Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:09):
What's going on everybody?
Welcome to the podcast BeyondSunday.
I'm your host, pastor Lee Day.
I pastor Christ Family OutreachChurch, located in Amelia,
virginia, and at the table withme today on this episode.
I've got brother Frankie.
Frankie Brown, how are you, mygood brother?
Speaker 2 (00:28):
I'm blessed to be here again, brother.
Amen With you.
Bro, how are you doing thismorning?
Speaker 1 (00:32):
I'm feeling well, got a lot going on, but I am
feeling well.
It's a full day and that'salways, in my opinion, some of
the best days to have, you know,when you're not just sitting
around looking outside thewindow, getting bored, wondering
what I'm going to do.
So full days, we have theopportunity to make them
productive days.
So I'm planning on today beinga productive day, in the Lord.
(00:53):
If you got your Bibles today,my friends, what we're going to
be focusing a little bit on isthis man named Thomas.
Thomas is a disciple.
Many people know him.
He kind of got the rap ofdoubting Thomas and if you've
got your Bibles, you can open toJohn, chapter 20 and go ahead
and turn there.
(01:13):
While you're turning there, Ijust kind of want to lay some
groundwork for today's episode.
A couple of weeks ago, brotherFrankie and I did an episode
titled Behind Locked Doors andman.
I love recording that episodewith you, brother.
That was such a good one.
It was a blessed one.
It focused on John, chapter 20,19 through 23.
And in that text we see thedisciples.
They're hiding in a room,they're behind a locked door for
(01:35):
fear of the Jewish leadersbecause they had just crucified
Jesus, and they're like hey, ifthey crucified our leader, they
may come crucify us.
They may come stone us, theymay come kill us, that's right.
So, jesus, even though thedoors are locked, brother
Frankie, he appears in the roomwith the disciples and he gives
the following message.
He says to them peace, be withyou.
(01:56):
So, jesus, then let them knowthat he would be sending them
out, right?
So they're going to have to goout, to the other side of the
locked door and face their fears, the very door they're hiding
behind.
They've got to go out andthey've got to do ministry.
So today, brother Frankie, wego from facing fear to facing
doubt, and this is going to be abig episode today.
(02:18):
So, all of our listeners, Iwant you to hang in there for
the entirety of the episode andpay close attention.
We're going from facing fear to,now, this issue of facing doubt
, because not all the discipleswere in the room for the first
meeting with Jesus after heresurrected.
There's some people missing,and one of those people missing
is guess who?
It's Thomas.
(02:39):
So Thomas is one of the twelvedisciples, he's one of those
apostles, but he's not in theroom at the time.
And that's where we pick up inthe text today.
So, if you got your Bibles,we're going to begin in John,
chapter 20 and the 24th verse,and this is what the word of God
says Now.
Thomas, one of the 12 called thetwin, was not with them when
(03:00):
Jesus came.
So the other disciples told himwe have seen the Lord.
(03:27):
But he said to them unless Isee in his hands the mark of, so
the other disciples told himinside again, and Thomas was
with them, although the doorswere locked.
Jesus came and stood among themand said Peace, be with you.
And then he said to Thomas Putyour finger here and see my
hands and put out your hand andplace it in my side.
Do not disbelieve, but believe.
Thomas answered him my Lord andmy God.
And Jesus said to him have youbelieved because you have seen
(03:47):
me?
Blessed are those who have notseen and yet have believed Amen.
So, brother Frankie, thomas isstruggling with this thing, that
a lot of people struggle withdoubt, and Thomas needs proof.
Unfortunately, he's at thismoment in his life where doubt
is running rampant in his heart,in his mind.
(04:08):
He needs some physical,eye-seeing proof.
What are your thoughts righthere, my brother?
Speaker 2 (04:16):
I love this part right here, going from fear to
doubt.
I believe Thomas in this pointis he's went from faith to faith
and glory to glory.
So you know, you got thismeasurement of faith right.
You got the high side of thefaith that you currently at and
a low side to it.
I believe Thomas has went fromfrom one faith to the next.
(04:37):
So, speaking, he's at thebottom of a new measurement of
faith and he's doubting.
He's doubting, and I think thereason why he's at the bottom of
a new measurement of faith andhe's doubting he's doubting, and
I think the reason why he'sdoubting is he's afraid that
he's missing out or he's afraidthat who's going to lead us now,
so to speak.
So he's looking for his leaderagain and but his doubt isn't
(05:03):
his doubt isn't like it't anindication that he doesn't have
faith because he does.
It's just an indication thathe's looking, he's on a start of
a new journey and his journeyis starting right now and is
about to take place in this room.
Speaker 1 (05:16):
Yeah, that's a great point, because as Christians, we
battle doubt at times, and thatdoesn't mean that we've lost
our salvation.
You know what I mean, and thankGod.
It doesn't mean that we've lostour salvation.
You know what I mean and thankGod.
It doesn't mean that.
So Thomas is just one of thoseguys right now where he's like
man.
I've got to make sure, I've gotto make sure that what I have
given my life to for this call,I've got to make sure that what
(05:38):
you guys are saying is true.
I need to see that this istaking place and I'm not
supporting his doubt.
I'm not supporting that.
I'm just trying to lay somegroundwork to let our listeners
know that we've all been therebefore.
You know we have absolutely allbeen there before and again.
It doesn't make it right thatwe've all been there, but we've
been there and at some pointwe're liable to find ourselves
(06:00):
there again.
And it doesn't mean that we'renot saved, it doesn't mean that
we're not walking with Jesus.
But this thing fear, like westudied a couple weeks ago,
doubt, like we're talking abouttoday the enemy will use it and
try to push it on our flesh andtry to get us to wallow in it,
and that's the thing that whatwe don't want to do is when we
(06:21):
see fear and doubt come towardsus, what we don't want to do is
operate from see fear and doubtcome towards us.
What we don't want to do isoperate from that space.
That's right.
Yeah, we don't want to livethere.
We don't want to pitch a tentand camp there.
Speaker 2 (06:30):
That's right.
From this passage, too, I canjust hear the Spirit saying
doubt, but move forward, Moveforward.
Speaker 1 (06:39):
Yeah, because moving forward is going to get us out
of that.
That's right, moving forward isgoing to get us out of that.
You know, like Lord, train me,teach me, equip me that as I'm
struggling with this fear, or asI'm struggling with this doubt
right now, walk me through thisBecause, you know, the Bible
calls us to stay in step withthe Lord, brother Frankie.
So as long as I'm staying instep with the Lord, I know that
everything's going to be okay.
(06:59):
Can I just say this too?
Being in step with the Lorddoesn't mean we understand
everything all the time, exactly.
That's why how we can be instep with the Lord and doubt and
fear can still try to penetrate, but it's being in step with
the Lord that reminds us that,no matter what I'm going through
that I don't understand rightnow, my Abba Father is going to
(07:20):
make everything okay, and thisis how all can be well with our
soul.
Right, I may not understandeverything.
Doubt may be trying to push inon me right now, but all is
going to be well with my soulbecause I know my father's in
control.
Speaker 2 (07:33):
And if we try to understand too, I think that
will sometimes bring in thatdoubt too.
That doubt will really start tocreep in when you try to make
sense of the things that areunknown right now.
Speaker 1 (07:42):
Yeah, yeah, you try to make sense of something, you
bring up a great point, you tryto make sense of something and
you can't reason it.
