Real Sin and the Grace of God

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Good morning. Happy Sunday.

I'm Tonya and I'm part of the Ocos in the Oaks Friday Women's Group and Women Reading Women Monthly Book Club.

Today's scripture reading is from the book of Genesis chapters 4 verses 1 through 26 as printed in your liturgy.

Genesis 4 · chapter mention

A reading from the book of Genesis.

Adam made love to his wife Eve and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain.

She said, with the help of the Lord I have brought forth a man.

Later she gave birth to his brother Abel.

Now Abel kept flocks and Cain worked the soil.

In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord.

And Abel also brought an offering.

Fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock.

The Lord looked with favor on Abel in his offering.

But on Cain in his offering he did not look with favor.

So Cain was very angry and his face was downcast.

Then the Lord said to Cain, why are you angry?

Why is your face downcast?

If you do what is right will you not be accepted?

But if you do not do what is right sin is crouching at your door.

It desires to have you but you must rule over it.

Now Cain said to his brother Abel, let's go out to the field.

While they were in the field Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.

Then the Lord said to Cain, where is your brother Abel?

I don't know he replied, am I my brother's keeper?

The Lord said, what have you done?

Listen, your brother's blood cries out to me from the ground.

Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground which opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand.

When you work the ground it will no longer yield its crops for you.

You will be a restless wanderer on the earth.

Cain said to the Lord, my punishment is more than I can bear.

Today you are driving me from the land and I will be hidden from your presence.

I will be a restless wanderer on the earth and whoever finds me will kill me.

But the Lord said to him, not so.

Anyone who kills Abel, sorry, anyone who kills Cain will suffer vengeance seven times over.

Then the Lord put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him could kill him.

So Cain went out from the Lord's presence and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden.

Cain made love to his wife and she became pregnant and gave birth to Enoch.

Cain was then building a city and he named it after his son Enoch.

To Enoch was born Ired and Ired was the father of Mahu-hel and Mahu-hel was the father of Methusel

and Methusel was the father of Lamech.

So Lamech married two women, one named Ada and the other Zillah.

So Ada gave birth to Jebal.

He was the father of those who live in tents and raise livestock.

His brother's name was Jubal.

He was the father of all who played string instruments and pipes.

Zillah also had a son, Tubal-Cain, who forged all kinds of tools out of bronze and iron.

Tubal-Cain's sister was Nema.

Lamech said to his wives, Ada and Zillah, listen to me, wives of Lamech.

Hear my words.

I have killed a man for wounding me, a young man for injuring me.

If Cain is avenged seven times, then Lamech 77 times.

Ada made love to his wife again and she gave birth to a son and named him Seth,

saying God has granted me another child in place of Abel since Cain killed him.

Seth also had a son and he named him Enoch.

At that time, people began to call on the name of the Lord.

The grass withers and the flowers fade, but the word of our God stands forever.

Let's pray as we receive this word from God.

Lord, we ask that you would help us to distinguish between the way of Cain and the way of Christ,

that you would make the way of Christ beautiful to us,

so beautiful that we live in that way as a blessing to this world.

For our own good and for your glory, we pray in Jesus' name.

Amen.

You know, I've really been looking forward to preaching this particular passage today,

and it's not because we have a jealous murderer problem here in this church,

or even that we're terrible at being our brothers' and sisters' keepers.

No, the reason I find this text so convicting and relevant for us, and really for me,

is because beyond the jealousy, the murder, and the malice,

there is a more basic evil here that led to the kind of competitive jealousy,

the kind of image of God denying selfish, murderous godlessness that we see in this story,

and also that we've witnessed, right, in these past few weeks in our headlines nationally and internationally.

There's a deeper, more basic evil on display in this text in Cain's heart and life,

and it's an evil that we bear witness to every single day,

and not just out there in the world, but in me and in you.

So, this morning, I want to make the argument that there are two ways to live,

the way of Cain or the way of Christ.

And I want to argue that while the selfish, striving way of Cain has reigned for most of history,

it is and it will be the selfless, surrendered way of Christ that's going to change the world.

You know, like many of you, my family, we just got back into the school rhythm,

and it's an exciting year for us.

Our oldest, Cammie, she's starting first grade,

and our youngest, Leah, she's starting kindergarten.

She just started kindergarten.

But as exciting and as cute as that first day of school was,

you know, I was getting them ready for school, getting their stuff together,

Chelsea's yelling at me as she gets the girls on the porch,

get your phone, Andrew, get your phone!

