Using Your Voice To Receive By Faith
Today we are going to continue discussing faith but let me first mention why. Christians should be dominating the world around them. It’s just that simple. I realize that may be a different view from what you have heard most of your life, but it’s still the truth.
When God created man, He gave man dominion over the earth. Man was to be the ruler of the earth and also the ruler of this period of time. But when man fell, the entire earth became subject to the curse and the devil became the ruler over this period of time. (See Genesis 1-3 and 2 Corinthians 4:4). After God raised Jesus from the dead, all authority in Heaven and on Earth was given to Him. We are now in union with Christ, and we share in His authority. We now have our authority back, and we can dominate.
Unfortunately, the devil is still the ruler of this period of time. The devil has a kingdom of darkness and the devil is influencing many people in the world, and the earth is still subjected to the curse of sin and death. It would be nice if the devil and sin weren’t around anymore, but they are.
We, as the Church of Jesus Christ, have stepped into Jesus’ authority over all the power of satan. If we are baptized with the Holy Spirit, then we also have been endued with God’s miracle working power. So in short, we have the authority and power of Jesus to operate in our world as Jesus operated on earth. You need to start seeing yourself like that. Say it with me, “I have the same authority and power as Jesus to operate in the world around me.” Now if you really believed that, what would you do differently?
If you really believed that you had the authority and power of Jesus to operate in the world today, you would begin using that authority and power to change things. You would use them to help people. You would use them to cast out demons, to heal the sick, to work miracles for the glory of God, and to generally expand the Kingdom of God in the world around you. My friends, we should all be living this way. I freely admit I have not been living this way, but that’s changing.
I am committed to operating in the authority and power of Jesus Christ which is available to me through my union with Jesus and the Baptism in the Holy Spirit. I hope you will make the same commitment. I no longer see myself as just another Christian doing His best and trying to get through life doing a little good here and there. I see myself as a child of God, the very righteousness of God, united with Christ, and endued with the power of God. This is how we should all see ourselves once we become a Christian and receive the Baptism in the Holy Spirit.
In fact, all of us who are Christians and baptized in the Holy Spirit are united with Christ, have His authority to use in the earth, and are endued with the miracle working power of God to use on behalf of the Kingdom of God. That has been true for me for 30 years or so since I received the Baptism in the Holy Spirit. That has been true for many people for many years. So why don’t we see all of our similarly situated brothers and sisters in Christ going around dominating the world.
Part of the answer is that the Church leaders largely haven’t taught us that this is how we should be living. There are many Church leaders who do teach these truths now, and I’ve obtained this understanding largely through Andrew Wommack, Bill Winston, Curry Blake, and Creflo Dollar. There are many others correctly teaching Christians about our true place in reality and our true assignments in this fallen world. Thank God.
Understanding the authority and power we have, and seeing ourselves correctly, is vital to begin living as God’s children in the earth, as the ambassadors for Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God. We must also understand how to use it.
Many Christians, myself included, have not understood how to see this authority and power influence their lives and the world around them. At the beginning of my wife’s healing journey, when God supernaturally brought us Andrew Wommack’s teachings, we were stunned to learn about the importance of using our authority over sickness. You have to curse the cancer, you have to curse the tumor, you have to rebuke the sickness. God’s not going to do it for you. This is just an example of where we must use our authority to see the supernatural results available to Christians.
In fact, we should be going through life praying without ceasing. We shouldn’t be going through life begging God to do all sorts of things He has empowered or authorized us to do. We should be going through life praying correctly, making correct requests in the name of Jesus, and using our authority and power, also in the name of Jesus, to see God’s will come to pass in the earth. You encounter a sick person, pray for them, lay hands on them, say “Be healed in Jesus’ Name.” Someone or some situation appears to be experiencing the influence of a demonic spirit, or appears to be under a demonic attack, you rebuke that demon, you cast it out in Jesus’ name. You need something in your life, you ask God in faith, believing that you receive.
By and large, our lives should be lived with a constant mindset of our connection to God and the authority and power we have in Christ. Yes, it’s true, today I will be looking at a number of real estate issues and contracts and at times I won’t think about God. But if any difficulty arises, anything complicated comes up, any extraordinary situation appears, I’m ready to pray and use my faith to get God’s perfect will for that situation.
This is the way I have lived for some time. I’m not saying we have perfect understanding in all of these areas, but I know we are on the right track. As Andrew Wommack says, we haven’t arrived but we’ve left. I know God wants us to use the authority and power we have in Christ and dominate every aspect of our lives and the world around us for His glory, and to help others come to know Him. This is how we should be living.
I realize I have made a number of heavy statements already today, and I could have cited a dozen verses to back up these statements, but let’s keep going. Some of you who read or hear this will know what I’m talking about. The Biblical support for everything I’ve said today has been discussed in great detail throughout my writings and podcast episodes, so let’s move on.
I’m going to assume going forward in this teaching that you agree with me, that you want to start dominating the world around you for the Kingdom of God using the authority and power you have in Christ. That’s awesome, let’s go.
Last week we talked about how God’s blessings are available on demand. God’s Word promises many positive things for our lives. God is not in Heaven deciding who gets them and who doesn’t, as many people believe. Rather, they have been given to us all. If you don’t flip the switch you don’t get power. If you don’t open the faucet you don’t get water. If you don’t use your faith and the Kingdom of God’s systems to receive God’s promises, you won’t see them in your life. Again, it’s just that simple.
