Broth or birthright? No rational person would choose the former at the expense of the latter. Yet Esau did, and he’s not the only one among us sacrificing the future for momentary pleasure. In this message, Dr. Stanley exhorts us to exercise self-awareness and self-control when it comes to the temptation of instant gratification. Learn to consider the cost of your decisions so that you can protect the future God has for you.
[Music]
and nobody wants to talk about the
consequences of sin they just want to
talk about the fun of it and if you’ll
notice any kind of a TV program you
watch it’s all fun and laughter and the
consequences are never concerned so
think about this if there any decision
that you have made in your life that you
look back and think I should have
thought
[Music]
four decades ago we started in touch
ministries to lead people worldwide into
a growing relationship with Jesus Christ
throughout the years we’ve seen God’s
greatness his love and his blessings in
such awesome ways that we just want
everyone to know him so let’s open God’s
Word and seek Him together
next on InTouch sacrificing your future
for the pleasure of the moment we’re
living in the now generation whatever
you want most of which you can get it
right now
that’s both good and it’s also dangerous
many things you can’t have really
spiritually because it’ll destroy you
but if you really want it you can get it
one way or the other we are living in
the now generation some things we need
now and some things we do not need now
many people are living by the attitude
whatever I need I can get one way or the
other and our scripture is a good
example of a person who paid the price
he wanted something he got it but
there’s a price and you know the devil
never tells you when he tempts you and
offers you something that you know you
shouldn’t have he doesn’t he doesn’t
tell you about the consequences it’s
always about the fun the joy of whatever
it might be so I want you to listen to
this message very carefully because
there are many people who are living in
the now they want it now
they’re willing to pay whatever price is
necessary to have it now there’s a
passage of scripture in Genesis if
you’ll go back there for a moment and
the 25th chapter and I want to give you
a little background and Abraham has had
his sons and now they got two grandsons
Jacob and Esau and so it’s how they
responded to a given situation in their
life which is an absolutely a sensual
lesson for us to learn so turn to the
25th chapter of Genesis and begin if you
will let’s start with verse 25 they’re
just getting born this is what happens
now the first came out
all over like a hairy garment and they
named him Esau afterwards his brother
came forth with his hand wholly-owned to
Esau and Isaac was sixty years of age
when she gave birth to them when the
boys grew up Esau became a skillful
hunter a man of the field but Jacob was
a peaceful man living in tents now Isaac
loved Esau because he had a taste for
game but Rebekah loved Jacob when Jacob
had cooked stew Esau came in from the
field at hunting and he was famished
very hungry and Esau said to Jacob
please let me have a swallow of that red
stuff it was a stew for I am famished
therefore his name was called Edom but
Jacob said first sell me your birthright
Esau said behold I’m about to die so
what use then is the birthright to me
remember that and Jacob said first swear
to me so he swore to him and sold him
his birthright then Jacob gave Eso bread
and little to you and the ate and drank
and rose up and went on his way
thus Esau despised his birthright you
say oh what’s that all about
well you have to remember what the
birthright meant in those Hebrew terms
of birthright meant the one who had that
had the most property when the father
died and he was the priest of the family
head of the family he was he was the
authority and so the birthright was a
very very precious possession in a
Hebrew family and so what’s happening
here is that Esau comes in from hunting
and he’s famished and he’s worn out and
frazzled he’s been out for a long time
though death and he’s just about dead
and he sees this suit and smells of it
and thinks oh my goodness I need some of
that
so he said to his brother I’d like I’d
like to have give me a big bowl of that
smells so good and so he said to him
well I’ll give it to you but first sell
me your birthright that is give up your
right to the father’s possession give up
the fortune the money give up your place
in the family the priesthood give up
your authority in the family that is
whoever had the birthright was supreme
in the family
and so the scripture says like this
listen and jacob said first swear to me
so he sought him and sold in his
birthright and this listen to this then
jacob gave esau bradley notes – he ate
and drank and rose and went on his way
thus Esau despised his birthright
very careless and indifferent to it so
