Creflo Dollar - Understanding The Essence of Grace
Grace is the abounding provision in the operation, the unrestricted operation of the love of God that works through Jesus Christ for mankind, especially for those who depend on him. I don't think you heard me, 'cause y'all will be... you're freakin' out, "What'd you just say"? Grace is God's provision for man's, watch this, give me the words, Lord, I'm excited, I need to calm down. Grace is God's provision for the spiritual insufficiency that was left by Adam and Eve, so everything that happened because of what they did, grace is the spiritual provision for the spiritual realm. Grace is responsible for your new man's nourishment. Are you understanding this, Ben? I'm, and I know some of y'all kinda "Huh? Say that again". I'm workin' on it.
When we get born again, we got this new man. He gave us a new creation. He's responsible for supplying the nourishment of that new creation so that whatever we are inside, we have access to in our lives. So grace ministers righteousness right here. Righteousness is here, so I can take hold of it here. Grace ministers redemption here. Grace ministers everything that your old man lacked, your new man has, and the grace of God is the nourishment for everything you're gonna need in life, and it is put in the bank, if you will, you know, you have a food bank. You have this bank where God, he deposits everything by grace in you that you'll ever need. You already are healed. You already are delivered. You already are righteous.
So what's the problem? Somebody says if I is, then why come I ain't? No, no, you really is, it's just you gotta understand dimensional exchanges. What he talkin' 'bout? Well, there is a spiritual dimension where the finished works are finished. Now, faith operates (and you'll hear it more) it operates in and because the love of God. My faith rests in the love of God. I know God loves me, and because I know God loves me, I'm healed. I know God loves me, and because I know God loves me, I'm provided for. My faith is not the mechanics of I gotta do these fifty things or it won't work. My faith doesn't require but one thing: I believe God loves me. It'll work. It'll work! It'll work because I know God loves me. It work 'cause I know he loves me. It doesn't work because I know I said it ten times. It works because I know he loves me, and if I'm sayin' it ten, twenty times, it's because I'm convinced on the inside that his love is real and that's coming up outta me, not mechanically, but the very essence of who he is, is movin' in me. Faith in his love.
So how about this dimensional stuff? Man, I gotta keep up with what stuff comin' outta my mouth. Boy, my body was under attack. I stand here today, I think I've been in pain for about what, three months? Ken, I feel so good today. I feel so good today. That's why I wore this flowered shirt my sister bought me that I promised I'd never wear. It was to demonstrate my independence from pain, my independence from the devil, my independence from the Mosaic Law, my independence from everything the devil tried to do, glory to God! I'm free! Hallelujah!
Now, I bought all them books up there, I wanna use 'em. What I realized, I was walkin' one day, and had this pain, man, and my mind drifted off into... Yeah, but why is it not here? I believe you healed me, I'm just, like, where is it? I didn't say that 'cause I know better. But God weighs my heart. He knew I was sayin' it on the inside. You know how we do, right? And I said I need to know this if you could help me with it. There's a dimension where it is all done. I am now responsible for the path for that finished work to come to me. Understanding how much God loves me provides the path for the finished work to move from this dimension into this dimension. Y'all don't understand what I'm sayin'. Y'all don't understand. It looks like it's not done because dimensionally it hasn't made it over. But the things that are unseen are just as real as the things that are seen, for the things that are unseen are eternal.
There it is in that dimension. There's my healing in that dimension. There's my prosperity in that dimension. There's my deliverance in that dimension. Don't ever question: Did God get the job done? And so, oh, I got it. I was like, okay. I see myself sprinting. God loves me. Oh, I know I got it, he loves me. What am I doin'? I'm doin' the exact same thing, it's gonna sound strange, I'm doin' the exact same thing the devil does to put his stuff dimensionally right here in my presence, and uses your equipment to get it done. He uses your equipment to get it, okay, so you believe this and so he's renewin' your mind to his destruction. And then he gettin' it into your mouth. And then you start usin' your imagination, and the next thing you know, the thing you feared the most has come upon you and he used your mind, your mouth, your imagination, to create a path for his dimensional stuff to show up on you.
