Andrew Wommack - Effortless Change - Part 1
Welcome to our Monday’s broadcast of the gospel truth. Today I’m into my second day of teaching on a new series that I’ve entitled Effortless Change. I tell you this is powerful and in a nutshell I’m talking about that the Word of God will change you effortlessly if you will just make the effort to get into the Word of God. I tell you, this is powerful and I’ve got this little Bible reading plan that we’re offering as a free gift. This is the Bible reading plan that our Bible college students have to read through the Bible in the first year of Bible college and about three to four chapters a day and you can read through the entire Bible in in one year.
I tell you, there are many Christians watching this program right now that you have never read all of the Bible. You may have pick and choose little pieces here and there and done some things. You may read books about the Bible, but I tell you, there is nothing like getting the Word of God in your heart for yourself and also let me just mention that I have this living commentary which I believe that this is probably the best kept secret in our entire ministry. I have now written footnotes on over 18,000 verses in the Bible.
Man, that is a lot of footnotes and I could spend a lot of time talking about this but I have a thing on our web site that’s entitled the inside story and it’s where I interview people and we just talk about things that are behind the scenes, things that I would never devote an entire program to and we just talk about what’s going on behind the scenes and during the month of January my inside story is interviewing Stan priest, a man who helped me take all of these footnotes that I’ve written on over 18,000 verses, and he’s helped me put them into a computer program and we explain the entire thing, the benefits, how it works, show you all of these kind of things, and put it right there on the screen, and I tell you, this could change your life. Everything that the Lord has shown me is through the Word of God and I’ve got all of these things written down on this computer program, so it is a tremendous, tremendous asset.
I also have these teachings on Effortless Change in DVD, CD form, a book and a study guide. We have a package deal where we’re offering all of these kind of things and so I encourage you to please, listen at the end of our program and to get that, but this little Bible reading guide is a free gift to you. If you would call and request that, we would be glad to give it to you. So yesterday or the last time I taught I started teaching about that change starts on the inside and one of the mistakes that people make in trying to change is they are praying that God will change their mate. They say, oh God, if I just had a different mate then I would have a great marriage. You know what? You can’t change your mate. That may come as a total shock to some of you.
Let me rephrase that. You can change your mate but not directly. You don’t have control over them. You can’t pray and say God, change my mate and make them the person that they’re supposed to be. But the best way you have of changing your mate is to change yourself and as you start living a godly life, that will influence and affect your mate. You can’t guarantee a 100% that they’re going to change, but I guarantee you, it will make a huge difference. If you start treating your wife like a queen, she’ll treat you like a king and visa versa. So really the way that you change isn’t by trying to change other people, change your job, make everybody at work treat you right. Oh God, make them give me a promotion. Oh God, make this happen.
See, this is how majority of people pray. They think that they just need circumstances. If they lived in a different place, if they just had a better paying job, if they had more money, and they’re looking for all of these changes out here, not realizing that Proverbs 23:7 says, «As a man thinks in his heart, that’s the way that he is». And I expounded on this last time and I know that many people didn’t like this. There’s probably people today that won’t like this, but this is an absolute truism according to the Word of God that your life is going the direction of the way you think and I know that there’s many people that disagree with that and say that’s not true! You don’t understand what’s happened to me, but that’s what the Bible teaches and I believe it’s absolutely true.
Now, you may have had some circumstances that are causing you problems, but I’m saying that if you were to think properly, you could overcome these things because as a man thinks in his heart, so is he. You know, I could go into a lot of things. I’ll be giving more examples as we go through this teaching but I was an introvert and I mean the thought of me standing in front of people and talking to them just nearly killed me. I’ve actually seen some surveys before and most people fear public speaking more than they fear death!
That’s how strong of a fear it is to most people and this was Amplified in me. I couldn’t even look at a person and talk to them in the face and you know what? I would just pray that God would change everybody else and make everybody else love me and I didn’t deal with what was inside of me. I was praying that God would change everything else, but man, when I encountered the Lord, God changed the way that I thought. First of all, I found out that God accepted me and that I was accepted in the beloved and once I was accepted by God Almighty, I lost my fear of being rejected by other people because compared to God, people are nothing! If God Almighty accepts me, I became so secure in who I am in the Lord that I’m not afraid of what people say about me and you know what? It wasn’t God that changed everybody else. He changed me and I got over my shyness, my introvertedness, by God changing me!
