Creflo Dollar - Understanding Faith and The Gospel - Part 2
If you have your Bibles, go with me to the book of Romans chapter 1 and verse 16. We started last week dealing with the issue of faith and the gospel. I want you to listen to me very closely tonight because there are going to be some amazing things that I think will challenge you and to help you to grow in some things. Romans chapter 1, verse 16, we'll continue this issue, "Faith and the Gospel". Verse 16 says this, "For I am not ashamed," the apostle Paul is speaking here. He says, "I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ".
Now, might want to make a note of that, "the gospel of Christ, for it". Now that "it" is referring to the gospel of Christ. "For it," the gospel of Christ, "is the power of God," and it's the power of God that'll bring you to salvation. And that word "salvation" is a big word, because it's not just being born again, but salvation here comes from the Greek word "sozo," which means deliverance, it means preservation, and it means healing, it means soundness, it means all of the finished works of Jesus Christ. So, what he says is, "I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for this gospel of Christ is the power of God that will bring us unto all the finished works of Jesus Christ, and it is to everyone that believeth, to the Jew first and also to the Greek".
Now look at how powerful this is. "I'm not ashamed of the gospel". Now, this word "gospel," we know literally means good news. But last week we talked about how important it is to be precise. What good news? The gospel, the good news. What good news? Well, here he identifies here, he says the good news of Christ, the gospel or the good news of Christ. Now, here's what it says. He says that this good news about Christ is, he says, it is the power of God. Now, I mean, I love reading this, but, I mean, I need to know precisely what all this means, so I can operate in it and function in it. This is the power of God. He says, "This power of God, the gospel, will bring you to deliverance. It'll bring unto you soundness. It'll bring unto you healing. It'll bring unto you all the finished works of Jesus".
So, everything that Jesus has finished for us has been made available for us. He says it's this gospel that is the power for all these things to come to pass. The word "power" is the ability to get the job done, power or the ability to get the job done. So now I'm gonna take everything I just said, and I'm gonna read it based on what I just explained to you. Paul said, "I'm not ashamed of the almost too good to be true news of Christ. For this gospel of Christ is the ability of God to get the job done, where your healing is concerned, where your deliverance is concerned, where your prosperity is concerned, where all of his finished works are concerned, and it is going to be made available to everyone that believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek", amen?
Now, let's now go allow scripture to give us precision on what this gospel is. Galatians 1, verse 6 through 9. Galatians 1 and verse 6 through 9. And because of time's sake, I won't be able to take you through the Bible on all of these, but I'll give you enough evidence. Galatians 1, verse 6, he says, "I marvel that you are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ". Underline that, "the grace of Christ," the grace of Christ. And then he says, "I'm surprised that you've been removed from the grace of Christ unto another gospel". Now, when he said "another gospel," then obviously he refers to the grace of Christ as a gospel.
Now look at verse 7, he says, "There's not another gospel". There ain't but one gospel. He says there's not another gospel. But it's interesting how he referred to the grace of Christ as gospel. He says, "which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert," watch this, "the gospel of Christ". Now, I submit to you in these two verses of scripture that the gospel of Christ is the grace of Christ. The gospel of Christ is the grace of Christ. Now, why am I being so picky here? Because I want to conclude that this gospel of Christ is a gospel of grace, and this gospel of Christ, this gospel of grace is the power of God. This gospel of grace is the power of God, and this gospel of grace, this power of God is what's gonna cause healing to come your way, prosperity to come your way, soundness to come your way, this power of God. The gospel of grace is the power of God that has made available to all of us salvation, deliverance, healing, and all of the other good stuff, amen?
All right now, I've got one more thing to do before I preach tonight. I gave you a definition last week, and I want to give it to you again, and I want to take my time so you can write it down and put it to memory, all right? So, here is a very detailed definition of the word "grace". It is unmerited, abounding provision, glory to God. Isn't that what we just saw here? He says that this gospel of grace will bring you unto, look at all those provisions, salvation, deliverance, prosperity. And so, this grace is unmerited, which means you don't do anything to earn it. You don't deserve it, it's unmerited, abounding provision of the unrestrained operation of the love of God. Unrestrained operation of the love of God that, watch this, it's unrestrained operation of the infinite love of God.
Ooh, just think on it just for a moment. I know we ain't got much time tonight, but think about that, unmerited, abounding provision of the unrestrained operation of the infinite love of God that you get through Jesus Christ only, to everyone that believes, especially to those on depend on him. God dog, that's grace, that's grace. I want to submit to you that the gospel of Christ is the gospel of grace, and the gospel of grace is the power that brings you to everything you will need on the planet while you're alive. Grace is for the spirit realm to provide for you everything that was taken at the garden of Eden, and the grace of God was given as provision for the new creation you have now that you're born again.
