Creflo Dollar - The Finished Work
We've been talking about the finished works of Jesus Christ, and what has been finished should not be up to us to try to do something to get something that's finished, finished. If I were to come out here until you sit down and you're already seated, why am I trying to encourage you to do what you're already doing? And so, we began to talk about all of these things that are finished, that your forgiveness is a finished work, that your healing is a finished work, that judgment over your life is a finished work. Reconciliation is a finished work.
Well, this morning I want to share with you that the blessing is a finished work. The blessing is a finished work. I want you walking out of here today encouraged every day to get up in the morning and release your faith for the finished work of the blessing. Let's start off this morning by saying, "I am blessed". For so many people, they use the word "blessing" and money equivalent or, you know, as if they're the same. The blessing is so much more than that and so it stopped people from understanding the blessing because they automatically would relate the blessing to money. And I'm gonna show you something that's entirely different. We have to define that it is a finished work.
What does that mean? That means you don't do anything to try to get it, you release your faith, of course, you have to respond to it. Faith is a positive response. Healing is a finished work, but I gave you ten ways to respond to healing so that you can actually walk in that healing. Faith is a positive response to what grace has made available. And a lot of times we confuse doing something to try to get something to happen versus of supplying a positive response to what has already happened so that you would provide the bridge for you to begin to walk in that. But the blessing is a finished work. So, I want to talk to you this morning about the finished work of the blessing. I call it Grace Based Success, Grace Based Success.
Let's begin in the Book of Genesis chapter 39, and verses 1 through 2. Grace Based Success. Look what he says in verse 1. "And Joseph was brought down to Egypt: and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian bought him of the hands of the Ishmaelites, which had brought him down hither". Verse 2, "And the LORD was with Joseph, and he, Joseph, was a prosperous", or another translation says, "a successful man. He was a successful man, and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian".
Now, the setting of this is that Joseph had been betrayed by his brother, brothers, and he was being auctioned off as a slave. And so, Joseph didn't have anything. He was a slave. He didn't own anything. So, how could you say that this man was a successful man, and he didn't own anything? See, this is gonna challenge our definition of success. If you only define success by what you have, and the things you have accumulated, then you're completely missing what Bible success is all about. And so, this weird spirit has entered into the church over the years because we've allowed the world and religion to define certain things, instead of understanding the distinction between the truths that are under the law, versus the truth that are under grace.
Now, grace didn't just start in the New Testament. You see grace all through Abraham's life, Isaac's life, Jacob's life, all the way up until the law was given by Moses. You saw grace operating. You saw grace operating in the wilderness. They didn't do anything to deserve manna. You saw grace that was operating in the journey. They didn't do anything to deserve for God to guide them by a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. That was the grace of God operating in their lives. But here you see Joseph, who was a slave, and didn't own anything and yet the Bible says that he was a successful man, that he was a prosperous man, successful man, and he gave the reason why. He said because the Lord was with him. He was in the house of his master, the Lord was with him. Joseph was a prosperous man because the Lord was with him.
Now, it's the presence of the Lord in your life that makes you a success. I'm gonna say that again. It's the presence of the Lord in your life that makes you a success. And the Lord was with Joseph, and the Lord was with Joseph, and he was successful because the Lord was with him. He was not successful because he had five cars. He was not successful because he had plenty money in the bank. He was successful because he owned great businesses. See, that's what the world's definition of it is. He is successful because the Lord was with him. Turn to your neighbor and ask them, "Who you with"? Success is not what you have, but who you have. Success is not based on what you have, it is based on who you have.
I dare you to turn to the other side and say, "Who you with"? We need to learn to stop, stop pursuing things and start pursuing him. Stop pursuing things. Some people make their relationship with God all about, "I need things". Stop pursuing things and start pursuing Jesus. So, God sees your relationship with him as the only thing that you need for every success in your life. Your relationship with him is the only thing you're gonna need to have a successful life. It seems like every time we come up here now, it's all about the relationship. Turn to your neighbor say, "I'm in it for the relationship".
Now, if you're saved or born again for any other reason other than the relationship, you are skipping the necessary foundation to be able to see a successful will of God operate in your life, for the only thing that a person needs is the relationship with him in order to enjoy success in your life. And I need to tell you this, you're supposed to be successful in your life, especially if you are a Christian. And I do not spell success M-O-N-E-Y. I spell success relationship, I ain't got time to spell R-E-A-L - that's how I spell success. It's relationship, it's relationship. How can a slave that has nothing, that owns nothing, and yet, the Word says he was successful, not because of the material possession, but because of a relationship he has with the Father.
