Sermon Tone Analysis

Thank all that worked hard for the Christmas Program that we enjoyed this morning.

Thank you James Wilson, praise team and musicians for the many hours of practice that you put in to make today excellent.

Thank you Leasa Mace and all of our Sunday School team for your help at making sure the kids new the songs.

Thank you to the parents for making sure your children were here for practices

Thank you to James Simpkins and those that helped with the props for the program.

Through the week there have been various festivities and celebrations organized by our leadership teams…thank you to Trey and Michelle Henderson for what appeared to be a great Christmas party for our young adults and to Erick and Karla Sanchez for the great food and fellowship last night for Esperanza Viva.

Today I want to continue in the 3rd week of our series that will conclude next Sunday.

The series has been preached from the first 17 verses of the book of Matthew in which the writer Matthew records the lineage from Abraham to Messiah.

Getting to Messiah

The reason that Matthew began his account of the Gospel, with the lineage of Jesus Christ reflects on this purpose for writing the Gospel.

Of the 4 Gospels, Matthews account was directed to the Jewish people of his day.

As such, the first priority had to be to establish that Jesus fulfilled the legal requirements as Messiah.

This could only be established by tracing his lineage as the offspring of both Abraham and of David.

As we established in the first week, when one is intending to establish someone as royalty and of noble blood, they usually choose to include the good names and leave out the bad.

It is not uncommon in ancient times, for scribes to embellish and exaggerate a bloodline in an effort to enhance the standing of a dignitary.

Yet, as we have discovered the last two weeks, the bloodline of Jesus is more than just a list of “begats”… within the generations of Jesus, we find interwoven, the very message of the Gospel.

Week one of the series, we looked at the lineage of Jesus and asked the question “who let you in”.

Listed in the lineage of Jesus were names that under cultural norms, never would have been included.

4 women of poor reputation.

Tamar, Rahab, Ruth and Bethsheba.

Just their identity as women was reason enough to exclude them from being listed in the lineage.

Yet, Matthews’ inclusion of these women in the blood line of the King of Glory heralds a very clear message.

Even in his blood line, Jesus wasn’t interested in hiding the mess.

It is the core of the Gospel…your future doesn’t have to be controlled by your past.

Your mess doesn’t scare the messiah!

Last week, we looked at three more names…this time names that should have been included, but were instead excluded.

Where is your name Yet, just as clearly intentional as it was to include the 4 women, is the exclusion of these 3 kings.

Their blood was royal, their relationships noble…yet in Matthew chapter 1 verse 8, the bible says that Joram begat Uzziah…3 generations of kings omitted from the ancestry of Jesus.

Without re preaching an entire sermon from last week, I will just summarize by saying that it apparent that the common quality that excluded Kings Ahaziah, Joash and Amaziah from the ancestry of messiah was their relationship.

Joram had married Atheliah, the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel, wicked and Godless leaders of Israel that the bible says of Ahab "he did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel that were before him.”

Joash

These kings followed in the path of wickedness that had been established by Ahab and Jezebel...

and Joash’s son was Amaziah

‘today…and I am going to keep it very brief and very to the point…but as we see the message of the Gospel preached through the lineage of Jesus…if we would focus our attention to the final group of names listed.

A group of names that begins in Matthew chapter 1 vs. 11 with King Jeconiah and concludes with Joseph, the adoptive father of Jesus.

From this final Group, I want to preach this morning for a few moments…Grammatically incorrect, but Biblically correct “It ain’t over”.

There are several factors that stand out about this final category of 14 generations that bring us to the birth of Jesus.

First of all, if the list of names appears to be obscure and unfamiliar…don’t fret…even to the most studied bible scholar names like Abiud (uh-bye-ud), Azor and Alium would appear to be unfamiliar.

that is because beginning with Abiud, the offspring of Zerubbabel, and ending with Jacob, the father of Joseph, these men are found in this instance and only this instance in the bible.

While there are a few whose names may be familiar…these particular person appear in no other instance within the Scriptures.

