1 00:00:00,000 –> 00:00:03,840 Well, this morning, we come to the third in our series, 2 00:00:03,840 –> 00:00:07,580 faith with questions dealing with the darkness of doubt 3 00:00:07,580 –> 00:00:09,160 and we’re discovering that doubt 4 00:00:09,160 –> 00:00:11,380 is really a many headed monster. 5 00:00:11,380 –> 00:00:13,680 It can take different forms 6 00:00:13,680 –> 00:00:15,600 and takes root in our lives 7 00:00:15,600 –> 00:00:18,540 in different circumstances and situations. 8 00:00:18,540 –> 00:00:20,139 I want to remind you that as we go through 9 00:00:20,139 –> 00:00:23,580 these eight different heads, as it were of this monster, 10 00:00:23,580 –> 00:00:27,660 we’re really constructing some diagnostic tests, 11 00:00:27,740 –> 00:00:29,160 rather like when you go to the doctor, 12 00:00:29,160 –> 00:00:31,240 he’ll run some tests to find out 13 00:00:31,240 –> 00:00:33,259 what it is that’s wrong with you. 14 00:00:33,259 –> 00:00:36,459 As we move through each of these areas 15 00:00:36,459 –> 00:00:39,380 in which satan our enemy can gain an advantage over us 16 00:00:39,380 –> 00:00:41,860 through our doubt, we’re asking the question, 17 00:00:41,860 –> 00:00:45,740 is this something that I can see happening in me? 18 00:00:45,740 –> 00:00:50,060 And if it’s not, remember this possibility 19 00:00:50,060 –> 00:00:53,180 that God may use you to help someone 20 00:00:53,180 –> 00:00:55,520 for whom this is precisely the problem, 21 00:00:55,520 –> 00:00:57,680 someone you may even have a conversation with 22 00:00:57,680 –> 00:01:00,360 today or this week. 23 00:01:00,360 –> 00:01:04,680 Now, we’ve identified two particular forms of doubt 24 00:01:04,680 –> 00:01:06,279 or spheres in which it grows, 25 00:01:06,279 –> 00:01:08,660 we started with defective memory. 26 00:01:08,660 –> 00:01:11,639 That is when we forget to remember 27 00:01:11,639 –> 00:01:15,279 the goodness of God and simply by neglecting 28 00:01:15,279 –> 00:01:19,459 this ministry of thanks-giving we end up 29 00:01:19,459 –> 00:01:21,699 with a sense of the distance of God 30 00:01:21,699 –> 00:01:24,040 and it becomes a seedbed of doubt. 31 00:01:24,040 –> 00:01:26,739 Then we saw last time that doubt can grow 32 00:01:26,739 –> 00:01:29,180 because of distorted pictures, 33 00:01:29,180 –> 00:01:32,239 that is when we carry within our minds 34 00:01:32,239 –> 00:01:35,500 an image of God that is not corresponding to the truth 35 00:01:35,500 –> 00:01:39,980 but is distorted for some reason within our own minds 36 00:01:39,980 –> 00:01:41,940 and within our own thinking. 37 00:01:41,940 –> 00:01:43,779 Now this morning, we come to a third 38 00:01:43,779 –> 00:01:45,660 very different variety of doubt 39 00:01:45,660 –> 00:01:50,559 and it is one that thrives where faith rests 40 00:01:50,559 –> 00:01:53,500 on deficient foundations. 41 00:01:54,239 –> 00:01:56,320 Now, thinking about this last week, 42 00:01:56,320 –> 00:02:00,379 my mind went back to one of my own earliest experiences 43 00:02:00,379 –> 00:02:04,739 of sitting in church as a child in Edinburgh in Scotland. 44 00:02:04,739 –> 00:02:07,139 Sitting in the church, one of the things 45 00:02:07,139 –> 00:02:10,940 that attracted my eye on a regular basis 46 00:02:10,940 –> 00:02:13,940 was the fact that at the corner 47 00:02:13,940 –> 00:02:18,580 where the ceiling and the walls met, 48 00:02:18,580 –> 00:02:21,899 there was a distinct crack 49 00:02:21,919 –> 00:02:25,279 into which water used to seep. 50 00:02:25,279 –> 00:02:28,839 And as a result, the paint progressively peeled. 51 00:02:28,839 –> 00:02:29,860 It was an interesting thing 52 00:02:29,860 –> 00:02:31,979 to watch over a period of months 53 00:02:31,979 –> 00:02:34,600 to see how it was going. 54 00:02:34,600 –> 00:02:36,580 Then, one Sunday, 55 00:02:38,119 –> 00:02:40,240 all would be well 56 00:02:40,240 –> 00:02:42,960 because the church had called in plasterers 57 00:02:42,960 –> 00:02:45,979 and the front was beautifully restored 58 00:02:45,979 –> 00:02:48,119 and marvelously repainted. 59 00:02:49,039 –> 00:02:51,119 The fascinating thing that I noticed, 60 00:02:51,119 –> 00:02:52,820 having been there over a period of years, 61 00:02:52,820 –> 00:02:56,559 was that within a relatively short period of time, 62 00:02:56,559 –> 00:02:59,679 you could see a new crack opening 63 00:02:59,679 –> 00:03:02,779 round about the place where the old one had been. 64 00:03:03,720 –> 00:03:05,699 Now I was fascinated to discover 65 00:03:05,699 –> 00:03:07,539 just a few years ago 66 00:03:08,539 –> 00:03:13,539 that the church and several houses adjoining to it 67 00:03:14,279 –> 00:03:18,440 were actually suffering from severe subsidence. 68 00:03:18,479 –> 00:03:21,880 Structural engineers had been called in 69 00:03:21,880 –> 00:03:24,919 and various tests had been done, 70 00:03:24,919 –> 00:03:26,919 and to cut a long story short, 71 00:03:26,919 –> 00:03:29,720 what they discovered when they looked up the archives 72 00:03:29,720 –> 00:03:33,380 was that the church in which I was brought up 73 00:03:33,380 –> 00:03:38,380 was actually built on a disused rubbish tip. 74 00:03:38,800 –> 00:03:41,360 Now, I don’t know what this does for one’s theology, 75 00:03:42,279 –> 00:03:44,360 but that was the truth, 76 00:03:44,360 –> 00:03:46,940 and for that reason, it appears, 77 00:03:46,940 –> 00:03:50,059 the subsidence under not only that building 78 00:03:50,059 –> 00:03:51,580 but several others in the area 79 00:03:51,580 –> 00:03:56,020 became a major issue that had to be addressed. 80 00:03:56,020 –> 00:03:58,339 The only solution, and this work has now been done 81 00:03:58,339 –> 00:04:02,779 at great cost, was to shore up the building. 82 00:04:02,779 –> 00:04:06,580 To underpin it, and then, in a marvelous piece 83 00:04:06,580 –> 00:04:07,899 of structural engineering 84 00:04:07,899 –> 00:04:09,020 that some of you will understand 85 00:04:09,020 –> 00:04:11,020 is quite beyond what I can really imagine, 86 00:04:11,020 –> 00:04:14,119 to underpin and to put foundations 87 00:04:14,119 –> 00:04:16,660 under the already existing building. 88 00:04:16,760 –> 00:04:19,320 To place new foundations under it. 89 00:04:19,320 –> 00:04:23,279 Now that’s a good picture to hold in your mind for today. 90 00:04:23,279 –> 00:04:25,959 You see, some people have a faith 91 00:04:25,959 –> 00:04:29,980 but it does not rest on a very firm foundation. 92 00:04:29,980 –> 00:04:32,059 There’s something underneath it, of course. 93 00:04:32,059 –> 00:04:36,239 They believe, but they are not sure what they believe 94 00:04:36,239 –> 00:04:39,799 and they’re certainly not very sure why they believe. 95 00:04:39,799 –> 00:04:41,440 If we’re to think about the symptoms 96 00:04:41,440 –> 00:04:43,160 of this particular condition, 97 00:04:43,160 –> 00:04:46,940 it won’t surprise you that when there is a weak foundation, 98 00:04:46,940 –> 00:04:49,820 there will often be instability. 