As a quick example, to see God’s financial blessings in your life then you need to give in faith. That’s how the Kingdom of God’s economic system works. You give and receive. You sow and you reap. If you don’t give, you don’t receive. If you don’t’ sow, you don’t reap. God still loves you. You may be very successful in your business. But you are not participating in the Kingdom of God’s economic system. You are missing out on the supernatural in your business and you are subject to all the risks present in this age’s economic system.
You need to learn about God’s economic principles from the Bible, and then do them in faith. You give, believing you receive. You sow, standing in faith for your harvest. Don’t get religious and say, “oh Byron, I just want to give to be a blessing and I don’t need anything in return.” Yes, there is a place for that and Jesus talked about that. But giving to the poor or helping people out without expectation of return is different from operating in the Kingdom of God’s economy deliberately and with purpose. God wants you to operate in His economic system so that you can receive His financial blessings. Then you can give more and do more and bless more, all for the Kingdom and to bring Him glory. You will never achieve on your own what you could achieve with God, and I don’t care how rich you are.
I’m digressing and I don’t mean to belabor the points on Biblical economics, but that same rationale applies to most other areas in your life. To get God’s promises into your physical life, you need to operate God’s systems in faith. It’s not about asking God to release them to you. They are already given. They are already your inheritance. You need to take them by faith.
So now let’s keep going, let’s step into the next level of discussion on these subjects. Again, you should be dominating your life and the world around you for the Kingdom of God, using the authority and power you have in Jesus Christ.
I recently saw the movie “Dune” and I would like to discuss it briefly and use it to illustrate our next few points.
In case you haven’t seen Dune or read the very famous book on which it is based, essentially it is a science fiction story about a boy in the desert whose father is killed and he becomes the leader and messiah for this desert people. Together the boy and the desert people ultimately wage a war against the unjust governmental systems in their universe. It is filled with religious symbolism but it’s not Christian. I’m not saying that I recommend Dune, I’m just giving you the basics.
The boy and his mother essentially belong to a spiritual group and they have various powers. The one power we will discuss today, which is not innate but taught and learned, they call “The Voice.” When using The Voice they can command another person to do anything and that person will obey. But they have to use The Voice correctly. If the pitch is off it won’t work, and we see the boy learning to use The Voice as thee story unfolds.
Christians naturally have a similar power. Forget using your voice to control people, that would be manipulation and a form of witchcraft. However, we can use our voice to control many things, we can use our voice to exercise our authority in the spiritual realm, and we can use our voice to operate with spiritual law. If you use your voice correctly, by the power of your faith, what you have spoken to in the natural and spiritual realms will obey. There will be no resistance. You will be operating in spiritual law.
Consider for a moment how Jesus used His voice.
(To the many devils possessing a man) “Come out of this man, you impure spirit!”
(To the storm) “Quiet! Be Still!
(To the man with the withered hand) “Stretch out your hand.”
(To Peter in his fishing boat) “Put out into deep water, and led down the nets for a catch.”
(To the leper) “I am willing. Be clean!”
You get the idea. Last week we talked about how God’s promises and God’s blessings are available on demand. If you operate God’s systems in faith, then God’s promises and God’s blessings are guaranteed to show up in your life. That is an example of spiritual law. If you believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead, and confess with your mouth that Jesus is your Lord, you will be saved. If you sow, you will reap. If you lay hands on the sick, they will recover. Again, these are spiritual laws. They must be coupled with faith, but as long as you operate God’s systems in faith, you are going to see what God promises in your natural life.
Today we are talking about the connection between your voice and faith, and how your voice is a huge part of operating in spiritual power to see God’s will come to pass.
Jesus told us in Mark 16 that in His name we will cast our demons. We cast out demons with our words, as we see Jesus and the disciples do a number of times. If you use your voice in faith to tell a demon to leave, it will leave. It’s just that simple. The demon already knows the authority you have. But the demon won’t leave unless you make it. And when you tell that demon to leave, you tell him in faith. The various interactions we see in the Bible show us that the demons know both your authority and whether you are operating in true Biblical faith.
Remember when the disciples brought Jesus the boy who was demon possessed. Jesus didn’t tell them that those kinds of demons don’t come out without prayer and fasting. He was talking about their “unbelief.” The Greek word for “unbelief” is “apistia” or literally meaning “without pistis.” The Greek word for “faith” is “pistis.” Whenever you are praying or making statements for God, you need to have pistis (true, Biblical faith). You need to be convinced, persuaded, assured that it worked, and in the natural realm the manifestation will appear. If you aren’t sure, if you aren’t convinced, then you may have some pistis, but you also may have some apistia.
Pistis and apistia, faith and unbelief, are opposing forces that cancel each other out. If you command the pain to leave your head in the Name of Jesus, but don’t believe it has worked until the pain is gone, that is not faith. If your faith is determined by what you can see in the natural realm, that is not faith. That is actually unbelief. Faith has it in the unseen realm before it shows up in the seen realm. I have prayed for the pain in my head to go, and by Jesus’ stripes I’m healed, and I know this pain is gone. That is a correct statement of faith even while your head still hurts. Start praying in tongues. Start singing a worship song. Just go on about your day. Give it a few minutes, that pain will go. Faith comes first, then manifestation.
You command that demon to go in Jesus’ Name. If you are in faith, the demon must go. It’s just that simple. You have authority of demons because of your union with Christ. And you exercise that authority with your voice.
In fact, we see a number of areas where our voice carries spiritual authority and power. We can use our voice over unclean spirits. We can use our voice for healing. We can use our voice to take authority over things in the natural realm (as Jesus used His voice to control the weather, and as Jesus used His voice to curse the fig tree). You can also use your voice, and when you are speaking in faith, what you are speaking to must obey.
