Rage against God

Father, we ask that you would feed us with your word.

We ask, Father, that as we think about what you have taught through your word written,

that you will help us to be aware of the problems in our own hearts,

the command centers of who we are.

Father, may this time not be a time where we look and see the faults of others,

but may you search our hearts and may your Holy Spirit bring your word to the very command center of who we are

so that we will bear much fruit in our day-to-day lives to your glory.

Father, make us disciples of Jesus who are gripped by the gospel, learning to live for your glory.

And we ask this in the name of Jesus, your Son and our Savior. Amen.

Please be seated.

So the story of Cain and Abel, I think a lot of people are a bit familiar with that story,

even those who don't come to church very often or don't have much of a Christian memory.

And for a lot of people, it's a good story.

It's a story, in fact, actually, in some ways, it's probably a perfect Canadian story,

at least how we sort of vaguely remember it, because it talks about how you shouldn't hurt people.

You shouldn't hurt people by killing them.

And it teaches us that we're really our brother's keeper.

So it teaches us that we're our brother's keeper, and we shouldn't hurt people.

And so, at least in the way that many of us remember the story,

it sounds like it's a really, really good story,

one that we wouldn't be very, very embarrassed to share with a non-Christian friend,

a seeking friend or neighbor, even a skeptical friend or neighbor.

We might say, this is like a perfect text, until you actually start to read it.

And when you actually start to read it, it would be sort of very funny, I guess.

Not funny in a good way.

I don't mean that.

It would just be very, maybe uncomfortable,

if we thought it would be a good story to share with our neighbor.

And then as we get into the story, we realize one moment,

this is actually very un-Canadian.

You know, when I talk to people in coffee shops and other places,

one of the standard things, in fact,

we're organizing an apologetics conference in November all around this theme,

in a world of 10,000 religions,

how on earth can Christians believe that Jesus is the only way?

How on earth can Christians believe Jesus is the only way in a world

where there's 10,000 religions?

And this is, it's not just that many,

most Canadians would say that you can't believe in Jesus

in a world with 10,000 different religions

because at the heart of most Canadian thought and belief,

whether you're an atheist or not,

you'd believe that basically everybody should be able to worship God,

however they define him or her or it,

in whatever way they choose.

You know, because it's a variation on the catechism of Canadian culture.

Like a catechism is something where a basic question is posed all the time

and an answer is given.

And if you read, if you watch movies,

if you watch sitcoms,

if you listen to the news,

if you read the newspapers,

you know, the basic type of catechism is what's really important.

Well, what's really important

is that you have to be true to yourself.

Like, you need to be authentic,

and to be authentic,

you need to be true to yourself.

And, you know,

if there's some problems going on in your relationship,

if your job,

what's one of the most important tasks

that a Canadian can do?

Not only to be true to yourself,

but you have to take steps to be happy on your terms.

You know,

not that oppressive dad

or your oppressive mom

or your oppressive, you know,

partner or husband or wife

or oppressive kids.

Like, you have to be happy on your terms.

And movie and show,

time after time,

pose that type of dilemma or tension,

and it's resolved by people being true to themselves

and making,

taking the steps to be happy on their terms.

And then usually part of the tension

is some type of pushback or conflict around that,

and that brings us to the third part of a catechism

of Canadian culture.

And the third part of the catechism in Canadian culture

is that no one can tell you

what is right or wrong for you.

No one can tell you that.

And then it's just a natural aspect

of this Canadian catechism to say,

and nobody can tell you

that you've got to worship God some way

or do a particular thing for God.

That's up to you.

You figure that out yourself.

You be true to yourself.

And that's how Canadians think.

And I know it makes it,

we cry at this idea.

You know,

Canadians would cry at the idea

that there's a right or wrong way

to do something like approaching to God.

And so, you see,

here's the problem.

We think,

okay, yeah, yeah, yeah,

Cain and Abel,

that's a really, really good text

because you know what it's all about?

I am my brother's keeper

and don't hurt people.

Like that's,

you know,

like it's sort of soft,

you know,

being Canadian,

caring for others,

don't hurt people.

But actually,

what is at the heart of the story

is that two people come to worship God

and God says one person does it right

and the other one does it wrong.

And all of a sudden,

for Canadians,

our heart starts to get a little bit

beating faster

and maybe we get a little bit nervous

about this apparently Canadian story.

