Andrew Wommack's Blog, page 14

God’s Love: Unchanging, Unending, Unconditional!

“If you don’t play my game, I won’t be your friend anymore!”

With a stormy temper, the seven-year-old next door marched up to my daughter and demanded that they play the game she wanted. My stunned daughter didn’t know what to do. She thought friendship should be more enduring. She soon discovered that friends often put conditions on relationships.

Sadly, many adults do the same thing, putting conditions on their willingness to love others. This is often why marriages fail—people aren’t aware of the unconditional love necessary to make marriage work. Perhaps we should consider more possibilities in our marriage vows, such as, “I promise to love you even if you leave dirty socks on the floor and forget how to take out the garbage.” Such vows wouldn’t be very romantic, but they would give engaged couples the opportunity to think about their commitment and the meaning of unconditional love.

Fortunately, God’s love for us is completely unconditional and is freely available to us by grace through faith. We need to understand God’s unconditional love to live in abundant life. Ephesians 2:4-5 says, “But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved).”

How amazing to think that while we probably shouldn’t even have been liked, God completely, eternally, unconditionally loved us! It can be overwhelming to try to comprehend such love. Ephesians 2:4-5 shows us that God’s love for us is based solely on His grace. Our faith needs to stand on this fact. It’s not about the things we do or any value of our own.

Understanding God’s love for us empowers us to know that it is always God’s will to heal us; that it is always His will to prosper us; and that He would save us at any price.

Think of God as the opposite of the weather. The weather is frequently changing. In the natural world, we are subject to the conditions of the weather. One day it may be sunny; the next day, storms are brewing. But not with God. Hebrews 13:8 says, “Jesus Christ [is] the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever” (brackets added). This unchanging quality of God requires that His love for us is unconditional and unchanging.

God is not a friend with conditions. My daughter had to learn to reject the conditions of friendship that our neighbor tried to put on her. We must reject the conditions that we try to put on God’s love for us. Through faith, we must recognize that God loves us without limits.

To learn more about God’s unconditional love, given freely to us through His grace, read Andrew Wommack’s book, Living in the Balance of Grace and Faith.

Written by Roxie Hebson

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Grace + Faith = The Balanced Equation of Life

With safety goggles and long white lab coat on, I began the weekly lab experiment in my high school chemistry class many years ago. I knew that if my measurements were off, I probably wouldn’t cause an explosion, but I would, at the very least, make a mess. I had to be aware of and carefully measure each chemical that I used.

Andrew Wommack makes a salient point about the importance of balance in his book, Living in the Balance of Grace and Faith, through his illustration of the chemicals, sodium and chlorine.

“Both sodium and [chlorine] are poisons. If you take either one of them by themselves in sufficient quantity, they’ll kill you. Yet if you mix sodium and [chlorine] together, you get salt, a mineral necessary to sustain your life.” (p. 9)

Andrew relates the balance of sodium and chlorine to the balance of grace and faith. Orienting life toward either grace or faith causes problems. Too much faith often results in people drowning in a raging sea of legalism, thinking if they can only perform well enough, then God will respond.

On the other hand, too much grace results in people lounging in a rising pool of carelessness, waiting on God to do everything.

Either way, too much faith or too much grace, the people drown.

Balance is the key. Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” This profound passage reveals that our salvation comes by grace through faith.

In our lives, we must balance the call to faith with the realization of grace. At certain times, we must take action. For example, James 4:7 says, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” We must actively resist the devil. Other times, we must rest in God. Psalm 46:10 says, “Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.” We must recognize what God has already done and rest in it.

God clearly intended for us to live balanced lives. Balance can be seen throughout God’s creation. He gave us both day and night. He created both plants and animals, which together form a symbiotic relationship. He gave us different seasons to experience times of growth and times of dormancy.

God designed us to be balanced too. From the time He created us in our mothers’ wombs (Ps. 139:13-14), God freely gave us each special gifts through His grace. Our unique gifts combined with all that God has provided through Jesus empowers us to fulfill our calling. But sometimes, through faith, we must respond and take steps in this fulfillment. For example, thousands of people have responded in faith to attend Charis Bible College, and a multitude of graduates have stepped out in faith all across the world to answer God’s call on their lives.

In my own life, I see the importance of balance every day. Not too long ago, my toddler learned to walk. If I had instructed him to only use his left foot or to only used his right foot, he probably would not have had much success. However, he learned to balance himself by using both of his feet.