this is a perfect picture of our society
today I want what I want and I want it
now don’t tell me about the price no
problem
I’ll have it one way or the other but
this is what I want
we’re living in a generation that not
only has a strong desire for most
everything but in this age we live in
can usually get about anything and
everything you want you still you’d have
to go to the store and buy now you just
pick up a phone and call and they’ll
bring it to you
in fact I’m trying to think of is that
is there anything that we need we can’t
get by phone it’s necessary so this
whole passage is about having a need and
instead of counting the cost of the need
it’s forgetting it because here’s what
he said listen
but Jacob said first sell me a
birthright Esau said Behold I’m about to
die so what use then is the birthright
to me
he’s about to die he was just tired and
worn out even the better died but at
that moment he said what is the most
precious thing I could possibly have
what good is that to me right now and a
lot of people who are willing to live
for today and forget tomorrow in fact
that many people who are only concerned
about what they can have today any way
they can get it so when I look at that
passage of Scripture not think about how
we’re living today and nobody wants to
talk about the consequences of sin they
just want to talk about the fun of it
and if you’ll notice any kind of a TV
program you watch it’s all fun and
laughter and consequences are never
concerned so think about this if there
any decision that you have made in your
life that you look back and think I
should have thought I should have
considered the consequences we don’t
like the word consequences and so we
make decisions without thinking about
the consequences so I want you to think
about these questions when does the
person sacrifice their future for the
pleasure of the moment and the first one
is this when we disregard the sacred
values in life let’s go back to the Ten
Commandments they’re very simple very
plain God gave them to us as a law to
live by because it was best for us all
but just to mention a few of them and
that is you should not steal their
consequences you should not lie their
consequences you should not commit
murder their consequences any of those
God says thou shalt not now think about
this where we are today in our society
and the Supreme Court years ago decide
take the Ten Commandments down take them
off take them off the courthouse take
down the laws that you violate
that will bring you consequences take
them down why because we live in a
society that does not want God telling
us what we can’t do we want to do what
we want to do we want to do it now
whatever we want we want it now
and a second one when we insist on the
immediate fulfillment of our desires in
other words if I have a desire I gotta
have it I want to fulfill right now so
let’s take two examples that happens all
the time
King David was walking around the porch
of his house one evening and he noticed
as he looked over the rail he saw this a
beautiful woman she was just about naked
because she was bathing and he looked he
could have kept going because he had a
wife he looked and he looked again and
finally he said to one of his officials
I want you to go get that woman and
bring her up here she got pregnant he
ended up having her husband killed then
let’s take Samson for example strongest
man in the world he could do most
anything he was a hero among his people
and so those who wanted to get him taken
care of what do they do
he was very immoral in this life and so
he visited this prostitute and that one
and the other one and so Delilah was a
special kind of lady to him and so he
kept going to see her her goal was to
find out what made him strong so he gave
her three false answers and each time of
course he broke loose from those who
tried to attack him finally she
convinced him and so foolishly as he did
he told her that in order to be weak
enough to be overtaken you got to cut my
hair and the result was that when they
came after him
had no strength so what did he do they
put him in prison and not only put him
in prison they blinded his eyes and
that’s the way he lived for a while do
you think that he’d have thought twice
if he had known the consequences of
becoming a prisoner walking round and
round and round as they do animals
couldn’t see anything laughed at jeered
take him out in front of the people when
there was some famous thing going on and
they laughed at him because no longer
was he their enemy and so what happened
there he was absolutely listen to this
he absolutely wrecked ruined his life
because he wanted something right now
and he wanted it bad enough we reap what
we sow more than me so and later than me
so then I think about the fact that when
our focus is on the world it rather than
the eternal let me ask you a question
