To walk by faith and not by sight means getting off the bench and taking active steps of faith, trusting that God has a purpose for your life and gifts for you to use. In this second message of the series, Pastor Paul Hohman teaches from Romans 12, James 1 and the book of Acts that every believer has been given the measure of faith, and that faith grows only when we use it. It continues from I Walk by Faith and Not by Sight: Living as Sons and Daughters of God.
Below you will find the full video, a structured summary of the sermon, the Scripture behind each point (linked to the New King James Version on Bible Gateway), a timestamped outline, and practical steps you can take this week.
Sermon at a Glance
This message was preached at NTC Ministries in the north woods of Wisconsin and posted on November 30, 2021. It runs about 62 minutes. Pastor Paul Hohman opens by explaining that pastors are not there to beat anyone over the head with a Bible. They are shepherds sharing what God is sharing with them, so that the sheep can feed on the Word and grow.
His central picture is a boy on a middle school soccer team who would rather sit on the bench than play. Many Christians, he says, are content to be part of the team as long as they never have to leave the bench. God has called His people to be doers of the Word and doers of the work, and steps of faith are what activate His power.
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Speaker | Pastor Paul Hohman |
| Series | I Walk by Faith and Not by Sight (part 2) |
| Main text | Romans 12:1–8, with James 1:2–8 and Acts 1–3 |
| Key theme | Every believer has the measure of faith; steps of faith activate God’s power |
| Length | About 62 minutes |
Walk by Faith and Not by Sight Starts With an Encounter
Pastor Paul begins with God’s goodness in everyday life: praying on the drive to work, watching the sun rise, or noticing the ice forming over the lakes. Everything God made has purpose, and so do you. That is why it matters to walk by faith and not by sight, not by our feelings, which constantly try to drag us down.
The first step is pressing into God until you have a true encounter with Jesus. Anyone who has met Him is never the same. Praying a prayer once, or going to church because your parents dragged you or because you now have children of your own, is going through religious motions. God wants His people awake, alive and alert to His magnificent power, and he says that seeing what God can do needs to become the norm in our lives.
That faith shapes how we pray for loved ones. Some believers have prayed for family members for ten or twenty years, approaching them angrily one time and lovingly the next. Pastor Paul reminds them that only God can save souls. We keep sharing, showing the love of Christ and praying, but our hope rests in Him, not in our ability. Many have received the phone call: a relative turned on the television, saw an old message by Billy Graham or Reinhard Bonnke, and gave their life to Christ.
Faith presses in, the way Zacchaeus climbed a tree just to see Jesus (Luke 19:1–10). Jesus recognized that faith, looked up into the tree of all places, and invited Himself to dinner. None of us picked when we were born. God placed us here for such a time as this, so instead of wishing for simpler times, bloom where you are planted. You are in the north woods, and in church today, by divine appointment.
No More Bench Warmers
Pastor Paul then tells a story from his son’s first year of middle school soccer. A new coach in Merrill started a middle school league, and his son, who loved soccer, joined. So did a quiet boy who had rarely stepped out to try anything.
In the summer league that boy decided he was not fast enough and would rather sit on the bench. Halfway through the season he started faking injuries, grabbing his ankle so he could leave the field. He had a defeated attitude: he would never score and never run like the other kids.
Yet he signed up for the middle school league anyway. Practice meant drills and running, and at first he was the last one around the field and the last to finish every drill. But he kept going. By the time games began, he wanted to be put in. He was willing to play offense even though he knew he was not the fastest or the best kicker. Something changed on the inside of him, and Pastor Paul imagines his parents praising him for trying, the way a good father would.
God used that story to show him something about Christians. We think it is enough to ride the bench, to be part of the team and cheer when it wins. That is not what God has called us to. We are not to be bench warmers or pew fillers. We take steps of faith, press in until God shows up, and stay faithful and steadfast. “If we don’t try how’s that faith,” he asks.
Taking steps of faith, he teaches, activates the miraculous power of God. Sit on the bench and say it will never happen, and of course it will not, because you are not even trying. Step out, knowing God is your Father, and watch His power work: laying hands on the sick and seeing them recover (Mark 16:17–18), praying the prayer of faith (James 5:15), and standing in the gap for loved ones. As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord (Joshua 24:15) is a promise to hold on to.
Romans 12: Let Us Use Them
The main text is Romans 12:1–8. Paul writes, “present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.” A sacrifice, Pastor Paul explains, means we will not always feel like doing what God asks. He does not always feel like going to work either, but by faith he goes. That is why the church’s motto is “I serve.”
Verse 2 tells us not to be conformed to this world but transformed by the renewing of our minds, so that we prove the good, acceptable and perfect will of God. Verse 3 says God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. You may say you do not have that kind of faith, but you do. You simply have not activated it, utilized it or applied it so that it can grow. God does not force anyone; He has given us free will and wants us to step out.
