Enoch: Fact-Checking Your Walk - Part B

90% of the difficulties in life are overcome when our hearts are ready to do the Lord's will, whatever it may be. When that's the disposition of our heart. Lord, I don't exactly know what your will is, but whatever I find it out to be, that I'm going to do.

See, now you're living to please Him. And today on Connect with Skip Heitzig, Pastor Skip challenges you to examine your spiritual walk to understand what kind of legacy you're leaving behind. But before we begin today, we want to let you know about a special opportunity you have to pursue biblical studies in a way that works with your schedule. If you're ready to study God's word beyond going to church and personal Bible study, you're ready for Calvary College.

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That's connectwithskip.com slash donate. Thank you. Okay, let's turn to Hebrews 11 as we join Skip for the conclusion of his message. It says in Hebrews 11, our text, verse five, by faith Enoch was taken up. He was taken up so that he did not see death and he was not found because God had taken him. For before he had taken him, he had this testimony that he pleased God. Now that's explained back in Genesis chapter five. So if you go back to Genesis chapter five, it says that.

It says Enoch lived so many years, but verse 23, all the days of Enoch were 365 years and Enoch walked with God and he was not. And that's a funny little phrase. It's like one day there he was, the next day there he wasn't. He's just like, well, where's dad? He didn't come home for dinner. And where's my wife?

Where's my husband? And he just was gone. And it says in Hebrews, the Lord took him. And it says that here in Genesis, God took him. He didn't die. Now back in Hebrews where we started, where it says by faith Enoch was taken away.

That little phrase taken away means to be carried over or to be carried across, or you could translate it as some do. He was suddenly transferred, a sudden transfer from earth to heaven. So God carried Enoch over death, sort of like picking him up off one shore and moving him over onto another shore. You might say that his is the longest walk anyone ever took with God, because it's still going on. He just kept walking with God and walking with God and walking with God and walking with God and walking with God every day consistently. And then God just took him to heaven. Enoch was the subject of a Sunday school class, and the teacher tried to explain it to the kids.

Kids came home. One set of parents asked their daughter, so what was Sunday school about? She said it was all about this guy named Enoch. And so they said, well, tell us the story.

Here's her explanation. There was a man who every day went out to walk with God. And one day they walked together, and they walked until it was almost dark. When this man started to go back, God said, hey, Enoch, you've walked with me so long and you're so far from home, why don't you just come home with me? And he's been with God ever since. I like her explanation.

I think that's beautiful. He just walked with God and said, walk with me into heaven. So he's unearthed one moment, next day, boom, gone and instantly in heaven. So Enoch didn't die. He becomes the exception to the rule then.

It's appointed unto every man wants to die. Not him. He hadn't died yet. There's all sorts of theories about him.

I'll spare you, but let me throw a suggestion out to you. Enoch becomes a type of believer who will be alive on earth in the future when God calls that generation home. It's coming. The Bible does predict that. That there will be people who will miss death altogether. First Corinthians chapter 15, Paul says, behold, I show you a mystery. We will not all sleep or die, but we will all be changed in a moment in the twinkling of an eye. Then he drills down on that. First Thessalonians chapter four, that some will be instantly transferred to heaven.

Listen to his words. We who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so shall we ever be with the Lord. Now go back to our text and it fits by faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death.

It would not be a stretch to say he was raptured because he was, he was just instantly taken into heaven. So that's the life of Enoch. Let's consider the legacy of Enoch. And that takes us back to our text in Hebrews chapter 11 verse five. By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death. And he was not found because God had taken him. For before he was taken, he had this testimony. And what's the testimony?

What does it say? That he pleased God. He pleased God. That is the summary statement of Enoch's life. That is the epitaph on the tombstone, even though he didn't have a tombstone.

But that's a good one to have. If you want an epitaph, if it's true, this is a good one. He or she pleased God. That's the summary statement of his life.

You say, no, wait a minute, Skip. That can't be the summary statement of his life. You told us earlier the summary statement of his life is that he walked with God. It's right. They're one and the same. To walk with God is to please God.

In fact, let me show this to you. When the Septuagint version of the Old Testament, Septuagint version is a Greek version of the Old Testament. They took the text of the Old Testament, the Masoretic Hebrew text, and a group of scholars, 70 of them, that's why it's called Septuagint, translated it from Hebrew into Greek. They translated the Hebrew of Genesis chapter five where it says, he walked with God. They translated it, he pleased God. So to the translators, to walk with God is exactly the same as pleasing God.

It means one and the same thing. Now, here's to me what is exciting. We get a little insight into pre-flood spirituality.

Okay, hang with me on this one. This is pre-flood spirituality. This is antediluvian spirituality. And if you go back and if you just think, what would really early spirituality look like? Old Testament spirituality. Some people think, well, if it's Old Testament, it's got to be harsh and legalistic and a whole bunch of rules and sacrifices. No, spirituality in its earliest years was just walking with God.

