Paul and Cain and You

Genesis chapter four is where we'll be starting. Genesis chapter four and we'll begin reading in verse one in just a moment. So, the apostle Paul and Cain. Now, when I say the apostle Paul and Cain, are those two people automatically that you kind of put together? Think, oh, they got a lot in common.

Well, probably not. But I think we'll see from the message today. They did have some things in common. Some things that we also have in common with them. And but, we'll see a different result.

They both were sinners, just like us. They both approach God the wrong way. They brought the wrong sacrifice. I will see that in both of their stories today. They were both angry with those who had it right.

Often times, sinners, even maybe before we were saved. The lost world around us actually is angry at those who are following the Lord and doing it God's way. These two men most definitely were. They both heard the voice of God and this is kind of a little bit unique to them. Now, we hear the voice of God every time we pick up a Bible and read it.

God speaks to us through his word, through his spirit, through others. These two men actually heard the voice of God speak to them and they both responded but here's where they take their separate ways. Their response was vastly different. One proudly rejected God's offer of salvation and forgiveness while the other humbly received it. One chose to serve only himself while the other chose to bow before the Lord and serve only him.

The question this morning is, which are you? Which will you be this new day, this new year? Joshua 2,415 says, and if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom you will serve. Whether the gods which your father served that were on the other side of the flood or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell but it's for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. Joshua said to the children of Israel, one of the last things he said to the nation of Israel before he went off the scene was this, choose you this day whom you will serve.

If you're not going to serve the Lord, well, then, the gods of Egypt maybe or if you're not going to serve the lords, well, maybe the gods of the Canaanites. But Joshua said, as for me and my house, we've made our choice. We are going to serve who? The Lord. Jehovah, the God of Israel.

Choose you this day whom you will serve. Let's pray. Dear God, thank you Lord. For your word, thank you Lord for the challenge that we see here. Thank you for the examples that we'll see in scripture of two men who responded in vastly different ways.

Lord, help us to respond to Saul. In receiving your gift of salvation and forgiveness but also in our service to you each year and each day. Lord, may we be more like Jesus Christ, our savior. May we choose to serve you this day. May we choose to love you.

May we choose Lord to glorify and honor your name. Lord, make us more like you we pray and bring lost souls to the savior this day. In Jesus name, amen. Genesis chapter four. First, we're going to start out with Cain.

We're going to read verses one through 12 and briefly analyze here what happened with Cain. And Adam and and he knew Eve his wife and she conceived and bear Cain and said, I have gotten a man from the Lord. As I mentioned, I think last week, she was really happy about this. Wow. She had a child and and this was this was kind of, you know, things went badly.

Now, some God has brought something really good into my life. Sadly, as we'll see, Cain did not measure up to be the joy that his mother had hoped. Verse two, and she bear his brother Abel and Abel was a keeper of the sheep but Cain was a tiller of the ground. Sadly, they were both still sinners. They had their children, their children carried the sin nature on in their life and that probably brought them much pain and and so we see particularly from Cain.

In the process of time, it came to pass that Cain brought the fruit of the ground and offering unto the Lord. This was the fruit of the ground. He was a tiller. He was a farmer. He raised crops.

He brought his crops to the Lord to bring the best of what he did to the Lord and we would assume that it is the best. Nothing to indicate here otherwise. Number verse four, Abel, he also brought the first things of his flock and of the fat thereof. So, Abel brought a sacrifice as well. He was a shepherd.

It would seem and so, he brought one of his sheep to sacrifice unto the Lord. Something extremely again precious to him. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering. So, accepted Abel's offering but he did not accept whose. He did not accept Cain's but unto Cain and to his offering, he had not respect and Cain was very wroth and his countenance fell.

He was angry and depressed and the Lord said unto Cain, why art thou wroth? And why is thy countenance fallen? If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? If thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door and under thee shall be his desire and thou shalt rule over him and Cain talked with Abel, his brother, and it came to pass when they were in the field that Cain rose up against Abel, his brother, and slew him and the Lord said unto Cain, where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not.

Am I my brother's keeper? And he said, what hast thou done? The voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground and now art thou cursed from the earth which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand. When thou tellest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength, a fugitive, and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth. This is the story, the very sad story of Cain.

