How to Keep Your Faith When You Can't See What God is Doing | Season 8 Ep 3

When was the last time someone truly saw you? Not just glanced in your direction, but genuinely recognized your presence, your worth, your humanity? In this soul-stirring exploration of John 14:15-24, we encounter a beautiful yet often overlooked biblical figure who models what it means to truly see others.

Thaddeus, known by several names but rarely heard from in scripture, speaks just once – asking Jesus a question that reveals his extraordinary heart: "Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?" While other disciples focused on themselves, Thaddeus focused outward, concerned for those who hadn't yet encountered Jesus's transformative love.

Through Thaddeus's compassionate question, we're challenged to examine our own spiritual vision. Are we seeing people as Jesus sees them? Are we speaking up for those who don't yet know Him? Are we positioned as bridges between a loving God and a world desperate for His presence? Join us as we learn from this quiet disciple who teaches us that true faith isn't just about our personal relationship with God – it's about helping others see the love that's always been available to them.

Transcript

Welcome to Grab the Faith

Speaker 1 0:00

Hey all , thank you for joining us here at Grab the Faith , where we try to grab the faith and run with it . Join us as we try to learn a little more , grow a little more and live a lot more . I'm your host , bobbi Gentry Goodwin . Stay tuned for this week's episode . Good evening , good evening , good evening , and thank you for joining me . Welcome to the Grab the Faith podcast , where we try to grab the faith and run with it .

Speaker 1 0:35

How are you Really ? How are you really ? How was your day ? As I'm ending the day , I had such a beautiful day and I hope that you had a beautiful day too .

Speaker 1 0:46

Now , sometimes many people can go through an entire day and no one asked them . Not one person asked them . How are you ? Well , I'm asking you in case nobody asked you today . How are you ? I hope that you are well blessed and highly favored . I hope somebody is seeing you , I hope somebody is caring for you and I hope that somebody is speaking life over you .

Speaker 1 1:14

Well , tonight we're going to be talking about that very same thing . Tonight , we're going to be talking about a disciple who saw people , and not only did he see them , but he cared about them . He saw the world and wanted the world to be blessed . He thought of others and tonight we're going to be thinking about him . You know , we had a wonderful , wonderful lesson last couple of weeks about how sometimes you can love on people , you can show them hospitality , you can bless them over and over and they don't love on you back . They don't even see you . And that's okay , because we learned last week that God sees you . But tonight we're going to see this disciple , we're going to be thinking about him , and that's none other than Thaddeus . You know some of those disciples . They all over the gospels , but Thaddeus , he's not all over the gospels , so he's a little bit recluse , it's a little bit harder to know , but we're going to see him tonight because he deserves our eyes , he deserves to be learned about , he's one of the 12 .

Speaker 1 2:25

So if you have your Bibles , if you have them , go on and grab them , dust them off , pick them up and open the rich word of God , because we're going to be studying tonight John , chapter 14 , verses 15 through 24 , which says this . 24 , which says this if you love me I'm going to say that again If you love me not because you love me , not because I know you love me . It says if you love me , then keep my commands and I will ask the father and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever . The spirit of truth . Anybody know what the spirit of truth is ? Anybody know what the word of God is talking about ? Well , we're going to learn

How Are You Really?

Speaker 1 3:19

the spirit of truth . The world cannot accept him because it neither sees him nor knows him , but you know him , for he lives with you and will be in you . I will not leave you as orphans . This is Jesus . This is Jesus . I will not leave you as orphans . I will come to you . Before long the world will not see me anymore , but you will see me . Praise the Lord , praise the Lord . You will see me . He's talking to his disciples here , because I live . Thank you , jesus . You will also live . On that day , you will realize that I am in my Father and you are in me and I am in you . Ooh , is that some good news tonight ? And I am in you . Whoever has my commands and keep them is the one who loves me . The one who loves me will be loved by my father , and I too will love them and show myself to them . Ooh , that's a good word tonight Because , listen , as we started off this talk , there are some people that don't feel loved .

Speaker 1 4:41

There are some people that don't feel seen . There are some people that don't feel seen . There are some people that don't feel validated . There are some people that don't feel recognized . Love is available to everybody tonight , thank you Jesus .

