The Lord blessed his word last
Sunday in giving faith to many of our
young people. I was delighted, encouraged,
and thrilled beyond words at the way that the Holy Spirit
was pleased to take the messages and bless them to the hearts
of the young people. And I think many of you and myself
included, renewed our faith in Christ. Our faith was strengthened. I feel like that we were established more upon the death
of our Lord and the sacrifice of our Savior than we have been
in a long time. And while our minds are on this
subject of faith in Christ, as they should be always, I want
to continue with a message tonight on the subject, Believing is
Seeing. Now, the world says, Seeing is
Believing, but the Scripture says, Believing is Seeing. And my text is John chapter 20,
verse 29. And Jesus says unto him, because thou hast seen me, thou
hast believed. Blessed are they that have not
seen, and yet have believed." Now after the crucifixion, the
disciples met together in the upper room for fear of the Jews,
the Scripture says, and the Lord Jesus Christ appeared to them. He came in the room where they
were and said, Peace be unto you. Now Thomas was not with
them at this crucial time. I don't know why he was not there.
But it resulted in two or three things in the life of this man
Thomas. Number one, he missed a great
blessing. The disciples were met together,
they were assembled together. and he was not there, and he
missed the blessing. The Lord came, and Thomas was
not with them. Secondly, it resulted in an embarrassing
situation for him. It resulted in a severe rebuke
from the Savior. Who can tell what we miss when
we are not with believers when they meet the Lord? And the disciples
gave a faithful witness to Thomas. They found Thomas and they said
to him, we have seen the Lord. They told him what they had seen.
They told him what they had experienced. They told him what they had heard.
That's all they could tell him. We testify that which we have
seen and that which we have heard. A friend of mine is a preacher,
pastor of a church. He's been in the ministry a long
time. He's not really a good preacher. But I was in a Bible
conference several years ago with him, and the director of
the Bible conference asked him to preach. And he didn't have
time to prepare a message, and he hadn't brought any messages
with him. Somebody was missing who was supposed to be on the
program, and this man didn't have an outline with him and
didn't have time to prepare one. So I heard him preach the best
sermon he ever preached in his life. He told how that he was
a lost sinner and how God the Holy Spirit brought him to see
his need of Christ and how the Holy Spirit revealed Christ to
him and he trusted the Lord and was saved. And he told how God
dealt with him and how God gave him peace and joy and faith and
rest And he had everybody in the whole congregation rejoicing
in the Lord Jesus Christ and weeping at the same time. He
just told what he had experienced. He told what he had seen. He
told what the Lord had done for him. And that's all these disciples
did here. They just told Thomas. They said,
we've seen the Lord. We've seen the Lord. They emphasized
his deity. We've seen the Lord, the Lord
Jesus Christ. And they left Thomas in the hands
of the master. Now, he did everything but call
them a bunch of liars. He doubted their word. There's
no record of their arguing with him, but he doubted their word.
He said to them in verse 25, they said, We've seen the Lord,
Thomas. And he said to them, Unless I see in his hands the
print of the nail, And unless I put my finger into the print
of those nails, and unless I touch the spear mark in his side, I
will not believe." Now Thomas made a dangerous threat, but
it's applicable right here in this day, perhaps to someone
in this congregation, at least to two or three that aren't here
tonight that I know about. The fulfilled prophecies of the
Scriptures were not enough for Thomas. All the Scriptures had
been fulfilled. He died for our sins according
to the Scriptures. He was buried and rose again
according to the Scriptures. He fulfilled every promise, every
type, every prophecy, and yet those prophecies being fulfilled
in the life of Christ, in the miracles of Christ, in the words
of Christ, in the death of Christ, were not enough for him. The
words of Christ himself were not enough for Thomas. The Lord
Jesus told the disciples how that he would go to Jerusalem
and how he would suffer at the hands of the chief priest, and
how that he would suffer, how that he would die, and how on
the third day he would rise again, but that wasn't enough for Thomas.
