WEBVTT 00:00:04.320 --> 00:00:09.839 For those of you that were here last week, there's a hazard preacher. 00:00:10.000 --> 00:00:15.119 Uh Neil got stuck in a stall in the bathroom. 00:00:15.919 --> 00:00:18.239 I think we had to get the jaws of life or something to get him in. 00:00:18.800 --> 00:00:25.280 So I didn't go to the bathroom before this, so uh I it might be a shorter message than normal. 00:00:26.879 --> 00:00:27.760 That's great. 00:00:28.079 --> 00:00:29.600 Oh, that's so great. 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:32.560 Brother, you know who you are. 00:00:33.039 --> 00:00:34.960 Yeah, there's no one behind you. 00:00:35.280 --> 00:00:40.799 By the way, I want you to pay attention to me for the next little bit, but Paul Queen is in the house. 00:00:46.240 --> 00:00:47.840 See, now you're gonna get mobbed. 00:00:47.920 --> 00:00:48.399 I love it. 00:00:48.560 --> 00:00:55.119 So, anyways, but I I didn't want almost didn't want to tell you that because I'm like, no, no one's gonna pay attention to me. 00:00:55.200 --> 00:00:56.960 So, all right. 00:00:57.200 --> 00:01:04.000 Well, we are in the beginning parts of a sermon series that we've called Faith, Hope, and Love. 00:01:04.319 --> 00:01:08.239 And I really appreciated the introduction Tyler gave to it last week. 00:01:08.400 --> 00:01:12.640 You know, we don't just throw a dart at the Bible and say, let's preach on this. 00:01:12.799 --> 00:01:13.760 We don't do that. 00:01:14.000 --> 00:01:16.159 We actually prayerfully go before the Lord. 00:01:16.239 --> 00:01:20.799 And we usually do this during our retreat, our pastor's retreat in October. 00:01:21.040 --> 00:01:25.359 And last in last October, when we really, it was really good. 00:01:25.439 --> 00:01:31.840 We spent a lot of time praying, and we got this phrase that strengthened Christians are best equipped for crisis. 00:01:32.159 --> 00:01:34.799 And that's really been driving everything we preached about. 00:01:34.959 --> 00:01:42.560 In fact, a lot of you remember, should remember, hopefully remember, the series we just went through, the book of Ephesians, in Christ. 00:01:42.799 --> 00:01:44.000 And that was really powerful. 00:01:44.159 --> 00:01:45.599 Foundational stuff. 00:01:45.920 --> 00:01:46.959 Foundational stuff. 00:01:47.120 --> 00:01:51.840 And so we really believe that faith, hope, and love, these are the pillars of our faith. 00:01:52.079 --> 00:01:53.920 These are pillars of every Christian. 00:01:54.000 --> 00:01:56.079 And so we're going through a series on that. 00:01:56.239 --> 00:02:01.760 And Neil did a great job of kicking that off last week after he got out of the bathroom stall. 00:02:02.000 --> 00:02:04.480 Uh just a wonderful job. 00:02:04.560 --> 00:02:06.319 And and and I love the three points. 00:02:06.400 --> 00:02:12.960 He said, faith is being fully persuaded, faith trusts, and faith works. 00:02:13.599 --> 00:02:17.919 And by the way, if you missed last week, I got to tell you something. 00:02:18.000 --> 00:02:18.960 It's a little secret. 00:02:19.120 --> 00:02:22.000 You can go online and listen to the sermons after. 00:02:22.400 --> 00:02:26.080 I mean, they're on Facebook, they're on YouTube, they're all over the place, right? 00:02:26.159 --> 00:02:28.319 So they're on our website, you can get a link there. 00:02:28.479 --> 00:02:33.039 So please look at go and listen to those messages because they really build on each other. 00:02:33.199 --> 00:02:39.520 And in fact, what he taught about last week will really come into play when we talk about today's message. 00:02:39.759 --> 00:02:46.479 So we are focusing on the faith part, and our key text is Hebrews 11. 00:02:46.719 --> 00:02:53.680 Now, in chapter 11, the writer of Hebrews begins by giving the reader a definition of faith, and Neil really set that up beautifully, right? 00:02:53.840 --> 00:02:54.800 And it was really good. 00:02:54.879 --> 00:03:00.560 And he he referred to it the term the hall of faith, the hall of faith. 00:03:00.639 --> 00:03:07.280 And that's all these people that the writer of Hebrews now talks about as examples of what faith is. 00:03:07.599 --> 00:03:09.199 And that's exciting, by the way. 00:03:09.360 --> 00:03:14.080 And I get to speak about the first guy, and this happens to be Abel. 00:03:14.719 --> 00:03:15.280 Abel. 00:03:15.439 --> 00:03:18.159 He's one of the sons of Adam and Eve. 00:03:18.319 --> 00:03:20.639 And so we're going to talk about Abel's faith today. 00:03:20.719 --> 00:03:26.319 Now, the writer focused on faith, Abel's faith in relation to the offering that he brought to God. 00:03:26.560 --> 00:03:29.280 And he contrasts that with his brother Cain's offering. 00:03:29.439 --> 00:03:31.120 Of course, a lot of you are already familiar with that. 00:03:31.199 --> 00:03:31.919 You understand that. 00:03:32.080 --> 00:03:35.360 So I want to read the first four verses of Hebrews. 