The Way of Cain - 11/30/25 - Pastor Charlie Branch

[music] Welcome to Meadows Baptist

Church of Walnut Cove, North Carolina.

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with [music] your friends. Now, let's

join Pastor Charlie Branch with a word

from God.

I get in a big way of preaching. Amen.

tear them things down. Amen. And if

y'all would set them back up there for

me. Amen. If you have your Bible this

morning, you turn with me to the book of

Genesis. Genesis chapter number four.

And we'll look there this morning. I'll

not ask you to stand. I know you've been

standing for a majority of the service

this morning. And so we'll look here at

a thought the Lord has placed upon my

heart for this service. And uh

I was thinking there that our youth this

morning, those young men done such an

excellent job. And I want to take just a

minute to uh put this out there to you.

Know we got a lot of young people here

uh visiting with us today. We have a

Wednesday night youth club. All right.

Youth class. And brother Kyle and Sister

Brooke head that up. And pretty much

what you see here this morning is is

benefits of the ministry that they have

in this church to our young people. and

the youth choir. Amen. They did a lot of

work helping us get that orchestrated.

And I just get to do the part, the fun

part, amen, and lead them. Amen. But,

uh, they do such an excellent job in

taking care of our young people. And so,

if you want to come be a part of that,

all right, you ain't got to sign up for

it. Just show up. Amen. And be here and

be a part of that. And we got Sunday

school forum, too. Classes for all ages.

And the more people that come, the more

classes we'll have. Amen. And so, do

remember that uh this morning. But I

want to look here in this text, Genesis

Genesis 4 · chapter mention

chapter 4. And uh uh like I said, if you

miss Sunday school, you missed a

blessing. Amen. And now comes the

cursing. Amen. So uh that that was

supposed to be funny, but y'all didn't

like that. Amen. But uh uh the Lord I

was praying about this service today and

and on youth Sunday, I was just thinking

about what the Lord would have us to say

and uh was praying the Lord would would

put somebody on my heart to come preach.

But it just seemed like the longer I

waited, the more uh it was just more

clear to me I needed to be here. And God

put this text on my heart earlier this

week. And so I want to preach here

Genesis 4 verse number one. Genesis 4

verse number one. The Bible says, "And

Adam knew Eve his wife, and she

conceived and bare Cain and said, "I

have gotten a man from the Lord." and

she again bare his brother Abel. And

Abel was a keeper of sheep. But Cain was

a tiller of the ground. In process of

time it came to pass that Cain brought

of the fruit of the ground an offering

unto the Lord. And Abel he also brought

of the firstlings of his flock and of

the fat thereof. And the Lord had

respect unto Abel and to his offering.

In verse five, the Bible says, "But unto

Cain, and to his offering, he had not

respect. And Cain was very wroth, and

his countenance fell. 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? And if

thou doest not well, sin lith at the

door? And unto 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 thy

brother's keeper?" And he said, "What

hast thou done? The voice of thy

brother's blood crith 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 tillest the ground, it

shall not henceforth yield unto thee her

strength. A fugitive and a vagabond

shalt thou be in the earth." And Cain

said unto the Lord, "My punishment is

greater than I can bear. Behold, thou

hast driven me out this day from the

face of the earth, and from thy face

shall I be hid, and I shall be a

fugitive and a veagga bond in the earth.

And it shall come to pass that everyone

that findeth me shall slay me." And the

Lord said unto him, Therefore, whosoever

slayth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on

him sevenfold. And the Lord set a mark

upon Cain, lest any finding him should

kill him. Now, I want you to notice

verse number 16. This is where we're

going to end up today with the help of

the Lord. But the Bible says in verse

16, "And Cain went out from the presence

of the Lord and dwelt in the land of Nod

on the east of Eden." Now, I was reading

this text and the Lord gave me a message

here out of this text concerning the way

of Cain. you titled your uh notes this

morning, the way of Cain, if you want a

title for the message. But I was reading

and praying about this text and these

there were some thoughts here in this

text that jumped off the page at me. And

I want to preach on that thought, the

way of Cain, for just a little while

with the help of the Lord. Let's pray

together and ask God to help us now.

Father, I ask humbly, Lord, as I've come

before you, Lord, to this place, this

service today. I thank you so much for

everything that's been done thus far.

God, it's been a wonderful service. And

Lord, I thank you so much for these

young people that have so faithfully

served this morning. And God, so uh

Lord, so willfully served. God, I I

thank you for that. And Lord, I pray

that you would bless them and their

parents this morning, their families.

And God, I thank you for the visitors

that are here with us today. I pray

you'd add a blessing to them. And and

God, I pray we would all receive

strength from the word of God. I pray

that we would take it into our heart and

apply it to our life. I pray, God, that

we would receive it with meekness this

morning, God, that it might help us. And

Lord, I pray, Father, Lord, that you

would help us to be obedient to whatever

you say to us this morning. God, I pray

if there's one in our midst and is not

saved, I pray today would be the day of

salvation for them. And Lord, I pray,

God, if there's somebody here that's not

right with you, been out of the will of

God for some time, I pray today would be

the day that they get right with you.

And Lord, I pray God, today, if there's

somebody here today that's walking in

this spirit of this man Cain, Lord, I

pray, God, that you would deal with

their heart, Lord, deal with the anger

that they have. And Lord, I pray,

Father, that you would help them, touch

their heart today. And Lord, for what

you do, we'll be sure to give you thanks

for what you do because we ask it in

Jesus' name. And God's children said,

"Amen."

>> Thank you so much. This morning, I was

praying over this text this morning. I

was thinking about a lot of different

messages that I could preach, but really

what this is what the Lord brought me to

this morning. And you say, "Preacher,

this isn't a very fitting message for a

youth Sunday." Well, I think that it is.

