Sermon Title: Who is by your side?
“The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, 5 but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor.
So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.
6 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast?
7 If you do what is right, will you not be accepted?
But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you,
but you must rule over it.”
8 Now Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.”
While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.
9 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?”
“I don’t know,” he replied.
“Am I my brother’s keeper?”
10 The Lord said, “What have you done?
Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground.
11 Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand.
12 When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you.
You will be a restless wanderer on the earth.”
13 Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is more than I can bear.
14 Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence; I will be a restless wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.”
15 But the Lord said to him, “Not so; anyone who kills Cain will suffer vengeance seven times over.”
Then the Lord put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him. “ (Genesis 4:4b-15)
Dearly Beloved,
Greetings in the Name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!
Sin never occurs in isolation nor singularly; but always takes the form of a web that enslaves the sinner to the damnation of separation from the Almighty God.
The web of sin’s bondage was evident in Cain’s life – irreverence/impiety (Ref: Genesis 4:3), anger (Ref: Genesis 4:5), jealousy, deception, violence and murder (Ref: Genesis 4:8), falsehood/lying to God (Ref: Genesis 4:9), and being self-serving (Ref: Genesis 4:13).
Cain’s life was no doubt a mess; not for the lack of God’s love, but for the foolishness of not realizing that God’s disfavor was intended to set him back on the path of righteousness.
For even in so great a sin as murder, God was by his side.
Instead of anguish and repentance, Cain got angry and rebellious.
His downcast face manifested such defiance that caused him to look away from the wondrous Lord who was with him, despite his sin.
Never be deceived into thinking that God is so repulsed by sin that He is never found in the midst of sinners.
One has nothing to do with the other.
God hates sin; but He sticks around for the sinner.
For here, the Lord counsels Cain personally, and lovingly.
“Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast?
If you do what is right, will you not be accepted?
But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you,
but you must rule over it.” (Genesis 4:6b-7)
The Hebrew word for “crouching” is known to resemble an ancient Babylonian word literally referring to the action of an evil demon laying in wait at the door of a building, threatening the people inside.
Behind every sin is the nefarious work of a demon, whose only mission is to consume you with darkness, bitterness, despair and defiance against the living God.
Cain’s irreverence towards God led to bitterness, deceit and the first murder recorded in the history of Mankind – the murder of a brother, and a son.
The bondage of sin’s web - the spawn of the Fall of Mankind - is rooted in wicked irreverence, and propagates through the roots of bitterness.
The stubborn refusal to acknowledge the Sovereignty and Salvation of God is the original sin that has become a generational sin infecting the rest of the world.
“Where is your brother Abel?”
“I don’t know,” he replied. “Am I my brother’s keeper?” (Genesis 4:9)
In this divine question is found God’s true judgement upon Cain.
Cain certainly knew where Abel was; just as he certainly knew that he was, indeed, his brother’s keeper.
More than the curse of an purposeless and unproductive life (Ref: Genesis 4:11-12), Cain’s loss of his brother was the greater tragedy.
Understand this well.
Your sin will lead to the loss of your loved ones.
There is no such thing as a private or hidden sin.
Every sin in your life will categorically affect your relationships.
Left unchecked, sin is absolutely bound to pervert you; and consequently, adversely affect the people in your life.
Sin not only shuts you out from the presence of God; it will shut you out from the rest of the world.
Death is a lone affair; and spiritual death, a condemnation to isolation.
For a creature specifically created for divine communion, isolation from God is the ultimate death.
Abel may have been physically died at the hands of Cain, but relationally, he was long dead to his brother, who harbored sin in his life.
Sin leads to the loss of your loved ones; which is why our Lord Jesus instructed us in Matthew 5:21-22:
“You have heard that it was said to those who lived long ago, “Don’t commit murder, and all who commit murder will be in danger of judgment.
2But I say to you that everyone who is angry with their brother or sister will be in danger of judgment.
If they say to their brother or sister, ‘You idiot,’ they will be in danger of being condemned by the governing council.
And if they say, ‘You fool,’ they will be in danger of fiery hell. (Matthew 5:21-22)
Anger is murder.
