WEBVTT 00:00:00.800 --> 00:00:04.559 So our text this morning is John 20, verses 24 through 29. 00:00:04.959 --> 00:00:13.199 What we're going to do this morning is we're going to kind of read, and what we like to do is uh read a few verses, talk a little bit, read a few verses, talk a little bit, and work our way through this. 00:00:13.359 --> 00:00:28.879 What we've seen in the book of John, and we're toward the end of John, so we're John 20, and what we've seen Jesus do some incredible things, some amazing things, some amazing miracles, and we've seen him teach some incredible lessons, some unbelievable lessons in the past few weeks. 00:00:29.120 --> 00:00:30.640 We've looked at the passion story. 00:00:31.039 --> 00:00:50.240 We've looked at Jesus on the cross, and we've uh last week we looked at his resurrection and him coming to Mary Magdalene and him coming to the disciples and him breathing life into them as we talked about last week as we come humbly to receive this breath of God, which is what creates life inside of us. 00:00:50.320 --> 00:00:54.000 So we're going to jump into verse 24 here in John 20. 00:00:54.240 --> 00:01:02.640 Now, Thomas, also known as Didymus, or that means twin, one of the twelve was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 00:01:02.960 --> 00:01:06.319 So the other disciples told him, We have seen the Lord. 00:01:06.719 --> 00:01:19.040 But he said to them, Unless I, 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. 00:01:26.159 --> 00:01:26.480 Right? 00:01:26.560 --> 00:01:28.159 I know we've all missed church, right? 00:01:28.239 --> 00:01:33.280 I mean we missed church, go to the lake, or we've missed church, we slept in, and you know, like the daylight savings, right? 00:01:33.439 --> 00:01:46.879 We set the alarm clock, we missed it, or we or you uh you went play golf, or somebody right now is missing church because they went to pick apples up in LJ, was this fall and we're in the mood, and everybody broke out their boots today and their vests today, and all that came out and they're pigging apples. 00:01:47.120 --> 00:01:52.000 We've all missed church at some point, or maybe you've missed a show. 00:01:52.159 --> 00:01:55.760 Um, you know, last week I was talking to a few people and they said, you know, what did you do this weekend? 00:01:55.840 --> 00:01:57.439 They said, Well, went on the Garth Brooks show. 00:01:57.519 --> 00:01:59.040 I'm like, I missed the Garth Brooks show. 00:01:59.120 --> 00:02:00.239 How'd I miss the Garth Brooks show? 00:02:00.319 --> 00:02:03.760 I wanted to go to that show, but I forgot about the tickets, and then I just wasn't paying attention. 00:02:03.840 --> 00:02:04.560 I'm like, how was it? 00:02:04.640 --> 00:02:09.280 I'm you know I'm talking about the Thunder Rolls, Colin Baton Rouge. 00:02:09.439 --> 00:02:12.400 I mean, this was, I mean, those songs might have even made it to India. 00:02:12.479 --> 00:02:12.960 I'm not sure. 00:02:13.039 --> 00:02:14.400 We'll we'll fill you in later. 00:02:14.560 --> 00:02:16.719 I mean, this was like, I grew up on that. 00:02:16.800 --> 00:02:17.759 How did I miss it? 00:02:17.840 --> 00:02:19.199 I'm like, what happened? 00:02:19.360 --> 00:02:20.639 Oh man, he sang them all. 00:02:20.719 --> 00:02:23.039 Did he wear the mic, that mic, you know, the garth mic? 00:02:23.120 --> 00:02:24.479 Yeah, he wore the Garth mic. 00:02:24.560 --> 00:02:27.039 And how did I miss that, right? 00:02:27.120 --> 00:02:37.520 And Tom, I mean, out of all the things to miss, Thomas missed the meeting where Jesus came back from the dead and showed up to the disciples. 00:02:37.759 --> 00:02:39.759 I mean, he missed a big meeting. 00:02:40.000 --> 00:02:45.199 I mean, this wasn't just missing the church meeting and the guy preached a really good sermon or the band did this new thing. 00:02:45.280 --> 00:02:46.240 Oh, it was so great. 