John chapter 20, verse 28, John 20, 28. And Thomas answered and said
unto him, My Lord and my God. This glorious declaration of
faith was uttered by a man who one
week before in proudness and arrogance made this statement, verse 25. Except I see in his hands the
print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the
nails, thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe. Do you know that this is the
only place in scripture where we're told how the Lord was actually
crucified? By being nailed to the cross. This is the only way we know
it for sure. He was crucified. He laid down His life. This is
the only scripture that tells us how He was attached. to the cross. On the day that the Lord rose
from the dead, from the grave, on that day, it was that evening,
Sunday evening, ten of the disciples were assembled behind closed
doors because The scripture says that they were afraid of the
Jews. That's what verse 19 of John
chapter 20 says. The same day at evening, being
the first day of the week, when the doors were shut, where the
disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus
and stood in the midst and said unto them, peace. be unto you. Oh, did they not need to be given
the assurance of peace. How much probably went through
their minds. It was the third day since he
was crucified. They had forsaken him. Peter had denied him three times. And the scripture says that he
walked up and said to them, peace be to you. I need that. I need
for the Lord to speak peace to my heart. I need the Lord's assurance. Oh, the turmoil within, the doubts
within, the fears within. Lord, do I know you or not? The thoughts I have Lord, speak
peace to me. Lord, I need to hear it. I need
to know. I don't even know what to ask
for. But Lord, you know. I thought again on this message
this morning, I was trying to go over my notes, and I thought,
I know the notes are scriptural. I know they are. But Lord, if
you don't bless this message this morning, it's not going
to be blessed. We'll just hear some words and
we'll leave and make a few lame, you know, statements. But I'm
talking about truly having peace spoken to my heart. They needed the assurance of
His presence. And the Lord, mercifully and
compassionately, showed them the proof of His resurrection. I need the continual remembrance,
reminding of resurrected glory. I need to know again. Tell me again. Holy Spirit, tell
me again. He ever liveth to make intercession
for me. I don't have anything to brag
on. I need to know by faith, Lord allow me to know
again how peace has been established for me. Because there's nothing
but turmoil here. The Scripture says in verse 20,
And when he had so said, he showed unto them his hands in his side.
And then were the disciples glad when they saw the Lord. They
beheld the evidence of his suffering, and they were glad. The Scripture
says, When they saw the Lord, when they saw His hands, when
they saw the wound in His side, they were glad. But let me tell
you this, you that know Him, we're going to see them too. We're going to see those scars
too. Just like they looked, I want
you to turn to Revelation chapter 5. Hold your place there. Turn
to Revelation 5. Revelation chapter 5. Verse 1 to 10. I saw in the right hand of him
that sat on the throne a book written within on the backside
sealed with seven seals. the book of God's everlasting
will and purpose, his covenant of grace. I saw a strong angel
proclaiming with a loud voice, who's worthy to open the book,
to loose the seals thereof. And no man in heaven or on earth,
neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither
to look thereon. And I wept much, because no man
was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to
look thereon. And one of the elders saith unto
me, Weep not. Behold, the line of the tribe
of Judah, the root of David, hath prevailed to open the book. and to loose the seven seals
thereof. And I beheld, and lo, in the
midst of the throne and of the four beasts, in the midst of
the elders, stood a lamb as it had been slain." That's very,
very revealing. Bearing all the marks of having
been slain. Having seven horns, seven eyes,
which are the seven spirits of God, sent forth. unto all the
earth. And he came, took the book out
of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne. And when
he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders
fell down before the Lamb." What Lamb? That Lamb that had that
appearance of having been slain, having every one of them, harps,
gold and vials full of odors, which were the prayers of the
saints. And they sung a new song saying, Thou art worthy to take
the book and to open the seals thereof. For thou, you that are
bearing the marks of the slain lamb was slain and has redeemed
us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, tongue, people
and nation has made us unto our God kings reigning with Him. and priests offering continually
the sacrifice of praise unto our God and we shall reign on
the earth. The scripture says that when
they saw the Lord, showed Him His hands, look at my hands,
look at my side, even now by faith, we see, we see, I mean,
I just, in my mind, I just can't help it. I just imagine, I imagine
there was 10 men, there was 10 men standing there. And he showed
them the marks of his suffering. And when they saw him, when they
saw the marks, when they saw him, they were glad. Oh, that
blessed God, that he eternally bears the marks of our redemption.
He was marred, the scripture says, more than any man. His
visage, his appearance, was marred more than any man. Now, I don't
know. All I know is this. His visage
was marred more than any man. But when he saw them, this is
what he still bore. The marks of his crucifixion. His hands and His side. And then the scripture declares
that peace was bestowed upon them again. It said, peace be
unto you. And then He said, verse 21 to
23, then said Jesus to them again, peace be unto you. As my Father
has sent me, even so send I you. And when He had said this, He
breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost.