Without balance, we make messes, like a haphazard high school student in chemistry class. Thankfully, God has already given us the formula we need to succeed: live in the balance of grace and faith.

To learn more about how you can apply these principles in your life, get Andrew’s Living in the Balance of Grace & Faith book from AWM’s online store.

Written by Roxie Hebson

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The Choice to Be Shy

Growing up, I was painfully shy. I could hardly look a person in the eyes, and the thought of getting up and speaking in front of people would bring me to the point of tears. My mom and I joke to this day about how she always had to ask the sales clerk if I could have a fitting room to try on clothes because I was too scared to ask for myself.

For the longest time, I believed this was just my personality. I was the shy, quiet girl who didn’t like too much attention. But while it was true that I was more of an introvert, what I was believing about myself was, in fact, a trap of the Enemy meant to keep me in bondage.

On Andrew’s Gospel Truth broadcast, he has been doing a verse-by-verse teaching through the book of Proverbs. During this series, Andrew talks about Proverbs 29:25:

“The fear of man brings a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord shall be safe.”

New King James Version

Andrew says, “Any person who is afraid of people’s criticism and of people’s reaction to them is not a free person. . . . You need to recognize that fear of people [and] fear of what people have to say is a trap of the devil. Satan is trying to destroy you. . . . Fear brings bondage. Fear of what people [have] to say is not a free life.”

As I got into the Word more throughout my adult life, I began to realize that this fear wasn’t simply an unfortunate personality trait that I had absolutely no control over. This was bondage: a perfectly set trap to keep me caged in my small world and small thinking. As long as I clung to that lie, I remained right where I was, unable to move forward into what God had for my life.

So, I began taking steps of faith, acting confident even when I didn’t feel confident. Some might see that as being fake or two-faced. But I had to make a decision about which was going to be the higher truth in my life: how I was feeling or what God said about me. I decided that I was going to act on who the Word said I was rather than on how I simply felt at the time. And that has truly made all the difference in my life.

In his Gospel Truth Proverbs series, Andrew also says, “What a great way to live, to where it just doesn’t really matter what people say about you. It’s what God says. If you, in your heart, know that you’re doing what God has told you to do, you do not have to be validated and confirmed by other people. . . . That’s a great way to live.”

Today that shy, insecure little girl is working for Andrew Wommack Ministries, reporting in front of a camera to hundreds of thousands of people all over the world. God had much bigger plans for me than what I was allowing for myself. And you know what? He has bigger plans for you too. The only question is, which plans will you choose?

Don’t miss the Gospel Truth this month as Andrew wraps up his series on Proverbs. It will guide you to God’s timeless wisdom so that you can live your life of purpose.

Written by Jessica Giaimo

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Boldness and Confidence—They’re Yours!

Proverbs 28:1, New King James Version

The wicked flee when no one pursues, But the righteous are bold as a lion.

(Emphasis added)

From my umbrella-shaded lounge chair, I found myself watching a spirited, curly-haired toddler as she broke away from her father’s attempts to clothe her. She dashed naked through the sand toward the shallow ocean waves, gleefully unaware that she was undressed. Reaching the ankle-deep water, she jumped and splashed, unaware of any dangers that the ocean might hold.

As I was taking it all in, I couldn’t help but think about Adam and Eve before the Fall. Naked before God, they lived their lives without shame—until they forfeited their righteousness through sin. Disconnected from God, they became fearful. They tried to cover their shame and nakedness with fig leaves, wrongly believing they needed to flee from their loving Creator.

Thankfully, that wasn’t the end of the story for Adam and Eve or the rest of humanity. God sent His Son to deliver His creation from sin and shame. Through Jesus Christ, our righteousness has been restored, and we can now approach God with confidence. In fact, because of Christ and His redemption, we are now:

1. Adopted. No longer spiritual orphans, we have a heavenly Father who calls us His own, and He will never leave us (Heb. 13:5). The love He has for Jesus is the love He has for us. We have received His Spirit, which is not a spirit of fear and slavery but of boldness and freedom. Now we can call Him “Abba, Daddy!” (Rom. 8:15-16).

2. Accepted. In His love, God always knew that He would restore us to a state of blameless innocence. Forever without fault, we are accepted in the Beloved (Eph. 1:6) and encouraged to come boldly before His throne to receive all the help we need (Heb. 4:16).

