We Walk by Faith, Not by Sight — Zac Poonen

Walking by Faith Rather Than Sight

Praise the Lord for another opportunity to share God's Word with you. My subject for today is we walk by faith. And not by sight which is a verse from 2nd Corinthians 5. Verse 7 is what Paul says there and It's distinctive for Those who are Christians living under the new covenant we don't Walk by sight in other words by what we see.

Jesus’ Blessing on Those Who Believe Without Seeing

And I want to turn to a verse in John's gospel chapter 20. Which is I don't know whether all of you really believe this. It's an amazing verse. It's what Jesus said, you know when he appeared to the disciples after his resurrection.

The first time Thomas was not there so very graciously appeared a second time and And because Thomas said I won't believe until I see and So Jesus appeared to him a second time and then Thomas believed because he saw.

He believed because he saw and Then he said my Lord and my God and then Jesus said these words to him. John's gospel chapter 20 verse 29. Read it carefully. Because you have seen me. Have you believed.

Blessed are those who did not see and yet believed. How many of you believe? That it is more blessed not to see Jesus physically and yet believe. I Think most of us would think wow if Jesus could be here, and I could see him.

I'd really believe. I Used to think like that myself for years. But that is our human way of thinking. God says my ways are not your ways and It is not by sight That we get close to God. There are many things about God's dealings with man, which we can't understand.

But if you can believe these words of Jesus, and I I thank God for this. I have never seen Jesus in my life. I've never seen an angel. I've never heard a voice. I Have lived by faith and my life is supremely happy and I believe with all my heart That it is more blessed.

Not to see and yet believe those are the words of Jesus and In that connection I want to turn also to Romans chapter 10 and verse 17 it says faith comes from hearing and Hearing by the Word of Christ so It's not that we have no basis for our faith the Lord says it's not by physically seeing me.

That I want you to believe. I want you to you to hear me in your heart as You hear the word. It's not just it doesn't say faith comes from the Word of Christ. In other words It's not by reading God's Word, but faith comes by hearing as God speaks to me through the Word of Christ.

The Unreliability of Human Senses

Why does God say that we shouldn't? Go by sight. Our eyes deceive us. I don't know whether you realize this. The Sun rises in the east and we see it moving in the sky and For do you know that for thousands and thousands of years people who are much cleverer than you and me Believed that the Sun went around the earth For thousands of years.

Because they believed what they saw. And it was totally wrong. Till about five six hundred years ago somebody decided to find out. Is it true what I see? What my father's and ancestors believed and when he checked up he discovered the Sun doesn't go around the earth at all.

And I believe God has kept the Sun going like as it were going around the earth to show us one thing. Your eyes deceive you. Our senses deceive us. Our ears deceive us. There's a thing called a dog whistle.

Which somebody blows a dog can hear it and you can't hear a thing. You think there is no sound. There is a sound. The dog picks it up because his hearing has got a bigger range than our range. Our ears deceive us.

Our feelings deceive us. Do you know right now? The earth underneath us right here is rotating at a speed of 1 ,000 miles an hour. Can you believe it under your feet it's happening it at the equator it goes 24 ,000 miles in 24 hours.

But we don't feel it all. These things are to teach us. Don't trust your senses. You think they are telling you the truth. They're not. There's one thing that's reliable in this world. And I've discovered that in the 55 years that I've known Jesus Christ.

That is the Word of God. It'll never never be wrong. So faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of Christ, which means particularly the New Testament. In the Old Testament they did not have this word faith is almost never seen this word, which is is a particularly New Testament word and In the Old Testament they live by sight and I'll give you one clear example of that and that's in Psalm 106 this is referring to the time when the The Israelites came out of the Psalm 106 and verse 15 11 and 12 Where it says they came the Israelites came through the Red Sea and the Egyptians followed and the waters Went over their adversaries and the waters covered their adversaries and not one of them was left and it says in Psalm 106 in verse 12 then when After the water had covered their adversaries.

Then they believed. This is classic of the Old Testament typical. When the enemy was defeated. They believed then they sang his praise in the New Covenant. We sing his praise before we see the enemies defeated because we believe God is on our side and Satan has already been defeated on the cross so this is the big difference between Old Covenant and New Covenant the enemy is there and Like David said I was set a table before me in the presence of my enemies.

