WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.459 Well, good morning again. It's great to see you all. 00:00:03.980 --> 00:00:10.919 We praise God for the people who were just up here on the stage leading us in worship in wonderful ways. 00:00:11.019 --> 00:00:15.480 Can we just give thanks to the Lord for them and for the ability to gather? 00:00:18.000 --> 00:00:25.359 It's been two years, three years since we've been able to gather freely to worship in Easter like this. 00:00:25.440 --> 00:00:28.980 And so what a wonderful morning it is to do that. 00:00:28.980 --> 00:00:35.079 And, you know, as we gather, we serve, we come to proclaim that Jesus Christ is risen from the dead. 00:00:35.140 --> 00:00:38.159 It was the central theme of the early church. 00:00:38.259 --> 00:00:41.420 It was the thing that they proclaimed over and over again. 00:00:41.480 --> 00:00:43.000 And so we do celebrate it. 00:00:43.620 --> 00:00:50.420 But as we gather this morning, I want to recognize that it's not always an easy thing to believe, is it? 00:00:52.159 --> 00:00:56.719 That a man died and rose from the dead again. 00:00:58.979 --> 00:01:02.979 If you've grown up in church, you've been used to this familiar language. 00:01:03.159 --> 00:01:06.099 And so it doesn't strike you as particularly challenging. 00:01:06.340 --> 00:01:13.039 But I think that if we sit back and step and look at it, we recognize it is challenging. 00:01:13.040 --> 00:01:21.420 And I recognize that some of you may be here this morning facing a crisis of belief of your own. 00:01:21.680 --> 00:01:23.380 You may be here exploring Christianity. 00:01:23.580 --> 00:01:26.460 You may be here having gone to church all your life. 00:01:28.500 --> 00:01:32.260 But, you know, the last couple of years have been hard in our world. 00:01:33.920 --> 00:01:36.000 We've been shaken by many things. 00:01:36.000 --> 00:01:44.920 So much of the fabric of our society feels like it's being rent and torn and pulled apart. 00:01:47.659 --> 00:01:49.460 I think it feels that way societally. 00:01:49.540 --> 00:01:52.599 I think it feels that way to us personally as well. 00:01:54.840 --> 00:01:57.099 Our world has been shaken quite a bit. 00:01:57.099 --> 00:02:05.280 And I think that it's very easy in that context for it to create for us a crisis of belief. 00:02:06.719 --> 00:02:09.299 Crisis of belief comes not just for Christians. 00:02:09.579 --> 00:02:10.680 It comes for all people. 00:02:11.199 --> 00:02:16.799 When different things happen in our lives, it makes us reexamine what we believe and why we believe it. 00:02:17.719 --> 00:02:20.620 Whether you're religious or not, it makes us reexamine it. 00:02:20.780 --> 00:02:23.159 And a crisis of belief can come in many forms. 00:02:23.159 --> 00:02:29.759 It may be because something in your circumstances challenges the things that you've assumed to be true. 00:02:31.780 --> 00:02:38.340 So, a cancer diagnosis or an unexpected end to an engagement or a loss of a job 00:02:38.340 --> 00:02:45.340 makes you question, where am I going and what am I doing? 00:02:45.879 --> 00:02:46.879 Why am I doing it? 00:02:46.879 --> 00:02:53.400 Maybe the disappointment and failure of others you've trusted make you question yourself. 00:02:54.460 --> 00:02:58.659 Certainly for those of us in the church, we've struggled with the revelation of sin 00:02:58.659 --> 00:03:01.000 and church leadership in the last couple of years. 00:03:02.060 --> 00:03:07.300 If they fail, why would we continue to believe is a question that comes up in our hearts. 00:03:07.300 --> 00:03:17.260 Sometimes, as well, it's not major crises, but little things that wear away at our faith. 00:03:17.920 --> 00:03:20.360 The boredom of everyday life. 00:03:20.500 --> 00:03:23.960 The in and out of doing the same thing every day. 00:03:25.100 --> 00:03:27.620 Wondering why you've ever believed at all. 00:03:28.900 --> 00:03:32.420 This one sneaks up on us and then crystallizes in a moment. 00:03:32.760 --> 00:03:34.380 What am I doing with my life? 00:03:34.379 --> 00:03:36.780 My life is meaningless, worthless. 00:03:38.299 --> 00:03:42.019 You find yourself questioning all that you've lived for and all that you've hoped for. 00:03:43.299 --> 00:03:46.240 It may be that you have a crisis of belief this morning 00:03:46.240 --> 00:03:49.879 because someone's asked you a question that you don't know the answer to. 00:03:50.800 --> 00:03:52.819 You wonder, can I still believe? 00:03:52.919 --> 00:03:54.000 Do I really believe? 00:03:56.180 --> 00:03:59.659 Sometimes, a crisis of belief happens when we encounter others 00:03:59.659 --> 00:04:01.800 who believe something that you don't. 00:04:01.800 --> 00:04:07.400 I know this was true for me, growing up in church, 00:04:07.660 --> 00:04:10.500 but not really understanding or knowing the gospel at all, 00:04:10.980 --> 00:04:12.100 finding it pretty empty. 00:04:12.780 --> 00:04:16.660 It wasn't until I met some friends in high school, had something else. 00:04:16.860 --> 00:04:18.300 I'll tell more of my story later. 00:04:18.720 --> 00:04:22.379 But it created a crisis of belief in me. 00:04:22.379 --> 00:04:30.519 So, as we look this morning at the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 00:04:30.620 --> 00:04:32.939 as we think about this story and where it is, 00:04:33.000 --> 00:04:34.939 we recognize that it is a celebration, 00:04:35.399 --> 00:04:39.839 but it is also a great word of comfort and help to us. 00:04:40.779 --> 00:04:45.120 The message of Easter speaks to us in the midst of our crisis of belief 00:04:45.120 --> 00:04:47.959 in ways that maybe we aren't aware of. 00:04:47.959 --> 00:04:50.560 And that's what we're going to look at this morning. 00:04:50.759 --> 00:04:54.859 We're going to look at John chapter 20, verses 24 through 29. 00:04:56.199 --> 00:05:00.060 And as we turn there in your pew Bibles, 00:05:00.500 --> 00:05:02.539 I forgot to look up the page number. 00:05:02.639 --> 00:05:03.180 Anyone want to? 00:05:05.039 --> 00:05:05.439 853. 00:05:05.560 --> 00:05:05.959 There we go. 00:05:06.359 --> 00:05:08.459 853, if you want to look it up in the pew Bible. 00:05:09.719 --> 00:05:10.959 John chapter 20. 00:05:10.959 --> 00:05:14.099 John was one who knew a crisis of faith. 00:05:14.459 --> 00:05:17.459 Because John was one of the earliest disciples. 00:05:18.219 --> 00:05:22.680 He responded to Jesus' call three years earlier to lay down his life, 00:05:23.120 --> 00:05:26.759 his fishing boats, his nets, and to follow Jesus. 00:05:27.359 --> 00:05:29.399 And he had put everything into this. 00:05:32.779 --> 00:05:34.699 And at this point in the story, 00:05:34.699 --> 00:05:37.819 John is remembering how he, 00:05:38.219 --> 00:05:39.839 the day that Jesus died, 00:05:40.659 --> 00:05:42.339 faced his own crisis of faith. 00:05:43.860 --> 00:05:45.579 What in the world is happening? 00:05:46.120 --> 00:05:47.199 How could he be dead? 00:05:47.719 --> 00:05:48.920 What happens now? 00:05:49.319 --> 00:05:50.279 Did I misunderstand? 00:05:51.599 --> 00:05:53.219 Where do we go from here? 00:05:55.740 --> 00:06:00.019 Maybe these are questions you are asking as well. 00:06:01.019 --> 00:06:02.339 What is my life about? 00:06:02.439 --> 00:06:03.560 What do I believe in? 00:06:03.560 --> 00:06:05.620 Where do I go from here? 00:06:07.699 --> 00:06:10.519 We're going to look not at the resurrection text itself, 00:06:10.600 --> 00:06:13.339 but the text that talks about one of his disciples 00:06:13.339 --> 00:06:16.399 who faced his own crisis of doubt. 