No More Nails Part 2

Hey, this is Stephen Ferdick.

I'm the pastor of Elevation Church and this is our podcast. I wanted to thank you for joining us today.

Hope this inspires you. Hope it builds your faith. Hope it gives your perspective to see God is moving in your life.

Enjoy the message, because life will label you by what you did, and the Bible gives us a little Only John tells us this because John had the sensitivity to him.

When you read his gospel, he tells you things other people don't mention.

He said, Now Thomas, also known as Didamus. I mean, if we've just got to label Thomas a doubter, can we at least call him doubting didamis because the alliteration works much better. Doubting Didimus. The Bible says that doubting did he one of the twelve.

Was not with.

Somebody say, he wasn't there. So now Jesus and Thomas got something in common. When they went to look for jesus dead body, he wasn't there. When Jesus showed up alive and resurrected, Thomas wasn't there, and Thomas wasn't there. The Bible doesn't say why he wasn't there. I've always heard it preach like he wasn't there because he didn't have enough faith to be there. But the boys inside

How about scaredy cat Simon Peter, scaredy Simon.

How about locked door Levi, lock them up Levi? And doubting Dicky. And we all have dolts. That's what I'm trying to say. We all have scars, we all have dysfunction. You might have long sleeves, but if I could roll up your sleeves, you've been through something.

You'll struggle with something. Your wife may not know it, But God goes, I gotta heard.

I gotta hurry. I'm getting really indulgent. I got to get you out of here because the next crowd's coming in. Somebody somebody say, nails, nails, nails nails. So the other disciple told him we have seen the Lord. But Thomas said this way had come down in Thomas. I call him honest Thomas. I don't call him doubting Thomas. I call him honest Thomas, truthful Thomas. Because Thomas is like, I'm not buying it. I'm not buying en off what you said. I need to see for myself. I got

And unless I put my finger where the names.

And put my hand into a sigh, I won't believe. Watch Jesus now, I want to point out one thing in verse twenty six.

Look at it.

Seven days later, a week later, seven seven miles, seven days. God will leave you in a space where you don't understand to create faith in your heart. So Thomas says, I need to see the scars. Jesus could have showed up on the spot. He waited seven days. Jesus could have walked up to Cleo and said, see my scars.

It's me.

But sometimes he wants to let you walk and wonder and walk and wonder, not because he doesn't love you, but because if your faith needs an explanation, it cannot sustain the trials of life.

So he waits seven days to help me appreciate that he waits seven days. Have you ever had to wait seven days? Have you ever had to wait through a custody battle? Have you ever had to wait to see if this is ever gonna feel better? Have you ever had to wait through pain, wait through depression, wake through anxiety attacks, wake through bad reports, way through a newscast?

Have you ever had to wait a waiting a waiting period? And then when Jesus shows up a week later?

Seven?

Everybody say seven, seven days, seven miles, seven days, seven miles.

It's the number of completion.

And then Jesus shows up, maybe just at that point where Thomas is tired of waiting, And the disciples were in the house again, and Thomas this time was there, and Jesus walks in. Look at the next part. Though the doors were locked, they still locked, the doors still scared, but they stayed, still scared.

But they stayed. I still got some addictions, but I'm in church today.

God can work with that. I'm still on the road. I don't get it, but I'm still. And this time Thomas was there. He kno gonna miss it this time. And Jesus came in, stood among them and said peace, watch what comes next. You're Tommy, Hey diddy, Hey, honest, Thomas.

I heard you wanted to see my scars. Now this is important.

Put your finger here, where where the nails were? Isn't that what you needed to see? Thomas, where the nails were? I noticed something he didn't say, where the nails are.

You're Tommy, I'm back from the grave and I need you to see something.

Look, Thomas, no more nails. Look Thomas, they're not here. But your finger where the sin was. But your finger where the shame was. Put your finger where.

They tried to crucify the.

Creator of the world.

No more, somebody shout no more nails, no more nails.

In other words, what held me? Does it hold me anymore? I came to the Claire. Today is the day freedom.

I wish you would push your neighbor to the almost fall over and say, no more nails, No more nails.

