Latest / Cumberland Trace Church of Christ (Formerly Lehman Ave Church of Christ) / Equipped 2026: "Early Generations (Gen. 4-5)" by Steven Ford

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Equipped 2026: "Early Generations (Gen. 4-5)" by Steven Ford · Cumberland Trace Church of Christ (Formerly Lehman Ave Church of Christ)

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  The things that were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we, through
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  patience and comfort of the scriptures, might have hope.
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  In looking at Genesis chapters 4 and 5, what is it then that we are able to learn?
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  And how do those things that we learn from those passages give us hope?
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  Let's look at this text together and see if we can't learn, grow, and develop in our
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  faith as we live out our lives for the Lord Jesus Christ.
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  Just a little bit of some contextual introduction here.
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  When we look at these passages in Genesis chapters 4 and 5, there's something that takes
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  place.
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  Sin had already come into the world through Adam and Eve.
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  Innocence was lost.
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  Things were changed forever.
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  There were curses that were pronounced by God, and therefore, the things that they were
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  experiencing, Adam and Eve, were no longer going to be as pleasant and as joyous as they
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  had otherwise been.
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  Their ideal home, perfect fellowship with God, the tree of life, all those things were
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  gone.
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  They were not to be enjoyed as they had been before.
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  As such, there's now a new generation that will be born into a world that was forever
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  changed, a world that would be broken, challenged, and cursed.
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  How would they deal with this?
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  Now moving on to our text in Genesis chapter 4, what do we see?
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  There are two sons that are born to Adam and Eve.
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  The first is Abel, or the first, rather, is Cain, the second is Abel.
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  Cain was a farmer, Abel was a shepherd.
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  They had their roles, they had their jobs, and Adam and Eve, they taught their children.
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  We know that they gave some instruction to their children because they knew about God.
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  Not only did they know about God, they knew that God was worthy of worship and they knew
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  how to worship.
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  When they were giving their offerings to God, they knew exactly what to do and how to do
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  it.
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  When we see their worship and their sacrifices, their offerings to God, here's something that
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  we can know about this in verses 3 and 4, it says, in the process of time, it came to
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  pass that Cain brought the fruit of the ground, an offering unto the Lord, and Abel, he also
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  brought the firstlings of his flock, and of the fat thereof, and the Lord had respect
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  unto Abel and his offering, but unto Cain and his offering he had no respect, and Cain
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  was very wroth, and his countenance fell.
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  When we look at their offerings to God, there are some things that you and I can know.
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  When they were worshiping, they knew, they understood that they should bring an offering
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  to God.
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  Also, they understood that it was a personal offering.
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  You did not see Cain going and taking the things that belonged to Abel and offering
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  them to God, neither do you see Abel taking the things that belonged to Cain.
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  They took of their own resources, they took of their own things, and they offered those
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  things to God.
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  They understood some things about worship.
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  They also understood, as the Bible will indicate to us, that a proper offering was necessary.
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  They could not just bring anything arbitrary, anything that they thought would be neat or
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  novel.
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  They knew that God required certain things in his worship, in his respect, in his reverence,
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  And as all, they knew that there were certain ways they could show God they were grateful
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  to him, and there were certain ways they could not.
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  So what did they offer to God?
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  Looking at the text, it says that Abel offered, this is from the New Living Translation, Abel
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  offered the best portions of the firstborn lambs.
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  He understood, if I'm gonna come before God, I'm gonna offer the very best that I can,
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  the very best that God has offered to me in the very first place.
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  And of Cain's offering, here's what we read, Cain offered some of his crops.
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  Brothers and sisters, do you notice a difference in those two offerings?
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  When we read those things, there's a major difference in the way that they gave and what
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  they gave and how they gave.
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  It was not the same.
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  You see, of Abel's, it was the best, and with Cain's, it was just some.
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  When you and I read this passage, I want to ask is, how do we approach worship?
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  Do we come and bring God the best of everything that we are, of everything that we have, or
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  do we just bring something in hopes that he will respect what we bring and accept what
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  we bring?
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  So then that begs a question to us, why did each son give the way that they gave?
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  The Bible tells us that Abel gave, according to Hebrews chapter 11 and verse number four,
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  he gave from a heart of faith.
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  He heard what God wanted, he trusted God, he loved God, and he gave God exactly what
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  he asked for.
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  But of Cain, we read, he gave because of unguided instinct.
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  Listen to the way this reads in Jude verses 11 or 10 and 11 from the English Standard
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  Version.
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  It says, they are destroyed by all that they, listen, like unreasoning animals, understand
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  instinctively.
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  Woe to them, for they walked in the way of Cain.
