Dan Rowe - Sunday, 12 November 2023
The LORD is Always with You
Scripture References: Genesis 39:1-23, Psalms 43:1-5, Deuteronomy 31:6-8, Matthew 1:18-23
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CloseThe repeated phrase in this chapter is the “the LORD was with Joseph”. While never coming into the story, the LORD is central to the Joseph narrative. In both feast and famine, the LORD is with Joseph. Even Potiphar could see the LORD’s hand on Joseph. Our experience of life is often not too dissimilar to Joseph. We may not have been sold into slavery but our world is enslaved and under the yoke of sin. In the midst of living in a broken world, we might ask “where is God?” Genesis 39 reveals not a distant god but the LORD, our covenant-keeping God, who is ever present. That was Joseph’s reality and, even more so, our reality as we look to Jesus who is Immanuel, “God with us”, who has promised to be with is to the very end of the age.
Scripture References: Genesis 39:1-23, Psalms 43:1-5, Deuteronomy 31:6-8, Matthew 1:18-23
Related Topics: Genesis | More Messages from Dan Rowe | Download Audio
The Maker, Ruler & Sustainer | Mark Evers | Sunday, 11 July 2010 | Listen | ||
Knowing and Serving the King | Lindsay Heal | Sunday, 4 July 2010 | Listen | ||
Humble Confidence | Glen Elsegood | Sunday, 27 June 2010 | Listen | ||
Run, Fight, Grab hold | Tim Baxter | Sunday, 20 June 2010 | Listen | ||
The Family | Daniel Wood | Sunday, 13 June 2010 | Listen | ||
Godly People | Tim Baxter | Sunday, 6 June 2010 | Listen | ||
Leading God's Church | Tim Baxter | Sunday, 30 May 2010 | Listen | ||
Harmony & Unity in God's Household | Tim Baxter | Sunday, 23 May 2010 | Listen | ||
Fight for the truth | Tim Baxter | Sunday, 16 May 2010 | Listen | ||
Timothy | Peter Brain | Sunday, 9 May 2010 | Listen |
Jesus is returning to Jerusalem for the second day. Jesus is hungry – he is human. Jesus sees fig tree – but, despite its leaves, it has no fruit. Jesus curses the fig tree. Jesus is God, taking on the divine role of pronouncing judgement. This brief episode is a living example of the judgement brought by the king of God’s people returning to his mob: they have become independent, insiders not aligned with the desire of God for the outsider. They are unfruitful, and they are judged. God’s mob, however, have true fruitfulness when they recognise the authority of the king, and completely and totally depend upon him. Such dependency will change the world, because of the one they depend upon!
Jesus has finally made it to Jerusalem. As Matthew prepares us for His entry into Jerusalem, he helps us confront Jesus’ authority, and the way in which it restores the concern of God for the outsider, and confronts the insider. This is the start of the Passover week. Jerusalem is a roiling maelstrom of religious and political fervour. And Matthew organises the narrative of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem around displays of His authority, rooted in recognition of His ‘old power’ – four Old Testament quotations structure the passage. As we come face-to-face with Jesus’ authority, three truths stand out. First, Jesus’ authority is extensive and all-encompassing. Second, Jesus’ authority is for the outsider, and rooted in God’s deep commitment to bring the outsider inside His kingdom. And, third, Jesus authority confronts the insider, and urges them to repentance. Come and meet Jesus, the King, in all His authority, as He enters Jerusalem!
What is greatness? In particular, what is greatness in the kingdom of God? That is the question addressed in the passage from Matthew today. Jesus is approached by two different groups. First, the family of Zebedee: James and John and their mother. Second, two blind men. Jesus asks both groups the same question “What do you want me to do for you?” What they request is quite revealing. And so is Jesus’ response to their requests. The Zebedees request position, status, reward for effort. The blind men request mercy, for their eyes to be open. Which request lines up with Jesus’ teaching previously? Which request do we tend to go to ourselves?
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