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Jonathan Coulter—May 10, 2025
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Happy Sabbath, brethren. Pleased to be with you on this Sabbath Day. Now, this is a basic thing, but it's not so simple as it sounds. After all, worldly Christianity believes there is God, but:
- they do not believe God
- they do not believe what He says
- they do not obey His Commandments
Believing God compels obedience:
- IF you believe God, you will obey God
- WHEN you obey God, that compels loving God
This is what God wants from us all: It's for us to love Him; it's what He desires from us. Additionally, believing in God affects more than just ourselves, as we will see from the examples we're going to look at. Believing in God seems an easy thing to do, but it's a lifelong process.
I'd like to break this down into two categories. In these two categories, both of them, the individuals spoke with God. Of course, they believed God existed, and they spoke to him. In some cases, they dwelled with Him. But in some cases, they did not believe God, what He said. Let's take a look at the first instance we have of this where God was not believed.
LUCIFER/SATAN
Rev. 12:4—this, of course, is the account of Lucifer sweeping away a third of the angels and being cast down to the earth:
Revelation 12:4: "And his [Lucifer] tail swept away a third of the stars of heaven… [those are the angels] …and cast them to the earth…."
Verse 9—and here it's reiterated again: "And the great dragon was cast out, the ancient serpent who is called the Devil and Satan, who is deceiving the whole world; he was cast down to the earth, and his angels were cast down with him." Why were they cast down?
- they didn't believe God
- they didn't believe in His Plan
So, they were removed, and Lucifer became the devil and Satan, and his angels that followed him became the demons.
ADAM/EVE
Now let's go back to the very start of mankind. You all know where we're going here. This is the account of Adam and Eve. They believed God existed. They dwelt with Him in a manner of speaking. But it turns out they did not believe God.
When they were given the opportunity to choose, they did not choose to believe God. Like I stated earlier, believing God affects more than just yourself! In this case, it affected all of humanity down to this very day. So see what God commanded them:
Genesis 2:15: "And the LORD God took the man and put him into the Garden of Eden to dress it and keep it. And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, 'You may freely eat of every tree in the garden, but you shall not eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, for in the day that you eat of it in dying you shall surely die'" (vs 15-17).
This is the first command that God gave, the very first command. Let's see what happened.
Gen. 3—this, of course, is the account of where the serpent approached Eve, and she believed his lies rather than God's Commandment.
Genesis 3:1: "Now, the serpent was more cunning than any creature of the field, which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, 'Is it true that God has said, "You shall not eat of any tree of the garden"?' And the woman said to the serpent… [Satan the devil] …'We may freely eat the fruit of the trees of the garden, but of the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has indeed said, "You shall not eat of it, neither shall you touch it, lest you die."' And the serpent said to the woman, 'In dying, you shall not surely die! For God knows that in the day you eat of it, then your eyes shall be opened, and you shall be like God, deciding good and evil'" (vs 1-5).
Instead of rebuking the serpent, Eve listened to the serpent, and she started looking at the tree.
Verse 6: "And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasing to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate."
Neither one of them believed God! When they were presented with a lie, they believed the lie! They did not believe God!
So you can see these people in the very presence of God, who spoke to God, did not believe God! How much easier would it be for us who have not spoken to God, have not been in His presence, to stray away and not believe God? That is very different than believing in God, that He exists.
What are the consequences for Adam and Eve, and all of us, because they did not believe God?
Verse 23: "Therefore, the LORD God sent him out from the Garden of Eden to till the ground from which he had been taken. And He drove out the man, and He placed cherubim at the east of the Garden of Eden, and a flaming sword, which turned every way to guard the way to the Tree of Life" (vs 23-24). This is the consequence of not believing God!
CAIN
Now let's take a look at the next account. After the law of sin and death had been put into man for not believing God, this is the account of Cain.
Genesis 4:1: "Then Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, and said, 'I have gotten a man from the LORD.' And she bore again, his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. It came to pass that Cain brought to the LORD an offering of the fruit of the ground" (vs 1-3).
- Cain did not believe God
- he did not obey God
because God commanded a firstling of the flock be brought to Him for an offering! But Cain thought he could do it his own way, much like his mother Eve and his father Adam.
