Seeing Him Who Is Invisible is a sermon teaching us that by faith we follow God, having not seen the one in whom we believe, but believing in Him who we shall see.

Key verses:
Hebrews 11:23-29

Take your Bible, if you will, and turn with me to Hebrews chapter 11, Hebrews chapter 11. We’ve been in this chapter for some time and plan to be in it for at least one or two more Wednesday nights. We’re going to be looking tonight at verses 23 to 29, but to begin with, I want us to look at verse 27. So, Hebrews chapter 11 and verse 27.

Hebrews 11:27: “By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible.”

I want you to focus on that phrase tonight, “seeing him who is invisible.” Now, how can you see someone who is invisible? Well, we’re going to talk about that right now.

What Makes Us Do That?

I want to talk to you for a little while. Keep your Bible open, if you will. We’re going to look at, Lord willing, verses 23 to 29, but I want to set the stage a little bit. There is something that causes people to leave the world and live for God. There is something that causes people to live a life of service to God. There is something that causes people to be faithful to God. There is something that causes people to leave everything they have to go to another land, another country, another culture, perhaps learn another language, and spend their lives on what we call the mission field. There’s something that causes people to do that. There is something that is greater than wealth, greater than fame, greater than popularity, greater than any feeling you could ever have that moves people to do things that will last not only for time but for eternity.

Now, what is that? What is it that makes people do that? I was talking to Pastor Schermerhorn years ago, and we were both talking about how each of us, and we’re certainly not the only ones who do this, sometimes you’d be burning up with a fever, and your throat hurts so bad that every word you say hurts, and you go ahead and preach anyway. And he said, “What makes us do that?” That’s a good question. I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking you’re not very smart, that’s what you’re thinking, but I think there’s something else there.

See, the Bible talks about being able to see God. I’m going to give you a number of verses where we’re told that people saw God. But then we’re also told that people cannot see God. Now, is that one of those contradictions in the Bible that people are always saying the Bible’s full of contradictions? Is that what that is, or is there something else there? People don’t believe the Bible. They look for reasons not to believe the Bible and, by the way, if you want to look for something wrong, you’ll find something wrong, not just with the Bible, anything. You take a person you don’t like; you want to find something wrong with them, and you’ll find it whether it’s there or not, you’ll find it.

I was talking with somebody today about that, how people make up things about somebody they don’t like and tell things that aren’t true. Just make it up. Why? Because they don’t like that person. They don’t want you to like that person either. So, people come up with false ideas and false premises.

Who or What Did They See?

But I’m going to go through a series of verses. I’m going to go fairly fast. If you want to jot down the references, you can, but mainly I want you to listen because all of these verses that I’m about to read to you have to do with seeing God. By the way, these are not all the references in the Bible that talk about seeing God. There are others, these are just, I think, some key statements that are made about seeing God.

In Genesis 32, Jacob got involved with a mysterious wrestler, and in verse 34 of that chapter, it says:

Genesis 32:34: “And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day.”

verse 30 of that chapter:

Genesis 32:30: “And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.”

Jacob said I’ve seen God face to face; my life is preserved. Now, I don’t want you to answer this out loud, but I want you to think about it. Who or what did Jacob see? He said, “I’ve seen God face to face.” So, can any human being see God and live? Well, listen to Exodus 19:21:

Exodus 19:21: “And the LORD said unto Moses, Go down, charge the people, lest they break through unto the LORD to gaze, and many of them perish.”

God was saying to Moses don’t let the people get too close; they’re going to want to come. They’re going to want to come and look at me. But if that happens, many of them will perish.

Exodus 24:9: “Then went up Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel:”

Exodus 24:10: “And they saw the God of Israel: and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in his clearness.”

Exodus 24:11: “And upon the nobles of the children of Israel he laid not his hand: also they saw God, and did eat and drink.”

Kind of a strange statement, isn’t it? Again, who or what did they see? They saw something.

Exodus 33:11: “And the LORD spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend. And he turned again into the camp: but his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, departed not out of the tabernacle.”

Exodus 33:20: “And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live.”

