Redemption: I'm Not the Man I Used To Be

Encounter and Humility

Genesis 32:1-12 Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him. And when Jacob saw them he said, “This is God's camp!” So he called the name of that place Mahanaim. And Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother in the land of Seir, the country of Edom, instructing them, “Thus you shall say to my lord Esau: Thus says your servant Jacob, ‘I have sojourned with Laban and stayed until now. I have oxen, donkeys, flocks, male servants, and female servants. I have sent to tell my lord, in order that I may find favor in your sight.’” And the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, “We came to your brother Esau, and he is coming to meet you, and there are four hundred men with him.” Then Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed. He divided the people who were with him, and the flocks and herds and camels, into two camps, thinking, “If Esau comes to the one camp and attacks it, then the camp that is left will escape.” And Jacob said, “O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, O Lord who said to me, ‘Return to your country and to your kindred, that I may do you good,’ I am not worthy of the least of all the deeds of steadfast love and all the faithfulness that you have shown to your servant, for with only my staff I crossed this Jordan, and now I have become two camps. Please deliver me from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau, for I fear him, that he may come and attack me, the mothers with the children. But you said, ‘I will surely do you good, and make your offspring as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.’”

“God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pain: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.” – C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain (New York: HarperCollins, 1940/1996), 91.

Generosity

Genesis 32:13-21 So he stayed there that night, and from what he had with him he took a present for his brother Esau, two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams, thirty milking camels and their calves, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty female donkeys and ten male donkeys. These he handed over to his servants, every drove by itself, and said to his servants, “Pass on ahead of me and put a space between drove and drove.” He instructed the first, “When Esau my brother meets you and asks you, ‘To whom do you belong? Where are you going? And whose are these ahead of you?’ then you shall say, ‘They belong to your servant Jacob. They are a present sent to my lord Esau. And moreover, he is behind us.’” He likewise instructed the second and the third and all who followed the droves, “You shall say the same thing to Esau when you find him, and you shall say, ‘Moreover, your servant Jacob is behind us.’” For he thought, “I may appease him with the present that goes ahead of me, and afterward I shall see his face. Perhaps he will accept me.” So the present passed on ahead of him, and he himself stayed that night in the camp.

Proverbs 17:8 A bribe is like a magic stone in the eyes of the one who gives it; wherever he turns he prospers.

Proverbs 18:16 A man's gift makes room for him and brings him before the great.

Proverbs 19:6 Many seek the favor of a generous man, and everyone is a friend to a man who gives gifts.

Proverbs 21:14 A gift in secret averts anger, and a concealed bribe, strong wrath.

Transformation

Genesis 32:22-32 The same night he arose and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. He took them and sent them across the stream, and everything else that he had. And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day. When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket, and Jacob's hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. Then he said, “Let me go, for the day has broken.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” And he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” Then he said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.” Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.” But he said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And there he blessed him. So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, saying, “For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered.” The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip. Therefore to this day the people of Israel do not eat the sinew of the thigh that is on the hip socket, because he touched the socket of Jacob's hip on the sinew of the thigh.

Second City Church - Redemption Sermon Series 2016

Redemption: A Tale of Two Fathers

Genesis 31:1-16 Now Jacob heard that the sons of Laban were saying, “Jacob has taken all that was our father's, and from what was our father's he has gained all this wealth.” And Jacob saw that Laban did not regard him with favor as before. Then the Lord said to Jacob, “Return to the land of your fathers and to your kindred, and I will be with you.” So Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah into the field where his flock was and said to them, “I see that your father does not regard me with favor as he did before. But the God of my father has been with me. You know that I have served your father with all my strength, yet your father has cheated me and changed my wages ten times. But God did not permit him to harm me. If he said, ‘The spotted shall be your wages,’ then all the flock bore spotted; and if he said, ‘The striped shall be your wages,’ then all the flock bore striped. Thus God has taken away the livestock of your father and given them to me. In the breeding season of the flock I lifted up my eyes and saw in a dream that the goats that mated with the flock were striped, spotted, and mottled. Then the angel of God said to me in the dream, ‘Jacob,’ and I said, ‘Here I am!’ And he said, ‘Lift up your eyes and see, all the goats that mate with the flock are striped, spotted, and mottled, for I have seen all that Laban is doing to you. I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar and made a vow to me. Now arise, go out from this land and return to the land of your kindred.’” Then Rachel and Leah answered and said to him, “Is there any portion or inheritance left to us in our father's house? Are we not regarded by him as foreigners? For he has sold us, and he has indeed devoured our money. All the wealth that God has taken away from our father belongs to us and to our children. Now then, whatever God has said to you, do.”

