Creflo Dollar - Ten Ways to Respond to Grace
Man, this is gonna help you this mornin', the most important message that I've ever preached before in my life. Go with me to the book of Galatians chapter 2, verse 16, and I'm gonna read verse 16, and then verse 20 and 21. This morning, I'm gonna talk to you about ten ways to respond to the finished works of Jesus. "Ten Ways to Respond to Grace". I'm sayin' the same thing. Ten ways to respond to the finished works of Jesus. "Ten Ways to Respond to Grace". I'm saying the same thing.
See, we've spent some time talkin' about performance-based Christianity, where you don't need to do somethin' to try to get something, and the question is "But what do I do"? And I wanna make the distinction between performance-based Christianity, where you are trying to perform or where you're trying to do something, versus living a life of faith, where you're responding to what's already been done. In other words, we're not talking about you doing something to get healed. Jesus already did somethin' for you to be healed. We're talkin' about what do you need to do now that you're healed to respond to what Jesus has already done.
When it comes to your identity in Christ and when it comes to who you are and what you need, Jesus has already done that. When it comes to who you are and what you need, Jesus has already done that. When it comes to who you are, you are the righteousness of God. When it comes to what you need, he is your provider. Jesus has already done that. Now, the works of the law would be you trying to do something to settle who you are and what you have by your own works and by your own performance. In other words, you're gonna try to do these, you know, these things in order to be healed when you're already healed. That would be the works of the flesh, trying to settle your identity issue and trying to get what has already been gotten.
So that's what we settled in that last series here. That's performance-based Christianity. The problem with performance-based Christianity is we don't believe that Jesus has already done it, which means we don't believe that Jesus is enough, which means we keep adding to Jesus. That's not what we're talkin' about today. What we're talkin' about today is, since it's already been done, since I am the righteousness of God, redeemed and holy, since I'm healed, delivered, prosperous and sound, what are the actions of my faith?
Am I to just sit there and say, "Well, I'm under grace, I believe, I believe", kind of, like, "Hit me, uh, uh"? That's not how that works. Faith responds to what Jesus has finished. So how do we respond today to healing that's already done? How do we respond today to provision that's already been given? How do we respond today to prosperity that's already been handed over? How do we respond today to the righteousness that we already are? We're already these things.
You gotta realize, "I'm already healed. I'm already delivered. I'm already prosperous. I'm already sound. I already have everything that I need that pertains to life and godliness. I already have these things, but how do I take possession of those things that I already have"? You know, I can put a million dollars in your bank account, and if you don't and withdraw it, it stays in the bank account. Follow me? It's there, but it being where you want it in your life, it's not there because there's no response. So, likewise, you have everything you need. It's available, but here's the thing, but we don't know how to respond to what grace has made available, and this series is all about showing you how to respond.
Now, you're gonna hear a lot of familiar things, and you'll find out that you were using those very things to try to get what Jesus has already gotten when, in fact, faith is all about responding to what Jesus has already made available, responding to the finished works, responding to what Jesus has finished. If you understand that, say, "Amen".
So let's get into this. This is gonna be a fascinating series. The Spirit of God promised me that, if you'll get ahold of this, you're gonna quickly see manifestation showing up. You know, if you have a million dollars in your account, there's not two weeks of strugglin' before you gonna withdraw it, huh? How many of y'all are ready to make some withdrawals, amen? I'm gonna show you how to respond. How many of you know you can have that money in a bank, but if you don't endorse... certain criteria has to come together in order to do a proper withdrawal, amen?
Now, you see how easy it is for you to say, "Well, wait a minute. That's the works of the flesh". No, no, no, no, no, we're not talkin' about doin' this to get God to do somethin'. We're talking about God's already done it. Now I want to now take possession of what he's already done. Do you see the distinction there now? All right, Galatians chapter 2, verse 16. Let's read it out loud together. Ready? Read. "Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified", how? "By the faith of Christ, and not by the", what? "Works of the law".