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  And it's not as though they are given because of reason and intellect and love and reverence
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  for God.
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  This is just basic instinct.
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  Here's an animalistic urge, I'm going to give what I want, why I want, and the way I want,
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  and God should just take it.
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  Notice the contrast?
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  Their thought processes are as different as the gifts.
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  And as a result, there was a contrast in how they were received.
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  God accepted Abel and his gift.
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  He had respect to Abel and his gift, but God did not accept, he did not have respect for
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  Cain and his gift.
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  Instead of self-reflection, I want you to know how Cain responded.
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  God did not have respect, he did not accept what Cain offered, and listen to what the
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  Bible tells us about him.
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  It says in verse 5, but unto Cain and his offering, he had not respect, and Cain was
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  very wroth or very angry, and his countenance fell.
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  His attitude changed, his emotions changed.
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  He was broken emotionally, and his countenance, the Bible says, has fallen.
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  He did not receive an atta boy for his worship.
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  And instead of taking a moment to reflect on who am I, what did I just do, how did I
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  respond to God, how did I offer to God, what should I have done, why didn't I do the right
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  thing, instead of having that sort of attitude, he turned and he became angry.
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  God approached him in the same way that we read in Luke chapter 15 of the loving father.
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  Listen to what the Bible says.
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  The Lord said unto Cain, why are you angry, and why has your countenance fallen, Cain?
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  Why are you in such an emotional state?
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  Listen to what the Lord says in verse 7, if you do well, shall not you be accepted, Cain?
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  There's a way that you can be living and worshiping if you do this, won't you be accepted,
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  Cain?
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  And if you do not well, listen, he says, sin lies at the door.
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  And unto you shall be his desire, and you shall rule over him.
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  He's saying, listen, Cain, you can do better, but if you don't, sin is right there desiring
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  to have control over you, but you ultimately have the choice.
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  God is being gracious and merciful and compassionate and kind.
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  He's informing Cain, just like a loving father would son, what are you doing?
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  Here's a better way to live, a better way to worship, so that you and I can have the
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  relationship that we're supposed to have in the very first place.
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  But Cain's anger was so great, it seems, that it caused him to have a different kind of
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  a response.
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  When we look at these very first verses, there are some reflections that you and I can have
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  on worship.
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  First, worship is, always has been, and listen, this always will be according to God's standards.
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  We see so much in the religious world where we are defining our own ways of worship.
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  We do this because it feels good.
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  We do this because it draws a crowd.
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  We do this because it makes people excited.
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  Friends, no one cares what makes us happy.
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  What matters is, what does God ask for?
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  What does God ask for?
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  Has anyone ever been to a Subway sandwich place, you know, when you go in and you order
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  your sandwich and you tell them what you want, you look through the little window and you
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  say, I want this meat and this cheese and these toppings and these vegetables.
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  Friends, if you went in and you asked for ham and cheese on Italian bread with just
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  lettuce and tomato, and the person behind the counter says, you know what, man, I'll
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  tell you what, that wheat bread is so much better and their roast beef tastes great this
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  time of year, and instead of lettuce, I'm gonna give you spinach and no tomatoes, I'm
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  gonna give you peppers.
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  They wrap that sandwich up, they put it on the counter, would you give them your money?
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  Well, of course you wouldn't because it's not what you asked for.
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  Why then would we expect a holy and a sovereign God to accept anything that we offer to Him?
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  We look at reflections of worship, friends, it's always, always, always according to the
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  standard of God.
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  Both the gift and the heart of the one giving the gift also must be in alignment with God.
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  God's looking at the heart of the person, but even in God's standards, He's merciful
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  in offering an opportunity for correction.
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  Notice God didn't descend from heaven and just set Cain aflame.
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  No, He didn't do that.
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  He said, Cain, He was reasonable within Cain.
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  Why are you so fallen?
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  There's a better way for you to live.
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  When we look at this very introductory part of worship, there are some great things that
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  we can know and learn.
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  God is, in fact, merciful.
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  He is kind and gracious.
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  He does want us to have a right relationship with Him.
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  But the story does continue.
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  Now we're going to verses 8 through 16, there is great sin and judgment.
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  Because Cain did not process his frustration in the right way, because he did not go to
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  God and say, Lord, I'm angry, how can I fix this?
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  How can I do better?
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  What it seems that he did was look at one by which he compared himself, and instead
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  of getting better, he brought the standard down lower and destroying the one who did
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  what God asked him to do.
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  He assassinated his brother.
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  I want you to think about this.
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  Cain is the one that decided to give the offering.
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  It wasn't as though Abel at the last minute went and switched his offering out.
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  It wasn't as though he took it away so he didn't have anything to give.
