Participants: Mike Lemon (Host)
Series Code: SCS
Program Code: SCS000012
|
00:33 Chapter 12, "What To Do With doubt."
00:38 Hello and Welcome to Steps to Christ in Song. 00:40 Today, we're gonna look at the topic of 00:41 "What to do with doubt." There are many reasons 00:44 rest to think that we can doubt. 00:47 There are things that are hard for us to wrap our 00:49 minds around. For example, as little microscopic 00:51 organisms that even scientists find it difficult 00:54 to understand and explain. There are wonders 00:57 everywhere that are difficult for us to even think 01:01 about and beyond our understanding. And so, 01:04 why do we find it difficult to think that in the 01:06 spiritual world, that there are things that are far 01:11 beyond to our understanding. Really the difficulty lies 01:15 within the narrowness and the weakness of the 01:18 human mind. We're talking about our finite mind 01:21 dealing with the infinite God. In the Bible, 01:26 we see and also in nature, a revelation of God's 01:29 existence of his divinity and I believe that if we put 01:35 our full trust in that, that it will dispel all doubt, 01:39 but before we get too far into the topic. 01:41 Let me just ask to Cara to lead us in a word of prayer. 01:48 Dear heavenly Father, you are such an amazing God, 01:53 you are infinite in love, in wisdom, in power, 01:57 and compared to you we find that human beings 02:00 are as nothing. But despite your greatness, 02:03 we often do not trust you, when we don't understand 02:07 your word or your plan for us we have doubt just bring 02:11 up in our minds. Oh! Lord we want to have complete 02:15 faith in you. Please, take away our doubts and give us 02:19 your Spirit to help us understand your word. 02:25 Help us to trust your infinite wisdom and increase 02:29 our faith Lord we pray in Jesus name, amen. 02:33 Amen, amen. If you are a new Christian, 02:37 you may sometimes have questions about your 02:39 new faith or you might wonder if this Christianity 02:42 stuff is really true. You are not unusual; 02:45 in fact it's not uncommon to have hard to answer questions 02:49 about God and the Bible. There are many things 02:52 in the Bible that are clear and easy to understand, 02:56 but there are also some things that defy human 02:58 reasoning, this shouldn't alarm you because the 03:01 Apostle Paul exclaims in Romans 11:33, 03:05 all the depth of the riches, also the wisdom and the 03:08 knowledge of God. How unsearchable are his judgments 03:11 and his ways past finding out. This fact shouldn't 03:16 discourage you from seeking our God, 03:17 on the contrary it shall encourage you to know that 03:21 the God you are seeking is much more greater 03:24 then you are. In fact, you will be finding new things 03:28 about Him for the rest of the eternity. So don't panic, 03:32 if all your questions aren't answered right away. 03:34 Be assured, God will rebel himself more fully 03:38 when you are ready. 04:16 Immortal, invisible God only wise, 04:23 In light inaccessible hid from our eyes, 04:31 Most blessed, most glorious, the Ancient of Days, 04:39 Almighty, victorious, Thy great name we praise. 04:48 Unresting, unhasting, and silent as light, 04:56 Nor wanting, nor wasting, Thou rulest in might; 05:04 Thy justice, like mountains, high soaring above 05:11 Thy clouds, which are fountains of goodness and love. 05:38 To all, life Thou givest, to both great and small; 05:46 In all life Thou livest, the true life of all; 05:54 We blossom and flourish like leaves on the tree, 06:02 And wither and perish but naught changeth Thee. 06:38 Great Father of glory, pure Father of light, 06:47 Thine angels adore Thee, all veiling their sight; 06:55 All praise we would render; O help us to see 07:03 'This only the splendor of light hideth Thee! 07:17 Wow! The words of that song just inspired me 07:20 with awe and reverence for God. 07:24 The way that his power and glory are described, 07:28 increase my faith in his wisdom and in his ability 07:32 to take care of everything that I commit to him. 07:35 Cara you know what helped to me to not doubt 07:38 the love of this immortal invisible God is that when 07:42 I was lost, he gave me a map, the Bible, 07:44 which has given me a sense of direction in my life 07:47 and also taken away the doubt from my life. Ryo, 07:52 I wanted to ask you a question, have you experience 07:55 what it means to be lost and lose 07:57 your direction through doubt. 