You know, recently someone came up to me in the lobby between services and they said, Hey. They said, I want to tell you about something that happened at work the other day. This person said, I was in a meeting with the CEO of the company. There were a lot of other people in there. And after the CEO made a particularly important point, he said, Hey, not a sermon, just a thought.
He said, and I just thought you might be interested in hearing how that phrase has taken on a life of its own here in Washington, D.C.
Now, you know, there are a lot of little phrases like this that have taken on a life of their own in our culture. We talk about people being a rocket scientist. We talk about people being a Benedict Arnold. We talk about people being a doubting Thomas. And it's this last expression, doubting Thomas, that we want to talk about today.
Remember, we're in a series entitled People Jesus Met, and today, Jesus meets the man. Who inspired this expression, doubting Thomas? We want to go back. 2,000 years, and we want to see what happened at that meeting, and then we want to wind all of that forward, and we want to talk about: okay, so how does that matter to me today in the 21st century?
So, our passage is John chapter 20, and just a little bit of background before we pick up the story. Remember, two weeks ago, Luke chapter 24, where after his resurrection, supernaturally, Jesus appeared to the disciples while they were in a locked room in Jerusalem. And at first, they thought he was a ghost until John 20, verse 20 says, Jesus showed them his hands and his side as living proof that it was really him. Remember, we said that this was because in his post-resurrection body, in his glorified body, Jesus still bore the wounds that he suffered on the cross.
So the verse continues, and the disciples. We were overjoyed when they saw that it was really the Lord.
Now that's where we pick up the story, John chapter 20, verse 24.
Now Thomas, one of the twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came that night.
So the other disciples told him, We have seen the Lord.
Now you say, well, Lon, where was Thomas that very first time Jesus appeared to all of them in the room?
Well, I don't know. The Bible doesn't say. Maybe he was out getting bagels for breakfast. I have no idea where he was. But the next verse goes on to say that Thomas said to them, unless I see the nail marks in his hand.
And unless I put my finger where the nails were and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it.
Now, in other passages, the Bible tells us that Thomas was just this sort of guy. In other words, if Peter was Tigger, then Thomas was Eeyore, if you understand what I'm saying. A week later, Jesus' disciples were in the house again, and this time, Thomas was with them. And even though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, Peace be with you. Then Jesus said to Thomas, Thomas, put your finger here and see my hands, and reach out your hand and put it into my side.
You say, How in the world did Jesus know what Thomas had said a week ago in private?
Well, he's God in the flesh, for goodness sake. This is no problem for him to know that. And then he said to Thomas, And Thomas stopped. Doubting, but believe.
Now let's stop for just a moment, friends, and talk about Thomas, shall we? Here in John chapter 20, the Bible doesn't present Thomas as a rebellious man, nor does it present him as a defiant man. The Bible presents him as a sincere man. With sincere doubts, who asked Jesus to prove himself to Thomas.
Now, you know, 40 years ago, as a 22-year-old college student, that's exactly where I was. And I told that to Bob Eckhart, the street preacher that the Lord sent to reach me there in Chapel Hill. I told him. That I didn't know whether God was real, and I didn't know whether Jesus was really who He claimed to be, that I wasn't trying to be recalcitrant, I just didn't know. And Bob Eckhart issued me a challenge.
He challenged me to read the Bible a little bit every day, and he also challenged me before I began reading to pray a little prayer that went like this: He said, Lon, this is what you pray: you say, God. I want you to know I'm sincere in my heart. I don't know if you're real, and I don't know if Jesus is really who he claimed to be, but if you convince me of these two things, I am willing to give you my life forever. Amen. He said, and then open the Bible and read it.
Well, friends, I did that. And four weeks later, I was convinced.
Now, don't ask me how God convinced me, what the exact spiritual mechanics were, because I can't tell you. All I can tell you is God convinced me the way I asked him to, and so I gave him my life just the way I said I would.
