I am a fan of the original Star Trek series. My absolute favorite episode is “The Spectre of the Gun,” which premiered in 1968, the show’s third season.
Here’s the storyline: After violating Melkotian air space, Captain Kirk and members of his crew are taken from the Enterprise and sent to die in a reenactment of the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral. You know the story. The Earps – Wyatt, Morgan and Virgil – and Doc Holiday face Ike and Billy Clanton and their Cowboys in a shootout. In real history, the lawmen live and the Cowboys die, except for Billy Clanton.
Chekov, the Enterprise’s communications officer, is Billy Clanton. Morgan Earp sees Chekov flirting with Sylvia, his “main squeeze”, and kills him. Kirk is furious with Chekov’s death but Spock reminds him that Billy Clanton does not die at the O. K. Corral. Spock reasons “There must be a way to change the outcome.”
So Kirk, Spock, McCoy and Scotty try to figure out a way to avoid the confrontation with the Earps and Dr. Holliday at the O. K. Corral. McCoy develops a tranquilizer gas and tests it on Scotty. As Scotty breaths in the gas, it doesn’t work. But it should have. Spock understands the situation immediately.
I want you to hear the dialogue between Spock, McCoy and Captain Kirk.
Spock: Physical laws simply cannot be ignored. Existence cannot be without them. We are faced with a staggering contradiction. The tranquilizer you created should have been effective. Doctor, in your opinion, what killed Chekov?
McCoy: A piece of lead in his body.
Spock: Wrong. His mind killed him. Physical reality is consistent with universal laws. When the laws do not operate, there is no reality. All of this is unreal.
McCoy: But I examined Chekov and he’s dead.
Spock: But you made your examinations under conditions that cannot be trusted. We judge reality by the responses of our senses. Once we are convinced of the reality of a given situation, we abide by its rules. We judge the bullets to be solid, the guns to be real. Therefore, they can kill. Chekov is dead because he believed the bullets could kill him.
Kirk: If we do not allow ourselves to believe that the bullets are real, they cannot kill us!
Spock: Exactly. I know the bullets are unreal, therefore they cannot harm me.
Kirk: We must all be as certain as you are Mr. Spock in order to save our lives.
Spock: Precisely.
Kirk: But that’s not possible. There will always be some doubt.
Spock: The smallest doubt will be enough to kill you.
Remember this is a conversation about what is real and what is not real – what is true and what is not true. The tranquilizer gas should have worked but it didn’t. Spock recognizes that their current situation was not real according to “normally defined” reality.
We play a role in shaping our realities – believing what is true for us.
There are passages of scripture that give me pause each time I read them. It’s as though they draw me into a time of contemplation and self-examination. Romans 4:20 is such a verse. It’s about Abraham and his response to God’s promise that he and Sarah would have a son.
“He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God.”
For me this passage is like an onion. Each time I read it and spend time meditating the verses, the Lord “pulls back a layer” and I see a particular word or phrase in a new light.
“He (Abraham) staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief...”
In the words “staggered not” I see a person who has had too much to drink. He’s staggering about trying to maintain his balance. He is grabbing on to anything he can so that he will “stagger not.”
But this is not what “staggered not” communicates.
The verb “stagger” is diakrino, from dia, meaning “separation” and krino, to distinguish, decide, or judge. It means “to hesitate, to waver, to doubt, or to differ.”
A person who “staggers” makes a decision or renders a mental verdict based on what he believes or doesn’t believe. He wavers or disagrees with what is presented to him.
Abraham renders a mental verdict that goes against everything he can see in the natural. Let’s go back up to verse 18. We’ll also read verse 19.
“Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations; according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be. And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara’s womb.”
When God says Abraham and Sarah will have a son, Abraham believes Him because he knows that he and Sarah are incapable of having a child on their own. Abraham takes God at His Word. That’s all he did. Simple faith.
God makes a promise to Abraham and he “staggers not” – he doesn’t make a decision or render a mental verdict that disagrees with God’s promise.
