1. I am going to speak this morning on the terrible sin of unbelief.
2. I say "terrible" because it is the only sin that can send a man to hell.
3. A man may commit horrible sins but if he repents and receives Jesus Christ as his Lord and Saviour, he will go to heaven.
4. But the sin of unbelief has sent millions of souls to hell.  John 3:18 says, "He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."
5. John 3:36 says, "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him."
6. Just recently, a doctor asked me, "What does it mean "to believe in Jesus"?
7. I said it means to trust in Jesus.
8. I said when a patient is going into surgery, he trusts his doctor.
9. Some here this morning may think this subject does not concern you because you are already saved.  You have already trusted Christ.
10. Let me remind you that Christians can be guilty of this terrible sin of unbelief.
11. In Luke 1 we read about Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist.  He was a saved man, a godly and righteous man.  Luke 1:6 says he and his wife "were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless."
12. Yet this righteous man was guilty of unbelief (cf. Luke 1:18-20).
13. Referring to Zacharias' punishment, J.C. Ryle said, "It was a chastisement peculiarly suitable to the offence. The tongue that was not ready to speak the language of believing praise was struck speechless. It was a chastisement of long continuance. For nine long months at least, Zachariah was condemned to silence, and was daily reminded, that by unbelief he had offended God. Few sins appear to be so peculiarly provoking to God as the sin of unbelief. None certainly have called down such heavy judgments on men. It is a practical denial of God's Almighty power, to doubt whether He can do a thing, when He undertakes to do it. It is giving the lie to God to doubt whether He means to do a thing, when He has plainly promised that it shall be done. The forty years wanderings of Israel in the wilderness, should never be forgotten by professing Christians. The words of Paul are very solemn --' They could not enter in because of unbelief.' (Heb. 3:19)."
14. In Matthew 17, we see that our Lord's disciples were unable to cast a demon out of a young man.  After our Lord cast out the demon, His disciples came to Him and asked, "Why could not we cast him out?" (Matthew 17:19).
15. Our Lord responded by saying, "Because of your unbelief" (Matt. 17:20).
16. In Mark 16:14 we read, "Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen."
17. In that Scripture we see the connection between unbelief and hardness of heart.  Unbelief is a terrible sin!
18. Hebrews 3:12 says, "Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God."
19. AT Pierson said man makes so little of the sin of unbelief, and God makes so much of it!
20. Dr. Pierson said, "It is one instance of the striking difference between God's judgment and man's judgment of things."
21. Psalm 78 is the longest of the "historical Psalms."  This Psalm deals with the history of Israel before the kingdom was divided, from the Exodus up to the time of King David.
22. We will not have the time this morning to do a full exposition of this interesting Psalm.  What I would like to do is consider the emphasis here on unbelief (cf. 78:22, 32).

I. UNBELIEF LEADS TO FORGETFULNESS (78:9-11, 42)

1. I am talking about forgetfulness in general.   I am talking about the terrible sin of forgetting about God.
2. Someone said it starts with neglecting God, then this leads to rejecting God, and finally to forgetting God.
3. I think the United States of America has already entered this third phase of apostasy: we neglected God, and rejected God, and now we have forgotten all about God.
4. Psalm 9:17 says, "The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God."
5. Unbelief leads to forgetting about God, His works, His goodness, His mercy, and His grace, etc.
6. Spurgeon said that unbelief is "the parent of every other iniquity. There is no crime which unbelief will not beget."
7. The Bible says that after God delivered the Israelites from their bondage in Egypt, they "forgat His works" (78:11; cf. 78:42).
8. Deuteronomy 4:9 says, "Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons' sons."
9. Deuteronomy 8:11 says, "Beware that thou forget not the LORD thy God, in not keeping his commandments, and his judgments, and his statutes, which I command thee this day."
10. Unbelief is "the parent of every other iniquity." Unbelief leads to forgetfulness, and forgetfulness leads to pride and ingratitude, and pride and ingratitude lead to God's judgment (Deut. 8:11-20).
11. This brings us to my next point.

II. UNBELIEF PROVOKES GOD (78:17-22, 58).

1. Unbelief is a sign of contempt. It is a great insult to God for man to deny His words.
2. As soon as the Israelites left Egypt they began to provoke God with their stubborn unbelief (cf. Ex. 17:1-7).
3. They "tempted" the LORD (Ex. 17:2).  In fact, "Massah" (17:7) means "Temptation," and "Meribah" means "strife."
4. The Bible tells us over and over how men provoked God and were judged for it.  In I Samuel 3:11-13, the LORD said to Samuel, "Behold, I will do a thing in Israel, at which both the ears of every one that heareth it shall tingle.  In that day I will perform against Eli all things which I have spoken concerning his house: when I begin, I will also make an end.  For I have told him that I will judge his house for ever for the iniquity which he knoweth; because his sons made themselves vile, and he restrained them not."
5. Later, King Saul provoked the LORD, and God took the kingdom from Saul and gave it to David.
6. David's son Solomon provoked the LORD, and God rent the kingdom in two.  This is the pattern we see throughout the Bible, and throughout the history of mankind.
7. The LORD told King Ahaz, "If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established" (Isa. 7:9).
8. Unbelief loses battles, thrones, and lives.  Romans 3:3, 4 says, "For what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect?  God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar."

III. UNBELIEF LIMITS GOD (78:41).

1. Referring to a visit to his hometown of Nazareth, Mark 6:6 says, our Lord "marvelled because of their unbelief."  Matthew 13:58 says, "And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief."
2. Unbelief limits God.
3. For example, God wants to answer our prayers.  Our Lord said, "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.  For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened" (Luke 11:9, 10).
4. God wants to answer our prayers, but unbelief limits God and keeps our prayers from being answered. James 1:6, 7 says, "But 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 any thing of the Lord."
5. James 4:2 says, "Ye have not, because ye ask not."
6. Our Lord said in John 16:8 and 9, that the Holy Spirit will reprove the world of the sin of unbelief.  Therefore, unbelief in Jesus Christ is the crowning sin in God's sight.
7. It is an awful sin, yet few people recognize that.

CONCLUSION:

1. Yesterday, the Governor of Texas Rick Perry, led a prayer meeting at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas.
2. It was called, "A Call to Prayer for a Nation in Crisis." Noting that America has been “besieged by financial debt, terrorism, and a multitude of natural disasters,” Gov. Perry advised that as a nation “we must come together and call upon Jesus to guide us through unprecedented struggles, and thank Him for the blessings of freedom we so richly enjoy.”
3. That sounds good to me!
4. On the event website, Governor Perry called on Americans to join him in asking for “God’s forgiveness, wisdom, and provision for our state and nation. There is hope for America. It lies in heaven, and we will find it on our knees.”
5. Amen!
6. An atheist group called "Freedom from Religion" (FFR) filed a lawsuit against Governor Rick Perry in an attempt to try and halt the day of prayer and fasting.
7. A spokesman for the FFR said, “The answers for America’s problems won’t be found on our knees or in heaven, but by using our brains, our reason and in compassionate action.”
8. He is dead wrong.  The answers for America’s problems will definitely be found on our knees and in heaven!
9. Thankfully, a Houston judge threw out their case.