Walking by faith!

Walking by Faith!

2 Cor 5:7 For we walk by faith, not by

sight.

If I asked each of you to define & describe walk?

How would you respond?▪Defined = moving at a regular & slow pace

by lifting & setting down each foot in turn; to travel on foot; a way of exercise(Oxford)

▪Described = one moving forward in a continual motion!

▪The Bible spends a great deal of time addressing one’s walk and need there of!▸Walk 209 Walked 136 Walks 41 Walking 32

The importance of our walk!▪Jn 8:12 Then Jesus spoke to them again,

saying, "I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life."

▪Rom 6:4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

▪1Jn 1:7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another...

This must be understoood not as a one time event, but a way

of life!“Walking by faith takes continual action!”▪Just imagine what can be done for

the cause of Christ, when we learn to really put feet to our faith and trust God to lead of lives!▪I am inviting each of you to join me

on this most exciting journey as we learn to really “walk with the Lord!”

I. We Must Stay Focused!▪I believe the best advise you can give anyone

is this, “stay focused!”▸With school, with work, with their service to

God, the key is to “stay focused!”▪1 Cor 9:24 Do you not know that those who

run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. (Cf. 1 Cor. 9:25-27)▸Paul is seeking to get the church at Corinth

back on track by regaining their “focus!”

We must learn to keep our eyes on the prize!

▪Php 3:13-14 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

▪We must keep in mind that what we see is not the whole picture and that is why we walk by faith! (Cf. Heb. 11:1)

The child of God is not to only focus on what we see, but on what

we believe!▪The truth is that we often do not know what is best and that is why we walk by faith!▸Pr. 14:12; 16:25; Is. 55:8-9; Jer. 10:23▸We need to learn to simply trust that God

is working in our lives! (Rom. 8:28)▪We do not always understand why things

happen the way they do, but God always has a plan & always keeps His promises!

II. We Must Keep Fighting!Not only must we stay focused, but we

must keep fighting!▪We are engaged in a spiritual battle, one we

cannot see, but one we believe is real!▸Eph 6:12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and

blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.▸1Tim 6:12 Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on

eternal life ...

This is not a physical fight, by sight, but a spiritual fight,

by faith!▪When Paul was at the end of his life he writes!▸2 Tim 4:6-8 For I am already being poured

out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.

Willing to fight for what is right, willing to stand against

sin!Jude 1:3 Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should

earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.

▪These five words come from a single Greek word ἐπαγωνίζεσθαι found only once in the TN! Meaning to struggle for, to fight against!

▪“The only thing needed for Satan to win is for God’s children to do nothing!”

III. We Must Not Faint!Rom 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to

God, which is your reasonable service.▪It seems to me that the hardest part of

walking by faith and not by sight is that it goes against everything we know!

▪We live in a world of five senses (sight, smell, hearing, taste and touch) but God demands we learn to “see beyond” these!

When we learn there is more than just the life we now know, this

brings hope!▪We are not as others that have “no hope!”▸1 Thess 4:13 But I do not want you to be

ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope.

▪There was a time we were “hopeless” but now we are “hopeful!”▸Eph 2:12 that at that time you were without Christ

being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel & strangers from the covenants of promise having no hope & without God in the world.

Conclusion:▪Have you come to really have faith in God?

Are you willing to really trust Him with your life? Are you willing to “walk by faith, and not by sight?”

▪If you are a child of God, do you always have to see to believe, or do you have enough faith to walk in the dark?

▪It is time we leave our comfort zones and learn to really step out in faith trusting God even when we don't see what He is doing!