September 1, 2024, Sermon "Unbelieving Believers"

Scripture:  John 20:24-27; Luke 10:38-42; John 11:1-40

Good morning Strangers Rest. I want to open this message with a familiar story recorded in John 20:24-27. It is the story of Thomas doubting Jesus’ resurrection and it says, “(24) Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. (25) The other disciples therefore said to him, ‘We have seen the Lord.’ So he said to them, ‘Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.’ (26) And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, ‘Peace to you!’ (27) Then He said to Thomas, ‘Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.’” No one doubts that Thomas believed in Jesus, he was a believer. However, in this instance, in this moment, in this situation, he struggled to believe that Jesus had risen from the dead. Although Thomas was a believer in Jesus, he was an unbeliever in His resurrection until he saw for himself that Jesus was alive. When Jesus addressed Thomas and corrected him, He told him, “Do not be unbelieving, but believing.” The title of my message this morning is “Unbelieving Believers.”

Last week I told you that there will be times when we must stand alone for the truth of God’s word. There will be times when the majority might be walking the wrong path, and we must stand up and say that we cannot follow. To be able to stand alone for God we must know and understand His word. But here is the key, once we know and understand it, we must shift to believing it. Just because you know and understand something does not mean you believe it. Atheists know about and understand what we believe about God, but they do not believe in Him. With our understanding of God’s word, we must choose to believe it without modifying it to fit what we already believe. This morning, I want to encourage you to ask yourself the same question I find myself asking, “Do I truly believe God in all things, most things, or just some things?” So, let us pause for a minute and talk about what it means to believe something.

Belief is defined as the “acceptance by the mind that something is true or real, often supported (or fortified) by an emotional or spiritual sense of certainty.” When the mind accepts something as true and then it is fortified by an emotional or spiritual sense of certainty, that “something” becomes a belief. Sometimes beliefs can change when challenged with new information and/or argument, but some beliefs never change. When you have a strong belief, or what I refer to as a “stronghold belief,” it is a belief that will not change. That word strong in this sense means “able to withstand great force or pressure.” In other words, this belief will hold fast even when faced with intense pressure and/or force for it to be changed. This strong belief is represented by an internal power or fortitude. Thomas held a strong belief in Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior and that did not change when Jesus died. However, Thomas’ was not able to extend this belief when it came to Jesus being resurrected from the dead. My point is this; we can rightly believe something so strongly that we will not bulge from it when pressured to do so, but believing in that one thing does not mean we will also believe something else that is associated with it. I will explain this more shortly.

For a belief to start developing, something must be presented and accepted as real. The National Institute of Health (NIH) says this about the development of beliefs: “beliefs of individuals are created by mental processes that involve perception, attention, valuation, and storage as well as up-dating of information.” Those mental processes – how we think and reach conclusions about something create beliefs. Those processes involve our perception of something, our attention to something, our valuation of something and then lastly our storing it. Everything you have a strong belief about is stored in your memory so that you will not forget it. This is why some men treat women as beneath them – and not just their spouse, all women. They lived it growing up and eventually those ideas were implanted and adopted by them. Now those thoughts, after years of being stored in their memory, have become beliefs – they honestly believe that women are not on the same level as them. Please listen to this, unless you are suffering with a medical condition that affects the brain, what you genuinely believe about something is not forgotten. So why is this important? I have shared with you before that Hosea 4:6 says, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge…..” Gaining knowledge is the first step for creating strong beliefs and this is especially true when it comes to our walk with Christ.

I want to offer this caution because a lot of you have been in Church for more years than I have been on this earth. Just because we spend a lot of time in Church does not mean that we have strong beliefs about the things of God. Just because I have been saved for many years does not mean that my belief system is stronger than someone who has only been saved a few years. Why is this so? Coming to Church should directly impact what we believe, but only if what we are being taught is the truth – the verifiable truth. Word of mouth beliefs do not create strong beliefs – word of mouth beliefs will hold up until updated information is shared and then those beliefs can shift. How many of you have heard something and believed it until you received updated information? We have all gone through that, but what I want you to focus on this morning is how as believers we still walk as unbelievers in some areas of our lives and that is all of us. Remember, Thomas spent three years in Jesus’ presence and believed in Him, but He did not understand what Jesus said about His resurrection and because of this, when his peers told him that Jesus was alive, he could not accept or believe it. To demonstrate this, we will look at the story of Lazarus’ resurrection.

