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. Let us pray. Father, we thank you for this
day. We thank you for this time in fellowship,
this time in growth, this time in your word.
We ask that you open the eyes of our hearts,
our mind, our ears. Let us see and hear everything
that you have to speak to us today in Jesus name.
Amen. All right. So last week we were talking
a bit about that feeling of unworthiness that
we have, right? And how it's a snare of the devil,
right? So it's one of those tools that Satan
and his ministers like to use. And this week
we're going to be using, or we're going to be
not using, looking at another one of his tools
that they like to put up out there. And it's
doubt. We all come up upon that snare once in
a while, don't we? In a multitude of ways. Unfortunately,
one of the hardest times that we deal with it
is when it comes to our faith. It's that little
voice saying, I don't think so, Tim. The odds
don't look so good. It's not in your favor. In
other words, it's uncertainty. It creates a lot
of uncertainty in you. A lot of turmoil. And
when it creeps into a believer's life, it's especially
hard. And it tries to a lot. It really does.
It's that tool that goes all the way back to
the Garden of Eden. When the serpent was speaking
to Adam and Eve. Did he force them to do anything?
No. He said, just a little bit. To create that
doubt, though, to get that uncertainty. It's
like, well, is that really me? Is he holding
something back from me? Right? They started questioning
what they knew about God and what they knew about
his character. You know, and as Christians, when
we have it, it creeps in and we start looking
at it in our faith. We start asking ourselves,
like, am I really saved if I have doubts in my
faith? You know? What if I have questions about
the Bible because something doesn't necessarily
make sense because I've been taught something
different throughout my life, right? Or I've
seen something that just, it doesn't quite add
up. So doubt's in there, you know? Sometimes,
you know, people are out there, it's like, well,
a good Christian doesn't have doubt. Hogwash.
Christians have questions all the time, every
single one of us, you know? And unfortunately,
The thought that's out there, though, is like,
oh, good Christian doesn't have doubts. I must
not be a good Christian. That means I'm going
to hell. No, you're not. You're okay. That's
the enemy whispering in your ear. Don't listen.
In the words of Jesus, Satan be gone, right?
So this is a big place that we have to look out
for. So let's look at our first scripture here
in 1 Peter 3. So 1 Peter chapter 3, specifically,
we're going to be looking at verses 14 through
16. Try to get everybody a minute there. I know
I kind of go fast there sometimes. So 1 Peter
3, 14 through 16, the word says, But even if
you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you
are blessed. And do not be afraid of the threats,
nor be troubled. But sanctify the Lord God in
your hearts and always be ready to give a defense
to everyone who asks you for a reason for the
hope that is in you. With meekness and fear,
having good conscience, that when they defame
you as evildoers, those who revile your good
conduct in Christ may be ashamed. Pastor, what's
that have to do with doubt? Right? A good question.
I'll answer it. How do you tell others about
your faith? What defense do you have in your
life? Now, in other words, it's asking, why do
you believe what you believe? And if we're honest
with ourselves, most of the time we don't really
have an answer because we haven't really thought
of that, have we? It's like, I just believe.
Really? Well, where's that going to fly? It's
like your parents say, he's like, why do I have
to do that? Because I said so. Really? Does that
really tell them what? Does that teach them anything?
Well, when we tell people, oh, I just believe.
Well, we're doing the same thing because I said
so. We're not giving a defense. We're not teaching
them anything. We're not explaining anything.
We're certainly not witnessing for Jesus. So
it's not good enough. So we start thinking about
it. I just do. Is that good enough for a non
-believer or somebody who's just starting to
come, who's trying to get answers to those questions?
That's one of those places that we, the church,
fail sometimes, actually fairly often, because
we don't have a defense. We haven't even thought
of one. So we're unprepared. Right? We're caught
off guard. And we miss an opportunity to bring
somebody and introduce them to Christ. Let that
sink in for a minute. How many opportunities
have you missed? I think we've all missed more
than our fair share, haven't we? So we ask ourselves,
why do I believe? What is the answer for my defense
of the hope that is within me, the answer for
the faith, the trust in God that I carry with
me? And when we start thinking about it, if we
can't think of an answer right away, ooh, the
snare has us. Now we start to question all of
it. I've been saying I'm a Christian, but am
I really? Have I been saved? Well, that's the
enemy whispering in your ear, trying to sow those
seeds of doubt. You know, how am I a Christian
if I can't even answer for why I have the faith
that I have? Am I, you know, like, uh -oh, and
the cat gets your tongue. That creeps in. And
let me make it clear. You're not the first person
to feel this way. You're not the first person
to ask these questions, nor will you be the last.
