Walk by faith, not by sight.

Sermon Transcript

The Bible says that life is like a path we walk, not a door we open. A path, not a door. It’s tempting to think of life like a door, and once we open it, we’ll find peace. We think, “If I can just master the right rhythms of work & rest or if I can just get into the right school or if I can just land the dream job or if I can just marry a godly person or see this one change in my marriage or if I can develop the right diet & exercise plan so I look the way I want or I can just enjoy a little more comfort & relaxation, or if we can just have a more manageable schedule or if I can just see my children making good decisions, then I’ll finally have peace and joy.” That’s treating life like a door. “If I can just open this door, then peace will come on the other side.” If you’ve ever treated life like a door, you know how disillusioning it is because once you open one door you find yourself facing another, and another. Thankfully, God, through his word, teaches us that life in this world is more like a narrow path that we must walk toward the heavenly city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God. There are no secrets or shortcuts in life because it’s a path. And last week Pastor Mark helped us see how to walk the path. Hebrews 11:1-2 – Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. [2] For by it the people of old received their commendation. We walk the path by faith. And that brings us to the big idea of our passage this morning, the same big idea as the first half of Hebrews 11: Walk by faith, not by sight. Walk by faith, not by sight.

Now, when you walk the narrow path by faith you will face obstacles. It’s like the refrain from the children’s book We’re Going on a Bear Hunt: We can’t go over it. We can’t go under it. Oh no! We’ve got to go through it! When we walk the narrow path by faith, we’ll face obstacles and our passage this morning will help us learn to go through four of them. Walk by faith, not by sight: 1. When the path doesn’t match the promise 2. When the path hits opposition 3. When the path leads to triumph or tragedy.

WHEN THE PATH DOESN’T MATCH THE PROMISE

The first obstacle we face when walking the narrow path of faith is when the path doesn’t match the promise. It will happen and when it does, we can’t go over it. We can’t go under it. Oh no! We’ve got to go through it!

Have you ever had a time when the path of faith didn’t seem to match the promise of God? If you’re a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ, receiving and resting in him alone for forgiveness of sins and eternal life, then God has made glorious promises to you. To name just a few, God has promised to never leave or forsake us, to sovereignly govern and work literally all things – the good, the bad, and the failings – together for the ultimate good of making us joyfully like Christ, and he has promised to bring us safely home to a new heaven and a new earth where every tear will be wiped away and we’ll be welcomed into His perfect joy forever. But have you ever had a time when the path didn’t seem to match the promise? How do you walk by faith when sight seems to say that the path doesn’t match the promise? In Hebrews 11, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph serve as witnesses whose examples teach us how to walk by faith, not by sight, when the path doesn’t match the promise. Let’s allow the patriarchs to teach us.

Hebrews 11:17-18 – By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, [18] of whom it was said, “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” God made glorious promises to Abraham too. He promised Abraham numerous offspring, a promised land, and that his offspring would extend God’s blessing to all nations. Even more specifically, in Genesis 21:12, which is here quoted in Hebrews 11:18, God promised that Abraham’s numerous offspring would be named through Abraham’s younger son Isaac, not his older son, Ishmael. But then God asked Abraham to do the unthinkable, something that did not seem to match the promise. God told Abraham to take Isaac, the son that he loved, the son of promise, the one through whom God promised that Abraham’s numerous offspring would be named, and sacrifice him. Kill him. The path didn’t match the promise. God can’t give Abraham numerous offspring through Isaac if Isaac is dead. That path didn’t match the promise. And yet Abraham walked by faith, he obeyed God, and prepared to sacrifice his beloved son. We know that the Lord intervened and stopped the sacrifice, but Abraham didn’t know that ahead of time. The path didn’t match the promise. How did he walk by faith? Hebrews 11:19 – He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back. He looked to the future. When the path didn’t match the promise, Abraham trusted God’s future promise, considering that God would keep his word and raise Isaac from the dead so that through Isaac the offspring would be named. When the path doesn’t match the promise, like Abraham, walk by faith in God’s future promises. Faith looks to the future. Let’s look now to the examples of Abraham’s son, grandson, and great grandson: Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph.

