November 11, 2001 Hebrews 11:4,5
“Calling the first witness”
I. INTRODUCTION
A defendant was on trial for murder in Oklahoma. There was strong evidence indicating guilt, but there was no corpse. In the defense’s closing statement the lawyer, knowing that his client would probably be convicted, resorted to a trick. "Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I have a surprise for you all," the lawyer said as he looked at his watch. "Within one minute, the person presumed dead in this case will walk into this courtroom." He looked toward the courtroom door. The jurors, somewhat stunned, all looked on eagerly. A minute passed. Nothing happened. Finally the lawyer said, "Actually, I made up the previous statement. But you all looked on with anticipation. I, therefore, put it to you that there is reasonable doubt in this case as to whether anyone was killed and insist that you return a verdict of not guilty." The jury, clearly confused, retired to deliberate. A few minutes later, the jury returned and pronounced a verdict of guilty. "But how?", inquired the lawyer. "You must have had some doubt; I saw all of you stare at the door." Answered the jury foreman: "Oh, we did look. But your client didn’t."
Last week, we began a court case. Unlike the lawyer in the example I just gave, our task is to erase doubt about the guilt of our client. Our client is God Himself. The charge that we wish to prove is that God is worthy of our trust. A life of faith in Him, though it may go against everything we see and feel, will produce miracles. Obedience to Him, though scary and costly, will give you the most exciting ride of your life. Taking the risk of doing exactly what He commands is the only way for us to be pleasing to Him.
So far, we have listened to the opening statements recorded in verses 1-3 and 6. After opening statements, the judge makes a statement that goes something like this: “You may call your first witness”. That’s what we’re going to do today. We’re going to start building our case. We’re going to listen to witnesses tell their story and give evidence to the trustworthiness of God. Let’s get our first witness to the stand. He’s got a story to tell.
1. Abel – Faith expressed in how we give (vs. 4 & Gen. 4:1-5).
— A giving faith gives you the ability to worship.
Both Cain and Abel brought a sacrifice to God. Sacrifice is the forfeiture or giving away of something that is highly valued by the giver for the sake of one considered to have a greater claim or value. Both of them were attempting to worship God. Only Abel was successful in his attempt because God only accepted the offering that Abel brought. The Bible says that Abel’s offering was better than Cain’s. What made it better? Why did God accept one offering and not the other?
There are only two possibilities. Either it was what they brought – the substance of the offering, or it was how they brought it – the attitude that they had in their worship. The Bible doesn’t tell us what the real difference was in the account of Cain and Abel, but it does tell us what the Lord requires in offerings and offerers.
As far as the substance of our offerings goes, the Bible tells us that we must bring our best. In Malachi 1, God accuses the Jews of robbing from Him because they had not brought their best to God. They had brought the blind and lame animals as sacrifice. These were animals that they could not sell or even give away as gifts to other people. And yet they were giving them to God supposedly as an expression of their love to Him. They were giving Him the leftovers, not the best. The Bible also tells us that in order for offering to be a true act of worship and receive praise from God, we must bring our safety. It’s got to put us in some level of danger. The widow who received praise from Jesus for her offering gave everything that she had to live on. Others had given more, but they gave out of their surplus. She gave out of her need. Some can give millions and receive no recognition in heaven. But others can give $10 and get God’s attention. And in the substance of our gifts, we must bring our selves (Rm. 12:1). The gift that we bring, no matter what it is, is only supposed to represent the fact that we have already brought ourselves. God has a right to it all! When I came to Christ for salvation, I turned over my whole life to Him. I died to myself. I gave Him everything. The offering that I bring, whether it be time or talents or treasure, is only a means for me to say that I relinquish my control over every portion of my life. He has me, and He can do whatever He wants to with me.
Not only is the substance of the gift important, but the attitude it is given with is of at least as much importance if not more so. The Bible has a lot to say about that too. It says that we must be cheerful givers (2 Cor. 9:7). God would much rather have gifts from persons who give because they want to rather than gifts from people who give because they feel like they have to. When we remember what all God has done for us, our natural inclination should be to desire to give back to Him. Then in Ps. 51:16,17, it says that we must be humble givers. It is easy to get the attitude that someone should be paying attention to how much we are giving. “Look at how much time I am putting in at the church. I’m a Sunday school teacher, I sing in the choir, I work with the children, I take up the offering…look at all that I am doing.” Someone should be patting me on the back, and if they don’t, I might just stop giving. Jesus said that our left hand should not know what our right hand is doing when we give an offering. In other words, our goal is not to draw attention to our selves and the greatness of our offering. Instead, we want to point attention to God. And one more thing…the Bible says that we must be obedient givers (1 Sam 15:22). Saul, the first king of Israel, thought that he could disobey God, and then make everything okay by just bringing an offering. He did not understand that God will not accept an offering from a heart that is holding onto sin.
