Oops! I Left Out a Couple of Things on How to Get Your Prayers Answered.
By Barbara Henderson
Oops!
Last week I wrote an article titled ‘Seven Steps to Getting Your Prayers Answered’. Well, this week I realize I left out a two important things. First, there is another step; and, it may be the most important step after the step of salvation. It is forgiveness.
When I first realized the importance of forgiveness my thought was, ‘Oh! RATS!’ Why does THAT have to come into getting my prayers answered? I suppose it truly is about getting my prayers answered; but, even more important, it is about getting closer to the Lord.
Anyway, if you are praying for something that is dreadfully and continually important to you, then you must consider your own life. Sometimes, a delay in getting a positive answer to your prayer means ‘sin lieth at the door’. (Genesis 4:7) The sin at the door is often lack of forgiveness toward those who have wronged you. The more I studied on forgiveness, the more I came to realize…. ‘I’ve been robbed!’….
That’s right. Robbed! I don’t know of the right word here, so I will use the word ‘unforgivness’.
Unforgiveness robs you of:
Peace with God.
Direct access to God.
Answers to prayers.
Freedom – it chains you to your hurt and prevents you from enjoying the blessings of the day.
Don’t misunderstand that the act of forgiveness is sort of like a ‘get out of jail free’ card. Forgiveness isn’t cause and effect in that you forgive someone and then God will grant your prayer. Forgiveness is a requirement for getting God’s attention when you pray. Your level of forgiveness to others is key to how well God hears your prayers. The smaller hurts are just as dangerous as the big hurts. Left unforgiven, they wind up growing to the same size as a big hurt.
Unforgiveness is:
A liar – it tells you things are worse than they really are.
A slave driver – an unforgiving heart finds every thought consumed by anger and bitterness toward the one who ‘done him wrong’.
A devouring fire – destroying whoever gets in its way. No one and nothing is more important than holding on to that anger and hurt.
And – unforgiveness is EXPENSIVE!
It costs the future by chaining you to the past.
It costs the present by binding your thoughts to hurt.
It costs you the people and things you love because you neglect them in favor of nursing hurt feelings.
According to John MacArthur there are seven reasons to forgive:
To deflect pride
To show mercy
To restore joy
To affirm love
To prove obedience
To restore fellowship
To thwart Satan
http://www.gty.org/Resources/Sermons/47-9
I also left out something else. Step 7 to getting your prayers answered was that we should keep on praying. Prayers often go unanswered because we fail to continue to pray. Why is that?
Do we still want our prayer answered?
Probably, but there is a problem. To continue in prayer regarding one subject, whether it be healing of an illness, restoration of family relationship, or revival in the lives of Christians, is usually going to require something of the prayee (the one praying) that is very difficult. It requires the prayee to deal with sin in his or her own life.
Yep, that’s exactly right. I have never gone to the Lord in effectual fervent prayer (James 5:16) without being severely convicted of something in my own life that was bothering God. It turns out that there are no ‘little’ sins to God. If there is something going on in your life that is not pleasing to God, get ready to hear about it from Him.
Continual passionate prayer is work to begin with; but it is also dangerous work for anyone who wants their own lives to go along without change. To get your prayer answered often causes your own life and self image to be turned upside down!
There is some really good news in all that. God can’t fix what is broken in your life until He has your attention, and because of your passionate prayer He suddenly has it. Then, God ‘runs a diagnostic check’ on you. One thing may have led you to pray, but God is going to use it to your good. He is going to point out obstacles that are keeping you from being the growing Christian God wants you to be.
So, every Christian praying for something important has to make a decision.
How badly do I want this prayer answered?
Count the cost before you set out to get a prayer answered.
God is not going to ask you to go out on a great quest in order to get Him to listen to your prayer. He is not going to ask you to sacrifice something in your life like ‘fish on Friday’, or powdered sugar donuts for breakfast (thankgoodness). He is going to ask you to get your heart right with Him.
God will ask you to listen to the prompting of the Holy Spirit, who often speaks through scripture, so Bible reading is a must if you are serious about wanting your prayer answered.
My preacher and dearest friend Evan New preached that a good reason that King David was loved so much by God, even though David was at times a dreadful sinner, was that once David realized the error of his ways, or ‘came to his senses’ regarding a sin, he immediately repented. David did not waste time excusing his sins. He truly repented and asked forgiveness.
That is an example that we need to follow. Don’t waste your time explaining how badly someone hurt you, or what your provocation was to sin in the first place. Just admit it was a sin. Turn from it. Restore your relationship with God. It is really plain stupid not to. Here’s why. God can soothe the hurt or trauma like no one and nothing else can do. To stay alienated from God because of anger or hurt feelings is like a burn victim refusing medical treatment because he is mad that he was burned in the first place.
