Faith and Doubt: Lessons from John the Baptist

### Bible Study Discussion Guide

#### Bible Reading
1. **Matthew 3:13-17** - The Baptism of Jesus
2. **Matthew 11:2-6** - John the Baptist's Doubts
3. **Mark 6:17-29** - The Imprisonment and Death of John the Baptist

#### Observation Questions
1. What significant event in Jesus' life is described in Matthew 3:13-17? How did John the Baptist react to Jesus' request for baptism? ([43:06])
2. In Matthew 11:2-6, what did John the Baptist do when he had doubts about Jesus? How did Jesus respond to John's disciples? ([51:27])
3. According to Mark 6:17-29, why was John the Baptist imprisoned, and what ultimately happened to him? ([50:02])

#### Interpretation Questions
1. Why do you think John the Baptist, despite his strong faith and role in Jesus' ministry, experienced doubts while in prison? ([51:27])
2. How does Jesus' response to John's doubts in Matthew 11:4-6 emphasize the importance of fulfilled prophecies and miracles? ([55:02])
3. What does the story of John the Baptist's imprisonment and death in Mark 6:17-29 teach us about the cost of discipleship and standing up for truth? ([50:02])

#### Application Questions
1. Reflect on a time when you experienced a spiritual high followed by a significant low. How did you navigate that period, and what did you learn about your faith journey? ([41:52])
2. When you face doubts or uncertainties in your faith, how do you typically respond? What steps can you take to bring your doubts to Jesus, as John the Baptist did? ([51:27])
3. Think of a personal testimony of God's work in your life. How can you share this story succinctly and effectively to encourage others in their faith? ([58:22])
4. How can you cultivate an eternal perspective in your daily life, focusing on God's larger narrative rather than earthly struggles? ([01:02:41])
5. In what ways can you engage with your faith community to provide and receive encouragement, especially during times of doubt and despair? ([56:34])
6. Identify one person in your life who might be struggling with their faith. How can you share your testimony or offer support to help strengthen their faith? ([58:22])
7. How can you align your life more closely with God's eternal story, ensuring that your actions and decisions contribute to advancing the good news? ([01:02:41])

1. "What would it take for you to never doubt again? To be fully bought in, to just be like, 'That's it, I know there's a God, I know that his name is Jesus, I give my life to him.'" [40:19]


2. "If you chase the high, you'll ruin your life. If you're just going after feeling after feeling, you'll miss out on it." [42:34]


3. "Take your doubts to Jesus. It's okay to take to Jesus every kind of burden, not just your worries but also your doubt." [51:27]


4. "Doubts are a very human experience. If you're not doubting, you're probably not paying attention. Doubting is just hunger pains to say that you're ready for your next meal." [52:29]


5. "Your life will matter in history if you make it about His story and not yours." [01:01:10]


6. "Jesus' perspective is that of His Father in heaven, not just on earth. He still sees you in all your fears, holds you with His strong, mighty nail-pierced hands." [01:03:52]


7. "Testimonies are powerful. Tell others what you have seen and heard. I once was blind, but now I see." [01:00:50]


8. "The doubter is still the best of us. It tells me that I've never freaked Jesus out or bothered Him with my many doubts." [54:17]


9. "Jesus sent His own community to encourage John in his own days. He believes that hearing it from people that you know and who know you is more powerful." [56:34]


10. "The only reasonable response to who God is and what He has done is to worship Him. He is worthy." [01:19:42]

Day 1: Navigating Spiritual Highs and Lows
Description: Spiritual highs, such as those experienced during youth camps or retreats, are often followed by significant lows. These fluctuations are natural and remind us that our faith journey is not about maintaining a constant high but about growing deeper in our relationship with God through all seasons. John the Baptist's life exemplifies this, as he experienced both the pinnacle of baptizing Jesus and the depths of doubt while imprisoned. Understanding that these highs and lows are part of our spiritual journey can help us remain steadfast in our faith, knowing that God is with us through every season. [41:52]

Isaiah 40:31 (ESV): "But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint."

Reflection: Think about a recent spiritual high you experienced. How did you feel when you came down from that high? How can you seek God's presence in both the highs and the lows of your spiritual journey?


Day 2: Bringing Doubts to Jesus
Description: John the Baptist's story teaches us the importance of bringing our doubts to Jesus. When John was imprisoned and began to doubt, he sent his disciples to ask Jesus directly. Jesus' response, highlighting fulfilled prophecies and miracles, reassures us that it's okay to question and seek understanding. This act of taking our doubts to Jesus can strengthen our faith, as it did for John, by reminding us of God's ongoing work and faithfulness. [51:27]

Matthew 11:2-4 (ESV): "Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, 'Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?' And Jesus answered them, 'Go and tell John what you hear and see.'"

Reflection: What doubts or questions about your faith are you currently wrestling with? How can you bring these doubts to Jesus in prayer and seek His guidance and reassurance?