I want to reiterate that point, because it is the core of our message today – what you speak to in faith must obey your voice. That’s how we see God operate, that’s how Jesus operated during His earthly ministry, and that’s how we should operate. What you speak to in faith must obey your voice. Yes, there are limitations in that this doesn’t work on other people and there are various things that are subject to the authority of others. Remember there are different realms of authority in the world. But don’t worry about that. In your life, in your house, in your spiritual sphere, in your realm of spiritual jurisdiction, what you speak to in faith will obey you.
As one of my favorite teachers Pastor Greg Mohr says, “your words are law in the spirit realm.” The moment you speak something in faith, what you have spoken has just become a law in the spirit realm, and whatever you have spoken to must obey.
Now let’s talk about the interaction between your voice and your faith. Remember, it’s not just whatever you say that becomes a law in the spirit realm and must be obeyed, it’s whatever you say in faith. There are lots of people who are confessing, “By Jesus’ stripes I am healed.” But they are just saying it out of their minds and with only mental assent. They aren’t truly in pistis faith. They aren’t truly speaking it in faith. For it to become spiritual law, for your words to force obedience, faith is required. Remember the characters in Dune must use The Voice with the correct pitch for it to work. We must use faith. And faith has a pitch.
I want to show you how the intersection between faith and words produces manifestation, and how words produce faith. We use our words to activate and enforce spiritual law, and our words will also create the necessary faith that goes with those words for them to work.
The first time I operated in this process, that I can recall, was when my back was healed in a Rodney Howard-Browne meeting. I learned that the woman with the issue of blood said and kept on saying that if she touched the hem of Jesus’ garment she would be healed. So I said and kept on saying “when the man of God lays hands on me I will be healed.” I spoke this many times, and the repetition of the words began to produce faith. I became persuaded. I became convinced. And when the man of God laid hands on me, I was totally and miraculously healed.
I want to be clear that I am not talking about vain repetition, which does nothing. Simply saying a verse or words over and over again will do nothing for you. But truly meditating God’s Word, truly saying it with a union between your heart and your mind, truly speaking it with conviction, that is the voice of faith. For me, I will take a deep breath, I will focus my mind and my entire being on what I’m going to say, and I will find the right pitch. When I speak in this way, I am speaking with the pitch of faith. List to the difference. “By Jesus stripes, I was healed.” “BY JESUS’ STRIPES, I WAS HEALED.” It’s one thing to say something. It’s another thing to declare it by faith.
I am working to create and strengthen my faith in God’s promises. The Word of God starts as a written word for you. You study God’s Word and you find some verses that cover your situation. Which one stands out to you? Which one is grabbing your heart? That’s the one that God has for your situation at the moment. When you sense that, the written word of God has moved from a word on the page to a word in the spirit realm that’s available to you, it’s moved to a living word. In the Greek, the way we say this is that the promise has moved from a “logos” word to a “rhema” word. It’s moved from a written word on a page to a living word spoken from God to you. That’s a rhema word. According to Romans 10:17, faith comes by hearing the rhema word of God.
So you take that rhema word and speak it. And you may need to speak it a few times. “BY JESUS’ STRIPES I WAS HEALED.” “I WAS HEALED” “I WAS HEALED.” That word moves from the page to my heart. I am becoming persuaded. I am becoming convinced. I am creating a union between God’s word and my mind. My head still hurts. I still feel the pain. I still feel the nausea, but something is happening. I’m starting to believe it. My faith is growing. I am starting to accept the truth of God’s Word more than the evidence of the physical circumstances. Now I start to say it again and again. “BY JESUS’ STRIPES I WAS HEALED.” “PAIN, GET OUT OF MY HEAD IN JESUS’ NAME.” Now I am speaking to this problem in faith. Now my words are law in the spirit realm. Now I know that I’ve got it even though I still feel the pain.
At this point, where you know you have it even when you still feel the pain, you can feel yourself relax. Peace is starting to enter your heart. You stop worrying about the pain. You know that you’re healed. You know that this pain has a short time remaining in your body. You know it’s done. You feel joy about this. You instinctively start thanking God for your healing. This is what it means to enter the rest of faith.
Hebrews 4:3 – “For we which have believed (had faith) do enter into rest.” Remember that the word “believe” in the Greek literally means “have faith.” When you are truly in faith, you enter God’s rest. You can feel it. You feel rest in your heart and your mind. You feel peace in your soul. You know you’ve got it. You know your prayer has worked. You know manifestation is on the way. You are in faith.
If you are praying about something and you still feel the pressure, the fear, the anxiety, then you aren’t in faith. That’s just the way it is. But don’t get down on yourself about that. Just get yourself into faith. It’s not always easy. It doesn’t come naturally. But you can do it. You meditate God’s promises on the subject. You specifically meditate that verse that has grabbed your heart, the one verse that seems to resonate with you the most during this difficult time, that promise that is now a rhema word from God to you. You meditate that verse as that is the one that will produce the faith most quickly. You start worshipping. You start praying in your prayer language. You move into faith.
I’ve told you about my ankle injury on Thanksgiving. Let me try to keep this brief. I was carrying a heavy cooler and rolled my ankle. I felt the pop. The pain was excruciating. I immediately knew that I may have seriously injured my ankle. I prayed and was doing pretty well for a few hours. About 5 hours after the incident I couldn’t walk. The swelling had started. The pain was extreme. I went home from Thanksgiving dinner early.
I laid in my bed thinking about a work trip to New Jersey a few days later. I was worried and couldn’t imagine going. The Lord spoke to me. “Are you going to let this thing take you down, or are you going to do what you know to do.” Honestly because of the importance of the work trip, I decided to use my faith. I began walking around the house confessing that by Jesus’ stripes I was healed. I began doing chores and cleaning up. My ankle hurt just as bad, but I kept saying the confession.