But I want to suggest to you

that actually this story

that seems to go against

what Canadians want

is actually really what Canadians want

and what we really want

and what we really need.

So let's get the Bibles out

and let's look at the story.

And the story's found

in the book of Genesis,

very, very first book in the Bible.

Chapter 4,

it begins at verse 1.

It begins at verse 1.

Genesis 4, chapter 1,

and here's how it goes.

Now,

and you don't necessarily know that in English,

although it's sort of implied in English,

what the word Hebrew is telling us

is that this is going to be another story

as part of a set of stories.

And what's just happened

is that Adam and Eve

have introduced evil into the world

and as a result of Adam and Eve

introducing evil into God's good creation,

they're now at odds with each other,

at odds with creation,

at odds with the creator,

and the story has just come to the point

where God has expelled them,

pushed them out of the Garden of Eden,

and the cherubim is there

to stop Adam and Eve

and their descendants,

that's you and me,

from going to eat of the Tree of Life.

So that's what's just happened.

Now,

Adam knew

Eve,

his wife,

and if you're not familiar

with how the Bible speaks

in the Old Testament

and also in the New,

but mainly in the Old,

when it uses the word

no in this matter,

it's a

polite way of referring

to sexual relations.

And just as a bit of an aside,

whenever the Bible,

the Old Testament,

uses the word

sexual relations

for animals,

it doesn't use this word,

only uses it

when human beings

are having sexual relations,

but that's a whole other

sermon topic.

Now,

Adam knew his wife,

knew Eve,

his wife,

and she conceived

and bore Cain,

saying,

I have gotten a man

with the help of the Lord.

The English here

has a little bit

of a glimpse of this.

It's,

I have gotten a man.

Yeah,

God helped a bit.

In some ways,

it's not,

you see,

one of the things

that this story is showing

is how evil

has come into the world

and now evil

is becoming more prevalent.

Its hold

and its touch

is becoming

more extensive.

So,

once again,

I have gotten a man

with the help of the Lord

and again she bore

his brother Abel.

Now,

Abel was a keeper

of sheep

and Cain,

a worker of the ground.

He was a gardener.

In the course of time,

Cain brought to the Lord

an offering

of the fruit of the ground

and Abel

also brought

of the firstborn

of his flock

and of their fat portions

and the Lord

had regard

excuse me,

or accepted

or was pleased

with Abel

and his offering

but for Cain

and his offering,

God had no regard

or he didn't accept it

or it wasn't viewed

as valid.

So,

Cain

was very angry

and his face fell

and in the original,

very angry

is a very good sense.

I mean,

it really,

if you wanted to say,

put it actually,

capture the original language,

very would be bolded.

He was really angry.

Like,

this is rage

and so much rage

that his body language

betrayed

that he was

visibly,

visually,

really,

really angry.

So,

that's where the story is.

So,

what's going on?

So,

here's the first thing.

Why on earth,

in fact,

in some ways,

this story now

touches on some

of our very,

very,

very deep fears

as human beings.

that God just

picks favorites.

He's just up there

flipping a coin.

Okay,

George is coming to me.

Heads,

I'm going to like him.

Tails,

I won't.

Oh,

it's heads.

Lucky for George.

You know?

Then the next person

comes along,

God's up there

flipping a coin.

Have you ever seen

the movie

No Country for Old Men?

One of the,

in the book,

it's a brilliant book,

by the way.

Dark book,

but very brilliant.

And one of the,

there's a serial killer

in there

and every time

he comes to people,

he flips a coin.

It's putting on

how the coin lands.

Whether or not

he'll kill them or not.

And is that what God's like?

Okay.

Oh,

I like Abel.

I don't like Cain.

Thumbs up for Abel,

thumb down for Cain.

Just completely willful.

It's actually one of our fears.

It's one of the great fears

of our culture.

It's in fact,

one of the reasons

why for many Canadians

the idea that we worship

in our own way

is so preferable

to the apparent

willfulness

and immorality

or amorality

of power.

So,

is that what's going on

in the story here?

Like,

is that what's going on?

Well,

no,

it's not what's going on.

Let's,

in fact,

put the first point up.

This is really,

really key.

It's going to be,

in fact,

a surprise

because many people

think that

the Christian faith

is just all about externals,

learning the Apostles' Creed,

learning how to go to church,

you know,

learning how to give money,

learning how to read the Bible,

that it's not a religion

of the heart,

that it's not a religion

of something central

and deep to us.

