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The Gospel Truth
The War Is Over: Episode 5
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What did the angels mean when they proclaimed peace on earth and good will toward men? In a world full of conflict and chaos, where is that peace today? Join Andrew as he reveals the true source of peace—reconciliation with God. God’s not mad at you,...
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Welcome to Gospel Truth with Andrew Wommack, celebrating the good news of Jesus Christ, Emmanuel, God with us.
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God is not angry at you. God's not even in a bad mood.
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We here at Andrew Wommack Ministries want to wish you a very merry Christmas and a blessed new year.
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Welcome to our Wednesday's broadcast of the Gospel Truth. Today I'm continuing to talk on a subject that I've entitled the War is over. This is taken From Luke, chapter 2, verse 14, where the angels sang glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, good will towards men. That's not talking about peace among men, but peace from God towards man. I've got a book on this, over 200 pages. We're asking you to give something for this. If whatever you can send, we'll send it to you. And if you could not or would not give anything, we'll send you this little booklet entitled Good Will towards men. And it's an introduction to this larger teaching. So those things are available, our cds, DVDs, USB, a study guide. And also last Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, we played this video on the Heart of Christmas. And we have that available. This is just special. You know, we've already passed this. It was. It was at the first of December when we had our Heart of Christmas play here in Woodland Park. But it really is special. And we light up the whole campus and we have a. A market in our barn that is just like 45 or 50 different local artists bring all of their things and people do a lot of their Christmas shopping there. So anyway, you ought to consider doing that next Christmas. It was really, really good. I've been talking about the wars over and again. I've covered a lot of material. The last program we were in Romans chapter five, and we were showing that it's not what we do that makes us a sinner, it's the fact that we were a sinner that made us do what we did. Now that's huge. And most people don't understand the difference between this. Let me just kind of give an overview of the book of Romans. That the book of Romans starts off talking about the goodness of God in Romans, chapter 1, verse 16, that it is the gospel that is the power of God. And the word gospel literally means good news, but even more specifically, it means nearly too good to be true news. And so it's the good news of what Jesus has done for us that he's not dealing with us according to our sins, which is what I'm calling in this teaching the war is over. That's good news. But the writer, the apostle Paul, starts showing how desperate our situation was. And so the end of Romans chapter one, all the way up through these verses in Romans chapter five is just pointing out that we were all separated from God. Whether you were a good sinner or a bad sinner, our sin nature separated us from God. And whether that sin nature acted out in a terrible way or whether it was relatively restrained didn't matter. We were by nature a child of wrath, even as others, like it says in Ephesians chapter 2, verse 3. So the first five chapters of Romans, with just the exception of Romans chapter 1, verses 16 and 17, is all talking about our sin nature and how that that sin nature doomed all of us, that there was no hope for us and outside of the Lord. And then in chapter six, it starts talking about how all of that has now been changed. The sin nature is removed. Romans chapter seven is talking about that there's no condemnation. And that's completed and, and even amplified in Romans chapter 8, that there's no condemnation to us. But here's my point in trying to summarize that is to say that when we talk about the goodness of God, we need to understand that the goodness of God wasn't God just all of a sudden turning away and saying that, well, I'm not going to impute people's sins to them anymore. I'm not going to hold sin against them. I've just changed, and now I'm going to be nice to people even though that they have sinned and transgressed. That's not the way it happened. Our sin nature was terrible and our sin separated us from God. And since God is holy, he couldn't just look the other way or change his nature and say, I'm going to let you go even though you've committed sin. No, there was a payment that had to be made for sin. And Romans 6:23 says that payment is death. The wages of sin is death. And so somebody had to die under the old covenant. God allowed us to substitute an animal for our sin, and we would kill the animal and shed their blood, which the life of the flesh is in the blood. And God allowed us to kill an animal. But in Hebrews chapter nine, it says that the blood of bulls and of goats could never take away sin. It was only symbol, symbolic, and it really was for our benefit. God's not the one who, you know, forgot anything. But we need to be constantly reminded that every time we sinned that somebody had to die. The wages of Sin is death. And so under the old covenant, there was a constant shedding of blood. There was a morning sacrifice, an evening