All Saints Podcast | Believe Doubt Seek

Can you relate to this? We get desperate to be insiders? We don’t want to be beautiful for beauty’s sake, we want beauty because it gives us certain access. We don’t want to be smart; we want to be smart so we can be with people who are on the inside. We want wealth because wealth gives us access to power.
What happens when we can’t get insider status? Our brokenness and pride come to the surface. That can get messy.
Read 2 Kings 5:1-15

When God called Elisha to carry on the ministry of Elijah, it gave him clarity and a focus to his life that he had never felt before. What is a call or calling? Isn’t that for people who go into church work as a profession? What relevance does this have for you and me?
Read: 1 Kings 19:19-21, 2 Kings 2:9-15

Fear is real. Do any of these strike a chord? A fear of failure, disappointment, not being good enough and not being liked, worried that I don’t know who I am, that I might get sick. Am I going to say the wrong thing? Will I get the job I want?
People of faith struggle with fear and anxiety. The question with our fears and anxieties is do I have something big enough in my life to put those fears and anxieties in their place?
Read 1 Kings 19:1-18

We can’t be spiritually neutral, we must work out our doubts, seek to understand, and trust that will lead us to belief. Jesus gave up all his power for us on the Cross, he asks us not to be spiritually neutral.
Question: Who do you say Jesus is?

Is God able to break through your uncertainty/certainty and experience the miracles He wants to do in your life and the life of those around you? Do you see how the living God looks utterly different than the dead idols we try to prop up around us? That’s how we know we are being confronted by a living God; He pushes back.
If you don’t allow God to surprise or thrill you, or to be beyond your understanding, then you don’t have God, you have a god you have created. And that won’t sustain you.

There is an underlying scepticism in the world today, a certain fear and mistrust. It’s something we can’t shake. There is a loss of trust and a deep polarisation that is fuelled by social media. We still have a climate change problem, terrorist threats, and the ongoing issue of civil rights.
So, it seems our hope is hanging by a thread. But alas, there is a hope that is sure. A hope we can sense. The biblical word for hope means a profound certainty. This hope is available to you and me through the reality of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

There is always something that is serving as a functional king/lord at some point in our life, it is always telling us what to do. It’s not about removing the thing(s) that have control over us, the issue is having the right lord. Let’s consider Jesus, as the right lord that wants us to flourish.

An aspect of Christianity that is attractive is the invitation to think and process the words of Jesus and the Christian scriptures (Bible). The verse found in Jude 1:22 ‘be merciful to those who doubt’ is an invitation to press in and challenge your doubts. The Bible should argue with you and cause you to think. There are many questions we have about what is written. That’s healthy! That’s why the 40 days of Lent are important for us to engage in the words and message of Jesus. 
Read John 20:24-31

“How could this be the Messiah?” How could Jesus be the one to usher in the Kingdom of God? He dies a criminals’ death, he is young, he is destroyed by his enemies. Wouldn’t that be considered weak? No real Savior can be like that.
But this is an upside down kingdom. 

Mark 14:25 “I will not drink again the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”
Jesus is radically committed to those who trust in him. This is contractual language. 
This is the highest priority of Jesus’ life. His commitment to you is highest priority, there is no other priority in his life than to get you connected to God. That's a radical commitment!
Read Mark 14:22-27