Drifters

0:00So we are in the book of John, the book of one of the gospels, the gospel of John. We're going to be in chapter 20 and chapter 21, but we'll pick some verses here and there. Elder amen. Be ready. I'm going to give you small passages to read for us here and there. So I called my message this morning. Drifters. Drifters. Drifters. So as I was meditating on this passage, on this chapter of the Bible, this is happening after Jesus resurrected from the dead. So he suffered, he died, and he resurrected. And it was a time, was a very, very difficult time for the apostles and for the disciples. And I could relate to many of the things that they were going to and I began to realize that we can learn something from the situation they found themselves in.

1:01Now, what is this situation? First of all, I'd like to kind of define what drifting is. A drifter is somebody who is drifting. And I looked up some definitions online and drifting was defined as to gradually lose contact, emotional connection or interest in someone or something over time. But it can also be looked at as to stray or to meander or to slide away or to sleep away. Many times when we think of drifting in terms of motion or movement, like physical movement, something is drifting when it loses control. Let's say you are traveling by water. Let's say you are in a canoe or some sort of a boat and suddenly there's a problem with your engine or you lose your ability to move in the direction that you want.

2:08Because it's water, most of the time the water will take you wherever wind is taking you. That's also one way to look at drifting in a physical manner. How are we doing so far? So that is what drifting is. But in terms of relationships, the first definition fits better. So drifting is more like gradually losing contact or an emotional connection. Couples do drift from one another sometimes. You see, especially before people divorce most of the time what precedes the divorce is they drift away, they drift apart from each other. Where they begin to slowly lose interest in one another or they get disconnected in some ways. Friends can drift apart, can drift away from each other. A family member can drift away. Now today we want to look at this in a sense of your spiritual work with God.

3:11There is a situation that can happen in the life of a child of God where you are in a good relationship with God. Everything is going well and your life makes sense. You have a sense of direction. But there can be a time when you feel like you are drifting away. Where you have no sense of where your life is headed. Even though you are a child of God and you believe in God and you have faith that God is with you, but you lose the sense of what is happening around you or where you are headed. Usually it is a time where you have a lot of uncertainty. You have fear. You worry about what is going to happen next. So this can happen to children of God too. And we see this happen to the disciples when Jesus died. The Bible shows us that when Jesus died they were all scattered and after he died and buried him, they gathered together in one place.

4:17But it was a sad time for them. Many of them did not know what to do with themselves. And even when he resurrected, they were still in limbo. They were still not really sure what to do with themselves. And that is what we are going to read today. Now I have about four types of drifters that I want to talk to you about. And my hope is that we can identify some of the things that happen in the lives of these drifters and perhaps these lessons or these notions can help you understand what to do when you are experiencing drifting in your own life or when you become a drifter yourself. Amen. So I am going to have Erdog Man if you could read for us. John chapter 20 from verse 14 to verse 17, please. Verse 14, I am reading the name of Jesus. Now when she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there and did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her,

5:23woman, why are you weeping? Who are you seeking? She supposing him to be the gardener, say to him, Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him and I will take him away. Jesus said to her, Mary, she turned and said to him, Rabona, which is to say teacher, Jesus said to her, do not cling to me for I have not yet ascended to my father. But go to my brethren and see to them. I am ascending to my father and your father into my God and your God. Amen. Amen. So in this story, we see the first day of the week. This is the day Jesus resurrected. The Bible says that in the morning Mary Madeline went to the sepulcher or to the tomb of Jesus. And when he got there, he found that the stone has been removed and he found he saw angels inside the tomb. And she began to panic because these angels were just, they look like people.

6:29So she began to think that these people may have moved the body of Jesus because she looked into the tomb and the body was no longer there. The Bible tells us that she began to cry. She began to weep and was panicking. And as she did this, the Lord Himself appeared in that place and began to speak with her. The Bible says that the Lord asked her, woman, why are you weeping? Who are you seeking? And the Bible says that she thought that he was a gardener and said to him, sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him. And I will take him away. This is, I don't know what's going on in Mary Madeline's head, but it looks like she was so hurt, she was so sad that she thought that if that person pointed her to where the Jesus body was, that she could go and collect Jesus body herself and take it away. This is the, these are the words of somebody who is in pain, who is sad.

7:37And as they are talking, then Jesus says to her, Mary calls her name. And I don't know what happened, but it seems as though calling her by her name kind of woke her up. And then she realized that this was the Lord Himself. And suddenly she realized that she was actually talking to the Lord Himself. And the Bible shows that she began to cling to Jesus, to cling to something is to attach yourself or grab onto something. So she began to, I bet she probably wanted to hug him, she wanted maybe to hold onto him, or like for some reason she began to cling to him because I'm imagining she was happy to see him, but at the same time terrified, but at the same time she doesn't know what to do with herself. The Bible says in verse 17, Jesus says to her, do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to my father, but go to my brethren and say to them, I am ascending to my father.

8:46So it seems as though, you know, something in her wanted her to keep Jesus there. She didn't want Jesus to go anywhere. So when you read this passage, this particular verse 17, Jesus is trying to get away. He says, well, don't cling on to me because I am living. I'm going to my father, but I want you to go to my brethren, meaning to the disciples and to the apostles and talk to them and tell them that I'm alive. Tell them that I'm going to my father. So the first type of drifters that we're going to see today, I call them the sad drifters, the sad drifters. Many times these people become drifters because of a loss or because of something really sad that happens in their lives. Many times in the lives of children of God, sad things happen, something really sad struck you and it begins to work on your heart.

