1 00:00:02,535 --> 00:00:03,203 I'm going to do my 2 00:00:03,203 --> 00:00:06,206 best this morning the best I can. 3 00:00:06,439 --> 00:00:08,008 But I ask you to pray for me. 4 00:00:08,008 --> 00:00:11,011 I'm really not doing well. 5 00:00:13,079 --> 00:00:14,581 And so, 6 00:00:14,581 --> 00:00:17,183 just be praying that God gives me 7 00:00:17,183 --> 00:00:20,186 clarity and coherency as we go through, 8 00:00:20,420 --> 00:00:23,423 part of this first chapter of look at Matthew. 9 00:00:23,790 --> 00:00:25,725 We're starting this series through the book of 10 00:00:25,725 --> 00:00:27,127 Matthew is going to take us a long time, 11 00:00:27,127 --> 00:00:30,130 because there's 28 chapters in the book of Matthew. 12 00:00:30,130 --> 00:00:36,269 And they are all full of things worthy of our study and worthy of our time. 13 00:00:37,170 --> 00:00:39,639 So it's going to take us quite a while to get through it. 14 00:00:39,639 --> 00:00:42,342 I've titled this series Kingdom Now, based on 15 00:00:42,342 --> 00:00:45,345 Jesus's teaching on prayer 16 00:00:46,079 --> 00:00:48,348 and, in Matthew six. 17 00:00:48,348 --> 00:00:50,850 Part of that prayer goes, 18 00:00:50,850 --> 00:00:53,253 your kingdom come, 19 00:00:53,253 --> 00:00:55,655 your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 20 00:00:55,655 --> 00:01:00,860 And our desire is that the kingdom of God would come in our midst, and we would be 21 00:01:01,828 --> 00:01:04,831 able to live in the presence of the King, 22 00:01:06,599 --> 00:01:07,634 even on this earth. 23 00:01:07,634 --> 00:01:11,671 And so we're going to look at the book of Matthew, desiring the kingdom 24 00:01:11,671 --> 00:01:14,707 to come and see what Matthew has to say about the kingdom of God. 25 00:01:14,707 --> 00:01:18,945 That's unique to the book of Matthew that framed the idea of the kingdom of God. 26 00:01:18,945 --> 00:01:21,281 That's really unique to Matthew. 27 00:01:21,281 --> 00:01:24,284 I want to spend a lot of this morning 28 00:01:24,317 --> 00:01:27,854 giving you some background on the Gospel of Matthew 29 00:01:29,155 --> 00:01:32,158 to set the stage for what it is we're going to read, 30 00:01:32,392 --> 00:01:35,395 through these next many, many, many weeks. 31 00:01:36,162 --> 00:01:39,165 And to do that, I need to help us understand, as a church, 32 00:01:39,699 --> 00:01:42,702 the four Gospels and what's unique about Matthew, 33 00:01:44,037 --> 00:01:46,573 these four gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, 34 00:01:46,573 --> 00:01:49,576 they were written by four very distinct people 35 00:01:49,609 --> 00:01:53,179 with a distinct perspective and priority 36 00:01:53,179 --> 00:01:56,216 in their recording of the life of Jesus. 37 00:01:57,050 --> 00:02:01,721 Matthew was a disciple of Jesus and an apostle. 38 00:02:02,322 --> 00:02:06,426 Mark was an assistant to Peter the Apostle, but he was not a disciple. 39 00:02:07,260 --> 00:02:11,798 Luke was a Gentile doctor and the author of both Luke and Acts. 40 00:02:11,798 --> 00:02:13,399 But he was not a disciple of Jesus. 41 00:02:13,399 --> 00:02:15,001 He was not an apostle. 42 00:02:15,001 --> 00:02:18,138 And John, who was a disciple of Jesus and an apostle. 43 00:02:18,138 --> 00:02:22,108 So of the four Gospels, only two of them were written by the disciples 44 00:02:22,609 --> 00:02:23,743 Matthew and John. 45 00:02:24,711 --> 00:02:27,714 Mark and Luke were not. 46 00:02:28,948 --> 00:02:31,184 Luke did a lot of research 47 00:02:31,184 --> 00:02:36,689 after the ascension of Jesus and records what he learned from, the 48 00:02:36,689 --> 00:02:39,826 from the disciples in personal interviews, eyewitness interviews. 49 00:02:40,660 --> 00:02:43,696 Mark was an assistant to Peter, who was a disciple. 50 00:02:44,030 --> 00:02:47,534 But of the four Gospels, only Matthew and John 51 00:02:47,700 --> 00:02:50,670 were disciples of Jesus and the apostles of Christ. 52 00:02:51,237 --> 00:02:53,840 And they each Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John write 53 00:02:53,840 --> 00:02:56,876 from a very different perspective with the different priority. 54 00:02:58,478 --> 00:03:02,549 Matthew's concern is to write to the Jews 55 00:03:03,183 --> 00:03:06,586 about the royal line of Jesus, 56 00:03:07,120 --> 00:03:10,924 and that it is the royal line through David that 57 00:03:12,458 --> 00:03:14,093 Matthew uses the 58 00:03:14,093 --> 00:03:16,829 this idea of the the royalty, the royal 59 00:03:16,829 --> 00:03:21,100 line of David, that Jesus comes from that royal line en route to the juicers. 60 00:03:21,100 --> 00:03:25,471 Over 130 references and referrals to the Old Testament in the Book of Matthew. 61 00:03:26,005 --> 00:03:28,808 And so it's very, very, very Jewish. 62 00:03:28,808 --> 00:03:31,811 And if we're going to understand in any depth 63 00:03:32,245 --> 00:03:35,515 the book of Matthew, we have to understand a lot of the Old Testament. 64 00:03:35,515 --> 00:03:39,419 So as we go through this study, I'll I'll draw a lot of that out. 65 00:03:39,452 --> 00:03:43,323 Help us understand, the depth of the Jewishness 66 00:03:43,323 --> 00:03:47,594 and the Old Testament, that, from which Matthew writes, 67 00:03:48,595 --> 00:03:50,363 Mark, 68 00:03:50,363 --> 00:03:51,831 as a different perspective. 69 00:03:51,831 --> 00:03:54,834 Mark writes basically to the Romans, 70 00:03:55,501 --> 00:03:57,971 Jews and Gentile Romans 71 00:03:57,971 --> 00:04:00,974 and really presents Jesus as the servant. 72 00:04:01,741 --> 00:04:03,142 Luke is different. 73 00:04:03,142 --> 00:04:05,912 Luke presents Jesus as the Son of Man. 74 00:04:05,912 --> 00:04:08,081 It's written specifically to Gentiles. 75 00:04:08,081 --> 00:04:12,151 And so a lot of Jesus's humanity, how he treats the poor 76 00:04:12,151 --> 00:04:15,588 and and women and children come out in the book of Luke. 77 00:04:16,589 --> 00:04:20,827 And then John presents Jesus to the world, 78 00:04:21,294 --> 00:04:24,497 and it talks about Jesus as the Son of God, the Eternal One. 79 00:04:24,964 --> 00:04:27,967 And so in Matthew, we have this gospel written to the Jews. 80 00:04:28,301 --> 00:04:32,071 In Mark we have this gospel written to the Romans 81 00:04:32,472 --> 00:04:36,376 in Luke, written to the Gentiles, and in John written to the world. 82 00:04:36,743 --> 00:04:39,679 And so they present Jesus in different. 83 00:04:39,679 --> 00:04:42,348 It's like a different facet of a diamond. 84 00:04:42,348 --> 00:04:44,250 They're all right. 85 00:04:44,250 --> 00:04:47,253 It's just a different look at this. 86 00:04:47,553 --> 00:04:51,557 Jesus, who is the Christ, the eternal one, the Messiah. 87 00:04:52,792 --> 00:04:56,429 In Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, three of them are very, very, 88 00:04:56,429 --> 00:05:00,333 very similar to each other, and we call them the synoptic 89 00:05:00,333 --> 00:05:03,936 Gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, the Synoptic Gospels. 90 00:05:03,936 --> 00:05:06,205 That means they share a lot of the same information. 91 00:05:06,205 --> 00:05:09,909 A lot of the what we'll read in Matthew will also be recorded. 92 00:05:09,909 --> 00:05:14,681 And Mark and Luke for or very similar things. 93 00:05:14,681 --> 00:05:16,316 For instance, 94 00:05:16,316 --> 00:05:19,952 very famous message that Jesus preached called the sermon on the Mount. 95 00:05:19,952 --> 00:05:24,324 Matthew five six and seven, very similarly is recorded in Luke, 96 00:05:24,324 --> 00:05:26,659 but it's called the The Sermon on the plain 97 00:05:26,659 --> 00:05:30,630 because it it's just a different perspective of that, of that message. 98 00:05:30,630 --> 00:05:32,432 And so they're very similar information. 99 00:05:32,432 --> 00:05:34,000 John is different. 