What Walking By Faith Really Means

Introduction

Just a warning. All of you young people taking notes, get your pencil sharpened. I know you probably have a pen. Get your pen sharpened and write quickly. Because there’s going to be a lot of material fast, and I don’t want you to get discouraged or reduce anyone to tears. I’ve done that before. Alright, we’re going to start in the 18th book of the Old Testament. I want you to turn to the 19th chapter of the book of Job. After all the historical material of the first 17 books of the Old Testament, we come to what is called the wisdom literature. And so there’s a question about chronology. When was the book of Job written? Have a lot of material that I’m not sharing with you this morning.

Eliphaz seems to refer post flood. One of his comments. Job seems to be living in the patriarchal period. There’s no mention of the law or the nation of Israel or the Exodus or anything like that. So we’re probably talking about the patriarchal period. Who knows? Probably before Abraham. And so this is the setting. You know part of the story. I’m going to assume you know something about the story, that Satan makes accusation as he has been walking to and fro through the earth. And God says, Have you considered my servant Job? We learn about the sovereign God in this story. He says, You incited me against him when Satan suggested that you put a hedge about him. No wonder he’s serving you. Take that hedge away, and he will not do so.

And so God takes full responsibility as the sovereign God. And then there’s Job’s friends who show up as his suffering unfolds. He’s lost children. He’s lost material possessions. He’s covered in boils. He’s in immense pain. And his friends, Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar show up to the scene, and the best thing they ever did. Job 2 and verse 13. They sat down on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights, with no one speaking a word to him. For they saw that his pain was very great. I say it’s the best thing that they did because once they opened their mouths, it all went to rack and ruin. As they were continuing to say what was not consistent with God’s wisdom. In fact, at the end of the story, they must make sacrifices for their errant views, and Job is to pray for them that they might recover spiritually from this incident.

But in the midst of Job’s suffering, there are some classic statements that he makes, some affirmations, and even some complaints, because he knew he was not suffering for any evil that he had done. Wonderful statements in Job 19, verse 23. Oh, that my words were written. Oh, that they were inscribed in a book. And little did he know they would be.

Stand upon the earth. It is in this section that Job is responding to his friends, and he says, How long will you torment me and crush me with your words? These ten times you have insulted me. You are not ashamed to wrong me, he says.

Then call, and I will answer, or let me speak, then reply to me. He just wants answers from God, and toward the end of his words, in 31 and 35, he says, Oh, that I had one to hear me. Behold, here is my signature. Let the Almighty answer me, and the indictment which my adversary has written. And then things take a turn. Elihu is not grouped with the other three in God’s condemnation of their behavior. Elihu begins to speak about God and says some wonderful things about who God is. God thunders with his voice wondrously, doing great things which we cannot comprehend, he says in Job 37 and verse 5. Listen to this, O Job. Stand and consider the wonders of God.

Around God is awesome majesty. Verse 22, verse 24. Therefore, men fear him. He does not regard any who are wise of heart. And so things have taken a turn with the words of the younger Elihu, and there is more respect for the separateness and sovereignty of God. And then, as we know the story, following Elihu’s words, God appears in a whirlwind, a natural phenomenon, and speaks to Job. Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge? Now gird up your loins like a man, and I will ask you and you instruct me. Job will take responsibility for these statements in his concluding remarks. Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me if you have understanding. Building upon Elihu’s words, God says, out of the whirlwind, understand, Job, I am greatly powerful, and my ways are beyond your knowing.

That’s the implication of all that God says to Job out of the whirlwind. He doesn’t give Job an answer for all of his suffering and all of his pain. He says, You just need to trust me that I’m a powerful God and that my ways are beyond your knowing. Have you ever in your life commanded the morning? Just like it happened today, the sun came up, we take it for granted. Have you ever in your life commanded the morning and caused the dawn to know its place? Oh, you know, as he goes on to talk about the marvels of creation, you know, for you were born then, and the number of your days is great. Isn’t it amazing that those who have been around such a short time, like us, yes, even those of you who are in your 70s and 80s, even those who have been around seven or eight decades, we have not been around that long compared to the eternity of our God.

