Sin Crouches at the Door

Introduction

Well, good morning!…I hope you’re ready to dig into God’s Word.

But listen, before we do that, I hope you’ve been practicing our mission verse…working to put in on your hearts…because I believe until we understand why we’re doing what we’re doing, to become a church without walls…we’ll never really be able to do that until we know biblically why we’re doing that. And so listen, if you’re ready…I’ll get us started…you finish us up. Matthew 28, verses 19 & 20:

Matthew 28:19–20 (ESV)

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

[Prayer]

Alright if you have your Bibles and I hope that you do, open ‘em up with me to Genesis chapter four…Genesis chapter four. If you remember, we’ve been talking about the accounts surrounding the fall of man. Adam and Eve, they were created by God, given everything they could’ve possibly of wanted or needed…they were tempted and deceived by the serpent in the garden. They began to distrust the Word of God…the goodness of God’s Word. They eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil…but if you remember, the real sin, it started in the heart of the man when Adam gave his wife the role of the man and listened to the voice of his wife. That’s when real rebellion started. It was the start of this downward spiral that we’re gonna see continue this morning.

And listen, when they fell into sin…immediately they felt the real guilt and shame of that sin…and it caused them to hide from the very presence of God. Adam said because he realized he was naked, and because he heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the midst of the garden, he hid. And of course through that, we really saw the grace of God…He sought them out, He confronted their sin, He comforted them in their sin…even promising to send Himself to crush their enemy and to take on their punishment.

And then last week, we saw the immediate consequences of their sin…for the woman, there would now be pain in childbearing (which was the source of her joy) and she would desire the role of the man…and for the man, there would now be pain in his work of the ground (his source of joy) and he would now experience death. But listen, through all of that…Adam demonstrated his faith in God’s promise to send a Savior, by naming Eve the mother of all living. (And listen, as we go through these next several chapters, all these names, their meanings…they’re super important). But then after that, we saw God cloth them…God provided a covering for their nakedness…ultimately pointing to the spiritual covering Jesus would provide man at the cross for their sin…which leads us straight into chapter four this morning.

Listen, when we think about chapter four, most of the time we think about Cain and Abel. But when we keep things in context, it’s still a story about Adam and Eve…which is why by the time we get to the end of the chapter, we see even though sin’s prevailed…it’s still a story of hope. Listen, if we only focus on Cain and Abel’s story, we completely miss the main point of chapter four. We have to remember, this chapter, it flows seamlessly out of the story of Adam and Eve’s punishment…and while we’re not quite sure how it fits in the timeline of the garden…whether Cain and Abel were with them…whether they were their first children or if they came after the fall. Right? We just don’t know those things…we still have to recognize how Moses compiled these factual, historical stories together. And he chose to put this story on the heels of Adam and Eve’s exile from the garden.

Listen, we have to remember what God promised in chapter three…the hope He gave them…that’s what the entirety of chapter three hinged on…it was the fact that God would allow the woman to bring about the seed, a Savior, that would ultimately crush the head of their enemy. Chapter four, it’s a do-over story. It’s a second chance for mankind. That’s why we’ll see it start with Adam and Eve knowing each other (having sexual relations with each other) and conceiving Cain whose name means, “I have created a man with the Lord.” Which is interesting because it’s almost as if, Adam and Eve thought this boy they made together was gonna be this seed, this promised Savior that God was talking about. But listen, what they would find out very quickly was that the pain that God promised that now exists in childbearing…it wasn’t just in the physical elements of childbearing…but in the emotional one’s as well. Their rebellion, it impacted those they cared most about. And what we see is that sin stems from within…and how we live our lives, it impacts those that come after us for generations to come. Unchecked sin from within…it leads to destruction when we fail to confront it and turn from it…and not just for us.

Listen, I saw another pastor use this illustration and I thought it was just perfect for our passage this morning. Several years ago in California, there were these farmers threatened with a potential disaster…the Mediterranean fruit fly crisis. Listen, most likely these flies, they probably entered the state with someone who lied about not having any kind of fruit when they crossed into the border. And then a larva probably hatched and multiplied…which if you know anything about them, they do pretty quickly. And these larvae, listen, they don’t eat their way into the fruit from the outside…they lay the eggs in the blossom and the fruit grows around it…and some time later, the worm, it hatches inside the fruit and it begins to eat it’s way out.

