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[0:00] Please turn in your Bibles to Numbers 13. Numbers 13. If you are new or visiting, I welcome you.

[0:14] My name is BK. I have the pleasure of serving as one of the pastors here. If you're from Church 99, special welcome to you. Just joining us for the wonderful month of December.

[0:26] So we are in a story called the story of the Bible. And I know for some of you, you haven't been here for a while. So I'm going to give you guys a very quick overview of where we are so you can understand where we're going.

[0:42] Does that make sense? All right. You guys don't seem to be very active today. Good morning, everyone. There we go. Okay. All right. Even get waves. Great. Now, have you guys ever been told from the pulpit to read your Bible more?

[0:59] Anybody ever hear a pastor ever say that? Well, that was kind of the gist of why we're doing this sermon series. Because oftentimes, pastors will encourage you to read your Bibles.

[1:11] But oftentimes, you get home, you look at your Bible, it's pretty big. You start counting. Wow, there's 600,000 words here.

[1:22] It's been written over 3,000 years. There's 40 different authors. There's 66 different books. Where does this all fit in? How do I understand it?

[1:35] And let's be honest. If I'm asking you where you're doing your devotions, chances are you'll say, Oh, you know, I'm in the Gospels, right? I love hearing about Jesus. Love reading about Jesus.

[1:45] Jesus, when you're asked about, well, what about your readings in the Old Testament? Well, you know, I know David and Goliath. And there's Noah and Adam and Eve and Abraham.

[1:56] And yeah, there's these 12 minor prophets. I don't know where they fit into the story, but I know they're there. So part of the reason of doing this sermon series is to help you understand from beginning to end where all these books of the Bible fit into God's plan of redemption.

[2:16] Because the story of the Bible is truly about Jesus Christ. It tells us of why we need Jesus Christ and how God has worked in history to bring about Jesus Christ for our eternal redemption.

[2:35] So Matthew 1.17 is very helpful in giving us a structure to the Old Testament. If you notice on Matthew 1.17, it says, So all the generations from Abraham to David were 14 generations.

[2:51] And from David to the deportation of Babylon, 14 generations. And from the deportation of Babylon to the Christ, 14 generations. So essentially what we have in the grand story, there's these acts.

[3:05] And the first act is the story from Abraham to David, which is from Genesis to 1 Kings. Then act two begins at the end of King David to the deportation.

[3:21] When Israel and the temple is destroyed and Israel is living in Babylon. And the third act begins when the people are freed after their 70 years of deportation and return back to rebuild Jerusalem and the temple.

[3:41] Which brings us into the Gospels. So for those of you who do know your Old Testament, you will know that these are very important divisions. So act one simply begins in Genesis 12.

[3:56] We meet a man called Abraham, who's living in a different part of the world. And God invites him to come to Israel, the land that we now know as Israel.

[4:08] And the question that gets asked is, well, why? Why does he need to call Abraham? Well, that question is answered between Genesis 1 and Genesis 11. Mankind is a mess.

[4:21] Or an absolute mess. Our ancestors, Adam and Eve, started out walking in the cool of the day with their God. And about a week later, they're banned from the garden.

[4:33] Right? They chose their own glory over God's glory. Soon after, one of their sons kills one of their other sons. Things get so bad that God needs to bring a flood to wipe out mankind for God regrets what he's created.

[4:53] So now, we obviously know that man needs to be rescued. And God shares his plan of God's rescue of us in what's called the Abrahamic covenant.

[5:04] That's when God calls Abraham. And we read about this covenant in several parts of the Old Testament. But we have it here in Genesis 12, 1 to 3.

[5:14] It says, go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. And I will make you a great nation. And I will bless you and make your name great so that you will be a blessing.

[5:27] I will bless those who bless you. And in him who dishonors you, I will curse. And in you, all the families of the earth will be blessed.

[5:39] So he's telling Abraham, hey, I'm going to create a nation from you. And this nation has a purpose. From this nation will come the Messiah that will redeem the world.

[5:55] We learn three things about what constitutes a nation. The first is you need a people. Second, you need to have a leader with laws which to follow to be recognized as a nation.

[6:10] And finally, you need a land in order to be your own nation. So in Abraham, God has started to build a people.

[6:23] By the time we get to the book of Exodus, God's people has expanded to approximately two or three million people.

[6:35] God's got more people. Now he needs a leader and a land. Exodus 1 to 18 explains the rising of Moses, this leader that God is going to use to bring his people out of slavery.

