Gospel Assurances from God’s Silent Prophet | 1 John 3:10-12

ThornCrown Covenant Baptist Church

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Good morning, beloved, on this lovely, chilly

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April morning, like Pastor David said. Let me go ahead and jump in here.

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Actually, before I do, I really appreciated, I thought this was awesome, this

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Catechism question from the Orthodox Catechism, question 143 on the

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Lord's Prayer. What does the second request mean? This is an awesome prayer for all of us to pray on a regular basis.

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It says, your kingdom come means rule us by your word and spirit in such a way that more and more we submit to you.

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Keep your church strong and add to it. Destroy the devil's work, destroy every force which revolts against you and every conspiracy against your word.

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Do this until your kingdom is so complete and perfect that in it you are all in all.

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Amen. That is an awesome, awesome prayer. That's a spiritual warfare prayer right there. This has been a lot of what we've been dealing with in First John as well.

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On really black and white issues like good and evil and righteousness and sin and all of those things.

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And like I mentioned last time. So today

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I would like to recap and provide some concluding remarks about Cain and about the doctrine of reprobation.

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And then I want to cover God's powerful object lesson of righteousness enables brief life and death.

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So we know, we know that sin and misery, the world, the flesh, the devil, all love company.

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Misery loves company, as they say. They all conspire throughout history in an ungodly, unregenerate, unbelieving, crooked trajectory.

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Throughout all throughout time from Satan and his antichrist seed, hating and wanting to replace

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God and his seed to Cain, hating and wanting to replace

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Abel by murdering him to the scribes and Pharisees, hating and wanting to replace

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Jesus by plotting against him to the world, hating those of us who follow Christ.

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And there's many more in between that all of that. There's the wicked kings.

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Most of the kings of Israel were wicked. If you see the history of that and Jezebel and you have you just have so much evil that's conspiring against God and his agenda, his plan, his goodness.

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And even the fallen angels who also rebelled to try to destroy the seat of the woman that would one day crush the serpent's head.

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So remember, too, that even though God demonstrated kindness to Cain and in a sense disciplined him as a father does, this does not mean that God loved

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Cain in an ultimate sense, nor does it mean that God loves anyone who remains unrepentant and is finally condemned.

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OK, the Bible is very clear about that. Like it even says in the

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Gospel of John, he who does not believe is condemned already. So God is never fully detached from his creation.

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Never, including the wicked, because he has foreordained, predestined, written down, literally written down all of history, all of it beforehand, before it ever happened.

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Everything that is going to happen, everything before time and before the world began.

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Like 2 Timothy says, I want us to turn to Isaiah 46. Now, this is a very powerful passage in Isaiah 46, starting in verse 8 in the book of Isaiah, chapter 46, verse 8.

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God says this. Remember, remember this and be assured, be assured.

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No, cause it to return to your heart, you transgressors.

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So here we can see that God wants us to remember and meditate on his sovereignty and omnipotence, his power.

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Remember, once again, remember verse 9, the former things long past, for I am

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God and there is no other. I am God and there is no one like me.

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Declaring the end from the beginning. And from ancient times, things which have not been done, saying my counsel will be established and I will accomplish all my good pleasure.

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Calling a bird of prey from the east, the man of my counsel from a far country. Truly, I have spoken.

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Truly, I will bring it to pass. I have formed it.

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Surely, I will do it. This is God's word. Amen.

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So this is a clear, clear summary of everything that I pretty much said last week and before that.

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This is a very clear passage teaching us about God's sovereign control of all things and predestination of all things, good and bad and indifferent.

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And I love how the larger catechism, the Baptist larger catechism puts it in questions 14, 16 and 20 about this very thing.

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I also quoted this in the sermon series on church history because this is this is what history is.

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History is what God has done and is doing and will do.

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Question 14 says, what are the decrees of God? God's decrees are the wise, free and holy acts from the purpose of his will, whereby from all eternity he has in himself and for his own glory.

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Unchangeably foreordained whatsoever comes to pass in time, particularly concerning angels and men.

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Question 16 says, how does God execute his decrees? God executes his decrees in the works of creation on the one hand and providence on the other, according to his infallible foreknowledge and the free and immutable, unchangeable counsel of his own will.

