GOD AND COUNTRY

By Andrew Wommack

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I just finished recording two weeks of very important Gospel Truth television programs with David Barton. I’m sure many of you are well acquainted with him, but for those of you who are not, let me introduce him.

David is a leading expert of American Christian history. He has one of the world’s largest private collections of early American documents relating to the founding of our nation. The Lord has raised him up to remind the world that it was God who birthed this nation and the principles it stands for. I must say he’s doing a great job.

I have long felt a need to counter the increasing secularization of society at home and abroad. I do this primarily by teaching God’s Word. When the Word is taught without compromise, it is very countercultural to today’s secular, immoral society. I seldom get away from the pure teaching of the Word, because that’s all I know.

Worldwide humanism has taken its toll, even among us as Christians. We are constantly being told that religion or faith has no place in today’s modern, “enlightened” world. Nothing could be further from the truth. It is the influence of true Christianity that has given the West its dominating influence in the world and the vast majority of our scientific advances.

America, in particular, has such a rich Christian history that it’s ludicrous to try and explain it away or attribute the tremendous blessings those Christian roots have produced to human wisdom. The secular humanists who are trying to exclude all influence of Christianity in the public arenas are burying their heads in the sand of ignorance and denial. History has proven many times over that immorality, whether expressed through paganism or secularism, is destructive.

Therefore, I want to spotlight these truths, supported by historical facts, in a way that will help people see the truth about what made America great. Satan preys on ignorance (Hos. 4:6). Christians, as a whole, are grossly ignorant of our godly Christian heritage. We have been slowly indoctrinated and deceived as history has been rewritten.

So I invited David Barton to join me on the Gospel Truth program to fill in the historical facts in a way I never could. I must say I was overwhelmed. Having been brought up in the “belt buckle” of the “Bible Belt,” I thought I was spared the secular bias in my education, but I wasn’t. I was shocked to learn how much of our history was misrepresented to me.

People often tell me they are intimidated by my knowledge of Scripture. That’s how I felt around David. He quotes historical facts like I quote scriptures. To prove the truth of his statements, he displays original documents in much the same way I use scriptures to prove the truth of what I teach, and he totally convinced me. I never realized just how much I didn’t know. In fact, it made me mad because I was not only ignorant, but I had been lied to about much of our Christian heritage.

I came away with impressions from the taping that are too numerous to relate in this letter, but I want to highlight a few. I was against being “politically correct” before, but even more so now. This is so pervasive in our nation today that it has paralyzed many from speaking out against evil. That isn’t the way this nation started. Christians boldly proclaimed the truth, not only in pulpits, but in the public square.

For instance, I was shocked to learn that George Washington dealt with homosexuality among his troops when he was a general. The term “drummed out” actually came from George Washington’s treatment of a homosexual. He had this man publicly humiliated and marched out of the army to the beating of drums as all the other troops watched. The man called “the father of our country” publicly humiliated homosexuals for such shameful behavior. How would the homosexual activists respond to that type of treatment today?

On the issue of slavery, I assumed that America embraced slavery until our Civil War, when the slaves were freed. That is not accurate at all. Two-thirds of the founding fathers were opposed to slavery. They took steps to eliminate it at the founding of this country. However, they compromised because they needed the southern slave states’ support if they were to defeat the British and gain their independence.

Boston integrated their schools in the 1780s. Blacks were elected to legislature positions in the north in the early 1800s. There was always a movement by large numbers of people to stop the slave trade and free the slaves since the very beginning. But the Democratic party of the 1800s staunchly opposed all the abolitionists’ attempts.

Upon the surrender of the South at the end of our Civil War, the vice president of the Confederate States organized the Ku Klux Klan to oppose the integration of blacks into our society, with the full support of the Democratic Party. This, coupled with the assassination of President Lincoln in 1865, severely limited the opportunities of freed blacks in American society until the Civil Rights Movements of the 1960s.

I learned that although ungodly men have certainly done shameful things to Indians and blacks in America, there were also very godly people fighting against all these injustices since the very beginning. The unjust label of “bigot” that had been attached to conservative Christians has shamed many into silence and paralyzed many from standing for truth.

How could this nation have changed so radically? David Barton made it very clear that the majority of the blame lies with the clergy. Sermons on freedom, principles of godly government, and social interaction formed the basis of our Constitution and laws. You can read them. In that day, all sermons were printed out, and the preacher read his sermons.

Preachers back then were social activists. But as the controversy over slavery heated up, the fundamentalists and evangelicals arose. They promoted a philosophy that said the church should stick to the fundamentals of eternal salvation and evangelism and leave politics alone. The withdrawal of Christians from commenting on the current issues in society left the ungodly with the upper hand in public debate.

Next, our judicial branch of the government has been rewriting the Constitution, not just interpreting it. David spoke of a case he argued before the Supreme Court on praying at public school functions. He gave many examples of the signers of the Constitution and the writers of the First Amendment, who publicly prayed and preached at school functions.

However, this will shock you: One of our current Supreme Court justices said that obviously our founding fathers didn’t understand what they had written in the Constitution, or they were hypocrites. The Court came out against the very thing the founding fathers supported.

This blatant activism on the part of liberal judges has given ungodly minorities the upper hand. They have forced Christians into an inferior position that limits their ability to influence their generation as the salt of the earth (Matt. 5:13). The devil has tried to silence us, and it’s time we speak out.

I’m not talking about hate and condemnation. That goes against what Jesus taught (Luke 6:31). But it’s the truth that sets us free (John 8:32), and the church is God’s guardian of truth. We have to speak out against the ungodliness in our world in a greater way and counter the darkness that is trying to put out our light.

This impacted and motivated me in a profound way, and I believe it will do the same for you. I strongly encourage you to get copies of the television programs David and I made, which we call God and Country. They are available on our website or on DVD. Be sure to watch the actual airings of this special two-week series starting June 29. Tell your friends to watch. They will be glad they did.

LOVING SOMEONE YOU CAN’T STAND

Doctor: “I see you’re over a month late for your appointment. Don’t you know that nervous disorders require prompt and regular attention? What’s your excuse?”

