Breath of Life
Ministries Presents:
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B513 Doubting and
Duplicitous Thomas
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Breath of life Theme [music]
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PB:  The Word of God
says in the fourth gospel
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according to John 20: 
"Then the same day at evening,
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being the first day of
the week, when the doors were
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shut where the disciples
were assembled for fear of
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the Jews, came Jesus
and stood in the midst,
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and saith unto
them, Peace be unto you.
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And when he had so
said, he shewed unto them his
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hands and his side.
Then were the disciples glad,
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when they saw the LORD.
Then said Jesus to them again,
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Peace be unto you." It's
the second time He says it.
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"As my Father hath
sent me, even so send I you.
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And when he had said
this, he breathed on them,
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and saith unto them,
Receive ye the Holy Ghost:
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Whose soever sins ye remit,
they are remitted unto them;
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and whose soever sins ye
retain, they are retained.
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But Thomas, one of the
twelve, called Didymus,
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was not with them
when Jesus came. The other
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disciples therefore said
unto him, We have seen the LORD.
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But he said unto them,
Except I shall see in his
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hands the print of the
nails, and put my finger
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into the print of the
nails, and thrust my hand
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into his side, I will
not believe. And after
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eight days again his
disciples were within,
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and Thomas with
them: then came Jesus,
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the doors being shut,
and stood in the midst,
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and said, Peace be unto
you. Then saith he to Thomas,
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Reach hither thy
finger, and behold my hands;
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and reach hither thy hand,
and thrust it into my side:
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and be not
faithless, but believing.
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And Thomas
answered and said unto him,
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My LORD and my God.
Jesus saith unto him,
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Thomas, because thou hast
seen me, thou hast believed:
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blessed are they that have
not seen, and yet have believed.
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And many other signs
truly did Jesus in the presence
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of his disciples, which
are not written in this book:
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But these are written,
that ye might believe that
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Jesus is the Christ,
the Son of God; and that
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believing ye might
have life through his name."
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I want to talk to
you just for a minute on
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doubting and
duplicitous Thomas. Father,
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bless us now as
we open Your Word.
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Expound on what
we have just read.
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May Your Holy Ghost
reign today and when
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the appeal comes
move by Your power and
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by Your Spirit.
Forgive me of my sins.
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In Jesus' name, amen.
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Doubting and duplicitous Thomas.
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It's one week
after Jesus' death.
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The disciples are
huddled in a room, scared.
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All they know is
Jesus has been crucified.
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He's dead, and they
laid His body in a tomb.
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They're afraid, because
they had laid down their lives,
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their jobs, their
careers to follow Jesus.
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They had left their
families and their friends
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to follow Jesus. When
He was healing the sick,
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raising the dead,
restoring sight to the blind
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it was cool to be a disciple.
But now that He's dead,
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all of a sudden it's
no longer popular to be
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called one of Jesus'
disciples. It's no longer
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safe being one of His
disciples. Sometimes I'm
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learning that being
in the will of God causes
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you to be outside
the favor of people.
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Mary Magdalene sees
Jesus. She runs and tells
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the disciples what she
has seen but they don't
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believe her. But
then all of a sudden,
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in the midst of
their fear, in the midst of
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their worry, Jesus
shows up. The Jesus they knew.
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The Jesus they thought
they knew. The Jesus that
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they had rolled the
stone in front of the tomb to
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keep Him in the tomb, and
to keep anybody from taking
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Him out of the tomb--this
same Jesus appeared in the
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very same room that he was
in prior to his crucifixion
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to the same disciples, and
He now says Peace be unto you.
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Somebody asks the question
"Where is God?" Where is
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God in the midst of
your trouble? Where is God in
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the midst of your trials?
Where is God in the midst
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of your fears? I came
to tell somebody that God's
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in the midst of it
all. God's right there,
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in the midst of your fears;
in the midst of your worries;
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in the midst of your hang-ups.
And God will stay there
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until you're safe,
secure and stable. It was not
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the disciples' faith that
brought Jesus into the room.
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The Bible says they were
fearful, and you can't be
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fearful and faithful
at the same time. You see,
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I'm learning, you don't
earn God's presence just
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because you have
faith. Sometimes God will stop
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by when you're faithless.
