00:00:00.000 - 00:00:31.000

[ Silence ] [MUSIC PLAYING] [Music] [MUSIC PLAYING]

00:00:31.000 - 00:00:46.860

(slow jazz music) (slow jazz music) ♪ Oh, my, oh, my, oh, my ♪ ♪ Oh, my, oh, my, oh, my ♪

00:00:46.860 - 00:01:13.420

♪ Oh, my, oh, my, oh, my ♪ ♪ You don't have to believe ♪ ♪ And don't you be afraid ♪ ♪ Join us in the morning ♪

00:01:13.420 - 00:01:34.740

♪ Troubles they don't last always ♪ ♪ But there's a friend in Jesus ♪ ♪ Who will guide your fears away ♪ ♪ And if your heart is broken ♪

00:01:34.740 - 00:01:55.040

♪ Just lift your hands and say ♪ ♪ Oh, I know that I can save you ♪ ♪ I know that I can stand ♪ ♪ No matter what may come my way ♪

00:01:55.300 - 00:02:15.520

♪ My life is in your hands ♪ ♪ You don't have to worry ♪ ♪ And don't you be afraid ♪ ♪ Join us in the morning ♪

00:02:15.520 - 00:02:36.560

♪ Troubles they don't last always ♪ ♪ Oh, there's a friend in Jesus ♪ ♪ Who will wipe your tears, oh let Him ♪ ♪ And if your heart is broken ♪

00:02:36.560 - 00:02:56.460

♪ Just lift your hands and say ♪ ♪ Oh, I know that I can make it ♪ ♪ I know that I can stand ♪ ♪ No matter what, they come my way ♪

00:02:56.460 - 00:03:16.920

♪ My life is in your hands ♪ ♪ With Jesus I can take it ♪ ♪ With Him I know I can stand ♪ ♪ No matter what, they come my way ♪

00:03:16.920 - 00:03:37.360

♪ My life is in your hands ♪ ♪ Those dearest hands and childish ♪ ♪ They seem to get you down ♪ ♪ And all your friends and loved ones ♪

00:03:37.360 - 00:03:57.520

♪ There's no place for you to be found ♪ ♪ 'Cause there's a friend in Jesus ♪ ♪ Who will wipe your tears away ♪ ♪ And give your heart in prayer ♪

00:03:57.520 - 00:04:16.760

♪ Just lift your hands and say ♪ ♪ Oh, I know that I can make it ♪ ♪ I know that I can stand ♪ ♪ No matter what may come my way ♪

00:04:16.760 - 00:04:36.400

♪ My life is in your hands ♪ ♪ With Jesus I can take it ♪ ♪ With him I know I can stand ♪ ♪ No matter what may come my way ♪

00:04:36.560 - 00:04:55.760

♪ My life is in your hands ♪ ♪ I know that I can make it ♪ ♪ I know that I can stand ♪ ♪ No matter what they come to blame ♪

00:04:55.760 - 00:05:14.580

♪ My life is in your hands ♪ ♪ With Jesus I can take it ♪ ♪ With you I know I can stand ♪ ♪ No matter what may come my way ♪

00:05:14.580 - 00:05:33.720

♪ My life is in your hands ♪ ♪ I know that I can stand ♪ ♪ I know that I can stand ♪ ♪ No matter what may come my way ♪

00:05:33.760 - 00:05:52.560

♪ My life is in your hands ♪ ♪ When Jesus I can take it ♪ ♪ With Him I know it's safe ♪ ♪ No matter what may come my way ♪

00:05:52.560 - 00:06:17.160

♪ My life is in your hands ♪ ♪ My life is in your hands ♪ ♪ My life is in your hands ♪ ♪ In the song of praise ♪

00:06:17.160 - 00:06:38.620

♪ We'll give the glory ♪ ♪ We'll be in heaven ♪ ♪ In our own sweet hymns ♪ ♪ We'll shout the hymns of song ♪

00:06:38.620 - 00:07:19.800

♪ We know that saints ♪ ♪ Can sing God's praise ♪ ♪ And we'll be proudest ♪ Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands, and reach hither

00:07:19.800 - 00:08:11.440

thy hand, and put it into my side; and be not faithless, but believing." Believing and seeing. This verse is the 27th verse in the 20th chapter of the Gospel according to John. and see. I remember vividly as a fifth grader in elementary school that from time to time we had assembly periods when we would gather and listen to a

00:08:11.440 - 00:08:35.260

a speaker of some other special program would be viewed. And on this particular occasion, there was a magician. He was the main feature. And in the course of his presentation,

00:08:36.720 - 00:08:52.020

He had one of the children to come on stage, and he put his hands up as if, and told him to blow his nose, and jellybeans came blowing out.

