Glynlea Grace United Methodist Chruch

Scripture

Genesis 4:1-16

Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, "I have gotten a man with the help of the LORD." ² And again, she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a tiller of the ground. ³ In the course of time Cain brought to the LORD an offering of the fruit of the ground, ⁴ and Abel brought of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat portions. And the LORD had regard for Abel and his offering, ⁵ but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell. ⁶ The LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry, and why has your countenance fallen? ⁷ If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is couching at the door; its desire is for you, but you must master it." ⁸ Cain said to Abel his brother, "Let us go out to the field." And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel, and killed him. ⁹ Then the LORD said to Cain, "Where is Abel your brother?" He said, "I do not know; am I my brother's keeper?" ¹⁰ And the LORD said, "What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood is crying to me from the ground. ¹¹ And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand. ¹² When you till the ground, it shall no longer yield to you its strength; you shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth." Cain said to the LORD, "My punishment is greater than I can bear. ¹⁴ Behold, thou hast driven me this day away from the ground; and from thy face I shall be hidden; and I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will slay me." ¹⁵ Then the LORD said to him, "Not so! If any one slays Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold." And the LORD put a mark on Cain, lest any who came upon him should kill him. ¹⁶ Then Cain went away from the presence of the LORD, and dwelt in the land of Nod, east of Eden.

   Core Idea, Purpose & Summary

Core Idea: God deserves all our best, not our 2^nd hand junk.

 Challenge: To challenge Christians to offer God all their best with their entire lives

Summary: We have a tendency to give back to God as an after-thought. After we pay our bills and buy what we want, we may give a little to the church. After we use our skills to make lots of money, we may volunteer an hour or two. God, however, deserves more than that.

God deserves our total surrender. God deserves all our best. God created us and continued to love us even after we sinned. God came to this earth as a human named Jesus just to suffer and die for our sins. God did that to make it possible for us to receive His forgiveness and have a restored love relationship with Him. We can never pay God back. All we can do is give God our all. God deserves all our best.

The Sermon

I. Introduction: The story of a lady and her piano

     A. Lady was an accomplished piano player

• Owned a nice but very old piano
• Practiced on this piano every day
• The piano worked fine. It was still in tune. It didn’t, however, look as good as it used to and needed a little more upkeep to stay in tune
• Lady decided she wanted a brand new piano.

     B. Lady gets a brand new piano

• Lady’s church needed a new piano. The church, however, can’t afford a nice piano.
• Lady goes to her pastor and tells him that she just got a wonderful brand new piano. So, she will give the church her old beat up piano
• Lady expected the pastor to be happy but instead the pastor was irritated
• The pastor questions why she can’t give the new piano to the church instead of the old beat up piano. Why does the church have to constantly be content with 2^nd hand giving?
• The pastor refuses the old beat up piano
• Lady goes home mad after talking with the pastor. She was offended because the pastor didn’t lavish her with accolades for offering her old beat up piano

     C. When I first heard this story, I was astounded

• At first, I thought the pastor was being ridiculous. I thought the pastor should have been grateful for the old beat up piano
• After some Bible study, however, I realized the pastor understood something. The pastor understood that God deserves all our best, not our 2^nd hand junk.

     A. The older brother Cain – A farmer

• Gave some of his crops back to the Lord God
• “In the course of time Cain brought to the LORD an offering of the fruit of the ground,” (Genesis 4:3)

     B. The younger brother Abel – A cattleman

• Also gave some of his cattle back to the Lord God
• “and Abel brought of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat portions.” (Genesis 4:4)

     C. God accepted Abel’s offering but rejected Cain’s offering

• “And the LORD had regard for Abel and his offering, ⁵ but for Cain and his offering he had no regard.” (Genesis 4:4-5)
• Why???

     D. Why did God accept Abel’s offering but not Cain’s?

• Abel’s offering was done first. Abel offered the ‘firstlings’ and ‘fat portions’. Before he sold any of his flock or butchered any of his flock or did anything with his flock, he gave the best of his flock back to the Lord. Abel offered all the best he had. 
• Cain’s offering was eventually given to God ‘…in the course of time’. It wasn’t done first and there’s no indication he offered the best of his crops. His offering was more of an afterthought. Cain offered his 2^nd hand junk to the Lord.

III. Which one will we be like? Will we be Cain or Abel?

     B. Before making this choice, remember how Cain turned out.

• Cain was angry at God for not accepting his offering
• Cain vented his anger against Abel. This anger turned to jealousy. This jealousy led Cain to murder Abel.
• In response to his murder, God cursed Cain.

     C. Cain’s scenario is played out in today’s society.

• Like Cain, you don’t offer all your best to God. Instead you live your life on your own terms
• You lie, cheat, steal and hurt others to get ahead. You act as if the world revolves around you.
• So, you find yourself alone with no friends. You may be rich and powerful but you’re extremely lonely with no real sense of purpose.
• You’re not accustomed to take responsibility for your bad actions, so you blame others for your miserable existence. This causes you to be even more hateful and mean.
• You die a lonely, bitter man who does not know God.

IV. Why we should be like Abel and give all our best back to God

      A. Giving all your best to God is done in response to being saved

• We are saved by grace through faith in Jesus (Ephesians 2:8-10) – We simply receive God’s forgiveness as a gift. This forgiveness was made possible because Jesus paid the penalty for our sins.
• We can not earn our salvation – So, giving all our best to God is not a way to be saved
• Giving all our best to God is in response  to being saved.
• In other words, we give all our best to God because God deserves all our best

     B. God deserves all our best

• God created us…that alone makes God deserving
• Not only did God create us, God became a human named Jesus to suffer and die as payment for our sins
• God deserves all our best

V. Three ways for us to give all our best to God

     A. Give all your best to the church

• The church is the Body of Christ – Giving to the church is giving to God
• The church is God’s primary way of spreading the Kingdom of Heaven on earth
• This includes your tithes, time and talents – supporting your church becomes a priority

     B. Give all your best to the poor and outcast

• Jesus said, “Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did itto one of the least of these my brethren , you did it to me” (Matthew 25:40)
• Spend time and money with a ministry that reaches out to the prisoner, poor, homeless, outcast etc…
• An example: When donating clothes to a homeless shelter, don’t just donate the old clothes you will never wear again. Also donate a few nice suits that homeless people could wear while looking for a job.

VI. Conclusion

     A. Giving all your best to God will result in a closer relationship with God

• You’ll learn to trust God more as you give more time, talent and money back to God
• You’ll experience what it’s like for God to work through you as you give the best of your time, talent and money to God
• You’ll witness the changes in people’s lives as you give all your best to God