Go a little deeper
This message works through Genesis 4 as a tale of two hearts, contrasting Cain's offering with Abel's. Pastor Keith Kirkpatrick reminds the congregation that Genesis means beginning, that this is only the second week in the book, and that the God who starts the story is the God who ends it. A brief note on Genesis 4:1 introduces the Hebrew word yada, used for knowing—far more than physical intimacy, a picture of being fully known that the message returns to, including God's desire for that kind of knowing with us.
The heart of the message is the contrast between Cain and Abel. Pastor Keith acknowledges scholars genuinely differ over why God regarded one offering and not the other, then works through the view that Abel brought the firstborn and fat portions—the best—while Cain brought some of what he had, connecting this to the firstborn as a title of honor and to giving God the first rather than the leftovers. Abel's secret, cited from Hebrews 11:4, is faith rather than the quality of the gift itself. The sacrifice of an animal is tied back to the garments of skin God made for Adam and Eve in Genesis 3, which Pastor Keith treats as a picture pointing toward Jesus.
Pastor Keith discusses God's challenge to Cain's anger and warning about sin's threat. He connects this with 1 Peter's teaching about vigilance, James's account of conflicting desires, and Jesus' warning about anger. After discussing Cain's murder of Abel and God's response, he closes with a call to repent and surrender sincerely to God.
Take this with you
Worship is a heart matter before it's a gift
Pastor Keith reads the story as a contrast between two hearts, not two offering types, and notes that Bible scholars disagree about the exact reason God regarded Abel's offering. Drawing on Hebrews 11:4, he says what God looks at is the faith behind what is given.
Give God the first, not the leftovers
In Genesis 4:3-4, Abel brought the firstborn and fat portions while Cain brought some of the fruit. Pastor Keith connects this to tithing—giving from the first rather than from what remains—and describes sacrifice as giving up something you love for something you love more.
Anger points to what's already in the heart
Cain's anger and fallen face follow God's disregard of his offering, and Pastor Keith argues this response reveals a heart condition already present. Drawing on Jesus' teaching that anger brings judgment, he treats murder as a heart issue that can exist without a weapon.
Resisting sin requires intention
Pastor Keith reads Genesis 4:7 as a warning that sin threatens to overpower Cain. He connects it with 1 Peter 5's call to remain alert to the enemy and urges intentional repentance rather than carelessly continuing in sin.
Repentance, not hiding, is the way back
Pastor Keith treats God's question about Abel in Genesis 4:9 as an opportunity for Cain to admit his sin and repent. He warns that hiding sin requires further wrongdoing and closes by calling listeners to approach God with genuine remorse and surrender to Jesus.
The conversation,
in their words.
Transcript from the recording’s captions. Select any timestamp to hear the original audio.
foreign oh we are in the Book of Genesis someone shall Genesis Genesis it is the first of 66 books that we find in the Bible so if you brought your Bible we want to get into the word of God that the word would get into us the word Genesis simply means beginning if you're new with us or you're joining us for the first time you haven't missed much this is only the second week in the Book of Genesis last week we look at the opening line and the opening chapter in the opening book of the Bible in the beginning God it all starts with God and if you fast forward to the last chapter of the last book of the Bible it all ends with God it starts with God it ends with God
because he has no beginning and he has no end he is the creator he is the sustainer he is the god that is able that if you want something good in your life you go to God because whatever he creates it is good by Genesis chapter 3 we see sin enters the story sin will wreck your life it will ruin your relationship with God and with other people and sin enters the story which is where we pick up today in Genesis chapter 4. Genesis chapter 4 we're going to see the tale of two hearts here we will find ourselves in this story let God speak to you today he has a word for you Genesis chapter 4 starting with verse 1. now Adam that's the first man Adam
simply means man Adam knew Eve his wife we could just stop there and I want to remind you that this book was not written in English Moses writes the first five books of the Bible the pentateuch five books this book was written in Hebrew if we take the original language the Hebrew we translate into our English we've got to understand that sometimes there's a crossover of words that we try to make sense in the English but it's not always the same when it says Adam knew Eve how many know that it means Adam new Eve the Hebrew word translated here in English new is the word yada say yada yada you just learned some Hebrew
in the NIV is translated Adam loved Eve It's a Wonderful word in fact it's a word that's described with our relationship with God so it was never intended just to be a sexual word but it's meant to show us that sex was created by God not just for the reproduction of human life but God wants something deeper he wants intimacy between a husband and a wife sex was never intended to be something that we take into our own control than we just do for pleasure we come to our own conclusions it was actually intended that we would know one another in the most vulnerable place in our nakedness in our in our in our vulnerable true state that the person would still love us
Adam knew Eve it's the exact relationship that God wants with us he yada you you should yada God and this has nothing to do with sex it has everything to do with being known many of our problems in our life have to do with not being known if you do not know who you are in God you will come up with all kinds of wrong conclusions in fact you will try to be known in the wrong eyes in the eyes of others and you will try to want to find that Intimacy in the wrong places but there's just something special that happens when you are known
and you know someone else and God wants you to know him he wants you to yada him he wants this intimacy of of authenticity where there's a transparency between you and God Adam knew Eve his wife and as the result she conceived and bore Cain she had a baby boy saying I have gotten a man with the help of the Lord now you've got to imagine this had to have been just a complete trip this was the first birth a human being came out of a human being I mean What a Wonder what a spectacular thing but Cain is actually the first child that was born in sin for Cain's parents Adam and Eve they they could recall the good old days you remember how good it was before we had
pain and suffering remember what it was like in the garden before we had to pull weeds uh do you remember what it was like but before we were naked and had to cover ourselves up Kane is the first one born into this world to send he certainly wouldn't be the last Adam and Eve would have many many children and we read in verse 2 and again she bore his brother Abel now if we pause right here we there's many details in this story that we just don't know and when God does not provide the details it doesn't mean that we have to come up with our own understanding what the details are it just means the details aren't here