08:00 Well, I have an interesting experience when I went 08:02 Disney Land. My parents and I went Disney Land, 08:08 when I was 6 years old and lots of people. 08:13 Right, there was lots of people because it was 08:14 summer break right and everybody lots of people 08:17 trying to get in. And before we went in, 08:21 my parents told me to go to the top of the hill that 08:24 was right in front of the entrance and wait 08:27 there if I get lost. So, they had a plan. Right. 08:31 Just in case you get lost. There is a landmark 08:33 on top of the hill. It was a landmark exactly 08:36 and it was kind of funny. Well now that 08:39 I will look back it's kind of funny because 08:41 as soon as we went in, I got lost. Oh! Boy. 08:45 There were lots of people, it wasn't even funny. 08:47 People were pushing and pulling each other, 08:49 trying to get in. But anyways, after about 08:55 10 or 20 minutes wandering about crying and just. 08:59 Oh, it's terrible. So, terrified and even scared me 09:03 even more when I thought of you know not being 09:07 able to see my parents anymore and something 09:10 like that. Yeah. And it was really hard 09:13 and I felt like it was at two or three hours or even 09:17 like all afternoon, even though it was only 09:19 10 or 20 minutes. Yeah. 09:22 But anyways and after that, I finally realized 09:26 what my parents said or what my parents 09:29 told me to do. So you forgot about the landmark. 09:31 You were just looking everywhere last place 09:33 you saw them and you didn't think of going there. 09:35 Because I was panic. 09:37 Yeah. And I don't know what to do. But soon as, 09:40 I remembered that I just ran there and but there 09:46 they are you know, it was they were there already 09:49 and waiting for me. And same thing with God 09:52 you know, we get lost, we always get lost sometimes 09:56 and that hill that landmark is like Bible. 10:01 Bible is our landmark and God gave us that 10:06 even before we got lost. 10:08 Yeah, have you ever found in the Bible for yourself 10:11 personally, that you found times when you doubted 10:16 and the Bible helped you. 10:18 Oh yeah, well these couple of years, 10:21 there were thoughts in my mind like is there really God, 10:25 is there really Jesus or is there really such thing 10:33 that was happened in the Bible because looking 10:35 nowadays and it's so hard to believe it because 10:39 there is a lot of sin going on and crime everything 10:43 like that. It's really hard to think that way but, 10:45 but when you look on to Bible and you start reading 10:50 how Jesus lived his life. He just makes me feel that is, 10:56 he is real and God is real. And we could see that 11:00 even in our little things, we doubt so much, 11:03 but that just distracts us from not believing God. 11:07 And that helped you to get rid of the doubt that 11:09 you had in your heart. 11:10 Right, just simply by reading the Bible. 11:12 Wow, wow, that helped me too. 11:14 It was the Bible that gave me direction and a sense 11:17 a purpose in my life. Thanks for sharing your story. 11:22 One thing that's clearly taught in the Bible is that 11:25 God wants to spend the rest of eternity with you. 11:29 That's why he makes the basic knowledge of the plan 11:31 of Salvation so clear that even child can understand it, 11:36 but this doesn't mean that these simple truths 11:38 aren't profound. The Bible speaks to the most basic 11:42 human needs, well at the same time it gives food 11:46 for thought, that even the most intellectual people 11:49 will be challenged to understand. You see, 11:53 spiritual things are spiritually understood. 