Abel Men & Women

Tyler, my message is "Able Men and Women." This is one of those messages that has the potential to go terrible. So in transparency, I'll just throw it out there: if it goes bad, I told you so. But it's what I feel. It's what I feel for the hour.

We've been in focusing on prayer, and many of you have been joining me. We've been praying, and we've had the book of book on prayer — Brother Gurley's book — we've been going through. You've been enjoying the book. Isn't it tremendous? So good. Just feel like it's rekindling some fires that have just been in that low ember state. And, uh, because of that, we're seeing things come to fruition. You know, prayers are never wasted. They're never wasted. They get stored, and they come out and do season. A lot of what we experienced today was because so many have prayed it, and years gone past, and you and I'll reap that now.

Let's go. I'm gonna play something in my sermon today, but we need to be able men and women. Genesis chapter four. It says, now Adam — verse number one: "Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, and said, I have acquired a man from the Lord. Then she bore again, this time is brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of the sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. And in the process of time, it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the Lord. Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the Lord respected Abel and his offering." Pay attention to the words. Everything's there for a reason. It said, two parts there, that it, that the Lord respected Abel and his offering, but He did not respect Cain and his offering. Words are important. Words important. Don't miss what's being said. It's not just the offering that was being accepted or rejected. The Lord was very specific in the fact that He respected Abel, but He did not respect Cain. Sometimes we get so tied up, those of us have been to church only, in the offering that's being presented. And the word of God is very plain that there was a lot more at play than just the offering.

Verse number six — excuse me, let me finish verse number five, I'm sorry: "He did not respect Cain's offering, and Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell. So the Lord said to Cain, Why are you angry, and why hast your countenance falling, fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door, and it's desire —" He's talking about sin. "It's desire is for you." Okay, and that's why sin wants you. But then there's a comma, and He's giving instructions and telling him, "But you should rule over that." There's a command here: you should rule over it. Verse number eight: "Now 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 killed him."

Able men and women. Hopefully the spelling of Abel makes a little bit more sense, and not a typo.

Will you help me pray before we get into this? God, I submit myself to You right now, Lord. I pray, God, that You would allow me to speak what You placed inside my heart and mind. Lord, I pray that we can receive it today and apply it to our lives. Lord, let us honor You in receiving it, it's application, with our bodies, with our praise, with our worship. In Jesus' name we pray, and amen. God bless you. You may be seated.

In this story, we have two brothers. These boys were the son of Adam and Eve, after they had left the Garden of Eden, after God had got on to them because of their disobedience, after He told them that the very ground was cursed because of them. That's all there for you to read in Genesis chapter 3. Adam and Eve are, are driven, according to the word of God, into the land of the east, into a new place where they're going to live. And it's in this new place that they are struggling to survive. They had everything that they had ever wanted or would ever need in the garden, but the garden was no longer an option in their life. Their choices had led the consequences, and the consequences was that they had to leave the Garden of Eden. So now they're dealing with their new reality.

But it's in this vast ocean of despair that they find new hope, because Eve is pregnant. Something's different now. And all the time that they spent in the garden, this had never happened. In fact, the first command that God gave them after creation is in Genesis 1:28: "God blessed them, and God said to them, Be fruitful and multiply." They were given instruction that they were to have kids, but that never happened in the Garden of Eden. No, it was after they had been expelled, through their time — no son. But when they leave the garden, Eve is now pregnant. And I need somebody to know, at the beginning of this message, sometimes your greatest loss will birth something new in you. Sometimes your greatest loss will birth something new into your life. But it makes a difference how you handle what comes.

Now this is — we see here that, that their firstborn son is given the name of, of Cain, meaning in the, in the Hebrew tongue, acquisition. That's why in Genesis 4:1 that we see written, "I have gotten a man from the Lord." Adam and Eve felt like, outside of the garden, their, their very first success in life was the fact that Eve now has a child. The land may be cursed, but Eve's not. Now they have created something. No one ever produced life outside the garden before, but now it's taken place. Before this, it was only God that gave life. But now, in their minds, they see not all hope is lost. Things are not the way we want them to be, but we now have a blessing to work with. This was literally the coolest thing that anyone had ever done up until this point. That's why they give the name Cain — acquisition — or another word is translated is wealth. If he were alive today, we would probably call him Captain America.