Now, maybe some of you here today have sincere doubts. And if you do, I want to challenge you to pray the very same prayer that Bob Eckhart challenged me to pray. I want to challenge you to say, God, I'm sincere. Prove to me that you're real. Prove to me that Jesus is really who He claimed to be, and I am prepared to give you my life 100% forever.
And then start reading a little bit of the gospel accounts every single day and watch what happens. Listen, my friends, God is happy to reveal Himself to people with sincere doubts. He did it for Thomas. He did it for me, and He'll do it for you. Verse 28.
Then Thomas said to Jesus, My Lord and my God. And there are a lot of commentators who have claimed that these words of Thomas, my Lord and my God, were merely words of astonishment. You know, kind of like, holy cow! Good, good, mugger. Holy smokes, my Lord and my God.
Not so. Not so, not so. These words were a confession of whom Thomas suddenly understands the Lord Jesus Christ to be. See, Thomas had been with Jesus in John chapter 11 when he raised Lazarus from the dead. Hey, but don't forget, Elijah the prophet had raised somebody from the dead.
Elisha the prophet had raised somebody from the dead.
So all raising Lazarus from the dead in John 11 meant is that maybe Jesus was a great man of God or maybe he was even a prophet. Hey, but to raise yourself from the dead, to say John chapter 10, as Jesus did verse 18, I have the power to lay my life down.
Well, everybody's got that power. But Jesus went on to say, and I have the power to take it up again and then to prove it standing right there in front of Thomas.
Well, now that's another story altogether. And so suddenly it dawns on Thomas just who he's dealing with here. Not just a man of God, not just a prophet, but he is dealing with the living God of the universe wrapped in human flesh, which is why he exclaimed, My God. You know, it's really too bad. That the term doubting Thomas has survived all these years.
If anything, we should refer to this man as formerly doubting Thomas, right? Because right here in John chapter 20, he became believing Thomas. But he didn't just become believing Thomas, he also became consecrated Thomas, that is, consecrated to the Lordship of Jesus Christ in his life, Thomas, which is why he also exclaimed, My Lord. And my God. And you know, it was a consecration that Thomas was serious about.
Church history tells us that when the Lord asked Thomas to go to India, he went. In fact, Thomas was the very first Christian missionary to ever go east of the Euphrates River. That's where Thomas went in obedience to his Lord. He went to India primarily. He led thousands of Indian people to Christ.
He established churches. He ordained elders. And then in 68 AD, he was martyred for his faith in India. In fact, my friends, to this day, The Christian community in India still traces its origin back to the ministry of the Apostle Thomas in the very first century.
So let's summarize. Here in John chapter 20, Thomas correctly understands that a resurrected Jesus demands not just a believing life, it also demands a consecrated life, a life that sings with hymn writer Charles Gabriel: I'll go where you want me to go, dear Lord, or mountain or plain or sea. I'll say what you want me to say, dear Lord. I'll be what you want me to be.
Now, that's as far as we're going to go in our passage because that brings us now to our most important question of the morning. And you know what this is.
So, all of you out there at Loudon, and Prince William, and Bethesda, and in the Edge, and on the Internet, and everybody here at Tyson's, are you ready? Mm-hmm. Here we go. Here we go. And you know what we've learned?
If you take a nice deep breath, it helps.
So, ready? Here you go. Woo! Deep breath, here we go. One, two, three.
Game.
Now see how much that deep breath helped. You say, Lawrence, so what? formerly doubting Thomas, that's cute. But other than that, what difference does any of this make to my life today as a believer in the twenty first century?
Well, let's see if we can help with that connection, huh? You know, as you probably are aware, I'm a huge sports fan. My problem is, however, I don't have the time to watch all the baseball and all the hockey and all the basketball and all of the football and all of the soccer and all of the rugby that I'd really like to watch. And so instead, I watch Sports Center, huh? Yeah.
And you know, when you watch Sports Center, there is a phrase that is used all the time on Sports Center. If you watch, you've heard it. They will often talk about he or she took it to the next level. Or you'll see someone on a team saying, you know, in our next game, we need to take it to the next level.
