03 march 30, 2014, john 20;19-31, don't miss the sunday night service

DON’T MISS THESUNDAY NIGHT SERVICE

MARCH 30, 2014FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH

JACKSON, MISSISSIPPIUSA

MARCH MEMORY VERSE:

John 14:6 NKJV6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

1 Corinthians 10:31 NKJV31 Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

Sunday, May 04, 20144:00 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

John 20:19-31 NKJVThe 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.

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.”

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!”

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 yethave 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.

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

As we study this passage we see Christ transforming Thomas from:A) Thomas the Pouter to B) Thomas the Doubter toC) 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

A) Thomas the Pouter *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 endand 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

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Centuries ago a nobleman in a mountain village in Europe wondered what legacy he should leave to his townspeople.

*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.

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This is to remind you that whenever you fail to come to church, some part of God's house will be dark."

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.

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Corporate worship is the collective act of glorifying God.

*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 NKJV9 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 whole group was so overcome with grief and disappointment that they could not bring themselves to believe.

*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 Heis 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.

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There was a time when we were all doubters butthe Spirit of God convinced us of the truth.

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.”

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

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.

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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.

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.

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

*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.

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Come to Him and watch Jesus take your pouts and your doubts and transform them into Shouts.

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

John 20:29 NKJV29 Jesus said to him,“Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

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 NKJV34 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 gloryof 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 NKJV8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, yousinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

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

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