
Genesis 3: The Position Lost
But in Genesis 3, the devil deceives the woman, the woman causes the man to disobey, and that position is legally removed. The devil takes over, and his reign brings theft, killing, and destruction. Sin enters humanity, and everything becomes broken.
The Long Investment
But God did not leave it this way. God began an investment starting in Genesis 3:15:
I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.
This was about Jesus, who would come and crush the devil. To prepare this investment, God:
And finally:
In these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir over all things and through whom also he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.
The State of Humanity Without Christ
Ephesians 2:1-3 describes our condition before this investment bore fruit:
As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath.
But Here's the Turn
But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in our transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparably riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.
You are saved for an uncommon positioning. God lifted you up. God seated you far above—far above principalities, far above powers, far above rulers. This is your seat now.
Episode One: The Fugitive
Let me illustrate this transformation through King David's life. David had two episodes: first as a fugitive, then as a king.
When David fled from Saul, he escaped to the cave of Adullam. First Samuel 22:1-2 tells us:
David left Gath and escaped to the cave of Adullam. When his brothers and his father's household heard about it, they went down there to him. All those who were in distress or in debt or discontented gathered around him, and he became their commander.
You attract who you are. David was a fugitive, running in fear, and he attracted people who were also broken—those in distress, in debt, in discontent. That cave was not a place of strength; it was a place of desperation.
Before that, in 1 Samuel 21:10-15, David's fear was so great that he even pretended to be insane:
David fled from Saul and went to Akish, king of Gath. But the servants of Akish said to him, "Isn't this David, the king of the land?" And David took these words to heart and was very much afraid of Akish, king of Gath. So he pretended to be insane in their presence, and while he was in their hands, he acted like a madman, making marks on the doors of the gate and letting saliva run down his beard.
This is what fear does. This is what a wrong mindset does.
The Principle: You Attract Who You Are
Let me speak to someone right now. Why does an intelligent woman—an academician, a career woman who knows what to do—marry a man who sits on the couch all day, demands her salary, beats her, and sits on her? Why?
Because you attract who you are, not what you have.
You don't attract by cars, by work, by possessions. You attract by who you are inside. If you're negative, you attract negative people. If your mindset is limited, you attract people with limited mindsets.
My Own Story of a Wrong Seat
When I was young, my father in his disciplinary moments slapped me so hard. As I was trying to wake up from that slap, he looked at me and said, "You're hopeless. Hopeless. I have never seen such a hopeless person like you."
Of course he hadn't—I was his firstborn, his pilot. But in that moment, I believed him. I started walking around with hopelessness. I sat on a position I was never created for. I developed a serious inferiority complex because somebody had forced me to sit on a seat I wasn't made for.
I was created to be above, not below. I was created to be at the top, not at the bottom.
God Shifted My Seat
But God saw me sitting in that seat. He said, "If I leave Ambrose here, by the time he becomes senior pastor of Parklands Baptist Church, he's going to attract people who are discontented, in debt, and in distress. Before I create those kinds of people, I have to change Ambrose's seat."
So God started speaking to me: "Ambrose, you are precious. You are honored. I love you. You are precious. You are honored. I love you."
God erased that record playing in my mind. He shifted my seat. I knew my seat was not down there—my seat was far above. Far above. Far above.
When I encountered Jesus Christ, He told me: "Ambrose, this is your seat. This is where you're supposed to sit. This is where you're supposed to rule. It doesn't matter what the devil has done to you. It doesn't matter what people have done against you. I have shifted you. I have made you sit far above."
I'm talking to somebody right now: You are seated far above. You are seated far above all principalities, powers, and rulers.
Episode Two: The King
Fast forward to 2 Samuel 5:4-8. Something changes:
David was 30 years old when he became king, and he reigned for 33 years... The king and his men marched to Jerusalem to attack the Jebusites.
Do you see the shift? As a fugitive, they were distressed, in debt, discontented. But now—these same men—they marched to attack. Something had shifted. David was now king, and they were his mighty men, his bodyguards. They had a new mindset. They were in charge.
Jesus is seated at the right hand of God. And so are you. And so are you.
But here's what's important: it took time to shift these men's mindsets. It took investment. First Samuel 30 tells us about 600 men with David. During a battle at Besor Valley, 200 were too exhausted to cross and stayed behind. The other 400 continued the pursuit. When they returned victorious, the 400 wanted to keep all the plunder and give nothing to the 200 who stayed behind. But David said:
No, my brothers, you must not do that with what the Lord has given us. He has protected us and delivered into our hands the raiding party that came against us... The share of the man who stayed with the supplies is to be the same as that of him who went down to the battle. All will share alike.
David made this a statute for Israel from that day on.
Later, these men—once discontented, in debt, in distress—became the mighty men of David. Their position changed. They received uncommon positioning. The investment David had made in their lives transformed them.
Second Samuel 23 describes them. Joab was chief of the three and raised his spear against 800 men whom he killed in one encounter. Eleazar stood his ground against the Philistines until his hand grew tired and froze to his sword. The Lord brought a great victory.
Abishai raised his spear against 300 men whom he killed. Benaiah went down into a pit on a snowy day and killed a lion. He also struck down a huge Egyptian with his own spear.
What changed? Their position. Their seat.
In this month of November, some warriors are rising up. I see warriors in your system. Your position is changing. Your position has changed.
But here's the truth: even when your position changes, your mind has to catch up. Romans 12:2 says:
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may approve what the will of God is—what is good and acceptable and perfect.