[6:50] He's going to save them from Egypt. And we hear, finally, at Exodus 19, that God speaks to his people.

[7:02] And he gives them the law. There's a moral law, a ceremonial law, and a civic law. So he's fulfilling as God is building this nation.

[7:13] He's got a people, a leader, and laws. Let me just read for you from Exodus 19 to 16. It says, On the morning of the third day, there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud on the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people of the camp trembled.

[7:33] And that camp is all of Israel at the foot of Mount Sinai. And for the first time, God is going to speak to them. Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke, because the Lord had to send it on it in fire.

[7:50] The smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled greatly. And as the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke.

[8:02] And God answered him in thunder. The Lord came down on Mount Sinai to the top of the mountain. What God was doing is he was demonstrating to his nation, I am God.

[8:19] I am your creator. I am the authority. I'm the one who establishes these laws. And the expectation is you are to obey.

[8:34] Exodus 19 verse 5 says, Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice, and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples.

[8:48] For all the earth is mine, and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation. Incredible, isn't it?

[8:59] This is God's promise to these two, three million people at this foot. Now for those of you who know your Bibles, you know what happens next.

[9:13] I would say that up until this time, we've been unfolding the drama of the story of the gospel unfolding as God's people are getting to know him.

[9:27] And as we turn to numbers, it sadly is no longer a drama, but it is a tragedy. It becomes a tragedy of God's people, God's nation, who while following God's leader in Moses, having God's law, literally finding themselves at the foot of the promised land.

[9:51] They've had the reports, we heard from Josh, this great land of milk and honey, and then we're going to read that they are denied entry, not by the giants, not by the walled cities, but they're denied entrance by God himself.

[10:11] Simply because they chose not to believe God. Here is the reality. A lot of times we don't really pay much attention to the idea that unbelief is a really big deal.

[10:28] The fact of the matter is, unbelief may seem like a small thing at times. But as if there's one thing that this passage is going to demonstrate to us this morning, is that unbelief can have devastating consequences, both to unbelievers or those who do not call Jesus Christ their Lord, and to those who do call themselves Christians.

[10:59] For the non-Christian to not believe in the God of the universe, who has spoken to his people, the God who spoke into being every element of creation, is to risk the destiny of your eternal soul.

[11:17] It is to risk not knowing what is your purpose as a man or woman who has been created in the image of Christ.

[11:32] For the believer not believing, you may not be risking your soul's eternal destiny, but you risk the consequence of having what I call an inconsequential life.

[11:43] You risk your life being a tragedy rather than a blessing to those who know you and love you.

[11:57] You risk great blessing by God because the fact of the matter is, disbelief can be devastating. So this morning, we're going to look at six truths about unbelief.

[12:15] Six truths about unbelief. And I want us to take these truths and learn to apply them to our lives here. So the first truth is that unbelief is not about circumstances.

[12:31] Unbelief is about not trusting God. Unbelief is not about circumstances. It's about trusting God. When we look at Numbers 13 and 14, God had brought his people out of Egypt with a mighty hand.

[12:47] God brought these 10 plagues. They saw devastation. They saw God part the Red Sea. They saw God wipe out the army of Egypt.

[12:59] They were hungry. God sent quail and manna to feed them. They were thirsty. God brought water. When they did not know where to go, God brought a pillar of fire and a pillar of cloud during the day upon which to lead them.

[13:15] These people saw the manifestation of God's power every single day. Every single day. There was no question, is there a God?

[13:29] Yes, there is. We just got to look over at temple. It's nighttime. There is a pillar of fire. Always, all the time. And now they're on the verge of the promised land and Moses sends them in.

[13:47] Verse 27, And they told him, We came to the land to which you sent us. It flows with milk and honey and this is its fruit. So, it basically starts off with, It's kind of a good news, bad news scenario.

[14:02] The good news is the land is marvelous. The bad news is it's inhabited by giants in fortified cities. It says that the spies reported that the Anakim were formidable and intimidating.

[14:18] One author writes, They are described as giants compared to the Israelites. And Numbers 13, 33 said, The Israelites would look like grasshoppers in their eyes.

[14:33] These were indeed mighty men. It is said that Goliath, whom was defeated from David, is from the city of Gad, which was a city in that region.

[14:46] Mighty, mighty men. Now, here's the thing. I don't believe these people who were complaining we can't go in were being negative.

