We Walk By Faith – Not By Sight
Scripture: Second Corinthians 5:7; Hebrews 11:1; Mark 7:25-30
The title of my message this morning is “We Walk By Faith – Not By Sight.” Last week I talked to you about casting all of your cares on Jesus. At the end of that message I asked each of you to try it this week – whatever you were dealing with, try giving it to Jesus and seeing what happened? Did you do it? Did you cast your cares on Him? Did you have some time of peace when you were not constantly thinking about the situation? I did, but new cares popped up that I had to remind myself of my confession. As I was talking to someone about my situation they reminded me that when we cast our cares on Jesus sometimes our thinking about the situation is our way of processing on our end what we are dealing with. Even though we do turn things over to Jesus, we will have to process how we continue to walk through those situations as we wait for His direction on how to proceed. The key here is waiting on His direction versus formulating our own plans.
To that end, I told you that my struggle was that when I turned my cares over to Jesus that I wanted to “see” immediate actions, which often did not happen. If you recall from my fishing example, I wanted to see the bob start moving as soon as it touched the water. Because I did not see immediate actions, I oftentimes would try and deal with the problem myself. I told you that, in doing so, I was walking by sight and not by faith. So, this morning, I want to remind you of what it means to walk by faith and not by sight. It is a truth that God demands of us that I had to remind myself of this week when new cares arose in my life. I am dealing with something currently where the bob is totally still on the water. It’s not moving at all, it’s totally still. But you know what, that’s what I “can” see, which is not reflective of what God is doing. I must believe that God is working and to do so I must walk by faith and not by sight. So, although in my current situation the bob seems to be still, I know God is working – He is moving, just like the lyrics in the song “Way Maker” which says: “Even when I don’t see it, you’re working. Even when I don’t feel it, you’re working. You never stop, You never stop working!” New Light, my God is working in my current situation!
So what does it mean to walk by sight versus walking by faith? I know both Cynthia and I have talked about this in sermons, and we have had Bible study lessons on this topic so, hopefully this will just be a refresher for you as you truly begin to cast your cares onto Jesus and leave them there. Before I get into the heart of this, I want to retell a story that I have told you before that demonstrate this concept of walking by faith versus sight pretty clearly. It goes like this: “There was a man who tied a tight rope across Niagara Falls. He then walked up to a group of people at the Falls and asked them the following question: “Do you believe I can walk across the falls on this tight rope?” The people thought he was crazy and told him “No, they did not believe he could.” The man then climbed on the rope, walked across and then turned around and walked back. When he returned, he asked the people, “Do you believe that I can walk across pushing this wheelbarrow?” Having seen him walk across alone, they did not believe he could do it with a wheelbarrow. They answered “No!” The man once again climbed upon the tight rope and walked across pushing the wheelbarrow.” I want to pause for a moment here. Initially the people did not believe the man could walk across the Falls on a tightrope. When he did it, now they believed he could do it. Why? Because they had seen him do it! This is walking by sight. Because you see something you believe it. When he asked them about walking across pushing a wheelbarrow, again, no one had faith in him to be able to do it. They did not believe he could. So, once again he walks across pushing the wheelbarrow and then returns to them. Now it gets interesting.
“When he returned he asked the people this question: “Do you believe I can walk across this tight rope, pushing this wheelbarrow with a person in it?” Having seen him do it twice, they all exclaimed excitedly “Yes!” as they believed he really could do it. The man then asked this question: “Which of you would like to volunteer to be in the wheelbarrow?” No one answered.” Here is where the rubber met the road. Everyone believed that the man could push the wheelbarrow across the fall carrying a person because they had first seen him walk across the fall and then do it again pushing a wheelbarrow. In both situations initially they did not believe him and had been proven wrong. Now they were believers – or so they thought they were. When he asked them if they believed he could push a person across in the wheelbarrow, everyone said they believed he could. However, not one single person wanted to be the person in the wheelbarrow. Everyone was walking by sight and, at the moment, they could have walked by faith and jumped into the wheelbarrow. No one wanted to exercise that faith! There are times when Christians “believe” that God can do anything, but fail because we are not always willing to get into the wheelbarrow.
Second Corinthians 5:7 says, “For we walk by faith, not by sight.” The Amplified Bible reads this way, “For we walk by faith, not by sight [living our lives in a manner consistent with our confident belief in God's promises.]” Let’s talk for a moment about faith. Webster’s dictionary defines faith as “Unquestioning belief; complete trust or confidence; loyalty.” It also states that it is often associated with a relationship to God. I have shared with you many times that faith exists on some level in everyone’s life. It is not a religious word or act; it is something that is imparted within us from the very beginning of our lives. Even though we often speak of faith within the Church walls or in relationship to Christ, faith in and of itself is not solely attached to a religious act or belief. Faith is something that exists in people who are religious as well as in people who are non-religious or outright atheists. It is a generic term that describes a very powerful action. If people understood faith “outside” of our religious discussions about it, they would see how they already exhibit faith in their lives, which could open the door for them to expand on their understanding of faith from a spiritual perspective and how it relates to their salvation in Christ and everything He has empowered them to do.
Paul tells us in Hebrews 11:1, “Now faith is the assurance (or substance) of things hoped for, the conviction (or evidence) of things not seen.” He says that faith is the assurance of things you’re hoping for – meaning that you have full confidence that you will receive what you are hoping for. He also states that it is the conviction of things not seen, meaning that you have evidence that cannot be seen that you have received what you have hoped for. Paul’s definition does not singularly tie itself to how we have used it religiously in the past, and this is one reason why some people might not think they have much faith. When you compare Paul’s definition to that of Webster’s dictionary, both state the same concept, just in a different way. Both speak of the process and outcome of what faith is and this process and outcome applies to more than just our faith in Christ. I believe if we can get people to understand that they walk in faith every day in some areas of their lives and through those experiences, learn to apply that same faith that they already have to a relationship with Christ. We call this transference – you take something you’ve learned in one situation and use it in another one. In this case, you take the faith you use in one area and apply that same faith to another area. For example, if you are very skilled at doing your current job because you learned the process of how to do it, you have a belief (faith) that you can do any other job that you may want if you take the time to learn it. Your belief is not based on the “skills” you currently have, but the “belief” that if you learned to do your current job you can, with the right training, learn to do the other job. Your faith (belief) therefore is in your ability to learn a new skill versus believing in a skill you already have mastered.
So the primary step in our walking by faith versus continuing to walk by sight relies on this one word: belief. There is no faith without believing. Let me give you a couple of examples. Do you recall the story of the Syrophoenician woman from Mark chapter 7? She came to Jesus seeking His help for her daughter. This woman was a Gentile – definitely not one of the chosen people – and yet she came to Jesus for help. She did not ask Him once and then stop, she kept asking Him to cast the demon out of her daughter. Let’s begin reading at verse twenty-five from the Amplified Bible. “(25) Instead, after hearing about Him, a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately came and fell at His feet. (26) Now the woman was a Gentile (Greek), a Syrophoenician by nationality. And she kept pleading with Him to drive the demon out of her daughter. (27) He was saying to her, ‘First let the children [of Israel] be fed, for it is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the pet dogs (non-Jews).’ (28) But she replied, ‘Yes, Lord, but even the pet dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs.’ (29) And He said to her, ‘Because of this answer [reflecting your humility and faith], go [knowing that your request is granted]; the demon has left your daughter [permanently].’ (30) And returning to her home, she found the child lying on the couch [relaxed and resting], the demon having gone.” (Mark 7:25-30)
Now consider the faith the woman possessed. She believed that Jesus, the One she put her faith in, could heal her daughter. When Jesus entered the house He did not want to be bothered, and hoped that no one would discover that He was there. Well this mother had other plans. She approached Jesus pleading with Him to cast the demon out of her daughter. Now notice this: she did not ask Him just once, she kept asking Him, pleading with Him. Also her belief in Him was such that she did not bring her daughter with her – she knew He could do it by just speaking the words. Now many of us would have stopped asking when we did not get the answer we wanted the first time, but not this mother. Not only that, but we really would have lost it when He gave the analogy of casting the children’s bread to the dogs. We would have gotten all huffy and into our feelings and would have temporarily forgotten that our daughter needed help. We would have given Jesus an ear full beginning with “How dare You compare me to a dog! Just Who do You think You are?” (Hmmmm, the Son of God!) The battle would have been on at that point. But this woman remained focused on the reason she was there. Her daughter needed deliverance and she was the only one who was available to get it for her. She was not going to take “No” for an answer because she knew Jesus could (and would) do it. Now this is what I want you to really think about. When Jesus told her it was done based on her answer and for her to go home, the woman immediately left. She did not ask Him if He was sure. She did not ask for proof. She did not send a friend to verify it before she left Jesus’ presence. No, when He told her it was done, she immediately believed. She walked away in faith, not by sight because she truly had nothing but Jesus’ words to go on. Do you see the point I am trying to make? His Word is all we have to go on too!