“It’s not the gift, it’s the thought behind it.” You’ve heard that before. Well, these two brothers put a lot of thought in the giving of a pair of pants that they gave back and forth to each other every Christmas.
First, the pants were tied to a car wheel and run over snow and ice, then removed from the wheel, wrapped in a lovely box, and presented at Christmas-time.
When the other brother got them the next Christmas, he placed those same pants in a form where wet cement was poured and allowed to dry. They were presented that year along with a sledge hammer.
So the next year they were placed in the framing of a small tool shed, and the entire shed had to be ripped apart in order to get to the pants.
Now the next year, the same old sorry, miserable pair of pants sat in the front seat of a car which was demolished, compressed into a flattened piece of metal. It took a tractor and crowbars to get to that same pair of pants.
Again, it wasn’t the gift – it was the fun and joy in giving it.(Chuck Swindoll, Tale of the Tardy Oxcart, p. 229)
It could have been any of these reasons or a combination of them that prevented God from accepting Cain’s offering. It is both how we give and what we give that determines whether or not God accepts the sacrifice as an act of worship. But remember this: worship is impossible without a gift.
— A giving faith gives you the commendation of God.
Rm 12:1 – acceptable or pleasing sacrifice
— A giving faith gives you the opportunity to speak.
Legend has it that a man was lost in the desert, just dying for a drink of water. He stumbled upon an old shack – a ramshackled, windowless, roofless, weatherbeaten old shack. He looked about this place and found a little shade from the heat of the desert sun. As he glanced around he saw a pump about 15 feet away – an old, rusty water pump. He stumbled over to it, grabbed the handle, and began to pump up and down, up and down. Nothing came out.
Disappointed, he staggered back. He noticed off to the side an old jug. He looked at it, wiped away the dirt and dust, and read a message that said, “you have to prime the pump with all the water in this jug, my friend. P.S.: Be sure you fill the jug again before you leave.”
He popped the cork out of the jug and sure enough, it was almost full of water! Suddenly, he was faced with a decision. If he drank the water, he could live. Ah, but if he poured all the water in the old rusty pump, maybe it would yield fresh, cool water from down deep in the well, all the water he wanted.
He studied the possibility of both options. What should he do, pour it into the old pump and take a chance on fresh, cool water or drink what was in the old jug and ignore its message? Should he waste all the water on the hopes of those flimsy instructions written, no telling how long ago?
Reluctantly he poured all the water into the pump. Then he grabbed the handle and began to pump, squeak, squeak, squeak. Still nothing came out! Squeak, squeak, squeak. A little bit began to dribble out, then a small stream, and finally it gushed! To his relief fresh, cool water poured out of the rusty pump. Eagerly, he filled the jug and drank from it. He filled it another time and once again drank its refreshing contents.
Then he filled the jug for the next traveler. He filled it to the top, popped the cork back on, and added this little note: “Believe me, it really works. You have to give it all away before you can get anything back.”
- Charles R. Swindoll, Living above the level of Mediocrity.
2. Enoch – Faith expressed in how we live (vs. 5 & Gen. 5:21-24)
A. The walk was steady even when it looked like he was getting no where. Enoch preached and preached in order to get others to join him in the walk with no apparent success.
Story about woman who was swimming from Catalina Island to California and gave up ½ mile short of her goal because the fog prevented her from seeing how close she was to her goal.
B. The walk took him away from people that he cared about. It put distance between them both while he was on earth and when he was carried home. Scripture records that “he was not found”. That means that someone was looking for him. He was missed.
C. The walk was long-term. [i.e. 300 years] Many people start to walk with God, and they may walk with him in close fellowship for a while. They get saved, or a tragedy happens in their lives that pulls them back to God, and they’re best buddies with God…for a while. But when things cool back down, or when God doesn’t come through with something that they want, they start walking the old pathway all over again. Walking with God is not a sprint. It’s a long-distance run.
D. The walk was against the flow (Jude 14,15). He was surrounded by people who were all headed in the opposite direction.
E. The walk was in spite of obstacles. The Bible records that Enoch had many more sons and daughters after he began his walk with God. He could have used his children as an excuse for why he didn’t have time or energy to walk with God. That’s what a lot of people do today. They’re so wrapped up in the lives of their children that they don’t have time to spend with their Father. The way to make time spent with your children meaningful and effective is by first spending time with your Father.
— A living faith takes away the pain of separation. “not experience death”
We do not grieve as those who have no hope
— A living faith takes away the feeling of lostness. “could not be found”
They were looking for him like he was lost or something. Maybe he had lost his marbles. His life wasn’t making sense to them anymore.
I once was lost but now I’m found
Jesus is the way
A lot of people are lost right now. They’re looking for the answers. Looking for the road back to sanity.
— A living faith takes away the condemnation of God. “pleased God”
