1 00:00:12,560 --> 00:00:15,880 So we turn to God's word this morning and we turn to Matthew. 2 00:00:15,880 --> 00:00:19,120 And it's probably one of those passages where a few of you have 3 00:00:19,120 --> 00:00:22,800 been very honest with me over these past number of years and said 4 00:00:22,800 --> 00:00:26,600 you read that passage and I had absolutely no idea what you were 5 00:00:26,600 --> 00:00:27,440 going to do with it. 6 00:00:28,550 --> 00:00:30,790 Well, let's begin by thinking of what Matthew is about. 7 00:00:30,790 --> 00:00:34,070 Matthew is about the life of Jesus, which is good news for everyone. 8 00:00:34,710 --> 00:00:39,390 And so from this word, that good news goes out to the ends of 9 00:00:39,390 --> 00:00:39,910 the earth. 10 00:00:40,470 --> 00:00:42,790 That's what we know Matthew to do. 11 00:00:44,310 --> 00:00:48,270 And so to help us understand exactly what this first section is, 12 00:00:48,270 --> 00:00:52,310 these first 17 verses, I want you to think about home for a moment. 13 00:00:52,630 --> 00:00:55,990 And I imagine that for every one of us here today or watching, 14 00:00:55,990 --> 00:00:59,080 online, lists of are a big part of our lives. 15 00:00:59,960 --> 00:01:02,280 We make them in one way or another. 16 00:01:03,000 --> 00:01:03,960 Our young people. 17 00:01:04,200 --> 00:01:08,760 You make lists, you make lists about your homework, you make lists 18 00:01:08,760 --> 00:01:11,640 about your timetable, what you need to pack in your bag. 19 00:01:11,640 --> 00:01:14,120 It may not be a written down list, but it's in your mind. 20 00:01:14,680 --> 00:01:18,200 The rest of us make to do lists or shopping lists. 21 00:01:18,440 --> 00:01:21,520 We know what we want from the shop and we have it down so that 22 00:01:21,520 --> 00:01:25,050 we methodically go through not in forgetting anything and also not 23 00:01:25,050 --> 00:01:27,970 picking up things that we really didn't go into the shop for. 24 00:01:28,450 --> 00:01:30,930 Now, if it's only two or three, we'll probably have that list 25 00:01:30,930 --> 00:01:31,570 in our mind. 26 00:01:31,570 --> 00:01:33,570 But one way or another, we have a list. 27 00:01:34,210 --> 00:01:37,170 And our lists tell us a lot about who we are. 28 00:01:37,570 --> 00:01:40,250 Because a shopping list will tell us what our likes and what our 29 00:01:40,250 --> 00:01:41,090 dislikes are. 30 00:01:41,730 --> 00:01:45,650 It'll tell us what we will buy, but it also reveals what we 31 00:01:45,730 --> 00:01:47,930 won't buy to do. 32 00:01:47,930 --> 00:01:51,770 Lists give insights into our priorities and they also tell us 33 00:01:51,770 --> 00:01:55,610 about our passions as we rank the importance of jobs, the more 34 00:01:55,610 --> 00:01:58,770 important ones at the top and possibly the less important ones 35 00:01:58,770 --> 00:01:59,730 closer to the bottom. 36 00:02:00,370 --> 00:02:03,450 Well, one list that I remember well in our house growing up was 37 00:02:03,450 --> 00:02:05,490 my parents Christmas card list. 38 00:02:06,289 --> 00:02:09,330 Now I'm sure there were well over 150 names listed. 39 00:02:09,890 --> 00:02:12,810 And at that time, of course, postage was affordable, so that was 40 00:02:12,810 --> 00:02:13,650 very manageable. 41 00:02:14,690 --> 00:02:22,980 But it communicated to me who our family are, how we're connected. 42 00:02:24,340 --> 00:02:27,180 And there were of course names that were familiar to me because 43 00:02:27,180 --> 00:02:30,700 they were my aunties and uncles and there were names of friends 44 00:02:30,700 --> 00:02:32,819 that I knew just simply being around the area. 45 00:02:32,819 --> 00:02:35,540 But every so often as I'd go down the list, you'd come across 46 00:02:35,540 --> 00:02:37,060 a name that I didn't recognize. 47 00:02:37,220 --> 00:02:40,300 And these names would be either distant relatives in America 48 00:02:40,300 --> 00:02:43,940 or Canada, or they'd be people that my parents had met on a holiday 49 00:02:43,940 --> 00:02:48,490 to speak in the early 1970s, never spoke to each other since, 50 00:02:48,490 --> 00:02:51,570 except for 20 years of exchanging Christmas cards. 51 00:02:52,210 --> 00:02:55,050 And I know there's a certain generation of people that that's 52 00:02:55,050 --> 00:02:56,370 still true for you today. 