Brotherly Love

Psalm of the Day: Psalm 92

Psalm 92 ESV

A Psalm. A Song for the Sabbath. It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to your name, O Most High; to declare your steadfast love in the morning, and your faithfulness by night, to the music of the lute and the harp, to the melody of the lyre. For you, O Lord, have made me glad by your work; at the works of your hands I sing for joy. How great are your works, O Lord! Your thoughts are very deep! The stupid man cannot know; the fool cannot understand this: that though the wicked sprout like grass and all evildoers flourish, they are doomed to destruction forever; but you, O Lord, are on high forever. For behold, your enemies, O Lord, for behold, your enemies shall perish; all evildoers shall be scattered. But you have exalted my horn like that of the wild ox; you have poured over me fresh oil. My eyes have seen the downfall of my enemies; my ears have heard the doom of my evil assailants. The righteous flourish like the palm tree and grow like a cedar in Lebanon. They are planted in the house of the Lord; they flourish in the courts of our God. They still bear fruit in old age; they are ever full of sap and green, to declare that the Lord is upright; he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.

Scripture Memorization: Genesis 50:19-20

Genesis 50:19–20 ESV

But Joseph said to them, “Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.

Scripture Reading: 1 John 2:7-11 (Micah)

1 John 2:7–11 ESV

Beloved, I am writing you no new commandment, but an old commandment that you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard. At the same time, it is a new commandment that I am writing to you, which is true in him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining. Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.

Sermon:

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Speaker 1

00:00

Well once again, and as always, good morning church. I was glad when they said to me let us go and worship. In the house of the Lord. Well as we, as mentioned already. Service as we’ve already. Prayed for and thought through. We’re all aware of the events that happened in Young’s Park just a couple days ago.

00:26

Now, many pastors. And I don’t say this is a knock to them at all. I think it could be good and right. Many pastors will probably. Change up what they’re doing this morning and preach. To that specific moment in time. Maybe bring words of Hope, hopefully Comforts ideally. But I’m not most pastors.

00:51

As you guys probably know by now. And we’re just going to keep preaching through what we’re preaching, but If I were to stop and preach on? A mass shooting preach on. Young people being willing to. Pull out guns and shoot one another and and hurt and harm innocent bystanders.

01:16

If I were to preach on living in a world where these sorts of things happen? Genesis 4 would be an appropriate. I believe to go. Genesis 4 is sort of. The beginning, in a lot of ways, of what we think of when we think of Genesis when we think of Genesis.

01:38

I think most of us think of the stories. It’s and we saw a little bit right Adam and Eve, but it’s, it’s Noah. It’s Abraham, it’s Joseph. It’s the stories that we hear and read about what has occurred. In Genesis, chapter 4 is the story. Of Cain and Abel.

02:01

We’re all familiar with it, so it’s not a spoiler alert. But. The first son, named of Adam and Eve, becomes the first murderer. In human history, he kills. His brother. This is the outpouring the out working and The Fallout. We could say. Of Adam and Eve sin. When Adam and Eve sinned, they were promised death.

02:27

We’ll come into the world for when you eat of this. You will surely die, and through one man, Adam death has entered the world. And death doesn’t come when we want it to or think it’s appropriate or right or great all the time. Death is a tearing. And a Brokenness.

02:45

And here we will see it in Genesis. Chapter 4 I promised after we made it through chapter three. We’d be taking large chunks. We will read all of Genesis chapter 4 together this morning. Let us read God’s word Genesis 4, starting in verse 1. Now, Adam knew Eve, his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain.

03:10

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.

03:30

And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering. But for Cain in his offering, he had. Regard. So, Kane 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?

03:46

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. Kane spoke to Abel his brother, and when they were in the field, Kane rose up against his brother Abel, and he killed him. Then the Lord said to Cain.

04:05

Where is Abel your brother? He said, I don’t know. Am I My Brother’s Keeper? And the Lord said, what have you done the voice of your brother’s blood is crying out to me from the ground, and now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened up its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand.

04:24

When you work the ground, it shall no longer yield to you with strength. You shall be a fugitive and a Wanderer on the earth. Kane said to the Lord. My punishment is greater than I can bear. Behold, you have driven me today from the ground and from your face, I shall be hidden.

04:40

I shall be a fugitive and a Wander on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me. Then the Lord said to him. Not so. If anyone kills, Kane vengeance shall be taken on him Sevenfold. And the Lord put a mark on Cain, lest any who found him should attack him.

