It is indeed a great pleasure for all believers to have a divine revelation of the glorious
heritage the blood of Jesus Christ purchased for them. Actually the believers’ heritage is
their birthright in the Kingdom of God which is already laid up, prepared, reserved,
settled, perfected and meant to be enjoyed. The word ‘heritage’ covers the totality of all
that is divinely provisioned for victorious Christian living e.g. salvation from sin,
deliverance from fear, diseases, poverty, insecurity, frustration, depression,
disappointment and all forms of bondage. The Bible says in Romans 8:32: “He that
spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also
freely give us all things?” All that is necessary for life and godliness have been freely
given by God who is the Creator of the Universe. Every promise in the word of God is
the heritage of the believers e.g. Jeremiah 29:11 says: “For I know the thoughts that I
think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an
expected end.” You must search the scriptures diligently to discover what has been
divinely provisioned and laid up for you.
We read the account of the story of Esau who sold his birthright for a pot of pottage to
Jacob his brother. Before the birth of these two people there was a Prophecy in Genesis
Chapter 25:23 concerning both of them: “And the Lord said unto her, Two nations are in
thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one
people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger.”
The Prophecy was fulfilled because God’s word is settled in heaven and more
importantly, his ways are past finding out. The reference to this story is for believers to
learn a lesson on how the Prophecy was fulfilled. The Bible records that Esau was faint
and was at the point of death when this incident occurred. Do you wait upon the Lord
when you are weary and heavy laden or do you allow your flesh to rule over you? He
despised his birthright for red pottage which he lusted for just as the lust of the flesh, the
lust of the eyes and the pride of life will always lead to a big fall. Do you recognize God
as the good Shepherd and great provider who satisfies the hungry soul? How often do
believers of today sell their birthright for the pleasures of sin or for worthless things?
You will agree with me that Esau gave the devil the right of way by allowing his brother
to manipulate him through craftiness and evil pressure. When you are under pressure and
have to make a decision between good and evil; are you armed with the heritage of
wisdom with which you can make wise choices for your life? How many challenges
have you faced in your life about the little foxes that spoil the vine lately? Esau even
made a pronouncement that his birthright was useless to him: so it is when a believer
keeps opening the door of sin which will eventually lead to separation from divine
heritage. There are so many lessons to be learnt from the story of Jacob and Esau as you
do a character evaluation of their lives. Esau lacked self-control and strength of
character. Christianity is character building and believers are expected to add virtue to
virtue. Can your character speak something about your faith in God? Being a believer
means you are a very important member of God’s family who should imitate Jesus Christ
and follow him wholeheartedly. Food seemed to be the most important thing in Esau’s
life which he passionately satisfied whilst neglecting the weightier matters of his
heritage.
You need to seek the kingdom of God and his righteousness rather than rigorously
pursuing what will lead to a big fall. Esau’s fall was a big and devastating fall especially
when his brother stole his blessings through his subtilty and the cunning devices of his
mother. It is funny to find out that Esau introduced himself as the firstborn when his
father asked him “WHO ART THOU’ (Gen. 27:32). Did he forget he already sold his
birthright just as people cover up their sins or forget their vows today? The birthright
deal was all concluded with Esau’s declaration with his mouth. How many deals have
you negatively confessed and concluded with your own mouth without paying close
attention to the magnitude of your declaration? Wrong confessions or negative
affirmation has concluded a lot of deals in people’s life today e.g. many had confessed
poverty, disfavor and ill-health upon themselves and have lost the heritage associated
with these areas of their lives. Will you renounce the hidden works of dishonesty and ask
God for restoration as you read this admonition? How often do people forget that the
wages of sin is death and that it is divinely required to order every conversation aright?
The question is; how could someone choose to loose an eternal heritage over a plate of
food? This was a foolish and very expensive choice made by Esau. Have you formed the
habit of making little decisions that can eventually endanger your Christian walk or bring
a disconnection between you and your heritage? What costly decisions have you made in
your life that has eroded into enjoying the fullness of your goodly heritage?
The weight of Esau’s worthless and foolish decision was probably felt by him when he
said: “…….Is not he rightly named Jacob? For he hath supplanted me these two times:
he took away my birthright: and, behold, now he hath taken away my blessing. And he
said, Hast thou not reserved a blessing for me? (Gen. 27:36). Esau’s question seems
very interesting by affirming that his brother is rightly named Jacob and counting the
number of times he had supplanted him. Is he trying to eat his cake and have it at the
same time? Esau must have known that if Jacob did it the first time: he is capable of
doing it over and over again. When the edge is broken; a serpent is always at the corner
to bite. The purpose of this sermon is for you to recover whatever part of your heritage
you had lost due to carelessness, foolishness and negligence. Have you been under any
pressure of recent or in the past as Esau was? The devil is still rigorously working in the
world through people today to supplant and steal visions through cunning devices. Your
spiritual discernment must remain telescopic because Esau should have been able to
discern that selling his birthright means settling for a purposeless life. The account of the
left-over blessing from Isaac to Esau can be decoded to mean a life of struggle and
constant battles – no peace {And by thy sword shall thou live): a life of defeat and
servitude (and shalt serve thy brother): a permanent scar of disfavor and defeat upon his
life – no joy (when thou shall have the dominion, that thou shalt break his yoke from off
thy neck). Jacob took advantage of his brother’s weaknesses and with the backing of their
mother; Esau lost his heritage to Jacob. This is a great lesson for believers who traffic
with sin by ignoring weightier matters.
