Toure Roberts - Dominating Your Sphere - Part 1 (01/14/2026)
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This sermon really hit home about how God has given each of us a unique "sphere"—a territory with people, promises, and even battles that only we can handle. Drawing from 1 Corinthians 10, Ephesians 3, and 1 Peter 5, the preacher stresses that we shouldn't compare ourselves to others but boldly step into what God preordained for us, using His manifold wisdom and authority to overcome principalities and fully dominate our assigned domain. In the end, after the struggles and suffering, God will perfect, strengthen, and settle us as we claim our inheritance through faith and declaration.
Opening and Scripture Reading
I want to jump right into this word. I have a word for you, and while we’re standing, I want to draw your attention to 1 Corinthians. There we go, 1 Corinthians chapter 10, beginning at verse 12. I want to read three passages of scripture that I believe are very important for this season. I believe this is a word from God.
Just tell your neighbor right now, «He’s got a word for me. Come on, He’s got a word for me. Come on, L.A., I see you! Come on, He’s got a word for me. He’s got a word for me.» I’m going to read three separate passages of Scripture. I’m going to tell you right now, I’m going to be teaching today. I’m going to try not to preach. I want to teach because I want you to get this understanding, and I want you to receive this truth in your spirit, as it has everything to do with what God is doing in your life. It has everything to do with what God has preordained and predestined for you.
Before you got here, God set up something for you, and I’m going to show you how to get everything that God has set up for you today, and it’s in these three passages of Scripture. The first passage is in 1 Corinthians chapter 10, and I’m going to read two verses: verse 12 and verse 13. It says, «For we do not commend ourselves or compare ourselves with those who commend themselves; but they, measuring themselves by themselves and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.» It says, «We, however, will not boast beyond measure, but we will boast within the limits of the sphere.» Turn to your neighbor; it’s a sphere within the sphere which God appointed to us, a sphere which especially includes you.
Now stay with me; let’s jump down to Ephesians chapter 3, and we’ll start in verse 8. This is Paul writing. Paul says, «To me, who am less than the least of all saints, this grace was given that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God, who created all things through Jesus Christ.» This is a very important verse. Verse 10 says, «To the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places according to the eternal purpose which God accomplished.» Glory to God in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him.
I cannot wait to unpack this for you! 1 Peter chapter 5, beginning at verse 6, it says, «Therefore, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.» «Casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.» Then it goes on to say, «Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary, the devil, walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.» Then we’ll jump down to verse 10. It says, «But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while…» We don’t like that, but hear me out, «After you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.» Christ Jesus is going to perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. In other words, your suffering will not be in vain. He is going to perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. Somebody needs to hear this. I know it’s difficult; I know you’re going through; I know you don’t like it, and I know that you want certain elements of the season to end. But I hear God saying that afterwards, He is going to perfect you, establish you, strengthen you, and settle you. To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Opening Prayer
Please be seated. I want to pray for you before we get started. Father, Lord, we thank You so much for Your word. Hallelujah! I just sense that You are doing something mighty and powerful in our midst today. You’re going to do something mighty and powerful in our spirits, and mighty and powerful in our minds today in a way that You have never done before. You’re going to set us ablaze. I thank You, God, that the eyes of our understanding are going to be enlightened. I thank You, Lord God, from Los Angeles to Denver to those who are watching all around the world, that the spirit of wisdom and revelation is going to fall in this place. Lord, You’re going to strengthen us, build us up, and give us clarity. You’re going to make the vision plain today, so plain that we’ll get charged and renewed and energized, and run forward with a mindset of victory and a mindset of power. We’re going to lay hold of everything that You have for us here today. So, God help us to focus. Remove any and every distraction, that we might receive in our hearts and in our minds and in our souls, the word, God, that will bless us and make us whole. So, we thank You, we give You praise. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Introducing the Topic: Dominating Your Sphere
Wow! I want to talk today from this subject: «Family, Dominating Your Sphere.» Do me a favor and just turn to the person next to you and say, «It’s time for you to dominate your sphere.» Go ahead, come on, it’s time for you! Come on, L.A., it’s time for you. I’m watching. Dominate your sphere, dominate! It’s time for you to dominate, dominate your sphere. I know you can’t stand it when the preacher does that. I just want to hear it. Man, I want to talk to nobody, but there’s something about you opening your mouth. You’ve got power in your mouth, and there’s somebody next to you that needs to be encouraged by the power of this word. This is not just a cute little sermon; this is a revelation, and this revelation is going to start a revolution on the inside of you. And when it happens in you, it’s going to happen out of you. And so I want to jump right into this.
