1 00:00:02,080 --> 00:00:03,600 Why does God allow suffering? 2 00:00:05,680 --> 00:00:07,440 How do I know God's really there? 3 00:00:10,240 --> 00:00:13,520 Why does God answer the prayer that you've had? 4 00:00:15,440 --> 00:00:17,120 How do you know the Bible is true? 5 00:00:20,160 --> 00:00:22,640 Why are there things in the Bible we don't understand? 6 00:00:23,920 --> 00:00:27,370 How can a loving God judge people? 7 00:00:30,410 --> 00:00:32,970 Are heaven and eternal life for real? 8 00:00:34,330 --> 00:00:40,570 Why does God sometimes stay silent and can I still be a Christian 9 00:00:41,290 --> 00:00:42,490 and have doubts? 10 00:00:43,930 --> 00:00:47,730 Well, most Christians have asked some version of these questions 11 00:00:47,730 --> 00:00:48,890 at one time or another. 12 00:00:49,610 --> 00:00:54,260 And the presence of questions does not mean the absence of faith. 13 00:00:55,540 --> 00:00:58,580 Confusion is part of following Christ. 14 00:00:59,140 --> 00:01:01,380 And the disciples were often confused. 15 00:01:01,380 --> 00:01:03,380 We see this all through the Gospel. 16 00:01:03,700 --> 00:01:07,140 They couldn't figure out what Jesus was saying, and they had to 17 00:01:07,140 --> 00:01:07,460 ask. 18 00:01:08,260 --> 00:01:11,580 And sometimes Jesus would preach to a loud crowd and they didn't 19 00:01:11,580 --> 00:01:12,900 understand what he said to the crowd. 20 00:01:12,900 --> 00:01:16,100 And they would pull him aside and he'd explain it to them privately, 21 00:01:16,100 --> 00:01:17,540 but he wouldn't tell the crowd. 22 00:01:19,310 --> 00:01:24,990 What matters is if we can trust even when we're confused. 23 00:01:25,710 --> 00:01:30,030 And it's a critical path in following Christ. 24 00:01:30,830 --> 00:01:35,750 At that path, you see, Jesus did not treat doubts and questions 25 00:01:35,750 --> 00:01:36,590 as rebellion. 26 00:01:37,470 --> 00:01:42,710 He met them every single time with truth and with patience and 27 00:01:42,710 --> 00:01:46,320 with evidence and a call to deepen our faith. 28 00:01:46,480 --> 00:01:50,520 And Thomas, who we're going to look at today, teaches us that having 29 00:01:50,520 --> 00:01:54,080 those questions and doubts does not mean we have abandoned our 30 00:01:54,080 --> 00:01:55,600 faith to have questions. 31 00:01:56,400 --> 00:02:02,560 The real question is, how do we trust even when we doubt? 32 00:02:04,640 --> 00:02:07,720 So first, I think it's important to understand Jesus is 33 00:02:07,720 --> 00:02:09,040 not afraid of our questions. 34 00:02:09,200 --> 00:02:11,440 He's not afraid at all of our questions. 35 00:02:11,440 --> 00:02:13,760 Jesus was never threatened by questions. 36 00:02:14,730 --> 00:02:17,490 Thomas said, I won't believe unless I see it. 37 00:02:17,490 --> 00:02:19,210 I want to see it real proof. 38 00:02:20,090 --> 00:02:24,810 The father in Mark 9, whose son was suffering, said, help my 39 00:02:24,810 --> 00:02:25,530 unbelief. 40 00:02:26,570 --> 00:02:29,810 And Martha, who was very close to Jesus, we're going to look at 41 00:02:29,810 --> 00:02:30,330 next week. 42 00:02:30,410 --> 00:02:34,890 Martha, in effect, said to Jesus, if you had been here, my brother 43 00:02:34,890 --> 00:02:37,770 would not have died, and you should have been here. 44 00:02:39,050 --> 00:02:42,650 You see, Jesus does not panic over questions or withdraw. 45 00:02:43,320 --> 00:02:46,200 And he never shames people for asking questions. 46 00:02:46,840 --> 00:02:52,680 Truth does not have to be protected by honest questions. 47 00:02:53,000 --> 00:02:54,760 Truth will always stand up to us. 48 00:02:54,760 --> 00:02:59,360 If Jesus is who he says he is, then no question is too difficult 49 00:02:59,360 --> 00:03:01,080 for him because he's God. 50 00:03:01,080 --> 00:03:06,600 And God designed how the whole thing's supposed to work so you don't 51 00:03:06,600 --> 00:03:09,310 have to protect Jesus from your hardest questions. 52 00:03:09,780 --> 00:03:10,740 He can handle them. 53 00:03:11,860 --> 00:03:15,460 But Jesus does not simply leave us with our questions. 54 00:03:16,100 --> 00:03:21,540 He uses them to lead us toward a deepening of our faith with him. 55 00:03:22,580 --> 00:03:27,540 Now, I'm sure some of you have questions you Think you're not supposed 56 00:03:27,540 --> 00:03:27,940 to ask. 57 00:03:29,220 --> 00:03:31,060 You're not supposed to say them out loud. 58 00:03:31,620 --> 00:03:36,500 If anybody heard your real questions, they think you're either 59 00:03:36,500 --> 00:03:38,580 not a Christian or you're a pretty weak Christian. 