Thank you once again for the privilege of being here and the opportunity to open up God's word with you. Before we turn in our Bibles to Genesis chapter 3, if you want to start thumbing back that direction, I just want to thank you again for your kindness and hospitality towards my wife and making us feel at home. You know we live in St. Augustine, Florida. By reputation, Jacksonville, Florida is the last southern city on the eastern seaboard So a joke we tell is that in Jacksonville, in our area, you go north to get to the south, and you go south to get to the north. Today, it felt like I was in Miami. You've gone way, way out of your way to make us feel at home. It doesn't have to feel so much like Florida, it feels like Miami, so hopefully it will be a little bit cooler tomorrow, but either way, we will see what the Lord provides. The sermon this evening is on Hebrews 11.4, but that by way of the Genesis reading on Cain and Abel, And what I'd like to do is actually begin our reading in Genesis 3. So if you would, please give your careful attention now to the reading of God's word. It begins in Genesis 3. Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, did God actually say, you shall not eat of any tree in the garden? The woman said, we may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, you shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it lest you die. The serpent said to the woman, you will not surely die, for God knows that when you eat of it, your eyes will be open and you will be like God, knowing good and evil. So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. And she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. And the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked, and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths. And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day. And the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. The Lord called to the man and said to him, where are you? And he said, I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked and I hid myself. He said, who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat? The man said, the woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me of the fruit of the tree, and I ate. Then the Lord God said to the woman, what is this that you have done? The woman said, the serpent deceived me, and I ate. The Lord God said to the serpent, because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field. On your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. I will put enmity between you and the woman, between your offspring and her offspring. He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel. To the woman he said, I will surely multiply your pain and childbearing, and in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you. To Adam he said, because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, you shall not eat of it. Cursed is the ground because of you. In pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life. Thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you. And you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground. For out of it you are taken. For you are dust, and to dust you shall return. The man called his wife's name Eve, because she was the mother of all living. And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skin and clothed them. Then the Lord God said, behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat and live forever, therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. He drove out the man. And at the east of the Garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the Tree of Life. Now Adam knew his wife Eve, Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, I have gotten a man with the help of the Lord. And again she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep and Cain a worker of the ground. In the course of time, Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground. And Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering, he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell. The Lord said to Cain, why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it. Cain spoke to Abel his brother, and when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him. Then the Lord said to Cain, where is Abel your brother? He said, I do not know, am I my brother's keeper? And the Lord said, what have you done? The voice of your brother's blood is crying to me from the ground. Now please turn to Hebrews 11, one simple verse, verse four. By faith, Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks. Thus far, the reading of God's word. Please pray with me. Lord, our God, we ask now that you grant to us faith that we might not only understand, but that we would also believe, and not simply believe, but respond in obedience that is pleasing to you. Lord, warm our hearts, even as we have felt the warmth of the sun this day, might even the warmth of the gospel now radiate in and through our hearts and lives for your glory and honor. In Christ's name, we ask all these things, amen. So as we begin to think about can and able, I would like to make a suggestion that everyone loves a good fight. There's something about a good fight, about conflict, that is eye-catching, attention-grabbing, and in the Bible, a conflict is something with which we are very familiar. When I was a child, the quintessential fight or conflict existed between