Unbelief

Mat 13:53-58 -

They thought they knew Him. A false sense of familiarity kept them from receiving what He wanted to do in their midst. "Oh, we know Him. We know His father." No, they didn't. "We know His brothers." No, they were His half brothers. Jesus' neighbors failed to recognize Him because they thought they knew all about Him.

The same holds true for us when, mistakenly thinking we know all about them, we fail to recognize His presence in our midst through our brothers and sisters in the Lord.

In writing of this same incident, Mark said, "He could not do many mighty works because of their unbelief." Jesus would have been able to heal them and to work radically among them, but because of unbelief, He was limited in what He could do for them.

Yea, they turned back and tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel.—Psa_78:41

I encourage you to be open to the brother who talks with you after the service, to the sister who comes into your shop tomorrow. Jesus may be using them in a very real sense. Don't make the mistake of saying, "I know him. The Lord could never use that guy!" or "I know more than she does. How could the Lord possibly use her to speak to me?" Wonderful things happen when you begin to say, "Lord, I'm looking for You. I believe You're going to work in my homeland in unexpected ways, at unexpected times, through unexpected people—all for Your glory."

Unbelief: Its Cause and Cure
A Topical Study of Mat_13:54-58

After presenting a powerful teaching to His disciples concerning the kingdom, Jesus left Galilee and traveled twenty miles west—home to Nazareth. In Nazareth, unbelief filled the hearts of His countrymen. Matthew ends this chapter saying of Jesus, "He did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief."

In recording the same incident, Mark takes it a step further when he writes, "And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them. And he marveled because of their unbelief." It is not simply that Jesus would do no mighty works in Nazareth. Mark tells us He could do no mighty works there. He was limited by their unbelief, even as the Old Testament declares that the people of Israel limited the Holy One of Israel through their unbelief (Psa_78:41).

• Unbelief is hazardous to your health. In this passage, we see it affecting people in three ways.
• Unbelief blinds your eyes, and you become skeptical.
• Unbelief poisons your heart, and you become cynical.
• Unbelief robs your joy, and you become sterile.

First, look with me at the way a lack of faith blinds eyes.

And when he was come into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished, and said, Whence hath this man this wisdom, and these mighty works?—Mat_13:54

Miracles were happening—the dead were raised, the lame were walking, the blind were seeing, the deaf were hearing. It was obvious God was working. But unbelief blinds eyes to the obvious.

People are still blinded today, even though it is obvious God is real. Just look up. On a clear night, you can see the Milky Way galaxy, consisting of four hundred billion stars. Traveling at tremendous speed, the Milky Way swirls within itself as it is hurled across the universe—all four hundred billion stars. Astronomers tell us there are at least one hundred billion more galaxies each containing at least one hundred billion stars. If you compute that out, it comes to ten billion billion stars spinning around and moving through the universe. Ten billion billion—that's more Big Macs than McDonalds serves in a year! And when you add the planets that circle many of these stars, the figures get even more astronomical.

"My, it must be crowded up there," you say. Well, state your coordinates and choose a point. Even though there are ten billion billion stars with billions of planets around them, what are the chances of your point landing on a star, a planet, a comet, or an asteroid? The chances are one in ten to the thirty-eighth power, or one in a billion trillion trillion—not very good odds. Space is huge, gang—enormous beyond our comprehension. And yet people have the audacity, the stupidity, and the idiocy to say, "Well, it just sort of all happened." Ref?

Truly, "the fool hath said in his heart, There is no God" (see Psa_14:1). I recently talked with an atheist who said, "Jon, I hear all of your statistics on space, and I hear all of your illustrations on creation, but it still doesn't prove God exists. I would believe in God if He would prove His existence."

"Well, we have a problem here," I said, "because if God proved His existence, you couldn't be a believer. You might be a follower, but you couldn't be a believer, for if God proved Himself, there would be no faith required."

God is interested in developing your faith because faith is what is going to move on with you in the ages to come. He has given you evidence and indications, but He has not given you proof because if He gave you proof, you could never be a believer.

Second, notice not only the blindness of their eyes, which resulted in skepticism, but the poison in their hearts, which resulted in cynicism.

Is not this the carpenter's son? Is not his mother called Mary? And his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas? And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things? And they were offended in him…—Mat_13:55-57

A person without faith's heart will inevitably become poisoned toward the family of God.

"Isn't His dad a carpenter—just an ordinary carpenter? He's not a scholar or a rabbi, a mystic or a miracle worker. We know His dad; he's the carpenter. And Mary? We've heard about her problem. She was pregnant before she got married."

You see, the person without faith will always attack the family of God. His heart will become poisoned as he points out the problems of fallen Christian pastors or this Christian neighbor. He will point out problems in the family, even though, like those in Nazareth, his facts may be wrong. Since no one—not even the most avowed atheist or skeptical cynic—has ever been able to find one single fault with Christ, he or she will attack His family.

