It Takes Faith Part 2 - What is Faith Part 2

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Welcome back to Season 11! This week, Pastor Don continues our journey through Hebrews 11 by examining the very first example in the "faith chapter"—Abel. In Hebrews 11:4, we learn that Abel offered a better sacrifice than his brother Cain, and by faith he was commended as righteous. But what made Abel's sacrifice superior? And what can we learn from Cain's tragic mistake?

The story of Cain and Abel isn't just ancient history—it's a mirror that reveals the condition of our own hearts when we come before God. Pastor Don unpacks the critical difference between a sacrifice given by faith and one offered out of mere duty.

In This Episode, Pastor Don Explores:

1) It Takes Faith to Make a Right Sacrifice
Cain brought an offering, but Abel brought the best of what he had—the fat portions and firstborn of his flock. The distinction is clear: Abel brought the first; Cain brought the rest. As Proverbs 3:9 reminds us, we are to honor the Lord with the firstfruits of all we have. Faith enables us to give God what is right, not just what is left. Malachi's words echo this truth—God's people were robbing Him by bringing partial offerings, much like Cain did.

2) It Takes the Right Heart to Make a Right Sacrifice
Making the right sacrifice isn't just about money or material goods—it's about ourselves. Romans 12:1 calls us to present our bodies as living sacrifices. Cain's offering was rejected not because of the gift itself, but because of the heart behind it. Warren Wiersbe wisely noted, “Cain wasn't rejected because of his offering, but his offering was rejected because of Cain: his heart wasn't right with God.” 2 Corinthians 9:7 reminds us that God loves a cheerful giver, not one who gives reluctantly or under compulsion. Faith changes our motivation from obligation to joyful devotion.

3) The Consequences of a Wrong Sacrifice
Cain's bad attitude spiraled into bitterness, envy, and eventually murder. When God confronted him, Cain refused to repent and instead lied about his brother's whereabouts. Sin begets sin—one wrong sacrifice led to hatred, then murder, then deception. Cain's punishment was severe: the ground would no longer yield its crops, and he would become a restless wanderer, cut off from God's presence. When we withhold what God deserves, we risk spiritual fruitlessness and restlessness.

4) A Faith Sacrifice Is Honored by God
Abel was the one who did right, yet he was killed. Where is the honor in that? Pastor Don explains that Abel's ultimate sacrifice—his very life—was honored by God. His faith still speaks today, even though he is long dead. Abel's legacy inspires millions to stand firm in their faith. And while Cain's punishment was to be hidden from God's presence (which he found unbearable), Abel's reward was eternal righteousness. Sometimes the righteous suffer, but God sees, honors, and rewards their faithful sacrifice.

Key Takeaways:

• A right sacrifice gives God the best, not what's left over
• The condition of your heart matters more than the size of your gift
• Half-hearted devotion is a form of arrogance—we don't get to rewrite God's standards
• Wrong sacrifices lead to spiritual fruitlessness and restlessness
• Faith sacrifices are honored by God, even when they cost us everything
• Abel's silence in Scripture speaks louder than many words—what legacy is your faith leaving?

A Heart Check:

• Are you giving God your first and best, or your leftovers?
• Is your worship driven by faith and joy, or just religious obligation?
• Are you trusting God enough to honor Him with all you have?

"Give God what is right; not what is left."

Next week, we'll continue our study of the heroes of faith in Hebrews 11. Don't miss it!