two teams, the Cowboys and the Steelers, many, many years ago. On the big screen, it was between Darth and Luke, and every little boy, including me, wanted a lightsaber. But now, I pastor, apparently, in that forsaken land of Florida, not too far from what was referred to yesterday as the Nazareth of the South, Gainesville, where this team of whom I'm not allowed to mention by name dwells. And I was told yesterday that someone's favorite football team is whoever it is that happens to be playing those orange and blue people of whom I may not speak. So why is it that everyone loves such a good fight? Well, when you think about the Bible, the Bible from beginning to end is actually a book that is full of conflict. There's conflict at the beginning of the Bible when the stage of all things in history is set. There's conflict at the end of the Bible by which all previous conflicts are finally and climactically resolved. In a certain sense, the Bible is a book full of conflict. And yet, our great hope and confidence is that God, as he sets the stage for how all of this will unfold, he also gives us a preview, even at the very beginning, of how the conflict of history is going to end. And it ends when Jesus, the righteous son of God, the righteous son who has descended down the line even of humanity, will come and triumph over all of his and our enemies. So that there is conflict in the Bible is sure, but here is the grand resolve. God wins, and therefore his people have victory in and with him through Jesus Christ. First point that we're gonna think about this evening is Cain's unrighteous sacrifice. Now if you know the Bible stories well, many of us do, you've heard them since Sunday school, you've heard them for years, you've read this in your Bible, a very often asked question is why does God reject Cain? After all, Cain brings a sacrifice. So why is it that Cain is rejected? It's an important question. It's an important question, even to getting the gospel straight. So let's set the question in its context. The reason why I read from Genesis 3 before we got to Genesis 4 is because Genesis 3 is the very necessary backdrop of the story of Cain and Abel. When Adam and Eve sin, God makes a promise to them, and the promise is that a son will come. A son will come who will enter into this story, who will enter into this fray, who will go out upon this battlefield and deal a decisive blow to the serpent, that dragon of old that has slithered into the garden, slithered into history, and slithered in between humanity and God. But again, very importantly, God's response to the fall of Adam and Eve is the promise of a son. So that when you come to the end of Genesis 3, God has not only promised a son, but he said to Adam and to Eve, now the earth is cursed, now childbearing is cursed. So a curse is promised, but so also is a redemptive gospel promise given that is bound to a son. Now we're hindered for a moment because we know our Bible so well. You know the rest of the story. but pause for a moment and enter in, if you will, to the heart and mind of Eve. Eve, who at this stage now has fallen into sin with Adam, but God made a promise that from the two of them would come a son who would be a righteous man and who would slay the dragon. So when Eve conceives and is now pregnant with child, who might that child be? What expectation might she have cultivated? You and I know that before the promised Messiah, the promised son of whom God spoke would come into history, you and I know that an awful lot of baby boys will be born. But Eve didn't know that. All God said is, a son is coming. And notice even the way that Genesis 4, 1 begins. Now Adam knew his wife Eve, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, I have gotten a man with the help of the Lord. Even the very way that this language is phrased suggests at least the likelihood that in Eve's mind, this child came with expectation. This child came with hope. This child could be the one. There's nothing in the text that said it could not happen with the first child. So when this child comes and Eve says, I've begotten a man with the help of the Lord, a stage is set. Here's the question. Is this him? Is this the son? Is this the one who will fulfill the promise that God has made? Well, regrettably, and quite clearly, the answer to that is no. Eve bears a son named Cain, but eventually, right after that in the text, she bears another son whose name is Abel. But now you have two sons, and a lively question, could one of them be the one? A stage is even more clearly set when you come to Genesis 4.3. Genesis 4.3 uses this language in the ESV. In the course of time, Cain brings a sacrifice. In the Hebrew, akarit yamayim, it's literally a very pregnant phrase. It's an apocalyptic phrase used elsewhere in the prophets. It's like this, at the end of days. At the end of days, Cain brings a sacrifice. At the end of days, the boys are to come before God. At the end of days, a stage for worship is now being set, and the question again is, Cain, are you the man? Are you the promised redeemer? Are you the one that God said would come into history and fulfill the promise that you have already made? Cain, could you be, to say it a bit overstated, could you be the Messiah? The answer, of course, is no. Cain comes and he offers a sacrifice that immediately we realize is not pleasing in the sight of God. But why? Very important question. Again, why