Creflo Dollar - Spiritual Blindness vs Clarity
If you have your Bible, go quickly with me to the book of 1 John chapter 1 and verse 7. 1 John chapter 1 and verse 7, and tonight I wanna talk to you about spiritual blindness versus clarity, because I believe that we are about to enter into a season of clarity. What that simply means is if you are spiritually blind there are certain things you cannot or will not receive from God because you can't see it. There are certain things that you cannot get ahold of from God because you can't see it.
And when we talk about clarity we're talking about precision. We're talking about understanding, and when you don't understand a thing and when you can't perceive a thing, then you can't receive it. And so, spiritual blindness is one thing, but clarity is another. I wanna deal with, first of all, this issue of spiritual blindness, and I want you to please take note of what I'm about to say to you. That the biggest problem that we have in the body of Christ today is spiritual blindness, but it's not just spiritual blindness, but it's specifically in one area where we remain blind to, and that is spiritual blindness to what Christ has done for us.
When you're spiritually blind to what Christ has done for us, then you'll always be trying to get something that's already yours. You'll always be trying to make something happen that has already happened. Spiritual blindness is one of the biggest problems in the body of Christ today, and that is blindness to what Christ has already done. We look at 1 John chapter 1 and verse 7. You're familiar with this. He says, "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanses us from all of our sins". If we walk in the light.
Now, if you have a performance-based mindset, if you have a work-based mindset, you will automatically assume that this Scripture is referring to our behavior. If you walk in the light, as he's in the light, then the blood of Jesus cleanses you. If you are a performance-based Christian, immediately you will assume that this means you have to have the right kind of behavior, but this is not referring to nor is it talking about how we walk, but it's referring to where we walk.
Say out loud, "Not how we walk, but where we walk". So, it's not talking about walking in the light, you know, your behavior and how you walk, but it's talking about walking in the light where you walk. To say that it's your behavior it wouldn't make sense, because it would mean that if we behave ourselves like Jesus behaves himself, then the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all of our sins. But why would we need the blood of Jesus to cleanse us if we behaved like Jesus? Because Jesus is perfect, so he can't be talking about behavior here.
So, if it were true that we were only in the light when we behave right, then we're in the darkness when we behave wrong. And then, if we're in the darkness, if we behave wrong and now we're in the darkness, and then we behave right now that we're in the light, then we're going back and forth, and that means the only way to stay in the light would be to never sin. Can't be talking about this, so this Scripture is talking about the realm that we are in as a believer. It's not the way we are performing. We are in the light because we have been cleansed from all of our sins. If you are a believer, you are in the light, and you walk where God is because you are in Christ, and he is in you.
So, we are in the kingdom of light if we are in Christ. What do you have to do to be in the light? Be in Christ. What do you have to do to be in the light? Be born again. So, if you're born again and you've made Jesus the Lord of your life, you are in the light. Now, we're in the kingdom of light if we're in Christ, but if our eyes are blinded to the pure gospel of grace, then we will stumble around, groping to feel our way through life.
Now, I want you to think about something. You're in the light. Imagine that if you were physically blind. If you were physically blind I can bring you into a room where there's a bunch of light, and you'd never know it. The same way is true as a Christian. You got born again because you're in Christ. You're in Christ, you're in the light, but you're spiritually blind. You don't even know it. You're blind to your righteousness. You're blind to your redemption. You're blind to the blessings of God. You're blind to the things that have been made available to you because you're in Christ Jesus, but because you don't know it and because you can't see it and because you're spiritually blind you're still struggling, trying to get what you already got. You're still sweating, trying to get God to do what he's already done. That's what I'm talking about. That's spiritual blindness.
Notice in Isaiah 61, if you'll flip there real quick. Isaiah 61 and verse 1, and then we'll go to Luke chapter 4, verse 18. Spiritually blind. You can be a Christian, you could be in Christ Jesus, you could even come to church, but if you are blind to the grace that Jesus has made available to us, you're gonna still be doing a lotta religious activity to try to get stuff that's already yours because you just can't see what has already been done. You just can't see it.
Now look at this in Isaiah 61:1. Notice what it says. "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he has sent me to bind up the broken heart, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound". Now, it says a similar thing in Luke chapter 4, verse 18. Now, he says here, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he's anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised". So, they all say the basic same thing.
