APOSTOLIC ACTING OUT
ARE WE GONNA SELL OUR BIRTHRIGHT FOR POTTAGE?
GENESIS 25:29-34 – “29And Jacob sod pottage: and Esau came from the field, and he was faint: 30And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage; for I am faint: therefore was his name called Edom. 31And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright. 32And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me? 33And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he sware unto him: and he sold his birthright unto Jacob. 34Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentils; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way; thus Esau despised his birthright.”
HEBREWS 12:16-17 – “16Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright. 17For 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 it carefully with tears.”
Are we going to sell our birthright to be born again for the pottage of this world b/c we think that we need worldly riches to survive? We earn a birthright when we are born again into God’s kingdom as it says in JOHN 3:3-8 – “3Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. 4Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born? 5Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 6That which is born of the flesh is flesh: and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. 8The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.” Are we going to become faint and turn our back on what will get us the ultimate blessing in the end? All because we felt like the burden of the cross was too much so we needed a little relief from the world.
Everything in the world is nothing more than pottage. Our birthright is worth more than any type of pottage that the world could ever offer. Take for example the birthright that Jacob received from Esau. He was not only blessed by his birthright that he had received, but the nation of Israel was named after him where the headquarters of heaven will be for the New Jerusalem.
Another example is in 2 KINGS 2:8-15 – “8And Elijah took his mantle, and wrapped it together, and smote the waters, and they were divided hither and thither, so that they two went over on dry ground. 9And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me. 10And he said, Thou hast asked a hard thing: nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if not, it shall not be so. 11And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. 12And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. And he saw him no more: and he took hold of his own clothes, and rent them in two pieces. 13He took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went back, and stood by the bank of Jordan; 14And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters, and said, Where is the Lord God of Elijah? and when he also had smitten the waters, they parted hither and thither: and Elisha went over. 15And when the sons of the prophets which were to view at Jericho saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha. And they came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him.”
This story is almost identical to the Day of Pentecost in ACTS 2:1-4 – “1And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. 3And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. 4And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” Notice the similarities especially in verse 11 and verses 2-3. The fire of the chariot and the horses divided Elijah from Elisha in verse 11. The fire of the Holy Ghost divided the tongues of the disciples in verse 3. Elisha had asked Elijah for a double portion of his spirit and he got it and that was his birthright. The disciples asked for Jesus to stay with them, and so He came in them and they received His Spirit and now that is our birthright.
So once we claim our birthright in the name of Jesus, we inherit eternal blessings. But there are ways the devil can trick us into selling our birthright for pottage. For example, the rich young ruler had an easy opportunity to inherit eternal life and his own birthright into heaven, as it says in MATTHEW 19:16-22 – “16And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? 17And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. 18He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, THOU SHALT DO NO MURDER, THOU SHALT NOT COMMIT ADULTERY, THOU SHALT NOT STEAL, THOU SHALT NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS, 19HONOUR THY FATHER AND THY MOTHER: and, THOU SHALT LOVE THY NEIGHBOUR AS THYSELF. 20The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet? 21Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me. 22But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.” So his pottage that he bought in exchange for his birthright was his earthly riches.
Some may think that there is no way to lose their birthright once they get it. There is a way to lose your birthright, whether it is temporarily or permanently. Someone who backslides is one who loses his or her birthright by choice. A backslider in the Bible is defined in PROVERBS 14:14 – “14The backslider in heart shall be filled with his own ways: and a good man shall be satisfied from himself” This scripture basically describes sin at its root. This is a fact: selfishness leads to sin; selflessness leads to holiness, along with love. So this scripture describes a sinner perfectly. It also describes someone who owned a birthright, and knew how to keep it, but CHOSE to go into sin for a season. It does not always end in just a season. Your life can end at anytime or the rapture could take place right now. You cannot control your fate, but you can control your destiny. Your fate could be that when you go home, that on the way there an out of control drunk driver collides with you head on and your life is over. Your destiny is either heaven or hell. Your destiny can also change at any time. You just want to make sure that your destiny is the right one when your fate comes around.
HEBREWS 12:16-17 – “16Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright. 17For 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 it carefully with tears.”
Are we going to sell our birthright to be born again for the pottage of this world b/c we think that we need worldly riches to survive? We earn a birthright when we are born again into God’s kingdom as it says in JOHN 3:3-8 – “3Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. 4Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born? 5Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 6That which is born of the flesh is flesh: and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. 8The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.” Are we going to become faint and turn our back on what will get us the ultimate blessing in the end? All because we felt like the burden of the cross was too much so we needed a little relief from the world.
Everything in the world is nothing more than pottage. Our birthright is worth more than any type of pottage that the world could ever offer. Take for example the birthright that Jacob received from Esau. He was not only blessed by his birthright that he had received, but the nation of Israel was named after him where the headquarters of heaven will be for the New Jerusalem.
Another example is in 2 KINGS 2:8-15 – “8And Elijah took his mantle, and wrapped it together, and smote the waters, and they were divided hither and thither, so that they two went over on dry ground. 9And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me. 10And he said, Thou hast asked a hard thing: nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if not, it shall not be so. 11And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. 12And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. And he saw him no more: and he took hold of his own clothes, and rent them in two pieces. 13He took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went back, and stood by the bank of Jordan; 14And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters, and said, Where is the Lord God of Elijah? and when he also had smitten the waters, they parted hither and thither: and Elisha went over. 15And when the sons of the prophets which were to view at Jericho saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha. And they came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him.”
This story is almost identical to the Day of Pentecost in ACTS 2:1-4 – “1And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. 3And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. 4And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” Notice the similarities especially in verse 11 and verses 2-3. The fire of the chariot and the horses divided Elijah from Elisha in verse 11. The fire of the Holy Ghost divided the tongues of the disciples in verse 3. Elisha had asked Elijah for a double portion of his spirit and he got it and that was his birthright. The disciples asked for Jesus to stay with them, and so He came in them and they received His Spirit and now that is our birthright.
So once we claim our birthright in the name of Jesus, we inherit eternal blessings. But there are ways the devil can trick us into selling our birthright for pottage. For example, the rich young ruler had an easy opportunity to inherit eternal life and his own birthright into heaven, as it says in MATTHEW 19:16-22 – “16And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? 17And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. 18He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, THOU SHALT DO NO MURDER, THOU SHALT NOT COMMIT ADULTERY, THOU SHALT NOT STEAL, THOU SHALT NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS, 19HONOUR THY FATHER AND THY MOTHER: and, THOU SHALT LOVE THY NEIGHBOUR AS THYSELF. 20The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet? 21Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me. 22But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.” So his pottage that he bought in exchange for his birthright was his earthly riches.
Some may think that there is no way to lose their birthright once they get it. There is a way to lose your birthright, whether it is temporarily or permanently. Someone who backslides is one who loses his or her birthright by choice. A backslider in the Bible is defined in PROVERBS 14:14 – “14The backslider in heart shall be filled with his own ways: and a good man shall be satisfied from himself” This scripture basically describes sin at its root. This is a fact: selfishness leads to sin; selflessness leads to holiness, along with love. So this scripture describes a sinner perfectly. It also describes someone who owned a birthright, and knew how to keep it, but CHOSE to go into sin for a season. It does not always end in just a season. Your life can end at anytime or the rapture could take place right now. You cannot control your fate, but you can control your destiny. Your fate could be that when you go home, that on the way there an out of control drunk driver collides with you head on and your life is over. Your destiny is either heaven or hell. Your destiny can also change at any time. You just want to make sure that your destiny is the right one when your fate comes around.