9:53It begins to change, you know, the way you carry yourself because you are affected as a person psychologically, you are affected. And the sad drifters are people who are highly emotional, very emotional. And Mary Magdalene, you can tell she really cared about Jesus very much and she became sad of the loss of the death of Jesus. And because of that, when she went there, it was probably part of the way she was dealing with her sadness. But then Jesus began to explain to her something. He says, do not cling to me. Most of the time when a sad drifter is functioning with God, sad drifter, they tend to be very, very attached to God. They tend to be very, very attached to God emotionally. There are those type of Christians who love God deeply. They love God as if they were loving a human being.

10:58They love God as if it's a person that they know that they've seen. And many times, sad drifters love encounters. They love to seek the presence of God. They love to see many supernatural manifestations of God. But the problem with sad drifters is they can be too attached to the presence of God that they forget them or they forget the most important things. And most of the time for a sad drifter to experience God in his life or her life, they have to get to a place where they understand that yes, it's good to be with God, it's good to be in the presence of God. But it's more important to follow the command that he's giving you, to go out and do the work that you're supposed to be doing. That was not the moment for her to cry and remain attached to Jesus. In that moment, Jesus wanted her to go and talk to the brethren. Because this body was a glorious body. This Jesus was a glorious Jesus. He didn't have time to just hang around the socialize.

12:07By the way, this Jesus was no longer walking on foot anymore. This Jesus had a special means of transportation. Because at this point, he did not need to take a bus. He did not need to ride a motorcycle or a bike. He did not even need to take a camera or a horse. At this point, Jesus could just blink and be wherever he needed to be. But Mary did not understand that this Jesus who resurrected is different from the one that she used to know. So she studied, she stayed and studied clinging to him because she was excited that emotion was still there. But she didn't realize that times have shifted. Slowly, she was transitioning from a time of just hanging out with Jesus to becoming an instrument in the hands of Jesus himself. God wanted to use her. Jesus wanted her to be a messenger for him to the disciples.

13:09And he kept telling her, do not cling to me. Go instead and talk to my brothers. Amen. So sometimes sad drifters can feel like, well, you know, I just want to be in the presence of God. It's so wonderful to be in the presence of God. In fact, many Christians in these last days are sad drifters because they can love prayer, they can love church. But they don't know that in this particular moment God wants them to go and preach the gospel and announce that he's resurrected and announced that he's alive and that he has taken authority over and of things and that he's ready to save humanity. So it's dangerous to be a sad drifter because you can be in your comfort zone and you can be deceived that, oh, because I'm in the presence of God, you know, I must be doing the will of God. Amen. So many times as Christians, we can stay in that comfort zone. Why? Because we are attached to God emotionally.

14:14We are attached to the things of God emotionally, but we don't realize that there's work to be done. Could you tell your neighbor for me there is work to be done? Amen. So yes, God will visit us. Yes, we will have encounters. Yes, we will see angels appear to us in our bedrooms. Yes, we will speak to God. We see angels appear to us in the park in different places, but the most important thing is not just those encounters. It's what we do after the encounter. We have to come to a place where we go and begin to use the thing that God has invested in us has deposited in us instead of having an emotional attachment to God. This can happen to a new believer. You accept Jesus in your life. You're excited about it, about that, but that's all. You just sit there. You know, I'm a child of God. And you just want to hang out with God in prayer, hang out in church, but you don't realize that he saved you for you to be participant in his work and allow him and help him advance the kingdom. Amen.

15:24Many times, sad drifters, they have this strong desire to see God move, to see the manifestation of God. They love to pray for revival. I think, naturally, I'm kind of a sad drifter because I love revival so much, but what's more important than revival is to also go. Instead of just clinging to Jesus, you need to go and follow his instructions and do exactly what he wants you to do. Amen. Now, in the states that she was in, where she said she's lost, she doesn't know what to do. The Lord manifested himself into her life. Many times, what helps sad drifters is encounters. Encounters. Unless a sad drifter receives an encounter, it's very difficult for a sad drifter to really function. They kind of strive on encounters. And it has to be multiple encounters. Amen. Some of us are not satisfied with a dream or a prophecy or a supernatural manifestation.

16:34Some of us, even if Jesus appears to mean my bedroom, it's not going to take long. I'm going to go seek him again for him to do that again. Amen. It's like Lord, let the angel who visited me come again. There are sad drifters in the Bible. Amen. You will see different such people who have an emotional attachment to God. It's not a bad thing, it's good. But the challenges sad drifters is they can be too comfortable in that state because they can live in the illusion of, oh, I'm already in the presence of God is happy with me. The second type of drifters, in this same story, the Bible tells us that Mary, Madeline left Jesus and ran to where the disciples were and went to tell them that she found that the tomb is empty and that they need to go and see for themselves. The Bible says that when she went there, Paul, Peter and John rushed also to go see the tomb and they came and broke the news to the entire body of believers.

17:48And these people, the Bible tells us that they were hiding somewhere, they were in the upper room just sitting there in fear of the Jews. If the elder man could read for us verse 19 to verse 22. Verse 19, then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst and said to them, peace be with you. When he had saved this, he showed them his hands and his side, then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord, verse 21. So Jesus said to them again, peace to you, as the Father has sent me, I also send you. Amen. So here Jesus appears to the rest of the group. He's already encountered Mary Madeline and now he shows himself to the entire group.

