Thank you for listening to Servants for Christ. In all that we do, in all that we say, we want to give glory and honor to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Thank you for tuning us in as we get into the wonderful Word of God. For the next few minutes, let's take the beautiful Word of God and share it with each and every one of you as we have a sense of anticipation to take the Word of God and to listen to its truth for each and every one. Thank you for continuing to tune us in here on our series, Reaping the Rewards. Here as we talked about our first message from the book of Malachi that addressed the people of Israel that questioned the value of serving God faithfully. They felt that it was useless to serve God because the wicked seemed to prosper while they suffered. But God assures us that those who fear Him and think upon His name will be blessed. And He promises to make us His treasured possession on the day that He acts. We also talked on our second series of reaping the rewards from the book of Job. Job speaks of the wicked that seem to prosper without the consequences, and he observes that their wealth and their well-being appear unharmed despite their lack of regard for God. And so it challenges the notion of the immediate rewards and suggests a deeper consideration of divine justice and eventual consequences, amen, when we're looking at the power of prayer as well. But here in this third series of reaping the rewards. We talk about evaluating spiritual wealth because in the book of Genesis, chapter 25, it records the moment when Esau gets hungry, when he gets exhausted, and he sells his birthright to Jacob for a bowl of lentil stew. And it highlights the consequences of Esau's impulsive decision, trading a valuable birthright for an immediate gratification, missing out on the long-term blessing and rewards that come with it. And so, I'm glad. Imagine a wealthy man who built a wonderful mansion with all of the luxurious money could buy. And yet on a stormy night, as he lay dying, surrounded by all of the grandeur of riches, of earthly riches, none of it could save him or comfort him. Here we reflect on the moment of a physical hunger, traded the birthright for a meal, and that decision cost him more than he could have ever imagined. Take your Bibles to Genesis chapter 25. We'll start with verse 29 and read down to verse 34, but we'll highlight verse 32. The Bible says in Genesis chapter 25 verse 29, and Jacob sawed pottage, and Esau came from the field, and he was faint. In verse 30, and Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage, for I am faint. Therefore was his name called Edom. In verse 31, and Jacob said, sell me this day thy birthright. In verse 32, and Esau said, behold, I am at the point to die, and what profit shall this birthright do to me? In verse 33, and Jacob said, swear to me this day, and he swore unto him, and he sold his birthright unto Jacob. In verse 34, lastly, then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentils, and he did eat and drink and rose up and went his way, and thus Esau despised his birthright. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, as we get into the word of God, may our hearts and minds come to understand the true value of spiritual blessings. Help us to prioritize the eternal over the temporary, to seek you above all else. And Lord, that when we realize that, Lord, that every one of us, the value that we have in our salvation, and the blessing that we have to look forward to in the coming days. Help us to evaluate our spiritual wealth. In Jesus's marvelous mighty name, amen. I'm glad when we look and realize here that God is giving us a blessing. Esau said, behold, I am at the point to die, and what profit shall this birthright do to me? C.F. Banner asked one time, what disturbs you the most? A lost soul in hell or a scratch on your new car? Missing the worship service or missing a day's work? A sermon 10 times long or lunch a half hour late? The church that's not growing or the garden that's not growing? Your Bible being unopened or your newspaper not read? Your children being late for school or late for Sunday school? The offering decreasing or your income decreasing? Your church work being neglected or your housework being neglected? Missing a good Bible lesson or missing a favorite TV program? You know what? When we look and realize, Jesus said in Matthew 8.21, For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Jesus had just spoken about laying up treasures in heaven rather than on earth. And he declares that where our treasures are, Heaven or earth reveal what is important to us. For some, they're more concerned about a house on earth than they are a home in heaven. Others are more concerned about how much money they have in the bank than the rewards in heaven. What they have in this life rather than life to come. Yes, that which we live for speaks volumes about what is important in our life. In Genesis, chapter 25, verse 32, we find Esau questioning the value of spiritual blessings. Boy, we need to evaluate our spiritual wealth. Esau said, Behold, I am at a point to die, and what profit shall this