Place: Lurgan Baptist 6:2:2005. Reading: Genesis 25:19-34 Hebrews 12:14-19 THE MAN WHO SOLD HIS BIRTHRIGHT

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1 Place: Lurgan Baptist 6:2:2005 Reading: Genesis 25:19-34 Hebrews 12:14-19 THE MAN WHO SOLD HIS BIRTHRIGHT Max Jukes lived in the city of New York. He did not believe in Christ or in Christian training. He refused to take his children to church, even when they asked to go. He has had 1,026 descendants, 300 were sent to prison for an average term of thirteen years, 190 were public prostitutes, 680 were admitted alcoholics. His family thus far, has cost the country in excess of $420,000. They made no contribution to society whatever. Jonathan Edwards lived in the same state, at the same time as Jukes. He loved the Lord and saw that his children were in church every Sunday, as he served the Lord to the best of his ability. He has had 929 descendants, and of these 430 were ministers, 86 became university professors, 13 became university presidents, 75 authored good books, 7 were elected to the United States Congress. One was vice president of his nation. His family never cost the country one cent but has contributed greatly to the life of plenty in the U.S.A. Two men who lived at the very same time in the very same state who had a different perspective on life. Mind you they were bit like Esau and Jacob. Esau and Jacob were twins. Esau was born ahead of Jacob by the narrowest of margins. Esau was a man of the world. He liked to hunt and fish and sit around with the boys. He was ambitious to get on in this world. He married unsaved women and carved out a position for himself among the Dukes of Edom. He had no interest in the things of God even though his grandfather was Abraham. Doubtless Abraham had talked to Esau about his conversion, how he was looking for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker was God. But it all sounded like pie in he sky by and by to Esau. But not to Jacob. My. despite his faults and failings Jacob had his priorities right. If there was one thing he wanted, it was the blessing of God in his life. So Jacob set out to get Esau s birthright, no mater what it took to get it. He caught Esau when he was tired and hungry and discouraged and dangled a bowl of stew before him, and clinched the deal. Esau s spiritual birthright was sold for soup of the day! Now which man are you like this.? Are you like Esau living for time or are you like Jacob living for eternity? My. we are living in a secular society, where

2 there is progressively less and less room for God in it. Esau was just like that. In effect he said, I am having my all here and now. I am in for a comfortable time here. I don t mind what alliances I make with the world, or with false religion, as long as I have my stomach full now, as long as my appetites are fed to the full now. I am living for this time, and you can live on your empty promises if you like, but I am having my fill now. Are you like that? Do you just want to have a good time regardless of the future? Is your whole way of life destitute of spiritual value? I mean, what value do you place on eternal issues? What value do you place on spiritual things? What value do you place on your precious soul? Have a look at The Man who Sold His Birthright, and notice, (1) WHAT ESAU DID Can you picture the scene? Esau had been out hunting, there was no ban then, and even though the chase had been long and zealous he had caught nothing. Now he was hungry and tired. Can you see him plodding up the hill, trailing his spear and bow, bone weary and hungry enough to cook and eat his boots? Esau told Jacob to gave him part of that stew and Jacob said, All right, if you ll sell me your birthright. Birthright! That spelt blessing in the future, and privilege and position and power in the future. The promises of God were wonderful, but they were for the future. So Esau said, O.K. you can deny yourself Jacob and trust these promises, but I m going to live for the here and now, I m going to enjoy myself now. Thus Esau despised his birthright. ( 25:34 ) What did Esau did? (a) HE DESPISED HIS SPIRITUAL PRIVILEGES: Now what was this birthright? James Hastings helps us out a little when he says, To the birthright belonged pre-eminence over the other branches of the family. To the birthright appertained a double portion of the paternal inheritance. To the birthright was attached the land of Canaan, with all its sacred distinctions. To the birthright was give the promise of being the ancestor of the Messiah, the firstborn among many brethren,. the Saviour in whom all the families of the earth were to be blessed. And to the birthright was added the honour of receiving first from the mouth of the father, a peculiar benediction, which proceeding from the spirit of prophecy, was never pronounced in vain. Such were the prospects of Esau. My. what a start Esau had in life. You see, that birthright carried with it a right to the family Property ( Deut 21:17 ) it carried the right of family Priesthood ( Gen 27:29 ) and above all it carried the right of family Progenitorship, that is, this

