Doubts can be encou\u00adra\u00adging, annoy\u00ading or dan\u00adge\u00adrous \u2013 and even used as a wea\u00adpon. No won\u00adder doubts also appear in the pray\u00ader of Fran\u00adcis of Assi\u00adsi: \u00abLord, make me an instru\u00adment of your peace, that I may bring faith whe\u00adre doubt threatens\u00bb.<\/p>\n
\u00ab<\/span>Lord, make me an instru\u00adment of your peace, that I may bring faith whe\u00adre doubt threa\u00adtens.\u00bb The very fact that Fran\u00adcis of Assi\u00adsi men\u00adti\u00adons doubt in his pro\u00adfound pray\u00ader shows how clo\u00adse doubt often is to us. If you type the key\u00adword \u00abdoubt\u00bb into Goog\u00adle, the first place you come to is the Doubt Chips home\u00adpage. My ser\u00admon this mor\u00adning has not\u00adhing to do with that! Doubts can be signs of inse\u00adcu\u00adri\u00adty, inde\u00adcis\u00adi\u00adon, scep\u00adti\u00adcism or vacil\u00adla\u00adti\u00adon bet\u00adween pos\u00adsi\u00adbi\u00adli\u00adties and opi\u00adni\u00adons. Doubts can para\u00adly\u00adse us and in cer\u00adtain life situa\u00adtions even throw us off track com\u00adple\u00adte\u00adly. Nobo\u00addy loves such doubts! They tor\u00adment us and we want to get rid of them as quick\u00adly as possible. \tDo any other bibli\u00adcal doub\u00adters come to mind? How dif\u00adfer\u00adent\u00adly did God respond to them? Doubts can be encou\u00adra\u00adging, annoy\u00ading or dan\u00adge\u00adrous \u2013 and even used as a wea\u00adpon. No won\u00adder doubts also appear in the pray\u00ader of Fran\u00adcis of Assi\u00adsi: \u00abLord, make me an instru\u00adment of your peace, that I may bring faith whe\u00adre doubt threa\u00adtens.\u00bb \u00abLord, make me an instru\u00adment of your peace, that I may bring faith whe\u00adre doubts\u2026<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","wpfc_preacher":[35],"wpfc_sermon_series":[72],"wpfc_sermon_topics":[],"wpfc_bible_book":[],"wpfc_service_type":[12],"class_list":["wpfc_preacher-bernhard-hohl","wpfc_sermon_series-metamorphose","wpfc-sermon-single","post-3542","wpfc_sermon","type-wpfc_sermon","status-publish","hentry","wpfc_service_type-gottesdienst"],"acf":[],"sermons_blog_filters_topics":"\t\t\t\t
\nSome examp\u00adles of doub\u00adters in the Bible
\n1.) Alre\u00ada\u00addy in para\u00addi\u00adse Satan sowed doubt in the hearts of Adam and Eve. Sure\u00adly God did not mean it when he told them not to eat of the fruit of the tree in the midd\u00adle of the Gar\u00adden of Eden, other\u00adwi\u00adse they would die. \u00abYou must have misun\u00adders\u00adtood God! You will not die, on the con\u00adtra\u00adry, you will be like God\u00bb he whispe\u00adred to them. And what hap\u00adpens? They both eat of this temp\u00adting fruit.
\n2.) Abra\u00adham recei\u00adved a gre\u00adat pro\u00admi\u00adse from God for the future, and then on the jour\u00adney to Egypt, he sud\u00adden\u00adly fears for his life. It could be that the Egyp\u00adti\u00adans will kill me so that they can take my beau\u00adtiful wife away from me. The same fear aff\u00adlicts him in the land of the Phi\u00adlis\u00adti\u00adnes. He beco\u00admes a repeat doubter!
\n3.) His wife Sarah, after a long time of wai\u00adting for off\u00adspring, doubts the pro\u00admi\u00adse from God and she gives Hagar, her maid, to Abra\u00adham as a wife, qua\u00adsi as a sur\u00adro\u00adga\u00adte mother.
