Genesis 6:8-9

The genealogies recorded in the Bible are the greatest exposition of the history of redemption.
God does not rule without the genealogy. The genealogy is the order and rule of His kingdom. Among them, the genealogy of Jesus is the record of God's tears. We cannot read it without shedding tears. It is the Word and confession filled with the fragrant grace that God shares with us. Nothing else can better reveal to us God's grace, plans, and providence than Jesus' genealogy. This genealogy holds within it God's faithfulness, the grace of His mercy, and His compassion for thousands of years until Jesus' coming.
There is no faithfulness in men. There is no zeal in them. When things get tough, men give up. That is the nature of men. However, God’s faithfulness, zeal, and sincerity are alive in Jesus’ genealogy so that His genealogy can continue till the end. The genealogy is the picture that illustrates that scene for us.

The genealogy of the Bible is an awesome panorama of salvation.

Jesus' genealogy is a summary of the Old Testament. It opens a new horizon of interpretation of the Old Testament. It reveals who Jesus Christ is in one shot. It is a summary of the doctrine of God and Christology. It is a living history of Jesus Christ who came as our Savior. It is a great panorama of salvation. It is the Gospel compressed into a zip file. It shows us that despite the failures and frustration of Israel, God's love remains faithful and words cannot describe the greatness of His patience. Therefore, the genealogy is our hope, our joy, our victory, and the heavenly vision that eradicates the stereotypes we hold on to. Christians must have a new spiritual insight in regards to genealogies. All characters within the genealogy are a means to implement the plan of salvation through Jesus Christ.
They are not the goals or objects of our faith. We should not just regard these figures as the heroes of some novel or biography. We need to realize what God's Word contained within their characters is teaching us.

With what perspective are we to view the figures within the genealogy?

The genealogy is rooted solely in God's love, honesty, sincerity and will. In order for us to realize this, the Bible boldly records in minute detail the failures and frustration of mankind. Men don't record the family's sin and shame in their genealogies. However, the Bible exposes all of them in painful detail. It is an explicit indictment of mankind.
We can discover many shameful things if we explore every aspect of the lives of those who appear in the biblical genealogies. Judah had a son through relations with his daughterin-law, Tamar. Lot had relations with his daughters. Even Rahab, a prostitute, is a part of If we explore the lives of mankind, everything is shameful and embarrassing. And that is exactly what we are like. It clearly shows us why we need the Gospel. God allows us to realize the necessity of the Gospel through the sin and frustration of men, and He has established a plan to save such men. And He has fulfilled that plan to the point of sending His Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross (Romans 5:8). Jesus Christ who knew no sin gathered all the sins of the people and carried them upon Himself. Therefore, we must challenge ourselves to see in a new light the figures in the genealogy using this new perspective of God's absolute sovereignty. We need to be able to see people from God's sovereign perspective, through the eyes of the grace of the Gospel.

Ending the genealogy of death and onward to the genealogy of life

Chapter one of the book of Matthew opens the door to the Gospel and it begins with Jesus' genealogy. Listed in that genealogy are the figures up until the arrival of Jesus who believed in the Old Testament. However, it is not complete. Jesus' genealogy in chapter three of the book of Luke begins with Jesus Christ and ascends to previous generations.
Listed at the very top is God. That is why the Bible is God's genealogy. In recording Jesus' genealogy, Luke listed God above Adam. This reveals his deep insight in regards to the meaning of salvation. God is the starting point of every genealogy of life. And Jesus the Son by coming, descending to this earth and becoming one with us, completed the genealogy.

Think about what it means for God to come and be one with us. How could a sinner dare to become one with God? Nonetheless, God, in His absolute sovereignty, holds on to us with a firm grip and pulls us who are filled with sin into Him. Therefore, when Jesus was crucified on the cross, therein lay all mankind. In other words, all of us were crucified on the cross (Romans 6:4-23). He became one with us and pulled us up to the kingdom of God, the absolute apex of faith.
Ultimately, the Matthean and Lukan genealogies are reports of redemptive truth that promises the coming of Jesus the Son. It is also the proclamation of the beginning and completion of the genealogy of salvation and eternal life by God the Father. Adam's genealogy of death has come to an end, and Jesus' genealogy of life has begun. It is the realization that Jesus Christ is the root and origin of our life and death.

The Lord who inscribes and seals each and every person into the genealogy

Jesus Christ came as the fulfiller of the genealogy to end Adam's genealogy of sin and death, the genealogy of the earth. Now He records the genealogy of righteousness and sanctified lives, the genealogy of heaven. Even now Jesus puts up our names in the genealogy of heaven (Philippians 4:1-3). This makes me feel overwhelmingly moved. Jesus Christ writes the names of the saved Christians with His own blood shed on the cross and stamps us with the seal of the Holy Spirit. The names once recorded in such a way are unshakeable, unmovable. There is no way we can fully repay the grace we have received.
Those who have resolved to receive salvation, those whose names have been recorded in the heavenly genealogy are all appointed to believe in Jesus Christ (Acts 13:48).
My fellow saints, we will all see the Lord's face on the day the heavenly genealogy is completed. He has recorded our names using the distinct and precious blood of the cross.
That blood can never be erased. And with the seal of the Holy Spirit He has stamped each and every person's name onto the heavenly genealogy. He did not lump us together into one group and stamp us all at once. Thus, the genealogy is the imprint and the glory of the magnificent history of redemption. The figures that appear in the genealogy testify of our salvation and the eternal genealogy of heaven. May we all have our names recorded in the genealogy of the heavenly book of life (Revelation 20:15).
Jesus' genealogy. God didn't hide these things.

