Welcome to Healing Scars with Pastor Burton,
the official podcast of Cross -Christian Fellowship,
Route 66, in the heart of Albuquerque, New Mexico,
where Burton is the lead pastor. We're glad you're
here. Well, good morning, everybody. I'm not
sure if we're online or we're online. I'm not
sure if we have an online audience or not, but
if not, we have our audience, so that's all good,
too. What's ever going on is what the Lord wanted
to go on today. You know, because he's in charge,
we're not. We just work for him. And it's such
a blessing to be able to work for God because
a lot of years I worked against God. And it's
a lot nicer being on this side of the fence for
sure. But tonight's message, we're going to talk
about times of doubt. You know, and I don't care
how long you've been a Christian, you're going
to have doubt in your life at times. You know,
it just goes with it. As long as we carry around
his flesh with us, we're going to have doubt.
You know, is God really going to do this for
me? You know, I mean, some people even waver
back. You know, am I really saved or this or
that? You know, and. You know, it's nothing more
than letting the flesh take over, you know, rather
than your spiritual side winning the battle,
you know, because there's an ongoing battle,
and that battle is going to go on until the day
we die, the flesh versus the spirit. And, I mean,
even David, okay, we're going to start off with
Psalm 13, you know, if you want to go there real
quick. We're going to jump around a little today.
We're going to have about 10 verses we're going
to get into. But Psalm 13. And David was one
that, in the beginning, he had a great relationship
with God. You know, he believed, he had faith,
he went and slew Goliath, and that was all through
faith. You know, he knew that there was nobody
that could stand in the way of his God, and he
took that against Goliath, and he won. But later
on, David committed adultery, and then that sin
is what caused a lot of the doubt in his life.
Sin is definitely going to put a wedge between
you and God, no matter how small the sin or how
big the sin is. When you sin, you put up a wall
between you and God, and what happens? The flesh
creeps in. So Psalm 13, how long, O Lord, will
you forget me forever? How long will you hide
your face from me? How long shall I take counsel
in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily?
How long will my enemy be exalted over me? Consider
and hear me, O Lord my God. Enlighten my eyes,
lest I sleep the sleep of death, lest my enemies
say I have prevailed against him. Lest those
who trouble me rejoice when I am moved. but I
have trusted in your mercy. My heart shall rejoice
in your salvation, and I will sing to the Lord,
because he has dealt bountiful with me. Lord,
I just pray this morning that you speak through
me, and Lord, touch hearts, and just let people
walk away from here changed from something that
you say, Lord. It's not me. I just hope I opened
my heart enough for you to be able to speak through
me. and just give the message that needs to be
heard today, and that it actively changes lives
for the better. And I just ask all this through
your holy name. Amen. So, issues of faith and
doubt just have an impact on Christians of every
maturity level. I don't care how long you've
been walking with the Lord, you're going to have
times of doubt. Look at David. You know, after
slaying the giant of their times, okay? He ended
up having doubts. You know, I don't know if he
was sitting in a cave when he wrote this, but
there's a lot of David's Psalms that are kind
of on the dark side, you know? Saying, Lord,
where are you? I don't see you. I don't feel
you anymore. You know, have you forsaken me?
Are you ever coming back? So he was, David was
filled with doubts, just like a lot of us. When
we go through hard times, it's, Lord, where are
you? I've been praying. I'm on my knees. Let
me hear from you, Lord. And nothing happens,
you know? And we just go on. I mean, and, you
know, this topic is presented in ways that are
confusing and only increase people's faith about
their doubt. You know, is it wrong to have doubts?
And it's not. It's not good to have doubts, but
yet, you know, it's going to happen. And we have
to accept that. But there are things you can
do, and we'll get into that later. If faith pleases
God, I mean, everywhere in Scripture you'll read,
That the only things that please God are done
in faith, right? So what do we do with our doubt?
Are our questions a sign that we lack saving
faith? Is doubt the opposite of faith? Is faith
about making ourselves feel certain? And those
are critical and often brought up questions through
everybody. I think there's this facade that you've
been saved for a long time. You're not supposed
to have doubt or fear or any of that anymore.
But we do, you know, because it's part of the
flesh. And there's a battle, you know. Paul talks
about the battle between, you know, the new man
and the old man. And it goes on, you know. Sometimes
the old man wins. Sometimes the new man wins.
But we have to discard the old man. And the more
we discard of that, the less of the battle there
is. You know, as we grow in Christ, I mean, our
doubt should not be like it once was, you know.
I remember every day, am I really saved or am
I not saved? Am I saved or am I not saved? And
somebody says, well, if you're asking about it,
that means you really are saved or else you wouldn't
be worried about it, you know, because you obviously
believe in God. But that wasn't enough of an
answer, you know. And finally, you know, in time.
I just stopped asking the question, and I realized
I wasn't asking the question anymore if I was
saved or not because God removed that doubt from
me. And that's what happens as we work towards
becoming mature Christians. These doubts start
falling away. So here's some verses about faith
and doubt to help illuminate the differences
and maybe even some similarities between faith
and doubt. Let's look at these and see what Scripture
has to say about this. Okay, so the first verse
we're going to look at is Proverbs 3, 5 through
8. And it says, okay, verse 5. Trust in the Lord
with all your heart and lean not on your own
understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him.
and he shall direct your paths. Do not be wise
in your own eyes. Fear the Lord and depart from
evil. It will be health to your flesh and strength
to your bones. Okay, when it comes to having
faith, the Bible often portrays it as a question
of those perspectives we intend to rely on. We
can lean into what we know and understand about
God and his ways. Or we can trust in our own
understanding. You know, and a lot of times doubt
comes in because we're leaning on our own, trying
to lean on our own understanding. Why did you
do this, God? You know, instead of trusting that
God knows best and, you know, trying to see it
from God's eyes. And sometimes when I try to
see things from God's eyes and I say, God, just
show me for a minute how you see this that's
going on in my life. And I get a glimpse of that.