You're not alone, and it doesn't make you any
less of a Christian. Actually, on the contrary.
Because as Christians, as followers of Christ,
we're students, are we not? Students should have
questions. If you don't have questions, something's
not right. I can tell you even now, I still have
questions. Everybody should have questions. That's
why we have the Bible to answer a lot of those
questions. So I'm going to share a quote with
you here from Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Give
me the benefit of your convictions if you have
any, but keep your doubts to yourself for I have
enough of my own. Isn't that the truth? We all,
like I said, we all already have questions. We
already have a lot of things on our plate. From
our day -to -day lives to even just reading the
word, we have questions. None of us want somebody
coming in and piling their garbage on top of
what we already have going for us, right? What
are you saying? It's not just in the word, it's
in life. Don't bring that nonsense. No, get out
of here. So really what we should be asking are
the questions we have. Do we have good questions?
And who are we going to with those questions?
That's the big thing right there. Who are we
going to with those questions? Are we preying
on it? Are we talking to a fellow believer? Maybe
somebody who's a little further along in their
walk, a little bit more mature? Or are we just
going to our buddy and going, you know what?
I got a doubt. And that buddy might not even
have faith. And I go, whoa. I don't know. Right?
We shouldn't be burdening people. With our own
stuff. We should be going to people that we trust,
that we know might be able to help us find that
answer if they don't have it themselves. We should
be praying, first and foremost. We should always
be taking it to God, right? That's why he's given
us the Holy Spirit, so that we have someone,
right? That comforter. Because what happens when
we start to doubt? We start to get frustrated.
We get angry. We get nervous. We get anxious.
We become fearful. The Holy Spirit is the comforter,
is he not? So we should be starting with him.
All this, it's only fitting that I show in the
word, a good demonstration. Now we're going to
go through, we're going to read through all this
real quick, just so we have the context of what's
happening. But don't worry, we're not going to
go through all. of the whole thing, for time's
sake. But let's flip over to Mark 9, verses 14
through 19. So Mark 9, 14 through 19. I like
saying that, Mark 9. Makes me feel like I'm on
Star Trek or something. It's a Mark 9 torpedo!
A little nerdy, I know. So this right here, though,
this right here is a story of Jesus with the
demon -possessed boy. Okay? All right. And when
he came to the disciples, he saw a great multitude
around them and scribes disputing with them.
Immediately, when they saw him, all the people
were greatly amazed and running to him, greeted
him, and asked, he asked the scribes, what are
you discussing with them? Then one of the crowd
answered and said, Teacher, I brought you my
son who has a mute spirit. And wherever it seizes
him, it throws him down. He foams at the mouth,
gnashes his teeth, and becomes rigid. So I spoke
to your disciples so that they could cast it
out, but they could not. He answered him and
said, oh, faithless generation, how long shall
I be with you? How long shall I bear with you?
Bring him to me. Then they brought him to him.
And when he saw him immediately, the spirit convulsed
him and he fell on the ground and wallowed, foaming
at the mouth. So he asked the father, how long
has this been happening to him? And he said,
from childhood. And often he has thrown him both
into the fire and into the water to destroy him.
But if you can do anything, have compassion on
us and help us. Jesus said to him, if you can
believe, all things are possible to him who believes.
Immediately, the father cried out and said with
tears, Lord, I believe, help my unbelief. When
Jesus saw that the people came running together,
he rebuked the unclean spirit saying to it, deaf
and dumb spirit, I command you come out of him
and enter him no more. Then the spirit cried
out, convulsed him greatly and came out of him.
