WEBVTT - This Might Be My God Moment | Pastor Steven Furtick 0:00:01.520 --> 0:00:02.800 Hey, this is Stephen Ferdick. 0:00:02.840 --> 0:00:05.840 I'm the pastor of Elevation Church and this is our podcast. 0:00:05.880 --> 0:00:08.280 I wanted to thank you for joining us today. Hope 0:00:08.320 --> 0:00:10.680 this inspires you. Hope it builds your faith. 0:00:10.760 --> 0:00:12.840 Hope it gives your perspective to see God is moving 0:00:12.920 --> 0:00:13.440 in your life. 0:00:13.840 --> 0:00:25.560 Enjoy the message. Well, welcome, y'all. Messed up our Easter service. 0:00:25.600 --> 0:00:27.120 It was supposed to be nice. 0:00:26.880 --> 0:00:49.760 And calm, dignify how many people love Jesus in this place. Father, 0:00:49.800 --> 0:00:53.880 We thank you for your presence. Now, we thank you 0:00:53.920 --> 0:00:58.440 for your power. We thank you for the ways you've 0:00:58.440 --> 0:01:01.320 provided for us. You've seen us through so many seasons, 0:01:01.320 --> 0:01:02.480 and we call you faithful. 0:01:03.680 --> 0:01:05.440 We thank you for this day we celebrate. 0:01:07.120 --> 0:01:13.080 We celebrate that the God of miracles triumphed gloriously with 0:01:13.200 --> 0:01:18.959 scars in his hands, declared victory over the grave. We 0:01:19.080 --> 0:01:21.280 thank you for blood that was shed so we could 0:01:21.280 --> 0:01:26.080 be spotless. We thank you for breaking through the barrier 0:01:26.160 --> 0:01:30.039 of death itself so that we could be justified, raised 0:01:30.080 --> 0:01:34.400 to life in your name. And now I ask you, Jesus, 0:01:35.760 --> 0:01:38.080 the Jesus who rose from the grave, the Jesus who 0:01:38.080 --> 0:01:40.880 lives in my heart. I ask you to speak to 0:01:41.000 --> 0:01:46.480 every person who came today. A personal word, A personal 0:01:46.480 --> 0:01:49.400 word that can turn their life around. A personal word, 0:01:50.160 --> 0:01:53.680 a personal word that can bring hope in the darkness. 0:01:53.720 --> 0:01:58.960 A personal word, a personal word so specific that you 0:01:59.000 --> 0:02:01.440 can shout it or with h for it. But we 0:02:01.560 --> 0:02:04.560 lean in now declaring that you are Lord of all. 0:02:05.680 --> 0:02:07.960 I thank you for the enthusiasm of the faith of 0:02:08.000 --> 0:02:11.360 the people around me. They were not dancing because they've 0:02:11.360 --> 0:02:14.200 never been depressed. They were dancing because they are delivered 0:02:15.080 --> 0:02:19.720 from depression. They were not dancing because they've never been down. 0:02:20.280 --> 0:02:25.160 They were dancing because you got up and you reached down, 0:02:25.680 --> 0:02:28.519 and you lifted us with you. So we praise you today, 0:02:29.520 --> 0:02:33.640 Great God. Now, Lord, with all that you showed me 0:02:33.680 --> 0:02:36.280 in your word, help me to have the miracle of 0:02:36.400 --> 0:02:40.760 talking fast, and help them to listen fast as well, 0:02:41.440 --> 0:02:42.960 so that you can say all that you want to 0:02:42.960 --> 0:02:48.480 say in Jesus' name. Amen, remain standing. Put your hands together. 0:02:48.560 --> 0:02:54.040 If you know that our God is God and beside him, 0:02:54.080 --> 0:02:59.160 there is no other. Thank you, choir, Thank you for 0:02:59.240 --> 0:03:01.639 coming today. God bless you. I'm glad you're here. 0:03:03.360 --> 0:03:06.160 Wow, remain standing. 0:03:06.160 --> 0:03:07.800 I'm going to read our scripture and then give you 0:03:07.880 --> 0:03:10.480 our topic for today, and we're gonna be sharing from 0:03:10.520 --> 0:03:13.600 John chapter twenty and I want to go from verse 0:03:13.600 --> 0:03:17.800 twenty four to verse twenty nine and share something with 0:03:17.880 --> 0:03:20.760 you that I believe is very pivotal and powerful on 0:03:20.800 --> 0:03:23.680 this the most pivotal day in human history. 