Now.

I've heard so many sermons about forgiveness because we've all been wounded. Raise your hand if life hasn't wounded you yet. I want to see where the liars are in the church because I want to have a special prayer for all the liars who would have the audacity to lie in the presence of God and act like you haven't been wounded. We've all been wounded. Rock Hill, Gaston County. It don't matter Toronto, Canada.

You can't. You can't walk the road without being wounded. You can't go to church without being wounded. Faked, I'm maddy, That's why I have to gange. Faked. I'm mad.

I was in a church one time and the preacher got them to sing about wounds.

And it was so weird, y'all, because he was like he was. He was preaching about wounds.

His thing was try to get everybody go back and remember all the ways they've been wounded throughout their whole life. He had me thinking of stuff in the third grade, just the craziest stuff like that was going to bring healing. Look at this, Jesus didn't show Thomas his wounds. He showed him his scars. There is a difference between being wounded and being scarred.

That's good, that's good.

Feel So when I prayed about this first word of forgiveness, the Lord told me to talk to you about the nails, whatever has wounded you, whatever you hide, whatever happened. See when Jesus shows Thomas his scars. I'm glad he kept his scars. I'm glad he kept that part. I'm glad he didn't stay dead. But I'm also glad that he came out scarred because that gives me hope.

And that's how I try to preach.

I don't want to preach wounded, because if I preach wounded, I'm going to inflict my pain on you.

And I don't want to be a wounded parent. I don't want to be a wounded spouse. I don't want to walk around.

God spoke to me a couple months ago and he said, if I've really healed you like you claim I have, why are you still so touchy? Thomas said, I want to see where the wounds were. And when I teach, preacher Jonathan can tell you.

I tell him. Don't you get up and tell the.

Church all the ways that you woke up at five thirty am? And you know, if I put you in my puppet show the church some of your scars, you can show them the stones that God has rolled away. That's fine, that's the part of it. He is a god of miracles. He is a god who makes dreams come true and we've all got some stones that he's rolled away, but we've.

All got some scars, too.

So show them your scars. Show them where you didn't get up at five point thirty.

In fact, show them where you pretended like you didn't hear the baby crying at five point thirty. And Anna gotta tell them that story. Tell them how you almost quit.

Tell them how you wanted to throw up the first week you went out to preach, after the news media ran a story about you for four days straight saying things about you.

Tell them that.

Tell them how you were in the bathroom and you came out smiling.

Show them where the wounds were, and.

It'll give them hope that what wounded me doesn't have to hold me forever.

Come on, it's time to be free.

It's been long enough, it's been seven days. Forgiveness doesn't mean it didn't happen.

The scar shows it happened. Jesus didn't show up and say what Cross, What you're talking about? Cross? I don't remember Cross. I heard a preacher say one time, this guy's an idiot. He's have his credentials revoke. He said, if you've really uh, let's get a preacher voice going.

If you've really forgiven someone in your heart, you will not even remember the offense. There is a word that comes to my mind to describe what he said, but I'm gonna just say it's it's inaccurate. It's not denial when I say forgiveness, because I gotta be careful because I'm a pastor, right, I'm not just passing through a preaching one week leaving. I'm not trying to just get something.

Future God has for you.

It doesn't mean that you pretend it never happened. This is not denial. The nails were there. My dad walked out on me.

My dad. I'm saying that you could say.

My mom had an impossible standard that I could never live up to, and I believe that part of my eating disorder today has to do with that. I'm not saying it didn't happen, but I can't let it hold me. I cannot blame her forever, not if I'm a Christian, not if I am a Christian, not if I worshiped the one who was wounded for my transgression. See, I need to let you know something, because the hardest person you'll ever forgive is not your ex, is not.

Your mom, is not your dad. It's not your neighbor who.

Came over your fence and your property line. The hardest person you will ever have to forgive is yourself.

See the truth be told. It is my self inflicted nails that I have the hardest time letting go off.

But I want the devil to know when he comes to hammer at me with accusation. I don't know where you go when that starts to happen, how worthless you are.