Got to take that first day of school picture, right?

As all that was happening, as I felt excitement and love and gratitude,

do you know what I also felt as I prepared my little girls for their first day of school?

It's the same thing I felt last year when Cammie started kindergarten.

I felt dread, trepidation, anxiety on my girls' behalf.

Because in my mind, not only was I sending them off to get an education and to grow up

and to develop skills and competencies that will help them go in the name of Jesus

to love and serve this world,

but in my mind, what tugged at my heart was the sense that I was also sending them off

out of our carefree home into the rat race,

into the realm of brutal competition,

where there are winners and losers,

and where the stakes will only get higher for them with each passing year.

And where, yes, I do want them to crush it,

but at what cost?

By what means?

For whose glory?

And according to whose standards?

So as I stood on that porch,

taking Leah's first day of school picture,

I couldn't help but think,

what way of life is little Leah about to enter into?

What will she live for?

What will she be known for?

And as her dad, what do I want her legacy to be?

What do I want our family's legacy to be?

What will define little Leah?

What will define the Ong family?

Our hard work and hustle?

Our achievements and accolades?

What we've built and begotten?

Or might our defining distinctive be something deeper,

purer, holier,

something far more sacred and lasting?

As we open up Genesis chapter 4 this morning,

Genesis 4 · chapter mention

I want to remind you of the hopes and dreams

that Adam and Eve had for their own offspring,

the legacy on their minds as they ventured east of Eden

and gave birth to their first child.

Remember, they were longing for what?

They were longing for salvation,

someone to reverse the curse,

defeat the serpent.

And you can even hear it in Eve's voice here in verse 1.

Adam made love to his wife Eve,

and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain.

She said,

with the help of the Lord,

I have brought forth a man.

She's thinking, or at least hoping,

here he is.

Here he is.

I did it, and labor was painful,

but I have brought forth,

you could translate this as,

I have procured a man.

And she names him after that.

Cain means gotten, procured, acquired.

And as we shall see from the moment of Cain's birth,

he and his descendants will live up to that name,

that everything that I want in life,

I have to get,

I have to procure,

I have to acquire myself.

Then verse 2.

Later she gave birth to his brother Abel,

and Abel just means emptiness,

vapor, even vanity,

meaninglessness.

It's the same word as in Ecclesiastes.

It's almost like Abel is an afterthought

to their firstborn son,

because Cain is the one upon whom

all the family's hopes and dreams rest, right?

He's the firstborn.

He's gonna be the one.

Verse 2.

Now Abel kept flocks,

and Cain worked the soil.

So Cain is the one going into the family business.

He's working the cursed ground with his dad.

He's sharing in the sweat and toil.

He's battling the thorns and thistles,

helping the family produce their own daily bread

to survive.

Then verse 3.

In the course of time,

Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil

as an offering to the Lord,

and Abel also brought an offering,

fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock.

The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering,

but on Cain and his offering,

he did not look with favor.

So Cain was very angry,

and his face was downcast.

So Adam and Eve are trying to raise

these God-fearing young men

who offer worship unto God with these offerings.

But only one offering is accepted by the Lord,

only Abel's.

Why?

Well, see, Abel's gift was the fattiest firstborn, right?

Not his leftovers after seeing

how well his flock did that year,

but his firstborn,

not knowing how many more sheep

he would even have that year.

He gave the best of his firstborn sheep.

And the writer of Hebrews

interprets this fatty firstborn offering

as an act of faith,

as Abel saying,

I'm gonna worship you, Lord,

because you deserve it all.

And I'm gonna trust you with all that I have

and give you the first and best

of what you've given me.

Abel lived by the principle

that God has given to me,

and I'm gonna live out of that.

But for Cain,

he lived by a different principle.

The principle of,

I gotta get mine.

And that's why he was so angry with God.

He thought God owed him

a good response to his offering.

Abel offered authentic faith and worship,

but Cain offered performative,

tokenistic religiosity.

Cain just did his duty.

He gave his offering,

and so God should have been obligated

to accept his offering

and be happy with him.

But for Cain,

it was all transactional.

I give, then I get.

And the moment Cain's transactional way of life

stopped working for him,

it says his face fell.

He wasn't just angry.

He was depressed and despairing,

all because he had a flawed understanding

of who God is

and of who he was

and of what he owed God.

