Why Were You Sent?
By Rev. Robert P. Elkins
All Scripture verse taken from the NIV Bible unless otherwise noted
Luke 4:43
"But he said,"I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent."
Jesus knew why he was sent here to earth, there was never a question in his mind what the Father planned for his calling to be and Jesus walked forward to his calling with every breath of life he had in him. Driven by love for men and women he went forward and never looked back or turned aside for a minute. Jesus knew why he was sent, Jesus knew what the task at hand was. Jesus was 100% fully aware of what his mission was. What his divine appointment was and as you read further in the Gospel of Luke you will see that he also knew the final outcome of his sojourn here on earth. Jesus knew the will of his Father, he knew he was to share the good news concerning the Kingdom of God with as many as time and circumstance would allow and he knew what the cost to himself would be and he knew what his sacrifice would entail and he never once turned away.
And now I ask you, why were you sent? Do you know what God had in mind for you when you were created? When your life was formed maybe many or but a few short years ago do you know what God had in store for you to bring you to this very place today, this day, this hour, this minute? Do you have any idea just what the mighty mind of the All-Powerful Living God of all Creation had planned for your life? Have you felt a call from God on your life today? Perchance he's speaking to your heart right now. Can you hear his voice? Do you even want to hear his voice or are you a bit afraid of what he might be calling you to do? Is his voice clear and calm and distinctive? Perhaps it's muffled and hard to understand, but just the same can you hear it?
Jesus gave a very clear and distinctive directive to his disciples in Matthew 28. "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of The Father and of The Son and of The Holy Ghost. And teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you and surly I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
When Jesus talked to the 11 disciples, at this time Judas was no more, was he talking to just those present then or was he talking to us today as well? Are not the Scriptures still the living word of God talking to all generations? Friend, today there are many disciples out there. A disciple is a follower of a teacher who offers instruction regardless of what that teaching may be. Charles Manson had a following of disciples. Although Charles Mansion never actually harmed Sharon Tate or any of the others that died in the killing spree, his disciples did. He instructed them in the task he wanted them to carry out and they did as instructed. And consequently Charles and his disciples went to prison, they for committing the act and he for conspiracy to commit the act. Martin Luther had disciples, they came to be known as Protestants, Martin Luther led a revolt against the Roman Catholic Church through his writings and teachings and his disciples followed his lead. Dr. Martin Luther King had disciples; they followed Dr. King's teachings and example and were able to alter the course of history for the mightiest nation to ever inhabit this planet we call earth. So when Jesus said go and make disciples he was referring to not only his first 12 disciples, now minus one. He was referring to anyone and everyone who hears his words, making all followers of the teachings he had passed on to us through the Bible.
Notice the language of Jesus' words in Matthew 28. "Teach them to obey everything I have commanded you."
Like the original Ten Commandments here also we see not a suggestion but a command. Like the first ten, his second set of commandments are simple but penetrating and profound. Love your neighbor … don't cheat your government … don't condemn others when they do likewise as you have done ... you who are without sin, you can cast the first stone. There isn't anything complicated in the teachings of Jesus Christ. There is no intricate formula that needs to be found, the words of Jesus Christ were the words every man and woman of that day could understand and the same holds true today, the words of Jesus even now can easily be understood. Jesus didn't try to baffle or confuse anyone; he didn't try to prove a point or show his superiority, although he could have. And he could have done just that at any moment to the amazement of all whom were with in hearing range. He didn't say love this ethnic group but not that one. He didn't say to love this group because of their finances but not the poor, the ones left outside in the cold with no food or a few rags to cover their nakedness. And more importantly, when Jesus was teaching his disciples, both then and now, it wasn't only by what he said but by what he did as well. Jesus, the greatest teacher or rabbi of all time led by example to the most finite detail of perfection, grace and beauty. When Jesus taught he did so with his words, which are all important, but he also did so with his heart too. When it was unfashionable to talk to women he talked to women, many women, he showed them kindness when they were considered nothing more than so much property, he instilled pride and self respect in them, he did by word and example which is what we should be doing, he blessed them. He lifted them from a lowly station and told them that God loved them.
When it was unfashionable to talk to the Samaritans he talked to the Samaritans. He used colorful word pictures and subtle innuendoes. He made them the hero's of his parables. The Good Samaritan who did what was right in the eyes of God over the Jewish priest who walked by unmoved or unconcerned. And it was a Samaritan that carried the cross of our beaten and bloodied Lord to Gilgotha when all of the righteous Jews taunted and spat at him. When it was unfashionable to be in the very presence of a leper Jesus not only went into their presence but he healed them, and as was his fashion of rocking the establishment, he healed by touching them, he touched the untouchable and loved the unlovable. When it was unfashionable to heal on the Sabbath Jesus did heal on the Sabbath. Through his acts of love and kindness, he spoke with his heart and healed all that called to him regardless of the day or the hour, and he told the Pharisee I must do so because I am the Lord of the Sabbath. And as before stated, when Jesus did these things there was no intricate formula to be found other than the love of God.
He did these things with love, pure and simple love. He loved the woman at the well, and she a Samaritan. He loved her enough to tell her of the living water of which once she drank she would never thirst again. He loved her enough to tell her of that water that would quench her spiritual thirst forever and forever. He loved the woman caught in adultery enough to forgive her sins and with a simple word prevented her life from coming to a close that very moment. He loved the blind man enough that he gave him his sight. And how complicated was that healing? What were the tools or medicines he used? Spit and mud, no intricate formula there. Jesus used things to present a simple love, the very heart of God. The Roman Catholics have an icon they call the Sacred Heart of Jesus. In paintings and statues and mosaics they show Jesus with his heart on the outside of his body and in many ways this is the true picture of the factual disciples of Jesus Christ. Mother Teresa wore her heart on the outside for all to see. She showed simple love to all men and women found in the lowest of possible positions or conditions. She showed love to the untouchable of the caste system in India, those who live in dirt and live on dirt, the lowest of low and she loved them when it was unfashionable. Rev. Billy Graham wears his heart on the outside for all to see. He presents the message of Jesus Christ to millions of people and he uses simple words that all can understand. He ministers to people of every kind and color in every country and condition, through every language in every opportunity he can. He presents the love of God as often as he can and will until he's called home to receive his reward from the Father. Each of these people has heard the call of God on their lives and they knew why they were sent.
