Doubts & Wounds

INTRODUCTION & CONTEXT (Title Slide) Happy Easter! My name is David Sorn, and I’m the Lead Pastor here at Renovation Church. This summer I had one of the strangest things ever happen to me. One of my wife’s friends texted her a screen shot of a report from the Isanti County Sherriff’s office that said, “David Sorn” (that’s me) is dead. And I thought….I’m not dead. So I called the Sherriff’s office and said, “Listen, I’m not dead. Please retract your report. And what’s crazy is that happened basically in my hometown of Cambridge where I grew up So I told the sheriff, “Listen, people are already sharing it on social media, jumping to conclusions even, and they were saying, “David Sorn is dead. That’s too bad. I always thought he was a nice guy, can you ever really know a person?” And so I told the sheriff, “Listen, I know this, because I’m a nerd: there are only 3 David Sorn’s in the United States. Me, one in Massachusetts, and one in Neenah Wisconsin. I’m the one from Cambridge.” And they said, “Sir, we can’t retract the report. We have the deceased, David Sorn, right here” And I found out later, that it was the guy from Wisconsin, and he, out of all places, had moved to my home town And so I had to go online and literally post a status that I was indeed alive. And today, as we’re talking about Easter, we’re going to talk about Jesus who died and then resurrected… …but all sorts of people either believed (or doubted) that he was indeed alive. And doubt is something worth talking about in the church. The Bible speaks about doubt often and even shares the doubts of some of the most famous believers.. But even though doubt is one of the things that we all struggle with, it’s something that we rarely publicly own up to. And so we’re going to open up the Bible together and read about one of the Bible’s most famous doubters, “Doubting Thomas” John 20:24 25 Page 742 So Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came to earth, and around the age of 30, he began to teach and do miracles. But eventually, he was arrested by the religious establishment, and on a Friday, he was killed, crucified on a cross. But on Sunday morning he resurrected from the dead Let’s join the Bible there at verse 24. (John 20:24 25) 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.” (Title Slide) Keep this open on your lap today because we’re going to read more from here later So Thomas is doubting. But I think it’s important to point out that doubt is a normal part of the process of inquiry…and faith. Faith ALWAYS co exists with doubt. Even if you’re 98% sure about something, that means you still have 2% doubt. Faith without doubt is not faith, it’s certainty. And so what I want to do is show you 3 types of doubt that we, like Thomas, might face along the way in the journey of faith. EVIDENTIAL DOUBT 3 TYPES OF DOUBT #1: Evidential Doubt This is doubt where you have a hard time believing in something because you have doubts about the evidence. So Thomas is saying to his friends, “You said you saw Jesus, but I won’t believe until I can put my finger in his nail scarred hands” He’s saying, “I need evidence, tangible proof!” Now, what we could say back to Thomas is, “It’s not like you don’t have evidence in front of you.” Listen, if your 10 best friends ALL say to you, “This is what we saw, and it was incredible…” That IS evidence, is it not? 10 eye witnesses in court is usually a slam dunk of a case! And so part of the problem here is that Thomas seems unwilling to look at the evidence. And I think that’s true of a lot of Americans nowadays. There are many people that don’t believe in Jesus or the resurrection, but I find that very few people have ever actually examined the evidence for themselves. But if life is short, and heaven & hell are real, then we should all examine all of the evidence that is available to us. So for example, one of the doubts that I’ve always had is how do I know that Christianity is the true religion? Now, I actually didn’t grow up a follower of Jesus, but I also didn’t study every major religion first either before I decided to follow Christ. And so this past summer, in part because I wanted to better be able to share my Christian faith with Muslims, I studied Islam. And I read the Koran, and studied the life of the Muhammad And you know what, that process actually just increased my faith in Jesus and the Bible. Here’s one reason why: The thing about Christianity is that its core claim (the death & resurrection of Jesus) was a public event with evidence that can be examined. Jesus was crucified publicly, in a massive city. He resurrected and appeared to over 500 people. And several different eyewitnesses wrote down reports about it not long after it happened This is all evidence that can be examined. But with Islam, Muhammad’s teachings from Allah are only based on words that the angel Gabriel supposedly gave him while he was alone in a cave, or in his mind, in a room. That’s not verifiable. And the same is true with Buddha’s enlightenment under the tree, and on and on. And so if you have any doubts about the evidence for Christianity, it’s only fair that you look into it. That Bible in your hands, take it home with you, and read it, study it. There is a reading plan taped in the front cover that will show you the easiest books to start with. Or study the historical evidence Read “Case for Christ” The story of an atheist journalist (from the Chicago Tribune) who set out to disprove the case for the resurrection, but the evidence changed his mind. You can find that book in the library down the adult wing hall EMOTIONAL DOUBT. Let’s look now at a 2nd type of doubt 3 TYPES OF DOUBT #1: Evidential Doubt #2: Emotional Doubt Here’s the thing that I think people sometimes forget: Thomas is not an atheist skeptic here. He believes in God. He just spent every day of the last 3 years of his life with Jesus, and saw countless miracles. John chapter 11 tells us that Thomas was willing to die with Jesus. But when Jesus appears to the other disciples, Thomas isn’t there. Why?? Most scholars say it’s because when life gets hard, really hard, some of us want to seek solace in the company of others, but others of us, just want to be alone. Thomas is having a hard time believing, because he’s in pain about Jesus dying …in his mind, this was not supposed to happen! Thomas has been wounded. And for many of us, this sort of emotion, or wound, is where our doubts come from. We’ve been hurt, or wounded by a church. We had a loved one die too soon Or lives have been incredibly difficult. And if we’re honest, many of our doubts about God, like Thomas, come from our pain. CONDITIONAL DOUBT And there’s a third type of doubt Thomas is experiencing as well. 3 TYPES OF DOUBT #1: Evidential Doubt #2: Emotional Doubt #3: Conditional Doubt Thomas has said, “I can’t, and I won’t, believe UNLESS” What is that? It’s a condition. And we too do this to God. We say: “I won’t believe… “Unless you reveal yourself by doing a miracle” Or “…unless you make me healthy again….” … “Unless you bring that person back in my life and you fix that wound that…” And with our conditional doubt, we put God in a box. And we say, “I would follow you, but you’d have to do “x” But what if God is God, and we’re not? What if He doesn’t always act the way we, in our limited finite minds, think that He should? If the ant on the ground thinks you acted wrongly, does that mean you’re not real? We’re so limited in our understanding. THE CONTINUUM And I think in many ways we have a false understanding of the interplay of faith & doubt (Title Slide) Over the years here, we’ve explained here it this way: Imagine this stage is a continuum. And the end of this side represents being 100% sure that Jesus resurrected, and that He’s the Son of God, whom you should follow with your life. And this other side represents being 100% sure that He did not. Now, when I actually study the evidence, it leans me this way (walk towards the side of believing) But you know what, it doesn’t bring me all the way. I’m not at 100%. I don’t have video evidence. I wasn’t there. I’ve read and heard the arguments against it. I still have a little bit of a faith leap here. But here is where the misunderstanding about doubt comes in. I think a lot of people say, “Well, I’m not 100% sure Jesus resurrected and Christianity is true.” “And I have my doubts” So we live as if it’s not true. Here’s what you have to see: THE LEAP OF FAITH GOES BOTH WAYS. Are you absolutely certain Jesus didn’t die for you and resurrect? Do you have evidence of his body still in the tomb? I think a lot of Americans don’t realize that their leap of faith to believe in Jesus is significantly smaller than the leap of faith to not believe in Him Yes we have doubts, but we should also doubt our doubts. Have you stopped to doubt the other end? Because the secular world says that you are an accident…a result of amino acids randomly bumping together and starting life on earth” And therefore you’re just a pile of