As He Is, So Are We

In This World

Created With Authority

By:

Wayne Hancock

Copyright© 2007 by Wayne Hancock

As He Is, So Are We In This World

Created With Authority

by Wayne Hancock

Printed in the United States of America

ISBN 978-1-60477-131-2

All rights reserved solely by the author. The author guarantees all contents are original and do not infringe upon the legal rights of any other person or work. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the author. The views expressed in this book are not necessarily those of the publisher.

Unless otherwise indicated, Bible quotations are taken from New King James Version of the Holy Bible. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Scripture quotations marked The Message Bible are taken from The Message Bible. Copyright ©1993, 1994, 1995 by Nav Press Publishing Group.

Scripture quotations marked New Living Translation are taken from the New Living Translation. Copyright ©1996 by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois.

Scripture quotations marked Living Bible are taken from The Living Bible. Copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois.

Scripture quotations marked Amplified are taken from The Amplified Bible, New Testament. Copyright © 1958, 1987 by the Lockman Foundation.

Scripture quotations marked God's Word Translation are taken from God's Word. Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations, Cleveland, Ohio.

Scripture quotations marked King James Version are taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

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Introduction

WARNING: THIS BOOK WILL

REVOLUTIONIZE YOUR FAITH AND AT

THE SAME TIME WILL BE HAZARDOUS TO

SATAN'S HEALTH

Enter and read at your own risk!

I must be perfectly honest and up front with you before you ever begin to read this book. The revelation contained in the following pages will totally change your spiritual outlook and stance against the wiles of the devil. Much of this revelation on authority I received from one of the greatest teachers of our day, Kenneth Copeland. Thank you, Bro. Copeland, for being such a voice of strength to the body of Christ, helping equip us to live victoriously over all the wiles of the devil.

I must warn you that if you want to live a defeated life and allow the circumstances of life, and even the devil, to continue battering you, then you must not read any further. The truth that you will learn from As He Is, So Are We In This World God's Word in this book will equip you to put the devil in his place once and for all.

As God's highest and greatest creation, you have been given authority over all the powers of darkness. There is nothing, and I mean absolutely nothing, that you can't do in life and overcome. There isn't a disease too devastating that you can't handle with God's Word of authority coming out of your mouth. There isn't a financial struggle that is too difficult to overcome when you exercise your God-given, God-ordained, God-breathed authority over the spirit of poverty.

When you finish studying this book, you'll realize that you are the one in authority and control in your life, not the devil. Satan cannot dictate to you how you are going to live your life. You can live your life however you want to live it! You can live it in divine health and you can live it in divine wealth. Within these pages you will discover your birthright as a born again child of God. God has delivered the "promised land" into your hands, now it is up to you to exercise your authority and dominion and possess it.

Are you ready to find out exactly who you are and who God created you to be? Then read on, your life is about to take a turn for the better and drastically change.

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Introduction

Chapter 1 We're In Charge, Not Satan

Chapter 2 The Creating Was In the Saying

Chapter 3 Created In God's Image

Chapter 4 Your Position of Authority

Chapter 5 Authority and the Anointing

Chapter 6 The New Man

Are you ready for a change?

Chapter 1

We're In Charge, Not Satan

This is a very important subject that you are about to explore in the Word of God. This subject is the foundation for every victory that you may have had in the past, and it's the foundation for every victory that you'll ever have in the future. Now this foundational subject is one that the devil has done his best to try and get people to misunderstand through religiously brainwashing people instead of people allowing themselves to be New Testament taught on this life altering subject. You must make up your mind at this point that you are going to be New Testament taught instead of poisoned by wrong teaching from your archenemy, Satan. It's sad to say that this poisonous doctrine from the enemy has slipped into many churches all over the world regarding the dominion and authority that the Christian possesses in Christ Jesus.

The authority that we possess as believers is very cut and dry. We're in charge. That's the way it is. The devil is not in charge. He's not in charge in my life. He's not in charge in my church. He's not in charge in my family, and he's definitely not in charge in your life either. If Satan's not in charge, then who is? Jesus is. How is He in charge in us? Jesus takes charge over our lives through His Word and by men and women of God having a revelation of that Word of authority because every word that Jesus speaks is an authoritative word. It's full of authority. It's full of power. The Word of God has got all the authority and power of Heaven to back it up to see to it that it comes to pass.

Without a revelation of this authority that we possess as Christians, the vision and purpose for your life which has been entrusted into your hands will never come to pass. You must have a revelation of exactly who you are in Christ—who God created you to be and the authority that you possess as a Christian in order for you to carry out and fulfill this God-given vision to its completion.

The primary way that Satan has infiltrated the New Testament church is through fear. He has done his best to try to make himself appear bigger than what he really is. He puffs himself up, kind of like one of those puffer fish, to look bigger and more powerful than the believer. I've got news for you that you must take to heart—you don't have to be afraid of the devil. He's absolutely nothing to be afraid of. You don't have to be afraid of him in any way, shape, form or fashion. You're way bigger than he is, in case you didn't realize that. He's actually afraid of you because you are the one who is created in the image of God, and being created in God's image, you also carry God's authority and power—he just doesn't want you to know that. Consequently, he tries to make himself appear bigger in your eyes than he actually is. You need to realize that you're a thousand times, no, you're a million times bigger than he could ever dream of being because of who you are in Christ and because of who Christ is in you.

Fear is Satan's number one weapon. You must know and understand that fear is not okay on any level. You need to declare an all out war on fear to not put up with it anymore in any way. Fear is not okay on any level because fear is not of God. Fear has nothing to do with God. Fear does not come from God. Fear is not okay because it is not of God. If you tolerate fear, it will contaminate your faith. If your faith is contaminated, then it will not do what it's supposed to do because it's hindered by fear. Fear will hinder your faith. Fear will contaminate your faith. It's kind of like oil and water—if you put them together and try to mix them, no matter how hard or long you stir the mixture, or how long you shake it up, it just won't mix. It makes no difference how hard you try, oil and water will never mix because they are two incompatible substances.

Faith and fear will not mix because they are two incompatible substances. You cannot have faith and you cannot have fear in the same container. You are a vessel of God, and being a vessel of God you should contain the faith of God. You need to be full of faith and not give any room for fear to be added to the mixture. You must not have room for fear in your life in any area—no, none. Fear will contaminate your faith and it will hinder you from fulfilling your God given purpose and destiny in the Lord. Fear should not be part of your life and I challenge you to not give it any place anymore. Don't let fear hinder you from walking in the fullness of what God has in store for your life.

Fear is a spirit and Satan is that spirit. Fear is a demonic spirit and this spirit is used by the devil to wage war against Christians to stop them from advancing God's kingdom in their lives and on the earth. One of the ways, which we've already previously mentioned, that Satan has used fear against the Christian is to cause the Christian to think that the devil is big and bad and they are just this little bitty ole mouse that basically amounts to nothing when it compares to the devil. You must remember that Satan is a showman and he loves to show off. He's one of the greatest actors that the world has ever seen. He has many Oscar winning performances. He's nothing but a showman, or in other words, he's all show and no go. He's a big, fat fake. What he's showing you and what he's building himself up to be is not the real picture; it's not the real story. The real story is that he's so small that he can fit under your feet. You have authority over him; he has no authority over you unless you give it to him. He has no authority over you in any area of your life. He's a showoff and a big liar. Actually, he doesn't really have anything to show off. He likes to show off what he doesn't have—he has no authority whatsoever in the believer's life.

When the devil says that he's going to kill you with diabetes, asthma, heart disease, or even cancer, you must realize that he can't, unless you let him. It's highly important that you do everything that you can possibly do by taking care of your physical body and health with a proper diet and exercise. When you do everything that you can do physically and spiritually, the devil cannot successfully steal your health. He can't even prevent you from succeeding financially in life. You can't be stopped because you are far more powerful than the devil is because of who Jesus is on the inside of you. The devil can't keep you in bondage to financial debt, because debt has no power over you. Satan has no power to hinder you from taking your rightful place as a child of God and enjoying the benefits of your relationship with God.

Fear moves the hand of Satan the same way that faith moves the hand of God. God is a God of faith and He cannot move in your life outside of your faith in Him to move. Satan—he’s the god of fear and he cannot move in your life outside of fear. Fear in the devil enables and empowers him to move in your life.

Faith and fear are exact opposites of each other. Faith moves the hand of God the same way that fear moves the hand of Satan. When you have a true understanding of who you are in Christ and your position of authority in the Kingdom of God, and when you begin to understand the love of God, the love of God will cause fear to be cast out or flushed out of your life completely and everything that goes along with fear— sickness, disease, poverty, lack—all of these other things. When you have a revelation of the love of God and the love that God has for you, that love will flush out all fear. Love will cast fear out of your life once and for all, and everything else that goes along with fear.

Satan has done his absolute best to cause the Christian to be afraid of him—afraid to even say that they have authority over the devil. The devil also has some people afraid to even mention his name because they don't want to stir him up. They are afraid to aggravate him or get him upset. Listen, you better say his name and you better talk to him. You aren't going to get him any more upset than he already is. He's not so big and bad. He has been trying to kill you for years and years and years and he hasn't succeeded yet. He can only succeed if you let him, so don't let him. If you're still breathing then it's not too late.

Even a human that has not accepted Jesus and made Jesus the Lord of his life, check this out, has the ability to accept Jesus. Satan doesn't have the authority to cause that person to not accept Jesus and prevent him from becoming born-again and translated out of Satan's kingdom into God's kingdom. It's impossible for Satan to stop. He cannot stop the new birth. He cannot stop you from entering into the kingdom of God.

He cannot stop you from even getting healed. He cannot stop you from getting out of debt. He would like for you to think that he can stop you, and if you think that he can stop you, fear enters into your mind and gets down in your heart, then he's got you stopped. When you allow fear to enter in, then you're beat. If you remove the fear, then Satan cannot hurt you because he is defeated. He doesn't have any power whatsoever because all fear is removed. Fear empowers the devil and without fear, he has no power.

Satan is the biggest liar that this world has ever seen. Time and time again he uses the same old lines; you'd think that he would at least try to come up with something new, but he can't. All of his threats to kill and take your life are absolutely useless unless you yield to them and give place to fear. Even when you may get a bad doctor's report about a condition in your physical body, Satan cannot kill you. Yes, he'll come with all his threats and he'll start bombarding your mind with thoughts of death. You must not give place to those thoughts. Realize where they are coming from—they aren't coming from God.

Cancer doesn't have the authority to take out a believer who is strong in faith and strong in God's Word. Heart problems cannot take out the believer who refuses to give place to fear and believes God and His Word. Listen, if Satan was truly able to take you out, he would have done it a long time ago on the first threat. The key is not listening to and giving in to all of his threats. The devil is full of hot air— hot sulfur air from hell itself. You're a Christian—a child of the Most High God and Satan has no power over your life unless you give it to him. You're the one in authority in your life, not Satan. You're loved of God and God's love will keep you in every adverse situation that may come your way in your life.

Fear and wrong teaching have caused many to leave this world prematurely before their time— fear and wrong teaching which have primarily come from within the church. The church not taking their place and understanding the Word of God and having a revelation of the love of God and their authority in Christ has caused many to leave this planet prematurely. Some people have the idea that, "well, we've all got to die at one time or another." Yes, but you don't have to die sick. Your body doesn't have to be wracked with boils and tumors and eaten up with cancer in order for you to die. You can die healed. As a matter of fact, that's the best way to die. Don't let Satan take you out. When it's time for you to go home to Heaven, just go. Go when you're ready at a ripe old age. You don't have to go home prematurely because sickness and disease say you have to. You go when you get ready, whenever that time is. Just make sure you live a full life and enjoy all the benefits that God has to offer you as His favorite child.

Some wonder then how they'll die if they don't get sick or catch some horrible disease. Just remember, when it's your time to go you'll know it and it won't be a problem. Don't worry about it, it'll just happen. When it does happen, it'll be a joyous home-going.

The foundation for walking in and experiencing the goodness of God in your life is found in having a revelation of your authority as a son of God. Let's look at a very important scripture in 1 John chapter four.

1 John 4:7-19 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. [8] He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. [9] In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. [10] In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. [11] Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. [12] No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. [13] By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. [14] And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world. [15] Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. [16] And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him. [17] Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. [18] There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. [19] We love Him because He first loved us.

If there is fear in your life in any way, shape, form or fashion that you are tolerating even just a little bit, this passage of scripture tells us that you have not been made perfect, complete, mature or whole in the love of God. You must have a revelation of God's love in your life because God's love will cast out all fear. The love of God will uncontaminate your faith and free you from fear. You must understand something about God, God doesn't just have love for you, He is love. This love, God, will cast out all fear, if you let Him. Fear cannot remain in the presence of God because God is a God of faith.

The key phrase that I want to concentrate on in this book is the title itself, "As He Is, So Are We In This World." For the most part, people have a pretty good understanding of who God is, at least they have a few good foundational truths concerning God, and that is, God is more powerful than the devil and any of his tricks and any of his schemes. We realize that for the most part. If God kicked the devil out of Heaven, and He did, then He must be more powerful than the devil. God was the "kicker" and Satan was the "kickee." Satan is the one that got kicked out, not God. We realize that to some extent, we have a pretty good understanding of the "as He is" part, but not with the "so are we." You must know the depths of what it means to have your life hidden with Christ in God. You must know that as Jesus is, so are you in this world.

I want to ask you a question and I want you to think about it very carefully. It's a very elementary question, but I really do want you to ponder this for a minute. Just exactly how is He? How is God? I know, first of all, that He is so very healed. He's never had a sick day in his life. He's never once gotten up out of bed, called the throne room and said, "Angels, I'm not going to be able to come in today because My sinuses are acting up. My throat is hurting and I have a two o'clock appointment with the doctor. I'm just not going to be able to make it so you'll have to get somebody to fill in for Me."

No, that's never happened with God. He doesn't get sick. He's too healed to get sick and as He is, so are we in this world. God has never had a sick day in His entire life. He's full of life. That's exactly how He is, healed and living in divine health.

Financially speaking, I don't think He's had any bill collectors calling Heaven lately threatening to come and repossess His chariot because He missed His payment schedule because he was having a bad month. The furniture in the throne room is not financed at 18 percent interest over 10 years. He's got some nice furniture too! God's throne is overlaid with the purest gold— now that's some bucks! Finance companies are not threatening to repossess His throne or your mansion up there— and as He is, that's exactly how we should be as well.

Have you ever wondered how you were going to be able to make your monthly payments? God doesn't because He has no payments. Everything is paid for because He's loaded. There is no lack in Heaven— none. He does not tolerate lack in any area. He doesn't put up with it. How does He do that? The answer is very simple— He knows who He is and the authority that He possesses. He knows He doesn't have to put up with anything if He doesn't want to. That's where the church has missed it— they put up with too much of the devil's schemes because they don't know who they really are. Praise God, you're reading this book and you're going to find out exactly who you are! You're going to find out exactly who God created you to be! Glory!

"Well, I'm just nobody!" No, you're somebody who may think that you're a nobody and because you're somebody that thinks you're a nobody, you'll end up being just exactly what you think— a nobody. As a man thinks in his heart, so is he. God didn't create you to be a "nobody" because you are a "somebody" in His eyes. He shed His blood on Calvary so you could be somebody in Him.

God has never had to answer the phone when it rings and say, "The check is in the mail." God has no lack— no deficit whatsoever. Think about this, God has built mansions for everybody and not just little cabins over in the corner of glory. If you want one of those little cabins, fine, go ahead, but you don't have to. He has built mansions for everybody, including you— and the best news is it's paid for. There's no mortgage on your Heavenly mansion. God built it totally debt free! There's not a mortgage company in Heaven because God put them all out of business. Think about it, there are a lot of people who have gone before you on to Heaven, and there's still a lot more people that are going there, and God has built everybody their own place. God is loaded! He never runs out! He's the God of more than enough. In case you didn't know, His name is El Shaddai, not El Cheapo!

Do you remember what we just read out of the Bible a few moments ago? Let me refresh your memory.....

1 John 4:17 Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world.

As He is, so are we! That's good news! That shouldn't be hard for you to say at all because you are a child of the King, the seed of Abraham! The devil has been eating our lunch for too long by telling us who he wants us to be. Many people in the church have bought his lies, hook, line and sinker. The church hasn't taken her place by teaching people exactly who they are in Christ Jesus, but it's a new day. It's a new time where the revelation of the love of God is flooding the earth like never before. No longer do we have to play games with the devil. He's under our feet! We're finding out who we are in Christ Jesus! We know in whom we have believed. As He is, so are we!

That really gives you something to think about doesn't it? "Pastor Wayne, I know the scriptures say that, 'as He is, so are we in this world,' but it just isn't that way in my life!" That's totally subject to change once you get a revelation of this authority that you possess in the kingdom of God. Your life is about to turn around for the good! Things are about to change that have never changed before. You don't have to put up with the devil anymore.

How long will it take to change? Will it change overnight? Probably not, but it can begin tonight. It's a process that you must allow time to work in your life. It's a revelation that you must allow time to grow. You must allow this revelation to get down into your spirit man and allow your mind to be renewed to the fact that you have authority over the devil; the devil doesn't have authority over you. You're going to have to change your thinking in some areas. When you do, it's look out devil! Just remember, it's a process but don't get discouraged in the process. You don't just wake up one morning and "bam" you've arrived.

"Pastor Wayne, I've got all these bills to pay and I've got all these health problems and I'm just waiting on God to do it for me."

If you're waiting on God to do it, then you're going to be waiting a long time because as far as He's concerned, He's already done it. He's already died on the Cross once and for all to pay the supreme sacrifice for your total redemption. What else do you want Him to do? There's no need for Him to do it again because it's already done— it's finished. Do you want Him to spill some more blood for your healing? Do you want Him to spill some more blood for your debt cancellation and financial prosperity? There's no need for that because the blood that He shed over 2,000 years ago was powerful enough to take care of it once and for all. All the believer has to do today is simply exercise his God-given authority in the name of Jesus and receive by faith the provision that the blood of Jesus has already bought and paid for. When you release your faith, your faith will connect you to the anointing of God, which removes the burden and destroys the yoke of sickness, disease, poverty, and lack.

God has done everything that He's going to do about your healing. He's done everything that He's going to do about your financial prosperity. Outside of the fact of Him teaching and revealing to you of what He's already done, He's not going to do any more than that — His blood and His Word haven't dissipated in power over the past 2,000 years. When what He's already done becomes a revelation in your heart and you begin to grasp and comprehend the depths of God's love, then the manifestation of the promises of God will come to pass in your life. It has to come to pass because God cannot lie. God's Word is truth and this truth acted upon in faith will set you free from anything that has kept you bound. The revelation of the Word is very liberating from the devil's lies and deception.

The Bible tells us that God is love. If God is love then "Love" is God. Love is not a feeling of the emotions; "Love" is a person. God doesn't just have "love" for you; He is "Love" in you. Learn to develop yourself in the love of God and allow this love to cast out all fear. Allow this revelation of your authority to become real in your life, and begin to take authority over all the attacks of the devil. You can thwart all of Satan's plans if you realize your God-given authority. You're supposed to be in charge. Nothing should be controlling you, if you are a Christian— a child of the Most High God. Money should not control your life. Your physical body should not control your life by the way it acts and feels. None of these things should control you. Adverse circumstances should not control your life.

If you will take your place as a believer in the kingdom of God and in this revelation, you can control the adverse circumstances with your God given authority. You can control how your body feels, especially when it doesn't feel like getting out of bed some mornings. Sometimes mine feels that way, but I don't allow that to stop me, and you shouldn't either. Some days my body just wants to sleep half the day, but then I'd never get anything accomplished.

"Well, you know, Pastor Wayne, we've got two natures in us. We've got the nature of God and the nature of Satan in our flesh."

I've got one word for that and that's "bull!" As believers, we've got the nature of God in us. You cannot have oil and water in the same vessel. God and the devil just don't mix. Your flesh does what it is trained to do. It does what it is told to do by your spirit man, so don't use that as a cop-out. That's just an excuse for failure. You're bigger than that.

Let me take you to another passage of scripture found in Psalm chapter eight.

Psalm 8:3-9 When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained, [4] What is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him? [5] For You have made him a little lower than the angels, and You have crowned him with glory and honor. [6] You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet, [7] All sheep and oxen— even the beasts of the field, [8] The birds of the air, and the fish of the sea that pass through the paths of the seas. [9] O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is Your name in all the earth!

To help better understand this, I'm going to go through it again and we'll dissect it and break it down. It begins in verse 3, When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained, what is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that you visit him? For you have made him (man) a little lower than the angels....

Actually that is a very wimpy translation. If you study this out, you'll find that the word translated angels is actually the word Elohim, which translates as God, the Creator of all living things. When you understand that, it takes on a totally and completely different meaning. Now, let's read it the correct way with the correct translation for this particular word.

For you have made him a little lower than Elohim (God the Creator of all living things). Man wasn't created a little lower than the angels. Man was created a little lower than God Himself. The angels are a lesser creation than man. Man is not a lesser creation than the angels. This puts things in proper perspective you have been created just a little lower than God. The angels are a lesser creation under you.

What is this man? What's up with this man? What is this man that You are mindful of him and the son of man that You have visited him, for You have made him a little lower than Yourself. You have crowned him (man) with glory and honor. You have made him (man) to have dominion over the works of Your (God's) hands. You have put all things under his feet. What is this man?

The born-again child of God, the Christian, is coming into a place spiritually that he's never been in before since the fall of man— never. The spirit of revelation knowledge is flooding the earth today like it never has before, causing people to realize who they really are in Christ. Believers are beginning to take their place in the kingdom of God and the plan of God on the earth. As He is, so are we in this world.

Authority and dominion are in your possession as a believer. If you are a believer, if you are a "Christ-ian," (a Christian means to be Christ like) then authority and dominion are in your possession. The problem is that most people haven't realized that they possess the authority and dominion of God in the earth. We may mentally assent to some things and mentally agree with this, but we haven't yet let the full impact of this revelation hit our spirits and begin to live as we should in the earth. If you're walking in the authority and the dominion of God here on the earth, then things will change around you.

Sickness and disease ought not to be able to stand in your presence. Poverty and lack ought not to be able to stand in your presence. If it is standing in your presence, well, there's a problem somewhere and that problem lies in having that revelation in your heart of who you are and who you have been created to be. However, that is all subject to change, isn't it? It's changing at this very moment that you are reading this book. You are finding out exactly who God created you to be.

