Like it or not, every one of us is in a spiritual war. God is for us, and the devil is against us. The one we cooperate with is the one who will control us. You can’t be discharged from the service in this war, and ignorance of its extent only aids the enemy. The enemy loves to work covertly, using his only weapon, deception. In this teaching, Andrew exposes this war and the enemy for what he is.

on a teaching ministry that emphasizes

God’s unconditional love and grace and

now here’s Andrew welcome to our

Thursday’s broadcast of the gospel truth

today I’m continuing a series that I

started this last Monday talking about

the believers Authority and this is a

powerful teaching I believe that this is

where a lot of Christians are making

their mistake they are asking God to do

what he told us to do he gave us

authority over the devil to resist the

devil and Christians are beseeching God

and not taking their authority and Satan

is winning because we aren’t stepping up

to the plate and taking the authority

that God has given us so this is a major

teaching this is a major thing and I

have a brand new book out on this I

entitled the believers Authority it’s

subtitled what you didn’t learn in

church and we also have a study guide on

this this is nearly 400 pages I think

it’s three hundred and seventy or eighty

pages and it’s really a great deal it’s

specifically designed to help you teach

a Bible study or a Sunday School class

something like that there is some

material that you read where we start

the subject and start it going and then

there is a place where you ask questions

there’s an answer key to those questions

there’s a teacher’s guide section in

here there’s a list of all of the

scriptures that were used in that lesson

and it is just a great way to do it plus

there is a cd-rom on the inside cover of

this that allows you to print this book

as many times as you need so if you have

15 or 20 people in a Bible study you

could actually fit print out all of the

copies so that every person there could

have a copy of this in their hand as you

go through and disciple them I’m excited

about this because really this kind of

teaching this subject is something that

you need to meditate on you just don’t

get it by hearing it it’s the kind of

thing that you need to go through and

especially to be able to share it with

other people you need to be able to

break it down to discuss it I’ve already

covered some things in just the first

three days this week that are so

contrary

why people believe that it takes a while

for this to soak down on the inside I’ve

been talking about how we’re in a

spiritual war we before we really take

our authority and use it you’ve got to

realize how serious the situation is and

I remember when I was drafted and

trained to go into Vietnam

everybody knew we were going to Vietnam

but you know when you were in basic

training they tried to scare you and do

things and there was constant I remember

that there was just explosions going off

all of the time we were always shooting

our weapons we were throwing hand

grenades when you’d go through these

local crawl pits

they’d have machine-gun fire above you

and then you’d go beside a pit and

they’d explode knit it bounce you off

the ground and you know there was just

all of these explosions and over a

period of time I kind of got used to it

and when I was in basic I knew that they

weren’t going to kill me I knew that

they were wanting me to live too so I

could go to Vietnam and fight the battle

and even though they said this is

dangerous I knew that they were doing

things in a way that you know you would

have had to have really done something

stupid to get hurt and killed and basic

and so anyway even though there was

explosions there was rifle fire there

was all these things going on I took it

all with a grain of salt and over a

period of time I kind of got hardened to

it to where it didn’t even affect me I

could sleep through things when there

was explosions and stuff going on but I

remember when I got into Vietnam and

when we landed it long been in Vietnam

there is a mortar attack and he wasn’t

real close but it was close enough that

they made us get off and run and crawl

to this bunker and get through this

mortar attack and we came in in the

middle of the night and they processed

us and after I think it’s 2 or 3 o’clock

in the morning I was laying on my bunk

and it was one of these metal bunks that

had the springs in it and the mattress

on it and I was laying on this bunk in

Vietnam and you know what there had been

explosions going off you could hear it

in the distance but like I said I was

used to that in basic and I just kind of

had hardened myself and it didn’t mean

anything to me but as I was laying in

that bunk trying to go to sleep there

the Rockets were coming in and I could

hear these explosions and they were

close enough to us that my bunk those

Springs I was bouncing on my bunk from

the explosion of rockets and mortars and

I remember laying there and it just

dawned on me that this wasn’t basic this

wasn’t friendly fire trying to prepare

us for something and teach us this was

somebody shooting at us they were trying

to kill us and it was close enough that

