May 5, 2014 8:07 am / Leave a comment
Some time ago, I visited a friend of a church member who had cancer and wanted healing. He was all ears, lapping and soaking up everything I shared with him. Today, he worships with us in our church and is completely healed of cancer.
I remember being at another man’s home at the invitation of his family members. He too was suffering from cancer. When I entered his home, the man had his television on. I started sharing Christ with him but he was not at all interested in what I was saying. He continued watching the television program. I knew then that his healing was a lost cause because faith for healing comes by hearing God’s Word, not by watching television, reading newspapers or listening to your favorite music.
Don’t get me wrong. I am not against these things, but they are not going to heal you. When you are sick, what you want is God’s healing flowing in your body. How does that happen?
One of the primary ways in which it happens is when you read your Bible, soaking up everything on Jesus. Before you know it, His divine health flows into your body, driving out every symptom of pain, sickness and disease. Even your discouragement dissolves effortlessly. You find yourself encouraged, refreshed and your darkness giving way to light. You see, there is no way you can feed on Jesus through reading and hearing His Word, and still remain the same. He said, “The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.” (John 6:63)
My friend, God wants Jesus to be food for you. We feed on Christ by seeing Him unveiled in the Word, by seeing and meditating on what the Holy Spirit reveals of His beauty and glory, and His finished work at Calvary. That is how we enjoy Jesus. It is like having a good meal. And when you do that, Jesus Himself promises that “he who feeds on Me will live because of Me”!
April 28, 2014 11:10 pm / Leave a comment
The Word Became Flesh – Andrew Wommack Ministries
When God speaks, His words are binding—they’re like an unbreakable contract. He always says exactly what He means, He never lies, and He never says, “Whoops, I’ve changed My mind.”
Hebrews 1:3 says, “Upholding all things by the word of his power,” and Psalm 89:34 says, “My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips.”
This entire universe is being held together by the power of God’s words. It was His word that created the earth and every living thing on it, and by His words, He created Adam and Eve. He didn’t make them or any part of this world with His hands; He spoke it all into existence. Then, after creating all of this, He said,
And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. (Gen. 1:28)
He gave absolute dominion to Adam and Eve. When He said “I give you authority and dominion,” He took His power—His right to rule and control the earth—and gave it to physical human beings. In a sense, He excluded Himself from ruling over the earth.
I know that’s a new wrinkle in some of your brains, but it’s true, and it answers many questions concerning the sovereignty of God. In the series I’m airing on the Gospel Truth this month, entitled The Word Became Flesh, I will teach more about God’s sovereignty and what that means to you.
In Psalm 15:4, the Bible says that a godly man will swear to his own hurt and change not. The word godly means like God. God will swear to His own hurt and change not. So, when Adam and Eve disobeyed God, He did not violate His word to save man from the terrible problems that would come from their decisions. Human beings were given this earth to do with as they saw fit. However, this did not catch God by surprise; He knew it was going to happen and already had a plan in place to reconcile man back unto Himself.
For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ. Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. (Rom. 5:17-19)
In Revelation 13:8, it says, “And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” (underline mine).
These scriptures answer two very important questions: One, why did Jesus have to come to earth, and two, if it was necessary for Him to come, why did God wait 4,000 years to get Him here?
It was a man—a physical human being—who had been given authority on the earth by God. When man allowed himself to be deceived and when he yielded his power to Satan, he became, in a sense, joint-heirs with the devil. Satan has to work through a human being. Man, through his physical body, gave Satan authority on this earth.
Therefore, it was necessary for a man with a physical body to take back that authority.God had to become man, to give Him the authority to execute judgment on the earth: “And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man” (John 5:27). God cannot break or change His word, so He was restricted to act within the word He had already spoken.
But why did it take 4,000 years? Here is the logic: When God created the first man, He said, “Let us make man in our image” (Gen. 1:26). He literally spoke Adam’s body into existence. At that time, He had the legal right to do that because He had not yet given authority over this earth to man.
However, once He had given that authority to man, He could not leave him out of the equation. The last Adam, Jesus, would still have to be spoken into existence by God, but He would have to speak through man. God was no longer in direct control, and a man would have to become the voice of His words. Psalm 115:16 explains—
The heaven, even the heavens, are the Lord’s: but the earth hath he given to the children of men.
That is a strong statement. In other words, everything outside of the earth belongs to God, but the earth He gave to the children of man. God literally placed restrictions on Himself through His own words. He had to work through people, and there were very few people sensitive enough to hear Him in their hearts and then prophesy what they heard.
