Real Life Selkirk
**APRIL 12** Faith Through Doubt (Matthew 11:2-19)
  • Your Faithfulness To Me
  • It Really Is Amazing Grace
  • The God We Love (Nicene Creed)
  • My King Forever

  • Sermon

    Key Passage

    Matthew 11:2–19 NIV
    When John, who was in prison, heard about the deeds of the Messiah, he sent his disciples to ask him, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?” Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.” As John’s disciples were leaving, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed swayed by the wind? If not, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No, those who wear fine clothes are in kings’ palaces. Then what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is the one about whom it is written: “ ‘I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.’ Truly I tell you, among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet whoever is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been subjected to violence, and violent people have been raiding it. For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John. And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come. Whoever has ears, let them hear. “To what can I compare this generation? They are like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling out to others: “ ‘We played the pipe for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.’ For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ But wisdom is proved right by her deeds.”

    Vision/Mission/Process

    Vision:
    We exist to reach the world for Jesus, one person at a time
    Win stories from the previous week

    Introduction

    DOUBT
    Our sermon today is talking about a very difficult subject: doubt
    Let’s be honest today. Most of us don’t like to admit when we are struggling with doubt.
    Somewhere along the way, we picked up the idea that if our faith is strong, if we are mature, then we have eliminated doubt in our lives.
    Real disciples of Jesus don’t wrestle with doubt
    Mature believers don’t question things in their walk with God
    In spite of these thoughts, doubt still knocks on the door and shows up, sometimes unannounced. And we end up with an unexpected houseguest that doesn’t want to leave.
    Doubt has a way of working beneath the surface of our lives. All of our lives. The results of doubt are real:
    Doubt shows up as fear— a quiet anxiety about whether God is really in control
    Doubt creates confusion— what once felt clear now seems uncertain
    Doubt produces guilt and shame— “I shouldn’t feel this way…but I do”
    Doubt causes isolation— we pull back because we don’t want anyone to know that we have doubt
    Doubt creates distance from God— prayer feels more difficult. Scripture is silent
    Doubt leads to hesitation— we stop trusting, stop stepping, stop moving forward
    We feel the doubt and we see its effects and we begin to feel that doubt is the enemy. We take steps to try and muster up some extra faith to battle the doubt, but that doesn’t seem to be the tool that does the job.
    What if doubt isn’t the enemy we’ve all made it out to be?
    What if doubt is really a doorway to a deeper understanding of God
    I want to bring a definition of doubt to you today:
    Doubt is not the absence of faith— it is the tension we feel when what we believe about God collides with what we are experiencing in life.
    That tension of doubt is uncomfortable. It is difficult
    It exposes things in our lives
    Doubt doesn’t create fear. It exposes the fear in our hearts
    Doubt doesn’t make us uncertain. It reveals where there is uncertainty
    Here is the shift we are going to explore today: Doubt doesn’t create these struggles— it merely reveals them.
    If this is true, then doubt isn’t something to avoid.
    Doubt is honesty and truth revealing places in our lives that need to grow and depend on Jesus.
    What is revealed and be transformed.
    Today, we are looking at JTB. We don’t see a man who failed in doubt. What we see is a man who had doubt and knew what to do with it.

