Sermon Text: Matthew 14:22-33
证道经文: 马太福音14:22-23
Title: His voice in the Dark!
证道题目：祂在黑暗中的声音！
Grace and peace of our Lord Jesus be with you all. Amen.
恩惠平安从我们的主耶稣基督归于你们。阿们。
Introduction Story背景故事
During a night about two weeks ago, our son Enyan woke up by himself while my wife and I were in deep sleep. Usually he doesn’t do that, but somehow he woke up, crawling around in our bed. Our bed is pretty tall, but thanks be to God, we have put fences around it so that Enyan doesn’t accidentally fall.
大概两周前的一个夜晚，正在我和太太熟睡的时候，我们的儿子恩言自己醒了，到处在床上爬。
By the time we were woken up, Enyan was crying desperately at the edge against the fence. He was certainly afraid as we could tell from his cries because it was dark dark in our bedroom. We kind of always switch off all the lights before we fall asleep. But not anymore after this incident; now we leave a night light on.
As I reflect back on what happened to Enyan that night, I could imagine that he didn’t realize mom and dad were right beside him because it was so dark around him. When we woke up and tried to comfort him, saying “it’s ok, mom and dad are here…”, he was still kind of in doubt wondering where he was at the edge of our bed. Finally, we managed to turn on the light and hug him into sleep.
Disciples’ Situation
Friends, with today’s Gospel reading Matthew 14, imagine what is happening to Jesus’ disciples. Let me read again for you Matthew 14:22-25
门徒们的情景
朋友们，藉着今天的福音经文马太福音14章，我们想象一下耶稣门徒们经历了什么。
“Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds… the boat by this time was a long way from the land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them. And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea.”
马太福音14:22-25
“耶稣随即催门徒上船，先渡到那边去，等他叫众人散开。… 那时船在海中，因风不顺，被浪摇撼。夜里四更天，耶稣在海面上走，往门徒那里去。”
Now the “fourth watch of the night” is 3-6am according to the Roman watch. It is a dark dark night when supposedly people are still sleeping. Remember they don’t have modern technology, at best, lit torches with them. And it was after a long-day of work out there in the field. They just miraculously fed 5,000 plus people for dinner (Matt 14:15) along with Jesus. Running around to organize the crowds, serve them with loaves and fish, and at the end, collect the leftovers into twelve baskets, etc.
按照罗马人计算时间的方法，“夜里四更天”就是凌晨3-6点。夜还很黑，大家还在熟睡。… 门徒们与耶稣一起在山上野地里作工，并且晚饭的时候（14章15节记载）刚刚施行神迹喂饱了五千多人。
Jesus told them to row over to the other side of the Galilean sea. And they obeyed. But something else happened. During this very dark night, after a long distance from the land, in the middle of nowhere, their boat was “beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them.” The disciples must also be weary and scared to death.
他们的“船在海中，因风不顺，被浪摇撼。”门徒们一定是既疲惫又怕的要死。
And here Jesus comes to them, walking on the sea. How did disciples react to Jesus’ presence? Matthew 14:26 “But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” and they cried out in fear.”
这个时候耶稣在海面上行走，向他们的船靠拢。门徒们是如何反应的呢？马太福音14:26 “门徒看见他在海面上走，就惊慌了，说：「是个鬼怪！」便害怕，喊叫起来。”
Our effort to find Jesus and His presence:
我们寻找耶稣和祂同在的方法：
Brothers and sisters, in our Christian sailing and our journey to the other side, that is the other world, the new world of our salvation, the new creation of heaven and earth, we have all kinds of experiences: weariness, darkness, desperation, fear, and doubt. We try very hard to find assurance of Jesus’ presence and His comfort with us, in front of unemployment, separation, quarrels, divorce, illnesses, and even death. YES, these things don’t just happen to the rest of the world but also to you and I who are already in the saving boat.
面对各样的困难，失业、分离、争吵、离婚、疾病甚至死亡，我们非常努力要寻求耶稣同在和安慰的确据。
We tend to look up to two sources for Jesus’ presence: 1. How we feel in our heart 2. What we see around us. Friends, both would fail us just like they have failed the disciples. When they look inside themselves, there is only fear and desperation. When they look around, there is only darkness, strong wind, and shaking waves. Even though Jesus is walking on the water towards them, based on how they feel and what they see, they cried out loud, “it is a ghost!” which means, “it is an evil spirit against us.”
我们倾向于在两个地方寻求耶稣的同在：1. 我们心里的感觉 2. 我们周围所看见的环境。但是，朋友们，这两个地方都会让我们失望，就像门徒们的经历一样。
We even try to build our own community without Jesus:
Another temptation we face in this situation is that we try to build our own boat, our own community, our own identity, security without Jesus sailing with us. That is happening today to many Christians and non-Christians in North America.
