First Watch: Dealing with Doubt

[00:00:00] Speaker A: You're listening to the message podcast of High Ridge Church, Longview, where our vision is to help, you know God, find freedom, discover purpose, and ultimately make a difference. We are so glad that you're here, and we pray that this message impacts your life as you apply the spiritual truths from God's word in practical ways. [00:00:18] Speaker B: Let's listen. I appreciate that. Come on, make some noise for Jesus in this place. Let me hear you. That's what I'm talking about. Welcome to church, everybody. Welcome to Sunday mornings right here at High Ridge Longview. We think that it is going to be an awesome day because you're here and Jesus is here and anything can happen. Come on, somebody. We also want to welcome in all of you who are watching online. So High Ridge family, give them a big, warm round of applause for all of our people that are just too lazy to be here in person. No, we're glad that you can make it. Grab your Bibles, if you would. We're going to spend some time in the book of John, John, chapter 20. We think God's got something important to speak to you today as we turn our attention to his word. And as we do that, I want to just make an announcement. This is specifically for the men of this church. Beast feast is coming up on May 1st. Beast Feet. If you know, you know, an important night for men together. So, ladies, get your boyfriend, get your husband, bring them both. We'll get them both saved. It's going to be. It's going to be awesome. It's just an amazing night for men's ministry. And, and, and I have to tell you this, this will sell out. So please don't make me do what, what I have to do every single year and have a conversation with you where you're super offended. I can't believe that you wouldn't have a place for me where we told you six weeks before. Like we told you, we're giving you plenty of room. So get your tickets now. Do not wait until the last minute. It is. It's going to sell out. There will not be room for you and your buddies to come at the last minute. I'm sorry. It will sell out. Please hear me. And so there's a lot of men are going to cramp this place completely full. And it may smell a little different on Sunday morning, but it's going to be awesome. So every single year, we see a lot of men get saved. We see a lot of men start taking responsibility, lead their families. We see a lot of men take steps forward in their Faith. And it is beautiful to see. And by the way, that is only possible with a lot of you standing behind us financially, those of you have chosen to support us in this church and what is happening here. We cannot do the things that God has called us to do unless you stand behind us. So please hear it from the bottom of my heart. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for letting us be able to do the things God has called us to do. It's going to be absolutely epic. I can't wait for you to see that experience that if you are a man. So Please register online May 1st Highbridge LV.com events is how you do that. Don't wait because your boy told you. I told you. Okay, so let's get into God's word. First Watch is the series that we're in. And so this is all about what happens after the resurrection of Jesus. So this is. This is the week after Jesus comes back from the grave. And then he begins to meet with every single one of his disciples in a specific way and prepare them for what they're about to do next. And let me just tell you, these guys have had a crazy week, right? They've seen their best friend die. They've been hunted. They have illegal trials. They have all kinds of crazy emotions and, and anxiety. There's a. There's a lot going on in their life. And then Jesus comes back from the grave. Everything begins to change. He starts appearing. There's. There's. There's people that have been dead for years that are getting up and walking the streets. It is not a normal week, okay? And then Jesus begins to appear to his disciples and begins to release the potential that was hidden inside of each of them. They could not have felt like, oh, I'm totally ready to do whatever Jesus has called me to do. As a matter of fact, they probably feel like us where they have the faith to declare it, but when it actually comes down to it, not so much. I think all of us would say if we're honest, you know, whatever Jesus asked me to do, I will do it. It's really easy to say until he says something and you're like, I mean, does that sound like the Lord? Do I have peace about that? Do I. How do I process through this? I. I don't. Lord, I don't know if I'm really in the place to just take that step of faith right now. You might try again next week. I. I don't know. I need to ask me some friends. I need to post this on all Things longview to see if the community will rally around me and support me in this. And like, when Jesus asks you to do something, we all like to think that we're able to just launch out and do it. This is going to be awesome. Until he actually does it. And then we're like, I don't know if I'm prepared. For each of them. Not all of them in the same way, not all of them at the exact same pace. Some of them are a little bit behind. Some of them are quick to believe. Some of them take Jesus at his word. Some of them take the. The authority of the testimony that the others are given. And some of them are like, I don't know, I need a little bit more just like us today. Some people, man, the Lord says it, you just believe it. We're absolutely. Let's charge hell with water pistols. Others were like, I'm going to need to ask a couple questions. It's okay. Here's the good news. Jesus deals with with a man named Thomas to show us exactly how he deals with us. When things get a little complicated, your walk with Christ is going to be complicated. There's