I recognized that, I said, "Oh no, that ain't happenin'". I'm tellin' the devil that ain't happenin'. I'm from College Park, that ain't happenin'! I'm not gon' let, you not gon' use my equipment to destroy me with my stuff? You gon' use my mouth? And then I thought about it. I'm like, yeah, I did say that three times. Not the fact that I said it three times, but I opened myself up to be used by him to bring into manifestations... Satan comes to kill, steal, destroy, rather than God came to give you life, and give it to you more abundant. We're in a constant state of choosing. Constant state of choosing. I'm gettin' ready to say somethin', you're gettin' ready to choose somethin'. I'm gettin' ready to read somethin', you gettin' ready to choose somethin'. I'm getting ready to think somethin', you gettin' ready choose somethin'.
Oh, I see myself sick, you gettin' ready choose somethin'. That's why you gotta meditate in the Word. Somebody says how long do I need to meditate in the Word? Until you can see yourself doin' what you meditatin' in. Meditating in the Word is an... It is a construction of images. Meditating in the Word, constructing images, constructing blueprints, constructing pictures that once constructed, it's hard to get outta your head 'cause you see yourself with it. Meditate in the Word day and night, that you'll make yourself prosperous. How? The imagination is used more by the devil than it is by God. And in the dimension of that realm, you let that stuff show up on you. Uh-uh. I ain't doin' that. I got to work on that thing, and the whole thing, my motivation has changed. My motivation is Jesus. My motivation is not the mechanics. It's Jesus. It's Jesus.
I remember at one of our grace conventions, Minister Mike Smith, I'd never forget this, this guy got up here and started talkin' about, you know, the Word of God, and asked the question, which Word? I almost came out my black skin. Which Word! I saw it! But my tradition, oh, my tradition had got my head where I settled for a cheaper rather than a deeper. And all he was doin' was rightly divining and puttin', and that's what this is about. People gon' start grabbin' it and getting it and grabbin' it and getting it, because men of grace and men of God are going to teach beyond their notes. They're gonna start teaching out of their heart and out of their relationship and out of their experience with the Holy Spirit. Well, what if we get it wrong? Well, we know in part. Just take it and get... you want mo'? Take it and you go do somethin' wit' it. Maybe my part was to just suggest this to you. And instead of you going and being critical of what I said, take it yourself, see what you can do wit' it since you smart. Come see what you can do with it, and God'll give you some mo'. We do it in part.
Remember when I told you, I think I mentioned this to you. I don't know if I did or not. Mighta mentioned it to you, I don't know who I mentioned it to. I was walkin' the other day, I done got into walkin'. You know, 'cause basically when you, you know, you want a sandwich, you know, you walk, you know, you'll be alright the next day, you know. I ain't walkin' 'cause I wanna see nothin', I see the same thing, you know. I felt the Lord askin' me this question. He says, "What you think one of the biggest problems amongst ministers are today"? I said, "I don't know, God. There's just a lotta stuff I don't know. I don't know".
I said, "Well, I'd have to include myself in 'em, so whatever it is, I'm included too. So what do you think it is"? He says, "Their fear of disagreement with doctrine". He said, "Sometimes I might wanna cause a stir and disagreement so they can get the deeper, but they're so afraid of being misunderstood that they keep something I gave for a purpose, and all I'm tryin' to do is get them to do what they used to do in Bible time. Let's get together and present our thing down there, and let's look at it and see what we can come out with". They did it in the Book of Acts chapter 15, "Do we have to keep all these laws"? He said, "No, we don't wanna burden you with that, but keep on feedin' the poor and keep on walkin' in love, but all that other stuff you ain't gotta do no mo'. You know, you a converted Gentile. You don't have to keep all the Jewish stuff no more. We're in a special time. This ain't like no other time we have ever had. Things are about to change in such dramatic way, and grace people will be gracious people".
