Adrian Rogers: The Blood Makes a Difference [#2384]

[Music] welcome to love worth fun with pastor teacher and author Adrian Rogers reaching out with God's love bringing people to Christ touching lives around the world and helping you find the answers you need today join us as we prepare to open God's Word and discover how your life can be changed forever by his great love worth finding fine Hebrews chapter 11 and in just a moment we're going to begin reading in verse 4 now the central theme of the entire chapter of Hebrews chapter 11 is that God is to be worshiped and if God is to be worshiped he must be worshiped in spirit and in truth let's read if we will Hebrews chapter 11 and verse 4 by faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain by which he obtained witness that he was righteous God testifying of his gifts and by it he being dead yet speaketh beyond shut him down one of the most interesting men I've ever met was a man that I pastored in Fort Pierce Florida his name was Charlie Fisher we called him uncle Charlie he was no bigger than a minute but he weighed two tons spiritually he was a man that was fearless for the Lord Jesus Christ uncle Charlie had an old airplane with canvas sides he'd written across the sides of that airplane Christ is the answer it had an open cockpit he'd put his goggles on get a basket full of tracts and fly over county fairs and dump out the tracts on the people and circle around the fields with that sign on there Christ is the answer I prayed with him so many times and he would pray and get happy in the Lord and get on the floor and crawl around and began to giggle praising the Lord absolutely fearless when I baptized uncle Charlie he had already been saved for a long time I needed to baptize him before he came into the Fellowship of our church and well I I wasn't prepared for what happened I put him under the water and when he came up out of the water he stood up and lifted both hands and said glory to God he said buried in the likeness of his death and raised in the likeness of his resurrection incredible individual Uncle Charlie finally died he told his son Lee who was a dear friend of mine he said don't worry about my funeral just invite all my friends and take this tape recorder and push the button that's all you have to do he said I've already taken care of everything yes the funeral came and uncle Charlie was there in the casket all of his friends were there Lee got up and push the button and it was Charlie he said hello everybody said I'm Charlie Fisher I'm up here in heaven it is wonderful up here in heaven and he began to tell everybody about how glorious Heaven was and he preached the sermon on how wonderful heaven is and then he said I want to tell all of you to come and meet me in heaven the only man I ever knew who preached his own funeral Charlie Fisher preached his own funeral he being dead was yet speaking well there's another man who has preached his own funeral and that's a man named Abel and we're going to learn about him today now what we see in Abel is a shadow of the crucifixion of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ now the Old Testament is a book of shadows that point to New Testament truths for example in Colossians chapter 2 verse 17 the Bible tells us that the Old Testament is a shadow of things to come now you think about shadows a shadow must have light and it must have something to shine upon now the light is the old testament scripture and the body that the shadow shines upon is the Lord Jesus Christ now the angle of the light determines the sharpness of the shadows in the early morning shadows are not real clear in this somewhat distorted by mid morning the shadows become clearer then at high noon there are no shadows at all now in the Old Testament we had shadows that pointed toward the Lord Jesus Christ but when Calvary came in the New Testament then it's High Noon what we're going to see here in this story of Abel is the beginning of these shadows that are pointing to the coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ now look again if you will in verse 11 a chapter 11 verse 4 by faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice well where is that story found the story is found over here in the book of Genesis so turn if you will with me to Genesis now for a moment and the Genesis chapter 4 open your Bible it's very important or you won't understand Hebrews 11 if you don't understand Genesis chapter 4 do you have it in your Bible now watch Genesis chapter 4 now Adam knew Eve his wife and conceived now Adam and Eve obviously the first humans here upon the earth and she conceived and bare Cain now Cain was her firstborn and said I have gotten a man from the Lord and she again bare his brother Abel and Abel that's the one we're talking about today was a keeper of sheep but Cain was a tiller of the ground one a shepherd and one farmer and in the process of time he came to pass that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord and Abel he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and the fat thereof and the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering but unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect and Cain was very wroth and his countenance fell now we're gonna stop reading there