going to be times in your life where it's not all easy, where it's not just taking Jesus at his word like we pretend to. We have to step out in faith and believe that he's going to be there. And that's not easy for anybody. And it certainly wasn't easy for those that were on the first watch. Even though they had spent years living with him, walking with him, talking with him, seeing miracles, it wasn't easy for them either. So here we find ourself in John chapter 20. And what we know is one week before, Jesus had surprised the disciples by walking into a locked room. Like, so Jesus is walking through walls, he's jump scaring them, he's freaking them out by saying, peace be with you. And then it says he breathes the Holy Spirit on them. But the issue is Thomas wasn't with them. Thomas is one of Jesus's disciples. He wasn't there that day. And so when the other disciples approach him and tell him, this is what happens. Jesus appeared to us, he spoke to us, he breathed the Holy Spirit on us. And Thomas is like, I got questions. All right, Were you guys smoking something? Were y' all doing a little? This is where we pick up the story. A week later. It says this in verse 24. Now, Thomas, also known as Didymus, the word Didymus in their language is a reference to his nickname which is twin. So they call him twin. Now, there's no actual record of Thomas being a twin. We don't know that for sure. But we know that when they call him twin that it could be referring to things about his personality. Some scholars would say he could be bipolar. He could have extreme opposites of his. Of his nature. Sometimes he's really, really good, Sometimes he's not so good. Sometimes he's on fire, and sometimes he's. He's straight ice. And we kind of see that in parts of his personalities. When we hear Thomas speak in the Gospels, it's either saying, you know, we're. We're ready to go and die with Jesus, or I don't believe any of this. And in that order. You know, that's kind of crazy. But they call him twin. And it's interesting that the text kind of invites us to stand alongside Thomas and to view it through his eyes as the. The extremes of his personality. One who would follow Jesus to the death, and then one who says, yeah, I don't believe. Thomas, known as Didymus, one of the 12, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, we have seen the Lord. But Thomas 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, that's a little gross. He says, I will not believe. I love. I love his honesty, at least. He's like, I might have to experience this for myself. There's no secondhand faith. I'm not just going to take it on your word. I'm going to just see this and experience it for myself, because I. I can't get there. And we know that because Thomas has been through a lot. He's had a traumatic experience. He's had some hurt, he's had some pain. There's some things he's processing through. He said, look, I'm not there. I will not believe. And look at this. A week later, his disciples were in the same house again, but this time, Thomas was with them. And though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, peace be with you. Interesting, because Thomas doesn't get some cheap experience. He gets the exact same experience that the other guys got a week before. I love that. Jesus doesn't cheapen it. He gives them the exact same experience. And this is what Jesus says. He said to Thomas, put your finger here. See my hands? Reach out your hand. Put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe. Interesting. Jesus repeats back the exact Same words that Thomas had said a week before for the reason why he wouldn't believe. And it shows us that Jesus was listening to conversations in rooms he wasn't even in. He recognizes the crisis of faith that Thomas is having in this moment. And he repeats back to him everything that he said it would take for him to really believe. Jesus said, okay, it's right here in front of you. Now what's your excuse? Stop doubting. It's time to believe. Jesus gives him back verbatim, exactly what he said he was going to need. What a powerful response to one of his beloved disciples that was having some complications with his faith. Stop doubting and believe. Jesus says, so Thomas said to him, look at this. My Lord and my God. This is one of the clearest statements of Jesus's divinity you will ever find anywhere. My Lord and my God. So the Gospel doesn't record that Thomas actually puts his hand inside Jesus's side or says, let me see if I can stick my finger all the way through your hand. Doesn't say that he does that. But what it does say is he responds with a declaration of worship. And then Jesus makes this fantastic statement. And Jesus told him, because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen, yet have believed. Amen. So Thomas was in the room the second time, but Thomas wasn't drinking the Kool Aid. And I think many of us, if we're going to be honest today, would approach church and the Lord the exact same way. I'll go in the room, but I ain't with y'. All. I'm just here kind of vetting the process. I'm here checking the box. I'm here showing up on a Sunday morning to make sure I get my Jesus time in. But as far as you asking me to get involved or do anything or actually move, I need to process through that right now. I just don't know if I'm in that place. I. I get it. I understand. And the good news is this text was written just for people like us that might be in the room. But I ain't drinking the Kool Aid. Some of you have no idea what it means to not drink the Kool Aid. Don't worry about it. Jim Jones would preach a great message. You would love it. Do a deep dive on that one every once in a while. And you're like, I'm never going to church again. I don't care what it is. Of course, some of you be like, I'm starting my own church. This