00:02:46.400 --> 00:02:50.000 I mean, he missed Jesus showing back up. 00:02:51.280 --> 00:02:57.120 And his disciples, his boys say, the disciples, hey, he's alive. 00:02:57.680 --> 00:03:03.039 Thomas says, ah, I don't, I don't buy it. 00:03:03.919 --> 00:03:11.919 You know, not not unless I touch, unless I touch the hands, the wounds, and the hands, unless I touch the spot on his side. 00:03:12.080 --> 00:03:14.240 I I don't I don't believe it. 00:03:14.400 --> 00:03:24.159 Now, before we get too judgmental toward doubting Thomas, maybe we can just have a little bit of honesty because we all know doubt in some way. 00:03:24.400 --> 00:03:24.639 Right? 00:03:24.800 --> 00:03:28.319 I mean, doubt is just part of life because you doubt yourself. 00:03:28.560 --> 00:03:31.439 You doubt how you did in that conversation. 00:03:31.599 --> 00:03:31.840 Right? 00:03:32.000 --> 00:03:57.439 You had that conversation with that person, and maybe it was just a friendly conversation on the sidewalk or in the hallway, or maybe it was a big conversation, and you had to kind of prepare for it, and you came out of that conversation, you doubt yourself and what you said, and did you word that right, or you you doubt your job and how well you're doing, or you doubt a person, like a person who loves you, but you doubt whether they really love you, but they do love you, and you know it's true, but you still doubt it. 00:03:57.680 --> 00:03:59.280 I mean, doubt's just a fact of life. 00:03:59.360 --> 00:04:03.199 You can doubt your purpose in life, doubt your decisions. 00:04:03.680 --> 00:04:11.360 I mean, the other day I was at lunch with somebody at Chick-fil-A, and we order and we get to the table, and I look at his meal, and he ordered a salad with grilled chicken. 00:04:11.439 --> 00:04:21.600 He's mixing the grilled chicken and put on the salad, look at my meal, and I have the fried chicken sandwich with the French fries, and all this doubt comes into me about what I ordered, and he's a much better person than me. 00:04:21.680 --> 00:04:28.800 Look what he's eating, look what I'm eating, and I leave the meal going, I'm really doubting my health and what how I eat. 00:04:28.879 --> 00:04:29.519 And right? 00:04:29.600 --> 00:04:30.720 I mean, there's just doubt. 00:04:30.800 --> 00:04:32.959 It's just kind of every it can be everywhere. 00:04:33.360 --> 00:04:35.759 We doubt all sorts of stuff. 00:04:36.560 --> 00:04:39.839 Maybe you're here, but and you really get Thomas. 00:04:40.079 --> 00:04:46.800 Because when it comes down to it, and some of that was playful, what I just said, but you you really doubt the existence of God. 00:04:47.360 --> 00:04:57.120 I mean, you doubt the legitimacy of the scriptures, you doubt whether Jesus historically really rose from the dead. 00:04:57.519 --> 00:05:10.959 And the big question is, is what if what if the thing you thought is so unacceptable in church is actually normal to people. 00:05:12.079 --> 00:05:16.160 And there's actually room for it in church. 00:05:16.800 --> 00:05:19.040 I ran into this quote this week. 00:05:19.199 --> 00:05:20.800 Uh it's kind of fragmented. 00:05:20.879 --> 00:05:24.800 Uh the lady who wrote it was apparently uh in a fragmented place. 00:05:24.959 --> 00:05:35.839 Such deep longing for God and repulsed, empty, no faith, no love, no zeal, saving souls has no attraction, heaven means nothing. 00:05:36.079 --> 00:05:41.600 Pray for me, please, that I keep smiling at him in spite of everything. 00:05:41.759 --> 00:05:45.040 If there be no God, there can be no soul. 00:05:45.199 --> 00:05:49.920 If there's no soul, then Jesus, you also are not true. 00:05:50.639 --> 00:05:53.360 I mean, who would write something like that? 00:05:53.680 --> 00:05:56.560 Maybe just think it, but who's gonna put it on paper? 00:05:56.800 --> 00:05:58.800 I mean, so dark and so doubtful. 