1. DON’T MISS THE
SUNDAY NIGHT SERVICE
March 30, 2014
FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH
JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI
USA
MARCH MEMORY VERSE
John 14:6 NKJV
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to
the Father except through me.”
1 Corinthians 10:31 NKJV
31 Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of
God.
Sunday, May 04, 2014
4:00 PM - 7:00 PM

2. What’s the number one thing?
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Jesus is:
1) reaching people,
2) teaching people and
3) ministering to people in 2,014 of the 3,776 verses in Matthew, Mark, Luke
and John.
Today’s lesson resource:

3. John 20:19-31 NKJV
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The Upper Room
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John 20:19-31 NKJV
The Apostles Commissioned
19 Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the
doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews (as few
as 13 of them), Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them,
“Peace be with you.”

4. http://simplyadditions.com/images/family/family-room-addition-layout.gif
Physicists think that Jesus has at least 9 dimensions.
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Matthew 18:20 NKJV
20 For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the
midst of them.
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20 When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side.
Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.
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21 So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also
send you.”
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22 And when He had said this, He breathed (Gen 2:7) on them, and said to
them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”
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6. 23 “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of
any, they are retained.”
Seeing and Believing
24 Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus
came. 25 The other disciples therefore said to him, “We have seen the Lord.”
So he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my
finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.”
26 And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them.
Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, “Peace to
you!” 27 Then He said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands;
and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but
believing.”
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28 And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!”
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29 Jesus said to him,
“Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those
who have not seen (that would be us!) and yet have believed.”

7. That You May Believe
30 And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are
not written in this book; 31 but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is
the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.
John 20:19-31 NKJV
 Thomas was somewhere else pouting that first Resurrection Sunday.
 But, whatever his reasons were for missing that assembly that day, Thomas
missed much.
Notice what he missed that day:
1.) v. 19 – He missed the Presence of the Lord.
2.) v. 19 – He missed the Power of the Lord.
3.) v. 19 – He missed the Peace of the Lord.
4.) v. 20 – He missed the Praises of the Lord.
5.) v. 21 – He missed the Promotions of the Lord.
6.) v. 22 – He missed the Provisions of the Lord.
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As we study this passage we see Christ transforming Thomas from:
A) Thomas the Pouter to
B) Thomas the Doubter to
C) Thomas the Shouter!
A) Thomas the Pouter
John 20:24 NKJV
Seeing and Believing
24 Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus
came.
John 20:24 NKJV
 When Jesus died on the cross, Thomas’ world was shattered!
 He no doubt became despondent, depressed and discouraged.

8. Thomas was broken-hearted and felt that their dream had reached an end and
he is a good picture of why being faithful to Sunday night services is so vitally
important.
 You never know what you will miss when you fail to come to church on
Sunday nights.
 People have all kinds of reasons and excuses for missing on Sunday night.
We are so busy, our lives are hectic, our children are busy with sports and other
activities, and sometimes God fails to get first place in our priorities.
 Sometimes God doesn’t even rate second, third or fourth place.
 He might not even be in the top ten in some cases.
 His worship must come first!
 People have all kinds of excuses that they offer as to why they missed
church.
 An excuse is just the skin of a reason stuffed with a lie.
Why not just tell the truth?
People don’t come because they had rather be doing something else.
They don’t come because Jesus isn’t first in their lives.
They don’t come because their hearts aren’t where they ought to be.
Hebrews 10:24-25 NKJV
24 And let us consider one another in order to stir up (motivate, stimulate, spur
one another on to) love and good works, 25 not forsaking the assembling of
ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so
much the more as you see the Day approaching.
Hebrews 10:24-25 NKJV
Centuries ago a nobleman in a mountain village in Europe wondered what
legacy he should leave to his townspeople.
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9.  He decided to build them a church and when the people gathered, they
marveled at its beauty.
 Then someone asked, "But where are the lamps? How will it be lighted?"
 The nobleman pointed to some brackets in the walls.
 Then he gave to each family a lamp to bring with them each time they
came to worship.
 The nobleman said, "Each time you are here the area where you are
seated will be lighted, and each time you are not here, that area will be
dark. This is to remind you that whenever you fail to come to church, some part
of God's house will be dark."
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Something is missing in the fellowship when you are not here.
You are a unique creation and no one can worship God quite like you can.
Corporate worship is the collective act of glorifying God.
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 When you worship, you are building a wall of protection around your heart
and life.
 You are strengthening your faith and growing in the Lord.

10. B) Thomas the Doubter
John 20:25 NKJV
25 The other disciples therefore said to him, “We have seen the Lord.” So he said
to them, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into
the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.”
John 20:25 NKJV
Thomas was not there when Jesus appeared.
The other disciples told Thomas about all that they had seen when Jesus
appeared to them.
The little verb “said” in verse 25 is in the “active voice”.
25 The other disciples therefore said to him, “We have seen the Lord.”
In other words, they kept on telling him about seeing Jesus and trying to
convince him that the Lord was really risen from the dead.
Despite their assurances and testimonies, Thomas could not bring himself to
believe.
He goes so far as to say, “I will not believe!”
Now, before we come down too hard on Thomas, we need to think about the
other disciples.
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When the other disciples first heard the news that Jesus was alive, they didn’t
believe either, look at: Mark 16:9-11.