Sometimes God will stop
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by when you're fickle,
worried and scared; but my
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God shows up anyhow.
Fearful and afraid, but God
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shows up anyway. Have
you ever gotten a blessing
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and you didn't expect
it? The disciples were not
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expecting Jesus, but
Jesus shows up. He says Peace
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be unto you. But you
know what? These words don't
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move the disciples.
These words don't excite the
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disciples. The disciples
don't jump up. They don't
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say amen; they don't
stomp their feet; they don't
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clap their hands or say
hallelujah at these words.
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They don't say Oo, he preached
today; he preached that;
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he preached up something
today. We're at church.
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They don't say all
that. Let me throw this in:
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Don't make the mistake
of substituting emotional
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reaction for spiritual
depth. Preaching is not
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decibel level. If
you're going to shout,
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say something worth
shouting about. You hear
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me say all the time,
we've got all this cotton
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candy preaching. Big
and sweet on the outside,
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but hollow and empty on
the inside. But somebody
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knows that a constant
diet of cotton candy will
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rot your teeth and
destroy your stomach.
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But somebody don't
give me all the time
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you'll feel good. Don't
give me your preference.
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Don't give me your
opinion, but give me the
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unadulterated Word of
God. I can't deal with
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play preaching,
'cause play preaching doesn't
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do a thing for me. I
need a Word that's going
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to shake me up. I
need a Word that's going to
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stir me up. I need a
Word that can humble me,
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make me stand still, back
me up and hush me up sometimes.
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I need a Word that
makes me shake my head when I
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walk out of church. I
need a Word that's going to
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make me get on my knees
and pray when I leave church.
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I need a Word that's
going to make me say Lord,
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I know I'm not everything
I should be, but change me
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into what You want me to
be. I need a Word. I don't
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need a play word. I
need a Word that's going to
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deal with me; that's
going to hit me hard.
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Fellowship is
good, but I need a Word.
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Testimonies are
good, but I need a Word.
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Music is good,
but I need a Word.
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Does anybody need
a Word from the Lord?
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[Aud. reaction]   PB: 
And let me put a kickstand
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right there and
park this for a minute.
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Music's good. I love
music, you know that.
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But let's be clear:
Yes, we need good music
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in the church. It saturates
my soul, it inspires me,
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it motivates me, it encourages
me. I want good music,
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but I'm finding too
many folk come to church and
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love the music but
don't have an appreciation for
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the Word of God.
'Cause let's be real:
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When the music stops
playing, when the organist
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stops playing, when
the pianist stops playing,
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when the drummer
stops beating, I need a Word
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from the Lord. Thy
Word have I hid in my heart,
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that I might not sin
against Thee. Thy Word is
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a lamp unto my feet
and a light unto my path.
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Sanctify them through
Thy truth. Thy Word is truth.
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Faith cometh by hearing
and hearing by the Word of God.
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The disciples were not
excited by "Peace be unto you."
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It was not until
they saw His hands.
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It was not until
they saw His side.
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It was not until
they saw His wounds.
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It was not until
they saw evidence.
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Because the Bible
says then they were glad.
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Sometimes some of us
have to see it before
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we believe it.
If we can't see it,
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we can't believe
it. If we can't feel it,
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we can't trust it.
If we can't touch it,
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we can't rely on it. And
if we can't understand it,
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we won't even try it.
Words were not enough for
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the disciples. They
had to see it, to feel it,
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to touch it so they
could understand it.
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Sometimes people
have to see it, feel it,
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touch it. So that
means sometimes in this
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Christian walk you've got
to have some blood on you.
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Folk got to see
it. You've got to have
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some scars on you.
Sometimes you have to
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have some wounds on
you. Sometimes you've
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got to have some mud
on you. Legitimacy is
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proven through
struggle. You can't say your
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blessed if you've
never been broken.
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You can't say
you're faithful if you've
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never been tested.
I say it all the time,
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too many folks test a
lie instead of testify.
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You can't testify until
you've been through a test.
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Don't you tell
somebody you can make it
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unless you've been
through it yourself.
