12. Vessels of Dominion Through Faith

Chapter 12 Vessels of Dominion Through Faith

Verily I say unto you. Whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou taken up and cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that what he saith cometh to pass; he shall have it (Mark 11:23). The word “whosoever” includes you and me. We are called to exercise dominion through the spoken word of faith. When we exercise dominion in ministry, it is by command as Jesus and His disciples did. Did you ever notice that when they ministered to others, they did not ask God to heal, deliver, or provide for them? They commanded these things because they knew that God already guaranteed them to His covenant people. (Php 4:19) And my God shall supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. They saw these things as already accomplished at the cross and God’s promises as our authority to minister them. (2 Peter 1:3-4) Seeing that his divine power hath granted unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that called us by his own glory and virtue; (4) whereby he hath granted unto us his precious and exceeding great promises; that through these ye may become partakers of the divine nature…. The Lord still reigns through those who have renewed their minds with the Word. (Revelation 5:9-10) Worthy art thou to take the book and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and didst purchase unto God with thy blood [men] of every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation, (10) and madest them [to be] unto our God a kingdom and priests; and they reign upon the earth. Before the judgment seals of the tribulation are opened, the saints of God are said to be reigning on earth. We have the authority to reign as Jesus reigned because He lives in us through the Word that we put in our heart. The more of His Word we accept, the more He can live through us because He is the Word. He says, “They reign upon the earth.” Jesus gave us an example of the dominion that the Son of God could manifest through the son of man. He gave us an example of what man was sent to do with God’s Word and Spirit in him. Then He equipped the early disciples with these and sent them out to repeat this process.

(Matthew 28:19-20) Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations… (20) teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you: and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. The apostles were to make disciples and give them the same authority and commands that they had received, and in turn, those disciples were to do the same right on down to us. We all should have received from our teachers the same authority, commands, and gifts given to the first disciples. What happened? The apostate religious traditions of men happened! Obedience to Jesus’ command would have made a geometric progression from His day to our day that would have shaken the world. Jesus said that He would be with the disciples in this endeavor “unto the end of the world.” Since the first disciples were not around that long, He, obviously, was talking to us, also.

Then what were they commanded so that we can know what we are commanded? Jesus commanded us to walk in His steps. (John 20:21) …As the Father hath sent me, so send I you. (Matthew 10:8) Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons, freely you have received, freely give. We have received the same authority as Jesus and the early disciples to do the same work. (John 14:12) He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto the Father. Those who believe will be vessels of God’s sovereign dominion in the earth. We have to obey all these commands that Jesus gave them. The great commission has been passed on to us from the Lord. When we make disciples, we must also pass on the command to do these things. (Mark 16:15) And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to the whole creation. Again, this could not have been spoken to only the first disciples because they neither went into the entire world nor preached to the whole creation. Disciples will finish this work in our day.

Please notice that in the following verse Jesus is telling His apostles how to identify those who believed their Gospel. (Mark 16:16-18) He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that disbelieveth shall be condemned. (17) And these signs shall accompany them that believe (believers have signs): in my name shall they cast out demons; they shall speak with new tongues; (18) they shall take up serpents, and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall in no wise hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. These signs were not spoken of the first disciples but of those who came after and believed their Gospel. So the doctrine that all these signs passed away with the apostles is clearly a lie that has made many of God’s people powerless. (2 Timothy 3:1-2) But know this, that in the last days grievous times shall come. (2) For men shall be… (2 Timothy 3:5) holding a form of godliness, but having denied the power thereof, from these also turn away. We are commanded to leave the powerless, unscriptural, religious institutions of men.

Some think that these things only happen for people with gifts of healings or miracles or faith. Jesus said, “Whosoever shall say… and shall not doubt… he shall have it” (Mark 11:23). Whosoever commands without doubt shall have it. This obviously includes every believer in the true Gospel. The apostle Paul said that he preached “in the power of signs and wonders, in the power of the Holy Spirit; so that from Jerusalem, and round about even unto Illyricum, I have fully preached the Gospel of Christ” (Romans 15:19). Fully preaching the Gospel is demonstrating its power to deliver from the curse. The world is tired of hearing that Jesus saves. They want to see it. Some think that these things only happen for the super mature saints. Maturity is to become as a child, simply accepting the Word of our Father. Young faith is powerful. (Psalms 8:2) …Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings have thou established strength, because of thine adversaries, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger. God uses the spoken words of babes to still His enemies and ours. Both spiritual and physical little children with a little knowledge will see signs and wonders and put the principalities and powers in their place. Jesus told His grown disciples, “Except ye turn, and become as little children, ye shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 18:3-4). Only the childlike will enter and partake of the kingdom, but what is the kingdom? The kingdom is where God’s will is perfectly done and there is no curse. (Matthew 6:10) Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so on earth. He uses our prayers to bring the kingdom of heaven on earth. There is no curse in heaven. (Matthew 10:7-8) And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand (Greek:“near”). (8) Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons: freely ye received, freely give. Being near those who exercise dominion over the curse, we are near the kingdom. (Luke 11:20) But if I by the finger of God cast out demons, then is the kingdom of God come upon you. Having been delivered from the curse, the kingdom has come upon us and we can partake of the kingdom, passing it on to others who believe.

