sweet thats awesome. thanks for posting it up again for me.

2 Timothy 2:22 "But flee youthful lusts, and pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart."

Jude 1:11 "Woe to them! For they have gone in the way of Cain and have rushed out in the error of Balaam for reward and have perished in the rebellion of Korah."

We have seen that in the beginning man was placed in front of two trees, the tree of life and the tree of knowledge (Gen. 2:8-9). These two trees represent two sources out of which two lines continue throughout the whole Bible: the line of the tree of life and the line of the tree of knowledge. Undoubtedly, Cain was on the line of the tree of knowledge, and Abel was on the line of the tree of life.

Adam and Eve certainly must have produced more children than the two mentioned here. However, the Bible here only mentions Cain and Abel. Why does the Bible only mention these two here? Because the intention of the Holy Word is to show us the two categories of people which existed from the beginning of the second human generation: Cain, who represents the line of the tree of knowledge, and Abel, who represents the line of the tree of life.

The Bible ends as it begins. It begins with two trees denoting two sources and it concludes with two cities—the great Babylon and the New Jerusalem—denoting two consummations. One of these cities is great and the other is holy. The great Babylon will be the ultimate consummation both of the line of the tree of knowledge and of the seed of Cain. The seed of Cain is sown in Genesis 4, developed throughout the Old and New Testament, and will be consummated in the great Babylon revealed in Revelation 17 and 18. Likewise, the New Jerusalem will not only be the ultimate consummation of the line of the tree of life, but also of the seed of Abel. Everyone who will be a part of the New Jerusalem will be an Abel. Every piece of precious stone in that city will be an Abel for eternity. On the contrary, the majority of those in the great Babylon will be Cains. Hence, the great Babylon is the ultimate consummation of so many Cains, and the New Jerusalem is the totality of all the Abels. What are you—an Abel or a Cain? I hope that no one reading this message is a Cain.
(taken from Life study messages of Genesis MESSAGE TWENTY-THREE)


ALL SERVICE BEING INITIATED BY GOD
Scripture Reading: Job 38:1-2; 42:1-6

ALL WORK BEING INITIATED BY GOD

Those who serve the Lord must see that God’s redemptive work is accomplished through man’s cooperation. If we see this, we will have a clearer realization that all our work must be initiated by God, not by us. All our service and work should be initiated by God, not by us. Although we may know this in doctrine, it is not easy to experience.

All of us who work for the Lord in various places and all the responsible brothers in the churches must consider how much of our work in serving God is initiated by God and how much is initiated by us. Regardless of how well it was done, how much of what we have done in the past has been initiated by God? This is truly a great matter. All our work and service in the church must be initiated by God and must be according to His desire.

ALL SERVICE INITIATED BY MAN BEING RELIGIOUS ACTIVITY

Anything that is initiated or started by man, regardless of how much it is for God, is a religious activity. In God’s eyes, this kind of activity is not His service or His work. God considers only what He has initiated and started as a service and work to Him.

God wants man to cooperate with Him, but He does not want man to initiate anything. Anything that is initiated by man is a religious activity. To an unbeliever, any kind of Christian activity is a religious activity, but according to our knowledge of God, there are two kinds of activities: one is a religious activity, and the other is an action initiated by God. The second type is not a religious activity. An action initiated by God will come from God’s prompting within man. Often a man has no thought of God and no heart to serve God, but God comes to him, prompting and touching him, revealing Himself, giving him a command, a calling, and a leading, so that he receives something of God and cannot help but take action. This kind of action is not related to religion; rather, it comes from God and is initiated by God.

THE SCRIPTURAL BASIS FOR SERVICE INITIATED BY GOD
Abel Offering Sacrifices by Faith according to God’s Revelation

The Bible shows that the first generation that served God after Adam included his sons Abel and Cain. Cain was the older brother, and Abel was the younger brother. Outwardly speaking, both of them had a concept of God. Both Abel and Cain brought an offering to Jehovah (Gen. 4:1-5). Abel’s offering was not a religious activity, but Cain’s offering was a religious activity. Even though both were serving God, Abel’s offering was not a religious activity because his offering was of God, not of himself. God wanted a sacrifice according to Abel’s way. Hebrews 11:4 says, “By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain.” According to Romans 10:17, faith comes out of hearing; therefore, Abel’s offering came out of hearing. He believed in God. His offering of a sacrifice came in response to God’s word; he offered because he heard God’s word. Abel received a revelation through God’s word; he heard God’s word. Then he believed, and by faith he offered a sacrifice to God.

