A Sunday Message for April 15, 2012

“Some Marks of Blessedness”        

John 20:19-31 and Acts 4:32-35

“Jesus said to Thomas, ‘Have you believed because you have seen? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.’” (John 20:29)

(Sermon preached by Rev. Larry A. Langer, First Presbyterian Church, Jasper, IN, April 15, 2012)

The score was ten to one. The home team was winning. The players had been doing everything their coach had told them to do. All things were working out very well as the coach stood in the middle of them, ready to give the after-the-game locker room talk. He had no criticisms of them; in fact, he had only four words for them. Coach Jesus Christ said, “Peace be with you.” And, the team of ten rejoiced.

Then the Coach reminded them that there were other games to play: “Remember,” Coach Jesus Christ said, “as the owner of the team has sent me, so I send you to go out to play the next game. Peace be with you, and may the power and guidance of the Holy Spirit be with you.”

However, there was one player, Thomas, who hadn’t been in that locker room that day; he had been out on some personal business. So, when he showed up, he couldn’t believe what his teammates told him about what Coach Jesus Christ had said. You see, Thomas never seemed to have a good game. Even when he was at his best, didn’t do anything wrong, even when he was complimented, he doubted his abilities, his worthiness, and even what Coach Christ said.

So, in usual fashion, Thomas told his teammates that he needed to hear the compliments for himself, or he wouldn’t believe that there had been no criticism, only blessings. Thus it was that Coach Jesus Christ came and stood among them again – this time all eleven – and said only, “Peace by with you.” Then, specifically to Thomas he offered, “Do you want me to put it into writing for you? Do not doubt, Thomas. Even you are loved and appreciated. What must I do to convince you of that?”

And Thomas replied, “Oh, Jesus Christ, you are my Coach, even my Lord and my God.”

Then, looking at Thomas, but really speaking to the entire team, Coach Jesus Christ said, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”

Here’s where we come in. Up until now, Coach Christ has just been talking with his team of eleven; now he has opened the locker room door to us, the reporters and the fans. The first microphones get shoved into his face and the comments and questions come, with the one everyone was curious about: “Coach, we didn’t think you could do it. How did you win the game and do you think you will win it all?”

Coach Jesus Christ simply said then and says to this day, “Peace be with you. Blessed are you have not seen and yet have come to believe.” Coach Christ is talking about and to us. We are the ones who have not seen Coach Christ in the flesh; we haven’t seen his nail-pierced hands, nor have we seen his sword-pierced side. Yet, we believe in Coach Christ and we are blessed because of it.

So, what of our being “blessed” when we believe in Coach Jesus Christ?

The first thing we can know is the purpose for which we are blessed as believing people. Our scripture from John goes on to say of the whole book of John’s Gospel, “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.”

Now, how many of you, like I have often done, put the emphasis on the word “life,” as if it means “being always up,” or living “the good life,” or living a life “never having to say you’re sorry,” or even never having to experience sadness or pain”? So many people believe falsely, that when they say ‘yes’ to Coach Christ, they will never experience another sorrow or anymore tough times or never contract a problem disease or never be sad.

In fact, the word “life" in this verse seems to pertain to just being alive, taking our breaths, eating, sleeping and going about our daily tasks. It seems to be the word for life that means we “exist.” Although even merely existing can be viewed as something miraculous, this word for life does seem to mean our mere existence, an existence that everyone who has been born and who isn’t dead experiences day in and day out.

My concordance has words for “life” that would indicate “breath,” “Spirit,” “the soul,” and “vitality,” but this word seems to indicate “life” as “existence.”

The emphasis that the Gospel of John places is on having life in “Jesus’ name.” John says, “through believing, you may have life in Jesus’ name.” What does this life look like? For one thing, it certainly means more then merely existing, more than just breathing in and breathing out, more than just eating, sleeping and doing it all again for days on end until the end of our days. What are some of the marks of being blessed and thus, having life in Jesus’ name”?

One of the marks is that we have more peace about our entire life than we have un-peace. We are calmer in the storms of life than we are scared. We are more apt to take life as it comes because we believe and even know that God is in control. Because we truly believe this, we don’t mis-direct our hurt, anger, disappointments, losses and lacks to those around us. We direct them to God.

