A Murder after Church-Part A

Genesis chapter 4 is a story of two worshipers who happen to be brothers, Cain and Abel, and one's sacrifice or offering was accepted by God but the other one crash and burn that his cane, Cain and Abel were similar discover certain things that were identical in their lives. They both had the same parents. They both have the same opportunities. They both have the same access to God. They both came to worship God.

That's where the similarity ends. Sin can destroy your life quicker than you realize. Today on connect with Skip Heitzig Skip looks at the biography of a motor doing God killing his brother to tragic school that offers valuable insight. Now we want to tell you about a recent growth even stronger in your knowledge of God's word look like God party of the Old Testament shows that the Jewish calendar anchored with regular mandatory holidays and celebrations in the book of Esther says that God wants his variance, light and gladness joy and honor at such time sound like your family celebrations. This insight from Skip Heitzig sake, not one of our own regular holidays. Valentine's Day or God so love that's the essence of his nature.

The Bible says God is love that is so simple to say so hard for some of us happiness, holiness, and holidays is a four DVD collection of celebration messages from Pastor step that could be a game changer for your family. Take holidays from toxic stress to celebrations of light and joy. Here's a sample you are loved by God, not because you deserve it but because just because that is his nature. It is his decision engine that foundation for the next holiday on family calendar. This selection of some of Pastor step holiday teaching.

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I think Genesis chapter Skip Heitzig expects today's the Bible is filled with comparisons were two people are compared to men or to limit for example, there are two men evaluating a birthright in Genesis 25 Jacob and Esau to men who build a house.

Jesus talked about in Matthew 71 on a solid foundation. The other on sand.

Two men who are at the judgment in Luke chapter 17, two women grinding at the mill in the same chapter. Jesus spoke about two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.

There were two men crucified next to Jesus and Jesus spoke about two men who died and met God Lazarus and a bigger is Luke chapter 16 Genesis chapter 4 is a story of two worshipers who happen to be brothers, Cain and Abel and one's sacrifice or offering was accepted by God but the other one crashed and burned and that his cane no Cain and Abel were similar discover certain things that were identical in their lives.

They both at the same parents. They both had the same opportunities. They both at the same access to God. They both came to worship God. But that's where the similarity ends and the differences begin. I'm calling this message a murder after church murder after church because think about this. The first murder was a worshiper. The first murderer in history was a religious person. Cain killed his brother Abel. After a worship service last week in New York City on a Friday night, two men went into a church, a Methodist Church in New York for service of some kind, while they were in that service together. A fight broke out between them fistfight. One of them left the other one stayed when the service was done.

The man who had left was waiting outside and he attacked the man.

The other man with the machete in the streets of New York. After church.

When I read that news article I thought about Jesse James. I told you about him before Jesse James was a baptized member of the Kearney County Baptist Church in Kearny Missouri. Jesse James, the notorious outlaw love to sing in the choir love to sing the old hymns love to teach the hymns to younger members of the choir. He taught him singing and he talked about how much he loved to go to church. The problem is Sundays were a conflict to him because Sundays were his days to kill people and drop train so we can always make church we have a similar story here in the book of Genesis chapter 4 as we begin the chapter we see now the effects of what happened in the previous chapter, the choice that Adam make it chapter 3, then, is the root of sin.

Chapter 4 is the fruit of sin grows now and I want to remind you of how Paul summed up this episode in history. In his book. Romans chapter 5 he said through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, so that death spread to all men for sin and death reigned from Adam to Moses were seeing that here were seeing now, death raining and death spreading as we get into the fourth chapter and one other thing we discover we discover many things but there's a lot of firsts in Genesis chapter 4 the first pregnancy ever.

The first birth ever. The first family. The first dysfunctional family.

The first crime ever committed the first death so cane is the first baby ever born on the Earth just indulge me for a second I read something that I thought was fascinating inside every cell is what's called DNA and DNA is the coded information that instructs a set of instructions that tells every cell how to act from birth to death.

95% of DNA is found in the nucleus of the cell, but on the outside of the nucleus are little energy producing components, known as mitochondria.

Bear with me in the mitochondria. There are circular strands of that DNA material genetic material called mitochondrial DNA, the mitochondrial DNA is all maternal.

That is, it is derived from the mother only. We know that you have 23 sets of chromosomes after mom have from dad but all of the ones in the mitochondria come back from the mother.

I bring that up because in 1987 University of California Berkeley did a research test of the hundred and 47 people in the world 147 people from five different geographical locations on the earth, and they made the discovery that all 147 all had the same female ancestor whom they called get this mitochondrial Eve and have referred to her is that whoever this one ancestor is we don't know they say. And some believe that she came from Africa. Others believe she came from Asia.