is A great way to make money. Good luck. Here's what we see. Thomas is having a crisis of faith. Thomas is not getting the same experience in the same way. He's not just here to take it on secondhand faith. He doesn't believe immediately, and that's okay. The Gospel doesn't hide that from us, and I'm thankful that it doesn't. It shows us things got complicated. Here's the good news. Jesus doesn't reject him. Jesus doesn't intimidate him. Jesus comes back for him and gives him the exact same experience that everybody else got, but he does it at his pace and in his way. That's so incredibly important for us to see when we're walking through times in our life where things. Things aren't just moving along like everybody else is moving along like, I'm stuck. I've got some issues. I've got some things I'm working through. And the good news is Jesus comes back. He says, it's not the same for everybody, but I'm not going to leave you there. Jesus comes back. And Jesus does it for me, just like he did it for Thomas. He comes back and says, come on, what's it going to take? There's some wonderful things that it shows us about the way that not only does Jesus speak to his disciples and release their potential, but the way that Jesus still speaks to people like me and you and helps us to recognize there's potential in you that perhaps you haven't unlocked yet. There's some wonderful things that we see. And as we're digging into God's word, I want to give you three of those. Number one, here's what we see is that Jesus is not afraid of complications. So don't hide them. And your relationship with Jesus at moments of your life, if you're going to be honest, would say it's complicated. That's our Facebook status between me and Jesus sometimes, right? It's complicated. There are moments I don't mind charging into hell with a water pistol. And there's other moments where it's like I need a minute to catch my breath. It's complicated. I'm not. I'm not sure where I'm at on this. This is confusing. These are rough times. These are. This is a interesting situation. It's complicated. And by the way, this is not just Thomas that finds himself in a complicated faith situation. If we're going to be honest, if we're looking at the text, all of them are there. How do we know that? Because a week ago it says, Jesus appeared in the middle of a locked room and said, peace be with you. Right? He jump scares them. They freak out because it makes a note in the text. They, the doors were locked and Jesus says, receive the Holy Spirit as the Father has sent me. I'm sending you. They had this great experience with Jesus in the midst of their fear. We talked about that last week. Here it is a week later, and it says they're in the same room and what are the doors doing locked again? So if they're going to be honest, it's not just Thomas having some crisis of faith. All of them are in a similar situation. I believe, Lord, I've had experiences with you. I've seen your face. I've touched your presence. I've experienced the power of the Holy Spirit. But I've still got some fears. Even when Jesus said, don't be afraid, like, that's cool, Jesus. But is that like a metaphor? I don't really know if I could take you at your word on that. Here it is a week later, and the doors were still locked, showing us that they don't have it all worked out, just like Thomas didn't. They're at different levels at different times. The only difference between them and Thomas is he's a week behind. Kind of like most of my educational history. I'm kind of a week behind. I get it. So it's easy for us to criticize Thomas and call him doubting Thomas because the rest of the disciples believe like he's just a week behind. It's easy for us to criticize in others what God was patient with with you. It's really easy once you've walked through something, to look at somebody else and to minimize their experience. Understand this hindsight is 20 20, and hindsight gives you a lot of faith that you didn't have on the front of that issue. Every disciple walks through complicated seasons. All of these guys did, and all of us will. We have complications. But don't be afraid of that, because Jesus wasn't afraid of complicated things. It's time to get honest about it. So the John, the writer of this, of this incredible story about Thomas, also gives us a declaration about Jesus in John chapter one. He says this, that Jesus, the one and the only Son, who came from the Father, is that he did it full of two things, full of grace and truth. Grace and truth. We have a statement that we make sure and keep things balanced like Jesus did. Those things balance each other really, really well. We say, you know, grace without truth is meaningless. And truth without grace is just meant to, right? And Jesus came full of both. And we see this in this situation as he meets Thomas and gives him the same experience that the other disciples got. He didn't have to do that. He would say, I showed up for them. You need to take them at their word. But he comes back for him. There's so much grace in that. And he gives them the exact same words that Thomas said, this is what it's going to take for me. And Jesus gives it to him. That's grace. But it's perfectly balanced with the truth that says, hey, stop doubting and believe. You see, Jesus meets people where they are, but he will never leave us there. And this is the same yesterday, today, and forever that we see in Jesus's own character. He will meet you right where you are, but he will not leave you where you are. You have to be willing to take a step. And he tells Thomas, stop doubting. Come on, it's time to believe. Get up. John 1:14 says, Jesus, he's the one. He's the only son who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. I want to put a statement that'll help you understand. Grace meets you where you