Abel’s Example

Heb.11:⁴ “It was by faith that Abel brought a more acceptable offering to God than Cain did. Abel’s offering gave evidence that he was a righteous man, and God showed his approval of his gifts. Although Abel is long dead, he still speaks to us by his example of faith.”

The mistake a lot of people make is thinking that the Old Testament is not relevant to us. That is a big fat lie! What they actually mean is the Law. The Law came by Moses but grace and truth came by Jesus.However, there are people that existed before the law that we can learn from. We can also learn from the people in the law because the Law is a shadow of the things hoped for. There are a lot of people in the Bible that lived above the Law. People like David, Daniel, Isaiah. We can learn from Abel’s example of acceptable giving.

Like we said yesterday, in God’s Favourite House, our focus is on teaching people how to find God. And when people actually find God, they respond to Him by giving. A lot of people have accused us of not cajoling or squeezing people to give, yet things get done. The question I always ask such people is, “When you experienced the cajoling or squeezing, did you like it?” If you teach people about God and help people find God, people will respond to God. Giving is just an act of worship.

After God’s Favourite House made the first payment for our property, it was announced in church. Some new people were shocked that a payment that ran into millions had happened and they did not even experience a fund raising. Again I say that when people are walking with God and can hear God, giving happens. A particular lady accused us of trying to deprive her of her blessings. My response was, “Where is the cheque?”

However, never forget that God is God and He can choose to accept or reject an offering. So the fact that you give to God does not mean that it is acceptable. This reality should make us humble and make us approach giving in a respectful way. What you are giving is not a tip; you are giving to your Maker – huge difference! There is a problem when what you are giving your Maker is what you should give as a tip. Abel is telling us that when you come to God, treat Him as God and let your offering reflect that.

Prayer: Holy Spirit, help me always remember that no man can have except it is given to him by God and help me bring an acceptable offering, in Jesus Name. Amen!