Effortless Change Part 6

It basically just boils down to where your focus is. If you are focused on the Lord, and you're hungry and seeking after Him, you will be filled. (Matthew 5:6.) But if you're one of this first type of people depicted in this parable, the Word of G.o.d just doesn't mean anything to you. You can hear it and it's gone before you even think about it. You just can't seem to retain G.o.d's Word. It's not time for you to pray and ask G.o.d to speak louder. It's time for you to change your heart and start focusing on the things of the Lord.

PROGRESSIVE STEPS.

In Mark 4:16-17, Jesus talks about this second type of person that heard the Word of G.o.d.

And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness; And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word's sake, immediately they are offended.

Now, before we look specifically into this second type of person who heard the Word of G.o.d, let me make another statement: This parable also describes progressive steps toward fruitfulness. The Lord clearly describes four different types of people's hearts, and how the Word of G.o.d interacts with their heart to bring forth fruit (or not).

I believe He was also describing four different stages toward fruitfulness.

First, you go through a stage where you hear the Word of G.o.d but your heart isn't set on it. You aren't seeking after the things of G.o.d. The Word goes in one ear and out the other. That's the first type of person.

The second type of person gets excited about the Word, but they don't have root in themselves. The end result is they don't bear fruit either.

LIVING OFF OTHERS.

The third type of person gets excited about the Word, and it takes root. The Word of G.o.d begins to germinate and start producing life in them, but then they get distracted by the things of this world.

And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the l.u.s.ts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.

Mark 4:19 The fourth type of person is the one who really nurtures and takes care of the Word of G.o.d. They focus on it and aren't distracted by the things of this world. So they produce a bountiful harvest.

And these are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred.

Mark 4:20 Although I was genuinely born again as an eight year old, I was a typical kid. During church, I was focused on my friends in the church and what we were going to do after the service, so I didn't really meditate on the Word of G.o.d and let it come into my life. I read my Bible every single day, but somehow or another it just didn't penetrate. I suppose it did to a degree. I didn't get into a lot of the sin and other problems that many people do, so I'm not saying it had no effect. However, it didn't have the effect that it should have had on my life. It was like the Word was coming in one ear and going out the other, just like this first person described in the parable. I didn't understand the Word, and it wasn't impacting me.

Then I had this experience with the Lord on March 23,1968, and I became excited about the Word of G.o.d. I don't think you've ever seen anybody more excited about G.o.d and His Word than I was. But there was a period of time when that Word wasn't rooted on the inside of me. I was living off of other people's revelation-their teaching about the Word-and not my own personal relationship. Even though I was excited, and great things were happening on the inside, there still wasn't that much fruit coming through my life.

SMOKE AND MIRRORS.

I was in this second stage when the Lord used this parable to really speak into my life. It was right around the time when Jamie and I were married in October 1972. Prior to our wedding, and then afterwards, the Lord made this teaching on the sower a revelation in my life.

And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness.

Mark 4:16 Now, I specifically related to that. After I had this experience March 23,1968,I fell head over heels in love with the Lord. The Word of G.o.d became powerful in my life. I was so excited over it. I couldn't open up the Bible without hearing G.o.d talk directly to me through the scriptures. Although I was excited about it, I was frustrated too. I could see in my heart the potential and what G.o.d wanted to do in my life, but I wasn't seeing it on the outside. Since there was frustration and I wasn't really bearing fruit, I began to relate to this second type of person that the Lord describes in this parable.

This second type of person gets excited over the Word of G.o.d and receives it with gladness, but they're frustrated when they don't see it bring forth fruit.

Over time, I've observed a tendency among many people to be shallow. Some of these people may be very demonstrative outwardly, but everything in their life is outward. There isn't any depth in their personal life. I don't understand all the reasons for this, but I see this in my dealings with people. Some folks are just shallow. Everything is all about the external. They don't have very much depth on the inside.

I've seen many people in my meetings get so excited over the Word of G.o.d that it's easy to think, This is awesome. They're totally transformed! But I've come to realize that with some people it's all show and no go. It's all just smoke and mirrors. There isn't any real commitment in their heart.