Patient: “I was just following your orders, Doc.”

Doctor: “Following my orders? What are you talking about? I gave you no such order.”

Patient: “You told me to avoid people who irritate me.”

Unfortunately, we don?t always have the option of avoiding people who irritate, people who hurt us, people who offend us. In fact, sometimes those who irritate us the most are found right in our home (or in our church building). So how should we deal with them?

Milton Jones has written a wonderful book entitled ?How to Love Someone You Can?t Stand? which I highly recommend (you can find it at Amazon.com). In this book, Jones lists six godly principles which are derived from Romans 12:

(1) Manage Your mouth — Bless and don’t curse (Rom. 12:14)

(2) Put yourself in the other person’s place and try to understand their feelings, thoughts and position (Rom. 12:15)

(3) Never, never, never take revenge (Rom. 12:17)

(4) Plan ahead to do something beautiful (Rom. 12:17)

(5) Don’t just win the war, win the peace (Rom. 12:18)

(6) Make room for God (Rom. 12:19)

The bottom line is that we do not overcome evil with evil by retaliating and seeking to “get even”. The only way to overcome evil is with good (Rom. 12:21). It is never easy to respond to those who do us wrong in a way that is godly, but it is only by following the example of Jesus Christ that we can truly have an influence on the world around us.

“But when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God. For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps…” (I Peter 2:19-20)

Have a great day!

Alan Smith

http://tftd-online.com/default.asp

THE PEARL NECKLACE

A cheerful girl with bouncy golden curls was almost five. Waiting with her mother at the checkout stand, she saw them: a circle of glistening white pearls in a pink foil box. “Oh please, Mommy. Can I have them? Please, Mommy, please!”

Quickly the mother checked the back of the little foil box and then looked back into the pleading blue eyes of her little girl’s upturned face. “A dollar ninety-five. That’s almost $2.00. If you really want them, I’ll
think of some extra chores for you and in no time you can save enough money to buy them for yourself. Your birthday’s only a week away and you might get another crisp dollar bill from grandma.”

As soon as Jenny got home, she emptied her penny bank and counted out 17 pennies. After dinner, she did more than her share of chores and she went to the neighbor and asked if she could pick dandelions for ten cents. On her birthday, Grandma did give her another new dollar bill and at last she had enough money to buy the necklace.

Jenny loved her pearls. They made her feel dressed up and grown up. She wore them everywhere–Sunday school, kindergarten, even to bed. The only time she took them off was when she went swimming or had a
bubble bath. Mother said if they got wet, they might turn her neck green.

Jenny had a very loving daddy and every night when she was ready for bed, he would stop whatever he was doing and come upstairs to read her a story. One night when he finished the story, he asked Jenny, “Do you love me?”

“Oh yes, Daddy. You know that I love you.”

“Then give me your pearls.”

“Oh, Daddy, not my pearls. But you can have Princess– the white horse from my collection. The one with the pink tail. Remember, Daddy? The one you gave me. She’s my favorite.”

“That’s okay, Honey. Daddy loves you. Good night.” And he brushed her cheek with a kiss.

About a week later, after the story time, Jenny’s daddy asked again, “Do you love me?”

” Daddy, you know I love you.”

“Then give me your pearls.”

“Oh Daddy, not my pearls. But you can have my babydoll. The brand new one I got for my birthday. She is so beautiful and you can have the yellow blanket that matches her sleeper.”

“That’s okay. Sleep well. God bless you, little one. Daddy loves you.” And as always, he brushed her cheek with a gentle kiss.

A few nights later when her daddy came in, Jenny was sitting on her bed with her legs crossed Indian-style. As he came close, he noticed her chin was trembling and one silent tear rolled down her cheek. “What is it, Jenny? What’s the matter?”

Jenny didn’t say anything but lifted her little hand up to her daddy. And, when she opened it, there was her little pearl necklace. With a little quiver, she finally said, “Here, Daddy. It’s for you.”

With tears gathering in his own eyes, Jenny’s kind daddy reached out with one hand to take the dime-store necklace, and with the other hand he reached into his pocket and pulled out a blue velvet case with a strand of beautiful genuine pearls. He had had them all the time. He was just waiting for her to give up the dime-store stuff so he could give her genuine treasure.

Question- what imitations are we holding onto that stops us from receiving God’s genuine treasures?

Author Unknown

YOU HAVE A DESTINY

By Andrew Wommack

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You were not created by accident. You are not a mistake. Your presence on this earth at this time in history was preordained. The way you look, the talents and gifts you possess, and the personality you have been given is all part of God’s plan. He made you the way you are for a very specific purpose, and no one can ever replace you.

But, if you are ever going to fulfill that purpose—your destiny—it begins with believing that you have one and that you must cooperate with God to bring it to pass.

Psalm 139:16 says,

“Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.”

Jeremiah 1:5 reads,

“Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.”

And in Galatians 1:15, the Apostle Paul writes,

“But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb, and called me by his grace.”

I know that many believers never let the Bible get in the way of what they believe. But these three verses, and there are many more, should be enough to convince any skeptic. They are written proof that God knew you even before you were born and that He has a very specific plan for your life that no one else can fulfill. He has a destiny designed just for you.

The word destiny is defined in the America Heritage Dictionary as “the inevitable or necessary fate to which a particular person is destined. A predetermined course of events.” However, I believe that definition is wrong. It implies that your destiny cannot be avoided or prevented. That is not scriptural and therefore just not true.

It’s true that your destiny is preordained, but it is not inevitable. Whenever I teach this, it always brings up questions about the sovereignty of God. There are some who teach the sovereignty of God in a way that leads one to believe everything happens for a reason and that God is behind it all.

If this is true, then you have to be prepared to blame God for every evil and bad thing that happens on the earth. That means every catastrophe, every war, every murder, every rape, or anything else you can name must be God’s will. If that were true, then God has not done a good job of running the world. I believe this teaching is the worst heresy in the body of Christ today. And it’s very destructive because it takes away the will to resist evil.

