In Jason Dohm's sermon titled 'The Murderer's Family Line,' the focus is on Genesis 4:16-24, examining the genealogy of Cain after he murdered his brother Abel. The sermon reflects on Cain's departure from the presence of the Lord, noting it as a metaphor for living under God's judgment rather than His favor. Dohm emphasizes the contrast between Cain's line, marked by rebellion against God, and the line of Seth, which continues to worship and follow God. The sermon warns of the generational consequences of rebellion, showcasing Lamech, a descendant of Cain, as a symbol of moral decline. Despite cultural advancements in agriculture, music, and craftsmanship, Cain's lineage is depicted as morally degenerative, with the normalization of polygamy and violence. Dohm concludes by urging listeners to understand the remnants of God's image in humanity, to not be enamored by worldly achievements, and to avoid playing with sin, as it desensitizes and impacts future generations.

The title of the sermon today is the murderers family line. Of course, the murderers gain from last week's sermon. In last week's text, two brothers brought two offerings. Kane is a tiller of the ground. He brought an offering from his labors.

Abel was a keeper of sheep. He brought an offering from his labors. God accepted Abel in his offering and he did not respect Cain in his offering. And Cain is furious and God warns Cain. He says, why are you angry why is your countenance fallen sin lies at the door sin crouches at the door sin is lurking at the door you should rule over it A cane does not heed God's warning.

And he kills his brother Abel, and God pronounces the verdict that this tiller of the ground, the ground would no longer yield its strength to him and he would be a wanderer. He would be someone who would be given to wandering. And Cain complains, And Cain complains, it's too much. It's too much for me to bear. And God responds that though he'll be a wanderer, he'll keep him safe from being killed by someone that finds him.

That's really what Cain was worried about. Someone will find me and kill me. Now in this week's text, we have the aftermath of that. What does Cain do next? That's what we get in our text.

And what was his family line? We're actually going to be given seven generations of Cain and the generations that come after him. But before we start on the verse by verse exposition or the verse by verse explanation, and sort of a micro view looking through the microscope, Let's zoom out and look through the telescope. What is the big picture here? Why is this text even here?

Where is it taking us? I want to give you sort of three things about the big picture and ask you to keep them in mind as we look at the verse by verse. First, this is a bridge to chapter 6 and the flood narrative. So a destruction of the world by the flood is coming in chapter 6 and this is giving us a bridge to that by showing us the progressive slide into rebellion. Mankind is getting worse and worse and we're seeing that slide in our text.

Second, we're being given a tremendous contrast between The line of Cain, we're studying the line of Cain this week, and the line of Seth, we'll actually begin studying the line of Seth next week, and the week after will be a lot more about the line of Seth. The line of Cain is a line in rebellion against God, and the line of Seth is at least partly a line of people who are still worshiping God, still following God, still trusting in God. Next week our text will end with the words, then men began to call on the name of the Lord. And the week after that, we'll have Enoch, a different Enoch that is in our text this week, a different man, and it said that he walked with God. So this is, we're being given a tremendous contrast between a line, a family tree in rebellion and a line that at least some of them are worshiping God and walking with God.

Third, we see that when rebellion gains a foothold in one generation, right, we've seen that. We have the father, the root of this family tree that is in our text this week, Cain. Rebellion has gained a foothold. God warned him. Sin's lurking at your door.

If you open that door, sin is going to dominate you. And he won't listen and sin gains a foothold in this generation. And then we're hearing the echoes of that through generations. So we see that future generations pay a price when rebellion gains a foothold in one generation. You can take that to the bank.

It doesn't mean that in the ultimate sense, everything has to be bad. It doesn't mean that. It doesn't mean that God can't reach in and redeem, but future generations pay a price when rebellion against God gains a foothold in a generation. And we should all be just radically aware of that as we have future generations in our home, in our arms in some cases. So that's why this text is here and that's where this text is taking us.