100 00:05:34,000 --> 00:05:36,302 John is not like the Synoptics at all. 101 00:05:36,302 --> 00:05:38,871 John is a very unique, 102 00:05:38,871 --> 00:05:42,342 presentation of Jesus because it's written to the entire world. 103 00:05:42,342 --> 00:05:46,412 There's not a single audience, that John has in mind. 104 00:05:46,412 --> 00:05:50,249 And so as we go through this, I just want I want to help you be good Bible 105 00:05:50,249 --> 00:05:53,619 students and understand that Matthew, Mark, and Luke are the Synoptic Gospels. 106 00:05:53,619 --> 00:05:55,421 John is is very, very different. 107 00:05:55,421 --> 00:05:57,423 For instance, in the book of John 108 00:05:57,423 --> 00:06:00,593 we have things that we don't have in Matthew, Mark and Luke. 109 00:06:00,960 --> 00:06:03,963 One of those is that in John, 110 00:06:03,963 --> 00:06:08,034 John records for seven I am statements of Jesus says 111 00:06:08,034 --> 00:06:11,671 I'm the I'm the door, I'm the gate, I'm the good shepherd. 112 00:06:11,838 --> 00:06:14,707 I'm the resurrection, the life, the seven I am statements. 113 00:06:14,707 --> 00:06:17,610 And we don't have those anywhere else in all of the Bible. 114 00:06:17,610 --> 00:06:19,645 And so it's unique to itself. 115 00:06:19,645 --> 00:06:21,047 So I just want to help you understand 116 00:06:21,047 --> 00:06:24,851 a little bit about these four gospels that will be, that will be study. And, 117 00:06:26,586 --> 00:06:27,453 Matthew really 118 00:06:27,453 --> 00:06:30,723 presents the kingdom of God in upside down fashion. 119 00:06:31,190 --> 00:06:32,792 Like says, look, I know you. 120 00:06:32,792 --> 00:06:33,192 He was it. 121 00:06:33,192 --> 00:06:35,995 He was a Jew himself. It comes from the Hebrews. 122 00:06:35,995 --> 00:06:37,730 And this I know that we've been hoping for this 123 00:06:37,730 --> 00:06:41,701 Messiah that would overthrow the Romans and, and and, 124 00:06:41,834 --> 00:06:44,971 you know, give us back our national power and identity. 125 00:06:44,971 --> 00:06:48,374 And I know that's what we were hoping that the Messiah would be. 126 00:06:48,374 --> 00:06:52,178 But but Jesus is the Messiah, and he's doing a little bit differently. 127 00:06:53,045 --> 00:06:54,347 Because I want to understand that. 128 00:06:54,347 --> 00:06:55,681 I mean, that's how God works. 129 00:06:55,681 --> 00:06:59,552 God rarely does things according to what we think he ought to do things right? 130 00:07:00,286 --> 00:07:00,720 Right. 131 00:07:00,720 --> 00:07:04,524 Like he's like, I have my like, let me be me. 132 00:07:04,524 --> 00:07:07,193 God says, quit trying to be me. 133 00:07:07,193 --> 00:07:08,428 I know what I'm doing. 134 00:07:08,428 --> 00:07:09,662 My ways are higher than yours. 135 00:07:09,662 --> 00:07:11,431 My thoughts are beyond yours. 136 00:07:11,431 --> 00:07:14,767 And I'm there's not a mistake in my economy. 137 00:07:15,067 --> 00:07:16,936 Let me do my thing. 138 00:07:16,936 --> 00:07:20,773 And so Matthew presents Jesus and the kingdom of God. 139 00:07:20,773 --> 00:07:23,209 That's unique to Matthew in a way that this 140 00:07:23,209 --> 00:07:25,578 this look, this is going to be upside down from what you think. 141 00:07:27,013 --> 00:07:27,380 And it's a 142 00:07:27,380 --> 00:07:30,483 really unique perspective, Matthew, as other name 143 00:07:30,483 --> 00:07:34,287 that we know him in the Bible is Levi, and there's some indication 144 00:07:34,620 --> 00:07:38,024 that he comes from the he may come from the tribe of Levi. 145 00:07:38,024 --> 00:07:41,027 And if you know, biblical, 146 00:07:41,027 --> 00:07:43,162 history in the 12 Tribes, 147 00:07:43,162 --> 00:07:46,766 Levi was one of the 12 tribes and Levi was the priestly tribe. 148 00:07:47,233 --> 00:07:50,837 And so it could be that Matthew comes from the priestly tribe. 149 00:07:51,204 --> 00:07:56,709 And as such, Matthew should have been a really, really, really good, devout Jew. 150 00:07:56,709 --> 00:07:59,712 Really good religious Jew should have been. 151 00:07:59,912 --> 00:08:02,081 But he wasn't 152 00:08:02,081 --> 00:08:05,985 at all, Matthew was a tax collector. 153 00:08:05,985 --> 00:08:08,988 If any of you heard that that Matthew was a tax collector, you've heard that. 154 00:08:09,522 --> 00:08:12,859 And so tax collectors were they were an oddity, 155 00:08:13,726 --> 00:08:16,562 in, in, in the amongst 156 00:08:16,562 --> 00:08:20,333 the Jews because, in the, in Israel, 157 00:08:20,533 --> 00:08:24,070 the Roman government was the ruling authority. 158 00:08:25,171 --> 00:08:26,639 They were the occupying force. 159 00:08:26,639 --> 00:08:29,709 They were the greatest military, greatest empire in the world at the time. 160 00:08:30,109 --> 00:08:33,779 And they had taken over kind of this the, the 161 00:08:34,046 --> 00:08:35,515 they were occupying the Promised Land. 162 00:08:35,515 --> 00:08:36,883 So all these Hebrew, 163 00:08:36,883 --> 00:08:40,286 these Jews were living under the oppression of the Roman Empire. 164 00:08:40,987 --> 00:08:43,890 And in order for the Roman Empire to propagate 165 00:08:43,890 --> 00:08:46,893 throughout the world, they it cost a lot of money. 166 00:08:47,126 --> 00:08:50,296 And the way they got that money was through exorbitant taxes. 167 00:08:50,663 --> 00:08:52,865 We know something about that. 168 00:08:52,865 --> 00:08:55,868 And so the way they would collect their taxes 169 00:08:56,502 --> 00:08:59,005 is they would employ Jews 170 00:08:59,005 --> 00:09:02,208 to collect taxes from their fellow Jews. 171 00:09:03,142 --> 00:09:07,446 And so what you had were these these Jews living in the land, 172 00:09:07,980 --> 00:09:12,919 the promised land and their own people are collecting taxes from them 173 00:09:12,919 --> 00:09:17,256 to give to the occupying force, so the occupying force could continue 174 00:09:17,256 --> 00:09:21,093 to oppress them and take over, you know, other parts of the world. 175 00:09:21,093 --> 00:09:24,096 So tax collectors were hated by their own people. 176 00:09:24,764 --> 00:09:28,267 The interesting thing about tax collectors, the only people who knew 177 00:09:28,301 --> 00:09:32,738 how much tax the Roman authorities wanted were the Romans and the tax collectors. 178 00:09:32,872 --> 00:09:34,907 The people did it know. 179 00:09:34,907 --> 00:09:38,644 So whatever the tax collector said, that's what I owed. 180 00:09:38,644 --> 00:09:39,345 Whether 181 00:09:41,280 --> 00:09:43,182 whether 182 00:09:43,182 --> 00:09:44,483 it was what the Romans said or not. 183 00:09:44,483 --> 00:09:47,019 So here's what the tax collector did. 184 00:09:47,019 --> 00:09:50,723 If the Romans said we need x, Y, and z in taxes, 185 00:09:50,890 --> 00:09:54,727 the tax collector had the authority because you don't know how much Roman Rome 186 00:09:54,727 --> 00:09:57,730 has wanted to say x, Y, and z, and A, B and C, 187 00:09:58,497 --> 00:10:00,099 and so they would take x, y and z 188 00:10:00,099 --> 00:10:03,102 and give that to Rome, and they would keep A, B and C for themselves. 189 00:10:03,903 --> 00:10:05,438 And so they were thieves. 190 00:10:05,438 --> 00:10:08,641 They had no integrity, they were dishonest, 191 00:10:08,941 --> 00:10:11,510 and they were really rich. 192 00:10:11,510 --> 00:10:12,778 And so they're stuck. 193 00:10:12,778 --> 00:10:15,247 I mean, unfortunately, they were stuck in this no man's land 194 00:10:15,247 --> 00:10:16,916 because they're all fellow Jews. 195 00:10:16,916 --> 00:10:18,417 And he was hated. 196 00:10:18,417 --> 00:10:20,620 Because how can you work for the occupying force 197 00:10:20,620 --> 00:10:23,656 and steal money from us and get rich off of this? 198 00:10:24,256 --> 00:10:27,460 And the Romans didn't really like him because they were dirty Jews anyway. 199 00:10:27,994 --> 00:10:30,296 And so they were stuck in this no man's land. 200 00:10:30,296 --> 00:10:31,397 They didn't have relationships. 