Pastor Allan Kircher
Shell Point Baptist Church
February 3, 2013
Matthew 11:1-22
The prison of Doubts
Intro:
• Shall we continue in our prison experiences/found/Bible.
• We looked already/Joseph/Samson…..
• I want draw/attention/experience/John the Baptist.
• He came preaching in the Desert of Judea
• “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.”
• Spoken of by the prophet Isaiah 700 yrs. earlier
• Prophesied by Malachi in 400BC
I want to draw/attention to John the Baptist/languished/ prison.
• Find/why he was there--what he was facing.
• John was cast into this prison because of his preaching.
Herod
• Who/king/fourth part/Roman province of Palestine
• had taken his brother’s wife
• Woman/name of Herodias/married her.
• John had preached publicly against this vile and unlawful relationship
• Arrested and thrown into prison by the king.
Herod would have executed John/he feared/public backlash
• all the people accepted John the Baptist as a prophet sent from the Lord.
While in this prison
• John began/doubts/concerns about Who Jesus was
• And what He was doing.
• John’s doubts worked against his faith
• Caused him to question the person and work of Jesus.
I want to join John in this prison, because I believe that many of God’s children pass through it as well.
• There/times/we all experience doubts and fears.
• times when we wonder about our salvation
• times we wonder about our faith.
During those times of doubt and fear, we ask ourselves some pretty deep questions.
• “Am I really saved? Am I really secure?
• What if I made a mistake?
• What if Jesus isn’t really the way to Heaven?
Most of us wouldn’t admit it out loud, but we have found ourselves assaulted by questions like these.
• Ever wondered about your faith?
• When/allowed questions to rise in our hearts
• We find ourselves locked/same prison/John found himself.
Let’s join him there today and consider what he did and what he experienced in The Prison Of doubts.
I. v. 2-3 THE DECEPTIONS OF THIS PRISON
A. What John Doubted In This Prison
“Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?”
In his prison, John had come to doubt the very person of Jesus.
This is the same John who was so bold in his preaching concerning Jesus.
• Notice these verses: John 1:29-36.
• There/time/when/no doubt in John’s mind
• But when he was thrown into the prison, he began to doubt.
B. What John Discovered In This Prison
He discovered/absence does not make the heart grow fonder.
Verse 2 says, “When John heard in prison what Christ was doing…”
• John is locked up
• He can no longer see/Lord Jesus as He heals/ministers.
• He can no longer hear the Lord’s voice/He preaches/teaches.
• John is removed from the sights/sounds/ministry of Jesus
• His heart has become clouded with doubts and questions.
C. What did John Do In This Prison
• When doubts arose in John’s heart
• he did the right thing,
• he turned to Jesus for the answers he needed.
• Instead of wondering and worrying there in that prison
• John turned his efforts toward getting an answer from the Lord.
• That is where help will be found in a time of doubt!
Why did John find himself locked in this prison of doubt?
I think/many reasons---three that I want to share with you today.
1. Discouragement
• Things weren’t going his way anymore
• You ever been there, done that?
• John/man used/wide open spaces/desert
• Now he finds himself locked away in a dungeon.
• John was used to his liberty,
• Now he finds himself bound in chains and fetters.
John couldn’t change this confinement so it caused him to entertain doubts that normally wouldn’t have entered his mind.
How many times have we found ourselves here?
We find ourselves…
• in a situation we cannot change.
• with a problem we cannot solve.
• in a prison from which we cannot escape.
When that happens, we sometimes begin to doubt too.
• Beware of discouragement; it can devastate your life. Discouragement can cause you to doubt everything you know and believe!
2. Disappointment
Surely John imagined that Jesus would come and set him at liberty.
• After all, Jesus was the Messiah!
• He possessed scepter of David.
• Jesus could do anything;
• Surely He could have set John free.
• When Jesus didn’t rescue John
• Perhaps he became discouraged and began to doubt.
• After all, wasn’t that one of the ministries/Messiah?Isa. 61:1
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We probably wouldn’t admit it
• but when/Lord doesn’t do what we think He will do
• or what we ask Him to do
• there/tendency for us to become disappointed with Him.
Have you ever entertained this thought: “The Lord did this for so and so; I don’t understand why He won’t do it for me!”?
