Creflo Dollar - How to Live in the Supernatural - Part 4
The number one enemy to a supernatural manifestation is something called hardness of heart. Now, what is that? Because you're assuming something that I know you're assuming it, but it's not right. It's not just rebellion to God's Word. So, we have to let the Scripture explain to us what hardness of heart is. Go with me to the book of Mark chapter 6, verse 45 through 52. Hardness of heart, we've gotta figure out what... hardness of heart is not just rebellion towards God. So, that's why it's important to have the Scripture. 'Cause somebody'll say hardness of heart, and then come up with any kind of general definition, and then you walk away, still don't know what it is, and then manifestations of supernatural should, you know, still not existing.
I'm serious about this. I want everybody in our church that hears these teachings to begin to function above the natural realm. I mean, and I'm not talking about taking no long time. 'Cause you don't have to qualify for this. All you've gotta do is be saved and believe, and stuff will start happening. How many of y'all ready for some stuff to start happening? You don't sound like it. I mean some Jesus stuff ought to start happening. Listen here, listen, you ought to be able to speak to a fig tree and in 24 hours come back and see that thing responded to what you said. Why is that not happening? And so, since we could never figure it out, we just kind of just went with the flow. And that has always bothered me. We're supposed to be reigning on a higher level than everybody else, and we're not.
Well, that changes today, ladies and gentlemen. Y'all ready? Are y'all ready? I mean supernatural wisdom coming on you, supernatural inventions and supernatural ideas. I mean to tell you, all the things that the world is doing, you're going to be doing it to such a point that they're gonna look at you and want to be like you. "I want to know your God. I want to know your Word. I want to know your supernatural". But we've not given people a reason to want to be like us. Why? 'Cause we like everybody else. Y'all ready for this? I sat there and I thought, dear God, if I'd have known this 30 years ago, oh, if I'd have known this... now, Taffi and I have seen it operate, and so we have enough experience to say, "That's right". We didn't know what to call it.
Now, follow me very carefully. "And straightway he constrained his disciples to get into the ship, and to go to the other side before Bethsaida, while he sent away the people". Get on the boat. He sent away the people. Verse 46, "And when he had sent them away, he," Jesus, "departed into a mountain, so he went to pray". So, they're on the water, and he's praying on the land. "And when even was come, the ship was in the midst of the sea, and he alone on the land. And he saw them toiling and rowing". I mean, they're struggling. I mean, there's a wind that came. It was probably pretty close to a pretty bad storm or close to a hurricane, and they're doing all, they're struggling, they're toiling, "for the wind was contrary unto them. And about the fourth watch of the night he cometh unto them".
Watch how he came. Mmph, mmph. "He cometh unto them, walking upon the sea". Somebody say, "Supernatural". See, he was able to tell them to go get in the boat, say, "I'll meet you later". And I'm sure they thought, "How you gonna meet us later when we got the boat"? I'm living on a higher, a higher plane. And so, he walking on the water. Now, this is interesting. And he said, "And he would've passed by them". I think it's almost that he thought he should've passed by them. Some reason, you'll find out that he was expecting for them to tap into the supernatural just like he did. "But when they saw him walking upon the sea, they supposed it had been a spirit". Another translation says, phantom or a ghost. So, they saw Jesus walking on, and they thought, "It's a ghost".
Now, I don't know if the disciples were black or white, but I know black people don't do no investigation to see if that's really a ghost. They were talking about, they were negotiating. Do we need to swim? 'Cause that's a ghost. My white brothers and sisters, they like to go and investigate. Black people, like, if I'm up here right now, if I ran right quick, everybody, where they running? What are they running for? "But when they saw him walking upon the sea, they supposed it had been a phantom, a spirit, and they cried out. For they all saw him, and they were troubled". I don't know what they cried out. "And immediately he talked with them, and he said unto them".
Now, isn't it strange? He sees all this fear. They're in a storm. They think they see a ghost, and Jesus comes and talks to them immediately, and watch what he says. "Be of good cheer". He's like, "What are y'all doing? Why are you not of good cheer? It is I; be not afraid". So, they were entertaining fear. We're living in our own world right now that's entertaining fear. "And he went up unto them into the ship". So, he went and got in the ship, and that's so cool. Jesus walking on the water, and then he gets in the ship. So cool.