Well, those are the two things I left out of ‘Seven Steps to Getting Your Prayer Answered’.
Forgive others as Christ has forgiven you.
Be ready to repent and turn from sin in your own life immediately upon conviction of sin.
I have to add that none of these ‘steps’ are guaranteed to bring you the exact answer to anything. Often God changes our prayer to suit Him better. In effect, we come to desire something better than our original prayer. It is like in Psalms 37 – God gives us the right desires in our hearts and then He brings it to pass.
Instead of a song I think I will just add Psalm 37:1-11 and Psalm 107:26-30.
Psalm 37:1-11
1. Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity.
2. For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.
3. Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and veriy thou shalt be fed.
4. Delight thyself also in th LORD: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
5. Commit they way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.
6. And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday.
7. Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him”: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devises to pass.
8. Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil.
9. For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth.
10. For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be.
11. But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.
Another really good passage for anyone going through something so terrifying and distressful that it brings them to agony of spirit is Pslam 107:26-30. This passage compares someone in turmoil and distress to a mariner going through a storm.
Psalm 107:26-30
26. They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths: their soul is melted because of trouble. (That pretty much describes the emotional roller coaster ride we go through when facing a crisis.)
27. They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wit’s end.
28. Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses. (PLURAL – distresses – I love that part.)
29. He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still. (God stops your emotional storm, and helps you to be still and hear His voice.)
30. Then are they glad because they be quite; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven.
Oh, man, I love verse 30. We reach our desired haven. The storm is over!
Barbara Henderson
http://askbh.com
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Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Do You Want to Get a Prayer Answered?
Seven Steps to Getting Your Prayer Answered
By Barbara Henderson
'And being in an agony, he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.' Luke 22:44
Well, today is another day in the fall of civilization. In living through the fall of civilization, people are also living through the fall of institutions.
Financial institutions are failing.
Industrial institutions are failing.
Local business institutions are failing.
Religious institutions are failing.
And, even worse, the institution of the family is failing.
Today is worse than just the fall of an empire because when civilization falls, all the empires of the earth fall as well.
If you read Bible prophecy you know eventually the collapse of civilization as we know it is going to happen utterly and completely. From the ashes of today’s civilization will rise a dictator such as the world has never seen. He will usher in a ‘New World Order’ of such fierce control and terror he will make Hitler look like a kindergarten bully. For those who know the Bible to be true and without error, there is no doubt that that time of trouble will come just as predicted.
In the mean time, we observe the world traveling down the road to hell as though the inhabitants were going to a Sunday picnic.
Christians see this happening, and they see nothing that can be done about it. It is going to happen eventually, whether in our life time or not. This makes it harder for us to pray. We cannot stop what God has predicted will happen.
However, there is no knowledge given to mankind regarding exactly who will take what the world has to offer and who will reject the world and turn to Christ. We ought to pray earnestly for the salvation of the lost. We know that one day there will be a great battle called the ‘battle of Armageddon’. In that day, the loss of life will be so great that the blood of the slain will reach up to the bridle on the horses. The good news is that for everyone saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, there will be 5 or 6 quarts of blood less in that valley. Regardless of if the battle comes in our life time or not, every soul saved means one less soul in the devil’s kingdom for eternity.
So, here we are. The end of this age is coming. What should be the game plan of the Christian? Simply put, we are to do what Christians since the time of Christ have done. We are to follow the example of Jesus Christ.
Very near the end of Christ’s life, He gives us an example of what to do in a situation where what appears to be tragedy is going to come to pass. Tragically, I don’t really see a turnaround in world politics and society as a whole. Christ new his life was about to end in a brutal fashion. He knew that He who knew no sin was going to be made sin. (2 Corinthians 5:21) Of course Jesus knew that neither death nor sin could hold him permanently, but knowing what He was about to endure still put Him in agony, in addition to the agony over lost souls that brought Him to earth in the first place. Even a mother looking forward to the birth of her baby doesn’t look forward to the actual physical agony of giving birth. (If she does – she’s a nut!)
So great was the agony of Jesus Christ that it caused His body to sweat blood. How did Jesus endure such anguish? He prayed more earnestly than before! Let me repeat that. When is such agony of spirit that His body responded by sweating blood, Jesus prayed more earnestly than before.
Because Jesus is God, He knows and has always known the names of every human being alive on earth. He knows the names of those alive now, those who have lived in ages past, and those yet to be born. Jesus knows more than their names. He knows them personally, as He created them. His agony was not for His suffering alone, but for all the people of the world. Through His death He gave the gift of eternal life to everyone who would believe in Him. Jesus endured this agony because He loved mankind. He endured the agony of the cross for you and for me.