201 00:10:31,397 --> 00:10:33,432 They didn't have friends. 202 00:10:33,432 --> 00:10:37,803 They didn't have, like a, a family they were a part of. 203 00:10:38,037 --> 00:10:41,607 It's very likely that their own family, like, disowned them 204 00:10:41,607 --> 00:10:44,543 because how could you live like that? How could you do that? 205 00:10:44,543 --> 00:10:46,479 After the Romans and a pressure on people. 206 00:10:46,479 --> 00:10:49,982 And so they were in this, this really, really, really tough spot. 207 00:10:52,118 --> 00:10:55,921 And so the moment Jesus calls Matthew, 208 00:10:56,656 --> 00:10:59,659 it was so transformative for Matthew 209 00:11:00,493 --> 00:11:03,663 because he had been shunned and discarded by his people. 210 00:11:04,296 --> 00:11:08,000 He was simply used as a dog by the Romans. 211 00:11:08,534 --> 00:11:11,003 And now you have this Jesus who says there's 212 00:11:11,003 --> 00:11:14,006 something about you that I value. 213 00:11:14,106 --> 00:11:16,442 There's something about you that's worth redeeming. 214 00:11:16,442 --> 00:11:19,011 There's something about you, 215 00:11:19,011 --> 00:11:21,547 that that I cherish. 216 00:11:21,547 --> 00:11:24,984 Matthew had never experienced that from anybody before. 217 00:11:25,651 --> 00:11:29,922 And so the moment Matthew heard Jesus say, Matthew, I want you to follow me. 218 00:11:30,289 --> 00:11:33,959 It changed his whole world because now 219 00:11:33,959 --> 00:11:37,196 somebody invited him into 220 00:11:38,531 --> 00:11:40,833 a healthy relationship. 221 00:11:40,833 --> 00:11:43,836 And so Matthew chose to follow Jesus, 222 00:11:44,570 --> 00:11:47,173 and he never looked back. 223 00:11:47,173 --> 00:11:50,576 It changed Matthew's identity and it changed Matthew's direction. 224 00:11:50,943 --> 00:11:53,345 And friends, please hear me when I say this. 225 00:11:53,345 --> 00:11:57,116 This is what is intended when we give our life 226 00:11:57,116 --> 00:12:01,420 to Jesus, to change our identity and to change our direction. 227 00:12:02,421 --> 00:12:03,456 Most people 228 00:12:03,456 --> 00:12:06,459 want Jesus to come in their lives to make their life better. 229 00:12:06,592 --> 00:12:09,595 I want to add God to this part of my world to make that better 230 00:12:10,062 --> 00:12:13,265 and God says, that's not that's not the point. 231 00:12:14,133 --> 00:12:16,402 The point is this 232 00:12:16,402 --> 00:12:18,604 I want you to add your life to me, 233 00:12:18,604 --> 00:12:22,074 not me, to you, because I want to change your identity. 234 00:12:22,074 --> 00:12:24,710 I want to change your direction. 235 00:12:24,710 --> 00:12:26,645 Do you understand that? 236 00:12:26,645 --> 00:12:29,648 Like we don't add Jesus to us to make stuff better, 237 00:12:30,683 --> 00:12:33,018 we attach our life to him, 238 00:12:33,018 --> 00:12:36,021 to change our identity and to change our direction. 239 00:12:36,055 --> 00:12:37,056 And that's what Matthew did. 240 00:12:37,056 --> 00:12:40,526 And and this, this is what discipleship is. 241 00:12:41,627 --> 00:12:44,630 This is what being a Christian really is. 242 00:12:45,598 --> 00:12:50,436 It's these four words I want you to remember, belong, become, give and go, 243 00:12:51,670 --> 00:12:54,540 belong, become, give and go. 244 00:12:54,540 --> 00:12:55,875 This is what we'll see in Matthew. 245 00:12:55,875 --> 00:12:57,409 That's what we see in all the disciples. 246 00:12:57,409 --> 00:13:00,246 And every bit of the follow Jesus in the in in the New Testament 247 00:13:00,246 --> 00:13:04,316 we see these four things belong, become, give and go. 248 00:13:04,950 --> 00:13:08,454 They will join their lives to Christ. 249 00:13:08,454 --> 00:13:11,123 They belong to the family of God. 250 00:13:11,123 --> 00:13:14,260 And the expression of the family of God in the world, the church they belong. 251 00:13:15,161 --> 00:13:17,429 And because they belong to Christ, 252 00:13:17,429 --> 00:13:20,432 they become something they weren't before. 253 00:13:20,432 --> 00:13:23,135 Jesus says, if you, those in me 254 00:13:23,135 --> 00:13:26,806 become a new creation, creations, the old is gone. 255 00:13:26,806 --> 00:13:27,339 The news comes. 256 00:13:27,339 --> 00:13:30,242 So we become something we weren't before. 257 00:13:30,242 --> 00:13:32,945 And when those two internal things happen, 258 00:13:32,945 --> 00:13:35,948 they flesh themselves out into external things. 259 00:13:36,348 --> 00:13:39,752 I then give Matthew is going to leave 260 00:13:39,985 --> 00:13:43,556 his tax collector booth, which means he's going to leave his identity. 261 00:13:43,589 --> 00:13:46,792 He's going to leave his money is going to leave his position. 262 00:13:46,792 --> 00:13:49,862 He's going to leave his power is going to leave all of that behind. 263 00:13:49,862 --> 00:13:52,798 And he's going to give all of that to Jesus 264 00:13:52,798 --> 00:13:54,700 because he belongs to the family of God. 265 00:13:54,700 --> 00:13:56,836 He's becoming something he never was before. 266 00:13:56,836 --> 00:13:59,972 He's going to give of himself in his resources, 267 00:14:00,206 --> 00:14:03,209 and he's going to go on behalf of the Kingdom 268 00:14:03,409 --> 00:14:06,912 and tell other people about this Jesus that radically transformed his life. 269 00:14:08,047 --> 00:14:10,149 Of the disciples and apostles, 270 00:14:10,149 --> 00:14:14,353 we don't know a lot throughout history of where and how they end it. 271 00:14:14,353 --> 00:14:18,891 We know about a few of them, but a lot of them we just have church history, 272 00:14:19,425 --> 00:14:22,428 to rely on that history tells us that Matthew, 273 00:14:22,761 --> 00:14:26,498 because he belonged to the family of God and he became somebody he wasn't 274 00:14:26,498 --> 00:14:30,836 previously, and he gave everything in his life to the kingdom of God. 275 00:14:31,070 --> 00:14:34,073 He then would go into Ethiopia 276 00:14:34,907 --> 00:14:37,910 and become a martyr for the kingdom 277 00:14:39,178 --> 00:14:41,313 belong, become give and go. 278 00:14:41,313 --> 00:14:46,185 So if you're if you ever start wondering like what's next in my spiritual journey, 279 00:14:46,185 --> 00:14:49,288 just think about those four things belong, become, give and go. 280 00:14:50,055 --> 00:14:53,392 Do you belong to the family of God and the local expression through? 281 00:14:53,425 --> 00:14:57,496 Have you given yourself to God and His family? 282 00:14:58,664 --> 00:15:00,766 Are you becoming continually 283 00:15:00,766 --> 00:15:03,769 becoming someone new? 284 00:15:04,803 --> 00:15:06,906 Are you giving of that 285 00:15:06,906 --> 00:15:10,342 which God has given you to further his kingdom in the world? 286 00:15:11,377 --> 00:15:14,380 And are you going on behalf of the Kingdom 287 00:15:14,380 --> 00:15:17,483 to tell other people in your huddle and those in your world about Christ? 288 00:15:18,984 --> 00:15:21,720 Do you understand that? Yes. 289 00:15:21,720 --> 00:15:23,022 Belong, become give and go. 290 00:15:23,022 --> 00:15:25,991 That's the that's the that's the process of a disciple. 291 00:15:25,991 --> 00:15:29,828 And that's what we'll see in Matthew over and over and see in all these 292 00:15:29,828 --> 00:15:32,831 in the New Testament, that to follow Jesus. 293 00:15:33,799 --> 00:15:36,802 So I would just ask you, just consider yourself for yourself right now. 294 00:15:37,736 --> 00:15:40,739 Do you belong to the family of God and the expression of God through the 295 00:15:40,873 --> 00:15:42,841 in the world, through the church? 296 00:15:42,841 --> 00:15:44,944 Are you becoming a new creation 297 00:15:46,478 --> 00:15:48,747 like things are changing? 298 00:15:48,747 --> 00:15:50,683 Are you giving sacrificially? 