Guys, as we’ll see this passage this morning, that’s exactly how sin works. It begins in the human heart, and if it goes unchecked, it works its way out through our thoughts, and then our words, and eventually our deeds until just as the worm becomes a fly…our sin takes a quick turn and becomes our destruction. Listen, that’s exactly what happens in the story of Cain and Abel. Because of the sin of his parents, Cain was impacted by their sin and that sin, which was left unchecked, ate it’s way out until it manifested itself into Cain’s downfall.

And so listen, if you’re there with me, let’s stand together as we read, starting in verse one. It says this:

Genesis 4:1–15 (ESV)

Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, “I have gotten a man with the help of the Lord.” And again, she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground. In the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground, and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell. The Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.”

Cain spoke to Abel his brother. And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him. Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” He said, “I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?” And the Lord said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground. And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. When you work the ground, it shall no longer yield to you its strength. You shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth.” Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is greater than I can bear. Behold, you have driven me today away from the ground, and from your face I shall be hidden. I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.” Then the Lord said to him, “Not so! If anyone kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold.” And the Lord put a mark on Cain, lest any who found him should attack him.

Thank you, you can be seated.

Listen, there’s four things I want you to get from our text this morning. First, sin’s desire is for you. Second, sin’s power will overtake you. Number three, sin’s purpose is to expose you. And then finally, sin’s aim is to destroy you.

And so, if you’re ready let’s dive into the text.

I. Sin’s Desire is for You (vv. 1-7)

Listen, there’s a ton to cover here…but as we go through this text, it’s important to understand that Adam and Eve’s decision to rebel, it impacted the rest of humanity. Since the time of the fall, every person born’s been impacted by sin. And so, when Cain and Abel are born, there’s this inward sin, this wickedness that exists within them. Listen, we don’t teach our kids how to sin, they’re just programmed to sin. Right? I didn’t teach Eli to not wanna share his toys or to hit his brother and his sister. He was just born with a sinful heart. And this is part of that pain in childbearing and in raising kids…its knowing that they will be overcome by sin if it goes unchecked and unredeemed. And because of that, they’ll experience terrible things because of their sin.

And so, just as the text shows…Adam and Eve, they have two children, Cain and Abel. Both of ‘em work in agriculture. One’s a shepherd, the other tills the ground. And what we see is that both of ‘em knew God…they walked with God, they talked with God…which really demonstrates the grace of God here…but we see each of ‘em bring God an offering from their jobs. The text says that, Abel, he brings God the firstfruits of his flock…while Cain brings God some fruit of the ground. And of course the text says that God’s pleased with Abel’s offering but rejects Cain’s…it says He has no regard for Cain’s offering.

And listen, this makes Cain angry…he gets jealous…and while we don’t necessarily know much about the actual offerings here…we do know that Moses categorizes Abel’s as the firstfruits and he doesn’t do that with Cain’s here…and so, we can only assume that the reason Cain’s offering’s rejected here is because it wasn’t from his firstfruits…he kind of gives God his leftovers. Abel gives the best he literally can to God and he keeps the rest for himself… while Cain gives the second-rate fruit and he keeps the best for himself.

And listen, there’s a side lesson here…it’s very possible for us as believers to worship God with the wrong heart. Abel gave God his best, while Cain knew God and still gave Him his leftovers. We have the same ability to approach God in the same way. Listen, when we sing or when we serve or when we give…God deserves the very best from us. He deserves the firstfruits…and listen, what we give Him and what we choose to give Him, it really defines the condition of our heart and what we really care about.

But anyways, Cain, he becomes angry with God…God approaches Cain in his anger…and listen, you kind of see the similarities here with how God dealt with Adam and Eve in the garden…He approaches him and He says, “Why are you angry?” He says, “If you did well, then you’d be accepted…and if don’t…well, then…sin, it crouches at the door.”

Listen, this verse, verse 6 and 7, it’s a big deal…God’s identifying sin as a noun here…He’s giving us this metaphor of it being like an animal waiting to pounce on someone. He says, “Sin’s desire is for you, Cain.” But He goes on and He says, “Cain, you have to master it. You have to control your temptations. I see your heart and it’s angry…and if you’re not careful, that temptation, its gonna turn into your destruction.”