You and I cannot know the names of all the people of the earth. We may know the names, and even the faces, of a great many people. But, we don’t actually have more than a passing acquaintance with that many people. We know our own families. To a lesser degree we know the people we work with and those with whom we attend church. We know some of the people in the community in which we live. Out of these people, there is only a handful we love so much that their actions or suffering can put us in agony. A parent, a child, a spouse, or another close relative has the power to put us in agony of spirit through their sinful or hurtful actions, or tragedy in their lives.
The human response to a hurt so great that it causes agony of spirit is to first cry until they have no more tears, and then get angry at someone. To do this is to give place to the devil. We should follow the example of Christ. When we are in agony of spirit we should pray more earnestly!
In a sermon Billy Sunday tells this story regarding a fervent prayer of John Knox.
‘John Knox, whom his queen feared more than any other man, was in such agony of prayer that he ran out into the street and fell on his face and cried, “Oh, God, give me Scotland or I’ll die.” And God gave him Scotland, and not only that, He threw England in for good measure.’ (http://www.biblebelievers.com/billy_sunday/sun16.html )
John Knox was but one man. In his agony over the lost condition of his own beloved country he prayed the more earnestly.
In the same sermon Billy Sunday also says, ‘If the church people get right, the whole world will get right. The world is challenging the church instead of the church challenging the world.’
I don’t know about the whole world ‘getting right’ (right with God), but I do know that SOME will get right with God. On judgment day, those who do turn from evil to the God of salvation will be glad someone pointed them to Jesus Christ.
I also believe that the power of prayer in a church begins with the individual who, being in agony over someone or even something, prays the more earnestly.
How then, you might be wondering, can I pray more earnestly?
First, you must be praying to the God of your salvation. That means you must have assurance that you have sincerely gone to God the Father through Jesus Christ the Son. You must be able to truthfully and sincerely say, ‘The blood of Jesus Christ has atoned for my sins. By faith, I know that I have been accepted, and that I am eternally saved.’
Second you must go to God with a clean heart. That means you have confessed all your known sins and turned from them.
Third, you must go to God in meekness, understanding that you cannot gain your heart’s desire through your own merit – as you actually have none. You have no merit – none whatsoever. To be meek is to take the pressure of the outcome of anything off your own shoulders and place it on God’s shoulders. Do not mistakenly believe that to be meek is to be a doormat. Moses was meek, yet he was not afraid to speak directly to the king of Egypt. Actually, the meeker you are toward God, the better your chances of success in anything you attempt. (I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. Philippians 4:13)
Fourth, you must go to God boldly. (Hebrews 4:16) You should not approach God with a swagger, but rather with the boldness that comes with knowing you have a command to go to God boldly. You are well within the bounds of proper behavior and attitude toward God when you approach Him according to instructions. You do not have to creep into speak to Him, as though you had no right to be there. Go boldly as you were instructed to do.
Fifth, you must pray earnestly, and with fierce intensity, asking the Holy Spirit to guide you in what you ought to say. (Romans 8:26-27) If you don’t even know how to begin a prayer, let it begin with a request that God would send His Holy Spirit to teach you how to pray in the matter, and to create in your heart an intensity, and an earnestness that will stir up God’s heart to answer your prayer.
Sixth, ask that someone else be given the same burden that you have been given, whether it be salvation of a lost loved one, healing of illness for yourself or a loved one, peace between loved ones or fellow believers, or even some material gain. (Matthew 18:19)
Seventh, continue in prayer. (Luke 18:1-7) Prayers are not answered because the ‘prayees’ becomes weary with well doing. They stop praying for a particular blessing because they have grown weary in well doing! In Galatians 6:9 we are told, ‘And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season, we shall reap, if we faint not.’
Remember James 5:16b which says, ‘The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.’ I paraphrase that verse to encourage myself by saying, ‘the continual passionate prayer of a believer gets results!’
Also remember that nothing is impossible with God. Just as you care about the little things your child needs and wants, God cares about all your needs and wants. He has time and means to answer the greatest prayers – such as ‘give me Scotland or I die’. He has the time and the means to answer even the prayer that may seem unimportant to everyone but you.
Do not grow weary in well doing. Keep praying. In God’s time you will reap if don’t quit. I love Billy Sunday’s quote on the prayer of John Knox for Scotland. Silly Sunday said God gave him
Scotland and threw in England to boot. Your prayer may not only be answered, you may get something else that is wonderful in addition to what you originally asked!
Consider yourself on permanent KP – Keep Praying!
Barbara Henderson
http:askbh.com
tosergeant@gmail.com
By Barbara Henderson
'And being in an agony, he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.' Luke 22:44
Well, today is another day in the fall of civilization. In living through the fall of civilization, people are also living through the fall of institutions.
