March 10, 2019 Deut 28:64-66 Doubt or Faith 64 "Then the Lord will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other, and there you shall serve other gods, which neither you nor your fathers have known wood and stone. 65 And among those nations you shall find no rest, nor shall the sole of your foot have a resting place; but there the Lord will give you a trembling heart, failing eyes, and anguish of soul. 66 Your life shall hang in doubt before you; you shall fear day and night, and have no assurance of life. Intro: Some things are obvious to most people. While other things take some investigation and observation to see and understand. This is true in the area of disobedience and judgment. Most people understand that they should obey God and in the back of their minds they know that if they do not God will deal with them. The question then becomes how will God deal with them? If we investigate just a little we will see the consequences of disobedience and unbelief. Important lessons are given by this alternation of the two ideas of faith and unbelief, obedience and disobedience. Disobedience is the root of unbelief. Unbelief is the mother of further disobedience. Faith is voluntary submission within a person's own power. If faith is not exercised, the true cause lies deeper than all intellectual reasons. It lies in the moral aversion of human will and in the pride of independence, which says, "who is Lord over us? Why should we have to depend on Jesus Christ?" As faith is obedience and submission, so faith breeds obedience, but unbelief leads on to higher-handed rebellion. With dreadful reciprocity of influence, the less one trusts, the more he disobeys; the more he disobeys, the less he trusts. Alexander Maclaren The nation of Israel failed to honor God year after year. Generation after generation repeated the same sins. As a result we see God responding to the nation of Israel for their failure to honor Him. In this passage we are given the results of their disobedience to the Lord. The people may be different but the results are the same for anyone who consistently turns from God. While this passage deals directly with Israel the results are similar for all of those who reject God. The consequences are staggering and easy to identify in those who fail to honor God in their lives. What we see is God removing peace, allowing fear, trembling and doubt to be the result. Look at Deut. 28:65-66. 1
I believe that doubt is at the core of their disobedience and I can without any reservations say that doubt is at the core of most of our problems in life. Doubt simply robs us of our peace, our focus, our joy and any sense of well being, because all of these things come from God. For the unsaved doubt can be the overriding controlling factor in their lives, generating an attitude of hopelessness and despair. For the believer doubt is the tool Satan uses to drag us away from the confidence of knowing our heavenly Father watches over us, guides and directs our path. Over and over we are told that God wants us to have faith, to believe in Him and His word. To worry about my future is to doubt the loving kindness of God. It is my firm conviction, that to doubt the kindness, the faithfulness, and the love of God, is a fatal offense when it comes to our daily walk with the Lord. It really is the two edged sword; doubt takes us away from God and as a result God allows more doubt to come into our lives. Doubt is simply another term for unbelief and it is not much different than Atheism. Atheism denies God's existence-but unbelief denies His truthfulness and goodness, and since goodness is a critical attribute of God, these doubts do, in reality, attack His character. In practical terms the doubter is worse than an atheist. The atheist says there is NO God, but the doubter refuses to believe the God he acknowledges. God is good all the time; there is never a point at which God ceases to be good. God has promised that He would watch over His children for Him to fail in this area would make Him a covenant breaker and a liar. That can be no small offense which charges the Creator of heaven and earth with failure to do what He has promised, if I refuse to believe His promise, and will not believe He is in fact at work in my life, I do, by my doubting, accuse the King of Heaven of failing to honor His covenant and oath. Unbelief can be seen as the source of most if not all our sins. Looking at the Scriptures we have many examples of faith, men and women who under the pressures of life trusted God to support, protect and deliver them in the hour of trial. However; even the greatest of these can and have had moments of weakness and doubt concerning the events in their lives and what the future would bring. Adam and Eve were the first to doubt God s word and it has been a problem for mankind ever since. David is an example of one who at a weak moment allowed doubt to creep into his thinking and the results were predictable. 2