and the witness of the disciples who had themselves seen the Lord
and who had experienced his grace and his peace upon them and his
breathing upon them and their receiving the Holy Spirit, that
wasn't enough for him. What a dangerous threat, in spite
of all the prophecies, in spite of all the promises, In spite
of the words of Christ himself, in spite of the witness of the
Apostle, he demanded a certain experience. He said, I will not
believe unless this happens. I will not believe unless this
happens. I will not believe unless this
happens. I'm going to set forth a pattern
that God Almighty must follow, or I will not believe. That's
dangerous. He's just saying this, I won't
believe till I see. I'm going to have to see myself,
the prince in his hands and in his side, or I will not believe. Seeing is believing, Thomas said. Now that may be a good philosophy
where men are concerned, but not where God's concerned. Now
I'll show you a few scriptures. Turn to John 11, verse 40. John
11, verse 40. that it's dangerous for us to
demand a certain type of experience. It's dangerous for us to set
forth a pattern of salvation which God Almighty has to follow.
In John 11, verse 40, Jesus said unto her, Said I not unto thee,
that if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory
of God which is first? If you believe, you'll see the
glory of God." That's what Christ said to Mary and to Martha. I
said unto you, if you believe, you'll see the glory of God.
Turn to Matthew 12. In the twelfth chapter of Matthew,
verse 38, Matthew 12, verse 38. And then
certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees, these men were
not believers, these men were religious leaders, but they didn't
know the Lord. They said, Master, we would see
a sign from thee. We want a sign. And he answered
and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh
after a and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign
of the prophet Jonah." In other words, but the word of God. That's
what Christ is saying. We want to see a sign. That's
what Thomas said. I want to see his hands and his
teeth, and then I'll believe. That's what these Pharisees are
saying. Show us the sign. He said, it's evil and adulterous
men and women who seek a sign. No sign shall be given. Turn to Mark 9. Mark 9, verse
23. Here was the man with the son
who was very ill, and the disciples were not able to cast the evil
spirits out of him, so he brought him to Christ. And the Lord Jesus
said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible
to them that believe. great way the father of the child
cried out and said with tears, Lord, I believe, help my unbelief. Now, my friends, and I hope you'll
listen carefully to this message tonight and others who will hear
it by tape and over the radio, I hope you'll listen very carefully.
because I believe I'm speaking specifically to several people.
If you demand certain experiences and certain signs, if you demand
a pattern of proof which God Almighty must follow in the salvation
of your soul, God may give it to you. He may. I do not know.
He did to Thomas. He appeared to Thomas. He said,
reach hither thy hand, and touch the prints of the nails, and
reach hither thy hand, thrust it into my side." That's what
you wanted, wasn't it? All right, do it. And then when
Thomas said, Well, it's my Lord and my God, Christ said, Simon,
now Thomas, you've seen and believed, but blessed are those that haven't
seen and yet have believed. And if you demand certain experiences
and certain signs and a certain pattern of proof that must take
place when God saves you, He may give it to you. But I'm warning
you, there's a strong possibility that he will not. Now, Charlie
Payne, you know this is so, and I know it's so, where I have
one example of God fulfilling a man's demands for an experience
and a sign. I have dozens in which he did
not. He refused. Show us a sign, they said, and
we'll believe. He said, no sign will be given.
If you're the Son of God, come down from the cross and we'll
believe. He didn't come down from the
cross. And he said to Mary and Martha, if you believe, you'll
see the glory of God. And here in our text tonight,
he said, blessed are those that have not seen and yet they have
believed. Some saw and did not believe. Some saw and did believe. But blessed always are those
who have not seen and yet have believed. Always. Now I'm asking
a question tonight, why is this faith that does not demand a
sign, why is this faith that does not demand an experience,
why is this faith that does not demand a certain pattern of proof,
why is it blessed? Why did Christ say it's blessed?
