Creflo Dollar - The Gifts of Grace and Faith - Part 3
Listen, a spiritual son of mine died years ago. And I went and I said, «Well, I’m just gonna raise him from the dead». Now, I’m gonna compare that to when one person was raised with nothing, and me trying to do it with works. So I was in Alabama and I told 'em, I said, «Go get… I wanna see the body». They said, «The body ain’t ready yet». I said, «Bring it on out anyway». And I had George with me. He was like, «What world are we doing»? Dead body came in, and I was working, I was working my faith. I said, «In the name of Jesus, rise up,» just like they did in Elijah’s day, just like they did. But see, and, and, «Rise up». I ain’t seeing it. I gotta add something to it.
I keep trying to… like, you feel more powerful when you say something you don’t know what you saying. «…yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah. Get up». Still didn’t get up. I ain’t laid my hands right. Not enough oil. This dead body sitting in there. I got oil all on the dead body, hands all over… He didn’t get up. I said, «Well, praise the Lord, that’s it». And George was like, «Well, what happened»? I said, «I don’t know, come on, let’s go». Versus I was staying with my pastor, Bishop CL Carter. And we were like the two night watchmen. He called, he said, «Son, we gotta go, right quick. Get dressed». Got dressing, we’re driving about 3, 4 o’clock in the morning to East Point, Georgia. We need to pray for somebody.
And I’m thinking, «Pray for somebody at 3 or 4 o’clock in the morning? Can’t they wait till tomorrow»? He knew stuff, but he didn’t tell me. So I walked in and there was this guy on a hospital bed. And he had the oxygen thing up his nose and everything, but you know, you can see when you’re breathing. And I walked in and Pastor Carter said, «Pray, son». I’m thinking, «What is going on here»? So I laid my hands on him. When I laid my hands on him I’m like, «Oh, he cold, y’all. Might wanna turn the heat on or something». And I prayed a strange prayer. I said, «Lord, we release and receive your anointing to remove burdens and destroy yokes». And a few seconds later, he started coughing. And he grabbed the mask, put it off. «Hallelujah, hallelujah».
Then his mama was standing by the bed, she fainted. And he had a uncle in the room who was drunk. That boy sobered up and came up and tapped me in the back of the shoulder saying, «I wanna be saved». And the whole time I’m think, «This is the weirdest family. What in the world is going on? When I woke this man up. And she fell out. What she fall out for? And he talking about he wanna get saved». So when I got in the car, I said, «Pastor Carter, explain all that». He said, «All right, son. I didn’t get a call for somebody, you know, will you come and pray, but in addition to that, they said he dead». I said, «Oh». I said, «What»? I said, «But he…» «Son, he was dead. The reason why he was cold, because he was dead».
So I just figured out as long as I don’t know you’re dead, We might be able to do something. You see the difference? In one case I’m trying to work my faith. In the other case, I’d already received what faith and grace had made available. Oh yes, Lord. I ain’t even started my sermon for today, but yeah, so this past week, I don’t know if I said this to you when I was working out. If your faith is not at rest, then your faith is not at work. Now what do I mean by that?
Go to Hebrews chapter 4 and verse 10 and 11. Hebrews chapter 4. Lord, I just give you praise. And the reason why I’m giving him praise is because in, you know, I got everything all wrote out what I was gonna be talking about and stuff like that and then in the back room, he says, «I don’t want you to start there. Start here, because the glory is about to increase in your house». I said, Manifestations of the promises of God are about to increase in your house. Now, now, now watch this. This is very important. «For he that is entered into his rest, he also has ceased from his own works, as God did from his».
All right, now, now before you go to 11, go to verse 1. Oh my goodness, oh my goodness. Oh my goodness. «Let us therefore fear, lest, any promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it». Verse 2: «For unto us was the gospel preached». I am preaching the good news of Christ to you right now, «as well as unto them was it preached». So what was the problem? Why didn’t they see the promise? «But the word preached did not profit them». How many of you have experienced that? «The word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it». Because the promises are given by grace, but faith is a gift. Now go to verse 11, before I make this statement. Is everybody on the bus?
