What Do You Believe Would Help You Commit To A Spirit Filled Relationship?
Good Morning Friends,
One thing Bible history helps us to see is that many people, if not all people struggle with issues in their lives that are resolved only on the journey of obedience. The list is long. Hopefully we experience on the way something that transforms our thinking that is beyond the issue of doubt that is part of the post Easter story in today scripture. And I think the answer to the problem hinges on a faith in our allegiance to Christ who has said he will ask the Father to give us an Advocate who will never leave us. What Do You Believe Would Help You Commit To A Spirit Filled Relationship?
Scripture: Immediately the father of the child cried out, “I believe; help my unbelief!”
Mark 9:24 (NRSV)
Then after this he said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.” The disciples said to him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just now trying to stone you, and are you going there again?” Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Those who walk during the day do not stumble, because they see the light of this world. But those who walk at night stumble, because the light is not in them.” After saying this, he told them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going there to awaken him.” The disciples said to him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will be all right.” Jesus, however, had been speaking about his death, but they thought that he was referring merely to sleep. Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead. For your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” Thomas, who was called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”
John 11: 7-16 (NRSV)
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also. And you know the way to the place where I am going.” Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
John 14:1-6 (NRSV)
And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever.
John 14:16 (NRSV)
When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “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.” A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.” Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.
John 20:19-31 (NRSV)
Therefore let the entire house of Israel know with certainty that God has made him both Lord and Messiah, this Jesus whom you crucified.’ Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and to the other apostles, ‘Brothers, what should we do?’ Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you, for your children, and for all who are far away, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to him.’ And he testified with many other arguments and exhorted them, saying, ‘Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.’ So those who welcomed his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand persons were added.
Acts 2:36-41 (NRSV)
Message: After Easter as on Good Friday we can have a little bit of a letdown as we are reminded of the emptiness of our life without Christ. But the thing is that Jesus never really leaves us. To unpack this reality, we today look at a major theme of the Bible primarily from the book of John…that addresses this situation of emptiness and relates it to the filling of the Holy Spirit. The key to understanding this is more than knowing the story of the resurrected Jesus appearing to His disciples just before pointing out the holes in His hands and side to Thomas. There is a dynamic here that is transformative. We are to feel it in our hearts and it is to shine in our faces. Here we are empowered to witness to others that forgiveness is indeed attainable…that doubt is natural but can serve a purpose in testing our commitment. As an inquiring mind we like Thomas may need to see the truth to believe. But as we look at the man that we know all too often as doubting Thomas, this descriptor does not seem to fit as such a negative trait. The thing is that he was more than willing to believe once he saw the truth and willing to follow even when he did not see. His doubt had a purpose. Thomas’ doubt gives evidence not of a lack of faith, but of a desire to have faith founded in fact not fancy. Three times Thomas is mentioned in the gospel of John and they all, I think, guide us to explore the role of the Holy Spirit in guiding our obedience to the truth of Christ and the Holy Spirit. To be clear, there is an important distinction between the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and the filling of the Holy Spirit. All believers in Jesus Christ have God’s Spirit living within them or dwelling within them but not all believers live filled or controlled by the Spirit’s power. Some Christians describe this distinction by saying believers have all the Holy Spirit, but the Holy Spirit may not have all of them. We are indwelt by the Holy Spirit at the time of our salvation, but we are filled by Him when we submit. Knowing the right thing to do is only half the battle. Finding the power to do it is a different story. That is why we must be filled with the Holy Spirit beyond an emotional experience. The filling of the Holy Spirit, then, can vary in the life of each believer. Thomas demonstrates this filling and his questions do not quash the Spirit. The goal for the believer is to live out their faith in Christ, with the Holy Spirit increasingly controlling or filling their lives. This leads to joy, thankfulness, and right relationships and sometimes honest questions.
And So, Jesus knew the power of a personal encounter and firsthand how those life changing experiences can be so dramatic as to change life forever. We see it on a personal level in the painting by Caravaggio entitled The Incredulity of St. Thomas. And we see it collectively in shared experiences like Pearl Harbor and 9/11 and of course after the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. These types of moments define us and amaze us and sometimes make us skeptics. But they can also be spiritually powerful personal moments that mold us individually as well as a culture. And we see this powerful personal encounter in the story of Thomas. But it informs us as well. Friends, miracles happen when we understand that Jesus cares, transforms and extravagantly provides for our personal needs as well as collective needs and that is the journey of Eastertide to Pentecost. Trials, difficulties and defeat can all lead us to discover a deeper faith. We are to rejoice because Jesus comes to those who are honest about their doubts and helps us face them, so we might grow in a relationship with God. We are not to stay in the land of doubt and that is why it is ok to ask questions. But we are to press on to higher ground and experience God’s power through greater obedience. We are to see and believe so that we might together be victorious with Christ. Here we find the joy of sharing the Good News of a spirit filled fellowship. Here we find love in a relationship with God.
Pray we learn first and foremost to be committed to honesty with one another. Pray we realize that honesty is a sign of true friendship. Pray we realize that life can be so superficial if we hide from the truth of God. Pray we embrace the reality that people appreciate candor more than candy talk… frankness more than flattery. Pray we be spirit filled in our personal relationship with God but also in our personal relationship with each other. Pray that our deepest desire is that Jesus will be in our midst…. the middle of our lives. Pray that Jesus make us peaceful…surpassing everything we can expect. Pray that Jesus make us joyful…rejoicing in the victory on the cross. Pray that Jesus make us useful…witnessing to others the good news in our lives. Pray that Jesus make us powerful…creating in us the very breath of our existence. Pray we never forget the message of peace. Pray we share with one another the healing and wholeness that God has shared with us through Jesus Christ His Son.
Pray we trust in Jesus. Pray we learn to value those things that He values. Pray that our scars make us real, believable and trustworthy. Pray that in the scars of life we discover peace. Pray that in the scars of life we discover a growing faith. Pray that in the scars of life we discover healing. Pray that in the scars of life we discover honor. Pray that in the scars of life we discover love.
Pray we look around and realize how lucky the disciples were to be alive in the History of the world when Jesus walked the earth. Pray we realize how lucky we are to be living the dream today. Pray when we encounter sceptics we invite them to come and see. Pray we get the facts and help others get the facts too. Pray we encounter Jesus with our fears and have them relieved. Pray we approach our doubts with wisdom and a heart that seeks the truth. Pray we catch the thrill and are inspired to speak of our lives with Christ passionately. Pray we imagine God’s permanent, empowering presence living fully within people both in a group sense as the church being God’s temple and in us individually as temples for God to abide.
Blessings,
John Lawson
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