This is the Truth Network. What is worship and why is it important to the Christian? Hmm, I wonder if you know. I wonder if I know. I wonder if anybody knows.
Well, stay with us, listen, and learn. You're listening to Until He Comes, a blend of prophetic and practical biblical studies with Dr. Greg Hinnant, author of The Second Coming of Christ, His Appearing, His Return, Our Preparation. And now, author and teacher Greg Hinnant.
Well, welcome to the program, my friend. I'm glad to have you with us today. We're going to get into this subject of Enoch again. This outstanding man from the Old Testament has just leaped out of the Old Testament. to speak to us today about what it means to walk with God.
Now we've been in this study for about 10 weeks, and we're going to have a couple more lessons because. Enoch is just such a rich field of insights. But before we get into this, I want to share with you again: we're going to have the Revelation Conception. Conference, the Triad Revelation Conference coming up September 14th through 28th, five nights in September, two sessions each night, in which we discuss the book of Revelation in significant depth. We will be using my 758 page.
Textbook Revelation Notes. It will be a Very deep study, you will be blessed not only by understanding the grammatical and historical meaning of the text, but by the life application. Revelation notes is just filled with spiritual life applications to help you walk closely with God. And if you're a teacher or a pastor, my goodness, it has hundreds, literally hundreds of sermons. It's just filled with sermonic material.
So please come to the conference. You will be blessed. We'll also have about 180-page study guide, which tracks the 10 lessons in detail. And there's just an abundance of information. I truly believe that these five nights in September.
will be life changing for everyone who attends. The cost is only $45. like about two pizzas.
Now, you know, a college course may cost you as much as $4,000. In a um in a public institution, maybe eleven hundred. At a community college, about 400. But my friends, we're giving you this college-level instruction for $45. This is just a Giveaway.
Why? We want this knowledge to get out because the time has come. for God's people to understand this great book of Revelation, the Apocalypse. Oh, my goodness, we need to understand it so bad because there's terrific inspiration that comes when we understand the things God has revealed in his plan that they're going to happen.
So please. Come and register. Go to Greghemett Ministries.org, and on every page, you'll see the tab for the Revelation Conference. Triad Revelation Conference. It will be held in Cornersville, North Carolina, directly in the middle of Winston Asylum, North Carolina, and Greensboro and High point.
You don't have missed this. It's going to be great.
Now, today we want to see that Enoch was a worshiping man. Our text is Genesis 5:22 and 24. Enoch walked with God. Enoch walked with God and he was not. For God took him.
That is, one day God simply translated him to heaven. In our last session, we talked about the meaning of the word translation. And we explained that this is a great privilege. Only two people have experienced it. And we are slated to experience that.
You and I, at the end of this church age, this is where we're living. Very consequential times.
Now Enoch was a worshipping man. Hmm. Why do I know that? Is there any biblical text that tells me that? No.
What I am told is that he walked with God. And I would say to you very clearly. It's impossible. It's impossible to live with God. and not worship him.
Why? Because he's an Awesome. being, the great I am, the one who causes things to exist. To walk with him to talk with him. To observe his ways.
To see his glory The shikana, to feel the kavod, that deep Presence, the power, the depth, the weightiness of his presence. It is impossible. To be in that condition and not worship him, you would go down on your face immediately, your hands would fly up. And you would raise them to worship him. As David did with raised hand, you would do the same.
And as John did when he saw Christ in glorious patterns, you would be on your feet. at his feet. Worship. Worship is our eternal Perfection. To worship God.
Worship is defined as to audibly and demonstratively and sometimes silently Express God's worthiness or worthship.
Now, note that. Worship expresses what we feel to be God's worth. Ship. That's what it's all about. We are showing God what we think of him.
When we worship him. Oh my goodness, it is the believers. act of love. Toward him, he has loved us in sending his only begotten Son to die for us that we might be saved from eternal damnation as a member of a rebel race. He's made the way.
Through the death of his son, the cruel pitch. Idilous. Lashing and brutal crucifixion of his precious son. He has loved us with everything he's got. Worship.
is the way in which we Begin to show him how thankful we are Now If you will turn in your Bible to Acts 13, I want to read you some significant statements that sometimes. we will overlook. Very important statement here. Let me find that in my Bible here. It's Acts.
Thirteen VERSE one and two Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers, as Barnabas and Simeon, that was called Niger, meaning black, and Lucius of Cyrenae, and Manaean, excuse me, Manian, who had been brought up with Herod the Tetrarch, and Saul.
Now I want to point out to you that Antioch here was the Up-and-coming Gentile church. It was the first. primarily Gentile church in the history of the church age. Antioch was a very important city. It was located on the river.