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  He's the one that chose to give the offering.
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  He was given the solution by God.
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  He was told, listen, if you do well, you'll be accepted, but you need to watch out for
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  sin.
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  It was Cain who was given this warning by God.
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  You need to watch yourself, Cain.
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  The Bible again tells us in Jude verses 10 and 11, he was a man of brutish or animal-like
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  impulse.
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  He wasn't one that reasoned, it seems, through the things that he did.
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  He didn't think about how this might impact him.
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  He didn't think about later down the line, it was just, here's what I want to do, why
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  I want to do it, and that's what he did.
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  Friends, I want to tell you the danger in that.
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  Unresolved resentment.
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  Listen to this.
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  If we do not deal with what's going on in our own hearts, unresolved resentment will
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  always end in devastation.
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  This is why Jesus says you be careful if you're angry with your brother.
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  For no reason, you'll be in danger of the judgment.
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  In Matthew chapter 5, 21 through 26, he says you have to guard your heart.
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  Protect your heart.
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  Protect your mind.
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  Cain couldn't handle being rejected.
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  When he was told that his offering in himself, for that matter, was not accepted by God,
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  it completely shattered his identity, it seems.
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  Instead of looking in the mirror, finding his own flaws, he destroyed his brother.
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  If you open your Bibles and look in 1 John chapter 3, verse number 12, it tells us that
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  he killed his brother, but there's a specific word that's used, inspired by the Holy Spirit
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  to describe how, in fact, he killed his brother.
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  There is a word that's typically used for a person that kills another person.
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  This is not that word.
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  This word that is used for how Cain killed his brother is used to describe how someone
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  would butcher an animal.
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  He was especially brutal in the killing of his brother.
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  This, friends, is anger or resentment, rather, that turned to anger, that turned to rage
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  and caused him to lash out and kill his brother.
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  When God talks to him in verse number 8, he asks him a question.
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  God comes to Abel, or Cain, rather, and he asks him, where is his brother?
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  Verse 9, it says, the Lord came unto Cain and he said, where is Abel, your brother?
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  Now this reminds us of what we read a few verses earlier in chapter 3, verse number
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  9, where God would come to Adam and Eve and ask them where they were.
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  God is not asking Cain because he simply can't find his brother, it's not, he's saying,
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  can you help me track him down because I can't locate him, I've lost him here.
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  He's saying, do you know where your brother is?
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  I want you to think about your brother.
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  Where is your brother?
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  What have you done?
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  There's a contemplation here.
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  Where is your brother?
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  Instead of saying, you know what, Father God, I realize what I've done, listen to what he
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  does.
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  Instead of having this heart of contrition or humility, he responds in first deceit and
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  second contempt.
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  He says, I don't know.
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  Question, did he know where his brother was?
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  Well, he knew exactly where his brother was.
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  Notice the second thing he says to God, he says, first, I don't know, that's deceit.
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  Next thing is contempt.
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  Am I my brother's keeper?
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  Aren't you God?
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  You should know where he is.
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  That's complete contempt for his father in heaven.
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  I don't know, and I'm not his keeper.
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  The Bible doesn't tell us the exact tone in which he said it, but as I read these words,
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  I hear a smugness in his voice.
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  Verse number 10, God convicted him, he says, the voice of your brother's blood is crying
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  out from the ground.
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  In verses 11, 12, he curses him, he says, you're now going to be sent forth.
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  The ground is not going to yield or strength to you.
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  You'll be sent forth as a fugitive, as a vagabond.
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  You're going to wander the earth.
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  He's not going to be a person who can find rest and peace anymore.
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  This fellowship that he had with God, he could have had with God through worship is not going
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  to be there anymore.
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  Cain, you're going to be cast out.
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  There's going to be curses.
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  You have been convicted of sin.
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  You've been found guilty and culpable for your brother's blood, and therefore, there
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  are going to be extreme consequences.
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  But I want you to look at how Cain responds to God.
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  Verse number 13, instead of saying, God, you are exactly right, I've done what I did, and
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  I should be punished for it, rightly, he says unto the Lord, my punishment is greater than
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  I can bear.
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  I cannot stand under the weight of my consequences that you have issued to me because of my actions.
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  I've got two young daughters at home, and there are times that they may step outside
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  of the rules of our home, and they may do something they shouldn't have done, and we
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  may say, here's the punishment.
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  You know, you can't have your devices for three weeks.
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  And I'm a parent.
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  I go extreme.
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  Sometimes my wife says, easy, Steven, you know.
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  But I say, you know, it's going to be extreme.
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  You're going to have no TV, no phone, no nothing for three weeks, or whatever the case may
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  be.