You haven't defeated them yet. But I'm gonna sing God's praise. This is very important for us to understand this. Now many people who studied the Bible in the Old Testament Could not see it. Faith comes by God speaking to our heart and giving us what the New Testament calls Revelation and that's another thing that we need to understand a New Testament word called Revelation that's another word not found in the Old Testament.

Revelation Rather Than Mere Bible Knowledge

It's not understanding. And I want to show you this in Acts of the Apostles chapter 13. And verse 27 Those who live in Jerusalem. Those are the great Scholars the only people in that time who had the Bible the Old Testament their rulers means their religious preachers.

They did not recognize Jesus. They did not recognize all the utterances of the prophets. That means the entire Old Testament which spoke about him which they read every week and They fulfilled these by condemning him.

I don't know if you realize the seriousness of what's written in those were in those words. Every week just like Christians gather on Sunday. They read the Bible. Then it was in scrolls in the synagogue.

They read it and they couldn't understand what the prophets were saying. These were not it was not because they lacked intelligence. They were very clever people those Pharisees. They studied and studied and studied The Old Testament which spoke about Jesus from Genesis to Malachi way back in Genesis the seed of the woman in Exodus the Passover lamb in Numbers the serpent lifted up on the the bronze serpent lifted up and all the way to Malachi the Son of Righteousness.

Every single book spoke about Jesus. In fact, we read in when Jesus walked to Emmaus. He spent two hours explaining how every scripture spoke about him and These people who studied and studied and studied these books.

When the Son of God came in their midst about whom all these books prophesied, you know what they called him Prince of Devils. That is to show us how blind you can be by studying the scriptures without revelation.

You can read and study and study and study. You have great Bible scholars today who doubt the resurrection who don't believe in the miracles. I'm not surprised. You need revelation. Faith is not based on what we understand in our mind is the eyes of our heart.

That need to be enlightened. It's very very important to understand this and I'll give you a contrast to this in Matthew chapter 16. Here with these great Bible scholars Matthew 16 and verse 17 we read about Peter when Jesus asked him who do you who do the people say that I am but who do you say that I am.

And Peter said thou art the Christ the Son of the Living God and Jesus said You are blessed Simon Barjona and let me paraphrase those words. It was not flesh and blood. It was not your intelligence That revealed you see that word reveal.

It's not understanding his revelation. You didn't get this revelation because you were clever. My father gave it to you. That's why you could say you're the Christ the Son of the Living God. He had faith.

I Fear that many many people's faith Is in their head. It's not a revelation in their heart and that's why in a time of trial and pressure They get worried and anxious and fearful. If you find that all the things you believe and sing and praise God for on Sunday morning.

Don't seem to work at other times in your life. Consider the possibility that your mind you understand your mind. Your faith is only in your mind just like those Pharisees they were no more saved than the heathen and I fear that many many people who say they believe in Jesus are no more saved than Non-christians.

Because it's an intellectual belief about certain facts about Jesus Christ. That's not it. Peter was not a scholar. He was a fisherman. You he would never be able to compete in a Bible competition with those Pharisees.

They they knew the Bible thoroughly and they called Jesus the devil and Peter who didn't know very much of Scripture. He could see you're the Christ you're the Messiah you're the one we've been waiting for for 1 ,500 years.

There is a lesson there for us to learn how faith comes by revelation. And the Lord needs to say that to each of us. It's not by your cleverness that you'll ever know about me. Many of you clever people in study and study and study, but God gives his revelation to babes.

Faith Founded on God’s Power, Not Human Wisdom

In 1 Corinthians chapter 2 When Paul was preaching Paul was a very clever man, he was a great scholar. But he never used his intellectual ability To convince people. I want you to listen to these words 1 Corinthians chapter 2 and verse 4 and 5.

My message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom. But in demonstration of the spirit and power. Why did he speak like that so that your faith? He's talking about faith. Your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men.

But on the power of God. Does your faith rest on the reasoning of men where they prove to you That Jesus is the true God and all the other religions are false and you've been convinced in your mind. By that it's a wisdom of men.