Luke 15:11-32 And he said, “There was a man who had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.’ And he divided his property between them. Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living. And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything. “But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father's hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.”’ And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate. “Now his older son was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. And he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and sound.’ But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, but he answered his father, ‘Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!’ And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.’”

One father was scheming and selfish. The other was benevolent and generous.

One father was fault-finding and accusation. The other was full of grace and looked to cover his son's sin.

Because Jesus comes with grace and truth (John 1), we are able to come to repentance.

Because of the blood of Jesus spilled for us, a covenant has been made where the wrath of the Father is satisfied and we are able to draw near to the Father again.

Because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, we are able to live eternally with the robe, the ring and the fattened calf of God's blessing.

One father was proud and the other humbled himself when offended to reconcile with his wayward child. Because of the cross of Jesus Christ, reconciliation is made possible with our Heavenly Father.

Both come looking for idols in their child's life. One wants to destroy us if he found them - the other wants to destroy them so they won't destroy us.

In the story of the prodigal son, redemption was able to take place for the wayward child not because of who he was but who he belonged to. It is the same for us in Christ.

Second City Church - Redemption Sermon Series 2015

Redemption: Behold What You Want to Become

Genesis 30:25-43 As soon as Rachel had borne Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Send me away, that I may go to my own home and country. Give me my wives and my children for whom I have served you, that I may go, for you know the service that I have given you.” But Laban said to him, “If I have found favor in your sight, I have learned by divination that the Lord has blessed me because of you. Name your wages, and I will give it.” Jacob said to him, “You yourself know how I have served you, and how your livestock has fared with me. For you had little before I came, and it has increased abundantly, and the Lord has blessed you wherever I turned. But now when shall I provide for my own household also?” He said, “What shall I give you?” Jacob said, “You shall not give me anything. If you will do this for me, I will again pasture your flock and keep it: let me pass through all your flock today, removing from it every speckled and spotted sheep and every black lamb, and the spotted and speckled among the goats, and they shall be my wages. So my honesty will answer for me later, when you come to look into my wages with you. Every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats and black among the lambs, if found with me, shall be counted stolen.” Laban said, “Good! Let it be as you have said.” But that day Laban removed the male goats that were striped and spotted, and all the female goats that were speckled and spotted, every one that had white on it, and every lamb that was black, and put them in the charge of his sons. And he set a distance of three days' journey between himself and Jacob, and Jacob pastured the rest of Laban's flock. Then Jacob took fresh sticks of poplar and almond and plane trees, and peeled white streaks in them, exposing the white of the sticks. He set the sticks that he had peeled in front of the flocks in the troughs, that is, the watering places, where the flocks came to drink. And since they bred when they came to drink, the flocks bred in front of the sticks and so the flocks brought forth striped, speckled, and spotted. And Jacob separated the lambs and set the faces of the flocks toward the striped and all the black in the flock of Laban. He put his own droves apart and did not put them with Laban's flock. Whenever the stronger of the flock were breeding, Jacob would lay the sticks in the troughs before the eyes of the flock, that they might breed among the sticks, but for the feebler of the flock he would not lay them there. So the feebler would be Laban's, and the stronger Jacob's. Thus the man increased greatly and had large flocks, female servants and male servants, and camels and donkeys.

Strength comes by setting your eyes and heart on the things that will draw you closer to Jesus, bring you strength as you dwell with the author of life.

Matthew 12:33-37 “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit. You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

God designed you in such a way that the relationships, messages and environments that you feed upon will either bring you into the health that He created you to live in, or it will slowly tear apart your life.

What are the music, entertainment, relationships and messages that you are feeding on doing for your relationship with Jesus?

Are they drawing you closer or giving you an uphill battle towards intimacy with Him?

