A Heart Problem

How’d We Get Here?

I am directionally challenged. I’ve shared pletny of stories about gettig lost.

I have to put extra effort into paying attention to how I got someplace so I can do the opposite to get homw.

Jim has a great little feature on his GPS in his Yamaha side-by-side.

I will remember, and show him how he got where he is, the route, the turns, everything. Then, click a button, and it turns him around and leads him back.

I need that. Until I get that, I have my wife.

And, if I’ve been there before, there’s no guarantee I’ll be able to find my way back again.

I’ve been to Antelope Park enough times that I can do that pretty easily. But there aren’t many turns.

Coming back from Shnebly Hill Rd is a different story. I’ve done it prlenty of times. But there are a few turns that aren’t well marked. That’s when I got the Rough Riders lost for a couple of hours in the forest.

We made it back okay. We did some sight seeing along the way.

If we don’t understand how we got where we are, we will never figure out how to get back.

If we don’t know how we got here, we will never figure out how to get out of here.

How did we get here? As a society?

Uvalde, Buffalo, Philadelphia, Chicago, Tulsa

Tulsa was a knife attack.

A mass shooting is defined as 4 or more victims.

There have been 247 mass shootings this year alone.

A few of them got more media attention than others.

Then there Columbine, Sandy Hook, and Parkland. The concert in Las Vegas.

The 2 oldest school shootings I can remember were in AR.

Do you remember Westside Middle School in rural Arkansas in 1988. 5 were killed by a student.

Or, an 11 and 13-year old in Jonesboror, Arkansas killed 4 students and a teacher. Wounded 10 others in 1998.

The 11-yr-old asked to be excused from class and met the 13-yr old about 100 yards away from the gym and shot their classmates as they moved from one class to the other.

How’d we get here?

If we don’t know how we got here we’ll never figure out how to get out of hear.

The course for how we got here was set in Genesis 3 and 4. The only way to get out of here is a change of heart.

That’s because murder is, first of all, a heart problem. There’s a gun problem, a knife problem, a rock problem, and other problems that are involved.

But, if we don’t fix the heart problem, none of the other fixes will work.

And we can’t fix the heart problem. Only God can.

We put ourselves in a position to get our hearts fixed, then God does the work.

If we do what we can, and God does what He can, we will fix this problem.

We’ve got to go back to the very beginning, to when the course was charted, to know how to get back.

We looked at Genesis 3 last week. Today, Genesis 4 when the first murder occured.

How’d we get there, that led to here?

2 Sons

Genesis 4:1–7 NIV

Adam made love to his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. She said, “With the help of the Lord I have brought forth a man.” Later she gave birth to his brother Abel. Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil. In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord. And Abel also brought an offering—fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast. Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”

1st Child. 1st son. Cain. The oldest.

Typical, he would follow in his dad’s line of work. He’s the gardener. They are no longer in Eden, but there is a garden to tend.

Food. Vital to their existence. Important job. Vegetarians.

2nd Child. 2nd son. Abel. He’s the shepherd.

Still and important job. Adam was given dominion over the animals. He was to care for them.

Sheep aren’t the sharpest tacks or brightest bulbs. Famously, some have said, sheep are stupid.

God did not mince words when he chose to call us sheep and Jesus our Shepherd.

Sheep need leadership. 23rd Psalm. He makes me lie down in green pastures and leads me by still waters.

Sheep will eat the grass in a pasture down to the roots and kill the grass so it won’t grow back. The shepherd must lead them to a new green pasture before they kill all the grass in the old one.

Sheep won’t drink moving water. They need still water. They are fearful of moving water. A shepherd will dig a little trench so moving water can flow off to the side and be still.

He would shear them for clothing.

A couple of things are not said, but are implied.

First, they worshiped God. He was not their equal. Worship means, worth-ship. We communicate and demonstrate God’s value to us by how we worship.

Humbly, respectfully, as He commands us to.

Or, on our own terms as we see fit, when and how it’s convenient.

Second, there is no mention of God giving them instructions about a sacrificial system of worship. We know He gave that to Moses. Sac this animal or this grain for this purpose.

Obviously God had instructed them as they come with sacrifice for God as an act of worship.

Each one brought an offering from their work.

The offering was to be their first and best. No moldy corn or sickly lamb.

Communicating, God is worth our best. He gets what’s first, not what’s leftover at the end.

And, we trust Him to meet our needs if we’re giving Him so much. It will cost us. It supposed t/b a sacrifice. It’s not supposed to come out of a surplus.

This hurts a little. It did.

Abel brought an animal sacrifice, including the fat portions. That means he had to kill the lamb. So, sac death became part of worship from the earliest days.

Abels’ was a sincere gesture of faith in God and an expression of his worth to him.

Cain brought produce. It was an adequate amount. There was nothing wrong w/ the offering.

But, Cain’s was rejected. Why?

B/C Cain was going thru the motions. His heart was not in it.

