Worshiping Walking and Working (Part A)

His sacrifice was more excellent, is not is ritual that is held up before us. It is by faith take that part of you just had the offer to sacrifice what was the faith without the faith, cannot be excellent. God's eyes, what made his offering received by God that he received God by faith. This is cross reference radio with our pastor and teacher Rick Gaston. Rick is the pastor of Calvary Chapel Mechanicsville. Pastor Rick is currently teaching through the book of Hebrews. Please stay with us after today's message to hear more information about cross reference radio, specifically how you can get a free copy of this teaching, but for now let's join Pastor Rick in the book of Hebrews chapter 11 as he begins his message worshiping, walking and working we are in Hebrews chapter 11. If you have your Bibles please turn to the fourth verse will take verses four through seven Hebrews chapter 11 beginning in verse four by faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts and through it he being dead still speaks. By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death and was not found, because God had taken him before he was taken. He had this testimony, that he pleased God, but without faith it is impossible to please God, for he who comes to God must believe that he is an and he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him by faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen move with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household which he condemned the world became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith in this chapter we have three characters that teach us something about worshiping, walking and working with the Lord Christianity had proven difficult to these Christians at the time this letter was written to these Jewish believers in particular in this this letter is addressed to them. Christianity was radical was turning on its head. So many Jewish traditions and grammatical teachings that had existed through the centuries.

It brought a new freedom, but it was divisive because much trouble for these believers and it encountered the wrath of the rabbis and their neighbors. The Jewish neighbors that these Christians had. The culture was pressing upon them to abandon their newfound faith and return to Judaism. So this letter is dealing with that very thing.

Perhaps you have turned Christ or maybe some of you long ago had turned to Christ and discovered that the opposition was fierce against you from your own family members, loved ones, trying to get you to return to the things that Christ delivered you from because you would not yield you suffered ridicule and persecution being ostracized, even in whatever else they could dispatch you. And so if that is been the case with you.

You personally can understand what these Christians were going through so we look now in verse four and he says, by faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts and through it he being dead still speaks well with this name Abel, a man name Abel, we have the beginning of a list of heroes in the faith and grace.

There will be 16 of them named their more referenced to, and the two of them will be women. Sarah and Rahab, and so we going to take out time going through this as we go to the 11 chapter over the coming weeks and drawing from the characters that which hopefully is beneficial on hold. The Bible study never becomes to the Christian just a lecture or an analysis of things. I hope you understand that these things are preserved for us to be living and powerful when you find yourself depressed and cornered and and and just in the drag of life that you draw from the spring of the witness that is been left for us to be strong and to join the numbers of righteous testimony that we have in the Scripture and there are those Christians that the don't receive the word of God. They go to churches where the word of God is is not given to them and I think a big part of this life for all of us is to learn how to appreciate what we have and not grow bored with it, which were tempted to do because the flesh, the heart of the flesh is deceitful above all things, and after a while you take for granted your husband or your wife or your children or your job.

The food in your refrigerator. Also many other things because you're not. You're not paying attention so easy it happens to all of us but would also can happen to all of us is that we notice it and take countermeasures to guard against it. And so this witness that we have before starting with these three men none of them were Jewish.

Incidentally, these three men came old before there was a Jewish people able, Enoch and Noah and the characters that are going to be held up in front of us paraded if you will.

They did not allow danger disappointment and here comes the big one for people in our society.

Depression, they did not allow those things to turn them off to God to help their faith.

They pressed forward.

If you struggle with any of these things is only one way to deal with it and that is to deal with it. There's not going to be an escape hatch except you fighting through it. That should encourage you should make you stronger, not weaker. We tell ourselves we just can't even we don't have a choice, so you must be brave, be strong in the faith, Scripture tells us, knowing that your labor is not for nothing that it does count. Paul wrote to the Corinthian church. He said we are hard-pressed on every side. Every state was surrounded, he said, yet not crushed so were perplexed but would not in despair for plywood was going over confused about what God is going to allow or not allow giving up on God continued is that we are persecuted but were not destroyed. We are persecuted, not forsaken, we are struck down not destroyed, persecuted, not forsaken, are you kidding me. You mean you being persecuted and you still think God is there he will deliver you from this persecutions, we must not be there says the doubting heart of the righteous said God is always here if he is allowed these things for his purposes.

I'm joining him.

Remember, God held up his faithful witness Atticus to the church. Remember, my faithful witness at the bis, who was modern. He did not say remember antipasto. I didn't deliver. Remember enterprises remember him or you can become unraveled in your faith.

