Creflo Dollar - How To Maintain Your Righteous Stance - Part 3
This is the trick of the enemy this year. The shame of your past, the guilt of your past, and the condemnation of your past will compete with your belief in your identity as the righteousness of God and will try to convince you not so. "Look at what you've done. You can't say you the righteousness of God after all that. Don't let Creflo and Taffi and them send y'all to hell". This is the enemy, gonna be whispering in your ear that you can't believe that. How do you think, God says, see, and here's what people will do. To try to prove the grace message wrong, they will take, they have to take a scripture out of its context and then fly it around, and you gotta be smarter than that. You have got to be people who read the Bible in context so that when they take the context out, so, you see the word context.
If you take the text out of the context, you're left with what? The con. Don't do that. I was in jail preaching, not when I was in jail, but when I was in jail preaching. I was preaching when I was in jail, too, but when I actually went to jail to preach. And that really got some of them, they like... That's how I can preach what I'm preaching. One of the guys in prison came up to me. I was talking about how to not let your emotions take authority over your life. He came up to me, he said, he comes to me like, "Mm, preacher. If I'd have known all that, I wouldn't be here now". You know what I did? I said, "Man, I apologize. I apologize. We all got to do better at getting the news to you".
We gotta keep preaching, we gotta stop preaching for validation. Seriously, you think I'm preaching a sermon today so you can rate it? You can rate it as stinking. "Stinking sermon and I ain't never come back here no more". That between you and the Lord. This is the year where we gotta get this right. You are the righteousness of God. Say it, "I am". Say it again. Is it by your doing? Well, how are you made righteous? Did you become righteous or were you made righteous? Because if you became righteous, then you had to do a series of things to become it. But he says you have been made right. Wow. So, Christianity is not about doing right to become righteous, it is all about believing right in Jesus to become righteous.
Now, look at this in Galatians 2:21. Galatians 2:21. I got up this morning, I looked at all my suit and coat and ties and I'm like, "I ain't doing none of that today". Ken and I did a leg workout on Friday and I woke up and almost fell to my knees because my ankles were sore. I was like, "Lord". Now watch this. "I do not treat the grace of God as meaningless. For if keeping the law could make us right with God, then there was no need for Jesus to die". If keeping the law and under the law it's all about what you do, if keeping the law, it's all about your works, the law is a work-based covenant. "If keeping the law could make us right with God, then there was no need for Christ to die".
Wow, you frustrate the grace of God by trying to become righteous in your own effort. You frustrate the grace of God by trying to become righteous in your own effort, by getting a list of things to do. You hadn't even talked to God about it. Your relationship with him on the inside of you gives birth and will change your heart and your desires to want to do what pleases God and you're ignoring all of that to become religious and find something that you can do to try to make happen what Jesus has already finished. And look at Romans chapter 11, verse 5 and 6 in the NLT. Romans chapter 11, verses 5 and 6 in the NLT. "It is the same today, for a few of the people of Israel have remained faithful because of God's grace, his undeserved kindness in choosing them," his undeserved kindness in choosing them. Hm. And you know we were chosen before the foundation of the world, right?
Verse 6, "And since it is through God's kindness, then it is not by their works". "Since it is through God's kindness, it is not by their good works. For in that case, God's grace would not be what it really is, free and undeserved". His grace is about being free and undeserved. Oh my goodness. So, the grace of God answers you in your most undeserving moments. Hm. The grace of God answers you in your most undeserving moments. That felt weird when I first walked in that, that felt weird. When I had said something that I knew was hurtful and I didn't say it out of love and the grace of God was there, "What are you doing here? Condemnation should be here. Shame should be here. Guilt should be here".