[14:58] I also don't believe that they weren't whining for no reason. The fact of the matter is they were telling the truth. From an absolute human perspective, they did not believe they could vanquish the land.

[15:15] The fact is, they are an untrained, unequipped, and inexperienced people for warfare. So to ask them to go out and clear out the land would have been a suicide mission.

[15:33] So, them being truthful in this moment isn't their problem. It's kind of like Abraham and Sarah. Remember that?

[15:44] When we were 75, God said we would have a kid build a nation from us. We're now 90. It can't happen.

[15:58] We're 90. I'm 90. You're 90. There's no way we can father a child to start this nation. And the issue isn't their assessment of reality.

[16:11] Their issue is their unwillingness to trust God. Nowhere did God say they were going to have to do the work. God said, I am going to give you the land.

[16:23] I am going to give you the land. When the people heard the report from the spies at Numbers 14, remember, this is a people when Moses calls for the spies, they're from every tribe.

[16:45] And they are their leaders. They're chiefs. These are the best of the best. You know what I'm saying? This is the best of their best that went in and came back with the report.

[17:00] This wasn't the Eeyores of their tribe. This wasn't the naysayers that are always complaining. These were the ones who were leading. They filed the report.

[17:13] We can't do it. In Numbers 14, verse 1 reads, Then all the congregation raised a loud cry. And the people wept that night.

[17:26] And all the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The whole congregation said to them, Would that we had died in the land of Egypt or would that we had died in the wilderness?

[17:45] Why is the Lord bringing us into this land to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become a prey.

[17:57] Would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt? And they said to one another, Let us choose a leader and go back to Egypt.

[18:09] Mutiny. Mutiny. Mutiny. Mutiny is a devastating sin. It sows discord.

[18:21] It creates rivalries. And it divides. It sets to usurp God's plan. Their sin wasn't in recognizing the size of the giants.

[18:37] Their sin was in doubting the size of their God. Look how quick they are to forget and to stand against God.

[18:49] Let me make it personal for you. How often do you assess your circumstances and think, I can't do this.

[19:00] You know that God has called you to righteousness. God has called you to follow. Perhaps you see the bills piling up or the pressures of a broken relationship or a negative doctor's report and you say, I can't do this.

[19:20] You're right. You can't. Fix it. But that's not the question. The question is, will you trust the God who can?

[19:35] You see, your sin is not the fact that you recognize certain limitations in your life. Your sin is that you do not trust God to overcome those limitations. Grace means you're not responsible for what you can do.

[19:52] You're responsible for what God can do. It's to trust God. Philippians 4.13 doesn't say, I can do all things because I'm awesome, because I'm mighty, I'm strong, and I'm really smart.

[20:08] It says, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. See, the first truth is unbelief is not about our circumstances.

[20:24] It's always about trusting God. The second truth I want to look at is unbelief is always rooted in forgetting God's faithfulness.

[20:38] Unbelief is always rooted in forgetting God's faithfulness. Now, we know the story of Joshua and Caleb. They saw the same giants. They saw the same fortified cities, but their perspective was quite different.

[20:52] They said, God brought us out of Egypt, didn't he? And if he did the big thing, can't we trust him in the smaller things? Numbers 14.7, the land which we pass through to spy it out is an exceedingly good land.

[21:09] If the Lord delights in us, he will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land that flows with milk and honey. Only do not rebel against the Lord and do not fear the people of the land, for they are bread for us.

[21:26] Their protection is removed from them and the Lord is with us. Do not fear them. That's bold. Isn't that great? These guys are the two leaders.

[21:38] Everybody must have got behind them. Yes, we can do it, right? It's like a football movie at halftime when they're losing by 50 points. We can do it. Verse 10, then all the congregation said to stone them with stones.

[21:58] The fact that Caleb and Joshua reminding the people of who God is, the people set out to stone them.

[22:10] There's a whole sermon right there. They were saved by the glory of the Lord appearing in the tent.

[22:25] Even Moses couldn't stop them. It's not like there was a wise man within them. Hey, maybe we're going too far. Maybe a voice.

[22:36] Remember, let's kill Joseph. Well, maybe not let's kill him. Let's just throw him into a pit. There wasn't even a voice of reason. That God himself had to step in.

[22:49] The people are incensed and Joshua and Caleb are saved by the glory of God. You see, not having faith is not about showing some kind of ambivalence.

