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[0:00] As much as we are from the land of Canada, we came back from the land of Nepal just recently.! Just to crown my royal priest of this.

[0:12] ! This is what they wear. Okay, just to start off, we want to do a trivia question.

[0:24] To win this beautiful scarf we have here. Oh, we also want to ask you guys, as you look at some of the pictures that are kind of cropped.

[0:34] But as you look at some of these pictures, we ask you kindly not to take any photos of these pictures as it's sensitive information. But the trivia question to win this beautiful scarf, these two scarves.

[0:48] First question is, so anyone can raise their hand to answer, what is the capital of Nepal? Kathmandu. Kathmandu. Is this Mr. Liu?

[0:58] Oh, okay. Here you go, Zhao. Congratulations. And then second question, do you want to ask? What is the largest religion in Nepal?

[1:10] Hinduism. Hinduism. Give it up for Flo and Zhao. Okay, we want to see you wearing that forever.

[1:24] And so yeah, last week, Jojo and I, we were in Nepal with an organization called Faith Comes by Hearing. And so this is a Bible.

[1:35] This is a Bible I bought in 2013. It's the first Bible I really read seriously. It's a Bible I read when I was doubting Christianity, not sure about whether the things that happened in Genesis were true.

[1:50] It was a Bible I read when the Spirit opened my eyes and I fell in love with Scripture and memorized Scripture. I cried over this Bible, laughed over this Bible. This is also a Bible.

[2:00] This is a Bible in the, this one is Eastern Magar language. This one, this is only the New Testament. It was just translated last year, finished translation 2025.

[2:13] There's 7,000 copies of this. But also what we want to share is, this is also a Bible. This is an audio Bible. And the organization Faith Comes by Hearing, a lot of the people groups now that don't have Bibles in their language, that don't have access to Scripture, a good number of them are literate.

[2:37] They can't read. Or even if they can read, that's not how they really, they're oral cultures. That's not how they prefer to receive information. They might, it might hit their heads, but not their hearts.

[2:48] And so Faith Comes by Hearing, the mission is to record audio Bibles, distribute them in every language so that every people group can get the Word of God. The name comes from Romans 10.

[2:59] Faith comes by hearing and hearing through the Word of Christ. How are they to call on Him? Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. How then are they to call on Him in whom they've not believed? How are they to believe in Him of whom they've never heard?

[3:12] How are they to hear without someone preaching? And then Faith Comes by Hearing, hearing through the Word of Christ. So that's really the mission. If people can't read, like if I give them this Bible, but you can't read, what good is it?

[3:25] Or some of you, you guys, we know there's oral learners, there's auditory learners, right? Visual learners. Some people like to read. Some people prefer to listen.

[3:36] So if you're having a hard time reading the Bible, just because you don't like reading, yeah, you can try listening. Listening to the Word. That's what people have been doing for thousands of years. And also, it's no good giving people the Word of God if you can't understand it.

[3:54] It's not a language you can understand. How many people here are fluent in Hebrew and Greek? Any hands? None of us. So that's why we need to translate the Word.

[4:07] And so now Faith Comes by Hearing is also translating Scripture. They've recorded 2,000-something languages. I think over 2,600 languages. There's another over 2,000 that need translation and recording.

[4:21] So now we're doing the task of translating Scripture. So that just as, yeah, we have so many English Bibles, everyone will have access to Scripture in their heart language. I just want to share some testimonies of the power of these audio Bibles.

[4:36] One is actually about this monk over here. Not this specific monk, but there is a monk who started a monastery.

[4:47] And then he saw a pastor who had one of these proclaimer devices, and he was just playing it, playing the audio Bible. And he asked if he can borrow it because he thought it was a radio.

[4:59] So he borrowed it, and he actually took it. And then he returned six months later, and he said, I know Jesus. And then he closed down the monastery, and now he's wanting to turn it into a church building.

[5:16] So we can pray for that. The village people are really upset because they worshipped at the monastery, but now they might turn it into a church. So please pray for them.

[5:27] But this just shows the power of the gospel, power of the audio Bible. So another one, you might want to brace your heart a little bit, a little bit of a different story, interesting story.

[5:40] But there's a woman who moved from a small village into the city of Kathmandu to work. And then she met a taxi driver, fell in love with him, got married. And then she discovered he actually has another wife.

[5:54] And so one time, one day after, she was calling her husband and just wanting to see where he is, and he wouldn't answer the phone. So she went to his house and knocked on the door.

