Brother Gary Sunday Morning 11/25/12

Brother Gary Sunday Morning 11/25/12

We’ve celebrated the national holiday of Thanksgiving for 149 years.  But since the beginning of time God has provided a way for us to spiritually be forgiven of sin.  God promised a messiah, a savior.  We are thankful that a messiah has come.

The first recorded thanksgiving in the scripture:

Gen 4:1  And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD.

Gen 4:2  And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.

Gen 4:3  And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD.

Gen 4:4  And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering:

We read about two brothers.  They both believed in God.  People can actually believe in God but fail to worship God in spirit and in truth.  They both brought offerings of thanksgiving to God.  Indeed everyone needs to be thankful for the benefits of the harvest and the food that is set before them.  We need to be thankful for those things in life that make us so comfortable. 

Able identified with his spiritual need.  It is important to be thankful for tangible things and yet we can fail to identify with our spiritual need and look to God.  Able also brought a firstling of his flock.  He had the benefits of life and of what the ground produced, yet he also realized that man had a spiritual need.  God had made a sacrifice to cloth Adam and Eve.  Able recognized his need to make an offering for his spiritual need.

Cain made an offering of thanksgiving.  But God did not accept his offering.  When an offering was accepted God manifested it in different ways, sometimes by sending fire down from heaven and consuming the sacrifice. 

In the Gospel day the supreme sacrifice has been made through His son Jesus Christ.  God has a way of giving a witness that it is well with our soul when we please God.

When Cain responded to being rejected of God, He did not humble himself.  Each of us has needs in this audience and we would all pray, “Oh God help me to be clothed with humility.”  We will go through many learning experiences in life and God will need to correct us.  It is vital that we don’t respond as Cain did.

Gen 4:5  But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.

Gen 4:6  And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?

Cain was wroth.  Can you imagine that as God created all of us, that one would be angry with their creator? 

I want to talk to you children about honoring your parents.  I see men and women in this audience this morning that work hard to make provision for their children.  It is vital that you as children are thankful.  It is vital that when you are corrected that you are not angry. 

As I work through this message, if I shake and tremble as I did when I studied this lesson, you will see me literally shaking and trembling.  It is hard for us to believe that we could ever become a fugitive.  I had wonderful parents and God was real to me as a child, but I could have been a fugitive. 

Cain may have said, “It isn’t fair.”  Life will not be fair.  He responded with anger and jealousy.  It is normal for a child to have a dark countenance when they are in the training stage, but Cain was no three year old.  His heart was, “I’m going to give this to God but I’m only going to do it the way that I want to do it.”

“Why are you wroth?”  In Cain’s anger, jealousy, and wrath, God came and dealt with him.  We are blessed to have a God that is so great and eternal and so full of mercy and compassion that He would come to us and plead with us when we are so wrong. 

He has done this for me too.  I see it in the scripture so clear this morning.  He tried to reason with Cain, “If you do well…” 

It doesn’t matter who a person is or what education they have or where on this earth that they are, if they do well then God will accept them. 

Gen 4:7  If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.

When an individual is wrong and rebellious against God… Cain allowed his carnality and humanity to cause him to be so angry that it worked hatred toward his brother.  God did not cut him off and say, “You are done for.”  God said, “When you are wrong, plead with your brother for a lamb that you may be able to make an offering for your sin and rebellion against God.”

In the Gospel Day the lamb has already been sacrificed.  Jesus pleased the father and forgiveness has been bought already.

God dealt with Cain.  This warms my heart that for every sinner in the world today, God is dealing long and hard with them.  God asked Cain why he was angry for there was a sin offering.  God helped Cain to know that his brother would still honor him.  “Do what is right and your brother will not try to take away what is yours through being the first born.”

God pleaded with Cain.  I ask this question to myself and to each one on an individual basis, “Is God pleading with you?”  There will be times in our life when we have challenges in which God knows what is best for us but because of our humanity we are so afraid of what God is dealing with us about. 

There is something about rejection and being misunderstood that we have phobias of it.  If God is pleading with you, humble yourself before God. 

I ask you to pray again for me.  I believe that this will be the best year of my life.  It will not be that way because I sit in my lazy-boy and you bring me hot chocolate and caramel apples.  The best things of my life will be because when God speaks I clothe myself with humility. 

You must be clothed with humility or you will never answer the call.  You will either choose your own way or you will let some other human choose your way.  God has better things for you than you could ever choose or someone else could ever choose for you.  God will never fail.

Suppose Cain would have said, “Help me find a lamb.” 

“In the process of time”: things happen in the process of time.  In the process of time, I found myself in grade school, in the process of time I graduated, and in the process of time I found myself in high school.  In the process of time I felt rebellion in my heart, and in the process of time I felt conviction.  In the process of time a golden opportunity was presented and God said, “No son, I want you to go this way.” 

In the process of time have you brought an offering unto God?  Sinners need to be thankful.  They should thank God for their food.  Who else should they thank?  Everyone should thank God for their food. 

In the process of time it appears that Able brought a thank offering but he also brought a sin offering. 

You want to be able to look back at that moment when in the process of time you knew that you’d sinned and had come short of the glory of God and came to God repenting. 