Most Christians think the great believers of the faith never doubted. They know about the faith of the famous Christian leaders, but not about their inner struggles. One Christian leader at the turn of the century wrote in his autobiography: "My religious faith remains in possession of the field only after prolonged civil war with my naturally skeptical mind." The Scottish reformer, John Knox, wrote of a time when his soul knew "anger, wrath and indignation, which is conceived against God, calling all his promises in doubt." Read the diary of Increase Mather, one of the great Puritan leaders, and find this entry: "Greatly molested with temptations to atheism." We sing Martin Luther's great hymn, "A mighty fortress is our God," and we suppose he never questioned his faith, but he once wrote, "For more than a week, Christ was wholly lost. I was shaken by desperation and blasphemy against God." However. All of these just mentioned were able to overcome their doubt resulting in greater faith. Several years ago a Pastor spoke on a university campus, and when he finished speaking, a young man accosted him in the hall. He said, "I don't like what you had to say in there."the Pastor asked him to tell him which part he didn't like. "He replied, "Actually, I didn't hear you. I just don't like preachers." Pastor said, "Well, what are you?" And he said, "I'm a seeker." Pastor said, "That's interesting. Where do you meet?" He said, "We don't meet." Pastor said, "What are you seeking?" He said, "We're seeking truth." Pastor said, "Well, what have you read?" He said, "I haven't read anything in particular." 3
They went on with the conversation for a short while. Finally, the pastor looked at him and said, "I don't think you are a seeker. I think you are a runner. I think you are hiding. For you, not to decide is to decide. You have decided that you want to hide in unbelief." Doubt is like a front porch. All of us go through it before we get into the house of faith. T.S. There are three things that we need to notice about doubt. I. We Tend to be Discouraged by the Present "I shall now perish one day by the hand of Saul" 1 Sam 27:1. These are the words of David before he took the throne. He was being pursued by Saul and he allowed his thoughts to move away from God s promise and focus on the present struggle. 1. God has protected him to this point, but the present situation seemed impossible. 2. There certainly was no evidence to prove God had removed His protection him. 3. David clearly was in a difficult position, but he failed to remember how God provided for him in the past. 4. Life is full of trials and looking back can any of us say that God failed us? Remember God promised not to allow anything into our life that is to great for us, but would always provide a way of escape from temptation and strength for the trials. 5. Can you honestly point to any situation and say, "Here is evidence that God had forsaken me." 6.1 Sam 27:7 And David said in his heart, "Now I shall perish someday by the hand of Saul. When King David was being pursued by Saul and all the way back to the time when he kept his father's sheep, and slew the lion and the bear, onward to the day when he challenged the Philistine, he could not find a solitary fact that God had changed His mind, and would now leave His anointed to fall into the hand of his cruel enemy. Yet David had doubt thinking that Saul would one day kill him. 4
7. So whenever you and I have doubts there is never a justification to do so, we may come up with reasons but no justification. 8. Why would we jump to a conclusion without evidence to support the position? At our core is sin and a sin nature that is absolutely in rebellion to God. 9. This rebellion is constantly looking for reasons to reject, remove and generally distance ourselves from God s control, but in so doing we fall into the trap of self-sufficiently. Thinking we can handle life without God we then experience fear and worry on a regular basis. 10. But, again, what David said in his heart was not only without evidence, but it was contrary to evidence. What reason had he to believe that God would leave him? 11. Rather, how many evidences had he to conclude that the Lord neither could nor would leave him? 12. He failed to remember what God had done for him in the past: "Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear, and this uncircumcised Philistine be as one of them" 1 Sam 17:36. 13. That was good reasoning. Why not reason like that now, David? Why not say, "Thy servant slew the Philistine, thy servant escaped from the javelin of Saul, when the jealous king tried nailing him to the wall; your servant escaped when Saul pursued him in the tracks of the wild goats and in the caves of En-gedi; your servant escaped out of the power of Achish, the Philistine; and, now, this Saul, who seeks my head, shall not succeed, I will escape again." 14. That would have been a rational conclusion, a proper way of dealing with evidence; but to say, after such clear deliverance and kindness in the past, "He will not deliver me this time," was to draw a lying conclusion, and to bring in a verdict not supported by the evidence. 15. Lord God! You have not left us at any time. We have had dark nights, but You were with us in the blackness; we have had rainy days, but our day has never ended without the evidence of your love and protection; we have gone through many trials, but always under the direction and care of your loving hand. 16. God has said, "I will never, never leave you, and will never, never, never forsake you." I cannot repeat these "nevers" too often; I repeat the text just as I find it in the Greek. What we have known of our faithful God, goes to show that He will keep us to the end, and even to the last He will be our helper. Do not 5
