Andrew Wommack - Effortless Change - Part 10

Welcome to our Friday’s broadcast of the gospel truth. Today I’m continuing a series talking about Effortless Change. This is now the end of my second week of teaching on this. Actually, I’ve done two weeks and one day, and I’ve been talking about a subject that has just literally transformed my life and I’m excited about this. I have to tell people when I’m get excited because I don’t show it outwardly a lot, but I’m telling you, I’m explaining that I am really excited about how powerful God’s word is to produce change in a person’s life effortlessly.

I’ve got this teaching on CD and DVD and then I have a book on this that’s entitled, Effortless Change. It’s about a 200 page book, or I’m not sure the exact number, but anyway, it’s a good sized book, and then I have a study guide here and this study guide is specifically to help you learn, but also to teach other people. There’s a data CD in the front that you can print out as many copies of this study guide as you would like and give it to people that you’re discipling. So, we’ve got some great materials. Also, I’m offering our living commentary, which is a verse by verse commentary throughout the entire Bible. I haven’t totally finished it, that’s the reason it’s called a living commentary, but I’ve written footnotes on over 18,000 verses now and I’m constantly updating them and so, anyway, I encourage you to please get these materials.

Let me go back to Psalms, chapter 19. On our program yesterday I started reading in Psalms 19:7, and I wrote all, read all the way down through verse 14, and then I went back and I covered Psalms 19:7, where it says, «The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul», and what I’m sharing these scriptures for is just to take passages of scripture where God said about his own word what it would accomplish in your life, and it will produce growth, it will make you perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good work, is what the scripture says over in the book of Timothy and so it says, «The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple». In verse 8, «The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart».

You know, every one of these phrases right here are things that I have meditated on and they have made a huge difference in my life. But it says, «The statutes of the Lord». That’s just another way of referring to God’s word, and it’ll cause your heart to rejoice, and I tell you, one of the things that I deal with a lot, I have many, many people come to me and they’re just discouraged because of some instance that’s happening in their life or somebody that they love or you know, their future or something like this.

There are just a lot of bad things that happen and I have people come all of the time asking me to pray that they could just receive the joy of the Lord, and yet this says, that the Word of God rejoice the heart, and I’ve already given a number of examples on this, but I could give you many, many more. The times that I’m just fighting discouragement or you know, you just hit a plateau and it doesn’t seem like you’re excited about the things of God the way that you should be, what I do is just go spend some time in the word and it causes my heart to rejoice. I know that there’s people watching this program right now that you need to rejoice. You need some joy.

The Bible says in Nehemiah 8:10, the joy of the Lord is my strength, and you know what? You need strength and how do you do it? You just go to studying the word and the Word of God will cause you to rejoice because it shows the triumph of God over the devil, good over evil. It will show you time and time and time again people who have trusted God and it worked for them and it will be an encouragement to you. It will rejoice your heart. It goes on to say, the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. Man, this is powerful. You know, most of us are just spiritually blind. It’s like we can’t see very well. We’re either short sighted or something and we just can’t see the things of God.

How do you get the Revelation that you need? The Word of God will enlighten your eyes. Boy, I could spend a lot of time talking about this, but over in Ephesians, chapter 4 it talks about that don’t be like the gentiles who walk in the vanity of their mind having their understanding darkened, and not able to see, and that’s talking about, don’t be like an unbeliever who isn’t utilizing your mind and you are blind and you can’t see things. The Word of God will cause you to see things differently. It will enlighten your eyes. It will show you things that you couldn’t see on your own.

You know, I have had many, many people come to me and they say that it’s amazing, I have read the Bible and I’ve read the exact verses that you’re talking about and I just never saw those things. I’ve had people come to me and say they’ve seen more in a couple of months of sitting and listening to the word than they have seen in decades of going to church, and one of the reasons is because you have to meditate in the word. It’s not just a matter of just reading it, but you have to read it and let it get on the inside of you. You have to let it get into your thinking, into your imagination. But if you will meditate in this word, then it will enlighten your eyes. You’ll begin to see things differently.

