32) Pleasing to God
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
We are continuing in the great faith chapter, Chapter 11 of the book of Hebrews today and we will be looking at the second person that the author uses as and example of what faith looks like. If you remember from previous sermons that chapter 11 sits as an encouragement between the end of chapter 10 and the beginning of chapter 12
36 For you need endurance, so that after you have done God’s will, you may receive what was promised. 37 For yet in a very little while, the Coming One will come and not delay. 38 But my righteous one will live by faith; and if he draws back, I have no pleasure in him. 39 But we are not those who draw back and are destroyed, but those who have faith and are saved.
He tells his readers that you need endurance. You need to persevere. To be steadfast in order that they may continue in God's will. So that they may receive what was promised. That they may receive their reward.
Jesus will return soon. He quotes the old testament with “But my righteous one will live by faith”. It is by faith that God will call people righteous. This is how they will live. They will not draw back but will draw towards him.
There is a difference made here between the drawing near and the drawing back. God has no pleasure in the one who draws back and in the end they will be destroyed. But those that draw near to God, who have faith are those that are not destroyed but are saved.
Faith is the separation between the saved and the lost. Between the sheep and the goats. between those who will enter the presence of God and those that will not.
Everything sits on the line of faith.
15 We are Jews by birth and not “Gentile sinners,” 16 and yet because we know that a person is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we ourselves have believed in Christ Jesus. This was so that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no human being will be justified.
The author of Hebrews is bringing faith into the forefront of the conversation with these people. We are to draw near to God and we do that because of faith. So do not grow weary and press on towards the reward.
1 Now faith is the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen. 2 For by this our ancestors were approved. 3 By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are not visible. 4 By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was approved as a righteous man, because God approved his gifts, and even though he is dead, he still speaks through his faith.
Abel was an example of faith and worship. Of bringing to God what he has requested. Cain was an example of putting our trust in ourselves. To turn from God and to draw away from him. Abel was pleasing to God and Cain was not.
We continue with probably one of the more unique accounts in the bible. And that is Enoch. Who here knows who Enoch is? Many have probably heard of him but few have studied him. He is the second example of faith that we come to.
Enoch
Enoch
5 By faith Enoch was taken away, and so he did not experience death. He was not to be found because God took him away. For before he was taken away, he was approved as one who pleased God. 6 Now without faith it is impossible to please God, since the one who draws near to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
Enoch is one of two men who the bible records that never saw death that were taken. the other was Elijah. But who was Enoch. Turn with me to chapter 5 of Genesis.
As you turn there lets get the time line of Enoch life.
As you are aware the bible starts with the creation of the world and the universe through the speaking of God’s word.
3 By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are not visible.
God created man and woman and they were in the garden of Eden with God. Until they disobeyed God. By disobedience all men and women are now born in a spiritually dead state. They are alive physically but not spiritually. They are now have a nature that is opposed to all things God.
Then we see two son’s born of Eve the first is Cain and the second is Abel. Last week we saw that God had given them a place of worship, a time of worship, and a method of worship. They were to come in obedience to God’s directions.
We saw faith in action when God’s approves Abel and his offering and we see rebellion when God does not approve of Cain’s offering because is was not what God asked for but what he wanted to give to God. We saw the reaction of Cain to God’s opportunities to just do what God had prescribed. But in the end Cain kills his brother and he is cursed by God.
Moses records the line of Cain which does have an Enoch in it but it is not this Enoch and then Goes back and records the line of Adam through Seth to Noah. There are 10 generations from Adam to Noah. Through the 10 generations there is a pattern to them.
A man lived so many years, he had a son, he named him, he lived so many years more, then he died.
1 This is the document containing the family records of Adam. On the day that God created man, he made him in the likeness of God; 2 he created them male and female. When they were created, he blessed them and called them mankind. 3 Adam was 130 years old when he fathered a son in his likeness, according to his image, and named him Seth. 4 Adam lived 800 years after he fathered Seth, and he fathered other sons and daughters. 5 So Adam’s life lasted 930 years; then he died. 6 Seth was 105 years old when he fathered Enosh. 7 Seth lived 807 years after he fathered Enosh, and he fathered other sons and daughters. 8 So Seth’s life lasted 912 years; then he died.
This is the pattern and they all end with then he died.
Adam lived then he died. Seth lived then he died, Enosh lived then he died, Kenan lived then he died, Mehalalel lived then he died, Jared lived then he died. But when we come to the 7 generation from Adam we see a break in the pattern.
21 Enoch was 65 years old when he fathered Methuselah. 22 And after he fathered Methuselah, Enoch walked with God 300 years and fathered other sons and daughters. 23 So Enoch’s life lasted 365 years. 24 Enoch walked with God; then he was not there because God took him.