You need to live with a sense of destiny. It’s important not to go through life doing your own thing and then asking God to bless it. It’s the reason so many believers are experiencing a lack of success, of fulfillment and satisfaction. There is a power and an anointing that only comes when you are fulfilling God’s plan for your life.

Every person has a preordained plan for their life, but God is not going to make it come to pass. God will speak to you, and He will woo you. He wants to reveal His plan for you more than you want to know it, but it’s incumbent upon you to find out what it is. As long as you are asking God to reveal His purpose while you are on your way to doing something else, you’ll never learn what it is.

Jeremiah 29:13 says,

“And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.”

When you finally reach the point where you can no longer live without knowing His will, I guarantee you’ll find it. However, it doesn’t happen without your pursuit. Deuteronomy 30:19 makes it very clear that God has given you the power and the freedom to make your own choices:

“I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live.”

God does not force His will or His plan upon anyone. So, is He sovereign? Yes, if the correct definition for sovereign is used. Sovereign means supreme in power or rank. We all would agree with this definition, but I totally disagree with the way religion today uses “sovereign.” God does not make His will for our lives come to pass. We have to submit to God and resist the devil (James 4:7). We have responsibility.

The best example of this is in the Great Commission:

“And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned” (Mark 16:15-16).

The Apostle Peter said in 2 Peter 3:9,

“The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”

You would have to have help to misunderstand these scriptures. It’s not God’s will for people to perish, and yet they do because His will is not automatic. Maybe the person who was called to preach didn’t obey, or maybe the one hearing the message rejected it. In either case, God’s will did not come to pass. Your destiny will not come to pass automatically either.

Whatever God is calling you to do, it is not based on your natural talents and abilities. I am not saying that there is no connection between those natural gifts and God’s plan for your life. However, many times God will call a person to do what they seem totally unqualified for. He will call you to do the very thing you can’t do.

If you would have told me at eighteen years of age that God was calling me to be a minister, looking at my natural abilities, I would have said no way, no way, no way. But you know what? Looking back, I can see that everything in my life was pointing toward exactly what I am doing now.

God has a destiny for you, and He wants to reveal it. But He is not going to run you down. He is not going to steamroll you or force it upon you. That reminds me of Romans 12:1, which says you are to present yourself as a living sacrifice. A living sacrifice is a volunteer. If God were to force your destiny upon you, it wouldn’t be a sacrifice; it would be slavery.

For whatever reason, many believers have been sidetracked. When I teach on this subject at churches or conferences and ask how many know that they know what their destinies are, few ever raise their hands. When I ask those to stand who would like prayer regarding this, it’s usually eighty to ninety percent of the audience. This is not what the Lord intended.

Regardless of where you find yourself today, God is so awesome that He can plot a course from right where you are to where He planned for you to be. It’s like a GPS navigator. When you go the wrong way, it says “Recalculating,” and in an instant, it has a new route planned to get you to your destination.

It doesn’t matter how old you are or what has happened in your past; it’s never too late to recalculate. Just believe that you have a destiny, and determine in your heart that you will not take another step in life until you know what it is. Then, just start doing what God is telling you to do.

He won’t necessarily give you the entire picture, but He will give you the next step. As you take that step, you will find that there is an automatic anointing that comes to help you accomplish it. It would be unjust for God to call you do to something and then ask you to do it in your own strength.

Everything God asks you to do is supernatural. He will always lead you to do something that is beyond your own natural ability so you will have to be dependent on Him. If it’s not supernatural, it’s superficial! God wants your life to be supernatural!

I teach a four-part series called How to Fulfill Your Destiny. The four parts are entitled: “Everyone Has a Destiny,” “Becoming a Living Sacrifice,” “Renewing Your Mind,” and “Following the Desires of Your Heart.” These four parts are taught in a deliberate sequence.

Once you believe you have a destiny, you must be willing to sacrifice your will for His. Then, you must renew your mind to the Word of God so it can help you separate soul from Spirit, your soulish plans from God’s plans. Once that is in order, you simply do what you want to do. What a deal!

In addition to this teaching series, our Television Department has just completed a powerful DVD called Destiny Stories. In this totally new video, you will hear the true stories of seven ordinary people whose lives were completely transformed in the pursuit of their destinies.

This new video clearly illustrates how a revelation of God’s purpose, combined with a willingness to take steps of faith, led each one into their individual, God-ordained destiny. As you watch, you will sense their fulfillment and joy, the kind that only comes when you know you are doing what God created you to do.

Day 45 – They Called Upon the Lord

And Adam had relations with his wife again; and she gave birth to a son, and named him Seth, for, she said, “God has appointed me another offspring in place of Abel; for Cain killed him.”

And to Seth, to him also a son was born; and he called his name Enosh. Then men began to call upon the name of the LORD (Genesis 4:25-26).

After the original transgression in the Garden, the corruption of mankind continued on a downward spiral. The Lord created man to be free, and He would let man go his own way. Yet, in His unfathomable compassion, He continued to bless them and help them as much as He  could. The Lord knew the end from the beginning, and from the beginning He planned and prepared for man’s ultimate redemption and restoration from his sin.

All of God’s ways are so much higher than man’s that we will be spending eternity learning about Him. He stretched out the galaxies like a curtain, with billions upon billions of stars in each one. He set the earth in such a tiny slice of orbit that if we deviated just the equivalent of one-eighth of an inch over a one hundred-mile distance we would either freeze or fry. He set the earth on a tilting axis so that the seasons would change, alternately melting the ice so that it would not wobble out of its orbit. Then He set the moon and other planets in their appointed orbits so that their gravitational pulls would perfectly stabilize the earth. If any of these things changed, the earth would quickly drift out of its orbit and all life would perish. Scientists have conceded that if the power of all of the computers in the world were added together, they could not compute the odds that all of this just happened by accident. When we begin adding the extraordinary balance of nature needed on the planet to sustain life, we know that the mind of God is far, far beyond our ability to comprehend. When we look at the heavens, the whole earth is but a speck of dust, like a single grain of sand to the oceans. King David wondered:

When I consider Thy heavens, the work of Thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which Thou hast ordained;

what is man, that Thou dost take thought of him? And the son of man, that Thou dost care for him? (Psalm 8:3-4)

God not only considers man, but He has chosen to dwell with man. For some incomprehensible reason, He loves us. He even loved us enough to empty Himself and become one of us for our salvation. As much as He can without violating the freedom that He gave us, He fixes our mistakes and blesses us even though most of the time we do not even know it. Eve may have been deceived by the serpent, but she realized that it was the Lord who gave her another son.

