Transcription downloaded from https://sermons.wartracebaptist.org/sermons/66488/matthew-11-17-luke-15-7-126-28/. Disclaimer: this is an automatically generated machine transcription - there may be small errors or mistranscriptions. Please refer to the original audio if you are in any doubt. [0:00] Have your Bibles going to the Gospel of Matthew. Matthew chapter 1. You know that we have been in a Christmas series. We were making our way through 1 Timothy until we got to this season, and then we stopped after we completed 1 Timothy chapter 3. [0:16] We will go back to that probably next Sunday. We'll pick right back up in 1 Timothy chapter 4. But for the last several weeks, we have been looking at the Christmas series of what child is this. [0:27] We are now in week 3 of that. It will come to a conclusion at the Christmas Eve service. You will also notice, some of you that are paying attention said, you have not read the Christmas story yet. [0:38] You have not read from Luke chapter 2, which is also a familiar Christmas story. If you were here for the children's play, I did read it that night. But other than that, we have not read it from the pulpit. That, again, is with some intentionality because I love if the Lord allows me to. [0:52] It's not that I mandate for Him to. There have been times where even though I am one who loves to have planned series and sermons and go through specific texts, I give Him full freedom at every given moment that if He wants to change me, He can. [1:05] That's why some of you may notice that I typically sit on the front pew. During the offering, I always go to the back because when I first started ministry, the pastors were always on the platform. [1:16] Some of them, you know, there's one chair. The chairs are up here. These were the pastor's chairs. I didn't like that because my sermons were always changed. So I give Him freedom right here where you guys can't see my face, and then I go to the back and make sure that that's where I'm supposed to preach at. [1:30] So He has freedom until I walk up here. But my aim is to keep Luke 2 until Christmas Eve. So that's where we will be at Christmas Eve. In our Christmas Eve service, we'll be looking at that Christmas story. [1:43] But we have been looking at this child. We look, first of all, at the wonderful position which He holds. We've looked at the eternal nature of Christ and the eternal becoming incarnate, entering into time and history. [1:56] He who is above history came in history. And what an amazing thing. We do not have to look at this child and say He can grow up to be anything. Rather, we approach this child and we want to know who He has always been. [2:08] And we looked at that from the Gospel of John where it says, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we call Him Emmanuel. Last week, we came together and we looked at the period of time in which He entered. [2:21] We looked at the various passages, and we have seen the period of time that He ordained the days of history. And there was a specific time in which He entered, and He brought it to the greatest of fulfillments. [2:32] We stood amazed at the prophetic word that was spoken, that there would be a Messiah who would come, who would reign according to the days of Daniel chapter 9. [2:42] And the birth of Christ fulfills the period of that, not necessarily just His birth, but He was born at a particular time, so that when He rode that donkey into Jerusalem, you know it, some of you are reading the same Bible reading plan I am, and you read in Zechariah 9 today, and then you also read in the corresponding passage in the Gospel of John, which we refer to as the triumphal entry of Christ, that to the date in the year, that is the fulfillment of the ministry or the vision given to Daniel, in Daniel chapter 9, the 69th week, if you will, Daniel's vision of the 70 weeks. [3:17] But we saw the period of time in which He entered. But now, I want us to take a moment. Again, it's a passage that I've preached on a number of times. I can't say that I've preached this sermon. I don't ever pull one out and re-preach it. [3:29] But this is a passage that I've preached from a number of times, and always get kind of confusing looks from individuals when I announce my passage. But it is the people which God used. So we have seen the position He holds. [3:42] We've seen the period of time He used. And now we see the people He uses. Our text will be in two places again. So I've asked you to turn with me to the Gospel of Matthew chapter 1. We will also reference Luke chapter 1, verses 5 through 7 and 26 through 28. [3:57] So if you want to make a mark, I'll give you an opportunity to do that before we stand up and we read the text together. So we will be in Matthew chapter 1 and Luke chapter 1. So if you are physically able and desire to do so, would you join with me as we stand together and we read the Word of God. [4:13] And we will start in Matthew chapter 1, verses 1 through 17. And then we will go right to Luke chapter 1, verses 5 through 7 and 26 through 28. The record of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham. [4:29] Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers. Judah was the father of Perez and Zerubatamar. Perez was the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram. [4:42] Ram was the father of Amminadab, Amminadab the father of Nashon, and Nashon the father of Salmon. Assamon was the father of Boaz by Rahab. Boaz was the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse. [4:54] Jesse was the father of David the king, and David was the father of Solomon by Bathsheba, who had been the wife of Uriah. Solomon was