Not thinking of yourself more highly than you ought looks like humble service. Pastor Paul points to the senior pastor, who arrives early to straighten chairs and even clean bathrooms so nothing distracts from the Word. Do not allow anything to be beneath you.
Verses 4 and 5 describe many members in one body, each with a different function. The hand cannot tell the foot it has no need of it. We might not always see eye to eye, he says, but we need one another in the spirit of unity and the bond of peace (Ephesians 4:3).
Verse 6 is the turning point: “Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them.” Prophecy, he explains, is words of edification, exhortation and comfort, and your lips will not fall off if you speak them. Ministry is simply serving. Teaching, exhorting, giving, leading and mercy follow, because we have a gift-giving Father.
Three Kinds of Workers
Taking steps of faith is not like scratching a lottery ticket. Pastor Paul says God will come through and make a way. To show what God is looking for, he describes three kinds of workers he was taught about growing up.
| Worker | How they handle a job | What it shows about faith |
|---|---|---|
| The first worker | Starts, tinkers here and there, never closes the deal; must be reminded again and again | The assigned job never gets done |
| The second worker | Gets the job done quickly, then disappears | Doing just enough to get by |
| The third worker | Finishes, then seeks you out and asks what is next | Faith that keeps growing, from faith to faith |
The third worker is the one God wants. You might say you already took that step of faith. Great, he says; now God takes you from faith to faith, strength to strength and glory to glory. What is the next step? For the boy in soccer, the first step was just signing up, even though he hated the running and the kicking. Eventually he changed, and that is what God wants for us: to be so confident in who He is that we cannot wait to see who gets saved next.
Reinhard Bonnke and Billy Graham preached to huge crowds, but they had to start somewhere. Not everyone is called to that, yet everyone is called to use the gifts God has given. When the enemy says you are just so-and-so, remember you are God’s son or God’s daughter. Our focus is not on how good we are but on how good He is.
Giving is one of the steps of faith too. If giving is your gift, Pastor Paul says, go beyond the tithe, and he cites J.C. Penney as a man of God who gave ninety percent and lived on ten. The aim is not money but activating God’s blessings and living as people who are in this world but not of it.
Patience Is Not Riding the Bench
Next the sermon turns to James 1:2–8: “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.” Few people read that and celebrate another trial, he admits. But the patience James describes is not what we tell our children when we mean “just wait.”
From his notes he reads that patience is not a passive resignation to adverse circumstances but a positive steadfastness that bravely endures. In other words, it is not riding the bench. Stay active, stay in His presence, serve and then serve some more. Nowhere in the Bible, he says, are we told to stop doing what God called us to do, unless it is sin, and whatever is not from faith is sin (Romans 14:23).
James goes on: if anyone lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives generously to all, but let him ask in faith with no doubting. The doubter is like a wave of the sea, double-minded and unstable. We ask God to bless us, but He answers that we are supposed to be doers of the Word. If you are the body of Christ, what is your function, and what are you doing with your gifts?
Church is the place to practice steps of faith. If you are nervous around people, try greeting. If you want to share your faith, teach children’s church. You could usher, help with communion, or, if you are technical, run the camera or sound board.
Pastor Paul shares his own start. At 14, music was the farthest thing from his mind, until someone told him God had shown them a picture of him leading worship with a guitar. After a couple of months of lessons and endless practice, he was leading worship in school chapels at 16, and has now led for almost 25 years, including on the Sea of Galilee. He insists it was not because he was a pastor’s kid, but because he said “okay lord” and took the step.
From Denial to Boldness: The Disciples Step Out
Pastor Paul closes with the disciples, normal people who left everything to follow Jesus and saw miracles everywhere. Then, at the cross, they denied Him and turned their backs. Jesus endured the whip and the crown of thorns, said it is finished, and took the keys of death, hell and the grave along with all our sin and shame.
When He rose, He came looking for them. He asked Peter, the one who had denied Him, whether he loved Him (John 21:15–17). Jesus does not give up on us; He pursues us with an unending love. After that, Pastor Paul says, the disciples stuck to Him like glue.
In Acts 1:4–12 Jesus told them to wait in Jerusalem for the Promise of the Father, the Holy Spirit, and said they would receive power and be witnesses. As He was taken up, they looked steadfastly toward heaven until two men in white asked, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven?” Then they went back to Jerusalem and did what He said. They bloomed where they were planted.
About 120 of them stayed in the upper room and pressed in until the Holy Spirit came. Peter stood up and said this was what the prophet Joel had spoken of (Acts 2:14–21), and about three thousand came to Christ that day, the birth of the church.
