In an article USA
Today reported,
Nine year old James Darby wrote the following letter to President
Clinton on April 29, 1994: 'Dear Mr.
Clinton, I want you to stop the killing in the city. People is dead and I think that somebody
might kill me. So would you please stop
the people from deading. I'm asking you
nicely to stop it. I know you can do
it. Do it. I know you could. Your friend, James.' Before he could get an answer to his letter,
James Darby was gunned down in New Orleans in a drive-by shooting."[2]
In major cities across the
land we are acting out the inheritance of Cain.
Why do we do it, and why did Cain start it all? Envy!
Why are there wars, riots,
racism? Why are children killing
children in our schools? Why do one in
five American children carry some kind of weapon to school every day? Envy!
Envy is always born of
hatred and greed. Envy is murdering your brother in your heart, because of the sin
of covetousness which imagines, that person has more than I do, and he
should give it to me.
Envy was wrapped up in what
the late Senator Ted Kennedy said, "Frankly, I don't mind not being
President. I just mind that someone else
is."[3]
Envy is a sin of lust; and
this sin has a process that will, when it is finished, bring forth death.
These desires give birth
to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to
death. James 1.15 (NLT)
Our purpose this morning is
to examine that process, the downward spiral of envy:
Envy's Cradle
Now Adam had sexual relations with his wife, Eve, and she
became pregnant. When she gave birth to
Cain, she said, “With the Lord’s help, I have produced a man!” Later
she gave birth to his brother and named him Abel. When they grew up, Abel became a shepherd, while
Cain cultivated the ground. Genesis
4:1-2 (NLT)
With the exception of Adam
and Eve, who never experienced teething, or dirty diapers, every one of us had
our beginnings in the cradle.
What was it like to live in
the first family?
CAIN'S HOME
We are prone to think of
Cain as being an ugly character, despicable from the beginning. I don't think so. Cain was loved. His name means, I have gotten a man from the Lord.
Eve named him. He was the sign of
more life to come, the fulfillment of Genesis 3:15. Adam and Eve had sinned, but God had forgiven
and promised a Redeemer, a Savior, someone to make everything right again. Cain was the offspring that would crush the
serpent for his deception. His name is
connected with the verb in Hebrew which means to create.
Eve, the sinner, was allowed to return in part to God's original purpose
for mankind – participation in the creation.
Eve looked at Cain as the
promised Messiah. We look at Cain's
hands and imagine the bloody club that killed his brother; Eve kissed those
little baby fingers. Cain was a loved,
probably spoiled, only child.
CAIN'S VOCATION
Cain was a tiller of the
ground, while his brother Abel was a tender of sheep. It was never a question of the work that Cain
did; it was the obedience he didn't do that rankled God.
CAIN'S SIBLING
The rub came for Cain, I'm
certain, when his brother Abel arrived.
Abel's name means, Son of Adam. Now, Cain was firstborn,
and Abel was the younger. In Hebrew
culture (as contemporary Western culture) the name Jr. belongs to the
firstborn. In ancient times it meant
everything, including a double portion of inheritance.
Could this be a problem of
favoritism that fueled the fires of envy between the brothers? Did Eve step out of her submissive role,
naming Cain before Adam got home from tilling the ground?
Either way, the sibling
rivalry is not new. When our firstborn
was 18 months old, we brought home her new brother from the hospital. Soon the new baby developed a peculiar
problem of screaming every time Elizabeth would feed him. We finally discovered the older sister would
get great delight out of standing behind Mom, and pinching her little baby
brother's outstretched arm while Mom wasn't looking.
Envy's cradle is that little
place where rivalry begins.
Envy's Crouch
Verse 7 says that sin
crouches at the door when we do not do well -- what a vivid picture. How does this happen?
DISCARDED ALLEGIANCE
When
it was time for the harvest, Cain presented some of his crops as a gift to the Lord. Abel
also brought a gift—the best portions of the firstborn lambs from his flock. The Lord accepted Abel and his gift. Genesis 4:3-4
(NLT)
Cain knew the right thing to
do. His parents had certainly told him
of the sacrifice of God, and the necessity of blood to atone for sin. He either didn't want to, or was too lazy, or
too proud to ask his brother to trade some of his produce for a suitable
animal. Cain discarded his allegiance to
the Lord.
When you forsake God's
instruction, you forsake God. You
discard your allegiance.
CONFRONTED ATTITUDE
but
he did not accept Cain and his gift. This
made Cain very angry, and he looked dejected.
“Why are you so angry?” the Lord asked Cain. “Why
do you look so dejected? Genesis
4.5-6 (NLT)
God rejected Cain's offering
as unacceptable, but received Abel's.
Wow! What a thing to do when
there was already a sibling rivalry going.
Didn't God ever read Dr. Spock?
Man, you're supposed to be soothing and kind to a child throwing a
tantrum, aren't you?
NO!
God knew, and we know, that
you confront something as unholy as a tantrum.
Isn't it interesting that the very first anger and temper tantrum was
experienced at the altar – the church house?
It is a true saying that religion will either redeem or damn a
person.
Attitude is usually the
dividing line. Cain discarded his
allegiance, and God confronted his attitude, and warned him that if he didn't
change his ways, his pathway would have a serious collision course....
CERTAIN ACTION
You will be accepted if you do what is right. But if you refuse to
do what is right, then watch out! Sin is
crouching at the door, eager to control you. But you must subdue it and be its master.” Genesis 4:7
(NLT)
Here is the very first
mention of the word "sin" in Scripture. Preacher Clarence Macartney wrote:
What is the saddest word in the Bible and in human speech? What is the word that is the fountain of woe,
the mother of sorrows, as universal as human nature, as eternal as human history? What is the word that is the cause of all war
and violence and hatred and sorrow and pain?
What is the word that is man's worst enemy? What is the word that nailed the Son of God to
the Cross? That word is, Sin."[4]
The Lord said sin was at the
"door." Isn't this the foothold
the Bible talks about – the one Satan looks for in the life of a believer? Crouching is generally the position of the
predator, waiting for the right opportunity to spring on the prey. My friends, sin does that!
Another preacher said it
well, "It is easier to find [a man] who has never sinned than to find
one who has never committed the same sin twice."[5]
Sin multiplies quickly. It only took a short time in the history of
man for sin to jump from munching on forbidden fruit to murdering of
brothers. It all happened in one
family.
Part of Eve's punishment was
a nature that "desired" her husband -- desired to rule over him,
dominate him. Sin is crouching at the
door for each of us, waiting for envy to rise, take a foothold and rule over
our lives.
From envy’s cradle, to envy’s
crouch, to...
Envy's Compulsion
One day Cain suggested to his brother, “Let’s go out into the
fields.” And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother, Abel,
and killed him. Genesis 4:8 (NLT)
I do not know if Cain lured
his brother into the field with a premeditated design to kill him. I do know, however, that once the hatred of
envy enters a man and settles in his heart, it won't be long before the desire
becomes a deed.
Some years ago a lady in
Arkansas called the local police station to ask if there was a penalty for
fighting, and if so, how much. The
sergeant told her that she could be charged with assault and battery. The fine was $100, and he asked her why she
needed to know. She said, "Oh,
well, I want to beat up my sister. I
just needed to see if I can afford it."
Once you allow envy a
foothold, sin is already crouching at the door, and the “foothold will become a
compulsion.
One of the reasons
Christians ought to come to the altar privately and publicly, is that
humility will drive out the envy that is crouching in our hearts. If you haven't been to the altar since the
day you got saved, today would be a good time to come, kneel, and feel the
sweet release of joy God will give you.
That's the "doing well" God tried to tell Cain about.
Envy is birthed in the cradle,
crouches at your door's heart if you entertain him, and grows into a
fully blown compulsion which will do the deed, and require.....
Envy's Cover-Up
Afterward the Lord asked
Cain, “Where is your brother? Where is
Abel?”
“I don’t know,” Cain responded. “Am I my brother’s
guardian?” Genesis 4:9 (NLT)
Isn't it interesting how
Cain inherited his father's "reaction mechanism?" When God asked the question, Cain wanted to
squirm away from a direct answer, just like Adam. Now, Adam was the first, and admittedly, he
was breaking new ground; he didn't have an earthly father to learn from about
lying to his father. But Cain did! And Cain didn't learn from daddy's
folly. Someone wisely said, anger
gets us in trouble; pride keeps us there.
Pride will keep you from
confession. (Or confession will keep
you from pride!) Cain did not want to
confess his murderous ways to God, so he lied.
A four year old was asked his definition of a lie. He said, "A
lie is an abomination before the Lord -- and a very present help in time of
trouble."