    Preaching

    Matthew 11:2–3 NIV
    When John, who was in prison, heard about the deeds of the Messiah, he sent his disciples to ask him, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?”
    We will find out why JTB is in prison in a few weeks. Matthew 14 talks about that event as well as JTB’s death at the hands of Herod.
    But for the purpose of our passage today, we need to know that JTB is in prison.
    He heard about what Jesus was doing and sent his disciples to Jesus to ask a confusing question, “Are you the one who is to come?”
    Let’s take a shot journey and look at JTB
    We covered the story of JTB back in November.
    John’s parents were both very old. Too old to have kids
    They were unable to have kids and had remained childless throughout life
    John’s dad, Zechariah, was a priest and one day he went to the temple to offer sacrifices on behalf of the people.
    When he was in there, an angel appeared and said, “God has heard your prayers. Your wife is going to get pregnant”
    “This baby will prepare the way for the Messiah”
    I don’t know that Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth had prayed this prayer recently, but it understandably came as a shock to Zechariah.
    But sure enough, Zechariah's wife miraculously became pregnant.
    While she was pregnant, a relative of Elizabeth came to visit her named Mary.
    Mary was also miraculously pregnant. Baby JTB jumped in the womb when Elizabeth saw Mary
    Later, JTB was baptizing people and when he saw Jesus coming down the hill, he said, “Behold the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”
    He even said he was not worthy to untie Jesus’ sandals.
    Then Jesus asked to be baptized by John. John said, “I’m not worthy to baptize you.”
    But he did because Jesus insisted.
    When Jesus was baptized, the Holy Spirit descended on Jesus like a dove and the Heavens opened up and God literally spoke, “THIS IS MY SON WHOM I LOVE. LISTEN TO HIM!”
    If anyone in the world should have the confidence that Jesus was the Messiah sent by God, it would be John, right?
    But there was something about John’s circumstances that brought doubt to him.
    We don’t know what it was, but I imagine that John knew he was supposed to prepare the way for the Messiah.
    There were literally prophecies that JTB knew about that he was fulfilling.
    If he was supposed to be this important character and supposed to be preparing the way for the Messiah, why was he sitting in a jail cell?
    Let’s go back to our definition of doubt:
    Doubt is not the absence of faith— it is the tension we feel when what we believe about God collides with what we are experiencing in life.
    Does this sound like what John may have been experiencing?
    John’s understanding of Jesus was shaped in part by the Scriptures, and in part by Jesus Himself.
    But there were also parts of John’s understanding that were shaped by expectation, not truth.
    This left JTB at a crossroads. I’m sure in his jailcell, he deeply processed this crossroads.
    Does he choose to trust Jesus? Or does he choose to trust what he feels?
    If he trusts what he feels, he will become distant, cynical and critical.
    If he seeks to trust Jesus, he will seek the truth from Jesus.
    So JTB sends a couple of disciples to Jesus to ask this question: Are you the one? Or should we be waiting on the real Messiah?
    We cannot sit here in superiority to John. Nor can we critique his doubt.
    We often have greater doubts in lesser circumstances.
    If this doubt leads to a trust in Jesus, His nature and His truth, then John will sit in the jail cell aligned with the truth and with a deeper understanding of Jesus over his circumstances.
    If he doesn’t go to Jesus, then this circumstance is what will drive his heart away from the heart of Jesus.
    This doubt revealed John’s questions. And these questions ultimately drove him to Jesus.
    I want to use the rest of this passage to discuss five points that doubt reveals in our hearts
    Doubt reveals our need to re-anchor in what Jesus has already done

    Doubt reveals our need to re-anchor in what Jesus has already done

    Matthew 11:4–6 NIV
    Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.”
    I want you to see a few things that Jesus does here.
    He understands JTB’s doubt.
    Jesus doesn’t say, “Woe to you John the Baptist!”
    Jesus doesn’t condemn, or convict.
    Jesus also doesn’t jump out and defend Himself or God’s ministry plan.
    Jesus simply points to the work of God that can be seen.
    Very early in Jesus’ ministry, he went to a synagogue and opened the scroll of the prophet Isaiah and began to read from Isaiah 58.
    Luke 4:18–21 NIV
    “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
    Jesus pointed to exactly what the Bible says the Messiah would do and who He would be.
    JTB was very familiar with the prophecies about the Messiah.
    He needed to be reminded of what Jesus was doing and reminded of the truth of the Scriptures.
    Doubt reveals our tendency to forget what we already know.
    We have horrible spiritual amnesia.
    It’s not just us.
    Elijah in the OT literally brought fire from heaven and consumed a sacrifice.
    The very next chapter he is running for his life and scared to death.
    Amnesia
    God’s work in our life is something that cannot be changed, nor undone.
    I want you to think about it like an anchor.
    It locks you in. There may be storms, there may be night, but nothing will ever undo what God has already done.
    We don’t need constant new revelation from God.
    We need to remember who He is by what He has already done.
    Disciples of Jesus don’t demand new proof— they return to the anchor points of their faith where God has already shown them the truth.
    Take a moment and think, “Has God already shown Himself to be faithful?” “Has God already shown Himself to be good?”
    What has Jesus already done that you are overlooking?
    Where do you need to re-anchor your faith?
    Re-anchor to truth
    Doubt reveals fragile feelings— not our identity

