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*Family Foundations, Part 6 – Controlling Sin in the Heart Before it Controls the Life (Genesis 4:6-7)*
/Preached by Pastor Phil Layton at Gold Country Baptist Church on January 11, 2009/
www.goldcountrybaptist.org
 
Genesis 4:3-8 (NASB95) 3 So it came about in the course of time that Cain brought an offering to the Lord of the fruit of the ground.
4 Abel, on his part also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat portions.
And the Lord had regard for Abel and for his offering; 5 but for Cain and for his offering He had no regard.
So Cain became very angry and his countenance fell.
6 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry?
And why has your countenance fallen?
7 “If you do well, will not /your countenance /be lifted up?
And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it.”
8 Cain told Abel his brother.
And it came about when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him.
This ends our reading of God’s Word for this evening with the end of the life of Abel, who Hebrews 11 said, being dead, still speaks.
Most of you have probably heard the saying, “Dead men tell no tales.”
Whether it was the last words of a man in a mafia-related shooting as he died, or the slogan popularized by Pirates of the Carribbean, or whatever the /original/ origin of the phrase, when it comes to God’s Word, actually dead men /do /tell tales.
This tale, this true story of two sons, the first two sons, still speaks today.
In fact, God Himself says (v. 11) “the voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground.”
His voice also speaks to us in 2009.
Hebrews 11:4 (KJV) By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh … [what does he teach us? v. 6] without faith/ it is/ impossible to please/ him/: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and/ that/ he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
This story of Cain and Abel is recorded to speak to us today, and it does speak to us a vital lesson if we will let it.
The way God speaks to the first sinful child of Adam and Eve is recorded not merely for Cain’s sake, but for the sake of all Adam and Eve’s children ever since to this day.
Not merely for children, but for adults, too.
God gets to the heart of the matter of our sin, and our bad worship and bad hearts in this passage.
And in God’s good and gracious nature, He as our Heavenly Father gives the model for His children, His means of grace to control sin in the heart before it controls the life.
*/#1.
The Nature of Our Spiritual Worship/*
To review briefly we saw last week that Cain’s problem was a /heart/ problem.
God always looks at the heart and does not accept religious acts without a repentant heart of faith. 1 John 3 also speaks to this as does Hebrews 11 which tells us Abel had a true heart of faith.
We also looked last week at Romans 1 (/let’s look there again to review/).
The great problem with the human race is not a behavior problem or environment problem or education problem, or lack of programs, or of government assistance, or lack of self-esteem.
The solution is not solved by psychologists, sociologists, or any secular source.
The Scriptures are clear our greatest enemy and problem is *within, the problem is /inside us/, not something /outside/ of us.** *We saw last week that the root issue is a sin issue, it is a heart issue … it is a worship issue.
And the solution is only found by true faith in God’s truth, and true worship of the True God.
Last week we saw that all humans are always worshipping something, constantly.
Even those who don’t think they’re religious, or who profess to be atheists (or anti-theists) still worship something (science, self, etc.).
Romans 1:20-30 (NASB95) 20 For *since the creation of the world* *[from these chapters in Genesis till today]* His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are *without excuse [man knows but suppresses the truth, v18-19]*21 For even though *they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks*, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish *heart was darkened.*
22 Professing to be wise, they *became fools*, 23 and *exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image … [they don’t cease to worship, man foolishly exchanges the glory of God for something far less to focus on]* 24 Therefore God gave them over *in the lusts of their hearts to impurity* *[the source is the heart]*, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them.25
For they *exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator …* 28 And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to *a depraved mind* *[again, all that follows comes from within]*, to do those things which are not proper, 29 being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; /they are /gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents …
 
All of our sins come from within, from depraved hearts and minds.
The book of James says we always sin because of our /own lusts /(1:14)/, /and it says our conflicts are always, always due to /our own/ internal conflicts and sinful desires /within us/ (4:1-3).
Your sin is not caused by /your spouse/, it’s by /yourself/ (self-love, worship).
Jesus said nothing outside us defiles us, it’s all from within.
Mark 7:21-23 (NASB95) 21 “For *from within, out of the heart of men*, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, 22 deeds of coveting /and /wickedness, /as well/ /as /deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride /and /foolishness.
23 “*All these evil things proceed from within* and defile the man.”
Jesus also said, it’s “from the abundance /of the heart/ the mouth speaks” – in other words, when we sin with our speech, in our marriage or relationships, we’re not mainly having /communication/ problems, we’re revealing a /heart/ problem.
We need to diagnose it properly to have the proper cure.
We need to recognize the problem is not the occasion or other person that prompts us to say or do things in anger.
The problem is our sinful heart has overflowed and manifested itself.
We must start here: The heart is the key issue for us and God.
And God by His kindness (Rom.
2:4 says), gives grace that should lead our hearts to repentance.
But to those who refuse it, Romans 2:5 says “But *because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself* in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God”
 