[23:07] And what I mean by that is I'm really not sure what to believe. I don't know if it's this or that. It's not, well, I'm not sure what to do.

[23:19] The fact of the matter, it's a fear of man rather than the fear of God that separates, sees, and destroys armies.

[23:31] They've just seen God destroy an army and separate an ocean. God has been constantly displaying his awesomeness for a full year.

[23:46] So let me ask you a question. If you trust God to save your soul for eternity, can you trust him with helping you raise your family?

[24:03] Can you trust him in bringing wisdom in your finances? Can you trust him in him giving you strength to endure life's valley of deaths?

[24:22] You see, it's a spiritual contradiction to believe God will save me for heaven and not for my daily living. But isn't that what keeps us up at night?

[24:38] Isn't that why so many of us struggle with good sleep? we almost ask that God's faithfulness in the past doesn't matter anymore.

[24:53] If God was faithful then, God, being never changing, is faithful now. Amen? The same God who parted the Red Sea can certainly part our problems today.

[25:10] He can walk with us through the valleys of the shadows of death and protect us to bring us out of them.

[25:32] See, this isn't simply, Lord, I'm not sure what I have enough faith to get through tomorrow. as I said, this isn't some type of ambivalent type of faith. The people of Israel are saying, I don't trust you, God.

[25:47] I don't trust you. Psalm 106, 24 says, they despised the pleasant land having no faith in his promise.

[26:01] They despised the land. How far did they go? They despised what God had provided because they didn't believe what God had promised them.

[26:16] Unbelief is not about the size of the problem as one author says, it's about the size of our memory. If you remember God's faithfulness, you'll find the faith to trust him again.

[26:31] Sadly, sometimes our unbelief and trusting the promises of God lead us to distrust God himself. And this is no small thing.

[26:43] See, once we begin to distrust God, this leads to the third truth. Unbelief leads to restlessness.

[26:55] Restlessness. how can you be firm in your footing with God if you're doubting him? If you're not trusting him?

[27:09] How can you be firm in your footing? Numbers 14, 11 says, and the Lord said to Moses, how long will this people despise me? And how long will they not believe in me in spite of all the signs that I have done among them?

[27:25] You see, there's two sides of a coin here. See, when you're not trusting God, who are you trusting? Yourself.

[27:38] Hey, maybe you might surprise me. Is there anybody who can part the how sound? You'd make crabbing a lot more easier around here if you could. Anybody?

[27:52] Can anybody you appear on Mount Garibaldi and smoke and fire and speak through thunder? Go on, don't be shy.

[28:06] There we go, Mary, of course. But that's, when you're not trusting God, that's who you're trusting. You're trusting your wisdom, your experience, your knowledge, and you are rejecting God's word.

[28:26] Now, if I was to say that God was disappointed with them, I would be lying. If I was to tell you that God was really ticked with them, I think you could pretty much say I'd be lying.

[28:44] God is furious with their response. Verse 13, God wants to destroy him, and Moses dialogues with God.

[28:58] He says, but Moses said to the Lord, then the Egyptians will hear of it, for you brought up this people in your might from among them, and they will tell the inhabitants of this land, they have heard of you, O Lord, in the midst of this people, for you, O Lord, are seen face to face, and your cloud stands over them, and you go before them in a pillar of cloud by day, and a pillar of fire by night.

[29:30] And here's Moses, kind of fighting with God, trying to protect his glory. Now, if you kill this people as one man, then the nations who have heard your fame will say, it is because the Lord was not able to bring this people into the land that he swore to give them that he has killed them in the wilderness.

[29:56] You with me on that one? They're going to believe an untruth that the reason you couldn't give them the promised land which you promised your forefather Abraham was that you were too weak.

[30:10] verse 17 and now please let the power of the Lord be great as you have promised saying, the Lord is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, forgiving iniquity and transgression, but he will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation.

[30:37] please pardon the iniquity of this people according to the greatness of your steadfast love, just as you have forgiven this people from Egypt until now.

[30:55] Whoa. That's called a mediation. Some people would argue that's a type of Christ in that moment. God's wrath, the man that we be killed for our sins, and Jesus Christ steps in and bears the wrath for us.

[31:16] And the Lord said in verse 20, I have pardoned according to your word, but truly as I live and as all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord, none of the men who have seen my glory and my signs that I did in Egypt and in the wilderness and yet have put me to the test these ten times and have not obeyed my voice shall see the land that I swore to give their fathers.

