Begging for a Blessing

I don't care how long you've been down in the gutter as a man, how long you've been defeated as a man, Jesus Christ is standing over you today saying, get up. Dr. Tony Evans says you've been positioned by God for a special purpose.

So it's time to take your stand. and being the man and father God has called you to be. This is the alternative broadcast, featuring the timeless biblical teachings from the archives of Dr. Tony Evans. Blessings come from God.

But not just from God. Today, Dr. Evans will touch on the importance of the blessings we pass on and what to do if they were never passed on to us. Let's join him as he begins. In our passage today, we have a son.

Begging for the blessing of his father. Esau is begging. For a blessing.

Now, you must strip your mind about. The casual use of the word bless. We say, you know, God bless you, I bless you. We use the word fairly casually today many times. But when Esau was asking Daddy to bless him, he wasn't just saying, Daddy, say, I bless you.

No, the blessing was speaking about something else. Yeah. It was speaking about. the continuity of the covenant. A symbol for the word blessing was Covenantal continuity.

It is my hope that every head of a household here has a will. If you do not have a will, you're not operating responsibly. A will simply says, this is what I want to happen with what I've been entrusted with to pass on to the next generation. Not having a will is not going to keep you from dying. Many people say, well, I don't like to deal with wills because it reminds me of death.

Well, you need to be reminded. It is the point of the man once to die, and after that, the judgment. It is irresponsible not to have a plan that you make rather than a plan that some court makes for you.

So a will is bequeathing Forward. That which you have accumulated in your time on earth, you will it forward. A will speaks of an inheritance. Usually related to stuff. All of us as parents should want our children to be better off than we are.

The problem is. that we only think of better off in terms of stuff. We think of better off in terms of money or clothes or housing or the other physical features of life. And certainly inheritances include that. But the blessing in the Bible, while it included stuff, included much more because the blessing included the divine stamp.

That was placed on the next generation from the previous generation. And in the scripture, you lived and you looked. for the blessing. In our story. Jacob the younger wants the blessing.

So he concocts a plan with his mother, Rebecca. To steal? The blessing from the older son. Esau. And so while Esau went out to hunt, to get food in order to bring it back to his father for him to get the blessing.

Rebecca told Jacob, look, what you do is you go get me a goat. I'll cook the meal. You go put on your brother's clothes because your father can't see. It says his eyes were dim. He won't be able to see.

You go in there with your brother's clothes and you bring the meal that your brother's supposed to bring and let him bless you.

So he goes, puts on his brother's clothes. He walks in. His father, I Isaac says, who's that? Who's that? Who's that?

And Jacob says, no, it's me, it's Esau. Your oldest son. He says, come close to me. He says, now you feel like Esau, but you sound like Jacob. And so he blesses him.

I'll talk about that in a moment. All I want you to get now is how critical the blessing was. He was willing to join partners with his mama. Against his daddy. in order to get it.

Because this thing involved his future. Throughout the Bible, God praises Jacob and not Esau. Even though Jacob is doing the wrong thing. The question is why?

Well, you need chapter 25 to answer that. If you go back a page. to chapter 25. Verse 27. When the boys grew up, So they're younger in chapter 25.

When the boys grew up, Esau became a skillful hunter. A man of the field. Jacob was a peaceful man living in tents.

Now, Isaac loved Esau because he had a taste for game, because he's the athlete, and Rebekah loved Jacob. When Jacob had cooked stew, Esau came in from the field and was famished, starving.

So Esau says to Jacob, verse 30, please let... Me have a swallow of that red stuff there. For I am famished. Verse 31: Jacob says, First, sell me your birthright. Sell me the rights of the firstborn and I give you something to eat.

Esau said, Behold, I'm about to die. I'm so hungry.

So, of what use is a birthright to me if I'm a starve to death? And Jacob said, first swear to me that you'll give me your birthright. The rights of the firstborn.

