Anchors of Truth

The Danger of Unbelief

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Program transcript

Participants: Pr. John Lomacang

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Series Code: AOT

Program Code: AOT000137


00:12 Welcome to Anchors Of Truth
00:15 live from the 3ABN Worship Center.
00:22 Hello and welcome to Anchors Of Truth.
00:25 I want to welcome our audience here in the house,
00:27 and also to you that are watching via maybe
00:30 the internet, on television, or even listening on the radio.
00:33 Don't want to forget that.
00:34 Welcome to Anchors Of Truth.
00:36 And what a wonderful series we've had so far.
00:38 We just had last night's meeting and it was on the...
00:41 Well the whole series, the five part series,
00:43 is, The Danger Zone.
00:45 And it's with Pastor John Lomacang.
00:46 What a fitting series title when you think about it,
00:49 The Danger Zone.
00:50 I tell you, we live in some scary times, don't we.
00:52 We don't have any need to be afraid, do we.
00:55 Because of Jesus Christ.
00:56 And we read the end of the book, Revelation,
00:58 we know that Christ has won and we have nothing to fear.
01:01 And what a blessing it is, you know, when you think about
01:04 the message of last night, The Danger of Neglect.
01:08 You know, a lot of times...
01:10 I shouldn't say a lot of times.
01:11 My mom would always tell me...
01:12 We lived in West Virginia growing up, and we had this
01:15 pond that would freeze over in the winter time.
01:17 But sometimes a part of the pond wouldn't freeze.
01:21 And there would be water there even in
01:22 the middle of winter time.
01:23 And so she would say, "Don't go, don't see how far or how close
01:27 you can get to that water.
01:28 Stay as far away as you can from that."
01:30 And a lot of times we do that with our Christian walk.
01:33 We say, "Well, let's see how far can I get away from Christ
01:37 but still be kind of close to Jesus Christ."
01:39 We don't want to do that, we want to see how close
01:41 we can get to Jesus Christ.
01:42 Isn't that right?
01:43 So what a blessing to know that Jesus Christ is there for us.
01:46 And one of the points that Pastor John mentioned
01:48 last night that I liked, there were many good points
01:51 that he brought up, is, "Why neglect Jesus
01:54 when He's the one who died for us?"
01:56 You know, a lot of times, when you think about it,
01:58 Jesus Christ is the answer for everything, isn't He.
02:02 And so there's no need to be afraid and say,
02:06 well I don't trust this or I don't trust that.
02:10 We can always go to Jesus Christ and say,
02:12 "You're the one that saves me.
02:13 You're the one that has the answers for me."
02:14 He's always the one we want to go to.
02:16 And tonight's message is, The Danger of Unbelief.
02:20 I'm looking forward to that.
02:22 I want to just say here before Pastor John Lomacang comes out
02:25 is, what a blessing it's been to work with Pastor John at 3ABN,
02:29 and his wife Angie.
02:30 But also I've been involved with him in our local church.
02:34 And one of the things I appreciate about Pastor John
02:36 is that he's a man of God.
02:38 And he has a heart to follow Jesus Christ.
02:41 And as I've worked with him, I've always been impressed
02:43 that he stands for truth no matter what.
02:46 And that to me means a lot.
02:49 That's basically making Jesus Christ number one in your life.
02:52 And Pastor John, and his wife Angie who's sitting here,
02:56 what a blessing it is to have you guys here.
02:58 And what a blessing it has been for me as well.
02:59 And I know for you around the world,
03:01 we're blessed here because he's our pastor,
03:03 but he can be your pastor of course through the airwaves.
03:06 What a blessing it is.
03:07 Now tonight we have a special treat because Pastor John
03:10 is actually bringing us our song tonight as well as our message.
03:13 And the song that he is going to be singing for us is,
03:16 Here Comes A Miracle.
03:19 So invite Pastor John out at this time.
03:22 Thank you, Greg.
03:23 You know, one of the reasons I chose to sing this tonight
03:25 is because we're living in a day and age of unbelief.
03:28 And in a day and age of unbelief, we still serve a God
03:33 who works in behalf of His people.
03:53 They followed Him on dusty roads,
03:57 wherever He would lead;
04:02 multitudes would gather
04:06 as He healed each disease.
04:10 With eyes of wonder they would watch
04:15 as He would stop to pray;
04:20 and when He spoke the word of faith
04:24 you could hear them say:
04:29 Here comes a miracle,
04:36 here comes a miracle.
04:42 Can you feel it in the air?
04:48 That look is on His face,
04:53 His glory will fill this place.
04:58 I know a miracle is near.
05:08 The lame could walk, the deaf could hear,
05:13 the blinded eyes could see.
05:17 And those who had been bound for years
05:21 were suddenly set free.
05:26 They came in desperation,
05:30 the hurting and the poor.
05:35 But when they saw Him through the crowd,
05:39 oh they knew what was in store.
05:45 Here comes a miracle,
05:51 here comes a miracle.
05:57 Oh, can't you feel it? It's in the air.
06:04 That look is on His face,
06:09 His glory will fill this place.
06:14 For I know a miracle is near.
06:40 And still today we follow Him,
06:45 we claim His Word is true.
06:49 And nothing is impossible;
06:53 oh they said He will do.
06:59 And though this world may doubt us,
07:03 and though they laugh and stare,
07:08 one day all men will see the truth
07:12 when we see Him in the air.
07:18 Here comes a miracle,
07:26 here comes a miracle.
07:32 Oh can you see Him? He is in the air.
07:39 Soon we will see His face,
07:46 His glory will fill this place.
07:50 I know a miracle is near.
08:00 I know that a miracle
08:07 is near.
08:11 Here come a miracle,
08:15 here come a miracle.
08:40 Let us pray.
08:45 Our gracious Father in heaven, tonight
08:47 we can lean our faith on the God who still works
08:52 in behalf of His people.
08:56 Lord, there is no need tonight for us to be worried about
08:59 the outcome of the future,
09:01 about the challenges in our lives,
09:04 about the daily obstacles we face,
09:08 and about the scoffing that exists in our world
09:10 concerning the reality of Jesus.
