Let's take our Bibles and turn
with me to Hebrews chapter 11. Hebrews chapter 11. I'd like to look at one verse
of Scripture this evening. When you go through this particular
chapter, I'm sure that many of the messages, not all I'm sure,
but many of them will probably be taking one verse with a particular
instance of faith being spoken of. And tonight is going to be
a night like that. I would like to look at verse
5, Hebrews 11. The Scripture says, 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. Let's pray together. Our Father, as we again call
on You and thank You and praise You and bless You, how good it
is, oh, to lift our hearts before You and to ask, to seek, and
to knock, Lord, for Your blessing. I pray this evening, would you
bless the services for the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ and
the comfort of your people. For it is in Christ's name we
pray, Amen. In our last study here in Hebrews,
we began the evidence of faith. Now this chapter is going to
be dealing with the evidence of faith in different of the
Old Testament saints. And we looked at Abel last time. The Scripture says, by faith,
Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain. Now with each one, of these Old
Testament saints, we learn something about faith. We learn something
different about this precious grace of faith. That which is given from above
to God's regenerated people. And faith actually is evidenced
by work, works. That's what James says, faith
without the evidence of that faith. He said, you say that
you have faith without works. He said, you show me your faith
without works and I'll show you my faith by my works. the faith of God's elect that
is evidenced in the lives of God's people. Now, when the Scripture
spoke, when we looked last week at faith of Abel, by faith Abel
offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice, this is what we learned
about faith. In every believer, every believer,
faith always, is evidenced by worship. God's people, by faith,
worship God. They worship Him. Now, I know
that there's a sense in which there's an external manifestation
of worship. You're here tonight. I can see. I mean, we're meeting together.
And we're meeting together by the absolute decree of Almighty
God. Forsake not the assembling of
yourselves together as the manner of some is. We come together
tonight. This is how God teaches His people.
This is how we learn. The Lord blesses. I've heard
people say, well, I can worship just the same out in the field
somewhere by myself, reading my Bible, Is I can meet Him together? No, you can't. No, you cannot. There is a special blessing of
Almighty God when God's people assemble themselves together.
God raises up a preacher, teaches that preacher, gifts that preacher,
calls His people out. They come together and there
is an absolute bonding in the Spirit of God, there is a love
that is here between God's saints that is found nowhere else than
when God's people meet together in worship. So I know that when
we come together, I can see that there is that outward manifestation. But if there is not an internal
worship going on, then that external worship really is of no profit. If there is nothing going on
within the heart, if the heart is not engaged in worship before
God, a heart worship, I tell you that worship God must worship
Him in spirit and in truth. There is an internal worship
that goes on within God's people. It's not just a form of godliness. There is absolutely power therein. So Abel worshipped God. He believed God. And he absolutely
manifested that worship in that he offered unto God a more excellent
sacrifice. He knew that he approached God
Almighty by a blood sacrifice. God, the Scripture says, is a
spirit and must be worshipped in spirit and truth. So we worship
the Lord God who we love, who we adore. And we sing unto Him,
praise unto Him, and pray unto Him. And we do so with melody
in our hearts. We love Him. We seek Him. Worship. That's the effect of regeneration. It's that inward devotion of
that new mind. And there's a holy control by
the Spirit of God in the soul of God's people toward the Lord
Himself. Worship. It's a savor of the
things of God that desires God Almighty to be honored. I want
the Lord to be honored. I want Him to be praised. I want
Him to be exalted. I would desire that the Spirit
of God would bless these services. I don't want to meet together. And we all just leave and there
was nothing to do. I do pray. Lord, bless these
services. Lord, bless Your Word. Lord,
if You don't bless the Word, it will be just that. As Brother
Henry said one time, it will just be words. So as we are beginning
to look at the very evidence and essence of faith, the Spirit
of God sets forth in these Old Testament saints faith. manifested in God's Spirit. Now tonight, I want us to look
at the next verse. The Scripture says, and what
we want to consider tonight is, what does the life of faith actually
consist? We saw how His faith manifested
internally. Worship. Now tonight we're going
to look at what does the life of faith actually consist of? What is it? Enoch walked with
God. Now, this is Genesis, Chapter
5. I'm sorry, I failed. Turn with me there. Turn to Genesis,
Chapter 5. This is the account of what actually
happened in Hebrews 11. Genesis, Chapter 5, verse 24. I'll tell you what I'm going
to do. I'm going to start in verse 21. Enoch 5.21. Enoch lived 65
years and begat Methuselah. And Enoch walked with God after
he begat Methuselah 300 years and begat sons and daughters.
