We have been working through the evening talks at Sports Plus during these Youth Updates and now we arrive at the final stage of the journey for this year.

Have a read of Luke 7v18-23:

Jesus encounters the disciples of John the Baptist.

Have you ever been in a situation where you couldn’t get hold of the sports results that you wanted to?  I remember one weekend being on a camping trip with a youth group; my friend was running in their first marathon and I was waiting to hear how he had got on.  But it was a pretty hopeless situation because of the lack of reception on my phone.  There was nothing I could do about it!

Here’s the situation in the story today:

John the Baptist is in prison and he is dying to find out what the true identity of Jesus is.  He is unable to go and meet Jesus in person, but he is able to send some of his disciples over to meet with Jesus and ask if he really is the one.

We need to stop here and work through what is going on. 

This is the same John the Baptist as the one we know baptised Jesus.  In John 1v29 we read ‘The next day John saw Jesus coming towards him and said, “Look the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” and in John 3v30 John speaks of Jesus…”he must become greater and I must become less”.  These events all happened before the story we are reading about today.

So you might be asking the question – what does John want to know now?  He already knows who Jesus is?

It is surely true that situations dictate our feelings.  Can you imagine John in prison, pretty downcast, very low, wondering what might become of him, probably already knowing that he is going to die.  Doubt kicks in – ‘Did I imagine that with Jesus’  ‘what if he really isn’t the man I thought he was’  ‘what if all this Christianity is just a load of rubbish’  As I wrote those thoughts down I can remember times in my life when I have asked the same questions.

Our situations dictate our feelings!

How do you feel about Jesus today?  Are you questioning whether or not you really believe?

Look at Jesus’ reply – its brilliant!

“Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard” – then he goes onto quote some OT references which John would surely know.  Jesus simply says – I am the person that John knows I am.  Simply go back and report to him all you have seen and what you have heard.

So in our times of doubting what does it look like to hold onto the truth of Jesus?

It means to go back to what you know is true – open his word, read about Jesus – who he is and what he has done and then go and tell someone about it! Its that simple.

The more we doubt, the more we need to open the Bible and let it convince us of the truths!!

Do that this week and then report to all your friends within your sports club – It really is true!!

The Youth Department