Saints are the spiritual miners who dig up the secret of the Gospel hidden in the genealogy.
Be the spiritual sculptor who inscribes the knowledge and inspiration of that secret upon his heart. Taste the love, the inspiration, and the hope that the panorama of the Gospel gives you! It is the joy of being recreated back to the image of the sons and daughters of God before they sinned! All mankind born after Adam are under the power of death. Yet in Jesus' genealogy, the words "died" are replaced with "gave birth to." This is because in Jesus Christ, death does not exist. The life that Jesus gives is an eternal life that swallows death completely. Jesus' death was not a submission to death but a procurement of atonement for the sins of mankind. This is God's love to give us eternal life by eradicating death incurred by sin (1 John 3:8, Hebrews 2:14-15). The Gospel is satisfaction, joy, and delight. Therein lies no agony, despair, or pain. There is no worry. There, life gives off a fragrant odor because He has destroyed sin and death.

Noah, who is recorded in the genealogy of life

From this perspective, let us examine Adam's tenth generation descendant, Noah. He was a righteous man who found God's favor. He was blameless in his time. He walked with God. There was never a moment He forgot God's grace. When receiving the Word we may respond with "Amen," but once we leave church we go about our lives having completely lost that grace.

Noah wasn't like that. Lamech named his son "Noah" (rest, comfort). The people of his generation had nowhere and nothing to rely on to the point that they became all skin and bones. With a pleading heart that the land and the people could be in peace through his son, Lamech named his son Noah. The fact that Noah received salvation from the judgment of the flood shows us that he experienced God's grace even greater and with a more powerful emotion than anyone else. This is the antitype of all saints receiving salvation from the judgment of sin and condemnation.

Did Noah have a metal or electric saw when he built the ark? He cut down large trees using stones. He probably cut off thousands upon thousands of branches. His hands were probably blistered and torn apart. While building the ark, he also had to cultivate the land. He picked up stray rocks, pulled the weeds, and farmed the land. He had to store up a years’ worth of food to feed all of the animals who were to enter the ark. To say that Noah was busy is an understatement. While building the ark, Noah's three sons couldn't even have children. We can't just simply say that "Noah built the ark." It's the same even after they entered into the ark. All of those animals had to be fed, watered, and their waste cleaned up. It was the energy of God's grace that powered them along throughout the 70-80 years of building the ark, not the strength of man.

The flood of Noah’s time was not judgment, but salvation.

The time of Noah was when immorality, violence, deceit, and sin were overflowing (Genesis 6). The sons of God liked the daughters of men and committed the sin of lust. Believers and non-believers were not set apart from each other, but rather they had become one through sin. As it holds true for the past and the present, the richness of the world of men causes us to lose the consecration of faith. However, a believer must not lose his or her holiness. The high realm of faith is to live a life in accordance with the goal and direction that God desires without being affected by others. This is not easy to do. "Who do you think you are trying to live alone like some self-righteous man?" We are prone to hearing such sarcastic remarks and being ridiculed. Those who truly put their faith in God must be prepared to walk a rocky path filled with thorns. 1 Corinthians chapter 13 states that "love is patient." The Bible expresses "patience" as "long suffering" or "continuous pain." It is a difficult journey of life that most cannot endure.

The time of Noah was a time during which mankind lived according to the corrupt nature of the flesh. The relations between men and women were no different from those of beasts. There was no order in them. It was a time that was difficult to watch with sound conscience. God could bear it no longer and declared He would wipe it all away. It was a dreadful proclamation of judgment. This happened because while man was created in God's image, he fell to state even lower than a beast.

However, at this time God chose Noah in order to continue the genealogy of Jesus Christ who was to come as the seed of a woman (Genesis 3:15). It states that Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord (Genesis 6:8). The original Hebrew text is recorded in the same way. Although men have only two eyes, the Bible states that God has a countless number of eyes.

God's focus was not on bringing judgment upon the world but was on the fact that He would not give up on the salvation of mankind. That is why He found favor in Noah. My fellow brethren, the essence of the flood in the time of Noah is not "judgment" but "salvation." In sinning mankind brought judgment upon themselves.
Yet, instead of completely eradicating men, by saving Noah and his family God showed us honesty, faithfulness, and sincerity of the redemptive covenant that He did not take back His favor upon man and would fulfill His promise of salvation through the seed of the woman. In the outer appearance God judged the world through the flood, but in the inner meaning it was His salvation. That is why Noah found favor in the eyes of God.

