Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/Sermons/zz20080420.htm

THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION
Genesis: Explaining The Foundations Of History
Part III: Explaining Sin's Ruin Of Society And The Antidote
(Genesis 4:1-6:4)

Introduction: (To show the need . . . )

With the disturbing problems people face in today's world, a huge need exists for man to know how to think and live for fulfillment:

(1) Crime afflicts mankind at various levels: (a) The "Talk of Connecticut" radio show recently reported that 90 % of hardened criminals in Connecticut's State prisons were mistreated as children! The dysfunction in home life of past generations has come to haunt our society with intensified crime! (b) Yet, serious crime is a problem of international proportions: one of our missionaries recently reported that the key topic in Argentina's recent presidential elections was crime!

(2) Financial problems hurt many: (a) Martin Crutsinger's April 11, 2008 AP article reported our nation's subprime mortgage crisis has spread to affect banks globally to where in 2 years, they will lose 2 trillion dollars! (b) The way investors can trade oil futures has also elevated man's woes! Mike SanGiovanni, editor of Oil Heating Magazine, in an interview on the "Talk of Connecticut" radio show on April 8th, claimed the true price for oil should be $70 to $80 a barrel, not over $100 like it is now! However, due to the "Enron loophole" in a law passed by Congress, traders can bid up the price just to make a big profit! (c) In the wake of all this, the April 10 ABC Evening News TV show reported the price of oil has led to rising food costs, resulting in riots in one African nation! (d) Then, Fidelity investments reports many who are near retirement fear they will not have enough money as the current economic climate is hurting their investment portfolios!

(3) Ben Stein's film, "Expelled" came out last Friday showing the secular scientific community expels scientists from its ranks who question Darwinian evolution. Stein, himself a secularist, critiqued the close-minded bias of academics who claim to promote learning.

(4) Because of these and many other issues, many parents have tried to shield their children from the culture. However, Hara Estroff Marano, editor-at-large of Psychology Today, reports in her book, A Nation of Wimps, such parental reactionism only produces fragile children who do not know how to face hardship, leaving them anxious! Marano reports this problem so afflicts their student body that Harvard University leaders claim it threatens their goals as an institution!

So, we might ask, "As the world society's problems add up, how can one possibly know how to think and live for fulfillment?!"

(We turn to the sermon "Need" section . . . )

