Well, probably as you've heard already not all of our K-groups will be meeting this evening due to the weather, but you do have the folder in your bulletin again this morning, K-groups meet again at 5.30 this afternoon, those that are meeting. We have a total of 26 groups now that are meeting in homes and here at the church and concurrent children's programs, particularly for those of you that come here to the church. You can still join a group, there's an information table out in the connector. We continue along this morning in our study of faith from Hebrews chapter 11. Has it been tempting for you this week to walk by sight rather than by faith? One point maybe you have been fearful about something or other. Some of us have gotten angry this week, others of us have been sad. We've been tempted by the world and the flesh and the devil. It's been very tempting to walk by sight. It's because we've had the television on too much. We've all been influenced by the world. But by coming here this morning, you and I have taken a step of faith. By coming here this morning, we have at least on the surface of it turned to God. Faith comes by hearing, hearing by the Word of God. So we turn again this morning to God's Word. We're going to go back this morning almost to the beginning of our Bibles, back to that second generation that lived here on the earth. Our scripture is taken from Genesis 4 and Hebrews 11. Stand with me now for the reading of God's Holy Word. Genesis 4 at verse 1. Now Adam knew Eve, his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain saying, I have gotten a man with the help of the Lord. And again, she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep and Cain, a worker of the ground. In the course of time, Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground. And Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering, he had no regard. So Cain was very angry and his face fell. The Lord said to Cain, why are you angry and why has your face fallen? If you do well, will not you be accepted. If you do not do well, Cain is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you and but you must rule over it. Cain spoke to his brother to Abel his brother and when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him. Then the Lord said to Cain, where is Abel your brother? He said, I do not know, am I my brother's keeper and the Lord said, what have you done? The voice of your brother's blood is crying to me from the ground. Hebrews chapter 11 gives us a brief commentary on what we just read in Genesis 4. Scripture interprets Scripture. Hebrews 11 verse 4, by faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks, the grass withers and the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever. You pray with me? Our God and our Heavenly Father, we are conscious as we read your word that we need your help in order to understand that word. In order to put that word into practice in our lives, to walk by faith and not by sight and so Lord come now by your Holy Spirit, bury your word into our hearts, make us more like the Lord Jesus Christ. Our prayer is in his name, amen, you may be seated. Abel's offering to God is first of all, we're told an act of faith. By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. Cain and Abel brought different offerings to God. Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil and Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock, different offerings. What was the real difference between these two offerings? Some people as they've looked at these offerings and you read some of the commentary on these passages and some people think that the real difference is a blood offering versus a non-blood offering. That's true. That might be the difference. The requirement, however, for a blood offering to God was not given to God's people until much later in the Scripture. Some people say yes but. There was an animal sacrifice in order that Adam and Eve might be able to wear those skins but we do not see that God explained them wearing skins in that way at all. Some people see the difference between the two offerings as firstborn or first fruits as we talked about before our offering this morning, first fruits versus the case of Cain just, I guess, plain old fruits, well perhaps but we're not sure. What was the real difference between these two offerings? Why did the Lord accept one offering and reject the other one? Well the real difference was not in the offering. The real difference was in the two men who brought the offering. Cain and Abel came before God with different hearts. Jesus teaches us in Luke chapter 6, at verse 45, he says, the good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart. The evil man on the other hand brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. Listen, Jesus says, for out of the overflow of his heart, his mouth speaks. That means that regardless of what you and I might say, people, other people, don't make me say what I say. Other people don't make me do what I do. Situations in life do not control my behavior. Our words, our behavior is shaped and controlled by the attitude in our hearts. Scripture gives us here a look into the hearts of two different men. First we look here at the heart of Abel. According to our text, Hebrews 11, verse 4, Abel brought his offering by faith. Abel had tasted the goodness of God. He was grateful to God, and so he desires in his heart to give something back to God. He believes that God will continue to bless him. In Hebrews 11, verse 6, that without faith it is impossible to please God. What about King? King came seeking the favor of God. How do we know that? Well, it's really quite simple because, can you see, gets upset when he doesn't get the favor of God? When God finds favor with his brothers offering and not with his own offering, Genesis 4, 5 says, King was very angry and his face was downcast. In other words, his reaction reveals what was in the heart of King. Both King and Abel appeared on the surface to be doing the same thing, didn't they? Both appeared to be seeking to honor God as they brought their offerings to him. But King's reaction makes the real attitude of his heart abundantly clear, doesn't it? His real motivation was not to honor God, but you see, he really wanted God