Forever
And Forever And Forever
John 20:24 “But Thomas, one of the
twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus
came.
25 The other disciples
therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But
he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands
the print of the nails, and put my finger into the
print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his
side, I will not believe.
26
And after eight days again his disciples were
within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the
doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said,
Peace be unto you.
27 Then
saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and
behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and
thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but
believing.
28 And Thomas
answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.
29 Jesus saith unto him, Thomas,
because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed:
blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have
believed.
30 And many other
signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his
disciples, which are not written in this book:
31 But these are written, that ye
might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of
God; and that believing ye might have life through
his name.”
1. I Will Not Believe
2. Be Not
Faithless
3. True Peace For You
4. Life
Through His Name
1. I Will Not Believe
Verse twenty-five: “The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.”
This is bad place to be. This is a very bad … bad … bad place to be. “I will not believe.” How did Thomas get in such a place? I mean, look at this whole thing for a moment. Thomas had seen all the miracles. He had seen it all! My friend, Thomas had seen things that no man or woman has ever seen before.
Now, Thomas should have believed the report of the disciples. This report should have gotten to his heart from the very hearing of these words: “We have seen the Lord.”
Thomas declaration: “I will not believe” … in the face of the many infallible proofs given to him … just defies all plain common sense. Yet such is the state of all men. We are no different! Thomas does not “have the lock” on this problem. We all have the problem! We all are apt to say: “I will not believe.”
2. Be Not Faithless
Verse twenty-seven: “Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.”
Somebody who is “faithless” … is helpless. Have you ever heard of the expression: “He [or she] is a helpless mess?”
More than that, somebody who is “faithless” … is empty.
Somebody who is “faithless” … is filled with unbelief.
Do you want to know something? It takes … just a little faith to get saved. Do you realize the truth of this? What did Jesus say in Matthew chapter seventeen, verse twenty to his disciples? “And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.” [Matthew 17:20]
The difference between having no faith and having little faith is as vast as the countless stars filling the Universe.
Now, let me say it in a different way. It is as vast as the difference there is between Heaven and Hell. It is a great of a difference as being saved or being lost. It takes a little faith to be saved and it takes no faith [being “faithless”] to be sent to Hell. The end result could not be more vaster than this. Amen!
3. True Peace For You
Verse twenty-six: “And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you.”
The world knows nothing of this peace. The Book states this very, very clearly in Romans three, verse seventeen: “And the way of peace have they not known:” [Romans 3:17].
Did you get that? This peace, here in our text, is the very “peace” of God of Philippians chapter four, verse seven: “And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” [Philippians 4:7]
The world cannot have this “peace”. The world cannot manufacture this “peace”, or obtain it in any other way … because this “peace” only comes from God.
The world will not come to God. The world hates God, and because the world hates God, they will not come to God to get “the peace of God”. [See Romans chapter verse thirty.] This is the sad, sad lot of the people of this world. They are poor.
In contrast to all this, the true believer in Jesus Christ received [John 1:12] this very same “peace of God” when he was “born again” by “the word of God”.
We see the verity of this in First Peter chapter one, verse twenty-three: “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.” [1 Peter 1:23]
The justification by faith as seen in Romans chapter five [at the born again event] results in PEACE WITH God for the believer. Read with me there. “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:” [Romans 5:1].
Now, that we have this peace … with God [unconditionally], we can [conditionally] now enjoy peace … from God. It is this very same peace we see [in Romans chapter one, verse seven] in Paul’s salutation to the saints in Rome. “To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.” [Romans 1:7]
Do you see that “peace from God” in that verse?
We see it again [this “peace”] towards the end of the book of Romans in chapter fifteen. “Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.” [Romans 15:13]
The “peace” of God shows up in front of us all over the place in the New Testament epistles:[Romans 8:6] “For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.”
Being spiritually minded … is “peace”.[Romans 10:15] “And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!”
Those who preach the Gospel … preach the Gospel of “peace”.[Romans 14:17] “For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.”
The kingdom of God is a kingdom of “peace”.[Romans 16:20] “And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.”
The God of “peace” will do violence to our enemy.[1 Corinthians 7:15] “But if the unbelieving depart, let him depart. A brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases: but God hath called us to peace.”
A true Christian is called to “peace”.[Galatians 5:22] “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith.” One of the fruits of the Holy Spirit in a believer is “peace”.
4. Life Through His Name
Verse thirty-one: “But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.”
This is LIFE [including LIFE beyond this life].
However, the life we have, here on this earth which includes everything that is needed to sustain us while we sojourn here in these mortal bodies is brief. God gives this bare bones type of life to all who are here on this earth temporally. Acts chapter seventeen shows us this: “Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;” [Acts 17:25].
As long as we have breath, we have this [momentary] life. But the “life” here in our text in John, is not only this life. It is “life” beyond this life. When John [by the Holy Ghost] states [that by believing what is written, that is, believing that Jesus Christ is the CHRIST, and believing that Jesus Christ is the Son of God] we have “life”.
It is ETERNAL LIFE!
It is ETERNAL LIFE through Jesus Christ’s NAME! If a person is SAVED, they go … INTO LIFE ETERNAL, as it says in Matthew chapter twenty-five, verse forty-six: “And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.” [Matthew 25:46]
The ETERNAL LIFE [we have here in this text] will be inherited “in the world to come”. Amen!
Look at for yourself in Mark chapter ten, verse thirty: “But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life.” [Mark 10:30]
[John 3:15] “That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.”
Are you the WHOSOEVER?
“He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.” [John 12:25
“Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.” [John 5:39]
“Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.” [John 6:68]
“And this is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life.” [1 John 2:25]
“Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.” [1 Timothy 6:12]
The LIFE through HIS NAME is forever, and forever, and forever!
Amen! Amen! Amen!