DON’T MISS THE

SUNDAY NIGHT SERVICE

March 30, 2014

FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH

JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI

USA

MARCH MEMORY VERSE

John 14:6 NKJV

6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to

the Father except through me.”

1 Corinthians 10:31 NKJV 31 Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of

God.

Sunday, May 04, 2014

4:00 PM - 7:00 PM

What’s the number one thing?

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Jesus is:

1) reaching people,

2) teaching people and

3) ministering to people in 2,014 of the 3,776 verses in Matthew, Mark, Luke

and John.

Today’s lesson resource:

John 20:19-31 NKJV

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The Upper Room

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John 20:19-31 NKJV

The Apostles Commissioned

19 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 (as few

as 13 of them), Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them,

“Peace be with you.”

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Physicists think that Jesus has at least 9 dimensions.

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Matthew 18:20 NKJV 20 For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the

midst of them.

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20 When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side.

Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.

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21 So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also

send you.”

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22 And when He had said this, He breathed (Gen 2:7) on them, and said to

them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”

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23 “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of

any, they are retained.”

Seeing and Believing

24 Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus

came. 25 The other disciples therefore said to him, “We have seen the Lord.”

So he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my

finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.”

26 And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them.

Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, “Peace to

you!” 27 Then He said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands;

and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but

believing.”

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28 And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!”

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29 Jesus said to him,

“Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those

who have not seen (that would be us!) and yet have believed.”

That You May Believe

30 And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are

not written in this book; 31 but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is

the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.

John 20:19-31 NKJV

Thomas was somewhere else pouting that first Resurrection Sunday.

But, whatever his reasons were for missing that assembly that day, Thomas

missed much.

Notice what he missed that day:

1.) v. 19 – He missed the Presence of the Lord.

2.) v. 19 – He missed the Power of the Lord.

3.) v. 19 – He missed the Peace of the Lord.

4.) v. 20 – He missed the Praises of the Lord.

5.) v. 21 – He missed the Promotions of the Lord.

6.) v. 22 – He missed the Provisions of the Lord.

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As we study this passage we see Christ transforming Thomas from:

A) Thomas the Pouter to

B) Thomas the Doubter to

C) Thomas the Shouter!

A) Thomas the Pouter

John 20:24 NKJV

Seeing and Believing

24 Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus

came.

John 20:24 NKJV

When Jesus died on the cross, Thomas’ world was shattered!

He no doubt became despondent, depressed and discouraged.

Thomas was broken-hearted and felt that their dream had reached an end and

he is a good picture of why being faithful to Sunday night services is so vitally

important.

You never know what you will miss when you fail to come to church on

Sunday nights.

People have all kinds of reasons and excuses for missing on Sunday night.

We are so busy, our lives are hectic, our children are busy with sports and other

activities, and sometimes God fails to get first place in our priorities.

Sometimes God doesn’t even rate second, third or fourth place.

He might not even be in the top ten in some cases.

His worship must come first!

People have all kinds of excuses that they offer as to why they missed

church.

An excuse is just the skin of a reason stuffed with a lie.

Why not just tell the truth?

People don’t come because they had rather be doing something else.

They don’t come because Jesus isn’t first in their lives.

They don’t come because their hearts aren’t where they ought to be.

Hebrews 10:24-25 NKJV 24 And let us consider one another in order to stir up (motivate, stimulate, spur

one another on to) love and good works, 25 not forsaking the assembling of

ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so

much the more as you see the Day approaching.

Hebrews 10:24-25 NKJV

Centuries ago a nobleman in a mountain village in Europe wondered what

legacy he should leave to his townspeople.

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He decided to build them a church and when the people gathered, they

marveled at its beauty.

Then someone asked, "But where are the lamps? How will it be lighted?"

The nobleman pointed to some brackets in the walls.

Then he gave to each family a lamp to bring with them each time they

came to worship.

The nobleman said, "Each time you are here the area where you are

seated will be lighted, and each time you are not here, that area will be

dark. This is to remind you that whenever you fail to come to church, some part

of God's house will be dark."

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Something is missing in the fellowship when you are not here.

You are a unique creation and no one can worship God quite like you can.

Corporate worship is the collective act of glorifying God.

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When you worship, you are building a wall of protection around your heart

and life.

You are strengthening your faith and growing in the Lord.

B) Thomas the Doubter

John 20:25 NKJV 25 The other disciples therefore said to him, “We have seen the Lord.” So he said

to them, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into

the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.”

John 20:25 NKJV

Thomas was not there when Jesus appeared.

The other disciples told Thomas about all that they had seen when Jesus

appeared to them.

The little verb “said” in verse 25 is in the “active voice”.

25 The other disciples therefore said to him, “We have seen the Lord.”

In other words, they kept on telling him about seeing Jesus and trying to

convince him that the Lord was really risen from the dead.

Despite their assurances and testimonies, Thomas could not bring himself to

believe.

He goes so far as to say, “I will not believe!”

Now, before we come down too hard on Thomas, we need to think about the

other disciples.