But in your most undeserving moments, the grace of God is there. I used to say to people when we had, you know, healing services, we used to have healing services all over the world. I think it was on Saturday mornings when we did meetings. The whole morning was dedicated to healing and we would just sing and praise God until we felt the anointing and the glory hit the room. And, I mean, everywhere. And I knew, sometimes I didn't think I prayed enough. I was just going through all kinds of tormenting things. "Was I gonna be anointed enough today"? And these people are coming in wheelchairs and all that kind of stuff and we never did advertise it because we didn't want people to think we were using, and I don't know if anything wrong with it, but it would have been for me. That's not what...but we didn't advertise it. We just didn't, you know, and I'll just kind of keep it to myself why we didn't, and I just dealt with so much.
Oh my God, am I anointed enough today? And Jesus kept saying, "Yeah, you were anointed when I called you". "Yeah, but Lord, why didn't that lady get out of the chair"? And he would say, "Yeah, but three other people got out of their chairs". And it was just back and forth because I just didn't understand when Paul said, "When I'm weak, that's when I'm strong". And this scripture is saying here that the grace of God shows up even when you in your most undeserving moments. And so, I used to say to people, "If you don't have faith, don't come down to get prayer because you gotta have faith," and I would go ahead and justify it. And what I didn't understand is that even when somebody didn't have faith, the grace of God will be there.
By the time they get there, they'll have enough. The grace of God will supply whatever they need. I mean, I shouldn't be disqualifying them. "Only those of you who have faith come down to be healed". And then finally, I had some folks come down. I remember this one guy came down, he said, "Pastor, I'm drunk, and I don't know about nothing you say, but if this real," he, "Lay it on me". I decided that day not to touch him. I said, "Lift your hands up," and I began to pray and the power of God hit that man, he fell out under the power of God. He stayed out for a minute and when he came to, or whatever happened, he jumped up like, "What you do? What you do"? "I didn't do nothing. I didn't even touch you. The power of God touched you". I said, "What's going on"? He said, "I don't hurt no more".
I found out several years later that that man is now in the ministry, preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. So don't tell me what you've got to have because whatever you don't have, the grace of God will meet you in your undeserving moments. Jesus's righteousness is your right to God's unmerited favor. His righteousness is my right to his unmerited favor. I have been given the gift of no imputation of sin. Now watch this. One more scripture after this, 1 Corinthians 15:34 in The Message. 1 Corinthians 15:34 in The Message. You're gonna have to, this year, make receiving the Word priority. You can't be coming to church, "I'll go if I'm out in an hour". You can't put a time clock on God, seriously.
You think me preaching 50 minutes to an hour is long? I used to preach, what, y'all? Two hours, and I used to preach until I had it all out. During that night over there, I preached about three hours and a half on the inner image of the covenant. I thought that thing would never, I look at the meetings that I went to preach for other people and I'm there two and a half hours, I'm embarrassed. I was like, "What was I doing"? God said, "Well, I was saying some stuff, but all that other stuff, that was all you". I said, "Thank you very much, Jesus. Appreciate that". Now watch this. "Think straight," think straight? "Awaken to the holiness of life. No more playing fast and loose with resurrection facts. Ignorance of God is a luxury you can't afford in times like these," wow.
Now watch this. "Aren't you embarrassed that you've let this kind of thing go on as long as you have"? Lord have mercy. Think straight, not thinking religious, think straight. This is not the time to be ignorant of the Word of God and play a bunch of fables with the Bible. This is not time to be playing church games and church gossip and... it ain't the time. "Well, I'm still experiencing church hurt". Well, get over yourself. Let God heal you and go forward. You ain't the only one been hurt. Everybody here been hurt by somebody. Keep it moving. Keep it moving. "Well, I can't. You don't understand, it's hard".
Just because it's hard is no excuse to remain the same. Keep it moving. "Yeah, my husband hurt me. Yeah, my wife cheated on me. Yeah, they stole this". Keep it moving. Can't do nothing about it now. Keep it moving. "Yeah, but they supposed to be saved. Are y'all telling me I can't take them to court"? You do whatever you wanna do. I'm not gonna do that because I know that if I do the right thing and sow the do good seed, God gonna take care of me. Sometimes we want to take care of things on our own and we get in God's way on how he can do what you need to do, but yeah, don't make no more excuses. Keep it moving. Because if you keep it moving, you gonna bump into a harvest and you're gonna bump into God and you're gonna bump in his mercy, you're gonna bump into his grace.