If you choose so these examples of those who did not fall away, did not succumb to whatever prices fell on them and the writer to the Hebrew letter is a look at these people.

They had their pressures in their lifetime and they held to the faith. And here you are wanting to run back to the temple and abandon Jesus Christ.

They trusted God in spite of whatever it was thrown at them and so in the 10th chapter look with me at Hebrews 10 verse 39 we are not those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul when not going to retreat from our faith is reminding them in this letter is not that kind of fake believers were not going to draw back is is high speech. What you did below. Should he be encouraging them to crumble in the face of opposition all the way back to the first people born of a woman he goes eight, Cain and Abel the first to born Adam and Eve were not born with these two were they were born in sin into the wrong kingdom Abel worship God. The Bible tells us on the basis of blood sacrifice. That is a critical part of his life. That is not a detail that we can do without. It is, it is essential that we understand he worship God with a blood sacrifice because that blood sacrifice pointed to Calvary. The death of Jesus Christ. Enoch walked with God into heaven is Going.

Noah worked for God. God said build an article he had the didn't go down to the lumberyard to purchase his lumbar had to harvest the wood to millet to work it into a structure that could survive a flood, and he did this in the days of corruption and violence.

The Bible tells us, and then there's Abraham obeyed Isaac blessed, and prophesied Jacob who blessed and worship Joseph who gave instruction to generations not yet born, and those generations listen to him. Of course it was Moses who survived the naughty goes with these heroes of the faith that every Christian should look at and say yeah man I'm setting my course in that direction. I'm not taking instructions from any other place that goes against what I get from my Scripture, all of them by faith in the unseen, is if you have a flatline view flatline view of this life. The horizontal you just see things that are on earth, your flatline or what if you have a vertical view you look up to see God. You see the unseen because God makes it visible on his terms is way. Unfortunately, those without faith want to dictate to God to conform to their rules and regulations of what is going to take to get them to bless God back by acknowledging him. God is not participated in that continuing in verse one is is by faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice welders is sacrifice was more excellent, is not his ritual that is held up before us. It is his faith is by faith take that part of you just had he offered a sacrifice was the faith without the faith, cannot be excellent in God's eyes, what made his offering received by God that he received God by faith. Romans 12 I beseech you, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice wholly acceptable to God which is your reasonable service.

God is never walked back that encouragement you won't get to the book of Revelation, and here got to. Oh yeah, remember what I said and what you call Romans 12 one. Well, I didn't really mean is too intense for you.

I want to skinny it down some so that you're not so aggressive and zealous in your faith that you can be discouraged and dismayed and depressed and stay there. Does that. He says get your gear on and get going and I'll be with you, and together we will get things done. You believe that all you don't obedience by faith. It is more than compliance someone can comply, for God to do it all.

Do it but my heart's not in but I'm going to do it on the outside that's ritual faith faces.

I would do it and I would do the best I can do it because I believe God I love God. I want God I will see God.

That's faith came on the other hand, by faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice will come back to that man named Abel. Now his brother is the king it says a more excellent sacrifice verse one then came came as the founder of the false religions of the planet. He kicked it off.

Please open the door for it tragically seems that there are more people like Cain and Abel. To this very day. What he did is what every false religion on earth does approach God outside of God's terms. That's what makes it false religion.

God did not say that what you going to do it anyway and you're going to insist is accepting and that the best you can do is insist you have nothing to back up that insistence, where is Christianity's of the week but looking back this up not only willing to back up with logic and science. We got prophecy you don't when mocking them over say that we're just making the point that needs to be made now. Cain and Abel. Their mother was lied to by Satan and she fell for it.

Dumb dumb. Adam went ahead and ratified. Satan said to the woman that God's word and God himself is not trustworthy, you can't trust him. He will come to you and like you said he's holding stuff back from you and his word is loaded with doubt and that lie works so good. The first time he told that he told again and again and he's telling it's still everyone who will hear. It's like you know if you have a good joke you like to tell it over and over again as many people as you get all Satan is not joking is very serious, says God, he cannot be trusted is not worthy of your trust not offering an alternative. Incidentally, not that it really matters.

Just something that you know you notice as you go through within the man-made religions you go to God your way and he will understand and he will receive it. He will honor you if you sincere you do enough stuff to help out.

That's the world lie. Satan told Eve and is telling today.

Jude sums it up this little letter makes this point blank statement in June 11 woe to them, for they gone the way of Cain on a collision course. The going to die on that course is the course that came talk woe to them that gone that way. Cain ignored the shedding of blood. Abel did not. It was a blood sacrifice that Abel brought to God.