So what he says here is that we don't need anybody to perform. He says, "For by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified". "We don't need anybody to perform, or through their own self-effort or their performance, we don't need your performance in order to be justified". Jesus has already justified you. Say out loud, "I am the righteousness of God". He says, but what you need in order to take possession of what he's done is you need to by faith take what's already done.
Now, look at the same chapter. Look at verse 20 and 21. So what happens if you start trying to perform to get it? He says, "I'm crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me, and the life which I now live in the flesh, in my body, I live by the faith of the Son of God". So I now live a life by the faith of the Son of God. I am not living my life as a Christian by my performance or myself self-effort. He says, "I'm living the life by faith of the Son of God who loved me, who gave himself for me". Verse 21, this is interesting, he said, "I do not frustrate the grace of God".
I think that's what Pastor Ken talked about last night. "I do not frustrate the grace of God". You know what frustrates God's grace? Is when you now take it upon yourself to add to what Jesus has already done and thinking it is because your self-effort and performance that you now are now gonna deserve something because of your doing instead of receiving by faith what he's already done. He says, "I don't frustrate the grace of God, for if righteousness comes by the law, then Christ is dead in vain".
If you can be righteous about something you do, then Jesus died in vain 'cause now you're tryin' to do what only he could, and how many times do we find ourselves tryin' to do somethin' that only Jesus could do? He says your job is to, by faith, possess what he has done, by faith, process what he has done.
Now, let me do one more thing before we really get into this. I wanna describe to you "spiritual warfare". Have you ever heard the term "spiritual warfare"? All right, spiritual warfare is not being in a war against the devil. It is, in one sense, but I think, in the church, we've like, "spiritual warfare, fightin' the devil, fight the devil", no, no. It is, but let me show you what it is and what it is not. The Bible talks about the "fellowship of his sufferings", which means we have a part, and Jesus has a part. Jesus's part of the fellowship of the suffering was this: Jesus was whipped with a cat-o'-nine-tails. He was nailed to the cross. He was beat on the cross. He died on the cross. He went to hell for three days, and then he got up, and now he's done with his part.
All right, so what was all that for? He shed his blood. His flesh was beat up, all this kind of stuff. Why? To obtain the victory, to obtain the victory of healing, to pertain the victory of righteousness, to obtain the victory. That was his part. His part was "Go get it". All right, now, it's our part now. When he was raised from the dead, and now it's our part. He kind of, in a sense, like, in a relay race, he handed the baton off to us. He says, "I've done my part. You couldn't do what I did. You couldn't do what I did. You couldn't be whipped with a cat-o'-nine-tails".
Normal men would've died under those circumstances. His body was beat to, I mean, looked like raw hamburger meat. You couldn't do what he did to be on the cross. You couldn't go to hell for three days and three nights and have all of hell tryin' to wipe you out. Hallelujah, you couldn't do that part. No man was able to do it, but Jesus did. And then, on the third day, after he died, he rose. He got up from the dead. You couldn't. Ain't nobody did it yet. You couldn't do that part, but when he did all that part, he wrapped it up into, like, a baton and said, "Here, now do your part".
So what does our part look like? He handed off healing to me. My job, keep it. Maintain it. He got the victory. Your job is to keep it. He got the healing. Your job is to keep it. He got the deliverance. Your job is to keep it. He got the righteousness. Your job is to keep it. You are not the sick, ever. You are not the sick, ever. You are not the sick ever, tryin' to get healed. You are the healed. When you wake up every mornin', you are the healed.
Say out loud, "When I wake up every mornin', I'm the healed. Not the sick, I'm the healed. When I wake up every morning, I'm the healed because of the baton has been passed to me. I'm the healed". What am I doing as the healed? I am protecting my healing victory from the sickness, from the diagnosis, from the MRI, from the X-ray, from the words of the doctor. I'm protecting my healing from the sickness that's trying to take from me the victory that Jesus gave to me. My part is to maintain what he did for me, praise God. What did he do? I am what he did. He died to make me righteous. I am the righteous.
