This is Connect with Skip Heitzig Weekend Edition. and we're so glad you've joined us for today's program. We believe there's no substitute for God's word. And that's why Connect with Skip exists. to bring clear verse-by-verse Bible teaching into your life each week.
To help you grow even deeper, we're offering a free resource this month called Studying the Bible. It's a practical one-sheet download that will help you engage scripture with greater clarity and confidence. Download it now at connectwithskip.com when you sign up to receive Skip's weekly devotional, encouraging content delivered right to your inbox each week. Again, you can sign up and get your free resource at connectwithskip.com.
Now, here's today's message from Pastor Skip. Do you feel, do you ever feel like there could be You hope there is something more than what you've already experienced in life. And be honest about your sin. Call it what it is. It's called confession in the Bible.
And bring that to the Lord. Rise up and be honest, Thomas was. Number two. Rise up and be amazed. Look at the next verse, verse 26.
After eight days, His disciples We're again inside. And Thomas was with them. Jesus Yeah. The doors being shut, and stood in the midst and said Peace. To you.
What was Thomas' reaction at that point?
Okay, I'm going to guess. Yeah. I didn't expect that to happen. He'd just been mouthing off. I'm not going to believe until I see.
Hi. Peace to you. Whoa.
Now, there's a little couple words you may have missed. I did the first time I read them. Notice the phrase eight days, after eight days. You mean the disciples had to Put up with Thomas for eight days? They had to listen for eight days.
I don't believe that. He didn't show up today either. And then the third day, didn't show up today either. And didn't show up today. He's not coming.
Not going to happen. I will not believe until I can touch and see. And I bet. A couple of those other disciples started feeling maybe a little bit like Thomas on the doubting side, but after eight days, Guess who shows up for dinner? Jesus pops in the room, and Thomas saw, and it changed everything for him.
You know what? Thomas is like so many people. Who live their lives without Christ. and thus without hope. Life without God.
becomes an exercise in focusing on oneself. And discovering lack of meaning and lack of purpose. Life is meaningless. More and more people without God are discovering. I want to read something to you.
I hope it really gets to your heart, like it did to mine. This was posted on an atheist website. By a young woman who frequented that website, and she left her comments, and I quote. She writes, I'm confused. I've always believed that science would be the cure-all for my problems.
But I dunno if I can keep living without eternal life. I guess I'll just have to Find a way myself to make it through this meaningless existence. I just wish I knew of someone who could show me the path to eternal life. If science can't provide the answers, though, Then who? Or what can?
And then she writes, psi. Doesn't it seem like there's a higher power that gives our life purpose?
Well. Science says there isn't. And so There isn't. Close quote. How sad is that?
That is the cry of the human heart. Life is without any purpose or meaning.
So I've got to find, figure out, navigate something. to make it worth living another day. What the resurrection did though for Thomas is rekindle Hope. Ah, wow. Wonder.
Amazement. Thomas rose up and was amazed. Hey, get this. Did you know? That there are many churches.
Who don't believe that Jesus rose from the dead? They deny the resurrection. I don't know what they do on Easter. Hi. What do we do?
I don't know what we always do. They don't believe in the resurrection, he goes.
So what exactly do they believe in? There's a number of fallacies they hold to. They will say: number one, that Jesus is risen. In spirit. What does that mean?
Is that like my grandma? We say when somebody dies, they're up in heaven. Looking down, they're with us in spirit. Is that all? Is that what Jesus is, risen in spirit?
If that's true, let's go golfing. Instead of being here, It's a nice day. Why are we here? If he's risen in spirit. Others will say He's risen in our hearts.
That's what the resurrection is. Jesus is just alive in our hearts. We have the Christ consciousness. We have the Christ concept. We have the Christ Spirit.