And that brings us back to where we started in the very beginning. Do you know why you were sent? Notice I said sent and not called? All of us are in some fashion called by God. His call is upon every man, upon every woman and upon child alive in the world. But not all listen with an open ear or a open heart, not all respond and not all follow his calling without adapting it to fit their own personal agenda. Because you see, if you're a disciple of Jesus Christ, if you're a follower of his teachings, it's not a question of if you are sent. He didn't make it an option he made it a command. He didn't say “if you feel like it” or “if you have time go out to the nations and make disciples and followers”. He didn't say when your church steps out there in a ministry with your men's or woman's group and are led by the Spirit you should join them as well. What Jesus did say was a command … GO! I'm sending you now. And that's what he expects us to do, we are in his army and he's the Commander in Chief and when he gives a command he expects us to carry it our without question. He expects us to go out to the nations just as he said to the original 11 disciples.
So again I have to ask you. Do you know why you were sent? Jesus gave us his words, isn't that enough to convince the doubter? The words and actions of Jesus are recorded for all to read. Isn't that enough to convince the doubter? If we have his words, if we have a map of his footsteps what more do we need? A thousand Bibles piled in the fellowship hall of a church will never lead one person to salvation if those Bibles aren’t handed out. We have beautiful Christian songs with lyrics that can melt the hardest heart but what good are they if no one sings them to the unsaved? The apostle Paul understood this concept perfectly. That's why he wrote to the church in Rome. "How, then can the call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one in whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, how beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news." How shall they preach unless they are sent? Let there be no doubt in the mind of anyone here, you have been called and you have been sent. I think just by your being here you've acknowledged the call. If you hadn't, you'd be elsewhere right now, cleaning your car or working on your house or something like that. Or maybe you'd be home just sleeping the day away.
It stirs my soul to see so many people in churches acknowledging that they know that they have been sent by God to perform some task to follow the command of their King. There is ministry going on in many of these churches, the heart of the church is beating, the flow of life is going out the doors and into the community. Many hearing or reading this in many ways show daily that they have been sent. But Jesus doesn't expect us to go out there alone. He told us that he would never leave us or forsake us. He's going to come along with us, right at out side in any and all situations. He's given us the Comforter, the Counselor to keep us company, and to direct our steps as well. He's given each of us a special ability, a blessing, and if you listen to his voice and follow his lead he'll tell you what those abilities are.
As I've already said, the heart of the church is beating, it isn’t dead by a long shot. For many of us we were on the gurney but we hadn’t flat lined yet. At one point we may have been in that coma type lull but the EMT's showed up, that's "THE EMERGENCE OF THE MIGHTY TRUTH. And that might truth is that God had a plan for his church from the very beginning and what God predestines will come to fruition regardless of Satan's scheme of things. The EMT's applied CPR to the patient, that's CHRIST his PEOPLE and RESOLVE. The faithful show resolve, they show determination, they call upon the name of their Lord Jesus, they join hands in prayer and they come together in unity adapting to that word of Scripture put to song: "We are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood a chosen nation, a peculiar people some more peculiar than the rest! You of course know I altered that just a little don’t you?
But you know I don't care how peculiar you are or what assortment of Hodge- Podge people we have, if every person is willing to bend the knee and acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, if every person is willing to set aside their own personal agenda and work for the furtherance of Gods Kingdom. If every person is willing to be Spirit led and not self led there's nothing that old rascal Beelzebub can do to stop the people of God. If you're fueled by the love of Jesus, the brakes of Satan aren't strong enough to stop the wheels of progress from rolling throughout your area and planting seeds of Gospel power to every place your foot touches down. If the love of Jesus is being paved before you the rocks of Satan will be smoothed over at every turn of the path God has called you to.
If you had been present when I did my very first sermon after I received my credentials to preach from the Assemblies of God denomination, you would have heard me ask each person present that day a simple question. I asked the people there if they knew where they'd be standing when the storm of God passes by because at some point God is going to come upon the face of the earth and cover it like a mighty storm. Today I'm asking you the same thing and I’m adding a new twist, I’m asking if you know why you were sent? God is sending you to do the same things he did when he was here so many years ago walking the land of Israel. And by your acknowledgement if that is how you will respond to my question, he will again be walking the land through your legs and seeing your eyes and your heart. The Father is sending you as he sent his Son Jesus, the message hasn't changed in thousands of years nor will it ever change.
Preach his love … teach his love … show his love … know his love … and live his love.
Let it be seen in every thing you do, every word you say and every action you take. Jesus knew why he was sent, and you know why you were sent. He sent you as his ambassador, he sent you as his servant, and he sent you as his brother or sister. He sent you as himself, a part of his very body, an extension of his very self. Let every step you take and every word you say reflect the love of Jesus and if you heed this message, every one you meet will also know why you were sent. Because you see my friend, when they meet you they will actually be introduced to Jesus Christ and it will be through your being sent to them that at some point we will all meet again in glory when our Lord returns for us.
If you've heard his voice today and you know why you were sent rejoice now and show him how much you love him. Talk to him, he’s listening, pour out your heart and start today to show everyone else around you that there is no doubt, there is no question. You know why you were sent!
