The Perils  of Unbelief
 Hebrews  3:7-22

Intro.:

1. Long, long ago lived a man named Abraham. Abraham was 99 years old when the Lord appeared to him and said, Abraham, I am going to give you and your children the land in which you are a stranger. Yours children shall possess it and live there. They shall have abundance and plenty. They shall be happy and loved. But tragedy stuck the grandchildren of Abraham. There was a great famine that came on the grandchildren of Abraham. Grain was hard to get; people were dying of starvation
cattle were thin at the ribs and often dropped dead from the lack of feed. Sheep endured long but soon they died. But word came that in the land of Egypt there was food. After a number of trips to get food the  grandchildren of Abraham moved to Egypt. There they had plenty. The cows became fat again; the sheep were plump and round. The children were fat, they families were happy now that they had food.
They grew in number. And soon the Egyptians were afraid of them because were so many. The King of Egypt began to tighten up the control over them. Soon the children of Abraham were struck in slavery. They were oppressed. They were made to build and dig and do all the dirty work of the country. Happiness now was something of the past. The people were slaves. This seems a far cry from the promised land where they would live in peace and happiness.

2. As the people began to cry to God and seek his help, he sent a man by the name of Moses. Moses was a great leader and he knew God personally. One day God sent Moses to the King and demanded the release of the grandchildren of Abraham. After
many miracles performed by Moses thru the power of God, the King drove them out of the country. Now they were on their way to the promised land....the land where they would have everything. From slavery to riches...that was the motto. They traveled thru a wilderness type of land and finally came to the edge of the promised land. Moses then sent a group of 12 spies to scout the land and the people and fortresses. The men secretly searched the land: As they returned they brought one cluster of grapes that needed two men to carry. They brought juicy pomegranates, and tasty figs. They told Moses that it was a land of plenty...a land flowing with milk and honey but the people in it are giants and are very strong. Ten of the men said, we cannot go into the land because of the great people. We were as grasshoppers  beside them. All the people began to lift up their voice and weep and cry. Then they began to murmur against the Lord‘s servant Moses. They were going to stone him and elect  a new leader who would take them back to the slavery of Egypt. Just as they were going to stone Moses and kill him, The Lord appeared and saved him. He said, "Because of their rebellion, because of their unbelief, every person over 20 years of age shall die in the wilderness and shall not enter into this great land.

3. The writer to the Hebrews at this point looks at that great event and pleads with the Christians of his day. Unbelief is a dangerous thing. Unbelief in the small amount
has its consequences. It is a dangerous thing to disbelieve God. When God speaks, he is not to be ignored.

I. Unbelief hardens your heart.

l. They Israelites had seen the works of God. They had done things no other human beings have done. They marched thru the Red Sea. They as a nation had been feed for 4O years in the wilderness on manna. Their clothing never needed replacement
for 40 years. Yet in spite of all this, they had no belief that God could do for them in the future. This unbelief was detrimental to the Israelites. It was their dawn fall. They
hardened their hearts. They would not believe that God could continue working. Unfortunately, the Israelites were always like that. Even the children who enter the land were stubborn. They hardened their hearts also. Ezekiel in later years 3:6
went to them with the word of the Lord and he told them to repent but they would not. On this occasion the Lord told Ezekiel, 'Thou art not sent to a people of a strange speech and of an hard language but to the house of Israel, surely had I  sent thee to a people of strange speech and of a hard language, whose words thou canst
not understand, they would have listened to you." Several years later Zechariah said much the same 7:11. They refused to listen and pulled their shoulder away and stopped their ears. They hardened their hearts. They did not believe that God was true to his word.

2. Do you not fall into the same pit?   The voice of God comes to us that we need to pray and seek his face.  We shrug our shoulders and say that prayer is for the sick and old people. Or prayer is for the getting too old to pray. Besides, I prayed once
and nothing happened  so I haven’t  prayed since. Our hearts have become hardened to things that are spiritual. We want to carry on a form of worship but we don't want it do demand too much of us. We want religion but we don‘t want it to rule our lives. We want to be religious but we don’t want to carry it too far. We want religion but we must not let it interfere with our activities. We want to live good clean lives but to  be Christ like and spiritually aware, is too much.

3. Do you not find unbelief hardening your heart. You pay attention to the parts of the Bible that you want to and let other parts slip ignored. Unbelief does that with God's word. It hardens your heart to the parts you don't want to practice.
There is a lesson to be learned from concrete.  When it is first put together it is soft and pliable, but when it becomes hard it is  has to be chipped or cracked to make changes. Such is the heart when it becomes hardened against obedience.

II. Unbelief brings disobedience. 10

1. Unbelief brings forth disobedience. The Scripture says that they do always err in their heart; and they have not known my way. Each Israelite was a little bundle of
disobedience in himself. They did not want to walk the same road with God. Theirs was the story of the prodigal son over and over. They did not believe God so they disobeyed. When you and I don’t believe then we disobey. Zedekiah was a promising young ruler of Judah. He was young and he could have pulled the nation out of chaos but in the Scripture we are told that he would not humble himself before the Lord. Because he would not trust God,  because he did not believe the word of the Lord and he hardened his heart. His first disobedience act that he performed
was the rebellion against Nebuchadnezzar. Even then he had a chance to repent but (2 Chao. 36:l3 ) the Scripture says he hardened his heart from turning unto the Lord God of Israel.