Into this wonder of life, Adam and Eve produced all of their hopes and expectations. They poured it out there. He was amazing. He was incredible. He was a wonder to behold. They stood back at the birth of this child and said, "Look what we have done." But this attitude — this attitude had apparently spilled over, not just for how they thought, but, but Cain seemingly had an inflated view of himself because of this, and, and if Captain, uh, wonderful Cain here, everything that he did was wonderful. It was, it was the best ever. When, when, uh, Chassis and I had our, our first daughter, Kaylee. She was singing a while ago. Kaylee just turned 18 a couple of days ago, so I'm, I'm a little emotional. It's okay. I'm dealing with it. But it was a unique situation in, in our family's life, because Chastity and I were the oldest. We were the first to get married on either side of our family. We were the first to have a child, a grandchild for the grandparents, and, and so everything that she did was just a wonder. We, we watched as we, we brought this life home. And then, then, when she, she, she made her first noises, and then when she rolled over a little bit, and then when she crawled, and all the things that happened when it's the first. Now that was just Chastity now. But if you, if you go down a level to the grandparents, they lost their minds. It was the first, and the first could do no wrong.

I remember one particular instance, that I was at Cracker Barrel, and my dad comes around the corner with this behemoth of a teddy bear that he's going to buy my daughter. I'm like, "What are you doing?" He said, "She wants it." I'm like, "So what? She wants a lot of things. That doesn't mean you have to get it for —" And he said, "Hey, she can have whatever she wants." To which I replied, "That's fine, but it goes to your house." The first Christmas was just ridiculous. But hey, they had earned that right, to lavish all that love on that grandbaby.

So it's, it's in this mindset that we see that we have the first time the human beings have ever created life, and they are pouring themselves into this new sun, and, and if you've studied, uh, any of ancient history at all, any of the biblical times, you know that, that it was so important when a, a son was born into the family. All of their hopes and dreams were, were poured into this boy. This was no exception with Cain, and, and because of this, everything he touched, everything he did, it was just simply the best, because nobody — ever had learned to walk before, but he did. All of the first things happened, had happened, to Cain. And Adam and Eve are so excited, and then, and then God blesses them, and they have another son named Abel. But not so much attention is given to Abel. He just is along for the ride. How many middle children are out there willing to identify with that? Am I preaching good right now? It's just like, you know, the first kid, you got photo albums and all this stuff, and the next one shows up, and it's like, "Yeah, there — here's the day they were born, here's the day they graduated. That's about all we could find." I'm preaching good to somebody right now. You middle kids are like, by the time Pastor got on something that was good, Pastor Michael agrees over there. He's the middle boy, too.

Nothing compared to Cain. He was the best. When Cain and his brother Abel are coming to present offerings to God, the Bible tells us that the offerings of Cain were not accepted. It was told to us that God didn't honor Cain. When I think about this, I can only imagine how difficult it was for Cain to do something that was not being lavished with praise, because all of his life, no matter what he did, it was great. It was simply the best. Nobody did it like Cain. But in this instance, here's a moment where he doesn't come in first. Here's, here's a situation in a circumstance to where he had full expectation that God was going to be so happy with what he brought. But we read that He was not happy, that God did not receive Cain's offering.

This thought: "How could this be? I have always been the greatest. I can't accept coming in any place but first." This was inconceivable, the fight — the fact that God had outright rejected Cain. I want this church to know something: there is a spirit of Cain we have to be considering that's alive in our world today. It's the spirit that "my own ideas and thoughts are way ahead of everybody else's ideas and thoughts." This spirit of Cain is thriving in our society, and it's a reason for so much of what we see in the headlines, and what we have to deal with on a daily basis. Jude addressed this in Jude, verse number 11: "Woe to them, for they have gone in the way of Cain, and have run greedily in the air of Balaam for profit, and perished in the rebellion of Korah."

So we see here that Jude's pointed out that there's something still in the world today that directly ties back to Cain's attitude and disposition, and how his outlook was on life. And I want Center Point to know, we have to be very careful that we don't allow the spirit of Cain to seep into the church. God desires for His people to be servants. And anyone who is looking to try to have any other attitude, when you come inside those doors, other than what you can give, has a wrong attitude. Yes, we come in because we get ourselves in messes. And yes, we come in because we need a Savior and a deliverer in our life. But we have to be also very careful that we balance out our attitude, that we don't come into this place looking to consume and be served. That's how Cain approached life: that it's, that "I'm Cain. I'm the best it ever was. Everything I do is gold, and everything I do is perfect. Everybody else comes in second place."

