Christian Life Church
June 2, 2024 at 8:30am & 10:00am
The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, He will show you a way out so that you can endure. 1 Corinthians 10:13
Locations & Times
Christian Life Church Columbia
2700 Bush River Rd, Columbia, SC 29210, USA
Sunday 8:00 AM
A BIRTHRIGHT and A BLESSING – PART I JUNE 2, 2024
SCRIPTURE
This is the account of the family of Isaac, the son of Abraham. When Isaac was forty years old, he married Rebekah… Isaac pleaded with the Lord on behalf of his wife, because she was unable to have children. The Lord answered Isaac’s prayer, and Rebekah became pregnant with twins. But the two children struggled with each other in her womb. So she went to ask the Lord about it. “Why is this happening to me?” she asked. And the Lord told her, “The sons in your womb will become two nations. From the very beginning, the two nations will be rivals. One nation will be stronger than the other; and your older son will serve your younger son.” And when the time came to give birth, Rebekah discovered that she did indeed have twins! The first one was very red at birth and covered with thick hair like a fur coat. So they named him Esau. Then the other twin was born with his hand grasping Esau’s heel. So they named him Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when the twins were born. As the boys grew up, Esau became a skillful hunter. He was an outdoorsman, but Jacob had a quiet temperament, preferring to stay at home. Isaac loved Esau because he enjoyed eating the wild game Esau brought home, but Rebekah loved Jacob. One day when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau arrived home from the wilderness exhausted and hungry. Esau said to Jacob, “I’m starved! Give me some of that red stew!” This is how Esau got his other name, Edom, which means “red”. “All right,” Jacob replied, “but trade me your rights as the firstborn son.” “Look, I’m dying of starvation!” said Esau. “What good is my birthright to me now?” But Jacob said, “First you must swear that your birthright is mine.” So Esau swore an oath thereby selling all his rights as the firstborn to his brother, Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and lentil stew. Esau ate the meal, then got up and left. He showed contempt for his rights as the firstborn. Genesis 25:19-34
BIRTHRIGHT and BLESSING
A “bet ab” may include up to 3 generations of 30 people. It was a place of security from the elements and from enemies.
A father would issue equal shares to his sons, but a double share to the oldest.
This birthright was given because he was expected to provide for the “bet ab”.
It came with massive responsibility but also many privileges.
UNDERSTANDING APPETITES
Appetites will rule over you or you will rule over them.
“Of the 2,930 individuals mentioned in the Bible, we only know significant details of 100. Of those 100, only about one-third finished well. Of the two-thirds that did not finish well, most failed in the second half of their lives.” Howard Hendricks
While appetites may change, no appetite is ever fully and finally satisfied.
1/ The flesh is working against you.
But each person is tempted when he is drawn away and enticed by his own evil desires. These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death. So don’t be misled, my dear brothers and sisters. James 1:14
In our brokenness, godly desires are distorted and we go after counterfeits.
“The ancestor of every action is a thought.” Ralph Waldo Emerson
Take every thought captive to obey Christ… 2 Corinthians 10:5
2/ The enemy is plotting against you.
For we are familiar with (the devil’s) evil schemes. 1 Corinthians 2:11
First, he will take something evil and make it seem not so evil.
Second, he will take something good and make it seem not good enough.
“Never forget that when we are dealing with any pleasure in its healthy and normal and satisfying form, we are, in a sense, (on God’s turf). Pleasure is His invention, not ours. He made the pleasures. All we can do is to encourage the humans to take the pleasures in ways…which He has forbidden.”
The first type of temptation is the lust of the flesh.
This is the idea of meeting physical desires.
The second type of temptation is the pride of life.
This is the idea of trusting in yourself.
The third type of temptation is the lust of the eyes.
This is the idea of wanting things that don’t belong to you.
The devil found no weakness in Christ, but he will find weakness in you.
3/ The Father always provides you a way out.
The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, He will show you a way out so that you can endure. 1 Corinthians 10:13
Sometimes the way out is through fighting.
This can be done through quoting Scripture.