So over the years, I've come to a place where I enjoy seeing people who are clearly being impacted by the Word. They take some time to really think about and deliberate on it. Of course, there are those who get so excited that they stand up, shout, and jump up and down in their chair while I'm preaching. That's okay, too, but I like to watch those who are being deliberate and thinking about the Word. It takes them a little bit of time before they really commit themselves. Sometimes these folks who are just so excited at first don't ever let the Word take root on the inside of them. There is a period of being rooted in the Word that's necessary for you to be able to produce fruit.

TWO TERRARIUMS.

My sixth grade teacher put dirt in two identical large gla.s.s jars called terrariums. Then, as a part of our cla.s.s project, he planted tomato seeds in both of them on the same exact day. He put them in the same place in our cla.s.sroom, so they received the same amount of light. He watered them exactly the same every day. The only difference was that one terrarium had about eight inches of soil, and the other had only one.

My teacher asked us questions like, "Which seed do you think is going to grow? Which one do you think will produce fruit?" To my surprise, the tomato seed that was only in an inch of dirt sprang up first. It was probably a foot tall before the other tomato seed even began to start pushing up above the ground. At a glance, you'd think that the plant in the small amount of dirt was doing better. But when you only have a small amount of dirt, that plant has to put all of its energy into growing above the ground because it didn't have any room for roots. There wasn't enough soil to put roots down so the life that was in that seed all went vertical above ground. It looked good at first. plant has to put all of its energy into growing above the ground because it didn't have any room for roots. There wasn't enough soil to put roots down so the life that was in that seed all went vertical above ground. It looked good at first.

For many people, it's all about appearances. They don't really care about long-term results. They're short-term thinkers. They hear one message on healing and get excited saying, "I've got it! I'll never have another problem."They think it's wonderful, and are very demonstrative with it. However, there really needs to be a period of time where you take those truths you've learned and, no matter how much they've excited you, let them take root on the inside of you.

The seed that only had an inch of dirt grew to be nearly a foot tall before the other one even started poking out of the ground. But within a very short period of time, because there wasn't enough root to sustain the growth, the plant in one inch of dirt began to turn pale and then white. It wound up falling over and shriveling up. It died because it didn't have a root system to sustain the growth. The tomato seed that started much slower above the ground- as far as what we could see-grew up into a full plant. We had to put a stake in there for support as it began to produce many tomatoes.

T-t-t-i-i-i-m-m-m-e-e-e Through that experiment, I learned a lesson: A seed must, first of all, grow underground. It has to start producing roots before it produces fruit.

In the spiritual realm, many people don't like the root stage. They don't like letting a truth from the Word of G.o.d take root on the inside of them and get established in their heart. They just want to skip all this and get right to the fruit as quickly as they can. Therefore, they don't have very much depth in their life. Their heart isn't totally committed to that truth they received. They may look like they're growing faster than somebody else, but in the end, they can't sustain their growth. They shrivel up and die at the first little hardship that comes along. The Word isn't going to produce fruit in their life.

If you want to be someone who really produces fruit and sees the Word of G.o.d work, it's not going to happen overnight. You can't microwave your miracle. It takes time. There is seed, time, and harvest. Actually, sometimes it is seed, t-t-t-i-i-i-m-m-m-e-e-e, and then harvest. It takes a period of time.

You have to let G.o.d's Word just stay rooted on the inside of you. You can't back off of it. You must keep digging and looking for greater revelation. Don't just take the surface revelation of what the Word of G.o.d says. Go back to those scriptures and ask, "Lord, have I received everything out of this scripture that I need to know? Please show me more." You must let that Word take root on the inside of you.

Failure to let the Word of G.o.d take root on the inside is probably the number one reason why people aren't seeing greater fruit manifest in their life. They just aren't giving it time.

Many people know a scripture like 1 Peter 2:24, which says that by His stripes we were healed. They spend five minutes thinking about that one little concept and conclude, "I've got it. Now I ought to be healed!" No, you need to meditate on that scripture, and then meditate on that scripture some more. Spend days, weeks, months, and years focusing on that truth and applying it to your life until it gets so rooted and established on the inside of you that nothing can pull it up.

DEPTH OF ROOT.

When I was a kid, we lived in a neighborhood, but our yard was still a little over a half-acre in size. We had twenty-three pecan trees in our yard. Every year some of the pecans would fall, get stepped on, or otherwise find a way into the ground. Then they would germinate and start producing a plant. My job was to pull up these tiny little pecan trees that started to grow.

