1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:02,960 Well, this semester we're talking about listening to God. 2 00:00:03,440 --> 00:00:06,840 Listening to God because the Lord was not in the wind, the Lord 3 00:00:06,840 --> 00:00:08,960 was not in the earthquake, the Lord was not in the fire. 4 00:00:09,680 --> 00:00:12,320 But after the fire, a gentle whisper. 5 00:00:12,800 --> 00:00:15,280 And in the gentle whisper, we hear God. 6 00:00:15,919 --> 00:00:18,000 And we understand how to hear God. 7 00:00:18,160 --> 00:00:19,160 To understand that. 8 00:00:19,160 --> 00:00:22,440 We started with Elijah, which was in the worst of the worst situation. 9 00:00:22,440 --> 00:00:26,520 He was absolutely hopeless from the circumstances of life. 10 00:00:26,520 --> 00:00:28,090 And if you can hear God in. 11 00:00:28,160 --> 00:00:32,080 In hopelessness, you can hear God in all the other challenges of 12 00:00:32,080 --> 00:00:32,400 life. 13 00:00:33,280 --> 00:00:37,440 And so we learn from Elijah four things. 14 00:00:37,840 --> 00:00:41,920 First of all, we have to be willing to hear. 15 00:00:42,640 --> 00:00:47,200 If God dealt with you today and gave you answers and helped you 16 00:00:47,200 --> 00:00:51,360 cope with your doubt, whether those be answers or just acceptance 17 00:00:51,760 --> 00:00:53,440 with your doubt, would you do it? 18 00:00:54,750 --> 00:00:56,190 You have to be willing to hear. 19 00:00:56,590 --> 00:01:01,550 Second, we learned from Elijah that you have to ask God to speak 20 00:01:01,550 --> 00:01:02,190 to you. 21 00:01:03,470 --> 00:01:06,590 So often we don't hear from God because we don't ask him to. 22 00:01:06,590 --> 00:01:09,510 And when it comes to doubt, we're afraid sometimes to ask him 23 00:01:09,510 --> 00:01:12,230 to because we think somehow we can't bring our doubts to God. 24 00:01:12,230 --> 00:01:12,910 Sure he can. 25 00:01:13,630 --> 00:01:15,470 We have to ask him to speak to us. 26 00:01:15,630 --> 00:01:21,000 And then we learn from Elijah that hearing from from God requires 27 00:01:21,000 --> 00:01:21,720 reflection. 28 00:01:22,200 --> 00:01:25,320 When God finally came to Elijah after all he'd been through, 29 00:01:25,560 --> 00:01:26,880 he didn't give him the answer. 30 00:01:26,880 --> 00:01:28,760 He said to Elijah, what are you doing here? 31 00:01:29,480 --> 00:01:30,360 Figure it out. 32 00:01:31,240 --> 00:01:34,960 I gave you all these victories just a little bit ago, and now you're 33 00:01:34,960 --> 00:01:38,440 here groveling in the desert and you're scared to death what happened. 34 00:01:39,000 --> 00:01:40,120 Reflect on it. 35 00:01:40,760 --> 00:01:44,560 And then we learn from Elijah that you have to get close to God 36 00:01:44,560 --> 00:01:48,700 to hear him, because often he speaks in a whisper. 37 00:01:49,500 --> 00:01:51,980 And if you're not close, you can't hear the whisper. 38 00:01:52,540 --> 00:01:53,900 God is approachable. 39 00:01:54,380 --> 00:01:55,900 We can go to him in Scripture. 40 00:01:55,900 --> 00:01:58,380 We can go to him from Understanding Kingdom perspective. 41 00:01:58,460 --> 00:02:00,780 We can listen to him from other Christian people. 42 00:02:00,860 --> 00:02:03,780 But we got to sometimes just turn off the noise and clatter in 43 00:02:03,780 --> 00:02:04,460 order to hear. 44 00:02:06,300 --> 00:02:10,620 But the question is not just what God's saying in every situation. 45 00:02:10,700 --> 00:02:12,540 The question is, are we willing to listen? 46 00:02:12,540 --> 00:02:17,210 Because Elijah, excuse me, God never left Elijah. 47 00:02:17,690 --> 00:02:19,210 Elijah stopped listening. 48 00:02:19,770 --> 00:02:24,930 And when we stopped listening, that's when God seemed so far and 49 00:02:24,930 --> 00:02:27,450 in our doubts, he seemed silent. 50 00:02:27,850 --> 00:02:30,170 God promises the best for you and for me. 51 00:02:30,250 --> 00:02:34,130 Better than we can imagine a way of life to get through the messiness 52 00:02:34,130 --> 00:02:37,050 and the challenges and to capture the best in life. 53 00:02:37,290 --> 00:02:41,880 And this semester my prayer for us is that we will learn to listen 54 00:02:41,880 --> 00:02:43,360 better to God. 55 00:02:43,760 --> 00:02:47,920 And today we're going to ask him to Speak to us about doubt. 56 00:02:48,720 --> 00:02:52,320 So let's pray together and ask God to speak. 57 00:02:53,840 --> 00:02:55,600 Lord, we come to you with our doubts. 58 00:02:55,600 --> 00:02:57,280 We're going to put them right in front of you. 59 00:02:58,480 --> 00:03:00,320 We're going to not hide them. 60 00:03:00,880 --> 00:03:02,080 We're going to admit them. 61 00:03:03,200 --> 00:03:07,080 And that's scary because then what happens? 62 00:03:08,040 --> 00:03:10,840 Well, you've got to give us the answer, and we trust you for 63 00:03:10,840 --> 00:03:11,160 that. 64 00:03:11,800 --> 00:03:13,240 In your name we ask it. 65 00:03:13,320 --> 00:03:13,960 Amen. 66 00:03:16,600 --> 00:03:18,880 Listening to God in doubt. 67 00:03:18,880 --> 00:03:20,120 Here's the bottom line. 68 00:03:20,920 --> 00:03:22,200 The bottom line is this. 69 00:03:22,200 --> 00:03:25,880 There is no faith without some doubting. 70 00:03:27,000 --> 00:03:32,810 But our faith is stronger every time we understand and resolve 71 00:03:32,970 --> 00:03:33,530 doubt. 72 00:03:34,650 --> 00:03:38,170 And so listening to our doubt is the most important opportunity 73 00:03:38,170 --> 00:03:39,370 to grow in Christ. 74 00:03:39,610 --> 00:03:44,170 Because every time we have our doubts, then we get closer to God. 75 00:03:45,130 --> 00:03:48,370 And we'll have more doubts after that and more doubts after 76 00:03:48,370 --> 00:03:51,330 that, as we'll see from some of the heroes of faith who lived 77 00:03:51,330 --> 00:03:55,010 that and showed us that that's how they lived until they got to 78 00:03:55,010 --> 00:03:56,410 a level of confirmation. 