Creflo Dollar - The Stance of the Believer - Part 1
We've been talking about and asking the question: When will I be what God says I am? When will I be what God says I am? Everybody and their mama can tell that something's getting ready to happen. The intensity of the weather, the continued craziness of the times, and it's not that certain things are happening, but they're happening with a lot of frequency and intensity. You hear people say, "Once in a generation storm," or seeing things that in some cases, are just unbelievable. But it's the intensity of a thing that begins to identify that something is about to be born.
And with that intensity, it becomes of necessity for us to, to understand who we are and to understand the relationship that we have with the Father. And that this church thing is no longer some plaything, but it is now demanding that each of us have a personal relationship with God away from the building. And that we know him, we know him when nobody's there in the car, we know him when nobody's around. We talk to him without having to been being motivated by what everybody else does. We step away from comparisons and we find the peace and ease in the presence of God, in our daily relationship with him. And we may not know all of the doctoral truths but we know him on a personal level where we speak to him and he speaks to us.
And so it is then of necessity that we we resolve certain conflicts in the Bible that we read, that we begin to identify certain things we see in the church as fables and and things that just kind of showed up out of somebody's religious belief and everybody did it and they caught on. And then we've been doing it for a long time and then somebody made it law. God, when will I become what you say I am? In Ephesians chapter 2 and verse 8, we begin here this morning he says, "God saved you by his grace when you believed". He saved you by His grace so you didn't bring anything to the table to be saved. He saved you cause he wanted to save you, he gifted you salvation. It would not be a gift if you can somehow come up with a reason why you deserved it or why it happened. It happened because God wanted it to happen and he says it's available for anybody who believes.
He says, "And you can't take credit for this. It is a gift from God". And there's so many things that are gifts from God that somehow religion motivates us to begin to search to see how we can take credit for it. And something miraculous begins to happen when you realize that all the goodness of God is not something you take credit for. It's just like when are we just gonna give God the glory that's due to him? You can't take credit for this, he says, "It is a gift from God". Verse 9, "Salvation is not a reward for the good things we've done".
That's another thing religion's done. Religion has you thinking that somehow, anything that comes from God is just a reward, you did something to deserve it. And I said to you before that God's power is not based on our performance, good or bad. God's power is not based on how well I'm doing it or not doing it, God's power is not based on that. Think about it, since when did God have to depend on the creation to govern the Creator? Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. And religion and church playing is all about you doing something and then coming back and boasting about it in front of other people so they can pat ya on the back and tell you how awesome of an anointed person you are. Stop it. That's clown activity. We put the clowns out.
All right, so here he says it's a gift. Here, he says, we didn't bring anything to the table; here he says it's not a reward for something good that we he did. He said, God just did it, it's a gift. But now if you go to Philippians we see the contradiction here that has to be resolved. Philippians chapter 2, verses 12, he says, "Dear friends, you always followed my instructions when I was with you, and now that I am away, it is even more important". He says, "Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear". Work hard? Look at this in the King James version, same scripture. He says, "Wherefore my brethren, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling".
Well, wait a minute, I just read, we just read together that salvation's a gift, but over here, he says, we got to work for it, you got to work it out. That's a contradiction, and there are many of these contradictions in the New Testament. And we just, over the years just kind of, you know, just bypass them but what happened is, some somebody's taking them and using them to manipulate you. That's why you gotta resolve the contradiction. When you've made your mind up, it's a gift from God, I receive it, I am that and then they say, "Yeah, but the Bible also say work out your salvation". Well, hold on now, so what is this about? One verse speaks of a thing as being fully accomplished, while another refers to it as in the process of completion. He does the same thing with sanctification, that you have been sanctified, and then he turns around and he uses another scripture that says that God will sanctify, so there's an uncompleted process versus something that's already completed.
And so we've got to understand that this contradiction will leave, when you understand that one refers to the believer's standing in Christ, that's your stance in Christ. I am saved because of what Jesus has done, that's my stance. I am the righteousness of God because of what Jesus has done, that's my stance, that's my position before God. Versus it referring to believer's life on the earth, which is called his walk or his state, his walk or his state. His earthly life should be wholly set apart for God's use, but it doesn't appear right now. He should live perfectly before God, but it doesn't appear right now. So your stance is, "I am the righteousness of God".
Your state is, that hadn't fully manifested. Your stance is, it's totally complete, I am righteous in Christ, he sees me as righteous, I am the righteousness of God, nothing need to be done. That is my stance in Christ, that's how he sees me, finished. But my walking it out in my life, my state? I don't see all of that, that's in the stance. The state and the stance, right now, are not on the same level. If you follow me, say amen. All right, look up Philippians chapter 1 and 6 in the NLT. So now what is this thing? I am righteous, all right? But I'm walking it out in my life. So my stance is here, my state or my walk is here and God's got to bring my my state or my walk up to the level of my stance. Yeah, I am righteous right now, no doubt about it, but while I'm on the earth, I need to see will that be finished one day? Will that be something that is completed one day?