So keep those things in mind as we come to verse by verse examination. Let's ask God to help us. God, I thank you for your word. God, thank you for the genealogies. They're a struggle to us in some ways, but every time we look at them in detail, we always find that there is profit there.

So let us profit today. Let us gain from your Word. We know that you have given us this for our benefit. We want to squeeze the most out of it that we can. We ask for your help in Jesus' name, amen.

All right, let's subdivide. Hopefully your Bibles are still open to Genesis chapter four. Follow along as I reread verses 16 through 18, Genesis chapter 4, starting in verse 16. Then Cain went out from the presence of the Lord, and dwelt in the land of Nod on the east of Eden. Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch.

He built a city and called the name of the city after the name of his son, Enoch. To Enoch was born Irad. And Irad begot Mahujael. And Mahujael begot Methusael. And Methusael begot Lamech.

In these verses, Cain departs and builds. So if you're taking notes on the handout by filling in blanks, builds, fills in the blank. Cain departs and builds. Now, what does it mean that Cain went out from the presence of the Lord? We ought to get very clear distinct views of what that does and doesn't mean.

Let's start out with what it doesn't mean that Cain went out from the presence of the Lord. It isn't a denial that God is everywhere present at all times. As theologians call that, omnipresent, all present. He's present at every single place that exists at all times from eternity past through eternity future. There's nowhere where God has ever not been and nor will there ever be.

He is omnipresent. He is everywhere present at all times. This is not a denial of that. Listen to David, the Psalm writing king, David in Psalm 139. David, Psalm 139, verses seven through 12.

David says, where can I go from your spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence? If I ascend into heaven, you are there. If I make my bed in hell, behold, you are there. If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me and your right hand shall hold me.

If I say, surely the darkness shall fall on me, even the night shall be light about me. Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from you, but the night shines as the day. The darkness and light are both alike to you." David is affirming what the Bible teaches. We could go to a bunch of other places that God is everywhere present all the time. He is omnipresent.

So the saying that Cain went out from the presence of the Lord is not a denial of that. Then what does it mean? Well there are other places I could take you, but listen to these two. Here are two references from 2 Kings that I think teach us about what is being communicated here. The first is 2 Kings 13 verse 23.

2 Kings 13 verse 23. And in this verse, the context is the people of God, Israel, have been in sin and rebellion against God for a long time and they deserve judgment but because of the covenant that God has made with Abraham Isaac and Jacob he isn't yet casting them out of his presence So listen to second Kings 13 23, but the Lord was gracious to them had compassion on them and regarded them because of his covenant with Abraham Isaac and Jacob and would not yet destroy them or cast them from his presence. So he had, they deserved it, but he had made a covenant with their forefathers and so he would not yet destroy them or cast them out of his presence. But listen to, I guess, 11 chapters later, 2 Kings 24 verse 20. Second Kings chapter 24 verse 20.

For, because of the anger of the Lord, This happened in Jerusalem and Judah That he finally cast them out from his presence Then Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon. So now after God's All seems like infinitely long. It's not infinitely long but long period of patience and forbearance and long-suffering with a rebellious people He finally it says he finally cast them out from his presence. And this is speaking of the Babylonian captivity. They're going to be taken into captivity.

So the sense is that they would forfeit God's favor and live under God's judgment. That's what's being communicated by God cast them out of his presence. It's not a denial that he's everywhere present all the time. It's communicating that they forfeit God's favor and they live under God's judgment. That's what the Babylonian captivity was.

That is symbolized by this phrase from His presence. This text might be even better because this is said of a person who was fleeing from God, who was trying to get away from God. Good luck. Listen to Jonah chapter one verse three. I think he's the most famous person who's trying to get away from God is Jonah.

Listen to Jonah chapter one verse three, but Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went down into it to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. This is actually Cain. Cain is wanting to go out to be away from God.

That's what's being communicated in our text. Cain is fleeing from God. He actually doesn't want to live in the presence of God. And so he's fleeing, he thinks, from the presence of God. Cain went out from the presence of the Lord and dwelt in the land of Nod." Nod literally means wandering.

