Todd's Road Grace Church would
like to invite you to listen to a sermon by our pastor, Todd
Nybert. We are located at 4137 Todd's
Road, two miles outside of Manowar Boulevard. Sunday services are
at 10.30 a.m. and 6 p.m. Bible study is at
9.45 a.m. Wednesday services are at 7 p.m. Nursery is provided for all services.
For more information, visit our website at toddsroadgracechurch.com. Now here's our pastor, Todd Nybert. I've entitled this message, Where
Was Thomas? Our text is found in John chapter
20, and this is the evening of the first day of our Lord's resurrection. We read in verse 19, then the
same day it even being the first day of the week when the doors
were shut, where the disciples were assembled for fear of the
Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst and said, peace be
unto you. Now, this is the first time that
the Lord had appeared to the group of his disciples, the 12
or the 11, or actually the 10, because Thomas was not there.
Judas was dead. and Thomas was not there. Now, he had appeared to Mary
earlier, and the angels had told some women that he had risen,
and they came back with this message. Thomas was there when
he heard this message about the angels. Thomas was there when
Mary came back with this message. But let's begin reading in verse
24. But Thomas, this is after the
Lord had appeared to the ten. But Thomas, one of the twelve
called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. Now I want you to think about
that. Thomas heard the report of the women who had seen the
angels. and had been to the empty tomb and had heard the testimony. He's not here, but he's risen. As a matter of fact, Thomas was
there a couple of days before the death of Christ when he told
them that I will be crucified, slain. The third day I'll be
raised from the dead and I'm going to go to Galilee before
you. Thomas heard that. Thomas was there when Mary came
as an eyewitness, having seen the Lord. Thomas heard these
things. Why was he not there when the
Lord came to speak to the disciples? It's a good question, isn't it?
Why wasn't he there? I mean, he heard, yet he was
not there. Now maybe he was sick, or maybe
he just didn't believe, maybe he had other commitments, but
this I know, he should have been there. He should have been there. You see, the Lord has promised
to be in this place that Thomas neglected to be there. He should have been there. Now, the Lord has promised where
two or three are gathered together in my name. There I am in the
midst of them. There is no substitute for gathering
together in His name. That's what a church service
is. It's people gathering together
in His name. Now, I'm preaching on TV, and
I'm glad you're listening. I'm glad you can hear. But this
is no substitute for public worship. God's people meeting together
in His name. He said, where two or three are
gathered together in My name, there I am in the midst of them. He's still the one who walks
in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks, the seven churches
of Asia, He is in the presence. His presence is in every assembly
where his gospel is preached. Now, not every religious assembly.
I'm not saying that. Not everything that calls itself
a church is a church in the first place, but where his gospel is
preached, where people are met together in his name, he has
promised there he will be in their midst. Now, Why wasn't
Thomas there? This was the public assembly
of God's saints. Why wasn't Thomas there? I can't
sufficiently stress the importance of public worship for this reason,
because he is there. I've heard people make statements
like, I don't want to be legalistic about church attendance. Well,
I don't want to be legalistic about anything. And it's true,
people can think, well, I must be saved because I attend every
service. That's foolishness. That is legalism. But I wouldn't
want to consider wanting to be where he's promised his presence
as legalistic. He's there, and Thomas was not
there. Now, where was Thomas? Now, let's go on reading in this
passage of Scripture. And one thing I couldn't help
but thinking about, when Thomas wasn't there, you can be sure
that the other disciples were thinking, where's Thomas? I'm
sure in some respects it was a discouragement to them. Where's
Thomas? Well, the Lord appears again. We read in verse 25, the
other disciples therefore said unto him, we've seen the Lord.