18:52The Bible says that he found them in that room where they were hiding, they were fearing the Jews. This is right after Jesus dies. Now for you and I, we may not really picture, we may not imagine what had taken place at this moment. Think of them walking with Jesus for three years. He was going around preaching the gospel, raising the dead, performing also to miracles. So these people were hopeful. They knew that this is the Messiah that was promised by the Prophet in scriptures. This is the Messiah who was coming to save Israel. He was coming to set the Israel free from the bondage of the Romans because at this point the Roman Empire was ruling over the entire kingdom of Judah. So they walked with him for three years and they saw him do marvelous things. Some of them didn't believe that this guy was going to die. There are theologians who even think that one of the reasons why Judah betrayed Jesus was because Judah didn't think that Jesus was going to get arrested.

20:01He thought that Jesus, he thought probably that betraying Jesus like that would push him to manifest his power. Because Judah felt like this guy, he is powerful but he is not really using his potential. So maybe we need to do something that will force him to manifest his glory. Because for those of you who don't know, Judah came from a very wealthy family. He was different from all the rest of the apostles. Yes, he was hanging out with the Galileans but he himself came from a family that was kind of well off compared to the others. And the historians show us that some of the disciples, including Judah, were looking at the ministry of Jesus as more of a political ministry. It's like a political movement that comes to kick out the Romans so they can take over the land of their forefathers.

21:06Now imagine that Jesus, this man, that some of them didn't think would ever die. Now dies. Even though he told them that he was going to die but nobody could imagine that he meant it literally. So now he appears to them in the room upstairs and he says, peace be with you. Suddenly, the story changes. Now, the second group of drifters that I'd like to discuss this morning, I call them the fearful drifters. So after Jesus dies, looking at the situation, the conditions in which he died and what took place, many of the disciples became fearful and fear led them to hide. So they were hiding into this upper room. Imagine the despair, imagine the worry. They're like, what are we going to do now?

22:09We can't just go around, some people recognize us as disciples of Jesus who can get killed easily. Now we don't even know what to do because even though they received instructions, the Holy Spirit is not there yet, so they don't know what to do. They just went in hiding. Many times these type of drifters are created by danger. There are Christians who, when something dangerous, when they feel endangered, they become fearful drifters. They lose control over everything and they just feel like they're drifting. Now, when you are in a bad situation, when you are in a fearful situation as a child of God, you can feel like you are drifting. You feel like you've lost control over your life. You feel like you don't know what to do. And this can happen to a child of God. You can even be filled with the Holy Spirit, but feel like you are drifting.

23:13But there's something that's amazing about the disciples in this particular situation. When Jesus appears to them, He says to them, as the Father sent me, I sent you. As though what was important in that moment is for them to receive a mission. They were terrified, they were scared, but the first thing Jesus tells them is, as the Father sent me, now I sent you. As a way to give them direction, as a way to tell them what to do. As a way to say, yes, I understand that you're in danger, but you need to know, my Father sent me. My Father is the one who used me with signs and wonders. He's the one who walks with me. I died. He brought me back to life. Now I'm standing before you. That same Father is the one who sent me. Now I am sending you.

24:16As a way to tell them, you do not need to fear anything, because I am the one who's sending you now. So when you find yourself drifting as a child of God, in fear, when you identify yourself as a fearful drifter, the solution to fearful drifters is usually for them to be reminded of the mission. A man, servant of God can start drifting. Any child of God, any Christian can find himself drifting in fear. And many times you forget the mission, you forget the promises of God, you forget what God has told you, especially when this ice thing was going on. Many people became drifters. They became fearful drifters, because you are in a situation that you don't have control over,

25:17and you are there, you don't know what's going to happen. And you are there, you just hoping that something will happen and the situation will change. But it doesn't change the fact that it's terrifying, because you have no control over what's happening to you. You are just, you can, you see in your life how it's just fading away, drifting away from you. A man, now in those moments, what you need, just like these disciples who are in fear, what they needed is a reminder. They needed to remember their mission. They needed to remember their mandate. This was not the first time Jesus tells them, I send you as the father sent me. This was not the first time Jesus tells them that he sends them. A man, so it's important for you and I as children of God. To remember that when you are in this situation, when you, when you turn into a fearful drifter, you need to be reminded of what God has said.

26:23Because your capacity to overcome fear is to believe in the God who is in control. You have to be reminded that God is in control. This is why it's important for us to memorize verses. Because there are times when you're going to need to remember what God says. Hallelujah. Many, many children of God in sad situations like this, the Holy Spirit comes and begins to remind them things, just like a sister Claudine. When she was in that dark place, the Lord began to whisper things into her ears. She began to, she was now the one strengthening the others who were there. So as a child of God, if this morning you find yourself a fearful drifter, what you need is not even, it's not even the presence of Jesus because he's always there. He says, I will never leave you, I will never forsake you. What you need is a reminder, the reminder of the mandate, a reminder of a mission.

27:23Because you are created with a purpose, you are created with a destiny and you have to be reminded that as a child of God, there is a specific purpose over your life. The moment you forget that purpose, you will continue to drift. Even with the Holy Spirit in your life, even with the gifts of the Spirit in you, you will continue to drift. You're going to feel like, oh my God, where am I going? I don't know where I'm going. Could you help me and ask your neighbor, do you know where you're going? Hallelujah. If your neighbor was very honest right now, they'll give you an answer but you don't have to answer. Many of us as children of God can feel like drifters but it's not a permanent state for a child of God. Drifting is not a permanent state for a child of God. You can drift but it's not a permanent state. If you are a sad drifter, be assured there's an encounter coming.