The Chinese have a saying, that wealth rarely survives three generations. The idea is this: that someone poor is motivated to make a better way and a better life for their family. They, they, they work hard. They, they save. They, they, they manage to put some back, a measure of wealth, and, and then the next generation comes along, and sees, and has witnessed firsthand, the sacrifice of the former generation, because they were still alive to see it take place. And they take the advantages given to them by Mom and Dad, and they continued to build on that, because it was firsthand experience. They've seen it with their own eyes, Mom and Dad working long hours and hard, and they add to that. But the third generation comes along, and they have been used to having a blessed life, that things are okay, that they didn't have to work so hard, that things have been lavished on them, because grandparents and Mom and Dad are wanting a better life for their kids and their grandkids. But the problem is, when the grandkid all of a sudden expects that this is simply how life is always going to be, not understanding that there was a sacrifice and a high price that was paid, not understanding that there's two generations before — everybody was living in poverty, and this was not the way life was.

Now we've seen that in America. We've seen so much. Not only we've seen that, but I've lived long enough, and been a part of the church long enough, to see that exact same thing take place inside the church. And I'm not just talking about monetary stuff, but I'm talking about spiritual blessings that, that were dug out in former generations, and that, that generation got themselves in a better place, where all of a sudden miracles, signs, and wonders were happening, and then, then there was a move, and a ground swell, that took place, that led to, to the accusation of, of properties and buildings being built, and, and, and the beginnings of revival starting to take place. And generation number two comes in, and they begin to build on what Mom and Dad have done. And they were not just people — they were across the train tracks, but they were somewhat accepted in society. And then generation three comes along, and they have bigger buildings and nicer facilities and better music and better worship, from the, from the fleshly standpoint of viewing things.

But we need to be very careful that we don't, don't miss the point, that there was a price paid a long time ago. There were prayers prayed a long time ago that are still being poured out right now. And if I'm not careful, I'll enter in those doors with a consumer expectation, that it's just going to happen because it's always happened, and I'll drop the ball somewhere along the way, and I'll end up believing in my own abilities.

Oh, I've seen so much in my 46 years of life. I've been blessed from this standpoint, that my mom and dad — from pretty much the time I was born, I was brought to the house of God. Matter of fact, my first journey outside of the hospital and home was to church. It doesn't make me any better than anybody else. Didn't secure any salvation for me. It didn't afford me anything other than the fact that I was in the presence of God. I'm thankful for that now. And with each passing year of my life, I'm more thankful for, for having godly parents in my life, and having godly grandparents in my life. And you've heard me say this from this pulpit before: I've never known a day in my life that I wasn't loved. I've never known that. I, I know many of you in this room, you can't identify with that, and, and I can't really identify with your situation, because some of your stories are heartbreaking, how those that were supposed to have taken care of you didn't. They neglected you. They abused you. They treated you — they mistreated you in all these ways, and, and then for me to make that statement, it's hard for you to get your head around it. But that's just the life I grew up in. I've been loved. I didn't always have everything go the way I wanted it to, but I've been loved my whole life.

But I have to be careful, because I fall into that — to that generation — that if we trace back this movement, this modern Apostolic Pentecostal movement back to, back to Topeka, Kansas, and Azusa Street — for some of y'all been reading that prayer book, he references some of that stuff, that latter day outpouring — I'm, I'm positioned right in generation number three from all of that that goes on. I'm a fourth generation Apostolic. But if you look at the timeline, I perfectly fit in that third generation. And I don't want to find myself just simply expecting that when I show up, God's presence is going to automatically rain down blessings in my life. I don't want to have a consumer mindset when I enter into the house of God. I want to have a mindset that says, "God, I want to bring my very best that I have to offer You, because You have been so very good and faithful to me in my life. I have no right to expect a blessing, but I come in prepared to give my best for You."