In Isaiah 61 he talks about the opening of the prison, but in Luke chapter 4:18 he talks about the recovery of sight to the blind. Now, it's interesting that in Isaiah 61:1 all the phrases are the same as Luke 4:18, except for one. I want you to notice something, the phrases that are the same in these two Scriptures. "Good tidings to the poor". That's the same in both Scriptures. "Heal the brokenhearted". That's the same in both Scriptures. "Proclaim liberty to the captive". That's the same in both Scriptures. "Opening of prison doors". That's different. In Isaiah, he says "opening of prison doors", but in Luke he says "the recovery of sight to the blind". What's going on here?
Well, in Isaiah 61 the phrase in Hebrew is a phrase which means, when he says that, it's the opening of the eyes. When he says "the opening of prison doors", the Hebrew phrase translates it's the opening of the eyes, so in both verses it's talking about opening your eyes so you can see something you couldn't see. Opening your eyes will be responsible for delivering you from captivity, so Jesus came to release the captives from the law that declared them unrighteous, to release them from the law that declared them unacceptable to God, and to free men from performance-based religion. He said, "In order for men to be free from performance-based religion, we've got to open their eyes to what has already taken place".
The recovery of sight to the blind was not talking about Jesus going to heal people who were blind in the natural. He said, "I need to recover the sight to those who are blind to the gospel of grace so they can be delivered from the captivity of the law, so they'll stop going around trying to do something to get God to do what he's already done". He said, "But until I can get their eyes to open so they can see what I've already done for them, they won't see it. There is no clarity, and they'll stay in bondage".
2 Kings chapter 6, verse 14 through 17, "Therefore he sent hither horses, and chariots, and a great host: and they came by night, and they compassed the city about". Verse 15, "And when the servants of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, a host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! How shall we do?" 'cause they were surrounded, and they thought they were gonna be defeated. "And he answered, 'Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them'".
Now, he's talking to his servant, who can only see these guys surrounding them. He couldn't see that there was not anything to worry about, because he could only see what was right in front of him. He was blind to what Elisha saw, and the next verse says, "And Elisha prayed, and said, 'Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see.' And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha".
See, you've got to be careful that you don't call what you can see right now. See, you see the baby need a pair of shoes. See, you see looking at the light bill due. So, you see the x-ray. So, you see the things that are right in front of you, and you've got to understand you're still blind, so this year God's gonna open your eyes so you can see beyond what you can see. When you're spiritually blind, the only thing you see will be temporary reality. Oh, my God. But when your eyes have been opened, when you have clarity, you're gonna see eternal reality. Temporary reality is what you can see right now, but when you have clarity you'll see beyond what you can see right now, and you'll see that there is nothing to worry about.
See, temporary reality says, "There is this sickness", but eternal reality says, "I've already been healed". Temporary reality says, "There is the lack", but eternal reality says, "God has provided all of my needs according to his riches in glory". What God is going to do for us this year, he's gonna take us out of the temporary into the eternal. He's gonna heal us of blindness, and we're gonna be able to see beyond the situation that's facing us today, and that will put you in a position where you can now receive what he's already done for you. You'll be able to say, "You can't fool me, devil. I know what's right in front of me, but that's just temporary. I'm looking beyond what I can see, and I'm gonna see eternal reality". If you understand that say amen.
Now, Ephesians chapter 1, verse 16 through 21. Ephesians chapter 1, verse 16 through 21. There is exceeding great power available to us, but we just don't see it. There's exceeding great power available to us, but we just don't see it. Ephesians 1, verse 16. He says, "Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers". Seventeen, "That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him".
Verse 18, "That the eyes of your understanding", the eyes of your understanding, "being enlightened", so when the eyes of your understanding are enlightened, "that you may know what is the hope of his calling, and what is the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints". And he says, "And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power", he says, "which we wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and he set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places". And this is gonna happen when your eyes are enlightened.
I'm prophesying to you that your eyes are about to be enlightened. You're gonna begin to recognize things that you've not recognized before because you couldn't see it. The devil better be careful about messing with you this year, because there are things you can see now that you couldn't see before that's gonna change the whole game. You're about to walk in a real game changer, praise the Lord? The best explanations you can come up with for why things happen appears to blame God for the sickness and appears to blame God for the tragedy. It appears to blame God for the earthquakes, et cetera, because you're looking at things through your natural eyes, but that's gonna change.
