Andrew Wommack's Blog, page 25

When God Speaks

Shame is a great silencer. But it doesn’t just shut people up—shame drowns out the still, small voice of God.

Sometimes, when God wanted to convey an important message back in Bible times, He sent and an angel to that person. Chances are, an angel is not going to appear to you in response to every question you ask Him. So, how are you supposed to know it’s God speaking when your own thoughts and emotions seem so much louder?

In Andrew’s How to Hear God’s Voice teaching, he says,

“The primary way that God speaks is not through the spectacular, not through an audible voice, not through an open vision. He can do all of those things. He has done it. I believe He still does miraculous things like that. But the primary way that God speaks to us today is just in this still, small voice, and it can be drowned out by other voices around us.”

One way you know you’ve heard the voice of God is when fear dissipates and a fresh boldness rises up in your spirit. Psalm 34:4 says, “I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears” (English
Standard Version).

Another way to discern the voice of God is through hiding the written Word in your heart (Ps. 119:11). While developing a mental understanding of the Bible is good, the goal is a heart change. This requires more than memorization. Andrew continues,

“The Bible isn’t written to your brain. It’s written to your heart. You[’ve] got to read the Bible with your heart, not just your head. God will speak to you through the Word. But the natural man, either a lost man or a Christian who doesn’t have their mind renewed and is listening to the Holy Spirit, cannot understand ‘…the things…of God…they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned’ [1 Cor. 2:14]. And I’m telling you this is why so many people read the Bible, but it doesn’t do anything for them. And they don’t understand it because they are reading it with their intellect. You can’t just put information in your mind. It’s got to be quickened to you by the Holy Spirit.”

The Word is like gasoline. Not until a lit match falls on it will it combust into rivers of flame. You could be filled with the Word, even have whole books of the Bible memorized, but it will not ignite a fire in your heart until the Holy Spirit comes in contact with it. When the Holy Spirit quickens the Word in your spirit—WHOOM! You know exactly what to do, how to do it, where to go, and what to say. The old ways of thinking and believing—shame, unbelief, and fear—are burned away, and God replaces that with His ways.

Let the Holy Spirit light His written and spoken Word in your heart with Andrew’s How to Hear God’s Voice teaching. It’s available in CD format. You can also watch Andrew teach this on the Gospel Truth broadcast. This teaching will help Psalm 34:5 become your reality: “Those who look to him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed” (ESV).

Post a comment below if this has blessed you.

Pay Attention!

 

My husband and I are in the middle of a big decision right now—a decision that could literally change our lives. Although things would change for the better, this decision also has some serious risks attached to it. We don’t know what to do. We need to hear God’s voice.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like God is talking.

However, I know God speaks to His people. Psalm 25:14 says He “confides in those who fear him” (New International Version). Isaiah said God directs us with His voice (Is. 30:21). Jesus said His sheep know His voice (John 10:4-5). But some days it feels like we’ve been in this place forever.

So, I started listening to Andrew’s How to Hear God’s Voice teaching. He said, “God is speaking to you constantly, but our hearts can become hardened toward God so that we have a hard time hearing Him.” He went on to say, “One of the reasons that we struggle to hear the voice [of God] is because the clutter and the clamor, the noise of this world, drown out the
voice of God.”

And then I remembered a time my oldest son showed me exactly what Andrew was talking about.

“That’s not fair!” my son said as he stomped into the kitchen. “You didn’t ask me. You asked Josh and Kayla, but you didn’t ask me.”

On this particular day, I had all the makings needed for two different meals. My husband was gone, and I didn’t have a preference; so I let my kids vote on what they’d like for supper.

“I asked all of you,” I calmly replied, hoping to diffuse the sounds of war. “But you never responded.”

“No, you didn’t! I would have heard you.” This was coming from the same boy who’d once been so caught up in a music video at a friend’s birthday party that he actually missed the pizza and cake they’d served.

Remembering his weakness for electronics, I asked him, “What were you doing just now?”