God had to create the new Adam through words spoken by someone with a physical body. Galatians 4:4 says, “But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son.” If you study that out, it means at the appropriate moment. Until then, all the prophetic utterances hadn’t been spoken. Jesus could not come onto the scene until everything that had to be said was said.
For example, it had to be prophesied that Jesus would be born of a virgin. That was critical because Jesus would not be just a good man—Jesus was God manifest in the flesh. Through Mary, Jesus received a physical body, but it was the blood of God the Father flowing through Him. He was a God-man.
Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. (Luke 1:34-35)
Here is what I believed happened. Mary asked, “How’s this going to happen?” She wasn’t questioning the possibility; it was just the how. And the angel said that the word of God is the incorruptible seed:“All of the words spoken over 4,000 years, through hundreds of people, are going to conceive in you.” First Peter 1:23 says, “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.”
The Greek word for “seed” in this scripture is spora. It comes from the same root word as sperma, which is talking about the seed of a man. The virgin birth of Jesus was completely natural in every respect except one: It was not the seed of a man. The seed was the word of God. The Word became flesh! All that had been prophesied about Jesus became the spora, or the seed.
Whether it’s literal or symbolic, I believe that each of us have a spiritual womb. We take the supernatural words of God—the seed of the miracles we need—and we meditate on them until they conceive, until we can see the result in our hearts. Then, when we can see it, we can speak it into existence. This is what Jesus was talking about in Mark 11:23:
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, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. God’s Word is living and alive. His Word is health unto all of your flesh and life to them that find it. He sent His Word to heal and deliver from destruction and more. And for those who will place His words in their hearts and allow those seeds to conceive, they will in time see the manifestation of what they believe and speak.
April 24, 2014 9:14 pm / Leave a comment
Effortless Change – Andrew Wommack
Kneeling beside my bed one day in 1968, I began to pray, “Lord, what do I have to do to get from where I am to where You want me to be?” I opened my eyes, and as I saw my Bible laying on the bed in front of me, I heard the Lord say, “Just put My Word in your heart, and it will do the rest.”
Although the Lord spoke that to me in prayer, it was important for me to see it in the Word. He revealed and confirmed it to me through a parable in Mark 4:26-29. It says,
And he said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground; [27] And should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how. [28] For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear. [29] But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come.
In this parable, Jesus compared the Word of God to a seed (Mark 4:14). Today, since so few of us are farmers, it might take a little explanation for us to fully grasp these truths.
First, He taught that God’s Word has to be planted like a seed in our hearts. Just as a seed doesn’t release its life until it is planted into the ground, God’s Word will not set us free until we get it in our hearts. Having the Bible on our tables, in our hands, or in our heads is not sufficient; we have to let God’s Word penetrate our hearts.
Second, the man who sowed the seed slept and rose day after day. It takes time for a seed to germinate. You can’t plant a seed one day and expect to see it growing the next day. Just because there’s nothing visible aboveground doesn’t mean the seed isn’t growing. If you dig it up every day to see if anything is happening, it will die.
A farmer has to leave his seed in the ground and believe that it’s growing even though he can’t see it. Likewise, you have to have faith that the seed of God’s Word will do what it was designed by God to do: produce its fruit in its time. Many people dig up the Word by speaking directly against what it says. They’ll let natural circumstances override what God says.
But when we meditate in God’s Word, we are undergoing effortless change! We may not see ourselves growing, but we are—just like that planted seed is growing under the ground even though the farmer can’t see it!
I know that effortless change sounds impossible to most people. The vast majority of people view change as one of the most traumatic experiences in life. But there is a way to change effortlessly. That is to take the seed of God’s Word and sow it in our hearts. Then the Word will produce all the change we need.
You’ve never seen an apple tree travail to produce an apple. It takes time, but it comes effortlessly. Likewise, it is the nature of all true born-again believers to be like Jesus. But it can’t happen without planting the seed of God’s Word in your heart.
Growth means change. Have you ever seen a plant that’s green and growing and not in a constant state of change? For the plant, it’s effortless; it just grows, and the change is evident to everyone. Your life should be just like that—green, growing, changing, and evident to the world. The plant never resolved to do anything. It just grows and produces fruit because of what it is. The Word of God is the same. When planted, it just produces—effortlessly.
If you’re like a lot of Christians, you have probably tried to change many times but find it hard and frustrating.That’s because you aren’t going about it God’s way. You substitute prayer, fasting, and your own effort for the seed of God’s Word. Don’t get me wrong: Prayer and fasting are like water and fertilizer to a seed. A seed needs those things. But it is the seed that has the miracle of life in it.
The only effort on your part is to put God’s Word in your heart and protect and nurture it. Then God’s Word will produce the change.
