How To Set Yourself Free - Frank Romanelli

How to Set Yourself Free

byFrank Romanelli, Ph.D.

All scripture quotations in this volume are from the King James Version of the Bible.

Cover by E. Gene Anderson

Contents

Forward............................................................................5

Introduction......................................................................9

1 Joy................................................................................11

2 On Guard.....................................................................13

3 Words...........................................................................17

4 Agree With God...........................................................19

5 Confession Thus Possession........................................23

6 How It Works..............................................................27

7 The Formula................................................................31

Forward

For the past 10 years I have worked closely with Frank Romanelli as he has served with me as an Elder and classroom Bible teacher.

Not only is Dr. Romanelli capable from an academic standpoint but his many years of counseling and teaching have kept him in vital touch with the struggles of life today in a changing world.

The contents of this book will give you insight that will produce life changing effects.

Pastor W. Austin WilkersonEvangelistic Temple

Houston, Texas

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Dedication

Dedicated to my wife, Peggy, as she is truly a helpmate given to me by God.

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Introduction

What you believe has no influence on the truth!! However, what you believe influences your life. When you believe (act upon, adhere to, and rely upon) the truth, it will set you free. All else is bondage. So knowing the truth should be our primary goal in life.

Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” John 14:6, and “Ye shall know the Truth, and the Truth shall make you free,” John 8:32, and “He (the Holy Spirit) will guide you into all Truth,” John 16:13.

This book has been written as a result of the leading of the Holy Spirit and the urging of Christian friends. Many individuals have been set free as a result of lectures on this subject and by listening to tapes of this message.

My prayer is that you will set yourself free and maintain that freedom by guarding the words of your mouth.

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Chapter 1

1 Joy

Do you have all the joy in your life that you desire? Most people would frankly admit that they do not have all the joy in their daily lives that they would like to have. The solution to this dilemma is found in God’s Word. “A man hath joy by the answer of his mouth: and a word spoken in due season, how good is it!” Proverbs 15:23!

Could it be that what we are saying is preventing us from having continued joy? This is certainly the implication of the above scripture. What we say affects our joy. I know from practical experience that when I speak words of edification, exhortation and comfort that those same words come back to me. The law of sowing and reaping is very apparent regarding words. The fruit we bear will be dependent upon what comes out of our mouth.

A basic premise of the Christian faith is that every human being is a spirit, has a soul, and lives in a body. What we eat becomes us physiologically; what we think upon becomes us psychologically; and what we say becomes us spiritually. There is strong connection between what we say and the fruit of the spirit as recorded in Galatians 5:22,23. “... love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.”

The need to guard the words of our mouth becomes very apparent after careful examination of the fruit we

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are bearing. We can say things in many ways. Proverbs 16:24 indicates that “Pleasant words are as a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and health to the bones.” We find from Proverbs 18:20 that “A man’s belly shall be satisfied with the fruit of his mouth; and with the increase of his lips shall he be filled.” When this is interpreted spiritually, the belly is our spirit or innermost being, which shall be satisfied by the fruit or words coming out of our mouth, and they shall increase or continue to grow and bear fruit.

The kind of fruit we are displaying is dependent upon what we say. The power of positive thinking has many benefits, but the power of positive speaking makes the difference between success or failure. Proverbs 6:2 “Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth, thou art taken with the words of thy mouth.” Proverbs 15:1 “A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.” Proverbs 15:4 “A wholesome tongue is a tree of life: but perverseness therein is a breach in the spirit.”

The spiritual formula for a joyful life is to guard the words of your mouth.

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Chapter 2

2 On Guard

To develop the fruit of the spirit in one’s life requires yielding the will to the Holy Spirit’s direction. The Holy Spirit is the One who will develop the character of Christ in the Christian. Being grafted into a tree (Christ) is one thing, but allowing the flow of life of that tree to bring forth fruit requires yielding to that flow (the Holy Spirit). We can block that flow by making a wrong confession with our lips.

The Psalmist David was very aware of this fact as recorded in Psalms 17:1-6:

Hear the right, O Lord, attend unto my cry, give ear unto my prayer, that goeth not out of feigned lips. Let my sentence come forth from thy presence; let thine eyes behold the things that are equal. Thou has proved mine heart; thou has visited me in the night; thou hast tried me and shalt find nothing; I am purposed that my mouth shall not transgress. Concerning the works of men, by the word of thy lips I have kept me from the paths of the destroyer. Hold up my goings in thy paths, that my footsteps slip not. I have called upon Thee, for thou wilt hear me, O God: incline thine ear unto me, and hear my speech.