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Don't you tell
somebody they can stop smoking,
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and you've never smoked
a cigarette in your life.
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Don't you tell somebody
it's easy to stop drinking
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and you've never had
a 40-ounce in your life.
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Don't you tell these
young people it's easy to
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be celibate and
abstinent but let's not go
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back in the
yearbooks. Come on, say amen.
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[Aud. reaction]   PB: 
Don't you tell somebody
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it's easy to forgive and
you've never been lied on;
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cheated on; betrayed
or talked bout. Don't tell
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somebody it's easy to
make ends meet, and you've
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never had to rob Peter
to pay Paul. But I've got
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a witness in this place
that when you've been through
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hell and high water; when
you've been tested and tried;
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when you've been
criticized and ostracized;
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when you've been through
it then the people are glad.
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When Jesus shows them
the wounds in His side,
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the nail prints in His
hands, then they were glad.
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Then they were rejoicing.
Then they were excited.
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Except one of them.
One of them was missing.
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Now remember, when
Jesus began His journey
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with the disciples,
there were 12. But we know
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we lost one, Judas,
he committed suicide.
00:11:31.85\00:11:35.29
That leaves 11. But
yet in this room there
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are only 10. The
Bible says one of them,
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Thomas, wasn't in the
room. Makes me comment
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here that there is a
ministry of presence.
00:11:47.77\00:11:50.77
There's something
you miss when you're not
00:11:50.81\00:11:52.87
in the room. Television
is good but it doesn't
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capture everything.
The Internet is good but
00:11:56.08\00:11:59.35
it doesn't pick up all
the nuances in the room.
00:11:59.38\00:12:02.38
Because there's
something that happens when
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God is in the building.
That's why the Bible says,
00:12:05.55\00:12:09.56
Let us not forsake the
assembling of ourselves
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together. That's why we
physically come to church.
00:12:13.73\00:12:16.43
There's something
special that happens when
00:12:16.46\00:12:19.27
you're in the room. Do I
have a witness in this place?
00:12:19.30\00:12:21.90
But Thomas wasn't
there. But when the other
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10 disciples saw
Thomas, they were excited.
00:12:26.37\00:12:29.81
The other 10 told
Thomas, "Thomas, we've just
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seen Jesus! Jesus has
just risen from the grave!
00:12:33.48\00:12:37.45
Jesus is alive!"
They're excited, and you all
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know that when you're
excited, you want everybody
00:12:40.79\00:12:42.86
else to be
excited. When you're glad,
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you want
everybody else to be glad.
00:12:45.76\00:12:47.30
When I'm excited
in Jesus, I want to
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be around other people
who are excited in Jesus.
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Can I confess? I
don't like coming to church
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and being around people
who aren't happy in Jesus.
00:12:55.14\00:12:58.31
Now notice I'm not
saying everybody's got to jump
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up and down and
clap, I'm not saying that.
00:13:00.14\00:13:01.41
I'm just talking about
can you be happy in Jesus.
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I refuse to be a
prisoner in my own church.
00:13:04.68\00:13:07.72
Because the joy of the
Lord is my strength and
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there's something
about the joy of the Lord.
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Oh, when I think of
the goodness of Jesus,
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and all He's done for me
my soul cries out hallelujah!
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Thank God for saving
me. The disciples are happy,
00:13:21.30\00:13:24.97
but instead of Thomas
being happy; instead of
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Thomas being excited;
instead of Thomas being glad,
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Thomas says this:
Unless I see the mark of the
00:13:30.77\00:13:36.54
nails in His hands;
unless I put my finger in
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the mark of the nails;
unless I put my hand in
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His side, I will not
believe. I will not believe
00:13:45.15\00:13:49.06
what I can't see. I will
not trust what I can't touch.
00:13:49.09\00:13:54.56
I will not risk what I
can't count. I've got to see it;
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I've got to feel it;
I've got to taste it;
00:13:59.37\00:14:01.80
I've got to touch it;
I've got to try it; I've
00:14:01.84\00:14:04.31
got to handle it
before I believe it.