are you thinking about something in your
life that if you think twice you
absolutely would not do it or have you
just decided that you’re special and
nobody will ever know and you’ll get by
with it you playing the fool we reap
what we sow more than we sow leather
than we sow whether anybody else knows
about it or not
God knows then we make irrevocable
decisions in periods of physical and
emotional weakness and this is exactly
what Esau did in a moment of weakness
and not thinking about the future what
did he say ate a bowl of soup and said
you know what I’m probably gonna die too
anyway and so I’ll say you the
birthright
just give me soup now what I want is
available now listen carefully most
anything you want
many anybody’s you want you can have it
if you’re willing to pay the price
that’s the dangerous society we live in
you wanted you have it if you learn to
pay the price and there’s always a price
and I think about you so how many times
he must have thought later because he
tried to kill his brother later on but
when he had the soup he was setting so
watch this sin only satisfies
temporarily whatever your plans are I
want to tell you God started to sing
them he Arden knows the result think
twice before you do something that you
know God sees it it may be popular but
it’s not the will of God for your life
and you know it’s not and so what we
want to know is what can I have today
the question is what does God want me to
have and when does he want me to have it
that’s the proper time the right time we
live in a society that’s sold out the
sex and drugs and all the rest so when I
think about when I think about that and
I think about that bowl of soup I want
you to think about the bowl of soup that
we have today so I’m gonna stir it up
really good so that whatever comes up
first will come up first well in this
bowl of soup today
it’s alcohol you bowl you want you can
drink all you want for a season but
ultimately you’re going to become a
slave to it you’re gonna wreck your
family wreck your children separate from
your wife it’s absolutely destructive
now the question is is that what you
want in your life with a consequent that
consequences to alcoholism
their consequences to just drinking you
drive home have an accident kill
somebody
I’ll wake up with a bad conscience I’ll
run your family well here’s something
else in this bowl of soup prejudice you
have your prejudices about people and so
people at some folks you just won’t
relate to you know nothing to do with
them or some country or whatever it
might be and you think well that’s
perfectly all right now with it going
it’s not and then I pick up another one
here and that’s drugs no person hooked
on drugs ever intended to get hooked on
drugs drug addicts never intend to find
themselves paying such a large sums of
money but something they shoot in their
arm and only lasts a short period of
time
it’s the now generation I want it now I
want to feel good now I want to be able
to enjoy life now what’s the price of
now and a drug addict knows as a price
then in this bowl of soup is bitterness
just bitter you think somebody’s wronged
you things are not right and you get
bitter and angry and you think we’re
like it’s not gonna hurt anybody
it’s just what I feel oh yes it does
bitterness isn’t very destructive your
whole emotional being is affected by it
nobody else may know why but you know
why and so you have to deal with that
and then in the same Bowl is adultery a
sin that we’ve almost
legitimized today and so it’s on the
screen it’s in people’s lives it’s in
the music you name it and the idea is
well everybody know everybody doesn’t do
anything
but one night may cost you something for
the rest of your life or one day of some
relationship that you know is not right
but you do it in a way we believe what
we saw more than we so later than we so
what is he going to take for us to learn
that that principle is a divine
irrevocable law of God you say well
nobody knows but he and myself are
seeing myself nobody knows God knows and
I remember this the laws of God are not
determined by who knows that has nothing
to do with it God knows and
unfaithfulness this loyalty is a sin
against God and nobody in the world may
ever know but God knows and you cannot
sin against God without something
happening then in the same Bowl is
hatred when you hate somebody you
despise somebody it affects you it
affects your emotions your health your
attitude your relationship to garden
relationship to other people and the
people who have become filled with
hatred because of something that
happened in their life that maybe they
didn’t they didn’t they didn’t cause
somebody else did but that doesn’t mean
I have to hold bitterness in my heart
towards somebody else then in this same
Bowl is unforgiveness you and I can
never justify unforgiveness Jesus didn’t
he never said except unforgiveness as an
emotionally we have it’s subpoena that
