SCRIPTURE READING: Matthew 14:22-33 INTRODUCTION • Doubt is very much part of life. • Nothing in life is sure. • Everything can change and constant change is what we have to adjust ourselves to. • But there are certain things that can be trusted completely. • The market may go up and down, governments may come and go and we can still trust God completely. • God is the one sure thing in life even though we sometimes may doubt. • When it comes to trusting God we should not entertain doubt. 1. DOUBT IS PART OF LIFE • Even the disciple’s of Christ doubted. • They had worked with God and seen the wonders that He had performed. • They knew Jesus first hand and yet they doubted. • Even after what He told them would happen happened, they still doubted. • Luke 24:38-41 “Why are you frightened?” He asked. “Why do you doubt that it is really I? Look at My hands! Look at My feet! You can see that it is I, Myself ! Touch Me and make sure that I am not a ghost! For ghosts don’t have bodies, as you see that I do!” As He spoke, He held out His hands for them to see the marks of the nails, and showed them the wounds in His feet. Still they stood there undecided, filled with joy and doubt. • If the disciples doubted, it is no wonder that we doubt. • From time to time we will doubt. • If I look at the number of references to the issue of doubting, I see that many times people doubted. • Both in the Old and New Testament we see how the issue of doubt is addressed. • Doubt is a natural thing that can creep into our lives. • From time to time we will be challenged by doubt. • The issue is just how we will handle this. • Will we entertain the doubt or will we respond and not allow doubt to get a foothold in our lives? • But what does the Bible tell us about this subject? 2. WE NEED TO BANISH DOUBT • Doubt needs to be dealt with, with ruthlessness. • Joshua 1:9 "Yes, be bold and strong! Banish fear and doubt! For remember, the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” • Banish is a strong verb. • The dictionary gives us the following definition: ‘to condemn to exile and to dismiss from one’s presence or mind.’ • When it comes to doubt we need to learn to dismiss it from our minds. • To be able to do this takes boldness and strength. • How do we get rid of doubt? • By replacing it with something that we can have confidence and security in. • And here it is, the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. 3. GOD WANTS TO DO WHAT HE SAID HE WOULD DO • God wants to do and fulfill every word and every promise. • He wants to do what He said He would do. • This should give us confidence and help us in our fight against the negative influence of doubt. • Deuteronomy 1:21 ‘The Lord God has given us this land. Go and possess it as He told us to. Don’t be afraid! Don’t even doubt!’ • When we entertain doubt we become fearful, and when we become fearful we doubt even more. • The result is that we get into a vicious circle of doubt, fear, doubt and fear. • God has said that we do not need to doubt and we do not need to fear. 4. THERE IS A BLESSING FOR THOSE WHO DON'T DOUBT • There is a reward for those who will not doubt. • If we can understand this I believe it will give us strength. • There is a blessing reserved for those who don’t doubt God. • Matthew 11:6 Then give him this message, ‘Blessed are those who don’t doubt me.’ • These were words that were spoken by Jesus. • If we can overcome the constant challenges of doubt, we can know and experience this blessing. • This should be a constant encouragement to us in the area of doubt. • We all want to know God’s blessing on our lives. • This is one of the keys to experiencing more of God’s blessing in our lives. 5. A CRY FROM THE HEART OF JESUS • We see Jesus, in the New Testament, addressing the issue of doubt. • Matthew 14:25-31 About four o’clock in the morning Jesus came to them, walking on the water! They screamed in terror, for they thought He was a ghost. But Jesus immediately spoke to them, reassuring them. “Don’t be afraid!” He said. Then Peter called to Him: “Sir, if it is really You, tell me to come over to You, walking on the water.” “All right,” the Lord said, “come along!” So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. But when he looked around at the high waves, he was terrified and began to sink. “Save me, Lord!” he shouted. Instantly Jesus reached out His hand and rescued him. “O man of little faith,” Jesus said. “Why did you doubt Me?” • This is an amazing story about the undermining effect of doubt. • Jesus compared Peter’s doubting to a lack of faith. • Jesus addresses the faith issue, but then we see the cry of His heart: ‘Why did you doubt Me?’ • It is as though that phrase still cries out to us in our generation: ‘Why do you doubt Me?’ 6. DOUBT AND FAITH • Doubt and faith cannot walk together. • They are opposites. • Doubt robs our faith of its power. • Doubt undermines our faith and our very confidence in God. • Matthew 21:21-22 Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.” • It is one of the primary tools of the enemy to rob us of what God has for us. • If he can sow just a little doubt and push us off our course of believing God, then he has achieved his goal. • What God has said and promised we can completely count on. • We can have complete confidence in God and His word. • Hebrews 6:18 He has given us both His promise and His oath, two things we can completely count on, for it is impossible for God to tell a lie. Now all those who flee to Him to save them can take new courage when they hear such assurances from God; now they can know without doubt that He will give them the salvation He has promised them. • We can know without doubt. • That ‘assurance of knowing’ is what God wants to give us. 7. DON'T GIVE THE ENEMY A FOOTHOLD BY ENTERTAINING DOUBT • When we make room for doubt, we create an ideal opportunity to end up doubting. • We must not open the door to doubt. If we do open the door to doubt it will flood and overcome us. • Don’t make space in your heart for doubt. • Let’s keep on believing and keep on trusting God. • Hebrews 10:23 Now we can look forward to the salvation God has promised us. There is no longer any room for doubt, and we can tell others that salvation is ours, for there is no question that He will do what He says. • There is no longer any room for doubt and there is no question that He will do what He says! 8. LIVE WITHOUT DOUBT OR FEAR • We have reason not to doubt. • The main reason is that we know what God has said. • He has said, ‘I will never, never fail you nor forsake you.’ • Hebrews 13:5-6 For God has said, “I will never, never fail you nor forsake you.” That is why we can say without any doubt or fear, “The Lord is my Helper, and I am not afraid of anything that mere man can do to me.” • We can have confidence in God. By: Andrew W Roebert These notes may be shared with others Comments are closed.
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