Grace & peace
Friday, October 24, 2008
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Don’t Give Up Your Birthright
Don’t Give Up Your Birthright
By Rev. Robert P. Elkins
All scripture verse is from the NIV Bible unless otherwise noted
Genesis 25:29-34
“Once when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the open country, famished. He said to Jacob, "Quick, let me have some of that red stew! I'm famished!" (That is why he was also called Edom.)
Jacob replied, "First sell me your birthright."
"Look, I am about to die," Esau said. "What good is the birthright to me?"
But Jacob said, "Swear to me first." So he swore an oath to him, selling his birthright to Jacob.
Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil stew. He ate and drank, and then got up and left. So Esau despised his birthright.”
I love the Old Testament; it’s rich in story and full to bursting with practicable application for living in a godly fashion even in today’s society. Although it was wrote a few thousand years ago the story lines are laced with golden threads that weave into pages just filled with perception, wisdom and knowledge without limit. Over the years, preachers have read these words of gold, and then prayed to our Lord for His anointing before they presented their best teachings. Then, by and through, the unction of the Holy Spirit in an uncountable amount and diverse results, sermons of every kind and color have been poured out like a fine wine offering. Each uniquely different from the other, all flowing with form and color and marvelous imagery while at the same time all relying on the same foundation, the living word of God. Amen? As man’s mind appears to have no limits, so too the sermons when guided by the Holy Spirit. As man searches the Scriptures and scans those beautiful passages, both from the Old and New Testament, like a stream of living water the words flow ready and willing to quench the dry, thirsty and parched throats of the gathered congregations who assemble in God’s house’s of worship at the call of the shophar, the Ram’s horn trumpet, like days gone by. I’d love to have one of those to sound the call to worship and to have that sound echo through the sanctuary. I don’t know about you but for me it would be exciting, it would be another tie to the rich past of our roots that do lead back to Judaism. Whether we want to acknowledge it or not, our roots do go back to the Jewish faith and we are all serving a Jewish carpenter!
When the people are called together as we are today in their house of worship, when they enter the doors, those portals that ring salvation on the inside and the world on the out, they come eager for a taste of what God’s choice words have in store for them. And my friend, those words are fully capable of reviving the parched and thirsty soul because if they are from the Bible they are the words of living water that Jesus talked of to the woman at the well.
And now it is time to present the meat of the sermon, you’ve tasted the hors d’oeuvre but it’s time for the main course . How many reading this today have ever had a touch of that Esau-itise spirit in them at some point in their lives?
Lets look at the characters in this pericope. We have Esau and Jacob, brothers from the same parents but other than that they have little in common it appears. Esau is the big old grizzly bear kind of guy, he’s covered with course red hair and from the reading we can kind of get the feeling that if he doesn’t drag his knuckles on the ground when he walks he surely isn’t the sharpest knife in the drawer. Or I think one could rephrase it as “He doesn’t have both his oars in the water and he paddles with the one and just spins in circles”.
Jacob on the other hand gives the appearance of being a bit more refined. Well-groomed and neat, most likely handsome in appearance and somewhat intelligent. He and I were most likely somewhat the same don’t you think? Jacob appears to be a dapper kind of fellow who had a plan and a goal, with the prodding and assistance of a less than scrupulous mother. But that’s another sermon for another time.
Esau has been out in the open country and when he returns he is famished. He drags his hairy self into the house, sits down at the kitchen table, slams down two glasses of ice tea and says, “What’s for supper?” His brother Jacob, the happy homebody is in the kitchen cooking up a storm with his Betty Crocker cookbook in one hand and the Taste of Home cookbook in the other. Esau being the sophisticated gent that he is doesn’t care what’s in the pot. He knows it smells good, it looks good and if Jacob is the cook it’s got to be good as well. Jacob is kind of like the Emeril Lagassie of Genesis. Esau says, “Quick, give me a bowl of that or I am going to pass away from hunger”.
You see my friends if you’ve ever read this story in its entirety you’d know that these two guys, these two brothers, are members of one of the many truly documented dysfunctional families of recorded history. Going back to mom and dad, and grandpa and grandma they were all equally quirky in their behavior. And now this strange family trait has been passed on to the boys of Isaac and Rebecca. The two boys we are looking at now. So Jacob says to his brother, grab yourself a bowl and get a spoon, sit yourself right down and get ready for the meal of meals, the food of all foods, good old lentil stew! Ummm yummy. If I’m projecting this right you should almost be able to see Jacob reaching out, taking the bowl and stirring the stew. Waving the bowl under his hairy brother’s nose letting him savor the aroma, lightly seasoned with ram, lamb, or mutton. And knowing that his big hairy brother, having no table manners, no couth whatsoever, sitting with the spoon in his hand and his tongue hanging out like a dog panting over his bone, Jacob knows that the hook has been set, now all he has to do is reel him in like a big fish.
“Oh hungry brother, before you eat would you do me a small favor? Would you give me your birthright?”.
And of course the not so bright Esau says, “Yes”. Jacob knew that having the birthright meant having some very special perks. To start with the holder of the birthright gets a double portion of inheritance above everyone else. If your brother gets 5 sheep, you get 10. If one of the other kids gets 50 acres of land you get 100 acres. If there are servants to be had you got twice as many as the other siblings, I think you get the picture.
This birthright of the first born also came with a special blessing as well. A blessing of prosperity was prayed over you, a prayer for success that brought wealth and children and sheep and camels and the visa gold charge card. And the kicker was that all the other kids of the clan had to show you special honors. You were now the head of the clan, you was “Da Man”. And it was the blessing and the rewards that Jacob was after, he knew what he was asking for and how to go about getting it. And he also knew that his hairy brother Esau was thinking from his stomach and not his head. He knew Esau would say “sure, you got it, I’m hungry enough to eat a elephant so it’s yours, do with it what you want but give me the food now.” And so the two brothers traded what they had. Jacob gave up a bowl of stew, and Esau gave up the blessing, the promise, the wealth, and the honors that went along with the blessing. He gave up his birthright.