3. Approved. Through the abundance of grace and the gift of God’s approval, we are now equipped to rule and reign in life (Rom. 5:17). The God of the universe, our Father, views us with a deep, abiding, never-ending delight. If God is for us, who could possibly be against us (Rom. 8:31)?

4. Authorized. Not only can we come confidently before God’s throne, but we can also stand boldly before our Adversary. In Christ, we are not victims but victors. God has authorized us “to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy” (Luke 10:19, New International Version [1984 edition]).

I recently heard someone say that an attitude of faith will cause a believer to swing out over hell on a cornstalk and spit in the devil’s eye. That’s a great picture of how bold we should be as children of the most High. Proverbs 28:1 says that the righteous—that’s us—are bold as a lion!

Looking for wisdom? Be sure to tune in to the Gospel Truth broadcast all this week, where Andrew is sharing insights from his teaching Proverbs: Timeless Wisdom for a Life of Blessing.

Written by Sylvia F. Wells

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Power of Partnership

You’ve heard it before: there is strength in numbers. But implicit in that statement is that these numbers work together for mutual advantage. At minimum, there has to be agreement among them; otherwise, they cannot walk together (Amos 3:3). Ideally, an amiable relationship would make their strength even greater. The stronger the relationship, the greater the things they can accomplish together.

For example, when the people of earth gathered together to build a temple up to heaven, the Lord said, “Indeed the people are one and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them” (Gen. 11:6, NKJV).

And then read this passage:

“Two are better than one, Because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, For he has no one to help him up. . . . Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken.”

Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 and 12, NKJV

These examples communicate a very simple principle of how things work in the natural. But this is also how they work in the spiritual.

Jesus said,

“If two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”

Matthew 18:19-20, NKJV

When brethren dwell together in unity, that is where God commands the blessing (Ps. 133)! Perhaps a good example of this is partnership. You see, partnership is two or more people coming together for mutual advantage. They want to accomplish something that they could not accomplish alone or separately. More often than not, it will take finances. Look at what Andrew says in his Power of Partnership teaching:

“Did you know that you can’t really accomplish God’s will in your life without finances? I know that that may be an offensive statement to some people, but it costs money to live, to travel, to minister to people, to put out products, to have employees. Whether it’s a church, whether it’s a ministry, anything that is preaching the Gospel, you cannot accomplish it without money, and somehow people think, Well, no, I’m just going to do what God tells me, and I don’t ever have to think about money. You need money to accomplish what God told you to do . . . . It’s a heart attitude that you don’t want to prosper just for yourself; you want to prosper so that you can accomplish God’s will, so that you can touch people, so that you can be a blessing.”

Ultimately, what we can accomplish through partnership is discipleship. Because it is a spiritual bond, Jesus is in the midst of it, and there God commands the blessing. It really isn’t about money; it’s about relationship. And that is what makes partnership powerful!

Written by David Moore II

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Aggressive Rest

It’s normal, especially in today’s culture, to strive for everything. But how much striving would you do if you knew God was on your side?

I used to get in there and strive for what I wanted. But now I know my battle is the Lord’s battle, so I can sit back and rest. It gives me great comfort.

Here’s a thought: When we’re striving for things, it’s because we don’t trust God to do it. In other words, whether we realize it or not, we don’t see God as on our side. There has even been teaching to justify striving. I’ve heard ministers point to Mark 11:24 as their text, which says,

“Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.”

Mark 11:24 (New King James Version)

The Greek word for “receive” in this verse can mean “to take” (Strong’s Concordance), so it’s easy to draw the conclusion that we as Christians should be more aggressive in receiving. But that’s not true. That’s the trap I see so many Christians get into. What happens is their need to strive for things outweighs their trust in God and their patience for Him to bring something to pass. But Scripture says that through faith and patience, we inherit the promises of God (Heb. 6:12). That’s a big deal. God’s way of receiving is not through aggressively going after something. It’s through aggressive peace and rest.

“Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.”

Hebrews 4:11

Laboring to enter the rest of God may sound like a paradox, but it takes effort not to strive. However, when you’re striving, it’s hard not to live with fear. Look at this passage.

“Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. [32] For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. [33] But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”

Matthew 6:31-33

Do you see how that if God is on your side, you don’t need to fret? Worry leads to trusting yourself and earning things with God. Look at what Andrew said about this in his teaching The War Is Over:

“The only way you ever have peace with God is when you quit trusting in yourself and quit thinking that you have to earn the blessing of God, and you just rest in what Jesus did.”

