The Bad Trade
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· 23 viewsOthers trade cars, trade homes, and trade jobs. Sometimes they are good trades, sometimes they are disastrous. There are some trades we make however that are much more significant:
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Examples of a Bad Trade
Examples of a Bad Trade
If you are someone who pays attention to pro sports you know that one of the ways teams try to improve themselves is through a trade. The idea is to give something another team wants to get a player you want. Over the history of sports there have been some historically bad trades where one team did much better than the other.
1. Babe Ruth for a Musical
1. Babe Ruth for a Musical
The Terms
Boston Red Sox trade future baseball god Babe Ruth for $100,000 and a $300,000 loan to finance the No, No, Nanette musical.
Why It's Awful
Quite simply the worst deal in the history of sports.
Red Sox owner Harry Frazee dealt Ruth to the archival New York Yankees and watched them dominate in the World Series for the next 20 years while his own team won absolutely nothing.
How could anything be worse?
Trades in sports may make the difference in a team's history and the bottom line, but it is still just a game.
2. The Cobra Effect
2. The Cobra Effect
The British colonial government in India was concerned about the number of venomous cobras in Delhi.
They offered a bounty for every dead cobra. Initially this was a successful strategy as large numbers of snakes were killed for the reward.
Eventually, however, enterprising persons began to breed cobras for the income.
When the government became aware of this, the reward program was scrapped, causing the cobra breeders to set the now-worthless snakes free.
As a result, the wild cobra population further increased. The apparent solution for the problem made the situation even worse.
Others trade cars, trade homes, and trade jobs. Sometimes they are good trades, sometimes they are disastrous. There are some trades we make however that are much more significant:
Genesis 25:20–34
PRAY
Three Elements of the Birthright
Three Elements of the Birthright
Double portion of all the Fathers possessions
Spiritual Leader of the Family
Rule with and under the Father
1. Inheritance of the Believer
1. Inheritance of the Believer
a. As a Birthright
a. As a Birthright
You become a child of God by faith in Jesus Christ
For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.
As a son, you become a joint heir with Christ
Galatians 4:4–7
Romans 8:14–17
That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
b. Our inheritance is reserved
b. Our inheritance is reserved
1 Peter 1:3–5
c. Our inheritance is valued beyond comprehension
c. Our inheritance is valued beyond comprehension
1 Corinthians 2:9–10
Ephesians 1:11–14
d. How valuable our inheritance must be
d. How valuable our inheritance must be
our inheritance is therefore related to the double portion element of the birthright
The Holy Spirit is just the earnest payment of our inheritance
The earnest is just a token of the entire value
2. Spiritual Leader of the Family
2. Spiritual Leader of the Family
Esau was destitute of hunger for God in his life
Esau was destitute of hunger for God in his life
Esau suffered from Spiritual Famine brought on by worldliness
Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:
It is impossible to be a Spiritual Leader without maintaining a close relationship with the Lord
1 John 1:6–7
Under the old covenant God called priests and prophets as spiritual leaders.
Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible Firstborn and Birthright
The firstborn acted as priest of the family in the father’s absence or death
Under the new covenant God changed this to the priesthood of all believers
Under the new covenant God changed this to the priesthood of all believers
But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:
Obligations of the Spiritual Leader
Obligations of the Spiritual Leader
Offer Spiritual Sacrifices
1 Peter 2:5
Romans 12:1
Intercede for others
1 Timothy 2:1
Represent God before others
2 Corinthians 5:20
3. Ruling with and under God
3. Ruling with and under God
The final element of the birthright is the opportunity to rule with him
2 Timothy 2:8–13
When Jesus returns, we will be priests and kings interceding for the people left on the earth during the Millennium
When Jesus returns, we will be priests and kings interceding for the people left on the earth during the Millennium
We will be reigning as kings over those people in the Millennial kingdom.
We will be reigning as kings over those people in the Millennial kingdom.
Don’t make a bad trade like Esau
Don’t make a bad trade like Esau
you cannot trade your inheritance
you cannot trade your inheritance
your inheritance is reserved in Heaven for you
you can trade the other two thirds of your birthright if you aren’t careful
you can trade the other two thirds of your birthright if you aren’t careful
you can trade your rightful place as a spiritual leader in the life of yourself and those that you care about
you can trade your rightful place as it pertains to ruling and reigning with Christ.
Esau traded his inheritance for some stew.
Here is the question: For what would you give up the inheritance that God has promised to you?
To save your life, regain your health or gain riches?
Secure the safety of your children?
Obtain A bigger house?
Enjoy some stolen moments of pleasure?
To get you a better job?
To live a little longer?
To gain acceptance or gain popularity?
Whatever you would (or currently) trade for your godly inheritance or service to Christ is your bowl of stew.
One day a time an expert stood in front of the group of high-powered over-achievers he said, "Okay, time for a quiz." Then he pulled out a large mason jar and set it on a table in front of him. Then he produced about a dozen fist-sized rocks and carefully placed them, one at a time, into the jar.
When the jar was filled to the top and no more rocks would fit inside, he asked, "Is this jar full?" Everyone in the class said, "Yes." Then he said, "Really?" He reached under the table and pulled out a bucket of gravel. Then he dumped some gravel in and shook the jar causing pieces of gravel to work themselves down into the spaces between the big rocks.
Then he asked, "Is the jar full?" By this time the class was onto him. "Probably not," one of them answered. "Good!" he replied. And he reached under the table and brought out a bucket of sand. He started dumping the sand in and it went into all the spaces left between the rocks and the gravel. Once more he asked the question, "Is this jar full?" "No!" the class shouted. Once again, he said, "Good!" Then he grabbed a pitcher of water and began to pour it in until the jar was filled to the brim. Then he looked up at the class and asked, "What is the point of this illustration?"
One person said, "The point is, no matter how full your schedule is, if you try really hard, you can always fit some more things into it! "No," the speaker replied, "that’s not the point. The truth this illustration teaches us is: If you don’t put the big rocks in first, you’ll never get them in at all."
Our life and inheritance in Christ are the "big rocks." If we do not take care to make them first in the ordering of our lives, we will find the lesser things will crowd them out of our lives, and we will have sold our eternal inheritance for a bowl of stew.