And so now doubt is justpegging.
It's just pegging, pegging, andit takes faith to have peace in
environments and moments andsituations, life circumstances
that you don't understand.
It takes a tremendous faith.
Thomas not only wanted to seethe mark of the nails in Jesus'
(08:06):
hands, but Scripture says hewanted to put his own finger
through the holes.
Like I don't just want to seethe holes, I'm going in the
holes.
You know, like I want to put myfingers through those holes and
he wanted to put.
The Bible tells us that hewanted to take his hand and
place it into the place in theside of Jesus where they pierced
him with the sword.
Like just seeing that won'tenough.
(08:28):
Can you imagine?
You know, just seeing that'snot enough.
So I want to put my fingers inthe hole and I want to put my
hand into the place in his sidewhere they pierced him with the
sword while he's on the cross.
So this is kind of what I getfrom our brother in the Lord,
thomas, because he is a brotherin the Lord, dear brother, he is
Seeing wasn't good enough.
It wasn't, unfortunately.
(08:49):
And again, man, we've all beenthere.
Not saying it's right, but ifwe're honest, we've all been
there.
So seeing wasn't good enoughfor Thomas.
He wanted to see and touch.
I don't know that they stillmake these books, but I can
remember back in the day whenthe book fair would come to the
local library.
Speaker 2 (09:06):
Oh, man, that was lit .
Speaker 1 (09:07):
It was that week where your parents would send
you with a few dollars.
Oh man.
You had to fill out the form andyou got to get out of class.
The know, the whole class wouldget up and they'd roll down to
the library for the book fair.
They had set up all these books.
Brother Frankie, I still, tothis day I'm not an educated man
(09:28):
, so I'm pretty simple, you know, easy to get along with.
But one of my favorite well,two of my favorite books in the
book fair and even allthroughout my childhood.
The first one was the pop-upbooks.
Speaker 2 (09:35):
Okay, yeah.
Speaker 1 (09:36):
Yeah, you remember.
You like open a book, you opena page and like this thing just
pops up.
Speaker 2 (09:41):
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (09:42):
Yeah, that's a great way to put it.
The book comes alive.
You know, the Bible really doesthat too.
You open the pages and you knowit's not a pop-up book, but the
book does come to life or comealive.
But I I I liked the pop-upbooks because I never was a good
reader.
But when the pages came to lifefor me through a pop-up book it
(10:04):
helped me understand the storyso much better.
You know I'm the type tell mesomething okay, but if you show
me something, most of the time Ican latch on to it, seeing it.
Yeah, yeah.
So the pop papa book was was,was was one the the other.
My other favorite type of bookwas you remember the scratch and
(10:25):
sniffs.
Yeah, so like you scratch, youscratch it and you go, you go
take a sniff and like you knowthe, the flavors or whatever the
scent, you don't know whatyou're gonna get yeah, yeah,
yeah, they didn't just comealive, right and, and it was
kind of sensory, you know it was.
it was to let you, let yoursenses kind of help tell the
story.
Yeah, I always thought thatthat was so cool, so like my
eyes got to see it, my nose gotto smell it and I, and I just
(10:48):
thought about that as I'mthinking about thomas.
Thomas is like I, no, no, no,guys, I gotta touch, I gotta put
my fingers through those holes,I gotta put my hand through
those holes.
I got to put my hand throughthe hole in his side.
You remember back when Peterwas walking out on the water
towards Jesus and then he lookedat the wind, and the Bible lets
(11:09):
us know that Peter grew afraidand he begins to sing and Jesus
responds with this Write thisdown if you're taking notes.
And Jesus responds with thisWrite this down if you're taking
notes.
Friends, it's in Matthew,chapter 14, verse 31.
And in Matthew 14, 31, we gotPeter sinking Jesus with a
response O you of little faith.
Why did you doubt?
(11:30):
Now, doubt, if you let it,brother Frankie.
So, if you let it, brotherFrankie, it has the potential to
cripple faith.
Yes, and again, it's not goingto get rid of my faith, but it
can cripple it.
I'm still saved if I strugglewith doubt, but it can cripple
it.
But you're not safe.
Yeah, saved but not safe.
(11:51):
That's right, that's a goodword, right there, frankie, if
you're listening out there rightnow, write that down Saved, but
not safe, but not safe.
Yeah, that's a great point.
So Matthew 14, 31,.
Jesus says oh, you will livefaith.
Why did you doubt?
And in Matthew 21, 21,.
Jot that one down.
In Matthew 21, 21,.
Here's what Jesus said, frankie.
(12:13):
He says truly, I say to you, ifyou have faith and do not doubt
, you will not only do what hasbeen done to the fig tree, but
even if you say to this mountainbe taken up and thrown into the
sea, it will happen.
And in James, chapter one, versesix, it says this.
In James chapter 1, verse 6, itsays this but let him ask in
(12:38):
faith, with no doubting, for theone who doubts is like a wave
of the sea that is driven andtossed by the wind.
Now, think about that, friends.
Let him ask in faith.
So this is what we're supposedto do, brother Frankie.
This is what the listeners,this is what we're supposed to
do.
We are to ask Christ in faith.
And then James 1, 6 says thiswith no doubting.
(13:02):
So our faith doesn't leave anyroom, not a single ounce, not a
single measure, for doubt to bethere to operate.
Doubt is like that one thingthat pollutes the water.
It's that one thing that entersinto the water that just makes
it dirty.
Even if it's just 1%, it can nolonger be purified.
Right At that moment, it's notany longer in the purified state
(13:23):
.
So, brother Frankie, we'vetalked about doubt being
paralyzing if we let it creepinto our hearts and minds.
What's your take on this wholepiece right now, where we see
Thomas?
He's in the room and things arehappening and he tells his
brothers.
He says, hey, unless I can putmy hands in the holes, my
(13:45):
fingers in the holes, I'm notgoing to believe that this is
the teacher, this is the Messiah.
Where are you at with thisright now?
Speaker 2 (13:52):
This is a monumental time in Thomas's life and his
walk.
Right now, as you were justspeaking, I started seeing you
got fear, you got doubt and yougot faith.
And these are three differentthings, very powerful things
actually.
So, to set the scene, you gotdoubt here and then you got
(14:15):
faith on the other side.
And those are two differentthings, two opposite things.
You know two things that youchoose to walk in.
You got to choose to walk indoubt, like, doubt can be
present, but you choose toactively walk in it.
Faith is present too, but yougot to actively choose to walk
in that.
And which one you choose towalk in is which one you're
going to walk out, and it'sgoing to dictate and determine
(14:37):
what you see.
So, right here, thomas ischoosing.
Even in his doubt, he's sayingI got to see this and something
amazing is about to happen, andthe one who can change your
doubt, turn it into faith, isabout to walk into the room.
Speaker 1 (14:51):
Comes in the room, can I just say the door is
locked again.
It's locked, bro.
So the disciples findthemselves again on the
protected side of this lockeddoor.
And, my friends, if you'relistening and you have not yet
listened to the episode behindlocked doors from a couple of
weeks ago, when this episode isover, you got to go back and
(15:11):
check it out because it reallyreally was a blessed time here
at the table in studio.
But here we've got thedisciples.
Brother Frankie just kind ofsets the scene, he lets you know
that they're going to be inthis room again.