In fact,

it's one of the reasons

why in our Canadian catechism,

like,

you have to be true to yourself,

you have to be authentic.

There's a sense

that it should be deep

and internal

and that one of the problems

with Christianity

is just all external.

Yet,

the key to understanding

this story

is this first point.

We see people act.

the Lord sees

what is really

and truly desired

when we act.

That's what he sees

and that's what matters to him.

How we act matters

but what we're desiring

when we act,

that's the key.

And so,

just look at the text.

You can see some hints

about this in the text.

Like,

first of all,

the word offering

and the word offering here

and it's a really important sense.

it could also be translated

as homage

or homage.

I don't know if I'm pronouncing it correctly

because it's a word

that's hardly used

in English anymore.

And in homage,

what is,

you come

and you give a bit of a token

to acknowledge

to one,

well,

you pay homage

to a king

or to the queen

or to God

is you're acknowledging

that the other person

is greater

than you

and that you owe them

your loyalty

and you owe them

your trust

and you owe them

your obedience.

And that's the word there

for offering.

Like,

in a Christian church,

just so you're wondering,

I mean,

I didn't say it today,

but if you're a guest here today

or even if you've been

coming here for a while

and you haven't given your life

to Jesus

to trust him as your Savior and Lord,

we actually would like it

if you don't put any money

in the plate.

Have as much coffee

as you want

and we'd love to give to you.

We don't really want you

to give to us

because really the offering

is supposed to be

an act of homage.

It's laid at the foot of the cross.

We're acknowledging

that Jesus is greater than us,

that he's worthy

to be praised,

that he is our manager,

that he is our Savior,

that he deserves

our loyalty

and our obedience

and our trust

and our faith

and that's what's supposed

to be going on

in our hearts.

So that's the word offering.

Cain and Abel both come

and are supposedly

bringing an offering.

But then,

and this is a little bit harder

to see in the English,

it's very obvious

in the original language.

It's as if,

okay, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah,

we're going to go.

Cain and Abel are going

and Cain says,

oh yeah, yeah,

I guess I got to bring something.

Oh yeah, here's a stock.

You know,

I'll take a piece of corn,

turnip,

a carrot

and a yam

and then you go to God.

Okay, there you go.

Whoa, okay, there you go.

But Abel

gives

of the very,

very,

very first of his flock.

Why is that very important?

Because he's giving it

to God first.

He's not saying,

okay,

after,

after I make sure

that I'm well fed

and,

and all my needs are met,

if I have anything left over,

I'll,

I'll give you something.

No, no,

Abel gives

of the very beginning

before he knows

if there's going

to be any more.

And,

and this is harder

for us to realize

in our culture,

but he gives them something

which is fat and plump.

In other words,

something that he set aside

to make it nice and

fat and juicy.

taught,

there's a few people here

in the congregation

who go hunting

and if you,

you,

you hunt wild animals,

they're leaner.

Uh,

they,

you know,

because they have to run

and stay away from predators

and stuff like that.

So this is something

cared for,

which is going

to be really tasty.

And the most tasty

thing he has,

the most precious thing

he has,

that's what he gives

to God.

And the other thing

in the story

is the anger.

So you see both

the gift,

what it's supposed

to be,

but it's just a few

things thrown together

as opposed to Abel

and then the,

the response,

which is anger,

shows that what's

going on

in Cain's heart.

In fact,

if you could put up

the next,

next point,

that would be very helpful.

What we see here,

and it's going to be

a little bit hard,

I could have used

the word sin,

but this is a,

a,

a better sort of

general point.

The desire to be God

can be nurtured

and hidden

in spirituality

and religion.

One of the things

that we,

that Canadians

don't understand,

the Canadian Christians

don't often understand

is that the Bible

from cover to cover

is a constant

critique of religion

and a constant

critique of spirituality

and a constant

critique of

spiritual,

not religious.

It is a thorough

critique of it.

And so here we see

that this is apparently

an act of worship.

One moment,

aren't Christians all

in favor of

worshiping God?

Well,

we see here

from this text,

it's not just a matter

of going through

being spiritual

or worshiping God

in whatever way

you just seem,

no, no,

the Bible says

that there's,

in fact,

what's going on

with Cain,

what's being revealed

in Cain

is his low view

of God

and his high view

of himself.