We're going to begin to look at the full extent of this authority that we possess as believers. We're going to allow this revelation of the authority and dominion of man to begin to sink deep within our hearts and it's going to totally revolutionize our lives, our families, and our church.

When you have this revelation, sickness and disease will become a thing of the past. You may ask, "Is that really possible?" Absolutely! It will become a thing of the past. Sickness and disease will not be able to come to your house and stay. Financial lack and poverty—all these things, they will become a thing of the past. You won't tolerate them anymore. When you own this revelation, you won't tolerate debt. You won't tolerate not having enough for your family and for your church.

A revelation of your authority and dominion as a son of God will change everything in your life straight across the board. Absolutely everything! You'll begin to experience the abundant life that Jesus came to give us and told us about in John 10:10 life and life more abundant the God kind of life. You'll begin to experience it the right way.

Matthew 28:18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying,"All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth."

If you'll notice this in your Bible, you'll see that these words are in red ink—that means that it is a direct quote of the Lord Jesus. Do you know what Jesus meant when He said that "all authority" had been given to Him both in Heaven and on the earth? It meant that all authority had been given to Him both in Heaven and on the earth. That's pretty simple, isn't it?

All authority has been given to Jesus both in Heaven and the earth. With this truth in mind, you must remember that as He is, so are we in this world. Glory to God! That means that all authority has been given to you and me as well.

The believer must realize the authority that he possesses as a born-again Christian. This revelation of authority and dominion must get rooted and grounded in your spirit, and when it does it's look out devil because sickness and disease cannot stand in your presence, just like they cannot stand in the presence of God. If you'll grab a hold of that, you won't have to have anybody lay hands on you. You can receive your healing based on God's healing Word and by exercising your authority over the sickness or devilish disease that may be attacking your physical body. You have that right as a believer and all of Heaven stands behind you as you step out in faith and begin to exercise the God-given authority that you possess. Look at what Luke's gospel says.

Luke 10:17-18 Then the seventy returned with joy, saying,"Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name." [18] And He said to them,"I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven."

Satan was going somewhere in a hurry, and not by choice either. Jesus saw Satan fall like lightning, the speed of light. That's how hard the kick was that booted the devil out of Heaven—186,000 miles per second! That's quick! When the devil was kicked and fell out of Heaven, he fell hard. One hundred eighty-six thousand miles per second, that's moving and that's how quick Satan fell, like lightning—like a bolt of lightning out of Heaven falling to the earth.

Jesus said that He saw Satan fall, and I believe that Jesus is telling us the truth. God cannot lie. If Satan fell, then he fell. In other words, Satan is a fallen being. Remember that the next time the devil tries to mess with your health. When the devil messes with you, he's messing with the wrong person. It's a fallen being that is trying to take your health. It's a fallen being that is trying to steal your finances— a fallen being! It's a fallen being that is trying to keep the church in debt and keep God's people from taking their place, but I have bad news for him, it's not going to work with me and it's not going to work with you! We're catching this revelation of the authority of the believer.

Satan is a fallen being, you're not. You have authority over all fallen beings! You have authority over the devil and everything that he may try to do to you. Satan's plans cannot succeed against you because you are a believer that is standing on the promises of God's Word for your health and financial prosperity. You have all authority over the devil; he doesn't have authority over you. The only way he can have authority over you is if you give it to him. Glory!

Luke 10:19 Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.

Does this verse say that nothing shall hurt you except cancer? No, not even cancer can hurt you. Nothing can hurt you except heart disease? No, not even heart disease can hurt you. Nothing can hurt you except diabetes? No, diabetes cannot have control of your life. Nothing can hurt you except financial lack? No, financial lack cannot stand in your way either. All authority has been given to the believer. When Jesus said He gave us authority over all the power (or authority) of the enemy, then He meant that He gave us authority over all the power of the enemy. It's that simple. You have authority over the devil and all of his works. There's nothing that the devil can do to successfully hinder your health and financial prosperity. Nothing! You must know who you are and who God is in you. You're in authority, not the devil.

Listen to how the Message Bible paraphrases these verses.

Luke 10:18-19 (The Message Bible) Jesus said, "I know. I saw Satan fall, a bolt of lightning out of the sky. [19] See what I've given you? Safe passage as you walk on snakes and scorpions, and protection from every assault of the Enemy. No one can put a hand on you."

If the devil has his hand on your life, he's trespassing. You belong to God and you need to tell the devil to get his hands off of God's property. If there is a sickness or debilitating disease that is attacking your body, that is the hand of the devil and he is trespassing. You need to put up signs all over your life that read "No Trespassing—Property of the Most High God." As a believer, you've been given safe passage by God Himself to pass through this life here on planet earth. Safe passage means that you're safe along the way of life's journey if you appropriate the laws and principles of the Word of God in your life.

As believers we have been commissioned by God to go into the entire world with this authority and to exercise this authority over all the powers of the enemy. The entire world means all of the world. It means Hawaii! It means anywhere in the United States. It means anywhere outside of the United States. It means Europe. It means Asia. It means the islands of the south , or any of the islands of the sea. It means South America—it means all of the world! We have been commissioned by God to go into the entire world and to exercise this God-given authority, this God-given dominion over all the power of the enemy.

As a Christian, you have been commissioned by God to exercise your God-given authority and dominion over financial lack. Everywhere you go, and with everybody you come in contact with, you ought to be teaching them and showing them from the Word of God that they don't have to put up with the antics of a fallen being named Satan. People need to learn that they don't have to be sick and roll over and die when their physician tells them that they have six months to live because there's a tumor in their brain sucking the life right out of them. Cancer doesn't have authority over you, you have authority over cancer. Sickness and disease, financial poverty, all of these are under our authority and under our control—they don't control us, we control them.

It's our responsibility to take our position in Christ as a believer and begin to exercise this authority and control over all the authority and control of the devil. It's not God's responsibility to do it for us because He has given this responsibility to the believer. The devil has deceived many Christians into thinking that they need to sit around and wait for God to do something about the demonic assaults in their lives. God told us to take authority over the devil. God has given us authority, but it's our responsibility to exercise it, not His.

What does authority mean? Authority means that you have legal power—legal over all the power of the devil. It means a right to command or to act. It means the power to rule— you are a ruler! As a believer you should be ruling over all the devil's works. Authority means the power to rule as the authority of a king over his subjects. You are the king of your life, not the devil. When you understand who you are as a king, everything else is subject to you. Jesus is the King of kings (that's you). You are a king and the devil is subject to your authority, you aren't subject to his. He has no authority in your life.

To be in authority means that you have a warrant for the devil's arrest. You have been given a warrant signed by the highest judge in the highest court in Heaven for the devil's arrest in your life. If you haven't arrested the devil from stealing, killing, and destroying (John 10:10) in your life, then you need to. If the devil isn't arrested, it's not God's fault. It's yours. You are the one that is supposed to be enforcing that authority. You have a warrant for the devil's arrest the Word of God. It's time for you to serve that warrant and enforce the details of your covenant with God. This means that you can arrest sickness and disease and all poverty and lack.

I use this very phrase when I am exercising my authority over the devil. I say,"Satan, I arrest you in the name of Jesus and I command you to desist in your maneuvers against me." You need to arrest the devil. Don't put up with him for one instant. When I arrest the devil, I am giving him a direct order from Heaven. Don't let the devil order you around; you order him around for a change. He's not the one with the authority, you are. Exercise it!

Every born-again person, and that's you, has on the inside of them, God-breathed, God-designed, God-ordained authority—not just in Heaven, but in the earth as well. Every person, that's you and me—has God-breathed, God-given, God-designed authority in Christ Jesus. Not just in Heaven, but right here on the earth. This is God's plan. This is God's purpose for man from before the foundation of the world. The shameful part of this is that most of us don't realize that plan and purpose and haven't walked in it. Primarily because we didn't realize the authority that we possess as believers and as Christians, but that's changing. If you don't like the world you live in, create another one.

Wrong religious teaching embalmed with doubt, unbelief, and fear has contaminated the church for too long. We're not going to be contaminated any longer. You aren't just an old sinner that has been saved by grace. You can't be both at the same time. Either you're an old sinner, or you're saved by grace. Which is it? When you accepted Jesus, then you became saved—saved by grace. You are now the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. When you accept Jesus, you are no longer an old sinner. That's done with. You're a child of the Most High God with God's authority operating in your life. You must know who you are. Don't sell yourself short of your spiritual birth-right.

While you are reading this book, I want to encourage you to remain especially alert. I want to challenge you to keep your spiritual antennas up so you can hear what the Lord, the Spirit of God Himself, is trying to say. The Holy Ghost wants you to have a clear understanding of your authority and your position in Christ Jesus, and you're going to have to keep your antennas up to do that—seeing and hearing with the eyes and ears of your spirit.

God didn't design and plan something for man that he didn't give man the authority, ability and strength to carry it out. Sometimes we have a tendency, because we have been taught wrong and have small thinking, that when we read the Word of God we think it sounds so far away and far fetched— possibly for somebody else, but not for us. Maybe that is for pastor so-and-so or brother so-and-so's life, but not for us. That's not the way it is. You have the same abilities that I do, and I have the same abilities that you do—both of us have the ability of God on the inside of us. God has given each of us the ability to carry out this commission and assignment that He has given us for our lives and ministries. We've all been given the ability and strength to fulfill our assignments, and we're going to do it.

You possess the ability of God on the inside of you. You possess the ability of God through the mind of Christ, God's Word, and the Holy Ghost. The same mind that was in Jesus when He walked the face of this planet is in you and me. You and I have the mind of Christ. We have an anointed mind—a mind that has been anointed by God in order for us to be able to think straight, make the right decisions, and do the right things with and in our lives and ministries. We have the ability through God to do it. We have the very mind of Christ Himself available to us as Christians. We possess that ability.

If we're going to have an understanding of the authority that we possess as Christian believers, we're going to have to go back and see who we were created to be in the very beginning. We're going to have to go back and look at this thing—God’s original design and plan for mankind. We're going to have to study it out and that's what we're going to do in this book. We're going to study it forwards, backwards, sideways, diagonal—and every which way possible. If there was ever a question in your mind of who you are, there's not going to be any more when you finish reading and studying this book. We're going to see who we are and begin in Genesis 1:26, but before we go there, I want to let you know something very, very important. Prior to Genesis 1:26, we see seven times that God said something and what God said happened. God said something seven times prior to verse 26 and everything that God said came to pass exactly as He commanded.

To give us a better understanding of things, let's look at the third verse of the Bible here in Genesis chapter 1.

Genesis 1:3 (King James Version) And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

Now, what's going on here in this verse of scripture? Here we have God saying something, right? God is saying something. He is saying,"Let there be light." Actually, that is a very poor translation of what actually transpired in this verse. If you will study this out you will find that the literal translation of this scripture should read,"Light be, light was, God saw." That's exactly what it really says. God didn't say,"Let there be light, if there possibly can—if I have enough strength and authority, I would really like to see some light." No, that's not what He said at all. God knows Who He is and the authority that He possesses. He knows His rights. He knows that whatever He says will come to pass because He is God. He is the One with all authority in the universe, not the darkness that He was facing. God simply said,"Light be!" then light was and God saw that light. That's exactly what happened. God gave a faith command and that command had to be obeyed from the greatest to the smallest. The very first time God said,"Let there be light," there was light. He didn't have to say it three or four times before something started to happen. He only said it once. Whenever God speaks, there is authority in every word and those words come to pass just as God decreed them to be.

With that foundation laid and with you understanding that, now we can look at Genesis 1:26. In this text, the same principle is taking place here in the creation of man. This is the exact same thing that happened in verse 3 regarding speaking light into existence in the face of darkness. This is the exact same thing in the creation of man as well.

Genesis 1:26 Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth."

Did God say,"Let Us make a man? Yes and no—let me explain further. The very same thing is happening here, in regards to the creation of man, which happened previously in verse 3 when God said,"Light be and light was. The saying was the creating, or the creating was the saying. In essence, God said,"Man be. Then man was and God saw. God didn't say,"I think I'm going to create a man if I can. No, He simply created man. God didn't have a doubt in His mind when He spoke those creative words into the earth and man was created. Let's read on and dissect this verse of scripture beginning again at verse 26 of chapter 1.

Then God said,"Let Us make man in Our image... You are made in the image of God."Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness;" What does that mean? As He is, so are we in this world. Are you still with me? Let's keep going. "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. God spoke,"Man be, then man was and God saw that man. This was the actual creation of God's man on the earth.

We are the image of God in the earth, are we not? We are the image of God because we have been created in God's image. Let's think about this for a minute. What exactly is an image? An image is an exact duplication or reproduction of an original. An exact duplication, and the key word here is" exact. If something is an" exact, then that means that it is exactly like the original it was created from. It's just like the original one—an exact duplication or reproduction of the original. It means a representation. It even means a clone.

Scientists have been trying to do for years what God has already done in regards to cloning. This isn't anything new because God thought it up years and years ago. You have been cloned from God. You are God's clone. You're created in His image, which means that the image is the same as the original. In other words, you're a clone.

When you got up this morning and got out of bed, and man what a job that seems to be sometimes, especially if you're not a morning person. Personally, I'd prefer to stay up late and sleep in, but enough of my personal life and sleeping habits. When you got out of bed this morning and wiped the sleep out of your eyes, and stumbled to the bathroom to do whatever it is that you do first thing in the morning, you glanced at the mirror as you walked through the door and about jumped out of your skin! What was the first thing that you saw in that mirror? You saw you! Pretty spooky wasn't it? My wife, Robyn, doesn't have that problem because she's beautiful all the time. Maybe you don't have the problem either, but I do from time to time.

Let's take it a little bit further. Maybe you had your shower first, and then you looked in the mirror. That's probably the best order; that is, if you don't want to jump out of your skin. Now, let's think about this. What did you see when you looked in that mirror? You saw your image in that glass. Regardless of whether you liked that image or not, that's a whole another message, but you saw your image. The image that you saw in that mirror wasn't somebody else, it was you. It looks exactly like you. Notice that I said it looks "exactly" like you. Exactly doesn't mean it looks like you a little bit. No, what you see is what you get. What you see in the mirror is exactly what you look like—that’s who you are because that's exactly the image of yourself.

That image that you saw in the mirror was an exact reproduction of yourself. Everything about it from the hair in your nose, that big old long hair coming out your ear, maybe your big nose, everything about you was an exact image of yourself. Not only does the image look the same as you (because it is you), but when you spoke, the image spoke. When you opened your mouth, the image opened its mouth—and with the same tone and voice. That image speaks with the same authority that you speak. Why? Because it's you. The same fear or the same faith that was in your voice was in the voice of that image when it spoke.

Let's not stop there. The image that you see in the mirror acts exactly like you. When you blinked your right eye, it blinked its right eye. When you lifted your right arm, it lifted its right arm. When you moved this way, it moved that way. When you backed up, it backed up. When you said, "You're the most handsome fellow I think I've ever seen," it said that too!

Everything, every movement, every detail—the image is the same as the one it is reflecting. As a Christian, you are created in the image of God. The image possesses all the same qualities as the one it is a reflection of. There isn't anything that the reflection cannot do that the original does. Your image does exactly everything that you do. There isn't anything that it cannot do that you can do.

The image that you saw in the mirror carried the same authority that you do. When it speaks and acts, it speaks and acts in your authority and in your dominion. Remember what we learned out of 1 John, "as He is, so are we in this world." Here's the revelation that you must catch. You are the image of God in the earth. When God moves, you move. The image of God must move the same way that God is moving. When God speaks, we speak the same thing that He speaks and we speak it with the same authority and dominion. That's who we are. We possess the same qualities as our Father God.

Have you ever wondered what God looks like? Well, look no further than your bathroom mirror. He looks like you and He looks like me. We are created in His image, and not just a little bit either. You are the image of God in the earth. You are the reflection of the Most High God in your family. You are the reflection of the authority of God in your health and finances. Isn't that good news! God looks like you and me. We are created in His image.

Begin to see yourself the same way that God sees Himself. When He sees Himself, He sees you. If He wonders how His body looks, all He has to do is look at you and me. We are the reflection of God in the earth. You are the picture of God on the earth. You are the representation of God on this planet. The exact same authority, the exact same dominion— everything that God possesses, you have.

Look at how Saddam Hussein posted images of himself all over the country of Iraq. When the United States and the coalition forces liberated that country, they showed statues and pictures of that dictator everywhere. Why is that? Saddam Hussein must have really liked himself to put his statues everywhere you turn. Why did he do that? His image (those statues and pictures) represented himself. When people looked up and saw his statue, they realized everything that statue stood for because it reflected Saddam Hussein. It reflected the image of death, fear, and intimidation for those that would dare question his authority. The first things that went when those liberating troops came into that country and took it over were all those statues and pictures broken statues were being dragged through the middle of the streets. Pictures were being ripped apart and spit on. That dictator's image was torn down and destroyed. No longer did he have power. All his authority was gone.

We need to realize that we are the image of God on the earth. God isn't a dictator, but the devil is. We are the liberating force here on this planet setting people free from Satan's authority and rule. As Christians, we must tear down everything that represents or reflects the image of the devil in people's lives. All the dictator's statues must be toppled and paraded through the streets. I'm talking about spiritual things and principles of authority that we must appropriate in our lives as believers and people of faith. In the spirit world, God's face and image is everywhere. You can't get away from it. You cannot get away from the image of God in the spirit world. Everywhere you turn there is a picture of God. You go around this block and there's a statue. You turn this corner and there's a life-size portrait. It's exactly that way in the spirit realm. Everywhere you turn, you see the face of God. You see my face, you see face—everybody everybody and everything sees all of our faces. We are the image of God!

That is the devil's worst nightmare—your face and mine. Everywhere he turns there's a Christian that is learning his or her authority in Christ Jesus. Now, that's tormenting! Everywhere he turns, everywhere he looks, he sees you and me. That's why he's been so upset at you and me.

Satan doesn't want us to realize exactly who we are, the image of God in the earth, and the authority that we possess as believers. Satan is the one that is intimidated. He would like to intimidate you, but actually he's the one that's intimidated. He does his best to intimidate you with sickness and disease, poverty and lack, trouble in your family, and all these other things. Here's a news fl ash for you—you cannot intimidate a Christian who has a revelation of who they are in Christ Jesus. Let the devil know that he cannot intimidate you anymore. Let him know that you are taking your place of authority and you are putting him in his place—and that is under your feet.

Chapter Two

The Creating Was

In the Saying

The depth of the authority that you and I possess as believers is absolutely mind boggling. As Jesus is, so are we in this world. The same authority that Jesus has, we have. The same dominion that Jesus exercises over sickness and disease, we have. The same power that Jesus has over financial poverty and lack, we have as well. The depths of this God-given authority are tremendous and truly life altering once the revelation of it is realized in one's life. There isn't a single thing that has authority over God's authority. God is all powerful and possesses all authority, and He's given that same authority to you and me.

We have been created in God's image and we are the image of God in the earth. When the devil sees you, he sees God. He sees the Creator of the universe in you. When the devil hears you speak, he hears God speak because you speak God's Word with the voice of faith. When you lay hands on the sick, they have to recover because God lays hands on the sick through your hands. You are God's hands in the earth. God is above all the power of the enemy. He's above all sickness and disease. He is above all lack, financial lack—lack in any area. We are above all that as well. This revelation is the foundation for who you are in Christ Jesus— the revelation of the authority that you possess because you have been created in the very image of God Himself. Isn't it good to know that we are God's ambassadors here in this world? God exercises His authority over the powers of darkness through you and through me. Hallelujah!

We are victorious! Everywhere we turn, there's victory. We are no longer old sinners that the devil is trampling underfoot, we are the head and the devil is the tail. We are above and he is beneath. We are victorious, and the devil is defeated. God is exalted and the devil is dethroned! We are seated with Christ in the heaven lies over all the powers of the enemy. Isn't that exciting and liberating knowing that the devil is defeated and God is high and lifted up in the life of the believer. The key here is to be believing— a man or woman of faith simply taking God at His unchanging Word. If God said it, then we need to believe it because it's settled.

1 John 4:17 Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world.

Christians are all on different levels of spiritual understanding and growth. Some people have a pretty good understanding and a good idea of who God is, while others don't have the foggiest idea of who God is. Some people think God is a tree, others think He's a rock or crystal. A maple tree isn't the image of God in the earth, man is.

Some people have a pretty good understanding of as He is (who God is), but then on the other hand, they don't have a good understanding of the so are we part. Others have a good understanding of as He is, so are we, but they fail to realize that they don't have to wait until they get to Heaven to enjoy their benefits as Christians. No, we don't have to wait. We should be enjoying those benefits right here on the earth because as He is, so are we while we are in this world. We need to be experiencing as He is, so are we down here on planet earth. Of course, we will experience it up there in Heaven, but what about the right here and now? If you have a revelation of the Scriptures which tell you who you are in Christ and who He is in you, and that He (Jesus) is above all, and you are above all with Him, and wherever He goes, you go, and whatever He does, you do— your life will drastically change for the better.

Isn't it good to know that God has never been sick a day in His life? Isn't it good to know that God has never had any financial problems? God is all powerful and above all these problems that people experience. God is financially secure. If He's financially secure, then you and I are financially secure. If God is healed (and He is), then you and I are healed. We have to exercise our God-given authority and put the devil on the run once and for all in our lives. We must not tolerate any of his schemes because as Jesus is, so are we in this world.

Let's go back again to the book of Psalm. I want us to examine this text again. I realize that we've already read it in chapter one, but it's important that we continually put ourselves in remembrance of this verse of scripture if we want this important truth to get down in our spirits and change our lives for the good.

Psalm 8:3-9 When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained, [4] What is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him? [5] For You have made him a little lower than the angels, and You have crowned him with glory and honor. [6] You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet, [7] All sheep and oxen— even the beasts of the field, [8] The birds of the air, and the fish of the sea that pass through the paths of the seas. [9] O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is Your name in all the earth!

Authority and dominion are in our possession as believers. We must realize the extent of the authority that we possess as Christians in order to walk in victory here in this world. We must realize that the exact same authority that God has, we have. We must know this and settle this once and for all. When we know this, then we'll be better equipped to handle any problem that may come our way in life.