So we're English speakers. We don't know that. All we do is see Nod. But if you look at the Hebrew word and drill down, it literally means wandering. That geographical region is named after the fugitive and the vagabond came.

God said, you'll be a fugitive and a Vagabond on the earth. So he went out into this geographical location where he was a wanderer and this geographical location is then named after his wandering. It literally means wandering. One of the commentators says It would be like naming it vagabond land. The land of the vagabond, the land of the wanderer.

This is the geographical region where Cain wandered. Then Cain and his wife conceived. They became pregnant. And Cain's wife had the baby and the baby is named Enoch. There will be a righteous Enoch in the next chapter, so placeholder for that.

Same name, different person. So this Enoch is not that Enoch. There will be a lambic in a few weeks. In the next chapter there will be a lambic too. Same name, different person.

We have different people with the same name and so it is here. They have a son, they name him Enoch. Now, where can get a wife? Look at chapter 5 verse 3. So I don't even have to turn the page to do that, you might, but in chapter 5 verse 3 we see this, and Adam lived 130 years and begot a son in his own likeness after his image and named him Seth.

After he begot Seth, the days of Adam were 800 years and he had sons and daughters. So we only have the names of the select few that God is bringing us into a story for. We have the name of Cain and Abel and their history. We have the name of Seth being born in their history. But chapter five verse four lets us know that there are other sons and daughters.

We don't have their names, but they do exist. And so Cain, Cain's wife, was a relative. Might have been a sister, it doesn't have to have been a sister, it could have been a more distant relative. Marrying close relatives doesn't become unlawful in the Bible until Leviticus. So you can't take laws that will happen later and impose them on Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, and the wives that they marry.

Every person descended from Adam and Eve. And so Cain's wife was a relative. After last week, some of our men played around with calculators and to say, okay, there's 130 years, let's make some assumptions. Let's say that they only lasted a year in Eden and then they were cast out and then Cain and Abel were born. And let's say that others were born, let's say they had five children.

And let's say when those children were 25 years old and you start making these assumptions and start using your calculator and you get to thousands really fast. In 130 years, if you start making those assumptions and say, let's say every family had on average X number of children, you get to thousands really fast. So just understand this, how family trees work. You're talking about exponential growth when four children each have an average of four children who each have an average of four children. The numbers balloon like that and so it's not surprising that Cain had a wife.

He probably had a lot to choose from. We don't know if he married before the murder of Abel or after. My guess is before, before God put on them this fearful mark that would have people think twice about taking vengeance on him but we don't know for sure. Cain builds a city and named it Enoch after his son. Now that doesn't fit with Cain being a fugitive, a vagabond, a wanderer.

What's this about a city? He's supposed to be a wanderer. Wanderers don't live in cities so This doesn't fit with that. Because of that, many commentators mark this as an act of rebellion. God said, you'll be a wanderer, but you're building a city.

It's an act of rebellion. Personally, I'm not sure. I read the commentators saying that, and I say, maybe. But I would say this, Kane was a man who was very afraid of community action against his act of murder against his brother. He murdered his brother and he was afraid the rest of the people are going to take actions on this.

He's afraid he's going to be killed as one who was a murderer. Here's the thing about murderers. Nobody wants to be next. Nobody wants to be next. The accounts, even modern accounts of vigilante justice against murderers because they don't want to be next are legendary.

That was true then, that's true now. You can look back in verse 14, still staying in the same chapter of Genesis 4, 14. Cain says this to God, surely you have driven me out this day from the face of the ground I shall be hidden from your face I shall be a fugitive and a bag of bag of bond on the earth and it will happen that anyone Who finds me will kill me? Why do you think that is? Because he's known as a murderer.

He's afraid of community action against him being a murderer because nobody wants to be next. The Hebrew word translated city here, so we're English speakers, we see city, but there's actually a Hebrew word that actually has the sense of a fortified location. So this would fit. Having, Being afraid of community action because you're a murderer would fit with a fortified location. Strong's definition says, a place guarded by a watch.