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:08

Hi everyone, Pastor Don Smith here. Welcome to the Talk About It Podcast, where we take relevant topics with a biblical point of view and we talk about it. You know you want to, so do I. Let's talk about it. Well, once again, welcome back, everyone, to the Talk About It Podcast. I'm Don Smith, your host, but you knew that already. Here we are, season 11, episode two. Wow, what a great start we have had to this season. Uh, this season, this particular topic, we're talking about faith. What is faith? It was birthed out of a question. Then I think it was a legitimate question, and uh it really got me to thinking about how do we answer this, right? Because on the Talk About It podcast, we take relevant topics with a biblical perspective and we talk about it. And what could be more relevant than faith, especially in the world that we live in? And so I'm excited that you're here. Season 11, episode two. And here we go. If you're a longtime listener, man, you guys are the best. You guys are the best. If you're a first-time listener, welcome. We've been waiting for you. Uh, do us a favor, though, push pause, go back to episode one, catch up. We'll be here waiting for you when you get back. It's so good. If you're a supporter of the podcast, I got some news for everyone today, but especially for those who are our supporters monthly. Uh, today uh I just got some statistics back from the hosting platform of the podcast. Now, you can get the podcast on any platform that you listen uh to podcasts from, but I have to host the platform. I have a platform that has that is a host that puts it out. I load it to there and then it loads it up into all the platforms that you listen at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, all the places that people listen to that. But they gave me a statistic today that it just blew my mind that I thought I would share with you at the beginning. Are you ready? Are you ready? Listen, especially for all of you longtime supporters, those who maybe contribute monthly to the podcast, and you wonder if you're doing any good. Today, if I say today, today I got statistics. The podcast is being listened to in 68 countries around the world. 68. That means the gospel of Jesus Christ is being shared by our little bitty podcast. A relevant topic with a biblical perspective is being heard in 68 countries. Of course, the United States, but then there's like Vietnam, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Brazil, uh, Singapore, Germany, Spain, Kenya. I know, I know the people in Kenya. Thank y'all for listening every week. United Kingdom. I know I got friends in the United Kingdom and the UK, but in Iraq, I don't have any friends in Iraq. Uh, evidently I do. Hello, somebody. Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Argentina, Canada. I got some friends in Canada, Ireland, Venezuela, India, Colombia. I've been to uh Barranquilla, Colombia, beautiful city, uh uh Paraguay, uh, Chile, Ecuador, uh uh Asburgan. I I don't even see, I don't even know. France, Bangladesh, Morocco, Armenia, Indonesia, Ukraine, Sweden, Nepal, Italy, Nigeria. I've I've been to Nigeria, Nicaragua, I've been, I got friends in Nicaragua, uh, Lebanon, Peru, Costa Rica, Bahrain, uh, Latvia, Jordan, Angola, Netherlands, Algeria, Senegal, Albania, Turkey, or Turkey, Portugal. How about this? Palestine. Oh my goodness, Oman, Trinidad, and Tobago, Malaysia, Austria, Belgium, Qatar, Hungary, Mongolia, Guatemala. I got friends in Guatemala, uh, Belarus, Israel, South Africa, Suburbia, Georgia, the Syrian Arab Republic, Jamaica, Japan, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, Egypt, and Ethiopia. Those can you believe that our little bitty podcast is reaching that many countries right now? And that that the perspective of biblical thought process on relevant topics is talking to that many people, and it's all because of your monthly support. I thank you so much. If you're not a supporter, I'll just show notes go right there. If you want to support, imagine how many more countries we could be in. I'm just blown away today. I'm so happy, so blessed. Uh, it's incredible. If you'd like to be a supporter, there's a link in the show notes. I don't need to go through all that because I'm not here to beg you for money. I'm here to tell you that God is doing something with this little bitty podcast, and it's all because you listen every week. And I'm so thankful, could not be more thankful. And what more relevant could we be talking about, like over something like that, than the topic of faith? Right? And so I've titled this season, It Takes Faith, but it's been birthed out of the question, Pastor Don, what is faith? Now, last week we we laid out uh what we thought in part one, here part two. I just want to continue with that because, like, we talked about, okay, this is what faith is. Faith is built upon, you know, uh, who God is and not who we are. There are two kinds of faith. There is this dead faith that's built simply on uh intellectual belief, but nothing deeper. Then there's the saving faith uh that involves putting what I believe in practice, right? And so faith really means trusting in advance what will only make sense in reverse. Come on, you need to listen to last week's episode. It was amazing. And so I just want to continue with that today, that thought process, because here you are, here I am, we're back again, and this conversation is going to grow into some very, very deep, deep areas. Now, in Hebrews chapter 11, verse 4, the Bible says, by faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts, and through it he being dead, still speaks. Wow. Okay, so what is faith? Now we're moving through this. This is um, you know, what is faith part two? Because it sets up the whole season as we go along here now. And I want to talk about the things that it takes faith to do. And we've been talking about this, all right? So it takes faith to make a right sacrifice. And so if I'm if I'm reading in Hebrews chapter 11, which is our hall of faith, kind of like the sports hall of