You know, I remember that when interest rates, back during, I forget the exact years. I think it was in the 1970's or something, but it was during carter’s administration, and interest rates hit 20% and I remember watching the news and them saying that, this is the root of all of our problems. If we could get the interest rate down to where it is nothing or manageable down in a low deal, then all of our problem would be over. All of the crime would be over, all of the, you know, unmarried pregnancies and all of the ills of society would be, it’s all this economic pressure, and they were talking about these things, and you know what?

As I was listening to all of this, I got to studying the Word of God and I realized that that was not true, it enlightened my eyes, and I realized that the cause isn’t just financial or all of these things that people get into. I mean, people are constantly looking, what’s the problem? How can we fix things, how can we make it better? And the world is just constantly bringing up that there’s prejudice, there’s this. If you just had more money, if you’re skin was a different color, if this, this and that, and they go on and they’re looking at all of these things, but when you get into the Word of God, you find out that the problem with the human race is sin and what sin has done to us and how it’s blinded us and how it has darkened our understanding and hardened our heart, and you understand this, see, through studying the word and it answers questions, and you know, now, we’ve seen the situation totally reversed.

We have some of the lowest interest rates in the history of the United States and we still have all of these problems. It hasn’t solved anything, but see, you can see things differently, the Word of God will make you see things differently. Matter of fact, here is a powerful passage of scripture. Let me turn over and read this out of 2 Thessalonians, chapter 2, and I’ve been meditating on this. I’m not to the point of saying, thus saith the Lord, at this point, but I’m getting close to it, and here’s what I believe is happening.

This is in 2 Thessalonians, chapter 2, verse 9, even him, whose coming is after the working of satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish: because they received not the love of the truth, and Jesus said in John 17:17, thy word is truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them a strong delusion, that they may believe a lie: that they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

Those verses are saying that in the latter times, the anti-Christ, that there is going to be this deception because people did not receive the love of the truth which God’s word is truth, and because of this, there will be this deceptionness, deceit that enters in that they might believe a lie, and you know, this is really about the only way that I can understand how some people today are living the way that they’re living. I mean, there’s people today professing to be Christians, and yet they believe in everything that the Bible teaches against. They are claiming to be Christians. To my eyesight they look like Christians, and yet they are embracing and voting and promoting things that are totally contrary to God’s word and I just, I can’t understand, how can a person say that they love God and love his word and yet live a life completely contrary to it?

Now, I can understand a person failing to be everything that they’re supposed to be because we all sin and come short, but I’m saying to not even make an attempt and to actually promote a lifestyle and values that are completely contrary to God’s word? I just do not understand it and the only thing that helps me to understand it is this right here, that because people were not committed to the Word of God and did not receive a love of the truth, therefore they have this strong delusion and they are just believing a lie, and it’s saying that this is a sign of the end times, and you know what, I believe that we are in those end times.

How do you counter this? How do you keep from being one of these that has just got this strong delusion that’s coming. It’s coming through the anti-Christ. There is a spirit of anti-Christ operating in the world today. How do you keep from succumbing to this and being deceived? Right here is this verse that we’re reading, the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. It will give you understanding to the simple. It will just show you the things of God. I tell you, the Word of God is the most important thing you could ever do is to take God’s word and put it in your heart. It’s more important than anything else. The education through God’s word is more important than your secular education, it’s more important than anything else.

This is just absolutely essential and it amazes me how few Christians are committed to the Word of God, how they will go days and weeks without studying the word. They’ll go to church and let a preacher sit there and take one passage of scripture and expound on it for 30 minutes or an hour and that is basically most people’s intake of the word. I’m telling you, if that’s the way that it is with you, you’re going to struggle. You’re never going to see the real power of God manifest in your life and I don’t care how much you pray, I don’t care how many conventions you go to, I don’t care how holy you are living, the Word of God is what enlightens your eyes, it’s what makes wise the simple, it’s what rejoices your heart, it’s what converts your soul and puts it back to where it needs to be.