Now, you've been actin' like a stone-cold fool, doin' all kinds of stuff, but if you're born-again, you are the righteousness of God, and all that foolishness is tryin' to steal what Jesus has already given you, and your job is saying, "I know I didn't do right. I know I did some stupid stuff, but I'm still the righteousness of God", and you're maintaining it. That's my job. My job is to hold on to the baton 'cause, one day, I'm gon' hand it off. One day, I'mma look up, and the clouds are gonna split wide open, and "the dead in Christ shall rise first".
See, we don't preach that no more, do we? "The dead in Christ shall rise first, and those who are alive and remain shall be caught up in a twinkling of an eye". No, we don't preach that no more, but that is going to happen, child of God. I tell you, we are right around the corner. We are about to hand the baton off. We are about to return to the sender, praise God, hallelujah. We're gonna say, "Jesus, I held onto it. Here it is. Here it is", praise God. And then he'll say, "My good and faithful servant". Faithful of what? Of the victory. That's my part of the fellowship of his suffering, and that's why it's said, "Those who live godly shall suffer persecution".
What's the persecution about? Trying to take from you what Jesus gave to you, and it doesn't always look like you got it, but you got it. It don't always look like you in victory, but you in victory. "This is the victory that overcomes the world even our faith". Turn to two people and say, "I got it, I got it, I got it, I got it". Somebody says, "What do I have? What do I have"? I got healin', I got deliverance, I got soundness, I got righteousness, I got redemption, I got provision, I got everything that I'll ever need in this life. I got joy, I got peace. It don't seem like I got no peace right now. It don't seem like I got no joy right now 'cause you don't see, teeth is in my mouth, but I got it, praise God, and I'm gon' keep it, and when I feel like I'mma blow my brains out and I don't wanna live no more, I gotta remind myself of who I am and what I have.
That is my part of the fellowship of the suffering, and the only way I can do that is by faith 'cause I'm not always gonna be able to see my healing. "Well, how do you know"? Well, I had, I had cancer try to steal my healin', but when the doctor said, "You had cancer", I said, "No, I have healing". Don't let nobody put on you what's not yours. Don't let nobody put on you what's not yours. And sometimes the devil will try to make those suggestion: "You know you're poor, you're broke". No, no, no, no, no, no, no, "I'm prosperous. You're trying to use those words and circumstances to take from me what I already am".
That is the lie that was mentioned in the garden of Eden. The lie was: "You got to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil so you can become who you already are". They were already just like God. They didn't need to eat from no tree of the knowledge of good and evil. They were already like God, and that same lie has been perpetrated all over the church today.
And now, now ladies and gentlemen, you gotta change your thinking. I know people thinkin' I lost my mind. I have. I finally got the mind of Christ. Thank God, I got rid of that religious mind-set. And I'mma give people a chance. They gon' catch up after a while. They out, doin' all kinds of stuff. I mean, even some of 'em was out, doin' all kinds of stuff. They'd be all right. They'll be all right. They gon' go out there, and the world will teach ya somethin'. You go out there and get that tail whupped real good, and you don't know what else to do.
All of these words that I've been sowing on the inside of you, it's gonna rise up like a mighty tower, and you're gonna remember who you are, what you have, and whose you are. It ain't gon' be enough to shut me up. It ain't gonna be enough to shut me up. I ain't shuttin' up. If there's two people comin' to church, I ain't shuttin' up. I'm gon' preach this Gospel until Jesus comes back. And I tell you, you are already healed, you are already delivered, and watch this, watch this, watch this. When I say, "You're blessed", you know what that means? You are successful. Don't be begging God to make you successful.
The day you got born again, you are successful. You are blessed with the blessed Abraham, as successful as Abraham was. Because of what he didn't do, you're blessed, praise God, which means you're successful. You wake up every day, you would say, "I'm blessed". That means you're successful. That means everybody better watch out because what doesn't look like success right now, they don't know they're looking at success, and success is about to spill over into this physical world, praise God. You got to change your thinking. You gotta renew your mind. You gotta stop letting life happen to you. You gotta start happening to life.
