Creflo Dollar - Understanding the Foundation of Righteousness - Part 2
How many of you know Christ is not Jesus’s last name? Somebody say, «What’s Jesus’s last name»? «Christ, I believe». No, Christ is the anointed one. He said, «Thou art the anointed one, the Son of the living God». All right, now watch this. «But my Father which is in heaven, he revealed it to you». Now, let me let you in on something. The Father, which is in heaven, sent the Holy Ghost, which is in you, so that heaven can still be revealing some stuff to you. So you need to trust the heaven you got in you.
Now, how are you questioning whether or not you’re going to go to heaven when you already got a little heaven on the inside of you? Don’t let the devil play that trick with you. «You sure you going to get in»? Bro, I’m already in. He in me. He’s the host. I’m hosting him because one day he’s going to host me. Woo, Jesus. I feel like taking off right now, boy. Glory to God. Excuse me. I’m enjoying myself. Now, watch this next verse. Verse 8, «And I say unto thee…» Now, listen to this. He just a couple of times said, «I’m talking to Simon the son of Jonah». «And he said unto thee, 'That thou art…'» He wasn’t talking about what your name is. He says, «You are a Peter». «What do you mean a Peter»?
Well, I think in the Greek it’s a piece of rock, fragment of it. He ain’t rock, but something happens when you get a revelation of the rock. A little of the rock going, it’s going to make you more sound. The more you understand who Jesus is, the more solid you become. You become solid. You know where I’m going with this, don’t you? Amen. Thou art, I think it would be even closer to the truth if I said thou art rocky. Not Balboa, but thou art rock. «Thou art Peter, and upon this rock», what rock? Now, we got to answer that. Upon this rock, you’re going to understand a lot about Satan’s attack after this. Upon this rock, all right, who’s the rock? Okay, he is Jesus, but in context of what I’m reading here he is saying, «Upon this revelation of Jesus, upon this revelation of Jesus I’m going to build my church».
Upon this revelation that Jesus is the Christ, Jesus is the anointed one, Jesus is the one that removes burdens and destroys yoke, Jesus is the anointed one. The anointing is not just a shake, rattle, and roll. The anointing removes burdens and destroys yokes. Hallelujah. If you are a singer and when you sing everybody in church get a headache, you are not anointed. The anointing doesn’t bring burdens, it removes burdens. Praise God. And just 'cause you fall out on the floor doesn’t mean you’re anointed. I’m so fed up with people just falling out, you can’t hardly help because the guy praying for you, you know, if you control the head the body got to follow, and he gets your head and put your head all the way back there. You ain’t got to do that.
If the anointing’s there, you ain’t got to do that because I am not as concerned about you falling out as much as I am how you get up. 'Cause if you fell out sick and get up the same way, then you didn’t encounter nothing. But if you fell out sick and got up and the sickness has been removed, then, I look at the anointing based on how you get up rather than you fell out. Somebody shout, «Glory». Say it again, «Glory». «Why do you got us saying that»? 'Cause that’s what you’re about to encounter. No, no, no, not, maybe here, but in your living. Taffi and I are convinced it’s in your living. It’s not come to church and like a circus. «Let’s see where the circus is at». No, no, no.
In your living, in your living, in your living it will, you got to live this. It’s Jesus in your getting up, and Jesus in your getting dressed, and your Jesus going to work, and your Jesus being around hellish people, and your Jesus, you know, driving in the car, and your Jesus walking to lunch. It’s your Jesus encountering all, being slandered. It’s your Jesus when they messing with you. It’s living your Jesus when the money ain’t right, when you got to figure out how to pay the bill. It’s living with him in all of those situations. It’s a daily fellowship with Jesus and you believing what you believe who Jesus is that causes maturity and growth in your life. It’s not coming to church to see, «Oh, let’s see if we going to see some…what show we got today»?
Man, I don’t do shows. You don’t really, this is, I don’t think it’s hard, but somebody say, «Well, we come to church to worship the Lord». I see what you’re saying, you know, as long as… but real worship takes place outside the church. It’s like when you leave here and you got to go home to a husband or a wife and some children and you got a job to do and you got, you know, wife duties to carry out and you got all that stuff going on. You come here to get built up so when you go out there you can worship God, and that means, «Lord, do through me and with me what you want to do». And worship takes place where you’re like, «Okay, God, I’m your instrument. What do you want me to do? Oh, Lord, just say that to me. Let me…how do you want to use me? How do you want to use me, Lord? How do you want to use me»?