You were born then, and the number of your days is great. And so Job got his wish. God speaks to Job. And then Job responds in chapter 42. I know that thou canst do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted. Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge? I have declared that which I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. And then this.

My eyes have seen. Now, when that happened, when he finally gets the audience that he’s asked for, and God speaks to Job out of the whirlwind, what is the result of that encounter? What would be the result of an encounter if God were to speak to you out of a storm today? I’m relatively certain that’s not going to happen. We might have the storm, but I’m not expecting God to speak to any of us. But would that change your perspective? To hear the thunderous voice of God out of a whirlwind? And because of the nature of what God says, Job says, I spoke of things too wonderful for me. As he acknowledges what Elihaw had said about the greatness of God and what God says out of the whirlwind about Job’s inability to understand.

But now my eyes have seen you. And so I suggested that I’m going to talk to you today about walking by faith. And what that really means from this verse in the book of Job.

1. Trusting What Our Ears Hear

Though our eyes have not seen.

We are to trust what men like Job saw and others. What do you hear and see? That was the question that Jesus asked of the disciples of John. They said, Are you the one, or shall we look for another? They were blessed to see. Have we who have not seen? Heard of the mighty deeds of God, the magnificent deeds recorded by inspired eyewitnesses and prophets. And do we believe, though we have not seen with our eyes? I made this observation in class, and I think it’s so important that I want to make it again. That I think we tend to believe in our study of the scriptures and all the miracles that are recorded and all the frenzy that took place in Palestine during the days of Jesus and the apostles, that everybody saw a miracle.

That almost everybody alive at that time saw a miracle. Miracles we see them all throughout the Old Testament. So most people saw miracles. That is not the case. Most people did not witness miracles, not even most people in the first century. You had to go to Palestine to see most of the miracles that took place in those days. Most of the world didn’t see.

Poor pitiful us. We’ve never seen a miracle. Boy, my faith would be stronger if I saw a miracle. Well, Jesus said that the brothers of the rich man wouldn’t believe though someone came back from the dead because the rich man said, Please send Lazarus back to my five brothers. He said, They have Moses and the prophets to hear with their ears. They have Moses and the prophets, let them hear them. Poor pitiful us. We haven’t seen a miracle. None of you have seen a miracle. Poor pitiful you.

Even in biblical times when great miracles did occur. And that’s why Jesus would say things to the disciples blessed are your eyes because you see, and because of your ears and what they hear. They were truly fortunate to have been witnesses of those things. But Jesus would tell Thomas, who would not believe unless he saw the imprint of the nails. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believed. They will never have the experience of Job in this life. Now I see with my eyes, but they believe because of what they have heard with their ears. I have to admit, I’m a little envious of the servant in 2 Kings chapter 6. Oh, alas, my master, what are we going to do? We’re surrounded by an army.

Assyrians. Just a prophet and his servant. And Elisha says, Those who are with us are more than those who are with them. And his eyes were open. And the servant saw horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. He had heard it from his ears, but now he saw with his eyes.

And realized something great and extraordinary. But will we believe though we have not seen with our eyes? And so I want to talk to you this morning for a minute about trusting in what our ears hear, though our eyes have not seen. That is God’s expectation of us.

Do you have confidence in what you have heard with your ears? And as I thought about that, we think about how incredible it would be to actually see a miracle with our eyes to have witnessed an assembly where speaking in tongues occurred, and sick people were made well, and dead people were raised. Or someone could drink poison and not harm would not come to them as we read about the signs that would follow those disciples who would believe in Mark 16. And we think if we saw something like that it would only confirm our faith more, but again, that’s not been normative. That’s not been the enormative experience of the righteous throughout all time. Many have simply heard with their ears.