00:08:52.020 - 00:09:11.800

And children who were near the stage were running up, gathering up the jellybeans. He had another to come on stage, And he asked him to unbutton his shirt, and he did so.

00:09:11.800 - 00:09:33.200

And he put his hand into the man's shirt, where his stomach is, or was, and drew out some wieners. And this man was-- this boy was eating the wieners that the magician had.

00:09:33.200 - 00:09:48.160

Then he had a hat and from the hat came a bird. Bird would appear and fly and then of course come back and disappear. How he did it, I still don't know.

00:09:48.160 - 00:10:11.480

But it seems that all of that happened according to my vision. Yet it was a trick performed by a magician. I've seen others do as much and more since that time.

00:10:11.480 - 00:10:34.060

But all of us are aware of the fact that many times, what we see is not real. We see what seems to be taking place, and we know it's not actually what is happening,

00:10:34.060 - 00:10:52.040

and yet it appears to be so. Jesus presents to us a lesson through this experience with the apostle called Thomas. It's a lesson about believing

00:10:54.040 - 00:11:14.840

before seeing. We all say, well, I'd like to see it. Some of us are like the man from Missouri who says, show me. And that's the attitude that Thomas displays.

00:11:17.560 - 00:11:32.340

He is a disciple that, when we look at the list of disciples that appear in the New Testament, where all of them are listed, Thomas always falls in the middle,

00:11:32.340 - 00:11:54.160

which seems to suggest that in the early church, he was not among the least popular, neither was he among the most popular. He was just somewhere in between, sort of a middle of the road, Thomas.

00:11:54.160 - 00:12:18.360

He's called the twin. Thomas is, we refer to him so often as Doubting Thomas. Based upon this event in our text, it's after the resurrection. Jesus has appeared to his disciples.

00:12:18.360 - 00:12:36.060

They are in a room where there are locked doors. He comes through walls in order to be with them. And after this, they report to Thomas. Oh, Thomas, Thomas, guess what happened?

00:12:36.060 - 00:12:48.960

Jesus came. He showed us his hands. We saw the nail prints. We saw the place in his side where he had the wound.

00:12:48.960 - 00:12:59.920

Jesus is alive, Thomas, he came. When we were there in that room with locked doors and this was a wonderful experience. Man, you should have been there.

00:12:59.920 - 00:13:15.880

Thomas said, "I don't believe that." You always have people who don't believe, no matter how miraculous may be the event. years ago, we had a man on the moon. And one of the brethren

00:13:15.880 - 00:13:37.000

said, "I don't believe that. I don't believe no man is on the moon." And we were having programs showing all of this, set back, the messages and all of that, but he did not believe. But Thomas was absent, absent, absent. A lot of times we were

00:13:37.000 - 00:13:59.000

when we would like to have been present. Sometimes we're absent when we are glad we weren't present. I remember as a teenager there was a bombing, or there was a catastrophe I should call it,

00:13:59.000 - 00:14:13.000

in Luton, London. There was an explosion in a school. And many, many children lost their lives. And it was reported

00:14:13.000 - 00:14:29.000

in the news. There were the accounts of what was being discovered from day to day. And I remember one boy was absent. He played hooky. And so while many died

00:14:29.000 - 00:14:52.360

He lived, and he as well as his parents were glad that he played hooky that day, that time, because it saved his life. But that's--that's usually not the way it happens. He's absent. Some people are absent even when they are present. You know,

00:14:52.360 - 00:15:11.680

you know, they're sitting, looking, but they are not really there. And we used to do that sometimes when I was in class, be tired and sleepy, been up late the night before, have on some dark glasses, and be looking as if you were looking

00:15:11.680 - 00:15:34.800

at the instructor who's giving the lecture, but you're not there at all. You don't know what is happening. Thomas was not there. He was really not present. And Jesus came, and his disciples received the revelation. They're delighted.