60 00:03:40,020 --> 00:03:40,740 You know what? 61 00:03:41,860 --> 00:03:43,540 I've been there right with you. 62 00:03:44,340 --> 00:03:45,700 I've been there right with you. 63 00:03:46,020 --> 00:03:51,859 I've asked those same questions, hard questions, core questions. 64 00:03:52,420 --> 00:03:56,820 I think every Christian who's serious about their faith has been 65 00:03:56,820 --> 00:03:59,140 there asking hard questions. 66 00:03:59,780 --> 00:04:02,180 And Jesus is not afraid of our questions. 67 00:04:02,260 --> 00:04:04,260 He already knows we had them. 68 00:04:04,960 --> 00:04:05,840 So don't hold back. 69 00:04:06,240 --> 00:04:08,560 He already knows Your question is in your spirit. 70 00:04:09,920 --> 00:04:13,480 You can't surprise him, you can't embarrass him, and you can't 71 00:04:13,480 --> 00:04:14,800 expose some weakness in him. 72 00:04:14,800 --> 00:04:15,760 That's not going to happen. 73 00:04:17,760 --> 00:04:18,560 Our faith. 74 00:04:19,760 --> 00:04:23,760 If our faith can't stand up to questions, it's really not much, 75 00:04:23,760 --> 00:04:24,240 is it? 76 00:04:25,520 --> 00:04:29,160 If it can't be examined, we don't have much to build our lives 77 00:04:29,160 --> 00:04:29,520 on. 78 00:04:30,810 --> 00:04:32,330 Bring your questions to Jesus. 79 00:04:32,970 --> 00:04:37,530 And when you do open the Scripture, ask people you trust. 80 00:04:38,170 --> 00:04:40,410 Keep seeking a genuine answer. 81 00:04:41,930 --> 00:04:46,650 You see, Jesus did not run from Thomas Doubt. 82 00:04:46,810 --> 00:04:49,770 Jesus walked straight into his doubt. 83 00:04:49,770 --> 00:04:51,930 And we're going to see that in the story here in a minute. 84 00:04:53,050 --> 00:04:55,610 The danger is not that we have questions. 85 00:04:55,610 --> 00:04:55,870 There's. 86 00:04:55,940 --> 00:04:57,940 There's no danger in having questions. 87 00:04:58,020 --> 00:05:03,180 The great danger is deciding that our questions are more trustworthy 88 00:05:03,180 --> 00:05:03,940 than Jesus. 89 00:05:05,460 --> 00:05:06,420 Did you hear that? 90 00:05:07,300 --> 00:05:12,860 Danger is our deciding our questions are more trustworthy than 91 00:05:12,860 --> 00:05:13,460 Jesus. 92 00:05:13,940 --> 00:05:19,260 So don't let questions pull you away from the one who can answer 93 00:05:19,260 --> 00:05:19,540 them. 94 00:05:22,430 --> 00:05:26,430 Well, if Jesus has never confused you, you may never have 95 00:05:26,430 --> 00:05:29,310 wrestled deeply enough with what he said. 96 00:05:30,990 --> 00:05:33,790 So if you've not had questions, you need to go deeper. 97 00:05:35,470 --> 00:05:38,270 He talked about losing your life to find it. 98 00:05:38,830 --> 00:05:40,270 He said the first would be last. 99 00:05:40,270 --> 00:05:41,550 He said, love your enemies. 100 00:05:42,110 --> 00:05:45,230 He spoke about eating his flesh and drinking his blood. 101 00:05:46,430 --> 00:05:49,070 And the disciples repeatedly asked, what do you mean? 102 00:05:49,650 --> 00:05:50,610 What do you mean by this? 103 00:05:51,090 --> 00:05:54,050 You see, confusion is not a sign that faith is weak. 104 00:05:54,130 --> 00:05:58,210 Sometimes it's a sign that you're taking Jesus seriously enough 105 00:05:58,610 --> 00:06:03,330 that you realize his way of seeing life is larger than ours. 106 00:06:04,210 --> 00:06:06,450 And so you're willing to ask those questions. 107 00:06:09,090 --> 00:06:11,130 Now, the Bible, understand this. 108 00:06:11,130 --> 00:06:11,810 This is important. 109 00:06:12,210 --> 00:06:16,780 The Bible does not answer every question you may want answered. 110 00:06:17,500 --> 00:06:21,820 It tells us what we need to know about God, about salvation, 111 00:06:21,980 --> 00:06:24,620 about how to live, about eternity. 112 00:06:24,780 --> 00:06:27,340 But it doesn't explain every mystery of the world. 113 00:06:27,980 --> 00:06:33,740 The Bible is not a textbook of science or math or physics or art. 114 00:06:33,980 --> 00:06:39,420 However, it gives us the only worldview that makes all those things 115 00:06:39,420 --> 00:06:39,820 possible. 116 00:06:42,550 --> 00:06:47,150 In other words, the Bible not only Teaches us ultimate truths about 117 00:06:47,150 --> 00:06:50,070 people, the world, salvation, the future, and a bunch of other 118 00:06:50,070 --> 00:06:50,710 subjects. 119 00:06:51,510 --> 00:06:55,990 They give us our worldview perspective so we can know God's 120 00:06:56,070 --> 00:06:57,830 heart and desire for the world. 121 00:06:58,710 --> 00:07:00,950 So why is the Bible sometimes confusing? 122 00:07:02,150 --> 00:07:03,030 Understand this. 123 00:07:04,070 --> 00:07:04,870 Here's why. 124 00:07:06,070 --> 00:07:11,620 Jesus often speaks from a perspective of eternity while we're 125 00:07:11,620 --> 00:07:15,100 trying to understand from a perspective of today. 