As we have heard many, many times, God has very broad shoulders and can take anything and everything we want to heap on God. I mean, we just celebrated the day that God let Jesus let the sins of the whole entire world be heaped on his body as it hung on the cross. And, we don’t think God can take our criticisms?

If I had one desire, after my desire that all would come to a saving relationship with Coach Jesus Christ, it would be that all who have come to Christ would take all of their joys and concerns, all of their anger and their happiness, all of their blessings and banes, and heap it on to our Father God in Jesus’ name! When we have faith, we do this; when we have more faith, we do this all the more; when we will have the most faith we will see God face-to-face. Golly, I desire that we wouldn’t misplace our angst, but face it, and give it to God! We would certainly, then, know and have so much more joy and peace!

Another of the marks of being blessed because of belief in Jesus’ name is that along with great joy and peace, comes great power and great grace. Our reading from Acts points this out. Acts 4:32 and 33 points out, “Now the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in common. With great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, and great grace was upon them all.” Great power, great grace, and great collaboration.

One of the biggest errors apostles of Jesus Christ have made – and, know here I am speaking of preachers today – is that we have forgotten where our true power and thus the world’s true power comes from. In the church, true power comes from testifying to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus and saying that we believe it! The true power that comes from any pulpit comes from reading, studying, believing and sharing about the resurrection of Jesus Christ and what this means for believers, yes, but what this means for unbelievers, also! This means not only to preach about the love of God but also the wrath of God. We absolutely cannot know how much God loves our soul until we know how much God hates our sin!

In my first church was a long-time Presbyterian elder, only he had come out of the much-more conservative Orthodox Presbyterian Church denomination. Darold Wallace, or “Wally,” was his name. Wally, after hearing me preach for quite awhile said, “Larry, what you say is good, but it is all about “love.” We need to hear a little more “fire and brimstone.” You need to tell us how the cow ate the cabbage.” I happened to agree with him, but this wasn’t the way I was taught to preach or any of us were taught to preach for that matter, for this day and time. We have been taught that there really isn’t anything such as sin. Life is just about people being themselves, people just being whom and what God created them to be, and who are we to judge, anyway?

Yet, I still hear it in Session meetings as I do Committee on Ministry work: “We wish our preacher would preach more hell, fire, and brimstone and less of the latest secular hot buttons, even less love.”

I do believe that when the apostles “gave their testimony about the resurrection of the Lord Jesus ‘with great power,’” the testimony also included why Jesus was crucified in the first place: It was for all the sin, ugliness, meanness, hate, discrimination, unbelief, idol worship, blasphemy and rejection (just to name a few) of God Almighty in life. Take it or leave it, we are only convicted when we are convinced.

And we are convinced when the Holy Spirit comes upon us and is active. The Holy Spirit is God’s power on earth and in us. The word is dunamis, literally “dynamite.” We can always tell when we are living and worshipping in the power of the Holy Spirit: “Things happen for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purposes.” Whole groups of people, groups of those who believe, are of one heart and soul. No one person claims to have special rights, special knowledge, special privileges, or special gifts or even special needs to be used just for themselves. “No one claimed private ownership of and possessions, but everything they owned was held in common,” says Acts.

In other words, the great grace of God is manifest by people laboring together in Jesus’ name, by people deferring to each other out of grace, care and love, by people genuinely feeling that all others are better then one’s self, by truly believing that “there but for the grace of God go I,” by truly believing that God is in control, so I don’t have to be nor could I be even if I wanted to be!”

Three quick things:

First, our passage from Acts has a Levite selling one of his own fields and giving “the proceeds to the apostles.” He was still a Jew, yet he gave to the work of Christ. This is by the great grace of God.

Second, we have a hallway full of books that various people have brought for the Henryville area. I have no idea if all the givers were believers or not. They have given to the work of Christ. This is by the great grace of God.

Third, the Psalmist is absolutely right as he says, “How very good and pleasant it is when people get along! It is like the dew on Mont Hermon flowing down the slopes of Zion. Yes, that’s where God commands the blessing, ordains eternal life. How wonderful, how beautiful, when brothers and sisters get along!” This is by the great grace of God.

Yes, blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe! This is, also, by the great grace of God. Amen.