It had uh a large population. And it also had many shrines and temples, as did many of the ancient cities. But when certain unnamed Believers who were Gentile proselytes went to this city after the persecution of Stephen, which scattered the Christians everywhere. They began to preach the Gospel to the Greeks. They didn't know they weren't supposed to do that.
up until this point. every one it would say was a Jew.
So they began to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles, and lo and behold, they believed it. They were saved, they were delivered. Everyone was shocked. And um then The church in Jerusalem, this is an Acts 11, sent Barnabas to in effect check out what was going on there. To see, was this legitimate, or was it some aberration, was it some satanic imitation?
And so Barnabas, after being in the church, Decided this was a genuine work of God. These were Gentiles being saved by grace. just as the Jews were being saved By grace. Significant moment in church history.
Now, at this time, Barnabas Calls Paul. and the two of them teach in this church. for a whole year. And so we pick up here at the end of that time in this verse we just read. We see there were five leaders of this church, they're named.
Barnabas apparently was first in rank. Simeon, who was called Niger, was a black African. Lucius of Sarini, and Mannion. Which had been brought up with Herod the Tetrarch. He was a Jew.
and Saul, Saul, of course, was from Parsons. which is today in Turkey. These people were from different parts of the world and even different races. But they were the leaders of the Antioch Church. You know, this is beautiful to me.
I see God's purpose. I see a little microcosm here. And We see that God chose and used people from all quarters of life. You know, I don't know where you are listening to my voice. You may be in Africa, you may be in India, you may be in South America, Central America, or China.
If you have the access to Obtain This podcast. But don't you think for one minute because of your nation, your culture, your race. That you cannot be used of God. God is using everyone who is a willing, broken vessel in His service. to build up his kingdom and to prepare his bride, to finish our great commissions, to witness, to ange to evangelize, and to make disciples.
So be of good cheer. We see Paul here sat last in rank. I think I love this because I see the humility of Paul. He was so humble, He didn't care what rank he had, he didn't care what seat he sat in. And what were they doing that day?
As they ministered to the Lord, verse two says, and fasted. The Holy Ghost said, Separate me, Barnabas and Saul, for the work whereunto I have called them.
Now How did this happen? Did the Holy Spirit just speak in the air? No, he didn't. He spoke to someone gifted as a prophet, and the prophet relayed the information. To the others.
So we see the gifts of the Spirit operating in this church. But What started it all? Or at least what started it on this day. By the way, I think this was a regular prayer meeting, a worship service. I don't have the proof of that.
But it just feels like it is. Certainly, we see on this occasion, they were there gathered. This was a leadership meeting. They weren't strategizing. They weren't seeing what the Romans were doing and trying to imitate it.
Not at all. They were looking to God. Alone? and getting the marching orders from him. How did they get him to communicate with them?
Well, they worshipped him. They ministered unto him. To minister is to see to the needs of. to see To the needs of Jesus said, I came not to be ministered unto, but to minister and to give. The Father sent his Son to minister to us, and he did, and he does, and he still is today.
But here we see the opposite. Those Who have received the ministry, the wonderful, sweet ministry of Jesus faithful love. Turning around. And going back to the father, and ministering to him and to the son, and to the Holy Spirit ministering to God.
Some people may think, How can you minister to God? Because God wants. Your love. He wants your affection. He created us for fellowship.
For communion, or, as my pastor has said, common union. He wants your love more than he wants your service. He has millions, probably billions, of angels individually created. To do his work. But he needs and wants you.
To give back to Him the love that He gave when He sent His only begotten Son to die for you, and all the love He's shown every day in watching over you and guiding you through your process. That's spiritual growth. This month, for a gift of any amount, receive Dr. Hinnant's book, Revelation Notes: An inspirational commentary on the book of Revelation. This 758-page, in-depth commentary walks the reader through John's apocalypse verse by verse.
It explains its historical context and language and identifies many inspiring principles for Christian living. Every Bible student, pastor, and church leader will benefit greatly from its informational entries, thought-provoking footnotes, and inspirational additional gleanings and messages. Give and get your copy today. For a gift of $60 or more, we'll send you the complete four-volume Hinnant End Times Prophecy Collection: The Second Coming of Christ, The Tribulation Story, Revelation Notes, a verse-by-verse commentary on Revelation, and the Day of the Lord commentary, which is Interprets all Old Testament prophecies and foreshadowings of the end times. And if you are a Logos Bible software user, you may purchase all four of these books from the Logos Online Bookstore.
You may give your gift today by visiting the donation page at greghinnantministries.org or sending your checks to Greg Hinnant Ministries, P.O. Box 788 High Point, North Carolina, 27260. Or by calling 336-882-1645.