They are on the safe side, ifwe can call it that, the safe
side of the locked door.
(15:31):
And again we see Jesus Christproving that you cannot lock him
out of your life.
You can't lock him out, door'slocked, but he still shows up in
the room.
Shows up, bro, doesn't knock onit, you know, just comes into
the room.
And here's the deal.
You can try to lock him out ofyour life, you can try to lock
him out of certain closets orcompartments in your mind.
(15:53):
But can I just say this JesusChrist is always available and
he's always there Always.
Speaker 2 (16:06):
Thomas says something right there.
He says he gives.
If I don't see the mark of thenails in his hands and put my
fingers into the mark of thenails and put my hand into his
side, I would never believe, andmaybe there's some people out
here today saying the same thingin their own situation.
But I love it because JesusChrist won't leave you there.
Yeah, he's coming into the room.
Amen, bro.
Speaker 1 (16:22):
Amen, he's coming into the room.
You can't lock him out, can't,bro?
You can try.
You can't run from him, you cantry.
He's so faithful.
Yeah, he is so faithful.
He.
He is the good shepherd thatleaves the 99 to go after the
one.
Praise God, you know, there'sscripture in the Word of God
(16:42):
that says that there are othersheep that are not yet of this
pasture.
In other words, I've got peoplethat are coming into the house.
I've got people that are cominginto this field, into this
pasture.
They're not here yet, butthey're coming, they're coming,
they're coming, you know.
So this is a really good point.
Speaker 2 (17:02):
I love that.
Speaker 1 (17:03):
Hey, you may be on the other side of what you think
is the safe side of the lockeddoor, but can I just tell you
that if the shepherd, if the sonof God wants you, he's going to
get you because he loves youthat much.
He will reveal himself to youto the point to where you can no
longer deny his goodness.
Brother Frankie, I love that.
Yeah, I love it.
Again, we see Jesus comfortinghis disciples with his presence.
(17:25):
I love that.
So I want to make this point bybeing in the presence of the
Lord, the disciples, their fearit disappeared and they received
courage.
Praise.
Speaker 2 (17:38):
God.
Speaker 1 (17:38):
Isn't that, brother Frankie?
Isn't that what God's presencedoes?
I don't care what I'm goingthrough, I don't care how hard
or heavy or ugly or violent theattack of the enemy is.
When I recognize that I am inthe presence of my Father, when
I am in the presence of mySavior, when I am drawing on the
(17:59):
strength of the Holy Spirit, ofthe living God inside of me,
his presence gives me tremendousand great courage.
And not just that peace, peace,it gives peace, which is the
message.
It's the message is still thesame.
You know, like Jesus showed upthe first time and he gives a
(18:23):
message.
Okay, he shows up this time andthere's going to be another
message.
It is, and it's absolutelyamazing.
Here's the message peace.
It's a message of peace.
Where does Jesus want the peaceof God to be?
Let's touch on that for amoment.
So God is offering mankindpeace even today, right From the
(18:46):
very beginning of time, peaceis the gift that God gives us,
right Mankind.
And yet, even today, god isoffering mankind peace.
So where does he want thispeace to be?
Here it is.
Here's the answer.
God wants his peace to bewithin the heart and the life of
every believer.
Amen.
So Jesus Christ enters the roomon the backside of the locked
(19:09):
door, and this is the messageyet again Peace be with you.
Speaker 2 (19:15):
That's some sweet words right there.
Speaker 1 (19:21):
It is Peace, be with you.
Peace be with you.
That's some sweet words rightthere.
It is Peace, be with you.
Peace be with you.
Where does God, the creator ofheaven and earth, want his peace
to be at right now?
Can I just tell you friendswith you.
That's powerful stuff, brother.
It is no matter what we've gonethrough, no matter how ugly
we've been or are being rightnow, no matter how we've gone
through, no matter how uglywe've been or are being right
now, no matter how we justtreated someone, no matter how
(19:42):
we treated ourselves right, evenif we shaken our fist at God,
he loves us enough to say hey,hey, hey, that's not right.
That's not right.
Don't do that, don't act likethat, don't respond like that.
That's not how you're supposedto be loving.
There's a greater way to love.
But through all of that, hewants his peace to be with us.
Speaker 2 (20:02):
He gave us his spirit , Absolutely.
What a gift, what a gift, bro.
He gave himself for us.
And it doesn't matter whereyou're at on your journey right
now, whether it's just beginning, you're at the middle or you
see the end in sight that peaceis still there, because it's
inside of you.
Speaker 1 (20:19):
Something that I'm thinking about, because maybe
there's some people listeningright now that just don't feel
like they deserve the peace ofGod.
Well, that's for everybody else.
The peace of God is for thosechurch folks.
The peace of God is for peoplethat don't come from where I
come from.
Maybe people feel like they'rejust at the bottom of life and
maybe even underneath of it.
(20:39):
Right, I want to encourage thelisteners right now that, if you
feel like that, I want toremind you that the peace of God
is specifically for you as well.
My friend, all you have to doright now is accept it and I
promise it will change your day.
Not only will it change yourday, but it's going to change
how you handle things throughoutyour day.
(21:00):
Now, you got to know this thatwhen you accept the peace of God
in your life, it doesn't meanthat situations are
automatically going to change,because, man, frankie, we go
through stuff.
Yes, we do as believers, in myopinion, we go through heavier
warfare than people who theenemy is not messing with
because they're on his team,right, you know what I mean.
So it doesn't necessarilyalways change what we go through
(21:22):
, but it does change how we gothrough it, as we have the peace
of God.
Peace be with you.
So peace, if you take a note,you can write this down.
Peace is what God offers usthrough his son, jesus Christ.
That's beautiful, it is thegift of God.
Here's a reference.
Let me give you a handful ofthem Romans 5.1.
Romans 5.1 says we have peacewith God through our Lord Jesus
(21:45):
Christ.
And you may be thinking whatdoes this have to do with doubt
Everything?
Because if I'm doubtingsomething, then I need to begin
to immediately pray that Godgive me his peace, you something
, then I need to begin toimmediately pray that God give
me his peace.
You need to receive that peace,yeah, yeah, because, lord, well
, this peace up inside of me torunning over and overflowing.
I need an overflow of God'speace whenever I'm facing doubt.
That's going to purge thatdoubt out, absolutely,
(22:06):
absolutely so.
Romans 5.1 says we have peacewith God through our Lord Jesus
Christ.
So how do we get peace?
It comes through Christ.
Start to pray, start to walkwith him, talk with him, listen
to him.
Ephesians 2.14,.
Ephesians 2.14,.
Paul writes to the church andsays Jesus himself is our peace.
Jesus is our peace.
(22:27):
So, brother Frankie, one day,when we get to, glory, we too,
and man this excites me, glorywe too, and man this excites me,
we too, are going to see theholes in his wrist and in his
feet.
And those holes are proof thatour salvation has been paid for
by our Lord and Savior, jesusChrist.
And knowing that, brotherFrankie, we too are offered
peace of God through Jesus,right now, on this earth.
Speaker 2 (22:51):
Pastor Lee, tell the listener today that's like okay,
okay, I've heard how you said,how I can get peace, but how can
I grow my faith?
Tell the listener today howfaith comes.
Speaker 1 (23:04):
Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word
of God.
Amen, and that's what Scripturesays.
So how do we increase our faith?