So he swore to him and sold his birthright to Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and he ate and drank and rose and went on his way. Here it is. Thus Esau despised his birthright. Esau thought so little of his birthright.

He was willing to give it up for some food. As far as Esau was concerned, stay with me. There was no connection between my birthright and my blessing. My birthright is over here and my blessing is over there. But when you read Hebrews chapter 12, verses 16 and 17, it says, Don't be like the immoral, godless Esau.

Who sold his birthright for food. In other words, The problem with Esau is he was only present oriented. He only wanted what he wanted now because he wasn't thinking about the future later. He says, I'm hungry now. I want some food now.

Give it to me now. And I'll deal with later when later comes because I'm starving right now. One of the problems we have among men is they are present-oriented. I'm not happy now. I don't want the responsibility now.

It's all about now. It's not all about now, it is about you passing. Passing forward the blessing. That is The divine statement of God from you to you and through you because you are future oriented. But far too many men are present oriented.

And so, because they do not think beyond themselves, they abandon their families, abandon their children, become irresponsible, refuse to turn around because they are abandoning the blessing. Which is future-oriented. He just wanted food now. He says, Father, bless me. Because that's what the father is supposed to do, he's supposed to pass.

Yeah. Pass on God to me and all the stuff that goes with that, but pass that on to me.

Now, what did the blessing include? In chapter 27, we're told. He says, here's the blessing, my son. Verse 28 and 29. May God give you of the dew of heaven, of the fatness of earth, of the abundance of grain and wine.

May people serve you. and nations bow down to you. May you be master of your brethren, and may your mother's sons bow down to you. Cursed is he who curses you, and blessed are those who bless you. God reached all the way back to the Abrahamic covenant.

Abraham passed that on to Isaac. Isaac is now passing it on to Jacob, where it should have been passed on to Esau, who turned away his birthright. The blessing was. Future inheritance from God. Please notice the language.

May God do this, may God do that, may God do this, may God do that. See, that's where the blessing is missing. We're just saying, I want you to do this, and I want you to do that. Oh, you wanna be a doctor, you wanna be a lawyer, you wanna be an engineer, you wanna be a teacher. Nothing wrong with that, but the blessing was what God would do.

I want God to do this. I want God to do that. I want God to do the other. I want God. It was about God, God, God, God, God.

Not just what I want for you or what you want for you, but what God wants for you. That was the blessing. Because it would happen because of God. At the heart of the blessing. was passing on divine favor.

Notice the content of the favor. The content of the favor is that God is going to set things up for you. God is going to go in front of you. And when He does that, You will be master, he says. People will serve you.

I love being a man. I simply wake up in the morning. Excited to be a man.

Okay, now let me tell you why I love being a man. I love being a man because I get the name things. See, before there was a woman and before there was children, God told Adam to name things. says, God brought the animals to Adam. and whatever he named them.

That was its name. God didn't name them, God brought them. Which is what's wrong with prosperity theology, because that tells you to name things God didn't bring.

So that's not what I'm talking about. But God brought the animals and he named them. He called the elephants and the dogs and the cats and the anteaters and he named them and whatever he named them, that was his name. He even named his woman. Yeah.

Because God brought Eve and he said she shall be called.

So he's been naming things. That's why you should be proud to ladies to carry your husband's name because he's supposed to name you. Yeah. When a man is operating under the blessing and under the covenant and under the rule of God, he gets to name things. and master things.

Within the sphere of his calling, not anything, within the sphere of what God brings, but God has to bring it. And when you bless the next generation, you're giving God permission to bring it. For their good. It was a declaration of divine favor, of divine provision, of divine protection, and of divine dominion. Dr.

Evans will return with more of our message in just a moment, including a look at why so many of us are still begging for our blessings. First though, today's message is part of Tony's current series, The Spiritual Toolkit. This 10-lesson collection will help get you equipped for real success, genuine freedom, spiritual victory, and deliverance. And it includes content we won't have time to bring you on the air. Right now, you can get the Spiritual Toolkit as our gift when you come alongside Tony's ministry and make a contribution to help keep his messages coming your way on this station.