I know that many people don’t agree with these things but you’re entitled to your belief. I’m not going to criticize you over it but I’m not going to agree with you or we would both be wrong! I’m telling you that the Word of God says that as you think in your heart that’s the way that you are! Somebody’s thinking right now and saying but I’m sick and that didn’t have a thing to do with the way I’m thinking. Well, I believe that you can have a sickness or a disease or an injury that comes against you and it wasn’t caused by the way you think, but if you were to think according to the Word of God, Philippians 4:13, «I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me», and 1 Peter, chapter 2, verse 24, «By his stripes we were healed», and on and on I could go quoting scriptures.
If you were to think according to the Word of God, even though you may not have caused the sickness or disease, you could overcome it by changing the way you think, but the average person thinks but I’m only human and this is just normal and after all, the doctor says that this is incurable and I only have six months to live, and you have been taught to believe these people and I’m not against them. I’m not saying that what they’re saying is a lie in the natural. In the natural that’s the truth, but it’s not taking into account the spiritual realm and the fact that greater is he that’s in you than he that’s in the world. No weapon that is formed against you shall prosper, every tongue that rises against you in judgment you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord. Their righteousness is of me, thus saith the Lord. Isaiah 54:17, and on and on you could go just quoting scripture.
See, if you were to think that way, then even though you may not have caused the accident, you may not have caused the disease by the way you’re thinking, you’re thinking contrary to what the word says. You thinking that you’re only human is what’s allowing you to stay in that position and not overcome it, so you could actually say that if you are sick, if you’re diseased, if you’re poor, if you’re whatever, you may not have caused it by the way you’re thinking, another person could inflict pain on you, but if you were to think and properly control your thinking and believe what the Word of God says, you could overcome anything! The scripture says thanks be unto God, which always causes us to triumph in our Lord Jesus Christ. So you could change things by the way you think!
Now, I’m not just talking about mind over matter. I’m talking to people who are already born again who have the life of God on the inside of them and that life is released by the way you think. If you don’t have the life of God on the inside of you, if you aren’t born again, if you don’t have this power, well then you can think as positive as you want to but you know what? If you were to hook a faucet up to a sewer line, I don’t care if it was a nicest water faucet that you could buy. You hook it up to a sewer line.
When you turn that thing on whatever you’re hooked up to is going to come out and if you’re hooked up to a sewer line, it would not be something you want to drink! And it’s likewise your mind is how you release things but if you don’t have the life of God on the inside of you, if you don’t already have this love, joy and peace and all of the things that are the product of the spirit. If you aren’t born again and if that’s not in you, then you can be as positive as you want to, but your mind doesn’t produce anything. It just allows what’s on the inside of you to come out and if you are full of death and anger and hurt and pain and if this is what’s on the inside of you, well then it’s going to come out through the way you think.
But if you are born again, you are now a new creature and you have this supernatural life of God on the inside of you and to see this change on the outside it starts by you finding out who you are, what you have in Christ and beginning to line your thinking and your actions up with these spiritual truths and then this life that’s on the inside of you comes out. So this is all conditional on you having the life of God on the inside of you. But if you do, well then you need to start thinking like a born-again person, like a person who has now overcome the world and if you would do that instead of letting these outside things dominate you, you could overcome.
Man, that’s powerful. In Romans, chapter 8, let me read this passage of scripture to you. In verse 5 it says, «For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh: but they that are after the spirit the things of the spirit». I could preach on this for an hour. But you know what? If you want the spiritual benefit that Jesus has purchased for us then you are going to have to mind the things of the spirit. You are going to have to focus your attention upon spiritual things and not carnal things! That is a powerful, powerful scripture, and then in verse 6 it says «For to be carnally minded is death: but to be spiritually minded is life and peace».
