Dealing With Doubts On The Journey Of Faith, Part 1

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=50 BGCOLOR="#333366" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B>Dealing With Doubts On The Journey Of Faith, Part 1</B></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=165 BGCOLOR="#CCCC99" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="132" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="VOID" RULES="NONE" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 35 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id482.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Resolving Conflict From the Perspective "><U><B><IMG SRC="007151d0.gif" border=0 width="21" height="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id484.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Dealing With Doubts On The Journey Of Fa"><U><B><IMG SRC="008151d0.gif" border=0 width="21" height="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="20"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="35" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="20" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="13"></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="27"></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></B></div> <div> Previous/Next Sermon</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="www.stanbaker.org"><U><B>Home</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id2.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Biblical and Theological Studies"><U><B>Biblical and Theological Studies</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id3.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Church Ministry"><U><B>Church Ministry</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id15.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Sermon Notes"><U>Sermon Notes</U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id4.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Links"><U><B>Links</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id5.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Personal"><U><B>Personal</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> www.stanbaker.org</div> </td> <td valign="top" height=430 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B>"Dealing with Doubts on the Journey of Faith" (part 1), </B><A HREF="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passage=Gen+14:1-24" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passag"><U><B>Genesis 14:1-24</B></U></A></div> <div> <B>Berean Bible Church, </B><B>October 9-10, 2004</B></div> <bR> <div>      "For several years a woman had been having trouble getting to sleep at night because she feared burglars. One night her husband heard a noise in the house, so he went downstairs to investigate. When he got there, he did find a burglar. [The husband said,] `Good evening, I am pleased to see you. Come upstairs and meet my wife. She has been waiting 10 years to meet you.'" [William Marshall, <I>Eternity Shut in a Span</I>].</div> <div>      Of course, most of what we worry about never happens. Worry is a very real part of all of our lives. But of the things we worry about, 40% are things that will never happen; 30% are things about the past that can't be changed; 12% are things about criticism by others, mostly untrue; 10% are about health, which gets worse with stress; 8% are about real problems that will be faced [Source unknown (Bible.org)].</div> <div>       In <A HREF="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passage=Gen+15:1-3" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passag"><U>Genesis 15:1-3</U></A>, Abraham believes God, but he also worries and thinks he has to work part of it out on his own, apart from God's direction and provision.</div> <div>       Sometimes what we expect from God doesn't come through when we expect it. Sometimes our view of the world is different than what God says, so we begin to doubt and worry. Sometimes a day or a month or a year or a lifetime doesn't work out the way we expected it to. We  might believe in the big-picture promises of God about salvation, forgiveness, and heaven, but we worry and fret and stress about the circumstances of our everyday lives. Is there going to be enough money? How will we find the time to get everything done? What's going to happen to my kids in this crazy world? How are my aging parents going to make it with all the challenges? What if my health deteroriates? What if it has already has? How am I going to make in my crazy job? Is my job going to be there for me? What am I going to do about this broken relationship? What if people criticize me or don't like me?</div> <div>      From Gen 14-15, how can we effectively deal with our worries and fears about life, both today and in the future?</div> <bR> <div> <B>I. The setting: </B><A HREF="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passage=Gen+14:1-16" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passag"><U><B>Genesis 14:1-16</B></U></A></div> <div>      Gen 14:1-12 - Lot had pursued his own selfish ends (choosing the best land), and he ended up in trouble. He got caught in the middle of an international war, and he got carted away as a captive. Kings from the East (from the regions of modern-day Iraq and the Persian Gulf) had been in control of five city-states in the valley near the southern part of the [existing] Dead Sea. Those five city-states rebelled, and the kings from the East come to enforce their will. They wanted to keep the routes open to Egypt, and they didn't want to give up control or taxes. So they came to subdue these city-states by force, including Sodom, where Lot was living.