And listen, what we see here, it’s that sin, it lurks on the inside of a person…it’s waiting to overcome us…it’s waiting to pounce on us, looking for the right opportunity to take us down. And just like with Adam, the sin, it didn’t start at the fruit, it started in his heart when he gave his leadership responsibilities over to the woman. When he failed to master the sin brewing in his heart, it overcame him, right?

But what God’s saying to Cain here, “Be careful, boy…remember, just like I told your parents…just like they experienced…sin’s desire’s for you! It’s looking to take you down. And so, you need to learn to master those temptations you’re feeling, or it’s gonna lead you down a bad road.”

And listen, for us, it’s the same. Paul tells us to take off our old cloths, put on our new cloths…rely on the Spirit of God so that we can master our temptations…and listen, we do that because we know the seriousness of sin…we understand that there’s a real spiritual battle waging around us and that the enemy’s ultimate goal, its for us. Sin’s desire is for you. And we have to remember that even as believers, we’re no greater or different than anyone else…on our own, in our flesh, we’re depravited…we’re wicked…we’re selfish…and we know that sin wishes to take us down…and so, hopefully it causes us to be on guard, to setup guard rails…to protect ourselves from the enemy because we know that given the right situations, we will be overtaken by sin.

And so, practically speaking, how do we do that?…KNOT groups…meeting with other like minded believers, digging into God’s Word, helping each other stay grounded in our walk with Christ, that’s what the church is for. We hold each other accountable…all with the purposes of protecting each other from the sin that desires us.

Listen, for myself, its a big reason why I have the deacons looking into the idea of lay elders in our church…to protect me from sin…to protect me from going astray or teaching my own opinions, right?

We have to understand that sin’s desire, its for us…and that on our own, it will overcome us…which leads us into the second point. Sin’s power will overtake you if it goes unchecked.

II. Sin’s Power will Overtake You (v. 8)

And it doesn’t matter how godly you are. David was a man after God’s own heart and yet he still was overtaken by sin, right? The moment you think there’s no way you’d do something like that, it’s the moment sin’s won. And that’s exactly why God’s warning Cain here. He said, “Be careful, Cain…sin’s crouching at the door…it’s desire’s for you!”

And look at what happens in verse 8…Cain talks to his brother, Abel…they go into the field…which most likely, Cain’s using some kind of false pretense to get his brother into the field, right? His anger’s brewing here…and look at what the end of verse 8 says, “And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him.”

Well, that took a big turn, right? That’s exactly why Jesus said if you’re angry at someone, you’ve already committed murder in your heart. “Sin’s desire is for you, Cain! And when you don’t master it, it’s gonna overtake you. It’s gonna get you to do things you never thought possible…things you never thought you were capable of.”

Guys, we just learned in chapter two that life, it was given by God. The breath of life, it was given to man by God Himself. The taking of life is something that God only has the right to take. It’s a responsibility that belongs to God and it’s one of the biggest sins a man can commit. God values life over all things. It’s why He goes through such great lengths to redeem us from the eternal death we’ve brought on. And honestly, I don’t think Cain intended to take Abel’s life from the beginning, sin just overpowered him…and before he knew it, he was heading down a road of no return.

Guys, I know most of us have never murdered anyone…but listen to me, when we fail to recognize the inner condition of our hearts…when we fail to identify the sin in our lives and when we fail to master it, it will overtake us…and before we know it…we’re heading down a road very much like Cain’s. We’re left wondering how we got here…how we made those decisions…why we did the things we did…and it leaves us broken and hurt. Guys, sin’s desire is for you…and it has the power to overtake you if you don’t start dealing with it in your lives.

With Cain, don’t think for a second he’s just the villain of the story. If we’re not careful, we all identify with Abel and this godly picture that’s given here…but the reality is, we’re all more like Cain. We have to remember…Cain knew God, he walked with God, he talked with God. Cain’s problem was that he didn’t give God his best and he didn’t deal with his sin.

