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GORILLA CLIPCount the passesPeople dont see the gorillaWerent looking for itMotorcycles often overlooked in trafficWhen hit I didnt see it

When we read the Bible we may miss something because we werent looking for itWe didnt know we were supposed to look for it

English words are sometimes both nouns and verbsWish (I make a wish) and wish (I wish for )Hope (I have a hope) and hope (I hope for )You can even hope a hope or wish a wish

In English we have a noun - faith (I have faith)And the verb is believe (I believe )In Greek they are the same wordNoun pistis ()Verb pisteuo ()English needs a verb faith, to faith, faithingI.e. I faith, do you faith

Is the gospel of belief/faithFaith as a noun appears?0 (zero/nada/zilch) times In 21 chaptersAlways a verbIn John you dont have faith, you faith in JohnFaith is something you doIt is dynamic

If you are looking for it, Then it is obviousIt becomes interesting

Not something you haveBut something you doOver and over again

Example from John 11Raising of LazarusRaising the dead is a great miracleAnd it is even greater when they are already rottenHow many miracles recorded in John?8 miracles are recordedFewest of all the gospels

Only 8, but there is a lot of talk/dialogue with each recorded miracleThe dialogue is IMPORTANT

Jesus goes from Jerusalem to BethanyLess than 2 miles distanceJesus had waited in Jerusalem after hearing of Lazarus sicknessJesus has intentionally delayed until Lazarus has died, been entombed, and ripe

17 When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had been in the tomb four days already. 18 (Now Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem, 19 so many of the Jewish people of the region had come to Martha and Mary to console them over the loss of their brother.) 20 So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary was sitting in the house.

21 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 from God, God will grant you. 23 Jesus replied, Your brother will come back to life again. 24 Martha said, I know that he will come back to life again in the resurrection at the last day. 25 Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and the life.

Jesus and Martha have a theological discussion about resurrectionMartha believes in the resurrectionNot a SadduceeJesus replies I amIn Greek this is normally one word emi ()But here we see ego emi ( )Important?

John 18, arrest of Jesus in the gardenVs 2 Judas arrives with soldiersWho do you want/seek?Jesus of NazarethJesus replies ego emi ( ) I AMWhat happens?Soldiers draw back and fall to the groundThis is Moses and the burning bush!

Whenever Jesus says I AM picture a wink, wink or nod, nod

I AM GOD

Marthas confession is one of the GREAT moments of displayed faith in scripture

28 And when she had said this, Martha went and called her sister Mary, saying privately, The Teacher is here and is asking for you. 29 So when Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him. 30 (Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still in the place where Martha had come out to meet him.)

31 Then the people who were with Mary in the house consoling her saw her get up quickly and go out. They followed her, because they thought she was going to the tomb to weep there. 32 Now when Mary came to the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said to him, Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.

33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the people who had come with her weeping, he was intensely moved in spirit and greatly distressed. 34 He asked, Where have you laid him? They replied, Lord, come and see. 35 Jesus wept. 36 Thus the people who had come to mourn said, Look how much he loved him!

37 But some of them said, This is the man who caused the blind man to see! Couldnt he have done something to keep Lazarus from dying? 38 Jesus, intensely moved again, came to the tomb. (Now it was a cave, and a stone was placed across it.)

Johns stories have someone in addition to Jesus being a secondarily important characterJohn 9 the man born blind the parents are the other important characterHere in the Lazarus story the other real main character is Martha

Martha had just said I faith that you are the one who is to come into the world

At the tomb she hesitates/waivers and reminds Jesus that Lazarus body is now stinky

Jesus replies didnt I just tell you that if you faithed you would see the glory of God?

Will you/we faith the moment? Yes or no?We would probably all confess like Martha didWe would confess Jesus as Lord, if/when askedIn John, the question is will you faith the momentFaith is not what you have, but what you doYou have to faith today, tomorrow, the next day, the next moment

Most of us would pass an orthodoxy testCentral points of faithJesus is lordBut that is not what is most important per JohnBut the important question isWhen we leave hereWhen we face lifes important momentsWill we faith them? Or not.

When a loved one dies, will I faith it?When we are caught in sin, will we faith it?When I have a serious illness, will I faith it?When I win the lottery, will I faith it?These tests happen all our livesIn John the word is ALWAYS a verbWe need to get back to faithing

There is a postscript to the story of Lazarus in the next chapter

There is a party! Lazarus is alive!Many come.Both Jesus and Lazarus are therePeople wanted to see someone who was dead and now lives and the one who raised him

Vs 10 plan to kill Lazarus as wellA a brilliant planBecause many Jews were faithing (vs 11) in Jesus

Chapter 12:10What would it take to make the chief priests believe?If they werent convinced now, they never will beThey are unwilling to faith!They plan to get rid of the evidence they haveThey have a moral/heart problem

There are others like the chief priests out there even howBut we are Martha, not the chief priestsWe have faith, but have trouble faithing each/every momentEvery act of faithing countsEvery time we fail to faith, it counts

Something we have?

Or something we do?

We will not steal because we are not thievesBut people are willing to compromise (steal) if money is not involved.$6 noCokes yesOn a test yes

Story of Moby Dick

Is faith in your/my life a verb?Or a noun?