[6:08] It wouldn't open, so she just kind of pried it open, kind of broke in. And then she found her husband dead on the floor. And the police arrived just in time to arrest her.

[6:21] And then she got thrown into jail at the age of 17 years old, which is kind of insane that maybe people who were sharing the story with us is that very likely the ex-wife maybe framed her.

[6:37] So she spent many years in jail, and her health was deteriorating. And then she even wanted to commit suicide at her lowest point in life. However, she ended up hearing a voice in jail.

[6:51] So she initially thought it was witchcraft, but actually it was this. It was the audio Bible. And so as she was listening to this audio Bible that someone was playing around her, she ended up becoming a Christian at her lowest point in life.

[7:09] And so she was convicted at the age of 17, but because she became a Christian, and then there's Christians that advocated for her and realized, actually, this little girl was convicted, or this woman now was convicted younger than the legal age.

[7:26] And so they actually fought for her, and then she was released at 26 years old. And then now she's a woman's leader in her church. So this is just the power of the gospel.

[7:37] Even sharing today with my small group girls the story of Joseph being thrown in jail, but this was not all the doing of the brothers. It was not the doing of the ex-wife.

[7:49] God actually has a sovereignty over her life, and powerful testimony because of the word of God. Thanks. And so, yeah, I just invite you to be praying for the ministry.

[8:00] There's other ways of supporting too financially. But, yeah, the work is not finished. We were going through Acts as a church. We have to go make disciples of all nations.

[8:12] That's the Great Commission, Matthew 28. And, yeah, I think in going to Nepal, Jojo and I are seeing that glimpse of Acts 29. The church is still going out and being bold to share the word of God.

[8:25] And we are part of that. It's not just others. We are the church entrusted with this mission. We are custodians of the good news. So thank you, Jojo. Thank you. And, yeah, so aside from Nepal, also two years ago, or in, what, 2024, 2023, I also went to West Papua, also with Faith Comes By Hearing.

[8:47] And there I kept hearing this phrase. So they got the audio Bibles, the New Testament, I think, in 2021. And you can see that community just really transformed, really loving the word of God.

[9:02] But there was this phrase I kept hearing them say. They kept saying, from Matthew to Revelation. From Matthew to Revelation, we can see God's faithfulness.

[9:13] From Matthew to Revelation, we've been transformed listening to God's word. And that stood out to me, that phrase. Because when we talk about the Bible, when we talk about God's word, we say from Genesis to Revelation.

[9:29] The whole Bible from Genesis to Revelation is God's word. And that's when it hit me. They only have the New Testament, too. They don't have Genesis. They don't have this backstory. Everything leading up, building up to Christ.

[9:41] And so on this trip and the trip to West Papua, we were celebrating that people have access to God's word in the New Testament. But that was a reminder to me that the work isn't finished. They need the whole counsel of God.

[9:53] But for us, we have that privilege. We have this privilege. We have the privilege of being able to start from Genesis, the first book of the Bible. And we're in the middle of preaching through the book of Genesis.

[10:05] We read how in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. And it was good. And there was peace and order and wholeness. And God created us, mankind, special, made in his image.

[10:18] And we were made for relationship with one another and with God. With creation, also. And last week, we saw the fall. We heard about the fall of man. When Adam and Eve, they disobeyed God.

[10:29] They ate from the fruit of the tree of knowledge and good and evil, which God told them not to eat from. And that's where everything fell apart. We'll continue this week in Genesis 4.

[10:40] Cain and Abel. Story of Cain and Abel. These are the first children. The firstborn of Eve, who is the mother of all living. These are the first brothers. And we will read together to see what happens in Genesis 4.

[10:53] Or in fact, rather than reading together, I invite us all to listen. We're going to ask Josh to play the audio Bible, which is recorded by Faith Comes By Hearing. Let's all stand together as we listen to the word of God together.

[11:05] And just to note, it is a dramaticized version, so don't be surprised when Eve starts talking. Okay? Genesis 4. Now Adam knew Eve, his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, I have gotten a man with the help of the Lord.

[11:25] 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.

[11:41] 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.

[11:56] So Cain was very angry, and his face fell. The Lord said to Cain, Why are you angry? And why has your face fallen?

[12:07] 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 for you, but you must rule over it.

[12:21] 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?

[12:38] 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.

[12:51] 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.