My whole life and ministry are the product of meditating on God’s Word. Any good thing in my life or ministry can be traced back to how God’s Word has changed me. I believe it’s the same for you. In the natural world, everything revolves around seed, time, and harvest. It’s the same in the spiritual world. God’s Word is the seed that, given time, produces a harvest.
I want to help make this new year the most fruitful time of change and harvest you’ve ever had. I’ve put together a combination of resources that will help you succeed in planting the seed of God’s Word in your life.
In the natural, we recognize that we can’t have a harvest without planting seeds. But in the spiritual realm, Christians try it all the time. Instead of going to the Word and meditating in the Scriptures themselves, they run to someone who has spent time in the Word and ask them for help. It’s an attempt to shortcut the process of seed, time, and harvest.
Then, if they don’t see results, they get confused and offended. God can meet needs through the faith of others, but it’s temporary and His secondary way of touching us. God’s best is to take the seed of His Word and plant it in our hearts where it will naturally and effortlessly produce the changes we desire.
When the Lord directed me to focus on His Word, everything changed. That is overly simple to some, but that word from God all those years ago has been my prime directive for forty-six years and has produced miraculous results. And the change this has produced has been nearly effortless. All I had to do was stay committed to God’s Word.
April 24, 2014 5:40 am / Leave a comment
Can you imagine the Lord wanting to wash your feet? Peter could not. His shocked reaction—“Lord, how can you wash my feet!”—would probably be ours too.
I want you to notice what the Lord said to him: “Peter, if I don’t wash your feet, you have no part with Me.” What the Lord was actually saying to Peter was, “Peter, you cannot flow together with Me, you cannot walk together with Me in ministry, in service and in effectiveness, if you don’t let Me wash your feet.” So Peter said, “Lord, [wash] not my feet only, but also my hands and my head!” (John 13:9)
But Jesus answered him saying, “He who is bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean…” (John 13:10)
Once we have accepted Christ as our Lord and Savior, we are bathed all over, and cleansed by His blood once and for all eternity! His blood has perfected us forever (Hebrews 10:14), and we only need to wash our feet because we walk in the world and our feet pick up dust and dirt, causing us to stumble.
So how is Jesus washing our feet today? Ephesians 5:25–26 tells us that “Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the Word”.
We, the church, are cleansed with the washing of water by the Word. The more we come under anointed teaching that unveils Christ through the Word, the more the cleansing goes on. And as our feet are washed, instead of stumbling, we will be walking and even running!
Today, though high and lifted up in heaven, Jesus is dressed in a robe with a golden girdle around his chest. (Revelation 1:13) Like a servant who uses his girdle as a towel to serve, Jesus wants us to sit down and let Him serve us—by washing our feet with a deeper revelation of Himself through His Word. Beloved, this is what gives us victory in our daily walk!
April 14, 2014 1:54 pm / Leave a comment
Choose The Good Part And Be Blessed – Joseph Prince Ministries
God instructs us for our own benefit. He wants us to profit in every area of our lives—health, finances, career, marriage and family relationships. The Bible says that it is God who teaches us to profit. And it is He who leads us in the way that we should go.
God always has our best interests at heart. We only have to sit at His feet, listen to His Word and just have fresh, daily communion with Him, and He will make our way fruitful.
But we are constantly bombarded with things to do every day, like sending the kids to school, attending a business meeting or making a sales presentation. Likewise, in church, there are just as many important things to attend to—ministering to the needy, reaching out to the lost and healing the sick. But you know what? All these things will be taken care of when we sit at Jesus’ feet and listen to His Word.
What was the Lord’s response to Martha’s complaint that her sister was sitting at His feet and listening to Him, instead of helping her with the many tasks? “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:41–42)
Yet, many of us are like Martha. We worry about many things. And we are so busy that we have no time to sit at Jesus’ feet to listen to His Word and enjoy communion with Him. When we fail to draw from Him, we end up running on our own strength, and relying on our own flesh and wisdom to get things done. Listen, you can never have a plan that is better than God’s!
My friend, do you want to be led by God’s wisdom and timing in your decision-making? Then, make it a point to choose the good part like Mary did. Spend time with Jesus, open your Bible and say, “Lord, speak to me.” You will find that your heavenly Father takes care of your troubles, and teaches and leads you to profit!
April 9, 2014 6:16 am / Leave a comment
UNDERSTANDING GOD’S WORD – Andrew Wommack Ministries
Luke 8:12, “Those by the wayside are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.”