we don't know the age separation between Cain and Abel but we see that they're they're totally normal siblings in their rivalry we don't know if there are a few hundred years apart or just a few years apart or what that actually looks like but we do know that Kane is the older and we see that Cain has this younger brother named Abel we don't know much about their childhood did they fight growing up were they close growing we don't exactly know but then we're told now Abel was a keeper of the sheep and Cain a worker of the ground one's a shepherd and one's a gardener in the course of time verse 3 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 and the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering if I was to use just a modern day example we would call this church Cain went to church and Abel went to church and we actually get to see who God regards at church and I want us to see this heart here here we have two guys that were grown up in the same household the same parents they heard the same truths they were taught the same things and we come to a conclusion here that they were taught that God is worthy of an offering God is so great you just don't live your life on your own and forget about him there are times in your life you have to come before God and you give him something not because he needs it but
because he's worthy of what you're giving that God is so holy He's So Glorious he's so great he's so perfect he's so absolutely wonderful he actually gives you everything that when you give to God you're simply saying thank you for all that you've given me I trust you with what you've given me I just want to give back to all that you've given me what we see here is a Heart of Worship are y'all tracking with me so right here we see the Heart of Worship there's the heart of Cain there's a heart of Abel we see the worship of Cain and we see the worship of Abel and we see right away in verse 4 that the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering many many Millennia later
thousands and thousands of years later we are still doing the same thing today but maybe in a different way we're still praising God we're still giving him offerings because he's still the same God the god of Cain and Abel is our God today it's hard when you read a text like this it just seems like a Bible story for some of you who grew up in church maybe it's even a familiar story but the god that Cain and Abel gave their offerings to are this it's the same God that we come together today and sing songs to this is the same God that I'm going to preach about today but when you give a financial offering to Journey Church you are giving a
financial offering to the same God and it should be for the same reason because he's worthy because he's great because he's glorious because he's so holy all you have to do is respond to this God let the Lord know that you're grateful for all he's done in your life for who he is now if we read this too quickly it just becomes a story if we read it too quickly we'll come up with our own conclusions with what happens and I want us to know today that when we come to worship we will either have the heart of Cain or the heart of Abel it's at this place that we've got to recognize that God looked at one and said this is great he looked at the other and he could not stand it
now at first glance some might say listen Kane brought an animal sacrifice we're talking like a meaty fatty piece of meat like this was juicy tender this was a good piece of meat Cain he just brought vegetables so some would just say it's clear whom God loves the most it's a lot of division in this world today there's plant-based eaters and there's meat-based eaters so who does God love the most Genesis chapter 4 says now it doesn't explicitly say that why did God have regard for Abel's and
not Keynes in fact the reality is if you do some study on this Bible scholars do not come to the same agreement there are many different reasons some believe that Cain's offering was rejected because it was not a blood sacrifice that God requires a blood sacrifice that is we've sinned the Bible says that the wages of sin is death that if you keep sinning it will separate your your life from gods and you've got to recognize that sin leads to death and there's got to be an atonement something needs to be made right for your sin so a blood sacrifice needs to occur so some would say it's because Abel gave a blood sacrifice and understood the greatness of a sin that God gave regard to him some Scholars say that that's not the reason at all in
fact some would say it's simply because Cain brought the firstborn and Abel just brought some of what he had you see if you look at the the text and context in the NIV it translates this just a little different and it gives you an idea of what Cain brought before the Lord the same verse in Genesis 4 3 in The New International Version says in the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord so unlike Abel who brought the firstborn which by the way the the the the the the phrase firstborn in the scriptures is actually a title you'll see in the New Testament Jesus is called the firstborn of a number of
different things the firstborn of the dead it's a title that in the scriptures when you're the firstborn you get the greater inheritance you get the greater Authority you actually as the firstborn get the rights of the family so you get the authority of the family because you're the firstborn so when you see the phrase firstborn it's it's much less of a birth order than it is a title it's the best you get the best now the second third fourth fifth child they get the rest so some would look at Abel who gave the firstborn of his sheep he gave the best and you look at Cain he gave the rest
it's a picture we see woven with our our tithes and our offerings the scriptures teach us that we should tithe to the Lord which is the word tithe means ten percent and the principle of tithing is not that you give some 10 of what you have you try to find ten percent of what you have you give 10 of the first fruits let's just say that we're all gardeners and you get a harvest if we were to tithe to the Lord we don't say well I want to see if I have enough left over after I know that I have enough to eat for our family so if I do have enough left over I'll give God 10 at the end no no that's not how a tithe works it's 10 at the beginning and a part of this is trusting God saying I want to give you what came out of here because I know that you are the one that made it grow if I have anything it's because you gave
it to me I can sow the seed and I can water it but God you're the one that makes it grow so when I tithe what I'm saying is God if I give you 10 you could do more with the 90 than I could do with a hundred percent so when it comes to Cain's offering we start to see his heart and that he does not give God the best he does not give God what's first he seems to look around and say I know mom and dad taught us to do this I know this is what we do so I'll just go ahead and do it later in the New Testament we see Cain and Abel are compared and is not their offering it's their faith that God doesn't need you to come in