You cannot misunderstand me in this because I'm not saying that you'll never have any more problems in life when you have a revelation of your authority in Christ Jesus. What I'm saying is that you will have problems, but with this revelation you will have the ability to conquer anything that the devil conjures up in your life. As long as you live here in this world, you will have the devil to contend with until that angel comes down from Heaven and chains the devil up and removes him from human contact. However, glory to God, we have authority over the devil even now before he is chained up and removed from the earth. You can chain him up on a personal level as far as your life is concerned at any time. You have that authority and ability as a Christian. Faith in God's Word will change any situation that you may be facing at this very moment in your life. There is nothing that the God in you can't handle if you remain in faith and stay out of fear. Fear is nothing more than faith in the devil. Put your faith where it belongs— in God and His Word. Victory is sure!

You can control your own health by the power of God's Word. You are in charge of your own financial destiny through the power of the Holy Ghost in your life. You can be the one that is in control. Isn't that good news? You can control sickness and disease instead of it controlling you. Did you realize that you can have money in your pocket and that money not do you a bit of good? Did you realize that? You can have money in your pocket, but if you never pull this money out and use it, it won't do a thing for you. You can't go to a restaurant or a grocery store where you can get anything you want to eat and just stand there with the attitude— "Well, if it's God's will, I'll have this box of cereal. If it's God's will, maybe I'll get a hamburger for lunch today."

You can't have this kind of attitude when it comes to the things of God because it will get you nowhere in a hurry. You'll never enjoy the benefits that God has for you with this type of attitude. You must settle it once and for all that healing and prosperity is the will of God for your life. God isn't trying to keep things from you; He's trying to get them to you. You must realize this.

You have the ability to exercise your God-given authority and take control of your life. Just pull the money out of your pocket and pay for it— get what you want. You have that authority.

"Well, Pastor Wayne, I don't have anything in my pocket to pull out." This revelation will put money in your pocket, if you let it. If you'll live by the principles of the Word of God, then you have a right to financial prosperity in your life. Are you a tither? Are you sowing offerings? That's how you gain control in these areas. Every born-again, every child of God, has on the inside of them God-breathed, God-designed, God-ordained, God-given authority— not just in Heaven, but in this world as well. That's who we are. This has been, and still is today, God's design and plan for mankind from before the foundation of the world. From before the foundation of the world was even laid, this has been God's plan for mankind.

The book of beginnings, the book of Genesis, gives us a very clear picture of the authority that we possess as Christians being created in the very image of God. The book of Genesis is the blueprint for mankind. God didn't say that He was going to make something and then create it. These are two very different things. God didn't say, "I'm going to do this," and then He did it. The creating that God did was in what He said. The creating was in the saying. When God spoke it or said it, it was one solid action that created this planet and you and me as well. The creating that God did was in the saying.

When God formed man's body out of the dust of the ground, that wasn't man but only the house that man was going to live in (I'll explain this further in chapter 3). Adam's body was just a lump of lifeless dirt until God began to continue to speak to that dirt and continue to create in that dirt (or body) the very image of Himself in the earth. Man's physical body was not man himself, that was only his body— only the house that man would live in once God filled that house (or body) with his very own image (the image of Himself).

God formed man's physical body with His Words (the same way that He created the rest of the universe)— He spoke. God spoke what He wanted to see and that dirt had to obey Him. God released His faith with His Words and those Words came to pass and Adam's physical body was the result or manifestation of what God began to say. The creating was in the saying. Everything that God has created or will ever create, He always does it with the words of His mouth. God's words are words of authority and power— when they are released, things change and line up exactly with what God is saying.

The words that God speaks have creative powers. God's Word has creative power and so does yours as well. In creating here in the book of Genesis, God's Words were one with the creation. The creation took place because of the word that was spoken in faith. What God said caused it to be created just as He said it. The creating was in the saying of the words— they were one smooth action.

Genesis 1:26 Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth."

We have been created in the image of God, haven't we? We are God's image in the earth— an exact duplication of the original image. An image looks exactly the same as the original. There's no exception to that. There isn't one single thing that is different— it's all the same. The image of your nose is the image of your nose. The nose that you see in the mirror isn't straighter than your actual nose. They are one and the same— an exact duplication of the original. As believers, you look exactly the same as God. Do you realize that? You sure do. An image is an exact duplication of the original. It looks exactly the same as the original without exception. The image has the same mannerisms as the original. The image possesses all the same traits— all the same dominion, all the same authority as the original does. When the original opens its mouth and speaks, so does the image. Not only that, when it speaks, the voice sounds exactly the same because it speaks with the very same authority. It speaks with the exact same dominion.

As God is, so are we in this world. How is that? We're the image of God. You are the image of God in the earth. The trouble is most people haven't realized that, or if they have, they've run from it acting like a bunch of heathens when they shouldn't be. They haven't seen themselves as that image because they've allowed that image to become distorted. Have you ever gone to the fair, or maybe have seen it in movies, a "curved mirror" or "funny mirror"? You can stand in front of one of these mirrors and look either taller or shorter than you actually are. The mirror sometimes even distorts your face to make you look really strange and funny. Some people have big heads, others have small ones. Why? Because the mirror distorts what you actually look like. That's the way a lot of Christians have become—distorted images because they've allowed the devil to distort who they really are. They haven't seen themselves clearly in the Word of God; consequently, the image is all distorted and looks like a freak of spiritual nature.

Some people look in the wrong mirror—the devil's mirror. If you don't know who you are and what you look like, then you need to look in God's mirror, which is the mirror of God's Word. The Bible is your mirror. It will tell you who you are and what you look like. You need to look in this mirror every single day of your life in one way or another through reading, prayer, and meditation of God's Word. When you begin to look in God's mirror, your image of yourself will change and you'll begin to see clearly who you really are in Jesus. As you behold this new image, you'll begin to act like this image. You'll begin to talk like this mirror talks and act like this mirror acts. Your life will begin to be exactly the same the Word says it should be, if you look in it long enough. The key here is looking in the mirror because it's by looking in the mirror that you're able to make the corrections that need to be made in your life. You can find the hair that is out of place and even adjust your clothes, if necessary. A mirror reveals—it reveals who you really are and what you really look like.

When you begin to look into the Word of God, which is your mirror, your life will begin to conform to what that mirror says it should be. You'll be exactly the same image with the same authority and control over all the powers of darkness. When you begin to operate in this image's authority, then things in your life will begin to change. Your body will begin to line up with the Word of God and sickness and disease will become a thing of the past. Your family will begin to line up with the Word of God. Your finances will even begin to line up with this mirror. As God is, so are we in this world. You are the image of God in the earth.

Let's begin to look at this a little further that will bring even more revelation. Words are seeds. God's Word is seed. Your word is a seed. Words are containers. They are containers that house the DNA of the faith and authority of the person who speaks them. Every word that God speaks has built within them the image of what He desires to happen. Everything that makes up God's Word that He speaks—the DNA (the building blocks of life) of that word seed is contained in that word. The words that God speaks contain all of the authority and dominion of God Himself. God's words are full of faith, authority, and dominion.

Words create and paint pictures. If I say the word "cat," you don't see in your mind the letters "c-a-t," do you? What do you see? You see a picture of a cat—probably that old lazy varmint of a fl ea bag that you own that only wakes up to eat. Words paint pictures.

If I was to say "dog" and then go on to paint the picture a little clearer by saying "black, white, tan, 50 pounds, short legs, long nose, long ears, droopy skin”—then what would you see? You would begin to see in your mind exactly what I'm describing to you. My words are beginning to paint a picture of this dog in your mind. Words paint images. It's the same way with God's Word. When God speaks words, those words paint pictures and create the thing it is that He is speaking. God's Word creates images.

Let's talk about orange seeds for a few minutes. Orange seeds contain the ability to produce orange trees. If you were to take an orange seed and break it open, you'll find that inside the seed is all the DNA of its parent, the tree that it came from. It's got the same makeup as the tree that it's picked from. Everything about the DNA of that orange seed is the same as its parent tree. It has all the same building blocks of life from the tree in which it came from. If you were to plant that orange seed, that seed would grow up to be a representation of its parent tree.

If you ever want to know something about somebody, you need to look at their children or offspring. My daughter, Bethanie Grace, has my DNA in her. She has some of my physical traits, as well as that of her mother, Robyn. Bethanie has some of my personality traits and mannerisms. Why? She's my daughter—she’s my seed. Her DNA came from my DNA.

The same thing is true here in Genesis 1:26 when God said, "Let Us make man in Our image." Words paint pictures and the words that God spoke when He created man "Man be. Man was. God saw."— contained His same DNA, God's building blocks of His life. All of the authority, dominion, supremeness of His being, His— goodness everything that made up that word (the DNA of that word) came from God Himself. Everything about God was in the words that He spoke when He created man.

Look at the nature of this seed here in Genesis 1:26 that God sowed. The nature of this seed is God Himself. Are you ready to learn about God's DNA? Look at this verse again.

Genesis 1:26 Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth."

That's the DNA that makes up this seed in the creation of mankind. "Let them have dominion"— that's the DNA. Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, over the cattle, over all the earth, and over everything that creeps upon the earth that's the DNA of God Himself. When God created man, He used His very own DNA— all the authority, dominion, everything was in there. You have the DNA of God Himself in you. You are created in His image. You are His seed in the earth!

When we read Psalm 8 in the light of this understanding of our spiritual DNA, this gives us a clearer picture of who we really are. We are the image of God.

Psalm 8:3-9 When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained, [4] What is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him? [5] For You have made him a little lower than the angels, and You have crowned him with glory and honor. [6] You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet, [7] All sheep and oxen even the beasts of the field, [8] The birds of the air, and the fish of the sea that pass through the paths of the seas. [9] O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is Your name in all the earth!

When I consider Your heavens— think here for just a minute. Think for a moment of the vastness of the heavens. I'm not just talking about the place Heaven (where the Throne of God is located), I'm talking about the heavens (plural)— I'm talking about the vastness of the universe itself. When I consider Your heavens, when I consider how big this is and how much is out there and how much is not out there, when I consider this, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars which You have ordained, what is man that You are mindful of him and the son of man that You visit him?

What's he saying here? Is he saying that man is just this little old no good for nothing, scum of the earth sinner? No, that's not what he is saying here. When I look at the vastness of how big all this other stuff is, what is man that You visit him, what is all this attention that You're giving to this creation? Look at how big everything else is, but yet You visit this one and are especially interested in him. You have given this one special attention. You give this one special care. What's up with this? For You have made him a little lower than the angels (Yourself). You have crowned him with glory and honor. You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands.

Well, what's the works of His hands? The heavens are the works of God's hands. In other words, the entire universe was the handiwork of God Himself. When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers... When God considers the vastness of this universe, what is man that He is mindful of him? God made man to have dominion over all of this that He created. Yet there are people who think that they are worms and scum, and least of all of God's creation. Man is God's greatest creation, not the least. Man is God's most prized possession, not His angels, man is! You're created in His image, not the angels (we'll get more into this later).

Think about that next time you look in the mirror you're created in the image of God. What is this man that You are mindful of him? You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands. You have put all things under his feet ...

All things mean all things, last time I checked. All things mean everything that has been created. All things in Heaven and all things in earth all these things that are when I consider Your heavens, everything has been put under his feet. That's heavy. The trouble is, we haven't realized that and we've allowed ourselves to be under the feet of the things instead of our feet being on top of the things. Wrong religious teaching has caused people to not have a true understanding and revelation of who they really are. The devil has helped religion to blind people's eyes to the revelation of man's authority in the Word of God when they've read it, but that's all in the past. It's a new day and new season now. The Spirit of revelation knowledge is flooding this earth like it never has before. God is preparing His Church. He's preparing His man, letting him know who he is, who He created him to be because we've got a work to do. We have a job to do. That whole universe out there is still unfinished. God has a lot of unfinished work, and we'll get more into this a little later on.

You possess the same DNA— the same building blocks of life as your Father, God. Everything that makes up the life that is in God makes up your life. It's the same building blocks. It's the same DNA, and because you possess the same DNA as your Father God, you have all of His authority. You have all of His dominion. You have all of this built within you already. It's there. The DNA of God is there on the inside of you. You stand in the same authority that God does. You have His authority in your spiritual DNA. You stand in the same authority, same dominion as your Creator. He created it in you.

If you remember, the creating was in the saying. When God created man, He didn't create man and then give him something, because the DNA was already there. He didn't put more DNA in you after He already created you, and because you possess all the same DNA, the same building blocks of life as your Father, sickness and disease can't stand in your presence. Poverty and lack cannot stand in your presence. Why is that? If it stands in your presence, then it's standing in the presence of the Father because you are the image of God in the earth. The Scripture tells us, if you study this out, that every knee must bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord. How dare an old ugly cancer try to raise its head up against you. You're created in the image of God. How dare that cancerous devil to be that bold. How dare a financial need try to rear its head up against the King of kings and the Lord of lords. How dare it! When the devil challenges your authority like that, you need to tell him to get on his knees.

Do you truly realize what you possess as a Christian? Do you realize the authority that you have over all the powers of the enemy? When you do, that revelation will change your life drastically. That revelation will change your praying. It'll change your whole outlook on life once you know your authority in Christ Jesus. This truth will change the way you do things. It will change the way you say things, because you'll be more careful with what you say realizing the fact that your words are containers and they will come to pass.

The Creator God of all things, the Supreme Potentate of the universe created an under lord. He created someone to be in authority— to be a lord under the Lord. He created someone to rule and reign with Him, and that's you and me. You're that lord that God created.

Statements like that really stir up religious spirits. You may be wondering if I am saying that the Christian is a lord. Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying. God, the Supreme Potentate of the universe, the Supreme Being of all beings, this Creator of all living things, Elohim, Jehovah God, created someone to rule and to reign with Him. He created an under lord. Do you remember what God calls Jesus throughout the scripture? Jesus is known as the Lord of lords. Well, who do you think are the lords that He is Lord over? They are you and me. The Bible also calls Jesus the King of kings.

1 Timothy 6:15 which He will manifest in His own time, He who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords,

Jesus is the King of kings. Who are the kings that He's talking about? You and I are those kings that He is King of. You and I are the lords that He is Lord of. You are a lord under the Lordship of the Lord Jesus. You are a king under the King of kings, the Lord Jesus Christ. That's who you've been created to be a— king in life. As kings, we need to be living as such.

Revelation 19:16(New Living Translation) On his robe and thigh was written this title: King of kings and Lord of lords.

I'm not saying that you are God, but I am saying that you are created in His image with the exact same authority and with the exact same dominion. You have God's DNA, what else can you expect? When God created man, He created within that man all of His authority. Man was created in God's image, the image of authority and dominion. I'm not saying that you're God, but you are an exact reproduction of the original, God Himself. You are a representation of God in the earth. That's who you are and who you have been created to be. You have a purpose and that purpose is to rule and reign in life. Kings reign and you should be reigning— not being reigned over by the devil with all of his sickness, disease, poverty, and lack.

You are not the great God Jehovah. You are not the God who is the Supreme Potentate of the universe. I'm not saying that you are the"God" (capital G). What I'm saying here is this, as far as the Father God is concerned, you are a"god" (little g) in the earth. You don't have any other choice; after all, you've been created in His image. You are the image of God in the earth. What else did you expect? That's a major revelation that is hard for a religious mind to swallow, but I want to encourage you to keep on reading and chewing on this revelation until you can digest it in your spirit.

If you're a Christian, which means you are of Christ, and you are created in the image of God, you have to possess the same authority and dominion traits as God Himself. That's just the way that it is. You're created in His image. You and I are to operate the same way that God operates, exercising that God-ordained authority, exercising that God-given dominion over all of creation, especially including the devil. God wants for you to be in control over all of Satan's schemes in and against your life. God has put all things under your feet, which means even Satan and everything that comes along with Satan all the sickness, all of the disease, all of the financial lack, all of the poverty, all of the marriage problems— everything! It's all been put under your feet and subject to your God-given authority in Christ Jesus. You are the one who is to be large and in charge in your life, not the devil.

The exact same authority, the exact same dominion that the Creator God has, you possess. You have it. He's created it in you. I didn't say that man is Jehovah God, but quite the contrary. Man was created by God to be under God and to be in control. Man is only to be god of the territory in which he was given by the Creator God to be god over. You can't have dominion without a domain. You can't be a king without a kingdom. Think about it— your life is in your control and is part of your domain. Your life is your kingdom that you are to be king over.

In the beginning, God created man to be the god of this world, not Satan. Did you realize that? Man was created to be the god of this world, not the devil. We are supposed to be the god of this world. He created man to be the prince of this world, not Satan. Satan has no business in that position of being the prince or god of this world, especially as far as your life is concerned. God has given Satan his marching orders. The devil's been fired! He's under your feet! Now it's up to you and me, as far as our own personal lives are concerned, to make sure that he doesn't try to come into that position when he has no business. Jesus took the keys out of the devil's hands, don't you give them back to him. He's got no business with the keys of your life. He who has the keys is in control, and you're that person. The devil cannot dictate to you any longer because you are a Christian— the one who possesses the same authority as God. It's time to exercise that authority and put that old devil and his works in his place.

When man sinned and fell, man gave that authority and that position of being the god of this world over to Satan. It was an immoral act, but it was legal. It was very immoral what man did, but it was legal just the same. Let me ask you this, where was God when man sinned? Think about this. God left man in the garden to exercise his God-given authority and dominion. God left him there to be in charge of this thing. God left man in charge of this whole planet. God left man in authority. He left man in control of things. He left man with that dominion to see to it that this earth was all right. He trusted that to man.

God left man, His man, in charge and then man gave his authority over to Satan and the authority and dominion that man walked in was given over to the devil. We see the proof of this in the gospel of Luke chapter four.

Luke 4:5-6 Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. [6] And the devil said to Him,"All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish.

Luke 4:5-6 (Amplified) Then the devil took Him up to a high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the habitable world in a moment of time [in the twinkling of an eye]. [6] And he said to Him, To You I will give all this power and authority and their glory (all their magnificence, excellence, preeminence, dignity, and grace), for it has been turned over to me, and I give it to whomever I will.

Was the devil able to give the power and authority over to whomever he wanted? Absolutely! It had been given to him by Adam and he could do with it whatever he wanted. He had the authority and dominion because man gave it to him. God didn't give it to him, man did. Adam gave it to the devil when Adam sinned and disobeyed God. Adam gave Satan the lordship of the earthly kingdom. Adam gave Satan the position of "god of this world" over to the devil.

Think about this, Adam gave all of this power, dominion, and authority over to Satan. Who and what is Satan? He's a fallen being a fallen angel. Adam gave all of this authority over to a— fallen angel, which is a lesser being than man, who was and is God's highest and best creation.

You've got to understand this. Man is not an angel. He was never created to be an angel. You are not going to be an angel when you get to Heaven. Man was created in a totally different class than angels— a higher class and species of beings. Angels are below man. They are a lesser creation.

I cringe every time I hear somebody say things like, "Isn't that baby the cutest little angel that you've ever seen?" No, they're not. I guess it's better than saying they are a devil, but they still aren't an angel either. No, they aren't cute little angels. They may be cute and beautiful, but they aren't angels. They haven't been created in the angel class. Angels are a lower class of beings than man. Man was and is God's highest creation, far above angels. Man was created a little lower than God, not the angels. Angels are lower than man. Don't call your kids angels, because you are demoting them and actually putting them down. Man is created in the image of God, not the image of angels. Man was created in the god-class, not the angel-class. Satan wasn't created in the god-class to be like God. Can you see why Satan hates you so much? You've got the position that he wanted! You're created in God's image and that makes the devil jealous and mad. He's the one that wanted to be like the Most High God, and that never happened with an angel, but it did with man. Glory to God!

2 Corinthians 4:4 (New Living Translation) Satan, the god of this evil world, has blinded the minds of those who don't believe, so they are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News that is shining upon them. They don't understand the message we preach about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.

Satan wasn't created to have any god-ship over anything. He was not created to be a prince. He's known as the prince of darkness, but he wasn't originally created to be a prince of anything. He was just a musician in the courts of Heaven. He was a praise and worship leader created in the angel class who got full of pride and fell when sin was found in him. When the devil fell, he fell hard. Jesus kicked him out of Heaven and he fell to the earth like a bolt of lightning. Can you just imagine the size of the kick that God used to remove that corrupted angel from His presence?

When man sinned and fell, great was that fall. Remember, man was created in the same class as God, being created in the very image and likeness of the Creator. Man bowed his knee to this fallen angel, and fell below this fallen angel and crowned Satan his lord. Man made Satan the lord and god of this world. Adam should have risen up in his God-given authority and dominion and put the devil in his place, but he didn't. Adam should have run that old devil out of the garden, but he didn't do that either.

Can you imagine what a slap in the face to God this was? Satan wanted to be like God, but God wouldn't let him, so what did Satan do? He turned to the next best thing— God's man, who was created to be just like God. God kicked the devil out of Heaven; He sure wasn't going to give him that authority and dominion. The only place the devil could get it was from Adam, and succeed he did. Man bowed his knee to this fallen angel and crowned him as king and made Satan the god of this world.

Let's go back and look at this scripture again in the book of Genesis and explain this a little bit more. It's time for some more revelation.

Genesis 1:26-28 Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." [27] So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. [28] Then God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth."

I really like how this reads in the Message Bible. Let's look at this...

Genesis 1:26-28 (Message Bible) God spoke: "Let us make human beings in our image, make them reflecting our nature so they can be responsible for the fish in the sea, the birds in the air, the cattle, and, yes, Earth itself, and every animal that moves on the face of Earth." [27] God created human beings; he created them godlike, reflecting God's nature. He created them male and female. [28] God blessed them: "Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Earth! Take charge! Be responsible for fish in the sea and birds in the air, for every living thing that moves on the face of Earth."

God gave man authority and dominion over every living thing that moved on the face of this planet, both natural and spirit. God told man to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. Then He told him to subdue it. God couldn't tell him to subdue it if there wasn't anything there for him to subdue. In other words, there was some opposition that man would face. What was that opposition? Satan. We know what happened with that when man faced that opposition.

God didn't create man and assign him to something. God didn't just create man and say, "I'm going to put you in charge of this. I'm going to give you this assignment." No, that's not what happened here. Man was created to BE something. He wasn't created and then given an assignment as an afterthought. He was created in the image of God. He was created to be something— God's representation here on the earth. Man was created to be the image of God in the earth. That was man.

