Master or be mastered Genesis 4:1-14

Been doing some gardening yesterday and we have some horrible weeds that spread underground – they just keep popping up

Sin spreading just the same, so we need to master it or it will master us.

The story of Cain and Abel they were the first kids

They came to worship God but they are Sinners approaching God

Adam and Eve had learned that a sacrifice is required to cover guilt and shame in chapter 3:21. Had they taught the kids? Maybe not because Adam didn't teach his wife what God said about the tree of the knowledge of good and evil very well!

Cain brings some of the fruits of the soil

Abel brings the firstborn the best of his flock

So yes, Cain made a small sacrifice but he wasn’t wholehearted

Abel, the other had Faith he brought the best of the first

To bring the firstborn requires faith in God that second born would come Hebrews 11: 4 tells us that his sacrifice was Faith

Cain's anger and jealousy is him entering the Hall of Mirrors

The Lord rebukes him saying son is Crouching at your door it desires for you but you must not master it

The language is like a lion crouching which you can compare with Satan

“He must master it” is a command but it’s doable even before Christ

Instead, immediately he kills his brother out of anger and jealousy

When we have relational difficulties they become all consuming; we get robbed of sleep;

we have constant replays; he said, she said; there’s despair; there’s catastrophizing; it becomes a vicious cycle and often there is some suspicion of motives

Underneath it Satan is rubbing his hands with glee

He loves pride, self-importance, self-righteousness, hatred there’s jealousy

They often leads to anger careless words, half truths, spin, manipulation, complaining, bitterness and self-pity

Cain has made a bad start he is lazy, he’s negligent, he’s half-hearted and he responds badly to a rebuke.

We are in the whole of Mirrors instead of striking down sin he strikes down his brother

Mastering sin here is a command and it makes me think of Romans 6:1-14 and the new and better Covenant

In Romans we have this picture of the fact that we are dirty rotten stinking sinners

If we’re a Jew we’re under the law but if we’re a gentile we have our own sense of what the Lord should be

Jesus came to set us free –  Grace now reigns and if you turn with me to Chapter 6:1-14

there’s a question shall we carry on sinning to get more Grace?

Paul answers it “by no means” or “perish the thought” or “no way Jose”

When we become a Christian the old us is dead 2 Corinthians 5 verse 17; and Galatians 2:20 we have been buried with Christ and we’ve raised again and when we get to verse 11 it says count yourselves dead to sin that’s an accountancy term put it in the Ledger you are dead to sin count it, know it

And then in verse 14 it says sin SHALL no longer be your master. If we count ourselves dead to sin with what we will master sin

Back to Cain how good is God even when Cain murdered his brother

he’s banished as a wanderer but he’s also marked to be protected from harm

God is so compassionate but he won’t be mocked he wants to mature us not have a static he wants us to become more like Jesus

In our spirit we are dead to sin but alive to Christ

our soul our mind will and emotions obviously needs transforming

• we need to count some things true like the fact we are dead to sin
• we need to think about not letting sin rain in our hearts
• and then we need to transform our minds and transform them to the likeness of Christ Romans 12 verse 2

and then our bodies we need to offer them to God

Back to the story first 25 and 26 ends on a different note. Seth who’s the other son that comes after Cain enable he gives birth to Enoch and they begin to start calling on the name of the Lord – revival begins to come

In Genesis 3 verse 15 we see that there can be two seeds two lines as it were.

Cain represents the seed of the devil

Seth the seed of the woman and Jesus and we’re shown in Luke 3:38 comes from Seth's line the seed of the woman in John 8:44 were told that they’re two sides you can either be of the devil or of God John 1

Born again – dead to sin

• COUNT YOURSELF as such – first tool to master sin
• Run away 2 Tim 2:22
• God's ways out 1 Cor 10:13
• Submit yourself to God James 4:7

Temptation starts small and grows…