And all the days of Enoch were 365 years. And Enoch walked with God and
he was not, for God took him. Now that's what the Old Testament
says. walk with God. And he was not. Why? Because God took him. Now here is what the life of
faith consists. Here it is. God's people walk
with God. When I read that, my heart As
I said just a few weeks ago when we looked at Noah walk with God,
I read that and I think that has got to have the most honorable... I want that. I want that. What is that? To walk with God. What is it? I can tell you this. It comes right down to this.
It comes down to believe in God. Faith in Almighty God. Enoch
walked with God and he was not, for God took him. All God's regenerated
saints walk with God. They all walk with God. They
walk in the Spirit. They walk by faith. They seek
after Him. Now in our text in Hebrews 11.5,
Hebrews 11.5, tells us exactly the same thing
that Genesis 5.24 says, but here's what Hebrews 11.5, Genesis 5.24,
Enoch walked with God and he was not. And here's what Hebrews
11.5 says, Enoch walked with God this way, for before his
translation he had this testimony that he pleased God. He pleased God. Now I know this,
Enoch in himself was just like every other man, woman born in
this world. Enoch was a sinner born into
this world, born in Adam, fallen, and he walked according to the
course of this world. But by divine regeneration, Enoch,
by faith, Enoch, in regenerating grace by the Spirit of God, giving
this man a new heart, a new mind. By faith, Enoch was translated
that he should not see death and was not found. You know,
I thought that was awfully interesting. He was not found. They looked
for him. They looked for him. Enoch was a man, the Scripture
sets forth, that walked with the Lord, and God took him. He was not found. Whenever God
removes one of His saints, remember me telling you this, what an
emptiness there is. You take one of the Lord's taught,
aged, wise, taught by God's Spirit years and years and years how
wonderful it is to be able to talk to them and just to listen
and to behold how the grace of God has kept them in the midst
of trial and tribulation. And the Lord takes them away.
And you miss them. Enoch was a man that walked with
God. And the Scripture says he was not found. This man walked
by faith. That's how he walked. He was
a sinner saved by the grace of God and he walked with God, believing
God. Now Enoch lived before Noah and
Enoch was a man that lived in that age when God looked and
saw that every imagination of the thought of man was evil continually. As I said last week, we often
think that we can look, I mean, we look back and we think how
much easier it would have been to have lived in that day and
age. And it was just easier to believe God. Not so. Not so. Enoch was a man that was vexed
with evil all around him. And God gave this man faith,
the gift of God. Now, the question should be concerning
This verse of Scripture, Hebrews 11, verse 5, "...by faith Enoch
was translated." You know, I've wondered, did the Lord tell him
that He was going to take him? It doesn't say. All it says was,
by faith, Enoch was translated that he should not see death.
What did Enoch know? I don't know, but whatever he
knew, he believed God by faith. God took him. He didn't see. But where's the gospel in that
passage? There's the question. How many
times have we said if it's nothing more than a historical event,
then, I mean, we wonder at that. We marvel at the thought of God
Almighty just taking the man right into heaven. But where
is the gospel? The key to this passage of Scripture
is found in the word translated. Translated. Now, in this passage
of Scripture, three times we read of this translation. Listen to it. Three times. 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. Translated. Carried over. Changed sides. Transferred. Now the gospel in
this passage of Scripture is that all who please God in Christ,
chosen in Him, regenerated by grace, They all walk in agreement
with Almighty God. And they have been translated
just as Enoch was physically and spiritually. All of God's
people are also. We are all translated. You think
of what we learn in that translation. The translation of Enoch. God's
people are going to be with Him. God took Him. This earth has
no bound on God's people. God Almighty is all-powerful. He took this man unto Himself. Abel was a man of faith. Enoch was a man of faith. Abel
was murdered. God took Enoch right into His
very presence. He does as He will in the army
of heaven, doesn't He? Among the inhabitants of the
earth. Nobody stays His hand. Nobody questions Him. Only man,
save for Elijah, that God just took to Himself. Enoch. But every believer is translated
spiritually. Here is the significance. Colossians 1, 12-13, giving thanks
unto the Father. which hath made us meet, or fit,
to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light, who hath
delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated
us into the kingdom of His dear Son." The grand fact of this
passage, Hebrews 11 verse 5, is that our present standing
before God Almighty and state before Him is that we have passed
from death unto life. 1 John 3.14 says, We know that
we pass from death unto life because we love the brethren.
