The 12 Apostles
Week 7 – Thomas
Dr. Rik B. Wadge, Ph.D.
"From Doubt to Destiny"
Preparatory Introduction:
Joel Olsteen’s declaration
“This is my bible...
I am what it says I am...
I have what it says I have...
I can do what it says I can do...
Today I will be taught the Word of God...
I boldly confess...
My mind is alert...
My heart is receptive...
I will never be the same...
I am about to receive the incorruptible...
Indestructible...
ever-living...
Word of God...
I will never be the same...
Never, never, never...
I’ll never be the same...
In Jesus’ name, amen...
The Bible is the supreme authority and source of truth by which we can know how to be saved...
by which we can understand the nature of God...
by which we can understand the nature of man...
and by which we can find our true destiny in life.
There’s a song we sing on Wednesday nights, it’s called “I have a destiny”
And the words proclaim “I have a destiny I know I shall fulfill. I have a destiny in that city on a hill.”
As we look at the Bible we find it to be an ancient book of destinies. Abraham’s destiny, Moses’ destiny... and even Jesus’ destiny. In fact the entire world’s destiny can be found in the pages of the bible.
Proverbs 19:21
21 Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.
Isaiah 14:26-27
26 This is the plan determined for the whole world; this is the hand stretched out over all nations. 27 For the Lord Almighty has purposed, and who can thwart him? His hand is stretched out, and who can turn it back?
Jeremiah 29:11 11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
This tells me that God has a destiny for each of us here today.
"The bible is a book of God’s redemptive work, using flawed individual’s like you and me in order to win a world of people back to Himself."
And in that process of God using us... we grow! God stretches us.
We’re inevitably challenged to break through the walls we’ve erected of comfort and security. And that can be scary... but certainly it’s uncomfortable.
Henry Blackaby says, "When God tells me what He wants to do through me, I will face a crisis of belief."
"Can God really accomplish such a great task through me?"
I’m sure Joshua faced it, when given God’s order to march around Jericho.
I’m sure that Gideon faced it, when he sent 31,700 men home, and was left with only 300 men to fight the battle.
David must have experienced it, Peter must have experienced a crisis of faith to believe that God could bring the tax they owed out of the mouth of a fish.
Here we are today looking at a crisis of belief in the life of the Apostle Thomas.
Thomas
He’s mentioned in the lists of each gospel writer, but John’s gospel gives us the insight we need when examining his life. He’s called didymus, which means "twin".
He’s best known for being the doubting disciple.
#1 John 11:16
In John 11 we see Thomas willing to give his life for Christ.
16 Then Thomas (called Didymus) said to the rest of the disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”
He’s courageous; He’s devoted. He wants to follow Jesus even if it leads him to die.
#2 John 14:1-6
1 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going.” 5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” 6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Once again Thomas is willing to follow, "Just tell me where we’re going Lord."
Now comes Thomas’ crisis of belief:
#3 John 20:24-31
24 Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!”
But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it.” 26 A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.” 28 Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”
29 Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” 30 Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 31 But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
This is of course where Thomas gets the name "Doubting Thomas"
You see, Thomas wasn’t willing to accept what He couldn’t see.
You see thomas was committed to Jesus Christ. He was willing to die for the cause of Jesus Christ. But at this time in Thomas’ life, he wasn’t making life decisions based on faith.
This is where we make our biggest mistakes! Functioning from the principals of our faith, but not functioning from the practice of our faith.
I.e. We know a lot more about God, than we’ve personally experienced.
It’s easy to do this. I would say this is quite the norm today. We know so much about God.... but we’ve experienced so little with God. So, we feel empty and powerless in the area of faith. It’s like we’re hitting a wall in the Christian life. Instead of believing that God is capable of doing great things through our lives, we settle for believing that God will never use us for great things.
What is the wall and how do we break through it? It’s the wall of unbelief. It’s trusting the invisible God, in spite of what we can’t see, to be fully capable of leading and using us.
Hebrews 11:1
1 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.
Biblical faith believes in spite of circumstancial reality.
Hebrews 11:6
6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
If you want to be pleasing to God, then you must step outside of your comfort zone and live by faith.
Doing church is easy, but doing church God’s way is going to stretch you.
Being a Christian requires that we function primarily in the world that is unseen, in the world of satan’s strategies and in God’s protective victory... this is where overcoming, spirit-filled, born-again believers exist.
but more than all this... the life of faith forces us to destroy our personal comfort and barriers.
The #1 personal barrier that most people face:
1.Fear – If God were to ask me to do this certain thing, I might fail. I might make both God and me look rediculous. That’s true, you may fail... but you may not. And if you don’t try you’ll never know. And then there’s the fear of what others may think, if you were to really live out the christian life the way God intends.
We’re beaten down by the old thought patterns that tell us not to trust... and so we fear even God himself when He tries to take us out of our own safe, controlled, never changing comfort zones.
If left unchallenged, Fear can even completely stop us from growing in the Christian life.
1 John 4:18
18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.
Thomas was held back from walking by faith because he relied upon his own senses and his own understanding.
Proverbs 3:5-6
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
6 in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.
Friends....
Don’t be afraid to walk by faith.
Don’t be afraid of God’s destiny for your life.
I would like to challenge you this morning to ask God to remove you from your place of comfort in the Christian life...
so that He can use you like He has used so many others in history:
Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebekah, Jacob, Rahab, Joseph, Moses, Gideon, Samson...Thomas He went on to make the clearest proclaimation of Christ’s deity found in the N.T. History tells us he went on to evangelize India. Thomas had a destiny and so do you.
But the list of those whom God has used doesn’t end in Hebrews chapter 11....
There’s one last space left there....... just for your name.
Let today be the day you claim your God given destiny!
Confront your areas of comfort!
Allow God to work a brand new work in your life today.... one that will impact your church, your neighborhood, your life.
Dare to walk by faith!