Others believe she came from Europe.

Why is that fascinating because after Adam came a flood. When Noah settled his three daughters in law to raise their children around Mount Ararat, which happens to be the area that is the borderland for Asia and Africa, and Europe. So here is cane the first baby ever born, who becomes the first murder. We have five titles that I want to give you for cane five designations that map out his life choices. His journey, the first is worker. He was a worker. Genesis 4 verse one now Adam knew Eve his wife and she conceived and bore cane and said I have acquired a man from the Lord. Then she bore again, this time his brother Abel.

Now Abel was a keeper of the sheep like Cain was a tiller of the ground that defines their work. So the chapter opens with joy. It opens with optimism.

There is been a fall. There is been a banishment from the garden, but now a woman is pregnant. Eve is pregnant and I'm sure that Adam got all excited, is that Tommy began to grow and he would feel that the movement of that baby, he probably even sets up like you don't need to put on a little weight she wouldn't have cared about that because there were no other women to compare to write to these guys is awesome.

I want pickles and ice cream.

I do know what she's craving. But I can just imagine that the familiar experience.

So baby is born and she names the baby cane which is a word that means to get or to acquire now. I'm guessing that what they meant by this cane or require I've gotten somebody from the Lord is they saw this baby as the fulfillment of a promise made in the previous chapter were God promised that the seed of the woman would bruise the head of the serpent and they probably thought this is that I have gotten. I have acquired this promised seed this deliver. So while they thought they were holding the deliver they were actually holding a murderer, one who would grow up to not be what they thought were not given a lot of detail about the family life were not given a lot of detail about Cain and Abel's upbringing.

There's just Adam and Eve out there raising came. That's all we know little girl went to her mother and said mommy worked in the human race come from the mother said sweetheart there was a man named Adam and a woman named Eve.

They had a child named cane and then Abel and the whole human race came from them while couple days later she decided to ask her father the same question, he said many years ago there were monkeys and we evolved from monkeys, so she's confused. Went back to her mother and said mom I just don't get it. You said God created us. Dad said we evolved from monkeys, which is, and the mother smiled and said it's simple really, sweetheart.

I told you about my side of the family.

Your father was telling you about his side of the family. You can take and use that anywhere you'd like. So they grew up in cane follows in his father's footsteps becomes a farmer's brother becomes a rancher cane is a tiller of the ground. We are told that both occupations were honorable occupations. Both were necessary occupations.

Most people in those days, lived off of a combination of telling the ground for farm and grazing animals as well. So one chose one and one the other. This was their work. This was their occupation. Now I'm highlighting this for this reason some people say were part of the curse that God put on mankind is to have us work work as part of the curse as it is, people who don't like to do their work, so they say it's a curse from God is not a curse from God. It's a blessing from God was a curse was the painful toil that was the result of the curse put upon the earth, but work itself was seen as a blessing God put Adam in the garden Bible says to work the land to work. The Lancet was part of what God originally designed for people to do upon the earth and Cain's work is tied to Cain's worship. We will see, that is his occupation is the basis for his adoration he brings to God what he grows from the ground so he is a worker second is a worshiper.

Verse three and in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the Lord. Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the Lord respected Abel and his offering, but he did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell out. It tells us that in the process of time this happened. If your Bible has a marginal note like mine does, it will give you the literal translation of that which is at the end of days at the end of days. In other words, it's a precise period of time at the end of something, perhaps the end of the agricultural year when a sacrifice by God was in view.

And this isn't necessarily the first time it happened. This could be something they regularly did and it would seem as though God had some means of showing his approval or disapproval of receiving or not receiving accepting and or not accepting the sacrifice. For example, when Elijah is on Mount Carmel in first Kings chapter 18 God called the fire comes down from heaven and consumes sacrifice. It could be something like that. Now here's a question everybody asked why does God say yes to one offering accepting Abel's sacrifice and no to the other, offering not accepting cane sacrifice now.

The easy answer is not really the accurate answer. I don't think is that well. One was an animal. The other was a plant got accepted the animal want of the blood sacrifice. He didn't want to plant.

I think that's a little too simplistic. In fact, it's not really a biblical answer so the biblical answer is this. There's two reasons God did not accept Cain's worship and first of all, it's the quality of the offering, the quality of the offering notice in verse four.

There's a special note that Abel brought up the firstborn of his flock and of their fat so there's a little note there that says here's a guy who, with intentionality wanted to bring the very best to God, the quality, highest quality, all the rabbinical commentators say this shows that he is picking the very best. The first, and thus the very best to the Lord.

He is very careful about Cain was indifferent. There's no mention at all about the quality of his sacrifice. Probably because he didn't care about.

