                    [Times Square Church Pulpit Series]

                          The Mother of All Sins!

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By David Wilkerson
December 06, 1993
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          I could list for you a whole catalog of sins that
          believing Christians practice. But none of these sins
          would come near to the sin that I want to talk about.
          This sin is the mother of all sins - the one that gives
          birth to all others. It is the sin of unbelief!

          I am not speaking of the unbelief of a hardened sinner.
          The unbelief of reprobates, agnostics and atheists does
          not move God at all. No, what angers God more than
          anything else is the unbelief and troubling doubts of
          those who call themselves by His name! Those who are
          His children - who say, "I am of Jesus" - and yet hold
          doubt, fear and unbelief in their hearts grieve Him
          more than all others!

          How seriously does God take this sin of unbelief? Jude
          warned the church with these words: "I will therefore
          put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how
          that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land
          of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not"
          (Jude 5).

          Jude is reminding them of God's attitude toward
          unbelief! He is saying, "I am bringing to your
          remembrance God's utter hatred for unbelief among His
          saved people. "Having saved the people, afterward He
          destroyed them that believed not!"

          Beloved, I believe God has called me today to put His
          church in remembrance of this same thing! "Now all
          these things happened unto them for examples: and they
          are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of
          the world are come" (1 Corinthians 10:11). God may no
          longer destroy His people physically as He did in the
          Old Testament. But His judgments on our unbelief today
          are spiritual - and they are just as severe!

          Instead of being struck down, we die spiritually. Just
          look around today at the multitudes of doubting,
          struggling Christians who are dead spiritually. They
          are faltering, wavering, doubting, constantly fearing,
          never entering into the joy and peace of the Lord. They
          are no longer rooted and grounded - but instead are
          filled with unbelief and hardness of heart!

          Unbelief is just as destructive today as it ever was.
          We may not turn into a pillar of salt - but we do
          become stiff-necked and bitter! The ground doesn't open
          up to swallow us - but we are swallowed by troubles,
          stress and family problems. Fire doesn't come down and
          consume us - but our spiritual life is destroyed!

          No, we don't die physically - but something within us
          dies. Our love dies. Conviction dies. Conscience dies.
          Peace dies. Hope dies. All the things that make our
          walk with Jesus sweet die because of the sin of
          unbelief!

          Because of our unbelief we fear all kinds of sins. The
          Puritans called these "bosom sins," those hidden
          within. We're afraid we'll fall back into habits that
          once controlled us - lust, fornication, alcoholism,
          gambling, adultery.

          Yet many of us are guilty of the mother of all sins -
          and we do not fear it. We do not take our unbelief
          seriously. We live as though God winks at it. And yet
          is the one sin that opens our body and spirit to every
          other sin known to mankind!

          Let me give you four reasons why this sin of unbelief
          is so dangerous - and why God so despises it in His
          people:

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                      Our Unbelief Makes God a Liar!

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          "He that believeth not God hath made him a liar;
          because he believeth not the record that God gave of
          his Son (1 John 5:10)

          Consider all the ugly sins listed against Israel in the
          wilderness; murmuring, complaining, idolatry,
          unthankfulness, rebellion, sensuality. Yet none of
          these provoked God's wrath. It was their unbelief that
          angered God!

          "And the Lord said unto Moses, How long will this
          people provoke me? and how long will it be ere they
          believe me, for all the signs which I have [showed]
          among them?" (Numbers 14:11).

          God said to Moses, "These people make a lie out of
          everything I've done for them! I've performed miracle
          after miracle - I've delivered them time after time.
          When will they ever trust and rest in Me?

          Stop for a moment and think about all the things God
          has done for you: He has kept you. He has answered this
          prayer, that prayer. He has met you in a crisis here, a
          crisis there. He has brought you through trials, fed
          you with manna from heaven, done things for you that
          are nothing short of miraculous.

          Yet now, as you face yet another crisis, do you still
          not trust Him to see you through? Perhaps you think,
          "But this time it's worse. I've never been in anything
          like this!" Oh yes, you have! Every crisis you've been
          in has required His miraculous provision - and He has
          delivered you time after time!

          Each time He delivers you, He hopes that in the next
          crisis you'll be relaxed and ready, praying, "Father, I
          turn this over to You. I'm not going to fret or worry
          because you've delivered me every time. And I know
          you'll deliver me now!"

