Being Part of the Adventure - Matthew 14:22-36

The crowd had now eaten their fill, and could be happily sent on their way home. The disciples had been able to participate in a demonstration of what Jesus could do when the available resources seemed too limited. As they distributed the loaves and fishes, this food kept multiplying, and easily fed the thousands gathered with much still left over. Now Jesus might get the chance for some well needed rest and prayer.

Next morning, after a difficult night at sea in very rough weather, the disciples see someone who looks like Jesus, but must really be some sort of ghost, walking across the water toward them. Tired and scared they cry out! Jesus, understanding their stress and uncertainty, speaks to them, and reassures them that it is really him, and therefore they should not be afraid. Whatever it is that is worrying them – whether it is the fear of drowning at sea, or whether it is uncertainty about what is happening with these amazing occurrences (multiplying bread & fish, Jesus walking on water), the presence of Jesus amongst them will be enough to settle things down and gradually bring understanding.

Then suddenly Peter wanted to get out of the boat into the rough water! What do you reckon Peter was thinking? "If this is really Jesus, then on the basis of what I’ve already witnessed, no harm could come to me!" If this was what Peter was thinking, then of course he was absolutely right! Jesus, recognising boldness and growing faith, encouraged Peter to take that step out of the boat. And Peter walked on water as well – just as Jesus doing!

It is possible to emulate Jesus in front of the watching world. Peter could have fallen flat on his face – literally sinking to the bottom of the ocean, with the other disciples laughing their heads off at Peter’s stupidity, before having to jump in to save him. But Peter did not let this possibility daunt him – he stepped out! And because Peter stepped out, he experienced something exhilarating – better than any thrill ride at the Gold Coast. He was experiencing something of being Jesus – completely able to deal with any complexity in life.

However, he wasn’t Jesus – he was human (and a very fallible human)! It’s human to have doubts – we try to get on top of them through an understanding of God’s Word, by utilising prayer, and by reminding ourselves how faithful God has been to us in the past, however doubts will still arise from time to time. Sometimes doubt actually offers us an opportunity to strengthen our faith and break out of mediocrity and the status quo. It is not surprising that when Peter got over his amazement at walking on the water, and looked around and saw the wind and the waves, that he had real second thoughts about all this!

What had Peter done? Peter had taken his eyes off Jesus (and his power), and started to think about his own human limitations. Because of this he naturally began to sink. When we get a good idea, that seems to be in line with God’s purposes, and trust Jesus for the outcome – we can stand tall, and start experiencing something of what is to be Jesus – there are great things and many blessings occurring around us! We are on mission for God – despite often being in the midst of a fierce storm. But if we start doubting that we can pull it off, if we take our eyes of Jesus, if we start thinking again about our limitations, if we start to let our tiredness or fear get on top of us, we’re likely to sink as well.

At least Peter realised this very quickly – he realised his human doubts were leading him towards real peril. He didn’t wait until it was too late and he was drowning – Peter cried out again for Jesus to help him. Of course, Jesus was there! Jesus reached out his hand and grabbed hold of Peter!! This shows that despite doubts being exposed, Jesus will not allow anyone who steps out in faith to drown in stormy seas. Jesus understands the complexities and difficulties of standing up for him, and living life following his example; therefore will continually offer grace, care and support for the one who sticks their neck out, takes risks, who gets involved in God’s mission in the world.

How do you read “You of little faith, why did you doubt”? Was this a condemnation of Peter – a rebuke? Or, was it a statement of comfort and reassurance?? I think the latter – that little moment of doubt did not negate the magnificent step of faith and courage in walking into the raging waters. Larry Richards wrote, “If later he flinched at the fearful waves, it was only because [Peter] had faith enough to dare”. This statement of Jesus was to be of personal reassurance to Peter, that there is no reason to allow doubt to restrict that sort of boldness he’d shown by getting out of the boat in the first place.

Sometimes we accept Jesus into our lives as Saviour, Lord and Friend, but very quickly the pressures of life (we might say the ‘storms of life’) start impacting us, and it all seems a bit hard, and we tend to lose track of where Jesus is in this. The worst thing to do is to start withdrawing back into our previous limitations, cutting ourselves off from Christian community, neglecting bible study and ceasing prayer; because then we’ll surely start to sink. The best thing to do, like Peter did, is to cry out to Jesus – “Lord, save me”. And part of crying out to Jesus today, is to ask for help from your trusted Christian friends, who can share something of Jesus with you!