You know,

it's just like

God's just like,

it's just like

another day in the office.

It's just sort of like

when we walk around

the street

and we don't necessarily,

you know,

bow to every person

we see.

We're just one people,

I'm a person,

I'm around other people

and we just sort of

go about our business

and it's easy

for us to view God

as just,

well,

you know,

and he's another being

and he has his thing

to do

and I have my thing

to do

and,

oh yeah,

you know,

well maybe he's a little

bit more important

so I should offer him

a few things

or maybe give me

a little bit of comfort

and a little bit of peace

so I can get something

for myself

or whatever it is

but this text shows

that God's not

that high

and important

for Cain.

In fact,

you see,

what's the thing

that's going to be developed

throughout the entire Bible

is that all sin,

whether it's lust,

whether it's envy,

whether it's gluttony,

whether it's sloth,

whether it's anger,

that all sin

is ultimately

one component

of all sin

is my desire

or your desire

or a culture's desire

or a state's desire

to be God.

And so we see here

that the desire

to be God

can be nurtured

and hidden

in spirituality

and religion

because Cain's worship

hid

his basic desire

to be God.

See,

now when we get to this

we can see that

in some ways

this is a bit of a,

a bit of a,

there's going to be

a little bit of a tension

for the average Canadian

because for the average Canadian

on the one hand

just like every other human being

we desire to be God

in our different ways

but the other time

one of the things

that we really hate

is arrogance

and pride.

I mean,

part of the irony

is that many religions

and spiritualities

put the desire

to be more God-like

at the very center

of what they do

actually.

And,

and,

and those who

follow Jesus

and they're supposed

to read the Bible

we shouldn't do that

but we know

that that goes on.

And it's a very powerful thing.

In fact,

if you could put up

the next thing,

Andrew,

that would be very helpful.

The more I desire

to be God

and that's what's going on here

with,

with Cain's anger.

The more I desire

to be God

and the more

that desire

meets the real world

the angrier I get.

The more I desire

to be God

and the more

that desire

meets the real world

the angrier I get.

Why do I put

meets the real world?

Because you're not God.

You had a beginning,

you had an end,

you will have an end.

You know,

one of the things

with road rage,

one of the things

that people

who get really angry

when they drive,

I speak of something

that I love

from personal experience,

not just others

but myself.

You want to be like God.

Get all these

slow drivers

out of the way.

I got somewhere

to go.

I got somewhere

to go.

I got somewhere

to go.

And how dare

you get in my way?

And so,

what this text

is showing us

with very,

very powerful

imagery

is the more

that I have

a desire to be God,

whether I acknowledge it

or am aware of it

or not,

and yet,

that desire to be God,

I mean,

it's one hand

if it's just

being my family

and I can abuse

my family

or I can abuse

my wife

or if you're a woman

and you abuse

your husband,

maybe you can get

away with it.

Maybe you can get

away with it

with your co-workers

or you can start

your own company.

You can be one

of those people.

I know a person

and I don't know

if it would go on anymore.

This is just a few years

ago in the civil service

and one of their co-workers

hadn't come to work

for I think

it was three years.

Hadn't come to work

in three years,

kept getting paid,

but nobody,

everybody was afraid

of her,

including the bosses

of confronting her.

It was just better

to let her stay at home

and get paid.

So, you know,

maybe we can get

away with it

to a certain extent,

but at some point in time

we meet the real world

and when we meet

the real world

and our desire

to be like God,

whether acknowledged

or unacknowledged,

meets the real world,

anger often comes with it

and that's what this story

is showing

in a very,

very powerful,

powerful way.

So,

some of you

might be wondering,

George,

should you say here,

the more I desire

to be God

and the more

that desire meets

the real world,

the angrier

I get at God

or should it say

that like,

you know,

in Cain and Abel,

the angrier

I get at just things

or the angrier

I get at other people

and what do you think?

And my answer is yes,

like all of the above.

Because in fact,

and you know,

it's understandable

in psychology,

which is,

you know,

fundamentally secular

and there's lots of good wisdom

from psychology.

There really is.

A lot of good psychology

is people

just really being

very careful

in their observation

about how people work

and so we shouldn't say

that we shouldn't read it.

But one of the hidden things

for all people

and especially,

it's not talking about

counseling,

but in fact,

an anger at God,

a rage against God

is important

to understand

cultures

and societies

and people

and even ourselves.

