Abel: The Worship of Faith, Part 1

In your worship, is God getting your best? When it comes time for you to sing to God, do you give glory to His name or are you mumbling? Dr. Tony Evans says the quality of our worship shows the true level of our devotion. You ought to be bursting from your lungs to give Him praise. You ought to prioritize His place in your life if He's as great a God as you say He is. Celebrating 40 years of faithfulness, this is The Alternative with Dr. Tony Evans, author, speaker, senior pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas, Texas, and president of The Urban Alternative. Dr. Evans says the kind of worship God gets isn't always the kind He wants, and today he explains the difference that made in the lives of two Bible characters and the difference it can make to us.

Let's join him. There's a camp that I used to go to in upstate New York when the kids were small, and I remember when I first went there in the wintertime. The camp is located at a lake.

On one side of the lake is the adult camp and on the other side of the lake is the children's camp. And so on one occasion, they told me to go speak to the young people, to the teenagers across the lake, and I could just walk across the lake. Well, I wasn't too excited about walking across the lake, even though it was in the dead of winter and the lake was supposed to be frozen. I could just see myself now halfway across the lake, the ice break, and it's over for me.

So I wasn't too excited about walking across the lake until I saw a truck drive over. When I saw the truck drive over, my faith grew about my ability to walk over. See, when I saw something bigger and heavier than me achieve something that I was hesitant to pursue, my faith grew. You should have no problem trusting a God who can create a universe. Hebrews 11, 3 says, the worlds were created out of things you do not see.

Not the world, the worlds, meaning the whole universe was created by God's Word out of things that you cannot see. And God wants to know, what's the problem with trusting somebody who is in the business of creating universes simply by the word of His mouth? We learn what faith is, and it's acting like it is so even when it's not so in order that it might be so simply because God said so. Faith is not to be an event. Faith is to be a lifestyle. We are to live by faith, not take faith visits on occasion. Faith is supposed to be how we roll. It's supposed to be your normal way of operating, and faith involves what you do not see. But even though you do not see it because faith is the assurance of things hoped for and the conviction of things not seen, even though you don't see it, it's not because there is no content.

It's just the content that's in it you haven't seen visually yet. But it is real. The key thing we learned last time was that without faith, Hebrews 11 6, it is impossible to please God, and the reason why you can't please God without faith is that faithlessness challenges His integrity. To not believe God and act in light of what you say you believe is to call God a liar.

Now I don't know how you feel when somebody calls you a liar when you've told the truth, but that can be downright insulting. So think how a perfect God must feel when He is regularly called a liar by His children because we refuse to take Him at His word. You can feel faith-ish and have no faith. You can feel no faith and be full of faith, for faith is measured by your foot, not your feeling. If your feet are not moving, you are faithless no matter how faith-ish you may feel at a given moment. That's why the Bible calls it walking by faith, not talking by faith, not feeling by faith.

It requires movement. If there is no movement, don't be surprised that you don't see God because you just insulted Him by telling God you are a bold-faced liar. You cannot be trusted, and you have no integrity. Of course Hebrews tells us clearly that by two immutable things, it is impossible for God to lie. God can't lie, and He couldn't lie if He wanted to lie, and He never even wants to because God has integrity.

He cannot lie. This leads us to our journey. We're going to look at the heroes of faith. We're going to walk personality by personality through Hebrews 11 and learn the lesson that each hero wants to teach you about why God is to be trusted, the scenarios in which you should trust Him, and how you express that trust in practical terms. The author of the New Testament book Hebrews is going to take us all the way back to the Old Testament and show why those Old Testament heroes should be your New Testament pattern.

When it comes to living by faith, because they had to live by faith, so do you. And he says, let's go on a tour of what I call the Hall of Faith. Let's visit the Museum of the Heroes and find out the lesson of faith. We start with Hebrews 11, verse 4, the first personality given to us because he's the first man who had to live fully by faith because he's the first man born in sin. You see, Hebrews 11, verse 4 says these words, By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained the testimony that he was righteous.