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  They say, oh, Dad, that's just too much.
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  The idea is you need to be thinking before you break the rules.
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  Now that he'd murdered his brother, Cain would have the audacity to turn to a holy
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  God and say, that's just too much for me.
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  Cain, you should have been thinking of what was too much when God warned you.
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  He told you that sin was at the door of your heart.
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  It was too much then.
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  Oh, but he continued to let that anger find a place in his heart.
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  He expressed worldly sorrow.
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  He was sorry, he says.
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  Listen, he was sorry because he was going to lose his home, no longer see the face of
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  God, be a wanderer on the run.
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  He was going to be hunted.
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  Verse number 14, he says, behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the
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  earth, and from thy face shall I be hid, and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the
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  earth, and it shall come to pass that everyone that finds me shall kill me.
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  He never said at any point, God, I'm sorry because I didn't worship you correctly.
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  Never did he ever say, God, I'm sorry that I killed my brother.
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  I'm sorry I've got to pay the consequences.
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  I'm sorry I've got to deal with the fallout of my own actions.
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  This is sorrow of the world.
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  He does not express any sort of sorrow or guilt for the things that he actually did.
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  It's only I'm sorry that I have to deal with the consequences of my own actions.
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  But friends, I want you to look at something.
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  Even in punishment, even in judgment, God is merciful toward Cain.
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  Listen to verse number 15.
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  It says, and the Lord said to him, therefore, whosoever slays Cain, whoever kills Cain,
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  vengeance shall be taken upon him sevenfold.
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  And the Lord set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him.
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  He says, I'm not going to allow that to happen.
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  Even in the judgment, there is mercy.
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  God marked him to acknowledge his divine protection.
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  And so in verse number 16, it says, and Cain went out from the presence of the Lord and
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  dwelt in the land of Nod on the east of Eden.
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  I can't imagine what that must have been like.
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  I know what it feels like to leave home.
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  I remember leaving home when I was going to take the hand of my bride.
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  I was so excited to leave home.
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  My parents are probably very proud to see me leave home.
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  I could look back and I could see home and know it was a place that if I need to come
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  back for respite or help or support, I knew I could come back there.
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  My parents loved me.
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  The relationship was great.
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  There was no hardship in leaving home.
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  I was happy to leave home.
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  They were happy to see me leave home, but it was a good breakup, if you will.
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  I can't imagine having left home, being in Cain's shoes, knowing that you've broken the
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  heart of God, you killed your brother, and now you have to live with the devastating
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  consequences of your own actions.
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  When we look at these passages, verses 8 through 16, there are some reflections.
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  Friends, I want us to know this, that all sin has consequence, all of it.
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  There are no little tiny sins that won't have consequences.
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  We can't say, well, this one little thing, well, it won't be that bad.
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  God wouldn't be angry over this one little thing.
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  Friends, yes, he's a just and a holy God, and all sin matters, and all sin has consequences.
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  Friends, I want to tell you this, some consequences may have, or some sins, rather, may have consequences
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  that seem that are just too great to bear.
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  This is cautionary for our young and old alike.
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  Be careful what you do.
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  Be careful how you live.
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  There may be some things that happen as a result of your own sin or my own sin that
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  may seem that are just far too great for us to bear.
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  Sin separates us from God.
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  We cannot live a life of sin and still be in fellowship with God and his church and
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  his people.
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  We cannot.
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  Either we will be holy and live in fellowship with God, or we will be sinful and be separated
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  from God.
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  There is no middle ground, but even in this text, God always, friends, he always creates
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  a way of escape from sin.
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  There is never a scenario for any human being, for any period of time, in any land, at any
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  point at all, that the only choice is sin.
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  Now that may be, or feel to be the easier choice, but there is always, friends, listen,
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  there is always another choice.
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  We do not have to sin.
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  So now as we continue on in this account, there is a society that is built.
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  Once Cain leaves from the presence of the Lord, in verses 16 and 17, he goes out and
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  he dwells in the land of Nod, in verse 17, it says, and Cain knew his wife, and she conceived
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  and bear Enoch, and he built a city and called the name of the city after the name of his
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  son Enoch.
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  In this text, as we read, there are nine listed descendants, seven generations of individuals
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  that we read, they have some amazing skills.
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  As we read about them, there are those that dwell in tents, there are individuals that
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  rave livestock, there are people that play the harp and the organ, there are experts
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  in forging metal tools or weapons or various things.
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  Here are people who have all the building blocks of building a wonderful, a great, a
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  productive society.
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  These skills that they have, they would be the building blocks of any modern culture.
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  They would be the things that you and I might look at and say, yes, this is what's necessary
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  to build a culture that's productive in a way that we can continue to grow in a worldly
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  or carnal sense.