Of course, I already knew the answer. My son didn’t answer my question because he’d once again become so engrossed with a video game that everything else just disappeared. I had asked, but he didn’t hear me. However, this was a skill we’d been working on—learning to let the important voices break through the noise. Voices like mine and Daddy’s, like his teachers’, like God’s.

“I was playing on Daddy’s tablet,” he said. “But you told me I could.”

Hearing the defensiveness in his voice, I said, “You’re not in trouble, son. But I don’t understand why you’re angry. I asked each of you to vote on what’s for supper. Your brother and sister responded; you didn’t.”

“But I don’t want to eat that tonight,” he said.

“Well, I’m only making one thing for supper,” I answered. “Maybe next time you’ll pay attention to my voice.”

Proverbs 4:20 says we have to “attend” to God’s voice. Andrew says that this word attend means to prick up the ears. He says it’s like a deer that hears a sound and then lifts and turns its ears toward the sound to [image error]focus on it. He says, “God is speaking constantly, but we have to tune our hearing. The sad fact is, most of us are tuned to the voice of this world. We spend more time listening to the clamor [and] clutter…than we do God. The voice of God is drowned out [by] the volume of this world.”

God doesn’t yell at us. He doesn’t get in our faces. He isn’t rude. If we’re going to hear His voice—if my husband and I are going to hear His voice—we have to learn to break through the noise. We have to pay attention.

I’m ready to tune in to God’s voice. Are you?

Please leave a comment below if this has blessed you!

Remembering Why He Came

Joy to the world! The Lord has come…

With Christmas quickly approaching and The Heart of Christmas production being a hit, it’s easy for many of us to get into the Christmas spirit. It’s easy to enjoy the holiday where we celebrate Jesus coming to earth as a baby in a manger. And it’s sometimes easy to forget the heart behind why He came. It’s important to remember to celebrate not only His life but also His death.

After the festivities are over and the Christmas lights come down, may we remember the great sacrifice our Lord made thirty-three years after coming to the earth. And here to help us remember are internationally recognized producers Robert and Elizabeth Muren with their production of God with Us. The Murens founded Northern Lights Media and will be bringing their original musical to the Pikes Peak Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado, on
April 7-8, 2017.

This cinematic stage production depicts the story of believers caught in an epic clash between Jesus’ followers and the Roman Empire. The story is told through the eyes of the aging Apostle Peter, one of the original twelve disciples, who has become a leader in the early Christian church. Locked up in a Roman prison cell with his fellow believers, Peter retells the story of redemption, from Abraham to Jesus, engraving hope and courage into the hearts of his listeners.

“The story of God with Us is about the first believers of Jesus in Rome,” explained Robert Muren, “how they were surrounded by persecution and trouble and how Peter could remind them of God’s faithfulness to his people through history. It is a reminder of keeping the faith in the midst of trials
and hardships.”

Robert went on to explain what makes this production different from other productions of its kind: “The uniqueness in this production compared to others is that it is very focused on Scripture. Peter is the storyteller, and all he has to share with the believers are stories from Scripture to focus the hearts of his followers on God’s truth.”

The God with Us musical features all original songs and includes a large screen that provides backdrop imagery for the scenes. “[This] also gives the production the opportunity to combine film and stage into a multi-dimensional experience,” Robert said, “where the actors on film also appear on stage to enhance the story that is being told.”

Daniel Amstutz, director of the Creative Arts School at Charis Bible College, encourages everyone to come and attend this Easter event. “The God with Us production is absolutely a family event,” Daniel said. “Children are going to love this as much as adults are because there’s something for everybody. The story is of God’s love reaching out to people. It’s all about God’s heart. So, you see the story of God’s love reaching out in the old covenant, all the way up through sending Jesus, and then how Jesus revealed the Father.”

With rehearsals gearing up, the cast and crew are working tirelessly to bring you a production that will honor the One we are celebrating this season. Robert Muren summed it up with this: “It is a powerful message that surely will impact people in a major way. A musical like this has the ability to capture the attention of young and old, and it is an experience for the whole family.”

