Let's take our Bibles and turn
with me to the book of Hebrews chapter 11. Hebrews chapter 11. I'd like to read one verse of
Scripture tonight, verse 4. Hebrews 11 verse 4, the Scriptures say, 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." Let's pray together. Again, we thank You for this
time that we could come together. And I pray, Lord, would You bless
the services tonight. Would You help us to hear. Help
us to see. Lord, would You teach us. Teach
us by Your Spirit. Comfort our hearts. We ask these
things for Christ's sake. Amen. The Spirit of God revealed in
the first verse of this eleventh chapter this about faith. Faith is the substance. It's the certainty. It's the
reality. It's the assurance of things
hoped for. We have a hope. We have a hope. Not an uncertain hope. It's sure. Faith is the certainty of things
hoped for, expected, things that we absolutely know. It is the
evidence. It's the proof of things that
we can't see. We believe that Almighty God
has everlastingly loved His people. We believe that. His Word says
it. And faith, by faith, we believe
it. Now these things, this substance,
this evidence, this is the That's the nature of faith. It's the
principle of faith. Faith is an amazing grace. Now, we're going to start tonight
to consider, as the Spirit of God gives us grace to do so,
the glorious workings or the evidence of faith in the lives
of the elders that the Scripture set forth obtained a good report. They got a good report from God.
That's what it means. It wasn't a good report about
them. The good report was from God to them. By faith the elders
obtained a good report from the Spirit of God teaching them.
Now tonight we're going to start. Now this is the eleventh chapter.
This is that chapter that sets forth Those saints of the Old
Testament, how by faith the Scriptures set forth, they did things. Now tonight we are going to look
at verse 4, by faith, Abel. 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
speaking. Now, before we consider their
offerings, I want us to turn back to Genesis 4. And I want
us to read what the Scriptures have to say. Genesis 4. And let's
read the first eight verses. Now, this is what the Scriptures
have to say. concerning Cain and Abel. Genesis
4-1, And Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived, and bare Cain,
and said, I have gotten a man from the Lord. And she again
bare his brother Abel, and Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain
was a tiller of the ground. And in process of time it came
to pass that Cain brought the fruit of the ground and offering
them to the Lord, 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. But unto Cain and to his offering
he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and
his countenance fell. And the Lord said unto Cain,
Why art thou wroth, and why is thy countenance falling? If thou
doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? If thou doest not well,
sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire,
and thou shalt rule over him. And Cain talked with Abel his
brother. It came to pass when they were in the field that Cain
rose up against Abel his brother and slew him." Now, two men,
brothers, Cain and Abel, Adam and Eve's children. These two
men were born just like every man or woman is born in this
world, born in Adam. They were born dead in trespasses
and sins. I know this, that both of these
boys were born lost. Now, they were born fallen creatures. Scripture sets forth, Romans
5, 19, For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners. Now, being born from their fallen
parents, we know that neither was innocent in himself. Romans
3.23, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. You know, too often we look at
the Old Testament saints and somehow, I don't know if it's
that, I don't know, they were just in a time where in our minds,
you know, it was just easier, we thought, for them. It just
seemed like maybe, I don't know, being out there in the desert
and maybe, I don't know, seeing some things that they saw, that
somehow they were more spiritual or more able to be able to perceive. No. No. They didn't have the
light that we've got. We've got much more light than
they had. These men were born sinners. And both of these men, I know
this, their mom and daddy, raised them, taught them concerning
God's sacrifice, being faithful to Almighty God. Both of these
boys brought a sacrifice. So they both knew something about
it. But with their sacrifices there
was a great difference. One of them was accepted and
the other Now, knowing that God is not a respecter of persons,
knowing that Almighty God did not look at these two boys and
say, well, you know what, it just looks like to me that Cain
just doesn't have the wherewithal. I think Abel is more, no, these
boys were born out of the same lungs. Though I know this, the
only difference between these two men had to have been found
in the Lord Himself. 1 Corinthians 4, 7, For who maketh
thee to differ from another? And what hast thou that thou
didst not receive? So the difference is not in these
two men by nature, The difference is the mercy of
Almighty God and the attitude and the obedience of the sacrifice
that one made rather than the other. Now these two men, they
were tied to their sacrifices. When you think of Abel and when
you think of Cain, what you think about is their sacrifices. We
know that Cain killed Abel. But he was over the sacrifice.
That's why Cain was angry with Abel. The scripture says, by
faith, Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than
Cain. Faith works. Faith responds. I want to read something to you.