Verse 5: "But He [God] did not have regard unto Cain and his offering…"
- because Cain did not obey God
- because he didn't believe God.
He thought what he was offering was good and would be accepted. But God did not have regard to his offering.
"…And Cain was extremely angry and his countenance fell. And the LORD said to Cain, 'Why are you so angry? And why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, shall you not be accepted?….'" (vs 5-7).
God wanted him to believe what He had said, to obey, which would show love. But Cain wanted to do it his own way. That's very much like the difference between believing in God and believing what God says. If you just believe in God and don't believe what He says, you will never be able to love God, And this is the most important thing.
"'…But if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it!'" (v 7).
How do we rule over it? By believing what God says and obeying Him and loving Him.
Verse 8: "And Cain talked with his brother Abel. And it came to pass that when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him."
This is a result of not believing God, not being obedient and not loving God, and we have to do so until our last breath. That is the commitment we have to make.
Now let's take a look at the second category that I have here. These are individuals that spoke to God, and they believed God, unlike the ones we just took a look at.
You must believe God until your last breath and it is a lifelong process. It seems simple, but it's not. It seems like you just accept that you believe God and that's it, but that's not it as we're seeing from these examples. It's a lifelong process and it's something you must do beginning every day with prayer and study. So, let's look at those who did that, who did believe God until their last breath, and they were blessed for it.
ABEL
Genesis 4:4: "And Abel also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat of it. And the LORD had regard unto Abel and his offering."
Abel believed God, believed that he would be accepted IF he obeyed God and showed that he loved God by his obedience!
He believed unto death! That's very important. You must believe God until your last breath!
NOAH
Gen. 6—this is where God is repenting that he created man on the earth, because no one believed God anymore.
Genesis 6:5: "And the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the LORD repented that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart" (vs 5-6).
Verse 7: "And the LORD said, 'I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, and the crawling thing, and the fowl of the air; for I repent that I have made them.'"
Verse 8: "But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD." Why is that?
Verse 9: "…Noah was a righteous man and perfect in his generations, for Noah walked with God."
Walking with God is believing what God says and obeying it and acting upon it! So, because one man, Noah, believed God, God spared humanity through him!
Let's take a look at where God engaged more with those that believed in Him and obeyed Him.
ABRAM/ABRAHAM
Gen, 12:1—this is the account of Abram and his obedience and belief in God, and in what God says.
Genesis 12:1: "And the LORD said to Abram, 'Get out of your country, and from your kindred, and from your father's house into a land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation. And I will bless you and make your name great. And you shall be a blessing. And I will bless those that bless you and curse the one who curses you. And in you shall all families of the earth be blessed.' Then Abram departed, even as the LORD had spoken to him" (vs 1-4),
Abraham obeyed God because he believed Him. He believed God's promise to him that he would make of him a great nation.
Genesis 13:14: "And after Lot was separated from him, the LORD said to Abram, 'Lift up your eyes now and from the place where you look northward and southward, and eastward and westward; for all the land, which you see, I will give to you and to your seed forever. And I will make your seed as the dust of the earth, so that if a man can count the dust of the earth, then shall your seed also be counted. Rise up and walk through the land, in the length of it and in the breadth of it, for I will give it to you'" (vs 14-17)
Verse 18: "And Abram moved his tent and came and lived in the oaks of Mamre, which is in Hebron. And he built an altar to the LORD there."
So, here's a perfect example of WHEN you believe God, you will obey God! That shows God that you love Him!
Now let's take a look where God promised Abram an heir from his own loins.
Genesis 15:1: "After these things the Word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, 'Fear not, Abram, I am your shield and your exceedingly great reward.' And Abram said, 'Lord GOD, what will You give me since I go childless, and the heir of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus?' And Abram said, 'Behold, You have given no seed to me; and lo, one born in my house is my heir.' And behold, the Word of the LORD came to him saying, 'This man shall not be your heir; but he that shall come forth out of your own loins shall be your heir.'" (vs 1-4).
Now Abram was 85-years-old when God made this promise to him. Imagine the degree of belief it would take to be told that at 85-years-old you're going to bear a son from your own loins. That's truly believing God!