To purchase your tickets or for more information on pricing and showtimes, visit our website:www.godwithusmusical.com. And comment below if you’ve seen any of our previous productions, such as Heart of Christmas or our previous showing of God with Us.

Casting God’s Love over Your Children

As we walked into the assembly of over 300 children and I saw the staff dressed up as characters for Book Day, I knew it was the perfect setup for our skit: “Postman Joe,” frantic to deliver his package to Miss Ginger, wouldn’t leave until she opened it, and inside was a special book.

As she opened the book, a Bible, it glowed from within and projected rays of light. The grade school children of Birmingham, England, gasped in surprise. Every eye was fastened on Ginger as she spoke of the love of God and demonstrated that love with a red heart as the object lesson. Another Charis team member followed Ginger’s teaching with an invitation for the kids to accept Christ. Although they prayed silently, we could see the majority of kids mouthing the words after her as she prayed. It was a glorious moment as God’s love was cast like a net over the entire room.

I first met Ginger and her husband, Joe, during our preparation for the England missions trip. Like so many of us who come to Charis Bible College Colorado, Joe and Ginger Pillitteri had moved from another state—in their case, Florida. Joe was a pharmaceutical representative, and Ginger was a teacher for autistic children. Based on her experience with kids, Ginger was asked to lead the children’s ministry for our team in England.

This same couple was then asked to lead the weeklong children’s program at the 2016 Summer Family Bible Conference held in Woodland Park, Colorado. Because their teaching reflects the grace taught by Andrew and other Charis instructors, Ginger and Joe’s results with the kids were phenomenal. Children were healed, saved, and filled with the Holy Ghost as they learned about their identity in Christ.

“Essentially [Ginger taught] all those things that we had to relearn when we first came [to Charis]. Most people come here with religious baggage that weighs them down,” Joe explained.

“I think you reach kids just like you reach adults, by starting with God’s love and the nature of God,” Ginger said. “Who is He? How does He see me? Why does He love me? And what does that look like?”

As she was planning for the event, Ginger said, “God told me to teach on the identity of Christ. What does God see when He sees you? He sees Jesus—God sees perfection on the inside of you.”

Ginger described one boy who hung his head and said, “I’m not righteous.” She explained, “[The kids] don’t think they are righteous; they don’t think they are worth anything. They have condemnation at such a young age.”

For the 2017 Andrew Wommack Ministries Summer Family Bible Conference, Joe and Ginger want parents to know that they aren’t just dropping off their kids for childcare. “The Holy Spirit is naturally supernatural,” Joe said. “We want kids to realize that they have [already] heard Him many times; they just didn’t know it.

“Consider this,” Joe continued, “children always responded to Jesus.” Speaking of the time that John the Baptist leapt in his mother’s womb at Mary’s greeting (Luke 1:41-43), Joe explained, “An unborn baby was the first to recognize Him [Jesus] as another unborn baby.”

Joe wants to stress to parents, “Don’t limit your kids by believing that they are not here to have an encounter with Jesus on their level. If the Holy Spirit can talk with shepherds or wise men, He can speak to children—just as He does [with] adults.”

It is exciting to realize that families coming to the 2017 Summer Family Bible Conference can expect their children to have an encounter with God that will draw them into either a first-time relationship or a deeper one with Him. Make your plans early to come to Woodland Park, Colorado, on July 3-7, 2017. You won’t want to miss God’s perfect setup for you and your whole family!

More than a Dream

Are you already making a list of New Year’s resolutions? Instead of trying to change yourself, let the Word change you at the 2017 Phoenix Gospel Truth Seminar on January 5-7. Admit it—most resolutions end up as unfulfilled dreams anyway.

Andrew Wommack visits Arizona at the open of each year, along with a guest speaker, to kick off his first GTS of the new year. This year’s guest speaker is Dr. Bill Winston. People travel from all over the United States and Canada to attend this event. The 2016 seminar produced many supernatural healings as Andrew and Arthur Meintjes taught on pride and humility.

