Creflo Dollar - Why Give?
If you have your Bibles, go with me to the Book of Genesis, chapter 39, verses 1 through 12. You know, sometimes, I know I have in my life in ministry, I'll begin a series and I think I'm going one way and in the middle of it, I begin to discover things, I begin to ask questions, I begin to bump into this and bump into that. And maybe unlike some pastors, I kind of like a hound dog, I like to go on the hunt and sniff out stuff and just see where it will lead, you see. I'm okay with not having a perfectly written sermon, written down where I can articulate in such a way that would impress you, but this is, this is big. I feel this is big.
And of course, I don't mind telling you when I taught it I was missing a lot of this and once you understand grace, you see truth like you've never seen before. And so, last week we talked about the grace-based success. And success is not a dirty word. God wants us to be successful, but there are just a lot of things that need to be put in proper place. When things are out of place and you're pursuing it in the wrong way, and you have wrong thinking about it. And then we kind of ignore the elephant in the room when we talk about being blessed, and then the big elephant in the room is how come some seem like they are and some seem like they are not.
I mean God's not a respecter of person and yet, I hadn't seen some of this stuff that you'd been talking about. Everything, everything that we talk about under this covenant of grace should flow from an intimate relationship that you and I have with Jesus. You can't expect to use principles without the person, and so we got to really get into this. And so, I want to review just a little bit from last week. And today, I want to answer the question, "Why give"? I mean come on, man, I mean why give? Man, we've heard a lot about that, a lot of things that are interesting. I went to the Internet and pulled up some old sermons from me and other guys just to see what we were saying back then, and we didn't have it.
And so, praise God, we gon' rewrite the book. We gon' get this thing right. I already see what 2020 is going to be about. It's going to be a year of clarity. Some of you are going to see and understand things with much more clarity than you understood them before. You're going to have clarity on your life, you're going to have clarity on your relationships, you're going to have clarity on your business, you're going to have clarity in every area, and I'm telling you this is the Lord's doing. There's nothing you earned but this is a season of clarity. God will have his people to see clearly. Amen, amen, praise God.
Now, Genesis 39, you ready? "And Joseph was brought down to Egypt; and Potiphar, an officer of the Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, brought him of the hands of", he brought him, bought him, literally purchased him, he was on the slave block. Purchased him, from the hands of the "Ishmaelites, which had brought him down hither". So they put Joseph on the auction block to be sold into slavery. Verse 2, "And the Lord was with Joseph". Underline that, highlight that, put it on your wall, make a tee-shirt out of it. "And the Lord was with Joseph", and the result of the Lord being with Joseph, "he was a prosperous man". Another translation says, "He was successful", because the Lord was with him, "and he was in the house of his master, the Egyptian".
Now, please understand something. According to this Scripture, here is a slave who owns nothing, he has nothing, and the Bible says, "The Lord was with him and he was successful". Well, he wasn't successful because of the stuff he had, he wasn't successful because he had big houses and cars. He didn't have nothing. And the Scriptures dare to say that I will show you a successful man, the man that has the presence of the Lord. I will show you a successful man, a man that has the presence of the Lord. And those of you who are born again and have made Jesus the Lord of your life this morning, I will declare this morning that you are successful people. You are successful not because of what you have but because of who you have.
So you've got to stop seeking things and start seeking him, because your success in life is based on, Bernie Mac used to say, "Who you with". It's based on who you have. Here's a slave who was with God, the Lord was with him and they said, "You're successful 'cause the Lord's with you. You're successful 'cause the Lord's with you". The presence of the Lord will determine success in your life. Now you can choose to try to do it other ways, and you might taste a bit of it, but it won't have endurance, it won't be durable. You got to understand that success in your life is being rich in love, rich in relationships, rich in wisdom, rich in ideas, rich in substance and more than enough to pay your bills and do everything you need to do. God wants you to be successful not because of the stuff you accumulate but because of the presence of God in your life.