That’s where the worshiping takes place. It’s like when I went yesterday to get me a veggie bowl. I really wanted to go to Sprout to get cookies, but the Lord helped me. And the service was just so excruciating hard and I stood there fighting me 'cause I knew if I can control my mouth I can control everything else, and I just wanted to say something. «I’m just standing here. Everything ready. I’m standing here. All I got to do is tap my card and we can go. Why won’t you say…» And I thought, «No matter what, you control this tongue because this is worship. This is worship».
And the reason why I mix it with songs, 'cause sometimes you got to sing a song to help you through what God trying to get you to do in a pressure situation. And when she finally got it, I made sure to say it very clearly and with kindness, «Thank you so much for your service». Now, my head was like, «As crappy as it was, thank you so much for your service». Now, some of you would think, «Well, I’m not going to give a tip, I’m not…» No, that ain’t right 'cause worship is looking beyond what you feel like and asking God for some empathy for, «Maybe something happened that’s kind of, you know, messing with her day and I still need to be a blessing to her».
That’s worship, ladies and gentlemen. The circus should no longer be in church. I have put out all the clowns and got rid of all of the circus acts so you can come here and get built up and have some for real church so when you go out there where it matters your light will shine to such a point. Now, you are not the light, Jesus is the light, but we want to see that light in you. «Well, mmm, mmm, okay, I’ll try». I’ll try is an honest lie. «You coming to church this morning»? «I’ll try». You know you ain’t coming, it was a honest lie. He said, «I say unto thee, that thou art a Peter. And upon this revelation of Jesus being the Christ, I’m going to build my church on the revelation of Jesus being the Christ, the revelation of Jesus being righteous, the revelation of Jesus being holy and pure. I’m going to build my church on Jesus».
And notice what he says. «And the gates of hell shall not prevail against…» All right, against it. It what, the church or the revelation of Christ? The devil is not going to prevail against the revelation you get of Christ, which is why Taffi and I are trying to preach it with our hair on fire. Jesus. It’s Jesus. Don’t waste your time with these silly, little revelations about nothing. Get your focus on the revelation of Jesus. «When baby need a pair of shoes, it’s Jesus that I’m going to stand on». «Look, I got a light bill due». Jesus. You even got a gas bill due. Jesus. «Doctor said I’m sick». Jesus, Jesus. «Jesus is my way in, Jesus is my way out. Jesus is my healing, he’s my deliverance. He’s my financier».
The gates of hell won’t prevail against that, but some crackerjack principle from some life coach, «I tell you the gates of hell might knock that down». Might not be the gates of hell, might be Jesus will knock that down. Technology is interesting, but don’t let technology come between you and Jesus and don’t allow technology to think it can take Jesus’s place. We’re about to enter into the next 2 or 3 years of some of the most technological advances that this country has ever seen before, but you got to make sure you know how to use it so it don’t use you.
I love, just got to mention verse 19 just so you’ll know. «And,» with this revelation of Jesus, «I’m going to give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven and whatever you forbid on earth,» bind, «shall be forbidden in heaven and whatsoever you shall permit on the earth,» or loose on the earth, «shall be permitted in heaven». He now says, «I give you the right to exercise the authority of Jesus while you’re living this grace life». Every now and then you need to let the devil know who he dealing with. Like, «Bro, I’m just not some little scrub Christian living down here. You know who I am? I am a son of the most high God. And by the blood of Jesus he’s accepted me into this sonship, which means I have access to the anointing of the anointed one. And, in fact, if you really want to know the truth, the anointed one allow me to be part of the anointed ones and I can execute authority on this planet and I don’t have to do it 100 times. I already know who I am. I trust Jesus».
