Modern Day Doubters
Phil Schaefer
4/12/09
Introduction:
We’ve been doing a series over the last couple of months under the intriguing title of ‘No Perfect People Allowed’. It is about how Jesus reached out to very imperfect people and embraced them.
- How He reached out to those who lived under the guilt and shame of sexual sin or abuse.
- How He reached out to those who cheated and lied their way through life.
- And to those who were tormented in life; to the diseased, and to the desperate.
This is Easter, the day we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus from the grave. All four gospels; Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, tell us the story of that event. And while they all clearly portray that Jesus really did appear to them alive after He had been crucified, they also give as much attention to the reaction of His followers. We’re going to read these accounts and I want us to take note of their emotions, and especially the doubt and unbelief.
- Mark 16:9-14 Catch this: “mourning and weeping”, and a good report, and unbelief; “they would not believe.” And “hardness of heart”
- Luke 24:36-43 It says that they were startled and frightened. And Jesus says, “Why are you troubled and why do doubts arise in your hearts?”…still they stood there doubting, filled with joy and wonder. Jesus says, “Peace be to you.” because they were experiencing all of these conflicting emotions.
- Matthew 28:17 (New Living Translation) “When they saw Him, they worshipped Him, but some of them still doubted.”
- John 20: 25c-31 We have all heard of Thomas’ nickname, ‘Doubting Thomas’. He wouldn’t believe in the resurrection unless He saw and touched Jesus. Jesus told them “ Don’t be faithless anymore. Believe! ….and blessed are they who haven’t seen me and believe anyway.” These things are written so that you may believe.”
I think that all the writers are telling us that believing God, trusting in God, is not an easy, automatic thing. As we’ve been doing our study on No Perfect People Allowed, we’ve seen that Jesus’ closest followers doubted over and over. They all went through the process of doubt and belief, and then doubt and belief. Through it all, Jesus kept meeting them and helping them with their unbelief. We’ve been calling it ‘This Beautiful Mess’ because Jesus steps into the mess of our lives and makes something beautiful out of it, over and over again.
This morning I want to tell the journey of a modern day doubter; a woman who asks, “Is Jesus real? Is Jesus the only way? and Is God fair?” Her name is Joy.
I. Joy’s story:
Joy went to the University of Texas in search mode. Raised by an atheist mom and a distant dad, she lacked the moral direction needed to spare her from many adolescent mistakes and pains. She took classes called “God and Man”, hoping to learn about God. She studied philosophy, sociology, and psychology trying to understand the larger questions of life. One day, while sitting in a sophomore literature class listening to the professor pound into her head how difficult it is to be open-minded, Joy had the strangest thought. “If I’m going to be open, then I need to be open to Christianity. No sooner did I have that thought, than people started coming out of the woodwork who said they were Christians.”
“ I was on a serious search that year.” Joy says, and while Christians kept coming my way, “I felt more pushed than pulled by them. Some of their explanations seemed simplistic. Sometimes I felt pressured and the pressure scared me!” I said to myself, “I just can’t believe it.” For two days everything felt lifeless. For six months, I had thought about nothing butt the question of God. Finally I resolved that ‘I don’t know, and it’s o.k. that I don’t know.’ And I moved on.”
After college, Joy got a good job and also started seeing a therapist for a quarter-life crisis she was having. It was group counseling and it felt very spiritual to her. “I experienced love and acceptance that I didn’t really know growing up. It felt safe to let myself be known. I was finding emotional freedom. They encouraged me to do things in faith. Not faith in God, but faith in the process of letting go of my tightly wound fears. I learned to trust and found a new peace emerging.
One time I went to a conference with a Buddhist Llama. He seemed very open, authentic, with a great sense of humor. While I loved my friends, I was still trying to figure out if this was the path for me. As I talked to the Llama that day, I just couldn’t find the solid foundation for denying all desires (a tenet of Buddhism). I didn’t feel like totally losing my self-identity, to become one with everything (which is the goal of Buddhism). I desired to be married and to be a mother one day, and I didn’t see why these desires were wrong. There were traces of truth that attracted me, but something was missing. I kept making the same mistakes in my life, and I didn’t know how to deal with the condemning feelings that I had carried for so long.
Not long after the conference, I was in meditation class and the leader directed us to focus our minds by picturing Buddha. I tried, but I couldn’t. Then suddenly and uninvited, an image of Jesus appeared in my conscience. I wasn’t a Christian, and still knew almost nothing about Jesus, yet there He was! That day I decided that I really needed to understand more about Jesus.