We have to listen to the Word,yes, and it's by doing things
like listening to this podcast.
We are sharing multiplescriptures, we've read passages
on here, so we listen to thingslike this.
We get into a good,bible-teaching, god-fearing
(23:30):
church where people can come, bea part of it and actually grow,
where the Spirit of God isactive and there is a thriving
family atmosphere andenvironment there in the house
of God.
You cannot show up to a deadchurch and expect to be alive.
Amen, bro.
So how do we have an increaseof faith, man?
Faith comes by hearing andhearing of the Word of God.
Speaker 2 (23:53):
Praise God, brother, I was walking out the house this
morning in preparation for thepodcast and I looked across the
yard and there was a tree cutdown right there had a neighbor
a friend of the neighbor comedown, had a widow maker.
One tree was hanging intoanother.
I had rented a lift and heborrowed a lift to get easy
(24:14):
access to take this thing downpiece by piece.
You know, when I looked overthere this morning, what was
once alive was dead, chopped upand was branches off to the side
.
And as I saw that man, Irealized that when we ain't
reaching out, like in the 27thverse, right here, it says reach
out your hand and put it intomy side.
(24:35):
When we don't reach out to JesusChrist in our doubt, in our
fear, in our worry, in ourstress, in our anxiety, when we
don't reach out to our brothersand sisters that are readily
available right there beggingyou reach out to me.
When we don't do that, we looklike those branches that have
been severed and cut off,because Jesus Christ tells us,
us in his word if you don'tabide in me, if you don't abide
(24:59):
in me, you will be cut off.
You'll be thrown off to theside like branches, yeah, yeah,
and burn and burn, and burn andburn.
And how many of us?
Maybe you're listening today.
You feel like you're burningout.
Yeah, you feel like you've beencut off.
I'm here to remind you todaythat you ain't cut off.
Unless you want to be Just gotto reach out.
Just reach out, reach out forhelp, because the vine's right
(25:19):
there, reaching out to you.
He's so near, yeah, he's sonear to you right now.
Speaker 1 (25:24):
Yeah, the Bible.
Jesus tells us in the word ofGod that he is the vine.
We are the branches, amen.
And the branch draws itsstrength from the vine.
That's right.
The branch gets peace from thevine.
From the vine, the branch getseverything it needs.
Everything it needs, my friends.
Speaker 2 (25:40):
Amen From the vine.
Mentioning reaching out, PastorLee, can you share with us a
time that either you yourselfreached out to someone or
someone reached out to you, andfrom that you've seen a
monumental move of God,Absolutely brother, absolutely.
Speaker 1 (26:00):
I have a good, a very dear brother in my life.
Goes to church with us and Iknow he would not mind me
mentioning his name he doesn'twant to credit.
So this isn't for that, butjust a real person, jim Mitchell
, just a real brother to me.
And there have been timesthroughout my life and ministry
where, let's say, my childrenwould be sick or I would be sick
(26:23):
, or my wife would be sick.
We'd come down with somethingand I know that I could reach
out to him.
And that brother is going topray until we see some type of
move or shift.
He's going to pray until we seesome type of action by the hand
of God.
And time and time again, itdoesn't matter how sick someone
was, I go to him because I knowthat his prayer works.
(26:48):
And it's not that it's Jim thatis important, it's not that
it's Jim Mitchell that is theimportant person, it's that I
know that his faith is restingsolely in Father God, so that
when I go to Jim and he believesthat the power of prayer works,
he believes that people arehealed in the name and the blood
(27:09):
of Jesus, I know that he'sgoing to stand with me, shoulder
to shoulder and we're going tofight through this, through
faith and prayer together untilwe see results.
So, you know, oftentimes,through many, many years, I've
had to reach out to him and sayso-and-so's sick, so-and-so's
not feeling well, we got thistest coming in, or whatever.
We're looking for the rightanswer.
Join with me, link up with meand, brother, I'm telling you a
(27:37):
hundred percent of the time,faith has moved mountains and it
has just been miracle aftermiracle, after miracle.
And again, it's not Jim Mitchellwho is the special one.
He will point to God just asquick as I'm saying he will.
You know, he is going to giveGod all the honor, glory, credit
and praise for it.
But it is so good to havesomeone in your circle that you
know, hey, when it comes toasking God for this, there's
(27:58):
zero doubt in the room we arestanding here until we see the
hand of God move and I bet youthat when you reach out in faith
to this brother who's going topray in faith, I bet you it
brings you peace.
It brings me peace because Iknow that I got somebody walking
with me.
It increases my faith andthere's been times where I'm
like all right, well,so-and-so's not that sick in my
(28:20):
family, so I'm not going tobother him.
And then he'll get to churchand he'll see someone's not, or
hear someone's not feeling.
Well, he's like bro, why didn'tyou call me?
Why didn't you call me?
You know, because he too.
Hey, we can go to God for thisand God's going to fix this.
So don't go through anything byyourself.
Let's go to God.
Reach out, yeah, reach out,reach out and let's go to God
for this and God's going to fixit.
(28:41):
Friends, if you're taking notes, write this down God makes all
the difference in the world.
God makes all the difference inthe world.
And when you got brothers andsisters in your life, in your
circle in the room, that believethat mountains move, frankie,
amen, mountains move.
In John, chapter 20, 29,.
Jesus says to Thomas have youbelieved?
(29:01):
Because you have seen me?
Blessed are those who have notseen and yet have believed.
So, just talking about thisissue of doubt, in order to talk
kind of fully on doubt, we gotto touch on this thing faith for
a moment in closing, hebrews11.1,.
It's one of my favoritescriptures in the New Testament.
But Hebrews 11.1 says now faithis the assurance of things
(29:24):
hoped for, the conviction ofthings not seen.
Hebrews 11.6,.
Just a few verses down, hebrews11.6 says it goes on to say
without faith it's impossible toplease God.
So this is what doubt tries tocome in to do.
It tries to take out the legsof faith, tries to knock out our
(29:44):
legs right from underneath ofus.
And that's why, when werecognize doubt in our lives, we
do need to reach out.
Reach out for a brother orsister and say pray for me,
right here I'm struggling.
Reach out to Christ, reach outto the Father through prayer and
don't let that doubt festerbecause, as I mentioned earlier,
it is crippling if you allow itto continue to grow in your
(30:08):
life.
So, friends, we hope you've beenencouraged by today's episode
of Beyond Sunday.
We know that God is in controlof all things good and he's
working everything out right nowfor His glory in your life, if
you have faith and you trust inHim.
But remember that the God ofheaven and earth, the God of all
the universe, he wants Hispeace to be where Found in you.
(30:31):
Let's pray, father.
We thank you for the opportunitythat you give us to come into
this room today to be able toshare this topic of doubt.
Lord, we love you, we honor you, we praise you and we are so
thankful, father, that as wepress deeper into you, we
receive faith and strength, anddoubt has to disappear, yes, but
(30:54):
we want to honor you in andthrough all things, father.
So, lord, we want to be able tolook out for your hand at work
today.
May we see you working in andthrough us and all around us.
Use us as hands and feet andmouthpieces today, father, that
we could bring you honor andglory In Jesus Christ's mighty
name and blood.
Everybody, my friends, saidtogether amen, amen and amen.
(31:17):
God bless you and until nexttime.
We'll see you on Beyond Sunday,amen.