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  But there is something that is glaringly missing from this generation list.
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  There is something that you and I can read about, and as we go down the list and we see
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  their names and all the things that they did, there's something that stands out that's obviously
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  missing.
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  This, friends, is a society that lacked godliness, and everything that they had, there was no
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  righteousness, there's no godliness, there's no mention of holiness, there's no mention
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  of doing anything that pleases and glorifies God.
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  In fact, there is quite the opposite.
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  Lamech is said to be the first one to alter God's original design for marriage.
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  He's the first one that has two wives.
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  Friends, imagine your name or your claim to fame.
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  The only way that people remember you is that you broke God's law on marriage.
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  What else?
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  He was also the second recorded murderer in history.
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  Some family tree.
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  They likely were able to build a society that prospered in some sort of way, I suppose.
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  This is a society that maybe others might look into and say, wow, they've got a lot
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  of great things going on.
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  But there was no record of righteousness.
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  When we hear these words from Psalm 127, except the Lord build a house, they labor
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  in vain that build it.
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  What good, friends, is a society that lacks godliness?
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  What good is a society that has no righteousness and holiness?
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  What good is a society that doesn't recognize God?
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  There's no good in that society, no benefit in that society.
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  So let's now look and make some reflections on this society they have.
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  Friends, progress and prosperity don't mean anything if we do not have God.
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  In our world, in our country, in this country in particular, there's sometimes we would
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  pat ourselves on the back at all the things we have and all the things that we do, friends,
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  but if we do not have God, we are morally, spiritually bankrupt.
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  There's no reason to pat ourselves on the back for being sinful.
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  You know, we might say, well, man, we can build some great buildings.
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  We've got some of the best athletes in the world.
• 23:59
  What good are all those things if every one of all 300 plus million people in this country
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  end up lost?
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  What good is it?
• 24:07
  It is of no good is the answer.
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  The guilt of sin does not pass down to future generations.
• 24:14
  Thank God for that.
• 24:15
  The book of Ezekiel chapter 18 in particular, there are individuals who are trying to say,
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  oh, we're being punished now because of what they did, and God makes it very clear, no,
• 24:23
  no, no.
• 24:24
  The guilt, friends, the guilt of sin does not pass down to future generations.
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  It is not the case that my father commits a crime and God says, yes, you commit the
• 24:33
  crime.
• 24:34
  Stephen, now you are culpable.
• 24:35
  You are guilty.
• 24:36
  It doesn't happen that way.
• 24:37
  However, I will say this, consequences or the impact, listen, the impact and the observed
• 24:45
  behavior may in fact pass down and find its way into future generations.
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  Here's what I mean by that, friends.
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  If I live financially responsible, if I live dietarily responsible, if I live spiritually
• 24:59
  responsible, it is the case that my children will have a home that cultivates those things.
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  They will be able to live good financial lives, dietary lives, spiritual lives because we
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  have made a home in which that is possible.
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  They will now benefit from that.
• 25:15
  However, the opposite is also true.
• 25:19
  If we are gluttonous, financially irresponsible, bankrupt spiritually, my children will grow
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  up in a home like that and it is very likely they will follow in those footsteps.
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  They are not forced to do so, it's just likely because we've cultivated that sort of environment,
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  friends.
• 25:34
  This is why it's important.
• 25:35
  I am so encouraged to see young people here this weekend.
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  Do you know why?
• 25:41
  Because they need to know what it looks like to serve God acceptably.
• 25:45
  Sometimes we may think, oh, the kids, they come, oh, the little babies, they're so loud.
• 25:48
  Oh, you just take them out there or just leave them at home.
• 25:51
  Bring the babies.
• 25:52
  I guarantee you that any preacher, especially if he's got a microphone, can be louder than
• 25:55
  any baby.
• 25:56
  Bring the babies.
• 25:58
  Bring the babies.
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  Bring the young people because there's going to come a point in time that they are hoping
• 26:04
  to develop their faith and they're going to ask mom and dad what those things mean.
• 26:08
  Mom and dad, why don't we have an organ?
• 26:10
  Mom and dad, why do you read the Bible?
• 26:12
  Mom and dad, why do we honor God in these ways and those ways?
• 26:15
  And then we can open up the scripture and say, I'm glad you asked and we can show them.
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  We must make sure that we do pass down some things, friends.
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  Godliness is not in our DNA.
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  I'll tell you that.
• 26:27
  We may have the same hair color and eye color and body type as our parents, friends, but
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  I'll tell you what does not transfer, sin or holiness, but we must cultivate environments
• 26:37
  where those things where holiness rather than righteousness is possible to be seen and emulated.
