Wayfaring Strangers Part 5" Series

Wayfaring Strangers

A study of 1 Peter

Part 5

“Believing without seeing”

How many of you need proof in order to believe in something?

Sometimes in my life this is true

When crossing a log over a deep creek or river

I might want you to go first

If it holds you

And I see that you made it safely across

Then I figure I can as well

But if you fall off and don’t drown

I am going to laugh and find another way across

If I go to look at a horse to buy and the man says he does not buck

I want to see him ride him

And then if he doesn’t buck

I might swing a leg over the horse myself

So sometimes seeing is believing

Right

But there are many things that we believe

That we trust

That we don’t even think about everyday

How many of you carry an Oxygen meter with you?

You look outside

Test the air

To make sure it has enough oxygen to sustain life

Or do you simply walk out

And breath

Trusting that what you can’t see

Unless you are in southern California or Dallas

Will provide for you what you need

We trust in something we cannot see

Right?

How about pulling a horse trailer down a big mountain or hill in Colorado?

One very steep hill between Pagosa Springs and Chama New Mexico comes to my mind

Do we get out

Pull the hubs

Look at the brake shoes or pads, check the fluid in the master cylinder and then Go down the hill

Or do we simply trust

“Hopefully we have maintained our trucks”

Trusting that the brakes will stop us

These are just a couple of simple illustrations

I could go on and on with things that we simply trust to be true without seeing them

And I have no doubt each of you can come up with many and most likely better illustrations in your own minds

This is where we are going today in our study of 1 Peter

Please open your bibles to 1 Peter chapter 1

And we will be looking at and then breaking down verses 8-12

1 Peter 1:8-12

“You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and rejoice with glorious inexpressible joy.

The reward for trusting him will be the salvation of your souls.

This salvation was something even the prophets wanted to know more about when they prophesied about this gracious salvation prepared for you. They wondered what time or situation the Spirit of Christ within them was talking about when he told them in advance about Christ’s suffering and his great glory afterward.

They were told that their messages were not for themselves, but for you. And now this Good News has been announced to you by those who preached in the power of the Holt Spirit sent from heaven. It is all so wonderful that even the angels are eagerly watching these things happen.

We must remember that Peter had seen Jesus

He had walked beside him

He had eaten with him

He had been taught and rebuked by him

Peter had seen the miracles

Heard the words

He had walked on water

Drank the wine at Cana

And had been present at the transfiguration

He had seen Jesus die

Seen him placed in a tomb

And had seen the risen Lord

In my opinion believing would have been easy if

We were to see Jesus

But that is not the case

Thomas another of Jesus’ followers

Had to see to believe

Thomas like many others had seen many of the same things Peter had seen

But he would not believe Jesus had risen from the dead

Unless he saw for himself

Let’s look at that account in John

John chapter 20

Jesus has been raised from the dead

And all the apostles except Thomas had seen him

They told Thomas all about what they had seen

They told him Jesus was alive

And here is Thomas’ reply

Verses 24-28

24 One of the twelve disciples, Thomas (nicknamed the Twin),[a] was not with the others when Jesus came. 25 They told him, “We have seen the Lord!”

But he replied, “I won’t believe it unless I see the nail wounds in his hands, put my fingers into them, and place my hand into the wound in his side.”

26 Eight days later the disciples were together again, and this time Thomas was with them. The doors were locked; but suddenly, as before, Jesus was standing among them. “Peace be with you,” he said. 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and look at my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!”