Sermon Synopsis for November 4, 2007

“The Benefit of the Doubt” – John 20:19-31
[Disciples should trust each other]

THE OLD CHAIR
I showed the children an old worn out chair from the storage shed. It was not bad enough to throw away, but not good enough to be in regular use. (sometimes I feel that way)

I asked for a volunteer to sit in it. After hesitation by a number of the children, Melissa sat right down in the chair. It held her weight, no problem.

I told the children a story about a wedding reception I attended (not recently) where I sat in a chair and a leg broke and down I went. Ouch! Hurt my pride more than anything.

How did I react to chairs in the future? I looked them over and tested them out before I sat down. I’d lost my faith in chairs for a while.

Sitting in a chair is like trusting in Jesus. We need to have faith that Jesus will hold and support us. Unlike some chairs, Jesus will never fail us.

Hebrews 11:6 tell us, “Without Faith it’s impossible to please God.” We make God happy when we show our faith and trust in Jesus.

DISCIPLES
Jesus had many followers, but he chose a core group of 12 to be his most intimate disciples. This is the group he wanted to form into a team to begin the spread the gospel to the whole world. He had a lot of confidence and trust in those guys.

After 3 years of hands-on training with Jesus, after listening and sharing in the ministry, after the experience in the upper room and the crucifixion, these guys had been through a lot together. I would expect the trust and the confidence between them would be strong. I find that in a week or a weekend together we can build bonds that will last a lifetime. Imagine the closeness of the disciples.

Shortly after his resurrection, Jesus appeared to most of the disciples (read the scripture passage). Thomas wasn’t there. He didn’t believe the others when they told him that Jesus was alive. Basically he called them liars. This went on for a week, until Jesus showed up again. Red faced Thomas knew he had let down both Jesus and his fellow disciples.

Which Disciple would you like to be? Which disciple do you identify with?
Outspoken and impulsive Peter? Young, inquisitive, and impressionable John? Solid and responsible James? Someone with a head for numbers and details like Matthew? Hopefully not Judas.

Most likely, few will claim Thomas. Thomas was the Aramaic name for Didymus which means “the twin” in Greek. Some traditions say he was called the twin because he looked like Jesus.

Thomas was very down and out about the way things had turned out … he wouldn’t believe the others when they told him that “a miracle had happened.” That things were changing; that things had changed. Jesus was alive.

H.A.Ironside tells the story …
Bishop Potter was sailing from NY to Europe on a great transatlantic ocean liner. When we went on board, he found that he had to share his cabin with another passenger. He went to the room and met the other man. He looked him over and felt he might not be the most trustworthy person, so he decided to check his valuables in the ship’s safe.
After he unpacked his suitcase, he went to the ship’s purser’s desk. He told him that he wanted to leave his gold watch and other valuables in the ship’s safe during the voyage. He told the purser that he felt they would be safer in the safe.
The purser inventoried the items and said, “That’s fine Bishop, I’ll be glad to take care of these things for you. Your cabin mate just deposited his valuables; he felt they’d be safer here too.

For some reason, it is easier to jump to negative conclusions about people than it is to assume the best about them. It’s easier to project bad intentions on people we don’t know, just by their looks. Some call it “profiling.” When we do this, we reveal something about ourselves …..

The faults we see in others, may actually be a reflection of our own.

OUR MISTRUST FOR OURSELVES MAY BE REFLECTED IN OUR TREATMENT OF OTHERS
In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus told the people, “Judge not lest you be judged.”

Easier to say than to do.

When we are suspicious of others, we need to look at the root of that suspicion.
Why don’t we trust? Maybe it’s because of the hurts and scars of mistrust in our own lives.

I’ve been hurt; others have judged me unjustly; I wasn’t treated f air.
We need to let Jesus heal us before we can.

Crespo grew up in the Chapare region of the Bolivian Amazon Valley. Through the work of a young evangelist he accepted Christ. He decided that Jesus didn’t want him to continue the production of “pasta” (first stage in turning the coca leaf into cocaine).

Who could he trust? Everyone was out to get him (drug lords, other grower/producers, DEA). He lived in a world where everyone was out to get something from everyone else.
He lived in a world of mis-trust. He bore the scars from attempts to trust others.

The young evangelist told him – “trust Jesus – trust me.”
Crespo didn’t trust anyone! Even his family (he escaped from his house after his brother turned him in for the reward $). It took time.

