Finding the Faith of Our Heroes - Part 2: Great Truths from Enoch's Godly Faith
Finding the Faith of Our Heroes
Part 2: Great Truths from Enoch's Godly Faith
Hebrews 11:1-6; Genesis 5:18-24; Jude 1:14-15
Sermon by Rick Crandall
(Prepared August 30, 2023)
BACKGROUND:
*Today in Hebrews 11, we continue our study of some of the greatest Old Testament heroes of our faith. But as we begin, remember that the focus of our faith must always be on the goodness and greatness of the Lord God Almighty. In Mark 11:22 Jesus tells us to "have faith in GOD," so Christians: Our faith is not in our faith. Our faith is not in our own power or goodness. Our faith is in GOD, because all good things are possible with Him. God the Father, Son and Holy Ghost is big enough, and good enough to take care of every need we will ever have!
*From Hebrews 11:1, also remember that "faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." The original word for "substance" there has the idea of something strong under us, something strong enough for us to stand on. And faith in Jesus Christ is the only firm foundation for our lives. Biblical faith is not just positive thinking or having a positive attitude. Biblical "faith is the substance of things hoped for." This means that right now, our faith in Jesus Christ is our rock-solid foundation for today and forever.
*But biblical faith is also the "evidence of things not seen." In other words: biblical faith gives us proof of the spiritual things we cannot see with our eyes. James Merritt explained that: "Faith sees what the physical eyes cannot see. Faith sees the invisible, touches the intangible, hears the inaudible, and attempts the impossible. Our vision may be 20/20, but the eyes of faith can see farther, deeper, clearer, and better than our physical eyes will ever see." (1)
*"Faith is the evidence of things not seen." Faith opens us up to a whole new dimension in life. Faith opens us up to the most important things in life, because the most important things cannot be seen with our eyes. This is true of the love, joy, and peace in our hearts. And this is especially true when it comes to the things of God. We can't see God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Heaven, angels and much more. We can't see any of these things right now with our physical eyes. But faith opens our spiritual eyes, and we can see.
*This is the kind of faith everyone desperately needs. And the heroes in Hebrews 11 can help us see why. Please think about godly faith as we read Hebrews 11:1-6.
MESSAGE:
*What's the biggest problem in the world today? Ask a dozen different people, and you might get a dozen different answers. You might say war, or world hunger, or cancer. Many deceived people would say that the biggest problem is "global warming." Bible believers might say that the biggest problem is sin, and in a way, that is true. But the biggest problem people have is no faith in the true and living God. Nothing matters more, because, without faith in Jesus Christ, there is no remedy for sin, no forgiveness for our sins, and no way to please God.
*God's Word makes this truth clear in vs. 5-6. It's a two-sentence biography of the prophet Enoch. He was one of the most remarkable men who ever lived, and today we can see 4 great truths from Enoch's godly faith.
1. FIRST OF ALL: FAITH LETS US WALK WITH THE LORD.
*Enoch was a man who walked with the Lord in a most unusual way. In all of the billions of people who have ever lived, there have only been two men who never had to die. And Enoch was one of those men.
*Verse 5 tells us that "By faith Enoch was translated so that he did not see death." Enoch was "translated." That means he was "transferred" or "transported" somewhere else the Lord. Enoch was carried home to Heaven by God without dying. "By faith Enoch was translated so that he did not see death." James Merritt said, "Enoch did not walk through the valley of the shadow of death. -- He flew over it!" (2)
*How did that happen? How did Enoch avoid death? To answer that question we have to go back to the Old Testament Scripture that introduces this prophet. And there we see that it all started, because Enoch was walking with the Lord.
*Genesis 5:18-24 mentions Enoch's walk twice, and it is just as vital for us to walk with the Lord today. There God's Word says:
18. Jared lived one hundred and sixty-two years, and begot Enoch.
19. After he begot Enoch, Jared lived eight hundred years, and begot sons and daughters.
20. So all the days of Jared were nine hundred and sixty-two years; and he died.
21. Enoch lived sixty-five years, and begot Methuselah.
22. After he begot Methuselah, Enoch walked with God three hundred years, and begot sons and daughters.
23. So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years.
24. And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.
*Now, if you are doubting that God could make bodies that lived 900 years, please don't. This was before the great flood, but after the flood, the Lord began to drastically reduce human lifespans to what we have today. All good things are possible with God, and He could make our bodies last a million years if He wanted to. In fact Christians, God is going to give us new bodies that will last forever!
*But the Lord carried Enoch over without dying, because Enoch walked with God. By faith, Enoch walked with God. And we may not understand all that means, but walking with God surely means Enoch had a relationship with God. It surely means Enoch spent time with God. He talked with the Lord, and he was headed in the same direction as the Lord.
*I remember the story about a little boy who was asked about Enoch. "Well," he said, "Enoch and God walked together every day. And it started getting dark one day, so God said, 'Enoch, we're closer to My house than we are to yours. Why don't you just come on home with Me?'" (3)
*That story may not capture the scene, but it captures the spirit of the relationship between Enoch and the Lord. Enoch walked with God, and he did that by faith. The Christian life is also a walk of faith.