fame, all right, the writer of Hebrews highlights the fact that Abel's sacrifice was better than his brothers, Cain's. And because of that, God commended him as a righteous man. Now, and we see that his righteousness, I believe, was preceded by his faith. We see that his sacrifice was made out of his faith. So I can conclude then that although Abel made a sacrifice unto God by faith, Cain did not. So, what is happening here, Pastor Don? Well, I'm glad you asked. Because I want to see how this story played out and how Abel offered a better sacrifice than Cain did, because right in the beginning of the Bible, all of a sudden we're talking about faith. In Genesis chapter 4, verse 1 through 5, Adam lay with his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. She said, With the help of the Lord, I have brought forth a man. Later she gave birth to his brother Abel. And now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soul. In the course of time, Cain brought some fruit of the soul as an offering to the Lord. But Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. And the Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry and his face was downcast. All right, you probably read that before. So we see that Cain made a sacrifice, but then there's this there there's this but, okay? Cain makes a sacrifice, but Abel's sacrifice includes some very descriptive words here: fat portions, first fruits. And this indicates that Abel brought the best he had while Cain did not. Now we're gonna be tempted to hold back on God in our own life. Sure we are. It's one of the greatest temptations that we fight is to hold back on God, to do what Cain did. Abel's faith caused him to think more about his God than his goods. Cain brought a sacrifice, of course he did, a fruit, but not the first fruits. And that's the difference, my friend. Abel brought the best while Cain brought the rest. Abel brought the first to the one who was first. Cain brought secondhand fruits to the one who came in second in his life. And you can guess who was first in Cain's world. He was. And Abel did what was honorable, but Cain did not. Now, Proverbs chapter 3, I think it's verse 9, it says, honor the Lord with the with your wealth and the first fruits of all your crops. So bringing the Lord's, uh, the the Lord's best or bringing the best to the Lord is what we have as far as honor goes. So see, when I when I think about honor, I'm from the South in the United States here, and when I think about honor, you know, the two things that come to mind, respect and admire. There's there's a saying that goes this way give God what's right and not what's left. See, faith enables me to respect and admire and honor the Lord. Now, in Malachi chapter 3, God told his people, He said, You're robbing me. Okay? And you got to bring the whole tithe into the storehouse. Now, that means to me that they were bringing some. It doesn't mean they weren't bringing all any. It just means that they were bringing some, but not all. And they were making a sacrifice, but not the right kind of sacrifice. They're like Cain. They brought what they considered to be good enough, but it wasn't acceptable. It's not enough to bring a sacrifice. It needs to be a right sacrifice, a sacrifice that's driven by our faith. Hello, talk about it. So faith allows me to offer the best of what I have. So, first and foremost, if we say, what is faith? Well, faith, it it takes faith to make a right sacrifice. And so I can look at how I honor God and see what faith really is. The second thing is it takes it takes the right heart to make a right sacrifice. Making the right sacrifice isn't just about the amount of money or material goods. It's talking about ourselves, talk about it. It's talking about who we are. Listen to Romans chapter 12, verse 1, because it says we are to present ourselves as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God. And this is our spiritual act of worship. Now, Abel committed his spiritual act of worship. He gave the sacrifice that was holy and pleasing. The greatest commandment is to love God with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind. Somebody say amen. So we don't just give God some of us, we give him all of us. So talk about it. Watch this. Cain's sacrifice was rejected because it had less to do with the sacrifice itself and more to do with the heart of the person bringing the sacrifice. In other words, Cain wasn't rejected because of his offering, but his offering was rejected because of him. Oh, that is so good. His heart wasn't right with God, talk about it. Cain's offering wasn't accepted because his heart wasn't right. It wasn't a right sacrifice because it wasn't with a right heart. 2 Corinthians chapter 9 says we should give what we've already decided in our heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion. Why? Because God loves a cheerful giver. Well, here's what Paul is challenging in this statement to the Corinthians. He's challenging the status of the heart, not the amount of the offering. Oh, come on, talk about it. Is the love of the Lord there? Is faith and trust in the Lord there? Or are we just going through the motions? Are we just giving obligatory offerings? Cain's sacrifice was out of a sense of duty. Faith wasn't even attached to it, talk about it. It was out of compulsion, not joy. And see, if God is first, then we'll be devoted to Him first. It doesn't mean we're perfect at all, but it does mean that we're all in, fully committed. And so there are areas of our lives that we may struggle with, but if we have a willingness to turn them over instead of having a stubborn refusal to give God full control, then we're on the right track. It's when we try to change the rules and try to get God to compromise on his standard that we're always in trouble. Talk about it. Who are we to tell God how it's going to be? I saw this meme this week. It says, stop trying to tell God what to do. You can't even parallel park. I thought that was brilliant. Who are we to tell God how it's going to be? What is wrong with us when we try to convince ourselves that God