09:13 And so, Lord, tonight speak to our hearts that
09:15 we may avoid, by the work of Your Holy Spirit,
09:20 the danger of unbelief.
09:23 In Jesus' name I pray, amen.
09:29 Tonight we take another piece of the puzzle
09:32 out of the book of Hebrews as Paul,
09:35 I believe who is the writer of the book of Hebrews,
09:38 reveals to us a very significant piece to the puzzle.
09:44 This piece of the puzzle warns us of the existing dangers.
09:49 That's why I've entitled it, The Danger of Unbelief.
09:54 As I read the account of the children of Israel,
09:57 what makes this piece so diabolical is this:
10:01 The devil used this piece, he used unbelief,
10:06 to hinder the children of Israel from crossing over
10:10 into the Promised Land.
10:12 And so tonight as we look at the danger of unbelief,
10:15 as the children of Israel were confronted with unbelief
10:19 toward the ending of their journey,
10:21 we are also confronted with unbelief toward
10:24 the ending of our journey.
10:26 The Bible says in Hebrews 3 and verse 19...
10:36 John R. Rice, a Baptist preacher, once wrote
10:38 these words back in the 1800s.
10:41 He said these words, and I think it's very fitting right here.
10:43 He said, "Never put a question mark where God
10:46 has put a period."
10:49 If God says He's going to bless, God is going to bless.
10:51 Can you say amen to that?
10:53 If God says He can win our battles,
10:55 God can win our battles.
10:56 Never put a question mark where God has put a period.
11:01 If ever there was a time that belief in Jesus is imperative,
11:05 it is now.
11:06 If ever there was a time to believe
11:08 in His promises, it is now.
11:11 We are living on the borders of the eternal world.
11:14 If ever there was a time to believe that
11:16 Jesus is coming again, it is now.
11:20 For the Lord said one of the evidences of the last days
11:22 is that people will begin to doubt that He's coming.
11:25 Matter of fact, I had a discussion with a young man
11:29 who was raised in the church.
11:31 Grew up in the church.
11:33 Had all the advantages of Christian education.
11:36 Grew up and worked his way up in the ranks
11:39 of the Adventist church.
11:40 Became a very prominent leader.
11:42 And to my dismay, in our discussion I disclosed,
11:45 or he disclosed that he was no longer a believer.
11:48 But now he was not just a person that left the church,
11:52 but he disclosed to me that he is an atheist.
11:56 And I asked myself the question, how could someone
11:58 being raised in the church, being educated in the church,
12:03 being in positions of leadership in the church,
12:06 how can you ever get to the place where you no longer
12:10 believe in an existing God where you now proclaim with
12:14 some sense of confidence, "I am an atheist."
12:19 The reason for this series is, when we are done on
12:22 Sabbath afternoon you'll discover that each of these
12:25 steps outline the small yet progressive and undeniable
12:31 steps that each person takes where they finally
12:35 get to the place where they deny the existence of God.
12:38 Think about it; the danger of neglect,
12:40 the danger of unbelief, which is tonight,
12:42 the danger of not maturing, which is the next meeting,
12:46 the danger of drawing back,
12:48 and finally the danger of refusing God.
12:51 You never get to refusing God immediately.
12:53 It's always those little imperceptible steps.
12:56 Exposure to things that should not be in your consideration,
13:01 but you spend more time at the tree of the knowledge of
13:03 good and evil than you should.
13:05 And I would say today, if you want your belief
13:07 to begin to be chiseled away, allow your mind to be
13:11 bombarded by things that do not build your faith.
13:16 Somebody once said, "John, you need to have an open mind."
13:19 Well when it comes to the truth of God's Word,
13:20 when it comes to the validity of God's Word,
13:22 my mind is closed.
13:23 Can you say amen to that?
13:25 I know it's true.
13:26 I don't need to have a discussion.
13:28 I don't need to read what Darwin said.
13:31 I don't need to read any other philosopher or person that
13:34 finds himself in the wrong intellectual camp.
13:37 I don't need to read anything written by a man
13:39 to convince me otherwise.
13:41 I know by my own personal experience
13:43 that Jesus is real and that God is His Father.
13:46 Can you say amen to that?
13:50 But the children of Israel were confronted with unbelief.
13:52 And because the unbelief that challenged the Israelites
13:55 was real, the church in the last days are going to be
13:58 confronted with this issue as to whether or not
14:01 they're going to believe.
14:04 In the book of Luke the question was asked,
14:06 "When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?"
14:10 And I would say, faith is a component to belief.
14:13 No faith, no belief.
14:15 Belief; your faith grows.
14:17 When you look at the journey of the children of Israel,
14:19 there was no problem with Moses.
14:21 The problem was not with the leader that God had chosen.
14:24 And I take some solace in that, because sometimes
14:26 people can blame the preacher for their condition.
14:29 There was no problem with the leader that God chose.
14:32 Moses, the Bible says, was a man who was faithful
14:35 in all of his household.
14:36 That's what Hebrews says.
14:38 And when God says you're faithful, you're faithful.
14:41 Israel failed, and not because of Moses' faithfulness.
14:45 They failed because of their own unfaithfulness.
14:49 Now today the church is not following Moses.
14:51 The church is following Jesus.
14:53 And I want to say today clearly for the record,
14:55 Jesus is faithful.
14:56 What do you say?
14:58 And our failures in the last days will not be because
15:01 of the failures or the inabilities of Jesus,
15:04 but because of our own abilities.
15:06 And so the question still hangs out there,
15:08 if the Israelites failed on the border of Canaan,
15:11 will we fail on the border of the Promised Land?
15:13 That's a question to seriously consider.
15:16 The Bible says in Hebrews 3 verses 5 and 6...
15:46 Moses was faithful in his household.
15:49 And the children of Israel would have been too
15:51 if they had followed the example set by Moses.
15:53 So the writer of Hebrews said the children of Israel
15:56 would have benefited from Moses' faithfulness.
15:59 Therefore, on the very same plane, we could benefit
16:01 from the faithfulness of Jesus.