28:33Because most sad drifters, they run in the presence of God. Mary Magdalene, she couldn't just help herself to stay in that room where they were hiding. She had to go to the tomb and say, no, I've got to see for myself. Maybe something will happen. I've got to just go see. The sad drifters, whether they come to show up or not, they run into the presence of God because they have an emotional attachment to God. But there's also a danger. There's a downside to it. The downside is they become too comfortable with the presence of God such that they don't want to go anywhere on any mission. Or go and make disciples here in your presence. They don't want to do anything else. Now they're fearful drifters. Then it's like, I believe in God but this one here is like the mother of the danger.

29:35It's a God. God, what would you like me to do? Even you look for a verse, you don't find a way to apply the verses. Amen. You don't find a way to apply the verses. You examine your faith. It's like, okay, I want to have faith. But then how do I deal with the fact that I don't have control over what's happening to me? I know something will happen. So in that moment, what will strengthen you will be remembering the promises of God, remembering your mission. And everyone of us has a mission. Amen. If you don't know your mission, I can tell you. The Bible says that you are fearfully and wonderfully made. That means God created you with a purpose. And that purpose, he knows it. You don't have to know it. You just need to remember that he has a purpose for you. Even when things look dark, you have to remember he has a purpose for you. Amen.

30:35Fearful drifters. As the Father sent me, I sent you. A mandate is what boosts what strengthens a fearful drifter. What is your mandate? What did God say? Amen. What did God command you to do? Remember scriptures. Remember the prophecies that you receive. Remember the dreams. That's why I always encourage people to write the dreams that God is giving you. Because in the darkest times, you will need to remember them. And the Holy Spirit usually comes and begins to remind you. As the Father sent me, I sent you. Meaning that I am in control. Even though you are fearful, even though you are scared of the Jews, you need to know that the same way that I resurrected from the dead, I can also resurrect you. The most important thing is not your fear, but for you to go out and fulfill whatever was meant for you to fulfill on this earth.

31:36Amen. What number are we on? Number three. The number three drifters are one of my favorite drifters. Amen. Now, imagine the disciples are together. They just saw Jesus. So they are boosted a little bit in faith. So everybody is happy. Everybody is excited. Oh, God. This is amazing. Great things will happen. Now we need to go and preach the gospel. Some of them are already talking. You know, we are going to go. We are going to get out there. We need to just wait for everybody to come, get together. We need to receive another instruction, and then we will go. So all of them are boosted. The fearful drifters are no longer drifting. But the Bible shows us that that night, not everybody was present when Jesus came. Somebody was missing. So everyone, if you could read for us, verse 27 to 29. Verse 27. Then you say to Thomas, reach your finger here and look at my hands and reach your hand here and put it into my side.

32:45Do not be unbelieving by believing. And Thomas answered and said to him, my Lord and my God, Jesus said to him, Thomas, because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed. Amen. So that night when Jesus appeared to the disciples, Thomas wasn't there. Thomas, I don't know where he was, but on that day he was not there. The Bible shows us that he came after and they told him Jesus just appeared in the midst of us. He's like, never. He's like, no, Jesus, like physically, did you guys dream about him? Did you see a vision? We're not talking about this. He's like, Jesus, like physically appeared to us. He says, no. I am not going to believe until I put my fingers in the holes inside his palm and in his side where they pierced him.

33:47Unless I can stick my finger in there, no, I'm not going to believe it. So this is Thomas. Now, Thomas has a bad reputation in the Bible because they look at him as the doubter, the person who is unbelief. But there's something that people forget about Thomas. Thomas was a very loyal disciple of Jesus. If you read the Bible, you're going to find most places where Jesus was. Thomas was also there. And even after the resurrection, Thomas was part of the core, the core team of Jesus. You know, Jesus had a core team. He was made of a beater of John and James. Many times, Thomas would be hanging out with these guys. And Thomas, obviously, the death of Christ really affected him. He's what he was sure that this guy died. I saw him died. There's no way he can be alive. So when they tell him that Jesus just appeared to us, it was like, no, this can be true. You guys are playing with me.

34:54And the Bible shows us that a few days later, Jesus distant appeared in the middle, in the midst of them, but this time Thomas was present. And the first thing Jesus said when he appeared is like, Thomas, come here, stick your finger into my hands now. And Thomas came and touched. He's like, huh, it's actually him. He's like, you can touch my side too. There's a hole where they got pierced. He touched. Remember, this is three. This is like a few probably a week after Jesus resurrected. Thomas was touching. He's like, oh my God, it's actually you. And suddenly he says, my Lord and my God. Now, the third type of drifters, I call them the unbelieving drifters. The unbelieving drifters usually are made by impossibilities. There are things that are impossible in this life, impossible to mankind. And drifters have a hard time believing God for those impossible things.