04:58

Then, Kane went away from the presence of the Lord and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden. Kane knew his wife and she conceived and bore Enoch when he had built a city. He called the name of the city after the name of his son, Enoch. To Enoch was born Irad and Irad father’d, mahua jail, and mahua gel fathered mahu shalal.

05:18

Took two wives. The name of the one was Ada and the name of the other Zilla. Ate up or jabel. He was the father of those who dwell in tents and have livestock. His brother’s name was Jubal. He was the father of all those who play the liar and pipe.

05:37

Zilla also bore tubal cane. He was the forger of all instruments of bronze and iron, the sister of tubal Kane, was Nama. Lamek said to his wives. Ada and Zilla hear my voice. You wives of lomic, listen to what I say. I have killed a man for wounding me, a young man for striking me if Cain’s Revenge is Sevenfold, then lomics is 77 full.

06:04

And Adam knew his wife again. Like she bore his son and called his name Seth. For, she said. God has appointed for me another Offspring instead of Abel for Cain killed him. To Seth. Also, a son was born. He called his name enosh. At that time, people began to call upon the name of the Lord.

06:30

These are the words of the Lord for us this morning. Let’s open. With the word of prayer. Dear Lord, we do thank you for your word given to us that we might know you. Ultimately, even that we might know ourselves. Teach us according to your words. Show us all you have said and done.

06:47

Help us to see our sin, your grace and mercy. Your goodness! Our trials and troubles. Help us to see in you all our hope and goodness. As he would speak to our hearts. May your word take roots? May you conform us into the image of your son. For, it’s in his name that we pray.

07:09

Amen.

07:14

Again. As I said, most of us are familiar with the story of Cain and Abel. The the first murder in human history. A story like this? Is quite rightly. Famous. It sticks in our mind and in our hearts. It’s the first murderer. Where a man kills his brother. A man kills his innocent.

07:39

Brother. In fact, if we we really want to read into this? Because of Rage because of jealousy. For a whole host of reasons. It was actually important. We started by diving into those reasons as we read through this story. Here’s my goal this morning. I want us to see and understand how sin works.

08:02

How God works? And ultimately. How the universe as God has ordained. It works all here in the story of Cain and Abel. So, first, the question, how does sin work we have to look at the conflict? If you do any literary analysis, if you study literature and that includes studying the literature of the Bible, one of the things you often do is you look at the narrative and you try to figure out how what’s the flow of the narrative and in general, what you look for is the the way things are Rising action and then a climax, usually in the form of some sort of conflict and then.

08:46

The declining action, and then things are back to normal. That’s the flow of a normal narrative. So, what is the conflict? What’s the rising action that culminates? Ultimately, the climax. Here’s me, the death of Abel. What is the conflict? At play in this narrative. Now, at first, we might look at this story and say, well, the conflict is between Cain and Abel.

09:12

Maybe because Kane did one thing and Abel did another, and because Cain is jealous of Abel and Kane gets, we read it in verse nine angry, and he he rises up the conflict we might say is between Cain and Abel. But I don’t think that’s an adequate assessment of what’s going on and what the conflict is in this story.

09:37

Able? Has no speaking part in this entire story. Abel does something he brings before the Lord, and this is important, right? The the fat portions and the firstborn of his flock Abel brings before the Lord. The good and right things? We should note there has been no command in how to bring offerings.

10:00

There’s been no command. There’s no law. There’s no book of Leviticus that teaches how to bring sacrifices and offerings to the Lord. This is Cain and Abel, bringing their stuff and Abel in his heart. Because we’re reading into this, he knows God is worthy because he owes God, devotion, and Allegiance.

10:20

For whatever reason, Abel brings God the first born of his flock and also their fat portions. He brings God the good and right Parts. Brings the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground. Now, we need to be careful. You can read tons of commentaries. You can read lots of people saying stuff, right?

10:43

If you want a real fun time? You can go to, like, chat, gpt, and type in. Give me an expository outline of Genesis 4. A lot of people say, well, the thing that’s going on here is. Abel brings a sacrifice of Flesh and blood and fat, and Cain brings an offering of fruit.

11:00

And that’s why? If we read into further, there’s ways to bring a grain offering. There’s ways to bring these sorts of things. The Pharisees tithe of mint and Dill and cumin, which they should do. There’s nothing wrong with bringing out a grain offering. There’s definitely an issues of first fruits going on, but ultimately, there’s a heart issue.

11:22

Because the conflict isn’t between Cain and Abel, the conflict in one sense is between Cain. And what he should do and what he owes to God and how he feels about God. Kane brings an offering. God doesn’t accept it. Cain gets angry. So, Kane was very angry of Genesis chapter 4, verse 5, so Cain was very angry.

