Seeing Is Believing

Seeing Is Believing Believing Is Seeing Object Lesson If I told you that I have an object in this bag which has never been touched by human hands, and has never been seen by human eyes, would you believe me? Or, would you have to see it to believe it? Let's just have a show of hands, how many of you believe me without seeing? How many of you want me to show you, you'll believe it if you see it? What is in the bag? An apple. But, certainly the apple has been touched and seen. Do you still believe me? But what if I told you that there was something in the apple which had never before been seen by human eyes or touched by human hands, would you believe me? Of course, as soon as you see it, it no longer is true. As soon as I touch it, it will switch categories and become just another everyday thing. (Cut open the apple, to reveal the never before seen, never before touched - Apple Seed). Introduction/Historical Figures What would you say to me if I sought to convince you that Abraham Lincoln never lived? How would you respond if I tried to demonstrate to you that everything you ever heard or read about George Washington was a complete and utter fabrication, a myth? Could I possible convince you that Christopher Columbus was a man possessed by delusions of power and wealth? (That one is happening in our school systems, right now.) Is it possible that everything you know about the death of Julius Caesar is just a story created by William Shakespeare? Did you know that there are no well established archeological records that point to Joseph having been second to Pharaoh in ancient Egypt? Of course, the Bible tells us that even after a few generations, the Egyptian rulers had forgotten about Joseph. It is even surmised that all records of the Hebrew people were expunged from the official records after Moses led them out of Egypt. Pharaoh was so angry that he had them and the name of Moses chiseled off of the official records, the monuments of Egypt. So, how do we know that George Washington ever lived? How do we know that Christopher was motivated by a call from God to use his talents as a seaman to find new trade routes? How do we know that Julius Caesar was assassinated by a close associate? How do we know that Joseph helped save his family and all of Egypt from a seven year long famine? All of these things are taken by faith and from the historical records. They are taken by faith, because we have not seen them, directly, personally. We were not there. We were not witnesses. They are taken from the historical record because we trust the sources that brought them to us. We trust the writers of the Bible and we trust the God who inspired the Bible. Technically speaking, everything that we have not seen is taken by faith, and is based on the value we place in someone else's experience or opinion. So then, when we come to judge the disciple, Thomas, we should not be too harsh. Frankly, we accept far too many things without seeing direct evidence. You know, just because you saw it on facebook or twitter doesn't necessarily make it true. Other times we are found to be skeptical of this claim or that one, as those from Missouri ("The Show Me" State). We must see it in order to believe it. Scripture: John 20:19-20, 24-29 19 On The evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, 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. 24 Now Thomas (also known as 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." 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." Thomas should have been able to believe the reports of his fellow disciples. He had been with them for 3 years. He had trusted them for three years. He had seen Jesus multiply the loaves and fish. He had seen Jesus calm the storm. He had personally experienced Jesus healing the sick and raising the dead. Their testimony and his personal knowledge should have been enough. And we are hard on him, but the other disciples had already seen the nail marks in his hands. They had already touched the spear scar in his side. How are they any different from Thomas? Frankly, not very different at all. The only advantage they have is that they saw it, touched it, first. Normally, we trust people who are trustworthy, unless, it is April First, April Fools Day. Then we might all be incredibly skeptical. If I told you that I had a fish in my car, would you believe me? Though I am a trustworthy person, I am not known to have fish in my car, and so you might not believe me. Still, it could be true (shake head no). Believing In Jesus Paul uses these kind of eye-witness accounts to justify his belief in the resurrection. He asserts that over the course of 40 days, Jesus appeared to more than 500 people, most of whom were still alive at the time of his writing the First letter to the Corinthians. FActs could be verified, witnesses could be interviewed. I have heard these stories all of my life, but hearing them did not result in faith in me. I knew the facts as presented, but that did not change me. Still, it did give me a direction for my cries for help. And on that day, when in faith, I called out to God for salvation, I was changed. I don't believe because I know all the facts. I don't believe because I trust the veracity of the witnesses. I don't believe because I believe the Bible to be true. I believe because he changed me. I believe because "something happened and now I know." I believe the Bible because God demonstrated his power in my life. I believe the witnesses because he demonstrated himself to me. I believe because I have personal experience, because I have seen the Lord at work in my heart and in my life. Why do you believe?