Speak To Things by Pastor Dolapo Lawal: MP3 Download & Sermon Notes

The answer is within

The power of words. Speaking to things

John 7:37 to John 7:39

Verse 39 is the writer John's interpretation of verses 37 and 38. What Jesus was actually speaking about was the Holy Spirit that those who believe in him would receive

We don't earn him. The only qualification to have him is to believe in Jesus

Anyone that believes in Jesus has the Holy Spirit in him, and that means that person has capacity to let rivers flow out of his belly

If you are thirsty as a believer, the water you need to quench your thirst is not coming from heaven. It is coming from within you. We take from within and put upon us

The Holy Spirit is God's answer to any problem you have

Resurrection: what raises anybody from the dead is the Holy Spirit Romans 8:11

Sickness: it is the Spirit that does the work John 14:10, Acts 10:38

If you need healing, what you need is the Holy Spirit. All the gifts of the Spirit come from him

When Jesus gave us the Holy Spirit, he was giving us the answer to every problem

Any problem we have, the answer is not without. The answer is always within

The Holy Spirit is a leveler

The same Holy Spirit Jesus used, the same one that walked with Jesus in the earth, is the same Holy Spirit the men of God have, and the same one you have John 1:16

If you go and meet a man of God, what they administer to you is out of their bellies flowing rivers of living water. The Holy Spirit inside you is still what is being administered

The difference in manifestation between me and another person is in light and knowledge, in walking with him. It's not that the Holy Spirit is smaller in me

When we say we are growing in power, it means we are growing in the revelation of God's power. We are getting more confident

I've seen blind eyes open. I've seen people that cannot walk walk. When I am praying for the sick, I have a confidence from experience that if I pray, it will work

Another person who has not seen those things might struggle in the mind

It's not that the Holy Spirit is not working in your life. In doubt, you are not opening your belly for the rivers to flow

What we need is water, and that water is the Holy Spirit. Out of your belly will flow rivers of living water to quench any thirst, any need, any problem

If you need healing, what you need is a gift of the Spirit, the gift of healing

God is not trying to give you an answer. God has already given you an answer. Allow the rivers to flow out and drink from within

Speak to the rock

Numbers 20:7 to Numbers 20:8

The rod can typify the Holy Spirit. Why? When Moses got to the Red Sea, the Lord told him to lift his rod, and as he lifted it the Red Sea parted Exodus 14:16

Psalm 23:4

The rod and the staff comfort

John 14:18

Jesus says I'm sending the comforter. So the rod is a typology of the Holy Spirit

If you want that water to flow, you speak to the rock. If you don't speak to that rock, water is not going to flow out of it

What is that rock?

1 Corinthians 10:1 to 1 Corinthians 10:4

That rock was Christ

If you are going to bring water out of Christ that will quench your thirst and solve your problem, you must speak

If you are not speaking, the water will not flow, and you will die of that thirst

Illustration: Elisha

Elisha was a powerful man of God, but the Bible says Elisha died of sickness 2 Kings 13:14

After he died, they buried him in a tomb. Soldiers died in battle and the dead bodies were thrown into Elisha's tomb

When the bodies made contact with the bones of Elisha, they came alive 2 Kings 13:20 to 2 Kings 13:21

You can carry life in your bones and die of sickness if you don't allow that water to flow

If Christ will profit you, you must speak. If you don't speak, you will be all powerful and yet look powerless

If I ask a question and you know the answer, and I say who knows the answer, and you don't raise your hand, I don't know that you know

Having money and not spending it is still poverty. Imagine you have 10 million dollars in your account and you are not spending it. You have to use what you have to enjoy it

A lot of us carry the Holy Spirit but never engage him. Some of us want to engage him but don't know how

The way to get the water to flow out of your belly is to speak

The rivers of living water are already inside you, but to get them to flow out you must speak to that rock

Faith is specific

Mark 11:20 to Mark 11:24

Jesus spoke to the fig tree. Next day, when they were passing, Peter was surprised

When Jesus spoke, nothing seemed to happen. But what he said went to the roots and started drying up from the roots

You have to say to the mountain. Faith is specific. If you don't speak, the mountain will stand there

Many times we pray about things but we don't talk to things. We talk about things, we complain about things, but we don't speak to things