to honor him. King brought a gift to God and offering to God, but not really. He came expecting something in return. His offering, his worship, was really quite selfish. And so when King doesn't get what he wants, he gets mad. Things don't go our way. It is then that the true condition of your heart and my heart is exposed. The difference was not in the offerings, but in the hearts of these two men. Do not try to honor God with your lips when your heart is far from you. We read part of this at the beginning of our service this morning as our call to worship. But let me remind you that David writes this about God in Psalm 51. He says, you do not delight in sacrifice or I would bring it. You do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. The sacrifices of God are what? A broken spirit. A broken and contrite heart of God. You will not despise. How have you come to worship God here this morning? Where has your heart been as we have praised him, as we have prayed to him? No one knows the answer to that question except you and God. For able his offering, his worship was an act of faith to God, for King, it was not. You see, coming to God in worship, in prayer, in my life, in your life, coming to God must be an act of faith in God. It must be that I bring nothing, that he has everything. It's an act of faith. Without faith it is impossible to please God. Because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly from the heart. See, Kim. Coming to God must always therefore be an act of faith. Then in the second place we see God's approval of faith, don't we? By faith able was commended, it says, as a righteous man. When God spoke well of his offerings, the approval of God, that's really at the heart of our discussion this morning. We're all designed, created by God, and therefore there's something deep in the heart of every man and every woman that is seeking after the approval of God. Just as we desire approval of our earthly fathers, so we're wired to desire the approval of our heavenly father. Problem is we don't always do it in the right way. The methods we use very quite a bit. We try to approach God in many different ways. In a very evil and a very perverted way, I'd say, we would understand that those men who hijacked the airliners on 9-11 were trying to gain the approval of their God, small G. King sought God's approval, but he didn't get it. Abel got God's approval, but he wasn't really looking for it. What made the difference? I hope you'd agree this morning that the approval of God in your life and in my life is crucial, but we may be seeking his approval in an unapproved way. We may be looking for his love in all the wrong places. The approval of God is so crucial in life and in death. He didn't know it yet, but even as he brought his offering, Abel was about to die. What then? Man is destined to die once, and after that comes the judgment. Like Abel, you and I may not have a warning when we are about to die. Our own mortality is confronted in many different ways, but I think back a few months ago when in a very brief time in the relative security of an army base at Fort Hood, 12 men and women passed out of this life and into eternity. There was no rationality to it and certainly no warning, and they all, like each one of us, faced the judgment of God. Abel too was murdered. Abel faced the judgment of God, but in Abel's case, you see, there had already been a verdict. Our text tells us that by faith Abel was commended as a righteous man. Abel was commended, declared by God to be a righteous man. Abel surely was not a perfect man. We only know of one. How is it that Abel then was declared to be a righteous man? Well Abel was declared to be righteous in the same way that you and I can be declared to be righteous by God. By faith Abel was commended as a righteous man. Right before this great chapter, Hebrews 11 on faith, the writers of Hebrew, the writer of Hebrews quotes from Habakkuk, chapter two, found in Hebrews chapter 10, verse 38. It says, my righteous one shall live by faith, Martin Luther, found that same verse. He found it over in Galatians 3. But Martin Luther, when he found that verse, came to faith in Jesus Christ alone. And based on his newfound confession of faith, Luther began what we now know as the Protestant Reformation. Luther learned, you see, that faith is the only way to gain the approval of God for time and for eternity. Unfortunately there's another approval that sometimes tends to get in the way of our faith, the approval of man. Now there's no evidence in what we've read this morning that either Cain or Abel sought the approval of man. Now in their case, you would agree there wasn't much of an audience to play to. Many of us, however, are very active in seeking the approval of men and women. When we seek this approval of other people, it has a way of watering down our commitment to live by faith. We become people pleasurable. We seek the approval of even those closest to us, our spouses, for instance, in unhealthy ways. We become inordinately concerned with the approval of our bosses. We seek the approval of other people, even right here in the church. Now Hebrews 11-4 makes it clear that Abel was approved by God, but he was not, however, approved by man, namely his brother Cain. Sometimes it will come down to that for you and for me, approval from God, but no approval from men. We talk about peer pressure, and when we do, we're usually making reference to young people. But you know older people like you and like me, especially, are often driven by the same approval of men. Pressure is often very strong, but the choice is quite clear. James puts it this way. He says friendship with the world is hatred toward God. Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. Well, we're looking together at the subject of faith again this morning. The Bible tells us quite clearly of a faith that God accepts. Abel was involved in an act of faith and then came the approval of faith. God's approval of our faith does not necessarily include the approval of men. Faith is a personal act. Faith must be a personal act. I cannot believe for you. You cannot believe for me. We cannot even believe for our own children. Faith is a personal act, but listen. Faith can never be a private act. Our faith always makes a statement. Our faith bears testimony. When faith is present, there is always an evidence of that faith. There is always fruit. And so we come finally this morning to the attestation or the testimony of faith. It's right there at the end of Hebrews 11 verse 4 where it says by faith, Abel still speaks. I want to think with you for just a few moments now about the power of a personal testimony. Think about it. Abel was already dead, but he still spoke. We read in Genesis chapter 4 at verse 10. God says your brother's blood, Abel's blood, cries out to me from the ground. But now, by faith, Abel still speaks. Hebrews 11 4, his faith lives on. Abel could not have known the implications of his actions. He could not have known the testimony that he would bear thousands and thousands of years later. Even in the midst of what was an extreme tragedy, there is a testimony, and that happens over and over and over again in human history. You might remember the name Cassie Bernal. You might not. The event that I'm going to remind you of took place a few years ago. Cassie was one of those high school students who was killed in that massacre at Columbine High School in Colorado. But you know, Cassie's testimony to Jesus Christ lives on. Her parents grieved I am sure, but then they began to share her testimony in Christ with gatherings of young people all over the country. In the midst of tragedy, there is a testimony. Been almost 70 years now, but even the tragedy of Pearl Harbor in December of 1941 resulted in at least one personal testimony that I'm aware of, undoubtedly there were many many other. There was a Japanese pilot, some might remember who led the attack, a man who had in his heart nothing but hatred for the United States. He was convinced that he was doing the right thing when he cried out, Torah, Torah, Torah and loosed his bombs on that defenseless harbor. But you see that Japanese pilot would later come to repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. And he, for many years, would bear testimony both in Japan and here in the United States to Jesus. In the midst of tragedy, there is a testimony. More recently, of course, in the aftermath of 9-11, we heard the testimony of those like Todd Beamer who died in that tragedy, their testimonies live on. In the midst of tragedy, there is a testimony that you have a personal testimony. And will your testimony outlive you, will it outlive you and your children in your grandchildren, will in the others in this great chapter 11 that we're going to study still speak. And their testimony points beyond themselves. We look finally this morning at the point of a personal testimony because faith never bears testimony to a man or to a woman, but rather to God. The attestation, the testimony of faith is all about God. It's about God's goodness, it's about God's grace, it's about God's mercy. People still speak, but you know, he speaks now through the Lord Jesus Christ. The accusatory word that his blood spoke so long ago when it cried out to God concerning the guilt of his brother, Cain, the accusatory word has been replaced according to Hebrews 12. It has been replaced by what's called a better word. Hebrews 12 verse 24 says that you and I come now to Jesus, to the mediator of a new covenant and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. The grace of God in the Lord Jesus Christ is the point of our personal testimony. He is the object of our faith. This sprinkled blood that speaks that better word is not a word of condemnation, not a word about guilt, but a word of pardon, a word of forgiveness. The sprinkled blood is the precious blood of Jesus Christ that cleanses us from all our sins. Abel's offering was deemed by God to be a better offering than that of Cain, but by faith. You and I have come to know that God himself, you see, offered the best sacrifice of all. And his name was Jesus, if you come to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant and his sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than that blood of Abel. And then have you come face to face with your own mortality, you will die, I will die. My death might come after a lingering illness or it might come suddenly with no warning like Abel's did. Man is destined to die once and after that to face judgment. God will then judge the condition of your heart and my heart. It will be impossible for any of us to fake it. Jesus is the mediator of a new covenant. He is a goal between. He goes before God for you. You and I cannot face God, but Jesus can. The Lord Jesus shed His precious blood to take the punishment for our sins. And so that sprinkled blood cleanses us from all our sins. There is only one way that you can be sure that like Abel you are accepted by God and that's to confess your sin and put your whole trust in Jesus. Christianity always begins with that act of faith. An initial act of faith is then followed on by a life of faith. A life of faith happens one day at a time. It happens one decision at a time because as we read earlier, the just shall live by faith for time and for eternity faith in Jesus Christ. That's the only way to gain the approval of God, trust Him, take Him at His Word. And finally, our faith brothers and sisters always makes an attestation. Faith always speaks. It always gives a personal testimony and a personal testimony that points to Jesus Christ. And know for certain that you are accepted by God the Bible says, you see that we can know and that we can know for certain that God has accepted us, that we are accepted in the Bible love it, who is none other than Jesus Christ. By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice, a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as a righteous man. When God spoke well of his offerings and by faith he still speaks even though he is dead. Will you pray with me? Our Father will thank you for the gift of faith. We don't deserve it, we don't earn it. Lord you give it out of your mercy and your grace. We thank you for that power to believe and we thank you for that one in whom we believe even the Lord Jesus Christ. Our prayer is in his name. You stand with me for the benediction. Now may grace and mercy and peace from God the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit be with you now and forever. Amen.