79 00:03:57,270 --> 00:04:00,190 Well, the foundation of everything in life is trust, isn't 80 00:04:00,190 --> 00:04:00,470 it? 81 00:04:01,430 --> 00:04:04,390 I trusted this morning when I was running a little late for first 82 00:04:04,390 --> 00:04:07,110 chapel that when I got in my car, it would start and it would 83 00:04:07,110 --> 00:04:08,070 go, and it did. 84 00:04:09,110 --> 00:04:11,670 And I trusted that my computer would come on early this morning 85 00:04:11,670 --> 00:04:13,910 when I needed to catch some emails, and it did. 86 00:04:14,710 --> 00:04:19,230 And I trust that gravity holds us right here in place and we don't 87 00:04:19,230 --> 00:04:24,540 spin off into deep space as this world we're on is traveling 88 00:04:24,540 --> 00:04:26,020 at thousands of miles an hour. 89 00:04:27,140 --> 00:04:28,820 But gravity we trust. 90 00:04:29,780 --> 00:04:34,020 We don't understand it, but we can still trust it. 91 00:04:34,900 --> 00:04:38,340 I don't understand everything about my car, but I can still trust 92 00:04:38,340 --> 00:04:38,499 it. 93 00:04:38,499 --> 00:04:41,420 I don't understand how my computer works, but I can trust it. 94 00:04:41,420 --> 00:04:43,620 I don't really get how gravity works. 95 00:04:43,700 --> 00:04:44,820 It's pretty amazing. 96 00:04:45,140 --> 00:04:48,460 There's just the right amount of gravity, but I can trust it. 97 00:04:49,330 --> 00:04:51,650 You trust Belhaven to prepare you for your future. 98 00:04:52,370 --> 00:04:53,410 You chose us. 99 00:04:53,570 --> 00:04:54,770 You didn't have to come here. 100 00:04:55,170 --> 00:04:56,090 You chose us. 101 00:04:56,090 --> 00:04:58,850 You trusted us to prepare you for a future. 102 00:04:58,930 --> 00:05:00,290 You trust your parents. 103 00:05:00,290 --> 00:05:01,570 You trust your family. 104 00:05:03,170 --> 00:05:08,010 My wife and I trusted each other 49 years ago when we made a 105 00:05:08,010 --> 00:05:12,450 commitment to each other that we wouldn't break that pledge. 106 00:05:14,140 --> 00:05:19,100 We trust God, who made us, who redeems us, who guides us. 107 00:05:19,260 --> 00:05:22,860 We don't always understand it all, but we still trust. 108 00:05:22,940 --> 00:05:27,260 Because trust is foundational to everything that happens in life. 109 00:05:27,980 --> 00:05:29,180 But here's the thing. 110 00:05:29,180 --> 00:05:33,180 The more you know about something, the more you can trust 111 00:05:33,180 --> 00:05:33,500 it. 112 00:05:34,780 --> 00:05:36,620 I got a really nice car now. 113 00:05:36,620 --> 00:05:39,260 I don't know much about it, but I Used to have an old clunker. 114 00:05:39,830 --> 00:05:40,910 I mean, it was really bad. 115 00:05:40,910 --> 00:05:43,590 It was beat up and rusted, all this stuff. 116 00:05:43,750 --> 00:05:44,870 Sometimes it didn't start. 117 00:05:44,950 --> 00:05:47,990 I trusted that car totally because I knew it inside and out 118 00:05:48,230 --> 00:05:51,350 and I knew how to fix it and I knew what to do when it wouldn't 119 00:05:51,350 --> 00:05:52,470 do what I wanted it to do. 120 00:05:52,470 --> 00:05:56,950 Because I knew that car so well, I could still trust it, even 121 00:05:56,950 --> 00:06:00,230 though it was far from coming off the showroom floor. 122 00:06:01,670 --> 00:06:03,110 Belhaven, you trust. 123 00:06:03,670 --> 00:06:05,510 I hate to say Belhaven's not perfect. 124 00:06:06,620 --> 00:06:08,220 There's things sometimes we get wrong. 125 00:06:09,020 --> 00:06:14,140 But the more you know it, even with those flaws, you trust more 126 00:06:14,220 --> 00:06:15,100 and more. 127 00:06:15,980 --> 00:06:19,180 Your family, your friends, your relationships that you're in, 128 00:06:20,140 --> 00:06:23,900 they're sometimes bumpy, they're sometimes rocky, but you 129 00:06:23,900 --> 00:06:26,620 can still trust because you know them so well. 130 00:06:28,540 --> 00:06:32,110 My wife, after all these years, I came up the other day. 131 00:06:32,110 --> 00:06:33,830 We've known each other 53 years. 132 00:06:34,310 --> 00:06:35,270 That's a long time. 133 00:06:35,990 --> 00:06:37,030 53 years. 134 00:06:37,670 --> 00:06:38,870 I'm not perfect. 135 00:06:39,910 --> 00:06:42,790 After 53 years, I'm pretty well convinced she is. 136 00:06:43,510 --> 00:06:44,470 I really am. 137 00:06:45,430 --> 00:06:46,390 I'm fortunate. 138 00:06:47,110 --> 00:06:49,910 We trust God more through the years. 139 00:06:50,550 --> 00:06:51,910 The more we know him. 140 00:06:52,550 --> 00:06:56,230 You see, Christianity breaks down to how much we can trust. 141 00:06:57,040 --> 00:07:01,360 And the more you know God, the more you can trust God. 142 00:07:02,560 --> 00:07:06,160 That is central to our doubts. 143 00:07:07,600 --> 00:07:11,280 See, our relationship with God is not just a bunch of promises. 144 00:07:11,280 --> 00:07:13,200 I'm thankful for the promises of God. 145 00:07:13,200 --> 00:07:13,920 I love them. 146 00:07:14,400 --> 00:07:18,640 We put them on social media, we stick them in little reminders 147 00:07:18,640 --> 00:07:22,000 in our books, in our rooms, and whatever it may be. 148 00:07:22,160 --> 00:07:26,540 But Christianity and faith in God is not just about promises. 149 00:07:26,540 --> 00:07:27,420 It's a process. 150 00:07:28,380 --> 00:07:30,700 And that process is often complex. 151 00:07:31,100 --> 00:07:35,740 And it's messy and it's confusing, and it's called life. 152 00:07:37,340 --> 00:07:43,740 And sometimes our relationship with God runs so counter to the world, 153 00:07:44,060 --> 00:07:45,740 it just feels out of sorts. 154 00:07:47,500 --> 00:07:50,660 There's a book I love, I probably mentioned it before, called 155 00:07:50,660 --> 00:07:52,060 the Upside Down Kingdom. 156 00:07:52,680 --> 00:07:56,680 In other words, everything that the world values, God devalues. 157 00:07:56,680 --> 00:07:58,840 And everything God devalues the world. 158 00:07:59,720 --> 00:08:02,360 Excuse me, everything God values, the world devalues. 159 00:08:03,080 --> 00:08:08,120 So issues like grace and forgiveness and putting the least 160 00:08:08,600 --> 00:08:12,280 powerful first don't make sense in our world. 161 00:08:13,320 --> 00:08:16,840 And in that, the process is messy. 162 00:08:17,080 --> 00:08:20,620 You see, lived out faith raises doubts. 