299 00:15:50,683 --> 00:15:53,118 Are you going until another be about you? 300 00:15:53,118 --> 00:15:56,055 Like where are you and what's your next step? 301 00:15:56,055 --> 00:15:59,058 This is how we grow up in our faith. 302 00:15:59,692 --> 00:16:02,695 Matthew follow Jesus. 303 00:16:02,761 --> 00:16:06,198 He left his former identity and he did two things. 304 00:16:06,198 --> 00:16:09,201 He opened his heart to Jesus and he opened his his home to Jesus. 305 00:16:09,702 --> 00:16:12,705 He opened his heart to Jesus, and he opened his home to Jesus. 306 00:16:13,238 --> 00:16:16,241 The soon after, Matthew decided 307 00:16:16,241 --> 00:16:20,346 to follow this invitation of Jesus to to apprentice after him. 308 00:16:21,213 --> 00:16:24,216 We know in the Bible that Matthew threw a party 309 00:16:24,683 --> 00:16:28,053 and he's like, look, I've been an outcast my whole life. 310 00:16:28,053 --> 00:16:30,823 My own people didn't like me, I didn't have a place. 311 00:16:30,823 --> 00:16:32,424 And Jesus accepted me. 312 00:16:32,424 --> 00:16:34,293 And he's making me a whole new person. 313 00:16:34,293 --> 00:16:39,231 I'm going to throw a party and invite my friends to to to be around Jesus. 314 00:16:39,231 --> 00:16:41,400 I gotta tell my friends about him. 315 00:16:41,400 --> 00:16:43,502 And so Matthew throws a party. 316 00:16:43,502 --> 00:16:47,573 But who do you think Matthew invited to his dinner party? 317 00:16:51,176 --> 00:16:51,477 Yeah. 318 00:16:51,477 --> 00:16:54,279 Who's going to be friends with tax collectors? 319 00:16:54,279 --> 00:16:55,748 Tax collectors? 320 00:16:55,748 --> 00:16:59,551 There's one other group that's friends with corrupt rich people. 321 00:17:00,886 --> 00:17:01,920 Prostitutes? 322 00:17:01,920 --> 00:17:04,189 Yeah, so that's what the Bible says. 323 00:17:04,189 --> 00:17:06,892 He invited tax collectors and prostitutes to a dinner party. 324 00:17:06,892 --> 00:17:10,863 Because, after all, who's going to be friends with corrupt, super rich people? 325 00:17:12,131 --> 00:17:16,468 And so he throws this party with all these tax collectors and process 326 00:17:16,468 --> 00:17:19,471 because there's only ones that he's connected to. 327 00:17:19,571 --> 00:17:21,807 Think about it. 328 00:17:21,807 --> 00:17:24,810 And he invites Jesus, 329 00:17:25,144 --> 00:17:28,147 which let me just say, this is a great evangelism strategy 330 00:17:29,314 --> 00:17:33,452 to throw parties for people who don't know Jesus and invite 331 00:17:33,452 --> 00:17:37,656 some of us who do know Jesus to be there to talk to them about Jesus. 332 00:17:38,690 --> 00:17:41,026 Some of you are great invites 333 00:17:41,026 --> 00:17:44,163 and some of your great party planners, and some of you are great cooks. 334 00:17:44,830 --> 00:17:47,933 And if you're a great party planner and cook really good food, throw a 335 00:17:47,933 --> 00:17:49,034 party and invite me. 336 00:17:52,237 --> 00:17:52,704 Now listen, 337 00:17:52,704 --> 00:17:55,707 I don't want to go to all your parties, 338 00:17:55,808 --> 00:17:58,944 but some of you who are really good cooks and bakers. 339 00:17:58,944 --> 00:18:00,946 Yeah, 340 00:18:00,946 --> 00:18:04,016 but so this is a great this is a great event. 341 00:18:04,116 --> 00:18:06,318 And so this is, this is what hospitality is like. 342 00:18:06,318 --> 00:18:09,421 In the first church, they used hospitality to introduce people to their faith. 343 00:18:10,122 --> 00:18:13,759 And so Matthew throws this party and it's it's so typical. 344 00:18:13,759 --> 00:18:16,462 The freaking religious people, they're kind of standing on the outskirts 345 00:18:16,462 --> 00:18:20,666 and they see Jesus and Matthew hanging out with tax collectors and prostitutes, 346 00:18:20,866 --> 00:18:22,434 and they're like, how can he do that? 347 00:18:22,434 --> 00:18:24,069 Doesn't he know who these people are? 348 00:18:24,069 --> 00:18:27,072 And Jesus confronts him and he says, listen, 349 00:18:28,173 --> 00:18:29,942 it's not the healthy who need a doctor. 350 00:18:29,942 --> 00:18:31,410 It's the sick. 351 00:18:31,410 --> 00:18:34,346 I've come to seek and save the lost. 352 00:18:34,346 --> 00:18:36,448 Here's what I love about Jesus response. 353 00:18:36,448 --> 00:18:38,450 It's pretty profound, he said. 354 00:18:38,450 --> 00:18:41,153 I have come to seek and save you. 355 00:18:41,153 --> 00:18:43,288 Religious people come to seek and condemn. 356 00:18:45,124 --> 00:18:46,959 That's all they wanted to do. 357 00:18:46,959 --> 00:18:49,495 They want to seek out who's breaking the law and condemn him 358 00:18:49,495 --> 00:18:51,663 for being lawbreakers. 359 00:18:51,663 --> 00:18:53,732 This is the difference between, you know, 360 00:18:53,732 --> 00:18:56,735 most religion and Christianity. 361 00:18:56,802 --> 00:19:00,205 Religion wants to seek you out and condemn you for all the wrong we've done. 362 00:19:01,240 --> 00:19:03,542 Jesus wants to seek us out and save us. 363 00:19:03,542 --> 00:19:06,512 But here's here's what we have to realize. 364 00:19:06,912 --> 00:19:10,182 He wants to save us from our old sin life. 365 00:19:11,216 --> 00:19:13,952 He says it's not the health you need, doctor, but the sick. 366 00:19:13,952 --> 00:19:17,756 Listen, Jesus can't save anybody who doesn't first 367 00:19:17,756 --> 00:19:20,759 admit they're sick. 368 00:19:21,193 --> 00:19:23,362 They understand. 369 00:19:23,362 --> 00:19:26,098 Like there has to be the acknowledgment. 370 00:19:26,098 --> 00:19:29,501 I realize the way I'm living is contrary to your standard. 371 00:19:29,501 --> 00:19:31,270 That's sick. 372 00:19:31,270 --> 00:19:33,272 It's sin. Sick. 373 00:19:33,272 --> 00:19:35,841 I have to acknowledge my sin, sickness 374 00:19:37,743 --> 00:19:40,712 before I can be saved from it. 375 00:19:40,746 --> 00:19:43,749 There's a lot of talk amongst, 376 00:19:43,815 --> 00:19:46,618 you know, church people, religious people. 377 00:19:46,618 --> 00:19:49,621 I want to be careful because I want to communicate this well. 378 00:19:50,923 --> 00:19:54,193 But this idea that Jesus loves you 379 00:19:54,193 --> 00:19:57,529 just like you are, and he just wants you to experience his love. 380 00:19:57,563 --> 00:19:59,998 We got to be real careful. 381 00:19:59,998 --> 00:20:04,703 I think it's more along the lines biblically that Jesus loves us, though 382 00:20:04,703 --> 00:20:06,405 we are 383 00:20:06,405 --> 00:20:08,707 not just as we are, because if he just simply loved us 384 00:20:08,707 --> 00:20:10,209 as we are, he wants us to know his love. 385 00:20:10,209 --> 00:20:11,577 He would never have to die on the cross, 386 00:20:11,577 --> 00:20:14,580 and they would never have to be forgiveness of sin. 387 00:20:16,381 --> 00:20:19,351 So he loves us, though we are. 388 00:20:20,485 --> 00:20:24,723 The Bible says while we were sinners separated from him, he loved us. 389 00:20:24,723 --> 00:20:28,560 And so there has to be the acknowledgment I don't I can't just add 390 00:20:28,560 --> 00:20:32,030 Jesus to my sin life and him make my life better. 391 00:20:33,031 --> 00:20:33,365 There has 392 00:20:33,365 --> 00:20:36,401 to be the acknowledgment there sin. 393 00:20:37,202 --> 00:20:41,039 I have to repent of that and there has to be a change. 394 00:20:41,506 --> 00:20:44,610 That's what repentance is, to turn and go the other way. 395 00:20:46,044 --> 00:20:49,047 And so Jesus says, look, yes, I've come to save people, 396 00:20:49,214 --> 00:20:52,150 but I've come to save sick people who admit they're sick. 397 00:20:52,150 --> 00:20:53,118 You can't be saved. 398 00:20:53,118 --> 00:20:55,887 It's until for some it you're sick. Does it make sense? 399 00:20:55,887 --> 00:20:58,890 You understand? 400 00:21:00,692 --> 00:21:03,762 Have you ever heard that saying that people who are nothing like 401 00:21:03,762 --> 00:21:06,765 Jesus, like Jesus? 