And he became as one dead. So that many said
he is dead. But Jesus took him by the hand. lifted
him up, and he arose. And when he had come into
the house, his disciples asked him privately,
Why could we not cast it out? So he said to them,
This kind can come out by nothing but prayer
and fasting. Excuse me there. I said, we're not
going to go through this whole week. As a matter
of fact, we could probably do a whole series
on this. I'm not going to do that to you. You're
welcome. We're going to look at a few key pieces
of this, though. Like I said, we needed to go
through the whole thing, though, because we needed
the context, what was happening, what was going
on, right? Like I said, context is king. We should
always be reading, right? We should always be
like the Bereans, studying. So at the very beginning
of this, Jesus and the disciples, they had just
come down from the mountain where some of his
disciples were with him and they had just witnessed
the transfiguration. So basically they were up
in a very beautiful place seeing something absolutely
gorgeous. And then they come back down the mountain
and they come into the town. And because of that,
it's pretty easy to imagine that this ugly scene
probably appeared a whole lot uglier. Not to
say that there's anything really pretty about
it to begin with, right? I mean, a demon -possessed
boy foaming at the mouth, sneezing the whole
bit. That's pretty crazy. There's a lot of chaos
there. They went from the presence of God to
absolute evil. Witnessing absolute evil. We see
a lot of that in our streets. In any case, it's
a scene of pure horror. This is the type of thing
that they make movies about. You look at the
people and how they're responding. Oh, they're
cheering. Hey, teacher, teacher. There's no fear.
There's no fear. Why is there no fear? Because
Jesus is there. There's no need to fear. Jesus
is here. When Jesus is walking with us, we don't
have any need to fear. When he has our backs,
we know we're good. But when we go back here
and we look at verses 18 through 19, The father
clearly believed in Jesus, you know, and he believed
in his disciples. He believed that they could
help him. So he took his son and faith and he
takes them to them. Say, hey, help me. I need
your help. He's desperate. Heal my boy. And the
disciples, they tried. This is something that
they've done before. So they're like, oh, I got
this down. I know what I'm doing. I'm golden.
We'll knock this out. They'll be home for lunch,
right? But it failed. It didn't work. Uh -oh.
You don't think that there wasn't a little bit
of doubt starting to creep in here at this point?
Here's a desperate father in need. Oh, they can
do it. Oh, it's not working. Here's the disciples.
Oh, we can do it. Oh, it's not working. Why isn't
it working? So it wasn't for lack of effort.
Something was amiss. I'm going to tell you, I'll
bet the disciples were probably kicking themselves
right and good and feeling kind of silly when
they realized what it was. You see, back then,
where we see it in other parts of the Bible,
when a demon was being exorcised, typically what
would happen is the person who was doing the
exorcism would go and they would ask the demon,
for its name. Aha! They don't have the demon's
name. They don't have a way to communicate with
it. Deaf and dumb. Right? They have the boy's
name. They have the information the dad gave.
But they can't do it the way that they used to
do. It's like, hey, what's your name? Demon,
be gone. They can't even invoke the demon. Instead,
they... Stand there at its pleasure while it
laughs at them. You can't get me in any booboo,
right? So try and try as they might the normal
tactics weren't going to work with this demon
when things didn't work out Scenarios been set
it's closing in We've all done this in our lives,
haven't we? It's like, oh, I got this in front
of me. I got this down. Let's do this. Let's
rock. But then something's changed and it doesn't
work. Something new has entered into the equation.
You have to go back to the board and start problem
solving. And it can get frustrating real quick.
Sometimes things get so frustrating. We sit there.
We get that mindset. I can't do this. Just can't.
The enemy is working real hard at that point
and they're smiling because they got you. We
get that pattern down. We do things. It's our
go -to. We fall back on it. We like to do things
over and over the same way, right? We're creatures
of habits. We like our habits. We don't like
change. You ever have something like that come
up at work? or someplace else, like, hey, this
isn't working. Oh, we've always done it like
this. We don't need to change. Something there
needs to change. Really? No. No. It's time to
change the tactic. Marine Corps, it's what we
say, adapt and overcome. And with Jesus, it's
really easy. We go to him, he tells us how to
adapt, and he helps us overcome. That's our go
-to, right there. But that doubt gets in there
and we have to evolve to try to figure out what's
happening there. So the father, he's gone. He's
taken his son. He's taken his son straight to
Jesus at this point. If you can. If. Right? If
you can. Jesus at this point, King James Version
says it. If you can believe, all things are possible.
One straight sentence. Kind of like the way the
NIV breaks it up. If you can, it has a question
mark there. If you can, said Jesus, everything
is possible for one who believes. I think that's
a little bit better of a translation because
he's like, if? Really, if? Do you not know who
you're talking to? Are you kidding me, buddy?
