Jesus is ALIVE!

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(upbeat music)

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- Why don't you go ahead and hug a neck of someone

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you don't like as they bring out this table.

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Guys, it's Easter Sunday, Resurrection Sunday.

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You do know Jesus is alive, yes?

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Jesus is alive and he is worth celebrating today.

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And he has changed my life.

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I can only speak for my life because I'm living my life,

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but I do know some of your testimonies.

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I know he's changed some of your lives as well.

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And the word tells us that we overcome

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by the blood of the lamb and the word of our testimony.

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And sometimes you just gotta cry out to God and say,

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"Thank you."

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Thank you, God, for coming and living

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an impeccable, perfect life, and then dying for me,

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for pitiful, weak me, and then rising again.

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Guys, our God is alive and at the right hand of the Father.

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And we celebrate that today.

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And I'm glad that you're here for joining us

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on a live stream today.

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Thank you so much for joining us.

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It's a glorious day to be in the house.

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It's so good to see some of you.

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Some of you are new here.

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Welcome if you're joining us for the first time.

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And some of you haven't been here for quite a while

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and you're here today.

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And I just wanna say thank you for being with us

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to worship the Lord.

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It's good to see all of you in the house today.

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A couple of announcements, and I might be reiterating a few

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that Pastor Barbie already said,

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but the Lee Singers will be here next week

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and we'll have our outdoor picnic.

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I'm gonna bring a message next week centered around

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what the purpose of Springhouse is.

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And so if you wanna come and hear more about Springhouse,

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next week is a good week to come,

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hear about what the Lord's doing here.

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And then also Pastor Barbie, she's mentioned

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there's no midweek gathering this coming Thursday,

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but the following week on April 11th,

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she's gonna start a series called

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"I Wish Someone Had Told Me."

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And it's gonna be great.

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So I invite you to come six to seven o'clock

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on Thursday nights.

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I think there's workbooks already out

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in the foyer for that.

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There's some workbooks available as a part of that class.

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Man, you don't wanna miss that.

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So mark your calendars for that.

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And then the following Sunday on the 14th,

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this guy, his name's Jonathan Evans,

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and he is the chaplain for the Dallas Cowboys

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and a part of the Evans family,

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Tony Evans, Priscilla Shirer, is that correct?

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Yes.

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And so he's coming to be with us.

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He's been with us before,

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and he promises to really bring a rich word.

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So you'll wanna be here on the 14th for that as well.

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God has saved the very best for right now for us.

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And we are in the middle of a year-long series

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on his life, I'm sorry, his word, his life, and his church.

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We're gonna talk about his church in the next few weeks.

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We're gonna start that part of the series,

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but within the middle part of this series,

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we're in a mini series, his death, burial, and resurrection.

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Which one do you think we're gonna talk about today?

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His resurrection, okay?

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Guys, his resurrection is good news.

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The gospel of Jesus Christ, literally translated gospel,

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means good news.

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Anything that has been dead and comes back to life,

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that's good, good, good, good news.

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And I want us to proclaim and understand

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and know Jesus is alive.

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Jesus is alive, no question about it.

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Guys, there's over 4,200 religions in the world,

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and we are the only one who proclaims a God

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who is alive today.

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And I'm gonna tell you, if I have a God to choose

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out of 4,200, I'm gonna pick the one who's alive.

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I'm gonna pick the one I have access to.

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I'm gonna pick the one who cares about me

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and sees me and is brooding over me

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and wants to have a relationship with me.

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How many have tried to have a relationship

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with something that's dead?

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Doesn't work too well, does it?

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We want a relationship with a God who is alive,

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and he is alive today.

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He is alive today.

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You know, when I was little, I went to a Catholic church.

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I was brought up Catholic for the first part of my life.

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And I remember going to this Catholic church,

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and somewhere around six, seven, or eight,

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I went to my first confessional, my first confessional.

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So in the Catholic practice, you go to the priest

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and you offload your sin onto the priest,

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and the priest will then take it to the Lord on your behalf.

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And so I went into this house with this priest.

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I sat on his couch, and he was looking at me,

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and he was like, "Kevin, I want you to tell me

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"everything that you've done wrong."

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And so I was thinking, all right,

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as a six, seven, eight year old,

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I think I punched my brother in the face once,

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and he said, "Ooh, that's good, tell me more."

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And I was like, "Well, I think I took something

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"out of the refrigerator I wasn't supposed to."

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He said, "Good, good, good, tell me more."

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And I was like, "Well, I think maybe I took an eraser

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"out of my buddy's desk at school, and I didn't return it."

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And he was like, "Good, good."

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He was so encouraging about my sin,

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I started making sin up.

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(congregation laughing)

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And I just started to say all types of crazy things

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to the point where he just had to shut me off

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as if Jesus could only forgive this many sin today.