402 00:21:06,965 --> 00:21:09,434 Let me say that again because some of you missed it. 403 00:21:09,434 --> 00:21:12,904 People who were nothing like Jesus liked Jesus. 404 00:21:13,572 --> 00:21:16,575 Matthew is nothing like Jesus, but he sure liked Jesus. 405 00:21:17,409 --> 00:21:19,678 And that is so true. 406 00:21:19,678 --> 00:21:25,317 But Jesus didn't just want to be liked, he wanted to heal people from their sin 407 00:21:26,551 --> 00:21:28,487 like they couldn't. 408 00:21:28,487 --> 00:21:31,290 Just can't like, Jesus can't be a part of my life, 409 00:21:31,290 --> 00:21:34,293 but I'm going to continue in my sinful ways. 410 00:21:35,527 --> 00:21:38,530 There has to be a dying of that. 411 00:21:40,332 --> 00:21:40,866 And the fact 412 00:21:40,866 --> 00:21:43,869 that Jesus heals all of that makes me like him, 413 00:21:44,336 --> 00:21:47,339 because he doesn't leave me in my old sin ways. 414 00:21:48,907 --> 00:21:50,242 You know, I'm 415 00:21:50,242 --> 00:21:53,245 going to get to Matthew one one in just a minute. 416 00:21:55,480 --> 00:21:58,083 But one of the things I like about Matthew is the only thing 417 00:21:58,083 --> 00:22:01,086 Matthew tells us about himself is that he was a tax collector. 418 00:22:02,220 --> 00:22:05,157 He doesn't tell us much of the good, 419 00:22:05,157 --> 00:22:07,993 the the fact that Matthew left everything 420 00:22:07,993 --> 00:22:11,697 and sacrificed everything his position, his power, his money, his wealth. 421 00:22:12,364 --> 00:22:16,435 He doesn't tell us that Luke does it? 422 00:22:16,435 --> 00:22:17,836 Matthew doesn't tell us about his, 423 00:22:17,836 --> 00:22:21,440 you know, this great party he through and invite all these people and Jesus. 424 00:22:21,907 --> 00:22:24,176 He doesn't tell us that Luke does. 425 00:22:24,176 --> 00:22:27,346 The only thing Matthew tells us is, look, I used to be a tax collector. 426 00:22:27,346 --> 00:22:30,716 And then Jesus and I love his humility. 427 00:22:32,551 --> 00:22:34,386 He's not it's not self-deprecating. 428 00:22:34,386 --> 00:22:36,722 He's just like, look, this is what was. 429 00:22:36,722 --> 00:22:39,691 And I want to tell you who I was because it's not who I am. 430 00:22:40,425 --> 00:22:41,059 I was. 431 00:22:41,059 --> 00:22:44,229 And then Jesus said, listen, some of you have that very story. 432 00:22:46,398 --> 00:22:48,900 And that is another great evangelism tool. 433 00:22:48,900 --> 00:22:51,903 You some of you have a great I used to be and then Jesus story, 434 00:22:52,270 --> 00:22:55,374 the great thing about your personal story is nobody can argue with it. 435 00:22:56,108 --> 00:22:58,410 It's your story. 436 00:22:58,410 --> 00:23:01,413 And some of you can say, I used to be. 437 00:23:02,013 --> 00:23:04,149 And then Jesus. 438 00:23:04,149 --> 00:23:07,152 And if you have a I used to be and then Jesus story, 439 00:23:07,185 --> 00:23:10,088 you need to tell your story 440 00:23:10,088 --> 00:23:14,192 not to glorify who you used to be, but to glorify and magnify 441 00:23:14,192 --> 00:23:17,796 who Jesus is and the mercy and grace of God to change you. 442 00:23:18,330 --> 00:23:20,399 Does that make sense? You understand. 443 00:23:20,399 --> 00:23:22,100 It's a great evangelism strategy. 444 00:23:25,537 --> 00:23:28,106 I also like the fact that Matthew, the tax collector, 445 00:23:28,106 --> 00:23:32,411 I mean, these guys had to be so precise and so detailed. 446 00:23:32,744 --> 00:23:35,747 I mean, you know what CPAs are like, right? 447 00:23:35,781 --> 00:23:38,884 Like the all the details and not a penny out. 448 00:23:38,884 --> 00:23:42,654 And they just know all this that like, I couldn't live like like, 449 00:23:44,089 --> 00:23:47,325 but he was so detailed and so precise. 450 00:23:48,360 --> 00:23:51,363 And that's exactly what God you like. 451 00:23:51,963 --> 00:23:53,799 Here's what I know. God will read it. 452 00:23:53,799 --> 00:23:56,802 God will you God will repurpose whatever, 453 00:23:57,102 --> 00:23:59,738 whatever we're like. 454 00:23:59,738 --> 00:24:01,540 God repurposes that. 455 00:24:01,540 --> 00:24:04,543 If we allow him for his kingdom. 456 00:24:04,543 --> 00:24:06,077 In other words, 457 00:24:06,077 --> 00:24:09,948 when God was going to use Moses to liberate 458 00:24:09,948 --> 00:24:13,919 his people out of Egypt, he said, Moses, what do you have in your hand right now? 459 00:24:13,952 --> 00:24:16,755 Moses was like, I got a stick. He goes, great, we'll use it. 460 00:24:19,491 --> 00:24:20,559 When he went to David, he 461 00:24:20,559 --> 00:24:23,895 said, David, you're going to be the one to to lead my people. 462 00:24:24,362 --> 00:24:26,898 There's a giant we got to get rid of first. 463 00:24:26,898 --> 00:24:28,166 What do you have in your hand? 464 00:24:28,166 --> 00:24:30,202 And David said, well, I got a sling. God. 465 00:24:30,202 --> 00:24:33,205 So great. We'll use that. 466 00:24:33,271 --> 00:24:35,507 And so now Jesus was like, look, 467 00:24:35,507 --> 00:24:38,510 I need some guys to follow me and record this. 468 00:24:38,510 --> 00:24:41,379 So. So, Matthew, what do you have Matthew like? 469 00:24:41,379 --> 00:24:44,382 Well, I got a real detailed mine and a pen and a paper 470 00:24:45,817 --> 00:24:48,086 and just like, well, that's great. 471 00:24:48,086 --> 00:24:50,322 It's exactly what I need. 472 00:24:50,322 --> 00:24:54,025 And the Gospel of Matthew is so precise and so detailed. 473 00:24:55,527 --> 00:24:57,395 So here's what I'm saying. 474 00:24:57,395 --> 00:25:00,398 Whatever you are, whoever you are, 475 00:25:00,932 --> 00:25:06,171 God wants to repurpose that for his kingdom advancement, just like you are. 476 00:25:08,006 --> 00:25:08,740 When I was young, 477 00:25:08,740 --> 00:25:11,743 I thought, man, I wish I could play the guitar. 478 00:25:11,776 --> 00:25:13,945 That'd be so cool. 479 00:25:13,945 --> 00:25:16,948 So I became a youth pastor and I taught myself to play the guitar. 480 00:25:17,482 --> 00:25:18,683 I say play the guitar. 481 00:25:18,683 --> 00:25:21,686 That's a really generous statement. 482 00:25:22,320 --> 00:25:24,923 I could strum a few chords, 483 00:25:24,923 --> 00:25:25,657 but I thought, God, 484 00:25:25,657 --> 00:25:29,261 if you would just give me a voice, I would love to be like these guys. 485 00:25:29,461 --> 00:25:32,364 I would love be able to sing like that right? 486 00:25:32,364 --> 00:25:33,999 Right. 487 00:25:33,999 --> 00:25:36,167 Some of you think you can sing like that and you 488 00:25:36,167 --> 00:25:39,170 just. 489 00:25:39,538 --> 00:25:41,573 It's like God's like, Carl, I don't need you to sing. 490 00:25:41,573 --> 00:25:42,674 I got plenty of singers. 491 00:25:42,674 --> 00:25:44,442 I need people to tell stories. 492 00:25:44,442 --> 00:25:47,445 So when I was young, my mom told me this. 493 00:25:47,679 --> 00:25:50,582 She said, Carl, you are a great storyteller. 494 00:25:50,582 --> 00:25:54,185 I think what she was really saying was, Carl, you can really tell great lies 495 00:25:54,185 --> 00:25:55,253 and make people believe you. 496 00:25:55,253 --> 00:25:57,589 Like, yeah, I think that's really what she was saying. 497 00:25:58,690 --> 00:25:59,391 And I remember when 498 00:25:59,391 --> 00:26:04,529 she told me that I thought, Big Lottie, duh, I'm a storyteller. 499 00:26:05,330 --> 00:26:08,800 I tell you, listen, there's usually there's not a young man 500 00:26:08,800 --> 00:26:13,305 trying to understand his manhood who was like, yes, I'm a storyteller. 501 00:26:14,706 --> 00:26:17,242 That's. 502 00:26:17,242 --> 00:26:20,245 But you know what I do every week? 503 00:26:23,214 --> 00:26:24,716 I think God finally got a hold of me. 504 00:26:24,716 --> 00:26:27,218 He said, Carl, what do you do? I'm like, I tell stories. 