00:15:34.800 - 00:16:13.840

They rejoice. But Thomas was absent, absent, not present when roads called, he was not there. But Jesus comes back. He comes back. He comes back. And on this second visit, he singles out about Thomas and says, "Thomas, look at my hands. Look at my

00:16:13.840 - 00:16:47.940

side. And be not unbelieving, but believing." And when he says word, Thomas replies, "My Lord and my God." He comes back. Thomas was not there. He missed it the first time. And Jesus comes back. It's a wonderful thing that God keeps coming

00:16:47.940 - 00:17:17.700

back. So often, the first time, we don't get it. So often, the first time, we--we overlook the opportunities. So often, the first time, we seem to be there, but we are really absent. But thanks be to God that He keeps coming back. We make mistakes,

00:17:17.700 - 00:17:42.600

We make a mess of things, and we are absent at the places, the times that we ought to be there, but He just keeps coming back, coming back so that we may have the second chance. And thanks be to God that He is the God of the second chance.

00:17:42.600 - 00:18:13.720

That's wonderful because so often we bangle things up that first time. There's a story of a newspaper reporter during the days of the presidency of John F. Kennedy who was supposed to be present for that news conference, but something had happened and he was delayed

00:18:13.720 - 00:18:27.200

and when he got there, the conference was over. He said, "Oh my goodness, what will my people do? "Say to me I'll be fired." And the president went over the conference,

00:18:27.200 - 00:18:46.420

all over it again so that he could have a chance. He did it the second time so that he could have a chance. So God keeps coming back. Jonah makes a mess of things the first time, but God comes back and speaks to him a second

00:18:46.420 - 00:19:09.900

time. He keeps coming back, and he keeps coming back to us. He comes over and over again. this time he addresses Thomas directly. And the greeting is the same. When he came the

00:19:09.900 - 00:19:39.700

first time, the greeting was, "Peace be with you." And on the second time, the greeting again is as it was the first time. Peace be with you. Peace. Harmony. Don't be afraid. Be strong. Face what is facing you. Peace be with you. Don't war among yourselves. Peace be with

00:19:39.700 - 00:20:06.460

you. And you know, peace really depends upon our belief system. Let me say that again. Peace, this peace we're talking about, personal peace, being in a relationship with yourself and with others as well as with God, this kind of peace depends upon

00:20:06.460 - 00:20:20.180

our belief system, our belief system. And that's why it's so important. We have a period in our church now where we've been studying Christian doctrines.

00:20:20.180 - 00:20:32.320

And some people say, "Oh, I don't want this." You know, it's like being in school and saying you don't want to take math. But you have to use it all through your life.

00:20:34.720 - 00:20:49.200

This is the very foundation of your life, what you believe, and what you are committed to, and how your life is ordered, the foundation on which it's built.

00:20:49.200 - 00:21:07.700

The doctrines of the church, the teachings of the church. And so, the peace that we have depends on what we believe about God, what we believe about Jesus Christ,

00:21:07.700 - 00:21:21.380

what we believe about God's design for our lives and for the world. And if we have a belief system that involves redemptive suffering,

00:21:21.380 - 00:21:37.340

and we are related to what God has ordained for us and the world through Jesus Christ, then that helps us through the crisis. So, our peace depends upon what we believe.

00:21:37.340 - 00:22:00.120

And Thomas is blind. He does not see. At first, he's looking at things through the natural eye. And Jesus encourages him to look at it with a spiritual eye.