I dare you to go there. I dare you to go there, I dare you to forget all of the performance-based stuff that you get on social media, trying to be like somebody, trying to impress somebody that don't even care, trying to buy stuff you can't even afford and don't even have a relationship with the only one that matters. Because anything you gather up in this life, you leave it here when you die. The only thing that's gonna determine your success for eternity is your relationship with Jesus Christ, and today is an opportunity for you to understand that all of what you can gather in this world and then build bigger barns to keep it in, you do all that if you want to, but when your soul is required that particular day, real success is gonna be determined after you leave this physical world. And yet, God wants you to be successful while you're here, but you still think success is based on Wall Street and based on the Joneses.
Your success is based on your intimate, personal relationship, and the presence of God in your life is what makes you successful. Say this out loud, "The Lord is with", and then put your name there. "The Lord is with, and I am a successful person". Say it again, "The Lord is with", say your name, Creflo, "and I'm a successful person". Say it one more time, "The Lord is with". Somebody said, "Why don't we just say 'Me'"? Because I want the devil to know you know your name, and you by name are successful because the Lord is with you.
I dare you to declare that every day your life. You wake up in the morning, you might be broke as the Ten Commandments that Moses dropped on the bottom of Mount Sinai, but you look in the mirror and you say, "The Lord is with me, that's why I'm successful". When you can't hardly pay your bills, "The Lord is with me, that's why I'm successful". When there's something going on in your body, "The Lord is with me, that's why I am successful". Are you listening to me now? So, all of your struggling, all of your willpower, all of your discipline, all of your self-effort cannot do what the presence of God can do in an instant. And we do a lot of striving to try to compete with the presence of God where success is concerned.
Now, you gonna find out if you're really a believer, find out if you really believe it. You are transformed by beholding Jesus and believing that he loves you and that he wants to save you by beholding Jesus and believing that by beholding him that he loves you, and he wants to save you. That's relationship, that you get so tied up into him, that nothing really can distract you like it used to be. All I know is that I'm beholding Jesus, and he loves me, and he wants to save me from everything. He lives to save me from everything. Wherever you need to be saving, or wherever you need to be saved from, Jesus is ready to do that. Oh, how great thou art. Say it to him, "How great thou art, how great thou art".
So, when the Almighty God is with you, good things will happen in you, good things will happen around you, good things will happen through you 'cause he's with you. He's with you, good things will happen to you, good things will happen through you, good things will happen around you because the Lord is with you. It is time for us to demonstrate to this world what it is like to encounter someone who knows that their success is based in the presence of the Lord. Your presence in the lives of other people should demand an explanation. When you walk in the store, the atmosphere changes 'cause a for real Christian that has a relationship with Jesus just walked through the door, amen.
Now, look at Genesis 39, verses 21 through 23. Genesis 39:21 through 23. Now, here he is now being put in jail. Now, I don't know what kind of circumstances you've been put in, but he's been put in jail. And verse 21 says, "But the Lord was with Joseph". Say, "The Lord was with Joseph". "And showed him mercy, and gave him favor". When the Lord is there, the mercy and the favor of God is there. How many of you can use some favor in your life? How many of you can use some mercy in your life? Mercy is the bad that you deserve you don't get. All right, he said the mercy and the favor was there. Why? "In the sight of the keeper of the prison". So, the prison guard, the keeper of the prison, saw Joseph and saw the Lord was with him. And when the Lord is with you, God will show mercy.
You'll see mercy, but you'll see favor. People will start showing you favor and don't even know why. I prophesy that right now that the favor of God has gotten ahead of you to work on your behalf before you even get there. Somebody shout, "favor". I'm gonna sow this in you this morning. You gonna walk out of here thinking you're God's favorite. I'mma tell you right now, I'm God's favorite. I know God loves me and you better know he love you. And I know I'm his favorite. I ain't gonna debate with you, I already know. You better know it for yourself. Creflo A. Dollar Jr. is God's favorite, amen. You better say it for yourself. And so, he says, "But the Lord was with Joseph, and showed him mercy, and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison". Verse 22, "And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph's hand all the prisoners that were in the prison; and whatsoever they did there, he was the doer of it".