Whoseforever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them, and whosoever
sins ye retain, they are retained. Now the Lord assured them that
though they doubted, Though they forsook him, they denied him,
believed not his promise to rise again. He assured them, you are
the objects of my mercy. He loved them. And he bestowed
upon them, the scripture says, peace again. And then the scripture
says, he breathed on them. and saith unto them, Receive
ye the Holy Ghost. Now, they had already received
the Holy Ghost. The Scripture says in John chapter
3 and verse 8 concerning regeneration. John 3 verse 8, the wind bloweth, where it listeth,
thou hearest the sound thereof, canst not tell whence it cometh,
whether it goeth. So is every one that is born
of the Spirit. Whenever Almighty God is pleased
to call out one of His own, He calls them out, bestowing upon
them by the power of the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit Himself. and they're regenerated, but
here the Lord's done something for them that they needed. He's commissioned them to preach
the gospel. As my Father has sent me, I'm
sending you. But I'm not going to send you
ill-equipped. He bestowed upon them the Holy
Spirit. He called them, He empowered
them to preach, whenever God calls a man to preach. I've said this before, I love
it. Charles Spurgeon says this, whenever God calls a man to preach,
the first thing He does is saves him. I thought, man, that's a
good statement. Those that preach not the gospel. Has the Lord saved them? No. Whenever God saves a man, saves
a woman, He teaches them the gospel. They're saved by grace
through faith in Christ who is declared in the gospel. Men say,
I was once saved and then the Lord taught me the gospel. No. Paul said, I'm not ashamed of
the gospel. It is the power of God unto salvation. We were religious, but we were
lost. Almighty God saves His people
through the hearing of the gospel, through that message. It's preached,
hear the Lord has saved these men. And then He equips them. He gifts them by His Spirit. He breathed on them. And he said,
you receive the Holy Ghost. And then when he said in verse
23, whosoever sins you remit, they are remitted. Let me say
this. No man born in Adam has the ability
to forgive sin. To remit or forgive, that's what
it means. No man has the ability to retain
sins. What did he mean? The message
that you preach is the message that declares sins remitted or
sins retained. The message of the gospel that
I'm equipping you to preach is the message. You go into all
the world and preach the gospel. Preach the message that I teach
you. Teach the message that I've sent you to preach. Men are saved
by grace. Not of works. When Almighty God
saves a man, He saves him by the hearing of the gospel. What
a blessing! What a blessing! What a joy! Ten men were there. Ten men standing
in the very presence of the Lord and beholding the risen Christ,
looked upon Him, heard Him say unto them, Peace be unto you. Look at my hands. Look at my
side. I'm going to send you as my father sent me. And I'm going
to equip you. He bestowed upon, breathed on
them the spirit of God and told them, this is the message that
you're preaching. Oh, to hear that word. What joy. The Lord's here. but one of them wasn't there. There were only 10 that day.
The scripture says, verse 24, but Thomas, one of the 12, called
Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. They were glad. They saw the
Lord. They beheld the blessing. They
heard of His love for them, the evidence of their redemption
and pardon, their acceptance with God Almighty. I was talking
to Barron before the service and I told him, I said, I'm so
thankful for this scripture. When I see the blood, I'll pass
over you. Aren't you glad it's not when
he sees our faith? It's not when he hears our prayer.
It's not when he sees our faithfulness. Because I'm telling you, we don't
stand a chance. When I see the blood. When I
see the blood. Oh, they rejoiced. They rejoiced to be encouraged
by the Lord's presence. And Thomas wasn't there. I don't know where he was. Scripture
doesn't say where he was. Maybe he had a good reason. I
don't know. He wasn't there. But the other
disciples, they loved him. They were so encouraging to him.
They spoke kindly to him. Tried to lift him up. They said,
verse 25, the other disciples therefore said unto him, we've
seen the Lord. We've seen the Lord. Thomas, he was here. Somebody you love, you talk to
them kindly, don't you? That's how you talk to them.
Encourage them, lift them up. They didn't browbeat him. Well, you should have. Thomas, we saw the Lord. But listen to his attitude. He said unto them, except I see
in his hands the print of the nail, put my finger on the print
of the nail, thrust my hand in his side, I will not believe. All he did was respond with arrogance. Hard. You're going to have to show
me. I'm going to have to see it with
my own two eyes. I'm not going to believe that. I don't know where he was. But
his absence and his stubbornness was so costly. It cost him joy, cost him peace,
cost him fellowship with the Lord and fellowship with God's
people. We will never know this side
of glory, how much we lose because of our attitude or because of
failing to miss with God's people in the hearing of the gospel.
Now, I know this. I know providentially. I understand
this. I mean, there's a lot of you
that I know you've got schedules, you've got to work. I understand
that. But what I'm saying is, I don't know where Thomas was.