99 00:04:49,820 –> 00:04:51,760 So, that a person may move very quickly 100 00:04:51,760 –> 00:04:54,179 from being enthusiastically involved 101 00:04:54,179 –> 00:04:56,399 in some area of ministry, 102 00:04:56,399 –> 00:04:58,959 to feeling that they are quiet at a distance 103 00:04:58,959 –> 00:05:01,899 from any living experience of faith at all. 104 00:05:01,899 –> 00:05:04,140 There will also often be little evidence 105 00:05:04,140 –> 00:05:06,140 of the joy and freedom 106 00:05:06,140 –> 00:05:09,100 that normally characterize the life of a Christian. 107 00:05:10,100 –> 00:05:13,940 Now, I want to begin by giving six examples this morning 108 00:05:13,940 –> 00:05:17,140 of shaky foundations. 109 00:05:17,140 –> 00:05:18,200 Because it seems to me, 110 00:05:18,200 –> 00:05:20,279 that there may be some among us 111 00:05:20,279 –> 00:05:23,559 who suffer from precisely this difficulty. 112 00:05:23,559 –> 00:05:25,720 And if we can understand it, 113 00:05:25,720 –> 00:05:27,640 we may be helped in the process 114 00:05:27,640 –> 00:05:29,959 of underpinning our faith 115 00:05:29,959 –> 00:05:32,700 with a fresh foundation 116 00:05:32,700 –> 00:05:36,760 that is going to hold us up throughout a lifetime. 117 00:05:36,760 –> 00:05:39,720 So let me outline for you six examples 118 00:05:39,720 –> 00:05:42,600 of a shaky or a deficient foundation. 119 00:05:42,600 –> 00:05:45,720 The first of these is very simply the church. 120 00:05:45,720 –> 00:05:48,239 Now, some of us have been brought up with the teaching 121 00:05:48,239 –> 00:05:51,079 that whatever the church teaches, 122 00:05:51,079 –> 00:05:53,600 that we should believe. 123 00:05:53,600 –> 00:05:56,200 And the reason for believing 124 00:05:56,200 –> 00:06:00,700 is simply, that it is the teaching of the church. 125 00:06:00,700 –> 00:06:03,200 Now, in that kind of authoritarian structure, 126 00:06:03,440 –> 00:06:07,079 of course there is very little room for honest questions, 127 00:06:07,079 –> 00:06:09,019 and the result for some people can be 128 00:06:09,019 –> 00:06:12,899 that they sign off on a party line, 129 00:06:12,899 –> 00:06:17,480 but then find it very difficult to make their faith personal. 130 00:06:17,480 –> 00:06:19,660 They’re left saying, well I believe it 131 00:06:19,660 –> 00:06:21,540 because the church teaches it, 132 00:06:21,540 –> 00:06:23,839 I’m not sure it makes a whole lot of sense to me, 133 00:06:23,839 –> 00:06:28,040 but who am I to question the church? 134 00:06:28,040 –> 00:06:30,200 I once suggested, even as I described that, 135 00:06:30,200 –> 00:06:31,679 it should be very evident to us 136 00:06:31,679 –> 00:06:34,640 that that is a deficient foundation 137 00:06:34,640 –> 00:06:39,459 for your life of faith and your walk with God. 138 00:06:39,459 –> 00:06:42,040 Secondly, a faith that rests upon a pastor, 139 00:06:42,040 –> 00:06:44,519 that is also a deficient foundation, 140 00:06:44,519 –> 00:06:46,920 the influence of a trusted leader. 141 00:06:46,920 –> 00:06:48,799 And we may thank God for the influence 142 00:06:48,799 –> 00:06:51,799 of many leaders within our lives 143 00:06:51,799 –> 00:06:54,320 and it may be that there was a pastor or a leader 144 00:06:54,320 –> 00:06:57,619 who had great influence in the shaping 145 00:06:57,619 –> 00:06:59,200 and the forming of your faith, 146 00:06:59,200 –> 00:07:01,200 you looked up to this person, admired them, 147 00:07:01,200 –> 00:07:02,920 you even wanted to be like them. 148 00:07:02,920 –> 00:07:05,200 They were a role model for you. 149 00:07:06,839 –> 00:07:09,679 But now suppose some tragic scandal occurs 150 00:07:10,679 –> 00:07:13,519 that destroys the testimony of that pastor. 151 00:07:15,079 –> 00:07:18,359 Where then does that leave your faith? 152 00:07:20,239 –> 00:07:23,059 See if your faith rests on the credibility 153 00:07:23,059 –> 00:07:28,059 of the church or on the ministry of a pastor or leader, 154 00:07:28,899 –> 00:07:33,260 you are going to find that at some point in your life 155 00:07:33,260 –> 00:07:37,619 there are distinct cracks showing in the wall of your faith 156 00:07:37,619 –> 00:07:41,899 because that is an insecure foundation. 157 00:07:43,299 –> 00:07:45,059 Most of us have met people 158 00:07:45,059 –> 00:07:47,839 and there have certainly been many in this last year 159 00:07:48,739 –> 00:07:51,959 who once professed to believe, 160 00:07:51,959 –> 00:07:56,179 but then when a national scandal rocked the church 161 00:07:56,279 –> 00:07:59,660 they immediately said, well, who can believe now? 162 00:08:02,980 –> 00:08:04,420 I had to tell you personally, 163 00:08:05,980 –> 00:08:08,779 a few years ago I was deeply distressed 164 00:08:09,980 –> 00:08:14,140 to learn that the man who preached the sermon 165 00:08:14,140 –> 00:08:19,019 that led me to Christ had become an alcoholic. 166 00:08:21,119 –> 00:08:23,519 I felt as if I had been robbed 167 00:08:23,519 –> 00:08:25,880 of something profoundly personal. 168 00:08:27,160 –> 00:08:31,500 Now I have to tell you, I thank God 169 00:08:31,500 –> 00:08:36,500 that the faith I learned was bigger and stronger 170 00:08:37,859 –> 00:08:39,419 than the man I learned it from. 171 00:08:41,700 –> 00:08:44,840 I know the pain of being let down by a leader, 172 00:08:45,979 –> 00:08:49,099 but I have to say to you that if your faith 173 00:08:49,099 –> 00:08:54,099 rests on a leader, you have a deficient foundation 174 00:08:54,619 –> 00:08:56,159 and you need to address it now 175 00:08:56,159 –> 00:08:57,479 otherwise the cracks are gonna appear 176 00:08:57,479 –> 00:08:58,880 at some point in the future. 177 00:09:00,880 –> 00:09:02,859 Thirdly, family. 178 00:09:02,859 –> 00:09:05,020 Another form of shaky foundation is when your faith 179 00:09:05,020 –> 00:09:08,419 simply rests on adopting what your family believes. 180 00:09:08,419 –> 00:09:10,700 Perhaps your parents were strong Christians, 181 00:09:10,700 –> 00:09:13,219 they drummed Christian teaching into you, 182 00:09:13,219 –> 00:09:15,260 you accepted what they said you honored 183 00:09:15,260 –> 00:09:18,340 and you respected them but then at some point, 184 00:09:18,340 –> 00:09:21,419 perhaps in early adulthood, it occurs to you 185 00:09:21,520 –> 00:09:24,140 that you have never really thought about this 186 00:09:24,140 –> 00:09:26,900 deeply for yourself. 187 00:09:26,900 –> 00:09:29,299 You’ve always believed 188 00:09:29,299 –> 00:09:31,440 but you’re not really very sure why. 189 00:09:33,299 –> 00:09:37,140 Another example that’s similar is in the area of friends. 190 00:09:37,140 –> 00:09:40,380 For some the dominant influence in your coming to faith 191 00:09:40,380 –> 00:09:43,460 was not so much the church or the pastor or family 192 00:09:43,460 –> 00:09:47,159 but your friends were the key influence 193 00:09:47,159 –> 00:09:48,380 in bringing you to faith. 