What's going on everybody?
Welcome to the podcast BeyondSunday.
I'm your host, pastor Lee Day.
I pastor Christ Family OutreachChurch, located in Amelia,
virginia, and at the table withme today on this episode.
I've got brother Frankie.
Frankie Brown, how are you, mygood brother?
Speaker 2 (00:28):
I'm blessed to be here again, brother.
Amen With you.
Bro, how are you doing thismorning?
Speaker 1 (00:32):
I'm feeling well, got a lot going on, but I am
feeling well.
It's a full day and that'salways, in my opinion, some of
the best days to have, you know,when you're not just sitting
around looking outside thewindow, getting bored, wondering
what I'm going to do.
So full days, we have theopportunity to make them
productive days.
So I'm planning on today beinga productive day, in the Lord.
(00:53):
If you got your Bibles today,my friends, what we're going to
be focusing a little bit on isthis man named Thomas.
Thomas is a disciple.
Many people know him.
He kind of got the rap ofdoubting Thomas and if you've
got your Bibles, you can open toJohn, chapter 20 and go ahead
and turn there.
(01:13):
While you're turning there, Ijust kind of want to lay some
groundwork for today's episode.
A couple of weeks ago, brotherFrankie and I did an episode
titled Behind Locked Doors andman.
I love recording that episodewith you, brother.
That was such a good one.
It was a blessed one.
It focused on John, chapter 20,19 through 23.
And in that text we see thedisciples.
They're hiding in a room,they're behind a locked door for
(01:35):
fear of the Jewish leadersbecause they had just crucified
Jesus, and they're like hey, ifthey crucified our leader, they
may come crucify us.
They may come stone us, theymay come kill us, that's right.
So, jesus, even though thedoors are locked, brother
Frankie, he appears in the roomwith the disciples and he gives
the following message.
He says to them peace, be withyou.
(01:56):
So, jesus, then let them knowthat he would be sending them
out, right?
So they're going to have to goout, to the other side of the
locked door and face their fears, the very door they're hiding
behind.
They've got to go out andthey've got to do ministry.
So today, brother Frankie, wego from facing fear to facing
doubt, and this is going to be abig episode today.
(02:18):
So, all of our listeners, Iwant you to hang in there for
the entirety of the episode andpay close attention.
We're going from facing fear to,now, this issue of facing doubt
, because not all the discipleswere in the room for the first
meeting with Jesus after heresurrected.
There's some people missing,and one of those people missing
is guess who?
It's Thomas.
(02:39):
So Thomas is one of the twelvedisciples, he's one of those
apostles, but he's not in theroom at the time.
And that's where we pick up inthe text today.
So, if you got your Bibles,we're going to begin in John,
chapter 20 and the 24th verse,and this is what the word of God
says Now.
Thomas, one of the 12 called thetwin, was not with them when
(03:00):
Jesus came.
So the other disciples told himwe have seen the Lord.
(03:27):
But he said to them unless Isee in his hands the mark of, so
the other disciples told himinside again, and Thomas was
with them, although the doorswere locked.
Jesus came and stood among themand said Peace, be with you.
And then he said to Thomas Putyour finger here and see my
hands and put out your hand andplace it in my side.
Do not disbelieve, but believe.
Thomas answered him my Lord andmy God.
And Jesus said to him have youbelieved because you have seen
(03:47):
me?
Blessed are those who have notseen and yet have believed Amen.
So, brother Frankie, thomas isstruggling with this thing, that
a lot of people struggle withdoubt, and Thomas needs proof.
Unfortunately, he's at thismoment in his life where doubt
is running rampant in his heart,in his mind.
(04:08):
He needs some physical,eye-seeing proof.
What are your thoughts righthere, my brother?
Speaker 2 (04:16):
I love this part right here, going from fear to
doubt.
I believe Thomas in this pointis he's went from faith to faith
and glory to glory.
So you know, you got thismeasurement of faith right.
You got the high side of thefaith that you currently at and
a low side to it.
I believe Thomas has went fromfrom one faith to the next.
(04:37):
So, speaking, he's at thebottom of a new measurement of
faith and he's doubting.
He's doubting, and I think thereason why he's at the bottom of
a new measurement of faith andhe's doubting he's doubting, and
I think the reason why he'sdoubting is he's afraid that
he's missing out or he's afraidthat who's going to lead us now,
so to speak.
So he's looking for his leaderagain and but his doubt isn't
(05:03):
his doubt isn't like it't anindication that he doesn't have
faith because he does.
It's just an indication thathe's looking, he's on a start of
a new journey and his journeyis starting right now and is
about to take place in this room.
Speaker 1 (05:16):
Yeah, that's a great point, because as Christians, we
battle doubt at times, and thatdoesn't mean that we've lost
our salvation.
You know what I mean, and thankGod.
It doesn't mean that we've lostour salvation.
You know what I mean and thankGod.
It doesn't mean that.
So Thomas is just one of thoseguys right now where he's like
man.
I've got to make sure, I've gotto make sure that what I have
given my life to for this call,I've got to make sure that what
(05:38):
you guys are saying is true.
I need to see that this istaking place and I'm not
supporting his doubt.
I'm not supporting that.
I'm just trying to lay somegroundwork to let our listeners
know that we've all been therebefore.
You know we have absolutely allbeen there before and again.
It doesn't make it right thatwe've all been there, but we've
been there and at some pointwe're liable to find ourselves
(06:00):
there again.
And it doesn't mean that we'renot saved, it doesn't mean that
we're not walking with Jesus.
But this thing fear, like westudied a couple weeks ago,
doubt, like we're talking abouttoday the enemy will use it and
try to push it on our flesh andtry to get us to wallow in it,
and that's the thing that whatwe don't want to do is when we
(06:21):
see fear and doubt come towardsus, what we don't want to do is
operate from see fear and doubtcome towards us.
What we don't want to do isoperate from that space.
That's right.
Yeah, we don't want to livethere.
We don't want to pitch a tentand camp there.
Speaker 2 (06:30):
That's right.
From this passage, too, I canjust hear the Spirit saying
doubt, but move forward, Moveforward.
Speaker 1 (06:39):
Yeah, because moving forward is going to get us out
of that.
That's right, moving forward isgoing to get us out of that.
You know, like Lord, train me,teach me, equip me that as I'm
struggling with this fear, or asI'm struggling with this doubt
right now, walk me through thisBecause, you know, the Bible
calls us to stay in step withthe Lord, brother Frankie.
So as long as I'm staying instep with the Lord, I know that
everything's going to be okay.
(06:59):
Can I just say this too?
Being in step with the Lorddoesn't mean we understand
everything all the time, exactly.
That's why how we can be instep with the Lord and doubt and
fear can still try to penetrate, but it's being in step with
the Lord that reminds us that,no matter what I'm going through
that I don't understand rightnow, my Abba Father is going to
(07:20):
make everything okay, and thisis how all can be well with our
soul.
Right, I may not understandeverything.
Doubt may be trying to push inon me right now, but all is
going to be well with my soulbecause I know my father's in
control.
Speaker 2 (07:33):
And if we try to understand too, I think that
will sometimes bring in thatdoubt too.
That doubt will really start tocreep in when you try to make
sense of the things that areunknown right now.
Speaker 1 (07:42):
Yeah, yeah, you try to make sense of something, you
bring up a great point, you tryto make sense of something and
you can't reason it.