the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, Abijah the father of Assam. [5:06] Assamon was the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah. Uzziah was the father of Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Haaz the father of Hezekiah. Hezekiah was the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amon and Amon the father of Josiah. [5:21] Josiah became the father of Jeconiah and his brothers at the time of the deportation to Babylon. After the deportation to Babylon, Jeconiah became the father of Shiltil and Shiltil the father of Zarobabel. Zarobabel was the father of Behud and Behud the father of Elakim and Elakim the father of Assur. [5:37] Assur was the father of Zadok and Zadok the father of Akim and Akim was the father of Eliad. Eliad was the father of Eleazar and Eleazar the father of Methane and Bethan the father of Jacob. [5:48] Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, by whom Jesus was born, who is called the Messiah. So all the generations from Abraham to David are 14 generations, from David to the deportation to Babylon, 14 generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to the Messiah, 14 generations. [6:05] Go with me to Luke chapter 1. Let's pick it up in verse 5. This text we already began to read last week, but we will look at it again. Luke chapter 1, verses 5 through 7 state this. [6:18] In the days of Herod, the king of Judea, there was a priest named Zacharias of the division of Abijah, and he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. [6:29] They were both righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and requirements of the Lord, but they had no child because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both advanced in years. [6:40] Now turn over just a page or two, and let's go to verses 26 through 28. Now in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to the city of Galilee, to the city in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David, and the virgin's name was Mary. [7:02] And coming in, he said to her, Greetings, favored one. The Lord is with you. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for this day. We thank you for your word. [7:14] And Lord, we pray that by the power and presence of your spirit, that you would illuminate your word for our understanding. But Lord, more than our understanding, for our application. May it be for your glory and honor and yours alone, and we ask it all in Christ's name. [7:28] Amen. You may be seated. We are looking this morning at the child that we celebrate around Christmas. And in particular, we're looking at the people that God uses or used to bring this child into the world in which we inhabit. [7:47] We are paying particular attention to the people that surround the event. And there are two genealogies of Christ. We have read one of them. The second genealogy of Christ is found in Luke chapter 3. [8:00] We will not read it for the sake of time this morning. We will allude to it. So if you want to go read it, you can. It would be very becoming of you to read that because it would help illuminate some of the matters which we discussed. But for the sake of time, we won't go through it. [8:12] And also because I understand that there are only a limited number of these names that I could pronounce without my southern drawl getting in the way. Thankfully, the ones that we looked at this morning are all names which we have been looking at on Sunday and Wednesday nights if we're making our way through the book of 2 Kings in particular at this moment. [8:30] But yet we are understanding the people that God uses. One of the most amazing things that we notice in the Christmas story. Paul illuminates it for us or declares it to us when he is making his professional Mars Hill. [8:44] Now, we have already discussed this, but it would do us well to go back and address that because Paul made this declaration that the Lord of all the heavens and the earth, the one who rules it all by day and rules it all by night, the one who controls it all in the palm of his hand, ordains and dictates the times and the seasons and even the places of every individual's birth. [9:06] That is, you are where you are because this is exactly where God wanted you to be. He ordained your family tree. He ordained your place of residence. Some of you say, well, I moved here because it was my decision. [9:19] Well, man plans his way, but God ordains his steps, the word of God declares to us. And there are no such thing as coincidences or random circumstances. Paul says that it is God who dictates and determines where you will live, what time of the seasons you will be born, the time span of your life. [9:40] And if he does that for each and every one of us, and he does, and he does it for all of mankind that has ever existed, and he has, and he will, then most certainly he done it for himself. [9:52] That is, that when he came, when he entered, as Brother Ivan shared with us from the text in Galatians, when the fullness of time came, when he was operating upon the divine timetable, which he himself sets, he came at a particular time. [10:11] And we also ought to pay attention to the people that he came through because he also came through a particular people. So not only do we stand in wonder of the timing of the event, we also stand in wonder of the people which surround the event. [10:27] Now, just so you understand, we will culminate this message with the promise that is attached to his coming, the promise of this child that he brings to us, and we will see that in our Christmas Eve service. [10:38] But for now, we are looking at the people around it. We are looking