11. Mark 16:9-11 NKJV
9 Now when He rose early on the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary
Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven demons. 10 She went and told those
who had been with Him, as they mourned and wept. 11 And when they heard
that He was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe.
Mark 16:9-11 NKJV
 The only reason the ten believed was because they had seen Jesus for
themselves.
 Thomas was only asking for the same proof they had already received.
Most of us can identify with Thomas.
We have a hard time believing what we cannot see with our own eyes.
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 We also sometimes put off trusting completely in Jesus.
 His claims are amazing!
 What the Bible says about Him is hard for the human mind to grasp.
 Delay no longer!
 Look to Jesus and believe the testimony of His Word and of those who
have seen Him for themselves because He is the only hope we have!
Some class members here today have lived lives shaken by one disappointment
after another.
You are disillusioned and think the claims of Jesus coming to give you the
abundant life are difficult to believe and are too good to be true.
But, the thing that makes them so good is the fact that they are true!
Jesus can do for you what He has promised He can do.

12.  He can do for you what He has done for others.
 He can save your soul; forgive your sins; make you a child of God; free
you from spiritual death and from the bondage of your sins; Jesus can
give you the abundant life!
He can do it for you, and He will do it for you if only you will believe in Him.
There was a time when we were all doubters but the Spirit of God convinced us
of the truth.
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We, like the ten disciples, believed and were saved and filled with peace, joy
and spiritual life.
Those same blessings can be had by anyone.
C) Thomas the Shouter!
John 20:26-29 NKJV
26 And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them.
Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, “Peace to
you!” 27 Then He said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands;
and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but
believing.”
28 And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!”
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13. 29 Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed.
Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
John 20:26-29 NKJV
Perhaps the disciples begged and pleaded with Thomas to the point where he
decided to meet with them.
While they are there, Jesus again appears in their midst.
This time, He focuses His attention on Thomas.
He repeats the very words of Thomas (v. 25) back to him and invites him to touch
Him and satisfy his need to know.
Then Jesus tells him to let go of his doubts and trust what he knows to be true.
There is a difference between doubt and unbelief.
 Doubt is a problem of the intellect.
 The person wants to believe, but has questions.
 Unbelief is a problem of the heart.
 Unbelief will not believe no matter what it sees.
 Thomas was plagued by doubt.
 When his questions were answered, he did not need to touch the risen
Jesus; seeing Him was enough.
Thomas utters one of the greatest confessions in the Bible.
He calls Jesus both “Lord and God” and he claims the Lord as his own.
All of his pouts and his doubts are now settled.
Apparently, Thomas never doubted again.
After Pentecost, the Bible never mentions him again.
History, however, tells us what happened to Thomas.
Thomas traveled east, preaching the Gospel through Persia.
He finally wound up in India where he had a very fruitful ministry.

14. http://www.stfrancis-kineton.co.uk/images/Thomas%20map%201.jpg
There are several churches in India today that can trace their history back to the
time of Thomas.
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Eventually, the enemies of the Lord killed Thomas with a spear.
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He died for the Lord he once doubted.
Those today who doubt can do what Thomas did over 2,000 years ago.
They can get past their doubts, their fears, their pride, their sins and the other
things that hinder them from coming to Jesus.

15. If they would come to Him and “be not faithless, but believing”, they would find
that Jesus can fill their lives with peace, joy, praise, and blessing.
Anyone can come to Christ, “just like they are”, but He won’t leave them that
way.
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 Jesus can take anyone just like they are and transform them like he did
Thomas.
 He will keep them, bless them, use them, thrill them and amaze us all.
No matter who you are; what you have done; or where you have been, you
need to know that Jesus Christ can and will give you the abundant life if you will
just come to Him.
Come to Him and watch Jesus take your pouts and your doubts and transform
them into Shouts.
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In verses 29, Jesus tells Thomas something we need to hear today.
John 20:29 NKJV
29 Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed.
Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
John 20:29 NKJV

16. Jesus tells Thomas that he had believed because of what he had seen with his
own eyes.
 Then He says that those who believe without seeing are as blessed as
Thomas.
 That is good news for us today!
Since our lost friends will not see the physical Person of Jesus in this life, they
must believe by faith what the Bible says about Him.
 If they can get passed their doubts and believe Him, they will be saved by
Him!
 What keeps them from believing in Jesus?
 What would it take to convince them?
 What holds them back?
 Whatever it is, it is not worth the eternal price they will pay for not
coming, Mark 8:34-37.
Mark 8:34-38 NKJV
34 When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to
them, “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his
cross, and follow Me. 35 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but
whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. 36 For what will it
profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? 37 Or what will a
man give in exchange for his soul? 38 For whoever is ashamed of Me and My
words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be
ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.”
Mark 8:34-38 NKJV
Have you been allowing yourself to be absent from this place where God meets
with and blesses His people?
If the Lord has spoken to you and convinced you of the need to draw closer in
your walk with Him, come to Him today and believe.
You are as close to God as you want to be!
See James 4:8
James 4:8 NKJV
8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you
sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
James 4:8 NKJV

17. Let Jesus take your pouts and your doubts and turn them into shouts for His glory!
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