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Question 20, what are God's works of providence?

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God's works of providence are his most holy, wise and powerful preserving and governing of all his creatures, all of them and all their actions, everything including sin to his own glory.

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Amen. That's a great summary of everything that I was preaching on last week as well.

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You cannot remember, beloved, you cannot truly understand the love of God and appreciate it, the beauty of it,

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God's love. Unless you also understand the holiness and righteousness and purpose of his wrath, his hatred, his rage, his hardening of the wicked and his sovereignty.

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So last time I also left off with answering the question, speaking of reprobation and hardening of whatever finally happened to Cain's spiritual estate.

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What was his final eternal destination based on the Old Testament? Now, God's progressive revelation of Scripture onto the

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New Testament does not have anything at all good to say about Cain.

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While it does, however, celebrate, honor and praise Abel in both in his life and in his death.

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But Cain, Cain was a reprobate and he knew it. He knew he was a reprobate.

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He knew he was condemned. Behold, you, God, have driven me this day from the face of the ground and from your face

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I will be hidden. And I will be a vagrant and a wanderer on the earth and it will be that whoever finds me will kill me.

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That's what Cain said. He saw, he knew, he knew he was condemned.

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There is no assurance for Cain. The pattern of his crooked life stems from his ultimate root sin, which is every unbeliever's root sin.

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And that is a lack of faith and a lack of repentance. Even after Cain was directly confronted by God himself.

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That's the reprobate, perverse nature of Cain and of human nature in general, right?

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Because God confronts us every day, all of us every day. We have no excuse.

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And yet we still, people rebel him every day, unless and until God draws them and saves them.

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So Cain's response to God's fatherly admonition to do well, like was to murder his brother instead in cold blood, in cold blood.

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And worse yet, instead of confessing his sin, when God confronted him directly, he didn't even have to wait for his conscience.

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God confronted him directly. And instead of owning up to his sin and repenting, he arrogantly denied it to God himself.

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Where is Abel, your brother? God said, and Cain responded,

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I do not know. I do not know. Am I my brother's keeper?

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God, like this is worse than a rebellious teenager. He's talking to God.

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He's like, why are you asking me? Leave me alone. I don't want to talk to you. That is the definition of reprobate, reprobate.

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Now, turn with me to we've seen what first John says about Cain, who was of the evil one.

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So that's like, okay, there's no, that's pretty final.

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Right. And to seal the coffin here, let's turn with me now to Jude 10. Jude 10, which is second to last book of the

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Bible, the New Testament. In Jude 10, we have a very definitive condemnation of all sorts of wicked and evil men like Cain.

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Jude 10, God's word says, but these men, these men, what men is he talking about?

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Well, jump back to verse four with me. For certain persons have crept in unnoticed.

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Those who were long beforehand, beforehand. Remember what we were just talking about?

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Reprobation. God loves the one and hates the other. Before they had done anything good or evil, marked out for this condemnation.

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Long beforehand. Ungodly persons who turn the grace of our

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God into sensuality and deny our only master and Lord, Jesus Christ.

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Blaspheme the things which they do not understand. Because as 1

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John 3, 6 correlates, they are unrepentant sinners who have neither seen him nor have come to know him.

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And the things which they know by instinct, like unreasoning, without logic, animals.

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Brutish, sensual, worldly, devilish. By these things, they are destroyed.

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Notice that being without reason, without logic is to be against God.

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It's to be antichrist. Satanic. And by these things, they are destroyed.

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They are destroyed. Condemned. Woe to them. God's curse and condemnation be upon them is what that really means.

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For they have gone the way of who? The way of Cain, that first reprobate.

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And pay and for pay, they have poured themselves into the air of Balaam and perished in the rebellion of Korah.

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These are the men who are hidden reefs in your love feast when they feast with you without fear, caring only for themselves.

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Clouds without water carried along by winds. Autumn trees without fruit.

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Any fruit without neither faith nor works. Doubly dead.

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Dead faith. Hypocrites uprooted wild waves of the sea, casting up their own shame like foam.

