Title: Do not be unbelievers (John 20:27)
Don't be a believer
John 20:27
Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with Jesus when he first appeared to them. The other disciples were told that they had met the risen Jesus with the face reminded of Thomas, who appeared late. But Thomas said, "Unless I see the marks of his nails and put my finger into them, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe." Eight days later, Thomas was with the disciples while they were in the house, and the Lord appeared again. The Lord approached Thomas and said, "Put your finger here and put it in my side; and do not become a believer, but a believer."
Today, the Lord's actions and words have touched us infinitely. The Lord showed Thomas the nail-marked hand and the side that had been pierced by a spear and told him to see with his own eyes and put his hands in it.
Those hands and sides are indeed painful and shameful places. He didn't want to even think about the painful place, but the Lord didn't care and he is showing it again for the unbelieving Thomas.
In addition to the Lord's actions, these words, "And do not become unbelievers, but believers" are the voice of lamentation that is deeply engraved with the Lord's pity, so it has great implications for us today.
When the disciple Thomas, who had followed the Lord for three years, failed to become a believer, the Lord became infinitely sad. In this way, if we do not have faith in this world, problems will arise at home, at church, or at work. When Thomas became a life without faith, it made the Lord's heart troubled and made the disciples' hearts sad. If I alone live with faith, I will be able to please God and become a person who can reassure my neighbors.
Why did Thomas become such an unbeliever? It was because he had fallen into the place where Jesus appeared. Thomas would not have doubted if he had been present when the Lord first appeared among the disciples. Let us also not fall into a place where we always meet the Lord. If you do not fall into the seat of receiving grace, the place of listening to the Word, and the place of prayer, you will not become a person without faith.
When the Lord appeared the second time, he immediately went to Thomas, who was suspicious. And it's confirming that you can be trusted.
Couldn't God be accurately evaluating our faith now?
Can you now be evaluated by the Lord as a person of faith?
The Lord is asking Thomas to become a man of faith by telling him not to become a believer, but to become a believer.
The writer of Hebrews said that without faith it is impossible to please God.
As Jesus was going through all the land of Israel, when he saw the faith of a centurion who was a Gentile, he said, "I have not found in Israel such a faith as this man." In other words, when the centurion's servant fell ill, and he wanted to visit the house at the centurion's request, the centurion said, "I can't afford to come to my house. Just tell me. I'm going," he said.
You can confirm that he was a centurion who had solid faith in the Lord.
As we recalled the words, “Do not become unbelievers, but become believers,” we were able to feel the Lord's pity in these words.
In Thomas, one of the disciples who had been nurtured for three years, the Lord was admonishing him for his actions without faith. The writer of the book of Hebrews is rebuking the believers who receive the book of Hebrews, saying that you should be teachers now, but are you still living your life of faith like children? Let's become believers and be recognized as mature believers.
The problem for you is not the difficult things you have now. It is a matter of whether you have faith or not. The other disciples, who had strong faith in the Lord, were full of joy and their faces overflowed with indescribable joy because of the risen Lord. Can't you see the disciples who met Thomas shouting, "We have found the risen Lord"?
On the other hand, Thomas' face must have been dark and his heart must have been anxious.
If we live by faith, we have no problem.
Remember that nothing can suppress us or torment us.
After seeing the nailed hands of the Lord and seeing the cuts in his side, Thomas cried out with joy, "My Lord and my God." This shows that he can't be bothered.
Let us also become believers in the clear conviction of the Lord, and no longer be the unbelievers.
Today I would like to divide it into three parts and tell you in what ways we should become believers.
First, let us now become believers by letting go of our worries and anxieties.
If we truly live in the midst of anxiety and worry, the Lord will tell us to "become believers," just as he rebuked Thomas.
It is said that there are 550 times in the Bible the expression not to be anxious.
It is estimated that 350,000 people were shot and killed in World War II. But because of the horrors of war, one million people died of heart attacks. The sound of gunfire, the sound of cannons, and the anxiety and worry of war have caused more people to die than those killed by the pouring gunfire.
Among the diseases of modern people, high blood pressure, low blood pressure, rheumatism, nephritis, arthritis, sciatica, gastrointestinal disease, diabetes, etc. are caused by more than 70% of anxiety and anxiety.
A blind man was walking on a railroad track and stumbled and fell. Fortunately, he was able to hold onto the railroad tracks. He was holding onto the poles with all his might, waiting for people to pass by.
