Well, if you were here last Sunday, you'll know that I introduced you a new series that every time I preach in Amien Park, my intention is to go through this series. And the series is called People Just Like Us. And it comes from the verse in the Bible in James chapter 5, verse 17, talking of one of the people in the Bible called Elijah. It says, he was a man just like us. And so someone's estimated there's over 3,000 different people mentioned or referred to in the Bible, as well as the crowds. They lived a long time ago. They lived in a country a long way away. And yet, what were they like? Well, they were just like me and you. And so over the next however long, someone asked me last Sunday, was I going to do all 3,000? No. All right. But I do plan to do maybe 40 or 50 over the next few years. And last week, we looked at the woman of Samaria. I would say one of my favorite characters in the Bible. And tonight, I want to look at a man called Thomas. And I just want to say to you, give you eight words to help us get to know Thomas better. Now, let me just say at the outset, this is not necessarily fully expositional preaching on a particular passage of the Bible. It's a character study, OK? So we're going to focus our attention or maybe the most famous event in Thomas's life, but also draw from other things as well. So Thomas, eight words to help us get to know Thomas. The first is this, disciple. Thomas was one of the Lord Jesus Christ's 12 disciples. And I don't know if you know this, whenever they're listed, they're listed in three groups of four. And Thomas is always mentioned in the second group. So the 12 disciples, three groups of four, Thomas is always mentioned in the second group. His name comes from the Aramaic meaning twin. So Thomas is probably a twin. We have no idea who his twin was. There's lots of people who've got ideas, but they're all I don't think anyone knows. So he's a twin. And he's one of these 12 disciples. And they were very ordinary men. If they came in tonight, they would just be very ordinary. They weren't like the superheroes or supermen of the first century. If they came in here now, we wouldn't be wowed by their charisma or their personality or their looks. They were just 12 very ordinary men. And Thomas is one of the ones we know the most about. And yet there's only 12 verses in the whole of the New Testament dedicated to Thomas. So the 12 disciples, the church is built on their teachings, and yet they were really very ordinary uh men and uh we'll get to know thomas a little bit tonight i hope but when jesus christ he spent a whole night praying before he chose the 12 disciples and he chooses thomas and i can imagine uh thomas saying well what me um do you know how many questions are in my head Now my point is this, I don't know what you were like, I don't know if you're one of these people who when it was sport in school and you have to line up against a wall and two captains pick the team, I don't know if you were one of the last to get picked. Looking around, I'm guessing some of you probably were, okay? I don't know when you go on church camps or church holidays whether you're never really part of the in-group. Maybe when people talk, and I'm sure they do this, and they talk about people they like and are attractive, you never get a mention. Maybe you never will quite make it to university, or you go for a job interview and you're always rejected. You're not really the sort of person that people want to pick. Well, can I tell you this? So were the disciples. They were ordinary average men. In fact, when they are mentioned in the New Testament, more often than not, it's because they don't get something, or they've messed up, or they say stupid things. So tonight, Jesus Christ's disciples are people like me and you, broken, ordinary. If people saw the twelve disciples walk down the street tonight, they wouldn't be struck by them at all. And so Thomas is one of these ordinary disciples. The second word is this, loyal. Thomas was loyal. In John chapter 11, Lazarus, or Lazarus, however you want to say it, is ill. And his sisters let Jesus Christ know. And so Jesus says he's going to go to Judea, and he's going to go to Lazarus' house, and he's going to raise Lazarus from the dead. Now, this was the province of his most bitter enemies. And going to Judea means, for Jesus Christ, danger, even death. And Thomas says, let's all go with him, that we might die with him. And so Thomas, he's loyal. He loves the Lord Jesus Christ. Later, when Jesus Christ is crucified and he's arrested, he flees. But Thomas means well. He's loyal. He's committed. He's devoted to Jesus Christ. Of course, we're going to find out later on, he doubts, he's a pessimist, but he's loyal. So first two things, some of them are quicker than others. The first is that he's a disciple. The second is he's loyal. The third word is this, he's an absolute pessimist. He always expects the worst. Maybe you were like that. You always expect the worst. Whatever happens, whatever situation you're in, you always think it's going to go wrong. Even when nice things happen to you, you