04/23 - Receiving and Believing

Demonstration of the signs mentioned in the sermon here.

The video played during the sermon here.

 

Receiving and Believing

John 20:19-31

                                                    

Narrowing Our Focus

Ø       So Rich in Possibilities!

• Remember your first time at a buffet? (For me it was Duffy's.What to eat first!?!)
• There is a wealth of possible topics in today's post-Easter lectionary reading:
• The disciples were hiding and fearful; quite the opposite of Pentecost!
• Jesus appears! Is He a spirit?No, He shows them His wounds...
• Why does Jesus retain His wounds?
• Isn't it neat that He says "Peace be with you," which was their everyday polite greeting, like "how's your mom & them, but His mission was to bring Peace?
• That part about forgiving and retaining sins: is that license for the Roman Catholic practices of penance and excommunication, or is that about our ministry of declaring forgiveness through faith in Christ (as the Greek suggests)?
• Was Thomas stubborn, hurt, the first scientist, or what?
• Thomas' confession was light years beyond Peter's finally unmasking for us Jesus as God.

Ø       Let's narrow it down to these:

• v22 Then he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit."
• v29 Then Jesus told him, “You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who believe without seeing me.”
• AND v31 But these are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in him you will have life by the power of his name.
• What is this link between believing in Jesus and receiving new life through the Spirit?
  
  

Do We "Believe?"

Ø       I have a problem with Indiana Jones...

• #1 - After you see the Ark of the Covenant destroy a group of Nazi's, how do you still interpret it without bringing in God?
• #2 - That scene in The Last Crusade about the "leap of faith..."

Ø       The problem with the Leap of Faith

• We tend to define what is "leaped over" as a lack of evidence
• Look at what Thomas says...
• But in my experience, what we "leap over" is more about the struggle in our hearts (insecurities, fear of being hurt, etc.) than the struggle in our heads
• Imagine yourself as Thomas, and look at what he did...

Ø       The problem with "belief"

• Like "love," we can say a lot or a little when we say, "I believe"
• ex 1: "I believe it's going to rain."
• ex 2: "I believe this airplane is safe."
• ex 3: "I believe in my wife."
• As in, "No, that wasn't my wife tossing dollar bills at the Chip & Dale performers!"
• Or better yet, "Honey, I need you to leave the house for the next 30 minutes.No questions. Trust me.  This is important." (I will, of course, ask if she's in any danger...)
• "Belief in Christ" is that kind of belief that starts with a realization and moves quickly to trust, then over time permeates the center of your being and fills every corner of your life...
• Thomas: "My Lord and my God!"
  
  

Part of the New Creation

Ø       John's hidden implication:

• Gen 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
• John 1:1a In the beginning was the Word... v3 God created everything through him, & nothing was created except through him.
• Genesis 2:7 Then the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground. He breathed the breath of life into the man’s nostrils, and the man became a living person.
• John 20:22 Then he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit."

Ø       As a disciple, you are called not just to a set of rules or a certain standard of behavior, but to willingly participate in your own re-creation...

Ø       The impact that people of the New Creation have is amazing...

• "Christians are made of Steel!" - a clip from an Egyptian news broadcast in which a Muslim journalist reacts to an interview with the widow of the gatekeeper who prevented a suicide bomber from entering an Alexandria church yard on Palm Sunday, thereby saving countless lives....

That is the kind of impact we are called to have as a part of the New Creation, a post-Easter people!