So you are called. So notice He gave them an apostolic commission, so first He gave it to the 12, now He's given it to the 70, and as we'll see shortly in Mark, Chapter 16, He gives it to everyone. Everyone has got the apostolic commission. Everyone is a missionary, everyone is sent, so turn to someone and say well, hello missionary! Come on. [Laughter] See, it's a funny thing isn't it, that you're - it's a sort of a word you use for someone else, you don't think of it as related to yourself, but you're a person on a mission. The moment you walk out of this building, you're on a mission. Okay then, so let's go to 1.4, you're designed for dominion. In Psalm 8, Verses 5 and 6, notice the psalmist is speaking and acknowledging: you have made him a little lower than the angels. You've made man a little lower than the angels. Now that word angels is literally the original word, the word elohim, meaning God, so You have made man just a little beneath God. You have created him in Your own image and likeness. Notice, You have crowned him with glory and honour. You've made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands. You've put all things, all things, under his feet.
Now of course we don't see that. We see the consequences of sin, but this is the original design, so notice now that God designed us for dominion over His creation. That word crowned means: an ornamental headgear that a sovereign state would wear, so notice he said: You have made man just a little lower in rank than God, and You have crowned him or put a sovereign headgear over him of glory and honour, given him glory and honour, and you've made him for the purpose of having dominion over the works of Your hands, and put everything under his feet. Now you can't get it clearer. That's one of the best verses in the Bible to describe that you are royalty, called on assignment to represent Jesus in the earth. You're called to represent the King. Now many times when we speak and pray, we don't see ourselves that way, we don't think of ourselves that way. We tend to think about ourself out of what our old self esteem is.
Imagine if you were to wake up every day and think: I am royalty. I am crowned with glory and honour. I am called to represent the king of kings today, everywhere I go, I will give my very best. It gives you a different perspective on your day, totally different. It's a truth to get into your heart, that is who you are. You're called for this, and now notice in the next verse we'll look at there, around dominion, Psalm 149, Verses 5 through to 9, it says this: Let the saints be joyful in glory; Let them sing aloud on their beds. Let the high praises of God be in their mouth - so it's talking about the whole area of opening our life to engage with God. So when its saying be joyful, singing aloud, high praises, what it's really talking about is us opening up the realm of heaven for God to move. That's how you open heaven for yourself; you exalt the Lord. He says He inhabits the praises of His people, so when I give myself to vocal and expressive praise, I am opening up the realms of heaven for the presence of God to flow through me into the earth.
Now notice what it says next. It says: and a two-edged sword in their hand, to execute vengeance on the nations, and punishments on the peoples; To bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron; To execute on them the judgement written - This honour have all His saints. Now that word all His saints, God has placed a tremendous honour on you. He could just wipe the devil out just like that. In fact there'll come a day when He'll send some angels, and they'll assign them all into hell, and they'll be there for 1,000 years. He can do it today, could do it tomorrow, He could have done it already, but the Bible says He's given us a particular honour, and this is what the honour is. He's given us an honour of dealing the judgements of heaven, the judgements of the word of God against evil spirits. He's given us the honour of executing that in the earth. He's given us the honour of addressing and dealing with evil spirits in the earth. It's an honour, it's not an unusual ministry. It's actually a privilege to represent God, and get rid of the ravening wolves out of people's lives. It's an honour and a privilege. Have you thought of that?