It changes the whole perspective. You know, I
can see why God is putting me through that trial
at that time. And then it starts making sense,
and it's easier. I mean, it's still hard, but,
you know, if I don't lean on my own understanding
to try to figure it out, God, why aren't you
doing this? That's me saying that, you know.
God, can you do this, you know? I'm sick. Can
you heal me? You know, maybe God doesn't want
to heal me. Maybe there's a grander purpose in
being sick, and that's to help somebody else.
Me and Mike were talking about this before service.
When I was going to Shepherd School, I ended
up having prostate cancer, and I had my prostate
removed and that. And the reason afterwards I
found out why I had prostate cancer and went
through all that fear and everything was because
a friend of mine in Shepherd School got diagnosed
with cancer. and I was able to be there for him.
And that meant so much more than my own fear
and my own cancer, being able to be there for
somebody else. And that's seeing something through
God's eyes and not seeing it through my eyes.
You know, and that's how that perspective changes,
you know? Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your understanding. You know,
in all your ways, acknowledge him. And don't
pray for God to show you... You know, what his
knowledge is for you and not really want it.
You know, so many times we do that. God, show
me what you want. And are we really being truthful
with God or are we just saying that to pacify
him and hope there's an easier way that he sees
it? But, you know, we have to be honest. And
that's where the faith comes in that, hey, if
we're going to ask God, you know, for his wisdom,
then we have to be really wanting his wisdom
and let go of ours. So in addressing faith, the
topic really begins right there. Are we willing
to concede that there are limitations to our
understanding? Are we willing to put the Lord
to the test? The issue is never about what we
conceive ourselves we believe. We can say we
trust God while leaning on our own understanding
to make decisions. How many times do I do that,
God? Show me every foot by foot today of what
I'm supposed to do. Make every decision for me.
But yet as soon as I walk out the door, there's
a decision. And I don't even think about God.
I just do what impulsively comes. I must do that
50 million times a day. And it's not stopping
anymore like in the beginning. It used to be,
God, what do you want me to eat for lunch? God,
what do you want me to have for a snack? God,
what do you want me to do with this? Everything
I would ask God, okay? And I would do what he
told me in my heart, okay? But then, you know,
I get caught up in the busyness of life, and
it's like, you know, where's God? You know, I'm
going out. I'm praying in the morning saying,
God, you know, show me the way. But yet, how
much do I really want that if I'm going out and
still making decisions, you know, just impulsively?
And I'm the most impulsive person I know. So,
you know, we have to be willing to let God show
us. You know, as this passage points out, it's
only as we submit to God's way that our path
begins to straighten. And we can stay on our
own path as long as we want. But as soon as we
truly start asking God for wisdom and trusting
the Lord with all our heart, then our life is
drastically going to change. Because he will,
you know, and that will always reveal where our
faith is. Are we going down the easy road or
are we avoiding the harder road that God really
wants us to go down? You know, and I always would
like to try to take the easy way. Even Jesus
did in the garden. You know, Father, if there
is any way that we can avoid me having to suffer,
you know, please deem it so. But I am willing
to go through with this to drink this cup of
wrath. You know, even Jesus, because his flesh
didn't want to go through the crucifixion, he
prayed that, you know, hopefully there was a
better way. But yet he was perfectly willing
to do the will of the Father. You know, so even
Jesus, at his time, you know, there was doubt.
Because if there wasn't any doubt, he never would
have even asked that question. He would have
just went through it. That never would have been
recorded in Scripture. It's not that Jesus didn't
believe God. He believed God, of course, but
he was hoping there was an easier way, you know,
but there isn't. There wasn't. Okay, and number,
verse number two. And this was, okay, this is
Matthew 14, 28 through 31. And I think we all
know this story pretty well. So if we can turn
there quick. There's just three verses here.
This is Matthew 14, 28, 31. And Peter answered
him and said, Lord, if this was when they were
out in the boat and the storm was happening and
Peter and the disciples saw Jesus walking on
the water. First of all, you know, I got to give
the disciples credit, okay? Even though they
didn't get out of the boat, they had enough belief
to know that that was Jesus walking on the water.
They could have said, no, that's a demon. That's
something else. That's not Jesus. But they believed
it was Jesus. So, you know, you got to give them
a little credit anyway for their faith being
that small, but enough to believe that Jesus
was walking on the water. I mean, would we all
in this room, if we saw Jesus walking on the
water, would we believe it? Who knows, you know?
Maybe, maybe not, you know? Because that's a
pretty tall order in a storm. And so he said,
okay. And Peter answered him and said, Lord,
if it is you, command me to come to you on the
water. So he said, come. And when Peter had come
down out of the boat, he walked on the water
to go get Jesus. But when he saw that the wind
was boisterous, he was afraid. And he began,
and beginning to sink, he cried out saying, Lord,
save me. And immediately Jesus stretched out
his hand and caught him and said to him, Oh,
you a little faith, why did you doubt? So picture
this. The disciples see the Lord walking on the
water towards their boat in the middle of the
night. Peter calls out and says, If that's you,
then call for me to come out to you. And the
Lord does, okay? He calls him. Now think about
this for a minute, okay? Peter stands up in the
boat, throws his leg over to the side, throws
his leg over to the other side, okay? And then
he's way out of his element already. You know,
he's already believing that a miracle can take
place. His mind's made up. But he still gets
out of the boat, okay? Matthew tells us that
he actually walked on the water towards the Lord.