Man wasn't created and then given authority in a separate action or act. Man was created with authority already in him. This is probably a little bit different than you've heard it before, but it's true just the same. We must realize the authority that God's man possesses. Sometimes it is taught that God created man and then gave the man that He created authority. In one sense, there's nothing wrong with that, but let's go a little bit further into this thing and let this revelation sink deeper into your spirit. Man wasn't created and then given authority in a totally separate action. No, the authority came as being created in the image of God, who was the Authority. The authority came as a result of being created to be like God. Authority wasn't the first thing or gift that God gave man. The authority and dominion came with the creating.

God created man with authority. The authority came as a result of being created in the image of God. Authority and dominion weren't given to man as an afterthought. It goes far deeper than that. Man was created with authority and dominion. The authority and dominion have been there all along. It was bred in man, so to speak. The authority and dominion of God has been bred in you. It's part of you and has been there all along. Most people haven't realized it because the devil has blinded their eyes. Consequently, they never tap into this authority that's resident on the inside of them and walk it. Far too many people are living defeated lives. It's time to change this and to begin to walk in the authority that you have and take dominion over all the works of the devil. The authority and dominion have been bred in you— it's part of your makeup.

If you were to go down to your local pet shop and buy a sweet, cute little basset hound, that little puppy wouldn't grow up to be a Chihuahua. Why? Chihuahua wasn't bred— in him that's not what he's bred to be. When that Basset Hound grows up, you won't have to teach him to use his nose and smell everything. You won't have to teach him to even howl— it'll all just come naturally because it has been bred in him. It's part of the characteristics of the breed. You don't have to teach a Basset Hound how to be a hound— they just know how already. That's who they are.

It's the same thing with God's man. You're certainly not a Basset Hound by any means, but God's authority and dominion have been bred in you. It's part of your makeup being created in the image of God. It's there. You just need to realize it and tap into that God-given authority and then begin to exercise it in your life.

You can't take an old, lazy mule and train him to be in the world renowned Kentucky Derby. Why not? Because that old, lazy mule is not a thoroughbred racehorse and would not be able to run and keep up with that Kentucky racehorse. A mule can't stand up against a thoroughbred and win in a race. It's just not bred in the mule to do that. It's not possible. A mule will be a mule and do what mules do— whatever that is. Is there something wrong with that? No, that mule was created to be a mule. Thoroughbreds were bred to be just exactly that, thoroughbreds. There's nothing wrong with that, we're comparing two different things. That's the nature of the two breeds. One is not superior to the other; they're just two different things. They are both used for two separate things1 with two different and distinct purposes in life.

The Christian must realize everything that has been bred in him and then begin to put that into action. The believer must realize that he has God's DNA in him. We must know what's on the inside in order to change the outside. The very nature of God Himself resides on the inside of you and me. God's nature is to be in authority over this creation and God's nature is to exercise dominion over all the works of the devil.

We must come to realize the spiritual capacity that we have. We must realize the spiritual capacity of this man that God created. The spiritual capacity of man is virtually unlimited, because we're created in God's image. Man is only limited by his small thinking. Man's small thinking must be changed to think in terms of faith, authority, and dominion as far as living in this life and experiencing victory in our everyday lives. We must not be small minded. We've got the mind of Christ which enables us to think God's thoughts. God's mind is unlimited, let's just tap into God's mind and think the way God thinks for a change. I guarantee you that you'll begin to live your life in a big way because God is a big God!

The spiritual capacity of God's greatest creation ever— man— is unlimited. One man had so many devils in him that over 2,000 pigs could not live with that many devils in their midst. Those hogs couldn't handle that many devils that came out of that one man. Look at this story in Mark's gospel.

Mark 5:1-13 Then they came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gadarenes. [2] And when He had come out of the boat, immediately there met Him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, [3] who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no one could bind him, not even with chains, [4] because he had often been bound with shackles and chains. And the chains had been pulled apart by him, and the shackles broken in pieces; neither could anyone tame him. [5] And always, night and day, he was in the mountains and in the tombs, crying out and cutting himself with stones. [6] When he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and worshiped Him. [7] And he cried out with a loud voice and said, "What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God that You do not torment me." [8] For He said to him, "Come out of the man, unclean spirit!" [9] Then He asked him, "What is your name?" And he answered, saying, "My name is Legion; for we are many." [10] Also he begged Him earnestly that He would not send them out of the country. [11] Now a large herd of swine was feeding there near the mountains. [12] So all the demons begged Him, saying, "Send us to the swine, that we may enter them." [13] And at once Jesus gave them permission. Then the unclean spirits went out and entered the swine (there were about two thousand); and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the sea, and drowned in the sea.

This scripture doesn't mean that that man had 2,000 devils or demons in him. That man could have had 20,000 or even a 100,000. It's not specific as to the number of devils, but you can rest assured that it was a lot too— many to be exact. The spiritual capacity of man is enormous. Those pigs couldn't handle that many devils. They weren't equipped to! Consequently, those devils drove them crazy and they wanted to commit suicide to get away from them all. That's what they did!

The spiritual capacity of a human being— God's man— is huge. This man was so demon possessed that he was wall to wall demons. His spirit man was full of demons. His soul (mind, will, and emotions) was full of demons. His physical body was full of demons. He was wall to wall demon possessed. He had demons everywhere you turned. He was absolutely full of the devil. We don't know how many demons he had, but he sure had a bunch. This is an example of the spiritual capacity that God put in this man that He had created.

Adam's spiritual capacity was great. Out of Adam's spiritual capacity, out of this one man came the curse that cursed this planet from the North Pole to the South Pole, and all around the equator, and all the way up unto but not including the throne of God. This is the spiritual capacity that Adam possessed, being created in God's image.

When I consider the heavens, the moon and the stars, the work of Your hands, what is man that You are mindful of him? All of the vastness of the entire universe— everything came under the curse that came out of that one man, Adam, when he sinned. When Adam sinned, everything in creation fell. From the earth all the way up into Heaven, but not including the throne of God, fell.

Hebrews 9:21-25 Then likewise he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry. [22] And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission. [23] Therefore it was necessary that the copies of the things in the heavens should be purified with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. [24] For Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us; [25] not that He should offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood of another—

When Jesus came out of the tomb, He said in John 20:17 "Touch me not." Why? He hadn't yet been to Heaven to present His precious blood on the mercy seat. He hadn't yet used His own blood to cleanse man's place of authority in Heaven from what happened when Adam sinned and fell. He had a job to do and He hadn't yet completed it. He had not yet ascended into Heaven itself. Why do you think Jesus had to go to Heaven to present His blood there? There was an area of Heaven (man's place of authority and acceptance) that had been contaminated by the fall of man. Fallen man lost his access to his Heavenly Father's house— Jesus (the last Adam) had to ascend into Heaven and set things straight with His uncontaminated blood and wash away man's sin. It's through the blood of Jesus that man once again has access to his Heavenly Father. It's through the blood of Jesus that man regains his rightful place of authority and dominion—both in Heaven and on the earth.

Let me explain it to you this way. The authority and dominion that God's man possessed came from God— it came from Heaven. When man sinned and fell, he lost his place of spiritual authority and no longer did this man have the ability to come into the presence of God. He had sinned. Sin cannot stand in the presence of a holy God. There's no sin in Heaven; therefore, there was no longer an authority for man to have access into this holy, sacred place that he once had access. Adam could no longer approach God because of sin—blood had to be shed in order for man to regain that place of authority that was based in Heaven in the very heart of God.

Let's read this in the New Living Translation which will give you a better idea and understanding of what it is that I'm talking about here. Don't stop reading and put the book down because this may go against everything that you previously thought— just keep reading and allow the Holy Ghost to get this revelation deep down into your heart (your spirit).

Hebrews 9:16-26 (New Living Translation) Now when someone dies and leaves a will, no one gets anything until it is proved that the person who wrote the will is dead. [17] The will goes into effect only after the death of the person who wrote it. While the person is still alive, no one can use the will to get any of the things promised to them. [18] That is why blood was required under the first covenant as a proof of death. [19] For after Moses had given the people all of God's laws, he took the blood of calves and goats, along with water, and sprinkled both the book of God's laws and all the people, using branches of hyssop bushes and scarlet wool. [20] Then he said, "This blood confirms the covenant God has made with you." [21] And in the same way, he sprinkled blood on the sacred tent and on everything used for worship. [22] In fact, we can say that according to the law of Moses, nearly everything was purified by sprinkling with blood. Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins. [23] That is why the earthly tent and everything in it which were copies of things in heaven had to be purified by the blood of animals. But the real things in heaven had to be purified with far better sacrifices than the blood of animals.[24] For Christ has entered into heaven itself to appear now before God as our Advocate. He did not go into the earthly place of worship, for that was merely a copy of the real Temple in heaven. [25] Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again, like the earthly high priest who enters the Most Holy Place year after year to offer the blood of an animal. [26] If that had been necessary, he would have had to die again and again, ever since the world began. But no! He came once for all time, at the end of the age, to remove the power of sin forever by his sacrificial death for us.

Does this give you the understanding of the authority and dominion that God's man had in the very beginning? Adam had the authority and dominion of God, and he abused it. Consequently, everything fell. Glory to God, Jesus has put things back in order. The blood of Jesus has not only cleansed the believer of sin, but His blood has also cleansed the contaminated areas of Heaven as well (man's position of authority in Heaven). Glory!

Sometimes this revelation is very difficult for one to fathom because of the depth of it, but you can do it. You have the mind of Christ and have that ability thanks to the blood of Jesus Himself. You're born again! The authority and dominion of God's man has once again been placed back into the hands of His greatest creation. This time, we're not going to mess things up. As God is, so are we in this world.

You have authority. You have dominion. The next time the devil tries to attack your physical body with a demonic disease, put him on the run. Run him out of the garden of your life once and for all. He's trespassing on God's property and you have the authority to run the devil out of your domain. Take dominion over him! You are free from the curse of the fall of man. When you step out in faith exercising your God-given authority by speaking the name of Jesus, you have all of Heaven itself backing you up. God's got your backside—and even your front and sides! You've got your big brother, the Lord Jesus Himself, looking over your shoulders to make sure the devil does what you tell him to do.

Chapter Three

Created In God's Image

1 John 4:17 Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world.

1 John 4:17 (God's Word Translation) God's love has reached its goal in us. So we look ahead with confidence to the day of judgment. While we are in this world, we are exactly like him {with regard to love}.

Isn't it good to know that we don't have to wait until we get to Heaven to enjoy the benefits of Heaven? We can enjoy Heaven right here on the earth. It all begins with allowing this revelation of your authority as a believer grow on the inside of you. It's time to take off all the limits and truly let God be God in and through your life. It's time for you to take your rightful place of authority and dominion, and begin to put the devil on the run instead of you running from him. You have no business being scared and running from the devil and all of his threats. Turn around and face that old devil head on and put him in his place. If the devil is on your back, then he's in the wrong place. He belongs under your feet, not on your back!

Your God-given authority is one of the primary foundational truths for your success in your Christian walk of faith. With each chapter of this book, I believe that you are growing stronger in faith and that you are rising up to be what you have been bred to be a Christian (like Christ).

You have been created to be exactly like God. Not just a little bit, but exactly. You are created in His image. Your life should be a reflection of God Himself on the earth. Your life should be a reflection of God's authority on the earth. If it's not, then praise God, you can change it! If we're exactly like Him, then we are. God's doing well in life; He's yet to have a sick day. He's yet to run out of money and wonder how he was going to meet rent or the mortgage payment. He doesn't sit around and try to figure out if He's going to have enough food to last until the end of the month. He doesn't open His refrigerator and wonder if He's going to be able to eat dinner. That's not how God operates, and aren't you glad? Why should we be glad? As He is, so are we in this world! Look at this verse of scripture from the Message Bible.

1 John 4:17 (Message Bible) This way, love has the run of the house, becomes at home and mature in us, so that we're free of worry on Judgment Day— our standing in the world is identical with Christ's.

Isn't it relieving to know that our standing here in this world is exactly the same as Jesus' standing? Isn't it good to know that we are "identical" with Christ? It sure is! Our authority and position in God is identical to Jesus. Jesus is my twin brother. I am an identical twin of the Lord Jesus Christ. Yes, He may have been born 2,000 years before me, but I'm still His twin. If I'm His twin, and the devil is under His feet, then the devil is under my feet as well. We are sons of the Most High God. We are joint heirs with Jesus. We're identical with Jesus in every way, and as He is, so are we in this world.

When you know this revelation, then you can speak to mountains and they'll move and be cast into the sea according to Mark 11:23-24. You can do the impossible, because the God of the impossible lives on the inside of you. You've been created with God's authority and have the ability to exercise it and change things here in the earth, at least as far as your life is concerned.

We must also re-read our other scripture that is found in Psalm chapter eight that we've been using in this study on our authority and dominion. My prayer is that each time you read this chapter in Psalm, this revelation grows stronger and deeper within your spirit man.

Psalm 8:3-9 When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained, [4] What is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him? [5] For You have made him a little lower than the angels (correctly translated God), and You have crowned him with glory and honor. [6] You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet, [7] All sheep and oxen even the beasts of the field, [8] The birds of the air, and the fish of the sea that pass through the paths of the seas. [9] O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is Your name in all the earth!

As believers, we are to be ruling and reigning over all of God's creation. We're supposed to be ruling and not being ruled (by the devil). God has put everything within our control. Absolutely everything is subject to your God-given authority without exception. Your life is within your control. It isn't in the control of another, but your life is in your control. If it seems as if your life is out of your control, then it's time to take it back. It's not out of your control when you have a revelation of God's Word. It may seem like it's out of control and that the enemy would like for it to seem like he's in charge, but if you're taking your place in Christ Jesus, and you know that as He is, so are you in this world, then you're the one that's in control, not Satan.

You are created in God's image; therefore, you need to be walking and talking like God in the earth, especially where your own personal life is concerned. You have authority both in this natural world as well as the spiritual world. Actually, it's your spiritual authority that allows you to change things naturally. You have a responsibility to exercise your authority over the kingdom of darkness and keep the devil under your feet. It's your responsibility, not God's. We are responsible for exercising that right and privilege. Don't be an irresponsible Christian and not exercise your authority over sickness, disease, poverty, lack, marriage problems, etc. You have a responsibility to be what God has created you to be.

On a personal level, I love to bless my daughter with the best that I possibly can. When I bless her and give her something very nice, I fully expect her to take responsibility for it and take good care of it. Sometimes, when kids are younger, they don't take responsibility for a lot of things. They have to learn what they are responsible for and how to care for what has been placed in their charge. It's the same way with Christians. We've been blessed by the Holy Spirit to have mighty revelations here in these last days, and it is our responsibility to take care of those revelations and exercise them in our lives.

I remember that I wanted to bless my daughter with a pair of diamond earrings when she was only about four years old. My wife, Robyn, and I purchased for her a pair of small diamond earrings that looked absolutely the cutest on her. They weren't extremely expensive, but they weren't exactly cheap either. My daughter, Bethanie, didn't realize exactly what a diamond was and its value. To her, at that time in her life, anything that glittered or sparkled was a diamond. If anything was shiny, she would say, "Isn't that so diamond." Four-year-olds are really cute, but they don't know the true value of diamonds, even if they do think that they are pretty. Bethanie didn't have the foggiest idea that her parents blessed her with something that was expensive. For all she knew, we could have put a quarter in a bubble gum machine and got them from there. She lacked revelation and she lacked responsibility because they weren't something of great value to her. Consequently, those earrings didn't last very long. I don't know where they are and she doesn't either.

Robyn and I learned a very important and valuable lesson by purchasing our four-year-old a pair of diamond earrings. The lesson was: don't do it again, at least not until she's old enough to understand the value of what was placed in her charge and care. When you understand the value of something, you'll take responsibility for it and make sure that you don't lose it. If something isn't valuable to you, then you won't take care of it. You'll just leave it lying around anywhere and pay it no attention or care.

I like to collect sunglasses. Living in Hawaii, I get to wear sunglasses everyday. I have some sunglasses that are inexpensive, and I have others that are name brand and very expensive. The cheap ones didn't cost very much money; consequently, they don't get the same care as a pair of Oakley's or Maui Jim's. I don't value the cheaper ones like I do the other ones. Why? The cheaper ones didn't cost me very much. The better sunglasses cost me more money than the cheaper ones, and because I paid more money for them, I tend to take better care of them.

Nothing about God is cheap. He isn't a cheap inexpensive God. Everything about God is first class— especially the revelation that He gives to the body of Christ. When God gives us something, it is so very important that we take care of it and take it seriously. When God gives us the revelation of who He created us to be, it is important that we learn to value that revelation and protect it at all costs. One of the ways that you protect it is to exercise it and walk in it on a daily basis. Another way is to continue to learn and study along the lines of that revelation because you can never exhaust everything there is to know— especially when it comes to the revelation of the authority and dominion of mankind. I want to challenge you to value this revelation and not just read through this book because you think what I'm saying is interesting. Learn to value what this revelation cost Jesus to give to you. It cost Jesus His life in order to put man back in right standing with God. Don't ever take the things of God lightly. Don't behave like a four-year-old when it comes to this revelation. Be responsible.

Think about this, the angels of God are under your authority and control. You are not a lesser creation than God's holy angels. You are God's holy man who is created in His image. The angels of God don't have that privilege. Look at how blessed you are.

The book of Hebrews tells us that the angels of God have been sent to minister or serve the believer. Look at this in the scripture.

Hebrews 1:13-14 (New Living Translation) And God never said to an angel, as he did to his Son, "Sit in honor at my right hand until I humble your enemies, making them a footstool under your feet." [14] But angels are only servants. They are spirits sent from God to care for those who will receive salvation.

What is man that God is mindful of him? This man is created in God's image; of course, God is going to be mindful of something that has His authority and dominion. Angels have been sent to minister for those that are heirs of salvation. I am an heir of salvation, and so are you. Therefore, angels have been sent to minister to and for me. They minister to and for God; therefore, they minister to and for me and you. We're created in God's image.

As an heir of salvation, you have a very important position in the kingdom of God. Even the highest ranking angel in Heaven cannot walk up to the throne of God unannounced or uninvited. The holy angels of God cannot come into God's presence without first being invited to be there. What is this man that God is mindful of him? Who is he? Better yet, where is he? This man that God is mindful of is seated at the right hand of the Father God. We are seated with Christ in heavenly places. Man, God's highest creation, has the authority to enter the throne room and sit down. Angels can't do that. They don't have that ability and privilege. Most of them are flying around God's throne declaring His goodness and holiness. They are singing and praising the Most High at the top of their lungs. Every time they fly around God's throne they see another facet of God's greatness and begin to sing and declare "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty!" Man, on the other hand, is seated with Jesus! We can sit down there on God's lap and say, "Abba Father!" Why? He's our daddy! We're created in His image. We're His most valued and prized possession ever! God looks at you with such adoration and love. When He looks at you, He sees Himself in you. He has to! You've got His DNA!

Let's look at this man that God created and examine this image, the image of God Himself on the earth. How did God create man? What is the man that He created? What makes him so special to God?

Genesis 2:7 And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.

If you will study this verse of scripture in the context of the rest of scripture, you will find that this scripture means this, in regards to the creation of this man, the image of God: "man became another speaking spirit (just like God Himself). Man wasn't just an ordinary living being, but man was different from the rest of creation because he was created in the image of the Creator, God. Man became another speaking spirit, just like God. God is a speaking spirit, or a spirit Who speaks, and whatever God speaks is created and comes to pass. God's Words have creative ability, and so do yours because you have been created in the image of God. Whatever God says, that's the way it is because His Words are full of creative power. They are full of faith.

God reproduced Himself in man. Man isn't just kind of created in the image of God. He's not just a little bit like God. He doesn't just look like God a little bit in his appearance. He doesn't just have a little bit of the authority that God possesses. He doesn't just have a small amount of the dominion that God walks in. Man doesn't just kind of have these things, he is these things! He has to be because he is created in God's image, an exact duplication of the original. When God created man, He reproduced Himself in the earth in physical form. God created man to be exactly like Himself, except that this man was NOT Jehovah God. When man was created, it was actually God reproducing and recreating Himself.

When you get a hold of this revelation, you can lay hands on the sick and see the sick recover. Why? Because you know who you are and that sickness and disease are subject to your authority and dominion. Remember, as He is, so are we in this world.

Man was created a little lower than Elohim (the Creator of all living things), right? He was created a little lower than God. Now, the little lower is this, man was created with all of the attributes, with all of the characteristics, with all of the authority, with all of the dominion, everything about God and everything that was in God was put into man. God created and imparted that into man at the same time that man was created. It was not two separate acts of creation. Man was not created and then given authority. The authority came with the creation itself. As I said, this does not make man Jehovah God. You've got to get this straight in your thinking that I am not saying you are the great God Jehovah, because you're not. If you are created a little lower than Him, then you are just a little bit lower than Him. You aren't God Himself, but you are His representative in the earth, and as far as God is concerned, and even the rest of creation, in one sense, you are Him. You are His ambassador in the earth and you speak for Him.

When creation sees you, it sees God. Creation sees all of God's authority and dominion. Creation sees the same thing in you that's in God Himself. It has to; after all, you're created in God's image. You must have a revelation of this authority, because if you don't and you come face to face with a devil, even a small, low ranking devil, that devil will eat you for lunch. If you have a revelation of who you are and who He is in you, then you can come face to face with Satan himself and he'll whimper and fl op on the floor and bow at your feet because you're something great, or actually because you know that there is someone greater on the inside of you! Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world (1 John 4:4). God is great in and through you, and the devil sees it when you see it. When Satan sees you, he sees the Greater One in you!

Man was created in the image of God. The image that man was created in was the image of God Himself. This is totally unlike the rest of creation. Totally unlike everything else that's out there both in Heaven and on the earth. The rest of creation, everything else that God created, was AN image that was on the inside of God; however, this image wasn't the image of God. Everything else (besides man) that God created was an image that He had on the inside of Him, but man himself was the image of God.

For instance, God had the image of a palm tree on the inside of Him when He created that palm tree. He had that image on the inside. He created that palm tree. That tree was an image that was on the inside of Him; however, this image wasn't the image of God Himself. You've got to see the difference here. The image of all of creation (except man) was on the inside of God. God saw that image in Himself and then He created that image. He had a picture of that palm tree inside Himself and then He created that tree. That image that was created, the palm tree, was not the image of God himself.