Why doesn’t Abraham stagger when God says the impossible will happen in their old age? Again, he takes God at His Word. He has faith. Redundant? Yes. Simple? Yes. And Abraham was not born again. We are. He believed what God said. Shouldn’t we?
Let’s look at verses 20 and 21.
"He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; And being fully persuaded..."
Unbelief and not being fully persuaded about what the Bible says causes us to stagger. When it comes to the words of life, a person who “staggers not” does not doubt and lives in full agreement and knowledge that what the Bible says will come to pass.
Ladies and gentlemen, do not allow doubt or unbelief to dwell in your presence.
Some years ago a dearly loved family member battled a neurological illness that made it nearly impossible for her to walk without assistance. She spent several weeks in a skilled nursing facility rebuilding muscle tissue in her legs and then learning how to walk again. During a checkup, one of her neurologists, in the presence of his interns, says that if she walks again she will not walk normally.
When her husband arrives later that day, he finds her visibly upset and sobbing. She calms down and tells him what was said. He was not happy. The neurologist had spoken words of unbelief and “death” to walking again. They did not allow him to see her again.
This is what I want you to understand: sometimes, in order to believe God’s Word, there are some people who need to leave your life.
Jesus faced a similar situation in Mark 5. Jairus, one of the rulers of the synagogue, has a daughter who is dying. He pleads with Jesus to come with him, to lay hands on her and to heal her. Let’s pick up the record in verse 35.
“While he yet spake, there came from the ruler of the synagogue’s house certain which said, Thy daughter is dead: why troublest thou the Master any further?”
Do you see what the person said? “Thy daughter is dead.” Faithless words will damage your faith. The words delivered to Jairus could have caused him to “stagger” if Jesus hadn’t overheard them and intervenes. Let’s continue reading.
“As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, he saith unto the ruler of the synagogue, Be not afraid, only believe.”
Jesus tells Jairus, “Don’t be afraid. You are here because you believe I can heal your daughter.” I can see Jesus looking sternly at Jairus and saying “I will raise your daughter from the dead. Jairus, you will see your daughter the same way you saw her when you left her at home – alive.”
At this point, Jairus had two choices. He can believe what he has heard from the person who came to deliver the news “your daughter is dead”, or he can be believe the words of Jesus, the Word made flesh.
Ladies and gentlemen, these are our only choices too. At some point in our lives we will have to draw a line in the sand and say “I believe what the Bible says. Period.” We really have no other choice if we are going see the fullness of what God has for us in this life.
Let’s continue with verses 37-39.
“And he suffered no man to follow him, save Peter, and James, and John the brother of James. And he cometh to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and seeth the tumult, and them that wept and walled greatly. And when he was come in, he saith unto them, Why make ye this ado, and weep? The damsel is not dead, but sleepeth.”
I have a question. Was Jairus’ daughter dead? Yes. Why does Jesus say she’s sleeping? Let’s look at John 5:19, which may not seem relevant to this passage. But trust me, it is.
“Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily , verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.”
Now, why would Jesus say the girl is sleeping? Could it be His Father has already shown Him the outcome? Does not Jesus say He does what He “seeth the Father do”? Is it possible that before Jesus takes his first step toward Jairus’ house the Father shows Him the ruler’s daughter will live again?
Is this not what Jesus says the Holy Spirit will do for us? Turn to John 16:13.
“Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come.”
Now here’s the question I have for you: Is it possible that we have limited our thinking about what Holy Spirit can and will show us? Is it possible, for example, that we have seen a person walking with a cane and then we see a mental picture of that same person walking cane-free? Could it be Holy Spirit “showed us the thing to come” had we acted on what we had seen?
Let’s return to the record in Mark 5. Look at verse 40.
“And they laughed him (Jesus) to scorn. But when he had put them all out ...”
I’m sure the people at Jairus’ home are not strangers. I’m sure some are relatives. And some are probably co-workers. And it’s possible that there were others mourning with the family who see him every Sabbath in his role as ruler. They know him. They know his family.