194 00:09:48,380 –> 00:09:51,340 You became part of a group and that’s a good thing 195 00:09:51,340 –> 00:09:53,580 and the group believed 196 00:09:53,580 –> 00:09:56,219 and you identified both with the group 197 00:09:56,219 –> 00:09:59,119 and also with the groups beliefs. 198 00:09:59,119 –> 00:10:03,020 Then one day you go off to a secular university 199 00:10:03,940 –> 00:10:08,659 and you find that you’re in an entirely different group 200 00:10:08,659 –> 00:10:09,979 and none of them believe. 201 00:10:10,979 –> 00:10:13,479 You begin to wonder then if your faith 202 00:10:13,479 –> 00:10:16,619 was anything more than a kind of social convention, 203 00:10:16,619 –> 00:10:20,400 a conforming to your previous group of friends. 204 00:10:21,979 –> 00:10:23,099 Now you see you cannot have 205 00:10:23,099 –> 00:10:25,799 a second hand relationship with God 206 00:10:25,799 –> 00:10:27,780 deriving from your parents, from your pastor, 207 00:10:27,780 –> 00:10:30,260 from your church or from your friends. 208 00:10:30,260 –> 00:10:33,619 God seeks a relationship with you personally 209 00:10:34,539 –> 00:10:36,380 and he may use the church the pastor, 210 00:10:36,380 –> 00:10:40,820 the family, the friends as a means of reaching out to you 211 00:10:40,820 –> 00:10:44,299 but if your faith depends on them 212 00:10:44,299 –> 00:10:46,619 then you are resting on a deficient foundation 213 00:10:46,619 –> 00:10:49,159 and sooner or later the cracks will appear. 214 00:10:49,179 –> 00:10:53,580 You cannot believe simply because someone else says so. 215 00:10:56,599 –> 00:10:59,900 Here’s a fifth deficient foundation, feelings. 216 00:11:00,900 –> 00:11:05,679 Now our culture places a tremendous emphasis on feelings. 217 00:11:05,679 –> 00:11:08,760 Have you noticed that most marketing, 218 00:11:08,760 –> 00:11:10,840 if you watch the adverts, 219 00:11:10,840 –> 00:11:15,840 are addressed to feelings not thinking 220 00:11:16,679 –> 00:11:20,760 whether it be a new drink, or a new soap, 221 00:11:20,760 –> 00:11:23,840 or a new car, or a new insurance policy, 222 00:11:23,840 –> 00:11:28,679 the pitch is normally about how this will make you feel. 223 00:11:30,859 –> 00:11:32,840 So the pressure is on the church 224 00:11:32,840 –> 00:11:34,719 to make its pitch at that level. 225 00:11:34,719 –> 00:11:36,719 Also I wish I had a dollar 226 00:11:36,719 –> 00:11:38,799 for every time I’d heard a Christian say, 227 00:11:38,799 –> 00:11:42,500 I know it’s true because I feel it. 228 00:11:43,419 –> 00:11:47,000 Well, God may begin his work at any point 229 00:11:47,000 –> 00:11:50,359 in a personality, including your feelings, 230 00:11:50,359 –> 00:11:54,299 but his work must involve the whole of the personality. 231 00:11:55,820 –> 00:11:59,219 And the problem with resting your faith on your feelings 232 00:11:59,219 –> 00:12:02,559 is that there will be times when you face great darkness 233 00:12:02,559 –> 00:12:04,799 and when you are faced with the challenge 234 00:12:04,799 –> 00:12:08,940 of taking up the cross that may be at times very painful. 235 00:12:08,940 –> 00:12:11,479 And at that point, the feelings will fade. 236 00:12:11,539 –> 00:12:15,299 And if there are no core convictions 237 00:12:15,299 –> 00:12:18,380 that form the bedrock of your faith, 238 00:12:18,380 –> 00:12:20,940 then you’ll be lost in what I like to call 239 00:12:20,940 –> 00:12:23,359 a Barry Manilow kind of faith. 240 00:12:23,359 –> 00:12:24,200 You know what that is? 241 00:12:24,200 –> 00:12:26,380 I’ve been up, down trying to get the feeling, 242 00:12:26,380 –> 00:12:30,299 all around trying to get that feeling again. 243 00:12:30,299 –> 00:12:32,599 Well, I tell you there are some Christians 244 00:12:32,599 –> 00:12:36,799 who are living in a Barry Manilow kind of a world. 245 00:12:36,799 –> 00:12:39,479 If your faith rests on your feelings, 246 00:12:39,479 –> 00:12:41,159 you will have a deficient foundation 247 00:12:41,159 –> 00:12:45,000 and eventually the cracks will begin to show. 248 00:12:45,000 –> 00:12:49,419 Now many times, many times, I’ve heard the comment 249 00:12:49,419 –> 00:12:51,200 that there are approximately 18 inches 250 00:12:51,200 –> 00:12:52,719 between your head and your heart. 251 00:12:52,719 –> 00:12:55,419 And a person will usually go on to say, 252 00:12:55,419 –> 00:12:58,700 I had all this knowledge in my head, 253 00:12:58,700 –> 00:13:03,700 the problem was that it never got down into my heart. 254 00:13:04,780 –> 00:13:09,140 Now, there are times when that is precisely the truth. 255 00:13:09,239 –> 00:13:13,219 And for many people, that has been a major issue. 256 00:13:13,219 –> 00:13:17,219 Knowledge exceeded experience. 257 00:13:17,219 –> 00:13:18,239 But I want to suggest, 258 00:13:18,239 –> 00:13:20,520 and I want you to think about this, 259 00:13:20,520 –> 00:13:23,820 that that is somewhat unusual today. 260 00:13:25,059 –> 00:13:28,119 Christian universities report 261 00:13:28,119 –> 00:13:32,640 that incoming freshmen often have a great passion for Jesus. 262 00:13:32,640 –> 00:13:36,599 Heart, a great passion for Jesus. 263 00:13:36,599 –> 00:13:39,039 But many of them are unable to pass 264 00:13:39,440 –> 00:13:41,840 a simple Bible knowledge test. 265 00:13:43,400 –> 00:13:45,299 The pendulum has swung. 266 00:13:46,679 –> 00:13:50,080 We were ministering in the age of modernism, 267 00:13:50,080 –> 00:13:53,500 where there was a great emphasis on rational knowledge. 268 00:13:53,500 –> 00:13:56,059 And it was often true, a generation ago, 269 00:13:56,059 –> 00:13:59,799 that it did need to get from the head to the heart. 270 00:14:00,780 –> 00:14:02,960 But the cultural pendulum has swung. 271 00:14:02,960 –> 00:14:05,119 The culture is always in imbalance, 272 00:14:05,260 –> 00:14:07,419 and today, in post-modernism, 273 00:14:07,419 –> 00:14:09,659 the almost exclusive emphasis 274 00:14:09,659 –> 00:14:11,979 is on the heart and on experience. 275 00:14:11,979 –> 00:14:13,780 And I want to suggest to you 276 00:14:13,780 –> 00:14:15,900 that the great issue today, therefore, 277 00:14:15,900 –> 00:14:17,840 for many people in church, 278 00:14:18,859 –> 00:14:21,619 is not so much, how do I get the truth 279 00:14:21,619 –> 00:14:24,340 to travel the 18 inches from the head to the heart, 280 00:14:24,340 –> 00:14:26,260 but how do I get the truth 281 00:14:26,260 –> 00:14:30,799 to travel the 18 inches from the heart to the head? 282 00:14:30,799 –> 00:14:32,880 For there are many among us 283 00:14:33,880 –> 00:14:37,400 whose foundation of faith rests primarily 284 00:14:37,400 –> 00:14:41,719 not in convictions derived from scripture 285 00:14:41,719 –> 00:14:46,140 but in feelings that have been experienced 286 00:14:46,140 –> 00:14:48,200 in the presence of God. 287 00:14:48,200 –> 00:14:50,960 I do not underrate the latter. 