Then, in Acts 3:1–8, Peter and John went to the temple at the hour of prayer and met a man lame from birth. Peter said, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.” He did not ask how the man felt; he took him by the right hand and lifted him up. Immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength, and he went into the temple walking, leaping and praising God.
Was it because Peter was an amazing man? Not long before, he had denied Jesus. But despite his failures, he was not going to ride the bench. God is not asking for perfection, Pastor Paul says, but for patience, persistence and steadfastness. The church then reads 1 Corinthians 15:57–58 together from The Passion Translation: thanks be to God for the victory through Jesus, so stand firm and keep serving, because our labor in the Lord is not in vain.
Taking Steps of Faith This Week
Pastor Paul ends by reminding the church that God wants to do exceedingly abundantly above all we could ask or think (Ephesians 3:20), and that it is through faith and patience that we inherit the promises (Hebrews 6:12). Here are practical steps drawn from this message:
- Press in for an encounter. Move beyond religious motions and seek Jesus until something changes inside you.
- Keep praying for your family. Do not give up after ten or twenty years; keep sharing and trust God, not your own ability, to save them.
- Take one new step of service. Greet, usher, help in children’s church, run the camera or straighten chairs, and let faith grow by use.
- Open your gifts. Ask God what He has given you and use it, instead of leaving it unwrapped under the tree.
- Be the third worker. When you finish one assignment, ask the Lord what is next.
- Bloom where you are planted. Stop wishing for another time or place and serve where God has put you now.
Timestamped Outline
- 0:00 Pastors are here to encourage, not condemn
- 0:51 Seeing God’s glory in creation
- 1:45 A true encounter with Jesus
- 3:44 Praying for family for years
- 6:23 Zacchaeus and faith that presses in
- 7:13 Bloom where you are planted
- 8:13 The middle school soccer story
- 13:13 Not bench warmers or pew fillers
- 17:19 Romans 12: a living sacrifice
- 18:17 The measure of faith
- 21:32 Gifts differing: let us use them
- 23:51 Unopened gifts on Christmas morning
- 25:51 Three kinds of workers
- 34:01 Giving as a step of faith
- 36:04 James 1: count it all joy
- 37:10 Patience is positive steadfastness
- 39:14 Practicing your gifts in church
- 43:44 Learning guitar at 14
- 46:33 The disciples at the cross
- 50:10 Acts 1: wait for the promise
- 54:10 The upper room and Pentecost
- 55:08 Acts 3: the lame man walks
- 58:25 1 Corinthians 15:57–58 declaration
- 1:00:43 Closing prayer and blessing
I Walk by Faith Series
This is the second of two messages in this short series at NTC Ministries:
- Previous: I Walk by Faith and Not by Sight: Living as Sons and Daughters of God
- You are here: I Walk by Faith and Not by Sight, Part 2 — No More Bench Warmers
Frequently Asked Questions
What if I am an introvert and church makes me nervous?
Pastor Paul does not tell nervous people to stay home. He suggests starting small, such as greeting people at the door with a simple hello, pointing out the restrooms and handing out a bulletin. He admits it is not always easy for him either, even on the platform, but he gets past himself because he is there for the Lord, not for himself. Church is the place to practice before you go out and be the church.
Do I need special faith to see miracles?
No. Pastor Paul teaches from Romans 12:3 that God has dealt to every believer the measure of faith. The difference is not how much faith you were given but whether you have activated it. He says signs, wonders and miracles are promised to all believers, not only to the fivefold ministers, and that steps of faith are not a 50-50 gamble like a lottery ticket.
Why does the sermon end with Peter and John?
The healing at the Beautiful Gate is the first recorded miracle by the disciples after Pentecost. Pastor Paul uses it to show the change in Peter, who had denied Jesus not long before. He did not wait until he felt worthy. He took the man by the hand, and the man walked. God was not asking Peter for perfection, only for faith and steadfastness.
Scripture References
All passages open in the New King James Version on Bible Gateway:
- Romans 12:1–8 — a living sacrifice and gifts to use
- James 1:2–8 — the testing of faith produces patience
- Luke 19:1–10 — Zacchaeus climbs the tree
- Mark 16:17–18 — laying hands on the sick
- Acts 1:4–12 — wait for the Promise of the Father
- Acts 3:1–8 — the lame man rises and walks
- John 21:15–17 — Peter, do you love Me?
- 1 Corinthians 15:57–58 — stand firm in the work of the Lord
How this summary was made: written with AI assistance from the sermon’s own transcript and checked against the Scriptures listed above.
Watch More Messages
If this message stirred you to get off the bench, there are hundreds more teachings from NTC Ministries waiting for you. Browse the full sermon archive and keep growing from faith to faith.
