1 00:00:00,000 –> 00:00:04,480 well. The holidays are well and truly passed. The cold is now setting in and wouldn’t it be nice 2 00:00:04,480 –> 00:00:11,600 if we could all go off on a long cruise I mean, magnificent scenery, endless food, 3 00:00:11,600 –> 00:00:15,520 deck chairs to sit on while the music plays. What could possibly be better 4 00:00:16,240 –> 00:00:22,639 unless, of course, the name of the ship happens to be the Titanic. Well now over the next few weeks 5 00:00:23,200 –> 00:00:29,040 we’re going to look at the stories of eight characters in the Bible who took a plunge to 6 00:00:29,040 –> 00:00:34,880 disaster. Like the passengers on the Titanic, their lives were sailing along and it seemed 7 00:00:34,880 –> 00:00:42,259 that everything was well. But there were problems hidden beneath the surface and all of a sudden 8 00:00:42,259 –> 00:00:50,259 they encountered disaster and went down. Now you’ll be interested to note that one of them was a prophet, 9 00:00:50,900 –> 00:00:58,400 one of them was a priest, one of them was a king, and one of them knew Jesus Christ personally 10 00:00:58,400 –> 00:01:06,860 but they all went down. God has many different ways of teaching us. Sometimes we learn from the 11 00:01:06,860 –> 00:01:13,059 wise, we’re to look up to them and to learn from their example. But it’s also possible 12 00:01:13,099 –> 00:01:20,599 to learn from fools, to see where they made wrong turnings and to learn to avoid their 13 00:01:20,599 –> 00:01:27,900 mistakes. That’s why our series is called How to Avoid a Plunge to Disaster. Now Jesus 14 00:01:27,900 –> 00:01:33,139 spoke about this in the Sermon on the Mount, you remember that at one point He said that 15 00:01:33,139 –> 00:01:37,300 there would be people on the last day who would say, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in Your 16 00:01:37,300 –> 00:01:44,339 name and do many mighty works, and Jesus said, I will say to them, depart from Me, I never 17 00:01:44,339 –> 00:01:49,260 knew you. I find that one of the most disturbing verses in all of the Bible. There will be 18 00:01:49,260 –> 00:01:55,739 some people who have gone through their lives thinking that everything was right, and on 19 00:01:55,739 –> 00:02:00,440 the last day Jesus will say to them, I never knew you. 20 00:02:00,440 –> 00:02:05,720 Now it is our business to make sure that we are not among them. So will you open your 21 00:02:05,720 –> 00:02:11,539 Bibles with me at Genesis in Chapter Four, where we have the story of Cain, a man who 22 00:02:11,539 –> 00:02:18,880 went to worship. And I want to tell his story really by painting four scenes from his life. 23 00:02:18,880 –> 00:02:25,860 And scene one is in the maternity ward. Now what must it have been like for Eve? Can 24 00:02:25,860 –> 00:02:31,139 you imagine as the first woman, the first pregnancy, and the first baby to be born in 25 00:02:31,699 –> 00:02:37,259 human history? Remember Adam and Eve are now outside of the garden at this point in the 26 00:02:37,259 –> 00:02:43,600 story they were living under a terrible judgment from God. But God had also given them hope 27 00:02:43,600 –> 00:02:50,440 in a great promise, a deliverer would be born God said back there in the garden. An offspring 28 00:02:50,440 –> 00:02:56,880 of the woman would inflict a fatal wound on the great enemy the serpent who had brought 29 00:02:57,220 –> 00:03:04,020 such devastation to their world. Of course Eve had never experienced a birth before she 30 00:03:04,020 –> 00:03:08,679 may have seen something in the animal kingdom but from our own experience she had no idea 31 00:03:08,679 –> 00:03:15,679 what to expect and of course neither did her husband. So I guess one day she just in the 32 00:03:15,940 –> 00:03:22,940 morning began to feel sick. And a few weeks later she began to show. And nine months later 33 00:03:23,679 –> 00:03:30,679 she finds herself seized with violent pains and her hapless husband hasn’t got the faintest 34 00:03:31,339 –> 00:03:36,380 idea what to do. Well, anyway, somehow they got through that 35 00:03:36,380 –> 00:03:43,380 and before long she had a wonderful, bright, bouncing baby boy holding him in her arms. 36 00:03:43,539 –> 00:03:48,699 And she was absolutely convinced from the moment that he was born that this baby was 37 00:03:48,699 –> 00:03:53,800 indeed the Deliverer that God had spoken about. You see what she says in