Sermon #56 Hebrews
Notes
Title: Enoch – A Man Who Pleased God
Text: Hebrews 11:5-6
Subject: Enoch’s Faith
Date: Tuesday Evening –
Tape # W-45b
Introduction:
The Title of my message is Enoch – A
Man Who Pleased God. Our text will be Hebrews 11:5-6. Our text is the Holy Spirit’s commentary
on Genesis 5:21-24. So let’s first read the passage in Genesis. Then we will
read the text in Hebrews.
[Genesis 5:21-24] "And
Enoch lived sixty and five years, and begat Methuselah: [22] And Enoch
walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons
and daughters: [23] And all the days of Enoch
were three hundred sixty and five years: [24] And Enoch walked with God:
and he was not; for God took him."
“Enoch walked with God.”
-- What a
statement! -- “Enoch walked with God!”
This is astounding to me. “Enoch walked
with God!’ The text does not say, “Enoch thought about God,” or “Enoch
worshipped God,” or “Enoch served God,” or “Enoch talked with God,” or “Enoch
talked about God,” though he certainly did all these things. The Holy Spirit
uses these simple words to describe the outstanding feature of this man’s life:
-- “Enoch walked with God!” In his
daily life Enoch walked with God, realizing God’s presence as his living
Friend, in whom he confided, by whom he was loved, “Enoch walked with God!”
How did Enoch walk with
God? Is it possible for men and women such as we are to walk with God today? Is it possible for us to really walk with God? It
is impossible for anyone to understand how Enoch walked with God, or how we can
walk with God, or why God took him to glory apart from that which God the Holy
Spirit tells us in Hebrews 11:5-6.
[Hebrews 11:5-6] "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."
·
Some use Enoch as an example of sinless perfection.
·
Some use him to teach the deeper life doctrine.
·
Others use him to promote self-righteous morality.
But the Spirit of God explains that Enoch’s life was an example
of faith in Christ. “Enoch walked with
God…(and) he had this testimony, that he pleased God.”
That is the heart desire of every true believer. We want to walk with God
in sweet fellowship and please him in all things. How can this desire be
accomplished? How can you and I walk with God and please him?
Proposition: This is the thing we must
see, if we are to understand what it is to walk with God and please him. -- It
was not Enoch’s conduct that pleased God, but his faith (Heb. 11:6). More
specifically, it was Christ, the Object of Enoch’s faith,
that pleased God.
Divisions: I want to set before you
this man, Enoch -- A Man Who Pleased God. It is
my prayer that God the Holy Spirit will teach us, like him, to walk with God and
please him. I will raise and answer from the Scriptures three questions:
1. What does the Scripture mean
when it says, “Enoch walked with God””
2. What were the circumstances
in which “Enoch walked with God”?
3. What was the result of
Enoch’s walking with God?
I. What does the Scripture mean
when it says, “Enoch walked with God”?
How did Enoch walk with God? What does that statement imply? The Holy
Spirit tells us, while Enoch walked with God, “he had this testimony, that he pleased God.” But how, how did this
man please God? What was there about him that pleased the Lord?
A. I know this: -- Enoch did not always please God, nor did
he always walk with God.
Enoch was a man like us. He
was not born a saint. He did not simply decide one day that he would start
walking with God.
1. Enoch was a fallen sinner.
He too was a son of Adam.
2. Enoch was, like you and me,
a fallen, depraved sinner, with a wicked heart, by nature departing from God.
He was born in spiritual death. He went astray, like all others,
as soon as he was born, speaking lies. He was a man who needed pardon,
cleansing, redemption, atonement, justification, and regeneration, just like
us. Before he could please God, his sin had to be removed and righteousness had
to be imputed to him. Otherwise, God could never accept him, much less be
pleased with him. In order to have these things, Enoch must believe God. He
must have faith in Christ. For righteousness comes by faith
in Christ “unto all and upon all them
that believe” (Rom.
B. It was by faith that Enoch pleased God (Heb.
11:6).
[Hebrews 11:6] "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 not pleasing to God by virtue of his conduct, his
works, his disposition, or his personal character. There was nothing at all
remarkable about the man by nature that caused God to look upon him with
pleasure. God was pleased with Enoch because Enoch believed God!
He believed that which God had spoken. Enoch’s faith was the
same as Abel’s before him and Noah’s after him. The faith by which Enoch walked
with God and pleased God was the same faith that the dying thief possessed when
he cried, “Lord, remember me when thou
comest into thy kingdom” (Luke.
This is vitally important. If you want to walk
with God, you must believe. Walking with God is neither more nor less that
believing God. The only way anyone can walk with God and please him is by faith
in the Lord Jesus Christ.
1. Enoch had experienced a
mighty change by the power and grace of God.
The Lord God had changed his heart. God changed the bent, bias
and direction of his will. This fallen sinner had been given life and faith in
the Lord Jesus Christ (Eph. 2:1-10). This was a work of grace, without which
Enoch could never have walked with God and pleased him. Long before Enoch
was translated into glory, he had been translated in his heart and soul.
He was delivered from the power of darkness and translated into the
a.