here today at church and give the biggest Financial offering he doesn't need you to look the best here's what God wants from you and we're going to see this in this text he wants your faith he wants a faith that changes who you are shapes who you are Hebrews chapter 11 verse 4 says by faith Abel offered to God we see the secret sauce to to Abel's offering was not that he gave something better it was by faith he believed that God was worth it he believed that God deserved a great offering it was by faith that Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain through which Abel was commended as righteous God commending him by accepting his gifts and through his what
faith it wasn't his works it wasn't his offering it wasn't his deeds through his faith though he died he still speaks how is Abel speaking today it's with people just like you that have hearts like Abel if you come in here with an open heart with a willing heart if you come in here today and say God you deserve the best God you're the one that gives me any good thing you come in here by faith believing that God can do for you what needs to be done the same thing that happened to Abel will happen to you it will be counted as righteous you are not righteous because of the good things you've done you are righteous because by believing
in God he exchanges your sin with his righteousness and by faith we still see today Abel speaks praise be to God you are here today not because you've been good enough you are here today not because God says you are the chosen one you are here today because you look at God and say is all about you is not about me I want to give you what's best not what's left because you are worthy of this praise we see this in verse 4 Genesis 4 verse 4 says Abel brought of the firstborn of his flock he didn't look at the leftovers he looked at what was first and their fat portions and the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering
when you understand the gravity of your sin you truly understand the greatness of God's grace God's grace is not given to you because you were good God's grace is because of how bad you are God forgives you of every single one of your sins and if you just stop and pause and look back and say whoa the gravity and the greatness of my sin and God lets me come into His presence a holy perfect sinless God that's a great God that's a God that makes me want to worship Him but if you don't think you're that bad you won't think God's that good because God is really good when you
understand that you get to be in his presence with who you are if you could just look back and count up all your sins excuse me look back and say all those times you forgot God you ignored God you cursed God you thought you did it when it was God the whole time and the fact that that God says come on come on we just sing a song Run to the Father the father says come on I want you to experience more of me more of my grace I want you to experience more of my goodness I want you to see yourself for how I made you and I've got a good plan for you I've got hope for you I've got a great inheritance for you and God does all of that despite you that's why we give to God and what we see with Abel is he gave a sacrifice an animal died
sacrifice should cost you something I love how Pastor Brad used humor to give an illustration to this message today for some people they really want to watch football and it's an important game millions and millions of people will tune into football tonight but then there's even something greater a God that you can Surrender Your Heart to that you get to go before God and talk to this God and hear from God and pray for other people to this God and intercede you can actually experience the miracle working power of God and I'm not saying you're a better person for choosing Pursuit night over football you know God can be glorified in football he really can but what I want you to see
is sacrifice is giving up something you love for something you love more sometimes my kids don't want to go to school I don't want to go to school today there's a lot of things I don't want to do but I do them because it's a sacrifice I know that if I do them on the other side I'm going to be better so when I go to work I don't go to work because I have to go to work it's a sacrifice because I know on the other end of the sacrifice I'm going to get something that I would not get if I didn't sacrifice now when we come before God and we give to God an offering be it Financial our time our hearts it's going to cost you something if it doesn't cost you something it wasn't fully surrendered worship and for Cain he was just able to bring
something that he already had some of us show up in church and we expect so much of God but yet we're just giving God something the true worshiper is the one that says I just want to get rid of who I am and I just want all of God and yet if you think you can keep some of who you are and still receive what God has for you he can't do it he just wants all of you and the crazy thing is when he gets all of you he could do more with you than you could do with yourself and this is called repentance I often say at Journey Church the word repent has such a bad rap it's been misused and abused repentance is a changed thinking repentance is a complete dependence on
God it means I can't do this on my own and lately I've been thinking so much about you Journey Church as I pray about what God's doing right now repentance is going to be the key to Revival it's repentance in our own Hearts is not even praying for others to repent it's literally rejecting who you are and wanting more of God it's being broken for the things of God I know I deserve death God you've given me life I know I deserve to be separated from you yet you're giving me an opportunity to worship you Cain thinks that he can just come before God and do whatever he wants Abel thinks
all I can do is give God my best and so Abel gives an animal an animal's life was taken now if we just go back just a little bit we can see more of this story in Genesis chapter 3 after Adam and Eve Cain and Abel's parents they sinned prior to sin they were naked and there was no shame it was just Beauty and life enjoying all that God has given them in the garden but yet when sin entered the story there was shame and there was cover-up their identities changed and they covered themselves up with fig leaves now I don't know what size the Fig leaves were in the garden
but today fig leaves aren't that big and if you pluck a fig Leaf it's not going to stay like that for very long eventually it dries and it crackles and God could just see this playing out and he's just shaking his head he even asked who said that you were naked why do you think that the way I made you is bad so God knew exactly what happened and we read in Genesis 3 21 instead of just using the Fig leaves the rest of their lives the Lord God Made For Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothe them Look What the Lord does he takes the life of an animal because of sin
and says I will cover you with that it's a prophetic picture of what God would do for us and able hearing the story from his parents we messed up before God we were naked before God we tried to take matters into our own hands yet God took the life of an animal and provided for us and now Abel is actually doing the same thing for God he's emulating what God has done for us I hope you can see the picture of of Jesus everywhere in the scriptures it's a picture of what Jesus would do for us we've sinned we have shame we try to cover that up but Jesus came and instead of an animal being sacrificed he would be the great sacrifice for our