Second City Church - Redemption Sermon Series 2016

Redemption: Our Reach, Our Reasons and Our Rest

Part of our redemption begins when we start to find the source and foundation of our joy in God and His eternal pleasures. We are then released from the tyranny of circumstances which are ever in flux, relationships which are out of our control and even trials that begin to strengthen rather than break us.

Our Reach

Genesis 29:31-35

When the Lord saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb, but Rachel was barren. And Leah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Reuben, for she said, “Because the Lord has looked upon my affliction; for now my husband will love me.” She conceived again and bore a son, and said, “Because the Lord has heard that I am hated, he has given me this son also.” And she called his name Simeon. Again she conceived and bore a son, and said, “Now this time my husband will be attached to me, because I have borne him three sons.” Therefore his name was called Levi. And she conceived again and bore a son, and said, “This time I will praise the Lord.” Therefore she called his name Judah. Then she ceased bearing.

Whether it be a career, a marriage or romantic relationship, children or wealth, we think that once we've obtained it, we'll truly be happy, satisfied, only to be disappointed time and again.

Our Reasons

We are tempted to get shaken from our joy when hopes are deferred.

Proverbs 13:12 Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life.

Genesis 30:1-24 When Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, she envied her sister. She said to Jacob, “Give me children, or I shall die!” Jacob's anger was kindled against Rachel, and he said, “Am I in the place of God, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?” Then she said, “Here is my servant Bilhah; go in to her, so that she may give birth on my behalf, that even I may have children through her.” So she gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife, and Jacob went in to her. And Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son. Then Rachel said, “God has judged me, and has also heard my voice and given me a son.” Therefore she called his name Dan. Rachel's servant Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. Then Rachel said, “With mighty wrestlings I have wrestled with my sister and have prevailed.” So she called his name Naphtali. When Leah saw that she had ceased bearing children, she took her servant Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife. Then Leah's servant Zilpah bore Jacob a son. And Leah said, “Good fortune has come!” so she called his name Gad. Leah's servant Zilpah bore Jacob a second son. And Leah said, “Happy am I! For women have called me happy.” So she called his name Asher. In the days of wheat harvest Reuben went and found mandrakes in the field and brought them to his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, “Please give me some of your son's mandrakes.” But she said to her, “Is it a small matter that you have taken away my husband? Would you take away my son's mandrakes also?” Rachel said, “Then he may lie with you tonight in exchange for your son's mandrakes.” When Jacob came from the field in the evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, “You must come in to me, for I have hired you with my son's mandrakes.” So he lay with her that night. And God listened to Leah, and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son. Leah said, “God has given me my wages because I gave my servant to my husband.” So she called his name Issachar. And Leah conceived again, and she bore Jacob a sixth son. Then Leah said, “God has endowed me with a good endowment; now my husband will honor me, because I have borne him six sons.” So she called his name Zebulun. Afterward she bore a daughter and called her name Dinah. Then God remembered Rachel, and God listened to her and opened her womb. She conceived and bore a son and said, “God has taken away my reproach.” And she called his name Joseph, saying, “May the Lord add to me another son!”

Reuben - means "See, a son" Simeon - sounds like the Hebrew for "heard" Levi - sounds like the Hebrew for "attached" Judah - sounds like the Hebrew for "praise" Dan - sounds like the Hebrew for "judged" Naphtali - sounds like the Hebrew for "wrestling" Gad - sounds like the Hebrew for "good fortune" Asher - sounds like the Hebrew for "happy" Issachar - sounds like the Hebrew for "wages" Zebulun - sounds like the Hebrew for "honor" (Dinah) - means "justice" Joseph - means "May he add, and sounds like the Hebrew for "taken away" (Benjamin)

God's desire is for character developed in the midst of our pursuits.

Our Rest

The joy of the Holy Spirit is unshakable, constant, replenishing and is built on the rock of God's character. This joy is founded upon the eternal truth of Christ's Word, gospel, kindness and forgiveness.