are, but truth calls you forward. And you need both, by the way. You need both. You need to recognize that Jesus has enough grace to love you just like you are. But the truth says, I will not leave you there. It's okay to not be okay. It's not okay to stay there. Right? And that's the issue that we find with many of us today. Just as it was on the first watch for Jesus disciples, we find ourselves in the same crisis. We find ourselves in the same issues. And that grace. We love that grace. Thank you, Lord, for your grace. You don't just throw me away when I'm not having the greatest time in my walk with you. But. But there's the balance of truth that says, get up. Don't stay stuck. Jesus is not afraid of complications, so don't hide them. I love that when Jesus shows up, he doesn't rebuke Thomas, he doesn't push him around, doesn't intimidate him. Tell him you know better. He would have been right to say that Thomas had seen and experienced with Jesus more than 99.9% of the entire world ever would in the history of the world. He had been there. He had seen it, he had smelled it, he had tasted it. He had sat next to him for three and a half years. It would be easy for Jesus to say what is wrong with you? I've given you more than I've given everybody else. Why can't you just believe? I told you this was going to happen. Jesus does not do that. He does not rebuke Thomas. He meets him where he is and he could have. It shows us something about Thomas. Thomas was having this crisis of faith. Of course he was. But that's not the only version of Thomas that we see. As a matter of fact, In John chapter 11, when Jesus says, we're going to go back to, back to Jerusalem, and his disciples said, they're going to kill you. What are you talking about? We just left there. We barely escaped with our lives and you're heading right back. Do you have a death wish? We're not doing that. And Thomas's words, look at this. Chapter 11, verse 16 said, let's just go die with them. That's, that's not weak faith. That's not someone that we'd say, oh, they've never really had the depth in their relationship with Jesus. Yes, he did. It's complicated. There are times in our life where you feel like, I take Jesus at his word. I'm going, I'm all in. Other times where you're like, I can't right now. It's complicated. I'm struggling. And we're tempted to say, if I'm, if I'm struggling, that must mean my faith is at an all time low. That's not biblical. Let me say it this way. Having faith doesn't remove the struggle. It reveals who you trust in it, who you trust. In the middle, you're still going to struggle. But having faith says, I believe, Lord, I can trust you, that you'll come back for me, that you'll give me an opportunity to take a step. Jesus deals with doubts by giving invitations, not intimidation. And he's not here to browbeat anybody. But he will absolutely invite you to take a step. And the response, that's going to be up to you. But we can't say that Jesus is afraid of my complicated life. That's why he won't use me right now. Not true. Jesus is not afraid of your complicated life. Everybody's life is complicated, including those that were on the first watch. He comes back, he speaks to them just like he's coming back, speaking to you today. Here's the second thing that we see in this incredible text. Number two. Jesus turns doubts into declarations. So declare it. This is what we see happen in the life of Thomas. We call him Doubting Thomas, but you could Very easily call him declaring Thomas because this is who he becomes. We're kind of referring to him by his past. We don't want anyone to limit us by our past and by our worst moment. But look at his best moment. He declares my Lord and my God. This is the clearest declaration of Jesus's divinity in the Gospels. This doesn't come from Peter, this doesn't come from John. This comes from Thomas. So that's not some weak faith, weak sauce, only love God on the good days kind of person. That's fully developed faith. And it shows us that some of the greatest confessions come from the greatest doubts. Some of the greatest confessions come from the moments of our lives where we've had the greatest doubts. Where you've asked yourself stuff like, is God still good? I know that God is good all the time and all the time God is good for this them. But is he for me? Is God really sovereign? Is he really all powerful? Is he really listening? Does he really care? Where's God when I'm struggling? Jesus turns doubts into declaration. He does it with grace. He does it with truth. He says, I'm not going to leave you in your doubts. But once that truth comes and I call you out, you take a step. Now I need you to recognize something that when I've delivered you, you have a testimony. And those doubts become your declaration. The Bible tells us in the book of Revelations that we will overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony. That's two things to the overcomer. The blood of the Lamb, by the way, that ain't your responsibility. He did that 2,000 years ago. That is done. He said on the cross it is finished, right? It was done. The other part, that's 100% you, the word of your testimony. And this is the stranglehold that the enemy has upon believers today. They believe, foolishly that if I'm walking through something, I've got to hide it and pretend like everything's okay so no one will recognize the fact that I'm struggling. Guess what? You're not okay. And you're not as good as hiding it as you think you are. There's. The truth is, we're all a little messed up. This is not a church full of perfect people. If it was, you'd have messed it up the moment you walked in. Jesus turns doubts and mistakes and failure and dark days into testimonies. And at some point you will recognize the power of what you've walked through in the hands of Jesus. I