288 00:14:50,960 –> 00:14:53,000 I simply make the point 289 00:14:53,000 –> 00:14:55,799 that if that’s where the foundation is, 290 00:14:55,799 –> 00:14:59,200 something more is needed. 291 00:14:59,200 –> 00:15:00,580 That leads me to one more thing 292 00:15:00,619 –> 00:15:03,659 that for others is also significant, 293 00:15:03,659 –> 00:15:06,940 and that’s this whole area of spiritual experiences. 294 00:15:07,940 –> 00:15:10,580 Now, spiritual experiences, religious experiences, 295 00:15:10,580 –> 00:15:13,179 are very powerful because they are deeply personal. 296 00:15:14,140 –> 00:15:16,659 God can speak to us through experiences 297 00:15:16,659 –> 00:15:19,059 just as he speaks to us through churches, 298 00:15:19,059 –> 00:15:21,960 pastors, families, friends and feelings. 299 00:15:23,280 –> 00:15:28,280 But if you build your faith on the foundation of experience, 300 00:15:28,640 –> 00:15:31,099 the cracks will soon begin to show. 301 00:15:32,739 –> 00:15:34,460 Now there is a fascinating episode 302 00:15:34,460 –> 00:15:36,239 that you might like to reflect on later. 303 00:15:36,239 –> 00:15:37,919 It’s not terribly well known, 304 00:15:37,919 –> 00:15:40,640 and that’s from the book of Job, and chapter four. 305 00:15:40,640 –> 00:15:41,900 You don’t need to turn to it, now, 306 00:15:41,900 –> 00:15:43,400 but if you want to note it later, 307 00:15:43,400 –> 00:15:48,200 Job four, and verse 12, is where you may want to look. 308 00:15:48,200 –> 00:15:50,559 The story there is about one of Job’s friends, 309 00:15:50,559 –> 00:15:52,119 you remember his comforters who came 310 00:15:52,119 –> 00:15:53,500 and gave him various suggestions, 311 00:15:53,500 –> 00:15:56,080 and one of them was a man by the name of Eliphaz. 312 00:15:57,059 –> 00:16:00,320 Eliphaz seems to be a classic example 313 00:16:00,320 –> 00:16:02,719 of someone who bases his faith 314 00:16:03,679 –> 00:16:08,559 on some kind of difficult-to-describe experience. 315 00:16:08,559 –> 00:16:10,320 Listen to what he says in Job four. 316 00:16:11,359 –> 00:16:14,539 He said some kind of dream during the night, 317 00:16:14,539 –> 00:16:16,299 the sort of thing that some people place 318 00:16:16,299 –> 00:16:17,700 great emphasis on. 319 00:16:19,119 –> 00:16:23,159 He says, amid disquieting dreams in the night, 320 00:16:23,940 –> 00:16:26,239 when a deep sleep falls on a man, 321 00:16:26,239 –> 00:16:29,400 fear and trembling seized me. 322 00:16:29,400 –> 00:16:30,520 This is Eliphaz. 323 00:16:32,219 –> 00:16:35,239 And made all my bones shake, 324 00:16:35,239 –> 00:16:40,239 and a spirit glided past my face, says Eliphaz. 325 00:16:41,039 –> 00:16:44,960 And all the hair on my body stood out on end. 326 00:16:44,960 –> 00:16:46,679 Now you’re going to want to read the rest of the passage 327 00:16:46,679 –> 00:16:48,119 when you go home. 328 00:16:48,119 –> 00:16:49,320 It’s great stuff. 329 00:16:50,239 –> 00:16:54,460 The problem was he ended up being utterly misguided. 330 00:16:56,580 –> 00:17:00,900 A dream in the night, a spirit gliding past my face. 331 00:17:00,900 –> 00:17:04,859 Now he had some kind of extraordinary spiritual experience. 332 00:17:04,859 –> 00:17:06,099 I’m not sure I can describe 333 00:17:06,099 –> 00:17:08,140 the nature of it to you or understand it. 334 00:17:09,660 –> 00:17:11,719 What I can tell you is, 335 00:17:11,719 –> 00:17:15,160 that whatever happened to Eliphaz, 336 00:17:15,160 –> 00:17:18,479 he made it the foundation of his convictions 337 00:17:18,479 –> 00:17:20,699 and it misled him. 338 00:17:21,979 –> 00:17:23,839 Because at the end of the Book of Job, 339 00:17:23,839 –> 00:17:28,099 you find God endorsing the faith of Job 340 00:17:28,099 –> 00:17:30,520 and saying in Chapter 32 to Eliphaz, 341 00:17:30,520 –> 00:17:32,319 I’m angry with you and your friends 342 00:17:32,319 –> 00:17:35,979 because you have not spoken what is right about me. 343 00:17:37,000 –> 00:17:39,380 So be very careful about some kind 344 00:17:39,380 –> 00:17:42,079 of extraordinary spiritual experience 345 00:17:42,079 –> 00:17:46,020 becoming the basis of your faith. 346 00:17:46,800 –> 00:17:50,040 Now, this is raising an obvious question. 347 00:17:50,040 –> 00:17:52,239 If the foundation of faith, 348 00:17:53,760 –> 00:17:56,699 if faith cannot rest on church, 349 00:17:56,699 –> 00:17:59,579 or pastor, or family, or friends, 350 00:17:59,579 –> 00:18:01,599 or feeling or experiences, 351 00:18:01,599 –> 00:18:05,599 on what should it then rest? 352 00:18:06,920 –> 00:18:08,760 Where is the foundation on 353 00:18:08,760 –> 00:18:12,640 which I can build with confidence? 354 00:18:12,680 –> 00:18:16,160 Where is the foundation that will not give 355 00:18:18,280 –> 00:18:21,459 so that the cracks will not appear? 356 00:18:22,760 –> 00:18:23,900 Now, to answer that question, 357 00:18:23,900 –> 00:18:26,359 I want to draw your attention to the story of Thomas 358 00:18:26,359 –> 00:18:30,339 and invite you to open your Bibles at John in chapter 20. 359 00:18:30,339 –> 00:18:32,900 I guess that it was predictable 360 00:18:32,900 –> 00:18:35,040 that in any series on the subject of doubt, 361 00:18:35,040 –> 00:18:38,000 Thomas would have to make an appearance at some point. 362 00:18:38,000 –> 00:18:41,160 I have to tell you that I feel rather sorry for Thomas 363 00:18:41,160 –> 00:18:43,000 because he’s only remembered for one thing 364 00:18:43,000 –> 00:18:45,800 and that is his doubting of the resurrection of Jesus, 365 00:18:45,800 –> 00:18:48,640 and he’s been dubbed, with this rather unfortunate name, 366 00:18:48,640 –> 00:18:52,439 doubting Thomas, which always strikes me 367 00:18:52,439 –> 00:18:56,839 as being rather like calling someone Bankrupt Billy 368 00:18:56,839 –> 00:18:59,219 even though he paid off his debts 10 years ago 369 00:18:59,219 –> 00:19:03,199 or fired Freddy though he only was dismissed 370 00:19:03,199 –> 00:19:04,680 from his job once in his whole life. 371 00:19:04,680 –> 00:19:08,880 Well, Thomas has this one name that’s kind of stuck to him 372 00:19:08,880 –> 00:19:12,719 and I am convinced that Thomas has been given a bad press 373 00:19:12,719 –> 00:19:14,300 and I want to suggest to you this morning 374 00:19:14,300 –> 00:19:16,119 that far from being a weak disciple, 375 00:19:16,119 –> 00:19:19,599 he is actually a model of Christian faith 376 00:19:19,599 –> 00:19:23,359 and that that is how the scriptures present him to us. 377 00:19:23,359 –> 00:19:25,979 Now, as you turn to John 20 in verse 24, 378 00:19:25,979 –> 00:19:28,500 will you try and put yourself in Thomas’s shoes? 379 00:19:29,979 –> 00:19:34,439 He’s just come through the most painful trauma in his life. 380 00:19:34,439 –> 00:19:37,479 He’s seen Jesus arrested and tortured 381 00:19:37,520 –> 00:19:40,280 and condemned and crucified. 