Like most kids, I didn't want to spend my time going around pulling up these little plants. We must have had hundreds of them all throughout that place. I'd see one, but I didn't want to stop playing to pull it up, so I'd wait until that thing got tall enough that my parents could see it from inside the house. When they did, they'd say, "Andy, you need to go out there and pull up that pecan tree." That's how long I'd wait.

However, I learned pretty quickly that if I let a pecan tree get a foot tall, there would be about three feet of roots underneath the ground. There was three times as much growth underneath the ground as there was above the ground. If I waited until the pecan tree was a foot tall to pull it, I'd have to get a shovel and dig it up. It would be so well rooted that I couldn't just pull it up. If I wanted to get those pecan trees out the easy way, I had to pull them when they were about an inch tall. Then I could just grab them and pull them out.

It's the same way with the seed of G.o.d's Word. Satan would love to get you to where you don't have any depth of root in your life. Then he can come against you and just steal the Word. He wants to pull it up before it ever gets rooted. However, if you grow a good root system, you'll be able to stand despite all the troubles, trials, and hardships that come in life.

Many people are just like this second type of ground that the Lord described. They can't bring forth fruit. It's not because they aren't excited about the Word of G.o.d. It's not because they don't love it. They do love it. It's just that they haven't taken time to let the Word take root on the inside of them.

Chapter 14.

Persecution The parable Jesus gave in Mark 4 about the sower sowing the seed is one of the most foundational teachings of the Bible. In Mark 4:13, the Lord said that if you don't understand this parable, you cannot understand any of the others. This pa.s.sage is the key that unlocks the revelation of important foundational truths that you'll use every day for the rest of your Christian life. It's truly that important.

Jesus was using the ill.u.s.tration of a man sowing seed which fell on four different types of ground. The kingdom of G.o.d is likewise. G.o.d's Word is the seed that must be planted in our life to bear good fruit. The Word of G.o.d is what brings change.

G.o.d's Word is never the variable. It has the same potential in every single person's life. What makes the Word produce differently isn't the seed itself, but rather the type of soil on which it finds itself. This parable ill.u.s.trates four different types of hearts. The Word of G.o.d has the same potential to produce in every person's life, but the difference in fruitfulness is related to how we respond to the Word. This parable reveals that there's really only one type of response that will allow the seed of G.o.d's Word to fully produce its fruit.

NO SMALL STIR.

Let's continue looking at the second type of person who heard the Word: And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness; And have no root in themselves, and so endure-but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word's sake, immediately they are offended.

Mark 4:16-17 When the Lord showed me this pa.s.sage of scripture and it really started having a major impact in my life, I was still in a denominational church that was against everything I was believing for. They acknowledged that there was such a thing as the baptism in the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues, but argued that it's the least of all the gifts and not really valid for us today. They didn't emphasize these truths, and they certainly didn't emphasize righteousness and grace. I was in a situation where the Word of G.o.d I was hearing was constantly being persecuted.

My good friend Joe, who had a huge impact on my life, served at one time as an a.s.sociate minister of Kenneth Copeland. He even traveled with him for awhile. I used to attend Kenneth's meetings in Fort Worth,Texas, when he would rent the Will Rogers Auditorium. That place could seat up to 3,500 people. I remember Kenneth confessing and thanking G.o.d for that place to be full when he only had two hundred of us sitting down in the front. I was so green in my faith and lacking understanding from the Word, that I didn't realize that he was speaking forth his faith. I just figured that he knew something I didn't know, and that maybe there were some buses on the way or something.

I didn't know much then, but I'd go over there and hear Kenneth Copeland speak the Word of G.o.d concerning righteousness. It would get me so fired up that I'd go back to this little denominational church and preach the very same things I'd heard. This was causing no small stir. People were getting healed, delivered, and set free. Good things were happening, but the leadership of the church was against what I was doing. They thought it was inaccurate compared to their interpretation of scripture. So, because of this, they criticized me.

OFFENDED.

Notice that this is exactly what Mark 4:17 is saying. The stony ground has: No root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word's sake, immediately they are offended.

This is describing people who were excited about the Word when they heard it, and would act on it to a degree, but didn't have root in themselves. When affliction, persecution, and criticism against the Word began to come, they became offended.