\n4.) Moses doubts his abili\u00adties. \u00abGo to Pha\u00adraoh and talk to him. Lead the peo\u00adp\u00adle of Isra\u00adel out of Egypt! That\u2019s a san\u00addal num\u00adber too big for me. God, plea\u00adse give this job to someone else!\u00bb
\n5.) The 12 scouts who explo\u00adred the land of Cana\u00adan pro\u00admi\u00adsed by God come back and spread doubt: \u00abThe land is fer\u00adti\u00adle and beau\u00adtiful \u2013 but the peo\u00adp\u00adle are strong \u2013 we can\u00adnot over\u00adpower them!\u00bb Joshua and Caleb were the only two who were con\u00advin\u00adced that God could lead them to this land. 2 against 10, it was hope\u00adl\u00adess, the who\u00adle nati\u00adon tur\u00adned to the side of the doub\u00adters! That\u2019s how con\u00adta\u00adgious doubt can be!
\nDo we also know such doubts as they occur here in the Old Tes\u00adta\u00adment? Doubts about God\u2019s love! Doubts about God\u2019s pro\u00adtec\u00adtion and pre\u00adser\u00adva\u00adti\u00adon. Doubt about God\u2019s pro\u00admi\u00adses. Doubt that I can do the job God gives me. Doubt that God can make the impos\u00adsi\u00adble come true.
\nWhat are your cur\u00adrent doubts? You ask God for His opi\u00adni\u00adon, but He does\u00adn\u2019t give you an ans\u00adwer. You are sick, many have pray\u00aded for you, but you are still wai\u00adting to get bet\u00adter. You have sent out thou\u00adsands of job appli\u00adca\u00adti\u00adons and you still don\u2019t have a job. You are finan\u00adci\u00adal\u00adly strap\u00adped and won\u00adde\u00adring if you can make ends meet! While rea\u00adding the Bible, you come across a job whe\u00adre you can only shake your head: \u00abThat can\u2019t be, that can\u2019t be!\u00bb
\nDoubts lurk behind many cor\u00adners. \u00abWhe\u00adre is the good, loving God? Why does\u00adn\u2019t he inter\u00adve\u00adne?\u00bb Peo\u00adp\u00adle who are on the jour\u00adney with Jesus and who con\u00adscious\u00adly want to live their lives with God are often faced with important decis\u00adi\u00adons. They pray that God will gui\u00adde them. But then they doubt: \u00abIs that God\u2019s voice I heard or the voice of someone else? Is this a sign from God \u2013 or not? What is going on that I am so uncer\u00adtain? Am I doing some\u00adthing wrong?\u00bb Ques\u00adti\u00adons often lead to doubts.
\nYou also have to see: We humans are very dif\u00adfe\u00adrent. Some swim in an oce\u00adan of doubts, while on others doubts boun\u00adce off like water on oiled skin. Are doubts only bad and evil?
\nIs the\u00adre some\u00adthing good about doubt?
\nA Richard P. Feyn\u00adman has said: \u00abWe abso\u00adlut\u00ade\u00adly have to lea\u00adve room for doubt, other\u00adwi\u00adse the\u00adre is no pro\u00adgress, no lear\u00adning. You can\u00adnot find out any\u00adthing new unless you first ask a ques\u00adti\u00adon. In order to ques\u00adti\u00adon, you need to doubt!\u00bb The good thing about doubt is that it can save us from taking a wrong step; it can steer us onto a good, or even bet\u00adter, path! So it is important that we do not sim\u00adply sup\u00adpress doubts, but move them, exami\u00adne them and seek ans\u00adwers! But we must be careful that they do not cling to us like lee\u00adches! Reck\u00adless peo\u00adp\u00adle, \u00abtake-it-easy types\u00bb for whom doubt is rather a for\u00adeign word, are in dan\u00adger of unre\u00adser\u00adved\u00adly going along with lies or fal\u00adse pro\u00admi\u00adses. They pass on ever\u00ady\u00adthing they pick up in the media unche\u00adcked and sedu\u00adce others with it.
\nBut the\u00adre are also peo\u00adp\u00adle who always doubt, cri\u00adti\u00adcal\u00adly ques\u00adti\u00adon ever\u00ady\u00adthing and only belie\u00adve what they see. This makes them blind to the spi\u00adri\u00adtu\u00adal dimen\u00adsi\u00adon. Ever\u00ady\u00adwhe\u00adre, reason and logic get in their way. Such peo\u00adp\u00adle find it dif\u00adfi\u00adcult to enga\u00adge with God. They need pro\u00adof like the disci\u00adple Tho\u00admas who did not belie\u00adve that Jesus rose from death. Jesus approa\u00adches him after his resur\u00adrec\u00adtion and shows him his pier\u00adced hands and feet. This shows: He is respon\u00adsi\u00adve to our doubts. Jesus also loves the doub\u00adters. We can turn to him with our doubts; we can ask him for cla\u00adri\u00adty and insight.