sacrifice, there was a day of atonement once a year. There were sacrifices every feast day. And then every time you sinned you had to offer a sacrifice. There was just constant shedding of. But under the new covenant, Jesus is the lamb of God that gave himself for our sin and it ended all of this. We don't have blood sacrifices today because Jesus, one sacrifice paid for the sins of the entire world. And for those who will accept what Jesus did by making him their Lord and receiving salvation, then just like I'm teaching right here, this is what it's referring to as the war is over. God's wrath on sin is over. It's complete. You know, I'm going to come back to Romans chapter 5, but let me turn over and use a passage of scripture out of John chapter 12 that just makes this point about how that there is no more judgment, there's no more offering for sin against us. In verse 28, Jesus said, Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven saying I have both glorified it and will glorify it again. And so there was an audible voice out of heaven that Jesus had prayed. And God the Father respond to his prayer. And look at this. In verse 29 it says the people therefore that stood by and heard it said that it thundered. Others said an angel spake to him. Before I get into the rest of this, let me just say that you know, the S people heard the exact same thing. And yet some people said it was thunder, some people said it was an angel speaking unto him. You know, they experienced the same thing but came to different conclusions. And this shows you that there are some people that it doesn't matter what happens, they are going to somehow or another find a way to explain it away. There are some people that are so hard hearted that if God spoke to them in an audible voice they would somehow or another explain it away as not being God. I know that many people don't think that way. They think if God would just do something really miraculous then everybody would get saved. You know, the rich man told Abraham says send Lazarus back from the dead to witness to my brothers. And Abraham said they have Moses and the prophets, let them hear them. And he said no, they won't believe the word, but if you send somebody back from the dead then they would believe. And Abraham said if they do not believe the law and the prophets, they will not believe Though one rose from the dead, it's a deception to think that it's God that hasn't manifested himself enough. The Scripture says In Romans chapter 10, verse 17, that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. So faith comes through the word of God. And believing the word of God, it doesn't come through the miraculous. The miraculous may get your attention, but if your heart is hardened, just like in this situation, there were people that heard the audible voice of God and they just related it to thunder. They just would not believe that God does miracles. You know, I've actually been kicked off of a radio station one time because I said something about seeing my son raised from the dead and they kicked me off the radio station. So I called the manager and I talked to him. I said, why did you take me off? And he said, because you just lied. And I said, I didn't lie. My son was raised from the dead. And he said, no, that stuff doesn't happen today. And it didn't fit his theology. He did not believe that miracles happen today. And so it didn't matter what I said, he just called me a liar and said, you're a liar and and kicked me off of his station. There are some people that are not going to believe the traditions and doctrines of men make the word of God of none effect. So anyway, there was people that heard the audible voice of God and yet refused to respond correctly to it. And In John chapter 12, verse 30, it says Jesus answered and said, this voice came not because of me, but because, but for your sakes. In other words, Jesus was in communion with his Father in heart to heart. He didn't have to have an audible voice. This came for the people's sakes so that they could believe. And God did this. And yet many of them just totally rejected it. In verse 31 he goes on to say, now is the judgment of this. 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. You know, that 30 second verse is typically interpreted that if we just minister Jesus properly and if we just say things the way that they should be, that all people are going to be drawn to God. That is not what this is talking about. You can't see that in demonstration. Some of the biggest churches today, I'm not saying all, but some, many of the biggest churches, the megachurches today, got that way by compromise because they have changed the sermons to little 15 minute things. They, it's more entertainment. They will not Take a stand on moral issues. And they're just tickling people's ears. And so you can't look and say that just because there's a large crowd there. That's because Jesus was lifted up and he drew all men unto himself. That's not what this is talking about. You know, the way I first understood this, I was actually in Childress, Texas, and I had just left Seagoville, Texas. I was looking for where God wanted me to go, and I had an opportunity to speak in Childress, Texas. And so I took this and I went and held a meeting. And the first night we only had six people show up. The second night it increased. And over three days I got between there was about 30 people. And I thought, well, that's not good enough. And so I had another opportunity to go somewhere.
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And.