Boy, that is one powerful scripture right there! To be carnally minded is death. It didn’t say that carnal mindedness tends towards death, in type a personalities it produces death, some people experience death. This is just an unqualified statement that carnal mindedness equals death! That’s just the way that it is. There is no exception, but spiritual mindedness equals life and peace. Man that is a powerful statement and again our society, our world view that is, you know, prevalent among nonbelievers and even many Christians, even many believers still adopt this same thing. They believe that that’s not true. That you know, it’s not anything to do with me. I didn’t want this. It was imposed upon me. I can’t help it.
Death, failure, depression, discouragement, sickness, poverty, on and on you could go listing all of these negative things. These things happen to me and it doesn’t have anything to do with me. That’s not what this is saying. It says, carnal mindedness is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. You could write it this way. Carnal mindedness equals death! Spiritual mindedness equals life and peace and there are no exceptions to this. You know, if I went to your house, I wouldn’t have to be there when you plant a garden to tell what was planted in your garden. All I’ve got to do is just be there when something grows up and I can tell you this is corn. There are peas. These are tomatoes.
You know how I know that? Because I can see the fruit! I can see what’s growing and I can tell you what’s seeds were planted in that garden by what’s growing up and you may think well, I didn’t plant these. Well, you either planted them or you allowed somebody else to plant them in your garden because everything produces according to its own kind. You don’t plant corn and get tomatoes. If you’ve got tomatoes growing it’s because you planted tomatoes or you allowed somebody else to plant them.
Now, in the natural realm, everybody says well yeah, I agree with that. This is basically saying the same thing. To be carnally minded is death. Carnal mindedness only produces death! Spiritual mindedness only produces life and peace. It’s the exact same thing. You plant corn. You get corn. You plant tomatoes, you get tomatoes. You plant carnal mindedness and all it produces is death and death here isn’t limited to physical death, dying and leaving this earth. But did you know depression is a form of death. Sickness is a form of death. Poverty is a form of death. Insecurity, fear, worry, those are all forms of death.
Romans, chapter 6, verse 23 says, «For the wages of sin is death». Anything that came as a result of sin is a form of death, and so it doesn’t just, it’s not limited to the physical death where your body dies and you go to either heaven or hell, but depression is death and all of these other things, and so these things only come by being carnally minded. Did you know the word «Carnal» to most Christians is a terrible word that they associate with like gross, terrible sins. They look at somebody who’s a murderer, who’s a liar, a thief and stuff and they say that’s carnal but did you know the word «Carnal» is just referring to your five senses.
You are dominated and controlled by your five senses. The word «Carnal», if you look it up in the Strong’s Concordance, the word «Carnal» here, sarx, will literally mean the flesh as stripped of skin, talking about not just your physical skin, your epidermis, but your meat. Matter of fact, when we use the word chili con carne, did you know that the word «Carne» comes from this Greek word, «Carnal», the Greek word «Sarx» that was translated «Carnal» and it means chili with meat, so when you’re saying a person is carnally minded, you’re calling him a meathead! Amen.
But you’re basically just talking about the physical natural world and so it isn’t limited to just extreme sinners, that produces death. This is just talking about being naturally minded. You could be a very good person. You could be a wonderful man or woman. You could be very kind to people. You could be sweet. You could be all of these things and from most people’s evaluation you just are a wonderful person but you would be totally carnal, completely dominated by what you see, taste, hear, smell and feel. That’s your five senses. That’s carnal! And if you were a carnal person, then when the doctor says you’re going to die, you don’t have to be a gross sinner. Just be a carnal person, be a person that can only go by what you see, taste, hear, smell or feel and you heard a doctor tell you, you’re going to die.
You can see a tumor on your body. You can feel something and if you are a carnal person, then you will die. It will produce death, not because you’re evil, but you’re just carnal! But on the other hand to be spiritually minded is life and peace, and spiritually minded. You know again, there’s misconceptions about this and people think spiritual mindedness is talking about that somehow or another you just go around with your hands folded all day long with this, you know, wonderful expression on your face and maybe your collar turned around backwards and we look at things as being spiritual that are actually carnal. The word «Spiritual mindedness» here, it’s just talking about word minded.
