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Men, will you turn to John 
Chapter 20? 

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Last week we talked about fear, 
man, there's a lot of scared 

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Christians. 
And I don't say that like, like,

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I'm not one of them, OK? 
So I don't say it like, like you

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shouldn't be scared. 
And I have heard people say this

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before, you know, Hey, if you're
a Christian, what do you have to

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be afraid of? 
You've read the book. 

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You know how it ends. 
And yeah, but there's a lot of, 

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like, crazy stuff before we get 
there. 

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Also, have you read how it ends?
Because a lot of that is 

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intimidating, at least the parts
that I understand. 

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Right. 
So it's normal to feel fear. 

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And I want you to know it's 
normal to feel doubt as a 

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Christian, too. 
It's important that you 

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understand how normal it is to 
feel doubt. 

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Last week when we stepped into 
the courtyard with Peter, we 

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watched what fear can reveal in 
a human heart, even if the human

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himself is not aware of the fear
that lurks there. 

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We talked about that gap there 
where his his fear began 

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negotiating with his devotion to
God. 

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And he was the guy, if you 
remember, he walked up to to 

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Jesus. 
He said, listen, I'm ready to go

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to prison for you. 
I'm ready to even go to the 

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death with you if it comes to 
that. 

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And Jesus is like, oh, well, 
actually, you're, you're going 

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to betray me. 
You're going to deny me three 

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times before the rooster crows. 
Never would I do such a thing. 

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And then he did such a thing. 
But we also saw how gracious God

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was to meet him afterwards there
on the shore, and to restore him

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and bring him back into this 
calling that he had for him. 

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It's beautiful. 
Jesus met Peter, didn't cancel 

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him like we probably would have,
and Peter was made new all over 

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again. 
And I think that's really the 

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heart of this. 
As we head towards Resurrection 

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Sunday. 
We know that Jesus isn't just 

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raised from the dead so that we 
can make it to heaven. 

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I'm afraid that that's something
that's been miscommunicated in 

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church life for many years too, 
is that, hey, get saved so you 

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go to heaven. 
I mean, that's don't get me 

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wrong, that's a really big 
benefit. 

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I don't prefer the alternative, 
right? 

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But if the only thing you do is 
swear your allegiance to him so 

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that you don't have eternal 
torment, he sounds like a 

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tyrant. 
God is in the process of wanting

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to walk with you the same way 
that he walked with Adam and Eve

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in the garden. 
He is restoring everything, and 

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I'm so grateful for him. 
And so he wants to meet you 

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where you are and guide you to 
where you need to be. 

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I think a lot of times we feel 
like we have to get to a certain

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place before God will take us 
in. 

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But God is not just resurrecting
our bodies into a new era of 

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existence. 
He is in the business of 

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resurrecting our call, our 
hopes, our dreams, our 

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relationships, all sorts of 
things. 

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And yeah, ultimately, we all 
die. 

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And then the greatest 
resurrection of all happens. 

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But before we get there, what is
it that God is wanting to 

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resurrect in your life this 
week? 

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It's a different kind of 
struggle. 

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We're going to talk about doubt 
and before we get there, there 

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should be many Christians, not 
all, but many that would know 

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the name Lee Strobel. 
Anybody know the name Lee 

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Strobel? 
OK, how about the book A Case 

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for Christ? 
Now, he's written a whole lot of

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other books, A Case for Fill in 
the Blank. 

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There's so many of them, but A 
Case for Christ is the one that 

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he's best known for. 
In fact, they made a movie about

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it eventually. 
But Lee Strobel is one of these 

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guys that I'm talking about with
doubt. 

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When I mentioned Lee Strobel, I 
guarantee you your first 

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thought, even if you know his 
story, wasn't, oh, that guy had 

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a lot of doubts. 
Your first thought was a case 

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for Christ. 
Oh, that was a great book. 

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It helped my faith. 
You didn't think about doubt. 

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But before he wrote that book, a
lot of Christians don't even 

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realize this. 
He was an award-winning 

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investigative journalist working
for the Chicago Tribune, and he 

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was an atheist. 
And he was trained to follow 

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evidence and examine claims 
carefully and to dismantle weak 

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arguments. 
So what was it that changed his 

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mind? 
Well, it started with a woman I 

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know, doesn't it always right. 
First time I went to youth group

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was because my my girlfriend 
said do you want to go to youth 

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group with me? 
And I said yes. 

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Before I knew what youth group 
was. 

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His wife got saved and he wasn't
excited for her. 

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He was worried that she was 
getting into something that was 

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going to drain her and lead her 
astray. 

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And so he decided to use his 
investigative skills to disprove

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Christianity altogether. 
So he interviewed historians, 

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theologians, medical experts and
scholars, all in an attempt to 

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dismantle the idea that the 
resurrection could have actually

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happened. 
And I'm sure you can see where 

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this is going. 
The questions that he asked 

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didn't destroy the case for 
Christ. 

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They solidified it, and he 
became born again. 

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He was setting out to disprove 
Christianity, and Christianity 

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disproved his beliefs. 
Now, why is this important? 

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Because your doubts will often 
lead you down a trail that will 

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result in deeper faith if you go
down that trail with an honest 

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heart. 
If you're actually looking for 

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what's real, something that 
isn't said from the pulpit 

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enough even here. 
Doubt is not the enemy of faith.

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It's just not. 
It's a tool to be used in your 

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pursuit of faith. 
Think about this. 

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What is faith if you have 
certainty? 

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Well, it's certainty. 
There's no need to give it the 

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name faith because there's 
already a word for it. 

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But the reality is faith is 
going to require that you look 

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into something that you're not 
100% sure on. 

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Sometimes it's just the actual 
doorway through which your faith

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becomes stronger and more 
personal. 

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And so when we turn back to the 
gospel here in John chapter 20, 

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I want you to know this is the 
same kind of story here. 

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And we do hear a lot about 
Thomas's life, but all centered 

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around one thing, which is he 
doubted. 

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My goodness, I know there's no 
bitterness in heaven, but if 

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there was, could you imagine? 
You get to heaven and you're 

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meeting all of the apostles and 
you're meeting the disciples. 

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You're the one that doubted. 
And he's like, I did so much 

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more than that. 
But it's important that we know 

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Him as the one that doubted 
because honestly, if you spend 

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enough time, you can see a 
little bit of all of the 

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disciples of Jesus in yourself. 
And he wasn't always the guy 

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that doubted. 
And we're going to talk about 

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that. 
He was pretty bold the first 

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time you really hear him speak 
up in Scripture. 

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We'll get there in just a little
bit, but we're going to start by

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reading in John 20, the moment 
that really defines Thomas. 

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In most people's memories, all 
the disciples have gathered in a

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room that is locked. 
Why? 

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Because Jesus has been 
crucified. 

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So all of his believers, they 
scatter. 

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And so now they're scared of 
what comes next. 

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Well, I saw what they did to our
leader, so who knows what 

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they're going to do to us. 
So the cool thing is they 

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haven't abandoned their faith. 
But the scary thing is they've 

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abandoned some of their faith. 
Not faith in who Jesus is or 

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what he came to do, but faith in
Jesus isn't necessarily going to

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do what's best for me. 
This is where we struggle. 

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We pray for things. 
How many of us, I, I, I'm 

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genuinely asking for a show of 
hands. 

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How many of us have had a 
sentence like this before? 

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I know God can, I just don't 
know if he will, right? 

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Oh my goodness, is that not like
one of the most honest prayers? 

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God, I know you can do anything.
I know you can heal this if you 

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want. 
I know you can restore this if 

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you want. 
I know you can make me brand new

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if you want. 
I don't know if you will. 

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And then how many of us go down 
the rabbit trail where we start 

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to say, well, you know the 
reason why he probably doesn't? 

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I bet it's me. 
Oh, you know what the awful 

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thing about that thought is? 
A lot of times that is true. 

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I'm just here positive, 
encouraging K love here to lift 

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you up. 
A lot of times it is because we 

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have something that is blocking 
us. 

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I'll believe you if you do this.
And maybe we don't even word it 

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that way like Thomas is about 
to, but we do have that belief. 

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God, I just need some sort of 
sign. 

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Well, if you have to ask for a 
sign, that's not faith. 

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As we read this, I want you to 
know this is not a detached 

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skeptic of Christianity. 
This is not a investigative 

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journalist from the Chicago 
Tribune. 

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This is somebody who walked with
Jesus for three years, just like

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Peter when we discussed him last
week, he walked with him. 

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He saw miracles. 
He he had one-on-one 

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conversations. 
He spent real FaceTime with this

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guy that we call Jesus the 
Messiah. 

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So he knew all of this to be 
true. 

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And then there's an emotional 
moment where we read in John 20,

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starting in verse 19, says that 
Sunday evening the disciples 

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were meeting behind locked doors
because they were afraid of the 

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Jewish leaders. 
Suddenly Jesus was standing 

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there among them. 
Peace be with you. 

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I always loved this. 
My pastor told me this story 

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about when they were telling 
this to kids and they said, 

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anybody remember what Jesus said
when he appeared in the middle 

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of the disciples? 
This kid said, tada, I don't 

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think he did, but it doesn't say
he didn't, OK? 

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He said peace be with you. 
You know why? 

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Because that's scary. 
They're all meeting in a locked 

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room and all of a sudden there's
just one other person. 

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I freak out if there's movement 
in my peripheral vision, if it's

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the wind blowing a curtain. 
So I'm sure he had to speak 

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peace over them. 
Listen verse 20 as he spoke, he 

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showed them the wounds in his 
hands and his side, and they 

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were filled with joy when they 
saw the Lord again. 

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He said peace be with you as the
Father has sent me, so I am 

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sending you. 
And then he breathed on them and

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said, receive the Holy Spirit. 
He said if you forgive anyone's 

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sins, they're forgiven. 
If you do not forgive them, 

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they're not forgiven. 
By the way, it's very important 

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that he said that to them after 
he breathed the Holy Spirit upon

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them. 
OK, because the Holy Spirit will

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guide you into places that will 
set people free. 

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Sermon for another day. 
One of the 12 disciples Thomas 

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nicknamed the twin was not with 
the others when Jesus came in 

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verse 25. 
They told him we have seen the 

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Lord. 
But he replied, I won't believe 

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it unless I see the nail wounds 
in his hands, put my fingers 

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into them and place my hand into
the wound in his side. 

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It's a little gross. 
Yeah, you're correct. 

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I've done many a hospital visit 
and I can't remember one time 

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where I've been like, can I 
touch that? 

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That's crazy looking, right? 
But what he's saying to these 

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other disciples is, listen, 
unless I get the same experience

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that you had, I'm not buying it.
Why? 

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Because hope is dangerous. 
Who here has had some sort of 

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stumbling block in their faith? 
Again, show of hands, who has 

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had a stumbling block in their 
faith? 

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Because your thought was, I 
don't want to feel foolish if I 

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believe something that's not 
real. 

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That's like the 1st 20% of my 
faith journey is, well I'm sure 

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he's real, but I don't know what
parts are real and I don't know 

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exactly what to like. 
I'm ever going to figure it all 

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out. 
Last week we talked about fear 

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and fear always says protect 
yourself. 

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This week as we talk about 
doubt, doubt says prove it to 

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me. 
What do they say? 

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Seeing is believing. 
Not really. 