at the people which God uses and has used in the past because God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. [10:50] So when we pay attention to the people he has used in the past, then it gives us a sure footing for the people he will use in the present. And it will also display for us the people he will use in the future. [11:04] This is why I say that it is very beneficial of us to read Christian biographies and autobiographies, to find those men and women of God that he has used in past generations. [11:16] Because one thing, now, A.W. Tozer is one of my favorite writers. I know he steps outside of the Southern Baptist world. I understand that, but he's one of my favorite authors. A.W. Tozer was not a fan of biographies. [11:29] There are a number of people that were not a fan of biographies. Even though he wrote a number of biographies for every individual, the reason he was not a fan of it, he says, because the biographer always paints a picture that is not completely accurate. [11:41] He said, when you write my biography, D.O. Moody was another one, he said, when you write my biography, be sure to include it warts and all. That's why. And I just happened to have a dear friend of mine who has provided me with so many books not too long ago, brought me this old dusty book, this old hardcover book. [11:58] And now, you don't always give people gifts of dusty things, but this is one, and I was so excited when I looked at it because I knew this book, and I'd wanted this book for years, but I never could find this book. But there it was in front of me, a book that was original, a first printing of 1900, written by William Moody, the son of D.L. Moody, and he had to expedite the biography that he was writing of his father because others were trying to put out biographies as well. [12:22] D.L. Moody was a very popular guy. But William Moody, his son, his dad had told him, don't let anyone else paint too good a picture of me because, by the way, dads, no one knows you better than your son. [12:33] So he wrote this biography, and he told the truth about everything, all the works, all the blemishes, all the failures, but all the glory too because it does us good to really know who God uses in the past. [12:50] Because without it, my friend, we will think that he only uses the perfect. We will not have the confidence to say, here I am, Lord, use me. We will get this false assurance that God can't use us because the enemy longs to stand on our shoulder and whisper in our ears, we have went too far, we have done too much, we have not been faithful and good enough, we have failed in too many respects. [13:14] Surely, God can't use us. All you have to do is turn to Matthew chapter 1 and read the genealogy of Christ. You say, oh, those names are confusing. [13:26] Yes, but those names are attached to people. Those people had past, right? Those people had issues. Those people had failures. Those people had mistakes. Those people's story is recorded for us in great detail, many of them, in the Old Testament. [13:40] So we can go back and we can find the corresponding passages in the Old Testament and we can read the accurate, God-inspired, God-breathed accounts of how God saw these people, yet these are the people that God uses. [13:54] The first thing that I want you to notice about these people is that the requirements are all fulfilled. The prophetic requirements are all fulfilled. [14:05] Not just the prophetic requirements, but the requirements of every one of God's promises are all fulfilled in these people. We see it here because it starts in Matthew chapter 1, verse 1. [14:17] By the way, some Bible historians and people who really study Scripture, not just to get a meaning of it, but we would say that people who really want to know the heart of Scripture think that Matthew was recording the title to his own letter here. [14:31] It is the record of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah. Many people believe that that first verse is the title which Matthew was putting on his gospel. It is the record of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham. [14:46] This should be the fitting title for the remainder of the book. But here in this first verse, we see that the requirements of every Old Testament promise and prophecy is fulfilled in Jesus Christ. [15:00] As a matter of fact, what we have here is a verse that reflects. Now, it should not surprise you if you have been with me for any amount of time and you have heard me preach at any amount of time, this should not be a surprise to you because if you want to get to the beginning of all matters in Scripture, where do you go? [15:16] Genesis, right? Because Genesis is the beginning. And Genesis introduces for us every problem of man found in the first 11 chapters and then the answer to the problem of man found in Genesis 12 and following until we get to the end of Scripture. [15:29] Genesis chapter 5, verse 1. Genesis chapter 5 says, this is the record of the genealogies of man. What is Matthew doing? [15:40] Matthew is paralleling the genealogy of Christ with the genealogy found in Matthew chapter 5. The wording is exactly the same. This is the record of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah. [15:54] Go to Matthew chapter 1. This is the record of the generations of man. Now, Matthew chapter what? Matthew chapter 1 and Genesis chapter what? Genesis chapter 5. [16:04] Now, Genesis chapter 5 ought to cause your ears to perk up just a little bit. You ought to pay attention to that. Why? Because something happens before Genesis chapter 5. Do you remember what it was? [16:16] Well, there was the fall of man, right? You