Judges 18 presents a very interesting story at the bottom of that chapter. For the theologians and Bible scholars in the room, I'm gonna throw you a curveball, a little nugget there for you to dig — in and chew on just a little bit. I've been chewing on it for a while. We see reference there in verse number 30. It says this: "Then the children of Dan set up for themselves the carved image. And Jonathan, the son of Gershom, the son of Manasseh, and his sons were priests to the tribe of Dan until the day of the captivity of the land. So they set up for themselves Micah's carved image, which he made." So if you'll back up one verse and put it back on the screen — verse number 30. I want you to see there, as a representation of three generations. Now this plays perfectly into what I was talking about, but there's something more here at work. Because when you do a little digging around — and I know a lot of you guys like to dig around in the root words and, and what's going on here — you find a little bit of, of, of a little nugget of insight in here. Because the word Manasseh in the original language is not spelled Manasseh. Instead, there's, there's a little, little quotation, little asterisk in there, as you begin to study it out. It's a very interesting spelling of — well, how was it laid out? In fact, the — if you guys like reading commentaries — and I always put a, put a, put a little warning out there: I like commentaries, but I'm going to tell you right now, this right here sheds a whole lot of light on those commentaries. But if you go read Matthew Henry's account of this — and there are, there are others out there you can search in — but I thought this was the best worded one that I could read you. Matthew Henry says this about Judges 18:30 and 31: "The Levite who officiated as a priest, as, is at length named here: Jonathan, the son of Gershom, the son of Manasseh. But the word Manasseh in the original has the letter N set up over the head of it, which some of the Jewish rabbi is saying is an imitation or indentation that should be left out, and that Manasseh is actually a, a, a loose translation of Moses, and the Levite that they say was the grandson of the famous Moses, who indeed had a son named Gershom. But they say that the historians, in honoring the man of God and Moses by a half interposition of that letter, turned the name into Manasseh, in order to protect him."

Now why am I bringing this up? Because in three generations, the family went from being the spokes person, the strongest one that God had met with, to, all of a sudden, the grandson's a priest worshiping a carved image. I'm talking about the spirit of Cain. Don't misunderstand me. I'm going to get back to it. But I'm here to send a warning to many of us who have been around the church, and even those who have grown up in the church. We got to be very, very careful that we don't allow ourselves to drift away and become comfortable, because this is all we've ever known, is coming into the house of God and His presence being here. That would — that any time I need it, it's right there with it, with, with it, with a simple assumption that this is how it's always going to be.

When I read this, something gripped my heart and let me know that it could be so easy to slip into the, to a state of mind that the way things are, are the way things are always going to be. What I have seen in my lifetime is so many that have been in my generation, in length of time in the church, all of a sudden willing to let go of some truths, and let go of some things, and walk away from some stuff that their grandparents and their mom and dad staked their reputation and their lives on. They literally bankrolled everything they had, because they believed so strongly in this apostolic message, that all of a sudden, three generations later, somebody's willing to just throw it all away, because they don't find it to be relevant or convenient in the moment.

I'm preaching to somebody right now, to let you know: you cannot back away from the absolute truths that are in this book. Oh, it may be convenient for a moment, and it may work out all right for a day or two, but I promise you, there's going to come a day when you'll stand before God, and you'll make an offering that He won't receive. He's looking for able men and women. The spirit of Cain is alive and well.

When the throne in First Kings 12 went from David to Solomon — Solomon, for all his wisdom, sure had a lot of flaws. Let you know, just being smart doesn't mean you're going to make it. For some reason, he didn't spend enough time with Ray Obama to explain to him: "Son, you don't need to take this for granted, what we have. You don't need to take for granted that we can just simply build a great building around here, and that the people sacrifice, we can stack up on the altar, and simply raise our hands, and fire falls down from heaven. Rehoboam, I know you've been — and you've witnessed all this in your life — and you've seen what God has done. I know you're your granddaddy's — King David — and it's hard to live in that shadow. Trust me, I know. But Ray Obama, let me, let me, let's see on a little insight. There's, there's something called a relationship with God, and you need to have it. Don't just take for granted the fact that I can talk to God, and talk — God talks back to me. Rayabo, you gotta develop your own relationship with Him, in your own time, and come to an understanding and an appreciation for who He is, and what His desires are for you, and for His life."