Let’s all breathe a sigh of relief. Jesus has got this. God has made you promises, and through Jesus, you will receive them. But it’s by aggressively resting in Him.

Learn more in Andrew’s teaching The War Is Over. He taught on it all last week and will be continuing to do so next week. If you have a testimony of how this has worked for you, please share in the comments below.

Written by David Moore II

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It’s Powerful. It’s Red. It’s THE BLOOD!

Have you ever considered blood to be beautiful? Does the sight of it evoke any feeling of comfort or assurance? Probably not. Most people associate blood with feelings of fear or something going wrong.

Man became sin conscious—they received the conscience—after eating from the forbidden Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. As a result, they realized they were naked and became aware of feelings of fear, shame, guilt, and condemnation.

The word conscience in the King James Version was translated from the Greek word suneidesis, and conscience means “a sense of right and wrong” (American Heritage Dictionary).

In Andrew’s latest book—Who Told You That You Were Naked?—he presents an outstanding study of the conscience that’s sure to set many free! In it he says that “fear and shame are results of spiritual death.” He also explains that “if we are living in shame, if we have insecurities in our lives, if we are fearful, that’s part of death. The problem is spiritual separation from God, and these things are just the physical results of that.”

Praise God for the blood of Jesus! The purpose of redemption was to restore mankind to the state of fellowship that existed before the Fall! Jesus shed His blood to make things right—to give us a good conscience toward God!

Hebrews 9:14 says, “How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” (emphasis added).

If you’re born again, the blood of Jesus has purged you from all sin and sin consciousness! Isaiah 1:18 (New International Version) says, “‘Come now, let us reason together,’ says the Lord. ‘Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.’”

Place all sin, guilt, and condemnation under the blood, and don’t go peeking to see if they’re really white as snow. One drop of His blood is more powerful than all the sin of the whole world!

If you struggle with accusatory thoughts, realize that they’re not from God. Jeremiah 29:11 says, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” The Holy Spirit gently corrects us through the Word. He does not accuse or condemn us.

There is nothing you have ever done or can ever do that remotely compares to the power of the blood. You are saved and made righteous by faith in the shed blood of the Lamb. Magnify the power of the blood above your thoughts, feelings, and actions. Train your conscience to be good by renewing your mind to the fact that it has been purged by the blood, and steer clear of sin.

“ For the mind of the flesh is death; but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace” (Romans 8:6, American Standard Version).

Anytime your conscience (or the devil) tries to tell you you’re naked, declare that you’re clothed in righteousness (Job 29:14 and Psalm 132:9) and approach God’s throne of grace with boldness!

Stand on the efficacy of the powerful, red redemptive blood of Jesus—it accomplished a beautiful thing in your life!

So, who told you that you were naked?

To find out more about how to have a good conscience that works for you, get Andrew’s latest book Who Told You That You Were Naked? from store.awmi.net or call the Helpline at 719-635-1111.

Written b y Zoe Isaacs

For resources and products or to partner in the U.S., visit www.awmi.net; outside the U.S., visit www.awme.net.

The Conscience: God's Plan B for Mankind

In his new book, Who Told You That You Were Naked?, Andrew uncovers a truth that is often misunderstood: God didn’t originally create us with a conscience. He didn’t create us with an ability to judge ourselves and to constantly evaluate whether we’re right or wrong. He created us in innocence. This helped me realized that if the conscience is God’s plan B for all of us, it’s important to understand the role it plays in our lives.

Reading Andrew’s book took me back to my early years as a Christian. Soon after being born again, I felt prompted by the Holy Spirit to confess my sins. I was not sure how to do it on my own, and kidnapping a priest was out of
the question!

With an open heart, I reached out to friends and family who had a heart to hear me. In the beginning, the process brought healing to my heart, and I experienced God’s love through the mercy I was receiving. I was feeling closer to God, because I was leaving my fig leaves behind. But after a while, my efforts to obey God became a burden. A little voice kept telling me that my efforts were not enough, or that I didn’t share with the right people or in the right way. No matter how much I tried, I couldn’t quiet that relentless voice that kept reminding me that I was falling short.

Then on one occasion during my prayer time, while I was struggling with my feelings, the Lord reminded me of Matthew 6:22-23. In the Amplified Bible this verse says,

“The eye is the lamp of the body; so if your eye is clear [spiritually perceptive], your whole body will be full of light [benefiting from God’s precepts]. But if your eye is bad [spiritually blind], your whole body will be full of darkness [devoid of God’s precepts.] So if the [very] light inside you [your inner self, your heart, your conscience] is darkness, how great and terrible is that darkness!”