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I don't even have to explain 
that to you now in the era of 

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AI, My goodness, how many times 
I have to tell somebody I, I 

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don't think that's real. 
But here's what I want you to 

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know. 
In both of these gospel 

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accounts, both for Peter and for
Thomas, their fear and their 

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00:11:43,200 --> 00:11:46,800
doubt didn't disqualify them. 
Your fear and your doubt doesn't

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disqualify you from a beautiful 
life that God does have laid out

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00:11:49,800 --> 00:11:51,000
for you. 
And when I call it a beautiful 

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life, I did not call it an easy 
life. 

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God has beautiful blessings in 
store for you, and He also has a

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00:11:57,600 --> 00:11:59,160
mission for you, and it's going 
to be hard. 

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Christian life is pretty simple.
It's just not easy, but it's 

233
00:12:05,360 --> 00:12:08,400
beautiful. 
Who wants to go to their grave 

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00:12:08,400 --> 00:12:10,440
and not feel like they had 
purpose in their life? 

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00:12:11,000 --> 00:12:13,360
God gives you blessings and He 
gives you purpose, and 

236
00:12:13,360 --> 00:12:15,640
ultimately you'll find that that
purpose was one of the greatest 

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00:12:15,640 --> 00:12:19,840
blessings He ever gave you. 
Unfortunately, we forget the 

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fact that all throughout the 
Gospels, when people doubt, God 

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00:12:22,280 --> 00:12:24,880
moves towards them. 
A lot of times we don't 

240
00:12:24,880 --> 00:12:26,680
verbalize our doubts because 
we're afraid it's going to 

241
00:12:26,680 --> 00:12:28,920
create some sort of like 
intangible distance between US 

242
00:12:28,920 --> 00:12:30,960
and God. 
But that couldn't be further 

243
00:12:30,960 --> 00:12:33,240
from the truth. 
First of all, he already knows 

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00:12:33,240 --> 00:12:36,840
your innermost thoughts. 
So if he wanted to move away 

245
00:12:36,840 --> 00:12:37,960
from you, he's already going to 
do it. 

246
00:12:37,960 --> 00:12:40,280
You can't deceive him, you can't
trick him. 

247
00:12:42,040 --> 00:12:43,920
He moves towards you because he 
loves you. 

248
00:12:45,240 --> 00:12:47,640
I always think about like when I
was trying to teach my son how 

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00:12:47,640 --> 00:12:51,440
to swim and he was so afraid and
he had a life jacket on and we 

250
00:12:51,440 --> 00:12:54,360
were like in 2 feet of water. 
So, you know, it's like right 

251
00:12:54,360 --> 00:12:55,480
here and I'm like, I'll catch 
you. 

252
00:12:55,480 --> 00:12:58,680
It's going to be great. 
And he wouldn't do it because he

253
00:12:58,680 --> 00:13:00,040
was so little. 
He was so scared. 

254
00:13:00,320 --> 00:13:02,600
And I want to tell you about 
when when he eventually did 

255
00:13:02,600 --> 00:13:04,200
learn to swim. 
But we haven't gotten there yet.

256
00:13:05,560 --> 00:13:09,040
And this is the point. 
It's a journey. 

257
00:13:09,600 --> 00:13:12,320
But what I will tell you is 
this, my boy will get into the 

258
00:13:12,320 --> 00:13:15,680
water with that life jacket now.
And a lot of times we're mad at 

259
00:13:15,680 --> 00:13:17,920
ourselves because we haven't 
gotten to the swimming part yet,

260
00:13:18,680 --> 00:13:20,680
and we can't even celebrate the 
fact that we're now in the 

261
00:13:20,680 --> 00:13:22,360
water. 
And we used to be afraid to even

262
00:13:22,360 --> 00:13:27,520
wade into the water. 
Your doubt is something that God

263
00:13:27,520 --> 00:13:31,960
tends to because God loves you 
more than you love him. 

264
00:13:34,120 --> 00:13:35,960
And it's not a competition. 
Don't try. 

265
00:13:37,680 --> 00:13:41,000
But in a church, doubt is often 
treated as something that 

266
00:13:41,000 --> 00:13:43,000
believers are supposed to 
suppress. 

267
00:13:43,520 --> 00:13:46,040
A lot of people assume that real
faith means you never wrestle 

268
00:13:46,040 --> 00:13:47,560
with questions or 
disappointment. 

269
00:13:48,000 --> 00:13:49,360
I'm so sorry to hear about your 
loss. 

270
00:13:49,600 --> 00:13:51,120
That's right, God had a better 
plan. 

271
00:13:54,160 --> 00:13:56,880
I mean, I know that, but you can
still mourn a loss. 

272
00:13:56,960 --> 00:13:59,840
Grief is real. 
I want you to know that the same

273
00:13:59,840 --> 00:14:04,200
savior that restored Peters 
courage after the fear is going 

274
00:14:04,200 --> 00:14:06,200
to restore Thomas after his 
doubt. 

275
00:14:06,920 --> 00:14:08,640
But the first thing you have to 
look at if you're going to 

276
00:14:08,640 --> 00:14:11,480
tackle your own doubts is what 
the doubt itself reveals, 

277
00:14:12,000 --> 00:14:14,240
similar to fear. 
Fear is not the problem itself. 

278
00:14:14,240 --> 00:14:16,640
It's a it's a symptom, it's an 
indicator, It's a check engine 

279
00:14:16,640 --> 00:14:18,280
light. 
And so when you feel doubts, 

280
00:14:18,280 --> 00:14:20,480
it's actually trying to reveal 
something else to you. 

281
00:14:20,480 --> 00:14:22,120
We're going to go a couple 
chapters earlier. 

282
00:14:22,120 --> 00:14:24,040
We'll be in John Chapter 11 in 
just a moment. 

283
00:14:24,040 --> 00:14:28,120
But as we read this, I want you 
to know that Thomas makes one of

284
00:14:28,120 --> 00:14:30,520
the most famous statements in 
all the Gospels when he says I 

285
00:14:30,520 --> 00:14:32,960
won't believe it unless fill in 
the blank. 

286
00:14:34,080 --> 00:14:36,200
And so because of that, we call 
him doubting Thomas. 

287
00:14:36,920 --> 00:14:40,360
But I also want you to know that
when we do read the story, we 

288
00:14:40,360 --> 00:14:43,040
have to understand that Thomas 
was not always defined by this 

289
00:14:43,040 --> 00:14:45,480
one place. 
You can't take your your current

290
00:14:45,480 --> 00:14:47,760
chapter and assume that that's 
what the whole story of your 

291
00:14:47,760 --> 00:14:49,600
life is about. 
And it's the same for these guys

292
00:14:49,600 --> 00:14:52,320
that we read in the scriptures. 
In John 11, it's the first time 

293
00:14:52,320 --> 00:14:54,720
we actually hear Thomas speak 
up. 

294
00:14:55,160 --> 00:14:59,160
Listen to this in verse 8, this 
is where Jesus says, hey, we're 

295
00:14:59,160 --> 00:15:00,800
going to, we're going to head 
back to Judea. 

296
00:15:01,000 --> 00:15:03,600
You know, he hears that Lazarus 
is sick and dying and he wants 

297
00:15:03,600 --> 00:15:04,640
to go and he wants to tend to 
him. 

298
00:15:04,640 --> 00:15:07,120
And in verse 8, the disciples 
object to this. 

299
00:15:07,400 --> 00:15:11,960
Why, Rabbi, only a few days ago 
the people in Judea, we're 

300
00:15:11,960 --> 00:15:14,680
trying to stone you. 
Are you going there again? 

301
00:15:15,000 --> 00:15:17,200
It's their gentle way of saying,
remember when they almost killed

302
00:15:17,200 --> 00:15:19,360
us? 
Why do you want to go back 

303
00:15:19,360 --> 00:15:22,480
there? 
And Jesus replied, there are 12 

304
00:15:22,480 --> 00:15:26,720
hours of daylight every day. 
During the day, people can walk 

305
00:15:26,720 --> 00:15:28,800
safely. 
They can see because they have 

306
00:15:28,800 --> 00:15:31,080
the light of this world. 
But at night, there's dangerous 

307
00:15:31,080 --> 00:15:32,560
stumbling because they have no 
light. 

308
00:15:32,560 --> 00:15:36,680
And then he said, our friend 
Lazarus has fallen asleep, but 

309
00:15:36,680 --> 00:15:38,720
now I'll go and wake him up. 
He was trying to tell them 

310
00:15:38,720 --> 00:15:41,760
Lazarus is already dead, but I'm
about to go do a miracle. 

311
00:15:42,320 --> 00:15:44,160
Well, you can't do a miracle 
unless you show up where a 

312
00:15:44,160 --> 00:15:47,000
miracle is needed. 
But the disciples said, Lord, if

313
00:15:47,000 --> 00:15:48,800
he is sleeping, he'll soon get 
better. 

314
00:15:49,960 --> 00:15:53,040
Do you ever feel like you're the
Lord's slowest little learner? 

315
00:15:54,880 --> 00:15:58,400
We're in good company. 
We're in good company. 

316
00:16:00,480 --> 00:16:03,520
They thought Jesus meant Lazarus
was simply sleeping, but Jesus 

317
00:16:03,520 --> 00:16:05,920
meant Lazarus had died. 
Verse 14. 

318
00:16:05,920 --> 00:16:08,520
So we told them plainly, Lazarus
is dead. 

319
00:16:08,600 --> 00:16:13,360
Emphasis mine. 
And for your sakes, I'm glad I 

320
00:16:13,360 --> 00:16:15,880
wasn't there. 
For now, you'll really believe. 

321
00:16:16,240 --> 00:16:20,080
Come on, let's go see him. 
By the way, this is one of the 

322
00:16:20,080 --> 00:16:21,720
things that all these disciples 
watched. 

323
00:16:21,720 --> 00:16:23,640
They watched him bring Lazarus 
back from the dead. 

324
00:16:24,040 --> 00:16:28,000
But verse 16, Thomas, nicknamed 
the twin, said to his fellow 

325
00:16:28,000 --> 00:16:31,400
disciples, let's go to and die 
with Jesus. 

326
00:16:33,600 --> 00:16:37,640
That's the Spirit. 
So he was encouraged by what 

327
00:16:37,680 --> 00:16:39,960
Jesus said, but it didn't change
the fact that he still believed 

328
00:16:39,960 --> 00:16:41,720
what the other disciples were 
believing. 

329
00:16:42,240 --> 00:16:44,640
Jesus, if we go back there this 
time, they're going to get us. 

330
00:16:44,880 --> 00:16:47,320
Last time they almost got us. 
This time we're going to get 

331
00:16:47,320 --> 00:16:50,720
got, right? 
And after he says this to the 

332
00:16:50,720 --> 00:16:54,760
disciples, Thomas just goes, 
Jesus is right, let's go and die

333
00:16:54,760 --> 00:17:00,040
with him. 
Now, is it a little foolhardy? 

334
00:17:00,040 --> 00:17:03,120
Probably. 
But is that the same Thomas that

335
00:17:03,120 --> 00:17:05,000
you would think of? 
The same one That's like, unless

336
00:17:05,000 --> 00:17:07,839
I see it for myself, He was 
willing to walk into what was a 

337
00:17:07,880 --> 00:17:12,079
localized war zone against his 
Messiah, his rabbi, his teacher,

338
00:17:12,319 --> 00:17:13,880
and he was willing to catch 
death. 

339
00:17:15,880 --> 00:17:23,200
He was willing to. 
In that scene, he doesn't seem 

340
00:17:23,200 --> 00:17:26,319
like a skeptic. 
He seems like somebody who says,

341
00:17:26,319 --> 00:17:28,400
well, if he's going to raise 
Lazarus from the dead, maybe 

342
00:17:28,400 --> 00:17:30,800
he'll get me to. 
I don't know what he's thinking,

343
00:17:31,120 --> 00:17:32,720
but he knows something good is 
going to come. 

