GIVE CHEERFULLY, NOT OUT OF FEAR – Andrew Wommack Ministries

Matthew 23:23 "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone."

Some have taught that Jesus did away with the tithe since it is not a specific part of the New Testament teaching. But in this instance, Jesus made reference to the scribes and Pharisees tithing and implied that they were right in doing so. The New Covenant did not do away with the tithe but it clarified what the motives for tithing should be.

Abram tithed over 430 years before the law was given. Jacob also tithed approximately 300 years before the time of the law. Therefore, tithing was a Biblical principle that didn’t begin or end with the law of Moses. However, the law of Moses did include tithing as part of its commandments and attached were stiff penalties for those who failed to comply. It was concerning these punishments for not tithing, that the New Testament differed from the Old Testament. Malachi 3:8-9 says that if a man doesn’t tithe, he has robbed God and is cursed with a curse. Therefore, people gave out of the motivation of debt and obligation. Jesus redeemed us from this and all the other curses of the law, so that God will not curse us for not tithing.

The apostle Paul also made it very clear that any type of giving motivated by anything less than God’s kind of love is useless. He went on to explain in 2 Corinthians 9:7, that God wants us to give, "not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver." The type of giving that God loves is cheerful, freewill giving. This does not mean that tithing is contrary to the New Testament. It is the "fear of punishment" motive, that the Old Testament law attached to tithing, that has been done away with. Giving and tithing are still very much a part of the New Testament doctrine, and if done with the New Testament attitude, are still acceptable to God. Be a giver.

This weekend I was around a several people (Christians) who talked about how to get more money by way of disability. Their claims were true based on their sickness and issues. Most were not trying to get money for fake sickness, but a few did. This couple was suggesting another couple to lie. It was one of those type of lies that really wasn’t a lie. Bottom line, it was deceptive and a lie. I was also suggest to go so I could get money for my back problems. But, I want healing. The Lord said if I’d do that, it cancels my faith for healing. I would have traded in my healing for a couple of hundred dollars a month. Then, I asked these people a question, “what if you get well”. I received snarls and growls (so to speak). I was rebuked for mentioning healing. Why would I want to get well when I can get money; was their replies.

If we don’t want healing, I don’t think we are fully aware of God’s love for us. To reject what He has provided for us isn’t wise. I can understand if a person is just not knowledgeable, but to reject it so you can get money is foolish. This isn’t directed toward anyone who desires healing and don’t know how to get it. I totally understand that. But to know about healing and refuse to hear about being made well, is foolish. The people I was around rejected it because they wanted money. I was looked at as I was a fool for asking such a question. What’s sadder is, some of the people there were leaders in the church. One a pastor, an elder, a deacon, an evangelist. The Bible tells people in James 5:14; “Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord”. How can you go to those in that church for healing if they aren’t utilizing what God instructed them to do. In the past I’ve went to two of those individuals for healing and they laid hands on me. I used to wonder why never got healed and just thought it was just me. They are double minded. They believe God can heal, but if money is involved, why would you want healing is their thinking. The problem with that, if a deadly sickness comes will you have to power of faith to believe for healing. I pray for God to open their eye to His word, which is the truth. So many of our brothers and sisters are blind to the truth of God and chose to sell themselves to what satan gives, which is lies, sickness and death. They are blind. I was too. Let’s pray for our fallen brethren and pray for their eyes to be opened. Peace and blessings to you all.

The Lord Is Able And Most Willing – Joseph Prince Ministries

Matthew 8:3; Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” Immediately his leprosy was cleansed.

When you see someone receiving a miraculous healing or financial breakthrough, do you ask, “What about me, Lord?” I believe that the leper who came to Jesus must have asked the same question.

He must have heard or seen from a distance, since he was not permitted to be in public places by the law, how Jesus had healed the sick. So he had no doubt that Jesus could heal him, but he was not sure if Jesus would. He said to Jesus, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” (Matthew 8:2) He was confident of the power of God, but not the love of God for him.

Like the leper, maybe you don’t have a problem believing that God can give you your miracle, since He is Almighty God. But you are wondering if He will do it for you. My friend, let Jesus’ actions and answer to the leper settle this question once and for all. He stretched forth His hand, touched the leper and said, “I am willing; be cleansed.” And immediately, the leper was healed.