00:22:01.440 - 00:22:33.440

And he says to him, "Look at my hands. Be no more unbelieving." And then Thomas makes the confession, "My Lord and my God, Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief. I trust you, but help me with my doubts." And that's the way we've got to learn to

00:22:33.440 - 00:22:56.300

live. Sure, we have our doubts, but we need to have some fundamental beliefs that guide us and support us through this life. I believe in God. I believe that God made heaven and earth. We can talk about evolution and all of that, and I

00:22:56.300 - 00:23:14.120

evolution may tell us how he did it, may--in the various stages through which this world has passed, but I believe that God made the world, that it's not an accident. It just didn't happen. That God made this world. I believe that. And I

00:23:14.120 - 00:23:42.320

believe that God not only made the world, but I believe that God controls this world. And, "This is my Father's world? Oh, let me ne'er forget, although the wrong seems oft so strong, God is the ruler yet." I believe that God is the maker of heaven

00:23:42.320 - 00:24:01.500

and earth, and that there is nothing from the top of high heaven to the bottom of low hell that can prevent God from accomplishing His purpose. I believe that. And since God has that power, and I believe it, and when things go wrong with me,

00:24:01.500 - 00:24:22.660

I just want to be in God's hands. So that when one is in the hands of God, we need not be disturbed, whatever happens here, because He takes care of what happens here as well as what happens hereafter. I believe--I believe that God

00:24:22.660 - 00:24:52.380

loves us. I believe that, that He loves us, that many things may happen to us that are not pleasant, and we may find ourselves in misery and the like, but I believe that God, God, our Creator, God, our Father, I believe that He loves us. And since He loves us, He

00:24:52.380 - 00:25:19.200

protects us, He guides us, He governs and guards our lives. So it's important to have a belief system to support you in the midst of the trials of this life. And when you have a belief system, then you can be guided. You can make the kind of testimony that Thomas makes, "My

00:25:19.200 - 00:25:45.800

Lord and my God." My Lord, my master, my leader, my helper over the struggles of this life, my Lord. So no matter how fierce the winds may blow, no matter how the waves may roll, he is my Lord. He's Lord of the winds and the waves, and he is my God.

00:25:45.800 - 00:26:13.360

He's my Savior. And so we can be comforted by this through the vicissitudes of this life. Abraham, Abraham, go into a far country that I shall show you." And Abraham goes out, not knowing where he's going, because he responds to the Word

00:26:13.360 - 00:26:37.880

of God, doing what God says. No, not knowing, not knowing. And that can be very troubling, not knowing. Not knowing where he's going, but he's guided. He is encouraged by the Word of God. Abraham goes out, and he becomes the father of a new people.

00:26:37.880 - 00:26:59.260

Having become the father of a new people, it comes through the gift of a son, a son in his old age, and after the son is born, receives the Word again, "Abraham, go sacrifice Isaac in the place that I will show you. Give up my only hope." Yes. And

00:26:59.260 - 00:27:24.680

Abraham obeys the Word of God. "Noah, build an ark." "Well, Lord, the sun is shining. There's no sign of rain." Yes, but build an ark. And Noah builds an ark for the--and makes possible the salvation of future humanity. So this is a lesson. This is the

00:27:24.680 - 00:27:57.380

lesson that we must learn. Thomas is to learn it. He is to believe. In other words, I learned it when I was just a lad. I asked grandmother, "Why must I do this?" And she said, "Because I say so." And that's why we must do it, because God says so. And He knows better than we. And we

00:27:57.380 - 00:28:23.340

need to follow His Word. And believing, if you really believe, then there may come a time when you're able to see. but I have not seen, years have not heard the wonderful things that God has stored up for those who believe, who just trust Him.

00:28:23.340 - 00:28:45.420

Thanks be to God that He comforts us and supports us in a belief system that is Christian. As we sing now the hymn of We extend the privilege of the church. It's an open door that he sets before us.

00:28:45.420 - 00:29:15.420

It's an opportunity to become a part of the family of God here at Ebenezer. If you have not accepted Jesus Christ as Lord of your life, we invite you to come. As a candidate for baptism or profession of faith. [MUSIC]

00:29:15.420 - 00:29:44.980

[MUSIC] [MUSIC] ♪ The dear old Barclay Road ♪ ♪ Where the chimpanzees is found ♪

00:29:44.980 - 00:30:27.960

♪ I'll be home by six o'clock ♪ ♪ Till the storm of night is gone ♪ [Music] [ Silence ]