Remember he wasn't there when the Lord appeared. And they said,
we've seen the Lord. But he said unto them, except
I see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger
into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side,
I will not believe. Now, Thomas sounds so arrogant
when he makes that statement. And it's almost flippant the
way he talks about, I'm gonna thrust my hand in his side. This
is not good, but this is the way Thomas spake. And we have
no doubt that Thomas was a believer as well. Now verse 26, and after
eight days, this is eight days after the Lord's resurrection,
after his first appearance to the disciples. And after eight
days, again, his disciples were within and Thomas was with them. He was there this time. Then
came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said,
peace be unto you. Oh, if the Lord declares peace,
there's peace. You see, he made peace, and he
can say, peace. I can say, peace be unto you,
and it doesn't mean anything. But if he says it, oh, what it
means. The peace of being justified
before God. The peace of having all your
sins forgiven. Then saith he to Thomas. Now he heard what Thomas said. You see, the Lord Jesus hears
everything. He knows everything. I know he
is in a body, but he's also omnipresent because he's God. Do I understand
that? No. Do I believe it? Altogether.
He heard what Thomas had said eight days before. Then saith
he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger and behold my hands. And reach hither thy hand and
thrust it into my side. You know, the Lord still had
his scars. This is very important. When
the scripture speaks of the lamb slain in heaven, it's not talking
about a lamb. It's talking about the Lord Jesus
Christ with his scars. And when I'm in heaven, I'm going
to know the only reason I'm there is because of the scars in his
body, what he accomplished. I'll understand that clearly.
And he says to Thomas, thrust it into my side and be not faithless,
but believing." And I love Thomas's answer. What a noble confession
of Christ. And Thomas answered and said
unto him, my Lord and my God. I say the same thing with Thomas
with regard to the Lord Jesus Christ, my Lord and my God. Jesus saith unto him, Thomas,
because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed, blessed are they
that have not seen and yet believed. Now, the Lord is saying to Thomas,
It's a blessed thing that you've seen and believed, but how blessed
is that one who has not seen and believed? Now, this is not saying that
they're going to have a higher reward in heaven than Thomas
would, but in this life, they're going to enjoy more of his presence. I couldn't help but thinking
of Mary and Martha. Martha was cumbered about with
much effort and care, serving tables, and Mary sitting at the
feet of the Lord, hearing His Word. And Martha became indignant,
looking at Mary sitting there while she was doing all the work.
And she told the Lord what to do. That was a mistake. The Lord
bid her that she help me. And the Lord looked at Martha
and said, Martha, Martha, you're careful and troubled about many
things, but one thing is needful. And Mary hath chosen that good
part. And what was that? Hearing His
Word. Mary hath chosen that good part,
and it shall not be taken from her. Now, I think it would be
beneficial to us to look at this man, Thomas. And let me give
you my outline for this message. And what I'm saying now is my
biggest problem and your biggest problem. Let me repeat that. What I'm talking about right
now is the biggest problem in my life, and it's the biggest
problem in your life as well. Now, let me give you my outline
before we look at Thomas. Number one, we have too high
an opinion of ourselves. Number two, we have too low an
opinion of the Lord Jesus Christ. Number three, we put too much
experience, I mean emphasis on our own personal experience,
our own subjective experience. And number four, we have too
low a view of public worship being where he is. Now the first time Thomas is
mentioned, is in John chapter 11. The Lord says in verse 14,
Then Jesus said unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead, and I am glad
for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent that you
might believe. Nevertheless, let us go unto him. Then said
Thomas, which is called Didymus, unto his fellow disciples, Let
us also go, that we may die with him. Thomas knew that when the Lord
went back to Jerusalem, the animosity against him was so great that
he would be put to death. And that did take place. The
Lord was put to death in Jerusalem. He was crucified. And Thomas
knew that that was going to take place. And his response, and
I know he meant it, and he had, in some respects, a very sincere
sentiment in saying this. He said, come on, fellas, let's
go die with him. Let's go die with him. Now you say, what's
wrong with that? Well, didn't Peter say, though
the rest of this bunch denies you, I'll never deny you. I'll lay down my life for thy
sake. I'll go and die with you. Now, what Thomas demonstrated
at this time is the same thing Peter demonstrated. Too high
an opinion of himself. to cocksure about how he would
respond. You know, when Paul said that
we're called upon to prove the good and acceptable and perfect
will of God in Romans chapter 12, the first thing he said in
proving that good and acceptable and perfect will of God, he said,
I say to every man that's among you, not to think of himself
more highly than he ought to think. Now, at this time, Thomas
was thinking of himself more highly than he ought to think. Now, if I think of myself in
any light other than the chief of sinners, my thoughts about
myself are too high. God resists the proud, and he
gives grace to the lowly. Him that exalts himself, God
will abase. And him that humbles himself,
God will exalt. Now, where do these high thoughts
of self come from? These confident, self-confident
thoughts of yourself. They are rooted, and this is
my second point, in too low a view of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now,
in John chapter 14, this is the second time we read of Thomas
in the book of John. He said in verse 5, Thomas saith
unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest, and how can we know
the way? This is after the Lord said,
and whither I go you know, and the way you know. Thomas responds,
Lord, we know not whither thou goest, and how can we know the
way? And that was an irreverent view of the Lord Jesus Christ.