I didn’t know how to begin, so I attended several churches; such as the Church of Conscience Harmony, and others, but they didn’t do it for me. But then I stepped into this one church and I felt like it was o.k. to be in process, and that I could be accepted for who I was while I was learning. The speaker said that all religions reveal man’s search for truth, but not all religions answer the “Who is God?” question. I sensed a genuine concern and love, and it was combined with a hope of knowing God. I knew love and peace from my Buddhist friends, but there was no bottom to it- no solid foundation I could find that would answer that God question.
I heard the speaker say that God doesn’t care about religion, but about your heart. When he said that, it dawned on me that maybe God had led me here, and was actually helping me to know Him. When he talked about a God who wouldn’t condemn us because of what Jesus did, I wanted to know more,” Joy remembers, “I needed to hear that God could unload the weight of condemnation I had shouldered for so long. He read passages where Jesus claimed to be equal with God and the unique way back to God.
I remember thinking, “If Jesus was the way and the truth” what about these truths I felt I had been learning from these Buddhist mentors I loved dearly? Were they wrong? I loved them and what did this mean about what they believed? And what about people across the globe who never heard about Jesus? How can that be fair? The speaker acknowledged these questions, and the mystery of how God works, and it set me at ease to keep exploring.”
II. Seeking Jesus
- The religious leaders who ultimately crucified Jesus kept saying, “The only Father we have is God Himself.” Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now am here… Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear what I say.”
- Joy heard it explained like this, regarding the question “ Is my heart truly seeking to know God?”
- Jesus is saying that the person who truly is a seeker of God, when they see life and begin to understand how loving God is because of what Jesus has done for us, that person will respond in love and gratitude.”
- Jesus claims that He has done what we all demand of God, which is, “Just show yourself to me, God!” Jesus says, “I am showing myself to you.”
- When our hearts are truly seeking to know God, and if we are honestly open to considering Jesus’ claims to be God reveled, then He will come to us, and open our hearts and reveal Himself to us.
- Joy goes on and says, “When I heard that, I wanted to know more.”
- She thought about those she loved who were Buddhist and what did it mean for them. But she decided to set aside her concern for others and learn about Jesus for herself.
- Over the next three months, she grew in her understanding of the grace of God and of His mercy, goodness, and loving-kindness, and when she felt she understood enough, she prayed to open her heart to Christ.
- She says, “ I think the concern for God being fair to others has more to do with ourselves. I don’t think most people are honestly concerned for others. The pains of our own lives are underneath these questions- pain that makes us wonder about fairness and hope. But at least now I know there is hope for us all.”
III. Exploring Our Questions
- Next Sunday we are going to explore some of these same questions that Joy had.
- Questions like:
- How can it be fair that Jesus is the only way?
- Will there be people in heaven who never heard of Jesus’ name?
- What is it that God is looking for?
- What is it that God sees when He looks at us?
- Feel free to join us. If you’ve never done it before, start your own search to know who God is. If you’ve been on that journey for a long time, keep searching. He will meet with you.
IV. Jesus Meets Us
- In his letter to the Romans, the apostle Paul is explaining to them what it was that God was doing through Jesus’ death and resurrection.
- Romans 3:23-25a- (NLT) “For all have sinned: all fall short of God’s glorious standard. (But) now God in his gracious kindness declares us not guilty. He has done this through Christ Jesus, who freed us by taking away our sins. For God sent Jesus to take the punishment for our sins and to satisfy God’s anger against us.”
- Romans 3:22 (NLT) “We are made right in God’s sight when we trust in Jesus Christ to take away our sins. And we all can be saved in this way, no matter who we are or what we have done.”
- Jesus‘ closest followers went through times of pain and misunderstanding and doubt and unbelief just like we do. And it was His great joy to reveal Himself to them.
- A conversation with a Missourian reporter:
Q. What happened when you opened your heart to Jesus?
A. It felt like I had done the right thing. A load was lifted; doubts were settled, joy came into me, hope entered. It felt like the beginning of a new day.
- Is your heart truly seeking to know God? If it is, He will meet you, and comfort you, give you His peace, and will make His joy your joy!
Discussion Questions:
How did Jesus respond to the doubts and unbelief of His disciples? (see Luke 24:343, John 20:25c-31)
Discuss a time in your own life when you had questions and doubts about God. What were some of your main questions?
Give some personal examples of ways that Jesus has met you in your search for God.