Day 3: The Power of Testimony
Description: Sharing our personal experiences of God's work in our lives is a powerful tool for strengthening faith. Testimonies should be succinct and focused on the transformative power of God's actions. This approach not only makes them more impactful but also easier for others to relate to and remember. By sharing our stories, we can encourage others and remind ourselves of God's faithfulness and power. [58:22]

Psalm 66:16 (ESV): "Come and hear, all you who fear God, and I will tell what he has done for my soul."

Reflection: Think of a specific instance where you experienced God's work in your life. How can you share this testimony with someone today in a way that highlights God's transformative power?


Day 4: Embracing an Eternal Perspective
Description: Our lives gain true significance when we align them with God's eternal story. Jesus' perspective is always higher, focusing on the heavenly rather than the earthly. This eternal viewpoint helps us understand that our struggles and doubts are part of a larger, divine narrative. By embracing this perspective, we can find purpose and meaning in our daily lives, knowing that we are part of God's grand plan. [01:02:41]

2 Corinthians 4:17-18 (ESV): "For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal."

Reflection: How can you shift your focus from earthly concerns to a heavenly perspective today? What practical steps can you take to align your daily actions with God's eternal story?


Day 5: The Importance of Community and Encouragement
Description: Jesus sent John's own disciples to reassure him, emphasizing the importance of community in our faith journey. Hearing from those who know and love us can provide powerful encouragement and support, especially in times of doubt and despair. This highlights the role of community in reinforcing our faith and the need to surround ourselves with fellow believers who can uplift and encourage us. [56:34]

Hebrews 10:24-25 (ESV): "And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near."

Reflection: Who in your community can you reach out to for encouragement and support today? How can you also be a source of encouragement to someone else in your faith community?

**Lake Point Church**

Would you please rise with us and worship this morning?

Good morning, Lake Point Church. Would you please rise with us and worship this morning?

Good morning, Lake Point Church. Would you please rise with us and worship this morning?

Good morning, Lake Point Church. Would you please rise with us and worship this morning?

Morning, Lake Point Church. Would you please rise with us and worship this morning?

Good morning, Lake Point Church. Would you please rise with us and worship this morning?

Good morning, Lake Point Church. Would you please rise with us and worship this morning?

But if anything, consider the lyrics that we have because our God is worthy of your time and your affection today.

Let's pray now, and then we'll keep going.

God, we love you, we trust you, and we are grateful to you.

And it's in the name of Jesus we pray. Amen.

Amen.

Can we celebrate what Jesus is doing one more time in that ministry?

Glenda is learning the lesson over and over again that when you retire from something, you don't really get to rest because she's just... but was promptly and quickly called into that ministry.

And I'm so glad families who could not speak English well together, their first words amongst their house were the name of Jesus Christ.

It's such a good ministry. I hope that some of you are able to be involved today.

My name is Tom. I'm the worship pastor here at Lake Point Church.

And I've come up with... it should be called ADD Point, helping people take their time.

Take their next... squirrel!

A decent joke.

Okay, I thought it was hilarious.

We're in the middle of a... stop it, daughter.

We're in the middle of a series right now called "This Verse Changed My Life."

And today I want to share a verse with you that has been... it's really been a fixed point of meditation for my faith, especially in this past year.

And I really hope it helps.

Tell you that the verse needs a little bit of context.

Pray one more time before we get going.

Oh God, we come to you in the name of Jesus, asking that you would settle my mind and my heart into you for what you would have.

Be with all of us here today.

May we fall deeper and more in love with your scriptures, not just the idea of you, but the source of your truth and your way, where you are our life.

And it's in your name, Jesus, we pray. Amen.

Have you ever doubted in your faith before?

Or maybe you are just like me, like this is not for me, this is for somebody else, but you got dragged here today.

And I really hope that they give you a really good free lunch.

I hope that you get that out of the deal.

But have any of you ever doubted before?

Well, what would it take for you to never doubt again?

It's a genuine question.

Like, what would it really take for you to never have a doubt again, to be fully bought in, to just be like, "That's it! I know there's a God. I know that his name is Jesus. I give my life to him. I'm fully devoted to him."

I've read it, and I'm satisfied.

But what would it genuinely take for you?

When I was growing up, I was in a youth group, and I was in a great youth group.

My youth pastor is still serving today.

He's a senior pastor out of New Jersey now, and he has a wonderful church out there called Fresh Start Church.

I love... and we would go to camp together.

And when you would go to these camps, man, it was just like a different planet.

And I would be so...

We used to use the term "on" for God.

We would also use a term called like a "spiritual high," which I'm not talking about anything that you find in the jungles of South America.

I mean a true spiritual high, like where I am so...

Some of you giggled at that, and we can talk afterwards and make other jokes that we need to pray about.

You would be so excited, though, and you would be like, "This is it! I follow you, Jesus, forever!"

And everywhere you would go, no turning back, no turning back.

But the problem with every mountaintop experience is that the culmination of that part of your journey is that you are way up here, and there's a tip, and then usually it crashes really hard and fast.

