Upper Path Valley Presbyterian Church

Genesis 4: 1-7

“Master Lock”

Rev. Meagan Boozer

Here were are- beginning our 52-week sermon series on the Bible- beginning to end. This week the reading team read from Genesis 1-15; Matthew 1-5; and responsibility of preaching a sermon based on one or more of the texts we have all read for that week. What I’m asking the Lord to do for us is to “jump a text out at me,” while I’m reading the assigned chapters- telling me His choice for each sermon- not my choice.

As we think about Genesis, which mean “beginnings,” and the beginning of the New Testament in Matthew, and the beginning of the beautiful Psalms- and beginning our time here in this room in worship- and beginning our Year of the Bible- not to mention beginning a new year altogether- it’s important to remember how we got to where we are. And so, the texts that jumped out at me for this week are found in the early chapters of Genesis. It is in Genesis that we discover what God intended for us; we discover God’s beautiful plan for us to live a life without death or pain- to live lives of deep joy and satisfaction and full love for God and each other.

But as God’s only creation created in His image, out of love for us, God gave us the ability to choose or not choose His will. Listen to these words from The Teacher’s Commentary, “In order to give humanity freedom to be a responsible moral being, God placed a certain tree in the center of the Garden and commanded humanity not to eat. With the command came warning of the consequences, “When you eat of it you will surely die.” (2:17) “This opportunity to eat was no trap, or even a test. Given the intention of God that humanity should be in His own image, that tree was a necessity! There is no moral dimension to the existence of a robot; it can only respond to the program imposed by its maker. Robots have no capacity to value, no ability to choose between good and bad, or good and better. To be truly like God, man must have the freedom to make moral choices and the opportunity to choose, however great the risk such freedom may involve. Daily Adam and Eve may have passed that tree, gladly obeying a God they knew and trusted. Until finally a third being stepped in.” ¹

When the third being arrived, whom we now know to be the face of evil, it was able to draw both Eve and Adam from their full trust in God to a place of doubt.

In Genesis 3:16 we find a verse often troubling for many. “To the woman he said, “I will greatly increase your pangs in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children, yet your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.” After lots of study, I have concluded with many biblical scholars (although there are also many who disagree) that the latter part of this verse should be translated more accurately like this, “Your turning will be towards your husband (and away from God), and he will rule over you.”

What just happened? God has just given a picture of how sin is going to affect our relationship with him and with each other. Sin causes us to turn away from God (in fact the turning away itself is a sin). Sin also causes us to try to dominate one another instead of working together, submitting to each other, and encouraging each other to do and be our very best for God.

Let’s look at what happens with Cain & Abel:

“Now the man knew his wife Eve, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, “I have produced a man with the help of the LORD.” Next she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain tiller of the ground. In the course of time Cain brought to the LORD an offering of the fruit of the ground, and Abel for his part brought of the firstlings of his flock, their fat portions. And the LORD had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell. The LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is lurking at the door; its desire is for you, but you must master it.”

Does that sound in the least familiar, that last phrase? “Its desire is for you, but you must master it.” It should remind you of what God just said to Eve, “Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.” “It’s desire is for you, but you must master it.”

Let’s back up before we hit this comparison & learn our big idea for today.

Cain and Abel. The Bibles teaches us that Cain killed Abel because he was jealous of Abel. Why? Because God was pleased with Abel’s sacrifice but unimpressed with Cain’s. Both showed up to worship (Do you see how worship was something we were called to do from the very beginning?) at the appointed time. Both brought an offering (sacrifice). However, the similarity stops there.

Let’s say it’s been a bumper crop year for corn. When it’s time to bring your offering to the Lord, you load up some corn and bring it on in for Kingdom purposes. I’ve seen zucchini, squash, or tomatoes in baskets by the doors in the summertime. “Somebody please take some! I have too many!” In our passage, this is the picture I get of Cain’s offering. He grabbed some produce and off he went to worship.

Abel, on the other hand, brought the firstlings of his flock. He brought the first lamb to be sacrificed to God. He didn’t know how many others he would have. He didn’t know if he would have any other that would live. But, he exhibited trust in God’s care for him by bringing the first, not the leftovers.

Our notion of sacrifice is the wringing out of us something we don’t want to give up, full of pain and agony and distress. The Bible idea of sacrifice is that I give as a love-gift the very best thing I have. Oswald Chambers (1874-1917)

The questions beg to be asked: What rules you? For what (whom) is your greatest desire?

Every single one of us, certainly including me, are disobeying God in one from or another, not just every single month, or week, or day – but every single hour. We are, at our core, sinners. This is our primary problem. We may say our problem is something else, but God says our primary problem is our sin. To say we have no sin is to lie, first and foremost to ourselves.

God has nothing to say to the self-righteous. Dwight Lyman Moody (1837-1899)

If my hang-ups and negatives are called sin by our Lord, then sin it is. Bob Turnbull (1775-1833)

One reason sin flourishes is that it is treated like a cream puff instead of a rattlesnake. Billy Sunday (1862-1935)

Should we all confess our sins to one another, we would all laugh at one another for our lack of originality. Kahlil Gibran (1883-1931)

Why is that? Because sin, by definition, for every one of us, is turning from God’s way, and letting our own desires be the master of our time, our money, our minds, our hearts, and our bodies. Well, let’s listen to how the Apostle Paul put it in Galatians 5:16ff:

So I advise you to live according to your new life in the Holy Spirit. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. The old sinful nature loves to do evil, which is just opposite from what the Holy Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are opposite from what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, and your choices are never free from this conflict. But when you are directed by the Holy Spirit, you are no longer subject to the law. When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, your lives will produce these evil results: sexual immorality, impure thoughts, eagerness for lustful pleasure, idolatry, participation in demonic activities, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, divisions, the feeling that everyone is wrong except those in your own little group, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other kinds of sin. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God. But when the Holy Spirit controls our lives, he will produce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

That’s a pretty heavy duty message for this exciting Sunday in this new place. But I’m thinking if we really want to be a growing disciple in a growing church, then we must begin at the beginning by making sure we know what or who has the master lock on us. Is it God? Or is it something or someone else? What or whom turns us away from what we know God wants us to do? What is it that succeeds in pulling us away? What is it that gets victory in keeping us from studying the Bible, worshipping with the Body, and serving Christ through the work of the church? What or who has the master lock on our lives?

In the very first chapter of Matthew, we read this week that Joseph was instructed by the angel to call Mary’s son “Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” (v. 21)

We have a Savior. He is right here with us. He was over there with us (in the sanctuary). He is right here with us (in the assembly room). If you have received Jesus Christ as your Savior and Master, he is with you wherever you go. God will always, always, always provide a way out for you from a sin that has you bound up.

I have fallen, Lord, Once more. I can’t go on, I’ll never succeed. I am ashamed; I don’t dare look at you. Ask my pardon and get up quickly. You see, it’s not falling that is the worst, But staying on the ground. (Michael Quoist 1921-)

Paul says in 1 Cor. 10:13, “No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it.”

Genesis 4:7: “Sin is lurking at the door; its desire is for you, but you must master it.”

YOU must master it. This is the message of the whole Bible. It begins here in Genesis and continues all through the New Testament. With the free will you have been given, you must choose God’s way. God will not do it for you, but if you ask him, and remain connected to His people, you will be given the strength to follow through, as you keep your face turned towards Him. Amen.

1 The Teacher's Commentary, Lawrence O. Richards, p. 32

Upper Path Valley Presbyterian Church

1-15-2006