53 00:02:57,010 --> 00:03:01,210 For us in younger generations speaking to someone on holiday, that's 54 00:03:01,210 --> 00:03:04,610 a big no for us, never mind asking them for their address. 55 00:03:05,970 --> 00:03:08,850 So lists do reveal a lot about us. 56 00:03:09,250 --> 00:03:13,300 And as we begin this morning with a new series in Matthew's Gospel, 57 00:03:13,300 --> 00:03:15,060 we begin with a list. 58 00:03:15,860 --> 00:03:19,740 Now, we can be quick to skip over this list because like my parents 59 00:03:19,740 --> 00:03:23,580 Christmas card list, there's names here that we either do not 60 00:03:23,580 --> 00:03:26,180 know or there's ones that we do. 61 00:03:26,980 --> 00:03:32,500 But this list, known as the Genealogy of Jesus, is a fascinating 62 00:03:32,500 --> 00:03:38,180 look at not only his family line, but at how God worked in human 63 00:03:38,180 --> 00:03:43,490 history and how he used our human history to make ready for the 64 00:03:43,490 --> 00:03:46,250 coming of his one true son. 65 00:03:47,130 --> 00:03:49,810 But before we launch into it this morning, we need to get a bit 66 00:03:49,810 --> 00:03:51,370 of an overview of this book. 67 00:03:52,250 --> 00:03:56,330 The Gospel of Matthew is technically anonymous. 68 00:03:57,370 --> 00:04:00,490 Matthew doesn't tell us that he wrote it. 69 00:04:01,690 --> 00:04:04,730 It's not like an epistle that Paul or Peter would write. 70 00:04:05,630 --> 00:04:10,270 But yet every Greek copy of Matthew bears the heading according 71 00:04:10,990 --> 00:04:11,790 to Matthew. 72 00:04:12,510 --> 00:04:15,870 And so we firmly believe that it was written by Matthew, who is 73 00:04:15,870 --> 00:04:19,150 one of the disciples known as the tax collector. 74 00:04:19,790 --> 00:04:22,910 This is an eyewitness account of a man who comes from a particular 75 00:04:23,070 --> 00:04:23,790 perspective. 76 00:04:24,750 --> 00:04:29,830 Although he was a Jew, he worked in the civil service of the 77 00:04:29,830 --> 00:04:30,750 Roman Empire. 78 00:04:32,000 --> 00:04:33,920 So he has seen both worlds. 79 00:04:34,320 --> 00:04:38,200 He's grown up a Jew, but he benefits from the enemies of the 80 00:04:38,200 --> 00:04:39,600 Jews, the Romans. 81 00:04:40,160 --> 00:04:44,560 And in fact, he might have to undertake certain hard orders from 82 00:04:44,560 --> 00:04:46,640 the Romans against his own people. 83 00:04:47,840 --> 00:04:53,120 So as Matthew writes, he's an eyewitness who understands the Jews 84 00:04:53,920 --> 00:04:57,920 because they are his people, but he also understands the Romans 85 00:04:57,960 --> 00:04:59,390 who, who are his employers. 86 00:04:59,390 --> 00:05:03,550 And very much the culture in which he is drawn into very different 87 00:05:03,550 --> 00:05:04,830 from Jewish culture. 88 00:05:05,550 --> 00:05:10,550 So he's seen both worlds and he does bring a certain perspective 89 00:05:10,550 --> 00:05:11,310 because of that. 90 00:05:12,830 --> 00:05:15,310 Now, Matthew is written for Christians. 91 00:05:16,270 --> 00:05:20,030 It's written for Christian readers who had both Jewish sensibilities 92 00:05:20,030 --> 00:05:25,440 or were former Jews or were sensitive to to the Jews, and also 93 00:05:25,440 --> 00:05:28,320 an interest in the mission that was ongoing by the time it was 94 00:05:28,320 --> 00:05:30,200 written to the Gentile nations. 95 00:05:30,600 --> 00:05:34,800 Now it's believed that it was written for Christians in Syrian 96 00:05:34,800 --> 00:05:37,960 Antioch, which had a sizable Jewish population. 97 00:05:38,520 --> 00:05:42,920 And it was also there, at Syrian Antioch that the first missionaries 98 00:05:42,920 --> 00:05:46,440 to the Gentiles were commissioned in Acts chapter 13. 99 00:05:47,400 --> 00:05:52,890 So it's a very Jewish book in its approach so that they too can 100 00:05:52,890 --> 00:05:55,890 come to understand who Jesus is and the salvation he brings. 101 00:05:55,890 --> 00:05:59,490 But today we read it understanding that in the Jewish 102 00:05:59,490 --> 00:06:02,690 mind there were prophecies to be fulfilled from the Old Testament 103 00:06:03,170 --> 00:06:07,850 and how Matthew presents them to us, demonstrating that Jesus is 104 00:06:07,850 --> 00:06:10,690 the fulfillment of those prophecies. 