Paul said I can argue on that basis if I want I'm a clever person. And I can argue like that Paul said but I will not do it. I will not preach with intellectual persuasion. There's a lot of that and I'm not against it.

I'm just saying that's not the way the Apostles preached. I mean if Peter said that we could understand it, but Paul Was such a brilliant man so clever isn't intellect was I think superior to all of ours and He could have used his intellect to preach the gospel, but he preached from his heart.

Because faith is to be found in the heart. We believe in our heart not in our head. I want you also to turn to James chapter 2 it says here in James chapter 2. Do you believe? The demons also believe.

What type of faith do the demons have an Intellectual faith. I mean if you were to go to Satan and Ask him do you believe that God is a Trinity? Yes. Jesus is the Son of God. Yes. He died for the sins of the world.

Yes. He rose up from the dead. Yes. What is it you believe which Satan doesn't believe? Do you believe the Bible is the Word of God? Yes. But is he have faith in his heart? No. Every Doctrinal statement that evangelicals would write down the devil believes it in his heart.

He may not acknowledge it with his mouth, but he believes in his heart. He knows for example that the sins of all humanity were taken by Christ on the cross. But does that intellectual faith? Save him.

No. That's why James says do you believe the demons also believe and they tremble? That type of faith is intellectual faith. That's not what it means by walking by faith so I want to seek to show you that God wants to lead us to a faith which is in the heart.

Trusting God With the Whole Heart

So let's turn to Proverbs chapter 3 and verse 5. Proverbs chapter 3 and verse 5 trust in the Lord. Not with your mind. But with all your heart. And don't lean on your mind. Don't lean on your intellect.

Do you know that that verse teaches me that the greatest enemy to faith in the heart is my cleverness my intelligence and We've been. I never tried to win a person by argument when a person tries to tells me that Jesus is not Savior.

I don't try to prove to him this way in that way that Jesus is the Son of God. I want him to come to a place of need in his life. If you have a tremendous need in your life The Lord will reveal to you in your heart.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and I want to ask all of you sitting here. Do you trust in the Lord with all your heart or have you been? Intellectually convinced about Jesus because maybe you were born in a Christian family and from childhood you always believed that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.

Well, I was born in a very God-fearing family. I never believed anything else other than what was written in the Bible. But for nineteen and a half years, I had no faith. I Didn't commit any gross sins.

I used to keep the commandments and Upright in every way on the outside. I Wasn't in need. I wasn't sick. I wasn't financially poor. But I was not saved. I Was just a nominal Christian and as a nominal Christian every morning.

My parents taught me to always say the Lord's Prayer before getting out of bed and every morning I would kneel down on my bed and say our father who art in heaven Hallowed be thy name went through that read the Bible went to Sunday school regularly never missed Sunday school on Sundays.

Never missed church, but I was not born again. I Didn't have faith in my heart. If you ask me questions about Jesus in my head, I would say yes, I know I know the parables I've read them. But I didn't have faith in my heart.

I'll tell you when faith came into my heart my life turned around completely. My whole ambitions changed. My desires became different my goals became different. Like it says in 2nd Corinthians 517 if any man is in Christ, he's a new creation.

The old things are passed away and Everything has become new it actually happened and When I see a lot of people who say they have faith today and are born again. And I see them living just like worldly people.

They watch pornography just like anybody else. They shout and yell and scream and there doesn't seem to be much difference between their lives and everybody else's. And I wonder what type of faith is this?

It's in the head my dear brothers and sisters. Don't be satisfied with that. I Hope before we end this service That you'll have some understanding of what it means to have faith in the heart and that that will be your portion.

Faith in the Last Days

I Want you to turn to. Because particularly we're living in the last days. I want to warn you that The Bible says that the world is going to go from bad to worse and that's why we need to be established in faith.

Turn with me to Luke chapter 17 and let me share something from here in relation to the last days. I believe we are in the last days and The people who know their God will be strong. The people who have faith in their heart will be strong.

The others will shake. Those who live an intellectual faith will keep arguing at that level. Jesus said that in the last days. Luke 17 verse 26 as it happened in the days of Noah so will it be in the days of the Son of Man and verse 28.

