Keys to the Kingdom by Richard Roberts
SPRR RICHARD ROBERTS Now you and your husband got to the Charismatic Bible Ministries Fellowship at the Oral Roberts Conference and what happened?
SPKM DENISE VICKERS Richard, but let me tell you this. People have got to understand this, see. See, I had to go to war against the devil. He had sucked the violence out of me. I had lost my violence after 2| years. I had no violence to come against the devil and I had to take back what was mine. He went to the cross for it. See, there was a purpose in his going to the cross and I had to accept what he went to the cross for. See, Satan had sucked that out of me. He had taken away from me my belief in the power of the cross.
SPRR RICHARD ROBERTS It was for you.
SPKM DENISE VICKERS It was for me. (APPLAUSE) He had me on the mind when he hung on that cross. So when I made that appointment with God, I also spent five weeks and I stopped dealing with rheumatoid arthritis. I put that disease aside and I went to war against the devil and I’ll tell you…. now this sounds funny, but this is what I did. I watched those “Rocky” movies. Now I know that’s natural, but let me tell you what I did. I had lost my fight, so when I would see Rocky preparing for the fight it would make me feel the violence coming back in me and I would watch that “Rocky” movie and then I’d get up and turn it off and I’d say, “Satan, you’re going down, you’re going down.” (APPLAUSE) See,
I knew he was going to go down in Tulsa. I knew it. So for five weeks I’d take that medication every morning and every night and I’d take that pill and I’d say, “You’re going down, devil. You’re going down, devil.” And the more I said it, the meaner I got. I got so bad, see. God told me…. this is what people have got to realize. God told me: Denise, you’re bad. You’re bad. You can do it. You can go out there and knock the devil out. God said, “I give you the keys to the kingdom and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven….. I mean, in heaven shall be bound on earth, see. And so God began…. just like Rocky had prepared all those months and then he went into the side room the day of the fight. Well, I was at the hotel here in Tulsa and I couldn’t walk because we had driven all those miles.
So Steve came on to the morning service and I stayed in a hot tub of water to get my joints moving. I was walking retarded when I walked into the Mabee Center. I looked retarded. My hands were bent forward and my ankles and my legs….. I looked as a person that was totally retarded and I was in high heels, I don’t know why. (LAUGHTER) Let me tell you what happened. I was at the hotel by myself and I was putting on my makeup and all of a sudden Satan yelled at me: God’s not going to show up for the appointment. And when he did, you’ve got to realize I had been preparing for the fight. And I was like Rocky in the side room before you go into the ring and all of a sudden my coach, God Almighty, said: Denise, I give you the keys to the kingdom. You have the power within you. (APPLAUSE) See, Jesus went to the cross for my rights, see. So when I heard that, when I heard Satan speak up, I began to swing and I hit him. And I spent an hour in that hotel room. You talk about aerobics, Cheryl. I worked up a sweat for an hour. I tell you, I fought the devil. (APPLAUSE) And I mean, I literally hit the air. I said, “You’re going down, devil. You’re going down.” And it hurt every joint to fight him, but I fought him and I said, “You’re going down, Satan. Do you hear me? You’re going down.” And I got dressed and I walked into that Mabee Center like a retarded person and all of a sudden…. you know, I made an agreement with God. I said, “Now listen, God, I don’t have to feel your presence. You don’t have to have someone call out rheumatoid arthritis.