Contact Christianity
Scripture Reading: John 20: 19–29
“But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. 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,” John 20:24–25.
Contact Christianity
Father God, have your way in our lives we pray. Deliver us from depending on physical contact in order to believe.
Upgrade us to be a people who perpetually live in your Presence and believe without seeing.
“I’ll believe it when I see it” is a common phrase. Many people who claim allegiance to Christ feel they cannot experience God without a particular handkerchief, oil, or person of God. They need something to make contact with in order to believe that God is real. These people are what I call “contact Christians.” Contact Christianity existed even amongst Jesus’ disciples:
“Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord. Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost: Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; whosesoever sins ye retain, they are retained,” John 20:19–23.
In this account in John, when Jesus revealed Himself to the disciples for the first time since His resurrection, Thomas would not believe until he physically saw His wounds. Jesus later expressed that while it was good that they had believed upon seeing His hands and feet, those people who believed though they had not seen were blessed:
“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. 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. And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God. Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed,” John 20:26–29.
Contact Christians who need to see something in order to believe in God may appear very religious, but in reality, they do not trust in God; they have little or no faith. In order to have faith, the object of one’s faith must not be seen. You cannot have faith that your daughter will clean the house if you are already watching her clean it. That is not faith. Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen, Hebrews 11:1.
In order to be a person of faith, the sort of person Jesus described as blessed, you must receive the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. You will then personally experience His Presence and be delivered from the limitations of contact Christianity. You will no longer need physical contact with something in order to believe. In fact, you will believe so strongly that you will be able to boldly pray, prophesy, preach, and praise.
It is time to answer a very important question: Are you a contact Christian or are you a Holy Spirit confident Christian?
Prayer Points:
If you have never given your life to Jesus, but want to be a Holy Spirit filled and confident Christian, pray with me now, “Dear Lord Jesus, I surrender my life to you. I confess and forsake my sins. Cleanse me from my sins with your blood and fill me with your Holy Spirit. Write my name in the book of life. Upgrade me from an externally-powered Christian to an internally-powered Christian.”
Lord God, fill us to overflowing with your Holy Spirit. Let us experience you personally. Deliver us from the bondage of idols and physical contact and give us the grace to believe because you are present in us through your Spirit. With your Presence, let there come a new confidence, a boldness to pray, prophesy, and praise you. O Lord God Almighty, in your mercy, breathe on us the Holy Ghost. Give us the grace to believe that all things are possible with you. We pray for an upgrade from being contact Christians to being Holy Spirit filled confident Christians, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