Somebody shout, "Keep it moving". "Well, my daddy left me and he never didn't want to be in my life". Keep it moving. "Yeah, yeah, but you don't understand". Get your buts out the way and keep it moving. "Well, I think you kind of insensitive". Okay, keep it moving. You ain't gonna do nothing by just standing there and yielding to self-pity. I know that's gonna be a spirit this year. I prayed this morning, "Lord, keep me out of self-pity". I prayed for this whole church this morning, I thanked God. I said, "Father, I thank you in the name of Jesus the kingdom has come and because your kingdom has come, everybody in World Changers, they have righteousness, peace, joy in the Holy Ghost. I bind the spirit of compromise and deception and unrepentance," and added this on, "and I bind the spirit of self-pity in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ".
So, I'm telling you right now, come hell or high water, if it works out your way or don't work out your way, if you get the promotion or don't get the promotion, if somebody slandered you or dogged you out, keep it moving. Because in my undeserving moments, grace will meet me when I don't deserve it, when I can't figure it out. I'm gonna keep it moving. Then Hebrews 13. "Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines," or teachings, "For it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace". Now, they were dealing with rules about eating meat. So, in context, he says, "Not with meats, which have not profited them that have been occupied therein".
So, they thought the rules of meat needed to be exalted above everything else, and he says, "Your heart needs to be established in grace". Now, look at what he says in the NLT and we'll shut it down for the day. "So do not be attracted by strange, new ideas," or doctrines, doctrines and new ideas and teachings that don't even line up with the Word, they just sound good. They're not even sound, scripturally. "Your strength comes from God's grace, not from rules about food, which don't help those who follow them".
And the same is true with everything else. Your strength comes from God's grace, not from rules about life, not from rules about food, not from rules. It comes from God's grace. And when we can open ourselves up to the grace of God and the love of God, you have a whole new way of living. You'll sense God in you, working, giving you a desire to do what pleases God. And all the time you realize, I've been trying to get this to happen all my life and God showed up and he made the difference. Let's pray:
Father, we've done what I believe you wanted to do and say today and I pray that it has penetrated their souls. That as I was preaching, you were speaking something specifically to everyone. And I pray that you will propel many into the path of the will of God for their life. I believe you called the end at the very beginning, and you've called everyone here to an assignment. Everyone here, there's a plan and a purpose for their life, and I pray that that be revealed to them, but we are awesomely gracious for this gift of grace and your mercy and the richness of your mercy. But without it, we wouldn't have a chance. Thank you, Lord. Thank you so much.
Come hell or high waters, may we stay attached to you throughout this year. Keep us, Lord. Don't allow the strange things of this society to snatch us and to cause our love to wax cold and to cause us to not even care about you and your kingdom. Bathe us in your love, your grace, your mercy, your peace, and may we live this year in ease, worshiping you for your goodness. Now that the healing power of God that heals emotions, that heals souls, that heals brokenness be released upon this precious congregation, and I praise you for it now. In Jesus's name, before we say amen, could you just lift your hands up just for just a few seconds, just for a few seconds, just worship and thank him with something in you, something that's going on with you, just thank him for the victory of it. In Jesus's name, amen.
Come hell or high waters, may we stay attached to you throughout this year. Keep us, Lord. Don't allow the strange things of this society to snatch us and to cause our love to wax cold and to cause us to not even care about you and your kingdom. Bathe us in your love, your grace, your mercy, your peace, and may we live this year in ease, worshiping you for your goodness. Now that the healing power of God that heals emotions, that heals souls, that heals brokenness be released upon this precious congregation, and I praise you for it now. In Jesus's name, before we say amen, could you just lift your hands up just for just a few seconds, just for a few seconds, just worship and thank him with something in you, something that's going on with you, just thank him for the victory of it. In Jesus's name, amen.