(John 20:24-29) But one of the Twelve, Thomas (called “Twin”), was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples kept telling him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “If I don’t see the mark of the nails in His hands, put my finger into the mark of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will never believe!” After eight days His disciples were indoors again, and Thomas was with them. Even though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them. He said, “Peace to you!” Then He said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and observe My hands. Reach out your hand and put it into My side. Don’t be an unbeliever, but a believer.” Thomas responded to Him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said, “Because you have seen Me, you have believed. Those who believe without seeing are blessed.”
I WANT TO BE LIKE THOMAS
Jesus deserves our unwavering and unreserved devotion.
1. Be a LEADER
(John 11:7) “Let’s go to Judea again.”
(John 11:8) “Rabbi, just now the Jews tried to stone You, and You’re going there again?”
(John 11:14-15) Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus has died. I’m glad for you that I wasn’t there so that you may believe. But let’s go to him.”
(John 11:16) Then Thomas said to his fellow disciples, “Let’s go so that we may die with Him.”
A. We need to be courageous leaders for Christ.
(John 14:4) “You know the way to where I am going.”
(John 14:5) “We don’t know where You’re going, so how can we know the way?”
(John 14:6) “I am the way, the truth and the Life. No man comes to the Father accept through Me.”
B. We need to be clarifying leaders for Christ.
2. Be a BELIEVER
A. Sometimes we can trust witnesses.
(John 20:19-20) In the evening of that first day of the week, the disciples were gathered together with the doors locked because of their fear of the Jews. Then Jesus came, stood among them, and said to them, “Peace to you!” Having said this, He showed them His hands and His side. So the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.
B. Usually we CAN trust friends.
C. Always – we can trust JESUS.
3. Be A GUARANTEER
A. Guarantee: an assurance that one’s promise will be fulfilled.
B. Marriage – guaranteeing they will always be there for the other.
C. Follower – guaranteeing Jesus we will always be there for Him.
4. Be an ADVENTURER
A. Adventurer: taking an action without absolute assurance of the results.
B. He was an adventurer for Christ.
(20:29) Jesus said, “Because you have seen Me, you have believed. Those who believe without seeing are blessed.”
C. Are we adventurers for Christ?
The message of Easter is simple: Jesus is alive, and we can now truly live.
Luke 24:13-35
The message of Easter is simple: Jesus died, and rose again to rescue you, and those of us who believe that are on God's rescue team.
1 Corinthians 15
As we look at the suffering servant, we see what Christ is offering and calling us to do.
Isaiah 52:13-15 & Isaiah 53:1-12
Jesus really did rise again, and we know that from the eyewitness testimonies and the radically changed lives proceeded from that event.
1 Corinthians 15:3-8
We are missing some key elements in our Easter.
1 Corinthians 15:1-8
Jesus opened the door for us into a whole new exciting reality.
John 20:1-17
