What God Wants
Cain brings God what Cain wants God to have. God rejects Cain. God says, “Just bring Me what I ask for, and you will be accepted.” (God rejects Cain, not his offering.)
Cain says, “No way. You change; not me.” When he is rejected, Cain attacks and kills the one who is received by God for bringing God what God wants.
When the judgment falls upon Cain, a judgment already determined before Cain kills Abel, Cain complains that it is unfair and unjust, an overreaction by God to what he has done.
Jude says that people will infiltrate the kingdom who continue in the way of Cain. The spiritual condition that motivates this kind of behavior comes from the same heart condition that crouched at the door of Cain’s heart.
When Cain opened the door to that pressure point of sin, he killed the ones God accepts. When people open that door today, they use their mouths to kill the ones God accepts.
God does not give humans the authority to design or create worship. God waits for the sacrifice for which He asks and responds with the whole of Who He is to that offering. But, He designs and creates worship.
What I offer God is not worship until He accepts it. He does not accept what people want Him to have but what He designs. He creates worship when the sacrifice answers to His design.
I remember Christianized people working very hard to make the Beatles sound like Christians when they sang, “My Sweet Lord.” It was incredibly illogical and obviously foolhardy, but they wanted to sing Beatles music for worship. They ignored the name of the false god and the lament that “It takes so long to get to know you” part. They were just plain stupid about it.
Why? They wanted to bring God something they wanted God to have. God wasn’t having any of it! He isn’t now.
Worship by Abandoning Yourself to God’s Mercies
It is by God’s mercies that worship is offered, not by human sincerity or a heart to impress God or sell Him something in an exchange of valuable goods.
Beware the subtle confusion that arises when you assume that your worship is an exchange: I worship, and God starts acting like God for me. God acts like God, and you become the living sacrifice to be accepted. Much ado about emotional reactions falls far short of manipulating Heaven.
The meaning of the word “holy” in the context of offering myself as the living sacrifice is not “I am not sinful,” the word holy refers to the uncommonness of the sacrifice. I no longer belong to myself, but God.
Of course, I offer myself to God as I am, but the moment I step into worship as the priest and offer myself as the sacrifice, God shatters the molds of my identity and begins transforming me, so I prove what He wants instead of myself and the cosmic order of this world.
The Way of Abel
God has a cure for the way of Cain. It costs me everything. Abel brought his best. I bring all. Abel looked forward to the Cross. I get on the Cross with Jesus to live the life of Jesus in mortal flesh.
The way of Cain negotiates with God through worship. The way of Abel surrenders to God to release worship. The way of the Cross consumes me instead of me consuming what I bring to God.
When I consume the modern offerings of worship music – as a consumer – I am entertained, and God gets a pat on the head.
“Nice God. Nice God. I am here now for you to start acting like God for me. I know You are thrilled I decided to do You a big favor and show up for the Sunday show. Don’t fail me now.”
You are not accepted. You do not worship when you bring God what you want Him to have.
Worship is not like kindergarten kids doing a skit for momma. God doesn’t show up to applaud your sincere efforts and give you a “thumbs up” for effort. What is with this silly thought that “God knows my heart?” Yes, that is why you need mercy to get up on that altar and die! He does know your heart, and He wants you to make it an offering.
Authentic worship is Heaven on Earth ruling with the authority of the King of kings by establishing a Zion in your region and an altar in your heart!
Get up on that altar and die so you can live. Die on the altar so you can be transformed to live the Life of Jesus in mortal flesh. Stop separating “worship” from the altar. Stop demanding that God accepted what you want Him to have and bring Him what He wants.
Most people are not dead enough to worship, not dead enough to live as a living sacrifice. They are priests bringing God what they want Him to have. That is the way of Cain. They are not accepted.
I do not mean they are going to hell, or that God won’t accept us into the kingdom until you do some good works. Forget all your packaged meat products doctrinal idolatry. We are talking about worship. We are talking Bible, not church-anity. We are discussing what God wants, not your momma’s church.
The Way of Worship
One would think the Bible says, “Earbuds are essential tools for worship.” One would think the Bible says, “If you don’t like that music, ignore it.” One would think the Bible says, “When it sells, its anointed.” But, the Bible doesn’t say any of that.
Oddly enough, I never worship to the sounds of music. I worship with music with no thought about whether or not I like the music. I worship with music as a vehicle to carry me to the altar. I worship by looking up and smiling at Jesus, engaging with the reality of spirit, and saying something out loud that releases me as the living sacrifice.
Try that right now. Look up. Smile at Jesus. Say His Name with worship. No music. No lights. No $85,000 sound system with digital slides and meters. No smoke machine. (I like all those things and use them in corporate worship, but that is not the point.) Just you, in one moment of engagement, spirit with Spirit, worshiping Jesus from your belly.
Don’t feel like it? Your belly always feels like it. If never worship with your head and heart because worship is not about your appreciation of the hottest sounds from the most prominent centers of music manufacturing. (Most people are too distracted by the music to worship God.)
It is not about your personal passion. Emoting before God is not worship. Cain did that. Abel obeyed. Cain poured out his soul and demanded that God change to accept his offering. Abel poured out his spirit – trust in God’s design and demand – and God accepted his offering.
Do not engage with your head or your heart. Engage with your spirit where spirit and truth meet what God designs and releases. Then, release that worship to Jesus from your belly.
Now, try that again.
See, you do not spend any money on iTunes to worship. When you are mature enough to worship with some music without being distracted by experiencing someone else’s worship instead of receiving and releasing worship yourself, put your earbuds back in.
I know you want to argue with me about this and demand that God follow the rules laid out by this generation’s substitute of worship entertainment and experiencing worship for becoming the living sacrifice, but God ain’t changing to meet you halfway or respond to your negotiations.
“All or nothing.” He started saying that at the Cross to everyone who comes to Him through Jesus. Dead enough for resurrection? Then, authorized in the Ascension to represent Him in His current involved intercession.
“All or nothing.” Cain said, “No.”
The way of Cain is not the way of the Cross.
God says again, “If you bring Me what I asked for, you will be accepted.”