I want you to notice that Jesus touched the leper. He could have healed him from a distance with just a spoken word. He had healed others this way as in the case of the centurion’s servant and the Syro-Phoenician woman’s daughter. So why did He touch the leper?

Jesus knew that for so many years, the leper had been cut off from his family and society, so he must have been feeling dehumanized. I believe that Jesus touched him to make him feel human again, to make him feel loved and accepted again. His touch was His love language to the leper.

Can you see God’s heart of love here? Can you see how much He loved the leper? That is how much He loves you! The day that you come to know God’s heart of love and believe that He wants you blessed more than you want to be blessed is the day that you receive your miracle!

Beloved, catch a glimpse of God’s heart of love, and you will believe that He is not only able, but also willing to make you whole!

The War Is Over – Article – Andrew Wommack Ministries

Do you remember September 11, 2001? Of course you do. If you’ve lived very long, you can recall many terrible things that have happened in this world, including tsunamis and hurricanes of biblical proportions. And certainly every one of you have your own individual tragedy that you deal with or have dealt with. There is a lot of hurt and pain in this life.

People are reeling from the blows they’ve received and are trying to make sense of why all of this happens. Sadly, many Christian leaders haven’t been much help. As a whole, they’ve said these things are the judgment of God upon our sins.

Even a very well-known televangelist was quoted recently telling people that because they voted “intelligent design” people off their city council, God’s judgment was going to strike their city and that when it happens, they shouldn’t cry out to God, because they deserve what they will get.

This rationale for why bad things happen grieves me, and I believe it grieves the Lord too. It’s totally missing the point of why Jesus came. 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 all of His wrath for our sins upon Jesus. This forever satisfied God’s wrath. Since that time, God hasn’t been judging our sins (2 Cor. 5:19). God’s not angry at 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 us, 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 to say Jesus was bringing peace on earth among people. 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 of Luke 2:13-14 were praising God for it 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, there was wrath from God against mankind 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 with 2 Cor. 3:7 and 9), and people’s sins were held against them. But when Jesus came, God quit holding people’s sins against them. This is exactly what 2 Corinthians 5:19 and 21 says: “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 this 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 this thirty-second passage means that if God is properly glorified in our preaching, then He will draw all people unto Himself. But that is not what this passage is saying.

If you look in the King James Version Bible, 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 you know this was their addition, but it wasn’t a part of the text. If you take this verse in context, I believe that the Lord was saying 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 just happen 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 the cancers, tumors, diseases, deformities, and anything else 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 part 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 you and I would never be forsaken. All that you and I 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. When we say God is judging our sins as individuals or corporately as a nation, we are voiding what Jesus did. That would be “double jeopardy.”

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 you 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, you won’t answer for your sin; Jesus already has. You will answer for your 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 do, then you will suffer the natural consequences of sin, but it will not be because of the judgment of God. If you commit adultery, you will probably lose your family, but it was you who caused it, not God.

Natural disasters are just that—natural disasters. We live in a corrupted world where bad things happen, but God isn’t the cause of them. If He were, why would He stop at New Orleans and the Gulf Coast of America? Surely all of us deserve the judgment of God. But, praise God, we don’t get what we deserve.

Before I learned that the war was over, I used to say, “If God doesn’t judge America, He will have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah.” Now I say, “If God judges America, He will have to apologize to Jesus.” Thank God for Jesus!

http://www.awmi.net/extra/audio/1053

I am ungodly without Jesus; but I am Godly because of Jesus. I am unholy without Jesus; But because of Jesus I am holy. I am unrighteousness without Jesus Christ; however I am ONLY made righteous because of faith in Jesus Christ. I can obtain all the money, the prestige, titles and positions; I can have great earthly treasures; I can preach to a church where all can get saved; I can give all my money to the poor; I can prophesy to you God’s truth; But none of these things make me righteous; ONLY JESUS made me righteous. Only Jesus makes any one of us righteous. This may offend some because so many of us hold high standards to our accomplishments. But the truth is nothing we do will make us righteous; ONLY having faith in the One, Jesus Christ will make you righteous. Look at what the Lord Jesus says about those who hold high standards what they’ve done; even in His name (Matthew 7:21-23 AND Luke 18:9-14). Freedom came to me when I stopped thinking I was righteous because of what I did. I paid tithes, was in church every time the doors opened, I helped the poor, etc, etc. But none of those works made me righteous. I was set free from my self-righteousness, which was a burden because I had to keep up with that standard. But when I accepted my true righteousness comes from faith in Jesus, I became free. Now I believe His love can truly come forth from me; which is there because of His Holy Spirit. Jesus said to take His yoke and His burden because it’s easy and light (Matthew 11:30). That’s rest (Hebrews 4:10; For he that is entered into His rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from His). Have faith in what Jesus did and not in your own works.

