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[0:00] I'm sitting up here chitchat and having a good time, and everybody's waiting on me.

[0:09] Alright, well, good morning, everyone. Welcome you to Bethel Baptist Rocky Mount. I'll be your MC this morning. And I don't know how this happened, but somehow we got Pastor Kenny approved for two weeks off. And we'll have to talk with the deacons about that because I don't know who approved that request, but two weeks off, he's on a cruise this morning, so we'll be jealous of him.

[0:37] But no, we're glad to be here. It's a great day. I'm excited. I'm still really riding away from last week, I'll be honest with you. What a great time we had with the people from Bridges of Hope.

[0:49] What a great music, great message, and I really just enjoyed that. Well, we have a few announcements, and one of them I'll give you a preview, it's up on the screen, but we'll get to that in a second.

[1:04] There is an adult outing coming up on the I think it's the 25th. I'm looking for Carol. Is there a sign up sheet? Okay, so sign up if you want to be a part of that. It's in the back.

[1:17] We've got spaces on the bus, and if we go over that, we'll figure out another way, but it's going to be a good time. And then don't forget, we're still meeting. We're going through Ephesians on Wednesday night and kids and youth are going for now, although I think they're about to take a break.

[1:40] So for youth and kids, they'll meet this week and then they're going to take a break until August. So that's going on. And then we have some prayer requests. There are many out, six, many shut in. I don't know if you know, bobby and Debbie Nelson are sick with covet, so keep them in your prayers.

[2:03] We've got lots of people shut in not doing well. I appreciate the prayers, all the prayers that you've given for my father as he goes through his treatment, I really appreciate that. But there's a lot going on. So if you notice, I'm looking at this like there's a bulletin in the back and in the middle. Open it up there's prayer requests.

[2:26] This will help you stay organized. And if you have a new one, if you have another prayer request, you can fill this out, tear it off, put it in, the offer in place. And this helps us keep track because I love you, I care for you, but my memory, if I don't have it written down, is not going anywhere. So help me help you and we'll share our prayer requests together. Are there any other announcements or other prayer requests?

[2:53] All right, well, I thank you all for being here. Let's open up in a word of prayer. Father, I thank you for this morning, for this opportunity to come and worship you and to open up your word and have it speak to our heart. Father, I pray that as we go through this worship service, that you'll open our ears to hear the message that you have for us. And Father, for these on the prayer list, I really ask you to put your hand upon them.

[3:22] You know their needs better than we do, and I pray that you'll be with them, comfort them, guide them in your care, and help us to be your hands and feet on this world. Father, all these things I ask for in Jesus name. Amen. Now kind of jump the gun a little bit because we've got this VBS is coming up quickly. I think it's four weeks.

[3:47] We're going to play this promo video for you to kind of give you an idea of the theme that we're doing this year, and I hope you enjoyed. Hey, you guys, look at that. That's amazing. Whoa, look over there. Have you guys seen anything at massive in?

[4:04] That great. Those clips are huge. I've never seen anything like it. Yeah, well, we're here. Looks like everyone else has got here, too.

[4:20] It's time to look up. There's more to life than what's on your screen.

[4:27] Go offroad on the adventure of a lifetime and experience the greatness of God's love.

[5:00] Explore colorful canyons of the Southwest from a rock solid face, and discover that God is monumental.

[5:15] All right, so this theme we're in American Southwest teaching kids that God is monumental. Now, this is one of our largest outreach events at this church for the year, and it takes a lot to put it on, so please volunteer. And Ms. Tiffany, do you have a few words to say? Yeah.

[5:37] So we do have four weeks, and we have a lot to do in those four weeks.

[5:44] Going to be access to Facebook, but a lot of word of mouth, a lot of flyers. I have the bigger flyers. I actually rent out somewhere, so I want to print more, but I do have a couple with me. And then I put some smaller black and white ones in the back. Please feel free to grab those.

[6:00] I can print as many as you need. I'll get new phone or tomorrow, so help pass out the word about that. We will be doing it July 10 through the 13th, which is a Sunday night through a Wednesday night. We're going to be doing it from six to 830. And I have sign up sheets right there, and you'll see two.