The gospel of Luke records Jesus going to Bethany and Martha inviting Him into “her” home. I want to read this story to lay the foundation for what happened when Lazarus died. Luke 10:38-42 records the following, “(38) Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. (39) And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus' feet and heard His word. (40) But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, ‘Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.’ (41) And Jesus answered and said to her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. (42) But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.’” Because of this story Martha gets a bad rap. Women today are compared to Martha if they spend a lot of time doing things like serving in Church (working in the kitchen preparing the after-service meals) versus just being a part of the worship experience. People complain that these women are always busy doing something and not spending time just enjoying the worship experience. What these complainers forget about is that sometimes they are working because it is work that needs to be done and no one else is willing to do it.

But let us give Martha her due. First, Martha was the one who invited Jesus into her home. Because she had invited Him into her home, it was her responsibility to make sure that He was fed so she set about doing her job to serve Jesus. If you are working in the kitchen because others will not, you are doing your part in serving Jesus. As soon as Jesus entered her home with His disciples Martha got busy preparing the meal. Why? Because she understood that it was her job to feed them. Now Mary, the sister who gets the credit for choosing to sit at His feet and learn (which is a wonderful thing in and of itself) is used as an example of women who “put Jesus first” and are “Word” focused. It is a fact that Mary did choose to listen to Jesus’ teaching and Jesus did not deny her that opportunity. But back to Martha, when Martha complained, Jesus told her that she was worried and troubled by many things. Now notice that He did not rebuke her for serving, but for her “over-care” in service. In her attempt to prepare an appropriate meal for all her guests she had become anxious and agitated. In verse forty-two Jesus tells Martha that truly not one dish that she was preparing was more important than the Word He was teaching. I sometimes wonder what would have happened if Martha too had decided not to cook and just sat at His feet and learn. Remember, Jesus could have taken anything in her house and fed them all with it – just a thought.

Martha invited Jesus into her home, and she wanted to make sure that He had a decent meal which was the custom at the time. It was only natural that she expected her sister to help prepare and serve the meal and became frustrated when Mary did not do what was expected of her. Mary, instead, had chosen to sit down at Jesus feet and listen to His teaching. So, we have two sisters, one frustrated while preparing the meal because she was doing it alone and the other relaxing at Jesus feet listening to the Word. Based solely on this one situation, in a time of trouble, which sister would you expect to be the stronger one and able to stand in faith? Now let us look at what happened when Lazarus died.

The eleventh chapter of the Gospel of John opens with Lazarus of Bethany, being sick. Verses one through seven records, “(1) Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. (2) It was that Mary who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. (3) Therefore the sisters sent to Him, saying, ‘Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.’ (4) When Jesus heard that, He said, ‘This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.’ (5) Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. (6) So, when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was. (7) Then after this He said to the disciples, ‘Let us go to Judea again.’” (John 11:1-7) Lazarus was so sick that Mary and Martha sent word to Jesus requesting that He come and heal His friend. Jesus delayed His coming because He knew Lazarus’ situation would be used for the glory of God. When Jesus finally arrives in the city, Lazarus had been dead and buried for four days. Let us pick up the story at verse seventeen.

“(17) So when Jesus came, He found that he had already been in the tomb four days. (18) Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles away. (19) And many of the Jews had joined the women around Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother. (20) Now Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met Him, but Mary was sitting in the house. (21) Now Martha said to Jesus, ‘Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. (22) But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.’ (23) Jesus said to her, ‘Your brother will rise again.’ (24) Martha said to Him, ‘I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.’ (25) Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. (26) And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?’ (27) She said to Him, ‘Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.’” (John 11:17-27) Notice that when Mary and Martha heard that Jesus was coming only Martha got up and ran to meet Him. Mary stayed at the house with those present to comfort her.