[13:04] You shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth. Cain said to the Lord, My punishment is greater than I can bear.

[13:16] 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.

[13:28] 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.

[13:45] Then Cain went away from the presence of the Lord, and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden. Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch.

[13:57] Cain knew his wife, and she was born. When he built a city, he called the name of the city after the name of his son, Enoch. To Enoch was born Irad, and Irad fathered Mahujael, and Mahujael fathered Methushael, and Methushael fathered Lamech.

[14:17] And Lamech took two wives. The name of the one was Ada, and the name of the other, Zillah. Ada bore Jabal. He was the father of those who dwell in tents and have livestock.

[14:31] His brother's name was Jubal. He was the father of all those who play the lyre and pipe. Zillah also bore Tubal-Cain. He was the forger of all instruments of bronze and iron.

[14:46] The sister of Tubal-Cain was Naamah. Lamech said to his wives, Ada and Zillah, hear my voice. You wives of Lamech, listen to what I say.

[14:59] I have killed a man for wounding me, a young man for striking me. If Cain's revenge is sevenfold, then Lamech's is seventy-sevenfold.

[15:09] And Adam knew his wife again, 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.

[15:27] To Seth also a son was born, and he called his name Enosh. At that time, people began to call upon the name of the Lord. So last week in Genesis 3, we focused on this topic of sin.

[15:42] The tragedy of sin. That Adam and Eve, they doubted God's goodness. They had everything they wanted in the Garden of Eden. They could eat of every tree except for one. They doubted God's word.

[15:54] They wanted to take control, sit in the driver's seat, and so they took that fruit that God told them not to eat. They ate it, and everything fell apart because of that. And we learned that at the heart of sin is a mistrust of God.

[16:10] Sin is a mistrust of God and of his word. And through sin comes guilt, shame, pain, suffering, death. Adam and Eve, they're cursed.

[16:21] They're cast out from the presence of God and from the Garden of Eden, from paradise. That is the curse of sin. Now, today in Genesis 4, we're going to stay here. We're going to stay on the topic of sin because Genesis 4 is Genesis 3 continued, but just worse.

[16:40] Genesis 4 is Genesis 3 plus 1. Genesis 3 is the fall. Genesis 4 is the fallen falling even further. It's the same sin but worse.

[16:51] The same mistrust but worse. The same curse but worse. That's what we see in Genesis 4. Sin, one bite, leads to sin, leads to sin, leads to more sin.

[17:02] Sin gets worse and worse and worse. Sin will kill you. And today we're presented with the same choice that the Lord gave Cain in verse 7 here.

[17:13] Sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, and you must rule over it. In other words, as John Owen said, be killing sin or sin will be killing you.

[17:25] Kill sin or sin will kill you. And now today as we celebrate Mother's Day, we see in verse 1, the first mother. Adam makes Eve a mother. Adam knew Eve, his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, I have gotten a man with the help of the Lord.

[17:40] And again she bore his brother Abel. Eve is the first mother. She gives birth to Cain and Abel, the first brothers. And these brothers, they hold the first worship service. In verse 3, we see the first explicit act of worship in the Bible.

[17:56] It says this, 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 of their fat portions. Their offering to God, the fruit of the ground, their flock.

[18:10] And yeah, this is the first explicit act of worship in the Bible. Now, the shocking thing about this is that this first act of worship leads to one brother killing another.

[18:24] The first worship service ends with the first murder. Cain and Abel, each, they bring an offering to the Lord. Cain was a farmer. He worked the ground.

[18:35] Abel was a shepherd. Cain brought his crop. He brought the fruit that he grew. And Abel brought his animals. But what does God think of it? We read in verse 4.

[18:47] 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 was pleased with Abel's worship, but rejected Cain's.

[19:00] Why is that? Look at what Abel offered. Abel brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. That's in verse 4. In other words, Abel gave God his first and his best.

[19:16] In giving the firstborn, Abel had faith that God would continue to provide more. In giving the fat portions, Abel gave to God the best that he had. And if you like to eat meat, you know that Abel gave God his best.

[19:29] The fat is the tastiest part. If I'm eating a burger, I want a juicy burger. I don't want 100% lean ground beef. If I eat hot pot, give me some beef with marbling.

[19:40] I want some fat mixed in there. That's the good stuff. There's a reason why A5 Wagyu is so expensive. It's because the whole thing, the whole cow is just fat on four legs. So Abel gave God the fat portions.