16:03 We will make it if we hold fast the confidence and the
16:08 rejoicing of the hope firm to the end.
16:13 So I don't plan on meandering in the maze of mediocrity,
16:16 or pondering at the pool of popularity,
16:17 or negotiating at the table of the enemy.
16:20 I plan on trusting in the Lord.
16:21 What about you?
16:23 The fact of the matter is, Satan did not care
16:25 how far Israel journeyed.
16:26 And he really doesn't care how far we journey either.
16:30 As I mentioned before, there are people that
16:32 grow up in the church, raised in the church,
16:34 educated in the church.
16:35 But the fact of the matter is, if education is what is needed
16:38 to have a relationship with Christ, then we can be
16:40 educated into the kingdom.
16:42 But there's a personal connection that we
16:44 must not ignore.
16:46 You see, education can give you intellect,
16:48 but intellect without God is dangerous.
16:51 There are those that feel they get to a certain point
16:53 and they become so smart...
16:55 I like the way that Paul said it in Hebrews.
16:57 He says, "Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools
17:01 and changed the glory of God into that of corruptible beasts
17:05 like birds and four-footed beasts and creeping things."
17:09 And what happened, God gave them up to the vilest
17:11 of their own imagination.
17:13 "Professing themselves to be wise," the Bible says,
17:15 "they became fools."
17:16 And I'm going to tell you, if you want to be educated
17:18 into the kingdom, the only education
17:20 you need is a BA degree.
17:22 That is, Born Again.
17:23 Can you say amen to that?
17:24 But so many people, you know, they get to the place
17:27 where they feel, "If I could just learn a little bit more."
17:30 And I thought about the analogy of a smart person.
17:33 And I zoomed out and I thought to myself,
17:36 "How smart is that ant compared to me?"
17:41 And I thought to myself, you know, in the sight of God
17:43 and His creation, we are smaller than an ant.
17:46 And some man comes along in the 1800s like Charles Darwin
17:50 and he figures out God, when Job in all of his wisdom said,
17:55 "Can we by searching find out God?
17:58 Can we find out the place where God stores His food,
18:01 and His hail, and His lightening,
18:03 and all of His arsenal for the time of trouble?
18:05 Can we find that out?"
18:07 And God said to Job, "Where were you when I laid
18:09 the foundation of the world?"
18:10 So brothers and sisters, don't ever think that intellect
18:14 is something that causes a person now to question
18:17 the validity and the power that resides only in Jesus.
18:21 Satan doesn't care how far we journey.
18:23 His aim is to prevent us from entering the Promised Land
18:27 just like he did with the children of Israel.
18:31 One of the most amazing accounts of that attack
18:33 is wrapped up in the story of the twelve spies.
18:35 Look at Numbers chapter 13.
18:37 And it's on the screen for those of you watching tonight.
18:39 Numbers chapter 13 verses 1 and 2.
18:41 Let's begin to unwrap why the children of Israel
18:44 failed in the way that they did.
18:45 I think there's a great responsibility in leadership.
18:48 If the leaders are faithful,
18:50 I believe the people will be affected in a positive way
18:54 by the faithfulness of the leaders.
18:56 Here's what the Bible says.
18:57 Numbers chapter 13 and verse 1.
19:17 What do you think about what the Lord said?
19:18 At the very outset of the surveillance mission
19:22 God's promise was inserted, "I am giving..."
19:27 He didn't say, "Go see if you can fight your way
19:29 into the land," or, "Go see if you can battle your way
19:32 beyond the inhabitants of Canaan."
19:34 He says, "Just go ahead and do some window shopping in Canaan.
19:37 That's what you're getting."
19:38 Amen, somebody?
19:39 Go and do some window shopping.
19:40 And every now and then God gives us a glimpse
19:43 in His goodness of those things that are ahead of us.
19:46 If the leaders had only believed the Lord,
19:49 their journey to Canaan would have been nothing more
19:52 than a journey of confirmation.
19:56 The fact of the matter is, it's one thing to hear
19:58 the Word of the Lord, but it's something all together different
20:01 to believe it.
20:02 Look at verses 17 to 20.
20:04 They went to the land, they made it in.
20:07 Under the darkness of night they made sure that they
20:10 got in without the inhabitants noticing them.
20:12 And verse 17 of Numbers 13 says this,
20:15 "Then Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan..."
20:59 Now that's an amazing thing.
21:00 I thought about that for a moment.
21:01 God didn't send them during the winter time when
21:04 there would be no fruit on the trees.
21:07 God sent them at the height of the harvest
21:09 where abundance would be every direction they looked.
21:13 God sent them at the best time of the year,
21:15 the time of the harvest when everything was ripe.
21:18 Lush grapes, watermelon patch, carrots, and flowers,
21:23 in abundance in every direction.
21:25 They saw everything that God intended to give them.
21:28 God is just like that.
21:30 Sometimes the Lord gives us a glimpse
21:33 in the small things in our lives of the abundance that waits us
21:37 on the other side of this life.
21:39 When my wife and I went to California,
21:41 it was amazing about this whole ideology,
21:43 that when God opened the door, we didn't say,
21:45 "Lord, what's going to happen with us a few years from now?"
21:49 Sometimes you just have to trust God.
21:51 Sometimes you just have to believe that if God is
21:53 going to send you, He's going to clear the way that everything
21:56 He sends you to is going to be successful.
21:59 Amen?
22:00 God does not have to give us a list.
22:02 We don't have to check off God's list in order for God to be God.
22:05 One of the reasons why He's God is because He does things
22:08 exceedingly abundantly above all that we can ask for or think.
22:13 But the secret is according to the power that's working in us.
22:15 You've got to have faith there.
22:17 The Lord wanted to give them a glimpse of His blessings.
22:19 And God does that.
22:21 When the Lord answers our prayers,
22:23 when God answered our prayer to be in ministry,
22:25 we said, "We're going to go."
22:27 And that's how God is.
22:28 Look at Genesis chapter 12.
22:29 This has become a verse of my wife and I.
22:31 We study our Bibles together, and we have now
22:33 claimed this verse.
22:35 I've somewhat modified it by leaving certain words out
22:38 because it has become personal to us.