126 00:07:16,860 --> 00:07:23,339 And if we could see the world in the perspective of eternity that 127 00:07:23,339 --> 00:07:26,540 he does, many of those things would make a lot more sense. 128 00:07:27,340 --> 00:07:29,020 He taught his disciples this. 129 00:07:30,060 --> 00:07:34,590 He said, mature faith is, is not the point where your questions 130 00:07:34,590 --> 00:07:35,190 disappear. 131 00:07:36,070 --> 00:07:40,630 It's the point where we know Jesus well enough to trust him with 132 00:07:40,630 --> 00:07:42,070 the questions that remain. 133 00:07:42,870 --> 00:07:45,310 That's essentially what he was trying to teach them all the way 134 00:07:45,310 --> 00:07:45,590 through. 135 00:07:47,590 --> 00:07:49,830 And that's what we find in the story of Thomas. 136 00:07:50,470 --> 00:07:52,470 Thomas was a very committed disciple. 137 00:07:52,470 --> 00:07:53,990 Don't ever question that, Thomas. 138 00:07:53,990 --> 00:07:56,550 You know, we talk about doubting Thomas in this one incident. 139 00:07:56,950 --> 00:07:58,710 He wasn't a doubting type guy. 140 00:07:58,710 --> 00:07:59,990 He was very committed. 141 00:08:00,490 --> 00:08:03,690 In fact, when Jesus at one point was going to go to Judea, the 142 00:08:03,690 --> 00:08:05,050 disciples said, you can't go there. 143 00:08:05,050 --> 00:08:06,490 You're going to be killed if you do. 144 00:08:06,490 --> 00:08:08,610 And Thomas was the one who said, let's go with him. 145 00:08:08,610 --> 00:08:09,370 We'll all die. 146 00:08:10,170 --> 00:08:11,450 He was that committed. 147 00:08:12,410 --> 00:08:16,930 But after the resurrection, as was read for us today, Thomas wasn't 148 00:08:16,930 --> 00:08:19,370 there when Jesus first appeared to the disciples. 149 00:08:20,250 --> 00:08:24,090 And Thomas wouldn't believe it when they told him without the proof 150 00:08:25,780 --> 00:08:26,980 does raise the question a little bit. 151 00:08:26,980 --> 00:08:29,900 Was he not trusting Jesus or was he not trusting his friends to 152 00:08:29,900 --> 00:08:30,580 tell the truth? 153 00:08:31,380 --> 00:08:32,340 Kind of interesting. 154 00:08:33,140 --> 00:08:36,980 But like Thomas, the most committed followers can have doubts. 155 00:08:37,540 --> 00:08:40,180 Faith is not the absence of every doubt. 156 00:08:40,260 --> 00:08:44,580 Faith is following even when there are things we don't understand. 157 00:08:46,660 --> 00:08:47,860 And that happens. 158 00:08:49,060 --> 00:08:52,500 Well, Thomas was willing to admit when he didn't understand, 159 00:08:53,530 --> 00:08:54,650 he said it straight out. 160 00:08:55,370 --> 00:08:58,170 You know, there was one time earlier, Jesus was talking about 161 00:08:58,330 --> 00:09:01,810 heaven and he said, I'm going to prepare a place for you, and in 162 00:09:01,810 --> 00:09:04,690 my Father's house are many mansions, and I'll come again and 163 00:09:04,690 --> 00:09:05,130 all this. 164 00:09:05,370 --> 00:09:09,209 And Thomas, Jesus said, you know where I'm going. 165 00:09:09,209 --> 00:09:10,570 That's Jesus words. 166 00:09:10,570 --> 00:09:11,690 You know where I'm going. 167 00:09:11,850 --> 00:09:15,730 And Thomas said, lord, we don't know where youe're going, so 168 00:09:15,730 --> 00:09:18,330 how can we know the way because we don't know what yout mean. 169 00:09:19,690 --> 00:09:21,850 And the other disciples were often confused. 170 00:09:24,170 --> 00:09:27,930 There's nothing spiritual about pretending you always understand. 171 00:09:29,690 --> 00:09:34,570 Operating on God's timing for answers is sometimes difficult. 172 00:09:35,690 --> 00:09:40,370 And for Thomas, he didn't see the answer until after the resurrection 173 00:09:40,370 --> 00:09:43,690 of where God was going quite a bit of time later. 174 00:09:45,380 --> 00:09:51,300 But often faith and doubt can exist together. 175 00:09:53,140 --> 00:09:57,780 In Mark, chapter nine, there's a heartbreaking story of a father 176 00:09:57,780 --> 00:10:03,140 who's desperate about his son, who's suffering, absolutely desperate. 177 00:10:03,300 --> 00:10:07,300 And he comes to Jesus and he says, have mercy on us, please, if 178 00:10:07,300 --> 00:10:08,580 you can help us. 179 00:10:09,300 --> 00:10:10,330 Jesus says, what? 180 00:10:10,400 --> 00:10:11,360 What do you mean, if I can? 181 00:10:12,720 --> 00:10:18,040 Anything's possible if you believe, Jesus said, and the father 182 00:10:18,040 --> 00:10:20,640 cries out the most honest answer in the Bible. 