Walking In Righteousness Ministries Sunday Sermon for today 10/20/13 Sermon: The Way of Cain Jude 1:11 Woe to them! For they have gone in the way of Cain, have run greedily in the error of Balaam for profit, and perished in the rebellion of Korah. Genesis 4:1-9, 1.Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, and said, “I have acquired a man from the Lord.” 2. Then she bore again, this time his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. 3. And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the Lord. 4. Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the Lord respected Abel and his offering, 5. but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell. 6. So the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? 7. If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.” 8. Now 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 killed him. 9. Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” He said, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?” Who is Cain? The first son of Adam and Eve, who became a tiller of the soil, while his brother, Abel, was a keeper of sheep. Cain’s murder of Abel became well-known of similarly violent and destructive sins (Jude 1:11). Each of the two brothers had brought a sacrifice to the Lord (Gen 4:3–4). According to Hebrews 11:4, Abel had acted in faith by bringing a more acceptable sacrifice than that of Cain. Cain anger flared against the divine rejection. In retaliation he killed his brother, whose offering had been accepted by God (Gen 4:5–8). Why was Cains sacrifice not accepted? Cain was not righteous, which was proved out by his actions Hebrews 11:4, By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead still speaks. Many Christians Today Have Gone In The Way Of Cain some are not walking in the fruit of the spirit of love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. What are the symptoms that a person is walking in the way of Cain? 1. They operate in a spirit of competition and rivalry: • It upsets them when people (especially peers) are promoted to positions above them or to ones they feel they should have. Instead of rejoicing there is jealously. • They dont like to hear others praised instead of them. • In some cases they will quit their current ministry, or leave the church, as they refuse to submit to the new (or even current) leadership. • They worship but with ulterior motives, but these motives eventually comes to light. • They may preach the gospel and do good works but with wrong motives: Philippians 1:15-16, “Some indeed preach Christ even from envy and strife, and some also from goodwill: 16 the former preach Christ from selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my chains. • If not given pubic recognition and promoted according to their schedule they feel used and will quit positions. Colossians 3:23-25 And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ. 25 But he who does wrong will be repaid for what he has done, and there is no partiality. 2. They walk in hatred and unforgiveness toward their brothers. • The Spirit of offense, grudges & broken relationships become a way of life Matthew 5:21-24“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ 22 But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire.23 Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you,24 leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. • The spirit of Cain will over-react to an offense. Cain overreacted to a perceived offense. His grandson Lamech boasted of killing a man for hurting him, and being avenged seventy seven times to Cains seven times. Jesus’ word about forgiving “seventy times seven” (Math. 18:22) stands in sharp contrast to Lamech’s hateful vengeance. • Vengeful - They blame other people for their faults. They project their sins onto someone else. Cain blamed Able for HIS OWN FAULTS! 3. They only want to worship and serve God their way • They do not accept teaching or correction: God gave Cain an opportunity to learn from his mistakes (vs.7) “If you do well, will you not be accepted? • Todays Cains are still attacking Able but their real beef is with God who is trying to get them into a life of true worship. They place their preference of sacrifice and worship above Gods. We once had someone visit our church that was offended by us lifting our hands and praising God out loud. I told the person I understood they were not used to this type of worship, but who should I fear offending - them or God? The truth of the matter is that I am not on this planet to worship you or your way. I have been created to worship God in Spirit and Truth! • The Spirit of Cain comes into a church when people base their worship solely on their feelings and preferences apart from the scriptural standard. • Some churches wont receive communion because it speaks of blood and could offend others! • No lifting of hands, dancing or shouting because it requires a sacrifice of the flesh. 4. They dont want to be accountable to anyone for anything When God called Cain to account for his brothers death, he responded with a question: Am I my brothers keeper? The answer is yes we are! We are accountable to God and have a responsibility to love our brother. Accountability is a part of this life and the next. We will all stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ to give an account for our lives. • Some people have some wonderful gifts for the Body of Christ, but because their heart is filled with pride and rebellion, those gifts will not be anointed and released by God. They wont fulfill their destiny and calling. They will be clanging symbols. 5. They become nomadic “gypsy” Christians - This is a result of the curse of Cain Why do some people seek to escape their problems by changing churches? Todays Cains are gypsies in the Body of Christ. “When things dont work to my advantage – bale”. No church is good enough or brings contentment. They have to keep moving. • Independent spirit • They never bloom where they are planted • They live their life their way Other Parts of The Curse of Cain: • Driven from the face and presence of God • Poverty -11 So now you are cursed from the earth, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. - 12 When you till the ground, it shall no longer yield its strength to you. A fugitive and a vagabond you shall be on the earth.” Theme song in hell: I Did It My Way I see elements of the spirit of Cain in the church today: Seeker sensitive movement that compromises the gospel; the home church movement which preaches against authority, structure and accountability, and the revival movement which promotes unscriptural revelations, manifestations, lying signs and wonders. 