Oh, go away. How hopeless. That's jibber jabber. Another explanation by some so-called Christians, this comes from Time Magazine, always a reliable source of credible information. Jesus is risen.
in the sense that his teachings live on. He didn't really rise physically, bodily, literally. But his teachings live on like Buddha. Or Gandhi, because we have his words and we keep saying his words, he keeps getting back up. What a joke.
Jesus is not some creed or some concept. He's a person who's alive today and forever more. And without that, we got nothing. And you've got to understand something. This This day is so special to us because this teaching of the resurrection is the pivotal point of everything.
It's the heart of everything we are about. With no resurrection, there's no hope. And we might agree to disagree in a number of things, but not The resurrection. If Jesus did not bodily, physically rise from the dead, then Jesus Christ is a liar. Because he said he would die and rise again.
He said that. And if he didn't do it. He's a liar. Number two, if he didn't bodily, physically rise from the dead, there's no forgiveness. Of our sand?
There's no salvation. And there's no Hopefully And so Thomas was right in being utterly hopeless. Until he rose up and was honest and rose up and was amazed at seeing the risen Lord.
Now something to notice before we move on to the third point quickly. It says in what we read, Thomas was with them. When Jesus showed up, Thomas was with them. Because Thomas wasn't with them the first time Jesus showed up. Go back to verse 19 and notice.
This is the first time now. 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. Jesus came and stood in the midst and said to them, Peace be with you. When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side, And the disciples were glad, overjoyed, rejoicing is the term. when they saw the Lord.
Okay, stop. Thomas wasn't there. That first time. He missed that. He was out of fellowship, you might say.
He missed that. He missed the appearance, the presence of Jesus, the commission of Jesus, the joy that everybody shared. He missed out on all of that. And I bet when Jesus showed up, one of the apostles was thinking, I wish Tom were here. Don't you wish Tom could see this?
This would be so good for Tom. Ever say that when you're at church and you hear something, you go, I wish Jack could hear this. I wish Shelly were here to hear this. I bet they were saying that about Thomas, but Thomas was absent. Thomas was an isolated, out-of-fellowship Christian.
You might call him a believer, but not a belonger. And people who are isolationists don't stay in regular fellowship. become Pessimistic. like Thomas over time. Brittle hardened.
Hard boiled. They miss out on so much. Here's the third thing. Rise up and be diligent. Rise up and be diligent.
What do I mean?
Well you can read and see for yourself. Then he, Jesus, said to Thomas, Reach your finger here and look. at my hands. And reach your hand here and put it into My Side. Huh.
You know what we call this? We call this busted. Thomas mouthing off. I'm not going to believe Jesus shows up here. Uh-oh.
When I was in high school, this is what this reminds me of. I had I had a similar Example or incident. It was PE class, afternoon. I was a senior in high school. And there was this kid on the team that didn't get along with me.
I didn't get along with him. And I was mouthing off about he wasn't a good athlete. He wasn't a good runner. He wasn't this. He's that.
He was standing right. behind me. The whole time I'm mouthing off. And were it not for the coach standing there, I'd have got decked. Because he was superior to me in all the ways that I was ditching him on.
What Thomas experienced is like that. A hundredfold. Because Jesus shows up, says, Peace to you, Thomas, by the way. Reach forth and touch and see that it is me. You're listening to Connect with Skip Heitzig Weekend Edition.
Before we return to Skiff's teaching, Do you ever feel stuck when it comes to studying the Bible? Pastor Skiff's book, How to Study the Bible and Enjoy It, shows you how to go from feeling intimidated by scripture. to engaging it with joy and confidence. This helpful book is yours when you give $50 or more to help keep this Bible teaching ministry going strong around the world. Request your copy of How to Study the Bible and Enjoy It Today.
At connectwithskip.com/slash offer or call 800-922-888. Let's return now to today's message. I love this about Jesus. He condescends so graciously. To Thomas's doubt.
And he invites Thomas, okay, Tommy boy, Mr. Empirical, Mr. I won't believe unless it's science, touch. See Feel, I challenge you to do the same. If you want evidence for the Christian experience, there's plenty of it.
