Walking by Faith

Wayne Galloway
10/30/22 - Sunday Morning Worship

Walking by Faith

2 Cor. 5:7

Introduction:

1.  “We walk by faith, not by sight.”

2.  Paul made this statement to the Christians at Corinth as he referenced their expectation of being absent from the body and being at home with the Lord.

3.  We know about the future after our death only by means of what God has told us.  Thus, we know it based on our trust in what God has said.

4.  The statement has broader application than just the future after death.  The entirety of the Christian’s walk is based on faith in what God has revealed and not on our own understanding.

5.  BUT, I want to talk with you about flying by faith.

6.  My friend, Laura Walker Mendoza, is an airplane pilot.  There are two classifications of pilots.  Those trained by Visual Flight Rules (VFR) and those trained to fly by Instrument Flight Rules (IFR).  Laura is a commercial pilot trained to fly both single and multi-engine planes.  She has an instrument rating.  Meaning that she can fly with instruments only.  She is certified to train others to fly with instruments only.

7.  She can fly even when she cannot see the horizon.  She flies by faith in her instruments.

8.  So it is with the people of God.  We move through life and into the next dependent on the information given us by God.  His communication orients us on the right course.

Discussion:

I.  Perhaps some more information will be helpful to understanding the analogy.

    A.  Imagine yourself a pilot flying an airplane.

          1.  Looking at the horizon you can control your pitch.  The nose of the plane can be down

                or up or straight ahead.

          2.  Looking at the horizon you can tilt your wings up or down or keep them level.  If the

               left wing is down you are banking left.  If the right wing is down you are banking right.

    B.  Now imagine flying in a cloud or in the dark.

          1.  You cannot see the horizon and so you cannot tell if the nose is up down or straight

                ahead.

          2.  You cannot tell if you are banking right, left, or not at all.

          3.  Instruments are used to maintain your orientation.  Laura says, “Your focus must be on

               your instruments.  Your inner ear tricks you when your sight is taken away and so you

               cannot trust your sensations.  They can make you feel you are in a completely different

               orientation than you are in in reality.”

      C.  The devil skews the incoming information and disorients us.

            1.  He confuses the incoming information with lies.  Jesus described him as “the father of

                  lies.”  He said, “There is no truth in him” (Jn. 8:44).

            2.  Laura says, “As a pilot in command, you are responsible for checking that your

                  instruments are accurate before flights.”

               3.  This is why there is so much emphasis in Scripture on believing the truth.  This is

                    why there is so much warning against false teaching and false prophets.  It is the

                    truth that sets free (Jn. 8:32).  Therefore, we must give attention to the reading of

                    Scripture, to exhortation and teaching (1 Tim. 4:13).  Therefore Paul admonished

                    Timothy (2 Tim. 3:14-17).

II.  There are so many examples of the devil’s deception throughout Scripture.

      A.   He confused Eve (Gen. 3:1-7).

            1.  “You surely will not die.”

            2.  He appealed to her desire to be like God.

            3.  She evaluated it with her senses.  The tree was good for food, a delight to the eyes,

                 and desirable to make one wise.

      B.  He confused the Egyptians (Ex. 7:22; 8:7).

            1.  They had their system of gods.

            2.  Each of the ten plagues was designed to reveal the deception associated with their

                  gods.

            3.  In the case of the water turned to blood the magicians of Egypt did the same.  In the

                 case of the frogs over the land the magicians did the same.

      C.  He confused Israel at Rephidim when there was no water to drink (Ex. 17:1-3).

           1.  What did the “instruments” say?  God had provided water for them before at Marah

                (Ex. 15:22-25).  He had provided manna for them to eat in the Wilderness of Sin (Ex.

                16:4ff). 

           2.  Israel trusted their sensations—their thirst, their hunger and became disoriented.

      D.  He confused them at Sinai (Ex. 32).

            1.  Their senses said, “We don’t know what has become of Moses.”

            2.  So they built the golden calf and worshiped it.

            3.  Their senses said, “This is the way god is to be worshiped.”

       E.  Jeremiah said, “It is not in man who walks to direct his own steps” (10:23).  He called on

            the Lord for correction and direction.

II.  The devil confuses us too.  He disorients us.  He gives us upside down readings.

     A.  The devil says, “The way to avoid being in want is to take what you can get.”

           1.  Scripture defines this as covetousness (or greed).  One can be greedy or covetous

                regarding various things.  Money.  Sex.  Relationship.  Cf. Ex. 20:17; Eph. 5:3-5.

           2.  Scripture says, “Give.  Generously.  Graciously.”  Cf.  Eph. 4:28; 1 Tim. 6:17-19; 2 Cor.

                 9:7ff.  “Don’t worry about what you are going eat, drink or put on” (Matt. 6:25ff).

           3.  That just doesn’t seem right does it?  It didn’t seem right to the rich young ruler (Lk.

                18:18ff).  It didn’t seem right to the rich man of Lk. 16 who failed to help Lazarus (19ff).

     B.  The devil says, “You ought to give people what they deserve, after all, it’s only fair.”

          1.  So if a person hits you, you should hit them back.  If a person speaks harshly to you,

                you should speak harshly back. 

          2.  But Scripture says, “Turn the other cheek” (Matt. 5:38-48).  Give a blessing instead of

                    insult (1 Pet. 3:8-15a).

          C.  The devil says, “If those on the left are aggressive and hostile, be aggressive and hostile

                back.  If those on the right are aggressive and hostile, be aggressive and hostile back.” 

                1.  Scripture says, “The wise and understanding shows by his good deeds in gentleness

                     and understanding that his wisdom comes from above” (James 3:13ff).

                2.  You cannot beat the devil at his own game.

                3.  The way of changing the world is not by beating others down, but by lifting the

                      grace of God (Matt 5:13-16).

                4.  Listen to Rom. 12:14-21.

          D.  The devil says, “Kill and destroy your enemy.”  Cf. Matt. 5:43ff.

                1.  Yet, Jesus came “to seek and save the lost.”   “The thief comes to steal and kill and

                     destroy; I came that they may have life and have it abundantly” (Jn 10:10).

                2.  Jesus commends suffering for others (1 Pet. 2:21-24).  He said, “Whoever wishes to

                     save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, will save it” (Lk. 9:24).

III.  The key to maintaining our orientation.

       A.  Laura says, “The focus must be on the instruments.  If you trust your sensations, you can

            feel you are in a completely different orientation.”

       B.  She adds, “You could end up in an unusual orientation that is difficult to recover from.”

       C.  Sometimes we are spinning out of control because we have listened to the lies of the

            devil and the message that is communicated by the world.  It’s hard to recover when you

            are spinning out of control. 

       D.  Only by listening and responding to the message of God can you regain your orientation.

             Look at your instruments ladies and gentlemen.  Scan your instruments.  Make the

             necessary corrections carefully.

Conclusion:

1.  Are you walking by faith or by sight?

2.  Is your orientation correct?

3.  You can’t trust your senses.  You must trust the Lord.