2. One of the classic examples of unbelief and disobedience in the O.T. is the story of Achan.  After Moses and died, Joshua became the leader after the 40 years in the wilderness. The Lord  told Joshua to lead the people into the land God had promised Abraham. In addition the Lord told Joshua to destroy all  the inhabitants and all the  silver and gold and vessels of brass and iron were to be brought to the treasury of the Lord. Nothing was to be kept by anyone. Most everyone heeded the word of the Lord.  But there was one in the camp that did not. Anchan was his name. The day came for the battle against Ai. They went up to battle on the appointed day. The men charged with their swords. There was the clashing of cold steel. The blood ran down the center of the sword. There were cries of death. Among the soldiers there was one who was half fighting and half looking around. While the others fought he found some silver and gold and some costly garments and when his eyes were not on the battle they were glued to the garments.  Soon the battle was going against the Israelites. As they retreated Achan picked up the loot and took it back and hid it in his tent. The Israelites were beaten. They did not know why until the Lord came and informed Joshua that someone had sinned against the Lord. Achan was found guilty and was stoned to death

3. How much like Achan we become. The Lord says and we do; he says do this and we don't.  The Lord tells us to keep his day holy and in reverence and we pay no attention to the Lord. He tells us to be stewards of all that and we do not believe him and go squander his blessings. The Lord tells us to be examples in all that we do, but we don’t  believe him and we are examples only when we want to be. The Lord  tells us to be separate from the world-to come out from among people who have unclean minds and habits and we show our unbelief by living and playing with them.

4. Take heed to yourselves brethern , lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.

III. Unbelief Brings Judgement  18-19

1.  Judgement did come upon the 600,000 who rebelled. They were in sight of the  promised land and at the crucial point they rebelled. It was then that their unbelief cost most. It was the most serious then. God said to them: Ye shall not enter and instead your carcasses shall fall in the wilderness. With the promised land in sight they turned again into the wilderness. They went straight from the hope to the hopelessness. During 40 years time 600,000 dropped dead. l5,000 a year bit the dust.
41 people a day. Every two hours there was weeping over three people who had died. Tears were flowing constantly which could only remind them of their unbelief. Judgement was now upon them and there was much sadness.

2. Just last week in S.S. we were learning about a young king who muffed his chance. Samuel was chosen to be king over Israel. Saul was a promising young man capable of being a great King. But in the moment of crisis; in the time he needed to believe God he did not and judgement came upon him. The prophet Samuel came and said unto him, "Thou hast done foolishly: thou hast not kept the commandment of the Lord thy God, which he commanded thee: for now would the Lord have established thy kingdom upon Israel forever. But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the Lord has chosen another captain over his people because thou hast not kept that which the Lord commanded thee." 1 Sam 13:13.

 3. In the book of Daniel we read of how that the Lord gave Nebuchadnezzar a kingdom and majesty, and glory and honor. His kingdom was so great that all people, nations and languages, trembled and feared before him: whom he would he slew; and whom he would he kept alive; and whom he would he set up; and whom he would he put down. But when his heart was lifted up and his mind hardened, the Lord brought judgement upon him and took him from his throne and glory and he was driven from among the sons of men; and he lived like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild animals and his body was exposed to the dew of heaven. The Lord did all of this to him until he knew that the most high God ruled in the kingdom of men and that God appointed over it whomsoever he will.

4. Somewhere along the way we Christians have said to ourselves,  I’m a Christian I won't have to endure punishment for my sins. We have said that Christ died for our sins so we are free of the punishment for them. That is true, but here in this life we have to pay for the consequences of unbelief and disobedience. The Lord chastens those that he loves. If you are living out of fellowship with him, you can't help but feel alone. The Lord will use means to reprove you and bring you back again to
himself. If a Christian sins with his body by the use of filthy habits he is going to pay for those sins in the life right now. The drunk ruins his health  and his body though he has found forgiveness with God. The excessive smoker finds the some truth in smoking. Nicotine takes it told though a man has forgiveness with God.

5. Judgement came upon them because of unbelief. They heard the word of God. They were told, you have been told. Don’t be like them and let unbelief bring ruin and judgement upon your life. Come clean with God and give yourself wholeheartedly to Him.

Concl.:

l. God has great blessings in store for you if you will give him yourself completely. Don’t make any reservations. During the World War II the Japanese gave the
world a startling demonstration on extreme  selflessness. In  their efforts to defend the Philippines from recapture in l944 they began the kamikaze raids. At first, Zero fighters carrying 250-kilo gram bombs crash-dived, pilots remaining in their cockpits, unto the decks of allied air-craft carriers. Later, rocket-powered 1800 kilogram missiles were attached to a “mother” bomber. When the bomber was within sight of a target ship, the missiles were released, a volunteer suicide pilot aboard each to guide it to an enemy ship. By the time Japan had surrendered, a total of 2519 men and officers of the Imperial Japanese  Navy, out of devotion to their emperor, had voluntarily sacrificed their lives in these ghastly attacks. God wants his People to be selfless and sacrificial, but He asks for a living sacrifice. He wants a life that believes
in him completely enough that whatever he wills you will do it.

2. Would you say that to God this morning. While we bow our heads would you say to God, I have been walking astray and in unbelief. By the lifted hand I will say to God... My life is thine. I will trust you completely and put you first in my life. Will you say to God, I will put Christ first in my life?