Speaker 1 4:54

Verse 22 says this then Judas , not Judas Iscariot if you've been following along in this Bible study , you know exactly who Judas Iscariot is . Then Judas , not Judas Iscariot said but Lord , why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world ? But Lord , why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world ? That's what Judas that's what that is is saying tonight . Well , let's listen in . Jesus replied anyone who loves me will obey my teaching . My father will love them . We talking about love tonight and we will come to them and make our home with them . Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching . These words , you hear , are not my own . They belong to the father who sent me .

Speaker 1 5:59

Listen , we've done reading our text , but we about to dive into this Bible study because , listen , the Lord has a word for us tonight . See chapter 14 , verses 23 to 24 from the message . Says it how I like it . It says because a loveless world said Jesus is a sightless world . Just let that marinate on your heart for a minute . Because a loveless world said Jesus is a sightless world . Listen , this portion of scripture is incredible because I don't know if you live in the world like I do , but you just look around the world and see if people are holding their sight . Do they see other people's pain ? Do they see other people's hurt ? Do they see other people's needs ? We need to hold this tonight because we're talking about , in this Bible study , what you looking at , what you looking at see , because we get to eavesdrop on a conversation tonight , a conversation between Jesus and his disciples .

Speaker 1 7:15

And in chapter 14 , we have several disciples misunderstanding Jesus as he's talking to them . You know just us as believers , sometimes we can misunderstand the word of God , and these people have been walking with Jesus and they still misunderstanding . So give yourself a little grace , but listen , as they are walking with Jesus , they still misunderstanding in chapter 14 . And our chosen disciple of study tonight , thaddeus , is no different . We're eavesdropping on a conversation between Thaddeus , aka Judas , and Jesus . But please know , in this conversation we're not just listening to the Messiah , we're just not listening to the disciple , but we're listening to the teacher and the student . See , because anytime you're reading the word of God , you're not the teacher , you're the student . I teach the Word of God all the time , but I'm a student of the word , I'm not . Just . Jesus wants to teach us all something .

Speaker 1 8:18

A few important things happen right off the bat in this text . We see the promised Holy Spirit . We see Jesus talking about the helper that will come . We see a distinct difference from Jesus's point of view in the world and his people . We see

Introduction to Thaddeus the Disciple

Speaker 1 8:39

that in the text we read , we see the promised Holy Spirit and we see a distinct difference that Jesus is making between the world and his people . And we see Thaddeus the disciple speaking up for the very first time in all of scripture .

Speaker 1 8:56

See , when I studied this , I was just astounded because Thaddeus , who was also called Judas listen , he's not a talker . Okay , he's in the background . You know I can play the background . He's in the background . Peter's talking , you know Thomas talking , all of these disciples talking , but Thaddeus is not talking except here . And he's not speaking up for himself , he's speaking up for the world , for the needs of others . He ain't saying nothing else . Okay , in the text that is recorded , but we see him speaking up for the world this Thaddeus is not talking about . Can I sit on your side , jesus ? This Thaddeus ain't worried about no money bag and speaking up for that like the other Judas did , this Thaddeus , this Judas , is speaking up for the world .

Speaker 1 9:54

What does this tell us about Thaddeus ? Clearly , thaddeus loved people . Do you love people tonight ? Do you love people tonight ? Then do you speak up for them ? That's , I just got arrested in this text . If you love people , do you speak up for them ? Clearly , thaddeus loved people and he saw them because he asked jesus about them . See , not much is known about thaddeus , but what we do know grabbed me and had me to take pause . We do know grabbed me and had me to take pause when I gotta speak .

Speaker 1 10:36

I want to speak up for somebody , thaddeus the disciple , mentioned many times in scripture , no more than four or five that I could see no more than five times in the word of God . I saw that his name was listed amongst the disciples and when they listed him he was called by different names . Okay , you remember the name Thaddeus the disciple . I mean , we know all the other disciples . What about Thaddeus ? He was called several names Thaddeus , judas , judas Thaddeus , son of James . He was even called disciple by Jesus After Jesus prayerfully picked him out amongst the 12 . But the one name that's important , that we're going to hold on to tonight , and that is he's a disciple of Christ .