So, even though he was in prison, the favor of God was working, regardless of the circumstance and regardless of the location. The circumstance and the location could not stop the favor of God that came from the presence of God. See, money can't buy everything. Glory to God. But you don't need money for everything. Money can buy medicine but it can't buy healing. Money can buy a house, but it can't buy a home. Money might be able to buy you a little company for the night, but it came by your lasting loving relationship for life. But when you got the presence of God operating in your life, the favor of God will show up and do things that money can't even do, praise God. The presence of God, the presence of God made him the head of the prison and whatever he did, and all the success of it, is because of him.
I don't know what the situation you're in, but now is the time for you to realize the favor of God will make me successful, regardless of the circumstance or the situation I'm in. So, I hear the obvious thing, pursue his presence, pursue his presence, walk in his favor, and watch success comes. All right now, couple of things I see here. This is God's unmerited favor.
Number one, here's what I see, you cannot help but to find favor. When you have God's presence in your life and that unmerited favor shows up, you can't help but to find favor when you're operating with the presence of the Lord in your life.
Number two, everything that you do cannot help but to prosper. Why, because of your ten steps? No, because of the presence of God showing favor in your life.
Number three, you cannot help but to experience increase and promotion beyond your wildest dreams. The Bible says in Psalm 75, I believe 6 and 7 that promotion cometh not from the east, or the west, or from the south. He says it comes from God. God is the one, pull that up Psalm 75:6 through 7, promotion comes from God. We still think promotion is coming from our striving. And in some cases in the world, maybe you see bits and pieces of that, but I'm trying to show you how to operate as a Christian with something that's finished.
Someone says, "I want to talk about the blessing". No, I want to show you this first. He says, "For promotion cometh neither from the east, or from the west, nor from the south". How many of you know it comes from the north. Verse, next verse he said, "But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and he setteth up another". Honey, if you'll start walking in the presence of God, you know the favor of God's not fair. He can set up whoever he want to set up, and he can put down whoever he want to put down. But I'm telling you right now because you walk in the presence of God and the favor of God is over your life, I might as well tell you now the favor of God is over your life. You in the process of being set up.
Turn to your neighbor and say, "It's a setup". God is setting you up, and you will not be able to take credit for this setup. The only thing you'll be able to reply and say, "This is the Lord's doing. I can't quite understand how it happened, all I know it happened". That's gonna start multiplying in this congregation. "I don't understand why it happened, or how it happened, it just happened". And you ain't got nothing else to do but to praise the Lord. You ain't gonna be able to brag about it, boast about yourself, tell people how wonderful you are. You're just gonna lift your hands up and you're gonna have to say, "Lord, I thank you. This was God, hallelujah". I'm telling you, get ready to walk in this unmerited favor. Glory be to God, I almost fell out on that last line. My God, my God. Your lowest point will become your launching pad for your greatest promotion. Your lowest point.
See, some people think, "Oh, my God, how can I be successful while I'm at my lowest point"? Quit despising the day of trouble. Quit being afraid of the day of persecution. Your lowest point can become the launching pad for your greatest promotion. Go through it well, praise God. Go through it well, praise God. Walk through your fiery furnace and come out without even the smell of smoke. I sense that God's trying to give you your greatest promotion. But some of you say, "Yeah, but you don't understand where I am right now". I do understand where you are right now. When you can't go no lower than where you are right now, honey, get ready to count down like they do at NASA. You're about to be launched into a level that you've never been launched into before.
Somebody needs to praise the Lord in this place, praise God. I'm trying to build your expectation up. I'm trying to get your thinking out of Lo Debar, praise God, and below the bar. I'm trying to bring you up to a place where you can begin to hunger and thirst for his presence and hunger and thirst for the presence of God in your life, and seek Jesus more than you can seek that thing. We're seeking too much of the stuff. Seek God and if the stuff don't come through, you gonna praise him anyway. And if the promotion ain't there right away, you gonna praise him anyway, hallelujah. And if they come and take your car, you gonna praise him anyway. If you lose your job, you gonna praise him anyway because this is not about how self-promotion can cause you to look in front of other people.
This is about you and the Father. This is about a personal relationship between you and God, that you can walk away from everything and sing like Vickie Winans used to sing, "As long as I have King Jesus". That's what I'm after. I'm in it for the relationship, amen? So, we practice the presence of Jesus. You practice the presence of Jesus, how? First of all, by acknowledging him and secondly, by thanking him. You practice the presence of Jesus. How often are you practicing the presence of Jesus? Practice his presence, acknowledge him. You got to admit that he's there in order to acknowledge him. Acknowledge his presence. Thank him, thank him for deliverance of the past. Thank him for your present-day deliverance and thank him for deliverance that may not have arrived yet, but you know he's already done it. Practice the presence of God. Don't sit there on a stool and just wait and see what he gonna do. Practice his presence. You're in the relationship. So, engage that relationship through acknowledgment. Engage that relationship through thanksgiving, amen.