think, well, it won't last. You're a pessimist. Well, I was Thomas, a disciple, loyal to the Lord Jesus Christ, but always thought something bad was going to happen. A pessimist. The fourth word is this. Don't get excited by eight words. The first three or four are much quicker, all right? We won't be done by seven o'clock. The fourth word is this. He's confused. He's confused. So he's a disciple, he's loyal, he's a pessimist, he's confused. In John chapter 14, maybe you want to turn to that, John chapter 14, Jesus Christ is in the upper room with his disciples. And John chapter 14, 15, 16, and 17 are beginning of a series of discourses. Jesus Christ is about to die. he's about to be arrested he's about to be hung on a cross and he's with his disciples having the last supper and he's trying to talk to these men and give them as much information as possible and so in chapter 14 he's in the upper room and then he leaves the upper room at the end of chapter 14 and they probably walk east through the streets of Jerusalem towards the Garden of Gethsemane and come to the Mount of Olives he probably sees a vine hanging over the wall and then he talks to them in chapter 15 that he is the true vine and then they go on a bit further and in chapter 16 you've got the third discourse and then in chapter 17 you have the um the greatest prayer that has ever been prayed but here we are in chapter 14 jesus christ he's not preaching to them he's talking to them and he keeps getting interrupted by them philip interrupts him judas not iscariot interrupts him and in chapter 14 and uh verse 5 thomas interrupts him these men are about to go through really difficult days The Lord Jesus Christ is about to, as I say, He's about to be arrested. He's about to be beaten up. He's about to be spat at. He's about to be put on a cross. They're about to lose Him. And Jesus Christ is talking to them. And what's really good is we know exactly what He said, because Jesus Christ says to them in verse 26, everything I'm telling you, the help of the Holy Spirit, He will bring back to your remembrance, word for word, what I've said. So we've got it here in front of us. Now what's Thomas' problem? Jesus Christ says this to him. Listen. These are difficult days. Trouble is coming. But don't let your hearts be troubled. Keep believing in God. Keep believing in me. My Father's house has many, many rooms. I'm going to go. And I'm going to prepare a place for you. Now, I believe that when he says that he was talking about the cross. I'm going to the cross to prepare a place for you in my father's house. And one day I'll come back. And where I am, you can be with me. Now, Thomas is panic stricken. And he says in a very confused way, but, but, but, but we don't know where you're going. How can we know the way? He loves him. Remember, he's loyal. He loves this man more than anything else. And he doesn't want to lose him. And he says it almost so anxious. But we don't know where you're going. And how do we know the way? Jesus Christ says these great words, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one gets to the Father but by me. So here's Thomas. We live in similar days. Maybe you're not a Christian tonight, maybe you've just come in because it's cold and wet and you want to keep dry. Although, judging by the roof, I hope we will stay dry, all right? But we live in confusing days. Everyone's got an opinion. Social media is opinions. Everybody's got an opinion about how to live your life. how to conduct yourself. Everyone's got an opinion about how the world's going to end. You've got different religions in Britain and it's almost like pick and mix, whatever one makes you happy. And you're confused and you say, listen, what's happening in the world? And what happens when I die? And I believe in my heart there's a God, but how do I get to him? Can I say this to you? ignore all the distracting, confusing voices. And come to a man, a real man, who's also almighty God. And the only way I say this without any apology at all, because I stand on the word of God, the only way you can get right with God is by coming to the one who said he's the way, the truth, the life. We do live in troubled times. If you became a Christian tonight, I can't promise you that your life is not going to be troubled. But he will come to you and give you the best life you could ever live. And you can trust him. What he says is true. And he will get you safely to God. Thomas, maybe you're like Thomas, confused, bewildered. Well, come to the one who said, I am the way, the truth. and the life. You can trust him. Now, the first four words, disciple, loyal, pessimist, confused. The fifth word is this, and here we come to the main part of what he's famous for, missing. The fifth word is missing, okay? It's Easter Sunday, it's the first Easter Sunday. It's the evening, Two disciples had been on the road to the mayor Emmaus and they they they were walking to Emmaus they meet Jesus Christ the risen Christ and they sprint back to Jerusalem and the disciples and other people are in an upper room and They come in and they're excited and breathless