chapter four 38 00:03:53,800 –> 00:03:59,160 in verse one of Genesis? With the help of the Lord I brought forth a man. Literally 39 00:03:59,160 –> 00:04:06,160 translated what she said was, I have brought for a man-child, the Lord. In other words, 40 00:04:07,059 –> 00:04:12,699 as she looked at this baby she was absolutely convinced that this was indeed the promised 41 00:04:12,699 –> 00:04:17,399 Deliverer, that in some sense the Lord had come in this baby and that this was the one 42 00:04:17,600 –> 00:04:24,440 on whom the hopes for all the future rested. She must have been overjoyed, not only had 43 00:04:24,920 –> 00:04:30,760 she given birth to the first baby in human history but she was absolutely convinced that 44 00:04:30,760 –> 00:04:37,119 she had given birth to the Saviour of the world. Well I’ve no doubt that she worshipped 45 00:04:37,119 –> 00:04:44,119 the ground he walked on. What do you think? And talk about high expectations for Cain 46 00:04:44,440 –> 00:04:51,440 growing up. I mean if your mother thinks you’re the saviour of the world. Cain grew up with 47 00:04:52,559 –> 00:04:59,559 his mother looking to him as being the one who would master evil and put everything right. 48 00:05:00,119 –> 00:05:05,279 Sometime later another little bundle of life came along and they called him Abel. Now we 49 00:05:05,279 –> 00:05:10,820 don’t know how old Cain was when his brother was born into the world but I think we can 50 00:05:10,820 –> 00:05:16,059 reasonably assume that like all older brothers he had a somewhat mixed reaction to this new 51 00:05:16,059 –> 00:05:22,859 arrival and attraction on the scene. I mean Cain after all was competition, a little upstart 52 00:05:23,399 –> 00:05:29,779 who needed to be kept in his place, a rival who would need to learn who was boss. After 53 00:05:29,779 –> 00:05:36,779 all Cain was the firstborn. And sure enough Cain grew up to be a great success. He was 54 00:05:36,940 –> 00:05:43,940 a high achiever. He took up agriculture, became a successful farmer and he was good at it. 55 00:05:44,339 –> 00:05:51,339 God blessed him and his farm produced marvellous, marvellous harvests of crops. 56 00:05:52,179 –> 00:05:59,179 That brings us to scene two. The altar. We’re told about a day when the family came to worship. 57 00:05:59,339 –> 00:06:04,019 Now the first family of course didn’t have a church to go to. But they would have had 58 00:06:04,019 –> 00:06:09,679 almost certainly an altar. It may simply have been a pile of stones. But some place where 59 00:06:09,679 –> 00:06:15,220 they met with God. And I don’t suppose, like most families today, that they had a van to 60 00:06:15,220 –> 00:06:20,200 travel in. But they certainly would have made the journey from the cave to the altar. And 61 00:06:20,200 –> 00:06:25,140 so I’m assuming that they had all the same hassles that every family seems to experience 62 00:06:25,140 –> 00:06:30,500 in getting a family to go and to do something together. 63 00:06:30,619 –> 00:06:37,760 Cain, will you get out of the shower? You’ve been there for 15 minutes and Abel’s still 64 00:06:37,760 –> 00:06:42,940 waiting. And don’t flick him with the towel when you come out either, the way you do. 65 00:06:42,940 –> 00:06:49,779 Well I’ve no doubt that Cain had decided that his little brother was a pain in the neck 66 00:06:49,779 –> 00:06:56,059 long before they got to worship, what do you think? And quite possibly he was. 67 00:06:56,660 –> 00:07:00,760 Anyway eventually they arrived at the place of worship. The two boys had brought an offering 68 00:07:00,760 –> 00:07:06,579 which was a good thing. Cain had a crate of every kind of fruit and vegetable that you 69 00:07:06,579 –> 00:07:13,500 could imagine, and Abel had brought some animals taken from his flock. They came to worship, 70 00:07:13,500 –> 00:07:19,119 they made their offerings and then we are told in verse 5, the Lord looked with favour 71 00:07:19,140 –> 00:07:27,260 on Abel and his offering but on Cain and his offering the Lord did not look with favour. 72 00:07:27,260 –> 00:07:33,019 We’re not specifically told how the family knew that God looked with favour on the one 73 00:07:33,019 –> 00:07:41,380 offering and not the other. There is a tradition that fire came down and burned up Abel’s sacrifice 74 00:07:41,380 –> 00:07:47,200 just as God’s fire came down and burned up Elijah’s sacrifice on Mount Carmel. 