And after David spent years united the kingdoms, Ray Obama destroyed it in just a few days. Why? Greed and power. Somewhere along the way, he convinced himself that he had to be stronger than his dad was in controlling the people. He surrounded himself with yes men in his life, instead of someone who was willing to talk a little sense into him. He went to his dad's counselors, and his dad's counselors instructed Ray Obama: "You might want to ease up just a little bit. Your dad was on a mission, but we've built the temple. It may be good if you ease up just a little bit, and get some favor in, in the people's eyes, and establish your kingdom right now real well. That would be our recommendation." And then he goes over to his friends, and his friends gather around him and said: "Hey, don't you, don't you listen to those old — those old guys over there. They're going to mislead you. If your dad ruled with a fist, you need to come down with a hammer on them, and let them know that I'm not going to be pushed around just because I'm Solomon's kid."

Not one instance do we have written that Ray of Bolum sought after God. Not one instance do we have that Rehoboam built on a halter to inquire of the Lord God. Instead, he listened to the council of the convenient attitude of the day, and the kingdom was split. I'm talking about a spirit of Cain that's alive and well today. Ray Obama listened to his friends. And his friends did not have the right relationship with God.

First Corinthians 15 and 33 says this, reading from the New Living Translation: "Don't be fooled by those who say such things, for bad company corrupts good character."

I remember taking chemistry in high school. When in chemistry, the catalyst is the substance that assists a chemical reaction by taking part in it. For example, if you open up a can of Coke and you leave it out, eventually it grows flat. We've all experienced that. Come back a little while later, go to take a sip, and — however, if you add some sugar in it, it will act as an accelerant to the form, to the point they will found bubbles out of it. It's, it's, it's — nobody was just miraculous when they put the Mentos in the Coke and it makes a fountain. Your generation thinks that's something cool. All you had to do is put a packet of sugar in there. Anybody could have done that. But I didn't think of it, and I'm not a YouTube sensation. So there — hydrogen peroxide. I mean, remember your grandma pouring that in your wound? Yeah, the only thing worse than that was that orange stuff. Well, that'll test your Holy Ghost right there. What was that even called? McCur Comb. Devil spit is what it should have been called. That little glass bottle — she brushed that on there. Blow, blow. Y'all don't even know. Y'all don't even — they get locked up and put in prison for that now. It's child abuse.

Catalyst — talk to anybody who's fallen into destructive lifestyles and habits. 99 out of 100 times, you'll find that there's a friend in the shadows. "When did you start doing drugs?" "I had a friend." "When did you take — your first drink?" "I had a friend." "When did you start smoking?" "I had a friend." "When you look at pornography?" "I had a friend." "When did you start criticizing the church?" "I had a friend." Show me your friends, I'll show you your future.

Amos 3 and 3 said: "Can two walk together unless they agree?" Proverbs 13 and 20, reading from The Message, says: "Become wise by walking with the wise. Hang out with fools, and watch your life fall to pieces." James four and four: "Adulterers, adulteresses, do you not know that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world, making themselves an enemy of God." But a spirit of Cain says, "I can choose my friends." The spirit of Cain says, "I can choose who I listen to. I know what's best for me." That's what a spirit of Cain does. Spirit of Cain says, "I'm my own man. I'm my own woman. I know how to do this." A spirit of Cain says, "All that stuff — all that biblical stuff — that was, that was for that time period. It's not necessary now in the world. I'll live a good moral life according to what I feel is right."

And as I mentioned before, the word Cain means acquisition, wealth. That also means greed. The spirit of Cain is a spirit of entitlement. Boy, if I ever hit a nail on the head right there — that's the spirit that's in our world right now, is this spirit of entitlement: that I'm entitled to a good life, that I'm entitled to have every desire that comes inside my mind, that I'm entitled to follow after and be true to myself.

Cain made an arrogant offering to God, expecting that God would consider it just wonderful, just as Adam and Eve had always done. In verse number 5 and Genesis 4, says, "He did not respect Cain and his offering, and Cain was angry." He figured any old offering was just good enough, because whatever I bring, it's always the best. I've been told my whole life it's good, it's acceptable. Why should I even stop for a minute and even consider for a fact that maybe God wants something different from me than what I think is best? So he brought his arrogant offering into God, and God rejected him. And instead of being upset — instead of being sorrowful, instead of doing some self-examination, instead of even asking God, "I'm so sorry that I came in and brought You something that's unacceptable. What could I do next time, so that You could accept my offer?" — and instead, at the height of arrogance, he's mad, because God has rejected him. Cain was only interested in what he was going to get from God, and never stop for a minute to consider what he could give God.

