VICTORIOUS over Doubt

We are in the middle of our VICTORIOUS sermon series. So far, we’d talked about how Jesus gives us victory over DEATH and FEAR.
 
Maybe you listened to both of those messages.
You felt encouraged.
But then, a few days later, you started to DOUBT.
 
Today we’re going see how Jesus gives us VICTORY OVER DOUBT. Before we do that, a prayer: O Lord, strengthen us by the truth. Your Word is the truth. Open our eyes to see what you want us to see; open our ears to hear what you want us to hear; and open our hearts to believe what you would have us believe. Amen.
 
I. Why Thomas Doubted
 
As a case study for doubt, we’re going to look at the story of one disciple named Thomas.
In fact, Thomas is such a good case study for doubt that he has developed the nickname “Doubting Thomas.”
 
This is unfortunate.
I bet he wishes he was remembered as “Believing Thomas,” “Courageous Thomas”, or even “Good Dental Hygiene Thomas.”
 
I doubt Thomas wanted to be known for Doubt.
 
But Thomas, one of the Twelve, the one called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. (John 20:24)
This account occurs late into the evening on that first Easter.
This after the women see the stone rolled open from the tomb.
This is after the women talk to angels who tell them about the resurrection.
This is after Mary Magdalene sees Jesus near the tomb.
This is after the other women meet Jesus outside the cemetery.
This is after two disciples traveling to Emmaus meet and speak with Jesus for three-plus hours.
This is after Peter gets a one-on-one visit from Jesus.
And this is after Jesus enters the locked room filled with 10 of the Twelve apostles - minus Judas, who took his own life and Thomas.
 
And I don’t know what Thomas was doing.
…Was he out shopping?
…Was he out visiting friends?
…Was he out grabbing some Starbucks orders?
…Was he stocking up on hand sanitizer for the group?
 
I don’t know.
 
The point is that he missed Jesus’ appearance.
 
So, the other disciples kept telling him, “We have seen the Lord!” (v.5)
 
You wouldn’t believe it Thomas – He was alive!
Peter was scared. He thought it was a ghost. But it was real!
He let us touch his hands.
We put our fingers into the nail holes.
We placed our hands into the speak mark in his side.
He is alive! Isn’t it amazing!?!
 
And Thomas listened.
He stroked his beard.
And said, “It is amazing…how absolutely gullible you think I am!”
 
“Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger into the mark of the nails, and put my hand into his side, I will never believe.” (John 20:25)
 
Thomas didn’t trust his friends’ words.
 
Not as much as his eyesight.
Not as much as his sense of touch.
 
But it was more than just not trusting his friends.
 
TRUTH:
Thomas trusted him OWN ABILITIES more than Jesus’ DIVINE ABILITIES
 
Thomas trusted his own ability to determine the veracity of the resurrection.
More than Jesus’ ability to accomplish one.
 
This is foolish when you consider the differences in Thomas and Jesus.
 
Thomas had the ability to defeat a cold, if he drank a lot of Orange Juice.
Jesus could beat a cold by speaking to it.
 
Thomas had the ability to float on water.
Jesus had the ability to walk on it.
 
Thomas had the ability to go to the local McDonalds and buy a Fish Filet.
Jesus had the ability to make 5000 more out of thin air.
 
It’s silly to trust a human being more than a Divine being.
It’s silly to trust a human being – even if that human being is yourself – more than Divine God.
 
II. Why We Doubt
 
This is not political, but pastoral.
 
In New York, the number of diagnoses each day has been going down. That’s good news. And maybe you saw that in response to that, the governor said this:
 
“The number is down because we brought the number down.” “God did not do that. Faith did not do that. Destiny did not do that. A lot of pain and suffering did that... That’s how it works. It’s math. And if you don’t continue to do that, you’re going to see that number go back up. And that will be a tragedy if that number goes back up.”
 
I get it. He was trying to tell people to keep social distancing, because it’s working.
 
But to say that it’s working apart from God?
 
Why can’t God have worked through a variety of messages, to turn people to do the kind thing and stay home… in addition to providing doctors and nurses the know how to work with patients and government leaders the wisdom to make wise policies.
 
Doubting that God is alive and working.
Sounds a lot like Thomas doubting that Jesus is alive and working.
 
Why do humans doubt God so much?
A few reasons…
 
(1) Doubt Arises from trusting HUMAN SENSES more than Jesus.
 