\nDoubts are no reason to throw faith over\u00adboard. Trust that God can hand\u00adle your doubts. He helps you to hold on to your faith and trust him. \u00abI belie\u00adve, help my unbe\u00adlief\u00bb asked a father who brought his son to Jesus for heal\u00ading. Or John the Bap\u00adtist, impri\u00adso\u00adned by the Romans, sent his disci\u00adples to Jesus asking, \u00abAre you real\u00adly the one to come, or shall we wait for ano\u00adther?\u00bb John is con\u00adfu\u00adsed. Sud\u00adden\u00adly the\u00adre is doubt! When he bap\u00adti\u00adsed Jesus at the Jor\u00addan, it was as clear as day to him: \u00abThis is the Mes\u00adsiah I have been wai\u00adting for. Now, in pri\u00adson, John has the grea\u00adtest doubts. Is it real\u00adly him \u2013 or not? Jesus can do mira\u00adcles, but whe\u00adre is my mira\u00adcle? Should\u00adn\u2019t I be a free man by now? Does this reproachful ques\u00adti\u00adon sound fami\u00adli\u00adar to you: \u00abJesus you can do mira\u00adcles, but whe\u00adre is my mira\u00adcle?\u00bb If you have no idea what doubt is and what doub\u00adters are like, you can read the Bible. You will meet them the\u00adre again and again. Why? Becau\u00adse the Bible descri\u00adbes peo\u00adp\u00adle like you and me!
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\nAt the same time, the Bible testi\u00adfies to how God often dealt pati\u00adent\u00adly and under\u00adstan\u00addin\u00adgly with doub\u00adters. The Gideon sto\u00adry in the book of Jud\u00adges is a uni\u00adque tes\u00adtim\u00ado\u00adny to this. It is worth rea\u00adding in the book of Jud\u00adges, chap\u00adters 6 and 7! Gideon nee\u00added a sign from God for pret\u00adty much every step of his mis\u00adsi\u00adon, some\u00adti\u00admes two. Some\u00adti\u00admes God did\u00adn\u2019t even wait for Gideon to ask for a sign; he gave it to him wit\u00adhout being asked! I\u2019m sure you\u2019\u00adve expe\u00adri\u00aden\u00adced this too, God giving you an encou\u00adra\u00adging sign wit\u00adhout you pray\u00ading for it! That\u2019s our fasci\u00adna\u00adting God!
\nWhat can help us?
\nIn the book \u00abJesus unplug\u00adged\u00bb by Rob Bell, I read about a church that once orga\u00adnis\u00aded a \u00abNight of Doubt\u00bb. Peo\u00adp\u00adle were allo\u00adwed to wri\u00adte all their ques\u00adti\u00adons and doubts about God and the world, about Jesus, the Bible and faith on slips of paper and bring them to church. \u00abWhy does God let peo\u00adp\u00adle die who are still so young? Why do peo\u00adp\u00adle of faith die of can\u00adcer? Why does\u00adn\u2019t God give me an ans\u00adwer?\u00bb Then they shared and pray\u00aded about it; indi\u00advi\u00addu\u00adal\u00adly or in groups.
\nThe Pha\u00adri\u00adsee Nicode\u00admus also once had such a night of doubt! He got up and went to Jesus in the midd\u00adle of the night! Do the same! The aut\u00adhor sums up the sub\u00adject of doubt in his book like this: \u00abWhat helps us is per\u00admis\u00adsi\u00adon to express our deepest doubts.\u00bb Let your doubts out! What does\u00adn\u2019t help us is if we just give in to our doubts! James is of the same opi\u00adni\u00adon when he wri\u00adtes in his let\u00adter:\u00bb \u2026whoe\u00adver doubts is like a wave of the sea which, whip\u00adped up by the wind, is dri\u00adven once here and then the\u00adre again. Let not such a man think that he will recei\u00adve any\u00adthing from the Lord, for he is divi\u00added in his inmost being, and his fick\u00adle\u00adness comes out in ever\u00ady\u00adthing he under\u00adta\u00adkes\u00bb (James 1:6\u20138 NG\u00dc<\/span>).