The Lord said to me, “I’m not the one making you feel condemned; it’s your conscience.” Then I realized something: confessing my faults is a good thing, but to keep confessing sin because I don’t understand my redemption
is darkness.

Have you ever struggled with giving your best to God but feeling like your best is not enough?

Andrew’s teaching will help us understand that the conscience came as result of the Fall. God intended for our consciences to help us see that we need salvation; it condemns us. While that is a good thing, we should not stay in that place of condemnation, and in fact, we need to go beyond condemnation to develop a good conscience, a conscience that is spiritually perceptive and full of light.

Andrew explains that one of the things we need to do to cultivate a healthy conscience is to follow Hebrews 10:22 and believe that “we have been sprinkled {with his blood} to free us from a guilty conscience” (God’s Word). This is the joy of our salvation! Faith in the power of His blood will take away all condemnation and all shame, and our consciences will fill us with light!

Andrew’s new book Who Told You That You Were Naked? covers many more aspects of the conscience, and it will help you tremendously to have a conscience that is working for you and not against you! To order your copy, go to store.awmi.net or call our Helpline at 719-635-1111.

Written by Citlalli Macy

For resources and products or to partner in the U.S., visit www.awmi.net; outside the U.S., visit www.awme.net.

Is Your Conscience Working for You or Against You?

The Message Behind the Music: An Interview with the Murens

Andrew Wommack sat down with Robert and Elizabeth Muren—the creators of the musical The Heart of Christmas—and Jamie Wommack on the Gospel Truth broadcast. The Murens’ hearts are to provide a tool through their productions and books for capturing people’s attention and showing them God’s love. In this special interview, Andrew and the Murens discuss how they first met and their shared passion to spread the Gospel in a simple way.

Andrew Wommack: So, how did we connect? How did God put all of
us together?

Elizabeth Muren: We had been missionaries in Israel for ten years. We were working with musicals, and we started working on a film when we started listening to you. You rocked our world, and we really got so inspired by your teachings. You’d wonder why people can’t stick to what the Bible says when they’re telling stories from it, because the stories are so rich and well written. Why do they have to invent other things? So, I just thought, Wow, it would be a great thing to have if you and your ministry could help us make sure that we really stick to the Truth and to the important message. So, that’s how we contacted you. We met you and gave you our DVDs of what we’ve
done before.

AW: I got your DVD of The Covenant, which is a musical that Robert and Elizabeth put together when they were missionaries in Israel because they couldn’t preach the Gospel. Well, there were restrictions on preaching the Gospel, so you used music to do it. And it was just so awesome! It was so powerful that I remember asking if you would come here to Woodland Park. This was in 2014.

Robert Muren: Yeah, we came with our four kids, and we had thirty-five suitcases full of costumes with us. And we moved into a building here, and we spent two to three weeks of intense rehearsing with your people—with the Charis Bible College students. And we set up the first performance of God with Us .

AW: So, why don’t you give a little bit of background. What is the storyline of the musical The Heart of Christmas?

EM: The Heart of Christmas is the story of a woman called Ruth, and Jamie is Ruth—a beautiful Ruth. And this woman lives in the year 2000, and she has this crazy family like most of us have. And she’s trying to find a way of giving them the true heart of Christmas because they lost it along the way. So, she starts telling the story of her life. She takes the audience on a journey through time from 2000 to the ’40s when Ruth was brought to America from Europe during World War II.

Then she was adopted by an American mom and brought to America where we see her first Christmas and the first time she sees a Christmas tree. Her parents give her a gift. That gift is The Servant King book. So, Ruth starts reading this story of the fourth wise man, and throughout the musical, we meet her when she’s in her twenties, when she’s in her forties, and when she’s in her sixties. We see her family’s life from Christmas to Christmas, and we see how this book impacts the family through the things they go through. So, yeah. It’s a beautiful story.

Check out the full interview here. You can also purchase the Heart of Christmas Package, which includes the Servant King book and the Heart of Christmas DVD. Get your package online today, and start a new family tradition with this unforgettable story!

Written by Aria Fischer

For resources and products or to partner in the U.S., visit www.awmi.net; outside the U.S., visit www.awme.net.

Note: this interview has been edited for length and clarity.