There is given to every man a measure of faith.  Don’t let anything or any spirit mess with your faith, and especially don’t you mess with your faith. 

God cares about everything in our life.  The very hairs of our head are numbered.  He knows our downsittings and our uprisings.  He knows how we think: He knows if you freeze when something goes wrong; He knows if you think fast on your feet and as you see it happening you run to the rescue.  He knows.

Heb 11:4  By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.

I want to talk to you about your faith.  Have faith in God.  If you say to that mountain, “Be thou removed and be cast into the sea,” then that is the way that it will be. 

It takes faith to believe that Jesus Christ paid the price for our sin and He did.  When we come to God with our faith He will give us a witness; Able obtained a witness that God had forgiven him of his sin. 

Gen 4:5  But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.

Gen 4:6  And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?

Gen 4:7  If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.

Gen 4:8  And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.

We wonder about the conversation that they had that is not recorded.  God had Moses emphasize this.

Our worship has an effect on time and eternity.  God was faithful to Cain.  Cain’s worship was rejected.  If you have found yourself failing in worship then I plead with you this morning.  Your worship will effect time. 

Worship effects time.  I am responsible to God and to myself for the teachings of Genesis 4.  We’re responsible to our self and to sinners.  Cain’s rebellion to worship cost him in time: he slew his brother.  Able died saved because he worshipped the true God. 

God left us this example.

Gen 4:9  And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper?

Can you imagine refusing to worship God or heed his pleadings and God coming back and asking what you did to your brother?  Your brother is not just those that are saved or your brother in the flesh.  With everyone in this world there is an identity that I meet with.  How I live will affect everyone that I meet. 

Cain did not want to identify with that.  Cain wanted to be independent and wanted the center of the stage.  If this is you then you can get past it right while I’m preaching this morning.  You can repent in your heart. 

Cain had everything going for him.  He was the eldest.  He was afraid that Able would take everything from him. 

Worship affects time.  God asked him what have you done?  Your brother’s blood cries from the earth.

Gen 4:10  And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground.

Sin is the terror of the earth.  God told Cain that whenever he saw the earth he would remember what he had done.  Regrets are the heaviest burden.  Anger and jealousy are cruel.

Effects of Cain’s rebellion: 

1.       Guilty of destroying his brother.  The rest of the world may live how they want to, but I shake and tremble, I don’t want to destroy my brother or anyone else.  I don’t want that anger and jealousy and wrath.  

Forget all that stuff about those that treated me wrong.  Don’t waste any energy on that.  The other day I got so stirred up on thinking about something that I was almost to the steaming point.  God spoke to me, “Why are you wasting your energy on that.” 

No one can touch you if you are God’s anointed; don’t waste your mind and energy on those that don’t like you.  You are not big enough to pack that.

2.       Rebellion toward God. 

3.       The echo of his brother’s blood.  Every time I look at the earth it echoes, “You killed your righteous brother that would have given you a lamb.”  However lost and without God a sinner is, we would say, “It would be my pleasure to help you get saved.”

4.       Conscience of punishment now and in eternity.  He was afraid to live.  When people don’t do right they are afraid to live and afraid to die.  People are full of fear. 

“Everywhere I go people will want to kill me.”  People think that everyone knows what they’ve done because of their conscience condemning them.

5.       He was driven.  One of the things that I love about being saved is that He leads me.  Everywhere He goes He leads.

6.       God’s face was blocked from Cain.  When you see someone that you haven’t seen for a long time, you look and look.  I look at pictures of my brothers that have been summonsed into eternity and I want to always remember their face.  I want to remember Brother McConahae.  I look at the picture of my dad. 

Can you imagine never seeing the face of God?  Worship God, God’s way.  Be thankful for the blessings that we’ve enjoyed and be thankful for Jesus.

7.       Cain became a fugitive.  He was expelled from the presence of God.  Family connections were broken.  Can you imagine walking away from God and never seeing family again.  Many in this audience get very lonesome for family. 

Always wandering.  Always a fugitive.  Never settled, never a part of anything, never happy or satisfied.  Constant pain results with groaning and trembling.  This is the life of a fugitive.  The horror of a crime plaguing an individual 24 hours a day.  Constant fears.  A vagabond.  Having nothing and always going here and there.  He went to dwell in the land of Nod, which means wandering.

God wasn’t done with mankind.  God dealt with Adam and Eve’s loss.  Forgive those that have cost you losses.  Maybe you have had sickness or lost inheritance or wealth.  Deal with it saying, “It is over and it is done, let me move on.”

Gen 4:25  And Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son, and called his name Seth: For God, said she, hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew.

Gen 4:26  And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to call upon the name of the LORD.

Eve had had at least two losses, Abel and Cain. 

God had Moses record this for our benefit and our edification.  Abel brought a lamb to the first thanksgiving.  He recognized his sin and need of forgiveness.

Joh 1:29  The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.

Luk 2:10  And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

Luk 2:11  For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

This is the first Sunday after 149 thanksgivings in USA.  Jesus is our lamb.  He offered Himself willingly so that we could come to God with whatever need that we have.   

If you need to repent of sin then you can come to Him.   

The only requirement is that you acknowledge that you have a need and God will work with you.