And the Lord corrected him by making this statement, Jesus
saith unto him, I am the way. I am the truth. I am the life. No man cometh to the Father,
but by me. Now, Thomas hears the Lord say
something, and his understanding at that time was quite dull.
And he says, how can we know the way? And when he was thinking
of a way, he was thinking of some process by which you would
get to the Father, some path that you would walk in order
to get to the Father. Christ said, Thomas, I am the
way. Not I'll show you the way, I'm
it. I'm the way so much that if you're
in me, you're already there. I am the way to the Father. Thomas, I am the truth. No doctrine of the Bible is understood
apart from my person. I am the truth. I am. Who else could say that but the
Lord Jesus Christ? If I would look at you and say,
I am the truth, you ought to throw tomatoes at the TV. It
would not be true. He is the truth. And He says, I am the life. You
know what that means? The only life that God accepts
is the life of the Lord Jesus Christ. And if I am justified
by God on that last day, it'll be because His life, His merit
is my merit before God. I am the way. I am the truth,
I am the life. No man comes to the Father but
by me." Now, Thomas demonstrated a high opinion of himself that
was rooted in a low opinion of the Lord Jesus Christ. And then
in our text, in John chapter 20, the third thing that I would
notice about Thomas is he put way too much emphasis on his
own experience. He said in verse 25, the other
disciples therefore said unto him, we've seen the Lord, but
he said unto them, except I shall see, something I'm gonna have
to see, me, in his hands, the print of the nails and put my
finger into his side so that I experience that and thrust
my hand into his side I will not believe. Now, Thomas put
an emphasis on his personal experience that is clean contrary to faith. Now, this is what men and women
do constantly. We look within, I can't believe
unless I fill in the blank. I can't believe unless I experience
this. I can't believe unless I feel
this. I can't believe that I'm saved
unless I do this. I can't believe it. Hold on.
If Christ died and was raised, well, I believe that. If Christ
accomplished salvation, I believe that, but, but, there's the problem,
but, but I, I could feel more assurance if I was more holy
and less sinful and had more feelings of assurance. That's
looking to yourself. And that's what Thomas was doing.
He was looking within, unless I experience these things, I
will not believe. Now, if you have a high opinion
of yourself, and if you have too low an opinion of Christ,
you're going to have too high of an opinion of your own experience.
Thomas certainly did. And last, Thomas had too low
a view of being where Christ promised he would be. He was
not there. Now there may be, I suppose,
justified reasons for him not being there. I don't know. I
don't know why he wasn't there. but he wasn't. And he was told
the Lord would be there, and he wasn't there. And he is forever
thought of as the doubting disciple. Now, I want to close by looking
at a passage of Scripture in Matthew chapter 8, and I want
to hear what the Lord says with regard to this man. We read in
verse 10, But when Jesus heard it, he marveled and said to them
that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great
faith, no, not in Israel. is the Lord's testimony of the
greatest faith he had ever seen. Now that draws my attention.
