Alternative Choices Part 2
Alternative Choices • Sermon • Submitted
0 ratings
· 6 viewsEsau made a choice that altered his life. What choices are you making that will affect you negatively
Notes
Transcript
Choices with Regret
Choices with Regret
I recently had a conversation with an individual who had made it clear that they had made some choices that were not the best choices and in their making of the choices they didn’t think it was the best thing they had done and actually felt bad about their choices. But then as we continued on in our conversation they proceeded to tell me how they knew it was wrong but that they had no regrets in what they had done and that they were ok with the consequences of their actions. The consequences would for produce devastating results that they themselves would be paying for long term with no real benefits.
Listen today I want to look at a man in Genesis named Esau who had a made a very poor choice, which in turn had produced very poor results for him.
27 As the boys grew up, Esau became a skillful hunter. He was an outdoorsman, but Jacob had a quiet temperament, preferring to stay at home.
28 Isaac loved Esau because he enjoyed eating the wild game Esau brought home, but Rebekah loved Jacob.
29 One day when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau arrived home from the wilderness exhausted and hungry.
30 Esau said to Jacob, “I’m starved! Give me some of that red stew!” (This is how Esau got his other name, Edom, which means “red.”)
31 “All right,” Jacob replied, “but trade me your rights as the firstborn son.”
32 “Look, I’m dying of starvation!” said Esau. “What good is my birthright to me now?”
33 But Jacob said, “First you must swear that your birthright is mine.” So Esau swore an oath, thereby selling all his rights as the firstborn to his brother, Jacob.
34 Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and lentil stew. Esau ate the meal, then got up and left. He showed contempt for his rights as the firstborn.
One of the first things we see that is wrong here is that Esau has no restraints He is only driven by his desires for that very moment. He is irresponsible. Listen to what this NCV says in verse 30
30 and said, “I’m starving to death! Give me some of that red stew right now!” That’s how Esau got the name “Edom.”
Now think of this for a moment. He says I’m starving to death. But yet he’s a hunter? He wasn’t starving to death, he had positioned his mind to allow his emotions to drive his response.
Never allow your emotions to dictate your response
Slowdown and through the process of prayer, meditation and clear thought. Rationally make your decision. Let me say that again.
Through the process of prayer, meditation and clear thought. Rationally make your decision.
I mean think about this You just hand over your birthright for some soup?
That’s like handing over your families multibillion dollar company that you were left to run but you couldn’t see the value in it and you just sell it off for a few million because you don’t want the responsibility of running it.
Proverbs 22:3 (NCV)
3 The wise see danger ahead and avoid it, but fools keep going and get into trouble.
Listen one of the things I always tell people when I’m counseling is follow the 48 hour rule. Spend 48 hours really evaluating what your best decision is for the situation. (give example) Write out pros and cons and if your cons out weigh your pros then you probably shouldn’t do the thing you are thinking about doing don’t be impulsive. Chances are if it really has any value to you you will probably revisit it and then make a more informed decision.
32 Esau said, “I am almost dead from hunger. If I die, all of my father’s wealth will not help me.”
Listen to Esau’s statement carefully… I am almost dead from hunger. Almost and Is are two very different things. One is the possibility of and the other is the assurance of.
When we are making life choices we need to be very clear and honest with ourselves. Can I actually afford this car. I mean really afford, the payment, the insurance, the maintenance on the vehicle, the interest on it. Listen this is important otherwise you are only creating an allusion for yourself not anyone else, just you. You are the magician and the audience and you are playing to a sold out house of me, myself and I.
Look at what Jesus says.
28 “But don’t begin until you count the cost. For who would begin construction of a building without first calculating the cost to see if there is enough money to finish it?
Listen Esau should have first counted the cost. He should have thought it out, he should have asked his father what his thoughts were, but no, instead he only sought counsel within his self.
29 Otherwise, you might complete only the foundation before running out of money, and then everyone would laugh at you.
30 They would say, ‘There’s the person who started that building and couldn’t afford to finish it!’
Most of us have seen people make poor choices and in doing so they reap havoc and destruction into their lives. The best thing about what Jesus is saying is the practicality in it. He’s not giving you some faith driven point. No just step on out in faith and just do it brother! Buy that million dollar house on your 80K salary. That’s right sister you claim that man! He’s waiting for you! No! Jesus is saying use common sense God has blessed you with it and unless you prefer to be foolish and prideful, there is no reason not to apply what He has given you.
A child stood gazing at a freshly opened box of chocolate candies lips pressed together, concentrating fully upon the decision at hand. The rule was “Only one, no more than one, but any one you want.” Should it be the biggest one, or would the small round one be the favorite peppermint cream? Then again, the long one might last longer. Which to choose? And how to decide?
Perhaps a child’s decisions seem trivial to us as adults. Oh, we recognize that they are important to the child, but we have a broader perspective. That is the question in making choices, isn’t it? To have an eternal perspective on life and its decisions is to know how to choose.
Don’t be so close to the picture that you can’t see the full picture
You must learn how to look long and wide, Well, Pastor I can’t do that. Let me read this verse to help you with that.
22 Plans go wrong for lack of advice; many advisers bring success.
That’s pretty easy to understand, you need wise people to help you process through situations. a multitude. Pastor says it best. If your your own frame of reference then you’ve already failed. Listen even the best have counselors.
33 Jacob said, “First, swear to me.” And he did it. On oath Esau traded away his rights as the firstborn.
34 Jacob gave him bread and the stew of lentils. He ate and drank, got up and left. That’s how Esau shrugged off his rights as the firstborn.
Have you ever seen someone shrug off something. (Demonstrate) Mmm whatever I can get another… What do we notice in that statement when we have seen someone do that? Two very important things.
1. A lack of respect for… Which typically leads to a party not wanting to deal with the other anymore, because of the lack of respect.
2. A strong sense of pride on the party who is committing contempt. we all know that pride comes before the fall.
21 Three things are too much for even the earth to bear, yes, four things shake its foundations—
22 when the janitor becomes the boss, when a fool gets rich,
23 when a whore is voted “woman of the year,” when a “girlfriend” replaces a faithful wife.
The reason these four types of people shake the foundations of the earth is because they have never been trained, developed or prepped for these positions. So the individuals who make these choices are a reflection of Esau, they bring damage and destruction not only to themselves but those around them.
16 Be careful that no one takes part in sexual sin or is like Esau and never thinks about God. As the oldest son, Esau would have received everything from his father, but he sold all that for a single meal.
17 You remember that after Esau did this, he wanted to get his father’s blessing, but his father refused. Esau could find no way to change what he had done, even though he wanted the blessing so much that he cried.
Every choice you make will either bring prosperity or hardship
Tell the story of the boy who cried wolf
Let’s pray..