163 00:08:21,340 --> 00:08:24,820 And if you're living the Christian faith and you're living 164 00:08:24,820 --> 00:08:27,340 in the complexity of life, you're going to have doubts. 165 00:08:27,980 --> 00:08:31,900 But the good news is God can handle our doubts. 166 00:08:32,620 --> 00:08:34,300 He's not afraid of our doubts. 167 00:08:34,780 --> 00:08:37,420 We're probably more afraid of him than he is. 168 00:08:38,060 --> 00:08:41,900 But if you go back through Scripture, almost everybody doubted 169 00:08:41,980 --> 00:08:45,700 Elijah, that we started this whole series about Elijah doubted 170 00:08:45,700 --> 00:08:49,480 God had just given this huge victory, amazing victory. 171 00:08:49,480 --> 00:08:54,160 And here he is, just not very many days later, hiding in the desert, 172 00:08:54,160 --> 00:08:55,000 scared to death. 173 00:08:55,800 --> 00:08:58,200 He doubted completely. 174 00:08:58,440 --> 00:09:00,760 Moses doubted Moses. 175 00:09:00,760 --> 00:09:05,160 God brought him throughout to lead the people out of Egypt and 176 00:09:05,160 --> 00:09:08,120 out of slavery and in, across the Red Sea. 177 00:09:08,120 --> 00:09:09,240 And all that happened. 178 00:09:09,400 --> 00:09:14,200 And Moses still doubted he'd been in the presence of God. 179 00:09:14,920 --> 00:09:18,680 God in those days wasn't revealed into people like the Holy 180 00:09:18,680 --> 00:09:20,600 Spirit reveals himself to us now. 181 00:09:20,840 --> 00:09:27,240 God's presence was often contained and he was invited in. 182 00:09:27,240 --> 00:09:30,200 And Moses had been in God's presence. 183 00:09:31,320 --> 00:09:33,880 He was overwhelmed by God's presence. 184 00:09:34,600 --> 00:09:38,040 He'd had that experience and he still doubted. 185 00:09:39,240 --> 00:09:42,870 David in the Psalms, vocalizes doubts. 186 00:09:43,750 --> 00:09:48,230 He just kind of screams out and questions God, why are you doing 187 00:09:48,230 --> 00:09:48,430 this? 188 00:09:48,430 --> 00:09:49,950 Why don't you take care of my enemies? 189 00:09:49,950 --> 00:09:51,230 Why do you let me suffer? 190 00:09:51,230 --> 00:09:54,630 He asks the questions that we're afraid to ask out loud. 191 00:09:54,710 --> 00:09:58,870 And the disciples who knew Jesus best even doubted. 192 00:09:59,590 --> 00:10:04,950 We see that all the way through their life until after the 193 00:10:04,950 --> 00:10:07,550 resurrection, when they saw something dead. 194 00:10:07,550 --> 00:10:11,540 But even at that point, Thomas, who wasn't there when Jesus 195 00:10:11,540 --> 00:10:13,940 first appeared to the disciples, doubted. 196 00:10:14,580 --> 00:10:15,860 He didn't think it was true. 197 00:10:17,380 --> 00:10:23,180 And the amazing thing is that even with his doubts, Jesus loved 198 00:10:23,180 --> 00:10:23,460 him. 199 00:10:24,420 --> 00:10:27,220 Jesus didn't push him away because he doubted. 200 00:10:27,380 --> 00:10:28,740 He invited him in. 201 00:10:28,980 --> 00:10:30,420 In fact, here's a scripture. 202 00:10:31,540 --> 00:10:34,380 It says, One of the 12 disciples, Thomas, was not with the 203 00:10:34,380 --> 00:10:34,620 others. 204 00:10:34,620 --> 00:10:35,620 When Jesus came. 205 00:10:36,940 --> 00:10:38,940 They told him, we've seen the Lord. 206 00:10:38,940 --> 00:10:42,860 But he replied, I won't believe it unless I see the nail 207 00:10:42,860 --> 00:10:46,780 wounds in his hand and put my fingers into them and place my hand 208 00:10:46,780 --> 00:10:48,700 into the wound in his side. 209 00:10:49,900 --> 00:10:52,300 Eight days later, the disciples were together again. 210 00:10:52,300 --> 00:10:53,980 This time, Thomas was with them. 211 00:10:54,220 --> 00:10:55,660 The doors were locked. 212 00:10:56,060 --> 00:10:59,740 But suddenly, as before, Jesus was standing among them. 213 00:11:00,460 --> 00:11:02,140 Peace be with you, he said. 214 00:11:03,460 --> 00:11:08,100 Then he said to Thomas, put your finger here and look at my hands. 215 00:11:08,820 --> 00:11:10,980 Put your hand into the wounds of my side. 216 00:11:12,340 --> 00:11:14,180 Don't be faithless any longer. 217 00:11:14,660 --> 00:11:18,299 Believe, my Lord, my God. 218 00:11:18,299 --> 00:11:19,540 Thomas exclaimed. 219 00:11:20,180 --> 00:11:25,220 Then Jesus told him, you believe because you have seen me. 220 00:11:26,260 --> 00:11:27,880 Blessed are those who. 221 00:11:27,950 --> 00:11:31,550 Who believe without seeing me. 222 00:11:33,470 --> 00:11:36,910 Believing without seeing is sometimes very difficult. 223 00:11:38,590 --> 00:11:42,030 You see, doubt is not the opposite of faith. 224 00:11:43,310 --> 00:11:45,390 Doubt is not unbelief. 225 00:11:46,110 --> 00:11:51,950 Doubt is that state of suspension between belief and faith 226 00:11:52,430 --> 00:11:53,790 and unbelief. 227 00:11:54,690 --> 00:11:55,410 It's in between. 228 00:11:56,130 --> 00:11:58,130 It's being held there in limbo. 229 00:11:58,850 --> 00:12:05,250 To hear God in our doubts, we need to understand that we've got 230 00:12:05,250 --> 00:12:06,450 to do something about it. 231 00:12:06,690 --> 00:12:09,730 So let's start by figuring out why it is that we doubt. 232 00:12:10,210 --> 00:12:12,850 And I Think there are seven reasons why we doubt. 233 00:12:13,810 --> 00:12:16,530 The first is we forget to remember. 234 00:12:17,490 --> 00:12:18,770 We forget to remember. 235 00:12:19,490 --> 00:12:26,600 A story today from Joshua that Emma read for us where Joshua recounted 236 00:12:26,600 --> 00:12:29,560 the story about how they'd been slaves in Egypt. 237 00:12:29,880 --> 00:12:30,520 Jesus. 238 00:12:30,600 --> 00:12:31,000 God. 239 00:12:31,000 --> 00:12:31,480 Excuse me. 240 00:12:31,480 --> 00:12:34,440 God brought them out of that with the plagues against the Egyptian 241 00:12:34,440 --> 00:12:36,440 people until the pharaoh let them go. 242 00:12:36,440 --> 00:12:39,080 And then they went across the Red Sea and the pharaoh changed his 243 00:12:39,080 --> 00:12:41,960 mind and they came after him to try to capture him again. 