This was Thomas’ simple reason for not believing.
Unless he saw Jesus, touched Jesus, smelled Jesus, and heard Jesus, he wouldn’t believe.
 
It’s the same with us.
 
I don’t see God helping me with my finances, I only see it going down.
I don’t hear God’s voice calming my fears. I only hear the cries of panic from the rest of the world.
I can’t touch Jesus and give him a hug. I can’t touch anyone and give them a hug!
 
Therefore,
God doesn’t care.
God isn’t helping.
God isn’t there. y cares.
 
But…
Do you realize how unreliable human senses really are?
 
Have you ever been to the eye doctor and had to cover up one of your eyes to read the eye chart? And they ask you to read line 4 and you’re like, “I think that’s a F. I know that’s an F. It must be an F.” So, you say, “I think it’s an F” and they say, “Nope. That’s an E.”
 
Our eyes are not totally reliable.
 
Have you ever seen those Febreze commercials where they blindfold people and put them in a room filled with garbage! Old banana peels, dirty diapers, mounds of pet hair. But…they cover it up with Febreze and the people think, “We must be in some kind of a rose a garden.”
 
Our noses are not totally reliable.
 
Auditory hallucination occurs when a person’s brain rewires itself to believe that certain thoughts or segments of music are being heard when in fact they are not. This can be caused by a concussion, a brain lesion, psychiatric disease or even high levels of caffeine. In an article published by the Scientific American, an estimated 15% of American Adults aged 18-64 regularly struggle with audio hallucinations, while that number doubles to 33% after the age of 65.
 
Our ears are not totally reliable.
 
But Jesus?
He told a paralytic to walk and he did.
He told a blind man to see and he did.
He told a deaf man to hear and he did.
 
He’s reliable.
 
Trust Jesus more than your Senses.
 
(2) Doubt Arises from trusting HUMAN FEELINGS more than Jesus.
 
It wouldn’t make a lot of sense to conclude, “I’m feeling gloomy today, therefore, the sun must not be in existence anymore.”
Nor it is sensible to say, “I’m feeling scared, therefore, giant spider aliens must have invaded earth.”
 
Objective truth is not tied to subjective feeling.
 
Yet, we do this with God all the time.
 
I don’t feel very happy about the pandemic, God, so this must be the wrong choice.
The virus is making me sad, God, so you must not care about me.
I feel angry at the economic ramifications, so I’ve concluded that God is in the wrong.
 
There are all kinds of problems with trusting human emotions.
 
Human emotions are flimsy. They change rapidly and repeatedly.
Human emotions are singular. They consider one’s self and ignore how someone across the country is affected.
Human emotions are tied to health. If you get good sleep, it’s easier to feel happy.
 
But perhaps most importantly, the problem is that human feelings are tainted by sin.
 
You might feel sad that you aren’t able to go back to work, because making money was a great distraction from having to interact with your children.
You might feel angry that you can’t go to the gym, because you miss flirting with the instructor – even though she’s married and so are you.
I can feel sad that we’re doing online church. Some of the reasons for that sadness may be that I’m not able to feed my ego like I used to. Sinful.
 
But Jesus’ emotions were not tainted by sin.
 
When Jesus was about to go to the cross, it was the disciples who yelled at him and told him not to do it, because it made them sad.
If Jesus would have listened, they may have been happy for a moment – and currently sad as they spend forever in hell.
 
Instead, Jesus ignored human emotion and did what was necessary to save them – and us – with his death on the cross.
 
(3) Doubt Arises from trusting HUMAN REASON more than Jesus.
 
Here’s human reason on the coronavirus.
 
The coronavirus pandemic is causing suffering.
Therefore, the coronavirus pandemic isn’t good.
Therefore, God is either…
 
…good, but not really in control.
…in control, but not good.
…not existent at all.
 
But…
 
Here’s some logic.
 
Humans aren’t perfect.
Therefore, their reasoning is imperfect.
 
Humans don’t know everything
Therefore, their reasoning is limited.
 
Humans aren’t always right.
Therefore, their reasoning is morally flawed.
 
If human reason is limited, imperfect, and morally flawed, then…
Maybe our reasoning about God during crisis is limited, imperfect, and flawed too.
 
God’s reasoning?
It is unlimited.
It is perfect.
It is always right.
 
And…
It is still unlimited.
it is still perfect.
it is still right.
 
