Our Divine Spiritual Richness

For some time now I have been looking at what the subtitle calls our divine spiritual richness, because the LORD-GOD is the only source of this richness. It being part and parcel of Grace all of which is received by faith as a young child looks to their parent for such rewards after they have been away on holiday without them. I want to look into knowledge received by the deeds performed by the LORD that men might receive of Him. The reason for all that was done by Him while in Israel. Moving on to Pastor Hoekstra and his teaching on Grace and faith our most valuable resource. And then with the LORD's help and leading I will look at the targeted subject matter using the ESV translation.


 "Abel's Acceptable Worship Sacrifice, by Faith"


"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." (Hebrews 11:4)


"The LORD desires greatly that people become true spiritual worshipers of Him. "The hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him" (John 4:23). This can only become a reality through faith in the LORD. One helpful example of this is Abel's acceptable worship sacrifice, by faith. 

Cain and Abel were two sons of Adam and Eve. The time came when they both offered sacrifices to the LORD. "And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the LORD. Abel also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat" (Genesis 4:3-4). The sacrifice of Cain was rejected by GOD, whereas Abel's sacrifice was accepted. "And the LORD respected Abel and his offering, but He did not respect Cain and his offering" (Genesis 4:4-5). Our primary verse tells us why Abel's gift of worship was acceptable to the LORD. "By faith Abel offered to GOD a more excellent sacrifice than Cain." Abel's sacrifice was given by faith. It came from a heart that believed in the LORD and trusted in His righteous ways. "The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD . . . but He loves him who follows righteousness" (Proverbs 15:8-9). When the LORD accepted Abel's offering, He was declaring that Abel was righteous in His sight: "through which he obtained witness that he was righteous." Elsewhere, the word confirms that Cain was an unbeliever; whereas, Abel walked in righteousness. "Cain . . . was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brother's righteous" (1John 3:12). 

When we offer worship sacrifices to the LORD, He is looking on our hearts. Are we trusting in Him? Are we yielding to the righteous paths that His word has set forth? Whether we are offering praise, giving thanks, doing good deeds, or sharing our resources with others, we are to do it all by faith in the LORD who became Lord Jesus Christ. "Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to GOD, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices GOD is well pleased . . . you . . . are being built up a spiritual house . . . to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to GOD through Jesus Christ" (Hebrews 13:15-16 and 1Peter 2:5).


Deeds Performed by the LORD, that men might receive,

Exodus 6:2 "GOD spoke to Moses and said to him, "I am the LORD. I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty, but by My name the LORD I did not make Myself known to them. I also established My covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they lived as sojourners. Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the people of Israel whom the Egyptians hold as slaves, and I have remembered My covenant. Say therefore to the people of Israel, 'I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from slavery to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment. I will take you to be My people, and I will be your GOD, and you shall know that I am the LORD your God, Who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians (sins slaves). I will bring you into the land that I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. I will give it to you for a possession. I am the LORD.'" Moses spoke thus to the people of Israel, but they did not listen to Moses, because of their broken spirit and harsh slavery."


Exodus 16:9-12 "Moses said to Aaron, "Say to the whole congregation of the people of Israel, 'Come near before the LORD, for He has heard your grumbling.'" As soon as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the people of Israel, they looked toward the wilderness, and behold, the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud. And the LORD said to Moses, "I have heard the grumbling of the people of Israel. Say to them, 'At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread. Then you shall know that I am the LORD your God.'"


Joshua 3:7-13 "The LORD said to Joshua, "Today I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with you.  And as for you, command the priests who bear the ark of the covenant, 'When you come to the brink of the waters of the Jordan, you shall stand still in the Jordan.'" And Joshua said to the people of Israel, "Come here and listen to the words of the LORD your God." And Joshua said, "Here is how you shall know that the living GOD is among you and that HE will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Hivites, the Perizzites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, and the Jebusites. Behold, the ark of the covenant of the LORD of all the earth is passing over before you into the Jordan. Now therefore take twelve men from the tribes of Israel, from each tribe a man. And when the soles of the feet of the priests bearing the ark of the LORD, the LORD of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off from flowing, and the waters coming down from above shall stand in one heap."