birthright do to me? He questioned the value, he questioned the benefit, he questioned the profit of his birthright, all contained within the verse. And he was questioning his spiritual blessings, his spiritual wealth. As we look close at the scene in Esau's life, as we look at his birthright, One of the first things that we see is what Esau sacrificed. That which was in question was the birthright, because the word birthright means firstling. And it denotes the special privileges and advantages that belong to the firstborn son among the Jews. Jews allotted a sacred importance to the rank of the firstborn or the first begotten. And so, as this happened, And the story before us, we see Esau, the firstborn, trading or giving up his birthright in exchange for a meal of red pottage or cabbage. What was it that he lost in the deal? First of all, he lost his parental blessing. Because when we look and realize that through that paternal blessing, the firstborn received a double portion of the paternal inheritance. The father would pass on to the firstborn son a double portion of the estate. And if a father had two sons, he would divide his estate into three portions. and the firstborn would receive two portions, and the father had three sons, he would divide it into four portions, and the firstborn would still receive two portions, etc. You get my point? Esau, in exchange for a meal, gave up the majority of his father's estate. And so, we see that not only the paternal blessing that was given up, but the judicial authority. The firstborn not only received a double portion of the father's estate, but he also inherited the judicial authority of the father. He would become the head of the family. He would become the one that would be the governing over the family, make the decisions for the family. He was given all the judicial authority in the family. And Esau was given up the position of being head of his family. And so we see the paternal blessing that was lost, the judicial authority that was lost, and the spiritual inheritance that was lost, that which was primarily in the birthright. of a spiritual inheritance received by the firstborn son, he became the spiritual priest. He became the spiritual leader of the family. To a Jewish family, this was the uttermost importance of privilege and a role that was passed on to the firstborn. And when you look at the story of Esau and understood the significance of the birthright, you understand what he gave up, what was lost in his trade with Jacob. We see in verses 31 down to verse 33, And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright. And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die, and what profit shall this birthright do to me? And Jacob said, Swear to me this day. And he swore unto him, and he sold his birthright unto Jacob. It was not a small matter that Esau gave up and lost. It was one of the most costly meals that anyone could have ever purchased. The meal of a red cabbage of pottage that's described as nothing more than a stew or a soup made up of various kinds of grain. Even worse, the red pottage was inferior type of pottage. Esau gave up a double portion of his inheritance, a future place of judicial authority and a spiritual lesson for a cheap bowl of Campbell's soup. In those days, When a man sold his fields for an insignificant sum, the people would say that he sold his land for pottage. And if a father gave his daughter in marriage to a low caste, they would say he has given her for pottage. If a learned man stooped from what was expected of him, it would be said, he's fallen into the pottage pot. They would say of a man in great poverty, alas, he cannot get pottage. If anybody had fallen into the pottage pot, It was Esau. And when you understand the blessing and the birthright that was brought with the firstborn, it makes you even more significant of what he lost. Why would Esau give up so much for so little? Well, notice with me only what we see, not only what Esau lost, but also what Esau lacked. Because when we look and realize that Jay Stewart Holden wrote one time, when a man becomes dominated by anything which distracts from his reverence for spiritual and eternal things, he is in dire danger, unquote. When you look at Esau, you find him both Desires that were mastering and desires that were missing. Both detracted from his reverence for spiritual things. What he did, trading his birthright, revealed what was important to him. It demonstrated that he valued the temporal over the eternal. You black rights of Esau that, and I quote, a creature of impulse, ready to satisfy his desire without thought of consequences, without self-control, without spiritual insight, without capacity even to know what spiritual issues were, judging things by immediate profit and material advantage, unquote. What Esau lost was due to entirely to what he lacked. And what did he lack? Let me point out two major things that were lacking in the life of Esau that valued things of the material. We see, first of all, he lacked a control. uh... uh... as uh... uh... of the mastery over the physical desires because in genesis twenty five we find Esau returning