Happy Aloha Friday. Aloha Fridays are special. Aloha Fridays mean ease, freedom, slowness and relaxation. I hope that for you today. Even if you do have to work, slow it down a bit. Take a little more time to get things done and actually enjoy the process. There was a saying on Maui, “slow down this ain’t the mainland.” Just because this is the mainland doesn’t mean we have to always rush around and be in a hurry. For today, Aloha Friday, slow down, relax, enjoy who and what God puts in front of you and take the day as it comes. Who knows, if you like it, maybe you can do as I do and make it not just Aloha Friday, but Aloha Life.
Today we’re cruising right along in Genesis and we come along to the first two people ever born upon the Earth, Cain and Abel. Adam and Eve bear two sons, the first is Cain and the second is Abel. Some perceive that they might have been twins but in the least they would have been very different than any two sons today. Think about it, they had no relatives. No alcoholic grandfathers, no great-great grandfathers that were preachers, good nor bad, they had no past influence on their genes. It’s interesting to think about. But regardless, the boys could not have been more different when it came to how they dealt with God. One specialized as a farmer and the other a rancher and they bring God very different offerings out of very different hearts. That of course results in Cain murdering Abel out of his anger and jealousy which is fueled by….pride. Yep, here comes the real curse of Adam and Eve’s first bites of that fruit in the garden. The curse of sinful pride upon man is passed onto future generations. It doesn’t take long for this pride to surface in man as Cain is eat up with it. Pride, the cause of the fall of man in the garden and the continual cause of the fall of man today. Countless changes have occured in a few thousand years but men today are still being born with the same heart that Cain had way back then.
But this morning I’ll not be focusing on the sons but what brought them to the precipice of the story. The offering. Four chapters into God’s Word we see what looks to me to be the very first physical act of Worship to God in the Bible. Worship has millions of different definitions but to worship God is to really acknowledge who He is, who you are and to bow to Him as a result. To recognize His goodness, His provision, His mercy and His grace and the great need you have for all four. To truly worship the Lord is to cease being who you are and to fully recognize who He is. He is our Lord, our Savior, our maker. We should desire to worship Him in all that we say, do and think. So, in recalling these thoughts, Cain and Abel give us the first view of worshipping the Lord when they each bring forth a physical offering to God. How beautiful to see that the first example of worship to the Lord is to simply acknowledge how He provides for us. That all that we need to survive, exist and thrive comes directly from Him.
So what has happened today? Where has the spirit of worship through offering gone? I mean, I didn’t grow my food yesterday, in fact I went to In-N-Out burger and got dinner. (Mmmm) I didn’t do anything but step up to the counter, order my food and then even paid with a gift card I had been given for serving at my church. So, is this food from God? How about when I go to Aldi and pick up stuff to make tacos? I buy some meat, some cheese, some shells and then cook it up and chow down. I didn’t really do anything but pay for this stuff, how is this from God? You see, with the huge population of our culture today and the necessities of supply chain logistics to feed it, we have greatly lost sight of what God’s provisions look like.
So back to the offering. Cain and Abel both were moved by God to offer back a portion of the provision that He had supplied them, and they did it with what they had, fruits and vegetables for Cain and for Abel, the livestock he had raised. But again, in our society today, this is very different. If you came to my house you would quickly discern that I do not have a cow or a flock of sheep in my backyard. I do have a lot of squirrels but they don’t count. (I’m not sure what God would think about a burnt offering of a squirrel.) So, if I am to offer something today to the Lord what would it be? Well, what has God directly provided to you and me today? How does God provide for our needs today? Most of the times today, it’s money.
In our vastly different society today it is not primarily agricultural or livestock based as it was 4000 years ago. Today we offer our society value in a different way and we are not compensated with a bountiful harvest of wheat, but a paycheck. It might be easier to see that God gave the wheat but when it comes to the paycheck it’s much harder. The wheat comes out of the ground, God made the seed, He made the soil, He brought the rain and it just kinda magically grows and does its thing. But when it comes to my paycheck, well, God really has nothing to do with that right? I mean, I got the degree, I got the job, I do the work and I get the paycheck. Where is God in this mix?