00:03:35.520 --> 00:03:40.400 Again, we're going to focus on verse four, but I want to read the whole part just to get in context. 00:03:40.479 --> 00:03:41.599 It won't take long. 00:03:41.840 --> 00:03:43.759 So, Hebrews 11, verse 1. 00:03:43.840 --> 00:03:54.159 Now, faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen, for by it the people of old received their commendation. 00:03:54.400 --> 00:03:58.639 By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God. 00:03:58.960 --> 00:04:01.280 Why, we need to tell a lot of people that one, don't we? 00:04:02.159 --> 00:04:07.039 By the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible. 00:04:07.280 --> 00:04:09.199 And then verse 4, our key text. 00:04:09.360 --> 00:04:17.839 By faith, Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous. 00:04:18.079 --> 00:04:26.000 God commending him by accepting his gifts, and through his faith, though he died, he still speaks. 00:04:26.560 --> 00:04:30.720 You know, today what we're going to do is we're going to look closely at the faith of Abel. 00:04:32.160 --> 00:04:40.240 And what we're going to do to do that, we have to go back and actually look at what this the writer of Hebrews is referencing, which is Genesis chapter 4. 00:04:40.480 --> 00:04:47.040 And by looking at this, we're going to first see clearly why Abel's offering was considered an act of faith. 00:04:47.279 --> 00:05:01.360 And secondly, we're going to see how, as believers today, we can also demonstrate the same faith as Abel did as it pertains to our offering of our lives, the offering of our treasures, and the offering of the gifts God gives us. 00:05:02.000 --> 00:05:02.560 You with me? 00:05:03.040 --> 00:05:03.519 Let's pray. 00:05:03.680 --> 00:05:05.600 Father, we thank you so much for your word. 00:05:06.399 --> 00:05:09.040 We thank you for this hall of faith. 00:05:09.600 --> 00:05:15.120 Father, too many people are venerated in our society as being great and they're not. 00:05:15.519 --> 00:05:28.560 But we have preserved for us in this chapter the beautiful examples of people who acted in faith so that we can read and learn from them and in turn play that out in our lives in our faith with your strength. 00:05:28.720 --> 00:05:35.600 So, Father, I pray that we all become convicted by this truth and we give you the gracious glory for the fact that it's preserved for us. 00:05:35.759 --> 00:05:37.360 And I pray this in Jesus' name. 00:05:37.600 --> 00:05:39.040 Everybody said, Amen. 00:05:39.199 --> 00:05:39.519 Amen. 00:05:39.680 --> 00:05:40.000 All right. 00:05:40.079 --> 00:05:43.199 So if you've got your Bibles, you don't need it because it's going to be on the screen. 00:05:43.360 --> 00:05:44.000 Just kidding. 00:05:44.079 --> 00:05:44.959 Bring your Bibles out. 00:05:45.040 --> 00:05:45.759 Open them up. 00:05:46.240 --> 00:05:49.759 We're going to go straight and talk about the story of Cain and Abel. 00:05:49.920 --> 00:05:56.879 And we want to get a clear understanding of why the writer of Hebrews said this was an example of faith. 00:05:57.199 --> 00:06:03.759 So, by the way, you have to understand that the writer of Hebrews, we always say the writer of Hebrews because we really don't know who that is, right? 00:06:04.000 --> 00:06:07.120 Everybody's got their theory, but we don't know. 00:06:07.199 --> 00:06:09.120 But he had something that you have. 00:06:09.600 --> 00:06:10.720 He had the Torah. 00:06:11.360 --> 00:06:12.639 And that's what we have. 00:06:12.800 --> 00:06:15.759 So what we're going, we're literally reading what he read, okay? 00:06:16.079 --> 00:06:20.959 But because what he said here was inspired by God, we know that it was an act of faith. 00:06:21.040 --> 00:06:24.399 So we're going to go and look what he read and why he said what he did. 00:06:24.560 --> 00:06:28.160 So in Genesis 4, verses 1 through 5, we're going to read this. 00:06:28.399 --> 00:06:36.560 Now Adam knew Eve, his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, I have gotten a man with the help of the Lord. 00:06:36.879 --> 00:06:45.360 By the way, there's some commentators believe that she actually thought that this baby, this first child she had, was going to be the Messiah. 00:06:45.519 --> 00:06:47.120 And that's one of the reasons she said this. 00:06:47.279 --> 00:06:49.120 Obviously, that didn't work out. 00:06:51.120 --> 00:06:52.560 So verse 2. 00:06:52.879 --> 00:06:55.199 And again she bore his brother Abel. 00:06:55.360 --> 00:06:59.439 Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground. 00:06:59.680 --> 00:07:10.319 Verse 3 In the course of time, Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground, and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. 