But then he saw the wind picking up, he panicked,
and he began to sink. Jesus had to come rescue
the poor disciple, keeping all that in mind.
Why do you imagine Jesus was trying to communicate?
Peter by saying he had little faith. But, you
know, check this out. Peter was the only disciple
who spoke out in faith upon seeing Jesus, you
know, saying, Jesus, call me and I will come.
He's the only one that got out of the boat, okay?
He's the only person besides Jesus who ever walked
on water, okay? So why would Jesus single out
his lack of faith? And I think... You know, it's
not written, but I think Jesus was telling Peter,
hey, I love you, you know. You know, you of little
faith. He didn't mean that derogatory. He meant
that out of love. You know, if you would have
had just a little more faith, you could have
kept walking out to me. You know, I don't think
Jesus really meant it to be derogatory at all
to Peter. He was giving him a compliment, you
know, and that's kind of missed in this passage
that, oh, he lost. He lost sight, you know, and
the miracle just got too big for Peter and he
lost sight of it all. You know, sometimes when
we're in the midst of a turmoil or a storm and
we see Jesus working in our life, we lose track
of that because we get picture, we get focused
on the big miracle that Jesus is doing and we
forget just to keep our eyes on him and to keep
our faith. You know, the miracle gets too big
for us. if you will. You know, Peter resisted
every rule he knew about the sea. He was a fisherman,
you know. He respected the water so much, but
he got out of the boat, you know. And all his
life on the sea, he never saw anybody walk on
water, but he got out of the boat and walked
on water, even temporarily. You know, and Jesus
wasn't chastising them. He was reminding the
disciple that he'd already done the hard part.
He actually stepped out in faith. And stepping
out in faith is the hardest part of a miracle.
Whether you're starting a ministry or whatever,
you know, taking that initial step is always
the hardest. Once you do it, usually the Lord
will, you know, open some doors for you. Sometimes
not. Sometimes you step out in faith and it's
like, you know, Where the heck am I? Why did
I do this? You know, I don't belong here. You
know, and I wrote this down. Imagine feeling
called to serve in ministry, okay? You get all
the training. You go to school. You prepare for
it. You maybe even quit your job to go start
a church. But the day you show up at your new
ministry, you decide you don't want to do it
anymore. You know, that's like, you know, Jesus
preparing you for it, just like he did Peter
walking with them all those years. But then the
miracle just gets too big because somebody's
already stepped out in faith to start a ministry.
But yet their fear holds them back. Just a little
more faith would have gotten them over the hump.
A little more faith starting a ministry would
get you over the hump. It's not that it's so
much the lack of faith. It's that we just don't
pursue it. We don't pray enough. Now, if you
start a ministry and you try to do it in your
own power, it's going to fail. You'll never do
it. But there's prayer. You can have other people
pray for you, and then it will happen. You know,
like, I had no clue what was going to happen
when I started the teen center up in the East
Mountains. All I know is I had a vision. I had
no money. You know, I had no building. But I
knew God wanted me to do something. And, you
know, I stuck with it. You know, and I asked
for a lot of prayer. Everybody here was praying
for it. And everybody up there. And, you know,
now we have a youth center. You know, but it
wasn't any of my doing. It was prayer. You know,
I just hung in there. And there's no reason I
hung in there other than the Holy Spirit. Because
I know there's been times I just want to say,
I'm done. This is too hard. You know, we're in
the midst of finally getting ready to open and
they decide they're going to sell the building
on us. You know, that never happened. But I mean,
those were the obstacles. So we had to stop for
six months. We couldn't do anything because we
weren't sure if we're going to have the building
or not. You know, I didn't want to put money
into it if we weren't going to have a place.
But then, you know, we backed off and we let
the Lord start working again. We spent a lot
of time in prayer. And before, you know, lo and
behold, we end up with the lease. We've been
there two years now. You know, so that's how
God works. Right at your weakest moment when
you think you're done, that's when he shows up.
You know, just like with Peter and the boat.
You know, Jesus was there. He was right there
to hold Peter's hand for those last two feet.
And Peter could have grabbed his hand, you know.
The miracle got too big. Faith isn't something
you have or don't have. It's a muscle that grows
as you use it. The more you use it, the more
it grows. But it still falters and fluctuates
at strange moments even after the hard work is
done. You know, like I said, there's times that...
You do the hard part, and then it's supposed
to be the easy part, and then that's when your
faith actually declines because it seems like
you get more faith in a moment where you have
to press up against God more. And the harder
it is, the moment, the more you're going to pray,
the more you're going to press up against Jesus,
and that's how your faith grows. Imagine if we
could do that all the time, you know, during
the good times and easy times. Lord, what am
I going to have for lunch today? You know, instead
of just assuming, hey, I'm just going to go eat,
you know. Talk to God more, you know. I need
to do that, you know. And that's why the sermon
was big with me today. It's not for anybody else
other than me, you know, because I go through
just as much struggles with faith and doubt as
anybody. Okay, now Matthew 21, 18, 22. You can
turn there. Matthew 21, 18 through 22. This is
about the fig tree. Now in the morning, as he
returned to the city, he was hungry. And seeing
a fig tree by the road, he came to it and found
nothing on it but leaves and said to it, Let
no fruit grow on you ever again. Immediately
the fig tree withered away. And when the disciples
saw it, they marveled, saying, How did the fig
tree wither away so soon? So Jesus answered them,
And said to them, Assuredly, I say to you, if
you have faith and do not doubt, you will not
only do what was done to the fig tree, but also
if you say to this mountain, be removed and cast
into the sea, it will be done. And whatever things
you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.