244 00:12:42,280 --> 00:12:48,910 And as they did, the pharaoh's army was all taken in the sea as 245 00:12:48,910 --> 00:12:51,910 it collapsed around them after the Israelites had walked through 246 00:12:51,910 --> 00:12:52,790 on dry land. 247 00:12:53,110 --> 00:12:54,710 And then they got to the other side. 248 00:12:54,710 --> 00:12:57,550 And they said after they got there a little bit, they were glad 249 00:12:57,550 --> 00:12:57,910 to be away. 250 00:12:57,910 --> 00:12:59,750 But they said, what are we going to do now? 251 00:12:59,750 --> 00:13:00,910 We're out in the middle of nowhere. 252 00:13:00,910 --> 00:13:02,150 We have nothing to eat. 253 00:13:02,550 --> 00:13:03,589 We have no water. 254 00:13:04,070 --> 00:13:05,310 And God made a way. 255 00:13:05,310 --> 00:13:09,350 And Moses struck his staff on the rock and it gave water. 256 00:13:09,590 --> 00:13:13,270 And God brought manna by heaven every day and fed the people. 257 00:13:14,510 --> 00:13:15,790 And they still doubted. 258 00:13:16,110 --> 00:13:19,830 And God let them wander for 40 years in the wilderness before he 259 00:13:19,830 --> 00:13:22,910 brought them to the promised land, the land we now know as Israel. 260 00:13:23,150 --> 00:13:26,510 Before he brought them there and that land was occupied. 261 00:13:26,670 --> 00:13:30,430 And Emma read the names of all the nations that had to be conquered 262 00:13:30,430 --> 00:13:32,030 in order to take that land. 263 00:13:32,990 --> 00:13:34,830 And God allowed that to happen. 264 00:13:34,990 --> 00:13:38,750 That's the story Joshua tells them to remember. 265 00:13:40,000 --> 00:13:42,840 He says, if you forget to remember, you're not going to trust 266 00:13:42,840 --> 00:13:43,760 God for the future. 267 00:13:44,320 --> 00:13:45,440 You've got to remember. 268 00:13:45,680 --> 00:13:48,240 And when you don't remember, that's why you doubt. 269 00:13:48,800 --> 00:13:52,400 Second reason we doubt is we have a faulty view of God. 270 00:13:53,920 --> 00:13:56,000 Maybe we think of God as harsh. 271 00:13:56,560 --> 00:13:58,720 God's just waiting for me to make a mistake. 272 00:13:59,200 --> 00:14:02,440 I just mess it up and God will flick me off into hell and he'll 273 00:14:02,440 --> 00:14:03,280 go on down the road. 274 00:14:03,280 --> 00:14:04,400 Cause that doesn't matter. 275 00:14:05,370 --> 00:14:07,610 Or maybe we have a view of God that's too small. 276 00:14:08,250 --> 00:14:10,690 We're dealing with problems and complexities and things that 277 00:14:10,690 --> 00:14:15,250 are difficult with our family or medical or decisions or whatever. 278 00:14:15,250 --> 00:14:17,370 And we feel like there's no way out. 279 00:14:17,610 --> 00:14:20,170 And we think God is too small, can't handle it. 280 00:14:20,569 --> 00:14:21,490 God can handle it. 281 00:14:21,490 --> 00:14:24,650 Our faulty view of God can lead us to doubts. 282 00:14:25,530 --> 00:14:27,770 Maybe we have a weak foundation. 283 00:14:28,730 --> 00:14:31,210 We've never wrestled with the hard questions. 284 00:14:31,370 --> 00:14:33,530 We take the simplistic answers to things. 285 00:14:33,530 --> 00:14:36,930 And so we've never really dealt with the hard questions of 286 00:14:36,930 --> 00:14:37,290 faith. 287 00:14:37,290 --> 00:14:42,570 And let our faith stand up to these questions of tests. 288 00:14:42,570 --> 00:14:44,810 And because of that, our foundation is weak. 289 00:14:44,810 --> 00:14:48,930 And so when the challenges come we feel wobbly in our faith 290 00:14:48,930 --> 00:14:49,690 and we doubt. 291 00:14:50,090 --> 00:14:53,290 Maybe it's because we have never fully committed. 292 00:14:54,250 --> 00:14:58,210 You know, I've hired tons of coaches through the years here at 293 00:14:58,210 --> 00:14:58,770 Belhaven. 294 00:14:58,770 --> 00:15:00,810 I don't think I've ever hired a coach who says. 295 00:15:00,890 --> 00:15:03,530 When I asked him what's the key to the team, he said, I. I've 296 00:15:03,530 --> 00:15:06,330 got to have the players fully commit to the system. 297 00:15:07,450 --> 00:15:11,130 If you're fully committed to the system, we're going to do well. 298 00:15:12,570 --> 00:15:15,250 I've never always understood what the system is, but they know 299 00:15:15,250 --> 00:15:17,650 it well and they usually give me a booklet that explains the system 300 00:15:17,650 --> 00:15:18,250 like that. 301 00:15:18,250 --> 00:15:22,170 And then when they're winning, I say, why are you winning like the 302 00:15:22,170 --> 00:15:23,090 basketball team is now? 303 00:15:23,090 --> 00:15:24,970 I asked Coach not long ago, why are you winning? 304 00:15:24,970 --> 00:15:26,730 Because they're fully committed to the system. 305 00:15:26,890 --> 00:15:28,170 They're fully committed. 306 00:15:28,170 --> 00:15:29,130 That's why we're winning. 307 00:15:31,220 --> 00:15:33,460 What's required when you're fully committed? 308 00:15:34,340 --> 00:15:38,740 Maybe some of us are afraid of what's required to be fully committed. 309 00:15:38,980 --> 00:15:40,420 And so we have doubts. 310 00:15:41,140 --> 00:15:44,980 Maybe we doubt because we're not growing in Christ. 311 00:15:45,940 --> 00:15:47,860 Being stagnant feels safe. 312 00:15:48,740 --> 00:15:54,300 Trusting God for more is scary, and so we're just happy with 313 00:15:54,300 --> 00:15:54,540 that. 314 00:15:54,540 --> 00:15:56,980 But in that we're going to have doubts develop. 315 00:15:57,640 --> 00:16:00,920 Maybe we doubt because we're dependent on an emotional faith. 316 00:16:01,480 --> 00:16:03,160 Emotions are part of trust. 317 00:16:04,200 --> 00:16:05,960 Absolutely they're part of trust. 318 00:16:05,960 --> 00:16:09,560 But if they're all there is, emotions can't sustain. 319 00:16:10,360 --> 00:16:11,800 There has to be a track record. 320 00:16:11,880 --> 00:16:13,400 There has to be proof. 321 00:16:13,559 --> 00:16:16,040 There has to be reason that goes with it. 322 00:16:17,160 --> 00:16:21,000 Our faith can stand up to reason and to thinking. 323 00:16:22,440 --> 00:16:25,720 And so if you're dependent on emotional faith, there will be times 324 00:16:25,720 --> 00:16:26,600 you doubt more. 325 00:16:27,240 --> 00:16:33,240 And then lastly, maybe we fear trusting without understanding. 