is okay with me giving him half-hearted devotions? I mean, how arrogant are we when we conclude that God should be satisfied with whatever I give him? See, I believe that this was Cain's attitude. He didn't care that much about what God wanted. I guarantee he knew what God expected of him. God wouldn't have rejected his sacrifice had Cain not known what was expected. Talk about it. Come on. Let me say that again. God would not have rejected his sacrifice if Cain had not known what was expected. And so the thing that's missing was a willingness to honor God through faith. The thing that was missing was devotion. The thing that was missing from Cain's life was Cain's sacrifice of faith. The thing that was missing from Cain's heart was love. Making a right sacrifice involves a right heart and a heart of faith. That's incredible. Today I'm going to talk about it. The third thing I want you to see is the consequences that happened because of a wrong sacrifice. Now, Cain's attitude only got worse. If we continue to read the story, he was angry and downcast, so the Lord confronts him about it. Isn't it amazing how the Lord doesn't mind confronting us sometimes? Talk about it. Genesis chapter 4, around about verse 6, the Lord said to Cain, Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what's right, will you not be accepted? But if you don't do what's right, sin's crouching at your door and it desires to have you. But you must master it. So Cain's upset at his brother when he should have been upset at himself. Cain was envious and jealous, even though God made it clear that he was no respecter of persons. If you do what's right, your sacrifice will be accepted. Isn't that exactly what God told him? See, I believe that right here in this moment, God's given Cain a chance to do the right thing. He said, if you do what's right, not if you had done what's right. It's like God was saying, you still got an opportunity to make right here a sacrifice by faith, and we can put this all behind us. You see, God wants Cain to understand he has no one to blame but himself. So God tries to warn him that his anger is going to get the best of him, and he needs to get it under control, but Cain didn't want to listen to God. Sound like some people I I know. Come on, talk about it. Amen or o me. Hello somebody. And it didn't turn out very well for Cain, did it? I think it's about verse 8 there in Genesis chapter 4. Now Cain said to his brother Abel, let's go out to the field. And when they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him. And the Lord said to Cain, Where's your brother Abel? I don't know, Cain replied. Am I my brother's keeper? So Cain tries to plead not guilty, but of course God knows he is. Interesting that he thinks he can lie to God and be successful. I said, interesting that we think we can lie to God and be successful. Hello. Are you are you still there? Did you did you turn me off yet? I hope not. Come on, somebody. It's the way it is with sin. One leads to another, which leads to another. Cain makes a wrong sacrifice. Then he responds to that by developing bitterness and hatred, then murder, then lying about it, then sin upon sin upon sin upon sin. It would it would have been interesting to see what would have happened, I think, if Cain had confessed and repented in godly sorrow. Don't you? Don't you think that would have been interesting? But that didn't happen because Cain had murder in his heart. And he had murder in his heart because evil was in his heart. First John chapter 3, verse 12, says, Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brothers were righteous. And because of that, God renders his judgment and enacts Cain's consequences. Genesis chapter 4, verse 9. And the Lord said, What have you done? Listen, your brother's blood cries out to me from the ground, and now you're under a curse and driven from the ground, which opens up its mouth to receive your brother's blood upon your hand, and when you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crop for you. You'll be a restless wanderer on earth. You see, Cain paid for his unwillingness to give God what was due to him. Think about that. You see, when we don't give God what's due to him, we're gonna pay for it. That's why we're talking about faith. Part of Cain's punishment was that the ground wasn't gonna produce. And if we don't honor the Lord with what he's blessed us with, he may very well get in the way and frustrate our efforts. Come on, someone. Cain was to he's gonna be this restless wanderer, never settle anywhere. And listen, when we don't listen to God and sacrifice our will for his will, we'll become spiritually restless and unsettled. See, talk about it. What I want you to gather today is that making a wrong sacrifice has its consequences. That's why I think the conversation about faith is so important because there's no area of our life that can be void of faith. So, a faith sacrifice, the last one I want to talk about today, is always honored by God. And all this, it shows that Abel had faith where Cain didn't. Okay. Abel had the faith to trust that if he gave God his best, God would honor that. But wait, Abel's faith didn't remove him from trouble. Let me let me walk through this very carefully again. Abel had faith, because I want to make sure we got right doctrine here, because so much of the faith doctrine today teaches us that, well, we wouldn't have any trouble if we just had more faith. Okay. So Paul didn't have faith. Hello, somebody. See, Abel had faith to trust. If he gave God his best, God would honor his sacrifice. But even Abel's faith didn't remove him from trouble. Abel was the one who did the right thing, but he's the one who ends up getting killed. Now, what's up with that? Shouldn't it be the other way around? How is how is that honoring his sacrifice? Well, see, I believe that Cain got what was worse. Watch this, Genesis chapter 4, verse 13. Cain said to the Lord, My punishment is more than I can bear. Today you're driving me from the land, and I'll be hidden from your presence. I'll be hidden from your presence. I'll be a restless