but stay keep your bookmark there in Hebrews chapter 11 and in Genesis chapter 4 because we're gonna go back and forth so we can understand what we have here is a shadow of the cross in the offering that Abel made two offerings Cain offered the fruit of the ground he offered vegetables to the Lord Abel offered to the Lord a slain lamb of the firstlings of the flock the Bible says that God accepted the offering of Abel but he did not accept the offering of Cain 1 the offering from the ground the fruit of the ground the other a spotless lamb now we're going to see in this chapter Hebrews chapter 11 and Genesis chapter 4 some contrast are you ready first of all here was a contrast in their worship two boys they're worshiping God one is worshiping in spirit and in truth and the other is worshiping by his own ingenuity now remember Hebrews chapter 11 and verse 4 by faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice now what was the difference well may I say this and listen to me very carefully all religions are not of the same value in America today we looked upon as politically incorrect and almost unamerican if we don't put arms around everybody else and say your religion is just as good as mine it is not true God had respect unto Abel offering that Cain's offering he did not now we're supposed to be tolerant today and I believe in tolerance in some areas but I do not believe in tolerance that sacrifices truth and there's nothing today so intolerant as the intolerance of those against those of us who say there is a fixed standard of right and wrong there is a true religion and there is a false religion this world doesn't need religion it has too much religion this world needs Jesus Amer tell you that David's Barrett who is a scholar tells us that in the world today there are nine thousand nine hundred different religions nine thousand nine hundred almost ten thousand different religions and some of these religions have many gods the Hindus have 300 million God's I didn't stutter and I didn't miss read that 300 million gods in Hinduism and even Christianity we divide Christianity up into Baptists and Presbyterians and Methodists and Episcopalian and so forth but listen to me there are only two religions in the entire world the true and the false the true in the false now that may seem narrow to you but that's what our lesson is all about there's the religion of grace and the religion of works there's the religion of Cain and there's the religion of evil now let's look at this now I don't ask you take my word for let's just look at the Bible and see what the Bible has to say about it because I realize what I'm preaching today is politically incorrect so be it look at the worship of cain hebrews chapter 11 and verse 4 by faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain what was the way of Cain the way of Cain was the way of good works it was salvation by his own effort he was a tiller of the ground and the Bible says that you're going to till the ground by the sweat of your brow what what Cain offered to God was his own toil his own sweat his own effort now when he came to God with this offering of vegetables and fruits it must have been beautiful I mean it must have looked like a County Fair there's the most fragrant fruit the most beautiful flowers the most succulent vegetation and the offer sister God because he's been out there plowing the ground but the Bible says Christ is the ground of the sweat of your brow will you teal till the ground and what he has done is he is offering his own work to them put in your margin Jude verse 11 woe unto them for they have gone the way Kaine what is the way of Cain it is to try to save yourself by your own good works rather than by the grace of God it represents culture rather than Calvary now you in Hebrews chapter 11 in Hebrews chapter 9 verse 22 the Bible says without shedding of blood is no remission there is no salvation apart from the shedding of blood please say Amen that's what you say no that's what God says what you say I have my own religion so did Cain you say well I'm looking for a religion that suits me so did Cain and Cain died and went to hell woe unto them for they have gone after the way of Cain most of the people in America don't need religion they need to turn from religion to Jesus Christ most of the people in America are egomaniac strutting to help thinking they're too good to be damned when I first came to this city a lady met me she was kind of giddy but she was trying to impress me and she said to me Oh dr. Rogers we are so happy to have you in our city she said I'm in a Bible study group and she said we're studying that new edition of the Bible now at that time the new Bible that was being studied passed around was called good news for modern man I think maybe remember that good news for modern man it was so funny to me she said Pastor Rogers we are studying that new Bible modern news for good man I'll tell you that's that's a lot of what we have today modern news for good man friend man is not good in the news is not modern it's as old as the book of Genesis and it is good news for bad man that's what it is it is the gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ it is not salvation by works and here Cain offered of the fruit of the ground now what did Abel