According to Luke: Divinely Disappointed

According to Luke: Divinely Disappointed 

Welcome: 

The picture that you see on the screen is not someone that you know but I knew him. This is Jack Schweers. Captain Jack is what I grew up calling him. He was my high school basketball coach. Sadly, Coach Schweers passed away earlier this week from a 3 year battle with a rare form of lung cancer. He won one State Championship at Trinity in basketball and several in tennis, the other sport that he coached. 

When you are growing up you learn a lot of life lessons from coaches and teachers. You hear phrases like give it 110% and don’t quit. I can remember those things from Jack. I can remember on one particular occasion I was in the game. Things were tight. The crowd was into it. A time out was called and he pulled me from the game. Of course I was upset. After the game was over Jack pulled me to the side and told me that he pulled me because he did not think that I was giving my best, my maximum for the team. 

In my heart, he was right. I was not giving my best effort. I had let the team down. I had let myself down. I had let my coach down. 

Matthew 25:21 ESV

"His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'

The word of Jesus Himself after a hard fought life of serving the Master. What do you want Jesus to say of you when you are finished? I imagine that you are wanting to hear, well done good and faithful servant. Chances are you are not wanting Jesus to pull you from the game because of a lack of effort. How terrible it would be to stand before King Jesus and tell him that I didn’t serve because I had better things to do, or I to old, or I had already put in my time. 

So, consider how you might give your best effort to the King of Kings. Where are some areas that you would like to serve? How about Awana?

Opening Illustration: The Doubting Patient

A hospital administrator was once startled to see a patient fleeing down the hall out of the operating room, his loose hospital gown flapping the breeze behind him. He stopped the fleeing patient and said, "Do you mind telling me why you ran away from the operating room?" The patient looked at him with startled eyes and said, "It was because of what the nurse said." The administrator said "Oh, what did she say?" She said, "Be brave! An appendectomy is quite simple." The administrator looked a bit confused and said, "Well, so what? It is quite simple. I would think that would comfort you." The patient said "Are you kidding, the nurse wasn't talking to me; she was talking to the doctor."

Point:

Doubt is a tricky thing isn’t it? Have you ever doubted your doctor? If so, time for a new doctor? Have you ever doubted a boss? Sure! What about your husband or your wife? Let’s not raise hands on that. What about God? What about Jesus? Now in our hearts we would not want to believe that we could ever doubt God’s plans for our lives. However, throughout Scripture we see strong Biblical characters doubting God, doubting Jesus. Their faith was rocked and their confidence shaken. 

Point:

So, how do you respond to doubt? Fill in that blank this morning. 

How Do You Respond To Doubt? 

Context and Background:

At the very beginning of Luke’s Gospel, we encounter John The Baptist. John was considered the faithful forerunner of Jesus Himself. He was one calling out in the wilderness making straight a path for the Messiah. Yet, something happens to John between chapters 3 and 7. Something came along and knocked John down, shook his faith, and made him question the very nature of Jesus’ identity. 

What knocked John down? LIFE! 

The same life that knocks us down. The same life that when everything is going great slaps us across our face and leaves us broken and busted. 

John, who has done nothing but spread God’s message about the coming Messiah has been imprisoned by the ruthless Herod. Matthew’s version of this story states explicitly that John is in prison when he sends his disciples to ask Jesus who he is; presumably, he cannot come to Jesus himself.

John who had probably seen miracles during his own ministry, the same guy who had baptized thousands in the desert, the same fella who was faithful to God’s call has wound up in jail. To make things worse, John had been sentenced to death and later would be beheaded. Talk about feeling a bit discouraged. 

So, this morning, we come to Luke 7:18-28. Jesus has healed the centurion’s servant from disease. He has also raised the widow’s son from the dead. He has performed astonishing feats and miracles. In today’s Scripture we see John’s disciples questioning Jesus, “are you really the one” and then we see Jesus’ response. John is doubtful but Jesus is daring! Let’s read together. 

Scripture:

Luke 7:18-30 ESV

18 The disciples of John reported all these things to him. And John, 19 calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to the Lord, saying, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” 20 And when the men had come to him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to you, saying, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?’” 21 In that hour he healed many people of diseases and plagues and evil spirits, and on many who were blind he bestowed sight. 22 And he answered them, “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them. 23 And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”

24 When John's messengers had gone, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? 25 What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who are dressed in splendid clothing and live in luxury are in kings' courts. 26 What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 27 This is he of whom it is written,

“‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face,

    who will prepare your way before you.’

28 I tell you, among those born of women none is greater than John. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.” 29 (When all the people heard this, and the tax collectors too, they declared God just, having been baptized with the baptism of John, 30 but the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected the purpose of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him.)

Illustration: The Whelk

The whelk is a this little ocean creature can ruin an oyster’s day. The whelk has an appendage that works like an corkscrew, With which it can bore a small hole in the top of an oyster’s shell.

Then through this very small hole a whelk can devour an entire oyster, It simply sucks it out little by little until the oyster is gone.

A little doubt can do this to a person, as well.

Doubt can be dangerous if it goes undefended. Let’s look at how John defends his faith from doubt.