Now, look at verse 21. And verse 21 says, Genesis chapter 39, verse 21, now the success in your life is not going to be based or determined by the circumstances and the situation or where you are. See, the Lord's going to be with you no matter where you are. And so, no matter where you are, you're going to be successful. And look at what he says in verse 21, "But the Lord was with Joseph, and showed him mercy, and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison".
So now, Joseph is in prison, but the Lord was with Joseph in prison. The Lord was with Joseph when he was being sold as a slave. As long as the Lord is with you, you will see mercy and you will see favor. I said as long as the Lord is with you, you will see mercy and you will see favor. You will have success in places where others have never had success. He said the Lord was with him and he "gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison". God is about to give you favor in front of people that don't even like you. 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". 23, "The keeper of the prison looked not to anything that was under his hand; because the Lord was with him, and that which he did, the Lord made it to prosper".
So the keeper of the prison was not micromanaging him because everything he did was so outstanding, he just let him have his way. I'm telling you some of you on your job are going to get promotions you don't even qualify for because people are going to see that there's something, I started to use the word weird, it'll be weird to them, but something strange or different about you, they just noticed that every time you touch something it start working. And I promise you, they're going to be several of you that think it's going to be time to leave, and they're going to call you in the office and they're going to say, "State your salary and I'll pay it". Not because you all that but because the Lord is with you. I said "The Lord is with you".
When Almighty God is with you, good things will happen in you, good things will happen around you, good things will happen through you because the Lord is with you. Now, here's one of the things you got to get ready for. Sometimes at your lowest point, that's when the enemy will get you to try to question, "What is all that stuff I just heard"? Your lowest point in life will become your greatest or will become a launching pad to your greatest promotion. Be careful how you respond to issues that are happening over the next three or four months, because some of you are about to be launched into magnificent promotion in your life. Don't mumble, don't grumble, don't complain. Just know that the Lord is with you and watch it.
Listen, somebody said, "Oh, I got rough things going on in my life". If the Lord's with you, then stuff supposed to be happening to you, if you live godly, those that live godly shall suffer persecution. So you might as well get comfortable with the persecution 'cause it's going to be there. But don't let it stop you because persecution is designed to try to get you to change your mind. You are about to be launched into your greatest promotion right now. I need somebody to believe that this morning. Now, I didn't ask you, I didn't say nothing to you about what you have to do. This is not about what you got to do. I just asked you to believe. Amen?
Now, one of the things I will advise is that you know that the Lord being with you is responsible for you being successful, so practice the presence of God. Practice the presence. It's not enough for you to walk out of here and know, well, you know, I know the Lord's with me. Practice the presence of God. How do I do that? Through thanksgiving and appreciation. Make it a point every day to be thankful to God for something and to appreciate God for something, why? You're acknowledging his existence. You're acknowledging his presence. It's something about that. If you have somebody that's with you, it would be rude for you not to acknowledge their presence, right?
And so let's get in the habit of acknowledging his presence through thanksgiving and appreciation. I mean you can do that time you wake up. "Lord, thank you that I'm alive today". You know I dreamed about my big mama, was my grandmama. She's been gone for a minute. And I dreamed about her and it was clear as day. And big mama was talking, and she was in a good mood that day and I was just enjoying her. And in the dream I said, "Oh, it's sure good to see you. I miss you". And then I thought like, "What am I doing? Where am I"? And I woke up real quick like, "Whoo, now big mama been gone a while". Acknowledge his presence. Mine was, "Father, thank you that I'm alive to see another day, amen. And I appreciate you, Lord Jesus". I deeply appreciate you.