22:40 It reminds us, it reminds us of what happened
22:43 when God called us from Orland, Florida
22:47 in our no furniture apartment.
22:50 Look at Genesis chapter 12 verses 1 to 3.
22:53 "Now the Lord had said to Abraham..."
22:54 And I'm going to put my name there; to John, to Angie.
22:59 Get out of Florida.
23:04 And at that time it was California.
23:25 Now I'm not saying I'm everybody's piece of cheese,
23:27 but it's every now and then...
23:28 You know, I got a letter in the mail from a lady I've
23:30 never met and I've talked to her on the phone several times.
23:32 I've never met her.
23:34 And when I read this text, the day that we read this text
23:37 and it became personal to us, we opened this letter,
23:40 we opened this card.
23:42 And as we read through this card, she said at the bottom,
23:45 "I don't think you know how many people
23:48 in the world you have blessed."
23:51 And we looked at each other with tears in our eyes
23:53 and repeated the promise,
23:55 "I will bless those who bless you.
23:58 I will make you a blessing."
24:00 And whenever we travel for the Lord, we remember that it's God
24:03 who's going ahead of us.
24:04 We don't go ahead of God, God always goes ahead of us.
24:07 If we follow the Lord, God will always remain
24:11 faithful to those that trust in Him.
24:13 Can you say amen?
24:14 We believed God.
24:15 And the fact of the matter is, what could be better
24:18 than believing God?
24:19 Look at Romans 4 and verse 3...
24:22 ...about Abraham and about anybody who's faithful.
24:25 "For what does the Scripture say," it says...
24:37 Wherever the Lord leads, remember this,
24:39 wherever the Lord leads is better than where you were.
24:45 I just wasted that on you guys.
24:48 Wherever the Lord leads is always
24:50 better than where you were.
24:51 And amen to that?
24:53 You don't need to know that.
24:54 You just need to know that God never takes you
24:56 from good to bad.
24:58 He always takes you from bad to good.
25:00 He takes us from Egypt always and always points us
25:04 toward the Promised Land, wherever that may be
25:07 in our journey toward that eternal kingdom.
25:10 God gave the leaders a reason to believe His promises.
25:12 Look at verse 23 of Numbers chapter 13.
25:16 God gave them a reason.
25:17 But amazingly when I read this verse I could not understand
25:20 why they decided to distrust God when God gave them a reason.
25:25 Look at verse 23.
25:36 This is not grapes that they got from Wal-Mart.
25:38 This was huge.
25:48 I going to tell you, if my wife comes home from the store
25:51 and somebody is carrying grapes in the house on a pole,
25:55 I need to know where that store is.
25:57 What about you?
25:58 "Where'd you get those grapes?" "Wal-Mart."
26:00 I tell you, if Wal-Mart had grapes that size,
26:02 the store would have a line outside that they could not
26:05 possibly supply all the people waiting for grapes that large.
26:08 Isn't that right?
26:09 God gave them a reason to trust Him.
26:11 God didn't give them some tiny little shriveled up grapes
26:14 at the end of the harvest.
26:15 He gave it to them at the beginning of the harvest
26:18 bursting with the juices of Canaan.
26:22 And they took this into the camp.
26:23 And I could see the eyes of the people as they walked in.
26:26 They looked at each other and they probably inhaled.
26:29 Oh.
26:31 "Where'd you get that from?"
26:32 "The Valley of Eshcol in the land of Canaan."
26:35 "Are there more?"
26:36 "Oh this is just a sample.
26:37 And I've got some pomegranates and I've got some figs too."
26:42 And I'm sure they ate those grapes.
26:44 And I'm sure they had those pomegranates and those figs.
26:48 The sad reality is, what they brought back was good,
26:51 but the people were not just waiting for good food.
26:54 They were waiting for a good report.
26:56 And the leaders were in the position to strengthen
26:58 their belief in God's promises.
27:00 But what was the outcome?
27:01 Look at verse 27.
27:03 Verse 27 of Numbers 13.
27:06 "Then they told him..." That is, they told Moses.
27:22 I wish the story ended right there.
27:25 I always read this and wish the story ended right there.
27:28 When I was thinking about this, it reminds me of
27:31 people that have testimonies that are too long.
27:35 They keep on talking until they talk themselves out of the
27:38 initial blessing.
27:39 They keep meandering and their story gets so long
27:41 that sometimes they forget.
27:43 They've said so much that they have talked themselves
27:45 beyond the blessing.
27:46 Sometimes your testimony has got to be short and to the point.
27:50 God is good, amen.
27:53 Here's the fruit.
27:55 But that's not the end of the story.
27:56 Look at verses 28 and 29.
27:58 "Nevertheless..."
28:00 Oh, I wish that wasn't in the Bible.
28:30 "How are we going to get in there?"
28:32 They forgot what God said.
28:35 God said, "I'm going to give it to you."
28:38 You know, when...
28:39 I tell you, sometimes you've got to dream.
28:42 Sometimes you've got to go beyond reality.
28:44 Because sometimes reality is not always reality.
28:47 The reality of the matter is, we have things in our lives
28:50 that if it really relied on our finances,
28:53 it wouldn't happen.
28:54 But God's got a window somewhere that opens up every now and then
28:58 and pours out a blessing on His children
29:00 that there's not room enough to receive it.
29:01 Can you say amen to that?
29:03 Sometimes we look at people, like I'm looking at
29:05 Resa tonight, I remember when Resa was
29:06 struggling with cancer.
29:08 How we looked at her on many days when she sat up there
29:11 in the mother's room and had her little mask over her face,
29:13 and we thought, "Is she going to survive?"
29:17 And I look at her now, her hair is all grown back,
29:20 her color has returned.
29:22 And I believe that has happened because we serve a God that
29:25 she trusted in no matter what we saw.
29:28 She still trusted God. Amen?
29:30 You cannot base your faith on always the things you see.
29:34 And the fact of the matter is, as I think about what they said,
29:37 everything that they said was true.
29:39 And you know what, you don't have to tell a lie
29:42 to sow seeds of unbelief.