Resulting in the death of his brother, Abel. Why was Cain's sacrifice not acceptable? It would seem he brought something that he had worked hard for, something that was of value to him. It would seem he probably brought God his best but yet his sacrifice was not accepted. It was not what God had requested or specified for a sin offering.

Now, if you look into the law later on that God gave to Israel, there were offerings of crops and of cakes and that sort of thing. Meal offerings. But a sin offering was always a what? It was always a blood sacrifice. His sacrifice evidently which was brought as a sin offering was not acceptable for that purpose.

The Bible says in Hebrews nine twenty two, without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sins and of course, the ultimate lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world through the shedding of his blood on the cross is Jesus Christ, our savior and without the shedding of his blood, even all those other sacrifices were meaningless. It is only the blood of Christ that saves men from sin. It was not a blood blood sacrifice. Number two, it was not a sacrifice of faith but of good works. Bible says in Titus three five, not of works of righteousness which we have done but according to his mercy, he saved us.

Isaiah sixty four six says, our good works, our righteousness are as what? Filthy rags. They're tainted by sin. The stain of sin runs deep and even our quote unquote good works are tainted by the stain of sin and they are not acceptable to God. There's nothing we have to give to God to incur his favor or it's his forgiveness.

Only Jesus Christ had that to give and he gave it on the cross of Calvary in our behalf That we might receive the gift of God through faith in him. Cain's sacrifice was not a sacrifice of blood. It was not a sacrifice of faith. It was a sacrifice of good works. He put a lot of time and effort into that.

He said, God, you will be, will accept what I have done and God said, no, I will not accept what you have done and God does not have to accept what we have done. God has made a way for us to be saved and that is through Jesus Christ, his son and he is the only way and the only means to eternal salvation. Number three, it was not a humble and repentant. It was not given of a humble and repentant heart. As is made and this is not working.

Hold on a second. It is being I want to show you this verse, so I've got to get back there again. Isn't technology great? Alright. Psalm fifty one seventeen.

The sacrifices of God are what? A broken spirit, a broken, and a contrite repented heart, oh God, thou wilt not despise. Was Cain's heart repentant and broken and humble before God? Well, as we continue to read through the story, we see indeed it was not. It was anything but and so therefore, sacrifice was not acceptable because of the condition of his what?

Of his heart. The manner in which he approached God was not in humility but in cry. James four six, but he giveth more grace wherefore he say it, God resisteth the proud but giveth grace to the humble and so, as we see Cain's sacrifice was not accepted for these reasons. Abel's sacrifice was acceptable for these reasons. He brought a blood sacrifice.

He brought a sacrifice of faith and he brought a sacrifice with a what? With a humble and repentant heart. And God received Abel's. God rejected Cain's. There are many today that sit in churches that sadly are bringing the wrong what?

They're bringing the wrong sacrifice. And no matter how many times they bring it, it will not be what? It will not be accepted. It will be rejected. All they have to do is bring the what?

Bring the right sacrifice and that is the sacrifice of faith in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. So, God admonished Cain and gave him a what? He gave him a second chance. We see this all through scripture. God giving people a second chance.

And in nearly every case throughout scripture. Sometimes, over and over again, people sin and they and they they reject God and they disobey and and they struggle and God gives them a second chance and a third. He is a god of what? Mercy and love and compassion. If not, we would have been completely consumed a long long time ago.

As you look through human history, if you look through the history in the Bible, you see how God gives man a new chance, a new opportunity, and over time, man always does what? He always blows it. Always spirals down. But God does bring judgement but God even with judgement often gives another chance and we see this many times throughout scripture. He gave Cain a second chance.

He said to Cain, don't be angry. Don't be don't be depressed and discouraged. Just bring the right sacrifice. And I will what? And I will accept you.

Just go back and bring the right one. He gave him another chance. He corrected him. He rebuked him and he gave him a second chance. Proverbs three eleven and twelve, my son despise not the chastening of the Lord neither be weary of his correction for whom the Lord loveth, he correcteth even as a father in the son in whom he delighteth.