And when we consider this text and dig a

little deeper, I think you'll you'll see

why in this text. Now, when I come to

this text, I hope that you're familiar

with this story. And no doubt in

America, surely you're familiar with

Cain and Abel. And I was thinking about

these children. And there's three things

that interest me. And rather, there's

three things that amaze me in this text.

And you say, "What do you mean?" Well, I

want you to note these things by way of

introduction this morning. I consider

first of all the first thing that amazes

me in this text is in verse number one

and you'll find it in that word in the

middle of the verse where the Bible says

and Adam knew his Eve his wife notice

this and she conceived. Now what you

find right here is the first conception.

This is the first time that a woman

becomes pregnant in all of history. Cain

is the first son that'll be born of

woman here in the word of God and he is

the first one. Eve is the first mother.

Adam is the first father and Cain is the

first son. And and that interests me.

And so I think the Bible pins it down

for a reason. So I would say that this

first conception amazes me, but I would

say also here in this text, not only

this first conception amazes me, but I

would say this first consecration that

we see here in the text amazes me.

Notice what the Bible says. And in verse

number verse three, the Bible says, "In

the process of time, it came to pass

that Cain brought to the fruit of the

ground, notice this, an offering unto

the Lord." And so we see here the first

son, the first wife, the first father

here, this son brings his offering unto

the Lord. Now, we obviously know there's

fellowship here in this text, and I'll

say more about that in just a moment,

but they are consecrating themselves.

Cain is coming to the Lord. Now, that's

what you've done this morning. You have

decided, you've made a decision, a

choice to come to the house of God. And

I'll say this, you're not here by

circumstance or just happen stance

today, but you're here for a reason.

Amen. And I want to say I the the

conception amazes me. The fact that Eve

would conceive here and bear a son and

not only one, but two. And then this

consecration that these two children

would take their offering unto the Lord.

And that's what we've witnessed here

this morning. These children that have

served here today, they have consecrated

themselves in order to serve to teach

the word and to sing the word and to

help in the order of the service. And

then I noticed this and I think this is

what amazes me as much as anything in

this chapter, not the conception and not

even the consecration. But notice in

verse number six, the Bible says, "And

the Lord said, notice this, unto Cain."

I think what amazes me most of all about

this chapter is that God is verbally

speaking

>> to these men, the conversation that's

had in this text. You say, "Preacher,

well, what's the emphasis on that?" What

you're going to find in this text is

that there is a murder that's committed

and there is lies that are told and

there is much sin. There is a life that

is lost in this chapter, but God is

speaking to them vocally.

I've heard people all my life say,

"Preacher, if God would just come to me

and tell me what I would what I should

do, I'd do it." But I'll say this in

this text, this right here proves that

that ain't true.

>> That's right.

>> Because they had a vocal conversation

with God. And yet, a man still looked in

the face of God and lied to him.

>> And I want to preach on this thought

this morning, the way of Cain. Now, we

note in this text, there are two souls

that are mentioned in verse one, Adam

and Eve. There are two sons that are

conceived. This is Cain and Abel. serves

two occupations. In verse number two,

the Bible says that she again bare his

brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of

sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the

ground. And so Cain is the oldest son.

And by process of time, by terminology

that's used here, Abel would be born

shortly thereafter. And as they would

come of age, they would each find an

occupation. One of them, Abel, was a

keeper of the sheep. He was a shepherd.

And Cain, was a tiller of the ground. He

was a plowman. and he was plowing up

that ground and Abel was looking after

the sheep. And so there's two

occupations, there's two offerings. In

verse number three, the Bible says that

Cain brought of the fruit of the ground,

an offering unto the Lord. But Abel in

verse number four, he brings of the

firstlings of his flock. And then I see

there's two outcomes in verse number

four and five. Look what the Bible says.

And the Lord had respect unto Abel under

his offering. And verse five, the Bible

says, "But unto Cain and to his

offering, he had not respect." Now, to

the casual Bible reader this morning,

one that does not understand scripture,

we would say, "Why? Why is it that the

Lord would not accept Cain's offering?"

Well, I'll say this this morning, you've

got to understand something. The Bible

teaches us that without the shedding of

blood, there's no remission of sins. And

Adam and Eve, their sin, their failure

in the garden just a chapter prior, the

sin that they have brought on this world

by one man sin entered into the world

and death by sin. Adam was that one that

sin has entered into the world by and so

because of Adam's sin all die. All of us

will die of physical death if the

rapture does not take place and take us

home to be with the Lord. And and I was

thinking about this text and you got to

understand something. When God went to

cover their sins, what did he do? He had

to kill an animal.

>> Right?

>> What does the Bible say? He took that

animal and he made them coats of skins.

So blood had to be shed. And so God,

there's no doubt in my mind, you think

about this, Adam and Eve knew God better

than anybody else.

>> Amen. They were there. They're the only

ones that had fellowship with God. And

it was because of their sin that in

chapter three, they are banished from

the garden. The garden is kept by two

cherubams. in verse 24 of chapter 3 with

flame and sword they are not allowed to

go back there and I one writer said this

he said that Adam and Eve he said many

probably that many days of their life

that they would take Cain and Abel and

they would walk back over to that garden

and they would show them the angels with

the flaming sword and look from a far

off and see the garden with all its

luscious greens and how perfect that it

was and they would walk by and he said

they'd have picnics by the garden and

Adam would tell them the story how that

they had sinned and how that they had

failed God. And he would explain to them

that because of our sin, there has to be

a sacrifice and blood has to be shed so

our sin can be covered. Amen. And and

Cain and Abel, they were not in the dark

about the sacrifice. So they bring their

offering. But you see in this text,

Cain's already decided he's going to go

against what he knows. Cain knows better

in this text. You say, "Preacher, well

that's not implied in the text." Well,

you're going to find out it is in just a

minute.

>> I would say this this morning. This

hatred in this text leads to homicide.

>> Amen.

>> And the Bible says if a man have anger

in his heart towards his brother, he's

just as good as committed murder against

you.

