Why Doubt? Have Faith!
In the Christian faith, we are surrounded by doubt. Not only when we go out to tell others about Christ, but even within our own ranks we face doubt each and every day. How many times have you shared the Gospel with someone only to be met with the line, “Yeah, but how do you KNOW it happened? What proof do you have?”
During my class on Evangelism and Missions, we had to interview 2 people who were Christians and two people who were not. In one of my non-Christian interviews, I was met with that very question. What proof do I have? Well, it really got me thinking, what proof, DO I have? I have my gut instinct, The Bible, and simply put, I have faith because of life experience. However, I know people who intellectualize Jesus and try to pick at every detail. They have issues with faith.
Last week, Sherri was working on her Math homework for school and was doing some research to show Math in the Bible. She ran across a man who trying to prove that Noah’s Ark and the Flood could not mathematically fit. He was having issues fitting all the species on board, wondering where the water came from and went to after, and how in the world it rained that much for 40 days. After it was over, I sat back and thought about all that he had said. I looked at Sherri and said, that’s why it’s called faith. Can God do things that we cannot explain? Yes. He does it all the time. People are cured from disease every day! It defies medical logic and makes doctors scratch their heads. Every day, he answers prayers with a yes, no or not right now. He puts people together all the time by what we call “coincidence”. Daily “coincidences are nothing more than God working!
There’s a story of a couple who was on their way to the grocery store for a few things. Upon arriving, the wife said she had to make a quick “pit stop” before continuing through the store. So, the husband did what every husband would do…he held her purse while she was in the restroom. So he was out front of the store, watching people go by, sheepishly holding the purse when the store greeter mentioned how “lovely the purse was!” Well, of course being the funny man he was, he played along saying that it was his favorite. She asked where he bought it, he said he couldn’t remember but was sure it was a bargain hunter’s find. This went back and forth until the husband said, “Oh the things we do for our spouses!” It turns out that the store greeter had just recently lost her husband. The wife came back out, took the purse, but 20 minutes, a phone number exchange and 2 hugs each later, a friend had been made.
The elder widow had mentioned just before parting that she had faith God would bring her someone to lift her up that day, because she was especially missing her late husband. Faith. Today, we are going to read John 20:19-31 for our Scripture. Doubt and faith are two issues we deal with on a daily basis and even one of the Disciples was no different. John 20:19-31. If you would, read along with me.
19 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.
21 Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” 22 And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”
24 Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!”
But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it.”
26 A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”
28 Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”
29 Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
30 Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 31 But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
If there has been a point in your life where you doubted God one way or another, don’t worry. Thomas did too…and he was a Disciple! Thomas doubted what the others were telling him because he wasn’t present during Jesus’ first appearance. Now, keep in mind that these men had been traveling around and living together for the better part of 3½ years. To say they knew each other is an understatement. They probably knew each other better than they knew themselves. Yet, Thomas would not believe them unless, “he had seen it with his own eyes.” Really? The men you’ve laughed with, cried, rejoiced, praised God, bleed with, been through trials with and you still doubt!
But, to Thomas’ credit, we have to remember that until Jesus came along and raised the dead, it had not happened except with Elijah when he brought back the widow’s son. Naturally, Jesus raised Lazarus, but until Jesus was resurrected on that Sunday morning, it had only happened a handful of times. It was indeed farfetched and a rather wild idea that someone who was dead could come back to life.
However, the men whom you had spent every waking moment with told you Jesus had been resurrected, no matter if it is farfetched, you might want give them the benefit of the doubt. Thomas wanted visual proof.
Fortunately for Thomas, he was a Disciple living during that time, because that next week, he got his proof. Jesus appeared once again before the Disciples and calls out Thomas. Jesus tells him to do the very things he wanted to do to believe. Then Jesus speaks the phrase that most have heard before. “Stop doubting and believe.” For sheer curiosity sake, I wanted to know what the Greek literally meant. Sometimes when you look into the original language, Truth can come out of it. That phrase translated literally says, “(Do) not be unbelieving, but trusting (or faithful).” And here we have the heart of the matter. Trust, faith. To have faith is to trust. That is what faith is all about. Trusting that what you’ve been told is believable.