Speaker 1 11:24

People may call you many names , some nice and some not so nice , but does God call you his disciple ? Does God call you his follower ? Does

Jesus's Promise of the Holy Spirit

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God call your name ? Thaddeus was called a disciple of Christ . And listen , that's good news tonight that people may not know your name . They don't know what to call you , but God knows what to call you .

Speaker 1 11:54

Listen , this is a good lesson for us tonight , because I want you to think about what does Jesus call you ? What does God , the Father in heaven , call you ? Does he call you friend ? Does he call you daughter or son ? What is he calling on to you , your name , tonight ? See , even the church didn't even have a name back then . The church , when Jesus was talking to those disciples . The church wasn't even called Christians , until it is stated in the church of Antioch in Acts , chapter 11 . The church didn't even have a name . But here in this text , there ain't no church , there was no pastors , there was no deacons , there were no bishops . There was just Jesus and his followers and his followers , and some of the followers was actually believers , because not everybody that followed Jesus around was a believer . See , a lot of people can be in proximity to Jesus in the text that we've seen . A lot of people can be in proximity , but are they believers ? People can be in proximity , but are they believers being able to partake of his love ? See , not everybody did .

Speaker 1 13:19

This book of John that our chosen text is in tonight , it talks about the miracles of God , it talks about the love of God . It talks about and it is written just to show us who God is , that he is , that who Jesus is , that he is the son of God . This book of John is an exposition of miracles , making the case that Jesus is the son of God , making the case that God so loved the world and God is love . Love the world and God is love . But it also notes in our text that there was two sets of people those that are in the kingdom and those that are not . The kingdom of God and the world . And listen . That's exactly where we meet . That is right where we want to meet him , worrying about the world , worrying about the world , wanting to bridge both Jesus and the world , wanting to bridge them both together , just like our father . That's why he sent Jesus newsflash . That's why he sent Jesus newsflash . That's why he sent Jesus , that we might know him , that God sent his son , that we might know him tonight . Do you know that Jesus called those 12 disciples that we've been studying in this Bible study so that they can proclaim the word of God , that people may know him ? And if you are a believer , do you know that you're stationed in that very same seat as you look out into the world ? You are positioned so that people may know him . We are all positioned as believers to tell the world about the kingdom of God .

Speaker 1 15:16

But Thaddeus was confused , as I mentioned , just like some of those other disciples in the book of John , chapter 14 , but he spoke up and asked Lord , why can't you reveal yourself to everyone , lord ? Why can't you reveal yourself to everyone ? And that's the same question many of us are still asking . Another translation may be why doesn't God just save everyone ? Or Lord ? Another thought could be why

The Heart of Thaddeus Revealed

Speaker 1 16:01

can't everyone just go to heaven ? Why would God send people to hell ? Why would a loving God send people to hell ? Why would a loving God not just save everyone ? Just save everyone ? Thaddeus , with his heart for the world , is asking his father , asking his master , asking his teacher , asking the Messiah why can't you just reveal yourself to everyone ? Doesn't that show us the heart of Thaddeus ?

Speaker 1 16:38

He wants everybody to have a chance to know Jesus and to partake of his goodness . That's what Thaddeus wants . Have you ever been to a good restaurant ? And that food is smacking . It's delicious . That berry pie is off the hook . That peach cobbler is incredible . That barbecue ribs we coming on Memorial Day , those barbecue ribs is out of sight . What you want to do ? You want to tell everyone . That's exactly what that is saying Jesus . Everyone needs to know just how good you are . Everyone deserves a chance , see .

Speaker 1 17:20

But what that is did not really , I feel , in my interpretation , hold tight is that everyone is given a chance . That's why Jesus is there . Everyone is given a chance . He called 12 disciples , but he did eight other miracles in this book . He healed the sick , he raised the dead , he preached about the kingdom of God , not just to 12 people . He did it in Samaria , he did it in Judea , he did it all over Talking about the kingdom of God . That is , everybody has a chance . That is everybody has a chance . You have a chance , I have a chance , they have a chance . Everybody has an opportunity to know Jesus . Lord , why can't everyone be in relationship with you like we are ? Thaddeus is so kind , so compassionate , so caring . Yes , thaddeus , everybody deserves a chance . Yes , thaddeus , understand that everybody is given a chance . But would everybody take it ?