and sweaty probably and they say we've seen him. He's alive and And before they can get their words, they say, no, we know Peter's seen him and Mary's seen him. There's excitement and anticipation. They've seen the risen Jesus Christ. In fact, as they are saying those words through these doors, which are locked, Jesus himself appears to them. Can you imagine the excitement? There were 11 disciples, it says in the Bible, but really that's a term to talk about the disciples of Jesus Christ. Really there were only 10. Thomas is missing. And the other people there would have been the disciples on the road to Emmaus. I think one of those was Luke. He's going to be a character in the future, but that's a little spoiler for you. Alright? You've got the two from Emmaus. You've got the Marys. You've got Nicodemus. You've got Joseph and Mamma Thea. You've got Mary and Martha and Lazarus. They're all in this room. And Jesus appeals to them. And they've been there. And you can imagine why they're there. They've got the doors locked. Two doors locked. Because they're petrified. And they're confused because people are saying they've seen Jesus Christ. They're having food. And as they're talking about these things, like I said, Jesus himself appears to them. Now, this account is in Luke, is in John, is in Mark. If you put it all together, you get an idea of what happened. They're in this room, scared, talking, worried about what's going to happen, a bit excited about things that are going on. And then suddenly, Jesus Christ walks into the room. They're shocked. Even though some of them had seen him alive, they're shocked. If someone came in here tonight now with the doors locked, we'd be shocked. They're shocked. And Jesus Christ says to them several times, peace be unto you. Peace. You're troubled. You've got lots of doubts. You're living in fear of the Jews. You're confused by everything that's happening. You might be embarrassed about the way you've let the Savior down. Don't forget. They all run off when he got arrested But Jesus says to him peace I'm alive Look at me touch me Handle me and then he says this and can I have some food, please? And he sits down and he eats fish with them and these disciples now they just They can't believe it for joy the one they love is eating fish with them on a Sunday night. Now, that goes to show, doesn't it, that when Jesus Christ rose from the dead, he was a real man. The man that had walked beside the Sea of Galilee was the one that was in the upper room with them now. And it says in Luke, doesn't it, a spirit doesn't have flesh and bones. He's a real man. That's why we sung that hymn. He's a great hymn. A man there is, a real man. who once on Calvary died. And the best verse, they missed it out from Christian Hymns, but I'm sure they knew what they were doing. I think the best verse is, "'Tis no while fancy of our brains, no metaphor we speak, this same dear man in heaven now reigns that suffered for our sake." Tonight, Christianity is based on a real flesh and blood human being who once died and now rose again and then Jesus Christ says to them listen as the father has sent me so am I going to send you and he breathes on them and it's a sign that he's going to come the holy spirit is going to come upon them and then he commissions them these men hopeless ordinary men he says you are going to go into a hostile world you're going to start in Jerusalem then Samaria, then you're going to go out to the outer parts of the world, so they're going to come to London and Sri Lanka, the whole world's going to know because of what you and men are going to do. But you're going to do it with the help and the aid of the Holy Spirit. You see, think about it now. On the face of it, just ordinary, pathetic, scared people. And yet the Son of God rises from the dead and comes among them. And He breathes on them. And He said the Holy Spirit is going to come upon them. And you're going to go into the streets and you're going to proclaim the gospel. And the whole world, you're going to turn it upside down. The problem is this. Thomas is missing. All this happens, Thomas is missing. You see, when Jesus Christ died on the cross, Thomas' world was shattered. He was despondent. He was depressed. He was disillusioned. He was discouraged. His heart broke. And he missed it. He probably thought, I can't be bothered to go tonight. What's the point to go tonight? The dream is over. I'm fed up with those other 10. But by not being there, he missed the presence of the Lord. You missed the power of the Lord and he missed the peace of the Lord. What's the message for us tonight? Message isn't it? Is put yourself in the way of good things. When you come to church on a Sunday, do you come with a sense of excitement? Do you wonder to yourself, I wonder what's going to happen tonight? I wonder if by his spirit, he's going to come through those doors or come through these windows and he's going to come upon us. Do you think like that? Do you think when when you come to the word is tonight? Is he gonna come and and by his spirit take this world and make it real to my heart? When