The Way of Cain

[0:00] Good morning, church.

[0:21] Good morning. The scripture reading is taken from Genesis chapter 4 verses 1 through 16 and Hebrews chapter 12 verses 18 through 24.

[0:32] Please follow as I read. Now Adam knew Eve this wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, I have gotten a man with the help of the Lord.

[0:43] 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 bought of the firstborn of his flock, and of their fat portions.

[1:09] 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.

[1:23] The Lord said to Cain, why are you angry, and why have 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.

[1:37] Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it. Cain spoke to Abel, his brother. And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him.

[1:50] Then the Lord said to Cain, where is Abel your brother? He said, I do not know. Am I my brother's keeper? And the Lord said, what have you done?

[2:04] The voice of your brother's blood is crying to me from the ground, and now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand.

[2:16] When you work the ground, it shall no longer yield to you its strength. You shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth.

[2:26] Then the Lord said to him, not so.

[2:50] 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.

[3:03] Then Cain went away from the presence of the Lord and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden. Second reading, Hebrews chapter 12, verses 18 through 24.

[3:17] For you have not come to what be touched, a blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a tempest, and the sound of a trumpet and a voice, whose words made the hearts beg that no further messages be spoken to them.

[3:37] For they could not endure the order that was given. If even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned.

[3:52] Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, I tremble with fear, but you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

[4:41] Amen. Thank you, Michelle. Well, please keep your Bibles open to Genesis chapter 4. And if your Bible is anything like mine, Genesis chapter 4 is headed Cain and Abel.

[5:06] But upon closer inspection of Genesis 4, we see that it's really not about Cain and Abel. Genesis 4 is about Cain and God.

[5:18] In fact, Abel's name means vapor. And Abel was like a vapor in this account because he quickly vanishes off the scene because his brother Cain murders him.

[5:36] And perhaps even a better caption for Genesis chapter 4 is the consequences of sin. Because that's what we see in Genesis chapter 4.

[5:50] We see the graphic, heart-wrenching consequences of the sin of Adam and Eve recorded in Genesis 3 being lived out in Genesis chapter 4.

[6:06] And you'd remember in the previous two sermons in this series we considered the sin of Adam and Eve in Genesis 3. But now we're seeing the outworking of that sin in the most graphic and heart-wrenching way.

[6:26] I want us to consider that this morning. But before we do, I want us to take a moment to pray. So please bow with me in prayer. Heavenly Father, as we just sang moments ago, these words before us are indeed ancient words.

[6:47] But Lord, they are also timely words and timeless words. And more than that, they are your very word. They are your word that you have preserved over the ages for the good of your people and for the glory of your name.

[7:07] So Lord, would you speak to us through these ancient and timely and timeless words. We ask this in Jesus' name.

[7:18] Amen. As we consider this, as we consider this passage this morning and as we continue our sermon series in the book of Genesis, I think it's important for us to remember why Moses wrote Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.

[7:42] I can't repeat this enough because I think if we lose sight of this, we will engage these sermons and this series in a way that I don't think will be helpful.

[7:59] Moses wrote Genesis and the other four books that he wrote wrote to teach God's people that God is both creator and redeemer and he wanted them to understand how they are to live in God's world, understanding how it came to be, understanding how it came to be as it is, as we know it now, and how they are to live in God's world.

[8:29] And so what Genesis 3 gives us is it gives us the account of how sin came into the world and now in Genesis 4, Moses immediately puts that in our faces.

[8:40] And remember, Moses had a lot of data, but under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, this is the way he lays out this argument, the way he lays out this account for the people of God.

[8:52] And I believe the point that Moses wants us to see in this passage is that sin corrupts our relationship with God and others.

[9:10] Moses wants us to see this. So if you think of the book of Genesis as a movie, as it were, the last scene would be God banishing Adam and Eve out of the garden.

[9:27] In disappointment that they did not obey him, in disappointment that they partook of a tree that he said not to eat of when he said you could eat of all the other trees.

[9:39] And he puts them out of the garden. So that scene ends and the next scene we see is this scene that we just read in Genesis 4, 1 through 16.