00:07:10.720 --> 00:07:17.279 And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. 00:07:17.839 --> 00:07:21.279 So Cain was very angry and fell on his face. 00:07:22.079 --> 00:07:24.480 So let's set a little bit of background here. 00:07:24.639 --> 00:07:36.560 The first thing you need to remember, and we all need to remember, is that this is actually the first time in God's word we see any reference to man worshiping God through sacrifice. 00:07:36.879 --> 00:07:38.639 It's the very first time we have that. 00:07:38.879 --> 00:07:51.439 In fact, in chapter three, chapter three ends with that terrible day, Adam and Eve's fall, when they're banished from the garden, and that flaming sword is put on the east entrance. 00:07:51.600 --> 00:07:54.959 Have you ever thought, by the way, why did it say the east entrance? 00:07:55.199 --> 00:07:58.000 That kind of indicates there might be a north, south, and west. 00:07:58.560 --> 00:08:01.199 I've always wondered that, but the Bible doesn't tell me. 00:08:01.279 --> 00:08:03.040 But I that's one of my questions I want to ask God. 00:08:03.199 --> 00:08:05.360 Could they have not snuck in the south entrance? 00:08:05.600 --> 00:08:07.920 No, I think there was a sword there too. 00:08:08.319 --> 00:08:21.839 But listen, one of the things we can pull from this is that apparently between the time that they were driven out and the time of this story, God had somehow communicated to mankind how they were supposed to worship him. 00:08:22.079 --> 00:08:22.399 Yeah. 00:08:22.800 --> 00:08:24.560 Because they brought an offering. 00:08:24.720 --> 00:08:29.360 I don't think they just sat around one day and said, you know, we should do try to placate God. 00:08:29.439 --> 00:08:31.360 Let's let's kill something. 00:08:31.600 --> 00:08:33.519 I just don't think that's what happened. 00:08:33.759 --> 00:08:36.399 I think there were instructions because they both did it. 00:08:36.559 --> 00:08:38.480 I think Adam and Eve did this. 00:08:38.720 --> 00:08:43.919 And I think Cain and Abel grew up watching Adam and Eve give a sacrifice to the Lord. 00:08:44.240 --> 00:08:49.279 So it's obvious then that they would have been taught to do this. 00:08:49.679 --> 00:08:58.480 Um, and we also know that the instructions about the offering must have been commanded to bring them the fruit of their labor because that's what they had, right? 00:08:58.639 --> 00:09:01.360 There was, there was, I don't think there was any money around at this time. 00:09:01.519 --> 00:09:05.039 Obviously, it was what they what they what they grew from the land. 00:09:05.200 --> 00:09:13.759 And remember, God's instruction to Adam was go and you know, you're supposed to, you have dominion over the land, right? 00:09:13.919 --> 00:09:19.679 To be fruitful and multiply, not just in children, but of course in the land itself. 00:09:20.000 --> 00:09:23.759 So it says that Cain was a worker of the ground. 00:09:24.080 --> 00:09:25.919 He was a farmer, basically. 00:09:26.159 --> 00:09:32.240 Now, a lot of you probably know I grew up in Saskatchewan, Canada, in some of the richest farmland in the world. 00:09:32.399 --> 00:09:35.440 So I grew up with crops being raised all around me. 00:09:35.519 --> 00:09:41.120 Our house literally was just surrounded by fields of grain, canola, all you name it, flax. 00:09:41.200 --> 00:09:44.000 We had all kinds of grain crops that were being grown. 00:09:44.720 --> 00:09:48.080 My sister, by the way, married a farmer, and they're very successful. 00:09:48.320 --> 00:09:58.320 In fact, we went there uh uh back in May, we went and got to see them again, and it was just a lot of memories when you go back to your old place, right, and see all the all the things that were familiar growing up. 00:09:58.559 --> 00:10:01.360 By the way, you do know the definition of a farmer, right? 00:10:01.840 --> 00:10:04.480 Farmer is a man outstanding in his field. 00:10:05.360 --> 00:10:06.799 That's the only dad joke. 00:10:06.960 --> 00:10:08.320 That's the only one I'm doing, Tyler. 00:10:08.559 --> 00:10:09.519 Don't don't hit me for that. 00:10:09.600 --> 00:10:09.840 Just one. 00:10:09.919 --> 00:10:10.399 That's all I got. 00:10:10.960 --> 00:10:11.759 I'm allowed one. 00:10:15.759 --> 00:10:16.399 Yeah. 00:10:16.879 --> 00:10:18.000 Now, who was Abel? 00:10:18.080 --> 00:10:18.960 What did he do? 00:10:19.120 --> 00:10:24.320 Well, Abel was obviously a shepherd, and that's why he brought the first fruits from his. 00:10:24.480 --> 00:10:28.559 So, so what does the text kind of tell us about these offerings? 00:10:28.799 --> 00:10:40.960 Well, within the kind of Christian theological circles, there's really three positions that people take with regards to this whole reason why Cain's offering was not accepted and Abel's was. 00:10:41.360 --> 00:10:46.720 And the first one is actually pretty popular, and that is it's the blood sacrifice position. 