love that the Gospel writer here does not hide Thomas's moments from us to try to save face. It gives us very clearly a story of somebody who's. Who's not okay. He's walking through a rough season. The gospel doesn't whitewash that. Why? So when people like me and you are walking through it, we get some strength from Thomas's testimony. The question is, who? Who will get strength from yours? And will you have the courage to tell it? So your honest struggles can become someone's greatest breakthrough? If you're willing to be honest and not pretend like you got it all worked out. Let me just tell you it is not easy for me to stand up here in front of a group of people that I love and know and people that I live with in my community, and to declare the things that the Lord had to bring me out of. You think that's easy for me? It's embarrassing. I would love to sit up here and pretend like I've got it all figured out and I've lived my entire life for the glory of God and all my Bible school and knowledge was the destiny of my life and I never wandered from it. None of that is true. Not even remotely, let me tell you. My walk with Christ has been complicated. But he is good. And my past is dark and it's gross, just like yours. The good news is God still redeems and he heals and he restores and he puts the pieces of broken lives back together. How dare we hide that part of our lives? That's some of the greatest moments, where God showed up and shows off and proves that he is still on the throne, that he can still save people, that he still cares about people even in their mess. It's my testimony. And God's turned my doubts and my dark moments into. Into declarations of his goodness. And there's power in that, that helps people to see that if God can use you, surely there's hope for me. You have a story, my friend, just like Thomas had a story. Don't let the enemy cheapen those experiences by making you think that people will think less of you because of what God has done in your life. Look at me. That's the best version of you. That's the honest version of you. You ain't perfect. You're nowhere close. There was one perfect person that did it right. And you ain't him, and I ain't him. But he lives in me. He was perfect enough for me. And that's the God that I declare today. It's not about. Look at me. It's about, look about him in me. Look to him. He's the one that does amazing things with broken lives. And if we can be honest today, we can find a lot of power there. Jesus turns doubts into declarations. Here's the final thing I want to share with you that we see in this text. Number three. Jesus blesses faith. That takes an unsure step. So take a step. This is not the easiest step for Thomas. Of course it's not. He's very honest about his struggles. But he takes a step and we know that this step unleashes the potential in his life. And Thomas will spend the rest of his life declaring the goodness of God all the way till he becomes a martyr for Jesus. He absolutely follows through. When he says he's all in, he meant it. And this is the moment where everything changed for him. To Thomas, we know from church history, goes all the way into India, spreading the gospel towards to those that had no clue who Jesus was. He gives his life for it. They murder him for the sharing of the gospel. He becomes a hero of the faith. And it shows us in this moment how important this snapshot of his moments of doubt are. Thomas could have said, you know what? When I heard the story of Jesus appearing to you guys, I could have just got jealous, said, no thanks. I can't believe Jesus would show up for them and walk through a wall for them. What about me? I can't believe Jesus would give them that kind of experience. He didn't do that for me. He could have said, the moment that Jesus shows up, peace be with you. Nope, I'm not speaking to ghosts. My mom told me a long time ago, don't have conversations with ghosts. Like, he could have said anything that he wanted to. He could have turned right around and walked out. He could have said, jesus, you showed up for them, but what? Why didn't you show up for me? But instead, he believed and he took a step. He declared, my Lord and my God. I'm all in essentially saying he believed and took a step. And it shows us something so powerful that doubt is not the enemy of faith. Refusing to step out is. And I think this is something that will help bring some clarity to some in this room that. That feel like that faith is a feeling. Faith's not a feeling, it's a choice. Faith has nothing to do matter of fact with your feelings. Those, those run in opposite directions. If you're waiting for a feeling, it's probably going to send you the other way. Doubt is not the enemy of faith refusing to step out is. And this is where we find the great crisis of faith in most believers today. It's not that you don't believe, you don't want to step out. Why? Because then it costs you something. Then it gets real. It becomes more than just a declaration. It becomes a step of actual faith. I love what Jesus tells him at the end of this moment when he says, my Lord and my God. Jesus says, blessed are those who have believed without seeing. He says, thomas, you believe me because you see me. Let me just tell you something. And he includes that line, blessed are those who have not seen yet believe. You know why that's so important? You know why that should be underlined in your Bible or use a highlighter on that line. Because that's you and that's me. We weren't in the room. We didn't get jump scared by Jesus. We didn't see him in the flesh. We didn't see what it was like to take communion with Him. We didn't walk with him in the flesh like they did. And Jesus says there's a blessing for those who did not have the experiences that Thomas had, yet still believe. Why? Because John recorded