2. Confidence in God's Word From Psalm 119

As we walk by faith. I thought about a lot of the statements of Psalm 11. And the confidence and the assurance the psalmist had in the words of God. As we talk about standing on the promises. Now, let’s read all 176 verses of Psalm 119. Oh no, I’m not going to do that. What I did was I picked out about 20 that talk about confidence in God’s word. And again, you might want to just write the numbers down and come back to these later. Verse 2. Blessed are those who observe his testimonies, who seek him with all their heart. Know at the beginning, this is what the blessed individual does. The one who hears the words of God and trusts in them, he is blessed. And they seek him with all their heart.

Verses 5 and 6. Oh, that my ways were steadfast in obeying your decrees. I would not be put to shame when I consider all your commands. No shame on those who have confidence in God’s word. Turn my eyes away from worthless things. Preserve my life according to your word. Do you believe that? That your life will be preserved by keeping the words that you hear.

For I trust in your word. The only answers you really need.

Two verses later, he affirms that remembering the ancient laws provides comfort. You are my portion, Lord. He says in verse 57. I have promised to obey your words.

Your laws endure to this day, for all things serve you.

I stand in awe of your laws. Because I consider all your precepts right. I hate every wrong path. Is this the confidence that you have in the things that your ears hear? Direct my footsteps according to your word. Let no sin rule over me. Verse 133. Verse 135. Make your face to shine on your servant and teach me your decrees. This is how important God’s word is in our lives. Verse 137. You are righteous, Lord, and your laws are right. They are trustworthy. Eternal and life-giving. Lord’s words are right. You have heard them with your ears. Is that what you believe? 164. Seven times a day I praise you. What a good practice that is. Seven times a day I praise you for your righteous laws.

I need God’s words, the words that I have heard to guide me. 165. Great peace have those who love your law, and nothing can make them stumble. And finally, I obey your statutes, for I love them greatly. I obey your precepts, for all my ways are known to you. Very similar to the story of Job. Just a few statements from Psalm 119 that express confidence in what God’s word, the words that you have heard do for you. Now let’s get to the application of the matter. Trust. Confidence in those spiritual realities. And I want to make four observations. I want to talk about four things quickly, where I think sometimes confidence wavers in the things that we hear.

3. Sobriety: Do We Trust What We Hear?

When these initial thoughts about Job 42 and verse 5 came to me.

Whether or not the accusation is true, whether or not she is correct when she says she was 100% sure that it was Brett Kavanaugh, or whether he is right when he says she’s gotten it wrong. I wasn’t there. Here is my calendar, which is amazing, by the way, that he has a calendar like that. Here are my calendars for that time. I was not there. I don’t know this person. I didn’t do this. But when he kept affirming about, I drink beer, I love beer. And if you weren’t here Wednesday night for Ed’s invitation, I tell you missed something. That was extraordinary as he talked to our young people about the legacy of their lives and things that can happen that ruin reputations and a little foolishness and what it can do to our lives.

You know, if drinking hadn’t been a part of Brett Kavanaugh’s early days, I guarantee you we wouldn’t be where we are in this political mess. Whether or not he’s innocent.

Do we trust what we hear? When God’s word is continually telling us not to be filled with wine. Not even when that wine that he’s talking about is comparable to the strength of our 21st century beverage. Okay. He’s talking about a beverage of less alcoholic content than our 21st century wine, but he says, do not be filled with wine which is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit. And he’s talking about here is a path that leads to intoxication. And he says, here is a path that leads to righteousness and goodness. These are not coinciding paths. These are separate paths. Now my question is, why is God so insistent on my sobriety 100% of the time? To be drunk is sinful. We all can agree about that, unless we’re just going to throw out how many passages in the New Testament.

Galatians 5 is going to throw it out. Lust of the flesh, it’s gone. Because those who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of heaven. And we’re going to debate about what constitutes an acceptable drink, but not a forfeiture of sobriety, and all that gets thrown about and banned about. But why is God so concerned about sobriety? If you have one night where you’re a little tipsy, what’s the big deal? God’s word teaches sobriety. And I don’t know. I don’t know all of God’s wisdom in that.