offer well the Bible says Abel offered of the firstlings of his flock go back again if you will in Genesis chapter 4 and verse 4 and Abel he also brought of the firstlings of his flock Abel's offering was based on a blood atonement now let me tell you the difference between these two I said people need to turn from religion to Jesus Christ religion is what sinful people do for a holy God the gospel is the good news of what a holy God has already done for sinful man the Bible says in Hebrews chapter 11 and verse 4 by faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice now where did Abel get the idea of bringing a blood offering to Almighty God now remember it was just a shadow of the Lord Jesus Christ where did he get that idea well when Adam and Eve sinned against God they tried to clothe themselves with fig leaves what is that the fruit of the ground what did God do God came into the Garden of Eden and God made them coats of skin animal skin how do you get coats of skin blood had to be shed where did Abel learn the idea that it takes blood without shedding of blood is no remission he learned it from his his parents you say that he really know this listen to me Abel was a prophet of God a prophet he said where do you get that put in your margin Luke 11 Luke 11 begin in verse 49 Jesus is speaking therefore also said the wisdom of God I will send them and apostles and some of them they shall slay and persecute that the blood of all the prophets underscore that that the blood of all the prophets which was shared from the foundation of the world may be required of this generation from the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias all of the prophets Abel is called a prophet of God Abel was a martyr who died for his faith Adam and Eve had two sons one a martyr one a murderer Abel was a prophet he understood the Word of God now you say that he really understand about the Lord Jesus Christ well if he was a prophet put in your Bible Acts chapter 10 verse 43 to him Jesus give all the prophets witness now if Abel was a prophet and he was and the Bible says to to Jesus give all the prophets witness back there in the Garden of Eden just outside the gates of Eden was a man named Abel who offered a spotless lamb that is a picture a prophecy of Jesus who is to come isn't the Bible a wonderful book the Bible is a wonderful book don't get the idea that these people out there just plowing with sticks and didn't know anything no and let me say something else the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ was not an afterthought it was not an emergency action God had the Redemption by blood in his heart before he ever made the world put in your margin Revelation chapter 13 and verse 8 the Bible says and all that dwell upon the earth shall worship Him whose names are not written in the book of life from the lamb slain from the foundation of the world Jesus was in the heart and mind of God from the foundation of the world before he swung this world into space God had redemption by blood in his mind you take the Bible from Genesis to Revelation and you cut it anywhere and it will bleed there is a red river of life it begins to flow in the book of Genesis and it flows all the way through to the book of the revelation the chapter I just read to you that River began to flow when God made coats of skin for Adam and Eve and then that River passed on down when Abel took of the firstlings of the flock and and offered a blood sacrifice to the Lord the first act that Noah did when he came out of the ark after Genesis 6 and the flood came was to offer a blood sacrifice God called Abraham and Abraham the father of the faithful God said Abraham Abraham take your son up to Mount Moriah and sacrifice him and at the last moment when the knife was about to fall into the bosom of Isaac God said Abraham don't hurt the lad don't harm the lad look over here is a ram caught in a thicket I like to think of it as a ram crowned with thorns his horns locked in that thicket take that RAM and sacrifice him no wonder Jesus said Abraham saw my day and was glad Abraham way back more than a millennium before Jesus ever came knew something of the blood sacrifice and then God called Moses and Moses said God said to Moses Moses take my people from the land of Egypt the land of sin and darkness and slavery and bring them into the promised land and God said Moses when you do this in order to let the people go out take a lamb till every family take a lamb and sacrifice that lamb and put the blood of that lamb on the doorpost of that house because my death angel is going to come through the land of Egypt and God says my death angel is going to be looking for something he's going to be looking for the blood and if the blood is there upon the doorpost watch it when I see the blood I'll pass over you that's where we get the word Passover now friend it was the blood that caused the death angel to Passover I'm telling you had they put rubies and diamonds and gold and Emeril paan that door ah the death angel would have come had they written beautiful poetry and put it upon that door and nailed it there the death angel would have come had they taken alive and spotless lamb and set that live and spotless lamb there the death angel would have come people say Christ is my example