it and wrote it down for you. I read the story and I believe it. So it would be easy for us today to read the story of the disciples having those moments and those crisis of faith and say, that's just a story. That's great. That's good for them. They got to walk with Jesus so they got a different level of faith. They were able to unleash all this potential and change the world. God did that for them because they got to walk with them. Not true. And Jesus proves it by this one scripture. Let me, let me put this on the screen. We don't have lesser faith than the disciples. We have Jesus blessed faith. There is no junior version of faith. There is no junior version of the Holy Spirit. There's no junior version of Jesus. I just, I just got a little bit. I don't have the faith that. Yes, you do. There is no Holy Spirit light. That's not a thing. There's a Holy Spirit unyielded to. There's a faith that is shaky. But if you're willing to step out. The same spirit that raised Christ from the dead lives in you to the same measure it lives in you. The only question is, are you using it? Are you willing to step out? Are you willing to trust him and take him at his word? Or are you waiting on a feeling? It's a Choice. And Thomas made the choice to say, my Lord and my God. And Jesus said, you believe because you see. But there's some people in Longview, Texas that are going to believe without seeing. That's called faith. We believe when we don't see. It's the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. I can't see it. I don't understand it. I don't have it figured out. But I still believe that he is who he says he is. That's the question. Then we need to ask, do we believe that he is who he says he is? That he can do what he says he can do? That the same spirit that raised Christ from the dead lives inside of me. That there is destiny, there's purpose inside of me. That God could use my story and my brokenness, my humanity, my mistakes to bring Himself glory and be glorified through my life. Do you know who I am? That's the question. Do you feel like you have lesser faith, lesser Holy Spirit? No, no, no. You may have lesser experiences, you may have a different testimony, but you have the same Jesus, the same Holy Spirit. And Jesus says, you have Jesus blessed faith right here. It's not lesser. As we're getting into God's word, we see some powerful principles that bring us up to this moment. Bring us up to your moment. I think when we're reading this text, it shows us something not just about Jesus and how he deals with people, but shows us some gaps in how we respond to Him. And this is. This is your moment. I think for some of us, you might come to church and say, I'm here, but I ain't drinking the Kool Aid. I'm in, but I'm not all in. I'll come and listen, but don't talk to me. I'll come and listen, but don't ask me to do anything. I need some things to happen before I choose to believe. Good news. God puts the story of Thomas for people just like me and people just like you. You're not the exception. You're actually the norm. All of us have hit walls. All of us have complicated lives. All of us have crisis of doubt here and there. Not all of us are in the greatest place with God that we've ever been in the history of our lives. We're not all there. Some of us, it's rough, it's difficult. Some of us have been hurt. Some of us have been betrayed. Some of us carry around deep wounds that nobody else sees. Some of us walk into this place with A lot of trauma. Some walk in this place with a lot of drama. Some people in this place would say, you're the drum. Some people say, I'm the drum. We all come to Jesus with stuff. You'll always have stuff. But John includes this story of Thomas on purpose, inspired by the Holy Spirit to make sure that we read that Jesus loves him too much to leave him there. And he gives him no excuses. He gives him a choice. He gives us the same choice today. Remind yourself of what happens when Jesus approaches a pool where there's many people laying on their mats, waiting for a healing. And a man had been laying there paralyzed for 37 years. And Jesus asked him the same question that he's asking us today. Do you want to be made well? Or have you become so comfortable with your drama and your trauma and your anxiety and your issues and the reasons why you have excuses why you can't become who Jesus has called you to be? You have your reasons. I get it. I'm not saying that they're made up and be very real. Here's the good news. God has grace for you, and he has truth for you. Grace meets you where you are, and truth calls you forward. And he asks that same paralyzed man, do you want to be made well? You want to stay there. But Jesus, you don't understand. I have trauma. I get it. I understand. Let's go. Jesus, you don't understand. I have a lot of hurt. Mm. Yeah, me too. You wanna touch my wounds? Yeah. Let's go. He's gracious, he's kind. But he will not leave you there. He says it's time to go. And we get comfortable with our issues. We get comfortable. We get defined by the things that keep us from stepping out, from ever stepping up. And we end up wasting years behind excuses. So here's the moment. Here's your moment. If you walked in with questions or maybe you've hit a wall, you may be carrying things that nobody else sees, but the same Jesus that walked through walls walked in this room this morning. And he offers you the same choice. He came back for you today. He came back for me. And here. Here's some even better news. Jesus doesn't ask us to take to fake our faith. He invites us to touch truth. He says, give me your hand. Touch me. Get close. He invites Thomas to go deeper than anyone else. And he loves Thomas too much to leave him there. Just like he loves you. He loves you too much to leave you there. Jesus still walks into rooms like