11:47

In one sense, the conflicts between Cain and God because Cain is not happy that God is not happy with what he brought. Cain’s entitlement, maybe Kane’s desire. Whatever it is, Cain thinks he’s good enough, and right enough came. The one who has begotten the man who has been gotten?

12:10

So, we read in verse one. Brings his offering. And God doesn’t accept it. The conflict? If we want to call it, that is between Kane. And God, but there’s something deeper going on here. Ultimately, what this story teaches us?

12:31

Is that what Adam and Eve did was much worse? Then, maybe Genesis 3, even with the curse. And even with this stuff, maybe it was even worse than we thought it was.

12:43

In the conflict, the conversation in this case between Cain and God. The Lord says to King. Why are you angry and why is your face falling? Here’s the way conflicts go with God. God wins all the time. There’s no use in fighting against him. God comes and says, like it is, why are you angry?

13:03

What are you doing? Why is your face fall? If you do well, will you not be accepted? Do better Kane?

13:11

And if you do not do well? Sin is crouching. At your door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.

13:26

This language of ruling over it should. Tickle something in our brain. To the woman God said, Genesis 3, 16. I will surely multiply your pain and childbearing in pain. You shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be contrary to your husband. But he shall rule over you. There’s an authority issue here.

13:48

In Adam and Eve. Well, the conflict holding between Cain. The convoluting this story is ultimately McCain and his sin. And his sin, ultimately. Will rule over King. It ruled over Kane as he did not bring God the good parts as he did not do well. That’s the language we read in this text.

14:10

And his sin will rule over Cain as it causes him to kill his brother. Genesis is using the language of rule over. The New Testament. We use a language of we are slaves. To. God comes to Cain and says, here’s your issue. Sin is trying to rule over you.

14:31

It is contrary to you, but you have to. You have to fight this sin game. And instead, Kane is ruled over by his sin, the conflict, the heart of this conflict is Cain and his sin. And so, as we read this story, this is tragic. This is heartbreaking. We think Cain is this worst person ever.

14:53

He is, guess what? So are we? There’s not a person alive who is not in this same conflict as Cain. And apart from Christ just to cut to the chase. In all of this, apart from Christ, no one can find victory over sin. You are slave to sin you are dead in your sin and trespasses.

15:18

You are no one is righteous. No, not one, no one seeks God. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. All of us. Arcane. Because this conflict still rages. Sin is at the heart. It is the great enemy of mankind, sin, and death. These are the great enemies of mankind, and God comes to Cain, he says, Cain.

15:44

Do well. If you do not do well, sin will seek to destroy you. It will rule over you, and when sin rules over you. Tragedy, heartbreak, Brokenness, come. This is all a result of sin.

16:04

And Kane.

16:09

Verse 8, here’s the end of the conflict. Cain spoke to Abel his brother, and when they were in the field, Kane rose up against his brother Abel and killed him.

16:21

Killed his brother Abel. Able? An innocent bystander in Cain’s battle against sin.

16:34

There was a big emotional time in my life. Maybe one of the more difficult times in my life and honestly in my marriage? When I realized? That my sin? Harms everyone around.

16:54

And sometimes it will duh. No Olson, my sin. Harms all the people around. It leaves behind it. A trail of Brokenness and death, sometimes literal death, as in the story of Cain and Abel, sometimes figurative and spiritual and emotional death, deaths of relationships, deaths of friendships, death, death of.

17:19

Trust, death, death, death, sin, leaves behind it, a wake of death, the end result of the conflict between sin and man is death. If you don’t believe me. Look to the cross. The solution to the conflict? Was death? Sin brings death. The consequence of sin is death. The conflict of man and sin ends in death.

17:47

That’s the. The Narrative. Okay, enable.

17:55

So the conflict Rises. And it culminates in Cain losing the conflict if you will to sin and killing his innocent brother. So, then God comes and gives a curse. As we went through Genesis 3, we noticed that that nowhere is man cursed. The snake is cursed. The ground is cursed, but man is not cursed.

18:19

Man will deal with the effects of the Fall, but man himself is not cursed until now. Cain loses his battle to sin, and Cain himself is cursed. By God. God comes to Cain and says, where’s Abel your brother notice? There’s, there’s mirrors. Here we go back. What happened after Adam and Eve sin?