And I find this a really interesting story. I
don't understand. Other than Jesus wanting to
teach a lesson, why didn't he just tell the fig
tree to produce fruit if he was hungry? And then
they could have all ate and would have marveled
more. Why didn't he tell it to wither away? You
know, I don't know. It doesn't, I don't get any
more explanation from that. Maybe someday I'll
ask Jesus, why did he just throw some figs right
there in the spot? You know, you think about
little things like that. So then you have to
be prepared. What was so important about this
fig tree that he told it to wither away? When
the disciples ask him about this, he doesn't
give them the why. Instead, he focuses on teaching
them a lesson on faith. Sometimes the way we
interpret his lesson can make faith more of a
struggle. If the key is getting things done is
to never doubt, then we're all in trouble. That
story is similar to this. It's just the way that
Jesus decided to teach through parables, okay?
Check out, I mean, in the Sermon on the Mount,
right? He tells the crowd that they should cut
off their hands or put out their eyes that cause
them to sin. That's in Matthew 5, 27, 30. Jesus
knows that sin comes from our heart, not from
our limb. And he's really not encouraging these
people into self -mutilation to go. poke out
their eyes and cut off their limbs. He's emphatically
telling them that this is really, really vital.
They need to take sin very serious to the matter
of life or death and cutting off limbs. You know,
if somebody says, hey, it's better for you to
go cut off your arm than for you to sin by your
hands, okay? It makes you stop and think. But
Jesus wasn't telling all these people if they
sinned to go cut off their arm. You know, it's
the same thing with the fig tree. You know, he
exaggerated parts of his sermon, you know, to
really drive the point home. It's like, you know,
if you pray for something, have faith, and you
will be amazed at what you do, especially...
You know, they're getting close to Jerusalem,
they're getting close to the crucifixion, and
they're getting close to when Jesus isn't going
to be with these people anymore, right? So he's
telling them in the case of the fig tree, hey,
have faith. Your faith could move mountains if
you let it, you know? He's not saying that, hey,
go move a mountain. He's saying, you know, if
you believe in what you're praying for, The sky
is the limit. There's no limitations in God's
world. That's human, you know, human limitations.
And I bet you they thought about that after saying,
we can move mountains. That's not the point he
was trying to say. He's just saying that faith
with prayer is such a powerful thing, it can
actually move mountains. Okay, so number four
is, this is Mark 9, 21 through 24. This is about
the father and his son that was throwing himself
in the fire and throwing him in the water and
other things. So Mark 9, verse 21 through 24.
So he asked his father, how long has this been
happening to him? And the father says, from childhood.
He has often thrown him both into the fire and
into the water to destroy him. That's the demon
that was inside of him. But if you can do anything,
have compassion on us and help us. And Jesus
said to him, you can believe. All things are
possible to him who believes. So he's telling
his father. Immediately the father of the child
cried out and said with tears, Lord, I believe.
Help my unbelief. You know, and the father's
expression of faith is one of the most honest
and meaningful statements about doubt in the
entire New Testament. Faith and doubt aren't
opposing positions on the same light switch.
They're often conditions that exist side by side.
We have faith, but yet we have doubt, you know.
We have faith. We believe it, but we don't believe
it all. We believe it, but we don't believe the
miracle's too big and we lose, you know, and
doubt enters in. Or we have faith and sin enters
in and then there's doubt. Sin will cast more
doubt on everything than any other reason to
have doubt. How genuine is this? How many times
have we said this? Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief.
Because we can't. We can't make ourselves believe.
That has to come from inside. That's all God
that makes us believe. We're all born with a
very small amount of faith. Otherwise, none of
us would ever come to the Lord. We're born with
enough faith to either say yes or no to Jesus
when he comes knocking at our door. You know,
we all struggle with that. That's why when you're
a kid, you lay up and look at the sky and you
say, is there God, is there not God, you know?
And that's that little amount of faith that we're
born in. And then the day comes where we have
to make a decision based on the amount of faith
we have. Am I ready to give my life to God because
my way ain't working? And in my case, it was
going to be the death of me if I didn't. You
know, so the man asked Jesus to interfere. because
he does believe. He believes enough to bother
asking, but he could never believe more. We could
always believe more, and nothing seems more meaningful
than using your existing faith to ask for more
faith. You know, so if you have faith, you ask
for more of it, and it will be granted to you.
If you believe that, God will give you more faith.
And that's what that whole thing with the fig
tree is. You know, this all intertwines into
the lesson of the fig tree that... You know,
we have to believe, but we have to believe to
ask for more faith because we don't have enough
on our own. You know, we have to ask for that.
That God will give it to us. And that's the point
he was stressing. It's not so the disciples could
move mountains, but so they would ask for more
faith. So number five, okay, this is Matthew
28, 16 through 17. Okay, Matthew 28, 16 to 17.
And this was right before he talked to them about
the Great Commission. And it says, okay, verse
16. Then the 11 disciples went away into Galilee.
This was after, this is once Jesus has risen,
to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for
them. When they saw him, they worshiped him.