Financial institutions are failing.
Industrial institutions are failing.
Local business institutions are failing.
Religious institutions are failing.
And, even worse, the institution of the family is failing.
Today is worse than just the fall of an empire because when civilization falls, all the empires of the earth fall as well.
If you read Bible prophecy you know eventually the collapse of civilization as we know it is going to happen utterly and completely. From the ashes of today’s civilization will rise a dictator such as the world has never seen. He will usher in a ‘New World Order’ of such fierce control and terror he will make Hitler look like a kindergarten bully. For those who know the Bible to be true and without error, there is no doubt that that time of trouble will come just as predicted.
In the mean time, we observe the world traveling down the road to hell as though the inhabitants were going to a Sunday picnic.
Christians see this happening, and they see nothing that can be done about it. It is going to happen eventually, whether in our life time or not. This makes it harder for us to pray. We cannot stop what God has predicted will happen.
However, there is no knowledge given to mankind regarding exactly who will take what the world has to offer and who will reject the world and turn to Christ. We ought to pray earnestly for the salvation of the lost. We know that one day there will be a great battle called the ‘battle of Armageddon’. In that day, the loss of life will be so great that the blood of the slain will reach up to the bridle on the horses. The good news is that for everyone saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, there will be 5 or 6 quarts of blood less in that valley. Regardless of if the battle comes in our life time or not, every soul saved means one less soul in the devil’s kingdom for eternity.
So, here we are. The end of this age is coming. What should be the game plan of the Christian? Simply put, we are to do what Christians since the time of Christ have done. We are to follow the example of Jesus Christ.
Very near the end of Christ’s life, He gives us an example of what to do in a situation where what appears to be tragedy is going to come to pass. Tragically, I don’t really see a turnaround in world politics and society as a whole. Christ new his life was about to end in a brutal fashion. He knew that He who knew no sin was going to be made sin. (2 Corinthians 5:21) Of course Jesus knew that neither death nor sin could hold him permanently, but knowing what He was about to endure still put Him in agony, in addition to the agony over lost souls that brought Him to earth in the first place. Even a mother looking forward to the birth of her baby doesn’t look forward to the actual physical agony of giving birth. (If she does – she’s a nut!)
So great was the agony of Jesus Christ that it caused His body to sweat blood. How did Jesus endure such anguish? He prayed more earnestly than before! Let me repeat that. When is such agony of spirit that His body responded by sweating blood, Jesus prayed more earnestly than before.
Because Jesus is God, He knows and has always known the names of every human being alive on earth. He knows the names of those alive now, those who have lived in ages past, and those yet to be born. Jesus knows more than their names. He knows them personally, as He created them. His agony was not for His suffering alone, but for all the people of the world. Through His death He gave the gift of eternal life to everyone who would believe in Him. Jesus endured this agony because He loved mankind. He endured the agony of the cross for you and for me.
You and I cannot know the names of all the people of the earth. We may know the names, and even the faces, of a great many people. But, we don’t actually have more than a passing acquaintance with that many people. We know our own families. To a lesser degree we know the people we work with and those with whom we attend church. We know some of the people in the community in which we live. Out of these people, there is only a handful we love so much that their actions or suffering can put us in agony. A parent, a child, a spouse, or another close relative has the power to put us in agony of spirit through their sinful or hurtful actions, or tragedy in their lives.
The human response to a hurt so great that it causes agony of spirit is to first cry until they have no more tears, and then get angry at someone. To do this is to give place to the devil. We should follow the example of Christ. When we are in agony of spirit we should pray more earnestly!
In a sermon Billy Sunday tells this story regarding a fervent prayer of John Knox.
‘John Knox, whom his queen feared more than any other man, was in such agony of prayer that he ran out into the street and fell on his face and cried, “Oh, God, give me Scotland or I’ll die.” And God gave him Scotland, and not only that, He threw England in for good measure.’ (http://www.biblebelievers.com/billy_sunday/sun16.html )
John Knox was but one man. In his agony over the lost condition of his own beloved country he prayed the more earnestly.
In the same sermon Billy Sunday also says, ‘If the church people get right, the whole world will get right. The world is challenging the church instead of the church challenging the world.’
I don’t know about the whole world ‘getting right’ (right with God), but I do know that SOME will get right with God. On judgment day, those who do turn from evil to the God of salvation will be glad someone pointed them to Jesus Christ.
I also believe that the power of prayer in a church begins with the individual who, being in agony over someone or even something, prays the more earnestly.
How then, you might be wondering, can I pray more earnestly?