75 00:07:47,200 –> 00:07:53,100 I think that that is very likely in fact to be the case because particularly in the earlier 76 00:07:53,100 –> 00:07:59,040 part of the Old Testament there are many many examples of God’s fire coming down from heaven 77 00:07:59,040 –> 00:08:07,579 and consuming the sacrifice. Now if that was indeed the case then the scene must have been 78 00:08:07,579 –> 00:08:13,399 quite extraordinary. Imagine it with me. The family arrives at the altar. 79 00:08:14,220 –> 00:08:17,119 All right, says Adam to Abel, 80 00:08:17,119 –> 00:08:23,380 you’re the youngest so you can go first. Now remember that this altar is the place 81 00:08:23,380 –> 00:08:28,739 where we meet with God so go careful. Take your offering, put it on the altar, 82 00:08:28,739 –> 00:08:34,039 say your prayer, confess your sin, and then stand well back. 83 00:08:34,039 –> 00:08:40,820 So Abel does that. Goes to the altar, places the animal that’s 84 00:08:40,820 –> 00:08:47,080 been sacrificed there, the lamb. Says his prayer, he confesses his sin, he stands 85 00:08:47,080 –> 00:08:53,919 well back and all the family watch. Then a few moments later, willow fire comes 86 00:08:53,919 –> 00:08:58,159 like lightning from heaven. It strikes the meat of the animal. 87 00:08:58,159 –> 00:09:03,400 It begins to sizzle. In a few moments it is burned up and it is consumed. 88 00:09:03,419 –> 00:09:12,039 Abel watches wide-eyed at this extraordinary event. God has heard his 89 00:09:12,039 –> 00:09:20,979 prayer. God has accepted his sacrifice. God is showing him mercy. God has 90 00:09:20,979 –> 00:09:31,020 forgiven his sin. Now it was Cain’s turn. Cain drags his crate of fruit and 91 00:09:31,020 –> 00:09:34,700 vegetables over to the altar. There’s a great pile of it. And he begins to 92 00:09:34,700 –> 00:09:38,799 arrange it. Of course, he’s a farmer so he’s brought bales of hay and straw and 93 00:09:38,799 –> 00:09:42,020 corn stalks with him as well. And by the time he’s finished, this whole thing 94 00:09:42,020 –> 00:09:46,900 looks like a regular Thanksgiving display. Absolutely marvelous. With all 95 00:09:46,900 –> 00:09:50,440 that straw and with all of that hay around the offering that he has put 96 00:09:50,440 –> 00:09:55,219 there of fruit and vegetables, he is sure that the fire that comes on this is 97 00:09:55,219 –> 00:10:00,719 going to be a bonfire that will put Abel’s offering absolutely in the shade. 98 00:10:00,840 –> 00:10:11,020 So he stands back, and he holds his breath, and he watches, and nothing 99 00:10:11,020 –> 00:10:23,559 happens. An hour later, still, nothing has happened. Eventually Eve says, we’ve been 100 00:10:23,559 –> 00:10:28,520 in worship well more than an hour. Now it’s time to go home. What else could 101 00:10:28,520 –> 00:10:38,919 they do. The whole family goes home and Cain was utterly humiliated. What was 102 00:10:38,919 –> 00:10:45,200 God doing? I mean, what was so good about Abel’s stupid offering anyway? It was 103 00:10:45,200 –> 00:10:54,619 the same. Abel, Abel, Abel, or that kid was such a jerk. Cain felt sick. He felt 104 00:10:54,719 –> 00:10:58,599 humiliated. He began to feel angry and when they went home there was a long, 105 00:10:58,599 –> 00:11:04,460 long, long silence after worship that day at home. 106 00:11:04,460 –> 00:11:08,799 Now before we go to scene number three, we’ve got to take a time out as it were 107 00:11:08,799 –> 00:11:13,559 to glance at the New Testament that gives us a key for understanding the 108 00:11:13,559 –> 00:11:17,799 story. Very often with stories in the Old Testament you will find that there’s 109 00:11:17,799 –> 00:11:21,559 something in the New Testament that gives us a key or shines some light to 110 00:11:21,859 –> 00:11:25,960 us how to understand the story correctly. And one of the first questions you 111 00:11:25,960 –> 00:11:30,320 should ask of any Old Testament story is, is there any reference to this story in 112 00:11:30,320 –> 00:11:34,659 the New Testament that helps me understand it? Well, in the case of this 113 00:11:34,659 –> 00:11:40,340 story there is. You find in Hebrews chapter 11 and verse 4, we have God’s 114 00:11:40,340 –> 00:11:46,460 commentary on it. Hebrews 11 and verse 4. We read these words, 115 00:11:51,640 –> 00:12:00,500 By faith he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings. 116 00:12:00,500 –> 00:12:04,840 Notice that the difference