What? Haven’t we just heard about people who saw Him and lived?

Exodus 33:21: “And the LORD said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock:”

Exodus 33:22: “And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a clift of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by:”

Exodus 33:23: “And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen.”

Deuteronomy 4:12: “And the LORD spake unto you out of the midst of the fire: ye heard the voice of the words, but saw no similitude; only ye heard a voice.”

But now listen to Isaiah:

Isaiah 6:1: “In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.”

Who or what did they see? In Ezekiel’s prophecy, he spends the first three chapters describing a vision of the Lord upon His throne, and Ezekiel tells us that the Lord spoke directly to him. Again, who or what did he see?

John 1:8, John wrote this he said:

John 1:18: “No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.”

Now, let me run that one by you again:

John 1:18: “No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.”

That’s John chapter one. In John 4:24- 26, Jesus is talking to the Samaritan woman, and He says to her:

John 4:24: “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”

Now, that’s an important statement. God is a spirit.

John 4:25: “The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things.”

John 4:26: “Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he.”

What is He saying? “I am the Messiah.” That is a very clear statement. Then, in John 14:7-9, Jesus said to His disciple, Thomas:

John 14:7: “If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.”

“If you knew me [Thomas], you should have known my Father also: and from henceforth [from this time forward] you know him and have seen him.”

John 14:8: “Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us.”

John 14:9: “Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?”

“He that has seen me has seen the Father.”

John 20:29: “Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.”

Listen, “Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.” You saw me, Thomas, you believe. Blessed are those who haven’t seen me and believe. In Acts 7:55 and 56, we’re told of a dying Stevennd Luke writes:

Acts 7:55: “But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God,”

Acts 7:56: “And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.”

What did he see? Colossians 1:12-15:

Colossians 1:12: “Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:”

Colossians 1:13: “Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:”

Colossians 1:14: “In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:”

Who is the Son?

Colossians 1:15: “Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:”

Get hold of that. He is the image which you can see of the invisible God, which you cannot see. That brings us to Hebrews chapter 1:1-3:

Hebrews 1:1: “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,”

Hebrews 1:2: “Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;”

Hebrews 1:3: “Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;”

Faith in Whom They had Not Seen

Now, somebody is probably thinking at this point, “Well, that’s a lot of verses, but what does all that have to do with me?” That’s a good question. It’s a good question. Let me read to you a comment by C.I. Scofield. I was talking to somebody today about different commentators on the Bible. Listen, any commentator is a human being and they’re writing the human being’s knowledge and wisdom. That means it is not the Word of God. It is not inspired by God. It is not infallible. This is another man or woman’s understanding of the scripture.

But he said this regarding John 1:18, he wrote, “No man has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, which is in the Father, He had declared Him.” Scofield said, “The divine essence, God, in His own Triune person, no human being in the flesh has seen. But God, veiled in angelic form and especially as incarnated in Jesus Christ, has been seen of men.” And he cites Genesis 18, verses 2 and 22, and John 14, verses 8 and 9.

Now, is that the last word on this subject? Absolutely not, absolutely not. But the idea is a good one, so let’s look at something very authoritative, and that is the Word of God. Look, if you will now, at Hebrews 11 and verse 23. The first words we read in verse 23, the first two phrases say:

Hebrews 11:23: “By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents, because they saw he was a proper child; and they were not afraid of the king’s commandment.”

Now, let’s think about that for a moment, “By faith Moses, when he was born.” How much faith do you suppose Moses had when he was born? Probably not a great deal. So, evidently, it’s not Moses’ faith that it’s talking about here. Does that make sense to you? Well, whose faith is it? Well, look at it again.  “By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents.” Now, let me ask you the question again. Whose faith is this? His parents. That’s pretty obvious, isn’t it? Can you see that?

Hebrews 11:23: “By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents, because they saw he was a proper child; and they were not afraid of the king’s commandment.”