Let's look a little more at God's creative abilities.

Genesis 2:19 Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name.

The animals that God created were an image on the inside of God. Once again, this image wasn't the image OF God, but AN image IN God. Animals were not the picture or image of God Himself. Animals were just an image that was on the inside of God. The image of the animals was in God, but the image of Adam, or man, was God. Now, there's a big difference there between the two.

Let's look back again at verse 7 in this same chapter.

Genesis 2:7 And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.

It's important that when we are studying the creation of man, we take time and meditate on what it is that we are reading and let it sink down into our spirits. We must also ask the Holy Spirit of God to help us in our understanding of what it is that we are reading. The Holy Spirit is the author of the Bible and He can sure help us better understand what it is that He's trying to get across to us.

God formed man out of the dust of the ground with His words. Building contractors know and understand this terminology because they form things all the time, buildings. Contractors form buildings out of wood and sometimes even steel and concrete. They know what it means to form a building. In other words, they understand that the form is what everything else hangs on the walls, the ceilings, and even the paint on—the walls on ceilings. Without a house first being formed, nobody could actually occupy or live in that house and make it a home. It's one thing to create or form a house, but it's an entirely different thing when that house becomes a home and takes on life by somebody moving into that house and actually living in it. It was the same way with the creation of man.

Let's think about this a little bit more. God formed man's body out of the dust of the ground by speaking words. What God formed out of the dust was only man's body. You've got to get a picture of this in your heart and mind—God formed man's body out of the dust of the ground. God Himself stuck His hands down in the dirt (by simply speaking creative words) and began to shape and fashion man's body out of that dirt, but God did not form man's spirit out of the dirt. The body that God formed out of the dust of the ground was only the vessel or house that was to contain or house man's spirit. Man's body was a dwelling place for a spirit being, not just any spirit being, but man himself who was and is created in the very image of God Himself. Man's body and man's spirit are two totally different things.

After God formed man's body out of the dust of the ground, what happened next? God continued with His creating by speaking—He breathed into that form or that house that He just created out of the dirt. What did God breathe into that form? God breathed into that form the breath of life with His words. Get a picture of this and let this revelation sink into your spirit man and become alive on the inside of you, bringing revelation of who you really are and the authority that you possess as a child of the Most High God. God didn't pick up the form of man's body and blow in its nose like He was pumping up a deflated basketball. That's not what happened here at all. If you study this scripture, you will find that the actual meaning of these words here is that God spirited the spirit into this body that He just formed.

God breathed or released His very own Spirit into this form or body. God released His very own life, His very own Spirit into this body—with His words. Breathe or breath is another terminology for"spirit" or"spirited." God breathed or spirited the spirit of His life into this man's body that He just formed and that man became a living being, but not just any living being. Man became another living being or a living spirit just like God. God imparted or released His very own Spirit, His very own life—His very own image—into this body. God is a Spirit and God imparted His Spirit, which is part of His very own being, into man. When God released His life or His image into this body that He formed out of the dirt, this body or man became a living being and began to walk and talk just like his Creator. He had to—after all, man was created in God's image.

All of God's authority and all of God's dominion was released into this man as God's very own Spirit was imparted into Adam's body. When God breathed into Adam's formed body, God took from Himself and He put it in His man—He moved into His new earthly house.

This man that God created was not just a little bit like God or had some resemblance of God. No, this man looked exactly like God Himself. He was created in God's image! Adam was the exact image of God. Think about this, God could have stepped into Adam's body and put it on just like you put on your clothes today, and this body would have fit God perfectly. It had to fit God perfectly, it was tailor made for His Spirit, life, authority, and dominion. This body wouldn't have been too big or too little. Even the hair on Adam's head was like God's. Adam's hands, fingers, feet—everything about Adam was an exact duplication of God Himself. Adam's body was tailor made for God's Spirit. Adam looked exactly like God!

God formed man's body and then picked up this body (with His words of authority) and stood it on its feet, standing toe to toe, eye to eye, and nose to nose with its Creator. Then God released Himself— His very own life to live inside this body. Man then became a living being—and not just any kind of living being, but a living being that was created in God's very own image. To look in the face of Adam was to look in the face of God. Adam was a living spirit and image of His father in the earth—He looked exactly like Him, had all of His features, not just naturally, but spiritually as well. Now that is totally awesome!

Whenever Adam spoke, it was the same as God Himself speaking. Adam spoke with God's authority. Whatever Adam said came to pass, it had to. The very words that Adam spoke had the creative power of God in them because Adam was created to be just like God in the earth.

What happened with and in the fall of man was completely immoral. It was totally an immoral act on man's part, but at the same time, it was totally legal. Man had the right or authority to give his authority to whomever he wanted. What Adam did in the fall was treason of the highest kind. Treason against God Himself, but it was legal at the same time. God had given man the right or authority and dominion to do what he did. Adam had the ability to do it. He shouldn't have, but he did just the same—and now, all of this life, all of this blessing, all of this authority, all of this dominion that had been put inside of man from God was lost because man gave it away to Satan and sin entered the world and death by sin. Then, inside of the blessing continuing to flow out of Adam, Adam became full of the curse and that curse was released through Adam, cursing this planet north to south, east to west, and not just this planet, but everything in this entire universe up unto, but not including the very throne of God Himself—all the curse came out of this one man, Adam.

This gives us a very clear picture of the authority and dominion that this one man, Adam, possessed. What is this man that God is so mindful of? This man was the image of God Himself, possessing all of His authority and dominion. When man sinned and fell, everything had to fall under the curse because everything was subject to Adam's authority.

Let's go back and look at chapter 2 verse 19.

Genesis 2:19 Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name.

Here's the same process happening again when it came to the creation of the animals, except that the animals were not the image of God, they were only an image that God had on the inside of Himself. Here's what happened. God formed the bodies of the animals out of the dust of the ground, just like He did for Adam. God formed the animals as well—He formed their bodies, but that was as far as He went. God stopped short in His creation of the animals and did not give the animals life.

You've got to get a picture of this in your spirit. God formed the animals' bodies, but He did not continue to speak to those bodies and give them life. All God did was make or form them from the ground — and then God brought what He had formed before Adam to see what Adam would call or speak to them. In other words, God brought the animals' bodies before Adam, who was their god. Adam was created to be the god of this world, not Satan. Adam was created to be God's representative or ambassador here on this planet, not the devil. God brought these animals' bodies that He had just formed to their god, for Adam to continue what God had started by speaking to them and giving them life. When Adam spoke to those animals' bodies, those bodies became alive.

Let's look at this verse again..

Genesis 2:19 (King James Version) And out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.

Part of the meaning of this word call in the original Hebrew means to call forth, proclaim, publish, pronounce, or say. Adam didn't just give these animals their cute little names that we know them by today, such as a majestic lion. You've got to get a picture of this in your spirit as well. Here's Adam, standing there full of God's authority, full of God's dominion, full of God's creative ability, full of God's faith—standing in front of these bodies that Adam's Father, God Himself, had just formed, and Adam spoke (called forth, proclaimed, published, pronounced) to those formed bodies and those bodies became alive because of the words that Adam spoke to them.

Adam imparted a portion of the life that he had within his being into those animals' bodies. Adam didn't just say, "You're a lion, you're an elephant, you're an aardvark, you're an alligator"— no, no, no! It goes far deeper than that. Adam gave the animals' formed bodies life. It was a similar process that God used when He formed man's body, except for the fact that man was created in the image of God and the animals weren't. Besides that, there was nobody else there that had the ability to speak to man's formed body other than God Himself. But now, when it came to the animals in creation, God had His son, Adam, there to help Him.

I can just see this picture in my spirit of this whole thing taking place. Here's God standing behind His masterpiece, Adam, and encouraging Adam saying "This is what I did when I created you, and now I want you to do the same thing to these animals. You give them life. Come on, son, I know you can do it. You have My authority. You have My dominion. I'm standing right here behind you to help. You can do it, Adam!"

That's just exactly what Adam did— he did it! He gave those animals life! There was a big difference, however, because those animals were not the image of God. They were a lower species of being.

I understand that this goes against the cute little Sunday school lesson that you heard when you were in first grade at church. Sunday school lessons have watered this down to just a cute little story, but it's far greater than that! It sounded good, but that's not the fullness of what happened. Adam didn't just give the animals names. That was only a small part of what transpired. Adam released words of faith when he spoke over each animal and that animal became alive because of what Adam said or spoke. That, my friend, is the authority that God's man possessed.

With all of this in your heart and mind, let's go back and read again Psalm chapter 8.

Psalm 8:3-8 (God's Word Translation) When I look at your heavens, the creation of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have set in place— [4] what is a mortal that you remember him or the Son of Man that you take care of him? [5] You have made him a little lower than yourself. You have crowned him with glory and honor. [6] You have made him rule what your hands created. You have put everything under his control: [7] all the sheep and cattle, the wild animals, [8] the birds, the fish, whatever swims in the currents of the seas.

Think about this, notice what it says in verse three: "When I look at your heavens...." Notice here that this word is plural, which means that there is more than one heaven. There are actually three heavens— the first one is the atmosphere around the earth. The second one is outer space, and there is still a third Heaven. Do you remember what the Apostle Paul said in Second Corinthians?

2 Corinthians 12:2 (New Living Translation) I was caught up into the third heaven fourteen years ago.

The third Heaven is where the throne of God is located. The third Heaven is the Heaven of heavens. It is Heaven itself. This is where God lives. Heaven is a planet! It's a very real place just like earth. The earth was created as an image of Heaven. Heaven has to be a planet because the scripture tells us that it has a north and south. In case you haven't figured this out, you cannot have a north and south, or be able to use a compass to determine direction unless Heaven is a planet— it's round— it's a planet.

I realize that some of what you are reading in this book is not what you may have heard before, but it's about time the body of Christ wake up to the facts of God's Word and be who God has created them to be— men and women of God that are exercising their God-given authority in Christ Jesus. Glory! I don't know about you but this gets me excited, especially when the devil tries to attack my body with sickness and disease, because I have authority over him and authority over the sickness and disease that he's trying to put on me! We have authority over the devil and all of his evil works!

God crowned man with authority and dominion. Crowns only go to those that are of the royal bloodline. Crowns only go to those that are in authority. You don't see crowns on the heads of servants. Servants don't wear crowns, only kings! When the devil looks at your face, he sees God's face, because you have been created in God's image and God lives on the inside of you and you possess all of God's authority and dominion. You must realize the truth of this whole thing regarding the devil. Satan is far more afraid of you than what you realize. You are his worst nightmare! The very One that kicked him out of Heaven lives on the inside of you!

When you come face to face with financial struggles or difficulties, that trouble is facing the very image of God Himself. It's easy to be financially prosperous and successful when you know who you are in Christ Jesus. When you know who you are by having a revelation that you are the very image of God, money has no other choice but to come your way and bless you. You have authority over money. Money has to obey you when you speak to it!

I speak to money all the time. I command money to come to me. I command debts to be cancelled. I command money and money must obey my voice because I have authority over money. You do too! Glory to God! Tremendous power and authority is at your disposal, you've just got to use it.

Chapter Four

Your Position of Authority

1 John 4:17-18 Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. [18] There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.

The position that the believer holds in the Kingdom of God is a very, very high position. It is a very important place that we have been put in, in Christ. The problem is that a lot of believers haven't realized the position that they hold and the full extent of what man has been created to be in Christ Jesus. When this revelation is received in the heart of man of exactly who God has created man to be, the devil better get out of the way and look out for you. Once you find out who you are, then the devil is history (at least as far as your life is concerned).

When you realize that you have authority over all the works of the devil— sickness, disease, financial poverty, and lack on any level— then you'll be living large and in charge. The devil should not be in charge in your life. Cancer, diabetes, any type of devilish disease should not be controlling God's man (that's you), and if it is, it's because you have allowed it. Don't allow a crazy disease such as cancer tell you when you are going to die. No, you tell that disease that it cannot live in your body. Take your God-given authority over disease and put it on the run. Don't be fearful of cancer, or any other disease. There is nothing to fear about cancer or even heart disease— you have the authority, not that disease that was birthed out of the pit of hell itself.

You have been created in the very image of God Himself. You don't have to cower down in the face of a life-threatening disease. If you'll take your God given authority over whatever it is that the devil is trying to attack your physical body with, that disease must depart. It cannot stay in the body of a believer who does not allow it to stay. Disease is an unwelcome guest and must be evicted out of your life with the Word of God and your faith in that Word.

The devil has fought this revelation so hard to prevent it from getting into the hearts of the children of God so that they'll continue to live a defeated life. Satan wants you sick. Satan wants you poor and living without the financial provision that you need. The only way that the devil can keep you sick and poor is to blind you from the authority that you possess over him and all of his works. Unfortunately, the devil has even preached this poisonous doctrine in the church through preachers who have bought his lie and have "fallen prey" to this devilish deception.

God is a good God—there’s nothing bad about Him whatsoever. I get tired of hearing preachers who are supposed to be men and women of God give God such a bad rap and name. They say things like, "God has given you this cancer to glorify Him. It's God's will that you be sick. It's God's will that you be poor!"

Statements like that are totally unbiblical and couldn't be any further from the truth. The truth is that God loves you and wants you well. The truth is that God doesn't get any glory seeing you suffer with tumors sucking the life out of your body. The truth is God doesn't get excited and happy about you not being able to pay your bills and meeting your financial obligations. That isn't God at all. It never has been and will never be the will of God for your life.

If you fellowship with churches and ministries that tell you such lies, you'll always be sick and poor—and if I were you, I'd be finding somewhere else to go to church. Go somewhere that will teach you about the goodness of God and how to truly live by faith in the Word of God. Go somewhere that will teach you how to live victoriously instead of things like you're just the off scouring of the earth and are not important to God. Find you a good pastor with a spiritual backbone that's not afraid to preach and teach you the un compromised Word of God. Find you a good pastor that will lay hands on you when sickness or disease tries to attack your body and get that devilish thing out of your body. Find yourself a good pastor that will teach you the laws of sowing and reaping and will not back down when it comes to tithing and the giving of offerings. Find you a pastor that will teach you who you are in Christ Jesus, and that will teach you how to take authority over all the works of the devil and put the devil on the run.

I know statements like I just made seem hard, but they are important because I desire to see the body of Christ take their place and stop being wimps pushed around by the likes of a fallen angel called Satan. The devil is under your feet, and if he's anywhere else other than under your feet, you need to put him in his place by exercising your authority over him. You must speak to the devil and tell him to take his hands off your body. You must speak to the devil and tell him to take his hands off your family. You must speak to the devil and tell him to take his hands off of your money. You have authority over the devil. He doesn't have authority over you. The only authority that Satan has in your life is the authority that you give him—don’t give him any! As Jesus is, so are we in this world. Jesus is healed! Jesus is whole! Jesus is financially blessed! As Jesus is, so are you in this world! You don't have to wait to get to Heaven before you are free from the works of the devil. You can be just as free down here! Glory to God that excites me! If it doesn't excite you, then you need to examine your "exciter" and see what's wrong with it! God is so good!

Let's look once again at Psalm chapter 8.

Psalm 8:3-9 When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained, [4] What is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him? [5] For You have made him a little lower than the angels, and You have crowned him with glory and honor. [6] You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet, [7] All sheep and oxen even the beasts of the field, [8] The birds of the air, and the fish of the sea that pass through the paths of the seas. [9] O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is Your name in all the earth!

Let's think about this for a minute in regards to God's creation, especially the universe that exists outside of the earth. There's still a lot of unfinished business out there. There are a lot of things that have not yet been completed. Why? Because when man fell the entire universe fell as well. Everything that was under the authority and dominion of Adam fell. Everything that was under Adam's authority and control fell when Adam sinned and committed high treason against God. Man fell and the curse entered this universe before it was finished or completed. God has a lot of unfinished business out there that's waiting to be finished. There's a lot of work that still has to be done. The universe has been just sitting there in an unfinished and fallen state waiting for things to change. Man never finished his job. Man never finished God's plans for the universe.

If this wasn't true, then there wouldn't be a burning desire on the inside of man to go and travel into outer space and see what's out there. Man sends telescopes into outer space to get a closer look at the universe. Man sends unmanned vehicles to go and map the surface of other planets because there's a burning desire on the inside of man to know what's out there and finish the job that was given to him by God.

As a child, I remember sitting outside on a summer's night gazing up at the stars and wondering what in the world was up there. This has been experienced at one time or another by every person that has lived, or will ever live. Where does that desire come from? It comes from the Creator God. You were created just like God and have a burning desire on the inside of you to take your place alongside God to explore and finish the work that was started years ago.

Even people that haven't yet been born-again still have traces of God, Elohim (the Creator of all living things) residing on the inside of them wanting to go and wanting to see and wanting to do. There's still a cry even in their heart! It's not a bad thing, it's a God thing. Man wants to know about these other planets. Actually, man wants to populate these other planets. Why, you may say? Because man has been commanded by God to be fruitful and multiply. What else would you expect? Why do you think the United States developed a "space shuttle?" —for man to go into outer space to take a look and then come back and tell everybody else what he saw.

In the original plan of things when God created this universe, He didn't need a space shuttle. A space shuttle is second class transportation. Even airplanes—they are far inferior to how God intended for things to originally be. The fastest and latest technology that man possesses and uses to fly a state of- the art airplane is considered "stone-age" to God. God doesn't need an airplane or a space shuttle to go from one side of the universe to the other. It's too slow! Well, how does God get around? If He wants to be there, then He's there. God is God and can travel anyway He wants to! He's omnipresent (present everywhere). God is a Spirit and there is no distance in the spirit realm. Sometimes Jesus doesn't even bother to open the door—He just walks right through it. Man, that's the way to travel and get around!

"Pastor Wayne, do you think Adam could fly?" Only if he wanted to! After all, he was created in the image of God and so are we. Don't go getting crazy on me and jumping off a building because you think you can fly. We could be visiting you in the hospital and praying for your healing.

There is absolutely no distance in the Spirit. When you're as big as God is and you need to go somewhere, there's no distance in the Spirit to God. Why is there no distance in the Spirit? He's already there. It's the same way when you pray. It's the same way when you're in the spirit. You can pray for somebody on the other side of the world and be there with them in the spirit. There's no distance in the spirit, none whatsoever. How can that be? You're in the image of God. There's no distance in prayer. There's no distance in the spirit when it comes to things like that.

2 Corinthians 5:8 We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.

You hear this scripture used many times at funeral services, but think about this for a few minutes. Your physical body is your right or license to be here on this planet. When your body dies, your spirit man must leave this place because you no longer have a right to be here anymore. When a man dies, he's got to leave. Where does man go when he dies? Does he just kind of fl oat around and try to find where he door—He trapped between two worlds? No, not at all. When you die and leave your body, you don't become a ghost. The Bible says that when you leave your body, you are present with the Lord.

Here's something you've got to catch. We know that if you are born-again and your physical body dies, your spirit leaves its body and goes to be present with the Lord Jesus. To be absent from your body is to be present with the Lord. However, what happens when a person dies and he is not born-again is the same process, but in reverse. When you are absent from the body, you are present with YOUR lord— whoever your lord may be. If Jesus is the Lord of your life, then you are present with Him—instantly. If you've never been born-again, then Satan is your lord by default on your part. When an unsaved person dies physically, then he is also present with his lord. If your lord is the prince of darkness, then you'll be present with him. I don't know about you, but I'd much rather be with the Lord Jesus.

When a Christian dies, he is immediately in the presence of God Himself. When man's spirit leaves his body, that spirit is automatically transported or translated to be with his Lord. There's no distance in the spirit.

What is death? When we hear the word death, we automatically think that something ceases to exist, and that's not true. The Bible definition of the word death means a separation. When a man dies physically, he does not cease to exist—there is simply a separation that takes place. Man is separated from his body. That man does not cease to exist just because he left his physical body. When a man dies spiritually, that spirit of man does not cease to exist. When a man is spiritually dead (or not born-again), then that person is separated as well—separated from God, but that separation is by choice (and not on the part of God).

Jesus was the last Adam. He was not the second Adam. Don't ever use those terms about Jesus being the second Adam because if there was a second, then that means there could be a third and fourth—Jesus was the last Adam.

Jesus, the last Adam, could walk on water. How could He do this sort of thing? Because He had authority over the water—He had authority over the earth. Everything was under His control. He could walk on whatever He wanted to walk on. Jesus walked on water even in the face of opposition (the curse). Jesus understood His authority, and we must understand ours as well. The authority that has been given to the believer has been given from the Lord Jesus Himself.

"Pastor Wayne, that was the Lord Jesus. I could never do that."

Yes, that was Jesus. Let me ask you a question, who do you think you are? You're a joint heir with the Lord Jesus Christ. His authority is your authority! That's the problem—most people don't know who they are. They are as lost as a goose in a fog. You've got to know who you are.

The first Adam, Adam himself, was the exact image of God on the earth, but the first Adam messed up and sinned. Then here comes Jesus, the last Adam. The last Adam could do everything the first Adam could do. Jesus did nothing different than what the first Adam could do. Jesus could do all these things. He did it in the original state, the original, the way that God originally created things to be. That's how Jesus ministered and walked the face of this planet. He laid aside His deity when He came to earth. He was one hundred percent God, but at the same time He was one hundred percent man. Jesus laid aside all these heavenly things. He laid aside His deity and He came to earth. The Bible refers to Him as the Son of Man. Actually when you study that out it means the Son of Adam. Jesus was the last Adam.

There was nothing that Jesus did that that first man Adam didn't do. Jesus had authority, control and dominion. Jesus could do whatever He wanted to do, and He did, but He did it as the Son of Man, not the Son of God. Jesus had laid aside His deity when He came to the earth. He came to the earth and ministered as a prophet of God under the Old Testament. He didn't pick up His deity again until God raised Him from the dead.

Jesus healed the sick, not as God, but as the Son of Man (or the Son of Adam). Jesus ministered as a man of God that was anointed by God—a prophet. I'm not trying to make you think that Jesus was equal to man when He came to the earth because there was a big difference between Jesus and unborn-again man. There was a big difference between the two. The big difference was that Jesus was in the image of God (at that time) and was not separated from God. Jesus was spiritually alive unto God, whereas man was spiritually dead. Jesus was one in the spirit with God because He had not sinned or sin had not separated Him from the Father God.