00:14:04.34\00:14:07.74
Thomas didn't take
anybody's word for it,
00:14:07.78\00:14:09.91
he wants to see
Jesus for himself.
00:14:09.94\00:14:11.81
And before we're
too hard on Thomas,
00:14:11.85\00:14:13.88
there's a whole
bunch of Thomas in us.
00:14:13.92\00:14:16.28
We don't take
anybody's word for it,
00:14:16.32\00:14:19.12
we want to see it for
ourselves. Remember now,
00:14:19.15\00:14:23.06
the other 10
disciples, remember they weren't
00:14:23.09\00:14:25.33
glad either until
they saw Jesus' hands and
00:14:25.36\00:14:29.56
side for themselves.
Thomas demanded to see
00:14:29.60\00:14:33.27
something, and so
do we.  So Thomas walks
00:14:33.30\00:14:36.57
around all week with skepticism.
00:14:36.60\00:14:40.01
But the Bible says
"eight days later."
00:14:40.04\00:14:42.71
How many days later,
everybody? Aud.:  Eight.
00:14:42.74\00:14:44.31
PB:  Jesus later
returns to the same
00:14:44.35\00:14:45.88
room where the
disciples had gathered before,
00:14:45.91\00:14:47.35
but this second time
Thomas is in the room.
00:14:47.38\00:14:52.59
Although the doors
were shut, Jesus still
00:14:52.62\00:14:56.62
got in the room. I
wish somebody knew what
00:14:56.66\00:14:58.99
I was talking about.
Locked doors, blocked doors,
00:14:59.03\00:15:03.50
barred doors, bolted
doors, padlocked doors,
00:15:03.53\00:15:08.27
sealed doors, impassable
doors, impenetrable doors,
00:15:08.30\00:15:13.27
closed doors, restricted
doors, obstructed doors.
00:15:13.31\00:15:17.51
Any door of any kind
couldn't keep Jesus out,
00:15:17.55\00:15:20.85
because when Jesus
wants in, Jesus will get in.
00:15:20.88\00:15:25.85
[Aud. reaction]  PB: 
Jesus gets in the room.
00:15:25.89\00:15:28.29
Ha ha ha, and says a
second time, Peace be unto you.
00:15:28.32\00:15:35.53
Now remember, Jesus says this
and the original 10 disciples,
00:15:35.56\00:15:40.17
they are already convinced.
They're already persuaded;
00:15:40.20\00:15:43.71
they already know it's
Jesus; they're already excited;
00:15:43.74\00:15:46.71
they're already
glad. Then they were glad.
00:15:46.74\00:15:49.84
But the second time Jesus
comes, it's Jesus Himself.
00:15:49.88\00:15:54.52
Not His representative;
not His associate;
00:15:54.55\00:15:59.39
not His
ambassador; not His angels,
00:15:59.42\00:16:03.56
but Jesus comes
back a second time.
00:16:03.59\00:16:07.13
And He comes
back a second time for
00:16:07.13\00:16:09.10
one person. Oh, that should make
somebody shout, right there.
00:16:09.13\00:16:13.90
[Aud. reaction]   PB: 
That Jesus will come back
00:16:13.94\00:16:16.94
even if it's for one
person. If Jesus had to go to
00:16:16.97\00:16:23.04
Calvary for just one
person, I'm so glad that He
00:16:23.08\00:16:28.78
came to this earth
just for this one person.
00:16:28.82\00:16:32.92
He didn't have to do
it, but He came for me,
00:16:32.95\00:16:35.32
in spite of my mess.
He came for me. In spite
00:16:35.36\00:16:40.53
of your mess, He came
for you. Is there anybody
00:16:40.56\00:16:44.30
grateful up in Oakwood today
that Jesus came just for you?
00:16:44.33\00:16:49.87
[Aud. reaction]   PB:
 In fact, even when you
00:16:49.90\00:16:53.74
didn't come to
Jesus --   [Aud. reaction]
00:16:53.78\00:16:56.14
PB:  Jesus came to
you. When you couldn't
00:16:56.18\00:17:04.52
come to Jesus. The man
at the pool at Bethesda,
00:17:04.55\00:17:09.29
he couldn't get there.