First, you must be praying to the God of your salvation. That means you must have assurance that you have sincerely gone to God the Father through Jesus Christ the Son. You must be able to truthfully and sincerely say, ‘The blood of Jesus Christ has atoned for my sins. By faith, I know that I have been accepted, and that I am eternally saved.’
Second you must go to God with a clean heart. That means you have confessed all your known sins and turned from them.
Third, you must go to God in meekness, understanding that you cannot gain your heart’s desire through your own merit – as you actually have none. You have no merit – none whatsoever. To be meek is to take the pressure of the outcome of anything off your own shoulders and place it on God’s shoulders. Do not mistakenly believe that to be meek is to be a doormat. Moses was meek, yet he was not afraid to speak directly to the king of Egypt. Actually, the meeker you are toward God, the better your chances of success in anything you attempt. (I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. Philippians 4:13)
Fourth, you must go to God boldly. (Hebrews 4:16) You should not approach God with a swagger, but rather with the boldness that comes with knowing you have a command to go to God boldly. You are well within the bounds of proper behavior and attitude toward God when you approach Him according to instructions. You do not have to creep into speak to Him, as though you had no right to be there. Go boldly as you were instructed to do.
Fifth, you must pray earnestly, and with fierce intensity, asking the Holy Spirit to guide you in what you ought to say. (Romans 8:26-27) If you don’t even know how to begin a prayer, let it begin with a request that God would send His Holy Spirit to teach you how to pray in the matter, and to create in your heart an intensity, and an earnestness that will stir up God’s heart to answer your prayer.
Sixth, ask that someone else be given the same burden that you have been given, whether it be salvation of a lost loved one, healing of illness for yourself or a loved one, peace between loved ones or fellow believers, or even some material gain. (Matthew 18:19)
Seventh, continue in prayer. (Luke 18:1-7) Prayers are not answered because the ‘prayees’ becomes weary with well doing. They stop praying for a particular blessing because they have grown weary in well doing! In Galatians 6:9 we are told, ‘And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season, we shall reap, if we faint not.’
Remember James 5:16b which says, ‘The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.’ I paraphrase that verse to encourage myself by saying, ‘the continual passionate prayer of a believer gets results!’
Also remember that nothing is impossible with God. Just as you care about the little things your child needs and wants, God cares about all your needs and wants. He has time and means to answer the greatest prayers – such as ‘give me Scotland or I die’. He has the time and the means to answer even the prayer that may seem unimportant to everyone but you.
Do not grow weary in well doing. Keep praying. In God’s time you will reap if don’t quit. I love Billy Sunday’s quote on the prayer of John Knox for Scotland. Silly Sunday said God gave him
Scotland and threw in England to boot. Your prayer may not only be answered, you may get something else that is wonderful in addition to what you originally asked!
Consider yourself on permanent KP – Keep Praying!
Barbara Henderson
http:askbh.com
tosergeant@gmail.com
Monday, October 5, 2009
The Way of Cain v The Way of the Cross
“The Way of Cain” Versus “The Way of the Cross”
There he was, a man who tilled the ground and grew food. His brother was a shepherd. Both men were good at what they did.
Their parents must have been so proud of their sons - Cain and Able. Mom and dad probably sat around and wondered if one of the boys was the savior God had promised after their little fiasco when they ate the forbidden fruit, got themselves and all mankind condemned to die, separated from God by sin, and forced to work for their food. Perhaps they had an idea that something was not quite right with their first son. Perhaps they knew Cain was looking for a way into heaven that didn’t require following the instructions given to them by God.
I expect that both Adam and Eve reminded their sons quite often of how disobedience to God had gotten them all into this mess in the first place. They warned against future disobedience. They knew the end of disobedience is disaster. Or put another way, ‘the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 6:23 Probably Adam and Eve didn’t know the name of the promised savior; but they did know that on the day they ate the forbidden fruit, they had died spiritually. The also began to die physically. They were able to bear their sorrow because of the promise God had given them of a coming savior. They wanted their sons to avoid their mistakes. They wanted them to be obedient to God.
Cain was not ignorant of the events that led to the fall from grace. But apparently he was willing to remain a ‘little confused’ about the remedy for rebellion and disobedience. He was ‘willingly ignorant’. In his rebellion, Cain set out to discover another way into heaven that was ‘reasonable’. Cain probably reasoned, “I surely worked as hard as my brother Able. I am older than Able, which should have made me the leader. Able isn’t a follower of anyone but God. And look where that has gotten him. He is just a sheep herder. Is that the kind of success God gives to those who follow him?” Cain became even more dissatisfied.
Sadly, Cain rejected the way of salvation as ‘too harsh’ or ‘too narrow minded’. Yet, he still wanted to be reconciled to God. He wanted the good things God had to offer; but he didn’t want reconciliation badly enough to seek it on God’s terms. He refused to obey God’s instructions and offer a blood sacrifice as a symbol of atonement for sin. He had to come up with a substitute.