Why did I keep saying it, because I needed God’s Word to produce the faith in me. At first, the physical pain was screaming louder than God’s word in my mind. I was believing the physical circumstances. After a few minutes it was time to bring the hamster cage upstairs. I knew the stairs would hurt, but I was moving into faith and I kept going. When I got to the first stair, my ankle still hurt. But I could feel the faith rising. I could feel that I had started moving into faith. My ankle hurts, but I believe. I’ve got this. So I kept going. I kept pushing. But I knew I had grabbed a hold of my healing by faith now. I knew that the power was flowing now (because it only flows when there is real faith).
I went to bed still in pain, but I woke up a few hours later feeling much better. In the morning it still hurt a bit, but in faith I put up the Christmas lights. Up and down the ladder over and over. I’m not aggravating the injury or not resting. I’m strengthening my faith. I’m getting stronger. The next day I ran four miles. By the end of that run I was totally healed. I didn’t see a doctor. I didn’t take any medicine. I took my authority in Jesus over that injury, and by Jesus’ stripes, I was healed.
You must speak your faith. Faith has a pitch. For me, the pitch of faith is loud and bold and authoritative. Yes, I often speak my faith at a very high volume. No, I don’t believe Jesus did that. But Jesus didn’t have unbelief problems. Jesus had perfect faith in God’s Word. Jesus operated in perfect faith all of the time, without the slightest bit of unbelief. Jesus spent significant time praying and fasting to keep all unbelief out of him. Jesus had perfect faith.
As for me and my faith, I’ve got work to do. I speak the word boldly. I get my mind focused on the word. I forbid other thoughts from coming in. And after some time, my faith begins to rise. I can feel the faith. I can feel that I’m grabbing a hold of the promise by faith. I start to enter God’s rest. I’ve got it now.
In 2009 my wife had a miscarriage. We sought the Lord and He told us certain things to do. She became pregnant again so fast the doctors thought it was impossible, that it was left over fetal tissue from the first pregnancy. But it was my daughter Eden. A few months into the second pregnancy my wife called me, and she was bleeding again. But this time I knew what to do. We didn’t say anything negative and agreed to meet at the doctor’s office. I said nothing to anyone at work, but in the car I started yelling God’s Word, the verse we had over our new baby, “Great is the peace of my baby.” (Isaiah 54:13).
GREAT IS THE PEACE OF MY BABY. GREAT IS THE PEACE OF MY BABY. GREAT IS THE PEACE OF MY BABY. DEVIL YOU GET AWAY FROM MY CHILD RIGHT NOW IN JESUS’ NAME. GREAT IS THE PEACE OF MY BABY.
I entered into faith on that car ride, and by the time we got to the doctor’s office the bleeding had stopped. The baby was fine. And that’s my daughter Eden today.
Sometime after that the Lord was speaking to me about using my faith. He said to me something like this, “Remember that day in the car when you were praying for Eden, when Shannon was bleeding. When you use your faith, you need to take it there.” He was telling me that my faith produced that today, and that bold, authoritative voice that I used when confessing His Word was the right way to see my faith produce. I needed to get convinced. I needed to get in faith. That was the pitch of faith. That was the power voice where my words became law in the spirit realm.
I wish that I could tell you that from that day to this I have used my voice in faith correctly many times, but unfortunately I can’t tell you that. But I’ve got it now. When I’m ready to use my faith, especially in an area where I need to use my God given authority and speak declarations in the Name of Jesus, I’m going to remember to use my voice correctly and speak in the pitch of faith. I’m going to confess the Word boldly and aggressively until I feel faith start to rise inside me. I’m going to keep doing it until I know that I’m in faith. I will know that I’m in faith when I feel the peace come, when I feel the rest, when the fear and anxiety are replaced with a knowing that I have what I’ve prayed for. That’s when I know I’m in faith and God’s power is flowing to bring the manifestation.
A good friend of mine recently used these ideas to get significant relief from back pain. He’s had three back surgeries and they didn’t produce. But now his faith is producing, and I see him moving around better than ever. He said he felt a little weird yelling at that pain to go and commanding His body to be healed. But none of that matters. God’s will is what matters. Your healing is what matters. Making that demon leave is what matters.
So if I pray for you and I’m loud or if I yell, I’m sorry if it startles you. But I’m not going to waste your time. I’m going to make sure at least one of us is in faith. I’m going to bring myself into the place of faith for your healing or your deliverance or whatever you are asking of God. I’m going to take a moment before I speak and make sure I’m speaking in faith. I’m going to set my heart and my pitch correctly to make sure that there is a union between my faith and my voice. We have authority from Jesus and the Kingdom of God to see God’s will manifested in the earth, and your words spoken in faith are laws in the spirit realm. What you speak to must obey. The manifestation will come.
These principles we are discussing are actually the laws of the universe. What you ask for in faith you will receive. What you speak in faith will come to pass. These are legal systems and they will work for anyone who works them. They are already established in the universe. We just need to learn how to operate with them. The entire faith system is in fact a legal system that ensures God’s people can receive everything God wants us to have. The entire faith system is also a legal system that empowers God’s people to bring God’s will into manifestation in the earth.
My friends, as I told you at the beginning of our time today, all of us who are Christians and baptized in the Holy Spirit are united with Christ, we have His authority to use in the earth, and we are endued with the miracle working power of God to use on behalf of the Kingdom of God. It’s time we start using these truths. It’s time we start changing the world for Jesus. It’s time we start using our faith to see God’s will come to pass. I hope you continue on this journey with me.