[9:51] We see how sin corrupted Cain's relationship with God and with his brother Abel. And so this passage is naturally divided into three parts and I want to consider each of them in turn.

[10:05] The first is Cain's tokenistic offering. We see that in verses 1 to 7. Now, although this passage, these verses 1 to 7, also cover Abel's offering, when you read it, it's very clear that the focus is on Cain's offering.

[10:28] Abel's offering is really mentioned in passing to bring the focus on Cain and on his offering. And we're not given any details because we don't need to know the details.

[10:41] Moses does not give us the details as to why they're bringing this offering. But what we can conclude is that early on, God had communicated and instituted some kind of a system of bringing offerings to him, which he acquired from his people, no doubt, starting with Adam and Eve, and they would have passed it on to their children.

[11:05] And what also seems obvious is that this offering was to come from the fruit of their livelihood.

[11:16] It was to come from their endeavors working in God's world. It was based on the kind of work that the person engaged in.

[11:29] And we're told in verse 2 that Abel was a keeper of sheep and Cain was a worker of the ground. So Abel was a shepherd, Cain was a farmer.

[11:43] Notice what it says again in verses 3 to 6. 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.

[12:00] 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 said to Cain, Why are you angry?

[12:13] And why has your face fallen? So at this appointed time, Cain and Abel, they bring their offerings to the Lord and it seems that they are doing this simultaneously.

[12:26] And so although we don't have the details, we can make some conclusions that there seems to be some understanding of what their obligation was before the Lord. And we are told not how, but simply that God had regard for Abel and his offering and he had no regard for Cain and his offering.

[12:50] Now why was that? Why did God regard Abel and his offering and disregard Cain and his offering? There are some people who say, well the reason was that Abel brought a blood sacrifice, he brought an animal sacrifice, and Cain brought a bloodless sacrifice.

[13:13] Abel brought a blood sacrifice from the flock, Cain brought a bloodless sacrifice from the ground. But the explanation that is because of blood and no blood really doesn't hold water.

[13:28] It doesn't really add up because Abel, he was a farmer, sorry, he was a herdsman, he was a shepherd, he raised flock, and that was his livelihood, that was the means of his employment if you want to think of it in those terms.

[13:47] And so naturally he brought the fruit of his employment. And Cain from the ground and naturally he brought the fruit of his employment. And so if the rule was that God only would accept a blood sacrifice, it really would put people like Cain at a disadvantage because they would be at the mercy of people like Abel who farmed and had animals and if Abel and people like him didn't trade with them, they would have nothing to bring.

[14:22] And so that doesn't seem to be a plausible reason. Another reason we know that's not correct is when you look at the sacrificial system in Israel, the Lord called for both offerings from the ground and offerings from the flock.

[14:40] Both were offerings, both were sacrifices and acts of worship offered to the Lord. So it's not because one brought a blood sacrifice and the other one brought blood less sacrifice.

[14:57] The more reasonable explanation as to why God had regard for Abel and his offering and none for Cain and his offering had to do with their attitudes.

[15:10] It had to do with the attitude of the offerer and the quality, the quality of their offering. Notice again verse three how Cain's offering is described.

[15:27] It's simply described as an offering from the fruit of the ground. But notice how Abel's is described. Abel's is described as an offering from the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions.

[15:45] And so the idea is that, the picture is that Cain just brought something that he harvested from the ground. He brought a tokenistic offering.

[15:59] Didn't seem like he put much thought into it. But on the other hand, Abel was intentional to give God the best offering that he could from his flock.

[16:11] He didn't just take any of the flock. He actually ensured that he chose this offering for God from the firstborn of the flock and from their fat portions.

[16:24] And so the idea was that Abel would have segregated his firstborn animals from the ones who were born later. And he looked among them and he chose the best-looking, healthiest ones and he sacrificed those to the Lord.

[16:42] Now this might sound a little bit trite, but let me explain why this is important. We're told that in raising animals or in farming the ground, in the case of farming the ground, you need to harvest the crop at the right moment harvest.

[17:12] You shouldn't harvest it early and you shouldn't harvest it late because it would not be the optimum harvest. It wouldn't be the optimum quality.