344
00:17:33,400 --> 00:17:37,280
But over time, even those of us 
with the fiercest faith get 

345
00:17:37,280 --> 00:17:39,560
tested in ways that we never 
thought that we would. 

346
00:17:40,760 --> 00:17:42,400
And over time, things start to 
crack. 

347
00:17:42,400 --> 00:17:45,840
And maybe you don't jump from 
let's go die for Jesus right 

348
00:17:45,840 --> 00:17:48,760
over to unless he shows up and I
get to put my hand right there, 

349
00:17:49,000 --> 00:17:52,560
I won't believe him. 
There's this intermediate period

350
00:17:52,560 --> 00:17:55,560
where our faith starts to get 
tested and weight is set upon it

351
00:17:55,560 --> 00:17:56,800
and which starts to crack, 
right? 

352
00:17:57,280 --> 00:18:00,520
So in John 14, now we're going 
to read the very beginning of 

353
00:18:00,520 --> 00:18:02,280
John 14. 
This is a little bit later, but 

354
00:18:02,280 --> 00:18:05,240
still before John 20 because 
that's how numbers work. 

355
00:18:05,680 --> 00:18:10,840
In John 14, Jesus is speaking to
his disciples. 

356
00:18:10,920 --> 00:18:14,080
And we, we read through the 
scripture a whole lot last year,

357
00:18:14,080 --> 00:18:17,280
didn't we? 
Jesus says don't let your hearts

358
00:18:17,280 --> 00:18:19,880
be troubled. 
Trust in God and trust also in 

359
00:18:19,880 --> 00:18:22,440
me. 
There is more than enough room 

360
00:18:22,440 --> 00:18:25,640
in my Father's home. 
If this were not so, what? 

361
00:18:25,640 --> 00:18:27,600
I've told you that I'm going to 
prepare a place for you. 

362
00:18:27,920 --> 00:18:31,400
When everything is ready, I will
come and get you so that you 

363
00:18:31,400 --> 00:18:36,040
will always be with me where I 
am and you know the way to where

364
00:18:36,040 --> 00:18:38,680
I am going. 
Here's Thomas again. 

365
00:18:39,600 --> 00:18:43,160
No, we don't know Lord. 
We have no idea where you're 

366
00:18:43,160 --> 00:18:45,160
going. 
So how can we know the way? 

367
00:18:45,640 --> 00:18:46,960
Now what does Jesus go on to say
here? 

368
00:18:46,960 --> 00:18:50,600
Any Christian know this one? 
He says I am the way and the 

369
00:18:50,600 --> 00:18:55,680
truth and the life, but Thomas 
right there still doesn't know. 

370
00:18:55,760 --> 00:18:58,040
So if you ever feel like God has
given you revelation, you don't 

371
00:18:58,040 --> 00:19:00,560
fully understand it. 
You you read through something 

372
00:19:00,560 --> 00:19:02,960
in the scripture and you say, oh
man, that feels like that was 

373
00:19:02,960 --> 00:19:05,400
really important. 
And I and I don't know 100% why.

374
00:19:05,400 --> 00:19:06,800
That's all right. 
That's what's happening. 

375
00:19:07,280 --> 00:19:10,000
Thomas has now moved on his 
journey from I'll go anywhere. 

376
00:19:10,120 --> 00:19:13,440
I'll die for you too. 
I want to go where you want me 

377
00:19:13,440 --> 00:19:15,800
to go, but I don't get it. 
I still don't understand. 

378
00:19:16,200 --> 00:19:19,240
So for Christians in this room 
where you're saying I still want

379
00:19:19,240 --> 00:19:20,560
to follow you, I just don't get 
it. 

380
00:19:21,360 --> 00:19:25,360
You're in good company again. 
You know what I love about 

381
00:19:25,360 --> 00:19:28,320
Thomas? 
There's no deceit in him 

382
00:19:28,320 --> 00:19:30,720
whatsoever. 
He is so honest. 

383
00:19:31,040 --> 00:19:33,920
He's honest in a way that most 
of us struggle to be and we 

384
00:19:33,920 --> 00:19:36,280
don't get that many places for 
him to actually speak in the 

385
00:19:36,280 --> 00:19:38,560
Scripture. 
But every single time it's like 

386
00:19:38,560 --> 00:19:40,480
a, it's like a truth bomb from 
him. 

387
00:19:41,280 --> 00:19:43,600
He's so excited. 
And for many of us, when we 

388
00:19:43,600 --> 00:19:46,000
first get saved, we, we first 
have an encounter with Jesus. 

389
00:19:46,000 --> 00:19:49,600
We're like, man, I'm ready to do
anything for you until it starts

390
00:19:49,600 --> 00:19:52,040
costing, until it starts wearing
on you, until you start 

391
00:19:52,040 --> 00:19:54,680
realizing, Oh, I'm doing things 
for him and trying to do what he

392
00:19:54,680 --> 00:19:56,120
says. 
And they're not always the same 

393
00:19:56,120 --> 00:19:58,040
thing. 
And I'm wearing myself out 

394
00:19:58,240 --> 00:20:00,800
trying to do the things for him 
that he never asked me to do. 

395
00:20:01,080 --> 00:20:03,560
And you have to start figuring 
out what your faith actually is 

396
00:20:03,560 --> 00:20:05,000
and how you actually hear from 
the Lord. 

397
00:20:05,320 --> 00:20:08,640
And he gets to this place where 
I just to me, I read fatigue in 

398
00:20:08,640 --> 00:20:11,880
this. 
I mean, Jesus has given him some

399
00:20:11,880 --> 00:20:15,160
heavy teachings. 
He's given him great news. 

400
00:20:15,880 --> 00:20:17,600
My father's prepared a place for
you. 

401
00:20:17,600 --> 00:20:19,840
It's going to be good and you 
know how to get there. 

402
00:20:19,840 --> 00:20:26,680
He says, no, I don't. 
What did Thomas think was going 

403
00:20:26,680 --> 00:20:31,520
to happen? 
Thomas thinks that Jesus is like

404
00:20:31,520 --> 00:20:33,760
most of his believers. 
Jesus is going to come and set 

405
00:20:33,760 --> 00:20:36,120
things right for Israel. 
He's going to set up a brand new

406
00:20:36,120 --> 00:20:38,440
government. 
Oh, man, we got so much hope in 

407
00:20:38,440 --> 00:20:39,960
the government. 
We don't like to say it, but we 

408
00:20:39,960 --> 00:20:42,760
do. 
And they think Jesus is here to 

409
00:20:42,760 --> 00:20:45,160
set up the government, which 
really means they think Jesus is

410
00:20:45,160 --> 00:20:46,680
here to set up something that's 
going to save him. 

411
00:20:46,680 --> 00:20:48,000
But the government's never going
to save you. 

412
00:20:48,000 --> 00:20:49,440
I don't care where on this 
planet you live. 

413
00:20:51,600 --> 00:20:55,600
And so because of this, imagine 
what's going through Thomas's 

414
00:20:55,600 --> 00:21:00,160
mind when the cross occurs. 
I've watched Jesus raise people 

415
00:21:00,160 --> 00:21:02,040
from the dead. 
We walked into a region where I 

416
00:21:02,040 --> 00:21:03,920
thought we were all going to die
and none of us died. 

417
00:21:04,120 --> 00:21:07,040
I've seen him heal children. 
I've seen him heal sickness. 

418
00:21:07,360 --> 00:21:10,000
I have seen him spit in the mud 
and rub it in somebody's eyes, 

419
00:21:10,000 --> 00:21:13,560
and even that healed somebody. 
I've seen him do things that I 

420
00:21:13,560 --> 00:21:15,320
never thought I could see 
before. 

421
00:21:16,200 --> 00:21:19,720
So I'm sure waiting to see what 
happens here with this for your 

422
00:21:19,720 --> 00:21:21,320
next miracle. 
Jesus can't wait to see what you

423
00:21:21,320 --> 00:21:23,640
do on this cross. 
He died. 

424
00:21:25,640 --> 00:21:28,160
Now the greatest miracle did 
happen on that cross, but they 

425
00:21:28,160 --> 00:21:33,360
couldn't quite see it yet. 
The man that Thomas believed 

426
00:21:33,360 --> 00:21:36,080
with his Messiah gets arrested 
and beaten and executed. 

427
00:21:36,360 --> 00:21:38,720
We think about the crucifixion, 
and unless we're watching the 

428
00:21:38,840 --> 00:21:42,440
Passion of the Christ, which is 
a painful watch, we don't always

429
00:21:42,440 --> 00:21:44,880
meditate and think on everything
that happened before that. 

430
00:21:44,880 --> 00:21:47,720
And it wasn't just singled out 
for Jesus. 

431
00:21:47,720 --> 00:21:50,120
This was normal before somebody 
was crucified in the Roman 

432
00:21:50,120 --> 00:21:52,280
culture. 
Then it was normal to be spit 

433
00:21:52,280 --> 00:21:58,040
on, to be mocked, to be beaten, 
to start the bleeding early on. 

434
00:21:58,040 --> 00:22:00,560
They didn't want you lasting too
long up there, after all. 

435
00:22:01,520 --> 00:22:04,560
So it was normal to see this. 
So he watched his savior, who 

436
00:22:04,560 --> 00:22:09,680
did so much for so many people 
get publicly humiliated, torn to

437
00:22:09,680 --> 00:22:11,800
pieces before watching him get 
killed. 

438
00:22:12,640 --> 00:22:18,920
That's what he watched. 
So forgive me, but I understand 

439
00:22:18,920 --> 00:22:19,440
him. 
Why? 

440
00:22:19,440 --> 00:22:21,720
After the resurrection, he's 
like, you know what? 

441
00:22:21,720 --> 00:22:25,040
Unless I see it for myself, I'd 
like to think that I'd have more

442
00:22:25,040 --> 00:22:28,040
faith in that, but I don't know 
if I was in that day and age, I 

443
00:22:28,040 --> 00:22:29,760
don't know exactly what it would
have been like. 

444
00:22:29,760 --> 00:22:34,520
A couple things that really 
stand out to me on this want to 

445
00:22:34,520 --> 00:22:36,600
share with you, but I want you 
to think about what it is that 

446
00:22:36,600 --> 00:22:39,480
you're doubting today. 
We prayed for it earlier. 

447
00:22:39,920 --> 00:22:41,920
Are you doubting that maybe 
things will get better with 

448
00:22:41,920 --> 00:22:45,720
somebody that you love? 
Are you doubting a career 

449
00:22:45,720 --> 00:22:47,720
decision? 
Are you doubting that a career 

450
00:22:47,760 --> 00:22:50,240
path will open for you? 
Are you doubting any sort of 

451
00:22:50,240 --> 00:22:52,960
path down the road of life that 
you hoped for will be there? 

452
00:22:54,560 --> 00:22:57,080
This applies to all of it. 
The first thing that I really 

453
00:22:57,080 --> 00:23:00,640
notice is that when you find 
out, you almost always find 

454
00:23:00,640 --> 00:23:03,440
disappointment. 
Almost always. 

455
00:23:03,440 --> 00:23:05,560
So this is what I mean. 
We're looking at what doubt 

456
00:23:05,560 --> 00:23:07,760
reveals. 
It's normal to doubt, but you 

457
00:23:07,760 --> 00:23:10,160
have to chase down what the 
doubt actually reveals. 