Jesus assisted Peter back into the boat, and the storm passed. If this storm was seen as a test for Peter – I would say Peter passed magnificently! In recognising an opportunity to connect with Jesus, albeit in dangerous circumstances, Peter boldly went forward. And when human doubt crept into him, he immediately asked for help. When help arrived, he took hold of that divine assistance with both hands, and responded with worship and praise and bold words of faith – “Truly you are the Son of God”. Certainly Peter was well fitted for key leadership in the early church, because he had so deftly dealt with his fears and doubts.

On a previous occasion where the disciples were on a boat in a storm (recorded earlier in Matthew 8:23-27), in their fear they had to wake the sleeping Jesus and ask him to help them. When Jesus calmed the storm on that occasion, they were in great wonder about who this Jesus really was. Now, Peter, with such a personal experience of trust under his belt, was confidently able to testify to who Jesus was. Peter had proven Jesus' identity as “Son of God” to be so true – as he took a risk and ventured out into the unknown. And this confidence had spread to the other disciples as well as they witnessed this remarkable happening. Peter’s willingness to get involved in God’s mission to the world had reinforced and developed his faith. Now they could sail on to Gennesaret and be involved in more ministry to the crowds that would gather there.

Let’s be part of God’s adventure in the world! Let’s boldly connect with what God wants to do in people’s lives; and what might seem impossible becomes possible! When it gets hard and becomes a bit stormy around us, let’s trust that Jesus will pull us through. Many in our community will be blessed, and together with us, be caused to truly worship God in their daily lives.

Feeding the Community - Matthew 14

It was certainly reasonable, on hearing of John the Baptist’s execution by Herod, that Jesus would want to withdraw and be by himself for awhile – reflecting on his friendship with John, the loss he had suffered, and the threat that now surrounded him. However, as the result of having created quite a stir, Jesus was soon pursued by a crowd, so much so that they even beat him to his destination, offering no chance of any peace and quiet. However, Jesus being in complete touch with his mission in life, didn’t curse the crowd or shout at them to go away (which may still have been his first inclination), but rather welcomed them and spoke to them (Luke) and ministered to them (verse 14). Mark’s Gospel further explains the source of Jesus’ compassion here – why would he put aside his own needs in favour of others > "...because they were like sheep without a shepherd". Isn’t that like so many people today!

Because we are missionaries within our community, we put ourself out there to be helpers, and so we can’t really choose the moments that people will need us. We can’t necessarily just make a quick unnoticed trip to Coles and back, and expect no-one to spot us. Wherever possible, we have to be prepared to offer time to those who are seeking us out. And, we have to put up with the fact, like Jesus did, that these people may not know anything about the pain we’re carrying, only their own pain. [Although, sometimes we may be surprised and encouraged by the support we can receive, once we do get the opportunity of sharing our own needs with the one who we initially sought to reach out to.]

The disciples here (verse 15), probably were expressing their real concern for people’s well-being and their need of an evening meal. However, Jesus didn’t want to disrupt the connection he had formed with this crowd of people, and probably also discerned an opportunity of showing the depth of care and the breadth of possibilities when such people encounter the Kingdom of God.

The disciples, who wouldn’t have the resources to purchase food for all these people, were only able to gather up five loaves of bread and two fish (a young boy being the source of these is only mentioned in John’s Gospel). I sense that the disciples spoke about these items with a fair degree of dejection (verse 17) as they looked out on the thousands assembled – that Jesus was suggesting they gave an open invitation to. However, it seems Jesus didn’t hesitate in demonstrating that such feelings of insufficiency should not be given in to.

Why do we so often feel that we can’t, when in claiming the presence of Jesus in our life – we actually can! We can talk to that person, we can do that job, we can make that deadline, we can learn new things, we can stand up for our faith, we can pray, we can make that hard decision, we can help our children, we can love our parents, and we can make a real difference for good in our community. When Jesus prayed over these meagre amounts of bread and fish, their presumed limitations to meet the needs of the gathered crowd was eliminated, and there was more than enough to go around. There were even enough resources left over to have invited and fed even more people!

You might notice that it is not reported that Jesus specifically prayed for the bread and fish to multiply. The reference here to Jesus taking the loaves and fish, looking up to heaven, and blessing them (verse 19b), probably refers to the standard Jewish custom before (and normally after) meals of giving thanks for God’s provision. In giving thanks for these gifts, even if they seemed so inadequate, Jesus aligned himself with whatever God wanted to do in this challenging situation.

Sometimes we are so conscious of what we haven’t got, that we fail to be thankful for what we actually have, and therefore miss out on the possibilities. This is where Jesus’ disciples were at! And those thoughts could have led to an unsatisfied crowd if allowed to persist. However the disciples too, when it came to the crunch, were willing to become a part of what God wanted to do – and they brought the meagre rations to Jesus. The result was – that no matter how much food they gave out, their stocks seemed to be increasing!!