Now, let's settle this now. It's the presence of God that will make you successful. So any good thing that you experience in your life came from God. There's Scripture for it. "All good and perfect gifts come from the Father which is from above". Every good thing comes from God. It's the presence of the Lord. It comes from the rivers of unmerited favor. All good comes from the rivers of God's unmerited favor in your life. How many of you agree with that? How many of you feel like I'm setting you for something? All right, it's God, say it out loud, "it's God", say "It's God, It's God". See, 'cause religion teaches you it's you. It's God. "Well, I did this". Yeah, but God gave you the wisdom to do it. It's God. Until you get to this place of giving him all of the credit, and if you did learn something, he gave you the ability to be able to absorb it. Not everybody can learn like some people can learn.
So the wisdom of God will show up and put stuff in you. It's God. It's when you stop thinking it's you, and start knowing it's God. Now, let's talk about the blessing now. The blessing. Go to Galatians chapter 3, verse 13 and 14, and specifically the blessing of Abraham. So we know it's the presence of the Lord that causes a man to be successful, but then there's this blessing, the blessing of Abraham. It's the blessing that people are after and it seems like some get it and some don't. Let's go through this.
Galatians chapter 3, verse 13 and 14. He said, "Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law". Now literally what he says here is Christ has paid the ransom. To be redeemed means you've been delivered because somebody paid a ransom. So Christ has redeemed us by paying the ransom for us to go free from the curse of not being able to keep all 613 of the laws and so Christ has redeemed us, and delivered us through a ransom by being the peace offering. He's delivered us, "redeemed us from the curse of the law", how? "Being made a curse for us".
So he was a curse for us. He took on the consequences that were due to us upon his self. He became a curse for us. "For it is written, cursed is every one that hangs on the tree". Well, why did he do all of that? Why did Jesus die on the cross, became the compensation and the payment for our sins, paid the ransom so we could go free from the curse, shed his blood, had his body broken, all this stuff for us. Why, for what reason, what was the purpose? This is so awesome, see somebody said, "Well, he did all this stuff so I can be saved". True. Don't doubt that, but now he's specifically and precisely going to say in the next verse he did all of this because, or so, "that the blessing of Abraham might come on the gentiles through Jesus Christ".
I died, I took all of your sins; I became a curse for you so that Jewish people will not be the only ones to inherit the blessing of Abraham. I now did it so that gentiles can get in on the blessing of Abraham. My God. So to me, Jesus did all of that for us to have the blessing of Abraham and some of us live today like we can't even access it, and he gave his life. And so that's why I'm attacking today, I'm attacking this today because he paid too big of a price so that you could have the blessing of Abraham. And I'mma have to just really get down to earth with you, and there's no way that the way some of you have been living and tolerating this, and just don't have a clue how to get out of it, and all of this is available to you, Christian people, it is time for you to shine and cause even Wall Street to look and say, "What are they doing"? This is about so much more than money. It's the blessing of Abraham.
All right, he says, "I did all this so that the blessing of Abraham might come on the gentiles", how? How did he intend for the blessing to get to the gentiles? Through Jesus Christ. Through who? So he says if you've accepted Jesus, you have access to what? Talk to me, church, talk to me now. I'm not trying to hoop for a grade this morning. I've got to get this in your head. I want to cut your head open and dunk this in but I can't do that, it's illegal. Jesus died, became a curse so that you could get what? Blessings.
So how does he plan on you getting the blessing of Abraham? Through Jesus Christ. No, you got to be goody-goody to get it. No. You got to come to church at least five time. No. You got to come to fast for at least 30 days. No. There's something you got to do to deserve it. No. How does he plan on you accessing the blessing of Abraham? Through Jesus Christ. So if I believe in Jesus and I've made him the Lord of my life, do I have access to the blessing of Abraham? Yes. Good class, good class. All right, then we gon' hurt you today, gon' break your neck. "That the blessing of Abraham might come on the gentiles through Jesus Christ;" now watch this, "semicolon", here's what comes with the blessing, "that we might receive the promise".