Oh, we better consider how we come in to an atmosphere of worship and praise, making sure that I'm not only here to get — "God, give me. God, bless me. God, heal me. God, fix me." There needs to be some consideration before you even grace the doors and come in: "God, is there something that I might could bring You? Is there some sacrifice that I might could bring? Is there some worship? Is there some praise? Is there some fruit of my lips that I might could bring into this place, God, that I would be holy and reverent, and understanding that You are God Almighty, and I'm just nothing? I'm just a nothing. I'm just a nothing. But God, if You'd allow me, I'll bring whatever it is I can to You, so that I can come in not with empty hands."

When the children of Israel left Egypt, Moses received instructions to build a tabernacle. And that first generation — the people were asked to give. And when you read there, they brought in so much stuff that Moses had to go back to them and say, "Hey, you guys have blessed so much, would you please stop giving offerings?" That has never happened in Center Point. I would love to do that one day. I would love to stand up and say, "You guys, this is crazy. Please stop giving." But that was the generation that came out of slavery. There was a generation who watched God do the miraculous. That was a generation who saw the waters parted. That was a generation who saw Pharaoh's army drown. That was a generation who understood provision. That was a generation who understood — oh, we want to get onto them because they were dancing around a golden calf, but yet when it came time to give, they didn't show up empty-handed. They came joyfully with the very best that they had.

How you worship speaks volumes about your attitude towards God. How you speak — I'm just gonna, if I'm your pastor, I'm fixing to go ahead and take your shoes off. I'm gonna step on everybody's toes. But how you worship in this place says volumes — volumes — about where God is in your life. "Oh, that was just the youth praise team. They, they sing those songs up there. I just — yeah, Jesus, You're good. Yeah, You're good, Lord." Really? Does it really matter who's singing? Does it really even matter who's preaching? Like, we should come in with an understanding that I'm going to bring my very best, regardless of who's on the keyboard and who's drumming, regardless if they sing a song I know or not, regardless of the — it says volumes about where you are and where God is in your life, that you have to be moved. "Oh, if they'll play the right song, or if it's just right in this, then, then I'll be willing to stand up and engage for just a minute." Who do you think you are, the — you will determine whether you will or will not worship, based off of the song selection, or the temperature, or the volume? Who do you think you are, Cain, that you can bring just any willy-nilly thing in here and offer it up to God, and He's just going to receive it? Who are you? You better check yourself. You better be sure that spirit of Cain hasn't seeped into your life, that you don't have the Burger King mentality, that it's going to be your way, and then you'll worship.

Abel was simply a shepherd. As such, was concerned about the needs of the sheep. Shepherds have to make sure that the sheep are fed, that they're watered, that they're kept safe from predators, and all hours, day and night. The spirit of Abel is also the spirit of a servant, one who's looking out and after the needs of others. The love of God should be working in you. And when that love of God is working in you, it works out of you, too. And the only way you maintain the love of God inside of you is for you to be a channel and a conduit that that love flows through. If you stop and just say, "It's only for me," then it stops above you, and you don't get any more. But the moment you open yourself up to be a conduit for that love to flow through, it'll be a channel that nothing, not even the forces of hell, can stop. But it doesn't come when you have a spirit of Cain. It comes when you have an attitude of Abel, who looks around and says that "I understand that my worship isn't just about me, but there are other people around me that are going to be affected by my worship. And when I lose myself in worship, it might encourage somebody else who's going through a struggle to say, 'I'm going to raise my hand, too.'"

Oh, Cain was only worried about himself in the moment. He only brought it off and that he thought was right. Abel said, "This is the very best I have." You bring your best. Do you bring your best? Abel's offering was pleasing to God. While Cain made an offering to God in order to get something from God, Abel made an offering and according to what God wanted. I'm going to say that again. You don't miss what I'm saying: Cain made an offering to God in order to get something from God. Abel made an offering in accordance to what God desired.