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When the other disciples first heard the news that Jesus was alive, they didn’t

believe either, look at: Mark 16:9-11.

Mark 16:9-11 NKJV 9 Now when He rose early on the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary

Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven demons. 10 She went and told those

who had been with Him, as they mourned and wept. 11 And when they heard

that He was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe.

Mark 16:9-11 NKJV

The only reason the ten believed was because they had seen Jesus for

themselves.

Thomas was only asking for the same proof they had already received.

Most of us can identify with Thomas.

We have a hard time believing what we cannot see with our own eyes.

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We also sometimes put off trusting completely in Jesus.

His claims are amazing!

What the Bible says about Him is hard for the human mind to grasp.

Delay no longer!

Look to Jesus and believe the testimony of His Word and of those who

have seen Him for themselves because He is the only hope we have!

Some class members here today have lived lives shaken by one disappointment

after another.

You are disillusioned and think the claims of Jesus coming to give you the

abundant life are difficult to believe and are too good to be true.

But, the thing that makes them so good is the fact that they are true!

Jesus can do for you what He has promised He can do.

He can do for you what He has done for others.

He can save your soul; forgive your sins; make you a child of God; free

you from spiritual death and from the bondage of your sins; Jesus can

give you the abundant life!

He can do it for you, and He will do it for you if only you will believe in Him.

There was a time when we were all doubters but the Spirit of God convinced us

of the truth.

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We, like the ten disciples, believed and were saved and filled with peace, joy

and spiritual life.

Those same blessings can be had by anyone.

C) Thomas the Shouter!

John 20:26-29 NKJV

26 And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them.

Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, “Peace to

you!” 27 Then He said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands;

and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but

believing.”

28 And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!”

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29 Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed.

Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

John 20:26-29 NKJV

Perhaps the disciples begged and pleaded with Thomas to the point where he

decided to meet with them.

While they are there, Jesus again appears in their midst.

This time, He focuses His attention on Thomas.

He repeats the very words of Thomas (v. 25) back to him and invites him to touch

Him and satisfy his need to know.

Then Jesus tells him to let go of his doubts and trust what he knows to be true.

There is a difference between doubt and unbelief.

Doubt is a problem of the intellect.

The person wants to believe, but has questions.

Unbelief is a problem of the heart.

Unbelief will not believe no matter what it sees.

Thomas was plagued by doubt.

When his questions were answered, he did not need to touch the risen

Jesus; seeing Him was enough.

Thomas utters one of the greatest confessions in the Bible.

He calls Jesus both “Lord and God” and he claims the Lord as his own.

All of his pouts and his doubts are now settled.

Apparently, Thomas never doubted again.

After Pentecost, the Bible never mentions him again.

History, however, tells us what happened to Thomas.

Thomas traveled east, preaching the Gospel through Persia.

He finally wound up in India where he had a very fruitful ministry.

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There are several churches in India today that can trace their history back to the

time of Thomas.

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Eventually, the enemies of the Lord killed Thomas with a spear.

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He died for the Lord he once doubted.

Those today who doubt can do what Thomas did over 2,000 years ago.

They can get past their doubts, their fears, their pride, their sins and the other

things that hinder them from coming to Jesus.

If they would come to Him and “be not faithless, but believing”, they would find

that Jesus can fill their lives with peace, joy, praise, and blessing.

Anyone can come to Christ, “just like they are”, but He won’t leave them that

way.

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Jesus can take anyone just like they are and transform them like he did

Thomas.

He will keep them, bless them, use them, thrill them and amaze us all.

No matter who you are; what you have done; or where you have been, you

need to know that Jesus Christ can and will give you the abundant life if you will

just come to Him.

Come to Him and watch Jesus take your pouts and your doubts and transform

them into Shouts.

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In verses 29, Jesus tells Thomas something we need to hear today.

John 20:29 NKJV 29 Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed.

Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

John 20:29 NKJV

Jesus tells Thomas that he had believed because of what he had seen with his

own eyes.

Then He says that those who believe without seeing are as blessed as

Thomas.

That is good news for us today!

Since our lost friends will not see the physical Person of Jesus in this life, they

must believe by faith what the Bible says about Him.

If they can get passed their doubts and believe Him, they will be saved by

Him!

What keeps them from believing in Jesus?

What would it take to convince them?

What holds them back?

Whatever it is, it is not worth the eternal price they will pay for not

coming, Mark 8:34-37.

Mark 8:34-38 NKJV 34 When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to

them, “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his

cross, and follow Me. 35 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but

whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. 36 For what will it

profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? 37 Or what will a

man give in exchange for his soul? 38 For whoever is ashamed of Me and My

words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be

ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.”

Mark 8:34-38 NKJV

Have you been allowing yourself to be absent from this place where God meets

with and blesses His people?

If the Lord has spoken to you and convinced you of the need to draw closer in

your walk with Him, come to Him today and believe.

You are as close to God as you want to be!

See James 4:8

James 4:8 NKJV 8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you

sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

James 4:8 NKJV

Let Jesus take your pouts and your doubts and turn them into shouts for His glory!

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