does God reject Cain? Well, notice the type of sacrifice that he brings. It is simply of the fruit of the ground. Regrettably, this is often skipped over. It's incidental, not a big deal. We give him a pass. He brought something. But let's make a little distinction between God and grandpa. God is unlike grandpa in this regard. God cares about the gifts that he's brought. He is not simply one who says no matter what you bring, simply because it comes from you, it's okay. God rather cares about the way that he is worshiped. And the way that you know this is that as soon as sin enters the world, what do Adam and Eve do? They clothe themselves with what? With fig leaves, okay? A comical moment, if it weren't so dire and serious. Adam and Eve sin, I just, I don't know if we get to ask questions when we get to heaven. I wanna ask Adam and Eve, what were you thinking? Fig leaves? You just sinned, you're running into the woods as though God can't see you. Like, where are you gonna go? But fig leaves, there's a fig tree. My neighbors have a perfectly well-groomed fig tree. It straddles my fence line. I've looked at this thing many times and just trying to think, how did they come up with that as a good idea for hiding from God? Run in the woods, grab those leaves, sew them together around our waist, and then what? It is almost funny, isn't it? And yet, God doesn't find it funny. In fact, when he calls them out, they can't hide. He also calls out what they're wearing and he replaces it. I think this is a very important moment in history. Genesis 321, one of the oft overlooked verses of the Bible, when Adam and Eve sin and clothe themselves with fig leaves, their attempt to cover their sins, a human attempt at atonement, the first articulation of wrong worship, God says that will not do. And he takes away their fig leaves and he gives them garments of skin. Why is that so important? What is the wages of sin? It is death. What did God promise would happen to Adam and Eve when they ate of the tree? They would die, but here they are, they are alive. So what about the threat of death? Well, beautifully and dramatically, God comes into the picture as the first rescuer. The one from whom they must be hidden is the only one who himself can hide them. The one they try to clothe themselves from takes away those man-made attempts to do it their way. And he puts something to death. The first person in the Bible to put something to death in sacrifice is God. when he clothes Adam and Eve. Genesis 3.21, with garments of skin, something had to die for there to be those garments of skin. This is also the foundation of what we sometimes refer to as the regular principle of worship. God not only cares about how he is worshiped, but he also institutes the pattern of how he will be worshiped. The very pattern of how man is to now approach God, the very pattern of how sin is to be dealt with, the very pattern of worship is all the way in the bedrock of Genesis 3. As soon as sin enters the world, God says, this is gonna be a problem and I will fix it. And so he puts something to death, something dies in the place of Adam and Eve, and then the garments of that animal, the skin of that animal is wrapped around their nakedness and shame. God is a good God. And as soon as sin enters the world, he begins giving great gospel gifts. and he gave them to Adam and Eve, and he gave them as a pattern for Cain and Abel, and this is why God rejects Cain's sacrifice. Because what, again, does Cain bring but an offering of the fruit of the ground? He is just like Adam. Though God has set in place a pattern that something must die, for sin to be atoned for, on this prophetic stage, at the end of days, this climactic moment, Cain shows up with a basket of fruit. And God says, this will not do. The language of the text that says he has no regard or respect for Cain's offering is even stronger language. The Hebrew word is actually one that says God will not look upon it favorably. It's in Psalm 33, 13, the Lord looks from heaven He sees all the sons of men from the place of his dwelling. He looks on the inhabitants of the earth. He fashions their hearts individually. He considers all their works. Beloved, it is the language of judgment and God will not look judgingly, that is to say, favorably upon the offering of Cain because it doesn't fit the pattern. What God did is what they must do. Man, in the image of God, must follow the pattern of God, even and especially in worship, and Cain takes matters into his own hands. He does it his own way. He is just like his father, Adam, and God says no. He rejects Cain. He rejects the sacrifice. Jude 10-11 says that Cain actually rejected and corrupted that which he knew. God instituted animal sacrifice, Cain brings fruit, and on this climactic stage, Cain is found wanting and is then rejected. So now you understand that in this story, much like maybe even the cowboy movies of old where the good guy wears a white hat and the bad guy wears a black hat and they shoot it out in the end, okay, now Kane is clearly Don with a black hat. He's not on the side of the seat of the woman. He is on the side of the seat of the serpent. He is playing for the wrong team. And that leads us then to Abel's righteous sacrifice and the question of why it is that God accepts Abel. Now, I'm going to hope that should be pretty clear. That if what we're saying is right about God's rejection of Cain, then