Blessed is that man who has not seen and yet has believed. You here tonight who have not
had a pattern of proof, or have not had a sign which you demanded,
and have not had an experience that you expected, and yet you
rested on the word of God, and you believed the promise of God,
and you rested in Christ, and our Lord said you are blessed.
Why is that faith blessed? Here are five reasons. Number
one, it's blessed because it rests entirely on the word of
God. That's why it's blessed. The
Word of God is the sure foundation. The Word of God led Noah to build
an ark and expect the flood when a drop of rain had never fallen
on this earth. Noah, being warned of God, not
with signs but with words, moved with fear and built an ark. The
Word of God led Abraham to Mount Moriah to sacrifice his son to
God Almighty. He did not have any sign, he
did not have any pattern of proof at all that Almighty God would
permit him or prevent him from slaying his son. He acted on
the word of God. The word of God led David against
Goliath. The word of God led Moses to
Egypt. The word of God led Joshua against
Jericho. The word of God. Turn with me
to 1 John 5. Now listen to this. If we receive the witness of
men, and we do, we take men at their word, they don't always
fulfill their word, they do not always keep their words or even
remember their words, but if we receive the witness of men,
the witness of God is greater This is the witness of God, which
he hath testified of his Son. He that believeth on the Son
of God hath the witness in himself, and he that believeth not God
hath made God alive, because he believeth not the record that
God gave of his Son." In Isaiah chapter 55, verse 10 and 11,
Almighty God said this about his Word, In Isaiah 55, verse
10, he said, "...as the rain cometh down from heaven, and
the snow, and returneth not thither, but waters the earth, and makes
it bring forth in bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and
bread to the eater, so shall my word be, that goeth forth
out of my mouth. It will not return unto me void,
it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper
in the thing whereto I sent it." The Word of God is the sure foundation,
and this faith is blessed because it rests entirely on the Word
of God. I want you to turn with me to
the book of Luke. I want to show you something.
I think this is one of the strongest scriptures in the Bible in reference
to faith in the Word of God. The first time I saw this statement,
it was a blessing to me and has been every time I've read it
thereafter. I want you to look at this carefully.
In Luke 5, beginning with verse 8, Luke 5, verses 1 through 8. Now listen to this. And it came
to pass that as the people pressed round him to hear the word of
God, he stood by the lake of the Gennesaret. and saw two ships
standing by the lake, but the fishermen were gone out of them
and were washing their nets. And he entered into one of the
ships, which was Simon's, Simon Peter's ship. And he prayed him
that he would thrust out a little from the land, and he sat down
and taught the people out of the ship. Now when he had finished
speaking, he said to Simon, launch out into the deep and let down
your nets for a draft. Get the boat out here further
into the deep water and and let's catch some fish. Now listen to
this. Simon answering said, Master,
we've been fishing all night long and we have taken nothing. We're experienced in this business
of fishing. We came down here last night
and we fished all night, and here's the morning and we've
cleaned our nets up and folded them up. We've fished all night
long. and we haven't caught a thing.
Nevertheless, I like this, at thy word I'll let down the net. I don't have any proof, I don't
have any sign, in fact the signs are against it. I've fished all
night, I've fished all over this place, I've fished right where
we are now, I've cast my nets everywhere out here and I haven't
caught anything. But if you say let down the net, I let down
the net. If you say believe, I believe.
If you say the fish are there, the fish are there. I don't see
them, but they're there if you say so. Now that's faith. That's
an example of faith right there. Moses went out there, went on,
it said, and when they let down the net, they enclosed a multitude
of fish, so many the net began to break. But Moses went out
there one day and told the people of Israel, he said, God's going
to send a grievous hail Now you'd better get your cattle into the
barn, your horses and your sheep and your cattle, because God's
going to send a haste. Now the people who believed God's
word acted on God's word and put their cattle in the barn.
