Access Denied

This isn’t a message where there will be a lot of shouting.

Paul said in order to present every man perfect in Christ,

you have to do two things:

1. WARN

2. TEACH

As children, we don’t usually mind getting taught by our parents.

We definitely don’t like warnings.

Warnings save our lives.

People are in such a state they don’t heed warnings from God.

Read Genesis 1:5. (NAS)

God did not respect Cain’s offering.

1. This ought to blow some Christian’s away.

2. We have tradition in the church.

3. God will accept you the way you are as long as you repent.

4. Try telling that to Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 1:5.

5. Repent- turn around.

Look at this: Not only did God not respect Cain’s offering, He didn’t respect Cain either.

Genesis 4:5 (NAS)

“but for Cain and for his offering He had no regard. So Cain became very angry and his countenance fell.”

NAS

1. This is exactly what happens to a religious person when they get confronted with the truth.

2. They get angry.

1. Cain and Abel both loved God.

2. They were both bringing an offering.

3. Cain was probably working harder than Abel.

4. Farming can be more difficult than shepherding.

5. So- why did God reject Cain?

We have to go back to the Garden of Eden.

After Adam and Eve sinned, they sewed fig leaves together to make clothes.

God came down, killed an animal, and covered them.

He did it His way.

Adam and Eve were ignorant, but Cain and Abel weren’t.

When Cain brought his offering from the ground, he was doing it his way.

He thought it was right.

Genesis 4:7 (NAS)

If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up? And if you do not well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it.

What does it mean to do well?

What does it mean to obey God?

What does God desire more than anything else? Obedience!

God told Cain that if he would just take some of his crops, trade them with Abel for livestock, and bring them to Him, he would be accepted.

Genesis 4:7 (NAS)

Notice sin has a desire. That desire is to get you.

God is letting us know from Cain and Abel that there is a door to the Spirit realm.

That door leads to evil (demonic power)

Cain opened that door. He could have shut that door by obeying God.

If we don’t obey God, we open up a door to the enemy.

Cain continued in his own way.

Anger entered into his heart.

This was followed by jealousy.

Followed by offense.

This young man, who started out serving, ended up murdering his own brother.

How could this happen?

God tells us from the beginning it is disobedience.

Go to 1 Samuel 15

Here we have two guys’ personalities.

The first guy was Saul, who was the first king of Israel.

There was also Samuel, the prophet.

The word of God came to Samuel to tell Saul to utterly destroy Amelek,

and to kill every thing.

Saul attacked Amelek.

He spared the king.

Trophy!

He saved the finest of the live stalk.

People were probably saying what a great king they had.

He saved the best animals so they could sacrifice them to Jehovah.

READ verse 9 (NAS)

But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep, the oxen, the fatlings, the lambs, and all that was good, and were not willing to destroy them utterly; but everything despised and worthless, that they utterly destroyed.

He did 99.9 percent of what he was told to do.

Partial obedience is not obedience at all.

Saul ran out and told Samuel he did what God told him to do.

He was deceiving himself.

James 1:22 (NAS).

22. But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.

Have you ever done something wrong and felt guilty?

Maybe you talked about a leader, and defend what you say by saying you are right..

You felt guilty.

You did the same thing and you felt guilty, but not as much.

This continued and then you didn’t feel guilty at all.

That’s how Saul was, He had disobeyed.

He had done it over and over.

He might even have felt what he was doing was right.

God sent a prophet to reveal his sin.

Samuel confronted Saul.

Saul blamed the people.

Samuel drove him with the word.

1 Samuel 15:22-23 (NAS)

22. Samuel said, “Has the lord as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the lord? Behold to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams.