This sermon emphasizes the spiritual significance of the birthright, drawing parallels between Esau's choice to trade his birthright for immediate gratification and the potential consequences of devaluing spiritual blessings for earthly desires. It warns against complacency in repentance and highlights the importance of valuing spiritual insight over worldly achievements. The message stresses the need for humility and a genuine change of heart, rather than superficial actions, to truly align with God's will and avoid being shut out from His kingdom.

The birthright was something spiritual, you know, because God had said to Abraham that through your seed I will bless the whole world. So, in some way, I don't know how much Abraham knew, but Jesus once said in John chapter 8, Abraham saw my day and was glad. He said that in John 8, which means that Abraham had some understanding that Christ was going to come. And he may have passed that on to Isaac, who must have told his two sons Esau and Jacob, you know, for this world of sins, Messiah is going to come one day. And Esau, you're the lucky one because you got the birthright. And Esau said, who cares for that, something in the future, I want to take care of my life. He sold his birthright for a bowl of soup. And it says afterwards, when he realized what it was, I mean, it was also an earthly blessing, he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected. There was a time later on when he wanted that badly and he wept. Couldn't get it. He found no place for repentance, though he sought for it with tears. I want you to see that expression. He found no place for repentance, even though he sought for it with tears. I mean, that's written, as I said, to holy brethren, partakers of a heavenly calling. And I want to take that seriously. Is it possible that if I don't repent today, one day I may want to repent and I can't, even though I weep? Many Christians feel, well, I can repent any time I want. Well, it's not true. Because this is a warning to holy brethren that the time may come when you won't find a place for repentance if you take certain decisions today where you despise what is spiritual. Why did I speak about educated people and not educated people? When you value an educated brother, you're valuing something of the world more than spirituality. And you're, in a sense, rejecting the birthright and choosing a bowl of soup. I mean, a bowl of soup is good. It's very valuable on the earth. Education is very valuable on the earth. It has no value in God's kingdom. I've found simple brothers in Tamil Nadu who speak anointed words. I mean, some of them who can't speak one word of English, but boy, when they get up to speak, I'm blessed. How is it that they can speak such words which highly educated people sitting here can't speak? It's grace. It's not education. It's grace. You've got to be lonely-minded. God doesn't care for education. I mean, He can use an educated person like Paul. I think Paul was the type of fellow who would come first in every class and top of his college. And God used him. And He used a chap like Peter who was always in the lower 10% of the class. Always, I think. It didn't make a difference. Paul and Peter, equally anointed, equally used by God, because there were spiritual values. So when we devalue something earthly and seek fellowship with people who have something earthly, or we want to be known as people who are associated with high society, I've noticed that in different places. People who come from lower levels of society, they like to be associated with higher society people because it shows that we're sort of upper class. Because they feel very inferior. In the back of their mind, they say, oh, I come from a very lower level, and I'm a bit inferior, so I want to show that I'm higher level. That shows that such people don't know the Lord. Don't really know the Lord. I mean, they've gone through some ritual. And there are people like that in our midst. I see that. I like to go to the poorest brothers and sisters and ask them, do people talk to you? Do people in this church talk to you? Some people have been here 20, 30 years. Do they speak to you? No? Well, it gives me a pretty good understanding of the spirituality of all those people who appear so zealous. You know, we've got to change our whole attitude of mind. Now you see, next Sunday you can go and start talking to them. It doesn't change your attitude of mind. You're just going through a ritual because you heard something today. It doesn't mean a thing. It's a whole attitude of mind that has to change. And that won't change just by you going and speaking to somebody. I'm telling you, you're a loser. You're losing a lot, and you'll probably discover it only in eternity. I don't want to discover in eternity that I've lost anything that God wanted me to have on this earth. You know, we're so careful with money. If we discover that we misplaced something or gave a 500 rupee note away thinking it was a 100 rupee note, I think you'll think about that a long time. You say, boy, these notes look so alike, and I made a mistake, and I lost a lot of money. That is nothing compared to the loss we have when we don't value what is spiritual above what is earthly. See, we're making decisions. And in those decisions, we are saying what I want. Lord, this is what I want. Jesus said, strive to enter in. Afterwards, Esau said, oh, I want it. It's too late. That's what Jesus said in Luke 13 too. If you turn back to what we read earlier, someone said to him in verse 23, Lord, are there just a few who are going to be saved? He said to them, strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. Once the head of the house gets up and shuts the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock on the door saying, hey, Lord, open up to us. He'll answer, I don't know where you're from. Then you'll begin to say, we ate and drank in your presence. Lord, don't you remember we were there for every breaking of bread meeting? We ate and drank with you. We drank the cup. We ate the bread. And we even stayed back for the lunch we used to have once a month. And you taught in our church. Oh, we heard such anointed messages. And he'd say, yeah, it's all true. I tell you, I don't know where you're from. Depart from me. And in that place, there'll be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God and you yourselves being thrown out. See, those people who heard it never thought that they're going to be thrown out. And God, some of you feel, well, I'll never get thrown out. Well, I hope so. But don't be so cocksure. If you are humble of mind, I can guarantee you'll enter in. It all depends on your thoughts about yourself. What do you think about yourself in relation to other people in this church and in other churches? If you have low thoughts about yourself, you go in. If you have high thoughts about yourself, you get stuck in the narrow gate. So Jesus said, you know, there are going to be people coming from the east and the west and north and south and sit at the table of the kingdom of God and some who are lost, who you think are lost today. When you think of some names in the telephone list, ah, those are, nobody cares for them. Lost. You may get a surprise. You may find them to be first. And some who are first will be lost. Not all. It doesn't say all who are lost will be first and all who are first will be lost. No. But some who are lost will be first. Some who are first will be last. Some who were considered, you know, some of the senior brothers and some of the fine young brothers and sisters of CFC, they may be, may not even be there.