Creflo Dollar - The Stance of a Christian vs. The State of a Christian - Part 3
We got to praise God like we gettin' ready to go to heaven this week. We got to praise him for his goodness. We got to praise him for his greatness. We got to praise him for his grace. We got to praise him because we're down. We got to praise him 'cause we up. We got to praise him because of what he's already done, what he's doing right now, and what he's getting ready to do. He is worthy to be praised. We gotta praise him. Woo, Jesus. Glory to God. Look at Romans 5 and 2 in the NLT. Now, here's what we got. Romans 5 and 2 in the NLT.
Now watch this. "Because of our faith," so everything that God has done before the foundations of the world only requires you to believe it. Only requires you to have faith in it. To obtain the inheritance and to obtain all he has done, it requires your faith. That's it. Sometimes we act like Jesus isn't enough. He's enough. It's not Jesus plus prayin' for two hours. Jesus plus fastin' for three days. Quit countin' all that. Just stop countin'. Stop countin' the minutes you pray. Stop countin' the days you...stop! Just, just, just learn how to have a relationship with God. Put that alarm clock up and just pray. And if you end up prayin' just ten minutes, he'll receive it all. Stop!
Well could you not pray for one hour? And everybody lookin' at the clock. One hour, we almost there. Stop it! Everything you countin', stop! God wants a genuine, authentic relationship with you. Somethin' that comes out of your heart. Lord, I am praying for you because I wanna pray with you. I wanna have devotion with you. And I ain't puttin' no time clock on my devotion. 'Cause after I get up, it continues. We've learned how to do church but we don't know how to do life. God's gonna help you on your journey as you live. So live! "I used to go to the party, and stand around. But I got myself together and really get down. No mo' standing..."
Now that's for everybody who love condemnin' people to hell, I guess you just condemned me for hell for singin' that song on the pulpit. Stop it! Well you just teach people go out to sin. It's not in the equation! Because if you have this relationship with God and he's on the inside of you, he is changing you. He is working on you. You are on a journey with him. The things you used to wanna do, you ain't gon' want it no mo' because, I got ahead of myself. Let's, so "Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into a place of," I love this, "undeserved privilege where we now stand".
We stand in a place of undeserved privilege. Privileges that has come to you because of you're in Christ, and none of the privileges you deserve. I don't know what it is. We're still tryin' to locate what we bring to the table. And nothin' that comes from God is based on what you bring to the table. You brought nothing to the table to be saved. You brought nothin' to the table to be healed and delivered. It was always a rare part of, you just gotta start receiving who you are and receiving the undeserved privilege you have as a believer who's now in Christ who's not a part of the family of God. "Because of our faith, Christ has brought us to a place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God's glory".
Ephesians 2 and 7 now explains this very critical point, why did you do this? Why did you do all of this before the foundations of the world? Why did you adopt me. Why were you so determined to make me a part of your family? Verse 7, "So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of his incredible wealth of his grace and kindness towards us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus". You know what he says here? He says I did all of that so that in the ages to come, you all are going to be examples that I point to, to show the riches of my grace and my mercy. And I don't know who he gon' be talkin' to in the future, but he's gonna use us examples.
Think about it. You're gonna be, God, you're gonna be the objects of God's grace and mercy for eternity and he's gonna look at you and he's gonna say, you don't think I could do it? Look at them. I did it for every last one of 'em. None of 'em deserved to be here, but through my mercy and through my grace. Wow. Think of that. Think of Jesus pointing to you and sayin' there's an example of God's amazing grace. There's an example. There's another example. So be careful about how you send people to hell forever. You gon' bump into some of these people. Yeah, 'cause you're, you're sendin' them there based on their behavior, but you don't know what they talk with God about how they did what they need to do. You need to be careful about that. I'ma say somethin' right now. It could send you back home.
We don't go to hell, people don't go to hell because of their behavior. People go to hell because they reject Jesus. Mm-hm. Because they won't accept the blood sacrifice of Jesus. So, if anybody in here goes to hell because of your behavior, everybody in here going to hell because of their behavior. God's not a respecter of persons. So that's why you oughta be praisin' him. All right, lemme bring this to a close. That's the believer's stance. Well, at least somebody got it! At least somebody praisin' him! You better praise God with that little baby! Na na na na na! No, but there's somebody, "Won't they keep that baby quiet". It wasn't botherin' me! Yet.
So, let's quickly look at, let's quickly look at the believer's state. The believer's state is the condition of his earthly life. It is the expression, or the lack of expression, of his spiritual life in and through his earthly body. Your state. So the state of is out of harmony with the standing. The purpose of the discipline of grace is then to harmonize the state with the standing, and the standing is perfect and the standing is unchangeable. So how is that gon' happen? Well, you remember when God says that he accepts the responsibility to carry out his plan? Look at these three scriptures with me right quite in the NLT, Philippians 1 and 6 in the NLT. Philippians 1 and 6. "And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you," he, God, "will continue his work," in you.
