Doubt on Mission

Introduction and Welcome 

Good afternoon Restoration Church! Happy Sunday. It is good to see you all. Welcome to those who are joining us online.  

Beginning about 5 weeks ago, we have been going through our Kingdom Mission series where we are looking at the words of Jesus in Matthew 10 and 11. We wrapped up Matthew 10 last week and so far, we have seen that Jesus sends those who belong to him on mission, he tells us we will experience opposition on mission, that we must be fearless on mission, that we will have to make important decisions about him while on mission, and we can’t neglect to show hospitality on mission. 

As a reminder, the mission field is everyday life. It is wherever we find ourselves with people who do not followers of Jesus.  

Today, we will see Jesus address the reality of doubt on mission.  

(With one hand raised) Ever been in that place where you had a crisis of faith? Ever been in that place where you doubted what you believe about God? Ever been in that place where you say what’s the point if he’s not going to answer?  

In the work environment, there’s a term that’s called imposter syndrome. You may have experienced it, and you might still be experiencing it. It is basically feeling like you don’t belong. It is doubting your ability to measure up to the expectations that you think others have of your performance. You believe you are an imposter.  

I’ve felt like that many times as a professional in the workplace, as a husband at home, as a pastor in the church.  

I remember one time at the end of a job interview, the interviewer couldn’t stop complimenting my resume, my experience and interview performance. I thought to myself, "are we looking at the same resume and talking about the same person? This guy must have had too much to drink before the interview.” I was doubting being the kind of professional he believed I was.  

The saddest part about imposter syndrome is not that we do it to ourselves, but that we also do it to God and call him an imposter but indirectly.  

We sometimes doubt whether he’s able to measure up to our expectations of his performance. We sometimes doubt whether he really can do what he said he can do. We doubt whether he really is who he says that he is.  

If you’ve been there before, there’s no need to be ashamed. You’re in great company.  

In our passage today, the man whom Jesus would later call the greatest man to ever live, had a crisis of faith. John the Baptist experienced doubt about whether Jesus is the Messiah, he had believed him to be.  

Open your bible to Matthew 11:1-6.  

Here’s the reality about doubt: It grows when reality does not match our expectations. And the fact is there is no escaping that in this life. So, what do we do? Jesus has some encouraging words for us.  

Let us read and pray.  

Unfulfilled Expectations 

The first thing I want to point out in the text is unfulfilled expectations in 11:1-3. As I said earlier, the seed of doubt grows when reality does not match our expectations.  

Our expectations are often influenced by our individual stories. There are reasons unique to you why you have the some of the expectations that you have.  

John the Baptist had an expectation of Jesus that was influenced by his life story. 

He was born with a divine mandate to be the forerunner to the Messiah and dedicated his adult life to that mission. He was heavily invested in the ministry of Jesus.  

He went around preaching and telling people to turn away from their sins so they can be prepared for the arrival of the Jesus. We can see this in Matthew 3:1-2, where it says “In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea and saying, “Repent, because the kingdom of heaven has come near!”” 

And to the religious leaders of his day, he told them in 3:7, “7 When he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?  

You can begin to get a sense of how John viewed his own ministry. He believed there was a wrath coming and his responsibility was to warn people about it.  

John was like the old school fire and brimstone preacher.  

He believed that Jesus was coming to set God’s house in order.  

Look at what he said about Jesus in 3:11-12. “I baptize you with water for repentance, but the one who is coming after me is more powerful than I. I am not worthy to remove his sandals. He himself will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 

Often times in the church we can hear the phrase “baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire” and think it means the baptism of Spirit for spiritual gifts like speaking in tongues.  

John tells us what it actually means in 3:12.  

12 His winnowing shovel is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn. But the chaff he will burn with fire that never goes out.”  

Here’s the picture John is painting about Jesus and his ministry: Jesus is coming like a farmer who is harvesting his crops. He will take his shovel to separate the shell from the wheat. The wheat is the good part. The shell is the bad part. The wheat will be given the baptism of the Spirit meaning the wheat will be given the Spirit of God. But the shell, the chaff, will be given the baptism of fire which is the judgment.  

