Creflo Dollar - Grace Teaches Us to Deny Worldly Lust - Part 2
"Well, Brother Dollar, I need to understand. I was told that entertainment is worldly". And so let's deal with that for a moment. Does entertainment, like movies and games, count as worldly? See, I have to say that because church folks take the cheaper, and then use it to beat everybody up. "Do you go to the movies? That's worldly". I'm still gonna go to the movies. So it's amazing to me, even though people try to condemn you with that, we don't even know what's worldly. What defines something as being worldly? You know, I was listening to some to older song, oldies, oldie goodie songs, and this song came on, "It's cheaper to keep her, yeah". And then Taffi said, "You know the words"? I said, "No, but Ken knows all the words to these songs". And Taffi turned to me, she said, "Listen to the song. 'It's cheaper to keep me.'" But it's worldly.
I remember before they had drums in the church, drums were worldly. When the fashion began to change amongst women, only thing that was: you couldn't wear pants. They were worldly. You couldn't show no parts of your shoulders 'cause you would cause the deacons to lust. Sounds like a personal problem to me. So I never could, because it felt like I was being put more and more in bondage. At one time, going to sports was worldly. You couldn't go to sports. You couldn't go to movies. And it wasn't, you know, check the rating. It was just the movie, it's worldly. You playing those worldly games. Technology was worldly. And, you know, some things I just, but I just gotta be worldly. I mean, I couldn't explain it at the time.
You know, eating pork ribs was worldly at one time. And after Deacon Bob Whatley was cooking them pork ribs and I'm like, shoot. I guess I'm gonna put some worldly barbecue sauce on these worldly ribs. But that's the kind of stuff that church people did, and it made people feel condemned because we didn't know what worldly was and half the stuff we would tell people not to do, we were doing ourselves. So I started looking at this, entertainment, you know, is it is it worldly? Does entertainment, like the movies and games, is it worldly? I remember when I did my first movie, I thought, "Oh, my God, the whole body of Christ gonna think I'm worldly". And I was playing the part of a preacher, but you're worldly because you're playing a part against, you know, with somebody who's worldly and you're worldly. I'm thinking, for real?
I remember I was in this little thing where one of the rappers made something about Atlanta, and they wanted to put everything in Atlanta in the video. And they say, "We wanted to include you in the dome". And I said, "What do you want me to do"? He said, "Just standing there," and I just stood there, that's all. Y'all remember that? I just stood there. And the letters I got, "You're just worldly. You ought to be ashamed". I'm thinking, I didn't even say nothing. "Yeah, but you was surrounded by everybody else that was saying something". I'm like, gad-dog. So I'm like, what is worldly? Does entertainment, like movies and games, all right, I'm not trying to embarrass anybody, but how many of you got like little video games you play at home?
Come on, grown men, raise your hand. Some of y'all, "I'm sorry". I didn't say you were worldly. I'm trying to help you out, bruh. Does entertainment, like movies and games, count as worldly? Not necessarily. Listen to me carefully. Could entertainment be used to teach harmful values? Yes. Do you have to believe everything you see in entertainment? No. Movies are not worldly. You just gotta make sure that you recognize it's a movie. Let me give you an illustration like this, as long as you own a boat in the ocean, you good. I ain't got no problem 'cause I'm in the boat. The problem is, is when the water get in the boat. Now we got an issue. But as long as I'm riding on the water and the water doesn't get in my boat, I'm cool.
Same thing with the world. I live in this world, but I'm not gonna let the world get in my boat. In fact, you're about to find out that worldliness is not based on the external things you can see. It's based on that unseen craving you have that not too many people know you got that craving, except you, until it comes out. But don't blame it on the video game. When I go to a movie, I know Superman ain't real, so I'm not gonna get on a building and put my pillowcase around my neck and jump off the building to see if I can fly. That's water in your boat. Turn to your neighbor and say, "Keep the water out your boat". Are you with me so far? To love the world is to ignore God. To love the world... now, I'm gonna attack this from several different perspectives now. To love the world is to ignore God.
So much worldliness is blamed on externals and yet sometimes externals are no indicator at all. Someone may look worldly and be wealthy, yet have a passion and heart for Christ. And you'll be so quick to judge somebody 'cause they look worldly. They got braids in their hair, and they wear a hat, you know, kind of like my wife, how she dresses. "That's a worldly first lady". Well, that ain't none of your business. Either buy you some weave or be quiet, but don't get spiritual deep and try to throw shade talking about, "That's worldly".