After Enosh was born, we are told that it was then men began to call upon the name of the Lord. The Hebrew word for “call” that is used here is qara, which indicates more than just calling out to Him. It also implies that they began “proclaiming,” or “acknowledging,” the Lord. This is the beginning of our return to the light. To not see God in creation is a profound delusion, a darkness so deep that it is an intellectual black hole. A black hole is a term used for anomalies in space that have such a gravitational pull that even light cannot escape them. Men have in our times fallen into such intellectual depravity that they cannot acknowledge God, even though the scientific evidence that He exists is so overwhelming. Even so, from the beginning, there has always been some who would proclaim Him.

Man can fall into the deepest depravity, but if he still has enough light to call upon the name of the Lord, he can be saved. The incomprehensible love of God will not reject anyone who turns to Him, just as we are promised in Acts 2:21: “And it shall be, that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” This is repeated and elaborated on in Romans 10:12-14:

…the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call upon Him;

for “Whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved.”

How then shall they call upon Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?

The Lord is “abounding in riches for all who call upon Him.” These are the true riches of the kingdom—the truth and the knowledge of God’s ways. We are also told that others cannot believe without a preacher. How can we who have been blessed with such great riches not proclaim Him? To “call upon the name of the Lord” is more than just praying to Him, it is also to proclaim Him. How can we not share in the unlimited wealth that comes from the knowledge of His ways if we have been touched by His love?
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WHAT CHRISTIANS BELIEVE

By Andrew Wommack

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Over the last forty years of teaching the Bible, I have learned some interesting things about how Christians determine what they believe. Unfortunately, one of the things I’ve learned is that many Christians never let the Bible get in the way of what they believe.

A recent Barna Survey reveals that for the first time, most Americans now depend upon their own logic, tradition, or experience to formulate beliefs. Few actually take the Word of God as the basis of their beliefs. The result is what Jesus spoke about in Mark 7:13:

“Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition.”

Most Christians today aren’t aware that their “old-time religion” is polluted with many traditions that void the power of God’s Word. While there are plenty of “man-made” traditions that are harmful, it comes as a complete shock to most believers that there are traditions instituted by God that can make His Word of no effect.

After you pick yourself up off the floor from that statement, let me explain. The Old Testament way of relating to God is not the same as the New Testament way of having a relationship with God. The Old Testament was legalistic and based on your performance. The New Testament, on the other hand, is a covenant of grace based on acceptance of what Jesus did. Because of that, there is a huge difference between the way people approached God under the Old and the way they should now approach Him under the New.

The book of Hebrews was written specifically to contrast this and to show us how to approach God through a new and living way. I have spent decades meditating on this book, and especially Hebrews chapter 10:16-23, which I believe summarizes the whole book of Hebrews.

Those verses read,

“This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.

Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin. Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; And having an high priest over the house of God; Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering.”

Under the Old Covenant, a sacrifice had to be offered every time a sin was committed. Then, once a year on the day of atonement, a sacrifice was made by the high priest for everyone and everything just in case something was missed. However, all these sacrifices were just types and shadows of the ultimate sacrifice that was to come (Heb. 9:8-12 and 24-28).

Yet today, the Old Covenant thinking is still prevalent in the body of Christ. Average Christians have been taught, and believe, that the sins they committed before they were born again were all forgiven the moment they were saved. But they believe the sins they commit after their salvation all have to come under the blood and be confessed, one by one.

The extreme legalist believes that if a Christian does not confess their sins they will go straight to hell. The less extreme believe that at the very least, the person will lose their fellowship with the Lord, and He will not answer their prayers. Both are wrong. If you have made Jesus your Lord, you’ve become a new creature, and sin is no longer an issue between you and God.

Hebrews 10:10 says,

“By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”

Verse 14 goes on to say,

“For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.”

Jesus paid the price for all sin, and there is nothing left to pay! There is no other way to say it: All is forgiven forever (Hebrews 10:10 and 14). Once you understand this, it gives you confidence to enter boldly into the holy of holies by the blood of Jesus (Heb. 10:19).

David didn’t have this type of relationship under the Old Covenant. Therefore, when he was repenting over his sin with Bathsheba and Uriah, he prayed,

“Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit” (Ps. 51:10-12).

However, for us as New Testament believers to pray this same prayer would be an insult to what Christ has done for us. God created a new heart in us when we were born again (2 Cor. 5:17) and sealed it with His Holy Spirit so it would never be polluted again (Eph. 1:13). He promised He would never leave us nor forsake us (Heb. 13:5), and His love, joy, and peace are now a permanent part of our born-again spirits (Gal. 5:22). Yet multitudes of New Testament Christians pray and sing the exact opposite of this.

Therefore, most Christians aren’t bold in their relationship with the Lord. They approach the Lord with fear of punishment and rejection. They fear they aren’t worthy and that they haven’t done enough to earn the right to be in His presence. They still believe their relationship with the Lord depends on their performance, and mixing the Old and the New Covenant makes the Word of God void in their lives.

Let’s read what Hebrews 10:22 says: “Having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience.” Our consciences are the part of us that are defiled and keep us from having boldness to enter into the presence of God (Heb. 9:14). And why are our consciences defiled? Because of the Law, the Old Covenant. The Law is what gives us knowledge of sin and takes away our confidence.

Hebrews 10:1-2 says,

“For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect. For then would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins” (emphasis mine).

The same word that was translated “boldness” in Hebrews 10:19 was translated “confidence” in Hebrews 10:35, which says,

“Cast not away your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward.”