          For thirty-eight long years Israel forgot God's Word
          and dismissed out of mind His miracles. And because
          they fell back so often into murmuring and unbelief,
          God said, "I will smite them with the pestilence, and
          disinherit them" (verse 12). He told Moses, "I'm giving
          up on My people - because they never will come to the
          place where they trust Me!"

          When Israel was on the victorious side of Jordan, Moses
          made a solemn declaration. He said:
          "Behold, the Lord thy God hath set the land before
          thee: go up and possess it... fear not, neither be
          discouraged.... Dread not, neither be afraid of them.
          The Lord your God which goeth before you, he shall
          fight for you...

          "Yet in this thing ye did not believe the Lord your
          God... And the Lord heard the voice of your words, and
          was wroth, and sware, saying, Surely there shall not
          one of these men of this evil generation see that good
          land, which I sware to give unto your fathers..."
          (Deuteronomy 1:21, 29-30, 32, 34-35).

          Beloved, God magnifies His Word above His name. He
          means every word He says. And all of these things God
          told Israel are the same things He has told us. I ask
          you - will we not also incur His wrath if we act in
          unbelief?

          Paul wrote: "... God, (who) cannot lie, promised [life
          eternal] before the world began" (Titus 1:2). And the
          author of Hebrews wrote: "... it (is) impossible for
          God to lie, [so that] we might have a strong
          consolation..." (Hebrews 6:18).

          Today God says to us clearly, "I can and I will." Yet
          how do we respond to His Word? We immediately question
          Him! "Can God do it? Will He do it?"

          We read His Word and hear all His promises from the
          pulpit. But then we go to our corner and fret because
          we don't see Him immediately doing what we think He
          should do for us. We are loaded with doubt and
          unbelief!

          When we do not let His Word anchor our souls - when we
          hear great and precious promises, then act as if we've
          been abandoned - we make God out to be a liar!

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                      2. Our Unbelief Today Is Worse -
                         Because It Is in The Face
                         of Even Greater Promises!

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          "...he [Christ] is the mediator of a better covenant,
          which was established upon better promises (Hebrews
          8:6)

          Under the Old Covenant, all the Israelites had was the
          promise that God would bless them if they obeyed.
          Today, under the New Covenant, we have a "better
          promise": He gives us strength enabling us to obey!

          This "better promise" means we all shall know Him. We
          don't just have a high priest who goes into God's
          presence for us. No - a veil was rent in two so we
          could all come into the presence of God!

          Consider all the Lord has promised us:

             * His law is written in our hearts. His Holy Spirit
               abiding in us. Christ Himself with us always.

             * Reconciliation with God. Healing, mercy and
               forgiveness through simple repentance and faith.

             * The power and authority to ask anything in Jesus'
               name. Power over sin. Power over Satan. No weapon
               able to prosper against us.

             * Access to the Father. A throne to run to in the
               hour of need. Deliverance from overwhelming
               temptations. Continual manifestations of the
               presence of Jesus.

             * Rest by simply asking and trusting. Peace beyond
               all human understanding. Freedom from fear all the
               days of our life. Abundant life.

          He's promised it all to us!

          Yet still so many Christians live in fear, doubt,
          confusion - always fretting. They don't believe Him or
          appropriate His precious Word. They act as though He
          never made such promises!

          The truth is, we have much less reason to doubt and
          fear than our forefathers did. Our enemies today aren't
          the Hittites and Jebusites - they are stress, fiery
          temptations of the flesh, weariness of body and mind, a
          violent and complex society, new and subtle evils that
          no other generation has faced. Yet God has promised us
          that where sin abounds - no matter how subtle or
          powerful it is - we have more grace to do battle with
          it than any other generation in history!

          Paul said of the Jews: "...because of unbelief they
          were broken off..." (Romans 11:20). And he warns us
          today:

          "Be not highminded, but fear: For if God spared not the
          natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not
          thee. Behold therefore the goodness and severity of
          God; on them which fell, severity; but toward thee,
          goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise
          thou also shalt be cut off" (verses 20-22).

          Hebrews also warns us: "Take heed, brethren, lest there
          be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in
          departing from the living God" (Hebrews 3:12)

          It doesn't matter how holy or righteous you think you
          are. If you do not have faith in the living Word -
          abiding in it, assimilating it, making it a part of
          your life - then you are in danger of departing from
          God!