And so now doubt is justpegging.
It's just pegging, pegging, andit takes faith to have peace in
environments and moments andsituations, life circumstances
that you don't understand.
It takes a tremendous faith.
Thomas not only wanted to seethe mark of the nails in Jesus'
(08:06):
hands, but Scripture says hewanted to put his own finger
through the holes.
Like I don't just want to seethe holes, I'm going in the
holes.
You know, like I want to put myfingers through those holes and
he wanted to put.
The Bible tells us that hewanted to take his hand and
place it into the place in theside of Jesus where they pierced
him with the sword.
Like just seeing that won'tenough.
(08:28):
Can you imagine?
You know, just seeing that'snot enough.
So I want to put my fingers inthe hole and I want to put my
hand into the place in his sidewhere they pierced him with the
sword while he's on the cross.
So this is kind of what I getfrom our brother in the Lord,
thomas, because he is a brotherin the Lord, dear brother, he is
Seeing wasn't good enough.
It wasn't, unfortunately.
(08:49):
And again, man, we've all beenthere.
Not saying it's right, but ifwe're honest, we've all been
there.
So seeing wasn't good enoughfor Thomas.
He wanted to see and touch.
I don't know that they stillmake these books, but I can
remember back in the day whenthe book fair would come to the
local library.
Speaker 2 (09:06):
Oh, man, that was lit .
Speaker 1 (09:07):
It was that week where your parents would send
you with a few dollars.
Oh man.
You had to fill out the form andyou got to get out of class.
The know, the whole class wouldget up and they'd roll down to
the library for the book fair.
They had set up all these books.
Brother Frankie, I still, tothis day I'm not an educated man
(09:28):
, so I'm pretty simple, you know, easy to get along with.
But one of my favorite well,two of my favorite books in the
book fair and even allthroughout my childhood.
The first one was the pop-upbooks.
Speaker 2 (09:35):
Okay, yeah.
Speaker 1 (09:36):
Yeah, you remember.
You like open a book, you opena page and like this thing just
pops up.
Speaker 2 (09:41):
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (09:42):
Yeah, that's a great way to put it.
The book comes alive.
You know, the Bible really doesthat too.
You open the pages and you knowit's not a pop-up book, but the
book does come to life or comealive.
But I I I liked the pop-upbooks because I never was a good
reader.
But when the pages came to lifefor me through a pop-up book it
(10:04):
helped me understand the storyso much better.
You know I'm the type tell mesomething okay, but if you show
me something, most of the time Ican latch on to it, seeing it.
Yeah, yeah.
So the pop papa book was was,was was one the the other.
My other favorite type of bookwas you remember the scratch and
(10:25):
sniffs.
Yeah, so like you scratch, youscratch it and you go, you go
take a sniff and like you knowthe, the flavors or whatever the
scent, you don't know whatyou're gonna get yeah, yeah,
yeah, they didn't just comealive, right and, and it was
kind of sensory, you know it was.
it was to let you, let yoursenses kind of help tell the
story.
Yeah, I always thought thatthat was so cool, so like my
eyes got to see it, my nose gotto smell it and I, and I just
(10:48):
thought about that as I'mthinking about thomas.
Thomas is like I, no, no, no,guys, I gotta touch, I gotta put
my fingers through those holes,I gotta put my hand through
those holes.
I got to put my hand throughthe hole in his side.
You remember back when Peterwas walking out on the water
towards Jesus and then he lookedat the wind, and the Bible lets
(11:09):
us know that Peter grew afraidand he begins to sing and Jesus
responds with this Write thisdown if you're taking notes.
And Jesus responds with thisWrite this down if you're taking
notes.
Friends, it's in Matthew,chapter 14, verse 31.
And in Matthew 14, 31, we gotPeter sinking Jesus with a
response O you of little faith.
Why did you doubt?
(11:30):
Now, doubt, if you let it,brother Frankie.
So, if you let it, brotherFrankie, it has the potential to
cripple faith.
Yes, and again, it's not goingto get rid of my faith, but it
can cripple it.
I'm still saved if I strugglewith doubt, but it can cripple
it.
But you're not safe.
Yeah, saved but not safe.
(11:51):
That's right, that's a goodword, right there, frankie, if
you're listening out there rightnow, write that down Saved, but
not safe, but not safe.
Yeah, that's a great point.
So Matthew 14, 31,.
Jesus says oh, you will livefaith.
Why did you doubt?
And in Matthew 21, 21,.
Jot that one down.
In Matthew 21, 21,.
Here's what Jesus said, frankie.
(12:13):
He says truly, I say to you, ifyou have faith and do not doubt
, you will not only do what hasbeen done to the fig tree, but
even if you say to this mountainbe taken up and thrown into the
sea, it will happen.
And in James, chapter one, versesix, it says this.
In James chapter 1, verse 6, itsays this but let him ask in
(12:38):
faith, with no doubting, for theone who doubts is like a wave
of the sea that is driven andtossed by the wind.
Now, think about that, friends.
Let him ask in faith.
So this is what we're supposedto do, brother Frankie.
This is what the listeners,this is what we're supposed to
do.
We are to ask Christ in faith.
And then James 1, 6 says thiswith no doubting.
(13:02):
So our faith doesn't leave anyroom, not a single ounce, not a
single measure, for doubt to bethere to operate.
Doubt is like that one thingthat pollutes the water.
It's that one thing that entersinto the water that just makes
it dirty.
Even if it's just 1%, it can nolonger be purified.
Right At that moment, it's notany longer in the purified state
(13:23):
.
So, brother Frankie, we'vetalked about doubt being
paralyzing if we let it creepinto our hearts and minds.
What's your take on this wholepiece right now, where we see
Thomas?
He's in the room and things arehappening and he tells his
brothers.
He says, hey, unless I can putmy hands in the holes, my
(13:45):
fingers in the holes, I'm notgoing to believe that this is
the teacher, this is the Messiah.
Where are you at with thisright now?
Speaker 2 (13:52):
This is a monumental time in Thomas's life and his
walk.
Right now, as you were justspeaking, I started seeing you
got fear, you got doubt and yougot faith.
And these are three differentthings, very powerful things
actually.
So, to set the scene, you gotdoubt here and then you got
(14:15):
faith on the other side.
And those are two differentthings, two opposite things.
You know two things that youchoose to walk in.
You got to choose to walk indoubt, like, doubt can be
present, but you choose toactively walk in it.
Faith is present too, but yougot to actively choose to walk
in that.
And which one you choose towalk in is which one you're
going to walk out, and it'sgoing to dictate and determine
(14:37):
what you see.
So, right here, thomas ischoosing.
Even in his doubt, he's sayingI got to see this and something
amazing is about to happen, andthe one who can change your
doubt, turn it into faith, isabout to walk into the room.
Speaker 1 (14:51):
Comes in the room, can I just say the door is
locked again.
It's locked, bro.
So the disciples findthemselves again on the
protected side of this lockeddoor.
And, my friends, if you'relistening and you have not yet
listened to the episode behindlocked doors from a couple of
weeks ago, when this episode isover, you got to go back and
(15:11):
check it out because it reallyreally was a blessed time here
at the table in studio.
But here we've got thedisciples.
Brother Frankie just kind ofsets the scene, he lets you know
that they're going to be inthis room again.
