Don’t Let Doubt Define or Defeat You | Restored & Sent

Well, good morning. I think we are about to have church today. Uh, that was awesome so far. It's been a great morning so far. A huge shout out, man. I feel like we just did this to the class of 2025, uh, today. Once a student pastor, always a student pastor in my heart. Here's the news. People ask me all the time, what's the difference of speaking to adults, speaking to students? I'm like, nothing. Uh, neither one of them listen, uh, right? Uh, one sleeps and one talks. That's the only difference I got. Uh, but anyway, 2025. Thank you guys, uh, for being who you are. Also, just a point of reference from some of you that are feeling a little bit crunched, uh, in your seats today. We have an incredible eight 15 service, uh, that you can have your own row at if you want it.

Uh, we'll give you a bubble around you, and we'd like to invite you to that on next week. Well, hey, listen, if you've got a copy of scripture, and I hope you do, turn with me to John chapter 20. John chapter 20 is where we're gonna camp out today as we continue, uh, this series in John. And here's the thing, after this week, we only have two weeks left. Um, and we're gonna actually finish up this gospel, um, of John in two weeks. Uh, it's, it's kind of hard to believe that we're there, but so far, um, we've walked with Jesus in the first part of it where he's just invited us to come and see who he is, what he offers and his fullness. In the middle part of the series, we studied the I am statements, and we saw the power and the promise of who Jesus is in him claiming that he's God as well as him telling us that we can latch onto him and have all the power and his presence in our life.

John 20 · chapter mention John 20 · chapter mention

And then we studied the resurrection and the crucifixion of Jesus on Easter from John's Gospel. And then last week we started the last of the many series, and we started the final stretch where Jesus, after he rose, he actually appeared to the 10, right, to the 10 disciples in this upper room, with this idea that because of his resurrection, we can be fully restored. And not only does he restore us, but he sends us with his power and with his grace. Well, today what we're gonna do and, and kind of the, the series as a whole, we're actually gonna pull into the series one specific disciple today. And we're gonna look at his story and we're gonna look at his fight with his faith. And we're gonna see this morning actually through a series of firsthand encounters with Jesus, one of the lesser known disciples, actually one of my favorite disciples that gets a bad rap.

We're gonna look a little bit of the faith life and struggle and promise of the Apostle Thomas this morning. And, and, and here's what I wanna do with the Apostle Thomas this morning. I fully want to show you a side of Thomas's faith that if you've been in church, maybe your whole life, maybe you have never grabbed on to this side of Thomas based on kind of what you know about him. Anyway, I'm just gonna promise you today, alright, we are eventually gonna make it to John chapter 20. Alright? We're eventually gonna make it there. So for those of you type, hes calm down, we are going to get there. But before we do that, and actually before we get to a bunch of texts in John's gospel, there are a few just general things I need to tell you about Thomas, because Thomas was a little bit different than some of the other disciples.

John 20 · chapter mention

We really don't know a lot about Thomas's background. We don't know a lot about his family heritage. We don't know a lot of his even calling other than the fact that we know that he was called as part of the 12. But we actually do get a little bit of a glimpse into Thomas's life next week actually in John chapter 21. I'm gonna be teaching about breakfast on the beach and know everybody likes that one, right? We're gonna be looking at it. And actually, Thomas was one of the guys that after the crucifixion, he actually went and began to fish. Now, we don't know if Thomas was a fisherman in life, or he just kind of went with his pals that were fishermen. But we do know through that story that he kind of remained with the disciples. He remained in his faith. And we're gonna see that in a little bit later.

John 21 · chapter mention

But also on top of that, Thomas is an interesting guy because really and truly, Thomas actually isn't even a name. Alright? Now I know that busts some of our bubbles a little bit, but in the Bible, the word where that we get Thomas from is actually an Aramaic word that literally just means twin. Alright? It means twin. Actually, anytime it says Thomas, it always usually follows it up. Also known as Demis. We're gonna read that a bunch of times today. Demis is the Greek word for twin. Alright? So I want you to consider this for a minute, and maybe this will just show us a little bit of why this guy might have a little bit of a too, right? A little bit of an attitude about him. You see, in this time, when you had a baby mama, right? When you had a baby, this was prior to sonograms, prior to all the tests, and you just thought you were having a baby, right?