So, what do I need to do? What is my responsibility so that I can cooperate with God in all of this? Well, the first thing that must be done to get clarity is to get in the Word. A lot of you have a Word deficit. I know you say "hallelujah" when everybody speaks to you, and you shout, but you have a Word deficit, and you can tell because your emotions control you more than the Word does. And when there is a Word deficit, you stay blind. You can't see because of that Word deficit. Psalms 119 and verse 130. The first thing that must be done to get clarity is we've got to get in the Word. I'm calling all World Changers to rededicate yourself to getting in the Word.
Make the Word of God your priority this year. Why? Because you're going to need to see some things that you've not been able to see before: clarity, clearness, understanding, precision, simplicity, exactness. The primary way God speaks to us is through the Word and look what he says in Psalms 119 and verse 130. The primary way that God speaks to us is through the Bible. He says, "The entrance of thy Word gives", what? "It gives light; and it gives understanding unto", come on, "the simple". "The entrance of thy Word gives light".
Look at this in the New Living Translation. The entrance of God's Word is gonna bring light. It's gonna bring clarity. It's gonna bring understanding. The Bible says, NLT says, "The teaching of your Word gives light, so even the simple can understand". There are some simple people that are gonna be able to see some stuff a lot better than so many deep people, so it starts with the Word. It starts with the Word. It doesn't start with your worldview. Any time you can get somebody to agree with your worldview, they're gonna go along with you. It's gonna start with the Word, and the Word may contradict your worldview, so commit yourself, "I'm gonna get in the Word". And I'm talking about learn how to get in the Word.
I've got some teachings out there that will show you how to study the Bible. Go to Ephesians. Ephesians chapter 1:17-20 again. I wanna read this out of The Message translation. Ephesians 1 through 20. "Asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of him", so let's do that right now. Repeat after me, "Heavenly Father, I ask for spiritual wisdom and insight to grow in the knowledge of you". He says here, "I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called".
Say this after me, "Father, I pray that my heart will be flooded with light so I can have clarity". Go to verse 19. "I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God's power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that he used, you know, to raise Jesus from the dead". Now say this out loud: "I pray, Lord, for understanding, clearness, and clarity concerning the power that you've given me. I receive that now: wisdom, revelation, and clarity in Jesus's name".
Now, how many of you believe that by faith? All right? Now, Acts chapter 26, verse 18 tells us the purpose of what he wants to accomplish in our life. Acts chapter 26 and verse 18. He says, "To open your eyes", it's all over the New Testament, "To open your eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive". Now, stop right here. Notice what he says first thing's gotta take place: gotta get away from blindness. Gotta open your eyes and when your eyes are open then you'll turn from darkness to light. And when you're no longer in darkness but you're now in light, then you'll turn from the power of Satan unto God.
There are some things that the enemy can do because your eyes aren't open. There are some things the enemy can do because you're blinded to the grace that's been made available, because the only thing you can see is what the world is telling you. Only thing you can see is through the filter of your worldview. And if you make the mistake of just sitting there and coming up with an educated worldview and you're not comparing that with what the Bible says, you can be in this Earth with masters degrees and still be blind to the truth of everything. He says open your eyes, and then when your eyes are open you're delivered from darkness, you're delivered from the power of Satan.
And then, he says at that point, when your eyes are open and you're delivered from darkness and you're delivered from the power of Satan, at that point you can receive from him. You can receive at that point, but you can't receive from God when you're spiritually blind, when you're in darkness, and when you're under the power of Satan. Satan's main power is deception by speaking suggestions to you that contradict the Word of God, and you won't know what contradicts God's Word if you are spiritually blind. You will just claim it as a part of your worldview, and you'll just go along with it. And what happens with the worldview is all it takes is a whole bunch of people in society saying, "That's right". And then, you say, "Well, it must be right because everybody else says it right".
And so, you're right in the middle of the power of God, but you can't receive it. You're right in the middle of the truth, but you can't receive it. Why? Because you're blind, you're in darkness, the power of Satan is over your life, and you can't receive what Jesus Christ has made available to you. And he says, "When they get delivered from this", he says, "they're gonna receive forgiveness of sins". See, when you're blind you won't receive forgiveness of sin. You'll live your whole life thinking that every time you sin that, you know, you gotta go and do this big thing before God. You won't know that God's already forgiven you of all of your sins, so if you do mess up just thank God that he's already cleansed you. Because you're blind, you'll continue to try to do more religious activity to try to take care of what you did, but he says when you're not blind you can receive forgiveness of your sins.
When you're not blind you can receive the inheritance that's among them which are sanctified, and you can do it by faith in Jesus Christ. There are so many people that are still praying to try to get God to do what he's already done. There are so many people that are still fasting and praying to try to get healed, when God's already healed you. There are so many people that are still trying to get what Jesus has finished because they are spiritually blind, but I thank God that this year clarity has come to your house, amen?