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Wandering stars. Wandering stars for whom the black darkness has been.

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What has been reserved forever? Long before hand.

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You know, there's people who say that. Oh, well, you know, hell originally wasn't created for people.

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It was created for the devil and his angels. I'm sorry. Did you skip over this first?

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Did you skip over? This is all talking about men, evil men who conspire against God.

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Who long beforehand were marked out for this condemnation. This is the doctrine of reprobation that we cannot deny and which the

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Lord clearly teaches in his word. It's very plain. And we have to be it.

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Keep hold these doctrines in balance and rightly distinguish them and not compromise them.

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Now, big takeaway from one of the many takeaways from Cain's life.

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This is it's disturbing. It's sad that Cain was really. Satan, of course, was the first reprobate in heaven.

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But Cain was the first reprobate unbeliever on Earth. He was condemned.

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He was condemned. He was like his father, the devil.

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And. Refuse to repent at all.

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So the takeaway here is to be sensitive, beloved, to your own sin. Be sensitive to your own sin, especially, yes, to the sins of others, but especially your own.

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Repent and confess it whenever your conscience starts accusing you.

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But of course, you have to objectify it with the word. You don't need to repent for stuff that's not sin.

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But if you are sinning and your conscience accuses you and you confirm it with the word, you need to repent and reconcile.

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Immediately. Don't hold it up. When a friend confronts you.

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You should thank him instead of blame him or make him the problem like Cain did. He basically made

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God like, what's your problem, God? Nothing to see here. I don't know where he is.

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Or when the spirit convicts you. And activates your conscience. Be careful to repent.

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To repent. Be sensitive to your sin. Let those, therefore, whose conscience accused them beware.

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Lest after the example of Cain, they confirm themselves in obstinacy, stubbornness, unrepentance, says

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John Calvin. Amen. We must not harden our hearts as Cain did.

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Because if you do, God will deal with you. If you really belong to him, God will deal with you.

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And he might take you out of this earth. If you continue in unrepentant sin.

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Because God loves his people. And he will ensure that your sin is dealt with properly.

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Now. Cain. Is a clear object lesson.

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In what we should not be and do. That's obvious now, right?

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That should be obvious. While Abel is an object lesson in what we should be and do.

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They are direct foils of each other. Contrast. Because Abel, on the other hand, was a righteous.

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He was a righteous God believing and God fearing man.

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Who walked the straight path. Not the crooked path of divergence and digression like Cain.

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But the straight path of the Lord. Get this. In a quiet.

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Humble unspectacular way. Cain had Abel had an unremarkable life.

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Abel is a brief but powerful testimony that exemplifies for us.

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The way truth and light of God's path. For all of us. And.

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I love this. It is precisely what the reformed confessions and catechisms.

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Like the Orthodox catechism that we recite every Sunday. Every Lord's Day. In question 2 shows us how these catechisms show us.

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How to live and die in the joy of this comfort. Like it says in the catechism.

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In this comfort that Abel had. And that we. Have if we have

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Christ. It is. How to show us.

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Despite. This comfort despite Abel's persecution and untimely.

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Murderous end. As God's first martyr. Cain being the first murderer and reprobate.

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Abel being the first martyr. Persecuted by. God's. Enemies.

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Because he was God's son. Now. I love this question.

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Question 2 of the Orthodox catechism first. First. Number one. How great my sin and misery are.

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That is what we must know. In order to live and die in the joy of this comfort. First. How great my sin and misery are.

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Second. How I am set free. From all my sins and misery.

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Third. How I am to thank God. For such gracious. Deliverance.

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Guilt. Grace. Gratitude. Know thy guilt.

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Know God's grace. And. Live out in gratitude for what

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God has done for us. In the gospel. In Christ.

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Abel you see. Did this very thing. He acknowledged his sin and guilt.

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And for that reason. Brought of the firstborn of his flock. He brought the firstborn.

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And. Of their. Fat portions. The best. And and.

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As a sacrificial offering of gratitude. And because he acknowledged himself to be.

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A guilty sinner. That's what sacrifice is for. It's for sin.

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And Yahweh. Had regard for Abel. And for his offering.

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Because Abel was loved by God and had received. His mercy and grace.