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And so he then took the sin, and he went before the Lord,

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and I guess the Lord forgave me.

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Do you know that you do not have to go to a priest?

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You can go directly to the Lord yourself.

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You do not have to go through an agency.

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You do not have to go through a person.

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You have access to the God who breathes stars.

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You have access to the God who set the planets in motion.

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You have access to the God who knows

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the number of hairs on your head.

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He is alive and real today, and you have access to him.

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What are you doing with your access?

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What are you doing with your access?

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And so we're going to get into the scripture today.

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We are looking at Jesus's resurrection.

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So Jesus was resurrected from the grave three days later.

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The tomb was rolled away, and John and Peter run

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after the ladies had gotten there.

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And guess what?

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Jesus wasn't there.

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He wasn't inside the tomb.

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And so they get there, and Jesus appears to Mary Magdalene.

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Guys, what it would have been to be Mary,

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what it would have been to be Mary Magdalene

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and be the first one who sees Jesus.

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And Jesus says to Mary, "I want you to go,"

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and I'm paraphrasing, "I want you to go

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"and tell the good news to your brothers."

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Do you know that the woman Mary was the first preacher

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on the planet, the first one to deliver the good news,

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rather, the first one to give the good news

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was Mary Magdalene, what it would have been to be Mary

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and be in the position of delivering the good news.

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And so she goes back and she tells them,

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"The Lord, I've seen the Lord."

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And we're gonna pick up on in John chapter 20,

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where Jesus is gonna reveal himself to the disciples,

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save one, stand with me, let's read together.

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There's a typo, it should be peace be with you

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instead of peace with with you.

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That was a little bit of a lisp there, huh?

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All right, on the evening of that first day of the week,

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when the disciples were together with the doors locked

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for fear of the Jewish leaders,

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Jesus came and stood among them and said,

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"Peace be with you."

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As he said this, he showed them his hands inside.

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The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.

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Now Thomas, one of the 12,

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was not with the disciples when Jesus came.

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So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord."

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But he said to them, "Unless I see the nail marks

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in his hands and put my finger where the nails were

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and put my hand into his side, I will not believe."

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A week later, his disciples were in the house again

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and Thomas was with them.

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Though the doors were locked,

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Jesus came and stood among them and said,

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"Peace be with you."

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Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here,

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see my hands, reach out your hand and put it into my side."

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Stop doubting and believe, Thomas said to him,

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"My Lord and my God."

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Then Jesus told them, "Because you have seen me,

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you have believed.

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Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."

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Father, I thank you for your word

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and I thank you that it's transformative.

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I pray, Lord, that it would change our lives today.

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We love you in Jesus' name, amen.

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You may be seated.

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Couple of weeks ago, before I was coming to church,

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it was around six o'clock in the morning.

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And I got downstairs and it was a little bit later

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for me, I usually get here a little earlier than that,

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but I was going downstairs and my third daughter

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was actually awake already and dressed.

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And when I went downstairs,

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I found her in a peculiar position.

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I found her on top the counter near the microwave

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with the door flung open with a bag of popcorn in her hand.

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And so I looked at her astonished and I said,

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"Ruby, what are you doing?"

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And she said, "I'm popping popcorn."

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And I said, "Ruby, we don't eat popcorn for breakfast."

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To which she replied, "Daddy, I don't know what we do,

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but I eat popcorn in the morning."

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(congregation laughing)

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Then I took off my belt, no.

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Now that story is true and you laughed at it.

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I'm glad you laughed at it because it's a funny story.

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But what makes it true right now is my word.

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The only thing you have to hold onto about that story

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is my word, unless I gave you proof like this,

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that the story really happened.

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(congregation laughing)

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Ruby caught in action.

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In Jesus's time, words held gravity.

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Whenever you were an eyewitness of something,

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whenever you were to tell a story,

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when you were in a place

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where you were to render information,

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the words coming out of your mouth held gravity

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and were very important.

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And so if you were an eyewitness to an event,

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it was important.

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The details that are recorded in scripture,

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most of them come from eyewitness activity.

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Eyewitness activity.

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They didn't have cell phones back then.

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They didn't have cameras back then.

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They weren't taking pictures and drawing these things out.

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So you really had to trust and lean on the word

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of multiple witnesses.

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And so the disciples are gathered together in a room

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and the word tells us that the disciples are gathered

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and the only one we're told that's not there is Thomas.

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So the disciples, multiple, plural, disciples,

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were gathered in a room after the resurrection

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and Jesus appears to the disciples and says,

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"Peace be with you."

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Now that's kind of like whenever an angel appears

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and says, "Don't be afraid," you know?

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And you're like, "Too late," you know?

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Jesus appears and he's like, "Peace be with you."