00:05:58.879 --> 00:06:00.240 I mean, that that you know who wrote that? 00:06:00.319 --> 00:06:05.759 That was the great faith-filled, we celebrate her, Mother Teresa. 00:06:06.480 --> 00:06:12.160 I mean, it's so easy for us to go, well, doubt and faith will never meet. 00:06:13.040 --> 00:06:14.079 They will never meet. 00:06:14.160 --> 00:06:19.839 It's so easy for us to think that way, but it's it's just not true for many of us. 00:06:20.560 --> 00:06:22.480 Maybe for some of us they don't. 00:06:22.720 --> 00:06:23.680 It's great. 00:06:23.920 --> 00:06:26.000 Man, like go you. 00:06:26.079 --> 00:06:27.439 Like, I want to talk to you. 00:06:27.519 --> 00:06:33.120 You can teach me some things, but for so many of us, doubt creeps in, doubt's apart. 00:06:33.279 --> 00:06:35.360 And for a lot of us, doubt is reactive. 00:06:35.519 --> 00:06:37.199 It's like this sort of like reactive doubt. 00:06:37.279 --> 00:06:42.800 I mean, it's almost like a band-aid because it behaves as something to cover a wound. 00:06:43.920 --> 00:06:47.199 So you you grew up in a place where you were strong-armed. 00:06:47.680 --> 00:06:50.240 Christian faith was all about rules. 00:06:50.480 --> 00:07:04.000 And you just felt the oppression of you trying to get better and better and better, and you not being enough and enough and enough, and the idea of a grace-filled God who would love you and Christ being sufficient for you. 00:07:04.160 --> 00:07:07.600 That idea was something that never was a part of the Christian faith. 00:07:07.680 --> 00:07:17.360 And so you were so strong-armed and so ruled over, you just reacted from all of that, and all this doubt was created toward God, but really it's kind of reactive. 00:07:18.560 --> 00:07:21.279 Or maybe you had doubts growing up. 00:07:21.360 --> 00:07:24.000 Like maybe you're in high school, you're in college, and you just had some doubts. 00:07:24.079 --> 00:07:30.639 You had some doubts about the scriptures, had some doubts, certain doubts about God, and you read something, you heard something in class, and you started to voice these. 00:07:30.800 --> 00:07:36.879 You voiced it to your parents, or you voiced it to somebody at church, and what happened was you were shut down. 00:07:38.480 --> 00:07:40.800 There's no room for this line of thinking. 00:07:40.879 --> 00:07:43.040 There's no room for this conversation. 00:07:43.199 --> 00:07:45.519 And so you just reacted even more. 00:07:48.560 --> 00:07:55.439 And Christian faith, to you at that point, didn't have as much legitimacy as secularism or universalism. 00:07:55.680 --> 00:07:57.600 But it's a reactive doubt. 00:07:57.759 --> 00:08:01.279 It's a band-aid covering a wound, or you were hurt. 00:08:02.399 --> 00:08:10.800 Like really hurt, like abused or sabotaged or betrayed inside of church by church leaders or a pastor. 00:08:13.120 --> 00:08:21.759 And that sting that was in you created anger and disappointment, and and it and it created doubt toward God. 00:08:25.279 --> 00:08:28.319 And maybe, just maybe, maybe, maybe. 00:08:29.519 --> 00:08:33.440 Maybe your doubt toward God is just anger. 00:08:34.639 --> 00:08:36.240 But not really doubt. 00:08:37.519 --> 00:08:40.240 Now, some of us are doubtless, just purely intellectual. 00:08:40.320 --> 00:08:46.399 I mean, some of us, others of us, is sort of like me, doubt just sort of, every once in a while sort of creeps in and you catch it, and you go, what am I thinking? 00:08:46.480 --> 00:08:53.039 And you restudy and research and look and study, and God reconfirms inside of you. 00:08:53.279 --> 00:08:56.879 But the question is, how do we respond to doubt when it shows up? 00:08:57.120 --> 00:08:58.159 What do we do? 00:08:58.320 --> 00:09:01.120 Well, we hate, we hate doubt because it's uncertainty. 00:09:01.279 --> 00:09:02.159 We hate uncertainty. 