Turn in your Bibles with me to
the book of Hebrews chapter 11. The title of the message is how
to please God. How to please God. Now I'm going
to, my text is just two verses, Hebrews 11, five through six. And what I'm going to do, I've
got two messages that I'm going to preach today and next week,
Lord willing, based on these two verses concerning a man named
Enoch. Not a whole lot of the scripture
dedicated to telling us much about Enoch, but what's there
is something to be considered and it's full. But the reason
I decided to preach two messages is twofold. One is a negative
and the other is a positive. The negative is, is I'm gonna
spend some time, and I feel like I have to do this, I'm gonna
spend some time this morning dispelling the curiosity that
I believe Satan uses to draw people's minds away from the
real issue of this passage, and that's the translation of Enoch.
Everybody wants to know, where did he not go? And I'm afraid,
sadly, that when you read this, look at it. Verse five, 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. Now sad to say most
people get stuck on the first part of that verse and that's
where their minds goes to. And I believe Satan uses that
to divert people's minds away from the real issue of this scripture. Where our minds really ought
to go and that's this, he pleased God. And the question that ought
to be on our minds, first and foremost, not where did he not
go? It ought to be how in the world
can a sinner please God? God said of his dear son, he
said, this is my beloved son in whom I'm well pleased to hear
you. How can a sinner please God?
That's the issue. So in reading these verses, think
about that. What grabbed your attention or what grabs my attention?
And it's sad that so many people are sidetracked by Satan concerning
this question. Where did Enoch go? Where's Enoch?
Well, it does say that he should not see death. He was translated
that he should not see death. And I admit, I'm curious about
that too. None of us really want to see
death, do we? Now, I believe it's that God
in his providence gives his people dying grace when it comes about.
whether it's due to the pains of age or the infirmities of
the flesh that we might become like Paul. You remember when
he was talking to the Philippians, he said, for me, it'd be better
to go and be with the Lord. I believe God will bring us to
that. But when you look at this and he says a man did not see
death, what does that mean? What is it talking about? Well,
It says, by faith, Enoch. Just like back in verse four,
it said, by faith, Abel. And the three points that I've
been trying to drive home in this series of message is number
one, that faith has a foundation. And the only foundation of faith
is the word of God. Believing what God said. That's
what Enoch did, that's what Abel did. By the grace of God, Abel
believed what God said, what God promised. By the grace of
God, Enoch believed what God said, what God promised. Our
faith must be founded upon this word, not on feeling, not on
opinion, and certainly not on speculation about Enoch or anybody
else. Have you ever heard the term
undue speculation? You know what undue speculation
is? That's speculating about things that God hasn't told us. Where did he not go? Well, the
Bible really doesn't say, but you hold on to that thought.
I'm going to get to it here in just a minute. The second point
is that faith has an object. And that object is the promise
of God in the Lord Jesus Christ as the Lord our righteousness.
How can a sinner please God? There's only one way, by pleading
the blood and the righteousness of Christ. Now that's basically
where we're going to. I'm gonna show you some particulars
of that though. We please God by pleading Christ. And anything that we do or God
does through us that's pleasing to him comes through Christ,
washed in his blood, cleansed by his blood. on our own and
even the work of the Spirit coming through us gets contaminated
by the flesh. But my friend, Christ is our
advocate, our mediator, continually standing in the place of his
people as our advocate and our mediator. So that when we sin,
John said, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ
the righteous. So Christ is the object. Enoch
believed God's word. Enoch looked to Christ, and I'll
prove that to you. And then thirdly, faith has evidences. And that's, how do you know Abel
had faith? He brought the blood of the Lamb.
How do you know Enoch had faith? He pleased God. And look at verse
six, it says, but without faith, it's impossible to please God.
Without believing God's word and looking to Christ, it's impossible
to please God. It says, for he that cometh to
God, like Abel did, like Enoch, must believe that God is. Now
that doesn't mean simply that God exists. It means that God
is who God says he is. He is as he reveals himself. The devils believe there is a
God, don't they? But they don't please God and
they don't have faith. Somebody said, well, I believe
in a god. Well, everybody does. Even the atheist, he believes
in himself. We used to talk about the fellow we talk about, he's
a self-made man and he's in love with his creator. And that's the case. But do you believe that God is
who God says he is according to his word from Genesis to Revelation? Somebody says, well, now I don't
believe in election. Well, does the Bible tell us
that God is the God of election? Is that what the Bible says?