I pray in prayer on Wednesday night, is he gonna take my prayer? Is it gonna ascend to the throne of God and come back down in blessings? But if you're at home watching Coronation Street or playing golf or whatever you're doing he You're gonna miss it Thomas missed an incredible night because He was down in the dumps, feeling sorry for himself, licking his wounds. He missed the time when the Lord Jesus Christ came and breathed on his disciples. And you know, tonight, we need that same breath on us, don't we? In your quiet times, you need the breath of God to come. Otherwise, it's just you talking to the air, reading an old book. It's just words. You need the Spirit to come. So Dan pinched my hymn this morning. I don't want to talk about Dan this morning, but he pinched my hymn this morning, right? Breathe on me breath of God. Fill me with life anew. That's what we want tonight, isn't it? The breath of God. my quiet time when I go to work tomorrow and I'm trying to stand for him and and all the temptations and all the world's distracting voices and then when someone asks me about Lord Jesus Christ I need his breath. What do they need in Christianity Explored? We have all this meetings to me and we talk about it and people ones and twos are being saved but imagine if he breathed on Christianity Explored. Imagine that and he would usher all of them into the kingdom. When people stand you're preaching Sometimes it's dry as old bones, isn't it? You can be the best communicator, but it's just words. Do you pray on a Saturday night? God, tonight, come down and bathe it. Breathe on the preacher. Breathe on our hearts. Breathe. Liz and I, over half term, and Jack, not over Christmas, I think, we listened to two talks on the work of God in Wales. And I don't know if you maybe, you think about revival, you think about revival that happened in the 1900s, or the 1800s, or it seems like a million years ago. But these two talks, I said to the elders, they're brilliant. They talk about the work of God in Wales in the 60s and 70s, not that long ago, when God breathed. And what happened? There were churches where over a thousand people would be there on a Sunday. Every week people were being converted. young people's weekends away where suddenly God came down. He breathed on them. I would say this to you. Make it your prayer. God, please breathe on me. Breathe on me. Breathe new life into me. And then pray this. Pray pray big prayers. God, breathe on towards being a completely and utter godless society. God, breathe on us. Breathe on us. The sixth word is this. Doubting. Doubting. This is the incident you've always been remembered for, isn't it? Even in school, people say, oh, Doubting Thomas. You see, he missed it. He was missing. And then in verse 25 it says, So the other disciples told him, We have seen the Lord. But he said to them, Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails and place my finger into the mark of the nails and place my hand into his side, I will never believe. He's stubborn. This is the cry of a disappointed skeptic. I don't care what you say unless I see it. unless I can touch him, unless I can put my finger into the nail prints, unless I can put my hand into his side, I will never believe. Thomas was thinking to himself, I would do anything to see Jesus alive, but unless I see it, I will not ever believe. I need evidence, hard evidence, that the one who went into that tomb has come out to that tomb and I need to see him. And touch him and put my fingers into him to make sure he is alive. Thomas isn't gullible. He needs hard, indisputable evidence. You see, when lots of people got crucified, they were tied to the cross. So Thomas says, listen, I want to see those nail prints. And the two criminals who died with Jesus Christ, they But the time the Romans went to cut them off the cross, they died. So what would happen is they would, sorry, they would, the criminals didn't die, they had to smash their legs. But Jesus Christ was already dead, and to make sure he died, they sent to him and got a spear and thrust it into his side. So Pete Thomas said, listen, I want absolute cast iron evidence. So I want to put my fingers in his nail print, I want to put my hand in his side, I want to know it's definitely him. You can imagine, can't you? All that week after they told him. Um, he plays back. I'd love it if he was alive. I'd love it if he was alive. Could he be alive? I can't allow myself to believe that. I have to see him. And he'd have played over his mind with things that Jesus Christ had said to him. Things like, if you've seen me, you've seen the father. Before Abraham was, I am. Only God can forgive sins. And Thomas would have thought, could he possibly be? but he's got too many doubts. Thomas needs hard, cold evidence. My seventh word is this, convinced, convinced. So let me just remind you, disciple, loyal, pessimist, confused, missing, doubting, convinced. It says this, eight days later, His disciples were inside again. And Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, peace be with you. Then he said to Thomas, put your finger here and