00:09:02.240 --> 00:09:05.120 So usually what we do is we just turn to something we can control. 00:09:05.600 --> 00:09:07.039 We just busy ourselves. 00:09:07.120 --> 00:09:08.080 Let's just get busier. 00:09:08.320 --> 00:09:10.480 All right, I have some doubt, so let's just get busier. 00:09:10.559 --> 00:09:16.720 But the problem is you get busier, but on in on the inside, you get more afraid. 00:09:16.960 --> 00:09:20.639 And so all of this kind of sort of goes to point number one of two points this morning. 00:09:20.799 --> 00:09:24.240 Point number one is the reality of our doubt. 00:09:25.200 --> 00:09:26.159 That's point number one. 00:09:26.320 --> 00:09:27.759 The reality of our doubt. 00:09:27.919 --> 00:09:29.840 Thomas missed the meeting. 00:09:30.000 --> 00:09:33.519 His boys come and say, Hey, we've seen the Lord. 00:09:33.600 --> 00:09:39.440 And Thomas, though he's seen a bunch of miracles of what Jesus can do, Thomas doubts. 00:09:42.000 --> 00:09:43.679 Verse 26, a week goes by. 00:09:43.840 --> 00:09:47.679 A week later, his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. 00:09:47.919 --> 00:09:54.559 Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, Peace be with you. 00:09:54.799 --> 00:09:57.440 Then he said to Thomas, Put your finger here. 00:09:57.919 --> 00:09:59.279 See my hands. 00:10:00.320 --> 00:10:03.440 Reach out your hand and put it into my side. 00:10:03.840 --> 00:10:06.879 Stop doubting and believe. 00:10:07.200 --> 00:10:08.240 Don't you love this? 00:10:08.399 --> 00:10:10.320 He comes straight to Thomas. 00:10:11.279 --> 00:10:17.360 And when he shows up, he comes straight to the doubter, and he doesn't show up and criticize him and belittle him. 00:10:17.600 --> 00:10:20.639 He shows up and he wants to engage him. 00:10:22.960 --> 00:10:28.960 But what this means is it means that God is interested in you as a doubter. 00:10:29.759 --> 00:10:32.559 God is interested in you as a sinner. 00:10:33.759 --> 00:10:39.600 And what it means is God's grace does not run dry in the desert of doubt. 00:10:41.200 --> 00:10:46.320 This leads into point number two, which is that God's grace is greater than our doubt. 00:10:48.000 --> 00:10:58.320 I've been reading the story over and over and over again this week and thinking about this, and finally about halfway through the week, just sort of just getting the fact that Thomas was still with the disciples. 00:10:59.600 --> 00:11:01.200 They didn't kick him out. 00:11:01.440 --> 00:11:06.480 They didn't say, Thomas, you don't believe like us, you don't believe us, you don't even believe Jesus rose from the dead. 00:11:06.559 --> 00:11:07.039 You know what? 00:11:07.120 --> 00:11:07.519 You're out. 00:11:07.679 --> 00:11:08.639 Just go head on. 00:11:08.799 --> 00:11:10.480 Thomas is still with them. 00:11:12.879 --> 00:11:17.120 And I've just been wondering, like, what does this mean for a church? 00:11:17.759 --> 00:11:23.360 The fact that these disciples did not kick Thomas out as soon as he had doubt. 00:11:23.519 --> 00:11:24.159 What does this mean? 00:11:24.320 --> 00:11:36.720 Well, I know what it means for a moralistic performance-oriented church because it means you're not enough, and it means you're not showing up for the appearance, and so unless you get your act together quickly, you will be out. 00:11:37.679 --> 00:11:41.039 There's no room for your humanity and no room for your doubt. 00:11:41.120 --> 00:11:52.240 But what does it mean for a church who is honest about depravity and Jesus will be preached, and Jesus' sufficiency will be preached, and Jesus is present in depravity? 00:11:52.320 --> 00:11:59.679 Well, I think what it means is I think it means your doubt is welcomed even while Jesus says stop doubting. 00:12:00.080 --> 00:12:00.320 Right? 00:12:00.480 --> 00:12:05.519 I mean, Jesus says stop doubting and believe, and yet at the same time, he's coming toward Thomas. 