36:00This is why it's very difficult for unbelieving drifters to be leaders. They are very, very good supporters. They can support a cause. But it's very difficult for unbelieving drifters to lead a movement or to break through into a new movement. Because an unbelieving drifter, even if God comes and tells you, listen, go, you're going to start a church into this place. I'm going to be with you. They're going to be like, God, are you sure? Me. As a Lord, we need to think about this very carefully because I know these people. Amen, amen. I know these people. This is how the unbelieving drifters speak. They can begin to reason with God and begin to explain to him how complicated the situation is. Most of the time you can even, you can detect an unbelieving drifter when they are praying. They'll be explaining to God how complicated the situation is.

37:03As if there's anything you can inform God of, amen, amen. That God, all my friends have abandoned me. Well, his God knows that your friends have abandoned you. Amen, amen. Unbelieving drifters, here they are, hard time believing in impossible situations. Because remember, God is beyond what men can do. And you and I as children of God, we have to be able to believe in the impossible. You have to believe even when the data around you tells you otherwise. But when you are already a drifter, many times unbelieving drifters don't even know that they are unbelieving drifters. Because they believe in God. Like Thomas, he was loyal to Jesus. He believed in Jesus. He believed Jesus for the Messiah. In fact, he didn't run away. He just left for a few days, maybe I don't know, to go check on business, check on his cows and his goats. And then he came back to the assembly.

38:11But this time when he arrives, he hears the news, Jesus came back to life. He's like, ha, guys, I know we are spiritual people. I know that we are all people of faith here. But stop this nonsense. I've already made peace with the fact that he died. I've already cried. Don't provoke me again. Amen. So unbelieving drifters are people who are made by impossible situations, very, very complicated situations. Now, these are not situations that are necessarily fearful, but they are just impossible situations. Like unbelieving drifters have a hard time accepting receiving prophecy. They have a hard time believing in even what God is. They have a hard time believing in even what the Bible says about them. They have difficulty believing. An unbelieving drifter can live in guilt because they have a hard time believing that Jesus has forgiven them.

39:13Because they look at the scenes that they committed. They're like, I am too dirty for Jesus to forgive me. These are unbelieving drifters. They believe in Jesus. They believe in God. But they just believe God. They have selective faith. They believe in certain things and they are certain things that they can't believe. In reality, what's causing this situation is unbelieving drifters usually like to see proof before they believe. They like to see first, then they believe. Amen. And the problem with this kind of mindset is you can be a child of God and thinking you have faith in God, thinking you believe in God, but you're just an unbelieving drifter. So basically an unbelieving believer. So you believe in God, but you really don't believe until you see Him do something. Amen. Now, these type of believers, you know how God deals with them. The way God deals with them is He has to perform certain things. He has to do certain things in their lives to build their faith.

40:21Many times, these kinds of people God manifests Himself in a powerful way in their lives to shut them up. Amen. To quiet them, like some of you here, there are things that God is planning to do in your life so He can shut you up so you can be quiet for the rest of your life. So you can say, God, from now on, I believe you. Amen. You know why that's necessary? Because these people, even when they're walking with God, they usually tell God things like, God, if you do this, I believe in you. So all this time, what were you doing? You come to church every Sunday. Amen. Amen. These are tomases. Some of us here are Mary, Mandolin, very emotional. They love the Lord, love prayer, love singing, love the presence of God, but don't tell them, go.

41:25Amen. Amen. Sacoolo me. Meet your presence only. Like, I need to stay right here. They like to cling to Jesus. Exactly. Your presence is, your presence has happened to me. Mission me. Never. Why? I have everything right here. Them, they say things like, you know, me, I can pray and people just be saved. Like, they just be saved on their own. This is just prayer. I can do everything with prayer. Those are Mary, Magdalene. Amen. Jesus, He says, stop clinging to me, woman. You go. I want you to go and tell them, I'm alive. Amen. Then they fear for once. They fear for once them. They're just like, oh, man, this is, I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I, and those Jesus has to remind them that he's in control.

42:36Now, the unbelieving drifter, the Thomas says, this is a much more difficult case because they are usually strong, but their faith is limited to how much they've seen with God. The things they have not seen yet, they have a hard time believing in them. Amen. They can hear a story, oh, did you come to Omega? There was a miracle. He was like, what, miracle? Like, what kind? Oh, somebody just got out of wheelchair, a wheelchair. I don't know, man. I don't know. We see all these things on YouTube all the time, but I don't know, man. Yeah. It's like, are you sure you know this person? Did you like watch them? Like, they're really, really healed. Amen. The Thomas says they can live their entire life in church. They also believe in God. They believe God can do certain things, but until they see, they won't truly believe that that thing. God is the one who did it.

43:41Usually unbelieving Thomas says, for them to have a successful Christian life, for God to really awaken them to a higher dimension, God has to perform to do some things to just make them quiet. Otherwise, they're not going to live in fulfilled Christian life. They're going to keep doubting, keep questioning things, keep wondering. They see something. It must have been, you know, that guy was really not healed. I think it's their adrenaline. They adrenaline just got into them and they just got out of the wheelchair. I have to go check three days later, see if the person is still walking. Amen, man. Plenty of Thomas is in this generation. People who have to see first. God tells you, well, I'm going to bless you. Well, you know, the word of God, I believe it. I believe it. But in reality, what they're waiting to see is they're waiting to see God do something. Most of the time when God performs the miracle, they get shocked.

