O Ye Doubters

SERMON: “O Ye Doubters”
John 20:19-31
April 17, 2009 Dr. Dennis Ginoza

The first thing I want to say to you this
morning is:
Trust everybody, ….but cut the cards.

Once there was a man who went to the Grand Canyon.
He was enjoying the view, then went too close to the
edge; and he slipped and fell. As he was
falling, he grabbed hold of a bush and he hung on.
He looked up to heaven and he yelled out, “Is there
anyone up there?” A voice said, “Yes, there is.”
The man called out, “Can you help me?”
That voice said, “Yes, I probably can. What’s your problem?”
The man said, “I fell over the cliff and I’m hanging on to this bush.”
The voice said, “Do you believe?”
“Yes, yes I believe.”
The voice said, “Do you have faith?”
“Yes, yes, I have faith.”
The calm voice said, “Well, if you believe, let go of the bush
and everything will be all right.”
And the man called out, “Is there anyone else up there?”
So I ask you: Do you believe? Do you have faith?

This morning I have entitled my sermon,
“O Ye Doubters.”
Webster defines the word doubt as distrust,
lack of confidence, inclination not to believe.

In 1930 a Communist leader by the name of Bukharin went
from Moscow to Kiev to give a speech at a huge
assembly. His subject was “Atheism.” For a full
hour he discredited Christianity and how ridiculous
it is. After he finished, he asked, “Are there any
questions?’ A man got up and asked for permission
to speak. He went up to the platform, he looked at
at the crowd, to the left and then to the right. Then he
gave the Orthodox greet, “Christ is risen!” And the whole
assembly shouted, “HE IS RISEN INDEED!”
Today the Soviet Union is gone….
The Easter lilies are still blooming.



2

In his book, Sing With the Wind, Winston Abbott writes:

Faith
does not come in one great flash
as lightning of a summer night
but
from a thousand tiny lamps
that
pierce the darkness with their light.

If you believe in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ,
a door will open for you.
It’s a door to your heart.
You will feel things that you never felt before.
The word peace will have a totally different meaning.
It will lift your soul and you’ll say,
Wow! My burdens are gone. (I know because it
happened to me.)
When Jesus said, “In my Father’s house are many
mansions, you will know what it means.
When Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world,”
you will also have a new understanding.
When Jesus said, “Be ye perfect as your Father in
heaven is perfect.” That will also make a lot more sense.

O Ye Doubters!
Thomas said, “Unless I put my finger in his hands
and in his side, I will not believe.”

When the disciples were gathered in the Upper Room, this
time, Thomas was there.
Imagine the scene.
Jesus looks at Thomas and says, “Thomas, put your
finger here and see my side.” And Thomas says, “My
God and my Lord!” …And he believed!

Thomas was also known as Didymus, meaning twin, and he no longer
had any doubts. Tradition says that Thomas took the
gospel to India. He formed seven and a half churches
--Korungallur, Kollam, Niranam, Nilackal (or Chayal),
Kottakayal, Palayoor, and Thiruvithamcode which was
the half church. Thomas was killed by a lance and he
is buried in Edessa (Urhai is the ancient name of Edessa)
in India.


3


For Thomas and all the other disciples, they learned the
importance of building their lives on the life
and teachings of Jesus. The book of Acts says,
they were of “one heart and one soul.” They worshipped, they
prayed, they broke bread together, and they proclaimed
to the world that Jesus is the Messiah, the resurrected Christ.

Studies have shown that our faith is the life line to good
health.

In a study of 21,000 people from 1987 to 1995, they
found that people who attend religious services every
week live seven years longer than those who never
attend at all. Faith brings longer life.

Jeff Levin, an epidemiologist, author of God, Faith, and
Health, found that people who considered themselves
Religious had fewer health problems and functioned better
than those who were non-religious. Faith helps increase
your overall well-being.

In 1995, in the Dartmouth Medical School study showed those
with faith had three times the chance of being alive six
months after an open heart-surgery than those who
had no faith. Faith helps your medical recovery.

In 1997, in a study of Hindus in India, those who prayed
regularly, they had 70 times less of chance of having
coronary heart disease. Faith gives you tougher tickers.

In 1989, in Evans County, Georgia, in a study of 400
Caucasion men, Duke University researchers found that
those who consider religion important and attended
church regularly developed a significant protection against
high blood pressure. Faith helps lower your blood pressure.

In 1999, in a study of 400 older adults, Duke University
found that attendance in worship helps lower the rate of
depression and anxiety. Faith gives you good mental health.



4


Dr. Herbert Benson of Harvard Medical School, states that
people with psychological stress experienced raised blood
pressure, higher heart and breathing rates, and lower immunity
in their systems. However, Dr. Benson cites that repeating a
prayer, word, sound and phrase movement help disregard other
thoughts. He also cites, meditation, prayer, tai chi, and yoga
provoke healthful state. Faith helps reduce your stress.

Reader’s Digest May 200

The upshot is:
Those who worship, those who pray, those who live their faith,
they live longer and they are healthier.


Many years ago, a young boy was given a very precious gift:
the gold watch of his grandfather.
One day he was playing with his watch in his
father’s ice plant and he lost it in the saw dust.
He searched for it, he scratched, he scraped and he
still couldn’t find it. He got a bit panicky.
Then he realized what he had to do. He stopped
Scurrying and he listened. He heard the watched
ticking.

God gave all of us a priceless gift. The precious gift
is the gift of life. So let us stop in the madness of
this world and listen, listen to the voice of God,
and the movement of the Spirit.
Jesus said, “Lo, I will be with you always,
till the end of the age.”