00:12:07.200 --> 00:12:08.320 You won't be cast out. 00:12:08.399 --> 00:12:17.600 So I've also been wondering what does this mean for all those little kids down the hall that are growing up? 00:12:18.240 --> 00:12:21.279 Some of them aren't your kids, but you'll probably interact with them at some point. 00:12:21.360 --> 00:12:23.279 And our students that are in here. 00:12:23.759 --> 00:12:26.960 What does this mean for them as they grow up in the Christian faith? 00:12:27.600 --> 00:12:31.039 Is there room for them to voice their doubts? 00:12:32.320 --> 00:12:39.600 To have legitimate questions without us giving them trite answers, without us shutting them down. 00:12:39.759 --> 00:13:01.200 And my hope as I was thinking about this week is just that we could become a church almost like the disciples were, that were that's secure enough in what we know to be true, that we can give space for somebody's doubt, and that we can trust and God's timing and ability to engage with them. 00:13:03.600 --> 00:13:08.720 Verse 28, Jesus went straight straight to Thomas. 00:13:08.960 --> 00:13:11.440 You can touch my hands, you can touch my side. 00:13:11.679 --> 00:13:15.519 And then Thomas says, and we don't know whether Thomas actually walked over and touched or not. 00:13:15.679 --> 00:13:16.000 We don't know. 00:13:16.080 --> 00:13:18.799 Some people say yes, some people say no, but we know the response. 00:13:18.879 --> 00:13:20.080 And Thomas said this. 00:13:20.240 --> 00:13:22.879 He said, My Lord and my God. 00:13:23.039 --> 00:13:25.919 And what Thomas is saying, he's saying, You're God. 00:13:27.679 --> 00:13:28.320 I get it. 00:13:28.480 --> 00:13:32.159 I'm not God and you are God and you are my Lord. 00:13:32.480 --> 00:13:38.720 My belief and my faith for life and significance and righteousness, redemption and justification is in you. 00:13:38.879 --> 00:13:41.519 I am not my own Lord. 00:13:41.759 --> 00:13:48.159 He was overwhelmed with the reality that someone else can rightly lord over his life. 00:13:49.519 --> 00:13:57.440 And maybe you're here, and just this idea of surrender, accepting an authority over your life, a savior other than yourself. 00:13:58.000 --> 00:14:00.480 It's just this idea you can't quite get there. 00:14:00.639 --> 00:14:05.360 And I would just ask, how is life going with you being your own Lord? 00:14:05.679 --> 00:14:13.759 Lording over your own imperfections, your own mistakes, your own shame, and your own guilt and your own ability to be righteous and justified in this world. 00:14:13.840 --> 00:14:14.960 How is that going? 00:14:15.120 --> 00:14:18.240 And here He is, here Jesus is. 00:14:19.440 --> 00:14:26.480 And he's coming toward you and all those doubts, he's coming toward you, and he's saying, touch my hands. 00:14:27.600 --> 00:14:33.200 Like the wounds that absorbed all of your guilt and all of your shame and all your sin. 00:14:35.120 --> 00:14:36.559 Come and see this is real. 00:14:38.559 --> 00:14:42.480 And that he gives us his righteousness, an incredible exchange. 00:14:42.720 --> 00:14:49.279 Verse 29, then Jesus told them, speaking to this group, because you have seen me, you have believed. 00:14:49.440 --> 00:14:52.480 He's saying, Hey, you guys, you guys got a good. 00:14:53.279 --> 00:14:55.440 Like these apostles, and they needed this moment. 00:14:55.679 --> 00:14:57.679 They're going to start the churches, and this is their testimony. 00:14:57.759 --> 00:14:59.679 They're going to write these books, and so they needed this. 00:14:59.759 --> 00:15:00.720 They needed to see Jesus. 00:15:00.799 --> 00:15:03.120 They said, No, we saw him, we're going to write it down. 00:15:03.200 --> 00:15:06.879 So everybody else, from now on throughout history, can know this is true. 00:15:07.039 --> 00:15:07.840 They needed this. 00:15:07.919 --> 00:15:11.200 And he's saying, Hey, blessed are you. 00:15:12.559 --> 00:15:18.320 And then Jesus said, Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed. 00:15:18.559 --> 00:15:21.679 And Jesus is saying, there's going to be a whole lot more that don't get this moment. 