29:44 But what was wrong with this story is they suggested
29:47 that the task of getting into Canaan required more strength
29:52 than they had.
29:53 They said, "We can't do it.
29:55 They're strong, the cities are large, the people are giants,
29:58 the walls are fortified and very large.
30:00 They've got the sea cut off, they've got the gates blocked."
30:04 But I want to tell you, that's what faith is all about.
30:08 You could look at a situation and say, "I can't it,"
30:10 and God says, "I know that.
30:12 That's why I'm God."
30:13 There's no situation that we could be in
30:15 that God cannot handle.
30:18 That's why God is God.
30:20 But there was a deeper problem there.
30:22 Look at Hebrews 3 and verse 12.
30:24 It was not that God didn't give them enough evidence,
30:27 but it was a deeper problem.
30:30 It was a deeper issue here.
30:32 Hebrews 3 verse 12, the Bible says...
30:46 I'd like to suggest at this point that ten of the
30:49 twelve men that went to spy out the land had problems already.
30:53 Because Joshua and Caleb evidently didn't.
30:56 They came back with a good report.
30:58 I would suggest to you that the problem is not that God
31:01 can't reveal Himself.
31:02 But if there's something wrong in your heart
31:04 while God is trying to change that,
31:07 sometimes that's evil heart.
31:10 They didn't say they had a heart of unbelief.
31:11 It was an evil heart.
31:12 Which meant ten of those twelve leaders were already
31:16 leaning away from believing God.
31:19 So they went with their minds already made up.
31:21 And by the time they got there instead of focusing on
31:23 all the good things that they could see,
31:25 they focused on all the bad.
31:28 That's the difference between a chicken and an eagle.
31:32 There's no such thing as Kentucky fried eagle.
31:34 Can you say amen to that?
31:36 Kentucky fried chicken, because you can catch those.
31:39 They spend all their time on the ground picking
31:41 whatever you throw at them.
31:44 But those of us who are eagles in the will of God,
31:47 we will mount up with wings like eagles.
31:49 We will run and not be weary, we'll walk and not faint.
31:52 They went to Canaan with chicken hearts
31:55 and came back with a chicken report.
32:00 When you read the story, Joshua and Caleb said, "Enough.
32:03 We can go up at once and possess the land."
32:05 But the fact of the matter is, they had already tipped
32:07 the scale so that so many of the people were affected.
32:12 Look at verse 32.
32:14 They believed the leaders rather than believing God's promise.
32:17 They believed what they heard rather than what
32:20 God showed them.
32:21 Verse 32 of Numbers chapter 13.
32:44 I've got to say this right here.
32:45 Stop magnifying the obstacles and start magnifying the Lord.
32:49 Come on, help me out somebody.
32:51 That's why David in Psalms said, "Magnify the Lord
32:54 and let us rejoice and praise Him together."
32:57 We could put a magnifying glass on the hole in the wall
33:04 or we could put a magnifying glass on the promises of God.
33:07 They magnified the men that they saw
33:10 rather than the God that promised He was going to
33:14 bless them with that land.
33:16 I tell you, there's some people nowadays...
33:17 I had a discussion with somebody that said, "You guys
33:20 believe that heaven is for real.
33:21 What evidence do you have that heaven is for real?"
33:24 I said, "What year is this?" They said, "2014."
33:26 I said, "2014 what?"
33:29 Anno Domini. You know what that means?
33:31 In the year of our Lord.
33:33 That means even in atheist countries they rely on the
33:36 calendar which the dating began A.D., Anno Domini,
33:41 after Jesus.
33:43 If even atheists today have to put 2014,
33:47 they couldn't put 2014 unless something happened
33:50 2014 years ago.
33:51 Come on, say amen to that.
33:53 Even the atheist countries have got to go by a system that was
33:56 determined by a man called Jesus.
34:00 No matter what culture you go to, everybody has evidence
34:02 that He walked the earth.
34:04 They may not all say He's the Christ or the one
34:06 who brings them salvation, but there is no doubt.
34:08 Matter of fact, when you read the Bible in James,
34:11 there are no atheists among demons.
34:14 They're so convinced that God exists that the belief of God
34:17 makes them tremble.
34:18 That shows you that some men are far beyond demons.
34:22 Their belief in God has evaporated,
34:24 but the demons still to this day believe that God exists.
34:27 Matter of fact, when Jesus came to a demoniac man,
34:30 they said to him, "Have you come to torment us before our time?"
34:34 Even the demons know.
34:36 Matter of fact, the devil knows.
34:37 He knows he has but a short time.
34:40 Amen for that.
34:41 These men, they magnified the obstacles
34:44 and they did not magnify the Lord.
34:46 And this was the act that sealed the fate
34:49 of the children of Israel.
34:50 Look at Hebrews chapter 3 verses 16 to 19.
34:54 This is a sad commentary.
34:56 It didn't need to be there, it didn't need to be this way.
34:59 But the verses read as follows...
35:39 I thought about that.
35:41 Unbelief is a seed that keeps producing a harvest
35:43 long after the first harvest has been gathered in.
35:49 The unbelief that was sown in the wilderness
35:52 was still alive more than 1500 years later.
35:55 You would think that all those that died out in the wilderness,
35:58 20 years old and over of all the males,
36:01 you would think that when the last one of them died
36:04 that unbelief had ended.
36:05 But that's not the case.
36:06 Look at John chapter 5 verse 46.
36:08 When Jesus came, He had to deal with the same old unbelief.
36:12 Among the family line, those that had followed along,
36:17 somehow unbelief still filtered through to the children
36:19 and the children's children.
36:22 Look at John 5 verse 46.
36:24 The Lord goes right back to that same example.
36:27 He said...
36:40 "If you don't belief Moses..."
36:41 They didn't believe Moses.
36:42 "If you don't believe Moses, there's no way
36:44 you're going to believe Me."
36:45 Matter of fact, they had problems.
36:47 They said that, "This well was given to us by
36:49 Abraham our father."
36:50 And the Lord said to them, "Abraham?
36:52 Before Abraham was, I AM."
36:55 Don't ever point your blessings to a human vessel.
