Go! And Walk By Faith When You Cannot See Series

Go! And Walk By Faith When You Cannot See

INTRODUCTION — “WHEN GOD CALLS YOU INTO THE UNKNOWN”

Church, there comes a moment in every Christian’s life when God whispers, “Trust Me… step out… follow Me… even though you cannot see where I am leading.”

Abraham knew that moment. Hebrews 11 tells us he obeyed God without knowing where he was going. Many people today say, “I will trust God when I understand.” But faith says, “I will trust God because HE understands.”

This message in our Go! And… series calls us to:

Go! And… Walk by Faith When You Cannot See.

Hebrews 11:8–16 (NLT):

8 It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another land that God would give him as his inheritance. He went without knowing where he was going.

9 And even when he reached the land God promised him, he lived there by faith—for he was like a foreigner, living in tents. And so did Isaac and Jacob, who inherited the same promise.

10 Abraham was confidently looking forward to a city with eternal foundations, a city designed and built by God.

11 It was by faith that even Sarah was able to have a child, though she was barren and was too old. She believed that God would keep His promise.

12 And so a whole nation came from this one man who was as good as dead—a nation with so many people that, like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore, there is no way to count them.

13 All these people died still believing what God had promised them. They did not receive what was promised, but they saw it all from a distance and welcomed it. They agreed that they were foreigners and nomads here on earth.

14 Obviously people who say such things are looking forward to a country they can call their own.

15 If they had longed for the country they came from, they could have gone back.

16 But they were looking for a better place, a heavenly homeland. That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.

Romans 4:17 (NLT):

That is what the Scriptures mean when God told him, “I have made you the father of many nations.” This happened because Abraham believed in the God who brings the dead back to life and who creates new things out of nothing.

SERMON OUTLINE

1. Faith Obeys God Even When the Outcome Is Unknown (Hebrews 11:8)

2. Faith Lives as a Pilgrim in a Temporary World (Hebrews 11:9–13)

3. Faith Looks Beyond the Earth to the Heavenly City (Hebrews 11:10–16)

4. Faith Believes God Can Bring Life Where There Is Death (Romans 4:17)

5. Faith Ultimately Points Us to the Gospel of Jesus Christ

1. FAITH OBEYS GOD EVEN WHEN THE OUTCOME IS UNKNOWN

(Hebrews 11:8)

“He went without knowing where he was going.”

Word Study: “Obeyed” – ?p????se? (hupekousen)

This Greek word means “to listen under,” “to respond with full submission.”

Abraham didn’t negotiate. He didn’t delay. He didn’t demand details.

He simply obeyed.

Abraham lived in Ur, a prosperous, idolatrous city. God called him to leave security, stability, and predictability. Faith always moves us from comfort to calling.

Genesis 12:1 (NLT): “Leave your native country… and go to the land that I will show you.”

Faith is not a leap into the dark—it’s a step into God’s light even if you can’t yet see the path.

Charles Stanley: “Obey God and leave all the consequences to Him.”

Church, this is not passive resignation—it is active trust. When God speaks, obedience becomes the safest and wisest pathway, regardless of the uncertainties.

The Tightrope Story

A tightrope walker stretched a rope across Niagara Falls. He walked back and forth. The crowd cheered. He asked, “Do you believe I can push a wheelbarrow across?”

“Yes!” they shouted.

“Do you believe I can carry a person across in the wheelbarrow?”

“Yes!”

“Who wants to get in?”

Silence.

Faith is getting in the wheelbarrow.

2. FAITH LIVES AS A PILGRIM IN A TEMPORARY WORLD

(Hebrews 11:9–13)

Abraham lived in tents—a symbol of loose attachment to this world.

Word Study: “Foreigners” – ????? (xenoi)

Means strangers, outsiders, temporary residents.

1 Peter 2:11 (NLT): “I warn you… to keep away from worldly desires… you are ‘temporary residents and foreigners’.”

Believers are called to live lightly, hold loosely, and look heavenly.

Max Lucado: “Faith is not the belief that God will do what you want. It is the belief that God will do what is right.”

Lucado’s words remind us that our lives are not anchored in our wishes but in God’s wisdom.

Do we live as though this world is home? Or do we live as citizens of heaven passing through?