0:03:24.840 --> 0:03:28.320 Now, when I read this to you, don't be confused. 0:03:28.440 --> 0:03:33.639 Jesus at this point in John's Gospel has been up 0:03:33.680 --> 0:03:38.080 from the grave for a week, and the Bible says 0:03:38.080 --> 0:03:41.200 that he appeared to his disciples. He went to the 0:03:41.200 --> 0:03:45.440 women first, all the women make some noise. Went to 0:03:45.480 --> 0:03:48.440 the women first, he did. That's just the fact. He 0:03:48.480 --> 0:03:51.880 went to the women first. But then he showed up 0:03:51.920 --> 0:03:56.000 to the disciples, and the Bible tells us about one 0:03:56.040 --> 0:03:57.960 of them. Now, the reason that I believe the Holy 0:03:58.000 --> 0:04:00.280 Spirit selected this passage today is us. 0:04:00.680 --> 0:04:03.000 He wants to speak to each one of us. 0:04:03.040 --> 0:04:06.200 And this is not a public appearance of Jesus as 0:04:06.280 --> 0:04:08.240 much as it is a private audience that he has 0:04:08.280 --> 0:04:12.480 with the disciple named Thomas, the one that you mistakenly 0:04:12.560 --> 0:04:16.080 have called all your life doubting Thomas. But I'm going 0:04:16.160 --> 0:04:18.000 to show you why it's a mistake to label him 0:04:18.040 --> 0:04:21.960 that way. In just a moment, the Bible says in 0:04:22.040 --> 0:04:27.159 John chapter twenty, verse twenty four. Now Thomas, one of 0:04:27.200 --> 0:04:31.840 the twelve called the twin, was not with them when 0:04:31.920 --> 0:04:36.599 Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, we have 0:04:36.760 --> 0:04:41.520 seen the Lord. But he said to them, unless I 0:04:41.640 --> 0:04:45.200 see in his hands the mark of the nails, and 0:04:45.600 --> 0:04:48.520 place my finger into the mark of the nails and 0:04:48.560 --> 0:04:53.640 place my hand into his side, I will never believe. Now, 0:04:53.720 --> 0:04:56.960 give him some credit. This was before Ai. But Thomas 0:04:58.240 --> 0:05:01.800 feels like this is unlikely that this has happened, just 0:05:01.839 --> 0:05:05.160 like they said. But just after he says, I will 0:05:05.200 --> 0:05:07.839 never believe. Put that back up in verse twenty five. Please, 0:05:07.920 --> 0:05:12.240 I will never believe. The Bible says. Eight days later, 0:05:13.040 --> 0:05:19.120 his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. 0:05:19.480 --> 0:05:24.600 Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them. 0:05:24.920 --> 0:05:27.200 Y'all missed a great place to shout, because although the 0:05:27.240 --> 0:05:31.760 doors were locked, Jesus came. How many are thankful that 0:05:31.800 --> 0:05:38.720 he came anyway. He came anyway, through locked doors, through 0:05:38.760 --> 0:05:41.680 a broken heart, through a divorce that you went through 0:05:41.760 --> 0:05:45.159 last year. He came anyway, even though you were trying 0:05:45.160 --> 0:05:47.960 to push him back and tell him no, he came anyway, 0:05:48.640 --> 0:05:51.880 He came through locked doors and stood among them and said, 0:05:51.880 --> 0:05:56.200 peace be with you. And then he said to Thomas, hey, 0:05:56.200 --> 0:05:59.960 I heard you've been talking about me, So let's do this. 0:06:00.120 --> 0:06:02.599 Put your finger here and see my hands, and put 0:06:02.600 --> 0:06:05.240 out your hand and place it in my side. Do 0:06:05.320 --> 0:06:11.720 not disbelieve, but believe. Thomas answered him with one of 0:06:11.760 --> 0:06:16.279 the greatest confessions in all of scripture. My Lord and 0:06:17.320 --> 0:06:20.400 my God. Now I want you to turn to your 0:06:20.400 --> 0:06:22.600 neighbor one more time and tell them my title. First 0:06:22.640 --> 0:06:28.240 of all, just introduce it and say this. Say today, please. 