01/29/2018
Has Jesus called you to the mountain? Have you travelled there but still have doubts about who He truly is? If this is true, then don’t feel alone. Jesus will reassure you, and He has a mission for you as well. Today we will look at the eleven original disciples that He called to the mountain, but more specifically... those that doubted once they arrived.
“Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted.”
Matthew 28:16-17 ESV
This scripture isn’t filled with solidarity; true enough it begins with all eleven disciples going to the mountain together as Jesus had asked them to, and with them worshipping him, but even though they worshipped, some doubted. This scripture doesn’t say “one” doubted, or “two” doubted, but says “SOME” doubted, and these are not new converts, but His original disciples (minus Judas)! They had seen Him risen, and yet they doubted.
This particular story has been titled “The Great Commission”, and as millions of people have read it they have concentrated on the commandment Jesus gave His apostles, and tend to trivialize the doubt that is spoken of here. Yet before that Great Commission could become a reality something more foundational had to occur; their faiths had to be shored up, and their doubts erased. They had to be convinced that this was Jesus the Son of God, and that He spoke with the authority of God. Their doubt had to become sincere and unwavering faith.
Is this the story of where you are right now in faith? Do you come to Him... even worship Him... but have some moniker of doubt? If so then the account of what is transpiring here on this mountain in Galilee should say to you that “You are not alone!” Here stand the eleven disciples who sat first hand at the feet of Christ as He taught, who travelled and ate with Him as He lived, who witnessed his miracles, heard His prayers, saw Him beaten, crucified, and raised from the dead, and yet they doubt. Why then, if some of these men can doubt, should you be any different? Why should you beat yourself up over wanting to be convinced? The answer is that you shouldn’t.
Just as the apostles were not easily swayed to believe, we should not be either. We should question our faith until we are firm in our belief because if we are not, then what lies ahead of us is an impossible journey. If there is any crack between our professed faith and our absolute belief then a wedge can be placed there, and the two can be separated. After He had convinced Thomas Jesus spoke these words...
“Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."”
John 20:29 ESV
There are two parts to our total commitment to Jesus Christ, our faith, and our belief. Just as in the case of Thomas, the apostles on the mountain had to come to a place of unwavering belief. They had to take their hopes and make them real. This is true of us as well.
So if you are called to the mountain like they were Jesus is going to do two things when you get there He is going to convince you He is who He says He is, and then He is going to give you a commandment... send you on a journey for Him and God the Father.
Jesus came to the disciples on the mountain. He didn’t hover high above them or speak to them from afar, or whisper out of a mist... He came to them personally, just as He will with you, and He convinced them He was real. If you are willing to go to the mountain, and worship in hope, He will come and change that hope into belief.
“And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”
Matthew 28:18 ESV
Then once the doubt was erased from the disciples, he gave them the Great Commission. This could not occur until they believed without doubt. What He was asking them to do would lead every one of them to their death (except John) as a result. What He was asking would require them to endure great hardship, and to ultimately give up their lives. There was no room for doubt if they were to obey his commandment. Jesus is going to ask of you as well, and what He is going to ask is going to be difficult; it is going to require absolute belief.
Jesus asked this of His disciples:
“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."”
Matthew 28:19-20 ESV
He may ask you to go into all of the nations as well, or He may ask you to do some other thing for the kingdom, but rest assured that it will require your utmost faith and belief. It is going to demand that you believe in Him wholly, and that you have unwavering faith that wherever He sends you it is in conformance with the Father’s will, and is good. There may be pain, hardship, suffering, and temptation along the way; you may travel afar, or go no further than your own front door, but it will demand much from you, and serve the kingdom of heaven... it will accomplish the Father’s will for your life.
Sometimes the hardest thing for us to realize is that what appears insignificant to us is monumental to God. Believing that God wants you to spend your life mopping a floor over and over again takes much more faith and belief than to lead an army into battle for Him... so seek out Jesus until you come to fullness in your belief, so that Satan can’t drive a wedge of doubt between that belief and God. Go to the mountain, worship, doubt, and then have your doubts erased... then obey.
Prayer:
Father, I thank you for my ability to discern truth, even when that truth involves your Word. I thank you for giving me reason, and expecting me to use it as I come to fullness in my belief in you, and your Son Jesus Christ. I thank you for meeting me on every mountaintop to reassure me, and for walking each valley with me as I exercise my belief in you, and my faith in where you are leading me. I ask that you give me the strength to endure the hardships I suffer in your name, and to whisper in my ear when the darkness surrounds me and I feel alone. Give me perseverance Father, and shield me from all temptation. Let no wedge be driven between your will, and my life... my belief in you. I will worship you Father as I walk your way, and I will praise you with each breath I take, even those gasps of pain. I believe in your word, and I believe you are with me always... even to the end of the age when you will call me home at last. Praised be your name Holy Father, for you are my Eternal God.
Rich Forbes