Man, these are powerful things that the Bible is saying about itself. In verse 9, «The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever: the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb». This is saying that we should put a priority on knowing the Word of God and putting the word in our heart more than we do on seeking after gold or food, honey, much fine honey. Man, those are strong statements, and you know, very few people practice this. How many people actually put knowing the Word of God above making a living or the food that you eat?

You know, most people eat three times a day on a regular basis and snack in between. How many people do that with the Word of God? Job said that I has esteemed his word more than my daily bread. What a strong statement! What would it be like if you were more hungry for the Word of God than you are for food? I tell you, one of the things that would happen, it would cause you to lose some weight, amen. It would be beneficial. We would begin to start controlling ourself. You know, I’m not a great example on this. I still need to lose some weight. I’m not where I need to be, but the Word of God spoke to me specifically, as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he, Proverbs 23:7, those verses right in front of that talk about, that if you be a man given to appetite, put a knife to your throat. Don’t be deceived by dainty meats, and you know what?

Those words spoke to me. I don’t even remember how many years ago and told me that the problem wasn’t, you know, the lack of exercise or the certain types of food, the problem was that I was just a glutton and that I was lusting after these things, and you know what? I’ve lost 20 pounds. I need to lose more, but I’ve lost 20. I’ve kept it off for four or five years or whatever it is, and I’m saying the Word of God will affect every part of your life. You need to get to where you love the Word of God more than you love food, more than you love making a living. There’s a lot of people that you will work fifteen hours a day on your business and you’re just so tired you don’t have any time to spend in the Word of God.

I’m telling you, we need to change that situation around. The Word of God is more important to you than your job. The Word of God will give you a better job and a good job and it will prosper you and it will cause you to prosper. Man, I could spend hours talking about how that the Word of God has totally changed my mind set. I had a poverty mind set, and I mean, you know, as a man thinks in his heart, so is he, Proverbs 23:7, and I was thinking poor and it was manifesting poor and the Word of God changed my life and showed me how, like Psalms 35:27 says that, let all those who favor my righteous cause say continually, let God be magnified, which has pleasure in the prosperity of his servant, and God showed me that he was pleased when I prosper. He is not pleased when I’m struggling, and the Word of God changed my mind set, changed my attitude, and I have seen God come through and I have seen supernatural, miraculous supply. Man, it’s just awesome.

So, we need to desire God’s word more than gold, yea, than much fine gold. It needs to be sweeter to us, than honey and the honeycomb. In verse 11 it says, «Moreover by them is thy servant warned». Boy, that is a big statement right there. You know, we would get into the Word of God, the Word of God would show you pitfalls that satan has planned for you. He would show you all of these traps and snares of the devil. Most people just walk through life and they don’t intend to go out and fail and to do all of these things, but they just are oblivious to the traps of the devil, and yet if you study the Word of God, the Word of God will just make these things super clear.

Like, over in the Book of Proverbs there’s five or six chapters right there in the first ten chapters of Proverbs that talk about the fool, the simpleton who goes out and is deceived by the adulteress woman and it gives you real details about how she lays a trap and she makes it look like all of these things are good and she decks her bed and does all of this, but says, it’s like a lamb going to the slaughter and if you go down to her house, you’re going to go down to the gates of hell and you will be slain by people. It talks about in the Book of Proverbs about people who drink, and strong drink. It says, it’s like a person who’s trying to lay down on top of a mast. You can’t lay down on top of a flag pole, amen. You are going to fall, you are going to hurt yourself, and it says, that’s the way that it is with drinking.

It says, who is it that likes destruction and misery and sorrow? It’s those that love, that tarry long at the wine and do all of these things. The Word of God will teach you all of these things. You do not have to go out and commit adultery to see how damaging it is and how much it will hurt you and destroy your marriage. You do not have to go get drunk, you do not have to be an alcoholic, you don’t have to be a doper and experience all of this to learn that it’s wrong. You can learn at the expense of the Word of God. It says, moreover by them, the Word of God, is thy servant warned.