These three sections of Scripture that I’m sharing with you today are written by two different men of God. One was the Apostle Paul; he is the one who wrote, of course, to the Church of Corinth; he wrote to the Corinthians. He also wrote to the Church of Ephesus; he wrote to the Ephesians. Then Peter, the last verse that I talked about, and I think I’ll probably unpack it more next week. Peter, of course, is also another great man of God, and they had experienced some things. Their revelation in the Lord was just beyond, and I believe that I have—well, I just sensed prophetically that there are some of you that are under the sound of my voice right now, and God is going to take you to a deeper and richer place of revelation. Just turn to your neighbor and say, «There’s more! There’s more!»
The Importance of Revelation
And let me tell you, revelation is so important because if you don’t have revelation tied into your understanding of Scripture, you will be missing something. I’ve seen people who are religious with no revelation, and they cause more harm to the kingdom than they do benefit to the kingdom because this thing is built off of revelation. When God spoke to Peter and He told Peter, «Upon this rock I will build my church and the very gates of Hell themselves will not prevail against it,» the rock that He was talking about was the rock of revelation.
And the reason why I know that is because what happened before He said that, when He said, «I’m going to build on this rock,» was that, remember, they were asking all these questions about what Jesus basically said: «Who do men say that I am?» They had all these answers. You remember that? They said, «You’re Elijah, you know, reincarnated; you’re this person raised from the dead.» And then Peter was the only one who said, «You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.» Jesus says, «Hey, flesh and blood did not reveal that to you. Tradition did not reveal that to you; religion did not reveal that to you.» He said, «Flesh and blood did not reveal it, but my Father revealed it.» My Father in Heaven revealed that! And then He says, «Now upon this rock, I’m going to build my church,» and «the very gates of Hell will not be able to prevail.» What am I saying? I’m saying that what God is going to do in your life, He’s going to do by revelation. He’s going to do by what He reveals to you.
Are you tracking with me? And so Paul has this passion for his children to be children of revelation. He has this passion. In fact, in Ephesians chapter 1, his prayer, he prays his prayer and he says, «I pray that the eyes of your understanding will be enlightened, that you would understand what is the rich hope of your calling.» In other words, he’s saying, «I want you to really know what you’ve tapped into when you’ve tapped into Jesus.» I know that you think that Jesus is simply about making it to Heaven; I know you think that Jesus is simply about you feeling loved and all those things, but how many of us know there is more to what Jesus came to do than just us getting into Heaven and feeling good about ourselves? We have an inheritance in Jesus, and that’s what I want to talk about.
Avoiding Comparison and Boasting Beyond Measure
So let’s go straight to this text. Let’s go to the first text: it’s 1 Corinthians chapter 10 and verse 12. This is going to bless you! I love Paul because Paul, he is such a genius; he really is. Paul doesn’t mix his words; he tells it straight up like it is. And there were people during that time that claimed to be very religious, and they were high-fiving themselves about how special they were. You know, maybe they were able to quote the Torah, the Old Testament, or maybe they had all of their religious routines together, and they were commending themselves, and Paul is getting ready to break all of that down. Check it out! He says, «For we do not class ourselves or compare ourselves with those who commend themselves.» In other words, I’m not walking around high-fiving and putting myself on a pedestal among other people that are doing the same thing. He’s like, «I don’t roll like that.»
«I don’t commend myself; I don’t compare myself. I’m not living for the praise of the people that are around me!» You gotta check this. He says, «They measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.» Isn’t that something? How can you measure you by you? He said, «I’m not doing that.» He says, «They measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves among themselves.» Man, there’s so much preaching in that. That might even be not you, but some people you know, right? You are allowed; there’s a calling on your life. You’re chosen; you’re special, and you know it, but you’re around a lot of ordinary people, and they have set the bar way too low for you.