183 00:10:21,200 --> 00:10:26,880 He says, I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief. 184 00:10:30,080 --> 00:10:33,040 I believe, but I'm still struggling. 185 00:10:33,920 --> 00:10:35,040 I don't get it all. 186 00:10:35,600 --> 00:10:39,170 You see, doubt and questions are not rebellion. 187 00:10:39,570 --> 00:10:41,490 They're not a weakening of our faith. 188 00:10:41,490 --> 00:10:43,010 Uncertainty is okay. 189 00:10:43,650 --> 00:10:47,650 Faith does not pretend that there are no struggles. 190 00:10:48,370 --> 00:10:52,610 Faith brings the struggles directly to Jesus. 191 00:10:54,210 --> 00:11:01,090 Well, Thomas doubt grew out of a very, very deep disappointment. 192 00:11:01,810 --> 00:11:03,490 It wasn't an intellectual question. 193 00:11:04,470 --> 00:11:06,550 You see, Thomas was there at the crucifixion. 194 00:11:06,550 --> 00:11:11,110 It was horrible to watch the one you loved so much, the one you 195 00:11:11,110 --> 00:11:14,630 had hope in, to be brutally killed that way. 196 00:11:15,430 --> 00:11:17,270 And for Thomas, all hope was lost. 197 00:11:17,270 --> 00:11:18,390 The future was gone. 198 00:11:18,630 --> 00:11:21,990 Everything he'd imagined evaporated. 199 00:11:22,630 --> 00:11:23,830 And he was grieving. 200 00:11:24,310 --> 00:11:25,990 His world was falling apart. 201 00:11:27,750 --> 00:11:33,250 Sometimes doubt comes through intellectual questions, and sometimes 202 00:11:33,250 --> 00:11:35,250 doubt begins with a deep wound. 203 00:11:36,610 --> 00:11:41,130 Something happens that you can't reconcile with what you believe 204 00:11:41,130 --> 00:11:42,050 about God. 205 00:11:42,290 --> 00:11:44,130 And you say, is God real? 206 00:11:45,090 --> 00:11:46,690 Why did you let this happen? 207 00:11:48,530 --> 00:11:50,050 Well, that's where Thomas was. 208 00:11:54,850 --> 00:11:59,010 Thomas made his struggle harder, though, because he was absent. 209 00:11:59,330 --> 00:12:03,050 You see, the disciples were all together, and Thomas wasn't with 210 00:12:03,050 --> 00:12:03,970 them when Jesus came. 211 00:12:03,970 --> 00:12:06,130 Now, we don't know why, because the rest of them were there, 212 00:12:08,450 --> 00:12:09,890 but Thomas wasn't there. 213 00:12:12,290 --> 00:12:16,210 And when we're disappointed with God, one of the first temptations 214 00:12:16,370 --> 00:12:17,570 is to withdraw. 215 00:12:18,690 --> 00:12:24,050 To withdraw from church, from friends, from scripture, from prayer. 216 00:12:25,060 --> 00:12:27,260 You can sit in chapel and be mentally withdrawn. 217 00:12:27,260 --> 00:12:29,340 You can be here and get your credit, but you're still mentally 218 00:12:29,340 --> 00:12:29,940 withdrawn. 219 00:12:30,020 --> 00:12:30,900 You can do that. 220 00:12:31,620 --> 00:12:36,860 You draw away from people who can help carry you for a while when 221 00:12:36,860 --> 00:12:38,740 you have questions and doubt. 222 00:12:38,900 --> 00:12:40,740 And it's a natural temptation. 223 00:12:41,220 --> 00:12:47,060 But if you will stay in there, Christ will come to you with answers. 224 00:12:47,940 --> 00:12:49,940 And for Thomas, it was eight days later. 225 00:12:50,590 --> 00:12:53,790 Scripture tells us, eight days later, he finally saw Jesus. 226 00:12:53,790 --> 00:12:55,390 That must have been a tough eight days. 227 00:12:55,390 --> 00:12:57,150 A really tough eight days. 228 00:12:57,550 --> 00:12:58,830 But here's what happened. 229 00:13:00,190 --> 00:13:01,350 The doors were locked. 230 00:13:01,350 --> 00:13:04,110 But suddenly, as before, Jesus was standing among them. 231 00:13:04,110 --> 00:13:05,550 Peace be with you, he said. 232 00:13:06,269 --> 00:13:09,910 And then he said to Thomas, put your finger here and look at 233 00:13:09,910 --> 00:13:10,510 my hands. 234 00:13:10,510 --> 00:13:12,430 Put your hand into the wound on my side. 235 00:13:12,910 --> 00:13:15,310 Don't Be faithless any longer. 236 00:13:16,160 --> 00:13:16,400 Believe. 237 00:13:18,320 --> 00:13:20,720 Jesus knew exactly what Thomas had said. 238 00:13:22,080 --> 00:13:25,680 He wasn't there when he said it, but Jesus knew he said it. 239 00:13:25,840 --> 00:13:28,480 Jesus knew exactly where Thomas was struggling. 240 00:13:28,800 --> 00:13:30,560 Jesus meets him right there. 241 00:13:30,560 --> 00:13:34,240 He comes into the room, says, peace be with you to all the disciples, 242 00:13:34,240 --> 00:13:35,760 and goes directly to Thomas. 243 00:13:36,800 --> 00:13:40,880 And he showed him his identity in the wounds, and he showed him 244 00:13:40,880 --> 00:13:42,640 his power over death. 245 00:13:46,280 --> 00:13:48,440 Jesus is patient with Thomas. 