[6:19] One of them is for specific things that we need. We need specific positions built. But if you just want to help, maybe just decorate or maybe you just want to help us set up to get everything arranged or whatever. If you just want to do something like that right there the second page. And you can just write your name there and then say what you are interested in helping with or just say anything.

[6:44] And then all of a sudden, you wherever we need help. But as of right now, I think we need like, 20 volunteers. So just to make this as successful as we can and make sure that there's enough coverage for the kids that we have, we're having an optimistic look this time. We're hoping to have a lot of kids coming in, so just being prayer for us as leaders and being prayer for the children that God's going to send to us. All right, well, thank you for that.

[7:12] And there's always room for you. You want something to do, we'll put you to work. There's no problem with that. But, yeah, be in prayer for that. And that's coming up quickly, so keep that on your calendar.

[7:23] Start spreading the word. And like she said, we got flyers and you'll see it plastered on Facebook here soon with that. John, will you with us in some worship?

[7:34] Well, if you'll grab your hymnals and stand and return to page 536. Have faith in God, trust me.

[11:17] And if you'll turn over to page 543. This is a new one. We're going to sing the first and last verse. That's till the storm passes by my cry keep me slave till the score pass it out till the sundown our gracious Heavenly Father, we will have once again thank you for the doors of these church are open and that each and every one of us are able to come and attend the service. Father, we want to thank you for each and every blessing you bestowed upon us, the church, the community in this past week.

[14:09] Father, we ask that you'll be with Clint as he brings a message to us today. Let it reach out and touch the hearts of each and everyone here. Father, as we take up this offering, we ask that you'll bless it and use it for the building of thy kingdom. For it's in your Son's holy name we do pray. Amen.

[16:34] Hello. Specially there. It's called Create Me a Clean Heart. I have a lot of people ask me sometimes, john, you don't look your age. I think a lot of it has to do.

[16:41] You don't carry anger and hate your heart. You have a heart that you think the Lord wants you to have. Nice clean heart, good conscience. So this song is called Creating Me a Clean Heart. It's and we knew the right spirit within me cast me out of my Holy Spirit, god, that song means a lot to me because when I was young, Christian, you're the first time I feel like, oh, I've disappointed the Lord.

[20:12] And you felt like there's that tangent in between you like, how do I get back to where I was? And it took a little bit of joy off my salvation because I felt like I disappointed someone. So that's why it's kind of special to talk to me. Thank you. Thank you, John.

[20:38] All right, well, thank you, John. And thank you carol for filling in. And as the children go out, watch the court up front.

[20:51] We got some things mixed up here as they go out. If you want to turn in your Bible to John, chapter eleven and I'm all about an encore, that's fine with me.

[21:09] John, chapter 11th, not first John that Kenny has been preaching out of. John, chapter eleven.

[21:21] As I flip through every page to get there, I thought I had this marked early. All right, what I want to focus on today is the spiritual journey that people go through and particularly the spiritual journey of Thomas. We just started a new study in our Sunday school class about evangelism, which is the calling of the church. When the Christ left, he said to go and make disciples among all nations. But people have different obstacles in their life, and if you can remember back to when you were first safe, you had obstacles in your life, too.

[22:04] So I want to explore this topic using Thomas as the example, although as you look through the Bible, you can find different examples of this. But we'll use Thomas for this morning. But we're going to read John, chapter eleven, and we're going to read verses one through 16, and you'll probably recognize the story. Now, a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary, and her sister Martha.

[22:34] This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair. So the sister sent word to Jesus, lord, the one you love is sick. When he heard this, Jesus said, this sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God's glory, so that God's son may be glorified through it. Now, Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.

[22:59] So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days. And then he said to his disciples, let us go back to Judea. But, Rabbi, they said, a short while ago, the Jews there tried to stone you, and yet you are going back. Jesus answered, Are there not 12 hours of daylight? Anyone who walks in the daytime will not stumble, for they see by this world's light.