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And I was headed off the next day to go somewhere else. And that night the Lord spoke to me in a dream and basically told me I didn't do what he told me to do. And I said, well, I went and held a meeting and I advertised it. I put an ad in the paper. If you wanted people to come, you should have drawn them. And I looked at this verse and I said, I lift you up, you'll draw all men unto yourself. And the Lord spoke to me, and this is where I got revelation on this. He says, if these people were spiritual enough to hear me say, go hear Andrew Wommack tonight at this auditorium at such and such a time. He says, if they could hear my voice that clearly, I wouldn't need you to minister to them. Says people aren't walking in the spiritual. You got to come across their path in the natural some way. And you've got to come across their path to their mind, their emotions, their ears, their eyes. Somehow or another, you got to contact them in the flesh before you can reach their spirit. And when he spoke that to me, I said, so what am I supposed to do? And he says, go on the radio. And I went out that day, this was in 1976, and I went out to a country and western station in Childress, Texas. And it was an old, old building. There were chickens on the porch, and I had to shoo them off. I had to step over broken boards. And when I got in there, the guy who ran the station was a Baptist pastor. And I asked him if I could put a Christian program on the radio. And he said, yeah. And so I started on the radio, and that's what started my whole ministry. And it was because the Lord showed Me, this wasn't talking about that. If we just magnify the Lord and represent him properly, all people will be drawn unto him. No, you got to come across people's path in some natural way. This isn't saying that you just preach right and he'll draw people. Notice that in this verse, the word men is italicized in the King James. And you know, I'm not a King James only guy. I will use other translations. But one of the reasons I love the King James, I believe it's the most accurate. You do have to interpret the thees and the thou's and the bringeth and things like that. But that's not hard for me to do. But one of the reasons I like, because they at least are honest enough. When a word wasn't in the original text, they would put it in italics. They would notify or, or identify that it was a word that was added. Did you know when you translate from one language to another, it's not a word for word translation. If you've never done this. I've got my books now translated, I think, into 58 different languages. And this is something we have to deal with all of the time, that it's not a word for word translation. You have to take the idea, the concept, and translate it. Like in most languages, you know, in English we will say the, the big black dog, but in Spanish it's dog, big black. It's opposite. And so you don't just translate word for word. There's a little bit of interpretation. And when the King James actually had to add a word for clarification, they were at least honest enough to notify, to identify that it was added. So in this verse, it says, and I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. Men was added by the translators. What it actually says is, I will draw all unto me. And so rather than just say that I will draw all unto me, they thought, all what? Well, they put men in there. But if you take it in context, the verse in front of it says, now is the judgment of this world. Now shall the prince of this world be cast out. And in the verse after it, in verse 33, it says this. He said, signifying what death? He should die. So when it talks about being lifted up, this isn't talking about just glorifying the Lord and presenting him properly. It's talking about being crucified when he was lifted up on a cross. That's what verse 33 is saying. And verse 31, what was the Subject, it was judgment. Now is the judgment of this world. And when Jesus is lifted up on a cross, he will draw all judgment unto himself, is what it's saying now. This totally changes everything. This is saying that when Jesus was crucified, all of God's wrath, not some of it, not most of it, all of God's wrath was placed upon Jesus. And, you know, I could spend the rest of this week just talking about what Jesus suffered. Certainly what he suffered on the cross, certainly what he suffered as he was beaten with whips and stuff. That was suffering. But did you know that Jesus took all of our suffering upon Himself from the moment that he was born again? He had to learn how to walk, how to talk. He was the one that created the heavens and the earth, and yet he came and indwelt a baby, and he had to learn how to control his bowels, how to feed himself, how to walk, how to talk. He didn't come out of the womb speaking Hebrew. He had to go. This is amazing to me that God Almighty would limit himself to being in a physical body like this and being frail and having to be protected by his parents and then grow up and learn how to do things. And so he lived for 33 years bearing our sin and bearing the judgment of God. He didn't have a corrupted body, he had a sinless body, but he lived in a corrupted world, in a sinful world. And he saw people around him die. You know, it's. It appears that Joseph, his stepfather, not his physical father, but the husband of Mary. It appears that he was dead when Jesus began his earthly ministry. He had to go through suffering, seeing the suffering of the man who had raised him and taught him how to be a carpenter and do all this and see him die. I'm sure that Jesus saw lots of people die. And he's the one that created man. And death was never part of their original purpose. I'm sure that he saw his siblings and he saw other people. He saw fights and things. Jesus dealt with stuff, and that was bearing our judgment even then. It was bearing all of the results of this sinful nature. And then, of course, it was culminated when he was beaten with whips and then he was crucified. And if you turn over to Isaiah chapter 52 and chapter 53, Isaiah 52:14 says that his visage, that's talking about his face, was marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men. I think it's the NIV says so that he didn't look human, that is greater than just the beating that he took. I believe he took every sickness and every disease, every tumor, every deformity, every malady that's ever hit the human race. It entered into the body of Jesus so that According to Isaiah 52:14, he didn't even look human. That's amazing. You know what that was? That was all of this judgment, all of God's wrath, all of his punishment upon the sins of the entire human race came into the body of Jesus. Now, I'm sure that the physical suffering was painful. I'm sure it was terrible. But I believe that the spiritual contamination becoming sin for us. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says, he hath made him who knew no sin to be made sin for us. Jesus was pure and holy, and he took sin into Him. He. He felt all of the guilt, the condemnation, the. The. The defilement that any person has ever felt. All of this entered into Jesus and He paid for our sin. That's what this is talking about. When he was crucified, lifted up, all of God's judgment came upon him. If you ever get a clear picture of this, if you understand what these verses are saying, you'll never again let your sin and your failure separate you from God because Jesus paid for it. All of the shame, all of the rejection. And it goes on to say that our sins and iniquities were placed on Jesus. He bore our su. Punishment, he bore our guilt. He did all of these things for us. And if Jesus bore my sorrows and carried my griefs, why should I carry them? See, when a person still is experiencing separation between them and God after they've made Jesus their Lord, after they become born again, if you are still living in condemnation, if you're still saying, I'm just an old sinner saved by grace, then the war is not over for you. You still think that he's imputing sin unto you, and. But that's not what the word of God teaches. Jesus bore all of God's wrath, all of God's punishment, and there is none left for you. If you accept what Jesus did for you, if you have not made Jesus your personal Lord, then you are separated from God and there is antagonism between you and God. And you need to enter into that covenant and receive what Jesus did for you to be totally set free from that. But if you have made Jesus your Lord, then you ought to recognize that the war is over, that God put all of his wrath, all of his punishment against your sin and my sin upon Jesus and There is no wrath left for you and me. It's like putting up a lightning rod on a building. And if there's ever any lightning, it will be attracted to that lightning rod and it'll go down into the ground and dissipate. And the building doesn't take any of the, you know, the energy of that lightning. Jesus became the lightning rod. And when he hung on that cross, the wrath of God struck him. And that's the reason he said, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? The reason God forsook Jesus is because you and I should have been forsaken. And Jesus took our place and he bore the separation from God that you and I deserved and he took that upon himself. And now you and I shouldn't have any of this separation. We shouldn't have any of this condemnation. This is what it goes on to say in Romans chapter 8. There is therefore now no condemnation to them who are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. You know why there's no condemnation for you and me? Because all of God's condemnation, wrath, judgment came upon Jesus and there isn't any left. God is not ticked off at you. If you are a part of the kingdom, if you have made Jesus your Lord, even if you are failing big time, God is not mad at you. God placed all of his wrath against your sin and my sin upon Jesus and there isn't any left for you, man. I've got more to share. I'm going to continue to talk about that, but I want to encourage you to get this book. You really need this. Because what I'm saying is not what most people are hearing. And faith comes by hearing the word of God. You need to get these scriptures. This is a 200 plus page book. We're asking you to send something for this and we'll send it to you. If you could not or would not send anything, I'll send you this little booklet entitled Good Will towards Men. It's an introduction to this larger teaching on the war is over. Listen to our announcer and he'll give you all the information. And then please call or write today. Praise God. I just thank you for Andrew Wommack's ministry. He's changed my life. Andrew's teachings. I can't pinpoint one that's more important than the other because it took all of them all together.
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For 25 years, the friends and partners of Andrew Wommack have been blessed to invest in a television ministry that ignites their relationship with God and Not only does each donation support Andrew, but it supports his mandate to disciple nations through Charis Bible College. Every seed sown by Andrew's partners is multiplied through the lives of Charis graduates who carry God's Word out into the world.
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I've seen students learn and discover who they are in Christ. How much God loves them is just affecting their lives and those around them. If we can't physically go, we're sending somebody that can go.
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Jesus said in Matthew 6:19 do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven. Those those who have given to support the ministry of Andrew Wommack are making an eternal investment beyond all we can share in this short video. Thank you friends and partners. These are your treasures in heaven. As we continue to sow the seed of God's Word in our lives and in the lives of our students, the Lord of the Harvest will multiply our investment to his glory. In the exciting days that are still ahead.
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We are asking you to make a pledge to read through the Bible in one year. The Lord said He would keep that which we commit unto Him. No committing, no keeping. So I think it's good to make a commitment to do this and we have a number of things that we will be sending you. We have a Bible reading plan. We will send you some emails to keep you on track and you also will get a 50% discount on my Living Commentary if you sign up. So join up with us and do this Bible reading pledge today.
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Discover the true meaning of God's Peace through Andrew's Teaching the War Is Over. Andrew is offering his booklet Good Will Toward An Introduction to the War Is over as his free gift to you today. This offer is limited to one free booklet per household and is available in the us, uk, Canada and Australia. Contact us today to receive your free booklet Andrew's Complete Series the War Is over is available as a book, cd, album, tv, DVD album and as a study guide made from our daily television broadcast. You can also receive the full teaching on a USB that includes both the audio and video. Each of these valuable resources are available for a gift of any amount. When you contact us today, you can also receive our special offer Rediscover the True Meaning of Christmas with this inspiring collection that brings the message of God's peace toward men to life. When you get this package, you'll receive the War is Over book, study guide and USB drive along with the Heart of Christmas DVD. This package has a catalog value of $105, but you can receive it today for just $77. Scan the QR code on the screen or go to awmi.net to see all the ways you can get these products. While there you can discover more more product details and download additional free resources. Also, our products and additional resources are available in various languages through our web site. You can also order resources or receive prayer by calling our helpline at 719-635-1111. Our helpline is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. To write us, use the address on your screen. We appreciate your generosity and hope to hear from you today.
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I would like to encourage you to take advantage of our daily devotion. This is something I wrote many years ago. I have a different devotion for every single day of the year and I read these often and I'm amazed at some of the things the Lord said through me. They're really, really good and I believe it would bless you so you can get this sent to you automatically. I encourage you to go to our web site and sign up and get our daily devotion for every single day of the year.