458
00:23:10,920 --> 00:23:13,200
For Thomas, he had invested 3 
years of his life following 

459
00:23:13,280 --> 00:23:14,480
Jesus. 
We don't really know what he did

460
00:23:14,480 --> 00:23:17,160
for a living before then, but he
dropped it so he could follow 

461
00:23:17,200 --> 00:23:19,320
Jesus and walk down the, the, 
the path with him. 

462
00:23:19,680 --> 00:23:22,920
And when he watched the 
crucifixion unfold, he was 

463
00:23:22,920 --> 00:23:25,360
probably traumatized. 
Trauma has a way of shaking your

464
00:23:25,360 --> 00:23:29,120
certainty. 
Doubt always reveals 

465
00:23:29,120 --> 00:23:30,840
disappointment. 
Where are you disappointed in 

466
00:23:30,840 --> 00:23:33,800
that situation #2? 
I would say doubt also reveals 

467
00:23:33,800 --> 00:23:36,400
our unmet expectations. 
To me, unmet expectations are 

468
00:23:36,400 --> 00:23:39,560
the number one relationship 
killer, right? 

469
00:23:39,560 --> 00:23:42,960
And so anytime you're feeling 
doubt, there's an unmet 

470
00:23:42,960 --> 00:23:46,000
expectation. 
I mean, again, you know, ages 

471
00:23:46,000 --> 00:23:49,000
one through 5, you know, you 
tell your kids I'm about to go 

472
00:23:49,000 --> 00:23:51,040
out there and I'm going to grow 
wings and fly to work. 

473
00:23:51,080 --> 00:23:53,480
They're like my dad's about to 
grow wings and fly to work. 

474
00:23:53,480 --> 00:23:56,320
That's pretty cool. 
Try saying that to your 26 year 

475
00:23:56,320 --> 00:23:59,040
old kid, you know, and probably 
get a different response. 

476
00:24:01,920 --> 00:24:05,040
And third, I think doubt always 
reveals what your desire is. 

477
00:24:06,280 --> 00:24:09,120
When you doubt something, it's 
because you're really hoping for

478
00:24:09,120 --> 00:24:10,920
something else. 
And that's where that unmet 

479
00:24:10,920 --> 00:24:13,960
expectation connects. 
But when you understand Thomas 

480
00:24:13,960 --> 00:24:17,440
in this way, his words sound 
less like somebody who's being 

481
00:24:17,440 --> 00:24:19,920
defiant to the other disciples 
and more like just another 

482
00:24:19,920 --> 00:24:22,920
honest moment. 
His unmet expectations had 

483
00:24:22,920 --> 00:24:25,960
already happened. 
He was really desiring for Jesus

484
00:24:25,960 --> 00:24:29,080
to set up things and make things
great, right? 

485
00:24:30,160 --> 00:24:33,480
And he was so disappointed. 
You know, a lot of marriage 

486
00:24:33,480 --> 00:24:36,320
counselors talk about something 
that they see over and over 

487
00:24:36,320 --> 00:24:37,880
again and struggling 
relationships. 

488
00:24:37,880 --> 00:24:41,400
And it's it's this a couple will
come into an office after some 

489
00:24:41,400 --> 00:24:44,080
sort of fight. 
One partner has hurt the other 

490
00:24:44,080 --> 00:24:46,360
one through some sort of 
repeated behavior. 

491
00:24:46,360 --> 00:24:48,800
It's almost always something 
that's happened multiple times 

492
00:24:49,560 --> 00:24:52,800
and maybe dishonesty, maybe just
neglect and maybe just refusing 

493
00:24:52,800 --> 00:24:55,640
to grow up emotionally. 
None of this applies to anybody 

494
00:24:55,640 --> 00:24:59,760
here. 
Y'all are great but but the 

495
00:24:59,760 --> 00:25:03,600
partner that causes the pain 
will often sit there and say I'm

496
00:25:03,600 --> 00:25:07,600
sorry, I'll do it differently in
the future. 

497
00:25:08,360 --> 00:25:12,560
And marriage counselors will 
tell you this most of the time 

498
00:25:12,560 --> 00:25:14,840
when they say I'm sorry, things 
will be different this time. 

499
00:25:14,840 --> 00:25:17,360
When you look at the one who's 
been wronged, they don't look 

500
00:25:17,360 --> 00:25:19,840
relieved. 
They look hesitant. 

501
00:25:20,960 --> 00:25:23,600
Why? 
Because they have normally heard

502
00:25:23,600 --> 00:25:27,680
this already in some form, A1 on
one, a private conversation. 

503
00:25:27,680 --> 00:25:29,720
I'm sorry if this is hitting too
close to home, but I'm just 

504
00:25:29,720 --> 00:25:33,000
telling you, doubt comes because
of unmet expectations and 

505
00:25:33,000 --> 00:25:35,240
disappointment and the desires 
that we have. 

506
00:25:35,480 --> 00:25:38,520
And sometimes the doubt happens 
because time after time you 

507
00:25:38,520 --> 00:25:40,120
thought it was going to change 
and it didn't. 

508
00:25:41,760 --> 00:25:43,320
And this can be really hard to 
swallow. 

509
00:25:43,320 --> 00:25:46,480
So they want to believe them, 
but their experience has trained

510
00:25:46,480 --> 00:25:51,520
their heart to be hesitant. 
Now a lot of times we have 

511
00:25:51,520 --> 00:25:54,200
expectations on God. 
We have expectations God didn't 

512
00:25:54,200 --> 00:25:56,600
even tell us to have. 
But if time after time He 

513
00:25:56,600 --> 00:25:58,640
doesn't do what you want Him to 
do or what you thought he was 

514
00:25:58,640 --> 00:26:01,640
going to do, your heart will 
become hesitant with the Lord as

515
00:26:01,640 --> 00:26:05,240
well. 
In a human scenario, it just 

516
00:26:05,240 --> 00:26:08,640
takes time, and it takes 
actually acting and showing that

517
00:26:08,640 --> 00:26:11,920
things are different. 
You can't undo something quickly

518
00:26:11,920 --> 00:26:13,960
because you never got into it 
quickly. 

519
00:26:14,440 --> 00:26:17,240
So it takes time. 
But when it comes to something 

520
00:26:17,240 --> 00:26:20,000
with the Lord, you're going to 
have to retrain your heart to be

521
00:26:20,000 --> 00:26:24,680
open to what is it exactly that 
you wanted me to see in this? 

522
00:26:25,480 --> 00:26:29,880
So looking honestly at Thomas, 
we do begin to realize that this

523
00:26:29,880 --> 00:26:32,920
struggle is not really as 
foreign as maybe it sounded at 

524
00:26:32,920 --> 00:26:35,600
the beginning of the message. 
Some of us wrestle with an 

525
00:26:35,600 --> 00:26:39,800
unanswered prayer because we 
thought that it was so certain 

526
00:26:39,800 --> 00:26:44,120
to be answered a certain way. 
Some of us have intellectual 

527
00:26:44,120 --> 00:26:47,040
questions that have never fully 
been explained because we're 

528
00:26:47,040 --> 00:26:49,760
afraid if we chase those 
intellectual questions down, 

529
00:26:50,000 --> 00:26:53,120
it'll weaken our faith. 
Some of us here, it's not 

530
00:26:53,120 --> 00:26:54,880
anything like that. 
Some of us have just had some 

531
00:26:54,880 --> 00:26:57,360
form of church hurt that left us
wondering how people who claim 

532
00:26:57,360 --> 00:26:59,240
to follow Jesus can cause such 
pain. 

533
00:27:00,000 --> 00:27:01,840
I can answer that for you real 
quick if you want. 

534
00:27:01,840 --> 00:27:04,400
It's not the focus of today. 
Oh, it's because they're made 

535
00:27:04,400 --> 00:27:07,640
out of people. 
So when you start to follow 

536
00:27:07,760 --> 00:27:12,000
Jesus, your sin is not gone. 
You are washed clean. 

537
00:27:12,040 --> 00:27:14,800
One day you'll be sinless. 
Anytime you're in a gathering of

538
00:27:14,800 --> 00:27:16,200
people, there's going to be some
sort of pain. 

539
00:27:16,200 --> 00:27:18,680
And if you don't believe that, 
let me know how it goes when you

540
00:27:18,680 --> 00:27:19,880
have Easter dinner with your 
family. 

541
00:27:22,640 --> 00:27:24,960
Some people just struggle to 
understand why God allows 

542
00:27:24,960 --> 00:27:26,760
certain outcomes that feel 
unfair. 

543
00:27:28,040 --> 00:27:30,720
I'll be honest with you, anytime
I hear about a child who passes 

544
00:27:30,720 --> 00:27:34,160
away, it's hard for me to 
understand it and that's why I 

545
00:27:34,160 --> 00:27:35,800
don't really have a high 
tolerance threshold. 

546
00:27:35,800 --> 00:27:39,720
When people say everything 
happens for a reason, I just 

547
00:27:39,720 --> 00:27:41,800
don't. 
I'm not saying that there's not 

548
00:27:41,800 --> 00:27:43,480
a reason, I'm just saying if you
don't have the reason, don't 

549
00:27:43,480 --> 00:27:47,080
bring it to me. 
I need somebody to sit with me 

550
00:27:47,080 --> 00:27:48,400
in my grief. 
Does that make sense? 

551
00:27:48,760 --> 00:27:51,440
I need somebody to tell me it's 
OK to feel the emotions that I'm

552
00:27:51,440 --> 00:27:53,760
feeling because of something 
that was traumatic or sad or 

553
00:27:53,760 --> 00:27:58,000
hard. 
What I want you to know is this.

554
00:27:58,000 --> 00:28:01,040
When you feel doubt, which is 
normal, you have a choice on 

555
00:28:01,040 --> 00:28:03,720
what you do with it. 
Doubt can either isolate you or 

556
00:28:03,720 --> 00:28:05,600
push you towards pursuing 
answers. 

557
00:28:06,280 --> 00:28:08,640
You will not choose anything 
other than one of the two of 

558
00:28:08,640 --> 00:28:12,320
them, and truth is not afraid to
be found out by the way. 

559
00:28:12,320 --> 00:28:13,920
So I would encourage you to 
pursue. 

560
00:28:14,680 --> 00:28:17,440
Pursuing is what happens when 
doubt becomes like an 

561
00:28:17,440 --> 00:28:20,480
invitation, like curiosity to 
try to seek some sort of deeper 

562
00:28:20,480 --> 00:28:23,320
understanding. 
Questions, honest questions will

563
00:28:23,320 --> 00:28:26,080
always lead to conversations or 
maybe study or prayer or 

564
00:28:26,080 --> 00:28:28,760
whatever, but they'll also 
normally lead to community. 

565
00:28:29,160 --> 00:28:31,600
If you're afraid to seek out 
these answers to things that you

566
00:28:31,600 --> 00:28:34,200
struggle with, and maybe you sit
in this room full of people and 

567
00:28:34,200 --> 00:28:35,640
you're like, well, there's 
nobody here that's going to 

568
00:28:35,640 --> 00:28:37,800
struggle with this layer of 
doubt that I struggle with. 

569
00:28:38,040 --> 00:28:39,920
So I won't ask people because I 
don't want to seem like the 

570
00:28:39,920 --> 00:28:41,520
weird one out. 
You know what's going to happen?

571
00:28:41,520 --> 00:28:43,680
Eventually you'll be the weird 
one that finds your way out. 