18:40

God came and asked, hey. Where are you guys look Genesis 3, 9? The Lord God called him and said, where are you? God knows. This is God’s question to drive to the heart of man. God comes to Cain. So same question, slightly different. Where is Abel your brother? Not where are you, but where’s Abel, your brother?

19:03

Adam and Eve? At least they answer like? Slightly. Truthfully, I mean, what they say is in fact true. We heard you. We were afraid because we were naked, so we hid ourselves. Now, they’re telling on themselves. They shouldn’t have known all of that. They were supposed to be innocent, but.

19:26

We. Hey, where’s your brother? I don’t know, he’s not my responsibility. The famous line. Am I my brother’s keeper?

19:39

The Lord said, what have you done the voice of your brother’s blood is crying out to me from the ground?

19:49

Well, we need to understand. Sin leaves behind it, a wake of death and pain, and that wake of death and pain cries out the ground. Cries out, Paul will say in the New Testament, the creation groans under the weight of sin and anticipation for God to do what he will do. There’s no escaping this. And so when God comes and says, where’s your brother? I don’t know, I’m not my brother’s keeper. Yes, you are. The ground you killed him. I know you killed him. You should have fessed up. The ground itself is crying out as it has drunk up your brother’s blood.

20:30

There’s no hiding this sin. The this is the original Telltale Heart. The blood of Abel is crying out from the ground. And now, verse 11, 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 should no longer yield to you to give it strength. You shall be a fugitive and a wander on the earth. Here’s the curse came. It was going to be hard in Blood, Sweat, and Tears. You were going to work the ground. You sin. Now it’s Blood, Sweat, and Tears, and you’re gonna get nothing for it.

21:04

Not only is work hard now, works futile. Not only is work difficult and painful now, it’s also fruitless. You’ll till the ground and there’ll be a drought and you’ll get nothing. Your work, your tail off, and have nothing to show for it. Deal with it King.

21:27

Kane says, the Lord, this is, I can’t handle this. This punishment is too great. I sort of Envisioned in my mind’s eye, saying that phrase that many of us parents have said from time to time to our kids. Well, you should have thought about that. Hopefully, as parents, we haven’t said you should have thought about that before you killed your brother. But before you did this, actually, you should have thought about the consequences.

21:55

And Kane is now filled with fear and Terror. There’s this whole thing about Kane, the market, King God, doing all this stuff. It’s interesting, I don’t want to get into it today. This is what I want to get into. Because Kane has murder in his heart. He assumes everyone around him will have murder in their heart. Sin causes death. Physical, real death, but emotional and relational death. And once Cain is engaged in this sin, he just assumes the worst in everyone else. And things get worse, and things get worse. And note that God, even to Cain.

22:37

It Grace grouped! This week I tried to draw out that in all of God’s judgment, there’s Grace. There’s always Grace. God gives Grace even to Cain. God is showing Grace. With this whole Mark. Okay, I won’t let people kill you. It’s gonna be hard.

22:55

I’ll protect your life.

23:00

The curse is for difficulty and pain, and for Kane to wander to Bear this Mark as a constant reminder to him hopefully of his sin. But also as a mark of God’s grace. Even in the curse, there is God’s grace. God’s grace abounds even in the darkest, most painful, most difficult times of man. God is still gracious. And so here’s your tie to what’s going on today when things feel difficult, and when things feel painful. And when we mourn, and when it feels like there’s no sense and no goodness. And when all these things happen and we look at the world and it’s broken, and we get mad. And we get upset, and we get hurt. God’s grace is still there.

23:41

Trust in his good grace.

23:45

In verse 17, Cain then knows his wife the same way. Adam knew his wife. And we read of the line of Cain.

23:58

But there’s something important going on here that we don’t have time to dive all the way into, but we can’t miss. This is. The seeds.

24:10

Which seats I didn’t read. Many seeds, the seeds Kane was supposed to no.

24:17

This is what we call seed theology. It traces back to Genesis 3, 15. I will put enmity between you and the woman. If you to read this in the Hebrew, this is what it would say. Between your seed. And her seed. Between the descendants of the serpent. And between the descendants of the woman. And this is ultimately I believe how we should read the story of Canaan 8. Is this a story about the Brokenness of sin in Cain’s life? Yes, is this a story about the death of Abel? Yes, is this a story about how sin causes death a thousand percent? Is this a story about how God has cursed Cain? Yes.

25:01

But ultimately this is a story about the two seeds, the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent. And here in the first story. The seed of the serpent. Has bruised the heel. Of the seed of the woman. Able? How do we know that Kane is the seed of the serpent well? We have this long list of names and canes doing something, but but I want to note this. Kane has a son, and then Kane builds a city and names it after his son. Why would Cain do this because to build a city?