105 00:06:11,730 --> 00:06:17,270 So Matthew wants to present this to us in a clear but also in 106 00:06:17,270 --> 00:06:18,390 a convincing way. 107 00:06:19,750 --> 00:06:24,750 So it's then no accident or simply a paper filler that he begins 108 00:06:24,750 --> 00:06:26,470 with the family line of Jesus. 109 00:06:26,630 --> 00:06:30,110 Not only would this have been an important thing in ancient tradition 110 00:06:30,110 --> 00:06:33,430 for people to know their lineage, but it helps us understand 111 00:06:33,750 --> 00:06:36,390 how God has been sovereign in his work. 112 00:06:37,190 --> 00:06:41,950 So the focus on Jesus is for one purpose, and that is that the 113 00:06:41,950 --> 00:06:46,770 church would be always looking beyond itself and to the world around 114 00:06:46,770 --> 00:06:51,850 it, knowing God at work, but also knowing that the proclamation 115 00:06:51,850 --> 00:06:55,530 of the Gospel would go far and wide based on the names that we have 116 00:06:55,530 --> 00:06:55,890 here. 117 00:06:56,690 --> 00:07:00,410 And so as Matthew leads us through the accounts of Jesus, he's 118 00:07:00,410 --> 00:07:03,650 actually building the church to a call to action. 119 00:07:05,090 --> 00:07:09,410 Matthew's gospel is about doing something with what we learn. 120 00:07:10,130 --> 00:07:12,810 Not only does he want his readers to understand the gospel 121 00:07:12,810 --> 00:07:16,880 message, and not only does he want them to believe it deeply, but 122 00:07:16,880 --> 00:07:18,920 he wants them to do something with it. 123 00:07:19,400 --> 00:07:24,440 Because at the end of chapter 28, in the closing words of this 124 00:07:24,600 --> 00:07:30,120 gospel, Matthew records the command and the commission of Jesus. 125 00:07:30,680 --> 00:07:33,960 Therefore, go and make disciples, Jesus says, of all nations, 126 00:07:34,120 --> 00:07:36,720 baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of 127 00:07:36,720 --> 00:07:40,920 the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded 128 00:07:40,920 --> 00:07:46,330 you and and surely I am with you always to the very end of the 129 00:07:46,330 --> 00:07:46,610 age. 130 00:07:48,050 --> 00:07:53,370 This gospel wasn't supposed to be for a small focus group or for 131 00:07:53,370 --> 00:07:55,890 the church to hold onto for itself. 132 00:07:56,610 --> 00:08:01,010 It was the message that was to be brought to the nations, just as 133 00:08:01,010 --> 00:08:02,090 the children of Israel. 134 00:08:02,090 --> 00:08:05,970 Abraham's seed had been told to be a blessing to the nations. 135 00:08:06,530 --> 00:08:11,000 And that's where Matthew begins in the lineage of Jesus. 136 00:08:11,320 --> 00:08:14,600 He starts with Great Father Abraham. 137 00:08:15,800 --> 00:08:20,440 Now, we're aware that there were people before Abraham, and we 138 00:08:20,520 --> 00:08:24,480 know that he in fact, was a man beyond the borders that Israel 139 00:08:24,480 --> 00:08:25,320 would inherit. 140 00:08:25,960 --> 00:08:28,280 But Matthew doesn't start with Adam. 141 00:08:28,600 --> 00:08:32,840 He doesn't start with Noah, but he starts with the one whom God 142 00:08:33,000 --> 00:08:37,309 made his covenant of salvation with, because this is what we read 143 00:08:37,309 --> 00:08:41,709 in Genesis 12, 2, 3, as the Lord says to Abraham, I will make 144 00:08:41,709 --> 00:08:44,349 you into a great nation, and I will bless you. 145 00:08:44,909 --> 00:08:48,109 I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. 146 00:08:48,349 --> 00:08:53,149 I will bless those who bless you and whoever Curses you, I will 147 00:08:53,149 --> 00:08:53,549 curse. 148 00:08:53,949 --> 00:08:58,989 And all peoples on earth will be blessed through you. 149 00:08:59,869 --> 00:09:03,249 And so, if this covenant promise is to be revealed and. 150 00:09:03,400 --> 00:09:08,400 And fulfilled, then Matthew shows us how, beginning with Abraham 151 00:09:08,400 --> 00:09:12,600 and taking us through the generations, he comes to the Christ. 