God provided the power! Jesus provided the example of being committed to the people, and thankful for whatever was available to him! The disciples provided the hands and the feet to practically give out the blessing!

For those Jews in the crowd, they may have been caused to remember the well-known story of God providing manna from heaven in the wilderness following the Hebrew people’s escape from Egypt (Exodus 16). Could they now attribute this activity to God as well? Does this provide a sign that God is active and available to them? This is exactly what Jesus was demonstrating. The disciples, later as they established the early church, were also able to demonstrate the availability and transforming potential of God to their community. We have to find ways of “feeding” our community in such ways that God can be recognised as active and available.

We involve ourselves in community groups, neighbourhood functioning and various serving roles (like with Prison Fellowship); and then as a church we have conducted children’s activities at the shopping centre, provided casseroles for someone only Kellie knows, and now are offering to serve older (more isolated) people within the local area. We are also considering what more national and international mission initiatives we should be supporting. The question is: what other ways can we “feed” our community, acknowledging that God can bless and multiply any meagre efforts (that are attempted wholeheartedly and with integrity)??

The purpose of such “feeding” – of such engagements with the society around us, is to introduce them to Jesus; not just the good guy and wise teacher, but the Saviour of the sinner. Before giving it to his disciples, Jesus also blessed the communion bread, and referred to this bread as a symbol of his body that would be broken for the salvation of humankind. However, so many don’t know about this gift! Having partaken of this blessed bread, we are honour-bound to take this salvation we are experiencing out into the marketplace. Not many of us are gifted as extraverted evangelists; however all of us have been given a personal uniqueness (combined with the Holy Spirit’s presence) that can touch other people’s lives for good.

Jesus created a stir and people were curious. When they gathered around him, they were all “fed”, and they all went away filled (verse 20a). Jesus had taken the resources supplied by the disciples (which seemed pitifully inadequate) and given thanks for them – and they were multiplied for everyone’s benefit. Jesus used his disciples to administer the resources, which turned out to be more than ample to get the job done!

Where is God Moving?

The incarnation of Jesus brought about a new movement of God in the world. Jesus taught all who would listen about a truly spiritual lifestyle, and began to demonstrate the grace of God through healing the sick. He called disciples to follow him and learn the priorities of the Kingdom of God, and crowds of curious people would gather around him waiting to see what happened next.

We know, as time moved on, there would be those who opposed Jesus. But these weren’t your average community members, these were jealous religious and political figures – who had their own agenda, and too much to lose if Jesus gained too much allegiance from the people. Even though these misguided figures were able to manipulate circumstances and bring about Jesus’ death, this would not defeat God, as God would bring about the possibility of mass salvation through the death and resurrection of Jesus!

In Luke 7 (verses 11-17), we again have a scene of Jesus, in the early part of his ministry, entering a town, accompanied by his disciples (on their learning curve), and being followed by a curious crowd. In one way, we could see Jesus just simply encountering the everyday dynamics of life as he travelled. In another way, we could see Jesus as following the prompting of the Holy Spirit in being in the places he needed to be – to exercise special ministry to those most in need and most ready to respond.

Where do we see God moving in this incident? Certainly in the person of Jesus being available to draw close to those in need! Is God also moving in another way here as well?

With the widowed mother was “a large crowd from the town”. These were not the same curious ones following Jesus around, but the concerned local neighbours of the woman who’d suffered a great loss. Jesus was not the first one in this story to show compassion it seems. Jesus would not necessarily have known that this woman was already a widow and had now lost her only son. But her neighbours would have known – there was not only the grief to be endured, but also the aloneness this woman was going to experience, and the potential difficulties of being without a male protector and provider. These neighbours were showing great compassion and some human solidarity with this widowed mother – being with her at the time of her greatest need. The deep sympathy and compassion expressed by these community members, whether they realised it or not, originated in God! God was moving within these people as well!!!

I don’t know whether Steve Irwin knew where his deep compassion for wounded animals and the welfare of the environment originated, but we know that the capacity for such compassion is placed within human beings at their conception by God. In their finest moments, whether they know so or not, people like Steve Irwin and Laurie Levy (in the fine tradition of St. Frances of Assisi) are doing God’s work, and prove that God is at work in the world – not being restricted only to those who are inside the church or who give God the credit!

So can you see the picture here in Luke 7, of the compassion of the woman’s neighbours – intersecting with the presence of the One who could truly do something wonderful and miraculous to help! And this connection physically occurred at the town gate – a major meeting place for the citizens – so the interested crowd would have been building.