The previous archives of the ancestry of Messiah are filled with distinguished and illustrious household names…but not among this group.

There are no David-like giant killers listed in this final group.

No Solomoneque Kings renown for wisdom.

No Abrahamic fathers of nations,

nor men like Jacob who wrestled with God and prevailed.

No redemptive stories like that of Tamar, Rahab, Ruth or Bethsheba…absolutely Nothing…

Not one name has been mentioned before and none of their names will be mentioned again after.

If Tamar, Rahab, Ruth and Bethsheba were the group that would be uninvited…then this group would simply be the unheard of.

The Group of insignificance

Perhaps the greatest work of the adversary that is out overthrow and overwhelm the purpose, the plan and the Perfect Will of God, is the swamp of insignificance.

Working to paralyze purpose and destiny by convincing people that they are unimportant, unwanted, unneeded, unloved, undesirable, unqualified, undeserving and unappreciated.

That they don’t matter and they have nothing to offer!

I would present today that the growth of the Kingdom of God is prevented when insignificance is promoted.

The purpose and the plan of God through you is limited if the enemy can convince you that your contribution doesn’t make a difference.

If the enemy can convince you that your praise is inconsequential.

That your prayers are pointless

That your prayers don’t change things

that wether you attend church or don’t is really a trivial and unimportant matter.

that wether you attend church or don’t is really a trivial and unimportant matter.

that your connection to the body of Christ doesn’t impact your eternity

that your connection to the body of Christ doesn’t impact your eternity

If the adversary can convince you that your talents and abilities are meaningless...

From Jechoniah to Joseph…the unfamiliar and unimportant!

Since the devil likes to hang out in the land of “un”…I’ve got an un for him today

Since the devil likes to hang out in the land of “un”…I’ve got an un for him today

You are not unimportant, unwanted, unneeded and you’re certainly not unloved!

While it would make sense for a scribe to embelish and exaggerate by listing only those of royalty and renown, the Almighty God moved upon Matthew to include the insignificant.

You can’t get to Messiah without making your way through a list of names you’ve never heard of!

You’ll never get to Immanuel without the journey through insignificance.

Week 1 I told you that you belong here...

Week 3 I’m telling you that we need you!

You matter!

2. There is more to this list of names that simply their obscurity …but the significance that we see in their story is established by the preface of their names.

It is their in vs. 11

Historically, we understand that this was and even still to this day is, a dark blot on the history of the descendants of Abraham.

Because of their continued disobedience and continued turning away from God, God allowed them to be taken carried away as captives in Babylon.

Bible historians and theologians tell us that as we follow the lineage from Abraham to Christ, there are two major transitions.

The first would be when David rises to the throne of Isreal.

This is the apex of the heritage.

Things are looking really good.

We go from father Abraham traveling as a stranger, looking for a city whose builder and maker was God.

The bible says that He died in faith…not having received the promises.

But now…the family tree has arrived!

We’re moving on up...

We’re like the Jeffersons...Movin on up To the east side....We finally got a piece of the pie.

Well we're movin on up,

To the east side.

To a deluxe apartment in the sky.

Movin on up

To the east side.

We finally got a piece of the pie.

David is on the throne…talk about an upgrade…its like going from the Clampits…the beverly hill billy’s to the Royal family!

Now that we are kings…we are set up and positioned for the birth of a messiah....it all makes sense now!

But then comes the second transition…After 14 generations of nobility and royalty...here comes Babylon!

And as uplifting and powerful as the rise of David was for the promise of Messiah…equally as devastating and tragic is their bondage in Babylon.

The monarchy was destroyed and the remnant of a once powerful and proud nation is brought to Babylon.

It looks like its over.

Hopes shattered, dreams dashed.

Not since Abraham celebrated his 99th birthday with no promised son being born, has the promise of a righteous seed, appeared to be so improbable?

How do you get fromBabylon to isaiahs prophecy of a child that would be born, and a son would be given…and