“I took fifteen pages of notes last night,” said attendee Kelly about one of the evening meetings. “Andrew said if you could get yourself out of the way, you could be effective. That was my takeaway last night.”

“We are having a great time,” one couple said. “It is a great way to bring in the new year.”

One person had this to say about the last Phoenix GTS:

“This was the first place I was able to see Andrew in person. This is like full circle. [I] went to Charis Bible College, and now I am back at the Phoenix GTS. You are free to develop relationships. It is a melting pot of different cultures…. What a better way to spend New Year’s [than] getting the Word and being in God’s presence!”

Jerry, another attendee, said that he liked “the casual style, the personable prayer, the congregation, the facility, the city, meeting Andrew, and some of the prayer ministers. It was a wonderful experience!”

On top of connecting with other like-minded believers and enjoying the teaching, many were also healed. In one instance, cataracts had clouded the eyesight of one man who received prayer. After ministry, his vision started clearing up and he could see the lights become brighter. He returned the next night to tell the prayer minister that he wasn’t wearing glasses anymore because his eyes were clear. Another healing occurred when a woman was prayed for who had a cyst on her sinuses, causing her sinuses to be blocked and her eye to droop. After prayer, her sinuses instantly opened and her eye no longer drooped! Another woman had trouble sleeping at night, so she went for prayer. The next day she came back and reported that she slept the whole night through.

And the healings kept coming! Another guest of the event received prayer for his limited hearing—and complete hearing was restored in both ears. An attendee who had suffered debilitating side effects from a stroke was also healed after prayer from the ministry team. This person was able to march, do heel lifts, and even go for a walk! One prayer minister alone reported praying for eight different people who suffered from back pain, and every one of them walked away no longer feeling pain.

What do you want to see in 2017? Whether you need direction for the coming year, help getting out of debt, or even the motivation to get in shape, the Word empowers you with “all things that pertain unto life and
godliness” (2 Pet. 1:3).

Don’t wait! Make plans to come to the next Phoenix GTS, on January 5-7, with Andrew Wommack and Dr. Bill Winston. The conference is free, but please register ahead of time. It’s a great way to start the New Year!

Your life will be transformed as your heart grabs a hold of the Word that goes out. It’s much more than a dream. Make one New Year’s resolution: Attend the 2017 Phoenix Gospel Truth Seminar. You’ll be glad you did!

Post a comment below if you plan on coming!

God’s Servants to You

Have you ever heard the song “Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus”? From the time I was a toddler, my dad would sing this hymn to me any time he needed me to stand up—to help me get dressed, to get off the couch, to do a chore. He would sing, and I would pop up. It worked every time. Years later, those words still resonate in my spirit. That old hymn begins like this:

Stand up, stand up for Jesus,
Ye soldiers of the cross!
Lift high his royal banner,
It must not suffer loss.

We are Christian soldiers for King Jesus to fight against spiritual darkness. Likewise, God has set in place earthly checks and balances, like the police and military, to preserve and protect our communities and nations against wrongdoers. Romans 13:3-4 (Amplified Bible) lays out God’s purpose for law enforcement and what our relationship should be with them:

“For [civil] authorities are not a source of fear for [people of] good behavior, but for [those who do] evil. Do you want to be unafraid of authority? Do what is good and you will receive approval and commendation. [4] For he is God’s servant to you for good. But if you do wrong, [you should] be afraid; for he does not carry the [executioner’s] sword for nothing. He is God’s servant, an avenger who brings punishment on the wrongdoer.”

As a way to thank those who protect and serve the Colorado county where Charis Bible College’s main campus resides, Andrew Wommack Ministries and Charis hosted an appreciation banquet and fundraiser for their local first responders this past September. Hundreds from the county participated in honoring their firefighters, law enforcement officers, medical technicians, and paramedics. All first responders and their guests ate for free. Each guest also had the option of paying for an individual ticket, sponsoring a table, or donating funds directly to a first responders’ fund. In total, the event raised $55,712, and the money was split evenly between the Ute Pass Regional Ambulance District and the Northeast Teller County (NETCO) Fire
Protection District.

