Thank you, Elias. It's been a privilege to get to know you over the years and also several others who are here. So really appreciate the opportunity to be able to preach to you today from God's word on the theme of missions. So I'd like to ask you a question. What is the Great Commission? I think you know that, we just read it, right? Matthew 28, essentially it's to go to all the world and make disciples. And here's the next question. This one's harder. Although I didn't anticipate that Elias would read that passage, but what is the very, don't say this out loud, okay? I don't want others to know yet. What is the last word before the Great Commission? The very last word. Don't look. You can't look now. No, no, you can't look. If you think you know it, don't say it, but just raise your hand. You think you know it. Okay. A few of you. All right. Well, now you may look. The very last word, Matthew 28, you can go ahead and turn there. The very last word before the Great Commission, look at it now if you would, Matthew 28, verse 18, the Great Commission starts, I'm sorry, verse 17. The Great Commission begins in verse 18. The very last word is, doubted. Now that's an interesting introduction to the Great Commission. So I want to ask the next question and try to answer it then in the message. What is Jesus' directive to doubting believers? How does he deal with doubting believers? Who are these people in verse 17? Well, it says the 11 disciples went to Galilee and they were on the mountain. We also read in 1 Corinthians 15 and verse 6 that Jesus actually appeared to more than 500 brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now. So there may have been more than the 11 disciples there in Galilee. We know that sometime he appeared to more than 500. So out of those believers, there were some, it says, who worshiped him, and there were some who doubted. So I want us to consider today this matter of how Jesus deals with doubting believers. And I want to start out by just briefly looking at that word doubt. It's used one other time in the New Testament. When do you think that is? Well, I had Elias read that passage and he explained it to the children. And who was it that doubted in that passage? Who was it? Peter. So when did Peter start to doubt when he looked at the wind? We heard, you can't see the wind, but you can see its effects. When he looked at the wind and the way it was affecting the water, he doubted. So we'll make some application about that. But I want to really ask this question as the theme of our message. That is, what are some reasons for believers doubting? We need to answer that question because that's one that these disciples who were sent To do what? Just evangelize the world. Just go and evangelize the world. Make disciples of all the nations. That's all. So we're getting a bad start. We're doubting. So let's look at reasons for doubting. First of all, I'd like to suggest some reasons. Not all of these will come out of one text, but the first reason that we tend to doubt is that we lack understanding. What do we ask often? We say, Lord, how is it that you can do this? Or why did you allow this? Do you ever ask the question why? We do, don't we? And sometimes, oftentimes, we don't have the answer. We say why, and then we don't get an answer. And sometimes that causes us to doubt God, right? We lack understanding. We cannot figure out what is going on. Can you think of a disciple who was in that condition? Remember Thomas? You know, we're pretty hard on Thomas, aren't we? What do we call him? Doubting Thomas. Well, let me ask you this. Did any of the disciples have a problem in any other realm? They said, you know, let let's just ask Jesus if he would make us the greatest among the disciples. Let's just ask if that would happen. Can we can we have the upper, you know, can we be the greatest in your in your kingdom? What's that called? Which is worse, pride or doubt? I don't know. Pride might be worse. So we, we have this lack of understanding and we ask questions and, you know, that's part of the reason why we have liberals. They say, how do you explain the virgin birth? I can't, but it's true. So we lack understanding. We ask how, we ask why, and when we don't get the answer, sometimes that causes us to doubt. But what did God say in Deuteronomy 29, 29? The secret things belong to the Lord. So leave those with him. So one of the reasons for doubting is that we lack understanding. A second reason is that we still have this thing called the flesh. Do you still have that? I think you do because I'm seeing you. But that flesh is a horrible thing, and we're stuck with it until we are transferred to glory. We have the flesh, and the flesh has its effect on us to the extent that even men and women with great faith sometimes doubt. Think with me about Elijah. In First Kings, Elijah is very, very bold. Chapter 18. And he challenges the false prophets and he mocks them. And God gives a great victory. And then in chapter 19, Jezebel hears about what he did and she threatens him. And what does he do? He runs away. He doubts. This man who just experienced great faith experienced great doubt. There's this ongoing perversity of the flesh. You know, we can't blame everything on the devil, right? He does bother us, and we do have that enemy. But we also have the flesh, and it is with us, and it is one of the reasons why we doubt But then there's another, maybe even more common among believers. And we're talking about doubting believers, right? Is that a contradiction? Well, sort of. It is. But the reality is, it's true that we have those times. And I want to give you an example that, in a sense, is really staggering. when you think about it. Look back now with me, if you would, at Matthew chapter 11. Go back to chapter 11 of Matthew. Chapter 11, Matthew verse 1. When Jesus had