And those that did not believe God's word left their cattle
outside and waited for the first stone to fall, and then they
rushed to get the cattle, but it was too late. The eye can
fail. The feelings can deceive. and
experiences can change, but the word of God is always the same. And faith that says, Lord, I
can't see, and I can't understand, and I have no signs at all. You
say it, I believe. Nevertheless, at thy word, that's
faith. Faith is honoring the Christ.
I want to show you another example. Now turn to Matthew 8. Faith
is honoring the Christ. Faith that just acts on the Word
of God is honoring Christ. Now let me say this, and I think
you men will back me up in this. I know that many of you will. There is no greater honor, and
I'm serious in this, as serious as I possibly can be. There's
no greater honor that you can give a person, no greater honor,
than to believe his word. I think that's the greatest honor
that you can bestow upon anybody. You can give them trophies, you
can give them plaques, you can give them gifts, You can do all
these things, but when a man tells you something and you walk
off acting on his word, that's the greatest honor that you can
bestow upon him. And I say there's no greater
slight that one can afford than to doubt a person's word. I really
don't think there's a greater slight. I don't think there's
a greater insult. I really don't think there's
a greater insult that you can heap upon any man than not to
believe what he tells you. The greatest honor is to believe
him and the greatest dishonor is to doubt his word. My servant, life at home, sick
of the palsy, grievously tormented. And Jesus said unto him, I will
come and heal him. And the centurion answered and
said, Lord, I am not worthy that you should come unto my roof.
You just speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. I believe, Lord, that all you
have to do is just say the word. You don't have to go to my house.
In fact, I'm not worried that you should visit my house. But
I believe if you just say the word, it will be done." Now listen
to the Lord. And the man went on. He said,
I'm a man under authority or having authority. I have soldiers
under me, and I say to this man, you go, and he goes. I say to
another, come, and he comes. And to my servant, do this, and
he does it. And I believe you've got the
same kind of power. in your word. And the Lord Jesus
heard it, and he marveled, and he said to them that followed,
Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no,
not in Israel." That's faith, and that's faith that saves,
that's it. Lord, I believe. You say you love me from the
foundations of this world, I believe. You say that your righteousness
is sufficient to redeem all who trust you? I believe it. You
say that you can cast out evil and put away sin and atone for
transgression? I believe it. You don't have
to show me a sign. You don't have to go to my house.
You don't have to give me an experience. I believe your word."
And Christ said, that's the greatest faith that I've ever seen. Faith is honoring to Christ.
faith apart from signs, and faith apart from proof, and faith apart
from experience. Now you go on demanding your
experience, and demanding a pattern of proof, and go on demanding
some signs. God may give it, I don't know.
But if I were a betting man, I'd be willing to bet you at
great odds he doesn't do it. That's how sure I am. You're
going to believe his words, and signs will follow. Then thirdly,
faith, this kind of faith is blessed because it reaches not
just the head, but the heart. Now signs only reach the eye.
Signs only reach the mind. Let's see a little proof of that.
Turn to John chapter 2. This is important here. In John chapter 2, verse 23. Now when he was in Jerusalem
at the Passover, in the feast day, many believed in his name
when they saw the miracles which he did." They couldn't deny him. Why, Nicodemus said, look, no
one had to do what you do except God be with you. The man who
had received this sight that didn't even know the Lord Jesus
was the Messiah, had not even had Christ revealed to him yet,
said, well, we know this man has to be from God or he couldn't
do this. Did you ever see anybody give
sight to the blind? These people saw the miracles. They saw the
signs. But what happened? But Jesus
did not commit himself unto them. He knew all men. He needed not
that any should testify of man. He knew what was in man. He knew
their eyes were blinking in amazement at the miracles they had seen,
but their hearts were still hard and unbroken and uncircumcised. Christ knew that their ears were
marveling at what they had heard, such beautiful words. He spake
not as the Pharisees, but as one with authority, but their
minds and their hearts were still closed against it. I'll show you another example
of that. Turn to John 6. These are signs. You're looking
for a sign? These people had them. Bigger
signs than you'll ever have, greater signs than you'll ever
have, greater miracles than you'll ever see. And they saw these
miracles, but they left the presence of the Lord unbelievers. Look
at John 6, verse 25. Now these people here were in
that crowd that saw the Lord break two loaves and five fish
and feed a multitude and sweep up twelve baskets full. That's
what they thought. How would you like to see that?