We complain, I don't have a job, but we never call forth a job

You can speak to your body. Body, hear the word of the Lord, and you declare sound health. But when I say speak to things, I mean speak to things

Pray first, then speak

Acts 9:39 to Acts 9:40

When Peter prayed, nothing happened. Then he turned to the body and spoke, Tabitha, arise

If you just kneel down and pray and you don't speak to the body, she's not going to rise

Peter didn't just talk anything. He first prayed. This is not without prayer. Mark 11:23 also speaks about prayer if you pray

A lot of people don't understand the technology of answered prayers

Illustration: the wine at the wedding

Wine has finished at a wedding and you pray, Jesus, wine has finished. The answer to your prayer is not Jesus saying, wine begin to flow

The answer is Jesus will speak something to you, an instruction. Get six water pots, fill them with water, then take it to the chief of the ceremony

When he puts it in his mouth, it will turn to wine John 2:1 to John 2:10

Jesus answered the prayer of Mary by giving her an instruction. The answer was actually a word

When you carry out that instruction, that is what they call faith. Believing that this crazy instruction, give dirty water to the chief, will bring the manifestation

Many people never see the manifestation of their prayer because they didn't do what God said. Many times what God would tell you to do is either to speak or to carry out something

Tongues generate power, words direct it

Some of us have a problem. Speaking in tongues is prayer. We speak in tongues to stir ourselves to be able to hear so that we can speak

Speaking in tongues is not the end, it is the means to the end

People want to cast out a demon and they speak in tongues at it 1 Corinthians 14:2

In tongues you are generating power. But if you don't speak clear words and instructions in your understanding, you are not directing power

You are generating power but you have to tell the demon to leave. In tongues the demon doesn't understand what you are saying. Only God understands you

You will not see Jesus wanting to cast out a devil and then start speaking in tongues, holding the head of the demon

He says I cast out demons by the finger of God Luke 11:20

At a particular point Jesus said, out, enter the swine

A lot of people generate power but don't direct power. Give clear words. Otherwise we are just doing gymnastics

Illustration: the mortuary

Some of my friends and I wanted to raise the dead. We went to a mortuary. They didn't allow us to see the body, so we stayed around the mortuary and prayed for 8 hours

We didn't talk to the body. We were just generating power and wasting time

Lazarus: pray, then speak

John 11:40 to John 11:43

They took away the stone. That is their participation. Jesus gave them an instruction and they listened

He prayed a thanksgiving prayer, showing that he had prayed about it before

After Jesus prayed about it, Jesus spoke to it. Lazarus, come forth. Jesus spoke to the dead body

Everything can hear

Acts 14:8 to Acts 14:10

In Lystra a man had never walked from his mother's womb. Paul preached, then he spoke to him, stand up straight on your feet. The man leaped and walked

Mark 4:38 to Mark 4:39

Jesus spoke to the sea, peace, be still

That's the point I'm making. Everything can hear. If the sea can hear, you can speak to the sea

Illustration: the Camry

I was moving from Houston to Maryland, around 2021. I had a Camry that was giving me a lot of problems. You had to be putting oil in the car constantly

We were driving from Houston to Chicago first, then Maryland. The oil finished. The person with me took over driving and I slept a while

By the time we got to Chicago the car was making a very funny sound. We managed to get it to a mechanic shop and put in the little oil we had left

We started the car and it did not start. It made a very funny sound. The mechanic said the car is finished, we have to change the engine

This car was a miracle in my life. I was doing DoorDash, food delivery, and my survival was tied to this car

The person with me said, thank God at least we got to Chicago, this is a miracle. I said no, this car cannot knock

I went and bought oil and put it in. The car didn't start. Same sound. The mechanic passed by and said again that the car is finished, we have to change the engine

I looked up to heaven and said, God, the remaining money with me is 30 dollars. There is no way this car can knock

I placed my hand on the car and spoke to it: Car, hear the word of the Lord. Walk

After 5 minutes we started the car and the car started walking. I sold that car in Maryland

The car heard my voice

Anything that can speak to you can hear from you. Don't think inanimate things cannot speak

You looked at your bank account and said, I am poor. That account spoke to you.