44:49So they don't worship like you and I. They get, they get surprised like, oh, my God, did you, what just happened there? Then suddenly they become the witness. Suddenly they become a powerful tool in the hands of God because of what God had already done. These are people who like to pray reminding God the things that he did in the past. Because that's how Thomas is built up their faith. They have to remember the things that God had already done so they can bring themselves back to the realization that God is able to change my situation or to do the same things that he did in the past today in my life. So if you are a Thomas or you are an unbelieving drifter, what you need is you need to see tangible things of God from the Lord. You need to experience God a lot because what this will do is it's going to deal with the doubt in your heart. So you need to pray that God will manifest himself a lot in your life or around you because the more you see, the better you will believe.

45:55This is just the way these people function. Jesus tells him, blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed. Thomas's only demonstration gets them on fire. They have a hard time taking a leap of faith. Amen. They have a very hard time. Most Thomas's, they are very calculated in their heads. Very calculated. They even have a hard time giving to God. Because Thomas's, it has to make sense in their head. They have to be sure like, wow, okay. I know you are saying God showed you, but are you sure God is the one who showed you? This is usually when the wife is talking to the husband about giving. The wife already had a vision. We need to give like a chuck of money to church. The husband is like, well, did you get a confirmation? You want to do this just? You have one dream and suddenly you want to spend all our savings.

47:00Men tend to be Thomas's. Amen. Women tend to be sad drifters. They tend to be Mary's. But guys, most of the time, unless they see something that shakes them up, they have a hard time believing. This is why the church has more women than men. Amen. Because many men are very incredulous. They have a hard time believing. They are Thomas's in their heads. Somebody credible can come to them and tell them, listen, we just saw fire. Fire came down from heaven in church. We saw it physically. They are like, okay. Like which church? Like our church. Fire came down. Okay. Did it burn something? Is it still there? Can I go there and see it right now? It's like, did they leave something on the carpet? Amen.

48:01Sometimes they won't say anything. They'll pretend that they believe them. Wow. That's amazing. That's different. Amen. But then when nobody's there, they'll go check it out. I don't know. I don't know what these guys are saying. Let me just see for myself. Thomas says. Amen. Help me and tell your neighbor, don't be a Thomas. Jesus actually says it's better to believe before you see. Thomas usually takes pleasure that they boast about their unbelief. I am not going to believe. I have to see it for myself. Oh no, Jesus. We got a visitation at the retreat. Wind came and blew. Where the windows open.

49:01Are you sure I wasn't a car passing by? Or we even heard the sound. Okay. Did anybody like was a radio or something? I mean, it could be anything. You have to be careful with these things. We don't want to believe in fake stuff. Amen. Sometimes you can be a most of the Thomas's they mean well. They're trying to protect other people's faith. They're trying to make sure that you don't get into heresies. But what they don't know, they are already an unbelieving drifter. They have a hard time believing in anything. People could be passing out in the spirit here and they're left and right. And they were told to close their eyes. But then they're like, what's happening here? They're like here. Lift your hands halfway. You know, be ready to receive something. They're just like, I'm here.

50:06They can be praying to look, I'm here, touch me Lord. But they're looking. When you see that, you are dealing with a Thomas. Amen. People like that, what God usually does, he comes into his presence. He slap you in the head. You pass out. And you don't even know that you pass out. No, you wake up, you wake up, you're not sitting. You're not where you were sitting. Amen, amen. It's like doing break every chain. Some people are like, I'm not going to follow. Please. I'm not going to fall. Or they'll open their eyes. What's going on? These people are pretending. What's happening here? The next thing they know, they're collecting them. Amen. Amen. You know, I used to be a Thomas. One time there's this man of God who came to our church.

51:11But then the whole thing of falling in the spirit was still very new. Like, it wasn't really like a thing in the body of Christ. Falling was kind of a weird thing. People weren't just falling, you know, under the anointing. So these men walk into the church. The moment he walked into the church, oh my God. People were just falling left and right. I'm like, what is going on here? So I sat there and I could sense that the prince of God was there. I said to myself, okay, God, if this is really you. I want to feel what these guys are feeling. I close my eyes. The next thing I know, one of my legs is shaking. I'm like, Lord, I believe, I believe, I believe. I'm good. I'm good. It's real. Amen. Amen. Don't be a Thomas. Many Thomas's, they miss a lot of things. This is why when Jesus visited the first time, he wasn't there. Because Thomas's get easily distracted by the devil.

52:18Because they have a hard time believing. Thomas's, they can even hear the voice of God. They won't even know that he's got talking to them. Because the first thing that comes to mind is that God doesn't speak like this. I need to check. He could be my thoughts. Amen. Amen. Thomas says, God, you have to give a sign of a sign inside another sign for them to believe. Amen. Help me until I never don't be a Thomas. To help Thomas, God, or Jesus, gave Thomas proof. And I pray that every Thomas he received their proof in Jesus' hand. Because the good thing about Thomas is that when they have the proof, they become the primary militant for Jesus. Because they've seen it first hand. Their faith becomes stronger than everybody has faith. Because it's based on evidence.

53:20But unfortunately, God wants them to believe without seeing. So as a Thomas, pray that God will give you a heart that allows you to believe without seeing. And lastly, the last type of drifters, I call them the uncertain drifters. There are many things to read for us. Chapter 21 from verse 1 to 3. After these things, Jesus showed himself again to the disciples at the sea of Tiberius. And in this way, he showed himself. Simon Peter, Thomas called a twin, Nathaniel of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples were together. Simon Peter said to them, I am going fishing. They said to him, we are going with you also. They went out and immediately got into the boat. And that night, they caught nothing. Amen. Now, these third category, the uncertain drifters, most of the time, they end up in this situation because of lack of clarity.

