10/4/21-THE CAUSE OF DEATH IS….?

“That is why the Holy Spirit says, “Today when you hear his voice, don’t harden your hearts as Israel did when they rebelled, when they tested me in the wilderness. There your ancestors tested and tried my patience, even though they saw my miracles for forty years. So I was angry with them, and I said, ‘Their hearts always turn away from me. They refuse to do what I tell them.’ So in my anger I took an oath: ‘They will never enter my place of rest.’” Be careful then, dear brothers and sisters. Make sure that your own hearts are not evil and unbelieving, turning you away from the living God. You must warn each other every day, while it is still “today,” so that none of you will be deceived by sin and hardened against God. For if we are faithful to the end, trusting God just as firmly as when we first believed, we will share in all that belongs to Christ. Remember what it says: “Today when you hear his voice, don’t harden your hearts as Israel did when they rebelled.” And who was it who rebelled against God, even though they heard his voice? Wasn’t it the people Moses led out of Egypt? And who made God angry for forty years? Wasn’t it the people who sinned, whose corpses lay in the wilderness? And to whom was God speaking when he took an oath that they would never enter his rest? Wasn’t it the people who disobeyed him? So we see that because of their unbelief they were not able to enter his rest.” Hebrews‬ ‭3:7-19‬ ‭NLT‬‬

There are two questions most people ask after someone dies. Were they sick? And what was the cause of death? Why these two questions? Because we attribute death with sickness. But there are people who have demonstrated perfect health and drop dead, or there are those who they say died from natural causes, meaning old age. Whatever the cause of death, we need to understand that death isn’t final.

No one wants to talk about it, it’s taboo among many folks. But it isn’t morbid or depressing, it’s a part of living. As important as the subject may be, there’s another subject even more urgent than that. And that’s what we’ll be focusing on today. God, the Father has a pet peeve. Did you know that? Yes He does. Nothing gets under His skin more than an unbelieving heart. Do you have one of those? That’s a sure fire way of being excluded from His rest.

You may be saying, “ I believe in God” but is that enough? Listen to what James had to say about that.

“You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror.”

‭‭James‬ ‭2:19‬ ‭NLT‬‬

It takes more than mental assent. The important question is this: what have you done with your belief? Have you translated that into acceptance of who He is and that the Bible is His divinely inspired Word? That the work of salvation was completed in the death, burial and resurrection of His Son Jesus Christ? Do you believe enough to confess Him as the Lord of your life? Unless your answer to all is yes, then your believing is void, empty and useless. God detests unbelief because you’re saying He is a liar and cannot be trusted.

Take healing for example. The Holy Bible says in Isaiah 53, Psalm 103 and 1 Peter 2:24, that we were healed. Do you believe that? Then why are so many Christians sick? Do you believe that He is our Provider? Then why are so many Christians on welfare and lacking basic necessities? Do you believe He’s our Protector? Then why are so many Christians fearful of Covid or whatever your fear is? I’ll answer that. UNBELIEF. Pure and simple.

God will not compromise His Word. He offers no substitute for it. Unbelief is the number one cause of death in the believer and unbeliever. Israel angered the Lord through unbelief. They had experienced many miraculous things yet as soon as they encountered what they considered a problem, they forgot what He had already done. They became accusatory and refused to believe. Go read what God said in Numbers 14. One of the symptoms of unbelief is forgetfulness. When we forget what He has done for us in the past or even in the present, we develop a cancer called unbelief.

Not only does that break our Father’s heart, it angers Him. Some of you have had the opportunity to repent and live for Jesus but have chosen rebellion over repentance. Others of you have experienced great manifestations of His goodness but as soon as you face a test you turn on Him as though you never knew Him. What will be your cause of death? Will it be unbelief? Have you forgotten His benefits? How faithful He has been to you? Have you forgotten to say thank you?

Whatever or whoever you believe in more than God is your god. Are you serving self, things, people, the doctor’s report, the career, the government? Who is your source? If it isn’t the Word that became flesh, then you’re living with an unbelieving heart. And God has taken an oath that you will not enter His rest. Yet, there’s a way back. But the choice is yours. He’s offering you Today. Today is your moment. Tomorrow isn’t promised. For most of us we should’ve been dead. But He’s shown mercy. Will you turn from a life of rebellion against God through unbelief and remember all He has done for you? I don’t care that you go to church every Sunday, I don’t care if you read the Bible every day. Do you know Him? Or the million dollar question is, does He know you? Matthew 7:21-23

Those who died in the wilderness did so because of unbelief. It’s still the leading cause of death today. You won’t hear it on the evening news or read about it in the newspaper. It’s a silent killer. Don’t be a victim today. I’m speaking to the saved and unsaved today. Some of you have backslidden in your hearts because of unbelief. You haven’t received the answers you need so you have turned on the One who has been faithful for forty years. You’ve forgotten to be thankful. Some of you have never given Him a second thought unless something tragic happens in your life, then you pray panic prayers until the next time But never fully surrendering. Wanting the benefits without the Benefactor. You have what my pastor calls a “consumer relationship” with Him. You only need Him when something happens.

This message may be your last call. This may be your only opportunity to change the cause of death. You can know, and so can others around you who will see your changed life and give glory to God. Then you can join the apostle Paul in saying.

“My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”Galatians‬ ‭2:20‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Written by permission of the Holy Spirit

W. Tennant

October 4, 2021