That's what they saw. You talk about a miracle. He
took a little old boy standing there with two loaves and five
fish, and the Lord began to break them in pieces, and the disciples
fed five thousand people, not counting the women and children,
took up twelve baskets full. And they were astonished. They'd
seen a sign like they'd never seen before. And when they found
him, John 6, 25, they found him on the other side of the sea.
They said, Rabbi, when camest thou hither? Jesus answered and
said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, You seek me not because
you saw the miracles, But because you did eat of the loaves and
were filled, and when the fish give out, you'll be an unbeliever. And when the bread runs out,
you'll be hollering, crucifying. That's who you are. These people
that seek experiences, when their experience runs dry, they don't
have anything to feed on. And when the miracles wear out,
they don't have anything to rest on. Now let me tell you something. I have another good friend in
the ministry. We've been friends about 15 years. And about four or five years
ago, he wrote to me and he had had an experience. It was better
than meeting the Lord. It was better than meeting Christ. He had received the Holy Ghost
in such amazing visitation. that all of his old nature had
been eradicated, and he didn't sin anymore, and he was a little
bit higher than anybody else, a little bit holier, a little
bit purer, had more love, going to see some great healing and
all of these things. This happened about four or five
years ago. And I wrote to him and I begged
him, please listen to me. Nothing was better than Christ.
Any experience that climaxed or was more climactic than knowing
the Lord was not of the Lord. Any experience which anybody
gave him that was greater than meeting Christ was of the devil.
I tried to tell him that. I tried to warn him, but he wouldn't.
So he broke off fellowship. He wouldn't have anything to
do with me anymore. And I hadn't heard from him until
day before yesterday. and he wrote to him and he said
he read an article that I had written several months ago in
another man's bulletin and it had blessed him. He said he was
on the verge of committing suicide, that he had undergone in the
past few years such trials and agonies and burdens that he was
about to take his own life. And he said, I'd like to talk
to you. Well, I wrote him immediately, and I said, I am available. I'll
be there on the first flight, you just tell me. I'll come and
talk to you. But my friends, I'm telling you
this, if I depend on these eyes and these ears and this feeling,
all I see and all I feel, if I be truthful about it, is sin
all around me and in me. That's all I see. But when I
rest on the word of God, I see Christ's righteousness. If I'm
resting on what these eyes see and what this flesh experiences,
about all I can see is sin. About all I can feel and experience
is the flesh. But when I rest on the word of
God, I see his pure and holy righteousness covering me in
every situation. and hiding my shame and hiding
my nakedness and presenting me faultless and holy and without
blame before the throne of God. I'm not going to commit suicide,
the Lord willing, because there ain't nothing too bad for my
Lord to take care of. No trial too heavy, no burden
too heavy, no temptation too severe, for he's on the throne. I believe his And with my eye
I see the broken law, with my eye I see an offended God, with
my eye I see a broken promise, with my eyes I see no sacrifice,
but believing his word I see the cross. Believing his word,
I see the Lamb of God. Believing his word, I see the
High Priest going yonder into the holy place, not made with
hands, but into heaven itself, to obtain eternal redemption
for me. If I depend on the eye, I see
nothing but flesh and sin and the broken law and an offended
God. But when I depend on faith in
his word, I see these things that the eye can't see." I see
death. I see the coffin. I see the grave.
That's what I see with these eyes. I see wrinkles and gray
hair. I see sickness. I see death.