Speaker 1 18:44

If you love me , keep my commands . God Jesus is telling them listen , if you love me , keep my command . But surely if means that some people don't . But for the people who do , praise the Lord , for the people who do , he will ask the father and he will give you another advocate to help you and he will be with you forever . That's what it says in our text tonight . Jesus said if you love me , keep my command , then I will do , praise the Lord . Some people love you and they ain't willing to do nothing . But Jesus said listen , I'm gonna be with you forever just because you love me .

Speaker 1 19:31

As a matter of fact , chapter 14 is about so much more than that is . It's about trusting , believing and loving Christ , seeing Jesus for who he really is and what he will do for those who receives his love . See in verse 17, . The Lord makes a distinction between the kingdom of God and the world . He makes a distinction between those who will receive and those who won't . He makes a distinction between those who accept and those who refuse . There are some who refuse the love of Christ . In verse 17 , it says the spirit of truth whom the world cannot receive because neither they see him nor know him . What you looking at tonight ? What are you seeing tonight in your life ? See , the world is hit differently , y'all the world is different . Okay , they can't receive because they don't see him or even know him . See , thaddeus sees the world , but he doesn't know that . The world doesn't see the Lord . But Jesus knows the world . Jesus knows the world . Thaddeus is not Jesus .

Speaker 1 21:11

John , chapter 3 , verses 12 , says this but if you don't believe me when I tell you about earthly things , how can you possibly ? How can you possibly ? How can you possibly believe when I tell you about heavenly things ? He's talking to Nicodemus there , but that's something that we got to hold true . If they don't even believe when he's telling them about earthly things , which is in the word of God . There will be famine ,

The Kingdom vs. The World

Speaker 1 21:40

there will be , there will be rumors of war . Jesus knows people and he knows people who don't know him . He knows them back then , just like he knows them right now .

Speaker 1 21:53

The world does not see Jesus as the Messiah , that is , but the kingdom of God does . The world doesn't see his love . The world doesn't see his sacrifice . The world doesn't see who he really is . They are not believers . They don't see his love but instead sees condemnation . They don't really know him . They don't see him and why he really came , that God still loves them , he still wants them . That's why he called Thaddeus , that's why he called us . People don't always have a heart for God , but God always has a heart for people . But they have to accept him . John , chapter 3 , verses 18 , says there is no judgment against anyone who believes in him . No judgment . But you got to believe to receive . He wants to include everybody because he loves them and love is serious to God . But he doesn't go anywhere . He's not wanted , would you ? Thaddeus the disciple , sweet Thaddeus . Thaddeus the disciple , sweet Thaddeus . He did not recognize that Jesus wants the world but the world don't want him . People have a choice . Thaddeus , the world has a choice . Thaddeus , I have a choice , you have a choice .

Speaker 1 23:44

Jeremiah 16 , as we're closing to the end says this in the message version when you tell this to people and they ask why is God talking this way , threatening us with all these calamities ? We're not criminals , we're good people . It don't say that , but it says we're not criminals . After all , what have we done to our God to be treated like this ? Tell them this . He talking to Jeremiah here it's because your ancestors left me , walked off and never looked back . They took up with the no gods worship and doted on them and ignored me and wouldn't do a thing . I told them See , in Jeremiah it's talking about the people of God in Jeremiah . But I think that's so true today .

Speaker 1 24:34

When we turn our back on God , woe is us . When we turn our back on God , woe is us . We're turning our back on love . We're turning our back on acceptance . We're turning our back on the ability to be seen , to be cared for , to be loved , to be embraced . Won't you embrace him tonight ? Won't you accept his love ? He shows his compassionate love for us over and over . He knocks and knocks and knocks and knocks . Has he been knocking at your door ? Have you closed the door on him over and over again ? That's your choice . We can decide what to think , what to wear , what to eat , what to serve and who to worship , but this lesson this disciple is teaching us tonight , then he wants you to have the opportunity to love and be in right relationship

Closing: The Choice to Receive Love

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with God , but what you looking at tonight , do you want that ? Do you want it ? Thank you .