no he has to be your Savior now you're not saved by learning lessons from the life of Christ but by receiving life from the death of Christ God says when I see the wot the Blood I will pass over you without shedding of blood is no remission of sins and then after Moses they got in the land God gave them the Levitical law and they were told how to make those sacrifices and every smoking altar of every Jewish temple it all points to the coming of Jesus and thousands and thousands of lambs and rams and turtledoves are offered and blood is shed why is this the Bible says over here in Hebrews chapter 10 it's impossible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sin why all of those sacrifices God is just pointing toward Calvary this red river of life begins to run I'm telling you these are all shadows these are all prophecies these are all types these are all lessons and that River runs and runs and runs till first till it finally comes to Calvary when Jesus boughs his head and dies and with the precious blood the blood is shed this is what God is getting people ready for Pavlov the Russian psychologist did experience experiments in what we call conditioned response he got his dog do you remember reading about him psychology class he had his dogs and and he would ring a bell and feed the dogs ring a bell feed the dogs ring a bell feed the dogs he got the dogs where all he had to do was just ring a bell and they began to drool they began to salivate because they knew that the Bell meant food what is God doing in the Old Testament with all of these sacrifices beginning with the the skins that clothed adam and eve beginning with Abel's offering what is God doing with all of that God is conditioning his people there's a conditioned response when they see the blood they know that sin means death sin means death sin means death sin means death therefore people are ready for the death of the Lord Jesus Christ when it died upon the cross for without shedding of blood is no remission don't think this was incidental friend this is fundamental there was a contrast in their worship now secondly not only as their contrast in their worship but friend also the consequences of the worship look if you will in Genesis 4 verses 5 & 6 but unto Cain and his offering God had not respect and Cain was very wroth plain-english he was ticked off he's angry and his countenance fell and the Lord said unto Cain why art thou wroth and why is thy countenance fallen now God did not have any respect for Cain and all of his good intentions and all of his good works the difference between Cain and Abel is the difference between righteousness and unrighteousness now you would say well God would just say to Cain or you tried and you didn't get 100% on the on the grade homless test but I'm gonna grade on the curve now God doesn't grade on the curve and God doesn't just give a for effort and God will not overlook sin put it down big plain and straight God will not overlook sin you know that people say well God is too good to punish sin you've got it backward God is too good not to punish sin if you had to go through all the lectionaries and dictionaries of the world to get a word that would describe God and put it in one word of course that would be impossible but if you had to choose one word above all other words it would be the word holy holy means that God is a holy God God never has God never can God never will overlook sin all sin must be punished if God overlooks sin God would topple from his throne of holiness God would cease to be a righteous young God put in your margin Romans chapter 3 for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God by the way you want to know what definition of sin is coming short of the glory of God don't lie down in the gutter alongside some little hypocrite and say I'm longer than he is don't measure yourself that way here's the glory of God here you are the gap between the glory of God and you that sin all have sinned and come short of the glory of God all of us now notice verse 24 being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus whom God has set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that have passed what does the word propitiation mean it's a big word it means satisfaction nothing can satisfy the righteousness of God the wholeness of God except the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ God kenna God never has God never will let any sin go unpunished your sin will be pardoned in Christ or punished in hell but it will never be overlooked I frequently said when a guilty man is acquitted the judges condemned if God would let sin go unpunished God himself would become a sinner all Christianity is - is described in three sentences I deserve hell Jesus took my hell there's nothing left for me but his heaven that's what it's all about it is salvation by grace and the consequences of that worship is lasting not only in time but in eternity now Abel was killed by Cain but it didn't cease to exist he being dead yet speaks for the child of God death is not a period but a comma he still lives on now here's the third and final thing I want you to see not only contrast in their worship and the consequences of the worship but I want you to see the conflict of their worship look if you will now Genesis four