00:06:16.740 --> 00:06:21.519 So, John chapter 20, verses 24 and following. 00:06:21.980 --> 00:06:22.899 Let's read this. 00:06:24.379 --> 00:06:27.439 Now Thomas, one of the twelve called the twin, 00:06:27.560 --> 00:06:29.680 was not with them when Jesus came. 00:06:30.779 --> 00:06:33.100 So, the other disciples told him, 00:06:33.100 --> 00:06:34.060 we have seen the Lord. 00:06:35.000 --> 00:06:36.080 But he said to them, 00:06:36.439 --> 00:06:38.080 unless I see his hands, 00:06:38.820 --> 00:06:41.040 see in his hands the mark of the nails, 00:06:41.360 --> 00:06:44.260 and place my finger in the mark of the nails, 00:06:44.600 --> 00:06:47.080 place my hand on into his side, 00:06:47.600 --> 00:06:49.560 I will never believe. 00:06:51.060 --> 00:06:52.140 Eight days later, 00:06:52.340 --> 00:06:54.480 his disciples were inside again, 00:06:54.620 --> 00:06:56.020 and Thomas was with them. 00:06:56.379 --> 00:06:57.620 Although the doors were locked, 00:06:57.620 --> 00:07:00.740 Jesus came and stood among them and said, 00:07:00.920 --> 00:07:02.240 peace be with you. 00:07:03.280 --> 00:07:04.639 And then he said to Thomas, 00:07:04.840 --> 00:07:06.060 put your finger here, 00:07:06.800 --> 00:07:08.040 see my hands, 00:07:08.259 --> 00:07:09.720 and put out your hand, 00:07:09.819 --> 00:07:11.319 and place it in my side. 00:07:11.740 --> 00:07:13.420 Do not disbelieve, 00:07:13.800 --> 00:07:14.780 but believe. 00:07:14.779 --> 00:07:19.519 And Thomas answered him, 00:07:20.039 --> 00:07:22.339 my Lord and my God. 00:07:23.399 --> 00:07:24.619 Jesus said to him, 00:07:24.779 --> 00:07:26.779 have you believed because you have seen me? 00:07:27.639 --> 00:07:29.619 Blessed are those who have not seen, 00:07:29.959 --> 00:07:31.459 and yet have believed. 00:07:32.500 --> 00:07:34.619 And now Jesus did many other signs 00:07:34.619 --> 00:07:36.000 in the presence of the disciples, 00:07:36.000 --> 00:07:37.759 which are not written in this book, 00:07:37.759 --> 00:07:39.360 but these are written 00:07:39.360 --> 00:07:40.680 so that you may believe 00:07:40.680 --> 00:07:42.459 that Jesus is the Christ, 00:07:42.779 --> 00:07:43.819 the Son of God, 00:07:43.860 --> 00:07:44.939 and that by believing, 00:07:45.120 --> 00:07:47.759 you may have life in his name. 00:07:50.819 --> 00:07:52.180 Will you pray with me for a minute? 00:07:52.339 --> 00:07:53.680 Lord, we ask for your help 00:07:53.680 --> 00:07:55.240 as we look into your word 00:07:55.240 --> 00:07:56.259 for a minute this morning. 00:07:57.039 --> 00:07:57.980 Lord, help us. 00:07:59.980 --> 00:08:01.659 Help us to understand your word. 00:08:02.800 --> 00:08:04.139 Lord, open our hearts 00:08:04.139 --> 00:08:07.219 and our minds to your truth this morning. 00:08:07.220 --> 00:08:08.680 I pray for your help 00:08:08.680 --> 00:08:09.620 that you may help me 00:08:09.620 --> 00:08:11.020 to speak your words as I ought, 00:08:12.180 --> 00:08:14.220 that we together would hear, 00:08:14.480 --> 00:08:15.620 receive, and rejoice 00:08:15.620 --> 00:08:17.160 in the good news 00:08:17.160 --> 00:08:19.540 of the resurrected Christ this morning. 00:08:19.840 --> 00:08:21.420 And we pray this in Jesus' name. 00:08:21.960 --> 00:08:22.260 Amen. 00:08:24.640 --> 00:08:27.040 So Thomas, one of the twelve, 00:08:27.160 --> 00:08:29.300 he'd walked with Jesus for three years. 00:08:29.500 --> 00:08:30.880 He was there when Jesus taught 00:08:30.880 --> 00:08:31.740 the Sermon on the Mount. 00:08:31.840 --> 00:08:34.160 He was there when Jesus fed 5,000. 00:08:34.279 --> 00:08:35.920 He was there when he raised Lazarus 00:08:35.920 --> 00:08:36.600 from the dead. 00:08:37.220 --> 00:08:38.580 What we know about Thomas 00:08:38.580 --> 00:08:39.580 from the rest of the Bible 00:08:39.580 --> 00:08:40.620 is that he was loyal. 00:08:40.940 --> 00:08:42.100 In chapter 11 of John, 00:08:42.139 --> 00:08:42.399 he says, 00:08:42.580 --> 00:08:44.300 let us go to Jerusalem with him, 00:08:44.320 --> 00:08:45.399 even though we're going to die. 00:08:45.779 --> 00:08:47.259 Let's go and stay with him. 00:08:48.279 --> 00:08:49.800 Thomas was also honest. 00:08:51.040 --> 00:08:52.820 Jesus, in the night before he died, 00:08:52.879 --> 00:08:54.220 when he was teaching his disciples 00:08:54.220 --> 00:08:55.399 about where he was going, 00:08:55.639 --> 00:08:56.639 said, you know the way. 00:08:56.740 --> 00:08:57.399 And Thomas said, 00:08:57.560 --> 00:08:58.440 uh, Jesus? 00:08:58.920 --> 00:08:59.519 I don't know. 00:08:59.779 --> 00:09:00.820 I don't know what you're talking about. 00:09:00.820 --> 00:09:03.320 We don't know the way. 00:09:04.760 --> 00:09:06.080 Thomas, in this passage, 00:09:06.740 --> 00:09:08.580 is facing a crisis of belief. 00:09:09.740 --> 00:09:11.020 And this is what we see. 00:09:11.600 --> 00:09:12.879 We're going to walk through this. 00:09:12.940 --> 00:09:13.379 In three, he said, 00:09:13.440 --> 00:09:14.720 there's a crisis of belief, 00:09:14.900 --> 00:09:16.379 there's a challenge to believe, 00:09:16.500 --> 00:09:18.480 and there's a response of faith. 00:09:18.540 --> 00:09:19.340 So we're going to look through 00:09:19.340 --> 00:09:20.460 those things this morning. 00:09:20.960 --> 00:09:22.220 Verse 24 and 25 00:09:22.220 --> 00:09:24.460 describe the crisis of belief. 00:09:24.460 --> 00:09:25.860 And here's the thing. 00:09:26.560 --> 00:09:28.300 Thomas, as we've read about this, 00:09:28.720 --> 00:09:30.980 we didn't see it right before this, 00:09:31.700 --> 00:09:34.080 Jesus appeared to the rest of the disciples 00:09:34.080 --> 00:09:35.700 when Thomas wasn't there 00:09:35.700 --> 00:09:38.240 right after his resurrection. 00:09:38.980 --> 00:09:41.400 So everybody else knew this, right? 00:09:41.460 --> 00:09:42.480 He had appeared to the women, 00:09:42.900 --> 00:09:44.540 he had appeared to the disciples, 00:09:44.720 --> 00:09:46.680 but Thomas somehow wasn't there. 00:09:47.160 --> 00:09:48.940 And so they came and told him about it, 00:09:48.980 --> 00:09:49.580 and he's like, 00:09:50.960 --> 00:09:52.600 maybe you guys saw a ghost, 00:09:53.040 --> 00:09:54.240 maybe you guys are hallucinant, 00:09:54.240 --> 00:09:55.220 I don't know what it is, 00:09:55.320 --> 00:09:56.379 but I don't believe it. 00:09:58.080 --> 00:09:58.840 No way. 00:10:00.600 --> 00:10:01.720 I'll need to touch him 00:10:01.720 --> 00:10:04.180 to know that this is really true. 00:10:05.799 --> 00:10:07.820 And look, before we criticize him, 00:10:08.139 --> 00:10:09.659 which is what we like to do in churches, 00:10:09.840 --> 00:10:10.180 we'll say, 00:10:10.279 --> 00:10:11.519 oh, look at him, he's so weak, 00:10:11.560 --> 00:10:12.259 what's wrong with him? 00:10:13.159 --> 00:10:14.279 Before we criticize him, 00:10:14.320 --> 00:10:16.060 let's recognize how much it makes sense. 00:10:17.379 --> 00:10:19.700 Resurrection was not on the radar 00:10:19.700 --> 00:10:21.860 of anyone in the first century. 00:10:21.860 --> 00:10:24.399 No religious expectation, 00:10:25.159 --> 00:10:26.480 religious system, 00:10:26.600 --> 00:10:29.240 it created an expectation for resurrection. 00:10:30.060 --> 00:10:30.700 As a matter of fact, 00:10:30.759 --> 00:10:33.220 in the Greek culture that was predominant in the, 00:10:33.639 --> 00:10:36.120 resurrection would have been a terrible thing 00:10:36.120 --> 00:10:39.100 because the death was freeing the body 00:10:39.100 --> 00:10:39.960 from this terrible, 00:10:40.779 --> 00:10:41.840 or freeing the soul 00:10:41.840 --> 00:10:43.800 from this terrible body that we have. 00:10:43.800 --> 00:10:45.460 Who would want to be resurrected? 