When God created man, He gave man dominion over the earth. Man was to be the ruler of the earth and also the ruler of this period of time. But when man fell, the entire earth became subject to the curse and the devil became the ruler over this period of time. (See Genesis 1-3 and 2 Corinthians 4:4). After God raised Jesus from the dead, all authority in Heaven and on Earth was given to Him. We are now in union with Christ, and we share in His authority. We now have our authority back, and we can dominate.
Unfortunately, the devil is still the ruler of this period of time. The devil has a kingdom of darkness and the devil is influencing many people in the world, and the earth is still subjected to the curse of sin and death. It would be nice if the devil and sin weren’t around anymore, but they are.
We, as the Church of Jesus Christ, have stepped into Jesus’ authority over all the power of satan. If we are baptized with the Holy Spirit, then we also have been endued with God’s miracle working power. So in short, we have the authority and power of Jesus to operate in our world as Jesus operated on earth. You need to start seeing yourself like that. Say it with me, “I have the same authority and power as Jesus to operate in the world around me.” Now if you really believed that, what would you do differently?
If you really believed that you had the authority and power of Jesus to operate in the world today, you would begin using that authority and power to change things. You would use them to help people. You would use them to cast out demons, to heal the sick, to work miracles for the glory of God, and to generally expand the Kingdom of God in the world around you. My friends, we should all be living this way. I freely admit I have not been living this way, but that’s changing.
I am committed to operating in the authority and power of Jesus Christ which is available to me through my union with Jesus and the Baptism in the Holy Spirit. I hope you will make the same commitment. I no longer see myself as just another Christian doing His best and trying to get through life doing a little good here and there. I see myself as a child of God, the very righteousness of God, united with Christ, and endued with the power of God. This is how we should all see ourselves once we become a Christian and receive the Baptism in the Holy Spirit.
In fact, all of us who are Christians and baptized in the Holy Spirit are united with Christ, have His authority to use in the earth, and are endued with the miracle working power of God to use on behalf of the Kingdom of God. That has been true for me for 30 years or so since I received the Baptism in the Holy Spirit. That has been true for many people for many years. So why don’t we see all of our similarly situated brothers and sisters in Christ going around dominating the world.
Part of the answer is that the Church leaders largely haven’t taught us that this is how we should be living. There are many Church leaders who do teach these truths now, and I’ve obtained this understanding largely through Andrew Wommack, Bill Winston, Curry Blake, and Creflo Dollar. There are many others correctly teaching Christians about our true place in reality and our true assignments in this fallen world. Thank God.
Understanding the authority and power we have, and seeing ourselves correctly, is vital to begin living as God’s children in the earth, as the ambassadors for Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God. We must also understand how to use it.
Many Christians, myself included, have not understood how to see this authority and power influence their lives and the world around them. At the beginning of my wife’s healing journey, when God supernaturally brought us Andrew Wommack’s teachings, we were stunned to learn about the importance of using our authority over sickness. You have to curse the cancer, you have to curse the tumor, you have to rebuke the sickness. God’s not going to do it for you. This is just an example of where we must use our authority to see the supernatural results available to Christians.
In fact, we should be going through life praying without ceasing. We shouldn’t be going through life begging God to do all sorts of things He has empowered or authorized us to do. We should be going through life praying correctly, making correct requests in the name of Jesus, and using our authority and power, also in the name of Jesus, to see God’s will come to pass in the earth. You encounter a sick person, pray for them, lay hands on them, say “Be healed in Jesus’ Name.” Someone or some situation appears to be experiencing the influence of a demonic spirit, or appears to be under a demonic attack, you rebuke that demon, you cast it out in Jesus’ name. You need something in your life, you ask God in faith, believing that you receive.
By and large, our lives should be lived with a constant mindset of our connection to God and the authority and power we have in Christ. Yes, it’s true, today I will be looking at a number of real estate issues and contracts and at times I won’t think about God. But if any difficulty arises, anything complicated comes up, any extraordinary situation appears, I’m ready to pray and use my faith to get God’s perfect will for that situation.
This is the way I have lived for some time. I’m not saying we have perfect understanding in all of these areas, but I know we are on the right track. As Andrew Wommack says, we haven’t arrived but we’ve left. I know God wants us to use the authority and power we have in Christ and dominate every aspect of our lives and the world around us for His glory, and to help others come to know Him. This is how we should be living.
I realize I have made a number of heavy statements already today, and I could have cited a dozen verses to back up these statements, but let’s keep going. Some of you who read or hear this will know what I’m talking about. The Biblical support for everything I’ve said today has been discussed in great detail throughout my writings and podcast episodes, so let’s move on.
I’m going to assume going forward in this teaching that you agree with me, that you want to start dominating the world around you for the Kingdom of God using the authority and power you have in Christ. That’s awesome, let’s go.
Last week we talked about how God’s blessings are available on demand. God’s Word promises many positive things for our lives. God is not in Heaven deciding who gets them and who doesn’t, as many people believe. Rather, they have been given to us all. If you don’t flip the switch you don’t get power. If you don’t open the faucet you don’t get water. If you don’t use your faith and the Kingdom of God’s systems to receive God’s promises, you won’t see them in your life. Again, it’s just that simple.
As a quick example, to see God’s financial blessings in your life then you need to give in faith. That’s how the Kingdom of God’s economic system works. You give and receive. You sow and you reap. If you don’t give, you don’t receive. If you don’t’ sow, you don’t reap. God still loves you. You may be very successful in your business. But you are not participating in the Kingdom of God’s economic system. You are missing out on the supernatural in your business and you are subject to all the risks present in this age’s economic system.
