Loving The Brethren (Genesis Chapter Four - Part 2)

Moore's Corner Church

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Cain's Wife & The Birth of Seth (Genesis Chapter Four - Part 3)

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Thank you for listening to this message from the ministry of Morse Corner Church in Leverett, Massachusetts.

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Morse Corner is a non -denominational church that is committed to the preaching and teaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

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Our church was founded in 1896 by two students of the famous evangelist

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D .L. Moody. We seek to encourage and edify the body of Christ through the proclamation of God's word through the ministries of the local church.

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If you'd like more information, visit our website morsecornerchurch .com. We hope you enjoy the message.

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Let's dig a little deeper into this account. Look at verse 1. Now Adam knew

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Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain. And she said,

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I have acquired a man from the Lord. That's an interesting statement. She had given birth.

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Yes, she says, I have acquired a man from who? From the Lord. Not from Adam, but from the

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Lord. So Adam knew his wife. So the term to know here is a euphemism for you know what?

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So Eve conceives and this is presumably, the way you read it, it gives you the idea that this is the first child ever born.

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Remember Adam was created directly by God. Eve was created from Adam's rib. So this would have been, from what we can tell, the first human ever born.

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So Cain is born. And then she says, well,

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I received a man from the Lord. She acknowledges that God is the giver of life. Verse 2, then she bore again, this time his brother

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Abel. So Abel, you get the idea that Abel was born right after Cain.

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Some people think they were twins. We don't, we don't really know. Verse 2, though, says she bore again, and this time his brother

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Abel. And Abel was a keeper of the sheep. But Cain was a tiller of the ground.

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So the name Cain means possession. The name Abel means breath or vapor.

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We might put it this way. Cain was a farmer and Abel was a shepherd.

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Keep in mind, both are living post -fall. So both men, Cain and Abel, they have the sin nature.

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And to deal with that sin and the sin nature, God set a precedent back in the last chapter of that animal sacrifice.

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The animal died, blood was shed, and Adam and Eve were clothed.

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So that's the precedent. So these two men now come and they offer up sacrifices to God.

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Now, what precedent was the first sacrifice? What should they offer based on that sacrifice in chapter 3?

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Some corn and some broccoli and some grain? No, it had to be a blood sacrifice, right?

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So I think that's the issue here. Whose offering gets rejected?

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Abel or Cain? Abel brings the lamb or the blood sacrifice.

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Cain brings the produce. Whose offering gets rejected? Cain's. You know, some people say, well, it's an issue of his heart or, you know, his motivations weren't right.

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Or he just he didn't bring the best of the fruit, the best of the vegetables. I mean, that may all very well be true.

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But I think the main issue is he did not bring a blood sacrifice. Look at verses three and four.

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And in the process of time, it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground of the

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Lord. Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the

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Lord respected Abel in his offering, but he did not respect Cain in his offering.

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And Cain was very angry and his countenance fell. So whatever the reason or reasons that God did not accept

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Cain's offering, now the bigger issue is his response. OK, it was one issue here.

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And now things are just getting worse. Cain is what? He's he's angry. So God goes on to tell him, hey, you have another chance.

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You can make this right. But no, Cain is angry. But who is Cain angry at?

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Abel? Yeah, I think that's the common response. And you would read this. Yeah, Cain is angry at his brother,

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Abel. After all, who did he rise up and kill? He killed his brother, Abel. And that's true.

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But I submit to you that while it may appear that Cain is just angry at his brother, which is true,

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Cain's anger, I believe, primarily is directed at God. This is another thing that's similar to chapter three.

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When Adam sinned and God called him to account, yes, he blamed his wife Eve. But who else did he blame?

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He said to God, the woman that you gave me, she gave me the fruit and I ate.

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So it's God's fault, right? It's God's fault. God's the one who rejected the offering. That's what made

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Cain angry. It's God's fault. Adam blamed God. God does not respect

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Cain's offering. Cain kills Abel for what? What did Abel do wrong?

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Yeah, Abel is completely innocent. Abel did nothing wrong. So this leads me to believe that Cain's real issue is with God.

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But here's the thing. Cain can't do anything about God. Cain can't touch God. What are you going to do to God?

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So the next best thing, you take it out on the one who is the servant of God. You know,

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Jesus taught his disciples this in John 15, 18. He taught them this lesson.

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He said, if the world hates you, you know that it hated me before it hated you.

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Let's turn to First John chapter three, if you would. So Abel was a righteous man,

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Abel was a man of God, so Cain can't touch God. He goes after the man of God.

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Many of you, I'm sure, have encountered this, that people, they know you're a

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Christian and based on what you believe, people dislike you, not because you really did anything to them, they don't like you sometimes because they know you believe the

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Bible, they know you confess Jesus as Lord and Savior. Can I get a witness? Has that happened to any of you?