But some doubted. Scripture doesn't tell us exactly
what that means, who doubted and what they doubted.
Was it that they doubted that he was risen? Did
they doubt that it was Jesus? Did they doubt
that they were seeing things? But there was doubt.
And those 11 men that walked with Jesus for three
years, there was doubt. It doesn't tell us what
the doubt was. That's another thing. We get to
heaven, we get to ask. But these two verses come
immediately before Jesus gives the disciples
the great commission. They spent a little over
three years with Jesus. They'd seen miracles
happen. They saw him risen from the dead. Their
Messiah was crucified and buried, and a couple
days later, they were dining with him. If there
was ever a good reason of believing the unbelievable,
the disciples had experienced it. But even yet...
Here they were with their previously deceased
king, and some of them were still harboring doubts.
What kind of doubts? Matthew doesn't tell us.
Doubts that he was the Messiah, doubts in his
divinity, doubts in the mission, maybe a mixture
of all those things, maybe a mixture of, well,
where do we go from here? Because they knew that
Jesus was going to go back to heaven very soon
because he kept telling them. So they were probably
filled with a lot of different kind of mixed
feelings. I don't think it was they didn't believe
he wasn't the Messiah. I think they all believed
that. I believe they all believed he was the
king. But I think their own flesh was saying,
well, what happens to us now with him gone? And
that's where all those doubts started to creep
in. It's like when they went... When they go
to the upper room, right, to wait for the Holy
Spirit, because Jesus promised the Holy Spirit,
he was going to send the Holy Spirit. I can only
imagine, I would have loved to be a fly on the
wall to see what they talked about while they
were waiting. I bet you there was doubt after
doubt. I bet you there was times where they were
just going to say, he ain't coming, we're leaving.
You know, there's not that much in Scripture
to say what happened in that upper room. But
they weathered it, you know. They stayed. They
had enough faith to stay. And then, you know,
that's what finally gave them the Holy Spirit
to be able to go out and start the Great Commission
and go out and change the world, you know, and
actually die for their Savior. Without that,
they would have just been 11 men that went by
the wayside, you know, that were just people
in history. But because of what happened in the
upper room, you know, the Holy Spirit filling
them, that's what changed, you know, human history.
What we do know is Jesus doesn't chastise them
for that. He doesn't tell them, I was going to
give you guys some critical information, but
since you don't fully believe, I'm not going
to do it. Instead, he meets them exactly where
they're at, you know. He confides in them and
charges them with their new responsibilities,
and then that's when he gives them the great
commission. So that's one thing about God and
Jesus. He'll always meet us where we're at. We
don't have to have this much faith or this much
faith. He'll always meet us at our level and
help us to get to this level. He'll help us get
as high as we want to go with our faith if we're
willing to believe. It all comes down to willing
to believe. And sometimes it's not even that
we believe, but that we're willing to believe.
Just a willingness will get us more places than
the actual act of believing, you know. Because
we can't make ourselves believe. But what we
can do is make ourselves willing to believe.
At least say, Lord, I believe. Help me with my
unbelief. I am willing, you know. Fill me. Fill
me with belief. You know, I can't do this without
you, Lord. You know, and why? Because their faith
isn't defined by any specific moment of doubt.
Almost every one of these men will be martyred
for their faith. Their faith is much bigger than
these momentary questions and fears might suggest.
So in the big picture of things, you know, that
those doubts they had that day really didn't
mean anything, you know, because they all went
about, you know, God did provide them faith.
in belief, and they actually died for their faith.
So a lot of times we overrate where we're at,
you know, and think that not having enough faith
is we're not going to get to where God has his
plan to be, but that's the farthest thing from
the truth. God will always give us exactly what
we need to do the mission that he deemed that
we're going to do for him. Whether it's start
a ministry, whether it's go talk to somebody
on the street, God will always give us what we
need. He'll give us exactly the right amount
of faith, you know, as long as we're willing.
Okay, so number six. And this sounds familiar,
too, and this is from John 20, 24 through 29.
Okay, now Thomas, called the twin, one of the
12, was not with them when Jesus came. The other
disciples therefore said to him, we have seen
the Lord. So he said to them, unless I see in
his hands the print of the nails and put my finger
into the print of the nails and put my hands
into his side, I will not believe. And after
eight days, his disciples were again inside and
Thomas was with them. Jesus came, the doors being
shut, and stood in the midst and said, Peace
to you. Then he said to Thomas, reach your finger
here and look at my hands and reach your hand
there and put him in my side. Do not be unbelieving,
but 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 yet seen and have
believed. You know, and it always seems a little
unfair that Thomas forever saddled with the title
Doubting Thomas, you know, from all the other
things that they did together and the trials
and tribulations of those 12 men. This was a
time when the disciples were trying to talk Jesus
out of going back to Judea. There was a time
when the disciples were trying to talk Jesus
out of going back to Judea to see Lazarus because
the authorities wanted him dead. And it was Thomas
who said, let us also go that we may die with
him. But that's not what we remember about Thomas.
You know, we remember Thomas as doubting Thomas,
meek Thomas, transparent Thomas. You know, there's
not that much about Thomas except doubting Thomas.
You know, Lord, let me put my finger in your
side and I'll believe. But, you know, he's the
one that encouraged Jesus to go to Lazarus even
though there was... The authorities are going
to kill him. So after Jesus is raised from the
dead, he appears to the disciples, but John says
Thomas wasn't with them. They believed because
they were there and saw the Lord earlier. When
Mary tried to tell them that, that she had seen
the Lord, they didn't believe her either, you
know? So it's a whole chain. Mary saw him, then
she went and told them they didn't believe, okay?