When you couldn't come,
00:17:09.32\00:17:11.53
Jesus still came for
you. When you were messed up,
00:17:11.56\00:17:15.40
Jesus came for you.
When you were drinking up,
00:17:15.43\00:17:19.87
smoking up, living
up, lying up, cracking up,
00:17:19.90\00:17:26.51
Jesus came for you.
And when you look back over
00:17:26.54\00:17:31.28
your life and you look
at what you used to be;
00:17:31.31\00:17:34.42
and you look at
where you are right now,
00:17:34.45\00:17:36.52
somebody ought to
praise Him. Somebody ought
00:17:36.55\00:17:38.82
to worship Him.
Somebody ought to magnify Him.
00:17:38.85\00:17:42.09
Somebody praise Him,
because Jesus came just for you!
00:17:42.12\00:17:47.36
If you were the only
person on this planet,
00:17:47.40\00:17:49.66
Jesus still would have
emptied heaven for you.
00:17:49.70\00:17:54.07
I was reading Ellen
White, and she says in
00:17:54.10\00:17:56.47
"Christ's Object
Lessons," she says:
00:17:56.50\00:17:58.71
"If there had
been but one lost soul,
00:17:58.74\00:18:02.11
Christ would have
died for that one."
00:18:02.14\00:18:07.42
Hallelujah,
somebody! Let me go on.
00:18:07.45\00:18:09.98
But there's
something else I'm going
00:18:10.02\00:18:13.49
to point out in
the text and then I'm
00:18:13.52\00:18:15.16
going to sit down.
Because we often miss this.
00:18:15.19\00:18:17.13
Look at verse 24.
Look at it. It says--
00:18:17.16\00:18:22.23
if you've got it,
let me hear you say amen.
00:18:22.26\00:18:24.40
Verse 24. John
chapter 20, verse 24.
00:18:24.43\00:18:29.34
If you have it, let
me hear you say amen.
00:18:29.37\00:18:31.24
Aud.:  Amen.   PB: 
Okay, it says, the text:
00:18:31.27\00:18:33.04
"But Thomas." But whom,
everybody?   Aud.:  Thomas.
00:18:33.07\00:18:36.85
PB:  "One of the" what?
Come on, one of the what?
00:18:36.88\00:18:39.71
Aud.:  Twelve.  
PB:  "Called Didymus was
00:18:39.75\00:18:42.22
not with them when Jesus came."
00:18:42.25\00:18:46.42
Let's read that one more time,
00:18:46.45\00:18:48.19
'cause you don't
know what you're reading.
00:18:48.22\00:18:49.79
"But Thomas, one
of the" what? "Twelve,
00:18:49.82\00:18:53.63
called Didymus, was not
with them when Jesus" what?
00:18:53.66\00:18:58.53
Now, who are
his--even for me as a little boy
00:18:58.57\00:19:02.77
growing up in the
church--Thomas has always
00:19:02.80\00:19:06.01
been referred to
as Doubting Thomas,
00:19:06.04\00:19:09.64
because of
Thomas's disbelief in his
00:19:09.68\00:19:12.85
fellow disciples'
claim that they had
00:19:12.88\00:19:15.28
seen Jesus. So we
call him Doubting what,
00:19:15.32\00:19:19.45
everybody?
Doubting what, everybody?
00:19:19.49\00:19:21.49
Aud.:  Thomas. 
PB:  All right, now,
00:19:21.52\00:19:23.86
we've briefly touched
on that, but I'm going
00:19:23.89\00:19:27.50
to come back to Doubting
Thomas in just a minute.
00:19:27.56\00:19:29.73
But there's
something else I want to point
00:19:29.76\00:19:31.27
out in the text. Thomas
is not just Doubting Thomas.
00:19:31.30\00:19:33.34
It's not just Doubting Thomas.
00:19:33.37\00:19:34.67
Thomas is Duplicitous Thomas.
00:19:34.70\00:19:37.04
Pastor Byrd, what do you mean?
00:19:37.07\00:19:39.04
The Bible says
Thomas, called Didymus.
00:19:39.07\00:19:44.25
Thomas is a Hebrew
word meaning "twin."