Cain came up with the idea that he would give God the very best of what he had to offer. He would sidestep the time and effort it would take for him to obtain a lamb from his brother. He would also sidestep the messy spectacle of actually sacrificing the lamb. He would go to God by works. And that is what he did. Of course, God refused to even consider the offering. You know, Cain might have offered God enough fruit and vegetables to feed the current population of the entire continent of Asia. I imagine he really put on a good show. It was all in vain because God knew what was in Cain’s heart. It was rebellion. And God says ‘For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft’ (1 Samuel 15:23). God tells us ‘thou shalt not suffer a witch to live’. (Exodus 22:18) The substitute offered by Cain wasn’t even worthy of a glance from God. It was as nothing.
Able on the other hand, went beyond reason and stepped through the door of faith. And his offering God accepted.
Living by faith doesn’t mean you have given up your reason and have gone off chasing illusive and impossible dreams. It means you have found ‘reason’ an empty well or a cloud without water. It means you have sought and found truth. It means you have accepted the mercy of God that allows repentant men and women entrance to heaven. It means you have chosen the narrow way that leads to life everlasting. Within the boundaries of a life lived by faith in the Son of God, the believer is to fear (or have a reverent awe) of God and keep the commandments.
Cain gained condemnation for his offering of human reasoning and works; and Cain died in his sins. Able gained justification by faith; and Able lives in heaven for all eternity. That same door of faith is still open. Sadly, most of humanity has learned nothing from the story of Cain and Able.
The proud walk the earth like giants of old, basking in the glory of their powers of ‘reasoning’ and ‘persuasive abilities’. Measuring their abilities by the abilities of those around them, they think themselves wise. Then belonging to the elite group of wise people, they suddenly believe themselves to be able to contend with the God of creation regarding who shall enter the kingdom of heaven.
How then does ‘reason’ tell us that we may enter the kingdom of heaven?
‘Just do more good deeds than bad deeds and you can enter the kingdom of heaven.’ (‘There is non righteous, no, not one;’ Romans 3:10)
‘Die in a holy war fighting for Allah and you can enter the kingdom of heaven.’
‘Work out your bad karma through endless death and rebirth - don’t worry - you’ll finally get it right.’
‘Forget seeking and pursing peace with God, and instead seek to bring about world peace through a social gospel.’
‘Forget the God of Bible and BECOME GOD YOURSELF!!!”
‘You can’t know God - don’t worry about it.’
Human reason actually can take you to a predetermined destination. However, it is not the same destination to which ‘faith’ will take you.
Let’s consider the place to which a faith like Abel’s will take you. Able lives in the place where the God of creation lives. God owns this place. We call it heaven or paradise. God is there. The light of God is there. Love is there. Peace, harmony, joy, grace, mercy, innocence, trust, and things so wonderful that we can’t even imagine them are in heaven.
As the owner of heaven, God certainly has the right to say who can enter into his realm. Actually, He owns everything else as well, but the place of perfection we call heaven is the home of our God. To enter this place only requires faith on our part. To ask us to get to the place God calls heaven by works is like asking a new born baby to build a bridge strong enough to span a treacherous and mighty ocean. It cannot be done. Thankfully, our merciful God did the work for us. He made one way into heaven. It cost a terrible price. It is big enough and strong enough to accommodate every single person who is willing to obediently enter through faith in the promised savior - who we now know to be Jesus Christ. When a ‘religion’ offers salvation by any other name or any other way, they are not speaking of the place Jesus Christ calls home.
There is a place Allah calls ‘Paradise’. Yet the paradise of Allah not only accepts murderers, it rewards them. John 8:44 tells us ‘He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him.’ This verse is speaking of Satan - the father of lies. The paradise of Allah is not the Paradise of Jesus Christ.
There is supposed to be a place called “Nirvana’ where Hindus and Buddhists supposedly go when they achieve enlightenment. Upon arrival they unite with their god - and individualism is lost.
This is not the heaven of Jesus Christ. First Corinthians 13:12 tells us, ‘For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face; now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.’ We will not only know Jesus Christ, but we will know those around us. Our saved loved ones and friends will not be lost to us, but will fellowship with us for eternity!
The Pantheist likely worships the creation instead of the Creator of all things.
The Humanist sees heaven developing on earth through the works of mankind. The ‘little god’ in all of us will come out if given the chance. This is the socialist gospel now being preached in the place of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in many churches and all aspects of society.
All these ideologies are really the same thing. They are following ‘The Way of Cain’.
They have rejected the TRUTH of Jesus Christ. They are apostates from truth.