How many reading this have known the promises of God? How many of you know what he has said through his Word, the Bible? How many of you know what God has promised to us and know what God said he would do for us and then traded it all away for a bowl of worldly stew? How many reading this have given up our birthright as a child of God and traded it all away for the short term right now instant blessing of the world? How many of us are guilty of trading away for today all the promises of tomorrow that God has given us?
Now you may be thinking “What does it matter, I’m not a first born, I know that I’m a child of God but that blessing of the first born doesn’t apply to me?” Well friend have I got good news for you! I’m here to tell you that not only does this blessing apply to you as a first born but that it gets even better.
Whether we want to acknowledge it or not, all of us, that’s you and me, that’s all of us are children of the Most High Lord God Almighty. I don’t care who your earthly parents were; you are still God’s child. I don’t care anything about the circumstances that surrounded your birth. I don’t care how you were conceived, whether you are saved or unsaved, red white yellow or black, you are a child of God. There is no one reading this in any house, in any hotel on any boat or in any bus, or any other place on the face of this earth that was conceived and given birth into the human family that was brought about outside of the will of the All Powerful God. Our Father in Heaven is the Father of all created life and with out the intervention of God there would be no life in any of us. Amen? And like it is with our earthly parents, some of us are closer to our heavenly Father than are others. And that my friend is not by God’s design but it’s by our free will and personal choice. Some have said; “Father I love you, I’ll embrace you, I’ll walk with you and I’ll serve you”. And then there are others that have said, “I know who you are but I don’t want to get to close, not just yet”. And then sadly I have to say that there are those who say, “ I don’t acknowledge you at all and I don’t even want to think that you exist”.
I think I’m safe in saying that I doubt there are many of this last group just mentioned reading this today. And if you know of anyone that is in that last group that don’t want to even acknowledge that there is a God it’s a shame that they won’t read this message unless you send it to them or guide them to this site. That my friend is something you can do and it will only take a minute of your time. If you are of the second group, the ones who acknowledge God but like to stay at a distance I’d love to sit down with you and over coffee have a nice long talk with you if it were possible but chances are it isn’t. But I would like to encourage you to develop a close personal relationship with your God and heavenly Father and I’d love to assist you in developing it in any way I can. God is never far away and he is always willing to draw you closer to him. Always remember that it is man who distances himself from God and never God who distances himself from man. God has been known to leave a nation, a people, but he is always near to a person when we call upon him with a sincere heart.
But now for that special group, the ones who have bent the knee to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ and have acknowledged him for whom he is. Now I’m acknowledging those who have openly admitted that they are sinners and it is by grace and through the blood of Jesus and only through Jesus that we are saved. I’m talking to those who have asked for forgiveness, accepted his grace, are born again or born from above by the power of the Holy Spirit and are filled with new life by the in-filling of the Spirit of God. If you’re in this group say “AMEN” because you’ve got something to shout about.
Whether you know it or not, each of us in this last group are entitled to the blessings of the firstborn child. And that blessing is ours regardless of who we are, how old we are or how long we’ve been saved. It’s regardless of our gender, man or woman, boy or girl, regardless of our color, black, red, yellow or white, regardless of our parents or our children, regardless of our income or our position in life or the church we attend or where we work. None of those things matter even the least little bit or carry any substance if we are a born again child of God. And to that you can say’ “Amen”. Although at the time of Jacob and Esau there was only one birthright blessing bestowed, and that went to the firstborn male heir unless like Esau you screwed up and were cheated out of what was rightfully yours. Lets look the context of the blessing Esau passed up by trading away his birthright. (Genesis 27 28-29)
“ May God give you of heaven's dew
If you want to know about all of this you’ll find it in Genesis chapter 27. Should you decide to read this chapter on your own I think you will be amazed to see what lengths Jacob went through with the assistance and approval of his mother to deceive his father. Once the blessing was given it could not be rescinded or transferred. It was a one shot only done deal and there was no amending it. But now each of us can have this firstborn blessing, this birthright blessing because in the eyes of the heavenly Father we are all firstborn and fully entitled to blessing as a child of God.
(Romans 8:17) says; “The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs – heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.” The key word there was “CO-HEIRS” if we are co-heirs with Christ then we share equally with the Son of God not only in the suffering of Christ but in the blessings as well. If you are a co-heir on an insurance policy you get an equal share of the policy value with anyone else who is listed on the policy. As a co-heir you share not more and certainly not less but in equal measure of the blessing of the first born and original holder of the blessing. Just think about that for a moment. What the Father promised the Son he also promises the co-heir children as well. If we share in his suffering then we share in his glory. I believe that here in this instance that good old phrase from the 70”s fits in quite nicely, “God said it; I believe it and that settles it. Amen!”
In Genesis it said that Esau, the rightful heir of the birthright blessing was coming in from the open country and was famished. Esau was out in the wilderness and when he came home he was famished, he was hungry, he was beyond hungry. He was so hungry that he tossed his blessing to the wind with no common sense at all. My friend as a minister of the Lord I’m here to encourage you to not do as Esau did and throw away your blessing. Don’t be so hungry for the instant gratification, the right now, right this instant short term blessing of the world so as to loose the blessing the Lord has in store for you as co-heirs with Christ. Our open country or wilderness may be any of a number of things and as long as we wander in this wilderness area we are going to be hungry until we come in from the cold and enter into the grace of Jesus to be fed with his love and companionship. If you’re married, your wilderness area may be looking at another person, stay with your first love and protect your blessing. If you’re a student, your wilderness area may be to run with the crowd that are headed in the wrong direction, stay with your first love, your Lord and friend Jesus and protect your blessing. Don’t throw away your birthright blessing for the little things of un-lasting nature. Illegal gain, lust of the flesh, greed, jealously, we all know how long our list is. For some it may be an inch long for others it may be a mile. But however long it is I can assure you that it isn’t worth throwing away your birthright for it. Maybe we could add gossip and strife, maybe we could add anger or violence or any of the other things listed in the Bible. But whatever it is I can assure you that it isn’t worth throwing away your birthright blessing.
