Don’t Sell Your Birthright Series

All of us come short of the glory of God – none of us are perfect. But none of us need to come short of the grace of God – no one needs to miss out on enjoying His promises; and yet, so many of us do.

Years ago, an old Native American, half naked and starving, wandered into a western settlement. He was begging for food to keep from starving to death. The townspeople graciously gave him some bread, and as he devoured it someone noticed a pouch hanging around the Native American’s neck. It was a small, dirty pouch attached with a brightly colored ribbon.

The Native American explained that it was a charm given to him in his younger days. He opened the pouch and displayed a faded, greasy paper. One of the townspeople picked it up and discovered that it was a regular discharge from the Federal Army! It was signed by General George Washington himself, and it entitled the bearer to a pension for life.

Do you know, that’s the way some of us believers treat the promises of God. We hang them around their necks or on our walls in beautiful plaques, but we fail to claim those promises for themselves. And so we walk around in spiritual poverty most of our lives, not knowing how rich we really are.

God has given us a rich inheritance in His promises. As I said last week, there are thousands and thousands of them, and they cover every area of our lives; they take care of every need; they are our birthright as God’s children.

But some believers ignore those promises, or they don’t even take the time to discover what they are. In essence, they have sold those promises for other pursuits which have far less value.

My dear friends, please don’t sell your birthright. I.e., Don’t sell your priesthood. Don’t sell the promises of God.

And 3rd, DON’T SELL YOUR POWER as a child of God.

Don’t trade your spiritual authority for the short-lived pleasure of sin. For just like the 1st-born in ancient society, God has given us authority. He has given us power over sin. He has given us the ability to keep the bitter root of sin from taking hold in our hearts. That’s why verse 15 says, “See to it…that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.”

You see, we don’t have to let sin spring up in our lives like a bitter root. Instead, when we sin, all we need to do is confess it and forsake it. Admit it and turn away from it before it takes root in our lives and destroys not only us, but hurts those around us.

Matt Woodley, of Chicago, Illinois, talks about Steve, a friend of his, who nearly destroyed himself with such a bitter root.

Nineteen years previously, a guy stole Steve’s wife away from him, got married, and moved to Florida while Steve’s life unraveled. After he was arrested for assaulting a police officer, the guy who stole his wife smirked through the entire court hearing. When Steve was convicted, the guy flipped him the finger.

Nineteen years later, Steve told his friend, Matt, “I’ve hated him for nineteen years. He’s coming up here next week, I have a 32-caliber pistol strapped around my ankle, and when I see him I will kill him.” Then he chillingly concluded, “I’ve thought all about it. I’m 63-years-old. I will get a life sentence, but I’ll also get free medical and dental and a warm bed and three meals a day. All of this bitterness and resentment feels so right; forgiveness seems weird.”