my bunk was bouncing from the explosions

and you know what happened I remember

laying there and just thinking I’m not

in Kansas anymore this isn’t this isn’t

make-believe anymore somebody’s trying

to kill me and they’re close enough that

I can feel the percussion from this

thing and you know what I mean I got

serious all of a sudden it was no longer

training all of my antennas went up and

they put us through a week of training

once we got into Vietnam and you know in

basic people half-heartedly paid

attention they were goofing around and

doing things you know what they had our

attention I mean I was listening to

everything they said I knew that my life

could depend upon it I mean as they were

teaching us you could hear the

explosions and all of the sounds of war

going on in the background and all of a

sudden I they had my attention I was

completely committed focused I was

learning everything they had to tell me

and the point that I’m trying to make is

that there’s a lot of you as Christians

that haven’t taken this seriously you

don’t realize that we’re in a spiritual

war that everything we do every attitude

every emotion that you have every action

that you have everything that you say

everything that you do is either

yielding yourself to God and allowing

him to have dominance in your life and

release his love and all of his blessing

or we are allowing Satan to have access

to us through our emotions and through

the things that we’re doing now I know

that that’s a very simple statement but

that is that is something that I

Everage person doesn’t accept I would

say that probably the majority of you

watching this program you might sit

there and say well yeah that’s true but

in practical terms you do not live your

life that way for instance I can

guarantee you there’s some of you on

your way into work people will cut you

off and you say things you may wave at

them with one finger you may do things

and you you may sit there and say well

they don’t know I mean I I didn’t hurt

anybody they didn’t hear what I’ve got

to say you’re missing the point I use

this verse on our program yesterday out

of James chapter 3 verse 16 it says for

we’re envying and strife is there is

confusion and every evil work did you

know whether the person that cuts you

off in traffic here’s what you’ve got to

say or not did you know that if you vent

and if you do something and yield

yourself to the flesh and and yield

yourself to anger and bitterness and

things like this did you know that you

are allowing Satan place in your life

and again we’re envying and strife is

there is confusion Satan is the author

of confusion and every evil work you

have just opened up a door into your

life to the devil and it’s amazing to me

how people don’t realize that we’re in a

war they don’t take it seriously like

well I didn’t hurt anybody you know my

daddy in law he was crate guy we had a

good relationship and I like them but bf

was he had a little attitude problem and

he was very outspoken and I remember

being with him one time and he got mad

and called a guy in front of him a jerk

and he was saying all of these things

and just blasting this guy and I’ve said

something I don’t remember exactly what

it was but I made a reference to that

and BF had no connection he says it

didn’t hurt a person he didn’t hear what

I said

it didn’t affect a thing nobody was

offended and he didn’t realize that

whether anybody else hears this or not

it’s affecting you you are yielding

yourself to an attitude that I can

guarantee you did not come from God that

came from the devil

and it opens up a door into your life I

remember another instance where I was

there was a guy in our church who got

born again I mean a dramatic conversion

but he had been a total mess prior to

this time I mean he was the first person

in the history of California who is

indicted by a grand jury three times

before he was 13 years old he was in and

out of reformatories from the time he

was five years old he lived a terrible

life a terrible ungodly life and when he

got born again he did get born again and

he was genuinely saved there was a

change in him but you know what there

was still a lot of things that were

being worked out in any way one day I

went over to his house I knew he was

supposed to be there he had told me to

come over so I expected them to be there

but I knocked on the door nobody came so

what I did I walked around the house

into the backyard he worked on old cars

and he upholstered them and so I thought

maybe he was out there working on one of

these cars and when I walked around the

side of the house this guy had a fence

post and he was beating this car and I

mean saying words that I didn’t even

know what all I meant and he was blasted

in this car and yelling and he was

beaten the devil out of this car and I

came around the corner and this guy saw

me and all of a sudden he stops and got

a twinge of conviction you know I was a

pastor of the church and he stopped and

looked at me and he says it’s a car he

says I didn’t hurt anybody he says it

doesn’t matter if I say something to a

car it’s a car it’s okay I didn’t do

anything wrong and I had to start

teaching him that it doesn’t matter if

it’s a car it doesn’t matter if it’s a