Hebrews 11:20-22 – By faith Isaac invoked future blessings on Jacob and Esau. By faith Jacob, when dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, bowing in worship over the head of his staff. [22] By faith Joseph, at the end of his life, made mention of the exodus of the Israelites and gave directions concerning his bones. Remember, the Lord swore a promised land to Abraham’s offspring. However, each of the patriarchs died before they could experience it. How did they walk by faith when their path didn’t seem to match the promise. They too looked to the future. Isaac and Jacob both passed the promise onto the next generation, trusting that God would keep his promise even if they didn’t see it in their lifetime. I especially love Joseph’s example. Joseph died in Egypt, hundreds of years before God’s people would cross the Red Sea and eventually enter the land of promise. But he trusted God’s future land promise so much that he told his descendants, “when the Lord brings you out of Egypt, take my bones with you because I am so confident in God’s future land promise that I want to be buried there.”

Let’s begin to take this personally. Are you in a season when the path doesn’t seem to match the promise? Are you in a season when you can’t see how God could possibly be governing and working all things – the good, the bad, and the failings – together for the good of making you like Christ? In this season, walk by faith, not by sight by looking to God’s future promises. When your present path doesn’t seem to match God’s promise, faith looks to the future. To walk by faith now, don’t set your hope on what you can see right now, instead, like the patriarchs, set your hope on the future. Set your hope fully on the day when all of Abraham’s offspring – those who repent and believe in the true Son, Jesus Christ – will be welcomed into an eternal promised land where all sickness and sighing flee away and perfect joy dawns forever. The first obstacle on the path of faith is when the path doesn’t match the promise. The second obstacle is…

WHEN THE PATH HITS OPPOSITION

The second obstacle on the narrow path is when walking by faith, not by sight, hits the godless opposition in this world. Now, I find that when we talk about facing godless opposition to walking by faith in this world, most of us tend to have one of two unfruitful responses. The first unfruitful response is the naive response; the naive response. The naive response says, “oh come on, no one is really opposing us from walking by faith. It’s all just a bunch of paranoid Christian dog whistling. There aren’t forces at my kids school, in our city, or at my workplace that oppose me walking by faith in Christ. We aren’t really living in an anti-Christian age.” Friend, I love you. You’re being naive. The Lord Jesus Christ is not a paranoid dog whistler and he said in John 15:19 – If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. If we are naive, then when the opposition does come, we won’t be ready for it and we’ll cave and compromise. The other unfruitful response to hearing about opposition to walking by faith is the fearful response. Fear says, “there has never been more opposition to walking by faith than now. Therefore, I need to retreat to a geographic location where there is less opposition.” Fear retreats when faith engages. Citylight Church – if you walk by faith in Jesus, then Jesus says, “the world will hate you.” If you respond to that with naïveté or fear, then you’ll woefully unprepared to walk by faith when the path of faith hits the obstacle of opposition. How do we walk by faith in Christ when the path hits a world that stands in godless opposition? Let’s learn from Moses’ parents, Moses himself, and the generation that followed him.

Hebrews 11:23 – By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict. When Moses was born, God’s people were enslaved in Egypt under the thumb of Pharaoh. Pharaoh was afraid that the Hebrews were growing too numerous, therefore, he commanded the Hebrews midwives to kill every Hebrew baby boy as soon as he was born. At the risk of their lives, Moses’ parents resisted the king’s edict and hid their son, rather than killing him. How did they walk by faith when the path hit such a terrifying point of opposition? Hebrews 11:23 tells us that they treasured the child God gave them more than they feared the king’s edict, enabling them to walk by faith and disobey the king’s edict of death. They treasured God’s gift more than they feared the king’s edict. That’s how they walked by faith. It was all about what they treasured.

Moses followed in his parents footsteps of faith. Hebrews 11:24-26 – By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, [25] choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. [26] He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward. After hiding Moses for three months, his parents could not keep him hidden any longer. Therefore, they put Moses in a basket and sent him down the Nile River. Pharaoh’s daughter fished Moses out of the water and he was raised as her daughter, as the grandson of the king himself. But Moses knew who he was. He knew he was a Hebrew, a son of Abraham, not Pharaoh. However, if Moses walked by faith in the one true God, it would cost him everything. Walking by faith would cost him the approval of his adopted grandfather, the most powerful man in the world, and it meant being mistreated with the enslaved people of God rather than enjoying the fleeting pleasure of royalty and sin in Egypt. For Moses, walking by faith also meant being financially destitute with God’s enslaved people, rather than enjoying the treasures that came from being part of the wealthiest family in the world. How did Moses walk by faith when the path hit such intense opposition? Again, it was all about what Moses treasured. Hebrews 11:26 – He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward. He treasured Christ more than the approval of his adopted grandfather, he treasured Christ more than the fleeting pleasure of sin, and he treasured Christ more than wealth, and that’s how he walked by faith when the path hit opposition. It’s all about what you treasure.

