Progressive Baptist Church

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He Made a Believer Out of Me

I don’t know how much you need to see to believe. - Pastor Charlie Dates

John 20:24-29
24 But Thomas, one of the twelve, who was called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples were saying to him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the imprint of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.” 26 Eight days later His disciples were again inside, and Thomas was with them. Jesus came, the doors having been shut, and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be to you.” 27 Then He said to Thomas, “Place your finger here, and see My hands; and take your hand and put it into My side; and do not continue in disbelief, but be a believer” 28 Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Jesus said to him, “Because you have seen Me, have you now believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.”

In this passage, we encounter Thomas, the skeptic among Jesus' disciples after another post-resurrection sighting of Jesus.

His insistence on tangible proof mirrors the struggles of many today grappling with faith. But even the most ardent unbelievers can find redemption in Christ, as illustrated by the transformative journeys of former atheists like Kareem "Biggs" Burke and Ayaan Hirsi Ali.

  • Kareem "Biggs" Burke, who co-founded Roc-a-fella with Jay-Z and Dame Dash, was an atheist. Like many people, he found God in prison. During an interview after his release, the interviewer asked how he found Jesus.

    • Biggs’ answer was, "I didn’t find Jesus. Jesus found me."

    • He had moved from an unlikely convert to a disciple of Jesus Christ.

  • Ayaan Hirsi Ali grew up in a devout Muslim household. She came to see that the traditions and beliefs of Islam were not profitable and turned to Atheism. 

    • After many years, left the Athiest community where she had risen in notoriety. She had come to realize that Christianity gives permission for doubt. Following Jesus allowed her to ask real questions, unlike her Islamic faith.

    • Ali said, “As an atheist, I thought I would lose that fear.” That is—the fear of the mysterious, fear of defeat, fear of death. But she did not.

    • Christianity answered the question: What is the meaning and purpose of life?

Both stories illustrate that even the most devoted unbelievers cannot last before Jesus. Even those who situate themselves as an impossible convert.

Jesus specializes in the impossible.

  • There is no person that Jesus cannot reach.

  • There is no heart that Jesus cannot change.

  • There is no sinner that Jesus cannot save.

Thomas

  • Thomas is one of the twelve disciples. John 11:16 and John 14:5 illustrate Thomas's pessimistic personality.

  • We’ve called him doubting Thomas for years, but the truth is that he’s an unbeliever.

  • There’s a difference between doubt and unbelief.

    • Doubt is an intellectual exercise that leaves room for hope.

    • Disbelief is an unwillingness to believe.

Jesus calls Thomas an unbeliever.

  • Unbelief has consequences in your emotional, psychological, and spiritual life.

  • Your unbelief will be converted to confident faith when you meet the actual, not metaphorical, resurrected Jesus Christ.

When Jesus shows up in John 20, Thomas is conspicuously absent. Thomas missed the meeting.

  • When you miss the meeting, you miss Jesus. You miss the Word and have to try to live the week without it. You subject yourself to the volatility of the world.

  • Our meetings take place on Sunday mornings like this one did. The in-person church experience provides something that nothing else in this world can provide: fellowship with other believers and fuel for your faith.

  • Regular church attendance in Black churches has decreased from three to four times a month to just one in the past 25 years.

  • When there is a decrease in following Jesus, there is a corresponding increase in the trouble that strikes your life.

  • The meaning and purpose of life is to know and enjoy God.

Thomas couldn’t fathom how Jesus could be raised from the dead.

  • When you come to church with a believing heart, God will say something to you that matches right where you are.

  • The Holy Ghost will time your church attendance with a word for your life. The more often you go, the more you get what you need.

A week later, Thomas was meeting with the other disciples. Jesus came in even though the door was closed. He stood in the middle of the room to show where Jesus wants to be in our lives. In the center.

  • Make sure Jesus is at the center of everything you do. Because whatever isn’t built on Him will not last.

  • Only Jesus can hold all things together.

Jesus goes directly to Thomas. Thomas asked for physical evidence, and Jesus stepped up to provide proof. He met Thomas’s demand.

  • Whenever you have needed evidence, God has shown up in your life and given it.

  • The incarnation and crucifixion both show how God has met our needs. He has also continued to provide and support you.

  • What more evidence do you need?

Once Thomas got the evidence, he proclaimed Jesus as his Lord and his God. He recognized God’s power and presence.

  • We’ve never seen God with our eyes, but we know he’s real. We can read his word and talk to him due to the work of Jesus.

Reflection questions: 

  • In what areas in your life does unbelief appear? For example, do you have trouble believing that God is in control so you don’t have to be? 

  • What has caused you to miss our meetings (church services) in the past? 

  • Do those reasons hold up in light of what Jesus has done for you? 

  • Have you built anything in your life on something other than Jesus? How have those things turned out? 

  • What evidence do you have of God’s provision and protection in your life? (Try writing these things down for reference during your pessimistic moments.)

Watch the full sermon here