</div> <div>      Gen 14:13-16 - Abram had been generous, and was now living in peace, minding his own business, when this took place. But he risked his life, his possessions, and his men to rescue Lot. With minimal military resources and training (318 men), he fought against the professional warriors of a four-king confederation who had already defeated the five-king confederation near Sodom. </div> <div>      So Lot acts selfishly and ends up in trouble, and Abram generously and kindly goes and rescues him. Abram had confidence in the promised blessing of God, so he didn't have to be selfish. He generously went and rescued Lot and all the others, and their possessions as well.</div> <bR> <div> <B>II. The lesson: </B><A HREF="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passage=Gen+14:17-24" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passag"><U><B>Genesis 14:17-24</B></U></A></div> <div>      Gen 14:17-20 - In the blessing of Melchizedek, king of the city-state Salem and a priest of God, God gets the credit for Abram's victory and rescue of Lot and the people and possessions of the city-states. This blessing is not only observed by Abram, but now also by the surrounding peoples.</div> <div>      Gen 14:20 - Abram gave a tenth of the rescued possessions to God, through Melchizedek. He himself recognized that God was blessing him, and so he honored God with his gifts.</div> <div>      Gen 14:21-24 - Abram refused to take "payment" in possessions for what he did. Only God would get the credit for blessing Abram, not the nations. Abram would not be obligated to the nations (specifically, to the wicked king of Sodom) for the blessing, he would give honor and obligation to God alone. The king was offering Abram a "deal," and deals come with strings attached. Abram was not going to make deals with wicked people, in order to receive the blessing of God.</div> <bR> <div> <I>     Summary</I>: God wasn't going to let a little thing like an international incident get in the way of his blessing upon Abram. Abram's name was becoming great, and God deserved the credit.</div> <bR> <div> <B>1. </B>Step 1 to dealing with worry and doubt is to: <B>"Give God the credit for the blessings he provides."</B></div> <div>      The battle over doubt and worry begins with <I><B>worship</B></I>. When we worship, we are giving God the credit for what he has done, for how he has blessed us. We are affirming once again that God has the power and the will to bring to pass the blessings that he promises.</div> <div>      We worship by telling the stories of God's actions - what he has done. We worship by affirming his character - who he is. We worship through singing songs of thanksgiving, praise, and honor; through prayers of thanksgiving; through telling others what he has done and how he came through to fulfill his promises, and through giving back to him out of what he has given to us (a tenth).</div> <div>      Warren Wiersbe wrote, "I have felt for a long time that one of the particular temptations of the maturing Christian is the danger of getting accustomed to his blessings. Like the world traveler who has been everywhere and seen everything, the maturing Christian is in danger of taking his blessings for granted and getting so accustomed to them that they fail to excite him as they once did. / Emerson said that if the stars came out only once a year, everybody would stay up all night to behold them. We have seen the stars so often that we don't bother to look at them anymore. We have grown accustomed to our blessings. . . One of the evidences that we have grown accustomed to our blessings is this spirit of criticism and complaining. Instead of thanking God for what we have, we complain about it and tell him we wish we had something else. You can be sure that if God did give us what we asked for, we would eventually complain about that. The person who has gotten accustomed to his blessing can never be satisfied." [Warren Wiersbe, <I>God Isn't In a Hurry</I>, pp. 77-78]. </div> <div>       When we stop giving thanks, when we stop worshiping God for who he is and what he has done, we begin to lose <I>his</I> perspective, and we start complaining, and become bitter, worried, and doubtful. Instead, let's deal with our worries and doubts by giving God the credit for the blessings he provides to us every day of our lives.</div> <div>      "One Thanksgiving, a family was seated around their table, looking at the annual holiday bird. From the oldest to the youngest, they were to express their praise. When they came to the 5-year-old in the family, he began by looking at the turkey and expressing his thanks to the turkey, saying although he had not tasted it he knew it would be good. After that rather novel expression of thanksgiving, he began with a more predictable line of credits, thanking his mother for cooking the turkey and his father for buying the turkey. But then he went beyond that. He joined together a whole hidden multitude of benefactors, linking them with cause and effect.  He said, 'I thank you for the checker at the grocery store who checked out the turkey. I thank you for the grocery store people who put it on the shelf. I thank you for the farmer who made it fat. I thank you for the man who made the feed. I thank you for those who brought the turkey to the store.'  Using his Columbo-like little mind, he traced the turkey all the way from its origin to his plate. And then at the end he solemnly said 'Did I leave anybody out?'  His 2-year-older brother, embarrassed by all those proceedings, said, 'God.'  Solemnly and without being flustered at all, the 5-year-old said, 'I was about to get to him.'" (Joel Gregory, "The Unlikely Thanker," Preaching Today, Tape No. 110.)</div> <div>      When we are tempted to worry, lets <I>start</I> with giving God the credit, giving him the praise, the thanks, the credit, for who he is and what he has done.</div> <bR> <div> (to be continued . . .)</div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> copyright, 2004, Stanley Baker</div> <div> www.stanbaker.org</div> </td> </tr></table></body>