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That's from Genesis 4 .4. Which we read before. Because once again.

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By faith. By faith. Abel offered to God.

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A better sacrifice. Than came. Acceptable. Through which he was approved as being righteous.

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And therefore lived. Righteously. Not because of what he did. But because of his faith.

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It's by faith. God approving his gifts. When he lived on this earth.

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And through. Faith. Again. The emphasis. Note the emphasis. Through faith.

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Though he is dead. Yet he lives. And. Still. Speaks to us.

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Today. Amen. Hebrews 11. Verse 4. From that.

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Famous chapter on the hall of faith. What is the operative word. In that sentence.

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It is. Gospel. It is. In the entire chapter.

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It is. By. Faith. It's all. Stemming from.

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Faith. It is all by grace. Through. Faith. All of it.

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Like Spurgeon's book. All of grace. It is all grace. Through faith. Abel's only comfort in life.

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And. In his death. Was knowing. Christ. Knowing God.

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Knowing the Messiah. And for that. And that's why he offered up the sacrifice.

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The best. Like God instructed him to. And for that Christ. Called him.

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Righteous Abel. Righteous Abel. Not because he was self -righteous.

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Because nobody's. Self -righteous. Because he had the righteousness of God. Through. Faith.

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Through faith. This is amazingly powerful.

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Stuff. From the brief. Short. Life. Of. God's. First martyr.

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Now keep this in mind. Beloved. I really want us to keep this in mind. This is such a powerful.

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And important. Object lesson. From the life of Abel. He who has ears.

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Let him hear. Especially those of you. Who like MacArthur. And Lordship Salvation. Hear me out here.

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I know we're. We're all good here. For the most part. I know. You know. But. Listen to this carefully.

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Abel. Was not. A radical. Sold out.

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Lordship Salvation guy. That threw himself. Into full -time ministry. Sold everything he had.

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And left it all. To follow after God. Does that describe Abel's life?

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No, it doesn't. Abel. Like I said. Remember.

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Abel. Walked the straight path of the Lord. In a quiet. Humble. Un -spectacular way.

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He lived a normal quiet life. Of a believer. And yet.

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He was nevertheless. Still one. Of God's. Prophets. God calls him.

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His prophet. God's. Silent. Prophet.

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His silent prophet. Remember back in Luke. The gospel of Luke.

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Chapter 11. Verse 49. Where Jesus himself said. For this reason. Also the wisdom.

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Of God. Said. I will send. To them. The Jews.

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Prophets. And apostles. Wise men and scribes. And some of them. They will kill.

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And some. They will persecute. So that. The blood of. All the prophets.

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All the prophets. Note that phrase. Shed. Since the foundation.

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Of the world. May be charged. Against this generation. From the blood of who?

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From the blood of Abel. To the blood of Zechariah. From the blood of Abel.

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One of God's. Prophets. In a sense. God's. First prophet.

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As well. Abel was God's. First prophet. And that's why.

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Christ lists him first. All the way from Abel. To Zechariah. These evil.

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Satanic. Antichrist. Men like the. Scribes and Pharisees. Rebelled against God's prophets.

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Including Abel. But note. How. Abel. Was not.

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An extraordinary. Prophet. Like Elijah. He wasn't in Elijah.

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Who called fire down. From heaven. To destroy. King Ahaziah's.

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Men. And to consume. The sacrifice. Against the 450. Prophets of Baal.

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In a massive. Public contest. Which he also. Slaughtered. And prayed for.

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Rain to quench. Years of drought. In Israel. And out.

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Ran. King Ahab's. Chariot. On foot. On foot.

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All the way. To Jezreel. He beat him. In a race. On foot. Against.

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Horses. On a chariot. And raised. A widow's son.

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Back from the dead. And prophesied. Judgments. On nations. And kings.

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And get. This one. He did not die. Like Abel did.

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Who was. Not only died. But was murdered. By his own brother. But ascended.

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Into heaven. By a whirlwind. In chariots. And horses. Of fire. And that's just a taste.

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Of what. Elijah. Did. And what God. Did through. Elijah. Nor was

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Abel. Like Moses. Who parted. The Red Sea. In half. By raising.

