For those not familiar with an Anglican Service there are four readings prior to the Message. The readings assigned for today are: Acts 4:32-35; Psalm 133:1-5; 1 John 1:1-2:2 and John 20:19-31
Early on the morning of December 7, 1941, ......two airmen ... who had just taken their post at a radar lookout station ... several miles north of Pearl Harbor, ...... saw on the radar screen ......a large mass moving in from the sea ... toward the Hawaiian Islands.
The first airman ... was immediately startled by what he saw on the screen...... and prepared to follow procedures .... and phone in a warning ...to his superiors.
He believed that ... a very large force of what could be enemy planes .... was now headed their way.
He was believed that the evidence on the radar screen .... was unmistakable.
And that something bad ... was about ... to happen.
While the second airman remained skeptical, believing that what He saw ... was an optical illusion.
Well .... the first airman did as instructed ... and phoned in ... the alarm.
The officer who took the call at Pearl Harbor .... dismissed the report ......and chose not to believe what he had just heard, ......and abruptly hung up the phone ....and went back ... to business.
That same morning, .... a Captain patrolling the waters outside the harbor .... spotted what he believed to be ......an enemy submarine.
He had been alerted for some time .... about the possibility of enemy vessels .... breaching harbor security, ...... and he too followed established procedures .... and wired in a warning ...... that the enemy ... had been sighted.
Again, .... the message was disbelieved, ......this time by a base Commander, .... suggesting that the submarine sighting ......needed quote "more confirmation" .... before any defensive action ... would be taken.
At this point we can say, .... the rest ... is history.
Many lives were unnecessarily lost, ......all because several people either refused to believe what they saw, ...... just could not believe what they heard, ....... or were not about to be moved into action until more evidence ... was forthcoming.
The 20th chapter of John's Gospel.... describes the very same responses ...... to the resurrection evidence.
There was one who believed ... without seeing.
There was one who believed ... upon hearing.
There were those who believed ... upon seeing.
And There was one ... who would not believe ... unless both touching and seeing.
In the opening lines of John's remembrances.... we read:
BIBLE "Early on the first day of the week, .... while it was still dark.... two women found the tomb that Jesus had been buried in, empty, .... and ran to tell Peter and John what they had found." END (John 20:1-2)
Peter ran to the sight and is stunned by what he sees, ...... an empty tomb ... with strips of linen ...and a burial cloth lying ... where Jesus had been placed.
Finally, ... we are told ... that the other disciple, probably the Apostle John himself, ... and we are told he "also went inside. He saw and believed." (John 20:8)
The empty tomb ... and linen cloths ... were enough for John .... to declare his belief ... in the risen Christ.
No other evidence ... was required.
There are people who are able to take a stand .... without requiring more.... than what is presented.
John, ... therefore, is one who believes without having to see .... the risen Christ. (Pause)
Second, ... there are those who believe upon hearing.
Mary ... of Magdela ... stands outside the tomb ...crying.
As she weeps .... she notices angels in white .... seated where Jesus' body .... had been.
"They have taken my Lord away," ... she laments.
And at this she turns around and there is a man standing there, ...."but she did not realize that it was Jesus," (John 20:14)
John notes.
When Jesus simply says .... "Mary," .... she knows the voice ... and replies, .... "Rabboni!" (PAUSE)
(2nd Finger) ... There are those .... who believe .... upon hearing.
Mary ... of Magdala ... had spent so much time with Jesus ... that she knew ... his voice.
The voice of Jesus ... was all ... she needed.
Beloved ... do you know his voice?
Jesus is clear ... My sheep hear my voice. (John 10:27)
It does not say they could hear my voice ... or they should hear my voice.
Jesus is crystal clear ... my sheep ... my sheep (Slow) hear my voice.
Take time ... Make time ... to be with Jesus; ... the one you call your Savior and your Lord! (Long Pause)
Malcolm Muggeridge was a staunch Marxist .... before he came to know Jesus.
During the Cold War .... he traveled to Russia ....to write a story about the Communist party ....and the decline of religion ....in that atheistic regime.
After conducting a series of interviews with officials in the Kremlin, .... he attended a Russian Orthodox Easter service.
To his surprise .... the church was ... packed.
At the close of the service the priest announced, .... "Christ is risen", ...... and the people shouted back, .... "He is risen indeed!"
He heard their unified voice .... Filled with praise.
He looked into their faces .... and instantly knew in his heart .... that they were ... right ...... and that Stalin was wrong.
He said.... it was the reality of their joy .... that tipped the scales of his soul ... toward Christ.
It was through their voice of praise .... that He heard ... the voice ... of Jesus. (Pause)
(3rd Finger) Then there were those .... who believed ... upon seeing.