Once my wife complained to me that the washer had stopped working. I turned to my children and told them to go lay their hands on it and command it to run. They obeyed with childlike faith and immediately it started. Several times, while driving in a rainstorm, I told them to point their fingers at the sky and command the rain to stop. Children are not proud and do not mind looking foolish to others. They commanded, God honored their faith, and the rain stopped, sometimes immediately. When we first moved to Florida, my children found a squirrel in the road with a broken back. They came to me wanting to keep it and take care of it. I told them that we were not going to mess with that squirrel; they should just go command it to be healed. They did, and it ran up a tree. A couple of years later, they did the same thing for another squirrel that had fallen from an oak tree in our yard. They prayed for Mary and me many times with power.

One hot day, I got the mower out to cut the grass. I pulled and pulled trying to start it until I was sweating profusely. Then I checked the spark and found none. I did not feel up to looking for the problem, so I called my boys over to agree with me. We commanded the mower to run. I do not know if that mower ever got any spark, but it did run.

Once when I noticed a lone shoe on my front porch, I called the children together to scold them. I said, “I told you not to leave your shoes on the porch because a dog will pack one of them off and the other one won’t be worth anything.” I realized later that I got exactly what I had loosed with my tongue. The children and I scoured the yard and the neighbor’s yard with no success. I said, “Let’s pray and agree that God will put it in that dog to bring the shoe back.” Children always have faith so easily. So we joined hands and agreed. The next day we were looking out of the picture window, and what do you think we saw? A stray dog came across the yard with that shoe in his mouth and dropped it right in front of the porch. Hallelujah! Teach your children simple faith, and do not let any theologians around them. In spite of our own failures and weaknesses, we should receive this authority from our Lord like little children. By the grace of God, I have commanded eyes restored, bones mended, cancers gone, diseases gone, bleeding stopped, blood pressure normal, demons out, dead resurrected, those in comas to come out, water pumps to stop leaking, alternators to have new bearings, smoking engines to stop using oil, hurricanes to stop or change directions, property protected, storms to stop and back up, moles to get out of my yard, mole crickets to die, gas in my tank, engines to start, to name a few. None of the above was without witnesses. Yet it was “not I but Christ” living in me through the Word. God has not left us without help. We have left Him without help. He desires to use us as vessels to do His work. (Php 4:13)I can do all things in him that strengtheneth me.

God wants us to command and not doubt. I was preaching in a mission church in Pensacola. A girl came forward and was saved. She indicated that she had a problem and wanted to talk. She was distraught because she had just killed her unborn baby. A man of another race who was an acquaintance of her husband had raped her. She was afraid that her husband would find out and get in trouble. Three days before this time she had been at the health unit where they had tested her with the heart monitor, a sonogram, and a sample of the fluid. They declared the baby to be dead and scheduled her to get a D&C. As she was talking, I became impressed to ask her if there was anyone she had not forgiven. She said that there was a doctor that she thought purposely aborted one of her babies. I said to her, “Since you have just done the same thing, don’t you think you had better forgive him?” She agreed, so I suggested she pray for him, which she did. I asked her if she wanted to be filled with the Holy Spirit. After a brief teaching on the baptism of the Holy Spirit, she agreed and we prayed. Although she was a very quiet girl, when she got filled she was exuberant and rejoicing. The next thing that came to my mind and out of my mouth was, “I believe the Lord wants to resurrect your baby.” When I said that, the pastor, who was sitting next to me, his secretary, a deacon, and a few other ladies left the room. I paid no attention but continued. I asked Mary to put her hand on the girl’s tummy, and we commanded the spirit of life to come back into that baby. I then instructed the girl how to walk by faith and left the room. A door opened as I was walking down the hall, and the pastor coaxed me inside where I saw the others who had left the room. He said, “David, God is not going to do that for her.” I said, “Why not?” He said, “She killed that baby.” I said, “I don’t think you understand grace. That is a new creature in there, and she is not guilty of what the old man did. Besides, if I want to believe it, why try to destroy my faith? Just let me believe it.” Then I left the room. The girl stayed in the mission that night, but she called me the next day. She told me that she wanted to go to the health unit, but no one wanted to take her. I told her I would be glad to. On the way to the health unit, I reminded her to obey Jesus in Mark 11:24 and to believe that she had received what we prayed for. I also told her not to accept what people who walk by sight say. She was very simple and all this was new to her but she respected the Word. At the clinic, they reproved her for not getting the D&C and told her she was endangering herself. She told the doctor that she wanted them to check the baby again. He agreed and sent her into another room with a technician. He put the sonogram and the heart monitor on her. He saw no signs of life, and the baby had not moved for four days. He told her, “Ma’am, you have got to have a D&C because your baby is dead.” She said, “I just don’t accept that.” When she said that, the heart monitor began to register a beat and the baby moved energetically. The sonogram showed the baby alive. That unbelieving technician said, “That’s a miracle.” Now I don’t know what God did, but she gave birth a few months later to a beautiful baby boy, who was obviously her husband’s. Since she still had not told her husband about the rape, this was an answer to her prayers. This newborn Christian did not walk by sight but faith, and God confirmed His Word with a wonder. Praise God! When I tell this story, I get choked up and can hardly finish because of the awesome grace of God.