So normally, this Hebrew word would mean walled with a watch. It's probably not good to name the city after an infamous murderer. Welcome to Murdererville. Welcome to Caneville. What are you doing this weekend?

I'm going to Caneville. Not the attention Kane is looking for. He names it after his son, Enoch. Finally, in this section, we have six generations of the family line. One, Kane, he has a son.

Enoch, that's two. Enoch has a son. Irad, that's three. Irad has a son. Mahujael, that's four.

Mahujael has a son. Mathushael, that's five. Mathushael has a son. Lamech, that's six. We never learn anything else about the middle four.

All we get is a name. Only Cain, the first on the list, who we have a history of, and Lamech, the sixth on the list, who we have a history of. And we'll actually, as we work through the text, we'll be given one more generation as lamic, as children. Of course, this is a very selective genealogy. Only one son for each.

Probably one or more of them had more than one son, but we're only given one son. This family tree is just straight up and down. It's one single line with no branches. So this is your hint that this is a very selective Genealogy. No daughters.

Probably one or more of them had one or more daughters. You get none of those branches. You just straight line father to son to son to son to son, six generations. All designed to get us to Lamech in the next section. So this straight line genealogy is just designed to get us to Lamech so we can get the history of Lamech because that's what's supposed to be in scripture.

This is typical of Bible genealogies. We're gonna encounter this again in Genesis. They are designed to get us to the nation of Israel. Okay, it's not a Genealogy of all the peoples on earth all the nations on earth it all started with Adam and Eve But we don't get the genealogy of all the nations is designed to get us to Israel God's people and ultimately To the promised Savior Jesus Christ So why the genealogies in scripture To get us to Israel so that we get to Jesus, the promised Savior. The best genealogies are found at the beginning of Gospels because they get us to the promised Savior.

Okay, verses 19 through 22, moving to the next section. Genesis four, 19 through 22. Then Lamech took for himself two wives. The name of one was Ada, and the name of the second was Zilla. And Ada bore J-ball.

He was the father of those who dwell in tents and have livestock. His brother's name was Jubal. He was the father of all those who play the harp and flute. And as for Zilla, she also bore Tu Balkein, an instructor of every craftsman in bronze and iron. And the sister of Tu Balkein was Naama.

So here we have Lamech and his family line. Family fills in the blank if you're taking notes that way. Lamech and his family line. For the first time we get visibility to the branching out of this family tree. So it's been in a straight line, came to Lamech, now we get some branches.

We're told of three half-brothers and a half-sister. I say half-brothers and a half-sister because there is one father, the same father, Lamech, but Lamech takes two wives, so there are two different mothers, Ada and Zilla. This is not Lamech marries, his wife dies, and Lamech remarries. It's not that. This is Lamech has two wives at the same time polygamy this is the first sign that we get in our text of what Lamech is like what what's Lamech like well data point number one he takes two wives and we've not seen that yet in Genesis.

God said, therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife and they shall become one flesh. That's Genesis 2 24. That's the biblical definition of marriage. One man plus his wife singular, no s, become one. Two become one.

Lamech instead says if one is good, two is better. So he takes two wives. If you're familiar with polygamy in the Old Testament and how it almost always ends up, you know that's not true. One's good, two's better is not true if you study polygamy in the Old Testament. Now in fairness, we have no idea what Lamech knew or didn't know.

We have no idea what Lamech was taught or wasn't taught. We just know that generations have gone by and now here's Lamech and he's doing something that we haven't seen in Genesis yet. He's taking two wives when God's definition of marriage was a man and his wife become one. One and one become one. This is multiple generations after mankind's expulsion from the garden.

Sin is in the world and mankind is degenerating morally because that's one of the big picture things I want you to see this is a bridge to God destroying the world with the flood in Genesis chapter 6 So this is a bridge to Genesis six and the flood. Mankind is degenerating morally, going from bad to worse, to worse, to worse. Sin tends to give birth to more and deeper sin. That's in our text. That's what's happening.