152 00:09:13,640 --> 00:09:17,000 And so the ultimate blessing that the children of Israel were 153 00:09:17,000 --> 00:09:20,520 to be to the nations around them is so that they would know salvation, 154 00:09:20,840 --> 00:09:25,160 which for us today can only come through Jesus showing us that 155 00:09:25,160 --> 00:09:29,080 the promises from Genesis 12 still have importance for us today 156 00:09:29,320 --> 00:09:31,560 as they point us to their fulfillment in Jesus. 157 00:09:31,560 --> 00:09:33,720 And that's what Matthew's communicating to the people of his 158 00:09:33,720 --> 00:09:39,580 time, that all the promises find their fulfillment in Jesus and 159 00:09:39,580 --> 00:09:41,020 are relevant for them. 160 00:09:42,140 --> 00:09:46,300 So Matthew begins his journey with the patriarchal family of Abraham 161 00:09:46,300 --> 00:09:52,820 and his sons Isaac and Jacob, all through whom the covenant was 162 00:09:52,820 --> 00:09:53,420 confirmed. 163 00:09:54,380 --> 00:09:56,980 And, you know, if you glanced through the list, we'd see names 164 00:09:56,980 --> 00:10:01,260 that we recognize, great names, all of people who did great 165 00:10:01,260 --> 00:10:01,660 things. 166 00:10:02,140 --> 00:10:07,340 We see Boaz, who became the kinsman Redeemer of Ruth. 167 00:10:08,220 --> 00:10:11,660 We see King David, the man after God's own heart. 168 00:10:12,060 --> 00:10:15,500 We see his son Solomon, the wisest man ever to live. 169 00:10:15,980 --> 00:10:19,740 We see Josiah, the young king, who rediscovered the law of God and 170 00:10:19,740 --> 00:10:24,380 led the great religious reforms described in 2nd Kings 22:23. 171 00:10:25,830 --> 00:10:28,790 And then there's Joseph, right at the very end, the humble carpenter 172 00:10:28,790 --> 00:10:32,110 of Nazareth, who took seriously what the angel said to 173 00:10:32,110 --> 00:10:34,470 him and was obedient unto the Lord. 174 00:10:34,470 --> 00:10:35,750 This is what we read of him. 175 00:10:36,470 --> 00:10:40,550 And Jacob, the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom 176 00:10:40,710 --> 00:10:43,670 was born Jesus, who is called the Christ. 177 00:10:44,710 --> 00:10:48,470 He's not left out, he's not insignificant. 178 00:10:48,710 --> 00:10:54,460 He's the humble carpenter because his obedience is marked here 179 00:10:54,460 --> 00:10:55,060 for us. 180 00:10:55,620 --> 00:10:59,340 But his obedience can only be displayed because of Mary's faithfulness 181 00:10:59,340 --> 00:11:03,500 in the task that she had been given to carry and give birth to 182 00:11:03,500 --> 00:11:04,580 the Son of God. 183 00:11:05,140 --> 00:11:09,380 She is here at the end of the list because it is with her that 184 00:11:09,380 --> 00:11:12,580 the prophecies of the Old Testaments, of the Old Testament 185 00:11:12,580 --> 00:11:13,940 prophets are fulfilled. 186 00:11:14,820 --> 00:11:19,980 She's just a young, humble girl, but she takes seriously the 187 00:11:19,980 --> 00:11:23,820 comforting words of the angel and, and does what is unknown to 188 00:11:23,820 --> 00:11:27,980 her and to the outside world what is, or what was culturally a 189 00:11:27,980 --> 00:11:28,500 taboo. 190 00:11:29,140 --> 00:11:31,060 And she gave birth to the Savior. 191 00:11:32,100 --> 00:11:38,380 Now, I think any of us, Boaz, David, Solomon, Joseph, Mary, we'd 192 00:11:38,380 --> 00:11:43,140 be happy to be among this as part of our family list, a list of 193 00:11:43,140 --> 00:11:46,820 those who took seriously the law of God and followed his way. 194 00:11:48,270 --> 00:11:52,190 But when we read the list, there are those in the list who are 195 00:11:52,190 --> 00:11:53,150 more suspect. 196 00:11:54,350 --> 00:11:59,390 Even with Abraham's grandson Jacob, we're Aware of his deceitfulness 197 00:11:59,390 --> 00:12:04,350 and his feelings of how his sin infected his whole family. 198 00:12:05,470 --> 00:12:09,630 And looking at the list, we see names like Rahab, who was a prostitute. 199 00:12:10,350 --> 00:12:13,150 David had a man killed to cover up his sin. 200 00:12:13,830 --> 00:12:17,430 Rehoboam foolishly rejected the advice of the older counselors, 201 00:12:17,430 --> 00:12:20,150 and he contributed to the division of the kingdom. 202 00:12:20,790 --> 00:12:25,230 Manasseh promoted idolatry, occult practices, and violence in 203 00:12:25,230 --> 00:12:28,030 2nd Kings 21, although he did later repent. 