Lessons from the Lineage of Christ!

Base Text

Matthew 1:1–17 “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham: Abraham begot Isaac, Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot Judah and his brothers. Judah begot Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez begot Hezron, and Hezron begot Ram. Ram begot Amminadab, Amminadab begot Nahshon, and Nahshon begot Salmon. Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab, Boaz begot Obed by Ruth, Obed begot Jesse, and Jesse begot David the king. David the king begot Solomon by her who had been the wife of Uriah. Solomon begot Rehoboam, Rehoboam begot Abijah, and Abijah begot Asa. Asa begot Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat begot Joram, and Joram begot Uzziah. Uzziah begot Jotham, Jotham begot Ahaz, and Ahaz begot Hezekiah. Hezekiah begot Manasseh, Manasseh begot Amon, and Amon begot Josiah. Josiah begot Jeconiah and his brothers about the time they were carried away to Babylon. And after they were brought to Babylon, Jeconiah begot Shealtiel, and Shealtiel begot Zerubbabel. Zerubbabel begot Abiud, Abiud begot Eliakim, and Eliakim begot Azor. Azor begot Zadok, Zadok begot Achim, and Achim begot Eliud. Eliud begot Eleazar, Eleazar begot Matthan, and Matthan begot Jacob. And Jacob begot Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus who is called Christ. So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations, from David until the captivity in Babylon are fourteen generations, and from the captivity in Babylon until the Christ are fourteen generations.”

Introduction

Background

The thing about genealogies is that they show the faithfulness of God! As we look throughout these names in this passage of scripture, it shows how God was faithful in keeping His promise.

If you look through your own family line, you’ll see just how good God has been to you!

As we move toward the birth of Christ, we look throughout his ancestry and we see how God, who is sovereign and in control of all things, carefully guided

Point #1 They Were Flawed!

Scripture Reference to Point #1

Bullets

There was once a time where I struggled to read this chapter in the book of Matthew because I couldn’t get past all the names, but now I read it faithfully because now I look at the text differently. Now that I have matured just a little bit in Christ, this text speaks to me differently, and what this text tells me is that I don’t have to be perfect in order to be used by God!

One thing we take away from this text is that every single one of these names listed in verses 2-16 are in the family line that would be the ancestors to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Every single person was used by God to fulfill His promise and Divine will in the earth! But what I want you to understand is that even though these people would be used by God to carry out God’s greatest gift and blessing to mankind, they were still men and women who had flaws!

Yes that is a lesson that it is in the text! I know we may look at it and just see a bunch of names, but every single name mentioned represents an imperfect individual in the plan of a perfect God!

Everyone of these people had flaws, they were all imperfect people who had a Perfect God orchestrating their life! He was using every mistake, every test, every trial, every good quality and every bad quality, God was using it all for His glory!!!

A young man once lamented to his friends, 'I wish I could be as perfect as the people in my church.' His friends laughed and reminded him that even the best of us have our flaws! Perfection isn't a prerequisite for following Christ as even He chose imperfect disciples to spread His message. Here’s the wonderful truth: God specializes in using broken vessels to showcase His glory!

{You ought to touch your neighbor and say neighbor, you may be broken but God can still use you!}

There’s a humorous saying, 'God doesn’t call the equipped, He equips the called.' Look at Jonah—he tried to run away but ended up in the belly of a fish! God works through our imperfections and hesitations, shaping us along the way. Just like Jonah was given a second chance, we too are continually welcomed back into God’s rhythm, reminding us that our flaws don’t disqualify us, but rather keep us connected to Him.

It is when we understand how flawed we are that we realize how much we need God! And you got to know that it is in your imperfections that God shows Himself perfect! It is in your weaknesses, that God proves Himself to be strong!

David as well all know, was a flawed individual!

I know you think you’re all that in a bag of chips! Well guess what? A bag of chips ain’t even all that because now they got more air then they got chips! But even though the bag of chips is imperfect with a lot of air, in any case, the bottom line is there’s still something good in it! And despite your imperfections, there’s still something within you that when God looks at you, He says, “I can use that!”

There are some folks who might write you off because of your flaws, because of your imperfections, but God says come to me just as you are! Flaws in all! Why because God is able to look past that and see the greatness that He has placed on the inside of you!

I love when the preacher and song writer Marvin Sapp said “He saw the best in me when everyone else around you could only see the worst in me!

I might not be perfect, but I love the Lord and I know the Lord loves me! I might can’t quote every scripture like you can, but I love the Lord, and I know the Lord loves me! I might not always make the right decisions, but I love the Lord and I know the Lord loves me!

Point #2 They Were Willing!

Scripture Reference to Point #2

Bullets

Oh they might have been flawed, but what enabled these men and women to be used by God is the fact they despite their insufficiencies, they were willing!

God doesn’t need perfect people to accomplish His will, He’s just looking for some folks who will be willing to be used!

Ruth was a foreigner and when she lost her husband, instead of returning to her own country, she was willing to remain with her mother-in-law Naomi, and she told Naomi that your God is my God!

Think about how God called Moses—a man with a speech impediment—to lead His people out of Egypt. Instead of a flawless orator, He chose an imperfect person, beautifully demonstrating that it’s not our perfection that qualifies us, but our willingness to be used. Next time you feel inadequate, remember that Moses was still able to part the Red Sea! God can use us just as we are, messiness and all.

Rahab was a prostitute! But yet she was willing to hide two men who had come into the city to spy out the city for attack and the Bible lets us know that she did it because she feared God! Regardless of her chosen lifestyle, in that moment God was able to use her to accomplish His will!

God can use imperfect people, in an imperfect situation, to accomplish and carryout His perfect plan!

And please understand brothers and sisters, that perfection is the mark we all strive for! By no means is this message intended to make you think you can live anyway you want to live and God will be ok with it! Holiness is still what God requires! He said present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God which is your reasonable service!

Imagine a sports team filled with players who made major mistakes—dropping balls, missing shots—but one day they finally clicked. They went on to win the championship! In the same way, God's team is often made up of those who have messed up but are ready to try again. Like the characters in the Bible—from David to Peter—God uses our adventures, including the blunders, to shape our journey and purpose in His amazing story!

Point #3 They Were Chosen!

Scripture Reference to Point #3

Bullets

And so not only were they flawed, and not only were they willing to be used by God, but they were chosen to be used by God!

And I got to tell you, be prepared, because when you’re chosen by God, your life won’t always make sense to everybody else! When you’re chosen by God, there will be some folks who simply can’t understand why it’s you and not them!

When you’re chosen by God, God’s favor follows you! And the favor of God can show up in your life in a variety of ways, some of which you can’t even explain!

Conclusion and Challenge