it should be pretty easy to understand why he accepts Abel, because the offering that Abel brings, very clearly, is of the firstborn of his flock. Cain brings fruit, God says no. Abel brings a sacrifice, a firstborn of the flock, and God says yes. In this regard, Abel now, the second child of Eve, is following the pattern that God has set down in scripture. He is following the institution of sacrifice that God requires for sin. He is doing what man in the image of God ought to do, which is please God in God's ways. Abel's sacrifice is patterned after God's. He's a man after God's own heart. He's being faithful to the covenant of grace. And the text says that God looks, that is to say, looks favorably upon the offering of Abel. He respects his offering. What is man to do? But follow God in his ways. Last night, we looked at the Sabbath. What is man to do? But follow God in his ways. The language in the text of dominion. How much more the language of sacrifice and God's method for dealing with sin must be rightly followed by man. So can you see now the significance of not only what it is that Abel offered, but can you also see the gospel significance entering into the text? God, who instituted animal sacrifice and redemptively clothed Adam and Eve, sets in place a pattern to be followed by the children of Adam and Eve. Cain rejects it, Abel follows after it, but he also comes as one who brings a firstborn of his flock, an animal that will die. He becomes the first in history, at least according to the text, who offers to God right and pleasing sacrifice. The wages of sin is death, and here comes Abel, with his animal, with his firstborn, that he offers to God a preview of all the other animals that will die. Think of all the many, many sacrificial victims that Israel will know this is the first of that line. And it is offered by the second son of Eve. Would you expect anything other than that God would be pleased? Or perhaps, and more importantly, are you surprised that God would lay before you even so early, even now at this stage in Genesis, a very clear gospel preview, what happens at the beginning sets the stage for what will unfold in the end. Let's go back for a moment to Eve. Eve, the mother of all living, Eve, the mother of all hope, Eve, the mother who bears not simply one child, not simply one son, but two, and in her heart cultivates hope, and even as in her womb, she cultivates life. Eve rightly expects Cain to be the Messiah, but he is not. Eve perhaps wonders about Abel, and we'll leave that question on the table for a moment, but this much is clear. If Cain is wearing a black hat and is pulling for the wrong team, lead with the seed of the serpent, Abel is righteous. Hebrews 11 forward, he is called righteous. God commends Abel for offering a well-pleasing sacrifice in the sight of God because it follows the instituted practice already by God. And so that raises a very important question then, why does Abel die? If the lions have been drawn in the sand, and you know who is the good guy, you know who is the bad guy, you know who's wearing the black hat, you know who's wearing the white hat, if you know who is unrighteous and you know the one who is righteous, if you didn't know the rest of the story, and I said, okay, stop, so who do you think's gonna die? The one that obeys God or the one that disobeys God? The one that God accepts or the one that God rejects? Who do you think? God will allow to live. Well, this is an important question. Why does the righteous die? Eve is indeed the mother of all living, but have you also or ever contemplated the fact that Eve is as well the mother of the brokenhearted? The first mom in history lives to know the day when her oldest son will take the life of her younger son in an act of cruel and violent jealousy. Why is it, then, the providence of God, Eve, the mother of all living, should bury her second son, and perhaps even more forcefully, why does God allow the righteous to suffer, not simply in this story, but even in the course of history, why does God allow the righteous to suffer and die, and even that, at times, at the hands of sinful men? Hebrews 10, 37 says, the just shall live by faith. Abel, if he's been proven anything, he is just and righteous in the sight of God, should he not live. His sacrifice was well-pleasing, Cain's profane. Should not this be the reverse? Well, here's the point. It is a very important point. It is, again, like the shooting of an arrow. The slightest click, one inch to the left or right, messes everything up. Here is the point. The Bible is actually a book of conflict. not simply human conflict, but kingdoms in conflict. The city of man, the city of God, the kingdom of God, the kingdom of Satan. This explains so much, not simply Cain and Abel, but David and Goliath, Israel versus the nations, the church versus the world, the dragon of old versus the lamb of God. History, since the fall of Adam, has been peppered with conflict. And the righteous, beloved, in this world, often, at least from an earthly perspective, appear, appear to lose. But we must not look at things from an earthly perspective. We must look at even this story, as well as our own story, from heaven down, for what we see is not all there is to be seen. What God sees is the true perspective, the true story of the whole world, not simply Cain and Abel, but you and me. Cain, in a moment of wicked fury, rage, and especially