204 00:12:28,030 --> 00:12:32,710 And Ammon followed Manasseh's wickedness and was assassinated after 205 00:12:32,710 --> 00:12:34,390 only two years as king. 206 00:12:34,950 --> 00:12:41,570 Jeconiah or Jehoiakim, who reigned as king, that reign was characterized 207 00:12:41,570 --> 00:12:42,290 by evil. 208 00:12:43,090 --> 00:12:46,610 And so these are names that we would perhaps rather weren't in our 209 00:12:46,610 --> 00:12:47,330 family line. 210 00:12:48,130 --> 00:12:51,610 And, you know, Matthew could easily have constructed a genealogy 211 00:12:51,610 --> 00:12:54,290 that made Jesus ancestry look impressive. 212 00:12:54,930 --> 00:13:01,570 Instead, he gives us a family tree full of sinners, failures, morally 213 00:13:01,650 --> 00:13:06,960 compromised people, and people in need of grace. 214 00:13:08,560 --> 00:13:12,480 And the reason for the inclusion of the good and the bad 215 00:13:12,960 --> 00:13:18,200 is given to us in verse 21 of chapter 1, where the angel says she 216 00:13:18,200 --> 00:13:22,000 will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. 217 00:13:22,720 --> 00:13:23,120 Why? 218 00:13:23,840 --> 00:13:27,440 Because he will save his people from their sins. 219 00:13:28,240 --> 00:13:31,920 You see, from the outset of this gospel, from the outset of the 220 00:13:31,920 --> 00:13:35,160 Gospel message, we are told that each and every one of us is 221 00:13:35,160 --> 00:13:37,730 a person who needs the Savior. 222 00:13:38,530 --> 00:13:42,570 Now, we may consider ourselves to be like Boaz, that we always do 223 00:13:42,570 --> 00:13:44,930 the right thing in what is honest, true and good. 224 00:13:45,410 --> 00:13:49,330 Or perhaps we consider ourselves like Tamar, whose situation 225 00:13:49,410 --> 00:13:53,410 was morally complicated but was trying to do what was right. 226 00:13:54,050 --> 00:13:58,690 Or we think we're like Joseph, quiet and in the background, doing 227 00:13:58,690 --> 00:14:00,610 good and doing what was right. 228 00:14:01,420 --> 00:14:04,220 Because we don't want to think of ourselves as the Manassehs or 229 00:14:04,220 --> 00:14:07,580 the Ammons of this world who rejected God and were evil. 230 00:14:08,220 --> 00:14:11,820 We don't want to be thought of as the Rehoboams or even the Jacobs. 231 00:14:13,020 --> 00:14:18,140 Yet from this list of the good and the bad, we see one message. 232 00:14:18,940 --> 00:14:24,260 And that message bookends this section, because in verse one, we're 233 00:14:24,260 --> 00:14:29,290 told that this is a record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the 234 00:14:29,290 --> 00:14:32,410 son of David, the son of Abraham. 235 00:14:33,130 --> 00:14:36,730 And this is repeated for us in verses 16 and 17. 236 00:14:36,890 --> 00:14:40,930 So three times in the opening of this Gospel, we are told the vital 237 00:14:40,930 --> 00:14:42,570 piece of information that we need. 238 00:14:43,370 --> 00:14:44,970 What is Christ's title? 239 00:14:46,010 --> 00:14:47,290 It's not Pastor. 240 00:14:47,530 --> 00:14:48,558 It's not Rev. 241 00:14:48,662 --> 00:14:49,730 It's not Mr. 242 00:14:49,730 --> 00:14:52,970 It's not sir, but it is Christ. 243 00:14:54,090 --> 00:14:58,410 The word Christ comes from the Greek word Christos, which means 244 00:14:59,250 --> 00:15:00,050 anointed one. 245 00:15:00,610 --> 00:15:06,210 It's the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew Mashiach, which gives 246 00:15:06,210 --> 00:15:08,050 us the word Messiah. 247 00:15:09,010 --> 00:15:11,970 Israel was waiting for a deliverer. 248 00:15:11,970 --> 00:15:14,530 They were waiting for the Mashiach. 249 00:15:14,689 --> 00:15:19,170 They were waiting for the Christos, the one who would truly 250 00:15:19,170 --> 00:15:19,690 save them. 251 00:15:19,690 --> 00:15:23,090 And they had waited tirelessly for generations. 252 00:15:24,050 --> 00:15:27,620 And as the generations continued, they became, they began 253 00:15:27,620 --> 00:15:32,700 to give this Savior a name, that being Messiah, the one sent 254 00:15:32,700 --> 00:15:33,260 from God. 255 00:15:33,260 --> 00:15:36,820 And so as Matthew now gives this to us three times in these opening 256 00:15:36,820 --> 00:15:41,380 verses, it's Matthew here who is saying that the Promised One has 257 00:15:41,540 --> 00:15:42,100 arrived. 