572
00:28:44,160 --> 00:28:46,040
And all the other weird ones 
that are asking questions are 

573
00:28:46,040 --> 00:28:48,880
still here. 
You feel like it's odd for you 

574
00:28:48,880 --> 00:28:51,920
to have these questions, but 
everybody's struggling on some 

575
00:28:51,920 --> 00:28:54,480
level. 
So get the question out there. 

576
00:28:54,800 --> 00:28:56,680
The first thing I would just 
tell you is pay attention to 

577
00:28:56,680 --> 00:28:58,600
those questions that you avoid 
asking. 

578
00:29:00,560 --> 00:29:02,560
Pay attention to them. 
The things that you're like, 

579
00:29:02,560 --> 00:29:04,800
nobody will get it. 
Nobody will get it. 

580
00:29:05,440 --> 00:29:07,560
And I mean, since we're already 
talking about some real 

581
00:29:07,560 --> 00:29:09,720
scenarios, maybe it is stuff 
about the resurrection. 

582
00:29:09,720 --> 00:29:11,480
Maybe they, they are 
intellectual questions. 

583
00:29:11,720 --> 00:29:14,440
Maybe it's, man, I've, I've been
married for three years and I 

584
00:29:14,440 --> 00:29:17,840
still struggle to, you know, to 
look away when I see somebody 

585
00:29:17,840 --> 00:29:19,520
that's attractive walk past me 
or whatever. 

586
00:29:19,520 --> 00:29:21,400
But I'm sure other Christians 
don't struggle with that. 

587
00:29:21,640 --> 00:29:23,120
Man, we got a whole ministry 
around that. 

588
00:29:23,640 --> 00:29:27,840
OK, we've got ways to connect. 
OK, maybe your struggles are 

589
00:29:27,840 --> 00:29:30,760
well, God has blessed me before 
in the past, and I feel like I 

590
00:29:30,760 --> 00:29:32,960
whiffed it, like I screwed up 
the blessing He gave me. 

591
00:29:32,960 --> 00:29:35,320
So I'm not going to ask him for 
another blessing, or when I do 

592
00:29:35,320 --> 00:29:38,280
ask him for another blessing, 
he's not going to give it to me 

593
00:29:38,280 --> 00:29:40,080
because I already made a mess of
the first one. 

594
00:29:40,240 --> 00:29:42,760
What you're doing is you're 
taking your human relationships 

595
00:29:42,760 --> 00:29:45,320
and you're projecting them onto 
the heavenly, pure, perfect 

596
00:29:45,320 --> 00:29:47,560
Father. 
You're saying basically, 

597
00:29:47,560 --> 00:29:50,600
essentially you're saying, well,
back in my day, once I failed my

598
00:29:50,600 --> 00:29:52,040
dad, he never looked at me the 
same. 

599
00:29:52,040 --> 00:29:54,520
Or you're saying, well, once I 
screwed up in my marriage, she 

600
00:29:54,520 --> 00:29:56,400
left and she never looked back 
and I was alone. 

601
00:29:56,400 --> 00:29:58,800
Or you're saying I had a best 
friend and this best friend took

602
00:29:58,800 --> 00:30:00,600
off. 
And so because of that, I know 

603
00:30:00,600 --> 00:30:02,280
what happens when I do something
wrong. 

604
00:30:02,440 --> 00:30:04,400
You're taking human 
relationships and you're putting

605
00:30:04,400 --> 00:30:06,160
them on to a pure and holy 
spiritual. 

606
00:30:06,160 --> 00:30:10,400
God can't do it. 
Not if you want to be healed and

607
00:30:10,400 --> 00:30:13,960
healthy and whole. 
Second thing I would tell you is

608
00:30:13,960 --> 00:30:16,680
to take a look at where 
disappointment has settled in 

609
00:30:16,680 --> 00:30:18,720
your heart. 
If you're not sure where the 

610
00:30:18,720 --> 00:30:22,080
doubt comes from, start looking 
at what part you're disappointed

611
00:30:22,080 --> 00:30:25,320
in, where it has settled. 
There's some doubts around it. 

612
00:30:26,520 --> 00:30:28,840
Oh man, I'm starting to hate the
word settle too. 

613
00:30:30,400 --> 00:30:33,840
I just don't enjoy it. 
A lot of a lot of Christian 

614
00:30:33,840 --> 00:30:36,000
marriage councils are also tell 
you sometimes they'll talk to 

615
00:30:36,000 --> 00:30:39,120
people that have been married 
for decades and they'll say well

616
00:30:39,120 --> 00:30:40,440
it sounds like you'll need some 
counselling. 

617
00:30:40,440 --> 00:30:42,240
Ah, no, no, they'd never go for 
that. 

618
00:30:42,840 --> 00:30:44,920
We've been married for over 30 
years, 40 years. 

619
00:30:44,920 --> 00:30:46,600
And you know, it's just the way 
that it is now. 

620
00:30:48,600 --> 00:30:51,000
Sounds like, sounds like the 
life Jesus died to give you. 

621
00:30:52,960 --> 00:30:55,760
There's always room to grow. 
You don't have to settle into 

622
00:30:55,760 --> 00:30:57,680
something. 
There's always a chance for 

623
00:30:57,680 --> 00:31:00,280
something to be brand new. 
What happens when you quit 

624
00:31:00,280 --> 00:31:02,960
trying? 
You might think it stays the 

625
00:31:02,960 --> 00:31:03,640
same. 
It doesn't. 

626
00:31:03,640 --> 00:31:06,000
It starts going backwards. 
There's a scientific term for 

627
00:31:06,000 --> 00:31:07,080
that. 
It's called entropy. 

628
00:31:08,360 --> 00:31:10,800
Things start to break down and 
deteriorate when you don't pay 

629
00:31:10,800 --> 00:31:13,440
attention to them. 
Where is this disappointment 

630
00:31:13,440 --> 00:31:16,240
settled in your heart? 
It's OK to feel disappointed, 

631
00:31:16,480 --> 00:31:19,520
but when disappointment remains 
unprocessed, it will change the 

632
00:31:19,520 --> 00:31:21,320
way that you look at God and 
other people. 

633
00:31:22,160 --> 00:31:24,560
And the third thing that I would
just tell you is notice where 

634
00:31:24,560 --> 00:31:26,360
you're leaning towards isolation
or pursuit. 

635
00:31:26,360 --> 00:31:28,560
Like we were talking about this.
When you start to wonder about 

636
00:31:28,560 --> 00:31:31,640
something, do you start looking 
for the answers or do you say, I

637
00:31:31,640 --> 00:31:34,200
would be so ashamed and so 
afraid if people knew that I had

638
00:31:34,200 --> 00:31:36,640
these thoughts? 
That's isolation. 

639
00:31:36,640 --> 00:31:39,360
You may say, well, I'm around 
people, Pastor Blake, I'm here. 

640
00:31:39,360 --> 00:31:41,480
I'm in person today. 
Not what I'm talking about. 

641
00:31:41,840 --> 00:31:44,000
If you're able to take your 
doubts and your questions and 

642
00:31:44,000 --> 00:31:46,520
put them in front of people that
you trust or that you think 

643
00:31:46,520 --> 00:31:49,080
might be able to help you, 
that's going to go a long way 

644
00:31:49,440 --> 00:31:52,000
towards getting you some of 
those questions answered. 

645
00:31:52,560 --> 00:31:55,080
But if you never bring it up, 
your thought process already 

646
00:31:55,080 --> 00:31:57,480
becomes private, and nobody even
gets the privilege of knowing 

647
00:31:57,480 --> 00:32:00,120
the real you. 
Isn't that a shame? 

648
00:32:00,680 --> 00:32:02,760
And in this world where we're 
wondering who to trust and who's

649
00:32:02,760 --> 00:32:05,280
fake, we end up being fake 
because we're just afraid we 

650
00:32:05,280 --> 00:32:07,360
won't fit in. 
I thought we all got out of 

651
00:32:07,360 --> 00:32:11,800
middle school, but here we are. 
I want you to know faith is 

652
00:32:11,800 --> 00:32:13,320
never built on a perfect 
certainty. 

653
00:32:14,360 --> 00:32:18,280
It's meant to be built on trust 
in one person with Jesus being 

654
00:32:18,280 --> 00:32:21,280
that person. 
So doubt reveals a lot for us. 

655
00:32:21,280 --> 00:32:23,240
But the resurrection can also 
reassure you. 

656
00:32:23,240 --> 00:32:24,800
And I want to talk about that 
before you leave. 

657
00:32:24,800 --> 00:32:27,880
Today. 
We're going to return to John 20

658
00:32:27,880 --> 00:32:29,600
so that we can see what happens 
next. 

659
00:32:29,880 --> 00:32:32,600
But before we read what happens 
next, I want you to notice 

660
00:32:32,600 --> 00:32:35,960
something about the timing. 
Thomas makes that statement 

661
00:32:35,960 --> 00:32:38,160
about needing to see and touch 
the wounds. 

662
00:32:38,160 --> 00:32:41,760
And Scripture tells us that 
eight days pass before Jesus 

663
00:32:41,760 --> 00:32:46,960
appears again, more than a week.
So what do you think those eight

664
00:32:46,960 --> 00:32:52,040
days felt like for Thomas? 
Actually, let's just, let's just

665
00:32:52,040 --> 00:32:53,880
play the mind game there. 
What do you think was going 

666
00:32:53,880 --> 00:32:56,400
through Thomas's head? 
Everybody think about that for a

667
00:32:56,400 --> 00:32:58,360
second. 
Once he says that to the 

668
00:32:58,360 --> 00:32:59,600
disciples. 
Well, unless I see it for 

669
00:32:59,600 --> 00:33:02,240
myself, I won't believe it. 
And he walks away. 

670
00:33:02,240 --> 00:33:04,200
He's got 8 days to think on 
this, right? 

671
00:33:05,840 --> 00:33:08,800
I bet you he doubts himself. 
Well, maybe it really did 

672
00:33:08,800 --> 00:33:11,280
happen. 
Well, if it did happen, why did 

673
00:33:11,280 --> 00:33:12,560
they get to see him and I 
didn't? 

674
00:33:14,080 --> 00:33:16,040
I was there. 
I was willing to die with him. 

675
00:33:16,040 --> 00:33:19,240
I was willing to serve him. 
I was there at the Last Supper. 

676
00:33:21,280 --> 00:33:23,880
He starts second guessing 
himself and second guessing 

677
00:33:23,880 --> 00:33:26,000
them. 
And most of us have had moments 

678
00:33:26,000 --> 00:33:27,640
like this too. 
Well, I'm pretty sure I don't 

679
00:33:27,640 --> 00:33:29,040
believe them. 
They're not right about me. 

680
00:33:29,080 --> 00:33:30,480
Well, what if they are right 
about me? 

681
00:33:31,560 --> 00:33:32,880
You doubt yourself, you doubt 
them. 

682
00:33:32,880 --> 00:33:34,200
You doubt the fact that you 
doubt them. 

683
00:33:34,200 --> 00:33:35,280
There's just a whole lot of 
doubt. 

684
00:33:36,720 --> 00:33:41,200
And so because of this, it's 
hard to remain firm on who you 

685
00:33:41,200 --> 00:33:43,920
are. 
He's had eight days for this to 

686
00:33:43,920 --> 00:33:47,120
process. 8 days in today's 
culture feels like a whole lot 

687
00:33:47,120 --> 00:33:49,160
less to be honest with you. 
I can't believe we're in March. 