11:58 Speaking of God it says in First Corinthians 2:10 12:01 and 2:12, His spirits searches out everything 12:04 and shows us even God's deep secrets, and God has 12:08 actually given us His Spirit not the world spirit, 12:11 so that we can know the wonderful things God 12:14 has freely given to us. Maybe the reason that 12:17 even children can understand spiritual 12:19 things is that they haven't shut out the Holy Spirit. 12:23 The next time you study your Bible open up your 12:26 heart and ask God for His Spirit to guide you. 12:35 Open my eyes, that I may see 12:40 glimpses of truth thou hast for me; 12:44 place in my hands the wonderful key 12:49 that shall unclasp and set me free. 12:55 Silently now I wait for thee, 12:59 ready, my God, thy will to see. 13:04 Open my eyes, illumine me, Spirit divine! 13:14 Open my ears, that I may hear 13:19 voices of truth thou sendest clear; 13:23 and while the wave notes fall on my ear, 13:28 everything false will disappear. 13:33 Silently now I wait for thee, 13:38 ready, my God, thy will to see. 13:43 Open my ears, illumine me, Spirit divine! 13:53 Open my mouth, and let me bear 13:58 gladly the warm truth everywhere; 14:02 open my heart and let me prepare 14:07 love with thy children thus to share. 14:13 Silently now I wait for thee, 14:18 ready, my God, thy will to see. 14:22 Open my heart, illumine me, Spirit divine! 14:36 Isn't it amazing to think that in all powerful God 14:40 wants to show us some of His Glory, 14:42 but imagine if He would to show us everything 14:45 about Himself. I think that would undermine our need 14:49 of Him. God will sometimes ask us to follow Him, 14:52 even though we don't fully understand the big picture, 14:55 we don't exactly see where that path is leading, 14:58 but that's okay. God asks us to trust in Him, 15:02 to put our faith in Him because 15:03 He will see us through. Sharon, why is it that 15:08 we often doubt God when we don't see the full picture? 15:12 Have you ever experience anything like that? 15:14 No, Mr. Lemon I've, I felt that way when I heard 15:20 the story about my uncle and my dad when they 15:22 went to the army and they were drafted in Korea 15:25 and my dad and my uncle they both said 15:28 the same thing they said, you know, 15:30 we are not gonna hold to that and we need 15:32 to go to church on Sabbath. 15:33 So they stood up for their faith. 15:35 Yeah, and as they were doing that you know 15:39 they said the same things, but the results were different. 15:43 My dad, he was beaten and tortured and punished 15:48 and just always hurt. And on the other hand, 15:52 my uncle when he was beaten, he wouldn't feel 15:55 it or right before he was beaten somebody would 15:59 come in and say, oh you can't harm this guy. 16:03 Yeah, so his torture wasn't as bad as the 16:04 torture for your dad. Yeah, and as I was thinking 16:07 about story, I was thinking, why is God doing that? 16:14 Yeah. Why did they go through things like that? 16:18 Yes. Like what is my dad go through something so hard. 16:22 Right. And my uncle, he comes out with no pain. 16:25 Right, it doesn't seem fair. 16:26 Yeah. And I questioned that so much, 16:28 but as I think about it more and as God showed me 16:32 more through the Bible, he said that, 16:37 you know he gives us trials that we can bear 16:38 and it might not seem fair, but everybody is different 16:42 and God makes the fair for everybody and there 16:46 is a wonderful promise in First Corinthians 10:13, 16:48 and it says, there is no temptation taking you as 16:52 such as is common to man. The God is faithful 16:55 who will not suffer you to be tempted above 16:57 that you are able, but with the temptation 17:00 make a way to escape. That's a wonderful promise. 17:03 Yeah and as I read it, it changed my life so much that, 17:08 you know we doubt, we question, we can't see, 17:12 but God says that he gives us trials that we can bear. 17:16 Yeah. And He has a plan and He is loving and just God. 17:22 That's a wonderful thing I like about the Bible 17:23 is just that promise actually gives us a sense of 17:27 purpose and meaning and you know in difficult 17:31 situation when we have doubts. Yeah. 17:34 It's perfect thanks for sharing. 