Psalm 62:1-12 For God alone my soul waits in silence;from him comes my salvation. He alone is my rock and my salvation,my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken. How long will all of you attack a manto batter him,like a leaning wall, a tottering fence? They only plan to thrust him down from his high position.They take pleasure in falsehood.They bless with their mouths,but inwardly they curse. Selah For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence,for my hope is from him. He only is my rock and my salvation,my fortress; I shall not be shaken. On God rests my salvation and my glory;my mighty rock, my refuge is God. Trust in him at all times, O people;pour out your heart before him;God is a refuge for us. Selah Those of low estate are but a breath;those of high estate are a delusion;in the balances they go up;they are together lighter than a breath. Put no trust in extortion;set no vain hopes on robbery;if riches increase, set not your heart on them. Once God has spoken;twice have I heard this:that power belongs to God, and that to you, O Lord, belongs steadfast love.For you will render to a man according to his work.

Cultivating that joy

Psalm 16:8-11 I have set the Lord always before me;because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure. For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption. You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy;at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

1) Set a distinct time and place that you'll meet with God daily. 2) Turn each hope to an eternal one.

Second City Church - Redemption Sermon Series 2016

Redemption - Redemption Road

The everyday choices that we make define our story more than we'd like to realize. After having stolen his brother Esau's blessing, Jacob finds himself displaced from family and home in a flight for his life. In the midst of this, God mercifully intervenes to show Jacob that if he'll trust and obey Him, God will turn Jacob's flight into redemption's road. God intends to meet us in similar ways.

On the Fast Track to Where You Didn't Think You'd Be

Genesis 27:41-28:9 Now Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father had blessed him, and Esau said to himself, “The days of mourning for my father are approaching; then I will kill my brother Jacob.” But the words of Esau her older son were told to Rebekah. So she sent and called Jacob her younger son and said to him, “Behold, your brother Esau comforts himself about you by planning to kill you. Now therefore, my son, obey my voice. Arise, flee to Laban my brother in Haran and stay with him a while, until your brother's fury turns away— until your brother's anger turns away from you, and he forgets what you have done to him. Then I will send and bring you from there. Why should I be bereft of you both in one day?” Then Rebekah said to Isaac, “I loathe my life because of the Hittite women. If Jacob marries one of the Hittite women like these, one of the women of the land, what good will my life be to me?” Then Isaac called Jacob and blessed him and directed him, “You must not take a wife from the Canaanite women. Arise, go to Paddan-aram to the house of Bethuel your mother's father, and take as your wife from there one of the daughters of Laban your mother's brother. God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you, that you may become a company of peoples. May he give the blessing of Abraham to you and to your offspring with you, that you may take possession of the land of your sojournings that God gave to Abraham!” Thus Isaac sent Jacob away. And he went to Paddan-aram, to Laban, the son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah, Jacob's and Esau's mother. Now Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him away to Paddan-aram to take a wife from there, and that as he blessed him he directed him, “You must not take a wife from the Canaanite women,” and that Jacob had obeyed his father and his mother and gone to Paddan-aram. So when Esau saw that the Canaanite women did not please Isaac his father, Esau went to Ishmael and took as his wife, besides the wives he had, Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham's son, the sister of Nebaioth.

Life is a sum total of the choices that we make in response to the circumstances in which we find ourselves.

This is our constant message to youth - everything counts.

We often think that the choices we make in life will lead us one place, but they often take us somewhere completely different, where we don't want to be.

Making Moves

Genesis 28:10-22 Jacob left Beersheba and went toward Haran. And he came to a certain place and stayed there that night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place to sleep. And he dreamed, and behold, there was a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. And behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it! And behold, the Lord stood above it and said, “I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring. Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed. Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.” And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.” So early in the morning Jacob took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up for a pillar and poured oil on the top of it. He called the name of that place Bethel, but the name of the city was Luz at the first. Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear, so that I come again to my father's house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God, and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God's house. And of all that you give me I will give a full tenth to you.”

You may not have realized that God is in your midst, even in distressing circumstances, to lead you to Himself, but now that you do, set up an altar and commit to your Bethel for worship.

Redemption requires repentance.

Jesus said where your treasure is, your heart is as well. Generations before the Lord had Moses ratify that Israelites give God the tithe (tenth) as an expected act worship indicating that He was the source of all of their provision, Jacob demonstrated his understanding of this covenant principal.

