For example, we often see:
(1) GENDER DIFFERENCES
The differences between men and women are noticeable differences.
I am not talking about the physical differences, but our behavioral differences. For example:
• Men are Vain. Before they go somewhere, they will check themselves out in the mirror and get in the car and go where they are going.
• However women are different; they will check themselves out in a mirror before they go somewhere, but as they are traveling to where they are going, they will continue to check themselves out in: the rear view mirror, in any shiny surface, water reflections, spoons, or shop windows.
The Gender difference is one of the differences we are aware of between us. But also there are-
(2) LANGUAGE DIFFERENCES
This is also very noticeable among us. Sometimes because of these differences, we have a difficult time understanding each other.
Illus: A contractor hired an Irishman, an Italian and a Chinese man to move a load of sand.
• He told the Irishman it was his job to sweep the sand
• He told the Italian it was his job to shovel the sand
• He told the Chinese man it was his job to take care of supplies
The contractor came back and the sand pile had not been touched.
• He asked the Irishman why he had not swept the sand. He said that he could not find the Chinese man to get a broom
• He asked the Italian why he had not shoveled the sand. He said he could not find the Chinese man to get a shovel
The contractor said, “Where is the Chinese man?”
The Chinese man jumped up from behind the sand pile and said, “Suplise! Suplise!
But let’s look at another difference among us, and that is the -
(3) POLITICAL DIFFERENCES
Because of the political differences we have in this nation, we have a two party system. That is:
• We have the Democrats that we generally consider to be a political party for the liberals
• We have the Republicans that we generally consider to be a party of conservatives
These two political parties approach everything differently.
Illus: Let me give you this hypothetical situation. You're walking down a deserted street with your wife and two small children. Suddenly, a dangerous looking man with a huge knife comes around the corner and is running at you while screaming obscenities. In your hand is a .357 Magnum and you are an expert shot. You have mere seconds before he reaches you and your family. What do you do?
THE LIBERAL view would be:
• I don’t have enough information to answer the question
• Does the man look poor or oppressed
• Have I ever done anything to him that inspired him to attack
• Could we run away
• What does my wife think
• What about the kids
• Could I possibly swing the gun like a club and knock the knife out of his hand
• What does the law say about this situation
• Is it possible he'd be happy with just killing me? Does he definitely want to kill me or would he just be content to wound me
• If I were to grab his knees and hold on, could my family get away while he was stabbing me
• This is all so confusing! I need to debate this with some friends for a few days to try to come to a conclusion.
THE CONSERVATIVE view would be:
• See if you can put six shots in him before he hits the ground
As we watch such television shows as: “Hannity and Colmes” on the Fox’s New Channel, or “Crossfire” on CNN, we have heard the liberals and conservatives many times expressing their differences.
But the difference among people can not only be seen in these areas of our life, it can also be seen in the Scriptures.
Let’s look a-
I. TWO DIFFERENT PEOPLE
Look at verses 1-2, we read, “And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD. And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.”
When Cain was born it was an exciting event. He was the first baby to ever be born.
Look at Eve’s reaction to this event in their lives in verse 1, "And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD!"
Since then many children have been born, but we just can't imagine what this must have been like for the first child to have been born. Can you imagine the excitement of Adam and Eve, and the hopes they had for this child?
These parents named their son, “Cain”. DO YOU KNOW WHAT CAIN MEANS? Apparently he is a big strong guy. His name means, "Vitality."
Evidently they did not have the same high hopes for their second son, “Abel.” DO YOU KNOW WHAT ABEL MEANS? In Hebrew It means "Vapor" or "Nothingness."
But aren’t you glad that God often chooses the “Nothings” of the world and uses them for His glory? However, you get the feeling Adam and Eve are a little less enthusiastic the second time around.
• Cain is the first born. In that culture, the first born son took over. He got the inheritance. Second only to his father, he was the head of the family.
• Cain worked the fields like his dad. His younger brother, probably weaker, probably frail, may not have been able to do that kind of work. His job is to watch the animals.
Both sons had the same parents, and were raised in the same home, but what a contrast between the two of them. From what the Scriptures indicate, Abel was a godly man whereas Cain appears to be the opposite.
Illus: Cain makes us think of the two evil brothers that were rich and attended the same church.
Because they gave a lot of money to the church, their pastor allowed them to get away with a lot of things.
One day their pastor retired, and a new one was hired.
Not only could the new pastor see right through the brothers' deception, but he also preached the Word, and the church membership grew in numbers.
A fund-raising campaign was started to build a new building. All of a sudden, one of the brothers died.
The remaining brother sought out the new pastor the day before the funeral, and handed him a check for the amount needed to finish paying for the new building.
He said, "I have only one condition". "At the funeral, you must say my brother was a saint. Do you understand, I want everyone to hear he was a SAINT!"
