Doubters and Skeptics, Welcome Here

Bottomline: Jesus isn’t afraid of your questions or your doubts.

Intro-I love Karalees story....how even in times of trouble, worry, or even doubt…God will give us His presence.

Everybody has a story.

Everybody’s story matters to God.

Everybody who encounters Jesus can changed for the better.

God won’t always answer all our questions but He will always show up in our life....our questions, our pain...

Deconstruction and doubt....

Doubt- is a feeling of uncertainty

Deconstruction-What is deconstruction? Roughly speaking, deconstruction is the dismantling of anything that’s been constructed. Theological deconstruction is the process of dismantling one’s accepted beliefs. It is one’s painful journey of questioning, critiquing, and reevaluating previous faith commitments upon which we relied.

Nearly 60 percent of people raised in Christian churches deconstruct their faith following high school.

“We too often assume that doubts, questions and critiques of one’s own faith are the same as losing it.” -AJ Swoboda

Dealing with doubt is healthy and necessary.

We need to view doubt as an opportunity to deepen faith not as the death of faith.

The New International Version (Chapter 3)

Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. 2 He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.”

3 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”4 “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!”5 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. 6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.

People are born through exprience not knowledge

7 You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” k9 “How can this be?” Nicodemus asked.10 “You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things? 11 Very truly I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. 12 I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? 13 No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man. r 14 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, t 15 that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.” v

God is less concerned with answering all your questions, than He is with meeting you in a way that leaves you without question that He is God and that He loves you.

John

The New International Version (Chapter 3)

16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

Faith requires that we follow without all the answers.

When we encounter Jesus we don’t need to have all our questions answered.

Jesus might not answer every question we have but He will give us everything we need to know.

The bible doesn’t call him doubting thomas

john

The New International Version (Chapter 20)

24 Now Thomas (also known as 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.”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.”

Thomas earlier in had urged the disciples to follow Jesus, even if it meant death…then he questions how they can follow where they don’t know the destination.

God invites us to let him calm our doubts.

Jesus isn’t afraid or offended by our questions or our doubts.

It takes courage to share our doubts.

“To struggle with one’s faith is often the surest sign we actually have one.” -AJ Swoboda

Thomas’ footsteps from Jerusalem, through Syria, Iraq, and Iran, down the southwestern (Malabar) coast of India, and up the southeastern (Coromandel) coast of India, all the way to the city of Chennai (Madras), where Thomas was stoned to death for preaching the risen Christ.

Jude

The New International Version (Jude)

22 Be merciful to those who doubt

We all have problems, pain, and puzzles that only the presence of God can give us peace about.

Most of us need an encounter with Jesus more than we need an answer from Jesus.

Don’t let your doubts be a distraction from your deliever

We don’t need to know the answer to every question to trust and follow Jesus, we just need to know that He is God, His good, and He does love us.

“There's often no greater act of faith and fidelity to God than baring one's deepest held beliefs to divine criticism so that God might be loved more. To put it more simply: kicking the tires doesn't mean you hate the car.”