So you get the blessing of Abraham when you receive Jesus, and when you receive Jesus and get the blessing of Abraham, you now have access to the promise. And all of this, you got to get it through what? Faith, not works, not striving, but through faith. Does everybody understand that? Now, so God wants us to experience the blessing of Abraham, we see that, so what is the blessing of Abraham and who can receive it? Go to Galatians chapter 3, 16 and 19. What is the blessing of Abraham, and who can receive it? I kind of already answered that. I gave you a little open book answer. You should be able to get this one real quick, amen. Somebody says, "I feel like I'm in school". Good. Some things you got to go get trained for before you can go on and take it. You will walk out of her knowing how to access the promise. All right?
"Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not to the seeds, as of many; but as of one, and to thy seed, which is Christ". Now, look at verse 29, how do we get into this? Galatians 3:29. So we talk about accessing the blessing and the promise but do I have a right to it? Well, "And if you be Christ's", "and if you be Christ's", "and if you be Christ's". So he's stating the condition. So, "if you be Christ's, then are you"? Abraham's seed. So what do I have to do to become Abraham's seed? Be Christ's. How many of you are Christ's? All right, I announce today that you are the seed of Abraham. But not only are you Abraham's seed, but you are now an heir. You are now an heir. Oh, my God. That means you have an inheritance.
Now, that you're Abraham's seed, you are an heir, you have an inheritance. Make it plain, now that you're Abraham's seed, you got something coming. You have something in reserve, you have something that's been left to you. I'm an heir. I said, "I'm an heir". I have an inheritance. All right, now, watch this, you're not just an heir, here's what's awesome. Remember, this is to Abraham, Jesus and to those who are in Christ. All right, now watch this. Somebody says, "Well Jesus and Abraham probably going to get more than I get".
Romans says that you're not only just an heir, you are a joint heir with Christ. That means Jesus can't get no more than what you and I get. We are equal heirs of the promise. It's not, you know, he gets 20 and you get 5. If he gets 20, you get 20. Y'all got to get this. I'm a joint heir with Christ Jesus, heirs according to the promise. All right, so what's the promise? What am I getting, what's the deal here? Go to the Book of Romans chapter 4, verse 13. Now, like I said, there are many promises in the Bible but what was the promise that God made to Abraham precisely, specifically? Because you know religious people, you say, "Well, praise God, I'mma add to the promises. Just all of the promises that's in the Bible". No, I want you to know exactly what you are to inherit.
All right. Verse 13, "For the promise", he getting ready to tell us what it is, "that he should be the heir of the world". Stop. The promise God made to Abraham, you are going to be the heir of the world. You will inherit the world. Now, I had a member of our New York church who thought he would tell a friend of his. He said, "Guess what? I'm an heir of the world", and she hung up on him. And I imagine some of you are like, it's too big for you to even try to comprehend it, but this is the promise. I'm gonna try to break it down to you so you know what you got coming to you because the sad part is, is people that are not heirs are taken advantage of what was left for you.
How many ideas that are in operation now that were rejected by saved folks? That thing gonna get fixed here today. You've been going around there trying to start all these little rinky dinky business, you know, 1 Corinthian Carpet Service. And God was trying to give you an idea on how to invent a carpet that would never needed to be cleaned but you wouldn't hear him 'cause you didn't think you had a right to it. So, what does it mean to be an heir of the world? That's what the promise was. We are in Christ. How many believe you're in Christ, right? All right, say, "I'm in Christ". Say, "I'm an heir of the world". I need you to say that a couple more times. That need to get in your head, "I'm an heir of the world. I have a right to inherit the world".
Don't look at me like that. We just reading right now. What does it mean to be the heir of the world? I believe the Greek word here world is cosmos. That's big because he is not saying you are to inherit worldly things. We are in the world, but we are not of how they operate. So, here's what it means. It means you are an heir to all of the world's goods. You have a right to inherit all of the endowments, all of the riches, all of the advantages, and all of the pleasures. This is the promise that God made to Abraham and to his seed.