246 00:13:49,000 --> 00:13:53,680 Jesus doesn't humiliate him in front of the other disciples, but 247 00:13:53,680 --> 00:13:55,080 he also challenges them. 248 00:13:55,480 --> 00:13:59,119 He doesn't say, just keep doubting forever, because it doesn't 249 00:13:59,119 --> 00:13:59,400 matter. 250 00:13:59,400 --> 00:14:00,440 Yes, it does matter. 251 00:14:01,320 --> 00:14:04,040 Jesus says, believe, believe. 252 00:14:05,560 --> 00:14:07,800 Faith is not believing without evidence. 253 00:14:08,850 --> 00:14:13,570 But faith is choosing to trust when the evidence is sufficient, 254 00:14:13,890 --> 00:14:17,170 even though every question hasn't been answered. 255 00:14:19,570 --> 00:14:23,170 And sometimes that's the point at which we have to live. 256 00:14:24,530 --> 00:14:29,490 So the scripture goes on then, and it says, my Lord and my God. 257 00:14:29,490 --> 00:14:30,690 Thomas exclaimed. 258 00:14:31,250 --> 00:14:34,130 Then Jesus told him, you believe because you have seen me. 259 00:14:34,130 --> 00:14:37,990 Blessed are those who believe without seeing me. 260 00:14:39,270 --> 00:14:42,230 Your questions don't have to take you away from Jesus. 261 00:14:42,230 --> 00:14:46,550 If you bring them honestly to him, he'll take you into a deeper 262 00:14:46,710 --> 00:14:49,590 relationship with him because of your questions. 263 00:14:50,070 --> 00:14:54,070 You see, Thomas went from simply believing to worshiping my 264 00:14:54,070 --> 00:14:55,110 Lord and my God. 265 00:14:55,670 --> 00:15:03,200 A completely different level of trust in God, John. 266 00:15:03,520 --> 00:15:08,600 Then right after this, really interesting in the scripture, right 267 00:15:08,600 --> 00:15:12,720 after this, Nick's words summarizes the purpose of the gospel. 268 00:15:12,720 --> 00:15:15,280 When Jesus says, you believe because you see me. 269 00:15:15,280 --> 00:15:17,920 Blessed are those who believe without seeing me. 270 00:15:17,920 --> 00:15:22,680 John then says, the disciples saw Jesus do many other miraculous 271 00:15:22,680 --> 00:15:25,600 signs in addition to the ones recorded in this book. 272 00:15:26,730 --> 00:15:30,650 But these are written so that you may continue to believe that 273 00:15:30,650 --> 00:15:35,450 Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in 274 00:15:35,450 --> 00:15:39,930 him you will have life by the power of his name. 275 00:15:42,329 --> 00:15:47,290 Thomas saw John recorded what we need to know. 276 00:15:48,170 --> 00:15:49,610 And then we have to decide. 277 00:15:51,370 --> 00:15:54,430 So do the hard questions get answered? 278 00:15:55,470 --> 00:15:56,910 I told you, I've been there with them. 279 00:15:57,870 --> 00:15:59,670 Same questions for me. 280 00:15:59,670 --> 00:16:00,190 They have. 281 00:16:01,470 --> 00:16:02,990 Why does God allow suffering? 282 00:16:03,390 --> 00:16:04,550 Because there's sin in the world. 283 00:16:04,550 --> 00:16:06,990 If you take all, evaporate all the sin out of the world, there wouldn't 284 00:16:06,990 --> 00:16:07,630 be suffering. 285 00:16:08,270 --> 00:16:11,310 How do you know God's really there for me? 286 00:16:11,790 --> 00:16:15,310 I look at the vastness of the universe, we just barely begin to 287 00:16:15,310 --> 00:16:16,790 scratch the surface of what it is. 288 00:16:16,790 --> 00:16:19,310 And I look the intricacy of biology. 289 00:16:19,350 --> 00:16:21,900 The there has to be a God who designed all that. 290 00:16:22,700 --> 00:16:24,100 How do you know the Bible is true? 291 00:16:24,100 --> 00:16:25,500 Well, there are endless proofs to that. 292 00:16:25,500 --> 00:16:29,180 From prophecy to how the stories are told, to archaeological 293 00:16:29,260 --> 00:16:32,300 research, all kinds of things that show Us, the Bible is true. 294 00:16:33,980 --> 00:16:36,060 Why are the things in the Bible I don't understand? 295 00:16:37,580 --> 00:16:41,500 Because so much of it's about the perspective of eternity, and 296 00:16:41,500 --> 00:16:43,500 we're thinking about how to make it through tomorrow. 297 00:16:45,510 --> 00:16:47,670 How can a loving God judge people? 298 00:16:49,270 --> 00:16:54,630 Because God is forgiving, but God is also just, and both are important. 299 00:16:54,950 --> 00:16:57,830 And he's not going to be one without the other. 300 00:16:59,350 --> 00:17:01,910 Are eternal life and heaven for real? 301 00:17:02,230 --> 00:17:03,350 100%? 302 00:17:03,430 --> 00:17:03,990 They are. 303 00:17:04,390 --> 00:17:05,950 Absolutely 100%. 304 00:17:05,950 --> 00:17:07,030 I have no questions. 305 00:17:07,830 --> 00:17:10,230 If you haven't read it, there's a wonderful book called Heaven. 306 00:17:12,080 --> 00:17:13,760 Read that book, you'll be convinced. 