>> And in this text, I want to give you

three reasons. First of all, then I'll

give you the message this morning. Why

was Cain's sacrifice rejected? Number

one, I would say his sacrifice was

rejected because there was no death in

this sacrifice. There was no nothing had

to lose its life. Cain simply took of

what he worked hard. And there's no

doubt in my mind that Cain went and got

the best fruits. He probably got the

biggest, nicest ears of corn and the

biggest, nicest watermelons or whatever

else that he grew. And he brought this

picture in my mind like a bouquet of

fruit and vegetables unto the Lord and

beauty. No doubt it was costly what he

brought. He had labored by the sweat of

his brow and in his own mind. Surely God

will accept the labors OF MY HAND.

SURELY GOD WILL ACCEPT WHAT I PUT

TOGETHER. But you UNDERSTAND THIS

MORNING, there's none that doeth good,

know not one. And it's not by works of

righteousness which we have done, but

according to his mercy he saved us. And

he was showing Cain in this text, hey

Cain, it's not what you can do. That's

>> right.

>> Something's going to have to die.

>> Yes. Cain's offering was rejected

because there was no death in the

sacrifice. Second of all, I would say

not only there was no death in the

sacrifice, but number two, there was no

denial of self.

Say, preacher, what do you mean? Well,

notice verse two again. The Bible says,

"And Abel was a keeper of sheep." Notice

this. But Cain was a tiller of the

ground. You say, "What do you mean by

that?" Well, you see, Cain in order to

bring an offering of the L to the Lord

that was acceptable, he would have to

deny who he was.

>> Good. What does the Bible say? He's a

tiller of the ground. Well, to bring a

sacrifice that was acceptable, he was

going to have to get a sheep.

>> Amen. I'll say more about that in just a

minute. But he did not deny himself.

I'll say this this morning. If you are

going to be saved, if you are going to

be sanctified, if you are going to serve

God, you will have to number one have a

death, amen, in your life. Your flesh

will have to die. The old man will have

to die. And there'll have to be new life

that takes up residence in you. BUT

YOU'LL ALSO HAVE TO DENY YOURSELF. AMEN.

>> You'll have to deny who you are. But

Cain was not willing to do that. He

says, "I'm a tiller of the ground, and

I'm not going to change. I'm going to

bring what I can do." You know, there's

a lot of people do that.

>> Amen.

>> They say, "Lord, this is what I'm good

at. This is what I'll bring to you." And

God says, "No, that ain't what I'll

accept."

>> Right?

>> There was no death in the sacrifice.

There was no denial of self. But I'll

say this thirdly, and here's the real

reason why God rejected his sacrifice.

It's because there was no desire for

satisfaction in this verse. You say,

"What do you mean?" Well, he did not

desire to satisfy God.

>> Right?

>> See, Cain's offering was not an offering

brought unto the Lord. Cain's offering

was an offering brought in comparison to

his brother.

>> And you're going to see that

increasingly in this text. Cain makes

this offering. Abel's going to bring an

offering. Cain's going to bring an

offering. He says, "Well, if he's going

to bring one, I'm going to bring one."

And so together they come with their

offerings. And you know what? Cain's

thinking, "My offering is better than

his."

>> Right?

>> Not a single time is he worried about

what God said,

>> right?

>> Not a single time has he stopped to

think about the fact that without the

shedding of blood, there would be no

forgiveness. There would be no

opportunity for forgiveness, for

cleansing, and his offering would not be

accepted. And what happens in this text?

Notice verse five. The Bible says, "But

unto Cain and to his offering he had not

respect. He did not receive Cain's

offering and Cain was very wroth." The

Bible says his countenance fell. Now, I

notice here in this text, four things

this morning. I'll be done. I consider

number one in this text. I consider the

lifting up of pride. Look what the Bible

says in verse 5 again. And Cain was very

wroth. Why was he wroth? Because God had

rejected the works of his hands. Now,

I'll say this to you this morning. A man

ought to work hard.

>> Somebody say amen this morning. We ought

to be hardworking people. And as

children of God, as Christians, we ought

to be willing and able to work harder

than anybody else.

>> Amen. We ought to do twice, double,

triple as much as anybody else. And with

half the grumbling. Somebody say amen

right there. And Cain, there's not a

doubt in my mind. He's a hard worker.

He's labored hard, you know, tilling the

ground. He had told there in the book of

Genesis, you think about this, the first

labor that was ever committed to Adam,

what did he tell him? He said, "By the

sweat of your brow, you'll eat of that

ground, that cursed ground. You're going

to have to plow it up, Adam. You're

going to have TO PULL WEEDS. YOU'RE

GOING TO HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU'RE

PLANTING THE RIGHT SEED, ADAM. It's

cursed, but now you are responsible for

it."

>> So, what's he doing? He's falling on in

the family profession.

He's plowing ground.

Now, you say, "Preacher, what does that

have to do with this?" Well, this is

what Cain loves. This is what Cain

wants. And when he brings this offering,

it's something that Cain thinks is

beautiful,

>> right?

>> But like I said this morning, just

because something you desire, something

you want or something you bring before

the Lord does not mean that God will

accept it,

>> right?

>> What's the lifting up of pride? Well,

the Bible says that he was very wroth.

You'll know his anger in this problem of

pride. The Bible says that his

countenance failed. No longer was Cain

lifted up here rejoicing over his

offering thinking that you know how

beautiful this is and how wonderful it's

going to be when I outdo my brother.

You say, "Preacher, I don't see that in

the text." Hang with me. All right, I'll

show it to you in a minute. But what

happens to him? He becomes angry. You

know, the Bible talks about anger. The

Bible says anger itself is not a sin,

but the fruits of anger.

>> Amen. There are times when anger is a

sin. Okay? When you're angry over

correction, when you're angry over

rebuke and you're in the wrong, Amen.