That's simple. God was a companion with them. Remember what it says about Adam and Eve in the garden? God walked with them in the cool of the day. Don't you love that? I take a walk early in the morning.

I like to walk a few miles a day and I get up really early and do it. It's a cool of the day. And I always think about, Lord, I'm walking with you in the cool of the day.

This is cool. And so that's the idea of early spirituality is just hanging out with God daily into the communion with God. That's how spirituality was defined in the earliest revelations of it. Same thing also in the book of Genesis with Noah. In Genesis chapter six, we are told the Lord saw the wickedness of man, that it was great in the earth, that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. Verse eight, but Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Verse eight, but Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Verse nine, this is the genealogy of Noah. Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations. Noah walked with God. Noah walked with God.

There it is again. Also with Abraham, Genesis 17, the Lord appeared to Abraham and said to him, I am almighty God, walk before me and be blameless. In Genesis 24, Abraham sends out a servant to find a bride for his wife. The Lord before whom I walk will send his angel with you and prosper your way.

Same language. It's just so beautiful and stripped down and it's the essential of what a relationship with God is. What is it like to relate with God? Please, God, walk with God.

That's simplicity. I love that. You see, a walk with God is different from a jog with God or a chat with God or a weekly visit with God. Let's go have our weekly hour with God.

A walk with God is consistent daily, 24 seven. You let him in on everything. You are walking with him. You're always in his presence.

It's not like a radio playing in the background. You know the tune, man. You're part of the tune.

So again, I want to turn this around to you personally. What about you? Are you walking with God? That is, are you living to please him? Would that be your legacy that you are pleasing him?

Because here's what you have to realize. God does not exist to serve you. The universe is not some cosmic playground where you're here now and you're here to discover who you are and your uniqueness. No, you are here to find out who God is and to live to glorify him. And when you do, that's when you find out who you are and what he can do through you. Revelation chapter four sums it up.

The anthems of heaven, the people in heaven and the beings in heaven say for thy pleasure, all these things were created. Jesus said, I always do those things that please him. Paul said in second Corinthians five, we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to the Lord.

Let me tell you why this is so crucial and why it is really the irreducible minimum. When pleasing God becomes the determining factor for your life, everything else is easy. When pleasing God becomes the determining factor for, I'll even say this, for the decisions in your life, life becomes easy. What would God do? What would God have me do? What is the Lord's will in this?

When everything is sort of compared to that as the standard, everything becomes easy. Remember what Jesus said, seek first the kingdom of God and everything else will be added to you. All you have to do is seek his kingdom, look for his glory, live to please him, live to walk with him. The rest will just fall into place. It's all you have to do.

It's that simple. Live to please him, walk with him. George Mueller, one of my heroes in the faith, said 90% of the difficulties in life are overcome when our hearts are ready to do the Lord's will, whatever it may be.

When that's the disposition of our heart, Lord, I don't exactly know what your will is, but whatever I find it out to be, that I'm going to do. See, now you're living to please him. That's fact checking your spiritual life.

Are you fact checking your faith? Let it be that simple. I'm going to walk with him. I'm going to live to please him. So that's the legacy of Enoch. He pleased God, walked with God. Then we're left with a third, and that is the lessons of Enoch. We looked at his life and his legacy.

Now there's a couple lessons that the author is playing off of in the next couple of sentences. Hebrews 11, verse 6, he says, but without faith, it's impossible to please him. So here's two men of faith, Abel and Enoch.

Look at their faith. Here's a guy who entered into faith. That's Abel. Here's a man who walked in faith. That's Enoch.

And then he springs off of that. He says, but without faith, it's impossible to please him. For he who comes to God must believe that he is, number one, and number two, that he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him.

So those are the lessons of Enoch. The only way to please God is faith. To walk with God, you have to first come to God. To come to God, you have to first believe God. To believe God, you have to first believe in God, right?

That's the starting point. You have to believe that he is. That doesn't mean that you just believe there is a supreme being up there, named God, or there's some being, I don't know what he's called, because a lot of people say, oh, I believe in God. I believe God exists. The idea of what the author of Hebrews is saying is you have to believe in the right God.

See, if you look at that sentence again, the emphasis there is on the word he. Without faith, it's impossible to please him. He who comes to God must believe that he is.

You have to believe that the God of the Bible is the real God, that this God is the right God, the real God. Now, a lot of people say, well, I've looked for God. I've never found him.

Somebody said, what about an atheist? Atheists can't find God. Listen, atheists can't find God usually, not always, but I found often for the same reason police criminals can't find policemen. They're not looking for him.

When you're not looking for him, you don't find him. If you seek him, the Bible says you will find him. There are answers, and they will lead you to God, the right God. So you have to believe the God who is God. And who is that God? He's the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the Old Testament.