You say, well, but I can't understand it. That's not what I'm talking
about. What does the Bible say? God is. He's a just God and a
Savior. There's the gospel issue, isn't
it? God is a just God and a Savior. How can He be both? How can He
be both a righteous judge and do what's just and right and
still save a sinner like me who deserves nothing but damnation.
How can that be? Well, what does God say about
himself? He saves his people through righteousness by Jesus
Christ. And it says in that he's a rewarder
of them that diligently seek him. Well, now what does it mean
he rewards them? Does that mean we earn our rewards? No. This is the reward of grace. You seek salvation by God's grace
in Christ, you'll have the reward of salvation, the reward of righteousness. Not because you earned it or
deserved it, but because Christ is your hope. That's basically
what we're going to say. But still that negative still
holds. Where did Enoch go? All right,
the positive is I want to go back to Genesis chapter five
and show you the context of Enoch and show you some other scripture
and I probably won't be able to get to all that in one message. And you might want to just put
your finger in Genesis chapter five because I am going to read
a couple of passages. So, and this is, I'll tell you
what, this is good stuff. It's really good stuff now, I'm
telling you. To me, it just binds the scripture together in my
mind and heart. It puts it all together for me.
But let me start, you know, what does Genesis chapter 5 say about
Enoch down there in verse 21? Look at Genesis 5, 21. It says,
Enoch lived 65 years and he begat Methuselah. You know who Methuselah
was. He's the oldest man in the Bible,
you know. 969 years old. Well, Enoch was
his daddy. And Enoch was also Noah's great,
or sometimes they say great-great-grandfather. You know, in these genealogies,
they don't always put every name, all right? Sometimes you might
say, well, so-and-so begat so-and-so. That could be talking about a
grandfather relationship and grandson, all right? And it says
in verse 22, now listen to this, and Enoch walked with God. Now
there's two things we see about Enoch here. He pleased God and
he walked with God. And that's where we want to major
on. He says, Enoch walked with God, and he beget Methuselah
300 years, and beget 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. And I'll come back to that later
on, mostly in next week's message on that. But let's go back to
this thing. Where did he not go? I don't know. And you don't know either. And
you know why I don't know? And you want to know why you
don't know? Because the Bible doesn't tell us where he went.
What does the Bible tell us? Here it is, by faith, verse five.
Enoch was translated. What does translated mean? It
means he was taken away. It doesn't say where he was taken. He was taken away, that he should
not see death. And he was not found. They couldn't
find him because God had translated him. Somebody said, well, Enoch was
taken to heaven. Well, the Bible doesn't say that. Somebody said, well, Enoch was
taken to heaven just like Elijah was. You know, the Bible doesn't
say Elijah was taken to heaven. It says that his chariot went
up to the heavens. That's the sky in the original
language. So, where was he taken? We don't know. And anything we
say about it other than just reading what the scripture says
in other places and interpreting scripture as scripture is undue
speculation. And let me say this right at
the outset. I'll be honest with you, it doesn't
really matter where Enoch went. It doesn't really matter where
Elijah went. What matters in Enoch's life?
He walked with God. He pleased God. Don't miss that. But I will say this. Somebody
says, well, Enoch didn't die. Elijah didn't die. Well, doesn't
the Bible in Hebrews chapter 9 and verse 27 say this? Listen
to this verse, Hebrews 9, God's word, 27, and as it is appointed
unto men once to die, and after this, the judgment. Now, it doesn't say, and as it
is appointed unto men once to die, except Enoch, does it? Who appointed that death? God
did, didn't he? The Lord giveth, the Lord taketh
away. Lord gives life, the Lord takes
it away. So was Enoch taken away to heaven? Well, the Bible doesn't
say that. And didn't Christ say this? This is John 3, 13. Listen
to the word of God. Here's the Lord speaking. He
says, and no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that come
down from heaven, even the son of man which is in heaven. Did Enoch never experience physical
death? Are you at Hebrews 11? You're at Hebrews 11 now? Well, look
at Hebrews 11. Get over there to Hebrews 11.