If you would take heed to it, this would warn you of these things. Over in 1 Corinthians, chapter 10, verse, I think it’s verse 6 and 11 it says that all of these things that happened in the Old Testament to the children of Israel were written for our learning and our exhortation that through them we might learn not to lust and not to murmur and not to complain and not to do all of these things. You do not have to experience everything through the school of hard knocks. You can go to the Word of God and you can learn at their expense. I tell you, this is huge. Praise God! Thank you, Jesus, for revealing the Word of God to me even as a really young boy.

I mean, I’ve read the word every day of my life my whole life and I remember as a young kid that God showed me things through the word, and because of it, I’ve never gone out and I’ve never taken a drink of liquor, I’ve never smoked a cigarette, I’ve never used a word of profanity. I’ve never done all of this stuff that other people have done. I’m not saying that to pat myself on the back. I’m saying it that the word showed me these things. I’ve learned through the hard knocks of other people. It’s better to learn through other people’s mistakes than it is through your own mistakes and I’ve learned, the Word of God has warned me and it has kept me from making many of these mistakes, praise God.

I know that there’s people watching this program right now that you’ve done everything wrong. You’ve made every mistake that there is. I’m not condemning you. God’s not condemning you, and you know what? If you’ve lived through it, God can redeem you out of that and it’ll make a wonderful testimony, if you live through it, but I’m telling you, there’s a better way and that’s to let the Word of God warn you and you don’t have to learn all of these things on your own, and it says, in keeping of them there is great reward. Living in the Word of God will preserve your life. You will receive rewards, not only in eternity, but also in this life you will be blessed, and it goes on to say in verse 12, «Who can understand his errors? Cleanse thou me from secret faults».

This isn’t a separated thought. This is talking about what the Word of God will do. It’s saying that you can’t know your errors. You can’t really mentally separate all of these things and make decisions on your own properly. You need the influence of God’s word in your life. You need the light of God’s word to show you your path to walk on. Verse 13, «Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins: let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression».

Again, this is referring to what the Word of God will do. It’ll keep you from sinning presumptuously. In verse 14, «Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, o Lord, my strength, and my redeemer», and this is a prayer that David was praying, but also, it’s a result of the influence of God’s word on his life. If you will let God’s word begin to start dominating you, it will make the words of your mouth and the meditation of your heart be acceptable in God’s sight. It will influence you. I mean, this is so simple you have to have somebody to help you to misunderstand it.

One of the reasons people’s lives are going the way that they’re going is because you’re going to be influenced by somebody. You cannot be not influenced. Some of you think, oh no, I’m a self-made man. No, you’ve just been influenced by the devil because that attitude to where you think that you can do everything on your own is completely contrary to scripture. You are being influenced. You just get to choose whose influence you’re under and if you go to the Word of God and meditate in it day and night, it will make the words that you speak and the things that you meditate on, and therefore your actions and your life, be consistent with God and it will cause you to start moving in that direction.

I’ve seen this happen hundreds and thousands of times to people that they just start receiving the Word of God and at one time they were going in a path that was contrary to God, it was causing destruction and hurt and pain in their life and they just take God’s word, go to meditating on it, it changes the course of their life, and instead of cursing and problems and pain and suffering and bitterness and unforgiveness, all of a sudden they begin to start having blessings come upon them and overtake them and on and on it goes. I’m telling you, this is how simple it is. The Word of God will literally transform your life if you will just go to the effort of sticking your nose in the Bible and reading and meditating upon these things, then the Word of God will change you effortlessly. I really believe that.

You know, we’ve got these materials. I’ve got this book and study guide on Effortless Change, and we’re continuing to deal with that next week, but I am now ending the second teaching in this set. This is the DVD set on it. I also have CD set and we are offering the second teaching in this album available to you as a free gift. My partners have enabled me to do that, and we offer them one at a time. You can get the entire album for a gift of any amount, we have special offers. If you’ll listen to our announcer, he’ll give you all of that information, but remember, today is our last day to offer you this second teaching in this series.