All right, now watch this. Now, here is the great part, I believe, that's gonna happen this year, those of you who've been wandering around, just wandering around, trying to figure out, "What is it that I'm supposed to do"? And you know what happens a lot of times is we just watch somebody else, and then we aspire to be what we see, and a lot of times we're not hearing what the Spirit of God wants us to do. There is going to be something that changes this year. You are going to, with clarity and with the help of the Holy Spirit, know what you were put here to do. Yes, yes.
Look at Psalms 37, verse 23 through 25. You know, I tried to go back and forth with God on this. I says, "Well, you know, Lord, what about what I'm doing"? He says, "No, no, no. For every man who's hungry to know the will of God for their lives, I will escort and direct them to that place". Look at these Scriptures in verse 23. Psalms 37:23 he says, "The steps of a good man are", what? "Ordered by the Lord, and he delighteth in his way". Verse 24, "Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down for the Lord upholdeth him with his hand". You're going to be upheld by God this year. Praise God. It's going to be real hard to mess this up because God's going to lead you in the way you should go, and if you fall, he going to pick you back up. In other words, God's got your back. You're going to arrive at the place for which you were put on this earth to arrive in.
Look at verse 25 he says, "I have been young and now old, yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken nor his seed begging bread". God says he will not forsake you who believe that you've received Jesus as your Lord, and your days of begging are over. Amen. All right, now watch this. Jeremiah 10:23, "Your steps have been ordered, so with clarity you can walk in them. Your steps have been ordered, so with clarity you will walk in them". Now notice this in Jeremiah 10, verse 23. It's God's commitment to us, God's commitment to us. He says, "O Lord, I know that the way of man is not in himself. It is not in man that walketh to direct his steps".
Did you see that? In other words, you're not going to be able to take credit. He said it ain't in you to direct your steps. He says, "But I know the way. I will direct your path". Say this out loud: "I will depend on you to direct my path". Oh, praise God, amen. Come on, real quick Jeremiah 29 and 11. Everybody in here has an expected end. Everybody in here has an expected end. As far as heaven is concerned, everybody has a designated spot. There's an expected end. You're not a mistake, I don't care how you got here. Some of us might have got here a little rocky, but I don't... you're here. Listen, if God didn't want you here, you would not have got here, but you're here, praise God, and there's an expected end.
Now look what he says here. "'For I know the thoughts that I think towards you', saith the Lord, 'thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you'", Come on, somebody, "An expected end". God says, "I'm going to give you a", what? An expected end. Now look at Proverbs 16 and 9 in the NLT, Proverbs 16:9 in the NLT. This is the best way for me to do it. I'm just going to show it to you and read it. 'Cause if I get talking, then one Scripture turns into a 50-minute sermon. All right, watch this. "We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps". So go ahead, go ahead with your plans. Go ahead with your plans, you think you know what to do. Go ahead trying to be like be daddy and that daddy. Go ahead and do all that.
You can make your plans, but the Lord's going to determine your steps, and see, I'm trying to get you not to waste time. Stop wasting your time with your plans and get into what God wants you to do so you can, you know, some of you've been around the thing two, three times. Turn to your neighbor and say, "God determines my steps". Look at Isaiah 30:21 in the NLT, Isaiah 30:21 in the NLT. I tell you what. Clarity, clarity, no more, "I don't know what to do, I don't know how to do it, I don't know when to do it". Clarity, and just in case some of you think you've messed up too much for God to use you, that's a lie straight from the pit of hell. Moses killed a man. David took a man's wife and had him killed. Paul persecuted the whole church.
I think you're going to be all right. 'Cause if God can use Moses, if he can use David, and if he can use three murderers, I think you're going to be all right. If you ain't kill nobody, if you have, keep your hand down. We don't want to know that tonight. But God can use anybody he wants to use. I said God can use anybody he wants to use because everybody God calls is unprepared. God is the one that prepares everybody that he calls. He doesn't call anybody ready. Verse 21, "Your own ears will hear him". I prophesy your own ears are going to hear him. "Right behind you a voice will say, 'This is the way you should go,' whether to the right or to the left".