Well, what's wrong with you people? All right, now you got a list we
call the Hall of Fame of Faith, right? You got Abel, you got
Enoch, Noah, and then we come to Abraham. and then later on
we'll see some others. Look at verse 13. What does that
say, verse 13? These all died in faith, not
having received the promises, but having seen them afar off,
and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed
that they were strangers and pilgrims. These all died in faith. Doesn't say these all died in
faith except Enoch. It says they all died in faith.
I would say that includes Enoch. And the passage of Brother Mark
read in Romans chapter 8, verse 10 says this, this body is dead
because of what? Sin. The spirit is life because
of righteousness. And that's speaking of spiritual
eternal life based upon the righteousness of Christ freely imputed and
received by faith. But this body, it's dead. This is a corruptible body. 1
Corinthians 15 says that this corruptible, which is when we
die, is sown in corruption, must do what? Put on incorruption. That's a glorified body. Do you
suppose Enoch's in heaven right now in this old body of death,
this wretched body? I don't think so. And besides
that, when the resurrection comes, when the final resurrection comes,
Who's going to be resurrected? 1 Corinthians 15 says, the resurrection
of the what? The dead. I think that's significant. We
must all be changed in the twinkling of an eye. What does that mean?
That's going from dead to a glorified body. So what does it mean and
for what purpose was Enoch taken away? Well, the Bible doesn't
really specifically say Turn to Revelation 11. Some people,
now listen to this. Some people believe that this
happened so that Enoch could serve as one of what the Bible
calls here in Revelation 11, the two witnesses. They think
it's gonna be Enoch and Elijah because they didn't die. Well,
I believe they both died, all right? I know it says he should
not see death, but I'll deal with that in just a moment. They
say, well, there's going to be these two witnesses. Look at
verse one of Revelation 11. It says, there was given me a
reed like unto a rod, and the angel stood, saying, rise and
measure the temple of God and the altar and them that worship
therein. But the court, which is without
the temple, leave out and measure it not, for it's given unto the
Gentiles and the holy city, shall they tread under foot forty and
two months." Now I'm not going to go into all the details on
this. We had a lesson on that. Go back and get your lesson on
Hebrews 11 or Revelation 11 and read it. But here's what John's
being told. He said, you know what that measuring
rod is? It's the gospel. How do you measure the temple?
What's the temple? It's the church. How do you measure
the church? Who are the citizens of the kingdom
of God, the holy city? Who are the members of Christ's
church? How do you know? What do you
go by? What's the measure? It's the
gospel. that tells sinners how God is
reconciled to them and how they are reconciled to God on one
ground, and that's the glorious person in the finished work of
Christ. Somebody says, well, I'm a member of Christ's church.
Well, ask him this, how are you reconciled to God? For example, go back to Cain
and Abel. Ask Cain how he's reconciled to God. Well, I brought the works
of my hands. You're not, you give no evidence
of being a member yet. Abel, how are you reconciled
to God? By the blood of the lamb, the
righteousness imputed of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's a child
of God. And so he says, look at Revelation
11 three, he says, I will give power into my two witnesses that
they shall prophesy 1,200 and threescore days clothed in sackcloth.
That's talking about the time of the new covenant. And somebody
says, well, now those two witnesses, that's Elijah and Enoch. Where
in the world does it say that? Not here, not anywhere else. In fact, read verse four. These
are the two olive trees and the two candlesticks standing before
the God of the earth. Where are you going to find that
reference? It's in back in Zechariah chapter four. And you go back and read that
and get that lesson because I don't have time to do it this morning.
But it's all speculation is what I'm telling you. Go back to Hebrews
11. What many believe, and there
are many people who believe this, and this is where my mind goes,
but it doesn't matter. Now listen to me, understand.