As we turn back to Genesis, this was Cain’s problem, long before the physical act of murder.
It was a spiritual problem, uncontrolled hatred in the heart led to homicide.
He had an unrepentant heart as Genesis 4 unfolds, and he reveals stubbornness as God graciously and patiently gives Him kindness and grace that should have led to repentance.
The heart of the matter was a sinful heart and thoughts.
Gen 6:5 “Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that *every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”*
The truth of Romans 1, illustrated in the story of Cain and Abel, is that the great indictment on all men, and the ultimate root of all sin is /our wrong hearts continually engaged in their thoughts in wrong worship/ (which later secondarily result in wrong outward deeds).
Wrong behavior is the fruit - but we want to focus on the root.
/ /
/Application #1.
True Worship of our Glorious God is our Greatest Task/
 
This is where I planned to end and apply last week.
I won’t repeat our discussion of the details of Gen. 4:3-5; I want to consider this bigger framework, and look at the “forest” of this theme before we look at the trees.
Allen Ross has written an excellent book subtitled /Biblical Worship from the Garden to the New Creation, /the only work I know of that traces this theme so thoroughly from Genesis to Revelation.
One of his applications of Cain and Abel’s story is:
 
‘This gives the reader a preview of human worship in general: some people attend a service and are uplifted, and others who are there do not respond; some give to the Lord and are blessed, while others do it and are disgruntled.
It is not the ritual that is at fault but the person.
Thus, in this story we are dealing with two kinds of “worshippers.”
On the surface Cain’s offering looked perfectly acceptable, but his heart was not in it [or right] … Abel went out of his way to please God, but Cain was simply discharging a duty.
Cain thought God would be satisfied with the performance of the routine, but he was wrong[1]
 
As you look at Genesis 4 again, for Cain it gives no hint of sorrow, grief, concern, or repentance anywhere.
Undoubtedly there are many Cains in churches, but many people like this man in Genesis 4 who think just showing up at a worship service pleases God.
But without a repentant heart of humble faith, God is very displeased with our filthy rags of religion without contrition.
/Application #2: Worship is about what pleases God, not what pleases us/
 
Abel understood this in Genesis 4, but this was not Cain’s focus.
This is something many tend to forget in churches where /worship style/ is so emphasized and creating an atmosphere that pleases the maximum number of “seekers” is so much a priority for so many.
Many look for churches primarily because of a particular music type or instrument combination or tradition that pleases them and so-called “worship wars” split churches, and we overlook this essential fact that worship is fundamentally for GOD, not us!
Cain’s worship did not please God and the context reveals his focus was on himself, not God.
/Does your worship please God because your heart of faith is right with God and focused on God? /Before we look more at the details of this story in Genesis 4, I think we need to look at our own hearts and examine ourselves.
/ /
/Application #3: Worship must be a priority for you and your family /
 
As for me and my family we will worship the Lord.
Choose you this day whom you will serve and worship.
All of us serve and worship something, the only question is who or what.
We parents have to be careful not to polish the idols of our children and fuel their focus on things as more important than the worship of God.
The book /Instructing a Child’s Heart /warns how ‘many parents feed their children’s idols.
They take delight in their children’s delight in possessions … and pleasures.
Parents expend enormous amounts of time, money, and energy in the development of performance abilities [kids can pick up from parents whether the priority is little league or worship of a big and glorious God].
Families are so overcommitted to activities that there is precious little time for meals together, family devotions, or simple conversation and family enjoyment … While choosing from the dizzying array of choices, think carefully or you will inadvertently lead your children away from God rather than to him.’[2]
I was reading a book put out by the AWANA ministry that emphasized the priority of family worship.
In colonial America and centuries past in England, it said that men who were not regularly leading their family in family worship ~/ devotions could frequently come under the rebuke of the Elders and church discipline, at least to the point of those dads not being allowed to take of communion at church.
They took it seriously, not lightly.
/ /
/What is family worship?/
It’s not a real complicated word, or concept: worship as a family together, or doing devotions together (usually involving Scripture or songs or both, in some backgrounds there’s more formal training like a catechism or study, but it can be more informal).
For us at our young kids age, it’s usually as simple as reading some Bible passages or stories (books with pictures), singing songs, praying, and making it fun and interactive for the kids, acting out the story.
It will look differently for others, but kids will pick up whether God’s Word is a priority for mom and dad in the week.
What about on the Lord’s Day?
Your kids will also pick up from mom and dad whether worship of God is a priority, and whether you enjoy church, and look forward to the worship of God who is the glorious center of your marriage and home, a God you find awesome and awe-inspiring as the holy majestic God of wonders.
As we closed with last week: “the most important thing you can do for your kids is to be dazzled by God.”
Your kids will know whether or not you find God dazzling and satisfying and whether He truly is the glorious grand goal of your life or just a little compartment of your life, a little thing you do on the side at times.
Our goal as parents is not mere externalism or behaviorism, but it is the bigness and greatness of God to truly be known and loved by us and our children.
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