God testifying about his gifts, and through faith, though he is dead, he still speaks. We now want to talk about the faith of Abel, and Abel is going to teach us today what it means to worship by faith, what it means to worship by faith. Now, each of these stories comes from the Old Testament, so to fully understand what the author of Hebrews is saying in the New Testament, you need to go back to the Old Testament story. The Old Testament story of Cain and Abel is found in Genesis chapter 4, the first book of the Bible.

Abel is the first man of faith because unlike his mother and father, Adam and Eve, he didn't get to live in a perfect environment and see God face to face because initially sin had not entered the world. But when Adam and Eve sinned, they were removed from the presence of God. When they were removed from the presence of God, God slew an animal to cover them, emblematic and symbolismatic of the removal of sin by blood. God slew an animal and covered Adam and Eve.

Remember, they tried to cover themselves with fig leaves. They went out and used God's creation to cover themselves. God slew an animal to provide a covering.

Stay with me. God rejected their ability to cover themselves, and God created a way for him to cover them. The Bible says in chapter 4 verse 1 that Adam knew Eve, and she gave birth to the first son, and his name was Cain. She gave birth again, verse 2, to his brother Abel. Abel was a keeper of flocks. Cain was a tiller of the ground.

Here it is, verse 3. So it came about in the course of time that Cain brought an offering to the Lord of the fruit of the ground. Abel on his part brought the firstlings of the flock and their fat portions, and the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering, he had no regard. These two boys were raised in a God-fearing home. They were not raised by parents who were not sure that God was real, because Adam and Eve were married by God.

They were created by God. They walked with God in the cool of the day, so they were not raised in an atheistic environment. They were raised in a theistic, or God-oriented, environment. And guess what Adam and Eve taught their boys? She taught them, you gotta go to church. She taught them about worshiping God.

It says, in the course of time, verse 3, Abel and Cain brought an offering to God. That meant there was a prescribed time for worship in the course of time. There was a prescribed place of worship because they brought their offerings to a location. So God had given them the time. God had given them the place. And then there was a prescribed way of worshiping.

We know there was a prescribed way because he rejected Cain's offering and accepted Abel's offering. So one person did something right, the other person did something wrong. One person did it the way God wanted it, the other person did not. Both of them went to church. Both of them went to the place.

Both of them did the activity, but only one of them was accepted. So before you leave here this morning, I want you to know whether you're a Cain worshiper or an Abel worshiper so that if you're an Abel worshiper, you'll keep worshipping like Abel, and if you're a Cain worshiper, you'll switch over quick and you'll see why. So we've learned thus far, it is possible to go to worship and have your worship rejected.

To have God said, you wasted your time this morning. When it came to their worship, this showed both boys believed in God because they came to worship. Neither was an atheist. Both desired for their presence to be accepted by God. And you'll see in a moment Cain gets ticked off when his isn't because Cain ran into the problem that many of us run into.

Watch this. And that is wanting to worship God our own way. Wanting to worship God like I want to worship Him, not like He expects me to. Dr. Evans will help us understand how dramatic that difference is when he continues our message in just a moment. But first, as you've heard, the Urban Alternative is celebrating 40 years of ministry this year. In a recent conversation, Dr. Evans recalled how God opened doors leading to a path that would ultimately better prepare him for the work that lay ahead. Well, I was so excited about learning the Scripture, studying the Scripture, that I decided to go to seminary. And I plan to go to Grace Theological Seminary in Winona Lake, Indiana.

We went up there, found a place to live. I had been accepted. And so that was where we were going to go until a professor named Doug McIntosh asked me one day, had I ever considered Dallas Theological Seminary?

And I hadn't. I thought it was going to be too difficult to get into there, even though I had studied from many of the professors of DTS in some of my courses in college. So he said, if I pay your application fee, would you at least apply? And, you know, I did apply. I didn't expect to receive anything because it was late in my year of graduation. So it would have been too late to be accepted.