0:06:28.000 --> 0:06:28.520 Forgive me. 0:06:29.960 --> 0:06:34.479 If I seem a little focused. Tell him I can't 0:06:34.480 --> 0:06:38.440 talk to you for the next thirty minutes. Don't bother 0:06:38.520 --> 0:06:42.560 me for the next thirty minutes. Now give them my title. 0:06:42.640 --> 0:06:51.760 Say this might be my God moment. This might be 0:06:53.760 --> 0:07:08.039 my God moment in Jesus' name. Amen, be seated. So 0:07:08.160 --> 0:07:13.559 what did I miss? Thomas asked Peter after not coming 0:07:13.640 --> 0:07:16.600 to the little prayer service on the Sunday that Jesus 0:07:16.680 --> 0:07:20.440 rose from the dead. And Peter said, oh, man, Thomas, 0:07:21.680 --> 0:07:26.600 you picked a bad time to miss prayer meeting. Jesus 0:07:26.640 --> 0:07:30.560 came and Thomas is like and shut up. Quit playing 0:07:32.400 --> 0:07:35.320 for real, though, what did I miss? He's like you 0:07:35.400 --> 0:07:35.840 missed it. 0:07:35.920 --> 0:07:36.320 He came. 0:07:36.520 --> 0:07:40.160 Jesus came, you mean like his spirit. No, Jesus came. 0:07:41.080 --> 0:07:44.960 He showed us where they put the nails. He showed 0:07:45.040 --> 0:07:46.720 us where they pierced his side. 0:07:46.440 --> 0:07:48.400 With the spear. It was him. 0:07:49.640 --> 0:07:51.760 I know it was him because I would recognize that 0:07:51.840 --> 0:07:55.200 voice anywhere. It's the voice that told me come over 0:07:55.280 --> 0:07:56.120 choppy waters. 0:07:56.160 --> 0:07:58.560 It was him. I know it was him. 0:07:58.560 --> 0:08:01.640 And if I wasn't certain by his voice, I was 0:08:01.680 --> 0:08:04.240 certain because I saw his scars. 0:08:06.000 --> 0:08:06.600 It's amazing. 0:08:06.680 --> 0:08:14.280 Sometimes when even words can't convince you, wounds will. Some 0:08:14.320 --> 0:08:16.560 of the things in life that you and I have 0:08:16.600 --> 0:08:18.400 to learn, we have to learn not. 0:08:18.400 --> 0:08:21.400 Through words, but through wounds. 0:08:22.480 --> 0:08:26.480 Sometimes you have to touch the hot stove to realize 0:08:26.520 --> 0:08:31.440 why your mom told you not to. And yet in 0:08:31.480 --> 0:08:34.920 the scripture we don't see Thomas learning from his own wounds, 0:08:34.920 --> 0:08:39.280 but by the wounds of Jesus Christ. Let's clap our 0:08:39.320 --> 0:08:44.400 hands and thank God that by his wounds we are healed. Yeah, 0:08:44.880 --> 0:08:49.240 that the message of the Cross and the Resurrection is 0:08:49.240 --> 0:08:52.840 that I don't have to do everything stupid in order 0:08:52.880 --> 0:08:56.840 to receive what God has for me. And in this 0:08:56.880 --> 0:09:00.880 particular passage of scripture, Thomas is missing on the day 0:09:00.920 --> 0:09:04.679 that Jesus appears, and since he missed the experience of 0:09:04.720 --> 0:09:07.800 seeing Jesus, it is hard for him to believe what 0:09:07.920 --> 0:09:12.120 he has never seen. Now, the Bible says in verse 0:09:12.720 --> 0:09:15.280 twenty six, and I thought this was a very anointed verse. 0:09:15.320 --> 0:09:19.480 Eight days later, his disciples were inside again and Thomas 0:09:19.600 --> 0:09:23.240 was with them. In other words, he said, I Am 0:09:23.320 --> 0:09:26.559 not going to miss it again. And I believe that 0:09:26.600 --> 0:09:28.880 there are some people listening to me preach on this 0:09:28.960 --> 0:09:32.200 Easter celebration that feel like you missed it. 0:09:33.520 --> 0:09:34.480 You feel like you missed it. 0:09:34.520 --> 0:09:38.080 You feel like you missed the opportunity to really be 0:09:38.160 --> 0:09:40.240 there for your kids. You feel like you missed the 0:09:40.320 --> 0:09:43.040 opportunity to really be what you could have been. It 0:09:43.040 --> 0:09:44.920 could have been a mistake that you made, or it 0:09:44.960 --> 0:09:47.600 could have been a distraction that had you pulled to 0:09:47.640 --> 0:09:50.920 the side and you missed what God was doing. I 0:09:50.960 --> 0:09:54.720 missed it, And the spirit of Thomas in this passage 0:09:54.800 --> 0:09:58.600 is someone who said I'm not going to miss this again. 