They have reasoned their way to a ‘substitute’ for the truth. They have changed the truth for a lie. Romans 1:25 says ‘Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.’
Their end is destruction. God will not accept their offering anymore than He would accept Cain’s offering. In seeking a substitute for the sacrifice offered by Jesus Christ, they are instead following God’s adversary the devil. What does the devil offer to his followers?
He offers them lies, for he is a liar - and the father of it.
Satan lies when he helps the arrogant and rebellious reason against the truth of God.
Satan lies when he suggests any substitute will work when approaching the Most High God.
Satan lies when he offers a home in ‘paradise’. He owns no place called
Paradise - or any other place for that matter.
Satan lies when he says people will be reborn and have another chance to live a better life. (It is appointed unto man once to die and after this the judgment. Hebrews 9:27)
The ‘RELIGION” of the individual is his or her own deeply held belief system.
It is not the religion of anyone that will get him or her into the heaven where Jesus lives. It is their “FAITH” that will get them there.
Everyone makes a decision. They will live by faith - or they will live by what seems right to them.
Romans 1:17 says, ‘For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.’
We are justified by faith in God. Acts 4:12 says, “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.’
Walking any path except the path offered by Jesus Christ is the walking the way of Cain. The end of that path is eternal separation from God in a place called hell.
Redeemed - a favorite hymn of mine.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOytmkPzhLo
Thank you so much for reading my article. God bless you.
Barbara Henderson.
-------------------------------
There he was, a man who tilled the ground and grew food. His brother was a shepherd. Both men were good at what they did.
Their parents must have been so proud of their sons - Cain and Able. Mom and dad probably sat around and wondered if one of the boys was the savior God had promised after their little fiasco when they ate the forbidden fruit, got themselves and all mankind condemned to die, separated from God by sin, and forced to work for their food. Perhaps they had an idea that something was not quite right with their first son. Perhaps they knew Cain was looking for a way into heaven that didn’t require following the instructions given to them by God.
I expect that both Adam and Eve reminded their sons quite often of how disobedience to God had gotten them all into this mess in the first place. They warned against future disobedience. They knew the end of disobedience is disaster. Or put another way, ‘the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 6:23 Probably Adam and Eve didn’t know the name of the promised savior; but they did know that on the day they ate the forbidden fruit, they had died spiritually. The also began to die physically. They were able to bear their sorrow because of the promise God had given them of a coming savior. They wanted their sons to avoid their mistakes. They wanted them to be obedient to God.
Cain was not ignorant of the events that led to the fall from grace. But apparently he was willing to remain a ‘little confused’ about the remedy for rebellion and disobedience. He was ‘willingly ignorant’. In his rebellion, Cain set out to discover another way into heaven that was ‘reasonable’. Cain probably reasoned, “I surely worked as hard as my brother Able. I am older than Able, which should have made me the leader. Able isn’t a follower of anyone but God. And look where that has gotten him. He is just a sheep herder. Is that the kind of success God gives to those who follow him?” Cain became even more dissatisfied.
Sadly, Cain rejected the way of salvation as ‘too harsh’ or ‘too narrow minded’. Yet, he still wanted to be reconciled to God. He wanted the good things God had to offer; but he didn’t want reconciliation badly enough to seek it on God’s terms. He refused to obey God’s instructions and offer a blood sacrifice as a symbol of atonement for sin. He had to come up with a substitute.
Cain came up with the idea that he would give God the very best of what he had to offer. He would sidestep the time and effort it would take for him to obtain a lamb from his brother. He would also sidestep the messy spectacle of actually sacrificing the lamb. He would go to God by works. And that is what he did. Of course, God refused to even consider the offering. You know, Cain might have offered God enough fruit and vegetables to feed the current population of the entire continent of Asia. I imagine he really put on a good show. It was all in vain because God knew what was in Cain’s heart. It was rebellion. And God says ‘For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft’ (1 Samuel 15:23). God tells us ‘thou shalt not suffer a witch to live’. (Exodus 22:18) The substitute offered by Cain wasn’t even worthy of a glance from God. It was as nothing.
Able on the other hand, went beyond reason and stepped through the door of faith. And his offering God accepted.
Living by faith doesn’t mean you have given up your reason and have gone off chasing illusive and impossible dreams. It means you have found ‘reason’ an empty well or a cloud without water. It means you have sought and found truth. It means you have accepted the mercy of God that allows repentant men and women entrance to heaven. It means you have chosen the narrow way that leads to life everlasting. Within the boundaries of a life lived by faith in the Son of God, the believer is to fear (or have a reverent awe) of God and keep the commandments.
