Let's have a look at the example of Israel. Remember we had the verse: the word that was preached didn't do them any good. Now they had Moses - imagine having Moses up here every Sunday preaching; and you know, the water parts - he goes out there and all the traffic stops. He holds his hand up, traffic all stops, everything just is amazing! Puts his hands up and stuff falls down, all manner of things in the meeting - wonderful! However, they saw it all, and still didn't believe.
Miracles can assist your faith, and power-boost it, but they don't necessarily generate faith inside you. The word is: what brings faith into your heart; and it says clearly they heard the word, saw the miracles, and still they never got anywhere. You don't want to be like that: meeting after meeting, Sunday after Sunday, never got anywhere. That's just like spinning your wheels, isn't it really? Going nowhere!
Now here's a few things you can tell, very clear evidence, when unbelief lies in their heart. Now in the Bible, when the word uses the word “unbelief”, it's exactly the same as the word translated “disobedience”; so to believe, means to do. To not do, means to not believe - that's what the Bible says. They hated Him, because of unbelief, because they actually didn't do what God said to do.
Now have at look at this here. It shows up in their life, and the people come back with a negative and evil report. Now look at this, Numbers 14:1.
So all the congregation lifted up their voices, and cried and wept that night. And the children of Israel complained against Moses, and Aaron, and the whole congregation.
Oh, if only we'd died in the land of Egypt! If only we'd died in the wilderness! Why has the Lord brought us into this land to fall by the sword, and that our wives and children should become victims? Wouldn't it be better for us to return to Egypt? So they said: let's get another leader, and go back there where we're familiar with.
I just want to show you that unbelief always shows up in our life. Here's the first way it shows up. It shows up with self-pity, and self-preoccupation, when we face difficulties in life.
Difficulties of life, they're common to everyone. How many people are going through a difficulty right now? You're facing some challenging situation? Okay, there's a lot of people facing challenges: financial, family, marriage, personal, all kinds of issues.
Here's the thing: How you respond - these things are there to help you grow. How you respond in it, is what determines what's going on in your heart.
Notice the first thing they did: they felt sorry for themselves; second thing, they started to complain. They gave voice to the unbelief that was in their heart, and they found someone to complain about.
You hear someone complaining - I hear unbelief. If I complain, you know what I'm really saying is: actually I cannot trust God, in the midst of this, to work out some good for me, and for all of them. That's what I'm saying.
That's why we saw in Philippians 2, that Verse we saw said that: God is working in you to will and do; He says now: do everything without murmuring and complaining.
Now how many heard that today? How many thought: that's for someone I know? See, that's the problem. We sit in here: alright, someone needs to hear that - I better get them that tape.
Well what about you? If you've got your attention drawn to it, you needed to hear it. You understand? We just think: we don't need to; but actually God - our attention gets drawn to it.