Maybe that’s where the bar should be for them, but you’ve got a call of God on your life. You are a chosen generation, and you know it! I hear God saying, «Stop dumbing down who you are to fit in.» You are fearfully and wonderfully made! You have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ, and it’s time for you to stop making excuses about who you are and start stepping into who you know God has created you to be! Do I have about five or ten people saying today I have made up my mind? I’m going to step out and be everything that God has called me to be, even if people call me weird for doing so. You can call me weird all you want to. I’ll be weird all my way to the bank!
I’ll be weird on my way to influence! Where are my world-shakers? Come on, L.A.! I believe that there are world-shakers in the house of God, and world-shakers have to learn not to commend themselves amongst themselves. We’ve got to learn, family, to live for the audience of One. And that’s what Paul is saying. He’s like, «I’m not boasting because everybody around me is calling my name. In fact, they’re calling their own.» That’s not why I boast! But here’s why he says he boasts. This is powerful. The next verse really gets into it. He says, «The people who do that aren’t wise.» He says, «We, however, this is important, we will not boast beyond measure, beyond what’s appropriate, but here’s what we will boast: we will boast within the limits of the sphere which God appointed us.»
Understanding Your God-Appointed Sphere
Isn’t that right there? What is he saying? First of all, what is a sphere? A sphere is a territory! I feel God! Territory! A sphere is a territory that God has assigned to you and only you. It is a domain of rule; it is a domain that has boundaries or that has limits on it. God, when He called you—in fact, before He put you in your mother’s womb—He ordained that when you get here, you will have a territory; you will have a sphere!
Oh, I feel God right there! Just turn to your neighbor and say, «You’ve got a sphere! You’ve got a sphere!» You ought to fulfill the Lord! You’ve got a sphere! Right now, everybody in here, everybody in L.A., everybody around you, just take a moment and look around for a second. Come on, just take a moment and look around! Every one of us has a God-appointed sphere, a God-appointed territory that no one can work but us! And in that territory, there are three things: people, principalities, and promises.
Oh, I feel the Holy Spirit! You have a sphere right now! You are not without a sphere; you have a sphere, and it is a good sphere! It is a good inheritance! And in that sphere, there are people, the people assigned to you dominating your sphere. There are principalities, and there are promises. I don’t know about the people in the sphere, well, because it says it in verse; he says, «I’m not going to boast beyond measure, but I am going to boast within the limits of the sphere which God has appointed.»
How many of us know when God appoints you something, it cannot be taken away from you? Are you tracking with me? And then he says, «a sphere.» In the context, he’s talking to the Church of Corinth, who he has ultimately redeemed and brought under his covering, have awakened them to their faith in the Lord. He says, «A sphere which especially includes you!» So you have a sphere; you have a domain; you have a territory! There’s something that is assigned to you! He says in Jeremiah 1:4, «Before I formed you in your mother’s womb, I knew you. I sanctified you,» that means that I made you unique and distinct, and he says, «I ordained you.» There is something that is preordained for you, and it’s called a sphere. It is a territory, and in that sphere, there are people!
That’s why if you never dominate your sphere, there will be people that should have been liberated by your life that will never be liberated! It’s not even about you; your life is not really about you! Your life is about what God wants to happen through you. It is not really even about you, because if it were about you, the moment that you would come to faith, you would go to heaven! But for some reason, God leaves you here, and a lot of times we spend that time trying to get our own.
And the reality of it is, if you dominate your sphere, you will get everything that God has assigned to you, and you will bring others along with you that nobody else will be able to reach! Turn to your neighbor and say, «It’s not even about you!» It’s not even about you! It’s about what’s assigned to you—what’s assigned to you.
So there are people! I feel it; there are people! In your sphere, your sphere—your sphere starts with yourself. It starts with those around you. If you’re married, your sphere is your marriage; if you have children, your children are in your sphere; your job is all a part of your sphere. Every place that you are is connected to your territory! I feel that! I want you to think about your life right now, and I want you to think about the places that God takes you. I want you to think about where you are going to be tomorrow, where you are going to be later on, where you are going to be tonight; that’s all a part of the territory that God has given to you. And there are people connected to it, and that’s why you’ve got to be you!