“By this we are taught to answer all temptation with Scripture.” Gregory the Great
Sometimes the way out is through fleeing.
This can be done through simply walking away.
Run from anything that stimulates youthful lusts. 2 Timothy 2:22
“The devil does not have the power to tempt God’s people as long as he wishes but only as long as God permits.” Anonymous
Sometimes the way out is through forethinking.
This can be done through avoiding unwise situations.
The Lord will always open a door, but you have to walk through it!
4/ The Son is praying for you.
(Jesus is not) unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Hebrews 4:15
Because (Jesus) Himself suffered when He was tempted, He is able to help those who are being tempted. Hebrews 2:18
“If I could hear Christ praying for me in the next room, I would not fear a million enemies. Yet distance makes no difference. He is praying for me!” R.M. M’Cheyne
5/ The Church will help carry you.
Bear one another’s burdens… Galatians 6:2
6/ The Holy Spirit will minister to you afterwards.
Then the devil left Him, and…angels came and were ministering to Him. Matthew 4:11
7/ The enemy will target you again.
When the devil had finished tempting Jesus, he left Him until the next opportunity came.
Luke 4:13
EMBRACING RECOVERY
1/ If I fall, I will confess quick!
Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. James 5:16
2/ If I fall, I will get back up again!
…though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again… Proverbs 24:16
3/ If I fall, I will remember that God will work it for my good!
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28
4/ If I fall, I will remember the devil won the battle, but he will lose the war!
The devil was thrown to earth, will be thrown into a pit, and will be thrown into hell!
COPING WITH CONSEQUENCES
The enemy reserves the right to expose our sin at the most destructive time.
With the Lord, we can recover from a thousand sins! But some aren’t as recoverable.
Moses declares: “…the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob…”
Elijah cries out: “O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob…”
Matthew records: “This is the record of the ancestors of Jesus the Messiah…: Abraham was the father of Isaac. Isaac was the father of Jacob.”
Esau, in a moment, sacrificed his blessing, his children’s blessing, and his place in history.
Though Esau had tearful regret, it could not change what he had done.
CLOSE
Esau’s greatest sin? He didn’t value and protect what the Lord had given to him.
Don’t consider what God has entrusted to you as common. Respect it. Protect it.
“The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.” G.K. Chesterton
SCRIPTURE
This is the account of the family of Isaac, the son of Abraham. When Isaac was forty years old, he married Rebekah… Isaac pleaded with the Lord on behalf of his wife, because she was unable to have children. The Lord answered Isaac’s prayer, and Rebekah became pregnant with twins. But the two children struggled with each other in her womb. So she went to ask the Lord about it. “Why is this happening to me?” she asked. And the Lord told her, “The sons in your womb will become two nations. From the very beginning, the two nations will be rivals. One nation will be stronger than the other; and your older son will serve your younger son.” And when the time came to give birth, Rebekah discovered that she did indeed have twins! The first one was very red at birth and covered with thick hair like a fur coat. So they named him Esau. Then the other twin was born with his hand grasping Esau’s heel. So they named him Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when the twins were born. As the boys grew up, Esau became a skillful hunter. He was an outdoorsman, but Jacob had a quiet temperament, preferring to stay at home. Isaac loved Esau because he enjoyed eating the wild game Esau brought home, but Rebekah loved Jacob. One day when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau arrived home from the wilderness exhausted and hungry. Esau said to Jacob, “I’m starved! Give me some of that red stew!” This is how Esau got his other name, Edom, which means “red”. “All right,” Jacob replied, “but trade me your rights as the firstborn son.” “Look, I’m dying of starvation!” said Esau. “What good is my birthright to me now?” But Jacob said, “First you must swear that your birthright is mine.” So Esau swore an oath thereby selling all his rights as the firstborn to his brother, Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and lentil stew. Esau ate the meal, then got up and left. He showed contempt for his rights as the firstborn. Genesis 25:19-34
BIRTHRIGHT and BLESSING
A “bet ab” may include up to 3 generations of 30 people. It was a place of security from the elements and from enemies.
A father would issue equal shares to his sons, but a double share to the oldest.