see my hands and put out your hand and place it in my sight. Do not disbelieve, but believe. And Thomas answered him, my Lord and my God. You see, a quiet week had passed. The previous Sunday, these disciples had had the most amazing experience of the risen Lord Jesus Christ. Now, the following Sunday, it's called eight days, because John counts the Sundays twice. On the eighth day, on the following Sunday, they're all gathered together. This time, Thomas is with them. They've probably been saying to him, like, Thomas, we're going to meet on Sunday. Now, come, make sure you're there. And again, through these locked doors, Jesus Christ comes in. And again, he says to them, Peace be with you. And he condescends, doesn't he, to Thomas, Thomas' request. He says, Thomas, give me your hand. Put it in the nail print. Put your hand in my sight. I believe Thomas did. Thomas gets his finger and he puts it into the nail print of the Lord Jesus Christ. And he gets his hand and he puts it into his sight. Thomas stands back and he says, my Lord, my God. Oh, for this, for a Jew, this was a remarkable confession of faith. Thomas was a first century Jew, steeped in Old Testament monotheistic scriptures. They were taught from a child, there's only one God. And here he is, a Jewish peasant, face to face with another Jewish peasant. And he says to him, you are actually really God. Yeah, you are stood in front of me. And yet you are the one who created the cosmos. You are the one who is the God of our fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. You are the one who, when Isaiah was in the temple and said, holy, holy, holy, he saw you. Moses saw your glory. You are Jesus of Nazareth, and yet you are the Lord God of heaven and earth. My Lord, my God. Tonight, can I invite you to examine the resurrected Jesus Christ? Let me talk to you tonight, particularly now if you're not a Christian. It's great to see you. I should have welcomed you at the beginning. Very rude of me. Nice to see you. Stay behind. There's a cup of tea. It'll come to you. We don't got to go out there. It'll come to you, all right? If you're not a Christian tonight, listen to this. I'm not trying to persuade you to become a Christian because we're some kind of sect or it's kind of mystical and we want you to have a nice experience and feel happy. I've got no interest in it, okay? There's two reasons I'm a Christian. Number one, I've done things that I need to be forgiven. Number two, Most importantly, it's true. It's true. And so I tonight say to you, don't leave your brains outside. Bring your brains now. And like Thomas say, I will only believe with hard evidence. And let me invite you metaphorically to put your fingers in his nail print, put your hand in his side and examine the evidence. You see, Christianity stands up to rigorous, investigation if thomas believed it it must be true now there are arguments against maybe you're one of these people you can talk me by the door by all means maybe you say well i've read about the new testament and i you know the resurrection there's too many inconsistencies and um uh these talk about angels and the women and the time of day there's too many inconsistencies I would say to you this, there's no inconsistencies. There's differences. But these differences to me prove that it's true. If this was some kind of polished account, they would have got rid of any of the differences and just made sure they would have got an editor and made sure that anything that didn't quite seem to fit would be taken out. They didn't do that. What do they leave in the Bible? Just eyewitness accounts. People just said what they saw. James Montgomery Boyce says this, the accounts evidence a fundamental honesty and accuracy through what we can only call their natural simplicity. These were first century Jews saying what they saw. Other people say well I can't believe it and I think he wasn't actually dead And what happened was that he was taken down from the cross, and he simply revived in a cold tomb. Well, that doesn't stand up, does it? Because the Jews went to Pilate and said, we don't want anyone to be hanging on a cross. It was the Passover. We want those bodies taken off. And when they get to Jesus Christ, they come to the other two, and the other two are still alive. When they come to Jesus Christ, he's already dead. That's why, like I said a few moments ago, the soldier thrust a spear into his side, and blood came out. He's dead. And then they go and they say to Pilate, Joseph Adam Mathia, can I have his body? And Pilate checks out, what, he's dead? And the centurion says, he's dead. So here you have the Jews authority, the soldiers, Pilate, the centurion, all saying, this man is dead. He's dead. Other people say, I think this is ridiculous. The women went to the wrong tomb. they went to the wrong tomb, when they saw his empty tomb it was the wrong tomb, I really think that is clutching at straws the night before the women had watched carefully where Joseph of Arimathea had laid the body they wanted to make sure where it was, they studied it, they watched it the next they go to the tomb