There are not many people who have strong confidence in their relationship with the Lord. Therefore, they have a hard time entering boldly into His presence.

What I am saying here is powerful. If we can understand the promises that have been made to us in these scriptures and quit trying to mix the Old with the New, it will change our lives. This is exactly what Jesus was saying in the parable about the new wine.

Matthew 9:17 reads,

“Neither do men put new wine into old bottles: else the bottles break, and the wine runneth out, and the bottles perish: but they put new wine into new bottles, and both are preserved.”

The New Covenant is like new wine. It is meant to be placed in a new container. And you are that new container. In your spirit, when you were born again, you became a totally brand-new creation, created in righteousness and true holiness (Eph. 4:24). First John 4:17 says that you are identical to Jesus in your spirit: “As he is, so are we in this world.”

It’s your spirit that changed, not your soul or your body. John 4:24 says that God is a Spirit and that we must worship Him in spirit and in truth. So when a person says something like “I haven’t been praying enough, reading my Bible enough, or I just feel so worthless,” they aren’t worshiping Him in Spirit and in truth.

Instead, they have allowed an evil conscience, empowered by the Law of the Old Covenant, to condemn them. They are looking through the eyes of the flesh and soul, instead of the spirit. It’s time to stop mixing the Old with the New and to enter into the presence of God by a new a living way.

I have just taught a new series called Hebrews Highlights. It was a powerful teaching that visibly impacted the people at this seminar. I believe these truths will also help you get free and enter into the presence of God without condemnation or judgment. And maybe for the first time, you can begin to see yourself free from sin-consciousness.

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THE LORDS PRAYER

THE LORD’S PRAYER
Category: Religion and Philosophy
I didn’t write this just thought it was good.
THE LORD’S PRAYER

**********
Our Father Who Art In Heaven.
Yes?
Don’t interrupt me. I’m praying.
But – you called ME!
Called you?
No, I didn’t call you.
I’m praying.
Our Father who art in Heaven.
There – you did it again!
Did what?
Called ME.
You said,
“Our Father who art in Heaven”
Well, here I am.
What’s on your mind?
But I didn’t mean anything by it.
I was, you know, just saying my prayers for the day.
I always say the Lord’s Prayer.
It makes me feel good,
kind of like fulfilling a duty.
Well, all right.
Go on.
Okay, Hallowed be thy name . .
Hold it right there.
What do you mean by that?
By what?
By “Hallowed be thy name”?
It means, it means . . good grief,
I don’t know what it means.
How in the world should I know?
It’s just a part of the prayer.
By the way, what does it mean?
It means honored, holy, wonderful.
Hey, that makes sense.
I never thought about what ‘hallowed’ meant before.
Thanks.
Thy Kingdom come,
Thy will be done,
on earth as it is in Heaven.
Do you really mean that?
Sure, why not?
What are you doing about it?
Doing? Why, nothing, I guess.
I just think it would be kind of neat if you got control,
of everything down here like you have up there.
We’re kinda in a mess down here you know.
Yes, I know;
but,have I got control of you?
Well, I go to church.
That isn’t what I asked you.
What about your bad temper?
You’ve really got a problem there, you know.
And then there’s the way you spend your money –
all on yourself.
And what about the kind of books you read?
Now hold on just a minute!
Stop picking on me!
I’m just as good as some of the rest of those people at church!
Excuse ME.
I thought you were praying
for my will to be done.
If that is to happen,
it will have to start with the ones
who are praying for it.
Like you — for example.
Oh, all right. I guess I do have some hang-ups.
Now that you mention  it,
I could probably name some others.
So could I.
I haven’t thought about it very much until now,
but I really would like to cut out some of those things.
I would like to, you know, be really free.
Good.
Now we’re getting somewhere.We’ll work together – You and ME.
I’m proud of You.
Look, Lord, if you don’t mind,
I need to finish up here.
This is taking a lot longer than it usually does.
Give us this day, our daily bread.
You need to cut out the bread.
You’re overweight as it is.
Hey, wait a minute! What is this?
Here I was doing my religious duty,
and all of a sudden you break in
and remind me of all my hang-ups.
Praying is a dangerous thing.
You just might get what you ask for.
Remember,
you called ME — and here I am.
It’s too late to stop now.
Keep praying.  ( . pause . . )
Well, go on.
I’m scared to.
Scared? Of what?
I know what you’ll say.
Try ME.
Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us.
What about Ann?
See? I knew it!
I knew you would bring her up!
Why, Lord, she’s told lies about me, spread stories.
She never paid back the money she owes me.
I’ve sworn to get even with her!
But — your prayer –
What about your prayer?
I didn’t — mean it.
Well, at least you’re honest.
But, it’s quite a load carrying around all that bitterness
and resentment isn’t it?
Yes, but I’ll feel better as soon as I get even with her.
Boy, have I got some plans for her.
She’ll wish she had never been born.
No, you won’t feel any better.
You’ll feel worse.
Revenge isn’t sweet.
You know how unhappy you are –
Well, I can change that.
You can? How?
Forgive Ann.
Then, I’ll forgive you;
And the hate and the sin,
will be Ann’s problem — not yours.
You will have settled the problem
as far as you are concerned.
Oh, you know, you’re right.
You always are.
And more than I want revenge,
I want to be right with You . . (sigh).
All right all right . .
I forgive her.
There now!
Wonderful!
How do you feel?
Hmmmm. Well, not bad.
Not bad at all!
In fact, I feel pretty great!
You know, I don’t think I’ll go to bed uptight tonight.
I haven’t been getting much rest, you know.
Yeah, I know.
But, you’re not through with your prayer are you? Go on.
Oh, all right.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
Good! Good! I’ll do that.
Just don’t put yourself in a place
where you can be tempted.
What do you mean by that?
You know what I mean.
Yeah. I know.
Okay.
Go ahead. Finish your prayer.
For Thine is the kingdom,
and the power,
and the glory forever.
Amen.
Do you know what would bring me glory –
What would really make me happy?
No, but I’d like to know.
I want to please you now.
I’ve really made a mess of things.
I want to truly follow you.
I can see now how great that would be.
So, tell me . . .
How do I make you happy?
YOU just did.