this one, and he's not avoiding your doubts. He's stepping into them. So what do we do? What's our response? I would say to you, just like Jesus is speaking to Thomas, stop hiding. Don't hide behind your stuff. Be honest. Be honest with Jesus. Stop hiding. Stop borrowing somebody else's faith. There's no secondhand faith. At some point, you need to know what you believe and why you believe. Can't be. I'm just borrowing Grandpa's faith. But stop. Find out for yourself. Have relationship with Jesus for yourself. Thomas says, unless I see it for myself, I'm not going to believe. And Jesus is like, done. I love you too much to leave you there. Let's go. Stop borrowing. Stop standing at a distance. Respond like Thomas did. Not halfway, not cautiously, fully. My Lord and my God, I'm all in. Take him at his word. I wonder what could happen if you took your watch seriously. Because whether you know it or not, if you're a believer, it's your watch, it's your turn. So what's your faith step? What's your step today? For some of us in this place, you, you would say, I'm walking through some, some crazy stuff in my life or my business or my family. I would love somebody to honestly to pray for me. Guess what? At the end of this service, I going to ask you to take a faith step. I'm going to have our elders and their wives lined up right here. And when everyone else walks toward the door, you're going to walk this way, grab one of their hands and say, would you pray for me? That's a step of faith. Once again, it's not a feeling, it's a choice you have to make. And sometimes the breakthrough is rating right on the other side of your humility. Maybe that's your step of faith. You need to be prayed for. We're going to make it as easy as possible for you to respond to that. We are here, we're ready, we're willing, we're waiting for some of you. You've never been baptized. You've never been obedient to do what Jesus says. He says, repent, believe, be baptized. Next Sunday, we're going to have a baptism service during the third service. We would love for you to be a part of that. Highrichlv.com events click on the baptism tab. You can sign up. We will provide you shorts. We provide you a shirt. Nobody's business has ever been in those shorts. They're yours. We will make it as easy as possible. We will heat up the water. Your step of faith. We're gonna make it as easy as possible for you to take that step of faith. Some of you might have been baptized as an infant, but please hear me, it needs to be your decision, not your parents decision. It's your step of faith, not theirs. Some of you need to do that. We will help you do that next Sunday. But once again, nobody can do it for you. That's you. For some of you, your step of faith is giving and generosity in your finances. You've never trusted Jesus with your finances. You have this fear of not having enough. And there's this wall between you and the Lord of ever trusting him to take good care of you. And so when someone comes along or invites you to be a part of what God is doing and like, nah, I can't do that. That's for other people. Let me just tell you, that's your step of faith. There's an issue there with not trusting the Lord with your finances. It's time. But that's what the Lord is asking of you. Can you trust me with your finances? Grace meets you where you are and truth calls you to take a step. Let me just remind you of this. If you can trust God with your eternity and your soul, but you can't trust him with your paycheck, you got a crisis theologically in your own mind. Right, I understand, but that's your step of faith. Highrichlv.com give. We're not going to pass a bunch of baskets and put some guilt pressure on you. I'm just telling you that's a step of faith. And at some point you have to take the Lord at His word. Either he's the great provider or he's not. But you need to know for yourself. But don't say things like I believe God can provide and you've never given. Because sometimes God provides through you. He uses you to do it. And the blessings not to end up in your hands, it's to pass through your hands. God uses you to be a blessing. That's your step of faith. For others in this place, maybe, maybe it's about serving. I'm just here to receive. I'm just here to consume. No, no, no. At some point, unashamedly, you need to recognize that it's not all about you. You need to start giving something back. Serving some people, letting God use your gifts to serve. Highrichlv.com serve. We want to help you. Want to get. You just. I say that unashamedly. I'm going to push you to serve. Not because we need more people serving around here. We have tons. You need this. You need it. And the Gospels are very clear that God's children are called to serve. Jesus says, I didn't come to be served. He's the king of kings, of the Lord and Lord. You're telling me you didn't come to be served? No, he says, I came to serve and to give my life as a ransom for many to lay it down. You need this. You need to serve. We're going to help you do that. My job as a pastor is to equip you to do what God has called you to do. I cannot do it for you. I can show you what His Word says and give you an opportunity to do it. But you have to take the step of faith. You don't understand. I'm not in a place where I could serve anyone right now. I get it. That's cool. Let's go. Let's serve anyway. I'm going to be afraid. Cool, let's serve. Afraid. But don't stay there. For others, your step of faith is you need to get saved. You've never had a relationship with Jesus. You've never asked him to forgive you of your sins. You've never asked him to come into your heart. You've never asked him to change your life. My friend, that's going to happen today. I'm going to give you an opportunity. I'm going to make it as easy as possible for you to have a relationship