You have a right to inherit all of the earth's goods. Everything, all of the goods on this earth are rightfully yours. All of the endowments of this earth are rightfully yours. All of the riches, the gold, the silver, the minerals, the water, it's rightfully yours. All of the advantages, so all the technology that's born in the earth, rightfully yours. All of the weeds, rightfully yours. All the pleasures on this earth, don't tell me I can't go to the beach, that's rightfully mine. I've inherited that. We can't get that in our head. We will today though, we will today. This is the promise that God made to Abraham and to his seed. "For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed through the law, but it was to Abraham and his seed through the righteousness of faith". So, he says, "I have given you this will. I've given you this inheritance, not to try to manifest it through the works of the law. I gave this to you to receive it through the righteousness of faith".
All right, watch, watch carefully now. So, let's look at Abraham and his life to see what it will mean to us to be an heir of the world by seeing what God did to Abraham. I want to look at Genesis chapter 12, verses 1 through 5. I want to show you several different things that occurs here, Genesis chapter 12, 1 through 5. Now, look at this very carefully because we're gonna get into the giving aspect of it. Let me look at my clock. I think we got enough time for it. Now, then the inheritance is not to be worked for or deserved. You see this and you think, "What can I do to deserve the inheritance of the world"? No, no, no, that is the reason why so many Christians are not walking in it because they're still doing stuff to try to deserve it. You're still doing things to try to earn it, okay?
Now, look at Abraham here in Genesis chapter 12, and let's start at verse 1 so you can get the full picture of this. Now, notice I'm not hollering and screaming, ain't a lot of noise going on because this is a learning thing. You're getting ready to unlearn something, like uno, getting rid of something and you get ready to put something in place of that, all right? "Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country", get away from your kin folk, "your kindred, get from your father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee". Why did he tell him to do this? Because the source of supply and support would come from the family and the father's house. And he's like, get away from that. Go for yourself. Disconnect from the supply and the support of your father's house. Get away from your relatives so that they won't be able to take any credit either, and go for yourself.
And look what it says in verse 2. "And if you do this, I will make of thee a great nation". And notice what he says. "You can depart from your father's house because I will bless you". And he says, "And I'll make your name great and thou shalt be a blessing". He says, "I'mma bless you and what I put on you can be dispensed in somebody else's life". Somebody say, "The blessing". He says, "And I will bless them that bless thee, and I'll curse him that curse thee: and in you shall all of the families of the earth be blessed. So Abram departed, as the Lord had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed".
I want to say this to our seniors, you are never too old to be on the outside of inheriting what God has promised to the seed of Abraham, for the blessing is about to come on you in a tremendous way at 75, at 85, at 95. Be in expectation of the favor of God getting ready to explode in your life. Amen. "So, Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and he took all the stuff they left with. And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Shechem". And then we see verse 9, "And Abram journeyed, going on still to the south. And there was a famine in the land". Now remember, Joseph, no matter where you are, and what the conditions, nothing on this, on this physical world, in this physical earth, can stop the blessing. "There was a famine in the land. Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there, for the famine was a grievous famine in the land".
So, I don't care what happens in this country, it cannot stop the blessing on your life. In fact, when crazy stuff starts happening in our country, it's a blessing on you that's gonna stand up and shine like never before. When the economy changes, it won't affect you. When the sickness go through, it won't affect you. When fear goes on, it won't affect you. When everybody else is stressed, it won't affect you, why? Because the blessing is on you and people will come and say, "Why are you not responding like everybody else"? You'll say, "I'm not like everybody else, I am blessed".
So, the famine was grievous in the land. Remember what I said about your lowest point can be the path to launch out to your highest place? He's getting ready to have one of these. "It came to pass, when he was come near to Egypt, to enter into Egypt, that he said unto Sarai his wife, Behold now, I know that thou art a fair woman to look upon". Man, she must have been awesome looking. They just kept talking about how good she, and it's an old woman, too. She remind me of my mama. My mama 80 years old, and she fine, my mama a good-looking woman. I told mama, "You can't go to some of these other churches 'cause little dirty deacons" and stuff like that, you know. Not deacons, dirty deacons, you know? Lord, where that come from? Thank You, Jesus.