jealousy, will see that God accepts Abel, and having been rejected himself, he will rise up against his brother Abel, and marvel of marvels, heartbreak of heartbreaks, the first, oldest son in history, will slay, it is a violent term in Hebrew, he will slay his younger brother, why? Because Abel did what God told him to do. That's the motive. Because Abel did what God told him to do. 1 John 3, 12. Be not like Cain, who 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. Beloved, Abel is murdered because he was righteous. That's the reason. But there is. a large question now before us. Is this the end of the story? Is this the end of Abel? Is this the end of the righteous? Is this world all that we who follow God shall know? If we are slain here, is that the end of it? And the answer, of course, is no. Abel dies, but according to Hebrews 11.4, he still speaks. Perhaps we should ask a slightly odd question, how Does a dead man continue to speak? I've made the mistake of asking this question before. Have any of you ever had a dead person talk to you? I would assume the answer is no. But then there are some strange conversations I've had after church when asking that question. So I'm not going to ask the question. But without trying to be flippant or indifferent, generally speaking, dead people don't talk. That's one of the qualities of being dead. They don't do anything. They don't talk. They don't. walk, they don't eat, they don't hear, they are dead. And yet Hebrews 11.4 says, very pointedly, by faith, even though he died, he not only still lives, but he continues to speak. So how is it that he continues to speak? Here is the point. Even though he died, Hebrews 11 is trying to show us that this life is not all there is. And Abel, though he died, he yet lives. The first martyr in history is also the first to preview the hope of the resurrection. Gerhardtus Voss, in his book Biblical Theology, if you're not Gerhardtus Voss fans by the time I leave here, I've failed you. But he says quite wonderfully in his commentary section on this text that the next hero in Hebrews 11, and I'm not gonna try to cover, but the next hero of faith is Enoch. who lives, and because he is righteous, does not taste death, God takes him. And Vos says wonderfully, here you have, in Hebrews 11.4, looking back at Genesis, the two doors to heaven. Those who die and are raised, as displayed in Abel, and those who are alive at Christ's coming and do not taste death, but are taken up with him. It's beautiful. The two doors to heaven displayed as soon as sin enters the world and the doors look shut and the way seems impassable. The righteous suffer and die at the hands of the wicked. And yet, Abel's blood cries out from the ground. It cries out for vengeance. It cries out as though speaking. It cries out to God. And God hears the righteous blood of Abel, as it were, speaking. And it cries out and it says, you struck me down, but I shall yet live. You've done wickedness, but I've walked in righteousness. You've brought upon me death, but the promise of God is eternal life. The just shall live by faith, even if they die at the hands of wickedness. It is not simply the story of Abel, but all those who live in the story of Abel, who walk like him and with him by faith, looking not simply back at what God has done, but forward to what God will do. Because God didn't simply promise a son would come, he actually brings the son. Abel is not the son. Cain is not the son. Eve is the mother of the brokenhearted, but she is not the end of the line, and neither are either of these boys. The conflict will continue, but so also will the promise continue. The kingdoms will continue to war. The nations will continue to rage, but the promise of God will pierce through and will triumph in history. That is the point even previewed in Cain and Abel. God was pleased with Abel's sacrifice because God was pleased with his own sacrifice. What Abel did was simply an act of obedient faith. But if God was pleased with the sacrifice of Abel, who offers of a firstborn flock, beloved, how much more will he be pleased with the offering up of his firstborn and only true son, the one who is more righteous, than Cain, more righteous than Abel, more pleasing than a sacrificial victim, a lamb, a firstborn of the flock. How much more pleased is God with the sacrifice of Jesus Christ? Of whom the author of Hebrews says repeatedly, his work is better. And of Jesus, how much more is it said? that not only shall his sacrifice be accepted like Abel's, but he lives. The just, Jesus Christ, the just, lives. Death cannot hold him. Wickedness cannot overtake and keep him. The grave has no true hold on the Son of God. He triumphs over sin. He triumphs over death. He triumphs over the grave. He triumphs over the wickedness of Cain. He triumphs over the seed of the serpent. And guess who else he triumphs over? You. He triumphs over you. He works faith in your heart so that you might become numbered among the just and live by faith. Abel's blood speaks because it speaks of Christ's blood. Abel's gift speaks because it speaks of Christ's gift. Abel's testimony from God is that he is righteous because he not only prefigures, but looks to Jesus Christ. I said two nights ago, I hope you're with me. I said two nights ago that the point of Hebrews 11 is that God was not simply communicating promises to the people in Hebrews 11, but revealing the promises through