Contempt is murder.
Beware.
No matter how subtle your anger, or your unkindness is; or how minute your rejection or failure to care is – it is all subject to the same judgement as murder.
We so often want to define sin as an outward action; but our Lord Jesus tells us that sin is a deep disposition of the heart.
That deep, broken and wicked disposition of the human heart is, of course, selfishness; self-centeredness; to be self-serving; which are all, essentially, self-idolatry.
“My punishment is more than I can bear.” (Genesis 4:13)
Abel has been murdered by his hands.
Cain’s punishment has not even begun.
And yet, he already couldn’t bear it.
For Cain, everything was still about himself.
Cain’s irreverence towards God was most telling in his presumption that God wanted nothing to do with him any longer.
He may have been driven from the land, but he was certainly not being hidden from God’s Presence. (Ref: Genesis 4:14)
His self-isolation from God was a curse he laid upon himself.
Many in the world have suffered the consequences of this self-condemnation.
There is nothing more self-fulfilling than self-condemnation.
A “restless wanderer” Cain may become, but to think that he can be hidden from God’s Presence is presumptuousness of the truly damned.
Have you ever condemned yourself to a life apart from God?
Can we really be hidden from God’s Presence?
Most certainly not!
Psalm 139:7-10 answers this question for us:
“Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.”
In fact, even in his sin, our merciful God protects Cain by putting a mark on him. (Ref: Genesis 4:15)
In spite of his sin of irreverence, God’s mark of protection, and presence, was upon Cain.
Despite his continued, wicked disposition, God was with Cain right from the beginning.
Listen to these words once more; for His counsel to Cain is His counsel to us this day.
“Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast?
If you do what is right, will you not be accepted?
But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you,
but you must rule over it.” (Genesis 4:6-7)
Understand this well.
Anger Management is not the solution to anger issues.
It is like saying: sin management is the solution to sin issues.
That is absolutely foolish and irrational.
Sin is not something we can possibly manage – by dealing with it, or controlling it; it is a ravenous beast that crouches at our door, with the sole desire to consume and condemn us to the entire fiery lake.
The greatest impediments to our participation in God’s Work of inbreaking His Kingdom are not attacks from without, but conflicts and corruptions within the Church and the Christian; for sin constantly crouches at our doors.
To resolve the conflicts that threatens our unity – is to humbly acknowledge, “I am my brother’s keeper; I am my sister’s keeper.”
And that can only happen when we resolve our corrupted disposition by shutting sin out; and opening the doors to our lives to only Christ Jesus, our Lord and Saviour.
God taught that sin must be overcome and ruled over; and that we can – through Christ in us!
Our Lord Jesus Christ tells us in Revelation 3:20-21:
“Here I am! I stand at the door and knock.
If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.
To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne.”
We always have a choice whom to let into our lives.
We are victorious only because of Christ in our lives – who grants us power to rule over sin both within and without ourselves.
Who is by your side?
Most significantly, whose side are you on?
Let Christ into your life today – and every day.
Confess and repent of your sin before Him.
Rule over sin by allowing God to rule over you.
“Come to God, the Judge of all, to the spirits of the righteous made perfect,24 to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.” (Hebrews 12:24)
Christ is by your side.
Be on His Side.
Shalom.
Let us pray.
Our Father in Heaven,
Hallowed be Your Name.
Your Kingdom come, Your Will be done; on earth, as it is in heaven.
Just as I am, without one plea
But that Thy blood was shed for me
And that Thou bidst me come to Thee
O Lamb of God, I come! I come!
Just as I am, and waiting not
To rid my soul of one dark blot
To Thee whose blood
Can cleanse each spot
O Lamb of God I come! I come!Just as I am, I would be lost
But mercy and grace
my freedom bought
And now to glory in Your cross
O Lamb of God I come! I come!
I come broken to be mended
I come wounded to be healed
I come desperate to be rescued
I come empty to be filled
I come guilty to be pardoned
By the blood of Christ the Lamb
And I'm welcomed with open arms
Praise God, just as I am
(Words and music by Charlotte Elliott, with bridge by Travis Cottrell)
I thank You and pray all these in the Name of our King, Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
“The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, 5 but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor.