"And it came to pass, that he was come near to Egypt and told his wife, 'You know, you're a fair woman to look upon: Therefore it shall come to pass, when the Egyptians shall see thee, that they shall say, This is his wife: and they will kill me, but they will save you". So, don't say that. "Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister: that it may be well with me for thy sake; and my soul shall live because of thee". So, now they were, you know, half brothers and sisters for sure, but that don't mean he didn't have to tell a half lie.
"And it came to pass, that, when Abram was come into Egypt, the Egyptians beheld the woman that she was very fair. The princes also of Pharaoh saw her, and commended her before Pharaoh: and this woman was taken into Pharaoh's house. And he entreated Abram well for her sake: and he had sheep, and oxen, and he asses, and menservants, and maidservants, and she asses, and camels. And the Lord plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai Abram's wife. And Pharaoh called Abram and said, What is this that thou hast done unto me? Why did thou not tell me that she was thy wife? Why saidst thou, She is my sister? So I might have taken her to me to wife: now therefore behold".
"Here", we say, "Here go your wife, take her, go your way. Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him: and they sent him away, they sent him away, his wife away, and all that he had". Someone said, "Well, where was the blessing"? Well, now keep reading. "And", which means it ain't finished yet, "And Abram went up out of Egypt, he, and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the south. And Abram was very rich", stop. Somebody say, "Oh, that's spiritual rich". I'm so glad he put the Scripture in there, Abram was spiritually rich. See, every time we see rich, we always want to go, "Spiritually, he was spiritually rich, spiritually rich". Like so you pay your light bill with some spiritual money. I'd like for you to go to Publix and try to buy some groceries with some spiritual, a spiritual credit card.
Let me see how you do it spiritually. No. He said, And Abram was very rich in what? Cattle. And what? Silver And what? Gold. So, now the blessing is producing financial blessing. He was blessed and nothing could stop him: the circumstance, the famine, the taking of his wife. Financial blessing is a part of the blessing of Abraham. How else did he get it? It was a part of the blessing of Abraham. Follow me carefully now. Now, he said, "And he went on and he journeyed to the south". Verse 4, "Unto the place of the altar, which he had make there at the first: and there Abram called on the name of the Lord. And Lot also, which was with him".
Remember Lot? Let's see what happened to Lot. "Lot was with Abram, and Lot had flocks, and herds, and tents". What? "And the land was not able to bear them both, that they might dwell together: for their substance was great, so that they could not dwell together". So, it does matter who you connected to. Lot was connected with Abraham who had the blessing on him and the blessing on Abraham got on Lot and what was happening to Abraham was happening to Lot. In the name of Jesus, it does matter what church you go to. It does matter who your pastor is. It does matter where you hooked up. Now, ladies and gentlemen, what did Abraham do to deserve this? Show me what he did besides tell his wife to lie for him, show his cowardness. Tell me what he did to deserve the blessing or to deserve the inheritance. It came on him because he believed in the Lord. It came on him because he believed in the Lord.
Now, here's the big question, and I'm gonna move in this with the time I have so stay with me. It came on him because he believed in the Lord. Look at Proverbs 10:22 real quick, and I'm gonna ask this question. It came on him because he believed in the Lord. The blessing produces peace and it produces wholeness in your life and in your relationship. The blessing is not just a money thing. That's the problem. The church want... I don't know when it happened. We became more about seeking money than seeking God. And if you more occupied with money than you are with God, you'd better believe that you're gonna have to do it the world's way in order to get it because that's not God's way.