between the two men is primarily in relation to the 117 00:12:04,840 –> 00:12:10,159 offerings. Now we’re being told that the difference between Cain and Abel is 118 00:12:10,159 –> 00:12:20,039 that Cain was not a man of faith. That was the difference. He believed in God, he 119 00:12:20,159 –> 00:12:27,659 came to worship and he made an offering. But he did not, according to the New 120 00:12:27,659 –> 00:12:34,039 Testament, have faith. And the reason that is possible to believe in God and to 121 00:12:34,039 –> 00:12:38,260 come to worship and put something in the offering and still not have faith is 122 00:12:38,260 –> 00:12:45,719 that faith is trusting in and acting on what God has revealed. Faith is trusting 123 00:12:45,719 –> 00:12:52,280 in and acting on what God has revealed. And God had already revealed that the 124 00:12:52,280 –> 00:12:55,799 only way in which men and women could come to him was on the basis of a 125 00:12:55,799 –> 00:13:02,679 sacrifice that involved the shedding of blood. God had revealed that. Abel 126 00:13:02,679 –> 00:13:06,719 believed it and acted on it. Cain didn’t. That was the difference. 127 00:13:06,719 –> 00:13:15,080 Cain was a man without faith, religious, offering something, but he did not 128 00:13:15,440 –> 00:13:20,500 trust in or act on what God had revealed. Now you say, I thought God revealed about 129 00:13:20,500 –> 00:13:24,280 the sacrifices later, through Moses, and what do you mean that God had already 130 00:13:24,280 –> 00:13:30,239 revealed this? Well for sure, more was revealed about the sacrifices to Moses 131 00:13:30,239 –> 00:13:37,559 later, but the principle of the sacrifice goes all the way back to the Garden of 132 00:13:37,559 –> 00:13:43,239 Eden. You remember when Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden, they lost their 133 00:13:43,239 –> 00:13:50,640 innocence, and we’re told that the Lord God made for them clothing from skins. 134 00:13:50,640 –> 00:13:58,400 Now you can’t make garments of skin without killing an animal, and so you 135 00:13:58,400 –> 00:14:02,099 have this extraordinary fact that on the very day when the first sin was 136 00:14:02,099 –> 00:14:11,640 committed a life was laid down, a sacrifice was made. God shed blood in the 137 00:14:11,700 –> 00:14:21,039 garden. The very first sacrifice that was ever made, was made by God himself, on 138 00:14:21,039 –> 00:14:26,940 behalf of the man and the woman after they had sinned. Extraordinary seatbed of 139 00:14:26,940 –> 00:14:31,119 the Bible truth that points us all the way to Jesus Christ. God made the first 140 00:14:31,119 –> 00:14:35,840 sacrifice himself. Now of course Cain and Abel would have learned this 141 00:14:36,599 –> 00:14:45,580 their parents. Now listen here boys, our sin leads to death but God is gracious 142 00:14:45,580 –> 00:14:52,880 and he has allowed that another may die in our place. He accepted the sacrifice 143 00:14:52,880 –> 00:14:58,020 of an animal that lost its life in order for our nakedness to be covered on the 144 00:14:58,020 –> 00:15:03,020 day when we first went terribly wrong and so he’s taught us very clearly that 145 00:15:03,219 –> 00:15:07,960 he will show us mercy and that that mercy is going to come to us in some way 146 00:15:07,960 –> 00:15:14,619 through the laying down of another life. Abel believed God’s promise and he 147 00:15:14,619 –> 00:15:18,739 acted on it. Cain wanted to offer something he had 148 00:15:18,739 –> 00:15:25,460 worked on. That’s why he brought the fruit and that was his problem very 149 00:15:25,460 –> 00:15:29,140 religious wanted to make an offering believed in God but he was a man 150 00:15:29,460 –> 00:15:34,919 without faith, the New Testament makes that very clear. Now that takes us to 151 00:15:34,919 –> 00:15:39,700 scene three, scene one in the maternity ward, a person born great expectations 152 00:15:39,700 –> 00:15:45,559 all around him. Scene two at the altar where one brings the sacrifice that God 153 00:15:45,559 –> 00:15:49,000 had invited them to bring the other brings something that he thought was 154 00:15:49,000 –> 00:15:56,559 better the one has received and the other is not. Scene three. Alone with God. 155 00:15:56,599 –> 00:16:02,520 Now, we don’t know whether God spoke to Cain while he was at the altar or later 156 00:16:02,520 –> 00:16:06,640 but I’m going to treat this as a separate scene and assume that God