Matthew 7:21-23; Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

Luke 18:9-14; And He spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

Romans 5:6; For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.

Philippians 1:11; Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.

Philippians 3:9; And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:

Romans 4:5-8; But to him that worketh not, but believeth on Him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute (keep record of) sin.

Romans 4:13-25; Romans 5:1-2; For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. For if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect: Because the law worketh wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression. Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all, (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before Him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were. Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be. And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah’s womb: He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; And being fully persuaded that, what He had promised, He was able also to perform. And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness. Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him; But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on Him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification. Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

Romans 5:6-21; For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement (reconciliation back to God). Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: (For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam’s transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come. But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification. For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.) Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.

Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, And Colossians – Article – Andrew Wommack Ministries

The driving force behind all that I’ve done and taught is an absolute assurance that God loves me. He didn’t just love me before I committed some of my stupid acts, or He won’t just love me in the future when I get my act together. He loves me right now, independent of any worth of my own. It’s an unconditional love, not based on my performance. Therefore, I am assured it will continue.

God’s love for us is based on Him being love (1 John 4:8), not on our being lovable. That’s wonderful news that most Christians and people in the world have not heard. Most people think that they have to do something to earn God’s favor; therefore, not many people have much hope of ever measuring up.

The Gospel, as it is being presented today, actually drives people away from the Lord. Instead of telling people what the Lord has done for them, people preach about what we must do for the Lord. Many people are told that God’s acceptance and favor are conditional, based on them measuring up to His standard. This is not the truth. God’s true nature and love have not been accurately portrayed.

The only thing that God demands of us is faith in the atoning work of Jesus Christ. This is such a radical truth that evokes such a response of love from us that the rest of the Christian life is nothing but a response to what Christ has done for us, not an effort to get Christ to respond to us. Praise the Lord! That’s awesome!

The Apostle Paul is the one who really brought this truth to light. Jesus demonstrated the grace of God as no one ever had before, but the Apostle Paul is the one the Lord used to give an understanding of this truth in Scripture. Paul shocked the religious people of his day by proclaiming justification apart from performance. The religious leaders couldn’t comprehend this. How could they control people if they couldn’t demand performance in exchange for God’s blessing? What would make the people do the right things?

Paul’s answer to these questions was that their love for God would compel them to live holier accidentally than they ever did on purpose. Love is a greater motivator than fear of punishment or rejection; however, the leaders of Paul’s day and the majority of the religious leaders today have totally rejected these claims.

It is commonly preached that God withdraws from us when we do wrong and draws closer as we do better. That is just another way of saying that He gives us what we deserve.

Of course, none of us really deserve anything from the Lord, so there must be a little bit of grace mixed with our performance to make this palatable to the masses. In Romans, Paul makes it clear that this theory doesn’t wash. Romans 11:6 says that it’s either all grace or all works, but not a mixture of the two. We are either acceptable to God based on what we do or on what our Lord Jesus Christ did for us — not a combination of the two. It has to be one way or the other.

The deadliest weapon against the true Gospel is not a total denial of its claims but an addition of other terms or conditions to the only thing that Jesus demanded: faith. Faith in Jesus plus nothing equals total victory. Faith in Jesus plus anything else equals failure. Our faith in Jesus alone is the key to experiencing all of God’s best.

This was the whole thrust of Paul’s teaching in his letter to the Galatians. The Christians in Galatia had received Christ as their Lord through Paul’s ministry and were genuinely saved, but legalistic Jews convinced them that faith in Jesus alone wasn’t enough to be in right standing with God. They were also told that they needed to live holy, according to the Jewish standard of holiness, or they would be lost. Paul attacked that doctrine with a vengeance.