I don't know. But providentially, we ought
to make every effort to be together with God's people. in fellowship
every time that we can. Every time we can. Why? Listen to Matthew 18, 20. We looked at this a moment ago. For where two or three are gathered
together in my name, in my name, there am I in the midst of them. Now this is convicting to me. This is very convicting. What a reason to meet with God's
people on the Lord's day. To meet with God's people when
God's people assemble themselves together. Why? The Lord is there. The Lord is there at any time,
any place, wherever it is, where two or three are gathered together
in the Lord's name. The Lord is there. Oh, the condescension of our
blessed Savior to meet with us, to come and be at Katie Baptist
Church. He's omnipresent. So that means
that wherever two or three are meeting together right now, the
Lord is there. He's God. And what a blessing
He bestows upon our fellowship. Fellowship. Isn't that a sweet
word? Fellowship. God's people meeting
together, encouraging one another, praying for one another, lifting
one another up, speaking of the things of the Lord. If we pant
after fellowship with Him, seek to be found with God's people.
What believer would purposefully absent himself from the place
of God's blessing? I think about that, I think,
I need to be encouraging people to come more. Asking them to
come, asking them to say, look, come. Come. Why? This is where the Lord's gonna
bless it, right here, Carl, this is it, right here. This is where
God's gonna bless the preaching of the gospel, where His people
assemble themselves. I'm in the midst of you. The Lord saved some of us. He
may save more. Who knows? But thanks be unto
God, the Lord has not left us to ourselves. The scripture says
He's not dealt with us after our sins, nor rewarded us according
to our iniquities. I'm so glad for that. I'm so
glad the Lord doesn't deal with me because after my attitude,
or my lack of faithfulness, my indifference, I'm so thankful. The scripture says in verse 26-27,
after eight days again his disciples were within and Thomas is with
them. And then came Jesus, the doors
being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto
you. Then saith he to Thomas, Reach
hither thy finger, and behold my hands, and reach hither thy
hand, and thrust it into my side, and be not faithless, but believing." No mentions made that anything
was said to the Lord by the other disciples. Nobody said anything to the Lord
about what Thomas had said. Why? They didn't have to. The
Lord heard him. The Lord heard him. The Lord
heard him say. I can't put my finger. I do not believe. Oh, if the Lord had left him
to himself. if he just left him alone. And
he had the right to do that. He could do that. I'll have mercy
and compassion on whomsoever I will. He could have done that.
He could have left me alone. He could have left you alone.
But he wasn't pleased to do so. He took that proud, arrogant,
haughty, just mean, he was just mean-spirited. He was just mean. I mean, this man walked with
the Lord. The Lord heard him and he met
again in love and compassion. He said, Thomas, by faith, right now, Marvin, put your finger... Finger of faith, right here. I laid down my life for you.
I shed my blood for you. I gave myself for you. And with
that privilege to be able, by faith, to believe Him and behold
Him, the Lord said to Thomas, The latter part of verse 27,
and be not faithless. Oh, what a statement. Don't be without faith. That wasn't a mere suggestion.
That was power speaking. Don't be without faith. Believe. Like I said, that wasn't something
for Thomas to take or leave. Almighty God spoke And with that
word, power was imparted. And no mention that Thomas did
it. There's no mention that Thomas
actually put his finger in the prints of his hands or put his
hands, you know, here's what happened. Thomas, birth 28, answered
and said unto him, my Lord, my God. You are the Messiah. Thomas knew
that. He knew that. But just the Lord
allowing him just for a moment to be left to himself. This is
what's going to happen, Thomas, if I don't keep you. Without
me, you can do nothing. If he withdraws just to allow
us to see ourselves for what we really are, Let me tell you
what happens when he withdraws himself and allows us to behold. That horrible, nasty attitude
of ours just springs right forth and just stands up. Arrogance starts speaking. Allows
us to see what we are. Thomas, don't you be without
faith. You believe. My Lord and my God
That acknowledgement, think about what He said. This is who you are. You're God. You're God. You are God Almighty,
holy. This is who you are. You're unapproachable. Unapproachable. You're God, the
just God. The consuming fire God, that's
who you are. The unapproachable, holy, God
Almighty in heaven and earth, who without holiness cannot be
approached without completely consuming anything that would
come into His presence. You're God, but you're the Messiah. You're
God Almighty who has humbled yourself and made yourself of
no reputation and took upon yourself the form of sinful flesh. Lord,
you're the unapproachable one who is now approachable as you
are the Messiah. You're the way, you're the only
way to God. And I believe you. I believe
that you've shown mercy to me, that you've borne my guilt, and
you've paid the debt of the arrogance that I just saw in myself. I
yield myself to you. You're my Lord. You're my God. By electing grace, redeeming
grace, regenerating grace, giving me a heart to come to you. Lord,
where would I be without you? I tell you, we see Thomas in
ourselves, don't we? We see Thomas, all that. He's going to allow us to see
ourselves for what we are. But I tell you what he's promised.
He said, I won't leave you there. I'll never leave you. I'll never
leave you. I'll never forsake you. I'll show you what you are. I'll show you what you are. And I'll show you who I am. And
I'll show you what I've done for you. Oh, by the grace of
God. Lord, show that to me. Lord,
don't leave me to myself, for Christ's sake. Amen.