David knew the power of his words as you can tell by his statement, “Hear me when I talk, Lord, and you will see that I am purposed that my mouth shall not transgress against Thee.” David wanted to speak God’s Word and not his own. He knew that God’s

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Word is creative. The caution and guard that David placed over his mouth is emphasized in verse 4. “Concerning the works of men, by the word of thy lips I have kept me from the paths of the destroyer.”

We are overcome by what we say and we can overcome by what we say. “Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.” Proverbs 18:21. This scripture indicates that we can speak life or death, love or hate, peace or conflict, and that we shall have a part in the results caused by our words.

Warfare or conflict in man takes place between the human spirit and soul. The soul acquires all its knowledge through the senses and the spirit acquires all its knowledge from God and His Word. Guarding what comes out of our mouth is reenforced by Proverbs 21:23. “Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue keepeth his soul from troubles.”

Paul recognized this problem in the natural minded man and admonished the Corinthian believers about it:

And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able. For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?

1 Corinthians 3:1-3

Envy develops in the soul of man beginning as a thought from the enemy. When envy is allowed to remain and grow it will eventually come out and be expressed in words. Speaking, giving life to the envy in

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On Guard

the soul, will cause strife for the speaker, and also the hearer, and will lead to divisions, separation of man from man and man from God. Paul called such a person carnal and not spiritual minded.

David expressed it for us in Psalms 19:14. “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer.”

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Chapter 3

3 Words

One day while studying and meditating on the Word of God, the Lord opened my understanding to a scripture verse found in Matthew 18:18. “Verily I say to you, whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” The Lord spoke to me in my spirit and said, “Whatsoever meaneth WORDS.” My first thought was, “WORDS! What do you mean ‘Whatsoever meaneth WORDS?’” And He said, “Whatsoever [WORDS] ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven and whatsoever [WORDS] ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Then the Lord Jesus Christ began to teach me what He meant. “Since you have been created in the image of God and God spoke the worlds into existence by faith, that same ability is within you that when you speak you can create.” Hebrews 11:3: “Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.” Romans 10:8: “But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth and in thy heart, that is the word of faith, which we preach.”

John 1:1-4:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him and without Him was not anything made that was made. In Him was life

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and the life was the light of men.

So our words are powerful and are a creative force. We know that we can speak love to someone or we can speak hate, the choice is ours. When we speak we create. That is why it is important to speak the Word of God in every situation. Isaiah 55:11: “So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.” God watches over His word to perform it.

The Lord continued to teach me by explaining that because we are created in the image of God we have been given the ability to speak; and since we create by speaking, we must guard our words. Once our words are spoken, we alone can bind the influence those words have on ourselves. Our words and prayers are eternal as recorded in Revelation 8:3,4.

You may recall a few years ago the report which described several areas in the United States where individuals were receiving television programs on their sets that were not being sent out by any station. The programs were many years old and had not been shown by any network since used originally. The only conclusion was that the signals for the programs were in the air and conditions were such as to allow them to be picked up and seen at that time.

Since our prayers are reserved in Heaven and God’s Word is creative, we can conclude that God’s Word is still active today. In fact, His Word is in the very air we breathe. His Word is alive and has the power to accomplish exactly what it was intended to accomplish.

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Chatper 4

4 Agree With God

“Again I say unto you, that if two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in Heaven.” Matthew 18:19. Jesus explains here the importance of agreement and asking according to the will of God. Since God is already in agreement with His Word, all we need to do is get someone to agree with us regarding God’s Word and ask in faith to receive what His Word declares.

This is why the enemy is fighting so hard against the family. He continually attempts to keep a husband and wife from agreeing on anything.

The following is an example of the lack of agreement and of a wrong confession. A young medical student had a phobia about taking examinations, especially the state licensing examination which he had to take when he finished his schooling. He had confessed to his wife, “What if I graduate from medical school but do not pass my exams and, as a result, not be allowed to practice medicine!” You can imagine the result. He took his state board exams three different times and failed them each time. He has since become a Christian and has learned that part of the reason for his failure to pass the examination was his wrong confession. He became bound by his own words regarding his ability to pass the examinations.

There is an expression used that states we become what we think about; however, I am convinced that we

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are more strongly affected for good or evil based upon what we say. It is very important to recognize that much of what is happening to us today is a result of something that was spoken previously. This is why the Biblical principle of forgiveness is so important. When you ask someone to forgive you for something that you have said or done, it releases the person offended and the one asking for forgiveness.

When we speak we create, so we are responsible for our words; and we are the only ones that can bind the effect our words have on ourselves.

An example of this principle in action can be found in Mark 11:12-14:

And on the morrow when they were come from Bethany, He was hungry: and seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came, if haply he might find anything thereon: and when He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for the time of figs was not yet. And Jesus answered and said unto it, ‘No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever.’ And his disciples heard it.