382 00:19:40,280 –> 00:19:41,739 He’s committed himself to Jesus, 383 00:19:41,739 –> 00:19:43,819 but now Jesus has been taken from him. 384 00:19:44,819 –> 00:19:47,579 He’s seen the wounds of Jesus 385 00:19:47,579 –> 00:19:48,619 and I guess from the way 386 00:19:48,619 –> 00:19:50,619 that he talks about the wounds of Jesus 387 00:19:50,619 –> 00:19:53,140 that that must’ve played on his mind at night. 388 00:19:53,140 –> 00:19:56,339 I guess that the night of Good Friday and the Saturday, 389 00:19:56,339 –> 00:19:59,020 Thomas must’ve rolled and rolled in his bed 390 00:19:59,020 –> 00:20:00,380 unable to get off to sleep, 391 00:20:00,380 –> 00:20:01,660 thinking about those wounds. 392 00:20:01,660 –> 00:20:03,760 That spear thrust into his side. 393 00:20:03,760 –> 00:20:05,959 I would’ve thought like that, wouldn’t you? 394 00:20:08,040 –> 00:20:10,459 Perhaps Thomas when he got up on the Sunday morning 395 00:20:10,459 –> 00:20:11,579 didn’t feel he could handle 396 00:20:11,579 –> 00:20:12,979 being with a group of disciples. 397 00:20:12,979 –> 00:20:14,979 Perhaps he just decided to take a walk 398 00:20:14,979 –> 00:20:16,520 and be alone with his thoughts. 399 00:20:16,520 –> 00:20:18,180 Whatever the reason we don’t know, 400 00:20:18,180 –> 00:20:20,319 Thomas was not with the group 401 00:20:20,319 –> 00:20:22,439 when Jesus appeared to them 402 00:20:22,439 –> 00:20:24,099 on the first day of the week. 403 00:20:24,099 –> 00:20:26,020 We know that from verse 25. 404 00:20:27,500 –> 00:20:30,579 We’re simply told that after Jesus had appeared 405 00:20:30,579 –> 00:20:32,199 on the evening of the first day of the week, 406 00:20:32,199 –> 00:20:34,040 the other disciples came to Thomas 407 00:20:34,040 –> 00:20:35,599 and they said, verse 25, 408 00:20:35,599 –> 00:20:38,160 we have seen the Lord! 409 00:20:40,319 –> 00:20:42,319 I don’t know if you have ever been in a situation 410 00:20:42,319 –> 00:20:44,780 where you felt alone and absolutely miserable. 411 00:20:46,439 –> 00:20:47,680 And then you’ve been confronted 412 00:20:47,680 –> 00:20:50,359 by a group of highly excited people. 413 00:20:51,579 –> 00:20:53,800 But it’s clear that Thomas found 414 00:20:53,800 –> 00:20:55,920 this very, very difficult to take. 415 00:20:55,920 –> 00:20:57,699 We’ve seen the Lord! 416 00:20:59,099 –> 00:21:00,319 Thomas says verse 25, 417 00:21:00,319 –> 00:21:02,479 unless I see the nail marks in his hand 418 00:21:02,479 –> 00:21:04,260 and put my finger where the nails were 419 00:21:04,319 –> 00:21:08,560 and put my hand into his side, I will not believe. 420 00:21:11,760 –> 00:21:13,020 And you see what he’s saying. 421 00:21:13,979 –> 00:21:18,979 He’s refusing to believe just because somebody else said so. 422 00:21:22,060 –> 00:21:25,260 He loved and he respected these other disciples, 423 00:21:25,260 –> 00:21:27,560 but believing just because the group believed 424 00:21:27,560 –> 00:21:29,400 wasn’t good enough for Thomas. 425 00:21:29,400 –> 00:21:34,160 He knows he cannot believe in a secondhand kind of way. 426 00:21:35,260 –> 00:21:38,520 And he refused to rest his faith 427 00:21:38,520 –> 00:21:41,760 on the experience of his friends. 428 00:21:44,300 –> 00:21:46,680 It’s quite obvious that something had happened to them. 429 00:21:46,680 –> 00:21:49,459 Some great spiritual experience or other had happened, 430 00:21:49,459 –> 00:21:54,459 but at this point Thomas had no idea what it was, 431 00:21:55,920 –> 00:21:59,599 and he felt that he needed some evidence 432 00:21:59,599 –> 00:22:03,319 before he could make a confession of faith. 433 00:22:03,319 –> 00:22:08,260 See Thomas understood that the heart cannot embrace 434 00:22:08,260 –> 00:22:10,859 what the mind will not believe, 435 00:22:10,859 –> 00:22:14,060 and Thomas at his core was determined 436 00:22:14,060 –> 00:22:18,359 that his faith should rest on solid evidence, 437 00:22:18,359 –> 00:22:19,900 and that is why I say that 438 00:22:19,900 –> 00:22:22,359 he is far from being a weak disciple, 439 00:22:22,359 –> 00:22:27,119 he is actually a model of faith for you and for me. 440 00:22:28,219 –> 00:22:30,420 Now as we follow the story in verse 26, 441 00:22:30,420 –> 00:22:32,000 we find out that one week later 442 00:22:32,020 –> 00:22:34,359 the disciples were in the house again. 443 00:22:34,359 –> 00:22:36,459 This time Thomas was with them. 444 00:22:36,459 –> 00:22:37,400 By the way it’s a good thing 445 00:22:37,400 –> 00:22:38,920 that although he felt alienated, 446 00:22:38,920 –> 00:22:43,839 he stayed with the group of believers, 447 00:22:43,839 –> 00:22:46,859 and it’s there that Jesus appeared to them again, 448 00:22:46,859 –> 00:22:49,119 but though he appeared to them all, 449 00:22:49,119 –> 00:22:51,839 he particularly spoke to Thomas. 450 00:22:51,839 –> 00:22:53,060 Look at verse 27. 451 00:22:54,079 –> 00:22:56,920 Thomas put your finger here, 452 00:22:56,920 –> 00:22:58,160 see my hands. 453 00:22:59,160 –> 00:23:01,959 Reach out your hand and put it into my side, 454 00:23:02,959 –> 00:23:06,359 stop doubting and believe. 455 00:23:07,739 –> 00:23:09,719 And Thomas knows that this is no figment 456 00:23:09,719 –> 00:23:11,579 of a frustrated imagination. 457 00:23:12,560 –> 00:23:16,199 Jesus Christ is doing precisely what he asked for 458 00:23:17,199 –> 00:23:20,599 and presenting the evidence to him directly. 459 00:23:20,599 –> 00:23:23,400 And as soon as he’s confronted with the evidence, 460 00:23:23,400 –> 00:23:25,839 without hesitation, Thomas says verse 28, 461 00:23:25,839 –> 00:23:30,839 my Lord and my God, he saw and he believed. 462 00:23:32,680 –> 00:23:33,920 Now here’s the question you have to think about 463 00:23:33,920 –> 00:23:35,180 in this passage. 464 00:23:35,180 –> 00:23:40,180 Was he wrong when he said that he had to see for himself? 465 00:23:41,060 –> 00:23:42,099 Was that wrong? 466 00:23:44,619 –> 00:23:46,300 I want you to look through chapter 20 467 00:23:46,300 –> 00:23:48,079 in order to answer that question. 468 00:23:48,079 –> 00:23:51,119 It’s very important to understand Thomas correctly. 469 00:23:51,119 –> 00:23:55,260 I want you to see that this theme of seeing 470 00:23:55,260 –> 00:23:58,400 runs right through the whole of chapter 20 471 00:23:58,400 –> 00:24:00,319 and indeed it runs right throughout 472 00:24:00,319 –> 00:24:02,439 the whole of the Gospel of John. 473 00:24:02,439 –> 00:24:04,359 Look for example at verse eight. 474 00:24:04,359 –> 00:24:08,140 I want you to catch this emphasis on seeing. 