Now,

I have to be careful

of the time here.

So what's going to happen?

Okay?

So here's how the story's going.

I haven't even got time

by my brother's keeper yet.

And at first glance,

it looks like a very,

very uncomfortable story

for Canadians.

God is looking

at Cain's heart

and Abel's heart.

He's looked at what's happened.

God says to Cain,

this offering's not accepted.

Cain gets angry.

Cain gets angry.

What happens now?

Just a little time out here

in terms of reading

the Bible for yourself.

One of the things

about reading the Bible

for yourself

when you're reading narratives

is pause

at the different

action points

and ask yourself

what are the possible responses?

That's one of the ways

you grow in reading

narrative parts

of the Bible.

So you could say to yourself,

okay,

God is going to be

like a Canadian

and what do a lot of us

Canadians do

when we've offended somebody

and made them mad?

We back off.

Oh, I'm sorry.

I didn't really mean it that way.

Is God going to be

like very Canadian?

Is God going to be

like what we imagine?

Doomed.

You know,

lightning bolt,

throw it down

and fry Cain

right there on the spot

and move on.

Like what's going to go on

in the text?

How's God going to respond?

And how's Cain

going to respond

to God's response?

Well, let's look.

Verse 6.

The Lord said to Cain,

why are you angry?

That's such a good question.

Why are you angry?

And why has your face fallen?

And then,

so he first,

he asks a question

and then in the form

of a question,

he's really giving them

a promise.

It's a bit of a rhetorical

question to make a point

and the point is a promise.

The first thing is like,

why are you angry?

Okay, Cain,

like why are you angry?

Like what,

what is it that you value

so much

that my response

has made you furious?

And then the second thing

is a promise.

He says,

if you do well,

will you not be accepted?

In other words,

Cain,

I'm not saying you're

damned forever,

that you're

completely ruined.

Like,

I'm still here.

I still love you.

Like,

this can be dealt with.

This isn't the end

of the world.

And then the third thing

is that,

is a warning.

And if you do not

do well,

sin is crouching

at the door.

Its desire

is for you,

but you must rule

over it.

Gives them a warning

that sin

is now pictured

at,

you know,

just think one of those

National Geographic specials,

Planet Earth specials,

and it's like

a lion

or a lioness

that just outside

of the sight

of the gazelle

and downwind,

not upwind,

and it stalks

the gazelle

and it's crouching

to pounce

to devour.

And contrary for,

it's a very,

very powerful image.

It's,

on one hand,

it's the desire

for,

but everything

that it ultimately

desires

is something

which is going

to be against you.

It's contrary

to what is

your true good,

your true need,

your true hope,

your true help.

It's,

this is very,

very powerful image.

And,

sorry,

I should read

the next bit.

So,

put up this first,

this next point,

Andrew.

All I can do is,

you know,

I thought,

I thought long

and hard about

how to word this point

and then I realized

all I have to,

what I really need to do

is just make my next point

that part of the verse

because it's such

a powerful image.

Sin is crouching

at the door,

its desire

is contrary

to you,

but you must

rule over it.

And,

you know,

here's the thing,

I don't know how many

of you have ever been

afflicted with anger,

but if you have

anger problems,

here's one of the things

that I know from my own

experience with anger.

Anger is really comforting.

Anger can really

make me feel good.

Anger can fill me

with self-righteousness.

Anger can,

anger can take away

some of the discomfort

and lack of satisfaction

I feel with myself

because it puts me

on a high horse

and it can just

be really comforting.

And, you know,

telling a lie

can do the same thing

and pride

can do the same thing

and sexual knowing

outside of marriage

or pornography

can do the same thing.

And we can think

it's very comforting

and maybe even

very helpful.

I know of a marriage

counselor that

when counseling

couples,

I mean,

she actually tells them

if you're having

problems in your

sexual relations

to imagine

being with another

person

as part of the therapy.

And it can seem

like it's very comforting,

but the Bible here

is far truer

to the nature of evil.

we think it comforts us,

but it actually

wants to master us

and be contrary

to what our true good is.

Anger-driven people

have problems at work,

they have problems

in their relationship.

Sexually driven people

have problems

with relationships,

problems at work,

problems with themselves,

inability to attach.

You can go on

and on and on.

It appears to comfort,

but I think

that is far wiser.

The Bible here

is far wiser.