          Search the Bible and see - there is not one example of
          God Sparing unbelief! He judged it in every one of His
          children, in every generation.

          Start with Eve, who doubted the truth of God's
          commandment in the Garden. Then go to the nobleman who
          was trampled to death for not believing God's word that
          starving Samaria would be flooded with food the next
          day. Go to Zacharias, John the Baptist's father, who
          was struck dumb for not believing God's word to him.
          Then go to this judgment in Jesus' day: "And he did not
          many mighty works there because of their unbelief"
          (Matthew 13:58).

          There has never been an instance when God excused
          unbelief - and He is not going to wink at it in these
          last days!

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                    3. We Lose Much of What Is Preached
                        to Us Because of Unbelief!

                      -------------------------------

          "... but the word preached did not profit them, not
          being mixed with faith in them that heard it" (Hebrews
          4:2).

          Do you ever wonder why the disciples were so ignorant
          of the ways of Christ and the eternal purposes of God?
          Why, after three years of sitting under the blessed
          preaching of the Savior of the world, they remained
          blind, unprepared for the things to come? I've
          constantly puzzled over this. Why was their
          understanding of the Cross and the Resurrection so
          limited?

          It was because they did not hear with faith! On several
          occasions Jesus had to rebuke them: "O fools, and slow
          of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken"
          (Luke 24:25).

          " Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith?" (Matthew
          8:26). They had little faith - hearts that were slow to
          believe His Word! And they were left empty, unprepared,
          confused - blinded by unbelief!

          If Jesus "marveled" at the unbelief during His time on
          earth, what must He think of ours? Nineveh repented
          after only one sermon, believing every word Jonah
          preached. Yet America has heard thousands of such
          warnings from many true prophets - but multitudes of
          so-called Spirit filled believers do not heed them!
          They say, "I don't want to hear that anymore." They put
          it all out of mind!

          Times Square Church has been in existence for six years
          now, and our congregation is full of well-fed
          believers. If over that period people came to just one
          of our services held each week, that means they've
          heard more than 300 messages. Yet I sometimes wonder:
          How much of what they've heard has been remembered and
          worked into their spiritual fiber?

          If God's Word is not assimilated by faith - if we do
          not ask Him in faith to help us receive and use it - we
          will end up picking and choosing only what we like. And
          we usually pick the blessings, mercies and comforts -
          and shake off the demands, reproofs and warnings!

          It is trust that makes God's Word work into our spirit.
          Faith stamps it into our personality and mind so that
          it is never forgotten!

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               4. Unbelief Shuts Off All Intimacy With God!

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          We preach much at our church about intimacy in prayer
          and spending quality time with the Lord. But you can
          pray twelve hours a day, weep and cry, groan in deep
          intercession; you can intercede for needs all over the
          world; you can walk all over the house, telling Jesus
          how much you love Him - yet it all can be profitless,
          pointless, a total waste!

          You may think, "Anybody who prays that long has got to
          have peace and joy. People will know she's been with
          Jesus. Surely something of God it taking place in her."

          No! All the praying in the world will not do you any
          good unless you mix it with faith!

          "But without faith it is impossible to please him: for
          he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that
          he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him"
          (Hebrews 11:6).

          You can fast and pray for three days or three weeks -
          but without faith, you will not please God! All your
          hours in prayer, all your petitions, all your "coming
          to Him" will profit you nothing unless your heart is
          anchored in faith!

          "...let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that
          wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind
          and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall
          receive anything of the Lord" (James 1:6-7).

          If you're spending two hours with God and yet never
          believe Him to answer you - you're embarrassing Him for
          two hours! It may make you feel good or feel holy - but
          in reality you're wasting time! You're giving God two
          hours of nothing but unbelief and doubt. You might as
          well be shopping or fishing!

          I know Christians who say they pray daily, often
          weeping before the Lord, yet nothing happens. They
          remain heavy-hearted, depressed. Their lives are always
          in turmoil. It is because they embarrassed the Lord by
          coming into His presence not fully persuaded He would
          do what He promised!

          "Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye
          desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and
          ye shall have them" (Mark 11:24). "and all things,
          whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall
          receive" (Matthew 21:22).

          The children of Israel spent more than thirty-eight
          years alone with God. Can you imagine it? It must have
          been like having church every day! They had the ark in
          their midst, daily sacrifices, the cloud of fire, a
          preacher who talked with God face-to-face.