And then there was the story of the woman with the issue of blood. I know you all remember that one! In Luke, the 8th chapter, we learn that the woman had been bleeding for twelve years. In this story, she saw Jesus and made her way to Him. She had told herself that if she could just touch the hem of His garment, she would be made whole. Think about that! She believed Jesus could heal her just by touching His clothes. She was not asking Him to do anything. She was not asking for a private meeting; for Him to come to her house and lay hands on her or nothing. She believed and she acted on her belief. She had faith that if she just touched His garment that she would be made whole. Now there were a lot of people touching Jesus, but when she touched Him, He knew it. Why? Because she reached out in faith and she reached out with a purpose. When she touched Him, Jesus asked who had touched Him, looking for the individual. The disciples reminded Him that there were many people touching Him, but He told them this touch was different. He felt power leave His body. When the woman spoke up Jesus made this statement in verse forty-eight: “He said to her, ‘Daughter, your faith [your personal trust and confidence in Me] has made you well. Go in peace (untroubled, undisturbed well-being).” (Luke 8:48) Her faith had made her well and gave her body and mind the peace that they had not known for twelve years.
In both of these examples, the women sought out Jesus for help. Why did they turn to Jesus? Because they had heard about Him and the things He was doing. They had heard about Him healing the sick; raising the dead and casting our demons. Even though they did not know Him personally, they had heard enough that they believed, unquestioningly, that the stories were true. Because they believed what they had heard about Him, they believed that only He could help them with their situation. Their belief in Him converted to faith in Him. When they sought Him out, they sought Him out in faith knowing that only He could change their situation. When they believed Him for their situation, they were exercising a faith in a man that they had only heard about. Remember what Paul said in Romans 10:17? He said, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Romans 10:17) They heard, they believed what they had heard, and they developed faith. This caused them, by faith alone, to seek out Jesus for help. Faith believes something without question – you do not have a doubt about what you believe. When you believe something without question, you act on that belief. All of our actions are based on our first believing something. In these two examples their believing what they had heard led to faith which led to their taking action.
Before I close, I want to share something with you that Paul told Timothy, which I believe is the foundation for everything I have said the past two weeks. I know that we have all taken a test or two in our life time. If you studied for the test, you walked into the room with confidence that you would pass it. I was very good in math when I was in school so those tests were generally easy for me. But, when it came to English and History, I struggled. I struggled because those two subjects were not as interesting for me as math was. Do you know this is one of the main reasons people to do not read or study the Bible? They simply do not find it interesting or impactful. They read it as history and not as a life-changing source for their lives today. When it came to these two subjects, I really had to study and I was always concerned that something would be on the test that I had not reviewed. When it came to math I walked in complete confidence and faith because I knew what I knew and I believed that I would easily recall it. But with the other subjects, sometimes I missed questions that I knew the answer to because I was so caught up and concerned about what I might not know that I forgot what I really did know. The same happens with our faith. In order for us to have that unquestioning faith, we must get into the word of God so that we know what we know. We must study so that we will have the confidence we need to develop our faith. Remember, our faith in Christ is all about what we believe without question and if you are not studying for yourself you will always have questions, especially as it relates to what someone else tells you to believe. Faith comes by hearing and hearing the word of God – but you got to believe what you are hearing and that only happens when you take what you heard and go back and study it for yourself.