You thought you were having one, there was no way for you to know you were having two. Well, the midwife would, would, would receive that baby, right? Would hand it to you and you and your husband. You would have a name for that baby, right? Hey, this is Frank. I don't know, we'll call him Frank today, right? This is Frank, man, we're so glad. And then all of a sudden the midwife would go, but hold on a minute, right? Hold. I don't know how it works. All right? All right. I hold on a minute. There's another one. And then all of a sudden there would be another baby, a twin. And you would literally call this one Thomas. Alright? All Thomas means is twin, all right? All it means. Now, normally after a period of time, you and your spouse would kind of come up with a name, right?

We've had those times that we've heard of people that hadn't named their kids for days. You're weird when you do that, but we've heard of that, right? But normally you would name the kid later on, but for some reason, Thomas never gets a name. He never has a name. So for the rest of his life, that's just Frank's brother, right? That's the twin. That's all we know about Thomas. So Thomas, you can kind of see where he gets a little bit of his problems from. All right? No wonder he was a little intense. Now, the gospel's of Matthew, mark, and Luke, they don't even mention Thomas other than the calling of the disciples, alright? They don't. But John's gospel, the series that we're walking in, John's gospel actually shows him through a couple of glimpses that are actually pretty incredible. But before we get to that though, if you have been in church for any period of time and heard about Thomas, there's one thing you know about Thomas, and that is he was a doubter, doubting Thomas, right?

He was a doubting to how would you like to be a guy with no name and all of your history be that you're a doubter, right? For 2000 years, people like me have beat this guy up. Scholars have beat him up. I mean, why not do that with the rest of them? Was he the only one? I mean, David had a moment, right? I mean, all through the Bible, John the Baptist had a moment. What about Matthew's account of the of the great commission we see in his moment that all of the disciples have a moment, right? In fact, let me read it to you, Matthew 28, verse 16. It says this about all the disciples then the 11 disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. And when they saw Jesus, right, what did they do? They worshiped him.

Matthew 28:16

But some doubted, right? In other words, all the disciples in their lives, at even at the end, when Jesus is ascending back to God, they're still doubting. But yet poor Thomas, we owe him an apology in heaven one day. I might add, right? Poor Thomas is the one that we always say. He's just the doubting Thomas. But here's what I love about Thomas. He's relatable. That's what I love about him. You know what? I have a little bit of a hard time sometimes relating to John. I mean, he's so holy, right? He's the one Jesus loved, right? I have a hard time with that one, right? But Thomas, I can relate to some Thomas, right? I can relate to him because there's been some moments in my life where I've just kind of been like, I'm not sure about that. God, I don't know about that.

Jesus, I'm really not sure that's where we need to go. So I actually love Thomas because we can all relate. In fact, don't I? Let me, lemme read you a quote. They just kind of blew me away this week. Watch this one author says it like this, 90% of Christians have admitted to having an occasional doubt, and the other 10% are just lying. Come on. So here's what I wanna say this morning, looking at Thomas' life, if you're in that 100% that is doubted, possibly you feel like you cannot be restored, possibly you feel like you could never be sent, possibly you feel like Jesus would never pick you back up and send you, Thomas would look at you and go, nuh, that ain't my God. Amen. He would say that to us. So Thomas, this morning actually, he would give us this principle. I wanna use it as a springboard for the rest of the message.

You can write it in your notes or write it in somewhere in your Bible. Check out this principle, here it is. Thomas would say, never allow a season of doubt to limit your future. Walk with and effectiveness for Jesus. I think that's what Thomas brings to the table for us this morning. And I think that's actually what Jesus is about to show us this morning. Now, notice I use the word season in, in that, in that principle, because a season can mean a a short period of time, right? Or a season can mean a longer period of doubt. Here's what I wanna tell you this morning. The length of the doubt doesn't matter. What matters to God right now is that we would turn back to him and we would see him for who he is. We receive his power in our lives and we would allow him to send us under His name and under his banner.