with Jesus. But I can't do it for you. For others in this place, your step of faith is to come home to a relationship with him. You've been running from him for a long time. I can't do it for you. But I make it as easy as possible for you to recognize that God is calling you. And as a matter of fact, you can. If you could hear it right now, God would be telling you, come home. Come home to me. You might have been raised in church and done all the things, but you've been running from God. And you know it. And God knows it. He led you here today for this moment. For this moment for you to take a step of faith. He's not going to do it for you. But you need to come home. You need to repent of your sins. Ask him to forgive you. Here's the good news. He will. So would you bow your head and close your eyes with me? Maybe. You came here today and you said, pastor, I need that. I need a relationship with Jesus. I want that. My friend, you're in the right place for others, you'd say, pastor, I went to church. I did all the things, but I've gotten so far away from God. I need to come home. My friend. Yes, you do. You're in the right place. So with heads bowed and eyes closed, I'm going to lead you in a prayer. I'm going to tell you the words to say, and I'm going to ask you to pray along with me. Pray the words that I, that. That I say. If you're watching at home, watching online, pray this prayer with me. It's the great first step of faith. And as a matter of fact, all of us are going to pray this prayer out loud together so you won't feel embarrassed in any way. We're going to make it as easy as possible for you to do this. But if you want a relationship with Jesus, if you need to come home to a relationship with Jesus, pray this prayer with the rest of us. Come on, high rich family, let's say this together. Jesus, I believe you're the son of God, and I believe that you came and died. I believe you rose from the grave so that I could have life and forgiveness for my sins. Please forgive me and I'll give you the rest of my life. Thank you for loving me with heads bowed and eyes closed with nobody else looking around. If that was you and you took that step of faith, if you prayed that prayer, if you meant that prayer, can I just see just those of you that. I'm going to ask you if that was your prayer, text me, text the words I prayed to that number. I'm going to send you back some things that will help you in your faith walk and help you understand what just happened inside of your heart and what to do next. It's the greatest honor of my life to help people know Jesus better. Let me help you. Good for you, high rich family. Go ahead and look up at me if you would, and let's stand to our feet together. I'm going to invite our elders and their wives here to be available to pray with you once again. If you're walking through something and you need prayer, this is your step of faith. And I have the most amazing intercessors, the most amazing prayer warriors on the planet, second to none. When these people pray, God listens. He moves, he speaks, he heals, he delivers. No pressure. And we're making them available to you. If you want prayer, let us pray for you now. We'll offer you one more thing. Perhaps you're here and you're like, you know what? That's. That's a. That's a. That's a big deal for me. Maybe we can just. Maybe me and you can just meet and hang out or talk. Can I just meet you and shake your hand? I would love to shake your hand. I'm not a hugger, but I'd love to shake. I'd love to shake. There's so many people that hug me on Sundays. I'm like, okay, cool. Get in here. Like, you're not even a hugger either. You just want to make sure that I get hugged just because you know it. Bother. Don't touch me. I'm just kidding. Where am I not hugger people. Where are you at? We're waivers. How you doing? If you just want to meet, if you want to hang out for a second, then in about. In about five minutes in our youth room, I want to invite you to come and just meet me. I'm not going to ask you for money. We're not going to make you join the church. It's not going to be weird. We're not going to cast out demons like, just. Just say hello. But you need to connect. You need to connect. I'm going to make it as easy as possible for you to do that. I will be over there across the street in our youth building, waiting for you, just to meet you. You want to say hello. We want to talk for a second, just to connect. Nothing. No pressure. That's as easy as I can make it for you. But today is your day to take a step. It's your watch. Let's see what you do. Let me pray for you. And bless you as we go. Father, would you bless my friends with an incredible week? Would you lead them by your spirit? I pray that you'd bless their family, bless their finances, bless their friendships, bless their marriages. God, bless them on the job, bless them in their homes. I pray that you would pour out your favor and your protection, your blessing upon them and their family. I ask these things in the mighty name of Jesus and all of us said together. Amen. God bless you as you go. I hope you have an awesome week. [00:47:55] Speaker A: Thank you so much for listening in today. Our prayer is that you are encouraged and strengthened by the message. If you haven't done so yet, be sure to subscribe to this podcast and leave us a review wherever you're listening. [00:48:07] Speaker B: If you want to be a part [00:48:08] Speaker A: of our online community, connect with us through Facebook or Instagram with the handle hyridgelv. Or you can check out our [email protected] lastly, if this ministry has impacted your life and you'd like to support its work, visit highridgelv.com give we appreciate your support and we're believing with you today for God's best in your life. Have an incredible week and we will see you next time.