It was the same as happened on the days of Lot. They were eating and drinking and so on and so will it be in the days of the Son of Man verse 30. So there are two instances from the Old Testament that Jesus picked out the days of Noah and the days of Lot and he said the last days are going to be like that and When I read that I turn back to the Old Testament and see how it was in the days of Noah and the days of Lot let me share it briefly with you and You'll see why it's important to live by faith in these days and walk by faith and not by sight.

Jesus warned us that if you want to live by live by sight. You're going to be disturbed by a lot of things that are going to happen on this earth. Turn with me to Genesis chapter 6 and let me read to you.

It says in Genesis 6 verse 5. This is the days of Noah, by the way. The Lord saw the wickedness of man was great on the earth and listen to this. Every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil.

Continually the last days Will be like the days of Noah. Every intent of the thoughts of people is going to be evil. Continually, I believe the words of Jesus verse 12 Genesis 6 12 and God looked on the earth and Behold it was corrupt for all flesh Had corrupted their way upon the earth.

The last days will be the days like the days of Noah and Then God said in verse 13 to Noah the end of all flesh has come before me. For the earth is filled with violence and I'm about to destroy them with the earth.

Do you look around and see things like that happening. Violence, you know what violence means the earth is filled with violence. In today's terms it is people shooting one another every day. That's what it means.

It means terrorism it means suicide bombing it means all types of this is violence and when I see these things I'm not praying these things won't happen when Jesus said it will happen. How can I pray against that.

The last days will be like the days of Noah. We can pray for peace In our own midst, but we cannot pray That the worth the earth the world will become a better place. It will not. Because that would be praying against what Jesus said is gonna happen and I don't pray against what Jesus stated.

Sodom, Lot, and the Moral Condition of the Last Days

Then turn with me to Genesis 19 and see the days of lot. These are the only two people Jesus said the last days are going to be like the days of Noah and the days of lot. In Genesis 19 we read about God wanted to save lot from Sodom and There were two angels who came to Sodom in the evening to deliver a lot and these angels had come as in the Form of human beings they were extremely good-looking handsome men and they came in to lots house and Lot invited them in and when they went in we read here.

In verse 4 Genesis 19 for the men of the city the men of Sodom surrounded the house both young and old and They called out to Lord verse 5 and said to him. Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may have sexual relations with them and Lot was a hospitable man, and he wouldn't let these people go out.

Man, these men wanted to have sex with these men because they were good-looking and Lot said no, I'm not gonna let them out and look what he says. He says in verse 8 I've got two daughters Who never had sex with anyone?

Let me bring them out to you. You do what you like to them, but don't do anything to these men. Now a normal human being if they were full of lust would accept that offer. But these people said no. We don't want that Verse 9.

He said stand aside. We want those men. That's all I need to say. The last days will be like the days of lot and When I see these things happening around in the world around me I'm excited. Jesus is coming soon.

These are the very signs that Jesus said would take place. I Can't fight against them. It will happen and things will go from bad to worse. What I need to do is like Noah what he did. He didn't try to change the world.

He preached the truth for those who wanted to hear. Hardly anybody heard but his own family did. And he built the ark. And that's what I want to do. I Want to preach the truth. Those who have years to hear will hear.

Those who want to repent will repent like Noah built the ark. I want to build a church. That's the only thing that's going to last. When the world is destroyed. If I were living in Noah's time, I would invest everything in building the ark.

I'm living in this time. I want to do everything to build a church and If you are wise That's what you'll do as well. I want to tell you in Jesus name. That's the only thing that will survive. When God has destroyed this world and finished with everything there is that we see around us.

We need to live by faith in Jesus words. This is exactly how it is going to be. One more thing about the last days in second Thessalonians and chapter 2. And verse 10 and 11 It says about the tremendous amount of deception of wickedness.

There will be among those who perish. This is the whole chapter speaking about just before the coming of the Lord you take your time to read second Thessalonians 2. Deception of wickedness deception there's going to be a lot of counterfeit in the last days leading people to wickedness for those who perish.

Loving the Truth and Being Saved From Sin

And I want to tell you how you can escape this deception. How you can be protected from this deception read the last part of that verse. Because they did not receive the love of the truth. So as to be saved they did not receive the love of the truth.