Somebody said, "Well, that's Jesus walking on the water". I want to remind you, I want to remind you that Jesus wasn't the only one in Scripture that walked on the water. Paul, which represented the church... I mean, excuse me. Peter walked on water, as well. Do you remember when Peter said, "Lord, if it be thou, if it be thou", and Jesus was like, "Well, what am I supposed to say? It be thou not me"? "If it be thou, bid me to come on the water". And watch this. And Peter stepped out of the boat, and on that on that one word, "come," he stepped on the supernatural and did something that natural man wasn't supposed to be able to do. No, no, no, no, you've got a issue with that because he did what y'all saying can't nobody but Jesus do. And the only reason Jesus came in a body is to show you the capacity of what you can do in this body. That's the only reason. He came in a body to show you the capacity, the potential, the potential of the supernatural walking in a body. And Peter said he came.
But see, notice Peter wasn't paying no attention to the natural realm no more. He had his eyes set on Jesus, and he started walking on the water. And then I guess it must've got loud or something, and then he got his eyes off Jesus and started paying attention to the natural, and he began to sink. But Jesus was right there to pick him up. Now watch this part. And the Bible says, "And they both walked on the water". Lord have mercy. I'm telling you, if you'll give God an opportunity, he'll show you the capacity of what you can do in this body with the supernatural. And he doesn't expect for you to fall, but when you fall he'll be right there to pick you up so you can continue to move in the supernatural.
All right, let's go back to this. "And he went up unto them unto the ship, and then the wind ceased, and they were so amazed in themselves beyond measure, and they wondered". Next verse. Now, here's the key. Wondered, they wondered, they wondered. I think I can safely assume that they were wondering, "How is it that he's doing this"? "And they considered not the miracle of the loaves, for their heart was hardened". How come they were not operating in the supernatural like this? You know what Jesus said? They were not thinking about the miracle that they'd already seen. They were relating more to the natural, what they could see, and had not even remembered or neither were they relating to the supernatural of what they just saw. They just saw the supernatural come in, and feed over 5000 people.
And Jesus did that several times, 5, 7, and they didn't consider it. They were considering the natural, but they were not considering the supernatural. And Jesus says when you consider the natural more than you consider the supernatural, he calls that a hardened heart. Let's look at some definitions of a heart that's been hardened. A hardness of heart in its simplest sense is relating more easily to the natural realm than to the supernatural realm. When you relate more easily to the natural realm, than you do the supernatural realm, what it says is your heart has been hardened against the supernatural realm because you pay more attention to the natural realm. You're more pliable to believe what you can see, and you're more pliable to, it's easier for you to believe what you see and in this natural world.
He says, but the more time you give considering the natural world, the less time or no time at all you give to the supernatural world, and your heart has become hardened. You relate more easily to the natural realm than the supernatural realm. We're more moved by what we see than anything else. We're more moved by what we see than anything else, and that's the issue. We keep treating this relationship with God as a part-time issue. Come to church, get your little church in, do church, and then go home, and completely ignore it. And you spend more time, you pay more attention, you're moved more by what you see than anything else. Nothing else moves you like what you see. Nothing else moves you like what you see. That's why the government can tell you anything, and you believe everything they say. Nothing moves you like what you see. Nothing moves you like what you see.
You get a big old bump or lump somewhere, and you come to church, and I say you're healed in the name of Jesus, it's not gonna move you like that big lump or hump. Nothing moves you like what you see. And you know what all of those years have done? Hardened you to the supernatural. There's a reason why you don't see supernatural things. Because you become conditioned to only consider what you see, what you hear, and what you feel. And so, there's no other way. We've done all we can do in the natural. And the only time you can consider the supernatural is with weak faith, saying, "Well, there's always God," and give this little weak, chumpy looking, "Y'all pray for us". You don't even believe in it.
Why should I waste my time praying for anything to happen when you spend more time with the natural. You'll believe more the natural than my prayers. Why? We're doing a symbolic prayer? 'Cause you don't believe in the supernatural. I got a call from the Make-A-Wish Foundation one day. This little girl needed a heart transfer, and her last wish was to meet me. And I went up, and I'm thinking, what's a make a wish thing? And they said, well, you know, they're expecting the person to die, and this is their last wish before they die. I said, well, I ain't participating in that. I ain't gonna participate. If I'm gonna participate, it ain't gonna be to participate in somebody dying, go up there and do a little symbolic, "Hey, how you doing? We love you. We appreciate you. You know, hope you die in peace. You finally got your last wish". I ain't doing that.
