Your offerings can provoke your blessings
Your offerings can provoke your blessings
Posted on February 3, 2009 Updated on February 2, 2009
Memorise: “And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?” (Genesis 4:6)
Read: Acts 8:18-21
Pastor E. ADEBOYE
In Genesis 4:1-7, while Cain’s offering was rejected, Abel’s was accepted. Some years ago, there was a misunderstanding between one of my friends and I, because he refused to do God’s will contrary to my expectation.
During Christmas time of that year, he brought me a cloth gift. I asked my children to dump it somewhere and it was there for over a year. He knew that before the misunderstanding, whenever he brought such a material, I showed my appreciation by putting it on within a week. So he amended his ways.
An adage says, ‘It is the sweetness of friendship that causes you to eat the food provided by your friend’. When God accepts your offering, He is only honouring you. After all, He owns all the silver and gold. In today’s reading, after the sorcerer’s gift was rejected, his person suffered the same fate.
“And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?” (Genesis 4:6). Although Cain and his offering had been rejected, yet we see God still reaching out to him. That you are still hearing from God or prophesying is no guarantee that God has not rejected you.
Years after God rejected king Saul, he was still sitting on the throne of Israel. The presence of miracles in your ministry does not indicate that you are in favour with God. He is still healing the sick and touching those under your ministry because they are His sheep, not yours, and He is only being merciful to His flock. If care is not taken, if you thoroughly examine yourself, you will discover some of the sicknesses being healed have transferred to you. Satan can perform tricks too.
Like He reached out for Cain, God is asking you to return to Him before it is too late. God told Cain if he did well, he would have been accepted. This means the God of Abel is also the God of Cain. It was Cain who pushed God away. There are two alternatives: it is either God or Satan, Heaven or hell, righteousness or sin. Cain refused to go with God so he took the path of sin. He rode on the train of envy, killed his brother and became a vagabond.
But it all started with a bad offering! What was the major issue between God and Cain? Does God eat goats, or food? Cain was an ingrate. Who gave him the yam he planted? Who allowed it to grow? God was only asking that once a year they should come and say ‘Thank you’ but Cain handled it carelessly and he paid dearly for it.
Are you thankful to God? When you go to give thanks to God, do you go empty handed or do you think you are doing God a favour? Abel backed up his thanksgiving with the fattest animal; what about you?
The thanksgiving of many believers is backed up with emptiness. You cannot fool God. Henceforth, back it up with a worthy offering.