In the New Testament, he's the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Trinitarian God of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. You have to believe in the right God and come to the right God. I used to work in the medical field before I became a pastor, and I remember working at a little hospital in California called Westminster Hospital.

It didn't even exist anymore. But it was a little hospital, and I was on call that night in the radiology department, and a woman came in on a gurney, a little bed, and she was nervous. She didn't know what was wrong with her. And she had a stack of books. Jessie was funny, because one was on Buddhism, one was Christianity, one was all the different religions. And it's like, she wanted to say, I believe, but I don't know what I believe in, but I'm just sort of covering all my bases. And so it was a really good opportunity for me to just engage in a conversation. So you have a lot of these books. What are you reading?

What piques your interest? Well, I'm studying comparative religions, and I'm nervous, and I'm praying, and I'm crying out to every, you know, she said, every expression. And so it was a really great to find out where she was coming from and to draw her toward the Lord during that evening. So that's number one, believe that He is. You have to believe in the right God.

Number two, not just believe in God actually, but to believe in God personally, that there's a personal God, that He is a rewarder, it says, of those who diligently seek Him. And so I'm going to talk about this in a second. And so I'm going to talk about this in a second.

But I'm going to talk about this in a second. That is the idea of this verse. Only a personal God can reward, by the way, only Christianity shows God as a rewarder. There's a lot of religions that show God as a punisher, a cosmic policeman, but our God shows that God is a God of judgment, but He is a rewarder, one who blesses and provides those who diligently seek Him. Only a personal God can reward. A force cannot reward. A higher power cannot reward.

A great uncaused cause cannot reward. Only a personal God can reward. Just like when my puppy does something and I reward her, or when a child does something and a parent rewards him, it takes a person, and God is personal.

Proverbs 8, verse 17, I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently will find me. That's God as a rewarder. Jeremiah 29, 13, you will seek me and you will find me when you seek for me with all your heart.

That's a rewarder. Jeremiah 29, 13, you will seek me and that's God as a rewarder. David knew that and said to young Solomon, his son, 1 Chronicles 28, 9, if you seek Him, He will be found by you. So we come to God on faith. You believe that God exists, but you believe in the right God, the God of the Bible, and you believe that He's a personal God because when you seek Him, He will provide salvation for you, and you'll enter into a relationship with Him where you can walk with Him.

God's personal. Did you know that Albert Einstein believed in God? You know, people think he's the smartest guy ever. He believed in God, but Albert Einstein did not believe in a personal God. Einstein said, and I quote, certainly there is a God. That's Einstein, smart guy. Certainly there is a God.

Any man who doesn't believe in a cosmic force is a fool, said Einstein, but he concluded by saying, but we could never know Him, end quote. He's saying, I believe in God, but God is unknowable. God is not personal. He's wrong on that account.

Smartest guy in the world is dead wrong. God is not only somebody you can know, God is somebody you can please, you can walk with. He is personal and He is active in the life of His creation. So to say that God doesn't exist is fake news. To say that God is not personal and active is also fake news.

That's where you need to fact check. God is not aloof. God is not distant. We don't believe in a deistic God. God wound things up and just sort of stepped back. I've read where people say, theologians, yeah, God didn't even know coronavirus was coming. That's saying coronavirus is God or the devil is God or somebody else or something else is God to say that. God is sovereign. God is everything in control and it's fake news to say God doesn't exist.

It's fake news to say God is not active and God is not personal. He is and He's a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. So ask yourself, are you seeking God? Are you walking with God? Could that describe your life?

Could you actually say, yeah, that sums my life up. I'm a person who walks with God. I'm walking with God. Maybe it would be more appropriate to say you're not walking, you're casually meandering with God, aimlessly bumping around here and there, but not walking with Him. I read an article that was interesting that said 87% of Americans own running shoes, but don't run. I wonder how many Christians have Bibles who don't walk.

He walked with God 300 years, just that simple, intimate consistency with God. I read a story, I read a little article about this flea in Africa called Jiggers. It's in South America, Central America, and Sub-Saharan Africa. I forget the scientific name, but these are little bugs that they get into animals and people and usually around their toenails, their feet. So what they do is they burrow themselves into the skin and they lay eggs and the eggs hatch.

Yeah, nice. When they hatch, they grow and when they grow, an infection sets in and that creature becomes unable to walk. One traveler said that he was in Africa and saw a tiger so infected with these jiggers, these fleas, its paw became so swollen it couldn't move or defend itself. Get that picture in your mind. Child of God can't move, can't defend itself. Is there something that has crept into your life, burrowed its way into your life, into your spiritual walk, some distractions? Let the Lord pull those away during this time.

Maybe you can't walk well enough. So Enoch becomes a great example of a fact check. Don't complicate your life with God. Let it be come down to just a life of faith where I walk with God every day just to please Him.

It's that simple. Walk with God and be free. That concludes Skip Heitzig's message from the series Fact Check.

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