Crespo needed to learn to trust again. Not just anybody – Jesus and his disciples.

Is there something in your past that’s keeping you from trusting Jesus? From trusting other disciples?

Thomas told his fellow disciples, “Unless I see the nail holes and put my finger in them, I won’t believe.” What do you need to believe?

WE NEED TO BE TRUSTING
In Bolivia I took a number of trips to the town of Toro-Toro (“very muddy” in the Quechua language). A seminary student from the town invited us to form a ministry team and visit his home town. After 12 hours of difficult mountain roads and forging rivers we arrived. It’s an amazing place, full of fossils, preserved footprints of dinosaurs and prehistoric remains.

The student told us we should check out the Umajalanta cave. His family recommended a guide and off we went. It was a 45 minute hike to the cave entrance. The entrance was about 4 foot high and 3 feet wide. We lit candles and entered the cave.

It dawned on me: I was in charge of a ministry team, taking them into a cave, led by a complete stranger. Was I crazy or something? We climbed and crawled for more than two and a half hours until we reached a lake deep in the earth. An awesome experience!

We made it out. During the trip we talked with the guide about our trust in him, and we shared with him about our faith and trust in Jesus. Afterward – as we sat on large rock formations, near a waterfall, eating a mixture of chopped tomatoes, onions and sardines (on crackers) – the guide shared how many people had left him down in life and he wanted to have that same faith we had.

That evening our guide – and his whole family – came forward to accept Jesus.

When we trust others, it can be a reflection of our trust in Jesus. How is your faith? Do you assume the best?

BACK TO THOMAS
Thomas had a history of thinking the worst. In John chapter 11, Jesus gets word that his friend Lazarus is sick. They don’t rush off; they aren’t in a hurry to get to the Jerusalem area. Jesus and his band are wanted men; it’s best to stay away from the heavily patrolled areas. After two days, Jesus tells his disciples, “let’s go, we’re going back to Judea.”

Thomas says (v. 16) “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”
Pretty pessimistic Thomas!
Don’t you trust even Jesus?
Why do you assume the worst?

WE OFTEN THINK THE WORST
Sometimes people show up at the church looking for help. I can get pretty skeptical.
Often I assume that the person is “pulling the wool over my eyes” to take advantage of the church. Pretty skeptical, Pastor Steve.

How can we truly help? We need to know the people – real help implies a personal relationship.

It’s why Bridge of Hope works – a relationship is built between a church mentoring group and a woman in need. (www.bridgeofhopelcc.org)

Relationship is the key. Once we have a relationship – we’ll help, we’ll overlook certain flaws, and we’ll go the extra mile.

WE NEED TO TRUST JESUS – AND EACH OTHER
Once in the airport, my flight was delayed. I bought a small bag of chips (tortilla, I think) and sat down to read a book and enjoy my snack. As I’m sitting there, the person next to me reaches over and takes a chip out of the bag. What chutzpa. He does it again. And again.
Finally I take the bag with the remaining chips, and my stuff, and go sit in another place. And I finish the chips myself.

Later on, on the airplane, I opened my carryon and I found my bag of chips.

How do you think I felt? (very small)

I can never tell that person how sorry I am – I can only confess to God and to you and hope that somehow that person will understand.

I imagine that Thomas “ate a lot of crow” with the other disciples after that experience with Jesus and his fellow disciples. I imagine he felt “very small.” In a sense, he deserved it. How would he rebuild the trust and faith?

ASSUME THE BEST
One of the recommendations of our church consultant was to assume the best.
As a church, each one of us needs to assume that the other “disciples” are being truthful and up-front. We shouldn’t be “Doubting Thomases” in our relationship with each other.

Jesus told Thomas (John 20:29), “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

What did Thomas not believe (doubt)?
First, he didn’t believe that Jesus had risen from the dead.
Second, he didn’t believe the word of the other disciples.

The two go hand in hand. We need to believe in Jesus, but we also need to have a high level of trust in our fellow disciples.

It also means that we need to be open and honest, to gain the trust of others. Sure, people will let you down, but there’s a lot less chance if you have an open and honest relationship with them.

Jesus said that his disciples are known by their love (John 13:35). Jesus disciples will love God and love each other.

What is love? The Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians chapter 13 explains something about love. This chapter is not particularly a wedding theme – it’s a church theme. Verse 7 – love … “it always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.”

Before we can fully trust – we need to love.