When you get saved, when your position shifts spiritually, your mind must be renewed. That's why so many Christians are still being chased by the devil, still being sat on, still living like fugitives—when they are kings in the mind of God.
Why should a Christian be involved in sexual immorality when their position has changed? Why deal with lust, evil desires, and greed when you're seated far above?
Colossians 3:1-4 says:
Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
Your life is hidden in Christ in God. Think about it: if the devil is coming to attack you, who does he have to reach first? He has to reach Christ. After defeating Jesus, then he can get to you. Do you think that's possible?
Foolishness, out. Wisdom, in. Don't give the devil a position he doesn't hold.
An Illustration
Let me tell you a story. I was invited to a meeting where an apostle was being ordained. I hadn't confirmed I was coming, but I found time to go. When I arrived, the meeting had started. I sat at the back. An usher I knew saw me and said, "Pastor, you cannot sit here." I said I was fine, but she insisted and took me to the front bench.
When we sat down, I saw that each seat had a name placard. They had reserved seats for the bishops. The usher was looking for my name—Bishop So-and-so, Apostle So-and-so—but she couldn't find "Reverend" anywhere. So she said, "Just sit here," and I sat in a bishop's chair.
Do you think I was comfortable? No! I started praying, "Father, I pray that bishop doesn't show up. If he does, may he be stuck in traffic."
I was so uncomfortable because that seat was reserved for someone else.
But then the usher got wisdom. While we were worshiping, she came and removed the bishop's name tag. Then she got a piece of paper, wrote my name—"Reverend Ambrose Nyanga"—and plastered it on that seat.
Suddenly, I was bold. I was at peace. That seat was now mine. My name was on it.
Your Seat in Heaven
I want to tell you something: Jesus Christ, the King of Kings, has reserved your seat in heaven, and He has plastered your name on that seat. Nobody else is sitting on that seat. That is your seat reserved for eternity.
When fear comes, you tell it: "I'm far above this fear. I'm far above intimidation. I'm far above gossip."
You don't apologize because you're seated with Christ in the heavenly places.
You're far above:
I am far above. Say it with me. I am far above demonic power. I am far above demonic opposition. I am far above stagnation. I am far above fear. I am seated with Christ in the heavenly places. My mind is there. My victory is there. That's where I'm seated—in the now.
Romans 8:37-39 declares:
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Far above. Far above. Far above.
I want to say this to Parklands Baptist Church: God has not made me a superstar. Many churches make their pastor the superstar, the only one in the field playing. But that's not how I lead.
I am raising mighty men and mighty women. I don't want you to stay in the cave anymore. Not discontented people, not people in debt, not people in distress. But people who have been transformed by Jesus Christ, seated with Christ in the heavenly places.
I attract what I am. And that's why you're here. I attracted some of you, and then some of you attracted somebody else, and somebody else attracted somebody else. That's how we've come together as a family of believers.
Don't leave this battle to one person. Even Salah, a powerful footballer, accomplishes what he does because there's a team behind him. You're the team. God is depending on you.
We have books available—Unbound Dominion Declarations and Mindset Shift Strategy—because I'm leading an army that must think like God thinks. As you face your situations this week, God is helping you shift your mindset.
We also have cards with a cross and affirmations: "I am saved. I am a champion. I'm a new creation. I'm adopted. I'm an ambassador. I am a steward. I am blessed. I'm empowered. I'm chosen. I'm forgiven."
I want to distribute 10,000 of these before the year ends. But I need an army to make that happen. You can reach people I cannot reach. Get some of these cards and share them. A pack of five is 100 bob. You never know who you might touch because we are reaching this world for Jesus Christ.
As we close, I want to remind you: Your seat has been reserved with your name on it.
But maybe you're still sitting far away from your seat. You don't have a clear view. You're missing things because of your positioning. Yet your seat is reserved.
When Christ died on the cross, a seat was reserved for you. That's why the Word says that while we were sinners, Christ died for us. Maybe you're still in the "while we were sinners" stage. But a seat has already been reserved for you this afternoon.
This word is calling you to your rightful seat. This is your moment. If you haven't given your life to Jesus Christ, if you want to say yes to Jesus and occupy the reserved seat that is for you, lift your hand.
Whether you're here in the sanctuary, in the pavilion, or online, there is a seat reserved for you at the cross of Jesus Christ. You receive it by faith. Simply say: "Lord Jesus, I believe in the work of the cross. I surrender my life to you so that I can sit in my rightful position with my name reserved."
Father, we thank you. What an amazing word reminding us of our position—that we are seated far above with Christ. Because we're far above, we have the right view of life.
Paul reminds us in Romans 8:38 that nothing can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus. Not hardships. Not challenges. Not the struggles of this life. We are convinced that nothing can separate us.
Thank you for securing a seat for us, a seat with our names. We are seated far above.
This week as we go out, we go in our rightful position. We are far above on Monday. We are far above on Tuesday. We are far above on Wednesday. We are far above on Thursday. We are far above on Friday. Even on Saturday, we remain far above. And on Sunday, we march boldly into your house with testimonies of thanksgiving.
You have secured the entire week for us. You have secured this entire month of November and into December. As we come to the end of this year, we are seated far above. That is our position. That is our rightful place.
We bless you and thank you in Jesus name. Amen.
May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us now and forever more. Amen.
Far above is your portion in Jesus name. Amen.