505 00:26:27,218 --> 00:26:29,220 He goes, right, 506 00:26:29,220 --> 00:26:32,123 that's what I need. 507 00:26:32,123 --> 00:26:35,193 So God takes whoever we have repurposes it for his kid. 508 00:26:35,260 --> 00:26:38,063 That's what he did with Matthew. 509 00:26:38,063 --> 00:26:41,066 And so Matthew one one, 510 00:26:41,132 --> 00:26:43,802 here's the big idea 511 00:26:43,802 --> 00:26:46,805 when God writes the story, nothing is a mistake. 512 00:26:47,973 --> 00:26:50,942 When God writes the story, nothing's a mistake. 513 00:26:52,510 --> 00:26:55,747 Matthew is very concerned with the genealogy of Jesus. 514 00:26:55,747 --> 00:26:56,881 It's very important. 515 00:26:57,916 --> 00:26:59,618 Matthew wants to drive home 516 00:26:59,618 --> 00:27:03,822 the point to his Hebrew learners, his Jewish learners, hearers 517 00:27:04,623 --> 00:27:09,461 that Jesus is of the royal line of David, that he has a legal right 518 00:27:09,961 --> 00:27:12,964 to rule, has a legal right to the throne, 519 00:27:13,999 --> 00:27:17,002 and so chapter one, verse one. 520 00:27:19,738 --> 00:27:19,971 Yeah. 521 00:27:19,971 --> 00:27:21,072 Chapter one, verse one, 522 00:27:21,072 --> 00:27:25,343 the book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the son of Abraham, 523 00:27:26,111 --> 00:27:30,115 Matthew is driving home the point of the royal line of Jesus 524 00:27:30,115 --> 00:27:34,319 through King David to rule and to reign his people. 525 00:27:35,053 --> 00:27:36,454 There's three titles. 526 00:27:36,454 --> 00:27:41,526 He speaks of Jesus in this one verse of Jesus Christ. 527 00:27:41,793 --> 00:27:45,230 We have to understand Christ wasn't Jesus's last name. 528 00:27:46,464 --> 00:27:47,666 There were. 529 00:27:47,666 --> 00:27:50,935 There were a lot of Jesus's in this time is a very common name. 530 00:27:51,603 --> 00:27:55,173 He was probably called Jesus bar Joseph. 531 00:27:55,173 --> 00:27:56,941 Jesus, the son of Joseph. 532 00:27:59,444 --> 00:28:01,680 Christ is a title. 533 00:28:01,680 --> 00:28:03,181 It's not a name. 534 00:28:03,181 --> 00:28:05,617 Christ is the Greek 535 00:28:05,617 --> 00:28:08,620 translation of the Hebrew Messiah, 536 00:28:09,120 --> 00:28:12,957 which means the chosen one, the Anointed One, the one that 537 00:28:12,957 --> 00:28:16,861 all of Jewish history throughout the Old Testament was looking forward to. 538 00:28:16,861 --> 00:28:18,630 The coming of the Messiah. 539 00:28:18,630 --> 00:28:20,432 So it's Jesus, the Christ. 540 00:28:20,432 --> 00:28:22,901 That's what Matthew saying. 541 00:28:22,901 --> 00:28:26,571 And then he uses these two other title, the Son of David, the son of Abraham. 542 00:28:26,971 --> 00:28:31,509 When he says, the son of David, he's saying, Jesus is of the royal line 543 00:28:31,743 --> 00:28:34,746 and the Son of Abraham, he's of the racial line, 544 00:28:35,046 --> 00:28:37,916 because the Jews knew that their Messiah would be 545 00:28:37,916 --> 00:28:41,653 of the royal line of David and the racial line of the Jews. 546 00:28:42,320 --> 00:28:45,924 And so right at the beginning, he's saying this Jesus, he's 547 00:28:45,924 --> 00:28:48,593 not just a good teacher, he's not just a moral man. 548 00:28:48,593 --> 00:28:50,862 He is of the royal line of David. 549 00:28:50,862 --> 00:28:54,332 So he has a right to rule, and he's of the racial line of Abraham. 550 00:28:54,332 --> 00:28:56,568 He is the chosen one. 551 00:28:56,568 --> 00:28:59,838 And then Matthew goes through from verses 552 00:28:59,838 --> 00:29:03,408 one through 16, this listing of names. 553 00:29:03,408 --> 00:29:08,680 And it just sounds like it sounds like the telephone book. 554 00:29:08,947 --> 00:29:10,181 We'll have telephone books and more. 555 00:29:10,181 --> 00:29:13,518 Dewey, Dewey, my dating myself, how old I am. 556 00:29:14,652 --> 00:29:17,422 It sounds like just a list of names. 557 00:29:17,422 --> 00:29:20,492 And what he's doing, he's saying there's three sections. 558 00:29:20,492 --> 00:29:23,862 He lists three sections in verses one through 17. 559 00:29:24,496 --> 00:29:26,998 And these three sections relate to three 560 00:29:26,998 --> 00:29:30,435 eras of God's people, from the patriarchy 561 00:29:30,435 --> 00:29:33,772 to the monarchy, from the monarchy to the captivity to the captivity. 562 00:29:33,805 --> 00:29:38,576 The activity from the Patriarch Abraham to the monarchy David 563 00:29:39,177 --> 00:29:42,547 from the monarchy, David to the captivity in Babylon 564 00:29:42,747 --> 00:29:46,351 and from the Captivity in Babylon to the Nativity, the birth of Christ. 565 00:29:46,351 --> 00:29:51,122 These are the three areas that Matthew is detailing here, because why? 566 00:29:51,222 --> 00:29:55,860 Because he's drawn the line from Jesus all the way back through David, 567 00:29:56,361 --> 00:30:00,031 the monarchy to Abraham, the patriarchy. 568 00:30:00,031 --> 00:30:02,867 Draw on this line 569 00:30:02,867 --> 00:30:04,202 and over and over. 570 00:30:04,202 --> 00:30:05,003 Just look at these. 571 00:30:05,003 --> 00:30:08,439 Look, I want I I've thought through the names, 572 00:30:08,439 --> 00:30:10,742 all the people here before and I'm not going to do that 573 00:30:10,742 --> 00:30:12,844 because it's going to take us way too long. 574 00:30:12,844 --> 00:30:14,045 But you can research that. 575 00:30:14,045 --> 00:30:15,914 I've done a lot of teaching on that myself. 576 00:30:15,914 --> 00:30:17,582 But let me just give you an example. 577 00:30:17,582 --> 00:30:19,951 So verse two, Abraham was the father of Isaac, 578 00:30:19,951 --> 00:30:22,921 and Isaac the father of Jacob, but Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, 579 00:30:23,221 --> 00:30:26,257 and due to the father Perez and Sarah by Tamar, 580 00:30:28,293 --> 00:30:31,329 And Perez, the father of his reign, who has run the father of Ram, 581 00:30:31,329 --> 00:30:34,065 and ran the father of a minute, in a minute as the father of nation. 582 00:30:34,065 --> 00:30:36,100 And that's on the father of salmon, who was a fisherman. 583 00:30:36,100 --> 00:30:39,871 Skin and salmon, the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz 584 00:30:39,871 --> 00:30:42,574 the father of Obed by Ruth, and oh, by the father of Jesse, and Jesse, 585 00:30:42,574 --> 00:30:46,110 the father of David the king, and David was the father of Solomon, 586 00:30:46,110 --> 00:30:49,080 by the wife of Uriah and Solomon, and the father Rehoboam, or the father. 587 00:30:49,180 --> 00:30:52,951 I bet all these people it just sounds like one name after one name after winning. 588 00:30:52,951 --> 00:30:55,520 But listen, what was our big idea? 589 00:30:55,520 --> 00:30:57,388 When God writes the story, nothing's a mistake. 590 00:30:57,388 --> 00:30:59,757 These names here aren't just haphazard names. 591 00:30:59,757 --> 00:31:00,825 They're here for a reason. 592 00:31:00,825 --> 00:31:02,627 These people are here for a reason and purpose. 593 00:31:02,627 --> 00:31:04,796 Nothing is here by mistake. 594 00:31:04,796 --> 00:31:08,299 And what Matthew is doing, and he's saying, look down in verse 17. 595 00:31:09,300 --> 00:31:12,570 So all the generations from Abraham to David, this is everything that he's 596 00:31:12,570 --> 00:31:16,774 just talked through, all the generations to Abraham, to David were 14 generations. 597 00:31:17,108 --> 00:31:20,211 And from David to the deportation of Babylon, 14 generations 598 00:31:20,378 --> 00:31:24,515 after the deportation to Babylon, to the Christ, 14 generations, he's 599 00:31:24,515 --> 00:31:28,920 saying, from the patriarchy to monarchy, 14 from the market to captivity. 600 00:31:28,920 --> 00:31:33,825 14 and from the captivity Tivity 14. Why? 601 00:31:35,326 --> 00:31:39,030 If you look at the true history, there's a lot more than 14 generations. 602 00:31:39,998 --> 00:31:44,302 Matthew collapses it all down to 14, 14, 603 00:31:44,702 --> 00:31:47,672 14. Why? 604 00:31:50,375 --> 00:31:51,242 Okay, I'm glad you're here. 605 00:31:51,242 --> 00:31:52,810 I'll tell you, 606 00:31:52,810 --> 00:31:55,813 Matthew loves numbers. 