[23:23] It is when a person walks at night that they stumble, for they have no light. After he had said this, he went on to tell them, our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going there to wake him up. His disciples replied, Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better. Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep. So then he told them plainly, lazarus is dead, and for your sake I am glad I was not there so that you may believe, but let us go to him.

[23:55] Then Thomas, also known as Dynamus, said to the rest of the disciples, let us also go that we may die with him. Let's go to the Lord in prayer. Father, I thank you for this opportunity to come and speak about Your Word. I thank you for the people that are here. I pray that your spirit will open our ears to hear the message that you brought to us through Your Word.

[24:20] And I pray that it would be uplifting and encouraging to us and also allow us to see a deeper view of you so that we can more fully appreciate Your love and grace for us. Follow these things I ask for in Jesus name, amen. But there's a lot going on here, and if you recognize the story, you'll recognize that we didn't even get to the main part. The main part is the resurrection of Lazarus, one of Jesus most famous miracles that he performed and as a note to his power. But I think the really interesting thing for us today is before that.

[25:04] Now, in order for us to fully understand this, I do have to give some context here. We have to set this up because we have to know what was going on here right before this. In John chapter ten, and even into John chapter nine, jesus has performed some miracles. So John chapter two is when he first started his public ministry, and that's when he turned water into wine. John chapter four is when he talked to the Samaritan woman at the well and they saw many come to faith.

[25:37] He healed a few different people in the book of John up until this point. Chapters four, five and nine healed people. Chapter nine was the blind man. He fed the 5000 in John chapter six with just a few FIPS and he walked on water in John chapter six. So keep all that in mind as we talk about faith.

[26:00] And in John chapters nine and ten. This is where Jesus is really getting into conflict with the Jewish leaders at the time. And that's why his disciples replied, hey, they just tried to stone you. Because that was at the end of chapter ten. He was conflicting with the leadership of the Jewish synagogue there, the Pharisees, the Sadducees, and was really rebuking them harshly and they got fed up with it and they were about to stone him.

[26:31] It says they picked up stones to stone him and Jesus was able to escape. So that's the context of where we're going. Now, this man, Lazarus, he was a good friend of Jesus, apparently, him and Mary and Martha all kind of really helping Jesus out. Although maybe not the twelve like the disciples, but close friends of Jesus because it says Jesus loved them, he loved Lazarus, he loved Mary, he loved Martha, and they loved him. And so when Lazarus got sick, he says, it says here in verse three, so the sister sent word to Jesus, lord, the one you love is sick.

[27:13] Now, that took some time. What we don't have here is how long it took. It took about a day for this message to get them because they didn't have cell phones back then, they had to send a messenger out. And Jesus was actually way out in the wilderness. So if you can remember where Jerusalem is, jesus is actually practicing out where John the Baptist was.

[27:36] It says in John, chapter ten, which is about 25 to 30 miles away from Jerusalem, and on foot, that's about a full day's journey just to get the message. And so at this point, it says and the sister just sent word to Jesus using these messengers, lord, the one you love is sick. Now, they didn't ask him to come. They didn't ask him to pray. They just said, Lord, the one you love is sick.

[28:05] And isn't that what you send a dear friend? Because it's implied, right? Jesus loved them, and it's implied you can do something for him. And so when he heard this in verse four, he said, this sickness will not end in death. Or probably a better translation, its final result will not be in death because Lazarus does die.

[28:30] No, it is for God's glory, so that God's Son may be glorified through it. This particular sickness has a purpose, just like the blind man's sickness had a purpose. In chapter nine, the blind man came to Jesus and was healed. And of course, the leadership, the Sagittaries Pharisees, call him up and are trying to figure out, did Jesus heal you? What did he do?

[29:00] And the blind man is like, you say that he's from Satan, but all I know is I can see. And they call up his parents and try to like, was he really blind? They're really trying to try to stick it to Jesus, right, so they can call him out. Maybe he's a false prophet, he's working from Satan. They're trying everything they can to really put him down.

[29:27] And so that in itself had a purpose, because a lot of times they would believe that, well, if you had a sickness, your parents must have sinned or something like that. The thing with Lazarus is they would have think, well, Lazarus did something to get sick. He sinned in some way. And so this is God's punishment. And Jesus is correcting them even before they thought that this sickness will not end to death because it's for God's glory to glorify me through this sickness.