Well, friends, here in John chapter 20, Thomas needed to see in order to believe. And the Lord Jesus accommodated himself to that. But God's heart for Thomas was that he take his faith to the next level.
Next level. Look what he said to Thomas. He said, John 20, verse 29, then Jesus said to Thomas, Because you have seen me, you have believed. Hey, Thomas, blessed are those who do not see. And yet Believe?
This is that higher level of faith that God wanted Thomas to aspire to. And friends, this is the higher level of faith that God wants you and me as followers of Christ in the 21st century to aspire to, namely a level of faith that isn't based on having to see everything, that isn't based on having to understand everything, that isn't based on having to have God explain everything to us. And you say, but Lon, if it's not based on that, then what is this higher level of faith based on?
Well, the Bible answers that question in the next verse. John 20, verse 30 says, Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not recorded in this book, the Bible, but these are recorded that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God. And that by believing, you may have life in his name. The point is that God gave us the Bible to serve as the foundation for our faith, to serve as the basis for our faith, so we don't have to see everything, and we don't have to touch everything, and we don't have to empirically understand everything the way Thomas had to. Reminds me of the great hymn.
How firm a foundation ye saints of the Lord is laid for your faith in being able to see and understand everything. Is that what that song says? No, I don't think so. It says, How great a foundation is laid for our faith in His excellent word. And these are the people that God is looking for: people who will take the written word of God, the Bible, at face value, people who will believe it just the way it's written, and people who will base their faith in Jesus and their confidence in Jesus and their obedience to Jesus on the surety of the written word of God and not on what they can see or understand.
The Apostle Paul described it this way, 2 Corinthians 5:7. He said, We walk by faith, faith in what God tells us in the Bible, and not by sight. And my friends, every great man of God and every great woman of God to have ever lived lived this way. Let's just take one example. How about Abraham?
God made Abraham an amazing promise in Genesis chapter 18. He said, I will surely return to you, verse 10, about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son. Talking about Isaac, of course.
Now, we need to remember that in Genesis chapter 18, Sarah was ninety years old. Oh. And Abraham was 99 years old. You want to see the response of Abraham? Romans chapter 4 and verse 19.
The Bible says, without becoming weak in faith, Abraham. Did not consider his own body now as good as dead since he was nearly a hundred years old, nor did he worry about the deadness of Sarah's womb. Abraham did not waver in unbelief at the promise of God, but grew strong in faith.
Now, watch, being fully convinced. I love this. Abraham was fully convinced that what God had promised, God was also able to perform. Do we see here, my friends, what made Abraham tick when it came to his relationship with God? Here was a man who didn't have to know everything.
Here was a man who didn't have to understand everything. Here was a man who didn't have to have his curiosity satisfied about everything. Here was a man who didn't have to have God explain everything to him. To Abraham, the big issue. Was what has God promised me?
It doesn't matter whether I understand exactly how God's going to do it or not. It doesn't matter how overwhelming the obstacles may be against it. Whatever God has promised me, I'm going to believe it, Abraham said, and I'm going to act on it. In fact, the Bible tells us that right after God made Abraham this promise in Genesis 18, the very next thing Abraham did is run out and buy a ton of baby clothes, all blue. He said, wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute.
The Bible doesn't say that. No, it doesn't. But you know what? I bet Abraham did it. Because that's how sure he was that God's promise was coming true.
And just look at how God honored Abraham's faith. Hebrews 11, verse 11 says, By faith, even though he was past age, and even though Sarah's womb was barren, by faith, there's our operative words, by faith, Abraham was enabled to become a father because he considered him God faithful who made the promise. Friends, let's define biblical faith. Biblical faith means being so sure. That God is going to be true to his word, that we are willing to act on it even before we see how God's going to work it all out in time and space.
Hebrews 11:1 says, Faith is being certain of what we cannot see yet, just like Abraham was, because the God who cannot lie promised it. And this is the big so what for you and me today as Christians in the modern world. It's that God wants us to live the same way Abraham lived. See, so often we say, God, show me, and I'll believe.