Esau didn’t look towards his tomorrows; he only looked at the right now, the instant right now, right away, he didn’t exercise his mentality very well. . Had he used his head and given the proposition some thought he would have realized that what he was giving away was of far greater value than what he was getting in return. If Esau had been following the leading of the Holy Spirit rather than the lusts of the flesh he would have known the deal he was getting was no deal at all. And this pericope is here in the Bible for us to use as a learning tool today. This isn’t just another cute story about a dysfunctional family of antiquity. This is here for our benefit to be learned and applied to each of us, to you and I this very day.
I don’t know what lies in your open country; I don’t know what is out there that could entice you to follow the lead of Esau. But I do know that whatever it is, whatever can make you as hungry as Esau was even if you feed that hunger on anything other than the perfect will of God it’s not going to fill the void for very long. Whatever we use will never be as sweet or as pleasant as the promises of God and the birthright he has in store for his children. The promises of God are full and wonderful; they will fill your every empty space and never leave us desiring for anything else once we’ve experienced them.
And how do we get them, how do we gain these promises? How do we grab hold of this birthright we’re hearing about? To start with we need to grab hold of Jesus Christ and hold on for dear life. We’ve got to hold on like our very life depended upon it because my friend it does! We have to take hold of him and let him take hold of us. We need to wrap our arms around him and allow him to wrap his arms around us, to become 100% totally dependent upon Jesus for everything we need, be dependent upon him to lift our spirits, feed our soul, feed our every yearning and provide our every need in this life and the next. We need to walk in intimate closeness with him, talk to him on a regular basis through prayer, listen to him as he talks to us, read his words as found in the Scriptures, eat his words as if they were a delicacy of pure delight, make them a very part of our every fiber and being. The King James Version of the Bible says we need to draw nigh unto him. That means to pull him in close. That means that we need to draw so close to Christ that when someone sees us they are looking into the eyes of Jesus. We need to draw so close that when we talk we are talking the language of Jesus. If you were to come to my house you would find a sign in my driveway that says; “Welcome, Jesus spoken here”. That’s my goal for life, to live and breath, to think and act as Jesus did and it should be yours as well. I may not have reached that goal yet but I’m working on it. I’m a work in progress and the work won’t end until I’m standing before my Lord in glory. We all need goals to keep us motivated and driven to perfection and I can’t think of a better goal that to be as Christ like as we can be. Remember, we may not have reached that goal just yet but we should never stop I’m trying to reach it. We need to daily say, “I may never reach that goal in this life but I know I’m not going to stop trying until the day my final breath is taken. Until then I’ll continue serving my Lord and Savior until I hear those words I’ve been waiting for. “Well done my good and faithful servant”. Is not that your goal as well? If it is say amen and give a cheer to Jesus. If we are striving to hear “well done my good and faithful servant” we are walking in the right direction and we’re in the right place.
I’m here to promise anyone reading these words that if you are ready to start developing a life style that walks in faith, talks in faith, acts in faith, prays in faith, hopes in faith and waits in faith. If you’re here to do this and so much more Jesus is here to meet you and he’s ready to give you what you need to meet that goal. I know this is the truth because his word says that he’s already done all of this … it has already happened at the day of Pentecost. When Jesus sent the Holy Spirit he sent him with every tool we would or could ever want to help us reach that goal. We’ve already got everything we need all we have to do is use it. All we have to do is reach out in faith and its all right there right now.
Our Christian walk won’t always be a cake walk, it’s not always going to be a walk in the park, it’s not always going to be easy or perfect and it’s not always going to be joyful or fun. At times it’s going to be hard to hang in there for the long haul. But if we hang on to Jesus we can do it, we can reach out and hang on tight. Remember the words of (James 1:2-4). “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.” {KJV}
When it seems like our open country is way to big to get across, when our open country has the appearance of a vast dry desert and we start to question or doubt go to (Numbers 23:19-20).
“God is not a man that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and then not fulfill? I have received a command to bless; he has blessed, and I cannot change it”.
He’s already done it; it’s a done deal friend. All we have to do is receive it, the promise is there, the gift is there, the Spirit is there. It’s all for our taking if we will only receive. Don’t be an Esau; don’t walk out on your birthright. God’s given us a free gift and I don’t know about you but I want every gift my Father has promised me as a co-heir with his Son Jesus.
If you believe this would you pray with me;
Father I believe in your word … I believe you want to give me every good gift…. By faith I’m now claiming those gifts… I’m claiming my birthright as a co-heir with Jesus Christ… I’m claiming all that is rightfully mine… I want a double portion as my inheritance … and I’m not going to give it away… I’m not going to let the enemy steal my blessing… I’m taking back what he has stolen from me… And he’s not getting anything else... I’m trusting in Jesus Christ for everything I need or want… I’m not looking to the world and it’s false blessings any more... I’m not seeking the things that will be eaten by moths or decay… I’m looking for the things that will last throughout all eternity… I’m looking for my birthright that says … I will be standing inside the gates of heaven … and I’ll settle for nothing less… Jesus I give you my heart today… I give you my strength and every fiber of my being… Use me as you see fit ... Mold me to be the very image of you ... Guard over me and protect me today ... Holy Spirit, light my path and guide my steps… Fill me as only you can … fill every part of me to over flowing … and send me to the world to deliver your message … let me tell everyone I meet … the Father wants all of his children … to inherit their birthright blessing ... I offer you this prayer, in Jesus name. Amen!
Grace & peace
By Rev. Robert P. Elkins
All scripture verse is from the NIV Bible unless otherwise noted
Genesis 25:29-34
“Once when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the open country, famished. He said to Jacob, "Quick, let me have some of that red stew! I'm famished!" (That is why he was also called Edom.)