atoms that has no more value than the chair you’re sitting on And therefore there can’t be any real purpose or meaning to your life. But I bet there’s a deep part of you that wants to say, “Oh I have doubts about that!” Okay, so remember that the leap of faith goes both ways. And at some point you have to leap in one direction. JESUS MEETS US IN OUR DOUBT AND PAIN But what about your doubts? And what does Jesus think about our doubts?? Let’s keep reading the Bible John 20:26 28 Page 742 Because now Jesus is going to show up. And what in the world is He going to think of Thomas?? Let’s find out! (John 20:26 28) – NIV 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!” (Title Slide) Can you imagine all the different colors Thomas’ face must have turned when Jesus showed up in that room? And yet, Jesus doesn’t say, “Thomas, how dare you!” He says, “Peace be with you” And then Jesus looks at Thomas and basically says: “All right Mr. Evidence, and Mr. Emotional and Conditional, put your finger right here” In His mercy and his kindness, he actually offers Thomas what he asked for But Thomas doesn’t need it. He has encountered the Son of God. And my friends, this is what happens. When we honestly bring our doubts and wounds to God…. And we say: “Where were you?” “Why did you let this happen?” “I don’t understand” When we bring those wounds to God…He will in His timing, show up. In here, He says “if you seek me, you will find me” And notice that Jesus doesn’t come right when Thomas is spewing out all his doubts on the disciples. Thomas has to wait for God’s timing. And when God does come, He might not answer every question, and He might not fix everything in the way we think it should be fixed… But He will come. And when Thomas sees Jesus for who He really is, he says this: My Lord & My God He sees now that Jesus isn’t just a teacher or a prophet or healer, He’s God. And if He’s God, He’s got to be your Lord. That means He’s the person you surrender your entire life to… Have you done that?? And what allows Thomas to do that… …is that in midst of Thomas’ doubts and his wounds…Thomas sets his own eyes on Jesus’ wounds. And this is so important to understand. Look back at the Bible for a second. John 20:29 31 Page 742 Look now to verse 29 (John 20:29) – NIV 29 Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” That verse is for us! And now verse 30 (John 20:30 31) – NIV 30 Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 31 But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. (Title Slide) Okay, this is why Thomas looking at Jesus’ wounds is such a powerful, drop your doubts, life changing moment. See, Jesus Christ came not just to teach, do miracles, and heal… He came, ultimately, to die on the cross for our sins. He was wounded for you…he let nails be pounded through his hands…for you. And He had to do this because God is a just God, and there must be justice for our sins. And so it’s like you were deserving of the death penalty for your sins against a holy, almighty God, but Jesus stepped in and took it for you. And what we just read says that when you believe he was wounded for you, and killed for you, you can be forgiven…of everything. Think about Thomas: Jesus wasn’t even in the room that first night when Thomas shared all of his doubts, and yet Jesus knew all about Thomas’ emotional demands. And Jesus knows all of the crazy things that you and I have said about Him. And the terrible things we’ve done. And yet, here He is. Still willing to die for you. He gave his life for you. Will you give yours to Him? But in our culture, we’re so apt to say, “But no, you don’t understand my wounds, you don’t know what it’s like to suffer like me” “I’ve been marginalized, cast out, misunderstood, mocked, abandoned.” You know who does understand? Jesus! Because He was marginalized, they cast him out, they mocked him, and killed him. And He endured all of it, so He could have you. Look at his wounds. Look at his wounds. Bring your doubt, bring your wounds…and look at his wounds. Because when you truly believe in your heart that his wounds were for you, and that He died in your place… And you accept Him in as your Lord & your God, He will wash away your sins, forgive you, and thus grant you eternal life in heaven (not in hell) because Jesus will have paid for your sins on the cross, not you. And you can have a relationship with Him, because He’s alive today! And it all starts with you saying, “I believe you died for me, and I want you to be My Lord and My God”