tree it doesn’t matter if it’s a dog

that you’re mad it doesn’t matter

whether the thing that you’re mad at is

a person or a innate object or an animal

if you are giving place to anger like

that it says in James chapter one the

wrath of man does not work the

righteousness of God that is an

understatement the wrath of man is

actually a yielding to the devil God is

not the one who inspires us to say

these things and the blast things and to

do all of this this is being inspired by

the devil and you do that again James

3:16 we’re in fein and strife is there

is confusion and every evil work you’ve

just thrown open the door to the devil

and it doesn’t matter if it’s car

doesn’t matter if it’s a tree doesn’t

matter what it is you have thrown open

the door by your anger and by saying

these things and you are just allowing

Satan to come in and steal kill and

destroy in John chapter 10 it says the

thief cometh not but for it to steal

kill and to destroy us talking about the

devil the rest of the verse goes on to

say but I am come that you might have

life and have it more abundantly if you

yield to Satan if you yield to him

whether it’s through actions whether

it’s through words whether it’s through

emotions when you yield to the devil you

are yielding to Satan the author of

those things and he is going to come

steal kill and to destroy

in Romans 6:16 the scripture says know

ye not that to whom ye yield yourselves

servants to obey his servants ye are to

whom ye obey whether of sin unto death

or of obedience unto righteousness when

you yield to sin and it doesn’t have to

be just total rebellion he could just

you know you could yield to depression

and I know that some of you right now or

what that’s that’s not sin yes it is the

Bible says rejoice in the Lord always

and again I say rejoice it says in John

chapter 16 verse 33 in the world you

shall have tribulation but be of good

cheer I have overcome the world it says

in John 14:1

let not your heart be troubled you

believe in God believe also in me it

says in Philippians chapter 4 rejoice in

the Lord always and again I say rejoice

in the Old Testament Deuteronomy chapter

28 it says that God brought judgment

upon the children of Israel because they

would not praise the Lord for the

abundance of all things because they

didn’t express joy and thankfulness God

brought judgment on that God would be

unjust to judge you for something that

you have no control

all over again see what I’m doing I’m

hitting up against some concepts right

now that are probably hindering some

people from receiving because you said

pay depression it’s just a byproduct I

don’t choose depression I don’t have any

authority in this area yes you do our

God would be unjust to command you to

rejoice in the Lord always he didn’t say

when you feel like it when everything is

going good rejoice in the Lord always if

you aren’t rejoicing in the Lord you are

giving place to the devil you are

yielding to the influence and the

tendencies and the temptations of the

devil and Satan is having inroad into

your life and he’s affecting you and

doing things through this you can’t

control your emotions again even a large

segment of the church will say no

emotions this is all humanistic it is

just natural it’s hormones its chemicals

I don’t have any control over that’s not

what the Bible teaches the Bible teaches

in James chapter 1 that sin is conceived

in your emotions in James chapter 1

verse 14 but every man is tempted when

he is drawn away of his own lust and

enticed then when lust hath conceived it

brings forth sin and sin when it is

finished bringeth forth death if you

read this in the NIV it talks about

desires the word lust has taken on a

connotation today where we just think of

that as sexual and always demonic but

the word lust if you look it up in a

dictionary it’s just a strong or

overpowering desire or emotion this

isn’t talking about necessarily demonic

lust for a person that’s not your mate

matter of fact the scripture in

relations chapter 5 I believe it’s verse

16 says the spirit lust against the

flesh and the flesh lusts against the

spirit in that instance you know that

this isn’t talking about some sexual

desire it’s just talking about that the

Holy Spirit has strong emotions and

wants us to be separated unto God and is

jealous over us and so the word lust

here is literally talking about in your

emotions and notice it

says every man is tempted when he is

drawn away of his own lust desires

emotions and enticed and when your lust

your desire or your emotions have

conceived it brings force in this verse

is saying that sin starts in your

emotions most people are looking at the

actions of sin they don’t want to go out

and commit adultery but they will

indulge all kinds of emotions that

conceive and lead towards the birth of

the act of adultery and they don’t make

this connection they think well all I’ve

got to do is just stop the birth well

this is like a woman who doesn’t want to

have children but she takes no authority

no responsibility over her own actions

and so she has relationships constantly

and she allows people to impregnate her

but then she doesn’t want the birth and

so she uses abortion to stop it and she