«Let us labor therefore to enter into that rest». You’re not supposed to labor to get healed. You’re not supposed to labor to get delivered. You’re not supposed to labor to get rich. You’re not supposed to labor to get sound. There’s only one thing we should be laboring to do. «We should therefore labor to enter into that rest». The labor to rest. You know what your faith, your faith should be resting. Oh, glory to God. Your faith should not be working, it should be resting. What should your faith be resting in? Watch this, this is so good. Your faith should be resting in the love of God. You know that God loves you and because God loves you, he will do what he said. Because God loves you, he will heal you. Because God loves you, he will deliver you and the Bible says that faith worketh by love.
And so my faith rests in the love of God. Because he loves me, I know I have the promise. Because he loves me, I know I have what grace has. And so every time I wonder, am I gonna get this, I say to myself, God loves me. That’s how I know that this too shall come to pass. I don’t know why I’m not healed now. I don’t know why the money ain’t came yet. I don’t know why I lost my job. I don’t know none of this, but I know God loves me and because God loves me, I have faith. I can receive what he said. I can enter into that rest, so I’m gonna chill out. I’m gonna stop struggling. I’m gonna quit doing all of this stuff to see if I can make God do what he’s already done. I’m not gonna labor to get rich, labor to get healed, labor to get delivered. I am gonna labor to enter into that rest and if your faith is not at rest, it is not at work.
But your faith will work when you’re at rest. You gotta rest like God rested on that last day. But what have we been doing? Working our faith. We’ve been working our faith. Like a carpenter uses a tool, you use faith. No, you don’t. Your faith should be at rest. And when it is at rest, or excuse me, when you’re at rest, of course when you’re at rest, then your faith is at work. Rest, rest. When you’re at rest, your faith is at work. The problem is, is self-effort tries to work faith in you, it’s a gift. You can work all day long, but if I hadn’t decided to give you a gift, if I do give you something, that’s 'cause I feel guilty because you’ve been working.
We’ve been on the West Coast all week and, you know, we stayed at this place, the last place we were at. And my heart goes out when I see older people, people having to work. That should be their golden ages, but 75, you having to get a job. And so this lady was our waitress and she was just moving around. I thought, «Man, this lady blessed. She got movement. Everyday she moving». And she was so gracious and so kind. And the Lord said, Every time you see her, give her $100 tip. First 100 I gave to her, she said, «Is this for me»? I said, «Yes, ma’am, that’s for you». She said, «All of it»? Yes, ma’am, all of it. It’s all for you, yeah. And then she was so happy she started, she was trying to preach but she didn’t have nothing to say.
What I mean, she would say, «You know, we’re all one and you’re all a part of me and I’m all a part of you,» and I’m like, «I don’t know if I’m all a part of you and all that other kind of stuff, but», my point was just receive. Some of us can learn a lesson. Sometimes you need to learn vocabulary of silence. Just when somebody gifts you with some, just receive. 'Cause we still got guilt working on us. «Oh, they bought me some for Christmas, I didn’t buy them none for Christmas». All right, what they gave you was a gift. What you’re giving them is wages. Our faith, we didn’t have it at rest with us. We won’t chill out and say, «I receive this. And I labor to stay at rest».
Why do I have to labor to stay at rest? Next day I don’t see nothing. I’m still resting and I believe you, Lord. Next day I don’t feel no different. Lord, I just, I just, I’m laboring to stay at rest. I sing a song to stay at rest. I listen to a sermon to stay at rest. I call on somebody and testify to stay at rest. I’m laboring to stay at rest. That’s why God can do more with us when we’re asleep, because we and our work is out of the way. Sweet sleep. And the Bible says he gives to us in our sleep, when we’re at rest. When we are at rest, God will be at his best. But we’re still trying to go and figure out how to work our faith. We need to, I need to work my faith. And if somebody happens to die, it’s your fault 'cause you didn’t work your faith enough. That’s just ridiculous.