607 00:31:56,614 --> 00:31:57,849 He's very detailed. 608 00:31:57,849 --> 00:31:59,751 Not if God writes the story. 609 00:31:59,751 --> 00:32:01,452 Nothing's by a mistake. 610 00:32:01,452 --> 00:32:04,455 Okay? 611 00:32:06,257 --> 00:32:07,592 Numbers are important to Matthew, 612 00:32:07,592 --> 00:32:11,729 and he wants to trace Jesus line through back to King David the royal line. 613 00:32:11,896 --> 00:32:13,998 And prove that Jesus has a right to rule 614 00:32:15,533 --> 00:32:17,802 in Hebrew. 615 00:32:17,802 --> 00:32:20,238 Before the Gospels were written, it was all human. 616 00:32:20,238 --> 00:32:22,640 They spoke Hebrew. 617 00:32:22,640 --> 00:32:24,175 The Hebrew has no 618 00:32:24,175 --> 00:32:27,178 vowels, only has consonants. 619 00:32:27,378 --> 00:32:31,182 And so he wants to draw everybody's attention back to David, 620 00:32:31,616 --> 00:32:34,252 the Jesus from the line of David. 621 00:32:34,252 --> 00:32:37,088 The name David would be spelled 622 00:32:37,088 --> 00:32:40,992 in our world DVD, because there's no vowels 623 00:32:42,827 --> 00:32:44,829 in the ancient languages 624 00:32:44,829 --> 00:32:47,799 every letter has had, it had a numerical equivalent. 625 00:32:47,799 --> 00:32:50,969 That's why in the book of revelation says those you know with wisdom 626 00:32:50,969 --> 00:32:54,038 will understand that his number is six, six, six. 627 00:32:54,339 --> 00:32:57,275 So every letter had a had a numerical equivalent. 628 00:32:57,275 --> 00:33:01,579 So, David, the numerical equivalent of David d 629 00:33:01,579 --> 00:33:04,983 equals four v equals six, d equals four. 630 00:33:05,883 --> 00:33:09,220 What does that add up to 14. 631 00:33:10,555 --> 00:33:14,192 And so when Matthew was saying from the from the 632 00:33:15,326 --> 00:33:18,997 patriarch to the monarchy 14 David 633 00:33:20,298 --> 00:33:23,401 from the monarchy to captivity, 14 David 634 00:33:24,435 --> 00:33:25,570 from the captivity activity. 635 00:33:25,570 --> 00:33:28,272 14 David 636 00:33:28,272 --> 00:33:29,874 do you see what he's doing? 637 00:33:29,874 --> 00:33:34,112 His Jewish hearers their minds would go automatically back to 638 00:33:34,512 --> 00:33:37,382 Jesus really is of the royal line. 639 00:33:37,382 --> 00:33:40,385 Jesus deserves to rule and to reign. 640 00:33:40,518 --> 00:33:42,787 We can't deny it. 641 00:33:42,787 --> 00:33:47,058 He's he's he's he's over and over and over again. 642 00:33:47,058 --> 00:33:51,929 Matthew is saying, Jesus is of the royal line of David, over and over and over. 643 00:33:51,929 --> 00:33:56,868 Listen, what appears to us to be haphazard at of no value? 644 00:33:56,901 --> 00:34:00,371 We have to understand that when God is writing the story, 645 00:34:00,371 --> 00:34:03,374 nothing is a mistake. 646 00:34:03,374 --> 00:34:06,377 What appears in your life to be haphazard? 647 00:34:08,746 --> 00:34:11,716 If God is writing your story, 648 00:34:11,716 --> 00:34:14,352 it's not a mistake 649 00:34:14,352 --> 00:34:16,054 to understand 650 00:34:16,054 --> 00:34:17,488 this. 651 00:34:17,488 --> 00:34:18,956 Nothing is there by accident. 652 00:34:21,459 --> 00:34:24,462 And when you look through this list, 653 00:34:24,762 --> 00:34:26,497 you see verse three, 654 00:34:26,497 --> 00:34:29,500 Judah, the father of Perez and Zera by Tamar. 655 00:34:30,368 --> 00:34:32,236 You go down to verse five. 656 00:34:32,236 --> 00:34:35,873 Sam of the father of bulls by Rahab and boys, the father of Obed by Ruth. 657 00:34:37,542 --> 00:34:39,077 You go down to verse six. 658 00:34:39,077 --> 00:34:42,213 And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah. 659 00:34:42,313 --> 00:34:45,316 He uses four women in this genealogy. 660 00:34:45,516 --> 00:34:48,753 This was very uncommon in the Jewish mindset. 661 00:34:48,753 --> 00:34:51,756 They wouldn't use the women in their genealogy 662 00:34:51,823 --> 00:34:53,891 because the line ran through the men. 663 00:34:53,891 --> 00:34:56,894 So why is he using these four women? 664 00:34:57,028 --> 00:34:59,864 Well, he's drawn our attention back to 665 00:34:59,864 --> 00:35:02,867 Jesus and what God does in people. 666 00:35:03,101 --> 00:35:04,702 Tamar. 667 00:35:04,702 --> 00:35:07,171 But think about who these people are. 668 00:35:07,171 --> 00:35:09,874 If you know their story. 669 00:35:09,874 --> 00:35:12,009 Tamar, 670 00:35:12,009 --> 00:35:14,078 that it's a story of incest. 671 00:35:15,746 --> 00:35:16,981 In Genesis 38, 672 00:35:16,981 --> 00:35:19,984 her father in law impregnates her 673 00:35:20,885 --> 00:35:22,120 at her request. 674 00:35:22,120 --> 00:35:25,123 She dresses up as a prostitute. 675 00:35:25,857 --> 00:35:31,129 Rahab was actually a prostitute in Jericho. 676 00:35:33,965 --> 00:35:34,966 She attached her life 677 00:35:34,966 --> 00:35:37,969 to the people of God, was part of their liberation and 678 00:35:38,436 --> 00:35:41,439 and her whole life was changed. 679 00:35:41,806 --> 00:35:42,907 She belonged to them. 680 00:35:42,907 --> 00:35:45,910 And then she became something. 681 00:35:46,677 --> 00:35:49,680 But she started this prostitute, Ruth. 682 00:35:50,114 --> 00:35:51,315 She wasn't Hebrew at all. 683 00:35:51,315 --> 00:35:52,350 She was a moabite. 684 00:35:52,350 --> 00:35:56,053 And they were despised, like there were curses on the Moabites by God's people. 685 00:35:57,655 --> 00:35:59,657 And Bathsheba, 686 00:35:59,657 --> 00:36:02,093 your adultery of King David. 687 00:36:02,093 --> 00:36:05,663 And this is who Matthew puts in the lineage of Jesus. 688 00:36:08,032 --> 00:36:09,901 Like these are ones that you don't talk about 689 00:36:09,901 --> 00:36:11,402 when the family gets together, right? 690 00:36:11,402 --> 00:36:14,372 Like, 691 00:36:14,405 --> 00:36:17,408 Why does he put them in their. 692 00:36:19,343 --> 00:36:19,644 Sheep? 693 00:36:19,644 --> 00:36:22,847 Matthew is saying, look, God does things differently. 694 00:36:24,048 --> 00:36:25,249 And if you come from 695 00:36:25,249 --> 00:36:28,252 broken backgrounds, you're the one God uses. 696 00:36:30,154 --> 00:36:33,157 There were four things that were really important to the Jews. 697 00:36:33,491 --> 00:36:36,394 One of them was family responsibility. 698 00:36:36,394 --> 00:36:39,397 And the story of Tamar, her father in law 699 00:36:40,431 --> 00:36:43,501 shunned and neglected his responsibility to his family. 700 00:36:43,501 --> 00:36:45,303 It was horrible. 701 00:36:45,303 --> 00:36:47,638 Sexual purity is really important to the Jews. 702 00:36:47,638 --> 00:36:49,440 So you put Rahab in there. 703 00:36:49,440 --> 00:36:52,009 She was a prostitute. 704 00:36:52,009 --> 00:36:55,012 That's like the opposite of sexual purity. 705 00:36:56,747 --> 00:36:58,516 Racial purity was really important to them. 706 00:36:58,516 --> 00:36:59,984 So you put a moabite in there? 707 00:36:59,984 --> 00:37:02,987 She's not Jewish at all. 708 00:37:03,354 --> 00:37:07,091 And the head of the super proud history, who they were as people. 709 00:37:07,091 --> 00:37:10,494 And so then they they put in the greatest mistake 710 00:37:10,494 --> 00:37:13,497 of King David's life with Bathsheba. 711 00:37:13,631 --> 00:37:15,433 That's a black spot on their history. 712 00:37:17,868 --> 00:37:19,470 And so Matthew was saying, look, 713 00:37:19,470 --> 00:37:22,506 when God's right in the story, none of this is a mistake. 714 00:37:23,107 --> 00:37:26,444 I know for them, at that time, it looked like these were deal breakers. 715 00:37:27,044 --> 00:37:30,047 Nothing's a deal breaker, and God's right in the story. 716 00:37:31,048 --> 00:37:34,051 Nothing. 717 00:37:36,020 --> 00:37:39,023 He says God's doing stuff differently. 