Creflo Dollar - How To Deal With Unbelief - Part 1
Today, we're gonna talk about how to deal with unbelief. How do you deal with unbelief? There's nothing wrong with your faith when you put your faith out there for something to happen. There's nothing wrong with your faith. It's just, you have too much unbelief. You don't need but faith the size of a mustard seed. You just have too much unbelief and it's feeding you every day through your eyes and it's feeding you through your ears and it's feeding you through your experiences and too much unbelief will counteract your faith. And you'll always be in a point where you sit back and you wonder, well, why didn't this work or why didn't that work? And so, if you don't mind, I wanna jump right into this and I want to talk about the three different forms of unbelief.
I want to define that for you right now. The three different forms of unbelief. Number one, the first form of unbelief is ignorance. Ignorance. It's when someone just doesn't know the truth. You just don't know. Now, you can only go so far as an excuse with that. But ignorance, you just don't know. And there's nobody in here that hadn't been in a situation where, I just didn't know. I just didn't know how to be a father. I just didn't know how to be a wife. I just didn't know how to be saved. But ignorance is the first form and it's when someone just doesn't know the truth. When you just don't know the truth.
The second form of unbelief is something called disbelief. And disbelief occurs as a result of wrong teaching. It comes from being taught wrong. Disbelief, I'm having a hard time believing the truth because I am prejudiced to what I've always heard. Number three, the third form of unbelief is something called natural unbelief. Natural unbelief. And that comes mainly from what you see in your experiences, natural inputs that may be contrary to the truth. Natural inputs that may be contrary to the proof. In other words, you're saying, you know, the Word says you're healed, but then I can see that big old thing on my leg. It's unbelief that comes from the viewing of the natural circumstances and situations. So, three forms of unbelief: ignorance, disbelief, and natural unbelief.
Now, let's deal with them one at a time, apply some Scripture to it and add a little bit more to the definition. Let's deal with ignorance. Just don't know. Ignorance, it just means that just don't know, it's not knowing. The Bible says, "My people are destroyed because they just don't know". Ignorance can set you up for destruction. And so, due to a person's lack of knowledge, they have unbelief. Due to, "I just didn't know," that they have unbelief. So, the cure to that is just tell the truth and, if received, the ignorance will be dealt with. That's the truth. How many of you know of some ignorant folks that love staying ignorant? It seems like it's an easy thing to do.
Let me show you something. Go to 1 Timothy chapter 1 and verse 13 in the King James and then look at it in the NLT. 1 Timothy chapter 1 and 13. We look at Paul and how Paul persecuted the church and how Paul had Stephen stoned to death. And you think, why did he do this? Verse 13, he says, "Who was before," referring to Paul. Paul was before a blasphemer. Paul was a blasphemer, he was a persecutor, he was injurious. He said, "But I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief". How many things that you look back and you're like, why did I do that? You were, you probably did it ignorantly in unbelief. Now, look at this in the NLT. He said, "even though I used to blaspheme the name of Christ. In my insolence, I persecuted his people. But God had mercy on me because I did it in ignorance and unbelief".
Now, here's the thing I want you to celebrate. Even when you were ignorant and unbelieving, God had mercy on you. Now, sometimes people want to hold the thing against you, but in your ignorance and unbelief, I mean, as a parent, there were certain things I did ignorantly, but thank God he had mercy on me, which means everything gonna be all right. Amen? Now, let me show you an illustration of how this works. Go to John, let me show how it works. John chapter 12, verse 31 and 32. Look at it in the King James. John 12:31. There's certain things that, you know, when certain things are shared and you just, you believe ignorant. You're in unbelief of some things because you just didn't know. Here's some things we just didn't know.
Now, I'm gonna show you a Scripture you've always heard. "If I be lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men unto me". How many of you heard that before? "Now," verse 31, "Now is the judgment of this world". Now is the judgment of this world, colon, which means judgment is the subject that we're talking about, followed by the list. "Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me," and all my life I'm wondering, something must be wrong with you being lifted up because all men have yet to be drawn unto you. And then I went back and looked at it. The word men is in italicize, which means it did not appear in the original language and that's not what he's talking about. They left something out.