258 00:15:42,420 --> 00:15:43,419 He is here. 259 00:15:43,419 --> 00:15:46,260 Now sit up, wake up and pay attention. 260 00:15:47,540 --> 00:15:52,460 Matthew is the herald of great news, that there is now a way for 261 00:15:52,460 --> 00:15:54,300 humanity to be saved. 262 00:15:56,140 --> 00:16:00,620 And it is this salvation that we all need. 263 00:16:01,820 --> 00:16:06,300 We need to be assured of this salvation in the midst of our day 264 00:16:06,300 --> 00:16:07,580 to day lives. 265 00:16:08,940 --> 00:16:12,140 You may have trusted in Christ as your Savior. 266 00:16:12,540 --> 00:16:18,220 It might have been months ago, years ago or decades ago, but he 267 00:16:18,460 --> 00:16:22,640 still must have a place in, in your daily life. 268 00:16:24,000 --> 00:16:30,320 Being a Christian is not simply giving yourself a name, nor 269 00:16:30,320 --> 00:16:35,680 is it simply something that happened way back when, but has no 270 00:16:35,760 --> 00:16:38,240 impact on your day today. 271 00:16:40,400 --> 00:16:46,680 Knowing today you have a Savior tells you that all will be 272 00:16:46,680 --> 00:16:47,200 okay. 273 00:16:48,730 --> 00:16:52,450 That through the trials and temptations of life, you have one 274 00:16:52,450 --> 00:16:54,250 who will keep you to the end. 275 00:16:55,290 --> 00:17:01,330 So you need to look to that salvation daily, to sustain you and 276 00:17:01,330 --> 00:17:02,010 to keep you. 277 00:17:02,730 --> 00:17:06,490 Because I don't know how you get through life if you don't. 278 00:17:08,170 --> 00:17:09,770 Jesus is not a badge. 279 00:17:10,730 --> 00:17:14,490 Jesus is not a convenient label that we can brandish and say, 280 00:17:14,490 --> 00:17:15,850 oh, I'm a Christian. 281 00:17:17,010 --> 00:17:20,170 If you're not living for him day and daily, if you're not thinking 282 00:17:20,170 --> 00:17:24,410 of him day and daily, then the question has to be what kind of faith 283 00:17:24,410 --> 00:17:25,890 do you have and who is it in? 284 00:17:26,930 --> 00:17:30,050 We must know this Savior because how can you go through work 285 00:17:30,050 --> 00:17:30,370 life? 286 00:17:30,610 --> 00:17:34,130 How can you go through the hassles of work or the stresses of 287 00:17:34,130 --> 00:17:34,530 business? 288 00:17:34,930 --> 00:17:39,850 If you don't know Jesus daily, how can you cope with what's going 289 00:17:39,850 --> 00:17:40,650 on in home? 290 00:17:40,650 --> 00:17:44,100 You'll be maybe dealing with things in a very quiet way, but they're 291 00:17:44,100 --> 00:17:46,380 upsetting, they're concerning. 292 00:17:46,620 --> 00:17:48,300 How are you going to get through that? 293 00:17:48,860 --> 00:17:50,860 You can only do it because of Jesus. 294 00:17:52,140 --> 00:17:58,460 Never, never, never allow the name of Jesus to simply be a label 295 00:17:58,700 --> 00:17:59,740 or a badge. 296 00:18:00,460 --> 00:18:03,660 And please don't walk around telling people you're a Christian. 297 00:18:03,980 --> 00:18:07,550 If that day you have not thought once of Jesus and, and his 298 00:18:07,550 --> 00:18:08,950 great salvation for you. 299 00:18:09,270 --> 00:18:12,270 But you say, oh, it's too much, it's too much. 300 00:18:12,270 --> 00:18:13,030 No it's not. 301 00:18:13,830 --> 00:18:17,990 How quickly will we talk about our favorite football team or football 302 00:18:18,070 --> 00:18:18,470 player? 303 00:18:18,950 --> 00:18:22,550 How Quickly will we talk about what's in the charts or what's played 304 00:18:22,550 --> 00:18:23,190 on the radio? 305 00:18:23,910 --> 00:18:28,230 How quickly will we talk about what's in the news that is here today 306 00:18:28,230 --> 00:18:29,430 and gone tomorrow? 307 00:18:29,670 --> 00:18:32,950 Yet we refuse to talk about the One who lasts forever. 308 00:18:35,570 --> 00:18:36,610 We're into September. 309 00:18:37,170 --> 00:18:38,850 There's a shift in gear. 310 00:18:39,250 --> 00:18:43,490 We need to be people who are sincere about who Jesus is to us 311 00:18:43,490 --> 00:18:45,330 so that we can live for him today. 312 00:18:45,330 --> 00:18:49,170 That's why near to the end of the Bible, we have the Book of Jude, 313 00:18:49,250 --> 00:18:51,410 that is just verses, no chapter. 