475 00:24:08,140 –> 00:24:10,319 Verse eight, John’s been describing 476 00:24:10,319 –> 00:24:12,359 how Peter and another disciple arrived 477 00:24:12,359 –> 00:24:14,439 at the tomb on the first day of the week. 478 00:24:14,439 –> 00:24:16,439 Peter arrived, he went straight in 479 00:24:16,439 –> 00:24:19,599 and John then followed him and John writes, 480 00:24:19,599 –> 00:24:21,540 the other disciple, verse eight, 481 00:24:21,540 –> 00:24:24,959 who had reached the tomb first also went inside, 482 00:24:24,959 –> 00:24:29,959 here’s the line, he saw and believed 483 00:24:30,599 –> 00:24:35,560 he saw and believed, he saw these grave clothes, 484 00:24:35,560 –> 00:24:40,040 he saw the empty tomb, he saw and he believed. 485 00:24:40,040 –> 00:24:41,560 Now follow it through, verse 18, 486 00:24:41,560 –> 00:24:43,780 Mary Magdalene now is standing outside the tomb, 487 00:24:43,780 –> 00:24:46,239 she’s deeply distressed, someone approaches her, 488 00:24:46,239 –> 00:24:48,040 asks her who she’s looking for, 489 00:24:48,040 –> 00:24:49,739 she thinks it’s the gardener 490 00:24:49,739 –> 00:24:54,040 until this person says her name, Mary 491 00:24:54,040 –> 00:24:56,359 and immediately she recognizes the voice of Jesus, 492 00:24:56,359 –> 00:24:58,680 she turns around and she sees the Lord 493 00:24:58,680 –> 00:25:01,119 and she goes then and tells the disciples 494 00:25:01,119 –> 00:25:03,140 and in verse 18 what does she say, 495 00:25:03,140 –> 00:25:08,140 I have seen the Lord, I have seen the Lord, 496 00:25:08,239 –> 00:25:09,660 look at verse 19, 497 00:25:09,660 –> 00:25:12,400 the evening of the same day the disciples were together, 498 00:25:12,400 –> 00:25:13,839 Jesus came and stood among them, 499 00:25:13,839 –> 00:25:17,160 peace be to you, he showed them his hands and his sides, 500 00:25:17,160 –> 00:25:22,160 the disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. 501 00:25:22,199 –> 00:25:24,199 Now they come verse 24 to Thomas 502 00:25:24,199 –> 00:25:28,180 and they say, we have seen the Lord. 503 00:25:28,180 –> 00:25:31,900 No doubt they told Thomas what he had done 504 00:25:31,900 –> 00:25:33,260 when he appeared to them, 505 00:25:33,260 –> 00:25:36,760 he showed them his hands and his side 506 00:25:36,760 –> 00:25:38,939 and perhaps it’s for that reason that Thomas said, 507 00:25:38,939 –> 00:25:40,900 well unless I see his hands, 508 00:25:40,900 –> 00:25:42,579 unless I see his side 509 00:25:42,579 –> 00:25:45,560 and even put my fist into it, I will not believe, 510 00:25:45,560 –> 00:25:49,359 I need the same evidence as you saw, 511 00:25:50,400 –> 00:25:55,400 unless I see he says verse 25, I will not believe, 512 00:25:56,400 –> 00:25:57,599 now he asked for the evidence 513 00:25:57,599 –> 00:25:58,800 and the fascinating thing to me 514 00:25:58,800 –> 00:26:01,979 is that that is precisely what Jesus gave to him, 515 00:26:03,380 –> 00:26:08,199 now can you grasp this emphasis on seeing, 516 00:26:08,199 –> 00:26:09,400 I’m trying to avoid saying 517 00:26:09,400 –> 00:26:11,680 can you see the emphasis on seeing, 518 00:26:11,680 –> 00:26:14,339 it’s all about seeing the whole chapter 519 00:26:14,339 –> 00:26:16,520 and in fact if you go back to the very beginning 520 00:26:16,520 –> 00:26:19,599 of the Gospel in John chapter one and verse 14, 521 00:26:19,599 –> 00:26:21,859 you’ll find this is what the whole gospel is about. 522 00:26:21,859 –> 00:26:24,800 John says the word became flesh dwarfed among us 523 00:26:24,979 –> 00:26:28,060 and we have seen his glory. 524 00:26:28,060 –> 00:26:31,900 We saw, if you look at the first letter of John, 525 00:26:31,900 –> 00:26:33,579 it’s the same thing, what we’ve tasted 526 00:26:33,579 –> 00:26:36,760 and handled, touched and heard, what we’ve seen. 527 00:26:38,219 –> 00:26:42,199 This is what we declare to you. 528 00:26:43,420 –> 00:26:48,420 Now I want to suggest that as this pattern of seeing Jesus 529 00:26:49,020 –> 00:26:52,719 is revealed to the apostles that 530 00:26:52,719 –> 00:26:57,339 Thomas was absolutely right to insist 531 00:26:57,339 –> 00:27:01,859 that if he was to join in their apostolic ministry, 532 00:27:01,859 –> 00:27:06,420 he also had to see for himself. 533 00:27:07,599 –> 00:27:10,420 If you turn just one page over in your Bible, 534 00:27:10,420 –> 00:27:11,739 this is the Last Cross reference, 535 00:27:11,739 –> 00:27:14,319 just one page over to Acts and chapter one, 536 00:27:15,060 –> 00:27:19,339 you’l find there that the disciples are trying 537 00:27:19,339 –> 00:27:20,880 to decide what they should do 538 00:27:20,880 –> 00:27:24,300 about filling the spot vacated by Judas, 539 00:27:24,300 –> 00:27:27,900 and they say as they consider who should take his place, 540 00:27:27,900 –> 00:27:30,319 verse 21 of Acts one, 541 00:27:30,319 –> 00:27:32,780 it’s necessary to choose one of the men 542 00:27:32,780 –> 00:27:34,780 who have been with us the whole time 543 00:27:34,780 –> 00:27:36,560 the Lord Jesus went in and out among us 544 00:27:36,560 –> 00:27:38,020 from the beginning in John’s baptism 545 00:27:38,020 –> 00:27:40,619 up to the time when Jesus was taken from us. 546 00:27:40,619 –> 00:27:43,160 That’s the ascension he’s referring to. 547 00:27:43,160 –> 00:27:48,160 For one of these must become a witness 548 00:27:49,040 –> 00:27:52,739 with us of his resurrection. 549 00:27:53,920 –> 00:27:55,839 And the word witness is used 550 00:27:55,839 –> 00:27:59,079 of somebody who has seen something directly, 551 00:28:00,239 –> 00:28:03,160 not someone who can report something second hand. 552 00:28:04,359 –> 00:28:09,359 To be an apostle, you had to have seen the Lord, 553 00:28:09,839 –> 00:28:12,459 just why there was this unique revelation 554 00:28:12,459 –> 00:28:15,520 of the risen Christ given to the apostle Paul. 555 00:28:15,520 –> 00:28:18,219 Otherwise he could not have been an apostle. 556 00:28:18,219 –> 00:28:21,520 This is of course why none of us can be Apostles 557 00:28:21,520 –> 00:28:24,099 in that sense today. 558 00:28:25,099 –> 00:28:28,400 The whole thing is predicated on seeing. 559 00:28:28,400 –> 00:28:33,260 Seeing first hand, seeing with your eyes. 560 00:28:33,260 –> 00:28:37,640 Observing so that you could stand as in a court of law 561 00:28:37,640 –> 00:28:40,939 as a material witness, a direct witness, 562 00:28:40,939 –> 00:28:43,439 not someone who says well of course I’ve heard this 563 00:28:44,459 –> 00:28:48,300 but I saw this, I saw this. 564 00:28:50,400 –> 00:28:54,180 Once you grasp that question on seeing in the gospel 565 00:28:54,180 –> 00:28:55,699 it’s very important. 566 00:28:56,660 –> 00:28:58,540 It leads to this obvious question. 567 00:28:59,939 –> 00:29:04,939 Well, since we weren’t there and we didn’t see 568 00:29:05,579 –> 00:29:10,599 how then can we believe? 569 00:29:12,479 –> 00:29:14,640 How can I know that it is true 570 00:29:14,640 –> 00:29:17,319 if I cannot find a firm foundation for faith 571 00:29:17,319 –> 00:29:18,859 in churches, pastors, family, friends, 572 00:29:18,859 –> 00:29:20,359 feelings or experience? 