25:42

And to name it after your son means your son is now trying to. You are gaining for your son, some form of immortality. Because. The city will carry on his name even after as the sun dies. This is why we name. If your constantine you rename Istanbul Constantinople, you want it to carry on. Your name. Is why, if you’re Caesar. You start renaming, you have caesarea Philippine named after Caesars Philip. Like you, you name these things after you trying to.

26:19

Immortality in some sense. In your own way.

26:26

We continue on. There’s more Sanzy Osborne, Irad. I read more of this, and then we get to this character. There’s almost as much. In fact, in some sense, there’s more. About lomic. Then there is about Abel. Lonic definitely has more words than Abel, but what doeslamic do? Well, if Kane was the first sinner to kill? Lomic is our first recorded. No, we don’t know, but our first recorded. Lustful person who will break the Covenant of marriage. He has two wives. This man’s claim to fame. Is having twice as many wives as he should.

27:11

And his sinful heart is exposed. In boastful arrogance, lomic says to his wives. So it’s already wrong, right? He shouldn’t be able to say to his wives that should not be a word that exists in his language, but he says, Aidanzilla, hear my voice. You wives of lomic, listen to what I say. I have killed a man for wounding me and a young man for striking. If Cain’s revenge is Sevenfold, then lomics is 77 full.

27:47

Was it Cain’s Revenge who put the mark on King?

27:53

And the Lord put a mark on Cain, lest any who found him should attack him. Who put the mark on King God did?

28:04

Was Cain’s Revenge Sevenfold, or was God’s Revenge Sevenfold? It was Gods. Lavac is claiming one is boasting in his throwing off of God’s covenant of marriage, one man, and one woman he’s boasting in his Vengeance. A young man struck me, so I killed him. So, the same murder that was in Cain, his great, great grandfather’s heart, is in Islamic’s heart, and he is boasting that he has more Vengeance and strength and power than God. This is the seed of the serpent. And notice it brings death. It brings a breaking of God’s covenant. It brings a focus on.

28:46

On frail human Pleasures. You have the men who dwell in tents. You have Jubal, the father of all those who play the liar and pipe. You have two volcane, the forger of instruments of bronze and iron. Mankind’s boasting in Mankind’s accomplishments, culminating in law. That’s the seed of the serpent. And the seat of the woman was that if that was able, were were cooked. Because he’s dead. The ground has swallowed up his blood. And Adam knew his wife again, verse 25, and she bore a son and called his name Seth. For, she said. God has appointed for me another Offspring instead of Abel for Cain killed him.

29:33

To Seth. Also, a son was born. He called his name enosh. Maybe the most important line in all of Genesis chapter 4 is the last verse. And at that time. People. Began to call upon the name. Of the Lord.

30:01

The seed of the serpent. Delta crushing blow to the seat of the woman. Abel’s dead. But the seed of the woman continues. And we know it’s the seed of the woman, because here’s the car. Here’s the contrast to the seed of Cain. It’s, it’s sinful desires. It’s man in his own power. It’s death, death, and more death. It’s a throwing off of the good things of God and taking on for yourself. All of the sinful desires of your heart. It’s a throwing off of God’s good order and taking on of whatever you want.

30:43

But of the seed of the woman.

30:48

When the seed of the woman comes at that time. People begin to call upon the name of the Lord.

30:59

There’s still hope.

31:03

This first part of Genesis, I’m telling you right now, is going to feel rather hopeless. Next week. Get used to hearing the phrase and he died because we’re going to read it a lot. And then, immediately after we hear and he died, and he died, and he died, and he died, and he died, we’ll get to Noah. I guess what’s going to happen in Noah? Everyone’s gonna die. And then we’re going to get to. The Tower of Babel and man’s going to rebel and God’s going to confound the hearts. It’s gonna get dark. It’s going to get difficult.

31:43

In times. Of difficulty and darkness. Sometimes our hope is faint. I’m not here to tell you it’s going to be great and awesome all the time I’m here to tell you in times of difficult and darkness. Sometimes, what we hold on to is a faint hope. Here is your faint hope. It’s the last line of one of the darkest chapters in all of scripture. Cain has killed his brother. He’s cursed, he’s wandering. His sons are all sinful.

32:11

But there was born to Adam Seth. And at the time of the birth of Seth’s on Enoch. People begin to call upon the name of the Lord. There is still hope. May we? Call upon the name of the Lord. To find Our Hope. Let’s pray.