Creflo Dollar - Two Keys to Supernatural Change and Transformation
Now, God loves you whether you are transformed or not. God loves you whether you are changed or not. That’s something I need you to understand. Whether you’re transformed or not, God loves you. Whether you have changed or not, God loves you. I believe that this love will give you the strength you need to be transformed. I believe knowing that God loves you, whether you have been transformed or not, I believe that you understanding that love is actually what’s gonna give you the strength to be changed. Something happens when you know that you’re loved. Something happens when you can receive that God loves you and you didn’t have to do anything to earn his love, or you didn’t have to do anything to deserve his love. But there’s something that happens when you realize that I am highly loved by God that strengthens your life for transformation, that strengthens your life for change.
Now, he may not approve of what you’re doing, but he still loves you, okay? So don’t get that mixed up, now. «Well, God loves me». God loves me doesn’t say, «God approves of what I’m doing,» okay? He loves you, all right, and he wants that love to strengthen you for transformation, for changed, but please don’t mix that up to say, «Well, he may not», you know, that he does not approve of what you’re doing, but he still loves you. So look at 1 Corinthians, chapter 1 and 30. He says, and let’s read verse 30 out loud together, if you will, in King James, he says, «But of him are you in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption».
And so, now notice what the scripture says, that «Jesus Christ was made unto us wisdom». Jesus was made wisdom, Jesus was made righteousness, Jesus was made sanctification. Interesting here, this Greek word for sanctification is the same Greek word for holiness, okay? So sanctification, or holiness, Jesus was made for us holiness, he was made for us sanctification, and he was made for us redemption. And so, once you begin to understand that I am in Christ and whatever he has made for me, that’s what what I claim, that’s what I hold to. So Jesus has made unto us wisdom, so therefore I declare I have wisdom. Say, «I have wisdom». He has been made unto us righteousness. Say out loud, «I am righteous». He has been made unto us sanctification. Say, «I am sanctified». He has been made unto us holiness, say, «I am holy». And he has been made unto us redemption, say, «I am redeemed».
See, once you realize that he’s been made these things for you, now you got to start realizing, well, he was made that for me, so I am that. I am that before you even see that. I am righteous because he was made unto me to be righteous. I claim my righteousness right now. And by you grabbing hold of what he’s been made for you right now, then there’s something that begins to transform. You start changing into that. You now say, «I am the righteousness of God,» and if you hold on to that and don’t let anything or anybody change that within you, you begin to transform into that which you’re holding on. All right, you have the gall, you have the nerve to get up after you messed up, or missed the mark somewhere, or stumbled, or whatever you wanna call it, and declare that you are still what Jesus was made for you. «I am the righteousness of God».
So now once you have the person, once you have the person, Jesus Christ, you have all things that are in Christ. So Jesus is literally your everything. Once you have Jesus, you have righteousness. Once you have Jesus, you have redemption. When you once you have Jesus, you are redeemed. Once you have Jesus, you are holy. See, it’s not based on what you are, it’s based on what he is, and what he is determines who you are. But you gotta realize that, you gotta claim that. «I am righteous now because of Jesus, not because of me. I am not righteous because I do right. I’m righteous because Jesus is my righteousness, and he was made my righteousness». And so, you gotta lay hold of that first. You gotta realize that first.
Now, what religion tells you is opposite. The religion says, «You can’t say you’re righteous until you act righteous and do righteous». No, what God is saying is, «I’m doing it another way. You go ahead and receive that you’re righteous, and then I am going to be able to change your behavior, change your heart, and see you transform». See, the other way around is you trying to do that. «I can’t say I’m righteous until I start doing right». And he says, «I dare you to say you’re righteous when you know you ain’t doing right». And he says, «That’s when I’m gonna come in and cause all of that righteous stuff to happen to you that ain’t happening to you right now, but I just need you to go ahead and receive it first». You follow what I’m saying, here?