So the only reason the other 10 believe now is
because they saw him, okay? Then Thomas wasn't
there with the other 10, so now it's the third
time, okay? And Thomas, the other ones are saying,
why don't you believe, you know? And Thomas said,
well, I wasn't there the other two times, you
know? I'm finally here, and I see it, and there's
my Lord and my God, you know? So they all did
the same thing, you know? None of them quite
believed until they saw Jesus in their own eyes,
you know? So we're not as different as we seem
from anybody. You know, Thomas responds like
anybody asked to believe something that just
seems too outlandish and extraordinary. He wants
to see the evidence with his own eyes, you know.
Don't we want to do that a lot, you know? Lord,
show me proof. Lord, I'm putting out the fleece.
Instead of just saying, Lord, I trust you, you
know. Lord, I'll put out the fleece. Tell me
what to do, you know. Instead of just saying,
God, show me the way in my heart and I'll do
what you tell me. He'll tell you. You don't have
to put out a fleece, but we do. The beautiful
thing is Jesus makes a special trip to accommodate
him. Again, the Lord doesn't berate or belittle
the disciple. Jesus shows Thomas the scars and
encourages him to believe. And Thomas responds
with heartfelt worship. Another time, you know,
Jesus meeting us exactly where we're at, you
know. He didn't say, Thomas, why did you not
believe, you know. You know, go back to school.
I'm done with you, you know. No, not at all.
Not at all, you know. He meets us right where
we're at. He doesn't expect more or less from
us, you know. If he did, he would have to do
it. So that's why he lets us grow how we're supposed
to grow because he already knows what we're going
to become in the end. He already knows what he's
going to have to do, but he wants us to experience
it and live through it because otherwise it means
nothing to us. Jesus' final statement here is
critical. It's one thing to see and believe,
but a vast majority of Jesus' followers would
not have that luxury. They wouldn't get to touch
his scars. By saying, blessed are those who have
not seen and yet have believed, Jesus recognizes
that belief isn't simple or easy. If you struggle
with doubt, Jesus completely understands. You
know, just that statement is, you know, pacification
for us. You know, if we're having a hard time
with belief, just read this verse because they
were there and they saw it. And he even said
to them, you know, blessed are those who don't
actually have to see it but yet believe. You
know, that means more than the ones that have
to poke their finger in the side. And these men
walked with him. All right, number seven. Hebrews
11. Hebrews 11, verse 1 and 2. Now faith is the
substance of things hoped for, evidence of things
not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good
testimony. The writer of Hebrews defines faith
for us. It's a confidence in a future we hope
for and assurance in what we don't see. This
is the belief that pleases God, but we mustn't
read this as faith is confidence in our confidence
and assurance in our assurance. You know, what
that means is faith that redeems us is confidence
in Jesus, the object of our hope. Think of faith
as a pair of glasses. which we gaze upon what
we long for. The glasses help us see what we
hope for more clearly and they help us push through
to grab hold of it. But we need to be careful
not to make an idol out of our faith, you know,
because it's God. It's God giving us those glasses
to see, you know. the things that are unseen
and to feel the things that are unseen. And how
do we get that? It's, you know, how do we believe
in Jesus? It's because of the things he's done
for us. You know, when we come to Jesus, we come
to him for the first time because we got nowhere
else to go. You know, at least that was it for
me. And most people, they had nowhere else to
go. I mean, if we were that great and that comfortable
and so happy in our life, why would we have come
to Jesus in the first place? So that beginning
of faith, it's things hoped for. Then Jesus gives
us the Jesus glasses so we can start seeing things
more clearly. But never think it's our faith
or our assurance because it's not. I mean, our
faith doesn't amount to a hill of beans. It's
the only reason we find Jesus because we have
no other choice and we're going to die if we
don't. You know, what does that say about us?
Is that something to give us credit for? Jesus
chose us. We didn't choose him. You know, we
said okay in the end and let him in, but we didn't
go out in the world trying to find a savior.
You know, he came to us. And we said, okay, Lord,
we'll let you in. You know, everybody comes to
Jesus a little different way, but mine was pretty
rugged, you know, and pretty bad. I had no other
choice. I had a gun to my head, and it was either
Jesus or I was going to die. You know, that was
it. But, you know, that hope that there was going
to be something better is what mattered, you
know. And it wasn't my assurance, you know, or
my faith that got me through the door. It was
the hope, you know. It's the hope, hope of things
to come. Faith is confidence in what we hope
for. So let's not get cocky with our faith thinking,
you know, well, this person has no, you know.
Dude, your problem is your lack of faith, you
know. Don't take credit for things that God does,
you know. You know, God is what allowed us to
have our faith, and that's he builds it usually
through turmoil. And whatever else, you know,
growing faith is never easy. It's not for the
faint of heart. You know, it takes work. It takes
scars. It's like working out in the gym. You're
going to be sore, you know. I don't work out
in the gym, but I know faith is a little uncomfortable
at times. Lessons in faith, you know, it's not
an easy thing. But, you know, we have to be careful
not to make an idol out of our belief, our faith.
You know, it's a tool we use to see and grab
a hold of Jesus, nothing more. You know, he'll
grow the faith how he wants us to. All right,
Hebrews 11 .6. I've just got a couple more verses
left here. Hebrews 11 .6. But without faith,
it is impossible to please him, for he who comes
to God must believe that he is. and that he is
a rewarder of those who diligently seek him.
