“Lest You Say, ‘I Made Abraham Rich'”

This week I saw Donald Trump celebrating his Nevada primary caucus win. He did something that quite amazed me. He held his victory celebration in a Las Vegas hotel that was not his own Trump hotel. In his victory speech he turned to the owner of the hotel who was in the audience, and said, “Didn’t you offer me $12 million to help my campaign and I refused it?” The owner nodded his head, “Yes, that is true.”

I realized that what I was seeing was the same scenario that is painted for us in the Scripture, when the king of Sodom and Gomorrah offered Abraham the spoils of warfare. Abraham said, “I will not take from a thread even to a shoelatchet, and that I will not take anything that is thine lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abraham rich.” Abraham was one of the wealthiest men in the known world, but he also realized that his wealth was completely dependent on his relationship with God.

There is a point that a person can come to where their wealth is sufficient for their own needs, and they realize their decisions (such as Trump’s decision to run for President) is not in the hands of the money people. It’s in the hands of the American people and their votes in the voting boxes. Let me make the point that I have no opinion on who should be our next President ~ only that the American people will decide.

I do know that this is a dynamic that you and I are going to have to come to grips with. Over the last few years our church in San Francisco has been facing a serious crisis regarding the city of San Francisco and our building on Ocean Avenue. Like Abraham, who is the father of the Jewish nation and the father of the faithful, it is extremely important who you say made you rich. I repeat: “I will not take from a thread even to a shoelatchet, and that I will not take anything that is thine lest thou shouldest say, ‘I have made Abram rich.'” This accolade is so precious that I believe the Lord has reserved it for Himself in San Francisco.

This message is not just for me as pastor of the church, but it is also for all of you that are members of A Place To Meet Jesus. God’s blessings are coming to you because everything is coming to pass. But it’s important that you don’t receive a premature look-alike blessing that can trick you into a long period of bondage.