So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.
6 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast?
7 If you do what is right, will you not be accepted?
But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you,
but you must rule over it.”
8 Now Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.”
While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.
9 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?”
“I don’t know,” he replied.
“Am I my brother’s keeper?”
10 The Lord said, “What have you done?
Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground.
11 Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand.
12 When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you.
You will be a restless wanderer on the earth.”
13 Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is more than I can bear.
14 Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence; I will be a restless wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.”
15 But the Lord said to him, “Not so; anyone who kills Cain will suffer vengeance seven times over.”
Then the Lord put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him. “ (Genesis 4:4b-15)
Dearly Beloved,
Greetings in the Name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!
Sin never occurs in isolation nor singularly; but always takes the form of a web that enslaves the sinner to the damnation of separation from the Almighty God.
The web of sin’s bondage was evident in Cain’s life – irreverence/impiety (Ref: Genesis 4:3), anger (Ref: Genesis 4:5), jealousy, deception, violence and murder (Ref: Genesis 4:8), falsehood/lying to God (Ref: Genesis 4:9), and being self-serving (Ref: Genesis 4:13).
Cain’s life was no doubt a mess; not for the lack of God’s love, but for the foolishness of not realizing that God’s disfavor was intended to set him back on the path of righteousness.
For even in so great a sin as murder, God was by his side.
Instead of anguish and repentance, Cain got angry and rebellious.
His downcast face manifested such defiance that caused him to look away from the wondrous Lord who was with him, despite his sin.
Never be deceived into thinking that God is so repulsed by sin that He is never found in the midst of sinners.
One has nothing to do with the other.
God hates sin; but He sticks around for the sinner.
For here, the Lord counsels Cain personally, and lovingly.
“Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast?
If you do what is right, will you not be accepted?
But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you,
but you must rule over it.” (Genesis 4:6b-7)
The Hebrew word for “crouching” is known to resemble an ancient Babylonian word literally referring to the action of an evil demon laying in wait at the door of a building, threatening the people inside.
Behind every sin is the nefarious work of a demon, whose only mission is to consume you with darkness, bitterness, despair and defiance against the living God.
Cain’s irreverence towards God led to bitterness, deceit and the first murder recorded in the history of Mankind – the murder of a brother, and a son.
The bondage of sin’s web - the spawn of the Fall of Mankind - is rooted in wicked irreverence, and propagates through the roots of bitterness.
The stubborn refusal to acknowledge the Sovereignty and Salvation of God is the original sin that has become a generational sin infecting the rest of the world.
“Where is your brother Abel?”
“I don’t know,” he replied. “Am I my brother’s keeper?” (Genesis 4:9)
In this divine question is found God’s true judgement upon Cain.
Cain certainly knew where Abel was; just as he certainly knew that he was, indeed, his brother’s keeper.
More than the curse of an purposeless and unproductive life (Ref: Genesis 4:11-12), Cain’s loss of his brother was the greater tragedy.
Understand this well.
Your sin will lead to the loss of your loved ones.
There is no such thing as a private or hidden sin.
Every sin in your life will categorically affect your relationships.
Left unchecked, sin is absolutely bound to pervert you; and consequently, adversely affect the people in your life.
Sin not only shuts you out from the presence of God; it will shut you out from the rest of the world.
Death is a lone affair; and spiritual death, a condemnation to isolation.
For a creature specifically created for divine communion, isolation from God is the ultimate death.
Abel may have been physically died at the hands of Cain, but relationally, he was long dead to his brother, who harbored sin in his life.
Sin leads to the loss of your loved ones; which is why our Lord Jesus instructed us in Matthew 5:21-22:
“You have heard that it was said to those who lived long ago, “Don’t commit murder, and all who commit murder will be in danger of judgment.
2But I say to you that everyone who is angry with their brother or sister will be in danger of judgment.
If they say to their brother or sister, ‘You idiot,’ they will be in danger of being condemned by the governing council.
And if they say, ‘You fool,’ they will be in danger of fiery hell. (Matthew 5:21-22)
Anger is murder.
Contempt is murder.
Beware.