and maybe one of the most popular ones is this, the disciples stole his body now this was impossible because the Jews Worried that Jesus Christ had said I will rise from the dead and the Jews go and they say to pilot can you put a guard of soldiers to put guard the tomb because we don't want his disciples to come and steal the body and then They can make it up So pilot agrees now a guard of Roman soldiers could be between 12 or 60 soldiers guarding a tomb And they seal the tomb They make it as protected as they possibly can. And Hardy, Burley, Roman soldiers between 12 or 60 are guarding the tomb. Now I imagine, I'm not a soldier, you might be surprised, but I'm not a soldier. But I imagine if I was a soldier, that's not a bad number to guard a tomb in a quiet garden. That's a nice job. It's better than being on the front line. And so here they are. And yet Jesus Christ rises. They just as well have been asked to keep the sun from rising. He rises from the dead. And what they do is this, the soldiers are worried now, they go back and they say, listen, he's risen, he's alive. And some of the other soldiers scatter. So now they've got a problem. So what do they do? They bribe the soldiers. They say, listen, we'll have a word with your boss. If anyone asks, you come and say the disciples stole his body while you slept. Now, that is ridiculous on so many levels. It's ridiculous to think that maybe up to 60 Roman soldiers, or even 12 Roman soldiers, trained, fell asleep while 11 Galilean fishermen came and stole his body. They must have tipped toward past these soldiers, moved a massive big stone, went into the tomb, took off his grave clothes, folded them neatly, carried the body out while these 60 Roman soldiers slept. And then I would have asked the soldiers, how do you know they came and stole the body if you were sleeping? Ridiculous. But the problem is this, you'd rather believe that than believe he rose from the dead. And as well as the arguments against him rising from the dead, There is compelling evidence that he did rise from the dead. Remember what I said to you now about Thomas. Put your hands into the fingerprints. Put your hand into his side. Study it. Get up close to this. Really think about it. There's compelling evidence he rose from the dead. Who are the witnesses to his resurrection? Women. Women. In first century Israel, a woman couldn't give testimony in court. because you couldn't trust what she said. Never use women as witnesses in the first century. Who does the Bible use? Women. Why? Because they saw it. This isn't some made up story. The other thing I'd say is this, if this was made up, surely you'd embellish it. This isn't really Hollywood, is it? If I was making up this, I would have described the resurrection. I would have talked about how the angel descended. I would have talked about how the stone was moved. I would have talked about how the Lord Jesus Christ, what happened inside the tomb. The apocryphal gospels, they talk about how Jesus Christ appeared to Pilate, how he appeared to Caiaphas. But these gospel writers don't mention it. Why? Why? Because they only say what they saw. They don't embellish it. They don't color it. They don't exaggerate it. They just see it and say it as it happens. A big thing is this as well. The effect this had on the disciples. I don't want to do the disciples a disservice because I think we're just like them. But we'd call them today, they were a bunch of losers. They really were a bunch of losers. Their best friends arrested. What do they do? They just run. If that happened in my school tomorrow, I'd have those ten boys up in my office and going for them. You gutless cowards. You would. They were losers. They were petrified. They were locked in a room in Jerusalem, frightened for their lives. And yet, suddenly, they take to the streets of Jerusalem. All but one is martyred. They're fearless, they're brave, they can't speak of MNF. Why? Because it really happens. That's the only explanation. But you know, if this really wasn't true, there's one way to prove it. And it could have been sorted out in the first, in AD 30. It could have been sorted out once and for all. Produce the body, produce the body. If he's dead, then here's the body. A Hindu and a Christian were on a boat. They were sat on the boat. And the Hindu says to the Christian, over there is the bones of my savior. And the Christian said to the Hindu, if you could find the bones of my savior, you wouldn't be my savior. See, there's a reason why the body has never been found. because he rose from the dead. Tonight, you might be sat in front of me a bit of a skeptic. I've got time for you if you're a skeptic. You want to get your head around it. You want to make sure it adds up. And I would encourage you, come and talk to me or talk to other people who are way more intelligent than me. Read good books on the crucifixion. I can definitely recommend those, which deal with the evidence. Do the arithmetic. Get your hands in it. I encourage you to do that. Don't just let go and let God. Don't just believe anything. Do the research. You'll find it to