That's why I love Thomas so much. So here's what I wanna do this morning. I just want you as a Christian, and this is hard for us sometimes, all right? I want you as a Christian this morning just to give Thomas another chance. Can we do that? And I wanna show you through Thomas's walk through Thomas's encounters with Jesus and through Thomas's walk in the power of Jesus, what it looks like to walk out your faith and my faith in a way that gives God glory. All right? So I'm gonna show you six dimensions of Thomas's faith this morning. And I want you to put them personally in your mind and ask yourself and every one of them, am I living this alright? And they're all gonna come from John's gospel. 'cause that's where we're from, right? From John's Gospel. Here's number one, and then I'll explain it.

Number one, Thomas was willing to sacrifice. Thomas was willing to sacrifice. Now, I know that's hard for you to believe 'cause he was the doubting Thomas, but I wanna give you a different perspective. I wanna give you a different perspective. Here's, here's what I wanna say, other than the calling of the disciples. The first time that we actually see Thomas speak in scriptures comes from John chapter 11, John chapter 11. Now, if you've been here at Bern Hickory for a while, maybe you know that John 11 is actually the story of Lazarus's death. We looked at it about six weeks ago. I looked back at it and in that moment, what do they do when Lazarus is sick? Lazarus is sick. Mary and Martha, friends of Jesus, they do what all of us should do. In any moment of tragedy or any moment of sickness, they call out to Jesus.

John 11 · chapter mention John 11 · chapter mention

Well, Jesus actually had been run out of town and he was on the other side of the Jordan and in this incredibly ministry season. And Jesus actually for two days, he doesn't respond. You need to go back. You can listen to the message all about it. All right? We preached all the way through it. But at the end of Jesus, after he receives this message, after he hears what's going on, we actually get our first glimpse of Thomas speaking. Lemme read it to you, John 11. It says this. It says, so when he heard that Lazarus was sick, that's Jesus. And he stayed there for two more days. And when he said to his disciples, let's go back to Judea, but Rabbi, they said a short while ago, the Jews tried to stone you and yet you're going back. Verse 11, after he said this, he went on to tell them, our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I'm going there to wake him up.

The disciples replied, Lord, if he sleeps, he's gonna get better. Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought that he meant a natural sleep. Verse 14. So he told them plainly, Lazarus is dead. And for your sake, Jesus said, I'm glad I was not there. So that you may believe, but let us go to him. Now, I want you to notice this. I kind of skipped over it when I taught this text about six weeks ago, but I want you to see this about Thomas then Thomas. All right then Twin, also known as twin. All right. Here it is said to the rest of the disciples, let us also go that we may die with him. Now, I want you to pause in that moment because I love this moment. Why? Because actually, Thomas is speaking out against the other disciples that nobody's saying anything.

Nobody's going, nobody is agreeing to what Jesus says here. But Thomas steps up to the plate and he is like, Hey, look, Jesus, if that's what we need to do, if that's where we need to go, I would rather die with Jesus than live a meaningless life without him. In other words, Thomas looks in this moment, if you, if you see this moment as doubting Thomas, you already write this moment off. But if you see it for what it really is, Thomas is literally looking at Jesus and he is looking at Jesus going, well, if that's the case, then I'm willing to sacrifice because I know who you are. That's what he's saying. You see what can be seen as this hard pressed, pessimistic moment. On the other side of it, it can actually be looked at as a, as a statement of devotion and loyalty.

Thomas is looking back at Jesus and he's going, Hey, I, I'm willing to follow you anywhere I'm willing to go and I'm willing to sacrifice my life because I know what you have already promised me. You know what he promised them? Look at this, in Mark chapter eight, he's living this out. Mark eight, verse 34 says, if anyone would come after me, he must deny himself. He must take up his cross and he must follow me. Watch this. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it. But whoever loses his life for me and the gospel will save it. You know why I love this so much? 'cause all of a sudden this week as I'm studying this message, I'm kinda getting ready for this moment. I really realize, and I really ask myself this question, is my, is my faith a willing to sacrifice faith?

