God's Only Way (part 1)

On my quest to find God's will and how to do it, it seemed at first like i was taking a rabbit trail away from my desired destination, only to find that i am on the exact route that the Lord intended all along. We always think that there is going to be this complicated set of rules and instructions to lead us to do things God's way. And because we are humans, we are prone to attempt to achieve a set of rules that we are loathe to admit is unattainable for us. we don't like to hear that there is something that we can't do, because it obliterates our personal pride.

As i tried to go to sleep last night, i was unable to rest...and my husband and i listen to recordings of Sonlife Radio's "Study in the Word," program, which is where i got the idea for this blog name, although the subjects that i study are different, and my own personal studies, not replicas of what we hear on there. and as we were laying there, winding down, i heard something that stirred in my heart, so i got my pen and paper and began to write down what the Holy Spirit was speaking to me. It seems as though there will be several examples of things that i will study and share concerning What God Accepts. This study can be used to search and find what "God's will for your life is," (unlike Rick Warren's poo poo book about living a purpose driven life!***some may not like the fact that i say that so bluntly and relentlessly, but the fact is, if the Cross is left out of the equation & the author is leading you to some "steps to success," by what they are saying and they plug in a scripture every now and then to "back up" what they are saying...that doesn't mean that it is truth.) the Cross of Christ is the flux of living a Christian life Victoriously, any other way is from the pit of hell. Books like the "purpose driven life," are just a wicked attempt to put money in some guy's pocket, not to effectively help you...sorry, but that is the truth, you got it here...FOR FREE, ok?!

Allow me to begin with this question, "What is the Way to Heaven."

Some know this answer, and others...probably shrug. the truth is, we are all learning, and it will continue to be a learning process until the day we leave this earth. None of us want to hear that there is not a 10 or 12 step program that will lead us to victory, because then that means that there is no reliance upon ourselves, but rather the leading of the Holy Ghost. For some reason, i guess because of a lack of faith in the Holy One, we cringe and the thought of not knowing, or not having a set plan that we can see ourselves...in which to follow down the road that will take us to Heaven. When the truth is, God has laid it out plainly in His Word for us to see and follow.

So, i will begin with the first example of "way to Heaven," in Gen 4. The first family, now fallen from God and Perfection have reproduced. Cain is the elder, Abel the younger brother. Cain is a tiller of the ground, Abel a tender of sheep. Both are notable professions and neither respected more than the other in God's eyes. Most people think when they read this story, that God loved Abel more than Cain, and the truth is that is not so. The Word of God states that God is not a respecter of persons, so He did not favor one more than another. (Acts 10:34, Rom 2:11, Eph 6:9, Col 3:25, James 2:9, 1 Peter 1:17)...all of these scriptures tell us that God has no respect for particular people.

With that being said, than why is it that God didn't accept Cain's offering, but He did accept Abel's...if He respects no one, there has to be a reason for this, right? Let me first mention their offerings:

What Cain brought was no doubt the best of his crops. i'm sure he picked with his own hands, the very best, most beautiful and perfect of crop that he had tilled, planted, grown and groomed. So, it wasn't like he brought something ugly before the Lord, what he brought was what he had made with his own hands to give to his God. Abel's offering was the firstling of his flock. (meaning, the first born in his flock). Again, i'm sure that Abel's was the most beautiful one in the flock, and not the last one that he had, but rather, the First one. no doubt he would have had more attachment probably to this one, being with him longer than some of the other young in his flock, nevertheless, he gave it to the Lord. Neither have really differed that much at this point. But the Bible records that He had respect not Abel and his offering, and not to Cain. (again, God is not respecting the person here, but rather what the person is bringing on behalf of the person.)

Why did God show favoritism to Abel then? it was because of WHAT he had offered. If we go back to the garden of Eden, read the records of the fall of man and what the punishment was that God delivered to the Adam as a result of his sin, we'd see that God said that the ground that man would till would be cursed, (Gen 3:17), so any fruit that he would yield from would also be cursed. Why is that? well, again, let's go the Word for that answer. What did Adam & Eve use for a covering for their sin after they committed it and realized their nakedness? Leaves from the tree, also yielded from the ground, which is dirt, which dirt and dust is what man was made from. See, this offering spoke to God than just a mere "chance' that it was the wrong thing to give God. Cain knew what had happened with his parents, and knew the prescribed order to cover sin, he simply wanted to offer what he wanted to offer instead, and expected God to bless it.

What did God use to cover man's nakedness? remember, He killed an innocent animal before their eyes, shedding the blood of the animal. God was showing them, "without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin." (Heb 9:22). Abel brought the firstling and the fat, to secure this, sacrifice had to me made life had to be taken, blood had to be shed. Abel offered up a more excellent sacrifice (Heb 11:4) Again, it was the sacrifice that God looked at, not the person.

When God wouldn't accept Cain's offering, he was "wroth," the bible says. and God asked him, "why is your countenance fallen?" The condition of his heart was because God refused the offering he made. But see, Cain was simply, (2 Tim 3:5), "Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof."

As i was studying this story, one of my favorite writers, Arthur W. Pink says "The natural man in his pride & self-righteousness hates the truths of substitution & expiation (satisfaction for a wrong or injury) worse than he hates the Devil."

God even tries to give Cain a chance to learn and do things His way. He tells Cain, "if you do well, shall you not be accepted, and if you do not well, sin lies at the door. (Gen 4:7) God also warned Cain of the consequences of not complying with His requirements. But to no avail, Cain refused to comply. God's punishment .... He cast him out of His presence and into the Land of Nod (which means the land of wandering). Being cast away, forever without God's presence is the worst sentence to ever receive. Eternal damnation, the Lake of Fire, where torture and cursings continue relentlessly. And those who become like Cain & will refuse to accept the sacrificial Blood of Jesus Christ will suffer the same doom that Cain suffers.

i have more i would like to share on this subject, and will tie it all together, but i will be splitting it up in several blogs (if needbe) so that we can effectively and restfully cover it all.

***Just a note for the wise: God has ordained a way for all people in this life, for our life eternally. In order to properly understand WHAT God wants for us in OUR lives, we must first find in His Word what HE ACCEPTS. wouldn't it be wise to see WHAT He would only receive, before we make Him an offering that could cost us everything in the life to come?***