He didn't get that God is not a God

who's so interested in having

a transactional relationship with his people

as if we could get God into our debt.

Like the elder brother,

Cain wanted a transaction

and not a father.

But just as the prodigal son's father

humbled himself

to go and pursue

not just his prodigal son,

but his petulant older son,

so does God approach Cain.

Not with immediate condemnation,

but with intentional questionings,

almost like a counselor.

Look at verse six.

Why are you so angry?

Why is your face downcast?

If you do what is right,

will you not be accepted?

But if you do not do what is right,

sin is crouching at your door.

It desires to have you,

but you must rule over it,

my son, he says.

God comes to Cain

trying to help him understand

his own heart,

his own lack of faith

and worship and love.

God is trying to help him understand

and get out of his transactional way of life.

He's trying to help him

into something far better.

But even after hearing directly from God,

Cain goes on living up to his name,

procuring, acquiring,

even if it means taking from others.

See, because you have to understand,

for his whole life,

Cain had been living

by the Ricky Bobby Creed, all right?

If you ain't first, you're last, all right?

But now he finds

that his supposedly meaningless brother

has come into first place with God,

and so in his self-centered jealousy,

Cain would rather dismantle his own brother

than dismantle his own

me first, gotta get mine way of life.

Verse eight says,

Now Cain said to his brother Abel,

let's go out to the field.

While they were in the field,

Cain attacked his brother Abel

and killed him.

Only the second generation

after Adam and Eve,

and humanity has fallen so far,

so fast,

from foolish disobedience in the garden

to family murder in the field.

Verse nine,

Then the Lord said to Cain,

Where is Abel, your brother?

And listen, it's not because God

doesn't know where he is, right?

No, he's pursuing Cain

as a gentle father.

But here Cain has the gall

to lie to God

and to renounce his responsibility

and to do it with sass.

He said, I don't know.

Am I my brother's keeper?

And this is the more basic evil,

the me first denial

of our human responsibility

to love one another.

So God makes it clear to Cain,

you are supposed to be

your brother's keeper,

and so much more actually, Cain.

Verse 10,

The Lord said,

What have you done?

Listen, your brother's blood

cries out to me from the ground.

Don't you know?

No injustice goes unnoticed before me.

And God says,

Now you are under a curse

and driven from the ground

which opened its mouth

to receive your brother's blood

from your hand.

You further curse the ground, Cain.

This ground that was supposed

to deliver life

is now drinking in death.

This ground that I gave to you

from which you were supposed

to receive your daily bread,

you have force-fed it

your brother's blood.

So now verse 12,

So,

when you work the ground now, Cain,

it will no longer yield

its crops for you.

You will be a restless wanderer

on the earth.

You will be anxious,

fearful,

homeless,

and insecure

for the rest of your life.

But still,

Cain isn't even remorseful,

repentant,

or even ashamed.

All he can think about

is himself.

Verse 13,

Cain said to the Lord,

My punishment is more

than I can bear.

Today you are driving me

from the land,

and I will be hidden

from your presence.

I will be a restless wanderer

on the earth,

and whoever finds me

will kill me.

All he can think about

is himself.

But for some reason,

God delays justice here.

He's apparently got some plans

to temporarily preserve Cain,

even use Cain,

for his purposes in history.

So he says in verse 15,

Not so.

Anyone who kills Cain

will suffer vengeance

seven times over.

Full justice.

Full vengeance.

Then the Lord put a mark

on Cain,

so that no one

who found him

would kill him.

And this is the beginning

of a long motif

throughout the Bible

of the innocent suffering,

and of them crying out

to God for justice,

as Abel's did to God.

Crying out,

How long, O Lord?

How long will the unjust?

How long will the strong?

How long will the arrogant

oppressors continue to,

continually seem

to just rack up

all these wins, right?

And while this is a sad

and confusing motif

throughout the Scriptures,

it's also the very wisdom of God,

the thing that God

will eventually use

to save the world, right?

The suffering of the innocent one.

But in the meantime,

as the strong men,

as the wicked ones

continue to win,

this story now presents us

with a rather challenging choice.

A choice to live Cain's way

or God's way.

And it's a challenging choice

because though Cain

doesn't exactly have it easy,

what we're going to find

in the rest of this passage,

like from this point on,

is that he's actually

quite successful.

Even when he chooses

not to be his brother's keeper

or anyone else's,

even as he commits himself

to looking out for number one,

it works out pretty well for Cain.