It will continue with his son Methuselah who lived and then he died. Lamech lived and then he died. Then we come to Noah. Which also changes the pattern as we know the bible goes into much detail on Noah and we will look at that next week.
It looked like this. We see there is much overlap in these patriarchs lives. We are familiar with Noah and what happens to the world in Noah’s time. The flood right? From Adam to Noah we see the complete rejection of God until there is only one family left that God saves. That is Noah. I find it interesting that Noah could have had dinner with all but Adam, Seth, and Enoch in his lifetime. Noah was the 1st generation that could not know Adam personally. Enoch lived in this time. He was taken 57 after death of Adam, and 69 years before Noah. This was not a very godly time period.
But in the beginning of human history in the the bible we have this man that did not follow the pattern of the others. He was different in how he lived and then he “was not there” He did not live and then die, he just lived.
And more specifically then he just lived, twice it says that he walked with God.
How a person walked was a description of who they were and how they lived. We see that Noah also walked with God.
9 These are the family records of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among his contemporaries; Noah walked with God.
Micah says that this is something that is required for mankind
8 Mankind, he has told each of you what is good and what it is the Lord requires of you: to act justly, to love faithfulness, and to walk humbly with your God.
In Malachi God speaks of his servant Levi in this way.
6 True instruction was in his mouth, and nothing wrong was found on his lips. He walked with me in peace and integrity and turned many from iniquity.
Enoch was recorded as a man that walked with God and because of this he walked straight from this world into the presence of God.
In the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament that the author quotes many times, the word walked with God is translated as pleasing to God. In a time period that the majority wanted nothing to do with God we see a man who is pleasing to God.
And what is the correlation that the author is making in Hebrews. It is by faith that Enoch lived in this way.
He was APPROVED as being pleasing to God. This does not mean that his church sat down and did a contest for the most pleasing man in the church. He did not win an award or the lottery. This is an affirmation from God recorded in scripture.
To Walk With God
To Walk With God
Who here would like to be approved as one who pleases God? One who walks with God? I think most people that claim to believe in God would want to be approved. I also think that the majority of people would claim that they do walk with God but could not tell you what that means.
When the flood came on the earth there was one man and his family described this way. It is not a road that comes easy.
5 By faith Enoch was taken away, and so he did not experience death. He was not to be found because God took him away. For before he was taken away, he was approved as one who pleased God. 6 Now without faith it is impossible to please God, since the one who draws near to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
It is impossible. Have you ever heard the saying nothing is impossible just improbable. Well here in this verse the truth tells us that is impossible to please God, it is impossible to walk with God without Faith.
I could only find 4 things that are impossible in the New Testament that use the same word.
24 Seeing that he became sad, Jesus said, “How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! 25 For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” 26 Those who heard this asked, “Then who can be saved?” 27 He replied, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.”
What is impossible with man is possible with God.
18 so that through two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to seize the hope set before us.
It is impossible for God to lie.
4 For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
It is impossible for any sacrifice but Jesus to take away sins. The author uses the same word to describe the ability for God to lie and the possibility of man to please God without faith. Dwell on that for a minute. In all of the works that we do. All of the works of our hands, back, and minds do not make it possible to please God.
It does not matter how many church services you go to. How much money you give to the church, how many hours in study that you tally up. None of those will every make it possible for you to please God.
“But my righteous one will live by faith”
God’s righteous, his children, his saved, will be those that live by faith. And faith will produce a life that is pleasing to God. All of the actions I mentioned earlier come from faith. They are an effect of salvation not a cause of salvation.
But there are some other characteristics of this faith. It is described as a person who draws near to God. This goes back to chapter 10
35 So don’t throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. 36 For you need endurance, so that after you have done God’s will, you may receive what was promised. 37 For yet in a very little while, the Coming One will come and not delay. 38 But my righteous one will live by faith; and if he draws back, I have no pleasure in him. 39 But we are not those who draw back and are destroyed, but those who have faith and are saved.
A person of faith is one who is described as drawing near. And a person who draws back is one who is destroyed. We see that Enoch’s life showed that he drew near to God in a couple of ways.
First
Hebrews 11:6 (CSB)
... since the one who draws near to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
This person must believe that he God exists. It is more directly translated as “he must believe He is”. This is to believe that God is who he says he is. Not a made up person that society or someone else tells a person but to believe that He is.
Commandment 1 You shall have no other God’s before me, and the greatest command, Love the Lord your God with all you heart, soul and mind.