After Adam’s fall, God showed man redemption through the shedding of the blood of a sacrifice. Redemption through the shedding of the blood of a sacrifice was initiated and instructed by God. Because Abel heard, saw, and understood this, he offered a sacrifice according to God’s instruction. Abel’s offering was not of himself but of God; it was revealed, commanded, and ordained by God. Hence, Abel’s offering was not a religious activity. By obeying God’s command, Abel offered a sacrifice according to God’s instruction and rendered service to God.
Cain Serving God from Himself
according to His Own Will

Conversely, Cain’s offering was not of God but of himself. Although he knew God, thought of God, and worshipped God, his offering of a sacrifice was according to himself. Thus, it was a religious activity. He offered the fruit of the ground to God; this was not according to God’s charge, commandment, or ordination; it came from his own thought. Cain’s offering was entirely a religious activity. He must have thought, “If I offer the work of my hands to God whom I serve in all sincerity, He will be pleased with me. Since I worship Him, I should offer what I have labored on to Him.” Cain’s way of doing things according to his opinion was not of God but of himself.

In the church life, when we see someone who is very zealous for God, we usually admire and praise him. However, someone who has been enlightened by God will be concerned whether this zeal comes from God. It may seem that a person works much and is consecrated to God, but his zeal for God can be of man, not of God. It is quite possible to offer something as Cain did and not as Abel did. According to our natural understanding, we think that God will be pleased as long as we work for Him and preach the gospel to save sinners and present them to God. However, God is concerned whether we are doing this according to our opinion or His revelation. Is our zeal toward Him, and is our offering of sacrifices for ourselves or for Him? This is God’s concern.

Cain was not rejected by God because he sinned but because he did not worship and offer sacrifices according to God’s way. We may think that God will accept us and be delighted in us as long as we preach the gospel, serve Him, and fervently work for Him. This is a religious concept. A person who has been enlightened by God dares not to think or view things in this way, and one who has been enlightened by God will examine himself, asking, “Is my zeal of myself or of God? Is my preaching of the gospel and working for God a profit or a damage to the church? Does my consecration for the church and my work for God originate from God? Is my service like Abel’s, or does it originate from myself like Cain’s?” Only those who examine themselves in this way can serve God properly.

Genesis shows that Cain did not commit the sin of murder immediately; rather, he committed murder some time later. Cain did not kill his brother Abel at the very beginning. Cain served God, was zealous for God, and gave offerings to God. However, his service, his offering, and his zeal originated from himself, not from God, so God disregarded him. In all our service, do we really have a regard for God and fear God? Are we fearful that what we do for God is not of God but of ourselves? Do we fear that our pious activities may be considered rebellious and sinful in His eyes? God has ordained that we work in a certain way, but do we reject God’s command and work in another way? Are we fearful of offering the fruit of the ground rather than animal sacrifices to God? Are we afraid that our work and service are not of God but of ourselves? Just as we fear our temper, do we also fear our preaching of the gospel, our zeal, our service, and our consecration? We should be as fearful of these as we are fearful of sinning and falling.

If we are enlightened, we will be fearful in our service. We may see that our service is like Cain’s, not Abel’s. One who serves the Lord must be fearful that his work, even the ability to preach and cast out demons, is not a service to God. A religious activity is any service and worship that does not originate from God’s revelation, command, and leading. A man may know of God and be zealous in doing things for God according to his own view, but this is only a religious activity. Anything that is not revealed, commanded, or called by God is a religious activity, even if it is for God. Beginning with Adam in the Old Testament and continuing to the end of the New Testament, the activities of one who serves God must originate absolutely from God, not from man.
(Knowing Life and the Church, Chapter 16, Section 1)

Lord Jesus! Make our heart pure to you. Amen.

Amen!

Why are you a Christian?

I say amen to that.

"All of us who work for the Lord in various places and all the responsible brothers in the churches must consider how much of our work in serving God is initiated by God and how much is initiated by us. Regardless of how well it was done, how much of what we have done in the past has been initiated by God? This is truly a great matter. All our work and service in the church must be initiated by God and must be according to His desire."

"Anything that is initiated or started by man, regardless of how much it is for God, is a religious activity. In God’s eyes, this kind of activity is not His service or His work. God considers only what He has initiated and started as a service and work to Him."

"Anything that is initiated or started by man, regardless of how much it is for God, is a religious activity. In God’s eyes, this kind of activity is not His service or His work. God considers only what He has initiated and started as a service and work to Him."

I can't but wait when and what will the Lord say to this group of  Titus's boys. Somehow those Titus's Generals and boys  will say this when they stand before the Lord on that day.

‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ (Matt.7:22)

Then what would be the Lord response to Titus' Generals and boys:

 "And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!" (Matt.7:23)

Somehow they will not realize, for they have been blurred and distracted by Titus Chu. They have forgotten this word from the Lord.

 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.," (Matt.7:21)