As John sees it, Jesus is coming to do two things. Gather those who believe and condemn those who don’t. That is why John’s ministry was a ministry of repentance to get ready for the Savior who is to come.  

So, church as you can imagine, John has the expectation that the ministry of Jesus will be that of salvation and judgment. 

Jesus shows up on the scene and John patiently waits. Just like you and I patiently wait. We patiently wait for him to make a move in our life, in our work, in our health, in our finances, in our ministry, and in our family. John patiently waits.  

In his waiting, he ended up in prison for calling out a wicked king to repentance. When you speak out against power, power will bite back.  

If there was a moment for Jesus to fulfil his ministry to save the righteous and judge the wicked, it was this moment so that John can be free.  

But John the Baptist isn’t seeing that happen. So, the seeds of doubt began to grow. 

And he sends his disciples to say to Jesus, ‘yo what’s going on?”  

Don’t you wish when the seed of doubt begins to grow you can send someone to ask Jesus “yo, what’s going on?” 

And when the seeds of doubt grow, we begin to ponder like John, wondering if we should look to someone or something else for relief?  

In those moments we’re tempted to look to other people, we’re tempted to look for other means like crystals, psychics, sorcery, porn, money, sex, deception, and many more things.  

Here’s the truth: You and I are not immune from the seed of doubt growing when reality does not match our expectations. When life isn’t lifing like we want it life, doubt creeps in about who God is, and how much he cares. If John the Baptist can question, it can happen to you and I. 

So, what do we do? Jesus tells us to remember.  

Faith through Evidence – 11:4-6 

The antidote to doubt according to Jesus is not ignore the current reality that has you concerned, but to remember the other realities that you have lived.  

He told the disciples of John to report back about the works they had seen and heard and to consider whether they match the works of a savior.  

Jesus is saying to John “people are being changed and saved. Life transformation is happening. But because I’m not meeting your expectations does not mean I am not at work.” 

What would Jesus say to us today? He would say look at the evidence of my work in your life in the past and right now.  He would say remember the other realities that you have experienced and see if my works match the works of a savior.  

What would Jesus say specifically to you in your moment of doubt? To me He would say “remember I gave you life and saved you, remember I comforted you in those dark moments when your mom came home to me, remember I saved your brothers and sisters, one of whom you thought might be unsavable when you cried out to me, remember I provided you with a job you didn’t see coming before you graduated from college, remember how I was with you when your in-laws made your life difficult, remember how I provided you with a child when you thought I was ignoring you, remember how I brought people through the church doors that you weren’t expecting.”  

What would Jesus say to you about his works in your life in your moment of doubt? 

A theologian once wrote that “if faith is not simply assent to a proposition but life with God, then it can live only by increasing and decreasing, in experiences that strengthen or endanger it” 

Meaning our moments of doubt can either strengthen our faith or weaken it. 

Jesus being aware of this, says in 11:6, “blessed is the one who is not offended by me.” Or who doesn’t stumble or fall away because of me. Blessed is the one who does not allow his expectations of me to turn him away from me.  

Rather than have our doubt push away from God, Jesus wants it to draw us closer to him. That happens when we wrestle with it and remember the present and past work of Jesus in our life.  

Conclusion 

As we wrap up, it’s important to say that John was not wrong to have an expectation that Jesus is coming to save and to judge, but his expectations simply didn’t match God’s timing.  

Sometimes, our expectations may not be wrong but it’s simply just not the right time for God to move.  

Jesus saves and he will judge. John was not wrong that judgment is coming. It just wasn’t going to happen in his lifetime.   If you’ve never trusted Jesus before, maybe your life also feels like a prison—like John’s. I want you to know, the same Jesus who opened blind eyes and raised the dead is still at work today. He came for people like you. Doubt doesn’t disqualify you. I want you to know Jesus welcomes you.”

As we walk this life with God, as we go on mission, there will be moments of doubt. Moments of unfulfilled expectations. Moments when our reality does not match our expectations. 

In those moments, we want our doubt to draw us closer to God by remembering his past and present works in our life.