00:10:46.960 --> 00:10:53.840 And basically, this position states that Cain's offering was the wrong type of offering, and that's why it was rejected. 00:10:54.080 --> 00:11:03.360 So the position suggests that God had already established with Adam and Eve, although we don't see evidence of this in the script, but that an offering must be a blood offering. 00:11:03.519 --> 00:11:05.440 And by the way, I understand that. 00:11:05.759 --> 00:11:09.840 We are saved by the blood of the Lamb, right? 00:11:09.919 --> 00:11:14.639 So we understand, and it even says, without blood there is no forgiveness of sins. 00:11:15.039 --> 00:11:23.600 So it's understandable why we would go to that position, but I just want to kind of throw a couple of questions at you about that. 00:11:23.840 --> 00:11:33.679 You know, when we read the Mosaic Covenant, it talks about um, you know, what what that blood sacrifice should look like for the sacrifice of sins. 00:11:33.840 --> 00:11:41.600 And by the way, some people even say that when God killed the animal to make skins for Adam and Eve, that that was his first sacrifice. 00:11:41.679 --> 00:11:44.240 But of course, why would God sacrifice to him? 00:11:44.480 --> 00:11:48.559 It it's you know, it's just, I'm just saying it's a little bit of a stretch, but that's okay. 00:11:48.720 --> 00:11:54.240 And by the way, it's important to understand there's many words for the word offering in God's word. 00:11:54.720 --> 00:12:01.120 You know, we say Eskimos have like 50 different names and words for the for snow. 00:12:01.360 --> 00:12:06.639 We just call it snow down here, but even where I'm from, it's sleet, it's all you know, all kinds of slush. 00:12:06.720 --> 00:12:07.840 We have all kinds of names for it. 00:12:07.919 --> 00:12:09.120 Well, it's the same thing with offering. 00:12:09.200 --> 00:12:12.960 There were multiple names for Hebrew names for offering. 00:12:13.360 --> 00:12:21.840 And the word that was used for offering, for Cain's offering, was actually a different Hebrew word than the one that was used for Abel's. 00:12:22.320 --> 00:12:27.600 And it's interesting because Cain's was a grain offering, and it was it's a Hebrew word called mincha. 00:12:28.720 --> 00:12:35.440 And basically it means a gift or tribute, often used for grain, cereal, or food offering that does not involve blood. 00:12:35.519 --> 00:12:36.799 It was very specific. 00:12:37.039 --> 00:12:43.360 And for Abel's, of course, it was a different Hebrew word, and that word basically meant a blood offering. 00:12:43.600 --> 00:12:48.879 Okay, so we can see that both offerings were identified as the type of offering that they were brought. 00:12:49.039 --> 00:12:59.440 But I need to ask this question: if God was requiring a blood offering, then why was Cain surprised when his was rejected? 00:13:00.960 --> 00:13:02.240 Just think about that. 00:13:02.799 --> 00:13:10.480 He brought his offering, expecting it to be received, as did Cain, but his, or it as did Abel, but his was rejected. 00:13:10.720 --> 00:13:17.759 And that's the problem I have with this theory that it was just the wrong type of offering, because it makes the assumption that it was supposed to be a sin offering. 00:13:17.919 --> 00:13:20.240 And by the way, if you take that position, it's okay. 00:13:20.399 --> 00:13:20.799 It's okay. 00:13:20.879 --> 00:13:23.840 I just want to show a different, I kind of a different view of this. 00:13:24.159 --> 00:13:31.759 The second position taken about why Cain's offering was rejected is the quality of the offering. 00:13:32.399 --> 00:13:35.039 And this I think has some actual merit. 00:13:35.519 --> 00:13:46.399 Have you ever read through scripture and suddenly you have the same scripture you've read dozens of times, you stop and go, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, I never saw that before. 00:13:46.559 --> 00:13:49.200 Well, that's what happened to me when I was studying this. 00:13:49.600 --> 00:13:57.039 I was actually reading it and then I read a commentary and I went, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, I never saw that before, and it made a lot of sense to me. 00:13:57.440 --> 00:14:10.879 If if you look carefully at what um, if you look carefully at that word that's used there, uh let's see, it's right here, in the course of time. 00:14:11.600 --> 00:14:16.399 In the course of time, that is really significant. 00:14:17.200 --> 00:14:18.559 And I read over that many times. 00:14:18.720 --> 00:14:24.480 In the course of time, like, oh, eventually, you know, he brought an offering, but that's not that's not what happened. 00:14:24.720 --> 00:14:30.080 If you think about it, Abel brought the firstborn of his flock in the fat portions, right? 00:14:30.159 --> 00:14:31.120 That's what he brought. 