The subject here is not men. The subject here is judgment. And what he said was, "If I be lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men's judgment unto me". All of the judgment that we have received from all the things that we have done ignorantly. God said, "If I lift my Son up, he is gonna draw every judgment that was rightfully yours. Instead of the judgment coming on you, the judgment is gonna come on him". Do you see what happens when you don't know?
And so, I'm thinking, all men are coming. He says, "No," and, see, they translate, if you don't understand the gospel message in this new and living way, yeah, you'll say, "I'll draw all men unto me," and it sounds good. "And if I be lifted up from the earth, I'll draw all men unto the", oh, yes, amen. And we just don't know how to read, sometimes. You go back to your grammar, all that teaching you had on grammar and diagramming sentences. "If I be lifted up from the earth, I'll draw all of man's judgment unto me". Judgment is the subject. So, we've got to open ourselves up. We can deal with this first area of unbelief. We can deal with ignorance how? By continuing to expose ourselves to the truth. And the more you expose yourself to the truth, the less and less ignorant you're gonna live and be because of your exposure to the truth. Amen?
Now, let's deal with this one. It's gonna take a little time with this one because disbelief, people, they get violent in this area. This is more difficult to overcome than ignorance. As a person who has who has been taught wrong, they have the prejudices against the truth. You have to receive the truth of God's Word above man's traditional thinking in order to overcome this unbelief that came through wrong teaching. But the majority of the church today, it's like, "That's what I've always heard. That's the way I've always believed. And if it ain't broke, I ain't no need to fix it". Ah. Let me show you something. Matthew chapter 5. Let me walk an example through with you and I'll show you an area where this has been around forever.
Matthew chapter 5, verse 17 and 18. Alright, now. Now, check this out. Disbelief as a result of... you believe the way you believe because you were taught wrong. That's been my journey. I've been on a journey of discovering those areas where I was taught wrong so I can clear up the disbelief. Notice in verse 17, this is a big one. I may even go viral on this one, but this is a big one. "Think not that I am come to destroy the law," Jesus is speaking, "or the prophets". "Think not that I have come to destroy the law or the prophets: I am not come to destroy," the law, "but I've come to fulfill," the law. "For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law. Nothing will pass from the law, till all be fulfilled".
Now, the first thing is, Jesus said, "I didn't come to destroy the law". Jesus said, "I come to fulfill it". He didn't say you are to fulfill it. He said he came to fulfill it because if you could fulfill it, he would not have to come to fulfill it. Right? So, he said, "I came to do something that no man could do". The law is perfect. Men, because of the failure of Adam and Eve, we are not perfect. Imperfection can't fulfill perfection, only perfection can fulfill perfection and Jesus is the only one I know is perfect, that can come and fill something that's perfect. You can't. He said, "For verily I say unto to you, Till heaven and earth pass away, not one jot, not one tittle, not one little bit of the law gonna pass away, until I prove that I can fulfill it all".
Now, once I fulfill it all, it can pass away. But there's been this thing about the law, like you're trying to hold on to it like you can keep it. Oh, don't pay no attention to Pastor Dollar. And then you go somewhere else, "Well, Jesus didn't come to destroy the law. He didn't come to destroy the law. Hallelujah". And what you're insinuating is he didn't come to destroy it, he can't fulfill it, so I'm gonna fulfill it. You can't. The law will beat you down. So, what did he say? Look at Romans chapter 10. I'm gonna finally go through this whole thing. Romans chapter 10 in the King James first and then the NLT. Romans 10 and 4. I'm gonna add all the balances to this.
Romans 10 and 4. Here's what he said, "For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believe". So, now he's getting ready to make a distinction. He is saying, for people who believe and gotten born again, your belief in Jesus is an end to the law in your life. Look at this in the New Living Translation. In the New Living Translation. "For Christ has already accomplished the purpose for which the law was given". So, he says, "When it is fulfilled, it'll pass away". It's not gonna pass away until it is fulfilled. Well, here he's saying it's accomplished. "Christ has already accomplished the purpose for which the law was given. As a result, all who believe in him are made right with God". For you to say, "No, I'mma still live by the law," it's for you to say, "I have yet to believe in Jesus," because those who now believe in Jesus he says, "That's an end to the law because you believe in Jesus".
