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A congregational singer this morning. Let's go to hymn number 228 in your song books. Number 228. I love to tell the story. Number 228. We'll start on that first verse together. Number 228. Let's really sing it out this morning. Number 228. I love to tell the glory of God, sing things above. Of Jesus and his glory, of Jesus and his love. I love to tell the story, because I know it's true. It satisfies my longings, has nothing else to do. I love to tell the story, to be my theme in glory. To tell the old, old story of Jesus and his love. I love to tell the story, for wonderful it seems. And all the golden fancies, of all the golden dreams. I love to tell the story, it did so much for me. And that is just the reason I tell it now to thee. I love to tell the story, will be my theme in glory. To tell the old, old story of Jesus and his love. I love to tell the story, it's pleasant to repeat. What seems each time I tell it, oh, wonderfully sweet. I love to tell the story, for some have never heard. The message of salvation, from God the holy Word. I love to tell the story, will be my theme in glory. To tell the old, old story of Jesus and his love. I love to tell the story, for those who know it best. Seem hungering and thirsting, to hear it like the rest. And when it sings of glory, I sing a new, new song. It will be the old, old story, that I have loved so long. I love to tell the story, will be my theme in glory. To tell the old, old story of Jesus and his love. I love to tell the old, old story, that I have loved so long. It will be the old, old story, that I have loved so long. Sing it out with me. Think that which I permitted unto him that day. I know now how his saving faith to me did impart. For now I believe in his work of peace within my heart. But I know whom I have believed in, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I permitted unto him against that day. I know now how the Spirit moves convincing men of sin, revealing Jesus through the work, creating faith in him. But I know whom I have believed in, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I permitted unto him against that day. I know not what of good or ill may he return for me, of weary ways or golden days before his face I see. But I know whom I have believed in, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I permitted unto him against that day. I know not when my Lord may come, that I nor him may bear. So are if I walk the veil with him, or meet him in the air. But I know whom I have believed in, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I permitted unto him against that day. Sunday nights at 6, Wednesday nights at 7 is our Bible study, and this week will be in Ezekiel chapter 26. We've got the Solanae times listed there below, as well as salvations and baptisms. And then across the page are the birthdays listed for the month of February as well as anniversaries. Below that, Mexico Monday is tomorrow. These are just short little one-day missions trips that leave in the morning and get back a little bit late at night. And so if you need any details about that, just speak with Brother Segura for details. But that's pretty much the first Monday of every month, and so it's tomorrow. On the back, ladies, please join us this Saturday, February 12th, for a baby shower. And this is for Mrs. Rochelle Cooper. And the church is going to be catering Panda Express. Please RSVP to Mrs. Shanina Meether at the number given there. And so, ladies and girls, you're all invited. Don't, you know, if you can't bring a gift or anything, don't even worry about it. Just show up. It's just going to be a great time of fellowship for all. And so don't be shy. Even if you don't even know who Mrs. Rochelle Cooper is, just show up anyway and figure out who that is. All right. And then below that, we've got the list of expectant ladies. Keep praying for all of them that they would have a safe and healthy pregnancy and delivery. And then below that, other upcoming events. The big one I want to point at is the U.S. Virgin Islands Mission Strip, May 15th through 21st. You can speak to Brother Raymond Cooper if you have questions about that. All right. That's about it for announcements. Come sing our next song. All right. Let's turn to hymn number six in your song books. Number six. Beneath the Cross of Jesus, number six. Hymn number six. Beneath the Cross of Jesus, my fame will take my stand. The shadow of a mighty rock within a weary land, A home within the wilderness, a rest upon the way, From the burning of the new dry heat, And the burden of the day, Apart the Cross of Jesus mine eye at times can see, The very dying form of one who suffered there for me, And from my smitten heart with tears to wonders I confess, The wonders of his glorious birth and my own worklessness, I take across my shadow for my abiding place, I ask of all the sunshine and the sunshine of his face, Content to let the world go by to know no gain or loss, My sinful self my only shame, My glory all across. Amen. Go over to hymn number 308. Number 308, I Surrender All. Hymn number 308. All to Jesus I surrender, all to him I freely give, number 308. All to Jesus I surrender, all to him I freely give, I will ever love and trust him, in his presence may he give, I surrender all, I surrender all, All to him I bless and sing your rise, surrender all, All to Jesus I surrender, humbly at his feet I bow, Worldly pleasures all forsaken, take me Jesus take me now, I surrender all, I surrender all, All to him I bless and sing your rise, surrender all, All to Jesus I surrender, may he save your holy life, Let me feel the Holy Spirit, truly know that thou art mine, I surrender all, I surrender all, All to him I bless and sing your rise, surrender all, All to Jesus I surrender, Lord I give myself to thee, They'll be with thy love and power, let thy blessings fall on me, I surrender all, I surrender all, All to him I bless and sing your rise, surrender all, This time we'll quickly pass the offering plates around. As the plates go around, let's turn our Bibles to John chapter 20. John chapter 20, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John. John chapter 20, we'll begin reading in verse number one. Follow along silently with brother Nick as he reads. John chapter 20, starting in verse number one. John chapter 20. The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, under the sepulcher, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulcher. Then she runneth and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and saith unto them, They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulcher, and we know not where they have laid him. Peter therefore went forth, and that other disciple, and came to the sepulcher. So they ran both together, and the other disciple did outrun Peter, and came first to the sepulcher, and he stooping down, and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying, yet went he not in. Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulcher, and seeth the linen clothes lie, and the napkin that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself. Then went in also that other disciple, which came first to the sepulcher, and he saw and believed. For as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead. Then the disciples went away again under their own home, but Mary stood without at the sepulcher weeping, and as she wept, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulcher, and seeth two angels in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. And they say unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? She saith unto them, Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him. And when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? Whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away. Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni, which is to say, Master. Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not, for I am not yet ascended to my Father, but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father, and to my God, and your God. Mary Magdalene came, and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that he had spoken these things unto her. Then 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 saith unto them, Peace be unto you. And when he had so said, he showed unto them his hands and his side, then were the disciples glad when they saw the Lord. Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you, as my Father hath 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. Whosoever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them, and whosoever sins ye retain, they are retained. But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord, but he said unto them, Except I shall 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. And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them, 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. And Thomas answered and said unto him, 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 have believed. And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples which are not written in this book, but these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing, he might have life through his name. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, Lord, thank you for this Sunday, Lord. I just pray you feel a pastor with the Holy Spirit, Lord, and let us have ears to hear. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. Amen. In John chapter 20, we just read the famous story about Thomas doubting the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and saying that he wanted to actually feel the wounds in Jesus' hand. He wanted to actually put his hand on his side, or that he wouldn't believe that Jesus had actually risen from the dead. And this is what Thomas is most remembered for, so that he's almost always just referred to as doubting Thomas. So when we talk about Thomas, just doubting Thomas, right? So in this morning's sermon, I want to give a little bit of the other side of Thomas, because Thomas is actually a great man of God, and he really just had this one episode of doubt that ends up just becoming his whole legacy. And it reminded me of this verse from Ecclesiastes, Dead flies cause the ointment of the apothecary to send forth a stinking saver. So does a little folly him that is in reputation for wisdom and honor. So the Bible is saying you can have a reputation for wisdom and honor. You could spend your whole life doing great things, and then just a little folly can actually cause your entire reputation or legacy to just stink, where that's just what you're known for. You know, the Bible says dead flies cause the ointment of the apothecary to send forth a stinking saver. The ointment of the apothecary, this is referring to really expensive blends, and this is before you had modern manufacturing of chemicals and laboratories. In order to get precious scents and good flavors and things like that, you didn't just have artificial flavors and artificial smells, you had to actually get rare objects, and you'd have to use perfumes that were extremely expensive. So he's saying, you know, you have this really expensive perfume. All this work went into it to collect the ingredients from actual plants and many times rare plants or plants from exotic locations. And you put all this effort into it, and it's expensive, and then a few flies land in it and die. And then just these couple of dead flies could cause the entire thing to just stink, because dead flies really smell bad, okay? Have you ever used one of those fly traps from Home Depot where it's like a little plastic bag and it's got the liquid in the bottom, and the flies, when those things get filled up and you leave them for a little while, those things stink bad, okay? And so the Bible's warning you, you know, you could spend your whole life doing the right things, one goof-up, one really stupid decision can actually just ruin your reputation permanently. And unfortunately, Thomas is kind of a victim of that, because he was obviously a great man. Otherwise, Jesus would not have chosen him to be a disciple. Obviously, after the resurrection, he went on to do great things for God. But it was just this one episode that ruins his reputation. So that's the first thing we can learn from Thomas is, don't be stupid even one time and do something ridiculous, because it can ruin your entire reputation. Let's back up to John chapter 11, and let's see a good episode in the life of Thomas. This is what Thomas should be remembered for, okay? In John chapter 11, this is his finest hour that we have in the Bible. So in John chapter 11, this is the story where Lazarus dies and Jesus goes and raises Lazarus from the dead. But it says in John chapter 11 verse 1, Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. It was that Mary which anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. Verse 3, Therefore his sister sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick. When Jesus heard that, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby. Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. When he had therefore heard that he was sick, he abode two days, still in the same place where he was. Then after that, saith he to his disciples, Let us go into Judea again. So Jesus suggests, hey, let's go to Judea again. He's kind of dilly-dallying. They tell him that Lazarus is sick, but he says, hey, this is for the glory of God. He knows what's going to happen, so he actually waits and dilly-dallys for a couple of days in order that Lazarus would be dead and really dead by the time he gets there so that he can perform this miracle. But it says here that when he suggests to his disciples, Let us go into Judea again, verse 8, his disciples say unto him, Master, the Jews of late sought to stone thee. And goest thou thither again? Like, wait a minute, you want to go back to Judea? They're trying to kill you over there. Why would we go to a place where there's a warrant for your arrest or where people are trying to kill you? Jesus answered, verse 9, Are there not twelve hours in the day? If any man walk in the day, he stumbleeth not because he seeth the light of this world. But if a man walk in the night, he stumbleeth because there is no light in him. These things said he, and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth, but I go that I may wake him out of sleep. Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well. You know, hey, that's the best thing for him to recover. You know, the fact that he's sleeping is good. Howbeit Jesus spake of his death. But they thought that he spoke, that he had spoken of taking of rest and sleep. Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead. And I'm glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent you may believe. Nevertheless, let us go unto him. Now is Thomas's moment to shine here in verse 16. Then said Thomas, which is called Didymus unto his fellow disciples, Let us also go, that we may die with him. Now that's a pretty powerful statement there, that Thomas thinking to himself, okay, there's a warrant for Jesus' arrest. They're trying to stone him. They want to kill him. And the disciples in general are scared to go back to Judea. And they're trying to talk Jesus out of it. Jesus says, hey, let's go to Judea again. And they're saying like, are you sure you want to go there? This is dangerous. But after Jesus explains everything that he's going to do, Thomas says to his fellow disciples, let us also go, that we may die with him. Now being willing to die for Christ is a pretty serious level of commitment, isn't it? And Thomas is actually motivating his fellow disciples. Not only does he have that attitude, but he's motivating them and saying, you know what, guys, let's go. Let's do this. Jesus wants us to follow him. Let's follow him. And in fact, let's even be willing to follow him unto death. You know, if dying with Christ is what it's going to take, then so be it. Let's go. And so this is actually a pretty good moment for Thomas right here. Now if you would go to John chapter 14, we'll see the next story involving Thomas. Because Thomas pretty much pops up three times in the book of John. Well, four times, but three major times he pops up in the book of John. But again, let me just emphasize to you, even being chosen as one of Jesus' disciples is an honor. Because there were multitudes of people that followed Jesus throughout his ministry. There were all kinds of people coming to him. And when he chose the disciples, he went up into a mountain and he prayed all night. And then Jesus comes down from the mountain after spending the whole night in prayer, and he picks which twelve are going to be his inner circle, his core group. Now obviously we know Judas Iscariot was bad, but Jesus picked one bad guy on purpose. The whole purpose of picking Judas was so that Judas could betray him, so that the scripture could be fulfilled. It's not that Jesus is just picking twelve random guys. He picked eleven guys that are going to turn the world upside down. He picked eleven guys that are going to do all kinds of great preaching and missions and soul winning. And then he picked the one bad one for a specific purpose. So Thomas has already made it into a very elite group, okay, where he's one of the twelve disciples out of all the hundreds of people that are following Jesus and even thousands of people at times in his ministry. And so he's chosen as one of the twelve disciples. Not only that, but in chapter eleven he speaks up for obeying Jesus, following Jesus, and even being willing to lay down his life for Jesus. So he has great boldness and courage. Now in chapter fourteen, verse one, the Bible says, Let not your heart be troubled, Jesus is speaking. Ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you, and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there ye may be also. And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know. Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest. And how can we know the way? Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth and the life. No man cometh unto the Father but by me. So we just have this one little sentence here from Thomas, but there's not a lot of scripture on Thomas, so we'll take what we can get. And in this one little statement that Thomas makes, we can learn a little bit about the character of Thomas. First of all, I believe that the reason why Thomas asked this question ties in with what we saw about Thomas in John chapter eleven. Because he asked the question, We know not whither thou goest, and how can we know the way? What I see in that is a desire to follow Christ. He's saying, Look, I want to follow Christ in chapter eleven. I'll follow him even if it means possible death. I'm willing to die in order to follow Christ. That's what we saw in chapter eleven. And I think in chapter fourteen, what's motivating this question here of, you know, we know not whither thou goest, and how can we know the way, is that he doesn't want to get left behind. You know, if Jesus is going somewhere, he wants to be there. And when Jesus says, Well, whither I go, whither means to where. So he's saying, you know, you know where I'm going, and you know the way. Thomas is probably afraid that he's just expected to know that riddle and just show up at some rendezvous point, and he's afraid he's going to miss it. Okay. Because Jesus is speaking in parables. Jesus is speaking in dark sayings. And so he's saying, you know, you know where I'm going, and you know how to get there. He's obviously talking about going to heaven. He just finished saying, you know, in my Father's house are many mansions. I go to prepare a place for you. He's talking about going to heaven, and he's saying to them, basically, you know that I'm going to heaven, and you know how to get to heaven. But Thomas obviously misunderstands a little bit, and he thinks that Jesus is actually physically going somewhere, and he really just doesn't want to miss out on the trip. He doesn't want to be left behind. This is a guy who's following Jesus closely. It's important to him to follow Christ. And so this is another great thing about his attribute where he says, Lord, we know not whither thou goest, and how can we know the way? How can we know the way? You know, how do I get there? Explain this to me. Tell me what it is. And then, of course, we're glad that Thomas asked that question because the answer is one of the probably top five most famous verses in the entire Bible. It is an answer to Thomas' question when he says, well, how can we know the way? And he says, I am the way. I'm the way, the truth and the life. No man cometh unto the Father but by me. Now, if we would go to John chapter 20. And in John chapter 20, we get to the part that Thomas is the most known for, the part where he doubts and why he gets this name, Doubting Thomas, even though he's very dedicated. Let's think about the good things about Thomas. He's extremely dedicated to following Christ. He has courage. He's willing to speak up to other people and try to instill courage in them as well. And he wants to follow Christ no matter what the cost. But now let's kind of see where it went wrong for Thomas. Because if a guy who's got so much going for him can blow this and end up with this terrible nickname 2,000 years later, then we want to make sure we don't make the mistakes that Thomas made because he was probably a much greater man than any of us in the first place and then if he could mess this up, we don't want to mess it up either. So John chapter 20 verse 19, Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week when the doors were shut, this is John chapter 20 verse 19, where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. Now we know that Thomas isn't there. Why wasn't Thomas there? Part of me wonders, is he not there because he's not really afraid of the Jews? Because they're there assembled for fear of the Jews and Thomas isn't with them. So maybe he's just kind of on his own program because he's not afraid of the Jews or whatever. We don't really know why but he's not there for some reason. But while they're assembled there for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. And when he had so said, he showed unto them his hands and his side, then were the disciples glad when they saw the Lord. 