The pastor gave his word, and deposited the check. The next day, at the funeral, the pastor did not hold back. He said,
• He was an evil man
• He cheated on his wife
• He abused his family
• He had pulled some shady deals in his life time
After going on like this for around ten minutes, he finally concluded, "But, compared to his brother, he was a SAINT."
Abel was a saint, but Cain was an “aint”. That is, he wasn’t a Saint of God! They were TWO DIFFERENT PEOPLE! Also, they had-
II. TWO DIFFERENT OFFERINGS
Look at verses 3-4, we read, “And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering.”
Cain and Abel both offered up sacrifices. Cain’s sacrifice was rejected and Abel’s sacrifice was received.
Some have concluded that Cain's sacrifice was rejected because he did not, like his brother, offer a blood sacrifice in an effort to atone for his sins. But that is not what the Bible says is the reason his offering was rejected.
Many have speculated on why the Lord accepted one of the offerings and rejected the other one. But we do not have to speculate, the Bible tells us why the Lord accepted one and rejected the other.
Look at Hebrews 11:4, we read, “By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained the testimony that he was righteous, God testifying about his gifts, and through faith, though he is dead, he still speaks."
For Abel, the offering of a sacrifice was a spiritual endeavor. The Bible says “By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain…”
• In other words, when Abel offered up his sacrifice it was not a ritual, it was an act of faith in the God he trusted
• For Cain it was only a meaningless ritual
The same can be true of Christians today. They can come to church, sing, pray and listen to the Word of God being taught and preached, and it is no more than a meaningless ritual.
The thing that ties us to God is our FAITH. If we do not enter a worship service with FAITH, we leave the same way we came –EMPTY!
Why was one sacrifice accepted and the other rejected? It wasn’t the sacrifice that got God’s attention, it was the manner in which it was given. The Bible said Abel offered his sacrifice BY FAITH!
Look at verse 4-5, we read, “And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering: But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.”
We have looked at TWO DIFFERENT PEOPLE and TWO DIFFERENT OFFERINGS, but also look at-
III. TWO DIFFERENT REACTIONS
That is, when God accepted Abel’s Offering and rejected Cain’s offering, look how Cain reacted.
Remember verse 5, the Bible tells us he was “…very wroth, and his countenance fell.” Cain could not take REJECTION.
Illus: Three married couples died, and when they got to the pearly gates, St. Peter told the first husband, "I can't let you in. You let alcohol run your life. You even married a girl named Daiquiri." Dejected, he turned and walked away.
The next married couple stepped up, and St. Peter told the husband, "Can't let you in sir. While you were on earth, you allowed money to run your life. You even married a girl named Penny." The guy hung his head, turned and walked away.
The husband of the third couple waiting in line, overheard both conversations and said to his wife, "Come on, Fanny, he's not going to let us in either."
Some people can not except rejection! Cain had a real problem with rejection, and he became visibly angry!
A lot of folks do not seem to know this, BUT GOD IS WATCHING US. Look at verses 6-8, we read, “And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?”
Anger can get us in trouble fast! God tried to warn him.
Look at verse 7, we read, “If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.”
God saw the anger in his heart and God said, “Sin lieth at the door”. Every day, sin lieth at our door, trying to get in and rule our lives. Cain open the door and SIN ENTERED.
Look at verse 8, we read, “And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.”
As long as things were going right, Cain was a nice fellow to be around. But he is like so many, that when things are not going their way, they become destructive.
Both of these brothers reacted in a different manner.
Cain could have repented, but he chose to get angry and kill his brother.
• Cain holds the unique position in life as being the FIRST CHILD
• But then he marred that blessing by also becoming the FIRST MURDERER
Conclusion:
It's quite amazing to realize that there are certain events, certain actions we take, certain decisions we make that change the whole course of our lives.
Illus: For example, Don Calhoun, a guy who lived in Chicago, worked at a five dollar an hour construction job. He decided one night to go to a Chicago Bulls game -- only the second or third game he'd ever gone to in his life.
On his way into the game, he is stopped by someone from the Bulls organization. She said, "We're doing a promotion during the third quarter. Would you want to participate?" He agreed.
During a time-out in the third quarter, they called Don Calhoun onto the court, gave him a basketball , and positioned him by the free throw line of one of the baskets and pointed him toward the other basket. This would be almost a full court shot. They said, "You have one shot. If you make it, we'll give you a million dollars."
They called this promotion: "The Million Dollar Shot."
Calhoun took the ball and threw it towards the basket. Just after he let it go, Phil Jackson, the coach for the Chicago Bulls, said out loud: "It's going in." And sure enough it did. He made the shot!
Calhoun walked out of the court that night with $2 in his pocket. And yet, from that moment on, every year for the next 20 years, he would be getting a check for $50,000. JUST LIKE THAT -- your life can change.
We all have been given opportunities in this life. And we must not look at these opportunities as not being important. Only God knows what can come from those who are willing to take advantage of them.
I. TWO DIFFERENT PEOPLE
II. TWO DIFFERENT OFFERINGS
III. TWO DIFFERENT REACTIONS