No matter how subtle your anger, or your unkindness is; or how minute your rejection or failure to care is – it is all subject to the same judgement as murder.
We so often want to define sin as an outward action; but our Lord Jesus tells us that sin is a deep disposition of the heart.
That deep, broken and wicked disposition of the human heart is, of course, selfishness; self-centeredness; to be self-serving; which are all, essentially, self-idolatry.
“My punishment is more than I can bear.” (Genesis 4:13)
Abel has been murdered by his hands.
Cain’s punishment has not even begun.
And yet, he already couldn’t bear it.
For Cain, everything was still about himself.
Cain’s irreverence towards God was most telling in his presumption that God wanted nothing to do with him any longer.
He may have been driven from the land, but he was certainly not being hidden from God’s Presence. (Ref: Genesis 4:14)
His self-isolation from God was a curse he laid upon himself.
Many in the world have suffered the consequences of this self-condemnation.
There is nothing more self-fulfilling than self-condemnation.
A “restless wanderer” Cain may become, but to think that he can be hidden from God’s Presence is presumptuousness of the truly damned.
Have you ever condemned yourself to a life apart from God?
Can we really be hidden from God’s Presence?
Most certainly not!
Psalm 139:7-10 answers this question for us:
“Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.”
In fact, even in his sin, our merciful God protects Cain by putting a mark on him. (Ref: Genesis 4:15)
In spite of his sin of irreverence, God’s mark of protection, and presence, was upon Cain.
Despite his continued, wicked disposition, God was with Cain right from the beginning.
Listen to these words once more; for His counsel to Cain is His counsel to us this day.
“Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast?
If you do what is right, will you not be accepted?
But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you,
but you must rule over it.” (Genesis 4:6-7)
Understand this well.
Anger Management is not the solution to anger issues.
It is like saying: sin management is the solution to sin issues.
That is absolutely foolish and irrational.
Sin is not something we can possibly manage – by dealing with it, or controlling it; it is a ravenous beast that crouches at our door, with the sole desire to consume and condemn us to the entire fiery lake.
The greatest impediments to our participation in God’s Work of inbreaking His Kingdom are not attacks from without, but conflicts and corruptions within the Church and the Christian; for sin constantly crouches at our doors.
To resolve the conflicts that threatens our unity – is to humbly acknowledge, “I am my brother’s keeper; I am my sister’s keeper.”
And that can only happen when we resolve our corrupted disposition by shutting sin out; and opening the doors to our lives to only Christ Jesus, our Lord and Saviour.
God taught that sin must be overcome and ruled over; and that we can – through Christ in us!
Our Lord Jesus Christ tells us in Revelation 3:20-21:
“Here I am! I stand at the door and knock.
If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.
To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne.”
We always have a choice whom to let into our lives.
We are victorious only because of Christ in our lives – who grants us power to rule over sin both within and without ourselves.
Who is by your side?
Most significantly, whose side are you on?
Let Christ into your life today – and every day.
Confess and repent of your sin before Him.
Rule over sin by allowing God to rule over you.
“Come to God, the Judge of all, to the spirits of the righteous made perfect,24 to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.” (Hebrews 12:24)
Christ is by your side.
Be on His Side.
Shalom.
Let us pray.
Our Father in Heaven,
Hallowed be Your Name.
Your Kingdom come, Your Will be done; on earth, as it is in heaven.
Just as I am, without one plea
But that Thy blood was shed for me
And that Thou bidst me come to Thee
O Lamb of God, I come! I come!
Just as I am, and waiting not
To rid my soul of one dark blot
To Thee whose blood
Can cleanse each spot
O Lamb of God I come! I come!Just as I am, I would be lost
But mercy and grace
my freedom bought
And now to glory in Your cross
O Lamb of God I come! I come!
I come broken to be mended
I come wounded to be healed
I come desperate to be rescued
I come empty to be filled
I come guilty to be pardoned
By the blood of Christ the Lamb
And I'm welcomed with open arms
Praise God, just as I am
(Words and music by Charlotte Elliott, with bridge by Travis Cottrell)
I thank You and pray all these in the Name of our King, Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.