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And he appears to the disciples and it is a glorious moment

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because everything that Jesus had taught them,

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everything he talked about,

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about going to the grave and raising again,

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all came to fruition in that moment

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when he revealed himself to the disciples

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and they were all there, save Thomas.

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Now Thomas, he was not there and scripture does not tell us

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why Thomas was not there with the disciples.

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I don't know what Thomas was doing.

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Maybe he was working, maybe he was in hiding,

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maybe he was upset that Jesus had died.

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I don't know, it doesn't tell us why he was not there,

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but Thomas was a disciple

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who really loved the Lord Jesus Christ.

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And Thomas really gets a bad rap in scripture

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being dubbed and being labeled as doubting Thomas.

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And this is because whenever he came to the disciples,

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he said, "I'm not going to believe it

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"unless I see it with my own eyes

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"and I touch his hands and touch his feet."

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But I wanna talk a little bit about Thomas

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for just a moment because,

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and maybe perhaps give you a different perspective

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on Thomas this morning.

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When we look in scripture, Thomas is mentioned

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a few times in scripture,

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but two primary times in the book of John,

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he is referenced.

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And back whenever Jesus was going to raise Lazarus

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from the dead, when he was going to raise Lazarus,

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this was a point in time when Jesus was really in trouble.

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What do I mean by that?

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It was a point in time when Jesus,

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the Jewish leaders were looking to stone Jesus.

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And Jesus said, "My time has not come."

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And so he was kind of going incognito around the area

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to be in hiding, but also preach the gospel

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because his time had not come.

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Well, when Lazarus, when the thing with Lazarus happened

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and he died, Jesus wanted to go back to where Lazarus was

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so that he could raise Lazarus from the dead.

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He told the disciples plainly, "Lazarus is dead.

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"We're gonna go wake him up."

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Well, it was a dangerous journey for Jesus

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to go from where he was and travel over to Lazarus.

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But Thomas pipes up and says, "If you go, we're gonna go."

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He tells the disciples, "Hey, if Jesus, if you're gonna go,

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"we're gonna go and we're gonna die with you."

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That tells me something about the loyalty of Thomas.

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Have you ever had somebody in your life

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that'd be willing to die for you?

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That's a loyal, man, that's a loyal companion.

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That's a loyal friend.

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That speaks volumes of Thomas's character.

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Then two chapters later in John 14,

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we read another little interesting bit about Thomas.

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Jesus is talking about how he's going to have to ascend

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to the Father and how he's going to have to leave the earth

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and come back.

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And though they didn't quite understand what that meant,

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Thomas pipes up and asks a very important question

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that all believers should ask.

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And he says, "Lord, we don't know where you are going.

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"So how can we know the way?

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"How can we know the way?"

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That should be a question that every one of us asked.

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How can we know the way?

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And Jesus responds very plainly to Thomas, to the disciples.

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One of the most famous scriptures we have,

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he says, "I am the way, the truth, and the life.

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"No one comes to the Father except through me."

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It is here that we realize that Jesus is not just a way,

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but he is the way.

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Jesus is not a truth that can be changed.

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He is the truth.

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And for anybody who's looking to find life,

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Jesus is the life.

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And Jesus conveys this truth in response

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to Thomas's question about where are you going?

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So we know that Thomas is loyal.

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We can assume that Thomas loves Jesus.

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Thomas witnesses Jesus raise Lazarus from the dead,

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and he's being told that Jesus is the way,

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the truth, and the life.

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Something tells me that Thomas,

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though he is dubbed as doubting in the moment,

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I believe something different is going on with Thomas.

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And here's what I think it is.

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Have you ever been in a situation where you felt left out

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because you didn't show up?

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Have you ever been in a situation where everyone else

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has been privy to something, but you were not there,

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and you were not privy to it,

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and so it causes an emotional reaction out of you?

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Some of you might call it FOMO, fear of missing out.

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You know what, I like to replace that

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and suggest that we replace that of fear of missing God.

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We need to be more afraid of missing God than missing out.

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But sometimes when we miss out, we miss God.

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Sometimes when we miss out, we miss God.

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But Thomas has missed a significant moment.

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He's missed a moment where everything Jesus

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was talking about came to fruition.

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It came, and it was his, he was with his friends

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when he approached them and Jesus had gone,

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he was with his friends who had an eyewitness account.

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Remember, I was telling you, eyewitness,

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these weren't strangers.

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These were people that Thomas rubbed shoulders with,

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spent time with, these were his friends.

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So why wouldn't Thomas believe what they said?

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I believe Thomas had an emotional reaction

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to missing out on something so spectacular,

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and he so wanted to see it for himself

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that he said, "I'm not gonna believe it.

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"I'm gonna choose not to believe it

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"until I see it for myself."