Now, let's look at the blessing of Abraham. Go to Galatians chapter 3, verse 13 and 14. Galatians chapter 3, verse 13 and 14. So, I know what success is about, success is about a person. Success is about a relationship with a person. That's what it is. I've seen people over the years trying to define success, and they've always tried to define success by the measure of what they've been able to obtain in this life, all of the things you can obtain, but you fail to obtain a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and to walk in his presence. You just don't know what it is.
Now, look at this. Christ has redeemed us from the curse of not being able to keep the law of Moses. So, we're redeemed from that. That means you have been delivered, that the ransom has been paid, and that you can go free from being cursed because Jesus, through his precious blood and body, and him being the peace offering, and the ransom, and the payment, you have been redeemed and delivered from the curse of not being able to keep the law. From this day forward, do not receive anybody saying to you that you are cursed. When they say you're cursed, you say, "No, Jesus has delivered me from that, and I receive my deliverance".
All right, now watch this, "He was made a curse for us: for it is written, cursed is everyone that hangeth on a tree". Fourteen, "That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles". How does the blessing of Abraham come on non Jewish ethnic people? Through Jesus Christ. So, a person is blessed through their faith in Jesus Christ. He said, "That this blessing might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith". So, notice what he says, a couple of things. He says the blessing, we are blessed because of Jesus. Say that. So, we're blessed because of our faith in Jesus and when you receive that, you will also receive the promise of the Spirit.
So, there's some specific things that are going on here that we have spent all of our lives, you know, just throwing this stuff all around. So, I want precision. I want a precise cut here today. The blessing of Abraham comes on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ. If you reject Jesus, you reject that blessing. That blessing can only come on you through Jesus. It's a finished work. It is something that's finished and by receiving Jesus, you receive the blessing of Abraham. And by receiving the blessings of Abraham, you received the promise of the Spirit and that is all through faith.
Deuteronomy 28, verses 1 through 3. Now, under the old covenant of the law that came by Moses, the blessing came on us based on what we do. You had to do something in order to get blessed. But under this covenant of grace, the blessing is made available to us through our faith in Jesus Christ and once the blessing's there, we received the promise of the Spirit. Verse 1, "And it shall come to pass if thou", that's condition now, "if thou shall hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all 613 of the commandments which I command thee this day, that the Lord that God will set the own high above all nations of the earth". How is that happening? Verse 2, he says, "And all these blessings shall come on thee, overtake thee", condition, "if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God".
So, I don't want you to confuse this. He says, under the law, getting blessed was conditional based on your performance. But under grace, getting blessed is based on what Jesus has already done and your faith in what Jesus has already done. Under the law, you have to do something to get blessed. Under the grace of God, Jesus has already done it, finished it, and by faith, you receive the blessing through Jesus Christ. If you understand that say, "amen".
Now, look at Galatians chapter 3:16 and 29. So, God wants us to experience the blessing of Abraham. God wants all of us who are born again to experience the blessing of Abraham. So, two questions, what is the blessing of Abraham? Number two, and who can receive it? What is the blessing of Abraham, and who can receive it? This is big news, man. This is big news. Now, Galatians chapter 16. "Now to Abraham and his seed were the promise made". The promises was made to Abraham and his seed. "He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ". The promise was made to Abraham and to Christ. Now, watch this verse 29, "The promise made to Abraham and to Christ".
Now, and if you be Christ, if you're born again and if you be Christ, then where's that place us? Then are you Abraham's seed. So, the promise was made to Abraham, to Jesus, and everybody who's in Jesus. Somebody say, "That's me". And if you be Christ, then are you Abraham's seed, you are Abraham's seed, you are Abraham's seed. Say out loud, you're Abraham's seed. All right now say this, "I'm in Christ. I am Abraham's seed". So now, the promise that was given to Abraham and his seed now includes you. So, you are now an heir to the promise that was given to Abraham and his seed. Say out loud, "I'm an heir".
Okay, so what does it mean to be an heir? You have an inheritance. You have an inheritance. I said, you have an inheritance. And I have to say for most of you in here, it's an inheritance that you have not yet tapped. It's like today I am reading a will, and I am telling you what's been available for you all this time, and I expect for you to walk out here today and tap it. Say out loud, "I'm Abraham's seed. I am an heir. I have an inheritance". Now, there are a million more things I can say here, but I need to stay on my journey from what I'm trying to accomplish just for today.