Back then, as a youth pastor, I used to give people a heads up and say, "Listen, you're way up here."

When I would go and I would speak at camps, I would try to talk to those kids and be like, "You're way up here. You're not going to stay here because you have a life to get back to."

And it's usually family that will make it crash as soon as you get back.

I don't know what it is, but it's something that happens.

The fact is that your life can never be just fully lived on a high.

It's something that you chase.

And just like any person who has dealt with any kind of addiction before to any kind of high before will tell you, if you chase the high, you'll ruin your life.

You missed out on it.

If you're just going after feeling after feeling after feeling, you'll go for it.

But the verse that I want us to land on today is not about a high.

In fact, it's speaking to somebody and was a message to somebody.

But what would it take for you to never doubt again?

I present to you a scenario, and we're going to start in Matthew chapter 3 that I think would be a pretty strong candidate for you and me.

I'm going to start in verse 13, and I just want to introduce to you two characters, one being Jesus, who we all have familiarity with at some level, and the other one is a man named...

Leave that verse up for a moment.

That's great.

Jesus came to Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John.

Stay there because this is part of where we have his title, John the Baptist.

Expert in prophecy.

Prophecy is part of how we know that Jesus was who he claimed to be because he fulfilled the promise of every prophecy required.

And John was also prophesied about, and he knew it.

He was described as a voice calling out into the desert, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."

He knows everything that there is to know about prophecy.

The entire purpose of his life is about fulfilling prophecy.

Everything about this guy is him understanding how to be obedient to God.

It's about prophecy.

And here it is, something amazing about to happen.

Jesus comes from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John.

Verse 14: But then John tried to deter him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?"

Everything about John is about Jesus, and Jesus is getting ready to start.

It's happening, folks!

Everything that he's dreamed of, his entire childhood is happening right now.

All purpose of his life finally fulfilled.

In verse 15, Jesus said, "Now it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness."

And then John consented.

And the only way that you could get John back down from anything is to say, "This was literally tied to prophecy, dude," and he would finally do it.

Verse 16: As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water because he was underwater.

He was submerged.

Hello! We believe in submersion here.

And at that moment, heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him.

And a voice, a literal voice from heaven said, "This is my son, whom I love. With him, I am well pleased."

Again, go with me for this moment.

You're going to be John, which works because a lot of us are a little crazy anyways, and this man was pretty wild.

He was called a wild man.

We knew that he survived on honey and locusts.

He was wild.

He was also not a fearful man.

He was brave, and he believed in purpose.

And if your whole purpose in life was about preparing the way and the way shows up, imagine everything that you'd ever dreamed.

He's actually literally holding him.

Jesus probably had very long hair, which means that John's hands intertwined, holding him, having now accepted a command from him.

Like, you better do it because this is all righteousness being fulfilled.

And he was, and then he lowers him underwater, and he's holding the sacrificial Lamb of God, we call him, underwater where you cannot breathe.

And then pulling him up out of the water.

He's not just fulfilling in that moment; he's also telling everybody, "This thing that I've been preaching about my whole life and believing in my whole life, here he is!"

And then heaven opens up.

What? Heaven opens up?

I thought heaven was out there, and it happens up, and it opens up right here.

And then he experiences the Holy Spirit descending like a dove.

Have you ever seen a bird land?

Of course you have.

Behind our house, we have a bird feeder, and we love watching them.

We get really excited about cardinals in our house because they're just so beautiful, and the way that they land exactly how they want to land and how they are alive and breathing.

And I wonder what their life is like, so I love feeding them.

That kind of moment starts to happen, and then he realizes that's the Spirit of God descending like a dove, intentional and organic and alive.

Not organic in the true sense, but alive.

And then the voice of the Father: "This is my Son."

And he holds the Son.

John experiences tangibly the Trinity.

Would you ever doubt again?

Would you ever doubt again?

Well, if you are a doubter, and the way that I grew up, I don't know that you were allowed to be a doubter.

In fact, I got in trouble mostly in school for a couple of reasons, and very little to do with ADD, to be honest.

Usually what would get me in trouble in church was my incessant amount of questions.

So, so many questions.

And the problem frustrated by questions because the way that I eventually was taught to reconcile this, that I wasn't a bad kid or a bad Christian for asking questions, is if I could just learn the correct tone.

There's a difference between accusatory and inquisitive.

So I just learned how to couch it and be an inquisitive person.

I wanted to know and understand, and I also wanted you to tell me now.

And the way a lot of leaders still feel, like if I start asking too many questions, is they personally feel disrespected, and then it would just be turned out of the room.

Clearly, it worked out for me.

I am in full-time ministry, but I still ask a lot of questions because I want to know, and I want to understand.

And I also want to know what do you expect from me because I don't want you to hold me accountable to an expectation that you have and never tell me.

I have a real hard time with anybody who is both passive and aggressive.

I just want to know, "What do you want from me, dude?"

I want to know what the rules of the game are, and I'm just always trying to figure out and always pulling it together.

I want to ask questions, and then those questions started to turn into very strong doubts.