307 00:17:15,360 --> 00:17:17,760 Can I still be a Christian and have doubts? 308 00:17:19,280 --> 00:17:21,440 Well, I'm one. 309 00:17:22,640 --> 00:17:26,080 I still have doubts, and I'm a Christian. 310 00:17:30,560 --> 00:17:35,040 Early in the walk of faith, most of my questions were intellectual 311 00:17:35,040 --> 00:17:36,080 questions and doubts. 312 00:17:37,180 --> 00:17:41,380 But life has also taught me that knowing the theological answer 313 00:17:41,380 --> 00:17:43,900 does not make every question go away. 314 00:17:45,500 --> 00:17:47,180 Right now, I got tougher doubts. 315 00:17:48,540 --> 00:17:53,500 Toughest one has to do with my daughter, who is 32 years old. 316 00:17:56,140 --> 00:18:00,140 Madison went with me seven years ago to China. 317 00:18:01,260 --> 00:18:03,500 We had an MBA program in China at the time. 318 00:18:03,980 --> 00:18:05,420 We had a commencement going on. 319 00:18:05,660 --> 00:18:07,900 I needed to do some work with our partners in China. 320 00:18:08,460 --> 00:18:13,740 Madison was a theater major here, and she did her MBA here, and 321 00:18:14,060 --> 00:18:14,820 she was done. 322 00:18:14,820 --> 00:18:16,300 And I said, hey, why don't you go with me? 323 00:18:16,300 --> 00:18:16,900 It'll be fun. 324 00:18:16,900 --> 00:18:17,780 We'll have a great time. 325 00:18:17,780 --> 00:18:18,380 And it was. 326 00:18:18,380 --> 00:18:19,580 It was an incredible trip. 327 00:18:21,020 --> 00:18:24,700 We went to the main place there. 328 00:18:25,260 --> 00:18:29,420 We climbed the Great Wall of China together. 329 00:18:30,480 --> 00:18:31,760 I kept saying, do you want to stop? 330 00:18:31,840 --> 00:18:33,760 She said, I'm not stopping if you don't stop. 331 00:18:33,920 --> 00:18:36,240 I said, why don't you stop? 332 00:18:36,320 --> 00:18:37,800 And she said, no, we've got to keep going. 333 00:18:37,800 --> 00:18:39,720 And we both wanted to stop, but we kept going. 334 00:18:39,720 --> 00:18:40,800 About killed us both. 335 00:18:41,600 --> 00:18:43,040 But we climbed the wall together. 336 00:18:43,360 --> 00:18:48,000 We went to the Imperial palace and saw all the stuff. 337 00:18:48,320 --> 00:18:51,400 But while we were there, we had dinner with the group that we 338 00:18:51,400 --> 00:18:53,320 were doing business with, with Belhaven. 339 00:18:53,320 --> 00:18:58,310 And it was a big, large table and one of these, you know, Peking 340 00:18:58,310 --> 00:19:00,710 duck dinners kind of things. 341 00:19:01,350 --> 00:19:04,110 And so there were a number of us around the table. 342 00:19:04,110 --> 00:19:06,630 We had four from Belhaven plus Madison. 343 00:19:06,790 --> 00:19:08,710 And then we had the people from this group. 344 00:19:09,510 --> 00:19:11,590 Well, the chair next to Madison was empty. 345 00:19:12,870 --> 00:19:17,030 And as we were into dinner, a guy came in and sat down by her, 346 00:19:17,190 --> 00:19:19,030 and he was horribly sick. 347 00:19:19,670 --> 00:19:20,630 Horribly sick. 348 00:19:20,870 --> 00:19:22,070 This was seven years ago. 349 00:19:23,320 --> 00:19:27,760 And she said, are you okay? 350 00:19:27,760 --> 00:19:29,400 And he said, yeah, I just flew in. 351 00:19:29,720 --> 00:19:32,280 And so I'm really running late. 352 00:19:32,280 --> 00:19:34,120 But I flew in because his dinner's important. 353 00:19:34,120 --> 00:19:35,160 I wanted to be here. 354 00:19:35,240 --> 00:19:36,880 And she said, oh, where'd you come from? 355 00:19:36,880 --> 00:19:39,320 He said, oh, I came from a town you've probably never heard 356 00:19:39,320 --> 00:19:39,880 of in China. 357 00:19:40,040 --> 00:19:41,400 Its name is Wuwon. 358 00:19:48,370 --> 00:19:51,810 Wuwon was where Covid started. 359 00:19:53,730 --> 00:19:55,010 Madison got sick. 360 00:19:55,730 --> 00:19:57,210 We all got sick on that trip. 361 00:19:57,210 --> 00:19:57,970 I got sick. 362 00:19:59,410 --> 00:20:00,450 Provost got sick. 363 00:20:00,450 --> 00:20:01,770 Dean of education got sick. 364 00:20:01,770 --> 00:20:03,570 Dean of our China program got sick. 365 00:20:03,570 --> 00:20:04,450 We all got sick. 366 00:20:05,410 --> 00:20:06,930 But Madison didn't get better. 367 00:20:08,370 --> 00:20:12,450 She had what eventually became known as Long Covid. 368 00:20:14,540 --> 00:20:17,180 She had horrible brain fog for nearly two years. 369 00:20:17,420 --> 00:20:22,220 Couldn't watch a television program, couldn't read a book. 370 00:20:23,180 --> 00:20:24,860 No ability to concentrate. 371 00:20:26,300 --> 00:20:27,860 Debilitating headaches. 372 00:20:27,860 --> 00:20:31,500 She would spend days in bed, covered up because the headaches 373 00:20:31,500 --> 00:20:32,300 were so horrible. 