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  It can be observed by our young people.
• 26:47
  When we turn from this society that is godless, we now have a substitute and hope.
• 26:57
  The name Seth, it literally means a substitute, one given in place of.
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  In fact, you read this as much in chapter four, verse 25, where it says, God has granted
• 27:06
  me from the new living translation.
• 27:08
  God has granted me another son in place of Abel, whom Cain killed.
• 27:12
  He is a substitute.
• 27:14
  He's another son in place of the one that was killed.
• 27:16
  And from the outset, listen, friends, from the very first words of introduction about
• 27:21
  Seth and his lineage, we know very early on that this group of people are far different
• 27:27
  from the ones in which we just read.
• 27:29
  They are not the same.
• 27:30
  What do we read about them?
• 27:32
  Notice what it says in verse number 25 and 26, it says, Genesis 4, 25 and 26, and Adam
• 27:38
  knew his wife again, and she bore a son, and he called his name Seth.
• 27:42
  For God, she says, has appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew.
• 27:47
  And to Seth, to him also there was born a son, and he called his name Enos.
• 27:51
  Then, listen, then began men to call upon the name of the Lord.
• 27:56
  Before we know what they built, before we know what they made, before we know if they
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  can play instruments, how smart they were, we know one thing about them.
• 28:04
  They served God acceptably.
• 28:06
  Now, how about that as a calling card, your hallmark?
• 28:10
  Imagine someone saying your name and say, oh, yeah, Joe, I know him.
• 28:13
  He serves God.
• 28:14
  Sarah, yes, I know her.
• 28:16
  She serves God.
• 28:17
  Imagine that being the way that you are recognized, yea, even introduced by God himself.
• 28:23
  This is a line of people that know how to serve God acceptably.
• 28:28
  I don't guess there could be a greater introduction as a group of people other than this.
• 28:33
  This is a line of people that know how to serve the Lord, how to call upon the name
• 28:37
  of the Lord.
• 28:38
  So then we ask this question, what does that mean?
• 28:40
  What's that phrase mean?
• 28:41
  Over and again, you'll find that phrase, calling on the name of the Lord in various ways throughout
• 28:45
  the scriptures.
• 28:46
  This is the first introduction to that phrase.
• 28:47
  What does it mean?
• 28:50
  My working definition of that phrase is to appeal to God as the supreme authority for
• 28:56
  help or approval by way of worship or sacrifice.
• 29:01
  This is to make an appeal to God, hoping that God will find favor in us.
• 29:06
  We're looking for help or approval by either worship or sacrifice.
• 29:13
  With this society, instead of building up fancy and grandiose things, instead of knowing
• 29:18
  what instruments they played and how they lived in tents or any of those sorts of things,
• 29:23
  we know that they are remembered for cultivating spiritual lives.
• 29:28
  This is a group of people who, before anything else, found it important to call on the name
• 29:31
  of the Lord to appeal to God, knowing that they wanted God's approval.
• 29:35
  More than being compared to another society, oh, you know, did you see Seth's city?
• 29:39
  Did you see his buildings?
• 29:40
  Did you hear them play the instruments?
• 29:41
  Oh, that's better than Cain's town over there.
• 29:43
  We're not comparing town for town.
• 29:45
  We're saying heart for heart, are we serving God acceptably?
• 29:51
  This group of people, they serve God.
• 29:53
  As we look at this text, and we're reminded of several things, first, reminded of our
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  high station, that we are made in God's image.
• 30:01
  Listen to chapter five, verses one through three, it says, this is the book of the generations
• 30:05
  of Adam.
• 30:06
  In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God, made he him.
• 30:11
  God made mankind in his likeness.
• 30:13
  Verse two, it says, male and female created he them, and he blessed them.
• 30:16
  He called their name Adam in the day that they were created.
• 30:19
  Verse three, and Adam lived 130 years and begot a son in his own likeness after his
• 30:25
  image and called his name Seth.
• 30:26
  Question, in whose image was Adam made?
• 30:29
  God's.
• 30:30
  And so then Seth is in the image of Adam, and whose image is he?
• 30:35
  God.
• 30:36
  And so what we are reminded of, friends, is yes, there was a society who lived an unrighteous
• 30:43
  life.
• 30:44
  Yes, there was this lineage of people in this city that they did things their own way.
• 30:48
  But there is still a sense that you and I have a high calling as God's image bearers.
• 30:54
  There's so many beautiful things that we see in this world.
• 30:58
  We read in our Bibles about various spiritual and heavenly beings.
• 31:02
  None of them, friends, none of them have this high calling.
• 31:06
  They bear God's image in the universe.