Need: "In view of the mounting troubles of today's world, HOW can one THINK and LIVE toward finding REAL FULFILLMENT?!"
  1. Genesis 4:1-6:4 explains how UNBELIEF in GOD developed and CAUSED the DOWNFALL of the pre-flood WORLD SOCIETY:
    1. After Adam sinned, his sin nature passed to his sons where the sin of UNBELIEF in GOD harmed his FAMILY, Genesis 4:1-15:
      1. Adam and Eve produced two sons, Cain and Abel, and Cain became a farmer while Abel became a shepherd, Genesis 4:1-2.
      2. The brothers each brought a sacrifice to God, but Cain failed to value God as His food Provider seen in his offering just "some" crops where Abel gave the best of his flock to God, Genesis 4:3-4a.
      3. God accepted Abel's sacrifice as it showed he trusted God to make a living, but He rejected Cain's offering, Gen. 4:4b-5a; Heb. 11:4.
      4. Cain was furious at this exposure of his unbelief, so to keep him from committing a greater sin in his anger, God urged Cain to bring an appropriate sacrifice to gain His approval, Genesis 4:5b-7.
      5. Refusing to heed God, Cain killed Abel. He was thus judged to be a wanderer for whom the ground would not yield its crops, 4:8-15.
    2. This UNBELIEF GREW to AFFLICT the WORLD, Gen. 4:16-6:4:
      1. God's judgment was given to direct Cain to God for help in obtaining food and in finding protection from those who sought to kill him for his murder of Abel, Genesis 4:3, 11-15.
      2. However, Cain kept rejecting God's help: he tried to build a city to keep others near to supply food and protection from his foes, Gen. 4:13-17; H. C. Leupold, Expos. of Gen. , 1974, vol. I, p. 216-217.
      3. Cain's offspring also aimed for fulfillment apart from trusting God by constructing a civilization to meet its needs: (1) Jabal invented nomadism to offset God's curse on the ground's crop production; (2) Jubal invented music to ease man's fears, and (3) Tubal-cain produced brass and iron for tools to ease man's work and make his life pleasant with material goods, Genesis 4:18-22 with 3:17-18.
      4. Similarly, their father, Lamech (1) sought for fulfillment apart from God by taking two wives in excess of God's Genesis 2:20-25 monogamous pattern, (2) and he slew a man who had only injured him, boasting of his revenge without God's help in false superiority over Cain who had feared vengeance seekers, Gen. 4:23-24, 13-15!
      5. In continuing to seek fulfillment apart from trusting in God, Cain's line turned to demons for aid, afflicting the whole world, 6:1-5:
        1. The Genesis 6:2 term, "sons of God" is a title for men pagans held to be half-man, half divine, Bib. Know. Com., O. T., p. 36.
        2. Thus, Lamech's bigamy and murder for self-protection was expanded by his descendants who relied on demons for power to build on his lifestyle, producing global violence: (1) These demon-influenced "sons of God" despots lustfully took many wives and produced numerous evil sons, Genesis 6:1-2; Ibid. (2) Such despots with their gangs of evil sons warred against one another, leading to great world violence, Genesis 6:4-5.
      6. God thus ended this evil society by the flood, Gen. 6:13-14, 17-21!
  2. Yet, while UNBELIEF was EXPANDING to RUIN the WORLD, INDIVIDUALS were BEING BLESSED by TRUSTING in GOD:
    1. In contrast to Cain's sin, Abel brought an acceptable sacrifice since he relied on the Lord for His provisions, Genesis 4:2-4; Hebrews 11:4.
    2. After Cain killed Abel, God kept a godly line going through Seth, a third son of Adam and Eve; Seth's son, Enos, led his descendants to call upon God for help in contrast to Cain's faithless line, 4:25-26.
    3. Then, while Cain's line was building a civilization instead of trusting God for help, the godly Enoch born in Seth's line so closely relied on the Lord that He took him to heaven without dying in blessed contrast to the destiny of Cain's descendants, Gen . 5:9-17, 18-24; Heb. 11:5.
    4. Indeed, Jude 14-15 reports God gave Enoch insight about Christ's far off Second Coming, and his translation to heaven before the flood prefigures the Church's pretribulation rapture! (1 Thess. 4:13-18)
    5. Noah was born to Seth's line, being so named in hope that God would give man "rest" from the curse of the ground versus the self-help work of Cain's line to diffuse the curse's effects, Gen. 5:28-29 with 4:20-22.
    6. God used Noah to save man during the flood; then, fulfilling the hope of Noah's father, God brought Jesus though Noah's line to free man from the ground's curse, Gen. 5:28-29; Luke 3:23-36; Rom. 8:19-23.
  3. [Matthew 24:37-39 and Luke 18:8b reveal the spiritual dynamics of PRE-FLOOD man are the SAME as man's TODAY, so the lesson of pre-flood man regarding FAITH in GOD applies to us NOW!]
Lesson Application: Since the pre-flood world's troubles arose from failure to trust in God, may we (1) trust in Christ as Savior from sin, John 3:16. Then, (2) may we like Abel, Seth, Enos, Enoch and Noah of antiquity LIVE by FAITH in God and heed His Word for blessing in THIS life with a view to HOPE for the life to come!

Conclusion: (To illustrate the sermon lesson . . . )

In 1999, our country was ablaze with the rumor that once January 1, 2000 arrived, and all the old computer dates turned over to the new year, since these machines were not programed for the new century, and since many of the world's nations depended on them for order, much of the world's civilizations would be badly ruined!

However, in Dave Hunt's May 1999 newsletter, The Berean Call, he had urged believers to trust in God in his article, "Y2K -- The Real Disaster." He had suggested that Christians have "a reasonable stock of supplies on hand for any emergency . . . [but to ] trust the One who wrought our eternal salvation to bring us through this earthly scene and to our heavenly home in triumph." (Ibid., p. 2)

Yet, even many Christians were afraid of Y2K, and one of the letters from a reader in that issue of Dave's newsletter, a letter from AN in Michigan, reflected this fear as it claimed: "Dear Dave, You are into some teachings . . . which are extremely dangerous to your readers. I refer to . . . the Y2K bug. I assure you, many experts are predicting a meltdown. I believe the only thing that will cause Y2K to be an anticlimax is the total worldwide collapse which is imminent."

Even so, another letter took the view of faith. It was from MR in Kansas who had served God for 50 years and lived through 2 world wars, the Great Depression and the cold war, and he wrote as follows: "Dear Ones in Christ, I was 92 in October. A handicapped 'shut-in.' I live alone in my trailer, but I have help of good Christian young women. I spent over 50 years in ministry. Now I have not been able to attend church for several years. I surprise myself at how contented I am! The Lord is so real and precious. I do spend a lot of time reading and studying my Bible. I want to thank you for my Berean Call. I read it yesterday. I use a magnifying glass. God bless you."

Today, we look back at Y2K as a lot of fuss about nothing, but the people who wrote these letters in 1999 could not have known what we know today well after the year 2000! However, recalling their words shows the immense value of trusting God and heeding His Word to face today's world troubles as they had to face Y2K in their day!

So, for fulfilled living amid the critical decline of today's world, may we TRUST in CHRIST for SALVATION from SIN, and LIVE a LIFE of FAITH in God and HEED His WORD. We will enjoy PERSONAL blessing just like the PRE-FLOOD saints!