It wasn't until Jesus died on the cross and the entire sin of the world was laid on Jesus that He died spiritually and became separated from God. Jesus didn't just die physically, but He died spiritually as well. He had to if He was going to redeem mankind. If He had not died and been separated from God, then we would still be separated from God. The neat part about this is that Jesus did all of this willingly. He willingly died spiritually and was separated from God so that we could all be joined together with God through Him. Jesus went to hell and paid the supreme sacrifice for man's sin. Jesus went to hell so that you and I don't have to. All we have to do is receive Jesus as our Lord and we become joined together with Him—not just in His life, but in His death (or separation from God) as well.

When you get to thinking about this, you could lay in bed all night long and not sleep a wink. The redemption of mankind is truly exciting. The born again child of God has authority over every work of the devil! That means that even financial poverty is subject to your authority. Don't let money control you, you control money. You've got authority over money. Money doesn't have authority over you. Money should not be dictating what you can and cannot do. You tell money what you're going to do and then do it. As long as you are putting the kingdom of God first in your life, all these other things will be added unto you (Matthew 6:33).

Let's turn to Hebrews chapter two.

Hebrews 2:5-6 For He has not put the world to come, of which we speak, in subjection to angels. [6] But one testified in a certain place, saying...

Notice here in verse 6 where it says, But one testified in a certain place…—one who? Who is doing the testifying here? Who is the "one" that this scripture is referring to? It's referring to an angel. One angel testified in a certain place saying ... The angel goes on to quote what we have been studying out of Psalm chapter eight. Let's read on....

Hebrews 2:5-8 For He has not put the world to come, of which we speak, in subjection to angels. [6] But one testified in a certain place, saying: "What is man that You are mindful of him, or the son of man that You take care of him? [7] You have made him a little lower than the angels (we've learned that the correct translation of this word "angels" is actually God); You have crowned him with glory and honor, and set him over the works of Your hands. [8] You have put all things in subjection under his feet." For in that He put all in subjection under him, He left nothing that is not put under him. But now we do not yet see all things put under him.

Everything that was created was put under the authority of this man that God created, including the last Adam, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. Everything was put under His dominion and under His control. There wasn't one single thing that was not subject to this authority. That's why Jesus could heal all manners of sickness and disease. If you notice that when Jesus ministered to the sick, He never laid hands on them and prayed, "Lord, if it be Your will, please heal this little child." No, He never prayed such a thing. Such prayers are contaminated with doubt and unbelief and will never bring the healing power of God on the scene. Actually, Jesus never really prayed for anybody that got physically healed or delivered from demon spirits—He just simply spoke to them and told them to be healed. In other words, He just exercised His God-given authority over all the works of the devil. He was anointed by God with burden removing, yoke destroying power that was activated and released when He spoke words of faith over those that came for healing. Some people were even healed in His ministry by simply touching the hem of His garments (Mark 5:30). Jesus walked in authority over all the works of the devil, and if He did, then you and I can as well because we have been given His authority. We simply must exercise it instead of letting it lay dormant. Everything was put under the feet of Jesus, including death. Death itself was put under His feet. Death had no authority or control over Him and it could not hold Him in the grave.

1 Corinthians 15:20-28 But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. [21] For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. [22] For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. [23] But each one in his own order: Christ the first fruits, afterward those who are Christ's at His coming. [24] Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. [25] For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. [26] The last enemy that will be destroyed is death. [27] For "He has put all things under His feet." But when He says "all things are put under Him," it is evident that He who put all things under Him is excepted. [28] Now when all things are made subject to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subject to Him who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all.

This is such a powerful passage of scripture full of revelation knowledge. The position that man currently holds is a far better position than what the first Adam had. What Adam had was glorious, but what we have now is even better because of what the Lord Jesus has done for us. The first man, Adam, was an eternal being. You've got to catch what I'm saying here by the Spirit of God. Adam's physical body was made out of the dust of the ground. He was an eternal being as long as he had God's life on the inside of him. Adam would have physically lived forever and never died, if he hadn't have sinned. He would have never subjected himself to sickness and disease. Adam, before he sinned, was not subject to death. Death had no power over him and he wouldn't have died, if he hadn't disobeyed God. He wasn't subject to all these things until sin entered in and it became a completely different ball game, so to speak.

It took Adam's body hundreds of years to actually physically die and catch up with what happened to him spiritually. When Adam sinned and fell, he spiritually died and was separated from God. Adam's physical body died because Adam first died spiritually. His physical body died because his spirit man died. Adam was not immortal. He was eternal. He could have lived forever. The physical body that he possessed would have remained intact and would have lived forever. That was a pretty good body that Adam had. Adam's body would have never deteriorated. Age would have meant nothing to Adam, until sin entered the world and death by sin.

In regards to Jesus, Who was the last Adam, God kicked it up a notch. Let's go back and read a little more.

1 Corinthians 15:45-49 (New Living Translation) The Scriptures tell us, "The first man, Adam, became a living person." But the last Adam that is, Christ is a life-giving Spirit. [46] What came first was the natural body, then the spiritual body comes later. [47] Adam, the first man, was made from the dust of the earth, while Christ, the second (or last) man, came from heaven. [48] Every human being has an earthly body just like Adam's, but our heavenly bodies will be just like Christ's. [49] Just as we are now like Adam, the man of the earth, so we will someday be like Christ, the man from heaven.

Now we're seeing something a little bit different from what existed before in the first Adam. Your physical body will die, should Jesus tarry and you not go up in the rapture of the church. Your physical body will return to the dust if your physical body dies before you are joined together with the Lord. We have been born of the image of the man of the dust (the first Adam), and because we have been born of the image of the man of the dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly man (the Lord Jesus). What's the difference, you may ask. Actually, a big one...

1 Corinthians 15:50-55 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. [51] Behold, I tell you a mystery: (he's telling us a little secret here) we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed— [52] in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. [53] For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. [54] So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: "Death is swallowed up in victory." [55] "O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?"

When the trumpet sounds, the dead will be raised. Raised to what? Raised incorruptible, which means that it is no longer subject to corruption— not subject to death. When Jesus was raised from the dead, His corruptible body put on incorruption and that which was subject to death is no longer subject to death. It has put on incorruption— His body cannot be corrupted by sin and death. Jesus died once and He'll not have to do it again. The physical body that Jesus once had died, but it will never die again. Why? It has been glorified. Corruption has put on incorruption. Think about this, as He is, so are we in this world!

If Jesus got a glorified body, then you and I get a glorified body as well. Everything that He's got, we've got (or will get). Mortal means that you are subject to death. When mortality puts on immortality, then it means that you are no longer subject to death. You and I are going to get the same kind of body that Jesus has! Glory to God!

The same thing that Jesus does today in His body, we will do as well when we receive our new glorified bodies at the rapture of the church. The body that Jesus has is glorified, and with it He is able to walk through walls and doors. Pretty soon, we'll be able to do the same thing. Don't try this now because you may break your nose! You've got to wait until your body gets glorified—praise God, that day is coming!

The last Adam, Jesus, has made provision for us to be in a higher place than the first Adam was. How dare that crazy devil even think about putting a devilish disease on your physical body! How dare that devil try to keep you in financial lack and hold on to your money! When you find out who you are in Christ Jesus, sickness and disease and poverty and lack will become a thing of the past.

This corruptible must put on incorruption and this mortality must put on immortality. So when this corruption has put on incorruption and this mortality has put on immortality, then shall it be brought to pass the saying that is written, death is swallowed up in victory. Oh death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory? That's where we're headed. As He is, so are we in this world. You have a glorified body that is coming to you that is far better than the one that you've got right now. The one that you've got right now has a tendency to wear out. It has a tendency to get tired. It has a tendency that the tread seems to wear out on it, but that new one you've got coming will never wear out. Mortality is putting on immortality. When you get this new glorified body, you'll never die, just like Jesus. This is the very image of God, which is the image of life Himself. Glory!

I tell you what—if that doesn't get you excited then your"exciter" is broken and needs to be fixed. We have been set free by the blood of Jesus! His blood (spiritually speaking) has become our blood—we’ve received a spiritual blood transfusion. The blood that Jesus had fl owing through His veins was different from your blood and mine. Your blood and my blood are corruptible. The blood of Jesus is not subject to corruption as it is full of the life of God Himself. Jesus had different blood than you and I do. His blood was different. That's how we got redeemed. His blood was holy blood. It was blood that belonged to the Father Himself. Jesus had the very blood of God fl owing through His veins—it was blood that was uncontaminated. It was blood that was incorruptible. It was blood that was not subject to death.

When a baby is formed in the womb of its mother the blood that that baby receives is not from its mother. The blood of that little baby comes from its father; it doesn't come from its mother. The mother has nothing to do with it. The blood of that little baby is totally separate from the mother's blood supply. The blood comes from the father.

The blood that Adam had became tainted blood—tainted with sin. The blood of the first Adam became contaminated and was subject to death. The Bible tells us that the life of the flesh is in the blood (Leviticus 17:11). Adam's blood was subject to death, and because of that, his flesh eventually died. It had to die. It had no other choice being contaminated with sin, sickness, and disease.

The blood of Jesus was completely different from Adam's blood. His blood was not of this world. His blood was totally different. His blood came from His Father, God. It was the very blood of God Himself. Now the body, the body was exactly like Adam's. It was from the dust of the ground. It was exactly like Adam's. The body of Jesus was like your body and mine (before He died), because it came from Mary. The egg was in and of Mary, but the Holy Ghost came on Mary and Mary conceived and became pregnant by the Holy Spirit. The egg in Mary's womb was fertilized by the Holy Ghost! The life in Jesus' flesh came from His blood and the blood that He had fl owing through His veins came from God Himself. The blood of Jesus was not contaminated with sin, sickness, or disease. It was full of life—the very life of God Himself.

Jesus would have never physically died unless He laid His life down and allowed His blood to be spilled out. That's the only way that Jesus could have died. He would have lived forever in that physical body because He was full of the blood of God—the very life of God. If Jesus had not laid His life down, He would still be physically alive on the earth today in that very same body.

That revelation will make the hair stand straight up on the back of your neck. That is so awesomely powerful. That's why we are healed by the blood of Jesus. It's the blood of Jesus that provides healing for our physical bodies.

1 Peter 2:24 Who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed.

Jesus laid His life down willingly. If He hadn't done that, then they could have never killed Him. He had to let them kill Him. Now that is love—the love of God towards you and me making a way for our salvation. Jesus was even raised from the dead by the power of His very own blood that He had shed three days prior. Glory to God! Now that's power!

I love to plead the blood of Jesus, and you should as well. Know what you are saying when you"plead the blood." If you'll plead the blood of Jesus over your physical body, it will be healed. If you'll begin to plead the blood over your finances, they'll be healed as well. The blood of Jesus has made provision for our prosperity in every area of our lives. Our salvation was all inclusive. Jesus didn't do a halfway job when it came to our salvation. He didn't just provide salvation for our spirits from a devil's hell. He provided salvation for us in our physical bodies as well. As He is, so are we in this world.

Chapter Five

Authority and the Anointing

1 John 4:17 Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world.

When you begin to study the Word of God in regards to the authority that the Christian possesses in Christ and you begin to apply that revelation into your life, life as you know it totally changes. The depth of the authority that God put in His man is sometimes mind boggling. You must take your time studying the scriptures and allow what you read to seep down deep into your spirit man, so that Word can truly make a difference in your life. God's Word of victory works in your life when you work the Word. This teaching on the authority and dominion of man is our foundation for every victory that we've ever experienced or will experience in the future.

In this chapter I want us to look at our authority in regards to the anointing of God. The anointing of God is the power of God it is burden removing, yoke destroying power. If something has you burdened or yoked down in life, the way that you can get free of this is through the anointing of God. If you are ever going to walk in the anointing of God in your life, then you must understand authority. If you don't understand your authority, God will not be able to let His anointing flow in and through your life.

Hebrews 2:5-6 For He has not put the world to come, of which we speak, in subjection to angels. [6] But one testified in a certain place, saying: "What is man that You are mindful of him, Or the son of man that You take care of him? [7] You have made him a little lower than the angels; You have crowned him with glory and honor, and set him over the works of Your hands. [8] You have put all things in subjection under his feet."

Everything has been placed under your feet. Everything means everything. Everything is all inclusive. If everything has been put in subjection under our feet, then that leaves nothing that isn't subject to that authority sickness and disease, poverty and lack even every demon of hell is subject to your authority. That's not hard to figure out at all.

God's Word is the seed of the image that reproduced Himself. You have to let that get into your heart or spirit. All of God's DNA, the building blocks of life, was in that Word that was used when man was created. Man was not created and then given authority as an afterthought. No, the authority came as a result of being created in God's image. There is something here that is very important for us to understand regarding this authority that has been trusted into our hands there are a few rules or guidelines that God gave His man when He created him. Let's go back again to the book of Genesis and look at the command that God gave man.

Genesis 2:16-17 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, "Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; [17] but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die."

This scripture is a command that God was giving His man. This command was not optional, it was a command. God's commands are commands and they are meant to be obeyed when God gives them. If you don't obey a command of God, then you'll get yourself falling into deep trouble.

God commanded man to eat of every fruit in the garden except for the fruit that came from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God told man that in the day that he disobeyed Him and ate of the fruit of this one particular tree, he would die. Did you ever wonder why man would die if he ate of this particular fruit? Was there something mystical or magical about the fruit that was on this particular tree? To the eye, this tree that God told man to leave alone appeared to be completely harmless. In fact, it looked like all the other trees of the garden. There wasn't a thing different about that tree as far as you walking up to it and looking at it, and even eating of its fruit. The fruit on this tree wasn't bad fruit, it was good fruit. It was sweet and good to eat. This forbidden tree was just like all the other trees, except for one thing. This tree and all of its fruit belonged to God. This was God's tree and the fruit on that tree was God's fruit. This fruit was the first fruit it had been set aside by God for God. This was God's tree and if you partake of this tree, of this first fruit (because this tree had been set aside for God) then the day that you do that, you will surely die. Can you see how powerful this is? This book isn't about the "first fruit," but this is a very powerful spiritual law that must be recognized and understood.

Adam didn't heed the command that had been given to him by his Creator. He turned loose of this command that God had spoken to him. Adam accepted what Satan said over in chapter three of Genesis. Let's look at this.

Genesis 3:1-5 Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, "Has God indeed said,You shall not eat of every tree of the garden ?" [2] And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; [3] but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die." [4] Then the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die. [5] For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."

Here we have the devil doing exactly what he does best deceiving. Here's my paraphrase of what Satan is saying to God's creation "Go ahead and eat this, God's trying to pull a fast one on you because He doesn't want you to be like He is knowing good and evil. God doesn't want you to be like Him, but if you'll eat this fruit, you will be."

How stupid can you get?! A good friend of mine always says that the devil has the worst case of Alzheimer's disease that he's ever seen. Personally, I agree with him. The devil is so stupid, stupid, stupid! That was a really dumb statement that Satan made to Eve, but unfortunately, Eve fell for it and was deceived, but Adam wasn't deceived. Adam just outright rebelled and committed high treason against the Almighty. Man was already like God; after all, he was created in God's image. Man was created to be like God in the earth. Eating of the fruit of that tree wasn't going to make them any more like God, because they already were! Man wasn't just a little bit like his Creator; he was the image of the Creator. Man didn't have just a few similarities of being like God; he was the image of God Himself. Man was already like God, who was his Father. Man possessed the same authority and dominion that God Himself did. He couldn't become any more like God than he already was.

Let me tell you something here, Adam was not deceived. Eve was deceived, but Adam was not deceived. Verse 6 says that they were together.

Genesis 3:6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.

Adam was right there beside Eve when all of this was transpiring and going on. Adam wasn't out watering the flowers or tiptoeing through the tulips. He was right there with his wife the whole time. Adam didn't do one single thing here that God told him to do. God not only told Adam not to do something, God also created him to do something and Adam didn't do it.

Genesis 2:15 (Amplified Bible) And the Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to tend and guard and keep it.

God not only told Adam to not eat of the fruit of the tree that was in the midst of the garden, God told Adam to guard the garden, but he didn't do it. God created Adam to be in authority and to have dominion in the earth and here comes this snake possessed by Satan himself challenging God to His highest creation. The devil doesn't know any new tricks. He does the very same thing today. He loves to challenge what God has said to get man's life out of focus from God's Word. Satan does his best to get man from believing God's Word to believing his word.

You can't listen to the devil. There is no truth in him whatsoever. He'll lead you astray every time. Here comes this snake possessed by the devil himself and he begins to challenge what God has said to His man. Adam had every bit of the authority he needed in order to put the devil in his place, but he didn't do it. Adam had dominion over that snake, but he didn't exercise it at all. Adam should have taken his authority over that thing and put it in its place, but he didn't and the rest is history.

Can you see where this can be applicable to today's life? There are many things that come against us today that we don't have to put up with that we shouldn't put up with, but we do anyway. We have a responsibility given to us by God himself to exercise our authority and dominion and put these things that exalt themselves up against the knowledge of God on the run. We have a responsibility to cast down these things that exalt themselves up against what God's Word says.

This snake had its life in and from God. The very life of God was in this snake, because Adam was the one who gave that snake life in the first place. The life that was in this snake (from God) was given to this snake from Adam himself. Adam was this snake's god. This snake challenged the God that was in Adam and Adam should have put it in its place, but he didn't. Instead of Adam being the snake's god or ruler, he just stood there and he allowed this thing to make him look like a total fool. Adam should have exercised his authority and dominion over that devil who was possessing one of God's creatures and cast it out of him. The devil had no business in that snake's body because that snake belonged to God.

Genesis 3:14 So the Lord God said to the serpent: "Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all cattle, and more than every beast of the field; on your belly you shall go, and you shall eat dust all the days of your life.

Snakes used to stand upright. How did they do that? I have no earthly idea, but they did. The snakes used to stand upright, but then after all this happened, when the curse came in, these things didn't stand upright anymore. No longer can snakes stand upright. They have to crawl in the dust and eat dust. That's what they need to be doing anyway, right? The devil needs to be eating dust, especially yours!

The very minute that Adam listened to the snake and decided to disobey God, Adam was born again. Adam was the very first man to be born again. He was born again from life to death. Because of his disobedience to the command of God and not exercising his authority in the earth like he had been commanded by God to do, he was born again. The same spiritual process that took place in the creation of man "man be" and man became another speaking spirit just like God the same process took place again. When Adam received the words of the devil that had been spoken to him, Adam was born from life to death and recreated in the image of something other than God. Adam was born again and recreated in the image of his new god, Satan. Adam was born again into the image of Satan himself. He was originally in the image of God. He was created in the image of God and now when he received those words and he disobeyed God, he was born from life to death. He was recreated in the image of his lord. That's pretty heavy isn't it? But this time he fell big time, and man oh man, what a fall it was. It wasn't just a little trip and a skinned knee. No, man fell flat on his face this was a major catastrophe. Adam fell and great was the fall.

Adam fell and bowed his knee to a fallen angel, to an angel. An angel is not even in the God class. Remember, man was created a little lower than God Himself. Angels were below man and now man is bowing his knee to something that was created lower than himself. Adam crowned Satan as the god of this world a fallen angel. Adam gave this fallen angel the authority and the dominion that God had given him in the earth. Adam transferred that ownership to Satan. Adam gave it all away to this fallen angel named Satan. When man fell, great was the fall. Not only did man fall, but the entire creation fell as well. Everything that was under Adam's authority and dominion fell.

When Adam bowed his knee to Satan and sinned against God, Adam was recreated in the image of his new god Satan. Instead of Adam being the image of God, now he's the very image of Satan himself in the earth. Adam was now spiritually dead and separated from God in every sense of the word. That's what death means. It's a separation. Death does not mean to cease to exist. It simply means a separation has taken place. That's what sin does. It separates you from God. Adam died he became separated from God and the image that he was originally created in. Adam took on a new image, the image of his new lord, Satan. Even if Adam wanted to change his mind, he couldn't. It was too late. He couldn't go back. Why couldn't he go back? His new god, Satan, wouldn't let him go. He was stuck between a rock and a hard place. He couldn't go anywhere. Satan wasn't going to let him go back because Satan now had what he had been wanting for a long time man's position.

I realize that all of this is pretty sobering. When Adam fell, he became a servant, or we could even put it this way, a slave of death. Adam became a slave of Satan instead of being an heir and servant of God. Adam became a slave of death and the god of death himself, instead of being a servant of the God of life. Now, instead of Adam being fruitful and multiplying the life of God here on this planet, he's being fruitful and multiplying death, or separation from God.

The very nature of Satan himself everything about Satan came into God's man, Adam, when he sinned and fell. Instead of Adam possessing the very life and nature of God, now he possessed the very death and nature of Satan. Adam became separated from God and was spiritually dead to his original Creator. Adam was now in darkness, instead of being in the light. Remember, the Bible says that God is light. If God is light, then Satan is darkness. Satan is of the darkness the same way that God is of the light. Satan is the prince of darkness.

What happened here was this man was originally created in the image of God. He was created in the image of that light, and when sin came in because of man's disobedience, he was recreated in the image of darkness and everything that goes along with that darkness. Everything that lurked in the darkness now lurked in Adam. There are all kinds of devilish things that lurk in the darkness. Cancer lurks in the darkness. All disease lurks in the darkness. Financial poverty and lack lurk in the darkness. Adam opened mankind up to receive everything that comes along as being part of the kingdom of darkness because Adam sinned and allowed his light to go out and be extinguished. Darkness didn't put out Adam's light because darkness is not more powerful than light. Adam blew his light out on purpose willingly. Adam's actions were deliberate. It was a choice that Adam had made. It was a deliberate act and now the light that was in Adam has gone out.

Have you ever blown out a candle? I'm sure that you have. Have you ever blown out a candle in a dark room? Once that candle goes out, darkness prevails because there's no light to run out the darkness. Adam was the light of the world. The light that was on the inside of Adam, when he crowned Satan and made Satan his lord, he blew out the candle of God's light in his life and allowed darkness to be in charge. Adam allowed the earth to be flooded with darkness. The light of God that was on the inside of Adam went out and the Spirit of God Himself departed. The Holy Spirit left this place when Adam sinned. He had to go because He no longer had a right to be here, even though He created this place and this place belonged to Him. God had given Adam charge over this place. Adam was in charge of it all and Adam turned it over to somebody else. Even though God owned it, Adam gave it to somebody else. When this turnover happened, God had to leave. When God left this place, the light left as well. Out of this one man, Adam, because of his disobedience, the curse came and flooded this planet. We talked about this in previous chapters. Out of this one man, came the curse of darkness which cursed this planet and this entire universe, all the way up unto but not including the throne of God. That is pretty heavy when you think about it.

