Don't forget who you are! (Matthew 1.12-17)
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And after the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Salathiel, and Salathiel the father of Zerubbabel,
and Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, and Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor,
and Azor the father of Zadok, and Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud,
and Eliud the father of Eleazar, and Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob,
and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called the Messiah.
So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David to the deportation to Babylon, fourteen generations; and from the deportation to Babylon to the Messiah, fourteen generations.
Intro:
This week I want to join Dr. Tony Evan’s discussion concerning “Reversing Generational consquences”
Have you ever felt like you had been dealt a bad hand?
and.....
.......the reason you had the disadvantages in life was because of the family that you were apart of......
.......that there were negative generational outcomes that you had no control over...
Stuff like.......
“My mother or my father was like this, so this is just the way I am!”
or.....
“Everybody in my family behaves like this, so I don’t expect anything better to come out of my life”
(pause)
Well...
Dr. Evans shares in his book that we have been reading on Tuesday nights at 7pm entitled U-turns that,
These negative consequences that are passed down generationally are connected to.......
......what he calls spiritual DNA
And he argues that these generational patterns of sinful behaviors, strongholds, trauma based wounds, scars, fears, and doubts are passed down the family line.....
(pause)
And then......
.....he also suggests in this chapter that,
....We have a choice to think, believe, do, and be different.
Meaning........
.........even though something is being passed down,
.....we can decide if we want to take it or not!!
(pause)
And.......
.........on Tuesday night one of the realites we discussed involved the courage and tenacity it would take to overcome the mindset and surroundings in a situation where everybody in your family was passing down something that could potentially destroy or detain you.
(slight pause)
And.......
........what we decided is that while it may difficult in many cases, it is definetely possible and necessary!
(pause)
And when it comes to motivation………………
........and being motivated to choose differently
..........many of us have been convinced that the way we overcome is based on extrinsic influences……….
Meaning………..
That the only way we can move forward………….is if something outside of ourselves provokes us to move………….
(pause)
And there is nothing wrong with outside encouragement…………..
But at the end of the day………..
........it is not always the best idea to have to depend on something else deciding if it wants to support your purpose and or your life outcomes……………
(pause)
Because if your outside encouragement ever shuts down…
………it’s outside of your control!
(pause)
And so………….if it is not extrinsic excitement that we need……
…..than it must be presupposed that we need an intrinsic motivator………….
(pause)
Meaning…………
The fuel or the energy………….that determines how we move is based on something that originates deep down on the inside……….
(pause)
But I believe that we have to be careful to understand the sensitivity in reaching inwardly to find hope………….
(pause)
Because……
……a misdirected approach will leave you wishing you had never looked at yourself……….
Meaning......
..........if you have internallized the negative behaviors that have been passed down to you from generation to generation
........and you are unable to see yourself any differently you could leave the mirror feeling very dissapointed.
(pause)
But........
........when we know who we are in Christ Jesus……
……we are capable of affirming our victory even when we feel we have been dealt a bad hand…………
(pause)
I’ve had some conversations with some folk………….that looked as if they were through………
………done…………
……..had nothing left!
(pause)
But the discrepancy I found when speaking with them was………
…..their language described their condition………
……but fell short in determining their character…………
(pause)
And this is the pivotal point where we can either accept what was passed down……………
…………or choose to be something more!
(pause)
And I believe what has happened is that we have forgotten who we really are!
We have totally defined who we are in the middle of the story and called it the beginning of the story.......
But today......
.......I want to help us see what it looks like to start from the DNA of a king!
(pause)
Look at it now
and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called the Messiah.
According to the text......
...........we find that Joseph is a carpenter………and he is the husband of Mary...
And the reason Joseph is important as the husband of Mary is because he falls in the line of David………
And in this patriarchal society it was the fathers bloodline that signifies kingship….
(pause)
Now some scholars suggest that Mary is also in the bloodline of David based on Luke’s Gospel……….
(pause)
Section on Mary’s geneology:
And then also based on Joshua 17 when Joshua is distributing the land and the daughters of Machir………….look to gain an inheritance…….