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I don't know about you, but there are times in my life

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where I react out of my flesh

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when somebody else has gotten something

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or is exposed to something that I wish that I had

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or I had been exposed to.

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You miss out when you don't show up.

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You miss out when you don't show up.

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You know, I find it ironic, more than ironic, I guess,

Speaker: 00:17:15

that people who don't frequent church

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and don't come regularly kinda sometimes end up

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in situations that are depressing,

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sometimes end up in friend circles

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that are just not really the right friend groups.

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And I don't mean to just be like,

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"Come to this church," or whatnot,

Speaker: 00:17:34

but when we gather together like this,

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this is a time to praise the Lord.

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We enthrone the Lord on the praises of his people,

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but also this is an opportunity for you to rub shoulders

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and earn friendships and gain friendships of people

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who are looking at the Lord,

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to be encouraged, to be lifted up,

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and you miss out when you don't show up.

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I miss out when I don't show up.

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My wife and I often plan vacations and things to do.

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I won't miss a Sunday.

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I do not like not being here on Sunday,

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because guess what?

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I need Calvin's encouragement.

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I need to come when Rob is ready to speak into my life,

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or Charlotte is gonna come in and encourage me

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and hug my neck, or when Allen has a word.

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I miss out when I don't show up.

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And so when things are happening and I'm apart from it,

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then I make up excuses and I come up with all types

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of things that are of my flesh, but might not be true.

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We miss out on relationships.

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We miss out on what God is doing when we don't show up.

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But here's what I want us to understand.

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The invitation is for everyone.

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Your invitation to come to the table and to come to Christ

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is for absolutely everyone.

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I remember my sixth grade year of school,

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and I was in sixth grade and we were going to PE class

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that first week, and I remember going to PE class

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and the game was basketball, and they selected two captains

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and they started to pick people to be a part of the teams.

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The captains did.

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Well, I want you.

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I want you on my team.

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I want you on my team.

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I want you on my team.

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Guess who was left as the very last chosen one?

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It was me.

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It was me.

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That felt great.

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Have you ever felt left out or like you didn't belong?

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I was invited to do something about three months ago.

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I was invited to go do something about three months ago.

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I showed up and there wasn't enough room.

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And now because of rejection issues I have in my life,

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I'm the first to say, hey, I advocate my role

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because I don't want to have to contend with

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there's not a spot for you.

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Has anybody had to contend with there's not a spot for you?

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All of us have faced some type of rejection in life.

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All of us have felt at times like we are the ones

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on the outside looking in.

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The ones that are rejected,

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the ones that don't have the inside track.

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This is what Thomas was experiencing.

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He did not have the inside track though he was loyal,

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though he loved the Lord,

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though he was right there

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when he raised Lazarus from the dead.

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Thomas didn't have the inside track.

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Here's the truth.

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The invitation being for everyone

Speaker: 00:20:23

is that even though you're left out

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and it may cause you to react in a way

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that you're not proud of,

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you cannot badge your way out

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and you can't good your way in

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when it comes to the kingdom.

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Jesus paid the ultimate price.

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He laid the foundation.

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He did the work.

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And I'm gonna tell you today,

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no matter where you are,

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no matter what you've done or said or been,

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no matter what shame you might be dealing with this morning,

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the invitation is to come and the invitation is for you.

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It's for every one of you.

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Now you may be sitting there this morning

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like I have been on a number of occasions

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thinking, okay, this sounds really great and wonderful.

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And it just seems too lawfully really to be true,

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but why me?

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Why would this Jesus die for me?

Speaker: 00:21:11

And even those who are Christians,

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even those in this place who have taken a left turn

Speaker: 00:21:16

and maybe you've engaged in some type of sin pattern

Speaker: 00:21:18

or something in your life you're not proud of,

Speaker: 00:21:20

you might ask the question of yourself sometimes,

Speaker: 00:21:23

why me God?

Speaker: 00:21:24

Why me?

Speaker: 00:21:25

Especially when it comes to God

Speaker: 00:21:26

choosing to use you for something

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and you know what your propensity in your mind is to be.

Speaker: 00:21:31

Why me God?

Speaker: 00:21:32

Why would you choose me?

Speaker: 00:21:34

I don't matter.

Speaker: 00:21:36

I don't matter.

Speaker: 00:21:37

And can I just tell you,

Speaker: 00:21:38

if you think you are too small to matter,

Speaker: 00:21:41

try sleeping with a mosquito.

Speaker: 00:21:43

(congregation laughing)

Speaker: 00:21:47

Small things make big differences.

Speaker: 00:21:52

And you are not too small in God's eyes.

Speaker: 00:21:55

He knows you.

Speaker: 00:21:57

He wants you.

Speaker: 00:21:58

He has a plan and a purpose for your life.

Speaker: 00:22:00

But I am so bad.

Speaker: 00:22:02

I am so full of shame and pride.

Speaker: 00:22:05

You know, there's the story I heard once told like this.

Speaker: 00:22:09

You know, the thief on the cross

Speaker: 00:22:11

had a small interaction with Jesus.

Speaker: 00:22:13

He gets up to heaven.

Speaker: 00:22:14

He's met at the gates by the angels

Speaker: 00:22:17

and the angels like to the thief, how'd you get here?

Speaker: 00:22:20

You didn't go to church.

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You didn't read your Bible.

Speaker: 00:22:23

You didn't tithe.

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You didn't give your offering.

Speaker: 00:22:26

You didn't wear the Christian school.

Speaker: 00:22:27

Church, you didn't do any of the things.

Speaker: 00:22:29

How did you get here?

Speaker: 00:22:30

And the thief replies,

Speaker: 00:22:32

the man next to me told me I could come.

Speaker: 00:22:34

Nobody gets to dictate your entrance into the kingdom

Speaker: 00:22:39

except for Jesus.

Speaker: 00:22:40

And Jesus says, it's sealed and it's for sure.

Speaker: 00:22:43

And you have access to this God.

Speaker: 00:22:46

You have been invited to the table.

Speaker: 00:22:48

When it comes to you and your mess,

Speaker: 00:22:51

there's room at the table.

Speaker: 00:22:52

He has never set forth the condition

Speaker: 00:22:54

that you need to clean yourself up before you come.

Speaker: 00:22:56

He just says, come, come and partake.

Speaker: 00:22:59

I've done the work says the Lord.

Speaker: 00:23:01

My blood has washed you white as snow.

Speaker: 00:23:05

So what motivates Jesus's ability

Speaker: 00:23:09

to allow us to have the seat at his table?

Speaker: 00:23:12

One word, love.

Speaker: 00:23:15

Love gives you the ability to say yes

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to extraordinary things.

Speaker: 00:23:21

Love gives you the ability to say yes

Speaker: 00:23:24

to extraordinary things.

Speaker: 00:23:26

Have you ever had people in your life

Speaker: 00:23:27

who love you unashamedly?

Speaker: 00:23:29

I don't care what they think, I'm gonna love you anyway.

Speaker: 00:23:31

I'm gonna put my love for you on display

Speaker: 00:23:34

no matter what happens, I want you to know.

Speaker: 00:23:36

Guys, when you get somebody in your life like that,

Speaker: 00:23:38

that is a jewel, hold onto it.

Speaker: 00:23:39

Let me tell you, Jesus is unwavering in that.

Speaker: 00:23:42

Jesus is unwavering in his love for you.

Speaker: 00:23:44

And it's love that motivated him to go to the cross.

Speaker: 00:23:47

And when you hear something that says

Speaker: 00:23:49

that your shame and your sin held him there, that is a lie.

Speaker: 00:23:53

Love held him to the cross.

Speaker: 00:23:55

Love is what held him there

Speaker: 00:23:56

and love is what motivated him to do the whole kit

Speaker: 00:23:59

and caboodle, the whole package.

Speaker: 00:24:01

And now he has risen from the grave

Speaker: 00:24:03

and he lives and breathes at the right hand of Father God

Speaker: 00:24:07

and he bids you to come.

Speaker: 00:24:08

Love continues its work.

Speaker: 00:24:11

It continues faithful.

Speaker: 00:24:12

He continues to show himself, improve himself

Speaker: 00:24:15

over and over and over again.

Speaker: 00:24:18

And so if you think that your life is bad

Speaker: 00:24:23

and you think you're so messed up

Speaker: 00:24:27

and you think you're so full of shame and pride

Speaker: 00:24:29

and all of those things and that Jesus doesn't want you,

Speaker: 00:24:32

then I want you to know today

Speaker: 00:24:35

that you are one of those extraordinary things

Speaker: 00:24:38

that he said yes to.

Speaker: 00:24:40

There's a big fat yes on your life.

Speaker: 00:24:42

Don't let anybody, don't let the enemy especially tell you

Speaker: 00:24:45

that there's a no ready for you.

Speaker: 00:24:46

There is a yes for you and he's bidding you come.

Speaker: 00:24:49

He's bidding you come.

Speaker: 00:24:50

So we had a problem.

Speaker: 00:24:52

Here's the foundation.

Speaker: 00:24:54

We had a problem.

Speaker: 00:24:55

Our problem was sin.

Speaker: 00:24:57

It separated us from this love.

Speaker: 00:24:59

God didn't like that.

Speaker: 00:25:00

So he sent Jesus for God so loved the world

Speaker: 00:25:03

that he gave his one and only son,

Speaker: 00:25:06

that whoever believes,

Speaker: 00:25:07

not if only a certain section of people believe,

Speaker: 00:25:10

only those who look and sound and do this,

Speaker: 00:25:14

whoever believes in him shall not perish

Speaker: 00:25:16

but have eternal life.

Speaker: 00:25:18

Romans 10 says this,

Speaker: 00:25:20

everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Speaker: 00:25:23

Everyone, everyone, do you know

Speaker: 00:25:25

that you're a part of everyone?

Speaker: 00:25:27

John chapter seven, Jesus says,

Speaker: 00:25:30

on the last and greatest day of the festival,

Speaker: 00:25:32

Jesus stood and said in a loud voice,

Speaker: 00:25:34

let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink.

Speaker: 00:25:37

Whoever believes in me, as the scripture has said,

Speaker: 00:25:40

rivers of living water will flow from within them.

Speaker: 00:25:44

Guys, it is personal.

Speaker: 00:25:47

It is you.

Speaker: 00:25:49

He wants you.

Speaker: 00:25:51

He wants you.

Speaker: 00:25:53

He wants you.

Speaker: 00:25:54

Guys, he knows your name.

Speaker: 00:25:58

He knows your name.

Speaker: 00:26:01

Man has put a shadow over Thomas's life

Speaker: 00:26:09

by reading a story about this man

Speaker: 00:26:11

and saying you questioned Jesus

Speaker: 00:26:13

and so now you're a doubter.

Speaker: 00:26:16

Can I just tell you that when Jesus looks at Thomas,

Speaker: 00:26:19

today when Jesus looks at Thomas,

Speaker: 00:26:21

he doesn't look at Thomas and say doubting Thomas,

Speaker: 00:26:23

he looks at Thomas and says Thomas.

Speaker: 00:26:25

When he looks at Kevin, he doesn't say prideful Kevin,

Speaker: 00:26:28

he just looks and says Kevin.

Speaker: 00:26:30

When he looks at Kevin, he doesn't say shameful Kevin,

Speaker: 00:26:33

he just sees Kevin.

Speaker: 00:26:35

When he looks at your life, he sees Jeremy,

Speaker: 00:26:38

he sees Arwen, he sees Mary Sue, he sees James,

Speaker: 00:26:41

he sees Dana, he sees Justin, he says Ted,

Speaker: 00:26:44

he sees you as completed and perfected.

Speaker: 00:26:47

Now you don't feel that way

Speaker: 00:26:49

because of the muck and mire you've been in,

Speaker: 00:26:51

but his blood covered that.

Speaker: 00:26:54

And so when we come into a space like this,

Speaker: 00:26:58

on a day where we celebrate his resurrection,

Speaker: 00:27:01

guys, can you imagine what it was like

Speaker: 00:27:03

when Jesus healed the blind man

Speaker: 00:27:05

and he saw for the first time?

Speaker: 00:27:09

I don't think the blind man at that moment

Speaker: 00:27:12

was thinking about three days ago

Speaker: 00:27:14

when somebody tripped over him

Speaker: 00:27:15

or how he hadn't been able to have X, Y, and Z

Speaker: 00:27:18

and all of this pain in the past.

Speaker: 00:27:20

He was thinking about I once was blind, but now I can see.

Speaker: 00:27:25

We get to celebrate and we should celebrate,

Speaker: 00:27:29

not just on Easter Sunday, every day of the year,

Speaker: 00:27:32

we should celebrate the resurrection of a living God

Speaker: 00:27:37

because he has written your name in the Lamb's Book of Life.

Speaker: 00:27:41

So you are no longer having to contend with death.

Speaker: 00:27:45

And so every morning, what is the invitation?

Speaker: 00:27:49

The invitation, friends, is to come every day.

Speaker: 00:27:53

Guys, I'm thirsty every single morning and I need a drink.

Speaker: 00:27:56

I need to taste and see that my God is good.

Speaker: 00:28:00

What about you?

Speaker: 00:28:01

Do you need to taste and see that God is good this morning?

Speaker: 00:28:05

I can't go off of yesterday's taste.

Speaker: 00:28:07

I need a fresh taste today.

Speaker: 00:28:09

And he's good today.

Speaker: 00:28:10

And you know, he's gooder today than he was yesterday

Speaker: 00:28:12

and he'll be gooder tomorrow than he is today.

Speaker: 00:28:14

He'll just continue to get good and good and good.

Speaker: 00:28:16

It's so rich and so powerful.

Speaker: 00:28:19

Guys, he knows your name.

Speaker: 00:28:22

Several months ago, I had my car stolen

Speaker: 00:28:25

right out of my driveway.

Speaker: 00:28:27

Months later, somebody calls and says, we found your truck.

Speaker: 00:28:32

We took it to a towing place,

Speaker: 00:28:34

or a towing place came and got it.

Speaker: 00:28:35

Well, do you know the towing place name?