36:58 Our blessings are always the result of a divine vessel.
37:04 Today for us to believe in Jesus we must believe in His Word.
37:09 For us to believe His Word, we must believe in Jesus.
37:13 You can't believe just His Word, you've got to believe in Him.
37:16 You can't just believe in Him, you've got to believe His Word.
37:19 That's why Jesus confronted the children of Israel.
37:21 He said to the disciples, "You believe in God,
37:24 believe also..." Where? "...in Me."
37:29 Unbelief in the Hero undermines the power of the Word.
37:33 Look at Hebrews 4 and verse 2.
37:35 Hebrews 4 and verse 2.
37:53 You know, I've discovered today that preaching
37:55 is not the problem.
37:56 Preaching is not the problem.
37:58 Preaching is not the problem.
38:00 Believing is.
38:02 In the parable of the sower...
38:06 ...the Lord is the Sower.
38:08 The seed is His Word.
38:11 How could Jesus sow good seed, and still seventy-five percent
38:17 of those that heard it had no positive effect by it?
38:25 Shallow ground, stony ground, thorny ground.
38:30 The seed was good.
38:31 God's Word is always good.
38:32 I'm always amazed by that.
38:33 I've somehow found a way to relieve myself.
38:37 Sometimes I would go away and I'd say,
38:39 "Did I not make a good enough appeal?
38:41 Was it something that I said or something that I didn't say?"
38:43 And I've discovered, it's not always the preacher.
38:46 Sometimes it's the soil.
38:48 That was the issue with the children of Israel.
38:50 It was not the Word, it was not the promises of God,
38:52 it was not Moses, it was not what they saw in Canaan.
38:55 It was the heart.
38:57 Deceitful above all things and desperately wicked.
39:00 An evil heart of unbelief.
39:03 But on the other side, the Word of God is effective
39:06 to those that believe.
39:07 Look at 1 Thessalonians chapter 2 and verse 13.
39:10 Look at that very quickly with me.
39:12 1 Thessalonians chapter 2 and verse 13.
39:37 Nothing wrong with God's Word.
39:39 You've got to put it in and you've got to believe.
39:41 You've got to put it in and you've got to believe.
39:44 It works in those who believe it.
39:46 The Bible is one of the best books ever written,
39:48 but it's not a text book.
39:50 It's a living book.
39:52 It's a book from the living God.
39:54 It's the only living book on the planet.
39:56 The proof of its life is, every time you read it
39:58 you find some new nugget that can encourage you
40:01 and strengthen you for the entire day.
40:03 Amen?
40:04 It's a living book, but it only works in those who believe.
40:07 Satan not only leads men to disbelieve God's Word,
40:10 he introduces theories and false doctrines that are
40:13 contrary to the Bible.
40:15 But the problem is, because the hearers don't study
40:17 they are easily deceived.
40:18 Look at Romans chapter 16 verses 17 and 18.
40:21 Look at the Bible, as it makes it very clear
40:24 how deception works, how unbelief is undermined.
40:27 How belief is undermined.
40:41 The King James Version says, "Mark those."
40:43 Avoid them.
40:58 That's why it's so amazingly necessary to study God's Word.
41:03 The Bible says that the Word of God, "making wise the simple."
41:09 Remember that song you use to sing?
41:10 Making wise the simple.
41:13 Those that don't study the Word of God are sitting ducks
41:17 waiting for smooth talking preachers, both in the truth
41:21 and out of the truth, to come along and deceive you.
41:25 I know folk that were raised in the Adventist church.
41:27 Now they boast about being a member
41:29 of a different denomination.
41:30 And I'm not saying that people of another
41:31 denomination are lost.
41:32 But I'm simply saying, you can't walk away from light
41:35 and walk into darkness and think you're still in the light.
41:38 Amen?
41:39 You can't do that.
41:40 But there are those that walk out of the light
41:42 and boast about, "Well you guys are bound,
41:45 still keeping the Sabbath.
41:46 You know, you're still trying to be saved by keeping the law."
41:49 I'm not trying to be saved by keeping the law.
41:52 But because I am saved in Jesus,
41:53 "If you love Me, keep My commandments."
41:55 Come on, say amen to that.
41:57 But we're living in an age of contrary doctrine.
42:00 That's what Paul pointed out.
42:02 Who do you think Sunday sacredness, and the
42:05 secret rapture, and the immortality of the soul,
42:08 and eternally burning hell, who do you think that comes from?
42:11 Contrary doctrine.
42:13 Now I don't want to spend a lot of time on it,
42:15 but we've got our own contrary doctrine
42:17 in our own denomination.
42:19 Don't want to spend a whole lot of time,
42:20 because there's some things that some of you never heard about.
42:23 I don't want to even put the seed there to make you
42:25 investigate darkness.
42:26 But as a pastor when we travel around,
42:28 even sometimes I get phone calls, or sometimes I'm in a
42:31 particular area, and somebody says,
42:33 "Well help me understand this.
42:35 Has our church missed this doctrine?"
42:37 And I say, "No, our church hasn't missed it.
42:39 But somebody went out and developed a
42:41 new contrary doctrine."
42:44 And unfortunately people are running after
42:47 the devil's rabbits.
42:49 They're trying to figure out whether
42:50 this is true and that is true.
42:51 You know, my brethren, God has not passed His people by
42:54 and given one man here and one man there something that
42:58 His entire denomination has missed.
43:00 Can you say amen to that?
43:02 There are those that come along and preach division.
43:04 They say, "If you follow us, then we have new light."
43:08 New?
43:09 It just means you haven't read it yet,
43:11 but it's always been there.
43:12 Amen.
43:13 But look what happens.
43:14 Look at how the devil undermines our faith.
43:16 1 Timothy 4 and verse 1, here's what Paul says...
43:35 That's the age in which we live.
43:36 Demonic doctrines.
43:38 And you know what some of them say?
43:39 "Well Pastor, you don't believe it because
43:41 you haven't studied it."
43:43 You know what?
43:44 I don't need to spend all my time, I worked in a bank,
43:48 I don't need to spend all my time looking at all the
43:50 counterfeit bills.
