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Sunday, 29 September 2024

With God's Perspective There Is No Fear

Matthew 14:22-27

Pastor Kevin Kim
With God's Perspective There Is No Fear
With God's Perspective There Is No FearPastor Kevin Kim
00:00 / 01:04

There is nothing to fear when you see with God’s eyes 

 Matthew 14:22-27 


 I am delighted to see you all today in our combined service. Today, I will testify  to God’s words with the title, ‘There is nothing to fear when you see with God’s  eyes’. 


 Winter has passed and spring is here, but I think the weather in New Zealand  is rather fickle. Those of us from Korea would often describe it as ‘having all  four seasons in one day’ – referring to the dramatic differences in temperature.  Like the weather here, our lives would often be fickle. Things seem to be going  well one moment, then comes the bend in the road. Sometimes plans come to  a halt, and we have to retrace our steps.  


Today’s passage shows the disciples struggling against the storm. It is a well known scene. But do you know what had happened right before they faced this  challenge? It was the miracle of a lifetime: the miracle of five loaves and two  fish. The disciples were thrilled. ‘To have a teacher so powerful… perhaps he  will free us from the Roman Empire.’ It was enough to give them expectations  and hope. Yet just a few hours had passed, and they were now facing a life-or death crisis. I guess this is the rule of life.  


So don’t be discouraged if things don’t seem to work out. And if you feel like  things are going well, do not brag about it. If there are some of us feeling like  everything is falling apart… believe that the day will surely come when you will  be once again enjoying God’s beautiful blessings.


The Book of Ecclesiastes says: “When times are good, be happy; but when  times are bad, consider this: God has made the one as well as the other.  Therefore, no one can discover anything about their future.” (Ecclesiastes 7:14)  


When you look closely at today’s passage, you see that there is a culprit who  led the disciples to this storm. Can you guess who it is? Is it the crowd? Is it the  disciples themselves? No, it is Jesus. “Immediately Jesus made the disciples get  into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the  crowd.” (Matthew 14:22)  


Jesus hastened his disciples to get into the boat, right after they had  witnessed the miracle of five loaves and two fish. The crowds were excited. The  disciples were the same. They would have stayed for longer if Jesus hadn’t  rushed them. There may have even been a festival celebrating this great  miracle.  


But Jesus urged his disciples to get into the boat, while he stayed behind.  Jesus didn’t get into the boat. He had only sent his disciples – so why didn’t  Jesus go with them?  


There are two things that we must consider here.  The first is that the disciples obeyed Jesus’ words and got into the boat. So  why did they encounter such a violent storm? Doesn’t it sound unfair?  Wouldn’t they have resented Jesus? “If only Jesus hadn’t urged us to get in the  boat so fast, this wouldn’t have happened. Why did he do that?”  


Have you ever experienced things not going well, even though you obeyed  because you felt God speaking to you? I have. I had times when I obeyed and  yet faced hardships.  


The second thing that we must think about is Jesus’ actions when the  disciples encountered the storm. If Jesus had guided them to this situation,  shouldn’t he be quick to help his disciples in this time of crisis? Shouldn’t he  have appeared with a ‘poof’ and saved the day? You know, like superheroes.  But do you know when Jesus came to the rescue?  Verse 25: “And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking  on the sea.”  The fourth watch of the night is the equivalent of between 3-6 a.m. 


Korea is one of the countries with mandatory military service. I too have  served in the army. I was always the most tired and irritated when I stood  guard at this time, around 4 a.m. It is the most tiring hour, which has a great  impact on my next day’s performance.  


If Jesus appeared in the fourth watch, between 3 and 6 a.m., then when had  the disciples got into the boat? According to the Gospel of John, it was just as  the sun was setting. They would have suffered for at least a few hours if things  had gotten dark and the storm was blowing from all sides. In other words, they  were fighting the storm for about six hours. 


Why didn’t Jesus come sooner? Mark chapter 6 even tells us that Jesus was  watching his disciples struggle. Does this make sense to you, that Jesus was  watching his disciples suffer? If you were one of the disciples, wouldn’t this  make you angry? I mean, if he had shipped the disciples off, then shouldn’t he  also be responsible for their safety? Shouldn’t he have helped as soon as he  could?  


Today’s passage can never be understood from a human perspective. But  when we change perspectives and look at this passage from God’s eyes,  everything makes sense.  


Let’s go back to before the disciples met the storm. The people were excited  by the miracle of five loaves and two fish. In fact, there was a movement to  make Jesus the king. For the disciples, this was an exciting and welcomed flow.  They thought they too could be in a position of power. 


But to Jesus, this mindset of the disciples was very dangerous. They could  potentially misunderstand the Messiah’s ministry. In other words, their minds  were wandering elsewhere. This is why Jesus urged the disciples to leave that  place so quickly. He sent them away and then willingly went to a secluded  place away from the crowd.  


From a human perspective, being popular, being applauded, and being  idolised are all considered successes of life. To Jesus however, they were huge  risks, and so he took action to avoid them.  From a human perspective, the empty field is a symbol of loneliness and a  symbol of failure. And yet Jesus left the crowds of people cheering for him and  went to the empty field. This challenges us to reflect on our own lives. What  are we pursuing in our lives?  


This brings us to our second question: then why didn’t Jesus rescue his  disciples sooner? Why did he wait until the fourth watch of the night?  I would like to share an interesting interpretation with you all. Do you know  what the job of most disciples was? It was fishing. The disciples who  encountered the storm were experienced fishermen from Galilee. Then can  you imagine what they would have thought at first when they saw the dark  clouds gathering from afar? “Ah well, we had this often enough in Galilee.” 


So imagine how they would have reacted if Jesus came quickly and told the  winds to be still. Would they have been touched by this event? Would they  have obeyed him? Wouldn’t they have said, “Oh, Jesus, we can deal with this  much. You could have let us be. We’re all veterans, we would have been just  fine.”  


At first, the disciples didn’t take this storm seriously. But as the winds blew  stronger and the wave became rougher, they would have panicked. Initially,  they assumed this storm was nothing. But as the situation got worse and  worse, the disciples finally surrendered.  Can you now guess why Jesus came at the fourth watch of the night? The  fourth watch was the hour when disciples surrendered it all. It was when they  realised that their skills, knowledge, and everything they had was useless. It  was when they realised they could not put their hands on the steering wheel  and take control of the situation. This was the fourth watch of the night.  


Jesus wasn’t watching them from the hill to mock them. It wasn’t to punish  them. He didn’t think that the disciples deserved to suffer. He was waiting for  the time to come, the time when the disciples would rely completely on Jesus.  Perhaps we all need this hour, the fourth watch of the night. God, I cannot do  this with my own hands. You must help me. You alone are my strength. The  fourth watch of the night is the time for these confessions.  


Nothing made sense from a human perspective. But from God’s perspective,  the storm was not the problem. The four watch of the night was a time to  examine what we rely on.  Is there anyone among us facing the fourth watch? 


Is there anyone among us  still paddling with your own strength? I encourage you to bow down and ask  for help. The Lord will come to you. Do not be afraid. It is the time for our Lord  to work. 


 Let us pray.

Pastor Kevin Kim

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