So, Moses’ parents had enough faith because the king had given a commandment that all the male children of Israel were to be killed. They could save the girls, but all the boy babies were supposed to be killed. Now, you can think of reasons for that. One of the things was that Pharaoh was trying to cut down on the number of Israelites in his land. That’s part of it. But if you go and read Revelation 12, you’re going to find that Satan wanted to prevent the coming of the Messiah, the coming of the Savior. If he gets rid of all the boy babies in Israel, that’s going to cut off any chance of the Messiah being born. Isn’t it interesting that centuries later, Herod had a similar idea? Do you suppose they both had the same motivator? I believe they did.

So, it says here in verse 23 that they, Moses’ parents, were not afraid of the king’s commandment. Why not? Why weren’t they afraid? They were no more than slaves in the land of Egypt. The king, Pharaoh, had absolute authority and he had a large army to back it up. Why were they not afraid of the king’s commandment? Well, the Bible says here, because they live by faith. Now, they had faith in God. They had faith in the God whom they had not seen. They were surrounded by idols that they could see. Here’s this god and that god and this goddess and that goddess. They could see god and goddess statues all over the place, pictures. They didn’t see the God of their ancestors.

And let me share something else with you. They didn’t have the scriptures. Some say, “Well, they should believe the Word of God.” Well, that’s good and I like that. They didn’t have a Bible. Do you know how much of the Bible that Moses’ parents had? Likely none. Now, I really think the Book of Job is very old. They possibly had that. We don’t know that for sure. There’s a good chance they didn’t have any scripture at all.

Well, then, how did they even know about God? Let’s think about that. Moses is of the tribe of Levi. Now, Levi is one of the twelve sons of who? Jacob. And Jacob is the son of Isaac and Isaac is the son of Abraham. Do you suppose maybe it got passed down through the generations, the stories about God? Yeah, I would think so.

So, you have an advantage over them in one way, and that is that you have the Bible. You have the written Word of God. They didn’t have that. But they’d heard about God, and they’d heard about some of the things that God had done through Abraham and Isaac and Jacob. They acted upon what they knew, and they believed God. Doesn’t it tell us that Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him for righteousness? Well, why wouldn’t that be true of Moses’ parents if they believed God? Wouldn’t it be counted to them for righteousness? It’s this Book of Hebrews that tells us that.

Moses Believed in Him Who was Not Seen

But in verse 24, it says:

Hebrews 11:24: “By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter;”

“When he was come to years,” – that means Moses when he became a mature man; he was not a child anymore, he was not likely a teenager, he was a mature man. “Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter.” I want you to think about that for a minute. There are a lot of advantages in being the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He would not have become Pharaoh because he was not Egyptian, but he lived in the power. He doubtless could have held and probably did hold a high office in the land. There are a lot of advantages, humanly speaking, to being the son of Pharaoh’s daughter and he refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter.

Why did he do that? Well, it tells us at the beginning of verse 24. He did it by faith. Evidently, Moses believed something. He knew he was not Egyptian. He knew that he was a child of the people of Israel, and he had faith in the God of Israel. Again, where did he get that? Because he didn’t grow up with mom and dad. He didn’t grow up among his people, but somehow, he heard about the God of his ancestors, and he had faith.

Now, Moses, at this point in his life, doesn’t know the Lord, but he’s obviously no atheist either. He’s going to come to know the Lord in a short time. So, verse 25 tells us that Moses made some choices, and he chose to suffer affliction as opposed to being the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to suffer affliction with the people of God. What does that mean, “suffer affliction”? They were slaves. “Do you mean Moses would rather be a slave than live in the king’s palace?” That’s exactly what it’s saying. Why would he do that? Well, it’s going to tell us.

Hebrews 11:25: “Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;”

Now, Moses is believing in the God whom he’s never seen, who his parents had never seen, they’d only heard about. Do you know what you and I do? The same thing. We believe in a God whom we’ve never seen, whom we’ve heard about, we’ve not seen.

