"And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God." (John 20:28) " Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded." (James 4:8, ESV) I don't know about these days, but in those days when altar calls are made people are asked to repent of their sins, surrender their lives to God and accept Jesus as their personal Lord and Saviour. The emphasis here is on the word personal. The problem we have in the church today is Christians who have accepted Jesus as their Lord but not as their personal Saviour. In today's lesson, we explore the second benefit of a personal experience of God..
The only way to create change - real lasting change in our world is to get to know God on a personal level. The Bible says "Those who know their God shall be strong and do mighty exploits" (Daniel 11:32b). That is a noteworthy statement. Those who know their God. God has to be your God! You have to meet Him on a personal level. You ought to have had a distinct personal encounter with Him. You should be able to point your finger on a particular day - a particular moment in time, a particular situation and say, "There, right there was when it happened. When I had that life changing encounter with God". Without that sort of conviction and certainty, it is hard for your faith to withstand persecution. The reason people lose their faith is because it is not founded on any personal definte encounter. When your faith is founded on just mere assumptions and stories you heard, it doesn't do you much good.
Thomas remains an exemplary Christian for all of us to emulate. Thomas demanded for his own experience - he wanted to meet Jesus on a personal note. Many people think that what Thomas did was wrong. Of course, we all call him "doubting" Thomas! But that is not true. What Jesus condemned was his unbelief, not his request for a personal encounter. Recall that Jesus granted him that request. When Jesus appeared the second time, he called Thomas out in front of everybody and said "put your hand into my side and confirm!" Wow! What an amazing experience and a life changing encounter. I can imagine Thomas, years later, preaching to thousands of people gathered to hear him, and saying "I am not telling you some made up stories. Jeus is alive again, I personaly put my hands into His side and felt His wound where He was pierced." Wouldn't you be moved by that kind of testimony. It is no wonder the number that lives that will be changed by that testimony.
Dear friend, do you have a personal relationship and experience of God; or are you running on your pastor's experience? Or the stories you know about God are the ones your parents or Sunday School teacher told you. It is not enough to tell people about what God did in Damascus, you need to tell them also what He did in your village, your community. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. In other words, personalize God and He will personalize you. That is the message. May God bless you as you heed His word in Jeusu name. Amen