I know, I know it's a lot, but I'm just dropping it, just a little bit here, a little bit there. I'll be dropping it for the next several weeks until you get it. It'll blow up in you after a while, but I can explain that. God's providence where the flowers are concerned is that he will provide for the flower. Everything he creates, he's responsible for providing for. If he created it, he gotta provide for it. If he created it, he gotta provide for it. Did he create you? He's gotta provide for you.
So, he created the flowers, he's gotta provide some rain, he's gotta provide some sunshine. He created the animals. He's gotta provide some food and all that stuff. He created you and I. He's gotta provide clothing, shelter and all that other stuff. But he also is responsible for the new creation. And the new creation doesn't benefit from all of those physical provisions, so he had to bring the grace of God in that would provide for you, and it had to be abounding provision, everything you need for the spirit man, and it is operating in the spirit realm. Notice, all the stuff that go on with us, 95% of it is not physical. Everything the devil can try to jack you up on is a spiritual thing that God has, through his grace, provided so you can have what you need to overcome anything he throws your way. The grace of God is the power of God unto salvation, healing, deliverance, so forth and so on.
Now, let's go to this, 2 Corinthians chapter 12, verse 7 and 10. It is the power of God. Now, so here is the Apostle Paul going through stuff like all of us go through stuff. I mean, I had a glorious day today. I spent all day in some high tech treatment that was just blowing my mind 'cause I just love all that kind of stuff. I was just like, this is gonna help me to be here as long as I want to. All right, watch this, 2 Corinthians chapter 12, 7 through 10, now watch carefully now. Try to absorb some of what I just said. And Paul says, "And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of revelations," he said, Paul said, "Because of all the revelation I'm getting," he said, "there was given to me a thorn in the flesh".
Now, no big deal about the thorn of the flesh. What was the thorn in the flesh? He's gonna tell you. "Was given unto me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me". All right, so what was the thorn in the flesh? The devil. Okay? And the devil was sent to trouble him. He said, "lest I should be exalted above measure". Next verse, "For this thing," he says, "I besought the Lord thrice," so three times, "that it might depart from me". So, the devil is there. He's troubling me, and I went to God and said, "God, help me, God, help me, God, help me," all right? Go back to verse 8 for a moment. He says, "For this thing I besought the Lord thrice that it might depart from me". All right, go ahead, thanks. "And he said unto me".
Now, you heard Paul. "Help me, help me, help me". You know how we do. "Oh, Lord Jesus, help me, help me, help me". And God didn't say, "Okay, I'm gonna help you". Here's what God said, he said, "My grace is sufficient. All the hell that devil is causing you, I've already provided for you something that can take care of him and anything he ever does to you. My grace is sufficient for thee, for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory," Paul says. He said, "I'd rather glory in my infirmities or weaknesses, that the power of Christ". What's the power of Christ, what's the power of Christ? That grace, that grace is the power of Christ. That grace is the power of Christ. He said, "that the power of Christ may," what? "May rest upon me".
Now he says, "Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities. I take pleasure in reproaches. I take pleasure in necessities. I take pleasure in persecutions. I take pleasure in distresses for Christ's sake, for when I'm weak," he said, "that's when I'm strong". Ladies and gentlemen, please understand something, we must mature. Maturity is something that's got to happen. But God said, "Here's what I'm gonna do. I know you've gotta mature, and I know there's a lot of stuff that's gonna feel uncomfortable while you're maturing. So, here's what I'm gonna do. My providence is gonna be to provide for you everything you're gonna need in this maturing process, so I give you my grace, I give you the gospel of grace, so you can get the power of grace, and with the power of grace, it'll be good enough to deal with whatever is coming your way".
And what he said to Paul is this. He said the Lord was saying to him, "You've got trouble, draw from my grace". And I'm saying to you, tonight, draw from his grace. You're emotionally wrecked up. You're financially wrecked up, relationship trouble. You've got all kinds of stuff happening. Here's what he said, "Quit bothering me. Quit hollering, quit falling on your face and begging me. Didn't I tell you? If I created you, I have made provisions for you, and my grace is your provision for anything that ever happened in your life. Grow up, mature. My grace is sufficient". "Yeah, but Pastor, you don't understand what I'm going through". The grace is sufficient. "Well, you know, I got hurt last night". The grace is sufficient. "Well, I was betrayed". The grace is sufficient. "Well, I made a bad decision". Grace is sufficient. "Well, I sinned". Grace is sufficient. "Well, I cussed somebody, the pope out". Grace is sufficient.
