One of the greatest threats to the Christian witness and the ministry of the church is the spirit of Compromise. As we get closer and closer to the Manifestation of the Kingdom of God, it is imperative that we as the people of God are willing to take a stand and not compromise our faith nor our principles of belief in the Word of God. Satan is going to try to seduce us (Genesis 3, Matthew 4) and make us think that the "short-cut" route will not hurt us. His deception will be on the order that it will almost seem "advantageous" across the board to take the "easy way out". But let us understand on the front end, this is not the Will of God. Jesus told Peter when he tried to tell Him that He would not have to suffer as the Messiah, "get thee behind me Satan". Why? Because he savored the things of man more than the things of God (Matthew 16). For this reason, we must be careful not to be guilty of Swapping our Birthright.
In the story of Jacob and Esau, the twin sons of the patriarch Isaac, the scripture talks about how Esau sold his birthright to Jacob his younger brother (Genesis 25). The reason this is significant is because every child of God has been granted a Divine Birthright in Christ Jesus (Acts 26). The challenge, however, is that it has to be inherited (Galatians 4). You don't receive the Birthright just because you're "born again". One must grow and develop into Spiritual Maturity in order to receive the Divine Birthright that the Father has ordained for every child of God. Because many Christians are not focused on obtaining the Birthright that God has ordained for them through the Blood of His Son Jesus, we operate in a perpetual state of spiritual immaturity and, as a result, end up Swapping Our Birthright.
Why did Esau sell his Birthright for a pot of soup? Number one, he didn't place the proper value on the Divine Birthright that he was to receive through inheritance as being the elder brother. The scripture says in the 3rd chapter of Galatians, that Jesus died for our sins in order that we might receive The Blessing of Abraham. Many Christians in the mainstream church do not understand the significance of the Blessing of Abraham in the individual Christian's life. The Favor, the Support, the Blessing, the Revelation, the Intervention, the Empowerment, the Victory, the Guidance, that Abraham received in his life were due to The Blessing that God had conferred upon him (Genesis 12). This same Blessing is available to the believer in Christ. When it was made available to Esau, he chose to be a sell-out.
The last thing that Esau did that led him to Swap his Birthright is that he put his Personal Provision over his Divine Inheritance. Esau was focused on the flesh and the appeasement and satisfaction of his appetite. This is not the will of God. That's why the scripture admonishes us to Crucify the Flesh (Galatians 5). We must operate in the faith that God will supply all of our need according to His Riches in Glory, by Christ Jesus (Philippians 4). We must quit being preoccupied with our needs in the natural and in the flesh, and begin to focus on the Heavenly Provision and Blessing that the Father has ordained for us as His children. If we do not make this shift and transition, like Esau, we too will be guilty of Swapping Our Birthright.
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