00:15:21.919 --> 00:15:23.600 They don't get to see this. 00:15:23.919 --> 00:15:27.360 And this is verses 30 and 31, if you read on later. 00:15:27.679 --> 00:15:28.720 John is basically saying this. 00:15:28.879 --> 00:15:35.120 John's saying, hey, we wrote all this down for all those other people, all those other generations, all those other churches. 00:15:35.360 --> 00:15:39.039 We wrote all this down so they can read it and they can know it to be true. 00:15:39.120 --> 00:15:43.840 And what is true is that Jesus is Lord and is enough. 00:15:45.360 --> 00:15:55.759 And that this book that we read, that it's enough to put in us belief and to combat our doubt. 00:15:56.320 --> 00:16:03.360 There's this man in Mark chapter 9 who approached Jesus with all of his doubt, and there's this large crowd, and the teachers are arguing about the law. 00:16:03.519 --> 00:16:09.600 The Jews teach all arguing about the law, what you need to do to be approved by God, and there Jesus is, and Jesus is our approval before God. 00:16:09.679 --> 00:16:11.679 So that's an interesting moment for Jesus. 00:16:11.759 --> 00:16:15.120 And then this man shows up and he has a son who's sick. 00:16:15.279 --> 00:16:19.679 And the son has an evil spirit inside of himself. 00:16:19.840 --> 00:16:23.600 And if you don't believe in that right now, you can talk to Richard later on. 00:16:23.759 --> 00:16:27.360 I'm sure he can tell you some stories where he lives about this kind of thing going on all the time. 00:16:27.600 --> 00:16:30.240 And so this man brings his son. 00:16:30.639 --> 00:16:32.320 You imagine this man? 00:16:33.200 --> 00:16:38.559 His son is possessed by evil spirit, and he had taken his son to the disciples, and the disciples couldn't help. 00:16:38.639 --> 00:16:41.200 And you imagine this man's doubt? 00:16:42.159 --> 00:16:47.039 The amount of hurt to watch your son have this going on inside of him? 00:16:47.200 --> 00:16:54.480 And the spirit inside of the son sees Jesus, and the spirit gets it more than all the population around. 00:16:54.639 --> 00:16:59.840 And the spirit throws the boy down, and he is convulsing on the ground. 00:17:00.799 --> 00:17:03.360 And the father's just distraught. 00:17:03.840 --> 00:17:09.839 And the father says, Jesus, if you can help, if you can help us, please help us. 00:17:10.000 --> 00:17:12.799 And Jesus responds and says, if you can. 00:17:14.720 --> 00:17:17.920 Like, do you know who you're talking to here? 00:17:18.000 --> 00:17:20.400 Like you're not talking to the disciples, you're talking to the Messiah. 00:17:20.480 --> 00:17:24.160 You're talking to actual God Himself. 00:17:24.480 --> 00:17:27.359 And Jesus says, everything is possible for those who believe. 00:17:27.440 --> 00:17:32.480 And then verse 24, we get this incredible verse, which is so assuring to me and all my lack of belief. 00:17:32.640 --> 00:17:38.079 And this father says, I do believe, help me overcome my own belief. 00:17:39.440 --> 00:17:42.400 I mean, we think belief and doubt never meet. 00:17:43.759 --> 00:17:46.720 Here's a guy saying, No, I do believe, but help my own belief. 00:17:46.799 --> 00:17:47.920 So I believe, but I don't believe. 00:17:48.079 --> 00:17:49.119 I believe, but I don't believe. 00:17:49.200 --> 00:17:51.200 I believe, but I don't believe. 00:17:52.640 --> 00:17:59.440 He's saying, I'm not sure you really hold the power to kill my son, but I do sort of believe it, but I don't believe it. 00:17:59.519 --> 00:18:00.640 And I need you, but I. 00:18:01.440 --> 00:18:01.759 Right? 00:18:01.920 --> 00:18:04.160 I mean, this is like active doubt. 