remember that? There is the condemnation of man in Genesis chapter 3 and the introduction of death into the life of mankind. And then we have Genesis chapter 4. [16:28] Genesis chapter 4. This isn't the generations just of man because there are two people born before Genesis chapter 5. Cain and Abel, to be specific. And in Genesis chapter 4, we have Cain and Abel, the murder there that is introduced to the very first account in Scripture. [16:45] We have what looks like the enemy thwarting the plans of God. But then in Genesis chapter 5, verse 1, we are introduced to the generations of man. [16:57] There is no mentioning of Cain. There is no discussion of Abel because Abel is no more. The blood of Abel cries out, but Abel is not mentioned there. There is no mentioning of Cain, but rather it is the introduction of Seth. [17:10] And then we follow that generation there from Genesis 5, 1, where Seth is born until we get to Noah. And Noah, it says, was born, and the father made a great declaration of Noah. [17:23] This one, pay attention to this, Genesis 5, when Noah is born, his father names him Noah because he said this one shall bring rest to his people. Now, you need to understand, when a New Testament author is being moved by the Lord to quote an Old Testament reference, they are quoting everything in connection to that. [17:43] So, now I know I'm giving you a lot to think about, but you look like you're ready to think this morning, okay? It's good. It's very comfortable for you. I'm wearing one of my soul colors this morning. I'm wearing gold. I had the opportunity, I always get to wear gold. [17:55] So, you have to give me extra time because I'm wearing gold. You know if I wear gold or purple, you just, when you walk in, just put your clocks aside. It takes a little bit longer. I'm sorry. It's just part of it. But anyway, we go a little bit further. [18:06] So, we get into it. So, in Genesis 5, 1, we have the generations of man that lead us to the one who will bring us peace. And then when we turn into Matthew chapter 1, we have the record of the genealogy of Jesus. [18:20] And it ends not with Noah, but with Jesus, who, by the way, is the one who brings us peace. For he shall be called the Prince of Peace, the Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God. [18:37] Not only do we have this requirement fulfilled, but what does it say? It says it is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham. [18:50] The Son of David, the Son of Abraham. Because all of the Old Testament is wrapped up in two very critical covenants entered into with man by God. [19:02] And they are unconditional covenants. Now, there are a number of conditional covenants. You don't go to Mount Sinai, and you found the covenant of the law will require, and we don't see this as being an unconditional covenant. [19:14] When you see the covenant of the law at Mount Sinai, God says what? I will be your God, and you will be my people if you follow me and obey me and keep my standards. Right? That's a condition. [19:25] There is a condition attached to the law. We are all held bondage under the law. Remember? By the way, Brother Ivan, that's a great passage to read this morning. There is definitely never no connection between the two of us, but I'm so thankful that he read in Galatians where he says we are held in bondage under the law until the fullness of time so that we can be delivered from the law, and we can become children of God by the spirit and power of adoption. [19:48] But what we find at Mount Sinai is a covenant that is attached to a stipulation. If you will be my people, if you obey me, if you will do these things. But there are two unconditional covenants in the Old Testament. [20:02] There is what we refer to as the Abrahamic covenant, the covenant with Abraham. You remember that God called Abram out of the land of the Ur of the Chaldeans, Genesis chapter 12, verse 1 and following, and he is now going to solve the problem of man that had been introduced into the first 11 chapters of the Bible, and he does it by calling a man. [20:22] We fast forward a little bit longer, and we go on, and God enters into a covenant now with Abraham, and he enters into that covenant. You may remember. You might not remember. It's kind of an odd scene. Abraham takes these animals. [20:34] He splits them in two. He cuts them in half, and he lays them, and he spends his day running the vultures away from these animals. He gets so tired because the vultures keep coming down because, I mean, it's fresh blood. He has the animals split in two, and they're there. [20:45] You need to understand that in that time to make a covenant with someone, you would take animals, kill them, cut them in half, and the two of you would walk back and forth between the animals. Today, I'm so glad we just shake hands. I don't know, but that's what you would do. [20:56] You would walk back and forth between the dead animals, and you'd say, based upon the blood of these animals, we have entered into a covenant with one another, but the emphasis is on the two of you would walk back and forth. [21:06] You would pass one another. Abraham gets so tired because he's running these vultures off all day long. He falls asleep. When he wakes up, he sees something as a fiery furnace going back and forth between the animals. [21:19] So what you notice, Abraham never walked back and forth, and God enters into a covenant with Abraham. That's Abraham's covenant, and he enters into this covenant, but there's nothing that Abraham does, and, my friend, there is no condition attached to it. [21:33] God says, I will raise up your seed, singular, and your seed will be a