See, we misjudge people. You're looking at the externals, and you're taking the religious definition of worldliness and you're judging those people because they look a certain way. We even judge people who are wealthy or have a nice house and nice car. "They're worldly". And all you're doing is saying, "I got a problem of envy because they got something I don't have and so, I'm gonna call them worldly". I'm not talking about people outside of church. I'm talking about how church people have viewed this to throw shade at folks. There's nothing wrong with you prospering. The Bible says, "I wish above all things that you may prosper and be in health, even as your soul prospers". You got a problem with people prospering, you absolutely don't want to go to heaven. Go on, go to hell where there is poverty because everything all burned up and messed up. Go on, go to hell. You don't want to go to heaven.
We gotta look at ourselves on that because there are people who may look worldly from our perspective based on our warped definition of worldliness, and they have such a passionate heart for God. And they're wealthy, but the amount of money they give to the kingdom of God so people can have it, you don't know that. But we gotta stop doing that on the basis of something being worldly. The externals are not the issues because worldliness stems from a heart that desires anything but the Lord first in all things. Worldliness is when you value other things above God. Worldliness comes from a heart that desires anything but the Lord first in all things. God's just not in the priority. That's worldliness.
Remember, the Bible says worldliness is a craving for physical pleasure. It's a craving for everything we see. And then once we can get the physical pleasure and everything we see, then we start having pride in our achievements and pride in our possessions. Worldliness is that craving and that desire that's on the inside of you that we don't always get to see. You might come with the long dress on and the church lady outfits on, and you may be just as worldly, but we can't see it because you're dressing up religiously but we can't see that on the inside, there's a craving that you've been hiding pretty good. Worldliness is turning your back on God. What you long for in your heart is what makes you a lover of the world. What is it that you're longing and craving for in your heart? "Well, what do you mean"? Well, you crave pleasure. You fantasize over sin. You lust over possessions and become envious of the unsaved.
I know a lot of Christians that are envious of unsaved people. How is it that you can ever, with this grace of God, be envious of somebody? And you can tell with their questionings. "You know, why is it that it seems like God is blessing the unsaved more than he blessing the saved"? Because you don't understand your blessing, obviously. Money, listen, money can buy you a house, but it can't make it a home, huh? Money can buy you medicine, but only God can heal you. Money can buy you a friend for the night, but it can't buy you a long-lasting, godly relationship for life. Where's that craving? In other words, worldliness is wrong focus in that which can never satisfy.
Isn't that something? We are craving that which cannot satisfy. You're not craving God. You're not craving his Word. You're craving all the things that can't satisfy. That's worldliness. Isn't that something? Craving something that can't satisfy? If you even think about the cravings you have, it can't satisfy. It won't satisfy. The physical pleasure, the things you can see. "Oh, my God, I crave this, I crave that," because you think somehow it brings satisfaction. It can't satisfy. Isn't that amazing how Satan will cause you to crave the stuff that can never satisfy? And I'm trying to get you to want God more than anything because he satisfies. He satisfies. It's not wrong to, you know, want to have nice things or want to have a nice job, but you do that depending on God. You don't turn your back on God to try to achieve those things. You receive trusting God. Let's step a little farther here. I'm trying to create a situation here before I start talking here to get you to look at this.
So worldly lust, here is how I see it after putting all those perspectives together. Worldly lust is having an appetite or placing greater value on your carnality, your senses. Carnal literally means of the senses, and I put a greater value on what I see and what I hear and what I feel and what I touch. I put a greater value on that. I desire and I put my focus on what I see. I put my focus and value on what I hear. I put my focus on value and what I feel, what I touch, what I taste, more than those unseen realities.
Well, there's nothing wrong with your five senses. God gave them to you so that you can get around in this world, but he never gave you those five senses to allow those senses to govern your whole life. I can touch something so I know when it's dangerous... No, no, no, no, no, no. I don't place a higher value on carnal things greater than those spiritual things, and that's what's happening sometimes in church 'cause we don't know how to make the distinction here. I see something and now I crave it. No, no, no, no. When you don't have spiritual things in view, then Satan will give you an unhealthy value for the things you see and touch and hear and the things you can pick up with your senses, and that's all because spiritual things are not in view.