And I don't know what makes you doubt, but I just want to know.

It's not a short list of things that can make me doubt, especially on tough days, especially when I'm just tired or hungry or both or annoyed or tired and hungry and annoyed.

Angry can mess up my faith, I guess, but it's something.

It's just about strong, strong doubts.

They go into me, and I'll tell you, 11.5 really helps me.

So at some point in John and everything that he'd experienced and everything that he believed in being totally fulfilled, we know that at some point John has a hard time because something wild happens to him.

I'm going to skip out of Matthew just for a few moments to Mark because I like how succinct Mark is.

But here he is in Mark chapter 6, verse 17.

Something later on happens to John.

For Herod, he's the power of the local area of the day.

Herod himself had given orders to have John arrested, and he had him bound and put in prison.

He did this because of Herodias, his brother's wife, his brother Philip's wife, whom he had married.

He married his brother's wife, who also seems to have a female version of his name, Herodias.

For John, it's not lawful for you to have your brother's wife.

He didn't say anything crazy here.

He just makes a really solid point: "You shouldn't marry your sister-in-law, dude."

And they arrest him for it.

So John is currently in jail, and let me just tell you, even today, in a very good country like ours, your life, when you're arrested, you can feel like it's completely ruined.

You get swept up and lost into a system.

I've sat and talked with so many men, mostly men, who have sat up and they've been arrested before, and they say, "As soon as the cuffs hit your wrist, you feel like it's all over."

And John feels like it's all over for him, and he is confused.

But he does something really good here.

He does exactly what you and I should do, and we're going to be in Matthew 11 for most of the rest of the morning here.

And if you're taking notes, go to number one: He does this.

You can take your doubts to Jesus.

In verse 2 of chapter 11, it says, "When John heard in prison what Christ was doing, he sent his disciples, 'Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect somebody else?'"

It's safe for him to go to Jesus with his doubts because later on, Jesus says in verse 28, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest."

It's in the same chapter, so it's okay to take to Jesus every kind of burden, not just your worries, but also your doubt.

You know, I found out later on with my many questions that Jesus has never been annoyed with my many questions.

I've never freaked God out.

I've freaked out some pastors and a lot of poor sweet little old ladies who had to go to the church organist afterwards and say, "Tommy had questions again."

But I've never, never ever shamed him with it because it's just showing them hunger.

I actually think that doubts are a very human experience, and if you're not doubting, you're probably not paying attention.

I think doubting is just hunger pains to say that you're ready for your next meal.

It's just you're ready for the next thing, ready to grow.

When you doubt, and a lot of us use doubts as a cue to see our way out, which I just don't think is the right way to go.

I think you're supposed to take it.

Do you ever doubt, though, because Jesus isn't doing what you thought he would do with you?

I think that that's a reasonable, reasonable problem.

But I also believe that it's just a human experience.

Have you ever received news that is terrifying to you?

Reasonable experience.

When I was 17 years old, I went to my pastor one time, and I thought I was done with Christianity because I said, "Pastor, it just feels like a blind step in the faith, and I'm the leap that goes over the lion's head. I don't want it."

And he said to me something that's profound, and it's stuck with me my entire life.

And he said, "Tom, we have a reasonable faith," which is a defense of our faith.

It's getting into knowing what I believe and why I believe it.

But even so, I know a lot of the answers, and I can still doubt.

Anxiety is a heck of a thing, and anxiety will make you doubt everything.

Anxiety will make you think your own shoes hate you.

Anxiety can just be a wild thing if it can get into your head.

And what in the world could you ever possibly experience to take away or to overcome what you're currently feeling right now?

But here's what I do know, and your second point is that being scared is not...

Matthew 11:11 says this.

This is Jesus talking: "I tell you the truth, among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist."

In other words, the doubter is still the best of us.

In this context, the doubter is still the very best of us.

So it doesn't lose any points with Jesus.

It tells us, it tells me that I've never freaked Jesus out or bothered him with my many doubts.

I come to him with questions.

So Jesus, being the great comforter, how does he comfort John?

Well, I will tell you one thing: He doesn't, or at least not the way that John wanted him to.

In Matthew 11:4-6, remember 5 is the verse that changed my life forever.

It's in the middle.

Jesus replies, this is to John's disciples, and he says, "Well, go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, and the dead are raised."

Now, our general understanding is when Jesus uses the word leprosy here, it could just mean a general sickness, like people who are sick are getting better.

Tell John what you've seen.

And we know that the people that John's whole life is wrapped up in understanding prophecies and his role in it, and what Jesus is literally doing here is he is listing, "Hey, go tell John you have seen prophecies come true."

Because all of those were foretold in the book of Isaiah and throughout the Old Testament that this is how you know the Messiah is here.

The problem is that when Jesus says, "Give him this list of things that you guys..."

One prophecy that John would have been listening for because it pertained to him: "He sets the prisoner free."

John might have been hearing this list, "Good, good. Hey, did he say anything else?"