If we’re honest with ourselves…that’s the exact representation of our lives today…we don’t give God our best, we give Him our leftovers…and we don’t deal with our sin. And guys, I’m standing here today telling you, “Be careful…sin’s desire is for you…and if you don’t learn to master it and deal with it and confront it and repent from it…it’s gonna overtake you”

III. Sin’s Purpose is to Expose You (vv. 9-10)

And the reason for that, it’s because sin’s purpose is to expose you. That’s the third point. Look at verse 9 and 10 with me again. It says, “9 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” He said, “I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?” 10 And the Lord said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground.”

Just as He was with Adam and Eve, God’s immediately on the scene. He even asks Cain a similar question, right? “Where is your brother?” But listen, the difference here is that Cain doesn’t tell the truth. Adam, when he was approached in the garden, he at least owned up to what he had done…he just blamed it on the woman and then on God. But listen, Cain here, he just outright lies…”I don’t know…am I my brother’s keeper?”

Listen, because Cain didn’t master his sin…because he didn’t deal with it, it hardened his heart. And now, when God’s referencing his dead brother, his response, it really reveals a heart in its depravity. Wit for Cain, it became his refuge. He was trying to outsmart God and to out think God. But this is the reason Paul says in Romans chapter one:

Romans 1:28–29 (ESV)

And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness.

Listen, sin’ll tell us that we can hide our guilt and our shame…it’ll tell us to cover things up, just like Adam and Eve did. It’ll tell us that we can outsmart God and get away with whatever it is we’ve done…but listen, it tells us that because ultimately it wants to expose us. It wants to reveal to God that we’re rebellious because that’s how Satan think’s he’s winning. Sin will expose you if you don’t deal with it. And when we continue to allow the power of sin to consume us, God’ll turn us over to a debased mind…allowing us to experience whatever consequence we deserve.

That’s why after God graciously sought him out…giving him an opportunity to own up to it, to repent…He gets straight to the point: “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground.”

God knew exactly what Cain had done. It says Abel’s blood had cried out to him. Even though Abel’s body had been covered up by the earth…buried in the field, his blood screamed out to God…to it’s Creator.

Von Rad wrote, “According to the Old Testament view, blood and life belong to God alone; wherever a man commits murder he attacks God’s very own right of possession. To destroy life goes far beyond man’s proper sphere. Spilled blood cannot be shoveled underground; it cries aloud to heaven and complains directly to the Lord of life.”

And listen, that’s what sin does to us…it gets us to do things that go beyond our sphere…it gets us to do things that attack God…and it’s purpose, its to expose us.

No matter what you do, you can’t hide your sin. And as hard as you try…and as long as you go…eventually your sin, it’s gonna be exposed…partly because it wants to expose you…but mainly because God’s all knowing.

I mean, think about Jesus’s ministry for a second…on multiple occasions, He demonstrated that He knew the condition of man’s heart. The woman at the well…He knew her sin. The Pharisees that were there when He healed the paralytic man…He knew what they were thinking. Guys, we can try everything in our power to conceal our sin, but Jesus already knows it, and the reality is it wants to be known so that it can take you down a path of destruction.

And so, again…you have to learn to master it.

IV. Sin’s Aim is to Destroy You (vv. 11-15)

Because ultimately if you don’t, it’ll destroy you. That’s the last point. Sin’s aim is to destroy you.

Look at the last several verses with me again. Verse 11, it says, “11 And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. 12 When you work the ground, it shall no longer yield to you its strength. You shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth.”

Listen, this is pretty interesting because it’s the very first time in Scripture that man’s cursed in some way. He shares this with the serpent now. And this earth that he had worked, it’s now become his ultimate enemy…not is it just painful to labor it, but now he’s cursed from it…all because he watered it with his brother’s blood. And not only that, but his decision, it impacted all of his family relationships as well…they were broken. He was forced to wander over his enemy all the days of his life. His life was in ruins…it was devastated…destroyed.

And listen, Cain realized that. He realized his life was destroyed. Look at what he says…verse 13:

“13 Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is greater than I can bear. 14 Behold, you have driven me today away from the ground, and from your face I shall be hidden. I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.”

Listen, Cain falls to pieces…he realizes he’s gonna be separated from the presence of God. He says, “Your face, it’s gonna be hidden from me.” His joy’s gonna be robbed. He says, “He’s driven from the ground.” But listen, notice this…let me show you just how far Cain had fallen into sin at this point…look at just how far sin had taken him and destroyed him. Cain wasn’t a bit concerned about his brother…how it might’ve impacted his parents…he didn’t address how he had sinned against God. He was still only concerned with how his consequences impacted only him. He was selfish…he was concerned about himself.