          And yet God was angry with them - He slew every one of
          them! They all died in the wilderness with His wrath
          upon them. Why? Because they were full of unbelief and
          doubt!

          Scripture says of them: "And did all eat the same
          spiritual meat; and did all drink the same spiritual
          drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that
          followed them: and that Rock was Christ" (1 Corinthians
          10:3-4). Yet, in spite of all these blessings and
          provision, they had no faith! They spent a lifetime in
          a self-made hell of fear, despair and doubt!

          I believe most of God's people today live as spiritual
          paupers. Many are no longer willing to exercise faith
          because something happened to make them question God's
          love. Perhaps a love one died. Or an accident snuffed
          out the life of a wonderful Christian they knew. Or a
          sweet, tender child has a terminal illness, despite the
          fact his parents have given their all to God.

          Many say, "I just don't understand that. How can I
          trust God when I don't understand why He would allow
          such a thing?" There is no human answer to their
          confusion. And like Zion, they claim, "The Lord hath
          forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me" (Isaiah
          49:14).

          But God knows the end from the beginning. And only when
          we are in heaven will we understand why some of these
          winds and waves have tossed us - and why God allowed it
          all.

          Isaiah gave an answer - and I believe it is all we need
          to know for now:

          "Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should
          not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they
          may forget, yet will I not forget thee. Behold, I have
          graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are
          continually before me. Thy children shall make haste;
          thy destroyers and they that make thee waste shall go
          forth of thee" (verses 15-17).

          I couldn't try to explain any of the many sufferings
          and trials in the body of Christ. But God has given us
          His Word: "You're My child - you're written in the palm
          of My hand. Trust Me!"

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             Let Me Speak to You About the Cure for Unbelief!

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          I searched my reference books and found entire lists of
          ways to "cure" unbelief. But none of these dozens of
          things touched me. So I asked God for something very
          simple - and He gave me two thoughts on how I can rid
          my heart of unbelief:

            1. Lay hold upon every worry, fear and burden. Take
               them all to Jesus - and leave them on His
               shoulders!

               "Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for
               you" (1 Peter 5:7). Beloved, this is God's
               personal Word to you. It is His invitation, His
               request: "Put it all on Me! Don't carry it one
               hour longer. I care about everything that's
               happening to you. And I'm big enough to take it
               all for you!"

               Someone called me not long ago who was in real
               stress and needing a word of encouragement. But I
               was too overwhelmed myself that day to help. I was
               stressed out by so many problems, I couldn't
               handle one more. So I answered, "I'm sorry -
               you'll have to call some other time. I'm too
               overloaded."

               Thank God, He is never stressed out! He is never
               overloaded! His shoulders can carry the load of
               everyone of His children! And He urges us, "Lay it
               all on Me!" "Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he
               shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the
               righteous to be moved" (Psalm 55:22).

               Go down your list right now: "God, I give you
               this, and this, and that. I give you this burden,
               this trouble, that relationship, that problem..."
               And be fully convinced - He cares!

            2. Launch out in full faith on the written Word of
               God. Take up the Lord's challenge to live by His
               Word!

               "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every
               word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God"
               (Matthew 4:4). You've got to be able to say, "I'm
               going to live and die by God's Word to me!"

               I ask you - how is it we can trust His Word for
               our eternal salvation, but not for our daily needs
               and problems? We can believe Him for the hardest
               part. Why is it harder for us to believe for help,
               guidance and power over sin?

               "Now unto him that is able to keep you from
               falling, and to present you faultless before the
               presence of his glory with exceeding joy" (Jude
               24). God promised this to you - so let Him take on
               the burden of keeping you! Don't try to figure out
               how to do it. Just take Him at His Word. Simply
               pray: "Lord, You promised to keep me from falling
               - and I'm putting my eternal future on your
               promise. It is not my work now, but Yours!"

          Go to the Lord and challenge His Word. Tell Him you are
          going to stake your life on it! "Lord, I'm going to
          live and die by what You told me. No matter how I feel
          or what I'm going through, I'm going to commit myself
          to Your promises to me!"

          You will not live under guilt or condemnation any
          longer. You won't have to fret of worry or lie awake at
          night anymore. Instead, you will rest, because you're
          trusting in what He has promised you.

          Show Him you trust His every word - and be blessed!
          Amen!

          ---
          Used with permission granted by World Challenge, P. O.
          Box 260, Lindale, TX 75771 USA.

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