326 00:16:33,320 --> 00:16:34,600 I want to understand everything. 327 00:16:34,680 --> 00:16:38,120 If I could just figure out everything in the Bible and understand 328 00:16:38,120 --> 00:16:40,360 it fully, then I'll trust. 329 00:16:41,960 --> 00:16:46,760 If I could just understand why God allows suffering to happen to 330 00:16:46,760 --> 00:16:48,920 good people, then I'll trust. 331 00:16:49,880 --> 00:16:53,000 If I could just understand why sometimes I don't hear from God, 332 00:16:53,730 --> 00:16:54,610 then I'll trust. 333 00:16:56,050 --> 00:17:00,130 We fear trusting without fully understanding. 334 00:17:02,130 --> 00:17:06,370 But belief requires believing. 335 00:17:08,050 --> 00:17:11,410 Faith won't understand it all. 336 00:17:12,290 --> 00:17:18,370 It's going to take some trust without understanding to follow God. 337 00:17:19,900 --> 00:17:20,140 Well. 338 00:17:21,100 --> 00:17:25,780 Listening for God in doubt from Joshua 24 was read for us so 339 00:17:25,780 --> 00:17:27,500 nicely today for us by Emma. 340 00:17:28,780 --> 00:17:31,140 Joshua was the successor to Moses. 341 00:17:31,140 --> 00:17:34,100 Moses brought the people out of the promised land across the Red 342 00:17:34,100 --> 00:17:34,540 Sea. 343 00:17:34,700 --> 00:17:36,220 Ten Commandments, the whole thing. 344 00:17:36,620 --> 00:17:38,940 Joshua was the one who took over from him. 345 00:17:38,940 --> 00:17:41,140 And Joshua now is at the end of his life. 346 00:17:41,140 --> 00:17:46,230 In chapter 24 of the book of Joshua, he'd come through so much. 347 00:17:46,390 --> 00:17:50,790 They'd come through this story of the Exodus, we call it the Exodus 348 00:17:50,790 --> 00:17:54,070 from Egypt, through the wilderness into the promised land. 349 00:17:54,470 --> 00:17:57,830 And at the end of his life, people were divided by what they 350 00:17:57,830 --> 00:17:58,550 believed. 351 00:18:00,390 --> 00:18:01,470 This had happened before. 352 00:18:01,470 --> 00:18:03,510 This wasn't the first time people were divided. 353 00:18:03,590 --> 00:18:07,350 Remember when Moses went to the mountain to get the ten Commandments 354 00:18:07,350 --> 00:18:08,830 from God, and he was there a long time. 355 00:18:08,830 --> 00:18:10,630 And the people began to question and doubt. 356 00:18:10,860 --> 00:18:13,500 And so they thought, you know, this isn't working, so let's go back 357 00:18:13,500 --> 00:18:16,580 to our old gods and let's create a golden calf. 358 00:18:16,580 --> 00:18:19,780 Everybody melt down your gold and let's create an idol that we 359 00:18:19,780 --> 00:18:20,300 can worship. 360 00:18:20,300 --> 00:18:23,340 Because in those days, people worshiped a lot of different gods. 361 00:18:23,340 --> 00:18:28,940 They created over various things to somehow try to find a spiritual 362 00:18:28,940 --> 00:18:29,660 level of life. 363 00:18:30,780 --> 00:18:31,740 So they did that. 364 00:18:32,540 --> 00:18:34,100 So this, when they doubted again. 365 00:18:34,100 --> 00:18:35,500 This wasn't the first time around. 366 00:18:35,740 --> 00:18:36,860 They'd been here before. 367 00:18:37,790 --> 00:18:43,270 You see, doubt is one foot in trusting God and one foot in trusting 368 00:18:43,270 --> 00:18:43,630 the world. 369 00:18:43,630 --> 00:18:44,910 And that's where the people were. 370 00:18:45,550 --> 00:18:47,070 They trusted God, yeah. 371 00:18:47,070 --> 00:18:50,910 But they also trusted in the gods of their past and the gods of 372 00:18:50,910 --> 00:18:52,110 the land that they conquered. 373 00:18:52,350 --> 00:18:55,470 And so this doubt was growing unexamined. 374 00:18:57,230 --> 00:19:00,830 And Joshua said, this can't go on, folks. 375 00:19:01,550 --> 00:19:03,950 You've got to deal with your doubt. 376 00:19:04,900 --> 00:19:07,940 And so he challenged them to do four things. 377 00:19:08,500 --> 00:19:11,780 The first is he said, you got to face your doubts. 378 00:19:13,220 --> 00:19:15,540 You got to face your doubts. 379 00:19:15,780 --> 00:19:18,860 We're afraid to face our doubts, so we pretend we don't have 380 00:19:18,860 --> 00:19:19,140 them. 381 00:19:20,100 --> 00:19:21,980 We assume nobody else has got doubts. 382 00:19:21,980 --> 00:19:22,420 Look at them. 383 00:19:22,420 --> 00:19:25,300 They're singing, they're happy, they believe all those words. 384 00:19:25,620 --> 00:19:29,140 When we sang the song and I got doubts, and I'm kind of mumbling 385 00:19:29,140 --> 00:19:31,200 the words because I'm alone in this. 386 00:19:31,200 --> 00:19:31,920 No, you're not. 387 00:19:32,560 --> 00:19:33,760 Everybody's got doubts. 388 00:19:34,240 --> 00:19:36,480 Various times you're going to have doubts. 389 00:19:37,440 --> 00:19:41,080 We assume that maybe others know more than we do, and that's 390 00:19:41,080 --> 00:19:42,000 why they don't doubt. 391 00:19:42,000 --> 00:19:44,080 If I just knew more, then I wouldn't doubt. 392 00:19:44,240 --> 00:19:45,360 Not necessarily. 393 00:19:46,240 --> 00:19:50,920 Again, growing in Christ does help you trust more, but you're not 394 00:19:50,920 --> 00:19:51,760 going to know everything. 395 00:19:53,280 --> 00:20:00,770 Oh, we assume that if we don't deal with doubt, somehow the doubt 396 00:20:00,770 --> 00:20:01,370 will go away. 397 00:20:01,850 --> 00:20:03,690 No, the doubt will linger. 398 00:20:04,010 --> 00:20:07,930 And if you don't deal with doubt, doubt will win. 399 00:20:09,210 --> 00:20:10,810 We've got to deal with doubts. 400 00:20:11,530 --> 00:20:15,610 And so Joshua just said to the people, deal with it. 401 00:20:15,770 --> 00:20:16,730 Face your doubts. 402 00:20:16,730 --> 00:20:17,610 Don't be afraid. 403 00:20:18,090 --> 00:20:19,370 Let's get them out in the open. 404 00:20:19,690 --> 00:20:24,260 Let's talk about them and put your doubts out in front of God. 405 00:20:24,500 --> 00:20:28,940 Secondly, he says to the people, he says, choose who you're 406 00:20:28,940 --> 00:20:29,620 going to trust. 407 00:20:30,820 --> 00:20:32,060 Choose who you're going to trust. 408 00:20:32,060 --> 00:20:35,260 Are you going to trust God or are you going to trust these idols 409 00:20:35,260 --> 00:20:36,340 that you've created? 