LUKE 8:4-13
The first type of person Jesus describes is someone who doesn’t understand God’s Word (Mt. 13:19). Before God’s Word can penetrate your heart, you have to understand (not comprehend) what it’s saying. If the Word isn’t understood, then it will be like seed scattered on top of hard-packed ground (the wayside). The birds will eat the seed and there will be no fruit.
Mark 4:15 and Luke 8:12, make it clear that these birds represent satan, and Mark says the devil comes immediately to steal away the Word. Satan did not have direct access to the Word in any of the other heart-types which Jesus described. Satan cannot steal the Word from us if we will hide it in our hearts (Ps. 119:11). This first type of person simply heard the Word but didn’t receive it. He never applied it to his life, so he lost it.
Notice that Luke links belief and salvation with the Word being sown in our hearts in the same way as Romans 10:14-17. If there is no Word, there cannot be any belief or salvation (I Pet. 1:23). We must preach the Word – not just morality or social issues.
Luke’s use of the word “saved” could include, but is not necessarily limited to, forgiveness of sins. Salvation includes much more than forgiveness of sins. This verse could describe a person who didn’t receive the Word and, therefore, was eternally damned. It could also be describing a Christian who simply doesn’t receive the Word in a certain area of his life and therefore doesn’t experience the victory that Jesus provided for him. Are you experiencing His victory in your life?
April 8, 2014 7:42 am / Leave a comment
GOD’S WORD: USE AS DIRECTED – From Andrew Wommack Ministries
Luke 8:11, “Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.”
LUKE 8:4-11
This parable illustrates the importance of the Word of God. God’s Word contains total power, but it has to be planted in our hearts and allowed to germinate before it releases that power.
The seed is God’s Word, and the types of ground are the four major categories of men’s hearts. The Word was the same in each situation, but there were different results in each case because of the condition of men’s hearts – not because of the Word. The Word doesn’t work for everyone because not everyone will allow the Word to work. The variable in this parable is the condition of these hearts. God’s Word is always the same. It has the same potential in every heart.
Good ground doesn’t just happen; it must be cultivated. This is the reason why only one out of four persons in Jesus’ parable brought forth fruit. It takes a lot of time, effort, and diligence to be a fruitful Christian. The Christian life is not like a hundred-yard dash but rather a 26.2 mile marathon. It’s quicker and easier to raise weeds than it is to raise tomatoes or corn.
In this whole parable, it was the Word that produced the fruit. The ground simply gave it a place to grow. If we will simply put God’s Word in our hearts, protect it, and give it priority in our lives, the Word will produce fruit of itself. Satan has deceived many people into thinking that they don’t have the talents or abilities to be fruitful Christians, but they are not the ones who bring forth fruit; it’s God’s Word. When we protect the Word sown in our hearts, it will do the rest.
April 7, 2014 12:58 pm / Leave a comment
THE POWER OF GOD’S WORD
Luke 8:11, “Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.”
LUKE 8:11-15
It is through the reading of the Word and the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit that Christ in His fullness is known. What a privilege it is today to have God’s Word in our own language. Six hundred years ago there was no English translation of the whole Bible. Thanks to the efforts of John Wycliffe (1384) and William Tyndale (1523), today we are able to read and understand the writings of the apostles for ourselves. Men gave their lives to bring us God’s Word. We should take advantage of this wonderful privilege.
The piece of armor known as the “sword of the Spirit” is the only piece of armor that has the ability to cut, wound, and hurt our enemy, the devil. It’s not the Bible lying on your coffee table that makes the enemy flee, but it is the Word of God hidden in your heart, activated by the power of the Holy Spirit, and spoken in an appropriate situation. It’s similar to what is spoken when Jesus said in John 6:63, that “…the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life.” The Word by itself doesn’t make us free. It is the Word we know and speak that will deliver us (Jn. 8:32).
Why is the Word so effective? It’s because it is the WORD of God. It has authority, because it is indeed the WORD of God. God’s Word supersedes all authority of the church, of reason, of intellect, and even of Satan himself.
It is the Holy Spirit that wields this Word as it is spoken in faith. Speaking God’s Word in faith brings the Holy Spirit into action. In Luke 4, when Jesus was tempted of the devil for forty days, it was the Word of God, that Jesus used to defeat the enemy in the time of His temptation. Jesus constantly met His temptation by quoting from God’s Word as He repeatedly stated the phrase, “It is written.” Likewise, the Christian soldier must avail himself of God’s Word by placing it in his heart, so that the Holy Spirit may bring it forth at the appropriate time to accomplish a complete and total victory. It’s yours!
