The Sunday Sermon

By Faith we Walk

R.P.Woitowitz Sr.

13 And because we have the same spirit of faith,

according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have

I spoken, we also believe, and therefore speak,

18 While we look not on the things which are

seen, but on the things which are not seen for the

things which are seen, are temporal: but the things

which are not seen, are eternal.

The Second Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Corinthians

Chapter 4 Verses 13 and 18

First dear friend and reader, read again the above, and let it sink into your heart and mind. We, that is to say you, and me, have the same, the very same spirit of faith, that is given to all those who believe. There is none that is given a little nor any that is given more, we each of us have the same, equal amounts. ( James 1:4-8;) The difference may lie in how we utilize it, but we all have been given by God our Father the spirit that exists in Him. And with that spirit within us we are told by God to see things not as they are in THIS world, but how they are in the world eternal.

In 1989 I was saved. I gave my life over to Christ. Before that, I was an agnostic, neither being able to confirm nor deny God. Basically I went with what I could see with my own two eyes. There is of course the old argument of well you can’t see atoms, however the answer was but we can see electrons, (via microscopes) and as such knowing that they revolve around atoms, we can confirm their existence. But how, I would ask, do you prove God? The answer was always the same, we prove it by faith. ( Hebrews 11:1; )

Sadly, I so resisted God, and His attempts to reach out to me. I recall a Bible study, that was being hosted in my home. One of the participants asked if I would like to join. I, being the cynic I was said no thanks, that I just could not believe in something I could not see. We went around for a bit, and finally in a fit of anger I pulled a dollar out of my pocket, and said rather curtly, “See this? This is God!” The other man, looked at me, and I felt so bad for being so short tempered, yet his eyes were filled with pity. He said, “No Richard, that is the god of this world, and he is speaking through you, but it is not the Living God.” ( 2 Corinthians 4:4; Hebrews 10:31; ) I must admit I was not only shamed by my own behavior, but, now looking back on it, I was put to shame by God, for even doubting. ( John 20:24-29;) However praise be to God that He had not given up on me, and in the course of time I came into His light.

Now, one might ask me what does all this have to do with living by faith?

Friends, I am getting around to that straight away. Suffice it to say, that the man above saw life through the eyes of the spirit and not of the flesh. He walked in faith. Had he ever seen God? No, not very likely. He would have seen the works of God’s hands in his life, the manifestations of following in the righteousness of God, but seen God? NO. So how, how, did he know so assuredly that there was a God? He walked by faith.

As the Author of Hebrews pointed out in Chapter 11, many men obtained a good testimony for following God, based on faith, and belief in God, and His ability to do all that He promised. (Hebrews 11:13:) The author names Abraham, Abel, Enoch, Noah, and other patriarchs whom God had chosen to be shinning examples to each of us.

Now, in order to have that faith, and to be a pleasing aroma to God we must first believe that He exists! ( Hebrews 11:6;) Once we acknowledge that He lives and He exists, we begin to walk in faith. As a pastor once said during a sermon I attended “I know, that I know in my heart that I know He lives.” There is no doubt, no wavering, no hesitation, when we may be questioned about do we believe the answer must always be a resounding yes.

Groucho Marx once quipped in a movie; “ Who are you going to believe me, or your lying eyes?” I submit that God could make the same claim. The difference is the word me, for it is with a capital “M” So I ask you friends, who do YOU believe, God, or your lying eyes of the flesh?

Editor’s note - Suggested additional reading Psalm 116