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.

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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

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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

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