This is a really critical verse, but what does
it mean? When we think of faith as a sentiment
for belief, we interpret it to mean that having
the right ideas and never doubting them is the
way to keep pleasing God. But that is not what
this is saying. Jesus... Jesus was clear that
faithful followers would be recognized by their
fruit, okay? But without faith, we cannot bear
fruit. What does James tell us? Faith without
works is dead. So if we have faith, we're going
to have works, okay? We can't just, you know,
think that just because we have faith, we're
pleasing God. Faith without works is dead. You
know, we have to take it, and people will know
us by our fruit. And our fruit is nothing more
than what our faith is. And, you know, if we
have faith, we're going to have good works and
the world will know us by our fruit. You know,
so indirectly, the world will know us by how
much faith we have. Godly faith, not our self
-made faith, you know, by words saying, yeah,
brother, just have more faith and it'll heal
you. The reason he didn't heal you when you were
praying is because you didn't have enough faith.
You know, you hear that televangelist. That more
faith, you know, we'll try this again. You go
back, come back in a week and build your faith
and we'll try to heal you again. We'll try to
fix that broken leg, you know. And it doesn't
work that way, you know. Our faith really is
to help others because it's works, you know.
The works, the godly works are not about us,
whether our leg heals. Our faith is about other
people. You know, what we do for others, that's
what our works is. You know, it takes faith to
pray. It takes faith to serve. It takes faith
to put others first. It takes faith to make sacrifices,
whether it's your money, your time, you know.
That's all faith, and that's how people will
judge you by your faith is by your works. If
you're doing nothing but sitting home and feeling
like you're filled with faith, then you're, I
hate to say it, but you're truly not, you know,
because you're not out doing anything for people.
This is a people business, whether it's ministry,
whether it's preaching, whether it's being out
in the street corner, whether it's being a good
friend, you know, it's all what you do for others.
Without faith, it's impossible to please God.
Why? Because faith is necessary for us to live
as children of God. And, you know, what is the
great commandments? You know, love God with all
your heart and love your neighbor as yourself.
You can't do either of those without faith. Number
nine, you must believe and not doubt. This is
James 1, 2 through 8. James 1, 2 through 8. Let
me grab my drink. Okay, James 1, starting with
verse 2. My brethren, count it all joy when you
fall into various trials, knowing that the testing
of your faith produces patience. But let patience
have its perfect work, that you may be perfect
and complete, lacking nothing. If any of you
lacks wisdom, let him ask a God who gives to
all liberally and without reproach, and it will
be given to him. But let him ask in faith with
no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave
of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. that
man suppose that he will receive anything from
the Lord. He is a double -minded man, unstable
in all his ways. You know, these last two verses,
verse 7 and 8, for let not that man suppose that
he will receive anything from the Lord. He is
a double -minded man, unstable in all his ways.
That word double -minded has upset more people
than I know. since I've been in ministry. You
know, you call me double -minded. That's not
what James is doing here. You know, James's words
often felt like a dagger for struggling people.
Some people have prayed for sick loved ones,
and those loved ones don't get better. These
words echoed in their head, but when you ask,
you must believe and not doubt, because the one
who doubts is like a wave at a sea blown and
tossed by the wind. Should not expect to receive
anything from the word. That person should not
expect to receive anything from the Lord. But
that's not what James is saying here. James is,
don't pull these out of context, okay? This passage
specifically concerns praying for wisdom. James
tells us that if we lack wisdom, we should pray
for it. God wants to give us understanding, but
it doesn't do us any good to pray for wisdom
if we don't believe that God will give us wisdom.
That's all James is saying here. Don't be double
-minded. Don't ask for wisdom when you don't
want it, you know? Have faith that God will give
you wisdom, and then listen to it. You know,
like I was saying earlier, how many times is
it, God, tell me what I want to have for lunch
today, okay? And then I don't wait for an answer.
I just go and eat. You know, that there is being
double -minded. That's a perfect example of double
-mindedness. Because I'm asking God for wisdom,
but yet I really don't want it. You know, that's
double -minded. And that's almost like slapping
God in the face. Say, God, I'm asking you this
just so I can sound like a good little Christian,
but I really don't want your advice on what I
want for lunch. You know? Only ask for it if
you really want his wisdom, and then don't be
double -minded about it. Ask in true faith, Lord,
give me wisdom. Sometimes I do that, especially
with the teen center. I constantly have to pray
for wisdom because I don't know what to do. I
don't have a clue on how to run a teen center.
I don't have the faintest idea, but yet it's
happening, you know. And then God sent me Chris.
Chris keeps me in line. Chris will tell me. You
know, slow down. You're going too fast. You know,
Chris is the grounding force in the teen center.
I come up with, like, the ideas. He's the one
that puts them in motion and keeps them grounded
so it doesn't turn into total chaos, you know.
And that's why we work well together. You know,
in the beginning, it was like, you know, Chris,
you know, he was the meanest person I knew because
he's just point blunt, you know, and that's what
I need, you know. And we've learned to work together,
and I've just learned so much from that relationship.
That now it's like, Chris, what do you think
of this? And I wait and I listen to what he's
going to say, you know, rather than just tuning
them out because I think I already know what
I'm going to do, you know. Now it's really like,
I want to do this, Chris. Tell me how to do it,
you know. And then he tells me how to do it and
we do it, you know. So that's kind of like my
dealings with God too, you know. You got to be
able to listen. to what he tells you, and ask
in faith that he's going to answer you. He will.