But it says he chose to suffer affliction with the people of God rather than the pleasures of sin for a season. Can I make a statement here? There is pleasure in sin. Many sins bring pleasure for a season. That’s a very important phrase. Don’t forget that. “For a season,” – what does that mean? It means it’s temporary and it doesn’t last. Whatever pleasure you get from sin is not going to last. How long will it last? Well, there’s not one answer to that. It depends on the situation and what happens, your circumstances, and how things turn out, but it’s not going to last. It will come to an end. “Oh, I know somebody. Boy, they lived in sin and did it very publicly, and they lived to be an old person.” But then they died, and even if they enjoyed their sin for a long time, let’s say for decades, it came to an end.

Hebrews 11:26: “Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward.”

“Esteemed” that means he valued; he placed a higher value on esteeming the reproach of Christ. Now, that’s an interesting statement, “Moses valued the reproach of Christ.” Growing up in Egypt, no doubt speaking Egyptian and Hebrew, he had likely never heard the word Christ in his life. Well, then, why does the Bible say that? Well, it’s a translation, but he had heard of a Messiah. He had heard of a Redeemer. He had heard of one who would come, and he chose, or he valued, he esteemed the reproach of Christ greater than the treasures in Egypt.

Now, again, growing up in Pharaoh’s house he had seen the treasures of Egypt. He knew about them and because Pharaoh’s daughter had adopted him, he was no doubt entitled to a good bit of treasure himself. He would never, again, have been Pharaoh. We said that because of his bloodline. But he could live in the palace. He could have been a very rich man and could have enjoyed the pleasures of sin, but he chose not to. Now, what caused him to do that? What caused him to turn his back on Egypt? It is apparent that Egypt was the home to great riches.

Investing in the Eternal

Moses understood it’d be better to be a slave for the people of God than to live in the king’s palace, 26 again:

Hebrews 11:26: “Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward.”

Now, that’s an interesting statement, “He had respect under the recompense of the reward.” What is the recompense of the reward? A recompense is a payback, and a reward is something you get for doing something. So, Moses said there’s got to be a better investment here than even living in the king’s palace. It’s got to be a better investment here than being the adopted son of the king’s daughter. There’s got to be something else here.

And I’m going to tell you what Moses knew: that there was an eternity. Moses knew that there was a God. Moses apparently knew that God had planned, had promised, to send a Redeemer. Now, again, he didn’t have a Bible to read. Do you know Moses wrote the first five books of the Bible? But somewhere along the line, and this isn’t it at this stage of his life, somewhere along the line, it was revealed to him all the words like, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void: and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And God said, let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good. And the morning and the evening were the first day.” Somewhere along the line, that was given to him, and he wrote it down.

So, “he had respect unto the recompense for the reward.” He said there’s something better. There’s something better than anything Egypt can give me. He’s something better than anything this world can give me. There’s something better, and it comes from God. So, verse 27:

Hebrews 11:27: “By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible.”

The word “forsook” there means he turned his back on Egypt. He turned his back on all that he had growing up. He turned his back on all of that. He did not, at this point, know his parents. He did not at this point know that he had a brother and a sister. He didn’t know all of that. He’s going to learn it before very long, but at this point he didn’t know any of that. But he turned his back on Egypt.

“By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king.” Well, why would he fear the wrath of the king? Let me throw a couple of thoughts at you. Do you not suppose that when he did that, the king, the Pharaoh, would have looked at him as an ingrate? Yeah. “Look at all I’ve given you. Look at all you had growing up. And you’re turning your back on it, and you’re turning your back on me.”

But there’s something else, and you know what it is? Moses killed a man. That would have brought the wrath of the king, and even being the adopted son of Pharaoh’s daughter wouldn’t have saved him in that case. But he “forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured,” and Moses did endure. You think about Moses being a great man, and he was. You think about Moses knowing God, and he did. You think about Moses being greatly used by God, and he was, and he is.

But Moses had some hard times. He had some struggles. It was hard for him to lead the people of Israel for 40 years in the wilderness for their various rebellions, and the times that they wanted to get rid of him, the times that they didn’t like him.

Hebrews 11:27: “By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible.”