The book of Galatians is one of the hardest hitting books in the Bible. Paul doesn’t mince any words. He tells it like it is, in almost brutal terms. He didn’t do this to hurt the Galatians but because of his great love for them. He considered this truth of the grace of God to be the heart and soul of the Gospel; therefore, any compromising on this issue was unacceptable. There is no true salvation apart from absolute faith in Christ alone. It was Paul’s great love for the Galatians that compelled him to invoke curses on any who would pervert the Gospel.

The book of Ephesians is a much gentler letter, but it proclaims the same great truths. Paul starts this letter with a prayer for the Ephesians, that they would receive wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of what they have in Christ. We have already been given everything in Christ. Why should we try and work for something that we already have? That doesn’t make sense. It’s just a matter of believing and receiving, not working and earning.

In Ephesians, Paul reveals that we are saved by grace through faith and not of ourselves. He also reveals that experiencing the love of God will fill us completely with all the fullness of God. If we aren’t experiencing the fullness of God in our lives, then we aren’t experiencing God’s love in its entirety. The unconditional love of God is the key. Actions are a byproduct of love, not the other way around.

Paul didn’t promote ungodly living. He promoted a relationship with the Lord independent of our worthiness. Once an individual comes into relationship with the Lord by faith alone, it becomes the nature of that person to live holy as love becomes the motivator. In the book of Ephesians, Paul exhorts the Ephesians to live holy, but from the positive motivation of love instead of the negative motivation of punishment that is so common today.

The book of Philippians gives tremendous insight into the personal life of the Apostle Paul. This letter was written to Paul’s biggest supporters and some of his best friends in the ministry. He praised God for their partnership in the Gospel, and he bared his heart to them. He revealed that he was not only willing to die for the sake of Christ, but he was actually looking forward to doing so. He was actually in a struggle as to whether he should stay in this world so he could preach the Gospel or just go on to be with the Lord, which he would much rather do.

How could Paul say such things? How can a person reach a point to where their own life is not the most important thing to them? Paul gives the answers to these questions to his friends in Philippi. He learned how to be content. It didn’t come naturally. He chose to be the way he was. The key was that he had died. You can’t threaten, intimidate, or kill a dead man. Paul was dead to himself and alive to God.

How did this happen? It was through the love of God. Paul had such a revelation of the unconditional love of God that it caused him to die to himself and to all his own desires. The love of Christ constrained him to live the way he did. No law could ever do that. No rule or regulation is worth dying for. It was the personal relationship he had with the living Lord Jesus Christ that caused him to count all of his accomplishments as dung in comparison.

Although written from prison, Paul’s letter to the Philippians has more references to joy and rejoicing than any of his other letters. Paul told us to rejoice in the Lord always. Just in case this seemed so impossible that people would think Paul surely made a mistake, he said it again. It is only when we find our identities in what Jesus has done for us, and not in what we do for Him, that we can experience joy unspeakable and full of glory.

In the book of Colossians, Paul reminds the believers in Colosse that they have already been made worthy to partake of the inheritance Christ bought for them. They’ve already been placed in Christ’s kingdom and are heirs to all His benefits. Understanding this is the foundation of faith. All the deception that the enemy uses against us violates this fundamental principle. Understanding our completeness in Christ as a total work of grace voids the power of the devil. The only real power the devil ever had against us was our sins. They have been dealt with through the atoning work of Christ.

We are already seated in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. We aren’t headed toward victory. We are coming from a victory — Christ’s total victory over the devil. Colossians is a powerful book that describes victorious Christian living.

These four letters that Paul wrote reveal some of the most powerful truths about the grace of God in the Bible. They provide practical understanding as to how God can love us unconditionally and still be just. Feelings fluctuate, but facts fix our hearts in truth. These letters will help establish you in the unconditional love and grace of God.

Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, And Colossians – Article – Andrew Wommack Ministries

Discipleship Versus Evangelism – Andrew Wommack Ministries

Most Christians believe that the primary purpose of salvation is to avoid hell. That may have been what you were taught, but it’s not what the Bible teaches. In fact, that kind of thinking serves to inoculate people from the truth of the Gospel concerning salvation.