This is the bridge to God destroying the world with the flood is sin, sin's tendency to give birth. Sin has children too. More sin, deeper sin. And Lamech is our poster boy for that. Why is Lamech in scripture at all?

He's the poster child for mankind degenerating morally, going from bad to worse, sin tending to more and deeper sin we've been given a poster child for mankind degenerating morally and it's lambic Four children are named in the text. Ada, this first wife or this wife and mother has Jabal and Jubal. Jabal begins or at least greatly advances the practice of nomadic shepherding. I'll define that. J-ball begins or at least greatly advances the practice of nomadic shepherding.

J-ball is called quote the father of those who dwell in tents and have livestock. So you pick up and go where the good pasture land is for your flocks And when the flock has eaten down an area, you pick up and go again to another area with good pasture land. It allows you to have larger flocks. You go where the good pasture land is. So you're not limited by the pasture land just around you.

Jubal begins or at least greatly advances the practice of playing musical instruments. He begins or at least greatly advances the practice of playing musical instruments, both stringed instruments. The root of this Hebrew word means to twang. I thought that was hilarious. It says harp.

I'm thinking banjo. Twang. And wind instruments. The root of that Hebrew word is breathing. It says flute in our text.

But the root of that word is breathing. So twang and breathing, stringed instruments and wind instruments. Jubal is called the father of all those who play the harp and the flute, or who play stringed instruments and win instruments. Jubal greatly advances music. Do we like flocks?

We like flocks. Flocks are good. Do we like music? We like music. Music's good.

Can be good. Zilla, Lamek's other wife, has two-ball cane, a gifted metalwork Craftsman who teaches others how to do it it has said that two ball Kane is quote an instructor of every craftsman in bronze and iron He's a gifted metalwork craftsman who knows how to teach other people how to do it. An instructor of every craftsman in bronze and iron. His name means offspring of Cain, two ball Cain. Offspring of Cain.

So Cain six up on the straight line family stick, I guess it's a family stick if it's a straight line, on the family stick, Cain 6 up is still in the consciousness of the family. They're living a long period of time. He's probably still alive, But his name means offspring of Cain, even though he's six down in the line. And Zilla and Lamech also have a daughter named Naama or Naima. She's not described at all.

We've just given her name. Okay, summary. What do we have here? Moral decline with cultural advance. Morally, bad to worse, the arts are flourishing.

Moral decline with cultural advance. We have the introduction and normalization of polygamy. By the way, when you introduce it, you are normalizing it. Multiple wives and the continuation of murder. Now we haven't gotten that in our text yet but it's coming in the next subsection so I'm pulling it forward to here to say we're seeing polygamy, multiple wives, and we're seeing murder and simultaneously right alongside that, we have agricultural, musical, and craftsmanship advances are happening at the same time.

What does that mean? It means that mankind has the propensity and the ability to make earth-shaking advancements like AI. We will be served by robots in our lifetime. We will be served by robots. You can go to a local Mexican restaurant and have it delivered to you by a robot now.

And this is only the beginning. So mankind has the propensity to make earth-shaking advancements like AI and at the same time rebel against God at the most fundamental level and say, I was born the wrong gender, I'm changing that. The arts flourishing like never before And a rejection of what God says about sexuality and gender totally rejected. Happening side by side. We believe in total depravity.

But understand, that doesn't mean that I'm as bad as I possibly could be. That's not what total depravity means. This is often mistaken. Okay, you think people are as bad as they could be. No, no, no.

That's not what total depravity means. This is often mistaken. Like, okay, you think people are as bad as they could be. No, no, no, that's not what total depravity means. It sounds like it means that, but it doesn't mean that.

It means that depravity, or the corruption that came into human nature in Genesis 3 when our four for our forebears our foreparents our forefathers ate the forbidden fruit they brought corruption into human nature that touches every part of me. Nothing is spared. So I've got a mind. Corruption from that touches my mind. I've got a body.