[31:43] Whoa. My friends, there are consequences to unbelief. There are consequences to not trusting God.

[31:58] Psalm 106 tells us that he was angry with them for 40 years. Hebrews 3 18 19 says, and to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest?

[32:13] You with me on that? That term his rest. To not be outside his rest is to be in turmoil. That's why we know when we walk in God's will, we walk in peace.

[32:26] Amen? We can have all the storms around us, but to know that we walk the path that God has laid out, they don't matter. These people were never unable to rest because of their unbelief.

[32:46] This restlessness is the result of their unbelief. It's like I said before, when you don't trust, do you sleep well? Do you rest well?

[32:59] When your life is filled with uncertainty and tension, do you get a good night's sleep? sleep? How's your mood? Do you wake up every morning? Hi, honey, how are you?

[33:11] Or it's don't talk to me. You see, rest comes at the point of obedience.

[33:22] When you step out in faith, even when it doesn't make sense, there is a supernatural peace that God promises us. But if you continue to resist trusting God, you will be stuck in the wilderness of worry and doubt.

[33:38] And you will be plagued with the question, where do I stand with God? If you are willing, disobeying, following your path, that is the question that you need to be asking.

[33:53] So that is the third truth. The fourth truth is that unbelief wastes opportunities. It wastes opportunities.

[34:05] I really hate that saying, but I couldn't think of a better one there. Notice that God said to this generation, you won't enter the land, I'll raise up another generation who will.

[34:16] Here's the thing, God's plans aren't derailed because of your disbelief. You know that? They are not derailed, they don't stop, who do you think suffers here when they don't believe?

[34:28] Does God suffer? No, he's just waiting another 40 years. Guess what? He's got eternity on his side. We don't.

[34:42] We have a finite amount of time. Unbelief doesn't stop God, it stops you. Unbelief stops you from experiencing the fullness of his promises.

[34:57] Unbelief stops you from the joy of your salvation. It stops you from enjoying the joy of his provision. It stops you from enjoying the peace that is known when you're resting with God.

[35:10] Amen? And some of you guys know exactly what I'm talking about. I've heard the testimonies. There was a time, you know, you heard the good news, you were doing your thing with God and then you got attracted by some of this world and you went and it completely nagged and nagged and nagged and you were in disarray in pretty much every aspect of your life till you finally bowed the knee.

[35:36] Lord, forgive me. Take me back home. Luke 15 is the perfect example. The prodigal son. You see, unbelief is not a God problem.

[35:51] Unbelief is a you problem. Psalm 106, God confesses that they should not have died in the wilderness.

[36:04] God wanted them to enter the land, but they refuse to believe. What about you? Where is your unbelief holding you to?

[36:20] Where is your willingness to not trust God keeping you from? I don't know all of you, but I know everyone is eventually faced with this one question.

[36:35] Do you believe God? And it's not about even do you believe what God says. The question is do you believe God? Do you believe God?

[36:45] Do you believe God? So that's the fourth truth. Unbelief wastes opportunities. And here's the big one. The fifth truth is unbelief is the root of disobedience.

[37:00] Unbelief is the root of disobedience. Unbelief will continue in a spiral of more and more disobedience towards God.

[37:11] Let me tie it together. In Hebrews 3.12 it says warns us take care brothers lest there be any of you an evil unbelieving heart leading you to fall away from the living God.

[37:25] That word unbelieving is the same word that we can use for disobedient. So take care brothers lest there be any of you an evil disobedient heart.

[37:39] See the because unbelief and disobedient are essentially the same thing. When you do not trust God you do not obey God.

[37:52] When Sarah and Abraham did not trust God they wanted to fix the problem. God's not bringing a nation we'll do it let's take Hagar have a son do it my way and we know the mess that that creates.

[38:08] instead of waiting on God they schemed. You see disobedience is what happens when unbelief takes over.

[38:19] When we don't believe God we take manners into our own hands. Let's be honest we scheme we manipulate we strive thinking that we can make things happen. At the same time God simply says God doesn't want our help I want your faith.

[38:38] That's what legalism is. Legalism is trying to help God. Faith leads to obedience unbelief leads to disobedience.

[38:50] Let me read you the rest from Psalm 106 24. It says then they despised the pleasant land having no faith in God's promise.