Because if you are never truly and authentically you, you will not have the anointing to reach those that are around you. Because God did not anoint who you are pretending to be! He did not anoint the shrunk version of you; He anointed the true version! I feel that for somebody! It’s time for you to stop playing; it’s time for you to stop shrinking and stand up and open your mouth and tell the world and tell everything in your territory, «I am who God created me to be!»
I’m not boasting; it’s by the grace of God that I am what I am! If you know you are somebody, I dare you to take a minute, stand up, and praise God for who He created you to be! I am no longer living a lie. I’m no longer going to shrink myself down; I am who God says I am, and I’m going to start walking in it in a new way! If that’s you, take a minute and celebrate God for your true identity, your true identity, your true identity!
Oh! Come on, keep praising until the real you shows up! Stand up! Because the real you praises, the real you celebrates God, the real you is bold! I feel the Lord! The real us has power; the real us has victory! The real you is not afraid of anything! Ha! I’m praising! I’m praising because I know goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life! I’m praising because I know the Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? Oh yeah, I’m praising like David! I don’t care about Goliath because God is for me! What can be against me? Have your praise! I’m praising!
Principalities and Promises in Your Sphere
And I’m praising with the sphere! We’ve got a sphere! You’ve got a territory, and there are people in your territory. And there are promises in your territory, but there are also principalities in your territory. What are principalities? The word says that we don’t wrestle against flesh and blood but against principalities and powers and spiritual wickedness in heavenly places! Come on, sit down; I want to talk to you. I want to teach a little bit. I promised I wasn’t going to preach. I’ve got a sphere; there’s a God-appointed territory assigned to me!
And even if you study the way that God dealt with the children of Israel in the days of old, when He was bringing them into the Promised Land, what did He give them? He gave them territories and allotments by tribe. Each tribe had a certain allotment. God has an allotment for you! It’s connected to where you live; it’s connected to where you’re called to; it’s connected to the people that are around you; it’s connected to your work; it’s connected to your purpose; it’s connected to your passion! There is a reason why you like some of the things you like, because they belong to you!
And if He’s given you a sphere, it’s not a sphere for you to live in; it’s a sphere for you to dominate! And the only thing that you have to deal with in order to dominate are these principalities! Isn’t it kind of a little cold-blooded? I mean, wouldn’t it be cool if God would just give you stuff and there would be no drama attached to it? Wouldn’t it be cool if God would just bless you and there’s no drama? «God, why don’t You give me stuff and I have to go through drama to have it?»
Who am I talking to in here? Come on, L.A.! Who am I talking to? I mean, like, wouldn’t it be awesome? I mean, my God! You promised me this; I just didn’t know I had to fight something to have it. And so we have this idea that when God gives us a blessing, we don’t have to worry; it’s just right there. And I don’t even know where we got that idea because it’s not even necessarily biblical. When He gave the children of Israel the promise, then He’s like, «Oh, by the way, you’re going to have to roll up on some Hittites and some Amorites and some Jebusites and a whole bunch of other types of ‘sights’!»
«God, can you just give me the land? I don’t want to deal with no ‘sights!’» And so sometimes the blessing is packaged on the other side. It’s packaged in a giant. It’s packaged in a principality. It’s packaged in something that stands in the way. And the expectation of the enemy of your destiny is that you would be wearied by the battle. This is for somebody! That you’d be wearied by the battle or wearied by the process so much so that you would forfeit the promise because you don’t have patience for the process!
Oh, the more I walk with God, the more I evolve in God, the more I grow in God, the more that I distrust easy blessings. I don’t trust easy blessings because it’s not biblical; it’s not historical; it’s not my experience! Everything that God has done for me, I had to fight for. And it’s crazy because what will happen, and it’s going to bear witness with you, Denver; it’s going to bear witness with you, L.A. What will happen is the presentation of it will be easy. The laying hold of it will be difficult!
How many of you know what I’m talking about? It shows up—you’re like, «Oh, hallelujah!» Nice, shiny object! You start calling your friends and you’re like, «Oh, it’s finally happening; thank you, Jesus!» You get excited, you come to church, and somebody talks about hope, you start shouting and dancing! It’s all wonderful! The presentation is easy; the acquisition is war! If you know what I’m talking about, holler at me! I thought I had it when it showed up! But I had to go to battle! I feel that! Where are my battle people? You’re supposed to have to go to battle! You know why? God makes you fight for it because you’re a warrior! That’s who you are; it’s in your identity; it’s in who you are.
