Faith that pleases God.
Today's sermon was about this man, Enoch. He was the first of two individuals who never had to die physically to go to heaven.
Genesis 5:24 And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.
and also Hebrews 11:5 By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him.
He must have had great faith, in order for God to spare him death.
Apparently, we aren't told that he has this saving faith from the beginning: instead, we are told that he walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years... [ Genesis 5:22 ] so the turning point for Enoch was probably after his son Methuselah was born.
Methuselah means "When he dies, it shall come". What's the "it"? Judgement. God's judgement on the sins of the world.
Genesis 6:5 And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
I'm sure you're all familiar with the story of Noah. God told him to build an ark because he was going to flood the earth. Well, the year Methuselah died was the year of the Great Flood.
As Enoch was warned of the impending judgement on the people of the world, he no longer walked the way of the world and turned to God instead.
Jude
14 And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints,
15 To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.
Though Enoch never saw the flood, or actually lived long enough on the earth to witness firsthand God's judgement and punishment meted out on mankind, he had faith in God's words, and acted accordingly. Also probably because he didn't know when his son would die.
So that's Enoch. Why should I walk with God?
Like Enoch, we live in the midst of a very sinful world. How can we escape the wrath of God? By turning away from the ways of the world and walking with God.
Micah 6:8 He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?
This morning, the preacher mentioned the Theory of Evolution and how, unlike Enoch's time, this deception has kept millions from the saving faith of the gospel; indeed, from the very belief in the existence of God. [ Jude 15 "...hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him." ]
To such people, the only fate that awaits them is death - physical, spiritual and eternal.
Psalms 19:1-3 says:
1 The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.
2 Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge.
3 There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard.
God's existence and goodness can be seen in nature, and He is always willing to bestow blessings and reward those who come to Him in faith.
1 Corinthians 2:9 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
King David said in Psalms 63:1 O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is;
I asked myself: Do I, like King David, long for God as a thirsty person in a desert?
Walking with God is not an easy thing. More often than not it is a very steep, uphill task. When we are surrounded more and more by the vices and temptations and pleasures that the world has to offer, it gets very hard at times to keep to the straight and narrow path.
For me, though I have tried and failed innumerable times, the gains still outweigh the losses.
Solomon said in Ecclesiastes 1:14 I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit.
We could never find true peace or rest except in God.
Jeremiah 29:11-14a
11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
12 Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.
13 And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.
14 And I will be found of you, saith the LORD:
And this is why: because that is what we were created for.
Revelations 4:11 Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.
We were created for God's pleasure and how do we give Him pleasure? By our faith in Him.
Hebrews 11:5-6
5 By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.
6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
Enoch was taken perhaps to spare him persecution from the ungodly world that he had to endure as a result of his bold preaching.
We are told that Enoch walked with God three hundred years before being translated [Genesis 5:22] . That's certainly no mean feat.
As for us, at Christ's second coming, if we are still living, we will also be taken up.
In the meantime, we have to cultivate a faith that 1 pleases God, 2 enables us to walk with Him and 3 enables us to serve Him effectively.
I wonder if I have ceased to walk the way of the world, and begun to walk with God?
I am resolved to go to the Saviour,
Leaving my sin and strife;
He is the true One,
He is the just One,
He hath the words of life.
I am resolved to follow the Saviour,
Faithful and true each day;
Heed what He sayeth,
Do what He willeth,
He is the living Way.
-Palmer Hartsough
2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