ignore the evidence, when all the evidence of our past lives proves that He is true and faithful to His Word. II. We Dismiss the Past 1. It is hard to understand how deceptive and wicked our hearts really are, however when we get tired and faint it seems our reason diminishes as well. 2. David had experienced God s protection over and over, but now he was hiding in a cave, he had been pursued for some time by Saul and was exhausted. This is not unlike Elijah after defeating the prophets of Baal. He was emotionally exhausted and wanted God to just take him home. 3. Even though Samuel had anointed him to be the next King and David understood what that meant, but his present situation overrode all the logic. 4. In this present situation David gave more credence to what Saul was trying to do to him rather than get courage from what god promised to do with him. 5. Even when Saul confesses his wrong behavior and backs off, David still hangs onto his doubt. 6. Instead of praising God for once again getting him through a difficult situation David is gripped with defeat. 7. It is a constant struggle for believers to believe. We are constantly struggling with our unbelief to the point that we often lose sight of our glorious position as children of the living God. 8. To accept the fact that we are not in control is difficult, but to understand that we are precious to the Lord and that He is interested in every aspect of our lives is also difficult to accept. 9. We will always struggle with what our head tells us and what in our deepest recesses of our heart we actually believe. III. We Deny the Future 1. David had just been delivered once again and the result produces fatalism rather than thankfulness. 2. Samuel had anointed David as God's next king. How could this be accomplished if David died by the hand of Saul, how can the promise be fulfilled? 3. Many times God assured His servant David that He had chosen him; the son of Jesse, to be the leader of His people; if David died none of the promises would happen. 6
4. Failing to remember the promises of God often results in our inability to trust God in the present situation. 5. Failure to remember past deliverance will make it difficult to face the present struggle with confidence and trust. 2 Sam 22:31 As for God, His way is perfect; The word of the LORD is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him. 1 Chron 5:20 He heeded their prayer, because they put their trust in Him. 7. Later after David was on the throne he wrote in the Psalms Ps 31:1-3 In You, O LORD, I put my trust; Let me never be ashamed; Deliver me in Your righteousness. 2 Bow down Your ear to me, Deliver me speedily; Be my rock of refuge, A fortress of defense to save me. 3 For You are my rock and my fortress; Therefore, for Your name's sake, Lead me and guide me. 8. David s declaration of failure was contrary to what he himself had often said. 9. What strong words he had often said when he addressed others! He said of Saul, "His time shall come to die; I will not stretch out my hand and touch the Lord's anointed." He felt sure that Saul's doom was signed and sealed; and yet in the hour of his unbelief he says, "I shall yet one day fall by the hand of Saul." 10. What a strange contradiction was that! What a comfort it is that God changes not, we are changing two or three times a day!. So with you and with me, we are great fools when we doubt God, and that is putting it mildly. 11. He needed to patiently wait and quietly hope. I know that some of us, when we have escaped from our trials, have said, "Well, if I had known how it was going to turn out I wouldn t have worried so much." Conclusion: At the very lease doubt will cause us to fear the present, forget the past and deny the future. Sometimes we argue, if I could only see the future!! There are times when our deliverance is right in front of us and we fail to believe and allow doubt to take over. Peter is a clear example when Jesus called him to come on the water: Matt 14:27-32; But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, "Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid." 28 And Peter answered Him and said, "Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water." 29 So He said, "Come." And when Peter 7
had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. 30 But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, * he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, "Lord, save me!" 31 And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?" 32. You see Jesus hit it right on the head when he said, why do you doubt? Peter saw Jesus in front of him, he was walking on the water and still struggled with doubt. Here's a critical issue for living. The final outcome is not in doubt! In God's universe, good will triumph! The right will prevail! Justice is certain! However, it is only with the eyes of faith we can see the outcome. The letter to the Hebrews says, "...faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." (Heb. 11:1) Of course, the greatest victory that the Spirit can give us is victory over ourselves. If we could be changed within, if all those destructive thoughts and habits within could somehow be dispelled, then we could handle our circumstances. Then we would be powerful indeed. Dwight L. Moody once demonstrated the principle like this: "Tell me," he said to his audience, "how can I get the air out of the bottle I have in my hand?" One man said, "Suck it out with a pump." The evangelist replied, "That would create a vacuum and shatter it." Finally, after many futile suggestions, Moody picked up a pitcher and filled the glass with water. "There," he said, "all the air is now removed." He then explained that victory for the child of God does not come by working hard to eliminate destructive thoughts and habits, but rather by allowing the Holy Spirit to take full possession. So what are you troubled about? The future? God has it under His control. The past? Our sins have been thrown into the deepest regions of the sea by the death of Christ on the cross never to be retrieved. The present? There is a power that is available to all who would call on His name. From the beginning of scripture to the end, there are good times and bad times for God's people, there are utterly joyous times and bone crushing horrid times. The final victory and blessing is never in doubt to the eyes of faith. 8