He that loveth not his brother abideth in death. Just like Enoch translated that
he should not see death, physical death. I know that he didn't. clearly set forth that He took
Him right out of this. All of God's people are translated
by God's Spirit, regenerated by God's grace, and translated
by God's Spirit that we're not going to experience eternal death. Physical death? Yes. Eternal
death? No. Death is the wages of sin,
and as our Lord was made sin for us who knew no sin, We are
rescued from the penalty of sin by Him who hath delivered us
from the power of darkness, translated us into the presence of His dear
Son. Now we walk in newness of life. We walk by faith. Here was a
man, Scripture says, that walked with God. Same struggles that
we have. The same old man in Him that
we have. This man is an example of what
God Almighty does for His people. Every one of His people. All
of them walk by faith and all of them are translated into His
very presence by the blessed Lord Jesus Christ. But you say,
I seem to struggle. Enoch, I don't see how Enoch
could have struggled. It just seemed like Enoch just
walked with God. He had such a fervency about
him. We all struggle. There is nothing
new under the sun. We struggle so much. We long
to walk with God, and every believer does. But you look at Enoch's
translation. Remember this. It wasn't Enoch's
faith that translated him. Enoch believed God. Enoch, by
faith, was translated. Are we not tonight? Are we not,
by faith, translated into His very presence? A conversion? Yes. Even now, into His very
presence, by faith, hearing the gospel of God's free grace, brought
into His very presence by the Spirit of God teaching us the
things of Christ afresh. And in that day, whether it be
by physical death or whether it be by the second coming of
Christ, we are going to be translated right into the very presence
of our Lord. It was not Enoch's faith that
translated him. The Scripture sets forth God
had translated him. For before his translation, before
God took him, he had this testimony. He pleased God. Genesis 5 says
he walked with God. Enoch could no more translate
himself than a believer can translate himself by his own power and
will and purpose. God Almighty keeps His people. It was a miracle that Enoch left
this world without seeing death. Now you know that. It's a miracle
of God's grace. Enoch walked with God and one
day God Almighty called him to Himself. You see, that's a miracle. No greater miracle than Almighty
God translating any one of us tonight into the presence of
His Son. No greater miracle than Almighty
God giving any of us a heart regenerated, translated from
darkness to light, kept by the power of God through faith. Enoch's
translation was a glorious type of our translation. That is the
heart of verse 5. But also God's promise of the
resurrection. Are we going to be translated
coming out of the grave at His second coming into His very presence? Yes, we are. Do you think Almighty
God is powerful in that He will call His people to Himself? Here
was a man that God called right into His presence that he should
not see death. Enoch's translation is a promise
that we are never going to die. Enoch did not see physical death.
I didn't see spiritual death either. But I will tell you this. This is a warning to all that
know not our Lord. Enoch walked with God that he
should not see death. God Almighty is going to call
His people to Himself. This world is going to come to
an end. And all men are going to stand before God. All the
books are going to be opened. And men are going to give an
account of themselves according to their works. And the book
is going to be opened. And all whose names are not found
written in the book of life are going to perish. Almighty God
knows His people. All men are going to stand before
Him in the great white throne of judgment. Only in Christ do
we please God. Enoch pleased God. He had that testimony. He pleased
God. Not in himself. No man, no woman
pleases God in themselves. God Almighty is pleased with
His Son only. Enoch was a sinner saved by the
grace of God. By faith in Christ, being found
in Him, living by Him, we please God in Christ. As the Father said of the Lord
Jesus Christ, this is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.
In Him we please the Lord. In Him we are accepted. in the Beloved. And Lord willing,
we are going to look next week at verse 6 that says this, 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. My question is this. Must a sinner believe God to be saved? Yes. Enoch had this testimony that
he pleased God. He believed God. God took him. Translated him. This evening,
by the grace of God, if we know Him, we have been translated
out of darkness into His marvelous light. And by the grace of God,
we know Him and walk with Him. And He keeps us by His power.
Enoch was a sinner just like we are. But God revealed Himself
to him. And walk with God struggling
just like every regenerated sinner does. May the Lord keep us. Show us of Himself. For Christ's
sake, amen.