It’s a no-brainer! If you created you to be, so you don’t go to war for it, you’re not true to who you truly are! Yeah! The presentation is always going to be easy; the manifestation of the door—there’s someone in here right now! You shouted at the door! You shouldn’t have shouted at the door when the door appeared! You should have rolled up your sleeves! Okay! Because nothing that is worth you will be easy! Nothing that is worth you will come without a fight! God wants to get your weight up because some of the blessings and some of the miracles require a heavy weight!
You and God will give the promise to you while you are still a lightweight, not realizing that it is the battle that brings you your weight so that you can reign at the level that God is bringing you to! So, let’s talk about how to deal with these principalities! I have a sphere, and in that sphere, there are people—hallelujah! There are promises—unclaimed! Ah! I feel this! For some people, unclaimed promises! Woo! Unclaimed blessings! Unclaimed influence! Unclaimed wealth! Unclaimed increase in your territory because you didn’t understand that you had to deal with the principality to get it! You just called it bad luck; you called it, «This thing always happens that way!» Not realizing that it’s not bad luck; there’s a principality!
And there’s a certain way to deal with the principality! And I can’t wait to teach you how to do it! There are some in this room right now, some in L.A., some watching via livestream, and you have worked on yourself, and you have done a wonderful job doing so! You read «Wholeness!» Hallelujah! Shameless plug, in Jesus’ name! You read «Wholeness.» You read «Purpose Awakening.» You read «Don’t Settle for Safe.» You’ve been reading good books like «Purpose Driven Life,» all these other good books, «The Power of Positive Thinking.» Even though all these good books is all wonderful—you have done that; you have worked on yourself, but you’re still not there! And you are wondering why! Who am I talking to?
I feel the Spirit of the Living God—you’re wondering, «Why am I still not there? I’ve been working on myself; I’ve been going to church; I’m praying more; I’ve cut out some friends; I’m fasting more; I’ve switched up my music; I’m doing things differently. I’m not going out the way I used to go out, and I do feel better! But I still have not come into the fullness of my breakthrough!» If that’s you, let me know I’m talking to you! Come on, let me know I’m talking to you! If you’re in a season like that— «I’m working on myself, but I haven’t fully grasped everything that is because I have dealt with the principality of me, but you have not dealt with the principality that is standing in the way of your territory.»
Grace and the Manifold Wisdom of God
Here’s how you deal with that principality! In Ephesians 3, it says this: verse 8, Paul says, «To me, who am the least, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace…» What is grace? The grace is a divine enablement. «This grace was given to me.» I’m not worthy of it; I haven’t been perfect, but God, in His goodness, has bestowed a grace upon me! Oh, I feel it! Has anybody been a benefactor of God’s grace? You don’t deserve it; you’re here right now! I wish somebody would tell the truth! Can we just take a moment and have a praise break for the grace of God? If it had not been for the grace and the mercy of God, you would not be in church on a Sunday afternoon!
Let’s just tell the truth! If it hadn’t been for His goodness… Man, I can remember driving home and not even knowing how I got there because I was so drunk! I don’t even remember the route I took sometimes because I was so drunk! I can remember being, man, out there! And you know what I mean by out there! Y’all can look all spiritual and stuff if you want to, but you know what I mean by out there! And I didn’t take that home! Are you—you know what I’m talking about? Right? I can remember putting myself in dumb situations! Like, stupid! Just, I could say that—that’s dopy situations that could have cost me my life!
And what I didn’t realize is that all day and all night there were angels watching over me, protecting my future, protecting my purpose! We need to take a minute right now and thank God for His goodness and thank God for His mercy! Come on, somebody give Him praise! Your goodness and your mercy follow me all the days of my life! That’s what Paul is talking about! Paul is saying that I didn’t experience this grace because I was good; in fact, I was the least! That’s why I don’t look down on anybody! I don’t care what God does for me; I don’t walk around thinking that I’m holier than thou! I ain’t got nobody to judge, baby!