blessing to the nations. Abraham, you have nothing to do with it, but your seed will be a blessing to the nations. [21:44] Fast forward several hundred years, and we get to David. David wants to build a house for the Lord. He wants to build a temple. He wants to do it, and God says, okay, or the seer comes to him and says, yes, the prophet says, okay, go ahead, do it. [21:56] Everything's on your heart. The prophet goes home. God speaks to the prophet, goes back to David. He says, David says, oh, you can't build the temple yet. You're a man of bloodshed. Your son will build the temple. That's another story. We won't get to that one quite yet, but he says this, but God has promised to give you an enduring house. [22:12] Notice the Davidic covenant. There is no requirement attached to David's behavior. God will give you an enduring reign. God will set your seed singular. [22:25] Friend, listen to me. We don't have the time. I wish we could, but if we chased it all through scripture, what you'll find is a single seed, one who must fulfill the covenant of the Abrahamic promise, and one who must fulfill the covenant of the Davidic promise. [22:40] And guess who that seed is? It is the genealogy of Jesus, the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham. He fulfills every requirement. [22:53] I'm not going to take you back through it, but he meets every physical need. But I've told you this before. I'll mention it here. Some of you say, oh, but by the time we get to the end, about midway through this genealogy, the covenant is broken because we meet a man named Jeconiah. [23:10] Jeconiah is mentioned twice. As a matter of fact, he's counted twice. This is how the author gets his rendering of 14 generations to the Babylonian captivity, 14 after the Babylonian captivity, 14 to the birth of Christ. [23:21] He counts this man Jeconiah twice. Jeconiah, if you go read your Old Testament, is also referred to as Coniah, the same individual. He is such a wicked king that God ordains that no descendant of Jeconiah will ever sit up on the throne of David. [23:36] And so now, all of a sudden, we have a quandary or a problem because Jesus is the descendant of Jeconiah, apparently. But he's not because it is Joseph who is the descendant of Jeconiah. [23:47] According to the legal stature, it had to be a descendant of Jeconiah, but according to the spiritual promise, it could not be. Jesus fulfills the legalities of it because of his adoptive father, Joseph. Just in case you think God chose Joseph at random, he did not. [24:03] And just in case you think he chose Mary at random, he did not. Because when you get to Luke chapter 3, I did not take you there. Mary also is a descendant of David. And Jesus is not the seed of a man, but the seed of a woman. [24:14] Remember Genesis chapter 3, right? And he is the seed of Mary. And Mary's lineage is traced back to David, not through Jeconiah, but through a whole other lineage because it doesn't even go through Solomon. [24:27] It goes through Nathan. That one man who is mentioned one time when David moves into Jerusalem, he has other sons and daughters and Nathan's one of them. It's the only other time he's mentioned in Scripture. Why is he mentioned? [24:38] Because we chase the genealogy. Jesus fulfills every requirement. Every requirement. Number two. Not only are the requirements all fulfilled, we see the reach of the Messiah is revealed. [24:53] The reach of the Messiah is revealed. The Jewish people had an anticipation and a hope for the coming of the Messiah. If we were to read in Luke chapter 2, by the time Mary and Joseph bring their child into the temple, you will encounter two individuals who are awaiting the consolation of Israel, Simeon and Anna. [25:13] Both of them aged individuals. Simeon, who has been waiting, and the Lord had told him by the power and presence of the Holy Spirit that he would not die until he saw the Messiah. And Anna, who had spent so long and had not left the temple since the death of her husband, and was living, literally, in the temple precincts. [25:28] It was there. And it says that when she saw him, she made known to all those who were waiting the coming of the Messiah. So what we find are there are a number of Jewish individuals who are looking for this coming Messiah. [25:41] There are those, surely, who had studied the Scripture, seen the Scripture, and were broken by the Scripture and prepared by the Scripture. Though God had been silent for over 400 years, the Word of God was still speaking of a day when the Messiah would come. [25:55] But not many of them could ever fathom the reach of the Messiah. Because most of the anticipation was for a Jewish Messiah to deliver the Jewish people from the Roman suppression. [26:09] It would be the hope and the anticipation that they would be set free from that which held them and that they would once again become the world's superpowers that they were under the reins of David and Solomon. But yet, in the genealogy of Christ, we see the reach being revealed. [26:25] The Gentiles, which unless you are of Jewish descent, that is you and I, were never a second thought or an afterthought in the wording of God. [26:36] As a matter of fact, we are told that in Abraham, the seed will be a blessing to all nations. We are told throughout the prophets that the coming Messiah would be a blessing to all nations, that the light would shine in the darkness of the Gentile region, that it would be one that the world would be drawn to, that this seed who would arise out of the stump of Israel would draw the world to worship him and adore him. [27:01] Every one of the prophets who spoke of the reality of the coming