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His staff. And outstretched. Hands. And led. The Israelites. Out of the bondage.

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Of Egypt. Delivered. God's people. Whose face. Became transfigured.

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And radiant. Shining. And glowing. After descending. From the presence. Of God. On Mount Sinai.

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To deliver. The Ten Commandments. On two tablets. Of stone. Written. By the finger. Of God.

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Himself. Like. The Bible. Says. And ushered in.

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The ten. Spectacular. Plagues. Of Egypt. On Pharaoh. In Egypt.

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And was the. Mediator. Of God's. Covenant. To Israel. To the.

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Entire. Nation. Of Israel. The Old. Covenant. And. Prophesied.

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Blessings. And cursings. For obeying. Or disobeying. The laws. And covenant. Of God.

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Abel. Was nothing. Like that. Even though. And. Even though.

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Abel. Did nothing. Spectacular. Or radical. Like many. Of the other. Prophets.

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Did. Yet Christ. Still. Commended him. As a righteous. Prophet. Of God.

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The first one. And in this way. Abel. Serves. As a much more. Relevant.

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And. Applicable. Object. Lesson. For all of us. Because. We're not called.

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To be spectacular. Like Moses. Or Elijah. Or Elisha. Or King David. We're not called.

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To live that kind of spectacular. Radical. Life. We're called.

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To live. Like Abel. Most of us. The vast majority. Of us.

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And. We. Like Abel. Who strive. To live.

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Simple. Or radical. Ordinary. Quiet. And peaceable. Lives.

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Like. Just like he did. Abel. Was the silent prophet.

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Because. There is no recorded prophecy. That Abel spoke. When he was alive.

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But. The voice. Of Abel's blood. Cried out.

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His death. Cried out. To God. From the ground. Which was cursed.

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Because. Of Cain's. Murder. That's from Genesis. 410. That's God's. Words. He said.

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The voice. Of your brother's. Blood. Is crying out. To me. From the ground. Abel's blood.

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Prophesied. Abel's death. Prophesied. Many. This is an amazing.

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Y 'all. Get this. This is amazing. Stuff. I hope y 'all. Enjoying this.

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Because. This is amazing. Stuff. Powerful. Stuff. Abel. Both. In his life.

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And. In his death. Continues. To speak. To us. Today. Just like.

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Hebrews. Says. Abel's. Death. His. Shed blood.

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Signifies. Death. Condemnation. And. Vengeance. For sin. And. Its consequences.

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In the. Sense. That man. All of mankind. All of us. After the fall of Adam.

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And Eve. Is now. Fallen. And sinful. Depraved. Bent. Toward evil.

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Such. That Cain. Hates. And murders. His own. Brother. Out of sheer.

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Jealousy. And. Malice. Malice.

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Of forethought. Premeditated. Murder. Spiteful murder. But. Also.

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In the. Sense. That. God. Curses. And condemns. Cain. For his.

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Wickedness. The blood of. Abel. Cries out. And God. Punishes. And condemns.

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Cain. For his. Vile. Wickedness. And now. Cursed are you.

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From the ground. Cain. Which has. Opened its. Mouth. To receive. Your brother's. Blood.

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From. Your. Hand. When. You cultivate. The ground.

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It will no longer. Yield its strength. To you. You will be a. Vagrant. And a. Wanderer. On the earth.

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That's. God's. Curse. Pronounced on. Cain. In Genesis. Four. Eleven. To twelve. Abel's.

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Death. Was. Furthermore. A prophetic. Foreshadowing.

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Of the. Promised. Serpent. Crushing. Seed. That would.

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Redeem. God's. Chosen. People. Whom. He loves. It. Points.

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To. Jesus. The. Mediator. Of a new. And better.

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Covenant. And to the. Sprinkled. Blood. Which speaks.

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Better. Than the. Blood. Of. Abel. That's.

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From. Hebrews. Twelve. Twenty. Four. It speaks. Better. Because. It points.

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To a greater. Sacrifice. That. Christ. Did. For. Us.

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And yet. This is. So. Powerful. To meditate. On. Beloved. He was.

