LORD, HELP US FROM OUR FEAR, DOUBTS, AND UNBELIEF

Introduction: Have you tried riding the Kingda Ka at Six Flags? It was challenging and out of adventurous spirit that you wanted to try it. I haven’t tried it but I have a similar experience in the Philippines’ Star City and Enchanted Kingdom, but for sure, this one is way more.

Context: This event is after the beheading of John the Baptist and Feeding of the Five Thousand.

Reasons why Peter sank:

1. Unbelief caused by exhaustion – verse 25-26
2. Fear – verse 30
3. Looking for other things; Doubt – verse 31

Negative fear and doubt can paralyze you from your reality. It distracts you from achieving your main purpose in life. It demoralizes you. It removes you from your chances to grow. When you start doubting and letting fear (and anxiety) rule over your life, then you start losing yourself, isolating, and thinking that everyone is your enemy including yourself (paranoia).

Ask God to help you. Pray the prayer of Peter, “Lord, help me.” That is the shortest prayer in the Bible. But our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ still listened and responded to it by saving us and pulling us up from fear and doubt.

Promises and lessons we can take:

1. When fear is overcoming your heart, and feeling in doubt, hold his hand and trust him. – v31
   1. “It is I” = [ego eime], the burning bush (Exodus 3:13-14); Jesus’ nature as God relieves us from fear and doubt.
      1. ¹³ Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?” ¹⁴ God said to Moses, “I am who I am.[c] This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’”
   2. Testing and Trials: “And this brings us to the second significant point of this miracle. Jesus always comes to us in the storms of life. This is reminiscent of the words of God to Isaiah: “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you” (Isaiah 43:2).”
   3. Worship is the proper response when you encounter God’s overwhelming grace. “And this is what worship is, acknowledging who God is and praising Him both for who He is and for what He has done.” – verse 33
      1. “The Son of God” = Once in the Gospel of Matthew, one of the biggest reasons why the disciples were convinced that Jesus is God. – at first, they doubted Jesus.

Conclusion:

In verse 25, Jesus was near to the disciples. Take heart, Christ is nearby—he is Immanuel, God with Us. This truth tells us that we can always ask for his help, run to him, and trust him.

Pastor John Paul Arceno

UCBC New Jersey | August 27, 2023