Book of Jeremiah
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- Nov 3, 2012
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This story reminds of a Believer who said he was given a dream / or vision by the LORD of a Christian man who had died in a hotel room while committing sin with an adulteress - who was a worker of Satan sent to seduce the man. In this dream /or vision, the Believer saw the deceased man asking the Lord to forgive him "one more time" and the Lord reminded the man that no adulterer could enter the kingdom of heaven. The man then went to hell.
If I recall his story correctly - the Brother who saw this happen said the Lord gave him a message about holiness and obedience (without holiness no one will see the LORD). Even though the Lord would send His servants to warn every single church throughout the world - still many would refuse to believe it because they prefer to listen to the popular preachers of today that tell the people God is no longer counting anyone's sins against them.
There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. (Proverbs 14:12). Do not let anyone steal your crown. Do not sell your birthright for filthy lucre, sins of the flesh or the boastful pride of life. Protect your birthright. Do not be like Esau who despised his birthright.
Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentiles; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way: thus Esau despised his birthright.
Genesis 25:34
Sermon: A Mess of Pottage
By William MacDonald
"Esau ... for one morsel of meat sold his birthright." Hebrews 12:16
It is often possible to barter life's best values for a momentary gratification of physical appetite.
That is what Esau did. He had come in from the field tired and hungry. At that moment Jacob was cooking a pot of red bean soup. When Esau asked for a bowl of the "red stuff," Jacob said, in effect, "Sure, I'll give you some if you'll sell me your birthright in return."
Now the birthright was a valuable privilege which belonged to the oldest son in a family. It was valuable because it gave him the place of eventual headship in the family or tribe and entitled him to a double portion of the inheritance.
But at that moment, Esau considered the birthright worthless. What good is a birthright, he thought, to a man who is as famished as I? His hunger seemed so overpowering that he was willing to give almost anything to satisfy it. In order to pacify a momentary appetite, he was willing to surrender something that was of enduring value. And so he made the awful bargain!
A similar drama is being reenacted almost daily. Here is a man who has maintained a good testimony for years. He has the love of a fine family and the respect of his Christian fellowship. When he speaks, his words carry spiritual authority, and his service has the blessing of God upon it. He is a model believer.
But then comes the moment of fierce passion. It seems as if he is being consumed by the fires of sexual temptation. All of a sudden nothing seems so important as the satisfaction of this physical drive. He abandons the power of rational thought. He is willing to sacrifice everything for this illicit alliance.
And so he takes the insane plunge! For that moment of passion, he exchanges the honor of God, his own testimony, the esteem of his family, the respect of his friends and the power of a sterling Christian character. Or as Alexander Maclaren said, "He forgets his longings after righteousness; flings away the joys of divine communion; darkens his soul; ends his prosperity; brings down upon his head for all his remaining years a cataract of calamities; and makes his name and his religion a target for the barbed sarcasms of each succeeding generation of scoffers."
In the classic words of Scripture, he sells his birthright for a mess of pottage.
Hebrews 12:14-17
Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:
Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled; Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright. For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears.
A Mess of Pottage - Sermon Index
If I recall his story correctly - the Brother who saw this happen said the Lord gave him a message about holiness and obedience (without holiness no one will see the LORD). Even though the Lord would send His servants to warn every single church throughout the world - still many would refuse to believe it because they prefer to listen to the popular preachers of today that tell the people God is no longer counting anyone's sins against them.
There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. (Proverbs 14:12). Do not let anyone steal your crown. Do not sell your birthright for filthy lucre, sins of the flesh or the boastful pride of life. Protect your birthright. Do not be like Esau who despised his birthright.
Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentiles; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way: thus Esau despised his birthright.
Genesis 25:34
Sermon: A Mess of Pottage
By William MacDonald
"Esau ... for one morsel of meat sold his birthright." Hebrews 12:16
It is often possible to barter life's best values for a momentary gratification of physical appetite.
That is what Esau did. He had come in from the field tired and hungry. At that moment Jacob was cooking a pot of red bean soup. When Esau asked for a bowl of the "red stuff," Jacob said, in effect, "Sure, I'll give you some if you'll sell me your birthright in return."
Now the birthright was a valuable privilege which belonged to the oldest son in a family. It was valuable because it gave him the place of eventual headship in the family or tribe and entitled him to a double portion of the inheritance.
But at that moment, Esau considered the birthright worthless. What good is a birthright, he thought, to a man who is as famished as I? His hunger seemed so overpowering that he was willing to give almost anything to satisfy it. In order to pacify a momentary appetite, he was willing to surrender something that was of enduring value. And so he made the awful bargain!
A similar drama is being reenacted almost daily. Here is a man who has maintained a good testimony for years. He has the love of a fine family and the respect of his Christian fellowship. When he speaks, his words carry spiritual authority, and his service has the blessing of God upon it. He is a model believer.
But then comes the moment of fierce passion. It seems as if he is being consumed by the fires of sexual temptation. All of a sudden nothing seems so important as the satisfaction of this physical drive. He abandons the power of rational thought. He is willing to sacrifice everything for this illicit alliance.
And so he takes the insane plunge! For that moment of passion, he exchanges the honor of God, his own testimony, the esteem of his family, the respect of his friends and the power of a sterling Christian character. Or as Alexander Maclaren said, "He forgets his longings after righteousness; flings away the joys of divine communion; darkens his soul; ends his prosperity; brings down upon his head for all his remaining years a cataract of calamities; and makes his name and his religion a target for the barbed sarcasms of each succeeding generation of scoffers."
In the classic words of Scripture, he sells his birthright for a mess of pottage.
Hebrews 12:14-17
Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:
Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled; Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright. For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears.
A Mess of Pottage - Sermon Index