verses five and eight but unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect and Cain was very angry wroth and his countenance fell and the Lord said unto Cain why art thou wrong wise I countenance fallen if thou doest well shalt thou not be accepted and if thou doest not well sin lieth the door sin is like an animal crouching at the door that's what that literally means God says if you if you do what I tell you to do you do well God is no respecter of persons and sin lieth at the door and unto thee shall be his desire that his sin is ready to devour you and thou shall rule over him that is if you do right and Cain talked with Abel his brother and it came to pass that while they were in the field that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and slew him now once you listen very carefully the first murder was over religion the first murder was over religion and it was a religious crowd that crucified the Lord Jesus Christ as I say Adam and Eve had two sons one was a murderer the other was a martyr why did Cain kill Abel because his heart was not right with God no man can be wrong with God and right with his fellow brother false religion is characterized by force our faith is characterized by love now you think of what is happening in the world today you think of the people who are being murdered in the name of religion who paid for their faith with their blood they're showing the love of the Lord Jesus Christ perhaps Cain was too refined to offer a blood sacrifice but he was not too refined to plunge a knife or whatever into his brother's bosom now listen to John 16 verses 1 through for jesus said these things have I spoken on you that you should not be offended they shall put you out of the synagogue's yeah the time cometh that whosoever killeth you will think he'd do with God service does that sound contemporary the time will come that whosoever killeth you will think you do with God's service and these things will they do unto you because they have not known the father nor me but these things have I told you that when the time shall come that she may remember that I told you of them and these things I said unto you at the beginning because I was with you jesus said no fine print in the contract I'm going to ask some of you who have not yet done it to come forward this morning give you heart to Jesus Christ but when you do if you're sincere it may mean that you will die for what you've done here this morning you say I won't come it's your business but Jesus said I'm going to tell you ahead of time the time will come when they who kill you will think they do God a service now friend the word martyr and the word witness of the same word in the Greek language death doesn't make martyrs it just simply reveals them what is our true faith true faith is never based upon force one of the greatest mistakes the so-called Christian Church ever made was the Crusades when we tried by force to spread our faith friend Islam is an idea like communism is an idea and you cannot kill an idea with a bullet or a bomb the only thing that will kill an idea is a better idea and that is the gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ you say don't you believe in self-defense I believe in it with all of my heart I believe there times when we need to go to war but not to spread the Christian faith we spread the Christian faith with love I want you to listen to what ravi zacharias had to say by the way if you want to get a good book get the book Franklin Graham has written called the name Franklin Graham quotes Ravi Zacharias in this book and he says the teaching of Jesus is clear no one ought to be compelled to become a Christian this sets the Christian faith drastically apart from Islam in no country where the Christian where the Christian faith is the faith of the majority is it illegal to propagate another faith there is no country in the world that I know of where the renunciation of one's Christian faith puts one in danger of being hunted down by the powers of the state yet there are numerous Islamic countries where it is against the law to publicly proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ and where a Muslim who renounces faith in Islam to believe in anything else risks death that's the difference friend between true religion and false religion the salvation of Jesus Christ is by grace through faith based on the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ and it is never coerced never now listen to me Cain slew Abel Cain was the loser not able he won the martyrs crown their two religions in the world only two between the false the difference between these two religions is the difference between heaven and hell you say well pastor Rodgers I believe there's another way other than the shed blood of Lord Jesus Christ you do well let me ask you a question if there's another way other than the shed blood of Lord Jesus Christ tell me why did Jesus die the Bible says if righteousness come by the law Christ is dead in vain if a man a woman a boy a girl could be saved any other way then Calvary was a blunder why did God let Jesus die on that cross if there's another way why not take the other way why did he allow his darling son to die in agony in blood if there's another way there is no other way Hebrews 9:22 without