Warriors Arise: July 14th, 2020
John 20:24 (NKJV) Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came.
John makes sure we understand someone, one of them, was not there when Jesus showed up in their midst. It was Thomas, one of the twelve! After Jesus leaves and they have all gotten over their astonishment, believing Jesus really is alive, then they realize, "Thomas! Where is Thomas? He missed Jesus! We must go tell him!"
I wonder why Thomas was not with them when Jesus came. Verse 24 makes it appear that Thomas was the only one of the eleven disciples not present when Jesus appeared in their midst. Why wasn't Thomas with them?
He could have needed to be by himself to grieve.
Maybe he was afraid to gather together because a large gathering is easier to find; thereby becoming the next target of the priests, elders, and Romans.
What if he was struggling with pride. Sometimes we can think we are so right in what we think is going to happen and then it doesn't. We can find ourselves questioning our own ability to reason and step back to see where we went wrong.
When we ask the question, "Where were you?" there is so much to that question. It implies, "You should have been with us." or "You should have been where I left you." or "You should have been with the group." Thomas is not with them. It doesn't mean the other ten disciples didn't know where he was, it just means he wasn't with them.
Maybe the real question isn't, "Where were you?" but "Why weren't you with us?" These men had spent the last 3 or so years together with Jesus. That amount of time creates a bond, especially with all the private lessons to comprehend what Jesus was teaching, the miraculous and then their very own personal victories when Jesus sent them out to do the miraculous. These eleven disciples had a special bond.
I have no experience in the military but I would think it would be similar. They endure hardships, inconveniences, fears, and doing really amazing things as they protect our freedom and the lives of those with them. The men and women who serve in our military forces are connected in a way no one could deny, even if they served only a four year term. Jesus was in ministry for three and a half years. Not quite four but He and His disciples experienced hardships, inconveniences, the disciples faced their fears and each one did the miraculous.
I have been on a handful of mission trips in the past 20 years. Being on a mission trip reveals things of this world and opens your eyes to God's perspective. Without fail, by day three, we get past the inconveniences and see the affects of what God is doing in the lives of those we are there to serve. A bond is built with the other missionaries you are assigned to work with. We faced extreme uncertainties as we served the Lord and shared the Gospel. These extreme uncertainties caused us to dig deep inside ourselves and find God. The situation causes each individual to put aside petty differences and find the strength to do things we never thought we could do.
The days were long and exhausting but then someone you are serving asks you, "Why did you come here?" Why are you doing this for us?" And the God-opportunity is right there for the taking. You get to share about Jesus, the sacrifice He made for them, your personal testimony of what Jesus did for you, see hope in their eyes, the smile on their face, and an acceptance of Jesus Christ. The uncertainties of the trip deals with each person's ability to trust God. Each one has to come to the conclusion, "God is with me; therefore I can do what He puts before me to do."
Many times, the things we do on the mission trip are not what we want to do but what is needed. We learn to sacrifice to accomplish what God wants. Many times there are conflicts within the group as each one has to deal with their own uncertainties and fears. Jesus had followers who said they wanted to be a part of what He was doing but they wouldn't make the sacrifice. Jesus had hundreds, if not thousands, of followers but not all His followers became disciples.
Luke 9:57-62 (NKJV) Now it happened as they journeyed on the road, that someone said to Him, “Lord, I will follow You wherever You go.” 58 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” 59 Then He said to another, “Follow Me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” 60 Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God.” 61 And another also said, “Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house.” 62 But Jesus said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”
However, Thomas answered the call. I totally believe in second chances and Thomas gets one but in this moment, when the disciples find him I can hear them say, "Where were you?" I do not want to ignore this just because of my belief in second chances, especially knowing Thomas will get his second chance.
In a book I read many years ago the author brought out a sin I had not even thought about. It is the sin of omission. The sin of omission is a failure to do something, especially something that one has a moral or legal obligation to do. The author demonstrated this by a common part of Biblical history.
2 Samuel 11:1 (NKJV) It happened in the spring of the year, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the people of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem.
David's men win the war; they actually send a message back to him telling him to come or the glory of the win will go to another. Just because David had confidence in his warriors to win does not mean he was exempt from going. Because he was not where he was supposed to be, the sin of omission, it led to more sin. He slept with the wife of Uriah, one of his mighty men. Then David had Uriah killed to cover up his sin.
David repents after Nathan the prophet confronts him, exposing his sin. But it doesn't bring Uriah back to life. It doesn't change the fact that everyone knew what he did. Later there was breakdown in his military, especially his mighty men. His commander, Joab questions and undermined his authority after this.
The sin of omission is very deceptive. We think it doesn't matter if we miss church on Sunday and who really goes to Bible study or Sunday school anymore. We fail to see their importance, but by being in church and a part of Bible study God kept us from being enticed by sin and developing a hard heart toward God. We may do "good" things on our own, but are we doing God things? God never designed for us to be solo disciples. He didn't pass His ministry on to one person but to all who would accept the call. There were at least 120 in the upper room, waiting for the gift of the Holy Spirit. With those 120 disciples filled with the Holy Spirit, the spread of the Gospel was unquenchable. Jesus did not do ministry by Himself, He led the ministry, but He didn't do it alone. There were times He was by Himself doing ministry but that was not normal. That was situational. Jesus taught and then encouraged His disciples to do the miraculous, to be a part of the the Father's will. This is why we gather together in church, for Bible study and Sunday school. We are to learn God's ways and apply what we learn to advance His kingdom here on earth.
Do you "have to" go to church? No, because it is a choice. God wants you to "want to" go to church. He wants you to be a part of His works, the miraculous, in close fellowship with Him and His people. Is being out of fellowship with believers and separated from the church body a sin? It just might be the sin of omission.
My concern with the pandemic, when your church opens its doors will you be there? Will you step back into your serving position, being a vital part of the body of Christ in your church? Will you actively seek for opportunities to advance the kingdom of God? Do not allow the pandemic to lull you into complacency in your relationship with God and responsibility to advance His kingdom here on earth through your church. When God shows up to church I don't want people asking, "Where were you?".
Father, I ask for each individual to passionately pursue You. I ask for each person to ready themselves for active service to advance Your kingdom here on earth. I ask for the anticipation in our hearts to grow toward Your plan for strengthening Your church and sharing the Gospel. I pray for You to come and call Your people together. As we come together, I pray for protection against the coronavirus. No sickness or disease will keep us from drawing closer to You and uniting with Your call to share the Gospel. I pray for Your people to be waiting with great anticipation to return to fellowship with other Believers and learn through Your Word. I pray we would grow in the knowledge, application and service of Your Word, so we can advance Your kingdom in Jesus' name. I want to be one counted as being there when You show up. I want to be one who is with other disciples, seeking You, the fullness of the Holy Spirit and ready to share the Gospel and demonstrate Your miraculous power. I ask for You to strengthen the body of Christ. As churches come back together I pray for supernatural cohesion to take place. I pray we would learn to come together, receive from You and to find a way to express Your love for others in Jesus' name amen.
A Warrior in the Lord’s Army,
Veridee Joy
My hope is for Believers in Jesus Christ to join together each day to pray, to push back the enemy as we release God’s power here on earth against the coronavirus. The prayers will be listed each day as Warriors Arise. I will put a date with it so we can keep them straight. If you have any questions please feel free to make a comment or private message me. If you would like this to come to your email directly please go to verideehand.com and subscribe.
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