The word "offended" here doesn't mean that they quit believing or renounced the Word. I didn't renounce the fact that G.o.d still heals today, that the baptism in the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues is valid, and that the miracles were of G.o.d. I still believed these truths, but I became offended, which means that I lost my enthusiasm and excitement about these truths. The fire I had for these truths cooled off because of the criticism I was receiving.

You need to recognize that Satan doesn't have to make you totally disavow the Word you're believing for. If he can just get you to where you're cautious and afraid to speak, where you're hurt and offended and now you aren't enthusiastic the way you used to be, then he has succeeded. If the devil can get you into that mode, he can stop the Word of G.o.d from working in your life.

This is exactly where I was when the Lord showed this truth to me. I'd hear Kenneth Copeland speak, get all excited about the Word I'd heard, and then go back to preaching truths like righteousness, faith, and grace in that denominational church. For a week or two, it would be really powerful. Then I'd receive so much criticism that I'd become introspective. I still believed the same truths, and was trying to say them and teach them in the cla.s.ses I was leading, but it just wasn't getting any results like it had before. There wasn't any fruit coming from the Word.

"NOT YOUR REVELATION".

This happened so often that I began to recognize the cycle. I'd hear Kenneth Copeland speak and be okay for a week or two. Then I'd get to where I was trying to say and do the same things I had witnessed of Kenneth Copeland, but it just wasn't getting results. So I'd have to go back and get my next Kenneth Copeland fix. This happened on a constant basis. When I began to see myself start running out of steam, I knew that the next time I got up to teach just wasn't going to be as powerful as it was before. I got to where I expected this cycle. I didn't understand why it was happening, but I saw it happen so many times and that I could recognize it coming.

As I was studying this verse of scripture, the Lord spoke to me. He said, "The problem is that the truths you are saying aren't your revelation. They're Kenneth Copeland's. You're simply saying things that you've heard somebody else say." Before G.o.d spoke this to me, I'd get up and teach saying, "I heard this man Kenneth Copeland say..." and I'd quote him. I'd talk about what he taught using his examples, his ill.u.s.trations, and his jokes. People were being blessed by it because I was sharing truth-it just wasn't my truth. When the Lord showed this to me, a light switched on inside me. I realized that this was why I wasn't able to maintain and keep equilibrium. This was why I was up and down, sometimes excited about the Word, and other times wondering, What's going on? It was because I didn't have root in myself. I was living off of another person's revelation. It was a good revelation, but it wasn't mine.

I remember the Sat.u.r.day night when the Lord showed this to Jamie and me. I discussed it with her, decided, and declared, "From now on, I am not going to say 'so and so said' or quote somebody else and tell people about what their revelation is." As a matter of fact, you may watch my television program, listen by radio, or read my books, but this is the first time you've ever heard or seen me mention someone like Kenneth Copeland in this way. Really, I'm just speaking of him by way of testimony. That's because I totally got away from quoting what somebody else had to say. From that point on, G.o.d's Word started becoming personal to me.

I made a decision that I would stand no matter who came against the revelation that G.o.d had been speaking to me. I was going to keep that Word in my heart. I was going to get it rooted and grounded on the inside of me.

Mark 4:17 really ministered to me when I saw that the afflictions and persecutions I experience come for the Word's sake. They don't come because of you or me personally. It's because of the Word. The Word of G.o.d has power in it. When you start speaking the Word, G.o.d uses His Word to bring conviction to people. The Word starts pressuring and motivating them to change. If the person doesn't want to change, then they have to do something with this conviction that they're feeling, which they perceive as coming from you. They may not mentally be able to separate this conviction and understand it, but this is really what's happening. They may think that it's you they're upset with, and so it's you they're criticizing, but what they're really doing is criticizing G.o.d's Word that is coming through you. It's because of the Word's sake that affliction and persecution come. People are trying to resist and nullify this Word that you've spoken that's brought conviction into their life. and persecutions I experience come for the Word's sake. They don't come because of you or me personally. It's because of the Word. The Word of G.o.d has power in it. When you start speaking the Word, G.o.d uses His Word to bring conviction to people. The Word starts pressuring and motivating them to change. If the person doesn't want to change, then they have to do something with this conviction that they're feeling, which they perceive as coming from you. They may not mentally be able to separate this conviction and understand it, but this is really what's happening. They may think that it's you they're upset with, and so it's you they're criticizing, but what they're really doing is criticizing G.o.d's Word that is coming through you. It's because of the Word's sake that affliction and persecution come. People are trying to resist and nullify this Word that you've spoken that's brought conviction into their life.