Look what he said about the blessing. He said, The blessing of the Lord, it maketh what? Rich. And the first thing you think about is money. The blessings of the Lord will make you rich in love, rich in family, rich in relationship, rich in wisdom, rich in all these other things, including money, but not just money. "The blessings of the Lord, it maketh rich, and it addeth no sorrow with it". But what we did is we forgot about all of the things the blessing could do, and tried to zero in on the money thing. "What can I do to get the money blessing? I don't need no peace blessing. I don't need no health blessing". Yes, you do, you about to go crazy, full of stress, worried about everything. The blessing of the Lord is what makes the distinction between you and everybody else. While they're worried, you're full of joy because of the blessing of the Lord working in your life. If you understand that say, "amen".
Now, here's the question: why is it then that there aren't more Christians experiencing the full blessing of Abraham? Why are we not seeing Christian people who are the seed of Abraham, who are in Christ, who have a right to an inheritance, who's a joint heir with Christ Jesus, how come we don't see many Christians walking in the blessing? Because Christians are more stressed out, more worried, more broke, and more crazy than some people who are not Christian, why? Why are Christians... it was it was given to you. And why do we not see it?
All right, go back to Romans 4 again, verse 13 and let's read through 16. Romans 4 again, verse 13. He says, "For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world was not". For time's sake, go to the New Living Translation. I'll just read it there since we just read this one. But the, he said, "Clearly, God's promise to give the whole earth to Abraham and his descendants", was not based, excuse me, "and his descendants was based not on his obedience to God's law". Wow, okay, so what we've been taught? In order to get this, you got to do stuff. "But it was based on a right relationship with God that comes by faith".
The blessing's based on your relationship with God. The blessing is not based on your religious practice or activity. It's based on a relationship. We want to be Christians without a relationship. We like the T-shirt and the title, but we don't have the relationship by faith. And everything that's gonna come from God is gonna flow from the relationship you have with him. You don't talk to him, you don't spend no time with him, you wouldn't know him if he's talking back to you. There's no relationship with him and yet you try to operate the principles like you're in Las Vegas somewhere pulling a lever and that's not how this works.
Watch this. If God's promise is only for those who obey the law, then faith is not necessary and he says, and the promise is pointless, or the promise, in the King James I think it says, it is of none effect. The promise will never become a part of your life if you think that by deserving it through what you have done, it shows up in your life. It comes as a result of relationship. It's the benefit of having a relationship with Jesus, a for real one. That means when you say you saved, you for real saved because you have a relationship with Jesus, not your church, and not your religion. You have a personal relationship with the blesser who intimately knows everything about your life and knows what to release and when to release it, and how to release it because you have a relationship with him. A relationship, not because you perfect, not because you did all the right things, not because you obeyed the law, but you have a relationship with him. Fifteen, "For the law always brings punishment on those who try to obey it. (The only way to avoid breaking the law is to have no law to break!)".
So, the promise is received how? So, how do you receive the promise that you're the heir of the world? The first thing you gotta do is break through that mindset. "I am an heir of the world. I receive that by faith. I'm an heir of the world, I receive that by faith. I'm an heir of the world, I have a right to inherit the promises, the pleasures, the endowments, the goods of the world. I receive that by faith"! It is given as a free gift, and we all certain to receive it. We are all certain to receive it. Whether or not we live according to the law of Moses, if we have faith like Abraham's, for Abraham is the father of us all and all Abraham's doing looking at those stars, "I'm gonna have seed that outnumbers the stars. I'm gonna have seed that outnumbers the stars". Go to the beach, "Oh man, I'm gonna have more, my seed's gonna be more than the sands on the seashore". His faith, his faith.
So, listen to this now, and I'm gonna hit you with something. Are you ready? The blessing of Abraham for the New Covenant believer is made void and have no effect when you try to earn it and deserve it through your efforts. Hence, the secret to walking in the blessing of Abraham in your life is to stop trying to deserve it. Instead, exercise your faith to believe that you are righteous through Jesus's finished works. The more righteousness conscious you are, the more blessings you will experience. The Abrahamic blessing of being an heir of the world comes by trusting entirely on God's unmerited favor in your life.