So he’s given you a name above every name. Jesus. But some people, you don’t have enough for the name to work. You just articulate it because you read about, «Well, in the name of Jesus this, and in the name of Jesus that». But you really don’t believe it because your foundation has been destroyed and you don’t know that he is the Christ, the Son of the living God. Say it three times: «I’m the righteousness of God». You believe it? Well, praise God for that. I believe I’m the righteousness of God.
Now, let’s go to 1 Corinthians chapter 3 and verse 10 and 11 in the NLT, 1 Corinthians chapter 3:10 and 11 in the NLT. Verse 10 says, «Because of God’s grace to me…» Wow. Because of God’s grace to me, this grace, this unmerited, abounding provision in the operation of his unrestrained, infinite love that functions through Jesus Christ for mankind, especially for those who depend on him, this operation of his love because of this operation, he said to me, «I have laid the foundation like an expert builder. Now others are building on it. But whoever is building on this foundation must be very careful». Verse 11, «For no one can lay any foundation other than the one we already have laid, Jesus Christ».
And many will come, many have already come, to try to lay other foundations. The foundation is Jesus. I said the foundation is Jesus. In him, we move. In him, we breathe. In him, we have our very being. Our foundation will only shake if it has been built on something other than Christ himself, and that’s what it’s got to be about, folk. That’s what it’s got to be about in our lives and in everything that we cover. Now, the old covenant. Let’s go there just for a moment. Let’s look at this other foundation, this foundation that is probably or would probably be declared self-righteousness, a foundation that’s based on performance.
In other words, for many years a lot of us thought the foundation was what we do, and obedience was the foundation. «Yeah, I’ll do that, Lord. You know, obedience is the foundation, and I got to obey, I got to obey, I got to obey, I got to obey». And I know this is freaking you out because all your life, we’ve all heard that. «I got to obey. I got to obey». Because we felt like obedience, «My obedience to the law, my performance where the law is concerned, my obedience to the law, my performance to where the law is concerned,» it now becomes your foundation and that foundation is based in self-righteousness and based in performance.
But very few people recognize that that was adjusted even in… go to Romans chapter 1 and 5. In the new covenant, there is something, a phrase that is mentioned at least twice in the new covenant that is the phrase obedience to the faith. There’s obedience to the Mosaic law, but in the new covenant there is obedience to the faith. He says, «Through Christ, God has given us the privilege and the authority as apostles to tell Gentiles everywhere what God has done for them, so that they will believe and obey him, bringing glory to his name».
Go to the King James. I want them to see this phrase. «By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith», what is that? Obedience to the faith is simply believing what Jesus has finished. When you believe the finished works of Jesus, you are being obedient to the faith. Obedience to the faith is just believing. It’s, watch this, it’s right believing. Obedience to the faith is right believing; and that freaks people out because now you having to move from obedience to the law where you’re performing and doing something, okay, versus obedience to faith where you are believing right according to what Jesus has finished, and that continues to be a struggle amongst Christian people as we make the switch to understanding this new covenant.
This is the new covenant, and under the new covenant we are… no, the new covenant does not require obedience to your performance of the law to do good to get good. Under the new covenant it is obedience to faith or right believing to receive what Jesus has already done. It’s already done. Your healing is already done. Your deliverance is already done. It’s already done. But if you under the new covenant start operating by obedience to the law, what you’re going to do is, «I’m going to obey by performing,» and you will frustrate the grace of God.
Obedience to the faith, «I believe in Jesus. I believe I’m the righteousness of God. I believe that I’m healed. I believe that I am holy. I believe…» It’s right believing. And then what do you do when you got that obedience to the faith right? «I am resting in what Jesus has done. I am resting in who Jesus is, and I am resting in what Jesus has done».
So where is the church right now? The church right now has been saturated in performance-based religion, and the Mosaic law is a performance-based law. Check it out yourself. It’s all about, «And if you do, and if you do, and if you do, and if you do. And if you do this, then you’ll get this. And if you do this, then you will get this». And then you move on down in verse 28 it says, «Now, let me show you what… if you don’t do it. If you don’t do it, then this going to happen to you. And if you don’t do it, then this curse will come on to you. And if you don’t do it…» So the old covenant of the law is based on if you do, then you’ll get blessed; if you don’t do, then you’ll get cursed. And Jesus said, «This is too flawless for fallen people to keep».