Wow. Or is my faith just when it's convenient, is my faith a, a faith that yeah, if you're feeding me like the disciples are doing, if you're walking with me, if you're providing with me, if you're giving me good nuggets of wisdom, I'm with you. Or is my faith at a point where it's like, Hey, Jesus, if you say we need to go there, whatever the consequences, whatever comes next. However, this thing's gonna shake out. As long as I'm with you, I'm okay seniors, listen to me. You are going to make this decision every single day for the first three months of your college experience. You're gonna have to ask yourself, is my faith a willing to sacrifice faith? Or is my faith a Hey, that was good back then, but right now it's getting tough and I'm gonna go on my own way. Thomas stands in the moment and says, Hey, I am willing to sacrifice it all because I know to all and whom I owe.

Number one, it was willing to sacrifice. But I also just want you to see this about Thomas. Number two, he was prepared to follow. We just saw this in the last text, right? He was prepared to follow wherever Jesus went, as long as Jesus tells him where to go. You see, actually Thomas wants nothing less in his life than to be with Jesus every single moment. And this is what a true disciple is, is it not? A disciple is nothing more than a wondering, follower of Jesus. That's what it means to be a disciple of Jesus. That wherever Jesus goes, I will go. Whatever Jesus says I will do. I will literally just stay right on the backside of where Jesus is. And we actually get to see a glimpse of this in Thomas's next appearance in the gospel of John. In John chapter 14 is where we see him next.

John 14 · chapter mention

John 14, we looked at it about four weeks ago, actually, John 14, in context, Jesus is in the upper room. He's given the disciples, his last will and testament, right? He's telling them what's coming. He's saying that I'm going to the cross. I'm gonna be crucified. I'm gonna be, I'm gonna lay my life down for your sin, and I'm no longer gonna be here with you. Now, for us, that's a hard statement because we've never walked with physically walked with Jesus as kind of shoulder to shoulder. We've walked with the Holy Spirit, right? But for these guys, they've never known a moment in their life that Jesus has not physically walked beside them. So this is blowing their mind as Jesus is breaking the news to them, that he's leaving as he's going to die, and Jesus is giving them this clear picture of eternity.

And I want you to see next, the next spot where actually Thomas speaks. John 14 verses one through six. We just taught it. So I'll read it real quick. It says this. He says, do not let your hearts be troubled. Verse one, you believe in God, believe also in me. My father's house has many rooms. If it were not, so what I've told you where I'm going, what I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you. And if I go to prepare a place for you, Jesus says, I will come back and take you to be with me, that you also may be where I am. Verse four, I love this. You know the way that to the place where I'm going, oh, look at this second glimpse of Thomas. Thomas said to him, Lord, we do not know where you're going.

So how can we know the way Jesus answered? I am the way and I am the truth, and I am the life. And no one comes to the Father except through me. Now, we talked that a couple months ago or a couple weeks ago, but I didn't really key in on Thomas. But here's what I want you to see, what Thomas is doing right here, Thomas. While yes, it does come across as a little bit abrupt. It does come across as a little bit of a, of a harsh statement. I want you to see the heart of what Thomas is doing and what Thomas is saying here. Thomas is basically saying, Jesus, I need you to be very clear here. Do you kind of feel that a little bit? I need you to be very clear. You've just told me that, that you are going to die.

You've just told me that I'm gonna probably need to lay my life down for you. But Jesus, I need you to be very clear here. And then Thomas kind of comes out with this idea of, I never want there to be a moment that I'm not following you. I'll die for you, Jesus. I'll go anywhere for you, Jesus. But here's what he says, but I just need them map. Does that make sense? Yes sir. I just need you to show me where to go, and if you'll show me where to go, don't look at this as doubting Thomas. Look at this as clarity. Thomas. Look at this idea where Thomas is looking at him going, Hey, I'm with you. I just need some clarity. So this is not a faith issue. It's a I need help and I need you to show me. 'cause if you'll show me, I'll run with everything in me after you, man, this hit me this week.

Do you know what I've been asking myself every single morning this week? I've been asking myself this all the week this week, man, am I willing to follow Jesus anywhere? Am I willing to wherever Jesus says go, am I willing to go there? Or, or, or, or does my faith have to fit into this when it's convenient and self-serving of me moment? You know? And I think some of us have, have kind of began to slip into this little Americanized Christianity where it just needs to be about me and not about him. You see, Thomas is looking at me. Hey, I'll go anywhere. I'll do anything, but I just need you to be clear and I'll go. Or is it? Nah. If it's convenient, I'll do it. Lord, I love how a w tosser describes this easy believism. Listen to this quote. I quote this, watch this.