Your car broke down on the road and you sat behind it and said, I'm a failure. That car breaking down spoke something to you. That's why you said it

Things are speaking to people, but people are not talking back. If something can speak, you can speak

Testimony: the laptop

Somebody's laptop crashed and his project was on it. He laid his hands on the laptop and said, wake up in the name of Jesus

He slept. The next morning he put on the power and it was working

If you don't talk, that thing is talking. So you have to speak to things

Even with temptation you have to talk back. Jesus spoke back to temptation Matthew 4:10

Mark 7:32 to Mark 7:35

They asked Jesus to lay hands on the deaf man. Jesus spoke immediately: Ephphatha, be opened

Mark 11:23 again

I believe and therefore I speak

2 Corinthians 4:13

If you are not speaking, you don't believe. What God sees as faith is that you believe in your heart and you also speak. If you don't speak, you're not in faith

Romans 10:17

If faith comes by hearing, the original state of faith is that it is spoken, because you can't hear what wasn't said

If you are in faith, you must be speaking. If you are not speaking, you are not calling forth those things that are not as though they were Romans 4:17

You might say God is doing nothing. The truth is that the rivers of living water are on your inside but you are not allowing them to flow

The way is to speak to the rock, and that rock is Christ

Hebrews 11:3

The Greek word there is aion, not cosmos. It means destinies. Destinies were framed by the word of God

Your destiny can be framed by what you are saying. People's lives look like what they talk about. That's why you must learn to speak

Look at older ministers, the way they get things done, they get it done through speaking. Look at Reinhard Bonnke's ministry

He is up on the platform, he preaches the gospel, and then he starts to speak healing

How did people get healed when we were praying for people? I spoke it

If you speak it, you believe in your heart and you do not doubt, it will work. We are not dragging people. We are speaking

The way Jesus got things done was speaking to things. Have you been talking about things or have you been speaking to things?

David and Goliath: a battle of words

1 Samuel 17:4 to 1 Samuel 17:11

The battle was a battle of words

Look at how Goliath is defeating them with words. They are not servants of Saul. They are servants of the Most High

He spoke them into looking at the limitations of Saul. Your problem always speaks to you

Saul and all Israel heard these words and were dismayed and greatly afraid

Somebody enters the hospital fine. You just went for a normal checkup. The doctor says, we are seeing something in your body, it's cancer

Immediately the person starts dying. Before, you were fine. The words put dismay and great fear in them

1 Samuel 17:16

The Philistine presented himself 40 days, morning and night. He was talking to them, putting fear in them for 40 days

One of the things that helped David was that he was not listening to all that nonsense

1 Samuel 17:20 to 1 Samuel 17:27

David heard Goliath speak the same words. All the men of Israel fled from him and were dreadfully afraid

Look at how David responded. David is talking back. He said the armies of the living God, not the armies of Saul

1 Samuel 17:40 to 1 Samuel 17:47

The Philistine cursed David by his gods. It's a battle of words

David spoke back. And it was exactly the way David declared it happened

1 Samuel 17:49

The stone hit Goliath on the forehead. If a force hits you on your forehead, you are supposed to fall backwards. But the Bible says he fell on his face

That means the force that brought him down pushed him from behind. So it was not just David's stone, it was God's mighty hand that brought him down

The mystery is that the young man spoke. You have to open your mouth

Pray in the Spirit, then declare

When you pray in tongues, don't just watch out for impressions coming to your heart

Maybe you are praying concerning a matter and you just hear a word. It is settled in the name of Jesus

That's why the Bible prescribes that you pray in the spirit and you pray with your understanding also 1 Corinthians 14:15

As you pray in the spirit, words consistent with scripture and God's character bubble up in your heart. They come out as prophetic utterances. These are strong impressions in your heart. Start declaring them

• The God that gave Joseph the best job in Egypt is giving me a job.
• CV, hear the word of the Lord. You are received. You are seen. You are not thrown away.

Speak increase. Think about all the rubbish you have been saying about your life

When people say I am, they put I am with bad things. I am a failure. It makes me uncomfortable because it looks like I'm talking to myself

You complain, my car is not working, give it 3 months I will see a mechanic. You are speaking to the car. You are cursing your car

I'm jobless. You can't say that. Be a believer. There's power in your mouth. You have to constantly be speaking life

Some people curse their children. This one doesn't know book, he's very dull. You can't talk like that. You are full of power and glory