• 31:08
  You know who that is bestowed upon?
• 31:11
  Mankind.
• 31:13
  There's a higher calling that you and I must live by.
• 31:15
  The measure of greatness is not in worldly or secular accomplishments.
• 31:19
  I love to see people accomplish many things, and sometimes we brag on our kids, especially
• 31:23
  our grandkids.
• 31:24
  Oh, Billy hit a home run, and Sarah made us sweat, and all these things.
• 31:28
  And we brag on them.
• 31:29
  That's good.
• 31:30
  That's wonderful to brag on our kids.
• 31:31
  But friends, the greatest thing they can be known for is spiritual things, honoring and
• 31:36
  glorifying God.
• 31:37
  Wouldn't it be wonderful if instead of—I know we don't use these anymore.
• 31:41
  Remember that old wallet?
• 31:42
  We used to roll out all the pictures that we would have, and now we just use the iPhone
• 31:45
  to scroll through the pictures.
• 31:46
  Wouldn't it be wonderful, instead of showing someone hit a home run or swim or throw a
• 31:51
  touchdown, wouldn't it be wonderful if we saw someone worshiping and serving God acceptably?
• 31:58
  That should be the way that we're known.
• 32:00
  That should be the things that we commend and we're proud of.
• 32:03
  I'm so grateful for congregations such as this, and have events such as these, so that
• 32:07
  we can bring our young people and old people alike, and we can demonstrate to them.
• 32:10
  We can help them to know and to learn what it looks like, what it feels like, what it
• 32:14
  is like to serve God acceptably.
• 32:18
  That's the true measure of greatness.
• 32:22
  When we're reading Genesis chapter 5, after we are introduced to Seth and his line, there's
• 32:32
  something that changes.
• 32:36
  Over the next 28 verses, we are reminded of the ravaging consequence and effect of
• 32:45
  sin.
• 32:47
  You cannot miss it.
• 32:48
  If you read these next verses, it is almost as though it's a broken record that keeps
• 32:52
  repeating the same refrain over and over and over again.
• 32:56
  Eight times you hear the phrase, and he died, and he died, and he died, and he died.
• 33:01
  We are reminded, friends, that death is now in the world.
• 33:07
  Why?
• 33:11
  That's because the wages of sin is death.
• 33:14
  Sin came into the world as a result.
• 33:16
  Death came.
• 33:17
  And as we read these verses, we cannot help but be overwhelmed by the seeming darkness
• 33:22
  that hangs over these verses.
• 33:24
  Death, death, death.
• 33:27
  With every generation, someone is dying, someone is dying, someone is dying.
• 33:31
  There's loss, and there's heartache, and there's brokenness, there's death, there's death.
• 33:35
  All these people that are living numbers of years, yes, they're living, maybe they're
• 33:38
  doing great things in their lifespan, but friends, they come to a point in which they
• 33:41
  die.
• 33:42
  We're reminded over again of the sin that took place earlier.
• 33:46
  Death always reminds us of sin.
• 33:48
  There's death over and over and over again.
• 33:54
  But even with that, our minds can go back and remember who these men are.
• 34:03
  Yes, death is taking place, but you'll have to remember going back to chapter four, verse
• 34:07
  number 26, who are these people that are dying?
• 34:10
  These are not the wicked lineage and descendants of Cain.
• 34:13
  These are the descendants of Seth.
• 34:15
  These are the people who the Bible introduces us at the very first.
• 34:18
  He says, these are the people who are calling on the name of the Lord.
• 34:24
  As we go through these various names in chapter five, verses five and following, go through
• 34:29
  all of these names, some of them may be challenging for us to pronounce, and sometimes, let me
• 34:33
  encourage us, friends.
• 34:34
  When we see lists of names, don't just look where the names start and look where the names
• 34:38
  end and just pick up there.
• 34:39
  Those names are there for a reason.
• 34:42
  God is trying to help us to know about His presence, His love, His mercy through all
• 34:47
  of these generations.
• 34:48
  Don't just skip over the names.
• 34:49
  They may be difficult to pronounce.
• 34:50
  Work your way through them.
• 34:51
  They're in the Scriptures for a reason.
• 34:55
  Of all the names that we read here in this chapter and in every other chapter of the
• 34:59
  Scriptures, friends, there's two people in the Bible who are explicitly stated as walking
• 35:05
  with God.
• 35:08
  There's two.
• 35:10
  Those individuals are right here in this text.
• 35:15
  They are Enoch and they're Noah.
• 35:19
  As we look at this text, all of these people that live and die, there are these two people.