Adam allowed his light to be extinguished and the Spirit of God Himself left this planet because He was no longer welcome here. Man's disobedience caused Him to leave. The Holy Spirit was kicked out of this planet and didn't return again to dwell here until Acts chapter two. He didn't come back to this planet to live until we read about those fl ames of fire coming back on the day of Pentecost in the Upper Room. The Holy Ghost came back into this earth with a vengeance upon the kingdom of darkness and everything that lurks in the darkness. There's nothing more powerful than the light of God Himself coming through the life of a believer who chooses to stand on God's Word and not give place to the kingdom of darkness. Jesus died on the cross and provided man a means of redemption for this man to come back into the kingdom of light, which is the kingdom of God.

Romans 5:12 Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned

Romans 5:12 (New Living Translation) When Adam sinned, sin entered the entire human race. Adam's sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned.

When Adam sinned and disobeyed God, the curse hit this place like a freight train going downhill and full steam ahead. There was absolutely no stopping it whatsoever. That's how hard this thing hit the entire human race. The human race, those born after Adam, were joint heirs with Adam and all the death or separation from God that Adam possessed. Everything that Adam possessed, we (unborn-again man) inherited.

When Jesus came and paid the supreme sacrifice for man's sin and disobedience, He provided man an opportunity to become a joint-heir with Him and to receive all that God had to offer life and light in all its fullness, free from financial poverty and all sickness and disease. As a joint heir with Jesus, we have inherited all of His health. As a joint-heir with Jesus, we have inherited all of Heaven's financial resources as well. If you are born-again, then all of Heaven is at your disposal. You have a right to it by inheritance.

Do you realize who defeated Satan and set man free from sin and death? A man a man did this for you and me, but not just any man. His name is Jesus! Jesus the last Adam defeated Satan in his own backyard. Jesus uprooted Satan's seat of authority. Jesus defeated Satan as the Son of Man, not as the Son of God. Jesus set aside His deity when He came to earth and entered this earth as the Son of Man. Jesus was one hundred percent man, and yet at the same time He was one hundred percent God! Glory! If that doesn't get you excited then you need to have your "exciter" examined. Jesus defeated Satan as the Son of Man. He couldn't have defeated him any other way because it would have been illegal for Him to come to this planet as the Son of God. He would have been here illegally because Adam took away that right. Jesus had to come as the Son of Man (the son of Adam) and strip Satan of his power. Satan has no power over the born-again believer whose life is hidden with Christ in God.

I heard this said in class one day while attending RHEMA Bible Training Center. I don't remember who said it, but I would like to share it with you. God formed us. Satan deformed us. Christ transformed us. Glory!

No longer are we deformed! We've been born again! There are no spiritual birth defects in the kingdom of God. Everybody has the same authority and dominion. Everybody has the same anointing available to them. Not everybody walks in the light of this revelation, but it is available.

The authority of God and the anointing of God go hand in hand. The authority of God is the anointing of God. You're going to have to let that sink into your heart and think about it for a while. There's absolutely nothing that can withstand the power of the anointing of God. It is burden removing, yoke destroying power. Satan cannot stand up against that anointing.

Originally, Adam walked in the anointing of God. He was actually clothed with it. The anointing of God was on his life and Satan didn't stand a chance against Adam, as long as he was walking under that authority of the anointing. The only way that Satan could defeat Adam was to get him to step out from underneath that anointing that was on his life. The only way Satan could defeat Adam was to get him to disobey God or the anointing that was in and on his life. Satan knew that he didn't have a chance against man that was created in God's image as long as he remained in God's anointing. Satan couldn't defeat him any other way. Adam was clothed in the anointing and authority of God. A fallen angel was powerless against such power and authority. Satan had to convince Adam to lay that aside so that he could defeat him. That's the only way that Satan could win in this fight, but he did succeed. Satan had to get man to step out of that anointing and to relinquish that authority and dominion and give it over to him in order for him to win. That's the way that Satan won.

If you show me a Christian who knows his authority in Christ Jesus, then I'll show you a believer who is anointed with the very presence and power of God Himself. I'll show you a believer who is walking in his God-given rights and privileges of being part of the kingdom of light, the kingdom of God. The anointing is the believer's armor of light. There's nothing more powerful than that armor. Not only is it a defensive weapon to ward off the devil's attacks on your personal life, but it's an offensive weapon that you can use to remove burdens and destroy yokes in the lives of many others. The devil hates that believer who has a revelation of his authority and the anointing of God because he is a threat to his kingdom. Glory to God! That's a good place to shout! The authority of God and the anointing of God go hand in hand. You have to understand your authority in order to walk in the anointing of God. You have to understand the anointing of God in order to walk in your authority. Look at this in Genesis chapter three.

Genesis 3:7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.

What is this scripture talking about right here when it says that their eyes were opened and they realized they were "naked"? What does naked mean? It means that you're uncovered or bare. It means that you aren't wearing any clothes. It means that you are unarmed and defenseless. It means that you are open and exposed. Adam realized after he sinned that he was naked. He realized that he was uncovered and bare. He realized that he wasn't wearing any clothes, both spiritually and naturally. He realized that he was unarmed and defenseless against any attack of the enemy. He realized that he was now totally open and exposed to the powers of darkness sin and death.

Before Adam and Eve sinned, they were naturally naked, but at the same time they were clothed. In the natural, Adam and Eve up until this point didn't need any clothing. Why? They were clothed with the anointing and presence of God Himself. They were clothed with the anointing and the authority of God from the inside out. They wore the anointing as clothing it covered them the same way that we now have to put on a pair of jeans to keep people from seeing things that we don't want them to see. Adam and Eve were not exposed at all before they sinned. They had nothing to be embarrassed about when they walked around in the garden because nobody could see anything except the anointing of God on their lives. That's awesome! They wore the very same clothes that God Himself wears. These clothes were their defense against the elements. These clothes protected them from any attack. They wore God's clothes they had to, because they were created in God's image. God wears a robe of righteousness. What do you think that righteousness is? It's the anointing of God. It's a righteous thing. You cannot wear the anointing of God unless you are in right standing with God. The anointing of God is a holy trust. Don't ever violate that trust because you'll lose your spiritual clothes, and possibly your natural ones as well.

When Adam sinned, he lost his clothes. He lost everything including the shirt on his back and even his underwear. He was stripped naked of everything. Adam's eyes were opened when this happened and he was afraid. Why was he afraid? What's going on here? Adam had to turn to the arm of the flesh and make some clothes out of leaves because he gave his away. It really wasn't a good move on Adam's part, but it was perfectly legal. Adam couldn't visit his local mall and buy a new suit, because there was no need for clothing stores at that point in their lives. An Armani suit is nothing compared to the anointing of God. Adam had to make some clothes. He had to sew some fig leaves together and try to cover himself because he was exposed. Adam had to try his best to cover himself up, but he couldn't. Yes, he covered himself naturally, but these new clothes were inferior to the ones that he previously owned. These new clothes had to be worn on the outside; the previous ones were spiritually clothing him from the inside out. Natural clothes cannot cover you spiritually. That's why God has told us in Ephesians chapter six to put on the armor of God that we may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. Natural clothes won't protect you against a spiritual enemy.

God has provided a means for us to wear His clothes again. The armor of God is God's clothing. When we are wearing God's clothing, then we're covered. When the devil sees you walking down the road with God's clothes on, as far as he can tell you appear to him to be God Himself because you're wearing His clothes.

Some people teach about putting on the armor of God everyday when you wake up in the morning so that you'll have a successful day. That's fine and good and I see the point that these ministers are trying to make. However, I tend to look at this a little differently. I don't believe in putting the armor of God on everyday, because if I put it on everyday, that means that at some point in my day I'm taking it off. I don't know about you, but I don't want to get caught without my clothes on ever again. Those days are over. I'm going to put on the armor of God and I'm going to keep it on. I'll sleep in it, take a shower in it, drive my car in it whatever I do, I will do wearing my spiritual clothes. I want to be covered and prepared at all times so that I may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

When you come up against the devil and you're wearing God's clothes, you're wearing a robe of righteousness. You're wearing the anointing of God. You're clothed with the very authority of God Himself and the devil doesn't stand a chance. When the devil sees you wearing God's clothes, all he sees is God! This is a good place to take a little break and run around the room and shout hallelujah!

Here's the trap that Adam fell into in regards to his clothes. Adam became too familiar with the anointing. He became too familiar with his clothes. He got too used to wearing them and took them for granted. He was so used to wearing God's clothes that he forgot he had them on and that's one thing you should never do when you are wearing God's clothes. Don't forget God's clothes belong to God. Treat them with respect and don't wear them in places you have no business going. Don't wear them out in the dirt and filth of this world and stain them all up. Respect God's clothes and take good care of them, because in the long run they'll take good care of you. Don't become too familiar with the anointing of God that you lose it. The anointing of God is a holy trust. Protect yourself in it, and by doing so, the anointing will protect you from every onslaught of the devil.

Here's something else for you to think about. Don't allow yourself to become too familiar with those that God has placed in and over your life spiritually especially your pastors. God has placed your pastors in your life to oversee your spiritual well being. Don't get so familiar with them that you fail to receive from the anointing that is upon their lives to remove burdens and destroy yokes in your life. Your pastors are your spiritual parents. They have been given to you by God Himself be sure you respect them as such. Spiritual authority has nothing to do with natural age. It's a spiritual thing. Your pastors could be older than you naturally, or they could be younger but the bottom line is they are anointed by God to stand in the place of spiritual authority in your life. Don't ever take your pastors for granted. Always honor them and give them their proper place in your life and you'll never go wrong.

Your spiritual parents can be younger than you. Realize that it's a spiritual thing it's an anointing thing. There are many people that are a part of my ministry that are naturally older than I am, but I am their spiritual father. Some of them even address me as such from time to time. In the natural, it may sound kind of strange, but in the spirit, it's music to God's ears and pleasing in His sight. If you'll always remember that, you'll stay out of trouble and your pastor will always be able to speak into your life and help you when help is needed the most. If you don't respect and honor him because he may be younger than you, then you're asking for big trouble in your life. You're opening yourself up to the enemy and will miss out on God's best. Don't ever allow that to happen.

When Adam sinned, carried out the highest form of treason against God, God no longer had authority in the earth through his man, Adam. Consequently, what happened here was God had to leave. He couldn't stay here any longer. He had to leave. Adam became separated from God and he died in every sense of the word. Adam lost the anointing of God. Adam lost the authority of God. He lost it all. The anointing of God left when God left. When God left He took His clothes with Him.

When you think about this and how Adam screwed up and committed this high treason against God, you wonder why didn't God just destroy the old Adam and create another man. Why didn't God just start all over again? Why didn't God just wipe the first man out and say, "Let's try this again." Why didn't God do that? God couldn't have done it even if He tried. It was truly an impossible task. Why was it impossible, you may ask? If you remember from our previous studies, we learned that when Adam sinned everything came under the curse and fell. Everything was cursed. God couldn't create another man because even the ground itself was cursed. God formed man's body out of the dust of the ground. If that ground is cursed, then God can't create another body to put His man in.

Think about this. We know from the Word of God that God is a consuming fire. When God shows up on the scene, things that aren't holy get consumed. Sin cannot stand in the presence of God because the fire of God's presence will consume and destroy it. When God shows up, things get scorched at least those things that aren't righteous and in right standing with Him. The holy anointing of God is a very powerful force and anything that has been tainted with sin cannot withstand that power. Something will have to give and it won't be the anointing.

When God showed up back in the Old Testament and came down to earth and visited man on top of Mount Sinai, the top of that mountain was burned to a crisp. The ground had fallen under a curse because of sin. Sin tainted the earth and when the presence of God came in contact with that mountain, that mountain caught on fire. God wasn't burning the mountain just to show off and have some really cool special effects to show everybody how terrible and powerful He was. No way. That fire came and the so-called special effects came as a result of the holiness of God coming in contact with something that wasn't so holy. God is a holy God and anything that is unholy will be consumed by His holiness.

God wanted to have a relationship with man so desperately that He didn't care if He burned up the mountain. He wanted to be with His man and have a relationship and fellowship with him. He just wanted to be back here on this planet to be with His most precious creation. He was wanting somebody to talk to, but He knew that He had to be very careful. He couldn't just show up at man's front door and come in unannounced and sit on man's sofa. If He did that, that house would explode under the holiness of God's presence.

If God had even tried to create another man, it wouldn't have worked. The very moment that He released His presence and breathed the breath of life into that new potential body that had been formed out of the dust of the ground, it would have exploded under the righteous power of God's holy presence. Why? The earth was under the curse the ground was cursed. That cursed ground which formed man's body couldn't handle the fullness of God's anointing. It would have self-destruct in an instant.

Look at Heaven. God lives in Heaven and Heaven isn't consumed by His presence. Why? There's no sin there because God won't allow it He's holy and righteous! Angels don't self-destruct when they come into God's presence because they are holy and righteous. The unholy angels were kicked out of Heaven along with Lucifer himself. The mountains in Heaven aren't on fire. Why? The ground there isn't under the curse. Heaven is a righteous place and holy and can withstand the presence of God. There's nothing in Heaven that burns up in God's presence. If it did, God wouldn't have any place to live and abide.

This all consuming God this holy and righteous God this powerful God lives on the inside of the born-again believer. He abides in the Christian. This all consuming fire lives on the inside of you and on the inside of me. Think about that the next time that sickness tries to attack your body. If you have a revelation of your authority in Christ Jesus and a revelation of who lives on the inside of you, sickness and disease will not be able to stand in your presence either. Glory to God, that's exciting! The fire of God consumes anything that is connected with sin. Sickness and disease all entered this world because of sin. Cancer cannot withstand the glory of God because God's presence consumes it instantly. Hallelujah! This power is available to you and me, but it's tapped into by faith. The power is there and resident on the inside, but it only answers to the call of faith.

Jesus won our clothes back. Adam lost our clothes, but the last Adam, Jesus, got our clothes back. By faith, we can once again be clothed with the very presence of God Himself. That doesn't mean that you don't have to wear your clothes the next time you go to the grocery store. No, you better put on some clothes or you'll be arrested. Spiritually speaking, however, Jesus paid the ultimate price so that God's man could once again have the opportunity to be clothed in God's righteous, holy anointing. Glory to God!

As believers, we must learn how to walk in and release God's holy presence in our lives and in the lives of those that we come in contact with on a daily basis. When the believer learns how to yield to this power on the inside of him, he can lay hands on the sick and see the sick recover. Yes, because of our authority and because of the name of Jesus but also because of the Greater One Himself living on the inside of us.

1 John 4:4 You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.

The Christian believer ought to be stirring up trouble for the devil wherever they go because of the Greater One living on the inside of them. If things aren't happening around you and people aren't getting healed, then maybe you aren't hooked up the way you should be. Something is wrong somewhere and you need to find out where the problem is. Are you a believer? If you are, then signs ought to be following you signs of the goodness of God signs of people getting healed and set free from whatever it is that has kept them in chains of darkness. This power is available to everybody, but it's received by faith. You must allow this revelation to explode in your heart because when you do, not only will your life never be the same, but the lives of untold others will be affected as well.

Have you ever been to a church service and seen the minister lay hands on people in a prayer line and wonder why some of them fell down on the floor? It's because of the holy presence of God. When the supernatural presence of God's holy anointing comes in contact with this natural realm, something has got to give, and it's sure not going to be the supernatural. That's why you see people fall out on the floor. It's because of the presence of God. The anointing of God will cause you to hit the floor.

I've heard about many of the great stories of the late Kathryn Kuhlman who was truly a woman who knew God's presence. God's presence literally surrounded her. Sometimes as she would walk through the kitchens of hotel ballrooms after leaving a service where she had just ministered, the kitchen workers (who were probably unsaved) would fall out under the power of God as she walked by. That, my friend, is the power of God's holy presence and we're seeing more and more of these types of things happen especially in these last days before Jesus comes back to take us all home. One day this thing is all going to wrap up and Jesus is coming back to get His church. Make sure you're ready and living a holy life. Don't give place to sin and the devil. Give place to God's presence in your life. The rewards are literally out of this world!

God cannot release this kind of power in the life of a Christian who is tolerating sin. Carnal believers cannot walk in this kind of authority and power. There's no more room for carnality in the life of the end-time believer. It's time that all believers get their lives together and begin to live a life of holiness. God wants you walking in His authority and in His power, but it can only be trusted to those who are living holy lives. Be somebody that God can trust. The anointing of God is a holy trust. Be one that walks in love and is slow to anger, just like God. Be one who loves his neighbor just like himself just like God does. You have to be trusted in order to handle such power in your life. It's available to everybody, especially you if you're a believer.

There is an anointing to prosper financially. When the consuming fire of God's presence gets on your finances, your finances will never be the same again because they'll increase. When the anointing of God comes face to face with your debt, that debt will be removed. Glory to God! You've even got to be trustworthy financially. If you want to prosper financially, then you need to be obeying God's Word in the area of your finances. Tithing is not an option for the Christian. It's a commandment.

When the anointing of God gets on your marriage, your marriage will never be the same. Your marriage will be one that is made in Heaven! When the anointing of God is on your life, family members will see it and want what you have. God's presence is so powerful and yet so wonderful. When you get a taste of God's presence, a little is not enough. You'll always want more and more. The good news is that you can have more and more. God wants to give each of us that will draw close to Him as much as we can contain of Him. I don't know about you, but I want what I can get of God in my life. He's so wonderful!

Chapter Six

The New Man

2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

The key word here is "if." It's such a small word with such a big meaning. If you are in Christ Jesus, then your old life has passed away and you have become a brand new creation. That is what it means to be born-again. Your spirit man is born from death to life.

2 Corinthians 5:17 (The Living Bible) When someone becomes a Christian, he becomes a brand new person inside. He is not the same anymore. A new life has begun!

When Jesus comes into your life, you are a brand new person on the inside. You're not the same anymore because you have a brand new lease on life—a lease that never expires or runs out. Look at this next verse of scripture.

2 Corinthians 5:21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

God made Jesus who knew no sin to be sin for you and for me. God made Jesus to be sin so that you and I might become the righteousness of God in Jesus. When a person gets born-again he's no longer an old sinner because he gets saved by grace. There are many people that teach that Christians are nothing more than old sinners that are saved by grace, and that couldn't be any further from the truth. A Christian is not a sinner that is saved by grace because you are talking about two different things. A Christian and a sinner are two different people. A Christian is born again and is no longer a sinner because he's been saved by grace. A sinner hasn't been saved, therefore he's still a sinner and without God. Once Jesus comes into your heart, you are a brand new creation. You used to be an old sinner, but now you're saved by grace! Glory! The born-again believer now has the very righteousness of God available to him. Your old righteousness is as filthy rags, but your new one is fresh, pure, and holy because it has been given to you from your elder brother the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. His righteousness has become your right As teousness by inheritance. When you begin to see yourself as the righteousness of God, your life totally changes. As the righteousness of God, you have available to you everything that Jesus has—health, wealth—prosperity in every area of your life. This is God's will for the believer's life. You don't have to be sick and you sure don't have to be poor anymore.

1 Corinthians 15:22 For as in Adam all die even so in Christ all shall be made alive.

1 Corinthians 15:22 (New Living Translation)Everyone dies because all of us are related to Adam, the first man. But all who are related to Christ, the other man, will be given new life.

This is the gospel message in a nutshell. Everybody dies in Adam, but in Jesus we all come alive because He gives us His life.

Romans 6:4-5 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. [5] For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection,

You really need to think about these verses of scripture. If we have been united together with Him (Jesus) who knew no sin—united together in His death, then we are also united together with Him in His life—and what a life Jesus has! It's a good one at that!

Jesus laid aside His deity and came to earth as the Son of Man who knew no sin. Jesus never sinned a day in His life. Jesus came to earth and took on our likeness—the likeness of sinful man. Jesus laid aside His likeness (temporarily) and took our likeness. He was made to be just like sinful man. He had to be if we were ever going to be made to be like Him in His righteousness. We were united together with Him in the likeness of His death, and because of that, we'll certainly be like him in the likeness of His resurrection. If we were united together with Him in His death, how much more shall we be like Him, united with Him in His resurrection. Look at the next verse here in Romans chapter six.

Romans 6:6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.

Think about this. When Jesus was crucified and died on the cross, you and I were crucified and died with Him as well. You and I were crucified with Jesus (see also Galatians 2:20). Jesus hung on that cross in our place paying the supreme price and sacrifice for your sin and mine. That's the love of God. That is love in every sense of the word.

Romans 6:6-14 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. [7] For he who has died has been freed from sin. [8] Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, [9] knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. [10] For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. [11] Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. [12] Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. [13] And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. [14] For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.

This is so wonderful—the Christian believer has been cleared on sin. Our old record of sin has been cleared and the slate has been wiped clean. Through Christ Jesus we are no longer slaves to the god of sin and death. We are no longer slaves to Satan. When Jesus is received into one's heart by faith, man becomes a new creation and he is able to change gods. Do you realize that? When Jesus comes in your heart and you receive Him by faith, you are born-again the same way that Adam was born-again. Adam was born from life to death. When you accept Jesus you are uniting yourself together with Him in the likeness of His death and in the likeness of His resurrection. When this happens you are born-again from death to life and been provided the opportunity, once again, to be crowned with the very glory of God Himself.

Let me show you more scriptures about this new man that the believer has become in Christ Jesus. The robe of righteousness which Adam lost, Jesus won back— and it's received by faith and the results are instantaneous. Righteousness isn't something that we have to strive for, it's received by faith.

Colossians 1:13-18 He has delivered (notice here that "has delivered" is past tense) us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, [14] in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. [15] He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. [16] For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. [17] And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. [18] And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.

Look at this same scripture in the Living Bible.