King Saul, the first king of Israel in the OT learned this the hard way, too. He was told to kill all the livestock of the Amalekites. He didn’t kill any of them.

When confronted, he said he brought them back to sac to the Lord. Samuel the prophet told Him, God doesn’t want your worship and sacrifice, He wants your heart.

Is your heart in your worship today?

Cain was angry w/ God. He messed up. He should have been angry at himself. But, he blamed God, and his brother.

Mr. goody goody, sets too good of an example be compared to.

Ironically, God says if he does not do what is right, sin is crouching at the door.

Interesting choice of words. People hadn’t killed ppl yet. Animals didn’t eat ppl. Who crouches at the door for him to understand the figure of speech?

Cain, figuratively, was crouching at Abel’s door.

God knew and foreshadowed Cain’s actions. As he lured his brother out into the field do you think he had a flashback to these words?

This is the first time the word ‘sin’ in used.

God gave him the opportunity to come clean. He confronted him. Get your heart changed now. You can make it right.

Grace. He didn’t deserve it. The offer was genuine even though God knew what he was about to do.

We can’t change our own hearts. Only God can do that. And he will only do it if we humbly cry out for it.

Believe in His name. Have faith in who He is and what He can do.

Ezekiel 36:26 NIV

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.

God would have given him a new heart. His heart would have been in his worship after that.

God would have lifted him up, elevated him out of his downcast state.

Rather than do what he needed to do to elevate himself, he decided to bring his brother down lower than him.

That’s what a heart problem will lead to. rather than joining those who are uplifted, they tear everyone down to their level and below.

This is where Cain was then. It’s a lot like where we are now.

The 1st Murder

Genesis 4:8–16 NIV

Now Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.” While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him. Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” “I don’t know,” he replied. “Am I my brother’s keeper?” The Lord said, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground. Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth.” Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is more than I can bear. Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence; I will be a restless wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.” But the Lord said to him, “Not so; anyone who kills Cain will suffer vengeance seven times over.” Then the Lord put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him. So Cain went out from the Lord’s presence and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden.

Do you think the rest of the family talked about rock-control after this? Assuming he hit him w/ one. Or, he could have strangled him. What would you control int that case?

Abel’s murder was a win for Satan. He’s lost the war. But there are battles along the way he can win. He resents that God created such a vulnerable race and has tried to destroy us from the time he duped Eve.

Enmity between the offspring.

So, where’s your brother?

Not my day to watch him. Disrespectful and insulting.

Both knew what had happened. Cain may as well own it.

He was a gardener. The land was already cursed. Now he’s doubly cursed. It would be even harder for him to produce food for himself and his family.

God said He’d be an aimless wonderer. Probably looking for better farmland that would produce. And, to avoid the rejection from all the family that knew what he did to his brother.

Person non grata. He would not have been welcome anywhere.

He complained. Not Fair! Just like Eve.He downplayed the severity of his actions and overplayed the punishment.

Too severe.

Just like with the trees in the garden, God was generous w/ the option to eat from all but one.

God was merciful that He allowed Cain to live.

He would be protected by God so no one could kill him.

We don’t know what the mark was. But everyone recognized it.

God would also have used his miserable life as an example to everyone else to motivate them to obedience.

Cain defied God again. He stopped wondering and settled in Nod. Interestingly, the Hebrew word ‘Nod” means restless or aimless wonderer.

Cain’s family was a mess.

Both of my sets of g-parents died from cardio-vascular issues. Heart attacks and strokes.

My mom had asthma and COPD. Lifestyle choices killed my dad.

I manage my high blood pressure with exercise. That’s my family history.

Cain passed his heart problems on to his descendants, too.

Hereditary

Genesis 4:17–24 NIV

Cain made love to his wife, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Enoch. Cain was then building a city, and he named it after his son Enoch. To Enoch was born Irad, and Irad was the father of Mehujael, and Mehujael was the father of Methushael, and Methushael was the father of Lamech. Lamech married two women, one named Adah and the other Zillah. Adah gave birth to Jabal; he was the father of those who live in tents and raise livestock. His brother’s name was Jubal; he was the father of all who play stringed instruments and pipes. Zillah also had a son, Tubal-Cain, who forged all kinds of tools out of bronze and iron. Tubal-Cain’s sister was Naamah. Lamech said to his wives, “Adah and Zillah, listen to me; wives of Lamech, hear my words. I have killed a man for wounding me, a young man for injuring me. If Cain is avenged seven times, then Lamech seventy-seven times.”

Popular Question: Who was Cain’s wife?

the obvious answer is she was either a sister or niece.

incest? The genetics were still pretty pure. Would have been for Noah’s grandchildren, too.

They were instructed to populate the earth. That had no other options than close relatives.

European monarch over the centuries polluted the genetics and as they repeatedly tried to keep it in the family.

Genetic deformities are a problem today.