The favor of God that Noah found is salvation.

The Bible records that those who were greatly used by God had "found favor in the eyes of God." Favor, or grace, is the perfect word to describe what God is like. Grace is His goodwill, a gift, given freely by God. Because of our sin, we only deserve to die. Yet, He did not kill us but erects us in the order of salvation and through His Word He provides us with the grace so that we may be loved, understand His Will, and give thanks to Him.

Thus, grace is in other words salvation. Fellow brethren, if we don’t forget God's grace in our families the grace becomes our salvation and ark. If God plans and makes a decision to bless us, His grace covers, hides, and swallows up everything, whether or not we fails, gives up, or rebels against Him; The power of grace is that awesome. During the last days, those without grace will die. The Bible says now is the time to receive grace and the day of salvation. And we should not receive God's grace in vain (2 Corinthians 6:1-2).

God's intent through the flood in the time of Noah was not to wipe out the earth but to fully recover man to the original plan of creation. The symbol of this is the word "grace." God did not leave sinful man to remain in his corrupt state. Though it broke His heart, He cut off what polluted man in order to achieve His great will. He is love itself.
He completely removes the foul pus and inequities. And He recovers us. All of this is fulfilled at the second coming of Christ. When Christ returns all of our wounds will be healed. Until that time, He protects us so that the evil one cannot dare to touch us (1 John 5:18). He surrounds us like a wall and guards us (Psalms 125:1-2).

The single most important word in the history of mankind is "grace."

What we need to focus on in regards to the flood is Noah who found favor in God's eyes and the God of grace. Noah obeyed God but the Bible doesn't focus on his obedience or faith. The focal point is placed upon the fact that he found favor in God's eyes. Noah had finally lifted his hands in surrender to the God of grace. May we also lift our hands in surrendering our lives to Him. Then His favor will be upon us as well. His grace takes responsibility for us. He clothes us from head to toe in garments of grace so that no one can even lay a finger on us. These are garments that not even all the world's rifles, artillery, or bombs could destroy (Matthew 28:19-20, Joshua 1:5-9).

If we are clothed with the garments of grace, we give off a pleasant fragrance wherever we go. We bear fruits in all of our thoughts and every step we take. Through their lives of obedience, the saints that are clothed in His grace are guaranteed to arrive at the destination that God has planned out. It means that grace guarantees results. God surely completes any work He sets out to do. His Word is His will, determination, passion, plan, goal, starting point, and completion. God's plans are never interrupted nor abandoned.
Darkness disappears and the wicked vanish wherever the Word goes. The Word leads us before His will with which he is pleased. We must all board God's vehicles of grace and go before Him. Attempting to use our own strength will leave us without energy, unable to accomplish anything. But if His grace is with us, anything is possible! We must take all of our wickedness, sin, and evil thoughts and crucify them all on the cross.
Jesus proclaimed that we have no sin and made us a new creation, having given us His heart and character (2 Corinthians 5:17).

If we place ourselves at the head we are bound to sin again. It is because our minds are filled with thoughts of sin, money, and the opposite sex. Therefore, we must have Jesus as our head. Christ is the head of the church and we are the body (Colossians 1:13-20).
Christ is the groom and we are the bride (Ephesians 5:27-33, 1 Corinthians 6:15).
Our first ancestor, Adam, was naked but felt shame after sinning. His true worth was found when He was in God but his shame was revealed upon separation from God. After the flood, Noah lay naked being drunk off wine. For the sins of mankind, Jesus was naked as He was crucified on the cross. The Bible tells us to clothe ourselves in the garments of Jesus (Romans 13:14). He clothes us in clean linen, the imperishable garments of righteousness. Like Adam, our true value is found when we are in God's grace. Marriage, how we raise our children, and our lives at church must all begin and end in grace. Then we will be always filled with thanksgiving.

The ticket to heaven is grace.

Our time on this earth is no more than 100 years. Heaven is an eternal place. It is a place that does not get filthy and is without dust. It is a place where thousands of angels sing praise. It is also a world of living water. Thirst does not exist there. A ragged old man is transformed into a tender infant (Isaiah 65:20).
The river of life flows and the tree of life bears forth fruit every month. The sun, moon, and stars of the tangible world become useless as Jesus the Lamb becomes the eternal and unquenchable sun and light (Revelation 21:23). It is a world where a mere thought fulfills our wishes. It is a place flowing with elegant music and without death or pain. We cannot pay our way to that place. With grace we may enter without limitations. Grace guarantees our citizenship of heaven. Grace will never leave us fatigued.
In grace, a thousand years is like one day and one day like a thousand years. Yearn for that place. May God's grace never leave you, your sons and daughters, husbands and wives, parents, in-laws, grandchildren, and nephews. And I bless in the Lord's name that we may live in grace, giving thanks, and giving all the glory to God.

February 3, 2013 Lord's Day 2nd Service Sermon