They are on the safe side, ifwe can call it that, the safe
side of the locked door.
(15:31):
And again we see Jesus Christproving that you cannot lock him
out of your life.
You can't lock him out, door'slocked, but he still shows up in
the room.
Shows up, bro, doesn't knock onit, you know, just comes into
the room.
And here's the deal.
You can try to lock him out ofyour life, you can try to lock
him out of certain closets orcompartments in your mind.
(15:53):
But can I just say this JesusChrist is always available and
he's always there Always.
Speaker 2 (16:06):
Thomas says something right there.
He says he gives.
If I don't see the mark of thenails in his hands and put my
fingers into the mark of thenails and put my hand into his
side, I would never believe, andmaybe there's some people out
here today saying the same thingin their own situation.
But I love it because JesusChrist won't leave you there.
Yeah, he's coming into the room.
Amen, bro.
Speaker 1 (16:22):
Amen, he's coming into the room.
You can't lock him out, can't,bro?
You can try.
You can't run from him, you cantry.
He's so faithful.
Yeah, he is so faithful.
He.
He is the good shepherd thatleaves the 99 to go after the
one.
Praise God, you know, there'sscripture in the Word of God
(16:42):
that says that there are othersheep that are not yet of this
pasture.
In other words, I've got peoplethat are coming into the house.
I've got people that are cominginto this field, into this
pasture.
They're not here yet, butthey're coming, they're coming,
they're coming, you know.
So this is a really good point.
Speaker 2 (17:02):
I love that.
Speaker 1 (17:03):
Hey, you may be on the other side of what you think
is the safe side of the lockeddoor, but can I just tell you
that if the shepherd, if the sonof God wants you, he's going to
get you because he loves youthat much.
He will reveal himself to youto the point to where you can no
longer deny his goodness.
Brother Frankie, I love that.
Yeah, I love it.
Again, we see Jesus comfortinghis disciples with his presence.
(17:25):
I love that.
So I want to make this point bybeing in the presence of the
Lord, the disciples, their fearit disappeared and they received
courage.
Praise.
Speaker 2 (17:38):
God.
Speaker 1 (17:38):
Isn't that, brother Frankie?
Isn't that what God's presencedoes?
I don't care what I'm goingthrough, I don't care how hard
or heavy or ugly or violent theattack of the enemy is.
When I recognize that I am inthe presence of my Father, when
I am in the presence of mySavior, when I am drawing on the
(17:59):
strength of the Holy Spirit, ofthe living God inside of me,
his presence gives me tremendousand great courage.
And not just that peace, peace,it gives peace, which is the
message.
It's the message is still thesame.
You know, like Jesus showed upthe first time and he gives a
(18:23):
message.
Okay, he shows up this time andthere's going to be another
message.
It is, and it's absolutelyamazing.
Here's the message peace.
It's a message of peace.
Where does Jesus want the peaceof God to be?
Let's touch on that for amoment.
So God is offering mankindpeace even today, right From the
(18:46):
very beginning of time, peaceis the gift that God gives us,
right Mankind.
And yet, even today, god isoffering mankind peace.
So where does he want thispeace to be?
Here it is.
Here's the answer.
God wants his peace to bewithin the heart and the life of
every believer.
Amen.
So Jesus Christ enters the roomon the backside of the locked
(19:09):
door, and this is the messageyet again Peace be with you.
Speaker 2 (19:15):
That's some sweet words right there.
Speaker 1 (19:21):
It is Peace, be with you.
Peace be with you.
That's some sweet words rightthere.
It is Peace, be with you.
Peace be with you.
Where does God, the creator ofheaven and earth, want his peace
to be at right now?
Can I just tell you friendswith you.
That's powerful stuff, brother.
It is no matter what we've gonethrough, no matter how ugly
we've been or are being rightnow, no matter how we've gone
through, no matter how uglywe've been or are being right
now, no matter how we justtreated someone, no matter how
(19:42):
we treated ourselves right, evenif we shaken our fist at God,
he loves us enough to say hey,hey, hey, that's not right.
That's not right.
Don't do that, don't act likethat, don't respond like that.
That's not how you're supposedto be loving.
There's a greater way to love.
But through all of that, hewants his peace to be with us.
Speaker 2 (20:02):
He gave us his spirit , Absolutely.
What a gift, what a gift, bro.
He gave himself for us.
And it doesn't matter whereyou're at on your journey right
now, whether it's just beginning, you're at the middle or you
see the end in sight that peaceis still there, because it's
inside of you.
Speaker 1 (20:19):
Something that I'm thinking about, because maybe
there's some people listeningright now that just don't feel
like they deserve the peace ofGod.
Well, that's for everybody else.
The peace of God is for thosechurch folks.
The peace of God is for peoplethat don't come from where I
come from.
Maybe people feel like they'rejust at the bottom of life and
maybe even underneath of it.
(20:39):
Right, I want to encourage thelisteners right now that, if you
feel like that, I want toremind you that the peace of God
is specifically for you as well.
My friend, all you have to doright now is accept it and I
promise it will change your day.
Not only will it change yourday, but it's going to change
how you handle things throughoutyour day.
(21:00):
Now, you got to know this thatwhen you accept the peace of God
in your life, it doesn't meanthat situations are
automatically going to change,because, man, frankie, we go
through stuff.
Yes, we do as believers, in myopinion, we go through heavier
warfare than people who theenemy is not messing with
because they're on his team,right, you know what I mean.
So it doesn't necessarilyalways change what we go through
(21:22):
, but it does change how we gothrough it, as we have the peace
of God.
Peace be with you.
So peace, if you take a note,you can write this down.
Peace is what God offers usthrough his son, jesus Christ.
That's beautiful, it is thegift of God.
Here's a reference.
Let me give you a handful ofthem Romans 5.1.
Romans 5.1 says we have peacewith God through our Lord Jesus
(21:45):
Christ.
And you may be thinking whatdoes this have to do with doubt
Everything?
Because if I'm doubtingsomething, then I need to begin
to immediately pray that Godgive me his peace, you something
, then I need to begin toimmediately pray that God give
me his peace.
You need to receive that peace,yeah, yeah, because, lord, well
, this peace up inside of me torunning over and overflowing.
I need an overflow of God'speace whenever I'm facing doubt.
That's going to purge thatdoubt out, absolutely,
(22:06):
absolutely so.
Romans 5.1 says we have peacewith God through our Lord Jesus
Christ.
So how do we get peace?
It comes through Christ.
Start to pray, start to walkwith him, talk with him, listen
to him.
Ephesians 2.14,.
Ephesians 2.14,.
Paul writes to the church andsays Jesus himself is our peace.
Jesus is our peace.
(22:27):
So, brother Frankie, one day,when we get to, glory, we too,
and man this excites me, glorywe too, and man this excites me,
we too, are going to see theholes in his wrist and in his
feet.
And those holes are proof thatour salvation has been paid for
by our Lord and Savior, jesusChrist.
And knowing that, brotherFrankie, we too are offered
peace of God through Jesus,right now, on this earth.
Speaker 2 (22:51):
Pastor Lee, tell the listener today that's like okay,
okay, I've heard how you said,how I can get peace, but how can
I grow my faith?
Tell the listener today howfaith comes.
Speaker 1 (23:04):
Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word
of God.
Amen, and that's what Scripturesays.
So how do we increase our faith?
