Pastor Koay Kheng Hin
3 April 2022
We are now moving into a new phase of endemicity. We pray that as we move back into a new sense of normalcy, we will all be able to continuously gather together physically as a people of God without any more disruptions.
As we move forward into the second quarter of the year, I can sense that God is going to rebuild the church, energize all of us spiritually and gather all of us back to serve and grow together as a body of believers.
In that vein, it is especially needful for each and every one of us to desire and prays for a personal encounter with God to revitalize our spiritual zeal. The title of the sermon today is, therefore “A PERSONAL ENCOUNTER”.
The sermon text is Matthew 16:13-17 taken from the gospel of Matthew and I read.
13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”
14 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
15 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven.
By the time Jesus reached this point in his ministry, he had already performed many miracles among the people. He had fed five thousand people with just five loaves of bread and two fish.
He had walked on water, healed the daughter of a Canaanite woman suffering from demon possession and fed four thousand people with just seven loaves of bread and a few small fish.
Many people were drawn to the power demonstrated by Jesus. With such a demonstration of his power over nature and demons, Jesus then asked the disciples this all-important question. “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” (v.13).
The disciples’ answer in verse 14 was because of a rumour that John the Baptist had been raised from the dead, Elijah had appeared and one of the prophets had come back to life (Luke 9:7-8).
The people thought that he was either John the Baptist, Elijah or one of the prophets. However, the more important question was “Who do you say I am?”.
The answer of Simon Peter is insightful. By faith, he came to have personal knowledge of the identity of Jesus, that he is the Christ, the Son of the living God.
In knowing the Person of Christ in a personal way, he is said to have a personal encounter with Christ. In verse 17, Jesus mentions that this personal knowledge of the Person of Christ was revealed to Peter by God the Father.
Such a personal encounter is finally initiated by God himself. This knowledge of the Person of Christ is a relational knowledge and a relational encounter.
Let us now look at the story of the ten lepers who had been healed of their leprosy as recorded in Luke 17:15-19.
15 One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. 16 He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan.
17 Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? 18 Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” 19 Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”
We can see that out of the ten lepers only one came back praising God and thanked Jesus.
If the question of Matthew 16:15 were asked of the lepers we can safely deduce that the nine other lepers would have seen Jesus as only one of the prophets while the one leper who came back praising God would have seen Jesus as the Christ, having divinity in him.
This one leper would have had a personal relational encounter with God in Christ while the other nine lepers would just have had a superficial transactional encounter with Jesus.
Just like Peter, the one leper would have been drawn to the Person of Christ while the other nine lepers would only have been drawn to the power of Christ.
What about you? Are you this day drawn only to the power of Christ or are you drawn to the Person of Christ himself?
Are you connecting with Jesus transactionally or are you connecting with him relationally? Who do you say Jesus is? If he is God, then he is also both your Lord and your Savior. He desires to connect with you relationally.
Just like Peter, in time to come, his interaction with Christ would grow in intimacy in both faith and love. After his resurrection, Jesus appeared to Peter and affirmed his personal relationship with Peter by drawing him into an emphasis on love.
The conversation between Jesus and Peter in John 21:17, “The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me ?” Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things, you know that I love you.” which demonstrates this emphasis.
Thirty years later, Peter would express this intimate relationship with Jesus in 1 Peter 1:8, “Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him….”
May we all affirm our own personal relational encounter with Christ Jesus and connect with him relationally and be continually drawn to his Person, growing in both faith and love.
Faith in who Jesus is! That he is the perfect God and the Perfect Man. Growing in our love for him in personal relational intimacy. To God be the glory. Amen!
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