Genesis 1:28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
God blessed Adam and Eve and gave them four commands
- Be Fruitful
- Multiply
- Fill the Earth
- Subdue it
This still applies to our lives today.
Be Fruitful
We are called to bear fruit, and fruit the remains.
John 15:16 You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.
Our fruit is directly tied to the vine that we are abiding in. As Christians, we should be fruitful in spiritual things. The fruit of our lives should be love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulne
ss, gentleness, and self-control. If they are not being produced, we may be in works of the flesh. Do we see these fruits in our lives? Are others responding to these fruits?
Multiply
We are called to multiply. Yes, this is talking in the natural, but we are also called to multiply in the spiritual realm.
2 Corinthians 9:10 Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness
What seeds are we sowing in the lives of those around us? Are we reaching out sowing what God has placed inside of us? What are we multiplying?
Multiplication has a compounding factor. This is why when you invest $1,000 as a child it can be in the millions with interest by they time you reach retirement age. God did not call us to make a one time deposit into His kingdom. Just as Jesus made a lifetime investment into us, we are called to make a lifetime investment into others for kingdom purposes. What are we multiplying right now?
Fill the Earth
We are called to fill the earth with the glory of God. Numbers 14:21 says “but truly, as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord.”
What does our life give glory too? Can people tell we have been in His presence?
We live in a society that focuses on self. Books stores and online is filled with self-help and “looking out for #1” articles. Scripture tells us in John 3:30 “He must increase, but I must decrease.” We can’t be self focused, and God focused at the same time. Do our actions bring glory and honor to God or to self?
Subdue It
Subdue means “to bring under control.” It is only through Christ we can subdue anything in our world. What are we subduing? This is a personal thing, but it is also a global thing. On a personal level we are called to have self-control. It is a fruit of the Spirit. There are things that each person faces that have to be subdued on a personal level – our words, thoughts and emotions, to name a few.
We also live in a society where the Christian voice has been subdued in the name of tolerance and political correctness. However, God called us to subdue the earth. The scriptures are filled with ordinary people who took a stand in the face of adversity in their region and nation. Esther took a stand to save her people. Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego took a stand while in captivity. Paul spoke out against the Jewish leaders. Hebrews 11:32-34 reminds us, “And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets: who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.
What as an individual is God calling us to subdue? Are we taking a standing or staying quiet in fear?
What as a church-body are we called to subdue and stand against so that our faith quiets the voice of the enemy in our region?
What as God’s chosen people are we to subdue? Are we standing in unity to subdue the enemy or allowing a single voice to take God out of schools, prayer out of our communities, and God out of out nation?
It is times as Christians that we stand bearing the fruit of the Spirit, multiplying God’s seed that we have been given, filling the earth with His glory, and subduing the voice and actions of the enemy.
Restoring Voice 
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