00:14:31.279 --> 00:14:31.600 Okay. 00:14:32.000 --> 00:14:41.919 And you'll notice it was firstborn, which by the way, that's the most precious part of you know, you're you were instructed to bring the firstborn. 00:14:42.080 --> 00:14:48.159 And the fat portions, again, if you look at the Mosaic law, you'll realize that that was part that he should bring too. 00:14:48.240 --> 00:14:51.519 So that lines up with what we know the Mosaic Law had. 00:14:51.919 --> 00:14:54.480 But Cain's was a little bit different. 00:14:54.639 --> 00:15:00.639 It says, in the course of time, Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground. 00:15:01.039 --> 00:15:03.519 What does that mean in the course of time? 00:15:03.759 --> 00:15:08.639 Well, the Hebrew word used for this phrase means at the end of days. 00:15:09.600 --> 00:15:12.000 Now, look at that a little bit differently now, don't you? 00:15:12.080 --> 00:15:12.639 Wait a second. 00:15:12.799 --> 00:15:13.840 At the end of days? 00:15:14.080 --> 00:15:15.519 At the end of what days? 00:15:15.759 --> 00:15:22.080 Well, the New Living Translation actually translates this way when it was the time for harvest. 00:15:24.159 --> 00:15:24.480 Okay. 00:15:25.200 --> 00:15:27.519 Now, I grew up. 00:15:27.840 --> 00:15:33.120 When harvest started and harvest ended, was not on the same day. 00:15:33.519 --> 00:15:36.320 If it did, those are really bad years. 00:15:36.879 --> 00:15:38.559 Really bad years, right? 00:15:38.720 --> 00:15:41.759 So there was a course of time that the harvest went on. 00:15:42.000 --> 00:15:47.759 Thinking logically, Cain could not bring any offering of his crops until the harvest started, right? 00:15:48.399 --> 00:15:53.600 But it says in the course of time, it would take time to fully gather this all in. 00:15:54.240 --> 00:16:04.960 So it seems like from the description of Cain's offering, that the text seems to indicate, because you notice it doesn't say Cain brought his first fruits. 00:16:05.360 --> 00:16:10.720 It just says he brought from his harvest, he brought an offering of grain. 00:16:11.679 --> 00:16:22.240 So it seems that you can make a really strong case for the fact that Cain did bring an offering, but it wasn't from the first part of his harvest, it was from the end. 00:16:23.360 --> 00:16:27.759 And he used the stuff, the harvest from the beginning. 00:16:28.480 --> 00:16:36.639 And when you begin to think about that, you begin realizing, okay, maybe we start to get a clearer picture of why his offering was rejected. 00:16:36.720 --> 00:16:45.679 Because number one, he didn't, if he truly didn't, and again, it doesn't say the first fruits of his harvest, so it seems to indicate he didn't bring that along. 00:16:46.080 --> 00:16:52.559 Now, this story takes place long before the sacrificial laws were given to Israel as part of the Mosaic covenant. 00:16:53.039 --> 00:17:02.879 However, just thinking about this, it would only stand to reason that some of the core requirements that God gives and gave in the Mosaic covenant would apply to here. 00:17:02.960 --> 00:17:09.839 Why would God change between what he told them and what, you know, what he told Adam and Eve versus what he told the Israelites? 00:17:10.000 --> 00:17:16.880 And in Leviticus 2, Moses tells the people that God's expectations for a grain offering were very, very specific. 00:17:17.119 --> 00:17:21.279 I know we've, if you've read the Bible through, we all love going through Leviticus, don't we? 00:17:22.799 --> 00:17:27.119 But it says in Leviticus 2, he goes into great detail about the grain. 00:17:27.200 --> 00:17:30.720 He talks about fine flour and oil and frankincense. 00:17:30.880 --> 00:17:34.240 And then look what he says in verse 12 of Leviticus 2. 00:17:34.319 --> 00:17:38.640 He says, as an offering of firstfruits, you shall bring them to the Lord. 00:17:38.799 --> 00:17:40.559 The context is in the grain. 00:17:40.880 --> 00:17:48.640 So it's pretty evident that in the Mosaic law, when you brought a grain offering, it had to be the first fruit, the first part of it. 00:17:48.880 --> 00:17:50.319 It was symbolic. 00:17:50.799 --> 00:18:01.119 And again, I think because of that, it was pretty evident that we have Cain bringing an offering that wasn't of the first fruits. 00:18:01.839 --> 00:18:06.480 And so over that course of time, he did this at the end, and that shows a heart. 00:18:06.720 --> 00:18:09.359 And I think this position has more scriptural backing. 00:18:09.440 --> 00:18:14.640 However, it really only deals with the result of, I think, an even bigger problem with Cain. 00:18:14.720 --> 00:18:16.720 And that leads to the third position. 00:18:16.960 --> 00:18:20.400 And that third position is called the heart and faith position. 00:18:21.920 --> 00:18:30.160 This position states that the primary reason Cain's offering was rejected was because he offered it with an evil heart and no faith. 