On the evening of the first day, John writes, ...... when the disciples were together ... with the doors locked ... Jesus appears. (John 20:19)
He shows them ... the nail prints in his hands and wound in his side, and we are told ...... "The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord." (John 20:20)
There are those who believe, .... but only when confirmed .... with their own eyes.
It is still difficult to watch the images of the 9/11 ......The crumbling of the twin towers.
Each time the images are flashed on television, .... people continue to say.... "I just still can't believe it!"
I have read that hundreds of thousands of people have traveled to the actual site ... in New York City ......to confirm the reality of the horrific event.
People who needed to see the place where once two buildings stood .... before they could internalize its reality.
Only then could they have .... closure
(1 Finger) Some believe without seeing.
(2 Finger) Others believe upon hearing.
(3 Finger) Still others believe .... only what their own eyes tell them.
(Raise 4th Finger) Then there was Thomas:
Thomas was not present .... when Jesus appeared that first night.
And he is not about to believe the resurrection Hear God's Word BIBLE "unless I see with my own eyes AND unless I touch with my own hands." END (John 20:25)
Beloved ... What I find assuring ... is that Jesus in a way ...."doubles back" .... to give Thomas .... exactly what he needs.
And when Thomas sees Jesus .... his soul proclaims ......... "My Lord and my God!" (John 20:28)
It does not make any difference to Jesus .... which one of these four reactions ....is yours?
It is obvious.... that Jesus will meet you .... where you are.
He cares that much about you ... and about those ... yet to believe.
He meets each of us ... on a personal level.
Jesus will keep knocking on the door .... but we must each ... open it. (Pause)
What a promise from Scripture BIBLE "Behold I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door; I will come into them and sup with them and they with me." END (Revelation 3:20)
Jesus is knocking ... he is knocking on the door of your heart.
He will not force his way into your life ... Jesus is clear ... you ... you must open the door.
Beloved ... Far too many get lost in debating the "facts" of the resurrection .... that they miss the impact of the resurrection.
John shares this truth with us: BIBLE " Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples....... 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." END (John 20:30-31)
Following Thomas' proclamation ....... "My Lord and My God",
Jesus says, BIBLE "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe." END (John 20:29)
It has been told that Mensa, ....an organization whose members have an IQ of 140 or higher, .... gathered for a Mensa convention ... in San Francisco.
While several members lunched at a local cafe, ....it was discovered ... that their saltshaker contained pepper ....and their pepper-shaker .... was full of salt.
A debate ensued .... as to how they could exchange the contents of each shaker .... without spilling, .... And ... using only the implements at hand.
Following a lively problem-solving conversation, ...... discerning all the facts, .... the group landed on what they believed was a brilliant solution .... And they would utilize a saucer, .... a napkin ....and a straw.
Now they called the waitress over to impress her .... with their solution ... to the mind bender.
"Ma'am," they said, .... "We couldn't help but notice that the pepper-shaker contains salt and the saltshaker..."
"Oh," the waitress interrupted. "Sorry about that!"
And she proceeded to unscrew the caps of both bottles ... and switched the caps. (Long Pause)
Beloved .... The Resurrection is not that complex ....it is a simple .... and straightforward truth.
(Slow) ... It is not Complicated.
Jesus died ... then ...... He rose from the dead.
Remember our Lord's words to Thomas:
"Blessed are those who have not seen me and yet have believed." (John 20:29)
Beloved ... Jesus is speaking about you.... he is speaking about us.
You have not seen him with your own eyes ... as Thomas. ......But you have believed.
Beloved, ... Jesus is always knocking on the door of your heart.
He wants to spend time with you.
Listen for his voice?
Let Jesus speak to you ... as he spoke to Thomas.
Allow him to change you, .... and transform you.
And then you cannot help but proclaim ... as Thomas.
My Lord ... and My God!
Amen and Amen!
(Another Illustration Below)
I received much insight from a Sermon by Loren Mcbain titled "Jesus on your terms" and I commend it to you.
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(Another Illustration that would be right after:) "Jesus is knocking ... he is knocking on your heart ... he will not force his way into our life ... Jesus is clear ... we ... we must open the door."
Ted Koppel .... of ABC's "Nightline" .... offered this sentiment to his viewing audience (quoted in Christianity Today, Vol. 32, no.8),
"What is largely missing in American life today .... is a sense of context, ... of saying or doing anything... that is expected to live beyond ... the moment?
There is no culture in the world .... that is so obsessed as ours .... with immediacy.
In our journalism, .... the trivial displaces the momentous .... because we tend to measure the importance of events ......by how recently they occurred.
We have become so obsessed .... with facts ......that we have lost all touch .... with truth." (Pause)
What Koppel was saying ......has permeated Christianity:
