Fabulous faith #02
Enoch: a faith that sustains.
Hebrews 11:5 10/30/05
One of the most interesting characters you find in the Word of God is a man by the name of Enoch. Interesting in many ways; for he was born before the flood but never died in the flood. As a matter of fact, he has never died till this day. Actually, little is know about this man but the Bible uses him as an example of faith. I believe what we find in the man Enoch is sustaining faith. Even though we know very little about this man, we know because he made the hall of faith he was a man of faith. I believe we see in our study this morning a man familiar with God, favored by God and faithful to God.
Now let’s examine these points and see if you don’t agree that when we talk about sustaining faith, we think of Enoch. Notice first of all Enoch is A MAN FAMILIAR WITH GOD.
It is right interesting, there is more said about Enoch in the New Testament than there is in the Old Testament even though he is an Old Testament man. There are 51 words to describe him in the Old Testament and 94 in the New Testament.
It is in Genesis chapter 5 that we read what is written about the man Enoch. Twice it is said that he walked with God. So his claim to fame is that he walked with God. The thing he did to please God is to walk with God. We don’t read that he parted the sea or that he raised the dead but he walked with God. But when you think about it what better could be said about a man or woman? You think about that a while. The best thing a child could say about dad is that he walked with God. Because when a person walks with God, it means that he is going in the same direction as God. It is important that we read that he walked with God and not God walked with him. Walking with God you are going in the right direction.
We see not only the direction of his walking but also the duration of his walking. In verse 22 of chapter five we read, “And Enoch walked with God three hundred years after he fathered Methuselah. And he fathered sons and daughters.” I just believe by that time it had become a habit. You say I am not going to live three hundred years. That is probably right but we can walk with God with what time we have left.
We see in the life of Enoch that he was a man familiar with God but also A MAN FAVORED BY GOD. Enoch was favored by God for two reasons. He was favored by God first of all for how he lived his life in the world. Look back in Hebrews chapter 11:5, “By faith Enoch was translated so as not to see death, and he was not found, because God had translated him; for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.”
A Sunday school class teacher asks her pre-school children, why do you love Jesus? A little girl said it just runs in the family. She had taken notice outside the church and in the home she was being raised. Some of you may be thinking it would fairly easy to live a life that pleased God in the day on Enoch. I will disagree, because you read from the book of Jude that in the day of Enoch, it was a wicked time. Yet when lawlessness was running wild there is a testimony that there was one who pleased God and it was Enoch.
Every Christian has a testimony but not many have the testimony that was told of Enoch that he pleased God.
Enoch was favored by God not only for the way he lived his life in the world but also because of the way he left from this world. Only two in the Bible experienced what Enoch experienced and that was he escaped death and was taken to heaven. The Bible says he was translated. The word translated is a music term. It means to transpose from a lower key to a higher key. Enoch was transposed from the low key, earth, to a much higher key, heaven. Today we have astronauts and cosmonauts but Enoch was not. Enoch is a picture of all born-again believers when Jesus returns in the air to take His children home. I look forward to being in the crowd of I was Those left behind may send out a search and rescue team but they will never find a trace because like Enoch we will be translated and transposed from the lower to the higher.
I want you to see in our last point that Enoch is an example of sustaining grace because he was A MAN FAITHUL TO GOD.
The Bible tells us that the days of Enoch were 365 years. Also that Enoch walked with God for 300 years. He did that just prior to the flood that was going to destroy the earth because of sin in the world. Would you say that Enoch was a man that was faithful to Holy God?
You know we might not get to glory the same way that Enoch did but we can be a person that is faithful to God. Without faith, it is impossible to please God.
What does it take to please God? I believe we learn from this text it is to walk with God. That means going in the same direction as God. As we go in the same direction of God we learn much about His nature. One thing we learn and that is He is always faithful to His promises. The initial promise of God is that if you will confess your sins and call upon him He will save you and even though you and I may not get to glory the same way Enoch, we can be in the same heaven. Do you know Jesus as your personal Savior?