All right, now, so here's the deal, most church people will think, well, the stance is here, but my walk is here so I gotta work hard to bring it up here. That ain't how that work and that's been the problem. Look at what he says here, he says. "I am certain that God, who began the good work within you". So who started the good work in you? All right, you know when and when you got saved by grace, right, he started the work in you. He started the work in you. He did, you didn't, he did. All right, he started the work within you, he said, here's the promise, "He will continue his work until it is finished or until it is finally finished on the day when Jesus Christ returns".
So he says two things here, number one, he will finish the work and number two, he tells us when it's going to be finished, before the day of Jesus, when the day of Jesus Christ returns. If you didn't make but a little progress, but see, here's the deal, you're so busy thinking about what you're doing to make progress, that you're in God's way and and you're and you're hindering God's work. He needs you to believe and he needs you to let him do the work on the inside of you. He started the work without you, he's going to finish the work. And somebody says, well, wait a minute, well, what do I do? Believe. Get out of his way and let him work in you. He knows how to work in you. He knows how to get you where you need to be.
I had a call yesterday from the West Coast and the call was, you know, I was in a club and I saw a man and he looked like a demon, and he said to me, "I own your soul". And he said, "I started moving and everywhere I went, that man popped up. And I ran out the club, I went to another one and that man was still there". The call was, I need to make sure I'm saved, could you lead me to Christ? God knows how to get the work done. Are you listening to me? Look at this scripture real quick too, real quick and I'll move on to our second, Philippians 2:13 in the NLT. God knows how to get the work done. He knows how to get the work done. He's working in you right now. It may be a circumstance or situation, but God's working in you.
So what is the work that he's doing? What's the work he's doing? He says, "For God is working in you," What is he doing? "Giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him". So, listen only God can do this. God's working in you and he's going to work on your desires. I don't know where your desires are, but if those desires are not motivating you to please God, God says, "I'll do the work. I'll do the work. I'm gonna change your want to and give you some new want to's". You gotta believe that God can do that. And that's why I just, I don't want you ever coming to this church and the only thing you get is me judging you, because God's working, God, God's not finished working in me. He ain't finished working in you.
When Jesus come, he promised to be finished, he says, "I'm gonna finish on that day". But until then, God knows how to play this master chess game. He knows how to change your desire. And that's why you need to quit pushing so hard with people, just trust God. God got ya, God will do it. You know, sometimes we do things out of fear. You know, we fuss at our kids out of fear. "You need to stop doing that, God don't like ugly". Then you start throwing condemnation and stuff at it. "You don't do that like, you'll be all right". You just agree with God, "You'll be alright".
What you're doing is saying, I trust you're gonna be all right 'cause I know who working in you. I know who working in you. And what is God doing? Changing your desire. How many of you can recall, you know, just having desires, maybe it might be selfish desires and God's got to do a work there? God's got to do a work to change, you're just so selfish. Somebody can come tell you their story and try to get some help from you and you'll somehow turn it back where it deals with you. And God's gotta change that and he will, he will. You believe he will. I know it sounds like a cliche, "God's working on it. You gonna be all right, God's gotcha". I know it sounds like a cliche, but now looking at these scriptures, I'm like this is the truth. God is working in you. Say out loud, "God's working in me right now".
I question, what is he doing? Look at the scripture. He's working in you right now. What is he doing? He's working on what? Your desires. You're not going to change unless your desires change, because whatever you're doing is something you desire to do, so there's no junk about, "Well, I made a mistake". No, you do what you want to do. You know, you cuss, "Well, I slipped". No, you wanted to cuss. no slip, you can't slip up what you ain't got in it or you enjoyed that cussing.
In fact, felt good, it was like, "Oh, I need to cuss more often, praise the Lord". I mean, my wife and I were talking, we were raising our girls and we were like, you know, Taffi says, "I don't know what they're getting at". I said, "Me neither". She said, "We just are", she said, "You remember how our mom and dad used to cuss us out"? I said, "Yeah, my mom used to have a poetic cussing. My mom used to, my mom was, my Mama could cuss so good that she cussed my dad out one time, my daddy went out the door and he came back and started laughing, he said god-dog Emma you can cuss". Tammi said, "Maybe we just need to cuss 'em out real good until they think something wrong with us. Just pull it out". I said, "Yeah, that'll work," she said, "But babe, I don't think I can cuss good".