3 family led directly to Christ. So this birthright was a cherished possession. It carried with it, not only temporal but spiritual benefits. And Esau sold it for one bowl of stew. He sold his birthright because he despised it, and he despised it because it was not something which he could see, or eat, or drink, or grasp with both hands. He despised it because it was a blessing related not to the body but to the soul. Is this what you are doing? My. there are lots of people who are trading their inheritance. The principles they were taught for a taste of the devils and the world s stew. My. it might taste good, smell good, look good but ultimately it will sour and spoil. There are young women who have given up their purity and lost their inheritance for a moment of passion. There are young men who have given up their virginity and messed up the future. Its not worth it! There are young folk who have taken a trip on drink and drugs and lost their inheritance. There are adults who have tasted the devils stew of pornography, and homosexuality and they have lost their inheritance. My. what about your birthright? The birthright of being born into a privileged country where the Gospel is faithfully preached? I say again where in all these islands of ours has this Word been preached with more fervour, more faithfulness, more fearlessness than in Ulster itself? Do you realise that your torment in the pit of hell will be greater because you ve been brought up in privileged Ulster? But are you despising your spiritual privileges? Can it be said of you this, From a child thou hast known the Holy Scriptures which are able to make thee wise unto salvation. ( 2 Tim 3:16 ) Early were your young feet directed to the house of God, early did your own lips sing the praises of God, early did fall on your young ears the gospel of God, but my. have you despised these spiritual privileges? Are you here this and you don t want any of your pastors preaching, your mothers prayers, your fathers faith? (a) (b) HE DISPLAYED HIS SENSUAL PRIORITIES: For he sold his birthright for one morsel of meat. ( Heb 12:16 ) The Bible calls Esau a profane person. That word sums him up perfectly. For to came to mean that which was purely earthly and common, as opposed to that which was sacred, consecrated and dedicated to God. Esau s life was entirely earthbound. The Lord was not in his thoughts. The only thing that concerned him was present gratification. Everything about the present was real to him, while everything about the future was unreal, vague and misty. To Esau this world was everything and God was nothing. His

4 motto was, Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow I die. ( Lk 12:19 ) My. he sold what was of lasting value for a momentary sensual gratification. Do you recall the words of the Saviour? What shall it profit a man. soul? ( Mk 8:36 ) What are you selling your soul for? In his famous Screwtape Letters, C. S. Lewis gives the devil s formula for pleasure. He points out to his fellow demon his pupil in the art of temptation, that, although pleasure has its uses as a means of seduction and enslavement, it is a tricky tool to use because it was God not Satan who invented pleasure. The best the devil can do with pleasure is to distort it and persuade people to abuse it. They can strive to develop in them a craving for pleasure and get them hooked on it until they want more and more stimulation and get less and less satisfaction. The ultimate aim is to get a person s soul for nothing. Satan got Esau s cheaply enough. He got it for one morsel of meat. My. what are you selling your soul for? Balaam the prophet perished with the enemies of Israel. Why? Because he loved money more than he loved God. ( 2 Pet 2:15 ) Judas bartered with the leaders of Israel and sold the Lord Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. ( Matt 27:3 ) Pilate, the Roman Governor of Judaea sold his soul for popularity ( Matt 27:17 ) Felix sold his soul for unbridled lust and passion. ( Acts 24:24 ) Are you following in their steps? Are you cheaply selling your purity, honesty, honour and respect for a transient experience from sex, drugs, alcohol, whatever? Do you think, Oh if I could my immerse my soul in pleasure, if I could attain to the summit of pleasure and get what I want, I would be abundantly happy. Let me disillusion you. You would not. Do you know what it is said of Esau? He was a man of the field. ( 25:27 ) The Bible tells us that the field is the world. ( Matt 13:38 ) And Esau returns from the field, unfilled, hungry and unsatisfied. My. there is nothing in the field, or the world which can meet your spiritual needs. Where is the heart that has not yearned for more than the world can give? Who has not felt that empty void which the world can never fill? Long ago King Solomon reflected on what he had gained for himself and described it all as vanity of vanities. Film star Bridget Bardot described herself as uprooted, unbalanced and lost in a world that seems mad. Does that strike a responsive chord in your heart this.? Have you tried the pleasures of this world and still you re not satisfied? Is there still that emptiness in your life? Like Esau are you living for self instead of for Christ? Are you living for the temporal instead of the eternal? Are you living for time instead of eternity? (1) (2) WHAT ESAU DESIRED