You see we’ve lost sight today of the provision of God and what it means to offer God back a portion of what He generously first gives to us. I want you to stop for a second and inventory your life. Just like if you were going to list it all for sale in an ad. Take an accounting of all that you have. But I want you to go deeper. Much deeper. Count it all.
House? From God. Your land? From God. Cars? From God. Furniture you sit on? From God. TV you watch? From God. Job that supports you? From God. The money the job makes? From God. Your 401-k? From God. The insurance your job provides? From God. The food in your fridge? From God. The fridge? From God. Your savings account? From God. Your cell phone? From God. Your last vacation? From God. Money for groceries? From God. Money to go to the movies? From God. Money to buy new shoes? From God. Money to pay your electric and water bill? From God. Money to pay for your kids school? From God. Money to buy the latest gadget or toy? From God. Money to buy the clothes you need or even prefer? From God. Gas in your tank? From God. I think by now you’re starting to get the picture. IT ALL COMES FROM GOD.
So today how do we bring an offering to God? This is no longer the Old Testament, we don’t kill a bull, split in half and burn it on an altar. (or at least I sure hope you don’t!) We see in Genesis 4 today that both men physically brought an offering to God in an act of worship. How do we do that for God today? How do we offer back to God a portion of what He has already generously given unto us? Well, of course for most today, it would be giving in the form of which God does most of His giving to us today…money.
Now, here it comes, I’m already seeing some of you rolling your eyes and saying oh, he sucked me in, he’s talking about giving money to a church. He's trying to get me to give my money to his church. Not even close. If you’ve been reading this study you should have hopefully seen by now that this is not about giving money to any person, any church, any institution or any organization. This is a matter of you giving to God that which He has provided for you. This is you worshipping the Lord by giving back a portion of the bounty that He has already given to you. That’s what an offering is…period. Now you can hear this as many things. A tithe. An offering. Giving. A gift to the Lord. Support. Aid. It doesn’t matter how it’s described it all comes down to two things, God’s prompting and your heart.
You see, most people when they hear tithe or giving to a church automatically shut down. They think it’s a scam or a ruse and they tune out. Completely. “I will never give my money to a church.” It’s very true that churches have scammed people. It’s happened in the past and it will continue to happen in the future. But I want to challenge you on that. Name an evil church that ripped off people that was not operated by and evil, greedy man. You can’t do it. Evil, greedy men run evil greedy churches. Don’t label churches, label evil men. The point? Don’t let the beautiful obedient act of you making an offering to the Lord die because of an evil greedy preacher you saw on the news 27 years ago. That would be the devil working on your heart to rob you of the blessing of giving back to God.
When talking about giving to the Lord it really comes down to the heart and just like we talked about yesterday, who sits on the throne of your heart? Is it you or God? Where do you think your money comes from? Did you make it all and you’re going to keep it all or do you acknowledge that without God it could all dry up tomorrow. You see to truly offer back to God has nothing to do with the money but with where your heart lies. It’s an acknowledgment of God. If he is truly your Lord, He will be the Lord of every aspect of your life and that includes your pocketbook. How can you truly call Jesus your Lord and not offer Him a portion of what He has already given you?
In my own personal life when I made this submission, it all changed. God is the God of my life, all of it. Body, mind, spirit, soul, money, house, cars, stuff. He owns me and He owns all my stuff. He is just letting me use it while I am here on this planet serving Him but a brief period. I am a steward, watching over what God has entrusted me with. As he gives to me, I will obediently give a portion back to Him, just like Abel. After all, it all came from Him anyway right?
If you are struggling with this today, I will be praying for you. This was one of the single biggest struggles of my Christian walk…letting go of my personal finances and giving the control to God. Our society tells us it’s stupid to give our “hard-earned money” away, but my heart tells me a very different story. My heart tells me it pleases God when we are obedient to give back to Him in an act of submission and obedience. An act of worship to the Lord.
Listen to this...."When we give to God He doesn't see what we give, He sees the heart that gives it."
We’re told in Matthew 6:21, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Are you holding onto money so tight that it is your master? Or is God your treasure? I’ve heard it said, “you should be financially supporting wherever you get your blessings from God.” Wherever this may be, when you give back to God give it there.
The offering....it was God’s plan for Cain and Abel in Genesis 4 and its still God’s plan for us today.
May God be the King of your heart in all that you do.
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