12 And after they were brought to Babylon, Jechonias begat Salathiel; and Salathiel begat Zorobabel;
13 And Zorobabel begat Abiud; and Abiud begat Eliakim; and Eliakim begat Azor;
14 And Azor begat Sadoc; and Sadoc begat Achim; and Achim begat Eliud;
15 And Eliud begat Eleazar; and Eleazar begat Matthan; and Matthan begat Jacob;
16 And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.
17 So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David until the carrying away into Babylon are fourteen generations; and from the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ are fourteen generations.
After preaching the Gospel every day for 367 days straight throughout the 2016 presidential campaign season, I am preaching the Gospel every day throughout the first 100 days of President Donald Trump’s term. If you think a new president being in office is the only thing needed to save America and ‘make America great again’, you are woefully deceived. The church must follow through and “keep the main thing the main thing: and that is reaching unbelievers with the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and praying for their salvation, for the problem in America is not only disobedient presidents, politicians, and people, but disobedient pastors, preachers, and parishioners who have refused to obey the Lord’s Great Commission which is to, ‘Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature,’ and who have refused to obey God’s repeated commands to ‘pray without ceasing’ for unbelievers, believers, and political leaders.” So, we encourage you to pray for the new president, but not to get caught up in the political happenings like the world does. Nothing much is going to change until people get saved and get their hearts right with the Lord. And that is what this campaign is all about.
This campaign is inspired by the following three verses: 1 Corinthians 2:2 which says, “For I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.” Acts 5:42 which says, “And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.” And 2 Timothy 2:4 which says, “No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.”
This series is not for Christians necessarily. However, I do hope you are one of those saints who still loves to hear the “Old, old story of Jesus and His love” — As another hymn says, “For those who know it best Seem hungering and thirsting to hear it like the rest.” This series is primarily for unbelievers, so they can hear and understand the Gospel and be saved from sin and the punishment of sin which is hell. This is message number 17.
Someone said, “Christ was placed midmost in the world’s history; and in that central position He towers like some vast mountain to heaven – the farther slope stretching backward toward the creation, the hither slope toward the consummation of all things. The ages before look to Him with prophetic gaze; the ages since behold Him by historic faith; by both He is seen in common as the brightness of the Father’s glory, and the unspeakable gift of God to the human race.”
As we continue looking at Jesus’ coming in light of the line of human ancestors that He was born into, we move to the generations of the captivity. The first fourteen generations that came after Abraham were days of promise. The next fourteen generations that came after David began as days of the fulfillment of the promise, but ended with the children of Israel turning to idolatry, worshipping false gods and disobeying God’s laws. Their rebellion brought God’s wrath down on them. They were conquered by Babylon, their nation was destroyed, and they were taken away into captivity.
The generations of the captivity went through some of the darkest days the Jews had ever experienced. Stranded in a foreign land, they grappled with the consequences of their collective disobedience. After seventy years in exile, many of the Jews returned to their homeland, but things would never be the same. They attempted to restore the status of the nation, but constant wars and strife made this impossible. On top of all that, the nation went through 400 years of silence from God. During this time — the four centuries immediately prior to the revealing of Christ as the Lamb of God — we have no record of prophets, miracles, or special revelation in the Bible or in extra-biblical sources. It was a dark time. And in some ways, the children of Israel were still in captivity.
It was into these times that Jesus was born: times of anxiety and hope for the Jews. It was into this nation that Jesus was born: a nation with a turbulent history, one that had been at the pinnacle of worldly prestige, but had tumbled and repeatedly been thrust underfoot by foreign powers due to their disobedience. It was into this people that Jesus was born: the culmination of over forty generations of family drama — “…and as you know by now family drama just won’t stop”. God did not shy away from the distress of His people. However, Jesus was not simply the next man in the generational line. He came to transcend the drama, the turmoil, and the anxiety of His people’s history. Jesus came to remind not only the Jews, but all people, of the plan and promises of God — that one day the seed of a woman would arise to crush the head of the serpent. Jesus came to let the world know that God still intends to establish the throne and kingdom of David forever. He came to declare that “a greater than Solomon is here,” a king who would rule in righteousness and justice for all people. Jesus came bringing the glad tidings of salvation. He came to “bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound.”
All of the previous generations that had come and gone were leading up to the day when Jesus was born, a day when God drew near to His people in all their human faults and foibles. And not only drew near them, but became one of them. Some time ago a young lady by the name of Joan Osborne sung a song that became very popular called, “What If God Was One of Us.” I don’t know where she was coming from and I don’t think she was trying to glorify God in that song. But let me tell her and everybody else, Christ did become one of us. Scripture calls Him, “Immanuel God With Us.”
Look back over your own life, over the generations of your family. You will find the same things that we find in the genealogy of Jesus: ordinary people getting through what the gifted singer and musician Prince said “this thing called life.” Sometimes sinning; sometimes fighting with each other; sometimes stumbling, falling, and getting back up; sometimes achieving great success; sometimes utter failure, sometimes full of despair; sometimes giving up. But just as God drew near to the Israelite family, He draws near to you and your family. He sent Jesus so that He — and Him in you — could overcome your family’s faults, your family’s sin, your own sin, and the punishment of sin. He proclaims to you as He said to them, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
Jesus came so that you could be saved no matter what lies in your family’s past or in your past. He came to let people know that there is a better way to live. And that better way is found in Him who is the Truth, the Way, and the Life. Here is how you can place your faith and trust in Him today:
First, accept the fact that you are a sinner, and that you have broken God’s law. The Bible says in Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”
Second, accept the fact that there is a penalty for sin. The Bible states in Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death…”
Third, accept the fact that you are on the road to hell. Jesus Christ said in Matthew 10:28: “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” Also, the Bible states in Revelation 21:8: “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”
Now that is bad news, but here’s the good news. Jesus Christ said in John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Just believe in your heart that Jesus Christ died for your sins, was buried, and rose from the dead by the power of God for you so that you can live eternally with Him. Pray and ask Him to come into your heart today, and He will.
Romans 10:9 & 13 says, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved… For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
If you believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross for your sins, was buried, and rose from the dead, and you want to trust Him for your salvation today, please pray with me this simple prayer: Holy Father God, I realize that I am a sinner and that I have done some bad things in my life. I am sorry for my sins, and today I choose to turn from my sins. For Jesus Christ sake, please forgive me of my sins. I believe with all of my heart that Jesus Christ died for me, was buried, and rose again. I trust Jesus Christ as my Savior and I choose to follow Him as Lord from this day forward. Lord Jesus, please come into my heart and save my soul and change my life today. Amen.
If you believed in your heart that Jesus Christ died on the cross, was buried, and rose again, allow me to say, congratulations on doing the most important thing in life and that is accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour! For more information to help you grow in your newfound faith in Christ, go to GospelLightSociety.com and read “What To Do After You Enter Through the Door”. Jesus Christ said in John 10:9, “I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.”
If you accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior today, please email me at dw3@gospellightsociety.com and let us know. There is some free material that we want to send you. If you have a prayer request, please e-mail that to us as well, and we will pray for you until you tell us to stop.
God loves you. We love you. And may God bless you.
Saitama Light News 