James Chapter 2. I want you to turn over there
with me just a few pages. James Chapter 2. And I want to
read verses 20 to 22. James Chapter 2, verse 20 to
22. But wilt thou know, O vain man,
that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified
by works when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?
Seest thou how faith wrought with his works? And by works
was faith made perfect." Now I want you to notice in that
22nd verse, seest thou how faith wrought. with his works. Now, I want to
read something that Brother Henry wrote on that passage of Scripture
right there, especially that 22nd verse right there. And this
was a tremendous help to me. I pray it is to you. The Scripture
says, Do you see how that Abraham's
faith and his actions were working together. The Scripture says,
faith wrought with his works. Now listen to what is being said.
Do you see how Abraham's faith and his actions were working
together? When God gave a command, Abraham
readily obeyed because he believed God. His works and obedience
declared his faith to be sincere, true, and genuine. His faith
in God led him to obey even though he knew not why, how, or where. He didn't know where he was going.
God had told him to go, and he left. He said, there's no perfect
faith, a better word may be complete or genuine, by His works. His claim of faith was justified.
Faith wrought with His works. God Almighty gives faith, gives
the grace of faith. And it is by faith that we actually
obey. There is that grace within a
believer called faith. It's not of yourself. You weren't
born with it. God gave you faith to believe. And the evidence that true faith
is there is that you obey. You obey by faith, by the grace
of faith. by the object of one's faith,
by the one to whom we look, that marvelous grace within a believer
that is actually God working in you, both to will and to do
of His good purpose, by faith. Abel offered unto God a more
excellent sacrifice than Cain. He wanted to. There was a want
to there. There was a desire there. Oh,
the grace and the importance of faith, true faith. It has an object. And the object
is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ, God's Lamb. If Christ be not the object,
His honor, His glory, His praise, It was not faith that produced
that action. Faith always motivates, moves. There is a working within you. There is a working within you.
It is the very heart of Almighty God. God Himself working in you
both to will and to do of His good purpose by faith. The faith of God's elect, faith
by which we believe. We believe this. Without the
shedding of blood, there is no remission of sins. Abel offered
unto God a more excellent sacrifice. Now, when we read that account
in the book of Genesis, we didn't find the word faith mentioned
at all. It's what it says in Abel. He
also brought to the first things of his flock and the fat thereof,
and the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering." The
reason that he had respect unto Abel and his offering was because
God had respect unto his Son, unto the object of Abel's faith
and Abel's sacrifice. By God working in Abel, Abel offered unto God a sacrifice
that honored the Son. God Almighty doing in him what
he could not do for himself. Now, the Scripture says in Genesis
4, 3, Cain brought forth of the fruit of the ground an offering
unto the Lord. But unto Cain and his offering,
That is, the Lord had not respect and Cain was very wroth and his
countenance failed. Why did God have no respect unto
His sacrifice? Number one, God didn't initiate
it. God didn't do it. Almighty God
is going to accept what Almighty God does. His sacrifice did not set forth
the Lord Jesus Christ. This is why a man's so-called
free will religion is a lie. Almighty God will only
do that which gives honor and glory and praise unto His Son. Only that which causes a sinner
to bow before Christ. What think ye of Christ? What
Cain did is he offered unto Jehovah the first of his fruits. I don't doubt for one second
that he brought the best of his vegetables. I truly believe that
he probably got the first, the best of them, but it was from
a cursed earth. It was produced from the ground. Curse. A sacrifice that had no
blood. That sacrifice that failed to
honor that which alone removed the curse. It failed to honor
Him who was made a curse. It did not honor Christ. You think about it. I've told
you there's only two teachings that's set forth in the world.
It doesn't matter, as I've said before, what the shingle says
on the outside of the building. It doesn't matter what you call
it. It's either grace, it's either all of grace, it's either wrought
of God, it's either from the beginning to the end, author
and finisher of faith, or it's works of man, free will. Call it whatever you want to
call it. It doesn't matter. It's either works of man or it's free
grace. What Cain did was he did not
honor the Son. God Almighty did not initiate
that sacrifice. That's the very thing that man
does today. He thinks that he can offer a
sacrifice of his own choosing in his carnal works of self-righteousness. And God does not accept it. And
say, well, I think they did the best they could. I don't doubt
that Cain did the best he could. I don't doubt that Cain thought
in his mind, mine is just as good as yours. It just so happens
that I'm a farmer and you raise animals. That's the only difference.
No. No, that wasn't the only difference.