*With only limited research, William Ritter found 382 Bible references to various forms of the word 'walk.' And many Scriptures tell us how we are supposed to walk as Christians:
-Walk in love
-Walk in wisdom
-Walk in the light
-Walk in the path
-Walk in the Spirit
-Walk in the law of the Lord
-Walk in the way of the Lord
-Walk in the fear of the Lord
-Walk in the peace of the Lord
-Walk honestly, forthrightly, and courageously.
-Walk worthily.
-And walk humbly." (4)
*For example, in Micah 6:8 God's Word says, "He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?" In Romans 6:4 Paul tells us that "just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life." Galatians 5:25 says, "If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit." And in 2 Corinthians 5:7, Paul tells Christians that "we walk by faith, not by sight."
*Please understand that there is only one way to walk with God, and that is by faith. We must open our hearts to trust in Jesus Christ, and through faith, receive Him as the Lord and Savior of our lives. Then we need to intentionally start walking with the Lord every day. I know it's obvious, but we can't walk without walking, so we have to get started. Then, we have to keep walking by faith, one step at a time. But just like babies, Christians have to learn how to walk with the Lord by faith, and just like babies, we will stumble, but the Lord will never let us fall.
*In John 10:27-29 Jesus said:
27. "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.
28. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.
29. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand."
*Here Jesus gives us 4 sure promises about His gift of eternal life:
-"I give them eternal life."
-"They shall never perish."
-"Neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand."
-"And no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand."
*That's 4 sure promises in 2 short verses! And Christians, we are forever safe in the Hands of God. Fred Musser reminds us in a testimony he heard from his pastor, Bro. Temple. The old preacher told Fred this story a few days before Fred left home to prepare for the ministry.
*Bro. Temple said, "When my son was small, we often walked together out through the fields and neighboring pasture behind the parsonage. At first the little fellow would hold onto my little finger. But he found that when he stepped into a hoof-print or stumbled over something, his grip would fail and down he'd go in the dust or snow. Not giving it much thought, my mind on other matters, I'd stop, and he'd get up, brush himself off, and grab my little finger again, gripping a little harder this time.
*Needless to say, this occurred frequently, until one day as he was brushing himself off, he looked at me and said, 'Daddy?' I replied, 'Yes, Son, what is it?' He said, 'I think if you would hold my hand, I wouldn't fall.'"
*Pastor Temple then turned to Fred, and with a tear in his eye, he said, "You know, he still stumbled many times after that, but he never hit the ground. Now, as you walk with God, don't try to hold on to Him, let Him hold on to you. You may stumble but He'll never let you fall." (5)
*Psalm 37:23-24 says, "The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD, And He delights in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; For the LORD upholds him with His hand.
*When we walk with the Lord by faith, He will not let us fall, and one day, He will take us all the way home to Heaven! That's what faith in the Lord will do. It lets us walk with the Lord.
2. FAITH ALSO MAKES IT POSSIBLE FOR US TO PLEASE GOD.
*Again in vs. 5-6, "By faith Enoch was translated so that he did not see death, 'and was not found because God had translated him'; for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God. But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is. . ."
*Enoch pleased God, and that sounds mighty important to me! -- "But without faith it is impossible to please God." James Merritt explained that "No matter what else we do or how well we do it, if we do not believe God, we will never please God. Life's number one purpose is to please God, because nothing else matters in life. If you please God, in the long run, it doesn't matter who you displease. And if you displease God, it doesn't matter who else you do please."
*In vs. 6, one of the great keys to pleasing God is we "must believe that He is." And Merritt said, "you've got to believe that God is there even though you cannot see Him. You must believe that God is there even though you cannot hear Him. You must believe that God is there even though you cannot feel Him. And you must believe that God is there even though you cannot touch Him.
*In one of the horrific, Nazi death camps during World War II, there was a prisoner who had been there for several years with no hope of release. And on his prison wall he had scratched out these words: 'I believe in the sun, even though I don't see it shine. I believe in love, even though it is not being shown. I believe in God, even when I don't hear Him speak.'"
*Also during World War II, there was a dreadful bombing attack by the Nazis on London and the other cities of Great Britain. They called it "The Blitz" after the German word "blitzkrieg." That means "lightning war". The bombing attack on London started on September 7th, 1940, and it didn't end until May of 1941.
*On the first day of the Blitz, over 350 German bombers filled the London sky, and they were protected by 650 Nazi fighter planes. At one point, London was bombed for 57 nights in a row. Residents sought shelter wherever they could find it. Underground stations sheltered as many as 177,000 people at night. More than 30,000 people were killed during the Blitz, and many more were injured. Sixty percent of the buildings in London were damaged or destroyed.
*During one of those terrible nights, a father holding his small son by the hand ran from a building hit by a bomb. In the front yard there was a shell hole, and seeking the nearest shelter, the father jumped into that hole. Now he could see his son against the fire-lit sky, but the son could not see his father down in the dark hole.