And for a limited time, you can also receive a special bonus resource, Dr. Evans' powerful book, Free at Last, designed to help you break free from spiritual strongholds and live in the identity Christ has secured for you. Contact us right away to make the arrangements at tonyevans.org or give us a call at 1-800-800-3222. I'll repeat that contact information for you after part two of today's lesson. Here's Dr.

Evans. Whenever you see a caterpillar. It's got a glorious future.

Now I know what you're looking at right now ain't much. When I think cocoons, it's going to be pretty. And it's going to take flight. We've got a generation of children who don't take flight. They're still crawling.

Because they've never been blessed. They've never had The blessings stand over them. to affirm them and to speak God into them, not just stuff for them, but God into them. who will bring them the appropriate stuff. Your will must be more than stuff.

My will must be more than stuff. It must be God. and the transfer of divine favor. No, that's a problem. The problem is.

How do you reverse? A curse into a blessing. Deuteronomy 25, 5 says, God turns curses into blessings. Perhaps you were raised and you feel like. You've been living under a curse as a man.

You've been living not under divine favor. As a man. God turns curses into blessings. I love the story of Jabaz in 1 Chronicles. Chapter 4, verses.

Nine and ten. All you hear about is Jabaz's mother. No no mention of his father. As far as we know, he's the son of a single parent. And his name means pain.

Jabaz means pain. He was in pain. Every time you called his name Jabaz, he's hearing the word pain because that's what it means. It says he was born in pain. We don't know what the pain was.

We don't know how long the pain lasted, but it became his identity. Because that's what you call it. Every time you looked at him, you said, pain, pain.

So he was living an unblessed life. For whatever reason. And then he prayed this prayer. Lord bless me indeed. Because even though he didn't have an earthly father to bless him, he had a heavenly father who could.

And he said, bless me indeed. You know what he was saying? With indeed I was made for more than this. I was made to be more than this. I was made to live a better life than this.

I'm not satisfied with my human name. Pain. He says, expand my borders. He was saying to God, I'm not satisfied. with my station in life.

Give me more capacity. I was made for more than this. Oh, that you would be with me, he says. I can't do this without you. This has got to be God-centered.

Keep me from evil. Put a restraining order on the devil. You know the beautiful part about that? It says, and God answered his prayer. And God answered his prayer.

When I was growing up in Baltimore, We went duck pin bowling. I don't do much of that anymore. Duckpin bowling. is with the small ball. Uh not the big one you put your fingers in and the small one in.

And it was the Lafayette Bowling Alley.

So once a month on Saturday, we would go there.

Now things were pretty... Rinky Dink. Back in the hood, okay, it wasn't this wasn't high class bowling. And a lot of times machines didn't fully work.

So, it wasn't sophisticated as it today. And so, pins.

Sometimes all of them wouldn't get picked up.

So some would still be laying down. Other time, the machine would pick them up and one would drop out of it and fall back down. I told you, this is. The neighborhood, all right?

So we went duck, but you know what? There was this guy.

Now you couldn't see him, all you could see is his feet. And all he went was from lane to lane, picking up pins that the machine couldn't get.

So he runs into this lane, running to that lane, running to this lane. He's picking up stuff that got knocked down. And that the machine couldn't pick up, sold the next person to bowl. I don't care how long you've been knocked down. I know somebody.

Who can pick you back up? and set you right again. Because he wants you to have the blessing. The forward-moving favor of God. commuted to you.

so you can commute it to yours. Hello. all the Rockies, but Really love Rocky V. Rocky is retired because he's gotten bruised and beaten, his eye is bad. You can't fight anymore in Rocky Fighter.

He comes across. A young Upcoming fighter named Tommy Gunn. And Tommy Gunn has admired Rocky Balboa. as he followed his career. And so they meet and become friends.

And he says to Rocky Balboa, Rocket. Italian stallion, will you train me? Mike has seen it.

