Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/Sermons/zz20020728.htm

JESUS CHRIST IN OLD TESTAMENT PROPHECY
Part II: Christ's Predicted Rule Through Judah For His Nurturing Acts
(Genesis 49:10 with Matthew 1:2; Luke 3:33)

Introduction: (To show the need . . . )

There is a great big need for overseers in our culture to receive God's blessing in their oversight:

(1) A Christian from another Church dropped by my office last week to share how many Christian women in this believer's Church are suffering from latent anger due to horrid mistreatment by their fathers a generation ago!

(2) We all know about the recent stock market drop due in large part to the ongoing abuses of chief executive officers of some of America's largest corporations: due to misleading investors about their company earnings out of greed, just about everybody's portfolio has been hurt!

(3) On a regular basis for the past two decades of pastoral ministry, Christian women have expressed to me their frustrations at the actions husbands have taken regarding their oversight decisions and actions that have hurt the marriage. The concern is how men are hurting themselves in their marital roles.

(4) A Christian last week shared with me a relative who has been a minister for decades has been charged by an anonymous party with practicing pederasty against a child many years ago. Even though he has no memory of such an event, and has never had any other such charges leveled at him despite decades of working with youth in his ministry, because of abuses by other ministers in the news, even against the wishes of his congregation, he has been relieved of his duties as pastor by his denomination's hierarchy simpy for being charged, and he is deeply hurt shocked! Because of abuses by other religious LEADERS, INNOCENT church leaders are oppressed!



In view of the NEED for LEADERS to receive God's blessing in OVERSIGHT, whether it be in BUSINESS or FAMILY or MARRIAGE or even in CHURCH roles, WHAT -- in a NUTSHELL -- must occur, and WHY?!



(We turn to the sermon "Need" section . . . )



