Birthright

BIRTHRIGHT

INTRODUCTION

A. HUMOR: DOG DECEIVED

1. Two friends run into each other while walking their dogs. One suggests lunch. The other says, "They won't let us in a restaurant with pets."

2. Undeterred, the first guy and his German shepherd head into the restaurant. The maître d' stops them, saying, "Sir, you can't bring your dog in here."

3. "But I'm blind," the man replies, "and this is my guide dog." The maître d', apologizing profusely, shows both man and dog to a table.

4. His friend waits five minutes, then tries the same routine. "You have a Chihuahua for a guide dog?" the skeptical maître d' says.

5. "A Chihuahua?" the man says. "Is that what they gave me?"

B. TEXTS

Gen. 25:31; “Jacob replied, ‘First sell me your birthright.’”

Deut. 21:16; “Then it shall be, when he makes his sons to inherit that which he has, that he may not make the son of the beloved firstborn before the son of the hated, which is indeed the firstborn.”

2 Chr. 21:3; “Their father had given them many gifts of silver and gold and articles of value, as well as fortified cities in Judah, but he had given the kingdom to Jehoram because he was his firstborn son.”

Heb. 12:16; “Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright.”

C. THESIS

1. We’re going to look at what a Birthright is, how it relates to God’s Kingdom, and how it makes us “More than Conquerors.”

2. The title of this message is “Birthright.”

I. WHAT IS A BIRTHRIGHT?

A. BIRTHRIGHT DEFINED: “a right, privilege, or possession to which a person is entitled by birth.” [Merriam-Webster]

B. AREAS THIS ENCOMPASSES:

1. Inheritance – property, money, estates,

2. Royal positions – Kings, Princes, Marquis, Earls, Dukes, Barons, Viscounts, etc.

3. Citizenship – Roman or U.S. Citizenship;

4. Ownership

5. Fame – children of famous people. Of Martin Luther King, Reagan, Winston Churchill, Tom Cruise, Sam Walton, Napoleon, etc.

6. Seats at Ivy League schools, operas, churches, etc.

7. Lineage, connection to ancestors and other relations.

C. FAIRNESS OF BIRTHRIGHT

1. None of what is received was earned by the heir.

2. Entitlements. Achievements of those before, are passed down to heirs, often times to profligate and worthless individuals, who don’t know what it means to work because they’ve never had to, and often squander what they get.

3. It seems unfair, but is universally recognized.

4. There’s no work, but simply a gift from one generation of a family to another generation of the family. How can this be right?

5. BECAUSE THE ONE WHO ACHIEVED IT LIVES ON IN THE HEIR – GENETICALLY. PART OF THE PARENT SURVIVES IN THE CHILD. The LIFE of one is passed on and is antecedent to the other. The child would have no life without the genes of the parent, so the descendant gets to enjoy the fruits of the earlier life, whom it replaced.

II. BIRTHRIGHT & THE KINGDOM OF GOD

Nowhere is all this more true than in the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom is only for those who are born to it. You must be born again. The fruits of Christ our forebear are accrued to us.

1. His Riches;

2. His Titles;

3. His Status;

4. His Possessions;

5. His Privileges, are all ours!

A. CONNECTION TO HIM AS PARENT

1. What we receive is not the product of work, but only of receiving. How is all this possible? Because His life is inside us!

2. He lives in us. His spiritual genetic pattern/ overcoming nature is in us.

3. So He is really only inheriting what is His own (since He is risen & lives in us) and we get to share it with Him!

B. HOW SHOULD THIS EFFECT US?

1. We should see from where our victory flows and let him predominate.

2. We should reckon that we’re in the world but not of it. We’re of a different nature; we’re children of God.

3. We shouldn’t hold onto the things of this world; it’s passing away.

4. We should conform to His nature.

5. Since this status can be gained by all – we should endeavor to help all mortals achieve immortality.

6. Because of what Christ did, you never have to be worthy. It’s a free gift; you can never merit it. If you’re a child, then you’re an heir. All that is His is yours, for he lives in you!

7. We should expect to have special trials as part of our upbringing. We are being prepared for great responsibilities in His future kingdom.

III. BIRTHRIGHT = "MORE THAN CONQUERORS"

“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors

through Him that loved us.” Romans 8:37