And guys, I’m gonna be honest…when sin’s gotten a hold of us and when we have no choice but to confront our sin because it’s been exposed…most the time, we address it in ways that only seeks to restore the positive things for us. We’re not seeking out those we’ve hurt…we’re not really looking to repent from our sin against God…we don’t actually care about growing spiritually. Guys, most of the time…we only care about recovering what we’ve lost selfishly. And what that does is allow our sin to dominate our flesh and ultimately lead us to destruction. Guys, that’s what sin does…that’s why God’s so against it…it’s why He cares so much about purging it from our life. It’s why He gives us so many chances to deal with it and to master it because He knows it’s desire is for us and that it’ll lead to our destruction. He doesn’t want that to happen…He doesn’t want it to destroy us and so He does everything in His power, without removing our freewill, to wake us up.

Look at how God responds to Cain’s continued rebellion. Verse 15:

15 Then the Lord said to him, “Not so! If anyone kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold.” And the Lord put a mark on Cain, lest any who found him should attack him.”

Listen, in one of the darkest moments in Genesis, we see this picture of astounding grace. Pay attention to this…the Lord didn’t abandon Cain when Cain arrogantly brought Him his leftover offering…or when God saw Cain’s anger brewing inside of him…God didn’t turn away from him. That’s grace. In fact, God did the complete opposite of what Cain deserved…He engaged him in a fatherly manner…He probed him with questions. God didn’t leave him exposed to Satan…and then He exhorted Cain to withstand the temptation…again, that’s grace! And then after the murder of his brother, the Lord (knowing he was guilty) He listened to Cain’s unrepentant, self-pitying responses. And then listen, finally, at the end of the story, God places a sign on Cain that protected him for the remainder of his natural life. Guys, that’s the grace of God. And listen, the point of all of that…it was to lead to Cain’s repentance! That sign was less about others and more about constantly reminding Cain about what he had done…it was about leading Cain to repentance.

And so, why’s that so important? Because ultimately God still loved Cain…and ultimately God still desired Cain.

Closing

Would you bow your head and close your eyes with me?

Guys, as we close this morning…you have to recognize that whether you’re a believer or not…you’re Cain in this story! And no matter how far it seemed Cain had gotten from God, God’s grace was still so much greater! He was never beyond God’s grace. Now we don’t know if Cain ever repented…it doesn’t seem like he did…it looks like he allowed his sin to dominate him for the rest of his life…but guys the moral of the story, it’s that sin’s power in our lives is real…and it desires to overtake us…and when we fail to constantly turn and repent, we allow it to control us just like it did with Cain. And guys, it leads us down a path of destruction.

And one of the ways to determine if that’s you this morning…whether or not you’re allowing sin to dominate you…it’s how you approach God with your offering. Do you give God the firstfruits of your time…of your giftings…of your resources…or like Cain, do you give God all the leftovers. Maybe you come to church when it’s convenient…maybe you you serve when you have nothing else to do…maybe you give after you’ve paid all your bills and taken care of all your pleasures. Guys, we’re like Cain.

But here’s the beauty of this story this morning…no matter where you’re at…God’s grace is even greater…but you have to turn to Him…you have to repent and seek Him. Don’t allow sin to keep dominating your life…because if you continue, it’ll destroy you.

The Bible says we’re all sinful and that the penalty of sin is death. But through Jesus…who came and lived a perfect life…who died on a cross to take on your punishment from sin…through Jesus, we can experience this astounding grace…through Jesus and His Spirit, we have the ability to turn and to repent…we have the ability to be freed from the power of sin. And guys this is true of believers and unbelievers alike. We have to constantly find our freedom in Christ and Christ alone.

And so, listen, Wendy’s gonna play…I want you to take the next several minutes and just evaluate where you’re at with God…and guys, I want you to turn to Him…to deal with your sin. Maybe that means you need to get up and come to the altar and just lay it all at the feet of Jesus this morning…or maybe you just need to finally give your life to Him today…listen, I’m here if you need me. You wanna be saved…you want me to pray with you…whatever it is, I’m here.

And so, you respond…and you allow God’s Spirit to work.

[Prayer]