All right, and so then we go to Romans 8:32 in the King James and then the Mirror, Romans 8:32, and he says, «He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things»? So, he didn’t spare Jesus where our lives were concerned. He gave his Son to mankind. And by by giving us Jesus, he gave us everything. 'Cause everything we need or desire or want is in Jesus. Say this out loud, «Jesus is my everything». So once you receive Jesus, you’ve received everything. Look at this in the Mirror, I love the way he says this. He says, «The gift of his Son is the irrefutable evidence of God’s heart towards us. He held nothing in reserve; but freely gave everything we could ever wish to have; this is what our joint sonship looks like».
And so, the day you make Jesus the Lord of your life, whether you realize it or not, everything that you’ll ever pray for, ever need or want or desire, it’s in Jesus, okay? That’s why I don’t understand why we don’t hear a lot about Jesus when we go to church, 'cause Jesus is my everything. Say, «Jesus is my everything». So, holiness does not depend on human impact or conduct. Righteousness does not depend on human impact or conduct. Redemption does not depend upon human input or conduct. Your righteousness and your holiness is in Christ. True holiness looks to Christ. True righteousness looks to Christ. God’s way of deliverance is to take your eyes off yourself and to get it onto Jesus. That’s how he’s gonna deliver you. Get your eyes off you, get your eyes off your effort, get your eyes off your performance, get your eyes on Jesus, and that’s how he plans on delivering us.
See, everything in our lives right now, especially in today’s world, we have our eyes on us. What I can do, how I can do it, my willpower, my plan, my education, and still, after 20, 30, 40 years, you’re in the same bondage, why? Because you keep looking at yourself for your deliverance. You keep looking at your plans for your deliverance. Ladies and gentlemen, if we could deliver ourselves, Jesus would have never come and to die on that cross if we could have did it for ourselves. The blood would have not been shed, none of that stuff we celebrate on Easter had to take place if we could deliver ourselves. Here’s the truth, you can’t do it! You can’t do it!
And some of you say, «Well, I am doing it,» yeah, for right now, but what’s gonna happen tomorrow? You can’t do it! So let’s submit ourselves to the only one who can deliver us. And how do we see deliverance take place in our lives? We get our eyes off ourselves, we get our eyes on Jesus. Numbers 21, I’m not gonna go there, but Numbers 21, verses 5 through 9 is the story of how Israel was snake-bitten, and all of the pain in the snake bites, and Moses was instructed to take a stick and put this image of a snake on the stick, and he says, get your eyes off yourself. Look at that image on the pole and you’ll be healed. And once they got their eyes off themselves and looked at that image on the pole, they were healed.
That’s the key to deliverance. Getting your eyes off yourself and start looking on the image on that cross. Start looking at Jesus Christ, and you will be healed. And so, holiness does not consist of our feelings. Holiness doesn’t consist of our experiences. Holiness consists of beholding Christ. So the first key to supernatural change is beholding Christ. I’m talking just by beholding, your transformation can start in your life. We cannot change ourselves by our efforts. Let me say that again, we cannot change ourselves by our efforts. The law of Moses cannot produce holiness, only Christ can produce holiness. The law cannot produce righteousness, only Christ can produce righteousness. Grace gives to men holiness and righteousness, and we are still trying to… religion says you have to earn holiness by developing holy behavior. You’ve got to earn righteousness by starting to do right.
No, that’s by the law. Grace gives to men holiness, grace gives to men righteousness. The law cannot produce holiness. The law cannot produce righteousness. The Bible says that there are none righteous under the law. No, not one. But when Jesus showed up, who is our everything, grace now gives to men holiness and righteousness. So, how can we change or be transformed, then? You said the first key was beholding. How does that work? Look at 2 Corinthians chapter 3 and verse 18. 2 Corinthians chapter 3 and verse 18. How can I see transformation in my life, okay? And you know all the stuff that’s represented just in here. How can I see transformation in my life? The habits, the addictions, the secret sins.
