Authority Over Demons and Disease
166
‘Lord, I know You said that. It has been only a month since You appeared to me in
Rockwall, Texas, and told me to command the demon or demons to come out in your
Name. I told the demon to come out of that man, but he didn’t.’
Again Jesus pointed His finger at me and said, ‘I said, in My Name call out the demons
and they
will
leave the body!’
I know You said that, Lord, and I commanded the spirit to leave this man’s body in the
Name of the Lord Jesus Christ, but he didn’t go.
Jesus put His finger in my face and said for the third time, ‘
I said, in My Name the
demons will go!
Call them out in My Name, and they will leave the body in My Name.’
Weakly, I replied again, ‘Lord, I know You said that. It happened just a month ago and it
is as fresh in my mind as if You said it last night. I know what You told me. And I did tell
that demon to leave this man’s body, but he didn’t go.’
I think I know how Jesus looked when He drove the money-changers out of the Temple,
as recorded in Mark chapter 11. Suddenly it seemed as if His eyes shot fire; I could see
flashes of lightening in them.
For the fourth time He jabbed His finger at me and said emphatically, ‘Yes, but I said he
would!’ Then He disappeared.
I realized then that I had acted in unbelief.”
Oh, friend, do you get this? Do you hear this? “I said it. I said it and it didn’t happen.” What does
that mean? It doesn’t mean that you don’t have authority, and it doesn’t mean it’s not the will of
God.
Millions of people don’t even believe this. “It’s up to the Lord, whatever He wants, and let’s just
beg God to make the devil quit.”
“We sometimes think that if we have a special gift or anointing to minister, it always will
work—but that is not the case. No matter how much authority we might have, no matter
how many special gifts we might have, or how much power we might possess, they all
work by faith and
faith only
.
When I realized I had exercised doubt instead of faith, I saw my mistake. I called the man
to come back to the platform. He was standing at the rear of the auditorium and hadn’t
gone back to his seat yet.
I pointed to him and said, ‘Come back up here, Brother.’ He retraced his steps back up
the aisle. I stood on the platform waiting for him to come around to the altar to where I
was. The instant he stood before me, I slapped him on the back, and with my other hand
on his chest I said, ‘Satan, I told you to leave this body! Out you go in the Name of the