Jesus knew that this was a moment for grace to be demonstrated with its fullest capacity. Resurrection would be the highest point of God’s capacity to change realities. Apart from this incident (and the resurrection of Jesus himself) the gospels only include two other instances – Jairus’s daughter and Lazarus.

The disciples of Jesus were observing all this. In a few short years, it would be them who would have to respond in Jesus’ place, just as Jesus did here. Then, a few short decades later, it would be those who followed in the way of these first disciples, who would have to exhibit the power of God to deeply touch lives. Guess who is responsible now!

However, we won’t have to dream up what to do from scratch using a blank sheet of paper!! We have a community around us, and within that community there are the full gamut of human needs and emotions; and God is already present – seeking to enter the suffering and the interplay and the politics and the fun. God is with those who are truly seeking the welfare of the city above their personal agendas. Let’s be listening, observing, researching and participating within our community’s functioning to see where Jesus could and should be made present – to intersect with good things already being done. Getting involved – this is how mission needs to be done in Australia … especially now that the church has generally been relegated to the margins of society.

There will be those who we can help connect with God by co-operating with them in their well-meaning endeavours. Then there will be those curious onlookers who might just be impressed by some of the outcomes. In this way, we, and the other Jesus-followers of this area, may just become the “hub” of our community for God!

Returning to the text (at verse 13), no-one needed to ask Jesus to do anything! Jesus, surrounded by his disciples, this woman’s compassionate neighbours, and the curious onlookers, just responded, and responded remarkably. It’s good to cry when we are grieving, so, Jesus could only say, “Do not weep”, if there was no longer going to be anything to grieve about. The dead son was being carried off to his funeral and burial spot outside of town on a stretcher. Jesus intervened, touched the stretcher, and commanded the young man to rise! Jesus, in touching this stretcher, rendered himself ceremonially unclean, but Jesus wasn’t one to allow trifling matters to get in the way of touching someone’s life. The young son not only sat up, but began to speak! Luke says that Jesus then “gave him to his mother”, indicating that this great miracle occurred in response to the mother’s need … and to aid the restoration of her life. The family line of her deceased husband would continue and her economic outlook was now much improved.

This was an awesome act, so awe overcame all those present, including the compassionate neighbours and also those curious onlookers. It’s interesting that they didn’t mob Jesus, but rather attributed this activity to God. They didn’t fully understand what was going on (referring to Jesus as a “great prophet”), they had a way to go here, but they would all be doing a fair bit of reflection over the next few days. God indeed looks favourably upon those that express compassion toward others in need, and seeks to touch the lives of the poor and grieving. Jesus himself taught: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy." (Matt 5:3,4,7)

Hopefully as we involve ourselves in our community, our neighbours will be caused to attribute all the positive outcomes to God (and begin to worship Him). God is moving, let’s co-operate with Him. Let’s represent Jesus as we move about the local area – and intersect with the good things that are already happening … the great relationships that are already being built. And the good word will spread!

Having High Expectations

We come together as a community of Christians to worship, pray and learn with one another. In our gathering we are able to care for and encourage one another through all the challenges of life. We come together to encounter God – Creator, Saviour & Spirit, in the company of each other. However, it is still possible to remain unchanged by this – especially if we are aware that we’re just going through the motions.

Although we want to be accepted in our neighbourhoods and workplaces and schools and leisure centres, the Bible teaches that we should stand out, not in a negative anti-social way, but rather as sources of light, peace and hope. If we struggle in this area, this may challenge us to think about our level of faith. In one way, faith is a gift of God, as are all good things, enabling us to truly respond to God’s other great gift of grace. However, faith is something that we have the responsibility of nurturing and developing, so that it actually makes a real difference in our daily lives, and also a significant contribution to other people and the community in general.

There should be something about us that other people want! At the very least our attitudes and priorities and lifestyle should make others curious. If this is not the case, could the reason be – that we have limited expectations of what God can actually accomplish! Sometimes there may be little evident difference between Jesus-followers and those who have never heard of Jesus – some Christians may not display any more light, peace and hope than anyone else!

Earthly fathers, who follow in the path of Jesus, who have adopted Jesus’ teaching deep within them, should be able to provide wonderful guidance to their sons and daughters – that will bear substantial fruit. This is not to say that it will ever be easy – just that the resources available in God (if such fathers access them) are sufficient to meet almost every challenge.

