Preached April 18, 1993, evening service First Baptist Church, Garrett, Indiana
Rev. Rick Lemburg, pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in Casa Grande, Arizona describes himself as "a Presbyterian by earthquake."
He explains that his grandmother, a Baptist, moved the family from Iowa to California many years ago. A Presbyterian pastor visited her and invited her to come to the Presbyterian church.
"I'm a Baptist," his grandmother said, "and it will take an act of God to get me to change." While they were chatting, an earthquake shook the home.
Being from Iowa, she wasn't sure what it was, but when it was over, she told the pastor, "I'll join."
Lemberg says he has no statistics on how many Presbyterians became Baptists after an earthquake, or vice versa.
I wish faith were that easy, don't you? I wish God would give each of us some unmistakable sign--perhaps not an earthquake, but some less frightening indication of His interest in our affairs. I believe it was Woody Allen who said that a million dollars deposited in a Swiss bank account would be a nice gesture. Nothing too dramatic. Well, that's not exactly true, is it? Actually, it would have to be awfully dramatic. We're pretty good at explaining away even the most stirring of miracles. Faith is not easy. God never meant for it to be. It is part of the struggle we go through in order to fit our souls for heaven.
What a couple of weeks it had been for the disciples. Everything happened so fast--too fast. One moment the crowds were welcoming Jesus into Jerusalem. A couple of days later he was arrested. The next day he died on the cross. The disciples were so shell-shocked they did not know what to do next. They were afraid and kept a low profile. They were living in fear because they thought what had happened to Jesus might very well happen to them. And then early that Sunday morning one of the women found the stone rolled away from the tomb. He is alive! Peter and one of the other disciples went racing to the tomb. Jesus' body was not there. Even more dramatically, Mary reported that she had seen and spoken to the risen Christ.
That evening the disciples were meeting behind locked doors not knowing what would happen next. In the midst of their confusion Jesus came and stood among them.
He said to his disciples, "Peace be with you." At first, they were afraid. But when he showed them his hands and his side they rejoiced. Jesus was alive! Mary had told them the truth. They could see him with their own eyes. This was the most wonderful news imaginable.
Then Jesus gave them a commission. "As the Father has sent me, so I send you." The disciples were now apostles. No longer were they just learners, now they were messengers--responsible for carrying the message of salvation to the far corners of the world. The apostles were to continue the ministry of Jesus, they were to become his voice, his hands, legs.
Then Jesus breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit." This is significant. John, the author of the gospel bearing his name, wanted his readers to know that Jesus breathed the Holy Spirit into the disciples in the same way God breathed life into Adam, the first human.
For some unknown reason, however, one of the apostles, Thomas, was missing that first Easter evening. Thomas had not seen the risen Lord like the others had. The apostles told Thomas, "We have seen the Lord." Thomas was unconvinced. It wasn't that he thought his friends were lying; their story was simply too good to be true. Thomas wanted proof. He wanted to see Jesus for himself.
Thomas said, "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe."
Thomas was a realist. He had been hurt and disappointed. He had expected so much from Jesus. Then, to watch him die on the cross like a common thief was too much for Thomas to bear. He had his hopes dashed once. Now he wanted to be careful--he didn't want to set himself up for another letdown. We have to admire Thomas for being so honest with his doubts. He just couldn't believe without seeing Jesus for himself.
WE ALL GO THROUGH THOSE MOMENTS OF DOUBT, DON'T WE?
Dave Dravecky, former pitcher for the San Francisco Giants lost his arm to cancer a few years ago. It was a difficult time for him and his family. Not only did he lose an arm but he lost a promising career as a major league baseball player. He was filled with many questions. During his time of struggle he began receiving letters from other people. Most were letters of encouragement. Some people wrote to him looking for answers. They knew he had been thru so much and yet had kept his faith.
One day he received the following letter: "Dear Mr. Dravecky,
"If there is a God who cares so much for you, why did he allow you to have the surgery in the first place? I have lived 41 years in this old world and I have yet to see any piece of genuine evidence that there is anything real about any religious beliefs. God certainly does not love me and has never done one single thing to express love to me. I have fought for everything I have in life. Nobody cares about what happens to me and I don't care much what happens to anyone else either. Can't you see the truth that religion is nothing but a crutch used by a lot of weaklings who can't face reality and that the church is nothing but a bunch of hypocrites who care nothing for one another and whose faith extends not to their actions or daily lives but is nothing more than a bunch of empty phrases spouted off to impress others?"