0:09:59.480 --> 0:10:01.800 In the same that some of us feel drawn to 0:10:01.920 --> 0:10:04.839 church today, and we were not dragged to church. We 0:10:04.840 --> 0:10:08.320 were drawn to church. Let me say my theology. Even 0:10:08.320 --> 0:10:14.480 if somebody dragged you, God drew you. Even if they 0:10:14.520 --> 0:10:17.520 made you come, God got you here. Even if your 0:10:17.559 --> 0:10:19.079 mom told you she was going to beat you within 0:10:19.120 --> 0:10:20.760 an inch of your life if you didn't get dressed 0:10:20.800 --> 0:10:23.600 and get in the van, that was God speaking through 0:10:23.600 --> 0:10:26.199 your mom, threatening a beating through your mom, using your 0:10:26.240 --> 0:10:30.120 mom as the instrument of his rat so that he 0:10:30.120 --> 0:10:33.560 could bring you to the place of his mercy. And 0:10:33.600 --> 0:10:36.600 it's amazing how moments can happen in the presence of 0:10:36.640 --> 0:10:40.160 God that can supersede all of the moments that came 0:10:40.160 --> 0:10:42.160 before it. That's what we celebrate on the cross, that 0:10:42.200 --> 0:10:44.959 every sin that was committed up till that point in 0:10:45.040 --> 0:10:48.160 human history was on the back of our Savior, and 0:10:48.240 --> 0:10:50.800 in that moment when he died for you and I, 0:10:50.840 --> 0:10:53.000 it made a way for all of us to be forgiven. 0:10:53.960 --> 0:10:56.000 Let's clap our hands again and thank our Savior that 0:10:56.040 --> 0:11:02.120 he made a way for us. I'm making you clap 0:11:02.160 --> 0:11:04.320 today because I don't want you to miss it. 0:11:05.280 --> 0:11:07.600 I want you to celebrate the resurrection. I don't want 0:11:07.600 --> 0:11:09.960 you to miss it. Some of y'all. 0:11:09.960 --> 0:11:11.960 When I came out here, I was dancing, and you 0:11:12.000 --> 0:11:14.959 didn't dance you missed it. You could have got your 0:11:15.080 --> 0:11:18.840 church and your cardio all in one package deal, but 0:11:18.880 --> 0:11:21.959 you missed it. And if we dance again at the 0:11:22.040 --> 0:11:24.319 end of service, I want you to get ready because. 0:11:24.080 --> 0:11:25.240 You're not going to miss it again. 0:11:25.320 --> 0:11:27.520 If I have to come out there and dance with you, 0:11:28.000 --> 0:11:31.079 if I can dance with my limited rhythm in front 0:11:31.080 --> 0:11:33.760 of thousands, you can dance too. 0:11:34.240 --> 0:11:36.280 I'm not going to miss this. 0:11:36.559 --> 0:11:39.760 Thomas said, I'm gonna be in church next Sunday. And 0:11:39.840 --> 0:11:42.480 this shows us a very important lesson because I think 0:11:42.520 --> 0:11:45.680 as much as Thomas has become a villain for those 0:11:45.720 --> 0:11:50.120 who doubt, I believe he is also an architect, an 0:11:50.200 --> 0:11:54.080 archetype of those of us who press through doubt in 0:11:54.200 --> 0:11:55.720 order to find true faith. 0:11:57.160 --> 0:12:00.320 And Thomas shows up on a Sunday. 0:12:00.080 --> 0:12:04.640 Eight days after Now they counted the days from It's complicated, 0:12:04.679 --> 0:12:08.400 but it's basically been a week. The first Sunday that 0:12:08.440 --> 0:12:10.640 they met together was the Sunday Jesus got up from 0:12:10.640 --> 0:12:12.920 the grave. It's been eight days in the way that 0:12:12.920 --> 0:12:16.040 the Jewish calendar runs, and it's Sunday again, and Thomas says, 0:12:16.280 --> 0:12:19.720 I'm coming to church with you. Yeah, but you said 0:12:19.760 --> 0:12:24.240 you didn't believe. I don't yet, but I'm coming. Here's 0:12:24.240 --> 0:12:33.480 the principle. Sometimes you've got to show up unsure. And 0:12:33.520 --> 0:12:36.240 I said that just in case you're here today feeling 0:12:36.320 --> 0:12:39.760 like I don't know if I really believe this. The 0:12:39.760 --> 0:12:44.040 fact that you showed up is enough for God to 0:12:44.080 --> 0:12:48.840 show up and show you who he is, even though 0:12:48.840 --> 0:12:52.400 you're not sure. Sometimes you've got to show up to 0:12:52.520 --> 0:12:56.199 work unsure. Sometimes you've got to show up to a 0:12:56.559 --> 0:13:01.319 doctor's office unsure what the diagnosis will be. Sometimes you've 0:13:01.360 --> 0:13:06.200 got to show up in prayer, unsure, even wondering, Lord, 0:13:06.559 --> 0:13:09.920 are you listening? Now? I won't ask you to raise 0:13:09.960 --> 0:13:12.080 your hand, but have you ever been praying about something 0:13:12.120 --> 0:13:18.240 and wondered, Lord, are you listening? Somebody pull out your 0:13:18.240 --> 0:13:24.040 phone real quick. How many believe that your phone is 0:13:24.120 --> 0:13:31.280 listening to you? Raise your hand. If you believe your 0:13:31.280 --> 0:13:36.120 phone is listening to you, how do you know? Because 0:13:36.160 --> 0:13:42.320 stuff shows up because you said something, but you didn't 0:13:42.360 --> 0:13:46.400 type anything, and you weren't even talking to the phone. 0:13:46.559 --> 0:13:50.880 But five minutes later, how did this hair replacement pill 0:13:51.280 --> 0:13:54.880 get on my phone? All I did was look in 0:13:54.920 --> 0:13:57.160 the mirror and think I got a little spot back here? 0:13:57.520 --> 0:14:02.720 How is this on my phone is listening to me. 0:14:03.400 --> 0:14:06.560 I'm convinced that it's listening. I don't know who's spying 0:14:06.600 --> 0:14:08.720 on me or what they want other than to sell 0:14:08.800 --> 0:14:11.760 me stuff, but is listening to me. 0:14:12.040 --> 0:14:14.800 Now, hold up your phone. You believe it's listening. 0:14:17.400 --> 0:14:20.480 You believe that there is technology that was invented by 0:14:20.600 --> 0:14:25.440 man that can know your thoughts from a farm and 0:14:25.520 --> 0:14:29.560 can show you stuff that you said. You have more 0:14:29.680 --> 0:14:32.800 faith in your phone than you do in your father, 0:14:33.520 --> 0:14:34.320 who made you. 0:14:35.000 --> 0:14:40.040 Look phone was made by a man, but man was 0:14:40.120 --> 0:14:41.120 made by God. 0:14:41.920 --> 0:14:44.400 And if my phone can hear me talk about going 0:14:44.440 --> 0:14:47.840 to Disney World and put it on my Instagram feed. 0:14:48.040 --> 0:14:51.640 How much more can God here? I'll prove it to you. 0:14:51.960 --> 0:14:55.720 When Thomas said, unless I touch his hand, I won't 0:14:55.720 --> 0:14:59.680 believe Jesus wasn't in the room. 0:15:00.000 --> 0:15:03.320 No, it means he's listening even when you're not looking 0:15:03.400 --> 0:15:04.160 at him. 0:15:04.640 --> 0:15:07.800 He's listening, even when you don't fully feel him. 0:15:08.200 --> 0:15:09.640 He's listening, even. 0:15:09.400 --> 0:15:11.880 When you don't have the courage to say what you think. 0:15:13.320 --> 0:15:17.160 Touch your neighbor and say, my God listens. He's a 0:15:17.160 --> 0:15:21.240 good listener. My God is a good listener. My God 0:15:21.280 --> 0:15:25.080 doesn't break eye contact with me. My God was listening 0:15:25.120 --> 0:15:28.120 when I was singing to him today. My God likes 0:15:28.160 --> 0:15:31.400 to hear me sing. My God loves to hear me praise. 