And what I trust and what I believe. And God calls me to sobriety. I don’t have to know all of his wisdom. Where was I when he caused the morning? When he caused the dawn to know its place. Oh, you’ve been around many years. Your days are great. What gives us the right to say, no, God, I just don’t believe that’s necessary. You see what we’ve done? We’ve surrendered our humility and made ourselves God, is what we’ve done. Are we going to respond in confidence that this way is best? Because this is what God has instructed me to do. Do you trust with what you hear with your ears? I could talk about a lot of the tenets of scripture. But I chose modesty as my second point because I think we have the same problem here.

4. Trusting God on the Subject of Modesty

There’s not a lot said about modesty in the New Testament about the way we present ourselves and as clothing and before the world. But there’s enough passages to suggest that we’re not to be promoting lust. We’re not to be promoting flashy, ostentatious. Everybody look at me because of the way that I’m adorned. That’s really the major thrust of those passages. But the concept is let people be drawn to you for what you are on the inside rather than how you dress on the outside. That’s what those passages are saying. 1 Timothy chapter 2 and 1 Peter chapter 3. How are you attracting people? And it’s a really tough challenge for people who are single and want to get noticed and ultimately be married. I realize that’s a challenge.

So our society says, hey, flaunt your stuff. Put it out there. Marriage is based on that won’t last.

5. Bearing Our Cross

Are we going to trust God? And what he tells us on the subject of modesty. And are we going to trust what God tells us, what we hear with our ears about bearing our cross? I think sometimes when we are challenged with the crosses that we’re called to bear, when what we ought to do interferes with what we want to do.

That’s a better choice. I’m going to put off my cross for now. I’ll pick it up later. Are we convinced that the way of the cross leads home? Are we convinced by what our Savior did in denying himself and dying on the cross for us as a model? It’s not just about salvation and accomplishing what was necessary to meet the justice of God. It was about showing us a pattern of living that leads to real life and glory. He who wishes to save his life shall lose it, but he who loses his life for my sake shall find it.

6. Fellowship: My Pursuit of Union With Christ

To the message of discipleship in the gospel. Will you set aside yourself for higher purposes? The accomplishment of the will of God and the help of his people and the service of others. And then there’s fellowship. My pursuit of union with Christ, my pursuit of union with God, by my continued pursuit of godliness, purity, submission. I enjoy all the privileges of being connected with deity. Do I value that above everything else? Well, there’s a lot more that I could say. A lot more topics I could consider. I have not seen with my eyes, but I have heard with my ears. What kind of trust do I have in these things? Do you believe this? Romans chapter 2 and verse 6. God will render to every man according to his deeds.

Conclusion

To those who persevere, to those who by perseverance and doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life. But to those who are selfishly ambitious and who do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, wrath, and indignation. I don’t need to see a miracle. I know that this is the tenor of the entire Bible story. This is the tenor of the Old Testament, it is the tenor of the New Testament. It’s about a path of life that you choose. There is a broad gate and a broad way that leads to destruction, and most people go in thereat. But there is a narrow gate and a narrow way that leads to life, and few are those that find it. And the reason why there is few is not because the way is obscure or difficult to find.

The reason why the way is narrow is because that first part is going to require a determined effort on your part. Who by perseverance in doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality and eternal life. That’s who we’re to be. And I believe that, though I’ve never met the Apostle Paul who wrote those words, but I sure believe he lived. And I’ve never been under the influence of the Holy Spirit to write like Paul was, and the New Testament writers and Old Testament writers were. I’ve always wondered what that experience would have been like.

Or will I believe? Though my eyes have not seen, because of what my ears have heard, and I know, because of the eyewitness testimony of people like Job and others, that while I have not seen with my eyes, while I cannot say what Job said, now my eyes have seen you, I have every confidence that one day, when by his grace I shall look on his face, that I will have glory, because of what I have heard with my ears, and because what I’m determined to pursue, despite never having seen.