The original purpose of God for Adam and Eve was not fulfilled due to their fall in the
Garden of Eden. The content of their heritage was divinely outlined by God and well
communicated to them. The Bible records in Genesis Chapter 2:8-9: “And the Lord God
planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. And
out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and
good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of
good and evil.” The Garden of Eden was a perfect heritage fully loaded and well
watered by God who is the source of every good thing. The assignment of Adam and
Eve was just to tend and keep the Garden – very easy: isn’t it? It is so sweet and very
easy to be connected to Jesus Christ who is the Captain of eternal salvation and to
worship him continually with your obedience. Unfortunately, this couple lost the divine
fellowship and opportunity due to their inability to resist the great temptation orchestrated
by the tempter. Can you recognize who the real enemy of your soul is? To take
effective authority over the wiles of the devil; you must first ensure that you are not the
enemy of your own soul. The devil came in; dominated them and wrested the scriptures
with his subtilty; thereby complicating the easy assignment and other issues of their lives.
When the heritage is traded-off; simple matters become complicated. Many people today
have fallen into the same error of the wicked leading to unfulfilled goals; perished
visions; prolonged journeys and unprofitable lives. “I reject” you will say; and I pray it
will never be your portion in Jesus’ name (Amen). But let’s face the fact: please do
something to rectify whatever adverse situation or the mess you are in right now!
It is dangerous to be entitled to a glorious heritage and not have a perfect understanding
of where it is or how to lay claim to it. It is like having billions of dollars laid up in the
Bank account and wallowing in abject poverty throughout life. Many believers today are
totally oblivious of the content of their heritage in Jesus Christ. The only way to
discovery is to follow the biblical recommendations in 11 Timothy 2:15 and 11 Timothy
3:16-17:
Ø “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be
ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
Ø “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for
reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of
God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.”
Do you know God for who He is? Have you been seeking his face continually? The
Bible says: “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge……….. (Ho. 4:6) It is a
divine requirement that your zeal for God must be according to knowledge. Believers
must have a perfect understanding of all divine requirements and work out their own
salvation with reverential fear for God. God’s part is already completed and laid up for
those who fear Him. Esau was hungry and his hunger damaged his reputation; the good
news is that Jesus Christ satisfies the hungry souls today! The Bible contains all the
kingdom rules and principles to guide you as you go through life. Every obstacle and
challenges have their solutions in the word of God. Jesus Christ overcame the devil by
laying claim to the word of God. The Bible says you too can overcome the wicked one
by the blood of the Lamb and by the words of your testimonies. You have been given
authority to tread upon scorpions and serpents and over all the powers of the wicked one
and nothing will by any means hurt you. Those who do not have the knowledge that they
are actually more powerful than the devil live in abject spiritual poverty and perpetual
fear. You must arise and discover who you are in Christ and recover your authority if
you had traded it off through the doorway of sin and iniquity. The foundation of your
faith must be based upon that which Jesus Christ laid. Christianity is character building
and Jesus Christ is the Master builder. You need to understand that you cannot build to
divine specifications without following divine instructions. Noah had to follow divine
specifications in the process of constructing the Ark: he would have lost his heritage if he
had used either the wrong type of wood or wrong dimensions. Your heritage also
includes guidance through the ever loving and divine presence of the Holy Spirit who is
your Comforter and Guide. The presence of the Holy Spirit in your life also makes your
life radiant with the fruits and the gifts of the Spirit to enable you live the life of an
overcomer.
Your heritage in Jesus Christ is priceless and totally free for life. Money can buy you
some necessities of life to satisfy needs and wants but cannot buy you the contents of the
Kingdom. The Bible says in Romans 14:17: “For the kingdom of God is not meat and
drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. Remember Esau lost his
birthright through meat and drink whilst trading-off the righteousness, peace and joy in
the Holy Ghost. Many believers also lose out today as a result of misplaced priorities and
unwise choices. Are you born again? Are you born of the water and of the Spirit? Are
you abiding in Christ? Are you conversant with the work of redemption? You need to
identify those things in your life that had affected your enjoying the content of God’s
kingdom: acknowledge your faults, repent and forsake those sins. God is a merciful God
who forgives sins and iniquities. My prayer is that you will seize this opportunity to
make it right with you maker. The Prophet Isaiah said: “Come now, and let us reason
together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow;
though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” (Is. 1:18) Will you respond to
this invitation today and take complete control of your glorious heritage just as David
recovered all that the Amalekites stole from him? The choice is yours since God’s part is
already settled.
The Psalmist declared in Psalms 16:5-6: “The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance
and of my cup: thou maintainest my lot. The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places;
yea I have a goodly heritage.” You must remember that your heritage is good and
complete in Jesus Christ and abiding in Him; living in Him; moving in Him will lead you
to lie down in the green pastures and beside the still waters.
God bless you
Rev. Oluyemisi Babajide |