Jacob replied, "First sell me your birthright."
"Look, I am about to die," Esau said. "What good is the birthright to me?"
But Jacob said, "Swear to me first." So he swore an oath to him, selling his birthright to Jacob.
Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil stew. He ate and drank, and then got up and left. So Esau despised his birthright.”
I love the Old Testament; it’s rich in story and full to bursting with practicable application for living in a godly fashion even in today’s society. Although it was wrote a few thousand years ago the story lines are laced with golden threads that weave into pages just filled with perception, wisdom and knowledge without limit. Over the years, preachers have read these words of gold, and then prayed to our Lord for His anointing before they presented their best teachings. Then, by and through, the unction of the Holy Spirit in an uncountable amount and diverse results, sermons of every kind and color have been poured out like a fine wine offering. Each uniquely different from the other, all flowing with form and color and marvelous imagery while at the same time all relying on the same foundation, the living word of God. Amen? As man’s mind appears to have no limits, so too the sermons when guided by the Holy Spirit. As man searches the Scriptures and scans those beautiful passages, both from the Old and New Testament, like a stream of living water the words flow ready and willing to quench the dry, thirsty and parched throats of the gathered congregations who assemble in God’s house’s of worship at the call of the shophar, the Ram’s horn trumpet, like days gone by. I’d love to have one of those to sound the call to worship and to have that sound echo through the sanctuary. I don’t know about you but for me it would be exciting, it would be another tie to the rich past of our roots that do lead back to Judaism. Whether we want to acknowledge it or not, our roots do go back to the Jewish faith and we are all serving a Jewish carpenter!
When the people are called together as we are today in their house of worship, when they enter the doors, those portals that ring salvation on the inside and the world on the out, they come eager for a taste of what God’s choice words have in store for them. And my friend, those words are fully capable of reviving the parched and thirsty soul because if they are from the Bible they are the words of living water that Jesus talked of to the woman at the well.
And now it is time to present the meat of the sermon, you’ve tasted the hors d’oeuvre but it’s time for the main course . How many reading this today have ever had a touch of that Esau-itise spirit in them at some point in their lives?
Lets look at the characters in this pericope. We have Esau and Jacob, brothers from the same parents but other than that they have little in common it appears. Esau is the big old grizzly bear kind of guy, he’s covered with course red hair and from the reading we can kind of get the feeling that if he doesn’t drag his knuckles on the ground when he walks he surely isn’t the sharpest knife in the drawer. Or I think one could rephrase it as “He doesn’t have both his oars in the water and he paddles with the one and just spins in circles”.
Jacob on the other hand gives the appearance of being a bit more refined. Well-groomed and neat, most likely handsome in appearance and somewhat intelligent. He and I were most likely somewhat the same don’t you think? Jacob appears to be a dapper kind of fellow who had a plan and a goal, with the prodding and assistance of a less than scrupulous mother. But that’s another sermon for another time.
Esau has been out in the open country and when he returns he is famished. He drags his hairy self into the house, sits down at the kitchen table, slams down two glasses of ice tea and says, “What’s for supper?” His brother Jacob, the happy homebody is in the kitchen cooking up a storm with his Betty Crocker cookbook in one hand and the Taste of Home cookbook in the other. Esau being the sophisticated gent that he is doesn’t care what’s in the pot. He knows it smells good, it looks good and if Jacob is the cook it’s got to be good as well. Jacob is kind of like the Emeril Lagassie of Genesis. Esau says, “Quick, give me a bowl of that or I am going to pass away from hunger”.
You see my friends if you’ve ever read this story in its entirety you’d know that these two guys, these two brothers, are members of one of the many truly documented dysfunctional families of recorded history. Going back to mom and dad, and grandpa and grandma they were all equally quirky in their behavior. And now this strange family trait has been passed on to the boys of Isaac and Rebecca. The two boys we are looking at now. So Jacob says to his brother, grab yourself a bowl and get a spoon, sit yourself right down and get ready for the meal of meals, the food of all foods, good old lentil stew! Ummm yummy. If I’m projecting this right you should almost be able to see Jacob reaching out, taking the bowl and stirring the stew. Waving the bowl under his hairy brother’s nose letting him savor the aroma, lightly seasoned with ram, lamb, or mutton. And knowing that his big hairy brother, having no table manners, no couth whatsoever, sitting with the spoon in his hand and his tongue hanging out like a dog panting over his bone, Jacob knows that the hook has been set, now all he has to do is reel him in like a big fish.
“Oh hungry brother, before you eat would you do me a small favor? Would you give me your birthright?”.
And of course the not so bright Esau says, “Yes”. Jacob knew that having the birthright meant having some very special perks. To start with the holder of the birthright gets a double portion of inheritance above everyone else. If your brother gets 5 sheep, you get 10. If one of the other kids gets 50 acres of land you get 100 acres. If there are servants to be had you got twice as many as the other siblings, I think you get the picture.
This birthright of the first born also came with a special blessing as well. A blessing of prosperity was prayed over you, a prayer for success that brought wealth and children and sheep and camels and the visa gold charge card. And the kicker was that all the other kids of the clan had to show you special honors. You were now the head of the clan, you was “Da Man”. And it was the blessing and the rewards that Jacob was after, he knew what he was asking for and how to go about getting it. And he also knew that his hairy brother Esau was thinking from his stomach and not his head. He knew Esau would say “sure, you got it, I’m hungry enough to eat a elephant so it’s yours, do with it what you want but give me the food now.” And so the two brothers traded what they had. Jacob gave up a bowl of stew, and Esau gave up the blessing, the promise, the wealth, and the honors that went along with the blessing. He gave up his birthright.
