A New Beginning with Greg Laurie - Jesus the Doubter - Part 2 - 27 March 2026

0:00leading the way with Dr. Michael Yusuf, equipping us to grow into a deeper walk with Christ, part of Night Vision each weeknight, details at vision.org.au Audio on demand from Vision Christian Media Sometimes our faith is not as strong as it should be. So it's okay to come with your doubts and say, Lord, I don't get this. Help me. Like that one guy that said, Lord, I believe, help my unbelieve. The Lord isn't angry when we struggle with doubt. No today, Pastor Greg Laurie says he stands ready to help us through that tough time and strengths in our faiths. Maybe you're struggling with doubt right now. We've got to understand something. He'll more than meet you halfway. Many believers have a time of doubt once in a while. It's not a good feeling, is it?

1:12We may wish we had the faith of those men and women in the Bible. Steadfast, immovable. Faith as solid as a rock. Well, today on a new beginning, Pastor Greg Laurie shows us that even some of our biblical heroes encountered doubt. In fact, we'll focus on one in particular today, but Pastor Greg draws the distinction between doubt and unbelief. We'll see doubt is temporary and canny to a stronger faith. The title of my message is Jesus and the Daughter. So if you've ever entertained doubts, you'll connect to the story. Let's read about it. Matthew 11, starting in verse 1. And when John had heard in prison about the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples and said to him, are you the coming one or should we look for another? Jesus answered and said, you go tell John the things that you hear and see, the blind see,

2:17the lame walk, the lepers are clans and the deaf hear and the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them and blessed is he who is not offended because of me. Let's stop there. So where is John? He's in a dungeon. And why is he in a dungeon? He's in a dungeon because he called out King Herod who was living in a moral lifestyle. So John is effectively saying, Lord, why haven't you helped me? And so he's doubting. He's wondering what is going on here. Listen to this. Sometimes we need to go through the foyer of doubt to get into the sanctuary of certainty. That's not original to me. It's a good statement though, isn't it? We have to go through the foyer. We'll say lobby to make it easier because that's French foyer. We have to go through the lobby of doubt to get into the sanctuary of certainty. A French proverb says, he who knows

3:17nothing doubts nothing. It's also been said doubt is not the opposite of faith. It's an element of faith. Doubt is not necessarily a sign that a person is wrong, rather it's a sign they're thinking. So it's okay to have moments of doubt. Even great men of the Bible had their doubts. Moses was ready to quit on one occasion in complaining to God about the Israelites. He said, if they're going to treat me like this Lord, I'd appreciate it if you would just take me out. Just kill me now. Little dramatic, right? Elijah was ready to quit after hearing of the threats of Jezebel. And he said, Lord, just take my lie. We all remember doubting Thomas. He wanted to see the risen Lord himself. He said, I'll believe him when I can put my hand in the wound in this side. Then Christ appears and he says, that's okay. My Lord, my God, right? But he just wanted to know

4:19for himself. There's nothing wrong with that. Nothing wrong with you saying, I want to see it for myself. I want to know it for myself. This is all part of growing even the great Apostle Paul was discouraged. He writes about it in 2 Corinthians 1, 8. He was burdened beyond measure. And he said, we despaired even of life. So if you're struggling with discouragement and doubt, you are not the first nor will you be the last. The problem with John is he had a troubled mind and a broken heart. Hey, man, I was in a dungeon. Cut him some slack. Things are not going the way he thought they would go because he misunderstood. So he sends two friends. It just asks Jesus this question, are you the one or should we look for another? Now notice how Christ responds. He refers to old testament prophecies that he is the Messiah alluding to Isaiah 35 and Isaiah 61. Jesus says, Matthew 11

5:21you go tell John the blinder seen the lame are walking the lepers, arclands and the deaf here and the dead are raised up. So then Jesus goes on to make this statement and God blesses those who do not turn away because of me. Blessed is the man who is not offended because of me. Happy are those who hold their course. So Jesus is effectively saying to John, buddy, hold the course. Trust me. John, I know you cannot understand my method and my ways of my timing. Trust me right now, even when you're unable to see why I am doing what I'm doing or why I'm not doing what you think I ought to be doing. Just hold the course and the same is for all of us. True for all of us. Hold your course. You might be going through a season of doubt right now. Things are not making sense to you and really you can really be offended by that question. You know, the question is John wants to

