The Triumphant ChurchI said, "Lord, I know I misunderstood You. You
didn't say if I hadn't done something about that demon,
You couldn't have. You said You wouldn't have, didn't
You?"
Pointing to the demon as he lay trembling on the
floor, Jesus repeated, "No, I said, 'If you hadn't done
something about that evil spirit, I couldn't have.'"
I shook my head, thinking it was my hearing that
was faulty. I said, "Something is wrong with me. I
didn't hear right. You didn't say if I hadn't done
something about that evil spirit, You couldn't have. You
said You wouldn't have, didn't You?"
He repeated the same words, "No, I said, 'If you
hadn't done something about that evil spirit, I couldn't
have.'"
I said, "Lord, something is wrong. I'm not hearing
right," and I repeated my question the third time. I
think I know how Jesus must have looked when He got
angry and took that rope and drove those money
changers out of the Temple (Mark 11:15). It looked to
me like His eyes shot little flashes of lightning, and He
said, "No! I said I couldn't have!"
I said, "I can't accept that. Lord, that's different
than anything I've ever preached or heard. Lord, that
upends my theology." You see, in religious circles we
had always prayed, "God, You rebuke the devil" or
"Jesus, You rebuke the devil."
The Lord answered, "Sometimes your theology
needs upending."
I said, "I've never heard anything like that in my
life. Lord, I won't accept any vision, or any divine
visitation, I don't care if I am seeing You and hearing
You talk to me as plain and as real as any man in the