How many reading this have known the promises of God? How many of you know what he has said through his Word, the Bible? How many of you know what God has promised to us and know what God said he would do for us and then traded it all away for a bowl of worldly stew? How many reading this have given up our birthright as a child of God and traded it all away for the short term right now instant blessing of the world? How many of us are guilty of trading away for today all the promises of tomorrow that God has given us?
Now you may be thinking “What does it matter, I’m not a first born, I know that I’m a child of God but that blessing of the first born doesn’t apply to me?” Well friend have I got good news for you! I’m here to tell you that not only does this blessing apply to you as a first born but that it gets even better.
Whether we want to acknowledge it or not, all of us, that’s you and me, that’s all of us are children of the Most High Lord God Almighty. I don’t care who your earthly parents were; you are still God’s child. I don’t care anything about the circumstances that surrounded your birth. I don’t care how you were conceived, whether you are saved or unsaved, red white yellow or black, you are a child of God. There is no one reading this in any house, in any hotel on any boat or in any bus, or any other place on the face of this earth that was conceived and given birth into the human family that was brought about outside of the will of the All Powerful God. Our Father in Heaven is the Father of all created life and with out the intervention of God there would be no life in any of us. Amen? And like it is with our earthly parents, some of us are closer to our heavenly Father than are others. And that my friend is not by God’s design but it’s by our free will and personal choice. Some have said; “Father I love you, I’ll embrace you, I’ll walk with you and I’ll serve you”. And then there are others that have said, “I know who you are but I don’t want to get to close, not just yet”. And then sadly I have to say that there are those who say, “ I don’t acknowledge you at all and I don’t even want to think that you exist”.
I think I’m safe in saying that I doubt there are many of this last group just mentioned reading this today. And if you know of anyone that is in that last group that don’t want to even acknowledge that there is a God it’s a shame that they won’t read this message unless you send it to them or guide them to this site. That my friend is something you can do and it will only take a minute of your time. If you are of the second group, the ones who acknowledge God but like to stay at a distance I’d love to sit down with you and over coffee have a nice long talk with you if it were possible but chances are it isn’t. But I would like to encourage you to develop a close personal relationship with your God and heavenly Father and I’d love to assist you in developing it in any way I can. God is never far away and he is always willing to draw you closer to him. Always remember that it is man who distances himself from God and never God who distances himself from man. God has been known to leave a nation, a people, but he is always near to a person when we call upon him with a sincere heart.
But now for that special group, the ones who have bent the knee to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ and have acknowledged him for whom he is. Now I’m acknowledging those who have openly admitted that they are sinners and it is by grace and through the blood of Jesus and only through Jesus that we are saved. I’m talking to those who have asked for forgiveness, accepted his grace, are born again or born from above by the power of the Holy Spirit and are filled with new life by the in-filling of the Spirit of God. If you’re in this group say “AMEN” because you’ve got something to shout about.
Whether you know it or not, each of us in this last group are entitled to the blessings of the firstborn child. And that blessing is ours regardless of who we are, how old we are or how long we’ve been saved. It’s regardless of our gender, man or woman, boy or girl, regardless of our color, black, red, yellow or white, regardless of our parents or our children, regardless of our income or our position in life or the church we attend or where we work. None of those things matter even the least little bit or carry any substance if we are a born again child of God. And to that you can say’ “Amen”. Although at the time of Jacob and Esau there was only one birthright blessing bestowed, and that went to the firstborn male heir unless like Esau you screwed up and were cheated out of what was rightfully yours. Lets look the context of the blessing Esau passed up by trading away his birthright. (Genesis 27 28-29)
“ May God give you of heaven's dew
and of earth's richness—
an abundance of grain and new wine.
May nations serve you
May nations serve you
and peoples bow down to you.
Be lord over your brothers,
and may the sons of your mother bow down to you.
May those who curse you be cursed
and those who bless you be blessed."
If you want to know about all of this you’ll find it in Genesis chapter 27. Should you decide to read this chapter on your own I think you will be amazed to see what lengths Jacob went through with the assistance and approval of his mother to deceive his father. Once the blessing was given it could not be rescinded or transferred. It was a one shot only done deal and there was no amending it. But now each of us can have this firstborn blessing, this birthright blessing because in the eyes of the heavenly Father we are all firstborn and fully entitled to blessing as a child of God.
(Romans 8:17) says; “The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs – heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.” The key word there was “CO-HEIRS” if we are co-heirs with Christ then we share equally with the Son of God not only in the suffering of Christ but in the blessings as well. If you are a co-heir on an insurance policy you get an equal share of the policy value with anyone else who is listed on the policy. As a co-heir you share not more and certainly not less but in equal measure of the blessing of the first born and original holder of the blessing. Just think about that for a moment. What the Father promised the Son he also promises the co-heir children as well. If we share in his suffering then we share in his glory. I believe that here in this instance that good old phrase from the 70”s fits in quite nicely, “God said it; I believe it and that settles it. Amen!”
In Genesis it said that Esau, the rightful heir of the birthright blessing was coming in from the open country and was famished. Esau was out in the wilderness and when he came home he was famished, he was hungry, he was beyond hungry. He was so hungry that he tossed his blessing to the wind with no common sense at all. My friend as a minister of the Lord I’m here to encourage you to not do as Esau did and throw away your blessing. Don’t be so hungry for the instant gratification, the right now, right this instant short term blessing of the world so as to loose the blessing the Lord has in store for you as co-heirs with Christ. Our open country or wilderness may be any of a number of things and as long as we wander in this wilderness area we are going to be hungry until we come in from the cold and enter into the grace of Jesus to be fed with his love and companionship. If you’re married, your wilderness area may be looking at another person, stay with your first love and protect your blessing. If you’re a student, your wilderness area may be to run with the crowd that are headed in the wrong direction, stay with your first love, your Lord and friend Jesus and protect your blessing. Don’t throw away your birthright blessing for the little things of un-lasting nature. Illegal gain, lust of the flesh, greed, jealously, we all know how long our list is. For some it may be an inch long for others it may be a mile. But however long it is I can assure you that it isn’t worth throwing away your birthright for it. Maybe we could add gossip and strife, maybe we could add anger or violence or any of the other things listed in the Bible. But whatever it is I can assure you that it isn’t worth throwing away your birthright blessing.