573 00:29:21,479 –> 00:29:24,900 On what foundation can we build with confidence? 574 00:29:26,900 –> 00:29:29,119 Now if you haven’t looked at any other verse 575 00:29:29,119 –> 00:29:31,239 look in your Bible and it’s on the screen 576 00:29:31,239 –> 00:29:32,380 because I want you to get this one. 577 00:29:32,380 –> 00:29:34,540 Verse 31. 578 00:29:34,560 –> 00:29:36,579 Because this is the punch line 579 00:29:36,579 –> 00:29:38,760 of the whole story of Thomas. 580 00:29:38,760 –> 00:29:40,359 This is what it’s leading to, 581 00:29:40,359 –> 00:29:44,099 this is the conclusion of this whole episode, 582 00:29:44,099 –> 00:29:45,819 because obviously when Jesus says 583 00:29:45,819 –> 00:29:47,819 you have seen and you’ve believed, 584 00:29:47,819 –> 00:29:49,140 blessed are those who’ve not seen 585 00:29:49,140 –> 00:29:50,020 and yet have believed, 586 00:29:50,020 –> 00:29:51,339 it raises the question, 587 00:29:51,339 –> 00:29:54,459 how are those who have not seen to believe? 588 00:29:55,819 –> 00:29:57,640 John gives you the answer to that question. 589 00:29:57,640 –> 00:29:58,479 Verse 31. 590 00:29:59,160 –> 00:30:01,680 These are written that you may believe 591 00:30:01,680 –> 00:30:06,680 These are written that you may believe 592 00:30:07,160 –> 00:30:11,020 that Jesus is the Christ, the son of God, 593 00:30:12,400 –> 00:30:17,400 and that by believing, you may have life in his name. 594 00:30:22,819 –> 00:30:25,660 John’s saying, I was there, 595 00:30:26,140 –> 00:30:30,780 I saw, a whole group of us saw, 596 00:30:34,000 –> 00:30:36,020 you were not there, you did not see, 597 00:30:36,020 –> 00:30:38,859 you are not a material witness to these events, 598 00:30:38,859 –> 00:30:43,319 I was, John says, and therefore, 599 00:30:43,319 –> 00:30:48,319 these are written that you may believe 600 00:30:50,979 –> 00:30:54,859 that Jesus is the Christ, the son of God, 601 00:30:54,859 –> 00:30:58,560 and that by believing you may have life in his name. 602 00:30:59,579 –> 00:31:04,579 You see, Jesus deals with you in precisely the same way 603 00:31:05,579 –> 00:31:10,579 as he dealt with Thomas, he places the evidence before you, 604 00:31:12,500 –> 00:31:15,300 how does he place the evidence before you? 605 00:31:15,300 –> 00:31:20,020 In the gospels, which gives us the written record 606 00:31:20,020 –> 00:31:24,219 of the material witnesses, this is precisely 607 00:31:24,300 –> 00:31:28,180 how any adjudication or jury trial is carried out 608 00:31:28,180 –> 00:31:30,260 in a court of law. 609 00:31:30,260 –> 00:31:32,640 To say that you cannot come to faith on the basis 610 00:31:32,640 –> 00:31:35,140 of the scriptures is rather like saying, 611 00:31:35,140 –> 00:31:37,719 oh, I could not possibly come to a judgment in a jury 612 00:31:37,719 –> 00:31:41,699 in a court of law because I didn’t actually see the accident. 613 00:31:41,699 –> 00:31:44,239 How do you come to an adjudication of truth? 614 00:31:44,239 –> 00:31:49,239 You listen to and evaluate the material witnesses. 615 00:31:50,199 –> 00:31:52,699 These are written. 616 00:31:52,699 –> 00:31:54,540 These are presented to you. 617 00:31:54,540 –> 00:31:58,180 The gospels in their very nature are evidence 618 00:31:58,180 –> 00:32:02,180 for you to pore over and to consider 619 00:32:02,180 –> 00:32:05,739 for you to find the basis of faith, 620 00:32:05,739 –> 00:32:10,579 a basis that will not subside and that will not move. 621 00:32:10,579 –> 00:32:12,420 I find this very wonderful. 622 00:32:12,420 –> 00:32:17,420 You see, the the apostles were not authoritarian 623 00:32:17,540 –> 00:32:20,400 and 19th century type preachers, 624 00:32:20,400 –> 00:32:23,680 you know who kind of thump and thunder 625 00:32:23,680 –> 00:32:26,780 and say, believe, believe. 626 00:32:28,180 –> 00:32:30,439 What they did was they said, 627 00:32:30,439 –> 00:32:34,339 come and see, come and look at this evidence. 628 00:32:34,339 –> 00:32:36,859 Listen to what he said, 629 00:32:36,859 –> 00:32:38,680 writing down what we heard him say. 630 00:32:40,420 –> 00:32:44,979 Watch what he did, evaluate his claims. 631 00:32:45,719 –> 00:32:48,459 What do you think of Jesus Christ? 632 00:32:48,459 –> 00:32:49,939 Question Jesus asked himself, 633 00:32:49,939 –> 00:32:53,359 whose son do you say that he is? 634 00:32:54,699 –> 00:32:59,180 And John writes, of course, as a material witness. 635 00:32:59,180 –> 00:33:00,699 He knows what he saw. 636 00:33:00,699 –> 00:33:03,520 He’s absolutely persuaded of his case, 637 00:33:03,520 –> 00:33:06,219 but he sets it out in a rational way. 638 00:33:07,180 –> 00:33:08,699 He’s not trying to intimidate you. 639 00:33:08,699 –> 00:33:11,839 He’s not trying to jerk a few tears from you. 640 00:33:12,760 –> 00:33:15,739 He’s presenting the evidence of what he has seen and heard 641 00:33:15,739 –> 00:33:18,579 as a direct witness over three years with Jesus, 642 00:33:18,579 –> 00:33:20,780 come, and see. 643 00:33:21,739 –> 00:33:25,280 God does not call you to a blind faith. 644 00:33:26,260 –> 00:33:30,099 He has given to you a mind as well as a heart and a will, 645 00:33:30,099 –> 00:33:33,660 and he invites you to investigate the claims of Jesus 646 00:33:33,660 –> 00:33:37,479 and gives you the evidence that you can investigate. 647 00:33:38,300 –> 00:33:40,380 So the Christian faith does not rest 648 00:33:40,459 –> 00:33:43,040 on the dogmatic assertions of the church, 649 00:33:43,040 –> 00:33:46,260 not on the mystical experience of an individual, 650 00:33:46,260 –> 00:33:48,839 but on the evidence of God’s word 651 00:33:48,839 –> 00:33:51,300 given to us in the scripture, 652 00:33:51,300 –> 00:33:55,380 so that you may come to believe. 653 00:33:55,380 –> 00:33:56,219 You may do it. 654 00:33:59,199 –> 00:34:00,920 And so very briefly, in these last moments, 655 00:34:00,920 –> 00:34:03,119 let’s come to a prescription. 656 00:34:03,119 –> 00:34:05,819 Doubt that arises from deficient foundations 657 00:34:05,819 –> 00:34:10,080 is best helped by the discipline of serious study. 658 00:34:10,080 –> 00:34:13,500 Now I want to encourage you to approach the evidence 659 00:34:13,500 –> 00:34:16,679 that God has given to you as if you were the jury, 660 00:34:16,679 –> 00:34:18,540 as if you were a detective, 661 00:34:18,540 –> 00:34:20,419 as if you were an investigator. 662 00:34:20,419 –> 00:34:24,500 I want to encourage you to sleuth the scripture. 663 00:34:25,320 –> 00:34:26,699 Sleuth the scripture. 664 00:34:28,139 –> 00:34:30,379 Because rather like an Agatha Christie, 665 00:34:30,379 –> 00:34:32,520 if I may use that analogy, 666 00:34:32,520 –> 00:34:35,100 or any other good detective story, 667 00:34:35,100 –> 00:34:38,760 there is all the evidence that you need here. 668 00:34:39,639 –> 00:34:41,620 I don’t say that there’s everything you’d like 669 00:34:41,620 –> 00:34:45,939 to know here, but all the evidence that you need 670 00:34:45,939 –> 00:34:49,300 to know that Jesus is the Christ, the son of God, 671 00:34:49,300 –> 00:34:51,620 is given to you in the scripture. 