我们甚至想要在没有耶稣的情况下建造属于我们自己的社区：
在这种情况下我们面对的另一个试探是，我们想要在没有耶稣一起航行的情况下建造自己的船，建造属于我们自己的社区，我们自己的身份认同感，我们自己的安全和保障。
Even social media giants have caught up with this wind. A few years ago, Facebook noticed the importance of building virtual communities in people’s social life, so they created a thing called “facebook groups”. Tencent, Wechat’s owner probably noticed much earlier since they had QQ groups way before Facebook. Today, ask around, who doesn’t have a few wechat groups on their phone?
For our Chinese community in Evansville, it is always good to unite us in one language, one fatherland, and one culture. We are all foreigners settling down in a foreign land. It is easier for us to find our identity and security, a sense of union and belonging from our common background.
The ultimate identity and security of our Community:
But friends, we need Jesus, always Jesus in the center of our community, our parties, and our celebrations, to reshape our ultimate identity, union, and security. I heard some of you have already done that, in your workplace, in restaurants, in family reunions, and even in wechat groups.
我们社区的最终身份和保障：
但是朋友们，我们需要总是把耶稣放在我们社区生活、我们派对、我们庆祝活动的中心，让耶稣中心塑造我们的身份，团结和安全保障。
Only Jesus can sail us to the other side of the sea. Be sure that we are not talking about the other side of the Pacific Ocean, our earthly fatherland, China. We are talking about our eternal destiny that China or Chinese culture can’t give.
What Jesus has done for us:
耶稣为我们做了什么
Only Jesus gives a clear vision where we are going in front of the shared fate of all human beings, which is death. For Jesus not only has walked on the sea but also has conquered death, death in the sea and death in the land. A few chapters back, Matthew in chapter 12 writes: “For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”
因为耶稣不仅在海面上走，而且也战胜了海中的和陆地上的死亡。马太在前几章就是12章40节记着：“约拿三日三夜在大鱼肚腹中，人子也要这样三日三夜在地里头。”
Now, where do we look for God’s presence in our life and Christian journey? If not in our feelings or in what we see with our eyes?
那么，我们在生活和基督徒旅途中，往哪里去寻求上帝的同在呢？若不是倚靠我们的感觉或者我们肉眼所见的环境？
The Ultimate Source of Jesus’ Presence:
耶稣同在的根本依据：
In the voice of Jesus, i.e., His words written in Bible. Matthew 14:27 “But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.” This is how God brings His presence into our daily life, into our sailing boat, into our common journey towards eternal life.
在祂的声音中，就是祂在圣经中所启示的话语。马太福音14:27 “耶稣连忙对他们说：「你们放心，是我，不要怕！」”
The words you read and hear daily through the scriptures are the voice of Jesus. They may seem so common, just like other writings, words in black and white, as if we can disregard them, and look for something else, highly spiritual. But be assured that those other things will fail us. We can only rely on God’s words for guidance and the assurance of His presence. Without God’s words, we may easily think that God is against us. But with God’s words, we know He is always for us, even in the dark.
你每天读的、听的圣经话语，正是耶稣的声音。… 若没有上帝的话语，我们很容易以为上帝是敌对我们的。但有了上帝的话语，我们知道祂总是看顾我们，一切都是为了我们的益处，哪怕我们经历黑暗。
Even though we hear Jesus’ words every Sunday or every day, we may still doubt, just like Peter was in doubt, or like our son Enyan doubting whether mom and dad are with him when he heard our voice in the dark. Matthew 14:31 “Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”
马太福音14:31 “耶稣赶紧伸手拉住他，说：「你这小信的人哪，为什么疑惑呢？」”
O You of Little Faith:
你这小信的人哪：
“O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” It may sound a harsh rebuke, but think differently from a different perspective. It is Jesus’ second response to disciples’ fear after the first response “It is I, do not be afraid.” Jesus continues to speak His words, and His words are generating faith and strengthening faith.
这是耶稣第二次回应门徒们的恐惧，第一次祂说：“你们放心，是我，不要怕！”
Exhortation:
劝勉和鼓励：
Take courage, Jesus never would despise your little faith or my little faith in the midst of our doubt, but instead He continues forgiving our doubt and sins, lifting up our faith by His gracious words. Remember also that Jesus has already had us in His saving hands, securing us in His saving boat, just like He has already “immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him.” In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
要振作，尽管我们时有疑惑，但是耶稣从来不会鄙视你我的小信，相反，祂继续赦免我们的疑惑和罪，藉着祂恩典的话语让我们重拾信心，抬起头来。要记得…祂已经”伸手拉住他。”奉耶稣的名。阿们。