spoke 157 00:16:06,640 –> 00:16:12,960 to Cain in an audible voice as he often did in the early part of the Old 158 00:16:12,960 –> 00:16:23,440 Testament. Verse six. Cain was still smoldering when God spoke. Why are you 159 00:16:23,440 –> 00:16:30,159 angry Cain? And why the long face? Anyone ever said that to you? 160 00:16:30,159 –> 00:16:40,000 Of course, Cain knew the answer. I’m sick fed up, I’m a stupid little brother, because 161 00:16:40,000 –> 00:16:43,679 when he brings an offering you put on a display of fireworks and when I bring an 162 00:16:43,679 –> 00:16:49,119 offering nothing ever happens. That’s what he was thinking but of course he 163 00:16:49,119 –> 00:17:01,320 didn’t say it. Cain, God said, if you do what is right, you also will be accepted. 164 00:17:01,320 –> 00:17:06,500 Cain, there’s no favoritism here you have to understand that. God treats all 165 00:17:06,500 –> 00:17:10,920 people exactly the same. And everyone of us has the same opportunity. If you do 166 00:17:10,920 –> 00:17:18,640 what’s right, you will be accepted. There is a way in which a person can come to 167 00:17:18,660 –> 00:17:27,040 God, and it’s the same for all people. It is through the blood of a sacrifice that 168 00:17:27,040 –> 00:17:32,839 He has identified, that our sins are forgiven and if you will come to him in 169 00:17:32,839 –> 00:17:37,819 the way that he has revealed, you will find mercy and you will be reconciled to 170 00:17:37,819 –> 00:17:42,199 God also. Believe in the promise of God, Cain, and 171 00:17:42,199 –> 00:17:47,319 act on it. But that was the last thing in the world Cain was going to do. 172 00:17:47,380 –> 00:17:54,260 Being an animal, that’s Abel’s thing. What’s wrong with what I want to offer? 173 00:17:54,260 –> 00:18:03,520 So, God spoke to Cain again. If you do not do what is right Cain, then sin is 174 00:18:03,520 –> 00:18:12,219 crouching at the door. You know that is the first time the word sin is used in 175 00:18:12,219 –> 00:18:21,079 the Bible. Sin. What’s sin? Never heard that word before, Cain might have said. 176 00:18:21,079 –> 00:18:27,160 God says sin is crouching at your door. 177 00:18:28,000 –> 00:18:32,699 We enjoyed a few days vacation just after Christmas in the area of Galena. 178 00:18:32,699 –> 00:18:37,459 The ranch where we stayed was beautiful. It had some marvelous walks through the 179 00:18:37,459 –> 00:18:41,000 countryside and we greatly enjoyed it. When we got into the house there was a 180 00:18:41,119 –> 00:18:48,040 warning notice that had been put on the fridge. Cougars have been sighted in the 181 00:18:48,040 –> 00:18:57,520 last month on this property. Beware. So we kept the doors closed. Now that’s the 182 00:18:57,520 –> 00:19:05,800 picture. Sin is like a wild animal ready to pounce and it’s stalking round the 183 00:19:05,800 –> 00:19:13,219 area. So be very careful. Sin is crouching at the door. Here’s how you’re to think of 184 00:19:13,219 –> 00:19:20,160 sin, Cain. You know how you light fires to keep wild animals at a distance? Well 185 00:19:20,160 –> 00:19:24,359 there’s a power at work in this world, and it’s called sin, and it’s like a wild 186 00:19:24,359 –> 00:19:30,239 animal. And if you don’t do what is right you allow your anger to smolder, what’s 187 00:19:30,239 –> 00:19:34,160 gonna happen is it’ll sneak up on you like a wild animal waiting just outside 188 00:19:34,199 –> 00:19:37,319 the door of your house, then one day you’ll walk out thinking everything is 189 00:19:37,319 –> 00:19:44,280 fine, it’ll pounce on you and it’ll have you and it’ll kill you. Cain if you do 190 00:19:44,280 –> 00:19:53,800 not do what is right you are setting yourself up for disaster. And that brings 191 00:19:53,800 –> 00:20:03,540 us to scene four. In the fields, Cain kept smoldering. As time went on, his 192 00:20:03,560 –> 00:20:08,099 anger deepened into hatred. He didn’t speak to Abel. He avoided it whenever he 193 00:20:08,099 –> 00:20:11,020 could, whenever there was a problem in the family, he also found a way of 194 00:20:11,020 –> 00:20:17,280 seeing that it was Abel’s fault. He began to fantasize about what he would do with 195 00:20:17,280 –> 00:20:22,000 a little jerk if he got his hands on him. It became an obsession with him as if 196 00:20:22,000 –> 00:20:28,760 some mysterious power was compelling him forward. Then one day when he could abide 197 00:20:28,760 –> 00:20:33,099 him no longer, he said to his brother let’s go out into the fields and when 198 00:20:33,099 –> 00:20:42,959 they got there, Cain finished him, and the world’s first baby became the world’s 199 00:20:42,959 –> 00:20:50,819 first murderer. Then God spoke again. 