Anger is a sin.

>> Amen. But Jesus was angry on many

occasions and he never did any sin. But

I'll tell you this, the Bible says, "Be

ye angry and sin not."

>> All there's many times that people

become angry and out of anger they

become uncontrolled. Notice what happens

in this text. He the Lord questions Cain

in verse 6. And the Lord said unto him,

Cain, why art thou wroth? Why is thy

countenance fallen? Cain, why are you

upset? And what basically what this is

telling us is that Cain knew better.

>> He knew better.

>> You say, "Preacher, how can you say

that?" God is speaking to him vocally.

>> Cain, why are you upset? What did you

expect? Let me ask you something this

morning. When you go on and live a life

of sin, what do you expect to happen?

>> Amen. What do you expect to ble? YOU

CANNOT EXPECT GOD TO BLESS YOUR LIFE

when you are openly and blatantly LIVING

IN SIN BEFORE GOD. AND WHEN GOD SPEAKS,

HE'S NOT GOING TO SAY, "SON, IT'S OKAY."

NO, this is what he's going to say. HE'S

GOING TO SAY, "WHY ARE YOU mad

>> when you're standing in the ashes that

you have BURNT DOWN THE BUILDING UPON

YOURSELF BECAUSE OF YOUR SINFUL

DECISIONS AND YOUR CHOICES? WHEN YOU'RE

STANDING IN THE ASHES AND ANGER is

fuming, God is not going to come TO YOU

AND PAT YOU ON THE HEAD AND SAY, "IT'S

GOING TO BE ALL RIGHT."

>> RIGHT?

>> But he's going to look at you and say,

"Why you upset for?"

>> What'd you expect?

>> Amen.

>> You know what? And I'll say this, God's

not a smart elk. Okay?

>> But he's a father. Amen. I remember

there's many times I I thinking about

this growing up when I was reading this

text. I remember dad, I would have a

hammer and a and a screwdriver trying to

beat something out of something. Amen. I

got a five pound hammer. Amen. I'm 10

years old. Hammer's 10% of my weight.

Amen. And I'm over here with a little

bitty screwdriver, little head on it,

and I end accidentally hit my thumb with

that hammer and I'm over, you know,

daddy look at me and say, "What'd you

expect, son?"

>> Right?

>> You know, you play with fire, you're

going to get burned.

>> God looks at Cain, says, "Son, why are

you upset? Why are you wroth?" Look what

he says. There's not only the question

in verse six, he asked, he said, why are

you angry? Why is thy countenance, why

is your appearance changed? Verse seven,

if thou doest well, shalt thou not be

accepted? First, he gives him a

recommendation. He says, Cain, if you'll

just do what's right, you know what's

right, Cain. If you'll just DO WHAT

YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO DO, will you not be

accepted?

>> You see, there's acceptance when we

follow the Lord's prescribed manner of

living.

>> Amen. Hey, we're not without knowledge

this morning. We know what's right.

Amen. We know this book tells us the way

of life, the truth that we should live

by. And the problem is it's not that we

don't know the truth. The problem is we

don't obey the truth.

>> But the truth is STILL THE SAME. SAYS IF

WE'LL DO WELL, IF YOU WILL do right,

look what he says. Shall you not be

accepted?

Cain, I didn't receive your sacrifice

because it ain't right.

>> Good.

>> You know you're supposed to offer blood.

You know, you're supposed to offer a

sacrifice of death. And and the Bible

says, "If thou doest well, shalt thou

not be accepted." Notice this. He not

only gives them a recommendation, but he

gives them an admonition in verse 7.

"And if thou doest not well, sin."

Notice that life at the door.

>> There's a lot of ideas about what that's

saying, but I'll tell you what I believe

it's saying. God told Cain said, "Look,

son, if you let your anger continue on,

you're going to get in a lot more mess

than you're in right now."

>> Right? If you let your this anger, this

bitterness that you have in your heart,

if you continue to allow that TO FESTER,

SIN'S JUST WAITING AROUND THE CORNER and

you will be destroyed. James said it

this way, when lust hath conceived, it

bringeth forth sin. And sin when it's

finished does what? Bringeth forth

death. Amen.

>> Amen.

>> The truth is, just like in Cain's life,

many of us know the recommendation.

We've also been given AN ADMONITION.

HEY, YOU BETTER STAY AWAY FROM THAT. YOU

BETTER NOT DO THAT. YOU BETTER NOT GO

THERE. YOU BETTER NOT SAY THAT. AMEN.

You say, "Preacher, what about all them

don'ts?" Well, I'll tell you some dos.

Amen. THERE'S SOME THINGS THAT YOU OUGHT

TO DO. HEY, YOU KNOW BETTER. HEY, HIM

THAT KNOWEST TO DO GOOD AND DOETH IT

NOT, WHAT'S THE BIBLE SAY to him? It is

sin. Amen.

>> Amen.

He's telling Cain, he said, "If thou

doest not well, if you decide, Cain,

from this moment on, when God speaks and

you decide to go away, you better watch

out, friend, cuz I can tell you Satan's

waiting on the other side of the door."

>> I notice not only the recommendation,

the admonition, but notice the

restoration here that's granted. You

see, Cain's got a pride problem. What is

his pride problem? Notice verse seven.

Look what he says. and unto thee shall

be his desire. Thou shalt rule over him.

You say, "Preacher, what does that

mean?" Well, Cain's the oldest son. What

does that offer him? He has the

birthright, doesn't he? As the oldest

son, he is the one that's heir to the

family per uh family portion to am to

what the family possesses. And the Bible

says there in verse 7, "And unto thee

shall be his desire." The same

terminology is used back in Genesis

chapter number two that God told Eve

that your desire shall be to your

husband. He's going to rule over you.

And what God is telling Cain, "Hey son,

if you'll do right, the position is

going to be restored."

>> That's good.

