November 9th, 2025
The Offering: Holy. Pleasing. Acceptable to God!
Part 2: Why are you Mad?
Genesis 4
Pastor Ray-Ann Dela Fuente
November 9, 2025
Memory Verse:
“Offer sacrifices in the right spirit, and trust the Lord.”
Psalms 4:5 NLT
Introduction:
Welcome to the River of Faith! Today we are in week two of a brand new series I entitled "The Offering: Holy. Pleasing. Acceptable to God!" In this series we are going to study the importance of making the right offering to the Lord and What God tells us to do when we make an offering to Him.
Genesis is the book of beginnings. In chapter four it tells us about the very first act of worship recorded in the Bible and the first murder ever in the history of all humanity. How did an act of worship lead to murder as one offering was rejected and one was accepted? Let's look at the Scriptures and learn what it means to offer a sacrifice to God which is acceptable to Him.
Main Pointers:
“Now Adam had sexual relations with his wife, Eve, and she became pregnant. When she gave birth to Cain, she said, “With the Lord’s help, I have produced a man!” Later she gave birth to his brother and named him Abel. When they grew up, Abel became a shepherd, while Cain cultivated the ground. When it was time for the harvest, Cain presented some of his crops as a gift to the Lord. Abel also brought a gift—the best portions of the firstborn lambs from his flock. The Lord accepted Abel and his gift, but he did not accept Cain and his gift. This made Cain very angry, and he looked dejected. “Why are you so angry?” the Lord asked Cain. “Why do you look so dejected? You will be accepted if you do what is right. But if you refuse to do what is right, then watch out! Sin is crouching at the door, eager to control you. But you must subdue it and be its master.””
Genesis 4:1-7 NLT
1. Cain's offering might be acceptable in his own eyes but not with the Lord.
A. There must have been an instruction from the Lord that was given to both Cain and Abel on the necessity of making an offering. It may have been that both offering was accepted by God except the motivation behind it.
B. Sometimes we think that what we offer to God is acceptable in our own eyes but we must really seek our hearts first to make sure that what we offer is pure and led by faith.
C. “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.”
Hebrews 11:4 NLT
2. Cain's heart was corrupted from the start.
“One day Cain suggested to his brother, “Let’s go out into the fields.” And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother, Abel, and killed him. Afterward the Lord asked Cain, “Where is your brother? Where is Abel?” “I don’t know,” Cain responded. “Am I my brother’s guardian?” But the Lord said, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground! Now you are cursed and banished from the ground, which has swallowed your brother’s blood. No longer will the ground yield good crops for you, no matter how hard you work! From now on you will be a homeless wanderer on the earth.”
Genesis 4:8-12 NLT
A. This story tells us that the foundation of offering our worship and sacrifice to the Lord has not changed from the beginning. God looks into our hearts!
B. Cain's motivation was exposed when he took out his anger towards his own brother and killed him. When asked by God he lied and tried to cover up his own sin. This was the real reason his offering was not accepted in the first place. His heart was never right with the Lord.
C. “We must not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and killed his brother. And why did he kill him? Because Cain had been doing what was evil, and his brother had been doing what was righteous.”
1 John 3:12 NLT
3. Abel offered a sacrifice that was holy, pleasing and acceptable to God.
“Abel also brought a gift—the best portions of the firstborn lambs from his flock. The Lord accepted Abel and his gift,”
Genesis 4:4 NLT
A. Abel had the right motivation from the start. He wanted to please God, not compete with his brother. He did accordingly to what the Lord prescribed because of obedience not obligation. He had faith in God because he also had a genuine relationship with Him.
B. “And the Lord sent you on a mission and told you, ‘Go and completely destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, until they are all dead.’ Why haven’t you obeyed the Lord? Why did you rush for the plunder and do what was evil in the Lord’s sight?” “But I did obey the Lord,” Saul insisted. “I carried out the mission he gave me. I brought back King Agag, but I destroyed everyone else. Then my troops brought in the best of the sheep, goats, cattle, and plunder to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.”
1 Samuel 15:18-21 NLT
Conclusion:
We live in a world today where everything is competition. Everything that we do is broadcasted for the entire whole world to see. How can our worship be pure? How can our sacrifice be pleasing and acceptable to the Lord? Do it by faith. Do it out of obedience. Do it with the willing heart of sacrifice!
