“The Work of Faith with Power”

Genesis 4:1-7; Hebrews 11:4

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

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

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

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:

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

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

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.

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.

Introduction

I

t is apparent from world events that there is a very good chance that we are living in a time when we will come to realize just how important faith really is. Man has come to look to God for tangible “things” rather than allowing Him to be Savior. Now, we find ourselves inhabiting a world where many people “have,” yet remain unhappy and unfulfilled.

By now, it should be widely recognized that Man is in need of “more.” Perhaps part of the reason that it has not been recognized is that we, the people of God, have failed to perform the job that has been given to us. That “job” is for us to live a totally spiritually-dependent life that the World might be won to Him. This would make Man “jealous,” so to speak and would give the Lord what He “wants”—more people to worship Him.

If we are to be able to fulfill our obligation to the Lord, we must stop “manufacturing,” listening to and believing what does not have a spiritual basis. Whether we like it or not; whether we believe it or not; whether we have or have not been taught it, we are spiritual beings!

Having been baptized in Jesus’ name and filled with His Spirit has imposed upon us a new “standard of living” and that “standard” is the reason that He was required to give His life. Had he not been willing to die, then He would never have been able to return to us as the Holy Spirit, and in turn, we would yet be without hope.

Main Thought

Whenever we find ourselves unable to do anything we should be able to do for the Lord, the reason is because we are insisting upon using our human reasoning. Mixing anything “human” with that which is spiritual “short circuits” the spiritual—and leaves us on our own.

As much as we protest that we are simply “trying to make sense of it,” relying on the human ensures that we will come to neither “sense” nor “truth.” Indeed, truth is rejected by the human psyche because it is so far from what we think and are taught that “truth.” is.

You see, the truth of God does not follow any preconceived human notions, ideas, rules, or laws. If it did, it would be human and not of God. In that we crave “understanding” (a human trait), if we are to be “different” from what we are, we must be “disoriented” from the human and “reoriented” to the spiritual.

From the beginning, contrary to what many have taught, been taught, and believed, the Law as given to govern the flesh, only. Therefore, simply breaking one (of the Commandments) indicated that one was still attached to his flesh. So it is, today. One cannot obey some of what God says and still be “ok.” Either one is obedient, or he isn’t.

Everything that Man does is based on his version of what is reasonable. In general, Man finds whatever gets him the results that he desires to be “reasonable.” But, you see, the Lord does not do as He does so that things turn out according to our “preferences,” but rather, according to what is in our best “spiritual” interest. Obviously, an interest in the flesh cannot serve this same purpose.

Any examination of the “reasonableness” of faith will have to examine the case of Cain and Abel. Most of us know the story of the two brothers who were divided by the focus of their affections. While Abel was focused upon that which would please God. Cain was focused on that which would cause him to be pleased. When it came time to make an offering to the Lord, Cain made an offering inferior to Abel’s. It is important to know that Cain’s offering was inferior because it was not the best that he could give. While Abel offered the firstborn of his flock, Cain simply gave an offering of the “fruit of the ground,” and not, necessarily, the “best” fruit.

As is common to humans, when God showed what he felt about Cain’s offering, as opposed to accepting the blame, Cain “blamed” his brother enough to kill him. His actions forever condemn giving God less than one’s best. If Cain was rejected for offering inferior “goods” to the Lord, what will be our fate for offering an inferior life?

We have been given what I consider to be a “mandate” from the Lord: in the coming year, we must fully set ourselves to putting the Lord and His concerns over our own. This will be possible only as we are determined to trust Him. You see, one of our biggest problems is believing that we must take care of ourselves and when we have not trusted Him, we do not know that we are already taken care of.

Also, in this next year, it is more important than ever that we obey whatever God says. Because whatever God says is true, if we are spiritual and will stretch ourselves out “on faith,” the Lord will meet our expectations and perform whatever it is that He has said.

That which is spiritual cannot afford to deal with reason, for it is outside of the realm of the human and what he can accomplish or understand. Nothing that God does for us is “reasonable,” whether that is enduring torture for us, allowing Himself to die for us, or resurrecting for us.

It is not “reasonable” to change our lives, but it is possible because in salvation, we become new creatures. It does not seem “reasonable” to come into church a sinner and leave a saint, but it is possible because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. It is not “reasonable” that someone should believe God and be healed from cancer, but it is possible because Jesus was willing to take the stripes that we deserved. Nothing with God is “reasonable,” but is always true and always “right.”

How ironic that we are the people who specialize in “reason,” but are unable to do anything “reasonable” with our lives. It takes Jesus to bring “reason” from “chaos” by using that which is “un-reasonable.”

The fact that “faith is not reasonable” is nothing short of a miracle for us. Because of this, we are assured that our faith in God is not displaced. If we will take the chance to believe Him, we will be assured that nothing that is done is of our doing or making. Though we have always had this assurance and believing it will make 2007 “complete.”