718 00:37:39,056 --> 00:37:41,392 It's an upside down kingdom here, here. 719 00:37:41,392 --> 00:37:42,193 Here's what I want. 720 00:37:42,193 --> 00:37:46,330 So said the grace of God is evident because he uses people with bad 721 00:37:46,330 --> 00:37:49,333 backgrounds. 722 00:37:50,101 --> 00:37:53,671 If you got a bad broken background, if you got a dirty past, 723 00:37:53,671 --> 00:37:56,674 you're in a great position to be used of God. 724 00:37:58,576 --> 00:38:00,645 Because when he when you give him the authority 725 00:38:00,645 --> 00:38:03,648 to write your story, nothing's a mistake. 726 00:38:05,883 --> 00:38:08,853 And I love in in verse, 727 00:38:08,853 --> 00:38:12,857 in verse 18, now the birth of Jesus Christ. 728 00:38:13,624 --> 00:38:17,461 No, what I see in that is Matthew saying, there's all this stuff, 729 00:38:18,296 --> 00:38:21,465 all that it looks to us like a, like a list of names. 730 00:38:21,465 --> 00:38:22,967 This is purposeful. 731 00:38:22,967 --> 00:38:25,636 And there's all kinds of junk in this list. 732 00:38:27,238 --> 00:38:29,006 And now, 733 00:38:29,006 --> 00:38:32,009 out of all this mess, Jesus. 734 00:38:34,312 --> 00:38:36,480 Friends, I want you to understand something 735 00:38:36,480 --> 00:38:39,483 that whatever the mess is of your past, 736 00:38:40,885 --> 00:38:42,887 Jesus 737 00:38:42,887 --> 00:38:45,890 is the seed bed for Jesus, 738 00:38:46,757 --> 00:38:49,393 for his complete renovation and restoration 739 00:38:49,393 --> 00:38:52,396 of everything that's been broken and destroyed. 740 00:38:54,432 --> 00:38:57,034 See, in Christ, 741 00:38:57,034 --> 00:39:00,037 when you're in Christ, your heritage doesn't define you. 742 00:39:00,604 --> 00:39:03,607 Think of Jesus as heritage. 743 00:39:05,042 --> 00:39:07,945 Right. 744 00:39:07,945 --> 00:39:11,148 I mean, how many times have we used this as a as a crutch? Wow. 745 00:39:11,215 --> 00:39:14,218 You know, I just come from a family of, you know, divorce, family. 746 00:39:14,452 --> 00:39:16,587 I'm a child of a of an alcoholic. 747 00:39:16,587 --> 00:39:18,422 And you know, I got this, 748 00:39:18,422 --> 00:39:20,758 this, this whole thing that's been in my family forever. 749 00:39:20,758 --> 00:39:22,293 And I just can't I can't ever get past. 750 00:39:22,293 --> 00:39:25,296 I can't get. 751 00:39:26,731 --> 00:39:27,832 That's just an excuse. 752 00:39:29,900 --> 00:39:31,502 Because in Christ, all things are new. 753 00:39:31,502 --> 00:39:32,803 And you're. 754 00:39:32,803 --> 00:39:34,472 Your heritage doesn't define you. 755 00:39:34,472 --> 00:39:37,441 It identify in Jesus. 756 00:39:38,008 --> 00:39:41,011 Do you understand this? 757 00:39:42,446 --> 00:39:45,516 See, the truth is that the heritage you receive 758 00:39:45,516 --> 00:39:48,519 isn't as important as the legacy you leave. 759 00:39:51,622 --> 00:39:53,691 And that legacy 760 00:39:53,691 --> 00:39:56,694 can be absolutely transformed. 761 00:39:57,361 --> 00:39:59,263 Not by your effort 762 00:39:59,263 --> 00:40:02,066 and not by your ability, and not by yourself. 763 00:40:02,066 --> 00:40:03,934 Will, 764 00:40:03,934 --> 00:40:06,971 but by allowing Jesus to rewrite your story. 765 00:40:09,006 --> 00:40:12,009 So nothing, then, is a mistake. 766 00:40:16,480 --> 00:40:19,483 Do you understand? Yes. 767 00:40:19,717 --> 00:40:22,653 So that that's the that's the intro to the book of Matthew. 768 00:40:22,653 --> 00:40:25,656 And this is going to drive everything that we go through from 769 00:40:25,923 --> 00:40:27,458 for these next few months together. 770 00:40:27,458 --> 00:40:29,393 We go through the book of Matthew. 771 00:40:29,393 --> 00:40:31,629 So here's my request 772 00:40:31,629 --> 00:40:32,196 this week. 773 00:40:32,196 --> 00:40:33,964 Read Matthew one and read Matthew two. 774 00:40:34,999 --> 00:40:37,668 The second half of Matthew 775 00:40:37,668 --> 00:40:40,671 is the Christmas story, and so. 776 00:40:42,406 --> 00:40:44,975 You've probably heard most of that. 777 00:40:44,975 --> 00:40:47,978 And I might come back to it around, around, 778 00:40:49,580 --> 00:40:51,115 Christmas time. 779 00:40:51,115 --> 00:40:53,083 But here's my plan for the book of Matthew. 780 00:40:53,083 --> 00:40:55,352 I'm not exactly sure how much we're going to get through each week. 781 00:40:55,352 --> 00:40:55,853 We're just going to 782 00:40:55,853 --> 00:40:59,023 start reading through it and talk through it and learn as we go. 783 00:40:59,623 --> 00:41:02,726 Okay, so so just to get yourself ready, 784 00:41:02,827 --> 00:41:05,729 read Matthew, want to read Matthew do over and over 785 00:41:05,729 --> 00:41:08,732 and over again. 786 00:41:09,033 --> 00:41:12,002 And let God write your story. 787 00:41:12,870 --> 00:41:15,573 Come before him with authenticity. 788 00:41:15,573 --> 00:41:17,975 Admit what is out of line. 789 00:41:17,975 --> 00:41:22,146 Confess your sin, repent, and let God write your story 790 00:41:22,146 --> 00:41:25,149 so nothing then becomes a mistake. 791 00:41:26,717 --> 00:41:29,086 You got it. 792 00:41:29,086 --> 00:41:30,187 And you pray with me, father. 793 00:41:30,187 --> 00:41:33,224 Thank you, thank you, thank you that you love us. 794 00:41:33,224 --> 00:41:33,924 Thank you that. 795 00:41:37,962 --> 00:41:40,030 That will allow you to write our story. 796 00:41:40,030 --> 00:41:41,265 This. 797 00:41:41,265 --> 00:41:44,268 There's no mistake. 798 00:41:44,268 --> 00:41:46,770 Thank you that you repair 799 00:41:46,770 --> 00:41:49,106 broken people and broken things. 800 00:41:49,106 --> 00:41:51,942 Thank you that you restore. 801 00:41:51,942 --> 00:41:54,945 Thank you that you make new. 802 00:41:55,412 --> 00:41:55,913 Thank you. 803 00:41:55,913 --> 00:41:58,716 That way back in the day, you reached out to Matthew 804 00:41:58,716 --> 00:42:01,385 and that he responded and gave us this gospel. 805 00:42:01,385 --> 00:42:04,388 That's amazing to me. 806 00:42:05,189 --> 00:42:06,190 Father, I pray that we in 807 00:42:06,190 --> 00:42:09,193 this place would respond. 808 00:42:11,161 --> 00:42:14,131 Would belong to you and your kingdom. 809 00:42:14,798 --> 00:42:17,601 That we would allow you to 810 00:42:17,601 --> 00:42:20,237 to make us become that which we aren't. 811 00:42:20,237 --> 00:42:22,873 Yeah. Yet 812 00:42:22,873 --> 00:42:25,676 that we would give and we would go on behalf of your kingdom 813 00:42:25,676 --> 00:42:28,679 to those around us who don't know you. 814 00:42:30,781 --> 00:42:32,850 That you would allow, 815 00:42:32,850 --> 00:42:36,654 as you taught us to pray, your kingdom to come in our midst. 816 00:42:39,356 --> 00:42:41,425 Father, thank you for what we're about to learn 817 00:42:41,425 --> 00:42:44,428 as we go through this gospel page, you'd open up your word to us. 818 00:42:45,996 --> 00:42:46,931 That revive us. 819 00:42:46,931 --> 00:42:48,032 That it would restore us. 820 00:42:48,032 --> 00:42:51,035 That we would become new people through it. 821 00:42:51,635 --> 00:42:53,804 For that, father, we give you thanks. 822 00:42:53,804 --> 00:42:56,073 You're a good God. 823 00:42:56,073 --> 00:42:56,807 And your name I pray. 824 00:42:56,807 --> 00:42:58,609 Amen. 825 00:42:58,609 --> 00:43:00,978 I love you, I'm proud of you. 826 00:43:00,978 --> 00:43:02,680 Thank you for being here. 827 00:43:02,680 --> 00:43:05,816 Read Matthew one and to invite your friends next week 828 00:43:06,350 --> 00:43:09,653 and start deciding which of the three services you're going to go to. 829 00:43:10,521 --> 00:43:14,792 Most areas we had Rose standing in the back of the first service. 830 00:43:15,392 --> 00:43:18,295 They need to show up to the first one. 831 00:43:18,295 --> 00:43:21,231 Some of you need to show up to the last one. 832 00:43:21,231 --> 00:43:22,733 You got it. 833 00:43:22,733 --> 00:43:24,001 All right, let's sing.