[19:52] He gave God his best. Cain, on the other hand, what does Cain offer? He offered the Lord something. Something. He gave God just something. Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground.

[20:06] That's all it says. The Bible is silent about what Cain offered. But this silence is pretty loud. Imagine a manager writes two performance reviews. Abel is amazing, super hardworking.

[20:18] Everyone loves him, 10 out of 10 guy. And then there's Cain. What should we say about Cain? It's great that he showed up to work, I guess. If that's the case, we can read between the lines on what that means.

[20:31] Abel gave God his best. Cain just gave God the rest, his leftovers. Abel gave the cream of his crop. But Cain just gave his crop. So God was pleased with Abel, but rejected Cain.

[20:45] And from this, we can see a bit about sin. We can see the source of sin. The root of sin, the seed that germinates and bears fruit and kills you.

[20:58] The seed of sin is faulty worship. Defective worship. We read last week, sin stems from a mistrust of God. And that's true.

[21:08] Sin stems from a mistrust of God. But why does God punish sin? Why does God punish sin? Why is there a curse for sin? In the fellowship, we just read, we're going through Romans now after we finish Genesis.

[21:20] We read Romans 1, which tells us this truth, that God has wrath for sin. The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness of men.

[21:32] God is love. And that love for his glory requires wrath. When Cain gave God his leftovers, it is an insult to God.

[21:43] It is defective worship. A mistrust of God is faulty worship. It is valuing God, treasuring God as less than he is. King of all, creator of all, giver of every good thing.

[21:57] You see, Adam and Eve valued what the serpent said. They trusted, they loved, they valued, treasured what the serpent said more than what God said. They loved what they saw with their eyes, that the fruit was good to eat.

[22:12] They loved that more than they loved the promise of God. Mistrusting God is also misworshiping, mistreasuring, misvaluing God.

[22:24] And today is Mother's Day. Imagine for the last month, you've been spoiling yourself. You've been eating out, getting nice meals with your friends. Or maybe you just bought a new iPhone because people keep hating on your Android phone.

[22:37] Imagine that. But then you wake up, you come today for worship this morning and you realize, oh no, it's Mother's Day. You totally forgot about your lunch plans with your mom.

[22:49] And also you forgot to buy her a gift. Well, good thing you guys have a brand new EFCC Conflict water bottle that you can give your mom. The Lord provides. But if not, maybe you're just going to rush over to Minnesota and grab like a plushie or whatever the first thing you see.

[23:06] Now, like God, most moms are very gracious. God is also very gracious. You know, your mom, she's probably still going to smile and just be happy that you showed up and showed some care.

[23:16] And God also, he knows our hearts. He shows us grace when we fall short. But also there's a big difference between God and our moms. When you buy your mom a gift, it's something, you know, it may make you feel good.

[23:27] It's something that you do for your mom, right? But when you offer to God our best worship, when we love and treasure God above everything else, that is actually also the best thing that we can do for ourselves.

[23:42] Worshiping God is the best thing that we can do for ourselves. You see, God doesn't demand our first and our best because he's insecure. He needs our stuff. He needs anything.

[23:52] It all belongs to him anyways. He's the one who created it all in the beginning. He demands our best because he is king. He is Lord. And he knows exactly how he wired and created us.

[24:04] You and I were created, as C.S. Lewis said, with a God-shaped hole in our hearts. We were made to worship. We are made to be satisfied in God alone.

[24:14] And we are only truly satisfied when we are worshiping him with our first and our best. And now this is more clear as we read on in verse 5, where it says, For Cain and his offering he had no regard.

[24:25] So God had no regard for Cain and his offering. So Cain was very angry and his face fell. Cain was very angry. God rejected Cain's offering and Cain got angry.

[24:38] Now notice this. We listened to this. Cain, he later kills Abel. But who is Cain angry at here in verse 5?

[24:49] It says, Cain was very angry. Verse 5 doesn't say. It doesn't say who Cain's angry at. But it seems like Cain is angry at God. He's angry at God for being rejected by God.

[25:03] He's angry that God judged and disapproved of his defective worship. He thought, I gave God my offering. I gave my offering. And God, so you owe me a blessing.

[25:13] You owe me something. Why did you not accept this half-hearted offering? Cain was angry. And he ended up killing Abel. But really, Cain killed the wrong person.

[25:25] Cain killed the wrong person. Cain should have killed God. That's what he wanted to do. He was angry because God didn't validate his defective worship.