410 00:20:38,100 --> 00:20:41,020 In ancient times, they would often create gods and idols. 411 00:20:41,020 --> 00:20:44,420 God of the weather and God over the children, and God over this 412 00:20:44,500 --> 00:20:45,380 and the that. 413 00:20:45,380 --> 00:20:48,190 In Roman culture there were tons of tons of gods. 414 00:20:48,350 --> 00:20:52,470 Everybody created these gods that they somehow used to explain 415 00:20:52,470 --> 00:20:55,390 things they didn't understand, but they didn't follow the true God. 416 00:20:55,550 --> 00:20:57,710 So he said, are you going to follow the true God or are you going 417 00:20:57,710 --> 00:20:58,670 to follow your idols? 418 00:21:00,030 --> 00:21:00,630 Well, you go. 419 00:21:00,630 --> 00:21:01,670 Way to go, Joshua. 420 00:21:01,670 --> 00:21:02,990 Tell them to get rid of the idols. 421 00:21:04,270 --> 00:21:05,710 Well, what about our idols? 422 00:21:06,830 --> 00:21:08,350 We don't create little statues. 423 00:21:09,150 --> 00:21:10,590 We have idols of money. 424 00:21:11,790 --> 00:21:19,260 We have idols of power, career, success, self status. 425 00:21:20,060 --> 00:21:25,420 These idols we create in our lives and we follow after those idols 426 00:21:25,420 --> 00:21:30,420 instead of following after God and trust him for what the outcome 427 00:21:30,420 --> 00:21:30,860 will be. 428 00:21:31,980 --> 00:21:35,420 And Joshua says, throw them away. 429 00:21:36,220 --> 00:21:41,090 When you look at the majesty of God and who God is and, and all 430 00:21:41,090 --> 00:21:45,410 that he is compared to the idols, the idols are meaningless 431 00:21:45,970 --> 00:21:48,210 compared to the goodness of God. 432 00:21:48,690 --> 00:21:53,330 You gotta choose who you gonna trust because it can't be both. 433 00:21:54,290 --> 00:21:57,250 Then Joshua says, remember what you know. 434 00:21:58,210 --> 00:21:59,410 Remember what you know. 435 00:21:59,410 --> 00:22:03,170 You may not know everything, but remember the parts you know. 436 00:22:03,890 --> 00:22:08,330 And that's why this long story of the Exodus is repeated again there 437 00:22:08,330 --> 00:22:12,050 for us in chapter 24 that we kinda looked at as I shared this 438 00:22:12,050 --> 00:22:12,370 morning. 439 00:22:12,610 --> 00:22:15,970 Now, the Jewish people today still remember the Exodus. 440 00:22:16,050 --> 00:22:18,050 That's the core of Jewish faith. 441 00:22:18,210 --> 00:22:20,610 And they retell the story of the Exodus. 442 00:22:20,610 --> 00:22:26,530 They have special meals that celebrate pieces of the Exodus. 443 00:22:26,530 --> 00:22:30,610 They have celebrations, they have holidays about the Exodus. 444 00:22:30,610 --> 00:22:34,290 It's all retelling that story over and over and over. 445 00:22:34,450 --> 00:22:39,230 For some, you know, 3,000 years have been telling this story 446 00:22:39,310 --> 00:22:40,190 of the Exodus. 447 00:22:40,190 --> 00:22:41,470 Remember what they know. 448 00:22:42,750 --> 00:22:45,150 Well, I love the story of the Exodus, but I can tell you it doesn't 449 00:22:45,150 --> 00:22:48,950 do a lot for me because I wasn't there, none of my family was 450 00:22:48,950 --> 00:22:49,110 there. 451 00:22:49,110 --> 00:22:51,510 And it doesn't really connect with me in the same way that it would 452 00:22:51,510 --> 00:22:54,910 have with the people of Joshua, because they all knew people 453 00:22:54,910 --> 00:22:55,550 who were there. 454 00:22:56,270 --> 00:22:57,070 So it doesn't. 455 00:22:57,070 --> 00:22:58,350 So where do I go? 456 00:22:58,350 --> 00:23:02,190 I want to tell you where I go when I have doubts to remember. 457 00:23:02,500 --> 00:23:04,700 Now, your list may be different, but there are three places 458 00:23:04,700 --> 00:23:08,580 I go when I have doubts and I need to remember who God is. 459 00:23:08,740 --> 00:23:12,220 The first is I go to the resurrection, the resurrection of 460 00:23:12,220 --> 00:23:12,580 Jesus. 461 00:23:12,580 --> 00:23:16,460 You see, everything in the Old Testament builds up to the resurrection 462 00:23:16,460 --> 00:23:20,540 of Jesus and everything that Comes after that in the New Testament 463 00:23:20,540 --> 00:23:24,980 is explaining in the context of the resurrection, because the 464 00:23:24,980 --> 00:23:29,710 resurrection, when Christ came to earth and walked in our world 465 00:23:29,710 --> 00:23:34,030 and talked and lived with us, but gave himself a sacrifice for 466 00:23:34,030 --> 00:23:38,310 our sins on a cross so that we could be forgiven and come back into 467 00:23:38,310 --> 00:23:41,390 fellowship with God, and then he rose from the grave. 468 00:23:43,070 --> 00:23:44,350 That's what I remember. 469 00:23:45,070 --> 00:23:47,630 And if you were here last semester, you remember we spent quite 470 00:23:47,630 --> 00:23:51,790 a bit of time looking at the proof of the resurrection. 471 00:23:52,510 --> 00:23:55,670 There are parts of the Bible I know I do not understand, and I can't 472 00:23:55,670 --> 00:23:58,950 explain it to you, but I can explain the resurrection to you. 473 00:23:59,430 --> 00:24:02,270 And I know the resurrection is absolutely true. 474 00:24:02,270 --> 00:24:04,150 And it's the centerpiece of the whole thing. 475 00:24:04,470 --> 00:24:06,550 You see, the resurrection is not real. 476 00:24:06,550 --> 00:24:07,830 The rest of it really doesn't matter. 477 00:24:08,630 --> 00:24:12,550 But if the resurrection is real, then all of it matters. 478 00:24:13,430 --> 00:24:16,230 I know first of all from the biblical eyewitnesses. 479 00:24:16,230 --> 00:24:19,230 We have four biblical eyewitnesses who tell the story in 480 00:24:19,230 --> 00:24:20,950 the four gospels of the resurrection. 