You know how condemning that is? You know how painful that is? That somebody died and the weight of that situation was put on you because you didn’t have enough faith. Sometimes life happens. It happens and I don’t pretend to know why it happens but it doesn’t happen because you didn’t have enough faith. It’s amazing to me that the Bible says that no man comes to the Father unless he’s drawn by me. I was like, even your salvation wasn’t really all you. 'Cause there’s some people just ain’t ready to get saved yet, but God working on them, and when that time comes, he will draw you. He will draw you and bother you in between all the times and work on you, but when the time comes, he’ll draw you. You gonna want him and God knows how to get you to want him.
So every last one of us who got saved, we were drawn, we were drawn by the Spirit of God. Go back and look at your life. You were drawn by the Spirit of God. The only other way you came to God was through the hell gate of fear. I got saved 'cause I didn’t want to go to hell. What we are about to do this month is to prepare you for the greatest outpouring of God’s glory and manifestation. And it requires a gang of people to just say, «I’m ready to hear and learn». Not spending your time trying to pick my life apart or pick this church apart or… just let me hear because «Faith cometh,» Romans 10:17, «by hearing,» watch this, «and hearing by the Word,» King James translation, «of God».
The actual translation is, «Faith cometh by hearing the Word of Christ». Because if it’s just hearing the Word of God, then you go back and you can say, «By hearing the law, faith cometh». But you don’t need faith to operate by law. So faith cometh by hearing the words of Christ. The words of Christ, the word of redemption, the word of righteousness, the word of grace. As you hear that, faith comes. It comes by hearing this gospel of grace. And do you know the thousands of people that left the church because they say, I don’t agree with that grace message. And I’ve had a chance to visit some of those lives and I’m like, «Wow, if you could have just hung in there».
The glory is coming to your house. And not of yourselves. God wants you to share in his glory. And what happens? Your relatives gonna see it. Your coworkers gonna see it. Your enemies are gonna see it. And God is gonna use his glory to draw people unto him. «Well, what’s the difference between that church and what’s the difference with the dean that and just being with them people, you know, we were all Christians the same». No, no, no, don’t put me in that ghetto. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. The glory, the glory, that you can’t boast about unless you’re boasting about the giver of the glory. You can’t boast about it. You can’t boast about it. You can’t boast about it.
The devil will do everything he can to try to stop this message. But I’m, I’m, I’m cool. I feel good. I’m delivered from people. I’m delivered from approval addiction. And I don’t mind being vulnerable with my church congregation or whoever visited in here, vulnerability is no longer a fear in my life, but a power in my life. How you… I feel like it’s a power. If I can share some of Taffi’s and our experiences with you, hopefully it’ll give you some hope to say, Whoa, they were there too? They believe like that too?
Oh, the enormous amount of work I tried to do in trying to get people healed. And the manifestation of most of the healings came when I was laying hands in rest and the better ones came when I didn’t lay hands at all and just spoke the word. 'Cause I thought, «Oh,» because I did not understand little faith, big faith, no faith. And I’m gonna teach that. What is big faith? What is little faith? I mean, here’s Jesus telling a guy who just walked on water, «Oh ye of little faith».
How do you tell a dude that just walked on the water that he has little faith? We need to know what that means. If the just are to live by faith and we don’t know what it is, and we missed out on kingdom… So first of all, faith has been designated for the Christ. Faith is designed for this new covenant. Faith is designed for all that grace has made available. Faith has not been designed so you can use it to get what you want. Faith has been designed for you to get what has already been gifted to you. It is not this free for all. This is mine, my little magical tool, and I’m gonna get what I want.
Faith is a receptor of all that grace has made available. Get yourself out of the way because this is not about you, it is not about your performance. God does not need you to bring something to the table. He don’t need your help. He don’t need your support. He don’t need nothing that you got that he gave you. You remember that guy when it came to money? I think it was David, one of them, came to money and giving in the offering. This boy had enough sense to say, «All things come of thee, O Lord. And of thine own, out of your stuff, I give to you».