Man is God’s creation made in His image and likeness to fulfill a purpose on earth and find a place of abode in heaven. Man is originally intended to live a life designed by the Almighty God Himself but man chose to design a path for himself in the days of Adam and Eve when sin was introduced into the world. Actually, man is a unique creation evidently distinguished from all other living things that were created by God. This uniqueness of man puts him in a position of being able to tame and control all other living things. It is interesting to note that man is God’s completed and finished product divinely empowered to occupy the office of authority, power, dominion, control, command and to govern territories, colonies, provinces, regions, states, nations etc.

 

The biblical account of creation of man started when God said in Genesis Chapter 1:26: “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.” The actual man was eventually formed in Genesis Chapter 2:7. This verse revealed that man was formed out of the dust of the ground and he became a living soul when the Almighty God breathed the breath of life into his nostrils. The process of making the female in the account of creation is also very unique and interesting. God is indeed a God of orderliness, regulation and organization. The woman came out of the many ribs of man to show the uniqueness of her divine assignment as a facilitator and support for man just as the ribs support the body.

 

God being the master of the universe and the creator of the heavens and the earth has always being in existence as the Ancient of Days. He is incomparable, unchangeable, unequalled, infinite, and eternal, Omnipotent, Omniscience and Omnipresent and His names, attributes, power, majesty and dominion are all greater than any human comprehension. His ways are past finding out and man must reverence and worship the source and power behind their existence. For man to retain his dignity and place in the creation; he must totally follow the divine order mapped and supervised by his maker. Man must constantly acknowledge the work of creation and give God the glory.

 

However, just as it happened in the Garden of Eden in the days of Adam and Eve; man has continually struggled to maintain an incorruptible relationship with God. The Israelites in the days of old struggled to follow God’s plan and mandate revealed for their guidance through the wilderness to the Promised Land. They fell short of His acceptable standard and erred in their ways. They had a continual feast and festivals of disobedience tantrum, grievance, protest, objection and criticism. They willfully chose to prolong a forty days journey to forty years. The mercy and favor shown to them by the Almighty God was heavily undermined. They were probably used to the bondage and hard labor bestowed upon their lives in Egypt which was what made them to originally cry out to the Lord for deliverance. They dreaded change even though they wanted liberty from bondage and oppression. When deliverance finally came in the person of the leader – Moses who God divinely nurtured from His childhood days and preserved for the calling to deliver them out of the hands of Pharaoh; they became stiff-necked and self-willed and continued in their sinful idolatrous nature. They had plenty of time in the wilderness to do things which were not convenient: instead of praising and thanking God for the marvelous ways He delivered them out of Egypt; they even doubted His ability to furnish a table in the wilderness. They did not believe in God and failed to trust in His salvation. This particular generation of the Israelites who partook in the disobedience tantrums never made it to the Promised Land. Unfortunately, their leader in the person of Moses only saw the land from afar off and never made it there.

 

God’s plan for all mankind is all-inclusive, all-embracing, all-encompassing, wide-ranging, complete and comprehensive to guarantee peace and an expected end. Man has a destination that cannot be accessed with a sin-dominated life. Heaven can only be accessed with a life of total and absolute purity. In order to redeem man from the corruption of sin and make heaven accessible; God gave His Only Begotten Son in the person of Jesus Christ to the world to redeem the world from the corruption of sin. God created both male and female and gave them the responsibility to look to Him and to respond to His will and to His ways. Jesus’ Ministry is that of Reconciliation of mankind to God and this is why it is mandatory for all to be born again. The Bible points out the fact that all have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory and man’s existence cannot be complete without God’s glory. Adam and Eve lost their dignity and position of honour in the Garden of Eden when the devil beguiled them to sin against the Holy God and as a result of this they did not fulfill God’s original purpose for their lives.

 

The main reason behind this admonition is to redirect mankind to recover and embrace their God-given dignity and prestigious position of being the only creation with authority and dominion over all other created things. Mankind must fulfill God’s pleasure and purpose and must arrive at the desired destination in their pilgrimage. When an airplane takes off; passengers look forward to landing at their designated destination. You are in this world to fulfill a special purpose and it is important that you take-off and land appropriately on schedule. People go through life with lots of divinely inspired dreams and goals; brilliant ideas and visions which they never publish due to ignorance and lack of knowledge of the fact that all creatures are expected to be productive. You must join the company of those who consistently show-case God’s glory. Psalm 68:11 says: “The Lord gave the word: great was the company of those that published it.”  You must remember that the most successful is the most spiritually diligent (hardworking, industrious, assiduous, meticulous, thorough, attentive, careful, painstaking and proactive).

