The Blessing of Believing

The Blessing of Believing John 20.24-31 Jesus wants everyone to come to faith. We are given the purpose of the Gospel of John in this verse: John 20. 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. II Peter 3. 9 The LORD is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. Instead He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. This is the heart of God. The heart of the Waiting Father There is great blessing in believing. Thomas struggled. He had to believe before he could become a witness. He had to see to believe. “I’ll believe it when I see it.” When I have been asked to testify in court over the years I have been told on occasion that I was believable, credible . I have also been asked on occasion to stretch the truth by defense or immigration attorneys. I never did that. One time, when I refused, I had an attorney say, “Well, honesty is the best policy.” I responded, “For me it is the only one!” Thomas had to see to believe. Jesus obliged. God still does with those who doubt. All creation magnifies Him. Take the birds. He cares for them. For 6,000 years they have lived without bird feeders! Bird baths too! Creation’s witness to us from God. The heavens show everyone His Handiwork. Psalm 19. 1  The heavens declare the glory of God;     the skies proclaim the work of His hands. Earth is crammed with Heaven and every bush aflame with God but only he who sees takes off his shoes. - Elizabeth Barret Browning The heavens declare the glory of God. There is not a place where their voice is not heard. Psalm 19.1-4 We are called to have mercy on those who doubt. Help them. Don’t be hard on them. Jude 22 It could be that you were teased as a child. Maybe you were abandoned. Or faced death at a young age. Our personality affects our faith. Thomas was a twin, probably named that at birth, which means he was a second child, tending to be skeptical because of a believing heart. “Uncle Mark, are you taping us?” “No.” “You’re not?” Two second borns. There are great blessings in believing. * Peace This is the first word in Jesus’ greeting to the disciples. Tranquility Harmony Security and Safety Believers have these and many more blessings. These men needed this. By believing we have life in His Name. Peace with God Romans 5.1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our LORD Jesus Christ, They all needed this. Talk about souls in torture. That was the picture of the Eleven on that Resurrection Weekend. Peter with his guilt Thomas with His doubts All of them gripped with fear. They had left everything to follow Him. Now they are locked up in a room for fear they will be killed next. At this point they didn’t even feel it safe to try to high tail it back to Galilee. Thoughts of Palm Sunday and how they got to this point loomed in their minds. Emotional Turmoil. Maybe you have one or more of those (fear, guilt or doubt) this morning… Jesus is here. Jesus came and gave them peace. The Prince of Peace brings peace to their hearts and souls. He rebuked them for their lack of faith that He was alive but not for their denial and abandonment. He gave them peace. Peace takes away guilt, fear and doubt. Today Believing prayer brings this Philippians 4. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Great peace have they who love Your law and nothing can make them stumble. Psalm 119.165 We are peacemakers. We know when to speak We know when to be silent Huge blessings! Believe and join in the blessing, “Peace be with you.” Another blessing of believing… * The Ability to believe God, Who calls things into being that were not Romans 4.17 True missionaries have this ability, the gift of faith Each of you have been given a measure of faith. Some have great faith. But Jesus said that you can do wonders even if your faith is the size of a mustard seed. Matthew 17.20 The mustard seeds in Israel. We call things into existence by believing prayer to the LORD. We call things into existence by speaking your faith Pastor Johnson, “I believe that roof is going on!” God put that in His heart. Arts words to me, “This may make you a better Pastor.” We walk by faith. The Church’s finest hour is when it believes with no evidence. Can you see what God is doing here? What He desires to do? Inconvenience yourself in prayer and watch Him work! Hebrews 11.1 Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. 2 This is what the ancients were commended for. NASB Now faith is the certainty of things hoped for, a proof of things not seen. 2 For by it the people of old gained approval. KJV Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. The Prayer of faith, the prayer offered in faith is a great blessing. Sick healed When we anoint those who in faith raise their hands, calling for the elders. Is it my prayer, the elders, or all of us together? Another Blessing of believing… * Seeing the Glory of God John 11.40 The Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God? “ What an amazing statement! Seeing the glory of God. For Martha of Bethany it was seeing her brother, Lazarus, come back from the dead! For us it could be *Having the strength to go on after a loved one goes to Heaven, not just strength but a new direction in which to travel! *Seeing God meet a need which we had hoped for but could not imagine how He would. *Beginning a new career at a point in life when you thought it was over *Seeing answers to prayers you have prayed a long time over *Loved ones coming to Christ God calls us to exercise our faith. For Martha it was believing what Jesus said about Him being the Resurrection and the Life. What do you need today? If it is direction… He is the Light of the world. If it is spiritual hunger… He is the Bread of Life. If you are venturing in faith… He is the Door.Go through Him. If you are needing protection… He is the Good Shepherd. If you are perplexed… He is the Way, the Truth and the Life. If you are longing to see God work remember… He is the True Vine and all you need to do is abide or remain in Him, His Word and prayer * Staying the Course/ Seeing a Harvest Back to Thomas… Mar Thomas Church in India  believed to, have been founded by Saint Thomas (Mar Thoma), one of the twelve disciples of Jesus Christ, and known by the name of the Apostle, in the year AD 52 Tradition tells us that through the ministry of the Word in many miracles, he brought many high cast Hindus to the Christian faith. There is another interesting story about King Gundaphorus an Indo-Parthian King. An agent told the king that Thomas was a carpenter, and the king gave him money to build a palace. Thomas promptly took the money and gave it to the poor. When the king came to see his new dwelling, he was told that the real palace would be in the kingdom of heaven. The king threw both Thomas and the agent into prison to await execution. At the same time, the kings brother became ill. He became interested in the teachings of Thomas, and in a dream he imagined he died, and went to heaven, where the angel showed him the palace that Thomas had built. He woke, rushed to the king to tell him his dream and secure the release of these two men. King Goundaphorus then became a Christian himself and sent Thomas to preach over his dominion. Many thought this was a legend until the middle of the 19th century when excavations in Punjab reveal that there actually had been in info-Parthian King Goundaphorus who lived in the middle of the first century making him a contemporary of Thomas. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Galatians 6.9 In these times a good word is perseverance. The first of the flowers in my yard and Margot’s are snowdrops. They shoot up through hard frozen ground. How these tender plants do that is beyond me. They are tough. I have had them bloom in the snow, through the snow. They are tender and tough. That is what believing is. It is having a tender heart, open to God with toughness that does give up or give on. Then producing a harvest 30,60 ,100 times what was sown. * A Final Word About This Wonderful Gift of Life 30 Jesus performed many other 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. Brevity rather than volumes of books, initially. The foundation. Books being written about what Jesus is doing in recent times and being part of a move of God in our days is wonder filled. We have the firm foundation in the Word, the Word that became flesh and the written Word, God’s Word. Believing we have life in His name. Eternal Life, age abiding life, a quality of life now which will continue through eternity in Heaven. The Blessings of believing Peace Ability to call things into being that were not Seeing the Glory of God Perseverance Life Eternal