John- Believe In Jesus And Live!-Part 11- " Stop Doubting And Just Believe" Series

John – Believe in Jesus and live!

Part 11

“Stop doubting and follow me”

John 20:10-31

Fear

Fear

We all experience fear in our lives

And fear

Causes doubt

Many a time I can remember trying to get a kid on a sheep or a calf

They are first are excited

Then

Fear sets in

Soon that fear turns to doubt

Then they begin wondering

Can I do this?

Will I get hurt?

Will that big harry stinking thing eat me?

Ok

I know actually it goes

From I’m ready to an all out crying feat in less than ¼ of a second

But

The fear caused doubt

Which caused them to balk

Kids getting on sheep and calves is such a good analogy of us and our lives

In our worldly lives

New Job

Excitement

Then fear then doubt

Can I do it?

Will I like it?

Can I feed my family?

New Baby?

New marriage

Life changes

Excitement

Fear doubt

Today we want to focus on Doubt

Because it is most often doubt that causes us to falter

To not get done whatever it was that we wanted or needed to do

Doubt affects us in our spiritual life as well

Actually if truth be known doubt is the leading reason that many leave this world in a lost condition

Doubt is the reason many believers never receive the sweet rewards that Jesus has for them through their service

Doubt is often why people quit coming to church

Fail to engage

Fail to tithe

Fail to step up and step out

And like the army poster says

“Be all that you can be”

In Christ

It is doubt that causes us to fail to witness

Fail to tell our friends and family about the Pure Love of Jesus

It is doubt that causes us to watch as people we know and love

Leave this earth

Without Jesus

Death is always hard

But death without Jesus is a travesty

For eternity

And doubt often stops us and makes us fail our calling

Doubt can cause us to

Fail to show the love and the light of Christ in our lives

Doubt is a dream killer

And Old Slick loves to use doubt to hobble you and your walk

Doubt is one of his biggest tools

He causes our minds to think

Can I do this?

All those people looking at me while I show my obedience in baptism

All those people looking at me while I stand up here and be accepted as a member of this church or any church

Can I do this?

While sharing your faith

Can I do this?

While making a life changing decision to accept Christ and change your life

Excitement

Turns to

Fear

Fear turns to doubt

Then

Forward motion often stops

As we continue our study of John this morning

We come to a place where many of Jesus closest companions are experiencing doubt

Jesus has been

Betrayed

Arrested

Convicted

Torturedhope had turned to fear an

Murdered

And placed in a tomb

We know he did not stay there

We know the rest of the story

But on this Sunday morning so long ago

His closest friends and followers

We in a funk

The man they believe

The man they placed their hope in

The One called Jesus

The world changer

Was dead

Their excitement

Had turned to fear and

That fear quickly turned to doubt

Please open your bibles to John Chapter 20

I am going to read for you From Chapter 20 a large piece of scripture

Then as always

We will back track a bit and see what God’s word means for us and our lives

John Chapter 20

Beginning in verse 11

In this passage

Not only has their hope been killed

But now

They believe his body has been taken

They are in utter despair

John 20:11-29

But Doubt is fixing to take a back seat to Faith

And hopelessness

Will turn to hope

John 20:11-29

11 Mary was standing outside the tomb crying, and as she wept, she stooped and looked in. 12 She saw two white-robed angels, one sitting at the head and the other at the foot of the place where the body of Jesus had been lying. 13 “Dear woman, why are you crying?” the angels asked her.

“Because they have taken away my Lord,” she replied, “and I don’t know where they have put him.”

14 She turned to leave and saw someone standing there. It was Jesus, but she didn’t recognize him. 15 “Dear woman, why are you crying?” Jesus asked her. “Who are you looking for?”

She thought he was the gardener. “Sir,” she said, “if you have taken him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will go and get him.”