The Only Man Made Thing In Heaven?

THE ONLY MAN MADE THING IN HEAVEN?

By Wade Martin Hughes, Sr. Kyfingers@aol.com

God does not need giraffes in the pew, with their heads stuck up in the clouds.

We need empathy. We need real passion and compassion! We need to share the burdens of the hurting. We need understanding from the pulpit and the pew.

TEXT:

John 20:27 Then said Jesus to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands, (the scars), and reach hither thy hands and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.

Eph. 5:27 That He might present it to Himself, a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle,

or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish!

Gal. 6:17 From henceforth let no man trouble me: for I bear in my body the MARKS (scars) of the Lord Jesus.

I ask you today, what are the only man made things in heaven?

The answer is easy --- THE SCARS ON THE BODY OF JESUS.

Why were not the scars removed from the Son of God?

Well, there are some wise reasons, let us ponder scars.

I. THE SCARS OF JESUS ARE A TESTIMONY!

John 20:27 Then said Jesus to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands, (the scars),

and reach hither thy hands and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.

A. Great test? Great testimonies! Great messes, great messages.

B. Thomas could identify Jesus and Thomas could identify with the scars of Jesus!

C. God could have removed the scars very easy, there is a deep lesson here.

D. Scarred hands reach to scarred life’s.

II. CAN WE HAVE FAITH EVEN IF WE ARE SCARRED?

A. The word scarred in the Bible takes various forms, mark, injury, spot, blemish.

B.The faith of the Gospel reaches far beyond the pain of the scar.

III. DEFINE SCAR:

A.**a bare place on a mountain,

B.**a mark left by the healing of an injury,

C. **a mark left on fallen fruit,

D. *indentation resulting from wear,

E. **a lasting moral or emotional injury,

IV. SOME GENERAL LESSONS ABOUT SCARRING:

A. **A scar may be evidence of healing!

B. ** THE SCARS OF OTHERS SHOULD BE LESSONS TO ALL.

C.**If you have never felt a wound, then maybe you will laugh at other’s scars.

D. **Scars may be a silent witness that we have been in a battle.

THERE ARE TWO KINDS OF SCARS:

A. Internal

B. External

V. A SCAR IS EVIDENCE OF HEALING.

A. Scars are no more than outward signs, something that proves, a witness to the fact, a

testimony of being wounded or hurt.

B. 9/11 will always be a witness to a scar placed on a whole society.

C. M16’s and 38’s and 45’s may WOUND many, but God has a

John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He Gave His only Son, that whosoever believed in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

VI. SCARS DON’T MEAN YOU HAVE TO WEAR A MASK OR HIDE YOUR SCAR.

A.Remember the parable of the King that fell in great love with a woman?

The woman was beautiful 12 hours a day, and very ugly 12 hours a day.

The King had to make a decision, would he have her to be pretty in public to impress the people?

Or would he have her to be ugly when she was with him?

The King knew that all that mattered was when they were together.

After a season of thinking, the King made a clear decision, the King opted to have her beautiful when they were alone, he did not care what the public saw

or thought. Because of the King’s unselfish thought, the Queen was beautiful 24 hours a day.

B. Many people are so overly concerned with impressing others, that they lose their real beauty.

VII. A SCAR IS A HEALING THAT OTHERS CAN SEE!

A. A SCAR CAN BE A DISPLAY, A BADGE OF COURAGE, that shows others you made it through a difficult time.

B. Scars can be a tanible, external sign.

VIII. A SCAR CAN DISPLAY STRENGTH AND FAITH.

A.Those that have survived terrible times and terrible battles need to express to others:

B. CAN, YOU CAN, WE CAN!

IX. SOMEONE HURTING NEEDS TO SEE YOUR SCAR.

A. Thomas would forever be known as the DOUBTER, but Thomas got to see the scar.

B. Thomas touched the scar, the scar helped Thomas overcome his fears and doubts.

X. SCAR IS AN OPEN DOOR TO MINISTER!

A. God does not need giraffes in the pew, with their heads stuck up in the clouds.

We need empathy. We need to share the burdens of the hurting. We need understanding from

the pulpit and the pew.

B. The Holy Spirit must make us seeker sensitive! Do you feel for others?