 

You must be totally surrendered to God’s plan of salvation by confessing Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. He is the way, the truth and the life; and there is no salvation in any other. He owns the key to eternal life and guarantees access to a life of victory for all faithful believers. He disburses all the fringe benefits attached to your membership of His Kingdom. You must work out your own salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12) in order to overcome the evil brought into the world by its prince – the devil. Man’s authority over the devil can only be effectively dispensed when all righteousness is fulfilled. You have been given power to tread upon scorpions and serpents and over all the power of the wicked without getting into any spiritual accident (Luke 10:19). Since the devil is the serpent; man must arise and conquer this wicked foe in the name of Jesus and by the power in the blood of Jesus. To be able to step and crush the devil’s power; you need an active membership card in God’s kingdom. Your password to enjoying peace and joy in the kingdom is RIGHTEOUSNESS.

 

You must always know that you cannot be wiser than your maker neither can you know or understand more than Him. There is no searching of God’s understanding. You ware originally created with the attributes of intelligence, perception, divine insight and good judgment. All of these attributes are to help you make wise choices when faced with situations and circumstances as you go through life. Why will man choose to perish instead of choosing to live? Sin will lead to death while holiness will lead to abundant life. The choices you make actually define your path in life. Many have chosen to follow gods of wood, stone, iron and brass that have no life in them.  They do not have the ability to deliver or save anyone.  Little gods that have mouths but cannot speak; their natural forces are already abated; more importantly; there is nothing functional or living in the idols. In most cases they have to be carried from place to place. They are fashioned by men of the rudiments of this world who are enemies of the cross of Christ. Why will man give the glory due to God to a graven image? What happened to the dominion given to man from the beginning? Some have even given themselves to self-appointed lords who they worship out of ignorance or willful disobedience to the word or God. What happened to the insight and perception of man? These are questions which require answers from man. 

 

The Bible says in James 2:20: “For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.” The same mistake that entangled the lives of the Israelites in the days of old is still being made today. Many people have embraced rage or fury blaming God and doubting His ability to deliver them from their strong enemies.   The key to living a holy life is wholehearted obedience. You must never choose the route of sin willingly. God is righteous in all His ways and expects His creation made in His likeness to embrace His divine attributes and to consistently remain under the shadow of His wings. God expects man to walk as he walked; to walk worthy of his vocation; to walk in the light; to walk in love; to walk in truth; to walk in Christ; to walk in the Spirit; to walk in wisdom; to walk by faith and to walk to please the Lord. Your getting angry over situations will not earn you the righteousness of God. All you need to do is to embrace the truth of His word wholeheartedly and walk appropriately as biblically prescribed. His peace and joy will automatically flow to you and you will experience His goodness and mercy consistently everyday of your life.

 

Man must identify with his origin with the understanding that God is the Master, Controller and Creator of the Universe who deserves all the glory, honour and adoration for ever and ever. As you read this Sermon; I admonish you to take a step today to be reconciled to Jesus Christ who will make all things beautiful in your life. The prodigal son in Luke Chapter 15:11-32 took a bold step of faith to be reconciled with his father by arising and proceeding to the next level of reconciliation. He humbled himself; he took charge of the situation; he did not observe any lying vanity but silenced the devil by acknowledging his sins of foolishness and wretchedness. I encourage you to do the same thing today by taking a bold step of faith to surrender yourself to the everlasting arms of your maker and proceed to the next level of absolute and full reconciliation. As you do this; God’s name will be glorified in your life and you will be entitled to the heritage of those who fear the Lord. The Almighty God will be your sun and shield; He will give you grace and glory and no good thing will be withhold from you. You will be like the tree planted by the rivers of water and will bring forth your fruits in its season. The Lord will perform the things He had appointed for you from the time He formed and created you in Jesus name. (Amen)

 

God bless you abundantly as you remember that you are made in the image and likeness of God. I commend you to take this bold step of faith and the resultant effect will be a life of abundance and satisfaction to the glory of God..

 

 

 

Oluyemisi Babajide