God's Warning Light: Check Life Soon

November 10, 2013
"God's Warning Light: Check Life Soon"
Genesis 4:1-12
Scott Howard

"Abel became a shepherd, while Cain cultivated the ground.  When it was time for the harvest, Cain presented some of his crops as a gift to the Lord.  Abel also brought a gift---the best of the firstborn lambs from his flock.  The Lord accepted Abel and his gift, but he did not accept Cain and his gift.  This made Cain very angry, and he looked dejected.  "Why are you so angry?" the Lord asked Cain.  "Why do you look so dejected?  You will be accepted if you do what is right.  But if you refuse to do what is right, then watch out! Sin is crouching at the door, eager to control you.  But you must subdue it and be its master."  --Genesis 4:2b-7

• There is a difference between commands and warnings.  God's commands are clear rules.  His warnings come when we are getting close to breaking one of those rules.
• God's warnings are Personal; they are Individual; they are also Timely.

God knew where Cain's anger was taking him, He knew the path Cain wanted to take.

When we are given these warnings from God, we are not given these warnings from an angry judge, but rather from a loving Father.

"The Lord, the God of their ancestors, repeatedly sent his prophets to warn them, for He had compassion on his people and His Temple."  --2 Chronicles 36:15

God's Blinking Warning Lights:

• God will send you His Word at just the right time.  There is a supernatural power in the Bible that will bring the Word of God to your mind at times you really need it.
• God gives us the examples of others who go before us. We are warned through the lives of others when we see where their decisions lead them.
• God will use the words of someone in your life.  Your family and friends know you.  Your first reaction may be to get defensive, but maybe God put them in your life for a reason, and maybe He is using them to speak to you.
• And maybe the very thing you're most defensive about is really the thing you need to pay the most attention to. 
• A sample of future consequences.  Sometimes He will allow you to trip up and feel a small set of consequences before you mess up really big so you'll be wary of the big consequences.
• The supernatural leading from God.  We may call this a coincidence, chance, or fate.  Maybe you are deterred from doing something altogether so that you would not have to make a poor decision.