08/17/2026
08.16.2026 Seeing The Unseen
Our advantage and freedom as Christians depends on our ability to see (and believe) in the unseen. But what is it that is “unseen” that we need to focus our eyes upon?
II Corinthians 4:16-18… “For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. 17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; 18 While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.”
There’s a phrase in our passage today that captured my attention… Paul said… “we do not lose heart.” WHY? Because… “we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen.”
We apparently have the power to see things the rest of the world cannot… We see the unseen things of this world… and that ability to focus on the unseen gives us an advantage… it gives us FREEDOM!
Now… that knowledge… (that we see the unseen things of this world) reminded me of a confession an atheist once made… She wrote… “…Over the years, I’ve come to think I’m missing out. My friends and relatives who rely on God… the real believers, not just the churchgoers… have an expansiveness of spirit. When they walk along a stream, they don’t just see water falling over rocks; the sight fills them with ecstasy. They see a realm of hope beyond this world. I just see a babbling brook. I don’t get the message.”
That woman was baffled by the fact that her friends and relatives… who were the “real-believers” in God… could be filled with hope simply by looking at the wonders of creation… These believers looked at the same things she did… but what they saw was the visible glory of an “unseen” God!
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Romans 1:19-20 says it this way… “ Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
In other words… what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his INVISIBLE ATTRIBUTES, namely, his eternal power and divine nature… have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made.”
We are a people who see the unseen… As Christians… We believe in the POWER of a God we cannot see. We have a PROMISE of a destination we’ve not seen… And we believe in the PRESENCE of a Jesus we’ve never met… That’s WHO we are. And those truths of what we believe about the unseen make us who we are!
Jesus said… “You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free” and the truth we cling to… is that we can see the unseen… That’s truth that sets us free from hopelessness and despair.
For example… We believe in the POWER of a God we cannot see… There’s a story in II Kings 6:11-20 that tells of a conflict between the King of Syria and the King of northern tribes of Israel… The King of Syria made plans to ambush Israel but every time he did so… the prophet Elisha would send a warning to the King of Israel to avoid that area… It became obvious that SOMEBODY was warning Israel about the ambushes and the king of Syria was furious. When he discovered it was Elisha who was warning Israel the King of Syria sent horses… chariots and a great army to surround the city where Elisha lived.
We’re told that… “When the servant of the man of God rose early in the morning and went out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was all around the city. And the servant said… “Alas, my master! What shall we do?”
And Elisha said… “Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”
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You see… Elisha’s servant was afraid, and he had good reason. The enemy surrounded the city and it was obvious who they had come for… Elisha… and (maybe even) his servant faced imprisonment, torture and death… and there was no way they could stop it from happening. So, the servant was afraid… But Elisha was not… WHY NOT? Because he believed in the power of a God that could not be seen.
II Kings 6:15-23… Elisha prayed and said... “O LORD, please open his eyes that he may see.” …So the LORD opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha… And when the Syrians came down against him, Elisha prayed to the LORD and said… “Please strike this people with blindness.” …So he struck them with blindness in accordance with the prayer of Elisha. Then Elisha said to them… “This is not the way, and this is not the city. Follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom you seek.” …And he led them to Samaria (the capital city of Israel), and as soon as they entered Samaria, Elisha said… “O LORD, open the eyes of these men, that they may see.” …So the LORD opened their eyes and they saw, and behold, they were in the midst of Samaria…As soon as the king of Israel saw them, he said to Elisha… “My father, shall I strike them down? Shall I strike them down?” …Elisha answered… “You shall not strike them down. Would you strike down those whom you have taken captive with your sword and with your bow? Set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink and go to their master.” …So he prepared for them a great feast, and when they had eaten and drunk, he sent them away, and they went to their master. And the Syrians did not come again on raids into the land of Israel.”
The power of our unseen God was more powerful than the might of Syria’s army. That power gave Elisha freedom to not be overcome with hopelessness and despair… And our ability to believe in that POWER of our unseen God can do the same for us.
In honor of the 250th anniversary of our nation’s founding… I thought I’d share another such story from the days of the revolution… The Founding Fathers of our nation were praying men… During the revolutionary
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war it was not uncommon for them to spend 2 or 3 hours in prayer when they met… Nevertheless… during the Constitutional Convention of 1787… after the Revolution was finished… there was a great deal of in-fighting… and very little praying taking place.
Benjamin Franklin… who was not the most religious man… called for a time of prayer… He said… “In the beginning of the contest with Britain… when we were sensible of danger we had DAILY prayers in this room for Divine protection. Our prayers, Sir, were heard, and they were graciously answered… All of us who were engaged in the struggle must have observed frequent instances of a superintending Providence… the power of God… in our favor.... Do we imagine we no longer need His assistance?”