00:10:45.659 --> 00:10:46.539 That's a terrible thing. 00:10:46.539 --> 00:10:48.279 So the Greeks didn't want this, 00:10:48.539 --> 00:10:49.860 and even the Jewish faith, 00:10:49.939 --> 00:10:51.980 who might have had some inkling 00:10:51.980 --> 00:10:54.480 of a future corporate resurrection, 00:10:55.079 --> 00:10:56.379 would never have thought 00:10:56.379 --> 00:10:58.240 that somewhere in the middle of history, 00:10:58.480 --> 00:11:01.099 one person would be raised from the dead. 00:11:01.860 --> 00:11:04.139 So nobody was expecting this. 00:11:04.319 --> 00:11:05.899 No one was looking for this. 00:11:06.120 --> 00:11:07.779 There was no cultural framework 00:11:07.779 --> 00:11:09.959 in which this made sense. 00:11:09.960 --> 00:11:12.620 So Thomas could be forgiven 00:11:12.620 --> 00:11:14.860 for not believing 00:11:14.860 --> 00:11:18.480 what seems like an unbelievable claim. 00:11:18.860 --> 00:11:20.400 Someone who is dead 00:11:20.400 --> 00:11:22.580 has now been raised again 00:11:22.580 --> 00:11:23.960 and is alive. 00:11:25.720 --> 00:11:27.860 Now what kind of belief was this? 00:11:28.180 --> 00:11:30.560 Was it merely rational skepticism? 00:11:30.920 --> 00:11:32.540 Was he just an empiricist? 00:11:32.700 --> 00:11:34.180 I need to see it, touch it. 00:11:34.340 --> 00:11:36.340 I need to do scientific experiments 00:11:36.340 --> 00:11:37.300 to make sure it's true. 00:11:37.299 --> 00:11:40.899 Maybe, but maybe not. 00:11:42.319 --> 00:11:44.579 Maybe he was also 00:11:44.579 --> 00:11:47.299 a devastated follower of Jesus. 00:11:49.459 --> 00:11:50.759 He'd put all his hope, 00:11:52.279 --> 00:11:53.620 followed him for three years. 00:11:55.939 --> 00:11:57.679 He didn't want to look foolish 00:11:57.679 --> 00:11:59.059 by continuing to hope 00:11:59.059 --> 00:12:01.079 when that hope had been crushed. 00:12:01.419 --> 00:12:03.779 He didn't want to be disappointed again 00:12:03.779 --> 00:12:06.319 by putting his faith in something. 00:12:07.299 --> 00:12:09.559 That seems to have been robbed from him 00:12:09.559 --> 00:12:11.199 and taken out from under him. 00:12:11.459 --> 00:12:13.299 In his grief and his pain, 00:12:14.639 --> 00:12:16.199 holding on to belief 00:12:16.199 --> 00:12:17.719 that Jesus was raised from the dead 00:12:17.719 --> 00:12:19.419 would have just made it worse. 00:12:22.819 --> 00:12:23.279 I think it's, 00:12:23.599 --> 00:12:24.959 to be sympathetic to Thomas, 00:12:25.079 --> 00:12:26.339 there are a lot of reasons, 00:12:26.699 --> 00:12:27.939 good reasons why 00:12:27.939 --> 00:12:30.179 he had this crisis of belief. 00:12:30.179 --> 00:12:35.159 Maybe he's a devastated devotee. 00:12:35.479 --> 00:12:37.599 Maybe he's a cynical rationalist. 00:12:37.799 --> 00:12:39.599 We don't know all of his heart. 00:12:41.799 --> 00:12:42.659 But certainly, 00:12:42.839 --> 00:12:44.120 if we imagine these things, 00:12:44.179 --> 00:12:46.000 we can stop and think about ourselves. 00:12:46.959 --> 00:12:48.379 Is there anything that I've said 00:12:48.379 --> 00:12:50.419 about Thomas that rings true for you? 00:12:52.679 --> 00:12:54.299 Maybe you've grown up in the faith, 00:12:54.339 --> 00:12:55.179 but you're not sure 00:12:55.179 --> 00:12:56.459 if the evidence is there. 00:12:56.460 --> 00:12:58.920 Maybe you've not grown up in church 00:12:58.920 --> 00:12:59.759 and you're exploring 00:12:59.759 --> 00:13:00.860 why in the world 00:13:00.860 --> 00:13:01.920 people would believe 00:13:01.920 --> 00:13:03.700 such an incredible fairy tale. 00:13:05.860 --> 00:13:07.560 Maybe you have honest questions 00:13:07.560 --> 00:13:09.540 about what the facts are. 00:13:12.220 --> 00:13:13.639 But maybe your questions 00:13:13.639 --> 00:13:14.519 aren't as intellectual. 00:13:14.740 --> 00:13:16.040 Maybe they're more spiritual. 00:13:17.420 --> 00:13:19.040 Maybe you don't want to look foolish 00:13:19.040 --> 00:13:22.500 by hooking your wagon 00:13:22.500 --> 00:13:23.360 to the wrong thing. 00:13:23.360 --> 00:13:25.300 Maybe you've been religiously disappointed 00:13:25.300 --> 00:13:27.480 by the failures of the church 00:13:27.480 --> 00:13:29.060 and the scandals that have happened. 00:13:29.700 --> 00:13:32.039 Maybe you've been so disillusioned 00:13:32.039 --> 00:13:34.940 by your experience 00:13:34.940 --> 00:13:38.500 of what others have claimed 00:13:38.500 --> 00:13:39.320 to be Christianity 00:13:39.320 --> 00:13:40.080 that you think, 00:13:40.200 --> 00:13:41.259 why would I want to do that? 00:13:41.379 --> 00:13:42.980 Why would I want to keep thinking this 00:13:42.980 --> 00:13:43.779 or believing it? 00:13:45.820 --> 00:13:48.139 And maybe you're here this morning 00:13:48.139 --> 00:13:50.320 and your world has just fallen apart 00:13:50.320 --> 00:13:51.980 and you don't know 00:13:51.980 --> 00:13:53.000 what you believe today. 00:13:54.539 --> 00:13:55.740 And you don't want to hope 00:13:55.740 --> 00:13:56.680 against reason, 00:13:57.320 --> 00:13:58.899 but you also don't want 00:13:58.899 --> 00:13:59.840 to make yourself vulnerable 00:13:59.840 --> 00:14:01.220 to being disappointed again. 00:14:03.480 --> 00:14:03.920 Friends, 00:14:04.340 --> 00:14:06.820 the amazing news about Easter 00:14:06.820 --> 00:14:09.800 is that God and Jesus meets us 00:14:09.800 --> 00:14:12.580 in these questions and doubts. 00:14:14.340 --> 00:14:15.480 This is what happens 00:14:15.480 --> 00:14:17.080 in verse 26 and 27. 00:14:17.800 --> 00:14:19.519 Having exposed the crisis of belief 00:14:19.519 --> 00:14:20.659 that Thomas is going through, 00:14:20.659 --> 00:14:22.939 now John continues to his account 00:14:22.939 --> 00:14:23.519 by saying, 00:14:23.719 --> 00:14:25.179 this is what happens. 00:14:25.639 --> 00:14:26.719 Jesus shows up 00:14:26.719 --> 00:14:29.699 and he challenges Thomas to believe. 00:14:31.399 --> 00:14:32.579 So a week later, 00:14:32.980 --> 00:14:34.199 Thomas was still around, 00:14:34.339 --> 00:14:35.980 all the disciples were still there, 00:14:36.219 --> 00:14:37.719 and Thomas hadn't bailed 00:14:37.719 --> 00:14:38.419 and gone back 00:14:38.419 --> 00:14:39.419 to wherever he came from. 00:14:39.480 --> 00:14:40.480 He was still around, 00:14:40.719 --> 00:14:42.500 but they're afraid. 00:14:43.339 --> 00:14:44.439 This is an echo 00:14:44.439 --> 00:14:46.199 of verse 19 of chapter 20, 00:14:46.259 --> 00:14:47.519 where it seems like they're afraid 00:14:47.519 --> 00:14:50.899 because their belief in Jesus 00:14:50.899 --> 00:14:53.079 had put them at odds 00:14:53.079 --> 00:14:54.079 with the Jewish leaders 00:14:54.079 --> 00:14:55.319 who had been a part 00:14:55.319 --> 00:14:56.639 of putting Jesus to death, 00:14:56.699 --> 00:14:57.500 and they didn't want 00:14:57.500 --> 00:14:58.699 to be publicly identified 00:14:58.699 --> 00:14:59.899 because they feared 00:14:59.899 --> 00:15:00.559 for their lives. 00:15:00.620 --> 00:15:02.079 So they're in a locked room, 00:15:02.519 --> 00:15:04.720 they're trying to protect themselves, 00:15:04.720 --> 00:15:07.259 and Jesus shows up. 00:15:08.720 --> 00:15:09.279 And look, friends, 00:15:09.340 --> 00:15:10.659 we don't know how the physics 00:15:10.659 --> 00:15:11.439 of this happened. 