Esau didn’t look towards his tomorrows; he only looked at the right now, the instant right now, right away, he didn’t exercise his mentality very well. . Had he used his head and given the proposition some thought he would have realized that what he was giving away was of far greater value than what he was getting in return. If Esau had been following the leading of the Holy Spirit rather than the lusts of the flesh he would have known the deal he was getting was no deal at all. And this pericope is here in the Bible for us to use as a learning tool today. This isn’t just another cute story about a dysfunctional family of antiquity. This is here for our benefit to be learned and applied to each of us, to you and I this very day.
I don’t know what lies in your open country; I don’t know what is out there that could entice you to follow the lead of Esau. But I do know that whatever it is, whatever can make you as hungry as Esau was even if you feed that hunger on anything other than the perfect will of God it’s not going to fill the void for very long. Whatever we use will never be as sweet or as pleasant as the promises of God and the birthright he has in store for his children. The promises of God are full and wonderful; they will fill your every empty space and never leave us desiring for anything else once we’ve experienced them.
And how do we get them, how do we gain these promises? How do we grab hold of this birthright we’re hearing about? To start with we need to grab hold of Jesus Christ and hold on for dear life. We’ve got to hold on like our very life depended upon it because my friend it does! We have to take hold of him and let him take hold of us. We need to wrap our arms around him and allow him to wrap his arms around us, to become 100% totally dependent upon Jesus for everything we need, be dependent upon him to lift our spirits, feed our soul, feed our every yearning and provide our every need in this life and the next. We need to walk in intimate closeness with him, talk to him on a regular basis through prayer, listen to him as he talks to us, read his words as found in the Scriptures, eat his words as if they were a delicacy of pure delight, make them a very part of our every fiber and being. The King James Version of the Bible says we need to draw nigh unto him. That means to pull him in close. That means that we need to draw so close to Christ that when someone sees us they are looking into the eyes of Jesus. We need to draw so close that when we talk we are talking the language of Jesus. If you were to come to my house you would find a sign in my driveway that says; “Welcome, Jesus spoken here”. That’s my goal for life, to live and breath, to think and act as Jesus did and it should be yours as well. I may not have reached that goal yet but I’m working on it. I’m a work in progress and the work won’t end until I’m standing before my Lord in glory. We all need goals to keep us motivated and driven to perfection and I can’t think of a better goal that to be as Christ like as we can be. Remember, we may not have reached that goal just yet but we should never stop I’m trying to reach it. We need to daily say, “I may never reach that goal in this life but I know I’m not going to stop trying until the day my final breath is taken. Until then I’ll continue serving my Lord and Savior until I hear those words I’ve been waiting for. “Well done my good and faithful servant”. Is not that your goal as well? If it is say amen and give a cheer to Jesus. If we are striving to hear “well done my good and faithful servant” we are walking in the right direction and we’re in the right place.
I’m here to promise anyone reading these words that if you are ready to start developing a life style that walks in faith, talks in faith, acts in faith, prays in faith, hopes in faith and waits in faith. If you’re here to do this and so much more Jesus is here to meet you and he’s ready to give you what you need to meet that goal. I know this is the truth because his word says that he’s already done all of this … it has already happened at the day of Pentecost. When Jesus sent the Holy Spirit he sent him with every tool we would or could ever want to help us reach that goal. We’ve already got everything we need all we have to do is use it. All we have to do is reach out in faith and its all right there right now.
Our Christian walk won’t always be a cake walk, it’s not always going to be a walk in the park, it’s not always going to be easy or perfect and it’s not always going to be joyful or fun. At times it’s going to be hard to hang in there for the long haul. But if we hang on to Jesus we can do it, we can reach out and hang on tight. Remember the words of (James 1:2-4). “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.” {KJV}
When it seems like our open country is way to big to get across, when our open country has the appearance of a vast dry desert and we start to question or doubt go to (Numbers 23:19-20).
“God is not a man that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and then not fulfill? I have received a command to bless; he has blessed, and I cannot change it”.
He’s already done it; it’s a done deal friend. All we have to do is receive it, the promise is there, the gift is there, the Spirit is there. It’s all for our taking if we will only receive. Don’t be an Esau; don’t walk out on your birthright. God’s given us a free gift and I don’t know about you but I want every gift my Father has promised me as a co-heir with his Son Jesus.
If you believe this would you pray with me;
Father I believe in your word … I believe you want to give me every good gift…. By faith I’m now claiming those gifts… I’m claiming my birthright as a co-heir with Jesus Christ… I’m claiming all that is rightfully mine… I want a double portion as my inheritance … and I’m not going to give it away… I’m not going to let the enemy steal my blessing… I’m taking back what he has stolen from me… And he’s not getting anything else... I’m trusting in Jesus Christ for everything I need or want… I’m not looking to the world and it’s false blessings any more... I’m not seeking the things that will be eaten by moths or decay… I’m looking for the things that will last throughout all eternity… I’m looking for my birthright that says … I will be standing inside the gates of heaven … and I’ll settle for nothing less… Jesus I give you my heart today… I give you my strength and every fiber of my being… Use me as you see fit ... Mold me to be the very image of you ... Guard over me and protect me today ... Holy Spirit, light my path and guide my steps… Fill me as only you can … fill every part of me to over flowing … and send me to the world to deliver your message … let me tell everyone I meet … the Father wants all of his children … to inherit their birthright blessing ... I offer you this prayer, in Jesus name. Amen!
Grace & peace
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