See, listen to me, apostolics. Listen to me, you who have had a relationship for a while. You got to stop that consumer mindset when you come in here. And I know we got guests in the house, and I want you to know, God is a healer, and God is a waymaker. He's Jehovah Gyra. He's a provider. He's all those things. And for some that don't have all knowledge, then come in. Come in, and God's gonna meet you where you are. But I'm speaking right now in the Holy Ghost to some folks who have an understanding, and knowledge, and a word inside of you that is there. And to whom much is given, much is required. And this has been placed in you for a long time. And I'm telling you, your consumer mindset is causing you to be limited in what God is going to do in your life, because you don't stop first and think, "God, what — can I bring You?" You show up, God saying, "I'm expecting for You to bless me." And when you do, you're no different than Cain. But God is looking for able men and women who to say — and they get out of the parking lot, walking in the door: "Oh, I come in. This is the day that the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad in it. Oh, better is one day in Your house than thousands elsewhere."

Come on, how many have sold yourself short, because you come in and life's not the way you want it to be? Things haven't worked out exactly. And if you could rewrite some stuff, you would. But I'm here to tell you, you're still here. You're still here, and that means God is good. You're still here. Oh, maybe everything hasn't went exactly the way you wanted to, but you're still here. You're still breathing. You made it back to the house of God one more time. How faithful is He? How faithful is He? How faithful is He?

Someone with the spirit of Abel is thinking about how they can help their brother and sister. The word Abel in Hebrew is meaning "Mr. Vapor Transit." While Adam and Eve gave their first son the name Captain Incredible, they gave their second son the name Nobody — just a vaper. He's just gonna be in the shadow of Cain, our acquisition, our wealth. Don't even bother learning his name, is not important. Yet it was the unimportant one, Abel, that God accepted.

And speaking of somebody here — you feel like you've been looked over your entire life. God sees you. Maybe you think the offering you bring in, that is so meager in comparison to so many that give so much. But I'm telling you, if you give it out of the right spirit, the right heart, and the abundance of what you have, God honors that. He sees you. You're a somebody to Him, even if everybody in your life said you're a nothing. You're something to Him.

Cain was all upset about Abel being accepted, and ultimately it led Cain to killing Abel. We see in this moment the very opportunity that God tells Cain: "Cain, you don't have a right to be mad. Cain, if you'll do what's right — Cain, if you would simply ask, I'll tell you what My expectation is. But Cain, you're not asking. You're not asking. You're coming expecting that I'm just going to take what you give. Cain's sin lies at the door, and its desire is to have you, Cain. But you should rule over it." Listen, the Almighty, the author of life, is speaking a word into him and saying: "It's there, and, and I'll go ahead and tell you, Cain, I can read its mind. It wants you. Its desire is to have you." Studied out, its desire is to control you. That's what He's saying. It's to control you. That's why He comes back and says, "But you should rule over it." In other words: "Cain, you don't have to let that happen." God is telling Cain — the Creator is looking at the creation — saying: "I've already, I've already given you what you need, if you will listen to Me, Cain. If you will bring the sacrifice I ask, then you don't have to be consumed by the sin. You can rule over it. It's gonna be right there at the door. It's knocking, wanting you to open it. But I'm warning you, Cain: if you don't pay attention to the words I'm speaking to you, it will control you."

Verse 8 of chapter 4: "Now Cain talked with his brother, with Abel his brother. And it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel's brother, and killed him."

How many in this room, and how many have I talked to, who've said, "Pastor, I don't know what came over me. It's like I couldn't control myself"? So what happens? Because sin lies at the door. And if you're not careful — if you're not being obedient — if you — I know I keep preaching to the church, but listen: we, you can just get caught up and going through the motions of church. It doesn't take — it, look, this isn't rocket science. You can be around here for about three months, and you can figure out what we do. And you can act it, mimic it, and play the part in the role. And what's so sad, from someone who's been in this my entire life, as I see people who play the part, but they're still being controlled by sin. Still being controlled by sin. James 4:14: "Whereas you don't know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time, that vanishes away." That word vapor there, it's used in the same way. Now in the Old Testament, Abel was there, meaning vapor. We see it in the New Testament here, vapor again. We're all going to appear on the scene for a short period of time. If you haven't figured that out, life goes fast. And with each passing year, it goes faster. Yeah, before you know it, years feel like, you know, days. Yeah, they go by about that quick. My wife has a saying — I don't think it's original with her — but "the days are long, but the years are short." That's so true.