54:29Like, for example, the disciples, after Jesus manifested himself like that, they knew he was alive. They knew he came back to life. But the problem was, they still didn't know what they were going to do with themselves. And Jesus sometimes would take days, he won't show up. Because remember, he doesn't take the bus anymore at this point. So he doesn't have an address where you can go, oh, let's go to Jesus' house. He wasn't like that anymore. Oh, let's go to Galilee. He usually hangs out around. It wasn't like that. He shows up. And then he disappears. And you don't know when he's going to show up again. So many days after the resurrection, the disciples are hanging out with each other. Some of them, they've broken up into smaller groups. And this was a group of seven. There was a Thomas, the two sons of Zebedee, James and John. There was Nathaniel. And there was also two other disciples that didn't mention. And the Bible says that as they were just sitting there,

55:33I can sense frustration in the voice of Peter. Peter was just like, I'm going fishing. When somebody makes an abrupt decision like this, usually it's out of frustration. It's like, I'm not just going to sit here. We've been waiting and waiting and waiting. Nothing's happening. I'm going fishing. And the other was like, we're coming with you. And when you see a group sitting together and one person says, I'm going fishing, most of the time, it's a way to say, well, you guys can do whatever you want. But right now, I'm done with what we're doing right now. I'm going to do something else. Now, the hope is that they would follow. But usually you don't want to put pressure on the people with you. You've done this before, right? I'm going fishing. So Peter decided to go and the other was like, well, we're coming with you. So they all go fishing.

56:34And the Bible says that they went fishing and they fish all night long. They caught nothing. For Peter, history is repeating itself. But this is worse. The first time Jesus showed up and that's how he was called to ministry. But this time, Jesus has resurrected. And Peter has no idea what to do with his life. Jesus is nowhere to be found. And he fish all night long. He's used to go fish money from the mouth of a fish to go pay taxes. These are the type of things that Peter was used to. When Jesus wanted to pay taxes, he's like, Peter, go throw your nets over there. You're going to catch a fish. You'll find money in it, go pay taxes. These are the type of things that Peter was used to. Peter is used to, you know, when they're hungry, Jesus multiplied bread and fish. Like, he would see miracles every day. Now, Jesus is showing up, you know, Tuesday. And he shows up again next Tuesday. And when he comes, he doesn't say much. Peace be with you.

57:40I send you. And then boom, he disappears. He's not there anymore. So, Peter is obviously, he lacks clarity. He has no idea. He's like, yes, I'm excited that he's resurrected. But he needs to tell us what to do. We need to know exactly what to do. Then he decides to go fishing and he's fishing. Now, he fishes all night. He catches nothing. I'm sure he's thinking in his mind. Listen, he said he was going to be with us. Maybe there's a supernatural power now in me. I can be pulling the miraculous fishing on my own. He goes there, tried everything. Nothing happens. And then in the morning, somebody shows up on shore. And this person says, children, do you have any food? Like, no. Like, the no was literally no. Just one word. No. Amen. When people are frustrated, they give very short answers. No. And then the person says, cast your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.

58:53Now, without even processing that thing, without thinking about, here's what I think happened. I think the person that Jesus was talking to was John, because John was the youngest of all of them. And sometimes people think that John was so young that he probably was in his teenage years at this time. He was probably between 15 and 17. So when Jesus was speaking, Jesus was talking, was probably talking to him. Kids, do you have any food? Because the other ones were probably too tired that maybe lie down in the boat or they're, I don't know, doing something else. So when Jesus tells them to cast the net on the right side, I bet they said there for a few minutes. What was that? Oh, no. He said, if we cast on the right side, we might find something. Is that okay? And then somebody just got up or you never know these things could work. Took the net. Took it on the right side. Suddenly, fish everywhere. Ah! Then John is like, do you guys just notice what just happened here?

1:00:01Then they look back, ah, it's the Lord. It's the Lord. You know what the Bible says happened after that? The moment that John said, oh, it's the Lord who did that. Peter jumped into the water and said, it's swimming, going on shore to meet with Jesus. Later on, this time when they got to shore, they pulled the fish, when they got to shore, the Bible says that Jesus had some coal and already had some fish already. Cooking and some bread. And then he told them, well, bring the fish that you caught with you. We're going to add it here and eat together. So Jesus made them breakfast and then told them come and eat. He actually tells them that in verse 12, he said, come and eat breakfast. They even specify breakfast. So they sat down and ate with him. But the Bible says that none of them there asked him who you are because they already knew it was him.

1:01:08Now, this is not just any kind of Lord. It's the Lord that came back from the dead. So you are talking basically to somebody who died. You're talking to a ghost like individual who's glorious. Who carries a body that no longer needs walls. It means no longer needs doors to go through travels by teleportation. Like he's just a different Jesus and they all froze. They couldn't say anything. What we want to learn about these drifters is when they are uncertain about things, what God usually does is he needs to remind them the exploits of the past. The things that they experienced themselves of the past. This is why I believe that this particular scenario was important for someone like Peter because he had seen Jesus perform such miracle before. He had to be reminded that the same Jesus who performed the miracle of the miraculous fishing can also do it again.