Despite Cain's rebellious attitude and bringing the wrong thing, God gave him another chance. Proverbs fifteen ten says, correction is grievous unto him that forsaketh away and he that hateth reproof shall die. Sadly, that was Cain's response. He had an opportunity to get it right. He had an opportunity to correct his failure but as we'll see sadly did not.

Like Jesus said to the woman caught in adultery, go and sin no more. Or in other words, forsake the sin of adultery. Don't do it again. Or in Cain's case, just go back and bring the right what? Just go back and bring the right sacrifice.

Repent and do the first works. As Christ said to the church at Ephesus in Revelation two, who had left their first love. He is the God of the second chance. A merciful God whose mercies are new every morning and whose compassions they fail not. That is our God.

Praise the Lord. He is a god of mercy. Else, we would not have this opportunity. To know him, to have eternal life in him, and to serve him. Now, Cain had the choice.

Learn from his mistake and humbly correct it which seems to be the easy choice or reject God's instruction and take matter into his own hands. Well, what was Cain's response? Well, we read the story. He took matters into what? His own hands.

All he had to do was listen to God and go back, humble himself, admit he was wrong, and bring the right sacrifice with the right attitude of heart but he could not, he would not. He became an outraged and dejected over his rejection, his pride. He became angry at God and his brother, Abel, became bitter, and good things never result from a bitter, angry heart. Looking diligent, lest any man fail the grace of God, lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you and thereby many be defiled. Not only was Cain defiled but Abel was killed.

So many people that are in prisons today are there for this very reason. Anger and bitterness. They got angry. They got bitter. It ate them up.

And they then vented in anger on someone else. And now they are sitting in a prison cell. Because of that. He murdered his brother and his hatred and then lied to God about it like God didn't know. Remember, when God asked in scripture, when he asked Adam, where are you?

When he asked Cain, where is your brother? It wasn't because God didn't know, It was because God was giving them a chance to do what? To confess. But they didn't. God gives us that opportunity too.

He chose the way of sin and sin when it is finished leads only to ruin and death. He suffered the consequences of his actions in life and more certainly more so in death. The Bible says, behold your sin will find you out and the soul that sinneth, it shall die. God gave Cain a second chance, showed him mercy, offered him a new beginning, an opportunity to repent but Cain refused and rejected God's offer. Did not have to go this way.

How about you? Doesn't have to go this way. If you will accept humbly Christ's sacrifice in your behalf. It doesn't have to go this way, child of God. For us.

We don't have to stay robbed of our peace and robbed of our joy and robbed of our power and service to the Lord. Robbed the blessings that God has to give us because there's something in our life which we just won't let go or some sin of which we just won't confess. Doesn't have to go this way. Confess your sin. He is faithful and just to what?

Forgive us our sin and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Why? He is the God of mercy and of love and the God of the second chance. Now, let's look at Paul. Let's look at Paul.

Acts chapter nine. I I chose Cain first so we can end on a good note. Acts chapter nine. Gonna read beginning verse one again. When we meet Paul, he's being called Saul.

His Hebrew name later on, he'll be called Paul by his Greek name. Probably had both names going way back childhood. The writer just chooses to use one and then the other later on. Verse one, Acts nine and Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples, the Lord went under the high priest and desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues that he that if he found any of this way whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem. By this way, he means believers in Christ who had fled to Damascus, the capital of Syria, North Of Israel and as he journeyed, he came near Damascus and suddenly there shine round about him a light from heaven and he fell to the earth and heard a voice unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?

And he said, who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus, whom thou persecutest? It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, wilt thou have, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, arise.

Go into the city and it shall be told thee what thou must do. And the man which journeyed with journeyed with him stood speechless hearing a voice but seeing no man and Saul arose from the earth and when his eyes were opened, he saw no man but they led him by the hand brought him into Damascus and he was there three days without sight and neither did eat nor drink and there was a certain disciple of Damascus named Ananias and to him said the Lord in a vision, Ananias, and he said, behold, I'm here, Lord and the Lord said unto him, arise and go into the street which is called straight and inquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus. For behold, he prayeth. Verse 17, and Ananias went his way and entered into the house and putting his hands on him, said, brother Saul, the Lord even Jesus hath appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest hath sent me that thou mightest receive thy sight and be filled with the holy ghost and immediately there fell from him from his eyes as it had been scales and he received sight forthwith and arose and was baptized and in verse 20 and straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues that he is the son of God.