[39:03] They murmured in their tents and they did not obey the voice of the Lord. Therefore he raised his hands and swore to them that he would make them fall in the wilderness.

[39:16] If you continue your reading in Psalm 106 you are going to read an absolute tragedy. These people eventually yoked themselves to Baal.

[39:29] They ate sacrifices that were offered to the dead. They provided the Lord the reason to be angry with their deeds. They served the idols which became an eventual snare to them.

[39:43] They sacrificed their sons and daughters to demons. They poured out innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters whom they sacrificed to the gods of Canaan.

[39:58] Do you get that? love love and we just covered them going over the laws. The laws that God had ordained for them were loving laws. It created a way for them to internalize their relationship with God, to externalize, to live as a people of worship and even love through civil laws on how we exist together in a community.

[40:23] Yet they tossed that all off and sacrificed their own kids because they didn't believe that God could give them the promised land.

[40:43] For those of you who are with us through our Romans series will recognize this connection. Romans 1.18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who by their unrighteousness suppress their deeds.

[41:01] The truth, sorry. Their deeds do not lead them to ungodliness. It's the ungodliness, the lack of faith, leads them to evil deeds. You with me on that one?

[41:13] Evil deeds don't lead you to the godliness. The godliness is what leads you to the evil deeds. That's why in Romans 1.21 it says, for they did not honor him as god or give thanks to him.

[41:30] To believe god. To honor god. Now I'm going to get into some of your kitchens a little bit today.

[41:44] There's actually a warning in Hebrews 6, 4, and 6. A lot of people say that this is one of they consider this a much debated passage.

[41:55] But what Israel was going through in that time before going in is what the writer of Hebrews is begging these Jewish brothers and sisters not to do.

[42:07] If you know the book of Hebrews we've talked about it briefly it's a community of Jews who are thinking of going back to the law because life is tough. This Christian life is tough.

[42:17] It would be so much easier because when I follow Christ my Jewish family doesn't want to talk to me anymore. When I follow Christ they don't want to do business anymore. So they're experiencing heartache and they don't know whether they can trust God.

[42:37] So the writer writes for it is impossible in the case of those who have once been enlightened who have tasted the heavenly gift and shared in the Holy Spirit and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come and then have fallen away to restore them again to repentance since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding them up to contempt.

[43:07] What that is essentially meaning is these people weren't saved what he's talked about but there's people that lived in their midst that were experiencing the beauty of God even if they didn't believe they were still receiving manna they were still seeing God heal them remember the golden calf people were dying bronze snake if you looked at the snake you could be healed these guys had been experiencing God's provision God's power they've been in another word they've been experiencing the grace of God in their life now who's that here I'm going to tell you right now that if you're a child and you have growing up with loving Christian parents that are providing a gospel centered home this message is for you if you're thinking I want to go my way and do my own thing this is the warning for those of you who had maybe not loving parents but loving grandparents who took you to church that

[44:14] God brought Christian friends in that you could experience the true loving fellowship or a part of a God ordained loving church and you're experiencing the blessings that God has given and you've seen God being blessed his people their families who follow after him if you go your own way there is no guarantee God is going to take you back you've had every blessing that God could give you and you tossed it aside what did you toss it aside for for your own independence woo so I can live in this world without feeling guilty whoopee do do your own thing make your own decision so you can feel like the man or woman that you don't want any pressure on when you pursue those things there's no guarantee that you're going to be able to come back when you pursue the world thinking that's going to answer that hole that you have in your life and you're going to ignore the grace that

[45:33] God has bestowed on you with a gospel believing church and gospel believing parents and gospel believing grandparents and extended family this is how God treated the people that he saved from Egypt they had a chance at every blessing and they willingly said I don't believe it's a tragedy God wanted them into that promised land see the issue is not to say that you simply believe in a God but do you believe God God's giving us his word God does not speak in vain why on earth would you play with the destiny of your own soul just to enjoy what the gospels have clearly said it looks fun this sin but it's yet just for a season the sixth truth that

[47:06] I believe you need to grasp is unbelief is defeated by trusting in God's character unbelief is defeated by trusting in God's character see here's the good news you don't have to stay stuck in unbelief the antidote is quite simple trust God trust his character trust his power trust his promises you know we talked about that a couple of sermons ago Israel had no reason to believe that God could not do what he said he could not do right it's like having a my dad was Mr.

