Defeating the Enemies of Success, Part 4

Chasing away doubt with faith, Dr. Michael Yousaf.

Whenever you are discouraged, whenever you're going through doubt, whenever you're on a detour, the most important thing to remind yourself is this. That of all the people of the world, Jesus called you. Jesus loved you. Jesus chose you. Jesus died for you. Jesus redeemed you. That in itself, if it does not, there's something wrong with your faith. Thank you for making time in your day for leading the way—the solid, faith-challenging Bible teaching of pastor and author, Dr. Michael Yousaf. In this episode, a look at tools that Satan uses to hinder your success as a child of God. Dr. Yousaf specifically digs into seeds of doubt—doubt that blocks your path to Spirit-filled living at its best. So now, if you'd like to tackle any doubts you have about your faith, about eternity, please consider talking with a leading the way pastor or counselor. We've made it easy for you to start that personal, private conversation.

Just go to ltw.org slash jesus. Right now, though, listen with me as Dr. Michael Yousaf begins today's teaching. I really believe that if we are honest with ourselves, probably every one of us have experienced doubt at some point in our lives. Doubt, whenever it comes to any of us, if it goes unchecked, if it goes unanswered, it can really produce very harmful results.

Ultimately, God is the one who knows the hearts. I can only tell you what the Word says in James chapter 1 verse 6, that a habitual doubter, that is a person who does not deal with that doubt, is unstable. What are the things that really allow doubt to sit in and defeat us? And how can we defeat doubt instead?

And so I want you to look with me just for a moment. What are the things that cause doubt to flourish? There are a number of things that happen to us that temporarily can cause us doubt, but I'm going to tell you that the overarching reason that causes doubt to grow in us and flourish in us is a faulty view of God, a faulty understanding of who Jesus is. And when you have a faulty view of who Jesus is, doubt is going to take hold in our hearts and in our lives. And oh my goodness, we have churches filled with people who have faulty views of Jesus.

We have puppets that are occupied by preachers who have faulty views of Jesus. There are some people who think of Jesus just as Mr. Fix-It. There are others who have a faulty view of Jesus, of thinking he is just that super handyman that you call upon when you need something done, and when you're finished, that's it, until you need something else and some other time. There are some people who think of Jesus as that concierge in the hotel, you know, you get him to do something for you for a tip. That's all faulty views of Jesus.

Listen to me. When our view of God is like that rather than the almighty, the all-powerful, the God of power and might, the God of all knowledge, the God that's all sovereign, then we're going to experience doubt on a regular basis. But when we do view him as the all-sovereign God who is working in all things, including the crushing circumstances, the dark times, the dark days, working through all the difficult situations in our lives, and to bring us good out of them, the good that God intends for us to have, at that moment, doubt will not stay for very long. And the most famous doubter in the Bible turned a great evangelist is the apostle Thomas. We joke about Thomas, we call people doubting Thomas, and really there is more to it than this. I am thankful for Thomas because he's been a source of encouragement to me and to so many others. Thomas was one of the twelve disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ. Many people through the years viewed Thomas just as a pessimist.

No doubt he was. But I'm not here to psychoanalyze Thomas, his personality. I am here to look at the biblical evidence of how doubt can be defeated and can be overcome. And a person can go from a doubter to an evangelist.

They go from a doubter to a preacher of the gospel, to a unique legacy in the whole world. And I want you to look at this biblical evidence. See, Thomas's doubt stemmed, as I said, from his faulty view of who Jesus is and was.

And you'll see it. I'm going to show it to you through the scripture. Because that is the overarching cause for doubt. And Jesus so patiently worked with Thomas until he took him from doubt to victory. Transformed him from a doubter to a faith-filled preacher and a disciple. And the process continued throughout Jesus's ministry all the way to the resurrection. The first faith builder in Thomas's life was Jesus called him by name.