Part 2: Why are you Mad?
Genesis 4
Pastor Ray-Ann Dela Fuente
November 9, 2025
Memory Verse:
“Offer sacrifices in the right spirit, and trust the Lord.”
Psalms 4:5 NLT
Introduction:
Welcome to the River of Faith! Today we are in week two of a brand new series I entitled "The Offering: Holy. Pleasing. Acceptable to God!" In this series we are going to study the importance of making the right offering to the Lord and What God tells us to do when we make an offering to Him.
Genesis is the book of beginnings. In chapter four it tells us about the very first act of worship recorded in the Bible and the first murder ever in the history of all humanity. How did an act of worship lead to murder as one offering was rejected and one was accepted? Let's look at the Scriptures and learn what it means to offer a sacrifice to God which is acceptable to Him.
Main Pointers:
“Now Adam had sexual relations with his wife, Eve, and she became pregnant. When she gave birth to Cain, she said, “With the Lord’s help, I have produced a man!” Later she gave birth to his brother and named him Abel. When they grew up, Abel became a shepherd, while Cain cultivated the ground. When it was time for the harvest, Cain presented some of his crops as a gift to the Lord. Abel also brought a gift—the best portions of the firstborn lambs from his flock. The Lord accepted Abel and his gift, but he did not accept Cain and his gift. This made Cain very angry, and he looked dejected. “Why are you so angry?” the Lord asked Cain. “Why do you look so dejected? You will be accepted if you do what is right. But if you refuse to do what is right, then watch out! Sin is crouching at the door, eager to control you. But you must subdue it and be its master.””
Genesis 4:1-7 NLT
1. Cain's offering might be acceptable in his own eyes but not with the Lord.
A. There must have been an instruction from the Lord that was given to both Cain and Abel on the necessity of making an offering. It may have been that both offering was accepted by God except the motivation behind it.
B. Sometimes we think that what we offer to God is acceptable in our own eyes but we must really seek our hearts first to make sure that what we offer is pure and led by faith.
C. “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.”
Hebrews 11:4 NLT
2. Cain's heart was corrupted from the start.
“One day Cain suggested to his brother, “Let’s go out into the fields.” And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother, Abel, and killed him. Afterward the Lord asked Cain, “Where is your brother? Where is Abel?” “I don’t know,” Cain responded. “Am I my brother’s guardian?” But the Lord said, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground! Now you are cursed and banished from the ground, which has swallowed your brother’s blood. No longer will the ground yield good crops for you, no matter how hard you work! From now on you will be a homeless wanderer on the earth.”
Genesis 4:8-12 NLT
A. This story tells us that the foundation of offering our worship and sacrifice to the Lord has not changed from the beginning. God looks into our hearts!
B. Cain's motivation was exposed when he took out his anger towards his own brother and killed him. When asked by God he lied and tried to cover up his own sin. This was the real reason his offering was not accepted in the first place. His heart was never right with the Lord.
C. “We must not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and killed his brother. And why did he kill him? Because Cain had been doing what was evil, and his brother had been doing what was righteous.”
1 John 3:12 NLT
3. Abel offered a sacrifice that was holy, pleasing and acceptable to God.
“Abel also brought a gift—the best portions of the firstborn lambs from his flock. The Lord accepted Abel and his gift,”
Genesis 4:4 NLT
A. Abel had the right motivation from the start. He wanted to please God, not compete with his brother. He did accordingly to what the Lord prescribed because of obedience not obligation. He had faith in God because he also had a genuine relationship with Him.
B. “And the Lord sent you on a mission and told you, ‘Go and completely destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, until they are all dead.’ Why haven’t you obeyed the Lord? Why did you rush for the plunder and do what was evil in the Lord’s sight?” “But I did obey the Lord,” Saul insisted. “I carried out the mission he gave me. I brought back King Agag, but I destroyed everyone else. Then my troops brought in the best of the sheep, goats, cattle, and plunder to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.”
1 Samuel 15:18-21 NLT
Conclusion:
We live in a world today where everything is competition. Everything that we do is broadcasted for the entire whole world to see. How can our worship be pure? How can our sacrifice be pleasing and acceptable to the Lord? Do it by faith. Do it out of obedience. Do it with the willing heart of sacrifice!
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