A.)
The seller of Doubts
When we
discuss the causes of doubt, we would be remiss if we ignore the original
source, and that is Satan Himself. Satan has been planting seeds of doubt in the minds of people since his
first encounter with Eve in the Garden. Genesis chapter three records the conversation. Satan did
not begin with the accusation or denial, but rather a seed of doubt. The question comes, “ Did
God indeed say…?” It was only after He got Eve questioning God in her own mind that he
moves on to the lie. It’s noteworthy to see that even then he did not tell a blatant lie, but rather
twisted the truth. That’s certainly just as bad, but isn’t nearly as subtle and dangerous. He said,
“You will not die.” From a physical standpoint this was true for the moment. His promise to
know good and evil was also true. They had never known evil so they could not possibly know
the difference. You see a blatant lie is much easier to detect. It is the seed of doubt and twisting
of truth that ensnares us. I Peter 5:8 admonishes us to, “be sober, be vigilant for your adversary
the devil, walks around seeking whom he may devour.” The word sober that is used here of
course refers to our minds. We are to be thoughtful or “sober minded.” Satan knows our
weaknesses better than we know ourselves. He knows those things in our lives that he can use
against us. The writer of Hebrews talks about laying aside the sin which so easily beset us.
Everyone has standards, and Satan know what not to waste His time with. He is not going to
tempt a happily married man, completely in love with His wife, to commit adultery. That man is
not interested in that. That man also has something that is a weakness. It is something which
easily besets him. When Satan is successful in using our own struggles, to plant seeds of doubt in
our minds, he has neutralized the work of God in our lives. He has won. Satan uses those things
that we care most about in life against us to create worry, and doubt, and thus accomplish his
overall purpose. The purpose is to weaken the believer, to render Him useless to the kingdom of
God. If He can push it far enough to get us acting on our own, he can ruin the testimony of Christ
in our lives.
B.)
The consequence of Doubts
Satan
plants the seed of doubt in our minds because he seeks to destroy the
relationship that we have with God through Christ. We are told in Scripture how that doubting hinders our prayer
life. Consider Paul’s command to Timothy. “I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere,
lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.” (I Timothy 2:8) Jesus said that we should
not seek after what to eat or drink, and not to have an anxious mind. (Luke 12:29 NKJV) In the
Old King James language it is referred to as a doubtful mind. He tells us in Matthew 21:21-22
that we could move mountains if we have faith and do not doubt. He says that we have whatever
we ask if we ask believing. Prayer is simply communicating with God. Consider the most sinister
aspect of doubt. If God has promised He would do something, and we doubt, isn’t that the same
as calling God a liar. When we say to anyone, I don’t believe that, or I don’t believe you, we
bring their character in question. At its best we are suggesting that they are mistaken, and at
worst that they are lying. Looking at it that way, we can easily see why we have a strained
relationship with Christ. God is never mistaken and never lies. Prayer is the source of our
direction from God. We cannot properly interpret what God is speaking through His word when
our minds are full of doubt and fear for the future. We cannot reach our desired destination
because we cannot properly read the roadmap. When Peter tried walking to Jesus on the water,
he sank. He was doing fine until he took His eyes off of Jesus and began to look at the raging of
the waters in the storm. Jesus indicates to us that the reason he sank was doubt. (Matt 14:31)
There are many other things we could look at in regard to the issue but suffice it to say that we
are sinful creatures, and we experience doubt even in the face of what Scripture says. John knew
who Jesus was personally and he went through it. He even got to the point he wanted re-
assurance from Jesus Himself that he was the Messiah.
I.
The Revealing Answer “ Go and tell John…”
Is it
just me that noticed, that Jesus never came out and answered John’s question?
John’s disciples went to Jesus as instructed and asked a yes or no question. Jesus could have answered,
yes I am and sent them on their way. Jesus chose rather to let them make up their minds based on
he facts. There just some things that our Lord wants us to discover without being told. Instead of
the answer they wanted to hear, Jesus simply said, “You go tell John the things which you have
seen and heard…” The old saying, “talk is cheap” was true in Jesus’ day and present on His
mind. I could say I’m the Easter bunny, but that doesn’t give me big floppy ears, fur, and a
cotton tail. In a real life scenario, anyone can say anything, but without the credibility of some
proof it falls on deaf ears. So, Jesus just simply says to messengers, look around you.
A.)
