Infinite Fellowship Ministries

The Antecedent Canopy Of Sagacity – A Prerequisite For The Mandate Of Dominion: Sermon By Rev. Daniel Kamau

God said, Let Us [Father, Son, and Holy Spirit] make mankind in Our image, after Our likeness, and let them have complete authority over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the [tame] beasts, and over all of the earth, and over everything that creeps upon the earth. So God created man in His own image, in the image and likeness of God He created him; male and female He created them. And God blessed them and said to them, Be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it [using all its vast resources in the service of God and man]; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and over every living creature that moves upon the earth. 

Genesis 1:26-28 (AMPC)

Therein lies the scope of our dominion as sons. The Lord did nothing without wisdom. When God created the universe, wisdom is the antecedent canopy of creation.

It is He who spreads out the north over emptiness And hangs the earth on nothing. 

Job 26:7 (AMP)

Without wisdom, creation cannot sit as it does.

The Lord your God is in your midst, A Warrior who saves. He will rejoice over you with joy; He will be quiet in His love [making no mention of your past sins], He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy. 

Zephaniah 3:17 (AMP)

There is the covering of the canopy of God’s wisdom in the place of delight with Him (Eden). Wisdom covers the place of fellowship in Eden.

With the fall of man, man lost the covering of wisdom. He lost his mandate of dominion.

For to us a Child shall be born, to us a Son shall be given; And the government shall be upon His shoulder, And His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. There shall be no end to the increase of His government and of peace, [He shall rule] on the throne of David and over his kingdom,To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From that time forward and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this.

 Isaiah 9:6-7 (AMP)

God planned for redemption through the second Adam, when an illegitimate occupant took the dominion from Adam. We are to aspire to the image of the second Adam.

And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and in stature, and in favor with God and men. 

Luke 2:52 (AMP)

The picture of the second Adam manifests and He grows in wisdom and stature. With the fall, man lost his covering – wisdom. But with the second Adam, God gives it back to him.

Before Christ manifested, there was eternal wisdom that catered for Him. There are levels of wisdom and growing in this wisdom brings favour.

One key requirement for dominion is wisdom and without it nothing else will have shape or form. Wisdom is so crucial, that Jesus had to grow and mature in it, before manifesting in His time.

As sons, we need to be modulated by wisdom. To know that there is a time to manifest, and a time not to manifest.

As we consider our mandate of dominion, we need to study the times and seasons. Manifesting as a son at the wrong time may mean that your calling and person will be mishandled by others. Christ waited 400 years for His time between the Old and the New Testament.

Favour is in essence the canopy/covering of wisdom. Wisdom is a preserver and so is favour.

For You, Lord, will bless the [uncompromisingly] righteous [him who is upright and in right standing with You]; as with a shield You will surround him with goodwill (pleasure and favor). 

Psalm 5:12 (AMPC)

As Israel left Egypt, they were protected from the elements. This is the wisdom of God that sustained them. When the canopy lifts then the elements will destroy the people.

We all go through the same wildernesses, and the thing that keeps us is the favour of God.

The canopy of wisdom is what determines who is at the impact of the vicissitudes of life, and who is preserved from the very same vicissitudes.

Christ completed His mandate when He hung on the Cross and said it is finished. Paul also was aware of his time when he said, “I have run the race.”

Saying in a loud voice, Deserving is the Lamb, Who was sacrificed, to receive all the power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and majesty (glory, splendor) and blessing! And I heard every created thing in heaven and on earth and under the earth [in Hades, the place of departed spirits] and on the sea and all that is in it, crying out together, To Him Who is seated on the throne and to the Lamb be ascribed the blessing and the honor and the majesty (glory, splendor) and the power (might and dominion) forever and ever (through the eternities of the eternities)! Then the four living creatures (beings) said, Amen (so be it)! And the elders [of the heavenly Sanhedrin] prostrated themselves and worshiped Him Who lives forever and ever. 

Revelation 5:12-14 (AMPC)

There was a crisis where it became clear that there is no one worthy in heaven to open the seals. Jesus is finally moved into the dominion that God declared in Genesis 1:26-28. Wisdom has being journeying with man to arrive to this fullness of dominion.

Any mystery that is spoken of but is not lived out makes a people a mystery. Spooky. And usually, this is a slippery slope leading to the cultic arena. It is important to study and show ourselves as approved, so that at the point of inquisition, we are relevant.