sins he would cover our lives he would be the one to allow us to be right in God's eyes and with each other right for the price of sin is death and Abel seems to recognize this and point us forward to the picture of who Jesus is but Cain verse 5 says but Cain in his offering he had no regard God looked at what came brought and was just like I don't need that so Cain was very angry and his face fell another translation says he was downcast so Cain comes to church and he leaves and he's like that wasn't that great of a service today I didn't really like the song Choices
it was a little loud too much Haze and that preacher all he did is talk about Sin and he leaves angry and his face fell there are people that come to church and they leave worse than they came King was angry and he was depressed some of you came in today with a cane heart angry and depressed you could fool a whole lot of people you could look good you can act good you can even come to church you can even worship you can even sacrifice you can even give to God but your heart can be full of anger and depression
this was already in Cain's heart before God disregarded his offering what we really see here is a result of character and character eventually comes out I mean you can fool everyone but God because God actually sees your heart and why you're here what you actually want and painful of anger and depression you know this is what false religion is false religion is I will do this I will follow religious rules based on my terms and once I don't get my way or things don't go the way I want I'm not going to do them God is Not into you following rules or being religious God wants you to give him your heart
and what's in our hearts will eventually come out Jesus said this he said it's not what goes into a man that makes him sin it's what comes out of a man some of you will hear me talk about marijuana pot uh alcohol you say oh the preacher's just against all these things no no I'm not against what goes in you it just breaks my heart when you think that's the solution for what you're going through when you're stressed out and the doctor says you should really do this and you listen to the doctor more than you listen to the Lord when we come in to the presence of God we don't come to the presence of God lightly we want to come into the presence of God and recognize I am broken I am desperate for you when we sing and
we pray it's actually a recognition that we're desperate for God when you fast the whole picture of fasting is I've got to give up something recognizing my complete dependence on you and your your fasting and praying for breakthrough and some of you need breakthrough but you take matters into your own hand like Cain saying well I did this God you better do this that's not the heart God wants because you're going to come out of worship still being angry and still being depressed and I need you to see the heart of God in the next text that God loves you so much he doesn't want you to stay there we have a god of Grace upon Grace he gives you an opportunity just like he gives Cain look at the next verse Genesis 4 verse 6 the Lord said to Cain why are you angry and why has your face Fallen
we could take a time out and although the Lord said this to Cain some of us should say this too Kane why are you angry you don't have to deal with the traffic we deal with today you don't have to deal with the media we deal with today you don't have to deal with the political leaders we deal with today seriously Ken what are you stressed out about you ever look at somebody else's life and say that like what do you stress about my life is 10 times more stressful than yours you don't say it out loud but you're thinking it seriously Kane what's your problem why are you so angry what's going on God asks Cain now the result is God gives him a reality a promise he says if you do well verse 7.
if you do well will you not be accepted get real with me okay and it's going to be okay and if you do not do well if you keep choosing your path sin is crouching at the door and its desire is contrary to you hear that word today sin is contrary to you what God wants for you is absolutely the opposite of what sin is but then God tells Cain you must rule over it when you're not surrendering your life to the Lord sin is just waiting for you when you're not fully surrender the Lord you have now given room for the devil in your life and the phrase that sin is crouching at the door it's actually it's an ancient
Semitic term that would be a picture it was a phrase of a picture that would be in your mind of a doorway and at that doorway is a demon waiting for someone to come through that door to attach to that's the picture here so whoever goes first through the door the Demon's going to latch onto pounce onto this this is the picture you don't see it but you're not even thinking about it you're going about your business walking through the door and the demon says voila boom attached now you've got demonic possession in your life because you weren't even aware of what was happening what God tells Cain is if you just go about your business if you're not intentional about this if you don't
repent if you keep going down this path it's not going to be good it's going to be demonic that what was in you already was not of me and you have a choice let peace rule in your heart which is in Colossians chapter 3 or you can let the enemy rule in your heart through sin you choose the preacher can't do it for you no other person can do it for you you have to choose this day whom you will serve and when you do you've just declared war on the devil sin is waiting to destroy your life and it will happen in a moment that you don't see it you just think you're walking through the door of opportunity you think you're going to get what you want since God's not given it to you unaware that the devil is waiting to destroy your life and what the Lord tells Cain and he
tells our hearts today you would do well you would do well if you just follow me so the question for us is will you let sin rule in your heart or peace rule in your heart God lovingly gives Cain the opportunity just like he gives all of us today even if you've messed up no matter where you've been he's given you an opportunity to repent to run to him there was a student of Jesus named Peter I love Peter Peter had a disease where he would speak without thinking it's the whole ready fire aim principle I can relate to Peter a lot he was traveling with Jesus walking with
Jesus talking with Jesus and Jesus would say some crazy things like the son of man must suffer I'm going to die and Peter would be like no no Jesus come on you're not going to die we could translate that that's a dumb idea Jesus and you know what Jesus lovingly said to Peter get behind me Satan it doesn't get more clear than that that's the devil talking Peter when God gives a promise you can't reject it and think that it's going to turn out okay now here's what I love about Jesus and I love this about how he thinks of you he did not reject Peter he did not cast Peter out of the house he did not say Peter now you're disqualified you said something so dumb I could never use you
again he said no Peter I'm going to show the world what I'm going to do through you if you choose me I'll build my house on that rock you come before Jesus and declare he is the Christ he will do great things in your life but if you try to tell Jesus what to do in your life he's just going to tell you the truth that's of the devil get behind me so Peter in his maturity don't you know that when you've been through some stuff that's when you're able to actually give some stuff you go through some suffering that's the people I want to learn from I got three teenagers I don't want to read a parenting book from someone with toddlers I need talk to some people that have been through some stuff and lately I have and my wife and I we've been comforted like you went