    Doubt reveals fragile feelings— not our identity

    Matthew 11:7–8 NIV
    As John’s disciples were leaving, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed swayed by the wind? If not, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No, those who wear fine clothes are in kings’ palaces.
    What is happening here?
    Jesus is talking about JTB.
    He then asks again, “What did you go out to see? A rich guy in nice clothes?”
    No.
    He asks the people, what did you go out to see? Did you go out to see a guy that would sway every time the wind blew?
    Of course not. That isn’t what John did. That isn’t who John was.
    John wasn’t a reed swaying in the wind.
    John may have been experiencing doubt, but Jesus reminded him who he was.
    He was not there to be influenced by things like wealth and culture
    JTB was there for a purpose that God had given him
    Jesus didn’t tell everyone, “Look at John’s doubt”
    Jesus told everyone there, “Look at John’s strength. He didn’t sway when the wind blew.”
    The story of John’s life is one of faithfulness, and zealous following of Jesus.
    This moment of JTB’s life could have defined him, but Jesus did not allow this to be his definition.
    Jesus pointed to who JTB was, not how JTB felt.
    I imagine John was sitting in jail feeling like a reed
    Feeling like he is getting blown over and about to be uprooted.
    Jesus knew he felt like this.
    But Jesus said, “John isn’t a reed. John is a rock.”
    We cannot allow a season of doubt to rewrite our identity.
    We cannot allow a season of doubt to dictate or determine who we are in the eyes of God.
    This life is hard.
    The winds blow and circumstances push us and press on us. It is hard and confusing. Our circumstances lie to us and tell us that they are eternal. They are permanent. This doubt is stronger than who Jesus has shown Himself to be.
    Faith always has to be challenged to grow.
    You may look at the person in this room that you feel has the greatest faith.
    God will test that faith.
    I’ll tell you this: God wants that person to trust Him more.
    The more we trust Him, the more we know Him
    The more we know Him, the more the world will see Him through us.
    That testing can make it feel like we are unstable.
    But that testing is the refining fire of purity in our maturity.
    Doubt reveals how fragile we feel. Jesus reminds us of how stable we are in Him.
    You may feel like wavering. But Jesus says, “You are not a reed”.
    Re-anchor to truth
    We are not fragile
    Doubt reveals how easily we forget our calling

    Doubt reveals how easily we forget our calling

    Matthew 11:9–11 NIV
    Then what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is the one about whom it is written: “ ‘I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.’ Truly I tell you, among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet whoever is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
    John was given a significant role in the History of the world that God created.
    He was the one that was going to prepare the way for the Messiah, God in the flesh.
    That is a pretty big job.
    But John was sitting in prison.
    He may have felt like he messed up his calling or missed out on what God was putting in front of him.
    But Jesus affirms the purpose of John.
    John came to fulfill prophecy and prepare the way for Jesus.
    Jesus also affirms the value of John to that point
    There was not anyone born of women that was greater than JTB.
    How many people were born of women? All of them. Except Adam and Eve.
    Was Jesus saying that JTB had value? Was Jesus saying that JTB had a purpose for His life. His life meant something in the big picture?
    Yes.
    When we doubt, we often think that we have no purpose, no calling, no value.
    Our doubt negates anything that could have value.
    I want you to see this in John, and I want you to see this in our own lives
    Doubt is not the absence of faith— it is the tension we feel when what we believe about God collides with what we are experiencing in life.
    John was experiencing helplessness. He felt like he had no purpose.
    But he felt that God had called him to something other than what he was doing
    Doubt
    As we look at this, there is a reality. John WAS in prison. Also, John would not get out of prison.
    He would literally stay in prison until Herod beheaded him.
    That sounds depressing. What did he get out of his steadfast faithfulness?
    It sounds like he got the short straw. Saying it like this ruffles some of our own feathers in this room.
    That doesn’t sound right. It doesn’t sound like a good God.
    Did God give John a task in this life for John’s glory or for God’s glory?
    God’s glory
    John knew he existed for the purposes of God and for the glory of God.
    Jesus affirmed that he had done his job.
    We like to tie our temporary situations to God’s eternal plans.
    God, I want to bring you glory, and simultaneously, I want you to bring me glory as well.
    When that doesn’t happen, it breaks down our understanding of God.
    I want you to hear the last verse here:
    Matthew 11:11 NIV
    Truly I tell you, among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet whoever is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
    Whoever is the least in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than even JTB.
    Jesus is the way the truth and the live. No one comes to the Father except through Him.
    We have a calling. It isn’t just a calling to prepare the way for Jesus. It is to make Jesus known in this world.
    We talk about it often here, but I don’t want it to lose value because we say it frequently.
    Matthew 28:18–20 NIV
    Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
    All authority— No greater calling for our existence
    Go make disciples
    What promises does this state for our comfort? Wealth? Health?
    What if we perform His purposes and life stinks then we die?
    Our lives are not lived for us. The calling He gives is for His glory, not ours.
    When we doubt, He will be with us always.
    Re-anchor to truth
    We are not fragile
    We have a calling
    Doubt reveals our pain