Speaker: 00:28:37

No, we don't.

Speaker: 00:28:38

Do you know how many towing places exist in Nashville?

Speaker: 00:28:41

Hundreds.

Speaker: 00:28:44

I spent a long time looking for my car

Speaker: 00:28:47

because a name is important.

Speaker: 00:28:48

A name is important.

Speaker: 00:28:53

I remember the very first time

Speaker: 00:28:55

talked about rejection issues as a child.

Speaker: 00:28:58

I remember coming to Smyrna Assembly three weeks in,

Speaker: 00:29:03

getting involved with a group of guys

Speaker: 00:29:05

and I went over to my buddy Ryan Davis' house.

Speaker: 00:29:09

And I go in there and I get there

Speaker: 00:29:11

and I'm a little bit nervous.

Speaker: 00:29:13

I'm the new kid, you know, and I'm walking in.

Speaker: 00:29:15

All these guys are a little older than me.

Speaker: 00:29:17

And I remember the feeling when I opened the door

Speaker: 00:29:20

and I stepped foot in there and about 20 guys

Speaker: 00:29:23

with a resounding sound said,

Speaker: 00:29:24

Kevin, it's great to see you.

Speaker: 00:29:28

You want to talk about shock waves

Speaker: 00:29:31

of redemption and restoration in that moment.

Speaker: 00:29:35

And you know why that happened?

Speaker: 00:29:37

Because I showed up.

Speaker: 00:29:39

I showed up and I wonder what it would be

Speaker: 00:29:42

if you would make a commitment every day

Speaker: 00:29:45

to show up and allow the Lord to reveal himself to you

Speaker: 00:29:49

in tangible ways.

Speaker: 00:29:50

Thomas, I'm here.

Speaker: 00:29:52

Eight days later, I wonder what it was like.

Speaker: 00:29:54

Thomas must have been fuming.

Speaker: 00:29:56

He must have been upset.

Speaker: 00:29:57

He must have been angry and anguished

Speaker: 00:29:59

because it wasn't like Jesus, Jesus, listen,

Speaker: 00:30:01

Jesus could have in that moment when Thomas was saying,

Speaker: 00:30:04

I'm not gonna believe it.

Speaker: 00:30:05

Jesus could have been like, here I am.

Speaker: 00:30:07

But he chose to wait.

Speaker: 00:30:09

Are you in your waiting season right now?

Speaker: 00:30:12

Have you been asking the Lord to reveal himself to you

Speaker: 00:30:15

and you just have put everything aside?

Speaker: 00:30:17

You decided not to lean in

Speaker: 00:30:18

because you just have rejected the idea of his reality

Speaker: 00:30:21

because you've asked him to prove himself

Speaker: 00:30:22

and he's not proven himself yet.

Speaker: 00:30:24

Let me tell you something.

Speaker: 00:30:26

There are testimonies all around you

Speaker: 00:30:28

in the community of these believers

Speaker: 00:30:32

that would prove Jesus Christ's reality in your life.

Speaker: 00:30:36

And if you will just wait a little longer,

Speaker: 00:30:39

Christ will reveal himself to you.

Speaker: 00:30:42

Thomas, touch my hands, touch my feet.

Speaker: 00:30:46

But let me tell you what's in store

Speaker: 00:30:47

for those of you who are in the waiting season

Speaker: 00:30:50

before you had the revelation.

Speaker: 00:30:52

The word tells us, Jesus says,

Speaker: 00:30:54

blessed are those who will believe without seeing.

Speaker: 00:30:59

Can you get yourself to a place where you can believe

Speaker: 00:31:03

without having to touch his hands and his feet?

Speaker: 00:31:05

There's a blessing in store for you if you can.

Speaker: 00:31:08

He is so faithful.

Speaker: 00:31:10

He knows your name.

Speaker: 00:31:14

There's an enemy out there.

Speaker: 00:31:15

He wants to kill you.

Speaker: 00:31:17

He wants to destroy you.

Speaker: 00:31:19

He wants to take you out.

Speaker: 00:31:21

The enemy knows your name but calls you by your sin.

Speaker: 00:31:24

God knows your sin but he calls you by your name.

Speaker: 00:31:28

He calls you by your name.

Speaker: 00:31:31

And so guys, would you allow the blood of Christ

Speaker: 00:31:37

to be sufficient for you this morning?

Speaker: 00:31:40

And would you allow yourself to engage in the celebration

Speaker: 00:31:44

instead of standing like this

Speaker: 00:31:46

when everyone around you is jumping up and down

Speaker: 00:31:47

because there's a risen savior?

Speaker: 00:31:50

I once was blind but now I can see.

Speaker: 00:31:54

I once was sick but now I'm healed.

Speaker: 00:31:58

I was a thief on the cross, destined to die,

Speaker: 00:32:02

should have died.