[30:00] And then in verse five, we have that Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. And so he did the natural thing when he heard this, he stayed where he was for two more days. Now, in my mind, I'm like, what? Full stop. Jesus is like, Come on.

[30:20] So you heard that he was sick and you just stayed where he was. You just stayed there and you didn't do anything else. That should cause some pause, because if somebody contacted you and said, hey, your sister's sick, your brother's sick, your father's sick, your mother's sick. You just hang out for a couple more days or do you go immediately to them? It doesn't make any sense.

[30:47] He stayed where he was for two more days and then he said to his disciples, let us go back to Judea. Now the question is why did Jesus stay two more days? And if we're keeping in mind so it took a day to get out there just to get the message, he stayed for two more days. So that's three days and then it's going to take another day to get back. So four days total before he gets the sea lizards.

[31:12] Why would he wait so long? Well, this particular miracle, if you will, was designed by God to bring glory to himself into his son. It's a sign of God's power because Jesus is out there and he's proclaiming that he is the Son of God. There is only one way and that he is the way. Now how are you going to believe this?

[31:43] Well, God knows that we need to see something. God knows that we are unfaithful at our core, that we need to see something. And God designed this scenario to prove to those, the followers, but also his inner circle, his disciples, that I am the Son of God. And so by waiting for four days he's getting past the Jewish custom of death. Because in Jewish culture the idea is that the soul hangs around the body for three days and then after three days the soul departs and the body can no longer like there's no chance of this person coming back to life.

[32:34] And this probably come about from they didn't have the modern medical equipment that we have today. Some people go into a really deep coma, although uncommon, is probably just making sure that they're dead. But after three days they're good and dead, they're not coming back. And so Jesus is using us to prove a point because when he walks up into there he's going to then raise Lazarus. And how are you going to raise Lazarus?

[33:07] Because if it was like day two, well, maybe Lazarus wasn't quite dead. Maybe he was in a deep sleep or maybe but it gives that doubt in your mind that maybe Jesus is just, maybe it's just coincidence. And so Jesus designed this to say, no, there is no other alternative outside of I am God. And so he says, let us go back to Judea. Now in verse eight, the disciples get very practical.

[33:42] But Rabbi, they said a short while ago the Jews tried to stone you and yet you were going back. Well, this is very practical, right? I mean, I don't want to be stoned. And on the way to Mary and Martha's house, you got to go right past Judy where they were threatened to get stoned. So I mean, let's understand where the disciples are coming from.

[34:08] But at the same time, this shows a level of doubt. Remember what I said. Like Jesus has already walked on water, he's already fed the 5000, he's already healed people. And yet they're still worried about God's power, about Jesus power to control the situation. John is showing us through his word here.

[34:29] The disciples weren't fully believing yet. They believed that Jesus was something, maybe a good teacher, maybe a very powerful prophet, but not quite at Lord and God. Not yet, anyway. And so Jesus, they said, Are you going to go back? And Jesus said, Are there not 12 hours of daylight?

[34:55] Anyone who walks in the daytime will not stumble, for they see by this world's light. It is when a person walks at night that they stumble, for they have no light. And what he's referring to is back in chapter three, verses 19 and 21, I'm going to flip over and read that. He's actually already made a reference in the book to this. And so I just want to read it.

[35:20] John, chapter three, starting at verse 19.

[35:28] This is the verdict. Light has come into the world, but people love darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light so that it may be seen plainly. What they have done or what they have done has been done in the sight of God.

[35:54] What Jesus is saying there is, don't worry, it's not time yet. I'm walking in the light, right? And Jesus will then go on this later on to say, I am the light of the world, right? They're not going to affect me. Because again, in chapters nine and ten, jesus was asked, what sin have I done?

[36:13] And they couldn't come up with anything. So if they attack him now, he's done no wrong, they have no justification, yet they will come to the point where they even get past that. They will bring up chumped up charges against him to crucify him. But he says, basically what he's saying is, it's not my time yet, is what he's saying. And after this, he said he went on to tell them, my friend Lazarus has been asleep, but I'm going to wake him up.

