Matthew 9 Finding Space

Introduction

Good Morning, I’m Glad you are here

Psalm 138:7-8 “7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life. You stretch out your hand against the anger of my foes; with your right hand you save me. 8 The Lord will vindicate me; your love, Lord, endures forever— do not abandon the works of your hands.”

I love this Psalm because it forces us to remember that God has always saved his people and that includes us. It include you and I. We might not always see it or feel it, but it is the truth of what we find in scripture. Forget as we may, every story we read in scripture points to Jesus, and Jesus points us to his work of redemption..., adoption..., justification...,

Let us Pray

Story:

Sleep study and story of nurse busting in while doing Yoga, and the next day seeing Toby in the room across from me. He shared what God was doing.

The opportunity to see what Jesus is doing, often requires a new vantage point.

Does anyone know what the space between two rooms is called?

Liminal Space is a location which is a transition between two other locations, or states of being

We are about to read a story of limanality, of tension, of changed perspection, because of ...Jesus.

Matthew 9

1) Matthew 9:18–19 (NIV)

Jesus and his disciples are on mission. They have a goal. Go to Jiarus’s house

Have you ever wondered, Why didn’t Jesus just go around healing and helping people?

He seems to waste quite a bit of time arguing with the pharisee's about who he is or isn’t

Jesus ‘s incarnation was to bring about the Kingdom of God is a fresh way through his life, leading to his death, resurrection, and ascension. Jesus offers grace and truth.

The church has often focused on just good works or on the other hand has only focused on good teaching. Either side is deplete we must see Jesus for who he is. Grace and Truth.

2) Matt 9:20-22

-This seems like a bad idea.

Walmart with YL kids

-Everyone she touches is unclean. She is pushing through a crowd to get to Jesus.

-There are about to be tons of dead pigeons brought to the alter because of this women haha. This is a situation that the Pharisees would have freaked out about. They stood for holiness by strict Torah adherence, not realizing the Torah pointed to Jesus.

For the longest time I stayed away from the OT, well because of Jesus. It wasn’t until I really started to realize that if I didn’t understand the OT, it was because I didn’t understand how it pointed to Jesus.

And here is Jesus, in the middle of an absolute mess, in total control.

Between 22& vs 23 we have a Limanal Space. A place of transition, of tension, people praising and worshiping God at a miracle, and people weeping and morning. On one side, a daughter of God has been healed, and on the other, a daughter of God has died.

As followers of Jesus we should be walking Limanal Places. Places of transition from one space to the next.

3) Matt 9:23-26

-Jesus is about to walk in and change everything

-put outside is too gentle, exorcised, cast out, evicted

-He takes the girl by the hand.

Two things to take from this in light of what we have been talking about in being the church and doing ministry.

1) Expecting others brokenness

Jesus agreed to help this man, he saw brokenness and embraced it.

We have been talking so much about learning to create space.

Jesus paused and noticed this woman. So much of ministry is pausing and noticing.

Expecting God’s Grace

This woman's reasoning is fascinating to me, but it leaves me with a personal question… “But Can I?” ‘Do I have the faith to work my way to Jesus?”

We should be ashamed if we pretend to have it all together. We don’t.

As C.S Lewis says, “We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea.”

b. Share your story, know your story, it is filled with God’s grace.

The worries and the weight of this world are so hard, and our time seems so short with work , and raising kids, or searching for self worth in beauty and idols, or chasing a dream...

But Jesus is enough. Only God satisfies. Only Jesus’s embrace is enough to fill the deep longing we search for.

I implore you, don’t become disenchanted with the things we should be enchanted with.