6:24know if you're really the one or should he look for another? What? Hello. Can you imagine your wife you've been married for 30 years? She looks at you and says, I think maybe I made a mistake. Should I look for another? No. And so he's really questioning the ministry of our Lord Jesus. Could have said, you know what? Got a little offended. My cousin's always been a little weird. Okay, come on. Let's get real. Really, locus and wild honey. Is that necessary? He didn't do that at all. In fact, Jesus did the very opposite. He saw this as an opportunity to speak of the greatness of John. Look at Matthew 11 as the disciples were leaving. Jesus began talking about him to the crowds. He said, what kind of man did you go into the wilderness to see? Was he a weak reed swayed by every breath of wind? Hey, what were you guys looking for? A reed just blowing in the wind. Someone unstable with no courage. Some kind of a snowflake. This is John, the Baptist

7:31people. And I love him. And let me tell you a little something about John. And he goes on to describe who John really was. And you know, here's what it comes down to. You know, it's really not what others think about us or even what we think about ourselves. I'm interested in what Jesus thinks about me. Jesus had some good thoughts about John. And Jesus had some good thoughts about you too. I want you to know that. You know, I love Jeremiah 2911. I think you know that by now I quote it quite often. But here's what God thinks about you. I know the thoughts that they think toward you says, Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil to give you a future and a hope. See, a lot of us think God is mad at us. What in reality? God is mad about us. He loves us. That's what we see so clearly in Scripture. So now Jesus says this about John, verse 11. Let me tell you something. Among those born of women, there has not been one greater than John the Baptist. John

8:33the Baptist was the last of the Old Testament prophets. Not only was he the last, but he was the greatest of the Old Testament prophets. Now that's pretty amazing. How could John be greater than Samuel Elijah, Isaiah, Ezekiel? John never called fire down from heaven like Elijah did. He never parted the Red Sea as Moses did. He did not write a book of the Bible like Isaiah or Ezekiel or even minor prophets like Micah. That doesn't mean that he was underage, Micah, being a minor prophet, just meant shorter book. He didn't write a book. He didn't do a miracle. But Jesus says, of men born of women, there has never been a greater than John the Baptist. Why was John the greatest of the Old Testament prophets answer? Because John and John alone was the direct forerunner of Jesus. His greatness came as a result of his closeness to Christ. And now Jesus

9:35tropes his bombshell. Verse 11. And he who was leased in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. What that means is you as a Christian. And the new covenant now are greater than John. It's how could I be greater than John? He was the direct forerunner. He was the voice crying in the wilderness. I know. But you see you have a relationship with God that John did not have. John was a herald of the king. You're a friend of the king. John was a friend of the bridegroom. You're the bride of the bridegroom, right? So this all happened because of the death and resurrection of Christ. It's great to have you join us today for a new beginning with Pastor Greg Laurie from harvest ministries in the US. We're in Matthew chapter 11 today. As Pastor Greg continues his message called Jesus and the doubt on. I titled this message Jesus and the doubter. Jesus

10:42in you. Now, maybe you're struggling with doubt right now. There is a difference between doubt and unbelief. You know, doubt asks questions. Unbelief doesn't want answers. Doubt can be overcome and resolve, but unbelief is an act of disobedience. So it's okay to come with your doubts and say, Lord, I don't get this. Help me. Like that one guy that said, Lord, I believe, help my unbelief. So when you're praying about something, you say, Lord, we're praying for this. We're asking this in the name of Jesus. We're praying about this together. But, Lord, we're also saying we believe but help our unbelief because sometimes our faith is not as strong as it should be. But God understands that. He'll more than meet you halfway. So let's wrap this up now. How did Jesus deal with doubt in life of John and how does he want to deal with doubt in

11:43our life? Number one, he refocused John's priorities. He refocused John's priorities. John misunderstood, as I said, the mission and purpose of the coming of Christ and it was true of the disciples as well. He refocused him. He didn't repute him. He refocused him because the problem with John was not that he was asking too much. It said he was asking too little. Hey, John, I'm going to do something even bigger than you're expecting. Overthrow the Romans, I'm going to come and establish my kingdom on earth one day and the righteousness of the Lord will fill the planet. So it's going to be bigger than anything you ever dreamed. So he refocused his priorities. Secondly, he used a scripture or brought John back to the scripture. He took John back to the Bible, buddy. Remember what the Bible says. Remember what the prophets say. You need to go back. I cannot