Do you know what that means? It means Moses didn’t see God when he saw the burning bush. He didn’t see God at this point. He’s like, “Well, wait a minute, wait a minute, preacher. You read to us earlier where Moses talked to God face to face.” Yeah, but not at the time he left Egypt; that was later. “And to whom did he speak face to face?” Well, we’re going to come to that in just a moment.

But Moses “endured, as seeing him who is invisible.” He believed in the God whom he did not see. He believed in the existence of God. And you know what God is asking you and me to do today? Believe in Him whom we’ve not seen.

Seeing God?

Years ago, decades ago, back in the early 1960s, a cosmonaut was out in space, and he said, “I’m out here in space.” Radio back to Earth, “I’m out here in space. I don’t see God. Where is God?” He didn’t see Him. He had flown higher than I suppose any man had flown before, and he said, “I don’t see God out here.” Somebody said, I don’t remember who it was at that point, if he’d opened the capsule and taken off his helmet he would have seen God, but he didn’t. He was out there, he says, “Where’s God? I don’t see him.” And you and I don’t see Him either. You may see God working in your life. That’s very believable. You may see God doing things, but have you seen Him? No.

I had a man ask me, a stranger, I didn’t really know him, we had gotten into a brief conversation. It didn’t last long. He asked me, he says, “Have you ever seen Krishna?” Now, Krishna, if you’re not aware of it, is the Hindu god of reincarnation. I said, “No, sir, I have not.” And he said, “Well, he’s very beautiful. You want to see him?” I said, “No, sir. I don’t think I do.” I really don’t. I don’t know what Krishna would look like. I know what the statues look like. They’re not beautiful. But no, I’ve not seen him. I don’t suppose that man had either. Of course, I don’t know that, maybe he did. He said he did. I questioned it, but again, I didn’t see what he saw or what he didn’t see.

By Faith, We Follow God

But verse 28 says:

Hebrews 11:28: “Through faith he kept the passover, and the sprinkling of blood, lest he that destroyed the firstborn should touch them.”

“Through faith he [Moses] kept the Passover,” – he hasn’t left Egypt now, has he? Oh, he went away for 40 years, he’s come back to lead the people out. But at the time, they kept the Passover. They hadn’t started that 40-year journey to the promised land. Through faith, he kept the Passover. Wasn’t that a great presentation that Dr. Colon did here about Passover?

Hebrews 11:28: “Through faith he kept the passover, and the sprinkling of blood, lest he that destroyed the firstborn should touch them.”

Moses kept the Passover, and that sprinkling of blood was put on the door so that the firstborn in every home would be spared. Even the firstborn of Pharaoh died. The blood sacrifice on Passover night was the beginning of the journey to the promised land as the Lord passed over Egypt that night. They left, and the leading of the people of God out of the bondage of sin into the promised land began. And Moses trusted in Him whom he had not seen. Now, verse 29, and we’re finished.

Hebrews 11:29: “By faith they passed through the Red sea as by dry land: which the Egyptians assaying to do were drowned.”

“By faith they,” – who’s they? Moses and the people of Israel. “By faith they passed through the Red sea as by dry land: which the Egyptians assaying to do,” –  tried to do the same thing, – “were drowned.”

They, the people of Israel, under Moses’ leadership, walked through the Red Sea. The Egyptians couldn’t do it. Why not? Hear me. The Egyptians didn’t see Him, who was invisible. Many hundreds of years would go by, and Paul would write to a young preacher named Timothy these words:

1 Timothy 1:17: ‘Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.”

By faith, we follow God. By faith we follow God as Moses followed God. By faith, we follow God, having not seen the one in whom we believe, but believing in Him who we shall see. Listen to John. He says:

1 John 3:2: “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.”

1 John 3:3: “And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.”

That is seeing Him who is invisible.

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Let us pray. Father, thank you so much for blessing us. Thank you for your Word and the beauty of it, the truth of it. Thank you for the encouragement of our faith. And though we have not seen you now in this life, we will see you. And the beautiful truth that we’ve just read from your Word is that when we see you, we will finally be like you. Help us, Lord, to live each day as seeing Him who is invisible. Now bless us, Lord, as we close tonight. Help us as we have time to pray for others. We ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.

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