Believing is Seeing
- Date: Sunday, August 8, 2010
- Speaker: Jason Smith
- Series: Jesus in 3D: Seeing Jesus through the Gospel of Mark
- Scripture: Mark 4:35–5:20
Eric Weihenmayer calls himself an "unrealistic optimist," and that is a good description since he was the first blind climber ever to reach the top of Mount Everest. Now he does business consulting and charity work, helping people see the world in new ways. Asked by Fast Company magazine what he looks for in teammates, his response sums up what faith is all about. He said, "I look for people who have an unrealistic optimism about life. I hear people say, 'seeing is believing.' I want people who believe the opposite, 'Believing is seeing.' You've got to believe first in what you're doing and be sure you have a reason to believe it. You can tell who those people are. You say, "Hey, want to climb Everest with a blind guy?" Pretty quickly you'll figure out who's a believer.
As we have been making our way through the gospel of Mark, we have been seeking to see Jesus in 3D. To see who He is and what He came to do. The problem is that our picture of Jesus is often skewed by how He is portrayed in our society, our families, and even in our churches. I have heard many people in church proclaim, if only I could see Jesus, if only I could have been there then I would believe. The reality is that when it comes to seeing Jesus in 3D; seeing is not believing. Most in Jesus day, heard His message and saw His ministry, yet they still continued on in unbelief. It is only when we believe that we are able to truly see Jesus for who He is and what He came to do. Over the next several weeks we will be examining the topic of faith. The essence of faith has been debated from the beginning of the church and Scripture has must to say about this important issue. The two main points that I want to bring to you attention today is that: faith is a gift and faith leads to action. It is important that we get that order correct; otherwise, we will distort the gospel message of Jesus and lead people into a life of trying to work their way into faith. First, faith is a gift. We see this in Ephesians 2:8-9, For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. Jesus is the founder and perfecter of our faith. It is something that originates with God and He extends it to us as a gift, so that we can respond to Him appropriately. But that is not all that the Bible says about faith, we see that faith leads to action. We this in James 2:17, “So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” A few verses later James in talking about the faith of Abraham in verse 22 says, “You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works.” Salvation is by faith alone, but genuine faith is never alone. Someone who has a genuine faith in Jesus will act on that faith in the way that they live. The challenge for you (and me) is to Big Idea: Put Your Faith into Action.
In today’s passage, Mark 4:35-5:20 we see two situations where some people couldn’t see Jesus for who He was, because they were held captive by fear. My hope is that we will discover how to replace fear with faith in Jesus.