\nI still have to say: the\u00adre are real and fake doub\u00adters! The real doub\u00adters want to get rid of them; they belie\u00adve in chan\u00adge, they are open for ans\u00adwers, they search and ask for solu\u00adti\u00adons. The unre\u00adal doub\u00adters hold on to their doubts like a creed. They do not want to let go of their doubts becau\u00adse they use them to jus\u00adti\u00adfy their unbe\u00adlief, for exam\u00adp\u00adle. Other\u00adwi\u00adse they would have to belie\u00adve, but they don\u2019t want to chan\u00adge their con\u00advic\u00adtion, their beha\u00adviour. Ever\u00ady\u00adthing is \u00abbico bel\u00adlo\u00bb. No pro\u00adblem! But actual\u00adly they should ask them\u00adsel\u00adves: What kind of faith is behind my unbe\u00adlief, behind my con\u00advic\u00adtion, behind my doubts?
\nGeorg Chris\u00adtoph Lich\u00adten\u00adberg, a man of the 18th cen\u00adtu\u00adry, said: \u00abWith most peo\u00adp\u00adle, unbe\u00adlief in one thing is based on blind faith in ano\u00adther. Mea\u00adning in plain lan\u00adguage: \u00abIf you don\u2019t belie\u00adve in God or the Bible, for exam\u00adp\u00adle, what you belie\u00adve is usual\u00adly based on blind faith.\u00bb Yes \u2013 what helps us? The mind? A strong will? A good fee\u00adling? The theo\u00adlo\u00adgi\u00adan Hans K\u00fcng says that faith is not sim\u00adply a mat\u00adter of intellect, will or fee\u00adling, but: \u00abChris\u00adti\u00adan faith is rather an uncon\u00addi\u00adtio\u00adnal trus\u00adting com\u00admit\u00adment and reli\u00adance of the who\u00adle per\u00adson with all the powers of his spi\u00adrit on the Chris\u00adti\u00adan mes\u00adsa\u00adge and on the one who is announ\u00adced with it. Part of this aban\u00addon\u00adment is that we pati\u00adent\u00adly deal with our doubts, becau\u00adse we do not sim\u00adply tole\u00adra\u00adte them, but want to approach them with God\u2019s help and get rid of them. Doubts of faith are also the\u00adre to be faced tog\u00ade\u00adther, to wrest\u00adle with others and to over\u00adco\u00adme them. This is whe\u00adre good rela\u00adti\u00adonships are hel\u00adpful. What doub\u00adters need are star\u00adry nights in which they can ori\u00adent them\u00adsel\u00adves by the stars.
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\nPaul wri\u00adtes in Phil\u00adip\u00adpians: \u00abThe\u00adse stars are we! In ever\u00ady\u00adthing you do, bewa\u00adre of dis\u00adcon\u00adten\u00adted murm\u00adu\u00adring and sus\u00adpi\u00adcious doubting. Then your lives will be bright and spot\u00adless, and you will shi\u00adne like stars in the night as God\u2019s exem\u00adpla\u00adry child\u00adren in the midst of this cor\u00adrupt and dark world. For this you must stead\u00adfast\u00adly hold to the word of life\u00bb (Phil\u00adip\u00adpians 2:14\u201316 Hfa) .
\nLet us not for\u00adget this last sen\u00adtence! Amen!
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\nPos\u00adsi\u00adble ques\u00adti\u00adons for the small groups
\nRead the Bible text: Phil\u00adip\u00adpians 2:14\u201316<\/p>\n
\n\tTell each other about your big\u00adger and smal\u00adler doubts! How did you feel about it?
\n\tWho are you qui\u00adckest to doubt, God, other peo\u00adp\u00adle or yourself?
\n\tHow do you deal with your doubts? What helps you?
\n\tDo doubts also have posi\u00adti\u00adve sides?
\n\tHow can one fight with doubts and \u00abfinish\u00bb others?
\n\tWhat are your expe\u00adri\u00aden\u00adces with \u00abasking God for a sign\u00bb?<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"