So as to be saved that's why they were deceived and it says on the next verse for this reason God will send upon them Deluding influence. Do you know that's the only verse in the Bible? Which says that God himself will deceive some people.

It's usually the devil who deceives the Bible says the devil's a deceiver of the whole world in Revelation 12. Jeremiah 17 says our hearts are deceptive and In Ephesians 4 it says the lusts of our flesh are deceptive.

They deceive us saying that We will enjoy ourselves not telling us that they'll destroy us finally There's a deception but when it says God will deceive Why is that? Why does God deceive for this reason they did not receive the love of the truth?

They did not want to be saved. So how shall we escape deception? First of all by loving the truth and Second by wanting to be saved from sin. I want to guarantee that anyone Who loves the truth about himself?

When God shows it And it wants to be saved from sin in these last days will not be deceived. The rest however clever you think you are. I Want to tell you you'll be spiritually deceived. Even though you may intellectually prosper and make a lot of money and become a big person in the world You will be deceived.

You are not cleverer than those clever Pharisees who studied the Bible in Jesus time they were deceived so deceived that they thought light was darkness. They thought Jesus was the devil. That's a warning to us.

What does it mean to love the truth? To love the truth means when God shows me something about myself I don't try to cover it up and try to blame somebody else like Adam blamed his wife or Trying to find some excuse for us, but like the thief on the cross say Lord, I'm guilty.

That's loving the truth. That's why he got into paradise. Not because he was a good man. He was a murderer, but he was honest. He loved the truth. And if you can love the truth, no matter how wicked you are and say Lord, I'm guilty I don't deserve anything you can find paradise, too that's faith comes by first of all being honest and It also means the Bible says John 17 says God's Word is the truth that when I read something in Scripture Which seems to contradict what I've always believed.

And I'm very proud of my belief. I must be willing to love the truth in Scripture and set aside What I have believed all my life. I know God has taken me through some situations like that. Where I grew up in a certain church believing certain things and I came to read the Bible and I found it was so different.

In fact, I came to water baptism like that I came to many other truths like that about the baptism in the Holy Spirit and many other things about deception, etc. I wanted to love the truth and I say God your word is truth.

And if I find this contradicts what my mind tells me I'm gonna believe your word. That's faith. Loving the truth. And the second condition we said there we saw there in second Thessalonians was wanting to be saved saved from sin.

If you don't have a real desire To be saved from every single sin. I want to tell you in that measure. You'll be deceived. God it says God himself will send a deluding influence. Deceived means I think I'm okay, but you're not.

Now wake up one day to discover when Christ comes back. I was thoroughly deceived. I Don't want that to happen to me when Christ comes back. I don't want to discover I was deceived all my life because I'm preacher tickled my ears and told me I was okay.

If you love the truth and you want to be saved from sin in other words your conscience tells you certain things are wrong in your life. Maybe the way you speak to your wife. Or your husband and you have a desperate longing to be free from it.

Never mind if you haven't got victory yet. It takes time to get victory. Do you have a longing? To be free from that sin. There are other things in your life. Maybe there's unrighteousness in your life in the financial area.

Do you want to be free from it? I'm not asking you whether you got the victory. I'm saying do you want to be free? Maybe you're addicted to pornography or some other sin like that. I'm not asking you whether you're free.

I'm asking do you want to be free? Do you have a longing? Do you believe that that is what crucified Christ on the cross? Do you believe there's those filthy pictures that you see on the computer that crucified Christ on the cross?

Do you believe it's your anger the crucified Christ on the cross? Do you believe it's your jealousy and your unforgiving spirit for which Jesus had to suffer and die on the cross? Do you believe that do you hate sin?

Because it crucified your Savior. Or is it just something emotional that you sing on Sunday morning? So many people sing about the death of Christ who don't hate sin. I believe they are first-rate hypocrites.

How can I sing about the death of my Savior and continue in the very thing that killed him? Long to be saved from sin. The thing that made me hate sin more than anything else was I see it as me nailing Jesus to the cross with that sin my anger my bitterness my dirty thoughts and My jealousy and my selfishness and my pride and my unforgiving spirit.

That's was the nails that put him on the cross. And Lord, I want to hate it. I want to be saved from it. Anyone sitting here you may be Intellectually dumb it doesn't matter if you want to be saved from sin.