God will answer every prayer. You know, I don't
keep one, but I know people that keep prayer,
you know, prayer books. They have these five
-year prayer journals that you write down every
prayer, then you go back once a year and look
at all your prayers, and you see how God is answering
your prayers. You know, I want to start that.
Chris's daughter, Melody, she's like... 10 or
11, but she is so filled with the Lord. She's
already teaching kids Bible study and everything.
And I got her a prayer journal, a five -year
prayer journal for her birthday. And she just
loves it. She keeps it by her bed, writes her
prayers down, and she's going to go back and
see how God answered every one of those prayers.
And that is the greatest thing. If we would take
the time to see how God's really answering our
prayers, it would make such a difference in our
lives, I think. You know, and back to James.
James is not saying that the strength of our
beliefs is defining every variable and every
prayer we pray. No one should feel like a tragedy
that could have been avoided if they just had
more faith. You know? We're going to falter,
we're going to fall, but we're going to get back
up. And then next time, maybe we'll have a little
more faith and know that we can't do it on our
own. So we're going to ask God for wisdom and
really wait to see what he has to say. You know,
that's all James is saying in that verse. He's
not, so many people get, you know, calling me
double -minded. And especially when I was teaching
recovery down here, that was like the worst word
that you could ever teach on double -minded.
You're calling me double -minded. I'm not double
-minded. You know, but that's, you know, it's
just like one of those things. The other one
was, you know, there's going to be, you know,
when I see you in heaven, I'm going to, you know,
Jesus is going to say to a lot of people, I never
knew you. Those are the scariest words to me
in all the scripture. Jesus looking you in the
eyes and saying, I never knew you. You know,
could you only imagine? You had your whole life
to get it right, to get to heaven. And you're
kind of cocky and you're feeling, oh, Jesus is
going to like me, you know. And he says, I never
knew you. You know, your motives were all selfish.
You know, so there's that. But anyway, verse
10 is the last one. This is Jude 22. It's a short
one. But actually, I pulled Jude 20 through 23
to get some context with it. So mercy to those
who doubt, Jude 22. But you, beloved, building
yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying
in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love
of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus
Christ unto eternal life. And on some have compassion,
making a distinction, but others save with fear,
pulling them out of the fire, hating even the
garment defiled by the flesh. You know, and a
lot of this has to do with faith isn't static.
We could have strong faith today and tomorrow,
go through something that makes us question everything.
It's incredibly important that we treat one another
with tenderness and care because that's how we
protect doubt from becoming disbelief. And that's
what Jude is saying here on, you know, on some
have compassion, you know, treat them with love
if they're going through periods of doubt, you
know. you know, help them, pray with them, you
know, ask them to have people pray for them,
you know, but other people, you know, put the
fear of God in them, you know, telling them where
that doubt will lead to disbelief, and then once
you get to that point of disbelief, then you
start doubting everything, and sin sets in, and
you know, a lot of people never make it back
from that, so. You know, there's that. You know,
hating the garment defiled by, even hating the
garment defiled by the flesh. You know, and that's
what the flesh will do. It'll take you down so
fast without you even knowing. But we can protect
one another by praying for each other and showing
people compassion. When Thomas said that he wouldn't
believe unless he felt the Lord's wounds, he
didn't want faith. He wanted certainty. He was
saying, I believe when you prove it to me. But
faith is uncertainty. It is belief in the face
of questions and misgivings. It is trust despite
doubt. You know, and I could just close there,
but I just want to say there are ways to grow
our faith, you know, and doubt and to get away
from times of doubt. And that number one is prayer.
You know, that sounds like a... serve all for
every purpose, but it truly is. That's the first
aid kit for anything is prayer. Number two, praying
with others. Number three, having others pray
for you. Number four, telling somebody about
what you're going through and having them pray
with you. Don't keep it a secret. We can't go
through this alone. We can't do this on our own.
We were never designed to do this on our own.
You know, Jesus had his 12 disciples, you know,
and they all leaned on each other, you know.
Unfortunately, in Jesus' case, when he went in
the garden to get somebody and asked them to
watch for an hour, they fell asleep. They couldn't
do that. So it was kind of like a one -sided
leaning, but, you know, they were all there for
each other, but Jesus died for them and died
for us, you know. That's how far Jesus is willing
to go. And to think that he won't meet us wherever
our faith is at, we got that entirely wrong.
He will always meet us where we are at and bring
us higher if that's where we want to go. But
we truly have to believe that he will, and that's
what we want. So with that, let's pray. Father
God, I thank you, Lord, and I thank you for whatever
it is I said, and I hope that there was something
that somebody can use. It's not me, Lord. I just
opened my mouth and it's all you. Everything
is about you, Lord, and not me. And I just pray
that, you know, Lord, that you increase my faith
and help me with my unbelief, Lord, that I have
at times. And just keep filling me, Lord, and
meeting me where I'm at and growing it. I want
to be more like you every day, Lord, with every
passing second. I want to learn how to love like
you love. I want to learn how to love God. I
want to learn how to love others as myself, Lord.
And I just want to be like you. I want Ted to
pass away and I want Jesus to take over. And
Lord, that's all I ask for today. And that's
all I ask for everybody here that we leave and
we be a little more like you and a little less
like us that walk through the door today. And
I ask all this in your holy name. Amen. Until
next time, take care and God bless.