12:44say enough about how important the word of God is for everything in life that you are facing. This is why we need to memorize scripture and no scripture when we fall into that little pit of despair, when we're dealing with hardship, when we're looking for direction. Really, whatever you're going through, know the word of God, and as I've said to you, you need to think biblically. So Jesus brings them back to the Bible, coming back to those disciples on the Emmaus Road. They said to Christ, again, was in Cognito. We were hoping Jesus would have been the one to deliver Israel, but it's been three days since these events happened. Jesus must have thought, really, three days. Don't you remember how many times they said, I, the son of man, will be betrayed. I'll be crucified. And three days later, I'll rise again, read my lips. Three days,

13:45but they missed it. It's been three days. And then he took them on a guided tour of the Bible and pointed them to all of the passages that pointed to the Messiah's suffering for our sin. So what did he do? He brought them back to the Word of God. And the Bible says, as they came to the end of their journey, they said, did not our hearts burn within us? Well, he opened the word on the way. Number three, Jesus kept right on with this purpose and asked John to not be stumbled or annoyed. He's just saying, just trust me. God never promised he would inform us all about his plan ahead of time. He just promised us that he has one. And ultimately, it's for our good and it's for his glory. Let me see that again. God never promised he would inform us all about his plan ahead of time. He just promised that he has one. And it's ultimately for our good and it's

14:47for his glory. I know there are things in life that don't make sense. I know there are questions that remain unanswered. I know you have times of disappointment as a follower of Jesus. But one day it will all be made clear. And whatever you've lost for the kingdom of God in this life, whatever you've suffered will be made up to you in the next life. God has promised that in Scripture. So right now the Bible says, we see through a glass darkly, but then face to face. You know, sort of like someone that has tinted glass on their car and you can't see it. And that's how it is sometimes. We're trying to figure these things out. We squint our eyes. We're trying to see, what is taking place and why God is doing it. Another translation of that same verse there, in verse Corinthians 13 says, Paul speaking, I know now in a fragmentary fashion, but then I will fully know as I am known. I know you have questions. You want to ask God. But in that final day,

15:54when we stand before God, we'll realize he never sat on his hands because they were nailed to a cross. God's in control. God is at work. So if you have a doubt, you just bring it to Jesus. And that's really to me the big story here. John had his doubts, but he brought his doubts to Jesus. And that's what we need to do. And Jesus wants to more than meet you halfway. He came to this earth. He walked among us. He lived a perfect life. He died a perfect death. He died in the cross for our sins and he rose again. And now he stands at the door of our life and he knocks and says, if you'll hear my voice and open the door, I'll come in. Sometimes people say, I have a few questions. And if you can answer these questions, I'll become a Christian. I think many times what we will see is when we become a Christian, that's when the questions are answered. Not all of them, but I will say this. Most of them. Most of the big ones for sure. When you enter

16:56in to this relationship with God, that is available through Jesus Christ. He loves us. That's what we see. So clearly in Scripture, God is a loving heavenly Father that longs for a relationship with us, a friendship with us that comes through Christ. So if you've never asked Jesus to come into your life, you can do it right here, right now, as we close in prayer. Let's all pray, Father. Thank you for sending Jesus to enter our world. God was skinned on. You had a face and we heard you and we saw you. And now you want to enter each of our lives individually. You want a relationship with each of us. And I pray for anybody here, anybody wherever they may be. If they don't have a relationship with you, let this be the moment they believe. If you would like Jesus Christ to come into your life. If you would like him to forgive you of your sin. If you would like to know that

18:02when you die, you will go to heaven. If you want this friendship and relationship with God, pray this prayer with me right now. Just pray, Lord Jesus. I know that I'm a sinner, but I know that you're the Savior who died on the cross for my sin and rose again from the dead. Now come into my life. I choose to follow you from this moment forward in Jesus' name. I pray. Amen. Pastor Greg, Laurie, we're an important prayer with those who are making a decision for the Lord today. And if you've just taken that step, well, first of all, know that your sins are forgiven. The Bible says that God is faithful and just to forgive us of our sin and cleanse us from all

19:02unrighteousness. And we want to welcome you into the family of God. Let us send you something to help you get started off right. It's our new believer's growth pack, a collection of resources that explains the basics of the Christian faith and gets you started in this new journey with God. Just ask for a new believer's growth pack when you call 1-800-Pray for me. That's 1-800-772-936. And the team would love to pray with you too. Call 1-800-772-936 today. Next time, Pastor Greg takes us along as Jesus has an encounter with a Pharisee named Nicodemus. It's one of the most pivotal conversations in the Bible. Today's message from Pastor Greg Laurie was called Jesus and the Daughter.

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