It all goes back to the Noah’s Ark idea I was talking about earlier. We simply have to trust that what we have been told about Noah is true. We have geological evidence for it…up in the mountains of Ararat they believe to have found what remains of a ship. Noah’s Ark? Quite possibly so! Regardless of which position you hold to doctrinally on any issue, we all have to admit that believing in Christ takes a great deal of trust.
This is what makes evangelism so hard. We have to help people understand what it is to trust in something they cannot test with their own eyes. This is why personal testimony works. Christ was resurrected on that Easter Sunday 1,978 years ago…there ain’t nobody alive today that was there. However, if we read on to verse 31, what does John say? “31 But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”
My friends, we have first-hand eyewitness testimony staring us in the face. John, a Disciple, who was present during these events recorded this so that we may TRUST.
In Luke 7:1-10, we have a trust issue here as well. This story, however, is the one of the centurion, who went to Jesus because a servant of his was ill. Not only did he send someone to Jesus for help, but he KNEW that Jesus could do what he said he could. He trusted that Jesus could heal his servant. He was a soldier…he understood orders and how they worked.
In turn, Jesus was amazed at him, something that only appears twice in the whole Gospels, both instances are of the same story, one in Luke and the other in Matthew. The same story is in John, but it makes no mention of amazement. Jesus was amazed at this centurion, that he had faith enough to believe in Jesus. Apparently, Israel didn’t even have that much faith.
So what is it that we need to do in order to “Stop doubting and believe?” Usually I have a few steps on how to accomplish what it is I’m talking about. But today, there’s only one step. Trust. It sounds so simple doesn’t it? But believe me, it’s a lot harder than ya think.
One day, a poorly dressed lady with a look of defeat on her face, walked into a grocery store. She approached the owner of the store in a most humble manner and asked if he would let her charge a few groceries. She softly explained that her husband was very ill and unable to work, they had seven children and they needed food. The grocer scoffed at her and requested that she leave his store at once. Visualizing the family needs, she said: 'Please, sir! I will bring you the money just as soon as I can.' He told her he could not give her credit, since she did not have a charge account at his store. Standing beside the counter was a customer who overheard the conversation between the two. The customer walked forward and told the grocer that he would stand good for whatever she needed for her family. The grocer said in a very reluctant voice, 'Do you have a grocery list?' The lady replied, 'Yes sir.' 'O.K' he said, 'put your grocery list on the scales and whatever your grocery list weighs, I will give you that amount in groceries.' She hesitated a moment with a bowed head, then she reached into her purse and took out a piece of paper and scribbled something on it. She then laid the piece of paper on the scale carefully with her head still bowed. The eyes of the grocer and the customer showed amazement when the scales went down and stayed down. The grocer, staring at the scales, turned slowly to the customer and said begrudgingly, 'I can't believe it.' The customer smiled and the grocer started putting the groceries on the other side of the scales. The scale did not balance so he continued to put more and more groceries on them until the scales would hold no more. The grocer stood there in utter disgust. Finally, he grabbed the piece of paper from the scales and looked at it with greater amazement. It was not a grocery list, it was a prayer, which said: 'Dear Lord, you know my needs and I am leaving this in your hands.' The grocer gave her the groceries that he had gathered and stood in stunned silence. She thanked him and left the store. The other customer handed a fifty-dollar bill to the grocer and said; 'It was worth every penny of it. Only God Knows how much a prayer weighs.'
Trust isn’t just for non-believers…it’s for Christians too. Sometimes we have difficulty trusting God with everything we have. How much do you trust him? I am here to tell you that trusting in God, having faith in God, believing in God or whatever you personally term it, the only way to do it is to submit yourself fully to God’s will. Like the lady in the grocery store, trust that God can and will take care of it. Let the death and resurrection of Christ make you whole once again.
My friends, we will never get to see the “proof” that Thomas got to help us believe. But there is a special blessing for those of us who do believe, and yet have not seen.
Unless we witness the second coming of Christ personally, it isn’t going to be the bodily proof that Thomas got. However, I am here to tell you, as proof in and of itself, that there is a God, and Jesus is his son. Ask any of the other members in this room and I am sure there is a “God story” to every single person here. Everyone has their ‘proof’ that God exists. We have not ‘seen’ it with our eyes, but we have seen God work in our lives too many times. I have seen the fruits of the seeds planted in me years ago come to fruition, and I am standing here today to tell you that if you have not yet accepted Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, now is your chance.