How Did John Battle Doubt?

I. John Was Transparent vs. 18

Luke 7:18-19 ESV

18 The disciples of John reported all these things to him. And John, 19 calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to the Lord, saying, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” 

Illustration:

I love stained glass windows don’t you. In my former church, there are stained glass windows seemingly everywhere. At First Montgomery, they have two sanctuaries. One sanctuary is over 150 years old and it possess the original stained glass windows. They are really something to behold. Years ago, the church became a bit frightened that someone might try to damage the windows, so they put a covering over the outside the windows. That covering limited the amount of light that could shine through the windows and dulled their purpose which was to shine the story of the Gospel through beautiful pictures. When the glass lost its transparency, it lost its purpose. 

Transparency is key.  

Point:

In verse 18-19 we are introduced to a very transparent John the Baptist. John was probably frustrated. He was probably disillusioned. He was discouraged for sure. After all, he was in jail and soon to be beheaded. Clearly this was a low point for Jesus’ cousin. 

Wouldn’t you feel the same? Was John faithful to God’s call? Yep. Was he obedient? Sure. Did he step aside for Jesus so that Jesus could have the larger more prominent ministry. You betcha. So, where did all this faithfulness lead John? That’s right…the gallows. 

Point:

You’ve been there before haven’t you? You’ve been faithful. You’ve been good. You’ve been giving. You pray and pray and pray and still you feel that God has given you no answer. You still lost that job. You are still stuck in that dead end carrier. You prayed for God’s help, studied really hard, and still bombed that test. 

God, do you care? Are you even there? Can you hear me? Why won’t you respond?

I see some of you nodding your heads. I have been there too. 

Point:

So what do we do with that doubt? What do we do with those questions?  For the most part, we cover it. We bury it. We don’t talk about it and we certainly don’t admit to church people, any people for that matter, that we are struggling and doubting. Instead of being transparent, we cover our feelings and frustrations up hoping that one sees that we are actually human. 

Christians, when you lose your transparency, you lose your purpose. You lose your power. You dim the light of God that can shine through your weakness. 

Look in the Bible, think about the people that made the most impact. It was the people that admitted that they didn’t have it all figured out. It was the people that doubted in themselves and also doubted God. It was the people who were not afraid to be human. 

Moses was a lousy speaker and doubted in God’s ability to help him navigate that handicap. 

David was a adulterer, a murderer even, and had to come clean before Nathan. Would God even use a man like David?

Abraham and Sarah doubted God’s plan for them when they questioned God about Issac being born. 

What about Peter? What about Andrew, James and John? All of them were terrible fisherman and they constantly questioned Jesus about His identity. Peter even denied Jesus 3 times. 

Paul? Don’t get me started on Paul. 

Point:

Friends, God handle us being real with him. John sent some of his followers to ask Jesus, “hey, are you really him, because if you are him, why am I stuck in this hole about to be decapitated.” Was Jesus offended? NO! Jesus can handle our doubt and discouragement. He is strong. He can take it. 

Point:

Notice what John’s transparent question does, it puts him on a journey of faith with Jesus. 

Point:

Doubt tears down the castle walls to force us on a journey. It may feel like God is far away or absent when in fact doubt is a gift of God to move us to spiritual maturity.

Doubt is not a sign of weakness but a sign of growth.

Doubting God is painful and frightening because we think we are leaving God behind, but we are only leaving behind the idea of God we like to surround ourselves with—the small God, the God we control, the God who agrees with us.

Doubt forces us to look at who we think God is and discover God is so much bigger than we could have ever dreamed of.

Point:

To battle doubt, John got real about where he was and was unashamed to admit that he was a human being with real emotions and fears. We might learn a thing or two from John. 

Quote:

“Doubt is the skeleton in the closet of faith and I know no better way to treat a skeleton than to bring it into the open and expose it for what it is: not something to hide or fear, but a hard structure on which living tissue may grow.”

Philip Yancey

Jude 1:22 NIV

Be merciful to those who doubt…

How Did John Battle Doubt?

I. John Was Transparent vs. 18

II. John Had A Team vs. 18-20

Luke 7:18-20 ESV

18 The disciples of John reported all these things to him. And John, 19 calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to the Lord, saying, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” 20 And when the men had come to him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to you, saying, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?’” 

John’s Team Was…

I. Persistant 

II. Prayerful

III. Persistent (They Went Back To John With Jesus’ Response)

Illustration:

One of my favorite animated movies is Shrek. Do you remember that film. Shrek, an ugly ogre, is sent on a quest to free princess Fiona in hopes that he will regain his swampy home. Along the way he meets Donkey. Remember Donkey. For the better part of the film, Shrek tries to rid himself of the seemingly annoying pest. Shrek doesn’t need help. As the film plays out, Shrek is faced with difficult decisions, obstacles, and hardships. When Shrek is about to give up, Donkey is there to encourage him and keep him moving forward. 

it is a great lesson in what true friendship looks like. True friends will not abandon you, rather they stick with you. True friends encourage you instead of allowing you to be dragged down. 