[25:37] That's who he wanted to kill. You see, there's this contradiction in Cain's heart. That is, which is sad to see. On one hand, Cain craves acceptance from God.

[25:52] He wants to be accepted by God. But on the other hand, he's angry with God and pushes him away. He mistrusts God. He doesn't worship God.

[26:03] There's this contradiction within him. He wants God. He doesn't want God. He's hot and he's cold. He's yes and he's no. And it's the same for us also.

[26:14] We were made to know God and enjoy him. As Augustine said, our hearts are restless until we find our rest in him. Without God, we have emptiness, restlessness, dissatisfaction, just like Cain.

[26:28] But at the same time, we also sin. We devalue God. We mistrust God. We misvalue God. Alienate God and drive ourselves further and further away from him.

[26:43] The one that we need most. Think again of the big idols of Hong Kong. We talk about this all the time. Career, money, grades. We trust that if we get good grades, get into good university, find a good job, make good money, we'll be comfortable, fulfilled, happy.

[27:00] That's the lie we believe. That's what we believe. That we need money more than we need God. That grades and jobs will make us happy more than God. We mistrust God and misvalue God that way.

[27:11] And as we worship these idols, do you notice maybe that we find ourselves also more distant and distant from God? It's a busy season studying for IBs and APs.

[27:25] I'm too busy for church and for time with God. But at the same time, that leaves us more anxious and anxious, more worried about our grades, more worried about our future, more worried about our finances.

[27:38] Do you notice that? We live the same contradiction as with Cain. On the one hand, needing God, craving God. But on the other hand, ridiculing God by worshiping other things, worshiping idols.

[27:52] And these things always leave us empty and broken because they weren't meant to bear the full weight of all our expectations. They weren't made for us to worship them. We were made to worship and trust God alone.

[28:04] And so the point is, sin is mistrust, but more than that, a misvaluing of God, mistreasuring, misworship of God. It is defective worship.

[28:15] Cain killed the wrong person. Cain killed Abel. He should have killed God. Cain killed the wrong person. He also killed the wrong thing. Cain killed Abel when he should have killed his sin.

[28:29] He should have killed his sin. We saw the source of sin. And now we're faced with this choice, the choice of sin. Let's read from verse 6.

[28:39] 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.

[28:50] Its desire is for you and you must rule over it. This is God's warning to Cain. You're in danger. You're on a cliff's edge.

[29:01] You are so close to disaster. Kill sin or sin will kill you. That warning is for us also. We also have a choice.

[29:14] Sin is crouching at the door. The image here is of this, of an animal, a wild animal, maybe even a snake, creeping, hiding, waiting at the door of our hearts.

[29:28] Waiting to jump in and attack us. Waiting for any crack, any small opening to just rush into the door and attack us.

[29:41] And when we read, Its desire is for you and you must rule over it. This sounds similar to what we read last week in chapter 3, verse 16. What God says to the woman. Your desire shall be for your husband and he shall rule over you.

[29:56] One study Bible says that this means that sin wishes to be as intimate with humanity as a woman is with her husband. Sin is waiting for us as soon as we so much as crack open the door one centimeter.

[30:11] It's waiting to pounce on us and kill us. That's the warning to us. Don't think you can manage your sin. Sin isn't this little puppy that you can care for and domesticate.

[30:21] It's a wild animal waiting to kill you. Don't think you can control sin. Kill sin or sin will kill you. Because sin leads to sin, leads to sin, leads to more sin.

[30:32] It's a slippery slope. Sin always gets worse and worse and worse. There's no such thing as a manageable level of sin or an acceptable amount of sin. Take, for example, in 2 Samuel chapter 11, David and Bathsheba.

[30:48] David was king of Israel. And this whole thing, it started off so small, so simple. King David was on his roof enjoying his rooftop garden or whatever it is.

[31:00] And he looks out at his kingdom and he sees a woman bathing over there. And I'm sure at first he just glances and then looks away embarrassed.

[31:12] Because, you know, after all, he's a good guy. He's a man after God's own heart. He's a godly man. But sin is crouching at the door. And there's this thought.

[31:24] What's her IG? Let me look again. I'm in control. Let me scroll a little bit more. I'll click one link further.

[31:36] It's okay. I can manage this. And so, David takes Uriah's wife. She's a married woman. And then sleeps with her and gets her pregnant.