0:15:31.840 --> 0:15:35.000 My God listens to me. He not only hears the 0:15:35.080 --> 0:15:38.240 song that I sing. He hears the groans that are 0:15:38.280 --> 0:15:40.760 within me. When I have a groan that is too 0:15:40.880 --> 0:15:45.120 much for a word, his spirit intercedes for me. And 0:15:45.240 --> 0:15:48.960 God listens even when I don't see him. He's listening, 0:15:49.280 --> 0:15:53.000 even when I can't discern him. He's listening even when 0:15:53.080 --> 0:15:56.920 I cannot trace him. I can trust him because I 0:15:57.080 --> 0:16:07.160 know he hears my prayer. We serve a Lord who listens, 0:16:07.240 --> 0:16:10.880 so that when he shows up to tom As, he says, Hey, Tommy, 0:16:11.760 --> 0:16:14.160 I heard you want to touch right here. 0:16:14.760 --> 0:16:17.280 Go ahead and touch right here. 0:16:17.520 --> 0:16:19.800 I heard you want to touch this one too, Go 0:16:19.840 --> 0:16:21.720 ahead and touch both hands. 0:16:22.080 --> 0:16:22.960 I've got time. 0:16:23.280 --> 0:16:27.600 By the way, speaking of time, realized that God transforms 0:16:27.680 --> 0:16:37.120 lives on his timeline, not ours, not ours, Especially if 0:16:37.120 --> 0:16:39.560 there's somebody that you're praying for that you care about, 0:16:40.200 --> 0:16:43.480 who you know is far from God. God knows the 0:16:43.600 --> 0:16:48.960 right time to show up and touch their heart, and 0:16:49.080 --> 0:16:51.560 just because it hasn't happened yet doesn't mean he doesn't 0:16:51.560 --> 0:16:52.280 hear your prayer. 0:16:53.640 --> 0:16:55.160 I want to say that to a parent. 0:16:55.720 --> 0:16:59.080 Just because it hasn't happened for your child yet doesn't 0:16:59.120 --> 0:17:03.800 mean he hasn't heard your prayer. I want to say 0:17:03.800 --> 0:17:06.040 that for a wife who's praying for your husband and 0:17:06.080 --> 0:17:07.800 he wouldn't come to Easter service. 0:17:08.080 --> 0:17:09.959 A lady told me the other day I met her 0:17:09.960 --> 0:17:10.480 out on tour. 0:17:10.600 --> 0:17:12.679 She said, you're the only preacher I can get my 0:17:12.760 --> 0:17:13.719 husband to listen to. 0:17:14.080 --> 0:17:15.200 Please keep preaching. 0:17:15.400 --> 0:17:17.680 I can't get him to go to church with me yet, 0:17:17.840 --> 0:17:21.399 but he's listening. And I said, if he keeps listening, God. 0:17:21.160 --> 0:17:22.120 Will keep speaking. 0:17:22.119 --> 0:17:27.040 And it is only a matter of time because God 0:17:30.920 --> 0:17:36.840 transforms lives on his timeline, not mine, His timeline not mine. 0:17:36.840 --> 0:17:41.760 Put it in the chat, his timeline, not mine. Lord, 0:17:41.760 --> 0:17:48.320 are you listening, Yeah, I'm listening. Well, Lord, you're a 0:17:48.320 --> 0:17:53.480 little late. And the Lord said, I'm listening. I'm not late. 0:17:54.760 --> 0:17:58.399 I'm waiting eight days on purpose, which begs the question. 0:17:58.480 --> 0:18:01.760 If he waited eight days to come and tell Thomas 0:18:01.800 --> 0:18:05.600 to touch him, why would he waste eight days when 0:18:05.640 --> 0:18:08.280 he's only going to be on Earth fifty before his ascension. 0:18:09.520 --> 0:18:11.520 That's almost a tenth of the time that he is 0:18:11.600 --> 0:18:17.200 going to be on earth that he wasted waiting. Now 0:18:17.200 --> 0:18:20.720 here's the beautiful thing about this passage. And I'm going 0:18:20.800 --> 0:18:23.480 to tell you why I chose Thomas for our Easter sermon. 0:18:23.520 --> 0:18:25.959 We've been in a series in our church called called 0:18:26.880 --> 0:18:30.000 Very Creative. The series is called called We've been knowing 0:18:30.000 --> 0:18:31.800 this twenty years. I'm running out of ideas. I just 0:18:31.840 --> 0:18:35.159 called it called But in all seriousness, has been for me, 0:18:35.200 --> 0:18:37.479 one of the most rich studies in scripture that I've 0:18:37.480 --> 0:18:39.360 ever done, because I'm going through different people that God 0:18:39.400 --> 0:18:42.080 called by name, but specifically he called their name twice. 