Here's Pastor Alan Wright with today's blessing, a biblical faith-filled vision for your life. You have come to Mount Zion and to Jesus and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. Hebrews 12, 24. When the first big brother grew jealous of the favor God showed the younger, He murdered him in the dirt. And God said, the voice of your brother's blood is crying to me from the ground.
Genesis 4.10. What was the blood's cry? Justice. Cain must pay. Wrong must be avenged.
The guilty cannot go free. The blood sound still cries to God, but he sent a better big brother who, instead of resenting his younger sibling's blessings, came to make it possible. Jesus' blood cries out also to the Father, but it is a different voice, an altogether better sound. Mercy. Grace, forgiveness.
May you walk with gratitude and confidence under the voice. Of the better blood. Pastor, author, and Bible teacher Alan Wright. Cain didn't shut that door. He opened it wide, and that lion waiting to devour him on the inside came and pounced and said, Look at you, you're unblessed, you're not special.
You're not loved. the problem that you've got is this brother of yours. He's in the way. He's getting all the blessing. That's where the murder was born.
That's Pastor Alan Wright. Welcome to another message of good news that will help you see your life in a whole new light. I am Daniel Britt. Excited for you to hear the teaching today in our series, Empowered, as presented at Renolda Church in North Carolina. If you're not able to stay with us throughout the entire program, I want to make sure you know how to get our special resource right now.
As you listen to today's message, go deeper as we send you today's special offer. Contact us at pastorallen.org. That's pastorallen.org. or call 877-544-4860. More on this later in the program.
But now let's get started with today's teaching. Here is Pastor Alan Wright. Mom didn't understand pig Latin.
So we called it At Bay Albay, and we'd look at each other. You want to play some At Bay Albay? As if my mom didn't know what we were getting ready to do. We were so competitive, it didn't matter what we were doing. There's a kind of rivalry that just happens amongst boys.
I was thinking back to a parishioner many years ago who told me of his boys, Kevin and Tommy. They were so always getting to each other. They were on a road trip one time, and it was just bad. And Tommy cried out, Kevin's poking me. And dad said, Stop poking your brother.
And Kevin cried out a little later and said, Kevin's touching me. Don't even touch your brother. And it kept going for a little bit until finally the dad pulled the car over to the side of the road. And he said, I've had it. He said, Here's what.
He took his hand like this. He said, I'm drawing an invisible line between the two of you. And he drew this invisible plane. And he said, Tommy, you're on this side. Kevin, you're on this side.
You can't even go onto the other guy's side. You can't touch him. You can't do anything. You can't go. This is their side.
This is your side. And if anybody violates that and goes on the other side, I want to pull this car over, and there's going to be consequences.
So he would drive along for law and it was quiet for a while, and then suddenly. Tommy cried out. He said, Dad, Kevin's breathing my air. Kevin was leaning over towards the invisible plane going. Like he was snorting in the others' atmosphere.
It wasn't a laughing matter in the first family. What happened was Cain and Abel brought offerings to the Lord. We don't know why, but the Lord showed favor. Towards Abel's. Here's the text.
Again, she bore his brother Abel, Genesis 4:2. Abel was the keeper of the sheep.
So he's a shepherd, and Cain a worker of the ground, so he was a gardener. And 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.
So it kinda made sense. I mean uh Cain was a gardener, he brought some fruit of the ground, and Abel was a shepherd, he brought the firstborn of his flock. 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. It's very interesting. We're really not told what cause the Lord to have favor towards Abel's offering.
Some people have conjectured that this is another prefiguring of the blood. And the fact that it was a blood offering of a firstborn of the flock. But they're grain offerings and many kinds of offerings in the Hebrew system of sacrifices.
Some have suggested that perhaps it's contrasted here that Abel brought the firstborn of his flock. Whereas maybe Cain didn't bring the first fruits of his produce. You know, maybe Cain brought in a tomato that was getting ready to rot. You know how they do? It's like, it's getting squishy.
You know, like. You know, it's like that honeydew is getting, I can smell, I better cut this thing up quick. You know, like it's going to go. And maybe he brought something that was going to throw away anyway to the Lord. We don't know.
Or maybe there's just no reason. Maybe that was part of the point. But for whatever reason The Lord smiled upon the offering Abel brought. He didn't say to Cain, I don't like you, and I don't love you. Didn't say that at all.
It's just Aval got a blessing. And the big brother. Couldn't rejoice in it. This is the ravages of sin in the human heart. And the Lord, verse 6, said to Cain, Why are you angry and why is your face fallen?
If you do well, Will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, Sin's crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it. The Lord's saying, just because you're Brother got a nicer compliment from me doesn't mean that you have to be sad. You have a choice here, Cain.
You can become bitter about this. And you can feel deprived. and unloved and unblessed. or you can remember your own blessedness. You can make good choices.
You two could draw near to me. You can decide what to do with this. If you really, really loved your brother, you'd be excited for him. Or you can let this sin that's crouching like a lion at the door. Come pounce right on your heart.