Different outcome but similar beginnings in some ways. Number one, Saul the unrepentant persecutor. Saul despite having heard the gospel to some extent, initially, chose the way of self righteousness, trying to assuage the wrath of God by keeping the law. That's how he spent the first part of his life. He's brought up in a traditional Jewish home.

One that had turned from faith to works. He became a Pharisee as he admits later on in one of his letters. He very well educated in the scriptures but still blinded by his own pride and Satan from the truth. Thus, he too brought the wrong what? The sacrifice.

The sacrifice of self righteous works. That could not atone for sin. That does not work. As Paul himself would later point out in his letters on numerous occasions, not by works of righteousness which we have done. For by grace are you saved through faith and not of yourselves as the gift of God not of works, lest any man should boast.

Rebellion to God and out of a sense of loyalty to the Jewish faith, he was enraged by those who were spreading what he believed was false doctrine concerning Christ and salvation by grace and not by the works of law. He initially became angry. He was in his mind justified in his indignation towards Christians, towards believers who were a cancer in his religion, who were teaching something against his religion and so he sought to eradicate this cancer from Judaism and he justified his actions against them. He arrested many on behalf of the Sanhedrin, the ruling council in Jerusalem, which he served, and even stood at the execution of Stephen, consenting to his death in Acts seven. But he still was not content.

He requested letters and received them from the Sanhedrin to go after believers who had fled from Israel to Damascus that he might arrest them and bring them back to Jerusalem for trial. Zealous. Yes, for the wrong thing. So far, Saul's crimes seem far worse than Cain's. All Cain did was bring the wrong what?

Sacrifice. Saul was responsible for the death of believers in Christ. He was a persecutor. He had them arrested. He had them thrown in jail.

He had them beaten. It seemed much worse but the determination, the thing that matters is the response and the humility of heart Saul's confrontation with God. Cain had a confrontation, so did Saul. Like Cain, Saul had a confrontation with God. God stopped Saul in his tracks on that road to Damascus and God rebuked him.

In both cases, God actually spoke to this man as I mentioned earlier. He does speak to us today through his word, through his spirit, and through others. Are we listening? Are you listening this morning? Not so much to my word, but to his words.

Because these words are the ones that he will hold us accountable for. What we do with Jesus and what we do in response to his word. Cain wasn't listening. Praise God, Saul was. God scolded Saul.

It is difficult living in rebellion to me, is it not? Refusing to listen and do as you were told, rejecting my authority as your Lord, that was what the kick against the pricks meant. Saul's response was, who are you? To which God responded, I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. That must have hit Paul, Saul like a load of bricks.

You're Jesus? Really? Saul's response, we'll see in a minute. Now, Paul had a choice. When he humbled himself before God and meant that he was wrong and what that he had been doing was terrible?

Or would he like Cain reject it? It could not have been easy for Saul in that moment to come to grips with the fact that he had killed people or released was responsible for their death. Who were simply following the true and living God. He had arrested them. He had tortured them.

And they were right and he was what? And he was wrong. What would he do? Praise the Lord. Paul chose the path of faith.

Paul chose the path of repentance before God. He grabbed a hold of the second chance and the mercy of God. He took God's offer of forgiveness. He chose to humbly receive the gift of life God offered him in the ministry that God had now now called him to. He immediately began to preach that Jesus is the what?

The son of God. And so Paul became the greatest evangelist the world has probably ever known, planting churches all over Asia Minor which is now Turkey and Eastern Europe. The gospel took root in so many cities throughout the Roman Empire and so many hearts. Thanks to the work of Paul and others who traveled with him. He said in first Timothy 115, this is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners of whom I am chief.

And he never forgot that. And he never swept it under the rug. He knew who he was. A sinner saved by grace, the chiefest of sinners. And he didn't say that tongue in cheek, he meant every word of what he said and was so grateful every day for the second chance he had been given for the mercy and grace of God that had been bestowed upon him.