[17:24] And so the art of farming is harvesting at the right time. And the first crops that come out of the ground, they are the better ones than the ones that are left in the ground later, more exposed to the elements and the sun, and the best ones are the first harvest.

[17:43] So even there are some companies that would tell you this is first harvest or early harvest or something like that. And with animals, we're told that animals that produce multiple offspring like sheep, the stronger ones are born first.

[18:01] The weaker ones, you know, they just kind of hang around until the older ones come out and then they just mosey out like that. But the stronger ones push out first. And so the stronger ones are really the best ones.

[18:15] And so if Abel, if Cain, sorry, had offered a similar quality of offering to the Lord, it would have had the mark of it being the first of his harvest that he was giving to the Lord very much the way Abel's offering is being marked as his offering from the first of his flock and from their fat portion.

[18:44] So that's really the picture of what Moses is communicating to us. This picture of Cain just going through the motion of bringing an offering to the Lord, no concern that it was from his best and the first of his harvest.

[19:01] Cain basically is saying that he is going to worship God but he will do it on his own terms. He is not going to do it on God's terms. Abel on the other hand does as God obviously had commanded him and we will see this principle working out through the rest of the Mosaic law where what God calls for is he calls for this first of the offering whether it's the firstborn or the first fruit from the ground that is what he called for.

[19:33] There's nothing different that's happening here in this account. So the issue really is not with quantity of the offering.

[19:48] I imagine and I have no way of proving this but as I thought about this, Cain being the kind of character that we see him here, I think if we were around we would look at Cain's offer and say wow what a wonderful offering.

[20:04] And Abel's may not have looked like much compared to Cain who was farming the ground. I think we all know that it's probably easier and you have less risk in farming things on the ground than raising animals that can be diseased and miscarry and all kinds of other things.

[20:26] But the issue was the attitude in the offering that really was an attitude towards God.

[20:40] Cain, in his attitude towards the Lord, disregarded the Lord. He didn't regard the Lord at all. When you think of the name Cain means got or gotten.

[20:56] So when Cain was born, and we see this in the very first verse of this account, Eve says, I have gotten a man with the help of the Lord.

[21:11] Undoubtedly they told Cain the meaning of his name. And undoubtedly they told Cain that God helped us to, we recognize his help, we recognize that we wouldn't have you unless God had helped us, helped me, Eve would say, to conceive and to give birth to you.

[21:31] Cain knew the meaning of his name. And you would think that he would connect the dots to recognize that all that we receive, we get from the Lord. We do nothing without the Lord's help.

[21:45] We need him. We sang about it this morning, that everything that we harvest is a fruit from your hands. And yet, even with this illustration in his name, Cain had no regard for the Lord and disregarded him in the offering that he brought to the Lord.

[22:11] He should have been reminded to honor the Lord who blessed him and who helped him to get the produce that he got from the ground. But it was no reminder to Cain.

[22:25] And brothers and sisters, we should be likewise reminded. We should all be reminded that we live in God's world and everything that we have, everything that we receive comes from God.

[22:37] He gives us life and breath and strength and the opportunity to work. And so it is logical that when the God of the universe, our creator, and the creator of everything says bring an offering, that we are to do that with humility, we are to do that expressing our gratitude to him, and it is logical that it should be the very best that we are able to give.

[23:12] Now for us, it's not like it was for Cain and Abel. It wasn't about crops, it wasn't about animals. God gives us in our current situations, jobs, and businesses where we earn money and we earn profits, but he is ultimately the one who's blessed us with all of that.

[23:39] And we are to be mindful people. God calls us to give back to him of his best.

[23:50] And one of the ways I've heard it described is that one of the reasons God calls for us to give back to him in this way is that it's a kind of message and expression from God to say, this is my land, my world in which you live, and it's a kind of reminder that we don't own it.

[24:13] It is kind of like a rent to be in God's earth. But God gives us this means by which we are able to express our gratitude to him for all that we have.

[24:27] And let me just say this, this, brothers and sisters, is the foundational lesson about money that every one of us needs to grasp. If we don't grasp this, we're building the rest of it on a shaky foundation or indeed no foundation at all.

[24:46] This is the first mention of giving to God and it is laced with principles that should guide us. The issue here is not in quantity.