So, that probably helped you to understand why I got my flower shirt on. Peace brotha! Love and the Soul Train. But also the freedom and the deliverance from people. So, my love is the generator behind my confession. It's the generator behind my renewing mind. It's the genera... so don't confuse 'em. See, there was somethin' that motivated what you do, and then you took what you do and made it a principle. And Jesus gets knocked out every time. "Well what about Jesus"? "Well, you know, all I know if you do this five times, do a little abracadabra, take a little salt and, you know, put it that way and that way". You getting' real close to Satan just sneakin' in there again, and it won't be long before you will start declaring your independence from God.
I need him. God knows I need him. These last two and a half years, I've never gone through the stuff I went through, and I said, "Lord, what's goin on"? He said, "Do you know that my grace is enough"? I said, oh, I see what's happenin' here now. And I made sure I got the wisdom outta everything that I had gone through. His grace is enough. It's one thing to say that. It's another thing to live that. Everything has been restored because his grace is enough, and hear what I got outta that: That even when I am weak, he's strong. He's strong. He's strong. He was strong during COVID. He was strong doin' the ice. He was strong durin' the shingles. He was strong, and he is strong.
You cannot do this without knowing him. You cannot do this without a personal relationship with him. You gotta leave the cheaper. He's tryin' to take ya deeper. How deep is he? How high is he? How wide is He? You got to know him for yourself. Yeah. I'm like, I get it. It's about me and you, Lord. I got it, Lord. And then in that one time, I said "Lord I...", he told me, he said "You're ready". It was my 40th year in the ministry at that time. He said, "You're ready now". I said, "What? Ready for what"? He said, "You're ready to do the perfect will that I have for your life". And I asked him, I said, "Well, I thought I was ready, and I thought I was doin' the perfect will. Well, why am I ready now"? He said, because of your deliverance from people, no man holds a hook in you to move you from what I want you to do. It's big. Well Lord, I been delivered from people... no I wasn't. 'Cause if I was, it wouldn't bother me when they say stuff.
And then I realize, you know, that envy is a face-to-face encounter with criticism. People aren't critical for no reason at all. People are critical because of the thing that makes them critical, the motivation behind criticism is envy. I see your shoes fitting and mine won't fit. And it's harmful, and it's devastating. And the Lord said, "That is why I want you to pray for your enemies. Don't get upset by 'em. I'm showing you what's wrong with 'em", they might have gone through a level of destruction, of destruction and rejection and all kinds of stuff, and that's motivating their criticism. Don't mind that. I don't know no flawless perfect preachers. I don't know unless the problem is you think they exist. Not on the planet. And I take great joy in that, praise God. 'Cause at least we on the field fightin' the best way we know how to get the job done.
You sittin' over there in the balcony somewhere takin' notes, "Mm-hm, don't get me to lyin' about it", and ain't nothin' gon' change. But I gotta still minister to them. I gotta still pray for them. And so on my morning walks, I have a special time where I pray for my enemies. I pray for every preacher that said somethin' nasty about me. I say, "Lord, I prayed for them, whatever may be goin' on that causes that, Lord, help 'em in some kind of way". So what happens is, it doesn't infect my heart, and I'm releasin' a blessin' over on where they are. That's how we do that. We supposed to be saved, y'all. God's been so good to me. And I'm so grateful, I'm so thankful. I feel so good. I have a sensitivity towards people with pain that I didn't have that before. I'm so sensitive to pain, and yet Jesus says, "I've carried that pain".
God will use his goodness to such a degree that it'll start changin' your mind about things you used to think about him. I say that to say this, and when I say "bag," I mean your money, your prosperity. To all you who are here, your bag has already been prepared for you. God is going to operate. There'll be no more questions about if God's for prosperity. He is working in a place where everybody that left God and left the church, they gon' get a look at you and when they look at you and they ask you what in the world is goin' on, you will say to them, "Oh, this is the Lord's doing". You know not to boast about it. You know not to take no credit about it. You know it was God stirring in the nest. You know he had somethin' to do with this, and the only thing you gon' be left with to do is I got to praise him. I got to worship him. I got to give him the glory. I got to give him the honor. I don't quite know how this happened in the first place, but I know my God is a good God. Hallelujah! Yes he is.