You need to learn about God’s economic principles from the Bible, and then do them in faith. You give, believing you receive. You sow, standing in faith for your harvest. Don’t get religious and say, “oh Byron, I just want to give to be a blessing and I don’t need anything in return.” Yes, there is a place for that and Jesus talked about that. But giving to the poor or helping people out without expectation of return is different from operating in the Kingdom of God’s economy deliberately and with purpose. God wants you to operate in His economic system so that you can receive His financial blessings. Then you can give more and do more and bless more, all for the Kingdom and to bring Him glory. You will never achieve on your own what you could achieve with God, and I don’t care how rich you are.
I’m digressing and I don’t mean to belabor the points on Biblical economics, but that same rationale applies to most other areas in your life. To get God’s promises into your physical life, you need to operate God’s systems in faith. It’s not about asking God to release them to you. They are already given. They are already your inheritance. You need to take them by faith.
So now let’s keep going, let’s step into the next level of discussion on these subjects. Again, you should be dominating your life and the world around you for the Kingdom of God, using the authority and power you have in Jesus Christ.
I recently saw the movie “Dune” and I would like to discuss it briefly and use it to illustrate our next few points.
In case you haven’t seen Dune or read the very famous book on which it is based, essentially it is a science fiction story about a boy in the desert whose father is killed and he becomes the leader and messiah for this desert people. Together the boy and the desert people ultimately wage a war against the unjust governmental systems in their universe. It is filled with religious symbolism but it’s not Christian. I’m not saying that I recommend Dune, I’m just giving you the basics.
The boy and his mother essentially belong to a spiritual group and they have various powers. The one power we will discuss today, which is not innate but taught and learned, they call “The Voice.” When using The Voice they can command another person to do anything and that person will obey. But they have to use The Voice correctly. If the pitch is off it won’t work, and we see the boy learning to use The Voice as thee story unfolds.
Christians naturally have a similar power. Forget using your voice to control people, that would be manipulation and a form of witchcraft. However, we can use our voice to control many things, we can use our voice to exercise our authority in the spiritual realm, and we can use our voice to operate with spiritual law. If you use your voice correctly, by the power of your faith, what you have spoken to in the natural and spiritual realms will obey. There will be no resistance. You will be operating in spiritual law.
Consider for a moment how Jesus used His voice.
(To the many devils possessing a man) “Come out of this man, you impure spirit!”
(To the storm) “Quiet! Be Still!
(To the man with the withered hand) “Stretch out your hand.”
(To Peter in his fishing boat) “Put out into deep water, and led down the nets for a catch.”
(To the leper) “I am willing. Be clean!”
You get the idea. Last week we talked about how God’s promises and God’s blessings are available on demand. If you operate God’s systems in faith, then God’s promises and God’s blessings are guaranteed to show up in your life. That is an example of spiritual law. If you believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead, and confess with your mouth that Jesus is your Lord, you will be saved. If you sow, you will reap. If you lay hands on the sick, they will recover. Again, these are spiritual laws. They must be coupled with faith, but as long as you operate God’s systems in faith, you are going to see what God promises in your natural life.
Today we are talking about the connection between your voice and faith, and how your voice is a huge part of operating in spiritual power to see God’s will come to pass.
Jesus told us in Mark 16 that in His name we will cast our demons. We cast out demons with our words, as we see Jesus and the disciples do a number of times. If you use your voice in faith to tell a demon to leave, it will leave. It’s just that simple. The demon already knows the authority you have. But the demon won’t leave unless you make it. And when you tell that demon to leave, you tell him in faith. The various interactions we see in the Bible show us that the demons know both your authority and whether you are operating in true Biblical faith.
Remember when the disciples brought Jesus the boy who was demon possessed. Jesus didn’t tell them that those kinds of demons don’t come out without prayer and fasting. He was talking about their “unbelief.” The Greek word for “unbelief” is “apistia” or literally meaning “without pistis.” The Greek word for “faith” is “pistis.” Whenever you are praying or making statements for God, you need to have pistis (true, Biblical faith). You need to be convinced, persuaded, assured that it worked, and in the natural realm the manifestation will appear. If you aren’t sure, if you aren’t convinced, then you may have some pistis, but you also may have some apistia.
Pistis and apistia, faith and unbelief, are opposing forces that cancel each other out. If you command the pain to leave your head in the Name of Jesus, but don’t believe it has worked until the pain is gone, that is not faith. If your faith is determined by what you can see in the natural realm, that is not faith. That is actually unbelief. Faith has it in the unseen realm before it shows up in the seen realm. I have prayed for the pain in my head to go, and by Jesus’ stripes I’m healed, and I know this pain is gone. That is a correct statement of faith even while your head still hurts. Start praying in tongues. Start singing a worship song. Just go on about your day. Give it a few minutes, that pain will go. Faith comes first, then manifestation.
You command that demon to go in Jesus’ Name. If you are in faith, the demon must go. It’s just that simple. You have authority of demons because of your union with Christ. And you exercise that authority with your voice.
In fact, we see a number of areas where our voice carries spiritual authority and power. We can use our voice over unclean spirits. We can use our voice for healing. We can use our voice to take authority over things in the natural realm (as Jesus used His voice to control the weather, and as Jesus used His voice to curse the fig tree). You can also use your voice, and when you are speaking in faith, what you are speaking to must obey.