I'm telling you, God is committed to providing guidance. He's committed to providing direction in your life if you'll just trust him and believe him that there's a will of God for your life. "There's something I'm supposed to do and I will not miss it this year because I may make plans, but he will direct my steps". Look at Proverbs chapter 3, verse 5 through 6. Now here's what we need to focus on. Trust in the Lord. You're going to find it's going to be hard to trust anybody or anything else but him. To trust me is to rely on confidently, to lean on. "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart".
Now look at the competition. "Lean not unto what you understand". There's a lot of things you understand about your situation. You may understand, "I don't have the degree for that". You may understand, "I don't have the experience for that". You may understand, "I don't qualify for that". But trust in the Lord. You will end up at that expected place on time and you will fulfill what God has called you to do. Stop saying what you don't know. Stop saying what you don't know. Start declaring, "There's an expected end for me". Start declaring, "The Lord is directing my steps".
Somebody says, "Well, I can't believe that God directed me here". No, no, some of them places, you see, some of them places, you did a detour. You know, one thing I love about the Lord, he says, "We're not supposed to go this way, but I said I'll never leave you nor forsake you". He's the one tapping you on your shoulder, saying, "Hey, can we get back on course"? You know, your little phones where you mastered over, you know, yeah, your GPS. And, you know, when you go off and it goes reroute and I was just playing with mine one time. I just rebelled every time. I was driving to New York and I just, "Let's just get lost and see what you can do". She just went nuts, she didn't know where she was either after a while, but she just reroute, reroute, reroute.
Eventually, I was so lost I had to trust her 'cause I didn't know where I was. So I just paused, shut it down, start back over again, and I had to trust her. She got me where I needed to be. Same thing true is where God is concerned. You've might have been all this different stuff in your life. You everywhere, you doing all kinds of stuff. God called you to be here to do that, you way over there trying to play the guitar and... All I'm asking you to do tonight is pause, reset, and say, "God, I trust you. Where you lead me, I'll follow". Amen?
Look at verse 6. "In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he'll", do what? Direct my paths. You know what that means? When you trust God, you're not keeping him out of your decisions. You're going before him and you're like, "You know, Lord, I want to do this. I'm acknowledging you. What do you think about it"? We don't do that anymore. You know what we do? "I'm going to do this. If you want to help, Holy Ghost, you need to come on in here". What we do is we get a plan and we try to get God to anoint it when we should be getting it from him and it's already anointed, and then we'll end up in the wrong places. And sometimes we get deceived because we have a twisted definition of success.
And so now we think we're successful because, you know, a lot of stuff showing up in your life, but you don't think about enduring riches. You don't think about success. Success is defined as finding and accomplishing the will of God for your life. 'Cause you're not successful if you die with a bunch of money and go to hell. You're not successful if you buy a $5,000 suit and ain't nobody around to tell you you're sharp. You're not successful if you buy a 50,000 square foot house and don't nobody like you, no kids like you, nobody don't want to come see you, and you are haunting the house and ain't even died yet because nobody want to be with you. All you are is a poor man with money in the bank, a poor man with a big house, a poor man with a $5,000 suit on, which you might as well keep when you die. Are you listening to me?
This year is a year of clarity, a year where you're going to understand and know, a year where God will begin to direct your path. He will begin to plot out your steps. He knows exactly where you're supposed to be when you're supposed to be; and if you'll trust him when you get there, he'll tell you what to do when you arrive. God is about to do something so magnificent that as he is working through your life, you will have no choice but to declare when people ask, "What is it that you did to prepare yourself for this"? I mean, come on, have a little class. Don't say, "Mm-mm". At least give God the glory. "This is the Lord's doing". Start giving God the glory. This is the Lord's doing.
Some of you are already experiencing success, but you're forgetting that it's God. You keep giving yourself a credit, but it's God who gave you the ability to inhale and exhale, it's God who gave you the ability to get up and walk, it's God that allowed you to lay down and have a good sleep so you can have some rest so you can get up the next morning. It was God that put the thought in your mind. What is it that you go around thinking that it's always you, that you cannot give God the glory and cannot give him the praise?
You're not going to have any trust 'cause you know you couldn't have done it, you are not that smart. You knew you were not that smart. You know the doors didn't open for you, but God is about to open some doors that no man will be able to close. God is about to set some stuff up that nobody could set up. God is about to give you favor that nobody could give favor to. And don't forget him. Just lift your hands up and say, "Look at God. Look at what he did here. Look at the door he opened here. I got to praise him". And I double dog dare you if it get real good to you to go to the nearest bathroom stall and cut a little step right there real quick and thank God because after this year you're going to know him as Jehovah the provider.