[36:41] Now, we know from in verse 17, it says Lazarus has been in a tomb for four days. Actually, Lazarus died while the messenger was getting out to Jesus. So Jesus already knew that he was dead, knew it being God. But he's talking in these spiritual tones. Our friends is asleep.

[37:04] Death is for the Christian asleep, right? Because when we go to sleep, why do we go to sleep? To rest, to renew our energy, to get ready for the next day. Well, when we die, we go to sleep because our next day is with the Lord. It's a change in the life, but it's still a part of it.

[37:31] And so when he's talking about this, his disciples haven't quite figured it out yet. The disciples are a little slow, let's be honest with ourselves. The disciples, they're just not quite getting it because they're like, Lord, if he's sleeping, I mean, that's the best thing he can do. He's sick. If he sleeps, he'll get better.

[37:49] And that's what they say in verse twelve. And Jesus, I imagine he did something like this, guys. So he said he has to talk to them plainly. Lazarus is dead. And I imagine he said it kind of slow.

[38:08] Lazarus is dead and for your sake I am glad I was not there so that you may believe, but let us go to him. And this is the key of this message and we're going to pull on this thread in some other places. Jesus set this up for the disciples so that they could believe. Believe what? They believe something about Jesus.

[38:39] They saw him walk on water. What would you believe at this point? Something's going on in your mind. You don't just hang around with a guy for a year and a half, two years. At this point, actually it's closer to the end of his ministry, probably two and a half years.

[38:55] And don't believe something. But Jesus is saying you're not quite there yet. And so for your sake I'm glad Visors died so that you may believe it. Now this answers a whole lot of questions about life. Why do bad things happen to Christians?

[39:17] I mean, this doesn't say for every sleepable circumstance, but one of the possibilities is it's for other people to believe. Because Jesus loved Lazarus, he loved Martha, he loved Mary. And yet we would say that this is a hard thing to do, to hang around for two days and not provide comfort. This is a good friend of theirs. And yet Jesus said, he says like he loved them.

[39:47] And when he gets there, he's going to weep before he brings Lazarus back because of his connection, his relationship with them. He just weeps with them. But he says, for your sake, I am glad so that you could believe Jesus was here for a purpose. And his purpose was to bring salvation to the world. And through that from this small group of people, these twelve men, we have Christianity today that spreads throughout the world.

[40:23] He says, for your sake, I'm glad that he died. And that's hard. But we have to understand what Jesus mission was. It wasn't to make you happy. And that's hard.

[40:37] I understand, I really do. Because we want to be happy. We want to have wealth and happiness and prosperity. And that's not Jesus. Listen.

[40:47] He says, I will give you joy, I will give you peace beyond all understanding. And that's what he's doing here. He's setting up and we'll go into more of it. But then we have our key character that we're focusing on right here at the end. Then Thomas, also known as Didymus, said to the disciples, let us go so that we can die with them.

[41:11] Thomas, I think I recognize sarcasm when I see it. Thomas here is being a little sarcastic because he knows that if they go through and how the Jews were, they're going to stone Jesus. And Thomas is like, let's go with him. Let's just get it over with. We're on this gravy train now.

[41:35] We're going to go through the end. Thomas was at least loyal if he had some belief problems himself, but he was loyal and he was going to commit to the end. And Jesus doesn't. We don't see any response of Jesus to that comment. In fact, it's kind of wild that we really don't see Thomas much in the Gospels.

[41:56] You've probably heard him as doubting Thomas, which we'll talk about in a second, but he's actually the only time he speaks is in John. We only see him listed in the disciples, in Matthew, Mark and Luke. He's only accounted for in List. But John is where we see him actually speak in some of his character. And so he says, Let us go, that we may die with him.