REVIVAL OR RIOT.

Spoken in truth, the Word of G.o.d will either bring a revival or a riot every time. That's what Jesus and the early apostles experienced. (Acts 17:6; 19:1-41.) Not everybody responded well to the Lord. When Jesus' disciples came to Him and said, "Don't You know that You offended these people?" Jesus answered, "Leave them alone. If they're of G.o.d, they'll get over it. Every tree that My Father hasn't planted will be uprooted." (Matthew 15:12-14.) Christ didn't take things personally.

Whenever Jesus spoke, He caused a revival or a riot. His disciples did the same thing when they went out and ministered. It's naive and incorrect for us to think that if we just walk in love that everybody will love us. (Matthew 10:16-42.) Jesus warned, "If they persecuted Me, they'll persecute you." You need to recognize that when you begin to stand on the Word without compromise, it starts to release its power. When you begin to declare, "This is what the Word of G.o.d says and this is what I'm believing for. I don't care if it goes against our tradition or the way people have done things, this is what the Word says,"

G.o.d's Word will start putting pressure on people. Either they'll repent and love you for it, or they'll come out and criticize you because of it.

Once I understood this, it made a huge difference in my life. It totally changed my expectation and enabled me to continue going on with G.o.d. When I began to get criticism, persecution, and affliction, I just recognized that this is what the Word of G.o.d will do. G.o.d's Word will divide and separate people. (Matthew 10:34-36.) "STAY ON TRACK!".

This same friend of mine, Joe, really helped me get started in the ministry. He had a very powerful influence in my life. I remember attending one of his meetings in a hotel where he called me out in front of all the people in attendance. Joe gave me a prophecy that has helped me to this day, saying: "I see you like a runner on a track. You're running around this track, and you're leading the pack. You're running the race, and doing a good job. But the people in the grandstands are yelling at you. They're telling you that you're doing it all wrong. They're saying that you should be doing this and doing that. I see you getting off of the track, running up into the grandstands, and arguing with the spectators. Even if you win the argument, you're going to lose the race. Stay on track. Get back in the race. Forget the grandstands!" grandstands!"

When the Lord spoke that through Joe, it was so descriptive of where I was at that time. Since then, that's been a word that has kept me on track for almost forty years. I'm not sure that I do everything perfectly. I'm still green and growing. I may be better five or ten years from now, should the Lord tarry, but the reason I am still running the race is because of scriptures and words like those Joe spoke to me, where G.o.d has shown me not to let the criticism of other people steal the Word out of my heart.

If I get offended and start to become gun-shy to speak the truth because of what people have to say, the Word of G.o.d will cease performing and producing in my life. I made a decision almost forty years ago that I wasn't going to let that happen. I've been trying to be bold and let the Word of G.o.d rule and dominate me rather than the opinions of man. It's now become a habit and a lifestyle for me. I am this way because of scripture that has taken root and grown in my life. I may not be doing everything perfectly, but I'm moving in the right direction because of my conviction from the Word of G.o.d.

Chapter 15.

My Revelation The parable of a grain of mustard seed is another parable Jesus told them that day.

Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field: Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof.

Matthew 13:31-32 This parable is found in the same chapter and was given in the same context and on the same day that the parable of the sower sowing the seed was given.

I remember one of my very first days as a U.S. soldier over in Vietnam. I was on barracks duty while the rest of the people went through what was called "the CS chamber." It was a gas chamber, and they were teaching us how to put on our masks. They were using the equivalent of tear gas, which doesn't do any lasting damage, but sure hurts and stings at the moment. It's a long story, but I had a very negative experience with that when I was in basic training. Without overstating it, I nearly died.

They asked for a volunteer at breakfast the morning of this scheduled "training." One thing you learn very quickly in the army is never to volunteer for anything.

Nine times out of ten, you've made a mistake if you do so. However, I figured that it didn't matter what I was volunteering for. If they sent me out there to fight Vietcong by myself, it would be better than going through the gas chamber. That's how much I hated it.

So I volunteered. It turned out that all they wanted me to do was sit there and guard the barracks while everybody else went through the gas chamber. It worked out great.

THE ROOT SYSTEM.

