Faith: Believing is Seeing
Introduction: Hope motivates us to keep going and not give up. Without hope we don’t want to do anything. I heard Hal Lindsey give a good illustration of the necessity of hope: he mentions how man can survive without shelter for 3 months, he can survive without food for 30 days, he can last 3 days without water, and 3 minutes without air, but no one can last 3 seconds without hope.
Peanut’s cartoon: Lucy and Linus were sitting in front of the television set when Lucy said to Linus, "Go get me a glass of water." Linus looked surprised, "Why should I do anything for you? You never do anything for me." "On you 75th birthday," Lucy promised, "I’’ll bake you a cake." Linus got up, headed to the kitchen and said, "Life is more pleasant when you have something to look forward to." (D. Greg Ebie – sermon central)
What are you looking forward to? What is it that motivates you to get up and go every day? For some its looking forward to marriage, children, or grandchildren, fir others its hope for an early retirement or a promotion, for someone else its a vacation or being with family. But for the believer their hope is n Jesus and to someday leave the body and go to heaven.
Paul had been speaking about longing for Heaven and although he was in the body, it wasn't where he planned to be forever. And by faith, we also have hope of heaven. Our new motivation is a new destination and that destination isn't determined by our circumstances, it's determined by our faith.
Scripture: “We walk by faith not by sight.” -2 Cor. 5:7
I. We walk
We are all walking somewhere in life. We are either walking toward heaven or we are walking toward hell. But one thing is certain, we are not all walking in the same direction. Some walking toward hell will later walk toward heaven, and some appear to be walking toward heaven but later walk toward hell, (like Demas, Judas, Hymenaus, and Alexander.)
Walking is an action. To walk by faith is to put faith in action. Walking is a continuation, it is progress, 'forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead.' To walk is to live. If we walk as a Christian, then we live as a Christian. We don't just sit on a pew learning, we practice what we learn. We not only hear the word, we build our house on the rock, by obeying what we hear. We don't set what we know on a shelf somewhere, leaving it alone collecting dust in the ack of our mind. We don't set by faith, we walk by faith. We take what we believe and apply it to our daily life.
The apostle separates believers from the rest of the world. We are called to come out from among them and be separate. We are different. The salt is different from the dirt and light is the opposite of darkness. And these two are what we are to be: salt and light. Not everyone has the same hope. Not everyone has the same faith. Not everyone walks the same walk or hikes the same trail, but true Christians walk the same narrow way of faith toward Heaven, while the rest of the world unfortunately, marches toward hell.
And just as all the men in the world are not walking in the same direction, all Christians do not walk at the same pace, or at the same rate, some have a shorter stride than others and some are speedier than others, and there are those that take baby steps. Some have been in the church for many years and they are are just as mean, cold, and ill-tempered as they were in the beginning. They're just as spiteful and critical as they were at first. And it makes you wonder if they walk by faith at all. But that's for God to judge, not us. And then there are those who just became a Christian and are full of excitement, zeal, and youthful enthusiasm. They ask everyone they know to come to church, to follow this wonderful savior.
We have a new Corgi pup, at home. She has two speeds, run and sleep. If she isn't biting your ankles or running here and there, you know she is asleep somewhere. Energy comes with youth, but if you expend all that energy at once you're n danger of sleep. We must be careful not to run ourselves out, we have to remind ourselves that it's a marathon not a sprint. Paul said “...Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” It seems that we begin the race of faith, with great excitement and energy but after a few miles the test of stamina comes in, and while some give up, we must go forward, not growing weary in doing good, but straining ahead toward the finish.
Settling into a rhythm is not the same as getting stuck in a rut. Those that are in a rhythm are going forward, gaining in understanding, growing in wisdom, & and attaining more grace, while those in a rut are going nowhere. We want to continue striving to win not starting and stopping like a sputtering old car.
II. We walk by faith
Our journey through life is defined as a walk, but not just any walk, it is a walk of faith. So, what is faith? The best definition is found in the book of Hebrews: “Now faith is the substance of the things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” -Heb. 11:1
Walking by faith can be like walking a foggy path through the hills. There are ups and downs, valleys and vistas, and twists and turns ahead of you, and yet, you can not see any of them. David said '..your word is like a lamp unto my feet..' you can not see way out ahead of you just one step at a time. Circumstances, situations, and opportunities, are hidden from us, but we still our guided by the light if His word and by faith in him above. Where the world trusts in their seen surroundings. We trust in an unseen God. Believe it or not, we are blessed because we don't know the future.
St. Augustine said “God will not suffer man to have the knowledge of things to come for if he had awareness of his prosperity He would be terrorless and understanding his adversity He would be senseless.” If we knew our future prosperity we would exploit it for the worse. And if we knew of certain adversity we would do nothing but cry and fret and be filled with fear about it and miss out on every good thing in the meantime.
God knows that if we knew the future, we would never learn anything. We would never appreciate anything, and we would never trust him for anything. What would we need faith for if we could see our paths clearly? As Matthew Henry puts it “Faith is for this world and sight is reserved for the other world.”
Many people focus only on the great exploits of faith. Some might say “I overcame adversity by faith.” Well yes, but do you walk by faith? or “I was healed by faith”. True, but do you walk by faith? or “I was delivered from addiction by faith.” No doubt. But do you walk by faith? Do you do the common and simple things in life with the spirit of faith? Faith is in you, it's not something that can be taken on or off like a pair of reading glasses.