I said, you gotta start happening to life. Quit lettin' the world determine you in doin' the stupid stuff that's goin' on, just, you know, toxic relationship. So many toxic relationship 'cause you lonely, and just 'cause you lonely doesn't mean that you go and reignite toxic relationships. "I'm lonely, so I'd rather be with a toxic person than to be by myself". Well, you got Jesus. You ain't never by yourself. Yeah, going back to a toxic relationship, that's just like sayin', "I'm thirsty. Let me drink some poison". Some of y'all need to be by yourself for a minute so you can get to know the one who lives in you. You have a tenant livin' on the inside of you. You have a real person livin' on the inside of you, and he'd been tryin' to talk to you all this time, and you've been talkin' to some old, toxic person.
It's time for you to get the toxicity out of your life, and it's time for you to recognize who you are, who's in you, your name, praise God. You're anointed, you're blessed, you're successful, you're healed, you're delivered, you're on your way up, you're never gonna be down, hallelujah. All is well with you. I don't care what it looks like. I don't care what it feels like. I don't care what it smells like, hallelujah. All is well. Keep it. Keep it. "Yeah, but y'all don't know what I've been through". No, keep what Jesus suffered and bled and went to hell and was whipped on a cross of Calvary. Keep what he gave you. "I'm not moved by what I see. I'm not moved by what I feel. I'm not moved by what somebody says. I'm only moved by what Jesus has finished". Victory. Victory. Victory!
Somebody, said, "I don't see it". Honey, hold onto it. It's about to show up. It's your faith. Your faith is the victory that overcomes the stuff that's tryin' to steal it from you. That, ladies and gentlemen, is spiritual warfare. "Put on the whole armor of God that you might be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all you can do to stand", what it say do? "Stand". It didn't say, "Quit". It didn't say, "Retreat". It didn't say, "Give up, cave in". He says, "Having done everything you could do to stand". "Yeah, but y'all don't know how hard it's been. Oh, nobody knows the trouble I've seen". No, havin' done all I can do to stand, kick the dust off you, pick yourself up, and stand.
Now, do to Superman pose. Stand. Stand. Why? Because the possession of the baton is still in your hands. Y'all understand what I'm sayin'? I'm a little happy this mornin'. I'm a little happy this mornin' 'cause I realize the devil has done everything he could do to try to either kill me, shut me up, stop me, or discredit me, and here I am, standing, standing, standing. Follow me as I follow Christ. Stand.
If you have your Bibles, go with me to Galatians chapter 2, verse 16, and we're gonna read verse 16, and 20 and 21 in the King James and the NIV. Now, let me tell, one day we'll have time to do this, but you know, last night I covered stuff. I wish I could spend, like, five more sessions on that. But I wanna make sure I cover this tonight because we have to understand that faith responds to what Jesus has made available. And tonight, I'm not gonna cover it all, but I wanna talk about the... God gave me ten ways to respond to the finished works of Jesus Christ.
In other words, I know I'm already the healed, so do I just do nothing? I know I'm already the delivered, but what do I do? Somebody says, "Believe". Well, what does that mean? Bring that on a level of practicality. What does that look like when you say you believe you're already the healed? What does that look like when you say you believe you're already prosperous? What does that look like on this side in the physical body as far as doing certain things? And that's what I wanna cover tonight, and I wanna still look at drawing this picture of, you know, showing you what it looks like when people say, "Well, under the new covenant you believe".
And you have to be careful about that because God spoke this to me. He says, "I want you to teach this series because my people have become passive". And so, they hear teachings on grace and they just become passive. They just don't do anything because they figure, "Well, I'm under grace". It's kinda like the old James Brown song, "Hit me"! No, no, no. So, what do you do with all of that stuff that you've been doing? I mean, you can't tell me I didn't have success in doing those things. Even though I had the cart pulling the horse, they fit somewhere. And what we're trying to show you is, where does meditation fit? Where does prayer fit? Where does confession fit? Where does all the things that you've learned about, how do they fit in this grace life?