Do we really believe that God can teach us all we need to know to cope with life?
Do we really believe that God can help us conquer the things that hold us back from having a really fulfilling life?
Do we really believe what we read in the Lord’s Prayer, that God can actually “deliver us from evil” ie. the impact of evil?
Do we really believe that God can empower us sufficiently to make a real impact
on this community for Him? Or is this really only a ‘pipe-dream’ – nice sentiments not taken too seriously!

If we want to excel in our lives, and if we want our church community to have a positive, redemptive effect on those around us, then we heed to lift our expectations about what God can do! If we want others to be able to connect with God in the same way we have, then we have to trust God to work through us to bring this about.

Many people, biblical and historical, have achieved this; despite all the difficulties and challenges of life. The psalms are one source of inspiration for us here, as we grapple with having high expectations of God, throughout the rough and tumble of life. As an example, Psalm 31 expresses the deepest thoughts and emotions of the writer (commonly held to be David) – in terms of his relationship with the society around him, and also in terms of his relationship with God that intersects with this.

Psalm 31 begins with a sense of prayerfulness (v.1-2) - there is included here a deep desire to be heard by God; continues with statements of raw ingrained trust (v.3-5); then reflects confidence based on God’s faithfulness in the past (v.6-8) - God has had no association with those who oppose Him through their the worthless activities & selfishness, but God has drawn close to those who do respond to His ways & priorities on earth.

Despite these assurances however, the psalmist still has need to express his inner turmoil (v.9-13). And God is ready to hear the cries of his heart and his personal
need for deliverance from the things that oppress him in life. Just because we trust God and have confidence in God for our future, does not mean we are exempt from human dilemmas. Indeed, handled properly, it will be these difficulties that enable
us to grow and mature and excel for God. The psalmist comes in humble trust and expresses his need.

This psalmist is distressed, sorrowful, miserable, physically & emotionally spent.
The writer has suffered opposition, alienation, rejection, abandonment.
He feels broken and lifeless, has even developed a sense of shame.
All seems lost, and whether this is real or not – everyone seems to have it in for him.

The central point of this psalm is in verse 14, where at the height of all this anxiety, the psalmist reaffirms the basic unwavering principle of his life, saying:
But I trust in you, O LORD; I say, ‘You are my God.’

This became the very deliberate mindset of the psalmist – a ‘mantra’ if you like.
This is what we need to be in the practice of saying! A lot!! I completely depend
upon You my God, and believe that You will care for me through thick and thin;
every part of my being is in Your hands!!!

And indeed we can have very high expectations for what God can do for us. We don’t have to wallow in misery, or endlessly feel oppressed – God can deliver us!

Sometimes God will overrule on our behalf. Sometimes though, God’s will for us (within this fallen world) is to endure imperfections of various kinds, and permits certain suffering; but we can always have access to God’s loving, caring touch through which we ourselves find ways to cope, overcome and even experience victory (over those things that tend to imprison us). Thus important lessons can be learned, and good character developed. What a witness to our Loving Creator God we can be, by utilising His strength in the place of our greatest weaknesses.

Such deliverance is expressed in verses 15-18.

There will be the ultimate vindication of God’s faithful children.
Our detractors will be silenced in the face of our integrity.
God can bring blessing out of the direst circumstances.
God’s light will be seen in us.

So, let’s not pray half-heartedly as if God may only possibly be able to deliver us.
Let’s pray with high expectations of the wonderful things God can do!

We shouldn’t see any obstacles before us as insurmountable, when we have access to the re-creative power of God. If I have a temper problem, I don’t have to just manage it – I can allow God to do a new work in me. I may always have a bit of a vulnerability here, but God will continue to mould me into the image of the Prince
of Peace (Jesus) – if I allow God to!! If I have a problem getting to know people – whereas I may never be an extravert, God can teach me that I have value, and give
me the confidence to speak to others.

We may see some of the challenges that face us as a church as somewhat daunting. But there is no need to! We are part of God’s mission, and God will honour all those that trust in Him, and stick out there neck to share their faith!! Let’s have high expectations for what God will do amongst us and around us. I believe we together can have a significant impact for good in this community. I don’t doubt that it will be hard work. But I also don’t doubt that God will give us everything that we really need to fulfil the call upon us.

The psalmist moves on in the context of complete trust, through his desire for deliverance and effectiveness, toward wonderful statements of thanksgiving and praise (v.19-22).

How good is God – look what He’s done!
In all the complexity of life – I can find refuge & shelter in God!
When I need God the most – His rock solid unshakable love is there!
When I desired God’s “ear” and attention – I was heard!

And then this psalm concludes with strong words of witness to all generations
(v.23-24). God will have the final say; until then: love God, stay faithful,
keep up your courage, be expectant – God is about to act!