But when he paid and I applied, they provisionally accepted me. And then in consultation with my wife, it was decided that it would be better for me health-wise as well as community-wise because Winona Lake is a little small community as opposed to Dallas, a big city, urban city, where I could interact more with the reality of issues of the day. And because I was acquainted with so many of the professors there through my study and the reading of the books, we decided to go to Dallas. So in 1972, we got in our Green Nova and drove from Atlanta to Dallas Theological Seminary to continue our biblical training. Dr. Tony Evans reflecting on 40 years of God's faithfulness to the ministry of the Urban Alternative. And right now, I wanted to let you know about Tony's brand-new book that goes hand-in-hand with the message we've been hearing today.

It's called Kingdom Heroes. It's a look at the Bible's faith hall of fame, full of ordinary people who did extraordinary things by taking God at His Word. This new book from Dr. Evans teaches us that spiritual reality is about much more than we can see or touch, and shows how much we can endure, overcome, and accomplish when we act as though God is telling the truth. To help you dig deeper into this important subject, we're offering the book, its companion workbook and Bible study, and the complete two-volume, 13-message audio series on CD and digital download as our gift to anyone who will come alongside Tony's ministry and make a contribution to help continue this important work. We totally depend on your support to keep this program on the air, and this is one way we can show our appreciation for your faithfulness. Get all the details and make your request online at tonyevans.org, or give us a call at 1-800-800-3222 before this special offer runs out. I'll repeat that information for you later in the program. Dr. Evans will be back with Part 2 of today's lesson right after this.

Coming to theaters this November. We're at the Church of the Nativity here in Bethlehem, where it is believed that the birth of Jesus Christ occurred. Travel with Dr. Tony Evans as he retraces the life and human journey of the greatest being to ever walk this earth. Well, we're here in Capernaum, a place where Jesus did most of His miracles, and it is in this place that He demonstrated He truly is the Son of God. You'll travel the streets, fields, and synagogues where Jesus walked, and visit the locations where some of the most powerful events recorded in the Bible took place. It is highly likely that much of what we read about Jesus' ministry in Galilee happened right here. Journey with Jesus in theaters November 15th, 16th, and 17th with Dr. Tony Evans.

Visit tonyevans.org for locations, showtimes, and to learn more. So here they are. The two boys go to church, so to speak, to use New Testament language, to worship. When they go to church to worship, we see their offerings, what they brought to God. It says Cain brought an offering to the Lord from the fruit of the ground, verse 3. Verse 4, Abel, on his part, brought the persons of the flock and their fat portions, and the Lord regarded Abel's offering. He didn't regard Cain's offering.

Something was wrong with what they brought. You see, God had already told Adam and Eve, and therefore through them Cain and Abel, that to come in my presence, you must deal with sin. And the only way to deal with sin is through sacrifice.

I slew an animal to deal with the sin of your mama and your daddy. Abel brought a sacrifice to deal with his sin, and you're bringing me fruit. You want to worship me without dealing with sin. Brothers and sisters, the whole reason Jesus died on the cross was because of our sin and our need for atonement. You worship without atonement, and your worship is not regarded. That is why we center our worship on Jesus Christ, because he is the sin-bearer. Why don't you accept what I have to offer, God?

Because that ain't what I asked for. You're making up your own definition of worship and demanding that I receive it. God's integrity has been challenged in worship.

There's a second thing they did. It says, Abel brought the firstlings of the flock and their fat. All it says about Cain is he brought an offering.

That's all it says. He brought an offering. But it says about Abel, he brought the firstlings of his flock and their fat. He didn't give God junk and leftovers.

Firstlings meant the head one, chief one of the flock. The fat meant he found something juicy. One of the reasons that God rejects so much of our worship is because it's leftover. We're just throwing something together. You say, here, God, it's leftover, but at least I'm here. Cain said, at least I'm here. I just brought you some fruit.