1Kings 18:30-39 "Elijah said to all the people, "Come near to me." And all the people came near to him. And he repaired the altar of the LORD that had been thrown down. Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the LORD came, saying, "Israel shall be your name," and with the stones he built an altar in the name of the LORD. And he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain two measures of seed. And he put the wood in order and cut the bull in pieces and laid it on the wood. And he said, "Fill four jars with water and pour it on the burnt offering and on the wood." And he said, "Do it a second time." And they did it a second time. And he said, "Do it a third time." And they did it a third time. And the water ran around the altar and filled the trench also with water. And at the time of the offering of the oblation, Elijah the prophet came near and said, "O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are GOD in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at Your word. Answer me, O LORD, answer me, that this people may know that You, O LORD, are GOD, and that you have turned their hearts back." Then the fire of the LORD fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said, "The LORD, HE is GOD; the LORD, HE is GOD.""


Isaiah 45:1-7 "Thus says the LORD to His anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped, to subdue nations before him and to loose the belts of kings, to open doors before him that their gates may not be closed: "I will go before you and level the exalted places, I will break in pieces the doors of bronze and cut through the bars of iron, I will give you the treasures of darkness and the hoards in secret places, that you may know that it is I, the LORD, the God of Israel, Who called you by your name. For the sake of My servant Jacob, and Israel My chosen, I call you by your name, I name you, though you do not know Me. I am the LORD, and there is no other, besides Me there is no GOD; I equip you, though you do not know Me, that people may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is none besides Me; I am the LORD, and there is no other. I form light and create darkness, I make well-being and create calamity, I am the LORD, Who does all these things."


Joel 2:21-27 "Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice, for the LORD has done great things! Fear not, you beasts of the field, for the pastures of the wilderness are green; the tree bears its fruit; the fig tree and vine give their full yield. "Be glad, O children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your GOD, for HE has given the early rain for your vindication; HE has poured down for you abundant rain, the early and the latter rain, as before. (rain equates to grace) "The threshing floors shall be full of grain; the vats shall overflow with wine and oil. I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter, my great army, which I sent among you. "You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the LORD your GOD, Who has dealt wondrously with you. And My people shall never again be put to shame. You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the LORD your God and there is none else. And My people shall never again be put to shame."


Zechariah 4:8-10 "The word of the LORD came to me, saying, "The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also complete it. Then you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you. For whoever has despised the day of small things shall rejoice, and shall see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel. "These seven are the eyes of the LORD, which range through the whole earth."


Matthew 9:2-8 "Some people brought to Him a paralytic, lying on a bed. And when Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, "Take heart, My son; your sins are forgiven." And behold, some of the scribes said to themselves, "This man is blaspheming." But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, "Why do you think evil in your hearts? For which is easier, to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Rise and walk'? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins"—He then said to the paralytic—"Rise, pick up your bed and go home." And he rose and went home. When the crowds saw it, they were afraid, and they glorified God, who had given such authority to men."


John 10:31-38 "The Jews picked up stones again to stone Him. Jesus answered them, "I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you going to stone Me?" The Jews being indignant answered Him, "It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself GOD." Jesus answered them, "Is it not written in your Law, 'I said, you are gods'? (Psalm 82:6) If he called them gods to whom the word of GOD came—and Scripture cannot be broken— do you say of Him Whom the Father consecrated (sanctified) and sent into the world, 'You are blaspheming,' because I said, 'I am the Son of GOD'? If I am not doing the works of My Father, then do not believe Me; but if I do them, even though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in Me and I am in the Father."


John 14:25-31 (Jesus is speaking) "These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. You heard Me say to you, 'I am going away, and I will come to you.' If you love Me, you would have rejoiced, because I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. And now I have told you before it takes place, so that when it does take place you may believe. I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no claim on Me, for I do as the Father has commanded Me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. Rise, let us go from here."


John 17:20-24 (Jesus is speaking) "I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word, that they may all be one, just as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You, that they also may be in US, so that the world may believe that You have sent Me. The glory that You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one even as We are One, I in them and You in Me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that You sent Me and love them even as You love Me. Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, may be with Me where I am, to see My glory that You have given Me because You loved Me before the foundation of the world."