shedding of blood is no remission there is a Red River blood that flows through all the Bible what can wash away my sin nothing but the blood of Jesus what can make me whole again nothing but the blood of Jesus a preacher a good man as the world goes a compassionate man as the world goes had the religion of Cain a lot of preachers with the religion of Cain he had the religion of Cain he was from a very liberal denomination he was in a study there was a knock on the door he opened the door and there was a little girl just poorly dressed and he said little lady what can I do for you she said are you a preacher he said I'm a minister could you help me he thought she needed food could you help me he said well if I can't I'll help you how can I help you she said can you help me get mothering him well I thought perhaps as her mother was drunk the little girl the preacher said well sweetheart where is your mother how do you want me to get her in no I'll go too and help get her in where she said my mother's dying she's at home she's dying well what do you mean help get my mother in my mother doesn't know God she sent me out to find a preacher to help get her into heaven can you help get my mother in my mama is dying preacher said yes sweetheart I'll go and he put on his coat and got his hat and went with a little girl down to the poor section of town their dead little tenement there was a woman on her deathbed dying not even with the doctors and the nurses to take care of her that woman said are you a preacher are you a minister yes I am are you a man of God well I trust so can you help get me in now remember he didn't preach the blood atonement his was a religion of Culture and good works the religion of Cain he began to tell her about the Sermon on the Mount and living right in doing good and kindness and all of these things hi wonderful platitudinous ideas a woman had a distraught look on her face she said you don't understand I have lived a sinful in a wicked life and now I'm dying and all that you say sounds very good and very wonderful but I'm dying I can't do any of that don't you have a message for a woman like me and that preacher began to think and he realized I don't have a message for a woman like that and then he remembered the story that his mother told him before he'd gone off to the seminary and gotten educated about a savior who took our sins and carried them to the cross in an agony and blood dive and said it is finished and paid in full and he went back and told her that old story though em say though he himself didn't really believe it told her about Jesus told about the cross told her about grace told her about forgiveness and led her in the prayer and she prayed and asked Christ into her heart was gloriously saved later on that liberal preacher stood up in another preachers meeting and gave a testimony and here's what he said he said sirs that night that woman came in and I came in - I came in - I gave my heart to Jesus and they got say what can wash away my sin nothing nothing but the blood of Jesus two religions two ways Cain and Abel vegetables and a land will you lay your pride in your good works in the dust and will you today say just as I am without one plea but that thy blood was shed for me o Lamb of God I come to thee I come were you for your sake for his sake were you trusting bow your heads and pray if you're not certain that you're saved I want to lead you in a prayer and in this prayer you can trust in Christ repeating words won't save you the Bible says it was by faith it was by faith that Abel offered a more excellent sacrifice therefore being justified by faith we have peace with God would you pray this prayer dear God I'm a sinner and I'm lost and my good works cannot save me thank you that you sent Jesus a spotless lamb who paid with his own blood my sin Dan and I receive you Lord Jesus into my heart now as my Lord and Savior forgive my sins save me Jesus did you pray it then by an act of faith claim it say thank you lord I receive it by faith and that settles it Lord Jesus I will make it public I will not be ashamed of you because you died for me your name I pray [Music] we pray God has blessed you as you've watched this message if you'd like additional copies or information on other resources write us at love worth finding vo box 38 800 memphis tennessee 38134 at lwf dot o-r-g in the US you can place Visa or MasterCard orders by calling 1-800 two seven four five six eight three Monday through Friday 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Central Time thank you and may God richly bless you [Music]

Channel: Blanket Tomcat

Views: 4,154

Rating: 4.8095236 out of 5

Keywords: Adrian, Rogers, Dr, Pastor, Teacher, Teaching, Preacher, Preaching, Evangelist, Prophet, Prophecy, Truth, Praise, Faith, Worship, Gospel, Grace, Word, Minister, Ministry, Ministries, Love, Worth, Finding, God, Jehovah, Jesus, Christ, Christian, Christianity, Yahweh, Messiah, Saviour, Savior, Lord, Holy, Spirit, King, Lamb, Ghost, Bible, Bellevue, Baptist, Church, Saved, Salvation, Sermon, Fellowship, Trinity, Priest, Missionary, Revival, Lost, Sin, Satan, Backslide, Help, Forgiveness, the, blood, makes, difference, champions, of, faith, hebrews

Id: WaixX7OK0Ks

Length: 41min 4sec (2464 seconds)

Published: Sun May 06 2018