Enoch believed God’s
Revelation. -- The Word of God.
b.
Enoch believed on the Lord
Jesus Christ, the Redeemer God had promised.
c.
Enoch believed God’s promise
of immortality and eternal life in Christ (Jude 14-15).
[Jude 1:14-15] "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."
d.
Enoch believed that God is
and that he is the Rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
2.
So, when we are told that “Enoch
walked with God” and that “he pleased
him”, this is what the Holy Spirit means for us to understand: -- Enoch believed God!
Understand this: -- Nothing pleases God except his Son.
The only way you and I can walk with God and be pleasing to him is by faith in
his dear Son, the Lord Jesus Christ (John 14:6; 1 Pet. 2:4-5).
[John 14:6] "Jesus saith
unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father,
but by me."
[1 Peter 2:4-5] "To whom
coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of
God, and precious, [5] Ye also, as
lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up
spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ."
a.
The highest form of
sanctification is exactly the same as the earliest beginnings of salvation. -- It is
believing God. -- To grow in grace is to grow in faith.
The strongest believer lives exactly as the weakest babe in
Christ: -- by faith! We stand before God by faith! We grow strong only as we
know ourselves to be weak and lay hold on Christ’s strength by faith. Having
begun in the Spirit, we are not then made perfect by the works of the flesh! We
do not begin and go a certain distance by faith in Christ, and then finish our
course, making up the difference by the works of the law. Salvation is by grace
alone! Our standing before God is by grace alone! Our acceptance with God is by
grace alone! To walk with God is to continue as we began: -- by faith (Col.
2:6-7).
[Colossians 2:6-7] "As ye
have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: [7]
Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been
taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving."
b.
The believer’s life is a
life of faith!
I stress this point because it needs to be stressed. Enoch
pleased God because he believed God. He walked with God by faith. We are
sometimes tempted to strive after some imaginary “higher ground” or “deeper
life”, by looking to our feelings, or our works, instead of looking to Christ
alone.
That is horribly evil. Any doctrine, any religion, any sermon,
any thought that leaves you looking to yourself, that turns your eyes away from
Christ is evil. We are not to look to our feelings, but to Christ. We are not
to look to our works, but to Christ. We are not even to look to the image of
Christ created in us by the Holy Spirit, but to Christ alone! Jesus Christ
alone is our acceptance with God. By faith Enoch walked with God. By faith
Enoch pleased God. Let us follow his example.
C. Enoch’s walking with God by faith implies many
things.
When I read that “Enoch walked with God” and that “he pleased God”, my heart cries out,
“That’s what I want as I make my pilgrimage through this world -- I want to
walk with God and please him in this world!” -- What is it to walk with
God? – Four Things!
1.
To walk with God is to live
in the realization of his presence (Phil. 4:4-5).
[Philippians 4:4-5]
"Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again
I say, Rejoice. [5] Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is
at hand."
2.
To walk with God is to enjoy
familiar communion and fellowship with him (1 Thess.
This is what Paul means when he says, “Pray without ceasing.” Live in communion with God.
[1 Thessalonians 5:16-18]
"Rejoice evermore. [17] Pray without ceasing. [18] In
every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning
you."
·
Seeking His will (Prov. 3:5-6).
·
Trusting His grace.
·
Submitting to His providence.
[Proverbs 3:5-6] "Trust in
the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
[6] In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths."
3.
The word “walked”
implies perseverance and continuance.
Enoch persevered in faith. He walked with God for 300 years! His
religion was not in spurts. His communion with God was steady and constant. He
walked with God, steadily, for 300 years!
4.
The phrase “walked with
God” also implies progress.
Enoch’s faith was not stagnant, but progressive. At the end of
300 years he stood upon the same ground, was built upon the same foundation and
was in the same company as in the beginning. But he was not in the same place.
And he was not the same man. Enoch went forward in faith. At the end of his
days he knew more, enjoyed more, loved more, did more, believed more, received
more, and gave more than in the beginning of his walk with God.
Illustration: A believer walks with God in
this world like a little child walks through the woods with its father. It is a
loving walk, a walk of confidence and trust, an instructive walk, a happy walk,
and a safe walk.
II. What were the circumstances
in which “Enoch walked with God”?
You might have a tendency to think, “Enoch lived in a different time.
The world was different then. It was relatively easy for a man to walk with God
in those days.” If you think like that, you are wrong. The details of Enoch’s
life are sketchy. We do not know much about them. But you can be sure that the
life of faith was not easier then than now. Enoch lived in the most trying,
most stressful, most difficult times the world has ever known. He lived in
those days just before the flood. And in those dark, dark days, “Enoch walked with God.”
A. Enoch was a public man, with great responsibilities.
1.
That patriarch was the head
of a large family. As such, he was a prophet, priest, and king in his
household.
2.
Enoch also had public cares
and responsibilities as a public leader.
3.
And Enoch had his trials. He
bore the brunt of opposition from powerful men who hated the way of faith, who
hated God and his truth. Yet, this man walked with God for 300 years.
B. Enoch was also a family man.
Like you and me, he had the
responsibilities of providing for, caring for, disciplining and educating a
large family. He had a wife and many children. Yet, he walked with God.