    Doubt reveals our pain

    Matthew 11:12–15 NIV
    From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been subjected to violence, and violent people have been raiding it. For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John. And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come. Whoever has ears, let them hear.
    That first sentence probably sounds a bit odd, so I would like to break it down
    There are two words here that we need to understand
    Violence— Forceful
    Raiding— Snatch it away or make it their own
    If we look at that first verse, it appears that from the time of JTB until this moment Jesus is identifying something as happening in the Kingdom
    The time between JTB and Jesus is very short.
    JTB did his ministry, then handed it off to Jesus and Jesus is likely pretty early in his ministry at this point.
    But there was a message that JTB preached. Jesus preached. And Jesus sent His disciples to preach.
    That message was: Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is near
    The OT prophecy that Elijah was to come and prepare the way for the Messiah, the King of the coming Kingdom of God was fulfilled in JTB
    Jesus identifies this.
    In this prophecy, we can see that this plan had been in works from long before that prophecy even took place.
    From the times of Elijah, the purpose and ministry of JTB were being prepared.
    Now John had completed this.
    The Kingdom of Heaven was arriving.
    And there were forceful people all around trying to manipulate the Kingdom of God and make it their own.
    The Pharisees didn’t want the Kingdom Jesus brought. They wanted their own.
    The Teachers of the law “ “ “ “
    Even the people that flocked to him in the crowd. Did they want a savior or did they want a miracle?
    Everyone in the world will fight for their version of the Kingdom of Heaven.
    For us, that can make this journey of discipleship challenging.
    The world doesn’t simply oppose the Kingdom
    This world wants to make the Kingdom of God its own.
    Sometimes we get caught up in the crossfire.
    The world may attack us. Other church people may attack us. There are wolves in sheeps clothing that may attack us.
    Jesus wants unity and peace in His church. But there isn’t always unity and peace.
    There are those who fight, and fight hard, for their version of the Kingdom of Heaven.
    This has to break the heart of Jesus.
    In fact I know it does.
    Church hurt is a demoralizing part of following Jesus
    There are times that we find that we were fighting for our own version of the Kingdom
    We must humbly repent
    There are times that we are hurt by others fighting for their version of the Kingdom
    We must humbly show grace and be willing to forgive
    We must also fight for the truth of His Kingdom and His church.
    But be careful that it is not our emotion or our opinions fighting.
    Re-anchor to truth
    We are not fragile
    We have a calling
    Fight for His Kingdom
    Doubt reveals the direction of our hearts