How would you respond to such a letter? Unfortunately there are people who have experienced some tragedy in their lives and think God has deserted them. Dave Dravecky has struggled with some of the same questions, but his faith has made all the difference.
Dravecky shares his faith with others, helping them thru difficult times. "Anytime we come to God, it is an act of faith." Dravecky writes, "When we knock on heaven's door, regardless of how hard we knock or how long we knock, how angrily or how stubbornly, we state by our very presence at that door that we believe God is there, that He is in charge of the world, and therefore in some way responsible for what goes on here."
People have always struggled with their doubts. The early Christians had just as much trouble believing as we do. The apostles did not believe until they saw the risen Lord Jesus with their own eyes. They told Thomas but he didn't believe the news either. He had to see for himself.
SOMETIMES THESE PERIODS OF DOUBT AND QUESTIONING LEAD US TO A GREATER UNDERSTANDING OF FAITH.
Linda Ferree understands this because she has lived thru it. She writes, "As a new believer, I had a fragile faith. I pretended a confidence I often didn't feel because I thought asking questions or admitting doubts indicated unbelief. Later I came to realize that searching the scriptures and talking honestly with other Christians is a way of building and strengthening my faith. I found that others often shared my questions, and we could together seek answers."
Linda knows there's nothing wrong with asking questions and admitting our doubts. She writes, "I rejoice when I hear people voicing their questions, I recognize the depth of thought they are giving to their faith and the growth that will result."
Sometimes our periods of doubts and questions lead us to faith. Thomas struggled with his doubts for a week. Notice that Thomas still met with the other apostles. He was not excluded from the group because he didn't believe them. That says something important about being the church. We do not exclude people just because they are searching. Such searching may be a springboard for an even greater faith. Certainly it was for Thomas.
A week later Jesus once again appeared to the apostles and this time Thomas was with them. Jesus knew that Thomas doubted so he went to him and said, "Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side." "Do not doubt but believe," Jesus told him. And Thomas made one of the greatest confessions recorded in the Bible. "My Lord and my God!" From that day forward Thomas would go forth risking his very life for the gospel he once doubted.
JESUS TOLD THE APOSTLES, HOWEVER, THAT THERE IS A BETTER WAY OF COMING TO FAITH. IT IS HEARING AND BELIEVING.
He is saying to them that from now on faith would not be transmitted by earthquakes or deposits in bank accounts or even by personal visits by the resurrected Christ. Faith would come by one person sharing with another what the Gospel has meant in his or her life. "Blessed are those who have not seen me and yet have come to faith," Jesus said.
From that moment on people would depend on the witness of the previous generation and the personal testimony of those whose lives have been transformed by the power of the indwelling Spirit. Jesus' words were spoken not only for them but also for us. We are invited to hear the Gospel message and believe.
Bruce Larsen tells about a woman in one of his former congregations. Mrs. Chan was a tiny, energetic, and faith-filled woman. Her daughter and son-in-law were on the verge of divorce. The problem, according to Mrs. Chan, was that her son-in-law was not a Christian. "If he could just be converted, " she said, "all would be well."
She had been praying about all this for some time and felt she had clear guidance. She planned to send her son-in-law plane fare so he could go to church with her. At that church service she expected that her son-in-law would give his life to Jesus. She was hoping he could then be baptized that very afternoon. She spoke to one of her pastors about her plan. He tried to dissuade her, to help her see the foolishness of her plan. "God doesn't operate that way," the pastor told her. "You can't manipulate God or your son-in-law like that."
Mrs. Chan didn't listen to advice. She sent the young man plane fare and he worshipped with her the next Sunday. The invitation was issued at the end of the service for those who wanted to start the life of faith for the first time. The young man went forward and accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. "He came, Reverend Larsen," Mrs. Chan said beaming that Sunday, "and when you gave the invitation, he gave his life to God." Mrs. Chan was not at all surprised at the outcome. "God spoke," Dr. Larsen recalls, "she acted, and her daughter's husband came into the Kingdom."
From now on, Jesus said, people will respond and believe not because they have seen but because they have heard the message of salvation. Doubt is part of living. Faith is a struggle. But it is available--available to all who will hear and believe.