Need: "As an overseer (employer, church leader, parent, husband, etc.), I really want GOD'S blessing. So, in a nutshell, WHAT does God really SEEK in MY oversight activity so as to BLESS me IN it?"
  1. Jesus explained to the disciples on the road to Emmaus how He fulfilled Old Testament Messianic prophecies, Luke 24:25-27.
  2. As these men were edified by Christ's exposition of those passages (Luke 24:32), we also view them, following the list of prophecies named in the Ryrie Study Bible, KJV, s. v. "Messianic Prohecies."
  3. The prophecy on Christ's RULE coming through Judah reveals GOD SEEKS those who NURTURE the NEEDY to RULE, so He BLESSES overseers who use their oversight to NURTURE others:
    1. When the Hebrew patriarch, Jacob blessed his sons, he blessed Judah by predicting his future rule over his other descendants, 49:1-2, 8-10.
    2. This blessing, in accord with the prophetic blessings given to Jacob's other sons, were in part REWARDS for past conduct, Gen. 49:3-7:
      1. For example, the eldest son, Reuben, was morally weak as seen in his cohabiting with his father's concubine (Gen. 35:22), so Jacob said Reuben's descendants would not EXCEL regardless if he was Jacob's eldest and thus preeminent son, Genesis 49:3-4.
      2. Also, Jacob called Simeon and Levi cruel in recalling how they slaughtered a whole city for one man's rape of their sister, cf. Gen. 34:1-31; 49:5. Thus, Jacob predicted their descendants would be scattered through Israel to hinder the influence of their anger, a fact that came to pass, cf. Genesis 49:7 with Joshua 19:1, 9; 21:1-42.
    3. Well, if we view JUDAH'S past, we note GOD through Jacob's prophetic blessing granted JUDAH'S sons the RULE of Jacob's OTHER descendants for his ACTS to RESCUE the AFFLICTED:
      1. Judah had been the one to save his younger brother, Joseph from DEATH at the hands of his jealous brothers, Genesis 37:26-28:
        1. Long before, as Jacob favored his youngest son, Joseph, resulting in the jealous rage of his brothers (Gen. 37:3-4), these brothers vented their anger by capturing Joseph and throwing him into a pit in bondage with plans later to kill him, 37:18-24.
        2. With his conscience plaguing him about the planned murder of his brother, Joseph, it was JUDAH who got his brothers to sell Joseph into bondage to the Midianites to save his life, 37:26-28.
      2. Judah had also been the one to save Tamar's LIFE when it was discovered she had become pregnant out of wedlock, Gen. 38:26:
        1. After Joseph was in Egypt, Judah's wicked sons, Er and Onan were slain by God, leaving Tamar, a Canaanite woman who was Er's widowed wife without child, Gen. 38:1-10.
        2. Judah then promised to give his youngest son, Shelah to Tamar to raise up children unto her deceased husband in accord with the custom of Levirate marriage, Gen. 38:11, cf. Ibid., Ryrie Study Bible, KJV, ftn. to Genesis 38:8-9.
        3. However, when Judah failed to do so, Tamar disguised herself as a harlot and seduced Judah to cohabit with her, 38:12-23.
        4. When Tamar then conceived, Judah announced she was to be executed for shaming the family name by harlotry, Gen. 38:24.
        5. However, Tamar produced Judah's personal effects taken from him during their affair, proving Judah himself was the father, so Judah admitted Tamar was more righteous than he had been to her, and KEPT her from execution, Genesis 38:25-26.
      3. Finally, Judah had volunteered to save Benjamin from bondage by substituting himself for Benjamin's bondage to save his father, Jacob from grief and an early death, Gen. 44:1-13, 14-34:
        1. When Joseph's brothers came to Egypt to buy grain and they did not recognize Joseph as the grain sales overseer, Joseph used his position severely to test his brothers to see if they had repented of their past mistreatment of him, Gen. 42:1-43:34.
        2. Joseph then arranged for his full-brother, Benjamin to be charged with imprisonment to see if his brothers would defend him or let him be confined as they had done to Joseph, 44:1-12.
        3. When Joseph's brothers tore their clothes in grief and returned to plead with Joseph, Judah offered to be imprisoned in place of Benjamin to rescue his father, Jacob from deep grief, an act that persuaded Joseph his brothers were repentant, 44:13-34.
Application: (1) To gain God's blessing in oversight in a church, marriage, family or the workplace, we must trust in Christ to be saved from hell and become a son of God, John 1:12-13. (2) Then, to enjoy God's BLESSING in oversight, like Jacob's son, Judah, we must USE our ROLE SELFLESSLY to HELP the AFFLICTED, the GOAL of oversight as GOD views it!

Lesson: For his ACTIONS to RESCUE the AFFLICTED, JUDAH was REWARDED with the MESSIANIC LINEAGE of RULE, for GOD'S MESSIAH would likewise RULE in order to RESCUE the AFFLICTED! >

Conclusion: (To illustrate the sermon lesson . . . )

 Morey Stettner, a writer for the paper, Investor's Business Daily, on April 27, 2000 wrote an article about the reason America's founding father, George Washington was so beloved. I cite from his words because he illustrated so well the point of our message:

"One of the ironies of leadership is the more you're willing to share power, the more authority you ultimately wield. If you're seduced by the trappings of power, however, you can sink under its weight.

"After George Washington became president, he was asked to be king,' said historian Alan Marcus of Iowa State University. He said he didn't want to be king, that America should have no kings. By resisting the cult of personality, his leadership grew even stronger.'"

Jesus Christ Himself noted the same way God blesses overseers who put the concerns of their subordinates above themselves. In Mark 10:42b-45 NIV, he said: "You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."



Leadership in GOVERNMENT, BUSINESS, CHURCH, MARRIAGE and FAMILY is blessed in DIRECT proportion to how the LEADER SELFLESSLY serves the NEEDS of his or her subordinates: God blesses the HUSBAND who uses his oversight to HELP his wife. God blesses the PARENT who uses his oversight to HELP his or her child. God blesses the PASTOR who HELPS laymen, and blesses the CEO who HELPS employees and looks out for the interests of those who INVEST in his company!



If we OVERSEERS START with a right relationship with CHRIST, God gives us the HEART to HELP OPPRESSED SUBORDINATES; then, like even the IMPERFECT Judah, son of Jacob, HE BLESSES us in the PROCESS of that HELP EFFORT!