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Welcome to Day 4 of our Look to the Book of Genesis, Genesis 4 today. Genesis 4,
there is so much in this chapter. The familiar story of Cain and Abel and all
that it says about the deep danger of jealousy and the fact that Cain's jealousy
arose over an offering to God.

Later in this chapter, there's not only the familiar murder that happens
earlier, but a less familiar murder by Lamech, Cain's
great-great-great-grandson. It's all about what's happening in Adam's family
because of sin. But sin is not the only story here.

There's also a story of faith. There's also a story of grace. And I want to
focus today on what Hebrews 11 focuses on in Genesis chapter 4.

Hebrews 11 focuses on Abel, the faith of Abel, not the sin of Cain, but the
faith of Abel. Let me read for you Genesis 4 verses 1 to 10, and then we're
going to take a look at this first faithful man. "Adam lay with his wife Eve,
and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain.

She said, 'With the help of the Lord I have brought forth a man. ' Later she
gave birth to his brother Abel. Now Abel kept flocks and Cain worked the soil.

In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering
to the Lord, but Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of the
flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his
offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was
downcast.

Then the Lord said to Cain, 'Why are you so angry? Why is your face downcast? If
you do what is right, will you not be accepted?

But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door. It desires to
have you, but you must master it. ' Now Cain said to his brother Abel, 'Let's go
out to the field.

' And while they were there in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and
killed him. Then the Lord said to Cain, 'Where is your brother Abel? ' 'I don't
know,' he replied, 'Am I my brother's keeper?

' The Lord said, 'What have you done? Listen, your brother's blood cries out to
me from the ground. Here is the first murder caused by sin, our sinful, jealous
hearts.

But here also in Genesis chapter 4 is the first faithful man. We learn three
things about faith from this man Abel in Hebrews chapter 11 and here in Genesis
chapter 4. Three things happened because Abel had faith.

So let his story build your faith today. He offered a better sacrifice, he was
commended as righteous by God, and he still speaks. Those three things happened.

He offered a better sacrifice, and that means that faith affected his decisions.
You and I, we base our decisions on a large variety of factors. Our feelings,
our pride, our fears, our circumstances, our faith.

Abel based his decisions upon faith. Cain's decision seems to have been based
upon his fear. Maybe he didn't have enough to give or his competition.

Maybe he wanted to give something better than his brother rather than something
best to God. Now how do you know? How do you know what you're basing your
decisions on?

You can often tell by looking at the attitudes that you're living with. I'm not
saying this to judge someone else. You look at your own life and think, what am
I basing my decisions on right now?

Depression sometimes results from feeling based decisions. If I'm always making
my decisions based on how I feel, I'll get more and more depressed because I'm
trying to feel good enough to make a good decision and that's a depressing road
to go down. Insecurity results from pride based decisions.

If I'm trying to make all my decisions based on what a good guy I am, how great
I am, I'm going to feel more and more insecure. Worry results from fear based
decisions. If I make my decisions based on protecting myself, I'm going to need
to protect myself more and more and more.

Confusion results from circumstance based decisions. If I'm trying to base my
decisions on just the circumstances around me, they're always going to tell me
different stories. But faith, faith adds up to the opposite of these.

It adds up to joy, to confidence, to peace, to wisdom. And Abel expresses that
kind of faith because he gave, he gave a better sacrifice. Now the question is,
what was better about it?

He gave the fat portions of the flock, Cain gave some of the fruit of the
ground. What was better about it? Well, Hebrews tells us it was better because
it was a sacrifice.

It was his best. It's apparent in this story that somehow Cain was offering some
of the fruit of the ground and Abel was offering the best of the flock. And
faith adds up to a willingness to give your best to the Lord.

You can trust him with it. When you hold your best in reserve, you're declaring
your faith is in reserve. When you give your best to the Lord, you're declaring
that your faith is in the Lord.

And we all struggle with this, holding our best in reserve, holding that little
part of ourselves in reserve. But when I can come to the place of trusting God,
giving that to God, it takes faith to offer God your best. Not drive, not
initiative, not even education.

It begins with faith. He offered a better sacrifice. Faith affected his
decisions.

And then Abel was commended as righteous by God. Faith affected his
relationships, commended as righteous. It affected his relationship with God and
it certainly affected his relationship with Cain.

God commended Abel, Cain murdered Abel. God commended Abel, righteous, he said.
Righteous is a word about relationships.

It points to being in right relationship with God, resulting in right
relationships to other people. Preschoolers define it as being God's friend.
That's what we're talking about.

Abel was a friend of God. And out of that relationship with God, he made his
sacrifice. He gave his offering.

Abel's faith affected his relationship with God, but it also affected his
relationship with others. Now I'm sure that it affected it positively in some
ways, but we see the negative here. He was murdered by his own brother because
of his jealousy.

Murdered. The first faithful man was also the first faithful martyr. He was
murdered because he was worshiping God in a way that his brother couldn't
accept, in a way that made his brother jealous.

Faith affected his relationships. It resulted in either unity or separation,
acceptance or rejection. There are some people who will accept you because you
have faith.

There are others who will reject you because you have faith. And to be righteous
is to choose to have faith, whatever. In order to have faith, how do you want to
walk through this?

In order to have faith, I'm going to have to begin with a choice. Which is my
most important relationship? And when I recognize that's my relationship with
God, that's the one relationship that I can count on.

That's the one relationship that's going to last. Then I have a place to build
on when it comes to faith in my life. Abel offered a better sacrifice.

He was commended as righteous by God, and he still speaks. Faith affected not
only his decisions and his relationships, it also affected his influence. The
most powerful tool that you have for influencing this world is your faith.

Abel's faith still speaks. He's still having a positive impact upon thousands
and thousands, millions, thousands and thousands of years after he died. You
want to make an impact?

Partners can hone your skills. An organization can improve your opportunities.
And principles can enhance your learning, but it's all a drop in the bucket
without faith.

That's where true eternal influence comes from. Let's take a minute together to
talk to God. Our Father, Lord, I trust you with my best.

You might just say that to Him today. I trust you with my best. Help me to learn
to trust you with my best.

Lord, you are the most important relationship in my life. Help me to learn to
make you the most important relationship in my life. Lord, I want to be useful
to you, make an impact for you.

Help me to learn to be useful to you, to make an impact for you. I ask this in
Jesus' name, amen. And join us tomorrow as we end this first week of looking at
the book of Genesis.

We're going to look at another faithful man by the name of Enoch.