- Today we start a new book of the Bible- Matthew- Its got the best name in the Bible
- The book of Matthew is at the beginning of the NT because at the time they believed it to be the first Gospel written. This Gospel is the most concerned with Judaism as it relates to Christ. It transitions from OT to NT. It contains everything that was needed for the Early Church.
- Jesus miraculous birth, liturgy, discipleship law, teaching and Jesus life and death, spread word
- Church tradition holds that the former tax collector Matthew is the Author, the former tax collector turned disciple, who was an eye witness of the life of Jesus
- Arranged in 7 parts it outlines the life of Jesus well- it’s a ride- we’ll walk through it together!
- Matthew wants to teach people what it means to be part of Jesus’ kingdom and spread the good news
- Written to a Jewish audience. Jesus is presented as Messiah and the promised descendant of King David and the promise of a time of peace and Justice
- Lots of quotes from the OT and big emphasis on fulfillment of OT prophecies
- Main points- Jesus is the Son of God, Jesus is the King, Jesus is the Savior
- Opens with who Jesus is- The Messiah. Closes with what we should do Make disciples for Him.
- READ Matthew 1:1-17- What does all this lineage mean?
- Establishing Jesus lineage, very important to Jewish audience, connecting to Abraham and David, showing that he is the rightful king- Kingship and kingdom are very important in Matthew
- What do we get out of this lineage?
- God is ok with you waiting
- Scrip- Isaiah 40:31 But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.
- Before we get into the text- I want to give you a bit of background on where we’re at with Matthew. Malachi 4 READ and then READ Matthew 1:1
- About 400 years between those two scriptures- called the intertestamental period
- God spoke to his people in the OT through many prophets- they were used to it
- 400 years changes a lot of things- under Persian rule in Exile- now under Roman rule as they have returned. Political, religious, cultural, and civil matters had changed
- God speaks through Malachi and then is silent through his prophets for 400 years. His silence was his plan. He was setting up the strongest statement he could ever make- through JEsus
- God is a God of order. Generally speaking- God typically allows a desperate situation to carry on for a while before he brings deliverance. Clear pattern- Noah, Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Judges, Esther, etc. Man must be frustrated before God intervenes.
- It wasn’t until man was at the end of himself that God would show up and save the day!
- During these 400 years there was 6 different eras the Jews lived under- Persian era, Greek era, Egyptian era, Syrian era, Maccabean era, Roman era
- I don’t have time to cover all the eras, but the most important one to understand is the Roman era, in that it is the era immediately preceding the arrival of Jesus- its not by accident
- The Romans were ruthless people. They killed and conquered.
- They brought law and order (often brutally) but it bought “peace” and a stable government
- Romans brought systems, government processes, specific ways of doing things, taxes, slavery
- it is estimated that in the Roman Empire, five out of every seven people were slaves
- Rome made roads. All over the Roman empire. Connected the empire so Rome could spread
- You may notice how this is a great set up for Messiah and the church- to spread the Gospel
- Why is the background so important?
- One– it shows that waiting seems pointless until fulfillment
- Two– it shows that God knows what he’s doing
- Three- it should give you context as to why Matthew says what he does and people receive it
- There’s no words from the Lord for 400 years and then John the Baptist shows up as a prophet saying Repent and prepare ye the way for the Lord- huge statement
- God may have been silent but he wasn’t inactive. God was preparing his People to receive his Son
- Galatians 4:4-5 But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born[a] of a woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.
- God knew what and when he was going to bring what he was going to bring
- How can you appreciate freedom unless you’ve been in bondage?
- What does it mean to you?
- Have you been waiting on God for something? Good- God is ok with you waiting for him
- Just because you’re waiting doesn’t meant that God isn’t God and he’s not moving
- Lamentations 3:25 The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, To the soul who seeks Him.
- Seek God during your waiting- wait and see what he does and how he moves
- 2 Peter 3:9 but is longsuffering toward us,
- God is so patient with us, can’t we be patient with God? Can’t we wait a little? 400 years?
- Here’s what happens when you don’t wait- you take it in your own hands and mess it up
- Psalm 130:5 I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, And in His word I do hope.
- You can’t have hope if you don’t read his word- because it gives you hope- personally- God will take care of you- big picture- God is exacting his plan- don’t worry- just wait!
- Romans 5:3-4 Micah 7:7
- God keeps his promises- there is a king
- The socio-economic-spiritual time that the people of Israel were under probably led them to believe that God had forgotten about them- and that the promises spoken to their ancestors were not going to come to pass, that’s human. I have felt that way as well.
- As much as God is fine with them waiting- he is also going to keep his promises- He HAS and HE WILL
- I don’t know why the people of God- including us- seem to go through things and forget that God is still God and that he keeps his promises-
- Speaking of the nation of Israel Joshua 21:45 Not a word failed of any good thing which the Lord had spoken to the house of Israel. All came to pass.