If it had not been for the Lord who was on my side… And when I think about the goodness of Jesus and all that He’s done for me, I can’t talk about anybody! I can’t put down anybody! I’m too busy celebrating God! God forbid they give me the glory! I’m too busy being thankful for His mercy over my life! I got nobody to judge; do you? Boo! Do you? Paul says, «I’m the least! I’m less than the least of the saints! Nevertheless, this grace was given to me!» What was the grace? He says, «That I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ.»
There’s so much in that, but I want to keep going to make the point that I’m making in the short amount of time that we have because we have to get to something. He says, «And to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God, who created all things through Jesus Christ,» which is the fellowship of the mystery! I have fellowship with a mystery! I have fellowship with the hidden, mysterious riches of God! I’m connected to it! And I’m so connected to it that I have an anointing to preach it in a way that causes all to see!
I feel the Holy Spirit! You don’t even know what’s in you! You don’t even know what’s in you yet! Because when you receive the Holy Spirit, you have on the inside of you the fullness of all the mysteries connected to you! Oh, if the Holy Spirit were here, I wish I had about two hours with you! On the inside of you, by the Holy Spirit, you have a resource that has insight about who you are, about what you’re called to do, about the world that you live in!
There are answers and remedies and solutions to everything in your sphere on the inside of you! It’s a mystery to you, but it is a reality to God! And on the inside of you—and watch this—it is waiting to progressively unfold! Oh, I wish you would catch what I’m saying today! You are more than what you think! When the Bible says that we have a treasure in our earthen vessels, you have a treasure! I feel it! For every devil that rises up against you, there’s a hidden weapon on the inside of you! For everything that troubles you, everything that stands against you, there is something in you to defeat it!
If you believe that is the case, I dare you to receive this word! Celebrate God and praise Him! I got a mystery in me! I got a mystery! Oh, hallelujah! I’ve got mysteries in me! Don’t look at what you see and count me out! You don’t know who I am! I’ve got mysteries in me! And when God gets ready, everything that is in me, I wish you would know who you are! High five somebody and say, «I’ve got mysteries in me!» I’ve got mysteries in me! «Out of my belly, the mysteries will flow!»
Oh, you’re not catching it, L.A.! You’re not catching it online! You’re not catching it! Let me get through this real quick! This is it! To the intent—so I got mysteries in me—not because I was so good, but because of the grace of God that’s on my life! I’ve got things that were hidden, things that were secured for me, like my sphere! Things that were secured for me before the foundation of the world! All of that is in me—mysteries! When I’m confused, that’s okay!
Because I have a mystery! When I don’t understand what I’m doing—when I’m perplexed, I am not in despair! Because I’ve got answers in me! I’ve got solutions in me! I’ve got breakthroughs in me! I’ve got dunamis Holy Ghost power in me! God has placed on the inside of me everything I need to navigate my destiny! Therefore, I am never stopped! If I feel stuck, I’m not stopped! And in a minute, something’s going to come out of me that opens the door for me! If you believe it, take a minute, do like this! Do like this! Do like this! Give Him the glory!
Oh, let’s submit to this for a minute! Some of you right now, you feel it! Something’s stirring up on the inside of you; that’s the mystery trying to get out! It gets better! It gets better! You’re going to get this today! «To the intent that now—the manifold wisdom of God, the manifold wisdom of God!» The manifold—what does manifold mean? It means it has many folds!
It’s like, I wish I had something! What’s in the manifold wisdom of God? Let’s give me a minute! Give me a minute! Manifold wisdom! Manifold! The manifold wisdom of God! So you think that this is all you got! See, when you get stuck and you feel like this doesn’t go over for you, you think that this is all you got! And then you cry out to God—and then the right time—boom! It gets bigger! Because it begins to unfold! Right?
And you’re like, «Oh, thank you, Taurine! I’m Paul!» And then you run into another roadblock and you think that’s all you got! And God sends both in, and it unfolds again! I feel it! There are levels, uh! Oh! I got those! Girl, tell somebody! I got folds! I got folds! There are levels to me! I got levels! Babe! You ever seen all of me? You ever seen the best of me? I got levels! I got levels! There are levels to this thing!
So how do you deal with principalities? «To the intent that the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church!» That’s you! The church is you! The manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places! See, the principalities and the powers just need to be told where to go! Because in your sphere, even the principalities and the powers are subject to you! If you believe it—if you dare to take your authority today! I wish I had more time; we should have more time. We’re going to go even further next week!