But be honest. And be diligent. and be ready to be amazed. Because you'll discover that Christianity That Jesus Christ has three basic credentials. And as you examine three lines of evidence, You'll be amazed.
But be diligent. Number one. Jesus' impact upon human history, unlike anybody else. The impact the crisis made upon human history. is unique, singular, unparalleled.
Number two, the claims that Jesus made about himself. Number three. A bodily resurrection. Nobody ever claimed, no other religious leader, a bodily resurrection for themselves. Only Jesus claimed there would be an empty tomb, and there was, and his followers went to the death.
Believing that. Not one broke. Aristotle said everyone desires To know Truth. That is true. Everybody wants to know truth.
We all have to do that. have a fundamental conviction. That we build our lives upon. Truth, whatever we really believe is true, we form everything from that basis. And so the day Pilate said to Jesus, What is truth?
On one hand, it was a cynical question. On the other hand, it was the deep yearning of his heart. Please, is there anybody out there to show me truth? And then Pilate walked out of the room as if to say, I don't think there anybody could do it. It's not possible.
A friend of mine is a teacher. True story. He does this frequently, but on one occasion he put a jar of marbles on his desk. And he asked the students, guess how many marbles are in the jar? One student said, 168.
Another student, 221. Another stood 250 on and on and on. There were actually, and he announced, one hundred and eighty-eight marbles in the jar. Then the teacher asked, which of all the answers so far? was the closest to being right.
And everybody agreed. It was 168. That was the answer that was closest to the 188. He goes, okay, that's. Provable, that's objective truth.
We can count the marbles and see that, 188 marbles. Then the teacher passed out those little starburst candies. Different flavors to all the students, different flavors to each student. And then the teacher asked the students this question. Which flavor?
is the right flavor. And the students look back like, what? That doesn't make any sense. What do you mean, what's the right flavor? The right flavor is whatever you personally prefer as the right flavor.
Some might like orange. I don't know anybody who likes orange. Most people like red or yellow or whatever. Then the teacher said, Okay. When it comes.
to religious claims, spiritual claims. Are spiritual claims like the marbles in the jar? Or the candies I passed out. You know, most of the students said it's like the candies you passed out. One might prefer this belief, one might prefer that belief, one might prefer red, or nobody, orange, or green, or yellow.
They said it's personal preference, whatever road you choose in the belief system. And the teacher, my friend, said that's wrong. When it comes to Christianity, Christianity is based on objective historical fact of the resurrection. Either that tomb was empty or it was not empty. And that's what we have to examine.
I'm encouraging you to make whatever belief system you're going to get into not based upon your personal bias or your Prejudice, disposition, or philosophical outlook, but actually look at the facts. Thomas was confronted with that. He rose up and was honest. He rose up and was amazed. He rose up, and by the beckoning of Jesus was diligent.
to examine the evidence. Fourth and finally, Rise up. And believe. Verse 27. At the very end of that verse, Do not be unbelieving.
But believing And Thomas answered him, My Lord And my God. Jesus said to him, Thomas, because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed. Better translation. Oh, how happy.
My translation totally stoked. Are those who have not seen? and yet have believed And then John adds this. Postscript to this story. And truly, Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book.
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. Isn't it amazing how just a few verses ago Thomas said, I will not believe.
And here he is doing what? Believing Because he was honest. He was diligent. He was amazed. He believed.
He was so adamant that he wouldn't believe. In fact, it's a strong phrase: I positively will not believe. And hearing that for eight days, he kind of believed in himself. Aren't people funny? You can tell a man that there's 735 billion 688 million stars out there, and he'll say, I believe that.
Show that same man a sign that says wet paint, and he feels like he has to stop and personally investigate it.
So Thomas was there to personally investigate it. And it was a good thing that he did because he believed. Thomas rises. From the the lowest depths of despair and disbelief to the highest pinnacle. of faith.