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. Whosoever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them. And whosoever sins ye retain, they are retained. But Thomas, one of the twelve called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. He wasn't with them when Jesus came. Now stop and think about this for a minute. Basically, Thomas missed church. He didn't come to church. He's not there. The disciples are assembled. The disciples make up the early church. They're assembled and he's not there. He doesn't show up to the meeting. And he misses out on a bunch of things by not showing up to the gathering of God's people. What does he miss out on? Well, first of all, he misses out on having joy. Because it says in verse 20, Then were the disciples glad when they saw the Lord. And let me tell you something. If you don't come to church, you miss out on a lot of joy and gladness that comes from coming to church. I can't even count how many times I've been down in the dumps, depressed, and then I came to church and it just lifted my spirits and it put me in such a better mood, singing praises to God, studying the Word of God. It put me in a better mood. It put things in perspective because the fruit of the spirit is joy. And so when you come to church and you're in the spirit, joy is the result. Not only did he miss out on joy, but in verse 21 he misses out on peace. Then said Jesus to them, peace be unto you. Right? So you miss out on the joy and you miss out on the peace. How does coming to church bring peace? Because it lets you know that all is right in the world. You know, when we're out there in this world, we're stressed out, we're worried, and maybe people that are watching the news get worried about something that's going on in some other part of the world or something. Or even just we're worried about our own bank account or worried about our job or our health or whatever. But when you come to church, it kind of puts things in perspective. It gives you an eternal view. Heaven and hell, you know you're going to heaven. Christ is your savior. You know, it really gives you peace and puts things in perspective. You know that God has all power and you know that all things work together for good, those that love God. You get joy, you get peace, but not only that, you get your marching orders when you go to church. Thomas is missing out on getting marching orders because it says at the end of verse 20, As my father had sent me, verse 21 I should say, As my father has sent me, even so send I you. And so being sent, right? Coming to church is where you go to get sent out into the world to do the work of God. You get your marching orders for how to serve God throughout the week on a daily basis. Not only that, he misses out on the power of the Holy Spirit. Because in verse 22, Jesus says, Receive ye the Holy Ghost. And so he misses out on the power of the Holy Spirit. And then in verse 23 it says, Whosoever sins you remit, they are remitted unto them. And whosoever sins you retain, they are retained. This is authority that he would be receiving as an apostle. And he's missing out on getting this authority given to him by the Lord. And so, you know, when you miss church, when you get out of church, you miss a lot. You're missing the joy, you're missing the peace, you're missing the commission, the marching orders, right? You're missing out on the fullness of the Holy Spirit. And you're also missing out on having the authority that comes with being a part of the local church or being a leader in the local church. And you say, well Pastor Anderson, you know, you kind of put out a possibility that maybe he wasn't there because they're too scared. You know, they're hiding or they're assembled in that room with the door shut and locked for fear of the Jews. You know, maybe he is just superior to them by not showing up. Well, here's the problem with that mentality is that I don't see Jesus giving a personal appearance to Thomas and saying, hey, you know, you're the really bold, courageous guy, you know, nuts to those guys in the upper room. I see him showing, Jesus showing up at the upper room. Now, are the guys in the upper room perfect? Are the guys that are gathered there for fear of the Jews with the door shut, are those ten guys perfect? No, they're not. But you know what they are? They're the church. They're the assembly of God's people. They're assembled together on a Sunday night. They're at the Sunday night service. They're not perfect, but they're at that Sunday night service and Jesus shows up at the Sunday night service. He doesn't show up to the lone ranger that's out there by himself, maybe even thinking that he's better than the ones that are in that meeting. And you know what? So let's say maybe he didn't want to be there because he didn't like the fear. Well, you know what? He needs to get off his high horse and understand that Christians aren't perfect and that we need to be in church. We need to be in that assembly and not think, oh, no church is good enough. Because let me tell you something. There are a lot of people today who don't go to church because they just say there's no good church in my area. There's no good church in my area. What they're basically saying is like I am superior to every Christian and every pastor in my area. That's basically what they're saying. And you can try to sugar coat that and spin that however you want. But when you live in the United States of America in any decent sized city and you say there's no good church in my area, you're basically saying I'm better than everyone in a city with 4.7 million people. I'm in a city with 1 million people. I'm in a city with 800,000 people. I'm in a city with 3 million people. And I am the ultimate Christian. I'm the only one. You are wrong. You're wrong. Now I will put this caveat, because I know people listen to my sermons in other countries and stuff. Look, I get it. There are some very heathen countries in this world where there really might not be a good church in your area. So I'll throw that out there for the people that are watching this online from countries all over the world. I'll say to them, okay, I get it. There are some places in Europe and Asia where you don't have anything in your area in those places. I get that. But like I said, if you are living in the United States of America, unless you're living just way out in the middle of nowhere somewhere, I guarantee you there is a good church in your area. I absolutely guarantee it. Now I didn't say it's going to be perfect, but maybe you are having a little bit too high of standards, number one. And number two, maybe you have a little too high view of yourself. You think you're so awesome that you can't go to a church and learn something from a pastor because he's wrong on this or wrong on that. But here's the thing. Let's say there's a church where the pastor is wrong on end times prophecy, and you're an expert on end times prophecy, and he's pre-trip or something, you know, and he's just got this really basic wrong understanding of end times. But here's the thing. That doesn't mean that there aren't other areas where he doesn't know way more than you. You know, maybe he's weak on Israel or end times prophecy or something like that, but then maybe there are other areas where he knows a lot. And he could really teach you and help you grow in your Christian life in the areas that he's good at and the places that he really excels. So for whatever reason, Thomas isn't there, and it's bad that Thomas isn't there. He should have been there. He should have been with the crew. He should have been there on the Sunday night service. Whether or not he was there because they were too fearful and he has this attitude of, yeah, let's go die with him, you know, let's go into Judea. Who cares what the consequences are? Or maybe that's not even a thing. Maybe I'm just reading that into the passage. But either way, he should have been there in the house of God, period. He should have been at the Sunday night service, okay. Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. Another thing we can learn is that, you know, you never really know when Jesus is going to show up, do you? Because he could have missed another church service and not really missed much. And here's the thing, I can't guarantee that tonight's service is going to be awesome. You know, the evening service tonight, I may preach the worst sermon that I've ever preached in my entire ministry. It may be the most boring sermon of all time. It may be the most watered down, lame sermon. It might be just the worst possible sermon. And maybe the music program is going to be at an all-time low. I have no idea. But I will say this, though. It's possible that tonight could be the greatest sermon ever preached across this pulpit. And it's possible that the singing could be the ultimate singing that we've ever experienced. And the spirit could be the greatest spirit. And it could just be that one of those special services. Or it could be anything in between. The point is, you don't really know, do you? You know, so the thing is, if you just consistently show up to church, you'll be there for those mountaintop experiences. You'll be there for those awesome services. And you kind of never know when they're going to be. I don't know when they're going to be, you know. I have no idea. Sometimes I write a sermon and I think it's going to be great and it kind of falls flat. Other times, you know, I write a sermon and I'm kind of like, nah. And then people, they thought it was their favorite sermon. And so you just want to be there, in God's house, with God's people, so that if something happens, you're there. And so that you receive the joy, the peace, the commission, the spirit, and the authority that comes with being in church. So the Bible says in verse 25, the other disciples therefore said unto him, We've seen the Lord! But he said unto them, Except I shall 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 I think that we're giving Thomas a little bit of a bad rap here when we read this verse out of context. Because of the fact that in verse 20 it says, When he had so said, he showed them his hands and his side. So the reason I bring that up is that it's not like Thomas just pulls this out of nowhere. It's not like they say, hey we saw the resurrected Christ, and he's like, well I want to put my fingers into the holes of his hands. You know, I want to thrust my hand in his side. He didn't come up with that, because actually when the disciples are telling him about it, that's what they've experienced. So they're basically saying, we touched the holes in his hands. We touched the hole in his side, because it says that he showed them his hands and his side. And John the Apostle in the book of 1 John talks about handling the resurrected Christ. Handling him. Actually, so you know, he did show them that. So I think what Thomas is basically saying is, unless I have that same experience that you had, except I like you touched the holes in his hands, and like you did touch the hole in his side, I will not believe. Another thing that's important to note here is that the Bible says in Matthew, if you would keep your finger there and flip over to Matthew 28. And Matthew 28 is a passage, again, after the resurrection of Christ, and Jesus meets with the 11 disciples at a mount in Galilee. This is chronologically after what we're reading in John. So this happens later, and it says in verse 17 of Matthew chapter 28, When they saw him, they worshiped him, but some doubted. Do you see that in verse 17? Now this doesn't say one guy doubted. This doesn't say, but Thomas doubted. It says, when they saw him, they worshiped him, but some doubted. So Thomas isn't really the only doubting guy. Okay, obviously this is hard for them to wrap their mind around at the time. And so that's another thing in Thomas' defense. So he doubts, and he demands to see evidence, and then in John chapter 20 verse 26, after eight days, again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them. This time Thomas is with the group. 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. And Thomas answered and said unto him, 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 have believed. You know, it's funny that, um, you know, Muslims, they always wanted you to point them a verse in the Bible that says that Jesus is God. Or that Jesus is the son of, where did Jesus ever claim to be the son of God? Or where does the Bible say that Jesus is God? I always point them to John chapter, uh, 10 or 9, where he says, I am the son of God. You know, that's a good, that's a good one right there. I said I am the son of God. You know, that's, that's a, that one's pretty easy. So sometimes they'll just say, well show me one where he says that he's God. And here's what I always say to them. Well, do you believe the one where he said, I'm the son of God? And they're like, no. So why do you want me to show you one where he says, I'm God, if you don't believe the one where he says, I'm the son of God? You know, I, you know, I'm wasting my time at that point. Cause I, I always just say, well here he says, I'm the son of God. Yeah, but did he say he was God though? He says he's the son of God, do you believe that? No. Well, then what's the point of even showing you anything else? But you know, there's a lot of scripture that tells us that Jesus is God. First of all, in Hebrews 1, 8 it says, but unto the son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever. Okay. The Bible says in 1 Timothy 3, 16, God was manifest in the flesh and dwelled among us. You know, and so, you know, John chapter 1 says that the word was made flesh and dwelled among us. The word was in the beginning with God. The word was God. But you know, this is a great, this is a great scripture on the deity of Christ as well. Because once Thomas is shown the wounds of the resurrected Christ, he calls Jesus my Lord and my God. And what's Jesus' response? Well, I'm just the son of God. Now, make no mistake, Jesus is the son of God. But Jesus is also God because God consists of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. God eternally exists as Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. So he was in the beginning with God and he was God. You know, well, how can he be God and the son of God at the same time? Well, the same way he can be in the beginning with God and he was God at the same time. Any questions? And so, when Thomas says my Lord and my God, Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed. So Thomas' confession of faith that shows Jesus that he believes that he has resurrected is that he calls Jesus my Lord and my God. I had one of these bozo Jehovah's Witnesses give me an answer for this. They said, well, Thomas is just cussing here. You know, like he's just like, my Lord and my God. That's so stupid. Why would Jesus congratulate him on taking God's name in vain? Congratulate him for using the