I said, "Well, I can do it for both of us if you want me to. I can cuss you out so good you, I'll make you think I'm speaking a new language". Well, here's the good news, God can work on that. So instead of you sitting up here, listening to me right now telling about, "I can't believe he's saying that". See, that's that thing that need to be changed in you, that religious thing you got where you want to ignore what's really real and try to act like stuff like this don't happen. You live in a fool's paradise if you think everybody in this church is cuss-less. I'm taking about still, with the Holy Ghost.
That's why the Holy Ghost there, he's working on you, showing you how to use your words a better way, showing you how to control your temper, showing you how to, how not to reach for the lowest expression of language, and showing you how to articulate yourself, where it can be meaningful and effective. And when you find yourself doing that, that was God that did that, it wasn't you cause you enjoyed it. You were like, "Lord, take away my sin, but leave the cuss". He's doing it, he's working on your desire, he's working on your want-to. And he's then not only is he working on that, but while he's at it, he's imparting power or ability, that's what power is. Power is the ability to get the job done.
So God's gonna give you not only a new desire, but he's going to give you the ability, watch this, to do what pleases him. I'm depending on God to help me do what pleases him, so when I bump into the situation I'm thinking about, all right God, thank you that I'm gonna do what pleases you, thank you God, I'm gonna respond in the way that that pleases you. I I'm not ashamed of what I used to do, because I'm really admiring the work that God has done. I'm not afraid to talk about what I used to do because look at what God has done. Some of y'all walk around like y'all came out perfect. Y'all walk around like you came out on the table, "Thus saith the Lord Almighty". No, no, no, God has done some work in you and even right now today, you may not be where you want to be right now, but you need to thank God that you are not what you used to be, and it is, it is God who gets the credit for that. Are you listening to me?
The believer's standing then, is that position in which God has placed him, as God sees him because he's accepted Jesus as Savior. So because I've accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and personal Savior, I now have a position that God has placed me in. I got saved and God placed me in a position, a position of righteousness. I'm there cause he placed me there, a position of redemption. He placed me there. I got my wisdom now, he placed me there. All I needed to do is get saved and God start placing me in places I could never get to on my own, amen? It is God's acceptance of me in Christ, and as a member of the household of God, he accepted me. You were all accepted, praise God, into the household of faith, and as members of the household of faith.
So the believer's state, my living, my state, is the condition of this earthly life. A believer's state, the condition of this earthly life. It is the expression, or the lack of expression of that person's spiritual life in and through his earthly body, your state, your expression, your lack of expression, it's the reality of what it really is. You are the righteousness of God, but you still acting unrighteous in some areas. It is the expression or the lack of expression in this earthly body, even though he took you and placed you and made you right standing, made you redeemed. You're already you're already in heaven right now. Your stance assures you heaven, even when your state don't look like you ain't nowhere near.
And that's why it's ridiculous for you to try to judge somebody the way they are. It just it really bugs me how people can figure out how to judge somebody when they got some issues. Everybody's, everybody got some issues still. I don't care how long you been saved, I don't how many miracles God used at your hands, I don't care what he did, you're still in a state that's not balanced with your stance. The state is out of harmony with your standing, your life, when I mean state, your life expression is out of harmony with your stance that God put you in the day you got saved. It was amazing to me when I recognized, I am saved and the Bible says you are now the righteousness of God and I'm like, whoa.
And then when I would do something that didn't line up with the stance, I would just get condemned because, you know, I knew my my life was out of balance with my stance but what I didn't know was God's commitment to bring that into balance. It was like you balancing your checkbook. God's committed to bringing it into balance, glory to God. You sitting here right now, minding your own business, and God is bringing you into balance. It's out of harmony with the standing. So the purpose of the discipline of grace, the purpose of this Gospel that I've been preaching for I don't know how many years, is to harmonize your life, your state with the standing which, you're standing is perfect, which you're standing is unchangeable.
So he's literally, by us walking in the grace of God and receiving his provision by grace, his love by grace, depending on him by grace, trusting him by grace, all of that is going to assist in balancing our life with our stance. So a believer's standing before God, the standing I am the righteousness of God, the standing I am perfect already, the standing I am already holy, it blew my mind, I thought it was heresy when somebody taught that. I thought what? How you gonna say I'm already holy when I know I'm holy. And it's in the Bible, "You are holy," and then he turns around, "Be ye holy". And I'm like, well, what, well, right here it says be holy; over here it says you are holy. See the stance is unalterable, you can't change it. Man does not, in this situation, when you look at the stance, it is God's declaration of how he sees you and it is where he has has delivered you. You are the righteousness of God. Now, we don't bring anything or make any contributions to that stance.