0:18:42.119 --> 0:18:45.200 Now, if you'll notice in the scripture, Jesus didn't. 0:18:44.920 --> 0:18:48.879 Call Thomas's name, but Thomas's name means twin and it 0:18:48.920 --> 0:18:52.440 says that in verse twenty four. 0:18:53.560 --> 0:18:55.919 Now Thomas one of the twelve. Watch this. 0:18:56.640 --> 0:19:01.240 He still wanted the twelve even though he doesn't have faith. Yeah, 0:19:03.080 --> 0:19:04.960 God knew it was going to take him a while 0:19:05.040 --> 0:19:08.600 when he called him. He called him anyway, He's still 0:19:08.600 --> 0:19:12.200 one of the twelve. Now, Judas that didn't go so good, 0:19:12.280 --> 0:19:16.240 So it's technically eleven. Judas is going to be replaced shortly, 0:19:17.880 --> 0:19:19.520 but he's one of the twelve and watch this he 0:19:19.560 --> 0:19:22.680 has called the twin. That's literally what the name Thomas means, twin. 0:19:25.200 --> 0:19:30.080 There's widespread speculation amongst scholars as to who Thomas's twin is, 0:19:31.840 --> 0:19:34.840 and if you research that question, you'll get many different answers, 0:19:35.520 --> 0:19:36.800 none of them satisfactory. 0:19:36.800 --> 0:19:38.719 The Bible doesn't tell us who twin is. 0:19:39.800 --> 0:19:41.639 But I want to suggest to you that there is 0:19:41.680 --> 0:19:45.960 a twin in Thomas that reflects the twin in you, 0:19:47.160 --> 0:19:50.399 because regardless of who his actual brother or sister was, 0:19:50.440 --> 0:19:54.199 that was his twin. We see a man swing in 0:19:54.240 --> 0:19:59.720 this passage from I will never believe to my Lord 0:19:59.800 --> 0:20:04.840 and my God in just a moment. Furthermore, he said, 0:20:04.880 --> 0:20:09.120 I'll never believe unless I touch Jesus's hands. I'll never 0:20:09.160 --> 0:20:13.520 believe unless I touch Jesus's side. But if you'll notice 0:20:13.560 --> 0:20:16.800 in the passage, the moment never came where he actually 0:20:16.840 --> 0:20:20.639 touched Jesus's hand, because, in spite of all that he 0:20:20.720 --> 0:20:22.919 thought it would take for him to trust in God, 0:20:23.680 --> 0:20:29.320 seeing Jesus alive was enough. And so Thomas, who you 0:20:29.520 --> 0:20:35.119 call doubting Thomas. The Bible does not call him doubting Thomas. 0:20:35.640 --> 0:20:39.480 Nobody called him doubting Thomas until a few hundred years 0:20:39.480 --> 0:20:44.320 ago when the church began to canonize his dysfunctional moment 0:20:44.880 --> 0:20:48.880 and make it his identity. So who we call doubting 0:20:48.960 --> 0:20:54.600 Thomas only doubted for eight days? He went on to 0:20:54.640 --> 0:20:58.080 be one of the most effective disciples that ever lived. 0:20:58.720 --> 0:21:02.080 So my question for you today is shouldn't we give 0:21:02.160 --> 0:21:08.479 him a better name than doubting Thomas, because doubting Thomas 0:21:08.520 --> 0:21:12.920 also had a twin and his name is not doubting Thomas. 0:21:12.960 --> 0:21:13.560 But watch this. 0:21:14.160 --> 0:21:17.800 I am renaming this disciple today on the spot because 0:21:17.920 --> 0:21:22.000 Jesus didn't name him doubting Thomas. People, did you say 0:21:22.040 --> 0:21:28.439 he's doubting Thomas, I say he's trusting Thomas. And I 0:21:28.640 --> 0:21:33.400 say that he went from doubting Thomas to trusting Thomas 0:21:33.800 --> 0:21:37.800 because Jesus loved him enough to show up, and not 0:21:37.880 --> 0:21:41.400 only show up, but to show him the scars where 0:21:41.440 --> 0:21:44.439 the nails had been, to remind him of the price 0:21:44.560 --> 0:21:48.879 that had been paid. And when Thomas saw the print 0:21:48.960 --> 0:21:51.879 of the nails, and when Thomas saw the wound in 0:21:51.960 --> 0:21:55.640 the side, he makes a confession that is very meticulous 0:21:55.840 --> 0:21:57.760 and we should observe it for a moment. 