through that Peter says this hey humble yourselves come on Peter we know the story why he says that now humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he might exalt you let's just stop there for a moment this is called an anthropomorphism it's used throughout the Psalms it's when the writer uses a human term to describe an infinite Almighty Eternal God you're just you so recognize that before God and he's going to lift you up and he uses the phrase hand which in the Old Testament the Hebrew idea here is is Deliverance that God will actually take
you out of what's what you're going through that God will actually rescue you that he has Authority and strength and he can do it in just one hand so when you humble yourself come on he's going to lift you up I can imagine Peter saying if I just kept my mouth shut I would have not gone through all that y'all learn from me learn from me if you've messed up don't worry God's Gonna lift you up but humble yourselves don't think of yourself higher than you ought to God is God and you are not so he says this in verse 7 casting all your anxieties on him why because he cares for you let's just stop there you can imagine that when you go through some stuff sometimes you think God doesn't care for you sometimes you think God's abandoned you why would God let you go through all this at this time in
the ancient Asian culture which is where the church is where Peter's leading they were going through suffering persecution you can lose your life and what Peter's saying here is you don't need to carry that burden give it to God in your suffering he still sees you he still loves you he still wants you to know he cares for you so you cast it back on him you give it to God because he's able to do for you what needs to be done and then he says this in verse 8. here's the key here be sober minded and Be watchful it's what the Lord is telling Cain you've got to be intentional you will not end up in the place God wants you to be by accident by happenstance by luck
you will not end up there because of just waking up one day you need to be sober minded and you need to Be watchful in this world you need to be intentional you need to look out why he says because your adversary literally means your enemy you have an enemy of your soul the devil the devil is your enemy and he prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to Devour the same picture that God tells Cain oh sin is just crouching at the door Peter says this the devil's just waiting to pounce on you like a tiger's in the grass you can't see him because his stripes match the grass but I'm here to tell you today if you're not looking out you're going to be that last antelope the devil's not going to let you know
he's going to jump on you some of you are wondering why is this thing happening in my family why is this happening in my mind why are these things happening the devil was looking for an opportunity you weren't sober minded you weren't watching out and he took the opportunity but it's time for us verse 9 says resist the devil firm in your faith knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhoods throughout the world one of the biggest lies of the enemy is what you're going through is unique the people around you are going through way more stuff than you fully understand so if you think that people coming to church got it figured out as I lie of the devil said get behind me Satan you should be praying for the people around you they are more broken than you
understand I will even dare to say this and this is my opinion not the word of God sometimes the people that look the most beautiful or the most broken I see this over and over you don't need to fake it with God go ahead and bring your bloody mess before God and say this is my offering to you this is what I want to give you and just know that you're not alone we're in this together this is why we're better together this is why God said I will build my church the word church is ecclesi it's a gathering you're never meant to be alone we are totally broken I'm not going to pretend like I've got it figured out like Peter I want to say let's just humble ourselves and say God we need your help James says if you draw near to God the devil's just going to run from you he cannot stand the authority of Jesus
Christ but if you don't take care of this the work of the devil will take care of you look at what happens in verse 8. so Cain spoke to Abel his brother hey bro let's go catch some football out in the field come on I mean baseball I'll bring the bat and when they were in the field Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him we'll see who's bigger we'll see who's better we'll see who's better here's what's crazy today you all know that murder still exists today evil just happened last night in California 10 people were murdered
it's like it's so constant it doesn't even shock us anymore absolute evil murder murder happens right in the city of Bend that happens with people right here within our own church now what baffles me about this you just pause for a moment we live in the age of information someone can have brain surgery and walk out the same day we know so much information that Cain and Abel potentially didn't know at least we can look back in history right at your fingertips you may not even be listening to me right now you might be watching news happening on the other side of the world right at your fingertip why would we murder shouldn't we be able to say wait this is bad as bad result never works out well not gonna do it because somewhere someone justifies their behavior and says I will be better on the other side of murder
Cain murders Abel and thinks this can be okay you know in 2020 murders Rose 30 percent in America it was the highest jump ever in the history of violent crime since they were tracked in 2020 do you remember 2020 you should or else we're going to repeat it our nation was so divided and I don't mean because of the pandemic there was horrific racial division political division religious Division if you don't know what I'm talking about it was a hard time to be a preacher you couldn't do anything right if you met you were killing people if you didn't meet you didn't love the Lord I mean it was so divided and you know what the result was murder just wild
we didn't draw closer together the Lord's impressed upon me looking back at the pandemic this is this is my result coming out of the pandemic we did not repent enough it wasn't about meeting or masks or any other thing we should have been on our knees as a church weeping and seeking God for wisdom that he has full control over all sickness disease he has full control over all government but instead we bickered so many memes shared and just so much fighting and and I regret that even as a pastor I didn't lead our church better I mean I was daily like trying hard to like give Daily Bread on devotions but I was actually just trying to inspire you instead of turning you to God so I was just giving you like a little bit of milk instead of meat
but it's time for us to be worshipers it's time for us to recognize we need God or else we're dead [Applause] James says this he's a brother of Jesus which by the way like Peter he he messed up a lot he didn't know who Jesus was until later he got the Revelation Jesus gave his life to his own brother as the Savior ends up being the pastor of the church in Jerusalem he says what causes quarrels and what causes fights among you is it not this that your passions are at War within you do you want to know why you fight it's sin it's what's already in you you desire and you do not have so that's why you murder you covet and you cannot obtain so you fight and you quarrel you do not have because you do not ask and you ask and you do not receive because you ask wrongly to spend it on your own
passions James says murder is actually a heart issue it's you taking matters into your own hands you're not getting what you want why do fights happen in a marriage nobody goes into marriage saying I really hope this ends in divorce it's your passions you've been offended and you have the right to protect yourself and do what needs to be done why do parents fight with kids and kids fight with parents every week we pray for dozens of parents and kids who are estranged and parents that are just begging God please I want a right relationship with my child why why is there splits in the church why is our nation divide wise it's our passions within us this this is a heart issue now how many know you don't have to murder with a weapon
Jesus wants you to make sure that this is not just the Ten Commandments because you could say well I've never murdered anybody I'm okay I'm out of it I'm not I have an able heart not a cane heart Jesus said this watch this he says you've heard that it was said of those of old you shall not murder and whoever murders will be liable to judgment have you heard that say the Ten Commandments don't murder but Jesus says I say to you everyone who's angry with his brother will be liable to judgment we all need to repent here have you ever been angry with anybody now you've never been angry with someone you're a hermit you are you have to get angry at someone and you're going to be liable to judgment whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council whoever says you
fool will be liable to the hell of fire here's what Jesus is saying murders a byproduct of anger and if you stay angry it's actually not going to draw you closer to God it's gonna you're gonna end up in hell hell is the permanent separation from God but God always gives us an opportunity to experience heaven and you don't have to wait to get to heaven to experience Heaven on Earth you start forgiving people the way God has forgiven you you start recognizing your desperate need for God and the Lord said to Cain verse 9. the Lord said to King where's it Abel your brother and Cain said I do not know I do not know am I My Brother's Keeper now I I just need to point out the obvious but let me just tell you you'll forget about this sin will cause you to sin
so when you sin if you go down this road of sin you have to use sin to cover up sin so we think that well this will be the right decision but the reality is you will have to constantly sin to cover up your sin when God asks where is Abel it's not because God doesn't know where Abel is he also asks Adam and Eve where are you it's not because God lost Adam and Eve What's Happening Here Is God is asking the question because he's the king of questions and he wants us to come to the conclusion of the reality of where we are he's pulling from us the truth so when he says where is Abel he's given another opportunity to repent he's given another opportunity to run to God and say I am so sorry I messed up tremendously I took the life of my brother he's giving Cain an opportunity to experience Grace
and what is sin what does Sin do it causes you to say I don't want anyone to know what's going on you know what sin always does it's Secret s are of the devil every single time and was absolutely crazy you can't keep secrets from God you could try to hide yourself all you want but God's going to be like Yoo-hoo where are you be like you saw me yeah I saw you I could be anywhere at any time so when you just murdered someone in your heart and you're still angry and depressed at church God is asking you where's your brother where's the person you're angry with you have an opportunity to repent to run to God but if you're going to try to
cover it up let me tell you the end result is never ever good so here's a rule of thumb those who keep secrets from God keep their distance from God there's always always a consequence to sin so here's what happens next verse 10 the Lord said what have you done the voice of your brother's blood is crying to me from the ground and now you're cursed from the ground which has opened his mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand when you work the ground it shall no longer yield to you with strength you shall be a fugitive and a wander on Earth instead of being blessed which by the way we have a god of blessing you're going to be cursed when you worship the Living God you worship Jesus Christ you're set free from your sins and my friends you are blessed in fact Paul says the Ephesians you have every spiritual blessing in Jesus but when you don't worship I'll tell you
right now it's miserable and it's unbearable look at Cain's result verse 13 and 14. Cain said to the Lord my punishment is greater than I can bear you know today one of the popular phrases we say about other people is we say they're a narcissist have you heard people call other people narcissists many many times it's in the context of marriage I didn't know this but I married a narcissist it's really interesting that we can point out that everybody else is a narcissist all they care about is themselves I I don't mean judgment there but I guess I am judging because I'm a narcissist that's what sin is sin is saying I want what I want and notice here that Cain does not say
you know what God that's a right judgment I deserve that I own it instead it's me me me me me repentance every single time will be about the Lord and the Lord will make your heart break for other people's hearts let me just read verse 14 and then we'll come to a close here behold he says you have driven me today away from the ground and from your face I shall be hidden I shall be a fugitive and a wander on the earth and whoever Finds Me will kill me where the Lord says in verse 15 not so Cain this is the mystery and the sovereignty and the Providence of God why does God even tolerate and allow murder some of us might say wait wait God you could have stopped that I'm not going to try to explain the mystery of God's Providence of how
things happen and why they happen but God says I'm not going to let anyone touch you this will be a story of what happens when you sin and the consequence of your sin now since the creation of mankind God has always given us an expectation of how to live rightly some of us just say if God would just give me a sign I will tell you today God has given you a sign he's given you his word and from the very beginning the same writer of Genesis God gave him a word to give to his people in Deuteronomy 10 verse 12-13 he says now Israel what does your the Lord require of you here's what God wants he doesn't need more here's what God wants he wants you to fear the lord your God to walk in all his ways to love him to serve the Lord your God with all your heart with all your soul soul and to keep the Commandments and statues of the Lord which I am commanding you today for your good
God just wants you to follow him because his ways are always right and we don't think his ways are right keep following him because you won't get the consequence of sin which is crouching at the door do what God says do Jesus said the same thing in John 14 15 if you love me keep my Commandments because they're good God is good when you go after God you're going to get goodness but you've got to give God everything you've got to sacrifice David when he was given an opportunity to have land free where he can give a sacrifice to the Lord he was the king and so to honor the king is like I'm not going to charge you for this you can have this you can build an altar here and it was all because David tried to take matters into his own hands he started counting his army he started thinking are we big enough are we strong enough and God says I'm going to actually have to curse you because now you think it's about you and not me and David says oh Lord I'm sorry I
repent I'm going to give you a sacrifice on the Altar and the person who owned this land said hey David I'll give this to you for free and here's David's result but the King David said this verse 24 of chapter chapter 24 verse 4 24. no David said but I will buy it from you for a price I will not offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God that cost me nothing I can't just come to church and be normal before God what sacrifices are you given to God today I'll tell you it is crazy how quick a cane heart can slip into your life it is really easy to say that person is like Cain and that person's like Cain but all of us at some point will have a cane heart we'll have a cane heart and we'll think that somehow the world is about us or somehow worship is about us but the end
of the day we need to have able hearts Romans 12 1-2 says this I appeal to you therefore Brothers by the mercies of God to present your bodies as a Living Sacrifice that's willingly intentionally holy and acceptable to God which is your spiritual worship now we can read this and it seems so distant how can I do this well here's the next verse that tells you do not conform to this world do not be conformed to this world another translation do not be conformed to the patterns of this world so don't do what everybody else is doing but be transformed by the renewal of your mind that by testing you may discern what the will of God is what is good acceptable and perfect so how can you know what the will of God is worship Him worship and somebody said I don't know
what to do start worshiping give God willingly what is do him your heart so many times we only want to give God what's left over so many times we want to give God what we think looks good that's not what God's asking for the last verse I'll leave you with today is David's words when he said this the sacrifice is a God of this it's not the best of the best the sacrifice of God are a broken Spirit a broken and contrite heart oh God you will not despise friends I wonder if you're trying to hide from something today the Bible says if you confess your sins he's faithful and just to forgive your sins you know what God will take in his presence as a wonderful offering a broken heart when you say I can't do this I don't have it figured out I've sinned too long when you bring that heart before God
he is not only honored he will heal you he will restore you I love how the Book of Malachi is talking all about tithes and offerings and so many times we end up in a mess because we don't give God the best and Malachi says this that which the locusts have devoured God will restore some of you look back and say my life is a mess may I just say today God can do exceedingly and abundantly more than all you could ask or imagine so start asking God start giving him your heart start seeing God work in your life because even if you die you might still speak afterwards because people will look at your faith they're going to look at who you live for they're going to look at who you loved but some of us need to repent of the cane heart today are you angry and depressed give it to
God cast it on God that's what's in his word this is a time where we're going to respond to God we're going to sing one last song I'd like to invite the band up here right now as I give you a great invitation if you've never surrendered your life to Jesus now is your moment today's the day you do not have to go get your life right to be right with God but you do have to surrender your heart to God you have to trust in him and when you do it once you've begun the greatest journey of all a journey of following Jesus Christ you might stumble like Peter but he's going to lift you up he's going to lift you up if that's you today I want to ask you to take a bold step right where you are just even with eyes open right now you're going to say I Just Surrender My
All to Jesus would you just raise your hand right where you are I want to see who you are praise God someone else here today it praise God praise God praise God praise God praise God it's amazing anyone else you came here today thinking you're going to church but God says I actually want your whole heart you've been running too long you've been hiding secrets from me too long praise God amen [Music] he sees your broken heart he loves you anyone else right now you say I want to surrender Yes to Jesus yes praise God amen praise God [Music] yes praise God praise God yes you can run from God for a long time and then shame will keep you away but I'll
tell you this shame cannot stop God from Loving You it was the Lord the sacrificed an animal to cover up Adam and Eve it's the Lord that died on the cross for every one of your sins he covers You by his blood you are forgiven you are set free you're not defined by what was done to you long ago you're not defined by the family you were born into you are defined by Jesus Christ so right where you are say a prayer like this in your heart let's all just say it out loud if you believe in Jesus say this out loud if you're still wrestling with Jesus you can just listen to this prayer but there is power in confessing out loud say this Lord Jesus I give you my life I worship you you are worthy Jesus I Repent of my sins help me follow you
fill me with your spirit in Jesus name amen and amen amen well friends if you're able to would you stand to your feet I want to just give you an invitation we're going to sing One Last Song and then you're going to be dismissed by Pastor David in just a moment if you need prayer today would you receive it God's not finished with you yet if you want to come to the front of the stage just as a posture of an altar of surrendering your heart to God leave it with the Lord today you came in with anger you're going to leave with peace you came in with sin and shame you're going to leave with an identity as a child of God so that's you and you want to just come before this is just between you and God it's just a posture of obedience obedience if you need to raise your hands and surrender raise them and
surrender if you need to be silent be silent the picture here is obedience be obedient to the Lord Jesus for he's worthy God we give you our song in Jesus mighty name amen foreign
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The Heart Behind the Offering
Two brothers raised in the same household bring offerings, and God regards one. Pastor Keith notes the text does not spell out exactly why, that scholars disagree, and that the deeper question is what the heart was giving.
