Mathew 14 Lesson
Fear And Doubt
FEAR AND DOUBT
Today’s lesson focuses on two of the favorite tools of the Devil:
We will look at these one at a time, including supporting scriptures and the example of the Apostle Paul, and then the lesson will be yours.
GOD DOES NOT WANT US TO BE AFRAID
God does not want us to be afraid.
There are many Bible verses that tell us this.
We have selected the following scripture from the Book of Deuteronomy as an example:
- “Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or in dread of them, for the Lord your God is the One who is going with you. He will not desert you or abandon you. ” - Deuteronomy 31:6.
Clearly, God wants us to be brave and courageous, and yet many of us still struggle with fear in our lives.
We are not alone.
And despite these commands from God, many of us still struggle with fear in our lives.
When we find ourselves being afraid, we need to open our Bibles to see how God wants us to overcome it.
There are plenty of examples of people overcoming fear in the Bible.
For today’s lesson, we have chosen to look at the example of the Apostle Paul.
FEAR AND THE APOSTLE PAUL
The Apostle Paul lived an amazing life!
That, however, does not mean that he was never afraid. Remember, courage is not the absence of fear, courage is continuing despite one’s fear.
Earlier in his life, when Paul was persecuting Christians, he created fear in the hearts of many.
Everything changed for Paul while traveling on the road to Damascus. It was here that Jesus gave Paul direction for the rest of His life.
He also talked about the difficult road that lay ahead for Paul:
Paul suffered greatly in his service to the Lord, including:
- Nearly being stoned to death,
- Being beaten with rods,
- Being imprisoned on multiple occasions.
It would have been perfectly understandable if Paul lived the rest of his life in fear after everything that he had been through.
Except for one thing!
God told him not to be afraid, and Paul listened to him!
Luke writes about how the Lord spoke to Paul one night in a vision and said:
- “Do not be afraid any longer, but go on speaking and do not be silent; for I am with you, and no man will attack you in order to harm you, for I have many people in this city.” And he settled there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them. – Acts 18:9-11.
These words provided great comfort andencouragementto Paul. They gave him hope and allowed him to continue his important work for the Lord.
The words of the Bible will do the same thing for us if we allow them to.
BIBLE VERSES ABOUT FEAR
- “Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, I will also help you, I will also uphold you with My righteous right hand.” - Isaiah 41:10,
- “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” - Joshua 1:9,
- “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom should I fear? Whom should I dread?” - Psalm 27:1,
- “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.” - John 14:27.
DOUBT
Doubt is the opposite of faith.
Jesus warned us not to let doubt rule our lives.
We need to take this warning seriously.
Satan loves to create doubt! And if we are not careful, it can take hold of us and cause us to behave in ways that God does not want us to.
The best way to eliminate doubt in our lives is to increase our faith. Fortunately for us, the Bible tells us exactly how to do that!
In his letter to the Romans, Paul wrote:
- “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” – Romans 10:17.
If we want a stronger faith, we need to read the Bible.
It is as simple as that!
Our knowledge of the scriptures allows us to correctly apply them to our lives and persevere in even the most difficult of circumstances.
CONCLUSION
Fear and doubt are two powerful tools of the Devil.
If we allow it to happen, Satan will use fear and doubt to limit or eliminate our service to the Lord.
As Christians, we cannot allow this to happen.
Fortunately for us, there are things that we can do that will help us to persevere in times of adversity.
One of the best things we can do to protect ourselves is to regularly study the Bible.
When we know the right scripture to apply to our situation, we can move on with confidence knowing that God is with us and that He will not forsake us.
We will end today’s lesson with the following words of encouragement spoken by Jesus:
- “All authority has been given to Me in Heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” – Mathew 28:18-20.
1) What did today’s Bible study make you think or feel?
2) What questions do you have?
3) How can you apply what you have learned to something specific in your life?
***PLEASE POST YOUR QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS HERE***
1) What did today’s Bible study make you think or feel?
2) What questions do you have?
3) How can you apply what you have learned to something specific in your life?
***PLEASE POST YOUR QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS HERE***
I AM FACING ADVERSITY RIGHT NOW AND I AM DETERMINED TO HOLD ON TO THE LORD. I AM DETERMINED TO RECEIVE HIS COMFORT AND GUIDANCE. I THANK THE LORD FOR WHAT I AM FACING RIGHT NOW BECAUSE I WILL BE ABLE TO ENCOURAGE SOMEONE ELSE ONE DAY... PRAISE GOD!!!
Amen Carly! Keep the faith!
How do we keep fear from overtaking us?
Do exactly what Peter did,keep His eyes on Jesus, but never to look away,it is when we look away from Jesus,the author and finisher of our faith that fear and doubt set in and we become weak and not able to accomplish what God has commanded us to do.once we have surrendered our lives to Christ we are born again and sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise we have everything that we need to live a righteous and holy life without fear and doubt when we keep our eyes on Jesus that is the key! We must stay connected to Jesus remember in John 15 where Jesus said that he is the Vine and we are the branches if a man remains in me and I in him he will bear much fruit apart from me you can do NOTHING!!
In today’s world, we can see all that is problems and issues around us. We can choose to listen to the voices that yell about who is right and who is wrong. We can observe more violence today toward our fellow people than ever before. It is presented every day on our screen if we choose to look at it. It can affect our heart and make us wonder about our future. How do we overcome it? We can choose! We look somewhere else! Not to ignore but to bring peace and with that peace, we may be able to influence one person. When we look we must look deep inside of ourselves. God has promised that we all have a connection to him. We have manifested within us a delight of our heart that is presented to us through the wonderful nature of our spiritual relationship that God has placed in our hearts just for us. We can feel it like a warm breeze on the back of our neck. We can feel it as if it is the warm glow of a fire. We can sense it in the grasp of our child's hand. That delight of our heart will not only tell us who we are but it will show us whose we are! Once we have found this delight we must commit to it fully. This commitment does not happen over time, not when we are comfortable. Commitment to God is not something we decide like we would choose a jacket to check the fit. We must commit in the twinkling of an eye, at that moment, driven by that delight of our heart. With that commitment, we must trust in Jesus to walk this journey in life with us. That trust that Jesus is there with us should provide within you a feeling of comfort and a trust in yourself that can come to you because you know you are okay in the eyes of Jesus. Now that we have that trust we must rest from the doubt and worry it causes by asking those questions for which we are afraid to find an answer. You see, when we fail to ask Jesus if he is there with us on this journey, doubt will creep into our life. Doubt causes us to worry as to whether we can “walk on the troubled waters.” Worry is a corrosive force that eats away at our trust which destroys our commitment and moves us away from the delight of our heart that God has given us. We are also an impatient creature. We want God to deliver to us NOW! We want him to make everything okay. Not his okay but ours! Not tomorrow, not next year, not in the next life. We want it now! But the final step in being comfortable in life's troubled times is that you must be willing to wait. You are on God’s time not your time! It is God's clock that controls not yours. It is the clock of your spiritual nature that tells you when the time has come, not the clock of your worldly nature that rules. Remember this time we spend here on this earth is but part of the Journey. There is more to come! Jesus is with you on the journey whether it is the best of times or times of challenge. You can walk on the water of troubled times if you continue to believe and stay connected through that delight of your heart.
THANK YOU, I NEEDED THIS MESSAGE FROM YOU