Look, there were hundreds and thousands of people, but Jesus chose twelve. Jesus called him and made him one of his apostles. That in itself was an enormous faith builder. That in itself was an uplifting and encouraging to Thomas. That in itself was a powerful first step for defeating doubt in Thomas's life. And beloved, listen to me.

I've said this before and I want to keep saying it. Whenever you are discouraged, whenever you're going through doubt, whenever you're on a detour, the most important thing to remind yourself is this. That of all the people of the world, Jesus called you. Jesus loved you. Jesus chose you. Jesus died for you. Jesus redeemed you. Jesus knew you by name before the foundation of the earth. That would lift you up.

That in itself would lift you up. If it does not, there's something wrong with your faith. But the second step is a very important step, is a vitally important step, that the Lord brought into Thomas's life to help him overcome doubt. The Lord wanted to show him that he is in control not just of some things. I know there are many Christians who say, God, will you take care of this and I'll take care of the rest. That this is a difficult area in my life. I need supernatural intervention.

I'll do the rest. Now, until he began to learn that Jesus is either the Lord of all or not Lord at all, Thomas could not get over his doubt. I know experientially that in the times when you're going through doubt, it's very hard to comprehend. It's very hard to see how can God be working things, how can Jesus be working things around your circumstances, the dark and the tough ones, in order to bring the good out.

It's hard to see it at the time. But he really is working through all things for the ultimate good of those who love him. Here's the sad part. There are many church-going folks who not only have a faulty view of Jesus, there are some who actually have a pagan view of Jesus.

You say, Michael, what are you talking about? How can anybody go to church that has a pagan view of God? When somebody asks you a question about your life, your business, your finances, your family, and you say what? Knock on wood, right? Have you heard that before? That person is not only a doubter, but he has a pagan view of who God is.

It really does. Let me tell you at the outset. I know because I ask people.

When I ask somebody, I say knock on wood. Do you know where that comes from? I'm convinced that 99.9999% of people do not know. They really don't. They just heard it from their parents or grandparents.

They just repeat it. I want to tell you where it came from. It comes from pre-Christian pagan Europe. That's where it came from.

That's the origin of it. In pre-Christian pagan Europe, they believed that the gods do not want them to have good things. That the gods do not want them to be happy. That the gods delight in seeing them miserable and joyless.

That's exactly what they believed. They also believed that these gods lived inside trees. Why pound on the trees? To drive away those gods.

Because if the gods who lived in these trees heard of human happiness, they would be angrily jealous and they cause mischief to happen to that person. And that's where knock on wood came from. So next time you hear someone who says, How are you?

Knock on wood. Stop them. Tell them, My God is the God of power and might. My God wants the best for me. My God works all things together for the good of those who love him.

My God, according to Paul, created all things for our enjoyment. And Sir Thomas had a faulty view of who the Lord Jesus Christ is. I want you now to turn with me to John chapter 11 verse 8.

But before I get to it, I want to give you the background to the story. Jesus gets the word that his friend Lazarus is ill. And Jesus said, Lazarus is sick. All of them, not just Thomas, all of them promised, When is he going to go and heal him? I mean, Lazarus needs to be healed.

And they kept waiting a day, two, three, they kept waiting. Jesus ministering and serving, teaching, miracles. And he's not going to heal Lazarus.

Days have gone by. And then Jesus gets a word and says, Lazarus is dead. Let's go and see him. Now, I want you to be honest, all right? Put yourself in Thomas's place or even the disciples. It doesn't matter.

Just put yourself there. Lazarus died. We're going to go and see him. When he was sick, we did not go to see him. But now that he's dead, we're going to see him. What does that tell you? We're going to die.

We're going to die. But that's not all. Lazarus lived in Bethany. It's only a stone's throw away from Jerusalem.

Jerusalem is where the religious leaders live. We're the Sanhedrin. We're all the Pharisees. We're the high priests. These are the people who want to kill Jesus. So Jesus said, let's go and see this dead man going to Jerusalem where they want to kill him and kill the disciples. That's the first thing you think about.