>> You're going to be put back in the PLACE

THAT YOU DESERVE. NO, I DIDN'T ACCEPT

YOUR OFFERING, BUT HERE IS AN

opportunity for restoration.

>> I don't know where you're at. I don't

know who you are this morning, but maybe

God has given you an opportunity for

restoration this morning to get back

right with him again. Look what the

Bible says. And under these shall be his

desire, and thou shalt rule over him.

The family order will be put back in

place again.

>> Amen.

>> And notice verse number eight. We noted

his anger in verse five, but notice in

verse number eight. Note his

acquisition.

Now, what's that first phrase, verse

number eight say? And Cain talked

with Abel his brother. Now that word and

in the first part of verse number eight

connects us to the end of verse 7. And

unto thee shall be his desire. Thou

shalt rule over him. So after God has

told Cain this, look, all right, if

you'll do right, your your place in the

family will be restored. Your birthright

will be restored. Okay? But then look

what the Bible says. And Cain went and

talked with his brother. Now, we're not

told what said. We know what happens

after this. But I'll tell you this,

because we know what happens after this,

we know what Cain was doing.

>> You know what he was doing? He was

zeroing in.

>> He's done decided he ain't going to

listen to God,

>> right?

>> He's got his eyes. He's already decided.

He is

honed in. Who's he looking at? Abel.

You know, here's the thing about it.

This is what happens. Cain was angry in

this text because what God did. But you

know what? what he was really angry at.

He was angry at Abel.

>> Right?

>> Abel's took his position. Abel's offered

the better offering. God has accepted

him. There ain't a doubt in my mind that

Adam and Eve has heard that God has

rejected Cain's sacrifice.

>> And so now Abel's the one in the family

that's the standing ruler of the

brothers. Now you just think about this

with me for just a minute. You know how

family works. All right? We don't Do you

know how family works? Amen. Does

anybody know how family works in the

house? Okay.

>> Nowhere will you deal with pride more

>> right

>> than in your family.

>> Right.

>> You can get together at church

gatherings and everybody get along all

right. But there's been more fist fights

at family gatherings. Amen. I think it's

the reason partly why I'm preaching this

today. We just had one this past week.

Amen.

>> What I'm saying is pride is where it

runs rampant is between family members.

AND IN THIS TEXT, WHAT YOU DISCOVER IS

HERE, HE HIS ANGER TURNS INTO

ACQUISITION. He he's NOT ONLY JUST MAD

for no reason, but now he's pointing

that anger.

>> Oh, you better be careful when you get

somebody in mind,

>> your anger.

>> Husband, you better be careful when you

get angry at work and you come home and

you start looking at your wife. That's

>> right.

>> You know what'll happen? The sound of

her voice will make you mad. The side of

her face will make you mad. Just the

just the just her presence will make you

mad,

>> right?

>> Why is that? You she didn't even do

anything wrong to you, but you let your

anger bring acquisition in your life.

>> Right? Amen.

>> That's a serious thing. I know it's

funny, but it's a serious thing. Look

what happens in this text. Out of his

acquisition in verse number eight, there

comes his action. And it came to pass

when they were in the field that Cain

rose up against Abel his brother and

slew him. Now, I I'm not I'm not big on

speculation, but I do notice that little

word field in the middle of this verse.

Now, what's the Bible telling us right

here? Cain is a tiller of the ground.

Abel is a keeper of the sheep, but the

Bible says that they're both in the

field. By definition, that word field

means a tealed ground. So, Abel is not

watching sheep, but he's in the field

with Cain doing what Cain wants to do,

>> right?

>> And Abel's out there in the field, and

you know what happens? He rises up. Look

what the Bible says. Cain rose up. I'm

talking about the lifting up of pride.

Anger takes root in your heart. That

bitterness, what happens is then you

begin to zero in. Then you begin to

sight in on what it is YOU WANT TO

DESTROY. And if that anger fers TOO FAR,

YOU KNOW WHAT HAPPENS? ACTION WILL TAKE

PLACE,

>> RIGHT?

>> And it won't never be good. It's why God

said, "Be angry and sin not."

>> His action was to do what? To rise up

against Abel, his brother, and slay him.

You see, not only the lifting up of

lifting up of private, notice second of

all the loss of his partner. Look what

the Bible said in verse 9. And the Lord

said unto CAIN, "WHERE IS ABEL, THY

BROTHER?" And he said, "I know not my

brother. Am I my brother's keeper?" So

Cain goes here in his pride. He's still

full of pride, still full of anger.

There was no satisfaction in the murder

of his brother. Let me say this to you

this morning. There is no pleasure in

sin that's lasting. when he took out

took out Abel that day, there might have

been a moment of satisfaction. But I'll

tell you this, he lived with a lifetime

of regret because of the sin that he had

committed. AND HE LOSES HIS OWN BROTHER,

>> RIGHT?

>> He loses his own brother, he loses his

only brother,

>> right?

>> Loses them. Gone.

You know, sometimes you say, "Preacher,

I'd never kill my family." Well, by what

you say, you might as well have.

>> That's right. Come on.

>> By the way you treat them.

>> Amen. What I'm saying is you're losing.

Think about this. The loss of his

partner, it was an innocent cost. C Abel

had done nothing wrong. ABEL HAD DONE

WHAT GOD TOLD HIM TO. AND CAIN IN HIS

PRIDE DEALING WITH GOD. INSTEAD OF

DEALING WITH GOD ON HIS TERMS, Cain

decides he's going to deal with somebody

who he can hurt. Ca Cain couldn't do

nothing to God.

>> All he could do is shake his fist in THE

FACE OF GOD. BUT YOU KNOW WHAT? rather

than fighting the against the one that

he had a problem with. HE GOES TO

SOMEBODY THAT DIDN'T DO ANYTHING WRONG

AND TAKES his life.

>> RIGHT?