00:15:12.139 --> 00:15:13.519 Maybe Jesus miraculously 00:15:13.519 --> 00:15:14.439 unlocked the door, 00:15:14.440 --> 00:15:16.180 and maybe he just walked through it. 00:15:16.380 --> 00:15:17.120 But somehow, 00:15:17.760 --> 00:15:20.060 in a room that a normal human being 00:15:20.060 --> 00:15:21.100 could not have walked into, 00:15:21.260 --> 00:15:22.280 Jesus walks in. 00:15:23.580 --> 00:15:24.700 Jesus walks in, 00:15:24.760 --> 00:15:26.080 and in his graciousness, 00:15:26.180 --> 00:15:27.260 he meets Thomas 00:15:27.260 --> 00:15:29.820 in two ways. 00:15:33.280 --> 00:15:35.280 He meets him as a skeptic, 00:15:35.320 --> 00:15:36.080 and he meets him 00:15:36.080 --> 00:15:38.160 as one with a wounded heart. 00:15:39.500 --> 00:15:40.480 He walks in, 00:15:40.540 --> 00:15:41.060 and he says, 00:15:41.140 --> 00:15:42.420 just like he did to the disciples 00:15:42.420 --> 00:15:43.780 back a few verses earlier, 00:15:43.779 --> 00:15:44.779 peace be with you. 00:15:46.399 --> 00:15:47.939 And then he looks at Thomas. 00:15:52.220 --> 00:15:53.399 Because he's the Lord of all, 00:15:53.519 --> 00:15:54.339 he knows what Thomas 00:15:54.339 --> 00:15:55.079 had already said. 00:15:55.759 --> 00:15:57.019 He knows what Thomas' 00:15:57.279 --> 00:15:58.579 heart was like. 00:15:59.639 --> 00:16:00.740 And he looks at Thomas, 00:16:01.259 --> 00:16:02.600 and in love he says, 00:16:02.720 --> 00:16:03.379 Thomas, look. 00:16:06.100 --> 00:16:07.139 It's really true. 00:16:08.419 --> 00:16:09.539 Put your finger here. 00:16:11.000 --> 00:16:12.199 Put your hand here. 00:16:12.200 --> 00:16:13.480 And you know, 00:16:13.540 --> 00:16:14.900 when he talks about the side, 00:16:15.740 --> 00:16:16.759 this may sound crazy, 00:16:16.879 --> 00:16:18.240 but one of the thieves 00:16:18.240 --> 00:16:18.940 could have been raised 00:16:18.940 --> 00:16:19.560 from the dead, 00:16:19.640 --> 00:16:20.360 and he would have had 00:16:20.360 --> 00:16:22.300 holes in his hands and feet, 00:16:23.020 --> 00:16:24.320 and it could have been like, 00:16:24.379 --> 00:16:25.320 well, maybe you're just 00:16:25.320 --> 00:16:26.460 one of those other guys 00:16:26.460 --> 00:16:27.040 resurrected, 00:16:27.180 --> 00:16:28.020 and not Jesus. 00:16:28.580 --> 00:16:29.720 But only Jesus 00:16:29.720 --> 00:16:31.060 had a wound in his side. 00:16:31.059 --> 00:16:36.779 Jesus looks at Thomas 00:16:36.779 --> 00:16:37.259 and says, 00:16:37.519 --> 00:16:40.759 you need help to believe 00:16:40.759 --> 00:16:41.259 here. 00:16:42.919 --> 00:16:44.599 I will give you the evidence. 00:16:45.199 --> 00:16:46.019 I will give you 00:16:46.019 --> 00:16:48.199 the physical evidence 00:16:48.199 --> 00:16:49.619 that you need to believe 00:16:49.619 --> 00:16:50.759 that this is true. 00:16:50.759 --> 00:16:55.120 But he also 00:16:55.120 --> 00:16:56.879 looks at Thomas 00:16:56.879 --> 00:16:57.939 and he says, 00:16:58.220 --> 00:17:00.039 I know you're afraid. 00:17:01.399 --> 00:17:02.819 I know you're afraid 00:17:02.819 --> 00:17:03.740 to believe. 00:17:06.680 --> 00:17:07.619 And he says, 00:17:07.740 --> 00:17:09.200 peace be with you. 00:17:09.740 --> 00:17:11.379 It's easy to overlook this, 00:17:11.920 --> 00:17:14.720 but this is Jesus wishing 00:17:14.720 --> 00:17:17.279 shalom upon Thomas 00:17:17.279 --> 00:17:18.500 and upon the disciples. 00:17:18.819 --> 00:17:20.879 The peace with God. 00:17:21.740 --> 00:17:22.879 The peace that could 00:17:22.879 --> 00:17:25.059 not have been even imaginable 00:17:25.059 --> 00:17:25.980 for these disciples 00:17:25.980 --> 00:17:26.660 at this time. 00:17:26.779 --> 00:17:27.519 Jesus looks at them 00:17:27.519 --> 00:17:27.879 and says, 00:17:28.039 --> 00:17:29.299 I know that when I died, 00:17:29.379 --> 00:17:30.279 you thought the world 00:17:30.279 --> 00:17:31.619 had fallen apart, 00:17:32.839 --> 00:17:33.519 but it didn't. 00:17:34.319 --> 00:17:34.759 Actually, 00:17:35.000 --> 00:17:36.220 it was the best thing 00:17:36.220 --> 00:17:37.039 that ever happened. 00:17:38.680 --> 00:17:39.879 By my death, 00:17:40.759 --> 00:17:41.579 peace with God 00:17:41.579 --> 00:17:42.559 is now possible. 00:17:43.139 --> 00:17:44.180 By my death, 00:17:44.559 --> 00:17:45.299 the world 00:17:45.299 --> 00:17:46.940 that has been falling apart 00:17:46.940 --> 00:17:47.500 by sin 00:17:47.500 --> 00:17:49.100 is now going to live 00:17:49.100 --> 00:17:50.059 with a new hope 00:17:50.059 --> 00:17:52.279 that it can be held together. 00:17:53.960 --> 00:17:55.580 Salvation is now possible 00:17:55.580 --> 00:17:56.600 because of that. 00:17:58.000 --> 00:17:59.539 So Jesus looks at Thomas 00:17:59.539 --> 00:18:00.200 and he says, 00:18:00.320 --> 00:18:00.620 Thomas, 00:18:00.779 --> 00:18:01.440 don't hide. 00:18:02.360 --> 00:18:03.180 Don't fear. 00:18:04.700 --> 00:18:06.100 Come out and believe. 00:18:08.600 --> 00:18:10.740 He doesn't even rebuke Thomas. 00:18:11.120 --> 00:18:12.720 I think verse 29, 00:18:13.360 --> 00:18:14.360 there's some different ways 00:18:14.360 --> 00:18:15.259 you could formulate 00:18:15.259 --> 00:18:16.099 this sentence 00:18:16.099 --> 00:18:17.980 and the way that 00:18:17.980 --> 00:18:19.359 the ESV has it 00:18:19.359 --> 00:18:20.859 is more of a question. 00:18:21.319 --> 00:18:22.220 Have you believed 00:18:22.220 --> 00:18:23.460 because you've seen me? 00:18:23.879 --> 00:18:25.299 Almost like a rebuke. 00:18:25.940 --> 00:18:27.000 But I think it's actually 00:18:27.000 --> 00:18:27.599 better read 00:18:27.599 --> 00:18:28.660 just as a statement. 00:18:29.519 --> 00:18:30.539 Jesus looks at Thomas 00:18:30.539 --> 00:18:31.119 and says, 00:18:31.920 --> 00:18:32.920 you've believed now 00:18:32.920 --> 00:18:34.259 because you've seen me. 00:18:35.440 --> 00:18:36.379 And that's good. 00:18:37.839 --> 00:18:38.480 And he says, 00:18:38.879 --> 00:18:39.660 and there's going to be 00:18:39.660 --> 00:18:40.700 a blessing for those 00:18:40.700 --> 00:18:41.320 who will come 00:18:41.320 --> 00:18:43.000 who won't get to see you 00:18:43.000 --> 00:18:43.460 the way, 00:18:43.580 --> 00:18:44.920 see me the way you do. 00:18:45.060 --> 00:18:46.680 But they too will believe 00:18:46.680 --> 00:18:47.779 because what this is 00:18:47.779 --> 00:18:49.160 is just the beginning 00:18:49.160 --> 00:18:50.880 of what God has 00:18:50.880 --> 00:18:52.440 for this world. 00:18:56.700 --> 00:18:57.640 Jesus comes 00:18:57.640 --> 00:18:59.000 and he meets Thomas 00:18:59.000 --> 00:19:00.440 graciously, 00:19:00.860 --> 00:19:01.400 kindly. 00:19:02.400 --> 00:19:02.720 He says, 00:19:02.800 --> 00:19:03.620 I know your fears. 00:19:03.720 --> 00:19:04.680 I know your need 00:19:04.680 --> 00:19:05.360 for help 00:19:05.360 --> 00:19:06.380 in believing 00:19:06.380 --> 00:19:07.380 and I'm going to give you 00:19:07.380 --> 00:19:08.120 what you need. 00:19:09.240 --> 00:19:10.300 Here's my evidence. 00:19:10.480 --> 00:19:11.100 See this. 00:19:11.680 --> 00:19:12.720 Here's my peace 00:19:12.720 --> 00:19:14.600 to be with you. 00:19:16.280 --> 00:19:17.720 So the resurrected Jesus 00:19:17.720 --> 00:19:18.500 meets Thomas 00:19:18.500 --> 00:19:19.180 and us 00:19:19.180 --> 00:19:21.180 on both of these levels 00:19:21.180 --> 00:19:22.040 with the questions 00:19:22.040 --> 00:19:22.920 that we ask 00:19:22.920 --> 00:19:23.840 and the things 00:19:23.840 --> 00:19:24.520 that we need. 00:19:24.760 --> 00:19:25.360 And this, of course, 00:19:25.420 --> 00:19:26.660 is all that what John 00:19:26.660 --> 00:19:27.180 is doing. 