When Martha came to Jesus she told Him, “(21)….Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. (22) But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.” Lazarus had been dead and buried for four days, but when Martha came into Jesus’ presence she confessed that even though Lazarus had been dead and buried for four days Jesus could raise Him from the dead. This was her faith talking. Martha believed that Jesus was the Son of God, and she also believed that God would give Him whatever He asked. So, her belief was not limited to Jesus just being her Savior, but that He was so much more. She believed that Jesus could raise her brother from the dead even though he had been in the grave for four days. Now let us look at Mary’s response. Remember Mary was the one who sat at Jesus feet and listened to His teaching during that one visit to Martha’s home.

While Martha ran to meet Jesus Mary stayed at the house mourning. After Martha’s initial interaction with Jesus, she secretly sent word to Mary that Jesus was there and that He was calling for her. Mary, upon hearing this immediately got up and went to Jesus. When she arrived there, this is what is recorded beginning at verse thirty-two: “(32) Then, when Mary came where Jesus was, and saw Him, she fell down at His feet, saying to Him, ‘Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.’ (33) Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled.” (John 11:32-33) Mary had been in the house crying with her comforters (those gathered there to weep and mourn with her as a means of comforting her.) When she got to Jesus she fell at His feet, still crying, and says the same thing Martha had said, that if He had been there her brother would not have died. After making this statement she continued crying. Do you see the difference in their responses?

I want you to see something here. Both Mary and Martha initially made the same statement to Jesus about Lazarus’ death. That statement was that had He been there Lazarus would not have died. This statement contains both truth and blame. It was true that had Jesus been there He would have healed Lazarus. And because of this, they might have blamed Him because Lazarus was dead. We often come to Jesus with our confessions of faith in Him while at the same time blaming God for what we are dealing with. We have been talking about this very thing in Bible study. Both Mary and Martha knew and confessed to Jesus that had He been there Lazarus would not have died. They both believed in Him and had faith in His relationship with God the Father that He could heal the sick. But, when you read this story, and I want you to listen closely to me on this point, it was only Martha who confessed that even now, with her brother being dead four days, that Jesus could raise him from the dead.

One sister was crying in mourning while the other was not. One sister went to Jesus trying to figure out how He could let her brother die while the other went to Him with expectations of a miracle – Jesus raising her brother from the dead. Do you see how the two responses are different? Do you see how even though Mary was the one recognized for spending time learning at Jesus’s feet that it was Martha who actually believed that Jesus could raise their brother from the dead? Both sisters were believers, but when faced with Lazarus’ death, Martha continued to believe while Mary became unbelieving (at it pertains to Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead.) Their faith in what Jesus could do did not waver, but Martha was able to believe past what had previously been done. Jesus had raised people from the dead before, but not after they had been dead and buried for four days. The fact that this had never happened seemed to impress upon Mary that it could not happen. That was not the case with Martha.

So why were their responses so different? I believe that it came down to their personal belief in the words Jesus had taught them. Remember the parable of the seeds from Matthew chapter thirteen? Matthew 13:23 says “But he that received seed in the good ground is he that hears the word, and understands it; who also bears fruit, and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.” The seeds (the Word of God) that fell on good soil did not produce the same harvest. Some produced harvests that were greater than others (hundredfold, sixty, and thirty.) God’s word will not produce the exact same harvest in every person who hears and understand it. A person’s harvest will be based on what the person does with the Word – how much they believe in it and walk in it. Both Mary and Martha heard the Word and understood it. They both heard the same teaching, Mary might have had even more teaching than Martha, but how they understood and believed His teaching impacted what they believed He could do in that specific situation. Mary believed it was too late, so she was unbelieving in this specific situation. Martha believed that even now Jesus could raise her brother. She continued to believe! Martha had “even now” faith in Jesus. Her brother was dead and buried for four days but her faith lived on. Even death could not stop Jesus for receiving what He asks of His Father in heaven. Martha knew this! Despite everything that seemed to go against her, she believed in Christ and looked to Him for help in that situation. But the story does not end here.