Genesis 4:3-5 · Hebrews 11:4
- Pastor Keith names several explanations scholars give for why God regarded Abel's offering. How does each explanation shift what you think the passage is teaching?
- Where might you be bringing God some of what you have rather than the first and best?
- How do you tell the difference between giving because God is worthy and giving to get something from him?
Known by God: The Intimacy of Yada
The message pauses on the Hebrew word yada, usually translated 'knew,' to say it carries something deeper than physical intimacy: being fully known, which Pastor Keith says God also wants with us.
Genesis 4:1
- Pastor Keith says many of our problems come from not being known. What problems in your life fit that description?
- Where do you look to be known in the wrong eyes or to find intimacy in the wrong places?
- How does Pastor Keith describe authenticity and transparency before God?
Responding to God's warning
In Genesis 4:6-7, God challenges Cain's anger and warns him about sin's threat. Pastor Keith applies this as a call to repentance and connects it with 1 Peter 5's instruction to remain alert to the enemy.
Genesis 4:6-7 · 1 Peter 5:6-9 · Colossians 3
- How does Pastor Keith apply God's warning to Cain as a call for intentional repentance?
- How does Cain's anger illustrate the importance of surrendering one's heart to God?
- What does he emphasize about vigilance in 1 Peter 5?
Murder as a Heart Issue
From Cain killing Abel in the field, the message moves through James's question about what causes quarrels and Jesus' teaching that anger itself brings judgment. The point is that the line between Cain and Abel runs through ordinary hearts.
Genesis 4:8 · James 4:1-3 · Matthew 5:21-22
- Pastor Keith says you don't have to murder with a weapon. Where has anger or resentment been doing damage in your relationships?
- How does Pastor Keith apply James's teaching about conflicting desires to quarrels?
- Pastor Keith sets a choice between letting sin rule the heart and letting peace rule it. Where is that choice most pressing for you right now?
Secrets, Consequences, and Coming Home
God asks where Abel is, and the message treats the question as an invitation to repent rather than a lack of information. Cain's response is self-focused and he protests the severity of his punishment, yet God still keeps him from being killed.
Genesis 4:9-15 · Deuteronomy 10:12-13 · John 14:15
- Pastor Keith says those who keep secrets from God keep their distance from God. What might you be trying to keep covered?
- Cain responds to consequence by complaining that his punishment is too heavy rather than by repenting. Where do you identify with that reaction?
Answers from this recording
Start a conversation.
Why did God accept Abel's offering but not Cain's?+
In this message, Pastor Keith does not settle the question as a matter of certainty and notes that Bible scholars disagree. Some argue Cain's was rejected because it was not a blood sacrifice; others argue that in Genesis 4:3-4 Cain brought some of the fruit while Abel brought the firstborn and fat portions, giving God the best. Pastor Keith's main conclusion is drawn from Hebrews 11:4: it was by faith that Abel offered. The gift mattered less than the faith and heart behind it.
What does Pastor Keith say tithing means?+
Applying Genesis 4:3-4, Pastor Keith defines tithing as giving ten percent from the beginning of what one receives rather than waiting to see what remains. His gardening illustration emphasizes acknowledging God as the source of provision and trusting him with what remains. He contrasts this with his reading of Cain's offering as withholding the best.
How does Pastor Keith explain God's warning about sin in Genesis 4:7?+
Pastor Keith interprets the image in Genesis 4:7 as an unseen threat waiting to seize an opportunity. He urges listeners to surrender to God rather than give sin room in their lives, and connects the warning with 1 Peter 5's call to stay alert to the enemy.
Why does the message say anger is as serious as murder?+
Using Matthew 5:21-22, Pastor Keith stresses the seriousness of anger and insults even when a person has not physically killed anyone. He reads Cain's murder in Genesis 4 as an expression of the anger already within him and uses James 4 to explain how competing desires contribute to conflict.
