Know Doubt

When I was a kid, we used to go to the Memphis Motor Sports Park a good bit. For a while, my mom had this car called a Buick Grand National Turbo. She liked to drag race it. We were out there one time, I was like five or something, and my grand parents were with us, and Mom raced, we watched some other races, and it was time to go. Well the bleachers had these supports underneath them that reminded me of hurdles, so I wanted to hurdle them. Mom said no. I said yes. She said they’d leave me. I did it anyway. So I start running, started off thinking I was going to look like an Olympian, ended up being much slower. By the time I get out, the parking lot is basically empty and I see my family driving away on the other side of the parking lot. And they weren’t stopping. I started off with no doubt that they were going to wait on me to leave, then all the sudden things looked a little choppy and I was full of doubt. But my family knew the whole time that they weren’t leaving me there.

I think we can all be this way with God sometimes. We start out as believers with little to no doubt, then things get choppy. The doubt comes in. We’re going to talk about that tonight.

We’re going to look at part of Abraham’s story, actually Abram’s story. We’ll be in chapter 15 of Genesis, and the first words are “After these events”...

When we doubt, we have to take it to God to receive assurance.

PRAY

What do we do with our doubts?

We have to give our doubts to God.

Read verses 1-6

There are times when Kristen and I are talking and I’ll think I’ve got a really funny joke and I say it and Kristen gets mad about it. She thinks I’m serious, and I think I’m funny. It doesn’t end well for either of us. This never happens with God, He always knows our hearts.

v1, God know’s Abram’s heart.

Don’t be afraid of the people coming for you.

Don’t be afraid that you didn’t get any of their stuff, I’m your reward.

v2-5, Abram’s doubt and god’s response

Abram calls him sovereign Lord, acknowledging who God is in the midst of his doubt.

Abram gives his doubts to God.

He was in a hard spot, with a lot going on, and he was wondering if God was still with him.

We’ve all been there, right? examples

So here’s the question: Is it ok for us to doubt?

Look at Abram. Look at Thomas.

The question is, how do we handle our doubts.

The enemy would have us push them down. What we need to do is work through them with God, with our community of believers, our church.

We take them to God one of two ways:

Defiant and demanding or

submissive yet confused.

It’s ok to doubt, but we’ve God to do the right things with our doubt.

God will comfort us in our doubt. He draws near to Abram.

We know how to help a friend in need, how much more does God know how to care for us in hard times?

I was sitting in seminary class one day struggling with doubt. I started to pray, he comforted me. then on the way home I was listening to a sermon and guess what? It’s about doubt.

When He draws us near like this, it builds our belief and our faith.

What is real, genuine faith?

What is real, genuine faith?

Abram believed, what’s that? What did he believe?

And not just a weak belief, a confident one. Not a blind leap. He was confident.

In who God is, what He has done, and what He promised to do.

Hebrews 11:1 HCSB

Now faith is the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen.

Hebrews 11:6 HCSB

Now without faith it is impossible to please God, for the one who draws near to Him must believe that He exists and rewards those who seek Him.

The reward God promises is Himself! Before you have a bad thought about that, tell me a better thing He could give you!

We’re called to have faith throughout Scripture.

Abram had faith that God would draw near, that He’d save, and that He’d make him right.

And so it was “credited as righteousness” to him.

We aren’t right before God because of our sin. The most important question we can ever ask is how to get right with God.

Abram believed and because of his faith, God made him right.

We are made right by putting our faith in Jesus...

But Abram still isn’t done, vs 8

Where do we find our assurance?

read it, explain the covenant

v17, the Lord walked the Covenant line alone

He would take the penalty if the covenant failed

v18, the Lord made the covenant, Abram

This points us to the cross!

Hebrews 6:17–19 ESV

So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us. We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain,

You get your assurance through Jesus, his death and resurrection! This is the proof of his love for us!

So fearlessly take your doubts to Him and look to the cross to find assurance of his love for you!