from hunting and is starving jacob his brother has a pot of soup on the fire Esau gets a whip and he said mmm give me a bowl of that buddy and jacob being the schemer and the con artist that he was said I tell you what I'll trade you a bowl of this old cabbage this old red cabbage for your birthright And I can imagine that he added, and I'll even throw in a piece of cornbread. What does Esau do? He takes Jacob up on the deal, trades his birthright for a meal of red cabbage and cornbread. Now, I'm going to tell you something. Let me set the scene for you. Esau is hungry and his stomach is crying out, feed me, give me, feed me. And his flesh wants to be satisfied and his belly's growling. Put me first, there were two issues before, the physical, his body and the spiritual, his birthright. Which one was dominant in his life? Which one was more important to Esau? The answer is very obvious. It was his flesh. He feeds his flesh at the expense of the spiritual. He gives it all up in order to feed the flesh, the desires of the body. And the Bible speaks of a man as a three-part person body, soul, and spirit. And the body is the visible part of the house. It is the part of us that is seen by others. By it, we relate to the world around us. We see, we touch, we taste, we feel, and we hear by our bodies. But the soul is the unseen part of us. It is that part that contains our nature, our personality. It consists of our mind, our emotion, our will. And in reality, the soul is the real us living in our bodies. And when we look at one another, we only see the body and not the real person. And the body often expresses the real person, but the real us is within our body. Woodrow Wilson's favorite saying reminds us of what we see and he said it like this, I know how ugly I are. I know my face ain't no star, but I don't mind it cause I'm behind it. It's the fella in front who gets the job. There's the spirit, oh so, not only the body, not only the soul, but there's the spirit, which is that part of us that makes contact with God. It is by our spirit that we relate to God. He relates to us. It's the part of us that makes us different from all the other part of God's creation. A flower has a body, but no soul. It has no spirit. A dog has a body and a soul, but no spirit. Man is body, soul, and spirit. He's the only part of the creation that can have a relationship with God. And God's plan for man is that the body and the soul are influenced by the spirit, not the soul, the body. Not the body govern the soul. We are to be a spirit-led person. Our spirit is to guide our soul, mind, emotion, and will. And the soul is to govern what the body does and gives the body its marching orders, not the other way around. What happens in many cases is that we get the God-designed order reversed. Let me give you an example. It's Sunday morning and the spirit said, time to get up and go to church. But the body says, I'm so tired. This is my only day of rest. Why not sleep in today? Now, which one? Which one? that is in charge is going to make the decision of what happens. Because if the spirit is in charge, you're going to get up regardless of how tired you feel. It's Sunday and God's people are to be in the house of God. However, on the other hand, if the body is in charge, you will slay into bed and miss that church. Let me give you another example. Temptation comes along and the body says, that's going to be some fun. God, I feel good. It'll make me happy. And the spirit says, you need to flee from that temptation. Get up and get out of here. It's sin, it's wrong. God says no again. Which one that is in charge will determine the outcome. Listen to me again. Whichever one is in charge will determine the outcome. The body, or the spirit. When you look at Esau, you find a person in whom the body gave the marching orders and not the spirit. His body said, feed me, and that is what he did, even though that it cost him his birthright. He lacked a control over the physical. And so, He lacked mastery over the physical desires. But secondly, Esau lacked reverence for spiritual matters as well. Because in Hebrews 12, 16, we're given insight into the kind of person Esau was. We read in the book of Hebrews, lest there be any fornicator or profane person as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright. Esau was spoken of as being a fornicator, as being profane. This insight in the book of Hebrews chapter 12 explains why he lacked control over the physical. He lacked a concern for the spiritual. He's spoken of being a fornicator, and nowhere in the Bible anywhere do we read that he was a fornicator in a physical sense. The word is used in the Bible to describe both physical and spiritual adultery. And in the case of Esau, I believe that it speaks of spiritual adultery. spiritual fornication. In other words, he was a man that was unfaithful to God. Esau was a man having an affair with the world, being unfaithful to God. He has spoken of being profane, and the Word does not suggest that he was an out-and-out wicked man. But in my opinion, Esau was a fairly decent person, but we'd have no doubt in enjoying his company. He was a man's man. He