17:38 Sometimes the Bible seems confusing because 17:40 deep in our hearts. We don't really want to know 17:43 the truth. I mean knowing the truth makes us 17:46 responsible to do something about it and if there 17:48 is a sin that would cherish you it may blind us 17:51 to the truth. When we want to know the truth, 17:54 God's spirit will open our eyes and Jesus tells us 17:57 in John 7:17 that If anyone wants to do His will, 18:01 that is God's will, He shall know concerning the doctrine. 18:05 We can know for sure that God is true and the greatest 18:08 evidence of this is our personal experience. 18:11 You see, when we truly give up our sins to Christ 18:14 and accept His perfect life in place of our own 18:17 sinful lives. There is a peace that we receive that 18:19 is unmistakable, so in times of doubt or questioning 18:23 that memory of the sweet piece of forgiveness is best 18:26 evidence that God is true. And remember what Paul 18:30 says in First Corinthians 13:12, now we see through 18:35 a glass darkly but then face to face. 18:37 Now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also 18:42 I am known. When Jesus comes everything will 18:45 make sense because then we will see clearly. 19:16 Far away in the depths of my spirit tonight 19:26 Rolls a melody sweeter than psalm; 19:35 In celestial like strains it unceasingly falls 19:44 O'er my soul like an infinite calm. 19:55 Peace, peace, wonderful peace, 20:03 Coming down from the Father above! 20:12 Sweep over my spirit forever, I pray 20:21 In fathomless billows of love! 20:43 What a treasure I have in this wonderful peace, 20:51 Buried deep in the heart of my soul, 21:00 So secure that no power can mine it away, 21:09 While the years of eternity roll! 21:29 Ah, soul! are you here without comfort and rest, 21:38 Marching down the rough pathway of time? 21:46 Make Jesus your Friend ere the shadows grow dark; 21:55 O accept of this peace so sublime! 22:04 Peace, peace, wonderful peace, 22:13 Coming down from the Father above! 22:21 Sweep over my spirit forever, I pray 22:34 In fathomless billows of love! 22:53 Know the words of that song, 22:55 we sow with our gladness or comfort or rest, 22:58 describes a soul in the path of doubt and further 23:03 on in the song it shows how doubt turns into joy 23:07 and peace. This comes through accepting the peace 23:11 from the father above. You know Robby even 23:15 Christians have a hard time and end up doubting. 23:21 And let's face it, I mean there are lot of things 23:23 that we don't understand and I know that you come 23:25 from a long line Christian family, 23:29 very strong Christian family with a lot of pastors 23:32 and church leaders in your family, 23:34 and it's probably a big question maybe an unfair 23:37 question to ask you, but have you ever experienced 23:39 doubt in your life and in your family? 23:43 You know we have, I remember when I was a really 23:45 little kid, we moved over to China to be missionaries, 23:48 and my parents were setting up a missionary training 23:52 school in China, and that's really difficult considering 23:55 that the government is against religion, 23:57 so we had to go underground basically to do these 24:00 types of training. So, my parents were just trying 24:02 to start the school and they are having a lot 24:04 of difficulties and soon they found out that the 24:08 government had heard what they were doing and 24:10 they heard through the grape vine that the government 24:12 was going to kick them out of the country, 24:13 and that would be really bad because if they were 24:16 kicked out, they wouldn't have been allowed to come 24:18 back into the country at all. They you know 24:21 wouldn't and their work would have been majorly 24:23 compromised. So they had to quickly leave. 