If the navigation system in an airplane has them a half degree off course, then they will fly pretty close to the course for a while. But, before too long, they will be way off course.

Cain’s son Lamech is the first record of polygamy. There should have been plenty of options w/out taking 2.

God’s intent was only 1.

Son Jabal, invented tents. If you’re a fan of Survivor you know the importance of protection from the elements.

And, tents move easily. For nomads, restless wanderers, shepherds, and such; they can take their homes with them as they move their livestock from grassy pasture to pasture.

Son Jubal invented instruments. You can thank him for our electric guitars and keyboards.

Tubal-Can invented the process for making tools out of raw minerals.

Several generations developed sophisticated tech and intelligence.

My great grandfather was born in the late 1800s. From him, thru my g-father, my father, me and my sons; think about how many inventions have dramatically changed our lives.

Planes, trains, automobiles, phones, computers, cameras, indoor plumbing!

Cains descendants were as smart then as we are now. They learned and made their lives easier, too.

Then, Lamech, the polygamist. He killed 2 ppl. In his arrogance he believed that if someone killed him God would avenge his death 10x more than he would Cain’s.

A violent and vile man.

As the door closed on the lineage of Cain and Able in hopes of a line that would worship God well, another door opened for Adam and Eve.

They had another son, Seth, who’s family worshiped and prayed and live the life of faithful obedience.

A Ray of Hope

Genesis 4:25–26 NIV

Adam made love to his wife again, and she gave birth to a son and named him Seth, saying, “God has granted me another child in place of Abel, since Cain killed him.” Seth also had a son, and he named him Enosh. At that time people began to call on the name of the Lord.

How many kids did Adam and Eve have? Don’t know.

Tradition says 50 or 60. They had Seth at 130 years old. A lot of kids could be had in 130 years.

Seth was not the 3rd son. We don’t know where he was in the order of children. But he was definitely not the oldest.

Seth’s line that leads to Noah. Noah’s son Shem leads to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah, and eventually Jesus.

Planned from creation, the beginning of time, Jesus came to be long after the first heart problem showed itself.

Do we need more gun laws? Maybe.

Age limits? Maybe. But so long ago in AR, an 11-yr-old and 13-yr-old committed a horrible crime.

Gun violence is a problem. But a knife was used in the hospital in Tulsa.

There are certainly things we can do, laws we can add to the books that will help. But, w/out dealing with root of the problem, we can’t solve it.

If you’re trying to kill a weed you have to get the root. If you don’t, the weed comes back.

If we don’t know how we got here, we’ll never be able to get out of hear.We can keep trying, keep going, keep turning, keep enacting laws, but we’ll end up right back where were were to begin w/.

Our only hope is the hope Seth brought to the family.

Call on the name of the Lord, all His names. Believe in the name of the Lord, receive Him by faith.

The more of us in our society who do this, the better our society will be.

The closer we are to God the less chaos we have in ou rlives.

Applications

Offerings

Your offering is much more than the money you give. But the money you give is about the easiest way to determine where your heart is.

There are more verses and parables about money than any other topic. Where your treasure is, that’s where your heart is.

I don’t talk much about money. This church is healthy, financially. This is not a fund-raiser app. This more about your spiritual health than the financial health of MPCC.

Is your heart in it? Do you resent putting money in the basket as you leave?

Do you give a sacrificial amount from the first of the month or do you give out of what was leftover at the end?

Do you give from your primary budgeting income? Or do you give from the extra stuff that comes in?

Your offering should be your first and best check. It should not be out of obligation, but a pleasure to express your love for God.

Is your heart in your offering?

Seth?

Are you a Seth?

Sometimes God chooses the least likely. Cain was the oldest and the most likely. Except for that whole heart problem

Abel would have been his second choice. But he ended up the first resident of heaven.

Seth. If you think you are the least likely to do what you feel God may be calling you to do, then you might be the perfect choice.

God chooses ppl who can’t on their own. But we can when we call on Him to do it thru us.

You can do what God is calling you to do.

Death

Punishment for guilt is the foundation of our belief system. And death is the only thing that atones for it.

We must face the reality that we mess up. Jesus didn’t just die for “sins”. He died for your sins. And each of us must accept what He did for us to fix our heart problem.

No one gets to heaven b/c of their parents’ faith, or their wife’s faith.

A death was necessary to get us heaven and only Jesus’s gets the job done.

How’d we get here?

If we don’t know how we got here we’ll never figure out how to get out of hear.

The course for how we got here was set in Genesis 3 and 4. The only way to get out of here is a change of heart.

That’s because murder is, first of all, a heart problem. There’s a gun problem, a knife problem, a rock problem, and other problems that are involved.

But, if we don’t fix the heart problem, none of the other fixes will work.

And we can’t fix the heart problem. Only God can.

We put ourselves in a position to get our hearts fixed, then God does the work.

If we do what we can, and God does what He can, we will fix this problem.