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Authority Over Demons and Disease
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“No,” He said, “if you hadn’t done something about that spirit, I couldn’t have.”
“But, Lord, You can do
anything
. To say You couldn’t is different from anything I’ve
ever heard preached or preached myself. That really upends my theology.”
“Sometimes your theology needs upending,” the Lord answered.
Then he said, “Lord, even though I am seeing you with my own eyes, even though I hear
your voice speaking to me as plainly as any voice I have ever heard, I cannot accept that
unless You prove it to me by the Word of God…”
Instead of becoming angry with me for saying this, Jesus smiled sweetly and said, “I will
give you not just two or three witnesses; I will give you four witnesses.”
One of these witnesses is Ephesians 4:27, which says, “Neither give place to the devil.” Who is
the understood subject?
You
are not to give place to the devil.
The Amplified Bible says, “Leave no [such] room or foothold for the devil.”
The Lord told us not to give him any room. Why didn’t He tell us to pray that the Lord would
make the devil stop? That’s what religion teaches, doesn’t it? That’s not what the Bible tells us to
do. He told us not to give the enemy place, didn’t He?
Another verse is James 4:7. “Submit yourselves therefore to God.” Submit yourselves to God,
and He’ll make the devil quit
? I wonder how many Christians are praying, “Oh, God, make the
devil quit. Oh God, stop the devil. Oh, God, make him quit.” Did He tell us to pray this way?
Millions of people think He did. What did He say? Who is the understood subject right here?
You. “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” He will flee from us when we resist him
because of the authority God has given to us.
People try to leave it up to God. “Oh, God, make this cancer quit. Oh, God, take this away from
me. Oh, God, make it stop. Make it quit.”
Do you see the revelation in Brother Hagin’s experience? He said this thing was jumping up and
down, making all this noise, putting out this smoke screen, and it was just bothering him. He was
getting more aggravated every second, thinking, “How many times do I have a visitation of the
Head of the Church in my life, and I’m not getting what He said…”
He was just annoyed and getting frustrated, and he thought, “Why doesn’t He do something?
Why is He letting him do that?”
Finally, just almost out of desperation, he said, “I command you to be quiet in the Name of Jesus
Christ!” And he did.
Jesus said, “If you hadn’t done something about that, I couldn’t have.” Wow.