Doubt Into Dependence

Doubt Into Dependence John 20:24-29 What is doubt? The dictionary defines doubt as "a feeling of uncertainty or a lack of conviction." Other words that describe doubt include hesitation, confusion, insecurity, and indecision. In a nutshell, it's when your mind is stuck between two or more thoughts, and you can't make a decision. When you can't make a decision, doubt leads to hard feelings, bitterness, and resentment, because you haven't taken action or don't know how to take action. If you doubt something, it's hard to take action because doubt is a lack of confident trust that even your best efforts may not even prevail. Doubt has a way of holding us back, and dragging us down from giving something are all. But if you're not giving something 100% because of your doubt, then you're giving your doubt 100% of you. If doubt keeps you from making a decision, then your decision has been to doubt. In today's Scripture, Thomas, one of Jesus' disciples, doubted that Christ had risen. He said in verse 25, "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." Thomas made up his mind when he said, "I will not believe!" And that's the danger of doubt folks. In our stubbornness, doubt can make up our minds, and our pride will find reasons to solidify our decision until our heart becomes hardened. And in that moment of doubt, you have two options, your doubt will either grow into dependence by finding ways to legitimize your doubt, or your doubt will turn into dependence upon the God of all truth. Now, I want to add that doubt is a common experience for everyone. Even those with great faith in God will, on occasion, struggle with doubt. In Genesis 3, Satan tempted Eve and filled her mind with doubt. In Genesis 18, God told Abraham that he and his wife Sarah would have a child in their old age, and what did Sarah do? So laughed and doubted. When God told Zechariah in Luke 1 that he would have a son, he doubted God's Word. Then you have John the Baptist. He preached fearlessly about the Messiah, but when persecution started closing in around him and he found himself in jail, even John the Baptist doubted. You see, you're not alone in your doubts, but the Bible does hold us accountable for our doubts. I'd be lying if I stood here and told you that I've never doubted. But even though everybody battles doubt, it's how we fight doubt that matters. When you're fighting doubt, you can't be like the couple I heard about. They were shaking hands with a pastor as they left service one Sunday. When they told the pastor, "We listened carefully to every word you said." The pastor thanked the couple and said he looked forward to seeing them next week. "Oh, we won't be here next week," the couple responded. "We're going to another church next week to get a second opinion." Sometimes in our doubt, we want to justify ourselves by intentionally looking for answers we're happy with. It's easy to justify your actions or words when the battle of doubt is being fought, and you don't want to be wrong. Remember, doubt can quickly turn into dependence, which is why it does matter What and Who we depend on! That's why when Thomas said, "I will not believe," he said one of the biggest foot-in-the-mouth statements of all-time! John Ortberg once said, "I put all my hope in a 3rd day God, But I live in a 2nd-day world." Thomas walked and talked with Christ for years, but still acted as if Jesus was still in the tomb. If Jesus was still in the tomb, then He wasn't God, and if He wasn't God, then our faith is worthless. I want you to notice one more thing about doubt and faith. Many times doubt affects our faith because we place our faith on a timetable that runs on what we feel should happen. God always hears your prayers, but God doesn't always answer when and how we think is best. And that's what God did with Thomas. Jesus let Thomas sit in his doubt for 8 days before appearing to Thomas. 8 days! You see, God allowed Thomas enough time to think about what he believed. If you back up a few chapters and turn to John 17:3, Jesus prayed, "This is eternal life, that they know You the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent." Jesus said that right before He was betrayed and went to the cross. These words would still be fresh in Thomas's mind because, for Thomas, Jesus just spoke those words only a few days ago. But now he has to listen to the testimony of his friends, the other disciples who saw and talked with the risen Lord. Thomas was the only disciple not to have seen the resurrected Christ. I'm sure Thomas even felt some jealousy because if this was true, and Jesus was alive, how come Jesus didn't appear to Thomas as well. He probably felt left out, and because Thomas knew Jesus and because Jesus didn't appear to him along with everyone else, then Jesus must not have risen. You can almost hear Thomas telling the other disciples, "I knew Jesus just as good as any of you. I traveled with Him; I served Him; I sacrificed