It really doesn't matter where Enoch went. But it says, by faith
Enoch was translated that he should not see death and was
not found because God had translated. Enoch lived in a dangerous, treacherous
time. We're gonna see that next week
in Genesis chapter four and five and six. When evil was rampant
on the earth, and especially religious evil, And you know
what? Enoch was a preacher of the gospel.
He was a preacher of righteousness. I can prove that to you from
God's word. And you know what he preached? He preached judgment,
the judgment and wrath of God against everyone and anyone who
was not in Christ, the promised Messiah. And just like every
other prophet in that generation, he was hated for it. He was attacked
for it. and he was in danger of his life,
but God translated him so that they couldn't kill him. God took
him away and put him somewhere else. Now that's my opinion.
And I'll show you more of that next week. But again, it really
doesn't matter. Instead of speculating about
Enoch's translation, let's look at the issues here. He pleased
God. Wow. Now there's a miracle. There's something to behold now.
Enoch pleased God. What does that tell you about?
And then over in Genesis five that we're at, he walked with
God. How in the world? What does the Bible tell us about
Enoch and Abel and me and you? That we're sinners. That by nature
we're even enemies of God. You know that the Bible says
that by nature we are enemies of God? In our minds by wicked
works? I'm sure Cain, for example, did
not believe that he was an enemy of God. He thought he was doing
good. When I was in false religion,
thinking salvation was conditioned on me, I didn't think I was an
enemy of God. And if anybody had come up and
told me I was an enemy of God, I would have been angry. But
that's what I was, trying to establish my own righteousness,
thinking that the blood of Christ was nothing more than a possibility
of salvation. If I would do my part, if I just
rise up and be a better boy than the rest of them and believe
or give my heart to Jesus, that's false religion, folks. And that's what Enoch was telling
them. And they didn't like it. But here's a sinner who walked
with God. A sinner who pleased God. How
is that even possible? If God gave me what I deserve
and what I've earned, it would be damnation. How can I please
Him? How can God be pleased with any
of us? You know what Enoch was? He was
just like his brother Abel before him, a sinner saved by grace. That's what he was. He didn't
please God because he was a better person. No, sir. If that's the way it
is, then salvation is not by grace, is it? And he didn't need
faith. If you can please God because
you're a better person than the rest of society, you don't need
faith, you don't even need Christ. Did you know that? You don't
need his blood. You're better. Problem is, our better's not
good enough. That was Enoch's testimony. True believers, now think about
it, it says he pleased God. True believers, sinners saved
by grace, are those who have been brought by God's grace through
the Lord Jesus Christ to desire to please God. Now unbelievers
many times want to please God, but it's a God of their imagination.
It's usually a God like themselves. It's usually themselves. They're
like that old song. Can't please everyone, so you
got to please yourself. And self is their God. But true
believers desire to please the true and living God. Verse six,
but without faith, it's impossible to please God. Without looking
to Christ, without resting in Christ, without being reconciled
to God through the blood of Christ. You see, that's what that's about.
For he that cometh to God must believe that he is, he is who
he's, who does God say he is? He's a God of justice. Yes, he's
a God of mercy, but how can he be both? How does God save sinners? That's the issue. You see, this is more than just
a religious pep talk today, isn't it? This is more than just, oh,
just say some religious things to me and let me go eat. This is the glory of God. He
is who He says He is. And to deny that he is who he
says he is, is to fashion a god of your own imagination. And
you may do your best to please him, but he's still an idol. God is a rewarder of them that
diligently seek him, but what is it to seek him? We're gonna
read this next week over in Galatians 4. Men began to call on the name
of the Lord. What does it mean? Whosoever
shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. What does
it mean to call upon the name of the Lord? Well, look at Abel. He was calling on the name of
the Lord. How did he do it? Through the blood of the lamb.
That's what it is. You come any other way, you're
not gonna please God. Point is this, sinful people
cannot of themselves please God no matter what they do. Turn
to Romans 8 there that Brother Mark read. This is why I had
him read this passage. Listen to this. Now he's talking about a believer's
oneness with Christ. That my whole salvation was accomplished
by Christ on Calvary's cross when he died, was buried, and
rose the third day because he's my surety, he's my substitute.
When he died, I died. When he was buried, I was buried.