"Can you believe what a joke that minister on TV is?"

"Look at those hypocrites sitting in church."

"Some Christian she is."

And their hearts become cynical, hardened, and bitter.

Third, without faith you will be robbed of you of your joy.

And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.—Mat_13:58

When Jesus went to His hometown, He would have healed many if only they would have believed. Great joy would have filled that little hamlet of Nazareth. But God will not work outside the arena of faith. God has chosen to limit Himself in certain ways. And because they didn't believe, He couldn't work. As a result, miracles were missing. Healings weren't happening. Joy wasn't exploding.

Unbelief is hazardous to your health. It blinds your eyes; it poisons your heart; it steals your joy. What is the antidote for unbelief? What would the Great Physician prescribe to you and to me who, although we are believers in Jesus, are also guilty of limiting Him?

First, the antidote for a lack of faith, which results in blinded eyes, is simply to offer prayer to God. Paul did this when, in Ephesians 1, he prayed for the believers at Ephesus—that their eyes might be enlightened. You see, faith is not blind. Faith sees what unbelief never will.

I am reminded of the story of Elisha in 2 Kings 6:8.

As the Syrians waged war against the Jews, the king of Syria set an ambush for the Israelites. Elisha sent word to the king of Israel, saying, "Don't go through that pass. You'll walk into a Syrian ambush." The king of Syria then set a second ambush, and again the Lord spoke to Elisha the prophet. Finally, the king of Syria said, "Every time we set up an ambush, Israel suddenly changes directions to avoid it. Someone is spying, and I want his head."

One of his advisers said, "King, there's no spy in our midst. There's a prophet in their land. His name is Elisha. He knows everything you say—even what you say in your bedchamber."

"Where is this man Elisha?" barked the king.

"In Dothan," answered his advisers.

That same night, the Syrians surrounded the city of Dothan with soldiers, chariots, and armaments. The next morning, when Elisha's servant, Gehazi, woke up, he ran to his master, shouting, "Master! We're surrounded! We're through! We're history!"

And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them. And Elisha prayed, and said, LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.—2Ki_6:17

Elisha wasn't worried because faith sees what unbelief never will.

Second, the antidote for the lack of faith that results in a bitter heart is to see people in God.

Paul said, "I know no man after the flesh" (2Co_5:16 1 Cor 1:4-6). In other words, "I see people in Christ—washed in His blood, robed in His righteousness. That's the way I choose to see people."

When you see people in God, suddenly you're not so cynical. You can just embrace, love, and enjoy them.

Third, to thwart the lack of faith that robs you of joy, speak the promises of God.

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.—Heb_11:6

There are many ways to please God—but not one apart from faith.

The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach: That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.—Rom_10:8-9

Faith is worked into our lives by God's Word. It is released from our lives by our spoken word. It's not enough to have a quiet, internal faith. Faith is released via the mouth.

Jesus said, "When you see an obstacle in front of you, a mountain looming before you, a problem facing you, say to the mountain, 'Be removed' and it shall be removed" (see Mat_17:20).

Speak the praises of God. Scripture is packed with promises—over three thousand in number—a promise for every situation. Perhaps you have a difficulty in your life, a problem in your family, a hardship financially or vocationally, tough times in school or in friendship. Jesus desires to work in those situations. He really does. But we limit Him by unbelief.

God wants us to speak His promises because it's too easy for us to say, "Well, I've got some ideas and thoughts, some hopes and dreams, but I'm not going to go on record verbally lest I seem foolish." Once you have the promise of God in your heart, you need to release it via your mouth. Speak out that which has been worked in.

Either you will venture out in faith, or you will vegetate. Your Christian life will either grow in faith as you see wonderful things happen in your family, in your ministry, in your life personally, or you will shrink into a "church-ianity." God forbid.

Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.—Heb_11:3

Hebrews says the worlds were framed by the Word of God. Whenever someone builds a house, he doesn't put up one wall and then move in. No, he constructs all the walls in order that there might be protection, symmetry, and balance.

So, too with God. When He framed the world, it was framed in totality. Therefore, we need to be students of His Word so we don't just put up one wall in our house of faith and say, "Well now, this is the way it has to be. I'm claiming the promise." No, solid faith, real faith, balanced faith comes by hearing the Word—not simply an isolated verse here or there.

As I study the Word, my focus changes. It's no longer me clenching my fists and gritting my teeth, saying, "I'm gonna trust or bust." No, my focus shifts from my faith to the Faithful One—Jesus Christ.

I don't know what struggle you might have, what difficulty you might face, but I know where the answer lies. It lies in the Faithful One—Jesus Christ.

Begin to venture out radically and watch what the Lord does joyfully. He wants to come into your Nazareth and do a mighty work.