was a hunter. He was the kind of man who always talked about sports and hunting and fishing and et cetera. I have no doubt that we would have a good conversation being around with him, but the word profane speaks of that which is secular. It indicates that Esau was a man that thought more of the material and the physical than he did the spiritual. Why them old holy rollers over yonder at the church? Why are they rolling on down? The description of Esau in Hebrews helps us to understand that he was a man that lacked a desire for the things of God and the spiritual matters had very little interest for him and the things of God had very little attraction for him. But the most important thing in his life was the physical and the material, the secular and not the spiritual. Hugh Black said one time, spiritual values had not a high place in his standard of things, unquote. And when he said to Jacob, what profit shall this birthright do to me? He was revealing what is important to him. Esau's attitude concerning his birthright was that the temple was more important than the spiritual. J. Stuart Holden said of Esau and his birthright, and I quote, He had unconsciously come to regard it as a thing of little value, and its retention as certainly not worth the sacrifice of any immediate advantage." Because in Esau, there was desires that were mastering, and those desires were mastering because of the desires that were missing. And the spiritual blessing that his birthright would bring to him were not that important to him. To him, they were not value. and they were of little immediate profit. How do you feel about spiritual manners? How important are spiritual blessings to you? Are they what you seek and desire? And so, you know what? More than anything else, are the things of this world more important to you? Are there many believers whose jobs, vocation, their wealth, even their hobbies, they think they're more important to them than the things of God? The material, the physical hold great value over them. But when it comes to the things of God, they hold little value at all. because we read in Genesis chapter 25 verse 34, then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentils and he said eat and drink and rose up and went his way and thus Esau despised his birthright. You see the word despise, it means to disdain, to take lightly. Esau took lightly the things of God. He took lightly the spiritual blessings associated with his birthright. Listen. Listen, are you a Christian? Do you take lightly the blessings of the Lord? Do you take lightly the spiritual matters? And so, we look and we see that not only of what Esau sacrificed, not only what Esau lacked, but lastly and closing, the lessons from Esau's life. Because in Hebrews chapter 12, verse 17, we read, for we know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected. For he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears. You see, there would come a time when Esau deeply regretted what he had done. Listen to me, Christian. There's gonna come a time when you deeply regret what you've done, but it'll be too late. And so, even though he sought a reversal of his actions with tears, the thing could not be reversed. It could not be undone. He had given up everything when he lost the birthright, and there came a day when he would have given everything to have it back. Boy, the lessons from Esau's life. What did he learn? First of all, the perspective on eternity. I'm telling you, Bob Jones Sr. used to say, and I quote, never sacrifice the future on the altar of the present, unquote. That's exactly what Esau did. He sacrificed his future on the altar of the present. What did he learn? Esau learned that life that is lived in the present should be lived in light of the future. And as believers, we should live in the present, in light of the eternal. We should live today in light of tomorrow. We should live with awareness that this life is not all there is, but merely the vestibule to the life to come. Because the Bible tells us in 2 Corinthians 5, verse 10, in Paul's writing, For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that everyone may receive the things done in his body. According to that, he hath done, whether it is good or bad. One day, every one of us will stand at the judgment seat of Christ, and we'll all give an account of all that we have done, good or bad. Many live their lives with no thought of the day when they will appear before the Lord, but instead they only live for the present. However, you can be sure that on that day, Many will wish that the eternal had meant more to them than the present. They will wish on that day that they had lived their life in light of the day when they stand before the Lord. You can take lightly the things of God if you want to, but one day you will wish that the eternal had meant more to you than the present. And so not only did Esau learn the lessons of life on the perspective of eternity. But lastly and closing, he learned the value of spiritual blessings because he had taken lightly spiritual things, putting the physical over the spiritual. But one day he realized how foolish and how