And they can only tell him what they've seen and what they've heard.

It's interesting to me that Jesus doesn't go personally to John.

We know because of the way that he talks about him with such incredibly great affection here.

He loves him so much, but he does not go to John.

He doesn't even send one of his own disciples.

The book was written by Matthew, and Matthew doesn't send his own friend.

He sends his own community back to him.

He sends his disciples to him, which means Jesus believes that hearing it from people that you know and who know you, that that would be more powerful in that moment.

Jesus sent his own community to encourage him in his own days.

It's one of our Lord's favorite tools.

We like this word called testimony in church.

Your testimony is just you saying, "This is what I have seen him do."

One of the most famous testimonies you've ever heard is, "I once was blind, but now I see."

That's a testimony.

All I know is I once was blind, and I talk about him a lot.

It's one of our Lord's favorite tools.

He really believes that there's power about it when I can tell you testimonies of amazing things that I have personally seen and heard.

When I tell you that I knew a man named Frank who had lung cancer, and his cancer was removed after he prayed over him.

That there was a woman named Caitlin whose twins were rescued in the room because her amniotic fluids were off, and somehow, out of some kind of miracle, they leveled out, and both of those kids are living today.

A man with an infection that was thrown into his heart, and he became septic, and we prayed over him desperately.

I remember his best friend coming to me and said, "Tom, I've prayed like I've never prayed before."

And we prayed over him in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and he is walking today.

I can tell you that my wife Jenna fell 15 feet off of a broken... she fell 15 feet onto brick steps, lung cancer with two-thirds of her lung removed, and two strokes.

Yet here she stands, praising God and testifying that God holds the keys to every heartbeat.

You don't go until it's time, whether bus or old age gets you first.

He alone numbers our days.

Testimonies are powerful, which is why I want you to be encouraged to do point number three: Tell others what you have seen.

You have heard and seen.

Tell them all over and over again.

Jenna and I were standing out at the end of the first service, and I think we had five different families come up to us and say, "We didn't even know that Jenna ever had a stroke."

I talk about it all the time.

Why? Because I promise God I will talk about this all the time.

I am keeping my word, but I am telling you something people need to hear.

But I want to give you a little tip as a communicator: Tell it succinctly and tell it often.

It means get to the point a lot of times.

So for years, I've been a part of worship ministries and creative ministries, and back in the days when I was first learning how to do video editing, which the whole reason that I know how to do video editing was this amazing movie called Star Wars, Chapter 4: A New Hope.

And they had the opening text in the beginning, and I just wanted to figure out how to do that.

So I begged my girlfriend to not get mad at me for buying a laptop instead of a wedding ring.

She stuck it out, but we had these large cameras.

They were very expensive, and then they had tape on it, and it was a whole rigmarole to get them on there.

And then I would sit, and I would say to somebody who had an incredible story to tell, and I would say, "I would love to hear your testimony."

So we would record it for church, and it would take somebody like 45 minutes to get their story out.

And then the pastor would come to me and say, "I'd like a three-minute video."

And then the story succinctly would say, "You'll figure that out in editing, right?"

What? I have no idea how to get your story done in three minutes!

If you can get it, I'm telling you, succinct to the points that matter, which is not all of the individual little ins and outs.

It's hard to doubt.

I once was blind, but now I see because there's no debate.

There's just facts.

You want a powerful testimony?

Boil it down into less than a sentence and watch God move.

Just the facts, ma'am.

Sir, get it done and tell it succinctly.

I once was hopeless, and I was crippled and dead.

I was lonely, and I was this.

I once was this, and now I'm this.

If you can find a way to tell your story, and you can tighten it up and take away all your feelings, let their life meet your facts and watch what happens.

God loves a testimony with it.

He doesn't say, "Go to church. Go tell John how much I love him. Go tell John that I know what's happening and I know that they're not feeding him well."

Go tell John.

Go tell John.

He just says, "Tell them what you've seen and what you've heard."

Nothing else.

Tell others, "I once was blind, but now I see."

Maybe the most powerful testimony ever told and repeated so much that almost every believer ever has memorized it.

And I want you to see a little bit later this point come through.

Point number four: Your life will matter in history if you make it about his story and not yours.

And I know it's cute, but sometimes cute is helpful to just help remember, right?

There's this book that I really love called "Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire" by Pastor Jim Cimbala out of New York.

And I love his story, and he has this line that has really messed with me since my youth, where he says, "I despaired at the thought of God not moving greatly on my behalf."

And I will tell you that that line of "despaired at the thought of God not moving greatly" is a very loud call to many of us who are in ministry, Pastor Scott included.

That is a life-changing idea to just go, "God, use me. Here I am. Send me."

It's wonderful, but the problem is that not all of us get to know what that even means.

And John definitely thinks that God is moving greatly on his behalf, and it doesn't make any sense to him where he goes up to an evil man and just simply says, "You know God doesn't want you to marry your sister-in-law, right? It's wrong."

And then he gets thrown in jail for it.