Since you don't know what's going on underneath, you wouldn't be able to let go of it, would you? Whether it was on a cliff or on the river, I tried to hold on to it with all my might, but I gave up and fell, and when I fell, it was on a sandy beach with only 10cm hanging. It was a really safe place, but since he was nowhere to be seen, could he not understand his foolish behavior?
Our worries and anxieties are like this blind man who is in darkness.
Let's believe that God has a good plan to lead our life in a good and beautiful way.
“Do not let your hearts be troubled, because you believe in God, believe also in me.” He said, “Cast your anxieties on the Lord, for he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7).
The word "recommendation" is a story of looking back.
It means that life is looking down on what is lacking and what is weakness.
Isaiah 43:18 says, “Remember the former things, and do not consider the former things”. We need to forget our past guilt, injustice, and shameful things.
At the end of the year 95, let us repent more to the Lord and not remember all the problems that have been solved. You don't have to worry and worry about the past.
When we cast all our anxieties on the Lord, we will be recognized as trustworthy by the Lord. Can you entrust money or precious metals to someone you don't trust? If we believe in the Lord, shouldn't we be entrusted with everything we have?
And as the saying goes, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let it be made known to the Lord” (Philippians 4:6). .
Second, the Lord wants us to be believers who are no longer harmed by the things of this world today.
We do not know how many people are hurting and suffering because of people and the environment. The Lord sees such people and sees that he is very sorry for them.
As he said to Thomas, he is telling us not to become unbelievers, but to become believers and overcome all the poisons.
Therefore, in Mark 16:17, as a sign of those who believe, it is said, “If they drink anything poisonous, it will not hurt them.”
As the writer of Proverbs said, human words are poisonous and hurt the soul. Not only that, but the environment in which we live often weighs down on us with a dreadful poison.
Let us become believers who are not harmed by people, circumstances, or anything.
Joseph sees that he has overcome two terrible poisons in his life.
On one occasion, he was sold to brothers who were none other than slaves to Egypt.
How painful must he have been in his terrifying fate when he, who was a free man, suddenly became a subhuman servant? He must have suffered great harm due to his resentment against his brothers and the suffering of life, but Joseph, the man of faith, overcame it well.
In addition, he was falsely framed by Potiphar's wife and was put in prison and could not get out of his life.
When we are harmed by people and the environment, our lives are ruined and there is no choice but to be defeated.
Let us not be harmed by our faith.
When Hezekiah was king of Israel, King Sennacherim of Assyria and his army commander Rabshakeh surrounded the city of Jerusalem in Israel and cursed and criticized God and Hezekiah.
Hezekiah had no choice but to be deeply hurt by their words and actions that cursed God, Hezekiah, and Israel, valuing the living God as inferior to the idols they worship.
However, he went up to the temple, entrusted it to God, and prayed with the prophet Isaiah, carrying the letter that Rabshakeh had sent, which was full of words that blasphemed God and cursed Israel.
The soldiers and the people trembled as they lost their morale at the majesty of Assyria's great army and Rabshakeh's harsh words.
Hezekiah could have collapsed as he watched the people and the soldiers were demoralized, but he was a man of faith in God, so he could overcome without being harmed in the midst of it, so he prayed. At that time, hundreds of thousands of Assyrian armies were wiped out in one day.
It is so important not to be harmed by anything.
Let us not let our thoughts and hearts be harmed. Let's stop all the fiery arrows of Satan, that is, slash-and-burn. Only in an unharmed heart will the peace of the Lord overflow.
Third, in devoting ourselves to the Lord, we must become believers, not unbelievers.
Since we have a weak body, it is very difficult to say that this body is completely devoted to Christ. Therefore, we see that many people lose their consistency in winning the world.
Daniel did not betray God even when he was thrown into a lion's den if his devotion to God continued. Our faith in Christ must not be instantaneous or changeable. Shouldn't our faith be corrupted in the face of various trials?
Let our dedication continue so that the Lord can trust us.
Shouldn't we not be devoted or loyal only when we are at peace and there are no problems, but to love the Lord even in difficult times? Our devotion must not be dictated by our mood or believable.
Let us imitate the faith that Apostle Paul, who met the Lord passionately on the road to Damascus, gave up his lifelong marriage and devoted himself to the Lord.
To those who wander between the world and the Lord, Jesus speaks again. “Now do not become a believer, but a believer.”