672 00:34:51,620 –> 00:34:53,379 It may not be immediately obvious, 673 00:34:53,379 –> 00:34:54,899 but all the pieces are there. 674 00:34:56,080 –> 00:34:59,719 God will never allow you to reason your way to faith, 675 00:34:59,719 –> 00:35:01,840 for faith must involve an opening of the heart 676 00:35:01,840 –> 00:35:03,959 and the commitment of a will, 677 00:35:03,979 –> 00:35:08,979 but God has given you a reasonable basis for faith. 678 00:35:10,600 –> 00:35:11,979 So, begin with the Gospels. 679 00:35:13,620 –> 00:35:16,699 Ask God to open the eyes of your understanding. 680 00:35:19,100 –> 00:35:20,860 Let me assure you of this, 681 00:35:21,780 –> 00:35:24,179 that though they may not be immediately obvious, 682 00:35:24,179 –> 00:35:27,300 God has given to you all the evidence 683 00:35:27,300 –> 00:35:30,820 that you need to conclude a verdict 684 00:35:30,860 –> 00:35:33,399 that Jesus is the Christ, 685 00:35:33,399 –> 00:35:36,719 the Son of the living God. 686 00:35:38,500 –> 00:35:40,540 That’s where God wants to bring us 687 00:35:41,600 –> 00:35:46,600 for a Christian is a person whose mind is convinced, 688 00:35:47,879 –> 00:35:52,879 whose heart is aflame and whose will is committed. 689 00:35:55,199 –> 00:35:57,479 One last story and we’re through. 690 00:35:57,479 –> 00:35:58,820 The first winter we moved here, 691 00:35:58,820 –> 00:36:02,639 our family took a trip into Wisconsin just after Christmas. 692 00:36:03,520 –> 00:36:04,879 We pulled up beside a lake 693 00:36:04,879 –> 00:36:07,659 and decided to go out for a break. 694 00:36:07,659 –> 00:36:09,820 Everything was frozen. 695 00:36:09,820 –> 00:36:11,239 And of course, the first question, 696 00:36:11,239 –> 00:36:12,340 this was a number of years ago, 697 00:36:12,340 –> 00:36:16,060 was can we go out on the ice? 698 00:36:16,060 –> 00:36:18,280 Now, you have to understand that it gets cold in England, 699 00:36:18,280 –> 00:36:20,060 but not that cold. 700 00:36:20,060 –> 00:36:24,100 We are used to seeing ice, but it’s usually pretty thin. 701 00:36:24,100 –> 00:36:27,659 I’ve seen ducks fall through it in England. 702 00:36:29,199 –> 00:36:33,979 We decided that we would venture out on this ice 703 00:36:33,979 –> 00:36:36,679 and the four of us did very tentatively. 704 00:36:36,679 –> 00:36:38,760 It must have looked very ridiculous. 705 00:36:38,760 –> 00:36:42,800 Four foreigners venturing out onto this ice 706 00:36:42,800 –> 00:36:46,080 one foot at a time, testing as we got 707 00:36:46,080 –> 00:36:48,840 a foot further out and so forth and so on. 708 00:36:48,840 –> 00:36:52,040 And just then we heard the sound 709 00:36:52,040 –> 00:36:54,639 of an engine and a voices. 710 00:36:54,639 –> 00:36:57,120 It was a group of teenagers in a car. 711 00:36:57,120 –> 00:37:00,600 As the car got nearer, the engine roared 712 00:37:00,600 –> 00:37:03,979 as the car came down a slipway onto the ice 713 00:37:03,979 –> 00:37:05,399 and skated right out into the middle 714 00:37:05,399 –> 00:37:07,000 with half a dozen of them in it. 715 00:37:09,320 –> 00:37:13,620 We must have looked incredibly foolish, don’t you think? 716 00:37:15,000 –> 00:37:16,439 We certainly felt it. 717 00:37:18,239 –> 00:37:19,939 They knew this was solid ice. 718 00:37:23,439 –> 00:37:24,520 See, the thing that matters most, 719 00:37:24,520 –> 00:37:26,760 the thing that’s most at issue here, actually, 720 00:37:27,520 –> 00:37:29,159 is not the strength of your faith 721 00:37:29,159 –> 00:37:33,760 but the strength of the one in whom you put your trust. 722 00:37:34,820 –> 00:37:37,760 You may have great confidence but it will not hold you up 723 00:37:37,760 –> 00:37:40,800 if you’re on the thin ice that we see in north London. 724 00:37:42,340 –> 00:37:45,800 You may be a cautious, fearful kind of person 725 00:37:48,100 –> 00:37:49,620 but there is no danger to you 726 00:37:49,620 –> 00:37:51,820 if you are walking on solid ice. 727 00:37:52,800 –> 00:37:55,560 What matters is not so much the strength of your faith 728 00:37:55,560 –> 00:38:00,139 as the strength of the one in whom you put your trust. 729 00:38:01,300 –> 00:38:03,780 John says, I want you to know who he is. 730 00:38:03,780 –> 00:38:08,780 I’m giving you the evidence that he is the Christ. 731 00:38:09,939 –> 00:38:12,899 He is the Son of God and that’s why you can be 732 00:38:12,899 –> 00:38:17,899 rock solid sure that you will have life in his name. 733 00:38:19,260 –> 00:38:24,260 Believe in him, rest on him, trust him. 734 00:38:24,320 –> 00:38:27,239 And as you discover how solid a foundation 735 00:38:27,239 –> 00:38:30,040 God has given us for faith, 736 00:38:30,040 –> 00:38:33,479 you will know that those who trust in him 737 00:38:33,479 –> 00:38:36,820 will never be put to shame. 738 00:38:36,820 –> 00:38:37,979 Shall we pray together? 739 00:38:39,719 –> 00:38:44,419 Father, thank you that you’ve not only given us minds 740 00:38:45,820 –> 00:38:47,320 but you’ve given us evidence. 741 00:38:49,179 –> 00:38:50,979 That you don’t want us to be those 742 00:38:50,979 –> 00:38:52,739 who have merely conformed 743 00:38:54,459 –> 00:38:58,379 but to be those who become convinced and persuaded 744 00:38:59,820 –> 00:39:02,580 so that as the mind is persuaded 745 00:39:02,580 –> 00:39:04,739 so the heart may fully embrace 746 00:39:04,739 –> 00:39:06,820 and the will may be fully committed 747 00:39:07,979 –> 00:39:11,060 to your son, Jesus Christ, 748 00:39:11,060 –> 00:39:13,840 savior and Lord, whatever the cost, 749 00:39:15,199 –> 00:39:16,340 whatever the struggle. 750 00:39:17,899 –> 00:39:19,379 Thank you that you have given us 751 00:39:19,379 –> 00:39:22,260 everything that we need for faith and for life. 752 00:39:24,120 –> 00:39:26,139 We ask that you will greatly help those 753 00:39:26,139 –> 00:39:28,780 who have had questions and who need to look 754 00:39:28,780 –> 00:39:31,080 at the evidence and to sit like the jury 755 00:39:31,080 –> 00:39:32,699 or to be like the sleuth. 756 00:39:34,360 –> 00:39:37,260 Thank you that you’ve given us this wonderful opportunity. 757 00:39:38,459 –> 00:39:40,479 Grant that we may go forward into this day 758 00:39:40,479 –> 00:39:42,060 and into this coming week 759 00:39:42,939 –> 00:39:45,520 filled with the joy and the confidence 760 00:39:45,520 –> 00:39:46,739 that comes from knowing 761 00:39:46,739 –> 00:39:48,979 that Jesus Christ can be trusted 762 00:39:49,959 –> 00:39:53,020 and trusted more even than we used to think. 763 00:39:53,979 –> 00:39:56,639 For these things we ask in his name 764 00:39:56,639 –> 00:39:59,919 and for his glory, amen.