    Doubt reveals the direction of our hearts

    Matthew 11:16–19 NIV
    “To what can I compare this generation? They are like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling out to others: “ ‘We played the pipe for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.’ For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ But wisdom is proved right by her deeds.”
    This is what I call a Grand Canyon argument
    One person can stand and look at the Grand Canyon and say, “With my education and experience, I believe this took 500 million years to create.”
    Another person with the same intelligence can stand and look at the same Grand Canyon and say, “With my education and experience, I believe this could have happened in a very short period of time.”
    One doesn’t have more intelligence than the other
    One doesn’t have more degrees from a university from the other
    The one thing that separates them is the belief system they brought to the Grand Canyon.
    Christian used this metaphor as we were preparing.
    Imagine that you have never been to Real Life Selkirk before, but you’ve heard the legend of Christian Starr.
    He’s our youth pastor
    The legend of Christian Starr is that every time he preaches, he smiles, cracks a few jokes and even dances.
    All true by the way.
    So you come rolling to church and someone is up front. Some of the people around you say, “That is the dancing preacher, Christian Starr!”
    But as you watch, the guy talking doesn’t smile. Doesn’t crack jokes. He just stands up here like a statue and doesn’t dance.
    There are two possibilities:
    First, I need to find out if that is Christian or not. I’m genuinely curious.
    Second, I know that cannot be Christian. If he’s not dancing, it is clearly not him.
    The people around you might say, “No, it’s definitely Christian, but you say, “Nope. I don’t believe it”
    This is a silly example, but this is the point of what Jesus is making here.
    Doubt reveals the direction of our heart.
    Some of the people in that place saw John and rejected John because JTB didn’t meet the expectations of what they wanted.
    Therefore, they didn’t believe his message
    They also saw Jesus and didn’t believe him either
    They played the pipe, but Jesus didn’t dance...therefore, they didn’t believe him
    In this passage we see that there are two possible responses to doubt:
    Honest Seeking
    This is what John did
    John sought Jesus.
    His circumstances didn’t dictate his direction. His heart wanted to follow Jesus. But his circumstances were saying something different.
    Doubt will always pull us in a direction.
    It will pull us to the feet of Jesus or it will pull our hearts away from Jesus.
    Hardened Resistance
    This is what that generation did.
    They also doubted Jesus. They doubted and then rejected.
    It wasn’t because Jesus’ miracles weren’t good enough
    It wasn’t because His teaching wasn’t true enough
    It wasn’t because of how He looked
    They rejected because it was the direction of their hearts
    Psalm 14:1 NIV
    The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good.
    I want you to notice this. the fool says this in his heart. His mind is not part of the equation.
    He has determined in his heart, therefore his mind is rendered useless.
    Doubt will reveal within ourselves the direction of our hearts
    We must be willing to go to God when our circumstances are confusing and bring doubt.

    Conclusion

    Rethinking Doubt

    Take-Home Encouragements: Rethinking Doubt

    1. Awareness — Seeing Doubt Clearly

    (Helping people understand what doubt really is)
    Doubt is expected in the life of a disciple.
    Doubt is normal—it’s part of the journey, not a detour from it.
    Doubt is not the absence of faith—it is the tension within faith.
    Doubt doesn’t mean something is broken—it may mean something is being revealed.
    Doubt doesn’t create weakness—it exposes where growth is needed.
    Doubt is not the enemy—it is often the invitation.

    2. Identity — Removing Shame and Fear

    (Helping people stop hiding and start healing)
    We ought not fear doubt.
    Doubt does not mean your faith is counterfeit.
    Doubt does not disqualify you from following Jesus.
    Doubt does not change who you are—it reveals where you need Jesus more deeply.
    A season of doubt does not define a life of faithfulness.
    You can be a committed disciple and still wrestle with real questions.

    3. Transparency — Bringing Doubt Into the Light

    (Creating a culture where people stop hiding)
    Doubt grows in silence—but shrinks in the presence of Jesus and community.
    What you hide, you hinder—what you reveal, God can heal.
    You don’t have to pretend your faith is stronger than it is.
    Honest doubt is better than dishonest certainty.
    God is not intimidated by your questions.
    The goal is not to suppress doubt—but to surrender it.

    4. Discipleship — Responding to Doubt the Right Way

    (Calling people to action and growth)
    Doubt is an opportunity to grow deeper in your faith.
    Doubt should drive you toward Jesus, not away from Him.
    Mature faith is not doubt-free—it is doubt-formed.
    Disciples bring their doubts to Jesus and let Him shape their understanding.
    Doubt can be the doorway to a more resilient, grounded faith.
    Growth begins where certainty ends and trust is required.

    5. Gospel-Centered Perspective — What God Does With Doubt

    (Anchoring everything in God’s character)
    God uses doubt to reveal what comfort has been hiding.
    What doubt exposes, God intends to transform.
    Jesus meets doubt with truth, not condemnation.
    God is still at work—even when your circumstances don’t make sense.
    Doubt may shake you—but it does not shake God.
    Gospel
    Communion

      • Matthew 11:2–19NIV2011

      • Matthew 11:2–3NIV2011

      • Matthew 11:4–6NIV2011

      • Luke 4:18–21NIV2011

      • Matthew 11:7–8NIV2011

      • Matthew 11:9–11NIV2011

      • Matthew 11:11NIV2011

      • Matthew 28:18–20NIV2011

      • Matthew 11:12–15NIV2011

      • Matthew 11:16–19NIV2011

      • Psalm 14:1NIV2011

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