After the fundraiser, a public response was issued from the NETCO board:

“We would like to say thank you to the citizens of Teller County, the sponsors and donors, along with Mayor Neil Levy and master-of-ceremonies Debbie Miller, but especially Andrew Wommack Ministries/Charis Bible College and staff for hosting the First Responder Banquet and Fundraiser. It was truly a wonderful evening and we are honored to have received such praise
and appreciation.”

Through the nonprofit organization Shield616, AWM also provided upgraded armor to local police departments. Sixteen body armor kits were purchased and donated by AWM, enabling God’s servants to stand strong and
be protected.

As I think about the results of this generous gift to a group so underappreciated, I can hear my dad’s voice:

Put on the Gospel armour,
Each piece put on with prayer;
When duty calls or danger
Be never wanting there.

Remember the first responders in your community this Christmas. If you’re not in a position to give to them financially, at least pray for their safety. John 15:13 (AMP) says, “No one has greater love [nor stronger commitment] than to lay down his own life for his friends.” As God’s agents, first responders are demonstrating a great love—Jesus’ love—to the community through their service. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you how you can be a blessing to them this Christmas season. Serve each other in love as your heavenly Dad sings over you:

To him that overcometh,
A crown of life shall be;
He with the King of glory
Shall reign eternally.

Post a comment below if this has blessed you.

 

Join Andrew Wommack in Phoenix, Arizona! Make plans to come out January 5-7, 2017, for the Phoenix Gospel Truth Seminar. (Special room rate available until December 5.) For more information and to register, visit this page.

Interview with a Nonconformist

Recently Andrew Wommack sat down with Gordon Pettie of Revelation TV for an interview at the 2016 Grace and Faith Conference in the UK. Andrew shared with his host a broad range of things, like what he does to unwind, how he became a worldwide minister of the Gospel, and the testimony of his son coming back from the dead. Here’s an inside look into Andrew’s life—someone who’s allowed the Word to transform him. The following is an excerpt from that interview:

Gordon Pettie: Andrew, it’s a pleasure to have you. Thanks for taking the time to join us on Revelation TV.

Andrew Wommack: Well, thanks for having me, Gordon. It’s a pleasure.

GP: Andrew, when somebody appears on TV screens and on big platforms, people sort of think in some way they’re [a] very special kind of people. Can I just start by asking you a few ordinary questions? Do you ever get time to read ordinary books?

AW: Well, I guess I have the time, but I am so committed to the Word of God and how powerful it is that if I get a few moments, I’ll read the Bible. I only read maybe one or two books a year, and that’s pushing it. I have to force myself to do that. So, I really don’t read much outside the Bible.

GP: Okay, and what about to relax? Do you get time to relax?

AW: What I do to relax is, I have twenty-six acres, and it always needs work. And so I’m always working on that. And then I’ve got a wood shop that the Lord blessed me with. I’ve got some great equipment, and I make bowls, candleholders, and belt buckles—like this belt buckle. And I build stuff out of wood. That’s what I love to do.

GP: All of us have to keep our Christian life real and fresh. How do you do that?

AW: Personal relationship with the Lord. I got born again when I was eight, but when I was eighteen, I had this encounter with the Lord where, I mean, Jesus became real to me. And He changed my life. And, Gordon, I’ve never gotten over it.

GP: Did the Lord give you a vision that one day you’d become an international speaker?

AW: Did you know that when I first got turned on [to] the Lord, I instantly had the desire to have a worldwide ministry. I saw myself ministering to people all over the world, but it was just a desire. And so everything I did was a step in that direction. I pastored three little churches, and I was willing to stay pastoring these churches if that’s what God wanted me to do. I loved it, and I was seeing people’s lives changed. But when I got an opportunity to go on radio again, I just always had it in my heart that God was going to give me a platform to reach large numbers of people. So, when I started on radio, that was a big thing, and I really focused on that. And then our radio [audience] began to grow, and we had responses from all over the United States. And so I started traveling and following those up. And I knew that someday I was going to go on television, but I didn’t know when.