for Him. He didn't bother appearing to me, so His resurrection must not be true. I know Jesus wouldn't forget about me. So He must not be risen because if He did, I would have seen Him like the rest of you." Think about it: How many times in your life were you absolutely sure of something, and it didn't go as planned? How many times has something happened in your life that shook your faith? That made you think about why you believe in what you do? It happens. It happened to Thomas. History gave him the nickname, "Doubting Thomas," but its not a true description of his character. If you turn back to John 11:7-8, you'll see that Thomas was willing to go into hostile territory. And a few verses later, in verse 16, Thomas said, "Let us also go, that we may die with Him (Jesus)." So it's clear that a believer can be spiritually strong one moment and spiritually deflated the next. Thomas stayed in his doubt a week, and while waiting may not be enjoyable, this does reveal a truth that when we honestly seek the Lord, He will reveal Himself to us. God wants you to know Him. The cross proves that! Thomas knew that, but for a little over a week, doubt came between him and his Lord. And that's what doubt can do. It can get in our way, mess up our plans, turn us around, and get us lost. It can leave you unsettled, restless, and longing for peace. But Jesus didn't let Thomas sit in doubt forever. In verse 27 of today's Scripture, Jesus gave His struggling disciple what he asked for and said to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe." So how can we overcome doubt? You can put Jesus to the test, just like Jesus let Thomas do. With Jesus saying, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side," He's inviting you to search the Bible and ask God to reveal Himself to you. That's why to overcome doubt you can read the Bible and pray, which will strengthen your faith. After all, John did begin his Gospel by describing Jesus as "The Word was God." You Know, we all want to see God work in our lives, but God wants you to believe in Him before you see Him at work in your life. Faith is to believe what we don't see, and the reward of this faith is to see what we believe! Remember, Jesus said in verse 29, "Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." The world says, "Show me, and I'll believe you!" Christ says, "Believe Me, and I'll show you!" Jesus showed the whole world what love is and died on the cross for your sin. He walked outta that tomb defeating death forever for those who believe. You know there's a story about a man who was out with his wife when they got caught in a terrible hailstorm. The hailstorm got worse, and soon the hail was the size of baseballs soaring down to earth. Stuck in the storm, the man quickly realized that if he didn't do something, his wife could be seriously hurt. So he draped himself over his wife, covering her with his own body so the hail hit him and not his wife. The storm worsened, and the hailstones kept coming down harder and harder, beating the man and hurting him badly. After only a few minutes, he began to bleed. The man tried to get his wife to safety. But the beating his body was taking couldn't last much longer, and the man finally collapsed over his wife, using his body to shield her from the danger. When the storm was over, that man was left brutally beaten and will forever have scars reminding him of the day he saved his wife. That's a true story. One evening on the local news, the man's wife was asked how she felt about the experience. She said, "Every time I look at the scar on his head, on his neck, and on his back, I love him more. Every time I see the scar, I love him more, because he sacrificed himself, for me." When you and I get to heaven, and we can finally see Jesus face-to-face, His Body will bear the scars of His sacrifice for you. He will have holes in His hands, holes in His feet, and a hole in His side. Christ's Body reveals the price of salvation, and it's our eternal reminder that the only reason you're in heaven is because Jesus stood between you and God's wrath and the judgment that was headed our way. Jesus covered you with His love, and once you begin to realize the severity of the storm and the price Christ paid to cover you from every sinful hailstone, like the apostle Paul, your blind eyes will open. So, when you face doubt, face the cross! If you ever doubt yourself, your worth, your faith, your salvation, look to the cross. The cross hides nothing, and reveals everything! Sometimes, people have to doubt before they can believe. So when you doubt, let your doubt lead to questions. Let those questions lead to answers. And let those answers be accepted by faith. Hebrews 11:1 says, "Faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we don't see." Place your faith in Christ. Repent of any sin! Turn your doubts into dependence in Christ. Let the Holy Spirit guide you into all truth. And say along with Thomas, "My Lord and my God!" AMEN 2