43:51 I just need to spend my time studying the true bill.
43:54 What do you say?
43:55 If you study the truth of God's Word, you can spot a
43:58 three legged rabbit any day.
44:03 I have to go through all the species of rabbits
44:05 to figure out, is there a three legged rabbit I missed?
44:07 No, just look at the four legged ones.
44:09 If a three legged rabbit comes along
44:11 and they say this is a new one that just got created,
44:14 you better run to the hills.
44:15 Amen.
44:16 By the way, the word, "depart," there comes from the
44:19 Greek word, "apostasia," which means, "apostasy."
44:23 Look at 2 Thessalonians 2 and verse 3.
44:25 He makes it even clearer.
44:26 He unfolds it even more.
44:28 Why is unbelief waning in the last days
44:30 even among those claiming they have the truth?
44:32 Look at what the Bible says...
44:54 When I study this, sometimes I talk to...
44:56 You know what?
44:57 I've got to just tell it to you the way I wrote it down.
44:59 The most effective and deceptive opponents of the church
45:02 are former members.
45:05 The most wicked ones that you've got to deal with
45:08 are people that use to stand where you stand.
45:13 That's why Paul says, "After my departing
45:15 grievous wolves will enter into the flock,
45:17 not sparing the flock,
45:19 drawing disciples away after themselves."
45:21 You've got to worry about people that know the truth
45:24 but whose hearts are not converted.
45:26 I remember when I was a young man back in New York City.
45:28 This little offshoot group called The Shepherd's Rod
45:31 tried to get me when I just started coming back
45:33 into the church.
45:34 They tried to pull me out.
45:37 And I went back to studying God's Word
45:39 and studying the things that they said were new light
45:42 in the writings in Ellen White.
45:43 And I discovered it's not new light.
45:44 It's been there all along.
45:46 But they twisted that, and that's exactly what happens.
45:49 Look what the Bible says in 2 Thessalonians chapter 2
45:51 and verses 11 and 12.
45:53 This is what happens.
45:54 The inevitability is condemnation.
45:58 And the Bible says...
46:19 Their love for unrighteousness was preferred above
46:25 belief in the truth.
46:27 And the fact of the matter is, belief in the truth is the
46:29 antidote to unrighteousness.
46:31 It's the antidote to deception.
46:33 You believe the truth, you won't be deceived.
46:35 You accept the truth, you cannot be deceived.
46:37 You believe the truth, you cannot have a faith
46:39 that turns into unbelief.
46:42 But I also discovered something else.
46:44 It's possible to look like a believer when in fact
46:46 the people that sometimes you condemn end up
46:49 becoming a believer before you do.
46:52 Look what Jesus confronted in His day.
46:54 Matthew 21, this is what He said about the Pharisees.
46:57 They looked like believers, but they had
47:00 evil hearts of unbelief.
47:01 Matthew 21 verses 31 to 32.
47:04 Notice what the Bible says.
47:07 "Jesus said to them..." That is to the Pharisees.
47:33 Oh my brothers and sisters, don't get settled
47:35 in looking religious.
47:37 Have a connection with God that's based on the validity
47:40 and the veracity and the tried foundation
47:44 of His unchanging Word.
47:47 Don't just get content in looking religious.
47:50 The harlots and the tax collectors and sinners
47:51 did not look religious.
47:53 The Pharisees did.
47:54 But they ended up believing, and the Pharisees rejected,
47:58 the very knowledge that Jesus was the Christ.
48:01 And so here are the three things that I want to point out
48:03 that will help your belief become strong.
48:05 Mark 9 verse 23.
48:07 Belief results in strong Christians.
48:09 Mark 9 verse 23, look at what the Bible says...
48:17 How many things are possible?
48:25 How many things?
48:26 All things.
48:28 Sometimes people take that and twist that and try to
48:31 use that "all things" to manipulate themselves
48:33 into personal selfishness.
48:35 Whenever it is within the plan of God, it's possible.
48:39 God is not a God who's a grocery store.
48:41 God is not a "bless me only" kind of God.
48:44 And one of the things that really troubles me about
48:46 this generation is people are more concerned about
48:48 God's blessings than God's righteousness.
48:52 Listen to some of those television preachers.
48:55 "Send for your prayer cloth so God can bless you."
48:57 "Get your anointing oil so God can bless you."
48:59 "If you bless me, I'll bless you."
49:01 "God will bless you if you sow a seed."
49:03 Sometimes I hear the word, "sow a seed," or the phrase,
49:05 "sow a seed," and it just sickens me because
49:07 I know what's going to follow that.
49:08 "If you sow a seed of a thousand dollars,
49:11 God is going to bless you."
49:13 And folk go to their graves broke because these
49:15 smooth talking preachers living in their 18,000 square foot
49:20 houses and their many mansions and their bars and their cars.
49:25 Like this new show, The Preachers of LA.
49:27 They've got bling more than they have a connection
49:31 to the living God.
49:33 You've got to have a connection.
49:35 Belief results in strong Christians.
49:38 Secondly, Romans 1 verse 16.
49:41 Belief connects the Christian to spiritual power.
49:43 Notice Paul's writings, Romans 1 and verse 16.
49:47 He says...
50:08 Salvation for those who believe.
50:12 Salvation for those who believe.
50:15 You cannot have an evil heart of unbelief.
50:18 One person said to me, and I'll never forget this,
50:21 he said to me, "How come I pray
50:23 and my prayers don't get answered?"
50:26 I said, "That's not my fault.
50:28 I pray and my prayers get answered."
50:29 Amen, somebody?
50:31 Don't blame God...
50:32 He said, "I've prayed for the sick and they died anyway.
50:35 I prayed for God to heal somebody and they died anyway."
50:40 So now you're upset with God because
50:41 God didn't listen to your will?
50:45 I said, "Have you heard of the resurrection?"
50:48 "Well no, that's not what I asked for.
50:50 I asked for God to heal them."
50:51 He will in the resurrection.
50:53 Help me out, somebody.
50:55 If God stepped into every situation in this life,
50:59 this would be heaven.
51:00 But this is not heaven.
51:03 This is earth.