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Just. A normal. Godly. Shepherd. Doing. His. Thing. Walking. The Lord's.

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Ways. Living. A. Quiet. And. Peaceable. Life. And. All. Godliness.

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And. Dignity. Like. First. Timothy. Two. Two. Instructs. All. Of. Us. To. Do. And. Jesus.

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Called. Him. Righteous. Able. That. Is. What. God. Calls. Us. To. Do. He. Doesn't.

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Call. Us. To. Sell. Everything. We. Have. And. Become. Missionaries. Full. Time. No. No.

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The. Bible. Warns. That. Many. Of. You. Should. Not. Become. Teachers. We. Should. Strive.

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To. Live. Quiet. And. Peaceable. Lives. Start. Families. Be. Fathers.

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And. Husbands. Godly. Ones. Wives. And. Mothers. And. Daughters. And. Sons. And. Give.

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Birth. To. Them. And. Give. A. Pass. Hand. Down. A. Legacy. That's.

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What. We're. Called. To. Do. That. Is. How. We. Best. Honor. And. Serve. God. Because. Marriage. Itself. Is.

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A. Celebration. Of. Revelation. Of. The. Mystery. Of. The. Gospel. Itself. That's.

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What. We. Should. Be. To. The. World. Like. Abel. A. Quiet. Shepherd.

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A. Gentle. Quiet. Shepherd. Living. A. Godly. Normal. Unspectacular.

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Life. We. Don't. Need. To. Have. Dramatic. Episodes. You. Know.

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Fire. From. Heaven. Coming. Down. We. Don't. Need. That's. Not. What. You. Know. And. A. Lot.

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Of. People. Crave. That. You. Know. There's. A. Big. There's. A. Big. Unhealthy. Desire. To. See. All. This.

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Weird. Crazy. Stuff. And. Sure. You. Know. God. Can. Still. Do. That. God. Can.

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Still. Do. Crazy. Supernatural. Things. And. He. Does. A. Lot.

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Of. He. Us. Should. Not. That is.

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So. Important. For. Us. To. Understand. Likewise. To. Live. Like.

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Able. Did. First and foremost. Trust. God. Believe.

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God. And. his gospel, repent and believe the gospel. And then in light of and out of gratitude for his grace, like the catechisms teach us, everything that he has done and continues to do for us, we should subsequently strive to give

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God. Not an afterthought, not whatever is left over like Cain did, but our first fruits and our best with everything, with our time, our money, our lives and honor him in everything that we do, whatever you do, do all to the glory of God, just like Abel did, he was a simple shepherd and yet he ordered his life to prioritize

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God, living a normal life. And that is what just about all of us are called to do as God's people.

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So that's why beloved, I want to put the question for you all today. Do you give

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God your first fruits like Abel did? Do you order your life to honor

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God and please him? Right? Not in a radical way. Like, Oh, I have to do evangelism every day out on the streets.

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I'm not talking about that. The primary ministry for all called to is your own family.

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You can't do ministry. If your children are a mess, you're not qualified. And if you don't know the gospel, if you don't know sound doctrine, you shouldn't be teaching people either.

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You need to sit down, get somewhere and sit down, keep your mouth shut and study and get before God and study and learn his ways first.

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Do we do that beloved? Do we seek to honor God with our income?

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Do we give a portion? The first, the beginning, the first part is that the first thing that we try to do, give, give it, set it apart for God's people, for God's church, for God's cause.

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Do we honor God on the Lord's day? Today, do we make it a priority to come to church, to fellowship with God's people, no matter what the circumstances are, unless we are absolutely indisposed.

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Like brother Sproul said, do we seek to honor

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God in all that we do? Everything that we do and set before us, what we eat, what we watch, how we entertain ourselves, what we read, how we spend our time.

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It's the simple things that really do matter to God. The little habits that we have that pile, that, that builds up into something.

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If you have good little habits, they build up into something very powerful, very powerful, and God uses you in a powerful way, just like he did

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Abel. Amen. Now turn with me, beloved, to, uh,

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Romans chapter 12, Romans chapter 12. This is a beautiful summary of what God would have us to do.