Let's begin in verse 16. "Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law". We were talking about last night, are you of the works of the law or are you of faith? That simply means, are you trying to accomplish your identity and are you trying to gain your provisions, that which Jesus has already done for you, through your own works and self effort, versus having faith in what's finished, what Jesus has already finished? Those are two different things. They are mutually exclusive and they will never harmonize. Now, he says, "Knowing that a man is not justified", or declared righteous, "by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ". He says you're not justified by the works of, and the performance, and the self-effort of keeping the law, but it's by faith of Jesus Christ. "Even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified".
All right, look at the last two verses here. He says, "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God". But what does that look like? We're not saying there's no faith, we're saying we need to put it in the right place. And what does it look like? What's the picture of a life that's lived by the faith of the Son of God? Because like I say, you can't say you live the life of faith and you're living the life of the works of the law at the same time. You can't do that, and yet still, you know, there's something that you're doing, all right. And he says, "Who loved me, and who gave himself for me".
Verse 21, he says, "I do not frustrated the grace of God: for", and then he tells you, you know, notice, "I will not frustrate the grace of God", colon, so he's getting ready to follow what does that mean. "For if righteousness comes by the law, the Christ is dead in vain". And that's frustrating to all of the plan of heaven, that we gave you Christ and you are still of the works of the law, when I want you to be of faith. So, here's what we wanna deal with tonight and try to really accomplish here tonight. What do you do when you accept your freedom from performance-based Christianity.
And so, you come to the point, you say, "Okay, I'm good. I'm not gonna try to perform to be righteous. I'm not gonna try to perform to be redeemed. I'm not gonna try to perform to be holy. Jesus has already done that, okay? So I accept what Jesus has done by faith. I'm not gonna perform to try to get healed. I'm not gonna perform to try to get delivered. Jesus has already done that and I get it by faith", okay? So the distinction is you trying to do something to get what Jesus has already gotten and what he's already done, so this is... You gotta be really focused in on really examining yourself. Am I doing this to try to get what's already been done or will I receive what's already been done by faith?
Under the law, it's about doing. Under the grace of God, it's about what's done and having faith in what's done. You understand? So, I already received that. What do I do when you accept the freedom from performance-based Christianity? What do you do when you are no more of the works of the law? Well, John 6:29 in the New Living Translation, well, watch this. Look at these Scriptures here. Look at what he says here. John 6:29 in the NLT, he gives this recommendation for us who are no longer under the works of the law and he talks about believing Jesus. Put it on the screen. Look what he says here. He says, "Jesus told them, 'This is the only work God wants from you: Believe in the one he has sent'". But it's still, what does that look like? Because if you're not careful, it's just a mental ascent. Okay, I believe. Somehow you have to authenticate that.
All right, so the Scripture says, "That's the only work I want from you, to believe in the one he has sent". That's pretty strong. And then you see these words too in Mark chapter 9:23 in the King James Version of the Bible, and Jesus said it over and over again, but Jesus made this statement which we have to come back to it. "Jesus said unto him, 'If thou can't believe, all things are possible to him that believes'". And then in another place in the Word of God, he tells us in Mark chapter 5, and verse 36, "Only believe". So, it's like, what does that look like? And that's been the issue for a long time, "Only believe", because when we hear it from where we are, that's when we're tempted to say it's not enough because we don't really understand what it looks like to believe. If you understood what it looks like to believe, it would be enough, okay?
Now, let's go a little further here. What do you do in believing Jesus? I know not to perform to get what Jesus has already provided for me through his blood, but how do I take possession of the finished works of Jesus? Well, the answer is, watch this, by faith, all right? So practically, how do I by faith take possession of what grace or what Jesus has made available? So now, it's by faith. It's faith in the finished works of Jesus. Cool, so what does it look like by faith to get healed? What does it look like by faith to be righteous? What does that look like?
All right, so the first place I need to start here is I need to clear up and get us on the same page where the definition of faith is concerned, okay? First of all, faith is a response. That's what it is. It's a response. It is a positive response to what Jesus has made available through his blood and his body. Faith is a positive response to what Jesus or what grace has already made available. It's already done. Faith is my positive response to what's already done. So faith is a response.