The Road to Redemption

John 1:43-51 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” Jesus answered him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” And he said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

The good news is that as in Nathanael's case, Jesus knows where you've been and where He wants to take you.

Because of the cross of Jesus Christ, you have the opportunity for reconciliation with God and continued access to the throne of heaven. You go up the stairs and get God's heavenly perspective regarding your situation. You come back down, empowered by Christ through the Holy Spirit to implement His ways on the earth. Along the way you will have divine intervention by God and His angelic host working on behalf of His purposes.

Second City Church- Redemption Sermon Series 2016

Redemption - To Be or Not to Be Blessed

 

Genesis 26:34-27:29 When Esau was forty years old, he took Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite to be his wife, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and they made life bitter for Isaac and Rebekah. When Isaac was old and his eyes were dim so that he could not see, he called Esau his older son and said to him, “My son”; and he answered, “Here I am.” He said, “Behold, I am old; I do not know the day of my death. Now then, take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt game for me, and prepare for me delicious food, such as I love, and bring it to me so that I may eat, that my soul may bless you before I die.” Now Rebekah was listening when Isaac spoke to his son Esau. So when Esau went to the field to hunt for game and bring it, Rebekah said to her son Jacob, “I heard your father speak to your brother Esau, ‘Bring me game and prepare for me delicious food, that I may eat it and bless you before the Lord before I die.’ Now therefore, my son, obey my voice as I command you. Go to the flock and bring me two good young goats, so that I may prepare from them delicious food for your father, such as he loves. And you shall bring it to your father to eat, so that he may bless you before he dies.” But Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, “Behold, my brother Esau is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man. Perhaps my father will feel me, and I shall seem to be mocking him and bring a curse upon myself and not a blessing.” His mother said to him, “Let your curse be on me, my son; only obey my voice, and go, bring them to me.” So he went and took them and brought them to his mother, and his mother prepared delicious food, such as his father loved. Then Rebekah took the best garments of Esau her older son, which were with her in the house, and put them on Jacob her younger son. And the skins of the young goats she put on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck. And she put the delicious food and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob. So he went in to his father and said, “My father.” And he said, “Here I am. Who are you, my son?” Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn. I have done as you told me; now sit up and eat of my game, that your soul may bless me.” But Isaac said to his son, “How is it that you have found it so quickly, my son?” He answered, “Because the Lord your God granted me success.” Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Please come near, that I may feel you, my son, to know whether you are really my son Esau or not.” So Jacob went near to Isaac his father, who felt him and said, “The voice is Jacob's voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.” And he did not recognize him, because his hands were hairy like his brother Esau's hands. So he blessed him. He said, “Are you really my son Esau?” He answered, “I am.” Then he said, “Bring it near to me, that I may eat of my son's game and bless you.” So he brought it near to him, and he ate; and he brought him wine, and he drank. Then his father Isaac said to him, “Come near and kiss me, my son.” So he came near and kissed him. And Isaac smelled the smell of his garments and blessed him and said,“See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field that the Lord has blessed! May God give you of the dew of heaven and of the fatness of the earth and plenty of grain and wine. Let peoples serve you,and nations bow down to you. Be lord over your brothers, and may your mother's sons bow down to you. Cursed be everyone who curses you, and blessed be everyone who blesses you!"

Esau was Isaac's son, but through his choices made life bitter for Isaac and Rebekah.

Esau lived in such a manner that he would take whatever his eyes saw without regard for God or his parents' instruction.

Are you living your life in such a way that God's blessing can be with you?

What does God bless?

How do you obtain God's blessing?

Psalm 32:1-2 Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.

Proverbs 14:21 Whoever despises his neighbor is a sinner, but blessed is he who is generous to the poor.

Proverbs 16:20 Whoever gives thought to the word will discover good, and blessed is he who trusts in the Lord.

In Genesis 25, we saw Jacob finagle Esau out of his birthright. This time he came for his blessing.

The difference is subtle but powerful:

BIRTHRIGHT had to do with INHERITANCE (reward).
BLESSING has to with God's INTERVENTION and INCREASE on your behalf (fighting for you rather than against you).

Why does it matter?