00:19:27.480 --> 00:19:28.220 As John has written 00:19:28.220 --> 00:19:30.040 this entire gospel account, 00:19:30.620 --> 00:19:32.540 all 21 chapters of it, 00:19:33.180 --> 00:19:33.880 we see this 00:19:33.880 --> 00:19:35.380 in verses 30 and 31. 00:19:35.380 --> 00:19:37.120 John says, 00:19:37.480 --> 00:19:37.900 this is why 00:19:37.900 --> 00:19:38.980 I wrote this book. 00:19:39.800 --> 00:19:41.520 Jesus did many things, 00:19:41.900 --> 00:19:42.880 many more things 00:19:42.880 --> 00:19:43.860 than I could even count 00:19:43.860 --> 00:19:46.560 in this one book. 00:19:47.300 --> 00:19:48.120 But the things 00:19:48.120 --> 00:19:48.840 that have been written 00:19:48.840 --> 00:19:49.720 have been written 00:19:49.720 --> 00:19:51.200 so that you may understand 00:19:51.200 --> 00:19:52.480 who Jesus is 00:19:52.480 --> 00:19:53.940 and in understanding 00:19:53.940 --> 00:19:55.140 that you may believe 00:19:55.140 --> 00:19:56.320 and by believing 00:19:56.320 --> 00:19:57.620 that you may have life 00:19:57.620 --> 00:19:59.040 in his name. 00:20:00.280 --> 00:20:01.520 John has marshaled 00:20:01.520 --> 00:20:02.940 all sorts of arguments 00:20:02.940 --> 00:20:03.960 and if you're here 00:20:03.960 --> 00:20:04.440 this morning 00:20:04.440 --> 00:20:04.900 and you're like, 00:20:04.900 --> 00:20:05.580 I want to know 00:20:05.580 --> 00:20:06.620 what those things are. 00:20:07.340 --> 00:20:08.480 Here are a few of them. 00:20:08.840 --> 00:20:09.280 One, 00:20:09.480 --> 00:20:10.700 there were many witnesses 00:20:10.700 --> 00:20:11.420 to Jesus 00:20:11.420 --> 00:20:13.380 as a resurrected person 00:20:13.380 --> 00:20:14.480 walking the earth. 00:20:16.519 --> 00:20:17.540 Some would still 00:20:17.540 --> 00:20:18.840 have been living 00:20:18.840 --> 00:20:19.759 at the writing 00:20:19.759 --> 00:20:21.640 of much of the New Testament. 00:20:23.640 --> 00:20:25.340 The disciples saw him. 00:20:25.640 --> 00:20:26.680 Women saw him. 00:20:27.400 --> 00:20:28.920 The diversity of people 00:20:28.920 --> 00:20:30.900 from various places 00:20:30.900 --> 00:20:32.019 in the world saw him. 00:20:32.019 --> 00:20:34.420 This was not one person's fantasy 00:20:34.420 --> 00:20:35.660 that was then expounded 00:20:35.660 --> 00:20:37.059 but many people 00:20:37.059 --> 00:20:38.180 got to see him. 00:20:39.000 --> 00:20:39.660 And the account 00:20:39.660 --> 00:20:40.740 is written by John 00:20:40.740 --> 00:20:41.279 in a way 00:20:41.279 --> 00:20:42.839 that doesn't make any sense 00:20:42.839 --> 00:20:43.400 if it weren't 00:20:43.400 --> 00:20:45.139 a historically true account. 00:20:45.539 --> 00:20:46.220 It includes 00:20:46.220 --> 00:20:47.420 the testimony of women 00:20:47.420 --> 00:20:48.480 which would have been 00:20:48.480 --> 00:20:49.519 completely dismissed 00:20:49.519 --> 00:20:50.619 in the first century. 00:20:51.119 --> 00:20:51.940 And yet John says, 00:20:52.139 --> 00:20:52.799 don't you see? 00:20:53.240 --> 00:20:54.400 God graciously gave 00:20:54.400 --> 00:20:55.039 these women 00:20:55.039 --> 00:20:56.259 the grace of testifying 00:20:56.259 --> 00:20:56.700 first 00:20:56.700 --> 00:20:58.819 to the good news 00:20:58.819 --> 00:21:00.279 of the resurrected Christ. 00:21:01.480 --> 00:21:02.819 And it's included. 00:21:06.200 --> 00:21:07.319 Some people have said 00:21:07.319 --> 00:21:08.460 that this whole account 00:21:08.460 --> 00:21:09.279 was constructed. 00:21:09.660 --> 00:21:11.140 But here's a question for you. 00:21:11.519 --> 00:21:12.920 Why would anyone 00:21:12.920 --> 00:21:15.720 say a group of disciples 00:21:15.720 --> 00:21:16.720 who are trying to build 00:21:16.720 --> 00:21:17.240 a religion 00:21:17.240 --> 00:21:18.519 out of their own heads 00:21:18.519 --> 00:21:19.660 write a story 00:21:19.660 --> 00:21:21.299 about how they didn't believe 00:21:21.299 --> 00:21:23.100 that Jesus rose from the dead? 00:21:23.099 --> 00:21:25.879 Why would Thomas 00:21:25.879 --> 00:21:27.179 have ever let this 00:21:27.179 --> 00:21:28.899 get through the editing process? 00:21:34.679 --> 00:21:36.039 Some people have wondered, 00:21:36.259 --> 00:21:37.359 well, isn't the Bible 00:21:37.359 --> 00:21:38.919 just a really old document? 00:21:39.719 --> 00:21:42.759 Do we really have good evidence 00:21:42.759 --> 00:21:44.419 that the documentary, 00:21:46.179 --> 00:21:47.459 the actual papers 00:21:47.459 --> 00:21:48.579 are early enough 00:21:48.579 --> 00:21:50.219 that they haven't been edited 00:21:50.219 --> 00:21:51.079 and changed 00:21:51.079 --> 00:21:52.759 so many times over history? 00:21:53.099 --> 00:21:55.579 Well, friends, 00:21:55.719 --> 00:21:57.099 these are all good questions. 00:21:57.240 --> 00:21:57.919 But the fact is 00:21:57.919 --> 00:21:58.439 the New Testament 00:21:58.439 --> 00:21:59.339 is one of the best 00:21:59.339 --> 00:22:00.339 attested documents 00:22:00.339 --> 00:22:02.000 in the entire ancient world. 00:22:04.039 --> 00:22:05.159 We have a book table. 00:22:05.519 --> 00:22:06.559 I want to point you to it. 00:22:06.639 --> 00:22:07.139 It's going to be 00:22:07.139 --> 00:22:08.019 in the back afterwards 00:22:08.019 --> 00:22:09.000 if you want to grab 00:22:09.000 --> 00:22:10.240 some resources. 00:22:11.359 --> 00:22:12.099 Tim Keller 00:22:12.099 --> 00:22:13.539 is a great resource 00:22:13.539 --> 00:22:15.699 to look at 00:22:15.699 --> 00:22:16.899 to see some of those things. 00:22:16.959 --> 00:22:17.579 There's also some 00:22:17.579 --> 00:22:18.839 children's ministry resources 00:22:18.839 --> 00:22:20.339 there for if you have kids 00:22:20.339 --> 00:22:21.119 and want to help them 00:22:21.119 --> 00:22:22.179 understand the resurrection. 00:22:23.099 --> 00:22:24.419 We also have a book 00:22:24.419 --> 00:22:25.159 stall downstairs 00:22:25.159 --> 00:22:26.639 that if you really want 00:22:26.639 --> 00:22:27.859 to dive into the deep end, 00:22:27.980 --> 00:22:28.579 N.T. Wright, 00:22:28.740 --> 00:22:30.259 The Resurrection of the Son of God 00:22:30.259 --> 00:22:31.839 is the pinnacle 00:22:31.839 --> 00:22:33.379 of good research 00:22:33.379 --> 00:22:35.299 on the historical evidence 00:22:35.299 --> 00:22:38.039 for why we should believe. 00:22:39.439 --> 00:22:41.299 So John is writing this book 00:22:41.299 --> 00:22:42.619 recounting this story 00:22:42.619 --> 00:22:44.359 about how Jesus met Thomas 00:22:44.359 --> 00:22:45.240 and said, 00:22:45.339 --> 00:22:46.119 here's evidence. 00:22:46.519 --> 00:22:47.740 John is writing this book 00:22:47.740 --> 00:22:48.740 to say there's actually 00:22:48.740 --> 00:22:50.000 a lot more evidence 00:22:50.000 --> 00:22:52.240 for us to believe. 00:22:53.799 --> 00:22:54.839 And so, 00:22:55.059 --> 00:22:56.359 Jesus says to us, 00:22:56.660 --> 00:22:58.859 do not disbelieve, 00:22:58.960 --> 00:22:59.599 but believe. 00:23:00.259 --> 00:23:01.220 This is the challenge 00:23:01.220 --> 00:23:02.220 for us this morning. 00:23:03.900 --> 00:23:04.799 And then we see 00:23:04.799 --> 00:23:06.180 in verses 28 and 29 00:23:06.180 --> 00:23:07.039 the response. 00:23:08.059 --> 00:23:09.120 Thomas responds 00:23:09.120 --> 00:23:10.900 with a striking response. 00:23:11.019 --> 00:23:11.519 He says, 00:23:11.519 --> 00:23:12.900 my Lord 00:23:12.900 --> 00:23:14.539 and my God. 00:23:15.639 --> 00:23:16.139 Now, 00:23:16.259 --> 00:23:18.139 if you're writing a play 00:23:18.139 --> 00:23:20.420 and this is the dialogue, 00:23:21.579 --> 00:23:23.599 your editor might come to you 00:23:23.599 --> 00:23:23.960 and say, 00:23:24.079 --> 00:23:25.339 why this? 00:23:25.460 --> 00:23:27.019 This is a really weird response. 