Well, yeah, I can stay in the fight game by helping you.

So, yeah, I'll train you.

So, Rocky works with him. Tommy Gunn goes up the ladder, up the ladder, up the ladder, and becomes the heavyweight champion of the world due to the influence of Rocky Balboa. The movie comes down to the last 15 minutes. The whole movie zeroes in on that last 15 minutes. See, Tommy Gunn has now become the champion of the world and has gotten to his head.

So he's gotten a lot of money there and he's got a lot of attention, a lot of notoriety in the news.

So Tommy Gunn is... is living large and he doesn't need rock anymore. In fact, he gets belligerent with Rocky. In that last 15 minutes, they're in a gathering and Tommy Gunn. Hits.

Rocky Balboas. Wife's husband, his brother-in-law. I mean, he clocks them and knocks them down because of some argument they were having. Then Tommy Gunn insults Rocky and insults Rocky's son. Then Tommy Gunn dares Rocky to do anything about it.

Rocky tears off his shirt. And the rumble begins. They out in the street fighting each other. It's a street fight. The problem is, Tommy Gunn is too young, too strong, and too fast.

And so while Rocky is doing the best he can, he can't keep up with this young guy. And so it comes down to a punch that Tommy Gunn throws, and he hits Rocky and he sends Rocky down in the gutter, beating man. While in the gutter. While down and out. Rocky remembers.

Up on the screen above his head, it shows what he's thinking.

So he thinks back to Rocky I and Rocky II. And he remembers Apollo Creed. And how he fought. and became champions of the world. And when he remembered Apollo Creed, he tried to get up, but he couldn't.

Then he remembered Club Align. Rocket 3. And how Clubberlang had beaten him, but how he fought back. To win back the championship. And when he remembered, he tried to get up, but he couldn't.

Then he remembered Ivan Dlagov. And how we went over? To Russia. And he defeated him on his own terse. And he remembered that, and he tried to get up, but he couldn't.

But then he remembered somebody else. He remembered his old coach Mickey.

Now Mickey had died in Rocket Fall. But Mickey was already there. But he remembers Mickey. When Mickey was standing over him saying, Get up! Get up.

Cause Mickey loves you.

Now that's when the music came on. Dum dun dum dun dun dun said the dumb. Dun dun dun dun dun dun. Music comes on, and Rocky Balboa stands up. He shakes it off.

Tommy Gunn is walking off in the distance. Rocky Balboa looks in the distance and says, Yo! Come A. One more round. He He found strength he didn't have and power he didn't possess.

And he was able to defeat the young buck. Why was he able to defeat him? Because he remembered somebody who had died, who had then come alive again. to remind him of what he could do. I don't care how long you've been down in the gutter as a man.

How long you've been defeated as a man? Jesus Christ is standing over you today saying, get up. Get up! Because Jesus loves you.

So it's time to take your stand. And being the man and father. God has called you to be. Dr. Tony Evans, talking about the power of the blessing that grows out of our connection with Christ, and a lesson he calls begging for a blessing.

Now, if you'd like to review the full-length version of this message, including material we didn't have time to air today, it's included as a part of the powerful 10-part sermon series, The Spiritual Toolkit. As I mentioned earlier, the complete collection is yours as our gift when you make a donation to help us keep Tony's teaching on this station. For a limited time, along with the 10 messages, we'll also include Dr. Evans' book, Free at Last, a powerful guide to experiencing spiritual liberation and walking in the freedom Christ provides. Just visit tonyevans.org to make the arrangements before this special offer runs out.

Again, that's tonyevans.org. Or reach out to our resource center at 1-800-800-3222. Team members are standing by to help you day and night. Again, that's 1-800-800-3222. Yeah.

When we have pain, we want it to stop. When we're in trouble, we want it to end. We call that victory.

Well, God calls it victory too. But tomorrow Dr. Evans will point out it can mean even more than that. I hope you'll join us.