00:18:04.799 --> 00:18:07.680 But there's enough faith there to ask for help. 00:18:07.839 --> 00:18:11.200 You don't ask for help unless you have some faith to ask for help. 00:18:12.319 --> 00:18:16.720 So there's some active doubt that faith is engaging, grace is over. 00:18:17.519 --> 00:18:21.599 And that's why we're not afraid of doubt as believers. 00:18:22.640 --> 00:18:35.599 It's because when we have doubt, we recognize that we're honest about it, and we go back into the scriptures and back into the word, and we let grace reign over it, and faith engage it, and God restrengthen belief. 00:18:35.839 --> 00:18:49.920 I was having a lunch this week with a friend of mine who's a he's a younger pastor, uh, and he's a pastor in another part of the city, and we were talking about he got a new position, and we were talking about his new position, what he was gonna be doing, and how you want to handle it, and all that kind of stuff. 00:18:50.000 --> 00:18:59.599 And toward the end of the conversation, he just said, Hey, like two years ago, uh you sent out an email about starting your church. 00:19:00.240 --> 00:19:08.400 Um, and it's you know, you said you wanted to, you know, we're gonna start a church about grace without conditions, and maybe that scares you. 00:19:08.559 --> 00:19:12.079 Um we're not saying grace without fruit, we're saying grace without conditions. 00:19:12.240 --> 00:19:20.079 Uh you you said something about grace without conditions, and it can free you from creating your own righteousness and your your own significance. 00:19:20.400 --> 00:19:21.759 And he rambled a little bit. 00:19:21.839 --> 00:19:24.160 And I said, Well, what's your what's your question? 00:19:24.319 --> 00:19:28.400 And he said, Well, I don't I don't know about that. 00:19:29.359 --> 00:19:35.599 He's like, I have the hardest time uh receiving grace. 00:19:36.559 --> 00:19:40.559 So I get home from lunch and I wanted to go back and actually read that email to see what I wrote. 00:19:40.640 --> 00:19:42.240 I here's what I wrote. 00:19:42.319 --> 00:19:48.240 I wrote, our vision is to share a message that has revolutionized our lives, a message of grace without conditions. 00:19:48.400 --> 00:20:00.640 This message known in Jesus frees people from striving to create their own righteousness and gives us rest from the endless ways we self-justify with performance or pleasure or even religion. 00:20:02.000 --> 00:20:05.119 So my friends across the table, and he's tearing up. 00:20:07.440 --> 00:20:09.599 And you can just tell he's exhausted. 00:20:10.720 --> 00:20:12.079 What is the issue here? 00:20:12.319 --> 00:20:13.920 What is really the issue here? 00:20:14.000 --> 00:20:14.880 You know what the issue is? 00:20:15.200 --> 00:20:16.319 It's doubt. 00:20:17.200 --> 00:20:25.519 It's doubt that Christ on the cross is really sufficient for his value and his righteousness. 00:20:26.240 --> 00:20:32.960 And so he's waking up to add a little bit to it today and a little bit to it tomorrow, and it's not working. 00:20:33.119 --> 00:20:36.000 And he's getting more and more exhausted. 00:20:36.400 --> 00:20:38.400 Well, really, the cross is enough. 00:20:38.720 --> 00:20:40.640 He can rest in it. 00:20:41.039 --> 00:20:47.839 Now, when I went to retrieve those two sentences in my old emails, I crossed back over another email. 00:20:48.079 --> 00:20:53.440 And it was sent back in the spring, and it was about our friend Stuart Sims, who took his life back in the spring. 00:20:53.519 --> 00:21:12.400 And Stuart, many of you knew him, and he was a lover of the gospel, and he took his own life, and I still have all these doubts, like when I drive by his house, or I put on my Patagonia vest, because he always wore a Patagonia vest. 00:21:12.880 --> 00:21:24.480 I have all these doubts that come up in me about not just about Stuart, but about God's ability to comfort somebody, one of his own children. 