What Jesus had done was for the benefit of His disciples. He was giving them an example of a spiritual principle. He used something natural to teach them something spiritual. Let us look at the result beginning with verse 20 of the same chapter 11 in Mark’s gospel:

And in the morning as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. And Peter calling to remembrance saith unto Him, ‘Master, behold, the fig tree which thou cursedst is withered away.’ And Jesus answering saith unto them, ‘Have faith in God. For verily I say unto you that whosoever shall say unto this mountain, be thou removed and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart,

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Agree With God

but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass, he shall have whatsoever he saith. Therefore I say unto you, what things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in Heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in Heaven forgive your trespasses.’

Do you think it strange that Jesus talked to a tree and he tells us to speak unto a mountain? Verse 14 says that Jesus answered the tree. The tree must have been telling Him something and when Jesus commanded that ‘‘no man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever” the reason for existence of that tree ended and the results of God’s Word was manifested the next day. It dried up from its roots, meaning the tree died as a result of the Lord’s Word spoken to it.

The disciples did not understand what Jesus was doing when He spoke to the tree. However, the next day they saw the result of His conversation with the tree. The spiritual principle is outlined by Jesus with His statement, ‘‘Have faith in God,” or “Have the faith of God”—when you speak, your words are powerful, either for good or evil.

Whatever mountain or circumstance we face in life can be overcome by the Word of God spoken from lips of faith. Thinking about it will do no good. We must speak and give life or death based upon the situation. Proverbs 18:21.

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Chapter 5

5 Confession Thus Possession

On two different occasions Jesus used similar words in teaching His disciples. Matthew 16:19 is identical to Matthew 18:18; and as we know when something is stated more than once, it must be important and we should take notice. “And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever [WORDS] thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in Heaven: and whatsoever [WORDS] thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in Heaven.” Matthew 16:19. I added the word WORDS to the scripture and believe that is what is meant by “whatsoever.”

Romans 10:8,9,10 is one example of how this teaching works:

But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth and in thy heart, that is the word of faith which we preach. That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

A person has to confess with his mouth; that is why Christianity is called The Great Confession. We have to confess—give life to—our own salvation, even though it was established on our behalf by the Lord Jesus Christ. Being born again happens when we believe in our heart and make the right confession.

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Jesus states in Matthew 12:31-37:

Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come. Either make the tree good and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit.

Blasphemy against the Holy Ghost is speaking with your mouth. It is not thinking about it but rather saying something, using words purposely to attribute the works of God to satan, or the works of satan to God. The Holy Ghost who watches over God’s Word to perform it should not be treated with blasphemy. He is the active agent regarding our own salvation. The tree spoken of in verse 33 refers to a man and his fruit. What is our fruit? Our fruit is the words we are confessing with our mouth.

If you and I were to sit in a room all day without talking to each other, we would never get to really know each other. It is by talking with someone that you get to know what is on that person’s soul and their spirit. So we need to be careful as to what we say: either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree corrupt and its fruit corrupt, for the tree is known by its fruit.

Verses 34,35:

O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. A good man out of the good treasure of the heart

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Confession Thus Possession

bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.

The next verses contain a stern warning. “But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.” We can classify an idle word as a car that is idling and not going anywhere—it is not providing the transportation that it was designed for. It is just idling! That is the kind of words that do not do anyone any good, of no benefit. We will give account for those words as verse 36 indicates. “For by thy words thou shalt be justified and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.” Verse 37. We can either set ourselves free by what we say, or we can bind ourselves by what we say.

Revelation 12:11 “And they overcame him (satan) by the blood of the Lamb (Christ), and by the word of their testimony.”

We are bound or free by what we confess with our mouth.

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Chapter 6

6 How It Works

A Christian was in the hospital believing God for his healing and expecting good results from his tests. A friend came by to visit and in the course of conversation he told of someone he knew who died of the same problem. Additionally, he told his friend that he did not look too well and hoped that he would not be in the hospital too long. A real Job’s comforter! After his friend left the patient felt a negative influence in his room and recognized that their total conversation was one of bondage. He immediately prayed and made his positive confession to overcome the words spoken against him. “Heavenly Father, you heard all the words out of faith spoken in this room against me. I now bind those words and any adverse effect upon me and I loose myself unto you and your promises for me. I claim my complete deliverance now.” He was set free by his confession and released from the hospital completely healed.