00:23:27.119 --> 00:23:28.079 How about something like, 00:23:28.579 --> 00:23:29.039 whoa, 00:23:29.279 --> 00:23:30.279 you're alive! 00:23:30.680 --> 00:23:32.220 I didn't expect that. 00:23:32.619 --> 00:23:33.980 How did that happen? 00:23:33.980 --> 00:23:36.440 There are a lot of other 00:23:36.440 --> 00:23:37.720 very normal responses 00:23:37.720 --> 00:23:38.819 to this 00:23:38.819 --> 00:23:40.140 where we would have, 00:23:40.480 --> 00:23:41.000 where it could, 00:23:41.140 --> 00:23:41.299 you know, 00:23:41.380 --> 00:23:42.599 maybe he would have fallen down 00:23:42.599 --> 00:23:43.640 on his feet in worship. 00:23:43.839 --> 00:23:45.120 Maybe he would have fallen 00:23:45.120 --> 00:23:46.200 backwards and faint. 00:23:46.660 --> 00:23:46.799 Maybe, 00:23:46.900 --> 00:23:47.059 you know, 00:23:47.120 --> 00:23:48.299 there are lots of responses 00:23:48.299 --> 00:23:49.059 we can imagine. 00:23:49.400 --> 00:23:51.759 But Thomas actually says this, 00:23:52.339 --> 00:23:53.480 he recognizes 00:23:53.480 --> 00:23:55.360 who Jesus is 00:23:55.360 --> 00:23:57.519 in a new and profound way. 00:23:59.279 --> 00:24:00.299 The writer, 00:24:00.759 --> 00:24:01.079 John, 00:24:01.140 --> 00:24:02.420 had predicted this 00:24:02.420 --> 00:24:03.960 back in John 20. 00:24:03.980 --> 00:24:04.259 12, 00:24:04.380 --> 00:24:04.860 16, 00:24:04.940 --> 00:24:05.860 when he says this, 00:24:06.539 --> 00:24:07.539 as Jesus was talking 00:24:07.539 --> 00:24:09.019 about his coming crucifixion, 00:24:09.360 --> 00:24:10.180 says his disciples 00:24:10.180 --> 00:24:10.980 did not understand 00:24:10.980 --> 00:24:12.000 these things at first, 00:24:12.180 --> 00:24:14.460 but when Jesus was glorified, 00:24:14.579 --> 00:24:14.960 that is, 00:24:15.000 --> 00:24:15.620 when he was raised 00:24:15.620 --> 00:24:16.240 from the dead, 00:24:16.579 --> 00:24:17.519 then they remembered 00:24:17.519 --> 00:24:18.519 that these things 00:24:18.519 --> 00:24:19.700 had been written about him 00:24:19.700 --> 00:24:21.640 and had been done to him. 00:24:22.079 --> 00:24:23.360 And it made sense. 00:24:24.740 --> 00:24:25.900 And for Thomas, 00:24:27.200 --> 00:24:28.460 seeing Jesus 00:24:28.460 --> 00:24:32.160 was the crystallizing factor 00:24:32.160 --> 00:24:33.480 that brought everything 00:24:33.480 --> 00:24:34.259 that he had seen 00:24:34.259 --> 00:24:35.660 about Jesus together. 00:24:36.599 --> 00:24:38.279 The resurrection of Jesus 00:24:38.279 --> 00:24:39.839 allowed Thomas 00:24:39.839 --> 00:24:40.640 to put together 00:24:40.640 --> 00:24:41.400 the miracles 00:24:41.400 --> 00:24:42.339 that he had seen, 00:24:42.480 --> 00:24:44.460 the ways that he had loved people, 00:24:44.759 --> 00:24:45.539 the forgiveness 00:24:45.539 --> 00:24:46.559 that he had offered 00:24:46.559 --> 00:24:47.599 to sinners 00:24:47.599 --> 00:24:49.039 and undeserving people, 00:24:49.039 --> 00:24:50.740 the way that he had called 00:24:50.740 --> 00:24:52.180 all people to himself 00:24:52.180 --> 00:24:54.160 and pointed them to God 00:24:54.160 --> 00:24:57.100 in a way that no one else had 00:24:57.100 --> 00:24:59.440 and kept pointing to himself 00:24:59.440 --> 00:25:00.500 as the center of it. 00:25:00.700 --> 00:25:01.580 I am the one 00:25:01.580 --> 00:25:02.840 who's coming to save you. 00:25:03.060 --> 00:25:03.860 I am the one 00:25:03.860 --> 00:25:05.039 who's come to be your redeemer. 00:25:05.180 --> 00:25:05.880 I am the one 00:25:05.880 --> 00:25:07.440 who's come to do this. 00:25:09.480 --> 00:25:10.900 And so he looks, 00:25:11.279 --> 00:25:12.460 Thomas looks at Jesus 00:25:12.460 --> 00:25:13.120 and says, 00:25:13.119 --> 00:25:15.019 Now I understand. 00:25:16.239 --> 00:25:18.199 You are my Lord 00:25:18.199 --> 00:25:19.579 and my God. 00:25:20.299 --> 00:25:20.979 My Lord, 00:25:21.119 --> 00:25:22.339 the name that the Jews 00:25:22.339 --> 00:25:23.839 use for the sovereign God 00:25:23.839 --> 00:25:25.159 who rules over the world. 00:25:25.639 --> 00:25:26.079 God, 00:25:26.459 --> 00:25:28.219 recognizing his deity, 00:25:28.579 --> 00:25:30.099 which would have been blasphemous 00:25:30.099 --> 00:25:31.219 in the mouth of a Jew, 00:25:31.599 --> 00:25:32.579 and yet he recognizes 00:25:32.579 --> 00:25:34.559 this man standing before him 00:25:34.559 --> 00:25:35.779 with flesh and blood 00:25:35.779 --> 00:25:37.419 was God himself. 00:25:37.420 --> 00:25:41.100 Thomas looks and says, 00:25:41.279 --> 00:25:42.820 My Lord and my God. 00:25:43.200 --> 00:25:44.300 And it wasn't just 00:25:44.300 --> 00:25:46.039 a theological affirmation. 00:25:46.440 --> 00:25:47.740 It was personal. 00:25:48.580 --> 00:25:49.620 He repeated it. 00:25:50.880 --> 00:25:51.779 My Lord, 00:25:52.640 --> 00:25:54.120 my God. 00:25:56.380 --> 00:25:58.440 He felt the healing touch 00:25:58.440 --> 00:25:59.420 of seeing Jesus 00:25:59.420 --> 00:26:00.980 raised from the dead. 00:26:01.400 --> 00:26:03.279 He reasserted his trust in 00:26:03.279 --> 00:26:05.000 and his love for 00:26:05.000 --> 00:26:06.120 and his submission 00:26:06.119 --> 00:26:07.659 to Jesus 00:26:07.659 --> 00:26:09.199 as the one 00:26:09.199 --> 00:26:10.500 who had come 00:26:10.500 --> 00:26:11.359 to save him. 00:26:12.419 --> 00:26:14.000 The things that he had hoped for 00:26:14.000 --> 00:26:15.079 when he saw Jesus 00:26:15.079 --> 00:26:16.819 ministering on earth, 00:26:17.339 --> 00:26:18.539 now he saw. 00:26:19.399 --> 00:26:20.939 It's better than he could imagine. 00:26:22.139 --> 00:26:22.899 My Lord 00:26:22.899 --> 00:26:24.219 and my God. 00:26:25.000 --> 00:26:26.219 A complete turnaround. 00:26:26.819 --> 00:26:28.079 I will never believe 00:26:28.079 --> 00:26:29.719 to my Lord 00:26:29.719 --> 00:26:31.139 and my God. 00:26:33.199 --> 00:26:34.599 And if that seems sudden, 00:26:34.759 --> 00:26:35.099 friends, 00:26:35.099 --> 00:26:36.399 I want to encourage you, 00:26:36.459 --> 00:26:37.179 go back and read 00:26:37.179 --> 00:26:37.859 the New Testament. 00:26:38.939 --> 00:26:39.719 Go back and read 00:26:39.719 --> 00:26:40.659 the gospel accounts 00:26:40.659 --> 00:26:42.000 of people who encountered Jesus. 00:26:42.139 --> 00:26:42.879 Go back and read 00:26:42.879 --> 00:26:43.599 the book of Acts 00:26:43.599 --> 00:26:44.379 as people heard. 00:26:44.779 --> 00:26:45.839 The preaching about 00:26:45.839 --> 00:26:46.719 Jesus Christ 00:26:46.719 --> 00:26:47.819 risen from the dead. 00:26:48.719 --> 00:26:49.819 The change happens. 00:26:49.959 --> 00:26:50.959 They go from belief 00:26:50.959 --> 00:26:51.699 to unbelief. 00:26:51.839 --> 00:26:52.980 And though many of us 00:26:52.980 --> 00:26:53.799 have a process 00:26:53.799 --> 00:26:55.159 by which we do this, 00:26:55.659 --> 00:26:57.079 there is often also 00:26:57.079 --> 00:26:58.919 a time where that change 00:26:58.919 --> 00:27:00.139 becomes very evident 00:27:00.139 --> 00:27:01.279 and very clear. 00:27:01.279 --> 00:27:04.579 this is my own testimony 00:27:04.579 --> 00:27:06.339 of encountering Jesus. 00:27:07.019 --> 00:27:07.920 I said earlier, 00:27:07.980 --> 00:27:09.079 I grew up going to church, 00:27:09.139 --> 00:27:10.180 I knew the Bible stories, 00:27:10.180 --> 00:27:11.220 but I didn't know God 00:27:11.220 --> 00:27:12.539 and I didn't know Jesus. 