This disappointment can lead us to doubt Him
3. Disillusionment
John “heard…what Christ was doing”.
• As the reports filtered into the prison
• John/heard/miracles/preaching of Jesus
• John was waiting for the big news.
• He was waiting for the day when one would come and say
“John, Jesus is the Messiah! He not only heals the sick, raises the dead and causes the blind to see, but now He is about to attack Rome and set us free!”
• That is the news John and all Israel were waiting for.
• They had the book of Malachi!
• They knew these words Mal. 3:2;4:1
• They wanted justice!
Hear me well today, John found himself locked/prison/doubt because he listened to his own doubts and fears.
• When you listen to what you think
• what you feel; what you see
• or to what your heart tells you, you are in trouble!
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You cannot trust your eyes
they don’t see everything.
You cannot trust what you feel
because we are called to walk by faith not by feelings.
You certainly cannot trust your heart; it is a liar/Jer. 17:9 Ecc.9:3
We must come to the place where we simply trust the Lord, even when we cannot trace what He is doing.
• Often, during the trials of our lives
• we won’t see/Lord do the things we think He should/doing.
• Our problem is similar to John’s
• We fail to see the big picture.
• John didn’t understand that Jesus had to die and rise again and that at least 2,000 years would elapse before He would establish His kingdom.
Often, we don’t see everything that God is doing.
He knows more than we ever will about the situation, we must trust Him, or disillusionment will occur.
I praise the Lord that God does not sugar coat the lives of His saints.
• I am thankful that He lets us see them, warts and all.
• In fact, there are many instances of doubt in the lives of the people of God.
Think of Abram Gen. 12:11-13
• Left everything/loved/follow God
• Go to a strange land/Egypt
• Doubted God/Sarah/wife/sister
Think of Elijah 1 Kings 19:4
• Mt.Carmel/faced down king/false gods
• Prayed fire of heaven
• Crawled under Juniper/asking God let him die.
Think of Thomas
• Prepared to die/with Jesus/John 11:16
• Then wouldn’t believe/Jesus/risen/dead/John 20:24-25
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• When doubts arise, you are not alone my friend!
• In fact, you are in good company.
• It is not an excuse to allow the doubts to continue.
• They must be addressed/eliminated
• or you will find yourself in a horrible prison of doubt.
Have you ever found yourself in the prison of doubt?
Are you there now?
Is Satan or the flesh attempting to turn your heart away from what the Lord told you or promised to you?
If that is your situation, then let me encourage you to do what John did.
• Don’t close the door to Jesus, but run to Him and take your doubts with you.
• Here is the Lord’s challenge for you: Phil. 4:6-7.
II. v. 4-6 THE DEMONSTRATIONS OF THIS PRISON
A. v. 4 How Jesus Answered John
When Jesus hears the disciples of John and their questions; He does not send back a stinging word of rebuke.
Jesus could have said
• “Who does John think He is to question me?
• He saw the Spirit descending on Me.
• He knows that I am the Savior.
• He knows and he has preached it!
• He has no right or room to doubt me!
• Go back and tell John to get his heart right with God!”
• That is not what Jesus does!
• When he hears the doubts that/gripped John’s heart
• Jesus responds with patience, grace and love.
• Look at His response: “Go and show John again…”
Jesus is willing to help John as he works through his problem.
• Many would have reacted in anger
• Jesus reacted in love.
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Have you ever found yourself in a place of discouragement and depression like Elijah?
Have you ever come to the place where you are depressed, defeated, discouraged and disillusioned?
We all have! Notice how tenderly and with what grace the Lord ministered to Elijah, 1 Kings 19:1-16.
• The Lord did not rebuke Elijah; He ministered to him
• God did not yell at him; He spoke tenderly to him, v 12.
• God did not allow his doubts to continue;
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Jesus will demonstrate/same tenderness to us when we find ourselves locked in the prison of perplexity.
• He will come to us and minister to us there Heb. 13:5
• He will dispense grace in sufficient measure for our need, 2 Cor. 12:9.
• He will stand by us/enable us to go on for His glory/Rom. 8:27
• He will speak peace to our troubles hearts, John 14:27
He will deal with our doubts in His time and in His way.