24:25 So they left and went to Taiwan and there 24:28 my parents got a little bit discouraged because 24:31 all my dad was doing there was doing 24:33 language studies. Wow! And he couldn't do any of 24:38 the frontline mission that he wanted to, you know, 24:40 this wasn't your normal missionary work 24:41 just sitting and going to class everyday 24:43 to learn Chinese. Right. You know, and he got 24:46 discouraged. He wasn't sure exactly, 24:48 where the Lord was leading him. He knew, 24:49 he had led him to Taiwan, but he wasn't sure why. 24:53 And he didn't, he was beginning doubt a little bit. 24:55 Right, temptation to go home. Yeah. 24:57 Just leave all this. He just wasn't sure what was, 24:59 what the big picture was. Yeah. 25:02 And then after being there for a while, 25:05 we moved back to Hong Kong, and there things 25:08 started to come together for my family, 25:11 because my dad works in the office working for China 25:15 from the outside. So, he would call China, 25:18 he would make visits to China, and he would, 25:20 because he had lived there in the past, 25:23 he was able to work way better. He knew people, 25:26 he knew some of the language and he was able 25:28 to be a better worker for God because of it. 25:32 And the picture was you know painted him more 25:35 beautifully when he moved back to Taiwan, 25:38 and there my dad was the conference president, 25:41 and the office is on Chinese, and I still remember 25:44 him picking up the phone and talking in Chinese, 25:46 reading Chinese papers, writing in Chinese 25:49 and if he hadn't had that time before when he 25:52 was in Taiwan during that language study, 25:55 he wouldn't have been able to spread the Gospel 25:56 like he was doing now in Taiwan. 26:00 So God had this big picture that I didn't notice 26:03 and my parents certainly didn't realize, 26:05 but because they trusted in God even though 26:08 sometimes doubts came into their minds, 26:10 if they kept on that track and followed God. 26:13 They didn't have to worry because God had a way 26:15 bigger picture and he was in charge. 26:17 Excellent, so he prepared the way. 26:19 He prepared the way. 26:22 Great story. You know we have many uncertainties 26:25 in our lives and our minds tend towards doubting 26:28 when that happens. One of the disciples of Jesus, 26:31 Thomas is known as doubting Thomas, 26:35 and the reason why he doubted though he 26:37 was with Jesus for 3 ½ years, and he had great 26:41 faith in Jesus, but after the resurrection, 26:44 he doubted whether Jesus was actually alive, 26:46 the other disciples had seen him, 26:47 but Thomas had not. And so he said, 26:49 unless I actually see Him in the flesh, 26:52 unless I'm able to take my fingers and put them 26:54 in the places where the nails were and where 26:56 the spear had been, then I'm not going to believe. 27:00 And Jesus was gracious enough and loving enough 27:02 to actually appear to Thomas and to dispel his 27:04 doubt and so he appeared to him in the flesh 27:06 and he said take your finger and put it here in 27:09 these nail marks and put away the spirits, 27:13 and then Thomas was able to fall down on his knees 27:16 and say my Lord and my God, 27:18 and Jesus said to him Thomas, you believe because 27:22 you have seen me, but blessed that are those 27:25 who believe and have not seen, 27:27 that blessing of Jesus is for you and for me because, 27:31 we have not seen the immortal invisible God 27:33 the way in which Thomas did. He saw Him in the flesh. 27:38 Often the thing that gets us into trouble with doubt 27:41 is that we only trust what we see with our eyes, 27:44 but there are many things that we don't see 27:45 with our eyes. And I'm gonna ask that we just 27:48 close off our program together with the word 27:51 of prayer and ask God to give us that kind of faith. 27:54 Let's pray, heavenly Father, we ask you Lord, 27:58 through your Holy Spirit to give us a heart of belief 28:02 and dispel all our doubts in Jesus name we pray, amen. 28:10 Steps to Christ in Song is a 13 part series. 28:13 from Fountain View Productions. 28:14 Designed to be an easy non-threatening way 28:16 to share the good news about Jesus Christ with friends, 28:20 relatives, and coworkers. 28:21 Order your copies now by calling 28:24 1-877-490-4141 or visit us 28:29 online at www.fountainviewproductions.com. 28:34 Steps to Christ in Song is also available at your local 28:38 ABC Christian Book Store. |
Revised 2014-12-17