Verse 16 says,

So Cain went out

from the Lord's presence

and lived in the land of Nod,

east of Eden.

So the worst possible thing

has happened to him.

He is expelled

from the presence of God,

but you can still see him

fighting to survive,

fighting to preserve

the worldview of his name.

He refuses to wander.

He settles somewhere.

Verse 17 says,

he starts a family.

And if you're wondering

how he started a family,

how that works,

who is threatening him

outside the garden,

talk to Jonathan about that,

all right?

I know we're happy

to chat about that,

but we want to focus

on what the text

is focusing on here,

all right?

So continue with me

in verse 17.

Cain was then building a city,

and he named it

after his son Enoch.

So Cain,

he manages to survive

and to procreate,

and not only that,

but he even builds a city

and he names it

after his son Enoch.

And Enoch means

inaugurated,

initiated,

dedicated.

Basically,

Cain is glorying

in his accomplishments.

He's naming

his self-made city

after his self-made son.

He's celebrating himself

as a self-made man.

Like, sure,

God exiled me,

but look at me now.

I built a city,

and I'm dedicating

this inaugural city

to myself and my offspring.

I don't need God.

I will initiate.

I will get,

acquire,

procure what I want.

I will survive on my own

outside of the presence

of God.

And thus,

in Cain,

who's actually turned out

to be the very first offspring

of the serpent,

in Cain's own heart

and life,

the serpent's lie,

it lingers.

See?

You will not surely die.

Life without God works.

You're fine.

You're better than fine.

After being banished

from his presence,

you aren't just surviving,

you're thriving.

Cutting corners

pays off.

See it for yourself.

God's way is whack.

Verse 18 tells us

that Cain's line

continues on

and then especially thrives

under Lamech

in verse 19,

who takes not just

one wife,

but two,

because to him,

it's all about the gains,

right?

It's all about the wins.

It's all about

maximization

and productivity.

While God told Adam and Eve

that husband and wife,

the two shall be one,

and then bless them

as a couple

to be fruitful

and to multiply,

Lamech says,

forget that.

I can multiply

twice as fast

with two wives.

And this is the beginning

of polygamy.

It's the beginning

of the objectification

of women,

using them

to continue

the way of Cain,

to acquire

and to self-produce

more and more

and more.

But look what happens.

Lamech actually is

quite productive.

Civilization is built

from his offspring,

from both his wives.

Verses 20 and 21

tell us that

from one wife

he gets two sons.

One is the father

of tent dwelling,

the father of wilderness

survival

and livestock rearing.

The other is the father

of music

and instruments,

right?

And then Lamech's

other son

from his other wife,

Tubal Cain,

he's the forger

of metal instruments.

And not just plowshares,

but probably also

swords.

Swords.

So while the only sword

humanity had ever known

up to this point

was the flaming sword,

prohibiting them

from the tree of life,

here humanity is saying,

fine, fine.

If we can't partake

of the tree of life

and live forever,

we will now live

by the sword.

We will exercise

dominion by swords

that we forge

for ourselves.

And so from the line

of Cain,

particularly through

his descendant Lamech,

cities and kingdoms

are forged.

Farm raising,

music,

craftsmanship,

technology,

and military power,

culture,

kingdom,

and empire

are being developed

almost,

almost like God

intended when he

told us to be fruitful

and to multiply.

And yet,

there's still something

very off

about this picture,

isn't there?

A familiar arrogance,

a godless,

self-sufficient spirit,

the worship of power,

a familiar propensity

for violence

and oppression.

And even the celebration

here of all this wickedness,

look,

Lamech is so pleased.

He is so proud here

of all his accomplishments,

all his children's

accomplishments.

This is the birth

of mansplaining

and peacocking here

in verse 23.

Lamech said to his wives,

Adon, Zillah,

hear my voice,

you wives of Lamech.

That's who they are to him.

Not human beings

with personal,

individual integrity.

They are his wives,

the wives of Lamech.

Listen to what I say.

He's commanding them.

And this is what he sings

and celebrates.

I have killed a man

for wounding me.

That's what he celebrates.

Lamech celebrates

improportional violence.

He sings of power

and dominance.

His song goes like this,

A young lad

struck and wounded me

and I,

a strong grown man,

I killed him for it.

Then Lamech even makes

a godlike declaration

about his own future

and security

even greater than

what God spoke

over Cain.

Lamech says,

If Cain is avenged

seven times,

then Lamech 77.