374 00:20:33,180 --> 00:20:36,620 Respiratory problems that she couldn't catch her breath even enough 375 00:20:36,620 --> 00:20:38,060 to get up and go to the restroom. 376 00:20:39,590 --> 00:20:42,070 She had organ failure, had to have surgery during it. 377 00:20:43,670 --> 00:20:45,230 Her instability was so much. 378 00:20:45,230 --> 00:20:49,430 She fell one night and broke her leg in two places. 379 00:20:49,910 --> 00:20:56,990 Had to go through all that complete fatigue, 23 hours a day 380 00:20:56,990 --> 00:21:03,430 in bed for seven years now. 381 00:21:03,430 --> 00:21:06,270 That's not how I remember my Madison. 382 00:21:07,150 --> 00:21:13,070 My Madison was vibrant, happy, a life of energy. 383 00:21:13,630 --> 00:21:14,910 She was a theater major here. 384 00:21:14,910 --> 00:21:16,550 This is how I mostly remember Madison. 385 00:21:16,550 --> 00:21:17,950 She was Donkey and Shrek. 386 00:21:21,070 --> 00:21:21,910 Everybody loved it. 387 00:21:21,910 --> 00:21:22,590 I loved it. 388 00:21:24,590 --> 00:21:29,710 She had a vibrancy and a spirit about her that was remarkable. 389 00:21:30,840 --> 00:21:33,960 And seven years ago, she thought she'd be on Broadway by now, 390 00:21:34,600 --> 00:21:35,400 but she's not. 391 00:21:35,400 --> 00:21:36,440 She's home in bed. 392 00:21:38,520 --> 00:21:42,120 And for me, for her, it's horrible. 393 00:21:42,120 --> 00:21:46,600 For me, it's really tough, you know, because dads fix things. 394 00:21:47,720 --> 00:21:48,640 That's what we do. 395 00:21:48,640 --> 00:21:49,400 We fix things. 396 00:21:49,400 --> 00:21:52,280 When you're a dad, you'll know you fix stuff. 397 00:21:54,040 --> 00:21:56,120 And I can't fix this. 398 00:21:57,660 --> 00:21:58,380 I've tried. 399 00:21:59,420 --> 00:22:00,980 We have the best doctor in the world. 400 00:22:00,980 --> 00:22:04,140 We have the number one doctor from the Mayo Clinic in Long Covid, 401 00:22:04,380 --> 00:22:05,980 and he can't get a solution. 402 00:22:06,860 --> 00:22:08,940 We have hundreds of people pray now. 403 00:22:08,940 --> 00:22:11,660 Most of them have probably forgotten by now because it's been 404 00:22:11,660 --> 00:22:12,020 so long. 405 00:22:12,020 --> 00:22:14,780 If you want to pray for Madison, I'd be thankful because 406 00:22:14,780 --> 00:22:15,900 prayer is our only hope. 407 00:22:16,460 --> 00:22:18,820 And we made sacrifices like crazy. 408 00:22:18,820 --> 00:22:20,060 I stay away from crowds. 409 00:22:20,060 --> 00:22:21,260 That's why I sit up here. 410 00:22:21,660 --> 00:22:24,100 I have not been to a restaurant in seven years because 411 00:22:24,100 --> 00:22:25,740 I don't want to expose her to anything. 412 00:22:27,380 --> 00:22:29,700 So we make sacrifices to try to protect her. 413 00:22:31,220 --> 00:22:32,500 But there's no answer. 414 00:22:33,540 --> 00:22:35,060 There's no answer why. 415 00:22:35,940 --> 00:22:37,700 I know God could heal her. 416 00:22:38,580 --> 00:22:41,060 I absolutely know God could heal her. 417 00:22:42,420 --> 00:22:45,820 And sometimes I'll go by her bedroom at night and she's asleep, 418 00:22:45,820 --> 00:22:50,020 and I'll put my hand on the door and I'll pray God wake her up 419 00:22:50,020 --> 00:22:52,830 in the morning and make her okay again. 420 00:22:53,870 --> 00:22:55,230 Make her be donkey again. 421 00:22:56,430 --> 00:22:57,630 That's what I want to see. 422 00:22:59,630 --> 00:23:01,390 And God doesn't answer that prayer. 423 00:23:03,310 --> 00:23:05,310 Now, the first few years, I thought I knew why. 424 00:23:05,870 --> 00:23:06,910 I would explain it. 425 00:23:06,910 --> 00:23:10,150 I'd say, well, God's either preparing her for something or he's 426 00:23:10,150 --> 00:23:10,910 protecting her. 427 00:23:12,030 --> 00:23:15,310 And I believe that there are some times in our lives where God 428 00:23:15,390 --> 00:23:18,470 closes the door, makes things hard, and he's either preparing us 429 00:23:18,470 --> 00:23:20,080 for something harder yet to come, or. 430 00:23:20,230 --> 00:23:24,470 Or he is protecting us from something that could be worse. 431 00:23:25,270 --> 00:23:27,910 But, you know, after seven years, that answer is not standing 432 00:23:27,910 --> 00:23:28,950 up for me anymore. 433 00:23:30,470 --> 00:23:31,350 That's no good. 434 00:23:33,590 --> 00:23:36,550 Now, I can explain to you what the Bible teaches about suffering. 435 00:23:37,430 --> 00:23:39,910 I can tell you we live in a fallen world. 436 00:23:40,710 --> 00:23:43,110 I can tell you God can work through suffering. 