I think John's response to doubt in that moment is reasonable.

Maybe what I went through wasn't real.

Maybe it wasn't true.

Maybe I had some bad honey that day.

Maybe he just couldn't get through with it.

Well, I would love for you to know something.

Let's just go into it.

Verse 11: Here's what it says.

Matthew 11:11 says this: "I tell you the truth, among those born of women there is not greater than John the Baptist."

Yet, yet he is not... he who is least greater than he.

Jesus' perspective, his viewpoint, is higher than just here, what's on earth.

He has a heaven perspective.

Think about the way that Jesus tells us how to pray: "Father who is in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven."

At the forefront because that's where his father is, and that's where he invites you to.

And everything is for the perspective in your status in history is not aligned with celebrating his story.

I cannot guarantee you any other significance, and your significance may be brevity here to tell the story of eternity there.

He says even the very best of us, when he describes John, "No one ever born of women have been better than this guy."

The least in heaven is for him.

No wonder his perspective is so good and beautiful and mighty.

But even so, I would love for you to remember this: that Jesus' perspective is that of his father in heaven, not just on earth, but he still sees you.

We're told time and time again throughout the scriptures that God understands, that he is not someone who just has an understanding out of principle, but that he knows, for he also suffered on this toil as well.

He sees you.

He sees you in all your fears, holds you with his strong, mighty, nail-pierced hands.

He sees you in your anger, your anger, your anger.

You drawing in heavy breaths in and out, for he is alive with holes in his side where a Roman spear once made him bleed for us.

He sees you in your loneliness.

Oh, loneliness!

What a terrible... all humans have.

I wonder what you think the cure for loneliness is.

A lot of people think that the cure for loneliness is marriage and marrying somebody.

I don't think that a human being is supposed to satisfy all your loneliness.

I don't think the task is fair.

I think it's nice, and I think community is good, and I think being close to somebody and sharing intimacy with someone is beautiful and wonderful, and of course, I love my wife.

But my wife is not my solution.

I do not want that codependency in our marriage.

I think that what marriage is in the legal sense is two lonely people who share a mortgage.

Whether or not there's love or not, you know, is really up to you two to figure it out.

I really would love it if we could get to a place where we finally understand that you are not a body, a physical person with a soul, but you are a soul who happens to have a physical body.

And when you get that kind of heaven perspective happening for you, some things clarify.

Like this part is supposed to go, and this part, that soul is supposed to go on forever.

So how could another soul solve it?

Only might want him.

But John, who was called before he was born, was formed in his mother's womb, where while still in the womb, leapt for joy when he was close to Jesus.

John's ending is not one for the man that he was.

Mark chapter 6, we go back to after he's been arrested, that Herod starts throwing... and I'm going to go to verse 22.

When the daughter of Herodias, sister-in-law, he is now married to, came in and danced, and she pleased Herod and his dinner guests.

If there is any vibe about that that says this is cringy and creepy, he is a gross man.

John called out a vile and gross man.

But let's keep on going.

Herod can't arrest me now, so I'll say whatever I want.

And the king said to the girl, "Ask me."

He says to the girl, "Ask me for anything that you want, and I'll give it to you."

And he promised her with an oath, "Whatever you ask, I'll give it to you. I will give you up to half my kingdom."

Like I just watched Simone Biles jump like 122 feet in the air just because she felt like it.

Only time that she ever got penalized was that she was too strong.

No one's given her half her kingdom.

The best that she's going to get out of me is a tweet and a thank you.

But he's willing to give up everything.

I don't know what happened, except for he's super creepy.

So maybe... and he promised her this.

Verse 24: So she doesn't know what to do, so she went out and said to her mother, "What shall I ask for?"

Mother responds, "The head of John the Baptist."

She answered.

Verse 25: At once, the girl hurried into the king with the request, "I want you to give me right now the head of John the Baptist on a platter."

Verse 26: The king was greatly distressed, but because of the oaths and his dinner guests, he did not want to refuse her.

So he immediately sent an executioner with orders to bring John's head.

The man went, beheaded John in the prison, and brought back his head on a platter, and he presented it to the girl.

She gave it to her mother.

And verse 29 says, "On hearing this, John's disciples came and took his body and laid it in the tomb."

John didn't deserve that.

There's no way that John deserved that.

And yet this is his ending.

If I was John, if you were John, I just can't imagine that that's what you would do.

That's what you would expect.

It's certainly not what I would expect.

I would think, because I understand prophecy, if I'm a part of prophecy, I make it, I live a long life.

I understand that the Messiah, the Lamb of God who has come, I'm going to help him with his ministry.

I'm going to be a part of it.

Maybe I'm at least cabinet.

And I know that one of those prophecies is to set the prisoner free.

And yet the blessing of John's obedience is he does not get to see it happen.

And Jesus loves John.

I say loves because he loves him in heaven now.

Loves John.

It happens so fast, though.

It costs the greatest Christian perhaps to ever live his life.

No time for a last sermon or a word to his people.

It says he's just gone.