If we simply ceased to exist at death and if there was no hell, I still believe that Jesus would have come to earth and died for us. Why? Because salvation is about having a relationship with God. God’s main reason for sending Jesus was to restore fellowship. It just so happens that as we restore our relationship with God through salvation, one of the perks—one of the great benefits—is that we miss hell and gain heaven.

Nowhere in the Scripture did Jesus tell us to go and make converts. Let’s look at what is commonly referred to as the Great Commission, found in Matthew 28:18-20. It says this: And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

Jesus told them to teach others to observe all the things that He had commanded. The Greek word for “teach” in this passage is literally the word that is translated “disciple.” The New International Version translated this as “Go and make disciples.” The emphasis here is that the Lord commanded us to make disciples, not converts. Somewhere along the way, the church has changed the emphasis of this message from making disciples to getting people born again, leaving discipleship for the “mature.”

Did you know that Jesus never preached on being “born again”? In the third chapter of John, He talked to Nicodemus about the spiritual birth compared to the natural birth, but He never taught or preached to the people about being “born again.” You may be asking yourself, “How can Andrew say that? That’s the centerpiece of every evangelistic effort.” You’re right—it is—but I believe that the Bible teaches that the church has placed the emphasis in the wrong place. By making that the focus, the church is actually lowering the standards, leaving people with the misconception that all they need to do is just be born again and discipleship is optional. That is not what Jesus commanded.

Statistics say that 33 percent of all “born-again Christians” still support things like abortion and New Age thinking. That certainly does not reflect the attitude of a person who’s truly been born again. Billy Graham was quoted as saying that only 15 percent of all the people who professed to be Christian are truly born again. Here is something else that may surprise you: Kathryn Kuhlman said that only 15 percent of those who were healed at her services kept their healing when they left the service. These numbers should tell you something about how success is measured in ministry.

I am not saying that being born again and living eternally with Jesus is not important—it’s essential! I’m saying that we have changed the message from the way Jesus taught it. We have reduced the definition of “born again” to the point that in our society today, it has actually become socially popular to say we’re born again and gain acceptance in certain circles.

Jesus said that we are to make disciples, followers of Christ. When we ask people to accept Jesus as their Savior, we need to teach them that this is a total commitment of one’s life to the Lord. It means becoming a disciple of Jesus.

Jesus’ attitude toward evangelism is much different than that of most Christians. Jesus is more concerned with the quality of ministry than the quantity.

John 2:23-25 says, Now when he was in Jerusalem at the passover, in the feast day, many believed in his name, when they saw the miracles which he did. But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men, And needed not that any should testify of man: for he knew what was in man.

It says that Jesus did not commit Himself unto them although they believed on Him. The words “believed” and “commit” here are actually from the same Greek word. So, you could say that they believed on Him, but He did not believe in them. He knew they were not disciples. He wouldn’t commit Himself to them, because He didn’t want man testifying out of his own ability.

When we hear that someone has been born again, we are ready to put them to work, especially if they are public figures with recognizable names. It’s like we are trying to sell a product by associating it with someone famous. That totally violates what Paul said in 1 Timothy 3 concerning placing a novice in a position of authority. These are the kinds of shortcuts believers resort to when they limit the true definition of being born again to a simple confession of Jesus as Lord.

Mahatma Gandhi once said, “I would have been a Christian if I hadn’t met one.” Before leading the revolution in India, he was exiled in Africa. There, he was seeking the Lord, reading the New Testament. He had become convinced that Christianity was the true religion and that Jesus was the Christ.

He decided to attend a Presbyterian church service for the purpose of confessing Jesus as his Lord. But, because of the color of his skin, they wouldn’t let him in. Those people who were so determined to evangelize did not have enough of the nature of God on the inside to look past his color. He then led 750 million people into a pagan religion.

On a trip to India some years ago, I learned there were 12,000 Methodists in the city of Ahmedabad, the result of a great revival in the 1890s. When I asked the head of the church in that city how many were truly born again, he responded by saying it was only two or three families. The rest were still worshiping other gods. All they had done was add Jesus to their list of gods to make sure they didn’t miss one. They were obviously not disciples. To those in India, Jesus was just another of the thousands of gods. That is not God’s idea of evangelism.