[31:48] She's a married woman. Imagine the scandal if people found out. But David thinks once again. It's okay. I can manage this. I'll just lie and cover it up.

[32:00] And so, he hatches this plan. David hatches a plan. Why not just get Uriah back with his wife and just pretend that this whole thing is Uriah's child all along. No one's going to know. No one will know.

[32:11] At work, the numbers don't line up. That's okay. If we're in a hole, we'll keep digging. We'll cover it up more. And that's what David does. But Uriah doesn't bite. He doesn't fall for it. Because he's a good guy.

[32:22] He's a soldier in David's army. He's loyal. And so, David thinks, well, I'm king. I can do whatever I want. I can just kill Uriah and then marry his wife.

[32:35] Then so what if she's pregnant? Everything's fine. It's okay. I can manage this. And it's the perfect plan. No one would know. He'd get away with it.

[32:46] He would have gotten away with it. Except for one problem. One problem that he completely overlooked this whole time. One problem standing against him. And unfortunately, that problem has a name.

[32:59] That problem is called the Lord. The Lord God Almighty. The righteous one. The Lord of angel armies. And when the Lord is your problem, you've really got a problem.

[33:14] Because the Lord sees your sin and he will bring justice. He will make it right. Do you see what happened? Sin is crouching at the door. For one glance leads to one night, leads to one lie, leads to one murder, leads to God's judgment upon David, which leads his one son dead, another son raping his daughter, and David fleeing for his life from his other son Absalom.

[33:37] All from one glance. One look. It's not okay. You can't control sin. We can't manage it. You can't manage your sin. Kill sin or sin will kill you.

[33:50] And that's the choice offered to us. It's the choice offered to Cain. And Cain made the wrong choice. He should have killed sin. But instead, he kills his brother.

[34:00] And notice this. We'll read a bit from verse 8. Cain spoke to Abel, his brother. And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him.

[34:12] Then the Lord said to Cain, where is Abel, your brother? Cain said, I do not know. Am I my brother's keeper? The Lord said, what have you done? The voice of your brother's blood is crying to me from the ground.

[34:25] And now you're cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand. Brother, brother, brother, brother, brother, brother, brother. Your brother's blood cries out against you, Cain.

[34:38] Sin leads to sin leads to more sin. That's what we see in Genesis 4. It's 3 plus 1. Genesis 3, but worse. And Adam and Eve, they start off thinking, what's the harm in a quick snack?

[34:49] A piece of fruit never killed anyone. But look how quickly one bite becomes her first son killing her second son. One brother killing your other brother.

[35:03] That's not how we want to celebrate Mother's Day. The serpent tempted Eve and talked her into sin. Now look here. No one tempted Cain.

[35:14] This thought, it came from his own heart. And he sinned. He continued with it even when God tried to talk him out of it. No one talked him into it. He sinned even when God tried to talk him out of it.

[35:28] Also, Adam felt shame after he ate and covered up. Adam confessed and admitted to his sin. Even if he did try to deflect the blame, he admitted it.

[35:40] That he did eat. But Cain, he lies. He's totally unremorseful. We see in verse 9, God asks him, where is your brother? And Cain replies, I don't know.

[35:52] I do not know. What happened? Did he forget which hole he buried him in? And Cain even gives God attitude. He says, am I my brother's keeper? Do I have an air tag on him?

[36:04] Let me check my find my. Okay. He's all snark. No repentance. And Cain, he goes for it. He even complains about his punishment. He complains in verse 13.

[36:15] My punishment is greater than I can bear. Whoever finds me will kill me. The sheer audacity of this guy. Look at him. He never apologized. He never owns up.

[36:26] He never even confesses he sinned before a holy God. His brother's blood's not even dried up. And he has the guts to complain. Someone will kill me.

[36:37] Oh, boohoo. Poor Cain. Here's a tissue. As Rihanna said, don't tell me you're sorry because you're not. Maybe when I know you're only sorry you got caught. That's Cain. But don't we all have Cain in us, a bit of Cain in us, as we live in a fallen world, and we're so quick to complain to God.

[36:57] How could you allow this to happen to me? How could this happen? That we fail to see the sin in us, the blood of Abel crying out against us for justice.

[37:09] Cain is calloused and unrepentant. He has no remorse for his sin, and he's only concerned about the punishment, not his offense against the holy God. And so as a result, the punishment is worse.