You know I got this. Come on. It's like, are
you out of your mind? If. Oh, please. Get out
of here with that nonsense. Bring me the boy.
Come here. Come here. Right? Piece of cake. And
I like the way it says it, though. The way he
rebukes him. All things are possible to him who
believes. Does this sound familiar to anybody?
Does this sound a little bit like Philippians
4 .13? I can do all things through Christ who
strengthens me. Right? Some translations, I can
do all things through Christ who gives me strength.
Same thing. Doubt's just another tool that Satan
and his ministers like to use to take our eyes
off of Jesus. We get caught up in ourselves and
the stuff that's in front of us. And we stop
thinking about the one that we should be thinking
about the most. Instead of going to Jesus, We're
trying to do it in our own devices and it doesn't
work that way. We fail. We fall short every single
time. You know, and with this, you know, Jesus,
he isn't saying like we can just do anything.
Like we're some kind of a superhero, right? We
don't get to leap buildings in a single bound,
right? Exactly. We're not faster than a speeding
train. We don't have that magic ring, the power
of light, right? Unfortunately, none of us are
like Batman with the billions of gadgets. It's
like, who needs superhero tricks? Watch this.
Push a button. Pow! Right? Those bright words
pop up in front of us. Pow! Zap! Smack! Wouldn't
that be cool? No, he's not saying that. Rather...
What he's saying is that anything is possible
to the believer and that nothing is too hard
for God to do because as long as we have faith
in him, we will have everything that we need
to serve him. Aha! There's the trick right there.
We will have everything we need to serve him
because we have to remember, It's not about us.
It is about him. We had people who paved the
way for us to come to know Jesus. It's on us
to continue to pave the way and build up a way
for others to come to know him. We were the future
generation once. Now we're setting things up
for the next. That's what that verse really means.
That's what Jesus is saying to the father. It's
like, there's nothing too hard for me. I got
this. What do you mean, if? I got this. You believe,
don't you? You believe. Check it out. We got
this. You came to the right person. You're going
to have everything that you need because you
came straight to the source. I'm going to take
care of you. I got you. I got your back. It's
exciting, right? So going back into Mark 9, 24.
We see a prime example of what it is to believe,
yet still have doubt in our lives. It doesn't
make you less of a Christian. It's perfectly
okay. Immediately, the father of the child cried
out and said with tears. He's crying, right?
Lord, I believe. I believe. Help me with my doubts.
That's what he's saying. Take away my fears.
In other words, I believe you. That's why I came
to you. But I'm scared, man. Help me. He knew
Jesus could. He just wasn't sure if he would.
Oh, we've all been there, haven't we? Lord, answer
my prayer. Please answer my prayer. I'm desperate.
I can't do this. But we don't necessarily hear
the answer right away, or at least not the answer
we're looking for. And we become frightened.
We're like children all over again, right? Doubt
has us. Thing is, we have to remember when it
comes to faith, it's not this tangible thing,
this tangible cure -all, like a pill that we
take when we're not feeling good, or a shot that
we get to prevent, like the flu. Right? It's
nothing like that. Growing in our faith is a
constant. It happens every day. It's tested every
day. Every single day. It's going to be a part.
Of your daily walk with Christ. That's the way
it is. That's the way it's meant to be. Because
you're going to have questions. You're supposed
to have questions. Questions are important. Questions
are good. It doesn't mean that you're lacking
in your faith. It just means you need knowledge.
You need understanding. Because this is something
that you don't know yet. It's okay. None of us
knows everything. I've worked on a lot of fields
in my life, but you know what? I don't know a
single thing about building a nuclear missile.
I don't know a single thing about building a
building from scratch. I know some of the premises,
right? I think we all do. Oh, you got a foundation?
Okay. You got your frame? Okay. How many of us
in here are construction workers, though? So
it's safe to say that they probably know things
that we don't. That's why we call them, right?
Something goes wrong at home. You got a leak.
You call the plumber. Some of us have skills
to deal with simple stuff ourselves, but not
everything, right? Power goes out in a room,
it won't come back on. You go to the fuse box,
things still aren't working. Who do you call?
Not the Ghostbusters. Call an electrician, right?
There's different things out there. You want
to do some building on your property. You own
the property. You have to call somebody to come
out and mark things. Make sure you don't start
digging and hit a gas line or something, right?
