It Is Finished

IT IS FINISHED

GENESIS 4:1-10

1. Adam knew his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. She said, "With the help of the LORD I have brought forth a man."

2. Later she gave birth to his brother Abel. Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil.

3. In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the LORD.

4. But Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering,

5. but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.

6. Then the LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast?

7. If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it."

8. Now Cain said to his brother Abel, "Let's go out to the field." And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.

9. Then the LORD said to Cain, "Where is your brother Abel?" "I don't know," he replied. "Am I my brother's keeper?"

10. The LORD said, "What have you done? Listen! Your brother's blood cries out to me from the ground.

JOHN 19:28-30

• Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, "I am thirsty."

• A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus' lips.

• When he had received the drink, Jesus said, "It is finished." With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

I. The Blood is against the workings of the enemy

A. There is so much blood from cover to cover in Scripture

1. Coats of skin that covered Adam

2. Abel’s sacrifice

3. Passover lambs blood applied to doorpost

4. Spotless lambs of Levitical priesthood

5. The life of the Gospel is in the blood

6. Passover precedes Pentecost (Pentecost instantaneously occurs 50 days after Passover)

B. Gospel does not need to be repaired or altered

1. One step program — get under the fountain

2. Charles Spurgeon said Christ, the Lion of Judah, does not need to be defended, He just needs to be let out of the cage

C. The Blood is the reason for all we do

II. Eve was expecting a promise because of a prophecy that came during her disgrace

A. When she went into labor she was expecting it to be the fulfillment of the prophecy

B. Throughout Scripture you see 2 sons and you always have to watch out for the second son

C. Inheritance went to the firstborn

D. Abel is the second son

E. God has a habit of blessing the unexpected

F. Esau & Jacob; Zerah (fought his way out to be firstborn) & Phares (marked by scarlet thread), Manasseh & Ephraim

G. God had 2 sons

1. Adam was first made son of God

2. Christ was only begotten Son of God (begotten at resurrection)

H. The second son reverses curse where the firstborn blew it

I. Power of 2nd Son -- What Adam got me into, Jesus got me out of

J. Manasseh & Ephraim — God is crossing His hands to bless the unexpected

K. Not the person groomed for the position

L. Least likely — the one nobody though would have any inheritance — the stone the builders rejected — look for someone overlooked and rejected

III. Their occupations

A. The Scripture doesn’t talk about trivialities but tells about their occupation (not their weight or skin color) — because it is relative to the revelation

1. First family conflict was over worship

a. All kinds of problems stemmed from worship problems

b. Paul tells us the foundational sin of man is a worship problem -- they knew Him as God but glorified Him not as God -- this is the cornerstone sin that leads to all others

2. How did they know to worship?

a. They had no Bible, but they had an understanding of worship

b. Worship is so inbred into the human DNA, that we are wired to worship & will worship something

3. All creation gives God glory

4. Even though man had rebelled against God and fell into sin, there was still a desire to worship -- though that worship was tainted

5. Cain's problem was not a failure to worship, but a "convenient worship"

6. Abel's worship was by faith

B. Abel — keeper of the sheep (Picture of Christ)