Andrew McClenaghan - Sunday, 14 August 2022
God will be with Us to the End of the Age
Scripture References: Genesis 30:25-43, 2 Timothy 3:10-17, Matthew 28:16-20
Gathering Growing Going
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ClosePromises can be either reassuring, or heartbreaking. Promises can either bring hope, or their breaking can dash hopes. Think of Jacob—on his own, now married, two wives, eleven sons and one daughter, far from family he hasn’t seen in over fourteen years… The promise of God is so important: that God is committed to him, that God will bring him back, that God will make his family like the dust in number, that God will change the world through Jacob’s family. And look at that family! This promise of God is a statement of profound grace—and it calls from Jacob obedience to the good and trustworthy word of God. That lies—as we will see—at the heart of this bizarre path of Jacob’s enriching. This is not a formula for financial success but a statement of grace received by faithful obedience!
Scripture References: Genesis 30:25-43, 2 Timothy 3:10-17, Matthew 28:16-20
From Series: Service - Sunday Morning, Genesis | More Messages from Andrew McClenaghan | Download Audio
The Department of Home Affairs has an Australian Values Statement on its website. Visa applicants for residency/citizenship must sign this. And one of its key principles is that we are a ‘fair-go’ country. We would all agree with that. I suspect, too, that we would summarise our ‘fair go’ culture by stating that ‘you get what you deserve/what you work for’. In fact, many of us have established our relational, social and work ethics on this very principle. But is that what the ‘kingdom of heaven is like’? What is its value statement? What is the hallmark of such a kingdom, and its ruler, even its citizenship? Today, after Jesus has assured his disciples that the dependent will be provided for by their king, he now uses the same ideas to issue with them a warning not to abuse, misuse, ignore or become entitled in the face of the kingdom of heaven hallmark—which is grace.
Jesus deals with the question of ‘Who belongs in the kingdom?’ Is it children? Is it the good? Is it the godly? And, how and what does this look like? This question of ‘belonging’ is one that is constant in our lives – where do I belong, do I belong, what does belonging look like? And Jesus is very clear: the kingdom of heaven is made up of the dependent, the reliant, the weak – just like children.
The book of Esther recounts a period where God's people are in exile, aliens in a foreign land. Sounds like our time doesn't it? Even when God seems absent, He is at work. The great reversal of power at the heart of the universe has already taken place. Jesus won victory over death on the cross and in His resurrection. Satan the great enemy of God and His people, has been defeated. We wait in the now but not yet. Waiting for the Lord Jesus to return and give His people relief and rest. But as we wait, we share the good news of the gospel, call people to faith in Jesus, faithfully endure persecution, knowing that our deliverance is assured.
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