A Legacy of Faith
Hebrews 11:4
4 By faith Abel brought
God a better offering than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous,
when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith Abel still speaks, even
though he is dead.
· We will all leave a
legacy
· Some a legacy of faith
· Others a legacy that’s
not of much faith, but worldly, or of fear or selfishness
· Abel’s faith continued
to speak on his behalf long after he was dead.
It continues to speak to this day.
He left behind a legacy of faith, of great faith.
· I want to be the type of
person who by faith still speaks long after I am gone.
· I want to leave behind a
legacy of faith for my children, which is far more valuable than anything we
could leave as an inheritance for them.
· I want us to be able to
delve into the specifics of why Abel’s faith was so highly praised so that we
could understand and apply the heart and the principles of his faith into our
lives.
Let’s
start with a word of prayer (for God’s word to move our hearts to greater faith
and obedience)
Genesis 4:1-17
Cain
and Abel
Adam[a] made love to his wife Eve, and she became
pregnant and gave birth to Cain.[b] She
said, “With the help of the Lord I have brought forth[c]
a man.” 2 Later she gave birth to his brother Abel.
Now
Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil. 3 In the course of time
Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord. 4 And
Abel also brought an offering—fat portions from some of the firstborn of his
flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, 5 but
on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry,
and his face was downcast.
6 Then the Lord said to
Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? 7 If you do
what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right,
sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over
it.”
8 Now Cain said to his
brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.”[d]
While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.
9 Then the Lord said to
Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?”
“I
don’t know,” he replied. “Am I my brother’s keeper?”
10 The Lord said, “What
have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground. 11 Now
you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to
receive your brother’s blood from your hand. 12 When you work the
ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless
wanderer on the earth.”
13 Cain said to the Lord,
“My punishment is more than I can bear. 14 Today you are driving me
from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence; I will be a restless
wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.”
15 But the Lord said to
him, “Not so[e]; anyone who kills Cain will
suffer vengeance seven times over.” Then the Lord put a mark on Cain so that no
one who found him would kill him. 16 So Cain went out from the
Lord’s presence and lived in the land of Nod,[f]
east of Eden.
17 Cain made love to his
wife, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Enoch. Cain was then building a
city, and he named it after his son Enoch.
This
is one of the first recorded instances of fallen men going in to worship God;
and it was a wonder of mercy that man was not cut off from a relationship with
God by the fall. (2.) After the fall, God ordained that He must be worshipped
by sacrifices, a way of worship which carries in it a confession of sin,
repentance from sin, and a profession of faith in a Redeemer, who was to be a
ransom for the souls of men. (3.) Interestingly, from the beginning, there has
been a remarkable difference between worshippers. Here were two persons, brothers,
both of whom went in to worship God, and yet there was a vast difference. Cain
was the elder brother, but Abel was favored by God. It is not seniority of
birth, but grace, that makes men truly honorable. The difference is observable
in their actions: Abel was an upright person, a righteous man, a true believer;
Cain was given to reason and rational thinking, he did not have a clear grasp
of grace and faith and how they work together. It is observable in their actions:
Abel acted under the power of faith; Cain only from reason or habit—minimizing
his sacrifice to benefit himself, I would say out of a worldly conscience
(worldly generosity). There was also a very observable differences in their
offerings: Abel brought a sacrifice of atonement, brought of the firstborn
of the flock, acknowledging himself to be a sinner who deserved to die, and
only hoping for mercy through the great sacrifice; Cain brought only a
sacrifice of acknowledgment, a mere thank-offering, the fruit of the ground,
which might, and perhaps must, have been offered in ignorance with not much
thought; there was no confession of sin, no regard to the ransom; this was an
essential defect in Cain’s offering. There will always be a difference between
those who worship the true God; some will offer and come to Him with lies,
others will be faithful; some, like the Pharisee, will lean to their own
righteousness; others, like the tax collector, will confess their sin, and cast
themselves upon the mercy of God in Christ.
1.
Bring Your First and
Best to God
Genesis 4:3-5
3 In the course of time
Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord. 4 And
Abel also brought an offering—fat portions from some of the firstborn of his
flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, 5 but
on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry,
and his face was downcast.
2.
Gaining Acceptance From
God
· True saving faith: Jesus is Lord!! What does it mean?
· Doing what is
right. How can I know?
Romans 10:1-4
Brothers
and sisters, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that
they may be saved. 2 For I can testify about
them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. 3 Since they did not know the righteousness
of God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s
righteousness. 4 Christ is the culmination
of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.
Romans 10:8-13
8 But what does it say?
“The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,”[a]
that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim: 9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is
Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be
saved. 10 For it is with your
heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you
profess your faith and are saved. 11 As Scripture says,
“Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.”[b]
12 For there is no
difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly
blesses all who call on him, 13 for, “Everyone who calls
on the name of the Lord will be saved.”[c]
Romans 10:16-21
16 But not all the
Israelites accepted the good news. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our
message?”[a] 17 Consequently, faith
comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about
Christ. 18 But I ask: Did they not
hear? Of course they did:
“Their
voice has gone out into all the earth,
their words to the ends
of the world.”[b]
19 Again I ask: Did Israel
not understand? First, Moses says,
“I
will make you envious by those who are not a nation;
I will make you angry by
a nation that has no understanding.”[c]
20 And Isaiah boldly says,
“I
was found by those who did not seek me;
I revealed myself to
those who did not ask for me.”[d]
21 But concerning Israel he
says,
“All
day long I have held out my hands
to a disobedient and
obstinate people.”[e]
3.
Ruling Over Sin
· Controlling my sinful
impulses
· Living by the spirit
Galatians 5:13-26
Life by the Spirit
13 You, my brothers and
sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the
flesh[a]; rather, serve one another humbly in love. 14 For the entire law is
fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”[b]
15 If you bite and devour
each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.
16 So I say, walk by the
Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the flesh desires
what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh.
They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever[c]
you want. 18 But if you are led by
the Spirit, you are not under the law.
19 The acts of the flesh
are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft;
hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions,
factions 21 and envy; drunkenness,
orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like
this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of the
Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and
self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to
Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the
Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each
other.
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