GP: Tell us one of your favorite verses out of the Scriptures.

AW: Well, I’d probably go to the ones the Lord used to change my life: Romans 12:1-2. Those are the first two verses I ever got: “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. [2] And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

Watch the full interview here!

Post a comment below if this has blessed you.

 

Join Andrew Wommack in Phoenix, Arizona! Make plans to come out January 5-7, 2017, for the Phoenix Gospel Truth Seminar. (Special room rate available until December 5.) For more information and to register, visit this page.

Who Are You Thanking?

“Mom! Mom! Thanksgiving Day—who are we thanking?” I’ll never forget hearing that question from a young child in the grocery store. Her mother was trying to explain to her why they were buying a turkey. “It’s just a
holiday, honey.”

Welcome to the great divide in America.

A recent trailer of a summer movie captured the same cultural divide expressed in the little girl’s question. At an extended family dinner, a woman referred to a Thanksgiving-like spread that she had prepared and announced that the chickens, as well as everything on the table, were all local and organic. One of her young nieces asked, “How did you kill the chickens, with an axe or a knife?” Stunned, the aunt explained, “No, they’re rotisserie chickens. You buy them on…it’s already dead.”

American notions of Thanksgiving vary as widely as the family backgrounds of the people who celebrate the holiday. The child who asked her mom “Who are we thanking?” understood that someone was supposed to be receiving the thanks that they were giving, just as the young niece at the dinner table understood that for the chickens to end up on the table as food, there had to be a butcher. It seems that the adults are the ones who have forgotten what is obvious even to little children.

When Our Leaders Forget

Discussing President Obama’s 2011 Thanksgiving address to the nation, Todd Starnes pointed out in his article “Obama Leaves God Out of Thanksgiving Address” that the President never mentioned whom we were thanking, only what we were thankful for: the service and perseverance of other Americans. The repurposing of the holiday is clearly seen in the President’s recounting of the history of the Pilgrims’ first Thanksgiving Day:

“The very first Thanksgiving was a celebration of community during a time of great hardship, and we have followed that example ever since. Even when the fate of our union was far from certain…Americans drew strength from each other. They had faith that tomorrow would be better than today. We’re grateful that they did. As we gather around the table, we pause to remember the pilgrims, pioneers, and patriots who helped make this country what it is. They faced impossible odds, and yet somehow, they persevered. Today, it’s our turn.”1

“Somehow, They Persevered”

When the President described that he and his family—like many American families—would spend the day eating and watching football, he added, “and reflecting on how truly lucky we truly are.”2

Although this pattern repeated in 2012 and 2014, somehow his 2013 address was different. In his article, “Flashback: Obama Leaves God Out of Thanksgiving Day Speech,” Rusty Weiss noted that “In 2013, President Obama acknowledged that on Thanksgiving, we should remember that ‘we rise or fall as one Nation, under God.’”3 There is no clear reason, however, for this shift in tone during this particular year.

This divide in history has very little to do with President Obama personally. Instead, it has to do with the general state of our Union. It’s a barometer of what our leadership remembers and promotes about the history of our nation. When those in power chalk up our nation’s formation and early survival to “somehow, they persevered,” we know that the youngest of us sitting around the Thanksgiving Day table this year may never hear from our leaders about the God whom the Pilgrims found to be faithful and deserving of their thanks.

How Did the Pilgrims Persevere?