Cain gained condemnation for his offering of human reasoning and works; and Cain died in his sins. Able gained justification by faith; and Able lives in heaven for all eternity. That same door of faith is still open. Sadly, most of humanity has learned nothing from the story of Cain and Able.
The proud walk the earth like giants of old, basking in the glory of their powers of ‘reasoning’ and ‘persuasive abilities’. Measuring their abilities by the abilities of those around them, they think themselves wise. Then belonging to the elite group of wise people, they suddenly believe themselves to be able to contend with the God of creation regarding who shall enter the kingdom of heaven.
How then does ‘reason’ tell us that we may enter the kingdom of heaven?
‘Just do more good deeds than bad deeds and you can enter the kingdom of heaven.’ (‘There is non righteous, no, not one;’ Romans 3:10)
‘Die in a holy war fighting for Allah and you can enter the kingdom of heaven.’
‘Work out your bad karma through endless death and rebirth - don’t worry - you’ll finally get it right.’
‘Forget seeking and pursing peace with God, and instead seek to bring about world peace through a social gospel.’
‘Forget the God of Bible and BECOME GOD YOURSELF!!!”
‘You can’t know God - don’t worry about it.’
Human reason actually can take you to a predetermined destination. However, it is not the same destination to which ‘faith’ will take you.
Let’s consider the place to which a faith like Abel’s will take you. Able lives in the place where the God of creation lives. God owns this place. We call it heaven or paradise. God is there. The light of God is there. Love is there. Peace, harmony, joy, grace, mercy, innocence, trust, and things so wonderful that we can’t even imagine them are in heaven.
As the owner of heaven, God certainly has the right to say who can enter into his realm. Actually, He owns everything else as well, but the place of perfection we call heaven is the home of our God. To enter this place only requires faith on our part. To ask us to get to the place God calls heaven by works is like asking a new born baby to build a bridge strong enough to span a treacherous and mighty ocean. It cannot be done. Thankfully, our merciful God did the work for us. He made one way into heaven. It cost a terrible price. It is big enough and strong enough to accommodate every single person who is willing to obediently enter through faith in the promised savior - who we now know to be Jesus Christ. When a ‘religion’ offers salvation by any other name or any other way, they are not speaking of the place Jesus Christ calls home.
There is a place Allah calls ‘Paradise’. Yet the paradise of Allah not only accepts murderers, it rewards them. John 8:44 tells us ‘He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him.’ This verse is speaking of Satan - the father of lies. The paradise of Allah is not the Paradise of Jesus Christ.
There is supposed to be a place called “Nirvana’ where Hindus and Buddhists supposedly go when they achieve enlightenment. Upon arrival they unite with their god - and individualism is lost.
This is not the heaven of Jesus Christ. First Corinthians 13:12 tells us, ‘For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face; now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.’ We will not only know Jesus Christ, but we will know those around us. Our saved loved ones and friends will not be lost to us, but will fellowship with us for eternity!
The Pantheist likely worships the creation instead of the Creator of all things.
The Humanist sees heaven developing on earth through the works of mankind. The ‘little god’ in all of us will come out if given the chance. This is the socialist gospel now being preached in the place of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in many churches and all aspects of society.
All these ideologies are really the same thing. They are following ‘The Way of Cain’.
They have rejected the TRUTH of Jesus Christ. They are apostates from truth.
They have reasoned their way to a ‘substitute’ for the truth. They have changed the truth for a lie. Romans 1:25 says ‘Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.’
Their end is destruction. God will not accept their offering anymore than He would accept Cain’s offering. In seeking a substitute for the sacrifice offered by Jesus Christ, they are instead following God’s adversary the devil. What does the devil offer to his followers?
He offers them lies, for he is a liar - and the father of it.
Satan lies when he helps the arrogant and rebellious reason against the truth of God.
Satan lies when he suggests any substitute will work when approaching the Most High God.
Satan lies when he offers a home in ‘paradise’. He owns no place called
Paradise - or any other place for that matter.
Satan lies when he says people will be reborn and have another chance to live a better life. (It is appointed unto man once to die and after this the judgment. Hebrews 9:27)
The ‘RELIGION” of the individual is his or her own deeply held belief system.
It is not the religion of anyone that will get him or her into the heaven where Jesus lives. It is their “FAITH” that will get them there.
Everyone makes a decision. They will live by faith - or they will live by what seems right to them.
Romans 1:17 says, ‘For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.’
We are justified by faith in God. Acts 4:12 says, “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.’
Walking any path except the path offered by Jesus Christ is the walking the way of Cain. The end of that path is eternal separation from God in a place called hell.
Redeemed - a favorite hymn of mine.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOytmkPzhLo
Thank you so much for reading my article. God bless you.
Barbara Henderson.
-------------------------------
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