Lamech here

is an ancient

proto-Machiavellian here,

all right?

It's all about

ruthless power

and preservation

for himself.

And this,

this is the way of Cain.

This is the way of Cain.

See, the way of Cain says,

I go and I get

what I want.

I take what I can,

I make my own fortune,

I win by being on top

and staying on top,

and if anyone crosses me

or threatens me,

I outdo them

or I take them down.

I will build my own city,

I will fix my own security,

and I am able

to do it on my own

and therefore,

all glory to me,

all glory to my city,

and that is how

I will be remembered

in history,

by my achievements,

by my hustle,

by what I produce,

by my self-made life.

The way of Cain

is the way

of impersonal transaction,

performative posturing,

brutal competition,

godless self-sufficiency,

arrogant empire building,

and self-interested survival

at all costs.

And so see,

the point of Genesis 4

isn't merely

thou shalt not kill.

It's not just

thou shalt not covet,

thou shalt not be jealous

like Cain.

It's not even simply

thou shalt love your neighbor

as yourself,

or thou shalt be

your brother's keeper.

The point of Genesis 4

is that the way of Cain

is still so very much

the way of our world,

the way we've all been

programmed and conditioned

to live,

because why?

Because why?

Because what if we don't

live the way of Cain?

We've seen it so many times,

right?

If we don't live

the way of Cain,

we're going to get

slaughtered like Abel.

Haven't we all

internalized that?

That it's the strong man

who always wins.

Everybody knows that Cain

and his descendants,

they're the winners.

They're the military

superpowers,

the political majorities,

the tech geniuses,

the CEOs,

the influencers,

the wealthy,

comfortable,

and least vulnerable.

They're the ones

who are written about

in Time magazine

and in our history books.

In our experience

of this hard,

cruel world,

it's pretty hard

to deny

that the first

are first

and the last

are last.

The thorns

and thistles

that infest our fields

of labor

are real.

And we constantly

find ourselves

bumping up

against scarcity

after scarcity.

Weaker dollar,

slower job market,

companies going lean,

conflicting national interests.

So what do we do?

We sweat

and we toil,

we neglect our families

and our relationships

with God

and the church.

We neglect our health

and our mental well-being

and for sure

we don't have time

to love our neighbors

or to consider ourselves

as our brother's keepers.

No, instead we grind.

We grind and we grind

ever toward these

self-made ideal versions

of ourselves,

always trying to level up

closer and closer

to first place,

always trying to acquire more

positions,

promotions,

profit,

or maybe some of us

are just trying to keep

our heads above the water

and not get left behind,

right?

Like Cain,

we feel the echo

of God's word

that to dust

we shall return

and so also like Cain,

we fight violently

to delay that dusty end.

To many of us,

the way of Cain

is really the only way

and we hope to sing

our own versions

of Lamech's song,

right?

Started from the bottom,

now we're here,

right?

It's the same song

but really,

what is the actual fruit

of living to sing

Lamech's song

in the way of Cain?

That's what I want us

to consider.

What is the fruit

of living in the way

of Cain?

If your whole understanding

of what it means

to be human

and how to be human

is to get what's yours

and to do whatever

it takes to survive,

survival to fit us,

does that truly lead

to human flourishing

or human floundering,

to arrogance,

selfishness,

division,

dehumanization,

oppression,

and violence?

These are the true fruit

of Lamech.

In his book,

The Tyranny of Merit,

the political philosopher

and Harvard Law Professor

Michael Sandel,

he says,

you know,

a lot of us think

we like the idea

of a very pure meritocracy,

the story of the self-made man.

But then he invites us

into that thought experiment

to imagine a purely

meritocratic society.

He says,

like,

think about it,

okay?

A purely meritocratic society.

He says,

it can actually be

a devastating double-edged sword

that not only commends

the winners,

but also condemns

the losers, right?

A system that justifies

hubris for winners

and humiliation for losers.

And the more we think

of ourselves as self-made

and self-sufficient,

the harder it is

to learn gratitude

and humility.

And so he challenges us

to consider,

is this way

in the world of Cain

really the world

of our dreams,

where our worth

can be based on

what we produce

and build

and whether or not

we crush it

and successfully build

our cities and empires?

Or is this actually

everyone's worst nightmare?

You know,

in his book,

The Prince,

Machiavelli, right,

he's advising new rulers

on how to maintain

and expand their power.