Let me turn over to this verse in John, chapter 6 and in verse 63. Here’s what Jesus said, he says, «It is the spirit that quickeneth: the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life». The Word of God is spirit and life so to be spiritually minded is talking about being word minded. If you view things based on what God’s word says rather than what you see, rather than what you hear, rather than what you feel, but you are more moved by the Word of God than you are by what you see, taste, hear, smell and feel, then you’re spiritually minded and all that will produce is life and peace.
So again like just I could go to your house and I could what you’ve planted in your garden by what’s growing there. I can tell you what you’ve been thinking by you telling me what’s going on in your life. If you’re sick, if you’re poor, if you’re depressed, if you’re angry, if you’re bitter, if you’re all of these things, you’ve been carnally minded. You may not have been out there living in sin, you may not have been doing things, but you’re just a good old natural good boy or girl and you’re as carnal as the day is long and that’s the reason that these things are dominating you. But if you have been meditating in the Word of God day and night and focusing upon the things of God, then all that will produce is life and peace.
If you’ve overcome sickness, if you’ve overcome poverty, if people have slapped you on one cheek and you turn the other and you’re able to operate in forgiveness and if you’re being kind and if these thing are working, I can guarantee you, why they’re working is because you have had the Word of God change your natural self and your natural reactions and you are experiencing supernatural results because your mind has been stayed upon God. Man, that’s powerful! And again, I don’t think most people understand how important it is what I’m saying because our natural world is preaching against this all day long every day.
They’re telling people who are alcoholics that it’s not your fault. It has nothing to do with the way you think. It has nothing to do with your thought process, your reaction to negative circumstances. You’re a victim. You can’t help it. It’s in your genes, and they try and related alcoholism, drug addiction, overweight, anything. It’s not your fault. You don’t have to change a thing. Here’s a pill that will change everything and people aren’t accepting responsibility for the things going on in their body, in their finances and in their life. They are just saying, I can’t help it and so you take a pill to change all of these kind of things.
I’m telling you what you need to take is the gos-pil. You need to renew your mind and if you would start thinking spiritually minded, if you would think that God’s word is help unto all of my flesh and life unto all that find them, Proverbs, chapter 4, then according to Psalms 107:20 «He sent his word and healed them, and delivered them of all their destructions». Your body would become healed as you meditate in the Word of God. But instead we say oh, well no. I just have to go get this surgery. I have to take this pill. I have to do all of these things. I’m not against doctors. I’m not against all that stuff. If it wasn’t for doctors, all the Christians would be dead because they certainly haven’t been believing God but I’m saying that you can get into the Word of God and meditate in the Word of God and it will be health to all of your flesh, and life to those that find it.
I know some of you think I’m weird, but I think you’re weird. I’m telling you that this is how the kingdom works. These outside things that we want to see happen in our life start by you accepting responsibility and recognizing that God has already placed his power on the inside of me. I don’t need God to do something out here. I just need to release what’s on the inside of me and you do it through the renewing of your mind. You do it through changing the way you think and then that scripture that I’ve already used a bunch of times, Proverbs 23:7, «As you think in your heart, that’s the way that you will be», or «To be carnally minded is death: but to be spiritually minded is life and peace».
Look at this in verse 7, Romans 8:7, «Because the carnal mind is enmity against God or the enemy of God, for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God». Man, the carnal mind, just thinking as a natural human being, singing songs like Lord, I’m only human: I’m just a man: one day at a time sweet Jesus. That song will kill you because you aren’t only human. You aren’t just a man or a woman. If you’ve been born again, you now are one-third Holy Ghost, power of God. You are wall-to-wall Holy Ghost in your spirit. You’ve been changed and you need to start thinking like an overcomer instead of a victim and if you would do that, you would start releasing this supernatural life and change would just come outwardly. Things would change effortlessly in your life.
Again let me mention that I have this teaching entitled Effortless Change. I’ve got it in CD, DVD, book and study guide form and then also to help you get into the Word of God we have this Bible reading program that is a free gift to you if you will call and ask for it and we have our living commentary where I’ve written footnotes on over 18,000 verses. Listen to our announcer and please call or write today and receive these materials.