III. Why We Shouldn’t Doubt
 
Like in the case of Thomas.
It didn’t make sense to Thomas that Jesus was alive.
It wasn’t rational.
It wasn’t reasonable.
 
Thomas didn’t understand it.
So…
He gave his ultimatum.
 
“Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger into the mark of the nails, and put my hand into his side, I will never believe.” (John 20:25)
 
Well…
 
After eight days, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them. “Peace be with you,” he said. Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and look at my hands. Take your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting but believe.” (John 20:26-27)
 
Thomas touches the goosebumps on Jesus arms.
He runs his fingers over the nail marks in his hands.
He puts his hand through the spear mark in his side.
 
And believes.
 
“My Lord and my God!” (v.28)
 
That’s a total transformation.
Jesus has driven away Thomas’ doubt.
Instead asking “Why should I believe?” he begins to ask, “Why did I ever doubt?”
 
TRUTH:
Jesus changes “why believe” into “why doubt.”
 
When you think about this story objectively, there were all kinds of reasons to believe.
 
There had been twenty-some eyewitness reports.
These reports came from a variety of appearances.
The tomb was empty.
There had been a group of trusted friends telling him that they had seen Jesus.
There had even been Jesus’ own promises that he would rise from the dead – long before it ever happened.
 
Jesus changes “why believe” into “why doubt.”
 
That’s true for you too.
 
Because Jesus conquered death.
Jesus conquered your sin.
Jesus lives on high.
 
He is still in control.
He is still in love with you.
And he is still working all things for your eternal good.
 
Stop doubting and believe.
 
IV. How to battle Doubt
 
Yet…we do struggle.
 
We are sinners.
We are weak.
We are imperfect.
If we live, we will face doubts.
 
How do we battle doubt?
 
A few lessons from Scripture:
 
(1) Recognize YOU Can’t Stop Doubt
 
This is an important point. Because what I fear some of you might do when you are done with this worship service is to say to yourself, “I need to stop doubting. I can do it.” Then, you head into the corner, scrunch your face up, and say, “Stop doubting. Stop doubting. Stop doubting.”
 
This will not work.
 
It won’t be long before you say, “I doubt that I can keep this up.”
 
After Thomas’ confession of faith, look at Jesus’ response:
“Because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (v.29)
 
Did you hear that?
Jesus called people who believe without seeing as BLESSED.
 
Blessed can mean “gifted.”
People who believe without seeing didn’t develop that ability on their own.
God gave it to them.
 
TRUTH:
Faith is a GIFT.
 
It isn’t something you earn.
It isn’t something you do.
It is something that God gives.
 
So…
 
(2) Let God Battle Doubt for You
 
Though Jesus’ implies that faith without seeing is something that’s impossible for a human to accomplish on their own, in that same sentence, Jesus also implies that people do believe.
 
How?
 
Look at John’s answer:
 
Jesus, in the presence of his disciples, did many other miraculous signs that are not written in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. (v.30-31)
 
Did you see it?
God wants you to know the reality of the risen Jesus.
God wants you to know so that you live forever in heaven with him.
God wants you to know and – in order that you would know – he inspired John to write it down for you.
 
TRUTH:
God’s Word Battles Doubt for Us
 
Doubting that God will take care of your family? God’s Word says, “The Lord is my shepherd. He leads me beside quiet water. He restores my soul.” (Psalm 23)
Doubting that God will be able to conquer COVID-19? God’s Word says, “Praise the Lord, my soul, forget not God’s benefits – He forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases.” (Psalm 103)
Doubting that God will give you the finances you need? God’s Word says, “Look at the birds of the air; they don’t work, yet our heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable?” (Matthew 6)
Doubting that God isn’t mad at you from all your sin? God’s Word says, “In Jesus we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins.” (Ephesians 1:7)
 
God’s Word battles doubt for us.
 
So…
 
When you are starting to doubt.
When you are feeling like God isn’t in control.
When your senses, emotions, and reason are battling you, run to God’s Word and let God battle for you.
 
And then, once the doubts subside…
 
(3) Anchor Yourself to God’s word
 
The one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. (James 1:6)
 
Because life is very much like a sea.
Our senses smack us in the face like waves.
Our emotions swirl around us.
Reason flies into our face like the wind.
 
But…
When you are anchored in God’s Word.
When you are clinging to God’s promises.
When you are holding to Jesus…
 
You will not sink into doubt.
But stand on Jesus. Amen.