I want to reiterate that point, because it is the core of our message today – what you speak to in faith must obey your voice. That’s how we see God operate, that’s how Jesus operated during His earthly ministry, and that’s how we should operate. What you speak to in faith must obey your voice. Yes, there are limitations in that this doesn’t work on other people and there are various things that are subject to the authority of others. Remember there are different realms of authority in the world. But don’t worry about that. In your life, in your house, in your spiritual sphere, in your realm of spiritual jurisdiction, what you speak to in faith will obey you.
As one of my favorite teachers Pastor Greg Mohr says, “your words are law in the spirit realm.” The moment you speak something in faith, what you have spoken has just become a law in the spirit realm, and whatever you have spoken to must obey.
Now let’s talk about the interaction between your voice and your faith. Remember, it’s not just whatever you say that becomes a law in the spirit realm and must be obeyed, it’s whatever you say in faith. There are lots of people who are confessing, “By Jesus’ stripes I am healed.” But they are just saying it out of their minds and with only mental assent. They aren’t truly in pistis faith. They aren’t truly speaking it in faith. For it to become spiritual law, for your words to force obedience, faith is required. Remember the characters in Dune must use The Voice with the correct pitch for it to work. We must use faith. And faith has a pitch.
I want to show you how the intersection between faith and words produces manifestation, and how words produce faith. We use our words to activate and enforce spiritual law, and our words will also create the necessary faith that goes with those words for them to work.
The first time I operated in this process, that I can recall, was when my back was healed in a Rodney Howard-Browne meeting. I learned that the woman with the issue of blood said and kept on saying that if she touched the hem of Jesus’ garment she would be healed. So I said and kept on saying “when the man of God lays hands on me I will be healed.” I spoke this many times, and the repetition of the words began to produce faith. I became persuaded. I became convinced. And when the man of God laid hands on me, I was totally and miraculously healed.
I want to be clear that I am not talking about vain repetition, which does nothing. Simply saying a verse or words over and over again will do nothing for you. But truly meditating God’s Word, truly saying it with a union between your heart and your mind, truly speaking it with conviction, that is the voice of faith. For me, I will take a deep breath, I will focus my mind and my entire being on what I’m going to say, and I will find the right pitch. When I speak in this way, I am speaking with the pitch of faith. List to the difference. “By Jesus stripes, I was healed.” “BY JESUS’ STRIPES, I WAS HEALED.” It’s one thing to say something. It’s another thing to declare it by faith.
I am working to create and strengthen my faith in God’s promises. The Word of God starts as a written word for you. You study God’s Word and you find some verses that cover your situation. Which one stands out to you? Which one is grabbing your heart? That’s the one that God has for your situation at the moment. When you sense that, the written word of God has moved from a word on the page to a word in the spirit realm that’s available to you, it’s moved to a living word. In the Greek, the way we say this is that the promise has moved from a “logos” word to a “rhema” word. It’s moved from a written word on a page to a living word spoken from God to you. That’s a rhema word. According to Romans 10:17, faith comes by hearing the rhema word of God.
So you take that rhema word and speak it. And you may need to speak it a few times. “BY JESUS’ STRIPES I WAS HEALED.” “I WAS HEALED” “I WAS HEALED.” That word moves from the page to my heart. I am becoming persuaded. I am becoming convinced. I am creating a union between God’s word and my mind. My head still hurts. I still feel the pain. I still feel the nausea, but something is happening. I’m starting to believe it. My faith is growing. I am starting to accept the truth of God’s Word more than the evidence of the physical circumstances. Now I start to say it again and again. “BY JESUS’ STRIPES I WAS HEALED.” “PAIN, GET OUT OF MY HEAD IN JESUS’ NAME.” Now I am speaking to this problem in faith. Now my words are law in the spirit realm. Now I know that I’ve got it even though I still feel the pain.
At this point, where you know you have it even when you still feel the pain, you can feel yourself relax. Peace is starting to enter your heart. You stop worrying about the pain. You know that you’re healed. You know that this pain has a short time remaining in your body. You know it’s done. You feel joy about this. You instinctively start thanking God for your healing. This is what it means to enter the rest of faith.
Hebrews 4:3 – “For we which have believed (had faith) do enter into rest.” Remember that the word “believe” in the Greek literally means “have faith.” When you are truly in faith, you enter God’s rest. You can feel it. You feel rest in your heart and your mind. You feel peace in your soul. You know you’ve got it. You know your prayer has worked. You know manifestation is on the way. You are in faith.
If you are praying about something and you still feel the pressure, the fear, the anxiety, then you aren’t in faith. That’s just the way it is. But don’t get down on yourself about that. Just get yourself into faith. It’s not always easy. It doesn’t come naturally. But you can do it. You meditate God’s promises on the subject. You specifically meditate that verse that has grabbed your heart, the one verse that seems to resonate with you the most during this difficult time, that promise that is now a rhema word from God to you. You meditate that verse as that is the one that will produce the faith most quickly. You start worshipping. You start praying in your prayer language. You move into faith.
I’ve told you about my ankle injury on Thanksgiving. Let me try to keep this brief. I was carrying a heavy cooler and rolled my ankle. I felt the pop. The pain was excruciating. I immediately knew that I may have seriously injured my ankle. I prayed and was doing pretty well for a few hours. About 5 hours after the incident I couldn’t walk. The swelling had started. The pain was extreme. I went home from Thanksgiving dinner early.
I laid in my bed thinking about a work trip to New Jersey a few days later. I was worried and couldn’t imagine going. The Lord spoke to me. “Are you going to let this thing take you down, or are you going to do what you know to do.” Honestly because of the importance of the work trip, I decided to use my faith. I began walking around the house confessing that by Jesus’ stripes I was healed. I began doing chores and cleaning up. My ankle hurt just as bad, but I kept saying the confession.