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Yeah, of course it has. I think it happens to pastors, maybe a little more so, or Christians who are vocal about their faith, you know, pastors or every week we're speaking openly and publicly, and there are many

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Christians who speak openly and publicly, and that's kind of where the most heat is placed, but this can happen to any of us.

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People will dislike Christians. Why? Because we represent Christ. They hate Christ.

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They can't touch Christ. So they take it out on us. Look at First John chapter three, verse 10.

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And ultimately, their attitude towards us or when a person hates another human being, that represents their attitude towards God.

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We see that here. First John chapter three, starting in verse 10. In this, the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest.

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Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother, or nor is he who does not love his brother.

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For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should do what? Yeah, we should love one another.

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Not as Cain, who was of the wicked one, and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him?

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Because his works were evil and his brothers righteous. Do not marvel, my brethren.

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If the world hates you, we know that we have passed from death to life.

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If the world hates you, hey, that's good news. That's a good thing, because it means you're saved. Do not marvel, my brethren, if the world hates you.

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We know that we have passed from death to life because we love the brethren. So we need to love the brethren, love one another.

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Now, if you're listening, say amen. He who does not love his brother abides in death.

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Whoever hates his brother is a murderer. And you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.

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Skip over to chapter four, verse 20. John writes in chapter four, verse 20.

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If someone says, I love God and hates his brother, he's what?

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He's a liar. For he who does not love his brother whom he has seen. How can he love

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God whom he has not seen? And this commandment we have from him that he who loves

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God must also love his brother. So hatred of your brother is like hating

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God to murder your brother. It's as if you wanted to murder God.

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But of course, they can't. So according to Jesus, the defining mark of a

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Christian, and that's brought out by John here, is that we love the brethren. How do people know that you're a

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Christian? You love your fellow Christians. That's that's the mark. In John 13, 34 and 35,

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Jesus said, a new commandment I give to you, that you love one another as I have loved you, that you also love one another by this.

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All will know that you are my disciples if you have loved one for another. So let me repeat this.

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The defining mark of a Christian is that we love our fellow Christians. Does anyone anyone want to argue or debate that with me?

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I don't I don't think so. It's pretty clear here. And yet who are these people out there?

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I love God, but I have no use for the church. I love God, but I can't stand church people.

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Have you heard stuff like this? What they need to read this passage. If you don't love your fellow.

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And I mean, sometimes we can get on each other's nerves. I understand that. Sometimes we say and do the wrong things that bother people.

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That's going to happen. But we love one another, don't we? If somebody doesn't love their fellow believers, they can say they love

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God, but the Bible says something different. So while we might not like a person, what they say or do,

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Christians are to love others just as we love Christ.

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Remember in Matthew 25, what Jesus said? He said in as much as you did it to one of the least of these, my brethren, you did it to me.

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So what you do to others, it's the same as if you're doing it to Christ. So when

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Cain did this to Abel, it's as if he did it. To Christ, so if you do something hateful against another

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Christian, you're doing it against Christ. All right, let's go back to Genesis chapter four.

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A lot of implications from these Old Testament stories.

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Again, people think, oh, Cain and Abel. I heard that when I was six years old in Sunday school. Other people haven't heard a sermon on it.

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Probably some people wouldn't preach a sermon on it, but there's always lessons to learn, and I think the first 10, 12 chapters of Genesis are just so vitally important that we preach them.

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But what's the title of the message? Yeah, Cain and Abel. Cain was the first murderer.

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He killed his own brother. So we should love one another as brethren.

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When we dislike someone, dislike leads to anger. Anger leads to hatred.

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Hatred leads to murder or death. I don't want to sound like Yoda and Star Wars, but that's, you know, that's true.

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OK. Jesus said in Matthew five in the

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Sermon on the Mount, you have heard that it was said to those of old, you shall not murder and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.

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But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment.

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You see how Cain's anger, he did something wrong. He became angry and that anger led to hatred and murder.

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That's the way that that's where that road goes. Genesis chapter four. Look at verse six.

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So the Lord said to Cain, why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen?

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If you do well, will you not be accepted? So so do the right thing and and I will accept you.

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But if you do not do well, sin lies at the door and its desire is for you.

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But you should rule over it. And that's what we need to know today. Yes, sin is like a lion crouching, just waiting there to devour us in any moment.

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We should rule over it. Amen. So so Cain clearly has a choice.

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Every person has a choice. Cain chose to give in to his anger.

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In Matthew twenty three thirty five, Jesus depicts Abel as the first martyr.

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Basically, Abel is the first person to die for doing that which was right.

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He was the first person to die simply for obeying God. Thanks for listening.

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I'm Pastor Michael Grant from Morse Corner Church. I'd like to listen to the complete message. We'd like more information about the ministry.

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Visit our website, Morse Corner Church dot com. And we'd love to have you join us some Sunday morning here in Leverett.