Have you noticed the devil loves.

To hammer you, and he's got a big hammer. But let me tell you a little secret. He ain't got no more nails. Somebody shouting no more nails. That sime the devil hammers.

You with accusations, shout back in his face, gott no nails.

All my nails are in that cross. All my shame is on that cross. Somebody shouting no more nails. There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus, the law of the spirit of life has set me free from the law of sin. And ten the devil might have a hammer, it doesn't have any nails breaks out.

In touch.

The place where the nails were.

Where they were, It doesn't mean it didn't happen. It happened. I fell, sure.

It happened. I ruined the relationship. It happened. They abused me in ways that I don't even want to tell my own spouse. It happened.

I deal with the traumatic rememorcy. It's not that it didn't happen, and it's not that it doesn't hurt. That's not what forgiveness is. Forgiveness doesn't mean it it doesn't hurt.

I mean the nails might be gone, but the memory is still there.

And it's really easy to forgive sometimes when the person that you're forgiving is gone, but when you still have to work I'll share custody, when you still have to live with the memory, when you still can't be touched without recalling the shame of when you were touched the wrong way, and now you're trying to learn how to love the right way, when you're trying to learn how to trust. It doesn't mean it won't hurt away with the preaching that will teach you that the pain will

The healing is. They saw it in a scarce. Jesus needed those nails.

If they hadn't nailed him to that cross, if.

They hadn't, if they hadn't punctured, if.

The blood didn't flow from that place, the power wouldn't be released.

I'm saying not that God's.

Gonna take the scar away, but that he is going to release.

The greatest strength in your.

Life from the place where the nails were.

Come on, shout no more n ass. It's a declaration.

Doesn't mean it didn't happen. It happened. They bullied you, It happened. They lied about you. By the way, not only have you suffered some wounds, but you've inflicted a few two. And it's kind of crazy how we can be comfortable putting all of our nails in Jesus cross, but then walk around with a pocket full of our own to put in other people. If all my nails are in his cross, that means all of yours are too. I cannot demand to receive a grace from God for

Where I was held to the cross, and.

I want you to know that what held me doesn't hold me anymore. That's what forgiveness is.

Friends.

It's not that it didn't happen. It happened and it was horrible. It's not that it doesn't hurt. It's just that I'm not going to live in the offense any longer. I've been wounded long enough.

Why would I choose to stay wounded when healing is in his hands? Why would I keep nailing you to a cross when it's only hurting me. Somebody say, no more nails, No more nails.

The spirit of God is in this place. No more nails.

It's all in the cross, all my past, all my shame, it's all in the cross.

No more nails. To be free, I.

Gotta let go, and I declare over your life today. Not that it won't ever hurt again, not that some things won't need to change, not that it won't be a process. Remember this is only my one of our journey. But if you will put your nails in that cross and trust what Jesus proved that all things somebody shot all things, even the nails, even Judas, even that. I talked to a woman who went through the most traumatic

The proof of His power.

Yeah, I got scars, y'all all went through it. Yeah, hurt like hell. Yes they drove the nails. Yes it was offensive, and yes it was wrong.

But no, I won't stay here. No, I won't sacrifice my future on the altar of my past. No, gor nass, I'm coming out.

I'm coming out.

Come on, shot like your Fred, shot like your friend. How long do you want to stay wounded? How long do you want to stay stuck? It happened. I'm not living in denial.

It hurts. I'm not gonna live defensive, pretending like it doesn't hurt and I have to handle it. I'm not gonna live in dysfunction, enabling dysfunctional situations and calling it forgiveness.

But I'm not gonna stay here dead.

When he is risen, no more else, no more els. He is going on the cross today, all of it, right, all of it. The sin you did, the sin.

That was done to you. It's all going on the same cross today.

And all things, even the scars, not just the stone, but the scars, all things.

We'll work together for the good. Look, Thomas, it doesn't hold me anymore. Look Thomas, your doubt doesn't have to hold you anymore. Look, Thomas, touch you.

See see my scars? You see you see my scars. I know you've got some wounds. They've been open long enough.

It's time.

Mm hmm