00:18:31.039 --> 00:18:33.839 And I'm telling you, there's a lot of evidence for this. 00:18:34.079 --> 00:18:38.160 I believe the core text in Hebrews really talks about that. 00:18:38.319 --> 00:18:49.599 If you look again at Hebrews 4 or 11, verse 4, he says, By faith, Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain. 00:18:50.240 --> 00:18:51.200 By faith. 00:18:51.599 --> 00:18:57.440 Through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. 00:18:57.680 --> 00:19:01.759 God commended him by accepting the offering. 00:19:04.559 --> 00:19:07.279 And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks. 00:19:07.440 --> 00:19:13.839 I think the writer of Hebrews making it very clear that Abel's faith was what made his offering more acceptable. 00:19:14.079 --> 00:19:21.599 Not only was it the right offering, according to the laws that God had given them about offerings, but it was in faith. 00:19:27.119 --> 00:19:30.480 That whole verse is sandwiched with faith. 00:19:30.880 --> 00:19:34.079 I mean it starts with, by faith, Abel offered to God. 00:19:34.240 --> 00:19:40.079 And then at the bottom, at the end of that verse, it says, Through his faith, though he died, he still speaks. 00:19:40.640 --> 00:19:44.480 It's faith is just saturated in this in this verse. 00:19:44.720 --> 00:19:47.200 Because of course the whole chapter is saturated with faith. 00:19:47.279 --> 00:19:50.000 But that's what he's saying, what was important about the offering. 00:19:50.240 --> 00:19:57.680 So I believe the account in Genesis also ports this based upon what it says at the end of verse 4 and going into verse 5 of Genesis 4. 00:19:57.759 --> 00:20:02.480 Now listen to this really carefully, because I read over this a couple of times too fast. 00:20:03.119 --> 00:20:12.720 Genesis, the end of Genesis 4, verse 4 is this, and the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. 00:20:16.000 --> 00:20:17.440 Think about what he said. 00:20:18.559 --> 00:20:25.200 And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering. 00:20:26.000 --> 00:20:30.160 And he had no regard for Cain and his offering. 00:20:30.480 --> 00:20:33.759 Do you and I not know that God can see our hearts? 00:20:35.200 --> 00:20:36.880 God can see their hearts. 00:20:38.000 --> 00:20:39.599 God can see their hearts. 00:20:43.839 --> 00:20:44.720 And that's important. 00:20:44.880 --> 00:20:54.720 The emphasis of the writer of Hebrews is not necessarily fixated so much on the offering itself, but on the faith of the one giving the offering. 00:20:54.960 --> 00:20:57.200 And I think about the widow with two mites. 00:20:58.000 --> 00:20:59.440 That's all she had. 00:21:00.000 --> 00:21:02.079 And she gave it in faith. 00:21:02.880 --> 00:21:05.680 And that's why Jesus pulled it out. 00:21:06.319 --> 00:21:08.079 She was not going to get anything for that. 00:21:08.160 --> 00:21:12.559 She wasn't getting any recognized recognition from anybody there watching the money going in. 00:21:12.720 --> 00:21:14.319 She gave it in faith. 00:21:14.720 --> 00:21:18.319 Her last, probably her last two mites of any. 00:21:18.799 --> 00:21:20.240 I mean, that's all she had. 00:21:22.160 --> 00:21:31.200 I believe this verse is making it really clear that Abel's offering was accepted by God, not because it was the right sacrifice, although it was, because he gave it in faith. 00:21:31.359 --> 00:21:35.039 You know, put this in kind of a metaphorical sense, you know, the whole cart before the horse. 00:21:35.119 --> 00:21:36.480 We hear that metaphor all the time. 00:21:36.640 --> 00:21:38.559 Don't put the cart before the horse. 00:21:38.799 --> 00:21:41.519 Well, I think this is kind of the same thing. 00:21:42.240 --> 00:21:48.720 Abel, Abel's offering didn't make him righteous, he was already righteous in the sight of God. 00:21:49.119 --> 00:21:54.880 And therefore his offering was given in that heart with that faith. 00:21:55.599 --> 00:21:59.759 John Calvin, in his commentary on Hebrew, says Abel's offering was merely the outcome. 00:22:00.640 --> 00:22:03.359 Evidence of internal faith. 00:22:04.640 --> 00:22:15.759 And to further prove this through scriptures that speak about Cain, I'm going to roll out a couple of scriptures in the New Testament that are, let's just say, are not very favorable to our friend Cain. 00:22:16.319 --> 00:22:17.599 The Apostle John. 00:22:17.759 --> 00:22:22.799 So in 1 John, we know the Apostle John was the apostle of love, right? 00:22:22.880 --> 00:22:24.079 Everybody talks about that, right? 00:22:24.319 --> 00:22:31.200 So in 1 John 3, verse 12, he's talking in 1 John 3 about loving the love for one another that we should have. 00:22:31.359 --> 00:22:33.039 And look what he says. 00:22:47.039 --> 00:22:58.400 See the significance of this statement, and then what we read is that Cain was already in a degenerative state way before the offering. 