He says, I want some of your blood. In other words, Jesus, I want some of your blood for the forgiveness of my sins, but I don't have any intentions of follow you, following you or obeying you. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'd like to get on with my life. Oh, you see, I think that's kind of the, that's kind of the harken's edge that some of us live on sometimes. But Thomas is going, Hey, if you'll just show me the way, I will recklessly go wherever you tell me. Thomas was willing to sacrifice. He was prepared to follow anywhere. But number three, I want you to see this one. Number three, Thomas was also fully honest. He was fully honest. Matt, what does that mean? That means that he was honest with himself, he was honest with others, and he was honest with Jesus. You could actually write out in the margins, you could write, he was authentic if you want to.

He was authentic. What does that mean? That means that his faith wasn't just a faith for like a showy faith. It wasn't him trying to be something he was not. He didn't operate in this whole idea of just trying to fit in with others or look like somebody else. Thomas just wanted to know Jesus. He just wanted to be with Jesus and look, nothing was going to make him get off track. And in fact, I think in John chapter 20, that's our text for the morning, right? I told you we would get there in John chapter 20. I think this is why it hit Thomas so hard in his life, in the res, in the crucifixion moment. I think what happened to Thomas in his life that Jesus just like he'd said he was gonna do, that Jesus has died for all of us. That he has died.

John 20 · chapter mention John 20 · chapter mention

And now Thomas has left without Jesus. He's incredibly distraught. He's beside himself. And what do all the disciples do? All the disciples scatter. We saw this last week, right? The disciples, they're up in this room. We walked all the way through it. Jesus. He shows himself to them. The disciples finally see the clarity of who Jesus is and what Jesus has done. But there's a problem in verse 24 of John chapter 20. Listen to what it says. It says this. Now, Thomas, also known as Dimus, one of the 12 was not with the disciples when Jesus came. Now, I want you to pause right there, because literally all that says is that Thomas was not there. But because you've grown up thinking that he was a doubter, you have automatically thrown him out, right? You've automatically said, what a lack of faith. He knew nothing.

John 20 · chapter mention

He didn't even love Jesus. He was a phony. He was probably a Judas Jr. He was probably all this stuff, right? But could it be, let me give you just a different perspective. I don't know about this, but, but could it be that Thomas was just so beside himself? He, he wasn't there. Could it be that Thomas was so distraught he just couldn't get himself to the room that night? Based on what we've seen outta Thomas so far, it very well might've been that Thomas was just too broken to fake it. That's true. It could have been that he was just so not in the mood to socialize. Right? You ever been there in your life? I'll be there in about three hours, right? I'll be done with people. Right? It could have been that his heart was crushed, that his heart was distraught. He didn't even know what to do personally.

I think that Thomas Thomas' not being in the room was less about his faith and more about just the honesty of his hurt. That's true, sir. Because they were all hurt. And lemme just say this and I'll, and I'll move on until we're truly honest with God, and until we're truly honest with ourselves, our faith will never move beyond a sac. Uh, just the surface level faith. And I think we have just so gotten good at surface level faith, haven't we? I mean, how many times did somebody look at you and go, man, how was your week? And you're like, it was awesome. In your mind, you're like, it was terrible, right? I just think that he was authentic. He was honest. Lemme say this, it's okay to not be okay sometimes. That's true. It's okay to ask for help sometimes. In fact, this is why Jesus says one of my favorite verses in Matthew 28, come to me all you are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

Yes sir. Man, can I just think I, I think the next movement of God in America is when gonna be, when Christians begin to look at each other and just finally say, Hey, I'm not okay, but I know the one that is. Will you walk with me and help me? I think Thomas is showing us this right here. So he was willing to sacrifice. He was prepared to follow. I think he was incredibly honest. But I want you to see this in number four. Ah, this, our story keeps going. Thomas's faith was also supported by evidence. And our faith is supported by evidence. In fact, the facts backed up his faith. The facts backed up. What we look at him struggling in and stay with our account in verse 20, right where we left off last week, verse 25, watch what it says. So the other disciples told him, these are all the ones that were in the room, right?

