They still speak
Notes
Transcript
Intro
Intro
By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead.
Hebrews 11. Those familiar with the Scriptures know that Hebrews chapter 11 presents a series of men and women who experienced God’s deliverance through faith.
This is Hebrews chapter 11: The Hall of Faith.
Cain and Abel. Two brothers, two men of the same blood.
Cain kills Abel out of envy. So it is a violent death.
No matter how much we prepare for the passing of a loved one, his death will always have a violent connotation.
“The hand of Cain” can be an illness, an accident, or any other unforeseen event that can take a life.
In other words, death always has a violent aspect, because it interrupts life.
Yet, in this verse, even though Cain’s hand has struck Abel to death, Abel “still speaks.”
Death did not silence Abel, nor did the hand of Cain silence the voice of his brother.
This morning we are gathered here because unfortunately death has come, the hand of Cain, has struck our sister Felicia.
Despite this, Sister Felicia still speaks.
Obviously I am not referring to Necromancy.
We know that it is impossible for us to communicate with the dead or vice versa:
And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’
So how is it possible to affirm that men and women of God, together with the heroes of faith of Hebrews 11, although dead “still speak”.
Sermon’s outline. About this verse I want to consider two aspects:
God speaks;
Abel still speaks.
N.1 - God speaks
N.1 - God speaks
The text says that God spoke well of Abel’s offering.
The expression “speak well” means testify favorably, approve, give evidence.
God’s approval allows us to speak again.
Many seek the approval of others, the compliments of men, but what allows us to speak again is the approval of God.
Sister Felicia never sought the applause of men, but only the approval of the heavenly Father who told her:
“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’
N.2 - Abel still speaks
N.2 - Abel still speaks
Cain killed Abel, not Abel’s offering.
Abel’s offering went up to God:
And Abel also brought an offering—fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering,
Abel’s offering continued to be a source of inspiration for other men and women of God.
Today we are no longer called to offer animals to have fellowship with the Lord, but our life must be the offering dedicated to God.
This is what Sister Felicia did: she loved her Lord completely, giving her whole life to Him as an offering pleasing to God.
That is why, although we can no longer hear Sister Felicia’s voice, we can still be inspired by her life of faith, dedication and love for the Kingdom of God.
Conclusion
Conclusion
We can therefore say of her: although dead, Sister Felicia’s life still speaks; a woman of living faith, approved by God.