0:21:57.800 --> 0:22:03.160 On Easter Sunday, he says, my Lord and my God. 0:22:04.359 --> 0:22:06.800 Now you say that's not a big deal. It most 0:22:06.880 --> 0:22:07.640 certainly is. 0:22:07.800 --> 0:22:11.879 For a first century Jew to call any man Lord 0:22:11.920 --> 0:22:17.960 would have been considered blasphemy unless that man was God. Furthermore, 0:22:18.000 --> 0:22:21.680 throughout the ministry of Jesus, many people called him Lord. 0:22:22.560 --> 0:22:25.880 It was a title given of respect. And so Thomas 0:22:25.880 --> 0:22:30.159 says two things. When he sees the proof of the 0:22:30.200 --> 0:22:34.600 wounds of the one who won his salvation, he says, 0:22:35.160 --> 0:22:39.919 my Lord and my God. And let me show you 0:22:39.960 --> 0:22:44.760 why I call him trusting Thomas. John's Gospel starts and 0:22:44.840 --> 0:22:46.800 John one one says, in the beginning was. 0:22:46.800 --> 0:22:50.480 The Word, and the word was with God, and the 0:22:50.520 --> 0:22:51.919 Word was God. 0:22:53.000 --> 0:22:56.639 John's purpose in writing his gospel was to declare the 0:22:56.680 --> 0:23:00.320 truth that Jesus is God, not just a good man, 0:23:00.880 --> 0:23:04.480 the God man. Jesus is the Word of God made 0:23:04.480 --> 0:23:05.600 flesh to dwell among us. 0:23:05.680 --> 0:23:06.680 John one fourteen. 0:23:06.760 --> 0:23:09.840 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was 0:23:09.920 --> 0:23:14.760 with God, and the Word was God. But it is 0:23:14.800 --> 0:23:18.800 not until John chapter twenty, when Thomas sees the wounds 0:23:18.800 --> 0:23:23.719 of the Savior, that Jesus is called God by another person. 0:23:24.880 --> 0:23:28.879 Isn't it interesting that the one who was latest to 0:23:29.000 --> 0:23:34.520 see Jesus after the Resurrection, made the greatest confession of 0:23:34.600 --> 0:23:40.080 faith in the entire Gospel of John. Tell your neighbor, 0:23:40.160 --> 0:23:43.920 don't count me out. I'm a little late, but don't 0:23:43.920 --> 0:23:47.600 count me out. I got some issues I'm still working through, 0:23:47.640 --> 0:23:48.640 but don't count me out. 0:23:49.560 --> 0:23:51.400 I've got some things that are really. 0:23:51.240 --> 0:23:54.520 Dragging me down and dragging me back right now, But 0:23:54.640 --> 0:23:57.720 don't count me out. I got a little something that 0:23:57.840 --> 0:23:59.960 I'm working out over here on the side, and I'm 0:24:00.119 --> 0:24:03.560 not exactly as holy as everybody on this row, But 0:24:03.640 --> 0:24:07.159 don't count me out. Don't judge me just because you 0:24:07.240 --> 0:24:11.560 met me as doubting Thomas. I have a twin. My 0:24:11.680 --> 0:24:16.320 twin is trusting Thomas. And after Jesus gets through with me, 0:24:17.119 --> 0:24:20.920 after Jesus gets finished doing what he's doing in my life, 0:24:21.119 --> 0:24:24.200 he who began a good work in me will be. 0:24:24.280 --> 0:24:25.919 Faithful to perform it. 0:24:26.080 --> 0:24:29.399 The truth of the matter is every Thomas has a twin, 0:24:30.080 --> 0:24:33.639 and everybody in here praising God has a twin that 0:24:33.760 --> 0:24:36.760 we might meet on Tuesday if we encounter you in 0:24:36.800 --> 0:24:37.840 a different situation. 0:24:38.680 --> 0:24:41.280 So it just depends on when I meet you that 0:24:41.440 --> 0:24:45.800 determines how I identify you. But in the beginning, was the word, 0:24:45.840 --> 0:24:46.600 and the word. 0:24:46.440 --> 0:24:50.000 Was with God, and the word was God. So God 0:24:50.040 --> 0:24:53.480 does not label me by my lowest moment. God does 0:24:53.520 --> 0:24:56.919 not label me by my doubts inside. God does not 0:24:57.119 --> 0:24:59.880 label me by what I missed out on. God does 0:25:00.160 --> 0:25:03.040 I label me by the shame of my past. He says, 0:25:03.560 --> 0:25:06.600