While I sat there guarding the barracks, I was reading and I meditated on these scriptures in Matthew 13.I thought about how the kingdom of heaven is like a little grain of mustard seed-one of the smallest seeds - but when it is sown in the earth, it becomes this huge tree under whose shadow the birds of the air may come and lodge.

As I was meditating on this pa.s.sage, I remember thinking, G.o.d, that's what I want my life to be. I want You to live through me so big that it affects millions of people. I want to see people's lives changed. While envisioning this, the Lord spoke to me, saying, "But your root is so small. The very first bird to land on a branch would cause the whole tree to fall over. The first breath of air to blow against it would knock it over."The Lord used this to paint a word picture for me.

I was more concerned about all of this growth above ground, which is the way most people are. They want some visible results- something physical, something tangible. They desire to see lives being changed, people healed, and all kinds of other fruit. However, before all of this growth can occur above ground, the vast majority of growth must take place underground in the root system. It's actually the root system that determines how big the plant or tree above ground will be.

If you neglect the root system, you might have a plant or tree grow up for a brief period of time, but it'll never produce fruit. It won't live because it'll never be able to withstand varying conditions like heat and drought. The root system is what enables the tree to really produce and be able to withstand hardship.

This is what the Lord was speaking to me. I desired all of these great results, but I didn't want to take time to get rooted. He told me, "That's the big problem with most people." That was about 1970.I decided right then and there that I was going to be one of those in whom the Word of G.o.d would take root.

SEED POWER.

Once I made this decision to attend to my root system, I actually quit worrying about the visible results to a large degree. Instead, I focused on taking the Word of G.o.d and keeping it in my heart. I knew that if I kept G.o.d's Word dwelling on the inside of me, instead of just allowing it to come in and out, that it would literally begin to put down roots through every part of my being and the power of the Word would start permeating me. This has been my focus since 1970.

I've taken the Word, meditated on it, gleaned truths from it, and applied my life toward those truths. Every good thing G.o.d has done in my life has come as fruit of His Word. This includes the revelation He's shown me, the call to ministry He's given, the people I've seen raised from the dead, the blind eyes and deaf ears I've seen opened, and all kinds of other miracles, as well as the way G.o.d has abundantly met my needs. All the good in my life has come as the seed of G.o.d's Word has taken root in my heart and produced fruit. Once that seed has taken root, it just produces. What an awesome truth. I don't know about you, but this still gets me excited!

I have some huge boulders on my property. There's one I like to walk out to and sit on sometimes that's over a hundred feet tall (by that I mean that it is more than one hundred feet above the ground). At the very top of this ma.s.sive boulder there's a little crack and a place where the wind has blown some leaves and debris in. Over time, it's made a little bit of soil. Somehow, a seed got up there on top of this hundred-foot-plus boulder, took root, and a tree is now growing out of that crack. Of course, the tree has outgrown that little bit of dirt that's on the top of this boulder, so it is sending roots down further and it's splitting this huge boulder. There are several other boulders on my property that have literally been split in two by a tiny little seed taking root and growing up. The power that's in a seed is amazing!

A tiny little seed from G.o.d's Word can destroy any sickness, any disease, emotional issue, or financial problem if we would just take the Word of G.o.d, keep it in our heart, and let it dominate us. It's that powerful!

MEDITATE, GERMINATE, RELEASE.

But you must protect that seed. You have to let the Word take root in you. You can't go off of somebody else's revelation. You can't just go out there and tell people "Andrew Wommack says....," that's not going to convince anybody. You need to take what I'm saying, meditate on it, and let the Lord bear witness to it in your heart. Once that revelation is yours, then you can go out and say, "G.o.d told me this truth. The Bible says in Mark 16...," and then tell people directly what G.o.d spoke to you. It's not enough to know what I believe the Word of G.o.d says. It has to become a personal revelation to you!

That is profound. Yet it's amazing how many people don't really have the Word of G.o.d rooted on the inside of them.

When the Lord first spoke this to me and it became a revelation, G.o.d convicted me that I was living off of somebody else's revelation. I remember saying to myself, "That will never happen again. In the name of Jesus, it's going to be my revelation. I may have heard somebody else say it, but I'm going to go to G.o.d and meditate on that Word until it germinates and releases its life in me. It's going to be what G.o.d spoke to me!" There are thousands of things I've gleaned from the Word. Perhaps I heard somebody else plant the seed, but it became my revelation as it took root on the inside of me.