B. v. 4-5 How Jesus Assured John
Jesus merely pointed John back to the Word of God!
Jesus reported all the things He was doing and seemed to be saying, “Just go back and tell John to read his Bible and he will understand.”
Here are some of the verses Jesus may have had in mind:
Isa. 35:3-6
The Bible is the absolute cure for our doubts!
If we can read/Word/take on faith that God will do everything He has promised
• He will stand by His Word no matter what
• We can see our doubts fall apart before our eyes.
• Folks, you can count on the Word of God!
• He will stand by it
• Let the Bible put your doubts to death!
C. v. 6 How Jesus Admonished John
Same admonition Jesus gave/Thomas/questioned/resurrection.
The Lord wants John/know/he doesn’t have/have all the answers.
• He wants John/believe in spite/mysteries of life.
• He wants John’s faith to be in Jesus
• in spite of what the eyes see
• the heart feels, or the mind thinks.
• He wants John to believe in Him
• to simply trust Him by faith.
That is what Jesus wants from us as well!
We must come to the place of obedient faith in Him, His power and His purposes for our lives.
Let me remind you of two important truths:
• Our God is a God of Power
• Our God is a God of Purpose
• That’s the truth He wants us to understand when we enter the prison of doubts!
III. v.7-11 THE DECLARATIONS OF THIS PRISON
A. v. 7 Some Things Helped John In His Prison
When the disciples of John left Jesus
• they returned/John/told him what they had seen/heard.
They helped John overcome his doubts/fears.
• We never hear of him expressing doubt again.
• Also, consider the fact that John went to his death
• A willing martyr for the glory of the Lord.
When we are allowed/enter/prison/doubt
• The Lord/have/word of hope, encouragement and blessing.
• He will have exactly what we need, when we need it, to get us through that prison.
• Instead of walking in worry, fear and doubt
• you can walk in peace, confidence and joy
B. Some Things Were Hidden From John In This Prison
After John’s disciples leave Jesus begins to talk about the greatness of John.
Notice how Jesus describes John the Baptist.
v. 7 - He was not a “reed shaken by the wind”
• Not blown about by the changing winds of political and religious favor.
• He was not like a flimsy reed; he was as steady as a rock.
v. 9-10 – He was “a prophet”
• He was the literal fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies.
v. 11 – He was the “greatest” of those “born of women”.
• Refers to the greatness/character/privileges.
• a true man of God; the last/Old Testament prophets
• The forerunner of the Lord Jesus Christ.
•
The statement “he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.”
• This does not refer to character.
• Many Christians have a character that is nowhere near that which possessed by John.
• But, our privileges far exceed his!
• He was merely among “the friends of the Bridegroom”
• We are the “Bride” of Christ, 2 Cor. 11:2.
• Those who are part/church are in/greater state of privilege.
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Here is what I want you to get from this last thought:
Heaven has some secrets it doesn’t feel/need to share with us.
• Like John, we often find ourselves/place of doubt and fear.
• During those times, we have no idea what Heaven is doing.
• God has a plan and a purpose that you and I can never fathom, Isa. 55:8-9.
• Sometimes God conceals His plans from us
• but He still desires that we trust Him anyway.
You see, like John, you never know what Heaven has planned for your life.
• God may be about to use you in a powerful, wonderful way.
• But, before He can use you for that purpose
• He may keep a few secrets from you.
• Are you willing to trust Him anyway?
In fact, you might live your entire life and still never know what the Lord is doing in your life.
While you are in that prison of doubt and perplexity, you may wonder what the Lord is doing in your life.
• When we want to say good things about people
• We say them to their faces so that they will think good of us.
• We save the bad things for behind their backs.
• Heaven is not that way!
• Jesus says His best things about us behind our backs.
Conc: Heaven may seem to be hiding some things from you today.
• Your heart and your mind may be filled with doubts and fears.
• Let me encourage you to bring those doubts, fears and problems to the throne of grace.
• The Lord may just give you the answers you need today.
• On the other hand
• He may dispense grace in abundant measure for you today.
If there are needs, this altar is open.
• If you are lost, you can be saved.
• If you are backslidden, you can come home.
• If you are filled with doubt and fear, you can find peace.
• Just do as He would have you to do.
