Sermon Tone Analysis
Overall tone of the sermon
This automated analysis scores the text on the likely presence of emotional, language, and social tones. There are no right or wrong scores; this is just an indication of tones readers or listeners may pick up from the text.
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A tale of brotherly… murder?
An opera of jealousy, rebellion, homicide, and exile?
Yes… that is a quick summation of what we can expect in Genesis 4.
Cain and Abel… two brothers who took on two different trades and who had two different views regarding what it meant to honor God.
We know very little concerning their childhood.
We know they were sons of Adam and Eve and that they came into the world after sin had entered the world.
Adam and Eve were the only people to know what the world looked like without sin.
They were the only two who experienced perfection in the garden… the rest of the world would only know life in sin.
Why is this important to note?
Because we are going to see a display of emotions in Scripture tonight that had not yet been mentioned in the Bible.
What is the first emotion highlighted after sin entered this world?
Shame was emotion number one.
Shame was realized immediately after Adam and Eve sinned.
Genesis 3:7 is where we see it.
They realized they were naked… nakedness referring to shame.
Before sin there was no shame in their nakedness… only innocence.
There existed no immorality, lust, or embarrassment.
What is shame?
Defined, shame is a painful emotion caused by consciousness of guilt, shortcoming, or impropriety
Shame is a powerful emotion that can cause people to feel defective, unacceptable, even damaged beyond repair.
Shame is a discrete, basic emotion, described as a moral or social emotion that drives people to hide or deny their wrongdoings.
Adam and Eve undeniably experienced this emotion first within the now sin reality.
What came next?
What was the second emotion given to us in Scripture in the very next verse?
Fear was emotion number two.
Genesis 3:8 shows us the action behind the emotion, Genesis 3:10 names it directly.
They hid from God because they were afraid.
Fear is an unpleasant emotion caused by being aware of danger : a feeling of being afraid.
What danger were they afraid of?
They had disobeyed God.
They knew the consequence that was coming.
So why all this talk of emotions tonight?
In Genesis 3, we see the emotions that RESULTED from the first recorded sin in Scripture.
In Genesis 4, we are going to see the emotions that would LEAD to the next recorded sin in Scripture.
Emotions… are POWERFUL influencers on our lives!
They help us to put into words… how we FEEL.
We all know what different emotions feel like, and we know what can happen when our feelings take charge of situations.
Emotions are not sinful.
Emotions were given to us by God.
However, emotions can be swayed by sin.
Sin plays on our emotions… on how we feel… in order to influence a person in the wrong way.
Cain and Abel is an interesting story of emotions gone out of control.
And the really interesting thing about this story is… it all starts as the two brothers set out to honor God… to worship the Lord through giving.
The Heart of the Matter
Cain was a farmer, and Abel a shepherd.
Both set out to please the Lord through the giving of an offering… but only one is successful.
WHY?
Scripture makes clear that Abel’s offering came from the firstborn of the flock.
This was NOT the case with Cain’s offering.
What is significant about the first fruits?
Why is this such a big deal to God?
Because you are NOT guaranteed a second or third fruit.
It is an act of faith… it is an act of trust.
Instead of Giving God what is left over, God receives the first, the choice fruits.
God is worthy of such GIVING.
God is worthy of such WORSHIP.
The firstfruits BELONG to the Lord.
This is an act of love and proper stewardship.
Abel HONORED God with the first.
Cain “honored” God with the left overs.
God responded accordingly.
God looked upon Abel’s offering with favor.
God did not look at Cain’s offering with favor.
This response made Cain angry and his very demeanor changed.
Now, I would argue that before there was an offering issue, there existed a heart issue.
Cain’s heart was NOT in the right place.
He gave an offering to God to honor God true enough.
But Cain’s offering was given in the way Cain saw fit… and not in the way God had instructed.
Verse 7 gives some interesting insight.
Look at what God says to Cain in response to Cain’s emotional state.
Consider this… Adam and Eve violated the command of God when they ate fruit from what tree?
The tree of the knowledge of good and evil… RIGHT AND WRONG.
This knowledge had now been obtained through sin.
Cain knew the difference between right and wrong, good and evil, and he chose the latter.
Here’s the deal, church.
God will never look at SIN with FAVOR.
NEVER.
No matter how “good” the excuse might be, sin will NEVER be favorable in the eyes of the Lord!
If we desire for God to look at us with favor, then we must choose to steer away from sin! Cain made a mistake!
Cain’s issue is with God, not with his brother… and God even tries to warn him of what was coming if a heart change didn’t happen immediately!
“Sin is crouching at your door” God said.
Cain was struggling and God was calling out… his heart.
Cain’s heart led him in the wrong direction once… and if left unchecked… it would lead him wrong again.
Cain felt his offering was good enough.
His feelings were misleading.
Now… his feelings were leading him even further from the truth.
He failed to meet God’s standards.
Once again, Cain would take matters into his own hands.
Instead of choosing repentance, Cain would opt for… revenge.
A Heart Unchecked...
Abel had NOTHING to do with Cain’s issue… but Cain, in his fury and jealousy… deceived and murdered his brother.
Then… he lied to God regarding his actions.
Once again, Cain tried to skirt the responsibility of his shortcomings.
But God… would call him out.
God warned Cain the first time but Cain failed to heed the warning.
Now Cain must face the consequence of the sin he committed against his brother.
One sin led to another.
First, Cain sinned against God for not doing what he knew to be right.
Second, Cain sinned against his brother by taking his life.
Both were sins in the eyes of the Lord and both came with consequence.
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