And because their father has no sons, Joshua distributes the land to the daughters but they must marry within the tribes of Judah…..
(pause)
And of course Mary acquires the land by marrying Joseph connecting him to the land and authenticating the messiah through a paternal kinship with David………
But regardless of Mary’s lineage she marries a Joseph that is in the bloodline of David………and gives birth to Jesus………….
(pause)
And this is where I am theologically with all of this…………..
Because the question becomes if Joseph is not his biological father, how and why is Jesus connected to all of this humanity generationally in the first place?
(pause)
Well........
......... first of all we got to understand who came from who?
And we can go all the way back to Abraham…
…..and then back to Adam………..
And in doing so the question now becomes......
Does God come from Abraham/Adam……
…..or does Abraham/Adam come from God?
(pause)
And then obviously.......
...... if Adam came from God, then who put Adam together in the first place?
And where did the blood come from to make Adam to even give him a bloodline?
(pause)
So now in my spiritual imagination we have a Joseph that does not place his blood into Jesus.......
.........but a Jesus that assumes the responsibility and the power to enter into Mary’s womb through the process of Kenosis and place himself in Joseph’s bloodline………
(pause)
Which means Christ emptied Himself and took on the form of humanity!
(pause)
And watch this because........
.........there is more than one reason why this is so powerful!
(pause)
Because first of all………..we have to see that a decision has been made……….
by God to be adopted into Joseph’s bloodline…..
And anytime you choose to adopt.....
.......you are saying this is not a mistake
…..but everything about this speaks purpose and intentionality!
(pause)
And I wish I had somebody in the house that knew that nothing about you speaks mistake!
(pause and expound)
And not only that………..
.......but the other reason is that,
.......the blood was bigger than just Joseph……..
Because it had to cover his identity completely………
….and keep right on going through to the next generation!
(pause)
If it was just about the line of David……
……..it would have been incomplete……
(pause)
But because it had to tackle all of humanity……
……God had to put God’s everything into Jesus!
(pause)
Look at it now……………
and Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, and Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor, and Azor the father of Zadok, and Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud, and Eliud the father of Eleazar, and Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob,
Now………
.......out of all of the individuals we have looked at in the bloodline of David……….
.......some scholars suggest that these are the only ones that you don’t see anywhere else……
(pause)
But I don’t believe that we can say that they don’t matter just because we don’t know all of the details of their lives lived in their generation……
(pause)
Because first of all…………they are listed here in the text……….
...........And for me existence is substantiated based on purpose……..
(pause)
And for some of us..........
...... we don’t understand the value we bring to the atmosphere…………
(pause)
If you ever get a chance,
............talk to a communication major in college and they will tell you how powerful Nonverbal communication is!
(pause)
And I believe that the atmosphere should reflect our value………..where ever we present ourselves!
(pause)
Where ever we EXIST.........we should represent our level of value.
......We should never come into a room to be unnoticed………
But instead……
......we should walk into a room with a responsibility to influence everything and everybody in the room!
(pause)
This is the kind of behavior we should be passing on.........
Because if God put you on the list.........
......You’re supposed to SHOW UP in the room!
(pause)
Now the challenge is…………that we don’t get excited about just making the list!
Meaning………….
We don’t get fired up about our lives because we are looking for somebody on the outside to confirm how great we are on the inside…………..
(pause)
Because that kind of thinking……………and behavior is defined as counterfeit!
(pause)
Because who I am………….is who I am………
…..and can’t nobody outside of who I am……….determine who I am……….
(pause)
So……
…..If we are going to be an original it can only be determined by the Creator who can give the details on establishment!
(slight pause)
And so......
if God put you here……………..God has a reason…………
And so if you’re on the list………
…….you are not walking with your head down waiting for approval………
….but you are walking like you know who you are even if the generation in front of you can’t recognize your worth!
Because sometimes a generation in front of you can be telling you to go left.....
......but the question you got to ask yourself is,
“What DNA are they speaking from?”