When he arose, I arose. He stands now as my mediator,
my advocate. He's my surety. I have no righteousness
but his. And let me tell you something,
God's well pleased with his. If I stand before God in Christ,
washed in his blood, clothed in his righteousness, God will
not charge me with sin. He charges me with righteousness
and he's well pleased. But look at verse six, or verse
five rather, Romans eight. He says, for they that are after
the flesh do mind the things of the flesh. Now, what is it
to be after the flesh? It's to seek salvation any other
way, but by God's grace through Christ. Cain was after the flesh. A person who does the best they
can do to be righteous before God by their works is walking
after the flesh. But they that are after the Spirit
do the things of the Spirit. Now what is it to walk after
the Spirit? It's to look to Christ. It's to walk by faith in Him.
It's to rest in Him. It's to plead His blood in righteousness.
You see the difference? Verse six, for to be carnally
minded is death. To be fleshly minded is death.
The broad road that leads to destruction, but to be spiritually
minded, To rest in Christ for all salvation, for all forgiveness,
for all righteousness is life in peace. You see that? Verse
7, because the carnal mind is enmity against God. It's in opposition
to God. The most religious, sincere person
who comes to God seeking salvation or any part of it based on anything
other than totally the blood and righteousness of Christ is
in opposition to God. For it is not subject to the
law of God. What is it to be subject to? How do you know if
a person is subject to the law of God? Well, they're trying
to keep the Ten Commandments. Oh, no. That's to be under the
curse. That's to be under law. How do you know a person's subject,
subjected, submitted to the law of God? When that person sees
that he cannot, she cannot be saved, accepted, or please God
based on their best efforts to keep that law. When that person
sees that Christ, Romans 10 for, is the end, the fulfillment,
the finishing, the completeness, the perfection of the law for
everyone that believe. That person who like Abel and
like Enoch pleads Christ is subject to the law of God. And it says
neither indeed can be. It's impossible. Verse eight,
so then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. So one thing we know about Enoch,
he was not in the flesh. Oh, he was a sinner. He's in
the spirit. Verse nine. But you're not in
the flesh, but in the spirit. If so be that the spirit of God
dwell in you. Now, if any man have not the
spirit of Christ, he is none of his. And if Christ be in you,
the body is dead because of sin, but the spirit is life because
of righteousness. You see, all who please God are
justified before God by the righteousness of another. You see, this speaks of those
who've been born again of the Spirit and in whom the Holy Spirit
dwells as evidenced by faith. Because without faith, it's impossible
to please God. If we keep, back here in Hebrews
11, if we keep within the context, we learn that Enoch pleased God
the same way that Abel pleased God. The same way that Abel obtained
witness that he was righteous by approaching God on the basis
the blood of Christ, the righteousness of Christ freely imputed. So
now Enoch walked with God, he pleased God. That means number
one, he was sovereignly blessed of God by his grace. You know the first thing you
read about Noah that we come to next in the book of Genesis
chapter 6? Other than that he was born,
Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. And God's grace
always reigns through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ
our Lord. To please God, you gotta be justified.
You gotta be washed clean from all your sins by the blood of
the lamb and clothed in his righteousness. To walk with God, to please God,
there must be peace with God, reconciliation. How does that
come? Through the cross of Christ.
We walk by faith in Christ. Thirdly, to please God, there
must be fellowship and communion with God in Christ. How does
that come about? Peter said, by the promises of
God in Christ. And to please God and to walk
with God means walking after minding the things of the spirit
of God. That is, we walk according to his word, according to the
gospel, by faith in Christ, seeking to obey him and please him in
a way that honors him and glorifies him as motivated by love and
grace and gratitude. Now next week, I'm gonna go into
some more of that and go back into Genesis and we'll see that,
all right? Okay, let's turn in our hymnals
to hymn number 393. Take my life and let it be, 393.
I hope I didn't warp your universe or
anything, but just read the Bible. It's all you have to do. And
basically, as I said, the Bible doesn't tell us. It just says
he was translated. I've got my opinion. You may
have yours, but don't get sidetracked. Go to that gospel, that's what
this is all about, by faith.