The Man Who Pleased God

January 27, 1991

Hebrews 11:5-6 By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists, and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.

Introduction

One of my "life verses" is Hebrews 11:6. I think of it just about every day I live. But I do not always remember that it is tied with the story of Enoch, a man who walked with God. "Faith" and "believing" is not something we do in the abstract. When faith is real, it has to do with the way we live our every day lives.

Walking is an everyday thing— we all do it— and we don't think that much about it. It is a habit.

We enjoy flying. We see things from a different perspective. We get some place in a hurry. We are an "expert" because we are more than 100 miles from home. But most of life is lived in the everyday— by walking.

And that is the way life with God has to be! There are no short cuts to character. No special deals made for "experts." We have to do more than just grasp ideas, and understand lessons: we have to let truth come and dwell in our souls through everyday living.

Our text says that Enoch walked with God, was God's companion. And we have to learn to walk with God, too.

I. IT IS A CHOICE TO WALK WITH GOD

A. Genuine, everyday, real FAITH must choose between the spectacular and the genuine.

1. GOD Himself has to be the central reason for the kind of God-pleasing faith that Enoch knew. It is not easy or natural to decide to please God over and above our own natural desires. It is natural to want to please ourselves.

God does good things for people; He brings many wonderful benefits. It is easy to think of God in terms of His benefits and to forget the Person of the Giver Himself!

2. R.T. Kendall (in Believing God) worries about Christians making a big deal about celebrities becoming Christians: "... one of the sadder moments in the history of Christians evangelism has been the introduction of celebrities into evangelistic campaigns. However sincere the motives may be that lie behind the football player, the movie star or the beauty queen that gives testimony for the Lord, this is but an unconscious conspiracy to de-stigmatize the faith. If I become a Christian because of the feeling: ('If a person of such stature or fame has become a Christian, then perhaps it won't be so bad if I do') then I betray that my ultimate concern is people and not God. Jesus asked, 'How can ye believe, which receive honor one of another, and seek not the honor that comes from God only? (John 5:44)'"

There are greater things in life than being rich, famous, or beautiful and culturally smooth.

B. Everyday, overcoming, genuine faith must even choose between the apparent and the genuine.

1. Appearances are all-important to phony Christians. Appearances ARE important; it IS important what other people see: "Avoid the very appearance of evil."

Genuine 'walkers-with-God' have as their first concern the reality of staying near Him; and secondarily only 'what it will seem to other people.' [Illus: Jim Couchenour goes into the local "bar" to share Jesus— and changes lives there forever!]

2. Success in terms of numbers, approval of others, and the like can often be used interchangeably with "victorious faith."

One recent book studying soul-winning groups in America flat-out states that we have mixed up the "success gospel" with Christian faith. Too often we worship the big, the booming, the shiny. But God-centered faith is willing to be thought a failure so far as on-looking people may be concerned!

Paul was a man who certainly pleased God. But listen to these words he wrote to the Corinthian church (I Co. 4:11): "To this present hour we are both hungry and thirsty, and are poorly clothed, and are roughly treated, and are homeless..." Doesn't sound to me as though Paul was a modern-day success story. He didn't have a stretch limo to carry him from pulpit to pulpit!

3. Until we settle it to please God first we will probably continue to have troubles with prosperous evil people, and with hypocrites in the church, and with do-nothing professing Christians. But Enoch-type people are too busy trying to stay in step with God, trying to make their lives please Jesus, that they won't stay de-railed by people for too long!

There are greater things in life than what PEOPLE think!

II. IT IS FRIENDSHIP TO WALK WITH GOD

It IS possible to walk with God in 1991 in the stress of our present tensions. The reason more people do NOT walk with Him is NOT that it is all that difficult, or that it requires that we have super-faith or be super-smart (or super-simple.) ANYBODY can walk with God, BUT...
1. To walk with God we must treat Jesus like a PERSON, and not simply as a list of rules. You or I don't walk with God simply by "Dos" and "Don'ts." How do you get acquainted with anyone?
2. To walk with God we must meet Jesus on HIS terms. He is patient and will discuss matters. He is understanding— He will not chide and berate. Jesus even understands failures. But talk to Him! include Him IN in everything you do! And remember, His Word is final!
3. [Meeting Jesus on HIS terms will mean that we must- ]
  1. deal with the sin in our lives. God can never fellowship with willful, out-broken sin.
  2. live in open-ness and confession before Him. God will never fellowship with deliberate deceit.
  3. be HOLY! God is HOLY! He wants us to be like HIM, so that we CAN walk with Him! We are "HOLY" when we give ourselves to Him and He accepts us! He makes us "HOLY" when He lives in us, and fills us with His Holy Spirit.
  4. WALK with Him! To walk-
    - lots of people want the "big moments" only "You should have been at summer camp! You should have seen the Christmas Pageant our church put on! GREAT!
      But we can't live by FLYING times only! Our fellowship must go beyond "Spurts!"
    - other people want the BABY CARRIAGE treatment. Did you ever see a little kid getting pushed around the mall in his baby-carriage sound asleep? We want God to push us to heaven in His big baby carriage while we take the bottle and nothing else much...
Enoch walked! And we have to walk, too! Walking with God is how we get acquainted with Him in depth.

III. IT IS FULFILLMENT TO WALK WITH GOD

[Another word for "fulfillment" might be VICTORY!]

Enoch "was not!" They looked for Enoch high and low. They looked for him all over— and he was gone!
And WE will leave the scene some day, too. We all have an appointment with God!
It must have been wonderful to just be TRANSPORTED UP! But if I understand my Bible correctly, an entire GENERATION OF ENOCH-TYPE PEOPLE WILL BE TRANSLATED!

Conclusion

Every Christian who truly walks with God turns "death" inside out, and never leaves God's Presence.

One entire generation of Christians will know the same translation Enoch knew!

#43 O Master, Let Me Walk with Thee