All right now, so I need to know, so what was the promise? He made a promise, what was the promise? He made a promise and I am now in on the promise, need to know what the promise was. Oh, my God. There are many promises in the Bible, how many of you know that? I'm not talking about that. Christian, religious people do this so quick. "Well, praise the Lord. All of the promises are mine". There are a lot of promises in the Bible. I want precision. I want to show you precision. What was the exact promise that God made to Abraham that is due to the heirs of this promise? You see how easy it is? You going around, "Well, whole Bible's my promise". Yeah, but, you know, he made a specific, precise promise to Abraham. You need to know specifically and precisely what that promise is so you can now respond and take possession of it.
Now, look what he says here. Now, this is so important. Romans 4:13, there are many promises in the Bible, but what was the promise God made to Abraham? Here's the promise that God made to Abraham, you ready? "For the promise", comma, so he get ready to tell us, right? "For the promise", comma, "that he should be the heir of the world", stop. What was the promise? He said, Abraham and your seed. Here is the promise. How many of you know God can't lie? Honey, if God looked at a dog and said it was a sheep, by the time you turn around, that dog has turned into a sheep. It's not that God can't lie 'cause it's wrong to lie. He doesn't have the ability to do it because every time he says something, it is what he says.
You need to remember that when you read the Bible say, "God can't lie". So, whatever is going on in your life that doesn't line up with what you what you just read, this is subject to change 'cause God cannot lie, 'cause he can't. "The promise that he should be the heir of the world, the promise that he should be the heir of the world". The promise is that he should be the heir of the world. It was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law. So, he didn't make this promise to Abraham and his seed through the law. First of all, this was before the law came. So, the law cannot void out or stop this promise from coming to pass. But notice what it says, he didn't give this promise to Abraham and to his seed through the law.
If he gave this promise to Abraham and his seed through the law, there then must be a condition in order to get it. If this promise came through the law, you would now have to do something to get it. If this promise came through the law, you would have to deserve it. It would have to be something deserved. It would, it would be a part of the merit system. You would now have to do something to qualify for it. This promise was not given through the law for you to do something and qualify for it. Oh, Lord have mercy. But it was given through the righteousness of faith that this promise comes through you believing and receiving that you're the righteousness of God by faith and you now have a right to all of the finished works of Jesus Christ. Oh, my goodness.
So, how do I define your inheritance? It is like this, in Christ, you are an heir of the world. Say out loud, "I'm an heir of the world". That means you are an heir of the world's goods. You are an heir to the world's endowments. You are an heir to the world's riches. You are heir to all of the world's advantages, and you are an heir to all of the world's pleasures. This is the promise that God made to Abraham and to his seed, and you keep, you keep backing back and let demon-possessed people take bigger advantage than you who have the right to inherit it.
It's like somebody broke into the bank account and stole everything that was in the will for you and you sitting back not taking no, not one piece of advantage of it because you figure, "Well, I'm saved. I'm not supposed to be like that. I'm supposed to be poor, and I'm supposed to be miserable, and I'm supposed to be pitiful, and I'm not supposed to have no pleasures at all in this world. I'm just supposed to come to church, wear a long dress, wear no makeup, and look like God knows what". And if they made the weave, you have a promise to take full advantage of the weave. If anybody's supposed to take full advantage of horse hair, it's supposed to be you, but you sit around here and let everybody else take advantage of it except you because you talking about, "That's worldly".
Let me tell you, let me tell you, we live in this world, but we're not of the systematic operation of this world. To be worldly means you have the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life. So, I'm not trying to write good Christian music. I'm trying to write good music. So, every now and then, I might write a song that's not, ain't got Jesus in it and it ain't got a Scripture in it, but it's so good song. See, you limit yourself as a Christian 'cause you're trying to write good Christian songs and God has given you a right to write the best songs, whether they got Jesus in them or not.
See, you're trying to be just a good preacher, but I don't want to be a good preacher. I want to have access to the wisdom necessary that every time I stand up, whether it's in the pulpit or the state capital, I can move you because if anybody have a right to it, I do. You limit yourself with the boundary of Christian music and Christian business. I'm not trying to be a good Christian business. I'm trying to be the best business that the world has ever seen. And I beg you to stop. You are an heir to the best, hallelujah. And if they create technology, that's for my use. I'm not gonna sit back and just let the world use it, I'm gonna use it. If the technology came in, I have an inheritance to take full, full use of whatever comes in this earth.