It is deeply true.

It might seem

to comfort,

but it's just crouching.

It wants to devour you.

It wants to master you.

It'll rule you.

And it will rule you

in a way

which is not good

for you.

And so you need

to rule it.

And some of you

might say,

George,

are you now saying

that you're not saved

by grace alone,

through faith alone,

in Christ alone,

that you just have

to have this willpower

and all of this?

No,

because in the context here,

this isn't telling me

to rule things.

I mean,

what's the fundamental problem

with this whole text?

The whole problem

with this text

is Cain wants

to be like God.

God's advice now

is to say,

no, no, no, Cain,

you've been trying

to be like God,

but not very effective.

Really try to be like God.

That's the solution.

Really have God-like willpower.

Really have God-like knowledge.

Really have God-like control

and people skills over.

Really have,

no,

that's not what's going over it.

Next point.

For every human being,

repentance is always an option.

See,

that's what's going on

here in the text,

right?

God says to Cain,

a little bit of a,

like a moment here

for a second.

It's just like,

you know,

if I have problems,

when I have problems

with anger,

it's like,

George,

why are you angry?

Time out.

Why are you angry?

Like,

what is it that you value

so much

that angers your response?

Like,

why is it that

you're so upset?

Like,

what's going on,

George?

And then the promise.

I want to accept you.

Like,

I'm not turning my back on you.

My arms are open.

I'm looking at you.

I want you to come to me.

I want to know you.

I want you to know me.

That's my heart.

And then God gives this warning

about sin.

You see,

the context

that the text

is inviting us to

is for Cain

to turn the direction

of his affections

and his life

and his plans

and his hopes

towards God.

Repentance.

And he's saying to Cain,

repentance is an option

for you.

And that's

the beginning

of a message

that's going to go

all the way through

the Bible.

That repentance

is always an option.

If you're here today,

repentance

is an option for you.

In fact,

it's the option

that God wants you

to choose.

To repent.

To turn to him.

He won't turn you away.

What is,

you know,

one of my favorite texts

in the New Testament,

come to me

all who labor

and are heavy laden.

And I will give you rest.

Take my yoke upon me,

you,

for I am gentle

and humble of heart.

And you will find rest

for your soul,

for my yoke is easy

and my burden is light.

So how,

how does Cain respond

to God

asking him a question,

giving him a promise

and making a warning?

Verse 8.

Verse 8.

And just before I read it,

remember those of you

who were here last week

and over the last couple weeks,

one of the things I said

which is so unique

about the biblical account

is that the Bible teaches

that God made everything good.

Human beings

broke that created order

by desiring to be God

and by desiring to be God

they broke their relationship

with God,

they brought evil

into the world

and it was a result

of human evil and sin

that death comes

into the world.

And that's what we just

looked at before,

that death,

God has said death

will now be present.

And it's very interesting

that the first account

of death

is not of old age

but of murder.

Of murder.

Of the murder

of the innocent

and trusting.

Look at verse 8.

Cain spoke to Abel,

his brother.

He doesn't speak to God,

he speaks to Abel.

Abel thinks,

well, things are fine.

And when they were

in the field,

Cain rose up against

his brother Abel

and killed him.

could you put up

the next point,

please?

Rage against God

tempts one

to kill the innocent

and the inconvenient.

This describes

human history

and our world today.

ISIL

is extremely devout

and are filled

with rage

against God.

And when we cannot

kill the God

that we are angry at,

we very easily

imagine killing

human beings

made in the image

of God.

And I know

Christians have

their own

sorry,

despicable

history

of using worship

to mask a rage

against God

which takes

itself out of

you can't

shoot God

but you can

shoot Jews.

You can

shoot gays.

You can

shoot the unborn.

You can

shoot blacks.

You can

shoot people

who own

property.

You can

shoot the

educated.

You can

shoot the

Dalits.

Or you can

strangle them.

And this

Bible passage

here

by its

description

of the

rage

against God

that leads

to the

killing

of the

innocent

and the

inconvenient

is

unbelievably

profoundly

true

of human

experience

of the

newspapers

today

and of

human

history.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

So how does God act?

How does he act?

Verse 9.

Then the Lord said to Cain,

Where is Abel your brother?

Question, where is Abel?

See, when I say repentance is always an option,

Cain could say,

God, I don't know what I've done.

I killed him.

I did it.

Have mercy on me.