Point:

John has some good friends. These friends are also disciples or followers of John. These men would have been familiar with John’s plight. They would have seen their master discouraged and no doubt John had talked to them about his fears and his worries. Notice what these friends do for John. In verse 18 we see that these men “report all these things to him”. That’s an important statement. What things did they report? They reported that Jesus had just raised up two people from the dead. Notice that Jesus heals the servant of a faithful centurion and then raised to life the son of a faithless widow.

This is big news. 

This is encouraging news. 

These men see their master down and they do what they can to lift his spirits. They remind John about Jesus identity. They tell John proof of Jesus’ purpose. 

Point:

Friends, these men illustrate a powerful point. When you are doubting God, do not trust your feelings, trust what you know. Remember all the ways that God has been faithful to you, how He has led you and protected you. Recall all the ways that God showers you with His blessings. You are here, right now living in this moment because God has gotten you this far and he is not about to abandon you. 

Point:

Not only did these men remind John about who Jesus is and what Jesus is doing, they went to Jesus on John’s behalf. What these guys did physically, we should do prayerfully. If you are down, discouraged, and doubting, enlist the help of prayer warriors to lift you up to the Lord. Have them pray for your strength and renewal. Yes, this will mean that you must first open up, be transparent, and admit your humanity. It is a dangerous but worthwhile mission to have others pray for you. 

Point:

The Devil will convince you that sharing your pain with others will result in judgement, condemnation and abandonment.  That is not true and it is an absolute lie. 

Point:

For the record, there are tons of teams it the Bible. David had Johnathan. Moses had Aaron. Adam had Eve. Jesus had His disciples. Paul had Barnabas. John the Baptist had these faithful disciples. So, who is on your team. Who have you enlisted you to remind you about Jesus’ goodness and greatness? Who is praying for you? 

Proverbs 11:14 ESV

Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety.

How Did John Battle Doubt?

I. John Was Transparent vs. 18

II. John Had A Team vs. 18-20

III. John Trusted vs. vs. 22-23

Luke 7:22-23 ESV

22 And he answered them, “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them. 23 And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”

Point:

Jesus delivers two very powerful things to John through John’s disciples. First, Jesus acts. He hears John’s doubt and it drives Him to perhaps the most profound healing service ever. Jesus takes John question and turns it into an answer. John, look what I can do. See what God can do. 

For the doubter, never think for a second that God is moving. He is. He is always stirring His people. God is in control and our doubt in Him will not remove him from the throne. 

Second, Jesus gives John something that he can really grab on to. 

“Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them. 23 And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”

What Jesus is saying to John is a direct quote from Isaiah 35:5. 

Isaiah 35:5-6

Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy. Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert.

Jesus, in giving a nod to the Old Testament prophet, is telling John the Baptist, yes, I am who think I am. 

Point:

So, things turned out good for John right? He was released, went back to the desert and continued ministry right? Nope. John was never released and Herod had him beheaded. At least on the earthly side of things, it seems that John got the wrong end of that deal. Yet, on the heavenly side of things, John was rewarded. 

How do I know this? Let me remind you what Paul has to say about the issue of dying or living for Christ. 

Philippians 1:18-24 ESV

Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, 19 for I know that through your prayers and God’s provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance. 20 I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. 21 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. 22 If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! 23 I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; 24 but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body.

Point:

You see, Paul had a heavenly perspective. The troubles of this life are temporary and fading. He was good to stay if that is what God wanted because he knew that there was still work to be done. However, being set free from this life meant being with Jesus. 

For the doubter, keep fighting because there is work to be done. Fight until God sets you free in death  to be with Him. John the doubter moved to John the devoted. It may take time, but struggling through your doubt today will make you a stronger and wiser person. You will have a deeper relationship with Christ and you will find yourself as a workman approved to do good works in Jesus name. 

Closing Illustration: Mother Teressa’s Doubt

Today, Mother Teresa of Calcutta is primarily remembered for her selfless service to the poor and sick, but a book of letters printed after her death revealed that even she struggled with doubt at times.

The letters showed a different woman than the symbol of Christian love and unwavering faith that much of the media portrayed her as. She frequently wrote of loneliness, not hearing from God, personal hypocrisy and doubts about her own faith: “Darkness is such that I really do not see—neither with my mind nor with my reason—the place of God in my soul is blank—There is no God in me—when the pain of longing is so great—I just long & long for God … The torture and pain I can’t explain.”

She frequently asked privately for prayers, writing “Such deep longing for God—and … repulsed—empty—no faith—no love—no zeal. (Saving) souls holds no attraction—Heaven means nothing—pray for me please that I keep smiling at Him in spite of everything.”

She wrote to a friend, “I spoke as if my very heart was in love with God—tender, personal love. If you were (there), you would have said, ‘What hypocrisy.'”

But, even though she experienced chapters of loneliness and feelings of isolation from God, her devotion to her calling never wavered, and today she’s remembered for her love of the poor and heeding of Christ’s command to care for them.

Mother Teresa was not a fake; she did not lose her faith. In fact, her faith grew all the time while she was walking in darkness with the Lord. Her experience, however, shows that faith is the strongest when there are no feelings and reassurances. All saints speak of similar experiences.

Proverbs 3:5-8 ESV

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones.

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