00:19:44.28\00:19:49.32
Didymus is a translation,
a Greek translation for
00:19:49.35\00:19:54.02
the word "twin." Which
means, whether you spoke
00:19:54.06\00:19:57.46
His name in the Hebrew
or whether you spoke his
00:19:57.49\00:20:00.40
name in the Greek,
when you spoke his name,
00:20:00.43\00:20:03.73
you were calling him "twin."
One man is called "twin."
00:20:03.77\00:20:07.80
Somebody's going to
get this in a minute.
00:20:07.84\00:20:14.01
[Aud. reaction]  
PB:  His name is twin.
00:20:14.04\00:20:19.35
The Bible is not
saying he has a twin,
00:20:19.38\00:20:23.52
the Bible is
saying his name is twin.
00:20:23.55\00:20:27.82
You all don't
hear what I'm saying.
00:20:27.86\00:20:30.73
Let me try it
this way: Whether you
00:20:30.76\00:20:32.43
know it or
not--Pastor said I have a
00:20:32.46\00:20:34.30
birthday coming
up--I don't know if
00:20:34.30\00:20:35.90
you know it or
not, but I have a twin.
00:20:35.93\00:20:37.77
A real twin. But
I'm not talking ab out,
00:20:37.80\00:20:41.14
in this sermon, my
twin. I'm not talking
00:20:41.17\00:20:44.81
about my twin
brother. Yes, I'm Carlton
00:20:44.84\00:20:48.44
and he's Carl. I'm
Buddy and he's Buster.
00:20:48.48\00:20:52.91
But when I talk
about twin, I'm talking
00:20:52.95\00:20:56.32
about the fact that I
have another person in me.
00:20:56.35\00:21:00.22
He wears the same size
shoe I wear; he wears the
00:21:00.26\00:21:06.70
same size shirt I
wear. He drives my car;
00:21:06.73\00:21:11.13
he eats my food;
he lies in my bed;
00:21:11.17\00:21:14.87
he looks like me, but
yet there's another me.
00:21:14.90\00:21:18.64
What am I
talking about? You see,
00:21:18.67\00:21:22.88
there's a difference between the
00:21:22.91\00:21:24.88
person that you appear to be and
00:21:24.91\00:21:27.08
the person that
you are. I wish I
00:21:27.12\00:21:28.72
had a witness in this
place. [Aud. reaction]
00:21:28.75\00:21:30.99
PB:  All that
glitters is not gold.
00:21:31.02\00:21:34.52
What's on the
outside may not be what's on
00:21:34.56\00:21:38.56
the inside. You see,
everybody up in here,
00:21:38.59\00:21:42.30
you've got two
voices speaking to you.
00:21:42.33\00:21:44.93
One voice is
telling you to do right,
00:21:44.97\00:21:47.37
and another voice is
telling you to do wrong.
00:21:47.40\00:21:50.31
Which means, you
can be an angel at the
00:21:50.34\00:21:52.94
church but a devil
at home. [Aud. reaction]
00:21:52.97\00:21:55.38
PB:  You can smile
in front of people but
00:21:55.41\00:21:58.35
be crying on the
inside, and nobody ever knows
00:21:58.38\00:22:01.15
because everybody has
a twin. There's a person
00:22:01.18\00:22:03.55
inside of a person,
and he or she can be in
00:22:03.59\00:22:06.52
conflict and nobody
even knows it. There's a
00:22:06.55\00:22:11.03
lady in here, you're
married to a man who has
00:22:11.06\00:22:14.30
two sides. There's a
man in here, you're married
00:22:14.30\00:22:18.80
to a woman who has two
sides. Your coworker has
00:22:18.83\00:22:23.67
two sides. Your
classmate has two sides.
00:22:23.71\00:22:28.08
Most people don't
really know who you are.
00:22:28.11\00:22:32.08
You see, everybody
in here has a twin.