You know, God, it began with just me being mad at you.

And because you liked Abel,

and so I was mad at him.

And you warned me that sin could consume me and take me over,

and I didn't listen to you.

Is there any way you could have mercy on me for what I have done?

That's an option for Cain.

What does he say?

So that verse 9,

Then the Lord said to Cain,

Where is Abel your brother?

And Abel, Cain says to God,

I do not know.

Well, actually you do.

You can go point to God right where he is in the field.

And then,

this is not an encouragement for us to care to people.

Am I my brother's keeper?

Is the statement of callous disregard of human beings and of God.

Am I my brother's keeper?

I don't know what Abel is.

My God,

that's your responsibility looking after stuff like that.

I got things to do.

I got my own plans.

I'm not,

I'm a brother's keeper.

I got my own plans.

So how's God going to respond?

Verse 10,

And the Lord said,

What have you done?

The voice of your brother's blood

is crying to me from the ground.

This is one of these wonderful texts in the Bible.

You know,

those who,

for a variety of reasons,

have fallen in love with Hinduism or Buddhism

or versions of it in Canada.

You know,

at the end of the day,

one of the big problems,

not that Hindus and Buddhists,

they're very,

many of them are extremely moral.

They,

they put you and me to shame.

They really do.

But at the very,

very heart of their,

of their belief system

is this real inconsistency

that God is beyond good and evil,

that everything is ultimately one.

And here's the thing about the Bible.

The Bible,

it is very clear from beginning to end

that God is,

God believes in,

in,

in right and wrong and justice.

Jesus.

The voice of your brother's blood

is crying to me from the ground.

And now you are cursed from the ground.

And those of you who are here last week,

cursed in the Bible means

your relationship with the ground

is going to become impotent,

lacking in power.

The ground has opened its mouth

to receive your brother's blood

from your hand.

When you work the ground,

it shall no longer yield

to you its strength.

You shall be a fugitive

and a wanderer on the earth.

Then verse 13,

Cain said to the Lord,

my punishment is greater

than I can bear.

Behold,

you have driven me today

away from the ground

and from your face

I shall be hidden.

I shall be a fugitive

and a wanderer on the earth.

And whoever finds me

will kill me.

And we'll just pause.

Has Cain repented?

You know what?

To a Canadian,

this sounds like repentance.

Andrew,

next point.

Self-pity is not repentance.

Whining

is not repentance.

Just before I read the rest of this,

it's really interesting

if you can find a news account

of what went on with UBC

when they disinvited that,

I think his name was Furlong,

and then the Freedom of Information Act,

the emails going back and forward

between the university

and his agent.

That list,

in fact,

that list,

that's sort of,

regretting getting caught

is not repentance.

Managing negative consequences

is not repentance.

Facing social exposure

is not repentance.

Making excuses

is not repentance.

Cain doesn't repent.

He is filled with self-pity

and whining

at the consequence

of his action.

It's an attempt

by Cain

to make God

feel guilty,

not for him

to acknowledge

what he's done

and to turn

the direction

of his life

towards God

and ask God

for mercy.

That's repentance.

I have done wrong.

Have mercy.

I want to be

towards you

to the ones

that we've wronged.

I want to be

towards you

and I want to be

towards God.

Have mercy on me.

Is there any

help or hope

that

you may have

mercy

because

what I have

done

is wrong?

And how does

God respond?

Verse 15.

Then the Lord

said to him,

oh sorry,

verse 14,

Cain's continued,

Behold,

you have driven me

today away

from the ground

and from your face

I shall be hidden.

I shall be a fugitive

and a wanderer

on the earth

and whoever finds me

will kill me.

God's response,

verse 15.

Then the Lord

said to him,

not so.

If anyone

kills Cain,

vengeance shall

be taken on him

sevenfold.

And the Lord

put a mark

on Cain,

lest any

who found him

should attack him.

Then Cain

went away

from the presence

of the Lord

and settled

in the land

of Nod,

east of Eden.

What's going on here?

Like why is it

that God

puts the mark

on him

and is the text

contradictory

that God

said he's going

to be a wanderer

but he goes

and he has a home?

No.

Next point,

please.

This is the beginning

of the understanding

of a biblical thing.

I don't talk about it

as much as I should

but it explains

a lot of what goes on

in, you know,

when I said about how,

you know,

a lot of Hindus

and Buddhists

are far more moral

than you and me,

like vastly more moral

than you than me.