[37:22] When Adam sinned, the curse was that his work would be frustrating. It'd be difficult. It'd be hard. But still, from the sweat of your brow, the ground will provide for him. The ground would bring forth thorns and thistles, but it would still bring forth fruit.

[37:38] But for Cain, we see in verse 12, when you work the ground, it shall no longer yield to you its strength. What that means, God's telling Cain, Cain, you can work all you want now, but you'll get absolutely nothing.

[37:53] Not just frustration. You won't even get frustration. You'll get nothing. And that's a special curse that God put on Cain in particular. Also, Adam was kicked out of the Garden of Eden at the end of chapter 3.

[38:06] Last verse there. God drove out the man, and at the east of the Garden of Eden, he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword. Now we say, Cain moves even further away, even further east in verse 16.

[38:21] Then Cain went away from the presence of the Lord and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden, east, further away from the presence of God and from paradise. Genesis 4 is the fallen falling even further.

[38:37] Falling even further. Sin gets worse and worse and worse, and we'll see that continue even more as we read on in chapter 4 in Cain's descendants. Cain had a son, Enoch, who fathered Irad, then Mehujael, then Methusheel, then Lamech.

[38:54] By the seventh generation, Lamech, this guy is the definition of toxic masculinity. In verse 19, he's the first one in the Bible to take two wives, which also is against God's design for marriage in the beginning, which is one man, one woman for life, not two women, one man.

[39:14] Polygamy is in the Bible. There's examples of it in the Bible, but it's never endorsed, and it only ever causes problems. We'll see that later in Genesis. This only ever causes problems when we stray from God's design.

[39:28] And Lamech, he goes on in verse 23 to say to his wives, Ada and Zillah, hear my voice, you wives of Lamech. Listen to what I say. I have killed a man for wounding me, a young man for striking me.

[39:44] If Cain's revenge is sevenfold, then Lamech's is 77fold. Do you see how far we've fallen? Adam was ashamed.

[39:55] He was ashamed, he was naked, he hid. Cain was hard-hearted. He denied it. But Lamech, he's proud. He says, where's my brother?

[40:07] I killed him. I'm gonna sing about it. He's not ashamed of his sin. He's proud. He boasts. I imagine this guy with roid rage, a crazy laugh, he's got blood dripping from his mouth, and he boasts, he sings a song about his vengeance, his murder.

[40:23] He's totally unrepentant. He is proud. And that's the last stage of sin, when we've gotten so used to it, so hardened our hearts, so calloused, and we don't feel shame anymore, only pride in how far we have fallen.

[40:37] Sin gets worse and worse and worse, and we have a choice here. Sin is crouching at the door. Kill sin, or sin will kill you. And as we look at Cain and his seed, his offspring, it looks like here, sin won.

[40:51] Sin's got the upper hand. Cain killed Abel, sin, Cain killed Abel, but sin killed Cain. And that's the end of the story. We'll finish here.

[41:02] That's all. Let's pray. No, but if that really is it, we're really done if that's the final word. We are really done if that's the final word. Because that can't be all there is to it.

[41:15] We're hopeless if that's the last word. And that's the point of Genesis 4, that as we live in this fallen world, as we see suffering, when we see the futility of our work, when we pop our ACL and it hurts, when the voice of the poor and oppressed go unheard, when brother raises fist against brother, husband against wife, country against country, when we look inward at ourselves and we know deep down sin has gripped our hearts, that we have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.

[41:46] When we see all this, the point for us to know, we ought to know that this world is broken. This world is broken. I'm broken. I need help. Wretched man that I am, who will deliver me from this body of death?

[42:00] The point is for us to see all this, this degeneration and for us to cry out, I need a savior. That's the point of Genesis 4. Help me. And now thankfully, that is not the end of the story.

[42:14] The story isn't finished because there is good news in here. Because Genesis and in fact, the whole Bible tells us there is good news. God is good even when we're not.

[42:28] God shows grace to sinners. We see that starting from Cain's faulty worship. See, God doesn't punish him immediately. He's patient and warned Cain's gently.

[42:39] Turn away from your sin. Sin is crouching on the door. Turn away. And he warns us also. Repent while you still have the chance. God is also merciful in his judgment.

[42:52] Cain killed his brother and Cain deserves to die. But just as Cain covered up Adam and Eve's shame with animal cloths, here in verse 15, the Lord put a mark on Cain lest any who found him should attack him.

[43:05] This is mercy. Like, why should it not be open hunting season on Cain? The soul who sins shall die. But yet God protects him. That's mercy.