Second the person who draws near believes that God rewards those who seek him. The word here means a payment for services rendered. This is the only place in the bible it is used. But the bible speaks much of seeking the reward or promises of God.
9 “As for you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father, and serve him wholeheartedly and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches every heart and understands the intention of every thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you abandon him, he will reject you forever.
33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.
7 “Ask, and it will be given to you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
27 He did this so that they might seek God, and perhaps they might reach out and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.
But this is a work of God in for no one can seek God on their own
11 There is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God.
1 So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.
Those of Faith will be seekers of God. They will look forward to the will of God, they will look towards the character of God, and they will look forward to the rewards of God.
Preach the Word
Preach the Word
Though there is not a single work that will make man pleasing to God, a person of Faith will live from the reality of that faith in a life that seeks to be pleasing to God. Their life will produce works that glorify God and honor him.
There is very little on the specifics of Enoch’s walk with God other than two verses in Jude. Jude Speaks of false prophets that were in the church and of these people he uses Enoch as an example.
14 It was about these that Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied: “Look! The Lord comes with tens of thousands of his holy ones 15 to execute judgment on all and to convict all the ungodly concerning all the ungodly acts that they have done in an ungodly way, and concerning all the harsh things ungodly sinners have said against him.”
This is a quote from a Jewish text that is not considered an inspired work of God. The book of Enoch. The author of Jude referenced at different times non-inspired texts to help his Jewish audience understand his point. We don’t believe that the book of Enoch is inspired but Jude records a quote that we believe is an accurate quote of Enoch.
The only thing that is recorded of his faith is the proclaiming of God’s words. This is still to this day a main part of any believers faith. A person who has no desire to seek God’s word or to speak God’s word must examine themselves to where they are at.
Enoch preached in a time where people were not following God. Enoch is probably the first judgement preacher. Warning that they turn from sin an turn to God. Who did he effect with the message? We don’t know for sure but we do know that there were a few that would or could have been effected. as Noah had come to also walk with the God and also preached.
To walk with God, to be pleasing to him may separate you from many, if not from everyone if that’s what the world comes too. The faithful are to walk with God, living in a pleasing way to him, speaking of his words and the results have nothing to do with us. It is God’s will and God’s plan to use our lives in the ways that he sees fit.
We are to seek him and his reward.
8 On the contrary, what does it say? The message is near you, in your mouth and in your heart. This is the message of faith that we proclaim: 9 If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 One believes with the heart, resulting in righteousness, and one confesses with the mouth, resulting in salvation. 11 For the Scripture says, Everyone who believes on him will not be put to shame, 12 since there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, because the same Lord of all richly blesses all who call on him. 13 For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. 14 How, then, can they call on him they have not believed in? And how can they believe without hearing about him? And how can they hear without a preacher? 15 And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news.
Enoch’s life was an example to the readers of the 1 century church as it is to us today. In the end, Enoch stepped into the presence of God and those that are saved by the precious sacrifice of Jesus will do the same. They will be found pleasing to God.
Conclusion
Conclusion
We are brought near by our Lord and savior.
13 But now in Christ Jesus, you who were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
And we shall walk with God
1 Therefore I, the prisoner in the Lord, urge you to walk worthy of the calling you have received, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope at your calling—5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.
The teachings of the other books of the new Testament give us the picture of what this looks like today.
11 And he himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, to build up the body of Christ, 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of God’s Son, growing into maturity with a stature measured by Christ’s fullness. 14 Then we will no longer be little children, tossed by the waves and blown around by every wind of teaching, by human cunning with cleverness in the techniques of deceit. 15 But speaking the truth in love, let us grow in every way into him who is the head—Christ. 16 From him the whole body, fitted and knit together by every supporting ligament, promotes the growth of the body for building itself up in love by the proper working of each individual part.
This faith is something that grows in us as we follow Christ as we seek God we are built up as individuals and as a body of believers, the church. Enoch walked with God for 300 years. If we are lucky we will only achieve a fraction of that time but through faith we seek him and maturing in him so that we are not tossed around by human cunning and cleverness.
19 For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live for God. 20 I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
And we must always remember who gets the Glory
8 For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift—9 not from works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time for us to do.
Closing Response
Do you know who He is? Do you have questions about salvation?
Where are you at today? Are you missing this faith or wanting this faith?
Are you seeking him and looking toward his reward?
Are you walking with God?
Do you have steps of obedience to take as the word of God has been preached to you? Do you need to take steps towards believers baptism? or Something else.
Like we started today I want to spend some time in response to God today.
Take down your notes, spend some time in prayer. What is the one thing God has said to you today through his word that you need to respond to.
Let us pray.
Let us pray.