John 8:30-32 says, As he spake these words, many believed on him. Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

People often say that if you know the truth, the truth will set you free. That is not correct. More correctly, these verses say that when you continue in the Word, then you will know the truth, and the truth you know sets you free. In these verses, Jesus was speaking to those who already believed on Him. Jesus knew that only those who became disciples would truly become free. There is more to believing than just mouthing words.

What we ought to be preaching is that God calls us into discipleship, and it begins with making a commitment to the Lord. If we understood that and acted on it, we would have much greater success evangelizing the world.

Consider this—if you evangelized 1,000 people per year for fifteen years, you would end up with 15,000 new believers, assuming they were all genuine conversions. If you led 1 person to the Lord every six months and spent the next six months discipling that person so they could reproduce themselves, what do you think would happen? In one year, there would only be 2 disciples. However, after sixteen-and-a-half years, if each continued to reproduce themselves every six months, there would be no one left on earth to evangelize. Jesus’ method of discipleship would produce nearly 7 billion disciples in less than seventeen years. Discipleship evangelism works!

I really believe that the church has missed it in the area of evangelism, making converts and not disciples. By now, you may be thinking, Andrew is right, but I have no idea how to disciple anyone. That’s best left to those who are more knowledgeable in the Word of God. Well, I have good news: If you can read, you can change a life!

1 Corinthians 13: Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity/love, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity/love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity/love, it profiteth me nothing. Charity/love suffereth long, and is kind; charity/love envieth not; charity/love vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Charity/love never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. And now abideth faith, hope, charity/love, these three; but the greatest of these is charity/love.

Relationship verses religion. There’s a true religion, but it’s based on and line up with god’s love. So many have a doctrine, a religion they follow, but don’t have a relationship with God. They think because they follow all those rules, that brings them salvation and they are sanctified. That’s not true according to the Word of God. Salvation and sanctification ONLY comes from and through Jesus Christ. Relationship with God isn’t based on what we do; our performance. But what Jesus did. Jesus is the reason AND source of our faith in God. Religion, as most think, really isn’t a positive word. You can find religion only a few times in the New Testament. In James 1:27 says “pure religion”. That type of religion is based on love. Love is a gift. Love, loves your enemy. Love thinks the best and not the worst or people. Love don’t want to see people die or gloat when your enemy stumbles. A person can give all they have or die for a good cause, but if the motivation isn’t based on God’s love, it profits them nothing (1 Corinthians 13). The only way to have this type of love is through Jesus Christ. He is the only reason we have relationship with the Father, not because we follow a set of doctrines. I’m not saying rules aren’t good, but AGAIN. if they aren’t based on the love of Christ, then they are in vain and profit us nothing. So many religions are based on man’s idea of God. There’s a Buddhist religion, a Hindu religion, a Muslim religion, a Baptist religion, a church of God religion, a church of God in Christ religion. Some of those are all what we call denomination. It doesn’t matter what religion or denomination we believe in, if it isn’t based based on who God is, it’s all in vain. Christianity isn’t a religion, it’s based on relationship with the Father. It isn’t just a set of rules, a formula, a doctrine, a creed, etc. Even though there are doctrines in the Bible we should follow, it’s it’s not based on love, again it profits us nothing. Following doctrines does not cause us to have a relationship with God. The Pharisees and Sadducees said they followed all the laws, but they left out the 2 most important one; love the Lord thy God with all your hearts, mind and soul and love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:36-40). If they loved God they would not have passed by a man who was beat up and left to die, where a Samaritan helped him (Luke 10:30-35). Jesus talked harshly about those type of religious people. Their religion wasn’t based on love for God, it was based on themselves. Man’s religion tell us to do this or do that and God will love us or bless us. Man’s religion tells us we are cursed. But the Bible says Jesus took away ALL our curses. Man’s religion says you should die. But Jesus told His disciples He came to save and not destroy. He said that about a town that rejected Him from talking to them (Luke 9:51-56). That’s relationship. Relationship dies for someone, when they didn’t even ask for it. That’s what Jesus did. It’s only because of Jesus we have the ability to love because He gave those who were born again His Spirit. Love don’t wish bad for anyone. So while so many think they are doing godly because they follow doctrines; a set of rules, they are not. We sell ourselves short when we don’t have a relationship. Jesus told . I used to have religion, until I really met Jesus. Then I found out about His Love. He loves us. It’s just that.