The story really does not end here with Martha. Strangers Rest, there are times when we say all the right things and in that moment we genuinely believe what we are saying. I believed that when Martha spoke those words “even now…” that she believed what she was saying. But look at what happened when Jesus took her up on her faith. John 11:39-40 records, “(39) Jesus said, ‘Take away the stone.’ Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, ‘Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days.’ (40) Jesus said to her, ‘Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?’” When they get to the tomb and Jesus commands that they open it Martha says, “…..Lord, by this time there will be a stench, for he has been dead four days.” As Martha stood at her brother’s grave it appears that in that moment she shifted her belief and doubted. She went from believing to unbelieving in the flash of a moment. The actual thought of the stone being rolled away and her smelling her brother’s decaying flesh was too much for her belief (and faith) to overcome. This is understandable under normal circumstances, but with Jesus, these were not normal circumstances. I want you to see something. We often feel that our confidence and belief in Christ is much stronger than it really is sometimes. You see, when things are going great and we are in a good place and we are not being called upon to bear anyone’s trouble, we feel powerfully strong. However, when trials and tribulations come our much boasted about faith can sometimes go up in smoke. Why is this? It is because sometimes that which we believe and hope for seems much too strong for our faith. But when we look at Martha at her best that is the place where we want to exist.

Strangers Rest, I want to encourage you to be believers in every situation. Regardless of what you are dealing with this morning, even now God is working on your behalf – we must believe it. I know that it might seem like it is dark, and the Son is not shining, but I want you to know that even now He is working. All Jesus is asking of us is to believe Him. Trust Him. Stop doubting what He can, is willing, and ready to do in our lives.

Before I close I want you to see one last point from Martha’s interaction with Jesus. When she confessed that “even now” she believed that Jesus could raise Lazarus from the dead, she told Him why she believed this. She said, “(22) But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.’ Martha confessed that she believed in the power of Christ in His intercession with His Father. She understood that God was all powerful and nothing was impossible with Him. She also believed that Jesus was His Son and that whatever He asked of His Father would be granted to Him. This is the same foundation that we should be standing on as Romans 8:34 says, “Who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather Who was raised, Who is at the right hand of God, Who also intercedes for us.” Just as Martha believed that whatever Jesus asked His Father to do, He would do because His Son asked Him to, we too should carry that belief. Even now, Jesus is interceding on our behalf.

Strangers Rest and everyone hearing or reading this message, I want to encourage you. Do not be an unbelieving believer – believing in Christ in some things but not in other things. If you believe that Jesus died for your sins so that we could become children of God, then believe that He has you. If you believe that Jesus has you, then believe that He will do whatever it takes to care for you. If you believe that Jesus will do whatever it takes to care for you, then believe that you can let go and let God. I want all of us to be like Martha. We have situations that we have been dealing with, situations that we have been praying about for a long time. We believed that our prayers were heard, and we were starting to see some change for the better, but then things seemed to stall. If you are experiencing this I want to encourage you to be like Martha. I believe Martha kept saying to herself “the Master will come.” Day after day she went and looked expecting Him to arrive at any moment because she believed in Him. But He did not come. Imagine how terrible she felt after the much praying for her brother, sending for Jesus, Jesus not arriving in time and her brother dying. At the point of his death everyone else believed that the situation was loss, it was over. But not Martha! When Jesus finally arrived, Martha said, “even now” because she believed! She remained a believer in Jesus in all things!

Maybe you are dealing with a situation where you feel helpless. Maybe you have done all that you can do, and it has amounted to nothing. You have been faithful, prayerful, careful with your speech so as not to offend but the situation has not resolved itself. You have reached the point where you are tired, physically, mentally, and possibly spiritually. If this is you, you too can be like Martha. Martha probably got to this same point after trying her best to get her brother healed. She had done everything she knew to do, and nothing seemed to work. She visited the villages for medicines to hopefully sooth his aches for a little while as they waited for Jesus, but they did not cure him. Lazarus grew worse and worse. She was at her wits end with worry, fear, hopelessness, and then her brother died. But when Jesus arrived and she believed, she professes “Even now!”

Do you believe this? Do you believe that God is active in your situation? Are you at the point where you can say in your belief, “Even now Lord!” I do not know what you are dealing with but what I do know is that “even now” in that situation if you maintain your belief, God will work it out. I encourage you as Jesus told Thomas, “Do not be unbelieving, but believing.” 

Until next time, “The Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift up His countenance on you and give you peace.”  (Numbers 6:24-26)