[24:57] that's not the issue here. And Jesus actually echoes this in the Gospels, in the story of the widow's mite, that account of the widow's mite.

[25:13] What we see in the widow's mite is that some of the worst offerings in the sight of God are some of the largest offerings. And some of the best offerings in the sight of God are some of the smallest offerings.

[25:28] So the issue is not about quantity. Because obviously there could be a person giving a small offering but it's like Cain's. And there could be someone giving a large offering but it's like Abel's because it has to do with attitude.

[25:42] So quantity is neither here nor there. What it is is the quality of it and the way we seek to honor God in our giving.

[25:54] And so I think the question that we all need to consider as we consider this first part of the account is my giving marked by the way of Cain or is it marked by the way of Abel.

[26:12] Seeking to give God my best as opposed to just giving something to God who's been so generous and so good to give us all that we have.

[26:29] We're told in verses 4 and 5 that the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering but he had no regard for Cain and his offering. So in other words God was pleased with Abel and his offering but he had no regard for Cain and his offering.

[26:47] Cain disregarded the Lord. He disregarded the Lord in the way he approached giving to the Lord and so the Lord disregarded Cain and his offering.

[27:04] Cain dishonored the Lord in his heart. He didn't see the Lord worthy of his best offering and so he dishonored the Lord in his offering as well. Cain arrogantly thought that he could live in God's world enjoying all of God's gifts and not honor the Lord with the best of the blessings from God's land.

[27:30] And why did Cain think this way? Cain thought this way for one reason sin. Cain thought that way and countless people sin Cain has thought that way because of sin and the effect of sin, the effect of the fall.

[27:58] Because of sin and because of its effect, Cain disregarded God in God's world and dishonored God in bringing the offering that he brought to God.

[28:11] Notice as well in this passage that the issue was not just about Cain's offering. It doesn't say that God disregarded his offering. The Bible says God disregarded Cain and his offering.

[28:23] He had regard for Abel and his offering. And I think the point is that we don't disassociate ourselves from our giving, from our approach to giving, how we give to the Lord.

[28:35] attitude. It is an extension of us. It is an extension of our attitude. And God connects both of them.

[28:49] And so what is Cain's response? Was he sorry? Was he repentant? Was he saddened? Did he try to make amends? No. We're told that Cain was angry and his anger was visible on his face.

[29:05] But notice the Lord's patience with Cain in verses 6 and 7. It says, The Lord said to Cain, Why are you angry? And why has your face fallen?

[29:18] If you do well, you will 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. The Lord corrects Cain and he calls him to do well.

[29:34] Meaning that God knew that Cain knew what was required of him. He didn't have to tell him. He was saying, Cain, you know. You know what it means to do well.

[29:48] And if you do well, will you not be accepted? The Lord got to the heart of the issue with Cain. The heart of the issue was that sin was crouching at Cain's door, desiring to overpower him.

[30:08] And the Lord called Cain to rule over his sin. And this is such a vivid picture of the danger of sin and harboring sin in our lives.

[30:24] It's crouching at the door, waiting to overpower us. And if you were to be in Cain's mind, Cain was thinking, no doubt, his murderous thoughts, his angry thoughts towards his brother, how he was going to respond to God disregarding him and his offering.

[30:40] And little did he know, he was closing up to sin, and sin was crouching at his door. He was thinking to use sin, but sin was going to overpower him.

[30:51] Sin was going to bring death in his life. And the Lord commanded Cain to rule over his sin, and he commands us in the same way as well.

[31:05] We must fight sin, we must mortify sin. We should remember what John Owen, the deceased Puritan pastor and theologian wrote.

[31:17] He said, be killing sin, or sin will be killing you. There are no two ways about it. You be killing sin, or sin will be killing you.

[31:31] But not only did sin lead to Cain's tokenistic offering, sin also led to Abel's merciless murder.

[31:42] And that's the second part of this account, and my second point. Look again at what it says in verse 8. It says, Cain spoke to Abel, his brother, and when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel, and killed him.

[32:03] The picture is that Cain sinfully and mercilessly premeditated the murder of his brother Abel. He called Abel out into the field, Abel not suspecting anything.

[32:17] Cain knew what he was going to do, and Cain attacks his brother, and Cain murders his brother. And what we see is, we see the progression of sin. Sin had corrupted Cain's relationship with God, that he disregards God as not worthy of the offering that God has called for, and now he disregards one made in the image of God, and he takes his life, his own brother, and he murders him.

[32:49] Cain is a picture of a hard-hearted person, hardened by sin, no regard for God, and no regard for man. God, he will not regard for God.

[32:59] He will take you to take very, very seriously. When you see a person who has no regard for God, be aware they have no regard for you or for any human being.

[33:14] It's a very sobering thing to watch. You watch a person, you listen to a person, if they don't regard God, they will not regard your life or my life or anybody else's life.

[33:26] And that's the progression that we see of sin in Cain's life. Notice in verse 9 that the Lord confronts Cain in very much the same way he confronted Adam.

[33:41] It's a picture of how gracious God is. The Lord knew what Cain did, just as he knew what Adam did. But he still asked Cain a question to try to bring him to confess his sin.

[33:58] And so the Lord does not outrightly accuse him. And notice how arrogant Cain is, how cold hearted Cain is. In verse 9 he lies to God, says that he doesn't know where his brother is, and then he deflects the question and asks God a question.

[34:22] You think I'm my brother's keeper? Why are you asking me about him? Am I my brother's keeper? And clearly Cain didn't think he was, even though he indeed was, but he didn't think that he had any obligation towards his brother to protect his life, to preserve his life, and to be concerned for his life.

[34:46] And there's only one reason that Cain had this attitude, and the reason is sin. We see the hardening effect of sin.

[35:00] When God confronted Adam and Eve with their sin, it's probably the most gracious account to read in scripture where God comes to them, confronts them with their sin, and they confess.

[35:15] Both of them confess. Not Cain. The hardness of sin, and the hardness of Cain's heart, he outrightly lies, and he deflects.

[35:32] And he gives evidence that he really didn't know God. He didn't know who God was. If he knew who God was, he would realize that he is lying to the ever-present, all knowing God who sees all and who knows all.

[35:51] And so clearly, at this particular point, Cain would not have known that God knew everything. But you know, even though we have greater revelation about God and we now know that God is omnipresent and God is omniscient, he knows everything, sees everything, there are people who still act like Cain and think God doesn't know, think God doesn't see, and they can get away with all manner of things.

[36:23] But God saw then, and God knew then, and God sees now, and God knows now. And then in verses 10 to 12, the Lord rebukes and curses Cain.

[36:40] Cain is the first person that God utters a curse against. See, in the past he cursed the ground when Adam sinned, but now his curse is directed at Cain himself for this act of murder against his brother.

[36:57] And God places on Cain a unique punishment. This is quite a unique punishment. But because God is God, he's able to do this. God tells Cain, he says, because you did what you did, the ground that received your brother's blood from your hand, when you work it, when you work it, it will no longer yield the fullness of its strength to you.

[37:22] You're not going to get abundant harvests anymore. Other people around you will get it, but you will not get it. And therein is the irony. The irony is that Cain withheld from the Lord, Cain did not give God his best, and God now says, that same land will no longer give you its best.

[37:48] And so the Lord says to Cain, not only will you have this unique experience working the ground, you are going to now be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth.

[38:15] Again, we see the consequences of sin in Cain's life, this declension, going down, down, down.

[38:30] And it all stemmed from one act of disobedience that we read about in Genesis chapter 3. Cain is able, in what is a relatively short period of time, to murder his brother in cold blood.

[38:47] I literally think nothing of it. God does not do it. And here again, I think we should see this with Cain because I think it's a connecting of the dots for us in application.

[39:09] Withholding our best offering from God does not put us ahead. It puts us behind. Cain. And again, that's not the reason that God called for the offering.

[39:25] He called for the offering because he is God. And this is his world and we are his creatures. But we see what Cain's experience was.

[39:36] That that ground that he was begrudging concerning and not giving God his best from it, that that ground will no longer give him its best, putting him behind rather than ahead.

[39:53] But this account in Genesis 4 is not just an account of Cain's tokenistic offering. It's not just an account of Abel's merciless murder.