481 00:24:21,190 --> 00:24:25,300 But if they made up the lie and they just want to continue on, 482 00:24:25,300 --> 00:24:26,900 so Jesus said he's going to come back. 483 00:24:27,060 --> 00:24:28,260 Jesus really died. 484 00:24:28,660 --> 00:24:31,780 So let's make up this story that he rose from the grave and let's 485 00:24:31,780 --> 00:24:34,140 all write it down so that people would believe us. 486 00:24:34,140 --> 00:24:35,780 You wouldn't write it that way. 487 00:24:36,660 --> 00:24:39,540 They contradict each other a little bit because that's how eyewitness 488 00:24:39,540 --> 00:24:40,340 accounts do. 489 00:24:40,340 --> 00:24:45,380 They tell that the first people to see Jesus resurrected were 490 00:24:45,380 --> 00:24:45,940 the women. 491 00:24:46,660 --> 00:24:51,540 Well, in that day, 2,000 years ago, women had zero status in a court 492 00:24:51,540 --> 00:24:52,020 of law. 493 00:24:53,100 --> 00:24:55,580 They couldn't testify, their witness meant nothing. 494 00:24:56,220 --> 00:24:59,460 But that's who they said because that was the truth of what 495 00:24:59,460 --> 00:24:59,980 happened. 496 00:25:00,220 --> 00:25:03,900 You go on and on in the detail of those resurrection eyewitness 497 00:25:03,900 --> 00:25:06,460 stories, and you see they're absolutely true. 498 00:25:06,460 --> 00:25:07,660 They couldn't have made it up. 499 00:25:07,740 --> 00:25:09,260 Second, we had the empty tomb. 500 00:25:10,300 --> 00:25:14,180 Tomb wasn't empty and the stone wasn't rolled away so Jesus 501 00:25:14,180 --> 00:25:15,020 could get out. 502 00:25:15,260 --> 00:25:19,790 It was rolled away so we could see in and we could see he was no 503 00:25:19,790 --> 00:25:20,470 longer there. 504 00:25:20,950 --> 00:25:24,870 And instead an angel was sitting there and said, he is risen. 505 00:25:25,910 --> 00:25:30,950 And then Jesus appeared after the resurrection over 40 days to 506 00:25:31,030 --> 00:25:32,950 500 different people. 507 00:25:33,989 --> 00:25:35,350 500 different people. 508 00:25:35,350 --> 00:25:38,710 If this was made up, how are you going to get 500 people to all 509 00:25:38,950 --> 00:25:40,030 say the same lie? 510 00:25:40,030 --> 00:25:42,710 And nobody ever tell the truth. 511 00:25:43,840 --> 00:25:46,480 If three of you know a secret today, you can't keep it till dinner 512 00:25:46,480 --> 00:25:46,840 tonight. 513 00:25:46,840 --> 00:25:47,680 It's not going to happen. 514 00:25:48,080 --> 00:25:50,720 Somebody's going to tell just the nature of it. 515 00:25:51,120 --> 00:25:57,200 You see, if it was made up, he wouldn't appear to 500 different 516 00:25:57,200 --> 00:25:57,600 people. 517 00:25:58,000 --> 00:25:59,520 And all the people they told. 518 00:25:59,920 --> 00:26:02,760 And then one of the biggest ones was the transformation of the 519 00:26:02,760 --> 00:26:03,280 disciples. 520 00:26:03,440 --> 00:26:07,200 These disciples were arguing, they were shallow, they were doubters, 521 00:26:07,360 --> 00:26:09,800 they were questioning Jesus all the way through. 522 00:26:09,800 --> 00:26:12,180 These guys who knew him the best, and they were question stuff 523 00:26:12,180 --> 00:26:12,980 all the way through. 524 00:26:13,140 --> 00:26:18,460 But after the resurrection, these were transformed men, absolutely 525 00:26:18,460 --> 00:26:19,220 transformed. 526 00:26:19,300 --> 00:26:21,060 They knew it, they believe it. 527 00:26:21,060 --> 00:26:24,260 They gave the rest of their life to tell the story that Jesus 528 00:26:24,420 --> 00:26:27,700 died for your sins and he rose from the grave and he's alive today. 529 00:26:28,020 --> 00:26:32,580 And they even most of them were martyred because of their commitment 530 00:26:32,900 --> 00:26:34,580 to tell the truth. 531 00:26:35,780 --> 00:26:40,880 You see, when I want to remember who God is, I remember the 532 00:26:40,880 --> 00:26:43,080 Resurrection, first of all. 533 00:26:43,480 --> 00:26:47,240 Second thing I remember when I want to remember who God is, is I 534 00:26:47,240 --> 00:26:48,200 look at creation. 535 00:26:49,240 --> 00:26:51,080 I'm fascinated by creation. 536 00:26:51,640 --> 00:26:55,720 The complexity of this Earth and the mix of animals and plants 537 00:26:56,440 --> 00:26:59,160 and the ecosystems and how they all work together. 538 00:26:59,640 --> 00:27:02,400 And to see all that happen is just amazing. 539 00:27:02,400 --> 00:27:06,910 Then you take the human body and how the various parts, the intricacies 540 00:27:06,910 --> 00:27:08,630 of it, how it actually works. 541 00:27:08,710 --> 00:27:13,070 It's just remarkable that who we are physically and mentally can 542 00:27:13,070 --> 00:27:13,670 come together. 543 00:27:13,910 --> 00:27:17,910 And then for me, I'm really fascinated by space and the space 544 00:27:17,990 --> 00:27:19,110 God created. 545 00:27:19,670 --> 00:27:21,990 Now, maybe it's not a big deal to you. 546 00:27:22,150 --> 00:27:25,110 Space is a big deal to me because, you know, I was 15 years 547 00:27:25,110 --> 00:27:26,550 old when we walked on the moon. 548 00:27:26,790 --> 00:27:28,470 So I remember that day very well. 549 00:27:28,470 --> 00:27:31,930 To watch in our black and white TV with Neil Armstrong getting 550 00:27:31,930 --> 00:27:36,450 off of that lunar module and stepping foot on the moon for the 551 00:27:36,450 --> 00:27:37,370 very first time. 552 00:27:38,490 --> 00:27:40,490 Now, today we have photos from Mars. 553 00:27:40,490 --> 00:27:46,410 We have these Hubble telescope photos that are pretty remarkable. 554 00:27:46,649 --> 00:27:48,890 The detail they show about faith. 555 00:27:49,210 --> 00:27:50,490 Excuse me, about space. 556 00:27:51,290 --> 00:27:55,570 But to me, it's almost incomprehensible to understand the 557 00:27:55,570 --> 00:27:56,800 vastness of space. 558 00:27:56,950 --> 00:27:57,190 Space. 559 00:27:58,230 --> 00:27:59,510 The vastness of space. 560 00:27:59,750 --> 00:28:02,230 There's so much we don't know. 561 00:28:02,630 --> 00:28:07,190 If you could travel and I could travel, and I wish I could, 562 00:28:07,190 --> 00:28:08,310 at the speed of light. 563 00:28:10,950 --> 00:28:14,990 At the speed of light, it would take one second to get to the 564 00:28:14,990 --> 00:28:15,350 moon. 565 00:28:15,670 --> 00:28:18,590 Now, right now, if you want to get in a space capsule at NASA, if 566 00:28:18,590 --> 00:28:21,510 they were going, or Elon Musk has got one you could hitch onto 567 00:28:21,910 --> 00:28:24,150 to get to the moon, it would take you at least three days. 568 00:28:24,150 --> 00:28:26,050 That's as far as our technology has gotten. 