How can I see transformation in my life? Because the only thing that church does is shame you, blame you, and put guilt on you, and somehow, the church thinks if I can shame you, blame you, cause you to feel guilty, and then put fear in your life, 'cause if that don’t work, I’ll say, you know, «It’s a commandment, and if you don’t do it, you’re gonna go to hell». No, no, no, no, no, all of the things that are represented here, today, can be transformed, can be changed. There can be change in your life, and it doesn’t have to be by your willpower. There’s gonna be transformation. The grace of God is not enabling sin, it’s transforming you from sin. And yes, it’s a journey. It didn’t happen one day. It didn’t happen, you know, you take one trip to the prayer room and it’s all over.
Some people think that in the church, you know. «Oh, they got saved that day, praise the Lord, everything gonna be all right». It is gonna be all right, but it’s gonna be a journey. You still might get cussed out after they come out of the prayer room, but it’s gonna be a journey. They cussing you out this time, gonna be different than they cussing you out the last time, because this time they have someone living on the inside of them that tugs at them when they do that because he has started the work of transformation and change on the inside of them. Are y’all hearing what I’m saying? We got to give people, we gotta quit this thing. We just keep beating people up because they don’t match our religion of, you know, «Do it with your will power, get real disciplined to do it».
You know, and «God helps those who help themselves». You gotta stop all of that! Stop, you gotta stop all of that. That stuff’s wrong, okay? All you got, «Well, how you know it’s wrong»? Well, just look at you! I’ll do what Jesus did. Jesus, they said what the, «Lord, the law says that this woman, who was caught in the act of adultery, she should be stoned to death»! And they all got their stones, all those self-righteous men and people there who had sins of their own, picked up stones. Then they like the church, they got stuff, but they’ll still pick up a stone. They’ll still, how they gonna pick a stone up with every last one of them, and here’s what Jesus did. This is… I love how cool Jesus was. Jesus said, you know, they said, «But the law said, what did you say»?
And Jesus stooped down and doodled on the ground. He says, «Oh, here’s what I say. I’m not gonna tell you to disregard the law. So what I’m gonna tell you, since I know I’m getting ready to come and fix all of that, if you ain’t got no sin, go ahead and throw the rock». And then you start hearing like a musical instrument, stones just falling to the ground, okay? All right, so the old men, and the old folks, they dropped theirs first 'cause they had abundance of sin. They had so much, oh my God, they had sin and regret. They just dropped out, just, «Aight, aight, yeah, you know». But the young ones, now, the young ones now, they thought, «Oh, I still got a cause,» but when they start looking at their selves, they still have something, isn’t that something? Pharisees standing up there still got some.
Church folks picking up stones when they realize they got something themselves. You ain’t got to say «amen,» but I ain’t scared of you this morning. That’s what I’m trying to tell you, we sit here in church like real still, like what I’m saying to you is not possible. Don’t you know I came to the altar last week? Don’t you know that I went up those holy steps and went into the prayer room where they prayed and anointed my head with oil, and they prayed in the Holy Ghost over me, and you still came down and let somebody have it. You still, why? Because this is a journey. This is a transformation. This is not a abracadabra, you understand? This is a transformation, and God says, «I’m gonna walk with you every time you get up. Every time you mess up, I’m gonna pick you up. It’s a transformation, every time you think wrong, I’m gonna be talking to you. It’s a transformation. Every time you lust at something, I’m gonna be right there and talk to you».
See, you trying to keep yourself from falling, but the Bible said, in Jude, that he is able to keep you from falling. You ain’t been able to stop you from falling right now, it’s been some years, and you still tripping up and falling, and talking about, «Lord, help me». But now what you’ve done is you try to pretend like you ain’t got nothing, and so you try to… cause in the church, you can hide, in church, you can hide behind scripture, you can hide behind shouting, «amen, Hallelujah, thank you, Jesus». But we know that everybody in the house got an issue. It’s a journey! It’s a journey! Y’all hear what I’m saying? It’s a journey, somebody said, «It’s a journey»!
