Birthright Blessing & The Coming Test (Part 2 Of 2)

Birthright Blessing & The Coming Test

Gen 25:27-34; Gen 28:27-37; Matt 4:1-10

(Part 2 of 2)

Last week – America’s birthright blessing - Freedom

We saw Esau …

Despising Our Birthright

Sold his birthright for a bowl of stew…for what he could get now

That word “despised” in the Hebrew is “ba za” which means “to be worthless”

We now live in a time when our young people and even some older have forgotten our birthright blessing of Freedom

Second, there was a warning to…

Beware the Deceiver

Jacob deceived not only Esau but his father Isaac

Esau still EXPECTED the birthright blessing EVEN THOUGH he had sold it to Jacob

Time is coming in America – the same will happen – we will give away and sell our birthright – FREEDOM - LIBERTY

But still have an expectation to receive the birthright blessing of FREEDOM

Now couple other things I want us to notice here

Now that brings us to the second part of the message, The Coming Test

Read Matt 4:1-10 as we go - Pray

I believe there is coming a test like never before for us as believers

And know that we are not exempt from this testing

Just as Jesus was tempted, so we too will be tempted

Exactly what’s coming I don’t know…but my message to us is that we must ready ourselves and be on watch…on alert

Listen, temptation is never as great as when one has made a public declaration of faith as our Lord did when He was baptized

Now important to note here in vs 1 that Jesus was LED by the Holy Spirit

We must understand that Satan was given full permission to test Jesus

Just like Jesus tells Peter and all of the disciples later in Luke 22:31 “Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat”

Jesus’s temptations follow three patterns that are common to all men and I want us to see them so we can be on alert and recognize them

1 John 2:16 tells of these three patterns “For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world”

Trans: The first pattern of temptation Satan uses to test Jesus is…

1. The Lust of the Flesh

Matt 4:3-4 (read) Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” 4 But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’”

Our Lord is hungry…our body needs food to survive

It can cause us to take desperate measures

Satan knew Jesus was hungry and challenged Jesus’ deity

Satan challenges Jesus to turn the stones into bread – I mean – He most certainly could

Notice here that the deceiver BELIEVES that God CAN turn the stones to bread, that it was possible

Notice how powerful Satan knows Jesus is

He recognizes that Jesus could just SPEAK…TELL or KJV says COMMAND these stones and they had to obey (my my my)

Why didn’t Jesus just do it?

Because it was not his deity being tested as much as it was humanness (flesh) being tested as a man

Jesus knew that if He couldn’t pass the test – you and I have no hope in passing the test

We too will be tempted and tested by the Lust of the Flesh and must be on alert

Jesus replies to Satan that “Man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God”

Trans: The second pattern we see Satan tempt Jesus with is…

2. The Pride of Life

What is meant by pride of life? To love this world more than to love God

Anything that can lead to pride of life such as arrogance, pride in self, presumption, boasting

Matt 4:5-7 Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: ‘He shall give His angels charge over you,’

and,‘In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’”[b]7 Jesus said to him, “It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the LORD your God.’”

Satan takes Jesus to the Holy Temple in Jerusalem…

If you are the Son of God – throw yourself down – take your own life

Satan knows that Jesus’ body is subject to pain and even death

If you are God, you will not die

Notice Satan even uses scripture as he quotes Psa 91:11-12