[42:22] And then we don't hear anything more from Thomas, and you probably know the rest of the story. They go, they find Mary and Martha, they cry, and then Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead, one of his greatest public miracles. Now, I want to skip on, I want to skip ahead just a little bit because we're following Thomas and there's a lot to the story, but the thread that we're pulling is Thomas. And so I'm going to skip ahead to John Chapter 14, where we see Thomas again. We actually only see Thomas three times.

[42:58] In John Chapter 14, this is where Jesus is starting to tell his disciples about his coming crucifixion, and he's predicting his betrayal and he's predicting his death. And in John Chapter 14, this is where Jesus is talking about. He's giving comfort to his disciples. And it starts off with, do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God, believe in also in me.

[43:25] My Father's house has many rooms. If that were not so, would I have told you that I'm going there to prepare a place for you, and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you with me so that you would be also where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going. And then bless Him, thomas pipes up. Thomas said to him, lord, we don't know where you're going, so how can we know the way?

[43:54] Thomas, you've been hanging out with Jesus. Have you picked up nothing, Thomas? And so Jesus replies back to him, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well.

[44:16] From now on you do know him and have seen him. Jesus is correcting. Thomas, at this point you say you don't know the way. I am the way. I am the way.

[44:31] Now the way to what again we're talking about. I want you to believe. Believe what we're going to come to, that we're going to come to the culmination of this.

[44:45] I am the way, the truth and the life. No matter that's actually answering Thomas. And then the last time we see Thomas is john, chapter 20. John, chapter 20. And we'll skip down let's skip down to verse 19, john chapter 20, verse 19.

[45:10] And at this point John's story jesus has been crucified, he's been buried and he's been resurrected. And so this is where Jesus appears to his disciples the first time after his resurrection. This is on the evening of the 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. And after this he showed them his hand and his thigh.

[45:41] The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. And Jesus said, peace be with you. As a Father has sent me, I am sending you. And with that he breathed on them and said receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone's sins, their sins are forgiven.

[45:57] If you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven. Now Thomas, also known as didymus one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So when the other disciples told him, we have seen the Lord, 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. Now pause there for a second. This man who had seen Jesus turned water into wine, walk on water, heal the sick, raise the dead.

[46:38] One of Jesus'closest companions for years still didn't believe Jesus.

[46:53] As our study goes into evangelism and as we talk about reaching out to people, what I want us to understand is everybody has a faith journey and it's not enough just to tell people about Christ. Christ journeyed with these people and got through like knew them and knew what they needed to see from him in order to have faith in him. And so when we see starting in verse 26, a week later his disciples were in the house again and Thomas was with them. The doors were locked. Jesus came and stood among them and said peace be with you.

[47:36] And then he said to Thomas, put your finger here. See my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Stop doubting and believe. Jesus knew what Thomas needed.

[47:54] Thomas was a man of great doubt. That's why he's known as Doubting thomas. But look at this next verse. Thomas said to him, my Lord and my God. This is what Jesus wanted him to believe.

[48:12] It's not enough to know that Jesus Christ is God. Satan knows that Jesus Christ is God. It's not enough to know Jesus Christ as Lord. People have had other people lord over them all throughout history. You have to have both jesus Christ is your Lord and Jesus Christ is your God.

[48:40] That is what Jesus was trying to get through to his disciples. That is what gives us faith that is unshakable. We've seen instances where people's faith is shaken and we've seen it in Thomas here today where Thomas went through a hard time. The person that he was following around, that he believed in to a point was killed. What had troubles ultimately killed and was buried for three days.

[49:13] Again, that Jewish custom. How can somebody raise from the dead after three days? But now Thomas saw and believed my Lord and my God. This is actually the first, it's the word I'm looking for first substantiation that from Jesus followers, that he is God. Now Peter earlier has his great confession of faith.

[49:44] You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. But Thomas is really the first that it all kind of clicked together. You are God and you are a savior. Now what we have here is the end of Thomas'story. We don't see anything more in the Bible about Thomas and yet we can learn so much from him.

[50:08] His journey of faith took him from believing something about Jesus, to having his faith really put in doubt. And then finally to what I'm going to call saving faith. My Lord and my God. Now when we go out into the world, people of all walks of life are on the same path. And in fact, maybe you're on the same path today.