does all these things most people would

say that’s irresponsible that’s not what

you’re supposed to do and I agree but

you know what spiritually Christians are

doing the same things they allow their

emotions to go places they should never

go they read things they watch things

that that conceive lust emotions in

their heart and then they try and keep

from acting it out I remember a Bible

college student that came to me one time

and his wife had severe depression and

so he brought her into my office and I

was talking to her and she was basically

telling me that ever since she was a

little girl she had severe depression

and for one month or two months out of a

year she would just be depressed and

then she’d snap out of it and she was

okay

and she was acting like there was no big

deal and I was saying look this is

serious you need to stop this and she

was basically saying no this is the way

I am she had accepted it see she didn’t

realize that there’s a spiritual war

going on and she didn’t realize that

when you indulge depression that you are

conceiving something and I tried with

everything I had to show her these

scriptures and to tell her that every

time you give place to depression every

time you let your emotions go south

okay what your justification is you are

conceiving something and then you aren’t

going to like the birth of this it’s the

devil that’s conceiving those negative

things on the inside of you and you’re

trying to stop the birth you don’t want

to act it out but you don’t want to take

any responsibility for the conception

that’s as irresponsible as a woman who

has physical relationship with a man all

of the time and yet just can’t

understand why she gets pregnant and why

she’s giving birth she doesn’t want the

children but she loves the relationship

that’s not the way that it works you

have to take authority over yourself and

I’m telling you that if you have

negative emotions there are times that

some of you know that you’re wrong you

know that you shouldn’t be griping you

know that the Bible says rejoice in the

Lord always you know that strength and

power is in joy you know this but you

feel something so passionately that you

just feel like I’m just going to vent

I’m going to let all of this out I know

I shouldn’t but I just think I’d feel

better if I do it I felt that way I

remember a time that I went to Bridgette

Colorado there was 10 people in this

church I went there we saw a man raised

from the dead and the church grew from

10 to a hundred people in a town of a

hundred and forty-four people I gave up

everything for the first time in my life

I could see light at the end of the

tunnel and it wasn’t a train it was

actually the end and I was seeing

success when I was in Childress Texas

and I left all of that and went to this

little tiny place called Pritchett

Colorado if it wasn’t the end of the

world you could see it from there it was

that close

I went there laid my life down gave up

everything that you know I had been able

to accumulate everything that was going

good in my life I left it to go to this

little tiny place of pretty Colorado and

within six months the people were

wanting to string me up lynch me they

hated me they were circulating rumors

that I was having an affair that I was

getting drunk doing drugs they lied

about me they said anything and

everything and I just got tired of it

and you know what I was going to have a

pity party

I mean I was waiting on Jamie and the

boys to go to bed and I had determined I

was just going to get down and gripe and

complain and tell God how upset I was

over this I knew it wasn’t right but I

just that’s the way I felt and I just

wanted to do it and you know while I was

waiting on Jamie and the boys to go to

bed praise God the Holy Spirit began to

encourage me and by the time they

finally got to sleep and I was ready for

my pity party I went down and just

started praising God and decided I was

going to do what the word says and I

wasn’t going to indulge my flesh and so

I can relate to what many of you feel

but I’m telling you it’s wrong I’m

saying that you conceived something

every time you have a negative emotion

every time you just indulge your desire

to gossip every time you sit there and

just say well I’m I know I shouldn’t say

this but I’m just going to go ahead and

say every time you give in to the devil

you need to recognize we’re in a war and

it says in 1st Peter chapter 5 verse 8

that be sober be vigilant because your

adversary the devil as a roaring lion

goes about seeking whom he may devour if

you really understood that we were in a

spiritual war if you really understood

that Satan is just looking for an inroad

into your life just a crack in the door

he’s wanting the opportunity to come in

and just destroy your life if you really

knew this and understood that indulging

these negative things is giving place to

demonic spirits and attitudes and that

whatever you do you’re going to conceive

something that’s going to bring forth a

birth that you don’t want if you really

knew that if you really believe that I

guarantee you you’d act differently and

see this realization that I’m talking

about is what caused me not to go ahead