And Cain didn't shut that door. He opened it wide, and that lion waiting to devour him on the inside came and pounced and said, Look at you, you're unblessed, you're not special. You're out loved. The problem that you've got Is this brother of yours? He's in the way.
He's getting all the blessing. That's where the murder was born. Please note well. It's the Posture. of the soul that assumes itself unblast.
that expresses itself. in covetousness and hate. I got a wonderful opportunity a couple weeks ago to get some training at a national gathering of Christian counselors. And pastors, I just got to sit and learn. I loved it, and I got to hear a number of different presenters.
One of the presenters, a very, very famous psychiatrist named Daniel Amon. He's a delight to listen to. And uh he was talking about brain health and he was talking about the relationship of brain health and spirituality. And in the course of that, I was talking some about all that we're learning about how the brain works. And you have a lower brain, a system called the limbic system.
and the right hemisphere of your brain and the amygdala. this almond clustered shape part of your brain that has this amazing ability to respond quicker than you can think really logically.
So you're walking down a path and you see what looks to be a snake and this quick part of your brain, this limbic system, it just immediately goes in and the heart starts beating and you freeze. you're ready to either fight or run or do something. Because there's a snake and you freeze. and you're on high alert. It's a wonderful thing that God gave us so that when we need to be on high alert, we can be on high alert.
But then you also have a prefrontal cortex, you have a logical part of your brain, you have a left hemisphere that thinks and reasons, and you can look and go, let me make sure it is a snake before I just panic here. And then you can look closer and go. Oh, it was just a twisted stick that looked like a snake. And you go. No real alarm.
Heart rate comes back down and you continue your hike. And so, to be an emotionally healthy human being, you have to have both. Working, all parts of your brain have to be working. And you can't be just ruled by the lower part of your brain. You have to be able to also think about it.
We were talking about this and relating to spirituality, and he told a funny story. He said, this is the way it is. He said, you've got a part of your brain that's just, you know. Just thoughts will come. And it's part of your brain that then you quickly go, oh no, that's ridiculous, right?
We all have that. And he said he has this dog. that he really loves. He loves his dog. And the dog loves him, except he said the dog loves his wife more.
And it really bothers him. Because it's like if the two of them together, He said the dog shows way more affection to his wife. He said, They're alone. The dog is all over him, loves him. He said, But when they're together, the dog gives the attention to the wife.
And he said he was with his wife and the dog not too long ago. And he said, the dog's paying all this attention to his wife. And he said, literally, a thought came up in his brain. He said, you know, if I murdered my wife, I'd have the dog to myself. I mean, you know, I appreciated him admitting he had the thought, you know.
He said, but, you know, within about a second, he's going, well, no, wait a minute, I love my wife. I love my wife more than the dog. I'm not going to kill my wife for the sake of the affection of the dog. But the thought was there for a second, you know? I mean, it's like a snake.
It's like, you know, it's like you've got a part of your brain that's alerting you with some of that stuff. But see, as you mature, right, you go, oh, that's ridiculous. You're not regulated by that. You regulate those thoughts. This is the expression of the ultimate immaturity.
in the first big brother of humanity. My problem. Is that Abel's getting the attention? If I killed him, then I'll get the attention. And it wasn't just an amygdala response, it was the deep ravages of human sin.
They're so confused. To think in the first place That by bringing a great evil, that somehow you would bring into your own life a good. That's the lie of sin, all sin. Is it by enacting evil, you're going to bring good into your life? And the great lie that accompanied it was: I must do this.
in order to be loved. As if God had a limit to his love. As if there wasn't enough blessing in the triune Godhead to bless both boys. And so he rose up. And in the twisted Reasoning of a sin-ravaged heart.
All of heaven shook in horror. His holy creation was shattered. And man took man's life. Cain spoke to Abel, his brother. Verse 8 says, And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him.
And the LORD said to Cain, Where is Abel your brother? He said, I don't know, my brothers keep. What's happened? I want you to To not rush past this, and I want you to hear the heartache of God. What has happened?
Where is your brother? The Lord of creation who's omniscient. Moaned. Not because he needed information, but because he was hurting in his own being. Cain, what have you done?
What have you done? Oh, what dread disease is this What woeful breach Mm. of attachment and fellowship has happened. That this cancer of iniquity on earth would work its way into a heart and become murder. Oh, Cain, what have you done?
Where is your brother? This is the heart. of a loving father. And then he added, The voice of your brother's blood. is crying to me from the ground.
The blood of Abel had a voice. And it was calling to God. I imagine the Creator would have stopped his ears if he could have. He would have silenced that awful, woeful voice of that blood. That was crying up Making an appeal.
Calling to the Creator. I believe the blood of Abel was placing a demand upon God. The word it was crying had to be... Justice Justice must be done. And our just God, holy and righteous, who made this world on the principle of justice and righteousness, could not turn a deaf ear to the cry.
Justice must be done. I've been cursed by my brother, so he must be cursed. I've been hurt by my brother, so he must be hurt. I've been killed wrongfully. He deserves death.
It's the cry of all justice. Yeah. It's the only way justice makes sense. And we all know that voice. Everywhere throughout history, people have had a basic sense of this.