>> THAT'S WHAT YOUR ANGER will do. IT'LL

YOU'LL GET MAD AT SOMEBODY AND OUT OF

YOUR ANGER AND BITTERNESS TOWARDS A

FAMILY MEMBER, YOU'LL YOU'LL MAKE YOUR

CHILDREN HATE YOU. AND YOU'LL MAKE YOUR

WIFE OR YOUR HUSBAND HATE YOU BECAUSE

YOU'RE ANGRY AT SOMEBODY ELSE. AND IT'LL

BE AN INNOCENT DEATH.

>> That's right.

>> You say, "Preacher, my children resent

me." Well, WHO IS IT THAT YOU'RE angry

at?

>> COME ON. MY WIFE, [screaming] MY HUSBAND

WILL NOT LISTEN TO ME, WILL NOT SUBMIT

TO MY AFFECTION. WELL, WHO IS IT THAT

YOU'RE ANGRY AT?

>> I'M SAYING CAIN, IT WAS AN INNOCENT

DEATH.

He couldn't do nothing to God. But you

know what he did? He went to the one

that he thought he could handle.

Wiped him out. It was an innocent cause.

But I'll say this in verse number nine,

verse number 10, you note not only the

innocent cause, but of the incessant

cry. Look what the Bible said in verse

10. And he said, "What hast thou done?

The voice of thy brother's blood crith

unto me from the ground." Just take time

out right there for a minute. Okay? If

you ain't going to say amen anywhere

else I preach, you need to say amen on

this. Our country. Amen. The cries of

dead babies in this country.

>> Amen. Are you hearing what I'm saying?

The cries of their blood that's running

down the fingers of doctors and nurses

across this country. ONE OF THESE DAYS,

I'M TELLING YOU WHAT, THAT CRY WILL

COME. HAS COME TO GOD ALREADY. AND GOD

WILL DEAL WITH THEM. AMEN. GOD WILL DEAL

WITH THE WICKED LEADERSHIP, THE WICKED

GOVERNMENT THAT WE HAVE THAT WOULD PUT

LAWS INTO PLACE THAT WOULD ALLOW

INNOCENT CHILDREN BEFORE THEY'RE EVER

EVEN IN EARTH'S ATMOSPHERE TO DIE.

>> His blood, IT WAS AN INCESSANT CRY. YOU

just let me tell you this this morning.

You cannot hide your sin from God.

That's

>> right. CAIN COULD HAVE BURIED HIM DEEPER

THAN ANYBODY WOULD HAVE EVER FOUND, BUT

IT WAS NO PLACE WHERE GOD WOULD NOT BE.

IT WAS A HEY, WHAT I'M SAYING IS THIS.

WHEN ABEL DIED, HE WAS IN THE PRESENCE

OF GOD. AND WHEN ABEL GOT THERE, JUST

HIM AND THE TRINITY AND THEN GOD HAS TO

LOOK DOWN AND SEE THAT CAIN'S STILL

THERE. CAIN HAS TOOK HIS LIFE.

>> AMEN.

>> You say, "Preacher, did it take Abel to

get into heaven for God to know about

it?" No. God knew about it before Abel

ever even made it there.

>> Right? God saw him in the very act.

You say, "Preacher, well, GOD DIDN'T

ACCEPT HIS SACRIFICE." WELL, GOD GAVE

HIM AN OPPORTUNITY to do right.

>> Yes, he did.

>> He didn't want to do right. YOU KNOW WHY

YOU DON'T DO RIGHT? YOU DON'T WANT TO DO

RIGHT.

>> AMEN.

>> The reason YOU WILL NOT SUBMIT, THE

REASON YOU WILL NOT SURRENDER TO GOD IS

BECAUSE YOU DON'T WANT TO.

>> RIGHT.

>> You do what you want to do this morning.

>> Come on.

>> Amen. That's exactly right, PREACHER.

WELL, I'VE GOT THIS REASON. I'VE GOT

THAT REASON. NO, YOU DO WHAT YOU WANT TO

do this morning.

>> It was an innocent cause. There was an

incessant cry. But there's an impending

curse. Look what the Bible says. Verse

11. And now art thou cursed from the

earth which hath opened her mouth to

receive thy brother's blood from thy

hand. This is his lasting punishment.

We've seen the lifting up of his pride,

the loss of his partner. Now his lasting

punishment.

He said, "You're cursed." Notice this.

From the earth.

>> Cain had physical life. But you know

what God told him? Said, "Look, bud. You

going to live here, but you ain't going

to live here."

>> That's right. Good.

>> Oh, friend. We know people, they'll

spend the rest of their days in misery

cuz they're alive, but they're dead.

>> Yes.

>> Amen. The curse of God's got to them

because they refused to obey and they

turned their back on God. And their

punishment, his punishment was a lasting

punishment. Notice it in verse 12. There

would be no harvest for Cain. Remember,

he's a tiller of the ground. What does

God punish him with? WHEN THOU TILLEST

THE GROUND, it shall not henceforth

yield unto thee her strength.

>> Look, Cain, you brought me this

offering. You knew I wouldn't accept it.

But from now on, the only thing you take

pride in, I'm going to hinder it.

>> Right,

>> Cain? It's not going to be blessed

anymore.

>> Cain, it was blessed before when you was

doing right, but now you've decided to

do wrong, it's not going to be blessed

anymore.

>> Right?

>> There would be no harvest. There would

not only be no harvest, but there would

be no home for Cain. Look what the Bible

says in verse 12. He said, "When thou

tillest the ground, it shall not

henceforth yield unto thee our strength.

A fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be

in the earth." Cain said, God said,

"Cain, you're not going to have a

dwelling place. You're going to find no

place of rest for your head. You're

going to find you'll have a field to

till, but there'll nothing grow in it.

And when you get done plowing at the end

of the day, you ain't going to have a

place to go lay down because you're

always going to be running for your

life. You're always going to be

wandering in some wilderness somewhere.