They have a contradiction

in their thought

but they're far more moral.

The reason is

common grace.

God offers real grace

to Cain.

Common grace for all

and saving grace

for all who ask

with repentance

and faith.

What is one way

to understand?

In fact,

in some ways

this is a perfect

little illustration

of what common grace is.

God's provision

and protection

without salvation.

God's provision

and protection

without salvation.

Cain is continued

to be provided for.

He's protected.

It's all in the hope

that at some point

in time

that he will turn

back to God.

Saving grace

is what only comes

from Jesus.

If you could put up

the next point, please.

Oh, sorry.

I've sort of got my...

I should have...

Go to the next one

and then we'll come back

to this one.

There we go.

You don't have to be...

Anyway.

Actually,

I'll sort of go back

to the earlier one.

Now, everybody's looked

at these points now

very carefully.

There's no contradiction here.

This is a very,

very powerful image

because the land of Nod

is...

Nod means wandering.

Cain chose

wandering away

from God

to be his home.

Where is Cain's home?

Wandering away

from God.

This is very human.

Next point, please.

Here's the salvation.

I need to wrap it up.

The shed blood of Abel

cries out for justice.

Isn't that what it does?

God says to Cain,

I hear the blood

of your brother Abel

crying out to me.

And Abel is innocent

and what it's crying out

is God,

have justice.

And it's a good call.

This is from Hebrews,

by the way,

this insight.

Hebrews 12.

It's in your going deeper

if you want to check it out.

But the shed blood of Jesus

cries out that mercy

has triumphed over justice.

It's a mixture of a quote

from James

and a quote from Hebrews.

I'm not smart enough

to think this up.

I got it from the Bible.

The shed blood of Jesus

cries out that mercy

has triumphed over justice.

How has it triumphed over justice?

It hasn't triumphed over justice

by being unjust,

by just saying,

well,

I'm just going to give

these people a pass.

And that's injustice.

But that on the cross,

the innocent one,

God's justice

falls on the innocent one

because the innocent one

willingly says,

I will take the place of George.

By his wounds,

I am healed.

By his stripes,

I am delivered.

The punishment that brought me peace

was laid upon him.

In my place,

condemned,

he stood.

And the blood of Jesus

cries out that mercy

has triumphed over justice.

Justice has done

everything it should do

to be just.

And when all is over,

there is mercy.

Repentance is always an option.

Could you put up the final thing?

So those of you who

weren't here,

I'll stand, please.

Please stand.

Those of you,

you weren't here

at the very beginning,

at the very beginning

of the service

of morning prayer,

I say a prayer

after people have,

we've all repented

and I say a prayer.

And I'm going to have us

all say it together

as a closing prayer

in response to this text.

It's brilliant.

It is absolutely brilliant.

It is so profound.

And what I said

at the beginning

of the service,

which I'm going to have you

say in a moment,

not right now,

but I say,

Almighty God,

the Father of our Lord

Jesus Christ,

and what does this

explain here?

But why does God say

to Cain,

you have a chance?

Why does God give Cain

common grace?

Why?

Because God does not desire

the death of a sinner.

Why does God give

common grace?

Because he does not desire

the death of a sinner.

What does he desire?

But rather that he,

that you and me,

may turn from his wickedness

and live.

Next slide.

The prayer continues.

And so what has God given

to his ministers?

And in Anglicanism,

we're all ministers.

We're all ministers.

Ministers just means servants.

And what has he said?

He's given power

to those of us

who've trusted in Jesus

as our Savior and Lord.

He's trusted us

to give power,

and he's told us

to do this,

to declare and pronounce

to his people

in all sort of the city

of Ottawa

and to the ends

of the earth

that being penitent,

sorry,

we,

the absolution

or remission

of our sins

is possible.

Why?

Because God pardons

and absolves

all them

that truly repent

and unfeignedly believe

his holy gospel.

What does unfeignedly mean?

The opposite of Cain.

It means without any pretense,

no play acting,

no pretend,

really.

Next thing.

So how shall we respond?

Wherefore means

how should we respond?

Let us call out to him

to grant us what?

True repentance.

To put an end

to whining

and self-pity

and regretting

that being caught.

Call out to God

for true repentance.

And what else?

We need God's help.

Call out to God

for true repentance

in his Holy Spirit.