We have to listen to the Word,yes, and it's by doing things
like listening to this podcast.
We are sharing multiplescriptures, we've read passages
on here, so we listen to thingslike this.
We get into a good,bible-teaching, god-fearing
(23:30):
church where people can come, bea part of it and actually grow,
where the Spirit of God isactive and there is a thriving
family atmosphere andenvironment there in the house
of God.
You cannot show up to a deadchurch and expect to be alive.
Amen, bro.
So how do we have an increaseof faith, man?
Faith comes by hearing andhearing of the Word of God.
Speaker 2 (23:53):
Praise God, brother, I was walking out the house this
morning in preparation for thepodcast and I looked across the
yard and there was a tree cutdown right there had a neighbor
a friend of the neighbor comedown, had a widow maker.
One tree was hanging intoanother.
I had rented a lift and heborrowed a lift to get easy
(24:14):
access to take this thing downpiece by piece.
You know, when I looked overthere this morning, what was
once alive was dead, chopped upand was branches off to the side
.
And as I saw that man, Irealized that when we ain't
reaching out, like in the 27thverse, right here, it says reach
out your hand and put it intomy side.
(24:35):
When we don't reach out to JesusChrist in our doubt, in our
fear, in our worry, in ourstress, in our anxiety, when we
don't reach out to our brothersand sisters that are readily
available right there beggingyou reach out to me.
When we don't do that, we looklike those branches that have
been severed and cut off,because Jesus Christ tells us,
us in his word if you don'tabide in me, if you don't abide
(24:59):
in me, you will be cut off.
You'll be thrown off to theside like branches, yeah, yeah,
and burn and burn, and burn andburn.
And how many of us?
Maybe you're listening today.
You feel like you're burningout.
Yeah, you feel like you've beencut off.
I'm here to remind you todaythat you ain't cut off.
Unless you want to be Just gotto reach out.
Just reach out, reach out forhelp, because the vine's right
(25:19):
there, reaching out to you.
He's so near, yeah, he's sonear to you right now.
Speaker 1 (25:24):
Yeah, the Bible.
Jesus tells us in the word ofGod that he is the vine.
We are the branches, amen.
And the branch draws itsstrength from the vine.
That's right.
The branch gets peace from thevine.
From the vine, the branch getseverything it needs.
Everything it needs, my friends.
Speaker 2 (25:40):
Amen From the vine.
Mentioning reaching out, PastorLee, can you share with us a
time that either you yourselfreached out to someone or
someone reached out to you, andfrom that you've seen a
monumental move of God,Absolutely brother, absolutely.
Speaker 1 (26:00):
I have a good, a very dear brother in my life.
Goes to church with us and Iknow he would not mind me
mentioning his name he doesn'twant to credit.
So this isn't for that, butjust a real person, jim Mitchell
, just a real brother to me.
And there have been timesthroughout my life and ministry
where, let's say, my childrenwould be sick or I would be sick
(26:23):
, or my wife would be sick.
We'd come down with somethingand I know that I could reach
out to him.
And that brother is going topray until we see some type of
move or shift.
He's going to pray until we seesome type of action by the hand
of God.
And time and time again, itdoesn't matter how sick someone
was, I go to him because I knowthat his prayer works.
(26:48):
And it's not that it's Jim thatis important, it's not that
it's Jim Mitchell that is theimportant person, it's that I
know that his faith is restingsolely in Father God, so that
when I go to Jim and he believesthat the power of prayer works,
he believes that people arehealed in the name and the blood
(27:09):
of Jesus, I know that he'sgoing to stand with me, shoulder
to shoulder and we're going tofight through this, through
faith and prayer together untilwe see results.
So, you know, oftentimes,through many, many years, I've
had to reach out to him and sayso-and-so's sick, so-and-so's
not feeling well, we got thistest coming in, or whatever.
We're looking for the rightanswer.
Join with me, link up with meand, brother, I'm telling you a
(27:37):
hundred percent of the time,faith has moved mountains and it
has just been miracle aftermiracle, after miracle.
And again, it's not Jim Mitchellwho is the special one.
He will point to God just asquick as I'm saying he will.
You know, he is going to giveGod all the honor, glory, credit
and praise for it.
But it is so good to havesomeone in your circle that you
know, hey, when it comes toasking God for this, there's
(27:58):
zero doubt in the room we arestanding here until we see the
hand of God move and I bet youthat when you reach out in faith
to this brother who's going topray in faith, I bet you it
brings you peace.
It brings me peace because Iknow that I got somebody walking
with me.
It increases my faith andthere's been times where I'm
like all right, well,so-and-so's not that sick in my
(28:20):
family, so I'm not going tobother him.
And then he'll get to churchand he'll see someone's not, or
hear someone's not feeling.
Well, he's like bro, why didn'tyou call me?
Why didn't you call me?
You know, because he too.
Hey, we can go to God for thisand God's going to fix this.
So don't go through anything byyourself.
Let's go to God.
Reach out, yeah, reach out,reach out and let's go to God
for this and God's going to fixit.
(28:41):
Friends, if you're taking notes, write this down God makes all
the difference in the world.
God makes all the difference inthe world.
And when you got brothers andsisters in your life, in your
circle in the room, that believethat mountains move, frankie,
amen, mountains move.
In John, chapter 20, 29,.
Jesus says to Thomas have youbelieved?
(29:01):
Because you have seen me?
Blessed are those who have notseen and yet have believed.
So, just talking about thisissue of doubt, in order to talk
kind of fully on doubt, we gotto touch on this thing faith for
a moment in closing, hebrews11.1,.
It's one of my favoritescriptures in the New Testament.
But Hebrews 11.1 says now faithis the assurance of things
(29:24):
hoped for, the conviction ofthings not seen.
Hebrews 11.6,.
Just a few verses down, hebrews11.6 says it goes on to say
without faith it's impossible toplease God.
So this is what doubt tries tocome in to do.
It tries to take out the legsof faith, tries to knock out our
(29:44):
legs right from underneath ofus.
And that's why, when werecognize doubt in our lives, we
do need to reach out.
Reach out for a brother orsister and say pray for me,
right here I'm struggling.
Reach out to Christ, reach outto the Father through prayer and
don't let that doubt festerbecause, as I mentioned earlier,
it is crippling if you allow itto continue to grow in your
(30:08):
life.
So, friends, we hope you've beenencouraged by today's episode
of Beyond Sunday.
We know that God is in controlof all things good and he's
working everything out right nowfor His glory in your life, if
you have faith and you trust inHim.
But remember that the God ofheaven and earth, the God of all
the universe, he wants Hispeace to be where Found in you.
(30:31):
Let's pray, father.
We thank you for the opportunitythat you give us to come into
this room today to be able toshare this topic of doubt.
Lord, we love you, we honor you, we praise you and we are so
thankful, father, that as wepress deeper into you, we
receive faith and strength, anddoubt has to disappear, yes, but
(30:54):
we want to honor you in andthrough all things, father.
So, lord, we want to be able tolook out for your hand at work
today.
May we see you working in andthrough us and all around us.
Use us as hands and feet andmouthpieces today, father, that
we could bring you honor andglory In Jesus Christ's mighty
name and blood.
Everybody, my friends, saidtogether amen, amen and amen.
(31:17):
God bless you and until nexttime.
We'll see you on Beyond Sunday,amen.
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