What a Promotion!

469.  "What a Promotion!"                   March 2, 2012
Hebrews 11-Part 4
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.  
Hebrews 11:5 KJV

Because of faith Enoch was caught up and transferred to heaven, so that he did not have a glimpse of death; and he was not found, because God had translated him. For even before he was taken to heaven, he received testimony [still on record] that he had pleased and been satisfactory to God.
Amplified

It was because of his faith that Enoch was promoted to the eternal world without experiencing death. He disappeared from this world because God promoted him, and before that happened his reputation was that "he pleased God". And without faith it is impossible to please him. The man who approaches God must have faith in two things, first that God exists and secondly that it is worth a man's while to try to find God.   J.B.Phillips New Testament

LET IT GLOW

Who was Enoch? What made Enoch different from others and so special to God that he did not die physically, but was taken up directly to heaven? How did he please God?

• Enoch is first spoken of in Genesis 5:21-24. We can trace his geneology from this fifth chapter. He was the seventh in descent from Adam in the line of Seth (Jude 14). He was the son of Jared (5th generation from Adam), the father of Methuselah, the great-grandfather of Noah, the great-great-grandfather of Shem (whose 9th descendent became  Abraham). Enoch was a patrioch who lived 365 years. It was before the time of judgment of the flood. He walked with God 300 of those years. ( International Standard Bible Encyclopedia) 
• Enoch was a preacher who proclaimed a message of judgment which his generation resented and resisted. It is found in Jude 14-15.
• Enoch and God must have had a special relationship since he and Elijah were the only two translated, not experiencing death; he and Noah were the only two who "walked with God" while others walked before God.

According to Thayer's Lexicon, translated means to transfer, without mention of the place, it being well known to the readers. Faussett's Dictionary says it is a sudden removal from mortality to immortality with out death; the passover of living saints at Christ's coming (1Cor.15:51-52).

 Enoch did not die. God took him to a state of blessedness without obliging him to pass through death. (Adam Clarke)

What made Enoch so special or different that this occurred to him? I think the Phillips Translation 
answers my question:  It was because of his faith that Enoch was promoted to the eternal world without experiencing death. He disappeared from this world because God promoted him...

New Living Translation says he disappeared because God took him.

NAS says he was not found because God took him up.  

So it was because of Enoch's faith that he was promoted to heaven without the sting of death. What a promotion! What a way to go!

Jerry Vines says, "Faith is trusting what God says and acting upon it regardless of circumstances or consequences."

David Guzik describes faith as being the "sense" that gives us evidence of the invisible spiritual world."

So was Enoch's faith different from mine? from the other "Heroes of Faith"?
I counted 24 different times faith is used in chapter 11, with 5 different Greek words. My conclusion is: faith is faith. Either we believe and trust God or we don't. The uniqueness of our "Heroes" is in the way they demonstrated their faith in God, obeying what God asked them to do.
After all, the just shall live by faith (Hebrews 10:38).


LET IT GROW

What was Enoch's testimony before the fight of his life? He pleased God. Plain and simple isn't it? Or is it? How did Enoch please God? What did he do? How can I please God? I dug a little deeper to find out.

The verb pleased (euaresteo in Greek) is the Septuagint rendering of the Hebrew phrase "to walk with." Enoch pleased God in that he walked with God. Thus, our author concludes that without faith it is impossible to please God. (verse 6) One cannot please God without walking in the light of truth and in righteousness before God (1John 1:5-7). Liberty Bible Commentary

Genesis 5:24 says And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.

Here's my conclusion of how Enoch pleased God/walked with God:

• He obeyed God by prophesying and preaching God's warning, the Truth, without tickling their ears. His message is found in Jude 14-15. To obey is better than sacrifice 1Sam.15:22).
• He lived by faith. (Heb.10:38)
• He repented and asked for forgiveness of sins-he said that God was bringing judgment on the ungodly's deeds and words.
• He loved God and others. Why else would he have preached such a hard message?
• He worshipped God.
• He prayed and talked to God (received the message) as they walked together.
• He surrendered to God's will.

I can add to the list what pleases God:

• the sacrifice of praise (Jer.17:26),
• surrender (Luke 1:38),
• thanksgiving (Ps.100:4; Ps.107:22),
• rejoicing,
• singing His praises,
• salvation found in Jesus,
• prayer,
• glorifying Him, etc.

Which of these do I need to work on so I please God in all things?

Adrian Rogers said,"If we please God, it doesn't matter who we displease; if we displease God, it doesn't matter whom we please."

"Heredity, ritual, ceeremony, charity, nor any other good work apart from faith pleases God," said Nelson Price.

"Anybody can walk with God, but not everybody does," said James Merritt.

God doesn't want us to have an ordinary walk. He wants us to have a supernatural walk. Our walk is the way we live our life, our lifestyle. What begins as a step of faith soon becomes a walk of faith.
 (Ed Young)

LET IT GO

Let go of what I need to in order to walk closely with my God and please Him.

Ask God what is in my life that displeases Him.