And you gotta get yourself together so you will understand that God is the only one that can set you free. You’ve got to let him do it. So how can we change, or how can we be transformed? 2 Corinthians chapter 3:18, first of all, in the King James, and then in the Mirror. King James, that’s what we said, «But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, we are changed,» transformed, «into the,» what? «Same image of Jesus from glory to glory,» notice, even he knew it was a journey, from glory to glory. He didn’t say change just like that. He said, «change from glory to glory, even by the Spirit of the Lord». Now look at this in the New Living translation. So, just by beholding, «What are you talking about, Pastor»?
Just by beholding him, you are changed. The issue is, when you start asking yourself, «How much beholding time are you giving to Jesus,» and what else you been beholding, all right? That’s what he says, «So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord, who is the Spirit», ah, «makes us more and more like Him as we are changed into his glorious image,» and he gives credit to the work of the Spirit of grace. It is the Holy Spirit that’ll start changing and transforming you if you’ll start believing him. If you’ll start beholding Him, if you’ll just start, just by beholding him is enough for the Holy Ghost to go to work. Just by beholding him, the Spirit of God says, «I accept the responsibility for your transformation, so you can let it go». You can quit trying to change yourself by yourself. If you will behold Jesus, the Spirit of the Lord says, «I am going to change you».
Now, I’m gonna say something about faith, and I’m gonna say it right now. While you are seated here this morning, beholding the words of Jesus Christ, the Holy Ghost is changing you. Oh, y’all gotta realize that. Wait, you gotta realize something. You gotta realize you’re being changed right now. It might not feel like it, it might not look like it, but honey, there’s something going on the inside of you. You might have just got back from raising hell somewhere, but there’s a Holy Ghost that’s transforming you, he is changing you, he is making you anew, and you gotta realize that! You can’t receive that until you realize it. I gotta realize I’m being changed. Every time I behold him, I’m being changed.
That’s why I gotta talk about Jesus when you come here, because if I can talk about it when you come here, and you behold him, the Holy Ghost starts turning, he starts working. He’s doing something on the inside of you. You came here mad at somebody. You came here, made your mind up, «I ain’t gonna forgive them as long as I live». You came up here, doggone it, and they done broke my heart for the last time. You got your a little bitty gun in your purse, hallelujah. You ready to do something? «I’m tired of this joker».
You’re gonna cut him, you’re gonna cut his toe off. You’re gonna do something to that joker. «I’m tired of him,» and the Holy Ghost is working with you. And I’m not even saying anything about it. But while I’m preaching and hollering and screaming, the Spirit of the Lord is saying, «Now, you know you need to put that gun up. You ain’t never shoot nobody». He know how to talk to you. He know how to change you. You know why he wants you to understand he’s changing you? 'Cause when you get down the road and you look at yourself and you don’t look like what you used to look like, you can’t give yourself the credit, you can’t give me the credit, you can’t give no man a credit. You’re gonna have to lift up your hands and you’re gonna have to fall on your face and thank Jesus by the Holy Ghost for changing you.
And let me tell you something, some of you have changed, you just need to look at yourself a little bit. All right, you got a ways to go, like everybody else in here, but there’s been some change in you. You ain’t what you used to be. You’re not what you wanna be, but you’re not what you used to be. You’re not what you used to be, 'cause you remember the time. I ain’t even got to finish that sentence, right? You remember the time. «I ain’t what I used to be, and you might tell somebody, You better be glad I ain’t what I used to be! 'Cause if I was anything like I used to be, I would have kicked… I’m not what I used to be, but I can’t take no credit for it,» hallelujah. Just, I didn’t cuss, did I? I’m good? All right, just, I’m good? All right. Yeah. So, you sure I didn’t cuss, 'cause some of y’all looking at me funny.