What a great compliment it is to hear someone say “I've met people who say they are Christian, but I see how you LIVE as a Christian.” They could have easily had said “I see that you walk by faith and not by sight.” It is telling to hear someone say such a thing, because it reveals two things – A) there are those who aren't living up to their profession and B) that there is such a thing as Christian authenticity that the world takes notice of and can tell the difference. They can taste the salt and they can see the light, and they know who walks by faith and not by sight.
Faith is believing when there is no reason to believe. If you have to have a reason to believe then you are not walking by faith you are walking by sight.
III. We walk by faith, Not by sight
When you walk by faith you can not walk by sight! You walk one way or the other. You can't go east and west at the same time.
When you walk by faith – you begin to understand all the mysteries that were once hidden to you, you understand trials and troubles you go through, and the inward conflicts inside you you know there is a wrestling match between the flesh and the spirit- something impossible by sight. Some still hold to the old maxim “Seeing is believing”. Unless they see it they will not believe it. Unless they see, touch, hear, smell, taste or experience something they will not believe. Even the disciple Thomas was guilty of this.
“So the other disciples were saying to him, "We have seen the Lord!" But he said to them, "Unless I see in His hands the imprint of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe” -John 20:25
And after allowing Thomas to see him Jesus said “because you have seen me you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” -John 20:29 You are blessed because you have not seen him and yet you believe. That's faith. Strange that a disciple that had walked with the Lord and seen so many miracles already would admit that he would not believe unless he saw and felt? Even for some Christians seeing isn't enough to believe - even though Gid provokes himself real over and over again, they must see and see and see again!
Spurgeon once made the point that 'Those who walk by sight – walk alone.' And they are among the most lonely and miserable people on earth. They trust only what they see to help them, prosper them, heal them, to feed them, these who walk by sight - walk by the flesh. They all live by the same principle - “I believe in myself” "I believe in my ability, my charm, my looks, my money, etc." When you live by sight you have to get your own wisdom, your own judgment, your own strength, and when you are in trouble you must be your own deliverer, when you are lonely you must be your own comforter, when you grieve you must be your own consoler, when you despair you must be your own savior or you must run to someone who is just as weak and feeble as you are.'
But when you let God take control – when He steers your ship and it seems to run aground – it's not your fault because you don't control the helm – He does. It may be your vessel (temple) and you should take care of it. But we know nothing can go wrong when God is in the captains seat!
Do you remember those bumper stickers that read “Jesus is my co-pilot”? Well if your still the captain and the ship wrecks, Whose fault is it? But what do you have to answer for, if you are not the one in control? Nothing. You've let God have control and now what ever happens is in his hands, not yours. You see how his yoke is easy and his burden is light? But stubborn men that we are, we want to control everything, and then point the finger at God when we wreck the ship, then plead for him to rescue us.
Some people reject or deny God's love unless they see themselves prospering, or being healed or some good thing isn't happening to them, or for them. They might say “I believe God really loves me, look at how my business grows and grows!” Well the 1st part of that is faith, but the second part is sight. Suppose you had never prospered in business, what then? According to that logic, you would have to say “I don't believe God loves me because I haven't prospered in business.” - That's walking by sight not by faith!
Would you rather have temporal treasure or eternal treasure? What if the Lord said you had to give up one to have the other? We know which decision the rich young ruler made, don't we? And most men in the same position would make the same decision. The world must truly think we are odd, that we are foolish to give up the natural for the eternal. Jim Elliot said “He is no fool who gives what he can not keep to gain what he can not lose.”
I hear all kinds of people from different charismatic circles say I'm going to do this or have that by faith? There was a man who would drive around in my parents neighborhood religiously every day. They probably thought he lived there except for the fact that the only house not occupied was still under construction. One day my parents stopped him to ask what He was doing and he said “I'm claiming that house in the name of Jesus!” Well, as time went by . .He never got the house. But I think it revealed more about his heart than it did his faith, didn't it? I wonder if he walked away from church after that? If He did it would be because he was walking by sight and not by faith.
True faith trusts in God regardless of the circumstances. Whether He allows you wealth or poverty. YOU ARE HIS. Whether he allows you health or illness. YOU ARE HIS. Whether you're free or in prison. YOU ARE HIS! “Tho he slay me, yet will I trust him”. My current status doesn't affect my faith. If yours does – you are not walking by faith, you are walking by sight.
Unbelievers see with their eyes while men of God see with their faith. 10 spies saw a land filled with giants and fortified cities while a man of God saw the same land flowing with milk and honey! 11 disciples saw a great prophet, while a great disciple saw the Son of God! A whole army saw a terrorizing giant boasting and bragging while the faith of a little boy foresaw a dead man about to pay for his blasphemy!
Unbelievers walk by sight, but children of God walk by faith! ... Work by faith! Eat by faith! Love by faith! Sleep by faith! Rise by faith! . . . . LIVE BY FAITH!
If you only walk by sight, your only hope is in what you see, and after death there is no hope for you. Your money can't save you. Your family can't save you. Your church attendance can't save you. Your works can't save you. Jesus Christ is the only one who can save you! The unbelievers motto is “Let us eat and drink for tomorrow we die.” Our motto is “We walk by faith not by sight”. They live for temporal pleasure, we live for eternal treasure.
Conclusion: The whole context of this scripture is walking by faith toward heaven. Someday we will leave this old sinful body behind and embrace the eternal. We walk by faith, not by sight. Our destination is heaven. What a disappointment if this earth is all our soul had to live for. There is only one true hope, there is only one true faith, that faith is in Jesus Christ. Outside of Jesus there is no saving faith. Faith in any other is a waste of time. You must have faith in Jesus, Him only! Not in another name, Not in another religion, Not in a positive feeling. But in Jesus Christ!