[50:37] You're asking, well, why I really need to see this from you, lord Jesus said in verse 29, because you have seen me, you have believed, but blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe. I can't show you the hands and the scars of Jesus.

[51:02] What I can show you is me.

[51:09] In Ephesians we're learning about how God is building up his temple from his people and that the church itself is a new organism acting as the hands and feet of Christ on the earth. And so when Jesus said, when you've seen the Father, when you've seen me, you've seen the Father, and the Father is in me and I in him. Well, guess what? Christ is in you. If you're a Christian and you are in Christ, he loved you just like Lazarus.

[51:44] And so when people say, I really wish I could see Christ, you should be able to point out and say, well, here I am. Send me, because I am his feet on the world and his hands on the world.

[52:02] Jesus had a deep love for his people. And he knew that we are a doubting people by just our nature and faith is given by God. It's not a blind faith. Everything Christianity hinges around the authenticity and the accuracy of Jesus claim. That's why we're called Christians, because it's all about Christ.

[52:27] When we go out into the world, I want you to think about people on their faith journeys. If it took Jesus three years for his closest disciples, it could take some of us years, decades even, for some of our friends and family who are coming to Christ. But it seems to take a while. We're frustrated with the lack of progress. Look at what Jesus went through, man.

[52:57] Thomas, come on, man. It's okay. It's okay for people to go through this faith journey, but Jesus was consistent, and that's what we're called to be. That's what we're called to be. Now, the practical application of this, it's not something that I can put into words, really.

[53:26] In the Greek, when we look at the word Thomas, you know, names have meaning. And Thomas'name, if you look at it, didamus what he says. It's the word for twin. Apparently, Thomas was a twin. Now, where is Thomas's twin in scripture?

[53:46] Where does he come from? We see James, the brother of Jesus. It doesn't have any recollection. There's no mention of Thomas'twin anywhere. I was thinking to myself, where is where is his twin?

[54:00] And then it hit me. I know where he is. I'm his twin because I've doubted and I needed to see Jesus. That's me in the Bible. Maybe it's you in the Bible, maybe it's you today.

[54:18] I can tell you, though, that God, through his grace has moved me along, because I came to some really low points in my life where I really doubt it, and I really had to see Jesus. And Jesus, through his grace, showed Himself to me between the church as a witness to Christ and His Holy Spirit as a witness to Him, he will show you. If you're doubting today, ask Jesus to show you Himself and prepare for an answer.

[54:55] If you know somebody who is doubting, maybe this is your opportunity to be a witness to them, to use Thomas as an example. Thomas was one of, you know, he gets a bad rap, we call him Doubting Thomas. You know what Thomas did afterwards? He went and moved down. It says from the early church history that we have, thomas moved into the eastern part of the world.

[55:28] He moved into what we now call southern India. And in fact, some people debate he went as far as China, spreading the good news of Jesus Christ. In fact, today, there's still a group of people called St. Thomas Christians in India today that can trace their origins all the way back to Thomas. That's the power of my Lord and my God, and I hope it's the power that, you know, today.

[55:55] And if you're doubting, God understands that and he's willing to show himself to you just like he did for his disciples, especially Thomas. And so I pray for you today that you can know the true power of Jesus Christ, to know my Lord and my God, that saving faith, that unshakeable faith that will get you through the hard times and to allow you to have a powerful witness as we go into this world that is increasingly away from God.

[56:35] You'll stand with me for invitation.

[57:45] I know some of these words can be hard, but these are the words given to us by our Lord and Savior. And so it's our job to go out and make disciples among the nations. I pray that you'll have a good week. I hope you stay safe and pray for one another as we go through. There's lots of sick.

[58:05] And pray for Kenny. He comes back, he has a good trip, he should be well rested. I would bring Sack lunch next time because he's going to be ready to go, so prepare yourself. So thank you all for coming. And again, always a pleasure to be able to speak God's word.

[58:26] John, will you close us in prayer? Please follow me. Thank you for this day. Lord. We thank you for the message Clint Rock laying on our hearts here.

[58:36] Be with us as we go through the week in our daily day.