688
00:33:49,160 --> 00:33:52,640
They didn't have a 24 hour news 
cycle, they didn't have 

689
00:33:52,640 --> 00:33:54,880
electronics, they didn't have 
all the things that distract us.

690
00:33:55,280 --> 00:33:59,960
8 long days have passed and 
Thomas is still wrestling with 

691
00:33:59,960 --> 00:34:01,360
the weight of what he saw on the
cross. 

692
00:34:01,360 --> 00:34:04,360
At the same time I saw him 
killed. 

693
00:34:07,560 --> 00:34:10,080
And then we get to verse 26. 
So John 20. 

694
00:34:10,400 --> 00:34:15,440
Verse 26 says 8 days later the 
disciples were together again 

695
00:34:15,440 --> 00:34:18,120
and this time Thomas was with 
them. 

696
00:34:19,480 --> 00:34:21,639
The doors were locked. 
Sounds familiar, right? 

697
00:34:22,239 --> 00:34:25,040
And suddenly, as before, Jesus 
was standing among them. 

698
00:34:25,280 --> 00:34:30,239
Peace be with you, he said. 
And then he said to Thomas, put 

699
00:34:30,239 --> 00:34:33,920
your finger here and look at my 
hands. 

700
00:34:34,880 --> 00:34:36,719
Put your hand into the wound in 
my side. 

701
00:34:37,520 --> 00:34:44,679
Don't be faithless any longer. 
Believe, Thomas says my Lord and

702
00:34:44,679 --> 00:34:49,360
my God, and Jesus told him, you 
believe because you've seen me. 

703
00:34:50,400 --> 00:34:52,920
Blessed are those who believe 
without seeing me. 

704
00:34:54,920 --> 00:34:57,840
Then it goes on to say this. 
The disciples saw Jesus do many 

705
00:34:57,840 --> 00:35:00,200
other miraculous signs in 
addition to the ones recorded in

706
00:35:00,200 --> 00:35:03,280
this book. 
But these are written why? 

707
00:35:03,720 --> 00:35:06,280
So that you may continue to 
believe that Jesus is the 

708
00:35:06,280 --> 00:35:10,200
Messiah, the Son of God, and 
that by believing in him, you'll

709
00:35:10,200 --> 00:35:12,880
have the life by the power of 
his name. 

710
00:35:14,240 --> 00:35:17,920
When Jesus appears in this room,
don't you think the atmosphere 

711
00:35:17,920 --> 00:35:20,200
immediately changed? 
The doors are still locked. 

712
00:35:20,200 --> 00:35:21,560
They're still trying to make 
sense of it. 

713
00:35:23,320 --> 00:35:25,680
And I think it's so beautiful 
that Thomas is with them. 

714
00:35:25,800 --> 00:35:30,160
And I think it's intentional. 
To me, one of the most personal 

715
00:35:30,160 --> 00:35:33,040
details in this moment is that 
Jesus chooses to come back for 

716
00:35:33,040 --> 00:35:37,200
Thomas. 
He showed up. 

717
00:35:37,360 --> 00:35:39,400
All the disciples were there. 
We don't even know why Thomas 

718
00:35:39,400 --> 00:35:41,720
wasn't there. 
Was he busy? 

719
00:35:42,240 --> 00:35:44,960
Did he have a prior commitment? 
Did he have to tend to the needs

720
00:35:44,960 --> 00:35:47,680
of a family member? 
Was he a little more downcast 

721
00:35:47,680 --> 00:35:49,520
than the rest of them? 
And when they were like, hey, 

722
00:35:49,520 --> 00:35:52,240
let's get together for small 
group and he was like not 

723
00:35:52,240 --> 00:35:55,720
feeling it tonight. 
I don't know. 

724
00:35:56,600 --> 00:35:57,720
I don't know why he wasn't 
there. 

725
00:35:57,840 --> 00:36:02,480
But Jesus comes back again and I
know, my God, I know he came 

726
00:36:02,480 --> 00:36:05,960
back intentionally when Thomas 
was there. 

727
00:36:05,960 --> 00:36:10,040
See, this is what I was talking 
about. 

728
00:36:10,160 --> 00:36:13,560
God always moves towards us when
we need him the most. 

729
00:36:14,440 --> 00:36:17,600
I used to think that that moment
there could possibly be some 

730
00:36:17,600 --> 00:36:19,280
sarcasm. 
By the way, I think that's just 

731
00:36:19,280 --> 00:36:21,200
my human filter and my own 
personality. 

732
00:36:23,040 --> 00:36:26,920
You know, the second time that 
he says tada, you know, he's 

733
00:36:26,920 --> 00:36:31,320
like this wound. 
You want to try it, go ahead, 

734
00:36:32,080 --> 00:36:35,520
because that's what I would do. 
We always take what people would

735
00:36:35,520 --> 00:36:38,240
do when we project it to him. 
And it's not the right way to 

736
00:36:38,240 --> 00:36:42,280
interpret how God is. 
How kind is it for Jesus to 

737
00:36:42,280 --> 00:36:46,880
reappear in front of Thomas, 
knowing what Thomas needs? 

738
00:36:47,880 --> 00:36:49,160
And he says, is that what you 
need? 

739
00:36:49,440 --> 00:36:50,880
We don't even know that Thomas 
did it. 

740
00:36:52,160 --> 00:36:53,680
Go ahead, put your hand in my 
side. 

741
00:36:54,160 --> 00:37:01,040
No, Sir, he says, my Lord and my
God, and to be honest with you, 

742
00:37:01,720 --> 00:37:05,280
amongst theologians and all of 
that, that statement is at least

743
00:37:05,440 --> 00:37:08,600
as popular as his doubting 
statement. 

744
00:37:10,920 --> 00:37:13,040
Jesus doesn't leave him in this 
place of examination. 

745
00:37:13,040 --> 00:37:15,960
He says, is that what you need? 
If it's what you need, I'll 

746
00:37:15,960 --> 00:37:19,360
provide it. 
And I think it's so wonderful 

747
00:37:20,240 --> 00:37:23,200
that the disciple who is known 
for his doubt is the one that 

748
00:37:23,200 --> 00:37:27,800
makes the most definitive 
exclamation of his divinity. 

749
00:37:28,720 --> 00:37:32,040
He looks at him, my Lord and my 
God. 

750
00:37:32,600 --> 00:37:34,520
In other words, you're not just 
the one I worship. 

751
00:37:35,080 --> 00:37:37,560
When he says, my Lord, he said, 
you're the one I obey. 

752
00:37:40,680 --> 00:37:43,040
So what happens there is one of 
the most powerful declarations 

753
00:37:43,040 --> 00:37:46,520
of the entire gospel. 
But these things happen all the 

754
00:37:46,520 --> 00:37:48,480
time, don't they? 
We don't believe things until we

755
00:37:48,480 --> 00:37:52,000
see it for ourself. 
North Carolina is very proud of 

756
00:37:52,240 --> 00:37:54,800
something. 
We are first in flight, right? 

757
00:37:55,440 --> 00:38:02,640
Yeah. 
From two guys from Ohio, man, 2 

758
00:38:02,640 --> 00:38:05,840
guys from Ohio make their way to
North Carolina, or Villa and 

759
00:38:05,840 --> 00:38:08,400
Wilbur Wright, the Wright 
brothers, they're the ones that,

760
00:38:08,720 --> 00:38:11,240
I mean, we learned in school 
they had a 12 second flight. 

761
00:38:11,400 --> 00:38:12,920
You're right. 
It's their first time up in the 

762
00:38:12,920 --> 00:38:15,240
air and all of that. 
Isn't it kind of cool? 

763
00:38:15,240 --> 00:38:17,840
The first people that ever flew 
came out of Ohio, and there's 

764
00:38:17,840 --> 00:38:21,560
more astronauts from Ohio than 
any other state too. 

765
00:38:21,560 --> 00:38:24,080
It just makes you wonder what is
so bad about Ohio that they just

766
00:38:24,080 --> 00:38:26,320
want to leave? 
Like the whole planet. 

767
00:38:26,320 --> 00:38:30,680
Just, I'm just kidding. 
I told somebody that joke this 

768
00:38:30,680 --> 00:38:31,800
week. 
It's like one of my favorite 

769
00:38:31,800 --> 00:38:33,360
jokes. 
It wouldn't matter if it was any

770
00:38:33,360 --> 00:38:34,480
other state. 
I'd still use it. 

771
00:38:36,720 --> 00:38:38,440
And in case you're wondering, by
the way, they came to North 

772
00:38:38,440 --> 00:38:40,960
Carolina because of the beaches,
the soft sand dunes. 

773
00:38:40,960 --> 00:38:43,200
It's an easier landing and the 
constant source of wind. 

774
00:38:43,200 --> 00:38:44,800
So there were real reasons 
there. 

775
00:38:45,520 --> 00:38:49,520
But it's something that we know 
but we don't actually process. 

776
00:38:49,600 --> 00:38:53,120
I want you to take yourself back
to when this happened because 

777
00:38:53,120 --> 00:38:55,640
there had been scientists 
working on trying to figure out 

778
00:38:55,640 --> 00:38:57,320
how to get things in flight 
already. 

779
00:38:58,600 --> 00:39:01,160
Does anybody remember from your 
schoolbooks what did Orville and

780
00:39:01,160 --> 00:39:03,440
Wilbur Wright do for a living 
before they invented flying? 

781
00:39:04,680 --> 00:39:10,360
Whoa, Yes, Yeah. 
They ran a bicycle shop. 

782
00:39:11,120 --> 00:39:15,600
So if you needed to get around 
quickly, right, and not using a 

783
00:39:15,600 --> 00:39:18,120
car you needed, you needed 
something there more locally, 

784
00:39:18,120 --> 00:39:20,920
you got a bicycle. 
Could you imagine going in to 

785
00:39:20,920 --> 00:39:23,600
buy a bike from these guys? 
And you're like, Ding, is 

786
00:39:23,600 --> 00:39:24,920
anybody there? 
Sorry. 

787
00:39:25,440 --> 00:39:27,320
We were building our flying 
machine Outback. 

788
00:39:27,480 --> 00:39:30,560
How can I help you today? 
How crazy would they sound? 

789
00:39:30,880 --> 00:39:33,520
It'd be like you going in to get
a whopper after church and 

790
00:39:33,520 --> 00:39:35,480
they're like, sorry, we're 
working on our transdimensional 

791
00:39:35,480 --> 00:39:38,640
teleportation device. 
We'll be with you in a moment. 

792
00:39:40,160 --> 00:39:43,360
And you would say, I'm, I'm 
getting a Big Mac today instead.

793
00:39:44,200 --> 00:39:48,280
OK, So these people would have 
seemed crazy. 

794
00:39:48,880 --> 00:39:54,040
And now whether you like to fly 
or not, obviously flight has 

795
00:39:54,360 --> 00:39:58,040
been achieved. 
Airplanes fly every day. 

796
00:39:59,560 --> 00:40:03,200
Many of us dare say I that we've
ridden on them ourselves. 

797
00:40:04,840 --> 00:40:08,200
It's something that we take for 
granted, but we take it for 

798
00:40:08,200 --> 00:40:11,840
granted now because it exists in
a way that people who hadn't 

799
00:40:11,840 --> 00:40:13,520
seen it yet believed it was 
possible. 