While teaching in a college in West Texas, a new student in my class asked to speak with me. He stated that he had a mild case of epilepsy and that should he have a seizure in class I should just allow him to rest for a few moments and he would recover. This was the first time for a student in one of my courses to share a problem of this nature with me. I decided to counsel the young man to find out more about his background. His story is interesting. We will call him Jim, which is not his real name. Jim had a twin brother who was 6’2” tall, very athletic, intelligent and could do no wrong in the

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eyes of his father. Jim was about 5’6” tall, slim, wirey and had been a mediocre student. Jim’s father continually confessed over him that he was “no good and would never amount to anything.” Jim was always compared with his brother and fell short every time. Jim’s father called him a “pool hall bum” as he spent most of his time escaping his father’s abuse in the pool hall with his friends. Jim became what his father confessed over him and the only way he could cope with this problem was to escape into a fantasy world. He became a liar, a cheater, and he stole things to prove his worth and to gain identity.

Jim had become bound by the confession (words) of his father who was his spiritual authority. I feel his epilepsy was the result of demon activity. His father should have taken the things that Jim was good at and developed him from there. Jim was very negative about life, himself, and other people because that was all that was confessed over him. Jim became exactly what his father confessed about him.

A probation officer who was having numerous problems with his clients, heard me lecture on the principle of binding and loosing words to set one free. Months later he gave testimony on the effectiveness of this principle. He stated that during counseling sessions he now instructs his subjects to guard their words and switch from negative speaking about themselves to positive speaking. He reported that a pronounced change has been observed and the results in successful living have been miraculous.

One day as I was driving to a Bible study where I was to be the guest teacher, I put myself in bondage by saying the wrong thing. This is what happened. While attempting to turn right at the first major street after

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How It Works

exiting from an expressway, I became angry at the driver of a vehicle in front of me. The driver had failed to observe the “right turn only” lane sign and had discovered it too late to change lanes. When the driver discovered her error, she attempted to move from the right lane to the center lane and blocked both lanes of traffic from moving forward. I proceeded to tell her what a bad driver she was and I was very pointed about her failure to be observant. It was a very hot day, so all the windows of my automobile were closed and the air conditioning was on so she could not hear my words. I did not use vulgar or bad language but never the less it was not positive. Instead of praying for her in her plight, I criticized her for her actions. She did not hear my words; however, they surely affected me in a negative way.

When we finally turned the corner and were on our way, the Holy Spirit convicted me of what I had said. I recognized what had happened and the binding power of my words. I had to put to death the words that I had spoken and after doing so I immediately felt a release in my spirit.

The problem had developed so quickly that I did not recognize what I had done to myself until the Holy Spirit chastened me. Once I understood what I had done to myself and obeyed the Holy Spirit by binding the negative words that I had spoken against the other driver, I was freed from the bondage of my words.

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Chapter 7

7 The Formula

Jesus Christ wants us to live in freedom. Guarding our words is a key to staying free. James 3:1-13 gives us guidelines for the use of our tongues:

My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation. For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body. Behold, we put bits in the horses’ mouths that they may obey us; and we turn about their whole body. Behold also the ships, which though they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth. Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell. For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind: but the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be. Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter? Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs?

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so can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh. Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? Let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom.

These scriptures are very pointed and forceful regarding our responsibility in guarding the words of our mouth. The key to success is found in 2 Corinthians 10:5 “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself above the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.” The way to success is bringing our thoughts into line with the living Word of God. Philippians 4:8:

Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

What we think about affects us and what affects us will come out in our conversation. So it is best for us to think right, talk right, and as a result, live right.

Now we need to follow through and set ourselves free. Let us exercise faith and believe the Word of God as we bind everything that we have ever spoken against our loved ones: our spouse, children, parents, relatives and any others whom we have affected by our words. After we have bound the words we have spoken against them, we will loose God’s promises and blessings upon all of them.

Pray this prayer out loud to receive deliverance.

Heavenly Father, I come to you in Jesus’ name. I ask you to forgive me for every idle word, every negative

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The Formula

word, every word out of faith, every word out of love, every word out of your will that I have ever spoken against myself. I now bind those words and I command that they can have no more effect upon me; and I loose myself unto your promises because all your promises are Yea and Amen in Christ Jesus. I receive them now.

Additionally, I bind every word that I have ever spoken out of faith, out of love, out of your will, against any member of my family: my spouse, my children, my relatives, against any of the people who are very close to me, any employer or employees and co-workers. I command those words to have no more effect or power on these lives. I also loose all these to receive your promises and blessings in Jesus’ name.

Now, Father, I bind the influence of every word that anyone has ever spoken against me and I believe your Word to go before me. Your Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. Whom the Son has set free is free indeed, and I have been redeemed from the curse of the law. Amen! Hallelujah! Thank you Jesus!

You are now free to worship and serve God without any condemnation regarding your past. God will honor your faith; and should you catch yourself slipping back and saying words that should not be spoken, just bind them in Jesus’ name and keep yourself free.

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How To Set Yourself Free - Frank Romanelli

Spiritual

Transcript of How To Set Yourself Free - Frank Romanelli