00:22:32.11\00:22:34.65
One twin is happily
married but the other
00:22:34.68\00:22:36.92
twin wants to call it
quits. One of us wants
00:22:36.95\00:22:41.12
to go to church
but the other one wants
00:22:41.16\00:22:42.59
to stay home. One of
us wants to be in church
00:22:42.62\00:22:45.53
on Sabbath morning
but the other one wants to
00:22:45.56\00:22:47.66
be in the club on
Saturday night. One of us loves
00:22:47.73\00:22:52.03
people but the other
one of us is sick and
00:22:52.07\00:22:54.00
tired of people. One
of us is faithful but
00:22:54.04\00:22:57.94
the other one of us is
faithless. We come to church,
00:22:57.97\00:23:02.18
we say amen,
hallelujah, thank You, Jesus,
00:23:02.21\00:23:07.32
praise the Lord,
happy Sabbath. I did tell
00:23:07.35\00:23:12.45
you the story of when
I was a pastor in Houston
00:23:12.49\00:23:13.99
and somebody walked up,
a visitor to the church,
00:23:14.02\00:23:16.52
and the greeters to the
church said "Happy Sabbath."
00:23:16.56\00:23:18.16
They said, "Oh, John
Doe." They didn't know
00:23:18.19\00:23:19.79
what that meant,
you know, they just was,
00:23:19.83\00:23:22.46
they thought they
were saying their name--
00:23:22.50\00:23:24.30
Happy was the first
and Sabbath was the second.
00:23:24.33\00:23:25.93
But anyway. But we
say "Amen, hallelujah,"
00:23:25.97\00:23:34.38
and nobody knows or
has a clue that there's
00:23:34.41\00:23:40.32
another twin who's
hurting, broken and wounded.
00:23:40.35\00:23:44.72
Pastor, you do
community service. Real ministry
00:23:44.75\00:23:48.79
is not when you
deal with the first twin.
00:23:48.82\00:23:51.63
Real ministry--I
wish I had some witnesses
00:23:51.66\00:23:56.13
up in Oakwood
today--real ministry is when
00:23:56.16\00:23:59.53
you deal with that
second twin. When you
00:23:59.57\00:24:02.97
get beyond image;
when you get beyond all
00:24:03.00\00:24:06.27
the hats and all the
doctrines and all the degrees;
00:24:06.31\00:24:09.38
when you get beyond
the superficial and you get
00:24:09.41\00:24:11.48
down to who you really
are. That's why somebody
00:24:11.51\00:24:15.35
comes to church and says
"Yeah, I have a doctorate;
00:24:15.38\00:24:18.89
yeah, I have a
degree; yes, I got a little
00:24:18.92\00:24:20.89
money in my pocket, but Lord,
00:24:20.92\00:24:22.52
I need You to touch
me. I need You to heal me.
00:24:22.56\00:24:25.89
I need You to redeem
me. I need You to save me."
00:24:25.93\00:24:28.73
Not the artificial me.
Not the superficial me.
00:24:28.76\00:24:33.70
Not the fake me. Not
the image-conscious me.
00:24:33.74\00:24:37.74
Not the phony me.
Not the suit-wearing me.
00:24:37.77\00:24:41.41
Not the hat-wearing me.
Not the Happy Sabbath me,
00:24:41.44\00:24:45.61
but the real me. The
broken me, the depressed me,
00:24:45.65\00:24:52.09
the stressed me. And so
here I am. You get to the
00:24:52.12\00:24:57.09
point where you say,
you know what? I don't care
00:24:57.13\00:24:59.59
who's looking at me. You
get to the point in life--
00:24:59.63\00:25:03.53
when I was talking to
my friend, Mike Tucker,
00:25:03.57\00:25:05.90
I got to this point.
But you get to the point,
00:25:05.93\00:25:08.74
you don't care what
people say. You don't
00:25:08.77\00:25:11.24
care what people think,
because you're saying God,
00:25:11.27\00:25:14.71
the real me needs
some help. God deliver me.
00:25:14.74\00:25:19.71
God save me. God
rescue me. God heal me.
00:25:19.75\00:25:25.42
Deliver me from my
twin.   [Aud. reaction]
00:25:25.45\00:25:29.16
PB:  I don't want
to be Doubting Thomas,
00:25:29.19\00:25:35.70
but I don't want to be
Duplicitous Thomas either.