Benjamin Franklin believed in the power of an UNSEEN God… He’d seen it over and over again throughout the Revolution and one of those acts of God that Franklin referred to proved to be a major turning point in the Revolution… England’s war plans relied heavily on the power of their navy… No other navy of the day equaled its power and might… And without those ships Britain risked losing the fight with the colonies.
Now Britain based a large portion of their navy in the Caribbean. It was a safe place and a good harbor… but then came October 10th 1780… A massive hurricane swept thru the region with winds of about 200 mph… It was the most powerful hurricane EVER recorded and it destroyed nearly all the houses on the islands… even those made of stone… British forts were demolished and not a tree remained standing.
So… what happened to the British navy? Well…1000s of SAILORS died… 9 of their ships were severely damaged… and another 15 were totally destroyed… One British warship was lifted out of the water and dropped down on top of a hospital… Many scholars believe this was the beginning of the end of Britain’s war… Now… was that the work of an unseen God? I’m convinced that it was. And so were the founding fathers of our nation.
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So my 1st point is this… Paul wrote… “We do not lose heart…” (II Corinthians 4:16) And WE won’t lose heart because WE believe in the POWER of an unseen God… a God who has done mighty things and who will yet do mighty things… THAT’S MY FIRST POINT!!!
My 2nd point is this… We do not lose heart because we have a PROMISE of a destination we’ve not seen.
I Corinthians 2:9 tell us… “No eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him.”
John 14:2-3 Jesus said… “In My Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.”
One preacher of the day… Warren Wiersbe… said that… “For the Christian… Heaven isn’t simply a destination… it’s a motivation.”
The Bible mentions heaven more than 500 times and the book of Revelation speaks of heaven more than 50 times… And when Revelation tells us about heaven it explains that it will be place filled with lots of excitement and lots of singing… For example … in
Revelation 19:1-7… the Apostle John tells us… “After this I heard what seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, crying out, Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God, for his judgments are true and just.”
That excitement was what drove the early Christians to not fear the things of this world
There’s an Historian named Rodney Stark who wrote a book… “The Triumph of Christianity”…in which he explained how the Jesus Movement became the World’s Largest Religion… He explained that “Most pagans
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feared death because they expected to face mere oblivion when they died or, at best… a drab existence in a shadowy underworld.” By contrast… the early Christians built their lives around looking forward to Heaven. Many of the 1st century Christian martyrs were buried in the Roman catacombs… and those underground caverns had walls filled with inscriptions like this… “In Christ, Alexander is not dead, but lives… One who lives with God… He was taken up into His eternal home.”
Another historian wrote… “Pictures on the catacomb walls portrayed Heaven with beautiful landscapes, children playing, and people feasting at banquets.” …For the early Christians… heaven was ALL that they hoped for… and ALL that they dreamed of.
The story’s told of a little girl that walked with her dad one evening… For a long time she looked up at the stars… deep in thought. Her dad asked… “What are you thinking about?” And she replied… “If the bottom side of heaven is so beautiful… how wonderful the other side must be.”
Lastly… we do not lose heart because we have the PRESENCE of Jesus. Jesus promised…
Matthew 28:20… “Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
You and I have not met Him… but as Jesus told DOUBTING Thomas after Thomas had seen the wounds of Christ and bowed to Him saying… “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said…
John 20:29… “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
Because we’ve believed in Jesus without having Him… we’re going to be more blessed than the Apostles who DID see Jesus.
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Roman 8:34 declares… “Who is he that condemns? …PAUSE… Christ Jesus, who died… more than that, who was raised to life… is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.”
In other words… if you belong to Jesus… HE’s not going to let anyone condemn you.
And he wants to be your friend… There’s an old hymn that says it this way… “No one ever cared for me like Jesus; There’s no other friend so kind as He. No one else could take the sin and darkness from me; O how much He cares for me.”
You’ll never have a better friend than Jesus… Earthly friends may disappoint you… or abandon you… but Jesus will never leave you or forsake you. And not only is He with you NOW… He’s coming back for you.
John 14:2-3… “I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.”
CLOSE… So let’s review… You have a powerful God you can’t see… And He’s given you the promise of a destination you’ve NOT seen… And you have a Savior you’ve not met who promises to be with you always.
There’s a story I’ve told of a preacher who went to visit a dying man in the hospital. As he entered the room, the preacher noticed an empty chair beside the man’s bed. He asked the man if someone had just been by to visit. And the old man smiled.. “I place Jesus on that chair and I talk to Him.” He continued “Years ago a friend told me that prayer was as simple as talking to a good friend. So, every day, I pull up a chair, and I invite Jesus to sit and we have a good talk.” Several days later the daughter of the old man called the preacher to inform him that her father had just died. “He seemed so content,” she said. “I’d just left him alone in his room for a couple of hours. When I got back to the room, I found him dead. But I noticed the strangest thing, His head wasn’t resting on his pillow, but on an empty chair that was beside the bed.”…That’s the story of man who believed in the power of an unseen God; and in the promises of a heavenly home; and in presence of a Savior who loved him deeply.