But I know what might have been on his mind: the words of my friends telling me what they've seen, that the dead are raised and that the good news is being preached to the poor.

Jesus saw John, and he knew.

Have you ever lost a loved one too soon?

John the Baptist was the only family member that we know of early on, outside of his own mother, that believed that Jesus was who he said he was.

And I bet John wouldn't have fallen asleep in the garden before Jesus was taken away, but we'll never know.

Idols were falling asleep.

Even the spirit, the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.

John didn't care much about flesh because he lived off of honey and locusts.

He found a way to make it, and yet he's not the one chosen out of God.

Jesus saw John, and he knew.

But he did not set that prisoner free.

Instead, he used John to set others free, and perhaps he'll use you too.

But above all, remember point number five.

And if you couldn't guess these blanks, I'll give it to you anyways: blind see, present tense.

The lame walk, sick people have been healed.

The deaf hear, and the dead are raised.

And the good news is being proclaimed.

Does your life know that good news that is being proclaimed?

And when I say your life, I mean not did you pray the right thing?

Did you say, "God, change my life forever"?

I repent, which means I'm turning away from that way.

I'm turning away from sin, but I need you, God, because you are my God and Savior.

You died on the cross for my sins.

Your blood paid it all for me, and then you rose again on the third day.

I believe.

And in my times of despair, it is so hard for me to see why God would allow it.

But I remembered that he could make the blind see.

You know, it was a story that I wanted to share, but I think it would be too triggering for a lot of us.

A story that happened a few years ago, and they made a movie about it called "Breakthrough."

And it's a mom who had the tragedy of her son falling through the ice in a lake, and the son was dying and fell asleep.

Son in the ICU, "In the name of Jesus Christ, would you save my son?"

And his heart came back to life.

And I will just tell you, I told him, a video editor who has excellent taste in movies, "Star Wars, hello!"

I told him that the old ones, so I'm just telling you, like I did not care for the film very much, so I can't give it a review.

But if you loved it, I'm so glad you were encouraged by it.

At the very end of the film, they just gave the doctor's notes.

This is the version of your testimony that I would like.

I would like you and I to be really good at telling because I believe it's powerful.

The whole community stops talking about all the ways that I feel and just said, "Here's what God did. Deal with it."

Which was, "Patient died."

This is from his notes: "Patient died. Period. Mother prayed. Period."

And the doctor: "Patient came back to life. Period."

What happened in your life?

So for me and my doubts and my many, many questions, and when I get scared because I know what an existential threat feels like, "What if this is it? What if this is it?"

And I remember almost like a song calling out from a distant memory in the midst of those doubts.

Oh, tell him what you've seen and what you've heard.

Go back and tell him and report to him that the blind are the ones who receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is...

His ever-loving, unstoppable force that even pushes against the violence of other men who have tried to silence it forever.

They built coliseums to kill us, and they couldn't stop us.

You go to the coliseum today, and there is a cross hanging because Caesar died, and Jesus could not be kept down.

There is no stopping us, stopping our very living God.

And if you are scared today, it's okay, and it's going to be okay, even if it's not going to be okay here.

Because, my friend, there is a heaven perspective.

I am 42 years old.

Some of you are more than doubled in my age, and you know it to be the same truth because it is an ancient of days, ever-loving, ever-pursuing, ever for, already paid in full of all sin through his perfect blood, Jesus Christ.

Christ loves it all, and I am not done with you yet because even the greatest of us on earth is the least in heaven.

You are not done yet, no matter if you are done here or not.

Have peace, sweet sister and brother.

Please know that our Jesus made a way for you, made a way for you, and he is worthy of your trust.

He is worthy of your worship because he is not just a good God; he is holy and eternal and perfect, and he calls out to you.

The Old Testament, the Bible says that the Father is singing over us.

What is his song to you?

That he loves you and that he is here to set your heart free.

In my times of despair, it's so hard to see why God would allow it.

He is worthy.

The blind receive sight.

I remember Matthew 11:5.

Matthew 11:5: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, miracles, real living miracles.

Tom, you've seen them, but I still doubt.

You know what I doubt most?

It's usually in church when the pastor doesn't have a turn of phrase that reminds me of something that I've already heard.

Bias, what a cheap doubt.

The deaf hear.

I listen to the faithful, faithful preaching of a deaf man every Sunday.

The dead are raised.

This isn't it for us.

And the good news is preached to the poor.

So my life to matter in history is just, did I do anything to help the good news get out?

Whether it's sharing testimony, whether it's having a smile and opening up a front door for people who are coming in to learn a brand new language in a scary place, and they learn the vulnerable is behind the doors of this church because Jesus has changed my heart.

It all ties together.

Your community needs to hear from you, or maybe you need to hear from your community.

Let's pray together.

Do you know that good news?

Have you experienced that?

It's as simple as ABC.

You admit that you are a sinner.

You believe in your heart that Jesus did die and raise again, that he is your God.

You repent.

That just means turn around.

I don't want to be a sinner.

