The Gospel God’s Market
I heard a teacher once use a business metaphor for pleasing God. He said that if you are in business selling a product or service, you must do your research and figure out what exactly your customer wants. In our service and worship of the Lord shouldn’t we also do our research and figure out exactly what it is God wants? There are many examples in the scripture of those who pleased God, and likewise there are some examples of those who blew it. The book of Jude is a very strange 1 chapter book that is dedicated to those who are examples of what not to do. Jude begins his book with an explanation of why he set out to write them of the common salvation but was moved by the Holy Spirit to write about certain men who have “crept in”, believers among us who could jam us up. Jude v4-5 4)For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ. 5)I will therefore (or in other words, because of them) put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not. ….Yikes…Seems like the Lord is very serious about the kind of belief, worship, and service we offer Him.
Those who have crept in among us are obviously believers, and he goes further in verse 6 as to compare them to those angels who fell. Verse 12 says they are ‘spots’ in our feasts…This word spots is a little clumsy for the actual root in the Greek. The Greek idea for this word is a hidden rock or reef that sinks a ship. Verse 11 says 11)Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core.
Let’s look at Cain…Genesis 4 says Cain was a farmer, and Able was a shepherd. Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the Lord, and Able brought the firstlings of his flock, and the fat thereof. Gen 4:5 says the Lord had respect for Able and his offering but not Cain’s…Why not Cain’s? Obviously Cain believed because he was making on offering to God…Cain also worshipped the Lord because of his offering. I think we in our judgment of each other would say Cain is doing pretty well. He believes and worships!! How are we different from Cain? How do we know if our worship is accepted by God? How did Cain know his wasn’t accepted? If we want to please the Lord shouldn’t we figure out what He wants? We will look a little deeper into the Cain and Able story and deal with the subtleties of the Genesis 4 verses that I think reveal what is really going on there in tomorrow's Bread.
Max and Tammy
Those who have crept in among us are obviously believers, and he goes further in verse 6 as to compare them to those angels who fell. Verse 12 says they are ‘spots’ in our feasts…This word spots is a little clumsy for the actual root in the Greek. The Greek idea for this word is a hidden rock or reef that sinks a ship. Verse 11 says 11)Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core.
Let’s look at Cain…Genesis 4 says Cain was a farmer, and Able was a shepherd. Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the Lord, and Able brought the firstlings of his flock, and the fat thereof. Gen 4:5 says the Lord had respect for Able and his offering but not Cain’s…Why not Cain’s? Obviously Cain believed because he was making on offering to God…Cain also worshipped the Lord because of his offering. I think we in our judgment of each other would say Cain is doing pretty well. He believes and worships!! How are we different from Cain? How do we know if our worship is accepted by God? How did Cain know his wasn’t accepted? If we want to please the Lord shouldn’t we figure out what He wants? We will look a little deeper into the Cain and Able story and deal with the subtleties of the Genesis 4 verses that I think reveal what is really going on there in tomorrow's Bread.
Max and Tammy
posted by BreadBakers at 12:50 PM
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