He says draw from grace. I want to just kick this thing. Just draw from grace. Draw from grace. "Pastor Dollar, could you pray for me"? No! Draw from grace. Draw from grace. "Can you lay hands on my child"? I can, but you can, too. Draw from grace. 'Cause when I lay hands on them, I've gotta draw from grace. I ain't got nothing in these hands that's gonna do you some good, but I can draw from grace. I feel kind of Baptist here tonight, bruh. Draw from grace. You see why this gospel gotta be preached? It's the power. It's the power. And we go around here like, "Grace, oh, well, that's just love". I showed you the love part. I showed you how it's unrestrained operation of God's love. But what is that unrestrained operation of God's love? It is that abounding provision that can't be stopped 'cause his love can't be stopped, and it especially works for those who depend on it. God, I depend... lift your hands up and say, "God, I depend on you". Hallelujah.
Now, my question was, "All right, Lord, you've gotta show me something. Now, I know you said Paul pulled from the grace, but did it work"? I mean, he was being messed with, the devil. Paul said, he said, "Let me show you something". Look at Acts chapter 28. Let me show you Paul's state after he pulled from the grace. Acts 28, verse 30 and 31. Acts 28:30-31. I need to preach this again 'cause I feel like it's something else, it's something else in here, something else in here. You know, I love when people talk about, "Well, Pastor, you just... I heard that before". Be quiet. It's pregnant with revelation. Whatever before teaching you heard is pregnant with revelation. The Word of God is pregnant with revelation, glory be to God. You gonna go and read the table of contents one day, and you're gonna get revelation from the table of contents. You'll flip around in the book of maps, you'll get revelation from the book of map.
Man, look at that thing, look like a shoe. That's Italy, isn't it? Look at verse 30 and 31. "And Paul dwelt two whole years in his own hired house, and received all that came in unto him". Look like Paul resting now. Now watch the next verse. What was he doing? "Preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ, with all confidence, and no man forbidding him". Look like it worked. Looked like he pulled from the grace, and the grace got Paul chilling out. You know, normally, you see Paul going from pillar to post, moving everywhere, but Paul hired a house. He said, "I've got a place to call home now".
Now, here's the issue. It took us about two sessions to get to this issue. I know grace is the power. I know it's provided everything we'll ever need, and I know I have abounding provision, now, how I get it? How do I get it so I can get it to come here? How do I get healing to come here? How do I get deliverance to come here? How do I get promotion to come here? How do I get the thing I need to come here? It's already there, but I need it to come here. It's there, grace has already made it available. It exists already. It's available. It exists, it is available already through Jesus Christ. I need it to come here. I don't know about you, but I don't want to be no Christian going around talking about the things that are available, and I can't get none of it. Talking about stuff that's available, and I can't, I can't walk in none of it. I don't know how to get it.
I don't know how to get it from this spiritual realm. That's where grace has been given for you. I can't get it from the spiritual world. How do I get it from that spiritual world, that unseen world? See, your salvation is unseen, your deliverance is unseen, your prosperity is unseen. All of it's unseen. It's there, it's real. I need to now get it from there to here. I need to get it from there to here, where I can see it, touch it, and say, "Here it is". Real simple. It's gonna require faith. I don't know what kind of goofy stuff we've been taught over the years, but faith is how I access what grace has made available. So now, all of a sudden, I've got this huge revelation of faith penetrating into the spirit world where grace has provided everything and can pull it back into this physical world where I can now wear it. Glory to God.
Faith. Ain't no other way. There's no other way. You try anything else, you can act religious, you can do all that kind of stuff, but it won't be here. You could talk religious. You can make up little stuff. You can, you know, act like you're really deep, you and God that tight and all that stuff, but it still is not there because it's gonna require faith to go get it. I apologize, seem like I'm hollering too much, ain't it? But that's just excitement. All right, look at Hebrews 11:1, Romans 10:17. Y'all better hurry up and get it. My time, I ain't got but eight minutes left. That's crazy, I ain't been up here but two, come on.
All right, verse 1 says, "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, and it is the evidence of things not seen". All right, I want to go from this point on. Faith is... this is so cool to me. It is substance of things hoped for. So, faith is substance, but what is hope? Hope is the goal setter. Faith is the substance. Hope is the goal setter. Faith is the substance. Hope is the goal setter. Now, Romans 10:17, go there for a moment. He says, "So then faith," the substance, "cometh by hearing, and hearing the Word of God". All right, so if faith is the substance, but it comes by the Word, then let the Word equal faith. Now, the Word of God is the substance of things hoped for, and the Word of God is the evidence of things not seen.