The surviving Pilgrims held their first Thanksgiving feast in 1621 in Plymouth, Massachusetts. They were celebrating their first harvest by giving thanks to the God of the Bible for allowing them to survive both the journey and the American winter. Much of what we know about this feast comes from the journals of two Pilgrims on display in a seventeenth-century living museum called Plimoth Plantation:

“In September/October 1621, the Pilgrims had just harvested their first crops, and they had a good yield. They ‘sent four men on fowling,’ which comes from the one paragraph account by Pilgrim Edward Winslow, one of only two historical sources of this famous harvest feast.”4

From these sources, we learn that the Pilgrims were enjoying a time of great cooperation and knowledge exchange with the indigenous people in their area. However, it was due to the kindness of the Wampanoag, one of the local tribes, that the first Thanksgiving feast had its main entrée: the Wampanoag’s gift of five deer. This is what fueled the three-day feast, not the Pilgrims’ “fowling” abilities. The Wampanoag were farmers and had taught the Pilgrims how and what to farm in their new territory, a land that had experienced disaster only a few years earlier:

“The Pilgrims settled in an area that was once Patuxet, a Wampanoag village abandoned four years prior after a deadly outbreak of a plague, brought by European traders who first appeared in the area in 1616.”5

It was an act of God that the Pilgrims found favor in the sight of the Wampanoag after such an event. They even went on to enjoy a signed peace treaty with them for a period of time.

No Confusion About Whom to Thank

The first Pilgrims settled land that had been the site of a great tragedy, one that had struck both Europeans and the Pilgrims’ Native American neighbors. One would think that this should have been a warning to the Native Americans of their future relations with the settlers, but by a miracle, it wasn’t. On their first Thanksgiving feast, the Pilgrims celebrated the faithfulness of God, because neither the climate nor the social conditions were in favor of their survival.

In light of this, let’s lay to rest any confusion about why Americans celebrate Thanksgiving and about the One we are thanking. There would have been no first Thanksgiving—or any subsequent ones—without the intervention of the God of the Bible, the one the Pilgrims thanked publicly for their harvest and for their very lives.

If this has blessed you, or you would like to share some of your Thanksgiving memories, please comment below.

1 https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/11/24/weekly-address-thanksgiving-grateful-men-and-women-who-defend-our-countr

2 https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/11/24/weekly-address-thanksgiving-grateful-men-and-women-who-defend-our-countr

3 http://www.headlinepolitics.com/flashback-obama-leaves-god-out-of-thanksgiving-day-speech/

4 http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2011/11/22/wampanoag-side-first-thanksgiving-story-64076

5 http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2011/11/22/wampanoag-side-first-thanksgiving-story-64076

 

Join Andrew Wommack in Phoenix, Arizona! Make plans to come out January 5-7, 2017, for the Phoenix Gospel Truth Seminar. (Special room rate available until December 5.) For more information and to register, visit this page.

From Beggars to Believers

Many of us are anxious about the future. Instability, uncertainty, lawlessness, and the love of many growing cold is enough to make any of us despair. Some of us feel that God has left us powerless to deal with these things alone. But is it really just fate for this world to beat us up until we can all make it to heaven? Andrew Wommack recently visited Pastor Mac Hammond’s church in Minnesota and explained what Christians already have in their born-again spirits. He helped those attending shift the focus from being beggars to
being believers.

Andrew explained the difference between the two: “God anticipated every problem that we’ll ever have, and He created the supply before we ever had the need. Therefore, this changes our whole relationship to God. Instead of being beggars who are coming to God, asking God to do something, we should be people coming to God, believing the record that God has given us of what He’s already done—how He’s already made the supply. And instead of being beggars, we need to be enforcers that take it and believe and speak and release the power of God.”

Andrew invested his time in Minnesota by reminding Christians of what the Lord has already done and given. God has not left you comfortless (John 14:16-18). Whenever you, a son or daughter of God, feel overwhelmed or ill-equipped to handle something, turn your attention to what Jesus has already given you. It’s empowering to realize that the only Person you have to lean on is Him.

Andrew continued, “And sad to say, too many ministers are making people dependent upon them. I [haven’t] got an ax to grind with anybody. I’m just making an observation that I think this is one of the weaknesses in the body of Christ. The average person sitting in the pew can’t lead a person to the Lord, can’t get healed on their own, doesn’t operate in the prosperity that they should, and they’re dependent. And they’re always coming and asking us to do the praying. I don’t mind praying for people. I enjoy praying for people. But you know what? It is super ineffective to have you depend on me. It’s just not the way that God intended it to be.”