Now, I'm not talking about the works of the law to try to get it. We believe it's already done, so it requires us to respond to what's already done. I can put a million dollars in your bank account. It's already there, but it still requires your response. You following what I'm saying? It is a response. Healing has already been made available. It requires a response. Deliverance has already been made available. It requires a response. Everything that he's done that pertains to life and godliness requires a response. So faith takes possession of what Jesus, what grace has already made available. So Jesus has already made it available. Faith takes possession of it. So faith does not move God. If it's a positive response, faith does not move God. God's already moved. Faith moves you into position to where God is. I know that sounds strange, but faith doesn't move God. Faith moves you. God's already moved. Faith moves you.
See, we thought faith moved God to do something. It's like playing chess. He's made all the moves he gonna make. It's your turn. He's healed, he's delivered, he's set free, he's defeated the enemy. Do you know the devil is defeated? There's not a fight there. There's no fight there. The fight is over. The fight is on our part to maintain what Jesus has already done for us. You see, this requires renewing the mind over, and over, and over. You listen to this one time, and go home, and do nothing else with it, and it'll go away and you'll go right back to how you have traditionally believed. And I believe that your traditions will make the Word of God, the Word of God concerning the grace of God, of no effect, of no effect.
And so faith is a positive response to what Jesus or what grace has already made available. Faith doesn't move God, it moves us. Thank you, Jesus. Faith doesn't move God, it moves us. If Jesus hadn't already provided it for us, if grace hadn't already provided it for us, faith can't, 'cause faith doesn't make, grace makes, Jesus makes. Faith takes possession of what Jesus makes. Healing is already there. Faith takes it. Deliverance is already there. Faith takes it. But faith won't make healing. Healing's already been made available. Faith won't make prosperity, prosperity's already been made available.
Faith won't make deliverance or righteousness. It's already been made available by Jesus, by his grace, by his love for us, who's already provided for us. It is already there. That is the key to this whole deal. It's already there. Religion is trying to make something that Jesus has already made. And imagine how heaven looks at a Christian who's trying to get God to do what he's already done. So faith has been put in the system as a mechanism to be able to appropriate what grace has made available. All I'm trying to do is get you to look at what you're doing here and here. It's already done. Your ultimate faith is in what Jesus has already done. I believe what he's done first, and then I respond to it. Glory be to God, amen.
Now, there's a way to respond to the finished works of Jesus, all right, so here's the first way. Number one, Galatians chapter 5 and 6. My first response to everything that Jesus has made available and everything Jesus has finished, my first response, and somebody says, "Only believe". Yes sir, I believe that, so my first response, my first place of belief is, number one, I'm gonna believe in the love that God has for me. I mean, that's first and foremost. I believe in the love that God has for me.
Now, why is that important? In Galatians chapter 5 and 6, in context, in New Testament context, in grace context, this is not talking about and spending time talking to you about the Old Testament commandment of love, which is more focused in on loving God. This is focused in, in context, on number one, believing God's love for you so that we can love one another. And not only that, believing God's love for you... listen to me. Think about what we we've done in church all this time. It's, "Oh, I love God. Oh, I love God. Oh, I know I love God. I love God". What's that song? "I love God. You don't love God"? Huh? "What's wrong with you? I love God. You don't love God? What's wrong with you"?
That's not the issue. That's something that can be put up for debate, whether you love God or not. The issue is, do you believe the love that God has for you? 'Cause that's gonna cause a problem in your response. And so what I was saying in context is, when he says, "For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision", whether you were in Christ, you know, whether you were circumcised or not, he says, "Faith worketh by", here's what he's saying, not by how much you love God, faith worketh by how much you believe God loves you. 'Cause if you don't believe God loves you, you won't believe anything he said he's made available for you, 'cause you don't believe he loves you.
That is so important. Do you know how powerful that is for you to wake up in the middle of trouble knowing God loves you? And you know what religion has done? Religion says, "Because you have not kept all the law, God's disappointed". He's mad at you. And the question is, does God really love me? So how are you gonna have faith to take possession of something when all of a sudden you're feeling shamed, condemned, guilty, and don't even think you have the right to approach God because of what you've done? You've got to settle this.