finished instructing his disciples, His twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in their cities. Now, when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, which John is this? We have more than one. This is John the Baptist. When John the Baptist heard in prison about the deeds of Christ, He sent word by his disciples and said to him, are you the one who is to come or shall we look for another? And Jesus answered them, go and tell John what you hear and see. The blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear. and the dead are raised up and the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is the one who is not offended by me. What's going on here with John the Baptist? Well, he obviously is not sure that this person is Jesus. Right? I mean, ask the question, are you the one? What would you say? We could say he is doubting. But wait a minute. John the Baptist is the one who, when he saw Jesus one day, pointed to him and said, what? Behold, the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Behold him. He said it again. Let me just show you that text because he says it twice. Go back, kind of keep your, well, yeah, maybe keep your finger here in Matthew 11, but go to John chapter one. I'd like for you to see this in black and white. It's just so bold. John chapter one. And if you look at verse 20, you'll see that people were thinking John the Baptist was the Messiah. And he says. He confessed and did not, this is verse 20, did not deny but confessed, I am not the Christ. Now look at verse 29. The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him and said, behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. This is he of whom I said, after me comes a man who ranks before me because he was before me. And verse 32, John bore witness. I saw the spirit descend from heaven like a dove and it remained on him. Apparently John the Baptist saw that. And then look at verse 35. The next day, again, John was standing with two of his disciples and he looked at Jesus as he walked, walked by and said, behold, the lamb of God. There was no question in his mind that Jesus was the Lamb of God. And yet, in Matthew 11, he says, go ask if you are the one. What's going on here? Well, we're talking about reasons why we doubt. I would suggest to you another reason why we sometimes doubt is simply difficult circumstances. John is now in a prison, probably a very dirty prison, probably no light, possibly damp. And he possibly knows that his life is in danger and people are not allowed to come to him. He's not allowed to preach, which he apparently had one of the greatest gifts of preaching ever in the history of mankind. His circumstances have changed. Circumstances are very difficult now, and actually he is martyred very soon. So one of the reasons why we tend to doubt is that our circumstances can be very difficult. You know, there was a time when John heard Jesus preach something like this, I have come to set at liberty the prisoners. Right? Quoting from the Old Testament, I've come to set at liberty. John's heard that, no doubt. And yet here he is in prison. And so what kind of circumstances are you facing and how are you handling those circumstances? Are they making you doubt God and His goodness? That's a very common issue with God's people. We all tend to ask that sometimes. Why? Why? Why right now? This seems to be a bad time for this challenging circumstance. I don't see any solution for it. In fact, it could be even worse. And I think John was anticipating that things could get worse for him. So one of the reasons for doubting believers is circumstances that are very challenging. But there's something else with John that we need to learn that causes us sometimes to doubt. Look at Remember John chapter 1 verse 20, John said, I am not the Christ. What were the people looking for? They were looking for a Messiah who would come and set them free, elevate their nation, make them overall on this earth now. The problem was they had disappointed expectations. They expected the Messiah to work now and to set them at liberty from the Romans. That is not what was happening. So not only was John's circumstances very difficult, but he had misunderstood what God was doing and what the Messiah was going to do. So, you know, sometimes we think, wow, understanding prophecy is really hard, right? I mean, if you try to teach it, it's challenging. So what do we do? Well, let's just ignore that because that's hard. And that's the attitude of some. Like prophecy, you know, that's just too intricate, too much detail. Can't really figure that out. So we're just going to say that's just kind of out there. We're not going to work at that. But that's, that's the wrong attitude because God has given us these things so that we can understand what we should expect. And we should not get expectations that are unscriptural because if we do, it will cause us It may cause us to doubt. So what are some of the reasons so far? We lack understanding. We are like Thomas. We just can't figure this out. How can, how can, how can this resurrection be? We have this ongoing perversity of the flesh that causes us to doubt God and causes us to sin. The flesh has to be put down all the time. Thirdly, we may have difficult circumstances. Things are not working out like we thought they would in a lot of areas. Could be at work, could be in family, could be health-wise. All these circumstances are against me, we might think. Kind of like Jacob thought that, right? All these things are against me. Well, actually, they're working for us because God is a loving, kind God, but we don't see that. It takes faith. And then there's these disappointed expectations. But there's another reason for doubting, and it really is quite simple, but it goes back to Matthew 14. Look at that one more time. If you're there at 11, you can just turn back to or turn over to Matthew 14. This story about Peter walking on the water is so instructive. And even children can understand this story, right? It's really simple, but it's got great points to it. And I want to make one from this passage. If you look at Matthew 14. Verse 30. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid. So what is happening here causing Peter to doubt? Well, it's very simple. He's getting his eyes off of Jesus onto the problem. And that's very easy to do. I really like I really like the Japanese translation of Hebrews chapter 12 and verse 1. Let me read it to you in English, and then I'll tell you how the Japanese version goes. Wherefore, seeing we also are encompassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, talking about all those believers in Hebrews 11. Let us lay aside every weight and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us. How do we do that? It says, looking unto Jesus. Remember that? Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. The way it reads in English is like, OK, get your eyes off of the circumstances and look unto Jesus. And that's true. That's good. But the Japanese version says not taking your eyes off of Jesus. You see the difference? In other words, get them there and keep them there. It's not like don't let them ever get off. That's how. we avoid the doubts. When we do like Peter and we begin to look at the wind, those challenges, then we begin to sink. That's where our problem comes. He was forgetting. He was forgetting what Jesus had already done for him. Then there's another reason why there is doubting by God's people. To be accurate, we would have to say that some people are a little more prone to this kind of disposition. It doesn't justify it. I'm not trying to justify it. But the reality is that some people just have a little more struggle with doubting and depression and those kind of things. It doesn't make it right. But let me give you an example. Do you know the song, there is a fountain filled with blood? Are you familiar with that? Okay. It's a great song, right? Do you know who wrote that song? Maybe not. Well, do you know who wrote, do you know the song Amazing Grace? Okay. Do you know who wrote that? Okay. John Newton wrote Amazing Grace. Well, John Newton and the writer of There is a Fountain Filled with Blood were friends. They lived at the same time. They lived in the same town called Olney in England. The writer of There is a Fountain Filled with Blood was William Cooper. It's spelled C-O-W-P-E-R, but it's pronounced Cooper. William Cooper had a very had a tendency to depression, serious depression. He spent four or five times in an asylum. Actually, he was in an asylum when he wrote There is a Fountain. It was a time when God opened his eyes, gave him encouragement, gave him some insight, gave him, encouraged his faith. And that's when he wrote There is a Fountain filled with blood. drawn from Emmanuel's veins. But he was a man who had great struggle with depression. And Newton would spend, I have a picture, I should have shown it last night, but I have a picture of Bud and Debbie sitting in a little garden shack, a little garden house, not a shack exactly, but Cooper, where he lived, he had behind his house He stayed in the house of a widowed woman. Behind his house, he had a little garden, and he would go sit in that little shack, not a whole lot wider than this pulpit, just enough for two people. And he and Newton would talk in that shack, in that garden. Newton's manse, he was the pastor of the church right behind where Cooper lived. Newton would come and try to encourage And he did that many, many times. Eventually, Newton moved to London and he wasn't there anymore. And that was hard. That was very hard for Cooper. So the reality is that some people just have more of a tendency to that. There's some other songs that Cooper wrote. He wrote many songs. He was a great poet. For instance, he wrote, Oh, for a closer walk with God. a calm and heavenly frame, a light to shine upon the road that leads me to the lamb. Then he wrote another song called God Moves in a Mysterious Way, His Wonders to Perform. He plants his footsteps in the sea and rides upon the storm. So he was a great poet. But I think we need to understand that there are those who may need a little more help. Maybe that's me. Maybe that's you. And maybe you're a John Newton and you can give that help to a brother or sister who struggles with this just kind of a natural disposition, a tendency to this kind of doubting. Well, the final point I would like to make about doubting is that believers sometimes doubt just because they feel inadequate to do what God seems to be calling them to do. Like, really? Me? I mean, some great people were like that. Remember what Moses said? I have never been eloquent. Neither recently nor in time past, nor since you have spoken to your servant, for I am slow of speech and slow of tongue. Please get somebody else. That's Moses. David said, who am I and what is my purpose? life, or my father's family in Israel, that I should be the king's son-in-law. He's not even talking about being king. This is just marrying, what was her name? Michael, thank you. And then Isaiah, woe is me, for I am undone. I am a man of unclean lips. I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the king. Woe is me. I cannot do this. Jeremiah said, Alas, Lord God, behold, I do not know how to speak. And even the apostle Paul said, I am the least. Of all the saints. So who is sufficient for these things? We tend to doubt because we think we're inadequate and we are right. I mean, we really are. And that's God works through us. We otherwise were helpless. So. What is the solution? What's the solution for doubting believers? Well, what did Jesus do in this case? He knows