Battling Principalities with the Word
See, you know that passage that I read—how close on this thought! 1 Peter chapter 5, where it says, «Be sober and vigilant, because your adversary,» says your adversary walks about like a roaring lion; that word adversary is a very interesting word. That word adversary literally means this: an opponent at law! An opponent at law! A legal opponent!
A legal opponent?! What in the world does that mean? My adversary is a legal opponent! And then I thought about how lawsuits happen! Lawsuits happen by an arguing of the law, an arguing of the interpretation of the law, of the Constitution, or the civil laws! It is the lawsuit! The battle! The lawsuit is a battle! And it is a battle over the interpretation! Somebody should start catching it by now!
It is a battle over the interpretation of the Constitution! Now, go to the wilderness with Jesus. Jesus is out in the wilderness after 40 days, and the enemy comes, and he does not come and bite him. He does not come and try to fight him physically! But he does get into a battle! And what type of battle is it? It is a battle over the law! Satan comes and presents something, and Jesus says, «No, no, no! It is written!»
You’re starting to catch it! It is written! That man shouldn’t live off bread alone but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God! And so even Satan, even the enemy comes, and he starts trying to use the law! And he’s like, «Excuse me, you are using that out of context!» Because the precedent is this!
What am I saying? If you are going to push back the principalities and powers, you have got to get a word in your mouth! You’ve got to speak to that giant and tell that giant who you are! Tell that giant what God said! Bring that giant down! I love the soup way to go! That fear, everything in that sphere belongs to you! The people, the promises, and even the principalities will be your bread!
If you believe it, we’re going to go further next week. If you receive that word, how many of you are going to dominate your sphere? I’m going to dominate my sphere! Come on, dominate my sphere! Aleck, dominate my sphere! I’ve got a territory! Emily, hold of it! Come on, stand with me real quick! Stand with me real quick!
Personal Testimony and Call to Action
Don’t miss this! Don’t miss this! I’ve got so much to say to you that I can’t get it out now, but I hear the Lord saying so clearly, «It is time for you to recognize that you have a sphere! A god-appointed sphere! God-appointed territory, and you must dominate it! There are people assigned to you fulfilling the mission of your sphere! God would not have you here unless He had a territory for you!»
You remember the prayer of Jabez? The prayer of Jabez was, «Enlarge my territory!» You cannot enlarge something you do not have! Oh, I feel the Holy Spirit! Family, Los Angeles, you have to recognize that you are not simply here to work or to excel. Many of you are here, Denver, many of you are here because you have a territory! And you cannot compromise your way into domination!
The territory was given to the real you! The territory was given to you in Christ! And on the inside of you, you have the mysteries; you have the keys! I feel it—to open doors that no man can shut and to shut doors that no man can open! Thank God! He is calling you to a new level of authority! A new level of perspective! Are you tracking with me? God called me to L.A. 14 years ago—40 years ago! He called me to L.A., and I went!
I didn’t have a background in entertainment; my background is business; my background is selling art! I had no background in entertainment! I took 19 people to L.A., and He told me to go to the North Hollywood area in L.A.! I had no idea why my territory was there! So I just started preaching! I just obeyed Him; I started preaching! And the fastest-growing demographic in the L.A. campus is young people who have arts and entertainment! You know what I’m telling you? Fast-growing demo group! By the way, 14 years later, entertainment opportunities, business opportunities have been chasing me down! I didn’t even know if I would have!
Not if I would not have obeyed God and stepped into my territory! First of all, there are people! That’s why our L.A. campus has over 7,000 members—that’s just locally—not to mention the more than 200,000 subscribers that also subscribe to our weekly messages! Right? So that’s the people! Literally about a month ago, we signed a deal! We’ve got a television show that’s coming out—not a reality show—a television show! A scripted sitcom that’s coming out!
I have that deal chasing me down! We’ve produced music for nationally syndicated television shows! All of that was in my territory! And all I had to do was be who God has called me to be and not allow the principalities in the territory to make me bow down and be less than what God has called me to be! Are you tracking with me? And you have a territory! Wherever you are, you’ve got a territory!