- The people of the Bible waited and went through war and famine- but they also saw God MOVE so they wrote it down so we could be encouraged!
- Farwell address- Joshua 23:14 “Behold, this day I am going the way of all the earth. And you know in all your hearts and in all your souls that not one thing has failed of all the good things which the Lord your God spoke concerning you. All have come to pass for you; not one word of them has failed.
- What does it mean to you
- Have you forgot that God keeps his promises? Have you become discouraged and think its over?
- 2 Corinthians 1:20 For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us.
- Honestly- I think that America is under judgment- and with repentance and revival its possible for America and the world to turn around- but its unlikely- too much has been set in motion
- We are ripe for Christ’s return- and hopefully we’ll live to see it- but if not- someone will and we’ll be known as those who lived in the generations of waiting
- I’m fine with it- because if I see it or not is irrelevant- I know God keeps his promises so I’m not worried about it-
- Ro4:21 and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform.
- I am fully convinced. I know he can do it and he WILL do it- Not just the return of Christ- all of it- whatever it is that God has spoken in his word- it will come to pass- I know it- I know he’ll do it.
- Why? Romans 1:2 which He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures,
- All the prophecies of Jesus have come to pass- why would anything else not?
- God keeps his promises- Jesus is HERE- Jesus is KING- He is Messiah!
- Promise blessed through Abrahams lineage- Gen 12:3 Fulfillment- Matt 1:1
- Promise- Blessed through Jacobs lineage Genesis 28:14 Fulfillment- Matt 1:2
- Promise Ruling scepter comes through Judah Gen 49:10 Fulfillment Matt 1:3
- I can’t go through the hundreds of them- but you get the point- God keeps his promises
- What does it mean to you?
- What promises have you forgot? What words have you given up on?
- God promises forgiveness to those who believe- WALK IN IT- He promises protection- believe in it- He Promises blessings- Believe it- He promises he will sustain you through trails- WALK IN IT
- You are not going to wait more than 80-90 years for the fulfillment- You will see messiah
- Walk in the promises of God- Believe in HIM and them
- Psalm 77:8 Has His mercy ceased forever? Has His promise failed forevermore?
- No- They haven’t God is still God and his promises do come to pass-
- If God promises something in scripture- it will come to pass- It will happen- bank on it
- I understand you’ve been let down by people and experienced bad- but that Doesn’t change who God is- Not at all- He is still the promise Keeper- Read your word- stay in the promise.
God uses broken people- Many people with a past
- This is actually the whole sermon right here- the actual using of the scripture
- We see the lineage of Jesus- and if you’re anything like me- you rush through these parts of the bible- Its like Numbers- I sail through that as well
- Quick overview- Abraham – Got Hagar pregnant because he didn’t trust God. and had Ishmael- who starts most problems in the Middle east- And father’s Isaac through Sarah
- Isaac Has Jacob who steals his brothers birthright (Esau) to get in the lineage. Jacob fathers Judah with a wife he doesn’t really want so he has 2 wives
- Jacob fathers Judah with a wife he didn’t want- he wanted Rachel. Judah fathers Perez through a Crazy interaction with Tamar with deceit and weirdness.
- The story of the lineage of Jesus is not “God uses perfect people” Its “God uses people who make bad decisions to bring forth his eternal plan”
- Deceitful, lustful, lying, broken sinners used by God
- Speaks to the truthfulness of our Bible- Even includes the bad parts
What does it mean to you
- It Goes on with Boaz marrying Ruth- a gentile Moabite that God forbids, Then Obed, Jesse, then David and then the offspring of the lustful murderous relationship with Bathsheba produces Solomon
- Then Boaz and Ruth father Obed Obed is then the father of Jesse who is the father of David.
- Solomon ends up with a Harem
- Oh yeah Don’t forget Rahab the prostitute- She’s in there as well- In the lineage of Jesus
- Do you know what that means to you?
- God can use anyone. The lineage of Jesus isn’t pure, but he is (He’s the seed of God he didn’t inherit our sin nature)
- And if God can use anyone to bring forth his son- he can use YOU
- Ephesians 2:10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
- God wants to use US to do HIS will- Work is part of the deal since Adam- we are supposed to be doing WORK for HIM and its not connected to who WE are its to who HE is
- Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
- That’s what we see in this picture- bad decisions that God uses to accomplish his perfect will-
- I have a heart for people- I do. I love them- people misunderstand me constantly- Its because of the brokenness I have from my father- I want to love people and not abandon them-
- Dad leaving sucked- but it made me who I am
- Romans 14:8 For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.
- Lets live to the Lord! Lets do it for him- leave our pasts behind. No excuses
- Someone here today is down on themselves because they don’t think they are worthy and YOUR NOT- But HE IS- He’s MORE THAN worthy- and WORTH IT
- Matthew 5:13 “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.
- Philippians 2:13 for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.
- You may be broken- but you are still usable to God- he still wants to use you
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