Lord's name as an expletive. But, you know, these cults who deny scripture, they're grasping at straws in order to try to just hold on to their cult that they're part of. No, no, no. He says my Lord and my God and he says you're blessed for believing that. Blessed are you, Thomas. By the way, while we're on the Jehovah's false witnesses, the JFWs, how about the fact that he says in verse number 25, except I shall see in his hand the print of the nails. Nails. The Jehovah's false witnesses don't believe Jesus died on the cross. They say, oh, he died on a torture stick. Well, guess what? How many nails would that be in his hand? In every Jehovah's witness picture that you'll ever see, Jesus has his hands up above his head like this and it's one nail. But what does the Bible say? Nails. Nails in his hands. Why? Because he has two hands, two nails. And his hands are out like this because Jesus died on the cross. And if you go back to the Greek on nails, guess what it says? It says nails. And if you look at the Jehovah's witness Bible, it says nails. In the hands. And then they're like, well, maybe they just used, you know, two nails even though it was, you know, it's like, well, you need to go back and change your artwork. But the point is that, you know, the Jehovah's witnesses are full of baloney because Jesus is God. He died on the cross. When a Christian dies, they go to heaven. And if you're not saved, you go to hell for all eternity. They don't believe in any of those things. They reject all of the above. Thomas, because thou has seen me, thou has believed. Blessed are they that have not seen and yet have believed. You know, now look, none of us have seen this. None of us have seen it, but we all believe in Christ. And so we're even more blessed than Thomas was at this moment. Now go to John chapter 21. Let's finish up with Thomas here. In John 21, it says in verse 1, after these things, Jesus showed himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias and on this wise showed he himself. There were together Simon Peter. Now stop for a minute. Simon Peter is kind of the main character of the story in John 21 because remember, Simon Peter denied Christ. And so if somebody asked me, what is John 21 about, you know, give me in one sentence what John 21 is about, you know, I would say it's about Peter being restored because Peter, after he denied Christ, he went out and wept bitterly. He's sad. He's depressed. And he's the one quitting on God because he was told, no more fishing for you, Peter. You're going to be a fisher of men. And so for the last three and a half years, he hasn't been fishing for fish. He's been fishing for men. And Peter in chapter 21, going back to fishing, is him basically throwing in the towel on ministry and basically he leads a whole bunch of other people to also backslide and do this. And Jesus is showing up and when Jesus shows up, he mainly talks to Peter. And Peter is the main character. So it makes sense that Peter is singled out here in verse 2. But then it says, there were together Simon Peter and Thomas called Didymus, the second person to get mentioned. So I would argue maybe this is the second most important person at this meeting being Thomas. Simon Peter and Thomas called Didymus and Nathanael of Cana and Galilee and the sons of Zebedee and two other of his disciples that basically the Bible doesn't even bother naming. Just two other of his disciples, maybe they're not of the twelve, maybe they're just kind of no-name guys. But anyway, the point that I want to make here is that I think that when Jesus is here specifically restoring Peter, that's what the Bible is emphasizing, he's restoring Peter. But in reality, everybody who's on this fishing trip has made a misstep. Everybody who's on this fishing trip is a little backslidden, even if they're following Peter's example. And Thomas is one of them and everybody's being restored in a sense, everybody is being told to get back on the horse. Whenever the Bible has a story about an individual character, we should always look beyond that one character. You know, if Jesus is restoring Peter after Peter messes up, we're supposed to apply that to ourselves and say, hey, after I mess up, God can still use me. I can get back on the horse. And so especially a guy like Thomas who's even mentioned by name as being part of this meeting. You know, after Thomas gets rebuked, well, you know, you believe because you've seen me, but blessed are they that have not seen and yet have believed. You know, that can really take the wind out of your sails a little bit when Jesus puts you in your place like that. And so Thomas needed some restoration too. And I believe that in chapter 21, that's what we're getting, not just a restoration of Peter, but really a restoration of anybody. And even by name, a restoration of Thomas. Now, what did Thomas do after this? Well, the thing about that is that the book in the Bible that follows the book of John is called Acts of the Apostles. And it starts out being the Acts of the Apostles, but, you know, you get less than halfway through and it starts to become the Acts of the Apostles singular because, you know, it pretty much just becomes all about the Apostle Paul. And even in the first half of the book, we really only get details about Peter and John and really mainly just Peter. I mean, really 90% of what's going on in the book of Acts with the Apostles is like Peter and then Paul. I mean, that's what it focuses on, which makes sense because otherwise if you really wanted to do the Acts of all the Apostles, you could make like a whole encyclopedia set of everything that Thomas did, everything that John did, everything that Peter did. The Acts of the Apostles is just giving us a taste. Just giving us a little taste, giving us some stories about Peter, Paul, and just a little bit of a taste. Obviously, you could write encyclopedias filled with what the rest of them did. We don't know what the rest of them did, to be honest. We don't really know. But I do believe that all of them went on to do great things for God because I believe that that's why they were chosen, because the Bible says they were chosen to be witnesses of his resurrection. So they weren't just chosen to do the three and a half years with Jesus. I believe they were also chosen for what they would go on to do. And so we know a little bit about what Peter did. We know a lot about what Paul did, who is obviously not one of the 12. He's added later. We know a little bit about what John did, but we don't know what the rest of them did. But I believe that we can safely assume that they all did great things for God. That's why they were picked. They were picked to be, because the word apostle literally means messenger, messenger. Yeah, they did that in the three and a half years where he's sending them to the towns and villages, but he was calling them to a lifelong calling. And the proof of that is that in John 21, he's telling them, you're not done. What are you fishing? Whatever we did for the last three and a half years, you need to keep doing that. This is your life now. Now the history books would tell us that Thomas went to India, and that is probably true. But, obviously, there's no way to really know what happened because a lot of things that we read about in history books are just legends or they're just stories that are myth that are just made up because we kind of want to know what happened to the apostles so people can make up stories and