I go visit my friends who are dying. But believing his word,
I don't see sickness. I see eternal health. Believing
his word, I don't see death. I see eternal life. Believing
his word, I don't see the grave. I see incorruption. I don't see
decay. I see resurrection. Faith is
contrary to everything I see. If you want signs, you're welcome
to them. I want faith. And that's the
fourth reason why faith is blessed, because faith will bear me up
when there are no signs available, when there are no evidences to
be had. Now suppose, like this boy I
was just telling you about, suppose everything gets dark. And suppose
the heavens are silent. David experienced that. David,
a man after God's own heart, said, Lord, why won't you answer
my prayer? Will you always hide your face
from me? Once again. When darkness is
all about and the silence of God prevails and there's a spiritual
famine in all the land, where's your sign? You don't have any,
do you? But brother, when you have his
word, you have enough. That's all you need. Charlie
read it in the study a while ago. Listen to this in Hebrews
13. I want you to turn over there
and listen to this in Hebrews 13. I'm thankful he read this. You listen to this. It says in
verse 5 of Hebrews 13, listen to it, the last line, I'll never leave you. I'll never
forsake you. So I can boldly say the Lord's
my helper, and I will not fear. I will not fear." Why? He said
so. I don't have any sign. I don't
have any proof. I don't have any evidence to
the natural eye. I've got his word. And brother,
you give me my choice between a sign And the word of God, and
you can have your sign. I'll take this word. Your sign
may not be real. It may not be from God. It may
be from the devil. He can give you a sign. Did you
know that? He gave the people in Egypt a sign. Moses cast his
rod down, and it became a serpent. And the seers of Egypt cast theirs
down, and they wiggled all over the place, too. And then let me ask you this.
Suppose your prayer does not prevail. Suppose a great sorrow
and a great disappointment overtakes you, and you cry to God and the
answer is not forthcoming. Where is your sign? Somebody
says, I believe because God answered my prayer. I believe when God
didn't answer my prayer. I still believe his word. My
faith doesn't rest on proof, it rests on the word of God.
Where is your sign? I have his word. His grace is
sufficient. Paul prayed three times, Lord,
take this thorn away. God said, I'm not going to do
it. I'm not going to do it, but my
grace will be sufficient. Now you just take your thorn
and the grace along with it. Which do you rather have, no
thorn and no grace or a thorn and a little grace? Suppose I'm
alone, I have no friends now, no man cares for my soul, like
Paul said, all men have forsaken me. Where's your sign? John on
the Isle of Patmos, exiled, all alone, by himself. Where's your
sign? I don't need a sign, I have his
word. Suppose I come to the gate of
severe illness, and I'm lying there on that bed, and I'm dying. And the clock begins to tick
louder. I'm an old man now, and I'm lying
there in bed, and the doctor, I see him. He takes my pulse
and turns and looks at my wife and shakes his head. Friends
are all around me. Now where's the sign? Come on.
Where is the sign? Got a sign? Got an experience? Got some proof? No. But I got
his word. And he said, I'm the resurrection
and the life, and he that believeth on me, though he were dead, yet
shall he live. That's when I want the word of
God. I don't want an experience. I don't want to float around
over the congregation, jump up and click my heels and feel all
these things folks are talking about. I want God's word. That's
what I want. I want God's word. Suppose I'm in a heavy trial
and I don't know the answer and I don't know which way to turn
and I may make the wrong decision. I've made plenty of them. Where is my sign? I don't have
one, but God's word says all things, good and bad, work together
for my good and his glory. And that gives me confidence
and strength. Oh, I may make the wrong decision,
good possibility I will, but God will work it out for his
glory and my good. Even the wrath of man will praise
the Lord. Now let me give you this last
thing. Faith is Because people who demand
signs and visions and miracles and experiences and voices and
patterns of proof are on dangerous ground for this reason. Number
one, it's presumptuous. The Lord Jesus Christ has not
only not promised these things, but he's discouraged them. Turn
to Isaiah chapter 8. This is important here, listen
to it. Not only has the Lord Jesus Christ not promised signs,
but he's discouraged them. He's warned us about them. He
says in Isaiah chapter 8, look at it, verse 19, And when they
shall say to you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, And
unto wizards that peep, and that mutter, Should not a people seek
unto their God for the living to the dead? To the law and to
the testimony, if they speak not according to this word, it
is because there is no light in them. Now there is your authentic
prophet. There is your genuine ambassador. There is your man sent of God.
that does not try to give you signs and miracles and wonders
to prove God's existence and your relationship, but will give
you God's word. Now, there's your authentic prophet.