Jesus said in this world you will have trouble. You do not want to face it without Him. Ultimately, you want the blessing of the Heavenly Father because you need Him not only now, but will face Him in judgement not in His death, but in your own.

What does a curse look like? Resistance.

Here's the point: We never want to lose the blessing of God being with us, backing us, opening doors and fighting battles for us when we are first aligned with His purposes.

Esau had worldly success yet lacked the blessing of his father. Do not mistake financial or relational "success" for the pleasure of the Father.

1 Corinthians 10:1-5 For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ. Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness.

How does this relate to our relationship with God through Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit?

Jacob's mother came as an advocate for her son. She makes provision for him. She called for any curse to be upon her rather than Jacob.

Because of the exchange made with us at the cross, Jesus has become the covering before the Heavenly Father, not in deceit, but in true righteousness that we might receive the Father's blessing.

Romans 3 - God comes as our advocate through Christ to be both just and justifier in regards to our sin by taking our punishment that must be paid for on the cross.

Romans 3:23-26 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

Rebekah told Jacob to put on garments that would allow him to be associated with Esau and garner his father Isaac's blessing. In response to Christ's work, we are instructed to clothe ourselves with the Lord Jesus.

Romans 13:11-14 Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.

The voice is Jacob's, but the arms are Esau's. God the Father knows it is you and relates to you as such, but sees the covering of Jesus.

Just as Isaac called for game from his son, the game that we are able to give God are the good works the Holy Spirit empowers us to do.

The Father has been pleased to give you the Kingdom.

Outside of God's blessing, we are left to ourselves like Esau. Bitterness and enmity follow.

What good will my life be to me? God does not want to give you blessing while you are turned over to serving other gods.

What does it profit a man to gain the whole world yet lose his own soul?

Where are you today? In Jacob's camp with the advocate or with Esau on your own - trading material and earthly satisfaction for the pleasure of the Father?

Practicals - what to do:
1) Take an evaluation of your life. Are you comfortable with where you are because you have worldly success. Is there a deficit in your devotion to God?
2) Find your position of blessing by coming to Christ alone for salvation, coming under His covering.
3) Begin to order your life in such a way that you bring daily sacrifices to Jesus, works unto God in and through your church in the community that you might receive and walk in the blessing of the Father.
4) Repent and believe the Good News. Find your place wholly in Jesus.

Second City Church: Redemption Sermon Series 2016

Redemption - The Fight for Your Birthright

 

So much of our lives are a struggle for satisfaction, trying to find out who we are and what our place is in the world. We pursue careers, relationships, positions and wealth hoping to finally become the man or woman we think that we should be. Along the way, we make decisions that have long term consequences in shaping both our temporal and eternal destiny. Esau and Jacob were no different, and as we will see in the account of how these two brothers handled their birthright, we will find out why we need to strive to truly find our rest in God.

The Things That Drive Us

Genesis 25:19-28 This is the account of the family line of Abraham’s son Isaac. Abraham became the father of Isaac, and Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan Aram and sister of Laban the Aramean. Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife, because she was childless. The Lord answered his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant. The babies jostled each other within her, and she said, “Why is this happening to me?” So she went to inquire of the Lord. The Lord said to her, “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger.” When the time came for her to give birth, there were twin boys in her womb. The first to come out was red, and his whole body was like a hairy garment; so they named him Esau. After this, his brother came out, with his hand grasping Esau’s heel; so he was named Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when Rebekah gave birth to them. The boys grew up, and Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the open country, while Jacob was content to stay at home among the tents. Isaac, who had a taste for wild game, loved Esau, but Rebekah loved Jacob.

What have you been known for? What were you esteemed for and what do you wish you had been esteemed for?

These desires drive us far more than we realize.

Jacob means one who grasps the heel, a colloquialism for deceiver. This was the way Jacob was identified from his youth.

Esau and his natural talents brought him favor with his father. He was his father's favored son, while Rebekah bonded with Jacob in the tents.

These affiliations were no doubt felt by each member of the family and drove what Esau and Jacob were willing to do to find peace and satisfaction.

"You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in you." - St. Augustine in Confessions

The Truth About Your Birthright

In ancient Near Eastern culture, the firstborn received the division of the material possessions divided by the number of sons plus an additional share. Thus, the firstborn received a double-portion of the inheritance. This is what Isaac's favored son, Esau, was in line to receive.