You better believe all good things come from God. The world's already proved to you they don't know how to use a good thing. They take it, they pervert it, they put nasty stuff on it. They don't know what to do it. But if we'll go ahead and do what we're supposed to do with it, then we can take the good and add some good to it and use it like it was intended to use. When are you gonna stop walking around like a broke, busted, disgusted Christian and start taking advantage of every advantage that this world offers? You have a right to it. Now, if lust is involved when you have an appetite and it enslaves you, now you gotta look at it. That's worldly cause worldly system says it is the God that moves you instead of your God.
See, when you become a slave to something in the world, and mammon becomes your slave, and the lust of the eyes, what you see moves you more than the Holy Spirit who you can't see moves you. And the pride of life, you're doing things to notice it, get noticed, you're doing things to try to be famous. You're doing things to get the, what is that? What's that word? Validation. You're working hard to be validated, proud of life. See, when you do stuff, when we do stuff as Christians, we do it out of our heart, which means we don't need no validation. Turn to your neighbor say, "I'm blessed". Turn to your neighbor say, "I have the blessing of Abraham. I'm an heir to the promises, the promise to be an heir of the world, the promise to be an heir of all of its goods, all of its advantages, all of its pleasures".
Some people act like Christian folks not supposed to have a good time and it's a sin to have a good time. Yes, it is, you've been taught, I know you've been taught because it 'cause they told me, told Taffi and I we couldn't dance, that dancing was a sin, it was sin. It was worldly and I'm trying to think, okay, this is a good song. There's no lust of the flesh. There's no lust of the eyes. There's no I'm not doing it to impress nobody, how is this worldly? And then I just said, you know what? Whatever. Turn to your neighbor and say, "Get a life".
Real quick, let's look at Abraham's life to see what it meant when he said he was an heir of the world. Let's look at Abraham's life and see what he was meant. Let's look at Genesis 12:1 through 3 and then Genesis 13 and 2, and then Proverbs 10:22. "Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred", your kin folks, get away from your kin folks. Get away from your kin folks. Isn't that strange God told him get away from your kinfolks? "Get away from your father's house, and go to a land that I will shew thee". Verse 2, and he says if you'll do that, "I'm gonna make there be a great nation. I will bless you, and I'm gonna make your name great, and thou shalt be a blessing".
So, notice the blessing is not intended to be self-centered. It's supposed to be shared. Verse 3, "And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee, Abram, shall all families of the earth be blessed". All right, if you keep reading this, he gets into a little situation, and he didn't deserve to be blessed, but he goes into Egypt. If I had time to read this, he goes into Egypt, you know, he tells his wife, "You know, they're gonna come after you because you look good". And they go after him and God gets this guy, and he walks out of Egypt.
And go to Genesis 13 and verse 1, and he walks out of Egypt, Genesis 13, and 1, And Abraham went up out of Egypt, after he went through this crazy situation, and he's getting launched to a new level. And he didn't do anything to deserve what's about to happen to him, but he went out of Egypt, he and his wife and all that he had, stuff that he had accumulated in Egypt that he didn't do none to accumulate it, and I'm gonna show you why. And Lot was with him. Now, didn't he tell you not to take no kinfolks? Lot was his nephew. Lot was his nephew, and Lot caused a lot of trouble, which is the reason why he didn't take him.
Now, most religious people would say, "Well, you know, you shouldn't be getting blessed because you disobeyed God and took Lot". And Lot was with him in the south. Look at verse 2, "And Abraham was very rich", look at this, "in cattle, in silver, and in gold". If the earth had it, it was promised to him. Three, see, I can see some of us right now, "I can't take that. I can't take that". Your little light on your gas thing is, you know, the little yellow light to come on that say you getting ready to run out of gas and somebody come by and say, "Hey, I'm gonna get you $20 for gas". "Oh no, that's all right". You better take that gas 'cause you gonna be walking. "That's all right, baby, praise the Lord. I just don't feel good accepting no money for this".
See, God trying to help you and you don't even understand. "Boy, that's my 20 you've been holding, thank you". "And he went on his journey from the south even to Beth-el, unto the place where his tent had been at the beginning between Beth-el and Ai". Verse 4, "Unto a place the altar, which he had made there at first: and there Abraham called on the name of the LORD". Verse 5, "And Lot also, which went with Abram", wasn't supposed to be there, but the blessing that was on Abram got on Lot and Lot started participating in the promise.