Cain. He brought a fruit basket the way of Cain rejects the blood of Jesus Christ said for sinners because it says we really don't need a Savior absent really not that bad. It doesn't merit bloodshed got to get does that blood sacrifice admits that sin causes violence separation from God, eternal death, and death now causes sorrow, injustice world of other things that are not desirable. Isn't it interesting that Cain's religion of bringing in nonblood sacrifice to refine the shed blood.

The blood of a lamp had no problem shedding the blood of his own brother. That kind of insanity exists to this day in the world you see it on the news you read it you hear it. It's preached in the University of Purdue University's don't teach only teach some things for sure. They preach everywhere they go. This religion of Cain and thus the world's first false religion soon manifested its character by not coming to God.

God's way in the persecution of the righteous.

All Cain had to do was say okay I'll go back and I'll fix this. I'll bring a blood sacrifice. We have no record of him doing that.

In fact, the record goes opposite of it. And God speaks to this man is as if you do well, will you not be accepted. Genesis 4 verse seven and if you do not do well, sin lies at the door and its desire is for you. You should rule over it. Sin wants to take you out but you should defeat sin got to sing is how to set up verse 16 of Genesis 4 continues and Cain went out from the presence of Yahweh, and he never came back. We never read about them coming back.

This is what the world does and their non-faith approach to life and that's why the writer is saying. By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain. Then Cain went out from the presence of the Lord, and dwelt in the land of nod East of Eden, so he refused God's way of thinking Nana doing that to this day would mixed a Christian 101.

Another thing that makes identifies us as Christians, we don't disagree with God, we agree with him no matter what Hebrews 9 verse 22 without shedding of blood there is no remission.

There is no pardon just singing about the sins being we are we are pardoned by God got you guilty. You deserve judgment.

You're not holy before a holy God.

But the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses you from all sin.

You are pardoned you believe and receive.

He continues in verse one, he says, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous. He's talking about Abel. Now faith leads to surrender and surrender leads to righteousness and righteousness is that that pursues that which is right before God not right before man I want to hear man tell me about his right it's right for any man or woman to no longer want to be a man or woman but change sides.

That's the world's talk that's that's Satan talking through the world and and their people gobbling it up quite proud of smog. The temptation is to hate them to strike out against them is not what we do. If they are close enough closely enough related to us. Maybe in the workplace. We pray for them.

We pray that it will spread to. We pray that others won't fall for it, but it is war and it is active, he says, God testifying of his gifts. Don't you think the salvation and religion should be based on truth. If you do you're in the minority, especially if you look to uphold it and practice that Abel that righteous man, but that which foretold of the substituted life of a forfeited life. Those those animals that were used by God to cover Adam and Eve's nudity and if you still trying to work through. I don't believe in Adam and Eve in the know what can anybody say to if you have a problem with God being God and and giving us his word, the damage is extensive it can be instantly resolved or not, it's up to you, the individual, but over the centuries intelligent because this means something to people as though we who believe or not intelligence you gotta say it this way, intelligent accredited individuals have come to the Lord, have loved him and served him, and if you are more than likely rejecting the word of God. It is because you do not want to be held accountable to its standard and you not being honest with yourself that's been my take of the unbelievers that I have encountered in the world.

Then there are those that are just flat out ignorant I was in that group. I did not know what these things meant where they were going where they came from.

I guessed about it that guessing about God was leading me to hell in a rocket and he's the one that graciously got me off as he does with all those who are destined for hell and then repent and come to Christ. And so what he brought the blood offering is saying this is the life forfeited for me. Cut out for me and this lamb or bull whatever cannot save me, but it's preaching to me truth that I cannot escape and there is one who is coming we know him as the one who sandals were not worthy to loose the Christ, Jesus son of God, he will fulfill the image of these animal sacrifices and this is what he was telling his audience. Why is this so difficult to understand because of that flatline view. It's not easy to get a person to look up in crude because unlike the book of Nehemiah and you should know this about Nehemiah's book. If you know nothing else about the book of Nehemiah. You understand this much that before they could build they had to remove the rubbish and the rubbish was almost immovable great lesson you've been listening to cross reference radio the daily radio ministry of Pastor Rick asked Calvary Chapel in Mechanicsville, Virginia. As we mentioned at the beginning of today's broadcast. Today's teaching is available free of charge at our website. Simply log on to cross reference radio.com that's cross reference radio.com would also like to encourage you to subscribe to the cross reference radio podcast subscribing ensures that you stay current with all the latest teachings from Pastor Rick, you can subscribe cross reference radio.com or simply search for cross reference radio your favorite podcast to the next time as Pastor Rick continues teaching through the book of Hebrews right here on cross reference radio