So the other disciples told him, we have seen the Lord. But he said to them, oh, I love it unless I see the nail marks in his hands, and I put my finger where the nail marks were and put my hand into his side. I will not believe. Now, that's the verse, right? That's the verse that has shaped all of Thomas' life for all of history. He probably had it tattooed on himself in heaven, right? That is one that has really and truly kind of made his mantra. But what happened in this verse, the disciples that were in the upper room, right? We don't know why Thomas wasn't. They went and they told Thomas what had happened, right? They told him what had happened. And what did Thomas say in that moment? Thomas is like, nuh, I need some facts. I need some evidence. Now, again, don't get down on Thomas.

Yes, he's a doubter, but here's the deal. He's doubting his friends more than Jesus at this point. You gotta admit that. But on the other side of that, they all doubted. Yeah, they all did. Remember Mary when she went to the tomb in the in the crucifixion story, remember in the resurrection moment when Jesus was alive, Mary's yelling at Jesus thinking, he's the gardener, she's doubting. Remember John, when he gets to the tomb, John beats Peter to the tomb and he won't even go in. He's doubting so much. Remember all the disciples in the moment when Mary was telling them what had happened to her and that she had seen Jesus? Mark 1610 says this, she that's Mary went and told those that had been with Jesus and who were mourning and weeping, and when they heard that Jesus was alive and that she had seen him, they did not believe it.

So let's not get down on Thomas. Let's not get down on him more than we get down on anybody. 'cause the disciples were hiding in the upper room. And it's just the fact that they gotta see the resurrected savior is why their lives turned. And now in this moment, everyone else had seen Jesus. And now Thomas gets the evidence. In fact, read it with me in verse 25 again, watch what it says. But he said to them, unless I see the nail marks in his hand, and I put my finger where the nails were and put my hand into his side, I will not believe. Verse 26, in between verse 25 and 26 a week goes by this poor joker argues with his friends for a week. Do you realize this? A week later, his disciples were in the house again. They're back in the room again, and Thomas was with him.

You're gonna recognize this from last week. And though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them. In other words, Jesus appeared to them again and said, peace be with you. I think that's Jesus's line right there, right? He says it every time. He's like, peace be with you. Watch this. Verse 27, then he said to Thomas, notice what didn't happen. Thomas hasn't spoken yet. Thomas hasn't said a word to Jesus yet. Thomas hasn't raised an objection yet. Thomas hasn't looked at all these fools that were in the room with him and said, they believe, and I don't watch this. Verse 27, then he said to Thomas, put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Oh, I love this from Jesus. Stop doubting and believe. Wow, man. I think that's the message for every single one of us this morning.

Just quit doubting. The evidence is here. Do you see what happens? Thomas finally gets the proof. Listen, he gets the proof that actually Jesus initiates. Do you know what? Two things here. Number one, that our God is big enough to handle your questions. He's big enough. Don't feel like you can't ask God a question. Don't feel like you can't come to God with something that's on your heart. He's big enough to answer that. And then secondly, I want you to see this, that God gives us all the evidence we need to follow him. You listen, you don't need a new revelation. You don't need a new book of the Bible. You don't need something found in another cave somewhere. All the evidence you have has been given to us in scripture through the firsthand accounts of the apostles and those that walk with Jesus. And now God has handed it to us as his full revelation for us.

And the proof has been given to us that he has died, that he has rose, and he is for you. Thomas's life is showing this. But listen, it's okay to be honest with God. It's okay to ask God. Thomas gets the proof and we have the proof. And here's the cool thing about God. Many times he gives it to us even before we ask it out loud. Did you notice that Thomas doesn't even get to ask Jesus this out loud? How many times in our life has Jesus just spoken to our souls before we even mentioned it? Man, I love this. And watch what happened to Thomas in verse 28. Let's finish the story. Thomas said to Jesus said to him, my Lord and my God, amen. Then Jesus told him this, because you have seen me. You believed. Now here's the blessing on all of us, right?