be true. If you're a skeptic, I've got a bit of time for you. But maybe you're sat there tonight and you're not a skeptic. You are just full of unbelief. There's a difference. Do you know the difference? The skeptic genuinely wants to know, is this true? Unbelief is, I don't want it to be true. I can't afford this to be true. Because if this is true, then my whole life has to change. I have to deny myself. I have to trust Him. So maybe, I speak to you as young people, maybe you know, you've grown up in a Christian home, you know these things, you know it's true, but every day you persuade yourself, it's not true, so I can live the way I want to live. Skeptic, do the research. unbeliever, repent, repent. My last point is this, to close. The first word I gave you was disciple. The last word I give you is apostle. Thomas, he's a disciple of Jesus Christ. But the last we heard of him in the Bible, he's now an apostle. He's an apostle. You see, he's now commissioned. This pessimistic person who goes missing, confused, he's now commissioned to take the message of this resurrected Savior to the world. What happens to him after the resurrection, after this incident which he's most famous for? What happens to him? Well, in John 21, Jesus Christ, after this evening, he meets them, doesn't he, over 40 days at different times to tell them things, to show them things. And we have some pictures of those incidents. And in John chapter 21, Thomas is there again with seven disciples. They're fishing by the sea, and they've caught nothing. And Jesus Christ stands. It's early in the morning. It's beginning to get light. Jesus Christ stands by the sea. And he says to them, very affectionately, the word in the Greek is lads or boys. Boys, you've caught nothing. They don't really recognize him. He said, listen. Put your net to the right And they put their net to the right Thomas is there and suddenly a hand they catch a hundred and fifty seven fish And they're so excited and they bring the net in the net doesn't break Now you might say how do they know it's hundred fifty seven because they counted it. They were excited It's the detail of an eyewitness. They counted Thomas's there. They're all there Peter John. They're counting these fish 157 It's amazing and the net doesn't broken Why is that significant? Because these men are about to leave their nets once and for all. And they're about to go into the world and preach the gospel. They're about to be fishers of men and women. And they're going to cast the gospel net out wide. But that net is never going to break. Never going to break. It's going to keep bringing people in. And then they sit down on the beach and have a cooked breakfast. with the Son of God. Then in Matthew 28, Thomas and the others are now in Galilee on a mountain where it all began. And the Lord Jesus Christ says to them, now boys, you're going to go into the whole world. And actually he says to them this, boys, you're going to make disciples. That's your job now. you're going to make disciples, and you're going to make disciples by going, teaching, baptizing. So he commissions them to go into the whole world. And then in Acts chapter 1, he takes them out towards Bethany. They stop at the Mount of Olives, and on that mountain in front of his 11 disciples, Jesus Christ ascends back to heaven. And as he goes up, he talks to them, And as he leaves them, he lifts up his hands. It's very important he does that. Because in the Old Testament, when the priest had finished everything that needed to be done, he raised his hands. So Jesus Christ is saying to his 11 disciples, I'm leaving you now. I've commissioned you. I'm leaving you. And you need to know everything has been done for men and women, boys and girls to be saved. And he goes up and up, and he leaves them. And he goes into heaven, never for them to see him again on this earth. Where does Thomas go then? Well, it's not in the Bible, but there's enough evidence to suggest that Thomas then, as the other statements, Thomas goes off to the east. And he preaches the gospel in what we would call today countries like Syria, Turkey, Iran, maybe even Afghanistan. He goes maybe as far as India, we don't know that for definite, but Thomas takes the gospel into those worlds. and he dies a martyr. Brave Thomas. Let me close with this. Thomas, I think, is like many of us here tonight. Maybe loyal. We love Jesus Christ. Maybe full of doubts. Maybe confused. Maybe there are times when we're despondent and we go missing. I would say to you, this. Like Thomas, come to Jesus Christ. Put yourself in the way of good things. Ask God to breathe on you. Say, breathe at me breath of God. Fill me with life anew. And then, like Thomas, go into a needy world, wherever that might be, your work, your family, your neighbors, and tell them about the Lord Jesus Christ. Whatever the cost may be, whatever the cost may be, because one day, the day that I look forward to more than anything else, is when He comes for me, or calls me, and I look at Him, and I see Jesus Christ, and I will put my hand in those nail prints, and my hand in that wound, and say,