200 00:20:51,140 –> 00:21:00,739 Cain where is your brother? I don’t know, he’s not my responsibility Cain said. He 201 00:21:00,739 –> 00:21:08,380 went immediately into what we today call denial. But God is never fooled by our 202 00:21:08,380 –> 00:21:14,060 denial. Cain your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground now you are 203 00:21:14,060 –> 00:21:21,560 under a curse. This field that you have worked so successfully it will no longer 204 00:21:21,560 –> 00:21:26,859 bear crops for you. You’ve shed your brother’s blood in this field it’s going 205 00:21:26,859 –> 00:21:31,439 to be barren a desolate place forever. You’re gonna have to move off it, you’re 206 00:21:31,439 –> 00:21:35,680 gonna find a new job, you’re gonna become a restless wanderer on the face of the 207 00:21:35,680 –> 00:21:41,439 earth, there are consequences for what you’ve done. Now I have to say that it 208 00:21:41,439 –> 00:21:49,040 seems to me that the curse on Cain was a wonderful expression of God’s leniency 209 00:21:49,040 –> 00:21:54,760 and God’s grace. Sure there were consequences for murder there must be 210 00:21:54,760 –> 00:22:03,400 but this was surely a lenient sentence for the crime. Later when violence and 211 00:22:03,400 –> 00:22:07,599 murder increased in the earth God introduced the death penalty in Genesis 212 00:22:07,599 –> 00:22:13,439 9 6, if a man sheds the blood of man by a man shall his own blood be shed. And it 213 00:22:13,439 –> 00:22:19,020 would hardly have been surprising with this first murder, if God had ended Cain’s 214 00:22:19,060 –> 00:22:25,459 life right on the spot. Sin leads to death but in the mercy of God the 215 00:22:25,459 –> 00:22:30,239 world’s first murderer is given another chance. 216 00:22:30,239 –> 00:22:39,540 Cain, this is incredible even after this terrible deed, God is speaking to you, God 217 00:22:39,540 –> 00:22:47,160 is merciful to you, embrace the consequences of what you have done. He 218 00:22:47,319 –> 00:22:53,619 has not yet cut you off there is still opportunity for mercy and reconciliation 219 00:22:53,619 –> 00:22:59,479 accept your punishment confess your sin turn to him and true repentance the 220 00:22:59,479 –> 00:23:07,280 darkest moment of your life could become the turning point in your experience but 221 00:23:07,280 –> 00:23:11,119 instead of taking ownership of what he had done and looking to God for mercy 222 00:23:11,260 –> 00:23:15,599 Cain begins to wallow in self-pity 223 00:23:16,900 –> 00:23:19,339 verse 13 my punishment is more than I can bare 224 00:23:21,520 –> 00:23:22,920 today you’re driving me from 225 00:23:23,060 –> 00:23:25,540 the land I’ll be hidden from your presence I’ll be a restless wanderer on 226 00:23:25,719 –> 00:23:28,199 the earth whoever finds me will kill me 227 00:23:30,640 –> 00:23:34,760 God was still gracious to Cain and protected him but Cain made a wretched 228 00:23:34,760 –> 00:23:38,959 choice he went out from the presence of the Lord away from the altar and the 229 00:23:38,959 –> 00:23:40,680 last thing we hear about him 230 00:23:41,520 –> 00:23:45,579 is that he built a city where eventually there was music and industry culture 231 00:23:45,579 –> 00:23:50,680 and commerce but nothing at all is mentioned about God 232 00:23:52,180 –> 00:23:53,800 so here’s a successful person 233 00:23:55,920 –> 00:23:57,599 who worshipped God 234 00:23:58,819 –> 00:24:01,239 and went down 235 00:24:03,760 –> 00:24:07,739 and then our last moments the obvious question is how can we avoid Cain’s 236 00:24:08,579 –> 00:24:15,939 plunge to disaster so three very simple lessons for us to grasp today. 1. Never 237 00:24:15,939 –> 00:24:25,140 never never never underestimate the power of sin. The quickest road to 238 00:24:25,140 –> 00:24:32,900 disaster in your life is to allow sin a known place and to say but I can handle 239 00:24:33,099 –> 00:24:42,439 it. Yeah I I know I do this, but I won’t go any further. I’ve got it under control. 