YOU'LL BE HOPELESSLY, AIMLESSLY

WANDERING. THERE'LL NEVER BE A PLACE

WHERE YOU CAN SETTLE DOWN. THERE IS NO

PEACE TO THE WICKED, SAYETH THE LORD.

THERE IS NO RESTING PLACE FOR THOSE WHO

WOULD NOT SEEK GOD AND SERVE GOD ON HIS

TERMS.

>> RIGHT?

>> There is no home. There would be no

harvest. But I'll say this, Cain had no

remorse.

Notice verse 13. And Cain said unto the

Lord, "My punishment is greater than I

can bear."

He's not at all thinking about Adam and

Eve, that he killed their son. He's not

at all thinking about the fact that he

killed his brother. He's not even

thinking about the fact that he's

wronged God.

>> And you know, in this text, he had

sinned against Abel. But I'll tell you

who he sinned against. It was God.

>> And his sin had come up before God. And

Cain, this is all CAIN HAD TO SAY. I

CANNOT BEAR THIS PUNISHMENT. THERE'S NO

REPENTANCE. THERE IS NO REMORSE. CAIN

SAYS, "I DO NOT WANT THIS JUDGMENT." AND

YOU KNOW WHAT? THAT'S WHAT PEOPLE IN

HELL ARE DOING RIGHT NOW AT THIS PRESENT

TIME. THEY CANNOT BEAR THE FLAMES. THE

RICH MAN SAID, "FATHER ABRAHAM, SEND

LAZARUS THAT HE MAY DIP THE TIP OF HIS

FINGER IN WATER AND COOL MY TONGUE. WHY?

FOR I AM TORMENTED in this flame." HE

WAS ONLY CONCERNED ABOUT THE PUNISHMENT.

>> RIGHT? You know what? This morning,

listen to me, young people. All right.

It's bad when when you have no remorse

for sin, but you only regret the fact

that you got caught.

>> That's right.

>> Amen.

>> When you only FEEL BAD ABOUT YOUR sin

cuz you got caught,

>> right?

>> Let me just tell you something. That's

just not genuine repentance.

>> Right?

>> I'll tell you this. A child of God,

before he even can even commit the act,

God's already beating his soul to

pieces,

>> saying, "Son, you better not do that.

daughter, you better not do that. YOU

BETTER NOT GO THERE. THERE IS

REPENTANCE. THERE IS REMORSE WHEN SIN is

committed. DAVID IN PSALM 51 AND WHEN

NATHAN COME TO HIM AND SAID, "THOU ART

THE MAN DAVID." DAVID SAID IN PSALM 51,

HE TOLD THE LORD, HE SAID, "AGAINST THEE

AND THEE ONLY HAVE I SINNED,

>> done this evil in thy sight." David was

remorseful. Cain had no remorse. All he

could see was his punishment. There was

no repentance. I give you this and I'm

done this morning. His punishment was

lasting. There was no harvest for him.

What he loved so much was was taken

away. There was no home that he would

have. But I'll say this, and this is the

saddest part.

Verse number 16. A lot more I could say.

Verse 13- 15, but I want to move on.

Verse 16, the Bible says, "And Cain went

out from the presence of the Lord and

dwelt in the land of Nod on the east of

Eden." You see this text here reveals

not only the lifting up of pride, the

loss of his partner, the lasting

punishment of Cain, but I'll say this.

Cain here in this text left the

lingering presence of God.

You say, "What do you mean, preacher?"

Well, Cain walked out of God's presence

for the last time.

Cain was, what was he doing? He was

talking with God, wasn't he?

>> Ain't that right? God just speaking to

him. Cain's talking to him. Cain was

here committed a murder in the presence

of God.

Here he's lied to God face to face. Oh,

think of that. That he would lie in the

face of God. Now, in this text, God has

pronounced him cursed. And rather than

repenting rather than begging for an

opportunity to get right, you know what

the Bible says? The Bible says, "And

Cain went out." You see, there was no

harvest where Cain was going.

>> There was no home where Cain was going.

But I'll tell you this, there was no

holiness.

>> Yes.

>> Where Cain was going. You say, "What do

you mean by holiness?" I'm saying he

left the presence of God never to enter

it again. That's

>> right.

>> There was never another opportunity.

You see, Cain's offering was

self-motivated.

His offering was self-appropriated.

And thus, his offering was

self-gratifying.

>> It did absolutely nothing for God.

>> And so, you know what Cain said when he

walked out of the presence of God that

day? I'd rather have my field and I'd

rather have this feudal life

>> good

>> that I call LIFE. AND I RATHER BE

SATISFIED BY THE WORK OF MY HANDS AND DO

WHAT I CAN. IF I HAVE TO GO TO HELL AT

THE END OF THIS LIFE, WELL, SO BE IT.

I'M JUST GOING TO DO WHAT I WANT TO

[screaming] DO BECAUSE IT'S WHAT I WANT

TO DO. AND I DON'T CARE WHO TRIES TO

STOP ME.

>> You say, "Preacher, there ain't nobody

in this building that's that way." It

would surprise you.

>> Amen.

>> Come on.

Well, I'M GOING TO LIVE IT UP ON THIS

SIDE AND WELL, IT JUST TURN out how it

does when I get over there.

>> The Bible says, "And Cain went out from

the presence of the Lord." You know what

I love about this?

You say, "Preacher, how could you love

anything about that?" Well, there's a

ray of light for a child of God in every

Bible text.

>> You know what I love about this? Bible

says, "And Cain went out from the

presence of the Lord." But you know what

it doesn't say? The presence of the Lord

left.

>> You're right. Right. When you leave

God's presence, you know what? That's

exactly what happens. You're leaving it.

>> Because you know what? His presence

never moves.

>> Amen.

>> You're right.

>> Where Abel died and where Adam and Eve

were living, you know what happened? The

presence of God was still there. That's

>> right.