Why did I keep saying it, because I needed God’s Word to produce the faith in me. At first, the physical pain was screaming louder than God’s word in my mind. I was believing the physical circumstances. After a few minutes it was time to bring the hamster cage upstairs. I knew the stairs would hurt, but I was moving into faith and I kept going. When I got to the first stair, my ankle still hurt. But I could feel the faith rising. I could feel that I had started moving into faith. My ankle hurts, but I believe. I’ve got this. So I kept going. I kept pushing. But I knew I had grabbed a hold of my healing by faith now. I knew that the power was flowing now (because it only flows when there is real faith).
I went to bed still in pain, but I woke up a few hours later feeling much better. In the morning it still hurt a bit, but in faith I put up the Christmas lights. Up and down the ladder over and over. I’m not aggravating the injury or not resting. I’m strengthening my faith. I’m getting stronger. The next day I ran four miles. By the end of that run I was totally healed. I didn’t see a doctor. I didn’t take any medicine. I took my authority in Jesus over that injury, and by Jesus’ stripes, I was healed.
You must speak your faith. Faith has a pitch. For me, the pitch of faith is loud and bold and authoritative. Yes, I often speak my faith at a very high volume. No, I don’t believe Jesus did that. But Jesus didn’t have unbelief problems. Jesus had perfect faith in God’s Word. Jesus operated in perfect faith all of the time, without the slightest bit of unbelief. Jesus spent significant time praying and fasting to keep all unbelief out of him. Jesus had perfect faith.
As for me and my faith, I’ve got work to do. I speak the word boldly. I get my mind focused on the word. I forbid other thoughts from coming in. And after some time, my faith begins to rise. I can feel the faith. I can feel that I’m grabbing a hold of the promise by faith. I start to enter God’s rest. I’ve got it now.
In 2009 my wife had a miscarriage. We sought the Lord and He told us certain things to do. She became pregnant again so fast the doctors thought it was impossible, that it was left over fetal tissue from the first pregnancy. But it was my daughter Eden. A few months into the second pregnancy my wife called me, and she was bleeding again. But this time I knew what to do. We didn’t say anything negative and agreed to meet at the doctor’s office. I said nothing to anyone at work, but in the car I started yelling God’s Word, the verse we had over our new baby, “Great is the peace of my baby.” (Isaiah 54:13).
GREAT IS THE PEACE OF MY BABY. GREAT IS THE PEACE OF MY BABY. GREAT IS THE PEACE OF MY BABY. DEVIL YOU GET AWAY FROM MY CHILD RIGHT NOW IN JESUS’ NAME. GREAT IS THE PEACE OF MY BABY.
I entered into faith on that car ride, and by the time we got to the doctor’s office the bleeding had stopped. The baby was fine. And that’s my daughter Eden today.
Sometime after that the Lord was speaking to me about using my faith. He said to me something like this, “Remember that day in the car when you were praying for Eden, when Shannon was bleeding. When you use your faith, you need to take it there.” He was telling me that my faith produced that today, and that bold, authoritative voice that I used when confessing His Word was the right way to see my faith produce. I needed to get convinced. I needed to get in faith. That was the pitch of faith. That was the power voice where my words became law in the spirit realm.
I wish that I could tell you that from that day to this I have used my voice in faith correctly many times, but unfortunately I can’t tell you that. But I’ve got it now. When I’m ready to use my faith, especially in an area where I need to use my God given authority and speak declarations in the Name of Jesus, I’m going to remember to use my voice correctly and speak in the pitch of faith. I’m going to confess the Word boldly and aggressively until I feel faith start to rise inside me. I’m going to keep doing it until I know that I’m in faith. I will know that I’m in faith when I feel the peace come, when I feel the rest, when the fear and anxiety are replaced with a knowing that I have what I’ve prayed for. That’s when I know I’m in faith and God’s power is flowing to bring the manifestation.
A good friend of mine recently used these ideas to get significant relief from back pain. He’s had three back surgeries and they didn’t produce. But now his faith is producing, and I see him moving around better than ever. He said he felt a little weird yelling at that pain to go and commanding His body to be healed. But none of that matters. God’s will is what matters. Your healing is what matters. Making that demon leave is what matters.
So if I pray for you and I’m loud or if I yell, I’m sorry if it startles you. But I’m not going to waste your time. I’m going to make sure at least one of us is in faith. I’m going to bring myself into the place of faith for your healing or your deliverance or whatever you are asking of God. I’m going to take a moment before I speak and make sure I’m speaking in faith. I’m going to set my heart and my pitch correctly to make sure that there is a union between my faith and my voice. We have authority from Jesus and the Kingdom of God to see God’s will manifested in the earth, and your words spoken in faith are laws in the spirit realm. What you speak to must obey. The manifestation will come.
These principles we are discussing are actually the laws of the universe. What you ask for in faith you will receive. What you speak in faith will come to pass. These are legal systems and they will work for anyone who works them. They are already established in the universe. We just need to learn how to operate with them. The entire faith system is in fact a legal system that ensures God’s people can receive everything God wants us to have. The entire faith system is also a legal system that empowers God’s people to bring God’s will into manifestation in the earth.
My friends, as I told you at the beginning of our time today, all of us who are Christians and baptized in the Holy Spirit are united with Christ, we have His authority to use in the earth, and we are endued with the miracle working power of God to use on behalf of the Kingdom of God. It’s time we start using these truths. It’s time we start changing the world for Jesus. It’s time we start using our faith to see God’s will come to pass. I hope you continue on this journey with me.
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