6. They are divisive and destructive to the local church They leave a church worse than when they came and usually try to take people with them. Have you ever left a church where the people were glad you left and relieved because your attitude was gone? Or did they praise you for your blessing and accomplishments? People think if they just get their own way and move on to another church it will be okay in their life, but they live with a mark. It may not be a physical mark like Cain had, but it is People think if they just get their own way and move on to another church it will be okay in their life, but they live with a mark. It may not be a physical mark like Cain had, but it is still there. Sometimes that mark is: • Finances are never enough • Broken relationships • Destruction of their family • Loss of ministry and gifts they used to have and enjoy • Children who have a worse spirit than what the parents operated in • Split church • Destroyed reputation of former pastor Unless there is absolute repentance, restitution and restoration they will live with that mark the rest of their life While it is not pleasant, sometimes New Testament Leadership has a responsibility to place a mark on divisive people: Romans 16:17 (KJV) Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. 7. They teach against local church assembly and authority They promote new ways & doctrines, not supported by scriptures. They claim to be non-religious (choosing to do things differently than the way it has been done in the past). Unfortunately it does not have the stamp of scriptural approval. You can be religious in a non-religious way. It is possible to have a religious spirit in your new way! Just because it is different, does not mean it is God. Some people have a philosophy of: Anything goes. Manifest and act as goofy as you want! I have experienced some wild things in God, but they all glorified God and lined up with His Word. • They are upset with leaders who dont let them run the church or a ministry their way. If they dont get their ways they will often quit or stop giving. • They operate outside the authority of the body of Christ. They believe in and claim to be operating under the authority the universal church, but will not function in and through a local body. They do not like the concept of a pastor or other leader being a spiritual authority in their life. • They dislike the concept of being called to commitment in church membership. Everyone I have known who has this concept holds unforgiveness against some church or pastor in their past. • They come to church when they feel like it and it is convenient for their lifestyle. They will claim that calling them to accountability is putting them under the law or hindering their ministry. My experiences through the years tells me people who name the name of Christ and do Christians works with wrong motives dont look like the devil, but they sure act like him. Their true motives will be seen in the end. 1 John 3:12 not as Cain who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brothers righteous. Other ways people can tell that they are walking in a Cain spirit • When they are prideful and proudness- too much pride to admit when they are wrong to themselves, their children and others. • When they want forgive – they want accept someone apology or will not apologize themselves. Going days with bitterness and unforgiveness in their heart. • When they are selfish- not wanting to see others achieve or better themselves; too jealous that they may be doing better than them. Proverbs 6:16-19 ESV There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers. Later on we see that Cain murdered his brother Abel. This is something very profound as it signifies that the Satanic Spirit rejects, destroys and murders the soul. • Cain represents the Spirit, which explains his hostility and hatred. • Abel represents the soul of man pure love and devotion. • Cain walked in disobedience while Able walked in Obedience • Cain was only interesting in pleasing himself while Able was interesting in pleasing God. • Cain offer his leftovers while Able offer his best • Cain was a mess starter and peace breaker while Able was peace maker • Cain daddy was the Father of lies and so was he, Able daddy was The Father of Truth and so was he. In most families siblings are totally against one another, there is so much hatred to the point of wanting to murder one another, just like Cain felt about Able. In reality he was jealous, a very dangerous spirit. If you are jealous of your sisters and brothers whether they are by blood or not, you possess Cain Spirit. • The Cain Spirit went deeper than just jealousy of one’s possession, how they look, what they wore, where they live or who they are. This jealousy was not mentally, physically, emotionally, socially or relationally. • This was a spiritual warfare, Cain of the devil was jealous of Able of God. He was coming against Able righteousness. Cain was rebellious and rejected the word of God. He wanted to live an ungodly life. And he was envious because God accepted and favored Able. Psalms 31:21, “Evil shall slay the wicked, And those who hate the righteous will be condemned.” Today Satan is still roaming to and fro seeking who he can devour. We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. SOME POSSESS THE SPIRIT OF CAIN. Cain was actually jealous of the faithfulness, the commitment, the devotedness and the relationship that Able had with God. How do you feel when you find it going very well with someone whom you are closely associated with? When you find a fellow-brother who is preaching victory over sin and you find that his life is consistent with his preaching - that there is no evidence of anxiety or anger or impatience in him, but on the contrary, a perpetual spirit of triumph and joy and peace; and in contrast your own life is miserable and gloomy and defeated (because you do not believe that a life of victory is possible). • Do you then find a root of envy creeping in and a desire to see him fall somewhere so that you can gloat over his failure and drag him down in the eyes of others? That was the same spirit that drove Cain. • Do you feel happy when some trouble befalls that brother? Does his continuous victory irritate you and make you angry? That attitude of yours is the spirit of Cain, not the Spirit of Christ; and the sooner you recognize it for the filthy, slimy thing that it is, the better. There was no joy in Cains life, for such a man cannot truly rejoice. His face was fallen, and gloom and depression and anger were written across it. He could not bear to see it going so well with someone else. Misery loves company. Cain was angry with God and with Abel. An extra reason for his anger was that it was going well with someone younger than him. It would perhaps have been tolerable to see it going well with someone older, but it was unbearable to see it happening to someone younger. Before you throw a stone at Cain, consider: Can you truly rejoice when you see brothers who are much younger than you, going ahead of you spiritually? Do you seek their good so zealously that you are eager to see them go ahead of you? If so, then you have the mind of Christ who could rejoice that His disciples would do greater works then He Himself did (Jn.14:12). SOME ARE WALKING IN THE WAY OF CAIN Conclusion: Some are walking in the Way of Cain today. Dont follow them. They are headed for destruction. Pray for their deliverance and speak the truth to them as the Lord leads. AMEN.
Posted on: Sun, 20 Oct 2013 14:42:30 +0000
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