Let me take you on this quick journey for these Scriptures so you can see what I'm talking about here. You desire and focus on carnal things more than unseen things. You remember Titus chapter 2:13 when it talks about looking for Jesus. We got to live from the perspective of eternity. There's some Christians that are not doing that and so what happens is, the world seems to increase the value around you. Okay, watch this. Let me show you three Scriptures here. John 17:14 through 16. John 17:14 through 16. Oh, glory to God. Are y'all getting this? Look at this, "I have given them thy word", John 17, verse 14 through 16, "I have given them my word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world". I got a boat that I'm riding in this world, but I'm not in the world.
Next verse. "I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but thou shouldest keep them from the evil". You're in the world, but there's evil. There's water trying to get in your boat. Come on. "They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world". We are not of this system of operation. We are not of this system of thinking. We are not of this way of thinking. We don't do that. Some of the stuff they're talking about on political shows and stuff on TV, that's not our conversation. "Well, bless God, it ought to be". Whatever, dude. I'm not gonna fuss with you. I'm not gonna fuss with you. I'm not doing that 'cause I got something more powerful than both of y'all: prayer. I can pray to God, and he'll lift up who needs to be lift up and put down who needs to be put down. But we don't take that in consideration no more because we're not looking at things from the perspective of eternity.
We've allowed the world's way of doing things to get in the church because the norms and values have increased and become greater than our trust and belief in the Lord Jesus Christ. And we look at the church as a weak, weak, weak situation. And I tell you now, it's about to rise. It's about to rise in miracles and blessings and power and anointings. God's taken me through my own training course that if I'm gonna teach this gospel of grace, there's certain things I have to understand. And I've been in training for 40 years over this, and I feel like I'm ready. Every time I say, I feel like I'm ready, there's another course to take, but one of them won't be being in bondage to people. That's not gonna be it.
All right now, look at this, 2 Corinthians chapter 4:18, 2 Corinthians 4:18 now, here's what he says to do. "While we look not at the things which are seen," or things that we can pick up in our sensory mechanisms, not just what you see with your eye, but your sensory mechanisms, the carnal, "but we look at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal or temporary; but the things which are not seen are eternal". I want to look at the things that are not seen. Well, what are those? John 6:63, look at that, John 6:63. I want to start putting my focus where it matters. I'm not letting Satan steal my focus. He says, "The Spirit that quickeneth," or makes alive, "the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they're life".
I want to look at those things. I want to look at what the Word says. I want to place my affection on the things that are above and not the things that are on the earth. I want to look at what the word "promises" means. Things are getting crazy in the earth and the more and more crazy stuff I see, I immediately put my focus in what the Word says. What does the Word say? I know there are people all over the world, "Well, I don't believe in God". But I don't think you understand. I've been all over the world. I've traveled eight million miles, and there's a whole lot of people who believe God. Don't let what's happening in America fool you. There are Christians rising up every day. There are people that are getting born again every hour. There's such a restoration that's going on in the body of Christ, you're gonna look up one day, and there's gonna be another party in the midst of this. There's gonna be the party of the Christians, the party of Christian people who know their God, who trust the Word, who focus in on spiritual things, things that are not seen.
That's what I'm looking at. I'm looking at those things that are not seen, which is the Word. I'm looking at spiritual things. With his stripes, I'm healed. My God supplies all my needs according to his riches in glory. I'm redeemed. I'm righteous. The anointing of God's working with me to remove every burden and destroy every yoke. And so whenever something is not working in the world, I'm in the boat, but I don't want the water to get in my boat because I start sinking, and now I'm a part of the world. How much water have you allowed in your boat? Kind of do like those cartoons. Get you one of them little offering buckets and just dump that water out as quick as you can.
Somebody says, "Well, it ain't working". That's 'cause you got a leak in your boat. But we gonna recognize that we're in the boat, and we're not gonna let no water get in the boat. We are of the world. We're in the world... excuse me, but we're not of the world. Learn how to enjoy life. Learn how to enjoy life in the boat. Taffi and I, we're in the middle of the Atlantic when gotta find a big reef where the stingrays were and so you could get out of the boat, and you're standing on top of the water. I'm like, "Lord, we in the middle of the ocean. Where the edge of this thing at, you know"? And so, Taffi said, "Come on, get off the boat". I said, "No, I'm gonna take the pictures today". Anyway, I love y'all. Did you get anything out of what we said this morning?