00:22:59.200 --> 00:23:00.960 Way before the offering. 00:23:01.440 --> 00:23:07.599 He had somehow allowed himself to go down that path where the enemy had been working on him and working on him. 00:23:07.680 --> 00:23:11.119 And you know, we know that we see what happened in the Garden of Eden. 00:23:11.440 --> 00:23:13.440 We know that Satan and his demons weren't going to let you go. 00:23:13.519 --> 00:23:15.680 And he had that fallen nature now to deal with. 00:23:15.839 --> 00:23:17.359 And all of that pounded onto him. 00:23:17.440 --> 00:23:21.039 And he was in the wrong mindset when he first even brought the offering. 00:23:21.119 --> 00:23:24.559 In fact, when he selected the offering, he he got the wrong one. 00:23:24.799 --> 00:23:27.200 He brought the wrong, he brought the stuff at the end. 00:23:27.440 --> 00:23:31.440 He brought the wrong offering and he brought it with the wrong heart. 00:23:31.680 --> 00:23:33.359 And it's so clear. 00:23:33.599 --> 00:23:34.640 It's so clear. 00:23:34.880 --> 00:23:36.160 How about Jude? 00:23:36.799 --> 00:23:37.759 Hey, Jude. 00:23:38.079 --> 00:23:38.319 Okay. 00:23:38.480 --> 00:23:43.039 If you look at Jude, by the way, Jude doesn't pull any punches, you guys. 00:23:43.200 --> 00:23:46.960 If you've read the epistle of Jude, it's really brutal. 00:23:47.440 --> 00:23:52.559 And the short book of Jude really blasts false teachers. 00:23:52.880 --> 00:23:55.279 I mean, really comes after false teachers. 00:23:55.440 --> 00:23:59.279 He calls out fallen angels, Sodom and Gomorrah, unholy people. 00:23:59.440 --> 00:24:05.519 And then right in the middle of this, he literally uses Cain to describe a corrupt mindset. 00:24:05.759 --> 00:24:07.599 This is what he says in verse 10. 00:24:07.920 --> 00:24:17.359 But these people blaspheme all that they do not understand, and they are destroyed by all that they, like unreasoning animals, understand instinctively. 00:24:17.759 --> 00:24:19.599 He's literally calling them animals. 00:24:19.759 --> 00:24:22.240 I mean, he's just calling it what it is. 00:24:22.480 --> 00:24:37.279 And then he says in verse 11, Woe to them, for they walked in the way of Cain and abandoned themselves for the sake of gain to Balaam's error and perished in Korah's rebellion. 00:24:37.519 --> 00:24:40.640 Talk about rolling out of a trio of non-heroes. 00:24:42.079 --> 00:24:44.160 I mean, Cain's right there. 00:24:44.480 --> 00:24:50.640 But what's significant about what he says there is the way of Cain was his heart. 00:24:50.799 --> 00:24:52.240 He says nothing about the offering. 00:24:52.400 --> 00:24:55.359 He doesn't say, don't be like Cain or brought the wrong stuff. 00:24:55.599 --> 00:24:58.079 He literally says, He's of the evil one. 00:24:58.240 --> 00:25:00.079 His mind is corrupt. 00:25:00.720 --> 00:25:03.039 And that's something for us to understand. 00:25:04.079 --> 00:25:12.960 If you want further proof of this corrupt heart, just look at how Cain responded to God after his rejection of his offering. 00:25:13.200 --> 00:25:16.559 In verse 5, it says, But for Cain and his offering, he had no regard. 00:25:16.640 --> 00:25:20.880 So Cain was very angry and his face fell. 00:25:21.359 --> 00:25:32.640 You know, one of the things I can tell you, having kicked around the kingdom for a long time, when someone receives correction, you watch how they respond. 00:25:32.720 --> 00:25:35.279 And by the way, correction's never fun to receive. 00:25:35.519 --> 00:25:36.160 I get it. 00:25:36.319 --> 00:25:37.119 I've received it. 00:25:37.279 --> 00:25:39.680 If you've never, you're weird. 00:25:39.920 --> 00:25:42.079 But everybody receives correction, right? 00:25:43.200 --> 00:25:46.160 But I'm telling you, it's hard to receive. 00:25:46.640 --> 00:25:51.039 But if you humbly receive it, God can work with that. 00:25:51.680 --> 00:25:53.920 He can work with a repentant heart. 00:25:54.240 --> 00:25:58.400 But that's not what we saw from Cain. 00:25:58.960 --> 00:26:01.440 He didn't, he didn't, he wasn't humble. 00:26:01.920 --> 00:26:06.240 He didn't, he didn't respond in a humble way and like, I'm sorry, Lord, I got that wrong. 00:26:06.319 --> 00:26:08.400 I'll be honest, my heart's not in the right place. 00:26:08.640 --> 00:26:09.519 Forgive me. 00:26:09.839 --> 00:26:11.119 He didn't respond that way. 00:26:11.279 --> 00:26:14.799 In fact, if you continue to go down the path, what did he do after that? 00:26:14.960 --> 00:26:19.839 And by the way, God goes on and says literally, sin is crouching at the door. 00:26:20.000 --> 00:26:22.079 If you do right, you'll be accepted. 