Verse 5: "And He brought him outside and said, 'Look now toward the heavens and number the stars—if you are able to count them.' And He said to him, 'So shall your seed be.' And he believed in the LORD. And He accounted it to him for righteousness" (vs 5-6).
If we don't believe what God says, we will not have our belief in God accounted to us for righteousness, because they're two very different things.
It's so important to God that he will test all of us. Now let's take a look at how he tested the man that always believed Him, Abram.
Genesis 22 and here we will see how important it is that God knows we believe him. He will test us. He will test our belief in what he says.
Genesis 22:1: "And it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, 'Abraham!' And he said, 'Here I am.' And He said, 'Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go into the land of Moriah, and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains, which I will tell you.'" (vs 1-2). Abraham didn't even question God!
Verse 3: "And Abraham rose up early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son. And he split the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up and went to the place of which God had told him. Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place afar off. And Abraham said to his young men, 'You stay here with the donkey, and I and the boy will go yonder and worship, and come again to you.'" (vs 3-5). Obedience, belief in God!
Verse 6: "And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it upon Isaac his son. And he took the fire pot in his hand, and a knife. And they both went together. And Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, 'My father.' And he said, 'Here I am, my son.' And he said, 'Behold the fire and the wood. But where is the lamb for a burnt offering?' And Abraham said, 'My son, God will provide Himself a lamb for a burnt offering.' So, they both went on together" (vs 6-8). Both of them believed God would provide!
Verse 9: "And they came to the place of which God had told him. And Abraham built an altar there and laid the wood in order. And he bound his son Isaac and laid him on the wood, upon the altar."
- didn't hesitate
- didn't question God
- completely obeyed God
Verse 10: "And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. And the angel of the LORD called to him from the heavens and said, 'Abraham! Abraham!' And he said, 'Here I am.' And He said, 'Do not lay your hand upon the lad, nor do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me'" (vs 10-12).
That is the type of belief in what God says that we are all to pursue all the days of our life until our last breath. Because when we believe what God says, we will obey him. And when we obey him, that shows God that we love him. And that is what God wants from each and every one of us.
ISAAC
Now let's see where God extended this promise to Isaac, because Isaac believed God, because Abraham believed God.
Genesis 26:1: "And there was a famine in the land (besides the former famine that had been in the days of Abraham). And Isaac went to Abimelech, king of the Philistines, to Gerar. And the LORD appeared to him and said… [God is commanding him] …'Do not go down into Egypt. Live in the land, which I shall tell you of. Stay in this land, and I will be with you and bless you, for to you and to your seed, I will give all these lands; and I will establish the oath, which I swore to Abraham your father. And I will multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens and will give to your seed all these lands. And in your seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My Laws.' And Isaac lived in Gerar" (vs 1-6),
This is another example of how believing God affects not just ourselves, but onto generations of people.
Now let's take a look at what Abraham believed and why it was accounted for to him for righteousness. We can see this in:
Heb. 11 as Paul recounts it for us. Here's where Paul tells us what Abraham believed:
Hebrews 11:17: "By faith Abraham, when he was being tried, offered up Isaac; and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son of whom it was said, 'In Isaac shall your Seed be called'… [Why did Abraham do this?[ …because he reckoned that God was able to raise him even from among the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative way" (vs 17-19).
This is what believing God is. Believing unto death! Abraham reckoned God would resurrect Isaac even if Abraham did sacrifice him to God as he was commanded.
In conclusion, believing in God is completely different from believing God and what He says! If you believe God, you will obey Him! If you obey Him, you will love Him!
This is what we are all here to do. This is how we attain to the Kingdom of God and the first resurrection. It is not enough to believe in God. You must believe God and you must do it until the last day of your life!
Scriptural References:
- Revelation 12:4, 9
- Genesis 2:15-17
- Genesis 3:1-6, 23-24
- Genesis 4:1-8, 4
- Genesis 6:5-9
- Genesis 12:1-4
- Genesis 13:14-18
- Genesis 15:1-6
- Genesis 22:1-12
- Genesis 26:1-6
- Hebrews 11:17-19
JC:bo/po
Transcribed: 5/15/25
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