This birthright was given because he was expected to provide for the “bet ab”.
It came with massive responsibility but also many privileges.
UNDERSTANDING APPETITES
Appetites will rule over you or you will rule over them.
“Of the 2,930 individuals mentioned in the Bible, we only know significant details of 100. Of those 100, only about one-third finished well. Of the two-thirds that did not finish well, most failed in the second half of their lives.” Howard Hendricks
While appetites may change, no appetite is ever fully and finally satisfied.
1/ The flesh is working against you.
But each person is tempted when he is drawn away and enticed by his own evil desires. These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death. So don’t be misled, my dear brothers and sisters. James 1:14
In our brokenness, godly desires are distorted and we go after counterfeits.
“The ancestor of every action is a thought.” Ralph Waldo Emerson
Take every thought captive to obey Christ… 2 Corinthians 10:5
2/ The enemy is plotting against you.
For we are familiar with (the devil’s) evil schemes. 1 Corinthians 2:11
First, he will take something evil and make it seem not so evil.
Second, he will take something good and make it seem not good enough.
“Never forget that when we are dealing with any pleasure in its healthy and normal and satisfying form, we are, in a sense, (on God’s turf). Pleasure is His invention, not ours. He made the pleasures. All we can do is to encourage the humans to take the pleasures in ways…which He has forbidden.”
The first type of temptation is the lust of the flesh.
This is the idea of meeting physical desires.
The second type of temptation is the pride of life.
This is the idea of trusting in yourself.
The third type of temptation is the lust of the eyes.
This is the idea of wanting things that don’t belong to you.
The devil found no weakness in Christ, but he will find weakness in you.
3/ The Father always provides you a way out.
The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, He will show you a way out so that you can endure. 1 Corinthians 10:13
Sometimes the way out is through fighting.
This can be done through quoting Scripture.
“By this we are taught to answer all temptation with Scripture.” Gregory the Great
Sometimes the way out is through fleeing.
This can be done through simply walking away.
Run from anything that stimulates youthful lusts. 2 Timothy 2:22
“The devil does not have the power to tempt God’s people as long as he wishes but only as long as God permits.” Anonymous
Sometimes the way out is through forethinking.
This can be done through avoiding unwise situations.
The Lord will always open a door, but you have to walk through it!
4/ The Son is praying for you.
(Jesus is not) unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Hebrews 4:15
Because (Jesus) Himself suffered when He was tempted, He is able to help those who are being tempted. Hebrews 2:18
“If I could hear Christ praying for me in the next room, I would not fear a million enemies. Yet distance makes no difference. He is praying for me!” R.M. M’Cheyne
5/ The Church will help carry you.
Bear one another’s burdens… Galatians 6:2
6/ The Holy Spirit will minister to you afterwards.
Then the devil left Him, and…angels came and were ministering to Him. Matthew 4:11
7/ The enemy will target you again.
When the devil had finished tempting Jesus, he left Him until the next opportunity came.
Luke 4:13
EMBRACING RECOVERY
1/ If I fall, I will confess quick!
Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. James 5:16
2/ If I fall, I will get back up again!
…though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again… Proverbs 24:16
3/ If I fall, I will remember that God will work it for my good!
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28
4/ If I fall, I will remember the devil won the battle, but he will lose the war!
The devil was thrown to earth, will be thrown into a pit, and will be thrown into hell!
COPING WITH CONSEQUENCES
The enemy reserves the right to expose our sin at the most destructive time.
With the Lord, we can recover from a thousand sins! But some aren’t as recoverable.
Moses declares: “…the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob…”
Elijah cries out: “O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob…”
Matthew records: “This is the record of the ancestors of Jesus the Messiah…: Abraham was the father of Isaac. Isaac was the father of Jacob.”
Esau, in a moment, sacrificed his blessing, his children’s blessing, and his place in history.
Though Esau had tearful regret, it could not change what he had done.
CLOSE
Esau’s greatest sin? He didn’t value and protect what the Lord had given to him.
Don’t consider what God has entrusted to you as common. Respect it. Protect it.
“The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.” G.K. Chesterton