00:27:13.039 --> 00:27:14.879 And everything that I was taught, 00:27:15.019 --> 00:27:16.740 it just didn't make sense to me. 00:27:17.319 --> 00:27:18.500 I knew some of the facts, 00:27:18.579 --> 00:27:19.819 but I didn't believe them. 00:27:21.420 --> 00:27:22.339 Then in high school, 00:27:22.440 --> 00:27:23.299 I met some friends 00:27:23.299 --> 00:27:24.339 who started talking about 00:27:24.339 --> 00:27:25.299 a personal relationship 00:27:25.299 --> 00:27:25.859 with Jesus. 00:27:25.859 --> 00:27:26.019 Jesus. 00:27:26.979 --> 00:27:27.619 And honestly, 00:27:27.839 --> 00:27:28.559 I scorned them. 00:27:29.139 --> 00:27:30.079 I made fun of them. 00:27:31.879 --> 00:27:33.959 But I also saw in them 00:27:33.959 --> 00:27:35.419 something about their life 00:27:35.419 --> 00:27:37.059 that I couldn't explain. 00:27:38.099 --> 00:27:39.519 But the further on I saw it 00:27:39.519 --> 00:27:42.279 and the more I interacted with them, 00:27:42.339 --> 00:27:42.599 I said, 00:27:42.659 --> 00:27:43.699 whatever they have, 00:27:44.219 --> 00:27:45.859 there's something that I want. 00:27:48.159 --> 00:27:49.339 They loved me well 00:27:49.339 --> 00:27:49.859 and prayed 00:27:49.859 --> 00:27:50.579 and talked to me 00:27:50.579 --> 00:27:51.799 about Jesus and the Bible. 00:27:52.679 --> 00:27:53.299 They gave me 00:27:53.299 --> 00:27:54.059 Mere Christianity 00:27:54.059 --> 00:27:55.079 by C.S. Lewis. 00:27:55.859 --> 00:27:57.459 And I saw the facts 00:27:57.459 --> 00:27:58.219 come together. 00:27:59.939 --> 00:28:01.079 And I was confronted 00:28:01.079 --> 00:28:02.079 with the trilemma 00:28:02.079 --> 00:28:02.919 that C.S. Lewis 00:28:02.919 --> 00:28:04.339 presents to all of us, 00:28:04.439 --> 00:28:05.539 which is that 00:28:05.539 --> 00:28:07.219 if the account of the Bible 00:28:07.219 --> 00:28:09.459 has any historical reliability, 00:28:09.779 --> 00:28:11.099 then Jesus presents to us 00:28:11.099 --> 00:28:12.259 a number of options. 00:28:13.119 --> 00:28:13.559 Right? 00:28:14.899 --> 00:28:15.919 But He can't be 00:28:15.919 --> 00:28:16.839 just a good teacher. 00:28:16.979 --> 00:28:18.279 He can't be just a good guy 00:28:18.279 --> 00:28:19.339 for us to listen to 00:28:19.339 --> 00:28:20.259 when we want to. 00:28:20.639 --> 00:28:22.299 He has to speak to us 00:28:22.299 --> 00:28:23.500 with the fullness 00:28:23.500 --> 00:28:24.379 of all He does. 00:28:24.379 --> 00:28:25.099 And either 00:28:25.099 --> 00:28:26.639 He's a liar, 00:28:26.899 --> 00:28:27.599 that is, 00:28:27.679 --> 00:28:28.699 He claims to be 00:28:28.699 --> 00:28:29.559 what He's not, 00:28:29.759 --> 00:28:30.859 or He's a lunatic, 00:28:31.019 --> 00:28:32.619 which means He's a crazy man 00:28:32.619 --> 00:28:34.379 who believes in His head 00:28:34.379 --> 00:28:35.719 something that is just 00:28:35.719 --> 00:28:38.719 outside of reality, 00:28:39.159 --> 00:28:40.659 or He really is 00:28:40.659 --> 00:28:41.819 who He says He is 00:28:41.819 --> 00:28:43.139 because He claims 00:28:43.139 --> 00:28:45.159 to be the risen one. 00:28:45.319 --> 00:28:46.480 He receives 00:28:46.480 --> 00:28:48.519 Thomas' affirmation, 00:28:48.919 --> 00:28:50.279 my Lord and my God. 00:28:51.419 --> 00:28:51.879 He says, 00:28:51.980 --> 00:28:52.559 yes, Thomas, 00:28:52.639 --> 00:28:53.179 that's right. 00:28:53.180 --> 00:28:54.940 That's what I am to you. 00:28:55.560 --> 00:28:56.940 I am your Lord 00:28:56.940 --> 00:28:57.900 and your God. 00:28:58.360 --> 00:28:59.480 And I was confronted 00:28:59.480 --> 00:29:00.480 with this dilemma 00:29:00.480 --> 00:29:02.060 and I wrestled with it 00:29:02.060 --> 00:29:03.740 because I knew that 00:29:03.740 --> 00:29:04.940 to believe this 00:29:04.940 --> 00:29:06.000 would change my life. 00:29:06.100 --> 00:29:07.200 I'd seen my friends. 00:29:07.299 --> 00:29:08.160 They lived differently. 00:29:08.700 --> 00:29:09.720 There was a joy 00:29:09.720 --> 00:29:10.580 and a love 00:29:10.580 --> 00:29:12.200 and a devotion 00:29:12.200 --> 00:29:13.820 and a reorientation 00:29:13.820 --> 00:29:14.580 of their lives. 00:29:14.779 --> 00:29:16.140 And I knew it would be costly, 00:29:16.460 --> 00:29:17.560 but it also 00:29:17.560 --> 00:29:19.660 was compelling to me. 00:29:19.660 --> 00:29:21.540 And when I became convinced 00:29:21.540 --> 00:29:22.620 of who Jesus was 00:29:22.620 --> 00:29:23.300 and specifically 00:29:23.300 --> 00:29:24.340 when I realized 00:29:24.340 --> 00:29:27.360 Jesus was risen from the dead 00:29:27.360 --> 00:29:30.720 and I can't ignore Him anymore, 00:29:30.960 --> 00:29:32.259 I have to decide 00:29:32.259 --> 00:29:33.920 what do I believe about Him? 00:29:34.040 --> 00:29:35.279 Either He did or He didn't. 00:29:35.560 --> 00:29:36.920 Either He was or He wasn't 00:29:36.920 --> 00:29:37.860 who He said He was. 00:29:39.860 --> 00:29:41.840 And this is what Jesus does 00:29:41.840 --> 00:29:42.400 with Thomas. 00:29:43.040 --> 00:29:45.080 And this is what He does with us. 00:29:45.079 --> 00:29:47.819 He calls us to believe. 00:29:51.339 --> 00:29:52.579 Do you want to clarify 00:29:52.579 --> 00:29:53.819 that biblical belief 00:29:53.819 --> 00:29:56.139 is not merely wishful thinking 00:29:56.139 --> 00:29:57.539 or hopeful optimism 00:29:57.539 --> 00:29:58.919 about some vague future? 00:29:59.720 --> 00:30:00.740 It's not believing 00:30:00.740 --> 00:30:03.099 something against reason 00:30:03.099 --> 00:30:04.220 or plain evidence. 00:30:04.679 --> 00:30:06.939 It's not merely agreeing to facts 00:30:06.939 --> 00:30:08.779 or sent to the reality 00:30:08.779 --> 00:30:09.839 that facts portray. 00:30:10.759 --> 00:30:12.119 It is trust. 00:30:12.119 --> 00:30:15.579 It is entrusting yourself 00:30:15.579 --> 00:30:17.559 into a belief system 00:30:17.559 --> 00:30:19.619 whereby you reorient your life 00:30:19.619 --> 00:30:20.919 around God 00:30:20.919 --> 00:30:22.279 because you've trusted 00:30:22.279 --> 00:30:23.399 that His death 00:30:23.399 --> 00:30:24.899 and His resurrection 00:30:24.899 --> 00:30:26.859 make all the difference 00:30:26.859 --> 00:30:27.839 in the world. 00:30:29.299 --> 00:30:31.019 Why do we believe that, though? 00:30:31.259 --> 00:30:32.039 Why do we believe 00:30:32.039 --> 00:30:32.839 that the resurrection 00:30:32.839 --> 00:30:34.339 is such good news 00:30:34.339 --> 00:30:35.719 that if we are convinced 00:30:35.719 --> 00:30:36.559 of its truth 00:30:36.559 --> 00:30:37.459 that we would want 00:30:37.459 --> 00:30:38.419 to embrace it? 00:30:39.839 --> 00:30:41.059 Friends, because, 00:30:41.059 --> 00:30:42.399 just like Thomas, 00:30:42.619 --> 00:30:43.819 the resurrection heals 00:30:43.819 --> 00:30:44.819 our wounded hearts. 00:30:45.919 --> 00:30:46.720 The resurrection 00:30:46.720 --> 00:30:47.859 of Jesus Christ 00:30:47.859 --> 00:30:48.419 from the dead 00:30:48.419 --> 00:30:49.619 means our salvation. 00:30:50.299 --> 00:30:51.299 The greatest enemy 00:30:51.299 --> 00:30:52.200 of our souls, 00:30:52.379 --> 00:30:52.839 that is, 00:30:52.919 --> 00:30:53.639 the sinfulness 00:30:53.639 --> 00:30:54.779 that is in us 00:30:54.779 --> 00:30:56.159 and in our world 00:30:56.159 --> 00:30:57.379 because of humanity, 00:30:57.619 --> 00:30:59.559 has been defeated 00:30:59.559 --> 00:31:01.059 in the resurrection 00:31:01.059 --> 00:31:01.720 of Jesus. 