And he writes,

the lion cannot protect himself

from traps,

and the fox cannot defend himself

from wolves.

One must therefore

be a fox

to recognize traps

and a lion

to frighten wolves.

But the thing is,

what if we can't just become

these mythical lion-fox creatures?

What then?

Is this world only made

for those who can somehow

morph into this weird,

strange lion-fox thing?

Does that even exist?

Is there no place

for a faithful turtle

in this world?

Right?

A gentle rabbit,

a limping lamb.

Is it really not possible

for the lion and the lamb

to coexist?

And listen,

I'm not anti-hard work

and diligence.

I'm not anti-innovation,

institution building,

or culture influencing.

No.

Cain's descendants

accomplished what they did

because even their sin

couldn't extinguish

the profound culture-making image

of God that was within them.

God wants us

to pursue excellence

in our fields,

at our work.

He wants us to cultivate

His creation.

We were made to work.

But see,

the more important question

is not whether to build,

it's not whether to build

and pursue excellence,

but for whom.

Who is worthy

of all our excellence

and effort?

And who is worthy

to rightly order

and prioritize

our ambitions,

our direction,

and the pace

of our lives?

In the final two verses

of Genesis 4,

after we've read

so much about

the way of Cain

and all his triumphs

and accomplishments,

or as David Brooks

likes to call them,

all Cain and his descendants'

resume virtues, right?

After all of that,

we find in these final,

just two verses,

an alternative legacy,

an alternative way

to live that emerges.

Verse 25,

Adam made love

to his wife again,

and she gave birth

to a son

and named him Seth,

saying,

God has granted me

another child

in place of Abel

since Cain killed him.

And notice,

Eve's tune

is different.

It is no longer

I have brought forth,

but what?

God has granted.

That's what Seth means,

granted,

appointed,

not taken by force

or achieved by hustle,

but given by grace.

Cain's name

meant I got.

Seth's name means

God gave.

Cain's name points

and says,

look what I achieved.

Seth's name points

and says,

look what God granted.

And verse 26 says,

Seth also had a son

and he named him Enosh,

and Enosh actually means

weak and frail,

mortal man,

very different from

the high-achieving names

of Cain and his descendants.

And yet,

as unremarkable

as Enosh may have been,

verse 26 tells us

that when Enosh was born,

it was at that time

people began

to call upon

the name of the Lord.

And see,

this is the beginning

of another way,

a different way,

not the way

of acquiring,

building,

dominating,

but the way

of receiving,

depending,

and calling,

the way

that will eventually lead

not to Babel,

but to Bethlehem.

No city is mentioned here,

no empire,

no long resume

padded with innovative

achievements.

Sure,

Cain built a proud city

he could call upon

and name after himself.

But here,

all we're told about

Seth's people

is that they called upon

the name of the Lord.

That's it.

And yet,

this is the very people

that God would use

to save the world.

The line from which

another Lamech would come,

the father of Noah,

the father of Shem,

from whom Jesus,

the Messiah,

would come.

And not just any Messiah,

but the way,

the truth,

and the life,

and what a uniquely

beautiful way

he has shown us.

See,

while Cain's descendants

toiled to build

themselves cities

to secure their own survival,

and these cities

lasted maybe a generation

or so,

always eventually

finding themselves

either being threatened

or threatening others,

Jesus says,

I go to prepare

a place for you.

A new heaven

and a new earth,

an imperishable

inheritance

with renewed access

to the tree of life

where there is healing

for all the nations

and no more tears

forever.

In the kingdoms of Cain,

there are pledges

of 77-fold vengeance

upon their enemies.

But Jesus says,

not in my kingdom.

In my kingdom,

you shall forgive

your enemies

77 times.

For while the blood

of Abel

cried out to God

a word of accusation,

the blood of Jesus

speaks a better word

of atonement.

And while the way

of Cain might sing,

I'm a lion

and I've slain a lamb,

in the way of Christ

we sing of a lion

who is the lamb,

slain in our place

and yet raised,

exalted,

and worthy

of our worship.

And this is the gospel.

This is the good news.

This is the core

of the Christian faith.

This is the only way

we will ever be

our brother's keepers.

This is the only way

we will ever experience

the security

that Cain

and his descendants

thought that they were

achieving for themselves

by building their cities.

Not by the way of Cain.

Not by the way of Cain,

but by calling upon

the name of the Lord.

This is the way

he wants for us.

For everyone who calls

on the name of the Lord

shall what?