The way to walk by faith when the path hits opposition is by treasuring Christ more than everything following Christ may cost us in this world. Citylight Church – you will face opposition similar to Moses’ parents and Moses himself as you walk the narrow path of faith. Godless authorities opposed Moses’ parents. They walked by faith in the face of the opposition by treasuring God’s approval more than Pharaoh’s. You’ll face that. When godless authorities in our government, or in your workplace, or even in your family threaten your life, threaten your livelihood, and threaten your position or comfort if you won’t compromise your faith to comply with their edicts, the only way to walk by faith is by treasuring Christ more than your life, livelihood, and comfort. It’s only when you know and savor Christ as your greater treasure that you’ll be able to face the opposition without caving at work. Similarly, when like Moses walking by faith is going to cost you approval, wealth, position, reputation, and a future, the only way to walk by faith is by knowing, loving, and treasuring Christ more than approval, wealth, your job, your reputation, and your future. BAPTISM 4/7. And friends – I would be remiss if I didn’t get as specific as our passage does. I must tell you that you may be pressured in just the way Moses’ parents were. Statistically speaking, in a church our size, some here will face an unplanned pregnancy, and you’ll be pressured to end the child’s life, just as Moses’ parents were. The only way to walk by faith and not participate in the culture of death is by treasuring Christ more than the approval of whoever is pressuring you. Dear friends, all of us, are we spending time with Christ, coming to know and treasure Christ in such a way that like Moses and his parents before us we can walk by faith even when the opposition takes everything from us?! Treasure Christ. That’s how we walk by faith, not by sight, when the opposition comes. Walking by faith brings very few guarantees in this life. And that’s the final opposition we face. Walk by faith, not by sight, finally…

WHEN THE PATH LEADS TO TRIUMPH & TRAGEDY

Sometimes you walk by faith, and things go incredibly well in this life. Consider these examples: Hebrews 11:32-35a – And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets—[33] who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, [34] quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. [35] Women received back their dead by resurrection. Sometimes walking by faith leads to triumph; conquering kingdoms, enforcing justice, obtaining promises, stopping the mouths of lions, and receiving back the dead by resurrection. That happens! But it doesn’t always. Sometimes walking the narrow path by faith doesn’t lead to triumph, but to tragedy. Hebrews 11:35b-38 – Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. [36] Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. [37] They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated—[38] of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.

How did they walk by faith when the path went through both tragedy and triumph? Both can tempt you to forget your Lord. Notice the phrase in verse 38: “of whom the world was not worthy.” Those who walked by faith through both tragedy and triumph did so by remembering that they do not belong to this world. To walk by faith, not by sight, when the path leads you to triumph, tragedy, or a strange mix of both, you have to remember that this world is not worthy of you, you have to remember that this world is not your home. We have to live lightly in this world. This present creation is a temporary hotel in which we hardly need to unpack our bags. Our true home is the promised new Jerusalem whose designer and builder is God himself. To walk by faith, and not by sight, when the path includes tragedy and triumph, remember your true home and live lightly in this world.

CONCLUSION

And Citylight, we have far more reason to walk by faith, not sight, than the men and women mentioned in the hall of faith in Hebrews. They looked forward to promises yet to be fulfilled through the incarnation, life, death, and resurrection of Christ. They looked forward to Christ who has now come and provided perfect forgiveness of sins and unhindered access to God for all who trust in Him by faith. Hebrews 11:39-40 – And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, [40] since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect. Through the life, death, and resurrection of Christ, we have been made perfect: perfectly forgiven and perfectly welcomed into God’s presence as his sons and daughters. We have every reason to walk by faith and not by sight, no matter the obstacles.