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And Abel is an amazing object lesson and illustration of this very thing that God is commanding us to do and instructing us to do in this passage.

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Romans chapter 12 versus starting in verse one.

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Therefore I, Paul exhorts you brothers by the mercies of God.

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It's all of grace. Remember, never forget that it's all of grace and mercy to present your bodies, your lives as a sacrifice, living, holy, and pleasing to God, which is your spiritual and rational service of worship.

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And do not be conformed to this world, to this wicked, unregenerate, ungodly society, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds so that you may approve what the will of God is.

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We need sound doctrine. We need to know God and knowing God requires knowledge.

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It requires sound doctrine. It requires systematic understanding of the Bible. That's why we study the confessions and the catechisms and the history of God's church, because they have deposited for us this treasury of sound words that we must absorb in order to honor

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God, because we cannot follow God rightly if we don't know and rightly understand him and his word and his law.

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So that which is good and pleasing and perfect in his sight, verse three, for the grace of God, again, the grace of God given to me,

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I say to each one among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think, but to think so as to have sound thinking, sound judgment, sound understanding as God has allotted to each a measure of faith of faith.

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It's all the same emphasis all throughout scripture. Now skip over a couple of chapters ahead to chapter 15.

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Now in Romans, as we conclude this amazing, uh, contrast of the lives of Cain and Abel, we see how amazing

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God's providence, which we saw what the catechism teaches us, it's everything that God orders and predestines to happen because it is his will to make it happen the way it does.

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Romans chapter 15, verse four, everything beloved good, bad, and ugly, and indifferent for whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, for our instruction, like Corinthians also said, and I read previously, including the object lessons like that of Cain and Abel.

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So that through the perseverance and the encouragement of the scriptures, we might have hope beloved.

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God was thinking of us beforehand when he wrote down the scriptures and gave them to us, he had us in mind when he wrote down through his men, his, his, his

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God breathe prophets and men of old that penned his words.

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God was thinking of us when he wrote down Genesis and Leviticus and Deuteronomy numbers and on the prophets, the law and the prophets and the

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Psalms and the Proverbs all through Malachi, all through from Matthew to revelation, he had us in mind.

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Now may the God of perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with one another, according to Christ Jesus, so that with one accord, one agreement, one mind, you may with one voice glorify the

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God and father of our Lord, Jesus Christ and all God's people said, amen.

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Let us bow our heads in concluding word of prayer. Beloved, our dear, precious heavenly father, we thank you so much

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Lord out of the gratitude because of what you and your son and your spirit have done for us, father,

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God, in the, in the precious gospel promises and assurances that you have given us, even from the life of your silent prophet,

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Abel, how his life speaks so deeply to us and is, and is an amazing model and example for us to follow to this very day.

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We thank you Lord for writing down your words for us so that we would be benefited and encouraged and, and persevere and hope and your hope, uh, through the very end father, that you have provided everything that we need.

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Everything that we need for life and godliness through the knowledge of your son and your word.

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We thank you father so much for these deep, precious truths. Help us father, to not be discouraged, to not lose hope, to not lose our way and to not become hardened to sin.

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Like Cain was the reprobate you're the first reprobate on earth, but to be a, to exhort one another daily and ourselves especially to crucify sin, mortified and put it to death, to be sensitive to it,

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Lord, help us to confess our sin daily and to pray for your forgiveness that you have already granted us in Christ, but you also continue to cleanse us from all unrighteousness as your word in this beloved letter of first John also speaks to us as well.

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We thank you father for your grace and mercy. We pray for those who are sick and that you would heal and bless those who are still sick and who couldn't make it today.

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We thank you Lord. And we ask these things in Jesus precious name, amen. Thank you for listening to the sermons of thorn crown covenant

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Baptist church where the Bible alone and the Bible in its entirety has applied to all of faith and life.

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We strive to be biblical, reformed, historic, confessional, loving, discerning

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Christians who evangelize, stand firm in, and earnestly contend for the Christian faith.

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If you're looking for a church in the El Paso, Texas area, or for more information about our church sermons and ministries, such as Semper Reformanda radio and thorn crown network podcasts, please contact us at thorn crown ministries .com