All right. Hold on, hold on. Real quick, Luke 16:16 and Matthew 11:13. And then I'm gonna show you something that's gonna bring this... no, no, no, no, no. But help me, Lord, help me, help me. Let's go to 1 Timothy first. 1 Timothy. Sometime in my anal thinking I wanna show you every little bit and sometimes it ain't necessary. Sometimes you need to just go straight to the point. 1 Timothy chapter 1 and verse 8 through 11. All right, we're finna milk this, man. I'm gonna put my... we're gonna milk this thing, put it in a bottle and put it in the refrigerator.
1 Timothy chapter 1. Alright, now, watch this. Now, for those who are born again and believe in Jesus, you have a new way of living. Your living is gonna be by the Holy Ghost. Watch this word. Verse 8. "But we know that the law is good," it's not only good, it's perfect. He said, "Now, if a man use it lawfully, it is good". If a man use it lawfully, it is good. How do you use the law lawfully? By using it the way that it was intended to be used. The law is good if used as it was originally intended. And what was it originally intended to do? The law was to make us aware of sin and the law was to push us towards Jesus. The law was given to make everybody aware of the sinfulness of their sin because without the law, you don't know what's right or wrong. That was the problem before the law. They're doing everything, killing each other and everything. And God's like, we gotta do something, they just doing stuff. There's no standard of right and wrong.
So, he said, "I'm gonna give them something perfect and flawless and the law is gonna show them the sinfulness of their sin and then the law is gonna show them their need for a savior". But it was not legal and lawful to use the law to drive us to legalism. The law was never intended to drive us to legalism. What is legalism? It's focusing on God's law more than the relationship with God. Legalism: focusing on God's law and not the relationship with God. In other words, you're focusing on that rule and you have no relationship with God. The law, or legalism, is keeping the eternal law without submitting your heart to God. Your heart is not even in it. And so, he says, "But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully".
If the law is being used to show the sinfulness of your sin and if the law is being used to drive you to Christ, then he says that's using it lawfully. Next verse, "Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man". I'm telling, if you use it lawfully, but those of you who are righteous because you made Jesus the Lord of your life, the law is not for you. No matter how you look for it, a guy who believes in Jesus and the guy who's got born again has to divorce itself from the law and allow the new way of living, allow the Holy Ghost to be the administrator of morality versus rules and regulations being the administrator of morality. "Knowing this, that the law is not made for the righteous man, but the law," watch this, "was made for the lawless, for the disobedient, for the ungodly, for the sinner, for the unholy".
Oh, my goodness. "For the murderers of fathers, murderers of mothers, for manslayers, for whoremongers, for them that defile themselves, for manpleasers, for liars and perjured persons. If there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine; according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust". Look at what he very clearly said. This is who the law is for. It's for people who don't believe in Jesus. People who are sinning, people who's screwing around, people who are doing stuff for... he said the law's for folks who's in the sinfulness of their sin and the law will even show them, you ain't no good. The law show you, the law can be, you'll go do it and you'll brag about having a good time, but there's something on the inside of you, the law will keep amplifying, if it's used for the purpose that it was given, it's gonna be used to show you your sin.
When certain sins take place in the life of people, some people have to get hooked on some kind of drugs to numb the emotional attack of doing what they do. And so, there's a combination of the sin and the drugs, something to numb it. The Bible calls it pharmakeia. It's a demon that comes through a drug addiction that tries to numb that thing that the law is trying to bring you to. The law is trying to say this ain't right. The law is trying to say if you keep doing this, it's gonna kill you. The law gonna say, you know, you're just mean. The law say you just, you're holding it on, forget it, you need to let it go. The law say, you know, you're murdering folks that... it stays with a person because it shows them sin if you use it lawfully.
But if you try to use the law to have a relationship with Jesus, that is using it unlawfully because the law was not sent to do that. The law was sent to show you your sins and show you a need for a savior. But once you get in relationship with the Savior, you don't need the law no more because you're born again. And besides all of that, Matthew chapter 7 and verse 13. Matthew 7 and 12. Matthew 7 and 12, let's read it in the NLT. You're gonna either live by the law of Moses that is administered by rule keeping. In other words, he gives you 603 rules to try to get the benefit of morality from the Ten Commandments. He says, "All right, if you're gonna do this, if you're gonna thou shall not kill, you gotta do these 20 things to see if you can achieve that". It failed miserably.