1) Your birthright from God has to do with an eternal, not just temporary, reward.

You are an eternal being.

Your birthright can be something temporary but also eternal. In a culture obsessed with the reward of immediate gratification, we need to focus on things that are eternal and unseen.

Matthew 6:1-18 II Corinthians 4:1-18

2 Corinthians 4:16-18 So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

Matthew 20:1-16

What is a birthright?

Your birthright speaks of an inheritance that your parents have prepared for you. In the natural, it can consist of property, possessions and titles. In the spirit, it is that and far more.

You begin to know your birthright through the natural gifts and talents God has given you. Like Esau, these aptitudes lead to natural interests and opportunities.

Esau started well in the natural, becoming a great hunter and man of the field.

How have you already excelled in the endowments that God has given you?

Esau, however, took his birthright for granted by never considering its redemptive purpose or connection to God. Because he thought so little of it, he was willing to sell it at a moment's notice, to satisfy a very real, but passing, carnal desire.

Jacob was content to be in the home and would have had time to consider and think through the significance of the birthright, so that he was willing to position himself to attain it. He would go about obtaining it the wrong way, however, and, because of this work of the flesh, would pay dearly for it with many years of anxiety, strife and reciprocal manipulation. What you sow, you will reap. If you are willing to deceive, backstab and steal to get ahead, it will eventually come back to you, as Jacob discovered with Laban. If you sow good, .... , it will also return to your doorstep. (An older woman, his mother Rebekah, would eventually mentor him in how to attain it).

Don't be deceived. Both sets of struggles can be a trap. Those who, like Esau, seem to have most things in life go their way are tempted not to think about the eternal because they are consumed with life's temporary pleasures. Those who have to fight uphill like Jacob can be distracted by life's struggles, being so earthly bound that they miss the divine.

2) Your birthright needs to be protected.

Like Jacob, you will be grasping, striving, clamoring for security, acceptance and approval all of your life if you are not satisfied in the inheritance of your Heavenly Father. Like Esau, you will be willing to sell your inheritance for moments of carnal gratification if you are not focused on the eternal judgments and rewards of God.

Despising Your Birthright

You despise your birthright when you trade eternal pursuits for the temporary.

Genesis 25:29-34 Once when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the open country, famished. He said to Jacob, “Quick, let me have some of that red stew! I’m famished!” That is why he was also called Edom. Jacob replied, “First sell me your birthright.” “Look, I am about to die,” Esau said. “What good is the birthright to me?” But Jacob said, “Swear to me first.” So he swore an oath to him, selling his birthright to Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil stew. He ate and drank, and then got up and left. So Esau despised his birthright.

How can I despise my birthright?

You can despise/trade your eternal birthright by over-indulging in temporal things. God has given us all things for our enjoyment, but if your sole goal is to consume as much pleasure in life as possible, if work is simply a means to finance weekend excursions and expeditions unattached to the worship and building of the Kingdom of God, then you will not have your heart or mind set on the eternal where God the Father has prepared an inheritance for you.

Don't let the concept of "work-life balance" tip the scales so that you become ineffective and unproductive for the Kingdom of God.

The devil wants to steal your birthright. Jesus wants to restore it.

Jesus and Your Birthright

Jesus comes to redeem your birthright, buying back through the cross what you once sold in your sin.

Jesus is the ultimate firstborn, son of preeminence amongst all humanity. Because of His sinless life, no title or authority can ever be stolen or taken from Him. He is the sole and rightful heir to His Heavenly Father's throne. Yet because He is benevolent and good, he voluntarily shares the inheritance with us. Through Jesus' death and resurrection, you have the opportunity to become a co-heir with Christ. In this, there is no more striving or fear, but peace because He makes your lot secure. Repent of sin, put your trust in Jesus' redemptive work and allow Him to restore every gift, relationship and dream within the context of His inheritance for you, the birthright contextualized in His gospel purposes for the world.

Ephesians 1:7-14 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

Psalm 16:5-6 The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot. The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.

Second City Church: Redemption Sermon Series 2016