437 00:23:43,510 --> 00:23:46,670 I can tell you that his purposes are bigger than what we 438 00:23:46,670 --> 00:23:46,950 see. 439 00:23:53,170 --> 00:23:53,610 Excuse me. 440 00:23:53,610 --> 00:23:55,490 I went one slide too far here. 441 00:23:59,890 --> 00:24:03,970 But I still can't answer the core question that I care most about. 442 00:24:04,530 --> 00:24:08,690 Why is Madison still sick after seven years? 443 00:24:10,850 --> 00:24:12,850 And there's only one answer to that question. 444 00:24:14,810 --> 00:24:15,610 Want to know what it is? 445 00:24:17,850 --> 00:24:20,090 I don't know. 446 00:24:22,410 --> 00:24:27,490 And this side of heaven, I don't think I'll ever know why she's 447 00:24:27,490 --> 00:24:27,850 sick. 448 00:24:29,530 --> 00:24:30,730 But I do know this. 449 00:24:32,090 --> 00:24:37,330 God loves her more than I do, which seems impossible, that she 450 00:24:37,330 --> 00:24:39,010 could be loved by God more than my wife. 451 00:24:39,010 --> 00:24:39,930 And I love Madison. 452 00:24:41,530 --> 00:24:44,330 God hasn't abandoned Madison or us. 453 00:24:46,090 --> 00:24:53,250 And I can keep trusting God even when I don't know and never 454 00:24:53,250 --> 00:24:53,850 will know. 455 00:24:57,050 --> 00:24:59,690 The Apostle Paul had that same kind of doubt. 456 00:25:00,090 --> 00:25:03,850 The greatest theologian of the New Testament, one of the builders 457 00:25:03,850 --> 00:25:06,610 of the Church, one of the people we look up to most as one 458 00:25:06,610 --> 00:25:08,890 of the strongest Christians that ever lived. 459 00:25:10,100 --> 00:25:14,220 But he talked about a thorn in his side, and he asked God to remove 460 00:25:14,220 --> 00:25:14,500 it. 461 00:25:15,140 --> 00:25:16,820 And God didn't remove it. 462 00:25:18,820 --> 00:25:20,180 And he got the answer. 463 00:25:20,500 --> 00:25:22,180 He recorded it in the Scripture. 464 00:25:22,740 --> 00:25:27,420 I begged the Lord to take it away each time he said, my grace 465 00:25:27,420 --> 00:25:28,420 is all you need. 466 00:25:28,980 --> 00:25:31,220 My power works best in weakness. 467 00:25:32,420 --> 00:25:37,020 Then Paul says, so I am glad to boast about my weakness so that 468 00:25:37,020 --> 00:25:40,260 the power of Christ can work through me. 469 00:25:41,220 --> 00:25:44,100 God did not give Paul an explanation. 470 00:25:44,180 --> 00:25:46,100 God gave Paul himself. 471 00:25:47,140 --> 00:25:48,900 He gave Paul his grace. 472 00:25:49,540 --> 00:25:51,380 He gave Paul his power. 473 00:25:53,380 --> 00:25:57,660 Sometimes faith in our doubts is receiving a clear answer. 474 00:25:57,660 --> 00:26:02,580 And sometimes faith is trusting God when there is no answer. 475 00:26:04,650 --> 00:26:08,810 Thomas wanted proof, and Jesus gave him enough to believe. 476 00:26:13,930 --> 00:26:20,010 God gave me enough proof to believe, even when I don't have an 477 00:26:20,010 --> 00:26:22,250 answer about Madison. 478 00:26:24,650 --> 00:26:28,410 Jesus did not promise Thomas or any of us that every question 479 00:26:28,490 --> 00:26:29,850 in life will be answered. 480 00:26:30,690 --> 00:26:32,530 Thomas had more questions after that. 481 00:26:32,530 --> 00:26:37,170 I'm sure that's part of being a follower of Christ, going up that 482 00:26:37,170 --> 00:26:39,410 path in this difficult step. 483 00:26:39,970 --> 00:26:42,210 So don't hide your questions from Jesus. 484 00:26:42,530 --> 00:26:45,410 Don't run from Jesus because you have questions. 485 00:26:45,570 --> 00:26:49,410 Don't isolate yourself when your faith feels weak. 486 00:26:50,770 --> 00:26:53,490 And don't make doubt your permanent home. 487 00:26:56,700 --> 00:27:02,820 Because faith is not reaching the point where you have no unanswered 488 00:27:02,820 --> 00:27:03,420 questions. 489 00:27:05,180 --> 00:27:11,980 My question hurts every single day and many tears at night. 490 00:27:13,980 --> 00:27:15,420 But I'm convinced of this. 491 00:27:16,300 --> 00:27:17,900 Absolutely convinced of this. 492 00:27:18,780 --> 00:27:21,040 Faith is reaching the point where. 493 00:27:21,190 --> 00:27:25,310 Where you know Jesus well enough to trust him with the questions 494 00:27:25,310 --> 00:27:26,310 that hurt the most. 495 00:27:31,430 --> 00:27:32,470 And I know this. 496 00:27:33,830 --> 00:27:39,350 The promise of our benediction is as true today as it was before 497 00:27:39,910 --> 00:27:41,670 Madison got sick. 498 00:27:43,750 --> 00:27:44,870 So say it with me. 499 00:27:45,270 --> 00:27:48,190 No eye has seen, no ear is heard. 500 00:27:48,510 --> 00:27:50,030 No mind is conceived. 501 00:27:50,350 --> 00:27:53,390 What God has prepared for those who love Him. 502 00:27:54,110 --> 00:27:55,070 Have a great day.