This afternoon the Lord taught me about relationship. I was listening to a teaching series titled "God’s Kind of Love To You". I was listening to the first teaching titled "Knowing God’s Love". And while the speaker was talking about religion and relationship, the Lord put a question in my heart; "Why I have a relationship with You (Jesus)". Then I heard me say in my heart (the new me, my spirit, God’s Spirit in me) "I have a relationship with You because You died for me". Isn’t that great. We don’t have relationship with the Lord because we follow rules and regulations. The law of God is good and holy; but even if we are able to follow every law (which we know we can’t follow all), that’s not the reason we have relationship; It’s because Jesus died for me; for us. That’s personal. When I think about it; we can follow rules at home, at work, in school, or in the world. But following those rules instituted by those people don’t cause us to have an intimate or personal relationship with them. I never really understood what people meant about having a personal relationship with Jesus because some taught it was based on my performance. But now I understand what it really means. Following those rules don’t give me an intimacy with the person that gave the rules. When we have that type of thinking there is freedom and peace that surpasses mere understanding. That’s His love. To love us so much to come down on earth and die for us; when we didn’t even ask Him for it; THAT’S AWESOME. Lord God, help us to receive Your perfect love. Help us to walk in Your love and give it to others. Thank You. In JESUS name, Amen.

Look Who Jesus Loves – Article by Andrew Wommack

If you have listened to any of my teachings, you’ve heard me speak about the love of God. That’s what changed my life. The titles, subjects, and Scripture references of my albums are all different, but I’m always teaching about some aspect of God’s unconditional love.

I believe a true, experiential understanding of God’s love will drastically change anyone’s life. That’s the point that the Apostle Paul was making in Ephesians 3:19. It says, “And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.”

Knowing God’s love experientially surpasses mere head knowledge, and it always results in us being filled with all the fullness of God. I could say it this way: If you aren’t experiencing all the fullness of God, then you aren’t experiencing God’s love.

Many people would argue with that. They would say that they know God loves them but that they are just under their circumstances at the moment. My answer would be, “What are you doing under there!” The Bible says we are to be above only and not beneath (Deut. 28:13).

When we are enjoying God’s love, everything else pales in comparison. No problem can compare to the unsearchable riches of God’s love. It’s like the old song says, “Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Look full in His wonderful face. And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace.” That is absolutely true.

At a recent Gospel Truth Seminar, I taught on the love of God in every session. I’ve had a teaching series available on this subject for years, God’s Kind Of Love: The Cure for What Ails Ya! However, at this seminar I took a totally different approach. Instead of restating the obvious, I decided to specifically counter wrong thinking that blinds us to His love.

Every Christian has the head knowledge of God’s love for them, but because of wrong thinking, it seldom translates into experience. There are things (primarily religious teachings) that dilute and weaken that revelation of God’s love.

I began with the sovereignty of God. Wrong thinking about this is one of the biggest problems people have in experiencing God’s love. If you believe God is the One who is causing all the problems in the world, it will definitely affect your relationship with Him.

Let me illustrate it this way: What if you thought I was the one who killed thousands in the September 11 terrorist attacks, caused the tsunamis that devastated Asia, and destroyed New Orleans with a hurricane. On the other hand, what if you thought I was so heartless that I would cause babies to be born with birth defects and people to suffer terrible things like murder and rape so I could teach them a lesson. If every evil thing in life were my fault, how would you feel about me?

There isn’t a civilized nation on the earth that wouldn’t have me killed, if they could prove I was behind all these things. Yet this is what the Lord is being blamed for every day. It’s even written in our contracts―major natural disasters and tragedies are called “acts of God.”

This isn’t a true representation of God. God is not the source of our problems. Understanding the sovereignty of God correctly is so important that I spent an entire session on the subject. Anyone who doesn’t get this right will never truly appreciate God’s love. It’s impossible to feel good about God if you believe the accusers that depict Him as evil.

Next I taught about God’s unconditional love. That is a radical concept. Nearly all of religion links God’s love and acceptance of people to their worthiness. In other words, God’s love is proportional to their performance.

Some Christian religious groups, after presenting salvation as a free gift of God’s grace, turn right around and teach new believers that their continuing relationship with the Lord now depends on their performance. If they don’t live holy, go to church, read their Bibles, and pay tithes, etc., then the Lord won’t bless them or answer their prayers.