It's a very logical type of thinking, right? It really is. We're going to die.

It's over. For that moment, that began to grip old Thomas like a vice. Why? Because Thomas has a faulty view of who Jesus is and why he came from heaven and that he must die on a cross to redeem everyone who believe in him. He did not have an accurate picture of who Jesus is. So in verse 16 of chapter 11, what does Thomas say?

Let's go and die with Lazarus. Let me ask you, how many times do you jump to conclusions like that? I know I have. Because of our faulty view of who God is, we are allowed out to grip us. How many times have we looked at the circumstances and Mr. Fix-It did not fix it at this point in our lives and reality becomes so clouded with doubt? How many times have we failed to see God working even in the worst of circumstances to turn them around and bring good out of them and then we allow ourselves to get into depression? How many times when we did not get the answers that we wanted, let doubt paint a bleak picture for us? Thomas probably at this point began to wonder, is Jesus really the Messiah? Did I follow the right one?

Have I wasted all this time following Jesus? You know, now we're all going to die. This is just too good to be true.

I knew it is too good to be true. Not only that, but when Thomas probably saw Jesus weeping outside Lazarus' tomb, he said, it's over. I haven't seen him cry very often, but now he's crying. It means it's over.

He's crying for us. But then wonder of wonders. The Lord Jesus Christ with every power of his omnipotence. He calls out to Lazarus, been dead for four days in the tomb.

Loud voice. Not because Lazarus couldn't hear him on the other side of eternity, but he wanted the crowd to hear him. Lazarus, come out! Imagine old Thomas as Lazarus coming out with cloth, you know, the grave cloth coming out of that tomb, walking. His faith began to build again, and doubting Thomas took another giant step toward faith. But Thomas had not yet gone through two most important steps until he comes to the point of complete victory over his doubt. In John 14, there Jesus was preparing the disciples for the cross.

That often gets me choked up. He's the one who's going to the cross, right? But he was concerned for the disciples. And he began in that magnificent chapter of John 14. Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house there are many mansions.

If it were not so, I would have told you. And he goes in there, and he was trying to give them encouragement about his death and resurrection. And there, old Thomas' doubt began to rise again. And he interrupts the Lord Jesus. He interrupts his sermon. Verse 5.

We don't know where you're going. How do we know the way? But Jesus takes this opportunity, not only to help Thomas overcome his doubt, but he takes this opportunity to correct his and all of the disciples' faulty views, faulty belief of who Jesus is. Magnificent verse, verse 6. I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Many are puppets today. Either throw this verse out altogether, or they try to do gymnastics with it. And they said, well, this was really, the definite article is there, is does he really mean to say I am a way? Look at verse 7. Here's a correction of all corrections, a faulty view of Jesus that feels many a puppet today. Jesus said, if you really knew me, you would know my Father as well.

From now on, you do know him and have seen him. Beloved, a faulty view of Jesus will cause doubt every time. But when you see him as the sovereign God, the maker of heaven and earth, the one who is the only way to the Father and heaven and without him, everybody else has had it. He is the only one who is the Almighty and the all-powerful. He is the only one who is awesome in power.

He is the only one who is in control of everything, including life and death. Then you'll be able to lick doubt every time it hits you. Amen.

Amen. But there was a fourth and final step that took Thomas from deadly doubt to living faith. It took Thomas from trembling to triumph. It took Thomas from unbelief to confidence. It took Thomas from uncertainty to unconditional surrender. And this final step turned the tide for Thomas once and for all. See, Thomas, like all the disciples, they saw the crucifixion of Jesus as the end.

This is it. They went back and they were grieving. It's over. And Thomas' budding faith took a nosedive at the cross. Those glimpses of faith in Thomas' past now have been shattered. This was felt by all the disciples, not just Thomas. But there's one important distinction about Thomas from the rest of them.

I'm not including Judas, of course. One exception about Thomas. That's why he's so important to me.

He's so important to all of us. They were all together in the upper room, in fear, yes, grieving, yes. But they were together, except for Thomas.

