Turn off the Cruise Control
Words from the Resurrected Christ • Sermon • Submitted
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24 One of the twelve disciples, Thomas (nicknamed the Twin), was not with the others when Jesus came. 25 They told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he replied, “I won’t believe it unless I see the nail wounds in his hands, put my fingers into them, and place my hand into the wound in his side.” 26 Eight days later the disciples were together again, and this time Thomas was with them. The doors were locked; but suddenly, as before, Jesus was standing among them. “Peace be with you,” he said. 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and look at my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!” 28 “My Lord and my God!” Thomas exclaimed. 29 Then Jesus told him, “You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who believe without seeing me.” 30 The disciples saw Jesus do many other miraculous signs in addition to the ones recorded in this book. 31 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.
The purpose of the Gospel is so that we and the world might believe (v.31)
Thomas, although he gets chastised and sometimes belittled by us, is the 1st to confess Jesus as Lord and God (v.28)
Sometimes/often, Thomas gets a bad reputation for doubting. But, I have sympathy for the guy. The other disciples have had an encounter with the resurrected Christ and I believe that Thomas simply wants to have the same experience. Thomas also wants to see and experience the Risen Lord!
But, maybe there is more to this story than simply being a message about doubting versus believing..
I think that although Thomas is chastised there's a message in here for the other disciples about presenting the Gospel in believable ways.
There is a message about how we live and speak to SHOW that we have had an encounter with the resurrected Christ.
Cruise control and a self driving rental car
The car ACTUALLY could drive itself...
The couple in their Winnebago who set cruise control and went to the kitchen to make coffee
Sometimes setting cruise control can have drastic consequences with collateral damage
And, sometimes we set cruise control in our lives!
I believe this is ONE reason why Thomas didn’t believe - the rest of the disciples had an encounter with the Risen Christ, but they remained on cruise control/auto pilot - the encounter didn’t change them.
Disciples had no change in behavior
They SAID, but they didn't DO
They were told to go and leave the room
One week later, they are back in the room with the doors locked
So, as I read this, I begin to wonder… is that why Thomas didn't believe??
They stated they had an encounter, but that encounter didn’t cause any difference in their daily lives.
There are many people like Thomas in our world
They hear what we say, but they don't believe because there is no difference in our behavior.
We talk, but we don't DO
We SAY we have had an encounter with the resurrected Christ, but we don't always allow that encounter to transform the way we live amidst our world. So, we have a lot of talk. We might even do the "church" thing - but are we living differently in our world because of our encounter with Christ?
Is our presence in the world making a difference?
Many churches ask themselves "If our church were to disappear today, would our community notice? Would they care?"
That is a question our leaders CONSTANTLY are asking.
Andy Stanley, in his book Deep and Wide restates the question this way… “Are we making a measurable difference in our local communities or simply conducting services?”[1]
[1] Andy Stanley, Deep and Wide: Creating Churches Unchurched People Love to Attend (Grand Rapids: Zondervan. 2012), 67.
That's a great question for churches. However, for a church to be able to be that impact in the community, the individuals who make up the church must also ask themselves that very same question.
So, let me restate the question for us PERSONALLY...
If, for some reason, YOU were to disappear today (Maybe you did the Enoch thing or the Elisha thing where you are transferred to heaven) would YOUR community notice? Would they care? Would there be a gap/void not simply because you disappeared, but because your way of living and showing Jesus disappeared.
I guess the question could be stated, does your presence on earth benefit the message and example of Jesus Christ and if you were to disappear would those in your life feel a void not simply because you were gone, but because Jesus seemed to disappear a little bit too (hopefully they would fill that void in their lifestyle...)
Does YOUR presence and YOUR personal encounter with the Resurrected Lord make a difference in the world around you?
Conversation with Mom over song "I Love You Lord"
Make sure we're always saying pleasant words...
Live your life in a way that is pleasing to God. Not just the words you say, but how you live...
Are you drawing people to believe, or are you the cause of their unbelief?
Brennan Manning said, “The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips and walk out the door and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.”
Are our words and our lifestyle meshing together so people believe? Or, is the way we live our life causing unbelief? Are people seeing Jesus through us? Or, is it just q bunch of words??
Maybe you haven't had an encounter with the resurrected Christ?
Maybe you need a refresh on that encounter
Maybe you need a reminder, or renewal, of your passion to live in a way that models Jesus to the world around you...