Abel is alive in the Bible for a grand total of seven verses. We're not here long. But just like Abel, we're fighting against the spirit of Cain. And I wonder, which spirit's gonna win in your life? I'm getting ready to close. Musicians can come. Which spirit's going to win out in your life? Because here's the deal: if you don't do anything, the spirit of Cain will kill the spirit of Abel. It will. If you don't do anything — you just think, "I'm okay. I'm all right. I'm doing good. It's just all gonna be okay." If you, if that's the way you think, I, I promise you, Cain will kill Abel in your life. That's why the story is there, so that we can read it and see it.

Genesis 3:17, the last part of that verse, says this: "Curse is the ground for your sake, and told you shall eat of it all the days of your life." Our flesh battles against the things of God. We see here in this verse right here: Adam and Eve messed up. They were disobedient. They did not listen. They didn't follow through with what God asked of them. And because of that, they're kicked out of the garden. They're kicked out of the garden, and, but, their stipulations even put on that. God looked at Eve and said, "You're gonna, you're gonna struggle. You're gonna labor in childbirth." He looked at her and said, "Your temptation is gonna be to try to rule over your husband." That's what He said to Eve. And then He looks at him and says, "You know what? You're going to work by the sweat of the brow all the days of your life. And the ground, the very ground that you were here to have dominion over, is now cursed because of you. And you're going to have to work hard. You're going to battle thorns and thistles. And it's going to be — you're going to be able to produce something, but it's going to be a tough, difficult fight."

Chapter 4, verse number 10: Cain is slew Abel, and God is talking to Cain at this point. He says: "What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood cries out to Me from the ground. So now you are cursed from the earth, which has opened up its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand." So with Adam, the ground was cursed, that he was going to work hard. But when Cain showed up, he was a tiller of the ground. All of a sudden, it seemed as though the curse didn't affect him. Cain was able to, to, to, to have produce. He, he brought in good stuff. He, that was exactly what he brought back to the Lord. The very thing that was cursed didn't seem to affect Cain. Cain seemingly was able to overcome what God said was going to take place. But then look how the tide turns. Because here we are in chapter four, and in the tiller of the ground, he can't till the ground anymore. He's forced to be a wanderer. No longer can he do what he's always been able to do. Because that's what sin does. A spirit of Cain will eventually rob you of what has been your strength and your ability to have success in your life. If you let Cain live — if you let Cain kill Abel — eventually the very thing that has sustained you will be your curse, and you'll find yourself just a wandering soul and spirit. And I've seen this so many times: just the shell of a person show up, because they allowed themselves to let the spirit of Cain rule the day, when God has always desired to have able men and women.

Each of us struggles to have a spirit of Abel, to be a servant, and to keep that spirit safe from Cain, but from our ego, from our lusts, from our sin, from our flesh. For sin will destroy completely. And not only will it destroy your relationship with God, but it'll destroy the very thing that makes you feel self-important. We must fight to make sure that our sacrifice is acceptable to God. All of us, from the bishop all the way down, I'm asking: Where are you? Where are you? Are you here to get something, or are you here to give something? Why are you here? Are you here only to get to heaven when you die, or are you here to get a little bit of heaven on earth before you get there? His desire is for able men and women, but the spirit of Cain is here. And I want to know: which spirit are you going to let win today?

Will you buy your heads with me? I'm going to pray. This altar is open, if you want to come. Jesus, I pray right now, Lord, that we would have the strength for the fight, God, that we would be able to come against that spirit of Cain that is still alive and well in this place, Lord, that we would understand and realize it's not about what we get when we come, but Lord, it's about what we give, what we bring with us. Also, Lord, I pray that we would bring a sacrifice that You would be acceptable, Lord, that we could have praise, that we could have worship, that we could have a mind of thanksgiving, because of how good and faithful You are, Lord. I pray that we would combat against that spirit that tries to rise itself up and kill that servant heart inside of us, that we would always be sensitive and mindful to those that are around us, Lord, to be a channel of love that You could flow through, God. I pray that You would allow it happen. Let Your drawing Spirit, Lord, bring us to a place where we can make renewals, and drawing closer to You, Lord. I pray You pour out Your Spirit in this place. In Jesus' name.