>> The voice of God was still there.

Next chapter, you'll find that Eve

conceives again. She bears a son. His

name is Seth. And the Bible says, "Then

began men to call upon the name of the

Lord." Why is that? Because the presence

of God was still there.

>> Amen.

>> Cain made a choice to leave the

lingering presence of God. Every head

bowed and every eye closed this morning.

I'm talking about the way of Cain. Let

me ask you something this morning.

You're given an opportunity today to get

right with God. You're given an

opportunity today to draw close to God.

You are given an opportunity today to be

saved. If you're saved already, you're

given an opportunity today to get right

with God.

Let me say this to you this morning. The

way of Cain

is present in this day and time.

The Apostle Peter talks about the way of

Cain.

Those apostate teachers would try to

deny the living God, try to distract the

people of God from the truth. so that

they would depart and go unto evil. And

he said they've gone after the way of

Cain. Let me say this. Will you go after

the way of Cain this morning?

Cain was in the presence of God until he

wasn't.

But you know what? He never got another

chance to go back again.

Let me ask you something. [music]

There's nobody looking around but me

this morning. The live stream's off. No,

you're not going to catch you. All

right? You're not you ain't got nothing

to worry about. Okay. I want to ask you

something this morning.

If you were to leave out of here right

now, we're not promised next five

minutes rapture might take place.

There'd be a blood clock go to your

brain. You'd be over. That's we we we

know the brevity of life. This church

has seen the brevity of life in the last

year. Let me say this to you this

morning. If you're not right with God,

the best thing you can do is get out of

your seat and come to this altar and get

right.

>> Yes. Amen. [music] If you're here this

morning, you are not saved. If you are

lost, you say, "Preacher,

preacher, I'm not saved."

Would you please pray for me?

Anybody here like that this morning?

Say, "Preacher, I'm not saved." You just

slip your hand up right back down. I

want to pray for you. Preacher, I do not

know Jesus. I have never been saved.

Anybody be honest this morning? [music]

Preacher, slip your hand up and hold it.

All right. I want to pray for you.

Let me ask you this. Say, "Preacher, I

know I'm saved.

Preacher, it's been a long time since

I've been right with God.

Preacher, I'm thankful I'm here this

morning.

And preacher, I need to get right with

God." God sees that hand. [music] Anyone

else? Yes. God sees that. Anybody else?

Be honest between you and God. Yes.

Anybody else? Preacher,

would you please pray for me? [music]

I've already prayed for you this

morning.

I tell you what you need to do this

morning. [music]

You need to submit to him.

Hey, if you got an anger problem here

this morning, you need to get that thing

right. Cuz I'll tell you this,

if there's a root of bitterness in your

life, you'll live that way the rest of

your life. Nobody will ever satisfy you.

>> Right?

>> You'll never live for God.

You will never do anything that produces

fruit for Jesus Christ with bitterness

in your heart.

These are praying this morning. Others

need to come

while we wait.

Whatever needs there may be. Hey, we're

in no hurry this morning.

young ones this morning. I I appreciate

you so much, servant. Let me tell you

this. The devil's going to come after

you [music]

>> cuz you served him today. Do not let him

win.

Some of you, he's already coming after

you. Do not let him win.

Make sure

[music]

anything in your heart that would keep

you from staying close to God, make sure

you've got that confessed and with God

this morning.

Cuz as your pastor, I want to say this

to you. I'm proud of you and I thank God

for you.

>> Every one of you.

Please stay right with God. [music]

>> Stay pure. Stay holy. Keep yourself

[music] for your husband, for your

future wife, for your future husband.

Keep yourself pure.

Guard your life.

Guard your testimony.

You only get one testimony. Takes a

whole life to build it and about 10

seconds to break it down.

>> Make sure you guard that thing.

And it don't have to be some gross sin,

but you can get to be known as an

angryfilled person.

>> You can get to be known as a bitter

person,

somebody who's hateful and mean. You

don't want [music] that.

Be tender toward the things of God. Be

tender toward people. [music] Be tender

toward your parents. No, they're not

perfect, but remember, you're not

either.

>> Yeah.

>> You're going to get angry at them.

They're going to get angry at you. But

make sure make sure

[music] you resolve that thing.

Make it right with God.

Father, thank you so much for this time

this morning. I pray,

God, you'd help us to see, Lord, there

is a danger,

Lord, of letting our sin take us out of

the presence of God.

Lord, for whatever needs are present

here today, God, I pray that you'd meet

them according to your will.

Lord, for those that's here today and

not right with you, I pray, Father,

before they leave this place, they get

right with you,

>> God, that you'd deal with their heart.

Draw them to yourself. I know you

already are. Lord, don't quit.

Keep drawing them to yourself. Well, I

pray for that here's lost today. Never

been saved. They don't have a place they

can go back to where they asked you to

forgive them of their sin [music] and to

save their soul. I pray today, Father,

before they leave, they'd make that

right.

God, I thank you so much for these

services today, for how you've helped

us. [music]

Thank you, Father, for these young

people.

Thank you, God, for using them today.

Lord, that's what our church wants,

Father. We want them to be used to God.

I know they're not perfect, but Lord, we

none of us are. And God, we just want to

trust you

or allow you to work in our lives.

[music]

Every head still bowed, every eyes still

closed while we wait just a moment.

We're no hurry.

Thank you for joining our service today.

We'd love it if [music] you join us in

person the next time you are able at

Meadows Baptist Church. Our physical

address is 2988 Stewart Road in Walnut

[music] Cove, North Carolina. Our

service times are Sunday school at 10:00

a.m., Sunday morning worship at 11:00

a.m., Sunday [music] evening worship at

6:00 p.m., and Wednesday evening Bible

study at 7:00 p.m. For more information,

visit us at [music]

meadowsbaptisturch.com.

Thanks again for tuning in.