them as well. Could it be more clear in Abel? that he does not simply receive the gospel promise ahead of time, he displays it in his life. He is this righteous, if you will, innocent one who is slain for his righteousness, and even though he dies, he yet lives because the promise is that the just will live by faith. Now if you happen to think that maybe I'm stretching this, if somehow you remain unconvinced that even in the mind of the author of Hebrews, he wants you to see a direct connection between the sacrifice of Abel and the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the blood of Abel and the blood of Jesus Christ, look at Hebrews 12. Please turn there. You know I love that sound. Hebrews 12, beginning at verse 22. We know this text. We often look at it for its value in the subject of worship. It instructs us well and rightly in what it means to offer to God acceptable worship. But before that, look up at verse 22. As the author of Hebrews contrasts these mountains, Zion and Sinai, he says in verse 22, but you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, but now this, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks what? A better word than the blood of Abel. Just kind of snuck that in there, didn't he? A better word than the word of Abel. What is this point? It's a beautiful point. It's a point, this is my Linus blanket, this is how I sleep at night. When Cain struck down Abel, blood was shed, and God said in Genesis four, I hear your brother's blood, and it's crying out to me for vengeance against you. And Cain is cursed. But the author of Hebrews reverses that. And he says that for you, the blood of Christ speaks like the blood of Abel, even though Jesus died, he yet lives, and his blood speaks. But beloved, notice the difference, the profound contrast Abel's blood cried out for vengeance against Cain, but Jesus' blood cries out for forgiveness and mercy to you. Cain gets what he deserves. But you and I in the gospel, beloved, receive the mercy and grace purchased by none other than the Son of God, the Lamb of God, who came into this world to perfect the sacrifice of Cain, excuse me, Abel, to perfect the sacrifice that God initiated in Genesis 3. And now, in heaven, according to the author of Hebrews, Christ continues to speak for you. His blood speaks. A better word. It cries out forgiveness. It cries out mercy. It cries out for grace. It cries out for peace. One in three great hymns are actually worth keeping. Reflect on this in one fashion or another. Christ's blood, beloved, it speaks for you. It speaks for you in the presence of God, and it covers your sins, and it declares you righteous and acceptable in his sight, so much so that the author of Hebrews can now say that you, beloved, when you gather for worship, as we're about to do tomorrow morning, as we come to the table together, as we're about to do tomorrow morning, as we gather together with the people of God, we ascend a mountain that is real but cannot be touched. Sinai could be touched, but it was a mountain of death. It technically could not be touched, but you have access to the very mountain of Zion, heaven itself, where the choir circles the triune God and the blood of Jesus speaks for all those who've been redeemed by his blood and says, you are most welcome here. You are just and righteous and free in the sight of God. You are numbered among his children. and his family, because Eve was the mother not only of all living and of the brokenhearted, but a great, great, great, great, great, great, great grandmother of Jesus, the son of God, the son of man, the son of Adam, who has come for you so that you can come to him. And tomorrow morning, don't just come to church. In Holland, they say, are you going to the sermon? Don't just go to the sermon. And don't just come to church. Come to him who died so that you might live, whose blood speaks so that your sins and all the right accusations against them might be silenced. Join not only one another, but the innumerable company of angels. Those saints have gone before us able. We enter to heaven by faith. Because not only shall we live on the other side by faith, you now, beloved, who have come to Jesus, live by faith in him. And our greatest privilege and joy is to offer him what all this began with, which is an acceptable sacrifice of worship in his sight. Amen. And with that, I look forward to worshiping with you in the presence of God tomorrow morning. Let's pray. Lord, we are astounded that the blood of Abel was shed when he showed himself righteous We're all the more astounded that the blood of Jesus was shed for us, because we know our unrighteousness. But we thank you, O Lord, that when the voices within our hearts and our minds call out against us, and even the world around us or others accuse us, whether rightfully or wrongfully, but we thank you that we're able to say, Jesus' blood speaks for me. and therefore I am welcome in the presence of God. And we ask, O Lord, that even as you began in the earliest pages of scripture, a pattern of right worship that is pleasing to you, we ask, O Lord, that you would invigorate our hearts to come tomorrow morning and offer that sacrifice of praise that would be not only pleasing to you, Lord, by your grace, might it be pleasing to our hearts as well. We offer it to you imperfectly, but we offer it to you by faith in Jesus Christ. And so we pray confidently in his name, amen.