314 00:18:51,490 --> 00:18:55,490 And in verses 24, 25, Jude says to him who is able to keep you 315 00:18:55,490 --> 00:18:59,050 from falling and to present you before his glorious presence 316 00:18:59,050 --> 00:19:03,360 without fail and with great joy to the only God our Savior, be 317 00:19:03,360 --> 00:19:07,160 glory, majesty, power and authority through Jesus Christ our 318 00:19:07,160 --> 00:19:10,960 Lord, before all ages now and forevermore. 319 00:19:10,960 --> 00:19:11,600 Amen. 320 00:19:11,680 --> 00:19:13,080 Do you see what Jude says? 321 00:19:13,080 --> 00:19:14,240 He will keep you. 322 00:19:14,800 --> 00:19:19,000 He will keep you from falling, and he will keep you to the end to 323 00:19:19,000 --> 00:19:21,200 present you before his glorious presence. 324 00:19:21,600 --> 00:19:24,440 But that's not going to happen if all you're doing is walking around 325 00:19:24,440 --> 00:19:25,440 saying, I'm a Christian. 326 00:19:26,380 --> 00:19:27,900 There must be true conversion. 327 00:19:27,980 --> 00:19:32,300 There must be a true life lived for the Savior daily so that 328 00:19:32,300 --> 00:19:37,580 we can get through this life, not based on past efforts or our 329 00:19:37,580 --> 00:19:43,180 perceived good works, only in and through the salvation that he 330 00:19:43,180 --> 00:19:43,660 brings. 331 00:19:44,780 --> 00:19:52,360 Salvation is active every day and we must keep living in it because 332 00:19:52,360 --> 00:19:55,760 we are being kept from a multitude of sin. 333 00:19:56,000 --> 00:19:57,520 I wonder, do you realize it? 334 00:19:58,560 --> 00:20:00,720 You see, we're being kept, but it's not of our own doing. 335 00:20:01,360 --> 00:20:06,560 It is of the one whom we have covenanted to in salvation. 336 00:20:07,600 --> 00:20:11,960 So we must daily acknowledge him and the salvation that he gives 337 00:20:11,960 --> 00:20:14,000 us, that keeps us. 338 00:20:17,450 --> 00:20:22,010 But you also need salvation if somewhere in your mind you think 339 00:20:22,010 --> 00:20:23,130 you're good enough. 340 00:20:24,330 --> 00:20:28,570 Because the reality is that none of us are ever good enough. 341 00:20:29,450 --> 00:20:34,490 If you were good enough, then Jesus needn't have come and gone 342 00:20:34,490 --> 00:20:37,450 through the darkness of Calvary, the cross and the grave. 343 00:20:38,010 --> 00:20:41,930 If your goodness could save you, it would. 344 00:20:41,930 --> 00:20:42,890 But it can't. 345 00:20:43,690 --> 00:20:45,410 And so that's why we need a Savior. 346 00:20:45,410 --> 00:20:48,610 And the genealogy of Jesus tells us that each of our lives, 347 00:20:48,610 --> 00:20:52,490 that in each of our lives we have something that we can't solve. 348 00:20:53,130 --> 00:20:57,450 There's a problem that we can never satisfy God's righteous anger 349 00:20:57,450 --> 00:21:02,010 towards our sin because it is he who has provided a way through 350 00:21:02,010 --> 00:21:02,410 Christ. 351 00:21:03,050 --> 00:21:09,250 And so today I can never be good enough to save myself, and neither 352 00:21:09,250 --> 00:21:09,850 can you. 353 00:21:11,550 --> 00:21:15,310 This may be a truth that you don't want to hear, but that doesn't 354 00:21:15,310 --> 00:21:20,310 make it any less true as we Begin Matthew's Gospel and see Jesus 355 00:21:20,310 --> 00:21:21,390 presented to us. 356 00:21:21,950 --> 00:21:26,990 Even in this long list of names, we are assured that he is 357 00:21:27,070 --> 00:21:32,430 enough for all our needs and our greatest need of salvation. 358 00:21:32,990 --> 00:21:36,670 This is why Paul writes what he does in Romans 3, verses 23 to 359 00:21:36,670 --> 00:21:37,230 24. 360 00:21:37,390 --> 00:21:41,580 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God and are 361 00:21:41,580 --> 00:21:45,380 justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came 362 00:21:45,380 --> 00:21:46,500 by Christ Jesus. 363 00:21:46,980 --> 00:21:49,780 We're told four things in this verse. 364 00:21:50,420 --> 00:21:52,660 In Romans 3, we're told there's a problem. 365 00:21:53,060 --> 00:21:57,940 We've all sinned, every single one of us, myself included. 366 00:21:58,260 --> 00:21:59,940 We have sinned. 367 00:22:00,020 --> 00:22:01,060 That is the problem. 368 00:22:02,100 --> 00:22:06,500 And our failure then, because of sin, is that we fall far short. 