and have that pity party even though I

had sent out all of my invitations even

though all of the demons in Colorado had

gathered that just let me vent and take

advantage praise God that the Holy Ghost

kept me from doing that and saying these

things it would have caused negative

things in my life and ministry

I’m telling you you need to recognize

you’re in a war you need to take some

responsibility you need to take the

authority that’s been given us and we

need to stand up and recognize that you

can’t just do what you want to do when I

realized I was in Vietnam you know what

I started acting differently I didn’t

necessarily want to be in Vietnam I

didn’t want to be doing those things but

the fact was I was there and I had to

act accordingly and if I would have

acted the same way that I did when I was

back in the States and walking in a war

zone I could have gotten killed I had to

act I didn’t like it I didn’t want to be

there but it was the reality you may not

want to face the fact that you’re in a

battle but you are and you ignoring it

is not going to make you exempt all its

going to do is guarantee that you lose

you need to receive these truths you

know the teaching that I’m giving here

I’ve got a brand new book and study

guide out on this a CD a DVD set I’d

like to encourage you to please get them

our announcer is going to give you some

information about how you can get these

materials and please call or write and

get these materials and then join me

again tomorrow as we continue the gospel

truth

the believers Authority is available for

the very first time in book form you can

receive your copy for seven pounds

request book T 327 when you write or

call or when you go to our website a

Spanish version is also available

request book T 735 the believers

Authority companion study guide is

available for 17 pounds 50 request study

guide T 427 when you contact the

ministry this teaching is also available

in a six part CD album or it’s available

in a DVD album made from Andrews daily

TV broadcast each is offered for 19

pounds request CD album t 1045 C or DVD

album t 1045 d the first teaching in the

audio CD album titled we’re in a

spiritual war is also available for

three pounds but if you’re simply unable

to afford it andrew and his partners

will provide this first CD free of

charge request teaching number TL 18

when you write or call and will be

pleased to send it to you you know what

I was sharing today is just a very very

brief summary of some points and I have

so much more material on this I’ve got a

website that of course lists all of our

material and one of the good things

about the website is that you can get

the things that we’re offering they’re

free we have hundreds of my teachings

available as free downloads that you can

get as mp3s we also have about 10 years

worth of television programs probably 13

or 14 years worth of radio programs that

are free and that you can watch or

listen to right there on the web

I’ve got books articles just a wealth of

information I’ve got a Bible commentary

that you can get

on the web it would be a tremendous

blessing T we have that address on your

screen I encourage you to check it out

today you can reach us through our

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telephone our helpline number is zero

one nine two two four seven three three

hundred we’d like to point out Andrews

upcoming speaking schedule he’ll be an

Amsterdam for the Euro spirit conference

May 21st through the 23rd Colorado

Springs Colorado for the annual summer

family Bible conference June 29th

through July 3rd and in South Africa for

a gospel truth seminar July 21st through

the 23rd for more details on Andrews

next meeting in your area call our

helpline or visit our website at aw mi

dotnet this is Andrew Wommack and I’d

like to invite you to join me on May the

21st through the 23rd in Amsterdam I’m

going to be speaking at the Euro spirit

2009 and we’re going to have a number of

different speakers I’ll be ministering

to each day the 21st through the 23rd of

May we’re going to be holding this at

the Victory Outreach in Amsterdam it’s

going to be a great time and so all of

you watching over god TV I’d encourage

you to come and be a part of this May

the 21st through the 23rd Victory

Outreach in Amsterdam

if you just know what God told me to do

then it’s not a challenge it’s an

adventure I wasn’t ready to make a

commitment until I really knew that this

was God so we decided that okay from

this point on we’re not gonna speak to

each other we’re not gonna write we’re

not gonna be in contact I gave up

marriage and I thought all right that’s

it I need to read the Bible I need to

find out what what it says I need to

find out who God is we could be dropped

from a helicopter anywhere on the

subcontinent of India and somehow God

Woo’s could direct us

God has given us a plan and we’re seeing

people change forever and it’s not just

surface it is inner spirit but I never

could see myself being a missionary

because to me a missionary is somebody

who really likes to be out there you

know who’s who likes to stand on the

stage and have the million people out in

the congregation and preaching to the

masses and that is so totally not me

you