[40:06] Surprisingly, and most importantly, this is an account of God's amazing grace. grace. It's actually quite surprising to find the grace of God shining through in the darkest period of human history since the fall recorded in Scripture.

[40:34] here. We see God's amazing grace in this passage, and this is my third and final point.

[40:47] Now, God's grace is revealed throughout this passage, but we especially see it in verses 13 to 16. Cain. It was an expression of God's grace not to execute Cain.

[41:03] Cain did not get what he deserved. Later on, in Genesis 9, we'll see the Lord instituting capital punishment where he says, whoever sheds the blood of another person, his blood will be shed.

[41:15] God had every right to execute Cain, but he spared him. But I think where we see God's amazing grace most pronounced is in how he responds to Cain's protest in verses 13 and 14.

[41:43] Where Cain says, my punishment is more than I can bear. And Cain is like a typical murderer. Typical murderer where he had no regard for the life of the person they took in cold blood, but he wants his own life protected and spared.

[42:08] And so Cain thinks that a sentence of life, the hard labor on the ground and being a fugitive wandering on the earth, he thinks that is too much for me to bear and anyone who finds me is going to attack me.

[42:26] And Cain is aware that this whole idea of vengeance and revenge and seeking justice, he is at least aware of that. He is at least aware that there's some consequence for what he actually did and he's afraid of those consequences.

[42:44] But again, look in verse 15 at the Lord's gracious response to Cain. The Lord says, Not so.

[42:57] 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.

[43:10] That is an amazing display of grace that God would protect Cain. That God would preserve him from being attacked by anyone seeking revenge for what he did to his brother Abel.

[43:35] And it's quite amazing why would God protect a God dishonoring cold-blooded murderer who deserved to be executed?

[43:52] There's only one reason. There's only one explanation and that is grace and even more than grace. That's amazing grace. And we see Cain being the recipient of that.

[44:09] And yet despite God's patience and grace towards Cain, Cain remains ungrateful. He remains unrepentant. We're told in verse 16, And Cain went away from the presence of the Lord and settled in the land of north-east of Eden.

[44:28] these are very careful words. Very careful language. It does not say that Cain was sent away. It says Cain went away from the Lord's presence.

[44:42] He went away from the Lord's presence. Not crying out for mercy, not being repentant. He walks away from the Lord's presence and he goes to the land of north, which means wandering, and he's going in circles, and he's going nowhere.

[45:05] But brothers and sisters, not only do we see God's amazing grace to Cain in this passage, we see God's amazing grace to us in this passage. The truth is that all of us, without exception, at different times, in different ways, and to different degrees, have gone the way of Cain.

[45:26] All of us. We have dishonored the Lord. We have disregarded those who are made in his image.

[45:40] Jesus makes it very clear that if we have anger in our hearts towards our brothers, he says, you've committed murder, and I think all of us, without exception, have been there, where we have had sinful anger in our hearts, and all of us, in one way or another, to one degree or another, have not always honored the Lord in our lives as we should.

[46:06] Not recognize him to be the glorious, sovereign, creator, and redeemer who he is. And we've had the attitude of Cain, where we arrogantly give God what we want to give him, whether it's our time or our treasures, our talents, our lives.

[46:29] We've been like Cain. And the writer to the Hebrews, in Hebrews 12, in the second passage that was read, tells us that the blood of Jesus speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

[46:48] wicked Cain slew righteous Abel, and Abel's blood cried out for justice. Wicked men slew righteous Jesus, and his blood speaks a better word.

[47:07] His blood speaks a better word of grace and mercy. Abel's death was simply a senseless murder.

[47:22] But the blood of Christ was a divine sacrifice. Abel's blood cries for justice because it was a senseless murder.

[47:34] The blood of Christ cries for mercy and grace because it was a divine sacrifice. sacrifice. And the truth is, the blood of Christ cries out for mercy and grace to all kinds of sinners like you and me who have gone the way of Cain.

[47:57] Disregarded God, disregarded a fellow man, and rather than cried for justice for us, his blood cries out for mercy.

[48:14] And it cries out for mercy and grace for those for whom Christ died because they too have gone the way of Cain. They too have rebelled against God in his world.