we have it’s a decision that we make and
it’s a penalty that we pay Jesus has
forgiven us of every sin if we will ask
him and no matter who you are and what’s
going on your life
we have no justification for him
forgiveness all of us have been wronged
I think about people as a fact every
pastors
wrong about different things that that
we were responsible for everybody is
wrong that simple in their life what’s
the right response forgiveness because
unforgiveness eats away at the human
life it causes all kinds of diseases and
we have the power and the right and the
pattern in Jesus to forgive no matter
what people have done to us so think
about it is it true in your life that
you’ve wanted some things that you knew
they were absolutely not right but you
just had to have it and so you’re an
exception to God’s judgement and so
after a while you know just forget it
we’ll get over and we’ll live through it
and and so don’t let it worry you
you better lay there were you because
sin is destructive it’s a destroyer and
no matter who you are or what the sin
maybe I just mentioned the few of them
and ask yourself the question in your
bowl did you find any of these if so you
need to ask how to forgive you and lay
it out cleaning plane with them Lord
this is true in my life it should not be
I asked you to forgive me to cleanse me
and Lord if I need to make some changes
in my life or if I need to go to someone
and ask for forgiveness I must do it I
remember it was my first church and I’ve
been preaching there for about a year or
so and something kept bothering me it
was my attitude to it my stepfather
because the way he treated me and I’d
get up and preach about forgiveness and
it’s like the Lord would say mmm what’s
this about
finally I sold to my wife we have to go
back to my house and I have to sit down
with my stepfather and ask for
forgiveness and she said well look at
all the ways he treated you I said no I
can defend myself the rest of my life
but I have an anger toward him
bitterness toward him and I resent him
I gotta go settle it so I remember going
sitting down across the table and I said
to him John I came to ask you to forgive
me oh no you haven’t
and he started defending me nothing
defending me no you did he went on and
on I said John God has convicted me that
I have anger in my heart bitterness in
my heart resentment and I heard the way
you treated my mother and me but
primarily her and I want to ask you to
forgive me but he got up on the other
table and came around and hugged me I
said no I’m the guilty one and so we had
a good conversation we settled that ask
yourself the question is there anything
in your bowl that you need to deal with
because keeping it there will cause you
to sacrifice God’s best blessings he has
in store for you if you’ve never trusted
Jesus you got a deal with it one day
you’ll stand before him and give an
account for your life well what about
now it’s the here and now right now so I
pray that you’ll ask God to forgive you
to cleanse you and that make you the
kind of person God wants you to be does
it mean that you will forget all the
things back there that you know but it
means this when you ask God to forgive
you you mean it God forgives you and he
doesn’t throw it up in your face that’s
not too many years you may remember it
but God forgives and he no longer holds
it against you
does that mean all the consequences
disappear when you got us forgiving you
not necessarily
depending upon the nature and the sin
but I pray to God that you’ll be honest
with the Lord and with yourself and make
corrections when you can make them
commit yourself to the Lord and choose
to walk in the path that he now has for
you that you surrendered to him amen and
father we thank you for your forgiveness
your cleansing you’re willing to show us
the fellows in our ways and willing to
give us another opportunity to be
obedient to you and I pray for somebody
seated here today who has never trusted
you as their personal Savior God is
willing to forgive you of your sin he’s
willing to give you a new beginning
there’s a white boy the scars no but
there is a new beginning and the
relationship a new joy a new peace a
sense of happiness that you’ve never
known before and I prayed that right
away you said right now you will ask the
Lord Lord Jesus I’m asking you to
forgive me of my sin and I’m trusting
you today as my personal Savior and
trusting you to give me the strength to
do what is right and father we thank you
that you hear those prayers and you make
the awesome eternal difference in Jesus
name Amen
if you’ve been blessed by today’s
program please visit us at intouch.org e
in touch leading people worldwide into a
growing relationship with Jesus Christ
and strengthening the local church this
program is sponsored by in touch
ministries and is made possible by the
grace of God and your faithful prayers
and kids
you