We should not be too quick to speak about things that we do not understand.

Wisdom is too high for a fool; he opens not his mouth in the gate [where the city’s rulers sit in judgment].

 Proverbs 24:7 (AMPC)

Dominion is what will cause to speak wisely and be relevant at the gates. Access to dominance is through wisdom.

Consider it wholly joyful, my brethren, whenever you are enveloped in or encounter trials of any sort or fall into various temptations.

 James 1:2 (AMPC)

The journey to dominion is one lined with trials and tribulations. It deals with the carnal man to birth spirituality.

This [superficial] wisdom is not such as comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual (animal), even devilish (demoniacal). For wherever there is jealousy (envy) and contention (rivalry and selfish ambition), there will also be confusion (unrest, disharmony, rebellion) and all sorts of evil and vile practices. But the wisdom from above is first of all pure (undefiled); then it is peace-loving, courteous (considerate, gentle). [It is willing to] yield to reason, full of compassion and good fruits; it is wholehearted and straightforward, impartial and unfeigned (free from doubts, wavering, and insincerity). 

James 3:15-17 (AMPC)

James distinguishes two kinds of wisdom: worldly wisdom and heavenly wisdom. When we lost the canopy, divine/heavenly wisdom lifted and created room for earthly wisdom to manifest.

A wise man is strong and is better than a strong man, and a man of knowledge increases and strengthens his power. 

James 1:5 (AMPC)

This is the kind of wisdom needed to actuate dominion.

It is in the wisdom of God that the word of God that worked before may not work when you are in the same situation in a different season. The wisdom of God dictates that God is diverse. This manifest wisdom forms our inquiry to the Lord as we consider our diverse life situations and mandate/dominion.

Wisdom is diverse, creating and bringing applicability. This wisdom is there to keep us in the area of our dominion – homes, schools and workplaces.

Wisdom was a covering, a canopy for Joseph. It is the wisdom of God that defined and determined Joseph’s journey into Egypt, and out of it as his bones were carried by his descendants the Israelites as they left Egypt.

[For my determined purpose is] that I may know Him [that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person more strongly and more clearly], and that I may in that same way come to know the power outflowing from His resurrection [which it exerts over believers], and that I may so share His sufferings as to be continually transformed [in spirit into His likeness even] to His death, [in the hope].  

Phillipians 3:10-14 (AMPC)

If you are used to applying worldly wisdom that gives you instant results, then the journey of wisdom in God is hard.

And behold, there came a man up to Him, saying, Teacher, what excellent and perfectly and essentially good deed must I do to possess eternal life? And He said to him, Why do you ask Me about the perfectly and essentially good? There is only One Who is good [perfectly and essentially]—God. If you would enter into the Life, you must continually keep the commandments.

He said to Him, What sort of commandments? [Or, which ones?] And Jesus answered, You shall not kill, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, Honor your father and your mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as [you do] yourself. The young man said, I have observed all these from my youth; what still do I lack?

Jesus answered him, If you would be perfect [that is, have that spiritual maturity which accompanies self-sacrificing character], go and sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have riches in heaven; and come, be My disciple [side with My party and follow Me]. But when the young man heard this, he went away sad (grieved and in much distress), for he had great possessions. 

Matthew 19:16-22 AMPC

This is the process of personal death in order to join in the ranks of self denial so as to reign with Christ in the second heavens but the young man missed it.

Responding to God is about counting the cost on a personal level. That is wisdom. God saw what He was getting into before He began the work of creation.

There is a place of growth, a place of expression as the confederate man, corporate dominion.

May He grant you out of the rich treasury of His glory to be strengthened and reinforced with mighty power in the inner man by the [Holy] Spirit [Himself indwelling your innermost being and personality]. May Christ through your faith [actually] dwell (settle down, abide, make His permanent home) in your hearts! May you be rooted deep in love and founded securely on love, That you may have the power and be strong to apprehend and grasp with all the saints [God’s devoted people, the experience of that love] what is the breadth and length and height and depth [of it]. 

Ephesians 3:16-18 (AMPC)

Once you learn about the love of God you cannot actualise the fullness of it alone.

When the canopy of wisdom lifted, injustice reigned. Consider Cain and Abel (Genesis 4).

By me princes rule, and nobles, even all the judges and governors of the earth. 

Isaiah 2:2 (AMPC)

A true son of God is a son of wisdom.

Bishop Gobanga