[48:28] They too are deserving of his judgment and his wrath. But the reason Christ's blood again cries out is not because it was a senseless murder as Abel's was.

[48:48] His blood cries out for mercy and grace because he was a true substitute for sinners. He took our place. He died our death.

[49:04] And thank God he cries out for mercy and grace because if he cried out for justice, none of us, none of us would survive.

[49:20] And so if you put your trust in Jesus this morning, you know the joy of hearing these words and knowing this truth that the blood of Jesus Christ does speak a better word, not condemning us, not calling for justice for us, but calling for mercy.

[49:43] But if you're here this morning or whether you are listening, watching online, if you don't know Jesus Christ, you too are going the way of Cain.

[50:02] And his blood cries out even for those who go the way of Cain for mercy and grace and that mercy and that grace will avail to all who would repent and all who would turn to him in saving faith.

[50:21] And so if that is you this morning, turn to Jesus. And what you're going to find in turning to Jesus is you will find a Savior who is full of mercy and who is quick to pardon all of your sins.

[50:38] No matter what they are. It doesn't matter how great you may think they are. we sing a song by Fanny Crosby and the line of it that always ministers to my own heart is the vilest offender who truly believes that moment from Jesus a pardon receives.

[51:06] And his blood is speaking strongly as it ever has from the day that it was shared calling for mercy and grace for undeserving sinners.

[51:18] And so I pray that you would heed his voice this morning. Let's pray. Oh, Father, we thank you for your word.

[51:31] We thank you that sinners like us who have gone the way of Cain can know forgiveness of sins. thank you, Lord, that the blood of Jesus is the blood of the new and better covenant and it speaks a better word than the blood of Abel because the death of Christ was not just a death, it was a sacrifice for sinners.

[52:06] Lord, may that be the joy of the hearts of all those who trust in you and, Father, may it be the reason for conviction and a turning to you for all those who do not know Christ.

[52:22] We pray that you would do this now in Jesus' name. Amen. Let's sing together. God's amazing grace and peace.

[52:37] Grace and peace. Grace and peace, all our members be for lawbreakers and thieves, for the worthless, the least.

[52:52] you have said that our judgment is dead for all eternity without hope, without rest.

[53:07] And oh, what an amazing mystery, what an amazing mystery that your grace has come to me.

[53:19] grace and peace.

[53:30] Grace and peace, oh, how can this be? The matchless king of all paid the blood price for me.

[53:44] Slaughtered lamb, what adornment you bring. The violent sinner's heart can be cleansed, can be free.

[53:57] And oh, what an amazing mystery, what an amazing mystery that your grace has come to me.

[54:09] Slaughtered grace and peace.

[54:21] Grace and peace, oh, how can this be? That songs of gratefulness ever rise, never cease.

[54:33] Loved by God, and called as a saint. My heart is satisfied in the riches of Christ.

[54:48] And oh, what an amazing mystery, what an amazing mystery, that your grace has come to me.

[54:58] me. And sing, and oh, what an amazing love I see, what an amazing love I see, that your grace has come to me.

[55:16] And oh, what an amazing love I see, what an amazing love I see, that your grace has come to me.

[55:26] me. what an amazing love I see, what an amazing love I see, that your grace has come to me.

[55:39] pray what an amazing mystery that your grace has come to undeserving sinners your grace has come to those who deserve nothing but judgment and wrath and instead we receive mercy and grace but fill our hearts with appropriate gratitude this morning God forbid that any of us would think that we are deserving of the mercy and grace that has come to us but help us day by day to live as debtors to your mercy help us day by day to be amazed that we know grace and peace with God our Father through the Lord Jesus Christ and I pray that you would help us to continue to look to Jesus the author and the finisher of our faith the mediator of the new and the better covenant and Lord may the words of his blood speak the better words of his blood be a true anthem and song in our hearts every day and Lord may we throw ourselves on the mercy of his grace day by day and now unto him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy to the only God our Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord be majesty glory dominion and authority before all time and forever amen amen amen

[58:24] God bless you you're dismissed if you need prayer this morning as the others lead please come and be my joy to pray with you amen to be or