You don't even need to have a Revelation of Ten Commandments: For thou shalt not kill. Every culture throughout history that we've chronicled and know of forbids. the taking of human life. It's in the codes of Hammurabi and Mesopotamia. It's in the Egyptian laws.
It's in all Greek and Roman laws. It's in intra-tribe forbidding of killings in primitive cultures. It's everywhere. The blood knows killing is wrong, and the one who kills must pay. Every drop of Abel's blood was calling out to a just creator who'd made a holy world.
Sin can't just have its way. There can't just be no reaction or recourse. Cain must suffer. Cain must not be blessed. Cain must be cursed.
Cain must lose something. Cain must die. And Abel's voice was joined by a voice deep in our own hearts.
Something in us. wants to always strike back.
Something in the sin nature, when we're cursed, wants to return it with curse. When we're hurt, wants to hurt. When life's taken from us, we want to take something from someone else. And we've all done it. Thankfully, have we lifted up the knife and taken a brother's blood, but We've all done it.
Every sinful act against another. Every time we stepped on someone to get a little higher, Every word of gossip. that puts somebody else down takes a little bit of their life. Every time we diminish another human being, we take some life from them. Might not have been their blood.
Yeah. But Abel's blood still cries out. Justice. It's the plight of every guilty conscience. It's the problem of every center in the world.
Okay. And if you don't know the saving love and mercies of Jesus yet, it's your problem. What do you do with a guilty conscience? What do you do with the fact that you know that you've diminished others' lives. And it's a justice issue.
And that voice of Abel's blood has a strong ally, does it not? His name is the accuser. Satan. and all his minions are well trained in the dialect of Abel's blood. It's the cry of Abel's blood by which Satan accuses believers even.
To say, look at his sin, look at his unrighteous deeds, look at his wrongdoings, he deserves condemnation. That's the voice that rises from the blood of Abel, joined by the voices of hell that tries to reach into the heavenly courtroom. And apart from Christ, we are plagued by its guilt, condemned by its appeal to justice, and relegated to shame because of its validity. The voice of Abel cries to God, not just against Cain. But against us.
Let there be justice, let there be payment for sin, let there be no blessedness for murderers, for life-takers, and generation after generation, the voice of Abel's blood has made its cry, and God. has always had an answer. It's shown in a million Passover lambs offered every year. to save the people from the destroyer who was coming through. As the firstborn in Egypt were slain, Everywhere that there was blood over the door of a Hebrew slave hut, The life inside was spared because of the blood.
So the picture was being painted over and over, but always Abel's blood comes and tries to raise its voice even against all the sacrifices that had been offered, all of the bloods of the goats and the rams and the lambs. Until one day. John the Baptizer looked. and saw the Nazarene Jesus. and said, Behold, The Lamb of God.
who takes away the sin of the world. Pastor Alan Wright, our good news message, the power of better blood. It's in the series Empowered, and Pastor Alan will be back here in the studio sharing a parting good news thought for you and me in just a moment. Unlock the power of blessing your life. Discover God's grace-filled vision for your life by signing up for Alan Wright's free daily blessing.
If you want to fill your heart with grace and encouragement, get Alan Wright's Daily Blessing. It's free and just to click away at pastorAllen.org. God's always been there. In every moment you narrowly escaped from danger, in every moment you were surprised by a blessing, in every moment you just knew the direction to take. God was there.
Your life is defined by countless moments of God's grace. Perhaps they've been covered by the sands of time or have just gone unnoticed in the rush of life, but your life is full of God moments. When you make a gift today, we'll send you a special bundle, both Pastor Alan's heart-stirring book, God Moments, and a CD album containing all his audio messages on the subject. Make your gift today and start your spiritual treasure hunt to uncover your God moments. How you remember yesterday will determine how you live tomorrow.
The gospel is shared when you give to Allen Wright Ministries. This broadcast is only possible because of listener financial support. When you give today, we will send you today's special offer. We are happy to send this to you as our thanks from Allen Wright Ministries. Call us at eight seven seven five four four forty eight sixty.
That's eight seven seven five four four forty eight sixty. or come to our website, pastorallen.org. Here in the studio with Pastor Alan, and this teaching is the power of better blood. And we have a good news thought from this, and maybe a little explanation on why we need better blood. The blood of Jesus speaks a better word than Abel's, as we will see.
Because Abel's blood is crying out. For justice. He was murdered. And we all know this when wrong is committed Something in us wants to make it right, like you have to pay. And Jesus came for an altogether different purpose.
His blood is not crying out justice, but now Justice has come. He paid the debt. In full. And his blood is crying out to the Father on our behalf. Mercy.
Mercy. Oh wow. There's so much in this. The blood. of Jesus is powerful.
Thanks for listening today. Visit us online at pastorallen.org or call 877-544-4860. That's 877-544-4860. If you only caught part of today's teaching, not only can you listen again online, but also get a daily email devotional that matches today's teaching delivered right to your email inbox. Free.
Find out more about these and other resources at pastorallen.org. That's pastoralan.org. Today's good news message is a listener-supported production of Alan Wright Ministries.