240 00:24:42,439 –> 00:24:51,420 Yes like a wild animal, you’ve got it under control. Sin desires to master you, 241 00:24:51,420 –> 00:25:02,319 it is a power, and as you open the door to it, it gains an entrance, and if you 242 00:25:02,719 –> 00:25:06,839 not close the door the time will come where like a wild animal crouching at 243 00:25:06,839 –> 00:25:13,920 the door, it will master you, and it will overcome you, and you may be able to 244 00:25:13,920 –> 00:25:17,900 identify right now some ways in which you are toying with sin you’re saying 245 00:25:17,900 –> 00:25:27,420 well this is okay, I’ve got it under control. Don’t fool yourself. When Cain 246 00:25:27,839 –> 00:25:35,839 to do what was right. He set himself up for failure. You may say I get pretty 247 00:25:35,839 –> 00:25:40,699 angry, but I would never murder anyone. But when you allow sin to take root in 248 00:25:40,699 –> 00:25:47,479 your life you never know where it will lead you. You must master it or it will 249 00:25:47,479 –> 00:25:54,760 master you. Time will not make this issue better. The only answer to the power of 250 00:25:54,920 –> 00:26:03,800 grace that is found in Jesus Christ that can subdue it, it’s what you need. 251 00:26:04,479 –> 00:26:12,680 Secondly, don’t pretend to love God if you hate your brother. Towards the end of 252 00:26:12,680 –> 00:26:16,660 the New Testament the Apostle John puts it as plain as anyone ever could, one 253 00:26:16,660 –> 00:26:24,160 John 420, anyone who says I love God and hates his brother is a liar, you can’t 254 00:26:24,160 –> 00:26:28,640 get plainer than that, can you? If you say I love God and you hate your brother 255 00:26:28,640 –> 00:26:34,099 you’re a liar, that’s what John says and when he looks for an example to 256 00:26:34,099 –> 00:26:42,239 illustrate his point he chooses Cain, one John chapter 3, don’t be like Cain he 257 00:26:42,239 –> 00:26:50,780 said and then he draws an extraordinary contrast between Cain and Christ. You 258 00:26:50,959 –> 00:26:57,459 see Cain was the one who took the life of his brother, Christ was the one who 259 00:26:57,459 –> 00:27:05,140 laid down his life for his brother’s and having told us to avoid the way of Cain 260 00:27:05,140 –> 00:27:11,800 John says in 1 John chapter 3 verse 16, well now John 3, 16 do you know 1 John 261 00:27:11,800 –> 00:27:20,319 chapter 3 verse 16 this is what it says, this is how we know what love is, Jesus 262 00:27:20,319 –> 00:27:28,959 Christ laid down his life for us, you see the contrast, don’t be like Cain who 263 00:27:28,959 –> 00:27:36,180 laid down his brother’s life you’ve got to learn what love is and love is 264 00:27:36,180 –> 00:27:42,699 learned from the Spirit of Jesus Christ who laid down his life for his friends 265 00:27:42,880 –> 00:27:54,040 this is how we know what love is, being religious isn’t enough, being religious 266 00:27:54,040 –> 00:27:59,660 can’t change your heart, believing in God, coming to a service, putting something 267 00:27:59,660 –> 00:28:03,939 in the offering and going away after an hour like that isn’t going to deal with 268 00:28:03,939 –> 00:28:08,939 the fundamental conflicts that go on inside of a human being, you can come to 269 00:28:09,140 –> 00:28:15,300 worship and sit there, smoldering for an hour and be utterly unchanged, our need 270 00:28:15,300 –> 00:28:22,000 is for hearts that are changed, and the only way in which that change can take 271 00:28:22,000 –> 00:28:27,099 place is if the spirit of Jesus, the very opposite of the spirit of Cain 272 00:28:27,099 –> 00:28:35,180 should enter into our hearts, ultimately the only answer for angry people is to 273 00:28:35,719 –> 00:28:40,479 be filled with the Spirit of Jesus. 274 00:28:41,280 –> 00:28:49,439 Don’t pretend to love God if you hate your brother and maybe there’ll be some 275 00:28:49,439 –> 00:28:53,660 this morning who will come before God and say, I see that in my heart there is 276 00:28:53,660 –> 00:29:00,819 just a lot of smoldering anger. Lord Jesus come and touch me and change me 277 00:29:00,939 –> 00:29:05,239 because I need to be a different person. 