*The father held up his arms and shouted for his son to jump, but the terrified boy said, "I can't see you!" Then the father urgently told him, "But I can see you! -- Jump!" Then the boy jumped to safety, because he trusted his father, even when he couldn't see him. And that's the way we have to trust in the Lord. (6)
*Do you think that father would have stepped aside, and let his son crash into the broken bricks at the bottom of that hole? Of course not! -- Neither will our Heavenly Father! And do you think the boy's father was pleased when his son jumped to safety? Of course the father was pleased, because he loved his son. And that was the only way for his son to be saved.
*"But without faith it is impossible to please (God)." Faith makes it possible for us to please God.
3. BUT FAITH ALSO LETS US PROFIT FROM GOD'S PROPHECIES.
*Verse 5 says: "By faith Enoch was translated so that he did not see death. . ." And what happened to Enoch was prophetic of what is going to happen to the Church when the Lord returns. Enoch's translation was a model of the rapture of God's New Testament Church. It was a prophetic demonstration, and this prophecy goes along with the other primary New Testament Scripture about Enoch.
*It's Jude 1:14-15 which says, "Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, 'Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints, to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.'''
*James Merritt said, "I find it amazing that Enoch prophesied the second coming of Jesus, and never even saw the first coming of Jesus. I don't believe it was accidental or coincidental that Enoch was the first preacher of the second coming. He should have been because he did not die. He was raptured. Enoch represents the last Christian generation that is going to be delivered from death." (7)
*The Apostle Paul talked about this in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18. There God's Word says: "For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we (that is, we Christians) who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words."
*But those words can never be a comfort to us without faith. All of these words seem like a fantasy to us without faith. Faith makes the prophecies real to us. Faith lets us know that God is powerful enough to see the end from the beginning. For in Isaiah 46:9-10, thus saith the LORD: "Remember the former things of old, for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me, Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done, saying, 'My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure.'"
*Faith lets us know that God is powerful enough to see the end from the beginning. Faith also lets us know that God cares enough about us to let us in on His future plans. Faith lets us know that God is powerful enough to bring these things to pass.
*Faith also lets us know that God cares enough about us to make a way for us to be there with Him forever. And that's what Jesus did for us on the cross. God's Son Jesus Christ came to earth and died on the cross for our sins, just as God prophesied He would. Then Jesus rose again from the dead, just as God prophesied He would. Now Jesus offers to forgive our sins and save anyone who will put their faith in Him.
*Put your faith in Jesus, and one day He will take you home to live forever in Heaven with Him, just as God prophesies He will. And that is the greatest gift we could ever receive. Faith lets us profit from God's prophecies.
4. BUT FAITH ALSO REASSURES US ABOUT GOD'S REWARDS.
*Again, vs. 6 says, "For he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." We must believe that God "is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him."
*Faith reassures us about God's rewards, and it reassures us enough for us to diligently seek the Lord. But what does it mean to diligently seek God? Well, the original word carries the ideas of investigating, demanding, begging, even craving for something.
*So: What do you crave? God wants us to crave Him more than anything else in the world. That's why in Jeremiah 29:13 He said, "You will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart." And in Matthew 6:33 the Lord Jesus said, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you."
*We are much more likely to seek God like that, when we believe He "is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." So, faith doesn't just convince us of God's existence. It convinces us of God's excellence. Faith convinces us that God is kind and good, that He wants the best for us, and that He will always do the right thing.
CONCLUSION:
*That's why we need faith: It lets us walk with the Lord. Faith makes it possible for us to please God. Faith lets us profit from God's prophecies. And faith reassures us about our loving God's rewards.
*So put your trust in our crucified and risen Savior. Call on the Lord Jesus to save you now, as we go back to God in prayer. And always keep trusting in the Lord!
(1) Adapted from Sermons.com sermon "You've Gotta Believe" by James Merritt - Hebrews 11:1-40
(2) Sermons.com sermon "The Empire Strikes Back" by James Merritt - Jude 1:14-15
(3) Original source unknown
(4) Adapted from Sermons.com sermon "Take a Hike" by William A. Ritter - Genesis 5:21-24
(5) Fred Musser, "The Tabernacle" from James S. Hewett, "Illustrations Unlimited" - Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc, 1988 - p. 244 - Source: "Bible Illustrator for Windows" - Topic: Love - Subtopic: Of God - Index: 2206 - Date: 7/1996.777 - Title: I Know Who Holds Tomorrow
(6) Sources:
-Adapted from Sermons.com sermon "Is God Pleased With Me?" by James Merritt - Hebrews 11:1-40
-"The London Blitz, 1940" - http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/blitz.htm
-"What was the Blitz?" - http://primaryfacts.com/456/what-was-the-the-blitz/
-Donner Atwood - Source: Sermonillustrations.com - Topic: Faith
(7) Sermons.com sermon "The Empire Strikes Back" by James Merritt - Jude 1:14-15