That kind of thinking will block a person from receiving the love of God. When their performance falls short, and it always does, their own hearts will condemn them. They just can’t believe God could love them. The truth is that God’s love for us has nothing to do with our performance. He loves us because He is love (1 John 4:8), not because we are lovely.

Understanding that God’s love is unconditional will revolutionize your life. It certainly has mine.

Another major roadblock to experiencing God’s love is this: How can a holy God love unholy people? To answer that, I explained how God is a Spirit, and if we are going to truly connect with Him in worship, we have to do it through our new born-again spirits (John 4:24). When I found out who I was in the spirit, it forever changed me. Understanding that is what allowed me to finally accept God’s love.

I am firmly convinced that a lack of seeing ourselves “in Christ” is the root of all unbelief and failure to experience God’s pure love. This is my life message. It’s at the core of all the understanding the Lord has given me, and I believe it has to become a true revelation to every person if they want to experience God’s love in its fullness.

This led to teaching on another major area of wrong thinking. Much of what people believe about God’s rejection of us comes from Scripture. They use Old Testament scriptures as the basis for what they believe, not understanding that Jesus forever changed God’s dealings with mankind.

They don’t understand the difference between the way God dealt with people under the Old Covenant of the Law and the way He now deals with us through Christ.

Second Corinthians 5:19 says, “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.”

Under this New Covenant, God is not imputing our sins unto us. That is the exact opposite of what happened under the Old Covenant. This is explained in detail in the New Covenant, and yet the body of Christ as a whole has missed this truth. The vast majority of Christians are still under sin consciousness, the very thing that Old Testament saints longed to be free from.

They saw our covenant by faith and prophesied about the superiority of the New Covenant that God would make with mankind (1 Pet. 1:10-12). Yet, modern-day Christians aren’t taking advantage of all the benefits of God’s love available in that New Covenant. God’s people truly are destroyed for lack of knowledge (Hos. 4:6).

A woman came up to me the last night of these meeting and said that she had been hearing me teach on this subject for nearly twenty years. She said that she thought she understood, until she heard this series of messages. “Now, I finally get it,” she told me.

The way the Lord had me teach this series was powerful. It brought a revelation of God’s love to her that she had never understood before. Many others were experiencing the same thing. God’s love was becoming real to them.

I want you to have the same opportunity to make this revelation your own. So, to help, I am making this special series from the Gospel Truth Seminar available as a CD album. It focuses entirely on God’s Kind of Love To You.

At our Summer Family Bible Conference this past July, I continued to teach on love, but from an entirely different perspective. In that series, I taught on God’s Kind of Love Through You. Once you understand how much God loves you, it will compel you to allow God’s love to flow through you. However, there are many misunderstandings about what that means and how to do it. This will help you love others with the God kind of love.

Don’t Let Your Past Rob You – Joseph Prince Ministries

Philippians 3:13–14; Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Are you living a life of regrets thinking, “If only…”? “If only I had that college education…If only I had married the right girl…If only I had taken up the other job…If only I had not made that stupid mistake…”

Is your past robbing you of the joy of today? Then forget your past!

You might say, “But Pastor Prince, you do not know what I have done in the past!”

Consider Paul. If the devil had anything to bring against Paul, it would be reminders of how he had persecuted the early church and caused the deaths of many, including Stephen, the first Christian martyr.

Paul had done horrendous things that were hard for him to forget. But he had such a revelation of God’s awesome forgiveness that he could say, “forgetting those things which are behind…I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus”.

Beloved, God has forgiven you of all your sins. He has completely forgiven you and declared, “Your sins and lawless deeds, I will remember no more.” (Hebrews 10:17)

Like Paul, you can forget your past, the wrongs you have done and the hurts you have caused others or been through yourself. God can take the tears of yesterday and transform them into the miracles of tomorrow. He can restore to you in all abundance what you have lost. He can cause all things, even the painful events of your past, to work together for your good. (Romans 8:28)

God’s Word says, “The glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.” (Isaiah 58:8) His glory will cover your past. Wherever you go, His glory covers your past. It is no longer the same past that you know of because His glory has descended on it. Your past is past. It has been wiped out. It is gone! So don’t let your past rob you of today’s joy any longer!