(pause and expound option)
Look at it now………..
Because the second reason of importance related to these names in the bloodline of Jesus……….is based on where they are listed……….
Because they are listed in a timeframe of struggle and captivity……..
(pause)
And sometimes greatness doesn’t show up until some struggling starts happening…..
(pause)
Sometimes it is not until you get locked in a cave with nowhere to go…………
That with your back up against a wall you come out fighting like a champion!
(pause)
And I don’t care what nobody say………….
Some of the best stories include some of the greatest struggles!!
(pause)
But be careful how you look for it………..
because what I have found out is that some of the best fighters………….
........are the fighters that nobody knows!
(pause)
Muhammad Ali………was the champ…………
......but he would have never been the greatest without somebody to spar against him!!!!!
(pause)
In other words………
...…the general may get the credit for winning the war………
…….but it’s the soldiers in the trenches where the battle takes place…………….
(pause and Expound(optional))
And at the end of the day……
....….these 9 names in the text mean something…………
(pause)
As a matter of fact………..I found out that they probably had more than one name…….
Because just like the slaves that were brought over from Africa…………
(pause)
You had your legal name…….and then you had your slave name……..or the name that was given to you……..
(pause)
And what’s powerful to me is how even in the bloodline of the messiah, we see struggle…………
(pause)
It’s some stuff that is passed down from generation to generation that can mess us up……………
But God knew what God was doing when God put you where God put you……..
(pause)
And you didn’t stop being powerful just because of struggle…………….
Kunta Kinte………told the slave owners………….in Roots………….I will never forget who I am………..
(pause)
And I wonder if there are any believers in the house………..that can not afford to forget who you are………………….
Even if it means thinking on another level
Even if it means believing on another level
Because sometimes when rotten fruit has been passed down........
.....we have to decide that this aint for me
......but i need some fruit that I can build from!
And so........
at the end of the day………………I can’t forget why I’m here!
(pause)
Look back at verse 12 now…………
And after the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Salathiel, and Salathiel the father of Zerubbabel,
“And after they were brought to Babylon”
Meaning………………
For these next several lines of generation…………what we notice is what the bloodline looks like………..when things are not working in your favor………
(pause)
And what I want to help us to see is that……………
The power can’t shut off………………for the sake of a bad day?
(pause)
And even in spite of everything that’s going on around us…………..you have the power to still stand with God……….
(pause)
Look at it now…………..because there is this one fella in the text that does stand out because of the details……
…because the bible says…………..
Salathiel – is the son of King Jechonai
And he begats…………..Zarrubabel
Zarrubabell – 1st of significance
Haggai 1.13-14
13 Then spake Haggai the LORD's messenger in the LORD's message unto the people, saying, I am with you, saith the LORD.
14 And the LORD stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people; and they came and did work in the house of the LORD of hosts, their God,
(EXPOUND on how in Exile………the Power still raises up a people)
And so.......
.......even in negative generational consequences
.......God is looking for somebody God can use that will make a decision to say,
“I’m getting ready to change the game for my family!”
Watch this!
So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David to the deportation to Babylon, fourteen generations; and from the deportation to Babylon to the Messiah, fourteen generations.
Watch this........
And from David until the carrying away into Babylon are fourteen generations………..
And from the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ are fourteen generations…………
(pause)
And……..I hope you see this……
…..because captivity momentarily captured the bloodline of the messiah……
…but it couldn’t completely stop Jesus in his mission………..
(pause)
It had to get rough……………
Lord knows it did……………
But in spite of it all………….
........there were some ordinary folk with an understanding of who they are……………
(pause)
With an understanding that something extraordinary was on the way!
(pause)
And I’m talking to somebody in here that needs to be reminded......
.........your DNA does not reduce your value
......your DNA increases your value
But in order for this to materialize we have to Choose LIFE!
We have to repent of our sins
(save a generation)
We have to grow in the Fruits of the Holy Spirit
(mature the current generation)
We have to operate in the gifts of the Holy Spirit
(pass it on to the next generation)
COMPLETION………….