king spoke of a king who would draw the world to them. And look at the genealogy of Christ. Matthew includes five women in his genealogy. [27:14] Now I know I've shared this with you before but it's even more striking in the reality that Matthew is a Jewish individual writing to the Jewish nation. It is the most Jewish gospel account we have. [27:28] So he is a Jew writing to Jews. He is a Jew which I think is pretty amazing that God chooses Matthew to write to his own people because he was a Jew that was ostracized by his own people because if you remember he was also known as Levi and he was found at the tax collector's booth so he had betrayed his own people and was gaining wealth from his own people by cooperating with the Roman government but when Christ met him and called him and redeemed him and then used him he sent him back to the very people that hated him. [27:56] Right? And he is the one who wrote this gospel to the Jewish nation. And again we say this with all respect and no offense to you whatsoever ladies in the world of the Jewish men the heritage of the women mattered little. [28:11] It was a very male dominant society. They were very patriarchal. Every lineage every promise was connected to who the men were. We would maybe assume that we could find this lineage or this genealogy with women included in the gospel of Luke because Luke is a physician who is writing to a gentleman who is in the courts of the Roman Empire so with the Roman Empire it might have been a little bit more acceptable. [28:37] But there when we go to Luke chapter 3 we find no women mentioned. So when we turn to Matthew chapter 1 and all of a sudden five women are mentioned and it is the most unlikely of people who would ever mention women he mentions five women we stand up and we take notice. [28:52] And then we start paying attention to the women that he does mention. Because there are a lot of women throughout scripture. And in the generations that are chosen surely there are better mamas and better ladies than some of these. [29:06] But yet we pay attention to them because we would have a tendency to cast them off because of how they were described and how they were met. The first woman that we meet is Tamar. [29:18] And Tamar, Judah was the father of Perez and Zerubbite. Tamar. Now you remember Tamar that was the one that was given to Wed one of Judah's sons and that son died. So she was given to the next son and that son died. [29:30] And Judah said this woman's got the kiss of death. I don't want all my sons to die. So he cast her off and he says okay well go ahead and I'll give you a son later. And she has now left and she's forsaken. One day she decides that she's going to disguise herself as a prostitute and she's sitting at the city and Judah comes in. [29:45] Judah is tending his sheep. He sees who he thinks is a prostitute and he takes and he pays the price and he lies with his own ex-daughter-in-law. Here is Tamar who becomes pregnant by Judah. [29:57] Sends the staff and the cord to him and says one whose staff and cord this is is the father of my child and he says oh that's me. She's more righteous than I and yet this is the lineage. [30:08] We would never pick that. If I asked you to describe your family to me I'm sure there are some you would live out. That would probably be one of them right? I mean who wants to talk about that? There was this man in my family that you know one time met his daughter-in-law didn't know who she was and thought she was a prostitute. [30:24] You would never bring that up to me but yet God puts it here as the very first woman we meet Tamar because she knew there was a promise that had not been fulfilled but then the very next woman we meet we go down Solomon was the father of Boaz by Rahab. [30:41] You know how Rahab is described everywhere else in scripture. It is Rahab I don't even have to tell you you already know it Rahab the harlot Rahab the harlot she who hid the spies when they came to Jericho Rahab the harlot she had a house on the wall because that was a great place of access nobody thought much of men going in and out of her house and that's why the spies were there but it was Rahab the harlot now you wouldn't include her either I bet because she's got a past there's Tamar there's Rahab we should not be surprised that Boaz who is the son of Rahab takes on the third lady and that is Ruth you say well there's nothing wrong with Ruth well there's nothing wrong with Ruth except for the fact that she's from Moab and in Moab she was worshipping false gods she was a product of her culture which was a paganistic culture that was the seat of false idolatry you say but Ruth is righteous no righteousness is imputed to her through Boaz so now all of a sudden we have one who pretended to be a prostitute one who was known to be a prostitute and one who came from a paganistic idolatrous nation we're doing pretty good so far in our listing of women and then we meet [31:57] Bathsheba the wife of Uriah you say well it wasn't Bathsheba's fault it was David no if you read the scripture accurately they both had a part the old saying is it takes two to tango okay let's just be honest with it they both had a part in there and they both did it it is the same implication that we find when they bring the woman that was caught in the very act of adultery and they brought her to Jesus and said what does the scripture say about this some of you haven't paid much attention to that because you want to answer the question where is the man because how do you catch a woman in the act of adultery and there not being a man present and scripture said that the man and the woman should both be stoned