Stop right there. He started the work in you. He will continue the work in you, and he will finish the work. This blew my mind. I thought, well now that I'm saved, I need to do the work. God never starts the work in you and leaves you by yourself to finish it. Listen to this, God never starts anything in you and leaves it up to you to finish it. "And I'm certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns". Now, get this in your spirit. God started the work in me. I have to depend on him to continue the work in me.
So there're things that happen in this thing called life. There's things that come into your life. Things that are thrown into you. Things you meet. Trouble. Pressure. Unfortunate stuff. I don't know why, but God will never waste a trial. He might not have started it, but if it show up, he ain't gon' waste it. And somehow Christian people think, well I'm Christian. Why is this happening to me? Why do I go through this? 'Cause scripture says they that live godly shall suffer what? They that live godly shall suffer what? Please understand this. God is not going to take away the trouble, but he is the comforter, so what he will do is get in the trouble with you to make sure you can come out and a, provide a way of escape so you can bear it. You keep tryin' to get God to take it away. He says no, if it showed up, we not gon' waste it, so let me get in the trouble with you.
He got in the lion's den with Daniel. He got in the fiery furnace with the Hebrew boys. He didn't remove the fire and he didn't take away the lions. He got in there and became your comforter. Well, what's happening? There's a work goin' on. Somebody said, no, but that's the devil. Well, he would have loved if you would've just did what he told you to do ten years ago, but you didn't. He woulda loved if you'da paid attention to the billboard that he had specially put up for you, but you didn't. He tryin' to teach you, but there's somethin' that's called life that's been employed in the faculty of this change. Ain't nobody in here done had a life without no tribulation. And you keep tryin' to excuse yourself from the stuff that happens. It's called life, and nobody's exempt. And you still tryin' to get exempt from it.
Watch this: Well maybe I ain't prayin' enough. There we go. Or maybe God don't really love me. Maybe I, maybe he's still mad at what I did yesterday. You know what God said about us? He said, nothing you do surprises me. I know you. And the scripture says, I know you ain't nothin' but dust. I know you. Okay? Er'body else exalts you and think you all this, but I know where you came from. You ain't nothin' but dust. And so you got all upset and all the things that go on, and God, instead of just takin' and say all right, this is life, I have a comforter, I don't understand why all this stuff happenin', but I still depend on you, God. And make sure you don't leave the wisdom in the fire. Don't leave the wisdom in the, in the, in the, in the, in the lion's den.
"Well, pastor, I, I, I, I don't agree with that." Okay, whatever. But that's still not gonna exempt you from stuff happenin'. Stuff gon' happen to you like it happen to er'body else. And I don't understand why. I don't understand why people we love leave when we don't want 'em to leave. I don't understand why sickness and disease gettin' on your body. I don't understand. I don't understand why God took me through two and a half years of, of just, just suffering in my physical body. I don't understand that. But what I'm'on do, sit up there and complain about it? "Well God just don't love me". And there were times when I thought, "Did I do somethin"? Somebody wanna fill me in on what's goin' on? And I hear from God. He said no, everything good. You're good.
"Well yeah, I'm good, but I could be better if you'd just go on move this." Can you move it like now? But what I do know is that my thinking's changed as a result of all that. I'm very sensitive to people who are in pain. I don't see things like my religion was tryin' to get me to see. God, I trust you to continue the work and to finish the work, and I will not get mad, get, get, get frustrated or in fear because I'm thinkin' Jesus is comin' today, but it look like I got a little ways to go. Honey, if Jesus shows up today and the work's not finished in you, that's him. I'm not gon' stop at the gate like what y'all gon' do? I'm goin' on in. I'm like, you said you were gon' be finished. You said, you said you were gon' be finished. That's not, that's not me, that's you. You accepted the responsibility to continue the work and finish the work, and now Jesus has come back and I see him in the cloud, I'm doin' like this.
Somebody said yeah, but, but, but. No, but nothin'. He said that he will finally finish the work on the day when Jesus returns. I'm not sittin' up there nervous, wonderin' if I'm'on be caught up. I am in position. Hey, hallelujah. Hey, I'm in, hey, hey, I'm in position. And you gotta learn how to trust God for what he said he will do with you. Philippians 2:13 in the NLT. Oo, glory. "For God is," there it go again, "workin' in you". Say it out loud, God is workin' in me. Say it again, God is workin' in me. Now you gotta believe that God is workin' in you. What is he doing? What does this work look like? He's giving you the desire. So God is working on your desires. There's some stuff that you desire that seem to get you in trouble. So he's working on that desire. And he's gonna take away the desire that gets you in trouble, and he's gonna give you a new desire. But not only is he working on your desire, he's gonna give you the desire and the power or the ability to follow that desire. To do what pleases God.