But you cannot compromise! And you have to speak to those principalities and powers in boldness! You’ve got to take everything that God has said to you! If you wrote notes down, guess what? Those notes are going to be your weapon! Don’t let those notes stay in your cell phone or in your journal! Get those things out, because those are the things you use to push back the principalities! So that what God has for you is released! Are you tracking with me?
And we’re going to go further next week, but I want to pray for some people. If you’re here, Los Angeles campus, Denver campus—even if you’re watching via livestream— and God has stirred up something on the inside of you and you feel it all in your chest and all up in here? Your something burning on the inside of you! And you feel called and say, «You know what, Pastor? I heard you! I believe I have a territory! I believe I have a sphere! I want you to pray for me, so that I can dominate it!» If that’s you, I want you to come to the altar! Denver, come—lay! Come, come to the altar! Come to me!
I’m right there with you; I can see you, L.A.! I can see you! I can see you! If that’s you, you say, «I heard you, Pastor, loud and clear, and I want you to pray for me! I want to dominate my sphere!» I want to dominate my sphere! If you’re watching via livestream, I just want you to worship! Every seat—this is it! I’m going to pray for you, because you do have a sphere! We’re not commending ourselves and measuring ourselves and complimenting ourselves among ourselves. I don’t even trust the compliments of men; they are fickle! Even with Jesus, one day they were singing Hosanna, Hosanna; the next day they were saying, «Crucify Him!» That’s how fickle the commendations of men are!
Just think—I don’t want that! I don’t want that! See, when I know I’m dominating my sphere, I know I’m dominating my sphere! Then I’ll boast in the fact that God has given me a territory, and it’s a worthy portion! And there are people in there! And there are promises in there! There’s provision in there! And yes, there are principalities! But I’m not worried about a principality because my job is to exercise my authority! Oh, I feel the Holy Spirit! And we’re going to talk more about authority next week, but they’re there to exercise my authority!
If there were no principalities, the authority that God has given me could never be exercised! I’m not taken back by opposition! I’m supposed to have opposition! It’s supposed to be that way! I’m afraid of blessings that cost me nothing! I’m a trusted—I feel like, «What’s the catch?» I want the catch! I want to pray for you! If you’re still in the seats and you didn’t come forward, I just want you to pray for those who are responding.
Closing Prayer and Declaration
Father, I thank You so much! Lord, You gave me the message to preach to your children, and I spoke it today! Those who had ears to hear heard, and therefore they will never be the same again! You’re increasing their capacity! Father, I just pray that You would seal this word in the hearts and the minds of those who are gathered here today! I thank You, Lord God, that there is a mystery in them! There is more to them than they think! Lord, the manifold wisdom of God is on the inside of each one!
And I pray God that You would stir it up! I pray that when we come out of this time of prayer, when we come out of this service and we lift our eyes again, we will see through the lenses of those who have a sphere, who have a territory and who have a domain! And, God, where we have been lazy or fearful or negligent of our calling, negligent to attend to our territory, forgive us and revive us and restore us! And I thank You for the restoration that is coming back to each one in that situation! I thank You that as they align themselves with this word, doors are going to open at the command of their voice! Doors are going to open at the command of their voice!
Their influence is going to increase! As they walk, places that which opposes them will be shaken! As they walk, places in this elevated identity, they will begin to attract relationships and resources that will fulfill the call and the purpose of their sphere and their territory! I thank You, God, that today You’re anointing them with the ability not just to live in their sphere—not just to survive in their sphere—but to completely and totally dominate it!
Now I want you to repeat after me: «Heavenly Father, I heard Your voice today! I receive it! Heavenly Father, I felt Your love today! I receive it! You’ve given me a sphere! I have a territory and it’s good! It is more than enough! There are people in that territory! I have promises in that territory! And I have victory over everything that comes against me in that territory!
Today I claim my rights to walk in authority, to make known to principalities and powers the wisdom of God concerning my life and my sphere! I thank You for Jesus! Thank you for making Him who had no sin, who had no shortcomings! Thank you for making Him all of my weaknesses, all of my insecurities, all of my mistakes, all of my brokenness! You placed in His body, nailed it to the cross, and put it to death! And just as He was raised up free and victorious with power and authority, because I’m in Him, I’m raised up too! And I have power, victory, authority, and wisdom! In Jesus' name, Amen!»