more than likely the man was a Pharisee wait a minute that just shook some of your world there they were out to catch Jesus and they were blaming her don't blame David for what Bathsheba was doing too is David innocent no but so was Bathsheba she was just as guilty so now all of a sudden we have met one who pretended to be a harlot one that was a harlot one that came from a paganistic idolatrous nation and one that tempted the king and then finally we meet Mary now Mary we don't have much to say about because scripture doesn't say much about her either but she was just a young child we'll get to Mary in just a moment friend listen to me in case you think you've went too far look at the reach of the Messiah because connected with each one of these women are also men just in case you think you got away with it men that messed up look at the reach of the Messiah and not only that not only can he overcome our problems we'll fulfill that in just a moment we also see [33:46] Jews and Gentiles those who were raised in homes of what we would refer to as godliness and those who were raised in the most ungodly of societies each and every one of them side by side in the lineage of the Savior these are the people that he came he used he came through because he can reach them he is a Savior for all people of all circumstances of all places and he proved it by coming through them number three not only do we see the requirements fulfilled the reach of the Messiah number three the redemption of past failures that are displayed we don't have to dig into this one very far but we see redemption of past failures we can talk about these stories because they're recorded for us in scripture how Judah really messed up he is a lion from the tribe of Judah Judah is the largest of the clans of all of Israel but yet the man Judah himself greatly messed up with Tamar [34:47] David his mess up with Bathsheba and by the way two of David's biggest sins are used of God in the greatest of ways right his sin with Bathsheba brings Solomon and his sin with Bathsheba leads to the lineage here of Joseph and also his sin of counting the people led to the purchasing of the property in which they would build the temple it is amazing how God redeems the mistakes and the failures of man we can go through the list over and over and over again and we can see each one of these people that are flawed with their imperfections they stumble they mess up they fall but yet God redeems them why because from the very beginning go back to Genesis 5 1 the reason we have the introduction of a new generation is because the enemy is always out to try to disrupt to distort and to thwart the plans of God if the generations had concluded from Matthew or Genesis chapter 4 then we would not have had the introduction of Seth into Genesis chapter 5 but yet with Cain and Abel the enemy was out prowling around seeing who he could use and he found a willing subject in Cain and the enemy is out to try to distort the plans of God because before the foundations of the world were lain [35:58] God had a plan for the redemption of man he declared that plan in the proto-evangelium in Genesis chapter 3 verse 15 where the seed of a woman would crush the head of the serpent so the serpent said I know what I'll do I'll take care of the seed of a woman I'll get Cain to kill his brother Abel and they'll be distorted and they'll be outcast but he forgot that the generations would start over with Seth right and then Seth would bring Noah and Noah would lead to the redemption in the days of Noah the sons of God saw the daughters of men we don't have to get into Genesis chapter 6 but yet there's the redemption God looked to and fro and who he found was Noah and there's the preservation of the seed through Noah read your old testament my friend though the enemy wreaks havoc God's purposes and plans continue to move forward God redeems what he intends for evil the enemy is working in the lives of people trying to distort what God is doing and it does not mean these people are righteous but the plan of God is righteous he redeems it he uses it and he utilizes it for his glory because if he can use these people my friends then he can use you and if he can redeem the mistakes of these people then he can redeem the mistakes of each and every one of us we are astounded at the redemption of past failures that are displayed throughout all of scripture the enemy may have had his way for a moment but the plans and purposes of God continue forward why? [37:22] because to redeem something means to buy it back and to use it for a holy purpose oh David sinned greatly but the sin is redeemed each and every one of these individuals we find here they fall they falter they stumble and at times they go face forward in their sin but God buys it back for his glory it is not for the glory when you read this listing of men if you ever want to put anything on a pedestal all you have to do is go back and read the accounts of their lives found in the Old Testament that's why they're included there don't put any of these people on a pedestal don't exalt them but exalt the God who uses them because the emphasis is on the people God used he redeemed it fourth and finally and now we'll look at Luke we could have a whole other message here but we're not going to fourth and finally we see the reception of grace that is needed for usefulness the reception of grace that is needed for usefulness this reiterates what we just stated none of these people are used or utilized because of their own merit we meet [38:39] Zacharias and Elizabeth Zacharias his name by the way literally means Yahweh remembers his name is Yahweh remembers