Now, again, Dr. Hinnant.
So they were ministering to the Lord and they were fasting. Fasting enhances our ability to focus on God. Fasting helps us to be clear-minded. I would say especially clear-minded and focused all the more and the better and the sharper. On the things of God at hand.
So they were having this worship/slash prayer meeting. This is how they led their church. They got into the presence of God. They took time. They weren't in a hurry.
They weren't watching their clocks or looking at their computers or their iPhones. Ha ha ha ha. Not at all. They were focused on him. The power of the presence of God was tremendous in this meeting.
And then God gave them Divine guidance. I want to encourage you to minister to the Lord. We talk about ministering for the Lord or ministering with the Lord, but this is ministering to the Lord. Jesus wants you to love Him. In the end, it's all about.
Tabernacling with God, living with God. Yes, God wants to live. Or with you? That's why the Holy Spirit is sanctifying you. In layman's language he's cleaning us up.
So we're fit. for fellowship. With him. Oh my goodness, what a privilege. What a joy.
Oh, to fellowship with Jesus Christ. I will tell you this. If you begin. to minister to Jesus. I guarantee you, He is going to minister to you.
He's going to speak to you. He's going to respond. He's going to answer your prayers with a new rapidity. With a new clarity, With a new definiteness As the angel told Daniel. In Daniel chapter 10, he said, From the first day That you set yourself?
To pray. And to discipline or afflict yourself, chasten yourself. Meaning fasting. Thy words were heard. And I am sent.
for thy words. In other words, God heard the specific words that you prayed. And I was sent to you. Oh my goodness, what power we have, my friends, available to us. Through prayer.
Through prayer. Think about that. What is that problem you've got today? Is it your son or daughter? Maybe your young person, it's your parents have the trouble.
What is the problem? Is it something at school, something at work? Oh, it just seems insurmountable to you, but it's not. to God This God of the Bible, this God of Genesis, who spoke. The cosmos into existence and then breathe the breath of life into man.
Nothing is too hard for the Lord. The things which are impossible with man, says Luke 18:27, are possible. with God.
So Don't look at your problem. Go minister to the Lord. Go minister to the Lord and stay there until you feel Him responding. Then you make communication with Heaven. Then Heaven has touched earth.
You have touched Heaven. An awesome Thing. Has occurred, and the Holy Spirit will speak to you whatever He needs to speak to you, whether it's guidance, correction, instruction, encouragement. Giving you a method or plan of how to go about something. He will show you.
He will answer your prayers with specificity. You are now speaking. And you know he's speaking to you. And you'll know what he's speaking about. This is an awesome thing.
I'd rather have the communication of heaven and the peace of God than anything in this world.
Now, so minister to the Lord, my friend. Begin today to minister. to him. You know, I just got back from Mexico. My wife and I, Edie, And we were down there ministering in churches.
She was ministering, and I was to women. I was ministering in a couple of churches. And we had a wonderful time. On the way down, We made up our mind and agreed together to follow this method. Number one, we would minister to the Lord every day.
Minister to him first. Number two, we would then minister to the people. That's why we were sent. And then, number three, with any time we had left, we would enjoy Mexico. And that's exactly what we did.
And we had a wonderful time. Because we saw God blessing people. We saw God delivering people from fear of the cartels. We went to two recovery centers where clearly The men there. had been members of cartels or other Criminal groups.
But they'd been delivered. They'd been saved. And one of the places they I preached an evangelistic message, and God moved tremendously. Why did that happen? How did that happen?
Well, because God is good. And he wants to help people, but I think it was enhanced, in fact I know it was, by our decision. to follow this method. Worship the Lord. Minister to Him.
First. Then minister to the people. And then you and I come last. What a great method. I pray we all follow it.
Oh my goodness, it's so important to minister to the Lord.
Now you say, well, now how can I minister to the Lord? I don't sing well.
Well, here's what you can do: you can give thanks in everything. 1 Thessalonians 5:18. Is an awesome verse. It's a life-changing verse where my mother. Taught me this verse when I was in my 20s.
It changed my perspective, it changed my life. We also found an anonymous article titled Full Union with the Will of God. in a newspaper style Christian Magazine that at that time was published out of Los Angeles. Oh, it's a great piece. Showing that God is in everything that touches your life.
Nothing can touch you or me. That doesn't come from his hand for some. Good. purpose So if you're not a singer, I would say sing anyway, because the Bible implores us to sing, urges us to sing. The Psalms end with this exhortation: Let everything that hath breath do you have breath?
Of course you do. Praise the Lord. Praise him, laud him, lift him. Give him accolades. Tell him how glorious he is.