So, Paul told Timothy in Second Timothy 2:15, “Study and be eager and do your utmost to present yourself to God approved (tested by trial), a workman who has no cause to be ashamed, correctly analyzing and accurately dividing [rightly handling and skillfully teaching] the Word of Truth.” We need to remember that Timothy did not know Christ personally, but came to believe in Him through Paul. Paul was instructing Timothy to study something that he was not previously exposed to – the Word of Truth. He was not referring to the Old Testament, but a knowledge of Christ and the truth about the resurrection – especially that of believers. All of this was taught to Timothy by Paul who had command knowledge of the Old Testament and a new knowledge based on what Christ planted within him when he was converted. So, Paul’s knowledge is viewed as one who had a direct line to Christ and, for this reason, it is his writings that make up almost two-thirds of the New Testament.
Paul told Timothy to study and to present himself to God as a worker who was not ashamed – someone who is able to rightly teach the word based on their time spent studying it. Through that knowledge he would gain the confidence that would not allow him to be ashamed. We are often ashamed when we are in situations where we should know something and we do not. This causes us to shrink back in defeat until such time as we can acquire the knowledge necessary to move forward. Paul was instructing Timothy to ensure that he had command knowledge to God’s word so that he never had to be ashamed and he could teach it with confidence. It was Timothy’s understanding of God’s word that allowed him to handle the issues he faced as a young pastor when some of his congregation thought he might have been too young for his position.
New Light, last week I asked all of us to cast our cares on Jesus. But what I did not mention last week was this truth: in order to cast our cares on Him we truly must believe that He and He alone will handle them. This belief in Him comes through our knowledge of His Word and His promises towards us. Remember the two women who went to Jesus. Neither were anyone special, but they believed. Neither had a pedigree worth mentioning, but they believed in Jesus. They had a need and they believed that He could fix their problem. They were not to be denied because they believed. This morning I want to leave you with a very clear picture of your faith walk. I want you to imagine something you do without thinking about it - walking. If you have not had an illness where you had to learn to walk again, you walk on auto-pilot. You do not think about the process you go through to walk. You do not think about moving one foot in front of the other – you just do it. By walking this way you have an unquestioning belief in your ability to walk. There is no doubt within you about this ability. This is where our faith in Christ should get to – where we have no doubts about what He says and what He will do. We do not let man’s interpretation of Christ hinder us from truly seeing Him for ourselves. We take the time to get to know Him through His word.
In contrast to this picture, I want you to think about a small baby who is learning to walk. Those first few steps are hard and difficult. The baby get around well crawling on the floor, but something within them makes them want to walk on their feet. What is it? I believe it is based on what they are seeing. Everyone around them is walking on two feet so they want to do it also. The difference is they must learn just like everyone else did. So they begin to stand up and hold on to something to balance them until they get it right. Soon they learn how to balance and to take a few steps and shortly thereafter they are walking without thinking about it. In the first picture there is the person who has learned and is now doing it without thinking about the process. In the second picture with the baby we witness the beginning steps – what we all know as “baby steps”. Those are the small, tentative steps that babies take as they begin to learn to walk. Some Christians are taking the baby steps as it relates to their faith and this is okay as long as they continue growing. Still others are walking confidently in their faith while some are somewhere in between the two. But what I want you to know this morning is that I believe Jesus expects us to move beyond the crawl to walk confidently in Him. This is not easy, but it starts with our believing that He can and He will! As my sister says, “Won’t He Do It!!!
Until next time, “The Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift up His countenance on you and give you peace.” (Numbers 6:24-26)
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