He says, my Lord. That's the typical way to address Jesus. And my God, that's his deity name. You are my Lord and you are my God. And oh, what joy must have flooded Thomas's soul Because just as the others, It's a very good idea.
They were glad when they saw the Lord, but Thomas wasn't there.
Now Thomas is there, and he too. was glad.
Now, I ask you to tuck something away in your mind at the beginning of this message, and so I close with this. Thomas is given another title. Did you notice in verse 24?
Now, Thomas called the twin. You know that Thomas, typically when he's mentioned in the Bible, they always say Thomas. The twin. You ever wonder who's his twin?
Well, we don't know that. And I'm not bringing that up to frustrate you. Oh, great. I thought you were going to tell us the answer. I don't know who his twin is.
He just The other guy. He's called the twin. But I have a hunch. That there are even some of you sitting here today. Who could be Thomas's twin?
You think like Thomas. And you've prided yourself in the fact that you think like Thomas. That's okay. Maybe you're Thomas's twin. But you could rise up.
and with honesty. and diligence. You too, like Thomas, could come to believe. If you're thinking, well, I'm just not that kind of person, like coming on Easter Sunday. This is a lot of fun.
Uh I'm not that sort. I'm not the religious sort. I'm not the believing sort. I beg to differ with you. You can be an atheist this morning.
You have faith. You believe something. You exercise faith in something. As an example. For you to get up and drive your car That takes faith.
I've seen some of your cars. It takes a lot of faith. I've seen how some of you drive. Lot more faith. Plus, you live in New Mexico, so you need a lot of faith to get out on the roads here.
No, but honestly. You might know nothing about the combustion engine, but you believe if you put your key in that little hole and turn it that way. You're going to hear a noise and it's going to start. And if you grab that little stick and move it back, one, you'll go backwards. You believe that.
You may not understand it, but you believe it. You have faith. It takes faith to go to a bank, especially these days. You've got this little piece of paper in your hand. You go to the bank to get some cash for it.
How do you know they'll give it to you? All that is a piece of paper. All that is is a promise somebody made to you. But you have faith that that promise is good at that institution. That takes faith.
It takes faith to go to a restaurant.
Some restaurants more faith than others. You believe that you're going to get nourished, that you're not going to get sick, that you're not going to die, that they prepared it the right way, that they follow all the rules and regulations. For you to go to the doctor takes faith. When the doctor says, You're a bilateral blurb. You go, Okay, cool.
I have no idea what that is, but I trust you totally, Doc. And And And it takes faith. to get you to heaven. But it's not a leap in the dark, it's a leap into the light. But it takes faith.
It takes active faith where you will say, I recognize that Jesus is the one who can fulfill my life, that he's the Savior. I'm willing to make a step and stand on that. I believe that. I also believe that I'm a sinner and that I need him. You have to believe that.
And I'm willing to leave that behind and give my life to him and have him make that transaction for me. That's active faith. And Easter is all about that. Easter is all about giving life, eternal life. We want to invite some of you to make that step this morning.
We're so glad you joined us today for Connect with Skip Heitzig. Before we go, don't miss this chance to request How to Study the Bible and Enjoy It, Pastor Skip's practical guide to getting more out of every page of Scripture. It's our thanks for your generous gift of $50 or more to help share God's Word through Connect with Skip. Call 800-922-1888. or visit connectwithgift.com slash offer.
And don't forget to grab your free download of how to approach studying the Bible when you sign up for Skip's weekly devotionals. Tune in next time for more verse-by-verse teaching of God's Word. Here on Connect the Skiff Heightsk weekend edition. Make it connect. Make a connection at the foot of the cross and cast your burdens on his wood.
Make a connection. Connection. Connect with Skip Heitzig is a presentation of connection communications, connecting you to God's never-changing truth in ever-changing times.