everything. But I do think that it's extremely likely that Thomas really did go to India just because that's what everybody says and you've got all the monuments in India about Thomas and that's the tradition that he went there. And it makes sense that eventually they went and taught all nations and went into all the world. And if you look at a map, you can see how he would have just basically cut over from Arabia across the water to India because supposedly he operated on that west coast of India or whatever. So I would say 99.99%, that's what he ended up doing, preaching the gospel in India. Obviously, we have no way of knowing whether that's true. You can't really prove or disprove that. But I do believe that we can be sure that he served God for the rest of his life. He did missions somewhere. He preached. He won souls. He won souls. He did great works for God. So he was a great man of God before the doubting. He was a great man of God after the doubting. That's what I firmly believe. And really it was just this episode that gives him this unfortunate nickname of doubting Thomas. So that we call people, when somebody doubts something, we tell them don't be such a doubting Thomas. Why you got to be like Thomas? Which is kind of sad if you think about it. But the good news is people still name their kids Thomas a lot. So, you know, his reputation must not be that bad because people are still naming their kid Thomas. There's probably more Thomases than Bartholomew's, you know. And Bartholomew didn't even, maybe he was that other guy who doubted. I don't know. We don't really know. Some doubted. I think everybody doubts at times, you know. I mean, who here is at one time in your life after you were saved doubted that the Bible was the word of God or doubted something? I mean, doubted your salvation. I mean, everybody else is just lying who's not putting their hand out there. I'm just kidding. I'm saying, you know, look, I know that the Bible is the word of God. I have great faith in the word of God, but I'd be lying if I got up and said I've never doubted that. John the Baptist doubted. Do we call him a doubting John? Why don't we call people who doubt doubting John's? Because he said after he'd already pointed at Jesus, after he saw with his own eyes the Holy Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting upon him and he pointed him and said, behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world. Later, he doubts when he's in prison and says, art thou he that should come or do we look for another? Should I go looking for another Messiah? That's just as bad as what Thomas said. I mean, what Thomas said is bad, but I think what John the Baptist said is just as bad. And the Bible says there's not risen to greater among those that are born of women than John the Baptist. So if John the Baptist doubted, if Thomas doubted, you know what? People doubt. That's just because we're human, because we're flesh. So let me just give you a couple final lessons here at the very end of the sermon just to wrap up with Thomas the disciple. Number one is that one bad decision can ruin your reputation and overshadow your good qualities. You know, one thing can just become what you're known for. I mean, Bill Clinton is known for one thing. He did a lot of stuff. I mean, he was in office for eight years, and he did a lot of stuff. And, you know, he did a lot of bad things, but I'm sure he even did some good things. I can't name any of them. I can't even really name hardly anything that he did. But I can name one thing he did, but I'm not going to because we're in mixed company. But, you know, that's the one thing that he's known for. And in fact, you say, well, that's just because you're this right-wing guy or, you know, you're this conservative Christian. Other people don't focus on that. Yeah, they do. Because guess what? About two months ago on Facebook, they were running a Facebook ad for Bill Clinton's masterclass. Okay, who knows what I'm talking about? You've seen those ads for masterclass? So I'm looking at my Facebook feed, and it was a masterclass of Bill Clinton, like, teaching you leadership because he's the president of the United States for eight years, and he's the governor of Arkansas and everything. So, you know, he's teaching you leadership and how to bring together, you know, people with different views and trying to work with Republicans and Democrats or whatever. So, because he's kind of a moderate guy politically or whatever. So, basically, it was a masterclass taught by Bill Clinton. Now on paper, and look, I'm no fan of Bill Clinton. Obviously, Bill Clinton's a horrible, wicked, evil person. Let me just say that right now, okay? But let me say this, though. Just taking a step back from, you know, my Christian viewpoint or my conservative viewpoint, just taking a step back, it makes sense for a president of the United States to teach a class on leadership, doesn't it? Just, he obviously got to that position. He obviously led people. You know, he did stuff. So it kind of makes sense. Like, like most people, if they went to a class, let's say they went to like a college class on leadership, and it's like, okay, Bill Clinton is going to come and lecture to us today. It'd be like, oh, wow, you know, we're getting a lecture from this. It kind of makes sense. But let me tell you something. The comment section was 100 percent Monica Winski, 100 percent. That's what it was. And that's just the general population. I mean, anybody can comment on this thing. And it was just hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of comments, and everything was Monica Winski. That's all it was. Everybody was just mocking it. And in fact, the react to it, you know, the like, love, ha ha, ha ha was the number one react. Even though, you know, the class on paper made sense in the sense that this guy could teach about leadership, but yet it gets a ha ha as the main react. And everybody's talking about Monica Winski. Folks, that's a perfect example of how one thing can just become you. Just like Thomas just became doubting Thomas, how basically Bill Clinton, you know, nobody's talking about his presidential library. You know what I mean? They're talking about, that's what they think of. And so, number one, one bad decision can ruin your reputation and overshadow your good qualities. But number two, just because you fail, it doesn't make you a failure. So, look, we're all going to fail in life. If I sat down and just made a list of everything I've failed at, it would be a lot of things. A lot of things. I have failed at many things. Okay. So many things that I've tried and failed. You know, even just starting with childhood, I could just, just different things that I attempted and failed, failed, failed, failed, failed. I could go down, I'm not going to go down a list of my failures, okay, but they're there. But the point is, just because you fail, it doesn't make you a failure. It just means that you failed at that one thing on that one day. That's all it means. And so, don't get this feeling when you mess up, when you fail at something, just like, oh, I'm worthless, I'm no good, you know. Just, just realize, you know what, you could still be a winner. You could still be a great servant of God even if you fail. You just, and the Bible says, a just man falleth seven times and riseth up again. It doesn't say a just man never falls. It says he falls seven times. Which seven is just a number, it's obviously not a