Except for Thomas. Isolating yourself and not belonging to a small group of believers is the worst thing you can do in the times of discouragement, detour, and doubt at any time. Thomas isolated himself from the other disciples. He probably allowed his doubt to recapture his mind, to recapture his heart, to recapture his life, and he temporary fell back into doubt. He probably went home, shut the door, pulled the shades, got into bed, pulled the bed covers over his head, and wished he was dead.

He was all alone, all alone. And so when the resurrected Jesus showed up at the upper room, Thomas missed out on the joy of seeing the resurrected Jesus. And even when the disciples found him finally and said to him, Thomas, the Lord is risen, the Lord is risen, he didn't believe him, because doubt always would lead to mistrust.

Here what I want you to see again, I don't want you to miss, and it's the glory all to Jesus. And that's his attitude toward Thomas's doubt. You were not there when I showed up, Thomas. You're always doubting. When are you going to learn?

You're always feeling sorry for yourself. Is that what he said? He saw lovingly and patiently appear to them once again. This time he made sure Thomas is there. He patiently took Thomas's hand and said, feel my hands, feel my sight. At that point, Thomas cried out, my Lord and my God, don't miss this. And he said, oh, it's not wonderful, it's beyond wonderful. To be sure, Thomas saw all of the miracles and there were faith builders in him. But until his faulty view of who the Jesus is, his death and resurrection, until that happened, he could not overcome doubt once and for all.

Not just Lord, he is God of very God. Beloved, this was a cry of confession. This was a cry of deliverance. This was a cry of victory. This was a cry of liberation. This is a cry of permanently departing from doubt to faith. Later on, when Thomas went to India and founded the church of Martoma, he died a martyr's death. But not until he left a legacy that is now continuing for 2,000 years.

Far from knocking on wood. The Lord Jesus Christ, if he is the savior of your soul and the Lord of your life, he wants you to have life and have it abundantly. But you can't experience that when you spend a few minutes a day with him and his word. When you talk to him on the run, how do you know him? How do you know his precious character? How do you know his marvelous love and his compassion and his patience and his mercy until you spend time with his word? Jesus, you are the most awesome, most marvelous, most wonderful. You're the God of very God who became man of very man. Even the psalmist would cry out, what is man that you care for him? And you said, I cared enough to leave the glories of heaven and come and die and rise again so that everyone who believe in me will have eternal life. Father, I pray that in these difficult days in which we live, that the world will see that we don't only talk the talk, but we walk the walk.

In Jesus' name, amen. Dr. Michael Yousaf, highlighting biblical tools available to you and feeding the enemies of success. Connect further with Dr. Yousaf at ltw.org. And while you're there, learn about the Leading the Way app, the multiple podcasts to encourage your growth, and so many more resources.

It's all right there at ltw.org. From the first days of Leading the Way, Dr. Yousaf's mission was to passionately proclaim truth at home and around the world. And recently, Dr. Yousaf received an encouraging note from a woman living on the other side of the world in the dark nation of Iraq.

Here is a quick summary. She says, I've been listening to Leading the Way for quite a while. After hearing the gospel through Dr. Yousaf's messages, I decided to call the number and ask for guidance in becoming a Christian as I found myself loving Christ. I was filled with joy when I prayed to receive Him as my Lord and Savior.

I could never describe the feeling adequately. Thank you for guiding me to God. Friends, Leading the Way was so privileged to have a part in this woman's introduction to Christ, and the team has since connected with her and connected her to a community of believers, helping to deepen her new life with Christ. If you'd like to learn how to support Leading the Way's ministry all around the world through the Open Door campaign, the number to call to reach the ministry call center is 866-626-4356, or visit ltw.org. Alrighty, it's time for me to say goodbye now. Thank you for being with us, and do plan to join Dr. Michael Yousaf right here next time for more Leading the Way. This program is furnished by Leading the Way with Dr. Michael Yousaf.