CHERISH YOUR BIRTHRIGHT!

Therefore, brethren, we are debtors; not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you
live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the
body, you will live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you
did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by
whom we cry out, "Abba, Father." The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are
children of God, and if children, then heirs; heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed
we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together. (Romans 8:12-17 NKJV)
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant
mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from
the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved
in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be
revealed in the last time. (1 Peter 1:3-5 NKJV)
God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the
prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all
things, through whom also He made the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory and the
express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had
by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become
so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than
they. (Hebrews 1:1-4 NKJV)
Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth. (Matthew 5:5 NKJV)
The word 'meek' is given a bad rap, and has come to be associated with weak, in today's society
where the push is always to be more aggressive and pushy in order to ride roughshod over others
to accomplish our goals! Being unable to control or influence circumstances usually result in the
affected person becoming frustrated, angry, and bitter. Meekness is not a reluctant submission to
events or a passive resignation to fate. Wild animals that have been tamed are usually referred to
as meek. It does not mean they have become weak by losing their strength, but that they have
learned to control that destructive and wild instinct and nature, enabling them to live in harmony
with others. Bear in mind that the Messiah described Himself as meek and lowly! (Mat 11.29)
We have been born again into an eternal inheritance that becomes ours as heirs of God and joint
heirs with Christ. This is not to be treated lightly.
It is our duty as Christian parents to make our children aware of their birthright, and to live in
such a manner that they will be able to glorify the Father who made their inheritance possible.

Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: looking
carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up
cause trouble, and by this many become defiled; lest there be any fornicator or profane person
like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright. For you know that afterward, when
he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance,
though he sought it diligently with tears. (Hebrews 12:14-17 NKJV)

Know what you have. Cherish what you have. Esau didn't!
Our birthright determines our inheritance.
What value do profane persons and fornicators place on their birthright? How willing they are to
give up that which is of eternal value for a morsel of meat, for a moment of sensuous pleasure!
We may say we have no desire to do that, but when driven by the fleshly urges, we become
locked into gear by the enemy, who piles it on and sends us into overdrive, and our fleshly senses
into overload, that overrides all other safety precautions, while we are willingly coerced into
despising our eternal birthright for a single moment of damning delight!

God has given to us an eternal heritage! This was made possible by the precious Blood of
Jesus. Despising this heritage is equivalent to trampling underfoot the Blood of Christ!

FAILURE TO CONTROL HIS APPETITE!

Esau was an outdoorsman! He surely grew up tough and hardy, loving the hunt as he did!
Certainly he could have control his physical hunger rather than rejecting his heritage! He could
surely have bypassed Jacob's scheming and get something else to eat! People fast for weeks and
still live! He was sadly too engrossed with his present appetite and scorned the eternal
inheritance. He took the 'bird in the hand' concept literally and let the big one fly away! He let go
of the corn in favor of the husk! He rejected pure gold in favor of fool's gold! He was most
certainly a fool! Shortsightedness obscured the vision of his inheritance and he settled for his
belly rather than his spirit! The lust of the flesh will destroy your principles and deprive you of
your principal! The lust of the eyes will deprive you of your vision and deny you your victory.
The pride of life will degrade your integrity and destroy your eternity.

Life is never the same after we have spurned our eternal heritage for momentary indulging. We
have lost the freshness of salvation and the innocence of the new birth! David experienced the
sadness of this tragedy as exemplified in his desperate prayer of Psalm 51.
However life was never the same.
Tragedy wrapped his family in its dismal blanket afterwards. Esau was never back on the same
footing despite his pitiful cries and pleas.

How many great ministries have floundered, and how many wonderful servants of God have
found themselves in this same situation because of momentary yielding to the base desires of the
flesh!

It is recorded here that he diligently sought to be where he was before his rebellious contempt for
the spiritual. It is also recorded here that he found no place however small it may be. Our
ministry is never the same after as before. The only comforting factor is that we are under His
grace and He is ever faithful to His promises!

Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be
deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites,
10 nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the
kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were
sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.
12 All things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful. All things are lawful for me, but
I will not be brought under the power of any. 13 Foods for the stomach and the stomach for
foods, but God will destroy both it and them. Now the body is not for sexual immorality but for
the Lord, and the Lord for the body. 1 Corinthians 6:9-13 NKJV
If as you fondly deceive yourself, that you are married in spirit before God simply because you
want to indulge the lusts of the flesh, then ask yourself why God's Word denounces and
condemns fornication?

Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, (20) by a new
and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, (21) and
having a High Priest over the house of God, (22) let us draw near with a true heart in full
assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies
washed with pure water. (23) Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering,
for He who promised is faithful. (24) And let us consider one another in order to stir up love
and good works, (25) not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of
some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching. (26)
For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer
remains a sacrifice for sins, (27) but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery
indignation which will devour the adversaries. (28) Anyone who has rejected Moses' law dies
without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. (29) Of how much worse
punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God
underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and
insulted the Spirit of grace? (30) For we know Him who said, "Vengeance is Mine, I will
repay," says the Lord. And again, "The LORD will judge His people." (31) It is a fearful
thing to fall into the hands of the living God. (Hebrews 10:19-31 NKJV)