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GOOD NEWS Letters & SERIES Teachings>
THE GOOD, BAD and UGLY-Part-1 By: Pastor A. Bascon
THE GOOD, BAD and UGLY-Part1 By:Pastor A. Bascon
God's Word is the Report of the Lord. And, the Report of the Lord is a GOOD report! We, as God's people, should not question the Lord's doings in our lives; rather, what we should do, is just follow God's Word. Obey His Word! God's Word tells us to PRAY for the sick, that they may be healed. All we can do is to PRAY. That's what the Word of God tells us to do! What we must do, is to PRAY in FAITH, BELIEVING, and let the Holy Spirit do the rest! It's so much easier than to question God with various questions such as: "God, why was this particular person healed; while, this other one wasn't?" WE do not have the answer to such a question. WE are called to PRAY, to PRAY BELIEVING and TRUST the LORD for the rest. And, if 'we' DO NOT take any 'credit' for any healings that take place, you don't get the blame for any deaths that may occur. Again --- all we are called for, is to PRAY!
As we read in 1CORINTHIANS 13, Apostle Paul speaks of God's inborn character and disposition. God's inborn character and dispostion is God's true nature! God is HOLY, and He calls US to be HOLY. God is LOVE. And, WE are to reflect God's character, His nature and His disposition, which is LOVE. The opposite of LOVE is HATRED. And, hatred is an aweful thing! If you don't get a handle on that aweful beast of "hatred" he could raise havoc in your life! Jesus, Himself says in LUKE 12:45 - " Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits MORE wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is WORSE than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation." The spirit of "hatred" (as various other unclean spirits) must be addressed immediately! "Hatred" has "close relatives" that also can raise great havoc in your life! Spirits such as: dislike, ill-will, loath, hostility, anger, animosity, arrogance, lying and murder. We can learn more concerning the harm that these unclean spirits can bring to a person's life.
In GEN. 4:1-We read of two brothers:Caine, a farmer, and Abel, a shepherd. As we read of Caine and Abel, we learn that God accepted Abel's offering, He DID NOT accept Caine's offering.
And, Caine became very angry. Now, in the Hebrew language, the definition of "anger" is: a nose, nostril.
When a person gets angry, you can see the facial expressions of that person. Sometimes you can even see their nostrils move. Sort of like when a horse gets wild or scared, you can see the expression of the horse seem to get twice its size. You can actually see the expression of "anger" on a person's face when they become angry over something.
Just as in Caine's case:"But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. And the LORD said unto Cain, "Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?" Genesis 4:5-6 God told Caine that Caine's countenance had fallen. Just as when we are very happy, we show it on our countenance. Just the way that a person talks and walks about, we can see when they are truly happy. Our emotions can be exhibited by our facial expressions and body behavior. Caine was angry and it showed all over him. He couldn't hide it from God. One might try to hide their feelings; but it comes out in their facial expressions. Or, perhaps while speaking to you, if they are NOT telling you the truth, they can't look you straight in the eye.
We can all try to control and hide our feelings or emotions; but, they are something that affects our whole body! When a person is happy, they are joyful. You can see it on their face! Here, we read that Caine was very angry. In verse 6, we see the LORD question him: Gen 4:6 "And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?" In verse 7 God says: "If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for YOU, but YOU should rule over it." God says that Caine needed to address this anger right away.
Caine was angry because God rejected his offering; while, Abel's was accepted by God. Abel brought the very best of his flock to God. Caine's offering was rejected, perhaps Caine did not give his very best to the LORD. Rather, Caine gave no thought at all to giving God his very best. WE are not shepherds and we do not have a flock; not, are we farmers with a crop. But, we do have US! We can give God OUR VERY BEST!
As we read of Caine and Abel, we see that Caine was jealous of his brother. Now, you have anger, then comes jealousy, envy, wrath and more. And, ALL sin has to be dealt with!
We also read in GENESIS 4:9 that God asks Caine: "Where is Abel your brother?" And Caine's response is: "I do not know. Am I my brother's keeper?"
Here, we can see Caine's animosity and arrogance. And, God warned Caine that he needed to address that attitude, or it would overtake him. When one is filled with hatred, jealousy, envy, rejection, lying, arrogance etc.. you wonder; how can he sleep or have any peace? A person can go through the motions of acting normally; however, it is so obvious, when something is wrong with their nature or with their disposition.
Now, there is a simple answer to just why God accepted Abel's offering and not Caine's. We can read it in HEBREWS 11:4 - "By FAITH Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain.."
Abel gave his offering to God in FAITH, and Caine did not!
And, Heb 11:6 says: "But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him."
Caine did not give his offering by FAITH and without FAITH, it is impossible to please God!
If Caine harbored all these things(sins), you know that Cain was NOT walking by FAITH. He could try to hide it; but, you can't hide it! It is very, very difficult to control your feelings. They are very obvious to God and to everyone else!
Agape love (the God-kind of love), is the result of a REVIVED heart! Become "Christ-like," and walk in God's Agape love!
If and where there is "sin," (even if it seems very small), address it immediately! Or else, you may experience a little sin, then to more and then to a whole house full!
We can look inwardly at ourselves and fix whatever needs to be fixed. We can REPENT, and CHANGE WILL TAKE PLACE!
Change from: hatred to love; jealousy and envy to kindness, patience and love. God's love! For God is LOVE, and WE MUST LOVE one another! Lord bless you all!
John 13:34 "A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another."
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