369 00:22:07,180 --> 00:22:10,820 We do not rise to God's glory, the standard that he gives us. 370 00:22:10,820 --> 00:22:15,540 We fall short of it, but we have no answer for it because we 371 00:22:15,540 --> 00:22:16,580 can never be good enough. 372 00:22:16,580 --> 00:22:21,020 So it's God's answer that we must obey, which is that we're justified 373 00:22:21,100 --> 00:22:22,460 freely by his grace. 374 00:22:22,460 --> 00:22:25,740 God has done something and he gives it to us freely. 375 00:22:26,060 --> 00:22:27,500 And what this means then? 376 00:22:27,740 --> 00:22:31,580 That we trust in Jesus because it is through him and through him 377 00:22:31,900 --> 00:22:32,380 alone. 378 00:22:34,050 --> 00:22:36,370 You have the good and you have the bad. 379 00:22:37,250 --> 00:22:43,850 In the list of Christ's family telling us that each of us need the 380 00:22:43,850 --> 00:22:47,810 same Saviour that they did and the generations that followed. 381 00:22:48,689 --> 00:22:50,850 I cannot save myself. 382 00:22:51,890 --> 00:22:54,450 I can never be good enough. 383 00:22:55,570 --> 00:22:59,890 I must trust in the Savior, and so must you. 384 00:23:01,110 --> 00:23:04,390 And now that I know that salvation well, I need to keep looking 385 00:23:04,390 --> 00:23:08,230 to him every day, because he is the only one who can keep me. 386 00:23:08,950 --> 00:23:11,750 He's the only one who will keep me to the end. 387 00:23:12,470 --> 00:23:17,470 And so each of us today, the good news for everyone is that we 388 00:23:17,470 --> 00:23:22,390 are to trust in Jesus and to be assured of his great salvation, 389 00:23:23,350 --> 00:23:27,440 because he gave his life so that we could go free. 390 00:23:28,480 --> 00:23:32,160 We need to commit this to heart and memory for each day. 391 00:23:32,640 --> 00:23:36,000 But we need to come in the first instance to Christ for that 392 00:23:36,000 --> 00:23:36,560 salvation. 393 00:23:37,040 --> 00:23:40,760 For there is nothing else that will save us and nothing else that 394 00:23:40,760 --> 00:23:42,960 will take us home to heaven. 395 00:23:44,640 --> 00:23:51,000 Allow God's word to fill your heart, even in a long list of names 396 00:23:51,000 --> 00:23:55,250 that are hard to pronounce because they tell the story of who 397 00:23:55,250 --> 00:23:57,250 our Messiah came to save. 398 00:23:58,450 --> 00:24:00,610 He came to save sinners like them. 399 00:24:01,490 --> 00:24:04,050 And like me and like you. 400 00:24:05,330 --> 00:24:06,290 Trust in Him. 401 00:24:06,850 --> 00:24:11,330 Don't walk away from him and know the complete life that he brings. 402 00:24:12,050 --> 00:24:12,850 Let's pray. 403 00:24:13,890 --> 00:24:14,730 Our Father God. 404 00:24:14,730 --> 00:24:18,460 We have a list of names, people that were known to you, people 405 00:24:18,460 --> 00:24:21,300 who we have no idea of everything of their lives, but yet 406 00:24:21,300 --> 00:24:24,740 they're given to us so that we can learn what it means to why there's 407 00:24:24,740 --> 00:24:27,340 a Savior for we're not good enough. 408 00:24:28,060 --> 00:24:31,100 But Lord, it's not shameful to come to Jesus. 409 00:24:31,100 --> 00:24:33,180 It's not weakness to come to Jesus. 410 00:24:33,500 --> 00:24:35,980 In fact, it's great strength and great trust. 411 00:24:36,620 --> 00:24:39,460 So may we not leave this building thinking that we're simply 412 00:24:39,460 --> 00:24:42,140 okay because of our own merits and our own works. 413 00:24:42,540 --> 00:24:45,580 Maybe not leave here too afraid or too embarrassed. 414 00:24:46,040 --> 00:24:50,760 For the loving, kind and good Savior gave His life so that indeed 415 00:24:50,760 --> 00:24:52,040 we can come to Him. 416 00:24:53,400 --> 00:24:57,680 So whether there's young people here who are not even in their 417 00:24:57,680 --> 00:25:02,039 teenage years, or those who are teens, Those in their 20s, right 418 00:25:02,039 --> 00:25:05,080 through to their 80s, this is a message for us all. 419 00:25:05,720 --> 00:25:08,920 Maybe wake up and pay attention to what this truth is, 420 00:25:09,240 --> 00:25:12,760 for it changes us now forever. 421 00:25:13,720 --> 00:25:17,080 And we ask these things in Jesus name, Amen.