29/04/2012. Dealing with Doubts

Transcription

1 Lord, if it's you, Peter replied, "tell me to come to you on the water." Come, he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. Mat 14:28 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!" Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. "You of little faith," he said, "why did you doubt?" Mat 14:30-31 Christians don t generally set out to doubt God. They don t bring their faith into question without reason. Faith could exist with doubt Faith in some areas Doubt in other areas Not all or nothing 1

2 Some Roots of Doubt We spiral downward when we re left on our own To entertain doubting questions Deal circular reasoning Or even worse, in the company of other doubters or bitter people Doubt often comes as a temptation from the Devil We can t stop the temptation from coming We can do something with the temptation! Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. James 4:7 Some Roots of Doubt Some Roots of Doubt No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. - 1Cor 10:13 Life s pain and circumstances catches us off guard. The reality of hardship trips us up. God made me go through such a traumatic experience in my life, therefore how can I believe Him? God didn t answer my prayers. When we look inward and what is happening - then doubt comes to us Intellectual or emotional barrier to solid faith 2

3 Bible Mind Circumstances Believe God in an area Diakrino Soul Emotions Apistea Distazo Apeithei Holy Spirit My spirit Diakrino - Uncertainty as to whether or not something is possible for God Not knowing what to believe Doubting if we actually heard from God "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'? Gen 3:1 - Wonder if the Devil tricked us Did we fully understood what God meant? worry that somehow we have blown it and ruined the plan. Cure: Right information to make a firm decision on what to believe. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life. - John 6:63 Be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Rom 12:2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. - Col 3:2 3

4 Apistea Doubting God s willingness to alter the circumstances one is in Become skeptical Look at circumstances around us Conclude if it was going to happen, it would have happened by now Probably couldn t happen now Cease to believe as we consider the logic of the situation An intellectual and emotional component Want some more reliable proof than the simple Word of God Thoughts Feelings But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!" Mat 14:30 Cure: Repent from worrying Direct trust in God to do what He has said Quieten own heart Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. - Psa 42:11 Distazo Reconsiders original belief Changes mind Substitutes another belief Constantly wavers about the outcome Doubt comes through giving up one s conviction of faith based on what one sees or feels. 4

5 Cure: Stick to the first choice made. - God s Word is more reliable than circumstances that can change at any time We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. 2 Cor 10:5 Apeithei Conscious disbelief Refusal to believe Apathy May even talk against God s promise Obstinate, rebellious Even after Jesus had done all these miraculous signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him. - John 12:37 Cure: Repentance Reject what have come to believe Return to what God has said in the Bible Undo the wrong thinking Deal with disappointments Keys To Overcoming : Resist the temptation to doubt Admit you have doubts - be specific about what they are and ask for God's help. Pray - Ask God for His help. Resist accuser of the brethern By a deliberate act of your will refuse to accept the doubts Remember our faith is not based on how we feel but what we know! 5

6 Change the focus of your sight and feelings Fill your thoughts with truth - God's Word. Replace your doubts with truth. Find answers to your questions in God's Word Begin to quote passages of reassuring Scripture Change your thinking - 2 Corinthians 10:5 Study scripture when you're not doubting, so when you do doubt, those scriptures come to mind I have hidden Your Word in my heart, so that I might not sin against You. Psa 119:11 But the Comforter, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in My name, He shall teach you all things and bring all things to your remembrance, whatever I have said to you. John 14:26 6