C. Enoch lived in a terribly wicked, degenerate society.
In those days, men commonly
lived to be more than 800 years old. Their long lives gave them opportunity to
invent many forms of evil. Sin covered the earth. The sons of God and the
daughters of men were making their unholy alliances.
1.
There were few who believed
God.
2.
Scoffers, mockers,
unbelievers and infidels were abundant.
3.
And the few who professed to
believe God compromised every principle and tried, as much as possible, to make
a marriage of righteousness and unrighteousness. Yet, Enoch walked with God!
D. Still there is more. -- Enoch faithfully bore witness to Christ in
the midst of that wicked generation (Jude 14-15).
[Jude 1:14-15] "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."
1.
He delivered his testimony
in spite of opposition.
2.
He stood his ground firmly
against the tide of blasphemy.
3.
The more men spoke against
God, his Son and his truth, the more Enoch spoke for his Redeemer.
“Enoch walked with God.” He
was a man of faith, and therefore a man of conviction, purpose, boldness, and
courage. In the midst of far greater evil, greater opposition and greater
trials than you and I can imagine, this man could, by the grace of God, walk
with God in his day. That fact tells me that you and I, who are saved by the
same grace, washed in the same precious blood, and sanctified by the same
Spirit, can walk with God today.
III. What was the result of
Enoch’s walking with God?
Enoch left here at a
comparatively young age. Compared to others in his day, he was just a young
man, in the prime of life, when God took him. He was only 365 years old. He
seems to have finished his course early. Since he walked with God, it would
appear, that it did not take Enoch long to do all that
God had for him to do. Be that as it may, here are three things
that are clear results of Enoch’s walking with God.
A. Because he walked with God, Enoch escaped death.
Let us walk with God by
faith, with our hearts set upon Christ, and we too shall escape death (John
[John 11:25] "Jesus said
unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though
he were dead, yet shall he live:"
[Revelation 20:6] "Blessed
and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the
second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and
shall reign with him a thousand years."
[2 Corinthians 5:1-9] "For
we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we
have a building of God, an house not made with hands,
eternal in the heavens. [2] For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to
be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven: [3] If so be that
being clothed we shall not be found naked. [4] For we that are in this
tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed,
but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life. [5] Now
he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath
given unto us the earnest of the Spirit. [6] Therefore we are always
confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from
the Lord: [7] (For we walk by faith, not by sight:)
[8] We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from
the body, and to be present with the Lord. [9] Wherefore we labour,
that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him."
[Colossians 3:1-4] "If ye
then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are
above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. [2] Set your
affection on things above, not on things on the earth. [3] For ye are
dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. [4] When Christ, who
is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also
appear with him in glory."
Illustration: Whitefield’s
Last Sermon.
B. Because he walked with God, Enoch was greatly missed.
When Enoch was gone people
began to look for him, but “he was not
found.” When men and women like Enoch, people who walk with God are taken
from us, they are missed.
C. Because he walked with God, when Bro. Enoch went to
glory, he left a testimony behind him.
“Before he was translated he had this testimony, that he pleased God.” Everyone who knew Enoch knew
about his God, his righteous judgment and his salvation in Christ.
1.
Enoch’s translation is a
warning to all men and women. Soon you will be swept out of this world,
without warning, and ushered into eternity to meet the holy Lord God in
judgment.
2.
Enoch’s translation to glory
is a testimony of comfort to encourage God’s pilgrims in this
world. God “is a Rewarder of them that
diligently seek him.”
I can almost hear Enoch’s
voice. He is saying, “Press on, weary pilgrims, press on. Walk with God by
faith. There is a kingdom prepared for you, where there is no more
sorrow, no more weeping, no more pain and no more death. There is a Redeemer
waiting to embrace you. There is a God waiting to crown you. There
are saints and angels waiting to welcome you. There is a Fountain to
refresh you forever, a Tree to feed you forever, a Light to
lighten you forever! Press on. Walk with God. Look alive, man! Step lively!
Keep on ‘Looking unto Jesus, the Author
and Finisher of our faith.’”
Application: What are we to learn from this man, Enoch who “walked with God”? Learn these four
things:
1.
The only way any sinner can
ever be accepted with God is in Christ. We must be in Christ by faith, or we can
never please God. But, being in Christ, all who are in Christ always please
God!
“Near, so very near to God,
Nearer I cannot be,
For in the Person of His Son
I am as near as He!”
With His spotless garments
on
I am as holy as God’s Son!”
2.
God sometimes makes great
differences in his providence toward his beloved children. Both Abel and Enoch walked
with God and pleased God. Both were loved, chosen of God, redeemed by the blood
of Christ and saved by his grace, but Abel was murdered and Enoch was
translated. Today both are seated around the throne in the presence of Christ.
Both have escaped death!
3.
That which God did for Enoch
he will do for all who walk with him by faith in Christ (1 Cor.
Illustration: The Robin’s Eggs
4.
Only those who walk with God
in this world by faith will live with God in that glorious eternal world called
“Heaven.”
Let us then walk with God by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Amen.