Speaker: 00:32:04

I didn't do anything right.

Speaker: 00:32:05

Didn't even show up to church.

Speaker: 00:32:07

I was a murderer of Christians

Speaker: 00:32:09

but the Lord used me to write so many books in scripture.

Speaker: 00:32:12

The stories are endless.

Speaker: 00:32:15

Would you allow the blood to be sufficient in your life?

Speaker: 00:32:20

And would you celebrate the risen savior

Speaker: 00:32:23

because to do anything less doesn't honor him at all.

Speaker: 00:32:28

Everything is about Christ.

Speaker: 00:32:31

Everything is about centering on him.

Speaker: 00:32:34

This is what Colossians says.

Speaker: 00:32:35

Christ is the visible image of the invisible God.

Speaker: 00:32:38

He existed before anything was created

Speaker: 00:32:40

and is supreme over all creation.

Speaker: 00:32:44

For through him, God created everything

Speaker: 00:32:46

in the heavenly realms and on earth.

Speaker: 00:32:48

He made the things we can see

Speaker: 00:32:50

and the things we can't see such as thrones and kingdoms

Speaker: 00:32:52

and rulers and authorities in the unseen world.

Speaker: 00:32:54

Everything was created through him and for him.

Speaker: 00:32:57

Guys, Thomas had a chance to believe in everything else,

Speaker: 00:33:01

to put his trust in everything else.

Speaker: 00:33:02

Can I tell you guys right now,

Speaker: 00:33:04

I don't put my trust in the government.

Speaker: 00:33:07

I don't put my trust in the stock market.

Speaker: 00:33:10

I don't put my trust in my money.

Speaker: 00:33:12

I don't put my trust in people.

Speaker: 00:33:14

I don't put my trust in myself

Speaker: 00:33:17

because when all of those things fail,

Speaker: 00:33:20

my Lord Jesus Christ is gonna still be standing.

Speaker: 00:33:23

The foundation that he's laid is still going to be firm.

Speaker: 00:33:26

I put my trust in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Speaker: 00:33:30

Where's your trust placed?

Speaker: 00:33:32

Where is your trust placed?

Speaker: 00:33:35

He is a good, good Father.

Speaker: 00:33:39

Can I tell you that the story hasn't ended yet?

Speaker: 00:33:41

Can I tell you that this same God

Speaker: 00:33:45

who revealed himself to the disciples,

Speaker: 00:33:47

revealed himself to Thomas and reveals himself to you,

Speaker: 00:33:50

he is coming again.

Speaker: 00:33:53

He is coming again and he has not forgotten us.

Speaker: 00:33:58

And so as we center in on the truth that God is for us,

Speaker: 00:34:03

that he knows us by name, he hasn't forgotten about us,

Speaker: 00:34:06

he's coming again, we're gonna posture our hearts

Speaker: 00:34:09

with gratitude this morning as we partake in holy communion

Speaker: 00:34:12

with those who are going to serve the elements,

Speaker: 00:34:15

please come forward.

Speaker: 00:34:16

And this morning, as we come,

Speaker: 00:34:19

we're gonna come in a posture of thanksgiving.

Speaker: 00:34:21

Lord, thank you.

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Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you for the story,

Speaker: 00:34:27

for my name being written in the Lamb's Book of Life,

Speaker: 00:34:30

though I don't deserve it.

Speaker: 00:34:31

We're gonna remember him in his suffering,

Speaker: 00:34:35

but we're gonna remember him in his resurrection today.

Speaker: 00:34:39

Would you stand with me?

Speaker: 00:34:42

It's a glorious day to celebrate the Lord.

Speaker: 00:34:45

Every day is a glorious day to celebrate him.

Speaker: 00:34:47

So here's what's gonna happen.

Speaker: 00:34:49

We're gonna invite you to come take communion.

Speaker: 00:34:52

And once everybody is partaken in communion,

Speaker: 00:34:57

Springhouse Kids is gonna come back

Speaker: 00:34:59

and we're gonna acknowledge where we see Jesus

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all through the course of history and in our lives today.

Speaker: 00:35:06

And after that, the worship band is gonna kick back in

Speaker: 00:35:08

and after that, you're released to enjoy the rest

Speaker: 00:35:11

of this glorious Resurrection Sunday.

Speaker: 00:35:14

Guys, I am so grateful that you came today.

Speaker: 00:35:17

My heart is so full right now to see your faces

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and to know that there are so many

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under the sound of my voice who know Jesus Christ

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as their Lord and Savior.

Speaker: 00:35:27

Let's acknowledge him unashamedly today

Speaker: 00:35:30

as he loves us unashamedly too.

Speaker: 00:35:34

Let's worship.

Speaker: 00:35:35

(gentle music)