Shall be saved.

That's the legacy

of Seth's line.

Nothing flashy,

nothing impressive

by the standards

of this world,

but most importantly,

it's a return

to a relationship

with God.

A life unremarkable

by most standards,

but unmistakably

set apart

by its commitment

to calling upon

the name of the Lord.

So the question for us

is what do we want

our legacy to be?

The legacy of our children.

What way will we walk

to get there?

The legacy of Cain

or the legacy of Seth?

The way of Cain

or the way of Christ?

The way of striving

or the way of calling

upon the name of the Lord?

Christchurch,

you know we joke here

at Christchurch a lot,

maybe even humble brag,

about how educated

and how high achieving

everyone in this church

is, right?

But what if God

is calling us,

regardless of how nice

our resumes look,

what if God is calling us

to a different distinctive,

not as a wealthy church,

not as a smart

and thoughtful church,

not as a church

with good preaching

or whatever,

but as a praying church,

as a church that's known

for calling upon

the name of the Lord?

Are our households

places of prayer?

Are our community groups?

In the coming weeks,

you're going to hear

from Truba and Josh

about how we hope

to expand our prayer ministries here

beyond our pre-service

boiler room prayer

on Sunday mornings

and beyond our

second Wednesday

prayer meetings every month.

You're going to hear more

about how we hope

to be a praying church.

But that's the question,

do we hope to be?

Do we want to be

a praying church?

Do we want our legacy

to be that we called

upon the name of the Lord?

You know,

near the end of his life,

my all-time favorite preacher

and thinker,

Tim Keller,

he was asked in an interview,

looking back on 50 years

of your ministry,

what do you regret?

What do you wish

you had done differently?

And without hesitation,

he said,

oh, that's easy.

I wish I prayed more.

And that's changing my life.

That's changing how I'm planning

to pastor you.

of all the things

that he could have said

after leading a more fruitful,

more impactful ministry

than I would ever dream

of having.

Keller's one regret

was not preaching more,

writing more,

building more,

but not praying more.

And if we're honest,

that probably sounds so strange

because doesn't prayer

just feel so inefficient

and ineffective, right?

Especially here in the Bay Area

where we're constantly

being told that the hope

of the world is artificial,

artificial innovation

and technology

and production,

if we can just move faster,

scale bigger,

produce more,

we'll be safe,

secure, and successful.

But will we?

Do you know what else

relentlessly scales

and advances

to achieve dominion?

Cancer.

And that's the way of Cain.

Sure, growth.

Sure, expansion.

But always restless,

consuming,

and devouring.

So what if God

is calling us away

from cancerous production

and into the slower,

steadier,

more life-giving way

of the tree?

Rooted,

stable,

enduring,

like that old redwood

in Oakland,

old survivor,

not impressive enough

to have been chosen

and cut down

during the gold rush,

but the only one

left standing

500 years later.

Not because it produced more,

but because it stayed rooted.

Because it committed itself

to a practice

that no one would see,

measure,

or celebrate.

Simply centuries

of seeking its roots

deeper and deeper

underneath the ground,

abiding in its source

of life.

See, that's what prayer is.

That's what it means

to call upon the name

of the Lord.

It's the shift

from technique

to trust,

from skill

to supplication,

from striving

to surrender.

So contrary

to what Cain

and all his descendants

after him

would preach to us

about what it takes

and what it looks like

to flourish

as human beings,

contrary to what

I often want to preach

to my girls

about how they better hustle,

you better grind,

you better fight

to get to the top

by any means possible

or else, right?

Or else no one

will ever call upon

their names

with respect

and recognition

for all their achievements.

The Holy Spirit

speaking to us

from Genesis chapter 4

Genesis 4 · chapter mention

this morning

has a better word

for us

and for our children.

That the kind of people

God's eye

and favor are upon,

the kind of people

among whom

he has chosen

to dwell,

the kind of people

whom God

will use

to change the world,

are those

who call

upon the name

of the Lord.

Let's pray.

That's our simple prayer,

Lord God,

that we'd be

a people of prayer,

prayer over production,

that you would

bring us

to our knees

in dependence

upon you,

that you would

wipe away

all our preoccupations

with our resume

virtues,

and that you would

make it beautiful

to us

to pursue

a legacy

in which

all we are known

for

is calling upon

the name

of the Lord

and therefore

being the people

who you will use

to transform

this world.

We pray this

in the name

of Jesus.

Amen.