You will not be deceived. You'll come to that genuine faith that the Bible says overcomes the world and That'll enable you to stand one day when Christ comes back with great joy and where the Lord will be able to say to you Enter into the joy of your Lord.

So many others will be deceived and I want to make sure that nobody's blood here is on my hands. I want to tell you my dear brothers and sisters. I love you folk. I believe God loves you Tremendously, and that's why he conveys the truth to you.

That your faith should not rest on the intellectual cleverness of anybody. But on God's Word and God loves you and you don't have to be clever in it. You've got to have a heart that loves the truth about yourself and that wants to be saved.

Childlike Humility and Divine Revelation

Turn with me also to Matthew chapter 11 and verse 25. These are the words of Jesus. Matthew 11 25 he said I praise you father Lord of heaven and earth. Is something Jesus praised the father for? That you have hidden these things.

From the clever and the intelligent many of you who are wise and intelligent do you believe that God hides things from you and That Jesus praised the father that these things are hidden from the wise and the intelligent and there again you find that word revelation.

The same word he used to Peter. For my father is revealing me to you. He reveals them to infants. What is a six month old child have? Or a little baby have that wise and intelligent people don't have.

It's not cleverness. Why did Jesus say father you've revealed you will give revelation to babies. They have humility. Jesus picked up a baby once and said if you can humble yourself like this child you will enter God's kingdom.

Most of us are wise and intelligent perhaps all of us. And I remember when I read this verse and I meditated on it. I Said Lord, I got a handicap. I'm clever and intelligent. I Didn't make myself like that.

I was born with the cleverness and intelligence. What shall I do? Are you gonna hide things from me and the Lord said no. Be like a babe and you'll get revelation. Don't depend on your cleverness and intelligence.

Don't depend on intellectual arguments to come to faith. No. Come like a babe. What argument can a babe have against a clever man? Who's arguing scripture with him? The babe can say nothing. I Remember hearing a little store of a story of two boys.

One was five years old and the other was 15. And they were started standing in the garden and the 15 year old boy. They were brothers and the 15 year old said hey the Sun has moved. I saw it there in the east now.

It's here in the West. It's moved and the five-year-old said no. You remember what daddy told us is the earth that's rotating. It's the Sun appears to move. It doesn't move and the older boy said I Believe what I see.

And I saw it move. The younger boy said I believe daddy. That's the difference who was right. The clever and the intelligent go astray. They went astray for thousands of years thinking that the Sun went around the earth.

The Pharisees went astray in the entire life ministry time of Jesus thinking he was the devil. When he was a son of God. What is the guarantee that you with your cleverness and intelligence? Won't go astray just like them my dear brothers and sisters pursue humility.

God will reveal to the humble. What he does not reveal to the clever and the intelligent. I Hope this truth will sink into your heart. The humbler you are. The more God will reveal to you and that's where faith is born.

Peter’s Fall, Restoration, and Persevering Faith

Peter's faith was born in his humility and after a while with Jesus, you know, that's what hat can happen. You stay a while with Jesus and then you become proud and Peter became proud one day and said Lord, I'll never deny you.

Even if everybody denies you. And then there was only one way that Peter could be humbled. And sometimes there's only one way that God can humble some people make them fall into sin. God tries to humble us through many circumstances.

But his last resort Is to make us fall into sin. Sometimes he make up make humbles a preacher by making him fall into sin because he won't humble himself any other way. Paul Peter was a great preacher.

God humbled him by sin three times he denied the Lord and Jesus never prayed that he would not deny him. Don't we don't you like to pray that somebody won't fall but in Peter's case Jesus did not pray that he wouldn't fall.

He needed to fall because He wanted to save his soul. And sometimes God allows you to fall into something terrible. Because that's the only way he can humble you but Peter. God. Jesus did pray one thing for Peter.

He said you're gonna deny me, but I want to pray for one thing for you Peter. Luke 22 verse 32. I Have prayed for you Simon. Luke 22 verse 32 that your faith may not fail. That's what he prayed for him.

Even if you fall. Never mind. Your faith should not fail. What does that mean? That means Peter you're gonna fall and I'm not gonna pray against that because that's the only way you'll be humbled. You're too proud.