NOTES: Been There, Part 3
Sermon: Been There: Lean In!
Date: April 21, 2024
Text: John 20:24–29
24 Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.” 26 Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” 28 Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
Let’s Connect:
“peace like a river”?
“So doubt is not the complete absence of faith. It’s faith laden with weights of unbelief, which threaten to sink us” -Jon Bloom
What we most fear in difficult moments is the distance of God.
…and are tempted to move away from belief, toward becoming unbelieving.— Doubt
Text Explained:
Doubting Thomas? His personal struggle:
Jesus enters this space as Prince of Peace:
Two things happening:
1. Jesus was establishing empirical evidence of his bodily resurrection
2. Jesus is omniscient and omnipresent in His deity
If what we fear most in difficult times is distance from God, then how does Jesus reconcile that for us?
Matthew 27:45–46 45 Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. 46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
Galatians 3:13, 13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”—
As Jesus leaned into the events of the cross (in obedience), he would experience His Father moving away from the curse of sin that Jesus carried.
Ephesians 2:13–14, 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility…”
Jesus actually experienced the distance of God on the cross. So that we don’t have to!
Thomas knew him in flesh, but according to Jesus, knowing Him in the Spirit is even greater.
John 14:16–17, “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.
If what we fear most in difficult times is distance from God, then how does Jesus reconcile that for us?
By way of His Cross
By the power of the Holy Spirit
Let’s Relate:
His nearness becomes our confidence!
”They said to you, “In the last time there will be scoffers, following their own ungodly passions.” It is these who cause divisions, worldly people, devoid of the Spirit. But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. And have mercy on those who doubt; save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh. Jude 1:18-25
Our Challenge:
Lean in to belief; lean into Jesus.
Closing:
Story of Thomas (as a martyr)