569 00:28:26,440 --> 00:28:28,040 We cannot get there any faster. 570 00:28:28,200 --> 00:28:31,640 But if you could go at the speed of light, it would take you 571 00:28:31,640 --> 00:28:33,240 one second to get to the moon. 572 00:28:33,480 --> 00:28:36,120 It would take you eight minutes to get to the sun. 573 00:28:36,840 --> 00:28:40,520 If you could travel at the speed of light, it would take 2,000 574 00:28:40,840 --> 00:28:45,400 years to get to the edge of the Milky Way galaxy, the galaxy 575 00:28:45,640 --> 00:28:46,280 we're in. 576 00:28:47,480 --> 00:28:52,120 And if you could travel at the speed of light, it would take 46.5 577 00:28:52,360 --> 00:28:58,780 billion years, years to get to the edge of the observable universe. 578 00:29:00,780 --> 00:29:03,020 God created it all. 579 00:29:05,500 --> 00:29:12,220 We don't begin to understand the power and the vastness of God. 580 00:29:13,260 --> 00:29:16,540 And so when I want to remember, I go to that. 581 00:29:18,060 --> 00:29:19,780 I go to Jesus rose from the grave. 582 00:29:19,780 --> 00:29:21,060 I go to looking at creation. 583 00:29:21,060 --> 00:29:22,220 And then I look at my story. 584 00:29:23,130 --> 00:29:26,530 My story, what God has done for me, how he's transformed my lives, 585 00:29:26,530 --> 00:29:30,050 what he's done for me to grow up in a Christian family and to now 586 00:29:30,050 --> 00:29:31,370 give me a family of my own. 587 00:29:31,370 --> 00:29:33,930 And how he watches and guides and protects us. 588 00:29:33,930 --> 00:29:37,130 I've got stories about Belhaven that I could spend weeks 589 00:29:37,210 --> 00:29:38,050 telling you about. 590 00:29:38,050 --> 00:29:41,330 Miracle after miracle after miracle after miracle that's happened 591 00:29:41,330 --> 00:29:45,170 on this campus to make things happen that you enjoy today and you 592 00:29:45,170 --> 00:29:46,090 don't think much about. 593 00:29:46,490 --> 00:29:47,850 I see the lives of. 594 00:29:48,250 --> 00:29:50,210 Of other people who've been transformed. 595 00:29:50,210 --> 00:29:51,450 I hear a lot of your stories. 596 00:29:51,450 --> 00:29:52,810 I hear from alumni. 597 00:29:52,970 --> 00:29:55,930 I'm overwhelmed by the stories of when I want to remember. 598 00:29:57,690 --> 00:29:59,690 I remember the resurrection. 599 00:30:00,090 --> 00:30:03,290 I remember creation, and I remember the stories. 600 00:30:04,169 --> 00:30:06,650 And I know how big God is. 601 00:30:07,370 --> 00:30:13,690 When I remember, my doubts become insignificant to what I know 602 00:30:13,690 --> 00:30:14,250 for sure. 603 00:30:15,150 --> 00:30:18,030 Yeah, I may doubt this little thing here that I don't really get 604 00:30:18,030 --> 00:30:21,510 in some book of the Bible or some way it's said or whatever it 605 00:30:21,510 --> 00:30:21,950 might be. 606 00:30:22,430 --> 00:30:23,870 I got doubts about that. 607 00:30:23,870 --> 00:30:26,670 But all this big stuff, I know for sure. 608 00:30:27,630 --> 00:30:31,430 And so my doubts become pretty insignificant compared to what I 609 00:30:31,430 --> 00:30:32,110 know for sure. 610 00:30:32,990 --> 00:30:37,150 And the other thing is when I remember, my trust and understanding 611 00:30:37,150 --> 00:30:39,550 grows deeper every time. 612 00:30:40,520 --> 00:30:45,480 So when we doubt and we deal with those doubts by remembering, 613 00:30:45,880 --> 00:30:51,360 we trust God more the next time around, and that cycle continues 614 00:30:51,360 --> 00:30:52,040 in our lives. 615 00:30:52,600 --> 00:30:57,120 Well, the fourth thing that Joshua said, you just got to finally 616 00:30:57,120 --> 00:30:58,360 decide who you're going to serve. 617 00:30:59,080 --> 00:31:00,320 Make a decision, gang. 618 00:31:00,320 --> 00:31:01,320 You got to decide. 619 00:31:02,680 --> 00:31:06,400 God reveals himself to us in creation, in Christ and the Holy 620 00:31:06,400 --> 00:31:07,000 Spirit, in. 621 00:31:07,150 --> 00:31:07,870 In scripture. 622 00:31:07,950 --> 00:31:11,830 God is bigger and closer than we could ever comprehend. 623 00:31:11,830 --> 00:31:15,670 More is written and studied on this topic of who God is and Jesus 624 00:31:15,670 --> 00:31:21,310 is than any other topic in the history of mankind. 625 00:31:21,310 --> 00:31:22,830 And we still have doubts. 626 00:31:24,430 --> 00:31:26,670 You finally just got to decide. 627 00:31:29,870 --> 00:31:31,270 I'm never having doubts. 628 00:31:31,270 --> 00:31:31,950 I'll go away. 629 00:31:32,190 --> 00:31:34,200 I. I finally just got to decide. 630 00:31:34,920 --> 00:31:41,960 Joshua says, for me and my family, we will serve the Lord. 631 00:31:43,720 --> 00:31:49,640 I made that decision to trust God enough that he'll give me a faith 632 00:31:49,640 --> 00:31:50,760 to stand up to the test. 633 00:31:50,760 --> 00:31:53,240 Of life doesn't mean I still don't doubt at times. 634 00:31:53,800 --> 00:31:55,800 Doesn't mean I don't ask questions at times. 635 00:31:55,880 --> 00:31:56,840 It's a process. 636 00:31:57,400 --> 00:32:02,840 It's not promises alone, but in our doubts, we have to finally 637 00:32:02,840 --> 00:32:06,680 decide, am I going to follow God, or am I going to try and keep 638 00:32:06,680 --> 00:32:12,160 one foot in God's camp and one foot in the world and just let the 639 00:32:12,160 --> 00:32:13,280 doubts control my life? 640 00:32:13,280 --> 00:32:16,360 Because it's going to be one or the other. 641 00:32:17,000 --> 00:32:22,880 I pray that for you, you'll listen to God in your doubts and 642 00:32:22,880 --> 00:32:24,760 in our benediction as we pray it. 643 00:32:25,210 --> 00:32:29,530 May that be your prayer that God will answer your concerns. 644 00:32:30,010 --> 00:32:31,130 Say it together with me. 645 00:32:31,130 --> 00:32:36,010 No eye is seen, no ear is heard, no mind is conceived, but 646 00:32:36,010 --> 00:32:38,570 God has prepared for those who love Him. 647 00:32:38,810 --> 00:32:39,730 Have a great day. 648 00:32:39,730 --> 00:32:40,410 God bless.