The difference was the grace of God. Abel had an eye. By faith, by
faith, by faith, Abel saw Christ. By faith, Abel saw the grace
of God. By faith, Almighty God showed
that man his need of a substitute and he brought an animal sacrifice. Abel knew himself to be a sinner. Abel knew himself to be helpless
and hopeless and needy that he could do of himself absolutely
nothing. And he came with a sacrifice
of blood, a sacrifice that God gave him a heart to bring and
to offer. Now you think, Why? Why do you
come? Why do you come in here? Why
do you come every Wednesday and every Sunday? Why? Faith. By faith. By faith, you come. By faith, you believe. By faith, you trust. By faith, you call in your heart
right now. You hear. The message of the
honor of the Lord Jesus Christ. And it's bred to your soul. And
you drink of it and you think, you know what? This is it. I've heard this before. This is consistent. This bears
witness to my heart. I hear of Him. I trust Him. I know that Cain had an offering
that respected the Lord as Creator. I don't doubt that. fruit of
the ground, he acknowledged not, though, his need of a substitute. He brought that which he produced. Therefore, he did not confess
himself to be a sinner. He was not there for mercy. Faith,
true faith, always leads the saint of God to look to Christ. I know this. I think of that,
the grace of faith, the grace that's given. I know that it
was not of me. I know that. But I think about
those passages of Scripture when that woman had the issue of blood.
And by faith, by the grace of faith, she saw Him. And by faith, said to herself,
if I can but touch the hem of His garment. I'm going to be
made whole. I'm going to be well. I know
that. If I get to Him and Scripture
says, She comes, She touched Him. And the Lord stopped. And
He said, Who touched Me? And the disciples were amazed. They were in the press. Everybody
was bumping Him and touching Him. He was in the crowd. And
he said, I perceive that virtue. What he had given this woman,
faith. By faith, by the grace of faith,
that woman believed God. There's the grace of God that
caused that woman to call, to look, and to trust. And the Scripture says that she
trembling fell down before him and he said, Be of good cheer. Thy faith has made you whole."
Faith. Told her it was hers. Not hers
in origin. I know that. But hers by grace
and by gift. Attempting to come into the presence
of Almighty God without a blood sacrifice is the height of presumption
and arrogance. Trying to come into God's presence
according to my own will and my own ability and my own works. You talk about my self-righteous
works. Works that are but filthy rags. You're going to approach God
Almighty, I'm telling you, without faith. I don't want to get ahead
of myself. Verse 6 says here, "...but without faith it is impossible
to please God." He gives the faith by which we believe Him. By faith. Abel offered unto God
a more excellent, a greater sacrifice than Cain. True faith always
agrees with God. You may not understand it, but
your lack of understanding does not mean that you don't believe
Him. There's a lot of things I don't understand, but it does
not mean that I don't believe it. Carnal reason will say that
God will accept the best that a man can do. That's not so.
Abel, the Scripture says, obtained a witness. from God that He was
righteous, not in Himself, but by the grace of God through the
blood of the Lord Jesus Christ that Almighty God covered this
sinner with, put away his guilt, didn't charge him with iniquity,
not that Abel wasn't in Himself chargeable. Oh, He would be chargeable
in Himself. But God just didn't charge Him
with it. Just didn't charge Him with it. Almighty God made His
Son sin. Able sin. And every one that
He everlastingly loved, and He put away. the guilt, the penalty,
the curse of the law. And by faith, Abel believed Almighty
God's report, his witness that he was righteous in the sight
of God Almighty. His sin had been put away. And
by faith, he believed that the robe of Christ's righteousness
Abel knew what that sacrifice meant. He knew. That's God's
Lamb. That's a picture of God's Lamb.
Faith in the promised seed. The seed that's going to bruise
the head of Satan. That was Abel's hope. And ours
too. God testifying of His gifts. I don't know how. I don't know
how God I don't know if it was audibly. I don't know if fire
fell. I don't know. I don't know. God testified of
his gifts. God accepted it. And Abel knew
it. He knew he was righteous. And
by it, he being dead, yet speaketh. The Holy Spirit has been pleased
to leave this record right here of a young man named Abel, Adam
and Eve's boy. born a sinner, saved by the grace
of God. God gave him faith to believe
God. And by faith, Abel offered unto God a more
excellent sacrifice than Cain. May Almighty God bless our hearts
tonight. Cause us to realize that by the
grace of God, God has given His people a wonderful gift. He's given them faith to believe
Him. And by faith, we do believe Him.
Amen.