278 00:29:05,719 –> 00:29:10,839 Then here’s the third thing, come to God in God’s appointed way, you see all of 279 00:29:10,839 –> 00:29:16,339 the sacrifices in the Old Testament point us to the one sacrifice of Jesus 280 00:29:16,339 –> 00:29:21,579 Christ when he died on the cross, that is why no other sacrifice is needed. This is 281 00:29:21,579 –> 00:29:26,479 how we are to come to God on the basis of the sacrifice he has revealed and 282 00:29:26,839 –> 00:29:33,439 to where Jesus laid down his life for us, and shed his blood on the cross. You 283 00:29:33,439 –> 00:29:38,459 cannot come to God in any other name but the name of Jesus. You cannot come in 284 00:29:38,459 –> 00:29:43,859 your own name and you cannot come with your own achievements. Cain didn’t like 285 00:29:43,859 –> 00:29:47,239 that, and there are some people go through all of the lives being angry 286 00:29:47,239 –> 00:29:54,939 with God because they want to come to God some other way. You can’t do it, come 287 00:29:55,319 –> 00:29:59,800 to God in God’s appointed way through faith in the Son, to whom he has pointed, 288 00:29:59,800 –> 00:30:05,640 Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord. And if you come confessing your sin and 289 00:30:05,640 –> 00:30:14,260 believing in the sacrifice of Jesus, you will receive mercy, whatever you have 290 00:30:14,260 –> 00:30:23,560 done. So I wish we could rerun the story of Cain don’t you? It’s like you wish you 291 00:30:23,579 –> 00:30:28,300 could go back in history and rerun the story of the Titanic and set it on a 292 00:30:28,300 –> 00:30:37,660 different course. Suppose Cain when God said you need to do what is right, 293 00:30:37,660 –> 00:30:44,900 suppose he’d come and said oh God, I’m really struggling with anger towards my 294 00:30:44,959 –> 00:30:55,020 brother. I need your power. Suppose he’d come and said oh God I find this hatred 295 00:30:55,020 –> 00:31:02,140 inside of me, I need your love. Suppose he said oh Lord, my pride has 296 00:31:02,140 –> 00:31:11,180 been so hurt and so wounded, I need your peace. Suppose he’d come and he’d offered 297 00:31:11,540 –> 00:31:20,739 the sacrifice that God accepts. Or suppose even after that terrible deed of the 298 00:31:20,739 –> 00:31:25,420 world’s first murder, suppose even then he had taken a different course. Suppose 299 00:31:25,420 –> 00:31:32,839 he had said oh Lord, you are so gracious still to give me life. 300 00:31:32,839 –> 00:31:40,979 I confess my sin without any excuse now Lord give me in your mercy the ability 301 00:31:40,979 –> 00:31:46,359 to live my life as much as remains of it in a new course and in a different 302 00:31:46,359 –> 00:31:50,160 direction. Suppose he had said that. 303 00:31:50,199 –> 00:32:07,819 But he didn’t. But you could. Today, let’s pray together shall we. Father, you know 304 00:32:07,819 –> 00:32:15,400 the struggle in every heart. You know how easy it is for us to come to worship 305 00:32:15,400 –> 00:32:23,060 angry, detached, frustrated and even while we’re worshipping you sin is 306 00:32:23,060 –> 00:32:31,219 crouching at the door. You know how easily and foolishly we allow space for 307 00:32:31,219 –> 00:32:36,859 that which we know to be wrong on the basis that we think we can control it 308 00:32:37,920 –> 00:32:45,979 We admit today our folly as you’ve opened our eyes by your truth 309 00:32:48,400 –> 00:32:55,760 Still the storm within our hearts we pray. Give to us the spirit of Jesus 310 00:32:55,760 –> 00:33:00,000 Christ who was able to say, Father forgive them they know what not what 311 00:33:00,000 –> 00:33:09,719 they do. Heal our wounds, forgive our sins, bring us out of denial and out of 312 00:33:09,719 –> 00:33:16,040 self-pity to stand with honesty before you as those who can say Lord be 313 00:33:16,040 –> 00:33:19,839 merciful to me, a sinner. 314 00:33:20,180 –> 00:33:32,400 Then renew our hearts that we may not reflect the bitterness of Cain but the 315 00:33:32,400 –> 00:33:39,859 love of Christ who gave himself for us. 316 00:33:40,579 –> 00:33:46,859 Thank you for your incredible mercy that’s offered to all irrespective of 317 00:33:47,000 –> 00:33:53,339 what we may have done. We will humble ourselves and come to you on the basis 318 00:33:53,339 –> 00:34:00,859 of the sacrifice of your Son Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord. Today we come 319 00:34:00,859 –> 00:34:09,679 and ask that you will be merciful upon us. Touch us and change us. We see our 320 00:34:09,679 –> 00:34:17,439 lives as being like a navigation, like a ship going through waters in which 321 00:34:17,439 –> 00:34:23,719 there are many dangers. Be the captain of our lives and from the bridge direct us 322 00:34:23,719 –> 00:34:33,600 we pray in your truth and by your Word on a safe course through Jesus Christ 323 00:34:33,600 –> 00:34:36,639 our Lord.