00:31:02.339 --> 00:31:03.460 Our greatest need 00:31:03.460 --> 00:31:04.099 as humanity 00:31:04.099 --> 00:31:05.339 to be reconciled 00:31:05.339 --> 00:31:06.639 to our Creator God 00:31:06.639 --> 00:31:08.639 has been met 00:31:08.639 --> 00:31:10.119 by what makes it possible 00:31:10.119 --> 00:31:11.039 for us to know 00:31:11.039 --> 00:31:11.519 a God 00:31:11.519 --> 00:31:12.619 whom we have 00:31:12.619 --> 00:31:13.500 in our sinfulness 00:31:13.500 --> 00:31:14.539 rejected Him 00:31:14.539 --> 00:31:15.459 in independence 00:31:15.459 --> 00:31:16.179 and pride. 00:31:18.859 --> 00:31:19.479 Jesus, 00:31:19.679 --> 00:31:20.479 by His resurrection, 00:31:20.759 --> 00:31:21.199 shows us 00:31:21.199 --> 00:31:21.939 that the God 00:31:21.939 --> 00:31:23.019 of love 00:31:23.019 --> 00:31:24.199 who has come 00:31:24.199 --> 00:31:25.439 to die for us 00:31:25.439 --> 00:31:28.319 is now a living Savior 00:31:28.319 --> 00:31:29.239 who is able 00:31:29.239 --> 00:31:30.319 to save us. 00:31:32.079 --> 00:31:32.879 A resurrection, 00:31:33.639 --> 00:31:34.699 a resurrected Jesus 00:31:34.699 --> 00:31:36.000 also means for us 00:31:36.000 --> 00:31:36.359 hope 00:31:36.359 --> 00:31:38.299 that the worst of today 00:31:38.299 --> 00:31:39.279 will not last 00:31:39.279 --> 00:31:40.980 and the best of today 00:31:40.980 --> 00:31:42.019 will be eclipsed 00:31:42.019 --> 00:31:43.299 by the goodness 00:31:43.299 --> 00:31:44.119 that is to come. 00:31:44.899 --> 00:31:46.319 The evil of this day 00:31:46.319 --> 00:31:47.319 will not win 00:31:47.319 --> 00:31:49.419 even when it looks like it. 00:31:50.639 --> 00:31:51.500 The sorrow 00:31:51.500 --> 00:31:52.539 and the suffering 00:31:52.539 --> 00:31:53.740 we face in this world, 00:31:55.079 --> 00:31:56.460 the loss of a loved one, 00:31:56.519 --> 00:31:57.240 the disappointment 00:31:57.240 --> 00:31:58.319 of dashed dreams 00:31:58.319 --> 00:31:58.839 and hopes, 00:31:58.960 --> 00:32:00.000 the grinding difficulty 00:32:00.000 --> 00:32:01.039 of daily life, 00:32:01.740 --> 00:32:02.539 the confusion, 00:32:02.940 --> 00:32:03.159 doubt, 00:32:03.259 --> 00:32:03.779 and fear 00:32:03.779 --> 00:32:04.539 that we face 00:32:04.539 --> 00:32:05.879 in uncertain times. 00:32:07.019 --> 00:32:09.339 A resurrected Jesus 00:32:09.339 --> 00:32:10.599 means that we have hope 00:32:10.599 --> 00:32:12.519 in the midst 00:32:12.519 --> 00:32:13.359 of these things. 00:32:15.079 --> 00:32:16.339 He is a living God 00:32:16.339 --> 00:32:16.819 who is able 00:32:16.819 --> 00:32:17.700 to walk with us 00:32:17.700 --> 00:32:18.539 through these trials. 00:32:20.420 --> 00:32:22.000 He is a living Savior 00:32:22.000 --> 00:32:23.160 who has saved us 00:32:23.160 --> 00:32:23.920 and will never 00:32:23.920 --> 00:32:24.779 let us go. 00:32:28.779 --> 00:32:30.440 He is a loving Savior 00:32:30.440 --> 00:32:32.980 who will love us forever. 00:32:35.039 --> 00:32:35.900 And friends, 00:32:36.480 --> 00:32:37.259 when we look 00:32:37.259 --> 00:32:38.240 at the end of the Bible, 00:32:39.000 --> 00:32:40.100 we are reminded 00:32:40.100 --> 00:32:41.559 of these amazing words. 00:32:43.940 --> 00:32:45.240 As the Apostle John 00:32:45.240 --> 00:32:46.220 near the end of his life 00:32:46.220 --> 00:32:46.860 had a vision 00:32:46.860 --> 00:32:47.860 of what would happen 00:32:47.860 --> 00:32:48.920 at the end of times 00:32:48.920 --> 00:32:50.880 when Jesus would return 00:32:50.880 --> 00:32:52.240 and establish 00:32:52.240 --> 00:32:53.259 His kingdom forever, 00:32:53.720 --> 00:32:54.740 the risen Jesus 00:32:54.740 --> 00:32:55.559 who is not dead 00:32:55.559 --> 00:32:56.140 in His grave 00:32:56.140 --> 00:32:56.980 but who is risen 00:32:56.980 --> 00:32:58.000 and coming again, 00:32:58.000 --> 00:33:00.339 this is what will happen 00:33:00.339 --> 00:33:01.279 when He returns. 00:33:02.259 --> 00:33:02.960 John writes, 00:33:03.059 --> 00:33:04.079 Then I saw a new heaven 00:33:04.079 --> 00:33:04.819 and a new earth 00:33:04.819 --> 00:33:05.740 for the first heaven 00:33:05.740 --> 00:33:06.559 and the first earth 00:33:06.559 --> 00:33:07.359 have passed away 00:33:07.359 --> 00:33:08.519 and the sea was no more. 00:33:09.119 --> 00:33:10.660 And I saw the heavenly city 00:33:10.660 --> 00:33:11.339 in New Jerusalem 00:33:11.339 --> 00:33:12.119 coming down 00:33:12.119 --> 00:33:13.759 out of heaven from God 00:33:13.759 --> 00:33:14.839 prepared as a bride 00:33:14.839 --> 00:33:16.119 adorned for her husband. 00:33:16.779 --> 00:33:18.099 And I heard a loud voice 00:33:18.099 --> 00:33:18.799 from the throne 00:33:18.799 --> 00:33:19.140 saying, 00:33:19.259 --> 00:33:19.720 Behold, 00:33:20.519 --> 00:33:22.019 the dwelling place of God 00:33:22.019 --> 00:33:23.000 is with man. 00:33:23.440 --> 00:33:24.799 He will dwell with them 00:33:24.799 --> 00:33:26.700 and they will be His people. 00:33:26.700 --> 00:33:27.980 and God Himself 00:33:27.980 --> 00:33:29.380 will be with them 00:33:29.380 --> 00:33:30.319 as their God. 00:33:31.039 --> 00:33:31.940 He will wipe away 00:33:31.940 --> 00:33:33.360 every tear from their eyes 00:33:33.360 --> 00:33:35.120 and death shall be no more. 00:33:35.779 --> 00:33:37.120 Neither shall there be mourning 00:33:37.120 --> 00:33:37.779 nor crying 00:33:37.779 --> 00:33:38.759 nor pain anymore 00:33:38.759 --> 00:33:39.960 for the former things 00:33:39.960 --> 00:33:41.340 have passed away. 00:33:42.120 --> 00:33:43.180 And He who is seated 00:33:43.180 --> 00:33:43.920 on the throne 00:33:43.920 --> 00:33:44.220 said, 00:33:44.299 --> 00:33:44.720 Behold, 00:33:45.319 --> 00:33:47.539 I am making all things new. 00:33:48.960 --> 00:33:49.519 Friends, 00:33:49.640 --> 00:33:51.120 this is the good news 00:33:51.120 --> 00:33:52.319 of the resurrected Jesus. 00:33:53.180 --> 00:33:54.920 He is a living Savior today 00:33:54.920 --> 00:33:56.240 and one day He will come 00:33:56.240 --> 00:33:57.600 and He will make all things 00:33:57.600 --> 00:33:59.480 new for us. 00:34:00.660 --> 00:34:01.940 Do not disbelieve, 00:34:02.580 --> 00:34:03.820 but believe today 00:34:03.820 --> 00:34:04.420 and rejoice. 00:34:06.220 --> 00:34:07.840 Christ is risen from the dead. 00:34:08.780 --> 00:34:09.780 He is risen indeed. 00:34:09.980 --> 00:34:10.579 Let's pray. 00:34:11.480 --> 00:34:12.720 Lord, we thank You. 00:34:15.860 --> 00:34:16.920 We thank You 00:34:16.920 --> 00:34:17.920 as we 00:34:17.920 --> 00:34:21.340 remember these truths 00:34:21.340 --> 00:34:22.980 and we see the gracious way 00:34:22.980 --> 00:34:24.240 in which You meet us. 00:34:25.059 --> 00:34:25.480 Lord, 00:34:25.539 --> 00:34:26.120 that the story 00:34:26.120 --> 00:34:27.000 of the resurrection 00:34:27.000 --> 00:34:30.200 is an incredible, 00:34:30.519 --> 00:34:31.519 towering truth 00:34:31.519 --> 00:34:34.360 and a wonderful balm 00:34:34.360 --> 00:34:35.200 for our soul. 00:34:37.140 --> 00:34:37.620 God, 00:34:37.700 --> 00:34:38.760 be our help today. 00:34:39.960 --> 00:34:40.480 Help us, 00:34:40.660 --> 00:34:40.860 Lord. 00:34:41.700 --> 00:34:42.380 We believe. 00:34:42.519 --> 00:34:43.000 Help us 00:34:43.000 --> 00:34:44.039 in our unbelief. 00:34:44.039 --> 00:34:50.480 Lord, 00:34:50.579 --> 00:34:50.900 will You 00:34:50.900 --> 00:34:52.860 today 00:34:52.860 --> 00:34:53.519 fill us 00:34:53.519 --> 00:34:54.219 with the joy, 00:34:54.719 --> 00:34:55.779 the joy of knowing 00:34:55.779 --> 00:34:56.779 that You are 00:34:56.779 --> 00:34:57.440 a resurrected 00:34:57.440 --> 00:34:58.800 and a living Savior 00:34:58.800 --> 00:34:59.500 for us. 00:35:00.400 --> 00:35:01.360 We pray this 00:35:01.360 --> 00:35:02.159 in Jesus' name. 00:35:02.779 --> 00:35:03.059 Amen.