[43:16] And lastly, we see that God provides another offspring in verse 25. And Adam knew his wife again 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.

[43:31] To Seth also, a son was born and he called his name Enosh. At that time, people began to call upon the name of the Lord. God provides another offspring who stands as a substitute for Abel.

[43:44] This is the offspring promised in chapter 3 who will crush the head of the serpent. This is the offspring. This offspring is descended from the line of Seth, not from Cain.

[43:55] This offspring, his name is Jesus. He is the promised offspring who will redeem us, reverse the curse, and save us from this broken world. You see, Jesus, Jesus let the serpent strike him and bruise his heel.

[44:08] He died on the cross bearing our sins. He died the death that we deserve. And in doing so, Jesus crushed the head of the serpent when he rose from the dead.

[44:19] Death no longer has dominion on you. We can try to kill sin all we want, but we will fail. We can try to take away our guilt, but we will fail. Lady Macbeth can wash her hands all she wants, but that blood won't come off.

[44:33] Abel's blood is still there. We're sinners. We're guilty. Our only hope is that we have Jesus and that God gave us Jesus. That's our hope as it says in Hebrews 12.

[44:44] We have come to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. Hebrews 12. We're all sinners.

[44:54] That blood of Abel cries out against us and it cries out loud. It cries against us. Guilty, wicked, murderer, greedy, pervert, unfaithful, lazy, failure, broken, shameful, hopeless, dirty.

[45:13] Abel's blood cries out to condemn. But Jesus' shed blood dripping from the cross speaks a better word. That's our only hope. That when Abel's blood cries sinner, Christ's blood cries justified.

[45:30] When Abel's blood cries unclean, Christ's blood cries spotless. When Abel's blood cries worthless, Christ's blood cries beloved.

[45:42] Jesus' blood speaks a better word than the blood of Abel and it cries out against all our condemnation. My people are fully forgiven, fully redeemed, fully loved, fully and unchangeably, irrevocably children of God with all its rights and privileges.

[45:57] That's what the blood of Christ cries out for us. It is finished. And we have come to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

[46:10] And today, Jesus' blood speaks for you. God is for you. If only you believe in him, trust him, rely on his blood, worship him, trust him, value him, rely on his blood to kill your sin and give you new life.

[46:25] And so what should we do? We'll actually end here today. This is the final word. Remember, sin comes from a mistrust of God and a misvaluing of God.

[46:40] The root of sin is defective worship. So for us, is God our treasure, the one who can truly satisfy our souls? What do we love more than we love God?

[46:52] What are we holding back from God? That's one way to test. How does that show, how does our love for God show in our time, our priorities, how we use our money, how we love one another?

[47:03] What are we holding back from him, from worshiping him with? Remember also, sin deceives. It deceives us. Sin promises. If you do this, you will be happy.

[47:14] But sin will kill you. Sin is crouching at the door. Sin isn't a cute puppy you can tame and manage. It's a wild animal waiting to attack. One look at the Sheba is all that it takes.

[47:25] Don't think we can open the door just a crack. There's no manageable amount of sin. Kill sin or sin will kill you. And finally, remember that this is all possible only through that sprinkled blood that speaks a better word, through Jesus.

[47:40] Today we have a choice. There's two knocks at the door of our hearts. Sin is crouching, waiting to destroy us. But Jesus is knocking, eager to restore you. And he says in Revelation 3, I stand at the door and knock and when we open to him, he comes in.

[47:58] The Holy Spirit enters our hearts, fills that God-shaped hole in our hearts so that we can truly worship God and live. That's what life is, to know God, enjoy him, glorify him.

[48:10] The Spirit also strikes at the root of our sin to set us free. Jesus, he killed sin, so sin cannot kill us. And today, I just want to leave us with an encouragement from Romans 6, which says this, now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.

[48:29] We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again. Death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died, he died to sin, once for all. But the life he lives, he lives to God.

[48:41] So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Let us pray. Thank you, Father, that you show your love in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

[48:58] See what kind of love that we are called children of God and so we are. Thank you, Jesus, that your blood speaks a better word than Abel's blood, our condemnation.

[49:08] By single sacrifice, you have perfected for all time those who are being sanctified. and thank you, Spirit, that you testify with us that we are children of God. Abba, Father, we know this in our hearts.

[49:21]  You help us to kill sin when we walk by the Spirit. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.