THE WAR IS OVER

By Andrew Wommack

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Did you know that most Christians still believe their relationship with God is dependent on their performance? They believe answered prayers and God’s blessing in their lives are in direct proportion to their holiness and ability to overcome sin. If they attend church, pay their tithes, read their Bibles, and control their flesh, they have somehow earned the blessing of God.

That may sound reasonable at first, but that line of thinking will destroy your confidence in God and couldn’t be further from the truth. The truth is, sin isn’t even an issue with God. That may seem like a radical statement, but it is exactly what the Word teaches. Romans 3:4 says,

“Yea, let God be true, but every man a liar.”

When Jesus came on the scene, one of the first things He had to do was counter all the religious traditions and doctrines of His day. Paul recognized the same problem. He said in Romans 10:2-3,

“For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.”

Just because people are zealous or religious does not mean what they believe is correct. One of the most misunderstood doctrines in the Bible is what really happened when Jesus came to earth, fulfilled the Law, and was sacrificed for our sins. When He said in John 19:30 “It is finished,” everything changed.

Jesus forever changed the way God relates to mankind. Sure, there are scriptural examples of God’s catastrophic judgment on sin. But God’s greatest act of judgment was when He placed His entire wrath upon Jesus for our sins. This forever satisfied God’s wrath. Since that time, God hasn’t been judging our sins (2 Cor. 5:19). God’s not angry with us; He’s not even in a bad mood.

Look at the angels’ joy at the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem. Luke 2:13-14 says,

“And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”

This scripture is very familiar to many, yet there is a lot of misunderstanding about what it’s saying. Some translations say they were proclaiming “good will among men” or “peace to men of good will.” Basically, this passage has been interpreted that Jesus was bringing peace on earth among people. But that’s not why these angels were praising God. If that interpretation were true, then Jesus’ own words in Matthew 10:34-36 would contradict this. He said,

“Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household.”

Jesus Himself said He was not sent to bring peace on the earth among people. The peace that the angels were praising God for (Luke 2:13-14) was peace BETWEEN God and man. They were announcing the end of God’s war on sin. Peace now reigns between God and man.

Prior to Jesus’ coming, God’s wrath was against man for his sins. It wasn’t total wrath. Even in the Old Testament, we see God’s mercy and grace. Yet the Old Testament Law was a ministry of wrath (Rom. 4:15; 2 Cor. 3:7, and 9), and man’s sins were held against him. But when Jesus came, God quit holding man’s sins against him. This is exactly what 2 Corinthians 5:19 and 21 say,

“To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation…For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”

The word “reconciliation” is talking about making peace. God was no longer holding us accountable. Instead, He imputed our sins to Jesus, making Jesus accountable for our sins. Jesus became what we were so we could become what He was—the righteousness of God.

Jesus was like a lightning rod that drew all the judgment of God unto Himself. He not only bore our sins; He actually became sin (2 Cor. 5:21). Jesus said in John 12:27-32:

“Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour. Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again. The people therefore, that stood by, and heard it, said that it thundered: others said, An angel spake to him. Jesus answered and said, This voice came not because of me, but for your sakes. Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.”

Many have thought John 12:32 means that if God is properly glorified in our preaching, then He will draw all people to Himself. But that is not what this scripture is saying.

If you look in the King James Version, notice that the word “men” in verse 32 is italicized. That means it wasn’t in the original language. The translators put this word in italics to let people know this was their addition, but it wasn’t a part of the text. If you take this verse in context, I believe the Lord was saying that He would draw all JUDGMENT to Himself. Jesus, like a lightning rod, attracted all of God’s judgment for all of mankind’s sins for all time unto Himself.

All the murder, all the perversion, every vile and rotten sin imaginable, all sickness, and all disease ever known to mankind actually entered into His physical human body. Isaiah 52:14 talks about the crucifixion of Jesus and says that He was marred more than any man, to the point that He was unrecognizable as a human being.

That could not have happened just from physical beatings, especially since the Word says that not a single bone was broken in His body (Ps. 34:20 with John 19:36). I believe His body was completely disfigured from cancers, tumors, diseases, deformities, and anything else that human beings have ever suffered.

Jesus didn’t ask for the cup to be taken from Him just because of the physical pain He would suffer, but because He did not want to become sin. He hated becoming what He came to redeem us from. And the worst of all Jesus’ sufferings was total rejection from His Father. Matthew 27:46 says,

“And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”

God the Father forsook Jesus so that you and I would never be forsaken. All that we would have suffered through billions of years in eternity—the grief, the pain, and worst of all, the complete separation from the presence of God—Jesus experienced. And He experienced all of this for us. The judgment was made and the sentence carried out. The price was paid in full, once for all.

When we say God is still judging us for our sins as individuals or corporately as a nation, we are saying that the price Jesus paid wasn’t enough. Therefore, a judgment must again be made and a sentence passed. That would be “double jeopardy,” and that is not what the Bible teaches.

Some of you may not like this, but it’s true. Sin isn’t a problem with God anymore. It’s the church that has made it a major deal. Neither past, present, nor future sins can separate us from God. The only people who will go to hell are those who have spurned and rejected the greatest sacrifice that has ever been made. In heaven, we won’t answer for our individual sins; Jesus already has. We will answer for our acceptance or rejection of Jesus.

You might now be thinking, You’re just giving people a license to sin. Well, it seems to me that people are doing a pretty good job of that without a license. What I’m saying will not free you to sin; it will free you from the condemnation and the guilt that comes when you do sin.

To continue in sin is just stupid. You’ll be opening the door for Satan to have an inroad into your life (Rom. 6:16). If you sin, you will suffer the natural consequences of it, but it will not be because of the judgment of God.

After reading this, I am sure many questions have come to your mind. This subject counters so much of what is being taught in the church today that you need to hear the rest of the message. I teach on this extensively in my series The War Is Over. Order it or go to our website and download the entire message in MP3 format. It will change your life.