Bless are those who have seen, who have not seen and yet believed. Thank you. In other words, here it is, Thomas's faith, it was willing to sacrifice. It followed anywhere. It was honest, it got the evidence. But now, in this moment, I want you to write this down. Number five, Thomas's faith was actually stronger than he ever gets credit for. You could write beside it that it was mature. In fact, verse 28, many theologians believe is the greatest statement of faith of any of the apostles in any moment. Lemme read it to you again, John 2028. Thomas said to him, my Lord and my God, what is Thomas saying here? He's showing two different things. He's saying, you are my Lord. What is the Lord? A Lord is the person that I submit everything to. I give everything to. I trust for my very breath, and I trust for my very life, and I trust for my very eternity.

And what he says I'll do, he is my Lord. Now, here's the deal. Many people had said that before. Many people had called Jesus Lord. But here's what I love about Thomas's statement. Not only does he say, my Lord, he follows it up with Jesus. You are God. You're God. This is the first disciple that says this to Jesus. This is what Jesus has been preaching for this whole book. It's what John has been trying to show us this whole time. Thomas in this moment, fully understands who Jesus is, and this changes everything. This takes him from being the doubting Thomas, right? Amen. To now He is a life long advocate for who Jesus is. Which leads me to my last one. We're closing on this one. Jesus or Thomas' faith eventually begins to spread to others. It spreads. This is what this little series is about, right?

That Jesus restores and Jesus sends that Jesus takes us and Jesus props us up and Jesus makes us new and he sends us to the nations. So the question with Thomas is what happens after this moment? Well, here's the good news and the bad news. We don't know from the Bible what happens to Thomas. We don't know. We do know that he was a martyr, right? Later on. But from church history, we actually do know what happens to doubting Thomas. And that's the idea that doubting Thomas doesn't say doubting Thomas. You see, after Thomas sees the risen Jesus, after he sees all that Jesus has taught him, after he literally is in the presence of Jesus, as he ascends to the Father, Thomas becomes a lifelong learner and a lifelong proclaimer of the gospel. Church tradition tells us that from that point on, he moves to ancient Babylon to tiger Retis river value the pri.

This will be present day Iraq, and he actually preaches the gospel. He actually starts churches. He actually proclaims the name of Jesus. From there, he moves over to present day Iran, which would be Persia in the time, and he does the same thing. He stands for the name of Jesus. He preaches the gospel. From that point in 52 ad we actually can follow Thomas taking sail down the west coast of India, down the west coast of India, doing what? Starting churches, proclaiming the gospel of Jesus, leading the Indian people to the name of Jesus. For 20 years, he preaches in India. They've written it down. They have history of Thomas being there. He moves over to the east coast. He begins up the east coast, and in 72 ad he leads a whole tribe to the Lord, the tribe of the bras. But one of them fled and actually ends up throwing Thomas in a pit and spearing him in the pit through his chest, Thomas's martyr.

But to this day, in India, you can trace on paper the founders of churches that go all the way back to the Apostle Thomas Church. You can be restored and you can be sent, you can be healed, and you can be sent. You can be given life, and you can proclaim his gospel. I love this. Did Jesus like slam him? No. Was he perfect? No. Did Jesus kick him out of the group? No. No, no, no. Why? Because Jesus goes out of his way to break our doubts, to prop us back up, to send us in His name with his power. It's the gospel. In fact, Hebrews four 15 says, for we do not have a high priest who's unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way just as we are. Yet he did not sin. So what do we do?

Look at verse 16. This is where we're closing. So let us then approach God's throne of grace with confidence so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. Was Thomas a doubting Thomas? Oh yeah. He doubted once, but his faith was willing to sacrifice. It followed Jesus anywhere. It was honest. It gave, it was evidential. It was mature. It began to spread to others and look, and it began a movement of God. Lemme finish with this principle that I started with. Listen, Thomas would tell us, never, never, never allow a season of doubt to limit your future walk and effectiveness for Jesus. Would you pray with me, Lord, today? God, we need you to walk with us, restore us. Show us who you are. And God, I just know. I know that there are people in this room this morning that have struggled in a season of doubt and are wondering if you're done with them. Oh God. Thank you for showing us. Thomas, thank you for showing us that you're not done. You're not finished. You're just waiting on us to turn back to you.