Outside testimony
It is no
coincidence that John sent two of His disciples. All throughout Scripture the
number two seems to indicate the number for the testimony. Jesus sent His disciples out two by two on
each of their missionary journeys. You see most of the characters in the New Testament traveling
in pairs when they ministered for the Lord. This is an evangelistic practice that churches still use
today when doing door to door witnessing. Paul instructed Timothy not to accept an accusation
against an elder except by two or three witnesses. Jesus had told them to tell John what they saw
and heard, and in fact that is the key to our own Christian witness. Peter said in Acts 4:20, “for
we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.” In a legal sense when we are
witnesses in court, we cannot speak things someone told us, or something we think to be true, we
are only to testify as to what we have seen and heard ourselves. In the life struggle we call the
Christian life we are not only to be witnesses, but at times in our lives we need the refreshing
witness of others around us. When life starts to close in and our minds become cluttered with
doubt, fear, and other damaging emotions, we need the witness of our brothers and sisters in
Christ. When we are not thinking clearly it can be a simple word from a saint of God that allows
us to see what was obvious from the beginning. I have such a personal story form my own life
when God called me into ministry. It was not long after I was saved that I began hearing the
Holy Spirit’s voice. Looking back it was not the voice of God that I doubted, but my own ability.
I was, in my opinion, the least likely candidate that God could choose. That is still true! As I got
closer to understanding God’s call on my life, and more resistant in my spirit, I sought out a
relative I was very close too. I said to her, “you’re gonna think I’m crazy but I feel God calling
me to preach.” With laughter in her voice she said something I never expected. She said, “are
you just figuring that out?” I soon realized that those closest to me could knew the whole time
what I’d wrestled with for months. They could see what my fear would not allow me to see. That
night her spirit bore witness with my spirit. So then we are witnesses of the grace of God in our
lives and when needed we seek solace in the grace of God in the lives of others. Now Jesus
command is clear, but what are we witnesses of. John’s disciples were to tell of the things they’d
seen and heard. What exactly was that?
B.)
Irrefutable evidence
Jesus
begins to remind them of what had been happening. You tell John, the blind see,
the lame walk, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. His
evidence was the miracles that were taking place. We need to take a few minutes to discover
what a miracle actually is. From a human perspective, when something impossible for us
happens we call it a miracle. God does not even consider these things. They are not miraculous.
He created the Sun and Moon, so when He made it stand still it was not hard. He made our
bodies so when we need healing it’s not difficult to alter our bodies. These miracles that we see
all throughout the Scripture are there for one specific reason and that is to stimulate faith, in the
unbeliever, and to increase the faith of the believer. Jesus’ first recorded miracle at the wedding
of Cana of Galilee, tells of the entire purpose. John 2:11 says, “This beginning of signs Jesus did
in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory; and His disciples believed on Him.” For those of
you still holding on to your Old King James, the word is miracle. Miracles are signs. They are a
demonstration of his power. Seeing really is believing. I get amused whenever I hear some dear
old saint talk about stepping out on blind faith. That’s not a Biblical concept. Jesus proved who
he is, and even though I haven’t seen Him with physical eye, I believe the eye witness testimony
about Him. I also see His hand working in the lives of believers. The writer of Hebrews said in
chapter 11:1 that faith was substance and evidence. It is evidence of the things I cannot see. John
20:30-31 declares, “And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which
are not written in the book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ the
Son of the living God, and that believing you may have life in His name.” The key to
understanding John’s Gospel is in the phrase, “that you may believe.” Sometimes we as humans
can be kinda thick. It’s like the cop that sees you speeding down the highway, then has the nerve
to say, ‘Are you in a hurry?” Some questions are answered much better by what we see. Jesus
leaves them to their own hearts and imaginations to decide who He is, based on the evidence in
fact. It would seem good at times of our greatest doubt for us to simply look around. Look back
at what God has done in our lives. If God took care of you in the past he can do it again. Let’s
consider the greatest miracle of all. I have already suggested that what we call miracles are not at
all miracles in the mind and power of God. They are ordinary occurrences for one as powerful as
he is. The miracle is when God, wrapped himself in flesh, allowed Him-self to suffer humiliation
and then died. God died! We know thank God that he rose again and lives forever. That is the
miracle. It is that the giver of life could die. I write that to get to the comforting point I learned
from a friend many years ago. God has too much invested in you to let you go now. When we
find ourselves questioning what is going on in our lives, and everything seems to be falling apart,
we remember that God is in control. He hasn’t suddenly lost power. So then, He has shown us
and continues to show us who he is and more for our benefit what He can do. We do at troubled
times lose sight of this. Probably the most frustrating thing in life is to know these things and yet
cannot break through to find the will of God in a situation. This is when we need more than ever
the witness of other brothers in Christ. Those who may not be so emotionally attached to the
problem, are often more able to see the solution better than we can. Remember here that John
was not capable of confronting Jesus on His own. While He was bound by a prison cell and
could not get to Jesus, many of us are in prisons of our own. We are being blocked off from
seeing clearly and hearing the voice of the Lord. Jesus may not have given a straight yes or no
answer but he clearly answered the question. John, the blind, deaf, and lame, are experiencing
healing. The most important thing, John, is that the Gospel is being preached. So with all the
evidence you see, in the words of a famous commentator, “what say you?” When we clear out all
the little details, and all the obstacles, and get to the real point, Jesus is either who he said he
was, or he is not. He can either do what he said He can do, or he can’t. He gives evidence and
then by the Spirit’s drawing we must decide for ourselves.
No comments:
Post a Comment