I believe God loves me no matter what. Amen? So you can take what he's made available to help you out of your situation. But that's where it is right there. So somebody says, "Well, I don't know if I really believe that". Well, let me show you the other side. What happens when a person doesn't believe in the love? Because you're saying, "I believe", and you don't even believe he loves you? Oh, that's a problem all the way around. And so, look at Deuteronomy chapter 1, verse 25 through 27. You have to believe the love. All of the things Taffi and I have gone through, one of the things that has been just the hallmark is, "I know God loves me".
I don't know why this is happening, I don't know what's going on here, but I know God loves me. I know it looks bad out there and they're dogging me every which way, but I know God loves me. And then you can proceed from, "I know God loves me", to be reminded, look at what he's made available to you, peace. Oh yeah, God, I take possession of that peace right now. I know I have a right to it because I know God loves me. Look what he says in Deuteronomy 1:25. This is just to give you an idea of what happens when a person doesn't believe in the love. "And they took of the fruit of the land in their hands, and they brought it down unto us, and they brought us word again, and said, It is a good land which the Lord our God doth give us". So it's a good land. It has fruit on it.
There's some things that God wants to give you. Watch this in verse 26, "Notwithstanding you would not go up". He says, "Man, I got the good land here. It's great land. Come on, I wanna give you this land. Come on, take it, man. It's got fruit on it. Come on up here", but they wouldn't go up. But instead of going up and receiving what was made available to them, "They rebelled against the commandment of the Lord your God". Now this of course was in the dispensation of the law. They rebelled. Now watch this. "And you murmured in your tents. What would cause somebody to do that in their tents"? And he said, "Because the Lord hated us, he hath brought us forth out of the land of Egypt, to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites, to destroy us".
Think what happens when you go to the church and the preacher's telling you the reason why you had that wreck is because you didn't please God. What is that doing? That's questioning your faith in God's love, that you don't really believe that he loves you. When you think that God hates you, and you think that God doesn't love you, and when you think that God's mad at you, that is going to affect how you can take possession of what Jesus has made available. He says, "I got something I wanna give to you, but you won't go up and you won't receive it. You won't take possession of it. Why"? 'Cause I thought God hated me. I didn't receive his love for me. Wow, wow. We gotta get that part. That's first step. There's no way God can hate you.
Let's settle that right now. He doesn't have love, he is love. The issue is, will you receive it? I know God loves me when I'm up, when I'm down, when I'm right, when I'm wrong. God loves me. You have to settle that. I believe in the love that God has for me, amen? Everybody got, I'd love to spend more time with it, but I don't have time. I'm just giving you just a skeleton piece of it. Let's look at number two. The second way to respond to the finished works of Jesus, make a decision to believe in the finished works of Jesus.
If they're finished, make a decision. A decision is the open door into reality. Make a decision to believe in the finished works of Jesus. I decide that the finished works of Jesus are true. I believe it. I believe the finished works of Jesus. But like I said before, how do you authenticate whether you really do? I mean, you're telling me you believe, but there must be a way to authenticate whether or not it is real, what you are declaring about what you say you believe.
Well, look at Hebrews chapter 4, and verse 3 and 11. Hebrews 4:3 and 11, which takes us into the third step real quick. Hebrews 4, verse 3 says, "For we which have believed", or if you believe. If you believe in the finished works of Jesus Christ, here's what he says you can see, "We do enter into rest". The people that believe, that belief is authenticated because you'll see them in rest. Now, when I use the word "rest", I'm not talking about inactivity. I'm talking about resting while you work. There's got, you know, the believer should have a level of peace over him that can be seen. When everybody else is tripping, there's something different about the believer, 'cause he believes he already has received and the other guy's just shouting believing but he really doesn't because he hadn't entered into the rest.
He says, "For we which have believed do enter into the rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundations of the world". So to authenticate that, says, you say, "I believe in the finished works of Jesus". Okay, part of that finished works is healing is already finished, so you're not gonna see me stressed out over some disease somebody saw on an MRI. I'm gonna enter into the rest of what Jesus has already made available. That's what belief looks like.