literal number. It's an arbitrary number and it's a symbolic number also. Because seven is a number of like completion. So it's kind of a maxed out number, you know, because it doesn't want to say like, you know, it fails a million times. By saying he fails seven times, it's just, it's kind of just saying, this guy's failing a bunch. He fails a bunch of times and it's like a full, like he's failed on every day of the week type of thing, okay. But yet he gets up again. Every single one of us is going to fail, we're going to try things and fail. You might try to get a certain promotion at work and you fail. You might try some athletic achievement and fail. You might try to have a perfect record of going to church and you fail, you know, or a perfect record of showing up for soul winning and you fail. Or you, how about this, I'm going to read my Bible every day in 2022 and up, you fail, you miss a day. Oh, that's it, I'm done. You know, or you can just keep reading your Bible and instead of being done on December 31st, you could be done on January 1st with your read through the Bible in a year. Is that so bad? Well, I missed two weeks of it. Well, then finish on January 15th. Who cares? Get it done. Just because you fail, it doesn't mean you're a failure. But if you fail and then you quit trying to achieve things for God, now you are a failure. And I preached a sermon a long time ago, the title of the sermon was the only way to fail is to quit. The only way to fail is to quit. You know, I could, like I said, this morning or this evening, I could get up this evening and preach a terrible sermon, the most boring sermon, the worst sermon ever. Everybody's yawning and looking at their watches. Tonight's sermon, okay? And it was like that sermon was a failure. But the only way I'm a failure is if I just resign tomorrow morning and say, you know, I preached that bad sermon, I just can't live with myself anymore. You know, I could always come back Wednesday night and try it again. Come back on Sunday morning and try it again. So just because you fail, it doesn't automatically make you a failure. And, you know, you don't want to just beat yourself up when you make a mistake too bad because people who beat themselves up too bad over mistakes, they quit because they get too discouraged. You know, obviously when we make a mistake, we should feel bad about it. If we commit a sin, we should feel guilty about it. We should maybe even, depending on the seriousness, maybe even weep over it. But we should confess it to the Lord, forsake it and then let it go and get back on the horse. You know, I think of my great grandfather, Gustav Anderson, who got heart disease in his 50s and he tried to lift a sack of potatoes and he could not, he was a potato farmer, he could not lift a sack of potatoes because he'd become too weak because of his heart and he basically said that he was not worth anything and went upstairs and shot himself. Because he failed at one thing on one day, he just said, that's it. It's foolish. It makes no sense. But that's what some people do spiritually with their Christian life. They commit one sin, they get out of church for a little while, they get off their Bible reading for a while and then they just, oh, I'm not worth anything and maybe, you know, hopefully they don't literally kill themselves but they kind of just scuttle their Christian life and just throw in the towel. Folks, get back on the horse. And the third final point is that Jesus is always ready and waiting to restore his children to service. And that's what we see in John 21. John 21 is all of our story of Jesus ready to put us back in the game, put us back in the fight, put us back on the horse so that we can continue going on. And so here's the last thing I want to say too is that we may know Thomas as doubting Thomas. That's what we call him, right? But I'll guarantee you that in heaven he's not known as doubting Thomas up there. I guarantee you in heaven he is a star. In heaven he is being glorified big time with the Lord Jesus Christ because of all the great works that he did for God. And his legacy, nobody's talking about him doubting up there. I guarantee you what they're talking about is the great things he did for God and that's his real legacy. So the bottom line is, you know what, let's say you fail and it's a public failure and everybody for the rest of your life is going to know that about you. You know what, here's what I love about Thomas is that even though he had a public failure that gave him a nickname that he could never shake off, he still served God for decades, still served God for the rest of his life. And you know what, that's what you should do too. And you say, well, I'll never fix my reputation. Well, you know what, then your reputation is just garbage then. But guess what, your reputation on this earth doesn't matter. Because your reputation on this earth is going to be gone someday. And the former things are going to be passed away. But your reputation in heaven with the Lord is eternal. And so even if you've done irreparable damage to your reputation on this earth, you could still earn rewards in heaven. And then you get to heaven and people are expecting to get there and oh yeah, you're that guy who blew it. You're that guy who really screwed up. It's like, well, no, actually, whoa, wait a minute, how come you have more rewards than me? What's going on? Oh, because after I screwed up, I still served God for another 40 years. That you didn't hear about. All you heard about was the screw up. Spout rides and have a word of prayer. Father, we thank you so much for Thomas, Lord, and we thank you for the works that he did, for the souls that he won, for the good lessons we can learn from him about fearlessness and dedication to following Christ. And also we can learn from the bad example of the mistake he made, Lord. Help us if we fail to get back on the horse like he did and continue serving you. And in Jesus' name we pray, amen. Amen. Let's go in your psalm books to hymn number 374. Number 374, Send the Light. Hymn number 374, it begins, there's a call comes ringing o'er the restless waves. Send the light, number 374. Let's sing it out on this first verse together. There's a call comes ringing o'er the restless waves. Send the light, send the light. There are souls to rescue, there are souls to save. Send the light, send the light. Send the light, the blessed gospel light. Let it shine from shore to shore. Send the light, the blessed gospel light. Let it shine forevermore. We have heard the Macedonian call today. Send the light, send the light. And the golden offering at the cross we lay. Send the light, send the light. Send the light, the blessed gospel light. Let it shine from shore to shore. Send the light, the blessed gospel light. Let it shine forevermore. Let it shine everywhere about. Send the light, send the light. And the Christ-like spirit everywhere deep down. Send the light, send the light. Send the light, the blessed gospel light. Let it shine from shore to shore. Send the light, the blessed gospel light. Let it shine forevermore. Let us not grow weary in the work of love. Send the light, send the light. Let us gather jewels for a crown above. Send the light, send the light. Send the light, the blessed gospel light. Send the light, the blessed gospel light. Let it shine from shore to shore. Send the light, the blessed gospel light. Let it shine forevermore. Amen. Great singing this morning. You are dismissed.