but Zacharias forgot because he's standing before the altar of incense and he's burning incense which was to be a display a physical visible display of the prayers of the people of Israel ascending to the throne of God and when the angel Gabriel shows up the angel Gabriel says your prayers have been answered what does Zacharias say I don't believe it how can it be so he is literally standing in something to remind him that his prayers are heard but yet he can't do it but Yahweh remembers and we find Zacharias and Elizabeth it tells us in verse 6 of Luke chapter 1 they were both righteous in the sight of God and I had a temptation I don't mind being honest with you I had a temptation to write this point out as the reward of the faithful but I have a problem with that because when I studied a little bit further and I thought on a little bit further and I let the Lord speak to me a little bit further it was not a reward of the faithful because their own righteousness couldn't fix their problem because they were righteous and blameless but she was childless see she was barren and their own righteousness couldn't even fix the problem of her barrenness you say well that's not a problem maybe they didn't need children no they desperately wanted children we understand that they had been praying for children we know this because this is what the angel [40:10] Gabriel says your prayers have been answered they have been petitioning the Lord for children for years but their own righteousness couldn't fix their physical problem so we cannot say that God uses them as a reward for their faithfulness because it is clearly just a display of his grace and mercy that he even uses them to begin with their righteousness couldn't fix the temporary problem how could it fix their eternal problem and yet here we see that Lord uses them to bring the forerunner that was spoken of in Malachi chapter 4 and he's going to use them to display his grace he stood Zacharias and Elizabeth stood in need of grace he needed God to move where he could not move if the forerunner was to come through his seed and it was if the forerunner was ordained to come through his wife Elizabeth and it was if the forerunner was to be a descendant of Zacharias and it was because we read it in our scripture then it could not be Zacharias and Elizabeth who done it it had to be based upon the grace of God alone and yet we see God moves and then we go to Mary and oh how we want to exalt Mary we have we want to give her her due position we want to be careful we want to understand that some exalt [41:25] Mary to the point of idolatry but we don't want to do that but we need to stay here it says now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph of the descendants of David and the virgin's name was Mary look at what it says in verse 28 and in coming in he said to her greetings favored one the Lord is with you somebody say oh see right there she is a favored one Mary is described as one having favor right but so are you Ephesians chapter one verse six says that you are the beloved it is the same wording by the way he says you are the favored ones do you understand that and in Christ friend listen look at your neighbor and say that in Christ I am favored you are you don't want to say it because it makes you uncomfortable right you are the favored ones but you are favored because the grace has been bestowed on you read the rest of the verse greetings favored one why was Mary favored for the Lord is with you do you see it for the [42:29] Lord is with you it was the presence of the Lord that brought the favor upon Mary the Lord didn't show up because she was a favored individual the favor came when the Lord came she became favored when the Lord showed up in her life it tells us in Ephesians chapter one verse six that you are the beloved and you are favored when the Lord betrothed that favor upon you it is that you are a recipient of grace you are receiving the grace of God found in Jesus Christ Mary's favor is there because she receives the grace of God by the presence of God in the indwelling spirit of God so that the child of God may be born through her it is the reception of grace for usefulness so let's wrap it all up and I'll be done how do you become one of those people on the list that God uses just like everyone else you stand in desperate need of his grace to be used for his glory and you say father here am [43:37] I do with me what you see fit I am in need of your grace I have messed up I have fallen short at times woefully short I have failed miserably but my failures do not change your plans so father here I am I surrender to you in need of your grace so that your glory may be displayed by my usefulness may we be people who are not only reminded of the grace that we need but display a usefulness of God so that he can be glorified God gets the greatest glory when he uses the most unlikely of instruments and friend when he called a man named Billy Joe who grew up in Bellbuckle and moved to Wartrace I was just as surprised as you and I say to God be the glory I need his grace each and every day let's pray father we thank you so much we thank you that your word is full of imperfect people so that it may show us the perfection of our savior we thank you that you come in the most unlikely of ways through the most unlikely of people because that is where we find ourselves and we stand in need of that grace each and every day and we say here we are may you be glorified what you do through us we ask it all in [45:04] Christ's name amen and we Thank you. [45:44] Thank you. [46:14] Thank you. [46:44] Thank you. [47:14] Thank you. [47:44] Thank you. [48:14] Thank you.