wanderer on earth, and whoever finds me will kill me. But the Lord said to him, Not so. If anyone kills Cain, he'll suffer vengeance seven times over. Then the Lord put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him. Now I'm sure. Cain didn't like the fact that his efforts would be fruitless and that he would never be settled anywhere. But I believe the true reason Cain felt his punishment was unbearable was because he would have hidden, be hidden from the Lord's presence for the rest of his life. To be away from God's provision and protection, to live a Life void of God's presence is unbearable to anyone who has once had the blessing of being in his presence and his protection. And that, my friends, is Cain's situation. I don't think Cain was afraid that someone might kill him at all. I think Cain probably was hoping that someone might come along and kill him and end his misery. But God was like, oh no, you're not getting off that easy. Talk about it. Sometimes it doesn't seem as if the righteous are honored for their sacrifice, but trust me, they are. If by no one else other than God Himself. There are people who I think are incredibly faithful people, full of faith. And there may be suffering, there may be persecutions, but God sees them when their faith prevails despite their trials, their tribulations. And he honors and he rewards it. You see, Abel is honored because he gave the ultimate sacrifice his life. He died for his faith. When you read Hebrews chapter 11, and in verses 36 through 38, you read about those who were persecuted and killed for their faith. Okay? People today die for faith. There are plenty of people out there acting in accordance with the spirit of Cain as well. And when they go after all the Abels, the Abels are being honored for their sacrifice. Think about it. They're being admired for their undying faith and courage. They're motivating millions of people to live out their faith in response to seeing an Abel who didn't back down. You know what I find interesting, and I love that's why you should read this book sometime. I love reading the scripture. Interesting that Abel has not one word recorded. Listen to me talk about it. What is interesting is that there is not one recorded word from Abel in the Bible, yet his faith speaks volumes. Hebrews chapter 11, verse 4. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead. His sacrifice is honored by the legacy of faith he left for you and I to see. Let me ask us this as we get to the close of this episode, season 11, episode 2. How much does our faith speak today in the world we live in? Come on. All of you who are listening in all those 68 countries, how much does our faith speak to those around us? Or our lives an honorable sacrifice, a right sacrifice of faith. Cain didn't have the faith that trusted God. He didn't trust that God would honor only the right sacrifice. His level of faith provided a mistrust of God. He mistrusted in the sense of thinking that God would have a problem with compromising, or wouldn't God wouldn't have a problem with compromising on his command, and he mistrusted in the sense of not being willing to give back to God the best of what he already had given him. And so since Cain didn't want to bless the blesser, he wouldn't be blessed anymore. You know what? Maybe Cain was also arrogant, thinking that the produce he brought that he had grown by his own skill as a farmer, right? Would be enough. But he didn't think that it took things that only God can contribute to the growing of those things, to make it happen. Things like the sun and the rain and the soil. Oh my. You see, he brought his first fruits without acknowledging, or not his first fruits, just fruits. He brought his fruits without acknowledging that it was God who ultimately controlled the things that made those fruits grow. Maybe, maybe, maybe Cain just looked at God as a taker of what he had worked for. Why should I give God the best of my crops? He didn't work hard for it, I did. Talk about it. Our failure to acknowledge God and giving us the strength and ability and everything needed to produce a good harvest will always result in God teaching us a lesson, proving to us he's behind it all, and we are just unworthy participants of his grace. Come on, somebody. Cain wanted a relationship with God on his terms. Talk about it. That's not gonna cut it. When we make the rules and when we are expecting God to make compromises, we're developing a God of our own making. We have faith, but it's not saving faith, it's dead faith. Listen to me. Listen to me talk about it. Here we go. A faith that doesn't produce right actions is not a right faith. Okay? It takes faith, right faith, to make a right sacrifice. Oh my goodness. That's a great place to stop here on episode two because, man, I've given you a lot today that you want. Maybe you need to listen to it again. Wow. There's so much in there. All based on this one little question, Pastor Don, can you really just tell me what is faith? Well, we got a lot to talk about, and I've laid out a whole bunch of things in the following episodes, and I hope that you'll come back each and every week. I'm so thankful that you do. Uh, if you're if this is your first time here, would you just do us a favor, like and subscribe? For all of you who are listening, longtime listeners, first-time listeners, could you do me a favor? Would you give the podcast a rating on the platform that you listen on right there? You can give it uh however many stars, right? Rate the podcast, it helps the algorithm. Hey, if you're listening in one of those countries that I mentioned, wow, just wow. Hello, somebody. Come on, we love you guys, and we're so grateful that you are here. And we are glad that all of you are tuning in. Pray about being a supporter. What if God can continue to use our little podcast to share biblical perspective all around planet Earth? All because we support a little bitty podcast each week, each month. Man, I'm so blessed and I love you all. But I need you to remember, as much as I love you, Jesus loves you more. I'll see you next week.