What you and I would call great faith is just our opinion. We don't really have the spiritual
insight to see what great faith is, he does. And he calls this
the greatest faith he had seen in all of Israel. Now let's see what this man's
faith was made of. Verse 5 of Matthew chapter 8. And when Jesus was entered into
Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him,
and saying, Lord, My servant lieth at home, sick of the palsy,
grievously tormented. And Jesus said unto him, I will
come and heal him. The centurion answered and said,
Lord, I am not worthy that thou should come under my roof. speak the word only, and my servant
shall be healed." Now, the first thing that I would notice about
this man who had the greatest faith in all of Israel, he had
a very low opinion of himself. He said, Lord, I'm not worthy
for you to come to my home. I try to put myself in that place
and in his place. If the Lord said, I will come
and heal him with regard to somebody, I asked the Lord to heal. I'd
say, well, come on, let's go. I would, I would not act this
way. I don't think I'd want the Lord
to come to my home, but not this man. He felt unworthy for the
Lord to even come to his. home. Now, let me say this. This feeling of unworthiness
was not based upon low self-esteem. It was not based on insecurity. It was based on a very high and
exalted view of the Lord Jesus Christ. You see, you can't see
Him too highly. That's impossible. You cannot,
I repeat, you cannot see Him too highly. Now look what He
says with regard to the Lord Jesus Christ. The sedentarian
answered and said, Lord, I'm not worthy that thou shouldst
come under my roof, but speak the word only, and my servant
shall be healed. For I'm a man under authority,
having soldiers under me. I say to this man, go, and he
goes, and to another, come, and he comes, and to my servant,
do this, and he doeth it. Now, he says to the Lord, I'm
not worthy for you to come under my roof. All you have to do is
speak the word, and it happens. You see, I understand authority.
I know something about authority. I say to this one who's under
me, go, and he goes. Another, do this, and he does
it. And I know that you have all
authority. I know that you really are the
Lord. You're the Lord of creation. You spake the world into existence.
You're the Lord of providence. Everything that happens is under
your sovereign dominion. You're the Lord of salvation.
Salvation comes as an act of your will. All you got to do
is speak the word. and my servant shall be healed
because of the excellency and the glory of who you are." Now,
the third thing that I would notice about this man of whom
the Lord said his faith was the greatest faith in Israel, he
had a very low view of experience. The Lord said, I'll come and
heal him. He said, you don't have to come. Now, I would like
to see the Lord come. I would like to see the Lord
come to that man and heal him, and I'd like to see those things,
but that man said, I don't need to see anything. All I need is
your word. Speak the word only, and my servant
shall be healed. And then this man had a very
high and exalted view of coming to the place where the Lord was.
In verse five, and when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there
came unto him a centurion. Now, anyone that has great faith is
going to be somebody first who has a very low view of themself. Oh, may the Lord give me in you
that. And wherever there's great faith,
there's a high and exalted view of the Lord Jesus Christ. All
he's got to do is speak the word, and it takes place. And wherever
there's great faith, there's a very low view of experience. You don't need to come to my
house. All you've got to do is speak the Word. I don't need
to see anything to bolster my faith. I don't need to see visible
signs that will make me believe. All you have to do is say it. Your Word is so gloriously powerful. All you have to do is will it,
and it takes place. And this man came to where Christ
was. He is wherever two or three are
gathered together in His name. Now, Thomas had faith. His confession, my Lord, my God,
that's a great blessing to be able to say that. Never believer
can. But the Lord still made this distinction. Blessed are
they that have not seen and have yet believed. We have this message
on DVD and CD. If you call the church right
or look at our website, you can get a copy. This is Todd Nyberg
praying that God will be pleased to make himself known to you.
That's our prayer. To receive a copy of the sermon
you have just heard, send a request to todd.neibert at gmail.com,
or you may write or call the church at the information provided
on the screen.