5 For later on he wanted the blessing. The Book of Hebrews tells us For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place of repentance, though he sought carefully with tears. ( 12:7 ) Too late he realised the value of what he has lightly thrown away. Now I m sure that Esau wasted no regret over the lost right to be the family priest, and although he did not care about being related to the coming Christ, he probably did desire the double portion of the property. He wanted that part of the blessing, but he was too late. You see, (a) HE DESIRED THIS BLESSING SUBSEQUENTLY: The Book of Hebrews says, For ye know how that afterward. ( 12:17 ) You see, it was as a young man that he sold his birthright, but it was approximately forty years later ( 26:34 ) that he stood before his aged and trembling father, and found that what he had sold for a bow of stew was not only the birthright, but the blessing, the glory, the dominion, the prosperity of years. Then he read his boyish sin under the terrible glare flung upon it by its consequences. My. he sought for the blessing subsequently, but it was too late. I wonder does this find a parallel in your life this.? Am I speaking to mature adults who in their youth put off the matter of salvation? My. do you recall how God spoke to you in your youth? In those days when the gospel touched you, moved you, challenged you! But now habitual carelessness to the claims of Christ has made your response harder over the years and you re here this. still not saved. Young folk, this. don t be like Esau? Don t live for this world, live for the next. Don t live for time, live for eternity. Don t live for self live for God. Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth. ( Eccl 12:1 ) Do you know something? It has been calculated that after 25 years of age, only one in 1,000 is saved, after 35 years of age, only one in 50,000 is saved, after 45 years of age, only one in 200,000 is saved, after 55 years of age, only one in 300,000 is saved, after 75 years of age only one in 700,000 is saved. Is this not a reason to seek the Lord in your youth? Is this not why you must trust the Saviour this.? (a) (b) HE DESIRED THIS BLESSING SUPERFICIALLY: When Isaac his father pronounced the benediction on Jacob, which Esau later learned about, we read, he cried with a great and exceeding bitter cry. ( 27:34 )

6 The book of Hebrews says, he ( Esau ) sought it ( the blessing ) with tears. ( 12:17 ) But those tears were not tears of repentance, because he had sinned against God, rather did they flow from a sense of self pity. they expressed his disappointment for the consequences which his folly had brought about. Do you know something? There is a difference between remorse and repentance! Pharaoh regretted that he was suffering judgement ( Exod 10:27 ) Saul regretted that he got caught disobeying the Lord s will ( 1 Sam 15:24 ) but the minute things were straightened out he went back to his old ways. What about Judas? The man who kissed the door of heaven but went to hell. Judas had remorse, so much that the burden of his sin led him to commit suicide. ( Matt 27:3 ) But only Peter had true repentance, for he went out and wept bitterly. There were the tears of genuine repentance and the Lord forgave him. ( Matt 26:69 ) You say, Preacher how can I come to the Lord acknowledging my sin? My. not just with words on your lips, not just with good intentions, but with a broken and contrite heart! Not flippantly or lightly but with a heart that s weighed down with the burden of sin. Have you come to the Lord like that? (1) (2) (3) WHAT ESAU DISCOVERED And what an awful discovery it was! For the Word of God says, He ( Esau ) found no place of repentance though he sought it carefully with tears. ( Heb 12:17 ) Do you what he discovered? He discovered, (a) A DECISION THAT WAS FINAL: He found no place of repentance, now the repentance here was not repentance on Esau s part. It was repentance, a change of mind on the part of his father, Isaac, that Esau wanted. But Isaac refused to be moved by Esau s bitter wailing. ( 27:34 ) The decision was final. What a warning to those of you this. who have sinned away the day of grace. My. do you realise that there could come a moment in time when God will stop speaking to you? ( 6:3 ) When the Lord will not answer your cry. The Lord says, they shall call upon Me, but I will not answer, they shall seek Me early but they shall not find Me. ( Prov 1:28 ) Do you know something? God s Word to you this. is seek the Lord while He may be found call ye upon Him while He is near. ( Is 55:6 ) Is He drawing near to you this..? (a)

7 (b) A REJECTION THAT WAS PERSONAL: For the Bible says, he was rejected. ( 12:17 ) Esau had to live with his sin and he could not change his rejection. What a moment that will be when the lost of all the ages will gather at the White Throne Judgement. Only to hear the verdict of the Judge. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. ( Rev 20:15 ) There is not shed of mercy, grace, pardon here. You say, that s very severe. No, its not. For if you want grace, mercy, pardon, salvation, you may have it, but you may have it now. You say, preacher how can I have it? Well, how did Jacob find acceptance with his father Isaac? Very simply by sheltering beneath the name of the father s firstborn son, and by being clothed in Esau s garments. Do you know how to find acceptance with the Lord this.? By sheltering beneath the name of the Father s Beloved Son, and by being clothed in His robe of righteousness! Do you know who the Father s Beloved Son is? He is the Lord Jesus Christ and at the place called Calvary He died that you might be forgiven, He died to make you good, that you might go at last to heaven saved by His precious blood. In February 1986 at a gem and mineral bazaar in Tulson, Arizona an amateur rock hound sold an egg sized violet and blue stone to Texas gemmologist Roy Whetstine for $10. The original place was $15 but Whetstine haggled with him. After months of rigorous examination, Whetstine made an announcement about his $10 rock. It was a 1905 carat star sapphire with an estimated uncut value of 2.28 million. His good fortune just did not happen by chance. He pointed out, I was used to handling rocks and saying that s good, and that s useless. You see, the difference between the amateur s $10 dollar find and Whetstine s 2.28 million find is an eye and feel for value. My. the difference between heaven and hell, between eternal regret and eternal reward is an eye for the truly valuable things in life. My. your soul is of infinite value, and tonight if you say yes, to the Lord Jesus your lost soul can become a saved soul!