Will God Give a Sign?
Leaving Room For Doubt ~ Part 3

Gideon – 5th Judge of Israel
Now the Angel of the LORD came and sat under the terebinth tree which was in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon threshed wheat in the wine-press, in order to hide it from the Midianites. And the Angel of the LORD appeared to him, and said to him, “The LORD is with you, you mighty man of valor!” - Judges 6:11-12

So the Jews answered and said to Him, "What sign do You show to us, since You do these things?"
Jesus answered and said to them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." - John 2:18-19

"For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men." - I Corinthians 1:22-25

Sermon in a sentence
Faith is not the absence of doubt, it is the overcoming of doubt.

People of Faith!

• Sometimes people of faith are a lot like Mr. Magoo.
• In a comical form of lunacy we walk not by sight, but by faith!
• We are totally dependent on God in His story for His grace and favor.
• We should not take ourselves so seriously!

The Reality of Faith & Doubt

• "There lives more faith in honest doubt than in half the creeds." - Alfred Lloyd Tennyson
• Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. - Hebrews 12:1
• "You can believe in your heart while you doubt in your head."
• We must break through the three barriers of faith
  Cynicism – Ignorance – Empiricism

We are people of the Word, we live by revelation.
But He answered and said, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.'"
- Matthew 4:4

Doubt sees the obstacles,
faith sees the way.
Doubt see the darksome night,
faith sees the day.
Doubt dreads to take the step,
faith soars on high.
Doubt whispers, "Who believes?“
faith answers --- "I."

Whether your faith is that there is a God or that there is not a God, if you don't have any doubts you are either kidding yourself or asleep. Doubts are the ants in the pants of faith. They keep it awake and moving. - Frederick Buechner

Risk more than others think is safe. 
Care more than others think is wise.
Dream more than others think is practical. 
Expect more than others think is possible. 
--- Cadet Maxim - West Point

Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.
I Thessalonians 5:24

Doubting Your Doubt

Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said to him, “We have seen the Lord.” So he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe. - John 20:24-25

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. - Hebrews 12:1

You can believe in your heart while you doubt in your head.
- Pastor Brian Zahnd

Do not doubt in your heart!

• Mark 11:20-24
• You can believe in your heart while you doubt in your head.
  • The head and the heart are not the same thing!
• We must choose what to believe.
• What is the final arbitrator? What you say!
• Faith consciousness and faith confession
  • You can say what you have = ordinary consciousness
  • You can have what you say = faith consciousness

Faith is not the absence of doubt, it is the overcoming of doubt.

There lives more faith in honest doubt than in half the creeds.
- Alfred Lloyd Tennyson

Barriers to Faith - Three “isms”

• Cynicism = A scornful, bitterly mocking attitude
  • Matthew 5:45 “… for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.”
• Stupidism = Ignorance
  • Hosea 4:6 “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge”
• Empiricism = Must see to believe
  • I Corinthians 2:14 “But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.”

We are people of the Word we live by revelation.

But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ - Matthew 4:4

Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass. - I Thessalonians 5:24

Doubt sees the obstacles,
faith sees the way.
Doubt see the darksome night,
faith sees the day.
Doubt dreads to take the step,
faith soars on high.
Doubt whispers, "Who believes?“
faith answers --- "I."

Leaving Room For Doubt
John 20:24-29

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
Hebrews 12:1

If you tell a man that there are 300 billion stars in the universe, he'll believe you. But if you tell him a bench has just been painted, he has to touch it to be sure.

Thomas, the disciple

• Mark 3:18 - One of the first twelve disciples of Jesus
• DIDYMUS <Greek> Personal name meaning, "twin." An alternative name.
• John 11:16 Then Thomas, who is called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with Him.”
  • revealing a pessimism mixed with loyalty and faith

Be not faithless; for, if we are faithless, we are Christless and graceless, hopeless and joyless; let us therefore say, Lord, I believe, help thou my unbelief.
-Matthew Henry

Three Barriers to Faith - Three “isms”

• Cynicism = A scornful, bitterly mocking attitude
  • Matthew 5:45 “… for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.”
• Stupidism = Ignorance
  • Hosea 4:6 “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge”
• Empiricism = Must see to believe
  • I Corinthians 2:14 “But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.”