THE BELIEVERS AUTHORITY

By Andrew Wommack

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Is there someone in your life who just rubs you the wrong way? If there is, it may surprise you to learn that it’s not really that person who is creating the rub. There is someone else at work, your real enemy, and he may be using them in an attempt to gain an inroad to your life. There is a spiritual war going on, and as a believer, you must be aware of it.

Many Christians have adopted a humanistic view of things. They do not realize the spiritual implication behind what is going on in their lives. What I mean by humanistic is that they only look at things on a surface level. They think most everything they encounter on a daily basis is either physical or natural.

The truth is, there is a battle raging every single day in the spiritual realm. That battle is for your heart and the hearts of every other person on earth. God is trying to influence people and draw them toward righteousness and toward Himself, to live consistent with Him so that His blessings can manifest in their lives.

Satan, on the other hand, is waging all-out war trying to steal the hearts of people away from God. He wants to fill their hearts with his trash and corruption. And honestly, although most Christians recognize this to a degree, I don’t think they realize how intense the warfare really is and how much their actions are contributing to it.

If I could sit and talk with each of you reading this, I would find that many of you aren’t aware of the spiritual significance behind what’s going on in your lives. You attribute much of what is happening to circumstances and therefore passively accept what comes your way. When you do that, you’re ignoring the intense battle that is being waged for your heart every single day.

The choices you make, the things you say, the actions you take, and what you believe about what is happening around you determines whether God or Satan dominates in your life. Satan cannot control you outside of your will. He cannot do anything without your cooperation and consent. But you need to recognize that you’re in a battle.

Many people choose not to believe that, but whether they do or not, the fact is that it’s taking place. Your unwillingness to engage in battle doesn’t mean that the battle isn’t raging; it just means you’re going to lose. But once you realize the battle is real, you can then learn to recognize what’s going on and take the proper action to improve your situation. You can resist the devil.

James 4:7 says,

“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”

Ephesians 6:10-12 reads,

“Finally my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”

This is referring to demonic powers. There’s a chain of command, an authority structure in the demonic realm, and this is listing these different levels. But notice that it says you are not wrestling against flesh and blood. Much that goes on in your life is not just human.

I’m not going to get into this thing about, “Are people possessed, oppressed, or depressed?” I believe it’s useless to debate that. In the Greek where the Bible says a person was demon possessed, the word literally means “demonized.” It just means they were under the control of the devil. Christianity has tried to make something out of possessed, oppressed, or depressed. But it’s not in Scripture.

The fact is that people are being influenced and controlled and used by the devil; they really are. This needs to be said because there are a lot of people who honestly believe that all the demons are in Africa.

It’s not the person sitting next to you at work, it’s not your neighbor, and it’s certainly not your husband or your wife that’s the problem. Anyone who is not paying attention can be influenced and inspired and used of Satan to come against you. If you were to recognize that, it would make a huge difference in the way you respond to them.

For instance, I get a lot of hate mail. There was a time when I took what was said personally. But I’ve come to realize that Satan uses these in an attempt to get my attention off of what God has told me to do. Now I look beyond the person, recognizing that Satan is just using them. That allows me to keep it in the right perspective.

I’ve had good friends come against me and do some pretty mean things. And you know what, I was able to look right past what they did and forgive them. I could see that Satan was taking advantage of them to hurt me through some weak area in their lives. When you finally see that, you don’t get angry or bitter with the person, and you are able walk in forgiveness. Then, when they do turn around, the relationship can be reestablished.

There are also times when you have to engage the enemy directly, even if the enemy is using a friend. That’s exactly what Jesus did when he rebuked Peter, saying, “Get behind me Satan.” That was the same day Jesus asked Peter, “Who do you say I am?” And Peter, inspired by the Holy Spirit, said, “You are the CHRIST, the Son of the living God.”

In Matthew 16:15-17, it says,

“He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.”

After this, Jesus began to talk about what was going to happen to Him: “They’re going to take Me, they’re going to kill Me, and I will rise again on the third day.” And this same Peter who had been inspired and controlled by the Holy Spirit just moments before began to rebuke Jesus, saying, “Be it far from You, Lord. This will never happen to You. I’m going to stand here, and the rest of us will defend You, but we are not going to allow this to happen to You.”

Then Jesus turned and spoke these words to Peter: “Get behind me Satan.” I’m sure Peter was shocked, but Jesus wasn’t really talking to him;He was talking about Satan to Satan, the one who was controlling Peter. Peter’s words were not coming from God; they were inconsistent with the will of God. Peter was being inspired and controlled by the devil in the things he said.

Now, that’s a pretty strong statement, and there are a lot of people that honestly think this is a little over the top. They think they don’t need to respond to people this way. But I can guarantee you that there are times that Satan is speaking directly to you through people. He is using people to get at you. Whether you recognize it or not, this goes on much more than you know. You are in a spiritual war.

I tell you there is a supernatural war waging today for your heart and mind. In fact, for some of you right now, the devil is trying to oppose the words you are reading in this letter. He wants to discredit them and cause you to ignore or reject them. The Holy Spirit, on the other hand, is bearing witness in your heart and trying to get you to open up and receive these words. It’s spiritual warfare.

To win in this war, you must know who you are and the authority you have as a believer. To help, I have a teaching series called The Believer’s Authority. Don’t go another day without understanding how to defeat the real enemy. You have the power and authority to do it, and now it’s time to use it.

FINANCIAL STEWARDSHIP

By Andrew Wommack

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A survey conducted by the Barna Research Group in December of 2008 says that 20 percent of Americans have decreased their giving as a way of dealing with the current financial hardships. Twenty-two percent of that group have stopped their giving altogether.

A member of my board serves on the board of another large non-profit organization. Most of his fellow board members work for para-church ministries. At a recent board meeting, they were all giving reports on how the economy has affected their organizations. It was all doom and gloom until they came to him.