So it's the quality. Second reason is the character of the offeror.

One is the quality of the offering.

Second is the character of the offer were noticed down in verse seven I'm skipping ahead just a bit. God says to cane. If you do well, or if you live right, will you not be accepted.

In other words, you know, if you live right your offering would be acceptable to me. Why would God say that here's the principle God does not see worship apart from the worshiper to God is not like food that such a wonderful sacrifice. He's looking over the person who gives the sacrifice so if you're corrupt, so is your gift know why was cane corrupt.

Here's the answer. He lacked faith he lacked faith that the life transforming faith saving faith that would motivate him to righteous living. I want you to listen to Hebrews chapter 11 verse four to commentary on the section by faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain notice it's by faith through which he Abel was commended as being righteous God commending him by accepting his gifts and through his faith, though he died, he still speaks. I was able so with cane. There was no real faith to produce righteous living. In other words, he was just going through the motions. What this means is if you think you can live any way you want to live Monday through Saturday. You can live as though God didn't exist.

You can live just like the rest of the world dominated by all of the stuff that goes on in the world and think that I can take one hour on Sunday and plop my sacrifice down, and God will say that's awesome. It's not true.

God never looks at the worship, apart from the worshiper, the one and the same Stephen char Naka Puritan author said without the heart is not worship it as a stage playing it is acting apart without being that person really is a hypocrite.

We may truly be said to worship God that we lack perfection. We cannot be said to worship him. If we lack sincerity worship is not about going to the motions raising the hand reading attacks, singing loudly, going to church is not about the motions is about the locomotion it's about being moved forward in obedience to him. So he's a worker he's a worshiper is 1/3 title for him. He's a waiver notice at the end of verse five. Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell that as he frowned.

He had a pouty face. He was hard on his sleeve. You knew he was bummed out the disc and pouted that really bummed out, and so the Lord. Verse six is a cane, why art thou bummed out.

Why are you angry, and why is your countenance fallen if you'd do well, will you not be accepted and if you do not do well is given. The reason why is because sin lies at the door and its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.

The real giveaway that Cain wasn't right with God was his response to God he's mad he's angry he's angry at God.

That's his response to God.

He was mad when he should have been meek. He was angry when he should have been the lowly. The right response would've been God and except that he should just have a Lord I'm stop in my tracks right now. I repent. I want to do it right.

I humble myself before you.

It would've been good, but he got mad. He was mad at God. I meet people as to you who are mad at God. And the reason I know they're mad at God is because they discover all your pastor and they want to vent their anger at God at God's representative so I get it all the time people are mad at God and people are mad at God because God is and see things their way there mad that God doesn't accept people based on just sincerity or based on good behavior there mad about that.

There mad that God is an accept all religions as being equal, all religions being the same. There mad that God would be so narrow and so restrictive as to say it's only through my son Jesus that anyone can get to heaven there mad and he was mad at God, but Cain was also mad at his brother who brought a X and acceptable sacrifice to the Lord, so his true colors are starting to show, and the seed of murder is growing in his heart you know what the seed of murder is right. It's anger. Anger is what produces murder. Jesus said, you have heard that it was said by those of old, you shall not murder, but I Sandy you if you're angry at your brother without a cause you're in line for the judgment. That's where it begins. Cain was a murderer in his heart, long before he was a murderer with his hands and God knows it's God knows the cane is struggling inside he's wavering back and forth.

He is torn between doing right or letting the anger that he has toward God and toward his brother be fully vented by a murderous act. So God knowing this engages him. God is a walk away from God and sat down with you if you're angry with me.

God talks to him. He reasons with them. I love this about God. Isaiah chapter 1, now let us reason together, says the Lord, your sins are as scarlet, all make them white as snow. And did you notice what God said in verse seven. Did you notice that God personifies sin like a beast crouching at his door, ready to pounce on if you do not do well, sin lies at the door and its desire is for you, but you should master or rule over it that Skip message from the series crashing right now want to share about an exciting opportunity to take your knowledge of God's word even deeper personal or small group Bible study is a great way to learn God's word want to learn more deeper covering college offers classes studies classes like the fundamentals of difficult counseling take classes on campus or online transfer credits to Calvary Chapel University Veritas for an accredited degree will impact your spiritual life your life. I know Calvary ABQ college. We went to see more people come into a relationship with the living God. When we come to know him if I never worked where we can take the back cats to connect more people to the Lord for your partnership, and help more people enjoy a relationship with the living God, call 809 six 219 to connect with.com/connect.com/down tune in tomorrow is Skip basic shares about cane sinful live free from that kind of anger presentation of connection communications go through ever-changing time