00:26:22.319 --> 00:26:23.599 Watch out, Cain. 00:26:23.839 --> 00:26:25.599 Sin is crouching at the door. 00:26:26.160 --> 00:26:38.480 The God of the universe is talking to you one-on-one and he's giving you a warning, and you run right through that red light, and you get matter and matter, and you kill your brother. 00:26:39.440 --> 00:26:41.119 Are you telling me that happened? 00:26:41.440 --> 00:26:43.680 That he was fine before he brought that offering? 00:26:43.920 --> 00:26:44.240 No. 00:26:44.880 --> 00:26:47.680 His heart was wrong a long time before. 00:26:48.640 --> 00:26:52.400 And of course, if you contrast Abel's offering, it's night and day. 00:26:52.720 --> 00:26:56.000 Abel brought the correct offering as an act of faith. 00:26:56.240 --> 00:26:59.359 It's his faith that motivated him to please the Lord. 00:26:59.519 --> 00:27:02.640 And that's the faith that the writer of Hebrews is talking about. 00:27:02.880 --> 00:27:05.279 Now, how about us? 00:27:06.240 --> 00:27:07.200 How about us today? 00:27:07.359 --> 00:27:08.880 You might say, Scott, that's pretty cool. 00:27:08.960 --> 00:27:10.319 Thanks for that little bit of insight. 00:27:10.559 --> 00:27:12.559 But how does that apply to me? 00:27:14.319 --> 00:27:22.720 Well, I'd like to posit that the story of Abel's faith is an example of how we should live our entire life as an offering to God. 00:27:24.079 --> 00:27:32.880 From Abel's example of the offering of faith, I really see three ways that we can offer our lives as an offering of faith like Abel did. 00:27:33.279 --> 00:27:38.319 And the first one is offering our lives in faith completely. 00:27:39.599 --> 00:27:40.240 Completely. 00:27:40.400 --> 00:27:45.920 And this first point is an umbrella over the other two, but it's I wanted to point this one out because it's so important. 00:27:46.240 --> 00:27:51.759 Romans 12, Paul says something that really is hard to accomplish. 00:27:52.240 --> 00:28:05.359 He says to the Romans, I appeal to you, therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 00:28:05.920 --> 00:28:12.480 Now, there's a lot of beautiful terms in this scripture that ties in with Abel and his offering. 00:28:12.799 --> 00:28:15.359 He said, present, present. 00:28:16.000 --> 00:28:24.559 Brethren, you have to willingly go before the Lord and present your life to him and say, It's yours, God, use it as you will. 00:28:25.119 --> 00:28:32.720 We acknowledge that God's our Father and He's worthy of our praise and worship, and most importantly, he's worthy of our whole lives. 00:28:33.680 --> 00:28:35.440 The word sacrifice is in there. 00:28:35.599 --> 00:28:39.759 True believers are willing to sacrifice our will to God. 00:28:41.599 --> 00:28:43.279 Holy and acceptable. 00:28:43.680 --> 00:28:44.480 I just love that. 00:28:44.640 --> 00:28:46.000 Holy and acceptable. 00:28:46.240 --> 00:28:58.880 Just as God received Abel's offering because it was the right offering and because it was given with a right heart, God will accept our lives as an offering if we turn our lives over to Him totally and become bondservants. 00:28:59.519 --> 00:29:03.680 We taught about this concept of bondservants in the Ephesian study. 00:29:04.000 --> 00:29:07.920 Paul calls himself a bondservant to Christ all the time. 00:29:08.559 --> 00:29:10.240 And what is a bondservant? 00:29:10.480 --> 00:29:18.160 A bondservant is someone who literally gives themselves over to their master and says, I live now to serve you. 00:29:20.319 --> 00:29:21.920 Dying to self. 00:29:22.160 --> 00:29:24.319 It's a radical concept, isn't it? 00:29:25.119 --> 00:29:27.359 If you're not a believer, this is radical. 00:29:27.680 --> 00:29:31.039 You're looked upon kind of as a man, you're crazy. 00:29:31.359 --> 00:29:33.039 But that's what we're called to do. 00:29:33.279 --> 00:29:35.519 We're called to be bondservants. 00:29:36.160 --> 00:29:45.920 Unfortunately, a lot of Christians refuse to believe fully and present themselves in an incomplete way to God. 00:29:48.960 --> 00:29:54.240 Some claim to be Christians because they show up at church twice a year, believe that they're doing enough. 00:29:54.720 --> 00:29:56.400 Doing enough to make it. 00:29:57.039 --> 00:29:58.960 I've heard people talk like that before. 00:29:59.200 --> 00:30:04.240 Some people talk to God only when they're in a desperate place, desperate position. 00:30:04.799 --> 00:30:07.359 They cry out, they want rescue. 00:30:08.160 --> 00:30:11.440 And some are Sunday morning saints and six-day heathens. 00:30:12.000 --> 00:30:13.119 I made that one up myself. 00:30:13.200 --> 00:30:16.640 I'm really it's really sad though. 00:30:16.720 --> 00:30:18.240 I've seen people like this. 00:30:20.079 --> 00:30:26.799 They keep one foot in the word, one foot of the faith, and the other one totally in the world. 00:30:27.119 --> 00:30:30.799 And they literally live, they're they're Jekyll and Hyde. 00:30:32.160 --> 00:30:38.559