51:04 This is not heaven.
51:05 So God's sovereignty decides to let some go
51:08 and some be laid to rest.
51:10 A number of years ago I found a text in Isaiah 57.
51:14 The righteous die and no one takes it to heart
51:16 that God allows them to be laid to rest to be spared
51:20 from the evil that is to come.
51:23 You never know what a person's future holds.
51:25 Just trust the sovereignty of God.
51:27 When you trust the sovereignty of God,
51:29 belief in God will make you realize that belief in God
51:33 brings with it the unashamed context of the gospel,
51:37 and you'll experience the spiritual power
51:39 because you believe.
51:41 Belief also assures us that God is listening when we pray.
51:44 Look at Matthew 21 and verse 22.
51:48 Matthew 21 and verse 22, look at this one.
51:52 Sometimes people pray.
51:54 The Lord said...
52:04 Oh I can spend the rest of the night talking about that,
52:06 how that works.
52:08 You see, the thing is you've got to understand God's Word.
52:11 When you study God's Word, you learn how to pray.
52:16 When you read God's Word, you learn how to pray.
52:20 Let me use an analogy.
52:21 You don't go to a person that is a seamstress
52:25 and ask them to build a house for you.
52:28 Because they ain't going to do it.
52:30 You don't go to a person that bakes bread
52:32 and ask them to build an engine for you,
52:34 because they're not going to do it.
52:36 You've got to understand God's Word.
52:38 You will have your prayers answered when you pray
52:43 in harmony with God's list of promises.
52:47 But sometimes people try to add what God never put in His Word,
52:51 and then manipulate God to try to get Him to answer that.
52:54 "Lord, I need a jet."
52:55 You don't need a jet, you need a new heart.
53:03 But then you also add, if God wants to give you a jet,
53:05 He can give you one.
53:06 If you need it. Amen.
53:11 But as I wind up this message, the good news is there is a
53:15 solution to unbelief.
53:17 You don't have to end up on the outside of Canaan.
53:20 We don't have to end up on this side of the promise of God.
53:24 We can make it in this time because the God that led Israel
53:28 is still leading us today.
53:30 The God that opened the gate for Israel to go in
53:33 is still leading us today.
53:34 The God that led them out of Egypt led us out of our
53:37 darkness into this marvelous light.
53:39 And brothers and sisters, my commitment,
53:41 and I believe that yours should be the same,
53:43 you should commit yourself to keep following the Lord
53:45 until the journey is over.
53:47 And when it's done, you need to look down because
53:51 you'll be standing on streets of gold.
53:52 Amen, somebody.
53:54 Don't quit now.
53:56 You don't quit when you're near the journey's end.
53:58 But you've got to be a praying man.
54:00 You've got to be a praying woman.
54:02 You have to be reading your Bible, taking God's promises.
54:06 You can't claim what you don't know.
54:08 And when you don't know God's promises,
54:10 the devil can come along and sow anything in your heart
54:13 because your heart has not been furnished.
54:15 That's why David said, "Thy word have I hid in my heart,"
54:17 in my heart, my mind, my life,
54:19 "that I might not sin against Thee."
54:21 You've got to put something in there
54:24 to get something to come out when times are difficult.
54:26 And when times are good, God will bring those blessings
54:30 to the forefront.
54:31 There is a solution to unbelief.
54:32 Acts chapter 16 and verse 31.
54:35 Notice what the Bible says.
54:43 And so tonight I want to say, there is a way for unbelief
54:47 to be replaced with faith.
54:48 There is a way for doubt to be replaced with assurance.
54:52 There is a way for cheap grace to be replaced with
54:55 blessed assurance.
54:56 There is a way for eternal loss to be replaced with
55:01 eternal life.
55:03 You don't need to drown in the sea called, unbelief.
55:08 You don't need to fall for the devil's lies.
55:12 I would guarantee you that there's no way that you could
55:14 study and pray and read and talk to God...
55:17 Sometimes I talk to God like He's right there.
55:19 I just talk out loud, regular voice tones.
55:22 I don't whisper.
55:23 You don't always have to bow your knees to talk to God.
55:27 You can walk through your house to talk to God.
55:28 Anybody know what I'm talking about?
55:30 You can drive in your car and say,
55:31 "God, is this the right direction?"
55:34 "Well God, am I going the right way?"
55:36 God will lead us.
55:37 "Lean not on your own understanding;
55:39 in all your ways..." Do what?
55:41 "...acknowledge Him and He'll direct your path."
55:43 The children of Israel, with all the knowledge and
55:46 all the vicissitude that God had given to them,
55:49 they pushed it all aside and they banked their destination
55:52 on their own ability to decide what direction to go.
55:58 When I read that story, it's a sad one because
56:01 the journey from Egypt to Canaan was just a few weeks.
56:03 But they ended up for 40 years meandering in the maze
56:07 called, the wilderness of sin.
56:10 Tonight there is a way for eternal loss to be replaced
56:14 with eternal life.
56:16 I want to read my favorite text tonight, I think you know it.
56:18 John 3:16, are you ready?
56:20 Let's read it together.
56:36 Salvation is not only what you believe,
56:38 but in Whom you believe.
56:40 If you believe in Jesus, you will believe His Word.
56:43 If you believe His Word, you would be walking in the light.
56:46 If you're walking in the light, you will be a witness for Jesus.
56:50 If you are a witness for Jesus, others will come
56:54 to believe in Him.
56:56 Brothers and sisters, don't miss this.
56:58 We are nearing our journey's end.
57:02 There's no better time to begin to believe the
57:05 promises of God than now.
57:07 Can you say amen?
57:08 I'm going to keep going until He comes.
57:10 I'm going to keep trusting His Word.
57:12 I'm going to bank my future on the promises of
57:15 God's written Word.
57:17 I'm going to keep in touch with Him through prayer
57:18 and lean upon the everlasting arms.
57:21 And when He comes, unbelief will be gone
57:24 because we will be leaving this earth eternally.
57:27 God bless you. Trust Him.
57:29 Get rid of unbelief.
57:30 Let us pray.


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Revised 2014-12-17