As I hope we are too. And then in Acts twenty twenty four is one of my favorite passages in scripture. It says this, but none of these things move me. Neither count on life dear unto myself that I might finish my courts with joy in the ministry which I have received of the Lord Jesus to testify of the gospel, the grace of God. Boy, had Paul's life done a one eighty.

Now, he said, I just pray the Lord helps me to finish my course and I'm not going to let anything stop me from my service to God. The same zeal with which he persecuted Christ in the church was the same zeal and greater in the power of the spirit with which he served the Lord. Yes, these two had much in common but one took the opportunity which had been given him of God to repent. The other did not. Second Peter three nine, the Lord is not slack concerning his promises.

Some men count slackness but his long suffering to us were not willing that any should perish but that all should come to. Repentance. Romans two four, or despises thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and long suffering not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to? Repentance. Repentance.

To repent. To have a change of heart before God. To turn to him from sin. Acts eleven eighteen. When they heard these things, they held their peace and glorified God saying, then, hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.

Praise God. Repentance is not only offered to the Jews but it's also offered to the Gentiles and so God has included me too and you also. But in Hebrews twelve seventeen, it says this, for you know how that afterward when he would have inherited the blessing, this is speaking of Esau. He was rejected for he found no place of repentance though he sought it carefully with tears. Repentance is an opportunity granted to us by who?

By a merciful and loving God. But a god of justice and holiness. One day, he is going to have to pass judgement. But today is the day of what? Repentance and salvation.

Do not pass it by because the day will come certainly at death. That this opportunity will no longer be offered unto you. Well, God is speaking to you today. Not maybe in an audible voice but through his word and through the voice of the one presenting it to you. Do not push him away.

Do not say I will do it tomorrow because you are not promised tomorrow. Behold today is the day of salvation. This New Year, this new day is a new opportunity to make not a New Year's resolution but to repent of your sin, confess your faults, seek God's grace and forgiveness. Sinner, you must be saved. Before it is too late.

The day of his coming is at hand. Are you ready? For the judgment. It is appointed on the man once to die but after this, the judgment. None of us are assured we're going to make it home today from here.

We don't know that. None of us are sure that Christ is not coming for his children to take them home in the rapture before you get home today. That too could happen. Are you ready? Are you prepared?

He rejected the proud but giveth grace to the what? To the humble. Will you sinner humble yourself receive the gift of salvation through faith in Christ today? If you haven't, I hope you will. I pray you will.

I plead with you today. Child of God, is he speaking to you this morning? Is there something you need to confess? You thought, oh good. He he steered away from me.

No. This message is also for Christians. Is there something you need to confess? Some sin for which you need, repent of? Some failing from which you need to turn away and pour your heart out to God.

Some challenge God is making to you today, choose you whom this day whom you will serve. What is it God is challenging you to do in 2022? Maybe God's got something new. Maybe God's been trying to get you to commit for a long time and you've been pushing him away. Mercies of God are new every morning Will you repent of that sin in your life which he's putting his finger on?

Will you accept his challenge? Will you commit yourself to him? Present yourself a what? A living sacrifice. Which is our reasonable service.

What's reasonable? Then in 2022, we give our lives a living sacrifice. We go where he leads. We respond humbly and say, yes, Lord. I will.

We respond humbly and say, yes, Lord. I was wrong. Yes, Lord. I need to change. Let's pray.

Dear God, we thank you Lord. For this new day, this new year that you've given us, Lord, in which we have this opportunity to serve you anew, to commit ourselves to you anew, to to repent and confess those things Lord that you've been dealing with us that we might be a brighter light in a dark world. That where might be nothing between our soul and our savior. Lord, I pray that you might help us indeed to surrender all to you. And Lord, I pray if there's one here today that's never accepted Christ as savior, that as we give this hymn of invitation, they would come.

That I can share with them how they might be saved today and know it. Lord, if there's any here that's unsure, Lord, I pray they wouldn't stay in their seat and I pray Lord as you speak to your children today that we would respond to. Respond humbly before you. That we might confess our sins. That we might commit ourselves to what you have asked us to do in this coming new year.

In Jesus name, we do pray. Amen.