The others said their income was down; they were laying off people, cutting back on their projects, and planning for negative growth. But he told them it had been a record year for us. We set new records for income every month in 2008. Even the last quarter of 2008, when the financial crisis finally came to light, was a record quarter. His fellow board members were shocked. When asked what made the difference, he told them it’s was because our partners had been taught the truths on God’s prosperity. That’s the difference.

This is a great testimony to the power of God’s Word and the faithfulness of our partners. Those who know the truth have been set free (John 8:32) from the ups and downs of this world’s economic system. God supplies their need according to His riches in glory (Phil. 4:19), not the world’s economy. It’s that simple.

What’s happened for our partners and this ministry isn’t meant to be an anomaly. This is what God wants for all His people. Christians should be setting an example for the unbelievers of how God is their source. Their light should shine brightest in the darkest hour. God wants His people to prosper.

As I start talking about this, I know there is resistance from many people to this message of God’s financial blessings. They associate prosperity teaching with greed and selfishness. And sad to say, prosperity preachers often flaunt their prosperity in a way that invites that kind of criticism.

I’m not against any other minister. Neither am I their judge. I just want to make it clear that I’m not preaching on prosperity for any selfish gain. Jamie and I live in a house that we built twenty years ago for $63,000. We’ve added on since then, but it’s still a modest house by American standards. Most homeowners reading this letter probably live in a house worth more than ours.

I’m not saying that to complain. I love where I live. If I had a million dollars, I wouldn’t upgrade. I am content with what we have. It’s debt free. Thank You, Jesus! I’m just saying I don’t believe in prosperity so I can “get all I can, can all I get, and then sit on my can.”

I believe God wants to prosper us so that we can bless others. That’s what the Lord told Abraham:

“And I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing” (Gen. 12:2).

The Lord blessed Abraham so he could be a blessing.

Second Corinthians 9:8 says,

“And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work.”

The Lord gives us His grace, which produces financial prosperity, so we can then abound unto every good work. If we desire to give more but aren’t able to because of financial lack, then we aren’t really prosperous. True prosperity isn’t measured in what we keep but in how much we are able to give.

The Apostle Paul said in Ephesians 4:28,

“Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.”

The reason we are to work is not to meet our needs but to enable us to bless others! I know that is a radical concept, but that’s exactly what these verses are saying. Of course, God wants us to pay our bills and take care of our needs. Paul is speaking about priorities here.

I know some of you are saying, “If I was to do that, who would take care of me? My needs wouldn’t get met.” That would be true if there wasn’t a God who said that when you give, it will be given back to you more abundantly than you gave (Luke 6:38). But you have some awesome promises from God that apply when you put Him and His kingdom first—the Lord will supernaturally take care of you.

Matthew 6:33 says,

“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”

The “things” that this verse is speaking of is what you eat, drink, and wear (Matt. 6:25-32). The Lord is saying that when we put His things first in our finances, He will see that our needs are met. And remember this: God is El Shaddai, not El Cheapo. The Lord will take care of us better than we take care of ourselves. The Lord doesn’t mind us having things. He just doesn’t want things to have us. This problem is avoided when we understand that God prospers us so we can be a blessing to others.

That’s the testimony that I and my partners are giving. We have put first the kingdom of God, and He has taken care of us. In the last quarter of 2008, Jamie and I have had the largest increase in our investments that we have ever had. I don’t know how it happened, but God did it.

I’ve had people come to me and say, “I don’t like this prosperity stuff. I don’t want more. I’m content with what I have.” Well, I’m also content, but I want more so I can be a bigger blessing. You have to be blessed before you can be a blessing.

It’s really a selfish attitude that says, “I’ve got mine, forget the rest of the world.” If you’ve got all you want or need, learn how to prosper even more so that you can bless someone else. If you don’t want more for yourself, then continue to prosper and give it to me. I’ll use it to reach the world with the nearly-too-good-to-be-true-news of Jesus’ unconditional love and grace.

In 2 Corinthians 9:10 it says,

“Now he that ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness.”

God gives seed to sowers, or literally, gives money to givers; i.e., people who will put giving ahead of eating. There are really only two types of people—those who are eaters and those who are sowers. There are givers and takers. With eaters, it’s all about them. When they get seed, they eat it. But givers put others and, specifically, God’s kingdom ahead of their own needs.

However, God knows givers need to eat too. So this verse says the Lord will give you bread to eat and money to give. Actually, those who live to give will have more than those who live only to eat. This verse says God gives seed to sowers. So if you are short of seed, God must not see you as a sower but a taker. If He can get money through you, He will get it to you. That’s the promise of this verse.

And here is a miraculous thing: As the money flows through, there’s always plenty for you. I don’t know how that works. There isn’t any explanation except that God supernaturally makes it work. It isn’t natural. You can’t figure it out. You just have to put faith in these promises of God. This is why unbelievers can’t operate in God’s prosperity.

Jamie and I are living testimonies of these truths. We started out dirt poor. Our total income for the first full year of our marriage was $1,253. The second year it jumped way up to $2,500. I don’t know how we survived. But we did, and we were giving way more than 10 percent of our income.

When we started our ministry, we decided to give all our materials away. We finally got to where we suggest a donation for the things we give, but we have still given away more than 6,000,000 tapes, CDs, books, videos, DVDs, and other materials.At a low-ball figure of $5 per item, that is over $30,000,000 worth of goods. That’s not bad for people who had nothing.

How did we do it? By sowing and fanatically trusting the truths of God’s Word on prosperity. We haven’t amassed a fortune for ourselves, but we have been able to give tens of millions of dollars worth of valuable ministry materials to people all over the world. Add to this the 14,000-plus people per day downloading my teachings free through our website.

God wants to prosper you so you can be a blessing, and we want to help.In March I will be teaching about financial stewardship on the Gospel Truth television program. I’m teaching this for the express purpose of countering the fear and negativity that is being forced on us through our ungodly media. This can be our greatest hour. This is not the time to panic or withdraw. We need to sow in the year of famine (Gen. 26:12).

Please request my teaching, Financial Stewardship. This is what is working for us and thousands of people. You can rise above the limitations of this world’s system of finances and have all your needs supplied according to God’s riches in glory.