00:25:35.73\00:25:39.97
I don't want to live
one way during the week,
00:25:40.00\00:25:43.94
and then live
another way on the Sabbath.
00:25:43.97\00:25:47.58
I don't want to sow
wild oats during the week
00:25:47.61\00:25:51.01
and they pray for a
crop failure on the weekend.
00:25:51.05\00:25:54.72
Thomas is just as much
Duplicitous Thomas as he
00:25:54.75\00:26:00.36
is Doubting Thomas.
Let's not be too hard
00:26:00.39\00:26:04.23
on Doubting Thomas,
because Thomas was just
00:26:04.26\00:26:06.93
as doubtful as the
other disciples. Remember,
00:26:06.96\00:26:09.96
they weren't glad
until they saw Jesus'
00:26:10.00\00:26:13.70
hand and His
side. Jesus then says--
00:26:13.74\00:26:18.54
I'm getting
ready to end, verse 27,
00:26:18.57\00:26:21.04
here's the clincher--we'll
go back to the doubting.
00:26:21.08\00:26:23.14
"Reach hither thy
finger, and behold my hands;
00:26:23.18\00:26:30.85
and reach hither thy hand,
and thrust it into my side:
00:26:30.89\00:26:36.59
and be not faithless, but
believing." But wait a minute.
00:26:36.62\00:26:43.26
How does Jesus know
what it would  take to make
00:26:43.30\00:26:45.60
Thomas believe, when
Jesus wasn't in the room
00:26:45.63\00:26:47.84
when Thomas said he had
to see the nail-print hands
00:26:47.87\00:26:50.61
or see the pierced side?
'Cause remember, you all,
00:26:50.64\00:26:53.74
Jesus wasn't in the
room when Thomas said that.
00:26:53.78\00:26:56.98
Which means, then, that
God can hear us even when
00:26:57.01\00:27:00.08
we don't think He hears
us. He knows, hallelujah,
00:27:00.12\00:27:03.69
what you need before
you even know you need it.
00:27:03.72\00:27:07.69
Jesus says, "Thomas,
it is I." Thomas says,
00:27:07.72\00:27:11.83
"My Lord and my God."
Jesus then replies and says,
00:27:11.86\00:27:17.03
"Thomas, because thou has
seen me, thou hast believed.
00:27:17.07\00:27:21.74
But blessed are they that
have not seen, but yet believe."
00:27:21.77\00:27:27.88
Thou preach, right
there. Here Jesus lets us
00:27:27.91\00:27:30.71
know that He reserves
a greater blessing for
00:27:30.75\00:27:34.15
those who have not
seen but still believe. Why?
00:27:34.18\00:27:38.99
Sight can be a
greater risk than blindness,
00:27:39.02\00:27:43.19
because you can
believe too much in what
00:27:43.22\00:27:45.03
you're seeing, never
thinking that what you
00:27:45.06\00:27:47.30
see can be
confusing and misleading.
00:27:47.30\00:27:49.33
Think of the woman
who married the wrong man,
00:27:49.36\00:27:51.00
or the man who
married the wrong woman,
00:27:51.03\00:27:53.54
going by what they see
than what they really saw?
00:27:53.57\00:27:56.27
Just because a woman is
pretty doesn't make her pure.
00:27:56.30\00:27:59.71
Just because a man is
handsome does not make him holy.
00:27:59.74\00:28:04.11
Just because church
folk appear consecrated,
00:28:04.15\00:28:06.25
that doesn't
make them Christlike.
00:28:06.28\00:28:08.85
Sight can impede faith,
confuse love and hinder hope.
00:28:08.88\00:28:14.16
>:  Thank you for
joining us for another exciting
00:28:14.19\00:28:15.69
Breath of Life
television broadcast.
00:28:15.72\00:28:17.83
Tune in next
week at the same time,
00:28:17.86\00:28:20.00
as Dr. Byrd will
deliver another dynamic
00:28:20.03\00:28:22.33
message from the
Lord, just for you.
00:28:22.36\00:28:24.87
Until next time,
may God bless you.
00:28:24.90\00:28:27.84
END
00:28:27.87\00:28:42.88