April 1, 2014 11:39 am / Leave a comment
Good morning all,
While reading this devotional word I thought about a dream the Lord gave me last year concerning true treasure. The Lord gave me that dream because of how I responded in the wrong way to someone close to me that persecuted me. The enemy had to use this particular person because of the closeness of our relationship and that I received a Word from the Lord that produced changed in my life. But when this person attacked me I responded in negative emotions instead of responding in the Spirit of God. We are not to recompense evil for evil (Romans 12:17). When we do that we lose the treasures which is God’s Word; which is more than any amount of money or natural treasure. In the dream I was given a bag full of treasures. They were gorgeous and they meant a lot to me. Not because they were gold, but because they came from the Lord. As I was looking in the bag and saw the treasures, I felt honored. But in a quick instance my head turned to the altar. I went to the altar and without question I placed those treasures, that meant so much to me, on the altar; giving them to an idol that was on the altar. Then on that same altar I sacrificed my body to this idol. The Lord’s Holy Spirit told me the treasures that were in the bag were the Word of God and when I gave in to that persecution in a negative way, I gave away those treasures. When we give in to satan we are not placing importance to the Word of God. We are not seeing it as holy and sacred. So when we think about treasures let’s think about the Word of God. The Lord gave us a parable in Mark 4:13-20 on when the Word is sown on different type of hearts. In my case, the Word was sown among thorns. I heard the word, but allowed the cares of this world and the desire for other things to come and choke the word and it became unfruitful. When we have a singleness of heart with our Lord Jesus, the Word can fall on good ground. We hear it, accept it, and bear fruit from it. Matthew 7:6 tell us to not give what is holy to the dogs nor cast our pearls before swine. When we accept the word, we need to keep it in our hearts and minds so it isn’t taken. NOTE: Greek meaning for “Keep” is to protect; to hem in (enclose; to put in).
SINGLENESS OF HEART – From Andrew Wommack Ministries
Matthew 12:35, “A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.”
MATTHEW 12:32-45
Our spirit is definitely a part of our heart, but as seen in 1 Peter 3:4, it is only a part. Sin, iniquity, unbelief, etc., come from the heart but not the born-again spirit. Hebrews 4:12 suggests that spirit and soul are both part of the heart; hence, the scriptures admonish us to believe with all our heart (Acts 8:37), have singleness of heart (Col. 3:22), and tell us our hearts can have two minds or ways of thinking (Jas. 4:8).
Even Christians still struggle with things like pride and foolishness which Jesus said came out of our heart. It’s certain that our born again spirit is not the source of these sins. The heart encompasses more than our spirit.
The English word “soul” comes from the Greek word “psuche,” translated “heart, life, mind, and soul.” The mind is the principle and leading part of the soul, followed by the will and emotions. We could also describe the soul as being the hidden part of all existing beings or what most people would call the personality. The soul is the center of the feelings and emotions, appetites and desires, as well as sense perception and consciousness. The soul may also speak of the totality of a person – his total being or self, a person, and the hidden man or inward man. The soul and the body do not get born again. It is the spirit of man that becomes totally new at salvation. So, although every believer receives the same miraculous spiritual rebirth, the visible results of that inward change will vary from person to person according to how much he renews his mind. The term “heart” can include all of the inner man – spirit, soul, or any portion thereof. The peace of God will keep your heart at rest in Christ Jesus. Let Him.
March 31, 2014 11:26 am / Leave a comment
Your Answer Is In His Word – From Joseph Prince Ministries
God has given us a sure way to receive the answers to our problems and challenges. It is His Word. Every answer or solution we need is found in the Bible.
Yet, many Christians are not walking victoriously in certain areas of their lives. This is because the devil continuously wages a war of distraction against them. He has managed to take them away from the one thing that can bring them victory—the Word. He will do everything possible to prevent them from opening the Bible because he knows that the Word will deliver them.
The distraction can be very subtle: A lot of things to get done, a lot of TV programs that interest you, or it may take the form of a big problem that makes you feel that you need to focus all your attention on it. The enemy knows that if he can get you to take your eyes off the Word of God, he can keep you from winning the battle.
When you are going through a tough time, it is not enough to know that God’s answer to the problem is “somewhere in the Bible”. Find the scripture in which God has promised the solution. Meditate on it until the truth of that scripture is revealed to you. When you do this, no demon or devil can prevent that word from God from bearing fruit in your life.
Even Jesus Himself used the Word to defeat the devil in the wilderness—“It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’” (Matthew 4:4) The way to defeat the enemy is with “It is written…”
My friend, there is no substitute for the written Word. God tells us that we will find life and health if we give our attention to His Word and keep it in the midst of our hearts. So get into the Word and let God’s promises abide in you.
DIY - One Room At A Time 