During my class on Evangelism and Missions, we had to interview 2 people who were Christians and two people who were not. In one of my non-Christian interviews, I was met with that very question. What proof do I have? Well, it really got me thinking, what proof, DO I have? I have my gut instinct, The Bible, and simply put, I have faith because of life experience. However, I know people who intellectualize Jesus and try to pick at every detail. They have issues with faith.
Last week, Sherri was working on her Math homework for school and was doing some research to show Math in the Bible. She ran across a man who trying to prove that Noah’s Ark and the Flood could not mathematically fit. He was having issues fitting all the species on board, wondering where the water came from and went to after, and how in the world it rained that much for 40 days. After it was over, I sat back and thought about all that he had said. I looked at Sherri and said, that’s why it’s called faith. Can God do things that we cannot explain? Yes. He does it all the time. People are cured from disease every day! It defies medical logic and makes doctors scratch their heads. Every day, he answers prayers with a yes, no or not right now. He puts people together all the time by what we call “coincidence”. Daily “coincidences are nothing more than God working!
There’s a story of a couple who was on their way to the grocery store for a few things. Upon arriving, the wife said she had to make a quick “pit stop” before continuing through the store. So, the husband did what every husband would do…he held her purse while she was in the restroom. So he was out front of the store, watching people go by, sheepishly holding the purse when the store greeter mentioned how “lovely the purse was!” Well, of course being the funny man he was, he played along saying that it was his favorite. She asked where he bought it, he said he couldn’t remember but was sure it was a bargain hunter’s find. This went back and forth until the husband said, “Oh the things we do for our spouses!” It turns out that the store greeter had just recently lost her husband. The wife came back out, took the purse, but 20 minutes, a phone number exchange and 2 hugs each later, a friend had been made.
The elder widow had mentioned just before parting that she had faith God would bring her someone to lift her up that day, because she was especially missing her late husband. Faith. Today, we are going to read John 20:19-31 for our Scripture. Doubt and faith are two issues we deal with on a daily basis and even one of the Disciples was no different. John 20:19-31. If you would, read along with me.
19 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.
21 Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” 22 And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”
24 Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!”
But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it.”
26 A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”
28 Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”
29 Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
30 Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 31 But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
If there has been a point in your life where you doubted God one way or another, don’t worry. Thomas did too…and he was a Disciple! Thomas doubted what the others were telling him because he wasn’t present during Jesus’ first appearance. Now, keep in mind that these men had been traveling around and living together for the better part of 3½ years. To say they knew each other is an understatement. They probably knew each other better than they knew themselves. Yet, Thomas would not believe them unless, “he had seen it with his own eyes.” Really? The men you’ve laughed with, cried, rejoiced, praised God, bleed with, been through trials with and you still doubt!
But, to Thomas’ credit, we have to remember that until Jesus came along and raised the dead, it had not happened except with Elijah when he brought back the widow’s son. Naturally, Jesus raised Lazarus, but until Jesus was resurrected on that Sunday morning, it had only happened a handful of times. It was indeed farfetched and a rather wild idea that someone who was dead could come back to life.
However, the men whom you had spent every waking moment with told you Jesus had been resurrected, no matter if it is farfetched, you might want give them the benefit of the doubt. Thomas wanted visual proof.
Fortunately for Thomas, he was a Disciple living during that time, because that next week, he got his proof. Jesus appeared once again before the Disciples and calls out Thomas. Jesus tells him to do the very things he wanted to do to believe. Then Jesus speaks the phrase that most have heard before. “Stop doubting and believe.” For sheer curiosity sake, I wanted to know what the Greek literally meant. Sometimes when you look into the original language, Truth can come out of it. That phrase translated literally says, “(Do) not be unbelieving, but trusting (or faithful).” And here we have the heart of the matter. Trust, faith. To have faith is to trust. That is what faith is all about. Trusting that what you’ve been told is believable.
It all goes back to the Noah’s Ark idea I was talking about earlier. We simply have to trust that what we have been told about Noah is true. We have geological evidence for it…up in the mountains of Ararat they believe to have found what remains of a ship. Noah’s Ark? Quite possibly so! Regardless of which position you hold to doctrinally on any issue, we all have to admit that believing in Christ takes a great deal of trust.