To the law and to the testimony, if they speak not according to
the word, there's no light in them. Those who demand signs
and miracles and experiences are on dangerous ground because
it's damaging to themselves. Now if I live by experience,
what do I do when the experience fades away? What do I do when
I come back to reality? What do I do when I come back
to the world in which I live? Last night we met with a psychologist
over at a boy's camp, a place where they care for troubled
young men. And we were talking about religion
and its influence upon these young men. And one of the boys
had been to a church, and they had talked him into a decision.
They had talked him into a profession of faith, and he made that profession,
and he was baptized. And when he came back to the
boys' camp, back to the school, he grew very angry, because he
wasn't changed. He thought when he was baptized
they told him, and when he was baptized made that profession
that he was a new creature, a new person, old things had passed
away, that everything was brand new, and he found out it wasn't.
And he grew very angry. He had had an emotional experience
that did not meet his needs. He had no foundation of the word
of God. He had no foundation of the promises
of God. He had no teaching from the Word
of God. All he had was this emotional
experience that was supposed to fix him up. Now that's what
happens to a lot of people who come down the aisle under this
mob psychology called modern evangelism, and when they go
out into the cold, cruel, dark world from which they came, they
don't have any armor. None at all. And the darks begin
to fly, and every one of them hit a true spot and slaves them. And they don't come back. And
the preachers and the churches wonder, where are all the people
who made a profession at the last revival meeting? I'll tell
you where they are. They went out there into the
world and found out they didn't have anything. That's where they
are. They were trusting an experience, and an experience won't fortify
you against Satan. It takes the Lord Jesus Christ.
They were trusting a feeling, and when they got out there,
the feeling failed. They were trusting sight, and
when they got out there, sight failed. They didn't have a foundation
of the Word. And another thing, people are
looking for these visions and emotional experiences and feelings. It's unreasonable. Let me ask
you this question. If I can't believe God's Word,
why should I believe in experience? Now you think about that. If
I can't believe Almighty God's Word, if I can't rest my feet
on His Word, well what makes you think I could trust a sign,
or a miracle, or a feeling, or an experience? And then the last thing, it's
dangerous to ask for signs and experiences, because Satan can
work miracles, and Satan can give signs, and there are many
incidences in the word of God where Satan has performed some
outstanding miracles and deceived multitudes. But no man has ever
been deceived trusting the word of God. Christ said here in our
text in John chapter 20, he said, Thomas, you have seen, because
you have seen, you have believed. But Thomas, blessed are they
who have not seen and yet have believed. And on down further
John wrote, these are written. that you might believe that Jesus
is the Christ and believe him, believe him, believe him. You
might have life in his name. I believe the word of God. I
believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God. I believe he died on
the cross for my sins. I believe that. And I'm praying
that God will not let me depend on signs. I don't want to. I
don't want experiences that will turn my heart away from the word
of God. I want trust his word, because his word is sure and
steadfast. He cannot fail. He cannot fail. Our Father, we thank Thee for
the Word. We thank Thee for every promise
of Thy blessed Book. We thank Thee for Christ our
Lord. We thank Thee, O God, that Thou hast put within our hearts
confidence and faith in Thy Word. I know whom I have believed.
And I'm persuaded he's able to keep that which I've committed
unto him against that day. Grant that our faith shall be
honoring and glorifying to our Lord Jesus Christ. Thou hast
said, I'll never leave thee. So we can boldly say, the Lord
is my helper. And I won't fear. I won't fear. I won't fear. In his name we
pray, amen.