Well, isn't that exactly what Thomas did? Yeah, that isn't the way God wants us living. God says, no, no, no, that's not the deal. The deal is you believe. And then I'll show you.
Now, that's the way Abraham lived. And folks, that's the way Isaac lived, and the way Jacob lived, and the way Joshua lived, and the way Caleb lived, and the way David lived, and the way Ruth lived, and the way Esther lived, and the way Mary, the mother of Jesus, lived, and the way the Apostle Paul lived. It's the way every great man and woman of God has lived. Listen, with their lives anchored, not to their circumstances, with their lives anchored not to their problems, with their lives anchored not to being able to see and understand everything, but with their lives anchored to the unwavering, unbreakable, unbending promises and word of the God who cannot lie. And this is why Hebrews 6, 18 says it is impossible for God to lie.
And this hope what hope?
Well, the hope that God cannot lie. The hope that God must keep his promises. And this hope we have as a what's the next word? I didn't hear it. What is it?
As an anchor. for the soul. firm and secure. And you know, this explains why. Hudson Taylor, the great missionary to China.
When he was told that he and his team in China We're down to 25 cents total. This is why Hudson Taylor was able to respond. No, you're wrong, he said. We have 25 cents plus all the promises of God. And money came in that very day.
If you read his biography, money came in that very day and never, ever ran out for the China Inland Mission. This explains why Adoniram Judson, the great missionary to Burma, after he had spent two years in jail hanging by his feet with only his shoulders and his head touching the ground, never being taken out of that position. If you can imagine that, for two years, after he had buried his first wife and all the children from his first marriage in Burma within 10 years of arriving, after he had only led eight people to Christ, after 12 years of ministry in Burma, this is why, when a friend wrote and asked him, In light of all this, what the prospects in Burma for the gospel really were, he replied, Judson did, the prospects are as bright as the promises of God. Here was a man anchored not to all that trouble, but a man whose life was anchored to the promises and the word of God. And you know what?
By the time Adam Airam Judson died, 25 years after making this statement, God had used him to translate the entire Bible into Burmese. It's the translation that's still used today in Burma. God had used him to start over 100 self-supporting churches. God had used him to lead over 8,000 Burmese people to Jesus Christ, including a young man named Kothab U, who was a member of the Karen tribe from up in the highlands of Burma. He led him to Christ in 1828 in Rangoon, and this man took the gospel back to the Karen tribe today in the highlands of Burma in the Karen tribe.
There are over 150,000 believers. There are thousands of churches. There are hundreds of village schools where the Bible is taught. You said, Lon, what's the point? There got to be a point.
What's the point? Hey, I'll tell you the point, my friends. The point is that a life that is anchored to the promises of God and the Word of God, a life like Abraham's, a life like Hudson Taylor's, a life like Adoniram Judson's, a life that is anchored to the promises and the word of God is a life that can withstand anything. Praise the Lord. Anything.
You know Many of you are aware that I have a seriously disabled daughter named Jill. Mentally retarded. And um We had years of hospital stays with Jill. She would have six grand mall seizures, eight grand mall seizures, ten grand mall seizures every day. One day she had nineteen.
We had oodles and oodles of tests. We were in and out of the emergency room. It was a mess. And you know, my dear wife, Brenda, carried so much of the load because I had my duties here to take care of. I had a job.
And Brenda, for example, didn't sleep through the night for over eight years because every night Jill was up having seizures.
Now, Praise the Lord. At age 19, Jill is doing so much better. She can go a month now without a seizure. She sleeps through the night peacefully. Praise the Lord.
But people often ask me. How did Brenda ever make it? Through those 19 years. And I'm going to tell you something that I've never told publicly here at McLean Bible Church, so listen. When Brenda was pregnant with Jill, God kept impressing upon her A couple of special verses from the book of Isaiah.
Isaiah 41, verse 10. Do not fear. For I am with you. Do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you.