800
00:40:15,560 --> 00:40:17,760
So I'm not here to try and 
convince you of the divinity of 

801
00:40:17,840 --> 00:40:20,440
Jesus or the OR the reality of 
the cross, although history is 

802
00:40:20,440 --> 00:40:22,720
pretty solid on that. 
It can chase that down for 

803
00:40:22,720 --> 00:40:25,280
myself. 
I'm here to convince you that 

804
00:40:25,280 --> 00:40:28,200
even if you doubt that God can 
resurrect a scenario, 

805
00:40:28,200 --> 00:40:32,600
relationship, or whatever, I'm 
telling you that just because 

806
00:40:32,600 --> 00:40:36,240
you can't see it does not mean 
it's not possible. 

807
00:40:38,480 --> 00:40:41,920
I've been on an airplane. 
It's a chair in the sky. 

808
00:40:43,320 --> 00:40:46,720
Don't tell me that God can't 
repair a relationship with 

809
00:40:46,720 --> 00:40:50,320
somebody that you love. 
Don't tell me that God can't 

810
00:40:50,320 --> 00:40:54,120
step into your life and provide 
a healing touch that you need, 

811
00:40:54,920 --> 00:40:56,800
because I've seen Him do it 
before. 

812
00:40:58,040 --> 00:41:00,520
God can do it. 
He does it all the time. 

813
00:41:01,640 --> 00:41:04,320
These two brothers shock the 
world. 

814
00:41:04,640 --> 00:41:08,360
And maybe we don't shock the 
world and have our name put on 

815
00:41:09,320 --> 00:41:13,280
license plates and argue, you 
know, make 2 states argue over 

816
00:41:13,280 --> 00:41:14,800
who gets to claim the Wright 
brothers. 

817
00:41:15,360 --> 00:41:16,600
Which is a real thing by the 
way. 

818
00:41:18,240 --> 00:41:20,400
But I bet you that kind of faith
would ripple through your 

819
00:41:20,400 --> 00:41:25,160
family's legacy. 
Why is it you try so hard? 

820
00:41:25,160 --> 00:41:26,520
Why is it that you love people 
so much? 

821
00:41:26,520 --> 00:41:29,400
Because I watched my grandpa do 
it and I thought, that's who I 

822
00:41:29,400 --> 00:41:31,120
want to be. 
I see God in him. 

823
00:41:31,440 --> 00:41:33,160
Why is it you won't give up on 
your faith? 

824
00:41:33,160 --> 00:41:35,320
Your life looks like it's so 
hard Because that's not what mom

825
00:41:35,320 --> 00:41:38,600
and Dad taught me. 
It can send ripples through the 

826
00:41:38,600 --> 00:41:42,760
legacy of your family. 
Thomas moves immediately like 

827
00:41:42,760 --> 00:41:46,400
that, from hesitation to worship
in a moment that has echoed 

828
00:41:46,400 --> 00:41:50,320
through history. 
And in that moment, I want you 

829
00:41:50,320 --> 00:41:53,000
to know you should be able to 
see yourself. 

830
00:41:54,040 --> 00:41:57,040
Think back, what is one thing 
God has provided for you? 

831
00:41:57,720 --> 00:41:59,640
I know we've talked a lot about 
the things we haven't seen 

832
00:41:59,640 --> 00:42:02,600
manifested yet, but what's one 
thing God has done for you? 

833
00:42:03,360 --> 00:42:05,880
Because as time goes on, after 
you've seen a miracle or you've 

834
00:42:05,880 --> 00:42:08,080
seen God come through, or you 
feel like you've gotten a word 

835
00:42:08,080 --> 00:42:10,240
from Him, a lot of times you'll 
start to doubt yourself. 

836
00:42:11,000 --> 00:42:14,600
Well, 13 years ago, I was pretty
sure that God said this, but I 

837
00:42:14,600 --> 00:42:16,240
don't know if it was him. 
I think it might have just been 

838
00:42:16,240 --> 00:42:18,160
me. 
Well, 13 years ago, you thought 

839
00:42:18,160 --> 00:42:19,920
it was God. 
You were pretty solid that it 

840
00:42:19,920 --> 00:42:22,080
was God. 
It's one of the benefits of 

841
00:42:22,080 --> 00:42:24,680
being in community too. 
You can go and you can say, I 

842
00:42:24,680 --> 00:42:25,760
feel like the Lord is saying 
this. 

843
00:42:25,760 --> 00:42:28,120
What do you think? 
Have these other people that 

844
00:42:28,120 --> 00:42:32,520
love God pray over you too. 
The fact that Thomas is recorded

845
00:42:32,520 --> 00:42:34,520
as saying my Lord and my God 
should encourage every single 

846
00:42:34,520 --> 00:42:36,640
believer who's ever wrestled 
with a question in their entire 

847
00:42:36,640 --> 00:42:40,800
life. 
As we spoke about earlier, one 

848
00:42:40,800 --> 00:42:44,760
path leads to isolation because 
that can push people to withdraw

849
00:42:44,760 --> 00:42:47,920
away, but over time that 
isolation weakens a lot of 

850
00:42:47,920 --> 00:42:49,280
things. 
The other one is it can push you

851
00:42:49,280 --> 00:42:51,800
towards answers. 
I don't know what the difference

852
00:42:51,800 --> 00:42:54,120
is, why he wasn't with them 
before, but he was with them 

853
00:42:54,120 --> 00:42:55,800
this time. 
But I'm so glad he was with them

854
00:42:55,800 --> 00:42:57,840
that time. 
His decision to be in the room 

855
00:42:57,840 --> 00:43:01,600
changed everything. 
So I got a couple ways for you 

856
00:43:01,600 --> 00:43:03,200
to challenge your doubt. 
If you want to try to change 

857
00:43:03,200 --> 00:43:05,360
your doubt in the faith, here's 
a couple things that you could 

858
00:43:05,360 --> 00:43:08,040
try to work on. 
This is similar. 

859
00:43:08,040 --> 00:43:09,520
And we're not just looking at 
the reason behind it. 

860
00:43:09,520 --> 00:43:11,440
But the first thing is to bring 
your doubts to the light. 

861
00:43:12,600 --> 00:43:15,560
Yeah, I'm challenging you to say
the things that you think other 

862
00:43:15,560 --> 00:43:16,880
Christians are going to judge 
you for. 

863
00:43:18,800 --> 00:43:21,200
And let me tell you this, other 
Christians will judge you for 

864
00:43:21,200 --> 00:43:23,920
them. 
They're made out of people. 

865
00:43:23,920 --> 00:43:25,160
We just talked about this, 
right? 

866
00:43:25,440 --> 00:43:28,400
But not every Christian is going
to judge you for it. 

867
00:43:30,320 --> 00:43:32,360
If you have some doubts, it's OK
to bring it up. 

868
00:43:33,400 --> 00:43:35,360
Now, hopefully you've got some 
people that love the Lord and 

869
00:43:35,360 --> 00:43:37,440
they love you and they're safe 
people and you can talk to them.

870
00:43:37,440 --> 00:43:39,480
But if not, make some 
relationships, build it up. 

871
00:43:39,760 --> 00:43:42,240
Bring your doubts out into the 
light because they are going to 

872
00:43:42,240 --> 00:43:46,760
grow inside your head. 
OK, we'll tell you this too. 

873
00:43:46,760 --> 00:43:49,520
Actively pursue truth, don't 
just wonder. 

874
00:43:49,520 --> 00:43:53,240
I don't think we did one last 
year, but generally about once a

875
00:43:53,240 --> 00:43:56,360
year we'll do like an ask the 
pastor thing, like on a 

876
00:43:56,360 --> 00:43:57,800
Wednesday night, like towards 
the end of the year. 

877
00:43:57,800 --> 00:44:00,920
It's normally in November. 
Let me tell you what, I had 

878
00:44:00,920 --> 00:44:02,880
somebody ask me one time. 
Like, doesn't it scare you to do

879
00:44:02,880 --> 00:44:04,920
that? 
Not as much as it scared me to 

880
00:44:04,920 --> 00:44:07,080
do it with teenagers when I was 
a youth pastor. 

881
00:44:09,160 --> 00:44:12,320
But a lot of times we don't 
understand something because we 

882
00:44:12,320 --> 00:44:14,400
haven't asked, we haven't looked
into it. 

883
00:44:15,280 --> 00:44:17,560
And it's important to know why 
you believe what you believe. 

884
00:44:18,360 --> 00:44:20,280
Since I didn't get to do this 
last year, I'll bring out my 

885
00:44:20,280 --> 00:44:24,600
standard story about it. 
But I heard this story from my 

886
00:44:24,600 --> 00:44:28,160
pastor. 
He just said, there's this story

887
00:44:28,160 --> 00:44:31,320
of a woman who makes an amazing 
roast, and every year when she 

888
00:44:31,320 --> 00:44:32,800
makes the roast, she cuts the 
end of it off. 

889
00:44:32,800 --> 00:44:35,640
She throws the end of it away, 
puts the roast in the oven, 

890
00:44:35,720 --> 00:44:39,000
cooks it, family loves it. 
And one year, the husband 

891
00:44:39,000 --> 00:44:42,280
actually says, why do you cut 
the end of the roast off before 

892
00:44:42,280 --> 00:44:45,960
you cook it? 
She says, because that's how my 

893
00:44:45,960 --> 00:44:48,800
mom did it. 
He was like, well, why'd your 

894
00:44:48,800 --> 00:44:50,080
mom do it? 
And she goes, I don't know. 

895
00:44:50,600 --> 00:44:54,520
So she calls her mom, Hey, mom, 
why do you why do you cut the 

896
00:44:54,520 --> 00:44:57,920
end of the roast off of the pan 
before off the off the roast 

897
00:44:57,920 --> 00:45:00,040
before you cook it? 
And she said, well, I always did

898
00:45:00,040 --> 00:45:01,680
it because my roast didn't fit 
in the pan. 

899
00:45:02,360 --> 00:45:04,760
I don't know why you do it 
right. 

900
00:45:06,440 --> 00:45:08,640
And so for me, when I would talk
to the teenagers, I would want 

901
00:45:08,640 --> 00:45:11,280
questions like, do you want to 
know why we do communion? 

902
00:45:11,560 --> 00:45:13,480
Do you want to know why we 
prayed in certain ways? 

903
00:45:13,480 --> 00:45:15,560
Do you want to know why we do a 
time of worship music? 

904
00:45:15,560 --> 00:45:17,040
Do you want to know the whys and
all of this? 

905
00:45:17,560 --> 00:45:21,200
They kind of did, but they had 
like more nuanced questions. 

906
00:45:23,120 --> 00:45:25,360
But the reason we do it is 
because I'm also not afraid to 

907
00:45:25,360 --> 00:45:27,480
say, oh, that's a great one. 
I don't really know. 

908
00:45:28,880 --> 00:45:31,240
You know what is really cool? 
When you have a question and you

909
00:45:31,240 --> 00:45:32,560
don't know the answer, you get 
to look it up. 

910
00:45:32,960 --> 00:45:35,200
So when somebody comes to me 
with a question, I'll say that's

911
00:45:35,200 --> 00:45:37,200
a really good one. 
I've never looked into that. 

912
00:45:37,760 --> 00:45:41,000
Let's look into it together. 
Two people learned something 

913
00:45:41,000 --> 00:45:44,440
that day. 
Remember what God has done 

914
00:45:44,440 --> 00:45:45,760
already. 
We just talked about this, but 

915
00:45:45,760 --> 00:45:48,440
we forget so easily, don't we? 
You know why? 

916
00:45:48,680 --> 00:45:51,800
It's a relational flaw. 
It really is. 

917
00:45:52,200 --> 00:45:55,160
This is why relationships 
sometimes do fall apart. 