Colossians 1:13-18 (The Living Bible) For he has rescued us out of the darkness and gloom of Satan's kingdom and brought us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, [14] who bought our freedom with his blood and forgave us all our sins. [15] Christ is the exact likeness of the unseen God. He existed before God made anything at all, and, in fact, [16] Christ himself is the Creator who made everything in heaven and earth, the things we can see and the things we can't; the spirit world with its kings and kingdoms, its rulers and authorities; all were made by Christ for his own use and glory. [17] He was before all else began and it is his power that holds everything together. [18] He is the Head of the body made up of his people—that is, his Church which he began; and he is the Leader of all those who arise from the dead, so that he is first in everything...

This is just awesome. In the spirit, by faith, the man that has made Jesus the Lord of his life has been transferred or conveyed out of the kingdom of death (being separated from God), into the kingdom of life—joined together with the God of life and all creation. Jesus was the very image of God, and by accepting His death, burial, and resurrection, man is then recreated and becomes a new creation in the image of Jesus, who is the image of God Himself. No longer does man have an image problem—we've got our image back and image is everything!

At this point, you need to buckle your seatbelt and hold on because this one will send you through the roof shouting praises at the top of your lungs. I remember Kenneth Copeland relating something that the Lord had asked him. The Lord asked Bro. Copeland what he thought was the greatest expression or display of His power. Bro. Copeland said he answered the Lord and said, "When you created this universe." In essence, God replied, "No, that was easy. I didn't have anybody out there against Me. All I had to do was speak and there it was. The greatest display of my power was when I raised Jesus from the dead. I had all the forces of hell against Me."

Sure enough, there's scripture for it. Look at Ephesians chapter one.

Ephesians 1:19-21 and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power [20] which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, [21] far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.

This was the greatest display of the power of God that this universe had ever seen when God raised Jesus from the dead. All of sin and the powers of darkness stood against God when this happened. The power of hell itself was powerless against the love of God.

Ephesians 1:22-23 And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, [23] which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

Think about this. Jesus is not complete without His body. He's not complete without you and me. He is the head and we are the body. A head cannot be complete without a body. Jesus would be incomplete without His church and the church, which is His body, would be incomplete without Jesus as the head.

Let me ask you a question and I want you to really think about this. When you got born-again was your physical body dead? No, it wasn't. Spiritual death and physical death are manifest in a way that makes them appear different, but it's actually not. Death is death. Death means a separation—being separated from your Creator. Death does not mean that something ceases to exist. (I know you have already read some things about this, but it bears repeating at this point.) Some people think that when you die you cease to exist and you're just gone. That is not true.

Once a spirit comes to this earth, that spirit is birthed of God and will never cease to exist. That spirit will exist forever and ever. Why? It is eternal. Spiritual death is not that spirit ceasing to exist or to function. Spiritual death simply means being separated from the life of God. This is what happened to Adam when he sinned. He was separated from God. All this world's system has seen and has known what it calls death is actually only the death of the physical body. Man thinks that when man dies his physical body ceases to exist, but that's not true either. Your body will always exist in one form or another.

Man's body will continue to exist in the same way that his spirit will. Remember, both were created in the image of God, not just the spirit of man. Both were created in the image of God, in the likeness of God. Man's got the idea that once life is removed from a body, that body is going to cease to exist. It will cease to function, but it will not cease to exist. It will always be here—always.

Once your spirit man leaves your body whether it was evicted illegally by sickness or disease, or once it leaves its body by choice, your body does not cease to exist. It only stops functioning. It's still here. Did you realize that you don't even have to be sick to physically die or leave your body? Some people die and leave their bodies because they are simply ready to leave and go on home to Heaven. This is actually the best way to go. You don't have to go sick—just go when you're ready. It doesn't even matter if you are sick and the hospital puts your body on a "life support machine." That machine doesn't actually support life—it just keeps your body functioning.

Your body will always be here whether you died 2,000 years ago, 3,000 years ago, whether you were cremated, whether you were an Egyptian mummy, whatever the case may be. Whether you were embalmed and buried, whether you were buried at sea and the sharks ate you and you ended up as shark poop in the bottom of the ocean. Your body will always be here in one form or another. It may not be functioning, but it's still here. It may be dust, but it's still here. You may not recognize it, but you may have some dust in your back yard that was once a part of somebody's body hundreds of years ago—it may not look like a body, but it is.

Psalm 139:16 (King James Version) Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.

God has a record of every speck of dust in your body. That record has existed even before your body was formed and even after that body ceases to function. It makes no difference if you are cremated when you die and your ashes are scattered to the four corners of the earth. God knows where every speck of dust is located and that body is going to come back together and be reunited with its owner, the spirit man.

Every person that has ever lived and walked the face of this earth, all the way back to Adam, both saved and unsaved—God knows where every speck of dust is located. It's recorded in Heaven. God knows where it's at and that body is going to be reunited with its spirit owner—saved or unsaved. If you were saved when you died, that body is going to be resurrected and glorified. Just as Jesus is incomplete without His body, you are incomplete without yours.

What about the sinners who died without becoming born-again? What is going to happen with them and their bodies? The same thing is going to happen to them as well, but in a little bit different way. It's called the second death or resurrection. Their bodies will be resurrected as well, even though they were unsaved. The only difference between them and those that are born-again is that their bodies won't be glorified. The Christian will have a glorified body, but the unsaved will not have a glorified body.

Let's say that someone dies without having made Jesus their Lord and they died of cancer because their body was eaten up with tumors. When they died, their body was full of pain—and they were in extreme discomfort because of the effects of that disease. Maybe somebody died with leprosy and they even had some fingers, hands, or feet missing because their flesh was rotting on their body. All of that sickness and all of that disease that were in that body when it died will still be there and will be resurrected again and reunited with its owner, except this time there's no getting rid of that body. It's full of cancer. It's full of leprosy. It's full of unbearable pain and that body is going to be stuck with its owner, that spirit, for the rest of eternity in a place called hell, which was never created for man in the first place.

Ephesians 2:1-10 And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, [2] in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, [3] among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. [4] But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, [5] even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), [6] and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, [7] that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. [8] For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, [9] not of works, lest anyone should boast. [10] For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

We were once dead in our sins, but now we've been made alive unto God. Man has been recreated again—for the third time. The first time was the initial creation when God made man. The second time was when man fell—or, Adam's recreation—born from life to death. The third time Jesus helped us out and made us new creations in Him. Jesus is so wonderful and gracious towards us. His blood is so powerful that it can wash away the sin of the world from our lives and enable us to be a brand new creation—recreated a third time. Not only is Jesus in us, but we're in Him. Every time the Father God looks to His right hand and sees Jesus sitting there, He sees you and me. We're seated right there with Him—in Him. We are joint heirs with the very Son of God! We've been given His name! We've been given His authority! We've been given His anointing! As Jesus is, so are we in this world!

Remember, we learned that when man sinned and all of creation fell, God had to leave this planet, didn't He? He didn't have a right to be here anymore. God had to leave this place when the earth fell. I mentioned this briefly beforehand, but I want you to see when God came back and laid claim to this place once again.

Acts 2:1-4 When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. [2] And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. [3] Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. [4] And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

This sound that they heard was a sound that came straight out of Heaven. This powerful sound that sent shockwaves throughout the earth came straight from the very throne of God Himself. They really didn't know how to describe this loud thunderous event because they had never heard anything like it before—it just "sounded" like a rushing mighty wind to them. This sound they heard was the very Spirit of God Himself once again invading the atmosphere of this planet. It was God saying, "I'm back! And this time I'm here to stay!" God didn't just tiptoe into this place very quietly. No, He wanted everybody to know that He was here—including the devil. God's back and He's back with a vengeance. He wants His most precious and prized possession back—man. God's fed up with His children being dominated by sickness, disease, poverty, and lack. He's tired of seeing His kids having to put up with cancer and financial distress. God's back and He's setting things straight for you and me!

Everything is in the process of being restored to the way that God had originally created and intended for things to be—everything! Look at the book of Hebrews once again.

Hebrews 1:1-2 God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, [2] has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds;

Let me ask you a question before we continue reading this scripture. What is an heir? Surely you know what an heir is, right? Jesus was appointed an heir of all things—both good and bad. The good coming from God and the bad coming from man, which has been washed away by the blood of Jesus. Jesus inherited the curse and everything that went along with it. He was heir of it all. Most believers only think about the good things that we have because we're joint heirs with Jesus, but we too quickly forget how we got to be an heir of all that good. First, Jesus had to be an heir of all that we had—the curse. Jesus inherited our sickness and disease. Jesus inherited financial poverty. All of these devilish things that came as a result of the curse, we laid upon Jesus. Jesus took all our bad and gave us all His goodness.

Jesus had been with God throughout all eternity. He had no beginning. He had no end. His beginning was not in the manger there in Bethlehem. Do you realize that? When Jesus was born in Bethlehem was not when He was born of God. Who is this Jesus? What a question that would take volumes of books just to begin to answer. He was the Word of God Himself come in the flesh. Jesus is the Son of the Living God. He's the Son of God's love which was sent into this world to reconcile you and me back to the Father.

Hebrews 1:2-3 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; [3] who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,

The express image of Jesus is not just a big one and a little one. The express image of Jesus is an exact one—an exact image. An express image is just like God the same as the first one. Jesus wasn't just a little bit like God, He was God!

Hebrews 1:3-5 who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, [4] having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. [5] For to which of the angels did He ever say: "You are My Son, today I have begotten You"? And again: "I will be to Him a Father, and He shall be to Me a Son"?

When Jesus came on the scene in that manger in Bethlehem, it was not the day He was actually born. This was just the day that He took upon Himself flesh.

Hebrews 1:5 (King James Version) For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son?

Notice here that it says, "And again"— you can't be something "again" unless you were before. You can't be something again unless at some point in time there was a break when you weren't. Jesus had been with the Father God forever. Adam wasn't, but Jesus was. Adam was a reproduction of God, Jesus wasn't. Jesus wasn't a reproduction of God. He was one with God because He was God. Jesus was exactly like God because He had been with God forever.

Sometimes this just kind of sends your human brain on "tilt." We may not understand the depth of it completely at this time, but we have all of eternity to figure it out. Don't worry about it at this point because we'll have the rest of eternity with Jesus. I'm sure that He'll answer any and all questions that you may have.

At some point in time there was a separation that took place between Jesus and the Father God. There was a separation between Jesus and the Father just like there was between Adam and the Father. Spiritual death was lodged in Jesus' spirit the same way that it was lodged in Adam's spirit. Jesus was made to be sin with our sin. He was separated from God in every sense of the word. Jesus died spiritually. I know that some people teach that Jesus didn't die spiritually, but that isn't true at all. Jesus had to die spiritually if we were going to be made spiritually alive. He had to take on the likeness of sinful man so that we could take on His likeness. Sinful man was spiritually dead and separated from God; therefore, Jesus had to be as well. Jesus had to die spiritually; otherwise His physical body wouldn't have been able to die on the cross. There was too much life in Him for Him to die physically and not spiritually. He had to die spiritually as first before He could die physically. The life source of the spirit had to be cut off before He could ever physically die.

Jesus became separated from God just like man was. When He became separated from God with man's sin, how could God the Father get Him back again? The answer here is very simple—the Word of God is what got Him back and brought Him back into unity again with the Father. It's always the Word of God. God's Word never fails and it will put us over in every situation of life. The same process of creation that the first Adam got created with was what happened with Jesus when He became separated from God—except this time, God doesn't need any dirt because Jesus defeated the curse!

Galatians 3:13 Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree"),

The curse that came out of Adam was defeated by Jesus. That entire curse that came on this planet and caused everything here to fall, including man, and the curse of the entire universe was laid on Jesus. The curse that flooded this place came out of Adam, and now the blessing that overtakes the curse comes out of this one man, who was a hundred percent God, Jesus. Everything is being restored and put back the way that God intended for it to be in the very beginning.

Let's get back to what we were reading in Hebrews chapter one.

Hebrews 1:6 But when He again brings the firstborn into the world, He says: "Let all the angels of God worship Him."

God started all over again, except this time He didn't use any dirt. God has never changed. The process of the creating was exactly the same as it was in the very beginning. The creating was in the saying. What God spoke went all the way to the bowels of the earth—to the very pit of hell itself where Jesus was suffering and separated from God. You've got to get a picture of this in your spirit. Jesus was so separated and so full of the sin of the world that you couldn't even recognize Him—much less even tell that He was a man.

God had to turn His back on Jesus and all the curse of humanity was laid on Him. His visage—His body was so marred and disfigured that you couldn't even tell it was Jesus. His body was eaten up with all the sicknesses and diseases of the world, both known and unknown. All the various kinds of cancer, all skin diseases, all high blood pressure, all heart disease, all asthma, all diabetes—all these diseases were laid on Jesus. He was as sick as sick could be. He was totally separated from God and the life which He was used to enjoying.

God took the weight (the sin) of the whole world—the sin of the entire universe and laid it on Jesus. The entire curse was laid on Him. Jesus didn't just go to hell for you and me, He was at the very bottom of the pit of hell for you and me so that we wouldn't have to ever dream of going to that dreadful place of the damned. Jesus had to go to hell for man; if He didn't, somebody would still have to! Jesus was the only One that was qualified to go to hell and defeat Satan Himself—He was the only One that was qualified because He never sinned. Jesus had pure, undefiled, uncontaminated blood which was used to defeat the powers of death, hell, and the grave. Jesus was the only One that was qualified to appease our Heavenly Father by paying the supreme sacrifice for all of man's sin—once and for all! Jesus the Lord of all!

Let's continue on here and look at another scripture that talks about Jesus going to hell and this new creation that we are in Christ Jesus because of what Jesus did. Jesus was the last Adam—He got born again with His very own blood that He shed for all of humanity. Satan thought he was so smart, but he could never outsmart God Himself. Satan thought he had Jesus whipped and incarcerated forever in the pit of hell, but God wouldn't stand for it because pure, uncontaminated, undefiled, righteous blood had been shed. The powers of hell are no match against the blood of Jesus, the Son of the Most High God. Look at this...

Acts 2:27 For You will not leave my soul in Hades, nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.

God didn't need any more dirt to create another man because the curse was laid on Jesus. His spirit took it to hell and all God had to do was say...

Hebrews 1:5 "You are My Son, today I have begotten You"? And again: I will be to Him a Father, and He shall be to Me a Son"?

When God said that, "You are My Son, today I have begotten You," God was creating. God was saying, "It's a new day! On this new day I have begotten You! I'm Your Father!"

God had enough. His back was turned on Jesus long enough for the curse of sin to be laid on Jesus— but God had all He could stand of it. Enough was enough. When God began to speak those words of love out of Heaven toward Jesus, they penetrated to the very pit of hell itself and hell couldn't hold the Son of the Most High any longer. Hell couldn't keep Him chained. Those diseases couldn't hold Him back any longer. In the midst of all those screams and torments that were going on down there in that terrible place called hell, hell had to turn Jesus loose. God had all of Heaven's attention and all of hell had to stop and listen to what this terribly awesome, but yet loving God had to say about His dear Son. God went on to say...

Hebrews 1:6 But when He again brings the firstborn into the world, He says: "Let all the angels of God worship Him."

God the Father said, "Let all the angels of God worship Him!" This included all the angels that were in Heaven, as well as those that had been kicked out in Lucifer's rebellion and sin (the fallen angels, which are now demons). The creative words of God are being spoken into the very pit of hell by Jehovah Elohim, the Creator of all living things. You've got to picture this in your spirit man. Here's Jesus—this shriveled up spirit full of all the curse, full of the sin of the world, full of all sickness and disease, full of all the poverty and lack this weak, decrepit spirit began to rise up again with all of God's authority, with all of God's dominion, with all of God's power, with all of God's blessing—Jesus began to rise up, once again, as the express image of God Himself!

Hebrews 1:7-10 And of the angels He says: "Who makes His angels spirits and His ministers a flame of fire." [8] But to the Son He says: "Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your Kingdom. [9] You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; therefore God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil of gladness more than Your companions." [10] And: "You, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands.

Here we go again talking about the earth and the heavens. Remember, all things are going to be restored and they will be brought back into perfect order. The universe will be restored again and it's going to be brought back into order.

Hebrews 1:11-12 They will perish, but You remain; and they will all grow old like a garment; [12] Like a cloak You will fold them up, and they will be changed. But You are the same, and Your years will not fail."

Who is going to fold them up? The last Adam— Jesus! He will fold them up like an old worn out shirt. He's going to fold this old universe up—everything that has been disfigured from the curse, He's going to fold it all up like an old coat and throw it away. There's a brand new Heaven and a new earth on order that's about to be delivered!

The whole time Jesus was in hell, He never turned loose of praise to His Father. He never turned loose of the Word of God. He knew the plans from before the foundation of the world. He knew the Word. He was the Word. The Word Himself went to hell and defeated Satan. One man, the son of man, the son of Adam, defeated all of death, hell, and the grave. Just one man defeated all the forces of hell with praise and the Word of God! One man, Jesus! This kind of makes your current problems look small—because they are small compared to what Jesus did for you. You don't have any problems. All you need is the Word of God.

Hebrews 1:13-14 But to which of the angels has He ever said: "Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool"? [14] Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation?

The angels were assigned to minister for Him, Jesus. Now they have been put under His command! Jesus can command angels, and so can you. You are an heir of salvation, a joint-heir with the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. Angels are at your disposal and have been given to you by your Father in Heaven to minister on your behalf.

Look at the book of Romans chapter eight.

Romans 8:29-32 For whom He foreknew (from before the foundation of the world), He also predestined (from before the foundation of the world) to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the first born among many brethren. [30] Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified. [31] What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? [32] He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?

Jesus gets glorified and we get glorified. Jesus gets justified and we get justified. Jesus gets a name that's above every name, we get that same name. We're joint heirs with Him!

2 Corinthians 3:17-18 Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. [18] But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.

1 John 4:15-17 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. [16] And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him. [17] Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world.

Glory to God! As Jesus is, so are we in this world. We have been given His authority, now let's use it. You've got a right to it. Jesus died so that you could have that right. Begin to take your place of authority and dominion and put sickness and disease on the run from your life. Begin to take your rightful place of authority and exercise that dominion over your finances. Command those debts to be cancelled. Command the angels of God to get to work and bring your money in. Put your hands to something and it will prosper.

God loves you just as much as He loves Jesus. He wants you experiencing the very best that Jesus has to offer. You don't have to wait until you get to Heaven before you receive God's best. You can have God's best while you are here on planet earth. It's simply received by faith and by exercising your authority in Christ Jesus. I want to encourage you to study more about the believer's position of authority—especially from the book of Ephesians. We don't have the room in this particular writing to cover the wealth of the revelation found in the book of Ephesians. I prefer to not make my books too terribly long as I don't want people to be intimidated from reading such a lengthy book, so I guess we'll have to cover that in another writing. The revelation in this book is enough to put the devil on the run if you'll stand against him in faith and resist him in the name of Jesus. You've got what it takes—now, go for it!

Are you ready for a change?

Jesus wants more than anything else to have a relationship with you on a personal level. Having a relationship with the King of kings and the Lord of lords is not about empty dead religion—it's life in all its fullness. If you are ready for a real and lasting change in your life, then it is time to turn your life over to Jesus and make Him your Lord. He'll not only save you from spending an eternity in hell, He'll heal your broken body, He'll heal you emotionally, and He'll even bless you financially as you begin to put Him first in your life.

Salvation is a free gift that has been made available to everyone that will receive it. Heaven is a very real place, just like earth is a very real place. The only way for you to enter Heaven is for you to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, confess Jesus as Lord with your mouth, and allow Him to take up residence inside your heart.

Romans 10:9 (The Message Bible) Say the welcoming word to God—"Jesus is my Master" —embracing, body and soul, God's work of doing in us what he did in raising Jesus from the dead. That's it. You're not "doing" anything; you're simply calling out to God, trusting him to do it for you. That's salvation.

The very first step in receiving Jesus as your Lord is to admit that you are a sinner. The Bible tells us in Romans 3:23 "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."

Secondly, you must believe in your heart that Jesus died and paid the ultimate sacrifice for your sins, was resurrected from the dead three days later by God the Father, and now sits at His Father's right hand in Heaven interceding for you to God. You must know and realize that Jesus is your only answer and He alone provides you access to this place we all call Heaven. If you're ready to begin a new life and want a fresh start, pray this prayer out loud from your heart.

Dear God, I know that I have fallen short in many areas of my life and sinned. I now make the decision to make Jesus my Lord and Savior. Jesus, I want to thank You for dying on the cross for me and for paying the ultimate price for my sin. I acknowledge that You are the Son of God and that You are the way, the truth, and the life. I invite You, Lord Jesus, to come and make my heart Your home. I receive my salvation by faith, and I thank You, Lord, that I am now born-again and a resident of the Kingdom of God. In Jesus name, amen.

Now what?

One of the ways that we develop a relationship with the Lord is by reading His Word, the Bible. There are many easy to understand translations that are available at your local bookstore. Some of the translations that I recommend are: the New Living Translation, the New International Version, the Message Bible, and also the Amplified Bible. Any one of these would be a good place for you to get to know the Lord in a better way. The Bible is actually comprised of 66 books, and a good place for you to start studying is the gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John).

Now that you are born-again, it is highly important for your spiritual growth and maturity that you get plugged into a Bible believing, Bible teaching church that will show you how to live by faith and experience victory in every area of your life. It does matter where you go to church because not all churches are the same. It does matter who your pastor is because all pastors are not the same. Ask the Lord to show you where you need to go to get the help that He wants you to have. Ask the Lord to lead you to a good pastor that will help you grow and become the person that God wants you to be.

Congratulations! You're on your way to experiencing the goodness of God in your life. God is a good God and He longs to share His goodness with you. The Lord loves you so very much and He will continually demonstrate that love in and through your life in the days ahead. God desires that you live a happy, healthy, and wealthy life. As you follow Him and learn more of His Word, all these things belong to you as a Christian. Once again, congratulations! Something good has just happened to you!

For scheduling information or for a complete list of CD's, DVD's and books by Wayne Hancock, please contact:

Wayne Hancock Ministries

420 N. Wakea Avenue

Kahului, Maui, HI 96732

(808) 244-4992

Email: info@waynehancock.org

Internet: www.waynehancock.org

Table of Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1 We're In Charge, Not Satan

Chapter 2 The Creating Was In the Saying

Chapter 3 Created In God's Image

Chapter 4 Your Position of Authority

Chapter 5 Authority and the Anointing

Chapter 6 The New Man

Are you ready for a change?