Corruption from that touches my body. I have a spirit. Corruption from that touches my spirit. I have affections they've been corrupted in part thoughts they've been corrupted in part Dispositions towards God and the things of God, they've been corrupted in part. All of that is affected by this corruption of nature.

It touches every part of me. Nothing is spared. There's corruption into all of it. But it doesn't mean that I'm as bad as I possibly could be, thank God. But it means that every part of the human being is touched by this corruption.

So while we embrace the truth of total depravity, we still believe that mankind has been made in the image and likeness of God. And those are not contradictory statements. We're still made in the image and likeness of God. And that has been warped by corruption, but it's not totally lost. And we are still distinct from the other creations of God in these ways.

So corruption has come in, but we're still very different in having the image and likeness of God, even in a corrupted form that makes us different, that makes us making robots, while the other animals are just eating each other on the on the savanna. So we're not surprised to see the human race achieve space travel at the same time that the human race also upends the definition of marriage in rebellion against God. We shouldn't be surprised by that. The Bible gives us a framework for that. The Bible teaches us to expect that.

We shouldn't be surprised to see some strong marriages among unbelievers and unbelievers loving their children and unbelievers showing a form of compassion for others. We are still made in the image and likeness of God, even though it is just a shadow of what God originally designed and intended it to be. You can make an argument, and I think I would, that when you see a strong marriage among unbelievers or unbelievers loving their children or unbelievers showing a form of compassion for other people that there are distinctive fundamental differences from the Christian version of that okay amen but don't don't think that the Bible teaches that all unbelievers will have bad marriages. That's not true. Sometimes the believers could take a lesson or two from some unbelieving marriages to our shame.

Alan Ross in his commentary on Genesis creation and blessing says this, being separated from God, Cain's line enhanced their life with these refinements. So now we're gonna build a world without God, now what? Well, let's make all we can for ourselves. They enhance their godless lives with these refinements. Refinements yes, but never a single mention of God, never a single mention of worship.

It is a godless pursuit of advancement. You can look around and see it everywhere, godless pursuit of advancement. Better to have God and have a little. So this is Lamech and his family line, moral decline with cultural advance. Finally, verses 23 and 24.

Genesis 4, verses 23 and 24. Then Lamech said to his wives, Ada and Zillah, hear my voice. Wives of Lamech, listen to my speech. For I have killed a man for wounding me, even a young man for hurting me. If Cain shall be avenged seventyfold, then Lamech seventy-sevenfold." seventy fold than Lamech seventy seven fold.

These verses we have Lamech's poetic saying to his two wives. If you're taking notes on the handout and filling in blanks, poetic saying fills in those two blanks, lamex poetic saying to his two wives. Gentlemen, if you think you should write a poem for your bride, let's do better than this. Amen. I knew I would get an amen.

Somehow I knew it would be Riley. I question murder poetry as a genre. This is what we have, murder poetry from Lamek to his wives. Now, Why is this here? It's hard to fully know.

But clearly something traumatic has happened and Lamech wants to reassure his two wives about it. What's happened? Lamech was wounded by a man, so Lamech killed that man. Some commentators see this not as murder, but as self-defense. He was wounded, so he defended himself.

But it seems to me that the whole point of the poem is that if anyone tries to harm Lamech, he'll kill them for it. I think that's the whole point of the poem. It might have been self-defense in a very technical sense, but it is a wounding and the response is a killing. Lamech's response to a wound is murder. If you hurt Lamech, he'll kill you for it and he'll put it in poetry.

Why would Lamech be declaring this to his two wives, Ada and Zilla? I think because they're naturally worried, like the first murderer Cain was, about the repercussions of Lamech having killed a person When the payback comes to Lamech for killing this man, what will become of his wives? Will they lose their protector? Their provider? Will they lose their lives?

Lamech reassures them. If Cain was safe, I'm 11 times safe. If Cain was avenged sevenfold, I'll be avenged 77 fold. Here are two helpful quotes that I think throws light on what Lamac is really doing here. The first is from John Calvin.