Here is a condensed version of a Bible study we had on the effect imagination has on our faith. Real faith is acted upon by the whole man. (Romans 10:10) For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. It is fruitless for the heart to believe and the body to not react or for the body to act and the heart to not believe. The part of man that God designed to effectually connect the heart of man with his actions is the imagination. Our imagination should be renewed so that faith may have unhindered flow through us. Evil imaginations must be cast down if we want to win our battle with the flesh and the devil and to do the works of Jesus. (2 Corinthians 10:4-5) For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but mighty before God to the casting down of strongholds), (5) casting down imaginations, and every high thing that is exalted against the knowledge of God, and bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. Cast down imaginations must be replaced with Biblical ones. For instance: (2 Corinthians 3:18) But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory…. Notice that this renewed imagination of seeing Jesus in the mirror completes our faith, enabling us to come into His image and to do His works. This is the same faithful imagination that Paul had. (Galatians 2:20) I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I that live, but Christ living in me…. We are to believe, imagine and confess that Jesus lives in us. Jesus said that if we believe we will do His works and greater. (John 14:12) …He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater [works] than these shall he do; because I go unto the Father.

After this teaching, we were given opportunity to put this to work. At the very next Bible study, Pauline Warner asked prayer for Jacqui Kitts, whom she said would not be coming because her whole face was swollen with an abscessed tooth. My suggestion was that we would see Jacqui’s swollen face in our imagination. Then we would speak to it commanding her tooth to be healed and the swelling to go down. Then we would imagine her face returning to normal with a smile. With everyone’s agreement we proceeded to act on this suggestion, and I vocalized our common command for her healing. This was a Biblical imagination because Jesus lives in Jacqui, and He is not abscessed or swollen. We are to accept the resurrected life of Christ. (1 John 4:17) …As he is, even so are we in this world. The Lord taught us to pray “thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so on earth” (Matthew 6:10). There is no sickness in God’s kingdom. Jacqui was healed by the stripes of Jesus 2,000 years ago. The next morning, Jacqui called me and gave me the good report. She said that the night before, at about the time when we normally pray, the swelling suddenly went out of her face and her tooth was healed. We rejoiced and thanked the Lord together.

God quickly gave us several more opportunities to exercise our faith in this way. In a following Bible study, Bob Aicardi related that the water level in his swimming pool was dropping at about four to five inches a week. He inspected the liner and tested the plumbing for leaks and found none. The water bill was sizable. In frustration, Bob cried out to God, “Lord, there is no reason for this to be happening to this pool or to me. I belong to you, and I am not under the curse.” When Bob asked for the prayer of agreement, we visualized the pool leaking and commanded it to stop. I said, “I command you pool not to leak one more drop in the name of Jesus.” We then visualized the pool as repaired. The next day Bob watched the water level expecting God to act on his behalf and noticed that the leak had completely stopped. Isn’t God awesome?

Bob then brought another prayer request to the study. He related that when he first moved into his house he walked around the property and asked God to put a hedge around it and his family. For 3½ years there had been no roaches, bugs, or rodents. Now he faced mole crickets marching across his front lawn, devouring the roots of his grass. His neighbor was worried that they would get their lawn, too, so they suggested Bob use some poison. Bob wanted to exercise his faith instead, but he knew something had to happen quickly. When Bob asked for prayer, we visualized his lawn from his front porch with the mole crickets wiping it out. Bob prayed, “They would be turned into fertilizer.” I commanded them to die and not take one more inch of that property in Jesus’ name. In our various ways, we then visualized the crickets as dead. I suggested to Bob that he get a point of reference on his porch so that he could tell where the mole crickets were. Bob reported back that he had done that and not only had they not taken another inch but not even a sign of a single living mole cricket remained. They were all fertilizer. Glory to God! He gives authority to believers, and He wants to use us to continue to destroy the curse for His glory. Bob’s place turned into a great testimony. He later had a problem with ant piles, and every time he commanded a pile to die, it did.