This is what makes evangelism so hard. We have to help people understand what it is to trust in something they cannot test with their own eyes. This is why personal testimony works. Christ was resurrected on that Easter Sunday 1,978 years ago…there ain’t nobody alive today that was there. However, if we read on to verse 31, what does John say? “31 But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”
My friends, we have first-hand eyewitness testimony staring us in the face. John, a Disciple, who was present during these events recorded this so that we may TRUST.
In Luke 7:1-10, we have a trust issue here as well. This story, however, is the one of the centurion, who went to Jesus because a servant of his was ill. Not only did he send someone to Jesus for help, but he KNEW that Jesus could do what he said he could. He trusted that Jesus could heal his servant. He was a soldier…he understood orders and how they worked.
In turn, Jesus was amazed at him, something that only appears twice in the whole Gospels, both instances are of the same story, one in Luke and the other in Matthew. The same story is in John, but it makes no mention of amazement. Jesus was amazed at this centurion, that he had faith enough to believe in Jesus. Apparently, Israel didn’t even have that much faith.
So what is it that we need to do in order to “Stop doubting and believe?” Usually I have a few steps on how to accomplish what it is I’m talking about. But today, there’s only one step. Trust. It sounds so simple doesn’t it? But believe me, it’s a lot harder than ya think.
One day, a poorly dressed lady with a look of defeat on her face, walked into a grocery store. She approached the owner of the store in a most humble manner and asked if he would let her charge a few groceries. She softly explained that her husband was very ill and unable to work, they had seven children and they needed food. The grocer scoffed at her and requested that she leave his store at once. Visualizing the family needs, she said: 'Please, sir! I will bring you the money just as soon as I can.' He told her he could not give her credit, since she did not have a charge account at his store. Standing beside the counter was a customer who overheard the conversation between the two. The customer walked forward and told the grocer that he would stand good for whatever she needed for her family. The grocer said in a very reluctant voice, 'Do you have a grocery list?' The lady replied, 'Yes sir.' 'O.K' he said, 'put your grocery list on the scales and whatever your grocery list weighs, I will give you that amount in groceries.' She hesitated a moment with a bowed head, then she reached into her purse and took out a piece of paper and scribbled something on it. She then laid the piece of paper on the scale carefully with her head still bowed. The eyes of the grocer and the customer showed amazement when the scales went down and stayed down. The grocer, staring at the scales, turned slowly to the customer and said begrudgingly, 'I can't believe it.' The customer smiled and the grocer started putting the groceries on the other side of the scales. The scale did not balance so he continued to put more and more groceries on them until the scales would hold no more. The grocer stood there in utter disgust. Finally, he grabbed the piece of paper from the scales and looked at it with greater amazement. It was not a grocery list, it was a prayer, which said: 'Dear Lord, you know my needs and I am leaving this in your hands.' The grocer gave her the groceries that he had gathered and stood in stunned silence. She thanked him and left the store. The other customer handed a fifty-dollar bill to the grocer and said; 'It was worth every penny of it. Only God Knows how much a prayer weighs.'
Trust isn’t just for non-believers…it’s for Christians too. Sometimes we have difficulty trusting God with everything we have. How much do you trust him? I am here to tell you that trusting in God, having faith in God, believing in God or whatever you personally term it, the only way to do it is to submit yourself fully to God’s will. Like the lady in the grocery store, trust that God can and will take care of it. Let the death and resurrection of Christ make you whole once again.
My friends, we will never get to see the “proof” that Thomas got to help us believe. But there is a special blessing for those of us who do believe, and yet have not seen.
Unless we witness the second coming of Christ personally, it isn’t going to be the bodily proof that Thomas got. However, I am here to tell you, as proof in and of itself, that there is a God, and Jesus is his son. Ask any of the other members in this room and I am sure there is a “God story” to every single person here. Everyone has their ‘proof’ that God exists. We have not ‘seen’ it with our eyes, but we have seen God work in our lives too many times. I have seen the fruits of the seeds planted in me years ago come to fruition, and I am standing here today to tell you that if you have not yet accepted Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, now is your chance.
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