John Calvin says, he, Lamac, hence takes greater license to sin as if God had granted some singular privilege to murderers. What? So God is now in the business of protecting murderers? He protected Cain. He'll protect me 11 times as much.

God's in the murderer protecting business now. Lamek seems to think so. Matthew Henry says this. Well back to that. What a warped way to think.

Matthew Henry says this. It is a common thing for fierce and bloody men to glory in their shame. It is a common thing for fierce and bloody men to glory in their shame. As if it were both their safety and their honor that they care not how many lives are sacrificed to their angry resentments. They think it makes me safer and it's my honor that I don't care who I have to kill to keep myself safe.

Nor how much they are hated provided they may be feared. That seems to be Lamech's thought in a nutshell. Now, an observation. A human being made in the image of God died at Lamech's hands. He was there.

He saw a human being, a human being's life be extinguished at his own hands. Where is even a hint of remorse? Where is even a hint of shame? Remember chapter 3, they ate forbidden fruit, their eyes were open, they made coverings in hid. Oh, where has the shame for sin gone?

Now men can murder and write braggadocious poems about it, write poems bragging about killing for a wound. Not a hint of remorse, not a hint of shame. An image bearer of God died at his hands. No remorse, no shame. This is our bridge to chapter 6.

Rebellion against God and violence is being normalized. They were ashamed when sin first came into the world. Now you have this man Who kills and writes a poem about it? Applications I'll give you three one When we sin we should run to God not from God From the presence of the Lord is a devastating phrase. Devastating phrase.

What will you do? You'll build a world without God. You'll enhance your life with these refinements. And will you be able to even enjoy them in this life? And what of the next life?

When we sin and we sin, there's an inclination to run away from God, to hide from God. No, no, no, run to God. Run to God. God receives the humble heart, the contrite spirit. When we sin, we should run to God.

We should get there as fast as we can. We should turn, repent, go to God. From the presence of the Lord is devastating in this life and in the next life. Two, understand what you're seeing when you see the remnants of something glorious among unbelievers. Don't be surprised.

Unbelievers can do mind-blowing things and they are doing mind-blowing things. That is totally to be expected by what the Bible teaches us. There's nothing incompatible with scripture at all. It's not that you're dumb until you're born again. There are some of the most brilliant minds or unbelieving minds.

Not all of them, certainly not all of them. Some of the most Mind-blowingly talented people are unbelievers and they just are made in the image of God and even though it's warped. It's still fantastic Because God is mind-blowing So even a shadow of his image and likeness produces these things that we see and it's okay to be in awe of those gifts. It just means God is great. Even just a little shadow of it produces what we see.

Understand what you're seeing when you see the remnants of something glorious among unbelievers. Don't think that's contrary to what scripture teaches at all. Don't be enamored by it. What would it benefit to gain the whole world and lose your soul? Three, never play with sin.

It desensitizes us and it moves the line. And then what happens? You sin again and you move the line again and you sin again and you move the line again. Sin is not to be played with. It is not to be trifled with.

It moves the line, it desensitizes you and it sends it down in the generations. We are passing spiritual advantages or spiritual disadvantages down our family lines. Doesn't mean your grandchildren won't be saved if you're a reprobate, but You are passing spiritual advantages or spiritual disadvantages down your family line. The truth is we're all passing some of both. We want to pass as many spiritual advantages as we can to our children, knowing that at the same time, because of blindness or stupidity or stubbornness, we're also sending spiritual disadvantages down, sorry kids.

Don't play with sin. Has an impact on your life and it has an impact so far downstream. We're seeing it happen in our tax. God is teaching us that. Let's pray.

God, I pray that you would help us to be a people who don't trifle with sin as if we can control it, as if we can sew one thing, reap another. God, please have mercy on us. Please help us to see where we've given ground, moved the line, help us to just have a renewed vigor to claw back that territory as you would give us grace and strength. Please give us grace and strength to claw back areas that we've given up. This is hard, hard one ground I know, but I know that your strength can do that in us and through us.

I pray that it would be so in Jesus' name, amen.