I don't want this anymore.

I'm walking away from my old ways and going to yours.

I love the way the scriptures tell us is that his ways are perfect, so I want to get into you.

Do you know that?

Actually, if that is you, I don't want to do the hand-raising thing.

Let's just you and I talk.

If you were in my office, this is how we talk.

Let's just kind of look at each other, just you and me.

We'll just talk really quick.

Do you want to know what that peace is?

It's called a peace that surpasses all understanding.

Do you want to know what that peace is?

It's Jesus.

Here's how it's done.

It starts in your own words.

Can you just admit that maybe, maybe you're not perfect?

Admit it.

We call it this way: sinner.

It's an archery term, which just means I don't hit the bullseye.

All have fallen short of the glory of God.

None of us can get it perfect.

You believe your prayer is as simple as this.

Besides, if we stood next to where we just said, "Do you believe?"

In the most they could do with their final breath, it says, "I believe."

Oh, he hears that prayer.

Do you believe in him?

That he is God?

Confess it.

You are God.

You are my king.

I trust you because you're worthy.

The song that haunts into my heart when I'm struggling to worship, when I can't get the words of my favorite hymns out, and I just sing to him, "The only reasonable response to who God is and what he has done is to worship him."

He is worthy, beloved.

Is there anything you're afraid of today?

Is there any way you doubt that you do?

After Pastor Chris comes up, we're going to have our prayer team who's going to be up here.

We'd love to pray for you.

Is there any news that you've received that's pretty heavy?

Let's take it to Jesus together, and we will do that together.

Let's pray together now.

God, we love you.

We trust you.

You are so good.

Thank you, Jesus, for your gracious love for us.

And it's in your name we pray. Amen.

### Quotes for Outreach

1. "Have you ever doubted in your faith before? Or maybe you are just like me. Like this is not for me. This is for somebody else. But you got dragged here today. And I really hope that they give you a really good free lunch. I hope that you get that out of the deal. But have any of you ever doubted before? Well, what would it take for you to never doubt again?" [39:59] (25 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)




2. "If you chase the high, you'll ruin your life. You missed out on it if you're just going after feeling after feeling after feeling. You'll go for it. But the verse that I want us to land on today is not about a high. In fact, it's speaking to somebody and was a message to somebody. But what would it take for you to never doubt again?" [42:34] (19 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)




3. "Take your doubts to Jesus. In verse two of chapter 11, it says, 'When John heard in prison what Christ was doing, he sent his disciples. Are you the one who was to come, or should we be expecting somebody else?' It's safe for him to go to Jesus with his doubts because later on Jesus says in verse 28, 'Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.'" [51:27] (23 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)




4. "I actually think that doubts are a very human experience. And if you're not doubting, you're probably not paying attention. I think doubting is just hunger pains to say that you're ready for your next meal. It's just you're ready for the next thing, ready to grow when you doubt. And a lot of us use doubts as a cue to see our way out, which I just don't think is the right way to go." [52:15] (19 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)




5. "Your life will matter in history if you make it about his story and not yours. And I know it's cute, but sometimes cute is helpful to just help remember, right? There's this book that I really love called Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire by Pastor Jim Cimbala out of New York. And I love his story. And he has this line that has really messed with me since my youth where he says, 'I despaired at the thought of God not moving greatly on my behalf.'" [01:01:10] (29 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)




### Quotes for Members

1. "The fact is that your life can never be just fully lived on a high. It's something that you chase. And just like any person who has dealt with any kind of addiction before to any kind of high before will tell you, if you chase the high, you'll ruin your life. You missed out on it if you're just going after feeling after feeling after feeling. You'll go for it." [42:22] (16 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)




2. "Jesus believes that hearing it from people that you know and who know you, that that would be more powerful in that moment. Jesus sent his own community to encourage him in his own days. It's one of our Lord's favorite tools. We like this word called testimony in church. Your testimony is just you saying, 'This is what I have seen Him do.'" [56:34] (20 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)




3. "Tell others what you have seen. You have heard and seen. Tell them all over and over again. Jenna and I were standing out at the end of the first service, and I think we had five different families come up to us and say, 'We didn't even know that Jenna ever had a stroke.' I talk about it all the time. Why? Because I promise God I will talk about this all the time. I am keeping my word." [58:22] (21 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)




4. "Your life will matter in history if you make it about his story and not yours. And I know it's cute, but sometimes cute is helpful to just help remember, right? There's this book that I really love called Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire by Pastor Jim Cimbala out of New York. And I love his story. And he has this line that has really messed with me since my youth where he says, 'I despaired at the thought of God not moving greatly on my behalf.'" [01:01:10] (29 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)




5. "Jesus' perspective is that of his Father in heaven, not just on earth. But he still sees you. We're told time and time again throughout the scriptures that God understands, that he is not someone who just has an understanding out of principle, but that he knows, for he also suffered on this toil as well. He sees you. He sees you in all your fears, holds you with his strong, mighty nail-pierced hands." [01:03:52] (25 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)