Surely I will help you. I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. And the other verse was Isaiah 43, verse 2. When you pass through the deep waters, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned.
For I am the Lord your God, and you are precious in my sight.
So do not fear. For I am with you. And Brenda kept asking the Lord, Lord, why are you impressing these two verses on me? This was during her pregnancy. And she didn't know why God was impressing them upon her, but she memorized them.
And then At age three months, Jill started having seizures. And then she started having lots more seizures. And then we descended. Into the black hole. For years.
And in the darkest days with Jill, and in the darkest weeks with Jill, and in the darkest months with Jill, and the darkest years with Jill. By faith, Brenda clung to these two verses for dear life. Do not fear, Brenda. I will strengthen you, Brenda. I will help you, Brenda.
I will uphold you, Brenda. Do not fear, for I am with you. Brenda, she held on to those promises of God for everything she was worth. Listen, I have been privileged for the last 36 years to be married to a woman who knows how to walk by faith. But Brenda will tell you herself that if it had not been for her For these promises that God gave her, to which she anchored her soul for 19 years, she never would have made it.
Ah, but friends, she did anchor her soul to these verses. And 19 years later, my wife is still standing. Praise the Lord. She's still standing. And all this does is go to prove the premise that I told you a moment ago: a life that is anchored to the promises of God.
And the word of God is a life that can withstand anything, anything. I don't care what it is. And you know, God's given us all kinds of promises as followers of Christ. He's given us promises of his presence, like Hebrews 13:5, I will never leave you, nor will I ever forsake you. He's given us promises of his overruling power in our life.
Like Romans 8:28, all things work together for good to those who love him. He's given us promises of his protection, like Psalm 91: the Lord will cover you with his feathers and hide you under his wings. He will command his angels to guard you in all of your ways. He's given us promises of his provision, like Philippians 4:19, My God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. And He's made us promises about His wisdom, and promises about His guidance and promises about His comfort.
And these are promises that we can anchor our souls. Let me say in closing. Friends, that every life, every human life is anchored to something.
Now sometimes people anchor their lives to their circumstances.
Sometimes people anchor their lives to relationships that they have in life.
Sometimes people anchor their lives to their careers or to how much power they've been able to amass.
Sometimes people anchor their lives to their bank accounts and their stock portfolios, or they anchor their lives to their human health or their human cleverness or their human skill set. But friends, these are things that all go up and down and all around, producing lives full of fear and full of insecurity and full of uncertainty. This is not God's plan for us. God has a different place for us to anchor our lives. We, as we said earlier, need to anchor our lives to the promises of God and to the Word of God because a life anchored to the promises and the Word of God is a life that can withstand anything.
And this is God's plan for us to have lives that are full of tranquility and lives that are full of confidence and lives that are full of hope and lives that are filled with resiliency. That's what you get. When you anchor a life to the Word of God. And so today, let me just say, for all of us, we need to be students of the Word of God. We need to read this book and study this book and learn the promises of God to us in this book.
And then we need to memorize them. And then when the tough time hits, we need to have our soul anchored to them. And recall them. And thank God for them and believe that when God says, I will support you, I will uphold you, I will help you. Do not fear.
Because I'm with you. And one plus me is a majority. Don't worry about it. We got it. That's how you live a life.
That honors the Lord, and that's how we live a life. That's got Resiliency. And a life that can withstand anything. May God help us do it. Spray.
Lord Jesus, thanks for your word today reminding us. That you have a far better plan for us than this world offers. This world offers us the opportunity to anchor our lives to all sorts of things, but the problem is they're all worldly things. But you offer us the chance to anchor our life. to supernatural things.
to heavenly things. To the word of the living risen Christ and all of his promises. And so, Lord Jesus, help us take a good look at what we're anchored to. In our lives. And if our anchor is misplaced, Give us the courage to move it.
And plant it firmly. On the Word of God. Lord, speak to us deeply because we were here today. Encourage our hearts. Because we sat under the teaching of the living God of the universe today.
And we pray these things. In Jesus' name, What do God's people say? Amen.
