“Not Seeing but Believing”
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Scripture Reading: John 20:19-31(NIV)
19 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. 21 Again Jesus said, "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you." 22 And with that he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven." 24 Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord!" But he said to them, "Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it." 26 A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" 27 Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe." 28 Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God!" 29 Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." 30 Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 31 But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
Text: "29 Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."
Introduction: Thomas believed because he saw Christ.
24 Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord!" But he said to them, "Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it." 26 A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" 27 Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe." 28 Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God!"
While we will not be able to place our our finger or hands in the wounds of Christ. We still need to believe that He lives. Our Salvation is incomplete if Christ remained death and buried in the tomb. Because He lives we are changed people, because He lives we are free from sin, because he lives we live and have our being, because He lives we have hope…
29 Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."
Believing and not seeing is FAITH. The concept was not new to Jewish thinking.
(29) The importance and excellence of implicit faith in the testimony of God is thus stated by Rab. Tanchum: "Rab. Simeon ben Lachesh saith, The proselyte is more beloved by the holy blessed God than that whole crowd that stood before Mount Sinai; for unless they had heard the thundering, and seen the flames and lightning, the hills trembling, and the trumpets sounding, they had not received the law. But the proselyte hath seen nothing of all this, and yet he hath come in, devoting himself to the holy blessed God, and hath taken upon him (the yoke of) the kingdom of heaven. "Adam Clarke”
I We Believe Because We Place Faith in the Word of God
• The word of God tells us of the Salvation that is ours through Christ if only we believe God raised Him from the dead.
Romans 10:9 (NIV) 9 That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
Todd, a three year old boy from Rhode Island went down to the seacoast to fly a kite. Never having flown a kite before, Todd had obvious doubts. His father assured him that all was well, and the kite would go up as planned. As Todd unravelled the string, and watched the kite go up, he was heard to say, "I knew it would fly, daddy. You said it would." Simple statement, profound implications.
Source Unknown
II We Believe Because His Spirit Speaks to Our Hearts
• The Holy Spirit Convicts of Sin and draws us toward Salvation.
• The Holy Spirit Leads us is the way we should walk.
Romans 8:14 (KJV) 14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
• The Holy Spirit Witnesses to our heart.
Romans 8:16 (NIV) 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children.
The same point is made in John Wesley’ life-changing experience in Aldersgate Street in May 1738. He acknowledges that he had become a true believer in justification by faith since the previous March and yet he knew he lacked something and was hungry for it. But at that meeting he said, "I felt my heart strangely warmed..." He had believed before, but now he had an assurance, he was given this direct, immediate, overwhelming experience and testimony by the Spirit, the sealing of the Spirit, and his ministry was transformed. He said that before this experience he had had the faith of a servant, but now it was that of a son. Source Unknown
III We Believe Because Of the Witness We See In Others
• Our life should be a witness of Christ living in us. We must be different than unbelievers.
RICHEST MAN IN TOWN
In 1972, a young Egyptian businessman named Farahat lost an $11,000 watch. He was stunned when a garbage man dressed in filthy rags found it and returned it to him. Farahat asked him why he didn’t just keep the watch. The garbage man said, "My Christ told me to be honest until death."
Farahat later told a reporter: "I didn’t know Christ at the time, but I told [the garbage man] that I saw Christ in him. I told [him], ’Because of what you have done and your great example, I will worship the Christ you are worshiping.’"
Farahat studied the Bible and grew in his faith. Two years later, he visited the garbage man’s village outside Cairo, where between 15,000 and 30,000 people were living in squalor. There was no electricity or running water. Alcohol, drugs, and gambling were pervasive. Men, women, and children sifted through huge mountains of garbage, looking for something of value that could be sold for cash or traded for food.
Farahat found himself reflecting on the words of Jesus: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." He also remembered the words of the apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 4:13: "We have become as the scum of the world, the dregs of all things." It was soon thereafter that Farahat and his wife began ministering to people’s spiritual and material needs. They preached the gospel throughout Egypt, and thousands of people turned to Christ.
In 1978, Farahat was ordained by the Coptic Orthodox Church and became known as Father Sama’an. Now, about 10,000 believers meet in a large cave outside the garbage village. It is the largest church of believers in the Middle East.
Just a few years ago, in May 2005, that church held day of prayer for Muslims to turn to Christ. More than 20,000 Arab Christians gathered. A Christian satellite TV network also broadcast the event, and millions more were watching. All this, because one garbage man chose to humbly return a watch that would have made him the richest man in town. Source Unknown
• We need to learn to follow in the Dust of Rabbi Jesus.
• We need to be witnesses…
Sharing the Good News.
Trust God to equip us.
Asking God to bring people to us.
Conclusion:
Blessed are you because you have not seen but yet believe.