• 35:27
  Though there is another society maybe across the way with the descendants of Cain who may
• 35:31
  be living lawlessly or unrighteously, though there's a temptation to live in sin, there's
• 35:36
  the opportunity to go into sin if you should so desire, but here's a group of people who
• 35:40
  are living righteously, and of all these people, there are two that stand out of walking with
• 35:44
  God.
• 35:46
  Well, Enoch and Noah, they understood what it was to serve God and they walked with God
• 35:51
  as to demonstrate that they are walking in fellowship with God and obedience to God and
• 35:55
  submission to God.
• 35:56
  What are we seeing with them?
• 36:00
  They show us it's possible to live in a broken world and still please God.
• 36:06
  I don't mean to be flippant or casual about the nature of sin.
• 36:09
  I do understand that all of us are subject to temptation.
• 36:14
  I do understand that the temptation may be strong in each of our lives to go and do something
• 36:18
  that we ought not do or fail to do something that we know that we should do.
• 36:21
  I know it's easy, but it is also possible to live a good and a godly and a righteous
• 36:27
  life.
• 36:30
  Both of these men are mentioned in Hebrews chapter 11, that great chapter of faith, but
• 36:35
  I want to tell you this.
• 36:36
  They are not posited to us or put before us, presented to us neither as images of perfection.
• 36:45
  Neither person is said to have never done anything wrong.
• 36:47
  They're completely and wholly sinlessly perfect.
• 36:50
  We don't read that about them.
• 36:51
  Here's what we do know about them.
• 36:53
  They lived in a broken world and they chose to be faithful to God.
• 36:57
  Everyone in this room and even everyone who's not in this room is capable of that, friends,
• 37:02
  choosing to live faithfully for God.
• 37:05
  They were faithful to the Lord.
• 37:06
  So let's make some reflection on this section of scripture.
• 37:12
  You and I have both the privilege and responsibility of bearing God's image in this world.
• 37:19
  It is a wonderful blessing, but there is a great responsibility with it as well.
• 37:24
  The legacy that you and I leave behind, the things that people would know of us must be
• 37:29
  our spiritual lives and not our society.
• 37:35
  When people look at us and the lives that we live and people may mention us as time
• 37:39
  goes on, it should not just be our secular achievements.
• 37:43
  It should be our spiritual dedication to God.
• 37:46
  We're reminded that death is all around us.
• 37:50
  There are people in this room that have loved ones that may have gone on here just recently.
• 37:54
  Death is all around us.
• 37:56
  But friends, I want you to know this, as we read our Bibles, especially going into our
• 38:00
  New Testament, according to Acts chapter 22 and verse number 16, calling on the name of
• 38:04
  the Lord as they were doing, as you and I can do today, calling on the name of the Lord
• 38:08
  will always, it will always lead to life eternal.
• 38:14
  When we read these chapters and these passages, this section that we're studying today is
• 38:20
  the early generations and there's a lot to learn about society, about people, about us.
• 38:25
  And friends, I mean to tell you, the greatest thing that we can learn in this section of
• 38:28
  Scripture is not necessarily only about us, it's also about God.
• 38:32
  What are some things that we can learn about God in this text?
• 38:35
  First friends, God provides.
• 38:37
  When we open up to chapter four, we see that God provided both Cain and Abel with the things
• 38:42
  they were able to offer back to God as offerings and sacrifices.
• 38:45
  God provides.
• 38:46
  Not only so, that God is just.
• 38:49
  He didn't look at Cain's offering and say, well, I told him not to do it, but you know,
• 38:52
  it's okay, bless his heart.
• 38:55
  God is just.
• 38:56
  If he asked for something, he's going to hold us to the standard, but he's also compassionate.
• 39:01
  He asked Cain the question, why is your countenance fallen, Cain?
• 39:04
  There's a better way that you can live.
• 39:06
  He's also holy.
• 39:07
  He said, Cain, you cannot be in my presence with this sort of lifestyle.
• 39:12
  God is holy, but God is also gracious.
• 39:18
  He blessed Adam and Eve with another son.
• 39:22
  He gave him an opportunity to serve God.
• 39:25
  As we go into chapter five, verses three through 32, we remember this.
• 39:31
  God is long-suffering.
• 39:33
  We go through all of those names, and he died, and he died, and he died, and we even look
• 39:38
  at our society today, and he died, he died.
• 39:41
  Why, why, why would God allow so much death in this world?
• 39:44
  Friends, I mean to tell you that God is long-suffering and not willing that any should perish, but
• 39:50
  that all should come to repentance.
• 39:53
  God wants us to be saved, and if you and I will take this Bible and learn from these
• 39:57
  individuals, learn about ourselves and learn about God, that we can follow in their footsteps
• 40:02
  and we too can be saved.