that there are some, some worshipped, some doubted. What did they doubt, by the way? Well, they seemed to doubt that it was Him, even though He had told them to meet Him in Galilee They doubted that it was him. So what does Jesus, how does Jesus deal with our doubts? How does he deal with us when we are like that? What did he do in this case? Did he say, okay, let's sit down and let's just work through all of your doubts. Let's just figure all this out. That's not what he did. You know, when you think about what he did, it really is incredible, isn't it? What he did was to give them the Great Commission. I want you to go and make disciples of all the nations. Me? I'm doubting. Yeah, you too. He didn't distinguish between them. He just said to them, you go. Book of Mark says you go and preach the gospel to every creature. That's all. Just go and make disciples of all the nations. That's all. So how does he deal with it? Well, he expects us to use the light that we do have. Okay, so you're doubting some things. All right, well, you'll grow. You'll understand better over time. You just go right now using the light that you have and you serve me. You do what you can with what you have right now. How are you doing with that? It's really interesting. You know, the maniac of Gadara wanted to be with Jesus. He didn't know a whole lot. Jesus said, you go back and tell him. He didn't even say you stay with me and I'll teach you some more things. He said, you go and you just tell them what's happened to you. So the first thing is we need to obey what we do know. OK. The second thing is to be very encouraged. If you look, you need to see this in your in your Bible, go back to Matthew 28 now and look at something. You might not have noticed this. It comes out actually better It's easier to understand in the King James in this particular text. But notice what Jesus did to the doubters. Verse 18. Jesus came. I think the King James says he came up. In other words. He drew closer. It says he came while he was already there, right? He was already there. So he didn't just come all of a sudden, he came closer. It could simply be they were in the mountains, maybe it was foggy, maybe they just couldn't see him. Maybe they couldn't see him well enough to decide it was him, I don't know. But anyway, he came up closer to them. He didn't say, okay, you doubters, you doubters, you go over here, I can't use you. And those who worshipped and you're the ones I'm going to use now. He didn't do that. He came up to all of them and he encouraged them and showed himself and they were convinced. So he came up to them. Actually, remember what happened with Peter? Peter starts to sink. Elias read it very well. What happened? Immediately. Remember that word? Immediately, Jesus put out his hand and helped him. He didn't say, Peter, oh wow, you, you, you have, you, you. He did say, you're of little faith. That's an interesting study in itself, the times that occurs. He said, you're of little faith, but he helped him. He put out his hand immediately and brought him to the boat. So that's what Jesus will do for us if we will just keep going and serve him as he's opened up opportunities for us. He really helped Peter. Finally, we just need to remember that it's really not about us. In other passages we learn, it kind of reinforces the fact that we We are nothing. Paul says we are jars of clay. Remember that? We are just earthen vessels. So we're trying to take too much on us. It's not up to me. It's just God working through me. Even though I am weak, even though I have little faith, he uses people even of little faith. Isn't that encouraging? You say, well, my faith is like a mustard seed. Okay. What can he do with a mustard seed of faith? Move mountains? When you really get right down to it, Jesus' statement would simply be to us, You have some doubts. You have things you don't understand. You're going through difficult circumstances. Well, you just need to get on with it. Don't, if you don't remember anything else, remember this, don't let it paralyze you. That's the danger. You say, well, I just, you know, I'm just paralyzed right now. I just can't do anything for the Lord. Don't let that happen. I'll close with this illustration. We have a girl who's a missionary in one of our fields. And when she was starting deputation, she was very vocal about her fears of going around the churches, explaining her ministry, trying to raise support. She was very vocal about being afraid. Having doubts. But you know what? She didn't let it paralyze her. She did do it. And God used her. She's on the field. She has her full support. Has for years. And God is using her in a great way. So wherever you are, remember, even if you have little faith, God can use you. Don't stop. Basically, it is get over it and get on with it. That make sense? He's saying, OK, I understand you got issues, but just get over it, get on with it, and I will use you for my glory. Let's pray. Our Father, we thank you for the opportunity to think about these men and women that went before us. Thank you for the reality of your word that acknowledges that some great men, John the Baptist, Peter, Peter who failed, yet at one time was walking on water. We thank you that you're very merciful and tender toward us. You come up to us in our weakness, in our doubt, and you tell us to go and make disciples. Help us to be obedient, trusting in your power, not in ourselves. We thank you that we have the treasure in earthen vessels. That means we don't have to do the work. We just have to be available. Encourage anyone here and everyone here who might have some struggles, some doubts, some challenges, difficult circumstances, maybe just a tendency to doubt. tendency to be discouraged and depressed. Lift up that one or those ones. Encourage them today. We ask it in Jesus' name. Amen.