Didn't look to see what was right and what was good. And first of all, it's the wrong thing, but on top of that, I just brought you some stuff. But when it talks about Abel, it says, wait a minute, Abel brought him the first and the best. Let me ask you, in your worship, is God getting your best? When it comes time for you to sing to God, are you shouting to the Lord Psalm 100 with a loud voice?

Do you give glory to his name or are you mumbling? Or better yet, are you not singing at all? You're letting the stage do the singing for you because you don't feel like it right now. So you give him leftover worship. You're not concerned about being there full of gusto. You'll stay up till five in the morning and sleep during the service because God, I'm here.

I ain't listening and I'm too tired to pay attention, but you ought to be happy I showed up. Well, let's say you went to a restaurant and the waitress or waiter sits you down and they say, here's our menu and everything on our menu are leftovers from last week. That last week's leftovers.

We have some stuff left over, so that's what we're offering you today. Now, I don't know about you. Actually, I do because you're going to be like me. You're going to get up and hoof it. You're going to get up and you're going to go because you think better of yourself than that. I'm going to get dressed. I'm going to come out here. I'm going to pay my money. I'm going to sit down here and you're going to offer me leftovers?

No, no, no, no, no, no, no. I didn't come here for your last week junk. No, I deserve better than that. You deserve to be treated by a waiter or waitress, not just slopping stuff down and throwing stuff in your face, leftover service. Leftover service means no tip. Why?

Because you deserve better than that. How many of you would invite the president of the United States over to your house? Hey, Mr. President, come over.

Me and my family got some leftovers. That would be unacceptable. And the reason it would be unacceptable is who you just invited.

In other words, their position demands the best that you have to offer. When you read through the book of Malachi, a book about worship, he tells the church, why don't you all just close the doors? He says, shut the door and stay home because I don't want that junk you bringing in the church. He says, you're bringing me leftover lambs and you're bringing me lambs that got cancer and tuberculosis.

And you're talking about, well, at least we brought you something. He says, take that to your governor. See if your governor will accept that junk. Well, if your governor won't accept it, and he goes on to say, I'm not going to accept it either because I'm a great king.

I know who I am and I know what I deserve and I don't want your junk. I don't want your leftovers. We will give to God what we wouldn't give our boss. We'll get up early enough to make sure we're at work. It doesn't matter if we're at church as long as we get there before the benediction. Because he's not worthy of that kind of planning, of that kind of priority.

You don't have to have all that. Well, just so you know, just because you show up doesn't mean the worship is accepted. Cain showed up and his worship was rejected because it was not a worship that was based on faith. And faith is in your feet.

His feet did not fulfill what God had commanded, nor the level of what God expected. If he has a great name, he ought to get great worship. You ought to be bursting from your lungs to give him praise. You ought to not be ashamed to give him recognition.

You ought to prioritize his place in your life if he's a greater God, as you say he is. And Dr. Evans will give us more advice about how to do that when he continues this lesson tomorrow. In the meantime, though, today's lesson is part of Tony's current series, Heroes of the Faith. Don't forget, for a limited time, we're offering the full-length version of all 13 lessons in this two-volume series on CD and digital download, along with Tony's brand-new book and Bible study guide, Kingdom Heroes.

They're yours as our thank-you gift when you make a donation to help us continue this ministry to a world desperately in need of the good news of Jesus Christ. Call us right away at 1-800-800-3222. Our resource center never closes, so don't wait.

1-800-800-3222. Or visit TonyEvans.org to make the arrangements. And while you're there, be sure to sign up for Tony's free weekly e-mail devotional. That's TonyEvans.org. Well, tomorrow, more about the link between faith and worship as Dr. Evans continues the story of Cain and Abel. And I hope you'll be with us. The Alternative with Dr. Tony Evans is brought to you by The Urban Alternative. Celebrating 40 years of faithfulness thanks to the generous contributions of listeners like you. .