wrong he had been. There came a day when he realized how expensive that meal of red potage and cornbread had been. And I'm sure that 10,000 times 10,000 he wished he had put the spiritual above the physical. I'm reminding every one of you by the sound of my voice that all that we enjoy in life is a gift from the Lord. James said in James 1 17 every good and perfect gift is from above and cometh down from the father of the lights with whom is no variableness neither shadow of turning. All that we have Listen to me. Our jobs, our homes, our careers, and every earthly possession is a gift of God. And there's nothing wrong with having these things and doing things. We should look at them as blessings from God. However, at the same time, They should not be what matters most in our life. They should not be the things for which we live for and devote our lives. What should matter the most in our life is the spiritual and not the material and physical. When was the last time that you were in the Lord's house on the Lord's day? Huh? What is it that you're putting of value above the house of the Lord and getting in and worshiping him? Henry Ford's mansion, Fairlane, still stands in Dearborn, Michigan as a master example of man's inventiveness. For its location, he chose the beauty of a gentle slope overlooking the meandering River Rouge. 55 rooms spread over three floors for a total of 31,000 square feet, eight fireplaces, one made of marble 13 feet high, stood ready to warm the inhabitants with 550 switches provided light at the flick of a finger. The impressiveness throughout is still that the magnificent design, the exquisite taste, the perfect workmanship, the house's cost back in the late 1917, long before the shrinking dollar that we had was $1,057,000. Henry Ford's ingenuity even reached to the power supply. and it determined to be independent of public utilities, and he built his own power plant at a cost of $200,000, using finely machined turbines to feed electricity to the entire state with enough extra to sell to the public utilities in an emergency. However, when the torrential rains lashed the Detroit area in April 1947, The River Rouge went on a rampage, and soon it crept into the furnace under the boilers, smothered the fire, causing steam pressure to fall, and the turbine stopped. Electricity failed for the only time in 40 years. Paradoxically, that was the night Henry Ford lay dying in his bedroom. Though surrounded by an engineering marvel, he left the world as he had entered it 87 years earlier in a cold house lighted by candles. There is nothing of this world that can be taken with us. We'll leave all our money, all of our earthly possessions, and accomplishments behind us. And when we leave this world, all that will matter is what we have done with God and for God. And there's nothing wrong with the material But the spiritual is what is important. What is important to you? Are you like Esau, someone who takes lightly the things of God and the blessings of the Lord? Do you consider the spiritual matters and the spiritual blessings of little value and profit in your life? There may come a time in your life, and I know that when you realize that the eternal is more important than the present, and the spiritual more important than the material, I hope and pray that you realize that that moment that each and every one of us go through life, what Esau sacrificed, what he lacked, and the lessons from Esau's life that he learned, amen. The perspective on eternity And we realize spiritual blessings far surpass the material wealth, prioritizing spiritual growth over the worldly gain. Esau's story served as a stark reminder of the dangers of prioritizing the temporal desires over eternal blessings. And like Esau, many today trade spiritual riches for worldly pleasures only to regret it later. Let us learn from this mistake and seek first the kingdom of God, knowing that spiritual wealth surpasses any material gain. What are some modern equivalents of trading spiritual blessings for temporal satisfaction? Well, our careers over our spiritual growth and our material possessions over our acts of service. How can we cultivate a greater reverence for the spiritual matters in our daily lives? We need to get involved in consistent prayer, Bible study, local attendance, fellowship with believers, serving others in Christ's name. What is so crucial to view life through an eternal perspective? When we understand that our churches today impact our eternal destinies, it helps us prioritize our spiritual growth and relationship with God over fleeting worldly desires. You need to evaluate your spiritual wealth because you need to understand that you need to reap the rewards and hold on to the values of the possessions that you have of spiritual growth over material possessions. Father, we thank you for revealing to us through your word the surpassing value of spiritual blessings. Help us to live in light of eternity and to prioritize you above all else that's in life. May we treasure your gifts, seek your kingdom, and with all of your heart, in the mighty name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, amen. you