1:02:14So they have to be reminded of the things of the past. There are times in your walk with God when you feel uncertain about the future. You don't know what's going to happen. You are just in limbo. You're not fearful. You're not panicking or anything. But what bothers you is the fact that you're not really sure where your life is going. So you are drifting too. You're in limbo. You're not sure. You don't have clarity. It's what to do next. Should I go to school? Should I do business? Should I get married? There's a lot of questions that you ask yourself. Now when these things happen, the first thing you need to do is you need to be reminded of your exploits of the past. You need to be reminded of what God had done in the past. There was a time when you were in limbo where you knew nothing. God gave you direction. There was a time when you were concerned about certain things and God intervened in your life.

1:03:18You need to be reminded to cast a net into the sea, but this time not because you wanted to, but because God commanded it. You need to be reminded that you have a part to play in God's plan. This time Jesus did not just depend on the fish that Peter and his crew were bringing. Jesus already had his own fish and his own bread, but he wanted them to participate. He says, bring what you have and we're going to eat together. And he himself is the chef. Hallelujah. There is a time in your life as a child of God. When God is not just going to come to perform a miracle in your life. He's going to want you to participate in the work that he's doing. You will participate in that miracle. When God wants to do something, he's going to associate himself with you.

1:04:18He's going to make sure that even you bring your part. Most of the time people become uncertain because they are confused about the role God has to play versus the role that they have to play themselves. It's not everything in our lives that God will do. There are things that we need to do. There are things that we are responsible for. But God wants us to know that we need to partner with him. He doesn't want us to go alone and he doesn't also do things by himself. He wants you and him to participate and work together. Amen. It doesn't matter what it is, whether it is finding a job or finding a happy life or building your future, you cannot do it by yourself. You have to be aware that you need his role. But while you pray and seek him, you must also tell yourself, you must also seek to understand what is my role.

1:05:19For example, God wants you to do well in school, but he's not going to study for you. Amen. If you think you're going to pass that test miraculously, you are an uncertain drifter. You don't understand the role of God and your role. Jesus told Peter, bring your fish. I'm already cooking breakfast here. Just add your fish here and we're going to eat breakfast together. God is already cooking something. But what do you have to bring to the table? Because believe me, you have something that you need to bring to the table. There's something that you need to do in order for God to fulfill what he intends to do in your life. Amen. You're preparing yourself for great things. We have musicians here. We have people who are planning to become medical doctors, engineers, soldiers. There's all sorts of people here.

1:06:25You know, husbands, wives, the people who are preparing themselves to become mothers. Amen. What are you doing? What is the part that you are playing in that adventure? How many books have you finished to read? How many things, how many podcasts have you watched about becoming that thing you want to become? Are you learning? Are you training yourself? Are you trying to sharpen yourself so you can grow? Amen. Amen. The Lord is good, but the Lord wants us to learn how he functions, to understand how he functions. If you are uncertain about your life, you don't know what's happening, you're confused about things. Sometimes it's about understanding what role you have to play. Because there is a time when God will want you to go with faith and do what you need to do so that he can also do his part.

1:07:25But as you do it, he guarantees that he's going to be with you. For Peter and his crew, Jesus wanted to show them that, listen, the first time I did this, I was calling you to come and serve me, just to serve me. But this time I want you to know that I am with you always. And I will never leave you and I will never forsake you. And I want you to know that I am going to be there all along with you, serving with you, doing things with you. Even fishing, I am going to participate. So I've already caught my fish, you bring your sleds, put it together and let's have a party together. Some of you are going to have lunch with the Lord. Some of you are going to have dinner with the Lord. But what are you bringing to dinner? Hallelujah. What are you bringing? You need to cook something and bring it to dinner. It's an important question for you and I to ask ourselves. So I don't know what kind of drifter you find yourself.

1:08:27You are this morning. No matter what kind of drifter you are, there is a solution. For Mary Magdalene, she needed to get out and do what God wanted her to do. Amen. Amen. For those who are in fear, God wanted to remind them that I am with you. I'm the one who's sending you. So if I send you, know that nobody has the power to harm you unless I allow it. For the Thomas, they needed to see that to put their finger into the hands of Jesus. Some of you, God will come and will manifest himself just to prove to you that he is your God. And he has never left you, he has never forsaken you. Amen. And some of us find ourselves in a situation where we don't know with this uncertainty. And that uncertainty is frustrating. You know God, you trust Him, you believe in Him, but nothing is sure. You don't know what tomorrow reserves for you. But that's not the end of the world. According to this scripture, God wants you to keep your mind up, to keep your moral up because Jesus will never leave you and will never forsake you.

1:09:38This time, Jesus did not come just to show up and tell them, I am with you, a peace be with you. But he intended to show them that I'm going to participate and I'm going to work with you. Bring your fish up, bring mine. I am going to make breakfast. And he sat down and cooked. And the Bible says that he took bread and gave them. He took fish and gave them. And they ate together. Amen. Amen. It's God's intention for you to know that He's with you, that He's going to work with you. He's never leave you and will never forsake you. I hope this morning that somebody, even when you are drifting, you have found a way to come out of the drifting. Or even if you have not found a way, you know how you are going to come out of that drifting. The Lord has a solution for you. You just need to realize that I cannot stay in this state that I am in. You cannot continue to be drifting. A child of God is never uncertain about anything.

1:10:38You know why? Because we have a father in heaven who is certain of everything. Our uncertainty is a place of peace. Our lack of understanding, our knowledge is a place of peace. We do not panic, we do not shake because we know our God in heaven is in control. And he is the one who has the last word in our lives. Would you stand with me so we can pray?