You call a professional. God wants us to have
questions. That's why he's given us the Bible,
so we can get to know him personally as we start
to grow. Something that we haven't come across
yet, or maybe we just haven't gleaned what we
needed to from it yet. You know? It's there.
We all grow. He's given us the Holy Spirit to
help us out. He knew. That's the reason why we
have a Bible. He knew that there would be people
out there twisting it, perverting it, trying
to make it fit their narrative. because they
don't like the way it's worded and taught over
here. It doesn't matter if you like it or not.
God's word is the same yesterday, today, and
forever. It will not change. If God says it's
so, it is so. If God says it's not so, too bad,
pumpkin. That ain't on you. If it hurts, change.
Not the word, because the word ain't changing.
You can try to twist it all you want. All you're
doing is teaching a false gospel. You're condemning
yourself and other people to hell. It means you're
being convicted. You need to change something
in you. Dig deep. Just going to bring us to our
last passage here. I'm going to flip all the
way back to 1 John. 1 John 4, verse 1. So 1 John
4. It's going to be kind of back towards the
back of your Bible a little bit. It's kind of
a short book. So 1 John chapter 4. I know I got
the King James Version up here on the screen.
I'm actually going to read from the NIV because
that's what I have down here on my notes. Dear
friends, do not believe every spirit, but test
the spirits to see whether they are from God,
because many false prophets have gone out into
the world. Well, you know what? I'll read the
King James as well. Beloved, do not believe every
spirit, but test the spirits whether they are
God, because many false prophets have gone out
into the world. They're not that different, right?
If a doubt comes into your head, don't hesitate
to turn around and ask Jesus, hey. What's this
mean? What are you trying to say here? It's okay.
He wants you to ask the hard questions. He wants
you to ask what's on your heart, what's on your
mind. If it's there, it's there for a reason.
This is how we grow. This is how we build our
relationship. I mean, if we have a friend and
they're doing something like, what are you doing?
We don't hesitate, do we? Are you stupid? What's
going on over there? What's this all about? Well,
they're doing something pretty cool, right? You're
like, oh, what's this? What do you got going
on over here in your garage? That's cool. Right?
You building a Camaro? Sweet! Right? We don't
hesitate. Family member? A sibling? You have
siblings, you know, as well as I do. You have
no problem with reaching over and tapping your
4 -assist right upside the backside of the head.
Right? It happens. Yeah, exactly. Just like that.
It's love. It shows trust. It shows that we care.
It shows that we're bonded. When we go to Jesus
in the same way, it shows the same thing. And
that's what he wants with each and every one
of us. He wants that relationship. He wants that
bond. It's important. I'm going to leave you
all with this quote from Dr. Israel Isidore Isaac
Rabi. He's a nuclear physicist and a Nobel Prize
winner in physics. A friend once asked Dr. Rabi
how he became a scientist. He replied that every
day after school, his mom would talk to him about
his school day. She wasn't so much interested
in what he had learned that day, but she always
inquired. And she would ask, did you ask a good
question today? Hmm. It's a good one. Asking
good questions, Rabi said, made me become a scientist.
And I'll say to you, especially when doubt comes
into your mind, asking questions strengthens
you as a Christian and makes you a better person.
Do not be afraid to ask questions. And when the
devil starts whispering in your ear and trying
to spring that snare of doubt and uncertainty,
tell him to be gone. Let us pray. Heavenly Father,
we thank you for your mercy, your grace, your
love, this time here today with each other and
with you and your word. Forgive us when we stumble
and we fall, those moments of unbelief and the
uncertainty that we have in our lives. Just forgive
it all. Guide us in overcoming them. Help us
to be an example to others for what they need
to do and how they need to respond when they
fall into this trap themselves. Teach us to step
up and boldly ask those questions. Let us ask
those hard questions so that not only we gain
the knowledge that we need, but the understanding
that we need in order to apply it to our lives.
Not only just apply it to our lives, but to teach
others what you've taught us. Let it to be a
witness to Christ and a part of our testimony
to bring people to you. And show them who you
are and what you're all about. And teach them
about your love. And all these people said, amen
and amen. Remember, when you leave here today,
you are loved and you are blessed. So go and
be the church. Until next time, take care and
God bless.