00:21:26.160 --> 00:21:30.480 I mean, I have doubts, I can't even quite get into words still about that. 00:21:31.119 --> 00:21:34.160 And there's there in this is this Mark 9, right? 00:21:34.319 --> 00:21:37.279 Like in this kind of thing, is I I believe. 00:21:37.440 --> 00:21:38.880 Help my unbelief. 00:21:40.799 --> 00:21:46.559 And I take great comfort this morning that God's grace is greater than my doubt. 00:21:48.559 --> 00:21:53.599 And that he is interested in me as a doubter and as a sinner. 00:21:53.839 --> 00:21:55.039 He's interested in me. 00:21:55.839 --> 00:21:58.559 And maybe you're here and you still have doubts about the Christian faith. 00:21:59.200 --> 00:22:02.079 Perhaps you're still lording over your own life. 00:22:02.720 --> 00:22:09.839 And perhaps this morning you would recognize inside of you you actually believe Christ to be Lord. 00:22:10.480 --> 00:22:15.839 We serve communion each week, and within communion, we give you some space, some time. 00:22:15.920 --> 00:22:34.079 And for you, if you've never shifted faith from your own self, being your own savior, to escape your own uh shame and guilt and sin, to place faith in what God did for you, Christ on the cross, took that to secure your belovedness before God. 00:22:34.720 --> 00:22:44.960 We welcome you in that time to just take a moment to bow in prayer and to repent of Lording over your own life and say, I receive you as Lord. 00:22:46.160 --> 00:22:53.119 And maybe you're here and you say, I I'm I'm a doubter, still a doubter, got a lot of doubts, and you say, I'm not ready for that yet. 00:22:53.440 --> 00:23:00.559 And would you be, would you be willing to just kind of eke out this little prayer to say, God, I'm a doubter. 00:23:00.799 --> 00:23:02.720 Would you reveal yourself to me? 00:23:04.160 --> 00:23:17.200 Or maybe you're like me and you're a believer and doubt just creeps up, kind of here and there, it creeps up, and and we just need to pray, God, would you be active in my faith and in my doubt? 00:23:18.559 --> 00:23:25.279 And that we can thank him, that his grace is greater than these doubts that creep up. 00:23:26.400 --> 00:23:32.880 This week I was reading an article by my friend David Zoll, who he writes at this blog called Mockingbird, which is fantastic. 00:23:32.960 --> 00:23:39.759 Uh, and he wrote this the good news, we need good news after talking about doubt for a while. 00:23:39.920 --> 00:23:47.680 The good news is God is not waiting for us to be certain about him because he is certain about us. 00:23:49.039 --> 00:23:51.920 And we rest in his certainty about us. 00:23:52.720 --> 00:23:55.279 And that's why he gave us Jesus Christ. 00:23:55.599 --> 00:23:56.799 So we can know. 00:23:57.200 --> 00:24:01.039 We can know that he loves us and he redeems us. 00:24:01.200 --> 00:24:02.480 Let's pray together. 00:24:12.480 --> 00:24:18.559 And we do confess and have a moment of honesty, especially before we come before your table. 00:24:19.039 --> 00:24:21.119 We are a doubtful people. 00:24:23.279 --> 00:24:26.160 We wake up each morning with doubt. 00:24:28.160 --> 00:24:35.039 Help us to remember and to preach the gospel to ourselves each day, each evening, the hours in between. 00:24:37.200 --> 00:24:47.359 We thank you that you come toward the doubter, that you are interested in the sinner, that your grace is greater than our doubt. 00:24:48.880 --> 00:24:51.519 In the end, our doubt is sin, is unbelief. 00:24:52.720 --> 00:24:54.559 And so it's this that we hold before you. 00:24:54.799 --> 00:25:00.240 We thank you that you take that upon the cross, and that you are sufficient for us. 00:25:01.920 --> 00:25:15.599 And that's what we remember as we come to your table to receive your certainty toward us, your righteousness that you give to us in your grace over us in Jesus' name. 00:25:15.759 --> 00:25:16.319 Amen.