In this situation Jesus does something many of us may find very difficult to do. He puts the mourners out. He is essentially telling them “you are not helping.” Again, to have an opportunity to believe the Word of God, there will be people we’ll need to be removed from our lives.
Ladies and gentlemen, faith shrinks when we give a listening ear to doubt and unbelief. Hold your finger here and turn with me to Mark 6. We’re going to read the first six verses.
(1) And he went out from thence, and came into his own country; and his disciples followed him.
(2) And when the Sabbath was come, he began to teach in the synagogue: and many hearing him were astonished, saying, From whence hath this man these things? and what wisdom is this which is given unto him, that even such mighty works are wrought by his hand?
(3) Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Judas, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended in him.
(4) But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honor, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house.
(5) And he could there o no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them.
(6) And he marveled because of their unbelief. And he went round about the villages teaching.
This is an amazing passage to me. Jesus has all the power and authority of Heaven at his finger tips and yet, he can do virtually nothing when facing people’s unbelief and doubt. Let that sink in ladies and gentlemen. This passage shows us just how powerful unbelief and doubt really are.
Now let’s go back to Mark 5 and read verses 40-42.
“And they laughed him to scorn. But when he had put them all out, he taketh the father and the mother of the damsel, and them that were with him, and entered in where the damsel was lying. And he took the damsel by the hand, and said unto her, Talitha cumi, which is, being interpreted, Damsel, I say unto thee, arise. And straightway the damsel arose, any walked; for she was of the age of twelve years. and they were astonished with a great astonishment.”
Mark 5 shows us how devastating and debilitating doubt and unbelief can be to faith. They are knives in the heart of faith that slowly bleed out its life source – God’s Word. The Bible, living in us and on our lips, is what gives us victory in this life. That’s why God gave it to us.
In this passage about Jairus’ daughter, when we compare Jesus’ response with that of the mourners, we see that Jesus walks in a truth – a reality – that is not based on circumstances. It’s a response that flows from a place of knowing the Father’s heart. Ladies and gentlemen, now that we’re born again and have the life and nature of God on the inside of us, we can respond to life’s circumstances from the same place – the place of knowing the Father’s heart.
Let’s go back to the Star Trek episode, “The Spectre of the Gun.”
As Spock is telling everyone that the smallest amount of doubt will kill them, they’re transported to the O. K. Corral to face the Earps and Doc Holiday. Kirk says, if they are to survive, Spock will have to do the Vulcan mind meld – he must join his mind with their minds so that they will be as certain as he is about the reality of the situation.
So one by one, Spock gives them the Vulcan mind meld.
“Your mind to my mind. Your thoughts to my thoughts. The bullets are unreal, without body. They are illusions only. Shadows without substance. They will not pass through your body for they do not exist. Appearances only. Nothing but ghosts of reality. They are lies, falsehoods, spectres without body. They are to be ignored.”
The Vulcan mind meld works. They are able to subdue the Earps, sparing their lives. The Melkotians, impressed by their solution, return them and a still living Chekov to the Enterprise.
In Philippians 2:5 we read “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.”
Turn with me to I Corinthians 2:16. “For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.”
We have the “Christ mind meld” if you will. We can live a life free from doubt and unbelief when we access and live by the “mind of Christ”. But we must read and meditate what we see in the gospels and the New Testament to learn how to live by “the mind of Christ”. Anything less and such a life will be impossible.
Jesus knew the things of this world – the “bullets” – were not real in the presence of kingdom of God living inside of Him. We must be as certain of this as Jesus was and it starts by putting on His thoughts. “Let this mind be in you ...”
We must know and believe that living in the kingdom and doing our Father’s will can override anything in this world. Anything! As Jesus tells Jairus, “Only believe.”
Jesus knew that His faith was all that was needed to “overcome the world” (I John 5:4). It was no secret to Him. We have the same life living in us that lives in Him. Knowing what Jesus knew about the world shouldn’t be a secret to us either – our faith is all we need to overcome this world too.