[47:55] fix it guy all right he could fix things around the house kind of mechanical but it would never really turn out well you know the knob on the TV and this is back in the day you didn't have remote you had to change it you had to put a wrench around it to change it but I remember I had a stereo and the play button broke off and this is the day remember cassette tapes you guys know what cassette tapes all right dad had fixed the speakers at one point but then the play button wasn't working so he said I'll fix it and you're like okay well he fixed it all right that when you put a cassette and you hit play it actually pushed the record so while I'm waiting for the music to play it's deleting my favorite cassette tape right you know it's not one of those kind of things it's like you bring it in to get fixed and it comes back better than it ever was before you know

[48:55] I remember Nike you guys probably don't know this but there was a guy named Bo Jackson do you guys remember Bo Jackson Bo Jackson was I will fight and argue with you to that day I saved all the money I made at McDonald's and Burger King to afford that shoe I didn't have parents like you guys who have parents that just load up all the Nike shoes on you whatever anyway there was a cut in the scene it busted on me and I was so disappointed and I'm like grade 11 I'm broken and crying about this so I send it back to Nike Nike sends me back the Bo Jackson shoe that they hadn't even released yet that was the talk of the town but that's what God does it's not like he's wrapping it up with duct tape he replaces it it's better than itself than it once was see when

[50:03] God promises something he does it and it exceeds our expectations it doesn't fall below our expectations so to conclude I'm not going to lie to you and say that belief is really easy it is hard but I want to give you four practical applications on how to overcome unbelief one confess your unbelief father I lack faith please strengthen me mark 9 24 talks about a demon possessed man who's crying to the lord he goes lord I believe help my unbelief be honest with God over your struggles the reality is God can handle your doubts he already knows them just be honest with them number two fix your eyes on

[51:11] God's promises that's what the Hebrews 12 is all about it's stop rehearsing the problems that you have in your life and start reciting his promises speak truth you know pastor Dave always talks about that our job is to speak God's word into our life we don't pull God's word out of our hearts we put God's word into our hearts amen third step is take the first step of obedience it's not just believing that God can do it but it's acting as if he already has take that first step even when you don't see the whole path and the fourth point is remember that God is faithful and I've encouraged some of you to write out your testimony even write out in a journal about the things that God has done in your life I I I just got connected with an old friend and after the conversation was done

[52:17] I I wept about how God's goodness and how God orchestrated that friendship to happen because it wasn't a friendship that I designed to happen but God had come in and I kind of forgot about that it is good to think on those things let me pray for you father I'd like to say that we are a people of great faith and of great belief but ultimately we're a people of small faith and small belief but the greatest thing about it is we have a great God and we are not saved by the strength of our faith or the amount of faith we have we are actually saved by the object of our faith which is found in your son Jesus Christ Jesus Christ who conquered death who lived the life that we could not live father

[53:25] I pray for anyone here who's thinking about taking the shortcut that the world offers to acquire what they want whether it be financial freedom perhaps it's a relationship perhaps it's just dealing with loneliness where they're hanging out with people that they should not be joined to father I pray that they would begin to trust you that they would make these issues of their heart clear to you so father this morning let us confess our sin of disbelief let us confess our sin of doubting you let it not be said that we do not believe God father let us look back this word even what we've learning even the sacrifice that Abraham offered to Isaac and what that communicates to us now would not have even been clear to

[54:27] Abraham at that time but how we even get this picture of the cross and that selfless sacrifice that you offered for us father this story this tragedy of Israel some of us are in that wilderness and some of us know that we are indeed dealing with the anger of God we've made choices we've made decisions to pursue our own way I call you now to repent God will hear you God will restore you God long like he said he wanted to be he wanted his people in that land of milk and honey God wants us to be at rest with him father

[55:28] I pray for the foolishness that exists here for wanting to pursue our own independence yet rejecting the clear creator's word that you have given to us in your word to deny that is the height of arrogance and stupidity at the same time let us bow to your will oh father father I pray if any of us have some house cleaning to do in our lives to clean up relationships because we pursued our own agenda rather than God's I pray that you will not only give them the faith but the strength to do what is right father if there's any here that wishes to speak to me or any of the pastors involved here I pray that they will take out that card and bring it to the welcome desk to set up an appointment to connect with someone to walk with them because the other truth is we're not alone it's the beauty of the church we're together we walk hand in hand arm in arm through the challenges of this life and father we desperately want to believe help our unbelief and

[56:54]  God's people said amen welcome to Anna John