Are you looking for someone to rise up and save the day? If you haven’t found that person yet, maybe it’s because God is waiting on you to rise up.

“Most people do not take responsibility for trusting and believing God [for] themselves, but they run to others and, in a sense, put the responsibility for their miracle upon others…. You need to lift up your head and see past the physical things and see into the spiritual realm and recognize that this is a great time to be alive. Man, when it’s dark out there, your little light shines like a floodlight. Amen. The darker it gets, the more your light can shine. We need to look at things differently. You need to stir yourself up and say that this is a great day to be alive.”

All in all, Andrew stirred the people to remember who they are in Christ and to walk dependent only on God. It is time to realize what you have as a son or daughter of God! Stand up and respond to what the Holy Spirit is leading you to do. God has empowered you to walk in victory, no matter the circumstances. Choose today to be someone who “laughs without fear of the future” (Prov. 31:25, New Living Translation).

If this has encouraged you, share a comment below.

 

Join Andrew Wommack in Phoenix, Arizona! Make plans to come out January 5-7, 2017, for the Phoenix Gospel Truth Seminar. (Special room rate available until December 5.) For more information and to register, visit this page.

Money Finder

“A quarter!” My five-year-old daughter picked up the shiny coin from the grocery store floor. My husband and I smiled, while her older siblings looked disappointed. I knew exactly what they were thinking: Why is she the one who always finds money?

It was true. Our youngest child seemed to find a coin or bill every time we went out. She also had a stash of money in her bedroom, while the other two usually did not. What made this little girl so special (aside from the fact that she’s my daughter!)? I saw it early on, and I’ve watched the pattern develop throughout her life and now into adulthood: She has always been a giver. Her experience has been the very picture of Proverbs 11:24: “One gives freely, yet grows all the richer; another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want” (English Standard Version).

We taught our children to give to the Lord, encouraging them to give a portion of their increase, from allowances to earned money to birthday money. Yet my youngest tended to go above and beyond, willingly giving more than her small percentage. She sometimes emptied all her spending money into the children’s church bucket.

At times, when we hear about giving, we think of big checks or wallet-emptying offerings. However, this kind of thinking doesn’t account for all that I’ve seen in my daughter’s life. When she was in first grade, she had learned enough math to become a “huge blessing” to her brother. For months she did her brother’s fourth-grade math assignments. Every day! She took “helping a brother in need” literally! Although I did explain to her that this kind of “giving” was actually cheating (and I reassigned weeks’ worth of math to my son), I knew she saw it as just giving of her resources.

Over the years we have seen her grow in faith for God’s provision. As a teenager and young adult, she has gone on several missions trips, each one costing progressively more money. We love watching what God does to provide for these trips. From bonuses and increased commissions to profitable group fundraisers and unexpected checks, money just keeps coming her way.

It reminds me of what Andrew has been preaching from 2 Kings 4, where a widow woman with two sons pleaded with Elisha for help. The woman was broke and in debt, and the only thing she had of value was her sons—who were about to be taken as slaves by the debt collector. As the prophet of God, Elisha heard the clear directive from the Lord to teach this family how to depend on Him as their Source.

In 2 Kings 4:2, Elisha asked a simple question: “Tell me, what hast thou in the house?” Well, maybe in the King James Version it’s not so simple. However, Andrew has come up with an easy paraphrase of this: “What’s in your hand?” The woman had a little bit of oil, and she poured that oil out into borrowed jars and sold it for enough money to pay her debts and then live off the rest. She gave what she had in her hand and watched God miraculously multiply it.

Over the years, my daughter has had some money issues. When she feels stressed or even angry about her problems, she always looks back to her lifelong experience of letting go and allowing God to bless her. When we let go and give freely, God’s Word says we grow “all the richer” (Prov. 11:24, ESV).

So, whether it’s a nickel, a hundred dollars, or help with homework, look at what’s in your hand. Can you give that? It is only when you give something that God can multiply it. And multiply it He will.

Post a comment below if you’d like to share your experience of seeing God’s provision in your life!