Rivalry
How to respond to the inevitable quarrels

Story Time
• The Bible communicates in stories,
parables, poetry, prophecy and letters
• We are going to look at some stories.
• The Old Testament has lots of stories!
• We are going to study a common theme.
• Themes run throughout the Bible.

Sibling Rivalry
• Who has siblings?
• Are you ever at war?
• What is a family?
• What is the family of God?
• You are in that family today!

Learning to be a family
• 1 Timothy 5:1-2
• Do not rebuke an older man harshly, but
exhort him as if he were your father. Treat
younger men as brothers, older women as
mothers, and younger women as sisters,
with absolute purity.

The Church is family
• Kinda sounds like family!
• The truth is when we are in theas Church,
“house of God”, better known
we are family, and should behave as such.
• Sometime we only thingare all human,
in the positive. But we
of the this family
• This doesn’t mean we won't matter.
quarrels... or rivalry for that
have

What is rivalry?
• Competition: the act of competing as
for profit or a prize; “the teams were in
fierce contention for first place”
• We do we have sibling rivalry?
• To look better to our other siblings?
• To look better to mom or dad!
• To get the attention.

Genesis 4:2-5
Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil.
In the course of time Cain brought some of the
fruits of the soil as an offering to the LORD. But
Abel brought fat portions from some of the
firstborn of his flock. The LORD looked with
favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his
offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was
very angry, and his face was downcast.

Am I my
brother’s keeper?
• Why did God accept Abel’s offering
and not Cain's?
• This is a trick question
• God accepted both, but favored Abel’s
• What is the favor of God exactly?
• Here’s the deal...

Sometime we feel like
we’ve been screwed
• Sometimes things just don’t go our way.
• I could give you a lot of for instances!
• Perhaps we wish we were richer
• Had better parents
• Went to a better school
• Dated a different girl or guy

Feelings get hurt
• Sometimes we are just not as luckily as others
and and we blame God for these things
because we feel we did everything right.
• When you truly feel you “suck at life” how
does that make you feel?
• When your parents give your brother or sister
something that you feel you deserve, how do
you feel?
• Well, Cain felt like you do...

Let’s read on...
• Genesis 4:6-7
• Then the LORD said to Cain...
• Why are you angry?
• Why is your face downcast?
• 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.

What is God’s advice?
• We shouldn't let life depress or shape us.
• Those are sometimes the breaks.
• Romans 12:2
•

Control your fear
• We should act upon these moments and do
what is right.
• This is not what feels natural sometimes!
• If welittle voice weour head will growby sin...
that
don't act,
in
can be overtaken
louder,
our selfish, fleshy nature
• We must master the sin, you must
master the fear... like martial arts

Genesis 4:8
• 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.
• Did you ever here of the phrase “stab them
in the back”? Well, this is the origins of that!
• This is a good example of what not to do,
by the way...

Sin makes a monster
• Sin took over Cain’s body and became evil
incarnate, like a monster.
• Sin killed Abel because Cain could not
master it.
• Sin is like a horror movie monster that
seems small and innocent, but takes control
of the whole man.

It starts with your mouth
• James 3:7-8
• All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and
creatures of the sea are being tamed and
have been tamed by man, but no man can
tame the tongue. It is a restless evil,
full of deadly poison.
• Cain allowed his mouth to act on the sin.

Genesis 4:9
• Then the LORD said to Cain,
• “Where is your brother Abel?”
• “I don't know,” he replied.
• “Am I my brother's keeper?”
• I love this response... ah...
the classic response to your parents...

I Don’t Know!
• The classic response of denial
• This iswe did something wrong when we
know
our immediate response
• Did youthe fridge? I dunno container
back in
put the empty juice
• Did you lock your sister in the basement?
I dunno

I Dunno, continued...
• Did you break the couch? I dunno
• Did you drop the cat of the roof? I dunno
• Where's your brother at? I dunno
• Did you kill him?
• You know that’s how you’d respond.

The first question to God
• What about the last part? The question?
• “Am I my brother’s keeper?”
• This is the eternal question
• This is how we should respond...Yes!
• You are the keeper of your brother and
sister. What does this mean?

Look out for others
• We need to be mindful of others
• Golden Rule: Do unto other as you
would have done unto you.
• Greatest Commandment: Love the
Lord your God with all your heart, soul,
strength and mind and love your neighbor
as yourself