918
00:45:55,160 --> 00:45:57,880
We, we, we only remember what's 
happened recently in a 

919
00:45:57,880 --> 00:45:59,400
relationship. 
We don't remember all of the 

920
00:45:59,400 --> 00:46:01,040
good things that happened back 
in the day. 

921
00:46:01,040 --> 00:46:03,800
And I'm not saying that back in 
the day justifies what happens 

922
00:46:03,800 --> 00:46:06,640
now, but what I am saying is 
both matter. 

923
00:46:07,280 --> 00:46:09,880
If you remember what it is that 
made you choose to be friends 

924
00:46:09,880 --> 00:46:12,040
with somebody or what made you 
choose to be married to 

925
00:46:12,040 --> 00:46:14,440
somebody, it can help you if 
you're struggling now. 

926
00:46:14,480 --> 00:46:18,240
And what is it that made you be 
drawn to God in the 1st place? 

927
00:46:18,480 --> 00:46:22,240
Where did He come through to you
or come through for you that now

928
00:46:22,240 --> 00:46:24,480
you can trust that He'll come 
through again because He's 

929
00:46:24,480 --> 00:46:29,520
already done it. 
Thomas's story shows us a lot of

930
00:46:29,520 --> 00:46:33,520
honest doubt doesn't disqualify 
you from encountering Jesus. 

931
00:46:33,960 --> 00:46:37,160
I would actually tell you those 
honest questions, they qualify 

932
00:46:37,160 --> 00:46:39,640
you. 
When I go to somebody for 

933
00:46:39,640 --> 00:46:42,400
counsel, I want it to be 
somebody who has wrestled with 

934
00:46:42,400 --> 00:46:45,200
God and come out the other side.
I want it to be somebody who's 

935
00:46:45,200 --> 00:46:48,680
been through some stuff because 
they have a different kind of 

936
00:46:48,680 --> 00:46:52,800
advice for me. 
Two brief scriptures I'm going 

937
00:46:52,800 --> 00:46:54,200
to share with you before we 
close today. 

938
00:46:54,920 --> 00:46:58,680
And and I'll just also tell you 
this as a reminder. 

939
00:46:58,680 --> 00:47:00,680
If you all want to join us for 
some fried chicken and hear 

940
00:47:00,680 --> 00:47:02,600
about our theology and become a 
member of the church, man, I'd 

941
00:47:02,600 --> 00:47:04,480
love to have you over there. 
Come talk to me afterwards. 

942
00:47:05,600 --> 00:47:08,200
But as we wrap this up, I want 
you to remember that Thomas's 

943
00:47:08,200 --> 00:47:11,120
story, it's not really about a 
man who struggled to believe. 

944
00:47:11,120 --> 00:47:15,560
It's about a man who responded 
to his faith wavering and how 

945
00:47:15,560 --> 00:47:18,080
his God responded to his 
response. 

946
00:47:18,440 --> 00:47:21,520
It's always about him. 
This is a good place to remind 

947
00:47:21,520 --> 00:47:24,280
ourselves with how the early 
church was instructed to respond

948
00:47:24,280 --> 00:47:26,200
to people when their faith is 
uneasy. 

949
00:47:26,200 --> 00:47:29,720
In the book of Jude, you can see
in verse 22, it says this. 

950
00:47:30,360 --> 00:47:33,200
You must show mercy to those 
whose faith is wavering. 

951
00:47:34,800 --> 00:47:37,920
We don't always do that, do we? 
Come on, give it to God. 

952
00:47:38,240 --> 00:47:39,960
You just need to listen to more 
worship music. 

953
00:47:40,520 --> 00:47:44,000
I mean, worship music is 
helpful, but it won't fix a 

954
00:47:44,320 --> 00:47:45,600
crack that's happened in the 
heart. 

955
00:47:46,640 --> 00:47:49,560
That's people singing about the 
faith that they've lived out. 

956
00:47:50,240 --> 00:47:52,000
You're going to have to 
encounter God for yourself 

957
00:47:52,000 --> 00:47:53,560
there. 
So show mercy. 

958
00:47:53,560 --> 00:47:56,800
And when you see somebody who's 
struggling, it's not a time to 

959
00:47:56,800 --> 00:47:59,040
give them whatever bumper 
sticker Christianity you've seen

960
00:47:59,040 --> 00:48:01,120
or memorized. 
It's a time to sit with them and

961
00:48:01,120 --> 00:48:02,760
be like, man, where'd that come 
from? 

962
00:48:04,760 --> 00:48:06,480
That instruction is pretty 
profound. 

963
00:48:07,680 --> 00:48:11,280
But also just like I talked 
about in the opening prayer 

964
00:48:11,280 --> 00:48:16,000
today, Matthew 28 verses 16 
through 17, it's the Great 

965
00:48:16,000 --> 00:48:18,080
Commission. 
But I'm not going to get to the 

966
00:48:18,080 --> 00:48:20,920
Great Commission today. 
I just want to read the first 2 

967
00:48:20,920 --> 00:48:24,000
verses of that says when the 11 
disciples left for Galilee 

968
00:48:24,000 --> 00:48:27,120
because, you know, Judah was 
seasonally downsized from the 

969
00:48:27,120 --> 00:48:30,560
team. 
So there's 11 left, the 11 

970
00:48:30,560 --> 00:48:33,240
disciples left for Galilee, 
going to the mountain where 

971
00:48:33,280 --> 00:48:35,400
Jesus had told them to go. 
And when they saw him, they 

972
00:48:35,400 --> 00:48:37,640
worshipped him. 
But some of them doubted. 

973
00:48:39,360 --> 00:48:45,320
Listen, even at the moment when 
the resurrected Jesus is 

974
00:48:45,320 --> 00:48:47,920
standing before them and he's 
been walking with him for like 

975
00:48:47,920 --> 00:48:52,160
40 days, and he's telling them I
have to go so the Holy Spirit 

976
00:48:52,160 --> 00:48:53,640
can come and guide you into all 
truth. 

977
00:48:53,960 --> 00:48:57,120
Even at that moment, they're 
worshipping him and they still 

978
00:48:57,120 --> 00:49:00,880
have doubts. 
And do you know what is so 

979
00:49:00,880 --> 00:49:03,400
encouraging to me? 
Those are the people that he 

980
00:49:03,400 --> 00:49:05,320
gave the Great Commission to. 
Well, what is the Great 

981
00:49:05,320 --> 00:49:07,160
Commission? 
It's the mission of every single

982
00:49:07,160 --> 00:49:10,480
believer. 
Get people saved, get them 

983
00:49:10,480 --> 00:49:12,160
baptized. 
Teach them what Jesus said. 

984
00:49:12,160 --> 00:49:15,000
That's called discipleship. 
Teach them how to live for God. 

985
00:49:16,120 --> 00:49:20,400
Who do you give that mission to?
Doubters and as much as we judge

986
00:49:20,400 --> 00:49:24,520
Thomas, to me, when it comes to 
the area of doubt, he's the only

987
00:49:24,520 --> 00:49:26,680
one that was honest about it. 
Look at that whole group of 

988
00:49:26,680 --> 00:49:28,440
doubters right there. 
It says he's gathered with the 

989
00:49:28,440 --> 00:49:30,000
other 11. 
It said they worshipped him, but

990
00:49:30,000 --> 00:49:32,800
some of them doubted. 
Well, where was your voice when 

991
00:49:32,800 --> 00:49:36,640
Thomas was also doubting? 
Be the one that stands up and is

992
00:49:36,640 --> 00:49:38,600
able to say the things that are 
hard to say. 

993
00:49:38,880 --> 00:49:43,320
Truth is worth pursuing. 
A couple weeks ago, we had Jason

994
00:49:43,320 --> 00:49:46,600
Gray send us a video. 
Christian musician send us a 

995
00:49:46,600 --> 00:49:48,280
video on the meaning behind one 
of his songs. 

996
00:49:48,280 --> 00:49:51,440
I don't have a video for you 
today, but if you're a music 

997
00:49:51,440 --> 00:49:53,280
fan, I got a song for you to 
look up when you leave. 

998
00:49:54,200 --> 00:49:57,840
It's by a band called Nickel 
Creek and it's called Doubting 

999
00:49:57,840 --> 00:50:01,560
Thomas. 
They're like soft acoustic 

1000
00:50:01,560 --> 00:50:03,000
little blue grassy sound. 
Man. 

1001
00:50:03,000 --> 00:50:05,920
They're so talented and in it. 
They have such a beautiful 

1002
00:50:05,920 --> 00:50:09,480
lyrics here. 
Sometimes I pray for a slap in 

1003
00:50:09,480 --> 00:50:12,880
the face and then I beg to be 
spared because I'm a coward. 

1004
00:50:14,920 --> 00:50:19,200
That's honest, isn't it? 
At one point when they're 

1005
00:50:19,200 --> 00:50:22,360
wondering about what happens 
after death, they say if there's

1006
00:50:22,360 --> 00:50:24,800
a master of death, I bet he's 
holding his breath. 

1007
00:50:25,080 --> 00:50:28,560
As I show the blind and tell the
deaf about his power. 

1008
00:50:29,480 --> 00:50:31,640
That's deeper than you think. 
Listen to those words. 

1009
00:50:32,080 --> 00:50:34,920
As I show the blind and I tell 
the deaf about his power. 

1010
00:50:35,720 --> 00:50:39,480
See, we want a safe life, but 
what we really want is purpose. 

1011
00:50:41,120 --> 00:50:44,560
But how do you go and teach 
people about what's true when 

1012
00:50:44,560 --> 00:50:47,360
you're scared that what you 
believe might turn out to be a 

1013
00:50:47,360 --> 00:50:52,080
lie and there's only one answer,
you go to the source and make 

1014
00:50:52,080 --> 00:50:54,920
sure it's not a lie. 
My prayer is that you would 

1015
00:50:54,920 --> 00:50:57,200
encounter God for yourself, that
you would have your own 

1016
00:50:57,200 --> 00:51:00,200
relationship with Him. 
If you don't have one with Him, 

1017
00:51:00,760 --> 00:51:02,360
there's nothing that's more 
important. 

1018
00:51:02,520 --> 00:51:05,520
I don't have a magical string of
words to get you into heaven. 

1019
00:51:05,520 --> 00:51:08,880
I don't have a A Sinner's prayer
for you because the Bible says 

1020
00:51:08,880 --> 00:51:11,520
that the only way to be saved is
to believe in Jesus. 

1021
00:51:11,760 --> 00:51:14,280
That's it. 
No matter what I make you say or

1022
00:51:14,280 --> 00:51:17,400
repeat after me, I'm not able to
get you into heaven. 

1023
00:51:18,080 --> 00:51:21,000
But if you're struggling to know
God, just telling you there are 

1024
00:51:21,000 --> 00:51:23,640
so many people here that love 
the Lord and would love to help 

1025
00:51:23,640 --> 00:51:26,360
you on that journey. 
If that's something we can help 

1026
00:51:26,360 --> 00:51:29,520
you with, we'll hook you up, but
you're going to have to make the

1027
00:51:29,520 --> 00:51:32,240
first step. 
That's the only way that you can

1028
00:51:32,240 --> 00:51:35,360
overcome doubt. 
Next week we'll talk about when 

1029
00:51:35,360 --> 00:51:37,600
we fail because we quit 
something that we knew that we 

1030
00:51:37,600 --> 00:51:42,360
were supposed to do, but I don't
have the emotional energy for 

1031
00:51:42,360 --> 00:51:45,400
that today. 
But y'all stand up.