You've Been Marked!

There were these 2 brothers who asked their parents, “Why can’t we live in that beautiful garden with all kinds of animals and fruit-bearing trees?”. The mother replied, “Because when your dad and I were young, we were foolish and disobeyed its creator. We were expelled from that place created for us.” “Is that the reason why we need to provide for our food, clothes, shelter, and other needs?” one of the brothers asked. “Yes”, the father replied. He continued, “Now we need to sacrifice animals for our sins.”

When the brothers grew up, the older one became a farmer, while the younger one became a shepherd. These 2 brothers are Cain and Abel, their parents are Adam and Eve.

[TALE OF TWO OF WORSHIPPERS]

Genesis 4:3-5 3 In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord. 4 And Abel also brought an offering—fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord looked with favour on Abel and his offering, 5 but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell.

Cain and Abel brought their offering to God, they are both worshippers.

But God rejected Cain’s offering. Why?

We can find clues from the words used by the author of Genesis that,

• Cain seemed to just bring what was nearest at hand, probably without thinking much about it (v3) – some of the fruits.

• On the other hand, Abel offered his best (v4) – "The fat portions … of the firstborn" -

o Have you seen an animal in which the fat portions are already separated? Abel needs to separate it.

o When it is time to bring the offering to God, the first-born sheep will not identify itself and say, “I’m here!” Abel must have marked it and taken care of it until it is time for the offering.

The point is that, like a High Priest in the OT, Abel has taken extra effort and time preparing himself, and his offerings, when approaching God’s presence.

The question for us now is, when we approach God, are we more like Cain or Abel? Do we approach the presence of God in reverence, or have we become acquainted with it?

When an airplane is switched to autopilot, the airspeed and altitude of the aircraft are stabilized. In this mode, the pilot can do other tasks, eat, can literally take a break. The pilot only takes the control back when the aircraft is near landing.

Likewise, some of us have this auto-worship button which we switch on before the worship starts and switch off when the service ends.

It happens when meeting God and his people has become routine, and one can appear to be fully engaged. Outside the person seems cruising or flowing in the right direction, but inside there are other things going on.

This scenario can cause one to miss the move of God.

Interestingly, there are people who can still give their best while their focus is on something else. Perhaps they have been so familiar with doing ministry.

But we have to remember that as we are sinners, not even our best or costliest gift is enough. In the end, we have nothing worthwhile to offer.

The prophet Isaiah acknowledged that. He says,

6 All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind, our sins sweep us away. Isaiah 64:6

The truth is, that giving our best to God is important, but God is more interested in our attitude when we approach him.

So, don’t ever come to God saying,

• I have given everything to grow this group.

• No one in this room can play the guitar or keyboard better than me.

• I have given the best original sermon the people ever heard.

• I have been giving 11% of my salary to the church consistently.

Not that all these offerings are wrong. The only point is that anything that we offer to God, even if it can be considered the best in the world, all are worthless if our attitude is wrong.

[CAIN WAS OFFENDED]

Genesis 4:5 but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell.

Honesty check.

Who among you gets a little offended when your gift is rejected?

As we can see from Cain, our attitude can be revealed when we don’t get what we expect.

Sometimes, try to come to God without asking. It is ok to ask. But try to come without asking and just let God reveal our weaknesses and transform us.