And you're blessing him, you're ministering to him. That's how you get. God on your side in your needs and difficulties and challenges and tests. He's on your side anyway, of course, if you're a Christian. But this is how you get him acting.
Involved in your life. This is how you Initiate Interventions Oh, that sounds good, doesn't it? initiating Interventions. I bet you've got a situation right now in your life, and you're thinking, oh my goodness, I wish the Lord would intervene here. Oh, I wish he would Well, my friend, he will He will intervene.
Absolutely.
So minister to him. Sing praises to Him. And here's something you could do this very, again, very, very easy: is giving thanks to God. This text In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. It's a self-explanatory text.
First of all, the command: in every situation or circumstance, give thanks. This is an act of giving or worship. You're offering on the altar of your lips, from the temple of your body, offering the sacrifice of praise. Hebrews 13:15 says, Let us now, therefore, offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks. to his name.
Just say with me Thank you, Jesus. Say it again. Thank you, Jesus. Wasn't that easy? Say it another time.
Thank you, Jesus. Jesus, nothing Could be easier.
Now, when you don't understand what's going on, everything's in confusion, stop and say, Thank you, Jesus. You're acknowledging his presence in that circumstance. You're acknowledging that is part of his will. The latter part of 1 Thessalonians 5.18 says, Because this that is thanksgiving is the will of God. In Christ Jesus concerning you.
It's God's will for every Christian to be thankful. And when you're giving thanks, you are. the will of God incarnate. It also means this situation. Is his will.
You mean this unfairness, this illegal thing, this injurious thing, this hurtful thing, this cruel thing, this unfair thing? Yes, I do mean that. It's part. of the plan. Look how God trained Joseph.
by offense after offense. But he learned to react Properly. And when you start giving thanks to God in adversity, You will grow. When you give thanks to God and minister to Him, when you're in great adversity, you're going to grow. Powerfully.
You're going to thrive. I would encourage you to do this. This is life-changing. stuff we're talking about now.
Now I want to give you um A heads up on something. The CEO of The Truth Network, which is sponsoring this podcast, is Stu Epperson, Junior. He has come out with a book published by Moody Press with a forward by doctor Gary Chapman, who is the New York Times bestselling author of The Five Love Languages. And Stu's book is this Thanks living. Embracing the power of gratitude every day.
I would urge you to get this book. Stu Epson is a great Bible teacher.
Now, this book, I'm sure, will give you the Elements that you need to change your life from being an unthankful to a thankful Christian. Oh my goodness, this book will bless you.
Now, back to our subject: worship strengthens faith because you sing about the greatness of God. Think about our songs. One of the favorite songs we all sing today in America is The Goodness of God. When you sing about His goodness, it enhances your faith that He will be good. to you and your loved ones.
He's good all the time. It doesn't change the fact of his goodness. The worship helps you realize how good he is, and it strengthens your faith. What is faith? It's simply God's confidence.
God confidence. As opposed to self-confidence, if you don't know God, you need self-confidence. And I would say, well, good luck. Because at some point that's going to fail you miserably. But God confidence, that'll never fail you.
So worship strengthens faith. Faith. Minister to the Lord. and you'll emerge from that session. with stronger confidence in the God Whom you're worshiping.
Worship enables us to draw near, draw near God. You know Last Saturday, we were in Lection, North Carolina, in a North Carolina, Pray North Carolina meeting. It was awesome. There were many people there who were committed intercessors, and the presence of God was manifest.
Now, the presence of God was there anyway, but he Let us sense his presence and what a joy, what a joy. No, we don't go about feelings, but feelings are a blessing.
Now let me tell you something. When that plane went down in the Hudson, And the miracle of the Hudson back 10 years ago, you remember. As they went down into the river, The Steward assists and told everybody, Two. Get their head down and stay down. They kept repeating that: head down, stay down.
Head down, stay down. Head down, stay down. And then they hit those waters. Let me tell you something, friend. Get close and stay close to God by giving Him thanks.
Give him thanks every day in every circumstance, and then repeat to yourself: get close, stay close. Get close, stay close. You give him thanks, and it's going to get you close. Then you stay there. Get close.
Stay close. This is how we do it. And then you become a worshiper after the mold of Enoch, walking with God, and one day God will take you suddenly. out of this world to be with him forever. If this message has blessed you, tell your friends and please consider helping us stay on the air by sending your tax-deductible donation to Greg Hennett Ministries.
Also, remember, you may download the Until He Comes podcast from your preferred podcast app. May you walk closely with Christ and trust and obey Him in your daily tests of faith and patience until He Comes. This is the Truth Network. Mm-hmm.