So, I figure if I'm gonna do it, I'm gonna do it my way. So, she had some, Ken, didn't you go with me that day? Got some relatives in the room, and they was all, mama and dad and everything. And I walked in and I said, "Hey, here"! I said, "Y'all ready for a miracle today? Jesus said you can be healed. Tell me what you want". In other words, pick your victory. Tell me what you want. I'm all loud. I'm like, and they're like, "Oh". I said, "What need to happen here"? I said, "I didn't come here to give you no last wish so you can die". She said, "Well, her heart". I think it was enlarged, and she needed a new heart. And I said, "Well, pick it. You can get one. Jesus got parts all in heaven. You can get one, another one, a new one, or you can get this one repaired. What you want"? And she looked, the girl said, "It don't matter".
I laid hands on her, and I said, "God, in the name of Jesus, I thank you that her heart operates". And then she said, "I want a new one". Give her a new heart. Put her on top of the list. Get somebody else's heart ready for her to go. And I walked out, and I said, "Now, I believe I have what you say. Do you believe it"? They said, "Mm-hm". I said, "No, do you believe it"? They said, "Yes, we believe it". I said, "So, when it happens, you bring her to church, and you sit on the second or third row, and y'all let me know you're here. 'Cause my God is a supernatural God". Watch this. I don't know how long it was, but that little girl came here. I think they were sitting somewhere on this second or third row...
I'm telling you God can do anything. I'm telling you God can give you something that the world say you can't have. I'm telling you God can bring the supernatural to pass. He'll have you walking on water! Hallelujah! He'll having you do what the natural said you can't do. My God. But if you start hanging around these natural Christians so much, you will forget about the God of the supernatural. I started hanging around these natural preachers, and I recognized it was robbing me of thinking and considering the supernatural, and I'm back now considering the natural more than the supernatural because it just made sense. I went back and looked at some old footage of Taffi and I ministering in the '80s, '88, '89, early '90s.
And I mean to tell you, I was all praying in the supernatural. Go look at it. I hardly go somewhere without prophesying to somebody. I prophesied to them, slap them, knock them up, get them back up again. I'd walk up to folks, read their mail. I'd cast demons out of folks. And I'm thinking, I said, "Lord, what happened"? He said, "You're not considering the super like you used to". I said, "Oh, we gonna fix that". My God is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that you can ask or think. I feel all right here this morning, y'all. He has done too much for us to consider and to be moved only by what we see more than anything else. We should be moved more by what God says. And we're not. We see it as just a, you know, a religious jargon. It's just a part of our religion. We say these things. We quote the Scriptures. And think about it.
Why do we have the Scriptures just to quote them? I mean, I could quote Maya Angelou's poetry. The Scriptures got to have something of distinction that makes it stand above poetry. This is not a literary work. This is a book of power. This is a book of the supernatural. This is a book of healing. And I'm not gonna go before God when I get to heaven and ask some stupid question. "Well, Lord, how come that didn't work"? "Boy, I already told you your heart was hardened to what I was making available to you". And how is it a Christian is working hard trying to be like the world? What you have is so much more superior than what the world has. You should never want nothing they've got. But all you doing, I mean, most Christians in here, your heroes are not even Christian people. Your heroes are some demon-possessed famous people that don't know God and don't know his Word, and you have to make a lot of excuses to make them seem like they all right. I ain't doing that.
I know something's coming, and I know Jesus is getting ready to come, and I am not going to be caught in my last days on this planet having more confidence in the natural when the whole time the supernatural is available. I don't care what's wrong with you. There's supernatural wisdom that'll show you what to do, when to do, how to do it. You sit around here broke, busted, and disgusted, and all of the ideas and insight God trying to get it in the earth. Isn't it sad that he can't use a Christian because they're so carnal that he gotta have a unsaved person to have a dream just to get it in. 'Cause you so deep in, dumb deep, trying to be dumb deep about something that don't even matter, that you ain't even applying to your own life. But you think that Christianity is about you open your mouth up and exposing your intelligence about the Word and how much of the Word you know, and you quoting it.
And ya-da-da-da-da-da. That ain't what it's about. Honey, it's about showing. It's show and tell. Can you demonstrate that you know this supernatural? No, because you have settled for being a parrot Christian. All you got is a echo. You settled when you can rise above every issue, every, Taffi said this morning, every gift the devil brings your way so you can tap into the supernatural and prove, prove God, prove his Word. You ain't gonna do it. You think you've gotta be in church. You think you've gotta be in a platform. And I tell you the greatest miracles happen on a street when ain't nobody there but you and that person. The greatest miracles happen when you ain't got no audience to clap. The greatest miracle happens where there is no altar. But it's just somebody that says, "I believe God more than this natural situation".