He was wrong! Lies, distorted truth, cover-up – none of
these work with God. God wants the
unvarnished truth from you. He already
knows what you've done; He is simply awaiting your confession.
If you refuse to confess and
let Jesus take the marks of sin on Him, you prefer the mark of Cain, which
is...
Envy's Cost
Notice the progression
here: The "mark of Cain" is
the result of the growth of envy in the human heart. It begins in the cradle with a
soiled and fallen human nature that leans towards sin. It crouches at the door of your
heart, awaiting the opportunity to take up residence. It becomes a fully grown compulsion,
springing into the deed of death. It
repulses the truth and opts for a cover-up, even in the face of
God.
And, my friends, be not deceived, God is not mocked, envy
has a cost...
SIN'S DISCOVERY
But the Lord said,
“What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the
ground! Genesis 4.10 (NLT)
The discovery of sin is not
so much that God has found out. God
always knows! It is that moment when God
confronts you with your sin. When I was
a child, my mother always knew! It
was just a matter of time before she made me face things I'd done.
Beloved, in a confrontation
with Almighty God, the creator of heaven, earth, and the universe; the eternal
Father, who could enter time and space as an infant, yet be the God with no
name – in a confrontation with ultimate truth, you lose! The mark of Cain means your sin is uncovered
whether you want it that way or not.
SIN'S DISCIPLINE
Now you are cursed and banished from the ground, which has
swallowed your brother’s blood. No longer will the ground yield good crops for you, no matter how
hard you work! From now on you will be a
homeless wanderer on the earth.” Genesis 4:11-12 (NLT)
Sin is a downward
spiral. When Adam first sinned, the
ground became cursed. When Cain sinned,
the curse came back from the ground.
Adam had to fight thorns and thistles in his tilling of the ground – now
Cain would have an even greater struggle, as sin reduced even further the yield
of produce.
Sin has a degrading effect
on creation. The mark of Cain means we
walk in the reduced strength of our own resources. We walk without God's help.
SIN'S DENIAL
Cain replied to the Lord, “My punishment is
too great for me to bear! Genesis 4.13 (NLT)
Cain said, I can't bear
it! To bear means to accept the
burden. A common reaction in grief is, I can't believe it; I can't believe she's
gone -- I can't believe he's dead.
I can't bear this
punishment. I can't believe God would do
this to me. What do you mean there's a
hell? How could a loving God punish people?
My friends, in the words of
the great philosopher, Lucy, "Get over it; Get a life; That's the
way it is!" We may deny sin
– that is the mark of Cain. God
confronts us with our sin.
SIN'S DESTRUCTION
You have banished me from
the land and from your presence; you have made me a homeless wanderer. Anyone who finds me will kill me!” The Lord replied,
“No, for I will give a sevenfold punishment to anyone who kills you.” Then the Lord put
a mark on Cain to warn anyone who might try to kill him. So Cain left the Lord’s presence and settled in the land of Nod, east
of Eden. Genesis 4:14-16 (NLT)
Three words show us the
final significance of the mark of Cain: fugitive (in Hebrew, noo-ah), vagabond
(nood), and Nod. The first two words
are adjectives, used in the sense of nouns; they describe the inner lostness of
Cain. "Noo-ah" and
"nood" mean wandering and
shaking, signs of someone who has lost his way, and is searching for some sign
of home.
When the Bible says Cain dwelt
in the land of Nod, God is telling us
Cain was dwelling in lostness, always wandering, always shaking his head in
disbelief. This is the mark of Cain – he
dwelt in what he was – lost. Why would
no one kill him? How can you kill a dead
man? To be lost is to be dead, without
God.
My friends, Sin brings forth
destruction of the soul. It brings a
wandering lostness that you dwell in.
You can try to fill up the
void with things that are bright and shiny.
You can try to fill up the void with sex and hobbies. You can try to fill up the void with
activities and religion. But the mark of
Cain means you're already dead!
How do we stay clear of the
mark of Cain, Preacher. Tell me what can
wash away that horrible mark. I don't
want to be lost; I don't want to wander.
Only one thing in the
universe can scrub that well – the blood of the Lamb.
"What can wash away my sin?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus!
What can make me whole again? Nothing
but the blood of Jesus!
Oh, precious is the flow, That makes me white as snow,
No other fount I know, Nothing but the blood of Jesus!
Friend, you may have come in
with the mark of Cain. You can go out
with the seal of the Spirit of God. God
wants you whole -- the Devil wants you marked.
Choose!
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